bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the barriers to digital twin adoption in the Nigerian construction industry: a structural equation modelling approach
Authors: Bello Abdulkabir Opeyemi , Olanrewaju Oludolapo Ibrahim , Gbenga Precious Oluwatofunmi , Khan Ayaz Ahmad , Isa Rasheed Babatunde
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The adoption of emerging technologies is critical to enhance construction industry performance. Previous studies have shown that the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) is slow to adopt digital technologies and faces performance issues. As a result, this study aims to investigate and model the barriers to adopting digital twin (DT) technology in the NCI with the view to provide stakeholders with adequate information on the multifaceted nature of DT barriers and provide strategies to improve DT adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a qualitative and quantitative approach to achieve the overall aim of the study. The qualitative approach included a scoping review used to identify barriers to DT adoption from the literature. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to 246 construction professionals in the NCI. This was followed by critical analysis using mean ranking and standard deviation, Kruskal–Wallis, factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The exploratory factor analysis revealed four categories of barriers to DT adoption in the NCI: “technological and investment”, “data management and government”, “project and human resources” and “digital transformation”. The PLS-SEM results revealed the causal relationships of four barriers categories and their concomitant effects on DT adoption in the NCI. The top three barrier categories that require critical attention in order of significance are: technological and investment (ß = 0.655), data management and government (ß = 0.313) and project and human resources (ß = 0.194). Digital transformation (ß = −0.046) has the least significance. Overall, all the barriers’ categories were accepted at a significance level of p < 0.05.

Practical implications

The practical implications include guiding policymakers and practitioners in making informed decisions to address the identified barriers to DT adoption in the NCI. The findings may also be applicable to other developing countries in Africa and beyond. By implementing effective policies and stakeholder guidelines, the NCI can advance technologically and enhance its competitiveness to execute advanced construction projects.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the construction industry by shedding light on the barriers to DT adoption and their intricate interconnections within the NCI context. It is also the first study in NCI context to present the level of DT awareness and explore the concomitant effects of the barriers.
Sustainability assessment indicators of road infrastructure projects: a systematic literature review
Authors: Kapatsa Chisomo , Kavishe Neema , Zulu Sambo Lyson , Maro Godwin
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify sustainability assessment indicators of road infrastructure projects by analyzing and synthesizing existing literature, considering that, despite being essential to achieving the sustainable development goals, sustainability performance in road infrastructure projects is a persistent challenge. Therefore, determining how sustainability can be assessed in these projects is crucial, necessitating a systematic review of the sustainability assessment indicators of road infrastructure projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Using PRISMA principles, 54 peer-reviewed papers from 2010 to 2022 were retrieved from three search databases (Scopus, Research for Life and Google Scholar) as part of a systematic literature review. Data analysis techniques included both descriptive and content analysis.

Findings

The study identified 22 indicators. The results emphasized that the sustainability of road infrastructure projects should consider all three sustainability dimensions to provide development while meeting human needs, preserving the planet Earth and enhancing economic growth. Similarly, indicators should be incorporated from the design phase to implement and attain sustainability successfully.

Practical implications

The outcome of this study will serve as a guide to road infrastructure stakeholders to understand the relevant sustainability indicators to assess the sustainability performance of their projects.

Originality/value

The study’s findings provide the sustainability assessment indicators for roads, which serve as a foundation for developing a sustainability assessment indicator framework for road infrastructure projects. Future research can look at establishing the indicators for the end-of-life phase of the project lifecycle.
Learning organization and employee performance: the mediating role of job satisfaction in the Vietnamese context
Authors: Cao Thi Hong Vinh , Chai Dae Seok , Nguyen Linh Phuong , Nguyen Hanh Thi Hien , Han Caleb Seung-hyun , Park Shinhee
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aimed to examine the impact of learning organization (LO) on job satisfaction and individual performance in Vietnamese enterprises. The study further explores the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between learning organization and employee performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 653 employees from various types of organizations in Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was implemented to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results revealed that the proposed research model was supported. Results indicated that LOs positively influenced employees’ job satisfaction and the broader range of their individual performance. In addition, employees’ job satisfaction motivated them to achieve higher performance levels. The study also found a mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between LO and employee performance. The results underscore the importance of implementing an LO culture for individual outcomes such as job satisfaction and employee performance in the Vietnamese cultural context, which is based on socialism and Confucianism.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationships among LO, job satisfaction and individual employee performance in the Vietnamese context. The results offer a deeper understanding of the LO concept in the Vietnamese cultural context and highlight the cultural impact on the LO concept and its effects. The results suggest how the LO concept is applied in the Vietnamese context.
Can rotational thromboelastometry rapidly identify theragnostic targets in isolated traumatic brain injury?
Authors: Hiwase Abhiram D , Ovenden Christopher D , Kaukas Lola M , Finnis Mark , Zhang Zeyu , O'Connor Stephanie , Foo Ngee , Reddi Benjamin , Wells Adam J , Ellis Daniel Y
Published: August 2024

Objective

Coagulation assessment in traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically relies upon laboratory‐based standard coagulation tests (SCTs), including the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), INR and platelet count. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) sigma is an alternative point‐of‐care assay; however, its role in isolated TBI is under‐evaluated. The present study aims to assess the prognostic utility of ROTEM sigma in isolated TBI.

