bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temporal Trends of Dry Spells in Indian Meteorological Subdivisions During Southwest Monsoon 1951–2023
Authors: Soni Anil Kumar , Tripathi Jayant Nath
Published: December 2024

Amidst the backdrop of climate change, the monsoon rainfall pattern is experiencing alterations over time. A precise evaluation of monsoon rainfall distribution throughout the season is crucial for effective water management in agriculture, conducting drought assessments, and evaluating associated risks. Our study focused on analysing dry and wet spells within the Indian meteorological subdivisions over the past 73 years (1951–2023). It examines the spatial distribution of southwest monsoon rainfall and dry days, revealing a correlation between limited rainfall and extended dry periods, especially noticeable in regions like Western Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. Vulnerability to drought is evident in regions with moderate monsoon rainfall and a high frequency of dry days. The study reveals that 65% of meteorological subdivisions experience over 60 dry days during the monsoon season, underscoring the need for a detailed analysis of dry day patterns. July and August are vital for Indian agriculture, as crop growth relies on consistent monsoonal rainfall; extended dry spells during this period cause moisture stress, affecting key stages like flowering and grain filling. The study reveals an alarming trend, with 44% of meteorological subdivisions showing an increase in dry days during August, and 29% exhibiting a similar trend for the overall monsoon season. The study also investigated the relationship between dry days and ENSO events, finding that Central and Northwest India are predominantly affected by moderate to strong events, resulting in a high probability of increased dry days. This increase in dry spells, driven by shifts in monsoon variability and intensity, reduces water availability during the growing season and raises the risk of crop failure. These findings emphasise the importance of implementing effective mitigation strategies to address the challenges posed by prolonged dry spells and their detrimental impact on crop yields.
Personalized deep learning auto‐segmentation models for adaptive fractionated magnetic resonance‐guided radiation therapy of the abdomen
Authors: Kawula Maria , Marschner Sebastian , Wei Chengtao , Ribeiro Marvin F. , Corradini Stefanie , Belka Claus , Landry Guillaume , Kurz Christopher
Published: December 2024

Background

Manual contour corrections during fractionated magnetic resonance (MR)‐guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) are time‐consuming. Conventional population models for deep learning auto‐segmentation might be suboptimal for MRgRT at MR‐Linacs since they do not incorporate manual segmentation from treatment planning and previous fractions.

Purpose

In this work, we investigate patient‐specific (PS) auto‐segmentation methods leveraging expert‐segmented planning and prior fraction MR images (MRIs) to improve auto‐segmentation on consecutive treatment days.

Materials and Methods

Data from 151 abdominal cancer patients treated at a 0.35 T MR‐Linac (151 planning and 215 fraction MRIs) were included. Population baseline models (BMs) were trained on 107 planning MRIs for one‐class segmentation of the aorta, bowel, duodenum, kidneys, liver, spinal canal, and stomach. PS models were obtained by fine‐tuning the BMs using the planning MRI (). Maximal improvement by continuously updating the PS models was investigated by adding the first four out of five fraction MRIs (). Similarly, PS models without BM were trained ( and ). All hyperparameters were optimized using 23 patients, and the methods were tested on the remaining 21 patients. Evaluation involved Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), average () and the 95th percentile (HD95) Hausdorff distance. A qualitative contour assessment by a radiation oncologist was performed for BM, , and .

Results

and networks had the best geometric performance. and BMs showed similar DSC and HDs values, however models outperformed BMs. predictions scored the best in the qualitative evaluation, followed by the BMs and  models.

Conclusion

Personalized auto‐segmentation models outperformed the population BMs. In most cases, delineations were judged to be directly usable for treatment adaptation without further corrections, suggesting a potential time saving during fractionated treatment.
Synergies of polypyrrole and carbon nanotube on carbon fiber fabrics for improving electrochemical and mechanical properties of structural supercapacitor electrodes
Authors: Zeng Siheng , Wang Xin , Wu Zhishen , Hua Luqing
Published: December 2024

Structural supercapacitors (SSCs) are a promising solution for reducing the weight of structures. In order to improve the electrochemical performance of carbon fiber (CF) electrodes, a new technique for carbon fiber electrodes modified with polypyrrole (PPy) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with friendly preparation methods was developed. The mixture of PPy and CNT produced a significant synergistic effect in increasing the capacitance of the electrode. PPy/CF electrode was optimized by adjusting parameters. The areal capacitance of the CNT‐PPy/CF electrode achieves 1789.84 mF/cm2 at a scanning speed of 10 mV/s, which is 159 times higher compared with the CF electrode. Furthermore, the CNT‐PPy/CF electrode exhibits good electrical conductivity, mechanical flexibility, and cycle stability. In terms of mechanical properties, the monofilament tensile strength of CNT‐PPy/CF is improved by 9.5% compared to CF after treatment at 550°C. In addition, the SSC was fabricated using two pieces of electrodes, the PEGDGE/EMIMTFSI/LiTFSI as the electrolyte and a piece of basalt fiber fabric as the separator. The capacitance of SSC with CNT‐PPy/CF as electrodes is 38 times higher than that with CF as electrodes, and the power density is 1.23 mW/cm−3 at the energy density of 18.36 μWh/cm−3. The results demonstrate the CNT‐PPy/CF electrode provides an excellent electrode for the high‐performance SSC.

