bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Poverty, Provocation, and Punishment
Authors: Poama Andrei
Published: January 2025

There are cases where we think that poor offenders should not be held criminally responsible or punished to the same extent as non-poor (and, a fortiori, privileged) ones. Despite sharing this judgment, philosophers have offered different accounts of why or how poverty matters for criminal responsibility or penal judgments. In this paper, I present a new account of how poverty matters for criminal responsibility and corresponding penal judgments. The crux of the argument is this: a reasonable person who is trapped in poverty can be (and sometimes is) provoked to offend following reasonable emotional reactions prompted by how that person is treated while in poverty. Call this the provocation view. I discuss how this view applies to some of the cases where poor citizens offend, address some objections against it, and briefly explain why provocation aims to supplement, rather than supplant or subsume other normative accounts which argue that poor offenders are (or should be held) less criminally responsible or be punished more leniently than non-poor ones.
Abdominal hemorrhage and vascular fragility associated with neurofibromatosis type 1
Authors: Sato Haruka , Okada Fumito , Asayama Yoshiki
Published: January 2025

We report a case of recurrent abdominal bleeding associated with vascular fragility in a 67-year-old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed hemorrhagic ascites and a pseudoaneurysm of the sigmoid colon artery, which was suspected to be the source of bleeding. Emergency laparotomy confirmed extremely fragile vessels, requiring repeated surgeries for recurrent bleeding. The patient was diagnosed with NF-1 vasculopathy, a rare vascular complication of this autosomal dominant disorder. NF-1, which affects 1 in 3000–5000 individuals, is associated with reduced life expectancy due to malignancies and vascular diseases, including NF-1 vasculopathy. This condition involves structural vascular abnormalities and increased fragility affecting vessels of all sizes. Recognition of this fragility is critical during invasive procedures, such as interventional radiology or surgery, to reduce the risk of bleeding and ensure optimal management. This case highlights the importance of considering NF-1 vasculopathy in patients with abdominal bleeding and adopting tailored strategies to address its challenges.
End-to-end Identification of Autoregressive with Exogenous Input (ARX) Models Using Neural Networks
Authors: Dong Aoxiang , Starr Andrew , Zhao Yifan
Published: January 2025

Traditional parametric system identification methods usually rely on apriori knowledge of the targeted system, which may not always be available, especially for complex systems. Although neural networks (NNs) have been increasingly adopted in system identification, most studies have failed to derive interpretable parametric models for further analysis. In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX) model identification framework using NNs. An order-wise neural network structure is introduced and trained using a multitask learning approach to simultaneously identify both the model terms and coefficients of the ARX model. Through testing with various neural network backbones and training data sizes in different scenarios, we empirically demonstrate that the proposed framework can effectively identify an arbitrary stable ARX model with finite simulation training data. This study opens up a new research opportunity for parametric system identification by harnessing the power of deep learning.
Investigation of Betaine and Vaccine Efficacy for Coccidiosis Prevention in Broilers
Authors: Oryasin Asude Gulce , Eren Hasan
Published: January 2025

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the anticoccidial effects of betaine and a vaccine compared to monensin sodium in experimentally induced coccidiosis in broiler chickens.

Methods

600 day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to five groups, each with four replicates of 30 birds. While the control group received a basal diet, two experimental groups received basal diet supplemented with either 100 mg/kg monensin sodium or 2.0 g/kg betaine. The remaining experimental groups received a commercial coccidiosis vaccine alone or in combination with betaine. All chickens were challenged with sporulated field-mixed Eimeria species at 20 days of age.

Results

Throughout the study, vaccinated birds showed superior performance in terms of body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to other anticoccidial treatments (P < 0.05), followed by betaine, vaccine + betaine, and monensin treatments in descending order. While all anticoccidial regimens significantly reduced fecal oocyst output only at the beginning of the observation period, this effect diminished thereafter (P < 0.05). Supplementation with monensin and vaccination against coccidiosis significantly decreased small intestine weight compared to untreated controls (P < 0.01), with a numerical decrease observed in chicks fed betaine-supplemented diets and treated with the combination of betaine and vaccine.

Conclusion

Notably, there has been no prior study comparing betaine with monensin sodium and a coccidiosis vaccine. These findings suggest that dietary betaine supplementation and a commercial coccidiosis vaccine containing mixed Eimeria spp. may offer benefits in controlling coccidiosis, presenting viable, cost-effective, sustainable, and safe alternatives to conventional ionophore anticoccidials, with added benefits of no residue and reduced resistance hazards for both animal and human consumption.
Colchicine: A Dual Therapeutic Target for Trichinellosis
Authors: Hamed Enas Fakhry Abdel , Taha Afaf A. , Ghany Shereen M. Abdel , Al-Attar Al-Sayed R. , Fawzy Eman M.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

Trichinellosis affects around 11 million people globally. Treatments for this medical condition are limited by adverse effects and resistance, emphasising the importance of effective and safe therapies. Consequentially, we sought to study colchicine’s synergistic effects with atorvastatin or acetazolamide in the treatment of Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis)-infected mice.

