bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Barriers and facilitators of physical activity among school attending adolescents in Lagos State, Nigeria: A qualitative study exploring views and experiences of decision‐makers in secondary schools
Authors: Adebusoye Busola , Leonardi‐Bee Jo , Phalkey Revati , Chattopadhyay Kaushik
Published: December 2022

Background and Aims

Schools represent a unique setting for promoting lifelong physical activity during critical development stages of life. Opportunities for in‐school physical activity largely depend upon school‐level policies, practices, and administrative support. A significant information gap exists on the factors influencing adolescents' participation in school‐based physical activity programs in Nigeria. This study aimed to identify and explore the barriers and facilitators of physical activity in school‐attending adolescents in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Methods

A qualitative study, using semistructured interviews, was conducted to explore the views and experiences of 21 decision‐makers who were responsible for planning the physical and health education curriculum in secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis framework.

Results

Eight themes were identified and explored. The barriers were (i) students' characteristics, (ii) parental objections, (iii) no prioritization of physical activity, (iv) insufficient resources, and (v) challenges with schools' initiatives. The facilitators were (vi) students' interests, (vii) students' awareness of benefits, and (viii) schools' initiatives.

Conclusion

Our study findings can help in designing interventions to increase physical activity among school‐attending adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria.
Market efficiency of the cryptocurrencies: Some new evidence based on price–volume relationship
Authors: Sahoo Pradipta Kumar , Sethi Dinabandhu
Published: December 2022

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as an important investment avenue in the past few years. Investors are increasingly interested in these currencies amid surging financial returns. In this context, understanding market efficiency of cryptocurrency has become very crucial for investors and academicians. The price–volume framework is a popular approach in financial economics to understand the market efficiency of stocks in the stock markets. Therefore, this article examines the market efficiency of cryptocurrencies through price–volume framework to understand whether crypto market is predictable. Towards this objective, data on both return and trading volume (TV) of the top eight cryptocurrencies are used for the period 8 August 2015–20 October 2022. As an empirical method, both linear and non‐linear causality models are used to validate the hypothesis. Our results confirm that TV cannot predict the cryptocurrencies' return, thereby validating the market efficiency hypothesis. Furthermore, we divide the sample according to the structural break period. The result from the post‐break period analysis also confirms the presence of market efficiency in the recent period for all currencies, barring XRP, XMR and DASH.
Implementation of variable gain controller based improved phase locked loop approach to enhance power quality in autonomous microgrid
Authors: Kundu Sombir , Singh Madhusudan , Giri Ashutosh K.
Published: December 2022

In this paper, an energy storage system (ESS), solar photovoltaic (SPV) and wind‐driven self‐excited induction generator (SEIG) is being used to establish an autonomous microgrid (MG). A variable gain controller based improved phase locked loop (VGC‐IPLL) is implemented to detect phase angle and generate unit templates for implementing a power quality control scheme in an autonomous MG. This controller enables the system adaptability to input frequency deviations and quick response with reduced steady state error. The novelty of this work is the implementation of VGC‐IPLL based controller in MG which automatically varies the gain according to variation in error. An incremental conductance (IC) based peak power point tracking technique is implemented to harness peak power from an SPV. Further, An ESS is interfaced at dc link of the voltage source converter (VSC) to maintain the power equilibrium between the renewable energy sources (RES's) and the unbalanced load. A bi‐directional controller (BDC) provides dc link voltage regulation and manages the charging/discharging mode of an ESS. Moreover, an ESS provides real/reactive power support through VSC during the intermittent condition of RES's and consumes the unused power during light load conditions. The proposed control with VSC provides multi‐function such as harmonics abatement, real/reactive power support, regulation of dc link voltage, load balancing and minimizes the power quality issues of autonomous MG.
Clinical utility of the “balloon lever technique” in the right inferior pulmonary vein cryoballoon ablation
Authors: Wakabayashi Yasushi , Kobayashi Masanori , Ichikawa Tomohide , Koyama Takashi , Abe Hidetoshi
Published: December 2022

Background

The acute success rate of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with cryoballoon (CB) is reported to be lower in the right inferior pulmonary vein (RIPV). This study aimed to investigate the utility of the “balloon lever technique (BLT)” for RIPV CB ablation.

Methods

We retrospectively studied consecutive patients who underwent CB‐PVI for atrial fibrillation between February 21, 2020 and June 3, 2022. RIPV cryoablation was performed according to a specific protocol. The patients underwent RIPV cryoablation using the conventional method. If the method was found ineffective, BLT cryoablation was performed. The acute success rate of RIPV CB ablation was examined. We also investigated the RIPV isolation rate and procedural parameters during conventional and BLT cryoablation.

Results

Ninety‐three patients were included in the analysis. RIPV isolation was achieved in 89.2% (83/93) of the patients using conventional method and subsequent BLT cryoablation. Meanwhile, 68 patients underwent BLT cryoablation because the conventional method was ineffective. RIPV was isolated with BLT in 85.3% (58/68) of patients. Additionally, BLT was found to be superior to conventional cryoablation in terms of nadir balloon temperature, freezing time, and thawing time to a specific temperature in patients who underwent both conventional and BLT cryoablations.

