bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Eye-tracking on virtual reality: a survey
Authors: Moreno-Arjonilla Jesús , López-Ruiz Alfonso , Jiménez-Pérez J. Roberto , Callejas-Aguilera José E. , Jurado Juan M. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractVirtual reality (VR) has evolved substantially beyond its initial remit of gaming and entertainment, catalyzed by advancements such as improved screen resolutions and more accessible devices. Among various interaction techniques introduced to VR, eye-tracking stands out as a pivotal development. It not only augments immersion but offers a nuanced insight into user behavior and attention. This precision in capturing gaze direction has made eye-tracking instrumental for applications far beyond mere interaction, influencing areas like medical diagnostics, neuroscientific research, educational interventions, and architectural design, to name a few. Though eye-tracking’s integration into VR has been acknowledged in prior reviews, its true depth, spanning the intricacies of its deployment to its broader ramifications across diverse sectors, has been sparsely explored. This survey undertakes that endeavor, offering a comprehensive overview of eye-tracking’s state of the art within the VR landscape. We delve into its technological nuances, its pivotal role in modern VR applications, and its transformative impact on domains ranging from medicine and neuroscience to marketing and education. Through this exploration, we aim to present a cohesive understanding of the current capabilities, challenges, and future potential of eye-tracking in VR, underscoring its significance and the novelty of our contribution.
Using the ‘Leapfrog’ Design as a Simple Form of Adaptive Platform Trial to Develop, Test, and Implement Treatment Personalization Methods in Routine Practice
Authors: Blackwell Simon E. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe route for the development, evaluation and dissemination of personalized psychological therapies is complex and challenging. In particular, the large sample sizes needed to provide adequately powered trials of newly-developed personalization approaches means that the traditional treatment development route is extremely inefficient. This paper outlines the promise of adaptive platform trials (APT) embedded within routine practice as a method to streamline development and testing of personalized psychological therapies, and close the gap to implementation in real-world settings. It focuses in particular on a recently-developed simplified APT design, the ‘leapfrog’ trial, illustrating via simulation how such a trial may proceed and the advantages it can bring, for example in terms of reduced sample sizes. Finally it discusses models of how such trials could be implemented in routine practice, including potential challenges and caveats, alongside a longer-term perspective on the development of personalized psychological treatments.
The effects of two short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) on northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpole development
Authors: Rohonczy Jillian , Robinson Stacey A. , Forbes Mark R. , De Silva Amila O. , Brinovcar Cassandra , Bartlett Adrienne J. , Gilroy Ève A. M. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractShort-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) have been detected in the environment globally. The presence and persistence of these compounds in the environment may lead to chronic wildlife exposure. We used northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles to investigate the chronic toxicity and the bioconcentration of two short-chain PFCAs, perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA). We exposed Gosner stage 25 tadpoles to PFBA and PFHxA (as individual chemicals) at nominal concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 µg/L for 43–46 days. Tadpoles exposed to 0.1 to 100 µg/L of PFBA and PFHxA had significantly higher mean snout-to-vent lengths, mean masses, and scaled mass indexes than control tadpoles. These results indicate that exposure to short-chain PFCAs influences tadpole growth. Further investigation into the mechanism(s) causing the observed changes in tadpole growth is warranted. We observed a significantly higher proportion of males in the PFBA 1 µg/L treatment group, however further histological analyses are required to confirm visual sex identification before making concrete conclusions on the effects of PFCAs on amphibian sex ratios. PFBA concentrations in tissues were higher than PFHxA concentrations; a pattern that contrasts with previously published studies using fish, suggesting potential differences between taxa in PFBA and PFHxA bioconcentration. Bioconcentration factors were <10 L/kg wet weight, indicating low bioconcentration potential in tadpoles. Our results suggest that PFBA and PFHxA may have effects at environmentally-relevant concentrations (0.1–10 µg/L) and further investigation is required before these compounds can be deemed a “safe” alternative to their long-chain counterparts.
Evaluation of Training Contracts for Young People in Spain, Germany, and France
Authors: Vaquero García Alberto , Cruz González María Montserrat , Suárez Porto Vanessa María 
Published: February 2024

