bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
English for specific purposes in surging English-medium instruction contexts
Authors: Galloway Nicola , Sahan Kari , McKinley Jim
Published: May 2024

English-medium instruction (EMI) research increasingly reports on students’ language-related challenges and a lack
of academic and language support classes, collaboration between content and language teachers and overall teacher training. Our
study explores EMI in Japan and China, two contexts where EMI has been referred to as emerging but is now “surging.” In these
contexts, EMI is closely linked to English language proficiency goals, yet research on supporting students remains scarce. Data
were collected via interviews and focus groups with students, English teachers and content teachers, who provided insights into
approaches to EMI policy implementation, stakeholders’ attitudes, and the need for English for specific purposes (ESP) and English for specific academic purposes (ESAP). The results provide much needed insights for evidence-informed EMI policy implementation,
curriculum development and teacher training. The study also provides insights into institutional infrastructure conducive to EMI
policy, with findings revealing ESP needs of EMI students and the training needs of teaching staff. The study presented in this
paper furthers the work that has been conducted in Anglophone settings on the complexity of ELT practitioner roles. The results
also provide directions for future research.
Notation and phonology of the Tri language in Vilabouly*
Authors: Diffloth Gérard , Chamberlain James R. , Badenoch Nathan
Published: May 2024

Gérard Diffloth (1937–2023) was a leading authority on Austroasiatic languages, with a wide range of linguistic
interests ranging from historical reconstruction to expressives, and much more. He was a tireless fieldworker who firmly believed
that research into the linguistic history of Austroasiatic need be grounded in long-term fieldwork with native speakers in their
daily speech environment. In this paper we introduce an unpublished manuscript on the phonology of the Tri language spoken in
Vilabouly District, Savannakhet Province in southern Laos. We frame this with a brief introduction to his work, with a tribute to
his commitment to fieldwork and the principles he maintained throughout the many decades of working with speakers of Austroasiatic
languages.
Exploring fertilizer alternatives and opportunities for improving use efficiency in Africa and South Asia
Authors:   Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA)
Published: May 2024

There is an estimated 345 million people facing food insecurity in 2023, more than double the number in 2020. Increasing mineral fertilizer prices and longstanding problems with inefficient fertilizer use have contributed to this growing problem. In response to this challenge, this report explores supplementary and alternative products that offer the potential to reduce reliance on mineral fertilizers, as well as solutions for improving fertilizer use efficiency. Improved efficiency leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, amongst other benefits. Adopting these products and practices on a large scale, within an integrated approach to long-term soil health, has the potential to enhance food security, improve smallholder yields and livelihoods, and mitigate climate and environmental impacts. This report aims to do the following: Provide a snapshot of current approaches to fertilizer use in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, exploring the problems associated with overuse and underuse of mineral fertilizers. Introduce a set of alternative and supplementary products, as well as technologies and business models that offer the potential to improve fertilizer use efficiencies. Identify opportunities for, and bottlenecks to, large-scale adoption of alternative fertilizer strategies, highlighting the role that governments, investors, donors, and private firms can play in accelerating progress in this space. Showcase eight case studies from Africa and South Asia of companies working on fertilizer alternatives and solutions to promote more efficient fertilizer use. Three of these companies have been supported by the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Technical Assistance Facility (CASA TAF).
The underserved middle: defining excluded enterprises in agricultural value chains
Authors:   Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA)
Published: May 2024

This brief is intended to establish the concept and quantify the size of the "underserved middle" in the agricultural value chains of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia; this is the sector underserved by financial, policy and market-making institutions. The aim is to build on existing concepts and published information to provide clarity to the investor community and their financing partners on the definition and size of the underserved middle, as well as on existing opportunities for investment, as identified by the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme. The underserved middle represents a diverse range of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at all stages of the value chain - though predominantly downstream of production - characterized as being unable to exploit the potential to scale up that exists in the market due to their effective exclusion from normal market-supporting policies, financing and institutions. This exclusion is largely due to the size of the enterprises: they are typically larger than micro enterprises, which can self-finance and operate successfully within their local social, political and economic ecosystem, but are smaller than large companies, which are attractive to external financiers and have the capacity to engage with and influence decision makers and institutions. Although figures are not available for the number of agricultural SMEs or their specific financing needs, very rough estimates of the financing gap range from $170 billion annually for all smallholder financing needs in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia to $100 billion for agricultural SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa alone. More recent thinking is currently being done by Reardon and Jayne, and by institutions such as the World Bank on the complexity of the underserved middle, particularly in terms of access to finance, institutions and policymakers. Whilst formal financing remains difficult to obtain and is expensive, informal sources are likely to be more important than previously thought. Both the demand and supply of formal and informal financing vary considerably by type of enterprise and funding need. However, investors and other stakeholders also need to consider how changes to policy, regulation and infrastructure will unshackle excluded SMEs and release their ability to scale themselves up.
Tipping the climate finance balance - investing in climate adaptation to prevent food insecurity
Authors:   Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA)
Published: May 2024