Conclusions

BLT is useful in RIPV cryoablation when the conventional method is ineffective. BLT cryoablation may be helpful, mainly because of the BLT‐mediated contact of the balloon with the bottom of the RIPV, which leads to optimal RIPV occlusion.
Thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics of nitro‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐one by gas manometric technique
Authors: Xiao Yiyi , Jia Haonan , Jin Bo , Huang Qiong , Peng Rufang , Chu Shijin
Published: December 2022

Isothermal decomposition kinetics play an important role in the stability assessment, risk assessment, and reaction mechanism inference of energetic materials. Herein, the thermal decomposition of nitro‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐one (NTO) was investigated using a self‐development isothermal decomposition gas manometric device at both high and low temperature ranges. The kinetic parameters were calculated by model‐free method and model‐fitting method. The results show that the activation energies determined by these two methods are in good agreement. At 473–493 K, the entire decomposition process of NTO showed two distinct stages. The activation energy (Ea) and pre‐exponential factor (lnA) in the first stage are 260.1 ± 11.5 kJ mol−1 and 52.5 ± 2.9 s−1, respectively, while they are 166.0 ± 24.5 kJ mol−1 and 28.4 ± 6.1 s−1 in the second stage. At 383–423 K, the initial decomposition process of NTO was investigated. During this process, Ea is 99.8 ± 3.2 kJ mol−1 and lnA is 11.5 ± 1.0 s−1. According to the kinetic results, a mechanism was speculated to be the transition of a rate‐limiting step from nucleation and nuclei growth to the gas diffusion. Moreover, the Ea–lnA sets were found to lie on the kinetic compensation regression line, which indicates that the kinetic data in this work are reliable. All the results will further support and complement the kinetic database of NTO.
Grassland ecosystems resilience to drought: The role of surface water ponds
Authors: Chen Lin , Sofia Giulia , Qiu Junliang , Wang Jian , Tarolli Paolo
Published: December 2022

Currently, grassland ecosystems' stability is facing severe challenges due to climate variability and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme droughts. In many grasslands worldwide, closed‐basin ponds supply various ecosystem services by collecting rainfall and runoff. These ponds may provide a significant opportunity to mitigate climate change pressures and improve the resilience of grasslands. Nevertheless, their conservation is hampered by problems auditing these small and dynamic features. Understanding the dynamics that characterise the interactions of ponds and grassland vegetation with climate changes is, therefore, a priority for better quantifying future impacts of climate change on managed‐land systems. This study investigated variations of grassland vegetation quality from 2001 to 2021 in Lessinia Regional Park, a pre‐alpine historical rural landscape in northern Italy. We combined multi‐source data, weather information, and satellite‐derived vegetation quality indices. The work focuses the analysis using a ‘pond landscape dominance’ index, calculated as a proxy of hydrologic connectivity, to illustrate the function of ponds in regulating vegetation. We provided an unprecedented mapping of 459 ponds across the whole area. The results show a progressively decreasing vegetation quality in Lessinia, following rainfall and temperature variability. Overall, however, the analysis highlighted the benefit of water extent and closeness to ponds in providing higher resistance of grasslands against drought, especially during the driest study years. These results demonstrate that this approach has great potential for monitoring the resistance of grasslands in response to drought over large regions. This study supports the importance of identifying multiple co‐benefits and ecosystem services related to ponds, which can help communities cope with climate change and environmental challenges.
Linking ecosystem service benefit and grazing prohibition intensity can better optimize fence layout in northern Tibet
Authors: Chen Junhe , Wang Yafeng , Sun Jian , Zhang Jianxiang , Zhang Jingtian , Wang Yingxin , Zhou Tiancai , Huo Huangyu , Liang Eryuan
Published: December 2022

There is an urgent need to link grazing exclusion policy and the resulting benefits for fence layout management. However, policy implementation intensity and benefits are rarely considered together. Here, combining the changes in the rate of the livestock and fenced area, we constructed a grazing prohibition intensity (GPI) index that reflected the intensity of policy implementation. We also quantified ecosystem service benefits (ESBs), including net primary productivity (NPP) and soil conservation by the different models. Then, a new perspective in combination with ESBs and GPI was used to assess whether a fence layout is appropriate using the four–quadrant model and how to optimize a potentially unreasonable fence layout based on seven drivers. We found that the NPP and soil conservation service notably increased by 59% and 87%, respectively, in the total fenced area, after the implementation of the grazing exclusion program. The high values of ESBs and GPI were concentrated in the eastern and central‐eastern regions of the northern Tibet, respectively. Moreover, the potentially unreasonable fence layout accounted for 10% of the total fenced area, and was focused on meadow areas with a high human footprint. The area proportion of reasonable fence layout coupling ESBs and GPI increased by 20% compared with ESBs individually. Finally, an optimal potential unreasonable fence layout might reduce the mismatch between the ESB and GPI by considering countermeasures such as attention to the potential unreasonable fence layout, setting a target for supplying carbon sinks and soil and water conservation quantities and reducing the human footprint. Our study indicates the necessity of linking ESBs and GPI for fence layout management.
Network‐based robust exponential fuzzy control for uncertain systems
Authors: Saravanakumar Ramasamy , Hoon Joo Young
Published: December 2022

