bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Liquid metal droplets impacting superhydrophobic surface in a viscous (non-oxidizing) environment
Authors: Agarwal Rahul , Mohamad Abdulmajeed
Published: August 2024

The hypothesis of the present research is the existence of distinct spatial-temporal characteristics of non-oxidized liquid metal (LM) droplets impacting a solid surface. To provide a quantitative claim to this hypothesis, we created a test matrix based on the well-known impingement regime map bounded by two dimensionless quantities—Weber number (We) and Ohnesorge number (Oh). The range of these quantities is from 10−2 to 102 (We) and 10−3 to 101 (Oh), leading to Reynolds number (Re) (≡We1/2/Oh) to vary from 10−2 to 104. The class of LMs opted for are post-transition metals—eutectic gallium alloys—due to their several desired practical features, such as low melting point, non-toxicity, and low vapor pressure. The research is conducted using numerical experiments performed using C++ OpenFOAM libraries. To ensure the reliability of the code, we tested our work with numerous impingement behaviors of fluids available in the literature. A plethora of droplet behaviors are reported, such as deposition, rebound, bubble entrapment, and splash. Several features of droplet impingement were critically examined, such as temporal spreading factor, maximum spreading factor, and contact time of droplets on the surfaces. Moreover, the conventional scaling laws regarding the impingement behavior of droplets were tested, with new ones proposed where deemed necessary. Furthermore, a distinct route for the entrapment of droplet is observed, caused by the bulging of LM droplet during the recoiling stage. Emphasis is made to form delineations for these impingement characteristics using dimensionless groups (i.e., We, Oh, and Re).
Computational study of momentum interactions between fluid and a static particle under the impact of anisotropic Stefan flow
Authors: Qi Fenglei , Wang Shaolun , Xu Yuefeng , Diao Rui , Liu Xiaohao , Yan Hao , Ma Peiyong
Published: August 2024

The microscale gas–particle interaction is the determining process for the macroscopic flow behaviors of gas–particle systems. Anisotropic Stefan flow is often manifested at the surface of the biomass particle when thermally decomposed. However, the influence of the anisotropic Stefan flow on the gas–particle interactions is not well understood. To this end, particle-resolved direct numerical simulations were carried out in this research to explore the momentum interactions between the gas flow and a static particle emitting mass flux at its surface. A signed distance function based immersed boundary method is first extended to account for the Stefan flow at the gas–particle interface and successfully validated by comparing with literature results in the case of no Stefan flow or uniform Stefan flow. It is found that the presence of the outward uniform Stefan flow leads to an expanded wake formation and the intensity of the vortex (Re ≥ 40) is enhanced as result of the Stefan flow. Subject to the impact of anisotropic Stefan flow parallel to the main flow, the low-speed region in the front and rear of the particle is reduced when the Stefan flow goes inwards, resulting in the increase in the drag coefficient. As the Stefan flow is outward, the low-speed region in the front of the particle is pushed forward by the emitting gas and the velocity magnitude in the wake region is increased, which behaves like an enlargement of the gas cushion and leads to a significant reduction of the drag coefficient comparing with a uniform Stefan flow. In contrast, the impact of anisotropic Stefan flow with the direction perpendicular to the main flow on the fluid–particle drag interaction is less significant due to the fact that the flow structure in the front and rear regions is not significantly disturbed.
Stagnant rings and uniform film analysis of Phan-Thien Tanner fluid film flow on a vertically upward moving tube
Authors: Walait Ahsan , Ashraf Hameed , Chou Dean , Rehman Hamood Ur
Published: August 2024

Analyzing Phan-Thien Tanner fluid film behavior on a vertically upward moving tube can help predictive models in engineering, notably in coating and lubrication operations. This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the dynamics of stagnant rings and uniform Phan-Thien Tanner fluid film adhered to a vertically upward moving tube. Formulated ordinary differential equations are solved to get exact analytic expressions for velocity, flow rate, average velocity, shear stress components, and stagnant rings. Highly nonlinear algebraic equations are solved using Newton's method in MAPLE to find the linear and exponential Phan-Thien Tanner film thicknesses. The uniform film thickness widens with increasing constant tube velocity, while it decreases with increasing Deborah number, Stokes number, and elongation parameter. The analysis delineates that stagnant rings shrink around the tube as the Stokes number, Deborah number, and elongation parameter increase. The minimal Stokes condition for the existence of a realistic stagnant ring is also determined. It has been established that whenever the Stokes number is less than the minimal Stokes condition, stagnant rings do not form. A comparison between the exponential Phan-Thien Tanner, linear Phan-Thien Tanner, upper convected Maxwell, and Newtonian fluids is also provided for stagnant rings and fluid film thickness. Following the application of an efficient approximation on tube geometry, plate geometry is approximated, and the outcomes are consistent with existing literature. The results of this research are significant for a wide range of biofluid applications, including agrochemical uses, paint and surface coating flow behavior, thin films on the cornea and lungs, and chemical and nuclear reactor design.
Ignition process of the plasma scalpel in normal saline: Numerical simulation and comparison to experiment
Authors: Yuan Chengyu , Xing Duo , Chen Chao , Liu Weifeng , Zhang Tao , Yang Dong , Meng Xiangyu , Liu Dongping
Published: August 2024

