bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acid-assisted subcritical blunt-tip crack propagation in carbonate rocks
Authors: Tang XiaoJie , Hu ManMan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractSubcritical crack propagation in stressed carbonate rocks in a chemically reactive environment is a fundamental mechanism underlying many geomechanical processes frequently encountered in the engineering of geo-energy, including unconventional shale gas, geothermal energy, carbon sequestration and utilization. How a macroscopic Mode I crack propagates driven by a reactive fluid pressurizing on the crack surfaces with acidic agents diffusing into the rock matrix remains an open question. Here, the carbonate rock is modeled as an elasto-viscoplastic material with the mineral mass removal process affecting the rock properties in both elastic and plastic domains. A blunt-tip crack is considered to avoid any geometrically induced singularity problem and to allow a numerical analysis on the evolution of the chemical field being linked to the micro-cracking activities in front of the crack tip, affecting the delivery of acid. The model is capable of reproducing an archetypal three-region behavior of subcritical crack growth in a reactive environment. The crack propagation exhibits a prominent acceleration in Region III due to a two-way mutually enhancing feedback between mineral dissolution and the degradation process, which is most pronounced in front of the crack tip. With the consideration of initial imperfections in the rock, the macroscopic crack propagation is further accelerated with a secondary acceleration arising due to self-organization of micro-bands inside the chemically enabled plasticity zone.
A Lagrangian bounding and heuristic principle for bi-objective discrete optimization
Authors: Larsson Torbjörn , Quttineh Nils-Hassan , Åkerholm Ida 
Published: March 2024

AbstractLagrangian relaxation is a common and often successful way to approach computationally challenging single-objective discrete optimization problems with complicating side constraints. Its aim is often twofold; first, it provides bounds for the optimal value, and, second, it can be used to heuristically find near-optimal feasible solutions, the quality of which can be assessed by the bounds. We consider bi-objective discrete optimization problems with complicating side constraints and extend this Lagrangian bounding and heuristic principle to such problems. The Lagrangian heuristic here produces non-dominated candidates for points on the Pareto frontier, while the bounding forms a polyhedral outer approximation of the Pareto frontier, which can be used to assess the quality of the candidate points. As an illustration example we consider a facility location problem in which both CO2 emission and cost should be minimized. The computational results are very encouraging, both with respect to bounding and the heuristically found non-dominated solutions. In particular, the Lagrangian bounding is much stronger than the outer approximation given by the Pareto frontier of the problem’s linear programming relaxation.
The Effects of Type 2 Diabetes on Cognitive Performance: A Review of Reviews
Authors: Sola Teppo , Sola Fanny-Maria , Jehkonen Mervi 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Background
Multiple systematic reviews have found that type 2 diabetes is associated with cognitive decrements. However, these reviews are heterogeneous in terms of methodology, quality and results, making it difficult for researchers and clinicians to build an informed overall picture. We therefore conducted a review of systematic reviews on the association between type 2 diabetes and cognitive decrements in relation to healthy controls.

Methods
Following a pre-registered research protocol, we searched four major databases. Nine systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria: seven were meta-analyses and two were narrative syntheses. We assessed the risk of bias in each review and reported all effect sizes and confidence intervals obtained.

Results
Type 2 diabetes was associated with cognitive decrements in all reviews, with small or negligible effect sizes obtained in the largest meta-analyses. The most studied cognitive domains were attention, executive functions, memory, processing speed and working memory. All reviews had methodological issues and were rated as having a high or an unclear risk of bias.

Conclusions
Type 2 diabetes appears to be associated with lower cognitive performance in several cognitive domains and in different age groups. However, high-quality meta-analyses on the subject are still needed. Future reviews must follow the PRISMA guidelines and take into account the risk of bias of the original studies through sensitivity analyses and the heterogeneity of the studies by conducting subgroup analyses for example according to age group and disease duration. The meta-analyses that aim to study the entire type 2 diabetes population without excluding severe comorbidities, should assess concept formation and reasoning, construction and motor performance, perception, and verbal functions and language skills in addition to the cognitive domains that have been most frequently analysed in the reviews conducted so far.
Trans Bans Expand: Anti-LGBTIQ+ Lawfare and Neo-fascism
Authors: Jones Tiffany 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Introduction
Anti-fascist theories suggest different meanings for anti-LGBTIQ+ rights laws. This paper explores how 2023 increases in US anti-LGBTIQ+ bill attempts can be explained.

Methods
A Critical Discourse Analysis of 1054 US anti-LGBTIQ+ state-level bill submissions from 1 Jan 2018 to 31 December 2023, compared 2023 trends to previous data.

