bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Interlayer Dielectric in BaTiO3/III‐Nitride Transistors
Authors: Lee Hyunsoo , McGlone Joe F. , Ifatur Rahman Sheikh , Chae Christopher , Joishi Chandan , Hwang Jinwoo , Rajan Siddharth 
Published: April 2024

In this study, the impact of varying the thickness of the Al2O3interlayer dielectric on the electrical characteristics of BaTiO3/III‐nitride transistors is investigated. In the findings, it is revealed that a minimum thickness of 8 nm for the Al2O3layer is crucial to maintain high device performance and protect against sputtering‐induced damage during BaTiO3deposition. The fabricated BaTiO3/Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors exhibit exceptional electrical properties, including a maximum current density of 700 mA mm−1, an on‐resistance of 5 Ω mm, anION/IOFFratio of 107, a subthreshold slope of 119 mV dec−1, and significantly reduced gate leakage current. The devices with the optimal 8 nm Al2O3thickness demonstrates excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental values for effective mobility, achieving a value of 1188 cm2 V−1·s at a 2D electron gas density of 1013 cm−2. Furthermore, in the study, it is confirmed that increasing the Al2O3thickness also improves the quality of interface charge density, as evidenced by the results obtained from capacitance–voltage measurements. In these findings, the critical role of controlling the Al2O3thickness in optimizing the electrical characteristics and overall performance of BaTiO3/III‐nitride transistors are highlighted.
Mathematical programming tools for randomization purposes in small two‐arm clinical trials: A case study with real data
Authors: Vazquez Alan R. , Wong Weng‐Kee 
Published: April 2024

AbstractModern randomization methods in clinical trials are invariably adaptive, meaning that the assignment of the next subject to a treatment group uses the accumulated information in the trial. Some of the recent adaptive randomization methods use mathematical programming to construct attractive clinical trials that balance the group features, such as their sizes and covariate distributions of their subjects. We review some of these methods and compare their performance with common covariate‐adaptive randomization methods for small clinical trials. We introduce an energy distance measure that compares the discrepancy between the two groups using the joint distribution of the subjects' covariates. This metric is more appealing than evaluating the discrepancy between the groups using their marginal covariate distributions. Using numerical experiments, we demonstrate the advantages of the mathematical programming methods under the new measure. In the supplementary material, we provide R codes to reproduce our study results and facilitate comparisons of different randomization procedures.
Modulation of immune responses in the central nervous system by Zika virus, West Nile virus, and dengue virus
Authors: Wu Shuhui , Zhang Ting , Qiang Weidong , Yang Yang 
Published: April 2024

AbstractArthropod‐borne viruses (arboviruses) pose significant threats to global public health by causing a spectrum of diseases ranging from mild febrile illnesses to severe neurological complications. Understanding the intricate interplay between arboviruses and the immune system within the central nervous system is crucial for developing effective strategies to combat these infections and mitigate their neurological sequelae. This review comprehensively explores the mechanisms by which arboviruses such as Zika virus, West Nile virus, and Dengue virus manipulate immune responses within the CNS, leading to diverse clinical manifestations.
Transference for loose Hamilton cycles in random 3‐uniform hypergraphs
Authors: Petrova Kalina , Trujić Miloš 
Published: April 2024

