bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Examining epistemological challenges of large language models in law
Authors: Paseri Ludovica , Durante Massimo
Published: January 2025

Large Language Models (LLMs) raises challenges that can be examined according to a normative and an epistemological approach. The normative approach, increasingly adopted by European institutions, identifies the pros and cons of technological advancement. Regarding LLMs, the main pros concern technological innovation, economic development and the achievement of social goals and values. The disadvantages mainly concern cases of risks and harms generated by means of LLMs. The epistemological approach examines how LLMs produce outputs, information, knowledge, and a representation of reality in ways that differ from those followed by human beings. To face the impact of LLMs, our paper contends that the epistemological approach should be examined as a priority: identifying risks and opportunities of LLMs also depends on considering how this form of artificial intelligence works from an epistemological point of view. To this end, our analysis compares the epistemology of LLMs with that of law, in order to highlight at least five issues in terms of: (i) qualification; (ii) reliability; (iii) pluralism and novelty; (iv) technological dependence and (v) relation to truth and accuracy. The epistemological analysis of these issues, preliminary to the normative one, lays the foundations to better frame challenges and opportunities arising from the use of LLMs.
Monetary sovereignty and external constraints: Identifying the flaws of modern monetary theory
Authors: Garzón Espinosa Eduardo
Published: January 2025

The concept of monetary sovereignty employed by Modern Monetary Theory has been criticised on many fronts. One of the most important criticisms points out that Modern Monetary Theorists (MMTers) ignore or underestimate problems arising from external constraints. Another important (and complementary) criticism is that MMTers focus only on purely macroeconomic aspects and ignore political and geopolitical issues. In this paper, we discuss these important criticisms and we conclude that, although the MMT concept of monetary sovereignty is useful and can be considered an analytical advance, it is incomplete and biased because it minimises macroeconomic problems arising from external constraints and because it does not take into account international political factors.
Petrochemicals, Pollution, and the Moral Economy of Noxious Industry: Grangemouth, Scotland, from 1951 to 1989
Authors: Shibe Riyoko
Published: January 2025

In 1989, British Petroleum (BP) made the largest onshore investment in the company’s 72-year history in Scotland by expanding its Grangemouth petrochemical complex. Construction and operation were promised to generate between 1,200 and 1,500 jobs, but upon the project’s completion, over 1,000 industrial jobs were lost in the town, and employment never increased. This research explains this outcome by embedding it within a history of post-World War II deindustrialization and engaging with E.P. Thompson’s moral economy and the concept of “noxious deindustrialization”: expanding environmentally destructive capacity and shrinking industrial employment. It illuminates what the buildup and later transgression of moral economy promises looked like for a town experiencing rapid but fragile expansion on the back of petrochemicals, a modern, highly toxic, and land-intensive industry. Using oral history and archive study, the research establishes the presence of noxiousness in Grangemouth from the mid-twentieth century onward. Between 1951 and 1970, industrialization, urban expansion, and paternalistic corporate practices shaped customary notions that embedded the petrochemical sector into the community, justifying concerns about pollution, smells, and the industry’s intensive requirements on land. Between 1970 and 1989, the moral economy was transgressed as the planning system was dismantled and BP’s welfarist responsibility to Grangemouth lessened under economic liberalization. Amid growing environmental concerns globally, noxiousness became intolerable. Noxious deindustrialization accelerated with changes in energy prices, consolidation of private power, and discovery of North Sea oil, leading to company restructuring and job cuts in BP Chemicals. Consequently, the link between employment, population growth, and economic security broke down.
High-contrast 10 PW laser system at the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics facility
Authors: Chalus Olivier , Derycke Christophe , Charbonneau Mathilde , Pasternak Stanislas , Ricaud Sandrine , Fischer Peter , Scutelnic Valeriu , Gaul Erhard , Korn Georg , Norbaev Saidbek , Popa Stefan , Vasescu Lidia , Toma Antonia , Cojocaru Gabriel , Dancus Ioan
Published: January 2025

We are showing a significant enhancement in the temporal contrast by reducing the coherent noise of the 10 PW laser system at the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics facility. The temporal contrast was improved by four orders of magnitude at 10 picoseconds and by more than one order of magnitude at 50 picoseconds before the main peak. This improvement of the picosecond contrast is critical for the experiments using thin solid targets.
Dynamics-preserving compression for modal flow analysis
Authors: Glazkov Anton , Schmid Peter J.
Published: January 2025

