bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Economic assessment of ecosystem services with a novel concept of elevation: An application of the discrete choice experiment method
Authors: Khan Aftab , Zhao Minjuan , Khan Sufyan Ullah , Yao Liuyang , Wang Chao 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis research was conducted in the Hei River Basin of China to understand respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for ecological services towards sustainable river system management. A discrete choice experiment is used to gauge respondents' preferences. In addition, elevation was introduced as a novel spatial attribute to account for heterogeneity. Primary data from 1680 respondents were collected across the Hei River Basin. The elevation of the river was categorized into five ad hoc elevation ranges to analyze the potential effects of elevation on environmental attributes. These samples were stratified as 1000–1600 m, 1601–2200 m, 2201–2800 m, 2801–3400 m, and 3401–4000 m. Pooled data results showed that the maximum WTP was for water quality, that is, 142.05 RMB, without considering the effect of elevation. However, when the interaction with elevation was included, the amount decreased to 133.52 RMB. Likewise, elevation‐based group estimates showed a varied pattern of spatial preference, with different preferences for each distinguishing attribute. Group A prioritized water quality (92.81 RMB) and the East Juyan area (4.12 RMB). In contrast, Group B preferred the guaranteed rate of irrigation of farmland (3.50 RMB) and reduced sandstorm frequency (17.90 RMB). Leisure and entertainment conditions had the lowest WTP across all groups (0.09–0.50 RMB). These findings highlight the importance of incorporating respondents' preferences in restoring and maintaining river systems. Additionally, it emphasized the need to consider respondents' socioeconomic characteristics when developing sustainable management policies.
Electrohydrodynamic Printing Grid‐Structured Catalytic Layers with Excellent Bending Resistance for Flexible Al–air Batteries
Authors: Zuo Yuxin , Yu Ying , Feng Junyan , Zuo Chuncheng , Lv Yong 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe catalytic film of a flexible Al–air battery is generally a brittle film formed by brushing a slurry onto the surface of carbon cloth. Fatigue bending can easily lead to cracking of the catalytic film and shedding of the active material. This study innovatively proposes a novel grid‐structured catalytic layer prepared by electrohydrodynamic printing. Experiments have verified that, compared with traditional catalytic films, the grid‐structured catalytic layer exhibits excellent bending resistance. After 10 000 fatigue bending cycles, its relative resistance is ≈1/9 that of the traditional catalytic film. The printed grid‐structured catalytic layer is applied to a flexible Al–air battery, which maintains a power density retention rate as high as 92% after the same number of bending cycles. Compared to traditional catalytic films, the electrodynamically printed grid‐structured catalytic layer proposed in this study demonstrates both excellent electrochemical performance and bending resistance. This advancement holds significant importance for the development and application of flexible metal–air batteries.
How does temperature affect rural income: Channels and implication of adaptation
Authors: Gai Qingen , Li Chengzheng , Zhang Peng 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of daily temperature variations on rural income per capita and evaluates the effectiveness of adaptation based on China's county‐level socioeconomic statistics and household survey data. We find that high temperatures have significant negative effects on rural income per capita. Relative to the physically comfortable reference temperature between 10 and 15°C, an additional day with a daily average temperature above 30°C reduces the rural income per capita by 0.12% in the year. Evidence from micro‐data indicates that agricultural income of rural households is sensitive to high temperatures relative to other components of household income, such as wage income and transfer income, which leads to a reallocation of rural laborers across sectors. In addition, we indeed find some evidence of adaptation, but we conclude that the current adaptation pattern of rural households probably magnifies the threat of future climate change to China's agricultural sector.
FlawCheck: Detecting Smart Contract Vulnerabilities Based on Symbolic Execution
Authors: Gou Naixiang , Zhao Xiangfu , Wang Shiji , Zhang Hanfeng , Yang Jiahui 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACTSmart contracts are turing‐complete computer programs running on blockchains. Like traditional programs, smart contracts are also vulnerable. However, unlike traditional programs, it is very difficult to modify smart contracts once they are deployed on the blockchain. Therefore, reducing potential vulnerabilities in contracts before deployment to the blockchain is very important. The existing smart contract detection tools mostly fail to fully consider the complex control flow relationships within smart contracts, leading to false positives and false negatives. To address these problems, we propose FlawCheck, a vulnerability detection tool based on symbolic execution. First, it compiles smart contract source code into bytecode. Then, it disassembles bytecode into an opcode sequence, building the dependencies of contract control flow. Next, it performs preliminary analysis on the information generated during the simulated execution on the Ethereum virtual machine to identify suspicious vulnerability paths. Finally, it detects these suspicious paths by using symbolic execution. We verified that FlawCheck can detect five types of smart contract vulnerabilities. Experimental results on a dataset of 13016 real contracts shows that FlawCheck has higher accuracy than other tools.