CASA aims to drive global investment for inclusive climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder incomes. The programme makes the case for increased agribusiness investment by demonstrating the commercial and development potential of sourcing models involving empowered smallholder producers and by tackling the information and evidence gaps holding back investment. As part its effort to promote resilience in agri-food systems and as a result of the renewed commitments of the UK government towards tackling climate change, CASA is putting finance mobilisation for agriculture climate adaptation at the heart of its work. This has informed the research and investor engagement of the programme for the last 12 months, resulting in the identification of areas that require additional investment and research to start tipping the climate finance balance towards adaptation. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in agricultural and food systems in developing countries. The landscape of agri-SME finance in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia is increasingly pluralistic. However, these enterprises are largely underserved by formal finance. In sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, there is an estimated USD 160 billion demand for financing by around 220,000 agri-SMEs. Only USD 54 billion (around 34%) is currently being met through formal finance channels, leaving an annual financing gap of USD 106 billion.
ℓ

-Proca stars
Authors: Lazarte Claudio , Alcubierre Miguel
Published: May 2024

Initially applied to the scalar case, we extend the applicability of the multi-field generalization with angular momentum of bosonic stars to the vector case, in order to obtain new configurations that generalize the one-field spherical Proca stars. These new objects, which we call

ℓ

-Proca stars, arise as stationary and spherically symmetric bosonic stars solutions of the Einstein-(multi)Proca system, whose matter content is formed by an arbitrary odd number of

2
ℓ
+
1

of complex Proca fields with the same mass, time-frequency, radial profile and angular momentum number

ℓ

. We analyze the system of constraint and evolution radial equations for the matter content to show the consistency of our proposal, and obtain numerically the ground states of these new solutions for the first few values of

ℓ

using spectral methods.
Optical characterization of nanosecond-pulsed discharge in liquid nitrogen
Authors: Dobrynin Danil , Song Zhiheng , Fridman Alexander
Published: May 2024

We report the optical characterization of nanosecond-pulsed plasma ignited directly in liquid nitrogen. Using imaging and optical emission spectroscopy, we estimate neutral temperatures and densities, as well as local electric field values, and the obtained results indicate that the discharge develops via streamer (‘electronic’) mechanism. We show that millimeter-scale plasma propagates in liquid nitrogen at velocities of ∼500 km s−1 with the corresponding required local electric fields as high as 25 MV cm−1, while the estimated local electric fields in the ‘core’ of the discharge are around 6–8 MV cm−1 (corresponding to reduced electric field values of 600–1000 Td). The neutral and electron densities in the ‘main body’ of the discharge were estimated using broadened argon lines, indicating that the neutral densities in the near-electrode region are around 1020 cm−3 (tens of atmospheres), while the maximum recorded temperature is just a few tens of degrees above the surrounding liquid. Electron densities were estimated to be ∼1017 cm−3, about two orders of magnitude lower than those measured for water discharge.
Recent advances in electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurfaces for polarization manipulation
Authors: Shao Linda , Zhu Weiren
Published: May 2024

We review the recent developments in the field of electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurface for polarization manipulation, focusing on their operation principles and practical applications. We discussed the research progress of chiral metamaterials and anisotropic metasurfaces, and also summarized the achievements of metasurfaces for comprehensive manipulation polarization and phase in recent years. We further summarize the recent achievements on the diversified polarization manipulation functions of metasurfaces. Finally, we discuss reconfigurable metasurfaces that can dynamically control the polarizaiton and wavefronts of electromagnetic waves, including not only electrically reconfigurable metasurfaces with constitutional meta-atoms locally tuned by external stimuli, but also time-modulated metasurfaces exploiting the temporal dimension by applying dynamic switching of the coding sequences. Finally, we look forward to the possible future directions and existing challenges in this rapidly developing field.
Superfluidity in neutrino clusters
Authors: Dvornikov Maxim
Published: May 2024

We study the formation of a superfluid condensate of neutrinos inside a neutrino cluster. The attractive interaction between neutrinos is mediated by a scalar boson which is lighter than a neutrino. We consider the appearance of neutrino bound states consisting of particles with oppositely directed spins. The gap equation for such a system is derived. Based on numerical simulations of the neutrino distribution in a cluster, we find the phase transition temperature and the coherence length inside such a cluster for various parameters of the system. The constraints on the parameters of the Yukawa interaction, resulting in the neutrino superfluidity, are derived. We obtain that the cosmic neutrino background can contribute to the superfluid condensate inside a neutrino cluster having realistic characteristics. The mechanism of the neutrino cluster cooling in the early universe, based on the plasmons Čerenkov radiation, is proposed.
Experimental investigation of water-based beam reconfigurable dielectric resonator antenna
Authors: Babu Raja , Agrahari Rajan , Mevada Pratik , Jain Pradip Kumar , Mahto Manpuran
Published: May 2024