In this paper, the ignition process of the plasma scalpel is characterized by means of numerical simulation, shadowgraphy, and voltage–current measurements. The ignition process involves two phases: the pre-breakdown phase and the breakdown phase. Our study shows that in the pre-breakdown phase, the vapor layer is first generated around the corners of the active electrode and then gradually extends to cover the entire active electrode. Once the active electrode is fully covered by the vapor layer, the electric field reaches a maximum of 7.3 × 106 V m−1, which can cause discharge in the vapor layer. At this moment, the thickness of the vapor layer is approximately 100 μm. In the breakdown phase, the maximum electron density reaches 1018–1019 m−3. The plasma dissipates about 60% of the total power which is up to 125 W, thus enabling efficient cutting. In addition, we simulate the discharge characteristics of cutting various biological tissues. The results show that under the same voltage level, the higher the conductivity of biological tissues, the greater the discharge current. The biological tissues act as ballast resistors in equivalent circuits.
Effect of synthetic jets actuator parameters on deep reinforcement learning-based flow control performance in a square cylinder
Authors: Jia Wang , Xu Hang
Published: August 2024

We conduct an active flow control study on the mass flow rate of synthetic jets on the upper and lower surfaces of a square cylinder using a deep reinforcement learning algorithm, with a focus on investigating the influence of the position and width of the synthetic jets on the flow control performance. At Reynolds numbers (Re) of 100 and 500, it is found that our proposed method significantly reduced the lift and drag coefficients of the square cylinder and completely suppressed vortex shedding in the wake. In particular, at Re = 100, placing the synthetic jets near the tail corner was beneficial for reducing drag, with a maximum drag reduction rate of 14.4%. When Re = 500, positioning the synthetic jets near the leading edge corner resulted in a maximum optimal drag reduction effect of 65.5%. This indicates that locating the synthetic jet at the main flow separation point can achieve optimal control. Furthermore, we notice that when the synthetic jets are positioned near the tail corner, vortex shedding can be completely suppressed. Additionally, a narrower width of the synthetic jets can enhance flow instability and increase the cost of flow control.
Identification of no-fly zones for delivery drone path planning in various urban wind environments
Authors: Jiang Shan , Wang Jinghan , Li Chao , Ou Jinping , Duan Penghao , Li Lishuai
Published: August 2024

A drone delivery system, characterized by its low energy consumption, high efficiency, and extensive coverage capability, has been adopted as an effective solution to overcome the limitations of traditional ground transportation. However, due to strong interactions between urban structures and wind, the wind environment in the low-altitude airspace of urban areas poses significant safety risks for drone operations, a challenge that remains unresolved. To mitigate these risks, this study presents a methodology for precisely defining the no-fly zones (NFZs) for drone operations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Three hazardous indices—safe, deviation, and unsafe—are proposed to indicate the drone operation status. High-resolution CFD models of urban wind environments in a real city area are coupled with meteorological wind data to provide statistical results for the three indices. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence model is employed to simulate two wind environments, standard wind and strong wind, under 36 incoming flow directions. Considering eight flight orientations of drone operating in horizontal planes at various heights, a set of maps for the occurrence probability of the three hazardous indices is provided. These maps can be utilized to determine safe areas, identify no-fly zones corresponding to high occurrence probabilities of deviation and unsafe indices, and establish efficient flight paths for drone operations.
Effects of cavitation and erosion on submersible drainage pumps: A numerical study
Authors: Rakibuzzaman Md , Kim Hyoung-Ho , Suh Sang-Ho , Islam Md Didarul , Zhou Ling
Published: August 2024

Submersible drainage pumps are used around the world both residentially and industrially for draining water and sewage. However, these pumps are prone to wear and clogging when the flows inward contain particles and air bubbles, and the combined effects of cavitation and erosion directly affect the performance of such pumps and degrade their efficiency. Therefore, it is essential to design a submersible pump that mitigates the adverse effects of cavitation and erosion. Reported here is an energy-efficient submersible drainage pump for use in emergency response. The combined cavitation–erosion effects are established in order to reduce their adverse impact on the pump, and how erosion wear affects the cavitation characteristics of the water in the pump is investigated. An experiment was conducted to verify the numerical results pump, and then, the influences of particle concentration and size on two-stage existing and altered model submersible pumps were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics. The results show that the performance of the altered model pump increased by 4.34%, with the cavitation–erosion effects reduced significantly. In addition, higher particle concentration induced higher erosion rates at both the leading and trailing edges of the impeller blades. Furthermore, the altered model significantly reduced the cavitation–erosion impact on the pump impeller blades compared to the existing model.
Determination of the ground-state hyperfine splitting of trapped 171Yb+ ions
Authors: Han J. Z. , Xin N. C. , Zhang J. W. , Yu Y. M. , Li J. G. , Qian L. , Wang L. J.
Published: August 2024

