bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Self‐directed productivity investment on the job
Authors: Marino Anthony M. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis paper considers a hidden action agency model in which an agent can be incentivized to simultaneously work and exert effort to invest in human capital or process innovation so as to increase productivity in a future period. We characterize the conditions under which the principal would and would not want to incentivize such multitasking and the conditions under which the agent would want to participate. The firm's support for investment is contingent on the agent's outside market option not being too high, and sufficient conditions for a separate contingent payment for productivity increase are presented.
The new scarlet letter: Global challenges of motherhood in public administration programs and how we could solve them
Authors: Young Sarah L. , Grayer Misty J. , Wiley Kimberly K. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractMotherhood in academia remains vastly underrepresented in both developed and developing countries. Key career opportunities for women often coincide with childbearing and child‐rearing years, limiting their consideration for these positions. This underrepresentation diminishes academic mothers' ability to contribute meaningfully to public administration (PA) and development issues that deeply impact them. Using comparative administrative law, we develop a typology of environments academic mothers navigate, reflecting national and cultural differences. We investigate the historical, cultural, and structural factors perpetuating this inequity, highlighting biases and discrimination faced by academic mothers. Entrenched institutional structures and complacent cultural norms exacerbate their systemic oppression. Normalizing motherhood in academia, from graduate students to university presidents, requires new laws, policies, programs, and expectations that create strong legal protections and favorable institutional policies. We conclude with universal recommendations to transform academia into a more inclusive space for mothers, focusing on PA to address this pervasive issue.
Red/green cyanobacteriochromes acquire isomerization from phycocyanobilin to phycoviolobilin
Authors: Hoshino Hiroki , Miyake Keita , Fushimi Keiji , Narikawa Rei 
Published: July 2024

AbstractCyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are unique cyanobacteria‐specific photoreceptors that share a distant relation with phytochromes. Most CBCRs contain conserved cysteine residues known as canonical Cys, while some CBCRs have additional cysteine residues called second Cys within the DXCF motif, leading to their classification as DXCF CBCRs. They typically undergo a process where they incorporate phycocyanobilin (PCB) and subsequently isomerize it to phycoviolobilin (PVB). Conversely, CBCRs with conserved Trp residues and without the second Cys are called extended red/green (XRG) CBCRs. Typical XRG CBCRs bind PCB without undergoing PCB‐to‐PVB isomerization, displaying red/green reversible photoconversion, and there are also atypical CBCRs that exhibit diverse photoconversions. We discovered novel XRG CBCRs with Cys residue instead of the conserved Trp residue. These novel XRG CBCRs exhibited the ability to isomerize PCB to PVB, displaying green/teal reversible photoconversion. Through sequence‐ and structure‐based comparisons coupled with mutagenesis experiments, we identified three amino acid residues, including the Cys residue, crucial for facilitating PCB‐to‐PVB isomerization. This research expands our understanding of the diversity of XRG CBCRs, highlighting the remarkable molecular plasticity of CBCRs.
miRNA, phytometabolites and disease: Connecting the dots
Authors: Ramprosand Srutee , Govinden‐Soulange Joyce , Ranghoo‐Sanmukhiya Vijayanti Mala , Sanan‐Mishra Neeti 
Published: July 2024

