bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The adverse effect of ciprofloxacin treatment can be related to the increased thermal stability of monomeric actin
Authors: Szatmári Dávid , Farkas Péter , Könczöl Franciska , Lőrinczy Dénes 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Actin is a major component of all sarcomere and cytoskeletal systems and thus plays a crucial role in muscle and cellular movement. The molecular dynamics of actomyosin complexes are obtaining the central machinery of force generation during contraction. Nalidixic acid, discovered in 1962—the primary compound of the quinolone, fluoroquinolone-type antibiotics—in the forms of its improved derivatives are still widely used today. One of the most commonly used drugs in this class is ciprofloxacin (CF). It was observed that after the use of these drugs—during longer or shorter administration or even after their use—several side effects such as muscle pain (myalgia), muscle spasms, and muscle atrophy also occur, and muscle damage and rupture may be associated with muscle cell death (rhabdomyolysis). In medical cases, muscle weakness after CF treatment can be related to the CF-actin interaction. Here, we studied the effect of CF on skeletal muscle actin using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). We obtained evident data that CF binding increases the structural stability of G actin and slightly weakens the F actin filaments. The stability change of actin in myofilaments can lead to the adverse effect of CF.
Epicureanism and euthanasia
Authors: Skrzypek Jeremy W. 
Published: September 2024

AbstractIf Epicurean arguments for the harmlessness of death are successful, then they also successfully undermine a common justification for physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the termination of hopeless pregnancies that I call the ‘Mercy Intuition', according to which, by ending the life of a suffering loved one for whom there is little to no chance of recovery, one is relieving that person of her suffering, and thus providing a great benefit to her. For, if death is not a harm to the person who dies, then it cannot be a benefit to her either, even in cases of intense and prolonged suffering. Along these lines, in this paper, I defend the claim that death cannot provide a benefit to those who are suffering. I begin by highlighting the Epicurean foundations of the argument, focusing on three main Epicurean arguments for the harmlessness of death and their no-benefit analogues. I then move on to explore several important limitations of the argument, which make available a number of strategies for avoiding its conclusion. Along the way, I respond to each of these avoidance strategies. I conclude that even granting several of its limitations, the argument still poses a serious challenge to the Mercy Intuition.
Machine Learning Approach to Investigate High Temperature Corrosion of Critical Infrastructure Materials
Authors: Muthukrishnan Ramkumar , Balogun Yakubu , Rajendran Vinooth , Prathuru Anil , Hossain Mamdud , Faisal Nadimul Haque 
Published: September 2024

AbstractDegradation of coatings and structural materials due to high temperature corrosion in the presence of molten salt environment is a major concern for critical infrastructure applications to meet its commercial viability. The choice of high value coatings and structural (construction parts) materials comes with challenges, and therefore data centric approach may accelerate change in discovery and data practices. This research aims to use machine learning (ML) approach to estimate corrosion rates of materials when operated at high temperatures conditions (e.g., nuclear, geothermal, oxidation (dry/wet), solar applications) but geared towards nuclear thermochemical cycles. Published data related to materials (structural and coatings materials), their composition and manufacturing, including corrosion environment were gathered and analysed. Analysis demonstrated that random forest regression model is highly precise compared to other models. Assessment indicates that very limited sets of materials are likely to survive high temperature corrosive environment for extended period of exposure. While a higher quality and larger dataset are required to accurately predict the corrosion rate, the findings demonstrated the value of ML’s regression and data mining capabilities for corrosion data analysis. With the research gap in material selection strategies, proposed research will be critical to advancing data analytics approach exploiting their properties for high temperature corrosion applications.
Graphical Abstract
Altruism and self-interest in constitutional reform: the case of the British abolition of slavery and the slave trade
Authors: Meadowcroft John 
Published: September 2024