Results
The co-ordinated neofascist mobilisation behind US hyper-productivity and erratic contradictory justifications of anti-LGBTIQ+ bills expanded exponentially, emphasising less resisted campaigns. Initially smaller bills targeted political weak spots: transgender youth in primary schools, bathrooms and politically enabling Republican-governed states. Increasingly bills expanded in number, frequency, size, and punitive reach against LGBTIQ+ and other citizens’ rights, in wider contexts (higher education, public and Democrat-governed spaces). By 2023, bill strategies used hypocritical and hypothetical anti-LGBTIQ+ logics; replicated federally to thwart democratic and economic structures.

Conclusions
Anti-fascist, Queer and critical socialist theories explained the 2023 bills’ increase as building upon past partisan mobilisation on wedge transgender state election issues; towards neofascist diminishment of increasingly wider-ranging and higher-level US democratic structures, rights protections, and economic functioning. Policy attacks on vulnerable social groups’ rights — particularly trans youth — can signal ‘early stages’ within neo-fascist strong-man state-identity creation supporting democratic structure diminishments.

Policy Implications
Multi-level multi-cultural pluralist democratic institutions and support structures with inter-reinforced rights recognition expansions should be required by and should protect the rights of all citizens.
Tribological and Structural Effects of Titanium Carbide and Hexagonal Boron Nitride Reinforcement on Aluminum Matrix Hybrid Composites
Authors: Horlu Merve , Macit Cevher Kursat , Aksakal Bunyamin , Tanyeri Burak 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis research involves the synthesis of a hybrid composite by adding titanium carbide (TiC) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) powders in certain weight ratios (2.5–5%) to pure aluminum (Al) powder. When previous studies were examined, it was seen that TiC and hBN powders were added separately to Al matrix powders; however, a hybrid composite was not produced as in this study. The obtained hybrid composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Microstructure, hardness and wear tests were carried out under 3 different loads (10 N, 20 N and 30 N) and dry conditions. Weight loss and coefficient of friction measurements were obtained for each hybrid composite during the wear tests. The TiC–hBN-reinforced specimen exhibited a significantly higher hardness value of 37.08% compared to the pure Al composite. It was also found that the synthesized Al–TiC–hBN hybrid composite exhibited a 59% reduction in the wear loss value for 10 N load, 30% for 20 N load and 60% for 30 N load compared to the pure Al sample. It is believed that the hybrid composites produced in this study have the ability to compete with Al matrix materials and exhibit the potential for longer durability and cost reduction in industries that use the production of aluminum parts.
Investigating the role of self-selected STEM projects in fostering student autonomy and self-directed learning
Authors: Tang Kok-Sing , McLure Felicity , Williams John , Donnelly Catherine 
Published: March 2024

AbstractResearch in STEM education has focussed on integrated STEM projects that combine knowledge and skills across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These integrated STEM projects are typically designed by teachers or researchers addressing a limited range of topics that do not always cater well to the diversity of interest among children and adolescents. By contrast, self-selected projects where students have more choices and autonomy in selecting their own projects are relatively rare. Consequently, there is a gap in the literature on students’ learning experiences when they choose and develop their own STEM projects. This study aims to examine the classroom experience and enactment of a high school STEM course designed for Grade 9 and 10 students (14 to 16 years old) to carry out a project of their choice aligned with the theme of sustainability. A case study methodology was used to investigate eight students’ lived experiences in making connections to STEM. The study reveals the nature of students’ self-directed learning experiences as they chose their own topics of exploration and subsequently developed their respective STEM-related projects. It also illuminates the alignments and tensions between STEM integration and various aspects of students’ self-directed learning, including intrinsic motivation, open-ended tasks, goal setting, design thinking, collaboration with external partners, curriculum constraint, and time management. The implications of the study encompass student autonomy and agency, the significance of authentic problems and themes in STEM education, and the role of curriculum in facilitating self-selected projects.
‘I left the teaching profession … and this is what I am doing now’: a national study of teacher attrition
Authors: Brandenburg Robyn , Larsen Ellen , Simpson Alyson , Sallis Richard , Trần Dũng 
Published: March 2024

