bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energy‐saving hydrogen production by heteroatom modulations coupling urea electrooxidation
Authors: Lu Shun , Zheng Xingqun , Wang Haoqi , Wang Chuan , Akinlabi Esther , Xu Ben Bin , Yang Xiaohui , Hua Qingsong , Liu Hong
Published: June 2024

Developing efficient electrocatalysts with low‐cost for the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is a significant challenge in energy‐saving H2 production owing to its lower thermodynamic potential. Heteroatom incorporation strategy has been proven to boost electrocatalytic activity by altering electronic structures and revealing more active sites on catalysts. Herein, nickel hydroxide nanosheets with various vanadium incorporation (Vx‐Ni(OH)2) were developed through a facile hydrothermal approach. By optimizing the incorporated vanadium contents, V6‐Ni(OH)2 catalyst exhibited easily accessible active sites and enhanced charge transfer with structural advantages, then assembled as the working electrode for urea‐assisted H2 production. Consequently, V6‐Ni(OH)2 catalyst demonstrated superior UOR activity compared with other incorporated samples with an overpotential of 1.33 V and a Tafel slope of 28.3 mV dec−1. Theoretical calculations revealed that the improved UOR activity was attributed to the potential determining step of V‐Ni(OH)2, which exhibited lower energy in comparison with the pristine Ni(OH)2 and increased electronic states density near the Fermi level. Both experimental and theoretical calculations confirmed vanadium incorporation on Ni(OH)2 could modify the electronic structure of Ni(III) species, improving electrical conductivity, and optimizing the adsorption energy for key reaction intermediates. Furthermore, the crucial contribution of vanadium incorporation with optimized electronic structures to the high UOR activity of Ni(OH)2 is demonstrated.

image
On the scientific credibility of paleoanthropology: Reply to Villmoare and Kimbel
Authors: Smith Richard J. , Wood Bernard
Published: June 2024

Smith and Wood reply to Villmoare and Kimbel regarding the scientific credibility of problems in paleoanthropology that require causal explanations for unique historical events.
Inequality of opportunity in the double burden of malnutrition in Mexico
Authors: Salas‐Ortiz Andrea , Jones Andrew M.
Published: June 2024

This paper proposes a pseudo‐birth‐cohort approach to deal with a lack of longitudinal data to measure health inequities over time. Using Roemer's framework for inequality of opportunity, this study measures ex‐ante and ex‐post inequalities in malnutrition, a concept that spans both sides of the nutrition continuum. The total contribution of observed circumstances and the direct contribution of observed efforts to the variation of malnutrition are disentangled for people born between 1983 and 1988 in Mexico. Results indicate that inequality of opportunity has been persistent across this 30‐year lifespan for that cohort. Some evidence suggests that a lack of opportunities has been transmitted from parents to children and that people's circumstances account for most of the explained variation in the double burden of malnutrition. However, stratifying the analysis by sex shows that efforts account for more of the explained variation of inequality of opportunity for women in their middle adulthood than for men in most of the outcomes analyzed.
Does cleavage‐ versus blastocyst‐stage embryo transfer improve fertility rates in women over 38 years of age undergoing assisted reproductive technology?
Authors: Giladi Yacobi Eytan , Miller Netanella , Gepstein Nitzan Goren , Mashiach Jordana , Herzberger Einat Haikin , Levi Mattan , Ghetler Yehudith , Wiser Amir
Published: June 2024

Objective

To evaluate whether extending embryo culture to day 5 (D5) affects pregnancy rates in women older than 38 years undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods

This retrospective, observational cohort study included data from fresh IVF cycles of women over 38 years, during 2011–2021. The cohort was divided according to day 3 (D3) versus D5 embryo transfer (ET).

Results

A total of 346 patients (ages 38–45 years) who underwent 496 IVF cycles were included, each yielding one to six embryos. A total of 374 (75%) fresh D3 ETs were compared with 122 (25%) D5 ETs. Demographically, there were more nulliparas in the D3 group (189 [50.9%] vs 47 [38.8%], P = 0.021). Higher gonadotropin dosage was used (3512 ± 1346 vs 3233 ± 1212 IU, P = 0.045) and lower maximum estradiol levels were reached in the D3 group (1129 ± 685 vs 1432 ± 708 pg/mL, P = 0.002). Thirty‐three (27%) of the D5 cycles resulted in transfer cancelation due to failure of blastocyst formation (P = 0.001). However, clinical pregnancy rates (P = 0.958), live birth rates (P = 0.988), and miscarriage rates (P = 0.710) did not differ between D3 and D5 ETs. Multivariable logistic regression for clinical pregnancy rate showed that day of transfer did not have a significant effect on the odds (P = 0.376), but maternal age (P = 0.001) and number of retrieved oocytes (P = 0.009) were significant variables.