This article studies the robust exponential stability and Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy control synthesis for networked control systems via
performance. The main aim of this paper is to design fuzzy controllers with less conservative results. Novel weighted integral inequalities (WIIs) are proposed based on Wirtinger's integral inequalities. The T–S fuzzy approach expresses nonlinear systems as linear submodels with IF–THEN rules for deriving the stability conditions. Then, by constructing a suitable Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF) and applying new WIIs, improved exponential stability and stabilization criteria are established in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Three examples are provided to demonstrate the advantages and usefulness of the proposed novel method. Two are application‐oriented examples, such as the variable speed wind turbine (VSWT) system and nonlinear mass‐spring (NMS) system.
San Antonio community colleges help students transfer to four‐year schools with award‐winning program
Authors: D'Orio Wayne
Published: December 2022

When officials at the Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio started planning how to improve their students’ ability to transfer to four‐year colleges, they examined which courses would not only transfer but also apply to students’ intended majors.
Is it time for a new job or career?
Authors: Hodges Dawn Z.
Published: December 2022

By the time I was 20, I knew I wanted a career in higher education. I met with a dean at my junior college and thought that his job was something I'd like to do. And much later, I became a dean and then chief academic officer. I changed jobs and colleges several times during my career but couldn't imagine leaving higher education. I told people often, “It's the only thing I know how to do.”
The costs of delivering environmental outcomes with land sharing and land sparing
Authors: Collas Lydia , Crastes dit Sourd Romain , Finch Tom , Green Rhys , Hanley Nick , Balmford Andrew
Published: December 2022

The biodiversity and climate crises demand ambitious policies lowering the environmental impacts of farming. Most current interventions incentivise so‐called land‐sharing approaches to address the widespread trade‐off between farm yields and on‐farm environmental outcomes by compensating farmers who adopt yield‐reducing interventions that encourage wildlife or reduce net emissions within farmed land.

Here, we present the first quantification of the likely costs to taxpayers of land sharing compared with land sparing, in which large areas are removed from production altogether because of high‐yielding practices elsewhere in the landscape. Focusing on arable production in the United Kingdom, we used a choice experiment to explore farmer preferences and estimated the overall costs of contrasting agri‐environment schemes that delivered increased populations of three well‐studied farmland birds and reduced net carbon emissions in England. We included capital, administration and monitoring costs, and lost food production.

Sparing delivered our target biodiversity and carbon emission outcomes at 79% of the food production cost and 48% of the taxpayer cost of sharing. The difference in subsidy payments required by farmers roughly tracked lost food production but other costs favoured sparing even more strongly.

The cost‐related merits of sparing would probably increase further in studies incorporating (1) the many species and ecosystem services not deliverable on farmland, (2) the costs of food imports to compensate domestic lost production and (3) countries without as long and extensive a history of agriculture as the United Kingdom.

Our results suggest that, for at least some conservation outcomes, continuing a land‐sharing approach in countries such as the United Kingdom is not only an inefficient use of government funds but also undermines conservation and food security in food‐exporting countries which bear the burden of compensating domestic production forgone in the name of conservation.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Interspecies and in vitro‐in vivo scaling for quantitative modeling of whole‐body drug pharmacokinetics in patients: Application to the anticancer drug oxaliplatin
Authors: Catozzi Simona , Hill Roger , Li Xiao‐Mei , Dulong Sandrine , Collard Elodie , Ballesta Annabelle
Published: December 2022

Quantitative systems pharmacology holds the promises of integrating results from laboratory animals or in vitro human systems into the design of human pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models allowing for precision and personalized medicine. However, reliable and general in vitro‐to‐in vivo extrapolation and interspecies scaling methods are still lacking. Here, we developed a translational strategy for the anticancer drug oxaliplatin. Using ex vivo PK data in the whole blood of the mouse, rat, and human, a model representing the amount of platinum (Pt) in the plasma and in the red blood cells was designed and could faithfully fit each dataset independently. A “purely physiologically‐based (PB)” scaling approach solely based on preclinical data failed to reproduce human observations, which were then included in the calibration. Investigating approaches in which one parameter was set as species‐specific, whereas the others were computed by PB scaling laws, we concluded that allowing the Pt binding rate to plasma proteins to be species‐specific permitted to closely fit all data, and guaranteed parameter identifiability. Such a strategy presenting the drawback of including all clinical datasets, we further identified a minimal subset of human data ensuring accurate model calibration. Next, a “whole body” model of oxaliplatin human PK was inferred from the ex vivo study. Its three remaining parameters were estimated, using one third of the available patient data. Remarkably, the model achieved a good fit to the training dataset and successfully reproduced the unseen observations. Such validation endorsed the legitimacy of our scaling methodology calling for its testing with other drugs.
Learn how to create a campus that's autism‐friendly
Authors: Hope Joan
Published: December 2022

