bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Harnessing Banana Peel Waste: Development of Starch‐Based Bioplastics for Green Packaging
Authors: Seth Atul Kumar , Vellaparambil Hariharan Sangeetha , Jaideva Rajvardhan
Published: January 2025

This study investigates the isolation and characterization of starch from green banana peels and preparation of biodegradable blend films thereof. Sodium metabisulfite was found more effective than sodium bisulfite in isolating starch, resulting in a higher yield. The extracted starch was verified through FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TGA analyses. Biodegradable blend film was prepared via solvent casting with the addition of 40 wt.% glycerol as plasticizer. FTIR analysis revealed good interactions between chitosan and green banana peel starch in the blend film. X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy confirmed that starch and chitosan in blend films displayed miscibility, interactions, and some microphase separation. Mechanical testing revealed that the film achieved an elongation at break of 76% when chitosan and starch were combined in equal proportions (50:50 by weight). Luminous transmittance decreased from 82% to 35% as starch content increased, while water absorption dropped from 89% to 61%. Soil burial tests demonstrated that the blend films exhibited greater biodegradability, as evidenced by higher weight loss and reduced tensile strength (0.53 MPa for CS4) compared to virgin chitosan film. Among the various formulations, the film containing 45% starch, 55% chitosan, and 40% glycerol (CS3) exhibited optimal performance, showcasing good mechanical strength, superior optical properties, effective water absorption, controlled swelling behavior, and improved biodegradability.
Machine Learning Approach to Energy Detection Based Spectrum Sensing for Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Ahmed Md. Tofail , Haque Mousumi , Sugiura Yosuke , Shimamura Tetsuya
Published: January 2025

Cognitive radio is an intelligent technology for wireless communication that optimizes the use of available frequency bands. Machine learning techniques can play an important role in spectrum sensing for cognitive radio networks to meet the rising traffic demand of wireless communication systems. The reliability of spectrum sensing methods depends on the prior knowledge of the noise to set a threshold. On the other hand, the success of a machine learning model relies on both the datasets and the accuracy of its learning algorithms. In this paper, we propose a spectrum sensing method for cognitive radio based on a machine learning algorithm in the conventional energy detection technique that removes the requirement to calculate the threshold. Initially, we introduce a method to build the dataset using the general concept of spectrum sensing based on the energy detection technique. The Naive Bayes supervised machine learning classification algorithm is implemented on the generated dataset for training, validation, and testing to sense the available spectrum. The proposed method is evaluated and tested using performance metrics such as confusion matrix, accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, probability of detection, and probability of false alarm. In the simulation, the quadrature phase‐shift keying (QPSK) modulation scheme over the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel is considered. The experimental outcomes of the proposed method provide satisfactory and acceptable performance for spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks. © 2025 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Multi‐Objective Sleeve Optimization of Solid High Speed Permanent Magnet Motor Based on Rotor Strength Failure Judgment Parameters
Authors: Yang Zihao , Ge Baojun , Dong Chuanyou , Tao Dajun , Yang Zhifei
Published: January 2025

It is necessary to consider the coupling effects of multiple physical fields in the rotor design of high speed permanent magnet motor. However, the calculation method ignoring axial constraints will lead to misjudgment of various strength failure modes of solid permanent magnet rotor. In this paper, the calculation methods of three kinds of judgment parameters of rotor strength failure modes under axial constraint are given by means of theoretical derivation. On this basis, a solid high speed permanent magnet motor of 38 000 rpm and 200 kW is taken as the research object to explore the rule of influence of sheath thickness on motor loss and temperature. Combining the rotor strength failure criterion and NSGAII algorithm, a new sleeve multi‐objective optimization design method for solid high speed permanent magnet motor is proposed by taking the multi‐physical properties such as strength, efficiency and temperature as objective functions. Finally, experiments and simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the method. © 2025 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Exploring the Potential of Generative AI: Use Cases in Software Startups
Authors: Simaremare Mario , Triando  , Rico Sergio
Published: January 2025

Background and Related Work: Software startups face unique challenges in product development, including limited resources, the need for rapid innovation, and the constant pressure to adapt to market changes. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has recently gained significant attention, offering capabilities to assist creative processes, generate content, and enhance decision-making through data analysis. However, how GenAI can be integrated into agile product development processes in software startups remains an open question. Objective: This study aims to identify potential use cases for GenAI in software startups and explore how GenAI can support innovation, overcome development challenges, and integrate with agile practices to improve product quality and development speed. Method: We identified a list of GenAI use cases from existing systematic literature reviews and mapped them to engineering process areas in software startups. Following that, we conducted workshops with experts to validate our results. Results: The results provide a descriptive overview of GenAI’s potential applications in software startup environments. Given the current state of the art, we identified areas that could benefit faster from integrating GenAI. Conclusions: The study delineates the prospective impact of GenAI on agile product development in software startups, showcasing areas of immediate applicability.
Social Capital in Software Product Management: A Case Study From a Large-Scale Agile Context
Authors: Barbala Astri , Moe Nils Brede , Berntzen Marthe
Published: January 2025