AbstractCurrent teacher attrition in Australia and globally has created an untenable situation for many schools, teachers and the profession. This paper reports on research that examined the critical issue of teacher attrition from the perspective of former classroom teachers and school leaders. Although there is extensive national and global research related to teacher shortages and intentions to leave the teaching profession, minimal research has sought insights from those who have left the profession in Australia, including ascertaining what they are doing now. Using an online survey, data were collected from 256 former teachers from all states and territories, sectors and career stages who had left the profession between 2016 and 2022. Using descriptive statistical and thematic analysis, this study highlights the potential loss to teaching and the education profession more broadly due to teacher attrition. For these participants, the reasons for leaving were often multifaceted and the process of leaving was often protracted. Many of these former teachers have maintained links to the education profession occupying various associated roles and positions. We call for a reconsideration of the ways that strategies to ameliorate teacher attrition are conceptualised and implemented.
United Kingdom Copyright Decisions and Legislative Developments 2023
Authors: Lee Yin Harn 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis report highlights the most significant UK copyright decisions in 2023 and provides an overview of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and its implications for copyright law. The cases deal with copyright subject matter, originality, infringement, copyright ownership, and remedies (including blocking injunctions). It also discusses the first order made in the legal proceedings brought by stock photography supplier Getty Images against generative AI startup Stability AI.
United Kingdom Patent Decisions 2023
Authors: Trigg Robyn , West Ryan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis report highlights a selection of the most important UK patent decisions from 2023, including: one Supreme Court judgment dealing with artificial intelligence; five Court of Appeal judgments (one relating to confidential information, one dealing with plausibility, two dealing with patent revocations and one addressing unjustified threats); seven Patents Court judgments (two undertaking a FRAND determination, one dealing with FRAND generally, three patent revocations and one dealing with experts’ duties); and one High Court decision from the Chancery Division regarding artificial intelligence.
The Evolving Protection of Geographical Indications Against Services: “Brand” New World?
Authors: Calabrese Bernardo 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe EU regime for protecting geographical indications (GIs) is the most advanced – and at the same time the most debated – model of this sui generis intellectual property right in the world. The current reform is introducing innovations in many aspects of this regime, including that of digital markets. However, one very important aspect stemming from the evolution of EU case-law is missing – the extension of GI protection against services. EU case-law leaves open significant questions about this multi-faceted issue: not only how to construe the “front” side of directly excluding the (even evocative) use of a geographical name for services, but also, and mostly, how to deal with the “reverse” side of actively exploiting the same name on the market, following an authorization model resembling that for trademarks, as indeed the reform seems to admit elsewhere for the first time. There is also the “other” side of market services, where GIs act as intellectual property rights that affect the free movement of goods: here, ever more frequent references to “prestige” as a justification for protecting GIs further complicate the picture. This has potential implications for freedom of competition in the resale of typical products under the principle of exhaustion in terms of foreseeable legitimate reasons for opposition, again following the trademark model. This article aims to set out a more balanced approach tackling such new challenges, in order to make the EU regime fit for the future but still consistent with the founding principles of GIs as special intellectual property rights.
A prediction method for dynamic multiobjective optimization based on joint subspace and correlation alignment
Authors: Li Guoping , Liu Yanmin , Deng Xicai 
Published: March 2024

AbstractDynamic multiobjective optimization is a significant challenge in accurately capturing changes in Pareto optimal sets (PS), encompassing both location and manifold changes. Existing approaches primarily focus on tracking changes in the location of the PS, often overlooking the potential impact of changes in the PS manifold, which can be decomposed into rotation and distortion changes. Such oversights can lead to a reduction in the overall performance of an algorithm. To address this issue, a prediction method based on joint subspace and correlation alignment (PSCA) is proposed. PSCA leverages a subspace alignment strategy to effectively capture rotation change in the PS manifold while employing a correlation alignment strategy to capture distortion change. By integrating these two strategies, a quasi-initial population is generated that embodies the captured rotation and distortion change patterns in a new environment. Then, the promising individuals are selected from this quasi-initial population based on their nondominated relations and crowding degree to form the initial population in the new environment. To evaluate the effectiveness of PSCA, we conduct experiments on fourteen benchmark problems. The experimental results demonstrate that PSCA achieves significant improvements over several state-of-the-art algorithms.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Older Black and Hispanic Workers’ Perceptions of their Workplace
Authors: Jason Kendra , Sargent Amanda , Payne Julianne 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study provides insight into how having COVID-19 shifted Black and older Hispanic adults’ organizational perceptions and experiences. We used data from 30 Black and Hispanic full-time men and women over the age of 45 who have had COVID-19, and most have co-occurring physical and mental chronic illness, to examine how having COVID-19 shapes their perceptions of their workplace and organizational interactions. We examine how older Black and Hispanic adults’ intersectional identities further shape their work experiences. Further, we illuminate how COVID-19-related enhanced safety protocols impacted these workers’ emotional and interpersonal experiences by increasing feelings of safety and support, while simultaneously widening relational gaps among coworkers and increasing mental health concerns. We end with workplace practice recommendations, centering an intersectional and Total Worker Health® (TWH) approach, to reduce work-related health and safety hazards with efforts to promote and improve the well-being of older Black and Hispanic workers.
Geospatial modeling for groundwater potential zoning using a multi-parameter analytical hierarchy process supported by geophysical data
Authors: Mohammed Musaab A. A. , Mohammed Sarkhel H. , Szabó Norbert P. , Szűcs Péter 
Published: March 2024

