bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Graphene-Based Flexible Strain Sensor Based on PDMS for Strain Detection of Steel Wire Core Conveyor Belt Joints
Authors: Li Pengfei , Li Zhijie , Chen Hongyue , Zhu Yunji , Yang Dada , Hou Yang
Published: August 2023

Because of their superior performance, flexible strain sensors are used in a wide range of applications, including medicine and health, human–computer interaction, and precision manufacturing. Flexible strain sensors outperform conventional silicon-based sensors in high-strain environments. However, most current studies report complex flexible sensor preparation processes, and research focuses on enhancing and improving one parameter or property of the sensors, ignoring the feasibility of flexible strain sensors for applications in various fields. Since the mechanical properties of flexible sensors can be well combined with rubber conveyor belts, in this work polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a flexible substrate by a simple way of multiple drop coating. Graphene-based flexible strain sensor films that can be used for strain detection at the joints of steel cord core conveyor belts were successfully fabricated. The results of the tests show that the sensor has a high sensitivity and can achieve a fast response (response time: 43 ms). Furthermore, the sensor can still capture the conveyor belt strain after withstanding high pressure (1.2–1.4 MPa) and high temperature (150 °C) during the belt vulcanization process. This validates the feasibility of using flexible strain sensors in steel wire core conveyor belts and has some potential for detecting abnormal strains in steel wire core conveyor belt, broadening the application field of flexible sensors.
Exploring the Impact of In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion in the Bioaccessibility of Phenolic-Rich Chestnut Shells: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Pinto Diana , Ferreira Ana , Lozano-Castellón Julián , Laveriano-Santos Emily , Lamuela-Raventós Rosa , Vallverdú-Queralt Anna , Delerue-Matos Cristina , Rodrigues Francisca
Published: August 2023

Chestnut shells (CS), the principal by-product of the chestnut processing industry, contain high concentrations of flavonoids and other polyphenols with huge interest for the nutraceuticals field. Nonetheless, the bioaccessibility and bioactivity of phytochemicals can be influenced by their digestibility, making it imperative to evaluate these activities prior to application of CS as a nutraceutical ingredient. This work aims to appraise the effects of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion on the bioaccessibility, bioactivity, and metabolic profiling of CS. An increase in the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant/antiradical properties, radical scavenging capacity, and inhibition on acetylcholinesterase activity was evidenced during in vitro simulated digestion. Metabolomic profiling by LC-ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS revealed changes during the simulated digestion, particularly in phenolic compounds (46% of total compounds annotated), lipids (22%), phenylpropanoids (9%), organic acids (7%), carbohydrates (5%), nucleosides (5%), amino acids (4%), and alcohols (1%). Phenolic acids (gallic acid, syringic acid, and hydroxyphenylacetic acid) and flavonoids (epicatechin) were the major polyphenolic classes identified. The heatmap-positive correlations highlighted that the bioactivity of CS is closely related to the phenolic compounds and their bioaccessibility. These findings suggest the reuse of CS as a potential nutraceutical ingredient with antioxidant and neuroprotective effects, encouraging the use of appropriate extraction and/or encapsulation techniques to enhance the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds.
Virtual Reality as a Tool for Sustainable Training and Education of Employees in Industrial Enterprises
Authors: Holuša Věroslav , Vaněk Michal , Beneš Filip , Švub Jiří , Staša Pavel
Published: August 2023

The paper deals with the possibilities of using Virtual Reality in the training and safety of enterprises active in the raw materials industry. It examines the influence and impact on their employees. The main impetus for starting research in this area has been a need for more use of the full potential of Virtual Reality in the industrial sector. Virtual Reality (VR) has become a promising education and employee training tool. It provides an immersive and interactive learning environment, allowing users to engage with simulations, scenarios, and simulations in real time. VR can facilitate the acquisition of practical skills, help learners retain information better, and foster the development of soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. The paper is divided into the following sections. The first two are devoted to the introduction to the issue and a review of the literature. The materials and methods section describes the possibilities of using photogrammetry to create virtual scenes and 3D models usable in Virtual Reality. This section also describes the research methods used to evaluate the approach for teaching and training employees. The last two sections evaluate and discuss the results achieved. Having regarded the research realized, it was found that our approach to researching the education of employees and the development of their skills brings excellent benefits and, compared to the traditional educational approach, is much more time-efficient so that employees can improve their work habits and behavior in a relatively short period. In employee training, VR can simulate real-life scenarios, providing workers with hands-on experience in a safe, controlled environment. This technology can also help companies save time and resources, eliminating the need for travel and reducing expenditure on expensive equipment. However, despite its many benefits, VR in education and training can be cost-demanding and requires specialized hardware and software, which may limit its widespread adoption.
Twitter Mining for Detecting Interest Trends on Biodiversity: Messages from Seven Language Communities
Authors: Ishida Shu , Matsui Takanori , Haga Chihiro , Hori Keiko , Hashimoto Shizuka , Saito Osamu
Published: August 2023