We present the determination of the ground-state hyperfine splitting (νHFS) in laser-cooled 171Yb+ ions using our microwave quantum frequency standard (QFS). Employing Ramsey spectroscopy in a closed-loop measurement configuration, we have achieved a νHFS value of 12 642 812 118 469.0(8) mHz with a fractional uncertainty of 6.6×10−14. This result aligns with previously reported values and represents the highest accuracy reported to date for such measurements conducted in a single-shot closed-loop configuration, without averaging over multiple dates. The development of this accurate 171Yb+ microwave QFS holds promise as a transportable time-frequency reference for satellite navigation systems.
ChatGPT as Research Scientist: Probing GPT’s capabilities as a Research Librarian, Research Ethicist, Data Generator, and Data Predictor
Authors: Lehr Steven A. , Caliskan Aylin , Liyanage Suneragiri , Banaji Mahzarin R.
Published: August 2024

How good a research scientist is ChatGPT? We systematically probed the capabilities of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 across four central components of the scientific process: as a Research Librarian, Research Ethicist, Data Generator, and Novel Data Predictor, using psychological science as a testing field. In Study 1 (Research Librarian), unlike human researchers, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 hallucinated, authoritatively generating fictional references 36.0% and 5.4% of the time, respectively, although GPT-4 exhibited an evolving capacity to acknowledge its fictions. In Study 2 (Research Ethicist), GPT-4 (though not GPT-3.5) proved capable of detecting violations like p-hacking in fictional research protocols, correcting 88.6% of blatantly presented issues, and 72.6% of subtly presented issues. In Study 3 (Data Generator), both models consistently replicated patterns of cultural bias previously discovered in large language corpora, indicating that ChatGPT can simulate known results, an antecedent to usefulness for both data generation and skills like hypothesis generation. Contrastingly, in Study 4 (Novel Data Predictor), neither model was successful at predicting new results absent in their training data, and neither appeared to leverage substantially new information when predicting more vs. less novel outcomes. Together, these results suggest that GPT is a flawed but rapidly improving librarian, a decent research ethicist already, capable of data generation in simple domains with known characteristics but poor at predicting novel patterns of empirical data to aid future experimentation.
A circadian clock output functions independently of phyB to sustain daytime PIF3 degradation
Authors: Liu Wei , Lowrey Harper , Xu Anxu , Leung Chun Chung , Adamchek Christopher , He Jiangman , Du Juan , Chen Meng , Gendron Joshua M.
Published: August 2024

The circadian clock is an endogenous oscillator, and its importance lies in its ability to impart rhythmicity on downstream biological processes, or outputs. Our knowledge of output regulation, however, is often limited to an understanding of transcriptional connections between the clock and outputs. For instance, the clock is linked to plant growth through the gating of photoreceptors via rhythmic transcription of the nodal growth regulators, PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs), but the clock’s role in PIF protein stability is less clear. Here, we identified a clock-regulated, F-box type E3 ubiquitin ligase, CLOCK-REGULATED F-BOX WITH A LONG HYPOCOTYL 1 (CFH1), that specifically interacts with and degrades PIF3 during the daytime. Additionally, genetic evidence indicates that CFH1 functions primarily in monochromatic red light, yet CFH1 confers PIF3 degradation independent of the prominent red-light photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB). This work reveals a clock-mediated growth regulation mechanism in which circadian expression of CFH1 promotes sustained, daytime PIF3 degradation in parallel with phyB signaling.
Constructing resistance in the quest for social justice
Authors: Wijeyewardene Ingrid
Published: August 2024

This study adopts the concept of “positive peace” and draws on critical discourse studies to investigate the texts
of two Thai activists responding to the 2006 coup d’état and subsequent events in Thailand. The study analyses
the texts from a systemic functional linguistic (SFL) perspective to show how the first text challenges the legitimacy of the
coup, and how the second text reflects a widening of the cracks then appearing in Thai royalist hegemony. In particular, the study
compares the construal of one social actor in the first text published in 2007 with that in the speech of the second activist
three years later, highlighting how the meaning of a key word evolved from one of oppression to one of pride.
Quantum correlation swapping between Bell-diagonal states
Authors: Xie Chuanmei , Tian Senbo , Xie Zekai , Yu Jinhua , Zhang Zhanjun
Published: August 2024

Quantum correlation (QC) swapping is a generalization of quantum entanglement swapping, in which the concerned QCs can be quantum entanglement, QC beyond quantum entanglement, or both of them. In general, QC swapping is different from quantum entanglement swapping. Obviously, the study range of the former is beyond than the latter, and the former can give more interesting and significant applications in quantum information processings. So far, QC swapping has been studied explicitly only for a rather limited set of two-qubit quantum states as the initial states and cases for more general QC swapping with multi-parameter initial states are not known. In this article, we explore the QC swapping case with three-parameter Bell-diagonal (BD) states as the initial states. The familiar QC measure, quantum discord (Ollivier and Zurek 2001 Phys. Rev. Lett.
88 017901), is utilized to quantify all the QCs in the concerned states. It is found that a long-distance shared QC can be acquired through the BD-initial states case of QC swapping. Moreover, some distinct features and characteristics can be exposed.
Restoration of entanglement transfer by environment-assisted measurement and quantum measurement reversal in two parallel Heisenberg spin chains
Authors: Leng Yang
Published: August 2024

