bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thiolated gellan gum/polyethylene glycol diacrylate hydrogels containing timolol maleate-loaded chitosan nanoparticles for ophthalmic delivery
Authors: Shajari Golnaz , Erfan-Niya Hamid , Fathi Marziyeh , Amiryaghoubi Nazanin 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The combination of hydrogels with nanoformulations can significantly enhance the delivery and effectiveness of drugs in ophthalmic drug delivery systems. In the current study, the polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA)/thiolated gellan gum (GGSH) hydrogels based on GGSH and PEGDA were prepared via thiol-ene reaction using Irgacure 2959 as a photoinitiator. To this end, the modification of GG was achieved by esterification of the hydroxyl groups of GG with the carboxyl group of mercaptopropionic acid with a free thiol amount of 95.5 μmol g−1. To provide sustained release, chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) containing timolol maleate (TM) with 56.4% entrapment efficiency were synthesized by the desolvation method and encapsulated in the developed hydrogel. The values of zeta potential and particle size of CSNPs were +26.0 mV and 182.4 nm, respectively. The physico/chemical properties of the hydrogels were investigated via texture analyzer, FT-IR, XRD, and SEM. The in vitro degradation, swelling behavior, rheological assessments, cell viability testing, and porosity determination were evaluated. With the increase in PEGDA concentration, the mechanical properties were increased. While the rate of swelling, degradation, and drug release were decreased. The in vitro biocompatibility of hydrogels was confirmed using the MTT test. According to an ex vivo study, ocular drug delivery using the obtained transparent hydrogels is promising due to improved drug permeation and sustained release of TM via CSNPs.
Variability of marine heatwaves and atmospheric cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea during the last four decades
Authors: Androulidakis Yannis , Pytharoulis Ioannis 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The Mediterranean Sea has been recognized as a hotspot for marine heatwaves (MHWs) and climate change impacts. Cyclogenesis and the occurrence of tropical-like cyclones (also known as Medicanes) in the Mediterranean appear to have intensified during the last decades. This study investigates the relationship between increased sea surface temperature (SST) levels and low-pressure systems in the Mediterranean Sea over four recent decades (1982–2020), highlighting a strong spatial variability in regions affected by MHWs. Key areas, such as the Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Aegean, and Northern Levantine Seas, demonstrate a notable interaction between MHWs and cyclogenesis. Stronger relations are identified at the west of Cyprus (Northern Levantine), in the northern Ionian Sea, and in the Gulf of Genoa (Ligurian Sea). Conversely, weaker interactions are observed in the southern Mediterranean, where both MHWs and cyclonic activity are weaker. The sea level pressure (SLP) in the Mediterranean and the intensity of the surface MHW revealed decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, during the 39 year period. A marked negative trend in SLP and an increase in SSTs in the northern Aegean point to heightened cyclone activity in this region. MHWs may ampilfy atmospheric systems that increase coastal hazards like flooding, strong winds and heavy precipitation. The study also highlights that periods of intense cyclonic activity often coincide with intense MHW formations, with both phenomena peaking in 2018. The cumulative intensity of the MHWs, measured by their duration and magnitude, correlates with the intensification of low-pressure systems in most of the Mediterranean sub-regions. These findings suggest that monitoring MHWs could improve the understanding and forecasting of cyclogenesis, benefiting both short-term weather predictions and long-term climate assessments.
Re-examining urban rainfall enhancement over North America
