bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Design and implementation of an interactive virtual library based on its physical counterpart
Authors: Serghides Christina-Georgia , Christoforides George , Iakovides Nikolas , Aristidou Andreas 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThe rapid technological advancements and the widespread adoption of the internet have diminished the role of the physical library as a main information resource. As the Metaverse is evolving, a revolutionary change is anticipated in how social relationships are perceived, within an educational context. It is therefore necessary for libraries to upgrade the services they provide to keep in line with the technological trends and be a part of this virtual revolution. It is believed that the design and development of a Virtual Reality (VR) library can be the community and knowledge hub the society needs. In this paper, the process of creating a partially digital replica of the Limassol Municipal University Library, a landmark for the city of Limassol, is examined by using photogrammetry and 3D modelling. A 3D platform was developed, where users have the perception that they are experiencing the actual library. To that end, a perceptual study was conducted, to understand the current usage of physical libraries, examine the users’ experience in VR, and identify the requirements and expectations in the development of a virtual library counterpart. Following the suggestions and observations from the perceptual study, five key scenarios were implemented that demonstrate the potential use of a virtual library. This work incorporates the fundamental VR attributes, such as immersiveness, realism, user interactivity and feedback as well as other features, such as animated NPCs, 3D audio, ray-casting and GUIs, that significantly augment the overall VR library user experience, presence as well as navigation autonomy. The main effort of this project was to produce a VR representation of an existing physical library, integrated with its key services, as a proof-of-concept, with emphasis on easy 24/7 access, functionality, and interactivity. The above attributes differentiate this work from existing studies. A detailed user evaluation study was conducted upon completion of the final VR library implementation, which firmly confirmed all its key attributes and future viability.
Plant starch extraction, modification, and green applications: a review
Authors: Rashwan Ahmed K. , Younis Hala A. , Abdelshafy Asem M. , Osman Ahmed I. , Eletmany Mohamed R. , Hafouda Mahmoud A. , Chen Wei 
Published: June 2024

AbstractFossil fuel-based products should be replaced by products derived from modern biomass such as plant starch, in the context of the future circular economy. Starch production globally surpasses 50 million tons annually, predominantly sourced from maize, rice, and potatoes. Here, we review plant starch with an emphasis on structure and properties, extraction, modification, and green applications. Modification techniques comprise physical, enzymatic, and genetic methods. Applications include stabilization of food, replacement of meat, three-dimensional food printing, prebiotics, encapsulation, bioplastics, edible films, textiles, and wood adhesives. Starch from maize, potatoes, and cassava shows amylose content ranging from 20 to 30% in regular varieties to 70% in high-amylose varieties. Extraction by traditional wet milling achieves starch purity up to 99.5%, while enzymatic methods maintain higher structural integrity, which is crucial for pharmaceutical applications. Enzymatic extraction improves starch yield by of up to 20%, reduces energy consumption by about 30%, and lowers wastewater production by up to 50%, compared to conventional methods. Sustainable starch modification can reduce the carbon footprint of starch production by up to 40%. Modified starches contribute to approximately 70% of the food texturizers market. The market of starch in plant-based meat alternatives has grown by over 30% in the past five years. Similarly, the use of biodegradable starch-based plastics by the bioplastic industry is growing over 20% annually, driven by the demand for sustainable packaging.Kindly check and confirm the layout of Table 1.Layout is right
Drought aggravates plant stress by favouring aphids and weakening indirect defense in a sugar beet tritrophic system
Authors: Rahman Shahinoor , Rostás Michael , Vosteen Ilka 
Published: June 2024