An efficient compression scheme for modal flow analysis is proposed and validated on data sequences of compressible flow through a linear turbomachinery blade row. The key feature of the compression scheme is a minimal, user-defined distortion of the mutual distance of any snapshot pair in phase space. Through this imposed feature, the model reduction process preserves the temporal dynamics contained in the data sequence, while still decreasing the spatial complexity. The mathematical foundation of the scheme is the fast Johnson–Lindenstrauss transformation (FJLT) which uses randomized projections and a tree-based spectral transform to accomplish the embedding of a high-dimensional data sequence into a lower-dimensional latent space. The compression scheme is coupled to a proper orthogonal decomposition and dynamic mode decomposition analysis of flow through a linear blade row. The application to a complex flow-field sequence demonstrates the efficacy of the scheme, where compression rates of two orders of magnitude are achieved, while incurring very small relative errors in the dominant temporal dynamics. This FJLT technique should be attractive to a wide range of modal analyses of large-scale and multi-physics fluid motion.
Perturbation analysis of Markov chain Monte Carlo for graphical models
Authors: Lin Na , Liu Yuanyuan , Smith Aaron
Published: January 2025

The basic question in perturbation analysis of Markov chains is: how do small changes in the transition kernels of Markov chains translate to chains in their stationary distributions? Many papers on the subject have shown, roughly, that the change in stationary distribution is small as long as the change in the kernel is much less than some measure of the convergence rate. This result is essentially sharp for generic Markov chains. We show that much larger errors, up to size roughly the square root of the convergence rate, are permissible for many target distributions associated with graphical models. The main motivation for this work comes from computational statistics, where there is often a tradeoff between the per-step error and per-step cost of approximate MCMC algorithms. Our results show that larger perturbations (and thus less-expensive chains) still give results with small error.
Mean-field analysis of stochastic networks with reservation
Authors: Fricker Christine , Mohamed Hanene
Published: January 2025

The problem of reservation in a large distributed system is analyzed via a new mathematical model. The target application is car-sharing systems. This model is motivated by the large station-based car-sharing system in France called Autolib’. This system can be described as a closed stochastic network where the nodes are the stations and the customers are the cars. The user can reserve a car and a parking space. We study the evolution of the system when the reservation of parking spaces and cars is effective for all users. The asymptotic behavior of the underlying stochastic network is given when the number N of stations and the fleet size M increase at the same rate. The analysis involves a Markov process on a state space with dimension of order

$N^2$

. It is quite remarkable that the state process describing the evolution of the stations, whose dimension is of order N, converges in distribution, although not Markov, to a non-homogeneous Markov process. We prove this mean-field convergence. We also prove, using combinatorial arguments, that the mean-field limit has a unique equilibrium measure when the time between reserving and picking up the car is sufficiently small. This result extends the case where only the parking space can be reserved.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES? THE CHANGING COMPOSITION OF IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED KINGDOM AFTER BREXIT
Authors: Portes Jonathan
Published: January 2025

The end of free movement and the introduction of the post-Brexit migration system represent the most important changes to the UK migration system in half a century. Coinciding with the aftereffects of the pandemic, the result has been very large changes both to the numbers of those coming for work and study, and to their composition, both in terms of countries of origin and in the sectors and occupations of new migrants. It has also resulted in a political backlash, resulting in significant further changes to the system announced in December 2023. I discuss the evidence to date of the impact of recent migration trends on the UK economy and labour market, distinguishing between different sectors.
Evaluation of serum total antioxidant level, nutritional status and Mediterranean diet adherence of adult women with rheumatoid arthritis: a case–control study
Authors: Bekar Cansu , Armagan Berkan , Sari Alper , Ayaz Aylin
Published: January 2025

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by chronic inflammation in joints. Obesity, stress, being women and dietary pattern are important in pathogenesis. The joint damage in RA is accelerated by oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to examine the serum total antioxidant level, nutritional status and Mediterranean diet adherence of adult women with RA. Thirty-five adult women RA patients and thirty-five healthy control participated in this study (45·4 ± 11·61 and 42·5 ± 8·50 years, respectively). Nutritional status, physical activity levels and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were questioned. Physicians assessed the disease activity score of patients with RA. Serum total antioxidant and oxidant status were analysed. The serum total antioxidant status of the control group was higher, whereas the oxidative stress index and total oxidant status were lower than that of the RA group. Dietary protein, fibre, EPA, retinol, Fe, Zn and total antioxidant intake in the RA group were lower than in the control group (P < 0·05). Individuals with higher fibre intake showed a significantly lower risk for RA after adjusting for potential confounding factors (OR = 0·845, 95 % CI = 0·773–0·923, P < 0·001). The mean physical activity level of the control group was higher than that of the RA group (1·59 ± 0·10 and 1·53 ± 0·13, respectively) (P = 0·01). In conclusion, serum antioxidant parameters and dietary antioxidant intake are decreased in patients with RA. Therefore, medical treatment for these patients should be supplemented with medical nutrition therapy to achieve optimal nutritional status.
Philosophy across boundaries
Authors: Scarantino Luca Maria
Published: January 2025

This is the full and official text of the Presidential address delivered at the Opening ceremony of the 25th World Congress of Philosophy in Rome, Italy, on August 1st 2025.
Caregivers’ Experiences of Nursing Home Restrictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Hande Mary Jean , Weeks Lori E. , Chamberlain Stephanie A. , Hubley Emily , Burke Rosanne , Warner Grace , Andrew Melissa K. , Keefe Janice
Published: January 2025

Background

Pandemic-related restrictions in nursing homes have undermined the critical role that family and friend caregivers play in enhancing resident quality of life.

