bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Will Power and Waste-to-X enable the worldwide energy transition to renewables?
Authors: Geisbauer Andreas , Berchthold Christian 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSince the industrial revolution the world economy has grown thanks to energy generated by cheap and abundant fossil resources. Today, due to climate change caused by human-induced CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, we are in the midst of a shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. It remains to be seen how fast this shift will happen and whether the correlating economics are feasible. Increasingly, experts are asking: what role will catalysis play to help drive energy efficiency? With a 60-year history in industrial catalysis, Clariant’s Catalysts business has been a front runner in catalyst and technology development. For more than a decade we have been working in the catalytic Power-to-X segments. This paper presents our understanding on current developments around the important role of Power-to-X and Waste-to-X technologies to enable a worldwide transition of the energy sector to renewables.
Graphical abstract
The success rates and outcomes of mandibular third molar coronectomy: 167 cases
Authors: Nowak Sylwia Maria , Justice Jessie , Aslam Aneesah , Suida Mohamed Imran 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess success rates and to report complications of coronectomy of mandibular third molars (M3M), including intra-operative failure, pain, infection, dry socket, inferior dental alveolar (IAN) and lingual nerve (LN) injuries and re-operation rates.

Methods
Retrospective analysis of 167 coronectomies completed between January 2017 to December 2022 was undertaken.

Results
The success of coronectomy was 93%. Intra-operative failure was reported to be 3.6% (n = 8). Complications accounted for pain (15%, n = 24), infection (9%, n = 15) and dry socket (3.6%, n = 6). Three patients required removal of M3M root at 3 months (n = 2) and 24 months (n = 1), accounting for 1.8% re-operation rate. A total of number of patients who suffered a nerve injury was 12; three of these were permanent (LN – 1.2%, n = 2; IAN – 0.6%, n = 1), nine were temporary (IAN – 1.2%; n = 2, LN – 2.4%; n = 4; site not specified – 1.8%, n = 3). No patients with intra-operative failure and re-operation suffered IAN or LN injury post-operatively.

Conclusion
Coronectomy offers a successful strategy for management of high risk M3M. The treatment outcomes can be improved with careful case selection and adjusting surgical technique, including assessment of root morphology, incomplete crown sectioning technique and avoidance of lingual retraction. Reporting of coronectomy success as a factor of surgical outcome, presence or absence of permanent IAN injury, persistent symptoms or any other long-standing complications (such as LN injury), and the need for re-operation accounting for root migration status may be a useful tool to measure coronectomy outcomes.
The efficacy and safety of lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly compared to a placebo in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Abdelazim Karim , Allam Ahmed A. , Afifi Badreldin , Abdulazeem Hebatullah , Elbehiry Ahmed I. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease, prevalent in individuals aged 60 and above, constitutes most dementia cases and significantly impairs memory and cognitive functions. With global Alzheimer’s cases projected to triple by 2050, there is a pressing need for effective interventions. Lecanemab, a monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid-beta plaques, shows promise in slowing Alzheimer’s progression. Positive clinical trial results have instilled hope in patients, prompting ongoing research to advance understanding and intervention possibilities. To contribute to this knowledge base, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, focusing on lecanemab’s efficacy and safety at a dosage of 10 mg/kg. This comprehensive approach aimed to address gaps in the current literature, scrutinize research disparities, and guide future investigations. Applying strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, we assessed study details, participant information, and intervention specifics, using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for quality evaluation. Statistical analyses, conducted with R software, included risk ratios and mean differences, assessing heterogeneity and publication bias. The meta-analysis reveals a significant positive effect of lecanemab (10 mg/kg biweekly) on cognitive outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease. Consistent reductions in ADCOMS, CDR-SB, and ADAS-cog14 scores across studies indicate drug efficacy with narrow confidence intervals and no significant heterogeneity. While TEAE shows no significant difference, heightened risks of ARIA-E and ARIA-H associated with lecanemab underscore the need for vigilant safety monitoring in clinical practice. Despite the drug efficacy, the study emphasizes a balanced assessment of benefits and potential risks associated with lecanemab, providing critical insights for clinicians evaluating its use in addressing cognitive impairment in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.
Short-term clinical and manometric outcomes of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation for faecal incontinence: a large single-centre series
Authors: O’Connor A. , Molyneux C. , Foster K. , Faulkner G. , Sharma A. , Kiff E. , Vasant D. H. , Telford K. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Background
Faecal incontinence (FI) is common, with a significant impact on quality of life. Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is a therapy for FI; however, its role has recently been questioned. Here we report the short-term clinical and manometric outcomes in a large tertiary centre.