The recent rates of global change in nature are unprecedented in human history. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has proposed a framework to achieve transformative change. Transformative change with respect to nature will be driven by recognizing the values people have; making inclusive decisions based on these values; restructuring policies, rights, and regulations in accordance with them; and transforming social norms and goals that can drive change. Social media is a new source of information and a modern tool for monitoring public opinion on human–nature interactions. This study identified commonalities among seven language communities (the six official languages of the United Nations and the Japanese language), demonstrating the uniqueness of the Japanese community by comparing hashtags in tweets that include the term biodiversity and determining differences in interest and concern about biodiversity from the past to the present. Tweets accessible at the end of 2021 that focus on biodiversity were collected from the Twitter server and used to form a text dataset. Interest was then qualitatively and quantitatively identified using natural language processing technology. Engagements and diversity indices were found to be on the rise in all language communities. We found that the Japanese language community has a different perspective on the relationship between biodiversity and humans from the scope of the IPBES conceptual framework. Future work should examine the relationship between passion for biodiversity and the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, collaboration with various people around the world is necessary to understand the concept of biodiversity in different traditions and cultures.
Characterization and Energy Potential of Broiler Manure Reared under Different Flooring Materials
Authors: Przybulinski Bruna Barreto , Garcia Rodrigo Garófallo , de Castro Burbarelli Maria Fernanda , Serpa Felipe Cardoso , de Castilho Heiss Vivian Aparecida Rios , Orrico Ana Carolina Amorim , Komiyama Claudia Marie , Caldara Fabiana Ribeiro , de Oliveira Juliana Dias , Leite Brenda Kelly Viana , de Alencar Nääs Irenilza
Published: August 2023

Broiler deep litter is composed of cellulose, manure, feathers, and feed, and after reuse through several flocks, may be used as a fertilizer. Alternative litter materials such as plastic flooring have been researched but little is known about the characteristics of the waste produced. We analyzed the properties of broiler manure from different flooring systems and assessed its potential for biodigestion. Broiler chicks (1500 one-day-old) were reared using five flooring materials: wood shavings (WS); plastic floor (PP); 50% shavings + 50% plastic floor (PP + WS); plastic floor with antimicrobial additive (PPA); and 50% shavings + 50% plastic floor with an antimicrobial additive (PPA + WS). Waste collection was done at 14, 28, and 42 days of growth. The total residue (kg) produced was quantified on day 42. The total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), nitrogen (N), and pH were analyzed at 14, 28, and 42 days of growth, using the residue coefficient (RC) on the 42nd day. The contents of ST, SV, NDF, ADF, C, and N were determined for anaerobic digestion. The concentrations of O2, CO2, and CH4 produced by anaerobic digestion were analyzed. The flooring material did not affect the volatile solids’ contents. The lowest NDF and ADF were found in plastic floor residues. The pH of the manure linearly increased over time as the birds grew. The presence of wood shavings in the manure was decisive for the production of biogas. The treatments with the plastic floor without shavings obtained the highest N content with less residue. Plastic flooring with wood shaving is not recommended as it increases waste generation. The use of plastic flooring reduced the amounts of waste generated and promote a greater yield of biogas with the anaerobic digestion of excreta.
Industry Volatility and Employment Extreme Risk Transmission: Evidence from China
Authors: Lin Ling , Li Qiumei , Li Jin , Zhang Zuominyang , Zhong Xuan
Published: August 2023

China’s socio-economic growth path aims to achieve full and sustainable employment, which requires an in-depth understanding of the linkages between employment and different industrial sectors within the economic system. The objective of this study is to examine the heterogeneous transmission effects of industry fluctuations on the distribution of employment, with special attention to the transmission effects of industry fluctuations on employment under extreme conditions. The research methodology of this paper is to systematically examine the risk spillover effects between industry sectors and employment distribution using the quantile risk spillover model. The results show that industry volatility significantly affects employment volatility in China. The impact of industry volatility is stronger under extreme conditions, both more adverse and favorable than that of under normative conditions. Among labor-intensive industries, the employment impact of skilled labor-intensive and integrated labor-intensive industries is relatively small compared to that of the relatively large impact of manual labor-intensive industries. The results suggest that traditional indicators of the spillover effect, such as the mean-based indicator, cannot accurately capture the source and real effect of risk transmission, leading to unemployment fluctuations, underscoring the need to focus on the heterogeneity of the distribution of employment fluctuations. The findings also present the evolution of the risk transmission structure of employment in China, which provides implications for policymaking on full and sustainable employment.
Design Optimization of Building Exit Locations Based on Building Information Model and Ontology
Authors: Zhao Xuefeng , Huang Lingli , Sun Zhe , Fan Xiongtao , Zhang Meng
Published: August 2023