AbstractmiRNAs are tiny noncoding ribonucleotides that function as critical regulators of gene‐expression in eukaryotes. A single miRNA may be involved in the regulation of several target mRNAs forming complex cellular networks to regulate diverse aspects of development in an organism. The deregulation of miRNAs has been associated with several human diseases. Therefore, miRNA‐based therapeutics is gaining interest in the pharmaceutical industry as the next‐generation drugs for the cure of many diseases. Medicinal plants have also been used for the treatment of several human diseases and their curative potential is attributed to their reserve in bioactive metabolites. A role for miRNAs as regulators of the phytometabolic pathways in plants has emerged in the recent past. Experimental studies have also indicated the potential of plant encoded secondary phytometabolites to act as cross‐regulators of mammalian miRNAs and transcripts to regulate human diseases (like cancer). The evidence for this cross‐kingdom gene regulation through miRNA has gathered considerable enthusiasm in the scientific field, even though there are on‐going debates regarding the reproducibility and the effectiveness of these findings. In this review, we provide information to connect the medicinal and gene regulatory properties of secondary phytometabolites, their regulation by miRNAs in plants and their effects on human miRNAs for regulating downstream metabolic or pathological processes. While further extensive research initiatives and good clinical evidence are required to prove or disapprove these findings, understanding of these regulations will have important implications in the potential use of synthetic or artificial miRNAs as effective alternatives for providing health benefits.
Design, Synthesis and Activity Against Drug‐Resistant Bacteria Evaluation of 1H‐Pyrazole‐[3,4‐b] Pyridine Derivatives
Authors: Cao Yaquan , Zhai Hongjin , Ampomah‐Wireko Maxwell , Ma LiYing 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe urgent need for novel antibiotics with potent activity against drug‐resistant bacteria is paramount in light of the escalating problem of antibiotic resistance. In this study, we evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of a series of newly designed and synthesized 1H pyrazole‐[3,4‐b]pyridine derivatives against various Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial strains. Among these derivatives, compound 15 q exhibits comparable antibacterial activity to the established medication Linezolid, demonstrating a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 2 μg/mL against both the clinically resistant strain S. aureus M20 and the Gram‐positive bacterium S. aureus ATCC25923. Molecular docking analysis reveals that compound 15 q can interact with nucleotide residue G2505, providing initial insights into its underlying molecular mechanism responsible for its antibacterial activity. Therefore, compound 15 q holds great promise as a lead compound for potential therapeutic interventions against bacterial infections.
MXene‐Deposited Melamine Foam‐Based Iontronic Pressure Sensors for Wearable Electronics and Smart Numpads
Authors: Cetin Oyku , Cicek Melih Ogeday , Cugunlular Murathan , Bolukbasi Tufan , Khan Yaqoob , Unalan Husnu Emrah 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIontronic pressure sensors hold significant potential to emerge as vital components in the field of flexible and wearable electronics, addressing a variety of applications spanning wearable technology, health monitoring systems, and human‐machine interactions. This study introduces a novel iontronic pressure sensor structure based on a seamlessly deposited Ti3C2Tx MXene layer onto highly porous melamine foam as parallel plate electrodes and an ionically conductive electrolyte of 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide/thermoplastic polyurethane coupled with carbon cloth as current collecting layers for improved sensitivity and high mechanical stability of more than 7000 cycles. MXene‐deposited melamine foam‐based iontronic pressure sensors (MIPS) showed a high sensitivity of 5.067 kPa−1 in the range of 45–60 kPa and a fast response/recovery time of 28/18 ms, respectively. The high sensitivity, high mechanical stability, and fast response/recovery time of the designed sensor make them highly promising candidates for real‐time body motion monitoring. Moreover, sensors are employed as a smart numpad for integration into advanced ATM security systems utilizing machine learning algorithms. This research marks a significant advance in iontronic pressure sensor technology, offering promising avenues for application in wearable electronics and security systems.
Dual Modification Strategy for Enhanced Cycling and Rate Performance of Ni‐Rich Cathode Materials in Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Zhang Xin , Wu Tao , Jian Jiyuan , Lin Shuang , Sun Dandan , Fu Gang , Xu Yan , Liu Ziwei , Li Sai , Huo Hua , Ma Yulin , Yin Geping , Zuo Pengjian , Cheng Xinqun , Du Chunyu 
Published: July 2024

