bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Establishment of an efficient genetic transformation system for Tanacetum cinerariifolium
Authors: Shinoyama Harue , Shimizu Misato , Hosokawa Munetaka , Matsuda Kazuhiko
Published: March 2024

The Dalmatian Daisy Tanacetum cinerariifolium is an Asteraceae plant species that produces the natural insecticide “pyrethrum”, which is effective against mosquito disease vectors and household pests. To enhance the content of pyrethrum in flowers, a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms underlying pyrethrum biosynthesis is needed. Even though gene transformation and genome editing techniques are vital for investigating pyrethrin biosynthesis, limited information is available on the transformation of T. cinerariifolium. Furthermore, each seedling possesses a distinct genotype with large variations by self-incompatibility. We herein employed T. cinerariifolium line #14 with weak self-incompatibility to establish a protocol of efficient regeneration from leaf segments and transformation. Leaf segments formed calli on 1/2 Murashige and Skoog’s basal medium (MS) with naphthalene acetic acid 1 mg L−1 and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) 2 mg L−1, regenerated shoots from calli on 1/2 MS with BAP 0.5 mg L−1 and GA3 0.2 mg L−1, and elongated shoot stems on 1/2 MS with indole-3-butyric acid 0.5 mg L−1 and BAP 0.5 mg L−1. To establish genetic transformation, Rhizobium radiobacter strain EHA105 with the highest infectivity and the mas1'-2' bidirectional promoter with the highest expression of the nptII resistance gene were used, and the antibiotic G418 was added to medium at a concentration of 10 to 20 mg L−1 to select transformed cells. Using established regeneration techniques, we successfully obtained transformants that highly expressed the transgene gusA. This technique will be useful for creating genetically modified T. cinerariifolium, particularly for elucidating the mechanism of pyrethrin biosynthesis toward the creation of pyrethrin-rich traits.
Utilisation of indigenous knowledge to control gastrointestinal nematodes in Southern Africa
Authors: Kamba ET , Chimonyo M
Published: March 2024

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) exacerbate the impact of droughts on the survival of cattle. The inadequacies of the conventional system make it increasingly important to explore indigenous knowledge (IK) to create drought-tolerant and GIN resilient herds. The objective of the study was to assess the indigenous strategies for controlling GIN during droughts. Face-to-face interviews with experts on IK were conducted to give insight into the importance, methods and ranking of GIN control. The experts identified 86 cattle that were used to test their assertions. The control methods used were identifying cattle that were susceptible to high GIN loads using predisposing factors, diagnosis of GIN burdens using faecal appearance, and treatment using phytotherapy. Experts ranked predisposing factors as the most critical control strategy and identified body condition, class, sex, coat colour, pregnancy status and lactation status as predisposing factors to high GIN burdens. Thin, older, dark-coloured cattle, as well as pregnant and lactating cows, were considered susceptible to GIN. However, pregnancy status, coat colour and sex were significantly associated with high GIN burdens. Cows were 2.6 times more likely to have high GIN burdens than bulls. Dark-coloured cattle were 3.5 times more likely to have high GIN burdens than light-coloured ones, and the likelihood of pregnant cows was 4.9 times higher than non-pregnant cows. A dark-coloured pregnant cow was extremely susceptible to high GIN burdens. In conclusion, knowledge of predisposing factors informs selection decisions when purchasing foundation stock. Cattle that are susceptible to high GIN loads are prioritised during droughts or culled where resources are scarce.
Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenzen zugewanderter Heranwachsender mit und ohne Fluchtbiografie: Welche Rolle spielt die sozioökonomische und ethno-linguale Schulklassenkomposition?
Authors: Glinka Hannah , Winkler Oliver
Published: March 2024

