bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Flow-induced vibrations of a square cylinder at different angles of attack: The importance of the in-line vibrations
Authors: Li Boyang , Li Huichao , Zhong Yongjian , Zhang Baoshou , Li Shenfang , Wang Junlei , Zhang Rui , Han Peng
Published: February 2025

A square cylinder is an ideal geometry for investigating both vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and galloping instabilities. The present work aims to evaluate the significance of in-line freedom on the flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of a square cylinder subjected to flow. Numerical simulations were conducted for both a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) and a one-degree-of-freedom (1-DOF) square cylinder with different angles of attack. The mass ratio, which is the structural mass divided by the displaced fluid mass, is set to 5, and the Reynolds number is fixed at 200. Detailed comparisons of the amplitude responses, frequency responses, hydrodynamic characteristics, fluid forces, transitions of VIV-galloping, and vortex shedding modes of the 2-DOF cylinder and the one with only cross-flow oscillation were conducted. Overall, the vibration trend of the 1-DOF square cylinder is similar to that of the 2-DOF square cylinder. However, when α is between 5° and 20°, the results show that there are two obvious amplitude peak regions in the vibration response of the 2-DOF square cylinder, while the second amplitude peak region is not found of the 1-DOF square cylinder. This indicates that considering in-line vibrations is crucial for investigating the FIV of a square cylinder, as the in-line freedom can alter the responses of the cross-flow vibrations.
Electron sticking coefficients of dusty plasma relevant materials
Authors: König Isabel , Mengel Armin , Greiner Franko
Published: February 2025

Using a relative measurement approach, the sticking coefficients of dielectric materials commonly used in “dust in plasma” studies—specifically silica (SiO2), melamine formaldehyde (MF, [C4H8N6O]n), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, [C5O2H8]n)—were estimated. These results offer important insights for interpreting experiments involving various materials or their combinations, enabling more precise comparisons and experimental designs.
The unsteady flow characteristics of water jet atomization in supersonic crossflow
Authors: Huang Xixuan , Lin Zhiyong , Gao Yuchao
Published: February 2025

This investigation examines the atomization flow characteristics and instability mechanisms in a liquid jet in supersonic crossflow (LJISC). Through concurrent deployment of high-speed imaging and phase Doppler particle analysis, we successfully captured two distinct phenomena: the spanwise vortex formation at the atomization zone's lower boundary and the periodic generation and separation of irregular droplet clusters at its apex. Our observations reveal that droplets initially present in the subsonic region were entrained into the supersonic regime by the spanwise vortex, subsequently undergoing fragmentation due to elevated frequency oscillations. To further investigate the gas–liquid interactions in shear-dominated LJISC atomization, we conducted numerical simulations using interTwoPhaseLSELCentralFoam, a compressible two-phase interfacial flow solver developed within the OpenFOAM® framework. We identified a transitional plane demarcating the subsonic-supersonic flow boundary and applied proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to analyze the temporal evolution of velocity fields across this plane. The POD analysis revealed that shear instability-induced velocity fluctuations in the incoming flow governed the systematic formation and detachment of droplet clusters. Additionally, our findings demonstrate that spanwise-aligned counter-rotating vortex pairs facilitated droplet migration across different velocity strata.
Studies of local separations by the incident shock wave using a synthetic particle group method
Authors: Yang Yijiang , Xiao Zhixiang , Shen Qing
Published: February 2025

The interactions between the incident shock wave (ISW) and turbulent boundary layer commonly occur in internal flows and are accompanied by intricate flow phenomena that merit comprehensive investigation. Given the balance between the computational efficiency and accuracy, the hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and large eddy simulation methods, such as the improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES), have emerged as the optimal choice for simulating flows involving incident shock wave and boundary layer interactions (SWBLIs) when coupled with an embedded turbulence model, such as the synthetic particle group method (SPOM), especially in three-dimensional (3D) scenarios. In this work, an IDDES-SPOM is first applied to simulate the quasi-3D SWBLI at a Mach number of 2.3. The comparative analysis confirmed that the IDDES-SPOM can mitigate the gray area problem of the original IDDES and enhance the prediction accuracy of local separation. The IDDES-SPOM is subsequently extended to simulate the hypersonic intake flow with 3D SWBLI at a Mach number of 6.0. The small-scale turbulent structures are triggered by the SPOM in the attached boundary layers past the side and bottom walls. This SWBLI includes very complex 3D flow patterns, especially near the corner region. Furthermore, the correlation between the intake width and dominant frequency is analyzed. A nondimensional frequency, which is based on the mean length of the recirculation zone, is introduced to normalize the impact of the intake width on the frequency features of the recirculation. The results indicate that a narrower intake can minimize local separation, thereby suppressing low-frequency characteristics.
Wave overtopping on a low-crested seawall under extreme waves
Authors: Gao Qingfei , Wang Tong , Rubinato Matteo , Liu Zhuqin , Zhao Xizeng , Luo Min
Published: February 2025

