bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Credit Management on Loans Portfolio Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya
Authors: Muchere George Oundo , Mwambia Felix , Muema Wilson 
Published: February 2025

Banking sector is a key source of funding for most businesses. Improved loans portfolio management leads to high performance of banking institutions. Commercial banks use various avenues to generate their income. Credit management is one of the sensitive areas of management of banking institutions which deals with credit. Credit management gives assurance that loan borrowers will pay back the money lend to them by commercial banks. It is a vital component of the banking practice management function. A banking institution with proper credit management policy will enable it to improve its efficiency. Thus, this study sought to ascertain influence of credit management on loans portifolio performance of commercial banks in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used and data was collected from eleven commercial banks headquarters in Nairobi. The study was based on census approach as it focused on all the eleven commercial banks listed on NSE, Kenya. For each commercial bank listed, 5 respondents were sought, thus providing 55 respondents. Study employed both secondary and primary data. Instruments used to collect data were questionnaires and Central Bank of Kenya finanial reports websites, journals of Kenya bankers association and commercial banks of kenya accounts published annually. Data was analyzed using applied descriptive statstics, correlations and regression by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS). The aggregate mean score of credit management and loans portifolio performance of commercial banks was 4.07, and a strong correlation of r= .623. The conclusion from the findings indicated that employing proper credit management has a significant and positive influence on loans portifolio performance of commercial banks. The study recommended that commercial banks adopt sound policies reviews, carry out proper client appraisals, exercise delinquency credit management, and have in place a well-functioning Credit Management department
Environmental Impacts of Unutilised Fly Ash and its Potential Utilisation for Soil Productivity and Food Security
Authors: Chirisa Halleluiah , Magada Tinashe , Mombeshora Mwarozva Solomon 
Published: February 2025

The combustion of coal during thermal electricity generation produces huge volumes of fly ash solid waste. The disposal and storage of dry fly ash in the environment have resulted in high nutrient concentration levels becoming toxic to humans, air, soil and water environments. Soil nutrient deficiency is limiting sustainable food productivity with soil nutrient deficiencies and limited access to fertilizers or biological options aggravating the predicament of hunger. This study focused on assessing the environmental impacts of fly ash and its potential utilisation in crop production. The study was conducted at Harare Power Station (170 50‘ S and 310 1‘ E) and Harare Experimental Station (170 49‘S and 31o2 ‘ E). Mixed research methods were used. To unearth the environmental impacts of fly ash qualitative research approach guided by the interpretivism paradigm was applied. Purposive sampling of six key informants was implemented and data was gathered using in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. To evaluate the potential utilisation of fly ash for sustainable crop production, laboratory analysis of the physical and nutrient composition of fly ash was undertaken. To evaluate the effects of fly ash on tomato, cucumber and rape crops, a field experiment was set up. A Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five treatments, replicated three times, was implemented on each of the crops. The analysis of variance was used for analysing the results. Results showed that dumped and stored fly ash caused air pollution, groundwater contamination, human health effects and soil pollution. Fly ash can potentially be used in crop production to control soil-borne pests and diseases and improve the physical and nutrient characteristics of soil for improved crop yields. The application of fly ash had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the growth and yield of tomatoes, cucumbers and rape. The highest yields were realised at 25% fly ash soil concentration, while 100% fly ash was toxic. >
Phenomenological Insights into Challenges and Opportunities of Learning through Social Information Communication Technology Andragogy
Authors: Nharo Tobias , Manyanga Tauya , Barugahara Florence , Makota Justin , Kangambeu Sibusisiwe , Mafuhure Tirivashe , Kabote Ferdinand 
Published: February 2025