The effect of environment-assisted measurement and quantum measurement reversal on the entanglement transfer in two parallel Heisenberg spin chains is investigated. We derive the exact analytical expression of the optimal final restoration, show that the distribution entanglement could be restored to the initial value, which is independent of the size of the spin chain. Comparing with the results obtained by the method of weak measurement, our results show notable superiorities on restoration scope and success probability.
Comparative study of boron and neon injections on divertor heat fluxes using SOLPS-ITER simulations
Authors: Peng 彭 Lei 磊 , Sun 孙 Zhen 震 , Sun 孙 Ji-Zhong 继忠 , Maingi Rajesh , Gao 高 Fang 放 , Bonnin Xavier , Chang 常 Hua-Yi 华溢 , Wang 汪 Wei-Kang 炜康 , Liu 刘 Jin-Yuan 金远
Published: August 2024

Based on the EAST equilibrium, the effects of boron (B) and neon (Ne) injected at different locations on the target heat load, and the distributions of B and Ne particles were investigated by transport code SOLPS-ITER. It was found that the B injection was more sensitive to the injection location for heat flux control than impurity Ne. The high electron and ion densities near the inner target in the discharge with impurity B injected from over X-point (R
1) led to plasma detachment only at the inner target, and the localized B ions in the cases with injection from outer target location (R
2) and upstream location (R
3) led to far-SOL detachment at the outer target, but not at the inner target. In contrast, for Ne, the spatial distributions of Ne ions and electrons were found to be similar in all the cases at the three injection locations, and the detached plasma was achieved at the inner target and the electron temperature was reduced at the outer target. For locations R
2 and R
3, impurity B showed a more pronounced effect on the heat flux at the far-SOL of the outer target. Further analysis indicated that Ne atoms came mainly from the recycling sources, whereas B atoms came mainly from injection, and that their distinct atomic distributions resulted from the difference in the ionization threshold and ionization mean free path. In addition, the radiation proportion of B in the divertor region was larger than that of Ne when the total radiation power was similar, which suggests that B has less influence on the core region.
Unveiling hidden connections in omics data via pyPARAGON: an integrative hybrid approach for disease network construction
Authors: Arici Muslum Kaan , Tuncbag Nurcan
Published: August 2024

Network inference or reconstruction algorithms play an integral role in successfully analyzing and identifying causal relationships between omics hits for detecting dysregulated and altered signaling components in various contexts, encompassing disease states and drug perturbations. However, accurate representation of signaling networks and identification of context-specific interactions within sparse omics datasets in complex interactomes pose significant challenges in integrative approaches. To address these challenges, we present pyPARAGON (PAgeRAnk-flux on Graphlet-guided network for multi-Omic data integratioN), a novel tool that combines network propagation with graphlets. pyPARAGON enhances accuracy and minimizes the inclusion of nonspecific interactions in signaling networks by utilizing network rather than relying on pairwise connections among proteins. Through comprehensive evaluations on benchmark signaling pathways, we demonstrate that pyPARAGON outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in node propagation and edge inference. Furthermore, pyPARAGON exhibits promising performance in discovering cancer driver networks. Notably, we demonstrate its utility in network-based stratification of patient tumors by integrating phosphoproteomic data from 105 breast cancer tumors with the interactome and demonstrating tumor-specific signaling pathways. Overall, pyPARAGON is a novel tool for analyzing and integrating multi-omic data in the context of signaling networks. pyPARAGON is available at https://github.com/netlab-ku/pyPARAGON.
DeepEnzyme: a robust deep learning model for improved enzyme turnover number prediction by utilizing features of protein 3D-structures
Authors: Wang Tong , Xiang Guangming , He Siwei , Su Liyun , Wang Yuguang , Yan Xuefeng , Lu Hongzhong
Published: August 2024