Methods

ROTEM sigma analysis was performed during the initial evaluation of patients presenting to the Royal Adelaide Hospital between February 2022 and 2023 with radiographically demonstrated traumatic intracranial haemorrhage and GCS ≤14. Patients with concomitant severe extracranial injury, or who received blood products or antifibrinolytic therapy prior to sample collection were excluded.

Results

Thirty‐six patients had blood samples analysed with ROTEM, 25 of these patients were also evaluated with paired SCTs. Twenty‐two per cent (8/36) of patients with isolated TBI had a hypocoaguable ROTEM profile, and this was associated with an increased incidence of head injury‐related death (50% [4/8] vs 11% [3/28], P = 0.03). Median diagnostic turn‐around‐times were shorter for ROTEM parameters compared to SCT counterparts: EXTEM clotting time (CT) versus INR (20 vs 63 min, P < 0.01), and INTEM CT versus aPTT (21 vs 63 min, P < 0.01). EXTEM CT, FIBTEM CT and INR values had similar performance in predicting head injury‐related death, area under the receiver operator curves were 0.8, 0.8 and 0.7, respectively.

Conclusions

ROTEM sigma expedites the detection of clinically significant coagulopathy in isolated TBI. EXTEM and FIBTEM CT values are more rapidly attainable than INR and comparable in predicting head injury‐related death.
Chapter 3. Cultivating problems and politics: Precarious fields and the social history of the Medieval Deccan, southern India
Authors: Bauer Andrew M.
Published: August 2024

This paper assesses the shifting locations and social significance of agricultural spaces through analyses of intensive pedestrian survey results, multi‐spectral remote sensing data, and Medieval Period inscriptional records around the site of Maski (Raichur District, Karnataka). In doing so, it challenges a longstanding historiographical trope about the social history and essential “fertility” of the Raichur Doab, a region of the central Deccan of southern India that was ostensibly contested for its rich agricultural resources by numerous imperial polities throughout the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. The results suggest that cultivation was extended into the region's more marginal production environments between the 11th and 14th centuries. Moreover, the process of agricultural expansion appears to have partly contributed to fomenting social concerns about the effects of temple patronage as many of the region's underclass farmers faced multiple modes of precarity, including those engendered by new labor and cultivation conditions in the semi‐arid Deccan. In that sense, the paper also expands on contemporary notions of precarity and highlights the significance of a variety of ways through which conditions of precarity might emerge in other historical contexts.
Chapter 4. Locating field systems in the southern Peruvian Andes
Authors: Langlie BrieAnna S. , Mixter David W. , Osores Mendives Carlos , Wilson John
Published: August 2024

In this paper, we review current understandings of anthropogenic field systems, focusing on trends and variations in the chronology of field construction, use, and in some cases, abandonment, as well as labor organization of agrarian production across the Lake Titicaca Basin. These trends indicate that agricultural intensification increased both during the political centralization of the Tiwanaku state and during periods of political fragmentation. In contrast to prior work on fields in the region, we argue that there was no single cultural, environmental, or historical impetus that ignited the construction of any particular field type. Additionally, we present the results of pedestrian survey of terraces carried out in 2018 in the northern Lake Titicaca Basin. While there were regional commonalities across survey areas in the masonry design of terrace risers, presence of pathways and radiating walls separating vertical tracts of terraces, and a general absence of irrigation, we found deviations from each of these trends in individual terrace complexes. While preliminary evidence indicates that more terraces were built or cultivated during the Late Intermediate period (1100–1450 CE) than in other time periods in the northern Titicaca basin, some terraces were likely built earlier. Our findings point to the multiplicity of strategies that ancient farmers employed in the varied ecological settings of the Lake Titicaca basin under diverse sociopolitical programs. This contrasts with previous research on agrarian field systems, which is mostly single‐sited and tends to emphasize individual strategies over the quiver of agrarian options available to Andean farmers.
Chapter 5. Finding and understanding ancient irrigated agricultural fields in southern Arizona
Authors: Woodson M. Kyle
Published: August 2024