Methods

Seventy mice were evenly divided into two groups (a and b) of 35 each. During the intestinal phase, group (a) began therapy on the second day post-infection (dpi) and lasted four days. Group (b) had treatment for four weeks during the muscle phase, beginning on the 12th dpi. While the other five infected groups received atorvastatin, colchicine, acetazolamide, a combination of acetazolamide and colchicine, or none, one group of infected mice received no treatment at all as a negative control. The efficacy was assessed by parasite count, histopathology and scanning electron microscopy.

Results

Our data revealed that the combination treatment lowered T. spiralis adult worm and larvae counts in infected animals. Moreover, it restored the normal intestinal and muscular architecture, reduced edema, and alleviated inflammation, as demonstrated by reduced inflammatory infiltrate. Scanning electron microscopic examination of adults and larvae verified our findings.

Conclusion

Adjuvant treatment with colchicine as an antifibrotic can help treat muscle trichinellosis by reducing the production of fibrous tissue. This might help to enhance treatment results by enabling the admission of larvicidal medications and, as a result, reducing the number of larvae in the muscle, which together form the basis of pathology and can be debilitating for the patient.
Completeness of uniformly discrete translates in LP(ℝ)
Authors: Lev Nir
Published: January 2025

We construct a real sequence {λ

n
}

n=1
∞
satisfying λ

n
= n + o(1), and a Schwartz function f on ℝ, such that for any N the system of translates {f(x − λ

n
)}, n > N, is complete in the space L

p
(ℝ) for every p > 1. The same system is also complete in a wider class of Banach function spaces on ℝ.
Films from Starch Inclusion Complexes with Bioactive Compounds as Food Packaging Material
Authors: Frangopoulos Theofilos , Marinopoulou Anna , Petridis Dimitrios , Rhoades Jonathan , Likotrafiti Eleni , Goulas Athanasios , Fetska Sofiela , Flegka Domna , Mati Evaggelia , Tosounidou Alexandra , Triantafillou Vera , Tsichlakis Konstantinos , Veskou Efrosini , Ylli Seldova , Karageorgiou Vassilis
Published: January 2025

Natural polymers are an alternative to plastics in food packaging applications due to their biodegradability, and starch is a promising candidate due to its abundance and low cost. Furthermore, amylose has the ability to form inclusion complexes with bioactive compounds, ensuring their stability; nevertheless, this property has not been exploited in food packaging applications. In the present study, films from starch inclusion complexes with bioactive compounds (carvacrol and ascorbic acid) were developed and tested as food packaging material. The formation of starch inclusion complexes resulted in films with enhanced tensile strength, without compromising their flexibility, water vapor permeability, and transparency. Fresh minced meat was packaged in films from starch inclusion complexes with bioactive compounds and refrigerated for 4 days. Films from starch inclusion complexes with ascorbic acid had the highest antioxidant activity, resulting in the most appealing color properties, while films from starch inclusion complexes with carvacrol had the highest antimicrobial activity, resulting in smaller increases in aerobic plate and psychrotrophic count. Consequently, the formation of starch inclusion complexes with bioactive compounds is a promising technology for the development of biodegradable, active food packaging materials.
Identification of Cell Fate Determining Transcription Factors for Generating Brain Endothelial Cells
Authors: Ramezankhani Roya , De Smedt Jonathan , Toprakhisar Burak , van der Veer Bernard K. , Tricot Tine , Vanmarcke Gert , Balaton Bradley , van Grunsven Leo , Vosough Massoud , Chai Yoke Chin , Verfaillie Catherine
Published: January 2025

Reliable models of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), wherein brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) play a key role in maintenance of barrier function, are essential tools for developing therapeutics and disease modeling. Recent studies explored generating BMEC-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) by mimicking brain-microenvironment signals or genetic reprogramming. However, due to the lack of comprehensive transcriptional studies, the exact cellular identity of most of these cells remains poorly defined. In this study we aimed to identify the most likely master transcription factors (TFs) for inducing brain endothelial cell (EC) fate and assess the transcriptomic changes following their introduction into immature ECs. Therefore, we first generated PSC-derived immature ECs by transient overexpression of the TF, ETV2. Subsequently, by performing an extensive meta-analysis of transcriptome studies of brain and non-brain ECs, 12 candidate TFs were identified, which might fate immature ECs towards cells with brain EC features. Following combinatorial overexpression of these 12 TFs tagged with unique barcodes, single cell transcriptomics identified a subset of transduced cells that resembled mid-gestational human brain ECs. Assessment of the TF barcodes present in these cells revealed significant enrichment of the TFs ZIC3, TFAP2C, TFAP2A, and DLX2. These TFs might be useful to fate PSC-EC to BMEC-like cells, which could be incorporated in human in vitro BBB models.

