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This paper reflects on the challenges and opportunities of academic freedom monitoring from an advocacy perspective. Based on the review of two existing academic freedom indexes and the author's experience building scientific freedom indicators, the paper discusses three challenges: conceptual, methodological, and political. The conceptual challenges are of four kinds: undertheorization, complexit
Computational models of peritoneal dialysis (PD) are increasingly useful for optimizing treatment in patients with kidney disease requiring dialysis (KDRD). However, although several mathematical models have been developed in the past few decades, a direct comparison of the models’ accuracy with respect to predicting in vivo data is needed to further create robust personalized models. Here, we use
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often face unique challenges in integrating advanced digital technologies due to limited resources and organizational constraints. While much attention has been given to large firms' adoption of big data analytics (BDA) and artificial intelligence (AI), less is known about how SMEs can leverage these tools effectively. This study addresses the research que
Motivated by the well established idea that collective wisdom is greater than that of an individual, we propose a novel learning dynamics as a sort of companion to the Abelson model of opinion dynamics. Agents are assumed to make independent guesses about the true state of the world after which they engage in opinion exchange leading to consensus. We investigate the problem of finding the optimal
Molecular oxygen activation at single transition metal atom sites is critical for catalysis but remains challenging to control. Here we investigate a manganese–cobalt bi-metallic coordination network on graphene, where Co(i) atoms are tetracoordinated by nitrogen. Combining density functional theory with in situ infrared-visible sum-frequency generation and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spe
In clinical trials, surrogate endpoints, that are more cost-effective, occur earlier, or are more frequently measured, are sometimes used to replace costly, late, or rare true endpoints. Regulatory authorities typically require thorough evaluation and validation to accept these surrogate endpoints as reliable substitutes. To this end, the meta-analytic framework is considered a very viable approac
The standard of proof at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a central, yet underexplored, aspect of its judicial decision-making. Although central in shaping both fact-establishment and judicial outcomes, the articulation and application of the standard of proof by the Court are marked by inconsistency and a lack of transparent justification. This inconsistency is often linked to an assumThe standard of proof at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a central, yet underexplored, aspect of its judicial decision-making. Although central in shaping both fact-establishment and judicial outcomes, the articulation and application of the standard of proof by the Court are marked by inconsistency and a lack of transparent justification. This inconsistency is often linked to an assum
Active learning is increasingly implemented in higher education, yet students' perspectives on this pedagogical approach remain diverse. This study explores geoscience students' views on active learning within a course at the University of Bergen (UiB) and in relation to their broader study program. Through longitudinal qualitative interviews with two student cohorts, we identified seven main cate
Background: Dietary management of phenylketonuria (PKU) focuses on restricting phenylalanine (Phe) intake. The European PKU guidelines and the PKU Dietary Handbook recommend a simplified PKU diet, allowing unrestricted consumption of many low-Phe foods, called free foods. While this approach may reduce the treatment burden for patients, its implementation varies. This study investigated practi
Perilipin 1 is a lipid droplet coating protein known to regulate lipid metabolism in adipocytes by serving as a physical barrier as well as a recruitment site for lipases to the lipid droplet. Phosphorylation of perilipin 1 by protein kinase A rapidly initiates lipolysis, but the detailed mechanism on how perilipin 1 controls lipolysis is unknown. Here, we identify specific lipid binding propertie
Ecological differences between the sexes are often interpreted as evidence of within-species ecological character displacement (ECD), a hypothesis with almost no direct tests. Here, we experimentally test two predictions that are direct corollaries of ECD between the sexes, in a salamander. First, we find support for the prediction that each sex has a growth rate advantage in the aquatic microhabi
The self-assembly of small colloidal clusters, so-called colloidal molecules, into crystalline materials has proven extremely challenging, the outcome often being glassy, amorphous states where positions and orientations are locked. In this paper, a new type of colloidal molecule is therefore prepared, assembled from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based microgels that due to their well docum
Serine deficiency disorders are caused by a defect in one of the three synthesising enzymes of the L-serine biosynthesis pathway. Serine deficiency disorders give rise to a neurological phenotype with psychomotor retardation, microcephaly and seizures in newborns and children or progressive polyneuropathy in adult patients. There are three defects that cause serine deficiency of which 3-phosphogly
Two young girls without a notable medical history except for asthma presented with an acute toxic encephalopathy with very low serine concentrations both in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) comparable to patients with 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (3-PGDH) deficiency. Clinical symptoms and enzyme measurement (in one patient) excluded 3-PGDH deficiency. Deficiencies in other serine biosynthe
White matter abnormalities are a feature of many inborn errors of metabolism and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain has become an important tool in the diagnostic workup of these disorders. Recently, patients were reported with a potentially treatable disorder of serine biosynthesis. They presented with congenital microcephaly, severe psychomotor retardation and intractable seizures. Lo
