Precise Definition Research Articles

Improving Femoral Torsion Evaluation in Infants Through Analysis of Variability and Reliability in 2D and 3D Imaging Measurements of the Femoral Neck Axis

Abstract The femoral neck axis serves as a critical parameter in evaluating hip joint health, particularly in the pediatric population. Commonly used metrics for evaluating femoral torsion, such as the femoral neck-shaft and femoral anteversion angles, rely heavily on precise definitions of the position and orientation of the femoral neck axis. Current measurement methods employing radiographs and performing two-dimensional (2D) measurements on computed tomography (CT) scans are susceptible to errors due to their reliance on reader experience and the inherent limitations in 2D measurements. We hypothesized that utilizing volumetric data would mitigate these errors and enable more accurate and reproducible measurements of the femoral neck axis using the femoral anteversion and femoral neck-shaft angles. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed a historical collection of post-mortem infant femoral and pelvic bones (28 hips) aged 0 to 6.5 months, with an average estimated age of 4.68 months ± 1.80 months. Our findings revealed an average neck-shaft angle of 128.00 ± 4.92± and femoral anteversion angle of 35.56 ± 11.68± across all femurs, consistent with literature values. These measurements obtained from volumetric image data were found to be repeatable and reliable compared to conventional methods. Our study suggests that the proposed methodology offers a standardized approach for obtaining repeatable and reproducible measurements, thus potentially enhancing diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making in assessing hip developmental conditions in pediatric patients.

Technological Remedies for Social Problems: Defining and Demarcating Techno-Fixes and Techno-Solutionism

Can technology resolve social problems by reducing them to engineering challenges? In the 1960s, Alvin Weinberg answered yes, popularizing the term “techno-fix” in the process. The concept was immediately criticized and over time evolved into a disparaging term—a synonym for unrealistic technological proposals and their advocates. As the debate progressed, skepticism grew to include condemnation of a related term: “techno-solutionism.” Despite extensive criticism, both “techno-fix” and “techno-solutionism” remain ill-defined concepts. In this article, we provide more precise definitions and clearly distinguish between techno-fixes and techno-solutionism through conceptual engineering. By refining these concepts, we aim to advance the discussion and lay the groundwork for more productive analyses of the role of technology in solving social problems.

Association of Neurokinin-1 Receptor Signaling Pathways with Cancer.

Numerous biochemical reactions leading to altered cell proliferation cause tumorigenesis and cancer treatment resistance. The mechanisms implicated include genetic and epigenetic changes, modified intracellular signaling, and failure of control mechanisms caused by intrinsic and extrinsic factors alone or combined. No unique biochemical events are responsible; entangled molecular reactions conduct the resident cells in a tissue to display uncontrolled growth and abnormal migration. Copious experimental research supports the etiological responsibility of NK-1R (neurokinin-1 receptor) activation, alone or cooperating with other mechanisms, in cancer appearance in different tissues. Consequently, a profound study of this receptor system in the context of malignant processes is essential to design new treatments targeting NK-1R-deviated activity. This study reviews and discusses recent literature that analyzes the main signaling pathways influenced by the activation of neurokinin 1 full and truncated receptor variants. Also, the involvement of NK-1R in cancer development is discussed. NK-1R can signal through numerous pathways and cross-talk with other receptor systems. The participation of override or malfunctioning NK-1R in malignant processes needs a more precise definition in different types of cancers to apply satisfactory and effective treatments. A long way has already been traveled: the current disposal of selective and effective NK-1R antagonists and the capacity to develop new drugs with biased agonistic properties based on the receptor's structural states with functional significance opens immediate research action and clinical application.