Although large-scale agile software development increasingly is being organized in product areas, little research has to date looked into the skills needed for central roles to succeed with software product management (SPM) in a large-scale setting. Addressing this research gap, this paper provides insights into the skills and competencies deemed essential among Product Managers and Product Owners in ScanBank, a Scandinavian fintech organization counting over 10,000 employees. Our findings reveal that establishing and maintaining social networks are found to be paramount for successfully performing SPM-related tasks in a large-scale agile organizational context. We utilized a model for social capital consisting of three different dimensions to analyze our data material and highlight the value of social capabilities in enhancing collaboration and efficiency within large-scale agile SPM.
Selected Concepts of Leadership in Self-organizing Teams
Authors: Perlak Jakub
Published: January 2025

Self-organizing teams are a common way of organizing teamwork in sectors related to modern technologies, especially in programming teams. Agile methods often promote and advocate such teams. One of the problems in this form of team organization is the issue of leadership, and particularly the relationship between vertical leadership - one person, and horizontal leadership - team members. In the literature on the subject, we can find traces of many concepts in such a broad area as the issue of leadership. However, several selected concepts allow us to capture an emerging feature in self-organizing teams which is the taking over of leadership functions by team members. Shared leadership, where the leadership function comes from team members, not from one appointed leader. Distributed leadership is where leadership in the organization is taken over voluntarily by individuals. Balanced leadership, where the vertical leader enables team members to take over leadership functions depending on the situation. The selected concepts presented here allow for a better understanding and research of the nature and phenomenon of leadership in self-organizing teams.
Domestic Tax Regulation in the Face of the Crypto Economy: Challenges Going Forward
Authors: Cediel Ana
Published: January 2025

Our tax system clings to a traditional economy linked to pre-digital criteria such as territoriality. It tries to update itself by introducing elements that attempt to deal with the new issues without resolving them head-on. The lack of tax regulation produces a sudden injustice barely resolved by soft law derived from binding administrative resolutions, such as the responses offered by the General Directorate of Taxes.

MiCA demonstrates the tax system’s obsolescence in a broad and community sense. The lack of provisions for classifying new economic goods for tax purposes fragments their treatment, leads to tax conflicts, and creates legal uncertainty.

This legal uncertainty contrasts with the enormous deployment of mechanisms to control compliance with tax obligations. These include the effective automatic exchange of tax information, joint inspection procedures, and the, at times, unscrupulous application of artificial intelligence to all types of available data, personal and non-personal, without time limitation.

We understand that the rules applicable to the taxation of crypto assets must constantly be updated, and this is our purpose in an economy undergoing absolute digitalisation.
The European Digital Identity Wallet as Defined in the EIDAS 2 Regulation
Authors: Inza Julián
Published: January 2025

Several legislative developments are taking place in Europe that make some regulations converge with others, and one of the most influential is the one that will govern the new digital identity model that arises from the modification of the European Regulation that defines digital identity and electronic trust services. Regulation 910/2014 is called eIDAS and has been essential in developing European-qualified trust services. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, called eIDAS 2 because it modifies the eIDAS regulation and increases its scope, has been recently published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Regulating Stablecoins in the European Union. Asset-Referenced Tokens and E-Money Tokens
Authors: Alcorta José García
Published: January 2025

Stablecoins are regulated in the European Union under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-assets. That Regulation establishes a bespoke legislative regime for ‘asset-referenced tokens’ and ‘electronic money tokens’. Both are crypto assets, i.e., digital representations of a value or a right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology. Both aim to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right, a specified asset, pool, or basket of assets. Finally, existing EU financial services legislation covers none of them.

This work describes the main features of those crypto assets. Current rules seek to provide legal certainty for issuers of stablecoins in the UE (by imposing a common set of provisions applicable to all of them regarding their authorisation, governance requirements, etc.), give appropriate protection for holders of those crypto assets (by regulating their rights against issuers, the rules applicable to crypto-asset white papers or the marketing communications), or address potential financial stability and monetary policy risks that could arise from their use as a means of exchange (by monitoring or restricting the issuance).
Neutrinoless double beta decay from scalar leptoquarks: interplay with neutrino mass and flavor physics
Authors: Dev P. S. Bhupal , Goswami Srubabati , Majumdar Chayan , Pachhar Debashis
Published: January 2025