For over a century, archaeologists have investigated the vast network of prehistoric Hohokam canal irrigation systems in the lower Salt River and middle Gila River valleys, as well as in other areas of southern Arizona. However, documentation of the agricultural fields in which prehistoric farmers irrigated their crops generally was lacking until the last 25 years. This is largely a result of the difficulty in identifying ancient fields, since they are not visible on the surface and have been obscured or destroyed by natural landscape processes as well as historic and modern disturbances. More recent archaeological investigations have revealed ancient irrigated fields through innovative methods and excavation techniques. The fields were constructed both by Hohokam irrigators (450–1450 CE) as well as by farmers from preceding cultural traditions during the Early Agricultural period (2100 BCE–50 CE). These discoveries occurred during projects conducted in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. In this chapter, I highlight these important studies that have expanded the view of ancient agricultural landscapes in southern Arizona.
Effects of a pro‐resolving drug in COVID‐19: preclinical studies to a randomized, placebo‐controlled, phase Ib/IIa trial in hospitalized patients
Authors: Almeida Pedro R. J. , Periard Alexandre M. , Tana Fernanda L. , Avila Renata E. , Milhorato Larissa B. , Alcantara Katlen M. M. , Resende Carolina B. , Serufo Angela V. , Santos Felipe R. , Teixeira Danielle C. , Queiroz‐Junior Celso M. , Fonseca Talita C. M. , Silva Barbara L. V. , Costa Vivian V. , Souza Renan P. , Perretti Mauro , Jonassen Thomas E. N. , Teixeira Mauro M.
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Pro‐resolving molecules may curb disease caused by viruses without altering the capacity of the host to deal with infection. AP1189 is a melanocortin receptor‐biased agonist endowed with pro‐resolving and anti‐inflammatory activity. We evaluated the preclinical and early clinical effects of treatment with AP1189 in the context of COVID‐19.

Methods

C57BL/6j mice were infected intranasally with MHV‐A59 or hK18‐ACE2 mice with SARS‐CoV‐2. AP1189 (10 mg·kg−1, BID, s.c.) was given to the animals from day 2 and parameters evaluated at day 5. Human PBMCs from health donors were infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 in presence or absence of AP1189 and production of cytokines quantified. In the clinical study, 6 patients were initially given AP1189 (100 mg daily for 14 days) and this was followed by a randomized (2:1), placebo‐controlled, double‐blind trial that enrolled 54 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients needing oxygen support. The primary outcome was the time in days until respiratory recovery, defined as a SpO2 ≥ 93% in ambient air.

Results

Treatment with AP1189 attenuated pulmonary inflammation in mice infected with MHV‐A59 or SARS‐CoV‐2 and decreased the release of CXCL10, TNF‐α and IL‐1β by human PBMCs. Hospitalized COVID‐19 patients already taking glucocorticoids took a median time of 6 days until respiratory recovery when given placebo versus 4 days when taking AP1189 (P = 0.017).

Conclusion

Treatment with AP1189 was associated with less disease caused by beta‐coronavirus infection both in mice and in humans. This is the first demonstration of the effects of a pro‐resolving molecule in the context of severe infection in humans.
Reasoning From Quantified Modal Premises
Authors: Quelhas Ana Cristina , Rasga Célia , Johnson‐Laird P. N.
Published: August 2024

Quantified modal inferences interest logicians, linguists, and computer scientists, but no previous psychological study of them appears to be in the literature. Here is an example of one:

All those artists are businessmen. Paulo is possibly one of the artists. What follows?

People tend to conclude: Paulo is possibly a businessman (Experiment 1). It seems plausible, and it follows from an intuitive mental model in which Paulo is one of a set of artists who are businessmen. Further deliberation can yield a model of an alternative possibility in which Paulo is not one of the artists, which confirms that the conclusion is only a possibility. The snag is that standard modal logics, which deal with possibilities, cannot yield a particular conclusion to any premises: Infinitely many follow validly (from any premises) but they do not include the present conclusion. Yet, further experiments corroborated a new mental model theory's predictions for various inferences (Experiment 2), for the occurrence of factual conclusions drawn from premises about possibilities (Experiment 3) and for inferences from premises of modal syllogisms (Experiment 4). The theory is therefore plausible, but we explore the feasibility of a cognitive theory based on modifications to modal logic.
Recent progress and current status of pancreatobiliary interventional endoscopic ultrasound in children
Authors: Ishii Shigeto , Isayama Hiroyuki , Suzuki Mitsuyoshi , Koga Hiroyuki , Tomishima Ko , Fujisawa Toshio , Shimizu Toshiaki , Yamataka Atsuyuki
Published: August 2024

