bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Children’s access to outdoors in early childhood education and care centres in China during the COVID pandemic
Authors: Liu Junjie , Wyver Shirley , Chutiyami Muhammad , Little Helen 
Published: October 2023

AbstractChina has undergone rapid development in early childhood education and outdoor pedagogy in recent times. Importantly, it was the first country to detect COVID-19 cases and introduce lockdowns and other restrictions. Chinese early childhood educators had no opportunities to learn from their peers in other countries regarding how to respond to COVID-19 restrictions. It is unknown how these restrictions may have impacted children’s access to the outdoors. The current study examined whether there had been changes in children’s outdoor time, access to the outdoor space, and restrictions imposed on children’s outdoor play. We then examined if making changes or remaining the same was influenced by educator qualifications, professional development related to outdoor pedagogy, educators’ tolerance of risk in play, and staff-child ratios. Most educators reported that the amount of time children spent outdoors and their access to the outdoor space remained the same compared to before the pandemic. A greater number of educators indicated restrictions were imposed on children’s outdoor play due to the pandemic. A series of ordinal regression analyses indicated that educators with a higher tolerance of risk in play were more likely to increase children’s time spent outdoors and access to outdoor space and impose fewer restrictions on children’s outdoor play during the pandemic. A higher staff-child ratio was associated with increasing outdoor time and outdoor space. The findings contribute to the understanding of how external factors influence opportunities for children to play outdoors and provide directions for future professional development programs and risk-reframing interventions.
Compromised diabetic heart function is not affected by miR-378a upregulation upon hyperglycemia
Authors: Florczyk-Soluch Urszula , Polak Katarzyna , Sabo Reece , Martyniak Alicja , Stępniewski Jacek , Dulak Józef 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Background
Cardiac-abundant microRNA-378a (miR-378a) is associated with postnatal repression of insulin–like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) controlling physiological hypertrophy and survival pathways. IGF-1/IGF-1R axis has been proposed as a therapeutic candidate against the pathophysiological progress of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). We ask whether hyperglycemia-driven changes in miR-378a expression could mediate DCM progression.

Methods
Diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (55 mg/kg i.p. for 5 days) in male C57BL/6 wild type (miR-378a+/+) and miR-378a knockout (miR-378a−/−) mice. As a parallel human model, we harnessed human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM miR378a+/+ vs. hiPSC-CM miR378a−/−) subjected to high glucose (HG) treatment.

Results
We reported miR-378a upregulation in cardiac diabetic milieu arising upon STZ administration to wild-type mice and in HG-treated hiPSC-CMs. Pro-hypertrophic IGF-1R/ERK1/2 pathway and hypertrophic marker expression were activated in miR-378a deficiency and upon STZ/HG treatment of miR-378a+/+ specimens in vivo and in vitro suggesting miR-378a-independent hyperglycemia-promoted hypertrophy. A synergistic upregulation of IGF-1R signaling in diabetic conditions was detected in miR-378a−/− hiPSC-CMs, but not in miR-378a−/− hearts that showed attenuation of this pathway, pointing to the involvement of compensatory mechanisms in the absence of miR-378a. Although STZ administration did not cause pro-inflammatory or pro-fibrotic effects that were detected in miR-378a−/− mice, the compromised diabetic heart function observed in vivo by high-resolution ultrasound imaging upon STZ treatment was not affected by miR-378a presence.