Der Beitrag untersucht 1) den Zusammenhang zwischen der sozioökonomischen und ethno-lingualen Schulklassenkomposition und den Kompetenzen in Mathematik und den Naturwissenschaften von zugewanderten Jugendlichen und 2), ob Unterschiede in der sozialen Zusammensetzung der Schulklassen von Schülerinnen und Schülern mit und ohne Fluchtbiografie zu deren ungleichen Kompetenzständen beitragen. Mehrebenenanalysen mit Daten des IQB-Bildungstrends 2018 des Instituts zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen (IQB) für Jugendliche in der 9. Klasse (N Geflüchtete = 1406;N andere Zugewanderte = 1372) bestätigen zunächst, dass die sozioökonomische Schulklassenzusammensetzung beider Migrantengruppen positiv mit ihren Kompetenzen in Mathematik, Biologie, Chemie und Physik assoziiert ist. Dieser Zusammenhang wird partiell durch die mittleren kognitiven Grundfähigkeiten vermittelt. Die ethno-linguale Schulklassenkomposition liefert in keinem der untersuchten Kompetenzbereiche signifikante Ergebnisse. Individuelle deutschsprachliche Fähigkeiten vermitteln den Zusammenhang zwischen ethno-lingualer Komposition und den mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Kompetenzen, was die Rolle deutschsprachlicher Fähigkeiten für den mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Kompetenzerwerb unterstreicht. Wir finden des Weiteren eine erhebliche Ungleichheit in den betrachteten Kompetenzen zuungunsten der Geflüchteten. Trotz unterschiedlicher Rahmenbedingungen unterscheidet sich die durchschnittliche sozioökonomische Zusammensetzung der Schulklassen beider Gruppen kaum, sodass die Kompositionsmerkmale keinen Erklärungsbeitrag für die Disparitäten in den mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Kompetenzen liefern. Die Ergebnisse heben mögliche Folgen schulischer Sortierungslogiken nach dem familialen sozioökonomischen Status und die Bedeutung von intensiver Sprachförderung in Deutsch für geflüchtete Jugendliche bei deren Bildungsintegration hervor.
Magnetic resonance imaging-based radiomics analysis of the differential diagnosis of ovarian clear cell carcinoma and endometrioid carcinoma: a retrospective study
Authors: Takeyama Nobuyuki , Sasaki Yasushi , Ueda Yasuo , Tashiro Yuki , Tanaka Eliko , Nagai Kyoko , Morioka Miki , Ogawa Takafumi , Tate Genshu , Hashimoto Toshi , Ohgiya Yoshimitsu
Published: March 2024

Purpose

To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based features and radiomics analysis (RA)-based features for discriminating ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) from endometrioid carcinoma (EC).

Materials and methods

Thirty-five patients with 40 ECs and 42 patients with 43 CCCs who underwent pretherapeutic MRI examinations between 2011 and 2022 were enrolled. MRI-based features of the two groups were compared. RA-based features were extracted from the whole tumor volume on T2-weighted images (T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images (cT1WI), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression with tenfold cross-validation method was performed to select features. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to construct the discriminating models. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were performed to predict CCC.

Results

Four features with the highest absolute value of the LASSO algorithm were selected for the MRI-based, RA-based, and combined models: the ADC value, absence of thickening of the uterine endometrium, absence of peritoneal dissemination, and growth pattern of the solid component for the MRI-based model; Gray-Level Run Length Matrix (GLRLM) Long Run Low Gray-Level Emphasis (LRLGLE) on T2WI, spherical disproportion and Gray-Level Size Zone Matrix (GLSZM), Large Zone High Gray-Level Emphasis (LZHGE) on cT1WI, and GLSZM Normalized Gray-Level Nonuniformity (NGLN) on ADC map for the RA-based model; and the ADC value, spherical disproportion and GLSZM_LZHGE on cT1WI, and GLSZM_NGLN on ADC map for the combined model. Area under the ROC curves of those models were 0.895, 0.910, and 0.956. The diagnostic performance of the combined model was significantly superior (p = 0.02) to that of the MRI-based model. No significant differences were observed between the combined and RA-based models.

Conclusion

Conventional MRI-based analysis can effectively distinguish CCC from EC. The combination of RA-based features with MRI-based features may assist in differentiating between the two diseases.
Design and Performance Measures of AVS/R Systems: A Bibliometric Literature Review
Authors: Kızılırmak Elif Burcu , Öztaş Sinan , Çağlayan Nadide , Tutam Mahmut
Published: March 2024

This paper provides an overview of research focused on autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval system (AVS/RS) and aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of current studies to identify potential future research directions. The analysis includes both bibliometric and systematic approaches. The former concentrates on quantitative aspects such as trends in studies, distributions, citations, and keywords of publications, while the latter evaluates papers by considering design factors and performance measures, categorizing them based on modeling approaches employed. This analysis can be instrumental in identifying shortcomings in prior studies and emphasizing the areas within the current literature where gaps exist. Our observation indicates that certain crutial design factors, even though widely employed in practice, have not been adequately addressed in the literature. It’s imperative to revisit and conduct more comprehensive exploration of performance measures, such as energy consumption and environmental impact.
Checkbox grading of handwritten mathematics exams with multiple assessors: how do students react to the resulting atomic feedback? A mixed-method study
Authors: Moons Filip , Iannone Paola , Vandervieren Ellen
Published: March 2024

Handwritten tasks are better suited than digital ones to assess higher-order mathematics skills, as students can express themselves more freely. However, maintaining reliability and providing feedback can be challenging when assessing high-stakes, handwritten mathematics exams involving multiple assessors. This paper discusses a new semi-automated grading approach called ‘checkbox grading’. Checkbox grading gives each assessor a list of checkboxes consisting of feedback items for each task. The assessor then ticks those feedback items which apply to the student’s solution. Dependencies between the checkboxes can be set to ensure all assessors take the same route on the grading scheme. The system then automatically calculates the grade and provides atomic feedback to the student, giving a detailed insight into what went wrong and how the grade was obtained. Atomic feedback consists of a set of format requirements for mathematical feedback items, which has been shown to increase feedback’s reusability. Checkbox grading was tested during the final high school mathematics exam (grade 12) organised by the Flemish Exam Commission, with 60 students and 10 assessors. This paper focuses on students’ perceptions of the received checkbox grading feedback and how easily they interpreted it. After the exam was graded, all students were sent an online questionnaire, including their personalised exam feedback. The questionnaire was filled in by 36 students, and 4 of them participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that students could interpret the feedback from checkbox grading well, with no correlation between students’ exam scores and feedback understanding. Therefore, we suggest that checkbox grading is an effective way to provide feedback, also for students with shaky subject matter knowledge.
Sustainable and economical alternatives to fragment capture materials in explosive and ballistic trials
Authors: Read James , Quinlan Philip , Bloodworth-Race Susie , Hazael Rachael , Critchley Richard
Published: March 2024