Methods
A retrospective review of a prospective PTNS database was performed, extracting patient-reported FI outcome measures including bowel diary, the St Marks’s Incontinence Score (SMIS) and Manchester Health Questionnaire (MHQ). Successful treatment was > 50% improvement in symptoms, whilst a partial response was 25–50% improvement. High-resolution anorectal manometry (HRAM) results before and after PTNS were recorded.

Results
Data were available from 135 patients [119 (88%) females; median age: 60 years (range: 27–82years)]. Overall, patients reported a reduction in urge FI (2.5–1) and passive FI episodes (2–1.5; p < 0.05) alongside a reduction in SMIS (16.5–14) and MHQ (517.5–460.0; p < 0.001). Some 76 (56%) patients reported success, whilst a further 20 (15%) reported a partial response. There were statistically significant reductions in rectal balloon thresholds and an increase in incremental squeeze pressure; however, these changes were independent of treatment success.

Conclusion
Patients report PTNS improves FI symptoms in the short term. Despite this improvement, changes in HRAM parameters were independent of this success. HRAM may be unable to measure the clinical effect of PTNS, or there remains the possibility of a placebo effect. Further work is required to define the role of PTNS in the treatment of FI.
Recent chemical methods for metals recovery from printed circuit boards: A review
Authors: Oke Emmanuel A. , Potgieter Herman 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAs the volume of e-waste continues to rise, it is crucial to sustainably manage printed circuit boards (PCBs) and their valuable metal components. PCBs are ubiquitous in modern society, powering a variety of electronic devices. The metal resource crisis and the imperative for a low-carbon circular economy have accelerated the development of e-waste recycling technology. High-value discarded PCBs represent a vital component of e-waste. However, discarded PCBs are deemed hazardous to the ecosystem due to the presence of heavy metals and brominated organic polymers. Thus, recycling metals from discarded PCBs is not only a strategic necessity for fostering a green ecological civilisation but also a crucial guarantee for ensuring a safe supply of mineral resources. This comprehensive review gives the profound details of PCBs, and the performance of and advances in the latest chemical metal recovery methods. Reviewing the latest metal recovery processes, we explored the application of diverse leaching agents, including ionic liquids (ILs), deep eutectic solvents (DESs), organic acids and amino acids. These solvents were assessed in terms of their recovery efficiencies, and most of them demonstrated excellent leaching performance. The role of optimising leaching parameters such as concentration, oxidants, pH, particle size, solid-to-liquid ratios (S/L), temperature, and contact time is underscored, offering insights into achieving sustainable PCB recycling practices. Most of these recent leaching methods successfully extracted base metals (Cu, Fe, Zn, Sn, etc.), as well as precious metals (Au and Ag), achieving leaching efficiencies exceeding 90.0%. Interestingly, their effectiveness can compete with that of traditional hydrometallurgical methods.
The Relationship Between the Extent of Indentation and Impact Damage in Carbon-Fibre Reinforced-Plastic Composites after a Low-Velocity Impact
Authors: Brooks R. A. , Liu J. , Hall Z. E. C. , Joesbury A. M. , Harper L. T. , Liu H. , Kinloch A. J. , Dear J. P. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe present paper investigates the low-velocity impact behaviour of carbon-fibre reinforced-plastic (CFRP) composite panels and the damage incurred when they are subjected to a single impact. The relationship between the depth of permanent surface indentation that results and the associated area of interlaminar delamination damage is investigated for two different thicknesses of composite panels. In particular, the delamination damage area increases with impact energy for both thicknesses of composite panel that were studied. Likewise, the indentation depth also increases with increasing impact energy, again for both thicknesses of CFRP panels. It is shown that the indentation depth, at the centre of the indentation, may be used to provide an indication of the extent of delamination damage within the CFRP panel after impact. Indeed, from plotting the indentation depth versus the interlaminar delamination normalised by the thickness of the panel area there is shown to be a unique ‘master’ relationship, with a positive intercept indicating that the indentation damage seems to result before delamination damage initiates. Thus, for both thicknesses of CFRP panels, it is suggested that the indentation process is a precursor to interlaminar delamination damage.
Conditional probability table limit-based quantization for Bayesian networks: model quality, data fidelity and structure score
Authors: Rodrigues Mendes Ribeiro Rafael , Natal Jordão , Polpo de Campos Cassio , Dias Maciel Carlos 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBayesian Networks (BN) are robust probabilistic graphical models mainly used with discrete random variables requiring discretization and quantization of continuous data. Quantization is known to affect model accuracy, speed and interpretability, and there are various quantization methods and performance comparisons proposed in literature. Therefore, this paper introduces a novel approach called CPT limit-based quantization (CLBQ) aimed to address the trade-off among model quality, data fidelity and structure score. CLBQ sets CPT size limitation based on how large the dataset is so as to optimize the balance between the structure score of BNs and mean squared error. For such a purpose, a range of quantization values for each variable was evaluated and a Pareto set was designed considering structure score and mean squared error (MSE). A quantization value was selected from the Pareto set in order to balance MSE and structure score, and the method’s effectiveness was tested using different datasets, such as discrete variables with added noise, continuous variables and real continuous data. In all tests, CLBQ was compared to another quantization method known as Dynamic Discretization. Moreover, this study assesses the suitability of CLBQ for the search and score of BN structure learning, in addition to examining the landscape of BN structures while varying dataset sizes and confirming its consistency. It was sought to find the expected structure location through a landscape analysis and optimal BNs on it so as to confirm whether the expected results were actually achieved in the search and score of BN structure learning. Results demonstrate that CLBQ is quite capable of striking a balance between model quality, data fidelity and structure score, in addition to evidencing its potential application in the search and score of BN structure learning, thus further research should explore different structure scores and quantization methods through CLBQ. Furthermore, its code and used datasets have all been made available.
Physics-informed deep learning to quantify anomalies for real-time fault mitigation in 3D printing
Authors: Uhrich Benjamin , Pfeifer Nils , Schäfer Martin , Theile Oliver , Rahm Erhard 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn 3D printing processes, there are many thermal stress related defects that can have a significant negative impact on the shape and size of the structure. Such anomalies in the heat transfer of the printing process need to be detected at an early stage. Understanding heat transfer is crucial, and simulation models can offer insights while reducing the need for costly experiments. Traditional numerical solvers for heat transfer can be complex to adapt to diverse printed part geometries, and their reliance on predefined mathematical models limits their flexibility. Our physics-informed deep learning (PIDL) approach eliminates the need for discretization, simplifying the analysis of complex geometries and enabling automation. The drawback of parametric PIDL is their scalability for high-dimensional problems. Computational time, energy and cost of training prevent real-time analysis. It often takes only a few seconds to print a single layer. We can show an energy efficient transfer and training strategy to reduce the computational effort of PIDL significantly. The approach is able to quantify relevant effects of thermal stresses and mitigate errors during selective laser melting (SLM). To this end, heat transfer is modelled, simulated and analysed using high-dimensional data obtained from printing experiments with different geometries of metal components. The proposed method is applied to the solving forward problem of heat transfer prediction. The governing results are based on the heat equation, which is integrated into a deep neural network (DNN).
Artificial cover objects as a tool for the survey and conservation of herpetofauna
Authors: Liberman Yan-Ronen , Ben-Ami Frida , Meiri Shai 
Published: April 2024