AbstractWas the British abolition of slavery and the slave trade a triumph of altruism over pecuniary self-interest? Analysis of qualitative data reveals the importance of self-interested motives underlying this ostensibly other-regarding reform. The abolitionists worked to alleviate the suffering of enslaved Africans, but their campaign faced a collective action problem that was solved by the supply of the private benefits of status, esteem, and possible religious salvation to the leading figures. Abolition was also consistent with the desire of many ordinary Britons to eradicate the remnants of feudal society and move to a more liberal order. The payment of compensation to slaveowners on abolition also made reform consistent with their interests, and the interests of the individuals and financial institutions that processed and invested the payments. This analysis coheres with aspects of Eric Williams’ thesis that abolition took place because it benefited Britain’s ruling elite, although more Britons gained from abolition than Williams supposed. It is concluded that constitutional reform to remove oppressive and exploitative institutions does not follow from a sudden outpouring of societal altruism but requires the supply of private benefits to constitutional entrepreneurs able to make change consistent with the interests of the wider population and powerful groups who would otherwise lose from liberalization.
Subacute and long-term effects of COVID-19 on cardiac health and function in German elite athletes assessed by strain analysis: a speckle tracking echocardiography observational trial
Authors: Zacher Jonas , Joisten Niklas , Schmidt Thomas , Predel Hans-Georg 
Published: September 2024

Abstract
Introduction
During the COVID-19-pandemic, most elite athletes were infected with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Initial worries of high rates of multi-organ complications including the heart and ending sporting careers were disproved by large studies. However, the effects of COVID-19 on the heart and its function in elite athletes remains unclear, especially in the prolonged post-infection follow-up and during and after return to competition.

Methods
In the year 2020, a cohort of 127 elite athletes (boasting an accumulated 58 Olympic and world championship medals) was recruited, 76 of them recently having undergone a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Echocardiography was conducted 1 (T0), 5 (T1) and 9 (T2) months after the infection in the infected cohort and at baseline for the control cohort. Left-ventricular global longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strain was compared cross-sectionally at baseline between athletes after a COVID-19-infection and control athletes, as well as longitudinally in the COVID-19-cohort.

Results
At baseline, global longitudinal strain (reported as absolute %-values) was significantly higher in the COVID-19-cohort in comparison to control-cohort (20.37 ± 1.98% vs. 19.41 ± 2.11%, respectively, p = 0.042). In the longitudinal assessment within the COVID-19-cohort the global longitudinal strain was significantly higher shortly after the infection (T0) than at the two follow-up measurements (T0: 20.37 ± 1.98%; T1: 19.34 ± 1.65%; T2: 19.30 ± 1.68% (p = 0.0052 and p = 0.0044, respectively)). No significant differences for any of the comparisons were found for circumferential or radial strain.

Discussion
The significantly elevated values in the COVID-19-cohort at T0 may be due to an affectation of the autonomic nervous system, which has previously been documented as a result of COVID-19-disease. No cardiac injury after COVID-19 was detected using strain analysis. All documented global longitudinal strain values were within the normal range for athletes. A return to training and competition had no deleterious effect on cardiac health in athletes after a COVID-19-infection in this trial.
Mechanism-based shift factors to predict the fatigue performance of cemented pavement materials
Authors: Le Vinh T. , Bui Ha H. , Nguyen Giang D. , Kodikara Jayantha , Bodin Didier , Grenfell James 
Published: September 2024

AbstractCemented pavement materials (CPMs) are essential components in pavement structures, yet accurately predicting their service life due to fatigue damage remains challenging. Laboratory fatigue test results are commonly employed to predict the service life of CPMs by applying a lab-to-field shift factor (SF). However, traditional approaches rely heavily on experimental data, posing challenges in ensuring the certainty of lab-to-field results. Additionally, inconsistencies in lab-to-field fatigue failure criteria further complicate SF development. To address these challenges, this study proposes a mechanism-based methodology for developing SF. This methodology comprises a rigorous two-scale fatigue model developed by the authors to characterise the fatigue performance of CPMs at the lab scale and predict their performance at the field scale, thereby facilitating the development of SFs. These SFs are established based on a consistent lab-to-field fatigue failure criterion (i.e. the modulus reduction of CPMs). By accounting for strain differences between laboratory and field scales, SFs are derived in the strain-fatigue life space. Application of this approach to typical Australian CPMs, namely siltstone and hornfels, yields mechanism-based SFs of 1.19 and 1.21, respectively.
Machine learning based operator assistance in roll forming
Authors: Hofmann Johannes , Becker Marco , Kubik Christian , Groche Peter 
Published: September 2024

