bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DAC-HPP: deep attributed clustering with high-order proximity preserve
Authors: Berahmand Kamal , Li Yuefeng , Xu Yue
Published: October 2023

Attributed graph clustering, the task of grouping nodes into communities using both graph structure and node attributes, is a fundamental problem in graph analysis. Recent approaches have utilized deep learning for node embedding followed by conventional clustering methods. However, these methods often suffer from the limitations of relying on the original network structure, which may be inadequate for clustering due to sparsity and noise, and using separate approaches that yield suboptimal embeddings for clustering. To address these limitations, we propose a novel method called Deep Attributed Clustering with High-order Proximity Preserve (DAC-HPP) for attributed graph clustering. DAC-HPP leverages an end-to-end deep clustering framework that integrates high-order proximities and fosters structural cohesiveness and attribute homogeneity. We introduce a modified Random Walk with Restart that captures k-order structural and attribute information, enabling the modelling of interactions between network structure and high-order proximities. A consensus matrix representation is constructed by combining diverse proximity measures, and a deep joint clustering approach is employed to leverage the complementary strengths of embedding and clustering. In summary, DAC-HPP offers a unique solution for attributed graph clustering by incorporating high-order proximities and employing an end-to-end deep clustering framework. Extensive experiments demonstrate its effectiveness, showcasing its superiority over existing methods. Evaluation on synthetic and real networks demonstrates that DAC-HPP outperforms seven state-of-the-art approaches, confirming its potential for advancing attributed graph clustering research.
The effect of individual drilling sleeves on the precision of coronectomy tooth sections. An in vitro 3D-printed jaw model experiment
Authors: Pacheco Ana , Soós Balázs , Lempel Edina , Simon Imre , Maróti Péter , Möhlhenrich Stephan Christian , Szalma József
Published: October 2023

Objectives

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of a 3D-printed drill sleeve (DS) on the precision and duration of coronectomy sections.

Materials and methods

Thirty-six trainees and oral surgeons performed 72 coronectomy cuts in a 3D-printed, entirely symmetric mandible model. Coronectomy was performed freehand (FH) on one side and with a DS on the other side. The occurrence of “too superficial” (≥ 4 mm unprepared lingual tooth tissue) and “too deep” (drilling ≥ 1 mm deeper as tooth contour) cuts and sectioning times were registered.

Results

In 7 cases, the sections were “too deep” with FH, while none with DS (OR: 18.56; 95%CI: 1.02–338.5; p = 0.048). The deviation between virtually planned and real cut depths was significantly greater in the FH group (1.91 ± 1.62 mm) than in DS group (1.21 ± 0.72 mm) (p < 0.001). A total of 18 “too superficial” buccolingual sections occurred with FH, while 8 cases with DS (OR: 3.50; 95%CI: 1.26–9.72; p = 0.016). Suboptimal sections did not correlate with experience (p = 0.983; p = 0.697). Shortest, suboptimal drillings were most frequently seen distolingually (OR: 6.76; 95% CI: 1.57–29.07; p = 0.01). In the inexperienced group, sectioning time was significantly longer with FH (158.95 ± 125.61 s vs. 106.92 ± 100.79 s; p = 0.038).

Conclusions

The DS effectively reduced tooth sectioning times by less experienced colleagues. Independently from the level of experience, the use of DS obviated the need for any preparation outside the lingual tooth contour and significantly decreased the occurrence of “too superficial” cuts, leaving thinner unprepared residual tooth tissue lingually.

Clinical relevance

Coronectomy sections may result in lingual hard and soft tissue injury with the possibility of damaging the lingual nerve. The precision of the buccolingual depth-control can be improved, while surgical time can be reduced when applying a drilling sleeve.
Cyclic Action Graphs for goal recognition problems with inaccurately initialised fluents
Authors: Harman Helen , Simoens Pieter
Published: October 2023

Goal recognisers attempt to infer an agent’s intentions from a sequence of observed actions. This is an important component of intelligent systems that aim to assist or thwart actors; however, there are many challenges to overcome. For example, the initial state of the environment could be partially unknown, and agents can act suboptimally and observations could be missing. Approaches that adapt classical planning techniques to goal recognition have previously been proposed, but, generally, they assume the initial world state is accurately defined. In this paper, a state is inaccurate if any fluent’s value is unknown or incorrect. Our aim is to develop a goal recognition approach that is as accurate as the current state-of-the-art algorithms and whose accuracy does not deteriorate when the initial state is inaccurately defined. To cope with this complication, we propose solving goal recognition problems by means of an Action Graph. An Action Graph models the dependencies, i.e. order constraints, between all actions rather than just actions within a plan. Leaf nodes correspond to actions and are connected to their dependencies via operator nodes. After generating an Action Graph, the graph’s nodes are labelled with their distance from each hypothesis goal. This distance is based on the number and type of nodes traversed to reach the node in question from an action node that results in the goal state being reached. For each observation, the goal probabilities are then updated based on either the distance the observed action’s node is from each goal or the change in distance. Our experimental results, for 15 different domains, demonstrate that our approach is robust to inaccuracies within the defined initial state.
Generalized theory for measuring efficiency of individuals and groups
Authors: Zelenyuk Valentin , Panchenko Valentyn
Published: October 2023