Conclusions

In older women, culturing embryos to blastocyst stage can decrease invalid ETs without reducing pregnancy rates. Cancelation rates are higher but it may avoid interventions and conserve valuable time.
The impact of yield curve control under different regimes on Japanese Government bonds and swap markets in the super long term
Authors: Ito Takayasu
Published: June 2024

Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) and swap markets in the maturities of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years increased in volatility volatilities after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) expanded the upper limit of yield curve control (YCC) from .2% to .25% on March 19, 2021. The entire sample period is divided in half. Market segmentation is observed between JGB and swap markets in the first half of the YCC. They are integrated except for the maturity of 10 years in the second half of the YCC. In other words, arbitrage works between two markets. After the BOJ expanded the upper limit of the YCC to .25%, structural change occurred in the super long term in relation to JGB and swap markets. The decision by the BOJ has contributed to the normalization of the market function because there has been more room for the benchmark JGB yield of 10 years to move more actively.
Comparison of lung ultrasound assisted by artificial intelligence to radiology examination in pneumothorax
Authors: Yang Chengdi , Zhao Huijing , Wang Anqi , Li Jian , Gao Jianling
Published: June 2024

Background

Lung ultrasound can evaluate for pneumothorax but the accuracy of diagnosis depends on experience among physicians. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of intelligent lung ultrasound in comparison with chest x‐ray, employing chest computed tomography (CT) as the gold standard for diagnosis of pneumothorax in critical ill patients.

Methods

This prospective, observational study included 75 dyspnea patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2021 to April 2023. Lung ultrasound images were collected using BLUE‐plus protocol and analyzed by artificial intelligence software to identify the pleural line, with CT results serving as the gold standard for diagnosis. Pneumothorax was diagnosed based on either the disappearance of pleural slip sign or identification of lung point. Additionally, chest x‐ray images and diagnostic results were also obtained during the same period for comparison.

Results

The sensitivity and specificity of intelligent lung ultrasound in diagnosing pneumothorax were 79.4% and 85.4%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of x‐ray diagnosis were 82.4% and 80.5%. Additionally, the diagnostic time for lung ultrasound was significantly shorter than that for x‐ray examination.

Conclusion

Intelligent lung ultrasound has diagnostic efficiency comparable to that of x‐ray examination but offers advantages in terms of speed.
Oxidative stress induces extracellular vesicle release by upregulation of HEXB to facilitate tumour growth in experimental hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Duan Jiufei , Huang Zhao , Qin Siyuan , Li Bowen , Zhang Zhe , Liu Rui , Wang Kui , Nice Edouard C. , Jiang Jingwen , Huang Canhua
Published: June 2024

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in triggering tumour‐aggressive behaviours. However, the energetic process by which tumour cells produce EVs remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the involvement of β‐hexosaminidase B (HEXB) in mediating EV release in response to oxidative stress, thereby promoting the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mechanistically, reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulate the nuclear translocation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), leading to the upregulation of both HEXB and its antisense lncRNA HEXB‐AS. HEXB‐AS can bind HEXB to form a protein/RNA complex, which elevates the protein stability of HEXB. The stabilized HEXB interacts with lysosome‐associated membrane glycoprotein 1 (LAMP1), disrupting lysosome‐multivesicular body (MVB) fusion, which protects EVs from degradation. Knockdown of HEXB efficiently inhibits EV release and curbs HCC growth both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, targeting HEXB by M‐31850 significantly inhibits HCC growth, especially when combined with GW4869, an inhibitor of exosome release. Our results underscore the critical role of HEXB as a modulator that promotes EV release during HCC development.
Propagation of radius of analyticity for solutions to a fourth‐order nonlinear Schrödinger equation
Authors: Getachew Tegegne , Belayneh Birilew , Tesfahun Achenef
Published: June 2024

We prove that the uniform radius of spatial analyticity
of solution at time
to the one‐dimensional fourth‐order nonlinear Schrödinger equation

cannot decay faster than
for large
, given that the initial data are analytic with fixed radius
. The main ingredients in the proof are a modified Gevrey space, a method of approximate conservation law, and a Strichartz estimate for free wave associated with the equation.
Instabilities of standing waves and positivity in traveling waves to a higher‐order Schrödinger equation
Authors: Díaz Palencia José Luis
Published: June 2024

The aim of this paper is to explore a Schrödinger equation that incorporates a higher‐order operator. Traditional models for electron dynamics have utilized a second‐order diffusion Schrödinger equation, where oscillatory behavior is achieved through complex domain formulations. Incorporating a higher‐order operator enables the induction of oscillatory spatial patterns in solutions. Our analysis initiates with a variational formulation within generalized spaces, facilitating the examination of solution boundedness. Subsequently, we delve into the oscillatory characteristics of solutions, drawing upon a series of lemmas originally applied to the Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equation, the Cahn–Hilliard equation, and other equations that employ higher‐order operators. Specific solution types, such as standing waves, are numerically investigated to illustrate the oscillatory spatial patterns. The discussion then extends to the theory of traveling waves to establish general conditions for positive solutions. A contribution of this work is the precise evaluation of a critical traveling wave speed, denoted as
, above which the first minimum remains positive. For values of the traveling wave speed
significantly greater than
, the solutions can be entirely positive.
Nonprofit commercialization: What shapes the perceptions of top managers?
Authors: Balgah Roland Azibo , Kimengsi Jude Ndzifon , Kester Ngwa
Published: June 2024