Objective

We examined how family caregiver access restrictions in nursing homes were implemented and how they impacted the mutual well-being of and relationships between residents and their caregivers over time. Methods Between March 2021 and march 2022, 24 ‘designated caregivers’ in Atlantic Canada were interviewed three times.

Findings

We identified changes in family relationships and activities over time, constricted support networks, the increasing need for advocacy and monitoring, and the generally negative cumulative impacts of restrictions, especially during residents’ end-of-life. Subsequent adaptations to access restrictions allowed caregivers to contribute to essential monitoring, care relationships, and advocacy roles.

Discussion

We argue that the role of designated caregivers in nursing homes must be maintained during public health emergencies to ensure resident’s supportive family relationships and general well-being.
Epidemiology of invasive Escherichia coli disease in adults in England, 2013–2017
Authors: Blum Maxim , Geurtsen Jeroen , Herweijer Eva , Sarnecki Michal , Spiessens Bart , Reynolds Diogo Gil , Hermans Peter , Thelwall Simon , Bhattacharya Alex , Verstraeten Thomas , Poolman Jan , Hope Russell
Published: January 2025

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) causes invasive E. coli disease (IED), including bacteraemia and (uro)sepsis, resulting in a high disease burden, especially among older adults. This study describes the epidemiology of IED in England (2013–2017) by combining laboratory surveillance and clinical data. A total of 191 612 IED cases were identified. IED incidence increased annually by 4.4–8.2% across all ages and 2.8–7.6% among adults ≥60 years of age. When laboratory-confirmed urosepsis cases without a positive blood culture were included, IED incidence in 2017 reached 149.4/100 000 person-years among all adults and 368.4/100 000 person-years among adults ≥60 years of age. Laboratory-confirmed IED cases were identified through E. coli-positive blood samples (55.3%), other sterile site samples (26.3%), and urine samples (16.6%), with similar proportions observed among adults ≥60 years of age. IED-associated case fatality rates ranged between 11.8–13.2% among all adults and 13.1–14.7% among adults ≥60 years of age. This study reflects the findings of other published studies and demonstrates IED constitutes a major and growing global health concern disproportionately affecting the older adult population. The high case fatality rates observed despite available antibiotic treatments emphasize the growing urgency for effective intervention strategies. The burden of urosepsis due to E. coli is likely underestimated and requires additional investigation.
Nostalgia as a Critique of Europe: Reflections from Contemporary Greece
Authors: Zestanakis Panagiotis
Published: January 2025

The last 15 years have witnessed a wave of nostalgia for the recent past in Greece. This nostalgia is boosted by social media, especially Facebook, and revolves around the rising counsumer standards that the country experiences in the first three decades after its entry in the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1981. Drawing on media material and surveys, this article discusses this phenomenon, focusing on whether this nostalgia represents a cultural response to Europe and Europanization. Through a historically empathetic analysis, the article argues that this critique focuses on participation in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), a choice that Greek society largely sees as harmful. In this vein, the drachma, Greece’s currency until 2002, is viewed nostalgically and identified with prosperity.
The healthcare experiences of rural-living Canadians with and without a primary care provider: a qualitative analysis of open-ended cross-sectional survey responses
Authors: Rush Kathy L. , Seaton Cherisse L. , Burton Lindsay , Smith Mindy A. , Li Eric P.H.
Published: January 2025

Aim:

This study aimed to explore healthcare experiences of rural-living patients both with (attached) and without (unattached) a local primary care provider.

Background:

Primary care providers serve a gatekeeping role in the Canadian healthcare system as the first contact for receiving many health services. With the shortage of primary care providers, especially in rural areas, there is a need to explore attached and unattached patient experiences when accessing healthcare.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of rural patients both with (attached) and without (unattached) a primary care provider was conducted July–September 2022. An open-ended question gathered participants’ thoughts and experiences with provider shortages.

Findings:

Overall, 523 (Mean age = 51 years, 75% female) rural British Columbia community members (306 attached; 217 unattached) completed the survey. Despite similar overall health, unattached patients received care less frequently overall compared to attached patients, including less frequent non-urgent and preventive care. The vast majority of attached patients sought care from a regular provider whereas unattached patients were more likely to use walk-in, emergency department, and urgent care and 29% did not seek care at all. Overall, 460 (88.0%) provided a response to the open-ended doctor shortage question. Similar themes were found among both attached and unattached participants and included: i) the ubiquity of the doctor shortage, ii) the precariousness or fluidity of attachment status, and iii) solutions and recommendations. Greater attention is needed on the negative and cyclical impacts provider shortages have for both attached and unattached patients alike.
Exposure to Online Abuse of Politicians Does Not Scare Citizens Away From Politics
Authors: Pedersen Rasmus T. , Thau Mads , Petersen Niels Bjørn Grund
Published: January 2025