Highlights

A novel modification method for CF electrodes was developed using CNTs and PPy.

The synergistic effect of PPy and CNT is exhibited.

CNT‐PPy/CF provides excellent electrodes for the high‐performance SSC.

PPy synthesized with dopant NaSSA exhibits excellent electrochemical performance.

CNT‐PPy/CF exhibits excellent electrochemical and mechanical performance.
Prediction of Lung Adenocarcinoma Driver Genes Through Protein–Protein Interaction Networks Utilizing GenePlexus
Authors: Yuan Fei , Zhang Yu‐Hang , Huang FeiMing , Cao Xiaoyu , Chen Lei , Li JiaBo , Shen WenFeng , Feng KaiYan , Bao YuSheng , Huang Tao , Cai Yu‐Dong
Published: December 2024

Lung adenocarcinoma, a subtype of lung cancer, is produced by uncontrolled proliferation of somatic cells affected by some tumorigenic factors. The origin of this disease can be attributed to the concept of “cancer driver,” which links the occurrence of tumor with specific changes in some key genes. These key genes can be identified at various molecular levels. Our innovative method uses a groundbreaking computing technology called GenePlexus to mine new genes related to lung adenocarcinoma. Initially, a vast network was synthesized from protein‐protein interactions. Utilizing GenePlexus, we traversed paths interlinking aberrant genes across different layers and pinpointed emerging candidate genes situated on these trajectories. Finally, the candidate genes that were obtained underwent a series of filtering processes, including a permutation test, interaction test, and enrichment test. Compared with the shortest path method, GenePlexus has identified previously neglected genes involved in lung adenocarcinoma. For example, genes such as EGR2, EPHA3, FGFR4, HOXB1, and HEY1 play key roles at multiple molecular levels, including methylation, microRNA, mRNA and mutation, which affect tumorigenesis and lung cancer progression. These genes regulate various processes, from gene expression and cell proliferation to drug resistance to therapeutic drugs and the progress of lung adenocarcinoma.
Optimized GRU‐Based Voltage Fault Prediction Method for Lithium‐Ion Battery Packs in Real‐Life
Authors: Shen Hongyu , Liu Yuefeng , Zhao Qiyan , Xue Guoyue , Zhang Tiange
Published: December 2024

Various failures of lithium‐ion batteries threaten the safety and performance of the battery system. Due to the insignificant anomalies and the nonlinear time‐varying properties of the cell, current methods for identifying the diverse faults in battery packs suffer from low accuracy and an inability to precisely determine the type of fault, a method has been proposed that utilizes the Random Forest algorithm (RF) to select key factors influencing voltage, optimizes model parameters through an Improved Dung Beetle Optimization algorithm (IDBO), employs a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) integrated with a channel and time attention mechanism (CTAM) for voltage fault prediction, and the consistency of the voltage is measured by quantifying the predicted voltage curve based on the curve Manhattan distance, a hybrid model for predicting voltage faults in lithium‐ion battery packs has been constructed, ultimately identifying faults such as overvoltage, undervoltage, and inconsistency of the battery pack. The experimental results show that the hybrid model proposed in this study outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art techniques such as informer and transformer in voltage fault prediction by achieving MAE, MSE, and MAPE metrics of 0.009272%, 0.000222%, and 0.246%, respectively, and maintains high efficiency in terms of the number of parameters and runtime.
Enhanced Conductivity in Conjugated Microporous Polymers via Integrating of Carbon Nanotubes for Ultrasensitive NO2 Chemiresistive Sensor
Authors: He Weisi , Li Qian‐Wen , Chen Sijie , Liu He , Cheng Zhonghua , Li Shuang , Lyu Wei , Xu Gang , Chen Yong‐Jun , Liao Yaozu
Published: December 2024

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) present high promise for chemiresistive gas sensing owing to their inherent porosities, high surface areas, and tunable semiconducting properties. However, the poor conductivity hinders their widespread application in chemiresistive sensing. In this work, three typical CMPs (PSATA, PSATB, and PSATT) are synthesized and their chemiresistive gas sensing performance is investigated for the first time. To further improve performance, PSATT are modified on the surface of amino‐functionalized multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (NH2‐MWCNTs) to improve the conductivity. As a result, the obtained material, PSATT‐7NC exhibited a high sensitivity of 9766% toward 4 ppm NO2, which is 2.5 times higher than that of pristine PSATT. It also demonstrated remarkable selectivity and excellent long‐term stability. Furthermore, the lowest limit of detection (0.79 ppb) among all polymers‐based sensors is achieved at a low operating temperature of 100 °C. This work provides a valuable strategy into the development of a new material platform for advancing high‐performance gas sensing applications.
Toward Automated DNA Nanoprinting: Advancing the Synthesis of Covalently Branched DNA
Authors: Zhao Fangzhou , Saliba Daniel , Asohan Jathavan , Sleiman Hanadi F.
Published: December 2024