We present a cohesive generalized framework for an aggregation of the Nerlovian profit indicators and of the directional distance functions, frequently used in productivity and efficiency analysis in operations research and econometrics (e.g., via data envelopment analysis or stochastic frontier analysis). Our theoretical framework allows for greater flexibility than previous approaches, and embraces many other approaches as special cases. In the proposed aggregation scheme, the aggregation weights are mathematically derived from assumptions made about the optimization behavior and about the chosen directions of measurement. We also discuss various interesting special cases of popular directions, including the case of Debreu-Farrell-type efficiency.
Targeting estrogen receptor signaling for treating heart failure
Authors: Qian Chenyue , Liu Jingjin , Liu Huadong
Published: October 2023

Heart failure (HF) is a significant public health problem worldwide. It has long been noted that premenopausal women, compared to postmenopausal women and men, have lower rates for developing this disease, as well as subsequent morbidity and mortality. This difference has been attributed to estrogen playing a cardioprotective role in these women, though exactly how it does so remains unclear. In this review, we examine the presence of estrogen receptors within the cardiovascular system, as well as the role they play behind the cardioprotective effect attributed to estrogen. Furthermore, we highlight the underlying mechanisms behind their alleviation of HF, as well as possible treatment approaches, such as hormone replacement therapy and exercise regimens, to manipulate these mechanisms in treating and preventing HF.
Barriers to the Full Participation of Girls in Robotics: A Case Study of a South African Community of Practice
Authors: Dirsuweit Teresa , Gouws Patricia
Published: October 2023

The lack of participation of girls in programming robotics is well documented in the international literature on the subject. The Inspired Towards Science, Engineering and Technology (I-SET) is a community engagement project that promotes science engagement in predominantly disadvantaged communities. In this paper, we present the findings of an action research project. The primary objective of this research project is to monitor and improve this community of practice. This research paper aims to explore whether girls encounter barriers to full participation in robotics competition teams. While educational parity has been reached in STEMI-related subjects at the school level, young women are far less likely to select STEMI fields at the tertiary level compared to young men. The I-SET community of practice is well-situated to promote STEMI fields to girls from an early age. Barriers to their full participation in the I-SET community of practice included male dominance in the everyday activities and speech acts of the teams; a lack of technohabitus; and alienation. Broader constructions of gender identity in schools and the communities that they serve presented a major challenge to coaches keen to actively include girls. These challenges were further compounded by gendered divisions of labour that left little time for girls (particularly those from poorer backgrounds) to practice.
Towards a platform quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) model for preclinical to clinical translation of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs)
Authors: Scheuher Bruna , Ghusinga Khem Raj , McGirr Kimiko , Nowak Maksymilian , Panday Sheetal , Apgar Joshua , Subramanian Kalyanasundaram , Betts Alison
Published: October 2023

A next generation multiscale quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) model for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) is presented, for preclinical to clinical translation of ADC efficacy. Two HER2 ADCs (trastuzumab-DM1 and trastuzumab-DXd) were used for model development, calibration, and validation. The model integrates drug specific experimental data including in vitro cellular disposition data, pharmacokinetic (PK) and tumor growth inhibition (TGI) data for T-DM1 and T-DXd, as well as system specific data such as properties of HER2, tumor growth rates, and volumes. The model incorporates mechanistic detail at the intracellular level, to account for different mechanisms of ADC processing and payload release. It describes the disposition of the ADC, antibody, and payload inside and outside of the tumor, including binding to off-tumor, on-target sinks. The resulting multiscale PK model predicts plasma and tumor concentrations of ADC and payload. Tumor payload concentrations predicted by the model were linked to a TGI model and used to describe responses following ADC administration to xenograft mice. The model was translated to humans and virtual clinical trial simulations were performed that successfully predicted progression free survival response for T-DM1 and T-DXd for the treatment of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer, including differential efficacy based upon HER2 expression status. In conclusion, the presented model is a step toward a platform QSP model and strategy for ADCs, integrating multiple types of data and knowledge to predict ADC efficacy. The model has potential application to facilitate ADC design, lead candidate selection, and clinical dosing schedule optimization.
Energy-Constrained Random Walk with Boundary Replenishment
Authors: Wade Andrew , Grinfeld Michael
Published: October 2023