In the present article, a novel dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for the control of radiated beams is presented. The proposed DRA is capable of not only reconfiguring the beam width and gain, but also generating single, double, and multiple beams without changing the shape of the antenna. The DRA consists of a cuboid-shaped dielectric resonator having two chambers for storing the water. By varying the water levels in the chambers the beam width can be varied from 56° to 116° and gain 9.8 dBi to 5.86 dBi at the operating frequency of 9.2 GHz. In addition, multiple beams can also be produced by reducing the water level in one chamber. The prototype of the proposed DRA is fabricated and measured for different water levels. The simulated and measured results are in close agreement. The proposed DRA can find its potential application in microwave, space, and wireless communication systems.
A noise-robust CNN architecture with global attention and gated convolutional Kernels for bearing fault detection
Authors: Bowen Xiao , Yongpeng Zhao , Chengjiang Zhou , Jiayu Ou , Gangjin Huang
Published: May 2024

Detecting faults in bearings is essential for the maintenance and operation of rotating machinery. However, achieving high accuracy and noise immunity is challenging due to the involvement of intricate and noisy signals. To address this issue, this paper introduces a multi-scale separable gated convolutional neural network (GCK-MSSC). In the GCK-MSSC model, the gate convolutional kernel replaces the conventional convolutional kernel. It is designed to dynamically adjust the convolution kernel’s weights based on the input features. Additionally, the one-dimensional global attention mechanism is incorporated, enhancing the model’s global awareness within the MSSC framework. The experimental results on two public bearing datasets confirm the performance of the proposed method. It demonstrates improved performance over current leading-edge methods, especially in terms of accuracy, and proves to be significantly robust against various levels of noise. Specifically, it achieves accuracies of 99.45% and 99.78% on the two datasets. Furthermore, even after the addition of noise with a signal-to-noise ratio of 0, it still maintains an accuracy as high as 85.65% (on the Politecnico di Torino dataset).
Simulating hindered grain boundary diffusion using the smoothed boundary method
Authors: Hanson Erik , Andrews W Beck , Powers Max , Jenkins Kaila G , Thornton Katsuyo
Published: May 2024

Grain boundaries can greatly affect the transport properties of polycrystalline materials, particularly when the grain size approaches the nanoscale. While grain boundaries often enhance diffusion by providing a fast pathway for chemical transport, some material systems, such as those of solid oxide fuel cells and battery cathode particles, exhibit the opposite behavior, where grain boundaries act to hinder diffusion. To facilitate the study of systems with hindered grain boundary diffusion, we propose a model that utilizes the smoothed boundary method to simulate the dynamic concentration evolution in polycrystalline systems. The model employs domain parameters with diffuse interfaces to describe the grains, thereby enabling solutions with explicit consideration of their complex geometries. The intrinsic error arising from the diffuse interface approach employed in our proposed model is explored by comparing the results against a sharp interface model for a variety of parameter sets. Finally, two case studies are considered to demonstrate potential applications of the model. First, a nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia solid oxide fuel cell system is investigated, and the effective diffusivities are extracted from the simulation results and are compared to the values obtained through mean-field approximations. Second, the concentration evolution during lithiation of a polycrystalline battery cathode particle is simulated to demonstrate the method’s capability.
Enhancing modulation performance by design of hybrid plasmonic optical modulator integrating multi-layer graphene and TiO2 on silicon waveguides
Authors: Supasai Wisut , Siritaratiwat Apirat , Srichan Chavis , Suwanarat Suksan , Amorntep Narong , Wannaprapa Mongkol , Jutong Nuttachai , Chaisakul Papichaya , Wiangwiset Thalerngsak , Narkglom Sorawit , Keokhoungning Thongsavanh , Surawanitkun Chayada
Published: May 2024

A novel way to enhance modulation performance is through the design of a hybrid plasmonic optical modulator that integrates multi-layer graphene and TiO2 on silicon waveguides. In this article, a design is presented of a proposed modulator based on the use of the two-dimensional finite difference eigenmode solver, the three-dimensional eigenmode expansion solver, and the CHARGE solver. Leveraging inherent graphene properties and utilizing the subwavelength confinement capabilities of hybrid plasmonic waveguides (HPWs), we achieved a modulator design that is both compact and highly efficient. The electrical bandwidth f
3dB is at 460.42 GHz and it reduces energy consumption to 12.17 fJ/bit with a modulator that functions at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. According to our simulation results, our innovation was the optimization of the third dielectric layer’s thickness, setting the stage to achieve greater modulation depths. This synergy between graphene and HPWs not only augments subwavelength confinement, but also optimizes light–graphene interaction, culminating in a markedly enhanced modulation efficiency. As a result, our modulator presents a high extinction ratio and minimized insertion loss. Furthermore, it exhibits polarization insensitivity and a greater bandwidth. Our work sets a new benchmark in optical communication systems, emphasizing the potential for the next generation of chip-scale with high-efficiency optical modulators that significantly outpace conventional graphene-based designs.
Recent progress of group III–V materials-based nanostructures for photodetection
Authors: Cong Xiangna , Yin Huabi , Zheng Yue , He Wenlong
Published: May 2024