Covalently branched DNA molecules are hybrid structures where a small molecule core is covalently linked to different DNA strands. They merge the programmability of DNA nanotechnology with synthetic molecules’ functionality, offering enhanced stability over their non‐covalent counterparts like double‐crossover tiles. They enable the efficient assembly of stable DNA nanostructures with new geometries and functionalities. These motifs can be prepared through “DNA printing”, which uses a DNA nanostructure as a temporary template to covalently transfer specific DNA strands to a small molecule core. Here, the “printing” process is streamlined with DNA‐immobilized polystyrene microspheres, laying the foundation for future automated DNA printing devices. First, the DNA template hybridizes with reactive complementary strands, which are then crosslinked using a small molecule. Second, beads with fully complementary molecules capture the “daughter” products by strand displacement. This ensures high product yields and high recovery of the “mother” template for reuse. This method allows the precise transfer of different DNA strands onto various small molecules, including aromatics and functional porphyrins. Notably, these branching motifs exhibit remarkable stability toward nucleases without any specialized modifications. Moreover, they can serve as robust building blocks for precise assembly of 3D structures, such as an addressable tetrahedron from only two components.
Preparation Optimization by Response Surface and Performance Characterization of a New Starch‐Based Adhesive
Authors: Chen Guang , Zhao Wenguang , Deng Songling , Liu Zhimin , Chen Qi‐jie
Published: December 2024

In this study, a new kind of green, pollution‐free, and renewable starch‐based adhesive (CP‐dialdehyde starch [DSt]) was prepared by using corn starch as raw material, which was oxidized into DSt by sodium periodate, grafted with chitosan, and cross‐linked with polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG‐200). The preparation parameters of CP‐DSt adhesive were optimized by response surface methodology, and it was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and x‐ray spectroscopy (EDAX). The results showed that when the PEG‐200 dosage was 53% (w/w, dry starch basis), the dosage of chitosan was 15.2% (w/w, dry starch basis), the reaction time was 2.4 h, and the reaction temperature was 41°C, the comprehensive properties of the adhesive were better. The dry shear strength of the CP‐DSt adhesive can reach 3.04 MPa. When the adhesive was used to bond paper‐based materials, the tensile index increased from 21.21 to 24.65 N m/g, an increase of 16.22%; the tear resistance index increased from 1.75 to 2.03 kPa m2/g, an increase of 16.0%; the ring pressure index increased most significantly, increasing by 30.28%. The SEM analysis showed that the bonding strength of CP‐DSt adhesive was greater than the internal bonding strength of the boxboard, and the water contact angle was 45.9°, indicating that CP‐DSt adhesive also had a certain hydrophobicity. This paper provided a new idea for the preparation of the high‐quality starch‐based adhesive, which had a wide application prospect in paper adhesive.
The Mediating Role of HRM Outcomes in the Relationship Between Managerial Staff Development and Company Performance Results: A Contextual Study of MNCs in Central Europe
Authors: Stor Marzena
Published: December 2024

The main goal of the article is to determine the mediating role of human resources management (HRM) outcomes in the relationships between managerial staff development (MSD) and company performance results in multinational companies (MNCs) and to establish whether there are any identifiable regularities in this scope in four types of contexts, that is, the pre‐pandemic and pandemic period in the headquarters (HQs) and foreign subsidiaries of MNCs. This article presents an innovative approach to analyzing the relationship between these variables. To capture the actual relationships, the efficiency index was introduced which makes a novelty in the studies on management of MNCs. Additionally, the empirical research was conducted in MNCs established in Central Europe, which is not a frequent subject of research. The research findings show that in the foreign subsidiaries of MNCs, during a pandemic, the results in HRM mediate the relationships between MSD and company's performance results in finance, innovativeness, and quality stronger than in the pre‐pandemic time. As for the HQs during the pandemic, this mediation effect was stronger when innovativeness was considered, stayed the same for quality, and decreased for finance.
Disclosure 21: Parallel worlds
Authors: Rainsberger Richard
Published: December 2024

Several months ago, I was reading my local newspaper and saw an article that caught my attention. It reported that the records of two individuals had been illegally disclosed to at least a dozen employees of an institution. The disclosures were violations of “federal privacy laws.” The article did not mention the specific laws, but of course, FERPA and HIPAA came to mind instantly.
Quasi Gelfand Triples
Authors: Skrepek Nathanael
Published: December 2024

We generalize the notion of Gelfand triples (also called Banach-Gelfand triples or rigged Hilbert spaces) by dropping the necessity of a continuous embedding. This means in our setting we lack of a chain inclusion. We replace the continuous embedding by a closed embedding of a dense subspace. This notion will be called quasi Gelfand triple. These triples appear naturally, when we regard the boundary spaces of spatially multidimensional differential operators, e.g., the Maxwell operator. We will show that there is a smallest space where we can continuously embed the entire triple. Moreover, we will show density results for intersections of members of the quasi Gelfand triple. Finally, we show that every quasi Gelfand triple can be decomposed into two “ordinary” Gelfand triples.
Langzeitverläufe bei Schizophrenien
Authors: Nenadić Igor , Falkenberg Irina , Mehl Stephanie , Kircher Tilo
Published: December 2024