There are usually multiple functional spaces that meet different usage needs on each building floor. The number of people in different functional spaces varies, resulting in an uneven distribution of people on each floors. When the building is subject to hazards, users inside buildings usually evacuate to safe areas through safety exits. Obviously, when the exit location is close to the crowded area, more people can be evacuated as quickly as possible. However, existing methods for optimizing exit locations of buildings mainly by shortening evacuation paths with limited considerations of the dynamic distributions of evacuees. Since the ontology has semantic description capability and reasonability. Therefore, the ontology is used to organize the design information related to the optimization of exit locations. The rules are further set to reason about the distribution of evacuees and the optimal exit location. Therefore, a design optimization method for exit locations based on BIM and ontology is proposed. Firstly, the ontology is developed to describe the information needed for design optimization. Then, the plan layout information is extracted from BIM as ontology instances. Next, based on the evacuation simulations, the exit location optimization strategies were created for the different distribution of evacuees, and the strategies were translated into SWRL rules. Finally, the ontology instance and SWRL rules are combined to reason about the exit location optimization strategies for specific projects. Therefore, this study provided the exit location optimization strategies to make the evacuation time shorter by considering the distribution of evacuees. The automation of exit location reasoning is further enhanced by using the constructed ontology to organize the design information and by transforming the optimization strategies into SWRL rules. The feasibility of the method was verified using several cases. By comparing the evacuation time of people under the exit location recommended by this method and the exit location designed by the shortest evacuation path, it is concluded that the method proposed in this paper takes into account the distribution of people in the plane and the evacuation time is shorter.
The Sectoral and Regional Peer Influences on Heavy-Pollution Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance
Authors: Zhao Hui , Lei Ao , Li Yuhui , Hong Dingjun
Published: August 2023

The conception of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has been widely implemented and has become an important indicator of firms’ eco-friendly transformation in heavy-pollution industries. The sectoral and regional peer influences of corporate ESG performance can effectively promote firms’ green sustainable development within an entire industry, district, and market. In this study, our main hypothesis is that corporate ESG performance has a significantly positive peer effect among heavy-pollution industry firms within the same province, industry, and product market. Therefore, by employing novel spatial econometric techniques, we investigate the peer effect of corporate ESG performance among 681 of China’s A-share listed firms within 20 heavy-pollution industries from 2012 to 2021 and explore the impacts from peer indirect effect views, such as public media attention, regulatory pressure, and green innovation. Further, we detect the sectoral and regional peer pulling and dragging effects under the two statuses of firms’ ESG rating changes. The main findings are as follows. First, corporate ESG performance has a significantly positive peer effect, which is the highest among firms within the same industry. Second, the mechanism analysis presents that the increase in other firms’ negative web news, environment-related penalties, and green patents has different peer indirect effects on corporate ESG performance within the same province, industry, and product market. Third, corporate ESG performance has a significantly positive peer-pulling effect among firms when other firms’ ESG levels increase, yet a significantly positive peer-dragging effect only within the same region and industry when other firms’ ESG levels decrease. This study gives empirical contributions that firms can take advantage of the positive peer effect of corporate ESG performance to improve their own ESG practice level and employ it as a competitive strategy for pursuing long-term value, and governments should maintain sustainable supervision measures and an orderly competitive market environment to cultivate a consensus on corporate ESG development in heavy-pollution industries.
A Study of Sandy Land Changes in the Chifeng Region from 1990 to 2020 Based on Dynamic Convolution
Authors: Zhu Hongbo , Zhang Bing , Chang Xinyue , Song Weidong , Dai Jiguang , Li Jia
Published: August 2023

Desertification is the process of land degradation and the reduction or destruction of biological potential in arid, semi-arid, and semi-humid areas, and its impact on agricultural development and the ecological environment cannot be ignored. Therefore, many researchers have aimed to achieve the acquisition of large-scale sandy land areas using sandy land extraction algorithms based on remote sensing images. However, the sandy land extraction accuracy needs to be improved because of the variable contour features in the remote sensing images and the easy confusion with targets such as the Gobi and bare ground areas. In this study, we combine the dynamic convolution with a U-Net model and propose the DU-Net sandy land extraction model. The method is based on dynamic convolution, which can adaptively learn the complex features of the target and build a dynamic convolutional neural network to achieve high-accuracy extraction of complex targets. DU-Net achieved 86.32% in IoU, 93.22% in precision, 94.5% in recall, and 92.66% in F1-score in sandy land extraction accuracy, which are 4.68%, 2.33%, 3.09%, and 2.76% improvements, respectively, compared with the U-Net static neural network. Based on this, we obtained the spatial and temporal evolution trends of sandy land areas based on Landsat images in the Chifeng region in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Meanwhile, in order to investigate the mechanism of spatial and temporal changes in the sandy land area in the study region over the past 30 years, the direct and indirect effects of seven climatic and human socioeconomic activity factors on the changes in the sandy land area in the study region were evaluated based on a structural equation model. The results show that the sandy area in the Chifeng region tended to first increase and then decrease over the study period, with the sandy land area reaching its maximum around the year 2000. In addition, the main driving factor for the change in the sandy land area in the Chifeng region has been human socioeconomic activities, with climatic conditions as the secondary driving factor. The method proposed in this paper realizes the rapid extraction of sandy land areas with high accuracy at a large scale and with a long time series and provides a basis for assessing the effectiveness of ecosystem restoration projects.
Power Source Importance Assessment Based on Load Importance and New Energy Uncertainty
Authors: Zhao Jie , Zhang Yiyang , Dong Xuzhu , Wu Yunzhao , Zeng Haiyan , Duan Qing , Zhang Mingcheng
Published: August 2023