AbstractYouth unemployment is one of the greatest concerns to labour authorities. To try to reduce its intensity and to improve the labour market insertion rates of the youngest working-age population, most European Union (EU) countries have opted, among other measures, for job training. This is an action that seeks to combine work with training. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest problems of labour market integration for young people, in contrast to other countries such as Germany or France. The Spanish case is also characterised by the application of a set of actions that have not always had the desired success, despite being framed within the EU Youth Guarantee Programme. The results from this research indicate that improvements can be made in the application of training contracts in Spain, based on the approach used in other countries.
‘Playing the same game differently’: constituting academic identities in four disciplines
Authors: Xu Linlin , Barrow Mark 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWhilst many studies have explored academic identity construction, very few take a comparative perspective to examine the various ways of constructing academic identities within and across different disciplines. This paper analyses a key policy document used for evaluating academics’ performance along with semi-structured interviews with 37 academics from Chemical Sciences, Medical Sciences, Nursing and Education working in a research-intensive New Zealand university. The use of Foucault’s theoretical construct of games of truth provides a novel perspective to investigate the ways in which academics in different disciplines play the academic ‘game’ and how this might affect their construction of an academic identity. Our analysis suggests that the path into academia is a key factor in their trajectory of academic formation. The study suggests three types of ‘valid’ academics. It problematises the standardised definition and evaluation of academics and offers contextualised, multiple, dynamic and agential understandings of being and becoming set up through the interplay of forces arising from disciplinary, institutional, professional and personal spheres.
Low-Shear Stress Promotes Atherosclerosis via Inducing Endothelial Cell Pyroptosis Mediated by IKKε/STAT1/NLRP3 Pathway
Authors: Lv Yifei , Jiang Zihao , Zhou Wenying , Yang Hongfeng , Jin Guozhen , Wang Dongchen , Kong Chaohua , Qian Zhiyuan , Gu Yue , Chen Shaoliang , Zhu Linlin 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAtherosclerosis is initiated by vascular endothelial dysfunction, and low-shear stress (LSS) of blood flow is a key factor leading to endothelial dysfunction. Growing evidence suggests that endothelial cell pyroptosis plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Studies have shown that low-shear stress can induce endothelial cell pyroptosis, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. Our experiments demonstrated that low-shear stress induced endothelial cell pyroptosis and the phosphorylation of IκB kinase ε (IKKε). IKKε knockdown not only significantly attenuated atherosclerosis lesions of aortic arch areas in ApoE−/− mice fed with high cholesterol diets, but also markedly reduced endothelial cell pyroptosis and NLRP3 expression triggered by low-shear stress. Further mechanism studies showed that IKKε promoted the expression of NLRP3 via activating signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and the subsequent binding of STAT1 to NLRP3 promoter region. These results suggest that low-shear stress plays a pro-atherosclerotic role by promoting endothelial cell pyroptosis through the IKKε/STAT1/NLRP3 pathway, which provides new insights into the formation of atherosclerosis.
Stability and Instability of Equilibria in Age-Structured Diffusive Populations
Authors: Walker Christoph 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe principle of linearized stability and instability is established for a classical model describing the spatial movement of an age-structured population with nonlinear vital rates. It is shown that the real parts of the eigenvalues of the corresponding linearization at an equilibrium determine the latter’s stability or instability. The key ingredient of the proof is the eventual compactness of the semigroup associated with the linearized problem, which is derived by a perturbation argument. The results are illustrated with examples.
Involuntary Online Learners: Engaging Online Students Who Preferred F2F Science Classes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: DeFeo Dayna Jean , Gerken Sarah , Mason Leah , Tran Trang C. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIn this descriptive analysis, we consider the experiences of students who prefer face-to-face (F2F) classes but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had no alternative other than taking their introductory biology class online during the 2020–2021 academic year. We conducted focus group interviews with 12 college students who enrolled in an asynchronous online introductory biology course for non-majors. We interpret their experiences through the theoretical framing of student engagement, which generally centers students as the directors of their learning experiences. However, when reflecting on their online, technologically mediated experience, our participants regarded their instructors as the hub or convener of their interactions with content, technology, and other learners. We explore the implications of these findings for engaging other students who may find themselves involuntarily online, and make recommendations for pedagogy and communication around the culture of online learning.
Heterogeneity of soil CO2 efflux from local parks across an urban landscape
Authors: Jian Jinshi , Steele Meredith K. 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Context
The soil-atmosphere carbon exchange is an important component of the carbon cycle; however, dynamics of CO2 fluxes from urban landscapes are particular complicated and poorly understood due their heterogeneity.

Objectives
The objectives of this study were to examine the total and temporal variation in CO2 flux from wooded and turfgrass areas of local parks in different part of town and identify the biophysical characteristics and landscape level factors that contribute to CO2 flux spatiotemporal variance in urban greenspaces.

Methods
We characterized the soil CO2 fluxes, temporal variation, and response to soil temperature from five parks under uniform management of a medium-sized town in southwestern Virginia, USA. We measured site scale characteristics (soil properties, tree cover) as well as the urbanicity of the surrounding land (land cover composition, population).

Results
Soil total nitrogen, soil temperature, and bulk density explained approximately 70% variation in the annual CO2 flux across the five parks. Diurnal, weekly, and seasonal CO2 fluxes were primarily related to changing soil temperature and differed between the turfgrass and wooded areas. Contrary to predictions that increased urbanicity around parks would increase soil temperature and CO2 fluxes, both CO2 and soil temperature of turfgrass were higher at parks located on town edges compared to parks in the center.