Entgegen der klassischen Konzeptualisierung der Schizophrenie als eine progressive Erkrankung mit hoher Chronifizierung zeigen aktuelle Langzeitstudien einen höheren Anteil an Remissionen, möglicherweise auch einen höheren Anteil an Recovery als bisher angenommen. Die Heterogenität der klinischen Verläufe spiegelt sich auch in kognitiven und biologischen (z. B. bildgebenden) Variablen wider, in welchen viele Betroffene Remissionen zeigen. Frühe Interventionen in den ersten Wochen und Monaten nach Erkrankungsbeginn sind dabei nicht nur für die unmittelbare Remission, sondern möglicherweise auch für den Langzeitverlauf entscheidend. Die Behandlung und Reduktion somatischer Begleiterkrankungen ist neben einer differenzierten Kerntherapie dabei ein vielversprechender Ansatz, Verläufe auch nach Jahren der Erkrankung positiv zu beeinflussen. Die Identifikation weiterer Prädiktoren, z. B. anhand biologischer Parameter, kann dabei zusammen mit Ansätzen des maschinellen Lernens zur Optimierung einer individualisierten Kerntherapie beitragen.
The clinical applications of dual-layer spectral detector CT in digestive system diseases
Authors: Chen Yidi , Liu Xijiao , Zeng Hanjiang , Zhang Jinge , Li Zhengyan , Wu Bin , Huang Zixing , Song Bin
Published: December 2024

Objective

Dual-layer spectral detector CT (DLCT) has several advantages in clinical practice, this study aims to reveal the clinical applications of DLCT in digestive system diseases.

Materials and methods

We searched PubMed and Cochrane Reviews for articles published from January 1, 2010 to May 31, 2024, using the terms “dual-layer spectral detector CT” or “dual-layer CT” combined with “hepatic fat” or “hepatic fibrosis” “hepatocellular carcinoma” or “pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma” or “pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors” or "gastric cancer" or "colorectal cancer" or "Crohn’s disease" or "bowel ischemia" or "acute abdominal conditions".

Results

DLCT consists of a top layer sensitive to lower-energy photons and a bottom layer sensitive to higher-energy photons. This configuration enables simultaneous acquisition of two energy spectra from a single X-ray beam ensuring consistent spatial alignment and temporal resolution. Spectral raw images allow image post-processing to improve image quality, reduce radiation doses and contrast media doses, and generate multiple quantitative parameters. It has broad potential for early detection, accurate staging, efficacy assessment, and prognosis prediction of liver, pancreatic, and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as for the assessment of digestive system vasculature.

Conclusions

DLCT not only provides valuable information for the clinical diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation of digestive system diseases but also may play a more important role in the overall management of digestive diseases and in the decision-making of individualized medicine.

Key Points

QuestionWhat are the advantages of DLCT compared to traditional single-energy CT in the early detection, staging, and therapeutic evaluation of digestive system diseases?

FindingsDLCT enhances image quality, improves tissue characterization, and allows for multi-parametric analysis, making it superior in detecting and evaluating liver, pancreatic, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Clinical relevanceDLCT provides high-quality, multi-parametric imaging that improves the accuracy of diagnosing digestive diseases, facilitates more precise treatment planning, and enhances monitoring of treatment response, ultimately contributing to better patient management and prognosis.
Thyroid doses for the Chornobyl Tissue Bank: improved estimates based on revised methodology and individual residence and diet history
Authors: Masiuk Sergii , Chepurny Mykola , Buderatska Valentyna , Ivanova Olha , Boiko Zulfira , Zhadan Natalia , Chornovol Halyna , Bolgov Mikhail , Shpak Viktor , Tronko Mykola , Cahoon Elizabeth K. , Chanock Stephen J. , Bogdanova Tetiana , Morton Lindsay M. , Drozdovitch Vladimir
Published: December 2024

Increased thyroid cancer incidence has been one of the principal adverse health effects of the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear power plant accident. Accurate dose estimation is critical for assessing the radiation dose-response relationship. Current dosimetry estimates for individuals from the Chornobyl Tissue Bank (CTB) are based only on the limited information on their places of residence at the time of the accident and/or at the time of surgery for thyroid cancer. The present study aimed to assess whether additional residential and dietary history data collected during personal interviews would substantially impact dose estimates. This paper presents an assessment of thyroid doses from 131I intake for the 197 exposed individuals from the CTB with pathologically confirmed papillary thyroid cancer. Thyroid doses, which had been calculated for these individuals in 2010, were revised in this study using the recently substantially revised ‘Thyroid Dosimetry 2020 system for Ukraine’ (TDU20). In addition, residence and diet history data were collected during personal interviews with individuals for whom dosimetry-related data were scarce. The arithmetic mean of thyroid doses estimated in this study was 510 mGy (previously 700 mGy), while the median was 81 mGy (previously 120 mGy). A rather wide range of thyroid doses from zero to 11.9 Gy (previously up to 15.0 Gy) was observed among study participants. The uncertainties in doses were characterized by the geometric standard deviation of 1,000 individual stochastic doses. As a result, the geometric standard deviation varied from 1.3 to 5.3 with an overall arithmetic mean of 2.7 and a median of 2.9. This study clearly showed that the use of individual questionnaire data in dose assessment of individuals who completed personal dosimetry interviews had a noticeable impact on the thyroid dose values: the thyroid doses changed by more than 100 mGy in 31 out of 104 (29.8% of the total) individuals, while such changes due to the use of TDU20 were observed in 18 out of 104 (17.3%) individuals. Clearly, future focused studies using samples from the CTB would benefit from personal interviews to improve dose estimates. Another lesson learned from this study is that whenever a radiation accident occurs, it is important to ask affected people by health and radiation safety authorities to keep records of their own behavior and diet, and, if possible, those of their children.
Black spruce boreal forest soil solution inorganic nitrogen is highly resilient to 20 years of elevated nitrogen deposition
Authors: Houle Daniel , Renaudin Marie , Moore Jean-David , Duchesne Louis
Published: December 2024