We study an energy-constrained random walker on a length-Ninterval of the one-dimensional integer lattice, with boundary reflection. The walker consumes one unit of energy for every step taken in the interior, and energy is replenished up to a capacity of Mon each boundary visit. We establish largeN, Mdistributional asymptotics for the lifetime of the walker, i.e., the first time at which the walker runs out of energy while in the interior. Three phases are exhibited. When$$M \ll N^2$$M≪N2(energy is scarce), we show that there is anM-scale limit distribution related to a Darling–Mandelbrot law, while when$$M \gg N^2$$M≫N2(energy is plentiful) we show that there is an exponential limit distribution on a stretched-exponential scale. In the critical case where$$M / N^2 \rightarrow \rho \in (0,\infty )$$M/N2→ρ∈(0,∞), we show that there is anM-scale limit in terms of an infinitely-divisible distribution expressed via certain theta functions.
Class I HDAC inhibition reduces DNA damage repair capacity of MYC-amplified medulloblastoma cells
Authors: Vollmer Johanna , Ecker Jonas , Hielscher Thomas , Valinciute Gintvile , Ridinger Johannes , Jamaladdin Nora , Peterziel Heike , van Tilburg Cornelis M. , Oehme Ina , Witt Olaf , Milde Till
Published: October 2023

Purpose

MYC-driven Group 3 medulloblastoma (MB) (subtype II) is a highly aggressive childhood brain tumor. Sensitivity of MYC-driven MB to class I histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) has been previously demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. In this study we characterize the transcriptional effects of class I HDACi in MYC-driven MB and explore beneficial drug combinations.

Methods

MYC-amplified Group 3 MB cells (HD-MB03) were treated with class I HDACi entinostat. Changes in the gene expression profile were quantified on a microarray. Bioinformatic assessment led to the identification of pathways affected by entinostat treatment. Five drugs interfering with these pathways (olaparib, idasanutlin, ribociclib, selinexor, vinblastine) were tested for synergy with entinostat in WST-8 metabolic activity assays in a 5 × 5 combination matrix design. Synergy was validated in cell count and flow cytometry experiments. The effect of entinostat and olaparib on DNA damage was evaluated by γH2A.X quantification in immunoblotting, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.

Results

Entinostat treatment changed the expression of genes involved in 22 pathways, including downregulation of DNA damage response. The PARP1 inhibitors olaparib and pamiparib showed synergy with entinostat selectively in MYC-amplified MB cells, leading to increased cell death, decreased viability and increased formation of double strand breaks, as well as increased sensitivity to additional induction of DNA damage by doxorubicin. Non-MYC-amplified MB cells and normal human fibroblasts were not susceptible to this triple treatment.

Conclusion

Our study identifies the combination of entinostat with olaparib as a new potential therapeutic approach for MYC-driven Group 3 MB.
Content validity of the EQ-5D-5L with skin irritation and self-confidence bolt-ons in patients with atopic dermatitis: a qualitative think-aloud study
Authors: Szlávicz Eszter , Szabó Ákos , Kinyó Ágnes , Szeiffert Anita , Bancsók Tamás , Brodszky Valentin , Gyulai Rolland , Rencz Fanni
Published: October 2023

Objectives

Two bolt-on dimensions (skin irritation, self-confidence) have been developed for the EQ-5D-5L to improve its content validity and responsiveness in psoriasis. However, the two bolt-ons are not strictly psoriasis-specific and are potentially relevant in other skin conditions. This study aims to explore the content validity of the EQ-5D-5L with two bolt-ons in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods

In 2021–2022, qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adult AD patients at a university dermatology clinic in Hungary. We aimed for a heterogeneous sample in terms of age, gender, education and disease severity. Patients completed the EQ-5D-5L with two bolt-ons using a think-aloud protocol. Probing questions were posed to investigate item relevance, potential conceptual overlaps, missing concepts and the appropriateness of the recall period. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis.

Results

The EQ-5D-5L with the two bolt-ons covered the most important aspects of health-related quality of life in AD patients. Most patients found both the skin irritation and self-confidence bolt-ons relevant. Fifteen potential missing concepts were identified, but only two (social relationships, judgement by others) were identified by more than one patient. A smaller conceptual overlap was found between the skin irritation and pain/discomfort dimensions in 7 patients (35%). Half the patients expressed a preference for a recall period of 1 week rather than of ‘today’.

Conclusions

The EQ-5D-5L with skin irritation and self-confidence bolt-ons showed good relevance, comprehensiveness and comprehensibility in patients with AD. However, in terms of comprehensiveness, social relationships and judgement by others (stigma) may be missing from the questionnaire.
When do firms deliver on the jobs they promise in return for state aid?
Authors: Dong Qingkai , Raghunandan Aneesh , Rajgopal Shivaram
Published: October 2023