With the increasing penetration of new energy sources, the volatility and uncertainty of new energy output can lead to interruptions or fluctuations in the supply of electricity. Power cuts to critical loads can have a significant impact on public safety, social stability, and the economy. Dealing with the effects of uncertainty from new energy sources means we need to find and strengthen the important loads and power sources when designing and operating the power system. Therefore, the assessment of the importance of loads, conventional power sources, and new energy sources is crucial. This paper proposes a power source importance evaluation method based on load importance and new energy uncertainty. The method constructs a load importance evaluation system considering structural characteristics, outage loss, regulation capability, and other factors. To determine the importance of each load, the method uses the ideal solution method and ranks them accordingly. Next, the method calculates the power supply coefficient, which represents the power supply capability of the power source to the critical loads. This calculation involves using the three-point estimation method, which combines the characteristics of the new energy output and the importance of each load. Following that, the evaluation of load importance and the power supply capacity to critical loads is accomplished based on the ideal solution method, taking into account the diversity of power supply characteristics. This comprehensive evaluation allows us to assess the significance of each load and the power supply capability to meet the needs of critical loads, considering the unique characteristics of each power source. Finally, an example analysis is carried out on the IEEE39 to calculate the importance of various types of power sources, which can accurately reflect the power supply capacity of power sources to important loads and verify the validity of the evaluation method. This method provides subsidies for future power system grid planning and operation.
Impact of Green Process Innovation and Productivity on Sustainability: The Moderating Role of Environmental Awareness
Authors: Cheng Congbin , Ahmad Sayed Fayaz , Irshad Muhammad , Alsanie Ghadeer , Khan Yasser , Ahmad (Ayassrah) Ahmad Y. A. Bani , Aleemi Abdu Rahman
Published: August 2023

Sustainability is one of the fastest-growing research areas globally. Irrespective of industry and economic activity, it is the need of the day. This study examines the impact of green process innovation and green production on sustainability in Pakistan and India’s cement and plastic manufacturing industries. The study also addresses the moderating role of environmental awareness, which increases the effect of green productivity and green innovation towards sustainability. The research is based on a quantitative approach to addressing the issue in question. Primary data were collected via a closed-ended questionnaire from 657 employees of Pakistan and India’s plastic and cement manufacturing industries, and were analyzed via partial least square structural equation modeling via SmartPLS. The findings show that green productivity and green process innovation have a significant impact on sustainability, while environmental awareness also plays a significant role in sustainable practices in the cement and plastic manufacturing industries of Pakistan and India. The results are helpful for policymakers, industries, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations to ensure sustainability through green process innovation, green productivity, and environmental awareness.
Evaluating Farm Tourism Development for Sustainability: A Case Study of Farms in the Peri-Urban Area of Novi Sad (Serbia)
Authors: Đerčan Bojan , Gatarić Dragica , Bubalo Živković Milka , Belij Radin Marija , Vukoičić Danijela , Kalenjuk Pivarski Bojana , Lukić Tamara , Vasić Petar , Nikolić Milena , Lutovac Miloš , Lutovac Đaković Milena , Bjelajac Dajana
Published: August 2023

Farm tourism is often considered a form of tourism whose main characteristic is sustainability. Nevertheless, the existing literature also provides a partial approach, where the development of farm tourism is analyzed within the context of sustainable development and crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the paper is to analyze environmental, social, and economic factors as vectors for the sustainable development of farm tourism by applying a specially designed SFT model. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of nine farms in the peri-urban area of the city of Novi Sad (the Republic of Serbia). Sustainable development was analyzed using dynamic social, economic, and environmental indicators with the aim of finding a model that could be used to ensure more stable economic income for the population, social equality, and environmental protection. By applying the SFT model, it was determined that the current position of farm tourism is not fully compliant with the aims of sustainable development due to its clearly dominant economic dimension and less developed social and environmental sustainability. The results were further analyzed with the aim of achieving a balanced development of farm tourism, which needs to be based on the continued application of the concept of sustainability. The results could be used by public and private institutions in the tourism sector, as well as creators of legal regulations and strategies in the field of sustainable and rural tourism, with the aim of further developing and improving its sustainability.
Sustainable Improvements in Diagnostic Capabilities of Plant Health Practitioners through Short In-Service Training
Authors: Toepfer Stefan , Niyongere Celestin , Ndayihanzamaso Privat , Ndikumana Deo , Irakoze Willy , Cimpaye Eustache , Minani Dismas , Bindariye Pascal , Ochilo Willis
Published: August 2023