Due to the suitable bandgap structure, efficient conversion rates of photon to electron, adjustable optical bandgap, high electron mobility/aspect ratio, low defects, and outstanding optical and electrical properties for device design, III–V semiconductors have shown excellent properties for optoelectronic applications, including photodiodes, photodetectors, solar cells, photocatalysis, etc. In particular, III–V nanostructures have attracted considerable interest as a promising photodetector platform, where high-performance photodetectors can be achieved based on the geometry-related light absorption and carrier transport properties of III–V materials. However, the detection ranges from Ultraviolet to Terahertz including broadband photodetectors of III–V semiconductors still have not been more broadly development despite significant efforts to obtain the high performance of III–V semiconductors. Therefore, the recent development of III–V photodetectors in a broad detection range from Ultraviolet to Terahertz, and future requirements are highly desired. In this review, the recent development of photodetectors based on III–V semiconductor with different detection range is discussed. First, the bandgap of III–V materials and synthesis methods of III–V nanostructures are explored, subsequently, the detection mechanism and key figures-of-merit for the photodetectors are introduced, and then the device performance and emerging applications of photodetectors are provided. Lastly, the challenges and future research directions of III–V materials for photodetectors are presented.
Planets, springs and pendulums
Authors: Hughes Stephen , Young Mark
Published: May 2024

Seeing connections between different areas of physics is a good way to teach physics. In the orbit of a planet, there is a continuous interchange between gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy with the sum being constant. This is essentially the same physics as a mass on the end of a spring, or a pendulum. In this paper, equivalent spring constants are calculated for planetary orbits and the pendulum equation used to derive Kepler’s third law.
Attention decoupled contrastive learning for semi-supervised segmentation method based on data augmentation
Authors: Pan Pan , Chen Houjin , Li Yanfeng , Peng Wanru , Cheng Lin
Published: May 2024

Objective. Deep learning algorithms have demonstrated impressive performance by leveraging large labeled data. However, acquiring pixel-level annotations for medical image analysis, especially in segmentation tasks, is both costly and time-consuming, posing challenges for supervised learning techniques. Existing semi-supervised methods tend to underutilize representations of unlabeled data and handle labeled and unlabeled data separately, neglecting their interdependencies. Approach. To address this issue, we introduce the Data-Augmented Attention-Decoupled Contrastive model (DADC). This model incorporates an attention decoupling module and utilizes contrastive learning to effectively distinguish foreground and background, significantly improving segmentation accuracy. Our approach integrates an augmentation technique that merges information from both labeled and unlabeled data, notably boosting network performance, especially in scenarios with limited labeled data. Main results. We conducted comprehensive experiments on the automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) dataset and the results demonstrate that DADC outperforms existing segmentation methods in terms of segmentation performance.
Experiments and modelling of negative triangularity ASDEX Upgrade plasmas in view of DTT scenarios
Authors: Aucone L , Mantica P , Happel T , Hobirk J , Pütterich T , Vanovac B , Zimmermann C F B , Bernert M , Bolzonella T , Cavedon M , Dunne M , Fischer R , Innocente P , Kappatou A , McDermott R M , Mariani A , Muscente P , Plank U , Sciortino F , Tardini G , WPTE Team the EUROfusion , Upgrade Team the ASDEX
Published: May 2024

The paper presents experimental and modelling results of a comparison of negative (NT) and positive (PT) triangularity ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) discharges using the plasma shapes presently foreseen in the DTT tokamak, under construction in Italy. This work is part of a broader effort of investigation to understand whether the good properties observed in NT scenarios in DIII-D and TCV may be extrapolated to the DTT device and more generally to DEMO future operations. The experimental results have shown a practical gain of running these AUG plasmas with only ECRH and mixed NBI+ECRH phases in negative triangularity, even if they access the H-mode. Indeed, the NT electron kinetic profiles recover in all cases the PT electron pressures inside mid-radius due to reduced transport in the region

ρ
tor

=
0.7
−
0.9

, while exhibiting lower individual ELM (Edge Localised Mode) energy losses. The ion pressure and expected fusion performance are comparable in the case of similar densities. Integrated modelling has been performed using the transport solver ASTRA and the quasi-linear turbulent model TGLF, investigating the transport properties of these discharges. The modelling reproduces the experiments qualitatively with reasonable accuracy. Nonetheless, the heat transport in NT cases is partially overestimated. This may be because TGLF uses the Miller equilibrium, which approximates the magnetic flux surfaces as up-down symmetric. In the caseof these asymmetric NT shapes, the simulated outer surfaces lose part of the tilt with respect to the z-axis, reducing the upper δ < 0 effect. A numerical test to discern the impact of the geometry by symmetrically flipping the shape has shown a beneficial effect of the negative triangularity on heat transport.
Reconfigurable modular soft robots with modulating stiffness and versatile task capabilities
Authors: Knospler Joshua , Xue Wei , Trkov Mitja
Published: May 2024