Strawboard has been utilised as a fragmentation capture material since the 1960s, mainly employed to capture fragments from explosives and explosive devices from arena trials of munitions. As this material has historically been calibrated to a known standard, it has a proven record of allowing research establishments to ascertain the velocity of a fragment based on the depth of penetration of the strawboard. During the time of calibration, strawboard was used as a common building material which was both widely available and relatively affordable; however, due to the recent economic crisis and geopolitical supply issues, this is no longer the case. Building on initial testing, this paper investigates alternatives to strawboard to determine if a cheaper, more readily available material can be used instead. The alternatives are compared and judged based on the NATO ARSP-03 guideline for capture material which includes metrics such as price and attainability, as well as assessing environmental impact and its ability to be used as a viable alternative to strawboard in an explosive environment. Based on these NATO guidelines, explosive fragmentation and ballistic experiments were conducted, and ten materials were tested based on the following criteria: Handling, Density, Flammability, Calibration, Cost and Availability. Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) was found to be a suitable alternative to strawboard. The data demonstrates that it provides the same capture performance as strawboard at approximately a quarter of the cost and is far more readily available. Other materials also showed potential and further testing should be undertaken to validate these materials as alternatives to MDF.
Predictors of HBsAg seroclearance in patients with chronic HBV infection treated with pegylated interferon-α: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Jiang Shaowen , Guo Simin , Huang Yan , Yin Yalin , Feng Jingwen , Zhou Huijuan , Guo Qing , Wang Weijing , Xin Haiguang , Xie Qing
Published: March 2024

Background and aims

The identification of reliable predictors for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance remains controversial. We aimed to summarize potential predictors for HBsAg seroclearance by pegylated interferon-α (PegIFNα) in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Methods

A systematic search of the Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases was conducted from their inception to 28 September 2022. Meta-analyses were performed following the PRISMA statement. Predictors of HBsAg seroclearance were evaluated based on baseline characteristics and on-treatment indicators.

Results

This meta-analysis encompasses 27 studies, including a total of 7913 patients. The findings reveal several factors independently associated with HBsAg seroclearance induced by PegIFNα-based regimens. These factors include age (OR = 0.961), gender (male vs. female, OR = 0.537), genotype (A vs. B/D; OR = 7.472, OR = 10.738), treatment strategy (combination vs. monotherapy, OR = 2.126), baseline HBV DNA (OR = 0.414), baseline HBsAg (OR = 0.373), HBsAg levels at week 12 and 24 (OR = 0.384, OR = 0.294), HBsAg decline from baseline to week 12 and 24 (OR = 6.689, OR = 6.513), HBsAg decline from baseline ≥ 1 log10 IU/ml and ≥ 0.5 log10 IU/ml at week 12 (OR = 18.277; OR = 4.530), and ALT elevation at week 12 (OR = 3.622). Notably, subgroup analysis suggests no statistical association between HBsAg levels at week 12 and HBsAg seroclearance for treatment duration exceeding 48 weeks. The remaining results were consistent with the overall analysis.

Conclusions

This is the first meta-analysis to identify predictors of HBsAg seroclearance with PegIFNα-based regimens, including baseline and on-treatment factors, which is valuable in developing a better integrated predictive model for HBsAg seroclearance to guide individualized treatment and achieve the highest cost-effectiveness of PegIFNα.
The role of loneliness and positivity on adolescents’ mental health and sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Pecora Giulia , Laghi Fiorenzo , Baumgartner Emma , Di Norcia Anna , Sette Stefania
Published: March 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed unprecedented challenges with profound repercussions on adolescents’ mental health and sleep quality. However, only a few studies have focused on the aspects potentially related to adolescents’ well-being during the pandemic. The present study aimed to understand the role of loneliness and positivity on adolescents’ mental health difficulties and sleep-related issues in the emergency period. A sample of N = 564 Italian adolescents (Mage = 15.86, SD = 1.41) participated in the survey. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that loneliness was positively associated with mental health difficulties and sleep-related issues. In contrast, positivity was negatively related to mental health difficulties and sleep-related issues. Results also showed that gender moderated the relation between positivity and sleep latency. In detail, higher levels of positivity were associated with reduced sleep latency for females but not for males. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of studying the determinants of adolescents’ well-being during such challenging events.
Negotiating and Reinventing Identities by South Asian Women in the Context of Transnational Mobility
Authors: Neupane Gita
Published: March 2024

