bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Homestead Tax Deductions and Home Values: The Case of Washington DC Versus Maryland
Authors: Alfayazi Mohammad , Amini Amirhossein , Kurban Haydar
Published: September 2024

In Washington DC, homeowners benefit from a generous homestead property tax deduction, which significantly reduces their property tax burden. This deduction specifically exempts a substantial portion of home assessment values from taxation. To understand the causal effects of this policy on home values, this article examines the impact of an increase in DC homestead tax deductions. The increase was implemented as a policy decision to index the homestead deduction to the Consumer Price Index starting from 2013. In the absence of a comparable property tax policy change in Maryland around the relevant years, we utilize this policy based natural experiment and compare the home value increases in the census tracts along the DC-Maryland border. Our findings reveal that this policy led to an economically and statistically significant increase in estimated home value in DC tracts compared to neighboring tracts in Maryland. Moreover, our results indicate that this effect is even more pronounced in neighborhoods with a majority Black population, thereby highlighting the potential redistributive implications of such tax policies.
A review of research on tire burst and vehicle stability control
Authors: Yang Dongsheng , Li Jun , Huang Chaosheng , Li Kunheng , Lu Guoxiang , Guo Kai
Published: September 2024

Tire burst is an accidental occurrence that poses a serious threat to the driving stability and road safety of vehicles. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to investigate early warning systems for tire burst and develop stability and safety control measures after burst incidents. The development of an accurate model that can effectively represent the impact of tire burst on vehicle dynamics is crucial for the design of control systems and the development of stability control strategies. Most of the existing research on tire burst models is based on static tire tests, the effectiveness of these models still needs to be further verified. The main approach to studying the impact of burst tires on vehicle performance is to embed a burst tire model into a vehicle dynamics model. Understanding the impact of tire burst on vehicle performance is essential for identifying burst incidents and developing stability control strategies. The research on burst identification primarily focuses on early warning systems and estimating vehicle state parameters after burst incidents, while the current research on stability control strategies focuses on enabling vehicles to continue running safely after burst incidents through braking, active steering, and collaborative control. Currently, there is no comprehensive review of research on vehicle tire burst stability control. Therefore, this paper primarily reviews five aspects: (a) the causes and prevention of tire burst, (b) the impact of tire burst on vehicle performance, (c) burst identification, (d) stability control strategies for burst incidents, and (e) future prospects for tire burst research.
A review of neonatal lupus syndrome
Authors: Bankole Adegbenga , Nwaonu Jane
Published: September 2024

This review article discusses neonatal lupus syndrome (NLS), an immune-mediated disease caused by maternal antibodies. Maternal antibodies in the fetal circulation are mostly but not always protective. NLS is a disease caused by pathogenic maternal autoantibodies in the fetal circulation. The passive immunization of the fetus by NLS-causing maternal antibodies may occur in the absence of a previously known maternal systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD). Screening for NLS-related antibodies in patients with related SARD or those in whom there is a risk of NLS including first-degree relatives should occur before pregnancy. This screening is best performed as part of a collaborative relationship between obstetrics and rheumatology. Pregnancy preparations in those with SARD include transitioning to pregnancy-safe medications. The symptoms of NLS range from minor skin rashes to fetal demise from heart block. Fetal screening allows for maternal therapeutic interventions that may be beneficial, as well as the use of fetal pacemakers in the more severe cases that include cardiac NLS.
Sensing and making sense of climate change in a Western European urban setting: Bodily exposures, uncertain epistemologies, and climatic care practices
Authors: van Oorschot Irene , van Balen Sophie
Published: September 2024

This article probes the crucial role of the body, embodiment, and sensation in the way people encounter large-scale processes of climate change in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Exploring how urban denizens in one of the more temperate regions of the world come to know, speak, and conceptualize climate change in their everyday life, we aim to revitalize a conceptual engagement with embodiment and sensation as meaningful modes of knowing and situating the large-scale realities of climate change. Drawing on a series of group conversations with diverse urban dwellers, we empirically (1) highlight moments, settings, and practices within which climate change is sensed as a local and material reality; (2) trace recurring epistemological questions and anxieties that arise around the register of sense-able experience; and (3) show how moments, settings, and practices within which climate change appears as a sense-able reality generate novel forms of what we coin climatic care practices, in which people try to modulate and manage their exposure to changing climatic conditions in the city. In our conclusion, we underscore the multiple and fragmented character of climate change in the everyday lives, knowledges, and practices of these city dwellers; reflect on methodological possibilities to further address climate change as an everyday reality in Western urban settings; and emphasize the urgency of attuning to climate change as a sensed, in addition to a cognitively known or contested, reality at the level of social theory as well as policy-making.
Wealth and Class Analysis: Exploitation, Closure and Exclusion
Authors: Waitkus Nora , Savage Mike , Toft Maren
Published: September 2024