Abstract

We perform a comprehensive analysis of neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay and its interplay with low-energy flavor observables in a radiative neutrino mass model with scalar leptoquarks S
1(

$$ \overline{3} $$

3
¯

, 1, 1/3) and

$$ {\overset{\sim }{R}}_2\left(3,2,1/6\right) $$

R
~

2

3
2

1
/
6

. We carve out the parameter region consistent with constraints from neutrino mass and mixing, collider searches, as well as measurements of several flavor observables, such as muon and electron anomalous magnetic moments, charged lepton flavor violation and rare (semi)leptonic kaon and B-meson decays, including the recent anomalies in

$$ {R}_{D^{\left(\ast \right)}} $$

R

D

∗

and

$$ B\to K\nu \overline{\nu} $$

B
→
Kν

ν
¯

observables. We perform a global analysis to all the existing constraints and show the (anti)correlations between all relevant Yukawa couplings satisfying these restrictions. We find that the most stringent constraint on the parameter space comes from μ → e conversion in nuclei and

$$ {K}^{+}\to {\pi}^{+}\nu \overline{\nu} $$

K
+

→

π
+

ν

ν
¯

decay. We also point out a tension between the muon and electron (g – 2) anomalies in this context. Taking benchmark values from the combined allowed regions, we study the implications for 0νββ decay including both the canonical light neutrino and the leptoquark contributions. We find that for normal ordering of neutrino masses, the leptoquark contribution removes the cancellation region that occurs for the canonical case. The effective mass in presence of leptoquarks can lie in the desert region between the standard normal and inverted ordering cases, and this can be probed in future ton-scale experiments like LEGEND-1000 and nEXO.
Non-minimal elliptic threefolds at infinite distance II: asymptotic physics
Authors: Álvarez-García Rafael , Lee Seung-Joo , Weigand Timo
Published: January 2025

Abstract

We interpret infinite-distance limits in the complex structure moduli space of F-theory compactifications to six dimensions in the light of general ideas in quantum gravity. The limits we focus on arise from non-minimal singularities in the elliptic fiber over curves in a Hirzebruch surface base, which do not admit a crepant resolution. Such degenerations take place along infinite directions in the non-perturbative brane moduli space in F-theory. A blow-up procedure, detailed generally in Part I of this project [1], gives rise to an internal space consisting of a union of log Calabi-Yau threefolds glued together along their boundaries. We geometrically classify the resulting configurations for genus-zero single infinite-distance limits. Special emphasis is put on the structure of singular fibers in codimension zero and one. As our main result, we interpret the central fiber of these degenerations as endpoints of a decompactification limit with six-dimensional defects. The conclusions rely on an adiabatic limit to gain information on the asymptotically massless states from the structure of vanishing cycles. We also compare our analysis to the heterotic dual description where available. Our findings are in agreement with general expectations from quantum gravity and provide further evidence for the Emergent String Conjecture.
Subregion duality, wedge classification and no global symmetries in AdS/CFT
Authors: Bao Ning , Jiang Yikun , Naskar Joydeep
Published: January 2025

Abstract

We study various notions of ‘subregion duality’ in the context of AdS/CFT. We highlight the differences between the ‘background wedge’ and the ‘operator reconstruction wedges,’ providing a resolution to the paradox raised in [1]. Additionally, we elucidate the distinctions between four different ‘operator reconstruction wedges’ and demonstrate how to enhance the proof for the absence of global symmetries in geometrical states in AdS/CFT [2, 3] as an example of these distinctions.
Metric symmetry and distance distribution functions on graphs
Authors: Calabuig J. M. , Sánchez Pérez E. A. , Sanjuan S.
Published: January 2025

After reviewing various notions of symmetry in graph theory, which are typically defined by the connections between vertices, we demonstrate that traditional concepts of symmetry, such as vertex transitivity, can be too restrictive for certain applications. For instance, in some areas of graph analysis, symmetry based on metric properties (such as average distances between vertices) may be more appropriate, particularly in social network analysis or economic fraud detection. This paper focuses on developing metric-based symmetry concepts by introducing mathematical analysis tools, all related to the central idea of the distance distribution function, to group vertices according to their distance-related properties within the graph. In particular, we prove several results that show, under certain compactness properties for the set of distribution functions of all the vertices in an infinite graph, that it is always possible to group these vertices into a finite number of classes with the desired accuracy based on distances.
Predicting acute and late toxicity in prostate cancer stereotactic ablative radiotherapy: the role of dosimetric parameters and prostate volume
Authors: Ozyigit Gokhan , Hurmuz Pervin , Bayatfard Pantea , Tilki Burak , Yedekci Yagiz , Yilmaz Melek Tugce
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Our objective was to identify the dosimetric parameters and prostate volume that most accurately predict the incidence of acute and late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity in prostate cancer stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) treatments.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 122 patients who received SABR for prostate cancer at our clinic between March 2018 and September 2022 using a five-fraction SABR regimen. The existing plans of these patients were re-evaluated according to our institutional protocols (Hacettepe University [HU-1] and HU-2) as well as PACE‑B, RTOG 0938, and NRG GU005 dose–volume constraints. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 23.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).