Soft robots have revolutionized machine interactions with humans and the environment to enable safe operations. The fixed morphology of these soft robots dictates their mechanical performance, including strength and stiffness, which limits their task range and applications. Proposed here are modular, reconfigurable soft robots with the capabilities of changing their morphology and adjusting their stiffness to perform versatile object handling and planar or spatial operational tasks. The reconfiguration and tunable interconnectivity between the elemental soft, pneumatically driven actuation units is made possible through integrated permanent magnets with coils. The proposed concept of attaching/detaching actuators enables these robots to be easily rearranged in various configurations to change the morphology of the system. While the potential for these actuators allows for arbitrary reconfiguration through parallel or serial connection on their four sides, we demonstrate here a configuration called ManusBot. ManusBot is a hand-like structure with digits and palm capable of individual actuation. The capabilities of this system are demonstrated through specific examples of stiffness modulation, variable payload capacity, and structure forming for enhanced and versatile object manipulation and operations. The proposed modular, soft robotic system with interconnecting capabilities significantly expands the versatility of operational tasks as well as the adaptability of handling objects of various shapes, sizes, and weights using a single system.
Enabling electrical response through piezoelectric particle integration in AA2017-T451 aluminium parts using FSP technology
Authors: Ferreira Pedro M , Caçador David , Machado Miguel A , Carvalho Marta S , Vilaça Pedro , Sorger Gonçalo , Farias Francisco Werley Cipriano , Figueiredo Arthur Ribeiro , Vidal Catarina
Published: May 2024

In the field of structural engineering, the integration of smart materials and structural health monitoring (SHM) has given rise to self-sensing materials (SSM), leading to a paradigm shift in SHM. This paper focuses on the interplay between self-sensing capabilities and the piezoelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and barium titanate (BT) in aluminium components. Leveraging Friction Stir Processing (FSP), the study explores the synthesis and performance of SSMs with embedded piezoelectric particles, potentially transforming structural engineering. The paper highlights FSP as a key methodology for incorporating piezoelectric particles into structural materials, showcasing its potential in developing SSMs with enhanced functionalities. A specific focus is placed on integrating PZT and BT particles into AA2017-T451 aluminium parts using FSP, with metallographic assessments and mechanical property evaluations conducted to analyse particle distribution and concentration. This study shows how BT and PZT particles are incorporated into AA2017-T451 aluminium to create a SSM that responds to external stimuli. Under cyclic loading, the SSMs exhibit a linear load-electrical response correlation, with sensibility increasing at lower frequencies. Metallographic analysis shows homogeneous particle distribution, while PZT induces increased brittleness and brittle fractures. Yield strength remains relatively stable, but ultimate strength decreases post-FSP. Hardness variations indicate weaker bonding with PZT particles. Eddy’scurrent testing aligns with hardness profiles, and sensorial characterization reveals a non-linear frequency-sensibility relationship, showcasing the SSMs’ suitability for low-frequency applications, particularly with PZT embedment.
Degraded image restoration of vortex beam array based on deep learning
Authors: Zhao Jiasheng , Wei Hongyan , Du Qianqian , Fu Yuejiao , Zhou Han
Published: May 2024

The phase aberration and intensity fluctuation of the vortex beam array caused by atmospheric turbulence decrease the decoding accuracy of the optical communication system. This paper proposes an end-to-end turbulence-degraded image restoration method based on deep learning to solve the problem. The K-means clustering algorithm is employed to obtain the coordinate information of each beam in the array, and the distorted vortex beam array is segmented. The neural network constructed is used to restore the degraded image of a single vortex beam obtained by segmentation. Then the restored intensity image of the vortex beam array is obtained by combining the existing coordinate information. The simulation results show that the intensity correlation coefficients of the 3 × 3 rectangular distribution Laguerre–Gaussian beam arrays are increased to more than 0.99 after restoring from 1000 meters of transmission in both varied and unknown turbulence intensities, alongside differing CCD signal-to-noise ratios. This method does not require wavefront reconstruction, which further improves the restoration speed and saves computational resources, and has good generalization ability and robustness in quickly restoring the distorted light intensity of vortex beams. The results provide a theoretical basis for studying atmospheric turbulence influence mitigation techniques for vortex optical communication.
Effect of biaxial tensile-compressive deformation on the optoelectronic properties of monolayers of MoTe2 with adsorbed alkali metals X (X = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs): a first principles
Authors: Dai Ying , Liu Guili , He Jianlin , Yang Zhonghua , Zhang Guoying
Published: May 2024

Based on a first-principles approach, the effects of tensile-compression deformation on the structural stability, electronic structure, and optical properties of monolayers of MoTe2 adsorbed with alkali metal atoms X (X = Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs) were calculated. It was found that the structural stability of the MoTe2 monolayer after adsorption of Li atoms was the most stable, with the smallest adsorption and formation energies and the smallest adsorption height. The movement of the Fermi energy toward the conduction band makes the system an n-type semiconductor. Subsequently, the adsorbed Li-MoTe2 monolayers were selected for tensile-compressive deformation, and with the increase of tensile deformation, the band gap decreased to zero at 10% deformation and exhibited metallic properties. As compressive deformation grows, the band gap shifts from direct to indirect, and metallic characteristics emerge when deformation approaches −10%. The Te-s and Te-p orbital electrons near the Fermi energy level and Mo-d orbitals make the main contribution to the adsorbed alkali metal molybdenum ditelluride system. In terms of optical characteristics, the MoTe2 system after alkali metal adsorption deformation is blue-shifted/ red-shifted at the absorption/reflection peak. These discoveries may help to broaden the possible applications of MoTe2 in low-dimensional electron-emitting devices.
High-performance CsPbBr3-silicon heterojunction photodetectors fabricated by chemical vapor deposition
Authors: Nie Wanggao , Liu Jingyi , Yan Lairong , Hu Hao , Lin Ping , Liu Chao , Xu Lingbo , Wang Peng , Wu Xiaoping , Cui Can
Published: May 2024