Many growers rely on good agricultural extension services to successfully grow their crops. Correct field diagnoses of plant health problems are an essential starting point. However, some agricultural extension workers may have had limited capacity building in field diagnosis during their agricultural education, and many may have had limited or no continuing education possibilities during their advisory work life. As a result, errors may occur in the course of diagnosis of plant health problems with devastating consequences. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess the value of short and inexpensive in-service training that is intended to improve the quality of field diagnosis of plant health problems. Eight groups of agricultural extension workers totaling 165 participants were trained during a 3-day-long intensive course in the diagnosis of plant health problems as part of the plant doctor training in the Plantwise program in Burundi (44 ± 9 years of age, 14 ± 10 years of experience in agriculture and 8 ± 7 years in extension; 10% females). Empirical data from before-versus-end and after-course analyses revealed that such courses can indeed increase knowledge and skills in field diagnosis by 20 ± 8% points during the training and by 9 ± 4% points when having worked for 8 to 19 months after training. The level of variability among extension workers was also reduced by 0.8 ± 1% points pre-course versus end-course, and by 1.1 ± 0.3% points from pre- versus post-course. Interestingly, there seemed little to no influence of work experience in agricultural extension on the quality of field diagnosis of plant health problems. More advanced educational levels only slightly improved the diagnosis quality of extension workers; gender played no role; younger workers performed slightly better than older ones. This may indicate a lack of opportunities for further training as part of continuing adult education. Our results suggest regularly repeated in-service training for agricultural practitioners may be beneficial. Investments in such training seem worthwhile since better diagnoses can lead to more appropriate pest management advice and judicious use of pesticides.
High School Students’ Perceptions of the Role of Social Support in Cultivating Their Interests in and Aspirations to STEM Degrees and Careers—A Middle Eastern Case Study
Authors: Sellami Abdellatif , Santhosh Malavika E. , Siby Nitha , Bhadra Jolly , Ahmad Zubair
Published: August 2023

This case study intends to comprehend students’ perceptions of social support in cultivating their interests and aspirations for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) degrees and careers. Survey-based quantitative research was employed, incorporating data from 1426 high school (grade 11th–12th) students in Qatar. The survey instrument encompassed four dimensions, i.e., (1) participants’ demographics, (2) STEM interests, (3) STEM supports/barriers and (4) STEM career aspirations to understand students’ perceptions. Spearman’s Rho correlation test demonstrated a positive correlation between students’ perceived social support (from family, teachers, and society) and their STEM interests (p < 0.01). Findings from the Mann-Whitney U test illustrated that females perceived enhanced social support (from teachers and society) in Qatar (p < 0.05). Even though teachers and society have been the stimulus to developing students’ STEM interests, there is still room to implement a policy for the consequential influence in constructing students’ STEM career aspirations. Thus, we believe these findings would urge policymakers to design tools that enable teachers and society to nurture, cultivate and sustain interest in STEM among the youth to meet Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
A Systematic Literature Review of Research on Social Procurement in the Construction and Infrastructure Sector: Barriers, Enablers, and Strategies
Authors: Lou Catherine Xiaocui , Natoli Riccardo , Goodwin David , Bok Barbara , Zhao Fang , Zhang Peng
Published: August 2023

In Australia, a new feature of public policy is the requirement by governments that large-scale infrastructure projects integrate social procurement practices that alter the traditional focus on balancing price and quality. Social procurement has been gradually developing in practice, but the academic literature has not kept pace. Although past research has identified some of the barriers affecting social procurement implementation in the construction industry, the nature of the barriers impeding its proliferation has not to date been systematically reviewed. This paper undertakes a review of the social procurement literature published from January 2012 to 30 June 2022, with 49 papers chosen under selective criteria. This critical review employs the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) technique to retrieve secondary data on social procurement from available peer-reviewed academic papers through three databases (Scopus, EBSCOhost, Web of Science). The literature analysis focuses on three themes: (1) barriers; (2) enablers; and (3) strategies to overcome the barriers. The paper finds that social procurement as a field of practice is evolving and expanding, but its role in contributing to social value creation remains an under-theorised concept. Recommendations for practice and future research are identified, including the need to measure the real-world impacts of policy.
Anomaly-Induced Quenching of gA in Nuclear Matter and Impact on Search for Neutrinoless ββ Decay
Authors: Rho Mannque
Published: August 2023