Wealth inequalities are increasingly prominent in contemporary societies but they have not been systematically addressed by sociological class analysis. However, class analysis should have a lot to offer: in the literature on wealth inequality, wealth is often approached as a unidimensional distribution – a quantity one can possess more or less of, crystallized in notions of the Top 1%. In this theoretical intervention, we discuss ways in which class analysis can address the gravity of wealth inequality by returning to the origins in the thinking of Marx and Weber, where capital accumulation and property organization were given central stage. Drawing on more recent contributions from Bourdieu, and integrating insights from political economy, theories of racial capitalism and feminist perspectives, we outline ways to enrich class theory through attention to housing, finance, business and debt. Our intervention allows class analysis to embrace accumulation, exploitation, closure and exclusion; making it fit for purpose to address 21st-century social changes.
‘Just a Simple Sausage Sandwich’: The Significance of Sensory Care Practices and Hidden Carers in the Hospice
Authors: Richardson Natalie
Published: September 2024

The hospice setting has been explored extensively through the perspectives of patients and clinical staff. This article draws on findings from a UK-based ethnographic study of clinical and non-clinical hospice work to illustrate forms of care that attend to the multisensory end-of-life experience. The data highlight the practices within the hospice setting that are overlooked as forms of care and involve inaction, such as being silent with or gently touching a patient. Moreover, the article brings attention to the hidden work of non-clinical staff, such as cooks and housekeepers. In doing so, the article stretches existing understandings of care within such settings to those working on the periphery of caring work in non-clinical roles. It demonstrates the alternative forms of care and modes of caring expression where words are not enough. The analysis demonstrates how relational flows of care between patients, clinical and non-clinical staff shape embodied, sensory and emotional experiences within hospice settings.
God[ly] teacher in Kierkegaard: towards a theology of education
Authors: Ahmedov Igor
Published: September 2024

This article provides a reading of the figure of the God[ly] teacher who has become aware of the paradox of the nature of the relationship of the teacher and student, where God is the relation between them. It points towards a theology of education that is based on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and rests in the logic of education that learns of and from the paradox of this relation. The article invites the teacher to reconsider their practice from seduction and lover categories, to giving the gift of education in fear and trembling.
Pathways from School Belonging to Problematic Online Game Use among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Symptoms and the Moderating Role of Physical Exercise
Authors: Fang Xin , Huang Bin , Liao Jundong , Tian Wenxiu , Lei Li
Published: September 2024

Problematic online game use (POGU) causes various negative effects on adolescent development. Thus, it is necessary to explore the influential factors and mechanisms of adolescent POGU. The present study examined the relationship between school belonging and adolescent POGU and its mechanisms. A sample of 958 secondary vocational school students completed self-reported measures of school belonging, emotional symptoms, physical exercise, and POGU. The results showed that school belonging negatively predicted emotional symptoms (including depression, anxiety, and stress), which in turn positively predicted adolescent POGU. Besides, the moderating role of physical exercise in the relationship between school belonging and depression was significant, and the moderating role of physical exercise in the relationship between school belonging and anxiety was marginal but significant. The magnitudes of the above relationships were smaller as physical exercise increased. Results provide suggestions to reduce adolescent POGU by enhancing school belonging and decreasing emotional symptoms.
Highlighting the Neuropsychological Consequences of COVID-19: Evidence From a Narrative Review
Authors: Megari Kalliopi , Thomaidou Evanthia , Chatzidimitriou Electra
Published: September 2024

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, although largely affecting the respiratory system, commonly presents with numerous clinical symptoms from other systems. COVID-19 has been associated with both acute and persistent neurological abnormalities in a substantial proportion of patients. Notably, post-COVID-19 neuropsychological abnormalities have garnered attention, highlighting a high prevalence of neurocognitive issues in affected individuals. This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge on the neuropsychological impact of COVID-19, drawing insights from an extensive online search of published literature conducted in the PubMed (MEDLINE) and Scopus databases. The findings underscore significant neuropsychological effects of COVID-19 observed at both individual and societal levels during the ongoing pandemic. Neuropsychological deficits such as memory difficulties, attention problems, and executive dysfunction, alongside physical symptoms like headaches and fatigue were commonly reported. Additionally, psychological challenges, including fear, anxiety, and depression, emerged as prevalent issues arising from the uncertainties surrounding the situation, social isolation, and employment insecurities. The identified neuropsychological manifestations of COVID-19 can significantly impede normal cognitive and emotional functioning, potentially resulting in decreased productivity and an overall decline in mental health and quality of life. Early identification of signs indicative of neurological or psychological decline becomes imperative, offering a crucial opportunity to mitigate the risk of long-term neuropsychological dysfunction through the development of targeted interventions.
Developing the First Digital Occupational Therapy Dictionary Worldwide: A Promising Mobile Application Model for Occupational Therapy Service Providers and Recipients
Authors: Sarsak Hassan Izzeddin
Published: September 2024