Effect of Ethanol Extract of Tea on the Physicochemical, Retrogradation Characteristics, and Digestion Properties of Wheat Starch
Authors: Zhang Jingwen , Tian Shengxin , Du Guojun , Wang CunTang 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe effects of ethanol extract of tea (EET) on the physicochemical properties, microstructure, and digestibility of wheat starch (WS) are investigated. Aging degree, solubility, swelling degree, Springness of gel, thermodynamic properties, X‐ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and digestibility of WS by adding different ratios of EET are analyzed. The changes of EET on WS‐related properties are evaluated comprehensively. The results show that the addition of EET reduces the enthalpy of recovery and inhibits the recovery of WS. At the same time, XRD diffraction shows that the addition of EET reduces the crystallinity of WS. At the same time, the addition of EET also decreases the content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) in WS and increases the content of slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS). In conclusion, EET can inhibit the retrogression of WS and can also be used as a potential source of RS additives.
Root Diseases
Authors: Viret Olivier , Gindro Katia 
Published: October 2024

AbstractRoot rots are relatively common in perennial plants, affecting all cultivated species as well as many forest species. In viticulture, root rots are often local and very difficult to control. Root-rot fungi play a key role in the degradation of organic matter in forest ecosystems. Their presence on cultivated plants is always associated with residues of dead wood in the soil acting as a substrate or with the immediate proximity of forests, which serve as an inoculum reservoir. Root rots can cause high economic losses. The symptoms of decline caused by the different rots are difficult to distinguish from one another. They are highly variable and manifest as weak vegetative development, stunted shoots, discoloured foliage, small leaves and/or significant millerandage of the clusters. These symptoms are specific to the slow or chronic form of the diseases, which generally lead to the death of the plant a few years after the initial appearance of symptoms. The acute form results in sudden apoplexy of the vines caused by heavy colonisation of the roots, which lose their functionality. Infected plants initially appear sporadically and at random, then form more-or-less extensive infectious foci.
Sustainability Transition in Peripheral Small-Scale Forest Industries: Case Studies from Finland and Sweden
Authors: Halonen Maija , Lundmark Linda 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe sustainability transition is reshaping the operational landscape of forest industries and their societal roles. While much attention is directed towards major forest companies and units situated in central regions of a country, smaller forest actors in remote areas have received comparatively less focus. In this chapter, we delve into forest industries operating in regional inland peripheries in northeast Finland and northern Sweden—locations characterised by their atypical circumstances. These forest industries are relatively small-scale compared to major players in the sector. Our case studies are strategically positioned amidst nationally and globally significant forest resources, placing them at the forefront of the sustainability transition. We explore how peripheral forest industries interpret their interrelations with sustainability transition agendas and the socio-economic environment. Additionally, we investigate how these industries navigate the dynamic currents of agendas, markets, and crises. Our inquiry is informed by the perspectives of local policymakers and representatives from peripheral forest industries. Interviews reveal that prospects are generally optimistic, particularly in light of the momentum generated by green growth initiatives and related sustainability agendas, as well as the proximity to forest resources. However, the process of adaptation has become increasingly unpredictable and challenging due to rapid and sometimes conflicting changes, as well as persistent socio-economic disadvantages.
(Re)Territorialising Policy Narratives and their Role for Novel Bioeconomy Sectors in the EU
Authors: Albrecht Moritz , Klein Oliver 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe EU bioeconomy policy is undergoing a rhetorical rescaling towards regenerative, spatially attentive and inclusive development trajectories. Partially understood as a maturation process in response to previous criticism of its weak sustainability credentials, lack of social integration and spatially insensitive trajectories, the chapter provides a contrasting analysis of this shift with the (policy) narratives and spatial imaginaries that delineate the future socio-spatial development trajectories in four novel regenerative sectors. By framing and analysing the sectors’ expressive formulations on development within the translocal assemblage of EU bioeconomy policy, the chapter highlights a problematic ‘disaligned alignment’ with this rhetorical rescaling and points to a continuous marginalisation of locally focused and spatially inclusive capacities in novel, regenerative bioeconomy sector development.
Tourism and Sustainability Transitions: A Scalar Analysis of Agency in Costa Rica
Authors: Sariego-Kluge Laura , Morales Diana 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis chapter seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the variety and spatial unevenness of sustainability transitions by studying Chorotega’s regional transition from livestock farming to tourism, a process that has unfolded for over four decades. We argue that agency has been mobilised across actors in multiple scales. The national government and supranational organisations initiated the transformation through policies aligning economic growth with environmental conservation, while regional and local actors, including businesses and educational institutions, have been crucial to adapt the changes. To analyse the interplay of agency at various scales, the study employs sustainability transitions and economic geography frameworks to identify how macro- and micro-level agencies influenced the initiation, evolution, and establishment of an industry that has prompted a sustainability transition in the region. Despite the green and sustainable image of Costa Rica, this chapter highlights the contradictions and limitations that sustainability transitions can face. Indeed, economic vulnerability, social inequalities, and environmental challenges persist, suggesting a need for a vision that centres around environmental and social challenges.