A chance conversation between an autism advocate and the president of Dublin City University led to the     Autism Friendly University Initiative, said Fiona Earley, Autism Friendly University Coordinator at DCU. Adam Harris, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AsIAm, Ireland's leading advocacy organization for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, described to the president what it's like to be a student with autism.
Difficult conversations — turn dread to joy!
Authors: Freebairn‐Smith Laura
Published: December 2022

I want to introduce a guide for having difficult conversations at work. Tony Panos, another Partner at Organizational Performance Group (OPG), created this template over the years because the most dreaded management and leadership activity seems to be having a difficult conversation with a colleague. Or anyone!
Make your career work for you
Authors: Hope Joan
Published: December 2022

Deborah L. Anderson was finishing her Ph.D. and serving as Vice Chancellor for Student Success at Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville, Indiana, when a series of life events launched her career in a direction she couldn't have predicted. Her husband was diagnosed with early‐onset Alzheimer's disease in 2018. She completed the degree in 2019, and then the COVID‐19 pandemic hit.
What matters most? Network analysis of mental health, recovery experiences, sleep, and fatigue among career firefighters
Authors: Zhang Shu , Jiang Junying , Hao Leilei , Yu Yu , Zhang Qi , Meng Hui
Published: December 2022

Firefighters exhibit a higher prevalence of mental health issues than other occupations because they often directly or indirectly experience potentially traumatic events. Previous research has suggested that recovery experiences, sleep, and fatigue may be protective or risk factors for firefighters' mental health. This study conducted regularised partial correlation network analysis to investigate and visualise the complex relationships between these variables. We collected data through an online survey, and 3144 career firefighters from a large east‐coast city in China, were included in the analyses. The results of the network analysis showed that: (1) only relaxation and mastery experiences directly correlated with one dimension of the mental health scale, namely, life/social functioning; (2) sleep quality had stronger correlations with mental health issues than sleep quantity; and (3) mental health issues were central nodes of the network. These results indicated that firefighters' mental health was close to other variables in the network and acted as a bridge linking other variables. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the mental health of firefighters to prevent comorbidities. The study's results also indicated that recovery experiences and sleep may be protective factors for firefighters' mental health.
“Blockchain‐Like” MIL‐101(Cr)/Carbon Black Electrodes for Unprecedented Defluorination by Capacitive Deionization
Authors: Yu Fei , Zhang Xiaochen , Liu Peng , Chen Bingbing , Ma Jie
Published: December 2022

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOF) have attracted extensive attention due to their ultra‐high specific surface area and tunable structure, the mechanism of direct utilization for capacitive deionization (CDI) defluorination remains undefined. Here, MIL‐101(Cr) with ultra‐high specific surface area, high water stability, and open metal sites (OMSs) is prepared by a hydrothermal method for defluorination of CDI. Carbon black is used as a “chain” to connect F‐stored in the holes of MIL‐101(Cr) (Cr‐MOF)as “blocks” to enhance the conductivity and ion storage capacity of MIL‐101(Cr)/carbon black electrodes (Cr‐MOF electrodes). This simple construction method avoids the process complexity of in situ synthesis and performs better. These easily constructed “blockchain‐like” Cr‐MOF electrodes exhibit excellent defluorination capacity (39.84 mgNaF gelectrodes−1), low energy consumption (1.2 kWh kgNaF−1), and good stability. The coupling of the electrochemical redox reaction of Cr3+/Cr4+ with confined water is investigated using in situ and ex situ analysis methods combined with density functional theory (DFT), resulting in an unprecedented defluorination mechanism for Cr‐MOF electrodes. This study opens up new ideas for the application of MOF in CDI, clarifies the removal mechanism of MOF, and lays a foundation for further promoting the application of raw materials with poor conductivity in the field of CDI.
PROTAC Degraders of Androgen Receptor‐Integrated Dissolving Microneedles for Androgenetic Alopecia and Recrudescence Treatment via Single Topical Administration
Authors: Wang Ruxuan , Zhong Tengjiang , Bian Qiong , Zhang Sai , Ma Xiaolu , Li Liming , Xu Yihua , Gu Yueting , Yuan Anran , Hu Weitong , Qin Chong , Gao Jianqing
Published: December 2022