US state governments frequently provide firms with targeted subsidies. In exchange, recipients promise to create or retain a certain number of jobs in the subsidizing state. Using novel hand-collected data, we address three questions: (i) the extent to which firms meet job creation targets promised in their applications, (ii) the factors that determine which firms meet the targets, and (iii) the benefits to firms from meeting those targets. We find that 63% of subsidies awarded to publicly traded U.S. firms between 2004 and 2015 meet their promised job creation targets. Firms with poorer labor practices are less likely to meet their targets, as are politically connected firms that receive subsidies in election years. Conversely, promised job targets are also more likely to be met for subsidies accompanied by government press releases but less likely to be met for subsidies accompanied by firm press releases; the latter likely reflects the fact that firms put out press releases for larger subsidies with more ambitious job targets. In terms of consequences, firms that meet job targets are more successful at obtaining subsequent subsidies both in and out of subsidizing states. However, while firms’ success in meeting job targets is associated with an uptick in positive media coverage, this does not flow through to ESG ratings, even on scores specific to community impact. Our results should be of interest to both academics and policymakers interested in the design of state-level economic incentives.
Venus Evolution Through Time: Key Science Questions, Selected Mission Concepts and Future Investigations
Authors: Widemann Thomas , Smrekar Suzanne E. , Garvin James B. , Straume-Lindner Anne Grete , Ocampo Adriana C. , Schulte Mitchell D. , Voirin Thomas , Hensley Scott , Dyar M. Darby , Whitten Jennifer L. , Nunes Daniel C. , Getty Stephanie A. , Arney Giada N. , Johnson Natasha M. , Kohler Erika , Spohn Tilman , O’Rourke Joseph G. , Wilson Colin F. , Way Michael J. , Ostberg Colby , Westall Frances , Höning Dennis , Jacobson Seth , Salvador Arnaud , Avice Guillaume , Breuer Doris , Carter Lynn , Gilmore Martha S. , Ghail Richard , Helbert Jörn , Byrne Paul , Santos Alison R. , Herrick Robert R. , Izenberg Noam , Marcq Emmanuel , Rolf Tobias , Weller Matt , Gillmann Cedric , Korablev Oleg , Zelenyi Lev , Zasova Ludmila , Gorinov Dmitry , Seth Gaurav , Rao C. V. Narasimha , Desai Nilesh
Published: October 2023

In this work we discuss various selected mission concepts addressing Venus evolution through time. More specifically, we address investigations and payload instrument concepts supporting scientific goals and open questions presented in the companion articles of this volume. Also included are their related investigations (observations & modeling) and discussion of which measurements and future data products are needed to better constrain Venus’ atmosphere, climate, surface, interior and habitability evolution through time. A new fleet of Venus missions has been selected, and new mission concepts will continue to be considered for future selections. Missions under development include radar-equipped ESA-led EnVision M5 orbiter mission (European Space Agency 2021), NASA-JPL’s VERITAS orbiter mission (Smrekar et al. 2022a), NASA-GSFC’s DAVINCI entry probe/flyby mission (Garvin et al. 2022a). The data acquired with the VERITAS, DAVINCI, and EnVision from the end of this decade will fundamentally improve our understanding of the planet’s long term history, current activity and evolutionary path. We further describe future mission concepts and measurements beyond the current framework of selected missions, as well as the synergies between these mission concepts, ground-based and space-based observatories and facilities, laboratory measurements, and future algorithmic or modeling activities that pave the way for the development of a Venus program that extends into the 2040s (Wilson et al. 2022).
Normativity of meaning: An inferentialist argument
Authors: Shimamura Shuhei , Tiisala Tuomo
Published: October 2023

This paper presents a new argument to defend the normativity of meaning, specifically the thesis that there are no meanings without norms. The argument starts from the observation inferentialists have emphasized that incompatibility relations between sentences are a necessary part of meaning as it is understood. We motivate this approach by showing that the standard normativist strategy in the literature, which is developed in terms of veridical reference that may swing free from the speaker’s understanding, violates the ought-implies-can principle, but ours does not. In addition, our approach is superior because, unlike the dominant approach, it can be extended from declarative sentences to non-representational uses of language. In this paper, however, we only formulate the argument for the base case that involves incompatibility relations between declarative sentences. The goal is not to derive norms from something that is not normative, but to explicate the distinctive type of normativity that is built into meaning as it is understood by language-users. The explication proceeds in two steps. (1) For any sentence s a speaker understands, there is another sentence s’ that is (and is understood by the speaker as) incompatible with s. (2) In virtue of understanding this incompatibility of meanings, she ought not to be committed to both s and s’. This prohibition is not derived from instrumental practical reason, nor is it based on representational correctness, but its source is the incompatibility of meanings.
Evaluation of the diet of Didelphis virginiana in an urban area using stable isotopes
Authors: Glebskiy Yury , Negrete-González Marcela , Zambrano Luis , Cano-Santana Zenón
Published: October 2023

Human food waste is an essential resource for many animals that inhabit urban ecosystems and has allowed some species to proliferate in cities. Virginia Opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are considered a good example of this process; however, the real role of waste in this animal’s diet is still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to compare opossums’ diet from urban and natural areas in Mexico City. Opossums were live-trapped, and samples of hair and blood were taken to perform a stable isotope analysis of C and N. The results show that opossums from natural and urban areas, in general, have a very similar isotopic niche; however, one natural location fell out of this pattern, and here opossums based their diet on C3 plants. This suggests that opossum diets have a similar carbon source and occupy a similar trophic position in urban and natural areas. However, there is a separation between opossums in urban and natural areas, not so much in the isotopic niche, but in the feeding habits since natural areas, opossums prefer to feed in their distribution area despite the availability of better quality food in the nearby urban areas.
Climate Change Predictive of Body Size and Proportionality in Humans
Authors: Stibel Jeffrey M.
Published: October 2023