Graphical Abstract
Impact of psychiatric disorders on the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a propensity score matching case-control study
Authors: Navas Moreno Víctor , Sager La Ganga Carolina , Tapia Sanchiz María Sara , López Ruano Marta , del Carmen Martínez Otero María , Carrillo López Elena , Raposo López Juan José , Amar Selma , González Castañar Sara , Marazuela Mónica , Arranz Martín José Alfonso , Sebastian-Valles Fernando
Published: January 2025

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the association between psychiatric disorders and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) treated at a tertiary care hospital.

Methods

A propensity score-matched case-control study was conducted, comprising a total sample of 194 participants (97 DKA cases and 97 controls without DKA). Comprehensive data were collected on clinical, anthropometric, and socioeconomic characteristics, and psychiatric disorders were classified according to international standards.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 47.4 ± 17.7 years, with 55.6% being female. Psychiatric disorders were identified in 16.5% of the study population. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was significantly higher in DKA cases compared to controls (24.7% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.001). Conditional logistic regression models revealed that the association between psychiatric disorders and DKA was not independent of HbA1c levels. Additionally, in HbA1c-stratified analyses, patients with psychiatric disorders developed DKA at lower HbA1c levels compared to controls.

Conclusion

Psychiatric disorders significantly increase the risk of DKA in adults with T1D, particularly among those with less elevated HbA1c levels. These findings highlight the critical importance of addresing psychiatric comorbidities in the management of T1D, given the severe implications and significant healthcare resource utilization associated with DKA.
Eltern und Familien als Adressat_innen von Sozialer Arbeit in Bildungsinstitutionen
Authors: Lochner Barbara , Richter Martina
Published: January 2025

Während die Schulsozialarbeit mittlerweile nahezu flächendeckend als etabliertes Angebot im Leistungsspektrum der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe gilt, stellt die Kita-Sozialarbeit ein Beratungs- und Unterstützungsarrangements dar, das erst in den letzten Jahren an Bedeutung gewinnt. Schulsozialarbeit wird in Hinblick auf die konzeptionelle Ausformung der Kita-Sozialarbeit vielfach als fachlicher Bezugspunkt herangezogen, ohne dass jedoch eine systematische Begründung stattfindet. In dem vorliegenden Schwerpunkt wird auf beide Arbeitsfelder eingegangen und dabei insbesondere die Familienorientierung aufgegriffen, die sich für beide Bereiche beobachten lässt. Anzunehmen ist, dass sich eine neue Aufmerksamkeit in Politik, Wissenschaft und Fachpraxis für Familie und Elternschaft insgesamt gerade auch für Schulsozialarbeit und Kita-Sozialarbeit nachzeichnen lässt. Anliegen des Schwerpunkts ist es, diese Familienorientierung für beide Felder näher zu untersuchen und in ihren Konsequenzen zu reflektieren.
NGO’s religious affiliation and donation intent: the role of missionary alarm and manipulative intent
Authors: Sevriugin Sergei , Sheehan Ben
Published: January 2025

An individual’s religious orientation is known to predict their donantion intent. But does an aid organizations religious affiliation impact donations? This research investigates the relationship between an NGO’s religious affiliation and donation intent. Missionary alarm (concerns about proselytization) and manipulative intent are tested as accounts for the negative effects of religious affiliation on donation intent. Two experiments compare missionary alarm, manipulative intent and donation intent across three types of NGO: (a) non-faith-based organizations (N-FBO), (b) single-faith-based organizations (one organization representing a single faith; S-FBO), and (c) multi-faith-based organizations (a single organization, representing multiple faiths; M-FBO). The results suggests that religious affiliation reduces donation intent (N-FBO > S-FBO). However, presenting an organization as multi-faith may counteract the negative effects of religious affiliation (M-FBO = N-FBO > S-FBO). The results appear to hold in different charitable contexts (natural disaster aid in Southeast Asia and education aid in Africa). Novel findings include the deleterious effects of missionary alarm, and the positive effects of presenting an NGO as multi- vs. single-faith. Practitioners representing S-FBOs are advised to collaborate with other religions in order to enhance their appeal.
Racial Differences in Resilience: U.S. College Student’s Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Xi Juan , Nofziger Stacey , Moseby Kevin M. , Tesi Audrey
Published: January 2025

Concerns about the mental health of college students have been increasing over the last several decades. The COVID-19 pandemic only served to put more attention on this problem. Prior to the pandemic, minority students bore a heavier burden of mental disorder symptoms, but it is unclear if this racial difference persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic and if the resilience of students to this crisis varies by race. This study investigates race-specific trends in college students’ mental health, using four repeated cross-sectional surveys collected yearly between November 2019 and November 2022 from students in a Midwestern state university in the United States. We found that racial minority students had a higher level of symptoms before the pandemic. However, they did not experience a significant elevation during the pandemic. On the other hand, White students reacted more dramatically to the initial shock of the pandemic in 2020. They recovered in 2021 but experienced another elevation in mental health symptoms in 2022. Our study added to the minority mental health paradox literature that racial minority students were more resilient to the impact of the pandemic than White students. Programs to enhance resilience for all students are recommended.
A comparative Study of the Erosive Wear Caused by Organic and Inorganic Abrasive Particles
Authors: Laguna-Camacho J. R. , Calderón-Ramón C. M. , Velázquez-Martínez V. , Chagoya-Ramírez J. A. , Calderón-Sánchez J. , Sánchez-Yáñez S. M. , López-Calderón H. D.
Published: January 2025