Rescaling Renewable Energy Communities in Portugal: Expert Imaginaries of Business-As-Usual, the Empowered Citizen and the Smart Network
Authors: Wallace Ross , Batel Susana 
Published: October 2024

AbstractIn the midst of the climate crisis, growing demands for an acceleration of Europe’s transition to renewable energy have led to the institutionalization and “upscaling” of disparate and local practices of community energy. This chapter examines how new laws for “Renewable Energy Communities” (RECs) have so far been constructed and construed by an array of different technical experts who are key intermediaries for the diffusion of this legal innovation in the Portuguese energy sector. We enquire into how this new object has or has not been envisioned as a desirable and realistic response to the challenges of energy transition and climate change, and how it has been shaped by different imaginaries, discourses and social representations. In particular, we examine the spatial and temporal dimensions of these imaginaries and how expert actors anchor their visions in relation to “the common good.” By focusing on the spatial, temporal and moral dimensions of different expert representations of RECs, we aim to foreground the contingency of legal innovation and the critical moments where the polysemy of RECs and the plurality of scalar possibilities are opened up or closed down.
Grounded Sustainability Transitions: Unfolding Controversy Towards a Policy Implementation in Colombia
Authors: Quimbayo Ruiz Germán A. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis article aims to document the emerging controversies in the practices, strategies, and policy implementation of sustainability transitions (STs) in Colombia and their rescaling at different levels. Academic debates in STs often focus on their establishment through international negotiation rounds in the United Nations arena and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Colombian context, in the current socio-ecological and geopolitical juncture, provides a compelling case for analysis. This study offers an overview analysis based on unstructured interviews with environmental activists and practitioners, as well as a critical review of documents and press reports. The impact of policy formulation and implementation on STs, which can exacerbate tensions in specific spatialities, has received limited attention in academic debates. Therefore, during times of multiple crises, it is crucial to recognize the ambivalence of STs in policy agendas and their implementation in specific geographies.
Exploring ‘Just’ Transitions in Regional Aotearoa New Zealand: Cases of Taranaki and Southland
Authors: Connelly Sean , Nel Etienne , Lomas Danielle 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe multi-scalar sustainability challenge of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation is well understood. Yet, often the way sustainability problems materialise and how solutions are identified and implemented fail to account for the particularities of place. The way global sustainability challenges interface with place-specific issues is context-dependent, complex, and multifaceted. These spatial complexities, however, are often overlooked in the development and implementation of sustainability transitions across space. This is particularly the case in the context of rural and peripheral regions, where assumed congruence between quality of life and sustainability aspirations at national and local scales, and across urban and rural places, is problematic. The regions of Taranaki and Southland in New Zealand provide good examples—both are regions dominated by economic sectors with uncertain futures that have necessitated central state intervention to support a just transition. In this chapter, particular attention is paid to national policy and then how transitions are playing out in these two regions, which the government has prioritised as lead regions in its sustainability drive. Both regions illustrate how the meaning and purpose of just transition is mediated by local and regional actors as they seek support and capacity to diversify their economies in a carbon-constrained context.
Disaggregating Sustainable Transitions Through Power and Governance Arrangements in Municipal Enterprises: A Case Study of the Canmore Community Housing Corporation
Authors: Ryser Laura , Markey Sean , Halseth Greg , Mateus Martin , Hallstrom Lars 
Published: October 2024

AbstractHousing is a key part of the sustainability discourse of any community. It can affect the recruitment and retention of workers and their families that, in turn, support the resilience of rural communities, businesses, and economies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the scalar dimensions of transition management to support socio-economic development and sustainable housing markets in small municipalities. Drawing from the case study of Canmore, Alberta, Canada, this chapter explores the power and governance dynamics that have unfolded through the municipality’s attempts to bring sustainability to its rapidly growing housing market, community, and economy. This endeavour is unfolding within complex and unclear statutory environments guiding the governance of municipal enterprises within the Province of Alberta. The research deepens our understanding of the governance processes guiding municipal enterprises, broadens our awareness of new approaches to sustainable rental and home ownership markets, and shares the use of community housing enterprises to support sustainable transitions with other municipalities in Canada and internationally.