Results

The median follow-up was 24.7 months (0.8–94.4 months). For acute GU toxicity, moderate-dose regions were predictive for grade 1–2 toxicity, while high-dose regions were more associated with grade 3–4 toxicity. For late GU toxicity, moderate–high-dose regions were predictive. For GI toxicity, moderate-dose regions were important for both acute and late toxicity. The HU protocol encompassed all significant dosimetric factors influencing toxicity outcomes. A prostate volume threshold of 60 cc was predictive of acute grade 3–4 GU toxicity.

Conclusion

Our study highlighted the critical role of moderate-dose regions for acute and late GI and GU toxicity. Prostate treatment plans should be rigorously evaluated, and moderate doses should be minimized. The HU protocol is an eligible choice for five-fraction SABR plans.
The clinical impact of chronopharmacology on current medicine
Authors: Kaşkal Mert , Sevim Mustafa , Ülker Gökay , Keleş Caner , Bebitoğlu Berna Terzioğlu
Published: January 2025

One of the goals of clinical pharmacology is to optimize patient treatment by adopting new treatment strategies which will increase the efficacy of the treatment and decrease the adverse effects of the drugs. In the literature, it has shown that the effectiveness and toxicity of medications can vary significantly based on when they are administered, making timing a crucial factor in treatment plans. Chronopharmacology a relatively new branch of clinical pharmacology focuses on adjusting drug administration times to enhance patient outcomes. Chronopharmacology is largely influenced by an individual’s circadian rhythm which refers to periodic changes in biological processes depending on the time of the day. The chronopharmacology influences clinical practice, and the accumulating knowledge in this field will likely lead healthcare providers to adopt new strategies for drug treatment regimens. This review aims to summarize the impact of chronopharmacology particularly on current clinical practices and highlight the latest findings related to chronophysiological mechanisms.
Deep multi-objective reinforcement learning for utility-based infrastructural maintenance optimization
Authors: van Remmerden Jesse , Kenter Maurice , Roijers Diederik M. , Andriotis Charalampos , Zhang Yingqian , Bukhsh Zaharah
Published: January 2025

In this paper, we introduce multi-objective deep centralized multi-agent actor-critic (MO-DCMAC), a multi-objective reinforcement learning method for infrastructural maintenance optimization, an area traditionally dominated by single-objective reinforcement learning (RL) approaches. Previous single-objective RL methods combine multiple objectives, such as probability of collapse and cost, into a singular reward signal through reward-shaping. In contrast, MO-DCMAC can optimize a policy for multiple objectives directly, even when the utility function is nonlinear. We evaluated MO-DCMAC using two utility functions, which use probability of collapse and cost as input. The first utility function is the threshold utility, in which MO-DCMAC should minimize cost so that the probability of collapse is never above the threshold. The second is based on the failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis methodology used by asset managers to assess maintenance plans. We evaluated MO-DCMAC, with both utility functions, in multiple maintenance environments, including ones based on a case study of the historical quay walls of Amsterdam. The performance of MO-DCMAC was compared against multiple rule-based policies based on heuristics currently used for constructing maintenance plans. Our results demonstrate that MO-DCMAC outperforms traditional rule-based policies across various environments and utility functions.
Automated insulin delivery in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Stamati Athina , Christoforidis Athanasios
Published: January 2025

Aims

To assess the efficacy and safety of automated insulin delivery (AID) systems compared to standard care in managing glycaemic control during pregnancy in women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM).

Methods

We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, registries and conference abstracts up to June 2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing AID to standard care in pregnant women with T1DM. We conducted random effects meta-analyses for % of 24-h time in range of 63–140 mg/dL (TIR), time in hyperglycaemia (> 140 mg/dl and > 180 mg/dL), hypoglycaemia (< 63 mg/dl and < 54 mg/dL), total insulin dose (units/kg/day), glycemic variability (%), changes in HbA1c (%), maternal and fetal outcomes.

Results

Thirteen studies (450 participants) were included. AID significantly increased TIR (Mean difference, MD 7.01%, 95% CI 3.72–10.30) and reduced time in hyperglycaemia > 140 mg/dL and > 180 mg/dL (MD – 5.09%, 95% CI – 9.41 to – 0.78 and MD – 2.44%, 95% CI – 4.69 to – 0.20, respectively). Additionally, glycaemic variability was significantly reduced (MD – 1.66%, 95% CI – 2.73 to – 0.58). Other outcomes did not differ significantly.

Conclusion

AID systems effectively improve glycaemic control during pregnancy in women with T1DM by increasing TIR and reducing hyperglycaemia without any observed adverse short-term effects on maternal and fetal outcomes.
How I do it — focused Sylvian approach for clipping of middle cerebral artery aneurysms
Authors: Neyazi Milad , Khajuria Rajiv Kumar , Muhammad Sajjad
Published: January 2025

Background

The Focused Sylvian Approach (FSA) is a refined, minimally invasive technique for clipping small to medium-sized middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms, prioritizing safety and aesthetics.