Recent studies suggest that online abuse directed at politicians can have negative effects on their public engagement and continued participation in politics. This article considers the broader consequences of such online abuse by testing whether exposure to online abuse of politicians also decreases the prospective political participation of ordinary citizens. In a preregistered survey experiment with 2,000 participants from Denmark, we find that exposing citizens to cases of online abuse of politicians does not have any statistically significant, or substantively meaningful, negative effects on citizens’ prospective political participation. This result holds across multiple measures of political participation and when distinguishing citizens by their gender and level of conflict avoidance. If anything, exploratory analyses indicate that online abuse of politicians may in some cases mobilize citizens who have been bystanders to such abuse.
Nonenzymatic lysine d-lactylation induced by glyoxalase II substrate SLG dampens inflammatory immune responses
Authors: Zhao Qihang , Wang Qiang , Yao Qinghua , Yang Zhengdong , Li Wenfang , Cheng Xiaojie , Wen Yingling , Chen Rong , Xu Junfang , Wang Xuanying , Qin Dexiang , Zhu Shuyang , He Liujie , Li Nan , Wu Yanfeng , Yu Yizhi , Cao Xuetao , Wang Pin
Published: January 2025

Immunometabolism is critical in the regulation of immunity and inflammation; however, the mechanism of preventing aberrant activation-induced immunopathology remains largely unclear. Here, we report that glyoxalase II (GLO2) in the glycolysis branching pathway is specifically downregulated by NF-κB signaling during innate immune activation via tristetraprolin (TTP)-mediated mRNA decay. As a result, its substrate S-D-lactoylglutathione (SLG) accumulates in the cytosol and directly induces d-lactyllysine modification of proteins. This nonenzymatic lactylation by SLG is greatly facilitated by a nearby cysteine residue, as it initially reacts with SLG to form a reversible S-lactylated thiol intermediate, followed by SN-transfer of the lactyl moiety to a proximal lysine. Lactylome profiling identifies 2255 lactylation sites mostly in cytosolic proteins of activated macrophages, and global protein structure analysis suggests that proximity to a cysteine residue determines the susceptibility of lysine to SLG-mediated d-lactylation. Furthermore, lactylation is preferentially enriched in proteins involved in immune activation and inflammatory pathways, and d-lactylation at lysine 310 (K310) of RelA attenuates inflammatory signaling and NF-κB transcriptional activity to restore immune homeostasis. Accordingly, TTP-binding site mutation or overexpression of GLO2 in vivo blocks this feedback lactylation in innate immune cells and promotes inflammation, whereas genetic deficiency or pharmacological inhibition of GLO2 restricts immune activation and attenuates inflammatory immunopathology both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, dysregulation of the GLO2/SLG/d-lactylation regulatory axis is closely associated with human inflammatory phenotypes. Overall, our findings uncover an immunometabolic feedback loop of SLG-induced nonenzymatic d-lactylation and implicate GLO2 as a promising target for combating clinical inflammatory disorders.
Energy yield framework to simulate thin film CIGS solar cells and analyze limitations of the technology
Authors: Ramesh Santhosh , Tuomiranta Arttu , Yordanov Georgi H. , Badran Hussein , Hajjiah Ali , Vermang Bart , Poortmans Jef
Published: January 2025

This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) solar technology, benchmarked against crystalline silicon (c-Si) PERC PV technology. Utilizing a newly developed energy yield model, we analyzed the performance of CIGS in various environmental scenarios, emphasizing its behavior in low-light conditions and under different temperature regimes. The model demonstrated high accuracy with improved error metrics of normalized mean bias error (nMBE) ~ 1% and normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of  ~ 8%–20% in simulating rack mounted setup and integrated PV systems. Key findings reveal that the CIGS technology, while slightly underperforming in integrated, low-irradiance setups, shows comparable or superior performance to c-Si PERC technology in high-irradiance and high-temperature conditions. A significant focus of the study was on the low-light performance of CIGS, where it exhibited notable voltage losses. Our research highlights the importance of reducing the diode ideality factor for enhancing CIGS power conversion efficiency, particularly In low-light conditions. These insights provide a pathway for future research and technological improvements, emphasizing defect engineering, passivation strategies to advance the understanding and application of the CIGS technology.
When curiosity gaps backfire: effects of headline concreteness on information selection decisions
Authors: Aubin Le Quéré Marianne , Matias J. Nathan
Published: January 2025

The selection of information by individuals is a basic process in democratic institutions, including journalism. Publishers attempt to attract readers with “curiosity gap” headlines that offer vague descriptions rather than summarize an article. Lab and field experiments that compare the influence of these two styles have found conflicting results on their efficacy. In this registered report, we propose a theory, based on the psychology of curiosity, to harmonize these results. We introduce and validate an automated linear scale of headline concreteness to differentiate summary and curiosity gap headlines. In a meta-analysis of 8977 headline experiments, we confirm that the effects of headline concreteness on clickthrough rates vary with the overall concreteness of other headlines. When the baseline headline is too vague, higher headline concreteness increases clickthrough rates. When headlines are too concrete, higher headline concreteness decreases clickthrough rates. These findings suggest a curvilinear relationship between information selection decisions and the amount of information conveyed in text, implying that headlines that convey just the right amount of information maximize clickthrough rates at scale.