Turnover numbers (kcat), which indicate an enzyme's catalytic efficiency, have a wide range of applications in fields including protein engineering and synthetic biology. Experimentally measuring the enzymes' kcat is always time-consuming. Recently, the prediction of kcat using deep learning models has mitigated this problem. However, the accuracy and robustness in kcat prediction still needs to be improved significantly, particularly when dealing with enzymes with low sequence similarity compared to those within the training dataset. Herein, we present DeepEnzyme, a cutting-edge deep learning model that combines the most recent Transformer and Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) to capture the information of both the sequence and 3D-structure of a protein. To improve the prediction accuracy, DeepEnzyme was trained by leveraging the integrated features from both sequences and 3D-structures. Consequently, DeepEnzyme exhibits remarkable robustness when processing enzymes with low sequence similarity compared to those in the training dataset by utilizing additional features from high-quality protein 3D-structures. DeepEnzyme also makes it possible to evaluate how point mutations affect the catalytic activity of the enzyme, which helps identify residue sites that are crucial for the catalytic function. In summary, DeepEnzyme represents a pioneering effort in predicting enzymes' kcat values with improved accuracy and robustness compared to previous algorithms. This advancement will significantly contribute to our comprehension of enzyme function and its evolutionary patterns across species.
CatReNet: interactive analysis of (auto-) catalytic reaction networks
Authors: Huson Daniel H , Xavier Joana C , Steel Mike A
Published: August 2024

Catalytic reaction networks serve as fundamental models for understanding biochemical systems. CatReNet is a novel software designed to facilitate interactive analysis of such networks. It offers fast and exact algorithms for computing various types of self-sustaining autocatalytic subnetworks, including so-called CAFs (constructively autocatalytic food-generated networks), RAFs (reflexively autocatalytic food-generated networks), and pseudo-RAFs. It provides dynamic visualizations to aid exploration and understanding.

Availability and implementation

This open-source Java application runs on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. It is available at https://github.com/husonlab/catrenet under a GPL3 license.
Ten-year outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of endothermal ablation versus conventional surgery for great saphenous varicose veins
Authors: Mohamed Abduraheem H , Howitt Annabel , Rae Shivani , Cai Paris L , Hitchman Louise , Wallace Tom , Nandhra Sandip , Pymer Sean , Knighton Alexander , Smith George , Chetter Ian C , Carradice Daniel
Published: August 2024

Background

Surgical ligation and stripping (surgery) and endothermal ablation are both effective treatments for varicose veins, improving quality of life (QoL) up to 5 years. Few data are available on long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes 10 years after interventions in an RCT. Previously this RCT demonstrated that endothermal ablation is associated with superior postprocedural QoL, more rapid recovery, and lower rates of early clinical recurrence. This analysis reports outcomes at 10 years.

Methods

Patients with symptomatic varicose veins owing to unilateral great saphenous vein reflux were randomized to either surgery or endovenous laser ablation (EVLA). Outcomes at 10 years included clinical recurrence and QoL.

Results

Data were obtained for 206 of 280 patients (73.6%) at 10 years. Both groups retained significant QoL improvement compared with pretreatment levels (Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire (AVVQ), Short Form 36 (SF-36®), and EQ-5D™; P < 0.001). Clinical disease progression from baseline was observed in only 10.7% of patients. The clinical recurrence rate was lower in the EVLA group (37 versus 59%; P = 0.005). The number needed to treat with EVLA to avoid one clinical recurrence within 10 years was five. This was associated with significantly higher (better) generic QoL scores with EVLA in several SF-36® domains, including bodily pain (median 84 (i.q.r. 51–100) versus 62 (41–84); P = 0.009) and general health (77 (62–87) versus 67 (52–82); P = 0.017). AVVQ scores in the EVLA group were also lower (better) (3.1 (0–7.7) versus 6.3 (0.7–13.3); P = 0.029).

Conclusion

Both surgery and endothermal ablation are effective treatments for varicose veins at 10 years, with durable improvement in QoL and a very low rate of disease progression. However, endothermal ablation was associated with superior clinical and QoL outcomes. Registration number: NCT00759434 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).
Cholesterol-end-modified–PEG vesicle: DDS carrier with long-term stability to encapsulate a drug model by facile preparation
Authors: Watanabe Shota , Asayama Shoichiro
Published: August 2024

Vesicles such as liposomes are widely used as drug delivery system (DDS) carriers. On the other hand, they are complicated to prepare and have stability issues. In this study, we synthesized an amphiphile, Chol-U-Et-mPEG500, containing cholesterol and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a hydrophobic and hydrophilic block, respectively. Chol-U-Et-mPEG500 spontaneously formed a vesicle with a uniform particle size of about 90 nm just by dissolving its compound in water. The vesicle encapsulated sulforhodamine B as a drug model only by mixing with its solution.
Tracing Homopolymers in Oikopleura dioica's Mitogenome
Authors: Dierckxsens Nicolas , Watanabe Kosei , Tan Yongkai , Masunaga Aki , Mansfield Michael J , Miao Jiashun , Luscombe Nicholas M , Plessy Charles
Published: August 2024

Oikopleura dioica is a planktonic tunicate (Appendicularia class) found extensively across the marine waters of the globe. The genome of a single male individual collected from Okinawa, Japan was sequenced using the single-molecule PacBio Hi-Fi method and assembled with NOVOLoci. The mitogenome is 39,268 bp long, featuring a large control region of around 22,000 bp. We annotated the proteins atp6, cob, cox1, cox2, cox3, nad1, nad4, and nad5, and found one more open reading frame that did not match any known gene. This study marks the first complete mitogenome assembly for an appendicularian, and reveals that A and T homopolymers cumulatively account for nearly half of its length. This reference sequence will be an asset for environmental DNA and phylogenetic studies.
Coming back for more: individual participation patterns in the physical activity initiative parkrun in Australia
Authors: Grunseit Anne C , Huang Bo-Huei , Merom Dafna , Cranney Leonie , Bauman Adrian , Rogers Kris
Published: August 2024