Globally, Social Information Communication Technology Andragogy (SICTA) has long been advocated for in tertiary institutions. Yet, most lecturers have remained stuck in their traditional face-to-face andragogical practices. The lockdown to curb the spread of the corona virus, COVID-19, has accelerated the adoption SICTA. In this article, we adopted a phenomenological design from a qualitative research perspective to examine students‘ challenges, solutions and opportunities of SICTA learning. Six students doing a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education (PGDTE) shared their experience of SICTA learning. A three-staged process was adopted to generate qualitative data through written narratives, document analysis and dialoguing. The content qualitative analysed data revealed multiple and nested challenges grounded in the use of multiple SICTA based platforms. SICTA created learning opportunities such as online learning competences, learning material accessibility and sharing, time limitless collaborative learning and enhanced self-directed learning. The researchers recommend that educators at tertiary level should conduct professional students and staff development on social ICT, design and establish policies for the use of Social ICT and disseminate relevant information as well as undisrupted access to internet and technological devices.
Characterization of a novel immune deficiency gene of Macrobrachium rosenbergii reveals antibacterial and antiviral defenses
Authors: Pinkaew Utsanee , Choolert Chanitcha , Vaniksampanna Akapon , Pasookhush Phongthana , Longyant Siwaporn , Chaivisuthangkura Parin 
Published: April 2024

Abstract

Objective
We sought to identify and characterize an immune deficiency (IMD) homolog from the giant freshwater prawn (also known as the giant river prawn) Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The IMD is a death-domain-containing protein that plays a crucial role as an adaptor protein in the IMD pathway—one of the most important response mechanisms to viral and bacterial invasion of invertebrates.

Methods
An IMD homolog gene from M. rosenbergii (MrIMD) was isolated using rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends. The tissue distribution and response to immune challenge of MrIMD were analyzed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to understand the regulatory mechanism of MrIMD messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in M. rosenbergii.

Result
The open reading frame of MrIMD comprised 555 nucleotides encoding a protein consisting of 184 amino acids, with a conserved death domain at the C-terminus. The MrIMD protein demonstrated 53–74% similarity with IMDs from other crustaceans; the highest similarity was with the IMD from the oriental river prawn M. nipponense. Gene expression analysis revealed that MrIMD mRNA levels were highest in gill tissues. After Aeromonas hydrophila stimulation, MrIMD was significantly upregulated in the muscle, gills, and intestine, whereas there was no significant difference in the hemocytes and hepatopancreas. In the case of Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus stimulation, MrIMD was dramatically upregulated in the muscle and hepatopancreas, whereas downregulation was observed in the gills.

Conclusion
These results suggest that the MrIMD gene may play different roles in response to gram-negative bacteria and viral infection and plays a crucial role in innate immunity as an important key molecule in the defense against bacterial and viral infections.
Evaluating automatically generated normal tissue contours for safe use in head and neck and cervical cancer treatment planning
Authors: Douglas Raphael , Olanrewaju Adenike , Mumme Raymond , Zhang Lifei , Beadle Beth M. , Court Laurence Edward 
Published: April 2024

AbstractPurposeVolumetric‐modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a widely accepted treatment method for head and neck (HN) and cervical cancers; however, creating contours and plan optimization for VMAT plans is a time‐consuming process. Our group has created an automated treatment planning tool, the Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA), that uses deep learning models to generate organs at risk (OARs), planning structures and automates plan optimization. This study quantitatively evaluates the quality of contours generated by the RPA tool.MethodsFor patients with HN (54) and cervical (39) cancers, we retrospectively generated autoplans using the RPA. Autoplans were generated using deep‐learning and RapidPlan models developed in‐house. The autoplans were, then, applied to the original, physician‐drawn contours, which were used as a ground truth (GT) to compare with the autocontours (RPA). Using a “two one‐sided tests” (TOST) procedure, we evaluated whether the autocontour normal tissue dose was equivalent to that of the ground truth by a margin, δ, that we determined based on clinical judgement. We also calculated the number of plans that met established clinically accepted dosimetric criteria.ResultsFor HN plans, 91.8% and 91.7% of structures met dosimetric criteria for automatic and manual contours, respectively; for cervical plans, 95.6% and 95.7% of structures met dosimetric criteria for automatic and manual contours, respectively. Autocontours were equivalent to the ground truth for 71% and 75% of common DVH metrics for the HN and cervix, respectively.ConclusionsThis study shows that dosimetrically equivalent normal tissue contours can be created for HN and cervical cancers using deep learning techniques. In general, differences between the contours did not affect the passing or failing of clinical dose tolerances.
Robust fixed‐time synchronization of fuzzy shunting‐inhibitory cellular neural networks with feedback and adaptive control
Authors: Liu Zhenjiang , Pu Yi‐Fei , Hua Xiyao , You Xingxing 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis article addresses the robust fixed‐time synchronization of fuzzy shunting‐inhibitory cellular neural networks (FSICNNs) with delays by utilizing two different types of control strategies. First, a feedback controller is proposed to achieve fixed‐time synchronization of FSICNNs. Secondly, a novel adaptive controller is designed to guarantee fixed‐time synchronization of FSICNNs, automatically adjusting all control gains without the need for advanced settings. The use of differential inequality techniques and the Lyapunov function method yields several sufficient conditions to ensure fixed‐time synchronization for the considered FSICNNs. Finally, an example, along with its numerical simulation, is presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed theoretical results.
Fault diagnosis of virtually‐coupled trains by adaptive observer with pattern‐matched detection and reinforced identification
Authors: Gao Shigen , Zhai Qingchao , Zhao Kaibo 
Published: April 2024