Business‐like thinking among NPOs and scholars has stimulated growing but contested views on what constitutes commercialization and what drives its adoption. Unfortunately, empirical efforts have largely neglected the perspective of nonprofit managers who play pivotal roles in commercialization decisions. To stem this knowledge gap, this study applies a mixed methods on a case study from Cameroon to elicit top nonprofit managers' perceptions to commercialization. Almost 90% of all top managers demonstrate sound theoretical knowledge of nonprofit commercialization. Overall, 65% perceived commercialization positively, and 40% were already engaged in commercial activities. Binary logistic regression results indicated positive and statistically significant relationships between organizational capacity variables (intervention sector, for‐profit management strategy, and assets), and managers' perceptions of nonprofit commercialization (p < 0.05), questioning the resource‐dependency theory. The implications of conceptual ordering, theoretical diversity and contextualizing research on nonprofit managers' commercialization perceptions are discussed, particularly the need to include managerial perception as a key variable in the nonprofit commercialization equation in developing countries, and reconciling theoretical contestations with contextual reality.
Nanofiller‐and basalt fiber‐reinforced recycled polyamide 6 hybrid composites
Authors: Ahlatli Osman , Bozkurt Ömer Yavuz , Erkliğ Ahmet , Kiziltas Alper , Gardner Douglas J.
Published: June 2024

The influence of nanofillers (cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)), and basalt fibers (BF) on the morphology, mechanical and thermal of recycled polyamide 6 (PA6) composites were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, rotational rheometry, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). CNF, HNTs and BF were relatively well‐dispersed in the PA6 matrix and the incorporation of these nanofillers and BF increased the strength of the matrix, which indicates a good dispersion of the nanofillers and BF. CNF and HNTs‐filled PA6 nanocomposites increased the tnsile strength by 14% and 6% compared to the neat PA6, respectively. The composites elongation at break decreased with nanofiller, BF and combined nanofillers and BF. The shear storage modulus values of PA6/20B5C, PA6/20B5H, and PA6/25B are significantly elevated compared to neat PA6, with increases of 3.7, 2.8, and 2.5 times, respectively, at an angular frequency of 100 rad/s. PA6/20B5H composites with 20 wt.% BF and 5 wt.% HNTs exhibited the highest storage modulus (9.5 GPa) from the DMA study. Thermal stability and ash content at 800°C increased with the incorporation of HNTs and BF. The DSC findings showed that the glass transition (Tg) and melting temperature (Tm) of the composites did not exhibit any notable changes when nanofillers and BF were added to the resin. The nucleation ability of PA6 was enhanced attributable to BF and hybridization of BF and nanofillers since the crystallization temperatures of PA6 in BF filled and hybrid composites were around 5°C greater than neat PA6. The results suggest hybrid composites with potential environmental characteristics and higher mechanical properties can be utilized in semi‐structural applications in automotive and construction as a sustainable and lightweight alternative to steel and other materials.

Highlights

The addition of HNTs, CNF, BF and hybridization of nanofillers with BF reduced the brittleness of PA6.

Nanoreinforced and hybrid PA6 composites achieved higher storage modulus than neat PA6.

Thermal stability and ash content increased with the incorporation of HNTs and BF.

The hybrid composites have a higher complex viscosity compared to PA6.

The sustainable hybrid composites can be utilized in automotive and construction industries.
A review on the cutting of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites
Authors: Meng Zhijian , Liu Shunuan , Hu Kuangqing , Wang Tao , Luo Bin , Zhang Kaifu
Published: June 2024

As a more sustainable alternative to carbon fiber reinforced thermosetting (CFRTS) composites, carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are increasingly being used to favor the lightweight design and energy‐saving needs of the new generation high‐end equipment. Usually, cutting is an essential manufacturing process for CFRTP components to overcome the preparation limitations and meet the assembly requirements. However, CFRTP is regarded as a typical difficult‐to‐machine material, resulting in extremely poor machining quality and efficiency. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review on the cutting of CFRTP is provided from three aspects. Firstly, the chip formation, cutting force, and cutting temperature are described to understand the cutting mechanism clearly. Secondly, the influencing factors of damage formation as well as the damage detection methods are summarized. Finally, the improvement methods of machining quality in recent years, from cutting parameters, cutting tools, and assisted machining technologies, are presented. Furthermore, the conclusions and future trends in the cutting of CFRTP are discussed, which offers a significant reference value for the realization of high‐quality and efficient machining of CFRTP.

Highlights

CFRTP has attracted widespread attention in the high‐end equipment manufacturing due to its excellent mechanical properties and environmental friendliness.

Cutting is an essential manufacturing process for CFRTP components.

Cutting mechanism, machining damage, and improvement method of machining quality during the cutting of CFRTP are reviewed.

The current research gaps and future trends are discussed.
Investigation of Structural, Electronic, and Optical Characteristics of a Novel Perovskite Halide, Mg3AsCl3, for Electronic Applications
Authors: Chahar Sonia , Mishra Krishna Kumar , Sharma Rajnish
Published: June 2024