How to disentangle the possible genuine quenching of gA caused by scale anomaly of QCD parameterized by the scale-symmetry-breaking quenching factor qssb from nuclear correlation effects is described. This is accomplished by matching the Fermi-liquid fixed point theory to the “Extreme Single Particle (shell) Model” (acronym ESPM) in superallowed Gamow–Teller transitions in heavy doubly-magic shell nuclei. The recently experimentally observed indication for (1−qssb)≠0—that one might identify as “fundamental quenching (FQ)”—in certain experiments seems to be alarmingly significant. I present arguments for how symmetries hidden in the matter-free vacuum can emerge and suppress such FQ in strong nuclear correlations. How to confirm or refute this observation is discussed in terms of the superallowed Gamow–Teller transition in the doubly-magic nucleus 100Sn and in the spectral shape in the multifold forbidden β decay of 115In.
Dynamical Coupling between Particle and Antiparticle in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics: A Multistate Perspective on the Energy–Momentum Relation
Authors: Tao Guohua
Published: August 2023

A molecular formalism based on a decomposed energy space constructed by a modular basis of matter and radiation is proposed for relativistic quantum mechanics. In the proposed formalism, matter radiation interactions are incorporated via the dynamical transformation of the coupled particle/antiparticle pair in a multistate quantum mechanical framework. This picture generalizes relativistic quantum mechanics at minimal cost, unlike quantum field theories, and the relativistic energy–momentum relation is interpreted as energy transformations among different modules through a multistate Schrödinger equation. The application of two-state and four-state systems using a time-dependent Schrödinger equation with pair states as a basis leads to well-defined solutions equivalent to those obtained from the Klein–Gordon equation and the Dirac equation. In addition, the particle–antiparticle relationship is well manifested through a particle conjugation group. This work provides new insights into the underlying molecular mechanism of relativistic dynamics and the rational design of new pathways for energy transformation.
Research Progress of Topological Quantum Materials: From First-Order to Higher-Order
Authors: Liu Bing , Zhang Wenjun
Published: August 2023

The exploration of topologically nontrivial states in condensed matter systems, along with their novel transport properties, has garnered significant research interest. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of representative topological phases, starting from the initial proposal of the quantum Hall insulator. We begin with a concise introduction, followed by a detailed examination of first-order topological quantum phases, including gapped and gapless systems, encompassing relevant materials and associated phenomena in experiment. Subsequently, we delve into the realm of exotic higher-order topological quantum phases, examining both theoretical propositions and experimental findings. Moreover, we discuss the mechanisms underlying the emergence of higher-order topology, as well as the challenges involved in experimentally verifying materials exhibiting such properties. Finally, we outline future research directions. This review not only systematically surveys various types of topological quantum states, spanning from first-order to higher-order, but also proposes potential approaches for realizing higher-order topological phases, thereby offering guidance for the detection of related quantum phenomena in experiments.
On Primary Decomposition of Hermite Projectors
Authors: Shekhtman Boris , Skrzypek Lesław , Tuesink Brian
Published: August 2023

An ideal projector on the space of polynomials C[x]=C[x1,…,xd] is a projector whose kernel is an ideal in C[x]. Every ideal projector P can be written as a sum of ideal projectors P(k) such that the intersection of their kernels kerP(k) is a primary decomposition of the ideal kerP. In this paper, we show that P is a limit of Lagrange projectors if and only if each P(k) is. As an application, we construct an ideal projector P whose kernel is a symmetric ideal, yet P is not a limit of Lagrange projectors.
On Some Sequence Spaces via q-Pascal Matrix and Its Geometric Properties
Authors: Yaying Taja , Hazarika Bipan , Et Mikail
Published: August 2023

We develop some new sequence spaces 𝓁p(P(q)) and 𝓁∞(P(q)) by using q-Pascal matrix P(q). We discuss some topological properties of the newly defined spaces, obtain the Schauder basis for the space 𝓁p(P(q)) and determine the Alpha-(α-), Beta-(β-) and Gamma-(γ-) duals of the newly defined spaces. We characterize a certain class (𝓁p(P(q)),X) of infinite matrices, where X∈{𝓁∞,c,c0}. Furthermore, utilizing the proposed results, we characterize certain other classes of infinite matrices. We also examine some geometric properties, like the approximation property, Dunford–Pettis property, Hahn–Banach extension property, and Banach–Saks-type p property of the spaces 𝓁p(P(q)) and 𝓁∞(P(q)).
Body Temperature Drop as a Humane Endpoint in Snake Venom-Lethality Neutralization Tests
Authors: De Jesus Rosa , Tratner Adam , Madrid Alanna , Rivera-Mondragón Andrés , Navas Goy , Lleonart Ricardo , Britton Gabrielle , Fernández Patricia
Published: August 2023

Snake venom neutralization potency tests are required for quality control assessment by manufacturers and regulatory authorities. These assays require the use of large numbers of mice that manifest severe signs associated with pain and distress and long periods of suffering. Despite this, many animals make a full recovery; therefore, the observation of clinical signs as a predictor of animal death is highly subjective and could affect the accuracy of the results. The use of a more objective parameter such as body temperature measurement could help establish a humane endpoint that would contribute to significantly reducing the suffering of large numbers of animals. We determined the temperature drop in BALB/c mice exposed to the mixtures of Bothrops asper or Lachesis stenophrys venom and a polyvalent antivenom by using an infrared thermometer. Our data show that, based on the temperature change from baseline, it is possible to predict which animals will survive during the first 3 h after inoculation. The data provided in this study may contribute to future reductions in animal suffering, in concordance with general trends in the use of laboratory animals for the quality control of biologicals.
Quantum Black Holes in Conformal Dilaton–Higgs Gravity on Warped Spacetimes
Authors: Slagter Reinoud Jan
Published: August 2023