The effects of climate change on plants and animals have been examined across numerous species, yet little evidence has been produced to demonstrate an influence on human evolution. Here the impact of climate change on human body size and scaling is examined over a period of 700,000 years using five independent paleoclimate records. Across 247 Homo specimens, body mass averaged significantly smaller during periods of climatic warming as compared to cooler cycles. Body proportions also changed significantly, appearing more ectomorphic during warmer periods and more endomorphic during periods of cooling across a sample of 87 specimens. The results indicate a relationship between climate change and body size and shape in humans that is driven by natural selection in response to thermoregulatory demands. The findings suggest that body size adaptations in response to climate change occurred early and potentially implicated cultural adaptations in later periods, muting the morphological response to extreme climates. Because morphological variation has been used as a factor for classification within the genus Homo, taxonomic and phylogenic decisions may need to be reconsidered in the context of temporal climate differences.
Enhanced chemical recovery of phosphorus from residues of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
Authors: Schleyken J. , Gumpert F. , Tränckner S. , Palm H. W. , Tränckner J.
Published: October 2023

In recirculating aquaculture systems, cultivated fish cannot incorporate all the phosphate contained in the feed. Excess phosphate ends up in the culture water and in the sludge produced. If the sludge cannot be valorised directly in agriculture, a chemical recovery as concentrated phosphate is an interesting option to help closing the phosphorus cycle. This study investigates the extent to which accumulated phosphorus can be recovered by acid re-dissolution with subsequent precipitation on sludge from two different recirculating aquaculture systems cultivating African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Acid treatment could increase the ratio of dissolved phosphorus available for subsequent precipitation by 53% for extensive and by 61% for intensive fish farming. With the consecutive precipitation in total up to 86% of the phosphorus from the sludge could be recovered. Phosphorus re-dissolution with citric acid requires the highest amount of acid per g dry matter as well as of sodium hydroxide for subsequent precipitation. Sulfuric and nitric acids have comparably lower demands.
Non-real Zeros of Derivatives
Authors: Langley J. K.
Published: October 2023

A number of results are proved concerning non-real zeros of derivatives of real meromorphic functions.
A federated pedestrian trajectory prediction model with data privacy protection
Authors: Ni Rongrong , Lu Yanan , Yang Biao , Yang Changchun , Liu Xiaofeng
Published: October 2023

Pedestrian trajectory prediction is essential for self-driving vehicles, social robots, and intelligent monitoring applications. Diverse trajectory data is critical for high-accuracy trajectory prediction. However, the trajectory data is captured in scattered scenes, which can cause the problem of data island. Furthermore, artificial aggregation of trajectory data suffers from the risk of data leakage, ignoring the rule of privacy protection. We propose a multi-scene federated trajectory prediction (Fed-TP) method to solve the above problems. As our key contribution, a destination-oriented LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory)-based trajectory prediction (DO-TP) network is proposed in each scene to forecast future trajectories in an encoder-decoder manner. The independent training using trajectory data in each scene can prevent data leakage and achieves high privacy security. As another key contribution, a federated learning framework is introduced to break the scene limitation by conducting distributed collaborative training. The performance of different federated learning methods is compared on public datasets, including ETH, UCY, and Stanford Drone Dataset (SDD). Compared with FedAvg and FedProx, FedAtt is more suitable for pedestrian trajectory prediction. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has better data privacy security than directly training on multiple scenes and superior prediction performance than training on a single scene.
An explicit upper bound for $$L(1,\chi )$$ when $$\chi $$ is quadratic
Authors: Johnston D. R. , Ramaré O. , Trudgian T.
Published: October 2023

We consider Dirichlet L-functions $$L(s, \chi )$$

L
(
s
,
χ
)

where $$\chi $$
χ
is a non-principal quadratic character to the modulus q. We make explicit a result due to Pintz and Stephens by showing that $$|L(1, \chi )|\leqslant \frac{1}{2}\log q$$

|
L

(
1
,
χ
)

|

⩽

1
2

log
q

for all $$q\geqslant 2\cdot 10^{23}$$

q
⩾
2
·

10
23

and $$|L(1, \chi )|\leqslant \frac{9}{20}\log q$$

|
L

(
1
,
χ
)

|

⩽

9
20

log
q

for all $$q\geqslant 5\cdot 10^{50}$$

q
⩾
5
·

10
50

.
Optimal Backfilling Materials with High Compressive Strength Based on Multiple Linear Regression
Authors: Gomaa Ehab , El-Nagdy K. A.
Published: October 2023