In recent years, the usefulness of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has been recognized in children. A dedicated pediatric EUS scope has not been developed; in our experience, however, an adult EUS scope can be used. The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Technical Committee status assessment report on pediatric endoscopy equipment provides some guidance on the feasibility of EUS according to body size. Careful monitoring is required, keeping in mind potential adverse events such as cervical esophageal perforation and unstable breathing due to tracheal compression. Most devices designed for interventional pancreatobiliary endoscopy are also available for children. Sedation or intubated general anesthesia (GA) is mandatory when performing interventional EUS (I‐EUS). I‐EUS for children is generally performed using GA in the operating room, but sedation in the endoscopy room is also possible under appropriate monitoring by pediatricians. I‐EUS in the operating room is sometimes difficult for endoscopists to perform because of the unsuitable fluoroscopic imaging and the lack of familiar equipment and staff. Compared to GA, sedation in the endoscopy room facilitates easier and quicker repetition of procedures when necessary. Adult pancreatobiliary endoscopists perform most I‐EUS procedures in the pediatric population because most pediatric endoscopists have few opportunities to perform EUS‐related procedures and thus have difficulty maintaining their skills. To popularize I‐EUS techniques for children, it will be necessary to establish a training program for developing pediatric endoscopists.
Hours of work and the long‐run effects of in‐work transfers
Authors: Goll David , Joyce Robert , Waters Tom
Published: August 2024

Policymakers have increasingly turned to ‘in‐work transfers’ to boost incomes among poorer workers and strengthen work incentives. One attraction of these is that labour supply elasticities are typically greatest at the extensive margin. Because in‐work transfers are normally subject to earnings‐related phase‐outs, they tend to most strongly incentivize part‐time work, weakening incentives to increase hours beyond that. But if part‐time work generates relatively little in the way of human capital and career progression, then policy design should factor in the longer‐term consequences of labour supply choices along the intensive margin. To that end, we use a dynamic model of female labour supply with endogenous human capital accumulation, and study actual and hypothetical welfare reforms in the UK. We show that for a given expansion in the government budget, those reforms that incentivize full‐time work can do considerably more to increase incomes, including among poorer households, and to raise welfare. Our results suggest that in‐work transfers could be refined by paying greater attention to the intensive margin effects through the design of their phase‐outs.
Impact of nitrapyrin on urea‐based fertilizers in a Mediterranean calcareous soil: Nitrogen and microbial dynamics
Authors: Giannopoulos Georgios , Elsgaard Lars , Tzanakakis Vasileios A. , Franklin Rima B. , Brown Bonnie L. , Zanakis Georgios , Monokrousos Nikolaos , Anastopoulos Ioannis , Awad Murad , Ipsilantis Ioannis , Barbayiannis Nikolaos , Polidoros Alexios N.
Published: August 2024

Nitrification inhibitors, such as nitrapyrin (NI), are increasingly co‐applied with nitrogen (N) fertilizers as part of sustainable agricultural practice. Several studies in temperate regions have documented the effectiveness of NI in retaining soil ammonium (NH4+), minimizing N loss and increasing crop yields. However, less is known about the effects of NI in Mediterranean regions, where agricultural production is challenging and requires intensive irrigation and fertilization. We investigated the short‐term impact of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin (2‐chloro‐6‐(trichloromethyl)pyridine) in a two‐factor mesocosm experiment, using a typical Mediterranean soil, where NI was co‐applied with a selection of urea‐based fertilizers: urea (U), U with urease inhibitors (U + UI), methylene urea (MU) and zeolite‐coated urea (ZU). NI co‐applied with urea fertilizers resulted in higher availability of soil NH4+ and a concurrent increase in NH3 volatilization. Net cumulative soil NH4+ availability was 1.5–3.3 fold greater when NI was applied. Concurrently, net cumulative nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−) availability was reduced by 10%–60%; this was found for all the tested fertilizer types except MU fertilizer, where the net cumulative soil NO3− and NO2− doubled. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from urea fertilization were reduced by 40% with UI, 50% with NI and 66% with NI + UI. Interestingly, after 28 d, the composition of soil microbial communities was distinctly different, due to NI application. Specifically, NI application dramatically reduced the abundance of ammonia‐oxidizing and denitrifying bacterial functional groups. NI was effective in reducing N2O emissions in this calcareous soil; however, NH3 emissions were remarkably enhanced. These findings have important implications for the large‐scale adoption of inhibitor technologies in Mediterranean agroecosystems and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Asymmetric effects of hydroclimate extremes on eastern US tree growth: Implications on current demographic shifts and climate variability
Authors: Maxwell Justin T. , Au Tsun Fung , Kannenberg Steven A. , Harley Grant L. , Dannenberg Matthew P. , Ficklin Darren L. , Robeson Scott M. , Férriz Macarena , Benson Michael C. , Lockwood Benjamin R. , Novick Kimberly A. , Phillips Richard P. , Rochner Maegen L. , Pederson Neil
Published: August 2024