Conclusions
Overall, data underline the role of miR-378a in maintaining basal cardiac structural integrity while pointing to miR-378a-independent hyperglycemia-driven cardiac hypertrophy and associated dysfunction.
Investigating the Economies of Scope and Cost Effectiveness in Manufacturing Companies with Interval Data
Authors: Harofteh Elham Zaker , Saljooghi Faranak Hosseinzadeh 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe success requirement of managers’ progress, development and performance improvement lie in their attention to product variety and company effectiveness. Economies of scope (ES) examine the advantages of production or the services diversification of a company based on cost versus production by companies that produce the same products or services separately. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is known as a suitable method for evaluating ES and cost effectiveness. DEA models are introduced with certain input and output costs, while many companies and manufacturing industries in different sectors of production and service provision may not have accurate information on available costs and outputs because of calculation errors, old information, and multiple repeated measurements. The estimation DEA for ES and cost effectiveness are sensitive to changes, also some parameters, such as cost and price, are fluctuated. Therefore, it is a requirement to focus on the interval DEA. Our most important goals in this article are: (1) we develop new DEA models to measure the ES and cost effectiveness of decision-making units (DMUs) under data uncertainty. These models will become non-linear and non-convex models; hence, (2) we identify an appropriate range for ES and cost effectiveness of DMUs from the optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints, allowing decision-makers can use the upper and lower limits or their combination depending on the optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints, (3) we apply our developed models to assess the ES and cost-effectiveness performance of 24 institutions, considering data uncertainties that may affect the quality and reliability of the results. (4) The proposed models’ features have been analyzed, and the impact of interval data on cost effectiveness and ES has been evaluated. The application description of the proposed models for determining ES and cost effectiveness shows that a company can exhibit economies of scope without necessarily being Cost Effectiveness.
Virtual Sovereignty: Examining the Legal Status of Micronations in Cyberspace Through the Case of the Republic of Errant Menda Lerenda
Authors: Zhuk Alesia 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis paper examines the legal status of micronations claiming virtual sovereignty in cyberspace, using the case of the Republic of Errant Menda Lerenda (REML) as an example. The REML is a micronation that claims to have virtual sovereignty over a network of individuals who share its values and beliefs. Through an in-depth analysis of existing literature and sources, this paper explores the legal implications of virtual sovereignty and the challenges that micronations face in establishing legitimacy in the international community. The paper concludes that while the lack of recognition of virtual states by the international community limits their ability to engage in formal relations with other states, virtual sovereignty raises important questions about the concept of statehood in the digital age. This paper suggests that further research is needed to explore the legal and practical implications of virtual sovereignty and to develop new frameworks for determining the legitimacy of virtual states.
Risk sharing in equity-linked insurance products: Stackelberg equilibrium between an insurer and a reinsurer
Authors: Havrylenko Yevhen , Hinken Maria , Zagst Rudi 
Published: October 2023

AbstractWe study the optimal investment-reinsurance problem in the context of equity-linked insurance products. Such products often have a capital guarantee, which can motivate insurers to purchase reinsurance. Since a reinsurance contract implies an interaction between the insurer and the reinsurer, we model the optimization problem as a Stackelberg game. The reinsurer is the leader in the game and maximizes its expected utility by selecting its optimal investment strategy and a safety loading in the reinsurance contract it offers to the insurer. The reinsurer can assess how the insurer will rationally react on each action of the reinsurer. The insurance company is the follower and maximizes its expected utility by choosing its investment strategy and the amount of reinsurance the company purchases at the price offered by the reinsurer. In this game, we derive the Stackelberg equilibrium for general utility functions. For power utility functions, we calculate the equilibrium explicitly and find that the reinsurer selects the largest reinsurance premium such that the insurer may still buy the maximal amount of reinsurance. Since in the equilibrium the insurer is indifferent in the amount of reinsurance, in practice, the reinsurer should consider charging a smaller reinsurance premium than the equilibrium one. Therefore, we propose several criteria for choosing such a discount rate and investigate its wealth-equivalent impact on the expected utility of each party.
“Obstetric Violence,” “Mistreatment,” and “Disrespect and Abuse”: Reflections on the Politics of Naming Violations During Facility-Based Childbirth
Authors: Pickles Camilla 
Published: October 2023

AbstractNaming performs an important function in society. Names shape our reality by creating the means to bring into existence previously unseen events or unacknowledged experiences, and naming impacts how society responds to these. This article interrogates the problem of naming the phenomenon of violence and abuse during childbirth with a focus on three principal concepts: “mistreatment,” “disrespect and abuse,” and “obstetric violence.” Further, drawing from broader feminist literature, it exposes the hidden power struggles that inform the naming process in this context, and it challenges the notion that “mistreatment” and “disrespect and abuse” are suitable dominant discourses. In essence, it argues that should a dominant discourse emerge, it should not be one formulated by the healthcare sector (as is the case with “mistreatment”) given their leading role in abuse and violence during childbirth. Finally, the article highlights that we are in the early stages of understanding this phenomenon and, as such, our communicative framework should be broad enough to include multiple communicative tools including “obstetric violence.”
The law and ethics of a property rights approach to frozen embryo disputes
Authors: Cornell Mollie , Baron Teresa 
Published: October 2023