SummaryVirtual coupling is gaining in popularity as a promising development direction to maximize the rail‐line efficiency by minimizing the headway distance among trains in the presence of potentially encountered traction engines' faults with unknown amplitude, happening time and probability, which would be huge threat to the safety of trains without proper sensing and handling. This paper considers the fault diagnosis problem for virtually‐coupled multiple trains using adaptive observer design. In order to generate false‐free and timely fault alarming and relieving signals, an adaptive threshold function design is firstly given using a novel pattern‐matched gain technique with explicit consideration of model uncertainty. Then, reinforced regressor‐based fault identification algorithm is proposed to generate precise estimation of unknown fault values, activated and powered‐off by the fault alarming and relieving signals output by fault detection observer, with globally Lipschitz property and fast convergence performance. Finally, comparative and simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of proposed fault diagnosis algorithms.
The C─S/C═S Bonds Synergistically Modify Porous Hollow‐Carbon‐Nanocages Anode for Durable and Fast Sodium‐Ion Storage
Authors: Feng Huiyan , Liu Zhendong , Wang Fei , Xue Lingxiao , Li Linqing , Ye Chong , Zhang Chengzhi , Liu Quanbing , Tan Jun 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSulfur doping in carbonaceous anode is a popular method to improve the sodium storing performance. Regulating the C/S bond effect of carbon atom with doped sulfur atom could understand and develop superior carbonaceous anode for sodium‐ion batteries. Therefore, this study designed porous hollow carbon nanocages with synergistically‐doped C/S bonds (C‐S/C = S) by secondary‐sulfidation. The secondary‐sulfidation is conducive to the different bond formation of sulfur atom with carbon skeleton and adjust the structure via removed other groups. Thus, the C‐S/C = S anode with synergistically C‐S and C = S bonds delivered a reversible capacity of 307 mAh g‐1 at 1.0 A g−1 with initial coulomb efficiency of 80.15%, a stable cycle life of 2000 cycles, and a fast charge capability of 186 mAh g−1 at 20.0 A g−1 in sodium‐ion batteries. Through characterization and simulation results, the doped C‐S/C = S bonds creates more active sites and ion diffusion channels in carbon skeleton for enhancing the fast and durable kinetics of sodium‐ion. This work provides deep insights into C/S bonds effect of carbon anode material for developing fast charge stability sodium‐ion batteries.
Upcycling Spent Cathode Materials to Bifunctional Catalysts for High‐Stability Lithium–Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Zhu Hengyao , Chen Shiming , Yao Xiangming , Yang Kai , Zhao Wenguang , Chen Taowen , Yang Luyi , Pan Feng 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn order to enhance the sluggish kinetics and suppress the polysulfide shuttle effect in high‐loading lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, it is crucial to design and synthesize catalysts exhibiting both high conversion rate and strong anchoring effect toward polysulfide species. Herein, based on theoretical predictions, spent cathode materials (LiCoO2 and LiMn2O4) from spent lithium‐ion batteries are converted into a bifunctional catalyst (Co─MnO) for Li–S batteries through the high‐temperature shock method. Owing to the synergistic catalytic and anchoring effect of polysulfide species exhibit by Co─MnO, superior electrochemical performance, including excellent rate performance (707 mAh g−1 at 4C) and high stability (capacity fading of 0.058% per cycle over 400 cycles at 1C) can be delivered under a low areal catalyst loading (<0.5 wt%). This work not only offers a new design strategy for Li–S catalysts, but also proposes a promising approach to transform spent LIBs into highly efficient catalysts.
Responsiveness of Charged Double Network Hydrogels to Ionic Environment