AbstractThis paper presents an approach for operator assistance in roll forming to overcome the challenges of progressive skilled labor shortage faced by manufacturers of profiled products. An introductory study proves the necessity and the willingness of the roll forming industry to use process data and machine learning based assistance for less experienced operators. A newly built framework contains the characterization of process behavior based on in-line collected data. To support operators during the setup and control of complex manufacturing processes, correlations between tool adjustments and process data are analyzed in a machine learning (ML) pipeline. Setup suggestions are directly provided to the operator for implementation and a feedback loop takes the results into account. To quantify the functionality of the newly developed Machine Learning based Operator Assistance (MLbOA), an exemplary roll forming process is investigated. The system localizes maladjustments in the setup of tool gaps caused by individual mechanical load behavior and offers corrective suggestions to operators with a mean absolute error of 1.26 ± 0.36 μm. This work demonstrates the potential of machine learning based assistance systems to enhance the resilience of manufacturing processes against the challenges posed by the shortage of skilled labor.
Governance and Structural Transformation in Africa: Thresholds of Lifelong Gender Inclusive Education
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. , Bouanza Jean R. F. K. , Akpa Armand Fréjuis 
Published: September 2024

AbstractThe present research is focused on how lifelong gender inclusive education moderates the effect of governance on structural transformation. It is based on a sample of forty-one countries in Africa for the period 2004 to 2021 and the adopted empirical strategy is the generalized method of moments (GMM). The estimation exercise is tailored such that lifelong gender inclusive education is interacted with political (i.e., political stability/no violence and voice & accountability), economic (i.e., government effectiveness and regulatory quality) and institutional (i.e., corruption-control and the rule of law) governance dynamics in order to affect manufacturing value added. Lifelong gender inclusive education is understood as the combined knowledge acquired in terms of gender parity education in primary, secondary and tertiary schools. The following findings are established. (i) Gender inclusive lifelong learning does not effectively moderate political governance and associated components (i.e., political stability/no violence and voice & accountability) as well as institutional governance and associated components (i.e., corruption-control and the rule of law) in order to improve manufacturing value added. (ii) Gender inclusive lifelong learning effectively moderates economic governance and associated dimensions (i.e., government effectiveness and regulatory quality) to improve manufacturing value added. However, only the thresholds corresponding to government effectiveness and economic governance are within policy range. Robustness of the findings is broadly confirmed, especially within the remits of additional elements in the conditioning information set and general governance. Policy implications are discussed.
A spirit of service in liberal arts education: the legacy from China’s former Christian universities and the influence of contrasting social contexts
Authors: Mou Leping 
Published: September 2024

AbstractLiberal arts education in Chinese higher education can be traced back to the liberal arts tradition that existed in China’s former Christian universities prior to the 1950s. The mission and goal of liberal arts education in Chinese contexts focuses on cultivating whole persons to serve their societies. Using data from documents and interviews, the study examines the liberal arts tradition for developing whole persons with a spirit of service in China’s former Christian universities. It also explores to what extent the legacy has been carried on to the development of liberal arts education in contemporary universities in Chinese societies (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). The study provides insight into how some elements of whole person development from faith-based education could contribute to today’s higher education reform in terms of the goals of global citizen cultivation.
Crystallization Modulation and Holistic Passivation Enables Efficient Two-Terminal Perovskite/CuIn(Ga)Se2 Tandem Solar Cells
Authors: Geng Cong , Zhang Kuanxiang , Wang Changhua , Wu Chung Hsien , Jiang Jiwen , Long Fei , Han Liyuan , Han Qifeng , Cheng Yi-Bing , Peng Yong 
Published: September 2024