Inorganic perovskite cesium lead halide (CsPbBr3) has attracted extensive research attention due to its excellent photoelectric properties and long-term stability to water, oxygen, light and heat. In this work, high crystallinity CsPbBr3 microcrystals with different morphologies and grain sizes were synthesized by one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on silicon (Si) wafers and silicon nanowires (SiNWs), respectively. Characterization results show that the CsPbBr3 microcrystals grown on SiNWs (CsPbBr3-SiNWs) display more compact and uniform morphologies than those grown on Si wafer (CsPbBr3-Si). Moreover, CsPbBr3-SiNWs exhibits higher detectivity and larger on/off ratio than CsPbBr3-Si, which are 5.1 × 1012 Jones over 3.4 × 1012 Jones, and 51.3 over 14.7, respectively. Furthermore, CsPbBr3-SiNWs shows a faster photo response with a rise/fall time of 0.22 s/0.28 s than 0.26 s/0.32 s in CsPbBr3-Si. In addition, the CsPbBr3-SiNWs photodetector maintained 90% of its original photocurrent after 60 days of exposure to air, showing excellent stability. These results strongly suggest a promising fabrication approach for constructing perovskite-based heterojunction optoelectronic devices with high performance and excellent stability.
Observation of electron temperature anisotropy in the magnetic filter of a hot cathode discharge
Authors: Sangma Jocelyn , Baitha Anuj Ram , Chakraborty Monojit
Published: May 2024

Instabilities arising from electron temperature in an ambient magnetic field when measured parallel and perpendicular to it could influence plasma stability and have effect on plasma diffusion. A planar Langmuir probe measures this instability in the double plasma device in the magnetic filter field region and it is found that the electron temperature measured parallel and perpendicular to the filter region is not equal. This anisotropy is also found to vary with filament current and working pressure.
Detecting the core of a network by the centralities of the nodes
Authors: Ma 马 Peijie 佩杰 , Ren 任 Xuezao 学藻 , Zhu 朱 Junfang 军芳 , Jiang 蒋 Yanqun 艳群
Published: May 2024

Many networks exhibit the core/periphery structure. Core/periphery structure is a type of meso-scale structure that consists of densely connected core nodes and sparsely connected peripheral nodes. Core nodes tend to be well-connected, both among themselves and to peripheral nodes, which tend not to be well-connected to other nodes. In this brief report, we propose a new method to detect the core of a network by the centrality of each node. It is discovered that such nodes with non-negative centralities often consist in the core of the networks. The simulation is carried out on different real networks. The results are checked by the objective function. The checked results may show the effectiveness of the simulation results by the centralities of the nodes on the real networks. Furthermore, we discuss the characters of networks with the single core/periphery structure and point out the scope of the application of our method at the end of this paper.
Critical behavior of quasi-two-dimensional ferromagnet Cr1.04Te2
Authors: Niu 钮 Wei 伟 , Song 宋 Qin-Xin 沁心 , Chang 常 Shi-Qi 世琦 , Wang 王 Min 敏 , Yuan 袁 Kui 奎 , Gao 高 Jia-Cheng 嘉程 , Wang 王 Shuo 硕 , Wang 王 Zhen-Dong 振东 , Liu 刘 Kai-Fei 凯斐 , Liu 刘 Ping 萍 , Xu 徐 Yong-Bing 永兵 , Zhang 张 Xiao-Qian 晓倩 , Pu 普 Yong 勇
Published: May 2024

The self-intercalation of Cr into pristine two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals ferromagnetic CrTe2, which forms chromium tellurides (Cr
x
Te2), has garnered interest due to their remarkable magnetic characteristics and the wide variety of chemical compositions available. Here, comprehensive basic characterization and magnetic studies are conducted on quasi-2D ferromagnetic Cr1.04Te2 crystals. Measurements of the isothermal magnetization curves are conducted around the critical temperature to systematically investigate the critical behavior. Specifically, the critical exponents β = 0.2399, γ = 0.859, and δ = 4.3498, as well as the Curie temperature T
C = 249.56 K, are determined using various methods, including the modified Arrott plots, the Kouvel–Fisher method, the Widom scaling method, and the critical isotherm analysis. These results indicate that the tricritical mean-field model accurately represents the critical behavior of Cr1.04Te2. A magnetic phase diagram with tricritical phenomenon is thus constructed. Further investigations confirm that the critical exponents obtained conform to the scalar equation near T
C, indicating their self-consistency and reliability. Our work sheds light on the magnetic properties of quasi-2D Cr1.04Te2, broadening the scope of the van der Waals crystals for developments of future spintronic devices operable at room temperature.
Tuning the diffusion constant to optimize the readout of positional information of spatial concentration patterns
Authors: Kong 江 Ka Kit 嘉杰 , Luo 罗 Chunxiong 春雄 , Liu 刘 Feng 峰
Published: May 2024

