bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling and analyzing patterns of residential manual window operation
Authors: Li M , Gao J G , Li T , Liu G D , Hu C C , Liu Y Q
Published: July 2024

Window operating behaviour can improve indoor air quality, human thermal comfort, and building energy efficiency. Studies on occupants’ window opening behaviour in hot summer and warm winter region of China are limited and influencing factors and prediction models are not clear. Another limitation is the large number of proposed machine learning-based window opening behaviour models. However, the applicability and stability of these models in different datasets has not been proven. In response to these questions, modelling and field measurements were conducted in Quanzhou, China. Two different types of window-opening behaviour were noticed in the tested households. The first type was the all-closed windows, which had an average daily window-opening rate of 0.03%. The second type was the low-intensity window opening. The average daily window-opening rate was 10.6% and 9.1%, respectively. Then, the analysis of point biserial correlation coefficients revealed different reasons for closing windows in low-intensity households. One household closed the windows due to high outdoor humidity and the other mainly due to high outdoor wind speed and outdoor temperature. Furthermore, the suitable hyperparameters were screened for the support vector machine (SVM) model by K-fold cross-validation and grid search. The prediction model achieved an accuracy of 98.5% on the test set. Finally, the SVM model was trained and tested to verify the robustness of the model using data from the published literature. The prediction accuracy was improved from 0.7% to 7.4% compared to the different models used in the published literature.
Multi-objective optimization of a dual fuel CI engine powered with syngas and pilot diesel using TLBO algorithm: A metaheuristic approach
Authors: Das Samar , Tamang S. K.
Published: July 2024

The thermochemical conversion of biomass into producer gas presents an attractive alternative fuel option for compression ignition (CI) engines, making biomass gasification a critical driver for achieving sustainable development goals. Considering the application of producer gas (PG) in CI engine, the most potential gases include H2 and CO as main fuel compounds and it is crucial to comprehensively understand the impact of these two gas components on the engine behaviour. Nowadays, artificial intelligence-powered models are frequently applied for simulating engines that run on a single type of fuel. However, their usage is not as common when it comes to modeling dual-fuel CI engines run on synthetic producer gas or syngas. The present study explores the feasibility of optimizing operational parameters, such as engine load and syngas composition, in improving the efficiency and lowering the levels of pollutants emitted by a 3.5 kW CI engine operated under dual fuel (DF) mode using syngas as primary fuel and diesel as pilot fuel. The performance and emission characteristics of syngas (H2:CO) is examined by studying its behaviour in four different combinations. The compositions of syngas are prepared based on the volumetric percentage of the H2 and CO and is inducted into the combustion chamber using a novel venturi-type air-gas mixer. In the present study, an intelligent metaheuristics-based optimization algorithm i.e., Teaching–Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) is developed and introduced, to develop a predictive model within constrained range of engine operating conditions. Further, the algorithm is used to estimate multiple engine performance characteristics simultaneously viz., brake thermal efficiency (BTE), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO). The resultant findings identify the optimal engine load of 68.87% and the ideal syngas composition of 63.9% H2 and 49.5% CO as key parameters for maximizing engine efficiency while minimizing exhaust emission. At these optimized operating condition, 19.49% BTE is observed, while HC and CO emission was found to be 384.6 ppm and 445.33 ppm respectively. This shows the effective and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
A comprehensive bibliometric review and analysis on the evolution of nanotube-based hydrogen storage materials via DFT simulations
Authors: Villagracia A R C
Published: July 2024

Hydrogen’s promise as a clean energy carrier is tempered by the challenges of efficient storage and safety concerns. While it offers an alternative to finite fossil fuel resources, current hydrogen storage methods, like cryo-compression and liquefaction, are often economically impractical. To tackle these issues, researchers are turning to nanotube materials (NTMs), crystalline substances with unique attributes ideal for hydrogen storage. Structural adaptability - NTMs can be precisely engineered for optimized hydrogen adsorption. These materials boast significant porosity, providing ample room for hydrogen molecules. NTMs offer a large surface area, enhancing their hydrogen adsorption capacity. NTMs employ weak van der Waals forces for hydrogen adsorption, enabling easy release via heat or pressure. Efforts are underway to enhance NTMs’ surface area and hydrogen uptake capabilities, along with a focus on mechanisms like the hydrogen spill-over for achieving high-density storage. NTMs go beyond storage; they can act as proton exchange membranes and fuel cell electrodes, making them versatile components in hydrogen-based energy systems. One strategy for improving NTM hydrogen storage involves introducing dopants or defects. Transition metals, due to their ability to attract and store hydrogen molecules in NTMs, are commonly explored. However, this addition may reduce the material’s gravimetric density, a critical practical consideration. In summary, research into NTMs and their potential for hydrogen storage via density functional theory is ongoing. This work explores strategies to enhance hydrogen storage, especially through transition metal doped NTMs. While these metals can improve hydrogen adsorption, the trade- offs in gravimetric density must be carefully weighed. Overall, this research contributes to the broader goal of harnessing hydrogen’s potential as a clean energy carrier, addressing the world’s growing energy needs.
Application of response surface method (RSM) to investigate the effects of process parameters on the microstructures and specific surface area of hierarchical 3D nanostructured NiCo2O4 electrocatalyst synthesized through hydrothermal method
Authors: Raduwan N.F. , Shaari N. , Masdar M.S.
Published: July 2024