AbstractDisputes over frozen embryos represent a particularly problematic case, legally and ethically, due to the ambiguity of their moral and legal status and the potential rights-claims which can be made with regard to them. Recent work has contextualised frozen embryos as liminal and suggested a contextual approach to their legal classification. By appeal to personal property law, with a lens provided by Roman law doctrines, and reproductive bioethics, we argue that frozen embryos may be subjects of property rights, providing a more stable framework for dispute resolution. To illustrate how a property approach would work, we reconsider the facts of the influentialEvanscase and argue that if a proprietary rather than promissory estoppel claim had been pursued, the reverse outcome may have been reached, to the benefit of women who are disproportionately harmed in these scenarios.
National Pride and the Insecure Social Bond between People and the State: The Socio-emotional Context of National Identity in Post-Soviet Neoliberal Latvia
Authors: Ķešāne Iveta 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis article explores the socio-emotional dimension of national belonging in post-Soviet neoliberal Latvia from the perspective of national pride. I propose this perspective since national pride shapes the character of national belonging. Studies show that national pride in socioeconomic and political attainment is low in post-Soviet countries and Latvia particularly. Influenced by social bond and commitment theories, this study explores why this might be the case by establishing national pride as a relational emotion of national belonging. For understanding national pride it is not enough to explore how people relate to their states. It is also necessary to understand how the states relate to their people, whether they recognize their state constituents, their needs and feel pride in them, and whether they shape social bonds among people. This study explores this question: how does the character of state-society relationship accounts for the low national pride in post-Soviet neoliberal Latvia? To answer, I combine the analysis of the post-Soviet civil discourse and an in-depth exploration of the narratives of 59 emigrants that have left Latvia toward the West in the post-Soviet era. The bonds formed between the Latvian political elite and Western countries during the post-Soviet transformations brought into Latvia neoliberal ideas and policies that, I argue, formed an insecure state-society bond, eroding an opportunity for national pride to flourish and weakening national belonging.
Linking second language speaking task performance and language testing
Authors: Skehan Peter 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis written version of a plenary to the Language Testing Research Colloquium relates research into second language speaking task performance to language testing. A brief review of models of communicative competence and of speaking is provided. Then, two major areas within testing are discussed: the concepts of difficulty and ability for use. The next section covers research into spoken task-based performance, covering effects from task conditions, and from task characteristics. In addition, the measurement of such performance is described and briefly compared with performance rating in testing. Then, the final section relates the task research findings to language testing. A framework for testing spoken performance is outlined, and the general claim made that effective sampling through tests, in order to generalise to real-world performance, can usefully draw on findings from second language task research, as well as the distinction between Conceptualiser and Formulator processes.
Legal Pluralism, Arbitration, and State Formation: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia's Quaker Court, 1682–1772
Authors: Sahle Esther 
Published: October 2023

AbstractLegal centralization in British America was characterized by the passing of arbitration from the community level to the colonial courts. As a consequence, when the 1765 Stamp Act raised the cost of court business, colonists were at a loss for alternatives. This paper addresses the question of why, at this point, colonists did not return to earlier, non-state forms of arbitration. It offers an explanation by providing a detailed empirical study of an alternative American legal forum: the Philadelphia Quaker monthly meeting. While busy arbitrating disputes in the early colonial period, it declined from around 1720. Contrary to what might be expected, this decline was not the consequence of state efforts to marginalize competing institutions. Rather, the local Quaker population abandoned their community legal forum in favor of the public courts. This was likely due to the Quaker court's reliance on reputation-based instruments for enforcement. As Philadelphia's population grew, the meeting's practice of pressuring culprits into compliance through public shaming lost its edge. Accordingly, Friends moved their legal business to the public courts. The paper contributes to the debates on the legal pluralism of empires, the history of arbitration, and state formation in the Atlantic.
Communicating the best available science to inform Antarctic policy and management: a practical introduction for researchers
Authors: Hughes Kevin A. , Lowther Andrew , Gilbert Neil , Waluda Claire M. , Lee Jasmine R. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractCommunication at the science-policy interface can be bewildering not only for early-career researchers, but also for many within the research community. In the context of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, decision-makers operating within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) aspire to use the best available science as a basis for their decision-making. Therefore, to maximize the impact of Antarctic Treaty Parties' substantial investment in southern polar research, researchers wishing to contribute to policy and management must understand 1) how their work relates to and can potentially inform Antarctic and/or global policy and 2) the available mechanisms by which their research can be communicated to decision-makers. Recognizing these needs, we describe the main legal instruments relevant to Antarctic governance (primarily the ATS) and the associated meetings and stakeholders that contribute to policy development for the region. We highlight effective mechanisms by which Antarctic researchers may communicate their science into the policy realm, including through National Delegations or the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and we detail the key contemporary topics of interest to decision-makers, including those issues where further research is needed. Finally, we describe challenges at the Antarctic science-policy interface that may potentially slow or halt policy development.
Patterns of resilient functioning in early life: Identifying distinct groups and associated factors
Authors: Cahill Stephanie , Hager Reinmar , Shryane Nick 
Published: October 2023