AbstractArtificial cover objects, made of various materials, have been used for decades for reptile and amphibian surveys, as well as in habitat restoration programs. Their low cost and maintenance demands make them a cost effective and efficient survey method. Since flipping covers does not require special skills, and covers can be uniform in size and material, they can be used as a standardized survey method to negate observer biases. We surveyed the literature in search of studies describing the use of artificial cover objects in situ as part of surveys or habitat restoration efforts of reptiles and amphibians in the twenty-first century. We found 490 studies conducted in 31 countries. Our results show that artificial cover objects are an effective method to sample reptiles and amphibians in terms of both labor and cost. Overall, artificial cover objects used in the studies we surveyed enabled the detection of 357 species belonging to 47 families. Only one study reported animal mortality caused by artificial covers and it also suggested a way to prevent it. No other studies reported direct or indirect injuries or deaths caused by artificial covers. We discuss the efficacy of artificial cover objects in surveying for reptiles and amphibians, and examine their effectiveness when used as part of habitat restoration programs.
Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU) is Involved in an Ischemic Postconditioning Effect Against Ischemic Reperfusion Brain Injury in Mice
Authors: Sasaki Hiromitsu , Nakagawa Ichiro , Furuta Takanori , Yokoyama Shohei , Morisaki Yudai , Saito Yasuhiko , Nakase Hiroyuki 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe phenomenon of ischemic postconditioning (PostC) is known to be neuroprotective against ischemic reperfusion (I/R) injury. One of the key processes in PostC is the opening of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent potassium (mito-KATP) channel and depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, triggering the release of calcium ions from mitochondria through low-conductance opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is known as a highly sensitive transporter for the uptake of Ca2+ present on the inner mitochondrial membrane. The MCU has attracted attention as a new target for treatment in diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and ischemic stroke. We considered that the MCU may be involved in PostC and trigger its mechanisms. This research used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique on hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells from C57BL mice and measured changes in spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents (sEPSCs), intracellular Ca2+ concentration, mitochondrial membrane potential, and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) currents under inhibition of MCU by ruthenium red 265 (Ru265) in PostC. Inhibition of MCU increased the occurrence of sEPSCs (p = 0.014), NMDAR currents (p < 0.001), intracellular Ca2+ concentration (p < 0.001), and dead cells (p < 0.001) significantly after reperfusion, reflecting removal of the neuroprotective effects in PostC. Moreover, mitochondrial depolarization in PostC with Ru265 was weakened, compared to PostC (p = 0.004). These results suggest that MCU affects mitochondrial depolarization in PostC to suppress NMDAR over-activation and prevent elevation of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations against I/R injury.
Graphical Abstract
Determining Drivers of Private Equity Return with Computational Approaches
Authors: Lamothe-Fernández Prosper , García-Argüelles Eduardo , Fernández-Miguélez Sergio Manuel , Hassani-Zerrouk Omar 
Published: April 2024