The hierarchical 3D nanostructured NiCo2O4 was successfully synthesized through facile hydrothermal method for fuel cell electrocatalysis. It was observed that the specific surface area of NiCo2O4 was strongly influenced by the synthesizing parameters namely temperature (T) and reaction time (t) in hydrothermal process. A high specific surface area in electrocatalyst materials is crucial for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of electrochemical reactions by providing more active sites, improving reactivity, enhancing mass transport, and reducing the utilization of expensive catalyst materials. The response surface method (RSM) coupled with central composite design (CCD) was utilised to statistically specify the effects of the reaction time and temperature on the specific surface area of the synthesized NiCo2O4. The optimum synthesize parameters of T = 188.41 °C and t = 12.86 hours were performed to obtain the highest specific surface area of 166.98 m2 g-1 which demonstrated the RSM was an excellent tool to implement and tailor the specific surface area of NiCo2O4. Finally, a mathematical model was derived to predict the relationship between these parameters and the structural properties. This study proved that the optimum hydrothermal parameters improved the final electrocatalyst structures based on numerical analysis and validated by the observation from field emission scanning electron microscopy and calculation from Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurement.
Effect of molecular crowders on ligand binding kinetics with G-quadruplex DNA probed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
Authors: Alam Parvez , Clovis Ndege Simisi , Chand Ajay Kumar , Khan Mohammad Firoz , Sen Sobhan
Published: July 2024

Guanine-rich single-stranded DNA folds into G-quadruplex DNA (GqDNA) structures, which play crucial roles in various biological processes. These structures are also promising targets for ligands, potentially inducing antitumor effects. While thermodynamic parameters of ligand/DNA interactions are well-studied, the kinetics of ligand interaction with GqDNA, particularly in cell-like crowded environments, remain less explored. In this study, we investigate the impact of molecular crowding agents (glucose, sucrose, and ficoll 70) at physiologically relevant concentrations (20% w/v) on the association and dissociation rates of the benzophenoxazine-core based ligand, cresyl violet (CV), with human telomeric antiparallel-GqDNA. We utilized fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) along with other techniques. Our findings reveal that crowding agents decrease the binding affinity of CV to GqDNA, with the most significant effect—a nearly three-fold decrease—observed with ficoll 70. FCS measurements indicate that this decrease is primarily due to a viscosity-induced slowdown of ligand association in the crowded environment. Interestingly, dissociation rates remain largely unaffected by smaller crowders, with only small effect observed in presence of ficoll 70 due to direct but weak interaction between the ligand and ficoll. These results along with previously reported data provide valuable insights into ligand/GqDNA interactions in cellular contexts, suggesting a conserved mechanism of saccharide crowder influence, regardless of variations in GqDNA structure and ligand binding mode. This underscores the importance of considering crowding effects in the design and development of GqDNA-targeted drugs for potential cancer treatment.
A low-cost protocol for reconditioning of deep-brain neural microelectrodes with material failure for electrophysiology recording
Authors: Rezayat Leila , Ghajar Mohammad Hossein , Naji Alireza , Noroozi Jalaledin , Dehaqani Mohammad-Reza A , Rezayat Ehsan
Published: July 2024

To date, a myriad of neural microelectrodes has been meticulously developed, but the focus of existing literature predominantly revolves around fabrication methodologies rather than delving into the reconditioning processes or strategies for salvaging electrodes exhibiting diminished performance due to material failure. This study aims to elucidate the underlying factors contributing to the degradation in performance of neural microelectrodes. Additionally, it introduces a comprehensive, cost-effective protocol for the reconditioning and repurposing of electrodes afflicted by material failure, tailored for a broad spectrum of electrode types. The efficacy of the proposed reconditioning protocol is substantiated through experimental validation on single-site tungsten microelectrodes. The results of neural signal recording unequivocally demonstrate the successful restoration of a substantial number of electrodes, underscoring the protocol’s effectiveness.
Counterfactuality, back-action, and information gain in multi-path interferometers
Authors: Hance Jonte R , Matsushita Tomonori , Hofmann Holger F
Published: July 2024

