bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MXene Derivatives for Energy Storage and Conversions
Authors: Guo Yu , Du Zhiguo , Cao Zhenjiang , Li Bin , Yang Shubin
Published: February 2023

Associated with the rapid development of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides (MXenes), MXene derivatives have been recently exploited and exhibited unique physical/chemical properties, holding promising applications in the areas of energy storage and conversions. This review provides a comprehensive summarization of the latest research and progress on MXene derivatives, including termination‐tailored MXenes, single‐atom implanted MXenes, intercalated MXenes, van der Waals atomic layers, and non‐van der Waals heterostructures. The intrinsic relationship between structure, properties, and corresponding applications for MXene derivatives are then emphasized. Finally, the essential challenges are addressed and perspectives for the MXene derivatives are also discussed.
A Single Electronic Tattoo for Multisensory Integration
Authors: Wang Zheng , Zhou Zhi , Li Chen‐Long , Liu Xiao‐Hao , Zhang Yue , Pei Man‐Man , Zhou Zheng , Cui Da‐Xiang , Hu Dong , Chen Feng , Cao Wen‐Tao
Published: February 2023

Wearable electronics are garnering growing interest in various emerging fields including intelligent sensors, artificial limbs, and human–machine interfaces. A remaining challenge is to develop multisensory devices that can conformally adhere to the skin even during dynamic‐moving environments. Here, a single electronic tattoo (E‐tattoo) based on a mixed‐dimensional matrix network, which integrates two‐dimensional  MXene nanosheets and one‐dimensional cellulose nanofibers/Ag nanowires, is presented for multisensory integration. The multidimensional configurations endow the E‐tattoo with excellent multifunctional sensing capabilities including temperature, humidity, in‐plane strain, proximity, and material identification. In addition, benefiting from the satisfactory rheology of hybrid inks, the E‐tattoos are able to be fabricated through multiple facile strategies including direct writing, stamping, screen printing, and three‐dimensional printing on various hard/soft substrates. Especially, the E‐tattoo with excellent triboelectric properties also can serve as a power source for activating small electronic devices. It is believed that these skin‐conformal E‐tattoo systems can provide a promising platform for next‐generation wearable and epidermal electronics.
Engineering faster double‐array Aho–Corasick automata
Authors: Kanda Shunsuke , Akabe Koichi , Oda Yusuke
Published: February 2023

Multiple pattern matching in strings is a fundamental problem in text processing applications such as regular expressions or tokenization. This article studies efficient implementations ofdouble‐array Aho–Corasick automata(DAACs), data structures for quickly performing the multiple pattern matching. The practical performance of DAACs is improved by carefully designing the data structure, and many implementation techniques have been proposed thus far. A problem in DAACs is that comprehensive descriptions and experimental analyses on their ideas are not provided. Engineers face difficulties in implementing an efficient DAAC. In this article, we review implementation techniques for DAACs and provide a comprehensive description of them. We also propose several new techniques for further improvement. We conduct exhaustive experiments through real‐world datasets and reveal the best combination of techniques to achieve a higher performance in DAACs. The best combination is different from those used in the most popular libraries of DAACs, which demonstrates that their performance can be further enhanced. On the basis of our experimental analysis, we developed a new Rust library for fast multiple pattern matching using DAACs, namedDaachorse, as open‐source software athttps://github.com/daac‐tools/daachorse. Experiments demonstrate that Daachorse outperforms other AC‐automaton implementations, indicating its suitability as a fast alternative for multiple pattern matching in many applications.
Map algebra on raster datasets represented by compact data structures
Authors: Silva‐Coira Fernando , Paramá José R. , Ladra Susana
Published: February 2023

The increase in the size of data repositories has forced the design of new computing paradigms to be able to process large volumes of data in a reasonable amount of time. One of them is in‐memory computing, which advocates storing all the data in main memory to avoid the disk I/O bottleneck. Compression is one of the key technologies for this approach. For raster data, a compact data structure, called ‐raster, have been recently been proposed. It compresses raster maps while still supporting fast retrieval of a given datum or a portion of the data directly from the compressed data. ‐raster's original work introduced several queries in which it was superior to competitors. However, to be used as the basis of an in‐memory system for raster data, it is mandatory to demonstrate its efficiency when performing more complex operations such as the map algebra operators. In this work, we present the algorithms to run a set of these operators directly on ‐raster without a decompression procedure.
A novel mechanism of cannabidiol in suppressing ovarian cancer through LAIR‐1 mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis
Authors: Ma Li , Zhang Huachang , Liu Chuntong , Liu Mengke , Shangguan Fugen , Liu Yan , Yang Shude , Li Hua , An Jing , Song Shuling , Cao Qizhi , Qu Guiwu
Published: February 2023