Authors: Pryor Sara C , Barthelmie Rebecca J , Zhou Xin , Huffman George J 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Quantifying intensification/suppression of precipitation over urban areas relative to their rural surroundings can inform efforts to reduce urban flooding. Few studies have systematically addressed whether urban areas exhibit a higher/lower probability of precipitation and/or higher/lower annual total precipitation and/or intensification/weakening of intense precipitation events relative to nearby rural areas across a range of hydroclimatic conditions and urban contexts. Here we address this literature gap using the IMERG V07 data set and analyses of rural and urban samples drawn from 47 conurbations across North America. Specifically, we quantify whether/how precipitation regimes over the urban grid cells differ from those in rural grid cells located 100–250 km from the city center and at a similar elevation. As in previous research, there is evidence that both the probability of precipitation and annual total precipitation are typically higher in the urban grid cells. However, most conurbations have lower upper percentile precipitation rates in the urban sample and lower median precipitation rates above the 95th percentile than are present in samples drawn from rural grid cells. Thus, these conurbations are not, on average, intensifying high-magnitude precipitation events over urban grid cells. Further, the total volume of water accumulated at the surface during events of equivalent duration is not systematically higher over the urban areas, and 20 year return period values of 30 min and wettest pentad precipitation are also not systematically higher over the urban areas. The nature of urban modification of precipitation is a strong function of the prevailing hydroclimate. For example, the heaviest rainfall periods are enhanced over urban grid cells within regional hydroclimates where the overall probability of precipitation and annual total precipitation are low. Conversely, there is evidence for urban suppression of the highest percentile precipitation rates in wetter hydroclimates.
Mechanical properties and microscopic mechanisms of carbon curing-alkali activation modified iron tailings
Authors: Wei Pengfei , Wang Wei , Yu Yanfei , Hu Xingchen , Wang Biao , Li Na , Jiang Ping 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Seeking ways to effectively utilise iron tailings within the green building sector is a pressing issue at present. In this study, using iron tailings as the main raw material and cement as the auxiliary cementitious material, the effects of sodium silicate (SS) content and carbonation curing on the compressive strength, stiffness, microstructure and mineral composition of cemented iron tailings (SSCIT) were investigated. The results showed that a certain amount of SS could increase the strength and stiffness of SSCIT. By adding 6% SS, the strength and stiffness of SSCIT reached the maximum value. The addition of SS promoted the dissolution of silicate minerals, and the generated geopolymerised gel binder filled the pores of specimens, enhanced the bonding force between the interfaces of soil particles, and improved the specimen compactness. However, carbonation curing adversely affected the strength of SSCIT. Carbonation caused the hydration products of SSCIT to change, and the decalcification and decomposition of the C-S-H gel increased the porosity of SSCIT, leading to a decrease in strength. In addition, using iron tailings for road base materials is an efficient and feasible method of utilisation.
Impact of Majorana fermions on the Kondo state in the carbon nanotube quantum dot
Authors: Krychowski D 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
We have studied the quantum conductance of the Kondo state in the carbon nanotube quantum dot (CNTQD) with side-attached multi-Majorana fermion states in topological superconductors (TSCs). The zero-energy Majorana fermions interfere with the fourfold degenerate states of the CNTQD in the spin-orbital Kondo regime. Using the extended Kotliar-Ruckenstein slave-boson mean-field approach, we have analyzed the symmetry reduction of the SU(4) Kondo effect to the SU⋆(3) Kondo state with a fractional charge in the system by increasing the tunneling strength to a single Majorana fermion (TSC). We observed the fractional quantum conductance, the enhancement of the thermoelectric power with two compensation points, the fractional linear and nonlinear Fano factor (F