Extreme waves in global nearshore regions, frequently accompanied by wave setup, can transform seawalls into low-crested structures. Such events pose threats to coastal infrastructure due to enhanced overtopping and intense hydrodynamic loads imposed on seawalls and related coastal defenses. This study investigates the wave overtopping dynamics on a low-crested seawall under extreme wave conditions through controlled wave flume experiments that have comprehensively measured wave elevations, free-surface profiles, overtopping volumes, and impact pressures. The temporal and spatial characteristics of wave overtopping and their dependence on water depth and wave parameters are examined. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between overtopping volume and wave amplitude, with localized impact pressures also intensifying as wave amplitude increases. Conversely, as wave peak frequency increases and seawall crest elevation rises, waves, especially those of larger amplitudes, tend to break earlier on the seaward slope. This earlier breaking dissipates a significant portion of wave energy, thereby reducing overtopping volumes and the impact pressures on the seawall. Furthermore, this study reveals that as the focusing position of the extreme wave group shifts landward, there is a notable reduction in the group's cumulative energy. This energy attenuation results in diminished overtopping volumes and lower impact loads. These findings elucidate the complex interplay between wave parameters, seawall height, and the dynamics of wave overtopping under extreme wave conditions as well as provide a theoretical framework for optimizing the design and resilience of seawalls to mitigate the adverse impacts of extreme wave events on coastal infrastructure.
Experimental and field verification research on the influence of flow velocity and stress on coalbed methane production
Authors: Li Xianxian , Li Xijian , He Yuhuan , Chen Shoukun , Zhao Shunkun
Published: February 2025

The efficacy of coalbed methane extraction significantly impacts coal mine operations and profitability. To investigate the determinants of this extraction efficacy, we utilized standard core flow velocity stress sensitivity apparatus alongside low-field nuclear magnetic resonance technology. We conducted tests on coal specimens of varying thicknesses to assess quantitatively the extent of damage to the samples, the patterns of permeability and porosity changes, and the effects of stress alterations on permeability. Our findings indicate a direct relationship between the permeability of coal specimens and their thickness. At equivalent flow rates, the velocity sensitivity of thicker coal specimens is notably reduced—by 30.49%—compared to thinner ones. Flow velocity exerts a dual impact on porosity, exhibiting a complex, nonlinear correlation. Net stress demonstrates a heightened sensitivity to the permeability of coal seams, with the stress loading and unloading curves failing to align perfectly. Stress-induced adsorption-desorption processes reveal a pronounced lag effect. Furthermore, dynamic surveillance of bottom hole pressure, water output, and daily gas production from coalbed methane at Wenjiaba Coal Mine revealed that daily gas production initially rises with flow velocity but subsequently declines. It also decreases as bottom hole pressure increases. The observed outcomes closely align with our experimental findings, thereby confirming the validity of our tests. This alignment elucidates the regulatory effects of stress and flow velocity on coalbed methane extraction, offering a theoretical basis for enhancing coalbed methane drainage strategies.
ZnO/Cu2S PN-junctions with built-in electric field for enhanced CO2 electroreduction
Authors: Ye Daojian , Xu Weiyang , Zhou Wenda , Luo Xingfang , Yang Yong , Yu Ting , Lei Wen , Yuan Cailei
Published: February 2025

A full stack strategy, including facilitating the capture of CO2 molecules on catalysts, regulating intermediates, and releasing products, is highly needed to break the bottleneck for CO2 electroreduction to CO. The electric field is expected to promote capture of CO2, reduce energy barriers of reaction, and efficiently release CO, boosting the overall CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) activities. In this work, ZnO/Cu2S PN-junctions with a built-in electric field were fabricated. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements confirmed that the presence of the built-in electric field facilitates the adsorption of more CO2 molecules onto the catalyst surface. Furthermore, theoretical calculations and electrochemical testing demonstrated that the built-in electric field lowers the reaction energy barrier and effectively modulates the reaction intermediates, contributing to enhanced catalytic performance. This work provides a full stack strategy to improve CO2RR performance and thinking for gas-fed catalytic reactions.
Atomic layer deposition of HfO2 as a charge-lean capping layer material for SiO2-modulation acceptor doping of silicon
Authors: Shams Somayeh , Ratschinski Ingmar , Hiller Daniel
Published: February 2025