In the present research article, the structural, electronic, and optical characteristics of a novel perovskite halide, Mg3AsCl3, for a broad range of applications are thoroughly investigated. The characteristics of Mg3AsCl3 perovskite are investigated via the use of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof and Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof (HSE06) functionals, which are employed in conjunction with the linear combination of atomic orbital calculator. The structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of the material are investigated using density‐functional theory. In this study of the electronic characteristics, it is found that Mg3AsCl3 exhibits an indirect energy bandgap of 2.49 eV with GGA and 3.54 eV with HSE06. The complex band structure exhibits characteristics that indicate the presence of evanescent waves, which are characterized by a layer separation of 5 Å. The report in this research presents reflectivity values of 0.06328 and 0.02971 with GGA and HSE06 functionals, respectively. The reported values of the extinction coefficient are 3.36487 × 10−5 and 2.07389 × 10−5 calculated with GGA and HSE06 functionals. The value reported for the real dielectric function Re[ε] is 2.79625 with GGA and 2.00658 with HSE06. Overall, in these findings, an overview is given that Mg3AsCl3 holds potential as a candidate for use in a wide range of electronic device applications.
A Novel Piezo1 Agonist Promoting Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation and Osteogenesis to Attenuate Disuse Osteoporosis
Authors: Hao Ruihan , Tang Hairong , Ding Chunyong , Rajbanshi Bhavana , Liu Yuhang , Ma Ding , Duan Zhouyi , Qi Yuxin , Dai Liming , Zhang Bingjun , Zhang Ao , Zhang Xiaoling
Published: June 2024

Disuse osteoporosis (OP) is a state of bone loss due to lack of mechanical stimuli, probably induced by prolonged bed rest, neurological diseases, as well as microgravity. Currently the precise treatment strategies of disuse OP remain largely unexplored. Piezo1, a mechanosensitive calcium (Ca2+) ion channel, is a key force sensor mediating mechanotransduction and it is demonstrated to regulate bone homeostasis and osteogenesis in response to mechanical forces. Using structure‐based drug design, a novel small‐molecule Piezo1 agonist, MCB‐22‐174, which can effectively activate Piezo1 and initiate Ca2+ influx, is developed and is more potent than the canonical Piezo1 agonist, Yoda1. Moreover, MCB‐22‐174 is found as a safe Piezo1 agonist without any signs of serious toxicity. Mechanistically, Piezo1 activation promotes the proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by activating the Ca2+‐related extracellular signal‐related kinases and calcium–calmodulin (CaM)‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) pathway. Importantly, MCB‐22‐174 could effectively promote osteogenesis and attenuate disuse OP in vivo. Overall, the findings provide a promising therapeutic strategy for disuse OP by chemical activation of Piezo1.
On the trade‐off between rate and reliability for secret key generation in wireless channels
Authors: Sandell Magnus
Published: June 2024

Wireless propagation channels can be used to obtain secret keys to enhance security. By exploiting the reciprocity of the channel between legitimate users and its independence of an eavesdropper's channel, it can be quantised to produce a string of bits. The quality of these bits can be enhanced by using guard bands when quantising, which means that some samples are not used due to their poor quality. Although this increases the probability that the legitimate users produce the same bits, it also reduces the number of generated bits. We derive the optimal trade‐off between these contrasting quantities, first for a single sample and then extended to a frequency‐selective channel. The results are presented for both software simulations and hardware evaluations.
Kinetics of Nitrogen Absorption/Vacuum Denitrigenization and Precipitation Behavior of Nitrogen Bubbles in 42CrMoA Molten Steel
Authors: Zhang Yudi , Liu Jianhua , Yang He , Li Wei , Zhang Shuo , Zhou Weiji
Published: June 2024

Nitrogen absorption and vacuum denitrigenization experiments of 42CrMoA molten steel are carried out in a vacuum suspension furnace. Based on the results, the effects of absorption time on the nitrogen absorption process and denitrigenization time/pressure on denitrigenization process are studied, and the morphology of nitrogen bubbles in denitrigenization samples are analyzed. At temperature of 1777 K, the nitrogen solubility of 42CrMoA steel under pressures of 1 × 105 and 0.2 × 105 Pa are measured as 510 and 230 ppm, which are higher than the value calculated by Satir's nitrogen solubility formula. Nitrogen bubbles are observed in denitrigenization samples at denitrigenization pressure ranging from 0.2 × 105 to 0.8 × 105 Pa, indicating that bubbles can precipitate when the supersaturation degree of nitrogen in molten steel exceeds 38 ppm. The bubble diameters are in the range of 2.7–22.8 μm; it is presumed that the critical‐nucleation radius of nitrogen bubbles is 2.7 μm. The size of nitrogen bubbles measured in this experiment is much smaller than the critical‐nucleation radius calculated by classical‐nucleation theory for both homogeneous and heterogeneous‐nucleation method. Moreover, the pressure inside bubbles are analyzed and found to be much larger than nitrogen precipitation pressure, which is not in accordance with classical‐nucleation theory, highlighting the need for further study.
Flowing with Embodiment and Materiality: Touch and Time for New Educational Futures
Authors: Chappell Kerry
Published: June 2024

Embodiment is a lively and vital current in my pedagogy, research and writing. For a considerable time, I have overtly entangled embodiment, enmeshed with materiality into the notion of dialogue to argue that, with multiple others, we create, think and do in many ways that are as influential as words. This is part of wider endeavours to disrupt practice and research using posthumanising creativity to create spaces for emergent educational approaches which are fit to respond to Anthropocentric challenges. This chapter steps into the flow of this current armed with the knowledge that the mindbody binary is a specifically Western problem and that much can be gained from combining posthuman approaches with learning from Indigenous epistemologies and Eastern philosophies. The chapter goes on to explore embodiment and materiality through the concepts of touch and time. These reflections show how the usual storylines of disciplines can be ruptured, emphasising the role of multi-epistemic literacy, and the affordances of slowing and playing with time. The chapter moves on to discuss the power of cumulative ruptures which have the potential to create spaces for educational approaches that can match and respond to the rapidly changing global challenges that we face.
Exploring Aesthoecology: Affective Anticipation, Liminality and Emergence as Features of Alternative Educational Futures
Authors: Turner Chris
Published: June 2024

Aesthoecology is an onto-epistemology that interrogates the relationship between the aesthetic, ecological and ethical dimensions of education. This involves the exploration of notions such as liminality, emergence, and affective anticipation, all of which are features of dynamic systems. These elements of theory are discussed to support the concept of aesthoecology as a framework of ideas, and a creative vocabulary, which critically questions some of the established ways of being, doing and becoming in current educational practice.