The purpose of this study was to develop the first English-Arabic occupational therapy dictionary mobile application that could be used by occupational therapy service providers and recipients and help fill the gap in understanding and communicating occupational therapy services. Google Play Store and App Store application stores were searched first to identify any current electronic occupational therapy dictionary. While developing the dictionary concept and structure, end users’ needs, language, and culture were taken into consideration applying a user-friendly design, functionalities, and an easy-to-understand language with illustrative visual representations. Our search for currently available electronic occupational therapy dictionaries did not identify any mobile application on the official application stores for iPhone and Android. As a result, a conceptual model was created to develop a mobile application aiming to develop a comprehensive and user-friendly mobile electronic dictionary with over 2400 scientific terms translated and annotated from English to Arabic, more than 350 illustrative pictures, and special features to assist occupational therapy professionals and occupational therapy services recipients in looking up and understanding terminology used in rehabilitation and occupational therapy in the most convenient, fastest, and easiest way possible. The occupational therapy dictionary mobile application has helped create a unified terminology and a common language of shared understanding, proved to be a helpful tool of communicating important messages between Arab occupational therapy professionals and community members through providing an easy access to up-to-date comprehensive English-Arabic lexicography in occupational therapy. It has become the first digital occupational therapy dictionary worldwide and has been made available for everyone to download from Google Play and App Store on their smartphones, computers, or tablets free of charge. Further research is urgently needed for quality improvement and to further enrich Arabic content in occupational therapy through developing evidence-based mobile tools to be used in occupational therapy practice by Arabic-speaking population.
Sustainable energy recovery from municipal solid wastes: An in-depth analysis of waste-to-energy technologies and their environmental implications in India
Authors: Kumar Ravinder , Sharma Shubham , Kumar Abhinav , Singh Rajesh , Awwad Fuad A. , Khan M. Ijaz , Ismail Emad A. A.
Published: September 2024

In recent years, in response to an increased demand for renewable energy sources, there has been a rise in the rate of energy recovery from municipal solid trash. This study analyses the feasibility of employing a variety of energy recovery methods to produce clean power from municipal solid waste (MSW). The conversion of MSW into a variety of useable sources of energy, such as fuel, heat and electricity, is required for the process of energy recovery. Other strategies for the recuperation of lost energy include gasification, incineration, anaerobic digestion, and the recovery of landfill gas. This article provides a high-level assessment of the advantages and disadvantages associated with each technology that is currently being utilised in India. According to the findings of the study, recovering energy from municipal solid waste is a sustainable and cost-effective option that can fulfil the growing demand for power while simultaneously lowering emissions of greenhouse gases and the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills.
A suprasellar Aerocele as a Complication of Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery: A Case Report
Authors: Awad Abdulrahman , Al-Ali Amjad , Ahmad Aghyad , Al-Abdullah Hussein
Published: September 2024

CSF leak-related pneumocephalus is a rare complication of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS) and has been reported in previous studies. We are presenting a rare case of subdural pneumocephalus, unassociated with CSF leak, that developed in the sellar and suprasellar regions. This complication was diagnosed in an adult male 1 week after the removal of a large tumor in the same site via ETSS. The patient presented with a severe headache and visual deterioration. He was diagnosed by a CT scan and managed emergently via ETSS. The headache was relieved immediately after surgery, and the recent visual deterioration was reversed the next day. As far as we have reviewed in the context of complications of ETSS, no previous study has reported such a complication of pneumocephalus unassociated with CSF leak following ETSS. As a conclusion, pneumocephalus can occur with or without CSF leakage as a complication of ETSS, and it may be avoided by a good (water-tight) sealing of the surgical site.
Effect of Differential Item Functioning on Computer Adaptive Testing Under Different Conditions
Authors: Sahin Kursad Merve , Yalcin Seher
Published: September 2024