Professor I.M. Ionenko’s Personality and Destiny in the Context of His Times [Review: Kabytov P.S., Fedorova N.A. Professor Ivan Mikhailovich Ionenko: His Personality and Times. 2nd ed., revis. and expanded. Kazan, Izd. Kazan. Univ., 2024. 224 p. (In Russian)

This article reviews the second (revised and expanded) edition of the book “Professor Ivan Mikhailovich Ionenko: His Personality and Times” by P.S. Kabytov and N.A. Fedorova, with a detailed analysis of its main sections, which trace I.M. Ionenko’s life path, pedagogical and scholarly experience, public work, personal life, and relationships with students. The relevance of the book is discussed in the context of current historiographical trends. The key strengths of the book are highlighted, including its credibility, quality and diversity of the source materials used, thorough reconstruction of the pivotal moments in the life of the researcher, and precise definition of the role his works played in the development of Russian historiography. Therefore, the book offers valuable insights into the life of Professor I.M. Ionenko of Kazan Federal University and is a meaningful contribution to preserving the corporate memory of historians over time.

Examining Consumer Attitudes and Values Toward Environmentally Friendly Products: The Significance of Environmental Awareness for Today’s Consumers

This paper examines the attitudes, opinions, and values that consumers hold regarding environmentally friendly products in the domestic market. Given the fact that consumers have been focused on sustainability and environmental consciousness more than ever, it is crucial to understand how these factors influence purchasing decisions. Special attention will be paid to the role of environmental awareness in shaping consumer attitudes and behaviors in the context of purchasing sustainable products. To collect quantitative data, a structured questionnaire will be used, while focus groups will be applied as a qualitative method to gain deeper insights into consumer attitudes and opinions. Additional data will be collected through observational studies in stores and online shopping. The research results will provide data for more precise definition of marketing strategies, adjustment of production processes to produce more environmentally friendly products, as well as for product development.

Sustainable Characteristics of Traditional Villages: A Systematic Literature Review Based on the Four-Pillar Theory of Sustainable Development

The definition of sustainable characteristics of traditional villages can assist in determining the direction of development and evaluating the development results. Nevertheless, a clearly defined concept of the sustainable performance of traditional villages is required. (1) This paper addresses the phenomenon of traditional villages and their decline due to urbanization, industrialization, and the movement of people from rural settlements. The development of traditional villages causes several concerns. This study aims to present a more precise definition of the sustainability of traditional villages. (2) the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Evaluation and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines conducted a systematic literature review. The data were searched using the Web of Science database, with consideration given to the values of relevance, authority, and impact. (3) The sustainability of traditional villages is explained based on the four-pillar theory of sustainable development, focusing on the economic, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions. (4) The findings provide a scientific framework for understanding the sustainability of traditional villages. These results will provide insights to the future preservation and development of traditional villages.

Deepening Psychedelic Integration: Exploring Complex Settings, Understanding User's Struggles, and Implementing Safe Interventions.

This chapter adopts a transdisciplinary approach to explore the concept of psychedelic integration, considering its various contexts ranging from clinical trials to Neo-shamanic, traditional, and recreational settings. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding and description of integration, distinguishing between the needs of maximising potential benefits and addressing adverse reactions. Psychedelic Integration is a widely used term that refers to a variety of practices commonly employed after psychedelic experiences to help ground the benefits or address the challenges that arise from them. Although the term is broadly accepted, it lacks a precise definition, and a wide range of practices and techniques, often quite different from one another, are included under this category. Drawing on the experiences at the ICEERS (International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Services) Integration and Support Service since 2012, the chapter highlights the practical aspects of clinical intervention.The chapter delves into the profiles of individuals seeking integration support, focusing on the primary challenges they encounter. These profiles include lack of preparation, unresolved experiences, difficulties with facilitators, traumatic psychedelic episodes, the exacerbation of pre-existing mental disorders, the emergence of previously unknown traumatic events, repeated psychedelic use without proper integration, and perceptions of being attacked or possessed by entities.Moreover, an overview of a method of clinical intervention that underscores the fundamental values inherent in psychedelic work is presented. This approach aims to integrate these values into the intervention process, employing a brief and focused methodology. By tailoring the intervention to the individual's specific needs, this method facilitates effective integration and support.