AbstractGroundwater plays a crucial role in Hungary sustaining ecosystems and meeting the growing demand for freshwater to fulfill domestic and agricultural needs. This study employs the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology to delineate groundwater potential zones in the Debrecen area, Hungary. To ensure the robustness and reliability of the potential zoning, geophysical data are utilized for validation purposes. In the AHP modeling seven groundwater conditioning factors are integrated, including geology, topography, slope, land use/land cover, precipitation, drainage density, and lineament density. The integration of the normalized weights for each factor identified three groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) assigned as moderate, high, and very high potential. The result of the AHP model is further validated with geophysical data of gravity and wireline logging. Gravity data is subjected to spectral analysis and forward modeling to map the lineaments and detect the thickness of the sedimentary sequences. The forward modeling indicated that the thickness of these sequences varies between 1.25 and 2.7 km, with a deep local basin delimited by normal faults situated in the eastern part of the study area. Additionally, the analysis of the well-logging data using the Csókás method provided a continuous estimation of petrophysical and hydrogeological parameters along the main hydrostratigraphical units. Accordingly, a high and uniform distribution of hydraulic conductivity is observed in the eastern part of the study area due to the presence of coarse-grained incised valley deposits. The results of geophysical modeling showed a close agreement with that of AHP models. This interdisciplinary approach advanced the mapping of potential groundwater zones and provided valuable insights into the hydrogeological characteristics of the groundwater aquifers in the Debrecen area.
Fabrication and characterization of microporous soft templated photoactive 3D materials for water disinfection in batch and continuous flow
Authors: Vadala Miriana , Lupascu Doru C. , Galstyan Anzhela 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWater cleaning can be provided in batch mode or in continuous flow. For the latter, some kind of framework must withhold the cleaning agents from washout. Porous structures provide an ideal ratio of surface to volume for optimal access of the water to active sites and are able to facilitate rapid and efficient fluid transport to maintain a constant flow. When functionalized with suitable photoactive agents, they could be used in solar photocatalytic disinfection. In this study, we have used the sugar cube method to fabricate PDMS-based materials that contain three different classes of photosensitizers that differ in absorption wavelength and intensity, charge as well as in ability to generate singlet oxygen. The obtained sponges are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and digital microscopy. Archimede’s method was used to measure porosity and density. We show that the materials can absorb visible light and generate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that are required to kill bacteria. The disinfection ability was tested by examining how irradiation time and operation mode (batch vs. flow) contribute to the performance of the material. The current strategy is highly adaptable to other (medium) pressure-driven flow systems and holds promising potential for various applications, including continuous flow photoreactions.
Graphical Abstract
Global Dilemma and Needs Assessment Toward Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Controlling Leishmaniasis
Authors: Bamorovat Mehdi , Sharifi Iraj , Khosravi Ahmad , Aflatoonian Mohammad Reza , Agha Kuchak Afshari Setareh , Salarkia Ehsan , Sharifi Fatemeh , Aflatoonian Behnaz , Gharachorloo Faranak , Khamesipour Ali , Mohebali Mehdi , Zamani Omid , Shirzadi Mohammad Reza , Gouya Mohammad Mahdi 
Published: March 2024

AbstractLeishmaniasis is a disease of poverty that imposes a devastating medical, social, and economic burden on over 1 billion people nationwide. To date, no in-depth study to analyze the major global challenges and needs assessment has been carried out. This investigation aimed to explore a comprehensive narrative review of leishmaniasis’s main challenges and initially highlight obstacles that might impede the implementation of control measures. Also, we propose a specific list of priorities for needs assessment. The presence of socioeconomic factors, multiple clinical and epidemiological forms, various Leishmania species, the complexity of the life cycle, the absence of effective drugs and vaccines, and the lack of efficient vector and reservoir control make this organism unique and sophisticated in playing a tangled role to react tricky with its surrounding environments, despite extensive efforts and implementation of all-inclusive former control measures. These facts indicate that the previous strategic plans, financial support, and basic infrastructures connected to leishmaniasis surveillance are still insufficient. Strengthening the leishmaniasis framework in a context of accelerated programmatic action and intensification of cross-cutting activities along with other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is confidently expected to result in greater effectiveness, cost–benefit, and fruitful management. Sensitive diagnostics, effective therapeutics, and efficacious vaccines are vital to accelerating advancement toward elimination, and reducing morbidity/mortality and program costs. Collective actions devoted by all sectors and policy-makers can hopefully overcome technical and operational barriers to guarantee that effective and coordinated implementation plans are sustained to meet the road map for NTDs 2021- 2030 goals.