This study provides an overview of the effect of differential item functioning (DIF) on measurement precision, test information function (TIF), and test effectiveness in computer adaptive tests (CATs). Simulated data for the study was produced and analyzed with the Rstudio. During the data generation process, item pool size, DIF type, DIF percentage, item selection method for CAT, and the test termination rules were considered changed conditions. Sample size and ability parameter distribution, Item Response Theory (IRT) model, DIF size, ability estimation method, test starting rule, and item usage frequency method regarding CAT conditions were considered fixed conditions. To examine the effect of DIF, measurement precision, TIF and test effectiveness were calculated. Results show DIF has negative effects on measurement precision, TIF, and test effectiveness. In particular, statistically significant effects of the percentage DIF items and DIF type are observed on measurement precision.
Combating Student Alienation Through Assignment Design
Authors: Tanenbaum Laura , Gallagher Kristen
Published: September 2024

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to mental health struggles among students, and a range of interventions have been proposed to improve student retention and learning through “trauma-engaged pedagogy” and “cultures of caring.” Drawing on the insights of affect theory, we argue that such a focus, although possibly helpful, ignores the role of alienation as a factor in student struggles. We further argue that assignment design is an overlooked and crucial site of student alienation, arguing that culturally relevant or politically inspiring readings and curricula will do little to ensure student engagement if assignments are arbitrary, artificial, and appear as simulacra of academic writing rather than as real sites of intellectual engagement. Drawing on our many years of experience as composition teachers at a community college as well as the work of colleagues and scholars and traditions of progressive pedagogy, we then suggest some criteria for assignments that foster engagement, offer lists of examples of such assignments, and outline a few of them in detail.
Distinct Dimensions of Human Capital in Distressed Firms: Implications for Firms and Research
Authors: Baxi Amol , Saradhi V. Raveendra
Published: September 2024

This study examines how research has analysed human capital in distressed firms, which face unique challenges and complex choices impacting survival. This paper highlights that while literature has grappled with several sub-streams of interrelated research, their integration into a specialised subject from a distress perspective remains. Drawing perspectives from multiple research streams, we highlight the distinct issues distressed firms face in the human capital context. We present a conceptual framework outlining the ex-ante interactions of bankruptcy and human capital across the distress lifecycle (pre-distress, distress, and bankruptcy). This paper recommend a greater ex-ante focus (managerial, academic, and research) on the distinct dimensions of human capital across the distress lifecycle to avoid firm collapse/liquidation events.
Preparation of high-performance electroplated zinc coatings using modified DESs method
Authors: Xu Siyu , Li Fan , Ju Dianchun , Li Xiangyang
Published: September 2024

This study suggests a new process for zinc recycling in the iron and steel industry, that is, using RHF zinc-containing refined dust as the raw material and ChCl-urea DES (Reline) as the medium. The solid waste from the bottom-turning furnace is leached out, and the resulting zinc is plated directly onto automobile plates. This paper focuses on the utilization of EDTA as an additive to improve the overall performance of the zinc coatings. The results demonstrated that the addition of EDTA realized the modulation of the morphology of the coatings, which made the surface milky white and uniformly bright. The coating consists of hexagonal lamellar grains, dominated by (002) crystalline surfaces that grow at small angles, and the surface flatness is dramatically improved. Most importantly, the hardness of the modified coatings was increased by 70.0% and the coefficient of friction was reduced by about 29.2% compared with the coatings obtained in the pure solution. The addition of EDTA led to the formation of a surface passivation film during the corrosion process, which significantly improved the corrosion resistance of the material surface and the corrosion rate was reduced by 0.355 mm.A−1.
Minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation: A bibliometric network analysis of the global scientific output
Authors: D’Andria Ursoleo Jacopo , Losiggio Rosario , Licheri Margherita , Barucco Gaia , Lazzari Stefano , Faustini Carolina , Monaco Fabrizio ,   Collaborators
Published: September 2024

Introduction

Minimal Invasive Extracorporeal Circulation (MiECC) has recently emerged as a more ‘physiologic’ alternative to conventional extracorporeal circulation. However, its adoption is still limited due to lack of robust scientific evidence and ongoing debate about its potential benefits. This bibliometric analysis aims to analyze the scientific articles on MiECC and identify current research domains and existing gaps to be addressed in future studies.

Methods

Pertinent articles were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) database. The search string included ‘minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation’ and its synonyms. The VOSviewer (version 1.6.17) software was used to conduct comprehensive analyses. Semantic and research networks, bibliographic coupling and journal analysis were performed.

Results

Of the 1777 articles identified in WOS, 292 were retrieved. The trend in publications increased from 1991 to date. Most articles focused on transfusion requirements, acute kidney injury, inflammatory markers and cytokines, inflammation and delirium, though the impact of intraoperative optimal fluid and hemodynamic management as far as the occurrence of postoperative complications were poorly addressed. The semantic network analysis found inter-connections between the terms “cardiopulmonary bypass”, “inflammatory response”, and “cardiac surgery”. Perfusion contributed the highest number of published documents. The most extensive research partnerships were between Germany, Greece, Italy, and England.