Authors: Lee Ming Jun , Shrotriya Dhruv Rahul , Espinosa‐Marzal Rosa M. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCharged double network (DN) hydrogels are widely studied for their desirable mechanical strength and tunable properties. In this work, the influence of polymer concentration on microstructure and properties of agarose/polyacrylic acid DN hydrogels is studied. Agarose, the first network, is a brittle biopolymer, while polyacrylic acid (PAAc) is a weak polyelectrolyte. The microstructure, visualized in liquid environment, displays an agarose scaffold coated and interconnected by PAAc, deviating from the common assumption of an entangled double network. Importantly, the charging of PAAc in the hydrogel is regulated not only by the pH and weak polyelectrolyte effects, but also by the restricted swelling of the double network, and hence, it is an inherent regulation mechanism of charged hydrogels. The interactions between the hydrogel and the ionic environment induce microstructural changes and charging of the double network, impacting surface properties such as topography, stiffness, and adhesion, which are spatially resolved by liquid‐environment atomic force microscopy. The responsiveness of the DN hydrogels significantly depends on both polymer concentrations and ion concentrations. These findings provide insights into the responsive behavior of double network hydrogels and reveal universal mechanisms for charged hydrogels, which can guide the future development of functional soft materials.
Stable, Self‐Adhesive, and High‐Performance Graphene‐Oxide‐Modified Flexible Ionogel Thermoelectric Films
Authors: Sun Shuai , Shi Xiao‐Lei , Lyu Wanyu , Hong Min , Chen Wenyi , Li Meng , Cao Tianyi , Hu Boxuan , Liu Qingfeng , Chen Zhi‐Gang 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIonic thermoelectric materials have attracted increasing attention because of their high flexibility and high Seebeck coefficient. However, their insufficient thermoelectric performance and long‐standing processing limit their practical applications. To achieve exotic ionic thermoelectric materials, here, a graphene oxide (GO) modified acrylamide ionogel is designed with high thermoelectric performance and flexibility. Detailed structural characterizations confirm that the uniform dispersion of GO particles in the ionogel structure enables a power factor of 753.0 µW m−1 K−2 and a promising ZT value of 0.19. Additionally, the as‐prepared ionic thermoelectric thin film shows excellent flexibility, stretchability, and self‐adhesiveness. An integrated device, assembled by the as‐prepared ionogel films, can generate an optimal output power density of 1.32 mW cm−2 with a temperature difference of 20 K, indicating great potential for wearable electronics. This work provides insight for searching long‐term, high‐performance ionic thermoelectric materials.
Regulating the Phase and Optical Properties of Mixed‐Halide Perovskites via Hot‐Electron Engineering
Authors: Lin Chun‐Ho , Liu Changxu , Yang Jialin , Kim Jiyun , Hu Long , Huang Chien‐Yu , Zhang Shuo , Chen Fandi , Mishra Rishabh , Shahrokhi Shamim , Huang Jing‐Kai , Guan Xinwei , Baldacchino Alexander J. , Wan Tao , Huang Shujuan , Nielsen Michael P. , Liu Kewei , Chu Dewei , Maier Stefan A. , Wu Tom 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe rapid development of mixed‐halide perovskites has established a versatile optoelectronic platform owing to their extraordinary physical properties, but there remain challenges toward achieving highly reliable synthesis and performance, in addition, post‐synthesis approaches for tuning their photoluminescence properties after device fabrication remain limited. In this work, an effective approach is reported to leveraging hot electrons generated from plasmonic nanostructures to regulate the optical properties of perovskites. A plasmonic metasurface composed of Au nanoparticles can effectively tailor both photoluminescence and location‐specific phase segregation of mixed‐halide CsPbI2Br thin films. The ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal hot electron injection on the timescale of hundreds of femtoseconds. Photocurrent measurements confirm the hot‐electron‐enhanced