AbstractA great challenge in the commercialization process of layered Ni‐rich cathode material LiNixCoyMn1‐x‐yO2 (NCM, x ≥ 80%) for lithium‐ion batteries is the surface instability, which is exacerbated by the increase in nickel content. The high surface alkalinity and unavoidable cathode/electrolyte interface side reactions result in significant decrease for the capacity of NCM material. Surface coating and doping are common and effective ways to improve the electrochemical performance of Ni‐rich cathode material. In this study, an in situ reaction is induced on the surface of secondary particles of NCM material to construct a stable lithium sulfate coating, while achieving sulfur doping in the near surface region. The synergistic modification of lithium sulfate coating and lattice sulfur doping significantly reduced the content of harmful residual lithium compounds (RLCs) on the surface of NCM material, suppressed the side reactions between the cathode material surface and electrolyte and the degradation of surface structure of the NCM material, effectively improved the rate capability and cycling stability of the NCM material.
Effect of the interlayer distribution of ZnO decorated with Ag nanoparticles on the antimicrobial activity of multilayer poly(methyl methacrylate) films
Authors: Waldo‐Mendoza Miguel Ángel , Rivera‐García Nancy Araceli , Robles‐Martínez Marissa , Mayorga‐Colunga Perla Cristina , Martínez‐Montejano Roberto Carlos , Pérez Elías 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIncorporating nanoparticles into polymer matrices for enhanced antimicrobial properties is particularly interesting. This study examines how the interlayer distribution of zinc oxide (ZnO) decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films impacts their antimicrobial activity. Various PMMA multilayer films were prepared, with the antimicrobial additive intentionally placed in the outer, core, bottom, or throughout all layers. Their efficacy was tested against gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) and gram‐positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Results indicate that E. coli was the strain with the highest sensitivity to the system because it is a gram (−) bacterium, which could generate a lower resistance to AgNPs. On the other hand, S. aureus, being gram (+), presents a thicker lipid membrane, and peptidoglycan wall, which makes it difficult for AgNPs to enter. Films with uniform distribution throughout thickness exhibited the most sustained antimicrobial activity due to high antimicrobial concentration. This study demonstrated that the distribution of the AgNPs/ZnO system in different layers of a PMMA film influences its antimicrobial capacity. Finally, a mechanism for migrating silver ions released from the AgNPs/ZnO system in PMMA films is proposed, highlighting their interactions with bacterial cells and the subsequent antimicrobial effects.Highlights
Interlayer distribution influences antimicrobial activity.
Outer placement leads to rapid silver ion release.
Core distribution controls antimicrobial kinetics.
Uniform distribution ensures sustained activity.
Invisible Battlegrounds: The COVID-19 Chapter in U.S.-China Relations
Authors: Wang Zheng 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis introductory chapter offers an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on U.S.-China relations. It introduces the main findings and recommendations of the chapters in the book, highlighting the war-like impacts and damages the pandemic has inflicted on the two countries in terms of separation and decoupling, information warfare and cognitive dissonance, as well as the stimulation of nationalist sentiments and anti-Asian racism. By providing an outline of the book's content, this chapter sets the stage for an interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional assessment of the pandemic's broad-reaching consequences on this bilateral relationship.
Contested Narratives: The COVID-19 Origins Debate and Its Implications for U.S.-China Relations
Authors: Huang Yanzhong , Best Lucy 
Published: July 2024

AbstractMore than four years into the pandemic, the debate over the origins of COVID-19 continues to strain U.S.-China relations. At the heart of this debate lies the question of whether the pandemic resulted from a lab leak or a zoonotic spillover. This chapter delves deep into the politicization of the origins debate and its repercussions for bilateral ties. It unpacks the divergent narratives in both countries, shedding light on how domestic politics and geopolitical tensions have become intertwined with these narratives to further erode mutual trust and precipitate communication and cooperation breakdowns between the two countries.
Data-driven Wireless Positioning
Authors: Stahlke Maximilian , Feigl Tobias , Kram Sebastian , Ott Jonathan , Seitz Jochen , Mutschler Christopher 
Published: July 2024