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a transracial and cross‐gender disease worldwide with a youth‐oriented tendency, but it lacks effective treatment. The binding of androgen receptor (AR) and androgen plays an essential role in the occurrence and progression of AGA. Herein, novel proteolysis targeting chimera degrader of AR (AR‐PROTAC) is synthesized and integrated with dissolving microneedles (PROTAC‐MNs) to achieve AR destruction in hair follicles for AGA treatment. The PROTAC‐MNs possess adequate mechanical capabilities for precise AR‐PROTAC delivery into the hair follicle‐residing regions for AR degradation. After applying only once topically, the PROTAC‐MNs achieve an accelerated onset of hair regeneration as compared to the daily application of the first‐line topical drug minoxidil. Intriguingly, PROTAC‐MNs via single administration still realize superior hair regeneration in AGA recrudescence, which is the major drawback of minoxidil in clinical practice. With the degradation of AR, the PROTAC‐MNs successfully regulate the signaling cascade related to hair growth and activate hair follicle stem cells. Furthermore, the PROTAC‐MNs do not cause systemic toxicity or androgen deficiency‐related chaos in vivo. Collectively, these AR‐degrading dissolving microneedles with long‐lasting efficacy, one‐step administration, and high biocompatibility provide a great therapeutic potential for AGA treatment.
Assessment of alkaloids from the stems of 14 Berberis species in China
Authors: Yin Xiaoming , Huang Siyu , Wu Xing , Wang Yi , Li Xinhua
Published: December 2022

The total alkaloids and its five monomeric alkaloids were studied from the stems of 14 species of the genus Berberis from China. The optimal extraction conditions of the total alkaloids were established as including a ratio of liquid‐to‐material of 249.55:1 (ml/g), extraction temperature of 59.6°C, and extraction time of 137.5 min. The contents of total alkaloids of the 14 Berberis species range from 7.74 to 29.37 mg/g, three species, B. pruinosa, B. wilsonae, B. verruculosa, possess higher contents between 21.19 and 29.37 mg/g. The contents of five monomeric alkaloids were analyzed by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography, using methanol and 0.2% formic acid as the optimal mobile phase, jatrorrhizine, berberine, and palmatine are found in all the 14 species, and three species, B. pruinosa, B. wilsonae, B. verruculosa, possess the higher contents between 1.99 and 9.48 mg/g, while epiberberine is detected in eight species with low contents (0.06–0.07 mg/g), and coptisine is detected in just three species with low contents (0.05–0.11 mg/g). Only one species, B. taliensis, is found to contain all five monomeric alkaloids. The results may promote the development and utilization of the largely unexploited abundant wild medicinal plant resources of Berberis species in China.
Michael Horn Q+A: How college leaders can implement successful changes
Authors: D'Orio Wayne
Published: December 2022

The number of important issues facing college administrators seems to be growing exponentially. On any given day, a college leader could be dealing with declining enrollment, the pending Supreme Court decision that will erase or reshape affirmative action, the struggle to educate students affected by the last two‐plus years of the pandemic, and a free speech battle that's just a professor's comment away from igniting.
Robert Gates’ leadership advice: Run short meetings, be inclusive but decisive
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: December 2022

LAS VEGAS — If you want to become more effective at leading through times of change, you can benefit from the insight of a seasoned leader. Robert Gates has held multiple high‐level leadership roles, including the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Chair of the NCAA Constitution Committee, and the President of Texas A&M University. He shared his lessons learned at the annual convention for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Best practices to increase your shot at grant funding
Authors: Sutton Halley
Published: December 2022

LAS VEGAS — “I spent about 16 years at Syracuse University, in their emergency communications department. In [this] my former job, ‘no’ was never an option. I had to find a solution [to whatever problem we faced]. Grant funding is similar,” Shannon Day, Grants Development Consultant, Grants Office, LLC, said.
Bridging conservation across the ex situ‐in situ spectrum: Insights into the reproductive ecology of the threatened narrow‐headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus)
Authors: Blais Brian R. , Wells Stuart A. , Poynter Bradley M. , Harris Tara R. , Allard Ruth A. , Koprowski John L.
Published: December 2022

Zoo‐based (ex situ) conservation breeding programs provide invaluable opportunities to uncover enigmatic behaviors and traits of focal species under managed care, which can support research and conservation management efforts. A suite of factors and a limited range have yielded population declines in the threatened narrow‐headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus). Better understanding its cryptic ecology and life history (e.g., reproductive ecology) offers conservation benefits. We analyzed data on courtship behavior, parity and litter size, offspring size, and neonatal growth from an ex situ T. rufipunctatus population at the Phoenix Zoo from 2009 to 2018. Courtship behavior and parturition phenology are likely linked with the North American monsoon season, yet the courtship window may be wider than realized. We document the first instances of interannual iteroparity and multigenerational rearing of successful breeders at the ex situ level. Litter sizes varied but were relative to maternal body mass, suggesting that fecundity may be driven by intrinsic condition (e.g., age and size) of breeding females. Mean offspring body masses were equivalent between sexes, and neonate growth trends were quadratic during their first 9 months. Sexual dimorphism became apparent around 4–5 months age. Much of these data are novel for T. rufipunctatus and provide insight into their reproductive ecology. Phenology of reproductive ecology and body size metrics can guide field surveillance, age estimations, and population ecology monitoring, as well as inform ex situ adaptive management practices. Strategies spanning the ex situ‐in situ spectrum are applicable to other imperiled taxa to better inform conservation management decisions.
The fuzzy BTZ
Authors: Burić Ilija , Burić Maja
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We introduce a model of a noncommutative BTZ black hole, obtained by quantisation of Poincaré coordinates together with a moving frame. The fuzzy BTZ black hole carries a covariant differential calculus, satisfies Einstein’s equations and has a constant negative curvature. The construction passes through a larger space, the fuzzy anti-de Sitter, and implements discrete BTZ identifications as conjugations by a unitary operator. We derive the spectrum of the suitably regularised radial coordinate: it consists of a continuum of scattering states outside the horizonr+and an infinite discrete set of bound states inside.
Signatures of non-thermal dark matter with kination and early matter domination. Gravitational waves versus laboratory searches
Authors: Ghoshal Anish , Heurtier Lucien , Paul Arnab
Published: December 2022