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid compound. It has been shown that CBD can inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells, but the underlying specific mechanism is unclear. We previously presented the first evidence for the expression of leukocyte‐associated immunoglobulin‐like receptor 1 (LAIR‐1), a member of the immunosuppressive receptor family, in ovarian cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism by which CBD inhibits the growth of SKOV3 and CAOV3 ovarian cancer cells, and we sought to understand the concurrent role of LAIR‐1. In addition to inducing ovarian cancer cell cycle arrest and promoting cell apoptosis, CBD treatment significantly affected the expression of LAIR‐1 and inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis and mitochondrial respiration in ovarian cancer cells. These changes were accompanied by an increase in ROS, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and suppression of mitochondrial respiration and aerobic glycolysis, thereby inducing abnormal or disturbed metabolism and reducing ATP production. A combined treatment with N‐acetyl‐l‐cysteine and CBD indicated that a reduction in ROS production would restore PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway signaling and ovarian cancer cell proliferation. We subsequently confirmed that the inhibitory effect of CBD on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal axis and mitochondrial bioenergy metabolism was attenuated by knockdown of LAIR‐1. Our animal studies further support the in vivo anti‐tumor activity of CBD and suggest its mechanism of action. In summary, the present findings confirm that CBD inhibits ovarian cancer cell growth by disrupting the LAIR‐1‐mediated interference with mitochondrial bioenergy metabolism and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. These results provide a new experimental basis for research into ovarian cancer treatment based on targeting LAIR‐1 with CBD.
On the wake deflection of vertical axis wind turbines by pitched blades
Authors: Huang Ming , Sciacchitano Andrea , Ferreira Carlos
Published: February 2023

Wake losses are a critical consideration in wind farm design. The ability to steer and deform wakes can result in increased wind farm power density and reduced energy costs and can be used to optimize wind farm designs. This study investigates the wake deflection of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) experimentally, emphasizing the effect of different load distributions on the wake convection and mixing. A trailing vortex system responsible for the wake topology is hypothesized based on a simplified vorticity equation that describes the relationship between load distribution and its vortex generation; the proposed vorticity system and the resulting wake topology are experimentally validated in the wind tunnel via stereoscopic particle image velocimetry measurements of the flow field at several wake cross‐sections. Variations in load distribution are accomplished by a set of fixed blade pitches. The experimental results not only validate the predicted vorticity system but also highlight the critical role of the streamwise vorticity component in the deflection and deformation of the wake, thus affecting the momentum and energy recoveries. The evaluation of the various loading cases demonstrates the significant effect of the wake deflection on the wind power available to a downwind turbine, even when the distance between the two turbines is only three diameters.
Nest‐site selection by cinnamon teal and other ground‐nesting ducks in Great Salt Lake wetlands
Authors: Bell Mark E. , Conover Michael R.
Published: February 2023

Ground‐nesting ducks can reduce nest depredation by selecting nest sites where local physical structures or vegetation provide olfactory or visual concealment. We evaluated nest‐site selection by comparing duck nests to random sites during 2019 and 2020 in the impounded wetlands of Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, USA. During wet springs, most of the wetlands are underwater, leaving only the dams available as nesting substrate. We located the nests of 399 cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera), 137 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and 162 gadwalls (Mareca strepera) on the dams. At nest and random sites, we measured overhead concealment, lateral concealment, average height of vegetation in the nest patch, standard deviation of vegetation height in the nest patch, tallest vegetation within 1 m of nest, dam width, and distance from the nest to the road along the center of the dam. We found that mallards and gadwalls did not select for any of these characteristics. Cinnamon teal selected for nest sites that had more overhead concealment. We also found mixed evidence that cinnamon teal selected nest sites where dams were wider. All species also favored heterogeneous patches of vegetation for nesting over homogenous ones. Duck nests had a clumped distribution in wetlands that contained colonies of American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), black‐necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), and common terns (Sterna hirundo), with nests located inside the colonies, but showed a random distribution in other wetlands. Prior to 1980, approximately half of the world's population of cinnamon teal nested in GSL wetlands, but since that time the nesting population has declined greatly. Given this decline, management actions should be conducted that will improve overhead cover and widen dikes within the species' nesting habitat.
Author Gender Identification Considering Gender Bias
Authors: Jeyaraj Manuela Nayantara , Delany Sarah Jane
Published: February 2023

Writing style and choice of words used in textual content can vary between men and women both in terms of who the text is talking about and who is writing the text. The focus of this paper is on author gender prediction, identifying the gender of who is writing the text. We compare closed and open vocabulary approaches on different types of textual content including more traditional writing styles such as in books, and more recent writing styles used in user generated content on digital platforms such as blogs and social media messaging. As supervised machine learning approaches can reflect human biases in the data they are trained on, we also consider the gender bias of the different approaches across the different types of dataset. We show that open vocabulary approaches perform better both in terms of prediction performance and with less gender bias.
Exploring Abstractive vs. Extractive Summarisation Techniques for Sports News
Authors: Jouda Ahmed
Published: February 2023

The high demand generated by the information age has led to recent breakthroughs in both extractive and abstractive text summarisation. This work explores the algorithms that were the product of these advances, focusing on the domain of sports news summarisation. By creating a new hybrid evaluation system that incorporates automatic evaluation metrics, such as ROUGE and BLEU scores, with human evaluation, we observe that abstractive techniques return the best results in the sports domain. This also generalises to the domain of political articles. However, here the metrics report lower scores across most algorithms. Another finding is that the algorithms considered perform independently of the dialect of English used.
Explaining the Effects of Preprocessing on Constraint Satisfaction Search
Authors: Wallace Richard J.
Published: February 2023

