bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of surface water quality near municipal Solid Waste dumping facility in Bukoba, Kagera Region, Tanzania
Authors: Lema Meserecordias W. J. , Mwegoha William J. S. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractWater samples were collected from River Kanoni which passes near a municipal solid waste (MSW) dumping facility in Bukoba Town, Kagera Region, United Republic of Tanzania. The objective of the study was to assess surface water pollution caused by a MSW dump. Selected physico‐chemical parameters (pH, temperature, Electrical Conductivity [EC], and Total Dissolved Solids [TDS]), nutrient levels, as well as heavy metals concentrations (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd) were analyzed in the laboratory at the University of Dar es Salaam, in accordance with standard methods, and were compared with the existing standard limits for freshwater qualities, as stipulated by WHO and US‐EPA. Results have shown that pH values were within the allowable range of between 6.5 and 8.5, except for one value (8.82 ± 0.11) that was measured at the midstream. Temperature values were between 26.28 ± 1.02°C and 28.35 ± 0.15°C, which are within the allowable range of between 20°C and 50°C. EC values were between 262.50 ± 8.32 μS/cm and 345.01 ± 6.48 μS/cm, which are below the maximum allowable value of 400 μS/cm. TDS values were between 183.75 ± 6.55 mg/L and 241.51 ± 11.33 mg/L, which are below the maximum allowable value of 500 mg/L. Nitrate levels were between 17.52 ± 1.12 mg/L and 32.00 ± 3.02 mg/L, which are above the standard limit of 10 mg/L above. Concentrations of Lead, Chromium, and Cadmium were between 0.03 ± 0.01 mg/L and 0.16 ± 0.05 mg/L, 0.55 ± 0.02 mg/L and 1.14 ± 0.07 mg/L, and 0.009 ± 0.12 mg/L and 0.098 ± 0.22, respectively, which are all above the recommended limits of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.003 mg/L, respectively. Values for copper and zinc were between 0.02 ± 0.12 mg/L and 0.20 ± 0.22 mg/L, and 0.79 ± 0.32 mg/L and 1.57 ± 0.04 mg/L respectively, which are below the recommended limits of 1.3 and 5 mg/L, respectively. This study has revealed that Bukoba MSW dumping facility has potential impacts on the water quality in River Kanoni, for domestic usage. This, therefore, demands all relevant authorities to immediately find a proper and sustainable replacement for the existing MSW dump in Bukoba town.
Multiscale modeling and simulation of surface‐enhanced spectroscopy and plasmonic photocatalysis
Authors: Liang WanZhen , Huang Jiaquan , Sun Jin , Zhang Pengcheng , Li Akang 
Published: May 2023

AbstractPlasmonic metal nanoparticles (PMNPs) are capable of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and have become an important component in many experimental settings, such as the surface‐enhanced spectroscopy and plasmonic photocatalysts, in which PMNPs are used to regulate the nearby molecular photophysical and photochemical behaviors by means of the complex interplay between the plasmon and molecular quantum transitions. Building computational models of these coupled plasmon‐molecule systems can help us better understand the bound molecular properties and reactivity, and make better decisions to design and control such systems. Ab initio modeling the nanosystem remains highly challenging. Many hybrid quantum‐classical (or ‐quantum) computing models have thus been developed to model the coupled systems, in which the molecular system of interest is designated as the quantum mechanical (QM) sub‐region and treated by the excited‐state electronic structure approaches such as the time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), while the electromagnetic response of PMNPs is usually described using either a computational/classical electrodynamic (CED) model, polarizable continuum model(PCM), a polarizable molecular mechanics (MM) force field, or a collective of optical oscillators in QED model, leading to many hybrid approaches, such as QM/CED, QM/PCM, QM/MM or ab initio QED. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the development of these hybrid models as well as their advantages and limitations, with a specific emphasis on the TDDFT‐based approaches. Some numerical simulations on the plasmon‐enhanced absorption and Raman spectroscopy, plasmon‐driven water splitting reaction and interfacial electronic injection dynamics in dye‐sensitized solar cell are demonstrated.This article is categorized under:
Electronic Structure Theory > Ab Initio Electronic Structure Methods
Theoretical and Physical Chemistry > Spectroscopy
Software > Quantum Chemistry
Electronic Structure Theory > Combined QM/MM Methods
The Bacteriological Divide: Pellagra in Italy and the United States (The Twentieth Century)
Authors: Gentilcore David , Priani Egidio 
Published: April 2023