Conclusions

Notwithstanding the scientific community’s growing interest in MiECC, crucial topics (i.e., the best anesthetic management and intraoperative need for inotropes, vasopressors and fluids) still require more comprehensive exploration. This investigation may prove to be a useful tool for clinicians, scientists, and students concerning global publication output and for the use of MiECC in cardiac surgery.
Increased CCT5 expression is a potential unfavourable factor promoting the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Wu Shaoyu , Peng Lingrong
Published: September 2024

Objective

Chaperonin containing TCP1 subunit 5 ( CCT5) encodes the CCT5 protein subunit of chaperonin-containing TCP-1 (CCT/TRiC) complex, and is shown to be upregulated in tumour pathogenesis. The study aim was to investigate the differential expression of CCT5 between nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues, and the correlation between CCT5 expression and clinicopathological parameters/prognosis in patients with NPC.

Methods

Microarray assay data were evaluated for differential expression between NPC and noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues. CCT5 expression in NPC and noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues was determined at mRNA and protein levels by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Relationships between CCT5 expression in NPC, clinical parameters, and prognosis were statistically analysed. CCT5-mediated cell proliferation was assessed using EdU and cell counting kit-8. Western blot and co-immunoprecipitation were utilized to explore E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase parkin (PARK2)-induced degradation of CCT5.

Results

Microarray data showed CCT5 levels to be significantly increased in NPC versus noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues, which was confirmed by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical assays. Increased CCT5 protein levels positively correlated with tumour size, tumour recurrence, and clinical stage, and inversely correlated with patient’s overall survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that enhanced CCT5 protein expression is an independent prognostic factor for patients with NPC. Overexpression of CCT5 markedly induced NPC cell proliferation. Finally, PARK2, as a suppressive E3 ubiquitin-ligase enzyme, was shown to bind CCT5 and induce degradation in NPC.

Conclusions

Increased CCT5 may be an unfavourable factor promoting NPC growth. Binding of PARK2 to CCT5 was associated with CCT5 degradation, suggesting that PARK2 is an upstream negative modulator in NPC.
Primary ovarian leiomyosarcoma: a case report
Authors: Zhang Qingli , Wang Kexin , Wang Bin
Published: September 2024

Primary ovarian sarcoma is a rare malignancy, with primary ovarian leiomyosarcoma being even rarer because of the lack of smooth muscle in the ovaries. We herein report a case of primary ovarian leiomyosarcoma in a woman in her late 50s who presented with a 6-month history of abdominal pain. Imaging revealed a pelvic mass. The patient underwent surgery and was diagnosed with ovarian leiomyosarcoma. One month postoperatively, she began gemcitabine and docetaxel chemotherapy and continued this treatment for 6 months. Eight months postoperatively, however, recurrence was detected in the pelvic cavity. This case is reported with the aim of raising awareness about this rare disease.
The application of the state-of-the-art turbulence models in the OpenFOAM CFD codes and the validation for different flow control cases in the continuous casting process
Authors: Tang Yong , Fellner Wolfgang , Lukesch Gernot , Hackl Gernot
Published: September 2024

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an established approach to study flow behaviour. Despite advances in mathematical numerical modelling in recent decades, accurately predicting the turbulent flow behaviour of steel using CFD remains a challenge. In the continuous casting process, two main flow control systems are employed to transfer liquid steel from the tundish to the mould, namely stopper control and slide gate control. In additional to these two main flow control systems, the casting nozzle geometries, casting rate, and casting mould dimensions vary considerably, and this complexity makes it difficult to precisely simulate turbulent flow in the casting channel. In this paper, examples are presented showing how different turbulence models influence the simulation results, using the latest version of the open source CFD simulation software OpenFOAM. Prior to the CFD modelling, RHI Magnesita's water modelling facilities in Leoben (Austria) were used to validate the state-of-the-art turbulence models selected for a particular casting nozzle geometry and flow control system.
The impact of cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy on supply chain management efficiency
Authors: Arianpoor Arash , Moghaddampoor Bita
Published: September 2024

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of two of the most commonly used strategies (i.e., cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy) on the supply chain management efficiency (SCME) of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The data about 215 companies were analyzed during 2014–2021. The sale per inventory ratio was used to calculate SCME. The study focused on cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy. The results showed that cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy have a significant and positive effect on SCME. Hypothesis testing based on the robustness checks confirmed these findings. In spite of the growing interest in supply chain management, there is little research on emerging economies compared to developed economies. There is also a significant gap of research on how business strategy could influence the performance of supply chains. The present findings will not only help company managers in developing countries, but due to the lack of similar research, they are of great help to managers in developed countries and the global community.
On cultural appropriation and cultural transpropriation: a Latin American perspective
Authors: Adamovsky Ezequiel
Published: September 2024