This study investigates the experiences of women spouses of international students from South Asia in the United States to understand how they navigate, adapt, and reinvent their identities in the new environment. Through intimate narratives gathered from 15 participants via semi-structured qualitative interviews, their lived experiences were thoroughly examined. Employing grounded theory and inductive analysis, three key themes emerged: (1) the loss of professional identities established in their home countries due to the devaluation of academic credentials and work experience in the new setting; (2) the challenges of identity conflict encountered while transitioning between different work cultures; and (3) the significance placed on gendered identities and associated roles within the family sphere. The analysis highlights the dynamic evolution of these women’s identities, shaped by the intersectionality of various systems of oppression. Despite facing compromised status and familial responsibilities, the participants exhibited resilience by embracing differences and redefining meanings of life across times and spaces. This study contributes to our understanding of how transnational mobility for higher education from the Global South to the Global North, sustained by the racialized labor market, perpetuates a heteronormative gender order that privileges men and marginalizes women.
The Heterotic-Ricci Flow and Its Three-Dimensional Solitons
Authors: Moroianu Andrei , Murcia Ángel J. , Shahbazi C. S.
Published: March 2024

We introduce a novel curvature flow, the Heterotic-Ricci flow, as the two-loop renormalization group flow of the Heterotic string common sector and study its three-dimensional compact solitons. The Heterotic-Ricci flow is a coupled curvature evolution flow, depending on a non-negative real parameter$$\kappa $$κ, for a complete Riemannian metric and a three-formHon a manifoldM. Its most salient feature is that it involves several terms quadratic in the curvature tensor of a metric connection with skew-symmetric torsionH. When$$\kappa = 0$$κ=0the Heterotic-Ricci flow reduces to the generalized Ricci flow and hence it can be understood as a modification of the latter via the second-order correction prescribed by Heterotic string theory, whereas when$$H=0$$H=0and$$\kappa >0$$κ>0the Heterotic-Ricci flow reduces to a constrained version of the RG-2 flow and hence it can be understood as a generalization of the latter via the introduction of the three-formH. Solutions of Heterotic supergravity with trivial gauge bundle, which we callHeterotic solitons, define a particular class of three-dimensional solitons for the Heterotic-Ricci flow and constitute our main object of study. We prove a number of structural results for three-dimensional Heterotic solitons, obtaining, in particular, the complete classification of compact three-dimensionalstrongHeterotic solitons as hyperbolic three-manifolds or quotients of the Heisenberg group equipped with a left-invariant metric. Furthermore, we prove that all Einstein three-dimensional Heterotic solitons have constant dilaton and leave as open the construction of a Heterotic soliton with non-constant dilaton. In this direction, we prove that Einstein Heterotic solitons with constant dilaton are rigid and therefore cannot be deformed into a solution with non-constant dilaton. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first rigidity result for compact supergravity solutions in the literature.
Shift-Equivariant Similarity-Preserving Hypervector Representations of Sequences
Authors: Rachkovskij Dmitri A.
Published: March 2024

Hyperdimensional Computing (HDC), also known as Vector-Symbolic Architectures (VSA), is a promising framework for the development of cognitive architectures and artificial intelligence systems, as well as for technical applications and emerging neuromorphic and nanoscale hardware. HDC/VSA operate with hypervectors, i.e., neural-like distributed vector representations of large fixed dimension (usually > 1000). One of the key ingredients of HDC/VSA are the methods for encoding various data types (from numeric scalars and vectors to graphs) by hypervectors. In this paper, we propose an approach for the formation of hypervectors of sequences that provides both an equivariance with respect to the shift of sequences and preserves the similarity of sequences with identical elements at nearby positions. Our methods represent the sequence elements by compositional hypervectors and exploit permutations of hypervectors for representing the order of sequence elements. We experimentally explored the proposed representations using a diverse set of tasks with data in the form of symbolic strings. Although we did not use any features here (hypervector of a sequence was formed just from the hypervectors of its symbols at their positions), the proposed approach demonstrated the performance on a par with the methods that exploit various features, such as subsequences. The proposed techniques were designed for the HDC/VSA model known as Sparse Binary Distributed Representations. However, they can be adapted to hypervectors in formats of other HDC/VSA models, as well as for representing sequences of types other than symbolic strings. Directions for further research are discussed.
Integrated clinical and prognostic analyses of mTOR/Hippo pathway core genes in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Feng Tianhang , Chen Ping , Wang Tao , Lai Chunyou , Yao Yutong
Published: March 2024

