bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental characterization for uniaxial tensile properties of high‐performance TX30 polyesters
Authors: Chen Longlong , Gao Chengjun , Chen Wujun 
Published: August 2024

AbstractCoated fabric is a composite textile consisting of fiber‐based cloth and surface coating. It features advantages such as lightweight, high strength, and multifunctionality, making it highly popular in architectural membrane structures. However, conventional coated fabrics have been facing bottlenecks such as short service life, difficult maintenance, and low dimensional stability. This paper introduces an innovative high‐performance PVC coated polyester named Flexlight Xtrem TX30, which possesses excellent longevity and durable aesthetics. The uniaxial tensile properties of three types of TX30 polyesters in the warp, weft, and 45° directions were comprehensively revealed through monotonic and cyclic tests. First, mono‐uniaxial tensile tests were performed on six specimens for each case. The failure characteristics were observed and strength at different angles was determined. Benefiting from the precontraint technology, the difference in strength between the warp and weft directions for TX30 is less than 5%. Second, uniaxial cyclic tensile tests were conducted on four specimens for each case. The initial tensile behavior exhibited the highest nonlinearity, with an R‐squared value greater than 0.999 for the cubic stress–strain relation. By the 15th cycle, the stiffness increment for all cases is less than 1%, indicating the attainment of material stabilization. Additionally, ratcheting effect and hysteresis loops were observed during the tests. The ratcheting strain and dissipated energy across different cases were thoroughly discussed and compared. In general, the experimental investigations in this study facilitate the understanding of the mechanical characteristics of the novel TX30 polyesters, providing insights for engineering applications and academic research.Highlights
The uniaxial tensile properties of innovative TX30 polyesters were investigated.
The failure mechanism and tensile strength at different angles were identified.
The nonlinear stress–strain relations and cyclic material behaviors were determined.
Synthesis, mechanical, thermal, and fire properties of poly(vinyl chloride) modified with a new flame retardant based on zeolite and urea cyanurate
Authors: Khaleghi Mahroo , Eslami Iliya 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn the article, polyvinyl chloride/zeolite 4A/urea cyanurate composites (P/UCA‐Zlt) were designed and prepared by a melt intercalation method suitable for the manufacture of rigid products. To determine the structure and properties of this flame‐retardant system, thermal, flame retardancy, and mechanical behavior were tested by Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG), thermal stability test, cone calorimetric test (CCT), and tensile analysis. Results showed that the composites, based on UCA‐Zlt, exhibited better flame retardancy, better HCl scavenger properties, improved mechanical properties, and reduced level of degradation compared with the pure polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at the optimum modification UCA (3 wt%)–Zlt (1%). TGA, indicated that the stability against heat influences of PVC was increased by adding UCA–Zlt which was evident by the increased thermal decomposition temperature. The CCT results of the PVC composites increased flame‐retardant properties. The PVC matrix composites improved the thermal stability time of PVC as the optimum value of 1 wt%. Moreover, the tensile strength of the composite containing UCA (3 wt%)–Zlt (1%) increased by 19.8% compared with those of neat PVC.Highlights
A strategy to design an FR‐additive from zeolite and urea cyanurate for PVC.
Introduce a guide suitable for the thermal stability of PVC formulation.
Effects of zeolite on thermal stability and flame retardancy of PVC.
Introducing an optimal FR‐PVC system with improved mechanical properties.
Did we achieve what we aimed for? Assessing the outcomes of a human–carnivore conflict mitigation and coexistence project in Europe
Authors: Grossmann Carol M. , Patkó László 
Published: August 2024

Monitoring and evaluation practices, demanded by nature conservation project donors, often focus on practical outputs, leaving the assessment of intended short and medium‐term outcomes and long‐term impacts challenging. This study employs a merger of the conflict intervention triangle model (CITM) and its three dimensions relationship, substance, and process, together with the logical framework approach (LFA) within the context of a human–wildlife conflict and coexistence (HWCC) project (LIFE EuroLargeCarnivores) in order to assess project correlated outcomes on stakeholder level over time.Two stakeholder surveys were conducted across 14 project partner countries, capturing baseline perceptions in 2018 and assessing changes in 2021. To assess the actual influence of the project with its focus on conflict mitigation, we applied an ex post counterfactual analysis. Results indicate positive developments in all dimensions of the CITM. The influence of the project is demonstrated by statistically significant differences in response behavior between participants and non‐participants of project interventions. The overall outcome regarding beliefs in satisfactory future management of increasing large carnivore populations, is more intricate. Significant differences are observed among three selected main stakeholder categories over the project's timeframe. While nature conservationists maintain high confidence levels, confidence of hunters and livestock raisers declined. However, results for participants of project interventions depict a significantly lower decline in confidence compared to non‐participants. Based on our findings, we provide insights how to efficiently evaluate outcomes of HWCC projects, offering recommendations for wildlife conservation practitioners. We conclude that HWCC projects are important also and especially in times of unfavorable frame conditions. Rigorous evaluation methods are essential to ensure efficient use of resources in order to maximize the outcomes of HWCC projects. The study highlights the need for long‐term evaluation to assess broader impacts at country, regional, and sector levels.