Preprocessing constraint satisfaction problems is a much studied method for improving the performance of subsequent solution search. The traditional explanation for its beneficial effects is “problem reduction”, where possible values that cannot take part in a solution are discarded, leaving fewer possibilities to explore during search. Here, we show that this is not the only or even the main factor when dynamic variable ordering heuristics are used. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that under these conditions domain reductions effected by preprocessing serve to inform the heuristic as to which variables should be chosen for instantiation before others. It is suggested that an information transmission model is needed to account for such effects, and it is argued that an extension of this approach can incorporate simple domain reduction effects as well.
Analysis of Attention Mechanisms in Box-Embedding Systems
Authors: Sardina Jeffrey , Sardina Callie , Kelleher John D. , O’Sullivan Declan
Published: February 2023

Large-scale Knowledge Graphs (KGs) have recently gained considerable research attention for their ability to model the inter- and intra- relationships of data. However, the huge scale of KGs has necessitated the use of querying methods to facilitate human use. Question Answering (QA) systems have shown much promise in breaking down this human-machine barrier. A recent QA model that achieved state-of-the-art performance, Query2box, modelled queries on a KG using box embeddings with an attention mechanism backend to compute the intersections of boxes for query resolution. In this paper, we introduce a new model, Query2Geom, which replaces the Query2box attention mechanism with a novel, exact geometric calculation. Our findings show that Query2Geom generally matches the performance of Query2box while having many fewer parameters. Our analysis of the two models leads us to formally describe the interaction between knowledge graph data and box embeddings with the concepts of semantic-geometric alignment and mismatch. We create the Attention Deviation Metric as a measure of how well the geometry of box embeddings captures the semantics of a knowledge graph, and apply it to explain the difference in performance between Query2box and Query2Geom. We conclude that Query2box’s attention mechanism operates using “latent intersections” that attend to the semantic properties in embeddings not expressed in box geometry, acting as a limit on model interpretability. Finally, we generalise our results and propose that semantic-geometric mismatch is a more general property of attention mechanisms, and provide future directions on how to formally model the interaction between attention and latent semantics.
Aufstellung 4: Attitude-Behaviour Gap
Authors: Rieck Louise Ina Hannah
Published: February 2023

Mein ursprünglicher Fokus bei dieser Aufstellung lag auf einem Phänomen, das in der Konsumforschung als ein zentrales Forschungsfeld gilt: der sogenannten „Attitude-Behaviour Gap“, also der Kluft zwischen Umweltbewusstsein und tatsächlichem Konsumverhalten. Das holistische Setting der Aufstellung hat jedoch weit darüber hinausgehende Beobachtungen ermöglicht: Wie wirkt sich herkömmliches Nachhaltigkeitsmarketing auf Transformationsprozesse aus, und welche Kraft kann demgegenüber ein anderes, auf Zukunft ausgerichtetes Marketing entfalten?
Zusammenfassung und Ausblick
Authors: Rieck Louise Ina Hannah
Published: February 2023

Als vorläufiges Ergebnis meines Forschungsweges steht ein hypothetisches Modell eines zukunftsorientierten Marketing. Im Marketing-Mix eines zukunftsorientierten Marketing wandeln sich die klassischen 4 P (Price, Product, Promotion, Placement) zu den 4 Z (Zielgruppengerechte, zukunftsfähige Handlungsoptionen für Kund:innen; Zusammenarbeit mit transformativen Kundengruppen; Zuhören für eine sensible Legitimation unvermeidlicher Trade-offs; Zusammenhalt und Zuversicht mittels eines neuen Konsumnarrativs).
Flipped Classroom im Physikunterricht der Sekundarstufe I – Auswirkungen auf die Veränderung des individuellen Interesses im Bereich der E-Lehre
Authors: Lutz Wolfgang , Elsholz Markus , Haase Sebastian , Burde Jan-Philipp , Wilhelm Thomas , Trefzger Thomas
Published: February 2023