The presence of an absorber in one of the paths of an interferometer changes the output statistics of that interferometer in a fundamental manner. Since the individual quantum particles detected at any of the outputs of the interferometer have not been absorbed, any non-trivial effect of the absorber on the distribution of these particles over these paths is a counterfactual effect. Here, we quantify counterfactual effects by evaluating the information about the presence or absence of the absorber obtained from the output statistics, distinguishing between classical and quantum counterfactual effects. We identify the counterfactual gain which quantifies the advantage of quantum counterfactual protocols over classical counterfactual protocols, and show that this counterfactual gain can be separated into two terms: a semi-classical term related to the amplitude blocked by the absorber, and a Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability assigning a joint probability to the blocked path and the output port. A negative Kirkwood-Dirac term between a path and an output port indicates that inserting the absorber into that path will have a focussing effect, increasing the probability of particles arriving at that output port, resulting in a significant enhancement of the counterfactual gain. We show that the magnitude of quantum counterfactual effects cannot be explained by a simple removal of the absorbed particles, but originates instead from a well-defined back-action effect caused by the presence of the absorber in one path, on particles in other paths.
Characteristic features of strong correlation: lessons from a 3-fermion one-dimensional harmonic trap
Authors: Caliva Victor , Fuks Johanna I
Published: July 2024

Many quantum phenomena responsible for key applications in material science and quantum chemistry arise in the strongly correlated regime. This is at the same time, a costly regime for computer simulations. In the limit of strong correlation analytic solutions exist, but as we move away from this limit numerical simulation are needed, and accurate quantum solutions do not scale well with the number of interacting particles. In this work we propose to use few-particle harmonic traps in combination with twisted light as a quantum emulator to investigate the transition into a strongly-correlated regime. Using both analytic derivations and numerical simulations we generalize previous findings on 2 Coulomb interacting fermions trapped in a one-dimensional harmonic trap to the case of 3 fermions. The 4 signatures of strong correlation we have identified in the one-dimensional harmonic trap are: (i) the ground state density is highly localized around N equilibrium positions, where N is the number of particles, (ii) the symmetric and antisymmetric ground state wavefunctions become degenerate, (iii) the von Neumann entropy grows, (iv) the energy spectrum is fully characterized by N normal modes or less. Our findings describe the low-energy behavior of electrons in quantum wires and ions in Paul traps. Similar features have also been reported for cold atoms in optical lattices.
Designing efficient brain tumor classifier using hybrid EfficientNet-faster R-CNN deep learning model
Authors: Kharb Aashutosh , Chaudhary Prachi
Published: July 2024

Purpose. Brain tumors have historically posed a significant risk to individuals, potentially leading to fatality. However, in contemporary times, they have emerged as one of the most dangerous health issues affecting both children and adults. The effects of this phenomenon result in the unregulated proliferation of brain cells. Therefore, early detection and precise classification of brain tumor is very necessary and important for saving lives and avoid future complications. Within the field of biological image processing, the utilisation of deep learning algorithms offers a distinct and unparalleled experience. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is a pivotal component in brain tumor categorization applications. However, a notable limitation of CNNs is their extensive execution time, primarily attributed to the substantial number of trainable parameters involved. Also, the automatic detection and classification of brain tumor is still a challenging task due to its variability in shape, size and location. Methods. This study proposes a hybrid model for brain tumor classification that combines faster R-CNN and EfficientNet. The objective is to minimise the time required for classification without compromising accuracy. The data collection from Figshare was employed during the model’s development. Results and Conclusion. The hybrid model proposed in this study demonstrates a notable accuracy of 98.96% during the training phase and 99.2% during the testing phase, surpassing the performance of both the EfficientNet model and the Faster R-CNN model when employed individually. The aforementioned findings were derived through a comparative analysis of the Hybrid model, the EfficientNet model, and the Faster R-CNN model.
Alzheimer’s disease detection and stage identification from magnetic resonance brain images using vision transformer
Authors: Alshayeji Mohammad H
Published: July 2024

Machine learning techniques applied in neuroimaging have prompted researchers to build models for early diagnosis of brain illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although this task is difficult, advanced deep-learning (DL) approaches can be used. These DL models are effective, but difficult to interpret, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. Therefore, neuroscientists are interested in employing novel, less complex structures such as transformers that have superior pattern-extraction capabilities. In this study, an automated framework for accurate AD diagnosis and precise stage identification was developed by employing vision transformers (ViTs) with fewer computational resources. ViT, which captures the global context as opposed to convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with local receptive fields, is more efficient for brain image processing than CNN because the brain is a highly complex network with connected parts. The self-attention mechanism in the ViT helps to achieve this goal. Magnetic resonance brain images belonging to four stages were utilized to develop the proposed model, which achieved 99.83% detection accuracy, 99.69% sensitivity, 99.88% specificity, and 0.17% misclassification rate. Moreover, to prove the ability of the model to generalize, the mean distances of the transformer blocks and attention heat maps were visualized to understand what the model learned from the MRI input image.
Indigenous Resistance in South Asia
Authors: Dutta Mohan Jyoti , Baskey Pankaj , Mandi Rabin , Mandal Indranil
Published: July 2024