Positional information encoded in spatial concentration patterns is crucial for the development of multicellular organisms. However, it is still unclear how such information is affected by the physically dissipative diffusion process. Here we study one-dimensional patterning systems with analytical derivation and numerical simulations. We find that the diffusion constant of the patterning molecules exhibits a nonmonotonic effect on the readout of the positional information from the concentration patterns. Specifically, there exists an optimal diffusion constant that maximizes the positional information. Moreover, we find that the energy dissipation due to the physical diffusion imposes a fundamental upper limit on the positional information.
Use of the OSCAR-Fusion V1.4.a code for a preliminary assessment of the ACP contamination within the main ITER water cooling circuit
Authors: Carloni D. , Dacquait F. , Polunovskiy E. , Broutin F. , Di Pace L. , Javier F. , Moscatelli E. , Le Tonqueze Y.
Published: May 2024

One of the main objectives of ITER is to produce 500 MW of power from a deuterium-tritium plasma for several seconds. This goal presents two inherent challenges: firstly, in-vessel components will require active cooling to remove the heat coming from the fusion reaction (i.e., mainly fast neutrons and alpha particles). Secondly, the materials exposed to the neutron flux will yield activated corrosion products (ACPs) in all primary cooling circuits of ITER. From a safety point of view, ACPs are one of the contributors to the Occupational Radiation Exposure (ORE), they represent a source of radiological waste and also contribute to the source term for accidental scenarios involving the loss of primary confinement. Therefore, ACPs assessment is key to estimate radiological impact for nuclear workers and the public. ITER nuclear safety engineers adopted OSCAR-Fusion v1.4.a code to assess the ACPs inventory in the Integrated Blanket ELMs and Divertor (IBED) cooling loop. This paper describes the selection of input data, the modelling of the circuits and the operational scenarios used in OSCAR-Fusion calculations. This study also examines the outcomes of such calculations, notably in terms of ACPs inventory, emphasizing the impact on the ORE and highlighting its driving parameters. Additionally, the paper offers recommendations for better ACPs management in the context of the ITER project and in accordance with the ALARA principle.
Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Fern Pteridium aquilinum Ethanol Extract Gel on Mice (Mus musculus) Incision Wounds
Authors: Huwae Laury M Ch , Silahooy Veince B
Published: May 2024

The utilization of natural resources around the community is one of the alternative anti-inflammatory medications. One of the several studies on this area reported that commonly people use Pteridium aquilinum leaves to heal wound instead of commercial gel medications. The research aimed to determine the activity and it effective dose of Pteridium aquilinum ethanol extract gel as an anti-inflammatory. The ethanol extract of Pteridium aquilinum was formulated in a gel with varying dosage concentrations of 1%, 1.5%, and 3% for 2 times applied a day in 14 days, with the incision wounds without fern ethanol extract gel as negative control and incision wound was treated with commercially as positive control. Observation on the wound length and the injured tissue histology of mice incision wound carried out on 3, 5, 7, and 14 days of treatment. The results prove that fern ethanol extract gel formula has anti-inflammatory activity on mice incision wound. Wound healing indicated by the closure of the wound on the skin. Based on the results can be concluded that Pteridium aquilinum ethanol extract has anti-inflammatory and heals mice incision wound affectively in 14 days with the best dosage concentration of 3%.
Ecological potential of giant clams in Ambon Island waters, Eastern Indonesia
Authors: Mamesah JAB , Natan Y , Hulopi M , Wawo M , Pattikawa JA , Tetelepta JMS
Published: May 2024

Giant clams are protected marine organisms universally, thus information on giant clams is important for management purposes. This research was conducted in July to August 2021 in Morella and Suli, Ambon Island Maluku Province to get information on ecological potential which consist of species composition, density, occurrence frequency and diversity of giant clams. Sample was collected by using linear quadrat transect line. As many as 25 quadrants (10x10m) were used in both locations. Every individual of giant clams found in the quadrant was identified, photographed and counted. There were three species of giant clams found in Morella namely Tridacna crocea, T. maxima, and T. squamosa while four species were found in Suli i.e. those three species mentions earlier and Hippopus Hippopus. Totally, T. crocea had more individuals followed by T. squamosa and then T. maxima while the lesser belonged to H. Hippopus with one individual. Density of giant clams in Morella (428 ind./ha) was much higher than density of giant clams in Suli (48 ind./ha). Giant clams in Morella can be found in 16 - 19 quadrants of 25 quadrants used while in Suli only found in 1 - 6 quadrants. Ecological indexes for diversity, evenness and dominance showed that giant clams in Morella and Suli had moderate diversity, high evenness and low dominance.
The potential of seagrass ecosystems in Waai and Liang coastal waters on Ambon Island as carbon storage sites
Authors: Hetharia J V T , Prartono T , Koropitan A F , Tapilatu Y
Published: May 2024