Flavor hierarchies from SU(2) flavor and quark-lepton unification
Authors: Greljo Admir , Thomsen Anders Eller , Tiblom Hector 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
In our recent attempt to explain flavor hierarchies [1], a gauged SU(2) flavor symmetry acting on left-handed fermions provides a ground to introduce three independent rank-one contributions to the Yukawa matrices: a renormalizable one for the third family, a mass-suppressed one for the second family, and an additional loop-suppressed factor for the first family. Here, we demonstrate how minimal quark-lepton unification à la Pati-Salam, relating down-quarks to charged leptons, can significantly improve this mechanism. We construct and thoroughly analyze a renormalizable model, performing a comprehensive one-loop matching calculation that reveals how all flavor hierarchies emerge from a single ratio of two scales. The first signatures may appear in the upcoming charged lepton flavor violation experiments.
The history and future of IPCC special reports: A dual role of politicisation and normalisation
Authors: Asayama Shinichiro 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe special reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have a unique character in IPCC scientific assessment. Their main purpose is to address specific timely issues of policy relevance. This article explores the nature and role of IPCC special reports along the lines of three questions: (1) the history (‘where they come from’); (2) the function (‘what they are doing’); and (3) the future (‘where they are going’). In earlier assessment cycles, special reports were characterised mostly as a direct channel for quickly responding to the request from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conduct of special reports has been gradually institutionalised to embed its planning in the overall scoping of the entire assessment cycle. More recently, they have become a vehicle to consolidate cross-cutting scientific perspectives and serve the diverse needs of the international policy community, not only the UNFCCC. This historical evolution is, in a sense, the result of striving for greater policy relevance. Special reports have a dual political function—namely, turning into the site or object of politicised debates on science (politicisation) and serving as ‘de facto governance’ with the effect of normalising politically contested ideas (normalisation). This dual function is two different faces emerging from the process into which the IPCC is brought to deal with political controversy. The duality of the two functions also manifests inherent tensions that lie behind the IPCC’s ‘policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive’ principle. For the future of special reports, the IPCC could reconsider the role of special reports in light of the priority over comprehensive assessment reports, the responsiveness to the UNFCCC request and the selection and scope definition of timely topics. However, there will remain a trade-off between provisional science and lasting political impact caused by the future undertaking of IPCC special reports on any topic.
“I’ll just try to mimic that”: an exploration of students’ analogical structure creation in abstract algebra
Authors: Hicks Michael D. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractDespite the prominence of analogies in mathematics, little attention has been given to exploring students’ processes of analogical reasoning, and even less research exists on revealing how students might be empowered to independently and productively reason by analogy to establish new (to them) mathematics. I argue that the lack of a cohesive framework for interpreting students’ approaches to analogical reasoning in mathematics contributes to this issue. To address this, I introduce the Analogical Reasoning in Mathematics (ARM) framework. Constructed from an analysis of interviews with four abstract algebra students, ARM identifies several analogical activities that serve to analyze students’ analogical reasoning with a finer grain size than was previously possible with existing frameworks. Using this framework, I present an analysis of the students’ constructions of a ring-theoretic analogy to subgroup, thus revealing that even constructing simple analogies can elicit diverse pathways of analogical reasoning across students. Implications for further research related to analogies and analogical reasoning in mathematics education are discussed.