Forests around the world are experiencing changes due to climate variability and human land use. How these changes interact and influence the vulnerability of forests are not well understood. In the eastern United States, well‐documented anthropogenic disturbances and land‐use decisions, such as logging and fire suppression, have influenced forest species assemblages, leading to a demographic shift from forests dominated by xeric species to those dominated by mesic species. Contemporarily, the climate has changed and is expected to continue to warm and produce higher evaporative demand, imposing stronger drought stress on forest communities. Here, we use an extensive network of tree‐ring records from common hardwood species across ~100 sites and ~1300 trees in the eastern United States to examine the magnitude of growth response to both wet and dry climate extremes. We find that growth reductions during drought exceed the positive growth response to pluvials. Mesic species such as Liriodendron tulipifera and Acer saccharum, which are becoming more dominant, are more sensitive to drought than more xeric species, such as oaks (Quercus) and hickory (Carya), especially at moderate and extreme drought intensities. Although more extreme droughts produce a larger annual growth reduction, mild droughts resulted in the largest cumulative growth decreases due to their higher frequency. When using global climate model projections, all scenarios show drought frequency increasing substantially (3–9 times more likely) by 2100. Thus, the ongoing demographic shift toward more mesic species in the eastern United States combined with drier conditions results in larger drought‐induced growth declines, suggesting that drought will have an even larger impact on aboveground carbon uptake in the future in the eastern United States.
Habitat Suitability of European Land Systems for Terrestrial Vertebrates
Authors: O'Connor Louise M. J. , Renaud Julien , Dou Yue , Karger Dirk Nikolaus , Maiorano Luigi , Verburg Peter H. , Thuiller Wilfried
Published: August 2024

Motivation

Accurate estimates of species distributions are crucial for biogeography, spatial conservation, and for assessing the impacts of human activities on species. However, existing approaches to estimate species distributions have typically neglected the influence of land use intensity, potentially overlooking the negative impacts of high‐intensity land uses on biodiversity. Here, we build a dataset documenting the habitat suitability of European land systems for terrestrial vertebrate species, based on a novel land system map of Europe that factors in land use intensity. Our database offers refined and up‐to‐date information on terrestrial vertebrate distributions in Europe by explicitly considering land use intensity.

Main Types of Variables Contained

We created a table defining the suitability of land use classes as habitats for each species. We then built Area of Habitat (AOH) maps for each species by filtering out unsuitable habitat from the latest available estimates of species ranges. AOH maps were then compared with occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Processed datasets and R scripts are publicly available online, facilitating the use of our approach to refine expert‐based distributions for other taxa, land system classifications and regions worldwide.

Spatial Location and Grain

The AOH maps cover the spatial extent of the European Union (EU) with the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and the Western Balkans. The AOH maps are at a 1 km2 resolution.

Time Period and Grain

The dataset uses information published during the last 10 years.

Major Taxa and Level of Measurement

Habitat suitability was documented for 1155 terrestrial vertebrate species known to occur in Europe: 279 mammals, 520 birds, 251 reptiles and 104 amphibians.

Software Format

We provide the habitat suitability table in a comma‐separated values (csv) format. The AOH maps are available as raster files. R scripts are publicly accessible on GitHub.
Mechanisms of the structures and antioxidant activity of broad bean protein affected by AC electric field: changes in conformation and molecular interaction
Authors: Ren Yiping , Zhang Xiunan , Li Qian , Zhang Chen , Qian Jian‐Ya
Published: August 2024

The hierarchical structure modification and antioxidant traits of broad bean protein (BBP) with low denaturation induced by alternating current electric field (ACEF) were examined. The ultraviolet, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectrometry showed that ACEF affected the tertiary and secondary structures of BBP, as evidenced by the significant increase in surface hydrophobicity, more β‐turns and random coils, fewer β‐sheets, and the variation of microenvironments of certain amino acid residues. X‐ray diffractometry revealed that ACEF reduced the relative crystallinity and granular size of BBP, increased lattice spacing, caused the weakening of intermolecular forces, and significantly decreased the compactness of spatial conformations in BBP. Furthermore, the antioxidant capacity of BBP increased following ACEF treatment and was influenced by voltage. This may be due to the BBP structure unfolding and the release of aromatic amino acids.
Structural evolution in desalting Merluccius hubbsi fillets: comparative analysis of varied salting techniques
Authors: Marchetti Marion Daniela , García Loredo Analía Belén
Published: August 2024

This study investigates the reversible and irreversible structural changes in proteins induced by different salting methods (brining, mixed salting, and dry salting) during the desalting process of Merluccius hubbsi fillets. We focused on mass changes, water content, and NaCl content, employing mathematical models for kinetic analysis and sorption isotherms. Image analysis was utilised to examine tissue microstructure and texture profile analysis assessed the mechanical properties. Our results indicate that salting methods significantly influence mass changes and yield during desalting. Specifically, brining led to the highest weight gain due to controlled salt absorption and enhanced water retention. The Peleg model accurately described NaCl and water content dynamics during desalting. Microscopic analysis revealed substantial structural alterations, while mechanical properties showed significant differences; dry and mixed salting methods caused notable tissue damage and protein denaturation. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing salting processes and improving the quality of desalted seafood products.
Spark plasma sintering of hard wear‐resistant graphene nanoplatelet–reinforced TiB2 + SiC composites from TiC–B4C–SiC
Authors: López‐Arenal Jesús , Zamora Victor , Guiberteau Fernando , Ortiz Angel L.
Published: August 2024

Graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)–reinforced TiB2 + SiC composites were fabricated by reactive spark plasma sintering (SPS) from a TiC–B4C–SiC powder mixture with equal‐volume percentages, optimizing their SPS temperature and evaluating their unlubricated sliding wear against diamond. First, it is shown that during the heating ramp of the SPS cycle, TiC and B4C react according to the chemical reaction 2TiC + B4C → 2TiB2 + 3C, and that the thus‐formed C is graphenized as GNPs, leading to composites with microstructures consisting of a ceramic matrix of fine TiB2 and SiC grains with abundant randomly oriented GNPs at grain boundaries. It is also shown that this reactive SPS is optimal at 2000°C (under 75 MPa pressure and 5 min soaking), resulting in a very hard (∼28.5–29.9 GPa) and very tough (∼6.7(3) MPa m1/2) composite. And second, it is shown that these two properties and its proneness to develop an oxide tribolayer make this composite very resistant to unlubricated sliding wear against diamond (∼2.8(1)·108 (N m)/mm3), undergoing only very mild two‐body abrasion. Finally, opportunities for the fabrication of toughened and very hard ceramic composites for contact‐mechanical and tribological applications are discussed.
Heat transfer inhibition of corundum–mullite insulation tiles through composition regulation
Authors: Hao Bianlei , Sun Guangchao , Xu Fatang , Zhang Lunliang , Liu Kaiqi
Published: August 2024

The increase in size and efficiency of gas turbines leads to higher temperature in the combustion chamber, putting greater demands on the performance of the thermal insulation tiles. Corundum–mullite has been used because of its high‐temperature resistance, thermal shock resistance, and low thermal conductivity. However, how to inhibit heat transfer through composition regulation while ensuring the safe use of high‐temperature insulation tiles is the key to improving the heat conversion efficiency of gas turbines. In this study, thermal insulation tiles were prepared by casting molding. On the basis of determining the optimal corundum/mullite ratio (22:45 wt%) in the aggregate, the thermal conductivity of the sample was reduced by adding MgO (2 wt%). The results show that phonon intrinsic and defect scattering, caused by changes in phase composition, effectively reduce the thermal conductivity of the insulation tile sample to 2.05 W·m−1·K−1, which is 34.71 % lower than the maximum value before regulation. During 30 cycles of thermal shock (air‐cooling at 1000°C), the residual strength gradually decreased and tended to be stable, with a minimum of 8.6 MPa, indicating that the thermal insulation tile can provide better thermal insulation without affecting the safety of gas turbines, providing new ideas and methods for improving the thermal insulation performance of high‐temperature thermal insulation materials.
Evaluating the impact of alyssum flower strips on biological control of key pests in flue‐cured tobacco agroecosystems
Authors: Zhong Jin , Pan Wenze , Jiang Shenglan , Hu Yanxia , Yang Guangyuan , Zhang Ke , Xia Zhenyuan , Xiao Guanli , Chen Bin
Published: August 2024

Flue‐cured tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum (L.), is often attacked by various pests such as aphids, whiteflies and tobacco budworm. Insecticide application has been the primary method in managing these pests for Yunnan Province. However, it is necessary to look for more sustainable strategies that can help control pests. In this context, conservation biological control is a highly promising alternative, involving the cultivation or conservation of flowering plants within the agricultural ecosystem to attract and support natural enemies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of alyssum, Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv., in attracting natural enemies and managing pests in flue‐cured tobacco cultivation. The study conducted two field experiments over successive years, each with of two treatments and three replicates, arranged in a completely randomized design. The treatments were (1) tobacco monoculture and (2) tobacco intercropped with alyssum flower strips. The population density of natural enemies and pests was monitored weekly throughout the study period. The results showed that the presence of alyssum flowers in the tobaccosalyssum treatment significantly increased the abundance of generalist predators such as syrphids, rove beetles, carabids, Orius sp. and spiders during both experiments. This increase in predator population led to a substantial reduction in tobacco pests, particularly aphids. Intercropping alyssum with tobacco can serve as an effective strategy for managing pests specific to the Nicotiana plant, as well as addressing the limited availability of approved insecticides for this crop. This approach may help to mitigate pest‐related issues and reduce the reliance on insecticides in tobacco cultivation, contributing to more sustainable pest management practices.
Thirty Years of Midwifery Education in the Rural and Diverse State of New Mexico
Authors: Kivlighan Katie T. , Ortiz Felina , Migliaccio Laura , Overman Barbara , Ruyak Sharon , Gorwoda Julie , Ostrem Kristen , Levi Amy , Albers Leah
Published: August 2024