This article analyses the reception of debates on ‘cultural appropriation’ in Latin America, as the term landed in the region in the late 2010s straight from the US and Canada. Upon arrival, the Anglo-Saxon meaning of ‘cultural appropriation’ competed with the literal equivalent apropiación cultural (or apropriação cultural in Brazil), known in Latin America previously, although with a totally different sense. By examining such a clash of meanings and examples of resistance against the Anglo-Saxon version and inconsistencies in its local use, its applicability in Latin America is discussed. It is argued that, due to the specificities of the local ethnic-racial dynamics, some types of interethnic migration of cultural elements can indeed be analysed as variants of cultural appropriation, while others become incomprehensible when interpreted with conceptual frames developed for North American realities. For the latter, this article presents the term ‘cultural transpropriation’ as an alternative.
Resisting renewable energy transitions: Innovation as a moral trope in the US oil and gas industry
Authors: High Mette M.
Published: September 2024

This article examines how oil and gas industry participants in Colorado reflect on the potential energy mix of the future. At a time when innovation is a dominant trope that casts entrepreneurs as agents who create dreams and craft worlds, providing the materials, technologies, and processes needed to decarbonize energy systems, my interlocutors also position themselves as experienced innovators. For them, petromodernity is a techno-scientific achievement that crystallizes the successful conjoining of wildcatter risk-taking, geoscientific knowledge, and engineering endeavour. While renewable energy sources now have widespread appeal among politicians, publics, and investors, these industry participants dismiss emerging energy transitions and renewable energy imaginaries. They mock and ridicule renewable energy sources, scorning them for being ‘factually impossible’ due to their lower energy densities relative to oil and gas. Turning to and mobilizing epistemologies of facts, they regard oil and gas as destined to enjoy great longevity. While they see their own industry as a harbinger of innovation, they deem renewable energy industries void of such potential. Exploring these mocking dismissals, this article shows how the oil and gas industry’s history and epistemes inform energy imaginaries and flourish in the championing of what I call ‘nostalgic innovation’. As such, I suggest that innovation is not only a key component in entrepreneurial capitalism, but also a powerful moral commentary on who is seen to deserve to play a key role in future configurations of life.
Lithium scale-making and extractivist counter-futurities in Bolivia
Authors: Goodale Mark
Published: September 2024

This article uses the ethnography of the prelives of lithium industrialization in Bolivia to contribute to wider debates – in anthropology and beyond – about the essentially contested nature of the green energy transition. Based on research conducted between 2019 and 2023, the article examines the topographies of production and sociopolitical mobilization that are entangled with Bolivia’s state-controlled lithium project but which resist the various pressures to reorient social and productive worlds around arguably the most important ‘critical’ mineral for climate policy-making. The article develops a theoretical framework for understanding these localized counter-futurities, one in which the image of scale-making takes on both vertical and horizontal dimensions. An anthropology of energy, climate justice, and resource imaginaries that is critically attuned to these inter-scalar frictions is one that must also be able to project itself through the kaleidoscope of competing energy narratives as a form of both demystification and ethnographic truth-telling.
Mining the Sun: Coal-to-solar transitions and energetic place-making in Appalachia
Authors: Whitington Jerome , Oguz Zeynep
Published: September 2024

A striking effort is under way to use energy investment, a key feature of US federal climate policy, to build solar farms on former mining lands and in legacy mining communities in central Appalachia. Focusing on community solar initiatives, we consider the geosociality of energy transitions from the perspective of communities where many people have considerable knowledge of energy systems and how they work. We note that the politics of place-making in the context of environmental sacrifice and capital abandonment enables negotiations around energy that often seek to bridge deep social contradictions. We highlight how solar energy’s diffuse networks of power, both social and electrical, privilege forms of temporal labor that are alliance-building, compositionist, para-ethnographic and intimately concerned with the capacity to build relations. Vernacular energy expertise can play a major role in creating novel forms of political sociality. In West Virginia, this both builds on and significantly shifts the emphasis of long legacies of energetic place-making. We expect the ongoing development of community-led solar investment to contribute to substantially important diversifying effects in West Virginian communities, especially when these efforts can more explicitly address the state’s extreme geographical, race, and class-based inequalities.
The politics of percentage: Informating justice in the US clean energy rush
Authors: Smith Jessica M.
Published: September 2024