AbstractRadio-based indoor localization is a crucial enabler for various tasks like robot navigation or quality assurance in industrial assembly. However, especially industrial environments often present challenging propagation conditions, with reflections, diffraction obstruction, and blockage. While traditional, lateration-based positioning algorithms can provide high accuracies in line-of-sight (LOS) conditions, signal blockages cause non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation and degrade the performance dramatically. To overcome this problems, recently artificial intelligence (AI)-driven localization algorithms have shown promising results and can provide robust and high localization performance in such challenging environments. In this chapter, we evaluate the performance of AI-models trained on radio fingerprints in various challenging industrial environments. We evaluate the accuracy and the effect of environmental changes on the localization performance and robustness. Our results show that environmental changes significantly degrade the performance, which leads to a high effort in maintenance, i.e., keeping the models up-to-date. We show how to combine classical lateration-based algorithms with data-driven models employing uncertainty estimation to reduce the the effort for initial deployment and maintenance for a more robust localization solution.
Self-Optimization in Adaptive Logistics Networks
Authors: Mehringer Julius , Neumann Ursula , Wagner Friedrich , Scholl Christopher 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe spectrum of applications for AI is extremely broad, ranging from support for complex decisions and data-driven corporate strategies to the automation of everyday processes. In logistics networks, a plurality of decisions are to be made on a daily basis. Typically, those decisions are comprised of a combination of forecasting and optimization, forming the area of prescriptive analytics. In this chapter, we present two use cases for arriving at optimal decisions: the case of prescribing cost-optimal order policies for the stocking of spare parts, and the case of mixing raw materials to final products with varying raw material quality.
Process-aware Learning
Authors: Frey Christian M.M. , Rauch Simon , Stritzel Oliver , Buck Moike 
Published: July 2024

AbstractProcesses in companies are diverse and complex. The production of different products, inter- or intra-company logistic processes, or other serial event sequences within companies have one thing in common: they can be traced on the basis of a documentation of the individual process steps. Usually, companies have domain experts for each department’s processes who use their experience and knowledge to plan and control these steps. However, with increasing complexity and diversity of processes, efficient planning and control is becoming more difficult or even impossible for human decision makers. In the the focus of Process-aware Learning, information documented on the data side, which is contained in the flow and execution of any process, should be integrated into AI-enhanced models. This should be accomplished in a way that is useful and as interpretable as possible for non-expert users. These models are used to identify important factors influencing the process, various process key figures, or anomalies in the process, and, based on these insights, to make forecasts or recommendations for action tailored to the process flows.
Combinatorial Optimization
Authors: Krause Jan , Kuen Tobias , Scholl Christopher 
Published: July 2024

AbstractOptimization is a fundamental topic in mathematics that deals with finding the best solution to a problem from a set of possible solutions. This chapter provides an overview of mathematical optimization, its main objectives, and the methods used to solve optimization problems. It also introduces basic problems such as the modeling of binary decision trees, the pooling problem, the clique problem, and flow models. It concludes with an outlook on online optimization and learning optimization methods, which represent promising areas of research in the field. Overall, this chapter serves as a useful introduction to mathematical optimization, its basic problems, and their practical applications. The chapter is based on a white paper from Bärmann et al. [2]
Identifying Core Practices as a Framework for Teacher Educators’ Cooperative Professional Development
Authors: Doetjes Gerard , Hatlevik Ida Katrine Riksaasen 
Published: July 2024

AbstractConnecting different knowledge domains is one of the main problems in teacher education. This chapter showcases a cooperation between two teacher educators at the University of Oslo. The aim of the contribution is two-fold. We identify specific core practices that are highly relevant for foreign language teaching in schools. Based on our experiences, we also propose a cooperative model for teacher educator competence development using an investigative approach to core practices as a framework. Such a cooperative model can contribute to the creation of better connections between different teacher education domains and, by doing so, promote student teachers’ sense of coherence.
Epistemic Coherence in Teacher Education
Authors: Heikkilä Mirva , Hermansen Hege 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis chapter presents the concept of epistemic coherence and discusses its implications for researchers and practitioners in teacher education. Epistemic coherence is conceptualized as an emergent achievement comprising two key components: a) student teachers creating relations between a range of knowledge resources or modes of knowledge production and b) student teachers creating personal relationships with professional knowledge. This analytical approach can help move beyond conceptualizations of a theory–practice gap and other dichotomies that characterize existing research on knowledge use in teacher education and serve to open up the black box of how knowledge relations are constructed in teacher education.
Exploring Finnish Student Teachers’ Perceived Coherence of their Teacher Education Program
Authors: Mikkilä-Erdmann Mirjamaija , Nummi Julia , Erdmann Norbert 
Published: July 2024