AbstractTwo-terminal (2-T) perovskite (PVK)/CuIn(Ga)Se2 (CIGS) tandem solar cells (TSCs) have been considered as an ideal tandem cell because of their best bandgap matching regarding to Shockley–Queisser (S–Q) limits. However, the nature of the irregular rough morphology of commercial CIGS prevents people from improving tandem device performances. In this paper, D-homoserine lactone hydrochloride is proven to improve coverage of PVK materials on irregular rough CIGS surfaces and also passivate bulk defects by modulating the growth of PVK crystals. In addition, the minority carriers near the PVK/C60 interface and the incompletely passivated trap states caused interface recombination. A surface reconstruction with 2-thiopheneethylammonium iodide and N,N-dimethylformamide assisted passivates the defect sites located at the surface and grain boundaries. Meanwhile, LiF is used to create this field effect, repelling hole carriers away from the PVK and C60 interface and thus reducing recombination. As a result, a 2-T PVK/CIGS tandem yielded a power conversion efficiency of 24.6% (0.16 cm2), one of the highest results for 2-T PVK/CIGS TSCs to our knowledge. This validation underscores the potential of our methodology in achieving superior performance in PVK/CIGS tandem solar cells.
Low-Temperature Oxidation Induced Phase Evolution with Gradient Magnetic Heterointerfaces for Superior Electromagnetic Wave Absorption
Authors: He Zizhuang , Shi Lingzi , Sun Ran , Ding Lianfei , He Mukun , Li Jiaming , Guo Hua , Gao Tiande , Liu Panbo 
Published: September 2024

AbstractGradient magnetic heterointerfaces have injected infinite vitality in optimizing impedance matching, adjusting dielectric/magnetic resonance and promoting electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption, but still exist a significant challenging in regulating local phase evolution. Herein, accordion-shaped Co/Co3O4@N-doped carbon nanosheets (Co/Co3O4@NC) with gradient magnetic heterointerfaces have been fabricated via the cooperative high-temperature carbonization and low-temperature oxidation process. The results indicate that the surface epitaxial growth of crystal Co3O4 domains on local Co nanoparticles realizes the adjustment of magnetic-heteroatomic components, which are beneficial for optimizing impedance matching and interfacial polarization. Moreover, gradient magnetic heterointerfaces simultaneously realize magnetic coupling, and long-range magnetic diffraction. Specifically, the synthesized Co/Co3O4@NC absorbents display the strong electromagnetic wave attenuation capability of − 53.5 dB at a thickness of 3.0 mm with an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.36 GHz, both are superior to those of single magnetic domains embedded in carbon matrix. This design concept provides us an inspiration in optimizing interfacial polarization, regulating magnetic coupling and promoting electromagnetic wave absorption.
The dark side of text-matching software: worries and counterproductive behaviour among European upper secondary school and bachelor students
Authors: Goddiksen Mads Paludan , Johansen Mikkel Willum , Armond Anna Catharina Vieira , Centa Mateja , Clavien Christine , Gefenas Eugenijus , Kovács Nóra , Merit Marcus Tang , Olsson I. Anna S. , Poškutė Margarita , Santos Júlio Borlido , Santos Rita , Strahovnik Vojko , Varga Orsolya , Wall P. J. , Sandøe Peter , Lund Thomas Bøker 
Published: September 2024