Soil solution is the liquid phase of soil containing nutrients that are essential for vegetation’s health and growth. As such, soil solution chemistry is directly related to nutrient cycling and productivity in forest ecosystems. However, the long-term impacts of elevated N deposition on boreal forest soil solution composition remain uncertain. In this study, we investigate the effects of two decades of ammonium nitrate addition applied at rates of 3 (LN treatment) and 10 (HN treatment) times the ambient N deposition on soil solution collected weekly during the snow-free period at a black spruce boreal forest site located in eastern Canada. We show that N addition corresponding to 60 years (LN treatment) and 200 years (HN treatment) of accelerated ambient N deposition had nearly no important nor lasting impacts on soil solution NO3− and NH4+ concentrations. This reveals that N deposition will most likely not significantly impact Canadian boreal forests soil solution inorganic N concentration in the future. Based on these results and along with NOx emissions data measured globally in North America and on NO3–N deposition recorded at our experimental forest site, it is also likely that N deposition never affected Canadian forests’ soil chemistry in the past, even at the peak of N emission in North America in the 70 s. Our results indicate a surprisingly strong and widespread resilience of the eastern Canadian boreal forest soil solution chemistry and inorganic N content to long-term N deposition. This resilience can be partially explained by an important N-limitation in high-latitude forest ecosystems.
Scale dependence of bird diversity in London
Authors: Dein Jacob , Tran Liem
Published: December 2024

Context

Understanding drivers of biodiversity in cities can be mutually beneficial for ecosystems and people. Crowd-sourced bird observations provide an opportunity to assess how patterns of bird diversity change across observation scales and suggest driving processes.

Objectives

We assessed the scale dependence of bird diversity within a 128 × 128 km extent over London’s urban–rural gradient to suggest scales at which key drivers may be operating.

Methods

We quantified scale variance of bird diversity across scales from 500 m to 64,000 m for three groups of species (All, Passeriformes, and Anseriformes and Charadriiformes combined). We estimated diversity by aggregating observations into a series of grids and computed comparable diversity estimates within each cell using interpolation and rarefaction. We calculated the variance explained by each scale for common diversity metrics.

Results

The results show that bird diversity patterns around London vary by scale, and that the location of high variance shifts across the study area depending on both scale and species group. The variance of Passeriformes diversity gradually shifted from the urban core to the periphery, while variance of Anseriformes and Charadriiformes diversity occurred near water features.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the urban–rural gradient and location of water are two properties of the study extent around London influencing the scale dependance of bird diversity that could be used to ground scale considerations of further modeling efforts.
Generative artificial intelligence in management research: a practical guide on mistakes to avoid
Authors: Lorenz Felix , Lorenzen Solvej , Franco Matheus , Velz Julius , Clauß Thomas
Published: December 2024

Integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into academic research has opened new horizons for enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and innovation in the research process. While recent reviews, conceptualizations, and editorials highlight the potential or provide policy views, we want to give a practical guide on using generative AI in management research and which pitfalls to avoid. We offer five practical tips on what to avoid when using generative AI during the research process. Further, we provide practical guidelines, highlighting AI’s limitations and attempting to provide an outlook on each stage. In doing so, we provide comprehensive guidance on the promises and pitfalls for researchers seeking to leverage AI in the research process.
Biting behavior against Varroa mites in honey bees is associated with changes in mandibles, with tracking by a new mobile application for mite damage identification
Authors: Li-Byarlay Hongmei , Young Kaila , Cleare Xaryn , Cao Deng , Luo Shudong
Published: December 2024