This article examines the wide range of practices of Indigenous resistance across South Asia. It conceptualizes the interplays of power and control that shape the expressions of Indigenous agency in precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial contexts, depicting the multiple layers of erasure that shape the historic and ongoing displacement of Indigenous communities from land, cultural resources, knowledge, and ways of livelihood. By looking at the communicative practices of resistance in historic and contemporary contexts, it theorizes the openings for transforming the forces of racial capitalism, settler colonialism, and imperialism. The article concludes by drawing on the key tenets of the culture-centered approach to map the role of voice infrastructures in Indigenous struggles across South Asia, drawing out the centrality of voice in transforming the communicative inequalities that shape the production of colonial-imperial-capitalist knowledge.
Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
Authors: Burry Justiss Wilder , Melonçon Lisa
Published: July 2024

This article offers a review of relevant books from 2016 to 2024 to illustrate trends in the field of rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM). This article first traces the history of RHM from an emerging field to an established field within rhetorical studies. One of the markers of success for the field is that RHM, as a field, demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of the RHM. The article next describes the relevance of rhetoric to the field and then it synthesizes themes and commonalities within RHM scholarship. The article concludes by considering future directions for scholarly inquiry and ways for those new to RHM to learn about and contribute to the field.
Rural Criminology
Authors: Peterson Jessica René
Published: July 2024

Rural criminology is a growing field of scholarship that centers place. The rural context uniquely impacts criminal offending behavior, victimization, access to justice, and the formal justice system response. Rural communities are not monolithic; however, common features such as geographic isolation, dense social networks, and limited resources can be found in rural areas worldwide. These characteristics can both exacerbate and mitigate certain types of crime. Historically, poor definitions of rurality and neglect of rural areas by scholars and policymakers have resulted in a lack of robust rural crime and victimization data. Additionally, underreporting of crime and aspects of the rural context helps ensure that much victimization in rural areas remains largely hidden. Critical resources and materials come from rural areas, and particularly as globalization continues, crime and safety in these settings not only affect rural residents’ quality of life but also impact broader economies.

It is increasingly apparent that assumptions and recommendations from urban-centric criminological research cannot simply be applied to rural and remote areas. Research from across the globe suggests that many crime issues—such as gender-based violence, agricultural crime, wildlife and environmental crime, and drug cultivation, to name a few—are indeed prevalent in rural settings, sometimes even more so than in urban locations. Evidence-based policing practices and strategies that are effective in urban areas are often impossible to implement in rural agencies because of differences in the availability of funds, technology, and staffing. Shortages of laweyers and courts in rural communities limit access to justice, especially for marginalized populations. Reentry after incarceration can be even more challenging when support services are limited and damage to reputation spreads. As empirical and theoretical research in this field continues, it should strive to include international perspectives to help create better theories of place and give a voice to victims, offenders, and justice system actors in rural communities around the globe.
Metal Exchange Networks in Prehistoric Southeast Asia
Authors: Pryce T. O. , Pigott Vincent C.
Published: July 2024

Southeast Asian metal consumption in the form of copper-bronze artifacts begins on the mainland in the late 2nd millennium bc and in the islands in the form of bronze, iron and steel, gold, and silver in the mid to late 1st millennium bc. Regional copper production was initiated within mere decades of the medium’s initial appearance on the mainland but is currently unknown for the islands. Likewise, mainland and island Southeast Asian iron production seems to have swiftly followed prehistoric consumption behaviors, but for silver, gold, tin, and lead, primary production (mining and smelting) remain unknown and secondary production (alloying and casting) is represented by occasional crucible and mold fragments.

Metals are often assumed to have been exchanged or traded, but there is a general regional assumption, probably wrong, that gold, silver, copper, bronze, and tin travel over long distances whereas lead, and especially iron and steel, move only over short distances or are produced locally. Analytical methodologies exist for determining the provenance or at least the geochemical characterization necessary for each of the metals listed here, but the application of those methodologies is extremely uneven in terms of metal type and chronospatially. At the time of writing, scholars have no data concerning the prehistoric exchange of silver, tin (except where alloyed with copper), and lead (except where alloyed with copper-bronze). Critically, scholars have no provenance studies for early iron, the appearance of which is coincident with huge regional cultural developments, which is hard to explain when historic period research on this topic is burgeoning. The determination of the provenance of gold has been attempted regionally, and while promising in the elucidation of exchange networks connecting Bali as far as Rome, the approach has not proliferated. Indeed, the only metal to have seen any systematic research is that of copper-bronze, and that is focused heavily on mainland rather than island Southeast Asia.