AbstractText-matching software (TMS) is a standard part of efforts to prevent and detect plagiarism in upper secondary and higher education. While there are many studies on the potential benefits of using this technology, few studies look into potential unintended side effects. These side effects include students worrying about being accused of plagiarism due to TMS output, even though they did not intentionally plagiarise. Although such worries are frequently mentioned in the literature, little is known about how prevalent they are, why they occur and how students react to them. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap.The data for the study comprise 36 interviews with upper secondary and Bachelor students from three European countries combined with survey data from 3,424 students from seven European countries representing a broad range of disciplines.The study found that a substantial proportion of the two groups of students – 47% of upper secondary and 55% of Bachelor students – had experienced TMS-related worries during their current studies. Furthermore, there were substantial differences across countries. Students worry partly because they have a poor understanding of how TMS is used in their institution, and partly because they know that plagiarism is taken very seriously. The study shows that TMS-related worries can lead students to become very focused on not being caught plagiarising, to such an extent that some adopt citation practices that they believe are suboptimal.The paper concludes that institutions using TMS should always combine it with training for students and teachers. Students should be clearly informed about how TMS is used and should develop an understanding of plagiarism and good citation practice that goes beyond the narrow focus on any overlap between texts elicited by the software.
Die Gefahr der Co-Radikalisierung: Wie sich Muslimfeindlichkeit und Islamismus in Deutschland wechselseitig verstärken
Authors: Öztürk Cemal , Pickel Susanne 
Published: September 2024

Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag untersucht muslimfeindliche und islamistische Co-Radikalisierungsprozesse in Deutschland. Eine Auswertung der Leipziger Autoritarismus-Studie und einer Befragung unter Muslim*innen zeigt, dass zwischen einer gesteigerten Salienz der Eigengruppenzugehörigkeit und der Formation von antagonistischen Identitäten und Gewaltintentionen ein Zusammenhang besteht. In der deutschen Mehrheitsgesellschaft sind die Angst vor islamistischer Gewalt und Bedrohungswahrnehmungen gegenüber Muslim*innen nicht nur eng mit der Identifikation mit islamkritischen Gruppen verknüpft, sondern erhöhen die Bereitschaft, Gewalt und Gesetzesverstöße als legitime Handlungsoptionen und Mittel des gesellschaftlichen Wandels anzusehen. Ähnliche Muster zeichnen sich unter Muslim*innen ab, die sich vor Diskriminierung und rassistischer Gewalt fürchten und sich stark mit ihrer Eigengruppe identifizieren. Bei diesem Zusammenhang spielen spezifische Mediatoren eine Rolle. Unter Muslim*innen begünstigt die Salienz der Eigengruppenzugehörigkeit eine Hinwendung zu religiös-fundamentalistischen Auslegungen des Islam, die mit antisemitischen Ressentiments in Verbindung stehen und systemfeindliche Einstellungen fördern. Parallel begünstigen die Bedrohungswahrnehmungen in der Mehrheitsgesellschaft die Entstehung von antimuslimischen Vorurteilen und eine gesteigerte Empfänglichkeit für eine chauvinistische Variante des Nationalismus, die ebenfalls in einer Abwendung von der Demokratie münden können. Generell erweisen sich systemfeindlichen Einstellungen – die eine Absage an den normativen und rechtlichen Rahmen der Demokratie implizieren – als wirkmächtige Vorläufer einer gesteigerten Gewaltaffinität und eines gewaltbereiten Aktivismus. Diese empirischen Muster sprechen dafür, dass rechtsextreme und islamistische Radikalisierungen nicht isoliert betrachtet werden sollten, sondern als sich wechselseitig verstärkende Phänomene, die die demokratische politische Kultur gefährden und so eine Radikalisierung in die Gewalt wahrscheinlicher machen. Islamfeindliche und islamistische Radikalisierungsprozesse verleihen den Angst- und Viktimisierungsdiskursen des jeweilig verfeindeten Lagers einen Plausibilitätsgehalt und fördern so eine Co-Radikalisierung und möglicherweise eine Spirale der Gewalt.
(Two-scale) $$W^{1}L^{\Phi }$$-gradient Young measures and homogenization of integral functionals in Orlicz–Sobolev spaces
Authors: Fotso Tachago Joel , Nnang Hubert , Tchinda Franck , Zappale Elvira 
Published: September 2024

Abstract(Two-scale) gradient Young measures in Orlicz–Sobolev setting are introduced and characterized providing also an integral representation formula for non convex energies arising in homogenization problems with nonstandard growth.