Modulation doping of SiO2 by Al-induced acceptor states is a promising alternative to conventional impurity doping for silicon nanostructures, enabling the introduction of free holes in Si without direct impurity incorporation into the lattice. SiO2 modulation doping of Si is achieved by a short high-temperature anneal of a tunnel-SiO2 layer coated with an AlOx monolayer by atomic layer deposition (ALD). However, this ultra-thin modulation doping (MD) stack is highly susceptible to degradation when exposed to ambient air. In this work, we investigated ALD hafnium oxide (HfO2) as a reliable, charge-lean capping layer to protect the MD stack and preserve its doping properties. We optimized the ALD-HfO2 deposition process using tetrakis(ethylmethylamino)hafnium (TEMAHf) and various oxygen co-reactants (H2O, O3, O2-plasma) as well as different deposition temperatures and studied the effects of post-deposition RTA. Thermal ALD with H2O as the oxygen reactant at 200 °C yields HfO2 films with superior electrical properties, including low positive fixed charge densities (<1 × 1012 cm−2), minimal hysteresis, and high permittivity (ɛ = 17). The optimized HfO2 film was successfully integrated into modulation-doped metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors (MD MOS-caps) to evaluate their effectiveness as capping layers. Notably, in situ capping, where the HfO2 layer is deposited immediately after the AlOX without breaking vacuum, results in higher modulation doping efficiency and demonstrated higher negative fixed charge densities compared to ex situ capping. These findings demonstrate that optimized ALD-HfO2 can serve as a charge-lean capping material, enhancing the stability and performance of modulation-doped Si nanostructures by effectively protecting the ultra-thin MD stack from ambient degradation.
Astrocytic EphA4 signaling is important for the elimination of excitatory synapses in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Yang Xin , Wang Ye , Qiao Yi , Lin Jingwen , Lau Jackie K. Y. , Fu Wing-Yu , Fu Amy K. Y. , Ip Nancy Y.
Published: February 2025

Cell surface receptors, including erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A4 (EphA4), are important in regulating hippocampal synapse loss, which is the key driver of memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the cell-specific roles and mechanisms of EphA4 are unclear. Here, we show that EphA4 expression is elevated in hippocampal CA1 astrocytes in AD conditions. Specific knockout of astrocytic EphA4 ameliorates excitatory synapse loss in the hippocampus in AD transgenic mouse models. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis revealed that EphA4 inhibition specifically decreases a reactive astrocyte subpopulation with enriched complement signaling, which is associated with synapse elimination by astrocytes in AD. Importantly, astrocytic EphA4 knockout in an AD transgenic mouse model decreases complement tagging on excitatory synapses and excitatory synapses within astrocytes. These findings suggest an important role of EphA4 in the astrocyte-mediated elimination of excitatory synapses in AD and highlight the crucial role of astrocytes in hippocampal synapse maintenance in AD.
Double assurance in the induction of axial development by egg dorsal determinants in
Xenopus
embryos
Authors: Azbazdar Yagmur , De Robertis Edward M.
Published: February 2025

We recently reported that microinjection of
Xenopus nodal-related
(
xnr
) mRNAs into β-catenin-depleted
Xenopus
embryos rescued a complete dorsal axis. Xnrs mediate the signal of the Nieuwkoop center that induces the Spemann–Mangold organizer in the overlying mesoderm, a process inhibited by the Nodal antagonist Cerberus-short (CerS). However, β-catenin also induces a second signaling center in the dorsal prospective ectoderm, designated the Blastula Chordin and Noggin Expression (BCNE) center, in which the homeobox gene
siamois
(
sia
) plays a major role. In this study, we asked whether the Xnrs and Sia depend on each other or function on parallel pathways. Expression of both genes induced β-catenin-depleted embryos to form complete axes with heads and eyes via the activation of similar sets of downstream organizer-specific genes. Xnrs did not activate
siamois
, and, conversely, Sia did not activate
xnrs
, although both were induced by β-catenin stabilization. Depletion with morpholinos revealed a robust role for the downstream target Chordin. Remarkably, Chordin depletion prevented all ectopic effects resulting from microinjection of the mRNA encoding the maternal cytoplasmic determinant
Huluwa
, including the radial expansion of brain tissue and the ectopic expression of the ventral gene
sizzled
. The main conclusion was that the BCNE and Nieuwkoop centers provide a double assurance mechanism for axial formation by independently activating similar downstream transcriptional target gene repertoires. We suggest that Siamois likely evolved from an ancestral Mix-type homeodomain protein called Sebox as a
Xenopus
-specific adaptation for the rapid differentiation of the anterior neural plate in the ectoderm.
Maple samaras recover autorotation following raindrop collisions
Authors: Schaeffer Breanna M. , Truscott Tadd T. , Dickerson Andrew K.
Published: February 2025

Samaras are known for their elegant and robust autorotation, a resilience that persists in the adverse conditions imposed by high-speed raindrops. Like flying insects, samaras descending from tall trees are likely to be struck by raindrops in an intense storm. In this study, we detail the collision dynamics for impact regions across the samara body and the drop-shedding mechanisms that samaras exhibit to return to autorotation. Impacts across the samara body can pitch the samara up to 60 degrees and, in some cases, induce spanwise roll. Raindrops may shatter or remain intact upon impact, pushing the undamaged samara downward before autorotation is recovered. Drops that strike near the wingtip elicit the greatest recovery distance, while impacts onto the nutlet mass are the least disruptive to the samara and most likely to cause the drop to induce fragmentation. Faster drops allow for quicker drop shedding and a subsequent rapid return to autorotation in less than 50 ms. Our results indicate that samaras are robust to raindrop impacts and consistently recover autorotation, resulting in a minor reduction in dispersal distance. To recover, the entire drop is shed from the spinning samara over a time closely tied to the shedding mode and ensuing drop rejection forces.
Position-dependent polarity in the Alor-Pantar languages and its origins
Authors: Persohn Bastian , Schapper Antoinette
Published: February 2025