Method

The craniotomy remains confined to the superior temporal line, with the incision concealed within the temporal muscle. The Sylvian fissure is carefully dissected to preserve venous structures.

Conclusion

FSA achieves optimal vascular control with superior cosmetic outcomes while maintaining adequate exposure for safe aneurysm clipping.
Mental health during and after pregnancy in medically assisted reproduction: a danish cohort study
Authors: Grønlund Marie Mulvad , Jølving Line Riis , Möller Sören , Wesselhoeft Rikke , Bliddal Mette
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Infertility is common and an increasing number of women go through medically assisted reproduction (fertility treatment) to achieve pregnancy. This may affect mental health. We examined if fertility treatment and the specific fertility treatment method used (in vivo or in vitro) were associated with impaired mental health during or after pregnancy.

Methods

Using self-reported data from the Odense Child Cohort, we assessed prenatal stress by the 10-item Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) during pregnancy at median gestational week 27 and postnatal depressive symptoms by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at median postpartum week 15. We compared fertility-treated women overall and by fertility treatment method to women who conceived spontaneously. We conducted linear regression analyses to evaluate the PSS-10 score dimensionally and logistic regression to evaluate EPDS scores above cut-off (≥ 11).

Results

A total of 108 of 820 women (13%) gave birth after fertility treatment. Their prenatal mean stress (PSS-10) score was 11.38 compared to 11.78 for women who conceived spontaneously, leading to an adjusted mean difference of -0.09 points (95% confidence interval (CI): -1.88 to 1.69). In the fertility-treated group, 9.7% had EPDS scores ≥ 11 compared to 10.7% in the spontaneous conception group (adjusted odds ratio of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.26 to 1.91)). The MAR method (in vivo/vitro) did not influence these results.

Conclusion

Women who gave birth after fertility treatment did not report higher levels of prenatal stress or postpartum depressive symptoms than women who conceived spontaneously.
Correlation of endoscopic third ventriculostomy with postoperative body temperature elevation: a single-center retrospective comparative study
Authors: Issa Mohammed , Dannehl Clara , Seitz Angelika , Lenga Pavlina , Syrbe Steffen , Krieg Sandro M. , El Damaty Ahmed
Published: January 2025

Postoperative fever following neuroendoscopic procedures has been well-documented, yet specific differentiation based on the nature and site of the procedure remains lacking. Given the anatomical involvement of the hypothalamus in temperature regulation, we propose that endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) may have a distinct impact on postoperative fever. This study aims to investigate this phenomenon. This retrospective comparative analysis includes all patients who underwent neuroendoscopic procedures between January 2017 and September 2023. Patients were divided into ETV and non-ETV groups, and comparisons were made regarding postoperative body temperature during the initial 7 days after surgery. Comprehensive data were collected on case numbers, surgical duration, symptoms, treatments, and outcomes. Body temperature was measured postoperatively in the morning and evening for 7 days, with elevated temperature categorized as sub-fever (37.5 to 38.2 °C) and fever (≥ 38.3 °C). 207 patients underwent neuroendoscopic procedures in our neurosurgical centers (median age19.1 ± 21.7 years, 50.7% male), primarily for aqueduct stenosis (25.6%) and intra- and periventricular tumors (25.1%). Among them, 104 (50.2%) patients underwent ETV, while 103 (49.8%) underwent other neuroendoscopic procedures (43.7% intracranial cysts fenestrations, 39.8% placement of intraventricular catheters, 3.9% intraventricular lavage, 4.9% septostomy, and 5.8% tumor biopsy). All postoperative infections were excluded. No significant differences were observed in preoperative symptoms, laboratory findings, or postoperative antibiotic usage between the two groups. The ETV group exhibited significantly more postoperative fever (37.5% vs. 19.4%, p = 0.005), particularly from the first night to the third night after the operation. This study substantiates the hypothesis that manipulation of the floor of third ventricle through endoscopic ventriculostomy may contribute to postoperative fever, rather than the neuroendoscopic procedure. Elevated temperatures were observable from the first night post-surgery and typically normalized by third day without necessitating specific treatment. Further prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying intraoperative manipulation.
Cape Vultures (Gyps coprotheres) on camera: assessing the behaviour of a vulnerable, colonially nesting raptor with temperature and time of day at nest sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors: de Freitas Danica , Gray Jacqui , Ehlers Smith Yvette , Geary Matthew , Downs Colleen T.
Published: January 2025

The Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) has the smallest range of any vulture species in Africa, Europe or Asia and is substantially impacted by anthropogenic factors because of their low productivity and long maturation times. Almost year-round presence at breeding colonies makes understanding Cape Vulture breeding behaviour essential for their conservation. Camera traps, a first for this species, were used to investigate the effect of time of day and temperature on the presence and behaviours performed at nest sites. The number of vultures at a nest site was likely to be higher during the early morning and late afternoon when temperatures were lower, with significantly fewer individuals present at higher temperatures in the days before and after laying. Attendance of at least one adult at the nest was recorded for 86.9% and 99.8% of time points in the days before and after laying, respectively. Almost-constant attendance during incubation may also be necessitated by predation pressure, with this study providing observation of possible predation pressure by White-necked Ravens (Corvus albicollis) at the colony. Here, we demonstrate that camera trapping is an effective method of studying Cape Vulture breeding behaviour, which improves understanding and allows more informed conservation measures to be implemented. Cape Vulture nest attendance is affected by temperature, so this species may be vulnerable to climatic changes and subsequent changes in predation pressure.
Wireless power-up and readout from a label-free biosensor
Authors: Raji Hassan , Xie Pengfei , Tayyab Muhammad , Meng Zhuolun , Mahmoodi Seyed Reza , Javanmard Mehdi
Published: January 2025

Wearable and implantable biosensors have rapidly entered the fields of health and biomedicine to diagnose diseases and physiological monitoring. The use of wired medical devices causes surgical complications, which can occur when wires break, become infected, generate electrical noise, and are incompatible with implantable applications. In contrast, wireless power transfer is ideal for biosensing applications since it does not necessitate direct connections between measurement tools and sensing systems, enabling remote use of the biosensors. In addition, wireless sensors eliminate the need for a battery or energy harvester, reducing the size of the sensor. As far as we are aware, this is the first report ever describing a new method for wireless readout of a label-free electronic biosensor for detecting protein biomarkers. Our results reveal that we are able to successfully detect target protein and corresponding antibodies within this wireless setup. We are able to distinguish target protein in purified samples from a blank PBS sample as a negative control by tracking gradual changes in impedance at the input of the transmitter (P-value = 0.00788). We also demonstrate real-time wireless quantification of cytokines within rheumatoid arthritis patient serum samples (P-value = 0.00891). A Fine Gaussian Support Vector Machine is also used to differentiate protein from negative controls with the highest accuracy from a dataset of 54 experiments.
Policing cross-border fraud ‘Above and below the surface’: mapping actions and developing a more effective global response
Authors: Button Mark , Hock Branislav , Suh Joon Bae , Koh Chol Soo
Published: January 2025

Cross-border fraud, including its various forms such as online retail fraud, pyramid schemes, romance fraud and pig butchering, is a major problem around the world. Despite clear evidence that cross-border fraud is growing, there is little research charting the scale of cross-border fraud and the optimal policing responses to deal with it. This paper aims to fill this research gap by exploring what we know about the nature of cross-border fraud and current policing response. Unlike in other crime areas with a cross-border element, international bodies and nation states have shown very little interest in addressing cross-border frauds through what we term the higher profile ‘above the surface’ activities. Instead, policing responses have been present on a much larger scale in the private sector ‘below the surface’, with much less profile. Moreover, the paper argues that while cooperation and coordination between the public and private sector actors is crucial, there are very few policing structures bringing these diverse actors together to tackle cross-border fraud, among other gaps. By drawing on examples of alternative structures dealing with cross-border economic crime, the paper informs policy-makers by mapping out key actions and structures which should be considered to better tackle the global problem of cross-border fraud.
Networks of Inclusive Exclusion: Social Capital and Resilient Rural Livelihoods in the Southern Great Plains (SGP)
Authors: Straub Adam M. , Vadjunec Jacqueline M. , Fagin Todd D.
Published: January 2025

Assessments of resilience and sustainability are increasingly important for mitigating the effects of climate change, especially in rural areas such as the Southern Great Plains (SGP) in the United States. While ecological and economic research on rural sustainability is necessary, we argue that a social approach is essential to understanding how to promote resilient futures. Social capital facilitates access to, and transference of resources individuals need to achieve individual and collective ends. Over the past three decades, research on social capital has advanced across multiple disciplines to address a variety of social phenomena, issues, and outcomes. Building on previous research in the SGP, we focus on community-level social capital through a qualitative content analysis of 65 key informant interviews across the three counties in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. Findings suggest that while in-group social capital is strong, resistance to outsiders and government distrust create significant barriers to promoting more resilient communities. Our study contributes to a prolific body of literature on rural sustainability and disaster mitigation. It also develops important insights into the dynamic, contingent, and interdependent nature of social capital. We conclude with recommendations on how to promote community agency while cultivating collaborative relationships between rural communities and government institutions in the interest of rural resilience.
Online Peer Feedback Versus Online Teacher Feedback? Effect of Online Feedback on Students’ Self-Regulated Learning
Authors: Öztürk Mücahit , Yüce Erkan , Türker Pınar Mıhcı
Published: January 2025