AbstractAt the beginning of the twentieth century, there was still no cure for pellagra. This chapter concludes our look at medical reactions to pellagra over the course of the long nineteenth century, with a study of two vastly different reactions to a new explanatory model of the disease in the period leading up to the First World War. In 1910, a doctor at London’s School of Tropical Medicine concluded that pellagra had a bacterial cause and nothing whatsoever to do with maize consumption. In Italy, this challenged the existing orthodoxy that pellagra was caused by a maize toxin. Meanwhile, in the United States, where the disease was fast becoming epidemic, the bacterial approach seemed to provide a ready solution. This chapter asks whether the bacterial theory effectively side-tracked research on pellagra and diet, in the interests of medical investigators, public officials and maize producers. And it explores what these theoretical shifts and the resulting controversies reveal about the very different medical and public health contexts in Italy and the United States. Paradoxically, and quite tragically, pellagra is an example of a disease for which there were more or less effective preventive measures available (and proposed, but not necessarily practised) long before there was a complete understanding of the disease and its cause.
The End of a Performance? Swedish Rent Strikes in the 1980s
Authors: Rolf Hannes 
Published: May 2023

AbstractDuring the 1980s, Sweden saw several rent protests and rent strikes in different parts of the country. While there is an obvious continuity from the Swedish rent contention in the 1970s, the rent contention in the 1980s is in itself an interesting topic to study. The influence of radical leftist groups in the 1980s isn’t as obvious as it appears to have been in the 1970s, and rent striking seems to have been seen as a legitimate way of handling grievances during the first half of the 1980s. Most of the rent protests took place in municipal and other forms of non-speculative housing, and contention took place both between tenant and landlord and within the established organisations of the tenant’s movement, thus turning into a challenge against the social democratic leadership. Using the theoretical framework of Contentious Politics Studies (CPS), this chapter examines rent contention in Sweden during the 1980s and especially the rent strikes of the period, looking at the role of rent striking and other forms of protests in the tenant contentious repertoire of that era. Of particular interest is the disappearance of evidence of rent strikes after 1985, signifying a change to the contentious tenant repertoire.
Primer on Machine Learning
Authors: Haben Stephen , Voss Marcus , Holderbaum William 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThe previous chapter introduced various concepts from statistics and probability relevant to forecasting. As many state-of-the-art approaches rely on machine learning, this chapter will introduce some fundamental definitions and concepts. It does not intend to provide an in-depth understanding but instead plans to overview the main concepts as they are relevant to this book. It provides an overview of practically relevant concepts when using software packages to fit and configure machine learning models. It does not introduce specific algorithms as those machine learning algorithms that are typically used in load forecasting are discussed in detail in Chap. 10. More in-depth overviews of the approaches can be found in the list of further reading in Appendix D.2.
Time Series Forecasting: Core Concepts and Definitions
Authors: Haben Stephen , Voss Marcus , Holderbaum William 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis chapter will present the main definitions and concepts for time series forecasting. It begins by introducing time series before leading into the general form and definitions of a time series forecast. The following sections will lay the foundations for much of the tools, models and concepts in the later chapters. This chapter will rely on a basic understanding of statistical concepts which will be assumed. Chapter 3 contains a crash course in some of the important elements of statistics and probability and will be referred to throughout.
Verification and Evaluation of Load Forecast Models
Authors: Haben Stephen , Voss Marcus , Holderbaum William 
Published: April 2023

AbstractWhat makes a good forecast? This section aims to introduce some of the main tools for evaluating the quality of time series forecasts. It is worth noting that this is still a very active research area, especially in the developing area of probabilistic load forecasts. Obviously error measures can only be calculated after the actual observations have become available, although in practice forecasts are evaluated on the historical data by splitting it into training and testing periods (see Sect. 8.1.3).
Human Rights in Central Asia—Between Internationalization and Nation-Building
Authors: Hien Melanie , Kuebler Florian , Nazaralieva Aikerim 
Published: May 2023