Multiple members of the Alor-Pantar group of Papuan languages display a cross-linguistically unusual pattern
whereby certain grammatical words in the domain of phasal polarity yield an affirmative statement when standing before the
predicate, whereas the occurrence of the same items after the predicate vests the clause with negative polarity. In this article,
we describe this phenomenon in its different manifestations and compare it to negation and phasal polarity constructions
reconstructable to Proto-Alor-Pantar. While position-dependent polarity in the domain of phasal polarity is typologically unusual,
we show that it is the outcome of processes of cyclical change that are well known with respect to negation: the notion of ‘not
yet’ came to be expressed by a construction in which an originally pre-predicative ‘still’ marker also occupies a post-predicate
position. Erosion of the initial element of this construction then left the post-predicate ‘still’ marker as the sole exponent of
‘not yet’. Analogy with embracing constructions for standard negation and structural calquing across languages in the group can be
seen to have led to the innovative patterns for expressing ‘not yet’ being shared across languages.
How native-like do conference interpreters sound in L2?
Authors: Bartłomiejczyk Magdalena , Rojczyk Arkadiusz
Published: February 2025

We present an exploratory observational study on A-B interpreting in the European Parliament. In contrast to
popular belief, it is a widespread practice for some of the newer EU languages to be interpreted into English by native speakers
of the source language. The phonetic-acoustic properties of speech in English by eight Polish retour interpreters are assessed on
the basis of material extracted from a large bidirectional EP-Poland corpus. We use the methodology from L2 speech research, based
on identifying segmental and suprasegmental departures from native norms. The speech samples were inspected aurally and visually
by means of spectrogram and waveform. The general detected departures emerge mostly from the differences between Polish and
English sound systems. Although some of the interpreters may have more native-like accent than others, all the analysed
interpretations are phonetically proficient and fully intelligible. In three of the interpreters, interesting regularities
concerning pronunciation fluctuations were discovered.
Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation of filamentous colloids and semiflexible polymers: experiments, theory and simulations
Authors: Almohammadi Hamed , Khadem Sayyed Ahmad , Azzari Paride , Yuan Ye , Guerra André , Rey Alejandro D , Mezzenga Raffaele
Published: February 2025

Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation (LLCPS) is the process by which an initially homogenous single-phase solution composed of a solvent-most frequently water- and a solute-typically rigid or semiflexible macromolecules, polymers, supramolecular aggregates, or filamentous colloids-demixes into two (or more) distinct phases in which one phase is depleted by the solute and features properties of isotropic solutions, whereas the other is enriched by the solute and exhibits liquid crystalline anisotropic properties. Differently from the more common liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of flexible macromolecules, which is a trade-off between entropy and enthalpy, LLCPS is mostly an entropy-controlled process in which the morphology, composition and properties of the new phases depend primarily on kinetics and thermodynamic factors and, unexpectedly, on the history followed to reach a specific point in the phase diagram. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the process of LLCPS from experimental, theoretical, and simulation standpoints. We discuss the main systems and experimental approaches followed over the past decades to induce and control LLCPS, then we delve into the main theoretical and modeling approaches available to rationalize this process, and finally, we expand on how numerical simulations can significantly enrich the understanding of LLCPS. A final section touches on possible applications and the significance of LLCPS beyond pure physics, that is, in the broader context of biology, nanotechnology, and everyday life.
Extremely low phonon thermal conductivity of CdHgPb originating from quasi-rattling atoms
Authors: Yang Zhonghua , Zhang Mengyuan , Xu Xinyi , Lan Xinying , Wang Junxiang , Liu Chan , Tan Lin
Published: February 2025

A comprehensive understanding of heat transfer necessitates the evaluation of both phonon and electronic contributions to thermal conductivity. Although the electronic thermal conductivity constitutes the dominant portion of the total thermal conductivity in conductors, the magnitude of phonon thermal conductivity is generally non-negligible, typically ranging from 1% to 40%. Through high-throughput screening of over 50,000 crystal structures using AI technology, we identified the metallic compound CdHgPb as having an exceptionally low phonon thermal conductivity, approximately 0.034 W mK−1. This value accounts for only 0.3% of the total thermal conductivity and can be considered negligible. As a result, it ranks as one of the materials with the lowest known phonon thermal conductivity, comparable even to that of air (approximately 0.025 W/mK under ambient conditions). To elucidate the origins of this anomaly, our analysis reveals that the anomalously low phonon thermal conductivity in CdHgPb is governed by the phonon lifetime, which is in turn determined by anharmonic phonon vibrations. Furthermore, the acoustic modes that contribute most significantly to the phonon thermal conductivity are associated primarily with the Hg atom. We conducted a detailed study of the Mean Square Displacement (MSD) and Crystal Orbital Hamilton Population (COHP) in the CdHgPb system to gain deeper insights. The results indicate that the Hg atom in CdHgPb acts as intrinsic quasi-rattlers, exhibiting behaviors akin to loosely bonded atoms, which play a pivotal role in reducing the phonon thermal conductivity to such an unusual extent. Our findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of heat conduction in metals, offering a broader perspective that could have significant implications for practical applications where low phonon thermal conductivity is desirable.
An integrated chip-styled tab for directly tensile testing nanofibers with optical microscopy
Authors: Li Kunpeng , Bai Junlei , Jin Xinpeng , Ding Bin , Zhang Xiaohua
Published: February 2025