Interessen stellen zentrale motivationale Komponenten bei der Auseinandersetzung mit einem Lerngegenstand dar und können als wichtige Prädiktoren für das Lernen angesehen werden. Die Attraktivität einer Lernumgebung kann durch unterschiedliche sogenannte Catch-Komponenten gesteigert werden und so ein situationales Interesse bei den Lernenden auslösen. Dieses gilt es durch den Einsatz sogenannter Hold-Komponenten aufrechtzuerhalten, um individuelles Interesse zu fördern. In diesem Zusammenhang spielen emotionale und wertbezogene Valenzen der Lernenden eine entscheidende Rolle, die durch das Erleben von Autonomie, Kompetenz und sozialer Eingebundenheit positiv beeinflusst werden können. Diese drei psychologischen Grundbedürfnisse werden im Flipped Classroom durch ein selbstbestimmtes und individuelles Lernen mit Erklärvideos, interaktiven Quizfragen und Aufgaben und einen vermehrt auf kooperative und kollaborative Arbeitsphasen ausgerichteten Unterricht in einer besonderen Weise adressiert. In dem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse zur Veränderung des individuellen Interesses aus einer Vergleichsstudie zwischen dem Flipped Classroom und dem klassischen Physikunterricht im Bereich der E-Lehre vorgestellt. In diesem Zusammenhang zeigt sich, dass insbesondere Schülerinnen aus Klassen mit einem naturwissenschaftlichen Schwerpunkt von der Methode Flipped Classroom profitieren und sich somit das aus der Literatur bekannte Auseinanderdriften in den Interessensentwicklungen zwischen Schülerinnen und Schülern aufhalten lässt.
Holographic entanglement entropy probe on spontaneous symmetry breaking with vector order
Authors: Park Chanyong , Kim Gitae , Chae Ji-seong , Oh Jae-Hyuk
Published: February 2023

Abstract

We study holographic entanglement entropy in 5-dimensional charged black brane geometry obtained from Einstein-SU(2)Yang-Mills theory defined in asymptotically AdS space. This gravity system undergoes second order phase transition near its critical point, where a spatial component of the Yang-Mills fields appears, which is normalizable mode of the solution. This is known as phase transition between isotropic and anisotropic phases, where in anisotropic phase, SO(3)-isometry(spatial rotation) in bulk geometry is broken down to SO(2) by emergence of the spatial component of Yang-Mills fields, which corresponds to a vector order in dual field theory. We get analytic solutions of holographic entanglement entropies by utilizing the solution of bulk spacetime geometry given in arXiv:1109.4592, where we consider subsystems defined on AdS boundary of which shapes are wide and thin slabs and a cylinder. It turns out that the entanglement entropies near the critical point shows scaling behavior such that for both of the slabs and cylinder, $$ {\Delta}_{\varepsilon }S\sim {\left(1-\frac{T}{T_c}\right)}^{\beta } $$

Δ
ε

S
∼

1
−

T

T
c

β

and the critical exponent β = 1, where ∆εS ≡ Siso− Saniso, and Siso denotes the entanglement entropy in isotropic phase whereas Saniso denotes that in anisotropic phase. We suggest a quantity O12≡ S1− S2 as a new order parameter near the critical point, where S1 is entanglement entropy when the slab is perpendicular to the direction of the vector order whereas S2 is that when the slab is parallel to the vector order. O12 = 0 in isotropic phase but in anisotropic phase, the order parameter becomes non-zero showing the same scaling behavior. Finally, we show that even near the critical point, the first law of entanglement entropy is held. Especially, we find that the entanglement temperature for the cylinder is $$ {\mathcal{T}}_{cy}=\frac{c_{\textrm{ent}}}{a} $$

T
cy

=

c
ent

a

, where cent = 0.163004 ± 0.000001 and a is the radius of the cylinder.
The gravitational field outside a spatially compact stationary source in a generic fourth-order theory of gravity
Authors: Wu Bofeng , Huang Chao-Guang
Published: February 2023

Abstract

By applying the symmetric and trace-free formalism in terms of the irreducible Cartesian tensors, the metric for the external gravitational field of a spatially compact stationary source is provided in F(X, Y, Z) gravity, a generic fourth-order theory of gravity, where X := R is Ricci scalar, Y := RμνRμν is Ricci square, and Z := RμνρσRμνρσ is Riemann square. A new type of gauge condition is proposed so that the linearized gravitational field equations of F(X, Y, Z) gravity are greatly simplified, and then, the stationary metric in the region exterior to the source is derived. In the process of applying the result, integrations are performed only over the domain occupied by the source. The multipole expansion of the metric potential in F(X, Y, Z) gravity for a spatially compact stationary source is also presented. In the expansion, the corrections of F(X, Y, Z) gravity to General Relativity are Yukawa-like ones, dependent on two characteristic lengths. Two additional sets of mass-type source multipole moments appear in the corrections and the salient feature characterizing them is that the integrations in their expressions are always modulated by a common radial factor related to the source distribution.
Absorbance measurement for in situ process regime identification in laser processing
Authors: Wittemer Moritz , Grünewald Jonas , Wudy Katrin
Published: February 2023

Laser melting can be conducted in two different process regimes, the conduction and the keyhole mode, which exhibit significantly different characteristics, dynamics, and stability and are highly sensitive to a magnitude of process parameters. Despite these differences and the resulting high relevance of the prevailing process regime for process development, the regime is commonly deduced after specimen testing. An identification of the regime parallel to the process could speed up the process development of, for example, laser beam welding or laser-based powder bed fusion of metals. Therefore, the possibility of an in situ regime identification under process-near conditions is the aim of these investigations. For this, the absorbance is measured in situ by using an integrating sphere on an in-house-developed test rig. This test rig can mimic real production process conditions to detect the characteristic change in the degree of absorption when switching between the process regimes. These measurements were conducted during experiments in which only the laser power was varied. A significant change in absorption was detected at a threshold laser power of 100 W, which correlates with the transition between the process regimes’ conduction and keyhole regime. This threshold was proven by subsequent identification analysis of micrographic cross sections. This correlation promises the possibility of fast in situ process regime identification under near-real production process conditions with the potential of accelerating process development.
Initial laboratory validation of temperature development models for Necrodes littoralis L. (Staphylinidae: Silphinae)
Authors: Gruszka Joanna , Matuszewski Szymon
Published: February 2023