Nevertheless, the research accomplished thus far has revolutionized the understanding of late prehistoric Southeast Asia. Due to large and often inaccessible territories, low numbers of archaeologists with limited funding, linguistic differences, and a dearth of specialists, especially ceramicists, relatively little was known about interactions between the present-day nations that make up the region prior to the Iron Age and the applicability of the provenance of glass. Complementary to that, and applying to the Bronze Age as well, the provenance of copper and bronze has begun to expose a complex web of exchanges that link centers of production and consumption across thousands of kilometers of mountain, forest, river, and sea. Most importantly, some of those networks seem to have been active at the very outset of the Bronze Age, suggesting they may have had Neolithic or earlier precedents.
The First Intermediate Period in Egypt
Authors: Ejsmond Wojciech
Published: July 2024

The First Intermediate Period (FIP; c. 2118–1980 bce) covers almost a century and a half during which the first major crisis of the Egyptian state occurred. Many aspects of the civilization went through a significant restructuring during that time.

After nearly a millennium of the elite ruling from Memphis, a new capital was established at Heracleopolis Magna. Provincial administrative personages rose to prominence and some exercised political initiative, such as the rulers of Edfu, Hefat, and Thebes. The latter took control of southern Upper Egypt and challenged the kings ruling from Heracleopolis. Thus, the period is characterized by this division to northern and southern kingdoms.

On the one hand, traditional historiography views the epoch as a time of crisis, featuring wars and famines, yet it seems that such opinions may be exaggerated. On the other hand, this period witnessed the growth of provincial towns like Edfu and Dendera and the flourishing of literature. Provincial culture was enriched by traditions previously developed in the capital and disseminated across the country, although the artistic quality was often compromised.

The culture of the following periods inherited innovations of the FIP, such as scarab seals, mummy masks, saff-tombs, and the idea that royal power comes from the gods. A new power center emerged in the south, Thebes, which dominated the political, religious, and cultural life of Egypt for the next two millennia.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Africa
Authors: Dickerson-Cousin Christina
Published: July 2024

In 1816, Richard Allen and other Black Methodists established the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Although this independent, historically Black denomination began in the United States, its early members and ministers had global ambitions. They intended for the AME Church to serve marginalized people of color around the world. Planting the institution in Africa played an important role in this vision.

African Methodists began migrating to Sierra Leone and Liberia in the first half of the 19th century. In these locales, they hoped to find a respite from the oppression they faced in the American South. The AME Church grew in these regions and, later, in South Africa. By the AME denomination’s bicentennial year in 2016, there were six African episcopal districts spanning various regions of the continent.

Women, both clergy and lay, have played significant roles in AME Church history. African women are a part of that historical pattern. Charlotte Manye Maxeke helped to initiate African Methodism in South Africa. Europa Randall facilitated AME expansion in Ghana. Louise York served as a pioneering educator at two AME schools in Liberia. Her daughter, Katurah York Cooper, established a thriving church in Monrovia. These and other trailblazing women assisted in the growth and development of African Methodism in Africa.
Newton and Newtonianism
Authors: Van Besouw Jip , Schilt Cornelis
Published: July 2024

Isaac Newton’s famous works on mechanics, astronomy, mathematics, and optics have been widely studied in the history of physics. Over the last half century, however, historians have also come to grasp Newton’s extensive studies in fields now no longer considered scientific, such as alchemy, prophecy, and church history. Whereas earlier biographers of Newton believed they could distinguish between a young, scientific Newton and an old, non-scientific Newton, contemporary historians have shown that Newton started cultivating his wide interests well before authoring his epoch-making Principia. Newton never published a coherent account of his natural philosophy. Because of that, the relations between Newton’s different investigations were obscured to his contemporaries. Nevertheless, many were inspired by Newton. This has led previous generations of historians to describe 18th-century physics as the unfolding of ‘Newtonianism.’ Current historical research has now largely rejected that idea. Instead, recent research focuses on how Newton’s work was actually read and interpreted throughout the eighteenth century for purposes and developments that were not Newton’s own. Much eighteenth-century engagement with Newton had to do with constructing views of what proper natural philosophy was supposed to look like, and with the separation of physics and metaphysics.
Food Politics and Policy
Authors: Nestle Marion
Published: July 2024