Protocol registration

The protocol for this study was pre-registered following in-principle acceptance at https://osf.io/fbzvw/ on September 21st, 2023.

The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 30/08/23. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/FBZVW.
White adipose tissues and skeletal muscles as a target of chrysin during the treatment of obesity in rats
Authors: Hassan Omar S. , Megahed Magda A. , Ghazal Nesma A.
Published: January 2025

Obesity is a rapidly growing epidemic that continues to be a major severe health problem due to its association with various adverse health consequences. Since 1975, the WHO estimates that the prevalence of obesity has tripled globally. Chrysin is a flavone that is mostly found in the Passiflore species of plants and in propolis. The present study was conducted to examine the anti-obesity effect of chrysin on a high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats and to compare their impact to physical activity (swimming). Rats were classified into two groups: the control group and the obese group, which was subdivided into 4 subgroups (8 rats each); an untreated obese group; a chrysin-treated group (oral dose of 100 mg/kg/day); swimming-treated groups (swimming for 1 h/day, five days/week with a constant overload equal to 5% of their weight); and combination-treated groups (chrysin and swimming). After 8 weeks of treatment, blood samples were taken at the end of the experiment for biochemical tests. Animals were then slaughtered to get white adipose tissue (WAT) and skeletal muscle for analysis of the gene expression of the studied genes. In obese rats, therapy with chrysin reduced weight gain, hyperglycaemia, and insulin resistance. Also, the effects of chrysin may be mediated through acting as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress agent. Physical activity (swimming) is a more efficient anti-obesity agent than treating with chrysin alone through upregulation of PPAR-γ and downregulation of Mir-27a. Physical activity with daily supplementation of chrysin showed the best efficiency for the treatment of obesity.
Sulfoxidation of pyrimidine thioate derivatives and study their biological activities
Authors: El-Gharably Atif A. , Nassar A. A. , El-Ganzory N. M. , Saad-Allah Khalil M. , El-Barbary A. A.
Published: January 2025

In a quest to innovate biologically active molecules, the benzoylation of 4,6-dimethylpyrimidine-2-thiol hydrochloride (1) with benzoyl chloride derivatives was employed to produce a series of pyrimidine benzothioate derivatives (2–5). Subsequent sulfoxidation of these derivatives (2–5) using hydrogen peroxide and glacial acetic acid yielded a diverse array of pyrimidine sulfonyl methanone derivatives (6–9). In parallel, the sulfoxidation of pyrimidine sulfonothioates (10–12) yielded sulfonyl sulfonyl pyrimidines (13–15), originating from the condensation of compound 1 with sulfonyl chloride derivatives. The newly synthesized compounds underwent characterization via FT-IR, NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analyses. Biological screenings unveiled interesting properties: compounds 1 and 6 exhibited significant antimicrobial potency against S. epidermidis and S. haemolyticus, whereas compound 11 showed distinct insensitivity. Excitingly, compounds 12 and 6 showcased robust antioxidant activity by efficiently scavenging DPPH• radical, underscoring their potential in oxidative stress mitigation. Notably, compounds 10 and 12 displayed promising anti-tumor effects, with compound 12 demonstrating superior efficacy against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line compared to compound 10. The study revealed a spectrum of biological activities across the synthesized derivatives, with modifications often resulting in diminished bioactivity compared to the parent compound 1. These findings shed light on the intricate relationship between chemical modifications and biological properties, offering valuable insights for future drug discovery endeavors.
Stability-indicating spectrophotometric quantification of safinamide in the presence of its possible degradation product
Authors: Kamel Ebraam B. , El-Abassy Omar M
Published: January 2025

In recent times, a truly exquisite pharmaceutical marvel has graced the world of medicine, known as Safinamide (SAF). This opulent creation has been specifically tailored to cater to the needs of individuals afflicted with Parkinson’s disease (PD), an esteemed neurological condition renowned for its regal ability to impede motor skills, coordination, and equilibrium. It is highly improbable that degradation products of pharmaceutical components would significantly compromise efficiency and safety of a drug during its shelf life. Pharmaceutical analysis requires a variety of stability tests to be conducted under distinct conditions. As a result, there was an increased need for the development of an analytical methodology capable of reliably separating and quantifying degradants and impurities that might be found in pharmaceuticals. In this study, we have developed two efficient and straightforward spectrophotometric methodologies for the concurrent estimation of SAF and its degradation product (SAF DEG), which is the main acid hydrolysis product. The confirmation of degradation product build-up by the use of several analytical techniques, including infrared spectroscopy (IR), and mass spectrometry (MS) investigations. The present methodologies have been validated for linearity within the concentration range of 5–30 µg/ml for SAF, and 5–15 µg/mL, 2–15 µg/ml for SAF DEG for fourier self-deconvolution (FSD) and dual wavelength (DW) methods, respectively. The originality of these techniques lies in their status as the first stability-indicating spectrophotometric procedures that are both environmentally friendly. Moreover, the process of obtaining pure SAF DEG offers substantial economic benefits by obviating the need to acquire a costly constituent. The use of intelligent techniques was employed to analyze the pharmaceutical dosage form, potentially offering significant advantages to the pharmaceutical industry.
Stability of refractive outcomes after hyperopic LASIK with and without Mitomycin C application: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Saad Amr , Steinberg Johannes , Frings Andreas
Published: January 2025