Backfilling material such as tailing (mine wastes) mixing with cement or gypsum has grown throughout the world’s underground mines. However, despite their growing popularity, the typical hydraulic and mechanical fill types utilized in many mines still exist. Deep underground mining has increased due to the lack of commercial minerals nearby. Mine wastes were considered the main part of backfilling to prevent environmental pollution, ground subsidence after mine abandonment, and mine collapse during deeper extraction phases. The cemented backfill technique is the principal technique used in underground mines, which include cement with fly ash and/or filter dust, cement with tailing material and fly ash, gypsum with fly ash, and synthetic anhydrite with fly ash and have been reviewed. It has concluded that a backfilling material must be selected based on further goals, available material near the mine site, and economic factors. This paper analyzes different backfill material mixtures to create a technique that will increase safety in underground mining conditions and foresees an appropriate formula that gives high uniaxial compressive strength. The multiple linear regression (MLR) on the collected data from the experimental works to construct the relationship between the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the mixture and the components of the backfilling and the prediction formula for expected compressive strength was obtained. The results revealed that the predicted regression equation was robust and reliable to predict the (UCS) for the new components of the filling (cement (CE), filter dust (FD), water content (WC), and time (T)).
Inter-specific competition between seeds and seedlings of two confamilial tropical trees
Authors: Salekin Serajis , Hossain Md. Nazmul , Alam Md Azharul , Limon Sharif Hasan , Rahman Md. Saidur
Published: October 2023

Inter-specific competition among species in a mixed species plantation is inevitable, and the degree of competition for available resources determines the success of species co-existence. Different species compete and interact for resources at different physiological and developmental stages. However, most research has investigated inter-specific competition at the mature stage. We examined seed germination and seedling growth of two confamilial species, Albizia saman and Albizia lebbeck, and explored inter-specific competition at their early life stages, grown in a mixture of different proportions of seeds and seedlings through a series of replacement experiment. The experiment included germination and height growth tests for each species on its own, as well as three mixtures of species with ratios of 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25. We found that the germination speed and percentage, the probability of seedling emergence, and the seedling height were significantly higher in A. saman than in A. lebbeck. Moreover, in mixtures, we observed that A. saman exhibits higher germination speed and percentages compared to A. lebbeck. The increase in seedling height did not vary significantly among treatments when the seedlings of the studied species were mixed in different proportions. However, both species showed an apparent benefit when growing together, which was significantly influenced by A. saman in terms of inter-specific competition indexes. The knowledge of the early growth performance of these species and their inter-specific competition presented in this study may influence recruitment success and will be useful in understanding the population dynamics in the case of a mixed species plantation. Furthermore, our study suggests that there could be an impact of species mixture on the regeneration or recruitment process, even when the species are confamilial. Therefore, this information could be useful for selecting suitable species mixtures in any afforestation and reforestation activities.
A Low-Cost Alternating Projection Approach for a Continuous Formulation of Convex and Cardinality Constrained Optimization
Authors: Krejić N. , Krulikovski E. H. M. , Raydan M.
Published: October 2023

We consider convex constrained optimization problems that also include a cardinality constraint. In general, optimization problems with cardinality constraints are difficult mathematical programs which are usually solved by global techniques from discrete optimization. We assume that the region defined by the convex constraints can be written as the intersection of a finite collection of convex sets, such that it is easy and inexpensive to project onto each one of them (e.g., boxes, hyper-planes, or half-spaces). Taking advantage of a recently developed continuous reformulation that relaxes the cardinality constraint, we propose a specialized penalty gradient projection scheme combined with alternating projection ideas to compute a solution candidate for these problems, i.e., a local (possibly non-global) solution. To illustrate the proposed algorithm, we focus on the standard mean-variance portfolio optimization problem for which we can only invest in a preestablished limited number of assets. For these portfolio problems with cardinality constraints, we present a numerical study on a variety of data sets involving real-world capital market indices from major stock markets. In many cases, we observe that the proposed scheme converges to the global solution. On those data sets, we illustrate the practical performance of the proposed scheme to produce the effective frontiers for different values of the limited number of allowed assets.
High-quality economic growth and carbon emissions in Chinese cities: the moderating role of fiscal policies
Authors: Zhao Guizhi , Guo Yanfei , Bo Lan
Published: October 2023

In the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary China, urban centers have emerged as focal points of a significant environmental challenge—carbon emissions. This comprehensive study delves into an intricate analysis, utilizing data gathered from 140 prefecture-level cities across China. Its principal aim is to dissect the effectiveness of strategies aimed at carbon reduction and fiscal policies within the multifaceted canvas of China’s urban metamorphosis, where the pursuit of high-caliber economic development takes precedence. The findings can be succinctly summarized as follows. Firstly, a statistically significant inverse correlation exists between high-quality economic development and carbon emissions in China’s urban centers. Secondly, when comparing resource-based cities to their non-resource-based counterparts, the former’s high-quality economic development plays a more prominent role in fostering carbon emission reduction. Finally, fiscal policies emerge as pivotal “accelerators” for advancing carbon emission reduction through high-quality economic development. However, their efficacy exhibits notable variations. It is essential to note that the moderating effect of environmental protection expenditures lacks statistical significance in resource-based cities and northern cities. Furthermore, the regulatory influence of resource taxation in southern cities is yet to be firmly established. This study provides practical policy recommendations for optimizing China’s eco-friendly fiscal system. These recommendations not only contribute to the realization of a green transition model for economic development but also serve as a valuable reference for governmental design of carbon emission reduction policies.
Using institutional ethnography to analyse animal sheltering and protection II: Animal shelter work
Authors: Koralesky Katherine E , Rankin Janet M , Fraser David
Published: October 2023