In this study, erosion tests were conducted to evaluate the abrasivity of organic particles to produce wear on a material surface with higher hardness. The novelty of this research work was that pistachio shells, which are usually waste that ends up in the garbage, were collected, ground and sieved to obtain a sufficient quantity of pistachio angular particles to be used productively to perform these wear tests. Additionally, sea shells were thought of as an alternative to organic abrasives, and these were ground, sieved and prepared to be able to carry out the testing. The erosion tests conducted based on ASTM G76 and SEM images showed typical wear mechanisms such as high plastic deformation (material displacement) characterized by micro-cutting and micro-ploughing actions, grooves with lifted lips in the edges as pistachio grits employed to run the tests. On the other hand, a conventional abrasive as glass bead particles caused huge craters, broken and smeared flakes, ploughing and circumferential cracks on the AISI 420 stainless steel surfaces. The highest erosion rates were reached as glass beads were employed to run the erosion tests. AFM technique was used to show the surface variations after the erosive impacts. The eroded scars produced by pistachio and sea shells allowed us to remark that the proposed organic abrasives could be used for polishing, surface finishing and cleaning applications on surfaces of mechanical elements that are dirty or rusty. This was due to their low density, which led to low and very superficial erosion damage.
Cutting-edge insights into liver fibrosis: advanced therapeutic strategies and future perspectives using engineered mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes
Authors: Didamoony Manar A. , Soubh Ayman A. , Ahmed Lamiaa A.
Published: January 2025

Liver fibrosis is still a serious health concern worldwide, and there is increasing interest in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with tremendous potential for treating this disease because of their regenerative and paracrine effects. Recently, many researches have focused on using the released exosomes (EXOs) from stem cells to treat liver fibrosis rather than using parent stem cells themselves. MSC-derived EXOs (MSC-EXOs) have demonstrated favourable outcomes similar to cell treatment in terms of regenerative, immunomodulatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant, anti-necroptotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic actions in several models of liver fibrosis. EXOs are superior to their parent cells in several terms, including lower immunogenicity and risk of tumour formation. However, maintaining the stability and efficacy of EXOs after in vivo transplantation remains a major challenge in their clinical applicability. Therefore, several strategies have been applied in EXOs engineering, such as parental cell modification or modifying EXOs directly to achieve optimum performance of EXOs in treating liver fibrosis. Herein, we discuss the underlying mechanisms of liver fibrosis with an overview of the available therapies, among them EXOs. We also summarise the recent developments in improving the effectiveness of EXOs with the advantages and limitations of these approaches in terms of the upcoming clinical applications.

Graphical Abstract
Nano-based co-valorization, detoxification, and fermentation of potato waste and black liquor for bioethanol production
Authors: Zondi Amanda S. , Sanusi Isaac A. , Sewsynker-Sukai Yeshona , Beukes Lorika S. , Kana Gueguim E. B.
Published: January 2025

Black liquor from paper and pulp mills is an underutilized waste resource. Black liquor can be valorized due to its useful chemical fractions and water component that can be employed for the pretreatment and biochemical conversion of starchy potato waste (SPW) into bioethanol. Hence, in this study, the simultaneous co-valorization, detoxification, and fermentation of SPW and black liquor (without the addition of freshwater and chemicals) were optimized for bioethanol production. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) clearly confirmed the distortion of SPW inherent structure for the recovery of useful carbohydrates. A significant reduction in process inhibitors (furfural = 1.26-fold, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) = 5.68-fold, and phenols = 1.03-fold) was observed with CuO NP inclusion. The response surface methodology (RSM) model of the bioethanol production showed a high coefficient of determination (R

2
) value of 0.98. The optimized process with CuO NP inclusion displayed a biomass and bioethanol concentrations of 2.12 g/L and 21.37 g/L corresponding to 1.74- and 1.68-fold improvement over the control respectively. In addition, the kinetic data showed that the incorporation of CuO nanoparticle (NP) significantly improved (1.86-fold) the potential maximum bioethanol concentration (Pm) (20.21 g/L) compared to the control experiment (10.86 g/L). The study demonstrates a 100% freshwater conservation approach for improved sugar recovery, remarkable inhibitor removal, and bioethanol production from pretreated SPW towards reduced biofuel production cost, waste management, and green environment sustainability.
Increasing power generation and energy efficiency with modified anodes in algae-supported microbial fuel cells
Authors: Altın Necla , Uyar Başar
Published: January 2025