K
), and the spin polarization of the conductance. Two Majoranas (2TSC) in conjunction with the CNTQD have reduced the spin-orbital Kondo effect to the SU⋆(2) Kondo state with 2e in the system. The F

K
contains information about the effective charge and the interaction between the quasiparticles, two- and three-body correlators and identifies the broken symmetry of the Kondo state. Furthermore, we have shown that the device coupled with three Majorana fermions (3TSC) achieves a quantized conductance 5/2(e
2/h), preserves the U⋆(1) charge symmetry at the electron-hole symmetry point and manifests the increase in nonlinear current and shot noise due to the entanglement in octuplets with opposite charge-leaking states.
Defect modeling in semiconductors: the role of first principles simulations and machine learning
Authors: Rahman Md Habibur , Mannodi-Kanakkithodi Arun 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Point defects in semiconductors dictate their electronic and optical properties. Vacancies, interstitials, substitutional defects, and defect complexes can form in the semiconductor lattice and significantly impact its performance in applications such as solar absorption, light emission, electronics, and catalysis. Understanding the nature and energetics of point defects is essential for the design and optimization of next-generation semiconductor technologies. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on point defects in semiconductors, focusing on the application of density functional theory (DFT) and machine learning (ML) in accelerating the prediction and understanding of defect properties. DFT has been instrumental in accurately calculating defect formation energies, charge transition levels, and other defect-related properties such as carrier recombination rates and lifetimes, and ion migration barriers. ML techniques, particularly neural networks, have emerged as powerful tools for enabling rapid prediction of defect properties at DFT-accuracy in order to overcome the expense of using large supercells and advanced functionals. We begin this article with a discussion of different types of point defects and complexes, their impact on semiconductor properties, and the experimental and DFT approaches typically used for their characterization. Through multiple case studies, we explore how DFT has been successfully applied to understand defect behavior across a variety of semiconductors, and how ML approaches integrated with DFT can efficiently predict defect properties and facilitate the discovery of new materials with tailored defect behavior. Overall, the advent of ‘DFT+ML’ promises to drive advancements in semiconductor technology, catalysis, and renewable energy applications, paving the way for the development of high-performance semiconductors which are defect-tolerant or have desirable dopability.
The Archaeology of the Ark and Iron Age Religion
Authors: McGeough Kevin M 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Chapter 2 addresses what archaeology can and cannot tell us about the Ark of the Covenant. It provides an introduction to one of the major controversies in the archaeology of ancient Israel: whether there was an historical kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon. It explores the difficulties of integrating historical narratives and archaeological data but illustrates some of the positive ways that archaeology can inform our understanding of the Bible. While acknowledging that archaeologists do not ever expect to find the Ark of the Covenant, this chapter explores some of the possible analogues to the Ark that can be identified in Egyptian and Mesopotamian contexts. The chapter also describes ancient Near Eastern religious and temple practices, suggesting some of the functions that the Ark may have had based on those contexts.
Medieval Theology
Authors: McGeough Kevin M 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
How the Ark was understood in medieval European thought is the subject of Chapter 4. It explores how medieval theologians treated the Ark as metaphor in various ways, in some cases taking the Virgin Mary as a “new Ark” because she bore Christ in her womb or treating various wise scholars as “Arks” of Christian knowledge. The Ark was often depicted in the art of the era, reflecting these theologies, but often considerable liberties were taken with the biblical descriptions of its physicality. Jewish theologies of the era also understood the Ark through metaphor, as was the case with Kabbalah, the mystical system that emerged at this time. Relatedly, early modern scholars and scientists were very much interested in Solomon’s Temple and its metaphorical meanings, and the Ark’s association with the Temple inspired their studies. The chapter ends with a discussion of early Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Welcome (In)attention
Authors: Weaver Erica 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
My final chapter traces the creation of a broader, multimedia literature of (in)attention. I argue that, in their efforts to focus on the elusive or illusory, distraction paradoxically helped medieval devotees to recapture central theological concepts—such as resurrection, or damnation—that risked exceeding attention altogether. Here, I turn to the disappearance of Christ at the heart of the Easter drama known as the Visitatio sepulchri in order to locate the rise of what is traditionally known as “liturgical drama” in precisely the same decades and spaces in Æthelwold’s Winchester. Yet, I also interrogate the desire to capture the inconceivable manifested by the Visitatio, situating it not only alongside the schoolroom texts of my fourth chapter and the sensory overload of Wulfstan Cantor’s preface to his Narratio metrica de S. Swithuno but also alongside the mysterious addition of two conjurors to a catalogue known as The Wonders of the East.
Motion and Turn: Water’s Ways
Authors: Stewart Susan 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter extends the previous chapter’s concern with the cyclical to consider water as a resource for poets thinking through questions of cycles, recurrence, and the possibilities of poetic form. The waterfall is both a form and a process: a fall of water that remains as a constant (to humans) geological feature, while also changing the landscape around it. The water cycle both changes and stays the same. Like water, poems both change and recur through formal features of rhythm, refrain, and lineation. The chapter takes up several poetic representations of motion and considers questions of force, influence, and causality.
The causal association between polyunsaturated fatty acids and acne: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Kim Bo Ri , Kim Gahyun , Jin Seon-Pil , Choi Chong Won , Kim Jinho , Park Hyunsun 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Observational studies have demonstrated a close association between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and acne. However, the findings of clinical trials have been inconsistent, leaving the causal relationship between PUFAs and acne unclear.

Objectives
To investigate the causal association between genetically proxied PUFAs and acne risk

Methods
Mendelian randomization (MR) was performed using single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with PUFAs as instrumental variables. The causal associations between PUFAs and acne were estimated among 115,006 UK biobank participants and 363,927 participants of Finnish descent.

Results
Genetically predicted docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels (Beta= -0.303; 95% CI: –0.480 to –0.126; p = 7.74E-04) and its percentage to total fatty acids (Beta= -0.402; 95% CI: –0.651 to –0.258; p = 5.91E-06) showed a significant causal association with a decreased risk of acne. Conversely, genetically predicted percentages of linoleic acid (LA) in total fatty acids (Beta=0.768; 95% CI: 0.411–0.126; p = 2.87E-04) and omega-6: omega-3 (Beta=0.373; 95% CI: 0.142–0.604; p = 4.48E-03) were robustly associated with an increased risk of acne. These effects were attenuated after excluding a genetic variant of rs174528 located upstream of fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1), highlighting the biological link between FADS1 and delta-5 desaturase activity. Multivariable MR analysis indicated that PUFAs were causally associated with acne, independent of body mass index.

