bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analyzing spatiotemporal variations and dynamics of vegetation over Amathole district municipality in South Africa
Authors: Afuye Gbenga Abayomi , Kalumba Ahmed Mukalazi , Owolabi Solomon Temidayo , Thamaga Kgabo Humphrey , Ndou Naledzani , Sibandze Phila , Orimoloye Israel Ropo 
Published: August 2024

AbstractGlobal biodiversity loss and ecosystem services are significantly impacted by vegetation stress and environmental degradation. The study evaluates vegetation dynamics and long-term meteorological variables in Amathole District Municipality, South Africa, using satellite-derived vegetation indices from 2001 to 2022. The study utilised Terra MODIS and Landsat time series data to evaluate vegetation cover variation using the seasonal Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). A MODIS-specific compositing algorithm was used to acquire and extract data from the Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) using the study area extent. Pearson correlation and non-parametric trend analysis were used to assess the long-term vegetation cover characteristics and the influence of temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration (ETo) on vegetation cover. The results reveal a significant decline (<10%) in the quality of green vegetation condition index from moderate to low due to prolonged dryness in autumn and winter, affecting seasonal VCI trends. In certain years, the western region has experienced browning trends and increased vegetation. Spring and summer months experienced high vegetation greenness (50-100%), with inter-annual and decadal NDVI trends shifting, causing high drought sensitivity in the east. The study found a significant positive correlation (P < 0.001) between precipitation and simulated evapotranspiration anomalies with vegetation dynamics, contrasting with inter-annual and decadal changes in NDVI trends. The changes were primarily observed in small areas, with a greening trend resulting from an increased rate of ETo, which in turn affects temperature change. The approach is suitable for semi-arid environments and can be adopted by stakeholders due to its geospatial implications for vegetation monitoring and evaluation.
Those Lucky Enough to Transcend Gender: Travis Alabanza, Radical Transfeminism, and the Law
Authors: Duffy Sandra 
Published: August 2024

AbstractTravis Alabanza is a Black British transfeminine author and playwright, best known for their play Burgerz and their memoir None of the Above. This article places these works in conversation with the politics of radical transfeminism, a community-centred ethos which places above all the needs of marginalised transfeminine people, as they pertain to law and society. It engages themes of identity, violence, and legal regulation, and argues for a liberatory approach to trans life which does not depend on legal recognition for its legitimacy. It also discusses how radical transfeminism approaches intersectional forms of discrimination such as transmisogynoir by positing a different approach to legal and social structures.
Guldborgsund Arson House Fire Experiment and Numerical Investigation
Authors: Husted Bjarne Paulsen , Livkiss Karlis , Sauca Ana 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
This paper describes the Guldborgsund arson house fire experiment performed in Denmark and the subsequent numerical investigation. Gas temperatures were measured with four thermocouple trees, and smoke detector activation times were recorded in all rooms. A two-step approach was used to perform the numerical modelling for reproduction of the fire scene. The measured temperatures in the room of fire origin were used as an input for back calculating the Heat Release Rate (HRR) with the two-zone model Argos. As a next step, this HRR was used in the Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) to predict the temperatures and the smoke detectors’ activation times in other rooms. The FDS model was partly build using output files from the laser scanning. A sensitivity analysis is presented, where the effect of nine input parameters was investigated, including HRR, the material properties, the height of the fuel bed, the fire area, level of geometrical detail of the first item ignited etc. This study showed that the measured soot deposition heights on the walls differed from the heights of measured sharp temperature gradients used to indicate the hot smoke layer. The numerical simulations resulted in less than 50% error for most of the temperature measurement points during the fuel-controlled stage of the fire and results were the most sensitive to the input HRR. Material properties in FDS had a significant influence on the computed upper-layer gas temperatures at late stages of the fire.
Causal sets and an emerging continuum
Authors: Carlip S. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractCausal set theory offers a simple and elegant picture of discrete physics. But the vast majority of causal sets look nothing at all like continuum spacetimes, and must be excluded in some way to obtain a realistic theory. I describe recent results showing that almost all non-manifoldlike causal sets are, in fact, very strongly suppressed in the gravitational path integral. This does not quite demonstrate the emergence of a continuum—we do not yet understand the remaining unsuppressed causal sets well enough—but it is a significant step in that direction.