In this study, an algae-assisted microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed to both treat horse manure wastewater and generate electricity. Carbon felt (CF) and graphite felt (GF) electrodes were modified with carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and nitric acid (HNO₃) to prepare different anodes and their effects on MFC performance were evaluated. The power density of 59 mW/m2 obtained with the CF-HNO₃ anode showed the highest value among all tested systems and was found to be 2.45 and 2.13 times higher than unmodified CF and GF anodes, respectively. Moreover, a 17% higher performance was achieved compared to the GF-HNO₃ anode. The higher performance of CF-HNO₃ compared to GF-HNO₃ can be attributed to the higher surface area of the carbon felt, improved proton conduction, and increased electrochemical activity after treatment with nitric acid. The modified CF-MWCNT and GF-MWCNT anodes produced power densities of 55 mW/m2 and 45 mW/m2, respectively. The Coulombic efficiency (CE) values obtained were in line with these results. The results reveal that nitric acid modification significantly increases the power output of MFCs by providing accelerated electron transfer on biofilms. This simple and effective method offers a new approach to develop low-cost and high-performance electrode materials for MFCs. Moreover, the analysis of algal biomass from the cathode chamber is in line with the existing literature and makes an important contribution towards sustainable energy solutions. The study stands out as a promising step towards the scalability and commercialization of MFCs. Furthermore, the findings can contribute to economic feasibility through low-cost modification techniques and support environmental sustainability. The findings contribute to economic feasibility and support environmental sustainability through low-cost modification techniques. Future studies can support the wider adoption of MFCs for industrial applications by investigating the effects of these modifications on long-term performance and compatibility with different wastewater types. This could accelerate the transition to sustainable energy solutions by promoting the wider use of MFCs in power generation and wastewater treatment.
Marine natural products as a source of novel anticancer drugs: an updated review (2019–2023)
Authors: El-Seedi Hesham R. , Refaey Mohamed S. , Elias Nizar , El-Mallah Mohamed F. , Albaqami Faisal M. K. , Dergaa Ismail , Du Ming , Salem Mohamed F. , Tahir Haroon Elrasheid , Dagliaa Maria , Yosri Nermeen , Zhang Hongcheng , El-Seedi Awg H. , Guo Zhiming , Khalifa Shaden A. M.
Published: January 2025

Marine natural products have long been recognized as a vast and diverse source of bioactive compounds with potential therapeutic applications, particularly in oncology. This review provides an updated overview of the significant advances made in the discovery and development of marine-derived anticancer drugs between 2019 and 2023. With a focus on recent research findings, the review explores the rich biodiversity of marine organisms, including sponges, corals, algae, and microorganisms, which have yielded numerous compounds exhibiting promising anticancer properties. Emphasizing the multifaceted mechanisms of action, the review discusses the molecular targets and pathways targeted by these compounds, such as cell cycle regulation, apoptosis induction, angiogenesis inhibition, and modulation of signaling pathways. Additionally, the review highlights the innovative strategies employed in the isolation, structural elucidation, and chemical modification of marine natural products to enhance their potency, selectivity, and pharmacological properties. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with the development of marine-derived anticancer drugs, including issues related to supply, sustainability, synthesis, and clinical translation. Finally, the review underscores the immense potential of marine natural products as a valuable reservoir of novel anticancer agents and advocates for continued exploration and exploitation of the marine environment to address the unmet medical needs in cancer therapy

Graphical Abstract
Empirical vitalism: observing an organism’s formative power within an active and co-constitutive relation between subject and object
Authors: Hueck Christoph J.
Published: January 2025

This article proposes an empirical approach to understanding the life of an organism that overcomes reductionist and dualist conceptions. The approach is based on Immanuel Kant’s analysis of the cognitive conditions required for the recognition of an organism: the concept of teleology and the assumption of a formative power of self-generation. It is analyzed how these two criteria are applied in the cognition of a developing organism. Using the example of a developmental series of a plant leaf, an active and relational process between observer and developing organism is shown, within which the teleology and self-generating power of the organism can be empirically observed through the mental faculties of understanding and will. Furthermore, it is emphasized that, according to Kant, even physical objects are not readily given, but are actively constituted through the unification of sense perceptions with concepts. This Kantian mode of objectification facilitates cognition of the physical properties of an organism. It can be supplemented with a participatory and co-constitutive mode of realization, in which the teleologically organizing and self-generating power of the organism can become an object of empirical research. It is argued that the participatory mode also facilitates an expanded conception of nature that allows for the existence of living beings within it. Finally, an analogy to Goethe’s approach to the living organism is highlighted. In summary, it is stated that it is possible to understand life by consciously participating in it.
Investigation of the Dynamical Analysis, Stability, and Bifurcation for a Connected Damped Oscillator with a Piezoelectric Harvester
Authors: Amer T. S. , Abdelhfeez S. A. , Elbaz Rewan F. , Abohamer M. K.
Published: January 2025

Purpose

The present work investigates and analyzes the mathematical modeling of a dynamical system attached to a piezoelectric device. It is well-established that piezoelectric transducers are effective energy harvesting devices commonly utilized in practical applications with mechanical systems. The structure of the dynamical model contains a damped Duffing oscillator acting as the major component, which is connected to an un-stretched pendulum and at the same time, to the piezoelectric harvester.