The food industry is a vast conglomeration of national and international companies that produce, process, manufacture, sell, and serve foods, beverages, and dietary supplements. Together, these companies generate close to $2 trillion in annual sales in the United States alone. To protect sales and profits, food companies use strategies that firmly link politics to food and food systems—everything that happens to a food from production to consumption and waste. Food politics refers to how governments of groups, cities, and countries make decisions affecting food systems and how they balance stakeholder pressures in making those decisions. Food policies are the means through which governments implement political decisions through food laws, regulations, administrative actions, and programs. Politics and policies are instruments of power over food production and consumption and over who profits or benefits from them. This power, however, is distributed unequally and inequitably, with large corporations—Big Food, Big Agriculture—holding far more power than individuals or groups acting in the public interest. Hence, politics.
Natech Emergency Preparedness and Response
Authors: Karagiannis Georgios Marios
Published: July 2024

Industrialization, urbanization, and climate change are all increasing the risk from Natech events in the world. Hazardous materials incidents present a significant threat to life and property, involve high values at risk and political sensitivities, cross jurisdictional boundaries, require numerous kinds and types of resources, entail complex strategies and tactics, may be affected by weather, and are relatively non-routine. They can thus be quite complex in and of themselves, even without the occurrence of natural hazards. Because of the confluence of natural disasters and industrial facilities involving hazardous substances, Natech events may pose additional challenges, including the compromise of response capabilities, multiple incidents occurring simultaneously, poor access, utility damage, and evacuation constraints and limitations.

As with all emergencies, a Natech response cannot be improvised. Improving Natech response capabilities requires enhanced preparedness efforts. Risk assessments should consider the impact of natural hazards in industrial facilities using or storing hazardous substances. This kind of analysis should allow planners to determine the specific capabilities and activities to respond to and recover from Natech incidents. Once the required capabilities have been determined, communities will need to determine the best way to build the additional capabilities required given funding limitations.

Emergency planning for Natech incidents should not be done in isolation but should be integrated in all-hazards, jurisdiction-wise planning. A hybrid approach, which combines planning based on scenario, function, and capabilities, is recommended. Collaborative planning helps individuals and organizations understand their roles, as well as the roles and contributions of other organizations, which ultimately leads to successful operations. Therefore, the first milestone in the planning process is to form a collaborative team, including facility owners or operators as early as possible in the process. Emergency planners are also advised to consider the potential of science and technology for improving preparedness efforts and response capabilities. Furthermore, exercise practitioners designing natural disaster exercises should consider including Natech events in scenarios to add realism and explore response capabilities.

In a Natech emergency, data are frequently incomplete and can even be contradictory, so responders should be as conservative as practicable so that they can protect both themselves and the public. Technical specialists for both hazardous materials and natural hazards should be integrated early in the incident command structure. Phasing the operation to protect resources, by keeping them out of the hazard zone, may be a useful strategy in some weather-related emergencies. Emergency managers should also consider how Natech evacuations may disrupt evacuations stemming from the need to protect people from a natural hazard. And first responders should consider a mix of offensive, defensive, and passive tactics.
Water Governance in the Netherlands
Authors: Blankesteijn M.L. (Marie Louise) , Pot W.D. (Wieke)
Published: July 2024

Dutch water governance is world famous. It to a large extent determines the global public image of the Netherlands, with its windmills, polders, dikes and dams, and the eternal fight against the water, symbolized by the engineering marvel of the Delta Works. Dutch water governance has a history that dates back to the 11th century. Since the last 200 years, water governance has, however, undergone significant changes. Important historical events setting in motion longer-term developments for Dutch water governance were the Napoleonic rule, land reclamation projects, the Big Flood of 1953, the Afsluitdijk, the impoldering of the former Southern Sea, the ecological turn in water management, and the more integrated approach of “living with water.” In the current anthropocentric age, climate change presents a key challenge for Dutch water governance, as a country that for a large part is situated below sea level and is prone to flooding.

The existing Dutch water governance system is multilevel, publicly financed, and, compared to many other countries, still relatively decentralized. The responsibilities for water management are shared among the national government and Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, provinces, regional water authorities, and municipalities. Besides these governmental layers, the Delta Commissioner is specifically designed to stimulate a forward-looking view when it comes to water management and climate change. With the Delta Commissioner and Delta Program, the Netherlands aims to become a climate-resilient and water-robust country in 2050.

Robustness, adaptation, coordination, integration, and democratization are key ingredients of a future-proof water governance arrangement that can support a climate-resilient Dutch delta. In recent years, the Netherlands already has been confronted with many climate extremes and will need to transform its water management system to better cope with floods but even more so to deal with droughts and sea-levels rising. The latest reports of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change show that more adaptive measures are needed. Such measures also require a stronger coordination between governmental levels, sectors, policies, and infrastructure investments. Furthermore, preparing for the future also requires engagement and integration with other challenges, such as the energy transition, nature conservation, and circular economy. To contribute to sustainability goals related to the energy transition and circular economy, barriers for technical innovation and changes to institutionalized responsibilities will need to be further analyzed and lifted.