It is challenging to realize directly the tensile test of single nanofiber under optical microscopy, due to the difficulty in operating and loading sample. Herein, a strategy involving a chip-styled tab and a differential force evaluation method is proposed to solve the problems. By designing patterned structures of micro cantilever beams, the elastic coefficient of the chip-styled tab can be reduced to 1.2 Nm1, which clearly depicts the stress of nanofibers. Based on this chip-styled tab, tensile tests on single polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and TiO2 nanofiber were successfully conducted, demonstrating the mechanical behaviors of highly stretchable polymer nanofibers and highly brittle ceramic nanofibers. Furthermore, the chip-styled tab exhibits good stability. The change in the elastic coefficient of the chip-styled tab was less than 1% upon multiple stretches, and its gap can be reset to its original state after repeated use and ultrasonic cleaning. This method can be applied to the tensile testing of nanofibers, such as polymers and ceramics, which exhibit diverse mechanical properties. Therefore, it is expected to become a universal method for conveniently conducting mechanical tests on nanofibers in the future.
ASS-Net: enhanced feature extraction method for flame and smoke detection
Authors: Chen Bolun , Wang Ling , Chang Kailu , Liu Bushi , Zhao Yue , Zhao Jianyang
Published: February 2025

With the continuous advancement of industrial production and urbanization, safety incidents such as fires and smoke frequently occur. Therefore, it is particularly important to detect and identify these hazardous targets promptly and accurately. However, in practical applications, smoke and flame target detection faces numerous challenges, including inefficient feature extraction, poor feature fusion, and inadequate utilization of spatial information. To address these issues, this paper proposes a model named ASS-Net. This model integrates three advanced designs: SlimAuxNet, Swift Blend Unit (SBU), and Adaptive Spatial Fusion Harbor (ASFH). SlimAuxNet improves feature extraction efficiency through a lightweight auxiliary backbone network, the SBU module achieves efficient feature fusion, and the ASFH module enhances the capture and integration of spatial information. Experimental results show that ASS-Net significantly improves the performance of smoke and flame target detection while maintaining a lightweight structure, indicating its broad application prospects.
MEGA: identifying influential nodes in heterogeneous networks based on meta-path and attention
Authors: Xie Jinfang , Yu Jianyong , Chen Zijuan
Published: February 2025

Identifying influential nodes in complex networks is crucial for applications like information diffusion, rumor propagation, and epidemic spreading. Existing methods often assume uniform importance among neighbor nodes or fail to account for the structural and semantic diversity of relationships in heterogeneous networks. This leads to suboptimal identification of influential nodes, particularly in complex, attribute-rich networks. To address these shortcomings, a meta-path embedding-based graph attention network model is proposed, namely MEGA. MEGA is utilized to identify influential nodes in heterogeneous networks. This paper attempts to identify the influential set of author nodes in academic networks, defined as the set of nodes whose influence maximizes the spread of information. MEGA is described as follows. Firstly, the required meta-paths are defined, and node embeddings are obtained using a meta-path embedding method. Then, the subgraph networks corresponding to each meta-path network are generated based on random walks. Further, the graph attention network is employed to assign different weight values to neighbor nodes within the subgraph networks, indicating the varying influence of nodes on their neighbor nodes. Finally, the influence of nodes in the subgraph network is calculated using entropy, and the influence values from all subgraphs are aggregated to obtain the final influence value of each node. The effectiveness of MEGA is validated using analysis metrics from the independent cascade model. Experimental results demonstrate MEGA exceeds six baseline methods in terms of the influence spread across three datasets.
Corrigendum: Collaborative project delivery and team performance during design and construction of a complex Norwegian swimming facility (2024 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 1389 012022)
Authors: Narum K , Kals P
Published: February 2025

Please see Article PDF for corrigendum text.
Seismic Retrofitting: Techniques and Innovations for Structural Resilience
Authors: Camayang Jhon Philip P. , Padilla Juland A.
Published: February 2025

Seismic retrofitting is essential for improving the resilience of existing structures, particularly in earthquake-prone areas. This review explores recent advancements in retrofitting techniques, including fiber-reinforced polymer composites, concrete jacketing, steel bracing systems, and innovative materials such as shape memory alloys. The study highlights the effectiveness, sustainability, and energy efficiency of these techniques, emphasizing their role in enhancing structural strength and minimizing seismic damage. Machine learning and advanced modelling approach-es are also discussed for optimizing retrofitting strategies. The purpose of this re-view is to provide a comprehensive analysis of current methodologies, innovations, and materials used in seismic retrofitting, offering insights into the protection of both modern and heritage structures.
Kazhdan-Laumon category O, Braverman-Kazhdan Schwartz space, and the semi-infinite flag variety
Authors: Morton-Ferguson Calder
Published: February 2025