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most aggressive and dismal cancers globally. Emerging evidence has established that mTOR and Hippo pathways are oncogenic drivers of HCC. However, the prognostic value of these pathways in HCC remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to develop a gene signature utilizing the mTOR/Hippo genes for HCC prognostication. A multiple stage strategy was employed to screen, and a 12-gene signature based on mTOR/Hippo pathways was constructed to predict the prognosis of HCC patients. The risk scores calculated by the signature were inversely correlated with patient prognosis. Validation of the signature in independent cohort confirmed its predictive power. Further analysis revealed molecular differences between high and low-risk groups at genomic, transcriptomic, and protein-interactive levels. Moreover, immune infiltration analysis revealed an immunosuppressive state in the high-risk group. Finally, the gene signature could predict the sensitivity to current chemotherapeutic drugs. This study demonstrated that combinatorial mTOR/Hippo gene signature was a robust and independent prognostic tool for survival prediction of HCC. Our findings not only provide novel insights for the molecular understandings of mTOR/Hippo pathways in HCC, but also have important clinical implications for guiding therapeutic strategies.
Profiles of general, test, and mathematics anxiety in 9- and 12-year-olds: relations to gender and mathematics achievement
Authors: Williams Kate , White Sonia L. J. , English Lyn D.
Published: March 2024

As international focus increasingly turns to the need to build a future mathematics workforce, research has aimed to better understand the salient individual and contextual factors that influence maths engagement and achievement across development. This study investigates self-reported general anxiety, test anxiety, and maths anxiety in two cohorts of Australian students aged 9–10 years (n = 158) and 12–13 years (n = 115) and associations with maths achievement and gender. Test and maths anxiety were negatively correlated with maths achievement and there were no gender differences in maths achievement. Cross-sectional latent profile analyses established two anxiety profiles in the older cohort (low and high across all anxiety measures) and a more complex five-profile solution for the younger cohort (various combinations of anxiety). Members of profiles with higher levels of test and mathematics anxiety had lower maths achievement, with girls over-represented in these profiles.
Effect of non-local thermoelasticity on diffusion under hydrostatic pressure
Authors: Khader S. E. , Marrouf A. A. , Esmail S. , Khedr M.
Published: March 2024

In this paper, thermoelastic diffusion theory is demonstrated on a two-dimensional half-space problem. The surface is subjected to thermal shock and hydrostatic loads. The chemical potential must be a known function of time. The solution is obtained by the direct method using the Laplace technique and the Fourier exponential transform. Local and non-local thermoelasticity are discussed, and the influence of non-local parameters on the general theory of thermoelastic diffusion is investigated. Chemical potential, concentration, temperature, stress and displacement distributions are calculated numerically and displayed graphically.
Exploring pore-scale production characteristics of oil shale after CO2 huff ‘n’ puff in fractured shale with varied permeability
Authors: Xu Tianhan , Wang Jian , Lu Yuhao , Wang Danling , Yu Li , Tian Ye
Published: March 2024

Recent studies have indicated that the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) can lead to increased oil recovery in fractured shale reservoirs following natural depletion. Despite advancements in understanding mass exchange processes in subsurface formations, there remains a knowledge gap concerning the disparities in these processes between the matrix and fractures at the pore scale in formations with varying permeability. This study aims to experimentally investigate the CO2 diffusion behaviors and in situ oil recovery through a CO2 huff ‘n’ puff process in the Jimsar shale oil reservoir. To achieve this, we designed three matrix-fracture models with different permeabilities (0.074 mD, 0.170 mD, and 0.466 mD) and experimented at 30 MPa and 91 °C. The oil concentration in both the matrix and fracture was monitored using a low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) technique to quantify in situ oil recovery and elucidate mass-exchange behaviors. The results showed that after three cycles of CO2 huff ‘n’ puff, the total recovery degree increased from 30.28% to 34.95% as the matrix permeability of the core samples increased from 0.074 to 0.466 mD, indicating a positive correlation between CO2 extraction efficiency and matrix permeability. Under similar fracture conditions, the increase in matrix permeability further promoted CO2 extraction efficiency during CO2 huff ‘n’ puff. Specifically, the increase in matrix permeability of the core had the greatest effect on the extraction of the first-cycle injection in large pores, which increased from 16.42% to 36.64%. The findings from our research provide valuable insights into the CO2 huff ‘n’ puff effects in different pore sizes following fracturing under varying permeability conditions, shedding light on the mechanisms of CO2-enhanced oil recovery in fractured shale oil reservoirs.
Endurance results of a refuels fleet test in a real application based on directly comparable truck test pairs
Authors: Toedter Olaf , Weyhing Thomas , Koch Thomas , Fritzsche Markus , Rodrigues Carlos , Dörr Sebastian , Stöhr Alexander , Weissert Roland , Hübeler Jörg , Behrens Carmen
Published: March 2024

