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Broadband x-ray observations of the periodic optical source ZTF J185139.81+171430.3 and its identification as a massive intermediate polar
Get PDFA new era of bioclimatic extremes in the terrestrial Arctic
Get PDFThe Arctic climate is rapidly warming, but long-term changes in extreme weather events that cause major ecosystem disturbances are not well understood. Here, by using a state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalysis spanning the past seven decades, we show that, in many parts of the terrestrial Arctic, the frequency of extreme weather events has increased sharply. We found pronounced spatial variability in bioclimatic extremes during the past 30 years, including more droughts in the high-Arctic and greater area affected by winter-warming and rain-on-snow events, especially in the European Arctic region. Across one-third of the Arctic domain, such extreme events have only recently begun to occur. Thus, the Arctic is entering a novel era of bioclimatic extremes with likely severe consequences on cold ecosystems
The local/logarithmic correspondence and the degeneration formula for Quasimaps
Get PDFWe study the relationship between the enumerative geometry of rational curves in local geometries and various versions of maximal contact logarithmic curve counts. Our approach is via quasimap theory, and we show versions of the [vGGR19] local/logarithmic correspondence for quasimaps, and in particular for normal crossings settings, where the Gromov-Witten theoretic formulation of the correspondence fails. The results suggest a link between different formulations of relative Gromov-Witten theory for simple normal crossings divisors via the mirror map. The main results follow from a rank reduction strategy, together with a new degeneration formula for quasimaps
Exploring the affordances of generative AI in academic writing for students with disabilities: A bottom-up approach to inform GenAI policies
Get PDFThis study explores the use and attitudes towards generative AI (GenAI) tools among students with disabilities in higher education (HE), addressing a gap in existing research on accessibility and inclusivity challenges for marginalised groups. Informed by a prior study and affordance theory, we surveyed 124 students with various disabilities, mainly with neurodiversity, dyslexia and social/communication impairment, about their use of and attitudes toward GenAI tools during academic writing. We identified three key affordances provided by GenAI tools, including explainability, expressibility, and plannability, that positively affect students with disabilities’ learning, especially writing processes. However, our study also highlights significant areas where GenAI tools remains insufficient in addressing barriers faced by students with disabilities, such as low learning motivation and time management issues. Our findings offer practical implications for both educational practitioners, GenAI developers and policy makers. These include the need to design more inclusive GenAI tools and to promote AI literacy, along with providing policy guidance and training for both students and staff in HE institutions
Chronic kidney disease associated pruritus and healthcare resource utilization in European hemodialysis patients: results from an electronic patient-reported outcome survey
Get PDFBackground
Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is highly prevalent among hemodialysis (HD) patients, yet frequently underreported and underdiagnosed. While CKD-aP is associated with adverse patient-reported and clinical outcomes, the relationship between incident, persistent, and resolving CKD-aP rather than only severity and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) has not been well explored.
Methods
We analyzed 2,631 electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) surveys from 747 HD patients in six European countries participating in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) phase 7 (2021–2023). Patients completed surveys every three months for up to 18 months. Logistic regression estimated associations of pruritus severity and evolution with outcomes including self-reported pruritus treatment, non-nephrologist physician visits, and a composite of hospitalization and emergency room (ER) visit within three months.
Results
Within three months of pruritus assessment, patients moderately bothered by pruritus had ER visit, hospitalization, and skin infection rates of 4%, 12%, and 11%, respectively; those very much or extremely bothered had rates of 10%, 15%, and 6%, compared to 5%, 8%, and 4% in patients not at all bothered. Patients developing incident pruritus over three months were more likely to report a skin infection than those without pruritus (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.11, 4.90). Patients very much or extremely bothered were most likely to visit a dermatologist (13%), especially those persistently bothered three months later. Use of over-the-counter oral medications (e.g., antihistamines) was highest among patients very much or extremely bothered (21%) and those persistently bothered.
Conclusion
Despite high symptom burden, most patients with bothersome CKD-aP remained untreated. High prevalences of ER visits, hospitalization, and skin infection among patients bothered by itch in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses suggest identifying incident and persistent CKD-aP may be as important as quantifying severity, arguing for serial measurement and intervention at lower severity to prevent downstream HCRU
Design and development of optical modules for the BUTTON-30 detector
Get PDFBUTTON-30 is a neutrino detector demonstrator located in the STFC Boulby underground facility in the north-east of England. The main goal of the project is to deploy and test the performance of the gadolinium-loaded water-based liquid scintillator for neutrino detection in an underground environment. This will pave the way for a future large-volume neutrino observatory that can also perform remote monitoring of nuclear reactors for nonproliferation. This paper describes the design and construction of the watertight optical modules of the experiment
User acceptance of AI in transport: The case of SAE Level 3 Conditional Automated Driving
Get PDFThis study applies an extended version of one of the most popular technology acceptance models, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), to predict user acceptance of SAE Level 3 conditional automated driving among more than 9,000 car drivers from nine European and non-European countries. We extend the model by two factors, trust and teaming, that we consider pivotal for user acceptance of conditional automated driving. We also investigate the factors impacting the determinants of acceptance and use of conditional automated driving, addressing a well-known gap in research. In this study we find that 40% of respondents did not intend to buy, and 39% of respondents did not express an intention to use conditional automated driving when available. 71% of respondents indicated a preference to stay engaged in the driving task to respond to requests from the car to resume manual control. The structural equation modeling analysis revealed that performance expectancy is the strongest predictor of driver’s behavioral intentions to use conditional automated driving, followed by trust and social influence. Contrary to common beliefs positioning trust as one of the most influential drivers of user acceptance of AVs, the influence of trust on behavioral intention to use conditional automated driving is small. The availability of facilitating conditions supporting the use conditional automated driving (e.g., knowledge, getting help from friends, family, or car dealers) has a small influence on the acceptance of AVs. We also found significant effects of the factors impacting the determinants of acceptance and use. The effect of performance expectancy on hedonic motivation is positive, suggesting that the perceived usefulness positively enhances the perceived enjoyment. Similarily, the effect of social influence on performance expectancy and trust is positive, suggesting the social network of the individual plays an important role in promoting positive beliefs about the effectiveness of the technology and trust in the technology. Access to participation in the questionnaire was limited to respondents with access to internet, which is why future research should be performed with respondents without internet accessibility to examine differences in attitudes and conditional automated driving acceptance between these internet-affine and less internet-affine groups
When Reality Defies Prediction:Polymorphism, Twinning, and Accordion Crystals
Get PDFThe ability to understand crystallization and predict the resulting solid form of a system is not always easily achieved, but it is critical, particularly in the field of materials science. Intriguing (and previously unreported) crystallization behavior is observed with terephthalic dihydrazide (TeDi) as it rapidly forms two concomitant crystalline polymorphs upon cooling in solution. The crystal morphology of Form I (FI) has not been seen before in organic systems and involves impressive, accordion-like stacks, composed of numerous twin domains and remains stable in solution for years. Form II (FII) exists as large needles that disappear in solution after 20 h. All experimental methods employed reveal that FI is the most stable polymorph. Conversely, all computational methods utilized (conformational analyses, lattice energy calculations, and crystal structure prediction) suggest that FII is the most stable polymorph. Isolation of FII was achieved by the crystallization of TeDi powder with a supramolecular mimetic gelator, as the gel fibers act as a template for the preferential crystallization of FII, due to the comparable crystal packing of FII and the gelator. This work highlights the impact of crystallization behavior in a real laboratory and the defects, disorder, and twinning that lead to remarkable crystal morphologies that may not be accounted for with idealized calculations, and also explores approaches for controlling and directing crystallization outcomes
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