AbstractClimate change leads to more frequent droughts that may alter multitrophic networks in agroecosystems by changing bottom-up and top-down effects on herbivorous insects. Yet, how bottom-up effects of drought alter tritrophic interactions remains poorly understood. This study investigated two intensities of drought stress in the tritrophic system consisting of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), an aphid (Aphis fabae), and its parasitoid (Aphidius colemani). We thoroughly investigated each trophic level, examining the performance of plants, pest insects, and parasitoids, as well as the attraction of parasitoids to herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). Drought stress negatively affected plant growth but benefited A. fabae, leading to faster development and a higher reproduction rate. Drought-stressed plants also emitted less plant volatiles, which resulted in reduced attraction of A. colemani to aphid-infested plants. Drought indirectly affected parasitoid performance, as evidenced by lower emergence rates and production of fewer females, although mummification rates were higher on drought-stressed plants. Reduced parasitoid attraction and performance on drought-stressed plants may exert lower top-down pressure on aphid populations. Combined with increased aphid performance, this may facilitate aphid outbreaks, which could further weaken drought-stressed plants. Our findings highlight the need to study multiple trophic levels and emphasize the importance of incorporating HIPVs and parasitoid attraction when assessing combined abiotic and biotic stresses in crops.
Heterogeneous consumption behaviors and monetary policy in three ASEAN economies
Authors: Tran Huu Tuyen 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThis paper aims to theoretically investigate how the presence of heterogeneous consumption behaviors, namely hand-to-mouth (HtM) and habit formation (HF), affects the monetary policy effectiveness and empirically explore the responses of three Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies to external shocks. We employ the Bayesian methodology to undertake the Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) estimation using quarterly data. Empirical results indicate a HtM parameter of 22% in Indonesia, 34% in the Philippines, and 27% in Thailand, with the HF parameter estimated at around 50%. Given the estimated parameters, a monetary shock would have standard effects on macroeconomic variables. Besides, incorporating HtM consumers into a standard DSGE model amplifies the adverse effects of monetary shock on aggregate consumption/output growth. Also, a higher ratio of HtM consumers exacerbates the negative effects of monetary shock, but it does not influence much the adverse impacts of demand and supply shocks on macroeconomic variables.
Protective effect of rubber seed oil on human endothelial cells
Authors: Zhang Yujie , Huang Fuchuan , Wu Yiran , Jiao Linmei , Wang Yun , Ding Tao 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Objective
This study was conducted to characterize the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Rubber Seed Oil (RSO) against atherosclerosis (AS) through the study of the protective effects and mechanisms on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL).

Methods
HUVECs were treated with RSO, ox-LDL, RSO + ox-LDL, respectively, followed by cell activity testing, levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, ROS, NO, the mRNA expression of eNOS and protein expression of MCP-1, VCAM-1, eNOS, TLR4, NF-κB p65、p-NF-κB p65.

Results
Compared with the ox-LDL group, cell viability, NO level and the expression of eNOS mRNA significantly increased. and the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, ROS were significantly decreased, which was accompanied by decreases in TLR4 mRNA, TLR4, MCP-1, VCAM-1 protein expression, as well as the ratio of NF-κB p-p65/p65 in the group treated with 250 μg/ml ox-LDL + 50 μg/ml RSO, 250 μg/ml ox-LDL + 100 μg/ml RSO, 250 μg/ml ox-LDL + 150 μg/ml RSO.

Conclusions
RSO can reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, oxidative factors involved in injured vascular endothelial cells, exhibiting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties HUVECs exposed to ox-LDL. In addition, it may alleviate endothelial cell damage by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Refinement of Parallel Algorithms Down to LLVM: Applied to Practically Efficient Parallel Sorting
Authors: Lammich Peter 
Published: June 2024

AbstractWe present a stepwise refinement approach to develop verified parallel algorithms, down to efficient LLVM code. The resulting algorithms’ performance is competitive with their counterparts implemented in C++. Our approach is backwards compatible with the Isabelle Refinement Framework, such that existing sequential formalizations can easily be adapted or re-used. As case study, we verify a parallel quicksort algorithm that is competitive to unverified state-of-the-art algorithms.
Peer-Mediated Interventions to Enhance Conversation Skills of Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on a University Campus
Authors: Bross Leslie Ann , Wall Emily , Pinczynski Monique , Anderson Ashley , Williams Thai , Wood Charles L. , Spooner Fred 
Published: June 2024

