bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Retrofitting through the loss-Based Earthquake engineering
Authors: Gusella Federico , Bartoli Gianni 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The novelty of the research is the development of closed-form equations to assess the effective capacity of retrofitting interventions to reduce the seismic risk of existing buildings. The goal of the proposed procedure is to provide decision-making in the context of the Loss-Based Earthquake Engineering, whose purpose is the reduction of the seismic risk, which is herein computed through a monetary loss. The procedure consists of specifying performance targets (e.g. acceptable monetary losses, capital to invest, reduction of expected annual loss) and deriving engineering parameters, specifically the target fragility curves to achieve the established performance target. The identification of required fragility curves, in turn, allows to identify proper retrofitting interventions to mitigate the expected seismic loss. The method allows for estimating the maximum reduction of the annual average loss and the recommended capital to invest, accounting for the actual cost of the retrofitting alternatives and the nominal life of the building. In addition, it can be used to identify the payback period. With the aim of promoting the design procedure in the common practice, an existing reinforced concrete moment-resisting frame, retrofitted with three strengthening methods, is explored as case-study.
Diagnostic performance of high and ultra-high-resolution photon counting CT for detection of coronary artery disease in patients evaluated for transcatheter aortic valve implantation
Authors: Sharma Simran P. , Verhemel Sarah , Hirsch Alexander , van der Bie Judith , Dijkshoorn Marcel L. , Daemen Joost , van Mieghem Nicolas , Budde Ricardo P. J. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractWe assessed the diagnostic performance of both ultra-high-resolution (UHR) and high-resolution (HR) modes of photon-counting detector (PCD)-CT within the confines of standard pre-TAVI CT scans, as well as the performance of UHR mode adjusted specifically for coronary imaging, using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) as the reference. We included 60 patients undergoing pre-TAVI planning CT scans. Patients were divided into 3 groups: 20 scanned in HR mode, 20 in UHR mode, and 20 in adjusted UHR mode, on a dual-source PCD-CT. The adjusted UHR mode employed a lower tube voltage (90 kV vs. 120 kV) and a higher image quality level (65 vs. 34) to enhance coronary artery visualization. Patients underwent invasive coronary angiography as part of clinical routine. CCTA and QCA were reviewed to assess CAD presence defined as stenosis ≥ 50% in proximal and middle coronary segments. We included 60 patients (mean age 79 ± 7 years; 39(65%) men). Mean heart rate during scanning was 72 ± 13 bpm. Median coronary calcium score was 973 [379–2007]. QCA identified significant CAD in 24 patients (40%): 9 patients scanned with HR mode, 10 patients with the UHR mode, and 5 patients with the UHR adjusted mode. Per-patient area under the curves were 0.57 for HR, 0.80 for UHR, and 0.80 for adjusted UHR, with no significant differences between the scan modes, and per-vessel the area under the curves were 0.73 for HR, 0.69 for UHR, and 0.87 for adjusted UHR, with significant differences between UHR and adjusted UHR (p = 0.04). UHR and adjusted UHR modes of dual source PCD-CT show potential for improved sensitivity and negative predictive value for detecting CAD in patients undergoing pre-TAVI scans, however, no statistically significant difference from HR mode was observed.
An Abrupt Decline in Global Terrestrial Water Storage and Its Relationship with Sea Level Change
Authors: Rodell Matthew , Barnoud Anne , Robertson Franklin R. , Allan Richard P. , Bellas-Manley Ashley , Bosilovich Michael G. , Chambers Don , Landerer Felix , Loomis Bryant , Nerem R. Steven , O’Neill Mary Michael , Wiese David , Seneviratne Sonia I. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAs observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow On (GRACE-FO) missions, global terrestrial water storage (TWS), excluding ice sheets and glaciers, declined rapidly between May 2014 and March 2016. By 2023, it had not yet recovered, with the upper end of its range remaining 1 cm equivalent height of water below the upper end of the earlier range. Beginning with a record-setting drought in northeastern South America, a series of droughts on five continents helped to prevent global TWS from rebounding. While back-to-back El Niño events are largely responsible for the South American drought and others in the 2014–2016 timeframe, the possibility exists that global warming has contributed to a net drying of the land since then, through enhanced evapotranspiration and increasing frequency and intensity of drought. Corollary to the decline in global TWS since 2015 has been a rise in barystatic sea level (i.e., global mean ocean mass). However, we find no evidence that it is anything other than a coincidence that, also in 2015, two estimates of barystatic sea level change, one from GRACE/FO and the other from a combination of satellite altimetry and Argo float ocean temperature measurements, began to diverge. Herein, we discuss both the mechanisms that account for the abrupt decline in terrestrial water storage and the possible explanations for the divergence of the barystatic sea level change estimates.
Bridging the Digital Competence Gap: A Comparative Study of Preservice and In-Service Teachers in Lebanon Using the DigCompEdu Framework
Authors: Momdjian Levon , Manegre Marni , Gutiérrez-Colón Mar 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThis study investigates the digital competence levels of Lebanese preservice and in-service teachers using the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The research aims to explore the existing gap in digital competence between these two groups through a cross-sectional descriptive survey, involving 170 in-service teachers and 194 preservice teachers from various undergraduate teacher training programs in Lebanon. The findings reveal significant differences between in-service and preservice teachers in all six competence areas and no significant difference per subject areas, with in-service teachers demonstrating higher overall digital competence compared to preservice teachers. The study draws attention to the need for improved practical training and targeted interventions in teacher education programs to better prepare preservice teachers for the digital demands of modern classrooms. The findings have implications for policy and practice, particularly in enhancing teacher training programs to meet the evolving digital needs of education.
The Effects of Replacing Incarceration with Electronic Monitoring on Crime, Mortality, and Labor Market Exclusion
Authors: Al Weswasi Enes , Bäckman Olof 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Objective
In recent decades, electronic monitoring (EM) has increasingly come to be used as an alternative to incarceration. However, EM’s long-term effects on offenders remain unclear, especially with regard to non-recidivism-related outcomes and reincarceration risks. This study focuses on the long-term impact of EM on recidivism, mortality, and labor market exclusion.