DCUFormer: Enhancing pavement crack segmentation in complex environments with dual-cross/upsampling attention

Efficient road inspection and maintenance are essential to extend pavement lifespan and enhance safety. However, automated crack detection remains challenging due to varied environmental conditions and differences in image collection equipment, making robust algorithm development a critical need. Vision Transformers, with their capacity to capture long-range dependencies, offer significant advantages for crack detection in complex scenarios by effectively extracting global features. Nevertheless, existing Transformer-based methods encounter difficulties in boundary delineation due to decoder design limitations, which lead to suboptimal fusion of low-level and high-level features. To address this issue, we propose a comprehensive approach that integrates semantic preservation, detail refinement, and detail delineation. These concepts are realized through our novel Dual-Cross Attention Module (DCA) and Upsampling Attention Module (UA). The DCA module progressively filters redundant details from low-level feature layers using high-level semantic information, while preserving boundary details to refine high-level feature boundaries. In addition, the UA module employs progressive local cross-attention in upsampling, facilitating more precise boundary definitions and surpassing conventional dynamic upsampling methods. Our approach, utilizing both lightweight (MiT-B0, LVT) and middle-weight (Swin-T) backbones, demonstrates state-of-the-art performance on three diverse datasets—Crack500, CrackSC, and UAV-Crack500—highlighting its robustness across varied conditions. This work contributes to advancing Transformer-based architectures for defect segmentation in complex engineering contexts, underscoring the critical role of improved feature fusion in crack detection. The code is available at: https://github.com/SHAN-JH/DCUFormer.

From “open ocean” to “exposed aquaculture”: why and how we are changing the standard terminology describing “offshore aquaculture”

The term “offshore” with regards to aquaculture has hitherto encompassed various perspectives, including technology, geographic location, legal jurisdiction, and more. To resolve the ambiguity in this term and understand its implications for current and future aquaculture development, “offshore” should be resolved into two separate metrics: distance from shore and energy exposure. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) distinguishes between internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the high seas, but currently has no precise definition for “offshore” in its provisions, and therefore no applicable laws pertaining to “offshore” aquaculture. Regulating a multi-technology aquaculture sector may require integrating new spatial concepts into the law rather than merely adapting and extending current regulatory designs to include new production concepts. The metrics of distance from shore and exposure are seen as a range rather than a specific threshold, allowing for a continuum. Distance from shore is readily quantified as a distance from a baseline. To rigorously quantify the exposure, the influence and interactions of oceanic parameters (water depth, water current, and wave height and period) we utilized to generate six indices. These oceanic parameters are seen as the main contributions which influence the physical and some biological parameters required for site, species, and technology selection. Four shellfish, three seaweed, and three finfish sites along with 20 potential aquaculture sites were examined using the indices in association with the energy index to determine tolerances of the structures and their ability to cultivate their relevant species. Two indices, Specific Exposure Energy (SEE) and Exposure Velocity (EV), were selected for utilization in the analysis of sites based on their ease of use and applicability. The interaction between the energy indices and various aspects of farm operations and performance were explored. The indices developed and used in the case studies presented have been shown to be useful tools in the general assessment of the energy that will influence the species and equipment selection at potential aquaculture sites. The indices do not provide a definitive answer as to the potential financial success of a site as this requires other inputs relating to infrastructure costs, annual production, distance from port, sales strategy, etc. However, the Specific Exposure Energy index creates a useful tool to describe site energy and be comprehensible to a wide range of stakeholders. We recommend the SEE index be adopted as the predominant tool to communicate the exposure level of aquaculture sites.