AbstractYoung adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on college campuses are vulnerable to exclusion and a lack of social participation. However, peers can provide meaningful supports to young adults with IDD in the area of social/communication skills. The purpose of this study was to enhance the conversation skills of four young adults with IDD (ages 22–23) during their regular lunch breaks on a university campus. The dependent variable was percent of conversational engagement during 10-min audio recorded sessions as measured using partial interval recording procedures. Typically developing peers served as peer coaches and provided structured or natural supports. Experiment 1 used an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of peer coaching alone vs. peer coaching + goal setting with two adjacent baseline conditions and a final student-choice condition. Results for Experiment 1 indicated peer coaching alone and the additive effects of goal setting was more effective than natural supports only. Experiment 2 used a withdrawal design to compare the effects of young adults with IDD speaking with fellow classmates with disabilities vs. peers without disabilities. Participants in Experiment 2 demonstrated higher levels of conversational engagement when speaking with peers without disabilities in a natural manner. Social validity of the different peer-mediated interventions was overall high for all participant types as reported on questionnaires and exit interviews. We provide implications for practice and suggestions for future research related to peer-mediated interventions for young adults with IDD on college and university campuses.
Stability of Multi-Peptide Vaccines in Conditions Enabling Accessibility in Limited Resource Settings
Authors: Ashkani Emily G. , McKenna Brian D. , Bryant Jennifer L. , Trevisan-Silva Dilza , Sherman Nicholas E. , Chianese-Bullock Kimberly A. , Slingluff Craig L. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractWe have previously shown that lyophilized mixtures of six- and twelve-melanoma peptide vaccines retain stability, purity, and amino acid sequence identity for up to five years when stored at -80 °C. However, this temperature requirement presents a significant obstacle to storage and distribution of vaccines for low-resource environments. Thus, we examined the stability of these peptides over a range of temperatures for varying durations of time. When stored at +4 °C or at room temperature for up to three months, 17 of the 18 peptides remained stable. The only change for the remaining peptide was an increase in an oxidized methionine residue. The results presented in this report support broadening the accessibility of these and other peptide-based vaccines to resources-limited communities.
Kinetic modeling of microwave-assisted esterification for biofuel additive production: conversion of levulinic acid with pentanol using Dowex® 50WX8 catalyst
Authors: Gallego-Villada Luis A. , Alarcón Edwin A. , Sathicq Ángel G. , Romanelli Gustavo P. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThis study explores the esterification of levulinic acid with 1-pentanol, employing Dowex® 50WX8 as a catalyst under microwave irradiation. Key parameters such as the pentanol/acid molar ratio, temperature, and catalyst loading were evaluated and utilized for kinetic modeling. The kinetic behavior of the reaction was investigated using a dual-model approach: a pseudo-homogeneous model to account for the microwave effect and catalytic contributions modeled through LHHW and Eley–Rideal mechanisms. The best model was chosen based on statistical results obtained from Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis, which involved an LHHW model with the surface reaction as the limiting step, resulting in an activation energy of 50.6 kJ mol−1 for the catalytic synthesis of pentyl levulinate. The role of the alcohol in the esterification route was explained, and catalytic stability was confirmed, with the catalyst maintaining activity over multiple cycles. The absence of mass transfer limitations was proved using the Weisz–Prater criterion. A plausible reaction pathway was proposed for the levulinic acid esterification over the 50WX8 catalyst.
Graphical abstract
Computing Relative Permeability and Capillary Pressure of Heterogeneous Rocks Using Realistic Boundary Conditions
Authors: Youssef AbdAllah A. , Shao Qi , Matthäi S. K. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractRelative permeability and capillary pressure are key parameters in multiphase flow modelling. In heterogeneous porous media, flow direction- and flow-rate dependence result from non-uniform saturation distributions that vary with the balance between viscous, gravitational, and capillary forces. Typically, relative permeability is measured using constant inlet fractional-flow—constant outlet fluid pressure conditions on samples mounted between permeable porous plates to avoid capillary end-effects. This setup is replicated in numeric experiments but ignores the extended geologic context beyond the sample size, impacting the saturation distribution and, consequently, the upscaled parameters. Here, we introduce a new workflow for measuring effective relative permeability and capillary pressure at the bedform scale while considering heterogeneities at the lamina scale. We harness the flexibility of numeric modelling to simulate continuum-REV-scale saturation distributions in heterogeneous rocks eliminating boundary artefacts. Periodic fluid flux boundary conditions are applied in combination with arbitrarily oriented, variable-strength pressure gradient fields. The approach is illustrated on a periodic model of cross-bedded sandstone. Stepping saturation while applying variable-strength pressure-gradient fields with different orientations, we cover the capillary-viscous force balance spectrum of interest. The obtained relative permeability and capillary pressure curves differ from ones obtained with traditional approaches highlighting that the definition of force balances needs consideration of flow direction as an additional degree of freedom. In addition, we discuss when the common viscous and the capillary limits are applicable and how they vary with flow direction in the presence of capillary interfaces.
SPIS: Signal Processing for Integrated Sensing Technologies Using 6G Networks with Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Khadidos Alaa O. , Manoharan Hariprasath , Selvarajan Shitharth , Khadidos Adil O. , Shankar Achyut , Khapre Shailesh 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThe proliferation of integrated sensing techniques in Sixth Generation (6G) networks is an increasingly significant aspect in facilitating efficient end-to-end communication for all users. The suggested methodology employs a digital signal processed with terahertz bandwidth to assess the impact of 6G networks. The primary focus lies in the design of 6G networks, emphasizing key parameters such interference, loss, signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and dual band channels. The aforementioned factors are combined with two machine learning algorithms in order to determine the extent of spectrum sharing among all available resources. Thus suggested approach for detecting signals in the terahertz communication spectrum is evaluated using 10 devices across four situations, which involve interference, signal loss, strength, and time margins for integrated sensing. Also the assumptions are based on signal processing devices operating within millimeter waves ranging from 5 to 10 terahertz. Interference and losses in the specified spectrum are seen to be less than 1%, but the time margin for integrated sensing with 99% maximized signal intensity remains at 85%.
Long-term pollen season trends of Fraxinus (ash), Quercus (oak) and Ambrosia artemisiifolia (ragweed) as indicators of anthropogenic climate change impact
Authors: Ščevková Jana , Štefániková Natália , Dušička Jozef , Lafférsová Janka , Zahradníková Eva 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThe ongoing climatic change, together with atmospheric pollution, influences the timing, duration and intensity of pollen seasons of some allergenic plant taxa. To study these influences, we correlated the trends in the pollen season characteristics of both woody (Fraxinus, Quercus) and herbaceous (Ambrosia) taxa from two pollen monitoring stations in Slovakia with the trends in meteorological factors and air pollutants during the last two decades. In woody species, the increased temperature during the formation of flower buds in summer and autumn led to an earlier onset and intensification of next year’s pollen season, especially in Quercus. The increase of relative air humidity and precipitation during this time also had a positive influence on the intensity of the pollen season of trees. The pollen season of the invasive herbaceous species Ambrosia artemisiifolia was prolonged by increased temperature and humidity during the summer and autumn of the same year, which extended the blooming period and delayed the end of the pollen season. From the studied air pollutants, only three were found to correlate with the intensity of the pollen season of the studied taxa, CO − positively and SO2 and NO2 − negatively. It is important to study these long-term trends since they not only give us valuable insight into the response of plants to changing conditions but also enable the prognosis of the exacerbations of pollen-related allergenic diseases.
IRE made easy: introducing the robotic grid system for multiple parallel needle insertion in irreversible electroporation treatment
Authors: Wardhana Girindra , Fütterer Jurgen J. , Abayazid Momen 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Accurate needle placement is crucial for successful tumor treatment using the irreversible electroporation (IRE) method. Multiple needles are inserted around the tumor, ideally in parallel, to achieve uniform electric field distribution. This paper presents a robot utilizing a grid system to enable multiple needles insertion while maintaining parallelism between them.