Efficient adoption is an important aim of animal shelters, but it is not possible for all animals including those with serious behavioural problems. We used institutional ethnography to explore the everyday work of frontline shelter staff in a large animal sheltering and protection organisation and to examine how their work is organised by standardised institutional procedures. Shelter staff routinely conduct behavioural evaluations of dogs and review intake documents, in part to plan care for animals and inform potential adopters about animal characteristics as well as protect volunteers and community members from human-directed aggression. Staff were challenged and felt pressure, however, to find time to work with animals identified as having behavioural problems because much of their work is directed toward other goals such as facilitating efficient adoption for the majority and anticipating future demands for kennel space. This work is organised by management approaches that broadly aim to maintain a manageable shelter animal population based on available resources, decrease the length of time animals spend in shelters and house animals based on individual needs. However, this organisation limits the ability of staff to work closely with long-stay animals whose behavioural problems require modification and management. This also creates stress for staff who care for these animals and are emotionally invested in them. Further inquiry and improvements might involve supporting the work of behavioural modification and management where it is needed and expanding fostering programmes for animals with special needs.
Large eddy simulations of bubbly flows and breaking waves with smoothed particle hydrodynamics
Authors: King J.R.C. , Lind S.J. , Rogers B.D. , Stansby P.K. , Vacondio R.
Published: October 2023

For turbulent bubbly flows, multi-phase simulations resolving both the liquid and bubbles are prohibitively expensive in the context of different natural phenomena. One example is breaking waves, where bubbles strongly influence wave impact loads, acoustic emissions and atmospheric-ocean transfer, but detailed simulations in all but the simplest settings are infeasible. An alternative approach is to resolve only large scales, and model small-scale bubbles adopting sub-resolution closures. Here, we introduce a large eddy simulation smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) scheme for simulations of bubbly flows. The continuous liquid phase is resolved with a semi-implicit isothermally compressible SPH framework. This is coupled with a discrete Lagrangian bubble model. Bubbles and liquid interact via exchanges of volume and momentum, through turbulent closures, bubble breakup and entrainment, and free-surface interaction models. By representing bubbles as individual particles, they can be tracked over their lifetimes, allowing closure models for sub-resolution fluctuations, bubble deformation, breakup and free-surface interaction in integral form, accounting for the finite time scales over which these events occur. We investigate two flows: bubble plumes and breaking waves, and find close quantitative agreement with published experimental and numerical data. In particular, for plunging breaking waves, our framework accurately predicts the Hinze scale, bubble size distribution, and growth rate of the entrained bubble population. This is the first coupling of an SPH framework with a discrete bubble model, with potential for cost-effective simulations of wave–structure interactions and more accurate predictions of wave impact loads.
Microbubble formation by flow focusing: role of gas and liquid properties, and channel geometry
Authors: Cleve Sarah , Lassus Anne , Diddens Christian , van Elburg Benjamin , Gaud Emmanuel , Cherkaoui Samir , Versluis Michel , Segers Tim , Lajoinie Guillaume
Published: October 2023

Microfluidic flow focusing is a versatile method for the production of monodisperse microbubbles for biomedical applications involving ultrasound. Existing studies propose several theoretical models to predict bubble size and production rate as a function of the liquid and gas flow rate. Yet, they typically do not include physical fluid parameters such as density, viscosity and surface tension. Here, we present an exhaustive experimental and numerical investigation of the influence of physical properties of the gas and liquid, and of the channel geometry on bubble size and production rate. We find a particularly strong effect of (i) gas density on the production rate and (ii) liquid viscosity on the bubble size. We further discuss our findings within the context of existing theoretical models to reflect on gaps in our current understanding of the fluid mechanics of bubble formation by flow focusing.
“The Best Place to Help the Panthers Is at Home”: Dutch Black Panther Solidarity in Pursuit of a Revolution
Authors: DE VLUGT DEBBY ESMEÉ
Published: October 2023

In 1969, a group of activists in the Netherlands formed the Solidariteitscomité met de Black Panthers, or Black Panther Solidarity Committee, intended to support the Black Panther Party through a platform of public education, fund-raising, and political protest. Their efforts were part of a broader campaign for European solidarity launched by the African Americans themselves earlier that year. This article is the first to explore how Dutch activists understood their transatlantic partnership with the Black Panthers, arguing that their solidarity served not only to support the party but also to challenge American imperialism and Dutch colonialism in new ways.
Perchlorate in Year‐Round Antarctic Precipitation
Authors: Jiang S. , Shi G. , Cole‐Dai J. , Wang M. , Li Y. , Wu G. , An C. , Sun B.
Published: October 2023