Method

Lagrange's equations are employed to deduce the governing equations of motion (EOM) based on the overall generalized coordinates characterizing the system. This model has been solved analytically using a perturbation technique known multiple-scales (MS) up to the third approximation. This indicates a level of complexity and detail in the model’s analysis. Moreover, the obtained solutions are compared with the numerical ones for more transparency and to highlight the accuracy of the approximate solutions.

Results

Detailed graphical figures have been executed to study the nonlinear stability analysis of the equations of modulation. Phase portrait diagrams, bifurcation ones, and spectrums of Lyapunov are exhibited to illustrate various types of systems’ behavior, complemented by Poincaré maps for further insight. Additionally, the varied ranges of the stabilities are explored and discussed.

Applications

The mechanical vibrations are converted to electricity due to the existence of the piezoelectric transducer that is connected to the dynamic model, which has wide uses and applications like crystal oscillators, medical ultrasound applications, gas igniters, and displacement transducers.
Change-point detection with deep learning: A review
Authors: Xu Ruiyu , Song Zheren , Wu Jianguo , Wang Chao , Zhou Shiyu
Published: January 2025

Recent advances in deep learning have led to the creation of various methods for change-point detection (CPD). These methods enhance the ability of CPD techniques to handle complex, high-dimensional data, making them more adaptable and less dependent on strict assumptions about data distributions. CPD methods have also demonstrated high accuracy and have been applied across various fields, including manufacturing, healthcare, activity monitoring, finance, and environmental monitoring. This review provides an overview of how these methods are applied, the data sets they use, and how their performance is evaluated. It also organizes techniques into supervised and unsupervised categories, citing key studies. Finally, we explore ongoing challenges and suggest directions for future research to improve interpretability, generalizability, and real-world implementation.
An estimation method for the fuel burn and other performance characteristics of civil transport aircraft; part 3 full flight profile when the trajectory is specified
Authors: Poll D.I.A. , Schumann U.
Published: January 2025

If an aircraft’s initial mass, the variation of true airspeed, true rate of climb, wind speed and wind direction with time and the relationship between barometric altitude and local temperature are known, the performance along the entire flight path can be determined. Previously published work has provided the building blocks for a simple, fast, open-source and transparent method to estimate the instantaneous fuel flow rate and the engine overall efficiency, plus several other performance characteristics for turbofan powered, civil transport aircraft. The flight phases of primary interest are the climb, cruise, descent and holding, when the flaps and undercarriage are fully retracted and the engine is providing significant, positive thrust. However, for completeness, an approximate relation is provided for the engine’s ‘flight idle’ condition, together with simple estimates for fuel use during take-off and landing, plus a factor to allow for in-service deterioration. Detailed consideration is also given to the operating limits and relations are developed for the estimation of their location in Mach number and flight level space. To apply the method, a series of characteristic coefficients and constants must be known. Estimates for these quantities have been progressively improved and extended over time. Initially, results were published for 53 aircraft types and variants. The data base has now been extended to 67 entries and this is given in tabular form. Finally, to demonstrate the method’s accuracy, estimates of fuel flow rate are compared with flight data recorder values for 20 complete flights of six different aircraft types.
How leaders perceive security dangers: The neglected dimension of unfolding experience
Authors: Oren Eitan
Published: January 2025

Leaders play a central role in world politics, and threat perception is a crucial element in the study and practice of International Relations (IR). Yet existing accounts of how leaders perceive threats are inadequate, drawing on an incomplete notion of leaders as (ir)rational information processors that pays no attention to the leader’s experience of danger as it unfolds in time and how such experience is structured. By integrating a framework developed by linguist Ray Jackendoff to describe the experience of language with the study of danger in International Relations, and by employing an interpretive textual analysis technique to danger descriptions made by world leaders embedded in different historical and cultural settings constructing different security dangers, I develop and illustrate the ‘danger framework’. In describing the unique features with which leaders experience security dangers, the danger framework theorises the qualia of danger experience and how it is organised into the conscious field of leaders. In doing so, the paper makes progress on three problems for existing accounts of threat perception in IR, illuminates important research puzzles, and provides the literature on experience and Ontological Security Studies (OSS) with micro-foundations.
The EU’s Anti-SLAPP Directive: A Partial Victory for Rule of Law Advocacy in Europe
Authors: Borg-Barthet Justin , Farrington Francesca
Published: January 2025