Certain populations of feral or wild European Honey Bees (EHB), Apis mellifera, have developed a tolerance of or persistence against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in the USA. Although the grooming or mite-biting behavior is a trait bees use to defend against parasitic Varroa mites, little information is available concerning the grooming or mite-biting behavior of feral EHBs. Accordingly, we observed damaged mites of feral bees in Ohio (Apis mellifera ligustica) and commercial bees in four field seasons, 2020 to 2023, as well as feral bees in Kentucky (A. mellifera mellifera) in 2023, for a total of 7494 mites. When the mite-biting behavior was compared among these three populations, feral bees of Ohio (A. m. ligustica) and Kentucky (A. m. mellifera) displayed a significantly higher percentage (22% and 27% more) than the commercial bees. To investigate the mechanism of the mite-biting behavior, we examined bee mandibles. Mandibles are the primary mouthparts and tools used to remove or amputate the Varroa mites. Gentle Africanized honey bees (gAHB, A. mellifera scutellata-hybrid) in Puerto Rican exhibit mite resistance through microevolution on the island. Asian honey bees (A. cerana) are the original natural host of V. destructor. However, little has been reported on the morphometric analysis of mandibles between the two species A. cerana and A. mellifera and between the subspecies A. m. scutellata-hybrid and A. m. ligustica. Utilizing X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT), we then examined the three-dimensional morphology of mandibles in (1) A. cerana, (2) gAHB A. m. scutellata-hybrid, (3) Ohio feral A. m. ligustica, and (4) package or commercial colonies A. m. ligustica. Our findings revealed distinctive three-dimensional shapes of mandibles, indicating substantial variations among these populations. These variations suggest that mandible morphology has an integral role in the bee’s defensive mechanisms against parasitic mites. We also developed the first smartphone application to quantify the mite damage by applying artificial intelligence to image analysis. This research contributes valuable insights into the prospective selection and breeding of honey bees with enhanced mite resistance, thus promoting the sustainability of apiculture.
Zusammenhang zwischen Gender, empathisierender sowie systematisierender Denkweise und dem Fachinteresse sowie der Kurswahl in der Sekundarstufe II von Lernenden im Fach Physik
Authors: Welberg Julia , Schneider Ann-Katrin , Laumann Daniel , Heinicke Susanne
Published: December 2024

Interesse ist eine zentrale Variable des Lernens und beeinflusst die Kurswahl in der Sekundarstufe II. Studien zeigen, dass Jungen im Mittel ein stärkeres Fachinteresse Physik haben und häufiger Physikkurse in der Sekundarstufe II wählen als Mädchen. Diese genderbezogenen Unterschiede werden oft mit sozialisierungsbezogenen Argumenten erklärt. Darauf aufbauend wurden Maßnahmen zur interessensbezogenen Förderung und diversitätssensiblen Gestaltung des Unterrichts entwickelt, die Gender als Diversitätsmerkmal berücksichtigen. Betrachtet man die interessensbezogene Wirkung entsprechender Maßnahmen, finden sich eher schwach positive Effekte, die die Frage aufwerfen, inwiefern die Förderung nach Gender der Heterogenität der Interessensausprägung gerecht werden kann.

Ergänzende Persönlichkeitsmerkmale zu Gender finden sich beispielsweise in den Neigungen zu empathisierender und systematisierender Denkweise, basierend auf der Empathizing-Systemizing Theory. In einer quantitativen Studie mit Lernenden der Sekundarstufen I und II wurde der Zusammenhang dieser Neigungen zu empathisierender und systematisierender Denkweisen mit dem Fachinteresse Physik und der Kurswahl von Physik in der Sekundarstufe II untersucht. Ein Pfadmodell zeigt, dass die Neigung zu systematisierender Denkweise einen starken Einfluss auf das Fachinteresse Physik hat, was wiederum die Kurswahl beeinflusst. Im Vergleich dazu hat Gender nur einen geringen Einfluss auf das Fachinteresse Physik und die Kurswahl Physik in der Sekundarstufe II. Die Varianzaufklärung des Fachinteresse Physik durch die Neigung zu systematisierender Denkweise in Ergänzung zu Gender (R2 = 0,30) ist höher als durch Gender allein (R2 = 0,07).

Der Einbezug von empathisierender und systematisierender Denkweise könnte daher differenziertere Analysen zum Interesse an Physik und zur Kurswahl ermöglichen, was neue Impulse für individuelle Fördermaßnahmen und die diversitätssensible Gestaltung des Physikunterrichts liefern könnte.
Optimizing laser 3D printing parameters for customized rubber latex health shoe insoles
Authors: Chansoda Kanchanabhorn , Chookaew Watcharapong , Suvanjumrat Chakrit
Published: December 2024

This research explores the use of additive manufacturing, specifically laser 3D printing, to create customized health shoe insoles from natural rubber latex, following ISO/ASTM 52900:2021 standards. By blending natural rubber latex with additives and dispensing the mixture through a syringe nozzle, the process allows for precise extrusion control, while a laser beam cures the latex in real time. Key process parameters—including laser power, beam angle, source distance, nozzle diameter, extrusion rate, and printing speed—were systematically optimized to ensure high precision and efficiency. Additionally, aesthetic properties, such as color and raster angle, were considered to enhance the product’s visual appeal. Mechanical testing, compliant with ISO 37:2024, validated the durability and performance of the printed rubber specimens. Optimal settings of 10 W for laser power, a 45-degree beam angle, 50 mm source distance, 0.85 mm nozzle diameter, 60 mm/s printing speed, and 0.03 mm3/s extrusion rate were determined, while adding 1% v/v blue pigment further improved the material’s ultimate strength. The curing process, maintained between 80 °C and 90 °C to avoid degradation, enabled the production of a US size 7.5 insole in under 24 h. This innovative approach significantly reduces production time and cost, offering a scalable and efficient solution for the manufacturing of customized rubber products through additive manufacturing.
Youth, Pentecostalism, and Popular Music in Rwanda
Authors: Grant Andrea Mariko
Published: December 2024