Abstract

The non-thermal production of dark matter (DM) usually requires very tiny couplings of the dark sector with the visible sector and therefore is notoriously challenging to hunt in laboratory experiments. Here we propose a novel pathway to test such a production in the context of a non-standard cosmological history, using both gravitational wave (GW) and laboratory searches. We investigate the formation of DM from the decay of a scalar field that we dub as the reheaton, as it also reheats the Universe when it decays. We consider the possibility that the Universe undergoes a phase with kination-like stiff equation-of-state (wkin> 1/3) before the reheaton dominates the energy density of the Universe and eventually decays into Standard Model and DM particles. We then study how first-order tensor perturbations generated during inflation, the amplitude of which may get amplified during the kination era and lead to detectable GW signals. Demanding that the reheaton produces the observed DM relic density, we show that the reheaton’s lifetime and branching fractions are dictated by the cosmological scenario. In particular, we show that it is long-lived and can be searched by various experiments such as DUNE, FASER, FASER-II, MATHUSLA, SHiP, etc. We also identify the parameter space which leads to complementary observables for GW detectors such as LISA and u-DECIGO. In particular we find that a kination-like period with an equation-of-state parameter wkin ≈ 0.5 and a reheaton mass $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(0.5–5) GeV and a DM mass of $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(10–100) keV may lead to sizeable imprints in both kinds of searches.
Jordan blocks and the Bethe Ansatz II: The eclectic spin chain beyond K = 1
Authors: García Juan Miguel Nieto
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We continue the classification of the Jordan chains of the eclectic three state spin chain that we started in our previous article. Following the same steps, we construct the generalised eigenvectors of this spin chain by computing the strongly twisted limit of linear combinations of eigenvectors of a twisted XXX SU(3) spin chain. We show that this classification problem can be mapped to the computation of the number of positive integer solutions of a system of linear equations.
SU(N) fractional instantons and the Fibonacci sequence
Authors: Golán Jorge Dasilva , Pérez Margarita García
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We study, by means of numerical methods, new SU(N) self-dual instanton solutions on R × T3 with fractional topological charge Q = 1/N. They are obtained on a box with twisted boundary conditions with a very particular choice of twist: both the number of colours and the ’t Hooft ZN fluxes piercing the box are taken within the Fibonacci sequence, i.e. N = Fn (the nth number in the series) and $$ \left|\overrightarrow{m}\right| $$

m
→

= $$ \left|\overrightarrow{k}\right| $$

k
→

= Fn−2. Various arguments based on previous works and in particular on ref. [1], indicate that this choice of twist avoids the breakdown of volume independence in the large N limit. These solutions become relevant on a Hamiltonian formulation of the gauge theory, where they represent vacuum-to-vacuum tunneling events lifting the degeneracy between electric flux sectors present in perturbation theory. We discuss the large N scaling properties of the solutions and evaluate various gauge invariant quantities like the action density or Wilson and Polyakov loop operators.
Dynamical Abelianization and anomalies in chiral gauge theories
Authors: Bolognesi Stefano , Konishi Kenichi , Luzio Andrea
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We explore the idea that in some class of strongly-coupled chiral SU(N) gauge theories the infrared dynamics might be characterized by a bifermion condensate in the ad- joint representation of the color gauge group. As an illustration, in this work we revisit an SU(N) chiral gauge theory with Weyl fermions in a symmetric (ψ) and anti-antisymmetric (χ) tensor representations, together with eight fermions in the anti-fundamental representations (η), which we called ψχη model in the previous investigations. We study the infrared dynamics of this system more carefully, by assuming dynamical Abelianization, a phenomenon familiar from 𝒩 = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories, and by analyzing the way various continuous and discrete symmetries are realized at low energies. We submit then these ideas to a more stringent test, by taking into account some higher-form symmetries and the consequent mixed anomalies. A detailed analysis of the mixed anomalies involving certain 0-form U(1) symmetries and the color-flavor locked 1-form ℤN symmetry in the ψχη system shows that the proposed infrared dynamics is consistent with it.
Hidden mechanical joints of sheets to rods by axial sheet bending and unbending
Authors: Afonso Rafael M. , Alves Luís M.
Published: December 2022