We define and study an analogue of Category

O

\mathcal {O}

in the context of Kazhdan and Laumon’s gluing construction for perverse sheaves on the basic affine space. We explicitly describe the simple objects in this category, and we show its linearized Grothendieck group is isomorphic to a natural submodule of Lusztig’s periodic Hecke module. We then provide a categorification of these results by showing that the Kazhdan-Laumon Category

O

\mathcal {O}

is equivalent to a full subcategory of a suitably-defined category of perverse sheaves on the semi-infinite flag variety.
A Clash Between the French System and the CJEU Case Law on Data Retention?
Authors: Lassalle Maxime
Published: February 2025

Chapter 11 explores how even after the reforms following the landmark case La Quadrature du Net ‘I’, the legal framework in France does not seem to match the requirements of the CJEU regarding data retention. It is however quite revealing that the Council of State, the Parliament, the Constitutional Council, and the Court of Cassation all agree on the necessity to reject the principles put forward by the CJEU. At the same time, this rejection is not complete and is quite polite. The Council of State, who initiated the movement of resistance, did not reject per se the ruling of the CJEU. It tried to adopt a very narrow interpretation of the limits put forward in La Quadrature du Net ‘I’. All the others—Parliament, Constitutional Council, and Court of Cassation—followed the same approach. At the end of the day, the clash between the CJEU and the French system did not take place (yet), and (almost) everything was done to show that French law could not be reformed any further to protect privacy while ensuring public security.
The Impact—or No Impact—of the CJEU Case Law on Data Retention in Spain
Authors: Winter Lorena Bachmaier , Santos Antonio Martínez
Published: February 2025

Despite the CJEU judgment in the Digital Rights Ireland case, the provisions of the Spanish Law on Data Retention (which are in many ways a mere transposition of the Data Retention Directive) have not been modified. As a result, there has been a lively debate among both scholars and practitioners on whether these legal provisions are compatible or not with the principles set forth in the CJEU case law. Chapter 13 incudes a detailed analysis of the Spanish law on data retention and its application by the courts, seeking to addresses the current legal debate regarding data retention in Spain.
Belgium’s New Data Retention Legislation
Authors: Franssen Vanessa , Van de Heyning Catherine
Published: February 2025

After La Quadrature du Net ‘I’ and the subsequent annulment of the Belgian Data Retention law by the national Constitutional Court, the Belgian legislature was urged to draft in a short period of time new legislation that meets both the requirements of EU law and the needs of law enforcement. The Act of 20 July 2022 is the sophisticated result of this intense legislative process. While at first sight, the new law seems to comply with the CJEU’s prohibition on general and indiscriminate data retention, a closer analysis learns that the new ‘targeted’ data retention regime actually covers (almost) the entire territory and thus all citizens. Chapter 16 will critically assess the new legislation and its concrete effects in light of the CJEU’s case law.
Regulating Data Retention in Japan
Authors: Kontargyris Xenofon V
Published: February 2025

Chapter 19 presents an overview of how the topics of data retention are treated in Japan with primary focus on laws applicable in the telecommunications and healthcare sectors. Starting from the Meiji Restoration era, which played a pivotal role in shaping modern legislation in the country, the analysis focuses on Japanese fundamental privacy law, the APPI, where the main rules related to deletion and thus retention of data can be traced. This is essentially the basis for rules shaping retention contained across a variety of laws and regulatory frameworks in Japanese legislation. It is then attempted to highlight how these principles are reflected in the country’s basic set of regulations for legal persons, namely the Commercial Code. Finally, in order to give an impression of how common principles on retention have spread across regulations about different subject matters in the country, the chapter concludes with an analysis of relevant provisions for the telecommunications sector, which is the focus of this book. Next to it, data retention obligations applicable in the healthcare sector of Japan are presented. Given the prominence and high degree of regulation of the healthcare industry in the country, understanding how data retention requirements are articulated therein will offer readers a thorough understanding of how data retention and shapes compliance efforts of organizations in the country.
The Judicialization of EU Data Retention Law
Authors: Tzanou Maria
Published: February 2025

Chapter 21 explores EU data retention law through the theoretical framework of judicialization broadly defined as the reliance on courts and judicial means for addressing public policy questions and political controversies. It focuses on the case study of ‘targeted data retention’ of geographical spaces to critically analyse two main questions: the distributional outcomes and epistemic consequences of the judicialization of data retention. In this regard, the chapter makes two distinct contributions. First, it asks two so far largely neglected questions in both data retention scholarship and judicialization theories: Are data privacy law outcomes equally distributed in the context of data retention surveillance? What are the epistemic implications of the construction of targeted surveillance as by default permissible? Second, it uses the case study of judicialization of data retention to broaden our imagination about the ways of moving forward both data retention thinking and judicialization approaches in a way that they advance substantive justice. It argues that the re-imagining of the judicialization of data retention requires a focus on egalitarian and epistemic justice objectives and could be achieved by challenging institutional and social assumptions that create unequal structural conditions.
Automated Analysis in the AFSJ and Digital Single Market Monitoring
Authors: Porcedda Maria Grazia
Published: February 2025