Zusammenfassung und Ausblick
Authors: Massimiani Andrea 
Published: October 2024

ZusammenfassungZentrales Ziel dieser Dissertation ist die Entwicklung eines Vorgehensmodells für Handelsunternehmen, um diese bei der Implementierung von StTmgt zu unterstützen. Dafür ist die Ermittlung von relevanten KEFs sowie die Darlegung der für die Einführung von StTmgt wesentlichen Wirkzusammenhänge notwendig. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wurde der wissenschaftliche State-of-the-Art zu Trendmanagement, KEFs und Vorgehensmodellen mit Innovationskontext quantitativ sowie qualitativ umfassend aufbereitet.
South African Parents’ and Grandparents’ Perspectives on the Acceptability of Implant Delivery of Treatment to Young Children with HIV
Authors: Hawley Imogen , Baez Alejandro , Scorgie Fiona , Fairlie Lee , Mathebula Florence , Cottrell Mackenzie Leigh , Johnson Leah M. , Montgomery Elizabeth T. 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Children living with HIV (CLWH) face unique challenges with adherence to antiretroviral therapy. In South Africa, just over a third of children receiving antiretroviral therapy are virally suppressed. Long-acting, subcutaneous implants may improve outcomes in CLWH compared to current daily oral dosing regimens. Qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with 50 caregivers of CLHW in Johannesburg, South Africa. Interviews and FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were coded and analyzed using Dedoose v9 software and a thematic approach. Caregivers had generally positive impressions of the pediatric HIV treatment implant. They emphasized the advantages of a long-acting and discreet treatment option for CLWH. Cited advantages were perceived to have widespread impact on CLWH, their caregivers, and other social dynamics. Caregivers raised some concerns or uncertainties about the potential efficacy, side effects and safety of the implant. Future clinical testing and outreach efforts may address such concerns and mitigate potential misinformation about implants. This study indicates the need to develop long-acting, discreet, safe, and efficacious HIV treatment options for young children.
A framework for measuring the training efficiency of a neural architecture
Authors: Cueto-Mendoza Eduardo , Kelleher John 
Published: October 2024

AbstractMeasuring Efficiency in neural network system development is an open research problem. This paper presents an experimental framework to measure the training efficiency of a neural architecture. To demonstrate our approach, we analyze the training efficiency of Convolutional Neural Networks and Bayesian equivalents on the MNIST and CIFAR-10 tasks. Our results show that training efficiency decays as training progresses and varies across different stopping criteria for a given neural model and learning task. We also find a non-linear relationship between training stopping criteria, training Efficiency, model size, and training Efficiency. Furthermore, we illustrate the potential confounding effects of overtraining on measuring the training efficiency of a neural architecture. Regarding relative training efficiency across different architectures, our results indicate that CNNs are more efficient than BCNNs on both datasets. More generally, as a learning task becomes more complex, the relative difference in training efficiency between different architectures becomes more pronounced.
Revisiting values in evaluation: exploring the role of values in shaping evaluation practices and their influences on decision-making within English higher education providers
Authors: Kelly Catherine 
Published: October 2024

AbstractTheoretical and empirical contributions to research on evaluation have advanced our understanding of how values influence evaluation practice. Yet rather than understand how values shape evaluation and its use, research on the evaluation of widening participation (WP) programmes delivered by English higher education (HE) providers has focused on methodological deficits. Rather, this study explores the complexity of how national policy, organisational imperatives and the individual values of staff responsible for WP within HE providers influence how evaluation is practised and used to inform decision-making. The results of semi-structured interviews with 17 staff members spanning the organisational hierarchy of three diverse English HE providers highlight conflicts between staff values, job roles and responsibilities and espoused organisational values, and how they can influence symbolic and legitimising evaluation practices. Alternatively, at the individual level staff values support the process and instrumental use of evaluation to inform programme improvements. The findings identify implications for how HE providers can shape their evaluation systems, and how staff choose to enact evaluation within their programme areas.
Liquid Viscosity and Surface Tension of Cyclohexane Between 280 and 473 K by Surface Light Scattering
Authors: Damp Paul , Sun Yongzhen , Schulz Peter S. , Koller Thomas M. , Fröba Andreas P. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThe present study provides experimental data for the liquid viscosity and surface tension of cyclohexane at or close to saturation conditions by surface light scattering between (280 and 473) K. By applying the hydrodynamic theory for surface fluctuations at the vapor–liquid phase boundary, which could be verified experimentally, the liquid viscosity and surface tension were determined simultaneously at macroscopic thermodynamic equilibrium with average relative expanded (k = 2) uncertainties of Ur(η′) = 0.020 and Ur(σ) = 0.012. For both properties, the present measurement results agree well with reference values in the literature which are restricted to a maximum temperature of 393 K for viscosity and 337 K for surface tension. The experimental results from this work contribute to an improved database for the viscosity and surface tension of cyclohexane over a wide temperature range from a temperature close to the melting point up to 473 K.