Most physical activity (PA) maintenance research has concerned adherence to small-scale interventions or infrequent observation in cohort studies. We analysed individual attendance trajectories and their drivers in a large-scale ‘real-world’ community-based weekly PA event (parkrun) cohort in Australia. Data were weekly attendance (walking/running) of 223 224 unique parkrun participants over their first 3 years of participation. An unweighted moving average of participation in the preceding 12 weeks from the 12th week since the first participation to the 156th week was calculated and submitted to a cluster analysis of attendance patterns. Association of individual- (demographic, personal parkrun performance) and site-level (aggregated site-level participant characteristics and area-level measures) covariates with cluster membership was estimated with multinomial logistic regression models. We identified four groups: Few-Timers (76.4%), Decliners (12.4%), Low Maintainers (6.9%) and High Maintainers (4.3%). In the first 12 weeks, attendances averaged 2, 6, 5 and 7.5 times for each cluster, respectively, and by 52 weeks, they were 0.17, 1.9, 3.4 and 7.6 times, respectively. Continuing participation (vs Few-Timers) was strongly associated with faster personal finish times, but slower performance at the site level. Higher running club/group membership at a participant’s parkrun predicted higher odds of being a High Maintainer. Our identification of a Low Maintainer group shows a community-based initiative may sustain interest, despite not requiring continuous or near-continuous attendance. Where someone is placed ‘in the pack’ locally and degree of identification with others in the group may be bidirectionally associated with attendance, underscoring the importance of considering social environment of PA maintenance.
An improved block-level approach for tunnel lining crack detection
Authors: Liu Jian , Niu Pei , Kou Lei , Chang Honglei , Guo Feng
Published: August 2024

Tunnel lining cracks pose a great safety risk to safe operation. Due to severe illumination conditions and lining cracks, which are usually thinner with varied shapes compared to cracks generated in pavement, bridge, and other transportation infrastructure, the lining crack inspection at the block level is a challenging task. In this study, to address this issue, we propose a novel Swin Transformer-based network including Shape-IoU method to enhance the perception of the tunnel lining crack and the refinement of the crack. To validate the superiority and robustness of the proposed model, a total of six classic object detection models (i.e. Cascade Mask R-CNN, Cascade R-CNN, Faster R-CNN, feature selective anchor-free module, fully convolutional one-stage object detection, neural architecture search—fully convolutional one-stage object detection) are adopted for model training, validation, and testing with the customized inspection dataset, which includes 1,200 high resolution tunnel lining inspection images. With the training results and the visualization results, our proposed model has shown excellent performance across multiple metrics. Specifically, the enhanced Swin Transformer model achieves a remarkable 96.10 per cent on the mAP50 metric, surpassing the original model by 0.80 per cent. Moreover, it exhibits an accelerated detection speed of 2.4 tasks/s compared to the previous rate of 1.43 tasks/s. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology in this paper significantly enhances both detection accuracy and speed of the model, paving the way for field application in the near future.
Knowledge Graph-Based Integration of Conversational Advisors and Faceted Filtering
Authors: Kleemann Timm , Loepp Benedikt , Ziegler Jürgen
Published: August 2024

Modern e-commerce websites often provide users with a variety of components, such as faceted filters and conversational recommender systems, that act as product advisors to help them find relevant products. However, these components are often treated separately and presented as independent components, leading to increased cognitive load and disruption in the search process. Also, the reasoning behind the resulting product recommendations is often not transparent. To address these limitations, we propose a novel approach that relies on a knowledge graph structure to seamlessly integrate faceted filtering and conversational advisors based on graphical user interfaces (GUI). Concretely, the knowledge graph is used to suggest filter values and products based on the user’s answers in the advisor, and, conversely, to determine follow-up questions based on the user’s selected filter values. The user interface also visualizes and explains the underlying relationships between answers given to the advisor and relevant product features in the filter component in order to increase the transparency of the search process. We conducted two user studies with a total of 448 participants to compare a system that integrates the different components according to our approach with a baseline system in which the mechanisms operate separately. Sequence analysis of the logged interaction data provided insights into participants’ behavior as they interacted with both systems. The results indicate that displaying recommended products and related explanations directly in the filter component increases acceptance and trust in the system. Also, the combination of a conversational advisor with values displayed in a filter interface, along with explanations of the underlying relationships, significantly contributes to the knowledge and understanding of those product features that are important in terms of the current search goal.
Home market effects and increasing returns with non-constant marginal costs
Authors: Bak Nahyeon , Kim Daisoon , Mehra Mishita
Published: August 2024