Chapter 25 examines CJEU and ECtHR case law on automated analysis as a measure of mass surveillance to bring to the fore the effaced role of monitoring by intermediaries within the courts’ jurisprudence. Building on scholarship on fragmentary EU rules on monitoring and private sector gatekeeping, this chapter produces original research on the evolution of rules on ‘electronic communication services’ and ‘information society services’, which were once distinct entities but have become increasingly interchangeable to the effect that protections against surveillance are diluted. The chapter demonstrates how monitoring/automated analysis by intermediaries is inherent in the nexus between the Digital Single Market and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. This is worrisome on account of the effacement of information technology from the law and the indeterminacy loop that characterize EU information technology law. The chapter concludes with the recommendation to overcome siloed legislation and actively steer the technological state of the art.
Business Records
Authors: Talbott Siobhan
Published: February 2025

Once business information had been created and acquired, merchants faced an important question: how to store ever-increasing volumes of information. Records were an essential part of early modern business practices, kept for both short- and long-term use, with their future purposes usually unknown at the time of creation. This chapter explores early modern business records, emphasizing their specificity and exploring the variety of different ways that these records were kept. I suggest that far from being uniform and easily categorized, practices deviated widely from published ‘rules’ of record-keeping, both because of the individual goals and preferences of their keepers and because of the self-fashioning tendencies of businessmen operating in this period. I explore the practices of duplication and the use of these records, including in legal disputes and insurance claims, and discuss how merchants learned to keep records of various types.
Iceland
Authors: Kovras Iosif
Published: February 2025

Chapter 3 reconstructs the factors that motivated politicians in Iceland to deploy a proactive agenda of retributive justice, creating a special prosecutorial body that brought charges against forty bank executives. The chapter documents the causal pathways that account for this outcome, drawing on empirical data in a new repository of criminal prosecutions developed following the crisis, coupled with in-depth interviews with prosecutors, defense lawyers, and policymakers and privileged access to court transcripts collected during extensive fieldwork in Iceland. The chapter identifies the impact of the crisis on the banking sector as the most crucial variable. The collapse of 97% of the banking sector in Iceland shaped higher voter demand for retribution, with limited systemic or reputational risks associated with criminal investigations for the recovery of the banking sector. Having dead banks made it easier for politicians to take a retributive approach and collect incriminatory evidence through forensic investigations.
Comparative Perspectives of Post-Crisis Retributive Justice
Authors: Kovras Iosif
Published: February 2025

The chapter probes the generalizability of the theoretical framework presented in Chapters 2 to 4 by exploring how the framework plays out in accounting for the experience of other cases of banking crisis. It includes Ireland, a country with background conditions similar to those of Cyprus and Iceland, including rapid expansion of the financial sector in the lead-up to the crisis and the heavy impact of the crisis on the banks. An obvious caveat is that the small size of all three European economies—posing limited systemic risk for the global economy—may shape political desire for retribution. To probe this further, the chapter explores the experience of a banking crisis in a major international economy: the US savings and loans crisis of the 1980s. Finally, the chapter presents alternative hypotheses and argues that these fail to provide a more convincing explanation of the puzzle.
(Un)settling Accounts after Crisis
Authors: Kovras Iosif
Published: February 2025

Chapter 6 examines the dual role of investigative commissions—both backward-looking mechanisms of truth recovery and forward-looking institutional tools of learning from past failures. The chapter sheds light on the decision to deploy this mechanism following a severe economic crisis, while explaining variations in the degree of success in reaching the stated objectives. In particular, it asks why some countries looked for explanations of economic failure, setting up fact-finding commissions, while others looked the other way. Among the countries looking for the truth, which ones were more successful in converting past policy failures into lessons for effective institutional reform? The chapter also develops a novel typology of different categories of post-crisis truth recovery mechanisms (parliamentary commissions, commissions of inquiry, technical reports, independent truth commissions). It provides a comprehensive review of a range of literature from public administration, governance, organizational theories, and transitional justice to document the role of commissions of inquiry at critical political junctures and their relationship to political learning. Finally, the chapter develops a novel assessment framework that builds on an extensive set of observable indicators to evaluate the success of truth recovery mechanisms.
Five Lessons for Post-Crisis Accountability
Authors: Kovras Iosif
Published: February 2025