To assess the efficacy, safety, and stability of refractive outcomes in hyperopic Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) with and without the application of Mitomycin C (MMC). This randomized, parallel group, controlled multicenter trial included 140 hyperopic eyes. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups: one receiving LASIK with mitomycin C (MMC) (n = 70) and the other receiving LASIK without MMC (n = 70). The primary outcome measures were uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and safety parameters at six months postoperatively. The statistical analysis employed t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, and Fisher’s Exact Test, with a significance level of p < 0.05. All 140 eyes (70 per group) were analyzed. No statistically significant differences were identified between the two groups in postoperative UDVA, CDVA, or safety parameters (p > 0.05). Both groups demonstrated highly effective and safe refractive outcomes. No intraoperative complications or postoperative adverse events were observed. Age and preoperative spherical equivalent did not significantly affect outcomes. Hyperopic LASIK with and without MMC showed comparable efficacy, safety, and stability of refractive outcomes at the six-month postoperative interval. Although MMC use in hyperopic LASIK appears to be a safe procedure, it was not found to be significantly superior to conventional LASIK. Further investigation with longer follow-up periods and larger cohorts is necessary to confirm these results.
Soil fluoride enrichment process and the possible adaptation prevention principle in coal-burning fluorosis area in Southwest China
Authors: Chen Qiao , Wang Xuewenyu , Li Qingcai , Chen Juan , Zhu Lin , Wang Li , Zhang Liping
Published: January 2025

Coal-burning fluorosis prevails in southwest China and other provinces. Although clay used as binder of briquettes was proven to cause coal-burning fluorosis, its enrichment processes remain unknown. The soils and rocks on typical geological units were sampled and simulation experiments were performed to detect the forming process of high-fluoride clay. The surface and mineral soils, farmland soils and rocks have fluoride levels of 157.9–1076.76, 334.58–1419.28, 227.52–1303.11 and 46.05–964.11 mg/kg respectively. Fluoride levels of surface soils, mineral horizon soils and farmland soils are significantly positively correlated, while those between soils and rocks are not significantly correlated. The soils overlying carbonates have substantially higher fluoride levels than those overlying non-carbonates although the carbonates have extremely lower fluoride levels. The fluoride levels in acid insoluble substances are significantly positively correlated with soil fluoride levels. The acid insoluble substances in carbonates have obviously higher fluoride levels than those in non-carbonates. High Ca(Mg) levels in carbonates restrict fluorine leaching into the water and facilitate fluorine deposition in soils. Fluoride enriches in soils with numerous Ca(Mg)CO3 leaching during carbonate weathering, which is a new insight into the cause of high-fluoride clay. An exposure pathway of fluoride is forwarded. The best prevention principle and policy are proposed.
A hybrid attention multi-scale fusion network for real-time semantic segmentation
Authors: Ye Baofeng , Xue Renzheng , Wu Qianlong
Published: January 2025

In semantic segmentation research, spatial information and receptive fields are essential. However, currently, most algorithms focus on acquiring semantic information and lose a significant amount of spatial information, leading to a significant decrease in accuracy despite improving real-time inference speed. This paper proposes a new method to address this issue. Specifically, we have designed a new module (HFRM) that combines channel attention and spatial attention to retrieve the spatial information lost during downsampling and enhance object classification accuracy. Regarding fusing spatial and semantic information, we have designed a new module (HFFM) to merge features of two different levels more effectively and capture a larger receptive field through an attention mechanism. Additionally, edge detection methods have been incorporated to enhance the extraction of boundary information. Experimental results demonstrate that for an input size of 512 × 1024, our proposed method achieves 73.6% mIoU at 176 frames per second (FPS) on the Cityscapes dataset and 70.0% mIoU at 146 FPS on Camvid. Compared to existing networks, our Model achieves faster inference speed while maintaining accuracy, enhancing its practicality.
Patients with dementia with Lewy bodies display a signature alteration of their cognitive connectome
Authors: Yanez-Perez Roraima , Garcia-Cabello Eloy , Habich Annegret , Cedres Nira , Diaz-Galvan Patricia , Abdelnour Carla , Toledo Jon B. , Barroso José , Ferreira Daniel
Published: January 2025