Theorising and philosophising provide the freedom to think differently, the space to be creative and the courage to provoke radical thinking and action. The theory of aesthoecology is exemplified by reference to the development of a gallery of the arts at an expanding, community oriented, outward-facing UK community college in which the new and unexpected was a significant element of the richness of provision.

This chapter proposes that the theory of aesthoecology is particularly relevant at a time of significant change because it illustrates the importance of ethically creative education in which issues of emergence might be seen as particularly valuable. Education is enriched by inviting and embracing the unexpected and by exploring the ways in which the new arises spontaneously from our actions.
Sensing in Liminal Spaces: Words, Music and Dementia
Authors: Crickmay Ursula , Welsh Caroline
Published: June 2024

This chapter offers insight into a project which provokes alternative educational futures and imaginative ways of facing current challenging issues, in this case dementia, through adopting an approach which values emergence, creativity and care-ful responses. In our co-writing and making, we reflect on an improvisatory musical practice involving people with dementia, their family, carers and a team of professional musicians and facilitators, working together with voices, instruments, words and images. We consider this practice, melding the human, the sonic and the material, in dialogue with posthuman theory which we weave together with music, words and images creatively generated by the group and the authors in recent workshops both in person and online. Through a series of ‘diffractions’ of our data, we consider how those living with dementia may help us to focus on learning as a response-able encounter, a co-creative emergence in a liminal space that opens towards the unforeseeable future. There are a series of field recordings that accompany this text: you will find links to them next to headings and subheadings; we invite you to listen to them as you read.
The Aesthetics of African Participatory Music Making Through the Eyes of Utu: An Alternative Approach to Music Education
Authors: Katingima Day Nancy
Published: June 2024

The theorisation of music and music making in most African Indigenous Communities has for a long time been the prerogative of anthropological and ethnomusicological inquiry, predominantly framed by Western hegemonic knowledge structures (Murungi, 2011, African musical aesthetics. Cambridge Scholars Publishing). This chapter offers a theoretical and methodological ruption by exploring the aesthetics of music and music making through the eyes of an alternative philosophical approach emanating from East Africa called Utu. It is a Kiswahili word describing the essence of being and becoming human by participating in life. The chapter will explore two principles – relationality and connectivity – as the foundation of creative endeavour. These will inform why and how music and music making in most Kenyan Indigenous Communities (KIC) is an aesthetic of life. This means that music encounters are not only a reflection of life but are in fact life (Nketia, 1984, The World of Music, 26, 3–28). It is argued that (1) the acknowledgement of already existing relationships within an encounter, (2) the effective creation of stable connections between entities or participants and (3) the validation and affirmations of the outcomes of the music encounter provide a relevant theoretical foundation for creativity and music education. This ruption from an ‘aesthetic in life’ (endorsed by most current mechanistic education practices) to an ‘aesthetic of life’ opens new creative and emergent possibilities for not only music education but broader educational futures.
Simples Rules for Developing the Social Aspects of Your Venture
Authors: Shepherd Dean A. , Patzelt Holger , Breugst Nicola
Published: June 2024

This chapter offers simple rules for developing the social aspects of your venture. These simple rules are: do amazing things with your venture to help those suffering; align your motivation with the type of venture you want to build; be sensitive to the needs of your venture members; and don’t burn out in pursuing your venture’s social mission.
Simple Rules for Market Selection and Entry
Authors: Shepherd Dean A. , Patzelt Holger , Breugst Nicola
Published: June 2024

This chapter offers simple rules for market selection and entry. These simple rules are: identify a broad opportunity set from which to choose the “best” one; think like a scientist to generate novel business models or opportunities; with resource constraints, embrace the lean startup approach; create, use, and adapt a community of inquiry to evaluate and co-construct an opportunity; and if your opportunity does not work out, pivot.
Synthesis of Recursive Programs in Saturation
Authors: Hozzová Petra , Amrollahi Daneshvar , Hajdu Márton , Kovács Laura , Voronkov Andrei , Wagner Eva Maria
Published: June 2024

We turn saturation-based theorem proving into an automated framework for recursive program synthesis. We introduce magic axioms as valid induction axioms and use them together with answer literals in saturation. We introduce new inference rules for induction in saturation and use answer literals to synthesize recursive functions from these proof steps. Our proof-of-concept implementation in theVampiretheorem prover constructs recursive functions over algebraic data types, while proving inductive properties over these types.
Synthesizing Strongly Equivalent Logic Programs: Beth Definability for Answer Set Programs via Craig Interpolation in First-Order Logic
Authors: Heuer Jan , Wernhard Christoph
Published: June 2024