Method
The study utilizes administrative data, and focuses on a Swedish EM reform as a natural experiment with a difference-in-difference approach. The reform enabled offenders sentenced to up to six months’ imprisonment to serve their sentences under EM instead of in prison.

Results
The findings show that introducing the possibility to transform a prison stay to EM at home reduced 10-year reconviction and reincarceration rates. They also show that the reform had long-lasting decreasing effect on the likelihood of not being in education, employment, or training (NEET). The reform had, however, no effect on all-cause mortality or death by suicide. Heterogeneity analyses show that the effects are primarily driven by individuals who had a more stable labor market attachment prior to being sentenced to prison, which suggests that EM helps offenders sustain regular employment and that it decreases the criminogenic impact of labor market detachment.

Conclusion
In addition to reducing the costs associated with recidivism and labor market exclusion, the reduced incarceration costs associated with transforming prison sentences to EM indicate that EM has the potential to produce net savings from a societal perspective.
Treating the Psychological Distress in Children with Adventitious Blindness
Authors: Ede Moses Onyemaechi , Mawila Daphney , Onuigbo Liziana Nnenna , Victor-Aigbodion Vera 
Published: November 2024

AbstractLess than half of those who need mental health counseling receive it globally, underscoring the urgent need for psychology-focused intervention. According to data, 30.9% of Nigerians experience psychological anguish. This study investigated the efficacy and moderators of group cognitive behaviour therapy in psychologically distressed schoolchildren with adventitious blindness in Nigeria. A total of 98 students with adventitious blindness were recruited and participated in this study. The participants were assessed at three points using Perceived Emotional Distress Inventory. A mixed model ANCOVA with repeated measures shows that the CBT treatment had a dependable significant effect in decreasing psychological distress. The results showed that sociodemographic factors do not significantly moderate the efficacy of CBT treatment on the reduction of psychological distress in schoolchildren with adventitious blindness. In conclusion, the effect of a group cognitive behavioural therapy had a consistent significant reduction in psychological distress and none of their sociodemographic characteristics moderated the effects. Therefore, cognitive-behavioural practitioners should collaborate with special schools to diagnose and provide CBT treatment to schoolchildren living with adventitious blindness.
The Perfect Storm: Artificial Intelligence, Financialisation, and Venture Legalism
Authors: Veitch Scott 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThis article analyses the limits of legal norms and institutions in holding to account the emerging power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. It demonstrates how a symbiosis of capitalism and new forms of digital power is mutating to produce novel and dangerous styles of organised irresponsibility that go beyond the reach of conventional legal mechanisms. It draws on the work of Pashukanis, Baudrillard, and Alain Supiot to show how this transformation is taking place. Referring to the role of AI in the spread of Financial Technologies, it introduces a new term – ‘venture legalism’ – to describe how unprecedented risks are currently being created. It concludes by observing how ethical and democratic registers are equally implausible modes of accountability.
RUM leads to noise: the significance of finding the sources of variability between experimental runs
Authors: Vogrin Michael , Koten Jan Willem 
Published: November 2024