Synthetic fuels from a renewable base are an essential part of a greenhouse gas-neutral mobility, especially in transport sector. While scaling production of e-fuels (fuels based on electrolysis hydrogen) is ongoing, HVO called paraffinic diesel fuels are already available. Their production is based on the hydrogenation of waste and residues and they are established as diesel substitute in several applications. With regard to the approval of these fuels in German regulation, the question repeatedly arises as to whether they can be used easily and what effects can be achieved. This article describes an application in a real logistics application, in which both the everyday use and the concrete comparability to a refueling with conventional gas station diesel were ensured. The use of several parallel active and different truck pairs has shown that the use of HVO in existing vehicles has achieved the desired CO2 reduction. A detailed analysis of the engine oil also showed that no undesirable effects could be observed here either. From the perspective of this project, HVO fuels are ready for use for a significant greenhouse gas reduction in logistics.
The trends of major issues connecting climate change and the sustainable development goals
Authors: Hsieh Yi-Lin , Yeh Shin-Cheng
Published: March 2024

This study aims to explore the research trends and patterns of major issues connecting climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by employing a bibliometric analysis. The study has found that there is an increasing number of research and policies in various countries committed to finding and implementing strategies to solve climate change issues. The countries with the most research in this field are China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, with Environmental Sciences & Ecology being the most published domain. The study has identified 19 clusters intersecting with climate change and SDGs, with the top five clusters in terms of proportion related to agricultural and food systems, water and soil resources, energy, economy, ecosystem, and sustainable management. This study also presents the trend changes of research topics intersecting climate change and SDGs every 2–3 years. Especially in the recent two years, with the convening of COP26 and COP27 and the advocacy of Net Zero and CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) of the EU, important topics include renewable energy, protection of ecosystem services, life cycle assessment, food security, agriculture in Africa, sustainable management, synergies of various policies, remote sensing technology, and desertification among others. This shows an increasingly diversified range of important topics being discussed in relation to climate change and sustainable development goals.
Digitizing cities for urban weather: representing realistic cities for weather and climate simulations using computer graphics and artificial intelligence
Authors: Aliaga Daniel , Niyogi Dev
Published: March 2024

Due to their importance in weather and climate assessments, there is significant interest to represent cities in numerical prediction models. However, getting high resolution multi-faceted data about a city has been a challenge. Further, even when the data were available the integration into a model is even more of a challenge due to the parametric needs, and the data volumes. Further, even if this is achieved, the cities themselves continually evolve rendering the data obsolete, thus necessitating a fast and repeatable data capture mechanism. We have shown that by using AI/graphics community advances we can create a seamless opportunity for high resolution models. Instead of assuming every physical and behavioral detail is sensed, a generative and procedural approach seeks to computationally infer a fully detailed 3D fit-for-purpose model of an urban space. We present a perspective building on recent success results of this generative approach applied to urban design and planning at different scales, for different components of the urban landscape, and related applications. The opportunities now possible with such a generative model for urban modeling open a wide range of opportunities as this becomes mainstream.
Determinants of successful mergers and acquisitions in China: evidence from machine learning
Authors: Zhou Shengdi , Lan Faqin , Hu Zirui , Liu Yongting
Published: March 2024

Based on mergers and acquisitions data from Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges spanning 2011 to 2021, we construct a dataset with 14 feature variables, covering deal characteristics, firm financial and non-financial traits, as well as external environmental factors. Employing machine learning techniques and Shapley Additive explanations value interpretation, we access the contribution of these variables for explaining the success or failure of M&A transactions. Our results highlight the superior performance of machine learning models, particularly the Gradient Boosting model and Random Forest model, compared to the traditional logistic model in predicting the success of M&A transactions. This holds true in both out-of-sample and out-of-time testing scenarios. Deal characteristics, especially the use of stock payments, emerge as pivotal determinants affecting M&A outcomes in the Chinese capital market, with a higher vulnerability to failure. The complexities arising from a politically uncertain environment magnify the intricacies of transactions, thereby increasing the likelihood of M&A failures. Interestingly, our analysis reveals the insignificance of market response in predicting the ultimate success of announced transactions, aligning with the Efficient Market Hypothesis. Furthermore, we identify an interactive effect involving the payment method of M&A, transaction size, and policy uncertainty. This study provides valuable insights into critical determinants of M&A transactions, offering strategic guidance to enhance success likelihood and facilitate sustainable corporate development in the future.
Navigating through Complexity by Profiling the Main Threats to Sustainable Tropical Wetlands Management and Governance: A Case Study of Mityana District, Uganda
Authors: Matovu Baker , Sarfo Isaac , Bbira Yasin , Yeboah Emmanuel , Muhoozi Yosia , Lukambagire Isaac
Published: March 2024