We show a projective Beth definability theorem for logic programs under the stable model semantics: For given programs P and Q and vocabulary V (set of predicates) the existence of a program R in V such that $$P \cup R$$

P
∪
R

and $$P \cup Q$$

P
∪
Q

are strongly equivalent can be expressed as a first-order entailment. Moreover, our result is effective: A program R can be constructed from a Craig interpolant for this entailment, using a known first-order encoding for testing strong equivalence, which we apply in reverse to extract programs from formulas. As a further perspective, this allows transforming logic programs via transforming their first-order encodings. In a prototypical implementation, the Craig interpolation is performed by first-order provers based on clausal tableaux or resolution calculi. Our work shows how definability and interpolation, which underlie modern logic-based approaches to advanced tasks in knowledge representation, transfer to answer set programming.
Regularization in Spider-Style Strategy Discovery and Schedule Construction
Authors: Bártek Filip , Chvalovský Karel , Suda Martin
Published: June 2024

To achieve the best performance, automatic theorem provers often rely on schedules of diverse proving strategies to be tried out (either sequentially or in parallel) on a given problem. In this paper, we report on a large-scale experiment with discovering strategies for the Vampire prover, targeting the FOF fragment of the TPTP library and constructing a schedule for it, based on the ideas of Andrei Voronkov’s system Spider. We examine the process from various angles, discuss the difficulty (or ease) of obtaining a strong Vampire schedule for the CASC competition, and establish how well a schedule can be expected to generalize to unseen problems and what factors influence this property.
Control-Flow Refinement for Complexity Analysis of Probabilistic Programs in KoAT (Short Paper)
Authors: Lommen Nils , Meyer Éléanore , Giesl Jürgen
Published: June 2024

Recently, we showed how to use control-flow refinement (CFR) to improve automatic complexity analysis of integer programs. While up to now CFR was limited to classical programs, in this paper we extend CFR to probabilistic programs and show its soundness for complexity analysis. To demonstrate its benefits, we implemented our new CFR technique in our complexity analysis tool .
Certifying Phase Abstraction
Authors: Froleyks Nils , Yu Emily , Biere Armin , Heljanko Keijo
Published: June 2024

Certification helps to increase trust in formal verification of safety-critical systems which require assurance on their correctness. In hardware model checking, a widely used formal verification technique, phase abstraction is considered one of the most commonly used preprocessing techniques. We present an approach to certify an extended form of phase abstraction using a generic certificate format. As in earlier works our approach involves constructing a witness circuit with an inductive invariant property that certifies the correctness of the entire model checking process, which is then validated by an independent certificate checker. We have implemented and evaluated the proposed approach including certification for various preprocessing configurations on hardware model checking competition benchmarks. As an improvement on previous work in this area, the proposed method is able to efficiently complete certification with an overhead of a fraction of model checking time.
Quantifier Shifting for Quantified Boolean Formulas Revisited
Authors: Heisinger Simone , Heisinger Maximilian , Rebola-Pardo Adrian , Seidl Martina
Published: June 2024

Modern solvers for quantified Boolean formulas (QBFs) process formulas in prenex form, which divides each QBF into two parts: the quantifier prefix and the propositional matrix. While this representation does not cover the full language of QBF, every non-prenex formula can be transformed to an equivalent formula in prenex form. This transformation offers several degrees of freedom and blurs structural information that might be useful for the solvers. In a case study conducted 20 years back, it has been shown that the applied transformation strategy heavily impacts solving time. We revisit this work and investigate how sensitive recent QBF solvers perform w.r.t. various prenexing strategies.
MCSat-Based Finite Field Reasoning in the Yices2 SMT Solver (Short Paper)
Authors: Hader Thomas , Kaufmann Daniela , Irfan Ahmed , Graham-Lengrand Stéphane , Kovács Laura
Published: June 2024

This system description introduces an enhancement to the Yices2 SMT solver, enabling it to reason over non-linear polynomial systems over finite fields. Our reasoning approach fits into the model-constructing satisfiability (MCSat) framework and is based on zero decomposition techniques, which find finite basis explanations for theory conflicts over finite fields. As the MCSat solver within Yices2 can support (and combine) several theories via theory plugins, we implemented our reasoning approach as a new plugin for finite fields and extended Yices2 ’s frontend to parse finite field problems, making our implementation the first MCSat-based reasoning engine for finite fields. We present its evaluation on finite field benchmarks, comparing it against cvc5. Additionally, our work leverages the modular architecture of the MCSat solver in Yices2 to provide a foundation for the rapid implementation of further reasoning techniques for this theory.
A Formal Model to Prove Instantiation Termination for E-matching-Based Axiomatisations
Authors: Ge Rui , Garcia Ronald , Summers Alexander J.
Published: June 2024

SMT-based program analysis and verification often involve reasoning about program features that have been specified using quantifiers; incorporating quantifiers into SMT-based reasoning is, however, known to be challenging. If quantifier instantiation is not carefully controlled, then runtime and outcomes can be brittle and hard to predict. In particular, uncontrolled quantifier instantiation can lead to unexpected incompleteness and even non-termination. E-matching is the most widely-used approach for controlling quantifier instantiation, but when axiomatisations are complex, even experts cannot tell whether or not their use of E-matching guarantees completeness or termination.