AbstractResilience, the capacity to maintain or regain functionality in the face of adversity, is a dynamic process influenced by individual, familial, and community factors. Despite its variability, distinct resilience trajectories can be identified within populations, yet the predictors defining these distinct groups remains largely unclear. Here, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ages 0-18), we quantify resilience as the remaining variance in psychosocial functioning after taking into account the exposure to adversity. Growth mixture modeling identified seven distinct resilience trajectories, with over half of the study population maintaining resilience throughout early life. Factors increasing the likelihood of resilient trajectory membership included a less emotional temperament, high cognitive abilities, high self-esteem, low levels of autistic social traits, strong sibling relationships, high maternal care, and positive school experiences. Among the socioeconomic factors considered, maternal education – a significant indicator of socioeconomic status – and birth-order were associated with resilient trajectories. Our findings underscore the importance of fostering cognitive abilities, self-esteem, social relationships, positive school experiences, and extracurricular engagement to bolster resilience in adversity-exposed individuals and communities. This research informs resilience-focused interventions in mental health, education, and social policy sectors, and prompts further exploration of socioeconomic influences on resilience trajectories.
Percutaneous treatment of an iatrogenic femoral arteriovenous fistula from an accessory arterial branch: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Srivatsav Ashwin , Eilers Lindsay , Montero Miguel , Stapleton Gary 
Published: October 2023

AbstractVascular access-related complications are an important consideration in patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation. Patients with CHD are increasingly undergoing percutaneous treatment for suitable procedures as an alternative, less invasive option to surgical intervention. As such, recognition and treatment of these complications are becoming increasingly important. We present a case of a patient with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot who developed a femoral arteriovenous fistula and femoral artery pseudoaneurysm arising from an accessory arterial branch following percutaneous Harmony valve implantation, both of which were treated endovascularly with placement of a stent.
Emotion effects in second language processing: Evidence from eye movements in natural sentence reading
Authors: Tang Enze , Ding Hongwei 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThere exists insufficient eye-tracking evidence on the differences in emotional word processing between the first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. This study conducted an eye-tracking experiment to investigate the emotional effects in L2 sentence reading, and to explore the modulation of L2 proficiency and individual emotional states. Adapted from Knickerbocker et al. (2015), the current study recorded eye movements at both early and late processing stages when late Chinese–English bilinguals read emotion-label and neutral target words in natural L2 sentences. Results indicated that L2 readers did not show the facilitation effects of lexical affective connotations during sentence reading, and they even demonstrated processing disadvantages for L2 emotional words. Additionally, the interaction effect between L2 proficiency and emotion was consistently significant for the measure of total reading time in positive words. Measurements of participants’ depressive and anxious states were not robustly correlated with eye movement measures. Our findings supplemented new evidence to existing sparse eye-tracking experiments on L2 emotion processing, and lent support to several theoretical frameworks in the bilingual research field, including the Emotional Contexts of Learning Theory, Lexical Quality Hypothesis and Revised Hierarchical Model.
TORIC REFLECTION GROUPS
Authors: GOBET THOMAS 
Published: October 2023

AbstractSeveral finite complex reflection groups have a braid group that is isomorphic to a torus knot group. The reflection group is obtained from the torus knot group by declaring meridians to have order k for some
$k\geq 2$
, and meridians are mapped to reflections. We study all possible quotients of torus knot groups obtained by requiring meridians to have finite order. Using the theory of J-groups of Achar and Aubert [‘On rank 2 complex reflection groups’, Comm. Algebra36(6) (2008), 2092–2132], we show that these groups behave like (in general, infinite) complex reflection groups of rank two. The large family of ‘toric reflection groups’ that we obtain includes, among others, all finite complex reflection groups of rank two with a single conjugacy class of reflecting hyperplanes, as well as Coxeter’s truncations of the
$3$
-strand braid group. We classify these toric reflection groups and explain why the corresponding torus knot group can be naturally considered as its braid group. In particular, this yields a new infinite family of reflection-like groups admitting braid groups that are Garside groups. Moreover, we show that a toric reflection group has cyclic center by showing that the quotient by the center is isomorphic to the alternating subgroup of a Coxeter group of rank three. To this end we use the fact that the center of the alternating subgroup of an irreducible, infinite Coxeter group of rank at least three is trivial. Several ingredients of the proofs are purely Coxeter-theoretic, and might be of independent interest.
– MULTIPLIERS ON COMMUTATIVE HYPERGROUPS
Authors: KUMAR VISHVESH , RUZHANSKY MICHAEL 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe main purpose of this paper is to prove Hörmander’s$L^p$–$L^q$boundedness of Fourier multipliers on commutative hypergroups. We carry out this objective by establishing the Paley inequality and Hausdorff–Young–Paley inequality for commutative hypergroups. We show the$L^p$–$L^q$boundedness of the spectral multipliers for the generalised radial Laplacian by examining our results on Chébli–Trimèche hypergroups. As a consequence, we obtain embedding theorems and time asymptotics for the$L^p$–$L^q$norms of the heat kernel for generalised radial Laplacian.