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation or SLAPPs are abusive lawsuits which have the purpose or effect of suppressing public participation. This Article considers the peculiarities of this form of “strategic litigation” and takes stock of developments in the European Union to combat SLAPPs, noting that while the adoption of an Anti-SLAPP Directive represents an example of effective legal mobilization and a major positive step towards safeguarding the rule of law in the EU, its limitations render it crucial that Member States treat the Directive as a foundation and build national legislation which is more robust in substance and more far-reaching in scope.
Strategic Litigation in EU Law: Who does it Empower?
Authors: Cebulak Pola , Morvillo Marta , Salomon Stefan
Published: January 2025

Strategic litigation is a form of legal mobilization, where actors bring cases before judges not only to win in court, but also to pursue broader political, social or economic ends. Various actors can use the law strategically – big corporations, specialized non-governmental organizations or individual academics. The ends can range from resisting market regulation or a political advocacy campaign to simply “testing the law”. The results of strategic litigation maintain or change power relations in society, economy or politics.

This article provides an analytical framework for the Special Issue on Strategic Litigation in EU Law. This framework can be used to study strategic litigation mobilizing EU law. A contextual and normatively open definition of strategic litigation, recognizes that strategic litigation as a practice operates within specific social, institutional, and economic contexts while accommodating a spectrum of agendas from progressive to conservative. The framework encompasses three dimensions: the actors involved, the unique legal structures of EU law, and its effects—both in terms of strictly legal outcomes and of broader socio-political consequences. Ultimately, this framework aims to illuminate the dynamics of (dis)empowerment characterizing strategic litigation, paving the way for a comprehensive exploration of its implications within the EU legal landscape.
From Oppressive to Progressive Praise: How, Why, and When to Praise in Conditions of Oppression
Authors: McHugh Hannah
Published: January 2025

Theories of moral responsibility have often assumed that praise does not require justification in the way that blame might. Recent accounts of oppressive praise have challenged this and demonstrated that oppressive praise will track and enforce oppressive norms. Existing solutions to the problem of oppressive praise have sought either to redistribute praise or to reorient praise to serve emancipatory goals. These solutions fail to acknowledge how emancipatory norms evolve over time, and the relationship between developing norms and developing practices of praise. This paper offers a practice-dependent account of progressive praise as a solution to oppressive praise, that (i) respects agent’s socially self-governed agency and (ii) does not reinforce oppressive norms, but (iii) can contribute to improvements to the social moral ecology.
A Firm Policy Decision: Infrastructural Form and Pahlavi Developmentalism at the Ahvāz Pipe Mill
Authors: Movahedi-Lankarani Ciruce A.
Published: January 2025

By examining the history of the Ahvāz pipe mill in the 1960s and 1970s, this article investigates the manner in which competing understandings of Iran's modernizing trajectory among Pahlavi officials were bound up with the material aspects of steel, such as weight, volume, and form. The mill was built to provide pipe for the First Iran Gas Trunkline, a sprawling system intended to gather, refine, and transport natural gas to Iranian cities and the Soviet Caucasus. Officials overseeing the project debated whether the mill's design should prioritize serving the pipeline project or, more ambitiously, establish a new pipe rolling industry able to serve domestic and regional markets. Argued in this article is the significance of attending to infrastructure and materiality in understanding Iran's twentieth-century history of developmentalism.
STAIRWAYS TO HEAVEN AND RELATED MATTERS: NEW LIGHT ON NERGAL AND EREŠKIGAL
Authors: Winitzer Abraham
Published: January 2025

The paper posits a link between the Standard Babylonian Version of Nergal and Ereškigal and the Jacob Cycle in Genesis (Gen 25-35), one anchored by the former story’s cosmic stairway and the stairway with its top in heaven appearing to Jacob in his famous dream. It is argued that the proper understanding of the motive for that specific parallel opens the door to a considerably broader one, which offers important insight on the two traditions. This broader parallel informs on different aspects of Nergal and Ereškigal, including theological and historical issues that appear to stand behind that story. Such contact, it is suggested, challenges established Assyriological thinking about the place of comparative perspectives in the study of Mesopotamian literature.
Attenuation of shear-layer instabilities in steady and pulsatile axisymmetric shear-thinning flows
Authors: Barnes Moira , Rosi Giuseppe A. , Rival David E.
Published: January 2025

The current study characterizes the attenuation of instabilities in steady and unsteady shear layers by investigating shear-thinning flows downstream of a confined axisymmetric sudden expansion. Flow fields were captured using particle image velocimetry. Tested fluids exhibited approximate power-law indices of 1, 0.81, 0.61 and 0.47 and measurements were performed at mean throat-based Reynolds numbers of

${Re_m} = 4800$

and 14 400. Unsteady flows were tested at a Strouhal number and amplitude-to-mean velocity ratio of