Mechanical joints of sheets to rods by plastic deformation produced at room temperature away from the rod ends have been investigated in recent years but new developments are still needed. The process hereby presented relies in the axial bending of a sheet with a pre-drilled hole of smaller diameter than that of the rod, until the diameter of the sheet becomes equal to the initial diameter of the rod. Then, a rod is placed inside this larger hole diameter of the sheet and the sheet is unbent to its original shape, with its material being radially injected to a rectangular cross-section slot previously machined in the rod, thus producing a mechanical interlocking between the two geometries. The major process parameters are identified and their influence in the deformation mechanics is analysed by means of finite element modelling and experimentation. The experiments were carried out in unit cells while the numerical modelling analysed sheets of different lengths and thicknesses, so that to allow a proper understanding of the influence of different specifications on the new joining by forming process. Destructive performance tests were performed in the sheet-rod connections and comparisons with previous joining techniques were made to confirm the success of the new mechanical joint.
Affektive Mentalisierung als wahrgenommene Kontrollierbarkeit und Nützlichkeit von Emotionen
Authors: Biel Hannah Marie , Löwe Bernd , Briken Peer , Hennig Timo , Krott Nora Rebekka , Jungclaußen Ingo , Liebherz Sarah , Weigel Angelika , Reininger Klaus Michael
Published: December 2022

Hintergrund

Instrumente zur Untersuchung von Mentalisierung sollten die Multidimensionalität dieses Konstrukts berücksichtigen und spezifizieren. Indikativ für den Pol der affektiven Mentalisierung sind einerseits aufgrund des Verständnisses für eigene und fremde Emotionen eine wahrgenommene Kontrollierbarkeit von Emotionen, andererseits aufgrund der attribuierten Bedeutsamkeit eigener und fremder Emotionen eine wahrgenommene Nützlichkeit von Emotionen. Die wahrgenommene Kontrollierbarkeit und Nützlichkeit positiver und negativer Emotionen wird mit den 16 Items des englischsprachigen Emotion Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ; Becerra et al. 2020) im Selbstbericht erfasst.

Ziel der Studie

Ziele der vorliegenden Studie waren es, eine deutschsprachige Version des EBQ als Erhebungsinstrument für affektive Mentalisierungsfähigkeit zu entwickeln sowie deren Reliabilität und Validität zu ermitteln.

Material und Methoden

Psychotherapeut:innen in Aus- und Weiterbildung sowie Studierende (n = 104) beantworteten den von uns in Anlehnung an die Translation Guidelines des European Social Survey übersetzten deutschsprachigen EBQ als Teil einer anonymen Online-Befragung. Wir führten eine explorative Faktorenanalyse durch und bestimmten interne Konsistenzen sowie konkurrente Validitäten in Bezug auf verwandte Konstrukte.

Ergebnisse

Wie in der Originalvalidierungsstudie zeigen sich eine dreifaktorielle Struktur des EBQ sowie eine gute interne Konsistenz von α = 0,87 in der Gesamtskala. Weiterhin zeigen sich Zusammenhänge zwischen der Wahrnehmung von positiven und negativen Emotionen als unkontrollierbar und nutzlos (hohe EBQ-Werte) und einer geringeren Emotionsregulation sowie höheren psychopathologischen Symptomen (konkurrente Validität).

Schlussfolgerung

Die Befunde decken sich mit den Ergebnissen der originalen Validierungsstudie und legen nahe, dass der EBQ auch in der deutschen Version zu empfehlen ist. Theoretisch begründet und empirisch überprüft (siehe Online-Appendix) erscheint der EBQ als ein geeignetes Verfahren zur Erhebung affektiver Mentalisierung.
System identification of photovoltaic system based on fractional-order model
Authors: Ebead Rabiaa , Abo-Zalam Belal , Nabil Essam
Published: December 2022

A fractional-order model of a photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed in this paper. The system identification approach is used to develop an effective dynamical model for a PV system. A real PV module and a boost converter are used to gather the experimental input–output data for the identification process. The black box modeling is applied to the system identification to obtain the transfer function, without the requirement to perform any mathematical analysis. The identification process is based on the least squares criteria for minimizing model output error, and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm is used for optimizing the model parameters. The proposed fractional-order model (FOM) is investigated using MATLAB to study the frequency response and the model's stability. Simulation results verify the effectiveness and advantages of the FOM in comparison to identified integer-order model.
Ignoring Non-ignorable Missingness
Authors: Rabe-Hesketh Sophia , Skrondal Anders
Published: December 2022

The classical missing at random (MAR) assumption, as defined by Rubin (Biometrika 63:581–592, 1976), is often not required for valid inference ignoring the missingness process. Neither are other assumptions sometimes believed to be necessary that result from misunderstandings of MAR. We discuss three strategies that allow us to use standard estimators (i.e., ignore missingness) in cases where missingness is usually considered to be non-ignorable: (1) conditioning on variables, (2) discarding more data, and (3) being protective of parameters.
The making of sustainability: ideological strategies, the materiality of nature, and biomass use in the bioeconomy
Authors: Boyer Miriam , Kusche Franziska , Hackfort Sarah , Prause Louisa , Engelbrecht-Bock Friederike
Published: December 2022