Using Critical Race Mixed Methodology to Explore African American College Students’ Experiences with Racial Microaggressions
Authors: DeCuir-Gunby Jessica T. , McCoy Whitney N. , Gibson Stephen M. , Modaressi Saba L. , Macias Andrea J. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThere is a dearth of social justice or critical mixed methods research approaches, particularly in higher education. Critical Race Mixed Methodology (CRMM) is a type of critical mixed methods research that combines Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mixed methods research (DeCuir-Gunby in Educational Psychologist 55, 244-255, 2020). However, there are limited examples of CRMM within higher education research (Johnson & Strayhorn in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 16, 539-553, 2023). Our study further operationalizes CRMM through the explication of an explanatory sequential mixed methods exploration of African American college students’ experiences with racial microaggressions, where the qualitative findings are used to expand upon the quantitative findings (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017). The study uses Critical Race Theory (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate in Teachers College Record 97, 47-68, 1995; Solórzano & Huber, 2020) to focus on how African American college students’ experiencing of racial microaggressions influences their racial identity and feelings of belonging in historically white institutions (HWIs). The quantitative findings (n = 97) indicated that private regard (racial identity) protected students’ sense of belonging when experiencing racial microaggressions. The qualitative findings (n = 15) explored students’ stories regarding their experiences with racial microaggressions, focusing on their feelings of belonging. Through our discussion, we advance the use of mixed methods in higher education research to better understand the racialized experiences of African American college students and demonstrate how CRMM can be used to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings.
Comparison of two cultivation methods for domesticating wild red algal eucheumatoids for use in the seaweed industry
Authors: Yahya Nurulafifah , Poong Sze-Wan , Brodie Juliet , Cottier-Cook Elizabeth J. , Wilbraham Joanna , Mallinson Saul , Kassim Azhar , Mansor Ku Nor Afiza Asnida Ku , Lim Phaik-Eem 
Published: August 2024

AbstractEucheumatoid cultivation is an important alternative livelihood for small-scale farmers in coastal areas in east Malaysia. Over the last 50 years, the same clones of the red eucheumatoid Kappaphycus alvarezii and Kappaphycus striatus have been vegetatively propagated for cultivation resulting in low genetic diversity. This has made the cultivars more vulnerable to pests and diseases, which has been further exacerbated by climate change. There is an urgent need, therefore, to develop new cultivars that are resilient to pests and diseases, as well as environmental change. In this study, wild eucheumatoids were collected from four regions in Semporna, East Malaysia: Kerindingan, Sibuhun, Sebangkat and Omadal. These eucheumatoids were then grown at a commercial seaweed farm in Silungun, Semporna using two methods: i) tie-tie and ii) basket net for 60 days and their performance was evaluated based on growth and survival rates. A higher mean specific growth rate (SGR) was recorded by wild-collected Kappaphycus spp. (2.15 ± 1.90% day−1) and Eucheuma denticulatum (2.83 ± 3.27% day−1) when tie-tie was used. However, survival of the wild-collected eucheumatoids was better with the basket net, which led to a reduction in grazing and prevented detachment from culture lines. Of 212 original individuals, 72 survived throughout the study, despite the prevalence of pests and ice-ice disease. Of these, 46.15% Kappaphycus spp. and 50.75% E. denticulatum survived when cultivated using the basket net and 17.20% Kappaphycus spp. and 30.77% E. denticulatum survived when cultivated using tie-tie. The mean SGR and survival rate were significantly correlated with temperature, salinity, pH, current velocity and rainfall (p < 0.05). The surviving wild-collected Kappaphycus spp. and E. denticulatum have the potential to be developed into new cultivars for possible commercial use.
Botryococcus braunii reduces algal grazing losses to Daphnia and Poterioochromonas through both chemical and physical interference
Authors: Thomas Patrick K. , Arn Finn J. , Freiermuth Micha , Narwani Anita 
Published: August 2024

AbstractCrop protection from algal grazers is a key area of concern, as grazing zooplankton and flagellates can decimate microalgae crops and impede economic viability of cultivation for biofuels and bioproducts. Inhibition of grazing by chemical and physical interference is one promising solution; however, there have been few empirical tests of this approach that use defense traits innate to algal crop species. Botryococcus braunii is of particular interest because a) it excretes high levels of hydrocarbons and exopolysaccharides and b) forms colonies and possesses chemical defenses. Here we conduct a controlled laboratory experiment to test whether B. braunii can mitigate losses to grazing by two distinct grazers, Daphnia magna and Poterioochromonas malhamensis, due to both chemical inhibition and physical interference linked to large/inedible colonies. We show that chemical and physical defenses interactively reduce the total effect of grazing, thus significantly increasing the biomass and growth rates of cultures of B. braunii and Nannochloropsis limnetica when either grazer is present. We also find that B. braunii medium enhances the growth of N. limnetica. Our study demonstrates how community engineering can identify synergies arising from algal co-cultivation (e.g., by using industrially relevant strains for crop protection). While our lab study serves as a proof-of-concept, future research should test this strategy at pilot scale; if successful, such ecological discoveries may help to reduce the costs of large-scale deployment of algal cultivation for sustainable foods, fuels, bioproducts (e.g., bioplastics), and carbon capture.