On the etymology of Tocharian A śemäl ‘domestic animal’

Abstract The Tocharian languages show an extensive array of animal names, some of which are still in want of an etymology or even a precise definition. In this paper, I undertake an in‑depth study of the Tocharian A (TA) noun śemäl, which has been translated as ‘goat’, ‘sheep’, or ‘small livestock’. First, I examine every instance of this lexeme within the Tocharian corpus to establish the precise meaning. This study confirms that śemäl refers to domestic animals regardless of their size, as well as animals used in sacrificial rituals. In the second part of the paper, I review previous etymological proposals, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses with respect to phonology, morphology, and semantics. I then propose my own account of the etymology of śemäl as an appurtenance derivative of an abstract derived from the well‑attested Proto‑Indo‑European item *ḱéi̯‑mo‑ ‘(at) home’, also reflected in Germanic (PGmc. *haimaz), Balto‑Slavic (reshaped as an ā‑stem in OCS sěmьja f. ‘family’), and, if the form to be reconstructed is actually *tḱéi̯‑mo‑, also in Indo‑Iranian (Skt. kṣema‑ m./n. ‘secure living’). TA śemäl, derived with the appurtenance suffix *‑lo‑ from an *-i-stem abstract, would have meant ‘belonging to the household’, hence the meaning ‘domestic (animal)’.

N6-methyladenosine regulators in hepatocellular carcinoma: investigating the precise definition and clinical applications of biomarkers

BackgroundAccurately identifying effective biomarkers and translating them into clinical practice have significant implications for improving clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, our objective is to explore appropriate methods to improve the accuracy of biomarker identification and investigate their clinical value.MethodsConcentrating on the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification regulators, we utilized dozens of multi-omics HCC datasets to analyze the expression patterns and genetic features of m6A regulators. Through the integration of big data analysis with function experiments, we have redefined the biological roles of m6A regulators in HCC. Based on the key regulators, we constructed m6A risk models and explored their clinical value in estimating prognosis and guiding personalized therapy for HCC.ResultsMost m6A regulators exhibit abnormal expression in HCC, and their expression is influenced by copy number variations (CNV) and DNA methylation. Large-scale data analysis has revealed the biological roles of many key m6A regulators, and these findings are well consistent with experimental results. The m6A risk models offer significant prognostic value. Moreover, they assist in reassessing the therapeutic potential of drugs such as sorafenib, gemcitabine, CTLA4 and PD1 blockers in HCC.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the mutual validation of big data analysis and functional experiments may facilitate the precise identification and definition of biomarkers, and our m6A risk models may have the potential to guide personalized chemotherapy, targeted treatment, and immunotherapy decisions in HCC.

Curating genomic disease-gene relationships with Gene2Phenotype (G2P)

Genetically determined disorders are highly heterogenous in clinical presentation and underlying molecular mechanism. The evidence underpinning these conditions in the peer-reviewed literature requires robust critical evaluation for diagnostic use. Here, we present a structured curation process for Gene2Phenotype (G2P). This draws on multiple lines of clinical, bioinformatic and functional evidence. The process utilises and extends existing terminologies, allows for precise definition of the molecular basis of disease, and confidence levels to be attributed to a given gene-disease assertion. In-depth disease curation using this process will prove useful in applications including in diagnostics, research and development of targeted therapeutics. G2P: www.ebi.ac.uk/gene2phenotype.

Comparative Analysis of Chatbots Using Large Language Models for Web Development Tasks

In this study, we compare the performance of five chatbots using large language models (LLMs) in handling web development tasks. Three human testers asked each chatbot nine predefined questions related to creating a simple website with a dynamic form and database integration. The questions covered tasks such as generating a web document structure, designing a layout, creating a form, and implementing database queries. The chatbots’ outputs were ranked based on accuracy, completeness, creativity, and security. The experiment reveals that conversational chatbots are adept at managing complex tasks, while programming assistants require more precisely formulated tasks or the ability to generate new responses to address irrelevant outputs. The findings suggest that conversational chatbots are more capable of handling a broader range of web development tasks with minimal supervision, whereas programming assistants need more precise task definitions to achieve comparable results. This study contributes to understanding the strengths and limitations of various LLM-based chatbots in practical coding scenarios, offering insights for their application in web development.