Wetlands are crucial ecosystems that promote sustainable livelihood and biodiversity conservation, especially in tropical regions. However, recent studies have reported increasing threats to wetlands both environmental and human which threaten the provision and acquisition of several wetland benefits. Though there is recognition of the value of wetlands, in most local communities in Uganda; especially around the Lake Wamala region in Mityana district, there is still limited knowledge and research on the benefits of wetlands and the level of threat thus affecting wetland governance. This research addresses this gap by using participatory research to create a baseline inventory that could be used by wetland managers to identify the main wetlands threats to inform policy on how to develop participatory actions and local area-based management practices. The study was conducted in 14 sub-counties and a sample of 105 wetlands along the wetlands of Lake Wamala and River Mayanja wetlands system in Mityana District was captured. Study findings revealed increased human threats to wetlands especially in the River Mayanja seasonal wetlands zone. The increased effects of environmental threats such as climate change are also altering permanent wetlands along Lake Wamala. Our developed inventory based on local participants' perspectives revealed that since the level of damage to wetlands in Mityana especially the permanent wetlands is relatively low, a focus on developing new mapping, and a decentralized approach to wetland management that focuses on capacity building, development of wetlands action plans, increased support to local wetland authorities, and a system thinking approach in wetland threat identification and management could help in the regeneration of most wetlands zones.
The big picture of sexual science
Authors: Chiang Howard
Published: March 2024

This article identifies a few paradigmatic ways whereby the big picture of sexual science has been made possible, especially through a diversification in the uneven but interconnected geography of scientific practice. It focuses on the ways in which the life and work of individual researchers, institutional settings and journal circulations have anchored the development of narratives about the history of sexual science. By delineating the shifting cultural geography, epistemological premise and conceptual innovations in sexological research, it is possible to cast the co-constituted nature of knowledge making as an enterprise simultaneously local and global in its reach. The rise of modern sexual science represented as much a gestalt counterpart to the evolutionary paradigm as a response to the shifting terrains of religious and legal governance in the regulation of sexuality.
Halls of Power: Changing Political and Administrative Culture at the Palace of Westminster in the Sixteenth Century
Authors: Biggs Elizabeth
Published: March 2024

During the sixteenth century, the medieval Palace of Westminster went from being the most-used royal palace, where the king lived and worked alongside his administration, to becoming solely the home of the law-courts, Parliament, and the offices of state. At the same time, the numbers of individuals who came to the palace seeking governance or to take part in the business of the law-courts increased over the course of the century. While Westminster had earlier been a public venue for governance and royal display, the increasing absence of the English monarch from the palace created alternative uses. Political culture came to focus on Westminster as entirely separate from the court. This article explores how these changing uses created new forms of political and administrative culture. It examines how the administrative offices, particularly the Exchequer, were remade to accommodate changing financial demands and the increasing contact between individuals and the Crown. It argues that the repurposing of the Palace of Westminster created a distinctly different set of relationships between the Crown and the public. This gave the institutions that called the palace home the space to develop as bodies that drew their legitimacy from their representation of the community of the realm as a whole.
DAEDALA IMAGO AND THE IMAGE OF THE WORLD IN LUCRETIUS’ PROEM (1.5–8)
Authors: Hasegawa Alexandre
Published: March 2024

This article aims to discuss how Lucretius arranges the four ‘roots’ at the end of successive lines of verse in the De rerum natura (henceforth, DRN) (1.5–8). In this passage Lucretius, alluding to Empedocles, puts the words in such an order that one can see the layers of the world by a vertical reading. In the same passage, Lucretius imitates the very beginning of Homer's ecphrasis (Il. 18.478–85), which the allegorical tradition will explain as an image of the world, related to Empedoclean theory. The article also discusses the allusion to Daedalus by means of the adjective daedalus in DRN 1.7 (daedala tellus), which could be related to both Empedocles and Homer. This adjective is a keyword for discussing the image produced by the words on the written page.
Blood, obsidian, and the Teotihuacan cult of the mirror
Authors: Barnes Trenton D.
Published: March 2024

Drawing upon iconological theory, this article argues that mirrors and blood were regarded as a conceptually linked pair within the imperial ideology of Teotihuacan, Mexico from the second century onward. The relationship between blood and mirrors is shown to have codified with the construction of the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacan's third largest edifice. This monument's facade was adorned with hundreds of monumental sculptures of oracular mirrors, some number of which incorporated actual mirrors formed of obsidian. I demonstrate that the Teotihuacan mirror sign took obsidian, a form of black volcanic glass that was intensively worked in the city, as a key referent. This monument was also the site of a historically large human sacrifice of more than 200 individuals, an event argued here to have involved bloodletting with obsidian knives and blades. I note that Teotihuacan interest in the mirror icon increased in concert with the city's residents’ application of the reflective material of obsidian to warring and other blood-spilling behaviors. The mirror icon evoked both obsidian as a radiant material, as well as obsidian's potential for application to forceful martial actions. The article concludes that this icon in part signified imperial force, which was made real through the weaponization of the smoking glass.
Estimation of the inferior caval vein saturation using high-fidelity non-invasive haemodynamic values and validation of modelled estimates
Authors: Loomba Rohit S. , Flores Saul , Farias Juan S. , Villarreal Enrique G. , Constas Alex
Published: March 2024

Objectives:

Monitoring venous saturation allows identification of inadequate systemic oxygen delivery. The aim was to develop a model using non-invasive haemodynamic variables to estimate the inferior caval vein saturation and to determine its prognostic utility.