High-temperature exposure of the high-strength 18Ni-300 maraging steel manufactured by laser powder bed fusion: oxidation, structure and mechanical changes
Authors: Strakosova Angelina , Průša Filip , Jiříček Petr , Houdková Jana , Michalcová Alena , Vojtěch Dalibor 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe present work describes the effect of long-term (8 weeks) high-temperature oxidation (500 °C) on the formation of an oxide layer as well as on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the 3D-printed 18Ni-300 maraging steel. For this purpose, samples produced by additive manufacturing in the as-built and the as-built + solution annealed and aging treated states were used. The as-built + solution annealed and aging treated material was found to be more prone to oxide layer formation due to a homogeneously distributed Ni3Mo intermetallic phase in the material matrix compared to the as-built material. The 8 weeks long exposure to a temperature of 500 °C has caused the formation of a thick oxide layer that exhibited a very bad adhesion with the metal matrix/oxide. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of a layer with a complex phase composition: martensite, austenite, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4. Moreover, the presence of CoFe2O4 was determined on the thin outer oxide layer using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The phenomenon of over-aging was found to be the most significant after the first week of high-temperature oxidation. Then, a negligible change in the microhardness was observed throughout the entire experiment. X-ray diffraction analysis and energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the phase composition of the alloy corresponding to 75% of martensite + 25% of austenite as well as the change of Ni3Mo precipitate to Ni3(Mo, Ti) type after the long-term oxidation.
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Medical Decision-Making for Ostomy Surgery in Pediatric IBD: Themes from Focus Groups
Authors: David Jennie G. , Dotson Jennifer L. , Mackner Laura 
Published: August 2024

AbstractPediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic illness where patients may undergo ostomy surgery. Medical decision-making (MDM) for ostomy surgery is complex for patients/families and multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (HCPs) alike, with current uncertainty about how multidisciplinary HCPs think about ostomy care to inform future interventions to facilitate equitable multidisciplinary care for patients. This study sought to understand pediatric IBD multidisciplinary HCPs’ perceptions regarding ostomy-related MDM and education. Multidisciplinary HCPs (e.g., gastroenterology medical providers, social workers, surgeons, and ostomy nurses) participated in semi-structured focus groups. Focus group data underwent qualitative analysis to identify themes. Three multidisciplinary focus groups were conducted, with n = 12 participants across all groups. Qualitative analysis identified three main themes, including (1) HCP perceptions of ostomies, (2) Patient/family-related factors, and (3) Professional roles and collaboration challenges. Ostomy surgery in pediatric IBD requires complex multidisciplinary MDM and education. Perspectives of multidisciplinary HCPs identified patient, HCP, and systems factors that may impact MDM for ostomy surgery. This work highlights nuances in MDM and education in IBD, and the critical role of ongoing research and improved standardized processes to coordinate multidisciplinary ostomy-related MDM and education in this population.
Applying General Strain Theory to the Relationship Between Strain from Another Person’s Gambling Behavior and Gambling Disorder
Authors: Malkin Michelle L. 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Prior research has identified a host of factors that increase the likelihood that an individual will develop problem gambling, clinically diagnosed as Gambling Disorder (GD), most of which would be identified by criminologists as “strains” under the framework of General Strain Theory (GST). This study utilizes propositions from GST to determine whether strain from another person’s gambling may be related to why people develop GD and whether gender is a moderating factor in this relationship. Secondary data is analyzed to assess levels of strain individuals experience from another person’s gambling behavior, its relationship to the individual’s risk of Gambling Disorder, and the role gender plays in this relationship. Findings demonstrate a relationship between the strain from the perceived problem gambling of someone with a close relationship and having a gambling disorder. Experiencing strain from a spouse/partner who is perceived as a problem gambler has the strongest correlation with an individual also having Gambling Disorder. Considering gender as a moderating factor, this effect was stronger on men than women, calling into question the strong belief that it is primarily women who gamble to escape problems.
Financial investment by non-financial firms: does it affect audit quality?
Authors: Wang Litan , You Kefei , Chen Hui 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn the context of the global trend of increasing financial investment by non-financial firms, this study investigates how this process affects the audit quality of these firms. Employing data of Chinese listed non-financial firms from 2011 to 2020, we first examine whether the increasing proportion of financial assets in the total assets has an adverse impact on the audit quality of these firms. We then analyze the mediation effect of operational volatility on such impact by adopting the mediation test of the modified Sobel’s z and the bootstrap test. We find that a higher proportion of financial assets to total assets lowers the audit quality, confirming that the financialization of non-financial firms deteriorates their audit quality. Furthermore, the mediation tests show that operational volatility is an important channel for this negative effect.