Conclusions
Our study indicates that high DHA levels and their ratios to total fatty acids have causal protective effects against acne, while high LA levels and omega-6: omega-3 ratio are associated with increased acne risk. This association was largely attributable to the influence of genetic variants related to FADS1.
Investigating The Effect on Backscatter Factor When Measuring Entrance Surface Dose Using the Raysafe X2 Solid State Radiography and Fluoroscopy Detector
Authors: Lordinot Vadim , Koller Chris 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Objectives
Assessment of patient dose is a critical quality assurance check towards ensuring it is kept as low as reasonably practicable. One metric used to evaluate this is Entrance Surface Dose (ESD)- the summed magnitudes of the incident radiation and Compton scatter resulting from photon interactions within tissue. ESD can be directly measured using a dosemeter that is sensitive to backscattered radiation. However, the increasing use of solid-state detectors such as the tin backed RaySafe X2 R/F detector, means that ESD cannot be directly measured. The IAEA Technical Report No.457, recommends using backscatter factors (BSF) as calculated by Petoussi-Henss et al in1998 via Monte Carlo methods when measuring ESD using such dosemeters. This research seeks to practically determine a reliable method of calculating the BSF using a PMMA patient-equivalent phantom.

Methods
A comparison between the solid-state detector and an ionisation chamber capable of detecting backscatter was conducted. Special attention was given to BSF variation with both radiation field size and beam quality by varying additional copper and aluminium filtration to mimic the behaviour of patient-dose reducing techniques on modern fluoroscopy systems.

Results
Results have shown significant correspondence with those of Petoussi-Henss et al using the simulated water and ICRU tissue equivalent phantoms.

Conclusions
Given the results consistency, BSFs from this study have been proposed for use when measuring ESD using the RaySafe solid state detector with a PMMA patient-equivalent phantom for quality assurance purposes.

Advances in Knowledge
This research provides the opportunity to obtain more accurate patient dose data during quality assurance testing with modern solid-state dosemeters.
Roles of dendritic epidermal T cells in steady and different pathological states
Authors: Hao Jiaqi , Zhang Jie , Liu Yan 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin and acts as the primary barrier to protect the body. Dendritic epidermal T cells (DETCs), which are specifically distributed in epidermal tissues, play a crucial role in skin immune surveillance and wound healing. DETCs are one of the most important components of the epidermis and exert a steady-state monitoring function, facilitating wound healing and tissue regeneration after skin injury. Skin wounds are often linked to other pathological conditions such as ageing, ultraviolet radiation, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate how DETCs regulate themselves and the external environment during these pathological states. DETCs interact closely with keratinocytes in the epidermis, and this intercellular interaction may be essential for maintaining health and integrity. In this review, we focus on the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of DETCs in maintaining epidermal homeostasis and re-epithelialization in different pathological states.
The effect of diabetes on long-term outcomes in patients following coronary artery bypass grafting
Authors: Barili Fabio , Vitale Nicolò , D’Errigo Paola , Porcedda Francesco , Pollari Francesco , Baglio Giovanni , Daprati Andrea , Badoni Gabriella , Duranti Giorgia , Donatelli Francesco , Parolari Alessandro , Rosato Stefano 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for coronary artery disease, but its role following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still unclear and few data on long-term outcomes are available. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of diabetes on long-term outcomes after CABG.

METHODS
The PRIORITY (PRedictIng long-term Outcomes afteR Isolated coronary arTery bypass surgerY) project is an observational cohort study merging 2 prospective multicentre studies on isolated CABG. Follow-up information was obtained through administrative databases and was truncated 10 years after the intervention. Baseline differences between patients with and without diabetes were balanced with inverse probability of treatment weighting.

RESULTS
The cohort consisted of 10 989 patients with complete follow-up information who underwent isolated CABG (diabetes 32.3%). Diabetes did not affect short-term mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73–1.10] and repeat revascularization (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.42–1.49), while it is related to lower incidence of 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.60–0.76), acute myocardial infarction (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.51–0.70) and stroke (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.28–0.77). Diabetic patients had a higher long-term risk for major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event [weighted hazard ratio (HR) 1.31, 95% CI 1.26–1.37], mortality (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.37–1.53), as well as stroke (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.25–1.53) and myocardial infarction (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.26–1. 53). Diabetes had not been associated with an increased incidence of repeated revascularization up to 10 years (HR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96–1.12).

CONCLUSIONS
Diabetic patients had worse long-term outcomes. Diabetes may have a greater negative impact on micro-vasculopathy than grafts, as evidenced by the increased long-term incidence of myocardial infarction without affecting myocardial revascularization.