AbstractOur study investigates how Finnish student teachers experience the coherence of their study program and self-efficacy in teaching. By coherence we mean a continuing process of striving for a consistent teacher education program in which linkages are created between different courses, different stages, as well as theoretical and practical parts of the program. (Canrinus et al., Journal of Curriculum Studies 49:313–333, 2017) In general, the challenge in teacher education is to find the balance between theory and practice during the program. Previous studies have indicated that a lack of coherence may result in fragmented knowledge and skills (e.g., Bain and Moje, Phi Delta Kappan 93:62–65, 2012) and even poor self-efficacy in teaching. The participants of this study are master’s level students from two universities located in southern Finland. They are taking part in either a subject or a classroom teacher education program. Finnish teacher education is a five-year master’s degree program. The teaching practices are integrated in the initial teacher education program. The instrument used in the study is based on previous studies (Canrinus et al., Journal of Curriculum Studies 49:313–333, 2017; Hammerness et al., Coherence and assignments in teacher education: Teacher education survey, University of Oslo Department of Teacher Education and School Research, 2014). In addition, we have included a section about self-efficacy in teaching (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, Teaching and Teacher Education 17:783–805, 2001). Principle component analysis (N = 127) showed five types of program coherence: opportunity to enact practice, coherence between theory and practice, opportunity to analyze practice, vision of good teaching and self-efficacy. Our results reveal that Finnish student teachers perceive their program as quite coherent and feel prepared for the teacher profession. Minor differences between class and subject teachers were found. Finally, pedagogical conclusions are discussed.
Perceptions of Coherence among Teacher Education Students and Newly Qualified Teachers of Foreign Languages. An Exploratory Norwegian-German Study
Authors: Doetjes Gerard , Zaki Katja 
Published: July 2024

AbstractRecent studies on coherence in teacher education draw attention to a process- and actors-oriented approach, considering not only the supply-side, i.e. questions of structural or curricular programs of teacher education institutions, but also the reception of these offers by teacher education students. Against this background, the following contribution covers an exploratory interview study among teacher students and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) of foreign languages in Norway and Germany that who were asked asked about their teacher education programs. The chapter starts with a sketch of the theoretical foundations, followed by an outline of the chosen methodology—a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews in a transnational setting – and a discussion of selected findings. In this context, a comparison is made between different cohorts and locations of education in order to shed light on the importance of curricular differences and to deduce questions for further research.
Forschungstätigkeit, Organisationsformen und institutioneller Kontext
Authors: Pichler Rupert , Heinze Thomas 
Published: July 2024

ZusammenfassungDer Beitrag diskutiert den Zusammenhang von Organisationsform, institutionellem Kontext und der konkreten Forschungstätigkeit außeruniversitärer Forschungseinrichtungen im 20. Jahrhundert. Hierzu bezieht er sich auf Erkenntnisse der fünfzehn Beiträge des vorliegenden Bandes. Es werden die zentralen Forschungsfragen vorgestellt, entlang derer die Beiträge abgefasst wurden, sowie die daraus verallgemeinerbaren historisch-soziologischen Befunde. Weiterhin wird ein konzeptuelles Schema zur Einordnung historischer Fälle vorgestellt. Das Ergebnis unserer Analyse lautet: Die Erneuerung der Forschung findet auf zwei Weisen statt. Entweder werden für neue Forschungsthemen und -gebiete neue Forschungseinrichtungen und teilweise neue Organisationsformen etabliert, oder ein wissenschaftlich erfolgreiches Thema oder Gebiet wird organisational in Form neuer Forschungskapazitäten expandiert.