To govern for the longer term, current democratic institutions may not always be up to the task. Experiments with deliberative forms of democracy and novel ideas to safeguard the interests of future generations are to be further tested and researched to discover their potential for securing a more long-term oriented and integrated approach in water governance.
The Chief Business of the True Judges in Hume’s Standard of Taste
Authors: Kim Byoungjae
Published: July 2024

In his essay ‘Of the Standard of Taste’, Hume identifies two standards of taste: the general rules of art and the joint verdict of true judges. From this the following questions arise: Why did Hume present two standards? And, how should we understand the relation between them? We must first get a firmer grasp on each of the standards that Hume presents. Hence, this paper has two main goals. The first is to understand the general rules of art in the light of Hume’s philosophical method, which is consonant with Newtonian methods of analysis and synthesis. The second is to provide a new interpretation of what Hume takes to be the joint verdict of true judges. In my interpretation, the joint verdict of true judges constitutes the standard of taste, not because their verdicts converge, but because their verdicts encompass blameless differences. With this new foundation for understanding the two standards, I will present my own reading of the relation between them.
Overcoming time-varying confounding in self-controlled case series with active comparators: application and recommendations
Authors: Schultze Anna , Brown Jeremy , Logie John , Cunnington Marianne , Requena Gema , Gillespie Iain A , Evans Stephen J W , Douglas Ian , Galwey Nicholas
Published: July 2024

Confounding by indication is a key challenge for pharmacoepidemiologists. Although self-controlled study designs address time-invariant confounding, indications sometimes vary over time. For example, infection might act as a time-varying confounder in a study of antibiotics and uveitis, because it is time-limited and a direct cause of both receipt of antibiotics and uveitis. Methods for incorporating active comparators in self-controlled studies to address such time-varying confounding by indication have only recently been developed. In this paper, we formalize these methods and provide a detailed description for how the active comparator rate ratio can be derived in a self-controlled case series: either by explicitly comparing the regression coefficients for a drug of interest and an active comparator under certain circumstances using a simple ratio approach or through the use of a nested regression model. The approaches are compared in 2 case studies, one examining the association between thiazolidinedione use and fractures and one examining the association between fluoroquinolone use and uveitis, using the United Kingdom’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Finally, we provide recommendations for the use of these methods, which we hope will support the design, execution, and interpretation of self-controlled case series using active comparators and thereby increase the robustness of pharmacoepidemiologic studies.

This article is part of a Special Collection on Pharmacoepidemiology.
Development of an experimental technique to determine the barrier performance of medical gloves when stretched
Authors: Soo Jhy-Charm , Portnoff Lee , Bickson Joseph , Fisher Edward M
Published: July 2024

Protective clothing standards, such as test methods published by ASTM International, play an integral role in ensuring the performance of personal protective equipment. The standard tests are not without limitations and are periodically reviewed and often updated. Some tests may not be reflective of in-use conditions. A new test cell was designed using sanitary fixtures to evaluate the effect of glove stretch on barrier performance using fluorescein solution as the challenge agent for enhanced visualization and fluorometer detection. Domed-shaped and flat screens were developed to permit and limit glove stretch within the test cell. The barrier performance of glove swatches was evaluated for both stretched and unstretched states. Latex, nitrile, and vinyl glove models of various thicknesses were evaluated. The tests were conducted following pressure and time parameters specified in ASTM F903, ASTM F1670, and ASTM F1671. Fluorescein solution movement, which may occur through penetration, was measured using a fluorometer. Glove stretch caused a reduction in glove thickness ranging from 16% to 40%. Overall, 21 sample failures were found (16.7%; n = 126) regardless of test condition. Nitrile gloves provided better barrier efficacy with the lowest failure rates (2.38%; 1 failure out of 42) compared to latex (19.4%; 7 failures out of 36) and vinyl gloves (27.1%; 13 failures out of 48). Differences in failure rates between stretched and unstretched gloves were insignificant; however, the latex material showed a 2.5 times increase in failures when stretched compared to unstretched. The new test apparatus was able to differentiate between the barrier performance of different glove materials. The use of a domed screen allowed the gloves to stretch, a condition that better represents the state of gloves when in use. Analysis of samples collected from the glove surface opposite to the exposure may provide a way to assess chemical permeation in addition to penetration.
q2-metnet: QIIME2 package to analyse 16S rRNA data via high-quality metabolic reconstructions of the human gut microbiota
Authors: Balzerani Francesco , Blasco Telmo , Pérez-Burillo Sergio , Francino M Pilar , Rufián-Henares José Á , Valcarcel Luis V , Planes Francisco J
Published: July 2024

Motivation

16S rRNA gene sequencing is the most frequent approach for the characterization of the human gut microbiota. Despite different efforts in the literature, the inference of functional and metabolic interpretations from 16S rRNA gene sequencing data is still a challenging task. High-quality metabolic reconstructions of the human gut microbiota, such as AGORA and AGREDA, constitute a curated resource to improve functional inference from 16S rRNA data, but they are not typically integrated into standard bioinformatics tools.