$St = 0.15$

and

$\lambda = 0.95$

, respectively. For unsteady shear layers, shear-layer roll-up regardless of shear-thinning strength was evidenced by collapse of average circulation over time. For steady shear layers, consistent shear-layer behaviour regardless of shear-thinning strength was evidenced by similar shear-layer trajectories and by growth rates in vorticity thickness. However, vorticity fields of the unsteady and steady shear layers, standard deviations of shear-layer trajectory, thickness of steady shear layers and Reynolds shear-stress spectra of the steady shear layers reveal an attenuation of shear-layer instabilities not captured by Reynolds number. Specifically, shear-layer instabilities exhibit increased diffusion with increasing shear-thinning strength and, in the case of steady shear layers, shear-thinning strength is shown to promote shear-layer stabilization. Also, evidenced by vorticity fields and through Reynolds shear-stress spectra, instabilities frequently coalesce into large rollers, a result that would suggest the presence of an inverse eddy cascade. The behaviour of shear-thinning fluids is shown to stabilize shear layers through attenuating shear-layer instabilities, complementing observations from previous studies showing how shear-thinning fluids promote turbulence in the dominant flow direction.
LES combustion model for premixed turbulent hydrogen flames with thermodiffusive instabilities: a priori and a posteriori analysis
Authors: Berger Lukas , Attili Antonio , Gauding Michael , Pitsch Heinz
Published: January 2025

Premixed hydrogen flames are prone to thermodiffusive instabilities due to strong differential diffusion effects. Reproducing these instabilities in large eddy simulations (LES), where their effects are only partially resolved, is challenging. Combustion models that account for differential diffusion effects have been developed for laminar flames, but to use them in LES, models for the turbulence/flame subfilter interactions are required. Modelling of the subfilter interactions is particularly challenging as instabilities synergistically interact with turbulence resulting in a strong enhancement of the turbulent flame speed. In this work, a combustion model for LES, which accounts for thermodiffusive instabilities and their interactions with turbulence, is presented. In the first part, an a priori analysis based on a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent hydrogen/air jet flame is discussed. Progress variable, progress variable variance and mixture fraction are rigorously identified as suitable model input parameters, and an LES combustion model based on pre-tabulated unstretched premixed flamelets with varying equivalence ratio is formulated. Subfilter closure is achieved via a presumed probability density function and a significant reduction of modelling errors is achieved with the presented model. In the second part, LES of the DNS configuration are performed for an a posteriori analysis. The presented combustion model shows significant improvements in predicting the flame length and local phenomena, such as super-adiabatic temperature, compared with combustion models that either neglect differential diffusion effects or consider these effects but neglect the subfilter closure. Two variants of the model formulation with a water- or hydrogen-based progress variable have been tested, yielding overall similar predictions.
Obruchevodid petalodonts (Chondrichthyes, Petalodontiformes, Obruchevodidae) from the Middle Mississippian (Viséan) Joppa Member of the Ste. Genevieve Formation at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky U.S.A.
Authors: Hodnett John-Paul M. , Egli H. Chase , Toomey Rickard , Olson Rickard , Tolleson Kelli , Boldon Richard , Tweet Justin S. , Santucci Vincent L.
Published: January 2025

Obruchevodid petalodonts are rare small chondrichthyans known from nearly complete to partial skeletons from the Upper Mississippian (Serpukhovian) Bear Gulch Limestone of central Montana and isolated teeth from the Upper Mississippian Bangor Limestone of northern Alabama. New records of obruchevodid petalodonts are presented here from the Middle Mississippian (Viséan) Joppa Member of the Ste. Genevieve Formation at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. Obruchevodids are here represented by multiple teeth of a new taxon, Clavusodens mcginnisi n. gen. n. sp., and a single tooth referred to ?Netsepoye sp. Clavusodens mcginnisi n. gen. n. sp. is characterized by teeth with pointed mesiodistal and lingual margins and more robust chisel-like cusps on the anterolateral and distolateral teeth. The suggestion that obruchevodid petalodonts evolved to inhabit complex reef-like environments and other nearshore habitats with a feeding ecology analogous to extant triggerfish is explored and discussed.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/0955c37a-c458-4a4d-89c4-01d6915adeca
Last exit time until first exit time for spectrally negative Lévy processes
Authors: Yang Xiaofeng , Pedraza José M. , Li Bin
Published: January 2025

We study the last exit time that a spectrally negative Lévy process is below zero until it reaches a positive level b, denoted by

$g_{\tau_b^+}$

. We generalize the results of the infinite-horizon last exit time explored by Chiu and Yin (2005) by incorporating a random horizon

$\tau_b^+$

, which represents the first passage time above b. We derive an explicit expression for the joint Laplace transform of

$g_{\tau_b^+}$

and

$\tau_b^+$

by utilizing a hybrid observation scheme approach proposed by Li, Willmot, and Wong (2018). We further study the optimal prediction of

$g_{\tau_b^+}$

in the

$L_1$

sense, and find that the optimal stopping time is the first passage time above a level

$y_b^{\ast}$

, with an explicit characterization of the stopping boundary

$y_b^{\ast}$

. As examples, Brownian motion with drift and the Cramér–Lundberg model with exponential jumps are considered.