AbstractScientists typically run experiments many times to find general patterns over multiple specific runs. The results of those runs vary, and the variance is often simply referred to as “noise”. We claim that it is highly important to separate the components that contribute to noise and to recognize to which degree they contribute to it. Consideration of the relative contributions of R (randomness), U (uncontrolled variables), and M (measurement error) helps to interpret data and can help to improve experimental designs. We explain this using a hypothetical example and point out that assumptions of what causes variability in the results of experiments are often made implicitly. Further, we demonstrate our point by showing how it can change the interpretation of real data. Because of a lack of explicit discussion of underlying assumptions, it is possible that sources of noise are misidentified to be either existent or non-existent. This can happen if, for example, measurement error is assumed when there is none, an assumption that would mask a real effect that could deserve further study. Despite these factors, the contribution of different factors to the overall noise is rarely considered, hampering scientific progress.
Diagnosis and hormonal treatment of cystic ovaries associated with uterine disorders in Egyptian buffaloes: ultrasonography, histopathological and serological investigations
Authors: Hassan Mervat S. , Hashim Madeha Ahmed , Fayed Hayat , Ali Fatma Abo Zakaib 
Published: November 2024

AbstractCystic ovarian disease (COD) with uterine abnormalities is a postpartum reproductive pathology in Egyptian buffaloes causing significant economic losses. In this study, we aimed to employ various diagnostic methods for detecting cystic ovarian disease (COD) in Egyptian buffaloes. tour study assessed the effectiveness of the GnRH/PGF2α protocol as a treatment strategy. Our goal was to determine if this protocol could effectively reduce economic losses associated with cystic ovarian disease and improve herd fertility in Egyptian buffaloes. Eighty Egyptian buffalo cows were included in this study. They were identified to have follicular cysts through rectal examination, which was confirmed by ultrasonography. These buffaloes were then divided into two main groups: the COD Control (untreated) (GA) (n = 40) and COD group (GB) (n = 40) treated with GnRH/PGF2α. According to our immunological studies, buffaloes in the COD-treated group (GB) exhibited significantly lower serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) compared to the control group. This observation was consistent with the decline in E2 levels and the increase in P4 levels (p < 0.01–0.001) observed in the treated animals compared to the untreated group. Furthermore, serum cortisol and glucose concentrations decreased in COD-treated buffaloes. Histopathological examination of ovaries and uterine tissue from slaughtered COD buffaloes has revealed significant structural alterations. These include the presence of ovarian cysts of varying sizes with vacuolar degeneration. Additionally, lymphoplasmacytic endometritis was observed in the uterine tissue of affected animals, featuring degeneration and desquamation of the endometrial lining accompanied by infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells. Severe and prolonged cases of COD, which did not respond to treatment, exhibited marked adverse pathological changes upon histopathological assessment of the genital tract. In conclusion, hormonal treatment with GnRH/PGF2α appears to be effective in treating COD-affected animals. The study provides valuable insights into the immunological, biochemical, and histopathological aspects of cystic ovaries associated with uterine disorders in Egyptian buffaloes, while also evaluating hormonal treatment for cystic ovarian disease as a means to minimize economic losses and improve herd fertility in this species.
Empowering model repair: a rule-based approach to graph repair without side effects—extended version
Authors: Lauer Alexander , Kosiol Jens , Taentzer Gabriele 
Published: November 2024