Development models of necrophagous insects are applied in forensic entomology for post-mortem interval estimation. Such estimates may be used as scientific evidence in legal investigations. For this reason, it is important that the models are valid and that the expert witness is aware of their limitations. Necrodes littoralis L. (Staphylinidae: Silphinae) is a necrophagous beetle species that frequently colonizes human cadavers. Temperature models of development for the Central European population of these beetles were recently published. In this article, we present results of the laboratory validation study for these models. Errors of beetle age estimation differed significantly between the models. Thermal summation models yielded the most accurate estimates, and the isomegalen diagram least accurate estimates. Errors of the beetle age estimation varied across beetle developmental stages and rearing temperatures. In general, most development models of N. littoralis were satisfactorily accurate in estimating beetle age under laboratory conditions; therefore, the study provides initial evidence to support their validity in forensic cases.
Subcutaneous chondromyxoid fibroma with a novel PNISR::GRM1 fusion—report of a primary soft tissue tumour without connection to an underlying bone
Authors: Zupan Andrej , Salapura Vladka , Šekoranja Daja , Pižem Jože
Published: February 2023

Chondromyxoid fibroma (CMF) is a rare benign bone tumour. While CMF located entirely on the surface of a bone (i.e. juxtacortical CMF) has been well characterised, CMF has not so far been convincingly documented to arise in soft tissues without connection to an underlying bone.

We report a subcutaneous CMF in a 34-year-old male, located on the distal medial aspect of the right thigh without any connection with the femur. The tumour measured 15 mm, it was well-circumscribed and displayed typical morphological features of a CMF. At the periphery, there was a small area of metaplastic bone. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells were diffusely positive for smooth muscle actin and GRM1, and negative for S100 protein, desmin and cytokeratin AE1AE3. Whole transcriptome sequencing revealed a novel PNISR::GRM1 gene fusion.

Our case indicates that CMF should be included in the differential diagnosis of soft tissue (including subcutaneous) tumours composed of spindle/ovoid cells, with a lobular architecture and chondromyxoid matrix. The diagnosis of CMF arising in soft tissues can be confirmed by identifying a GRM1 gene fusion or GRM1 expression by immunohistochemistry.
Acute versus delayed total hip arthroplasty after acetabular fracture fixation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Liang Kaifeng , Gani Muhammad Haseeb , Griffin Xavier , Culpan Paul , Mukabeta Takura , Bates Peter
Published: February 2023

Background

Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a disabling complication of open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for acetabular fractures. There is a trend towards acute total hip arthroplasty (THA), ‘fix-and-replace’, in patients considered to have a poor prognosis and likelihood of PTOA. Controversy remains between early fix-and-replace, versus delayed THA as required after initial ORIF. This systematic review included studies comparing functional and clinical outcomes between acute versus delayed THA after displaced acetabular fractures.

Methods

Comprehensive searches following the PRISMA guideline were performed on six databases for articles in English published anytime up to 29 March 2021. Two authors screened articles and discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Patient demographics, fracture classification, functional and clinical outcomes were compiled and analysed.

Results

The search yielded 2770 unique studies, of which five retrospective studies were identified with a total of 255 patients. Of them, 138 (54.1%) were treated with acute and 117 (45.9%) treated with delayed THA. Delayed THA group represented a younger cohort compared to the acute group (mean age, 64.3 vs 73.3). The mean follow-up time for the acute and delayed group was 23 and 50 months, respectively. There was no difference in functional outcomes between the two study groups. Complication and mortality rates were comparable. Delayed THA had a higher revision rate compared to the acute group (17.1 vs 4.3%; p = 0.002).

Conclusion

Fix-and-replace had functional outcomes and complication rates similar to ORIF and delayed THA, but lower revision rates. Although the quality of studies was mixed, sufficient equipoise now exists to justify randomised studies in this area.

PROSPERO registration: CRD42021235730
The Impact of Climate Legislation on Trade-Related Carbon Emissions 1996–2018
Authors: Eskander Shaikh M. S. U. , Fankhauser Sam
Published: February 2023

We analyse the international impact on carbon emissions from national climate legislation in 111 countries over 1996–2018. We estimate trade-related carbon leakage, or net carbon imports, as the difference between consumption and production emissions. Legislation has had a significant negative and roughly similar impact on both consumption and production emissions. The net impact on trade-related emissions is therefore not statistically significant, neither in the short term (laws passed in the last 3 years) nor the long term (laws older than 3 years). We find a significant negative long-term impact on domestic emissions from laws passed by trade partners. This latter specification corresponds to the traditional definition of carbon leakage. Overall, we conclude that there has been no detrimental effect of climate legislation on international emissions.
Life cycle assessment on construction and demolition waste recycling: a systematic review analyzing three important quality aspects
Authors: Bayram Berfin , Greiff Kathrin
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly being applied to construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling. But what is the current state of LCA studies on CDW recycling? In the context of circular economy, several aspects become important in LCA, such as avoided impacts and consideration of the quality of recycled materials. The aim of this study is to identify inconsistencies and best practices, and then provide recommendations for future LCA studies focusing on CDW recycling.