The purpose of this article is to discuss the evolution of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Nurse‐Midwifery Education Program, its impact on New Mexico communities, and the vision moving forward for the program in a rural and culturally diverse state. New Mexico has a rich history of community‐based midwifery and the UNM Nurse‐Midwifery Education Program, founded in 1991, is rooted in this tradition. Graduates are prepared to practice in rural and underserved communities, advance birth equity, and decrease perinatal health disparities. Faculty have advanced the program mission to improve the health and well‐being of New Mexico families through diversifying the midwifery workforce, growing community collaboration, and engaging in research and scholarship activities aimed at promoting access to care. Program faculty recognize the critical need to address factors underpinning the rising maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, including rurality, poverty, and structural racism. These efforts have yielded positive results, with 60% of program graduates serving New Mexico communities and increasingly diverse midwifery student cohorts (70% of currently enrolled students). Efforts to support midwifery student success are bolstered through a recently awarded Health Resources and Services Administration Maternity Care Nursing Workforce Expansion grant. Through such endeavors, the program will continue to strive toward social justice and human dignity.
Phylogeography of horseshoe bat sarbecoviruses in Vietnam and neighbouring countries. Implications for the origins of SARS‐CoV and SARS‐CoV‐2
Authors: Hassanin Alexandre , Tu Vuong Tan , Görföl Tamás , Ngon Lam Quang , Pham Phu Van , Hang Chu Thi , Tuan Tran Anh , Prot Mathieu , Simon‐Lorière Etienne , Kemenesi Gábor , Tóth Gábor Endre , Moulin Laurent , Wurtzer Sébastien
Published: August 2024

Previous studies on horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) have described many coronaviruses related to SARS‐CoV (SARSCoVr) in China and only a few coronaviruses related to SARS‐CoV‐2 (SARSCoV2r) in Yunnan (southern China), Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Here, we report the results of several field missions carried out in 2017, 2021 and 2022 across Vietnam during which 1218 horseshoe bats were sampled from 19 locations. Sarbecoviruses were detected in 11% of faecal RNA extracts, with much more positives among Rhinolophus thomasi (46%). We assembled 38 Sarbecovirus genomes, including 32 SARSCoVr, four SARSCoV2r, and two recombinants of SARSCoVr and SARSCoV2r (RecSar), one showing a Spike protein very similar to SARS‐CoV‐2. We detected a bat co‐infected with four coronaviruses, including two sarbecoviruses. Our analyses revealed that Sarbecovirus genomes evolve in Vietnam under strong geographical and host constraints. First, we found evidence for a deep separation between viruses from northern Vietnam and those from central and southern Vietnam. Second, we detected only SARSCoVr in Rhinolophus thomasi, both SARSCoVr and SARSCoV2r in Rhinolophus affinis, and only RecSar in Rhinolophus pusillus captured close to the border with China. Third, the bias in favour of Uracil in synonymous third codon positions of SARSCoVr extracted from R. thomasi showed a negative correlation with latitudes. Our results also provided support for an emergence of SARS‐CoV in horseshoe bats from northern Yunnan and emergence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in horseshoe bats from northern Indochina subtropical forests (southern Yunnan, northern Laos and north‐western Vietnam).
Ecological filtering drives rapid spatiotemporal dynamics in fish skin microbiomes
Authors: Berggren Hanna , Yıldırım Yeşerin , Nordahl Oscar , Larsson Per , Dopson Mark , Tibblin Petter , Lundin Daniel , Pinhassi Jarone , Forsman Anders
Published: August 2024

Skin microbiomes provide vital functions, yet knowledge about the drivers and processes structuring their species assemblages is limited—especially for non‐model organisms. In this study, fish skin microbiome was assessed by high throughput sequencing of amplicon sequence variants from metabarcoding of V3–V4 regions in the 16S rRNA gene on fish hosts subjected to the following experimental manipulations: (i) translocation between fresh and brackish water habitats to investigate the role of environment; (ii) treatment with an antibacterial disinfectant to reboot the microbiome and investigate community assembly and priority effects; and (iii) maintained alone or in pairs to study the role of social environment and inter‐host dispersal of microbes. The results revealed that fish skin microbiomes harbour a highly dynamic microbial composition that was distinct from bacterioplankton communities in the ambient water. Microbiome composition first diverged as an effect of translocation to either the brackish or freshwater habitat. When the freshwater individuals were translocated back to brackish water, their microbiome composition converged towards the fish microbiomes in the brackish habitat. In summary, external environmental conditions and individual‐specific factors jointly determined the community composition dynamics, whereas inter‐host dispersal had negligible effects. The dynamics of the microbiome composition was seemingly non‐affected by reboot treatment, pointing towards high resilience to disturbance. The results emphasised the role of inter‐individual variability for the unexplained variation found in many host‐microbiome systems, although the mechanistic underpinnings remain to be identified.
Conservation and selective pressures shaping baleen whale olfactory receptor genes supports their use of olfaction in the marine environment
Authors: Jauhal April A. , Constantine Rochelle , Newcomb Richard
Published: August 2024