A promising method for understanding the geometric properties of a spacetime in the vicinity of the horizon of a Kerr-like black hole can be developed by applying the antipodal boundary condition on the two opposite regions in the extended Penrose diagram. By considering a conformally invariant Lagrangian on a Randall–Sundrum warped five-dimensional spacetime, an exact vacuum solution is found, which can be interpreted as an instanton solution on the Riemannian counterpart spacetime, R+2×R1×S1, where R+2 is conformally flat. The antipodal identification, which comes with a CPT inversion, is par excellence, suitable when quantum mechanical effects, such as the evaporation of a black hole by Hawking radiation, are studied. Moreover, the black hole paradoxes could be solved. By applying the non-orientable Klein surface, embedded in R4, there is no need for instantaneous transport of information. Further, the gravitons become “hard” in the bulk, which means that the gravitational backreaction on the brane can be treated without the need for a firewall. By splitting the metric in a product ω2g˜μν, where ω represents a dilaton field and g˜μν the conformally flat “un-physical” spacetime, one can better construct an effective Lagrangian in a quantum mechanical setting when one approaches the small-scale area. When a scalar field is included in the Lagrangian, a numerical solution is presented, where the interaction between ω and Φ is manifest. An estimate of the extra dimension could be obtained by measuring the elapsed traversal time of the Hawking particles on the Klein surface in the extra dimension. Close to the Planck scale, both ω and Φ can be treated as ordinary quantum fields. From the dilaton field equation, we obtain a mass term for the potential term in the Lagrangian, dependent on the size of the extra dimension.
The 48-Year Data Analysis Collected by Nagoya Muon Telescope—A Detection of Possible (125 ± 45) Day Periodicity
Authors: Muraki Yasushi , Shibata Shoichi , Takamaru Hisanori , Oshima Akitoshi
Published: August 2023

Muons produced by cosmic rays above the atmosphere provide valuable information on the intensity of cosmic rays and variations in the upper atmosphere. Since 1970, the Nagoya University Cosmic Ray Laboratory has been observing the muon intensity using a multi-directional cosmic ray telescope with two layers of 36 plastic scintillators of 1m2 each, which measure the muon intensity in different incident directions. The energy of an incident proton that produces a muon incident from a vertical direction is over 11.5 GV. This paper analyzes vertical muon intensities obtained over 48 years from 1970 to 2018 using methods that differ from the East–West method. As a result, a new periodicity of (125±45) days and a new periodicity of (4–16) days were found. The latter appears only in winter time, so it may be caused by a synoptic-scale disturbance associated with the arrival of the Siberian cold air mass. On the other hand, the former periodicity may be related to solar dynamo activity. In 1984, the Solar Maximum Mission’s Gamma Ray Spectrometers reported a periodicity of about (154±10) days in the flux of solar gamma rays. The (125±45)-day periodicity found here is most likely related to solar dynamo activity, since the intensity of cosmic rays around 11.5 GV is affected by the magnetic field induced by the Sun. However, this (125±45)-day periodicity differs from the report measured by the GRS instrument in a point that it also appears during periods of low solar activity. Furthermore, it has not appeared often during lower solar activity since 1992. This information is important for future investigation of the origin of this periodicity.
Multiple Factors Influence the Incubation Period of ALS Prion-like Transmission in SOD1 Transgenic Mice
Authors: Ayers Jacob I. , Xu Guilian , Lu Qing , Dillon Kristy , Fromholt Susan , Borchelt David R.
Published: August 2023

Mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) that are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cause its misfolding and aggregation. Prior studies have demonstrated that the misfolded conformation of ALS-SOD1 can template with naïve SOD1 “host proteins” to propagate, spread, and induce paralysis in SOD1 transgenic mice. These observations have advanced the argument that SOD1 is a host protein for an ALS conformer that is prion-like and experimentally transmissible. Here, we investigated the propagation of different isolates of G93A-SOD1 ALS conformers using a paradigm involving transmission to mice expressing human G85R-SOD1 fused to yellow fluorescent protein (G85R-SOD1:YFP). In these studies, we also utilized a newly developed line of mice in which the G85R-SOD1:YFP construct was flanked by loxp sites, allowing its temporal and spatial regulation. We used methods in which the G93A ALS conformers were injected into the sciatic nerve or hindlimb muscle of adult transgenic mice. We observed that the incubation period to paralysis varied significantly depending upon the source of inoculum containing misfolded G93A SOD1. Serial passage and selection produced stable isolates of G93A ALS conformers that exhibited a defined minimum incubation period of ~2.5 months when injected into the sciatic nerve of young adult mice. As expected, neuronal excision of the transgene in loxpG85R-SOD1:YFP mice blocked induction of paralysis by transmission of G93A ALS conformers. Our findings indicate that G93A ALS conformers capable of inducing disease require neuronal expression of a receptive host SOD1 protein for propagation, with a defined incubation period to paralysis.
Non-Polio Enterovirus C Replicate in Both Airway and Intestine Organotypic Cultures
Authors: Moreni Giulia , van Eijk Hetty , Koen Gerrit , Johannesson Nina , Calitz Carlemi , Benschop Kimberley , Cremer Jeroen , Pajkrt Dasja , Sridhar Adithya , Wolthers Katja
Published: August 2023