Seagrass ecosystem is one of the coastal ecosystems that can absorb carbon and subsequently store it at a high capacity. This research aimed to study carbon stocks in biomass based on seagrass type and density, differences in carbon stocks between below-ground and above-ground, and the potential for carbon storage of the seagrass ecosystem on the coast of Waai and Liang, Ambon Island. Five seagrass species species were found, including Enhalus acoroides, Halophila ovalis, Halodule pinifolia, Thalassia hemprichii and Cymodocea rotundata,. Based on the results, halassia hemprichii was predominant in Liang waters and Halodule pinifolia was predominant in Waai waters. The highest seagrass biomass in both the below ground and above ground was found for Cymodocea rotundata in Waai waters and Thalassia hemprichii in Liang waters. The total carbon stock in Liang waters was 39.75 gC/m2, whereas that in Waai waters was 56.46 gC/m2. The results showed that the total carbon stock below ground was much greater than above ground, suggesting that more carbon is stored below seagrass substrate than above it in both Waai and Liang coastal waters.
Effect of Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin and Antidopamine on the gonads of female bileh fish (Rasbora maninjau)
Authors: Zulfadhli  , Saputra Fazril , Fujaya Yushinta , Burhanis
Published: May 2024

Bileh fish (Rasbora maninjau) still have difficulty spawning in a controlled manner in aquaculture containers because the maturation of female fish gonads is slow and takes a long time. Internal factors, including the hormonal system, strongly influence the maturation of fish gonads. This study aims to determine the effect of Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG) and antidopamine on female gonads of bileh fish. The research used an experiment with a CRD (Completely Randomized Design) experimental design. The experiment consisted of four treatments and three repetitions. The treatments were the administration of PMSG and antidopamine hormones at different doses through feed, namely: 0 ml/kg feed (P1), 0.5 ml/kg feed (P2), 1 ml/kg feed (P3) and 2 ml/kg feed (P4). The research procedures included container and fish preparation, hormone, and feed preparation, fish rearing, and data collection. The test parameters evaluated were weight gain (Wg), gonadosomatic index (GSI), and gonadal maturity level (GML). Data on test parameters were analyzed with statistics (Anova). The research results showed that the administration of PMSG hormones and antidopamine through feed had a significant effect on weight gain, gonadosomatic index and gonad maturity level of bileh fish (P<0.05). Effective and best treatment at P3 (1 ml/kg feed) with Wg 0.22grams, GSI 8.58%, and GML IV 60%.
Freshness Parameters of Scad (Decapterus Sp.) at the Arumbae Traditional Market in Ambon
Authors: Krisanta Enda Savitri Imelda , Sormin R. B. D. , Orindalin Yanci
Published: May 2024

Scad (Decapterus sp.) is a popular alternative to Rastrelliger sp. and Selaroides leptolepis and is typically sold from morning until evening. An investigation was conducted to determine the organoleptic and chemical parameters of fresh Scad sold in the market. Fresh Scad were sampled at 06:00 am (0 hours peddled), at midday (6 hours peddled), and at 06:00 pm (12 hours peddled). The fishes were sampled randomly and brought to the Fishery Product Technology Laboratory at the Faculty of Fishery and Marine Science, Pattimura University. Sensory and laboratory analyses were carried out covering organoleptic test, pH, and total volatile base (TVB). At 06.00 am, the organoleptic score was 9, pH was 5.7, and TVB was 15 mg/100g. At noon, the organoleptic score was 8, pH was 6, and TVB was 24 mg/100g, while at 6.00 pm, the organoleptic score was 6; pH was 6.8; TVB was 33.5 mg/100g. The findings concluded that the fresh Scad started deteriorating after 12 hours of peddling.
Topical reviews of research on resilience to natural environment in Fujian traditional dwellings of China
Authors: Shu Mengrong , Chen Kaida , He Yuanrong , Wang Yansong
Published: May 2024

The original purpose of resilience design for traditional architectures is to be coordinated with and adapted to the natural environment. The natural environmental resilience of traditional dwellings refers to the ability of the dwellings to maintain the residents’ comfort, safety, and health in the face of natural environmental challenges including various disasters. In the process of designing traditional dwellings, the wisdom contributed to improving living environment conditions is of significant reference value. Therefore, this paper reviews the main literature on the resilience of traditional dwellings to the natural environment in Fujian of China. A topical review framework is proposed to cover the resilience performance of traditional dwellings in Fujian under various natural environmental conditions. Specifically, it is divided into two aspects: internal comfort resilience and external disaster-resistance resilience, based on which researchers in related fields can establish a clearer classification of resilience research in their future studies. In terms of internal comfort resilience, this paper focuses on relevant perspectives such as humidity, temperature, brightness, noise, etc. In terms of external disaster-resistance resilience, this paper summarizes the adaptability of traditional dwellings in the face of disasters triggered by natural hazards such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and typhoons. Based on this framework, this paper reviews the current research status, discusses the limitations and shortcomings in this research area, and proposes corresponding prospects for future research.