Methods:

This is a single-centre, retrospective study. A Bayesian Pearson’s correlation was conducted to model the inferior caval vein saturation. Next, a Bayesian linear regression was conducted for data from all the patients and from only those with parallel circulation. Venous saturation estimations were developed. The correlation of these estimates to the actual inferior caval vein saturation was assessed. The resulting models were then applied to two validation cohorts: biventricular circulation (arterial switch operation) and parallel circulation (Norwood operation).

Results:

One hundred and thirteen datasets were collected across 15 patients. Of which, 65% had parallel circulation. In all patients, the measured and estimated inferior caval vein saturations had a moderate and significant correlation with a coefficient of 0.64. In patients with parallel circulation, the measured and estimated inferior caval vein saturation had a moderate and significant correlation with a coefficient of 0.61. In the biventricular circulation cohort, the estimated inferior caval vein saturation had an area under the curve of 0.71 with an optimal cut-off of 49. In the parallel circulation cohort, the estimated interior caval vein saturation had an area under the curve of 0.83 with an optimal cut-off of 24%.

Conclusion:

The inferior caval vein saturation can be estimated utilising non-invasive haemodynamic data. This estimate has correlation with measured inferior caval vein saturations and offers prognostic utility.
Substantial Differences in Crop Yield Sensitivities Between Models Call for Functionality‐Based Model Evaluation
Authors: Müller Christoph , Jägermeyr Jonas , Franke James A. , Ruane Alex C. , Balkovic Juraj , Ciais Philippe , Dury Marie , Falloon Pete , Folberth Christian , Hank Tobias , Hoffmann Munir , Izaurralde R. Cesar , Jacquemin Ingrid , Khabarov Nikolay , Liu Wenfeng , Olin Stefan , Pugh Thomas A. M. , Wang Xuhui , Williams Karina , Zabel Florian , Elliott Joshua W.
Published: March 2024

Crop models are often used to project future crop yield under climate and global change and typically show a broad range of outcomes. To understand differences in modeled responses, we analyzed modeled crop yield response types using impact response surfaces along four drivers of crop yield: carbon dioxide (C), temperature (T), water (W), and nitrogen (N). Crop yield response types help to understand differences in simulated responses per driver and their combinations rather than aggregated changes in yields as the result of simultaneous changes in various drivers. We find that models' sensitivities to the individual drivers are substantially different and often more different across models than across regions. There is some agreement across models with respect to the spatial patterns of response types but strong differences in the distribution of response types across models and their configurations suggests that models need to undergo further scrutiny. We suggest establishing standards in model evaluation based on emergent functionality not only against historical yield observations but also against dedicated experiments across different drivers to analyze emergent functional patterns of crop models.
How Does the Southern Annular Mode Control Surface Melt in East Antarctica?
Authors: Saunderson Dominic , Mackintosh Andrew N. , McCormack Felicity S. , Jones Richard S. , van Dalum Christiaan T.
Published: March 2024

Surface melt in East Antarctica is strongly correlated with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index, but the spatiotemporal variability of the relationship, and the physical processes responsible for it, have not been examined. Here, using melt flux estimates and climate variables from the RACMO2.3p3 regional climate model, we show that a decreasing SAM index is associated with increased melt in Dronning Maud Land primarily owing to reduced precipitation and greater absorption of solar radiation. Conversely, in Wilkes Land, a decreasing SAM index corresponds to increased melt because of greater incoming longwave radiation from a warmer atmosphere. We also demonstrate that SAM‐melt correlations are strongest in December as the melt season develops, and that the SAM’s influence on peak melt intensities in January occurs indirectly through the snowmelt‐albedo feedback. Future work must account for such variability in the physical processes underlying the SAM‐melt relationship to reduce uncertainty in surface melt projections.
Geologic Controls on Apparent Root‐Zone Storage Capacity
Authors: Hahm W. J. , Dralle D. N. , Lapides D. A. , Ehlert R. S. , Rempe D. M.
Published: March 2024

The water storage capacity of the root zone can determine whether plants survive dry periods and control the partitioning of precipitation into streamflow and evapotranspiration. It is currently thought that top‐down, climatic factors are the primary control on this capacity via their interaction with plant rooting adaptations. However, it remains unclear to what extent bottom‐up, geologic factors can provide an additional constraint on storage capacity. Here we use a machine learning approach to identify regions with lower than climatically expected apparent storage capacity. We find that in seasonally dry California these regions overlap with particular geologic substrates. We hypothesize that these patterns reflect diverse mechanisms by which substrate can limit storage capacity, and highlight case studies consistent with limited weathered bedrock extent (melange in the Northern Coast Range), toxicity (ultramafic substrates in the Klamath‐Siskiyou region), nutrient limitation (phosphorus‐poor plutons in the southern Sierra Nevada), and low porosity capable of retaining water (volcanic formations in the southern Cascades). The observation that at regional scales climate alone does not “size” the root zone has implications for the parameterization of storage capacity in models of plant dynamics (and the interrelated carbon and water cycles), and also underscores the importance of geology in considerations of climate‐change induced biome migration and habitat suitability.