Methods

We conducted a systematic literature review on 76 journal articles. First, a general mapping of the selected studies was performed including the temporal and geographical distribution, and a bibliometric analysis to capture the linkages between the studies. Within the LCA content-based analysis, an in-depth assessment of three important quality aspects: (1) quality of the study based on the applied LCA methodology, (2) inclusion of material quality in LCA, and (3) data quality considering sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, was carried out. Major LCA components such as functional unit (FU), software, database, system approach (attributional or consequential), allocation method, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation were evaluated. A special emphasis was placed on avoided impacts and the inclusion of recycled material quality in the LCA.

Results and discussion

In this review, it was found that many essential elements of LCA were missing or not implemented correctly. For example, in the definition of FU, some studies did not mention any FU, others defined an invalid FU, and most of the studies defined a uniform FU, which was most likely confused with the reference flow. The main problem observed is the lack of transparent reporting on the different elements of LCA. Regarding avoided impacts, for instance, only 13 studies reported the avoided materials and their substitution coefficients. Also, 6 studies used the term “virgin material” for avoided impacts without further information, which is a very broad term and difficult to interpret. Furthermore, only 12 studies included the quality of recycled material in the LCA.

Conclusion

To obtain reliable LCA results, the practitioners should follow the principal LCA methodology and peer-reviewers should ensure the proper implementation. In CDW recycling, the differentiation between downcycling and recycling is essential; therefore, the quality of recycled materials should be included in the LCA. Considering inconsistent implementation of avoided impacts, a standardized and well-defined avoided impact framework is suggested to be developed to improve the quality and reliability of future LCA studies.
Exosomes induce neurogenesis of pluripotent P19 cells
Authors: Anji Antje , Anderson Briana , Akhtar Feroz , Meekins David A. , Ito Takashi , Mummidi Srinivas , Kumari Meena
Published: February 2023

Exosomes play a role in tissue/organ development and differentiation. Retinoic acid induces differentiation of P19 cells (UD-P19) to P19 neurons (P19N) that behave like cortical neurons and express characteristic neuronal genes such as NMDA receptor subunits. Here we report P19N exosome-mediated differentiation of UD-P19 to P19N. Both UD-P19 and P19N released exosomes with characteristic exosome morphology, size, and common protein markers. P19N internalized significantly higher number of Dil-P19N exosomes as compared to UD-P19 with accumulation in the perinuclear region. Continuous exposure of UD-P19 to P19N exosomes for six days induced formation of small-sized embryoid bodies that differentiated into MAP2-/GluN2B-positive neurons recapitulating RA-induction of neurogenesis. Incubation with UD-P19 exosomes for six days did not affect UD-P19. Small RNA-seq identified enrichment of P19N exosomes with pro-neurogenic non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as miR-9, let-7, MALAT1 and depleted with ncRNAs involved in maintenance of stem cell characteristics. UD-P19 exosomes were rich with ncRNAs required for maintenance of stemness. P19N exosomes provide an alternative method to genetic modifications for cellular differentiation of neurons. Our novel findings on exosomes-mediated differentiation of UD-P19 to P19 neurons provide tools to study pathways directing neuron development/differentiation and develop novel therapeutic strategies in neuroscience.

Graphical Abstract
Investigation of Cerebral Hemodynamics During Endovascular Aspiration: Development of an Experimental and Numerical Setup
Authors: Luisi C. A. , Amiri A. , Büsen M. , Sichermann T. , Nikoubashman O. , Wiesmann M. , Steinseifer U. , Müller M. , Neidlin M.
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Acute ischemic stroke is a life-threatening emergency caused by an occlusion of a cerebral artery through a blood clot. Aspiration thrombectomy is an endovascular therapy for the removal of vessel occlusions. However, open questions regarding the hemodynamics during the intervention remain, motivating investigations of blood flow within cerebral arteries. In this study, we present a combined experimental and numerical approach to analyze hemodynamics during endovascular aspiration.

Methods

We have developed an in vitro setup for investigations of hemodynamic changes during endovascular aspiration within a compliant model of patient-specific cerebral arteries. Pressures, flows, and locally resolved velocities were obtained. In addition, we established a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and compared the simulations during physiological conditions and in two aspiration scenarios with different occlusions.

Results

Flow redistribution within cerebral arteries after ischemic stroke is strongly dependent on the severity of the occlusion and on the volume flow extracted by endovascular aspiration. Numerical simulations exhibit an excellent correlation of R = 0.92 for flow rates and a good correlation of R = 0.73 for pressures. Further on, the local velocity field inside the basilar artery had a good agreement between CFD model and particle image velocimetry (PIV) data.