Results

Here, we present q2-metnet, a QIIME2 plugin that enables the contextualization of 16S rRNA gene sequencing data into AGORA and AGREDA. In particular, based on relative abundances of taxa, q2-metnet determines normalized activity scores for the reactions and subsystems involved in the selected metabolic reconstruction. Using these scores, q2-metnet allows the user to conduct differential activity analysis for reactions and subsystems, as well as exploratory analysis using PCA and hierarchical clustering. We apply q2-metnet to a dataset from our group that involves 16S rRNA data from stool samples from lean, allergic to cow’s milk, obese and celiac children, and the Belgian Flemish Gut Flora Project cohort, which includes faecal 16S rRNA data from obese and normal-weight adult individuals. In the first case, q2-metnet outperforms existing algorithms in separating different clinical conditions based on predicted pathway abundances and subsystem scores. In the second case, q2-metnet complements competing approaches in predicting functional alterations in the gut microbiota of obese individuals. Overall, q2-metnet constitutes a powerful bioinformatics tool to provide metabolic context to 16S rRNA data from the human gut microbiota.

Availability and implementation

Python code of q2-metnet is available in https://github.com/PlanesLab/q2-metnet and https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/q2-metnet_package/26180446.
Protease expression in the human and rat cumulus–oocyte complex during the periovulatory period: a role in cumulus–oocyte complex migration
Authors: Shrestha Ketan , Puttabyatappa Muraly , Wynn Michelle A , Hannon Patrick R , Al-Alem Linah F , Rosewell Katherine L , Akin James , Curry Thomas E
Published: July 2024

The migratory and matrix-invading capacities of the cumulus–oocyte complex have been shown to be important for the ovulatory process. In metastatic cancers, these capacities are due to increased expression of proteases, however, there is limited information on protease expression in the cumulus–oocyte complexes. The present study examined cumulus–oocyte complex expression of plasmins, matrix metalloproteases, and A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motifs family members in the rat and human. In the rat, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration increased cumulus–oocyte complex expression of Mmp2, Mmp9, Mmp13, Mmp14, Mmp16, Adamts1, and the protease inhibitors Timp1, Timp3, and Serpine1 by 8–12 h. This ovulatory induction of proteases in vivo could be mimicked by forskolin and ampiregulin treatment of cultured rat cumulus–oocyte complexes with increases observed in Mmp2, Mmp13, Mmp14, Mmp16, Mmp19, Plat, and the protease inhibitors Timp1, Timp3, and Serpine1. Comparison of expression between rat cumulus–oocyte complexes and granulosa cells at the time of ovulation showed decreased Mmp9 and increased Mmp13, Mmp14, Mmp16, Adamts1, Timp1, and Timp3 expression in the cumulus–oocyte complexes. In human, comparison of expression between cumulus and granulosa cells at the time of in vitro fertilization retrieval showed decreased MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, and ADAMTS1, while expression of MMP16, TIMP1, and TIMP3 were increased. Treatment of expanding rat cumulus–oocyte complexes with a broad spectrum matrix metalloproteases inhibitor, GM6001, significantly reduced the migration of cumulus cells in vitro. These data provide evidence that multiple proteases and their inhibitors are expressed in the cumulus–oocyte complex and play an important role in imparting the migratory phenotype of the cumulus–oocyte complex at the time of ovulation.

Summary Sentence 

Multiple proteases and their inhibitors are induced in the cumulus–oocyte complex (COC) during the periovulatory period and potentially play an important role in imparting the migratory phenotype of the COC at the time of ovulation.
Multiply robust estimation of marginal structural models in observational studies subject to covariate-driven observations
Authors: Coulombe Janie , Yang Shu
Published: July 2024

Electronic health records and other sources of observational data are increasingly used for drawing causal inferences. The estimation of a causal effect using these data not meant for research purposes is subject to confounding and irregularly-spaced covariate-driven observation times affecting the inference. A doubly-weighted estimator accounting for these features has previously been proposed that relies on the correct specification of two nuisance models used for the weights. In this work, we propose a novel consistent multiply robust estimator and demonstrate analytically and in comprehensive simulation studies that it is more flexible and more efficient than the only alternative estimator proposed for the same setting. It is further applied to data from the Add Health study in the United States to estimate the causal effect of therapy counseling on alcohol consumption in American adolescents.