Cognition plays a central role in the diagnosis and characterization of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, the complex associations among cognitive deficits in different domains in DLB are largely unknown. To characterize these associations, we investigated and compared the cognitive connectome of DLB patients, healthy controls (HC), and Alzheimer’s disease patients (AD). We obtained data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center. We built cognitive connectomes for DLB (n = 104), HC (n = 3703), and AD (n = 1985) using correlations among 24 cognitive measures mapping multiple cognitive domains. Connectomes were compared using global and nodal graph measures of centrality, integration, and segregation. For global measures, DLB showed a higher global efficiency (integration) and lower transitivity (segregation) than HC and AD. For nodal measures, DLB showed higher global efficiency in most measures, higher participation (centrality) in free-recall memory, processing speed/attention, and executive measures, and lower local efficiency (segregation) than HC. Compared with AD, DLB showed lower nodal strength and local efficiency, especially in memory consolidation. The cognitive connectome of DLB shows a loss of segregation, leading to a loss of cognitive specialization. This study provides the data to advance the understanding of cognitive impairment and clinical phenotype in DLB, with implications for differential diagnosis.
Association of real life postural transitions kinematics with fatigue in neurodegenerative and immune diseases
Authors: Romijnders Robbin , Atrsaei Arash , Rehman Rana Zia Ur , Strehlow Lea , Massoud Jèrôme , Hinchliffe Chloe , Macrae Victoria , Emmert Kirsten , Reilmann Ralf , Janneke van der Woude C. , Van Gassen Geert , Baribaud Frédéric , Ahmaniemi Teemu , Chatterjee Meenakshi , Vitturi Bruno Kusznir , Pinaud Clémence , Kalifa Jérôme , Avey Stefan , Ng Wan-Fai , Hansen Clint , Manyakov Nikolay V. , Maetzler Walter
Published: January 2025

Fatigue is prevalent in immune-mediated inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, yet its assessment relies largely on patient-reported outcomes, which capture perception but not fluctuations over time. Wearable sensors, like inertial measurement units (IMUs), offer a way to monitor daily activities and evaluate functional capacity. This study investigates the relationship between sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transitions and self-reported physical and mental fatigue in participants with Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren’s syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Over 4 weeks, participants wore an IMU and reported fatigue levels four times daily. Using mixed-effects models, associations were identified between fatigue and specific kinematic features, such as 5th and 95th percentiles of sit-to-stand performance, suggesting that fatigue alters the control and effort of movement. These kinematic features show promise as indicators for fatigue in these patient populations.
Modulation of Nrf2 expression by targeting i-motif DNA
Authors: Warner E. F. , Guneri D. , O’Connell M. A. , MacDonald C. J. , Waller Z. A. E.
Published: January 2025

Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is a key regulator of cell detoxification, which maintains homoeostasis in healthy cells and promotes chemoresistance in cancer cells. Controlling the expression of this transcription factor is therefore of great interest. There are many compounds that have been shown to induce Nrf2 expression, but ligands that can inhibit Nrf2 are scant. Herein we characterise an i-motif-forming sequence downstream of the Nrf2 promoter, which we hypothesised may regulate the expression of the gene. The Nrf2 i-motif was found to be stable at near-physiological conditions. We identified small molecule ligands that interact with this i-motif structure and one significantly upregulated Nrf2 mRNA expression, and one ligand reduced Nrf2 mRNA expression in human cancer cells. This is the first example of controlling the promoter of Nrf2 by targeting DNA structures and offers an alternative mode of action for the development of compounds to improve the chemotherapeutic responsiveness of existing treatments for cancer.
Multi-objective Bayesian optimization: a case study in material extrusion
Authors: Myung Jay I. , Deneault James R. , Chang Jorge , Kang Inhan , Maruyama Benji , Pitt Mark A.
Published: January 2025

The superior efficiency of multi-objective Bayesian optimization (blue) in optimizing 6 parameters to FDM print the Air Force logo quickly and accurately. Orange: simulated annealing. Green: random sampling.
Measuring the mechanical properties of asymmetric membranes in computer simulations - new methods and insights
Authors: Farago Oded
Published: January 2025

We present Monte Carlo simulations of an ultra coarse-grained lipid bilayer with different number of lipids on both leaflets. In the simulations, we employ a new method for measuring the...
Rapid gram-scale microwave-assisted synthesis of organic anodes for sodium-ion batteries with environmental impact assessment
Authors: Puscalau Constantin , Desai Aamod V. , Lizundia Erlantz , Ettlinger Romy , Adam Mohamed , Morris Russell E. , Armstrong A. Robert , Tokay Begum , Laybourn Andrea
Published: January 2025

Gram-scale microwave synthesis and environmental impact assessment of sodium carboxylates for use as organic electrode materials in sodium-ion batteries.
Repackable microfluidic molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled with mass spectrometry (μMISPE-MS) for rapid analysis of mycotoxin in agri-foods: an example of zearalenone
Authors: Hua Marti Z. , Liu Jinxin , Li Tianqi , McMullin David R. , Hu Yaxi , Lu Xiaonan
Published: January 2025