Methods
The robotic system has two degrees of freedom, which allow for the adjustment of the grid system to accommodate targeting lesions in various positions. The robot’s performance was evaluated by testing its accuracy across various configurations and target depth locations, as well as its ability to maintain the needle parallelism.

Results
The robot has dimensions of $${\phi }$$
ϕ
134 mm and a height of 46 mm, with a total weight of 295 g. The system accuracy test showed that the robot can precisely target points across different target depths and needle orientations, with an average error of $$2.71\pm 0.68$$

2.71
±
0.68

mm. Moreover, multiple insertions at different grid locations reveal needle orientation deviations typically below $$1^{\circ }$$

1
∘

.

Conclusion
This study presented the design and validation of a robotic grid system. The robot is capable of maintaining insertion accuracy and needle parallelism during multiple needle insertions at various robot configurations. The robot showed promising results with limited needle deviation, making it suitable for IRE procedures.
Infections and gender: clues for diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency—a case report and a review of the literature
Authors: Grandi Giacomo , Di Stefano Michele , Cebrelli Chiara , Mengoli Caterina , Di Sabatino Antonio 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThe clinical presentation of adrenal insufficiency, a condition causing adrenal hormone deficiency, is characterised by non-specific symptoms and signs: consequently, an important diagnostic delay is often evident which correlates with an increased mortality. This case report shows how the clustering of some symptoms and signs may hamper the diagnostic suspicion for this condition: serum electrolyte alterations and weight loss, when associated to recurrent infections and, in female patients, an empty sella may further guide the clinician towards a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Accordingly, a clinical approach taking into account gender medicine could improve the diagnostic workup.
Beyond digital transformation: a multi-mixed methods study on big data analytics capabilities and innovation in enhancing organizational performance
Authors: Orero-Blat Maria , Palacios-Marqués Daniel , Leal-Rodríguez Antonio Luis , Ferraris Alberto 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Digital transformation (DT) and Big Data Analytics Capabilities (BDAC) enable SMEs to adapt to rapidly changing markets, innovate, and maintain relevance in the digital age. This research explores the impact of DT on SME performance through the lens of BDAC and innovation, from a multi-methods approach and applying the dynamic capabilities view. It asserts that simply investing in DT doesn't ensure enhanced performance. Analyzing 183 Spanish SMEs from various sectors, the study highlights the need for creating specific conditions that enable DT to positively impact performance. The integration of PLS-SEM and fsQCA methodologies provides a comprehensive analysis of BDAC as pivotal in optimizing SME performance through DT, emphasizing the necessity of strategic alignment with innovation. This nuanced approach, combining the predictive power of PLS-SEM and the configurational insights of fsQCA, demonstrates that investment in DT alone is insufficient without fostering conditions conducive to innovation. Our empirical insights offer actionable guidance for managers utilizing BDA or contemplating technological investments to elevate firm performance which go in the direction of increasing their innovation capabilities. Additionally, these findings equip policymakers with a nuanced understanding, enabling the design of tailored measures promoting DT in SMEs anchored in the nuances of BDAC and innovation capabilities.