Conclusions
In sum, this study indicates that soil nitrogen and compaction, urbanicity, and the resulting site-scale structure of vegetation have a strong influence on temperature dependent biogeochemical processes like CO2 efflux.
Real symmetric $$ \Phi ^4$$-matrix model as Calogero–Moser model
Authors: Grosse Harald , Kanomata Naoyuki , Sako Akifumi , Wulkenhaar Raimar 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWe study a real symmetric $$\Phi ^4$$

Φ
4

-matrix model whose kinetic term is given by $$\textrm{Tr}( E \Phi ^2)$$

Tr
(
E

Φ
2

)

, where E is a positive diagonal matrix without degenerate eigenvalues. We show that the partition function of this matrix model corresponds to a zero-energy solution of a Schrödinger type equation with Calogero–Moser Hamiltonian. A family of differential equations satisfied by the partition function is also obtained from the Virasoro algebra.
Adverse radiation effect versus tumor progression following stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases: Implications of radiologic uncertainty
Authors: Salans Mia , Ni Lisa , Morin Olivier , Ziemer Benjamin , Capaldi Dante P. I. , Raleigh David R. , Vasudevan Harish N. , Chew Jessica , Nakamura Jean , Sneed Penny K. , Boreta Lauren , Villanueva-Meyer Javier E. , Theodosopoulos Philip , Braunstein Steve 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Background
Adverse radiation effect (ARE) following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases is challenging to distinguish from tumor progression. This study characterizes the clinical implications of radiologic uncertainty (RU).

Methods
Cases reviewed retrospectively at a single-institutional, multi-disciplinary SRS Tumor Board between 2015–2022 for RU following SRS were identified. Treatment history, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions performed upon RU resolution, and development of neurologic deficits surrounding intervention were obtained from the medical record. Differences in lesion volume and maximum diameter at RU onset versus resolution were compared with paired t-tests. Median time from RU onset to resolution was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate associations between clinical characteristics and time to RU resolution were assessed with Cox proportional-hazards regression.

Results
Among 128 lesions with RU, 23.5% had undergone ≥ 2 courses of radiation. Median maximum diameter (20 vs. 16 mm, p < 0.001) and volume (2.7 vs. 1.5 cc, p < 0.001) were larger upon RU resolution versus onset. RU resolution took > 6 and > 12 months in 25% and 7% of cases, respectively. Higher total EQD2 prior to RU onset (HR = 0.45, p = 0.03) and use of MR perfusion (HR = 0.56, p = 0.001) correlated with shorter time to resolution; larger volume (HR = 1.05, p = 0.006) portended longer time to resolution. Most lesions (57%) were diagnosed as ARE. Most patients (58%) underwent an intervention upon RU resolution; of these, 38% developed a neurologic deficit surrounding intervention.

Conclusions
RU resolution took > 6 months in > 25% of cases. RU may lead to suboptimal outcomes and symptom burden. Improved characterization of post-SRS RU is needed.
Algorithmic profiling as a source of hermeneutical injustice
Authors: Milano Silvia , Prunkl Carina 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
It is well-established that algorithms can be instruments of injustice. It is less frequently discussed, however, how current modes of AI deployment often make the very discovery of injustice difficult, if not impossible. In this article, we focus on the effects of algorithmic profiling on epistemic agency. We show how algorithmic profiling can give rise to epistemic injustice through the depletion of epistemic resources that are needed to interpret and evaluate certain experiences. By doing so, we not only demonstrate how the philosophical conceptual framework of epistemic injustice can help pinpoint potential, systematic harms from algorithmic profiling, but we also identify a novel source of hermeneutical injustice that to date has received little attention in the relevant literature, what we call epistemic fragmentation. As we detail in this paper, epistemic fragmentation is a structural characteristic of algorithmically-mediated environments that isolate individuals, making it more difficult to develop, uptake and apply new epistemic resources, thus making it more difficult to identify and conceptualise emerging harms in these environments. We thus trace the occurrence of hermeneutical injustice back to the fragmentation of the epistemic experiences of individuals, who are left more vulnerable by the inability to share, compare and learn from shared experiences.
Structuring embodied minds: attention and perceptual agency
Authors: Bruineberg Jelle , Stone Odysseus 
Published: February 2024