The bioeconomy, a recent addition to the political project of ecological modernization, is largely premised on the widespread use of biomass. Biomass is presented by bioeconomy proponents as renewable and, therefore, sustainable. However, a large body of academic and non-academic literature questions this sustainability, citing the negative socio-ecological aspects of biomass use. Given this contradiction, we ask how the key institutions of the innovation system (government, science, and industry), construct and uphold the image of sustainability of biomass use in the bioeconomy. Through an analysis based on ideology critique, we look at the broad field of biomass policy in Germany, including official bioeconomy strategies and biomass potential calculations, expert portrayals of biomass use in the bioeconomy-themed Year of Science, and an iconic biomass-based commodity. We identify four central ideological strategies that uphold the image of sustainability and contribute to creating political consent for the political project of the German bioeconomy: seeking managerial solutions, relying on technological innovation, relegating solutions into the future, and obscuring the materiality of nature. We discuss how these strategies are upheld by the wider discourse and institutions of ecological modernization and argue that particular attention should be given to the biophysical materiality of living nature in this context. The materiality of nature represents both an obstacle to the ideological strategies identified, and a starting point for envisioning alternative society–nature relations.
A fixed point theorem and Ulam stability of a general linear functional equation in random normed spaces
Authors: Benzarouala Chaimaa , Brzdęk Janusz , Oubbi Lahbib
Published: December 2022

We prove a very general fixed point theorem in the space of functions taking values in a random normed space (RN-space). Next, we show several of its consequences and, among others, we present applications of it in proving Ulam stability results for the general inhomogeneous linear functional equation with several variables in the class of functions f mapping a vector space X into an RN-space. Particular cases of the equation are for instance the functional equations of Cauchy, Jensen, Jordan–von Neumann, Drygas, Fréchet, Popoviciu, the polynomials, the monomials, the p-Wright affine functions, and several others. We also show how to use the theorem to study the approximate eigenvalues and eigenvectors of some linear operators.
Application of Bio and Nature-Inspired Algorithms in Agricultural Engineering
Authors: Maraveas Chrysanthos , Asteris Panagiotis G. , Arvanitis Konstantinos G. , Bartzanas Thomas , Loukatos Dimitrios
Published: December 2022

The article reviewed the four major Bioinspired intelligent algorithms for agricultural applications, namely ecological, swarm-intelligence-based, ecology-based, and multi-objective algorithms. The key emphasis was placed on the variants of the swarm intelligence algorithms, namely the artificial bee colony (ABC), genetic algorithm, flower pollination algorithm (FPA), particle swarm, the ant colony, firefly algorithm, artificial fish swarm, and Krill herd algorithm because they had been widely employed in the agricultural sector. There was a broad consensus among scholars that certain BIAs' variants were more effective than others. For example, the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm and genetic algorithm were best suited for farm machinery path optimization and pest detection, among other applications. On the contrary, the particle swarm algorithm was useful in determining the plant evapotranspiration rates, which predicted the water requirements and optimization of the irrigation process. Despite the promising applications, the adoption of hyper-heuristic algorithms in agriculture remained low. No universal algorithm could perform multiple functions in farms; different algorithms were designed to perform specific functions. Secondary concerns relate to data integrity and cyber security, considering the history of cyber-attacks on smart farms. Despite the concerns, the benefits associated with the BIAs outweighed the risks. On average, farmers can save 647–1866 L on fuel which is equivalent to US$734-851, with the use of GPS-guided systems. The accuracy of the BIAs mitigated the risk of errors in applying pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, and crop monitoring for better yields.
Iodine Deficiency of Breastfeeding Mothers and Infants from 2012 to 2019 in Zhengzhou, China
Authors: Wang Xinyi , Liu Jianghua , Lu Weixia , Jia Weihua , Li Qingzhi , Traoré Stanislav S. , Lyu Quanjun
Published: December 2022

To investigate iodine status and characteristics of breastfeeding women and infants in Zhengzhou after the implementation of the new national standard of iodine in edible salt, so as to provide the basis for formulating prevention and control measures. Urine samples from 28,730 infants aged 0–2 years and 17,977 breastfeeding women who received preventive health care in 12 districts/cities of Zhengzhou from 2012 to 2019 were collected to measure urinary iodine concentration (UIC). A total of 350 pairs of unweaned infants and their mothers were included in this study. After the implementation of the new national standard of iodine in edible salt, the iodine deficiency of infants aged 0–2 years showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing, but generally the iodine nutrition of infants aged 0–2 years was at the appropriate level in 8 years. There was a gradual decrease in iodine deficiency among breastfeeding women over an 8-year period. And the median UIC of breastfeeding women in 8 years was at iodine nutrition appropriate level. In addition, the UIC of breastfeeding mothers was positively associated with that of infants (r = 0.104, P = 0.004). After the implementation of the new national standard of iodine in edible salt, breastfeeding women and infants in Zhengzhou generally were at an appropriate level of iodine nutrition, and there was a significant positive correlation between the UIC of breastfeeding mothers and infants.