AbstractHuman rights education and knowledge dissemination in Central Asia have been developing since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The countries in the region have a mixture of democratic, authoritarian, and autocratic systems, which, for human rights defenders in particular, can pose challenges. Over the course of the last three decades, their opportunities have either been restricted or expanded. Against this background, in 2021, the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg, Germany, conducted a project in collaboration with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which included a one-week workshop entitled “Human Rights in Central Asia—Between Internationalization and Nation-Building.” Both civil society activists and young professionals attended the workshop, where they reported on their experiences in human rights education, empowerment, knowledge dissemination, and state-building in Central Asia. There are three key questions to be addressed in this context: What are the outcomes of the workshop discussions concerning human rights instruments, legislation related to civil society organizations (CSOs), the role of civil societies, and the sustainability of CSO projects, as well as how their impact is measured? Further, what observations can be made and what lessons learned from this for human rights education and knowledge dissemination, specifically with regard to research, teaching, material, and social media usage? And, finally, what recommendations can be made for the national, international, state, and non-state actors involved in human rights education, empowerment, and knowledge dissemination in Central Asia?
Inclusive Human Rights Education in Tajikistan
Authors: Husnidinzoda Mohirakhoni 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis chapter presents a critical overview of the development and implementation of inclusive education (IE) for children with special needs in Tajikistan. It assesses the improvements and shortcomings of the last few years and in so doing, aims to identify the remaining gaps in the relevant legislation and government programs, as well as societal perceptions of the issue of IE. Based on primary sources in the form of semi-structured interviews and secondary sources, such as social science and other literature, this chapter also demonstrates the need for more work to be done to combat stigma as well as both prejudice and charitable attitudes marked by pity toward disabled people. The necessary steps here include abandoning the medical model and adopting a rights-based social model of disability in society, modifying domestic legal frameworks, and adopting an inclusive pedagogical approach (flexible curriculum, specially trained educators), as well as ensuring proper infrastructure and transportation systems for people with disabilities (PwD). The aim should be to make inclusive education and human rights education (HRE) a reality for children with disabilities (CwD) in Tajikistan. However, I will argue that not only do the government authorities lack political will but civil society, too, lacks active participation to enhance awareness, knowledge, and understanding about the (special) needs of people with disabilities. This study illustrates and provides an overview of the efforts that have been made by the government and civil society to implement enforcement mechanisms, looking at both flaws and attempts at progress.
Gender Equality and International Human Rights Law in Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Erisheva Aizhan 
Published: May 2023

AbstractGender inequality is one of the main socioeconomic and transformation issues for women in Central Asia due to the inherited patriarchal culture, the low prioritization of the problem at the country level, and the poor representation of women in decision-making processes. In the case of Kyrgyzstan, in the last couple of years, the news headlines have been filled with sad stories of women suffering from domestic and gender-based violence and discrimination. It appears that women’s rights and interests are not protected, monitored, or part of the state’s agenda. What is surprising, however, is that Kyrgyzstan was the pioneer in the region when it came to adopting laws that promote human rights. Kyrgyzstan ratified the following international human rights treaties to protect women’s rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1997, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1994, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 1997, the Forced Labour Convention and the Equal Remuneration Convention, both ratified in 1992, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention in 1999, the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and Employment Policy Convention, both ratified in 1992, and many other human rights treaties. In Kyrgyzstan, women are de facto not able to fully participate in the labor market, and do not have social protection or equal remuneration. In addition, they bear the burden of an unequal division of household chores, have limited access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and suffer from gender-based and domestic violence. The main factors contributing to this situation are inherited patriarchal culture and norms, the socioeconomic situation in the country, limited access to justice, legally undefined terms that have resulted in a discriminatory legal framework, and no government will make the laws and treaties enforceable.
The Role of Educational Interventions in Facing Social Media Threats: Overarching Principles of the COURAGE Project
Authors: Taibi Davide , Börsting Johanna , Hoppe Ulrich , Ognibene Dimitri , Hernández-Leo Davinia , Eimler Sabrina C. , Kruschwitz Udo 
Published: April 2023