Surveying and collecting Poaceae and Fabaceae crop wild relatives diversity in Lebanon
Authors: Sayde Eliane , Yazbek Mariana , Chalak Lamis , Al-Awar Bashir , Breidi Joelle , Sayde Celine , Dokmak Hiba , Negri Valeria , Raggi Lorenzo 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild plants that are genetically related to cultivated crops. Conserving the genetic diversity of CWR is essential for maintaining the sustainability of agriculture and food production in the face of various anthropogenic and environmental pressures. In this study we aim to contribute to the conservation planning of CWR taxa in Lebanon, in particular, to document ecogeographic survey and collection missions, carried out in 2022 and 2023, to assess the presence and conservation status of CWR taxa populations belonging to Poaceae and Fabaceae families and eventually propose sites for in situ conservation based on collected data. Ecogeographic and botanical surveys were carried out using the transect method and targeting priority CWR taxa. Agrobiodiversity trends, based on distribution data available in public databases, were compared with the current occurrence of the priority CWR taxa. Preliminary observations of disturbances (e.g. grazing, urbanization) were also documented to serve as a baseline for future monitoring of agrobiodiversity. Additional survey and collection missions were specifically targeted on wild Triticum populations. Forty-seven sites were surveyed, in which 500 new records for target CWR taxa (Aegilops L., Triticum L., Avena L., Hordeum L., Cicer L., Lens Mill. and Pisum L. genera) were documented. A total of 17 new collections were performed and the material stored in ICARDA genebank. Two sites (Yanta/Kfarqouq and Ham) were recommended for the in situ conservation of wild Triticum as well as two other sites for conservation of wild Lens culinaris Medik. Several concerns were raised, mainly the declining distribution of Triticum boeoticum and Triticum urartu over the last 30 years, as well the absence of Cicer taxa in the two years of surveys. The collection of 500 CWR occurrence data points for the target taxa provides a solid ground for future analyses, including ecogeographic and predictive characterization approaches, to identify the best areas for establishing genetic reserves for active in situ protection of these crucial taxa in Lebanon, which is urgently needed.
Recommendations for the Development of Psychological Smartphone Applications in the Context of Bariatric Surgery: Focus Groups with Professionals and Patients
Authors: Martínez-Borba Verónica , Quilez-Orden Alba , Ferreres-Galán Vanessa , López-Cruz Christian , Osma Jorge , Andreu-Pejó Laura 
Published: August 2024

AbstractTo explore the experiences and preferences of patients and healthcare professionals regarding the development of an app to provide psychological intervention to improve emotion regulation in the context of bariatric surgery (BS). Sixteen people (6 patients who underwent BS and 10 professionals) participated in two separate focus group sessions. We performed a content analysis of transcribed focus group discussions to extract and organize categories, subcategories and areas. Both sets of stakeholders provided information about how to develop and implement an app. According to participants’ comment, content should include information (i.e., nutrition, exercise) and emotional regulation skills. Patients and professionals mentioned that the app should include visual information, continuous emotional assessments and peer contact. It was also mentioned that the app should be used before and after BS and its contents should be developed by a multidisciplinary team (i.e., collaboration of endocrinologist, nutritionists and psychologists). Participants in both focus groups considered technology to be useful in the context of BS, especially as part of blended interventions (combining face-to-face and online sessions). Patients and professionals seem to be receptive towards the use of technology in a BS context. Specific recommendations are identified for designing and implementing app solutions for BS. More efforts should be made in the future to develop and implement evidence-based apps according to patients and professionals’ needs.
Seismic source analysis and directivity of the November 2021 Fin doublet earthquake in southern Iran: challenges and findings
Authors: Sabouri Elham , Shomali Zaher Hossein , Pakzad Mehrdad 
Published: August 2024

AbstractStudying the source characteristics of doublet or multiple earthquake sequences presents significant challenges in seismology, especially with short time intervals between events. On November 14, 2021, a doublet earthquake (Mw 6.0 and Mw 6.1) occurred near Fin city, southern Iran, within a span of less than two minutes and 10 km apart. We employed the Kinematic Waveform Inversion (KIWI) procedure to determine the point and extended source parameters of these events, using a multistep inversion approach for stable solutions. Our analysis highlighted the directivity of the earthquakes: the first event exhibited bilateral directivity, causing a rupture area that reached the surface, while the second event showed unilateral westward directivity, supported by waveform amplitude differences observed at various stations. This directivity analysis plays an essential role in seismic hazard studies. Our findings regarding the source parameters of these recent doublet earthquakes in the Fin region align well with regional geological trends and fault patterns. However, retrieving the main fault plane for the second earthquake was challenging due to the complexities of the waveform. Moment tensor decomposition revealed significant non-double-couple components for the second event, indicating the complexity inherent in analyzing doublet events. This study underscores the critical role of precise waveform analysis and robust inversion techniques in understanding complex seismic events.
Methylene blue reduces monoamine oxidase expression and oxidative stress in human cardiovascular adipose tissue
Authors: Aburel Oana-Maria , Brăescu Laurențiu , Buriman Darius G. , Merce Adrian P. , Bînă Anca M. , Borza Claudia , Mornoș Cristian , Sturza Adrian , Muntean Danina M. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractCardiovascular diseases represent the major cause of morbidity mainly due to chronic heart failure. Epicardial (EAT) and perivascular adipose tissues (PVAT) are considered major contributors to the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic pathologies. Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are mitochondrial enzymes recognized as sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cardiometabolic pathologies. Methylene blue (MB) is one of the oldest protective agents, yet no data are available about its effects on adipose tissue. The present pilot study was aimed at assessing the effects of MB: (i) on MAO expression and (ii) oxidative stress in EAT and PVAT harvested from patients with heart failure subjected to cardiac surgery (n = 25). Adipose tissue samples were incubated with MB (0.1 µM/24 h) and used for the assessment of MAO gene and protein expression (qPCS and immune fluorescence) and ROS production (confocal microscopy and spectrophotometry). The human cardiovascular adipose tissues contain both MAO isoforms, predominantly MAO-A. Incubation with MB reduced MAOs expression and oxidative stress; co-incubation with serotonin, the MAO-A substrate, further augmented ROS generation, an effect partially reversed by MB. In conclusion, MAO-A is the major isoform expressed in EAT and PVAT and contribute to local oxidative stress; both effects can be mitigated by methylene blue.