Conclusion

The presented setup allows for in vitro investigations of artery occlusions and endovascular aspiration techniques on arbitrary patient-specific cerebrovascular anatomies. The in silico model provides consistent predictions of flows and pressures in several aspiration scenarios.
Power Biomass to Liquid — an option for Europe’s sustainable and independent aviation fuel production
Authors: Habermeyer Felix , Weyand Julia , Maier Simon , Kurkela Esa , Dietrich Ralph-Uwe
Published: February 2023

The European Union guides its member states to a gradual uptake of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from 2% vol. in 2025 to 63% vol. by 2050 with the ReFuelEU proposal as part of the Fit-for-55 package. A promising production pathway for SAF presents itself in the Power Biomass to Liquid (PBtL) process, which converts non-crop-based biomass residue and renewable power via the Fischer–Tropsch route. In this study, a techno-economic and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission analysis of a small-scale (50 MWth) PBtL process concept, developed in the EU project FLEXCHX, is presented. The analysis is conducted with a thermodynamic process model implemented in Aspen Plus®, which relies on experimental project data. For the PBtL base case production costs of 1.09 €2020/l are estimated, whereby electricity and investment into the alkaline electrolyzer constitute the largest cost drivers. At low electricity prices (< 39.2 €/MWh), the PBtL process is more cost effective than the reference process Biomass to Liquid (BtL). To identify improvements to the base case design, different design options are considered under varying economic boundary conditions: Solid oxide electrolysis is more economic than alkaline electrolysis at higher electricity prices due to its higher system efficiency. Maximizing the product yield by increased CO2 recycling is only economically reasonable below an electricity price threshold, which is found at 20 €/MWh for the base case. Further, PBtL is heavily dependent upon the availability of low GHG electricity in order to produce SAF with a low carbon footprint. Assuming full utilization of the EU’s non-crop-based biomass residues, the EU jet fuel demand for 2030 could be met with the PBtL process.
Varroa resistance in Apis cerana: a review
Authors: Grindrod Isobel , Martin Stephen J.
Published: February 2023

Varroa is a major world-wide pest to Western honey bees (Apis mellifera), causing huge ongoing losses of colonies every year. Conversely, the Eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) is less vulnerable to the mite having existed alongside it over a long evolutionary period. Research conducted during the 1980s and 1990s, shortly after Varroa had spread across the globe, concluded that the Eastern honey bee was less vulnerable because it displayed higher levels of grooming behaviour, brood removal behaviour and mite infertility than its Western counterpart. However, this review on these Varroa resistance traits in A. cerana indicates that there is surprisingly little evidence for these conclusions. This review explores this evidence and discusses the potential flaws in the studies and the gaps that still remain in our knowledge of Varroa resistance traits in A. cerana.
Deciphering microeukaryotic–bacterial co-occurrence networks in coastal aquaculture ponds
Authors: Zheng Xiafei , Xu Kui , Naoum Jonathan , Lian Yingli , Wu Bo , He Zhili , Yan Qingyun
Published: February 2023

Microeukaryotes and bacteria are key drivers of primary productivity and nutrient cycling in aquaculture ecosystems. Although their diversity and composition have been widely investigated in aquaculture systems, the co-occurrence bipartite network between microeukaryotes and bacteria remains poorly understood. This study used the bipartite network analysis of high-throughput sequencing datasets to detect the co-occurrence relationships between microeukaryotes and bacteria in water and sediment from coastal aquaculture ponds. Chlorophyta and fungi were dominant phyla in the microeukaryotic–bacterial bipartite networks in water and sediment, respectively. Chlorophyta also had overrepresented links with bacteria in water. Most microeukaryotes and bacteria were classified as generalists, and tended to have symmetric positive and negative links with bacteria in both water and sediment. However, some microeukaryotes with high density of links showed asymmetric links with bacteria in water. Modularity detection in the bipartite network indicated that four microeukaryotes and twelve uncultured bacteria might be potential keystone taxa among the module connections. Moreover, the microeukaryotic–bacterial bipartite network in sediment harbored significantly more nestedness than that in water. The loss of microeukaryotes and generalists will more likely lead to the collapse of positive co-occurrence relationships between microeukaryotes and bacteria in both water and sediment. This study unveils the topology, dominant taxa, keystone species, and robustness in the microeukaryotic–bacterial bipartite networks in coastal aquaculture ecosystems. These species herein can be applied for further management of ecological services, and such knowledge may also be very useful for the regulation of other eutrophic ecosystems.
Impact of COVID-19 on online grocery shopping discussion and behavior reflected from Google Trends and geotagged tweets
Authors: Wu Nemin , Mu Lan
Published: February 2023