AbstractPrivate equity (PE) represents the acquisition of stakes in non-listed companies, often long-term, with the objective of improving the performance and value of the company to obtain significant benefits at time of disinvestment. PE has gained particular importance in the global financial system for delivering superior risk-adjusted returns. Knowing the PE return drivers has been of great interest among researchers and academics, and some studies have developed statistical models to determine PE return drivers. Still, the explanatory capacity of these models has certain limitations related to their precision levels and exclusive focus on groups of countries located in Europe and the EE.UU. Therefore, in the current literature, new models of analysis of the PE return drivers are demanded to provide a better fit in worldwide scenarios. This study contributes to the accuracy of the models that identify the PE return drivers using computational methods and a sample of 1606 PE funds with a geographical focus on the world’s five regions. The results have provided a unique set of PE return drivers with a precision level above 86%. The conclusions obtained present important theoretical and practical implications, expanding knowledge about PE and financial forecasting from a global perspective.
Effect of blended learning approach on secondary school learners’ mathematics achievement and retention
Authors: Egara Felix Oromena , Mosimege Mogege 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe study investigated how blended learning affected secondary school students’ achievement and retention in mathematics. The study used a non-equivalent control group pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design. The participants in the study were learners drawn from two secondary schools purposively chosen. Using a simple random sampling technique, the SS 1 classes from each school were then divided into experimental and control groups. Learners in the experimental group utilised the blended learning approach, whereas those in the control group utilized the conventional method. The groups received a pretest in week 1, followed by a 4-week intervention period. A posttest was administered in week 6, and a retention test (post-post-test) occurred 4 weeks after the posttest. The Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), which has a reliability score of 0.86, was used for data collection. Data were analysed and the study questions were reported using the mean and standard deviation, and the hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance. Results revealed that learners tutored mathematics utilising blended learning improved their mathematics achievement and retention scores more than learners tutored utilising the conventional means. Results indicated no significant gender disparity in the mean achievement scores of learners tutored mathematics utilising blended learning. Results also showed a significant gender difference in the mean retention scores of learners who learnt mathematics using blended learning, favouring female students. Based on the findings, recommendations were made.
Optimising decision support tools for the agricultural sector
Authors: Iakovidis Dimitrios , Gadanakis Yiorgos , Campos-Gonzalez Jorge , Park Julian 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSeveral challenges threaten the viability of agriculture in the Mediterranean region, for instance, climate change and variability, land degradation and desertification, environmental and social pressures in rural areas, and the arrangement and extent of properties. These challenges require the attention of farm managers and effective decision-making that can safeguard the natural resource base, enhance resilience and food security, and promote sustainable production landscapes. Decision Support Tools (DSTs) offer valuable assistance in addressing these challenges by improving the decision-making process for both farmers and advisors. They enable data-informed decisions that can enhance the sustainability performance of agricultural businesses in the region. A crucial component of designing a proficient DST is the prompt involvement of stakeholders using a participatory approach to define the needs and requirements of end users. In this study, we engaged twenty-nine stakeholders, including farmers, advisors, extension officers, policy makers, and industry representatives from the Argolida regional unit and the Greek National Ministry of Rural Development and Food. This engagement was aimed at conducting a comprehensive analysis of user needs. To achieve this, we employed the Q-methodology approach to gain a thorough comprehension of the viewpoints and requirements of these diverse stakeholder groups. The results illustrated factors such as the need for user-friendly interfaces, the importance of data accuracy and reliability, the benefit of flexibility and adaptability, and the need for appropriate training and support. These findings can aid the effective development of DSTs so that emerging challenges can be framed in a manner that will facilitate solutions.