We reexamine the role of increasing returns in production, central to trade and economic geography theories, focusing on the home market effect. We extend the conventional multi-industry new trade model to introduce (1) nonconstant marginal costs and (2) nonhomothetic production in factors. If factors that are more (less) intensively used in fixed costs than variable costs also have higher relative prices in large countries compared to small countries, then large countries exhibit larger (smaller) firm sizes and specialize in industries with decreasing (increasing) marginal costs. Notably, different levels of fixed costs have a limited impact on these patterns.
Ground-dwelling invertebrates from an Urban park in the Brazilian Amazon, with particular reference to Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae)
Authors: Sánchez Uzcátegui Yetsenia del Valle , Pacheco Colmenares Rafael Antonio , Neves Danielly Mota , Silveira Fernando Tobias , Vasconcelos dos Santos Thiago , Póvoa Marinete Marins
Published: August 2024

The ground-dwelling invertebrate fauna from an urban park in Belém, Amazonian Brazil, with particular reference to the subfamily Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae), were characterized. Sampling was performed from March 2022 to May 2023, with 10 emergence traps installed in 2 microhabitats, 5 in each 1: “M1,” which included surrounding (up to 1.5 m) trees with tabular roots, and “M2,” which included no trees with tabular roots. Invertebrates trapped in adhesive papers were assessed on 2 occasions/cycles (D21/D42). During 10 sampling cycles (10 traps/cycle = 100 samples), 6,490 invertebrates were captured (M1, n = 4,203; M2, n = 2,287) and classified into 5 classes and 21 orders, with Diptera (n = 2,309; 35.6%) being the most abundant. Twenty-nine specimens of the following phlebotomine species were captured: Nyssomyia antunesi (M1, n = 10; M2, n = 3), Trichophoromyia ubiquitalis (M1, n = 6; M2, n = 1), Th. brachipyga (M1, n = 0; M2, n = 2), Bichromomyia flaviscutellata (M1, n = 2; M2, n = 1) and 4 unidentified specimens (M1, n = 2; M2, n = 2). The male/female ratio was 1.08. Fractional vegetation cover was compared, and the physiochemical characteristics of the soil were compared between the microhabitats. Only temperature showed significant differences. A weak positive correlation was found between phlebotomines and other dipterans and between temperature and the amount of organic matter in the soil. Both sampled microhabitats were shown to be suitable for the development and maintenance of different invertebrates, mainly dipterans. The composition of ground-emerging phlebotomine species was similar to that previously surveyed with light traps, including species associated with the transmission of Leishmania spp.
Preliminary Matters
Authors: Petsche Markus
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines several general matters that are vital for a better understanding of the issues discussed in this book, providing useful background information, and illuminating the legal—and to some extent, economic—context in which those issues arise. These preliminary matters include (1) the practical relevance of the concept of investment, (2) the procedural settings in which the question of the existence of an investment arises, (3) the law or laws governing this question, (4) its interpretive nature, (5) the ordinary meaning of the term ‘investment’, (6) the meaning of ‘investment’ in the field of economics, (7) the question of the nature of investment, and (8) the interests involved in the definition of the concept of ‘investment’.Please suggest 5—10 keywords that can be used for describing the content of the chapter.
Introduction
Authors: Tobin John
Published: August 2024

This section provides an introduction to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Definition of a Child
Authors: Archard David , Tobin John
Published: August 2024

This section is about Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dealing with The Definition of a Child.
The Best Interests of the Child
Authors: Eekelaar John , Tobin John
Published: August 2024

This section is about Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dealing with The Best Interests of the Child.
A State’s General Obligation of Implementation
Authors: Tobin John
Published: August 2024

This section is about Article 4 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dealing with A State’s General Obligation of Implementation.
The Right to Respect for the Views of the Child
Authors: Lundy Laura , Tobin John , Parkes Aisling
Published: August 2024

This section is about Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dealing with The Right to Respect for the Views of the Child.
The Rights of the Child in the Juvenile Justice System
Authors: Tobin John , Read Cate
Published: August 2024

This section is about Article 40 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dealing with The Rights of the Child in the Juvenile Justice System.
The Optional Protocol on Children and Armed Conflict
Authors: Drumbl Mark , Tobin John
Published: August 2024

This section is about the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on Children and Armed Conflict.
Introduction
Authors: Gibson Klopschinski
Published: August 2024