Is it ever rational to hold inconsistent beliefs?
Authors: Smith Martin 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn this paper I investigate whether there are any cases in which it is rational for a person to hold inconsistent beliefs and, if there are, just what implications this might have for the theory of epistemic justification. A number of issues will crop up along the way – including the relation between justification and rationality, the nature of defeat, the possibility of epistemic dilemmas, the importance of positive epistemic duties, and the distinction between transitional and terminal attitudes.
Shared micromobility, perceived accessibility, and social capital
Authors: An Zihao , Mullen Caroline , Guan Xiaodong , Ettema Dick , Heinen Eva 
Published: August 2024

AbstractWhile the impacts of shared micromobility (SMM) on the environment and transport systems are being extensively researched, its societal implications and the influence of the social environment on the use of SMM remain largely unexplored. In this research, we investigate the interrelationships between the use of SMM, perceived overall accessibility, and social capital. We focus on two types of SMM – shared bikes and shared e-scooters – in three European countries: the Netherlands, England, and Sweden. We measure perceived overall accessibility through a multicriteria subjective evaluation of individuals’ ability to reach regular destinations, services, and activities. We consider multidimensional social capital measures: social trust, cooperativeness, reciprocity, network bonding, and network bridging. We use multivariate models to investigate the associations between perceived overall accessibility, SMM use, and social capital, and examine the dominant direction of these associations using the direct linear non-Gaussian acyclic model (DirectLiNGAM) and direction dependence analysis (DDA). We find that lower levels of perceived overall accessibility may contribute to lower levels of social trust, reciprocity, and cooperativeness. However, individuals with a lower level of perceived overall accessibility tend to use shared bikes more frequently, which in turn, may increase their social trust and cooperativeness. We also find that increased shared e-scooter use may contribute to increased network bonding, yet the frequency of use has no relation with perceived overall accessibility. Our research suggests that the introduction of shared bikes alone, independent of other measures aimed at encouraging their use, may help mitigate individual differences in social capital. We argue that the applied DirectLiNGAM and DDA help gain deeper insights into the likely causal relationship between transport and social capital in non-intervention studies.
A critical review of biochar versus hydrochar and their application for H2S removal from biogas
Authors: Vuppaladadiyam Arun Krishna , Jena Manoj Kumar , Hakeem Ibrahim Gbolahan , Patel Savankumar , Veluswamy Ganesh , Thulasiraman Adhithiya Venkatachalapati , Surapaneni Aravind , Shah Kalpit 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBiogas contains significant quantities of undesirable and toxic compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), posing severe concerns when used in energy production-related applications. Therefore, biogas needs to be upgraded by removing H2S to increase their bioenergy application attractiveness and lower negative environmental impacts. Commercially available biogas upgradation processes can be expensive for small and medium-scale biogas production plants, such as wastewater treatment facilities via anaerobic digestion process. In addition, an all-inclusive review detailing a comparison of biochar and hydrochar for H2S removal is currently unavailable. Therefore, the current study aimed to critically and systematically review the application of biochar/hydrochar for H2S removal from biogas. To achieve this, the first part of the review critically discussed the production technologies and properties of biochar vs. hydrochar. In addition, exisiting technologies for H2S removal and adsorption mechanisms, namely physical adsorption, reactive adsorption, and chemisorption, responsible for H2S removal with char materials were discussed. Also, the factors, including feedstock type, activation strategies, reaction temperature, moisture content, and other process parameters that could influence the adsorption behaviour are critically summarised. Finally, synergy and trade-offs between char and biogas production sectors and the techno-economic feasibility of using char for the adsorption of H2S are presented. Biochar’s excellent structural properties coupled with alkaline pH and high metal content, facilitate physisorption and chemisorption as pathways for H2S removal. In the case of hydrochar, H2S removal occurs mainly via chemisorption, which can be attributed to well-preserved surface functional groups. Challenges of using biochar/hydrochar as commercial adsorbents for H2S removal from biogas stream were highlighted and perspectives for future research were provided.
Graphical abstract