Within days of taking office in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order establishing the Justice40 initiative, which directed federal agencies to ensure that at least 40% of the benefits of federal investments flow to historically marginalized communities. This article traces how Justice40, as interpreted and enacted by government bureaucrats, academics, industry researchers, and activists, intervenes in the governance of the energy transition it seeks to put into motion. Drawing from ongoing critical participation in energy research and development arenas and taking inspiration from Kim Fortun’s notion of the “informating of environmentalism,” this article argues that Justice40 can be understood as an attempt to informate justice, rendering it into problems that can be understood, manipulated, and audited through information systems. Scrambling to manage their accountabilities to the executive branch, Congress, and the American taxpayers footing the bill for massive infrastructure investments, Department of Energy programs are rolling out intricate systems of quantification, whose objectives of commensurability obscure local conceptions and prioritizations of justice. While Justice40 articulates lofty goals of energy transition enhancing the wellbeing of people who have otherwise been harmed by or excluded from the country’s existing energy infrastructure, its everyday practice has the ironic effect of undermining both epistemic and procedural justice.
CTAFFNet: CNN–Transformer Adaptive Feature Fusion Object Detection Algorithm for Complex Traffic Scenarios
Authors: Dong Xinlong , Shi Peicheng , Liang Taonian , Yang Aixi
Published: September 2024

As the core technology of an environmental perception system, object detection has received more and more attention and has become a hot research direction for intelligent driving vehicles. The CNN–Transformer hybrid model has poor generalization ability, making it difficult to meet the detection requirements for small objects in complex scenes. We propose a novel convolutional neural network (CNN)–Transformer Adaptive Feature Fusion Network (CTAFFNet) for object detection. First, we design a Local–Global Feature Fusion unit known as the Convolutional Transformation Adaptive Fusion Kernel (CTAFFK), which is integrated into CTAFFNet. The CTAFFK kernel utilizes two branches, namely CNN and Transformer, to extract local and global features from the image, and adaptively fuses the features from both branches. Subsequently, we develop an adaptive feature fusion strategy that combines local high-frequency and global low-frequency features to obtain comprehensive feature information. Finally, CTAFFNet employs an encoder–decoder structure to facilitate the flow of fused local–global information between different stages, ensuring the model’s generalization capabilities. Results from the experiment conducted on the large and challenging KITTI dataset demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed network. Compared with other mainstream networks, it achieves an average precision of 91.17%, particularly excelling in the detection of small objects at longer distances with a remarkable 70.18% accuracy, while also providing real-time detection capabilities.
Eye Movement Evaluation of Pedestrians' Mobile Phone Usage at Street Crossings
Authors: Hou Mingyu , Wang Chenzhu , Easa Said M. , Cheng Jianchuan
Published: September 2024

Vision is one of the most important human senses, accounting for most of the external information pedestrians receive while crossing the street. However, distracted mobile phone usage during street crossing consumes pedestrians’ cognitive resources and diverts their visual attention. As a result, pedestrians may be unable to fully concentrate on observing the traffic environment and effectively planning their crossing path and behavior. This study evaluated the effect of pedestrian behavioral activities at street crossings on eye-movement (EM) characteristics. The crossing tasks were natural behavior, voice call, text messaging, and listening to music. The tasks were further categorized as simple or complex. A total of 29 participants were recruited in Nanjing: 18 males (62.1%) and 11 females (37.9%) with an average age of 23.59 years (SD = 2.44). The Friedman test was used to analyze differences in saccade frequency, fixation time, browsing number, and browsing time across different scenarios. Text messaging had the most significant impact on pedestrians’ EM characteristics, followed by voice call; music listening had a relatively weaker effect. Secondary task difficulty influenced the percentage of browsing, viewing, and to some extent gaze time. On the other hand, music rhythm and style only partially influenced the percentage of gaze and gaze time. Mobile phones substantially affected pedestrians’ EM characteristics and attention allocation for the same level of secondary task difficulty. These findings contribute to a better understanding of pedestrians’ visual characteristics under distracted mobile phone usage conditions and provide valuable insights for developing appropriate measures to enhance pedestrian safety.
Prediction of Market Share of Different Vehicle Powertrains on Interprovincial Highways amid the Development of Urban Agglomerations
Authors: Ye Jianhong , Qin Yifei , Luo Guanpei , Hu Yifan , Xue Meigen
Published: September 2024