Application of gas sensor technology to locate victims in mass disasters – a review
Authors: Karami Hamed , Thurn Bridget , de Boer Nanne K. , Ramos Jose , Covington James A. , Lozano Jesús , Liu Taoping , Zhang Wentian , Su Steven , Ueland Maiken 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The occurrence of mass disasters are increasing as a result of changing climates and the growing threat of terrorist activities/conflicts. When these tragedies strike, it is critical to locate victims. While search and rescue dogs are trained to locate the living, cadaver detection dogs are trained to locate the deceased. These dogs rely on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the victims to do so. Knowing which dog unit to deploy can be challenging, and the victims’ makeup is likely to change following disasters in densely inhabited places, where commingling is likely to occur. The use of electronic nose technologies in forensic science is a recent breakthrough. Due to their ability to detect differing VOCs, this technology can be used to assist in the recovery of victims in disaster events. The most popular types of accessible gas sensor technologies are briefly introduced and compared in this article for their potential use to locate missing persons, both living and deceased. The current and future market needs are articulated, and the lack of enrichment of these needs is examined in relation to the capabilities of existing gas sensors. This will inform further research areas of preference to increase victim detection capabilities.
Seismic variations before Eastern Anatolian catastrophic events in February 2023
Authors: Trifonova Petya , Oynakov Emil , Popova Mariya , Aleksandrova Irena 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The East Anatolian Fault System has been intensively studied over the years due to its potential to generate strong earthquakes and the high exposure of the economy and population in the region. This interest intensified even more after the strong earthquakes in the area at the beginning of February 2023, leading to a focused search for features and precursors that might suggest such an upcoming event. We analyze certain characteristics of seismicity within the East Anatolian Fault System before the earthquakes of February 6, 2023, with magnitudes Mw = 7.8 and Mw = 7.5, over the time period between 1983 and 2022. The earthquake catalog from January 1983 to September 2023, created by Turkish Bogazici University KOERI, is used. Processing of the data is performed by the ZMAP 7.1 software used in the MATLAB environment. Events with a magnitude greater than 2.5 are considered in four time periods: 1983–1992, 1993–2002, 2003–2012, and 2013–2022, totaling 29,346 events. The b-value of the magnitude-frequency distribution of earthquakes (slope of the recurrence graph) is determined; the parameter β, indicative of the increase or decrease in the rate of anomalous seismicity, and parameter Z, associated with anomalous seismic quiescence, is evaluated. A significant decrease in the value of b (from 1.07 to 0.84) is observed when comparing the two periods (2013–2017/2018–2022), indicating accumulated stress in the Earth’s crust. Furthermore, the Z parameter analysis for the period July 2021 to December 2022 shows evidence of relative seismic quiet in the examined area compared to the period from January 2020 to the end of June 2021. Those results suggest that the spatiotemporal variations of the studied seismic parameters could serve as predictors of the two very strong seismic events in the southern part of the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey.
The importance of on-request reports for the correct assessment of low macroseismic intensities: the experience of “Hai Sentito Il Terremoto”
Authors: Sbarra Paola , Tosi Patrizia , De Rubeis Valerio , Sorrentino Diego 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The lower degrees of the macroseismic scales are estimated mainly using the diagnostic related to the percentage of people who felt the earthquake (“felt” percentage). However, estimating this percentage by examining only a sub-sample of people may be biased, as those who complete the questionnaires are predominantly those who have felt the earthquake. One way to solve this problem is to send a specific request to them when an earthquake occurs. The ‘Hai Sentito il Terremoto’ (HSIT) site began implementing this strategy in December 2008 by allowing users to register on the website. Thanks to contributions from registered users, the HSIT database has been populated with “not felt” reports, which since 2009 have outnumbered the “felt” ones. The diagnostics of registered and unregistered users were analyzed separately in a sample of municipalities, showing no difference between the two types of users with the exception of “not felt” reports number. Despite the availability of the “not felt” reports, the experimental “felt” percentage is still overestimated when compared to those indicated in the Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg scale. To refine the intensity calculation, the number of ‘not felt’ reports was multiplied by a correction factor, estimated at 6, to correctly use the ‘felt’ percentage. The macroseismic intensity and event magnitude do not affect this correction factor. By using both on-request reports and a correction factor it is possible to overcome the problem of underreporting “not felt” reports, more accurately estimate low intensities, and better define the “felt”-“not felt” boundary.