VarClaMM: A reference meta-model to understand DNA variant classification

Determining the significance of a DNA variant in patients’ health status – a complex process known as variant classification – is highly critical for precision medicine applications. However, there is still debate on how to combine and weigh diverse available evidence to achieve proper and consistent conclusions. Indeed, currently, there are more than 200 different variant classification guidelines available to the scientific community, aiming to establish a framework for standardizing the classification process. Yet, these guidelines are qualitative and vague by nature, hindering their practical application and potential automation. Consequently, more precise definitions are needed.In this work, we discuss our efforts to create VarClaMM, a UML meta-model that aims to provide a clear specification of the key concepts involved in variant classification, serving as a common framework for the process. Through this accurate characterization of the domain, we were able to find contradictions or inconsistencies that might have an effect on the classification results. VarClaMM’s conceptualization efforts will lay the ground for the operationalization of variant classification, enabling any potential automation to be based on precise definitions.

Malformations of Cortical Development: Updated Imaging Review.

Malformations of cortical development (MCD) are structural anomalies that disrupt the normal process of cortical development. Patients with these anomalies frequently present with seizures, developmental delay, neurologic deficits, and cognitive impairment, resulting in a wide spectrum of neurologic outcomes. The severity and type of malformation, in addition to the genetic pathways of brain development involved, contribute to the observed variability. While neuroimaging plays a central role in identifying congenital anomalies in vivo, the precise definition and classification of cortical developmental defects have undergone significant transformations in recent years due to advances in molecular and genetic knowledge. The authors provide a concise overview of embryologic brain development, recently standardized nomenclature, and the categorization system for abnormalities in cortical development, offering valuable insights into the interpretation of their neuroradiologic patterns. ©RSNA, 2024 Supplemental material is available for this article. The slide presentation from the RSNA Annual Meeting is available for this article.

A Stratification Approach Based on Salivary Gland Ultrasonography for Assessing Secretory Function in Sjögren's Disease.

Our aim was to develop an ultrasonographic scoring model for staging hypofunction of salivary gland (SG) in patients suffering from Sjögren's disease (SjD). The assessment of SG secretory hypofunction was conducted by measuring whole salivary flows. B-mode ultrasonography was performed bilaterally on the parotid and submandibular glands to evaluate the Gland score and OMERACT score quantitatively. The correlation between these scores and SG secretory function in SjD patients was analyzed, leading to the development of an ultrasonographic scoring model for staging SG hypofunction. A one-center derivation cohort comprising 164 SjD patients and a double-center validation cohort consisting of 107 SjD patients were included. Both ultrasonographic scores demonstrated excellent discriminatory ability between SjD patients with hypofunction and those with normal function (both AUC>0.8, p<0.001). A novel ultrasonographic scoring model revealed that low total OMERACT scores (<5) indicated initial-stage SG hypofunction, while high scores (>9) suggested end-stage hypofunction. Conversely, patients with moderate-level total OMERACT scores (5~9) require further stratification using total Gland scores. The incidence of SG hypofunction among all 271 SjD patients was found to be 18% in the initial stage, 58% in the progressive stage, and 100% in the end stage (p<0.001). Furthermore, the incidence of lacrimal gland involvement and hyperglobulinemia (IgG>16 IU/mL) was significantly lower in the initial-stage patients compared to those at other stages (all p<0.001). The novel ultrasonographic scoring model incorporates precise definitions for each stage, providing a robust and clinically significant approach to stratify salivary gland secretory hypofunction in SjD.

The Objectivity of Whitehead's Propositions: An Explication of the Truth-Relation

Abstract In this article, I argue, contrary to a noticeable trend in Whitehead scholarship, that in Whitehead's system propositions and their truth-values are objective in the sense that their own identities are independent of any particular subjects feeling or knowing them. This stance reinforces a core value of Whitehead's philosophy: his realism. As part of this argument, I examine Whitehead's analysis of an actual entity's determination and provide a more precise definition of what it means for a proposition to be true or false.