People express opinions, make connections, and disseminate information on social media platforms. We considered grocery-related tweets as a proxy for grocery shopping behaviors or intentions. We collected data from January 2019 to January 2022, representing three typical times of the normal period before the COVID-19 pandemic, the outbreak period, and the widespread period. We obtained grocery-related geotagged tweets using a search term index based on the top 10 grocery chains in the US and compiled Google Trends online grocery shopping data. We performed a topic modeling analysis using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and verified that most of the collected tweets were related to grocery-shopping demands or experiences. Temporal and geographical analyses were applied to investigate when and where people talked more about groceries, and how COVID-19 affected them. The results show that the pandemic has been gradually changing people’s daily shopping concerns and behaviors, which have become more spread throughout the week since the pandemic began. Under the causal impact of COVID-19, people first experienced panic buying groceries followed by pandemic fatigue a year later. The normalized tweet counts show a decrease of 40% since the pandemic began, and the negative causal effect can be considered statistically significant (p-value = 0.001). The variation in the quantity of grocery-related tweets also reflects geographic diversity in grocery concerns. We found that people in non-farm areas with less population and relatively lower levels of educational attainment tend to act more sensitively to the evolution of the pandemic. Utilizing the COVID-19 death cases and consumer price index (CPI) for food at home as background information, we proposed an understanding of the pandemic’s impact on online grocery shopping by assembling, geovisualizing, and analyzing the evolution of online grocery behaviors and discussion on social media before and during the pandemic.
Dinutuximab beta-targeted therapy kills beta-cell tumors of the pancreas
Authors: Karatug Kacar Ayse , Adıguzel Zelal
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Dinutuximab beta is a monoclonal antibody used only in glioblastoma. Streptozotocin is an agent that is particularly toxic to pancreatic beta cells. Dinutuximab beta causes cytotoxicity through natural killer cells and neutrophils and shows effects. In this study, cytotoxicity was induced by streptozotocin without natural killer cells and neutrophils. Gaining the ability to show the effect of Dinutuximab beta without a natural killer was the first aim of this study. This will be especially important in cases where the immune system is deficient, such as cancer. The second aim of the study was to investigate the effects of Dinutuximab beta on cell viability and cell death in insulinoma under the conditions created.

Methods

The effect of Dinutuximab beta in the presence of natural killer cells in vivo was created by the application of Streptozotocin to Beta-cell tumors of the pancreas in vitro. The cell viability was determined with WST-1 assay. Reactive oxygen species were measured by using dichlorofluorescein diacetate as a spectrophotometer. The cells were marked with DAPI to indicate apoptotic markers (nuclear condensation and fragmentation) with the confocal microscope. GLUT2 (Glucose transporter 2), IR (Insulin receptor), INS1, and INS2 expression levels were analyzed with q-RT-PCR.

Results

The cell cytotoxicity was induced by Streptozotocin. The cells proliferated with the administration of Dinutuximab beta alone. The result of Dinutuximab beta administered following Streptozotocin administration resulted in more cell death, increased ROS levels, GLUT2, Ins1, and Ins2 mRNA expression levels, and decreased IR mRNA expression levels. Furthermore, the cells predominantly died via apoptosis showing cytoplasmic condensation and DNA fragmentation.

Conclusions

The lethal effect of Dinutuximab beta without a natural killer was provided by Streptozotocin in Beta cell tumors of the pancreas.
Construction logic and implementation strategies of spatial planning system of China
Authors: Zhao Min , Pan Haixia
Published: February 2023

In the context of Chinese central government’s major decision to establish a spatial planning system, this article starts by reviews and analyzes the history of the formation and evolution of spatial planning in China; then, on this basis, analyzes the administrative and technical logic concerning the construction of the new planning system in China; finally, probes into the legal construction issues of the new planning system and several implementation strategies, including the hierarchical and classified formulation and transmission mechanism of the spatial planning, the plan’s role of strategic guidance and baseline control, the formulation methods of Detailed Plan under the new planning system, the division of planning powers and the innovation of the planning documentation system, etc.
Camino al español
Authors: de Andrés Martínez Consuelo , Bonelli Nadezhda , Cook Christine , Trippett Anthony
Published: February 2023

Written by a team of experienced teachers of Spanish, this textbook is designed to lead the adult beginner to a comprehensive knowledge of Spanish, giving balanced attention to the four key language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). It puts language learning into its real-life context, by incorporating authentic materials such as newspaper articles, poems and songs. It contains a learner and a teacher guide and is intended to complement study both inside and outside the classroom, by providing pair and group activities, as well as materials for independent learning. It also includes helpful reference features, such as a guide to grammatical terms, verb tables, vocabulary lists and a pronunciation guide. This extensively updated second edition features extra exercises to support the acquisition of good pronunciation, and is accompanied by a web companion that hosts expansion exercises, activities, solutions and useful links for each unit, as well transcripts, and access to brand new recordings of all the audio examples found in the book.
A calendar year mortality model in continuous time
Authors: Hainaut Donatien
Published: February 2023

This article proposes a continuous time mortality model based on calendar years. Mortality rates belong to a mean-reverting random field indexed by time and age. In order to explain the improvement of life expectancies, the reversion level of mortality rates is the product of a deterministic function of age and of a decreasing jump-diffusion process driving the evolution of longevity. We provide a general closed-form expression for survival probabilities and develop it when the mean reversion level of mortality rates is proportional to a Gompertz–Makeham law. We develop an econometric estimation method and validate the model on the Belgian population.