This study investigated the impact of online peer and teacher feedback on students' self-regulated learning and analysed students’ perceptions of online peer feedback on self-regulated learning development. The study employed a mixed method by collecting quantitative and qualitative data together. The study comprised 45 pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers as participants, and they were assigned to experimental and control groups. While online peer feedback was used in the experimental group, online control group was employed in the control group. Padlet online environment was used for online peer feedback and online teacher feedback. The quantitative results showed that the experimental group students had higher self-regulated learning levels than those in the control group. The qualitative results revealed that online peer feedback can have a positive impact on students’ self-regulated learning.
Well-being and enhancement: reassessing the welfarist account
Authors: Hirsch Anna
Published: January 2025

There are an increasing number of ways to enhance human abilities, characteristics, and performance. In recent years, the ethical debate on enhancement has focused mainly on the ethical evaluation of new enhancement technologies. Yet, the search for an adequate and shared understanding of enhancement has always remained an important part of the debate. It was initially undertaken with the intention of defining the ethical boundaries of enhancement, often by attempting to distinguish enhancements from medical treatments. One of the more recent approaches comes from Julian Savulescu, Anders Sandberg, and Guy Kahane. With their welfarist account, they define enhancement in terms of its contribution to individual well-being: as any state of a person that increases the chances of living a good life in the given set of circumstances. The account aims to contribute both to a shared and clear understanding of enhancement and to answering the question of whether we should enhance in certain ways or not. I will argue that it cannot live up to either claim, in particular because of its inherent normativity and its failure to adequately define well-being. Nevertheless, it can make a valuable contribution to an ethics of enhancement. As I will show, the welfarist account refocuses the debate on a central value in health care: well-being, which can be a relevant aspect in assessing the permissibility of biomedical interventions – especially against the background of new bioethical challenges. To fulfil this function, however, a more differentiated understanding of well-being is needed.
Education for Disaster Justice
Authors: Champalet Joelle , Keum Hyunah , Knowles Scott Gabriel , Lee Seulgi , Park Hyeonbin
Published: January 2025

Disasters reveal injustice in society; disasters create new injustices. These two intertwined ideas were the inspiration for an action research project, the first Disaster Haggyo, held across multiple locations in South Korea in the summer of 2022. The Disaster Haggyo—“haggyo” translates to “school” in Korean—was also an experiment in pedagogical methods. Science education, though not explicitly the aim of the Disaster Haggyo, infused every aspect of our approach. The Haggyo curriculum approaches innately technological disasters as entanglements of science, technology, and living organisms, inviting students to engage with unfolding disasters through tactics like citizen science, regulatory activism, and victim advocacy. The Disaster Haggyo was also created as a method for conducting research on the structural features of disaster injustice, in the mode of “action research,” to enable mutual aid and a dissolution of boundaries among researchers and those seeking disaster justice in two specific sites: Ansan and Jeju Island, South Korea. Specifically, our goal was to document and evaluate the ways in which (1) disaster memorialization and (2) disaster education practices empower survivors and bereaved families, and also the ways that such activities might also burden them, or even cause ongoing harm. Ansan, home of the Danwon High School, is the key site for Sewol Ferry Disaster bereaved family memorialization and activism. Jeju Island is both the site of the 1947–1954 Jeju Uprising and Massacre as well as a site of increasing environmental fragility in the climate change era. This paper argues that an articulation of disaster justice emerged as a key goal embedded in both memorialization and education activities across the various Disaster Haggyo research sites. Our interlocutors in these sites, in quite creative and surprising ways, insisted on justice as a language through which to interpret their lives and the lives (and deaths) of those for whom they cared most deeply.
Evaluating the effectiveness of faculty teachers’ performance at Birzeit University as perceived by students
Authors: Shaath Sami E. , Abed Tagreed B.
Published: January 2025

The current study investigated the effectiveness of teaching performance in seven faculties at Birzeit University from students’ point of view. A questionnaire, consisting of (50) items based on the domains of teaching planning, teaching execution, personal features and communications skills and evaluating students' learning, was developed and distributed to (405) male and female students. The findings of the study showed that the level of effectiveness of the teaching performance was considered average (62.4%—67.8%) according to the adopted scoring criteria. Results also revealed that there were significant statistical differences at the level of (α ≤ 0.05) attributed to gender in favor of females; significant statistical differences at the level of (α ≤ 0.05) were recognized between humanities and scientific faculties in favor of humanities faculties, while there were no significant statistical differences between the various humanities faculties.
Miracle of Mindreading: A Discussion of Adam Toon’s Mental Fictionalism
Authors: Machcewicz-Grad Agata
Published: January 2025