Youth, Pentecostalism, and Popular Music in Rwanda offers fascinating insight into the lived experiences of young people in Rwanda through ethnographic analysis of the ambiguities and ambivalences that have accompanied the country's rapid post-genocide development. Andrea Mariko Grant considers how Pentecostalism and popular music offer urban young people ways to craft themselves and their futures; to imagine alternative ways to 'be' Rwandan and inhabit the city in the post-genocide era. Exploring the idiom of the heart – and efforts to transform it – this book offers a richly nuanced perspective of urban young people's everyday lives, their aspirations and disappointments, at a political moment of both great promise and great constraint. Rather than insist on a resistance-dominance binary, Grant foregrounds the possibilities of agency available to young people, their ability to make 'noise', even when it may lead to devastating consequences.
Embodied Experience in British and French Literature, 1778–1814
Authors: Heydt-Stevenson Jillian
Published: December 2024

Combining feminist, materialist, and comparatist approaches, this study examines how French and British women writers working at a transformative time for European literature connected vibrantly to objects as diverse as statues, monuments, diamonds, and hats. In such connections, they manifested their own (often forbidden) embodiment and asserted their élan vital. Interweaving texts by Edgeworth, Staël, Bernardin, Wordsworth, Smith, and Burney, Jillian Heydt-Stevenson posits the concept of belonging with, a generative, embodied experience of the nonhuman that foregrounds the interdependence among things, women, social systems, and justice. Exploring the benefits such embodied experiences offer, this book uncovers an ethical materialism in literature and illuminates how women characters who draw on things can secure rights that laws neither stipulate nor safeguard. In doing so, they-and their texts-transcend dualistic thinking to create positive ecological, personal, and political outcomes. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Lawyering Imperial Encounters
Authors: Dezalay Sara
Published: December 2024

Lawyering Imperial Encounters revisits the relationship between the African continent and global capitalism since the 19th century Scramble. Focused on sites of imperial encounters – in London, Paris, Abidjan, Bujumbura, Kinshasa, Johannesburg or the Hague, it provides an unprecedented account of the correlation between the legacy of legal imperialism and British hegemony, and the uneven and unequal expansion of finance and global justice in the current rush for Africa's 'green' minerals. Tracking the role played by legal intermediaries to negotiate and justify Africa's practical and symbolic subaltern position in the global economy, it demonstrates the interconnectedness between political, legal and economic change in capitalism's cores and its so-called peripheries. Embracing the global turn in sociology, history and legal scholarship, it rubs against the functionalist account of global value chains as engines of development. It also constitutes a powerful postcolonial critique of law's double-bind - as both enabler and bulwark against domination.
The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
Authors: Standfield Catriona
Published: December 2024

This groundbreaking book offers a comprehensive analysis of the United Nations' efforts to incorporate the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda into its mediation practices. Based on extensive fieldwork and primary material, the book examines how gendered and racialised ideas about mediation as an 'art' or a 'science' have shaped the UN's approach to WPS. Senior mediators view mediation as an art of managing relationships with mostly male negotiators, meaning that including women can threaten parties' consent to the process. Meanwhile, experts and headquarters units see mediation as a science, resulting in the co-optation of gender expertise and local women to reinforce technical approaches to mediation. This has hindered the WPS agenda's goal of meaningful women's participation in peace processes. This book is an essential read for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in gender, peace, and security.
Fragile Empire
Authors: Roberts Justin
Published: December 2024

Fragile Empire reinterprets the rise of slavery in the early English tropics through an innovative geographic framework. It examines slavery at English sites in tropical zones across the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and argues that a variety of factors – epidemiology, slave majorities, European rivalries, and the power of indigenous polities – made the seventeenth-century English tropical empire particularly fragile, creating a model of empire in the tropics that was distinct from other English colonizations. English people across the tropics were outnumbered by their slaves. English slavery was forged in the tropics and it was increasingly marked by its permanence, inflexibility, and brutality. Early English societies were not the inevitable precursor to British imperial dominance, instead they were wrought with internal vulnerabilities and external threats from European and non-European competitors. Based on thorough archival research, Justin Roberts' important new study redefines our understanding of slavery and bound labor from a global perspective.
Pursuing Institutional Purpose
Authors: Hartley Matthew , Ruby Alan
Published: December 2024

We are living in an era where global university schemes only offer narrow conceptions of quality, relying too heavily on international ranking systems. This timely book present an alternative perspective on evaluating 'world-class universities', showcasing how eight very different higher education institutions have defined and are pursuing excellence in their own way. Each case study highlights how institutions can align their work with shared values and goals, and strive to uphold these principles in all they do and say. The portraits offer insights into the ways institutions can create cultures of excellence tied to a vision of how to make a difference for their students and society. Their success suggest that policy makers should reward institutions that adopt and strive to fulfil particular educational purposes rather than continuing to perpetuate the status quo. It is essential reading for researchers and students of education research, education policy, and international education reform. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Common Boundaries
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: December 2024