AbstractWorking with models can lead to inconsistencies, e.g., due to erroneous or contradictory actions during concurrent modeling processes. Modern modeling environments typically tolerate inconsistencies and support their detection. However, at a later stage of development, models are expected to be consistent, meaning their inconsistencies should be considered and resolved. The process of resolving model inconsistencies is commonly referred to as model repair. Our approach to model repair is semi-automatic in the sense that the repair tool computes appropriate repair plans and the modeler decides which path to take. The speciality of our approach is that the repair process can register any small improvement in the model. This allows the interaction with the user to be optimized, resulting in an approach with a high level of automation on the one hand and flexible configuration options on the other. The approach focuses on providing repair plans that do not have side effects, i.e., the computed repair plans do not inadvertently introduce a new inconsistency of already repaired constraints into the model. Since models often have a graph-like structure, we present our approach to model repair based on graphs. Our approach is completely formal—we use the algebraic graph transformation approach to prove its correctness. We also present a prototype implementation of our repair approach based on the Eclipse Modeling Framework and Henshin, a model transformation engine based on graph transformation, to perform the actual model repair. A first performance evaluation shows that graphs with up to 1000 nodes can be repaired in about 10 s.
Removal and elimination of pharmaceuticals in water using zeolites in diverse adsorption processes and catalytic advanced oxidation technologies—a critical review
Authors: Serna-Galvis Efraím A. , Arboleda-Echavarría Johana , Echavarría-Isaza Adriana , Torres-Palma Ricardo A. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractWater pollution by pharmaceuticals is a current worrying environmental problem. Adsorption and catalytic processes using zeolites have been employed in several studies to remove/degrade pharmaceuticals from water. The interest of researchers in these two strategies based on the utilization of zeolites (i.e., adsorption and advanced oxidation technologies, AOT) is continuously growing. Then, this work presents a literature review, considering the origin of the zeolites (natural vs. synthetic) and the modifications of zeolites (e.g., the addition of surfactants) for the adsorption of diverse pharmaceuticals. The role of zeolites in catalytic ozonation, Fenton-based systems, and activation of peroxymonosulfate and peroxydisulfate is detailed. Also, the primary transformations of pharmaceuticals induced by these AOTs were examined. Moreover, the gaps regarding biodegradability and toxicity of the transformation products coming from the degradation of pharmaceuticals by the zeolites-based processes were discussed. To overcome the scarcity of information regarding the biodegradability and toxicity of the primary transformation products observed in the revised works, an initial approach to these topics, using a predictive tool, was made. Finally, from the present review, it was evidenced the need for future works involving zeolites that provide results about the simultaneous removal/elimination of multiple pharmaceuticals in complex matrices (e.g., hospital wastewater or municipal wastewater), new information about biodegradability and toxicity plus the development of combination or coupling of processes with other AOTs (e.g., sonochemistry) or classical systems (e.g., biological process).
Developments in Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance
Authors: Mcoyi M. P. , Mpofu K. T. , Sekhwama M. , Mthunzi-Kufa P. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractLocalized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is a nanoscale phenomenon associated with noble metal nanostructures that has long been studied and has gained considerable interest in recent years. These resonances produce sharp spectral absorption and scattering peaks, along with strong electromagnetic near-field enhancements. Over the past decade, advancements in the fabrication of noble metal nanostructures have propelled significant developments in various scientific and technological aspects of LSPR. One notable application is the detection of molecular interactions near the nanoparticle surface, observable through shifts in the LSPR spectral peak. This document provides an overview of this sensing strategy. Given the broad and expanding scope of this topic, it is impossible to cover every aspect comprehensively in this review. However, we aim to outline major research efforts within the field and review a diverse array of relevant literature. We will provide a detailed summary of the physical principles underlying LSPR sensing and address some existing inconsistencies in the nomenclature used. Our discussion will primarily focus on LSPR sensors that employ metal nanoparticles, rather than on those utilizing extended, fabricated structures. We will concentrate on sensors where LSPR acts as the primary mode of signal transduction, excluding hybrid strategies like those combining LSPR with fluorescence. Additionally, our examination of biological LSPR sensors will largely pertain to label-free detection methods, rather than those that use metal nanoparticles as labels or as means to enhance the efficacy of a label. In the subsequent section of this review, we delve into the analytical theory underpinning LSPR, exploring its physical origins and its dependency on the material properties of noble metals and the surrounding refractive index. We will discuss the behavior of both spherical and spheroidal particles and elaborate on how the LSPR response varies with particle aspect ratio. Further, we detail the fundamentals of nanoparticle-based LSPR sensing. This includes an exploration of single-particle and ensemble measurements and a comparative analysis of scattering, absorption, and extinction phenomena. The discussion will extend to how these principles are applied in practical sensing scenarios, highlighting the key experimental approaches and measurement techniques.
ABC-Training for Alcohol Use During a Voluntary Abstinence Challenge: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Pan Ting , Szpak Veronica , Laverman Judith , Van Dessel Pieter , Bovens Rob , Larsen Helle , Wiers Reinout W. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThe current study aimed to test the effectiveness of ABC-training in influencing drinking behaviors during voluntary abstinence challenges, compared with Approach Bias Modification (ApBM) and sham-ApBM. We conducted two randomized controlled trial studies with three between-subject conditions: ABC-training, conventional ApBM, and sham-ApBM. Assessments were conducted at baseline, midtest, and posttest and at 2-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups. Participants were Dutch drinkers enrolled in the online abstinence challenge “IkPas” (Study 1: N = 261, mage = 57.47, SD = 10.01; Study 2: N = 319, mage = 55.65, SD = 10.81). Pre-registered outcomes included number of days abstinent and number of binge drinking days during the challenge and alcohol consumption at follow-ups. We found no significant difference in pre-registered outcomes between conditions. However, exploratory analysis revealed a higher success rate in abstinence during the challenge for participants who received ABC-training in both studies. Although ABC-training did not demonstrate significant effectiveness in changing pre-registered drinking behaviors compared with controls, exploratory findings suggest it enhanced success rates of abstinence during the challenge. Further research is needed to explore the generalizability of these results to broader populations, including clinical samples as well as people wanting to quit other addictions (e.g., smoking).