In this paper, I provide a critique of the version of mental fictionalism presented in the recent book by Adam Toon (2023). I contend that Toon’s attempt to reconcile the explanatory power of folk psychology with the denial of its substantial ontological commitments eventually fails. I point out three worries regarding Toon’s position. First, I argue that his claim that folk psychological metaphors are about behaviour – although they are untranslatable into descriptions of behaviour – looks ad hoc. As such, this claim does not protect Toon’s position from the traditional objections to behaviourism. Second, I argue that Hutto’s (2022) objection that fictionalism makes mysterious the success of folk psychology is in force and I show why Toon’s reply to this objection is unsatisfactory. Third, I point out the problems resulting from Toon’s claim that the concepts of folk psychology are internally incoherent.
Exploring the relationship between motivation and augmented reality presence using the augmented reality presence scale (ARPS)
Authors: Gandolfi Enrico , Ferdig Richard E.
Published: January 2025

Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly being adopted in education to foster engagement and interest in a variety of subjects and content areas. However, there is a scarcity of instruments to measure the instructional impact of this innovation. This article addresses this gap in two unique ways. First, it presents validation results of the Augmented Reality Presence Scale (ARPS), which was created to evaluate presence in augmented learning environments. Using the Rasch Rating Scale Model, ARPS was validated with 90 college students involved in an AR learning experience. Second, it analyzed the correlations between ARPS scores and the Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (RIMMS). ARPS was found to be a reliable instrument to evaluate AR presence. Additionally, ARPS was found to be positively correlated to all the four RIMMS dimensions (i.e., attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction). These research results point to presence as a desirable outcome of AR-mediated instruction. Moreover, AR presence was facilitated by non-invasive interfaces and perceived agency. Finally, this technology was shown to be productive in addressing all motivation stages rather than working just as a starting step.
Improving the Seebeck Coefficient and Electrical Conductivity of Fe11Ti3Al6 by Substituting Fe with Cr
Authors: Singh Sukhwinder , Alemzadeh Joseph , Rodriguez Guillermo Menendez , Phillips Matthew , Zabek Daniel , Burton Matthew , Rocha Victoria G. , Min Gao
Published: January 2025

In general, any attempt to increase the Seebeck coefficient is usually accompanied by a decrease in the electrical conductivity or vice versa due to the interplay between these two parameters. This work demonstrates that a simultaneous increase in both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity can be obtained by “doping” in intermetallic alloys. A new alloy composition, Fe10Cr1Ti3Al6, was synthesized by substituting Fe with Cr in Fe11Ti3Al6 using mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The thermoelectric measurements revealed that the Cr substitution led to an increase in the Seebeck coefficient from +27 µV/K in Fe11Ti3Al6 to +39 µV/K in Fe10Cr1Ti3Al6, with a corresponding increase in the electrical conductivity from 2.5 × 105 S/m to 4.7 × 105 S/m, resulting in a significant increase in the power factor. The temperature dependence of the thermoelectric properties of this new alloy was also investigated over a temperature range of 50–727°C. The result showed that a maximum power factor of 6.0 × 10−4 W/m K2 was obtained at 53°C.
Metformin Alleviates Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity via Preserving Mitochondrial Dynamics Balance and Calcium Homeostasis
Authors: Maghraby Nashwa , EL-Baz Mona A. H. , Hassan Athar M. A. , Abd- elghaffar Sary Kh. , Ahmed Amira S. , Sabra Mahmoud S.
Published: January 2025

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic medication for treating malignancies, although its cardiotoxicity limits its use. There is growing evidence that alteration of the mitochondrial fission/fusion dynamic processes accompanied by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and alteration of calcium Ca2+ homeostasis are potential underlying mechanisms of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC). Metformin (Met) is an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator that has antioxidant properties and cardioprotective effects. The purpose of the study is to assess Met's possible cardioprotective benefits against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. The study included 32 adult male rats. They were randomly divided into four groups: administered saline, DOX, Met, or DOX combined with Met respectively. Heart tissues were used for biochemical assays that measured oxidative stress markers, malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), mitochondrial dynamics markers, optic atrophy-1(OPA-1) and dynamin-1-like protein (Drp1), calcineurin and caspase-3. Serum levels of myocardial injury markers, cardiac troponin I (cTn-I), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), were also measured. The results revealed that DOX intoxication was associated with a significant increase in the levels of serum cTn-I and AST, increased cardiac MDA level, increased cardiac Drp1, calcineurin, and caspase-3 expressions, as well as reduced cardiac GSH level and cardiac OPA-1 expression. On the other hand, Met treatment significantly reduced DIC by decreasing oxidative stress, apoptosis, and improving mitochondrial and calcium balance. Finally, this study shows that Met may be able to protect the heart from damage caused by DOX by working as an antioxidant and anti-apoptotic agent and keeping the balance of calcium and mitochondria.