How do we - and how should we - engage with the natural environment through the concepts of rights and responsibilities? In this book, Michael Cox develops the theory and practice of environmental property rights, moving beyond simplistic assumptions that do not reflect the diversity of arrangements we see in the world. Recognizing this diversity will help us craft better responses to environmental problems in the future with an interdisciplinary foundation in what has worked, or not worked, in the past. Synthesizing a variety of methods and disciplines, Cox explores rights-based environmental policies as well as different cultural approaches to environmental ownership. The result is a book that helps the reader understand the full range of possibilities when it comes to environmental ownership.
A Brief History of Islam in Europe
Authors: Berger Maurits
Published: December 2024

A Brief History of Islam in Europe presents an overall presentation and discussion of developments ever since Islam appeared on the European stage thirteen centuries ago. The events and stories presented increase the understanding of present debates on, and notions of, Islam and Muslims in Europe. The leading questions in discussing the role of the Islam in Europe are: how and in what ways did Europeans and Muslims interact, and what is the role of religion therein? And for those Europeans who had never met a Muslim: what was their image of Islam, and how did they study the Muslim? This book shows that in the course of thirteen centuries the Muslim as well as Islam have undergone many metamorphoses. The Muslim has entered the European stage as a conqueror, antichrist, scholar, benign ruler, corsair, tradesman and fellow citizen. The image of Islam has meandered accordingly, as a religion that was feared as an enemy or embraced as a partner against heretical Christians, despised as an abomination or admired as a civilization, and studied for missionary, academic, colonial or security purpose.
Atlas of Material Life
Authors: Vries Peer , Vries Annelieke
Published: December 2024

Large-scale comparative economic history of westernmost and easternmost Eurasia can be beneficial for the understanding of global history. This book provides a description of material life in North-western Europe and East Asia, for the period from the late fifteenth to the late nineteenth centuries, with a focus on developments in Great Britain and the Dutch Republic on the one hand and China and Japan on the other hand. With maps, tables, graphs and figures as a prominent and integral part of the book, it provides information, in an accessible format, on the main characteristics of the economic landscape of this period. It demonstrates the constraints to which all pre-industrial economies were subjected because of their dependence on organic natural resources but also the different ways in which the societies discussed dealt with those constraints. To provide a better understanding of this economy of limited possibilities, the final chapter of the book is devoted to the emergence of modern economic growth in Western Europe.
The representation–usage–impact approach to anticipate long-term social effects of autonomous vehicles
Authors: Lecomte Robin , Yannou Bernard , Cahen Roland , Thibaud Guillaume , Étienne Fabrice
Published: December 2024

This article explores a new approach to anticipate the social impacts of disruptive products, using autonomous vehicles (AVs) as a case study. It highlights the limitations of current methods in predicting the social effects of new products and proposes that futures studies and strategic foresight can provide better techniques. The main hypothesis is that experts in social sciences can anticipate long-term social impacts by considering contextualized future product usages. The authors propose a new model called Representation–Usage–Impact (RUI), which combines expert knowledge from sociology and other fields. The article presents a detailed structure for the model and describes how experts can contribute their knowledge. Sessions were organized with experts to link AV usages with potential social impacts. The results demonstrate that social science experts can identify a wide range of potential long-term social impacts. The article suggests that the RUI model should be integrated and tested into design and decision-making tools to enhance the understanding of product impacts in practical contexts.
Stability of Taylor–Couette flow with oscillatory radial throughflow
Authors: Wang Cheng-Cheng , Gao Peng , Lu Xi-Yun
Published: December 2024

The stability of Taylor–Couette flow modulated by oscillatory wall suction/blowing is investigated using Floquet linear stability analysis. The growth rate and stability mode are obtained by numerical calculation and asymptotic expansion. By calculating the effect of wall suction/blowing on the critical mode of steady Taylor–Couette flow, it is found that for most suction/blowing parameters, the maximum disturbance growth rate of the critical mode decreases and the flow becomes more stable. Only in a very small parameter region, wall suction/blowing increases the maximum disturbance growth rate of the critical mode, resulting in flow instability when the gap between the cylinders is large. The asymptotic results for small suction/blowing amplitudes indicate that the change of flow instability is mainly due to the steady correction of the basic flow induced by the modulation. A parametric study of the critical inner Reynolds number and the associated critical wavenumber is performed. It is found that the flow is stabilized by the modulation for most of the parameter ranges considered. For a wide gap between the cylinders, it is possible for the system to be mildly destabilized by weak suction/blowing.
Public Humanities Before Public Humanities
Authors: Risam Roopika
Published: December 2024

This article makes the case for unearthing a long history of public humanities. The story begins with the very emergence of universities in the United States and continues through key moments where people of color and Indigenous people have shaped the history of public humanities. Risam makes the case against allowing the novelty of the term “public humanities” to erase this history and for resisting cooptation of public humanities by the neoliberal university.