Development of a novel μMISPE-MS method for rapid detection of zearalenone in agri-foods.
One-step synthesis of quaternized polyethyleneimine and its application in transesterification reactions
Authors: Zhou Junqiang , Zhao Zhentao , Wang Yuxin , Xu Guangwen , Shi Lei
Published: January 2025

Polyethyleneimine (B-PEI) was quaternized by dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to synthesis a macromolecular ionic liquid catalyst, D-BPEI, through a one-step quaternization reaction.
Synthesis of dendronized polymers through Pd-initiated C1 polymerization of diazoacetates with different generation ester-type dendron groups
Authors: Shimomoto Hiroaki , Kubo Takumi , Nishigawa Kazunari , Okuda Hazuki , Ishimoto Makoto , Itoh Tomomichi , Ihara Eiji
Published: January 2025

Pd-initiated polymerization of diazoacetates containing an ester-type dendron as an ester substituent proceeded to afford a new type of dendronized C1 polymer.
Impact of pre-crosslinks on the self-transformation performance of thermoplastic polyesters into vitrimers via intermolecular transesterification
Authors: Shimizu Yuhka , Hayashi Mikihiro
Published: January 2025

The performance of self-transformation from thermoplastic polyesters into vitrimers via intermolecular transesterification is improved by incorporating pre-crosslinks in the initial polyesters.
Understanding growth mindset and chemistry mindsets of high-achieving students and the impact of influential language on learning motivation
Authors: Wichaidit Patcharee Rompayom
Published: January 2025

Students' mindsets about their intelligence can be fixed or malleable, but a general growth mindset does not ensure the same mindset in chemistry. Many factors influence success and perseverance in chemistry, leading to inconsistent experiences even among high-achieving students in specialized programs. This research examines the correlations between general growth mindset, students' perspective on their chemistry intelligence, gender, academic achievement, and family economic status, while identifying factors influencing motivation in learning chemistry and analyzing students' responses to challenging chemistry situations based on their general growth mindset. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 338 high-achieving tenth graders nationwide using an 8-item growth mindset scale (Dweck, 1999, Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development) and the individual items from a modified chemistry mindset questionnaire (Santos et al., 2022, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 23(3), 742–757). Findings revealed that 232 students (68.64%) were categorized as having a growth mindset, 9 students (2.66%) were classified as having a fixed mindset, and 95 students (28.11%) were identified as having a mixed mindset. Students rated their chemistry mindset highest in applying chemical knowledge and learning new chemistry concepts. Most female students associated self-chemistry intelligence with applying chemistry knowledge, while male students associated it with learning new concepts. No correlations were found between general growth mindset, gender, GPA, and family socioeconomic status among high-achieving students. However, a moderate significant correlation was found between general growth mindset and all sub-aspects of chemistry intelligence. The study revealed that students themselves were the most influential factor in motivating their learning of chemistry, followed by chemistry teachers, parents, and close friends. Conversely, demotivation was primarily influenced by the students themselves, followed by other individuals, chemistry teachers, and classmates. Moreover, most students with a general growth mindset (82%) persisted and sought solutions when faced with challenging chemistry problems, but some students of this group felt hopeless (6%) or found the subject too difficult (9%). The study discusses implication for chemistry instruction to keep high-achieving students in chemistry tracks engaged.
Electrocatalytic aldehyde oxidation: an emerging anodic reaction for efficient electrolytic systems
Authors: Hu Fen , Wang Pengyuan , Lu Zhiwen , Chen Kai , Ding Yichun , Wang Li , Wen Zhenhai
Published: January 2025

Electrocatalytic aldehyde oxidation, which has low oxidation potentials, has emerged as a promising anodic reaction to be coupled with a diversity of electroreduction reactions.
Kinetics of vapor–liquid and vapor–solid phase separation under gravity
Authors: Davis Daniya , Sen Gupta Bhaskar
Published: January 2025

The kinetics of vapor–liquid and vapor–solid phase separation of a one component system in the presence of gravitational field using molecular dynamic simulations.
Energy materials redesign, reuse and repurpose
Authors: Pozo-Gonzalo Cristina , Charles Bethan L. , Wang Xiaolei , Lizundia Erlantz
Published: January 2025

The Guest Editors introduce RSC Sustainability’s themed collection on energy materials redesign, reuse and repurpose.
An ultralight porous carbon scaffold for anode-free lithium metal batteries
Authors: Rehman Sagar Rizwan Ur , Nelson Akhil , Fazal Muhammad Waseem , Khan Muhammad Waqas , Mahmood Nasir , Rahman Md Mokhlesur , (Ian) Chen Ying
Published: January 2025

A free-standing thin sheet of carbon grapes (TSCG) is used as a replacement for copper in anode-free lithium metal batteries (ALMBs). The results show that TSCG functions effectively both as a current collector and as a lithium reservoir.
Reflecting on another successful year of Energy Advances
Authors: Presser Volker
Published: January 2025

Editor-in-Chief, Volker Presser, reflects on the third year of Energy Advances and looks ahead to 2025.