This paper presents a new formal model that facilitates the proof, once and for all, that giving a complex E-matching-based axiomatisation to an SMT solver such as Z3 or cvc5, cannot cause non-termination. Key to our technique is an operational semantics for solver behaviour that models how the E-matching rules common to most solvers are used to determine when quantifier instantiations are enabled, but abstracts over irrelevant details of individual solvers. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique by presenting a termination proof for a set theory axiomatisation adapted from those used in the Dafny and Viper verifiers.
Fast and Verified UNSAT Certificate Checking
Authors: Lammich Peter
Published: June 2024

We describe a formally verified checker for unsatisfiability certificates in the LRAT format, which can be run in parallel with the SAT solver, processing the certificate while it is being produced. It is implemented time and memory efficiently, thus increasing the trust in the SAT solver at low additional cost.

The verification is done w.r.t. a grammar of the DIMACS format and a semantics of CNF formulas, down to the LLVM code of the checker. In this paper, we report on the checker and its design process using the Isabelle-LLVM stepwise refinement approach.
Stepping Stones in the TPTP World
Authors: Sutcliffe Geoff
Published: June 2024

The TPTP World is a well established infrastructure that supports research, development, and deployment of Automated Theorem Proving (ATP) systems. There are key components that help make the TPTP World a success: the TPTP problem library was first released in 1993, the CADE ATP System Competition (CASC) was conceived after CADE-12 in 1994, problem difficulty ratings were added in 1997, the current TPTP language was adopted in 2003, the SZS ontologies were specified in 2004, the TSTP solution library was built starting around 2005, the Specialist Problem Classes (SPCs) have been used to classify problems since 2010, the SystemOnTPTP service has been offered from 2011, the StarExec service was started in 2013, and a world of TPTP users have helped all along. This paper reviews these stepping stones in the development of the TPTP World.
A Higher-Order Vampire (Short Paper)
Authors: Bhayat Ahmed , Suda Martin
Published: June 2024

The support for higher-order reasoning in the Vampire theorem prover has recently been completely reworked. This rework consists of new theoretical ideas, a new implementation, and a dedicated strategy schedule. The theoretical ideas are still under development, so we discuss them at a high level in this paper. We also describe the implementation of the calculus in the Vampire theorem prover, the strategy schedule construction and several empirical performance statistics.
Nature of Science-Perspektiven aus der Didaktik der Biologie – Theorie und Praxis
Authors: Reinisch Bianca , Krüger Dirk , Mahler Daniela
Published: June 2024

Die Komplexität und Dynamik der heutigen Welt, geprägt durch vielfältige technologische Fortschritte und globale Herausforderungen wie Klimawandel und Biodiversitätsverlust, rücken die Notwendigkeit einer fundierten naturwissenschaftlichen Bildung in den Vordergrund. Besonders die Biologie als Wissenschaft des Lebens spielt eine entscheidende Rolle für das Verständnis dieser komplexen Themen. Gleichzeitig rückt die naturwissenschaftliche Forschung als solche vermehrt – teils kritisch oder wenig reflektiert – in den Fokus der gesellschaftlichen Aufmerksamkeit. Die öffentliche Kommunikation von Forschungsergebnissen seitens Forschender spielt in diesem Kontext eine verstärkte Rolle. Die adäquate Einordnung und Bewertung solcher Ergebnisse verlangen dabei vielfältige Kompetenzen seitens der einzelnen Person. Ein Verständnis der Nature of Science, also der Natur der Naturwissenschaft selbst, kann dazu beitragen, Studien und ihre Ergebnisse in bestehende Erkenntnisse einzuordnen sowie etwaige Konsequenzen für sich und andere abzuleiten.
Die Natur der Naturwissenschaftsdidaktiken als Reflexionsmöglichkeit für die Lehrkräftebildung
Authors: Büssing Alexander Georg
Published: June 2024

Während die Förderung des professionellen Wissens grundsätzlich eine große Rolle innerhalb der Lehrkräftebildung spielt, wurden epistemische Aspekte dieses Wissens bisher nur unzureichend thematisiert. Gerade in Modellen wie dem Refined Consensus Model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (RCM), welches eine Differenzierung unterschiedlicher Facetten des fachdidaktischen Wissens beschreibt, werden die entsprechenden epistemischen Voraussetzungen nicht beachtet. Dies betrifft insbesondere die fachdidaktischen Wissensformen, für die bisher keine Systematisierung epistemischer Aspekte besteht. Hierfür könnte die Nature of Science (NOS) eine wichtige Perspektive bilden. Ein sinnvoller Ansatz könnte der Family Resemblance Approach (FRA) nach Erduran et al. (2019) darstellen, laut dem insgesamt elf Kategorien zur Charakterisierung von kognitiv-epistemischen und sozial-institutionellen Dimensionen von Wissenschaften unterschieden werden können. Im Beitrag wird eine solche Systematisierung als Natur der Naturwissenschaftsdidaktiken vorgeschlagen und anhand von drei Thesen diskutiert. Dabei stellt Wissen über die Natur der Naturwissenschaften eine Voraussetzung für professionelles fachdidaktisches Wissen von Lehrkräften dar (These 1), da epistemische Aspekte des fachdidaktischen Wissens nur unzureichend durch NOS beschrieben werden. Dieses Wissen über die Natur der Naturwissenschaften wirkt sich in der Schulpraxis aus (These 2) und sollte daher expliziter in der Lehrkräftebildung thematisiert werden (These 3). Auch wenn die Natur der Naturwissenschaftsdidaktiken bisher nur theoretisch postuliert ist, kann eine solche Systematisierung der Komplexität naturwissenschaftsdidaktischen Handelns besser gerecht werden und sollte daher weiterverfolgt werden.
Umgang mit Ungewissheit als Charakteristikum von Nature of Science
Authors: Lübke Britta , Heuckmann Benedikt
Published: June 2024