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the protection of intellectual property (IP) under international investment law. In today's globally connected world, international investment law and IP rights are two vitally important legal fields that touch on a vast range of policy issues and public as well as private interests well beyond their core scope of application. Since their respective inception, the two fields have both been developing rapidly and mainly without significant interplay side by side, thus far with limited ‘interdisciplinary’ study and practical experience developed between them. Despite the growing importance of both IP and international investment law, the protection of IP rights has not played a prominent role in investment disputes until the turn of the last decade (i.e. in 2010), even though IP rights have been mentioned in international investment agreements (IIAs) from the very beginning. Thus, this book aims to explain the relevance of international investment law and IIAs for the protection and enforcement of IP rights. It analyses the underlying core of the IP–investment interface, namely various ways of including IP rights as a form of protected investment in an IIA.
The Application and Termination of Neutrality
Authors: Upcher James
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines the thresholds for the application and termination of neutrality. After a consideration of legal doctrine and practice, it has been suggested that the most coherent approach to adopt, and one that is most practical for the conduct of military operations, is that the status of neutrality becomes applicable in an international armed conflict. While States may in many cases of hostilities not be required to indicate their attitude towards the hostilities and will therefore find themselves released from scrutiny with regard to compliance, the status of neutrality will nevertheless be applicable. As an armed conflict escalates in tempo and scale, the role of non-participants in containing hostilities will increase and the duties of neutrality will, in reality, become more onerous, especially if the belligerents are able to insist on compliance. The chapter then considers the frequently overlooked question of when the status of neutrality ceases from three separate angles: first, when a neutral departs from neutral duties in such a way as to call into question its position of non-participation in the hostilities; secondly, when a neutral State is forced into hostilities by a belligerent; and thirdly, when an armed conflict between two belligerents comes to an end.
The Duties and Rights of Neutrals
Authors: Upcher James
Published: August 2024

This chapter looks at the rights and duties of neutrality that result from the creation of the status of neutrality, in an effort to understand the contemporary content of neutrality. State practice in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries indicates that the ambit of a number of these duties is unclear. For example, the duty of abstention, which may be said to occupy a fundamental place in the law of neutrality, has been constantly violated because its contours are quite unclear. The prohibition on the sale of military material, although referred to by States in numerous international armed conflicts, suffers from definitional uncertainties and a lack of clarity regarding the scope of the duty. Similarly, this is so with regard to the prohibition on economic assistance to a belligerent. Other aspects of the content of the law of neutrality have not adapted to developments in international law with regard to the law on the use of force and the law of the sea. Therefore, while the law of neutrality continues to be expressed in concrete rights and duties rather than principles, examination of a number of those rights and duties demonstrates that many of them are no longer adequate to the contemporary legal environment.
The Exercise of Belligerent Rights Against Neutrals
Authors: Upcher James
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on the rights of belligerents against neutrals. Now that the threat or use of force is prohibited in international law, legal principle would suggest that belligerents are limited in their ability to take belligerent measures against neutrals that were previously dependent on a state of war for their operation—such as the right of visit and search, the right to establish a blockade, and the right to set up exclusion zones. Because the relationship between belligerents and neutrals is a peaceful one, interference by belligerents with neutral shipping and aircraft will have to satisfy a double test in order to be lawful: such interference must meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality under the jus ad bellum, and also meet the requirements of the law of neutrality and naval warfare. Therefore, State practice suggests that after the first half of the twentieth century—which saw the expansion of belligerent rights against neutrals to an alarming degree—the situation has, in many respects, been reversed by the influence of the UN Charter and the peacetime freedoms of the sea on the law of naval warfare. Indeed, the scope of permissible belligerent action against neutrals has probably been narrowed considerably, demonstrating the overlap between the law of the UN Charter and the law of neutrality.
Conclusion
Authors: Upcher James
Published: August 2024

This Conclusion explains that the traditional law of neutrality is a body of law that sits uncomfortably with certain elements of what is a central pillar of contemporary international law: the law on the use of force. For that reason, it tends to occupy a marginal existence in much contemporary armed conflict, and a number of writers have sought to dismiss its existence in contemporary international law. What is apparent from this study is that while parts of the law of neutrality are no longer relevant to the contemporary international legal order, others have demonstrated a surprising durability despite being considerably reshaped. Since the law of neutrality remains the most developed body of rules regulating the interactions of parties and non-parties in international armed conflict, it is likely that its rights and duties will continue to be invoked for some time. After all, the purpose that animates the law of neutrality—the prevention of the spread and escalation of armed conflict—remains an important one. Nevertheless, much of the law of neutrality languishes in a state of disrepair. There exists, for instance, a need for many of the duties of neutrality to be rethought for the twenty-first century, and to be developed with regard to other areas of international law.
Introduction to the General Convention
Authors: Reinisch August
Published: August 2024

This chapter provides an introduction to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, or the General Convention. This is the central multilateral treaty that defines the precise scope of the functionally necessary privileges and immunities accorded to the organization in the UN Charter. The first constituent instruments of international organizations rarely made any provision for the immunity of the organizations themselves. For instance, the Covenant of the League of Nations merely foresaw ‘diplomatic’ privileges and immunities of the League's employees and the inviolability of the League's property. Only after World War II did the UN Charter prominently adopt the notion of functional personality as well as functional privileges and immunities. The UN's functional privileges and immunities paradigm also provided a template for other international organizations to enjoy personality as well as privileges and immunities. The remainder of the chapter discusses the sources of privileges and immunities of international organizations; drafting history of the UN Charter; provisions of the UN Charter; the structure and scope of the UN Convention; and the legal position of UN member states deriving from the General Convention.