AbstractPerception is, at least sometimes, something we do. This paper is concerned with how to account for perceptual agency (i.e., the active aspect of perception). Eilan divides accounts of perceptual agency up into two camps: enactivist theories hold that perceptual agency is accounted for by the involvement of bodily action, while mental theories hold that perceptual agency is accounted for by the involvement of mental action in perception. In Structuring Mind (2017), Sebastian Watzl aligns his ‘activity view’ with the mental action route and develops the view that the mental activity of attending infuses perceptual experience with agency. Moreover, Watzl claims that his view can accommodate enactivist intuitions, while rejecting their claims about embodiment.In this paper, we scrutinize the relevant notion of mental action involved in the mental action route. We analyze the involvement of the body in overt acts of attention (like sniffing and smelling) and argue that a constitutively embodied account of mental action provides a better analysis of overt attention than a conjunctive account in which overt attention involves a bodily and a (separate) mental action. Furthermore, we argue that the standard cases of covert attention (such as the Posner paradigm) involve the body in multiple ways.In closing, we discuss the relevance of our analysis for the debate on perceptual agency and the embodied mind thesis. We conclude that the embodied mental action route to theorizing perceptual agency provides the best analysis of perceptual agency but comes with significant commitments about the embodiment of attention.
Diabetic Sarcopenia. A proposed muscle screening protocol in people with diabetes
Authors: de Luis Román Daniel , Gómez Juana Carretero , García-Almeida José Manuel , Vallo Fernando Garrachón , Rolo German Guzmán , Gómez Juan José López , Tarazona-Santabalbina Francisco José , Sanz-Paris Alejandro 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Objectives
To propose the grounds for “diabetic sarcopenia” as a new comorbidity of diabetes, and to establish a muscle screening algorithm proposal to facilitate its diagnosis and staging in clinical practice. Method: A qualitative expert opinion study was carried out using the nominal technique. A literature search was performed with the terms “screening” or “diagnostic criteria” and “muscle loss” or “sarcopenia” and “diabetes” that was sent to a multidisciplinary group of 7 experts who, in a face-to-face meeting, discussed various aspects of the screening algorithm. Results: The hallmark of diabetic sarcopenia (DS) is muscle mass atrophy characteristic of people with diabetes mellitus (DM) in contrast to the histological and physiological normality of muscle mass. The target population to be screened was defined as patients with DM with a SARC-F questionnaire > 4, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C) ≥ 8.0%, more than 5 years since onset of DM, taking sulfonylureas, glinides and sodium/glucose cotransporter inhibitors (SGLT2), as well as presence of chronic complications of diabetes or clinical suspicion of sarcopenia. Diagnosis was based on the presence of criteria of low muscle strength (probable sarcopenia) and low muscle mass (confirmed sarcopenia) using methods available in any clinical consultation room, such as dynamometry, the chair stand test, and Body Mass Index (BMI)-adjusted calf circumference. DS was classified into 4 stages: Stage I corresponds to sarcopenic patients with no other diabetes complication, and Stage II corresponds to patients with some type of involvement. Within Stage II are three sublevels (a, b and c). Stage IIa refers to individuals with sarcopenic diabetes and some diabetes-specific impairment, IIb to sarcopenia with functional impairment, and IIc to sarcopenia with diabetes complications and changes in function measured using standard tests Conclusion: Diabetic sarcopenia has a significant impact on function and quality of life in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and it is important to give it the same attention as all other traditionally described complications of T2DM. This document aims to establish the foundation for protocolising the screening and diagnosis of diabetic sarcopenia in a manner that is simple and accessible for all levels of healthcare.
Essentials of Strong Gravitational Lensing
Authors: Saha Prasenjit , Sluse Dominique , Wagner Jenny , Williams Liliya L. R. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractOf order one in $10^{3}$

10

3

quasars and high-redshift galaxies appears in the sky as multiple images as a result of gravitational lensing by unrelated galaxies and clusters that happen to be in the foreground. While the basic phenomenon is a straightforward consequence of general relativity, there are many non-obvious consequences that make multiple-image lensing systems (aka strong gravitational lenses) remarkable astrophysical probes in several different ways. This article is an introduction to the essential concepts and terminology in this area, emphasizing physical insight. The key construct is the Fermat potential or arrival-time surface: from it the standard lens equation, and the notions of image parities, magnification, critical curves, caustics, and degeneracies all follow. The advantages and limitations of the usual simplifying assumptions (geometrical optics, small angles, weak fields, thin lenses) are noted, and to the extent possible briefly, it is explained how to go beyond these. Some less well-known ideas are discussed at length: arguments using wavefronts show that much of the theory carries over unchanged to the regime of strong gravitational fields; saddle-point contours explain how even the most complicated image configurations are made up of just two ingredients. Orders of magnitude, and the question of why strong lensing is most common for objects at cosmological distance, are also discussed. The challenges of lens modeling, and diverse strategies developed to overcome them, are discussed in general terms, without many technical details.
The breakthrough in vaccination: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
Authors: Hagymási Krisztina 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe Nobel Prize of Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to two researchers, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, for their discoveries taking part in the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. The accelerated development of the novel mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccines provided highly effective protection against severe disease or death, and reduction in symptomatic illness, before a full year had passed from the beginning of the pandemic.