The relative importance of various sensory modalities can shift in response to evolutionary transitions, resulting in changes to underlying gene families encoding their reception systems. The rapid birth‐and‐death process underlying the evolution of the large olfactory receptor (OR) gene family has accelerated genomic‐level change for the sense of smell in particular. The transition from the land to sea in marine mammals is an attractive model for understanding the influence of habitat shifts on sensory systems, with the retained OR repertoire of baleen whales contrasting with its loss in toothed whales. In this study, we examine to what extent the transition from a terrestrial to a marine environment has influenced the evolution of baleen whale OR repertoires. We developed Gene Mining Pipeline (GMPipe) (https://github.com/AprilJauhal/GMPipe), which can accurately identify large numbers of candidate OR genes. GMPipe identified 707 OR sequences from eight baleen whale species. These repertoires exhibited distinct family count distributions compared to terrestrial mammals, including signs of relative expansion in families OR10, OR11 and OR13. While many receptors have been lost or show signs of random drift in baleen whales, others exhibit signs of evolving under purifying or positive selection. Over 85% of OR genes could be sorted into orthologous groups of sequences containing at least four homologous sequences. Many of these groups, particularly from family OR10, presented signs of relative expansion and purifying selective pressure. Overall, our results suggest that the relatively small size of baleen whale OR repertoires result from specialisation to novel olfactory landscapes, as opposed to random drift.
Microbiota‐driven vaccination in soft ticks: Implications for survival, fitness and reproductive capabilities in Ornithodoros moubata
Authors: Cano‐Argüelles Ana Laura , Piloto‐Sardiñas Elianne , Maitre Apolline , Mateos‐Hernández Lourdes , Maye Jennifer , Wu‐Chuang Alejandra , Abuin‐Denis Lianet , Obregón Dasiel , Bamgbose Timothy , Oleaga Ana , Cabezas‐Cruz Alejandro , Pérez‐Sánchez Ricardo
Published: August 2024

The Ornithodoros moubata (Om) soft tick, a vector for diseases like tick‐borne human relapsing fever and African swine fever, poses challenges to conventional control methods. With diminishing insecticide efficacy, harnessing the tick's microbiota through innovative approaches like microbiota‐driven vaccination emerges as a promising strategy for sustainable and targeted disease control. This study investigated the intricate relationship between Pseudomonas, a keystone taxon in the Om microbiome, and its impact on tick fitness, microbiome structure and network dynamics. Utilizing in silico analyses and empirical vaccination experiments, the role of Pseudomonas within microbial networks in the tick midguts (MG) and salivary glands (SG) of Om was studied. Additionally, the consequences of anti‐microbiota vaccines targeting Pseudomonas and Lactobacillus on tick fitness, microbiome diversity and community assembly were explored. The result of the study shows that in Om, Pseudomonas plays a central role in microbial networks, influencing keystone species despite being categorized as peripheral (interacting with 47 different taxa, 13 of which are keystone species). Anti‐microbiota vaccination targeting Pseudomonas and Lactobacillus yields distinct effects on tick fitness, with Pseudomonas vaccination significantly impacting female tick survival, while Lactobacillus significantly reduced oviposition and fertility. Microbiome changes post‐vaccination reveal diversity alterations, emphasizing the impact of vaccine choice. Community assembly dynamics and network robustness analyses highlight Pseudomonas' pivotal role, in influencing topological features and network resilience. The findings of the study provide comprehensive insights into the intricate dynamics of Om microbial networks and the potential of targeted microbiota‐driven vaccines for tick control.
Survival of Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) embryos under cold temperature conditions: forensic implications
Authors: López‐García Jaime , Martín‐Vega Daniel
Published: August 2024

Most blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) species are sarcosaprophagous during the larval stage, primarily feeding on the soft tissues of carcasses during the early stages of decomposition, making them valuable forensic indicators for minimum post‐mortem interval (minPMI) estimations. Like other insects, their developmental rates are strongly influenced by the environmental temperature. Although several studies have examined the influence of temperature on the development of different blow fly species, the impact of cold temperatures remains largely unstudied, despite its potential forensic implications. The present study investigates the effect of three cold temperatures (0, −2.5 and −5°C) on the survival of Calliphora vicina embryos of five different ages (0%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% of the total embryonic development) and two exposure times (6 and 24 h). Our results revealed significant differences in egg survival at the earliest embryonic stages (0% and 20% of the total embryonic development), resulting in high mortality rates. While at 20% of the total embryonic development high mortality was only observed under −5°C, at 0% of the total embryonic development high mortality rates were observed at all the temperatures tested. Although C. vicina embryos demonstrate tolerance to cold temperatures once they have completed the first 20% of the total embryonic development, potentially mitigating the impact of cold weather events, the possibility of minPMI underestimations due to the death of the first egg batches should not be disregarded. Additionally, considering that the embryonic development stages may last for several days under low temperatures, caution should be taken in the analysis of entomological evidence if a cadaver is discovered following cold weather episodes.