In the coordinated development of urban agglomerations in China, inter-city connections within urban agglomerations have been gradually strengthened, with more interprovincial highways built. Given the complex geological conditions, interprovincial highways often require tunnels. The construction of tunnel ventilation facilities needs to take into account the types of vehicle, traffic flows, and the market share of different vehicle powertrains using the highways. This paper aims to develop a method to predict the future market share of the powertrains of different types of vehicle on the interprovincial highway. The paper builds a policy cluster by analyzing the regional policies for new energy vehicles and then builds a parameter cluster by summarizing industry reports, expert opinion, and policy clusters to predict the market share of different vehicle types categorized by powertrains. Finally, based on the historical vehicle stock data, and using vehicle sales and scrappage rate models, the paper builds a future stock cluster to estimate the annual stock share of different vehicle powertrains up to 2045. The paper applies the method to the interprovincial highway S7 in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. It obtains the future trend of the market share of the powertrains of different vehicle types on S7 in the target year, validating the model. The results show that the share of new energy vehicles on the S7 highway will increase gradually until 2025. Electric vehicles will dominate the growth, with light trucks forming the highest proportion, followed by cars, and finally buses and heavy trucks.
Evaluation of the Long-Term Thermal–Mechanical Stability of an Embankment Replaced with Crushed Rocks in Cold Regions
Authors: Ma Min , Ma Yuan
Published: September 2024

Conventional measures of protecting permafrost cannot improve embankment stability in warm permafrost regions. Therefore, based on the principle of allowing permafrost to thaw, a method of replacing the 4.5 m underlying permafrost layer with 200–400 mm diameter crushed rocks was proposed to reduce embankment settlement. To evaluate the long-term stability of the embankment in question, a hydro-thermomechanical coupling model considering condensation is established for unsaturated frozen soil; the water, heat, and deformation conditions of the embankment in 20 service years are calculated; and its working mechanism is analyzed. In addition, the optimal replacement depth of the crushed rocks is discussed from thermodynamic and economic perspectives. The results show that: (1) an increase in replacement depth can increase the permafrost table under the embankment centerline, thus improving the thermal stability of the embankment; (2) the increase in replacement depth can reduce the unfrozen water content from the deep foundation to the embankment filling layer, thus reducing the cumulative settlement; (3) if only the embankment stability is considered, the embankment stability is better with the greater replacement depth. If both stability and economy are considered, a replacement depth of 4.0 m is the optimal solution. The maximum settlement, maximum horizontal deformation, maximum uneven settlement, and maximum horizontal deformation difference of this embankment are −0.693, −0.241, 0.306, and −0.358 cm. This study provides a reference for the settlement control of embankments and the optimal design of crushed-rock embankments in warm permafrost regions.
Ostracods from the Nimar Sandstone Formation, Bagh Group (Upper Cretaceous) of Pipaldehla, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh, India: Paleobiogeography and age
Authors: Nagori Madan L. , Chaudhary Maya , Kalal Mahesh
Published: September 2024

The palaeobiogeography and age of the upper calcareous part of the Nimar Sandstone (NS), Bagh Group is determined based on ostracod fossils. The rocks of the NS directly rest over the Precambrian basement rocks outcropping near Pipaldehla, Gola Chhoti (Sajwani), Dhekal Badi, Ranapur, Udaygarh (Kanas) and multiple locations in Jhabua District. The present paper is the first report on ostracod fauna from Pipaldehla (N 22° 46’ E 74° 39’), Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh, India. A total of 15 species of ostracods belonging to 11 genera have been identified. The assemblages of ostracods from the western and eastern exposures of the Bagh Group have been compared. The overall ostracod fauna suggests an early Turonian age and shows affinity to the ostracod assemblage of (1) the lower part of the Nodular Limestone of the Bagh-Jeerabad area, Dhar District, Madhya Pradesh (eastern exposures), and (2) also with the westernmost exposures of the Kawant-Rajpipla area of Gujarat.
Extreme Heat, Functional Disability, and Social Isolation: Risk Disparity Among Older Adults
Authors: Ji Hyunjung , Shin Su Hyun , Coronado Alexandria , Lee Hee Yun
Published: September 2024

This study examines how functional disability worsens among older adults exposed to extreme heat, particularly those socially isolated. Analyzing data from over 35,000 older adults aged 50 or older from the Health and Retirement Study from 1996–2018, this study found that more frequent exposure to extreme heat is associated with an increase in the number of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) that older adults find difficulty in performing over time. This heat-related disability progression is greater among those living alone and not working. However, findings indicate that maintaining contact with children and receiving higher levels of support from friends can alleviate the risk of IADL disability progression amidst extreme heat days for older adults with limited social relationships at home and work. By examining various aspects of social isolation and their nuanced effects, this study underscores the need for social support and assistance for older adults during extreme heat.