Year‐round precipitation in coastal East Antarctica and Antarctic Peninsula was used to investigate the seasonal patterns in sources of atmospheric perchlorate (). Although featuring distinct climates, the two locations exhibit similar annual mean and seasonal cycles of concentration, with higher values in autumn and lower concentrations in winter and spring. Tropospheric formation dominates atmospheric in spring and summer, which is influenced by both oxidants levels and environmental conditions (e.g., air humidity). Tropospheric production may also be promoted by elevated levels of oxidants brought by air mass from the interior Antarctic ice sheet in spring and summer. The autumn concentration maximum may originate from produced in the stratosphere through reactions between reactive chlorine and ozone during spring and summer. In winter, the stratospheric input may contribute to via polar stratospheric clouds sedimentation.
The Effect of Conduit Walls Roughness on Volcanic Jets and Their Seismo‐Acoustic Radiation: An Experimental Investigation
Authors: Spina Laura , Taddeucci Jacopo , Pennacchia Francesco , Morgavi Daniele , Peña Fernández Juan José , Sesterhenn Jörn , La Spina Giuseppe , Scarlato Piergiorgio
Published: October 2023

To explore the effect of conduit roughness on volcanic jet dynamics and on the related seismo‐acoustic radiation we performed a series of shock‐tube experiments using pipes with variable inner surface fractal dimension D. Variable starting pressure produced subsonic to supersonic jets visualized using high‐speed shadowgraph and recorded with an array of accelerometers and microphones. At all starting pressures, increasing D increases the energy transfer from the gas to the conduit walls, decreasing the jet exit velocity (Mach number) and, for supersonic cases, the related shock‐cell spacing, and increasing the seismic to acoustic radiation amplitude ratio. The roughness‐induced changes in jet velocity and turbulence affect the dominant sources of the jet noise and modulates the spectral properties of the acoustic signals. From our study we show that conduit wall roughness is an important and yet largely neglected factor in the dynamics of explosive volcanic eruptions and their monitored geophysical signals.
Investigating Inherent Numerical Stabilization for the Moist, Compressible, Non‐Hydrostatic Euler Equations on Collocated Grids
Authors: Norman Matthew R. , Eldred Christopher , Gopalakrishnan Meena Muralikrishnan
Published: October 2023

This study investigates inherent numerical dissipation due to upwind fluxes and reconstruction strategies for collocated Finite‐Volume integration of the Euler equations. Idealized supercell simulations are used without any explicit dissipation. Flux terms are split into: mass flux, pressure, and advected quantities. They are computed with the following upwind strategies: central, advectively upwind, and acoustically upwind. This is performed for third and ninth‐order‐accurate reconstructions with and without Weighted Essentially Non‐Oscillatory limiting. Acoustic‐only upwinding for pressure and mass flux terms and advective‐only upwinding for advected quantities is the most flexible simplification found. It reduces data movement and computations. Assuming a constant speed of sound in acoustic upwinding gives similar results to using the true speed of sound. Dissipation from upwind adapts automatically to grid spacing, time step, reconstruction accuracy, and flow smoothness. While stability is maintained even at 21st‐order spatial accuracy, there is a limit to the spatial order of accuracy for which upwinding alone can create a realizable solution in the conditions of this study. Convex combinations of upwind and central solutions for flux terms also reduced dissipation, but as the central proportion grows, solutions become physically unrealizable. The range of length scales of the kinetic energy spectra can be extended along k−5/3 to smaller spatial scales by reducing dissipation either with higher‐order reconstructions or using convex combinations of upwind and central fluxes. However, not all extensions of the length scale range along k−5/3 exhibit physically realizable solutions, even though the spectra appear to be physical.
Dasatinib anhydrate containing oral formulation improves variability and bioavailability in humans
Authors: Hofmann Jiří , Bartůněk Aleš , Hauser Tomáš , Sedmak Gregor , Beránek Josef , Ryšánek Pavel , Šíma Martin , Slanař Ondřej
Published: October 2023

Dasatinib monohydrate indicated for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia displays pH-dependent solubility. The aim of reported development program of novel dasatinib anhydrate containing formulation was to demonstrate improved absorption and lower pharmacokinetic variability compared to dasatinib monohydrate. In a bioavailability study comparing formulations containing 110.6 mg and 140 mg of dasatinib as anhydrate and monohydrate, respectively, both Cmax and AUC of dasatinib were within standard 80.00–125.00% range, while the intra- and inter-subject variability for AUC0-inf after the test product was approximately 3-fold and 1.5-fold less than after the reference, respectively.

In a drug–drug interaction study, omeprazole 40 mg reduced the mean AUC0-inf of dasatinib by 19%, when the test was ingested 2 h before the 5th omeprazole dose. This decrease of exposure is clinically irrelevant and substantially less than after the reference. Co-prescription analysis supports the importance of pH-dependent solubility of dasatinib, as >21% of patients were treated concomitantly with a PPI and dasatinib despite warnings against this co-medication in the SmPC.

The novel dasatinib anhydrate containing formulation demonstrated improved absorption and less pharmacokinetic variability compared to dasatinib monohydrate product, which may translate into improved clinical outcomes, although this needs to be proven by an appropriate trial.