AbstractSocial media are offering new opportunities for communication and interaction way beyond what was possible only a few years ago. However, social media are also virtual spaces where young people are exposed to a variety of threats. Digital addiction, discrimination, hate speech, misinformation, polarization as well as manipulative influences of algorithms, body stereotyping, and cyberbullying are examples of challenges that find fertile ground on social media. Educators and students are not adequately prepared to face these challenges. To this aim, the COURAGE project, presented in this paper, introduces new tools and learning methodologies that can be adopted within higher education learning paths to train educators to deal with social media threats. The overarching principles of the COURAGE project leverage the most recent advances in the fields of artificial intelligence and in the educational domain paired with social and media psychological insights to support the development of the COURAGE ecosystem. The results of the experiments currently implemented with teachers and students of secondary schools as well as the impact of the COURAGE project on societal changes and ethical questions are presented and discussed.
Quadriceps and hamstring anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction differ only marginally in function after the rehabilitation: a propensity score-matched case–control study
Authors: Niederer Daniel , Keller Matthias , Jakob Sarah , Petersen Wolf , Mengis Natalie , Vogt Lutz , Guenther Daniel , Brandl Georg , Drews Björn H. , Behringer Michael , Groneberg David A. , Stein Thomas 
Published: April 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To determine potential quadriceps versus hamstring tendon autograft differences in neuromuscular function and return to sport (RTS)-success in participants after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Methods
Case–control study on 25 participants operated on with an arthroscopically assisted, anatomic ipsilateral quadriceps femoris tendon graft and two control groups of 25 participants each, operated on with a semitendinosus tendon or semitendinosus-gracilis (hamstring) tendon graft ACL reconstruction. Participants of the two control groups were propensity score matched to the case group based on sex, age, Tegner activity scale and either the total volume of rehabilitation since reconstruction (n = 25) or the time since reconstruction (n = 25). At the end of the rehabilitation (averagely 8 months post-reconstruction), self-reported knee function (KOOS sum scores), fear of loading the reconstructed knee during a sporting activity (RSI-ACL questionnaire), and fear of movement (Tampa scale of kinesiophobia) were followed by hop and jump tests. Front hops for distance (jumping distance as the outcome) were followed by Drop jumps (normalised knee joint separation distance), and concluded by qualitative ratings of the Balanced front and side hops. Between-group comparisons were undertaken using 95% confidence intervals comparisons, effect sizes were calculated.

Results
The quadriceps case group (always compared with the rehabilitation-matched hamstring graft controls first and versus time-matched hamstring graft controls second) had non-significant and only marginal higher self-reported issues during sporting activities: Cohen’s d = 0.42, d = 0.44, lower confidence for RTS (d = − 0.30, d = − 0.16), and less kinesiophobia (d =  − 0.25, d = 0.32). Small and once more non-significant effect sizes point towards lower values in the quadriceps graft groups in the Front hop for distance limb symmetry values in comparison to the two hamstring control groups (d =  − 0.24, d = − 0.35). The normalised knee joint separation distance were non-significantly and small effect sized higher in the quadriceps than in the hamstring groups (d = 0.31, d = 0.28).

Conclusion
Only non-significant and marginal between-graft differences in the functional outcomes at the end of the rehabilitation occurred. The selection of either a hamstring or a quadriceps graft type cannot be recommended based on the results. The decision must be undertaken individually.

Level of evidence
III.
Brown and grey morphs differ in their nocturnality in the polymorphic scops owl (Otus scops)
Authors: Parejo Deseada , Rodríguez-Ruiz Juan , Cruz-Miralles Ángel , Avilés Jesús M. 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Detectability of morphs in different light environments is one of the mechanisms favoring the persistence of color polymorphism via disruptive selection. This mechanism predicts that different morphs should be more active and successful when light conditions make them more cryptic. In nocturnal birds, no study has analyzed yet whether morphs show a different degree of nocturnality, showing different circadian activity rhythms in relation to night and day light. We analyze activity patterns and hunting efficiency of color morphs in relation to day/night light in the nocturnal polymorphic scops owl (Otus scops). Forty-four percent of owl activity took place in the first hours after sunrise and before sunset. Also, we found that nocturnal activity decreased from grey to brown females and that grey males fed their chicks more than brown ones at night. Visual modeling revealed that grey individuals would be more conspicuous to their prey than brownish ones during the day. These findings suggest that part of the activity of nocturnal scops owls may occur during the day and that grey individuals would be better adapted to forage during night-light than brownish ones. However, brown morphs seemed not to be better adapted to forage at day, suggesting that other mechanisms than visual detection by predators or prey contribute to the persistence of color polymorphism in the species.

Significance statement
Circadian activity patterns can vary intraspecifically in response to changing environmental conditions. Color variants in polymorphic species could change their circadian activity rhythms differently in relation to diel luminal variation, switching from nocturnality to diurnality or vice versa, to achieve better background matching. We study for the first time whether different color variants of the nocturnal polymorphic scops owl (Otus scops) show different circadian activity rhythms with respect to night and day light conditions by relying on GPS-tracking data and nest video recordings. We also use perceptual visual modeling to study crypsis of morphs during the day. We found that nearly half of the activity of owls took place in the first hours after sunrise and before sunset. Also, we found that grey individuals would be better adapted to forage during night-light than more brownish ones probably due to their poor background matching during the day for the visual system of insects. These results support the idea that in scops owls, color morphs may show different degree of nocturnality to improve their crypsis.