Non-polio enteroviruses (EV) belonging to species C, which are highly prevalent in Africa, mainly among children, are poorly characterized, and their pathogenesis is mostly unknown as they are difficult to culture. In this study, human airway and intestinal organotypic models were used to investigate tissue and cellular tropism of three EV-C genotypes, EV-C99, CVA-13, and CVA-20. Clinical isolates were obtained within the two passages of culture on Caco2 cells, and all three viruses were replicated in both the human airway and intestinal organotypic cultures. We did not observe differences in viral replication between fetal and adult tissue that could potentially explain the preferential infection of infants by EV-C genotypes. Infection of the airway and the intestinal cultures indicates that they both can serve as entry sites for non-polio EV-C. Ciliated airway cells and enterocytes are the target of infection for all three viruses, as well as enteroendocrine cells for EV-C99.
Aerosol Inhalation of Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectors (ChAd68) Expressing Ancestral or Omicron BA.1 Stabilized Pre–Fusion Spike Glycoproteins Protects Non–Human Primates against SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Authors: Wang Shen , Qin Mian , Xu Long , Mu Ting , Zhao Ping , Sun Bing , Wu Yue , Song Lingli , Wu Han , Wang Weicheng , Liu Xingwen , Li Yanyan , Yang Fengmei , Xu Ke , He Zhanlong , Klein Michel , Wu Ke
Published: August 2023

Current COVID-19 vaccines are effective countermeasures to control the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic by inducing systemic immune responses through intramuscular injection. However, respiratory mucosal immunization will be needed to elicit local sterilizing immunity to prevent virus replication in the nasopharynx, shedding, and transmission. In this study, we first compared the immunoprotective ability of a chimpanzee replication–deficient adenovirus–vectored COVID-19 vaccine expressing a stabilized pre–fusion spike glycoprotein from the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain Wuhan–Hu–1 (BV-AdCoV-1) administered through either aerosol inhalation, intranasal spray, or intramuscular injection in cynomolgus monkeys and rhesus macaques. Compared with intranasal administration, aerosol inhalation of BV-AdCoV-1 elicited stronger humoral and mucosal immunity that conferred excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in rhesus macaques. Importantly, aerosol inhalation induced immunity comparable to that obtained by intramuscular injection, although at a significantly lower dose. Furthermore, to address the problem of immune escape variants, we evaluated the merits of heterologous boosting with an adenovirus–based Omicron BA.1 vaccine (C68–COA04). Boosting rhesus macaques vaccinated with two doses of BV-AdCoV-1 with either the homologous or the heterologous C68–COA04 vector resulted in cross–neutralizing immunity against WT, Delta, and Omicron subvariants, including BA.4/5 stronger than that obtained by administering a bivalent BV-AdCoV-1/C68–COA04 vaccine. These results demonstrate that the administration of BV-AdCoV-1 or C68–COA04 via aerosol inhalation is a promising approach to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission and curtail the pandemic spread.
Studies of Vision in Cricket—A Narrative Review
Authors: Fogt Jennifer Swingle , Fogt Nick
Published: August 2023

Vision is thought to play a substantial role in hitting and fielding in cricket. An understanding of which visual skills contribute during cricket play could inform future clinical training trials. This paper reviews what has been reported thus far regarding the relationship of visual skills to cricket performance and reviews the results of clinical trials in which the impact of visual skills training on cricket performance has been addressed. Fundamental or low-level visual skills, with the exception of color vision and perhaps near stereopsis and dynamic visual acuity, are similar between cricket players and the general population. Simple reaction time has been found to be shorter in cricket players in some but not all studies. While there is mixed or no evidence that the aforementioned visual skills are superior in cricket players compared to non-players, comparisons of eye and head movements and gaze tracking have revealed consistent differences between elite cricket batters and sub-elite batters. Future training studies could examine whether teaching sub-elite batters to emulate the gaze tracking patterns of elite batters is beneficial for batting. Lastly, clinical trials in which visual skills of cricket players have been trained have in many cases resulted in positive effects on visual skills, or judgments required in cricket, or cricket play. However, clinical trials with larger and more diverse groups of participants and correlations to on-field metrics and on-field performance (i.e., domain-specific assessments) are necessary before conclusions can be drawn regarding the efficacy of vision training.