Aus wissenschaftstheoretischer Perspektive lässt sich Ungewissheit als konstitutives und produktives Element der Naturwissenschaften beschreiben. In bisherigen Nature of Science (NOS)-Konzeptionen spielt Ungewissheit jedoch nur eine untergeordnete Rolle. Für den deutschsprachigen Diskurs kommt erschwerend hinzu, dass sich der englische Begriff uncertainty sowohl mit Ungewissheit als auch mit Unsicherheit übersetzen lässt. In diesem Artikel wird eine Unterscheidung der Begriffe vorgeschlagen. Der für den Kontext von NOS präferierte Begriff der Ungewissheit im Sinne eines Nicht-Genau-Wissens wird zudem ausdifferenziert, indem zwischen epistemischer und ontologischer Ungewissheit sowie zwischen technischer Ungewissheit und Konsensungewissheit unterschieden wird. Für die Frage nach der Integration in Lehr-Lern-Konzepte wird das Verhältnis von Ungewissheit und Vorläufigkeit vor dem Hintergrund der Unterscheidung Latours zwischen ready-made-science und science-in-the-making diskutiert. Zudem wird mit dem Family Resemblance Approach eine NOS-Konzeption auf mögliche Anknüpfungspunkte für die Thematisierung des Umgangs mit Ungewissheit in den Naturwissenschaften untersucht.
Erkenntnisgewinnung (v)erklärt
Authors: Großmann Leroy , Krüger Dirk
Published: June 2024

Die Hypothese bildet einen zentralen Bestandteil im Rahmen naturwissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisprozesse. Ihr kommt als kognitiv-epistemischer Aspekt eines elaborierten Nature of Science-Verständnisses eine große Bedeutung zu. Der Begriff ist jedoch doppeldeutig: So wird der Begriff Hypothese einerseits sachangemessen für deduktiv aus einer soliden Wissensbasis abgeleitete, begründete und empirisch prüfbare Voraussagen eines Untersuchungsergebnisses genutzt. Wir schlagen vor, den andererseits in der Schule verwendeten Begriff Hypothese für vorläufige, häufig vage Ideen, mit denen man sich ein noch unbekanntes Phänomen zu erklären versucht, durch Erklärungsversuch zu ersetzen. Die Nutzung des Hypothesen-Begriffs, einerseits mit dem Schwerpunkt im Kompetenzbereich Erkenntnisgewinnung über Hypothesen zu reflektieren und andererseits mit Sachkompetenz eine fachangemessene Erklärung zu finden, wird in diesem Beitrag anhand einer exemplarischen Analyse zweier Staatsexamensentwürfe im Fach Biologie illustriert. Abschließend werden Perspektiven für die empirische fachdidaktische Forschung aufgezeigt.
Low-dose X-ray stimulated NO-releasing nanocomposites for closed-loop dual-mode cancer therapy
Authors: Tang Xiaoli , Li Yong , Zhu Tao , Lv Longhao , Liu Jinliang
Published: June 2024

A low-dose X-ray-triggered X-PDT system was prepared, which involves GSH consumption, self-supplied NO, mitochondrial damage alleviation, and hypoxia relief to generate ROS and RNS with synergistically enhanced anti-tumor effects.
Isothiocyanate intermediates facilitate divergent synthesis of N-heterocycles for DNA-encoded libraries
Authors: Wang Huihong , Chen Teng , Fan Xiaohong , Li Yangfeng , Fang Wei , Zhang Gong , Li Yizhou
Published: June 2024

DNA-compatible diversity-oriented synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles via the in situ conversion of primary amines into versatile isothiocyanates intermediates.
‘Where does a female plant pathologist work?’: Gretna Weste (née Parkin) AM DSc
Authors: Guest David I.
Published: June 2024

Gretna Weste was a remarkable plant pathologist born to Australian parents in the United Kingdom (UK) during World War 1. She studied at the University of Melbourne and was employed in the Forests Commission of Victoria as a ‘temporary typist’ while investigating the preservation of timber logs burnt in the 1939 Black Friday bushfires. Weste returned to the School of Botany at the University of Melbourne briefly before raising a family. Once her children reached high school she returned to the School of Botany as a senior demonstrator, and enrolled as a PhD student part-time to study the cause of take-all disease of wheat. She was awarded a PhD in 1968. After take-all research was claimed by the Faculty of Agriculture in 1970, Gretna’s focus shifted to the newly discovered dieback disease affecting the forests of Western Australia and Victoria. Her research laid the foundations of our understanding of dieback disease, and underpinned the recognition of Phytophthora cinnamomi as a Key Threatening Process under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999). Dr Weste was awarded a DSc in 1983, appointed Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for her significant service to plant pathology and became an Honorary Member of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society in 1992. Her distinguished career reflects a spirit and resilience that enabled her to overcome, or dodge, a series of gender-based obstacles in research, government and university hierarchies.