This chapter concludes the book by synthesizing the key findings on post-crisis accountability. It focuses on three approaches: retributive justice through prosecutions, truth recovery via commissions of inquiry, and official acknowledgment through public apologies. Each mechanism has different institutional impacts, and politicians must carefully weigh these when designing their accountability policies. In a retributive approach, the investment in criminal investigations can strengthen public institutions against economic crises by accumulating expertise and developing case law in white-collar crimes. Truth commissions can establish an authoritative narrative about the causes of a crisis, making complex processes accessible and understandable, and protecting against revisionist or populist accounts. Official apologies serve as a public ritual of acknowledging wrongs and can help restore trust between the state and society.
Coming of Age in Times of Change
Authors: Ramzy Farah
Published: February 2025

Zooming in on individuals, this chapter sheds light on the intertwinement between the negotiation of politics among groups and the evolving individual political subjectivities by exploring the narratives of experiences of students who, in a context of political change, were part of a Student Activity, a union, a party, or a movement. The chapter shows how the political potentialities of a student space can be activated or hindered according to the meaning individuals give to their involvement in it. It also examines the impact of political events on individual political socialization, by putting forward the various ways of making sense of the revolution as an individual commitment as well as in translating it as a political and social action. The chapter proposes a preliminary criterion, the timing of the earliest experiences of activism, to make sense of this variation.
Why circular sets do not evince circular dependencies
Authors: Maia Nuno
Published: February 2025

Circular sets are said to provide clear-cut cases of circular orders of ontological dependence. I argue that this claim is unwarranted given the epistemic parity of two principles of set-dependence.
Effect of the Electrical Furnace Cooling Rate on the Formation of a Pale-Green Surface Layer during the Flux Synthesis of Emerald
Authors: Kozaki Daisuke , Sonobe Yuusei , Tsuboi Haruki , Morisaki Takahiko , Andou Ryosuke , Yanagisawa Kazumichi , Oishi Shuji , Imamura Kazuya , Nishiwaki Yoshinori , Kobiro Kazuya , Ito Akitaka , Taniguchi Ayano , Matsuzaki Takuya , Horikawa Kogen
Published: February 2025

The flux method is a process that is commonly employed for growing single crystal or crystals of metals or compounds. In general, the flux method can be subdivided into three different approaches, namely the slow cooling, temperature-gradient, and evaporation methods. In this research, the effect of the furnace cooling rate is examined during the growth of emerald crystals via the evaporation method. More specifically, emerald crystal growth and the formation of a pale green surface layer are investigated during quick cooling (natural cooling) and slow cooling from 1100 °C. In addition, the relationships between the Cr2O3 dopant content during flux synthesis, the Cr2O3 content in the grown emerald crystals, and the deepness of the green color is re-evaluated. The obtained results suggest that emerald crystals are grown using both the slow cooling and evaporation approaches. Furthermore, a detailed re-evaluation of the emerald crystal color changes based on increases in the crystal Cr2O3 content is achieved. Accordingly, the behaviors of the L*, a*, and b* values in response to changes in the Cr2O3 content are accurately elucidated in the grown emerald crystals.
MADS-domain transcription factor AGAMOUS LIKE-9 participates in the gibberellin pathway to promote bud dormancy release of tree peony
Authors: Demei Niu , Fang Liu , Linqiang Gao , Huailong Zhang , Naibin Liu , Lu Zhang , Yanchao Yuan , Chunying Liu , Shupeng Gai , Yuxi Zhang
Published: February 2025

Bud dormancy, which serves as a survival mechanism during winter, is crucial for determining the timing and quality of flowering in many perennial woody plants, including tree peony. The gibberellin (GA) signalling pathway participates in breaking bud dormancy in tree peony. Specifically, PsRGL1, a key DELLA protein, is a negative regulator in this process. MADS-box family members participate in plant growth and development regulation. In this study, a MADS-domain transcription factor, AGAMOUS-LIKE 9 (PsAGL9), was identified as a candidate interaction protein of PsRGL1 using a pull-down assay coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. PsAGL9 expression was induced by chilling and exogenous GA3. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), pull-down, and luciferase complementation assays (LCAs) confirmed that PsAGL9 interacted with PsRGL1. PsAGL9 overexpression significantly promoted dormancy break and upregulated the expression of marker genes such as PsBG6, PsBG9, PsEBB1, PsEBB3, and PsCYCD, suggesting a potential regulatory function of PsAGL9. Classical and non-classical CArG motifs were identified in the promoter regions of PsCYCD and PsEBB3, respectively. Yeast one-hybrid, electrophoretic mobility shift, and dual luciferase assays confirmed that PsAGL9 directly bound to and activated PsCYCD and PsEBB3 expression, and PsRGL1 abolished the DNA-binding activity of PsAGL9. Furthermore, interaction proteins of PsAGL9 were screened, and MADS-box members PsAGL9, PsAGL6, and PsPI were identified. Y2H, LCA, and pull-down assays confirmed that PsAGL9 formed both homodimers and heterodimers, and heterodimers further promoted target gene expression. This study provides an in-depth exploration of the GA pathway and elucidates a novel pathway, PsRGL1-PsAGL9-PsCYCD, involved in regulating dormancy break in tree peony.