Functional and phylogenetic β diversities and their link with clustering/overdispersion and uniqueness/redundancy

AbstractIn recent decades, research on biodiversity in community ecology has been marked by the consideration of species' evolutionary histories and functional traits. Among the different spatial levels at which functional or phylogenetic (hereafter FP) diversity can be quantified, the definition of the general concept of between‐community (β) diversity has been given less attention than that of local, within‐community (α) and regional, merged‐community (γ) diversities. Here, we develop a new method for partitioning FP β diversity into elementary components to determine how and why FP β diversity differs from species β diversity, with the latter reflecting only differences in species' abundances between communities. As a reference example, we consider two distinct measures of FP β diversity: Rao's dissimilarity coefficient (Qβ), which expresses the average FP dissimilarity between communities, and its transformation (Eβ), which expresses the effective number of distinct communities. Through analytical partitioning and simulations, we show that Qβ and Eβ are connected differently to typical patterns of community structure. The search for the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive community assembly and the assessment of community resilience and stability have indeed revealed typical community structures: the local clustering of species with similar traits or shared evolutionary histories and the local (α) or regional (γ) presence of functionally or phylogenetically redundant versus unique species. We show that while Qβ and Eβ are both increasing functions of species β diversity and FP γ uniqueness, Qβ increases with FP clustering, while Eβ increases with FP α redundancy. We also show that the component of FP clustering included in Qβ partitioning formula allows the detection of an overall trend of overdispersion or clustering in a dataset without the need to use null models. To facilitate and secure the selection of an index of β diversity for a given study, we call, through our study, for the development of formal and precise definitions for FP β diversity in light of the concepts of clustering versus overdispersion and redundancy versus uniqueness. In particular, we call for further research on when and why FP β diversity should increase with FP clustering.

Current-Day and Future Dunkelflaute Risks for Belgium

Abstract Dunkelflautes, events of low renewable production and potentially high demand, are the most extreme examples of the susceptibility of a renewable energy system with respect to weather variability. Yet, these events currently lack a precise definition in the literature. Based on 41 years of weather data, we explore the resilience of the Belgian energy system with respect to the duration and extremeness of Dunkelflautes or energy drought. Although the hourly average load cannot be covered 89% of the time in our analysis, we find that Dunkelflaute occurrences are generally independent of the energy mix between photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind energy (WE) production (for fractions between 10% and 60% of PV). However, to cope with Dunkelflautes, a system with full PV or full WE provision is very ineffective. While the optimal mix is found to be independent of Dunkelflaute extremeness, it strongly depends on the Dunkelflaute duration: For subdaily or longer than two-daily events, a high WE fraction is optimal, while a high PV fraction is needed for durations of the order of days. More than 56% of Dunkelflautes over Belgium coincide with those in the surrounding countries. Finally, as opposed to weak changes in the climatological average, future climate projections reveal an increase in Dunkelflaute severity, mainly due to a reduction in WE production.

Evaluating High-Quality Development in the Construction Industry via the Matter–Element Extension Method: A Case Study of 11 Cities in Zhejiang, China

China’s construction industry is facing increasing pressure for transformation and upgrading, with high-quality development becoming an essential goal. However, the precise definition and evaluation criteria for high-quality development remain ambiguous. Against this backdrop, this study focuses on 11 cities in Zhejiang province to explore the connotations of high-quality development in the construction industry and establishes an evaluation index system for assessing it. This study employs the entropy weight method and matter–element extension method to evaluate the high-quality development levels of the construction industry across these cities. The empirical results reveal that the development of the construction industry in Zhejiang province is uneven across cities, with significant potential for overall improvement. This study validates the proposed index system and evaluation model while supplementing empirical evidence; it also enriches the literature and provides both theoretical and technical support for advancing the construction industry’s transition toward high-quality development.