photon‐carrier conversion, and in addition, gate‐voltage tuning of phase segregation is observed because of correlated carrier injection and halide migration in the perovskite films. Finally, the characteristics of the gate‐modulated light emission are found to conform to a rectified linear unit function, serving as nonlinear electrical‐to‐optical converters in artificial neural networks. Overall, the hot electron engineering approach demonstrated in this work provides effective location‐specific control of the phase and optical properties of halide perovskites, underscoring the potential of plasmonic metasurfaces for advancing perovskite technologies.
3D Cryo‐Printed Hierarchical Porous Scaffolds Harmonized with Hybrid Nanozymes for Combinatorial Mitochondrial Therapy: Enhanced Diabetic Bone Regeneration via Micromilieu Remodeling
Authors: Deng Qing‐Song , Li Xu‐Ran , Liu Po‐Lin , He Shu‐Hang , Gao Yuan , Han Zi‐Yin , Shen Zhi‐Han , Wei Zhan‐Ying , Zhang Chang‐Ru , Wang Fei , Dawes Helen , Zhu Tong‐He , Guo Shang‐Chun , Tao Shi‐Cong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRegeneration of bone defects in diabetic patients has always been a significant challenge in clinical treatment. The pathologic diabetic micromilieu, characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, cellular senescence, and chronic inflammation, compromises innate bone healing capacity. 3D cryo‐printing technology is utilized in bone tissue engineering to fabricate hierarchical porous scaffolds that promote a conducive microenvironment for cellular adhesion, migration, proliferation, and nutrient exchange. Nanozymes are used as synthetic mimics of natural enzymes to scavenge ROS, addressing the limitations of natural antioxidative enzymes. To remodel the diabetic bone regeneration micromilieu, a 3D cryo‐printed polyaryletherketone with carboxyl groups (PAEK‐COOH) and 45S5 bioactive glass (BG) hierarchical porous scaffold (PBG scaffold), harmonized with hybrid nanozymes comprising SS31‐enhanced manganese dioxide (MnO2)‐ferritin biomimetic nanozyme (MF@S nanozyme), is developed for combinatorial mitochondrial therapy. The MF@S nanozyme specifically targets mitochondria to enhance mitochondrial function, scavenge ROS accumulated in mitochondria, and suppress mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production, and thus rejuvenate aging cells, regulate macrophage polarization, and modulate differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. This 3D cryo‐printed PBG‐MF@S hierarchical porous scaffold combines with a combinatorial mitochondrial therapy system to remodel the diabetic micromilieu and presents a promising therapeutic approach for the regeneration of bone defects in diabetes.
Construction of Weakly Hybridized Excited State Using Donor‐π‐Acceptor Structure and Applications: From Highly Efficient Pure‐Blue Electro‐Fluorescence to Visible‐Light Polymerization
Authors: Wu Ruiya , Sun Ke , Shi Gaopeng , Han Yihao , Gong Tao , Xu Yangyang , Zhang Shi‐Tong , Yang Bing 
Published: April 2024

AbstractHerein this work, a novel donor‐π‐acceptor (D‐π‐A) pure‐blue hybrid local and charge‐transfer (HLCT) fluorescent material TDFBO and its functionalization as organic light emitting diode (OLED) emitter and photoinitiator (PI) in photopolymerization is reported. The weak‐hybridization property involved by the fluorene π‐bridge can simultaneously give satisfied photo‐luminescent quantum yield (PLQY) and make efficient “hot‐exciton” channel achievable. Moreover, the D‐π‐A structure can also promote an exceeding electron mobility as high as 3.57×10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1. Finally, it is noted that the TDFBO‐doped OLED can be regarded as the best one among the pure‐blue emissive OLEDs, which exhibits a high maximum external quantum efficiency of 11.1%, while the rolling‐off only stands on a low level, as 6% at 100 cd m−2. Additionally, a relatively high final conversion of C = C double bond in a representative acrylate monomer is also attained by photoinitiation of TDFBO under 405 nm LED, where the photopolymerization has been applied to 3D printing.