AbstractA loose Hamilton cycle in a hypergraph is a cyclic sequence of edges covering all vertices in which only every two consecutive edges intersect and do so in exactly one vertex. With Dirac's theorem in mind, it is natural to ask what minimum ‐degree condition guarantees the existence of a loose Hamilton cycle in a ‐uniform hypergraph. For and each , the necessary and sufficient such condition is known precisely. We show that these results adhere to a ‘transference principle’ to their sparse random analogues. The proof combines several ideas from the graph setting and relies on the absorbing method. In particular, we employ a novel approach of Kwan and Ferber for finding absorbers in subgraphs of sparse hypergraphs via a contraction procedure. In the case of , our findings are asymptotically optimal.
Evaluating the occurrence and spatial patterns of soil water repellency in the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
Authors: Weatherholt Jalene A. , Johnson Brittany G. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractHigh levels of soil water repellency (SWR) can hinder water infiltration and increase surface soil erosion risk and runoff. Although SWR occurs naturally in many areas, it is often patchy and does not impede water movement. However, fire can increase the connectedness and extent of SWR leading to topsoil loss, nutrient limitations, increased root water stress, and ultimately slower ecosystem recovery. This study examines the naturally hydrophobic soils of Oregon's Deschutes National Forest following the 2020 Green Ridge Fire to (1) examine the relationship between SWR and management‐relevant burn severity classes, (2) quantify an appropriate spatial scale over which to evaluate SWR properties, and (3) determine which environmental factors drive patterns in SWR. We found that the top 1–3 cm of soil became less hydrophobic after fire, while the profile to about 10 cm became more uniformly hydrophobic. This could indicate that surface soil is more prone to post‐fire erosion in burned areas. However, predicting SWR is still challenging. While burn severity and environmental metrics did statistically account for some variation in SWR following fire, the range of SWR spatial autocorrelation was at best a few meters. Due to this fine‐scale variation, future work should focus on determining an efficient post‐fire soil evaluation protocol with adequate density and scale of sampling while also incorporating the influence of environmental factors to inform management decisions.
The moral economy of land markets in the Nicaragua highlands
Authors: Ripoll Santiago 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis article explores how small‐scale farmers' shared moral understandings of land shape both land sales and land rental markets, in the context of the commoditization of agriculture in Nicaragua. The results here presented are based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a subsistence farming community in the highlands of Nicaragua. This research shows that even in relatively commoditized market economies, shared yet contested ideas around the ethics of a community moral economy stall and constrain the local marketization of land. Social relationships, ideas of a sacred origin of land, and expectations about the duties of landholders toward their community peers undermine the capitalist dynamics of supply and demand. This ethical challenge to capitalist market expansion into land markets enables the survival of small‐scale subsistence farming. These findings are important, as they show how land markets are shaped by differing perspectives on historical dynamics of land tenure, class differentiation, and the everyday moral economies in which competing ideas of obligation, solidarity, and fair prices are articulated.
Gas‐centered mutation testing of Ethereum Smart Contracts
Authors: Delgado‐Pérez Pedro , Meléndez‐Lapi Ignacio , Boubeta‐Puig Juan 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSmart contracts (SC) are programs embodying certain business logic stored on a blockchain network like Ethereum. The execution of transactions on SC has a cost, measured in gas units, that depends on the low‐level operations performed. Therefore, a poor choice of high‐level language constructs could lead to overcharging users for their transactions. Thus, a testing process focused on possible deviations of the gas used in diverse scenarios could provide substantial global savings. This paper presents a gas‐centered mutation testing approach for taking care of the gas consumed by Solidity SCs. This approach can be useful to improve the test quality to detect gas‐related problems, reason about performance issues that only manifest in certain situations, and identify alternative more optimal implementations. We define and implement several mutation operators specifically designed to perturb gas consumption while preserving contract semantics in general. Our experiments using several real‐world SCs show the feasibility of the technique, with some mutants reproducing meaningful differences in the consumption and exposing some gas limits not tight enough in historic transactions. Therefore, our approach is shown to be a good ally to prevent the appearance of gas‐related issues and lays the groundwork for researchers seeking to improve performance testing practices.
Examining success factors for logistics outsourcing in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Alioni Christopher , Park Byung‐In , Min Hokey 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWith the rapid globalization of business activities, logistics has become incredibly complex and intricate. As such, managing logistics is more challenging than ever. One of the trendy solutions to deal with this challenge is logistics outsourcing. In this regard, Sub‐Saharan African firms are no exception. To help Sub‐Saharan African firms succeed in leveraging logistics outsourcing for their competitive differentiators, this article aims to investigate how the organizational capabilities of third‐party logistics service providers (3PLs) contribute to their users' logistics outsourcing success. Based on an empirical analysis of 211 food processing firms in Uganda, we found that the 3PLs' technological and innovation capabilities positively affected logistics outsourcing success. In contrast, the 3PLs' flexibility and integration capabilities had no bearing on the logistics outsourcing success. In particular, our importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) revealed that the 3PLs' technological capability was the most significant factor in logistics outsourcing success. The article also expounds on how the 3PLs' technical capability can bring logistics outsourcing success.
Baseball, Presidents, and State Test Passages: Considering Gendered Knowledge in Literacy Research, Curricula, and Assessments
Authors: Reynolds Dan , Hattan Courtney 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe role of knowledge and reading comprehension has seen a recent explosion of attention from researchers, journalists, and policy advocates. Much of this discourse describes knowledge in neutral terms such as knowledge of “the world”. That knowledge of the world, however, is woven into the fabric of the gendered world we live in and its gendered education systems. In this article, we delve into three “exhibits” to highlight gendered aspects of knowledge and comprehension research and practice. In the first exhibit, we demonstrate the gendered nature of knowledge research by examining the male‐centric participant sampling and measurement design of baseball knowledge studies, which are widely cited in translational science and practitioner articles about knowledge and literacy curriculum. We then examine the gendered nature of knowledge curriculum by looking at a male‐centric unit from a popular knowledge‐focused curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA). Then, we present data about the gender of authors whose passages are selected for state ELA assessments, finding that women authors are overrepresented in the elementary and underrepresented in the high school grades. As former K‐12 teachers and current researchers engaged with the everyday work of literacy teaching, we agree that knowledge‐rich curriculum supports students’ reading comprehension. Still, we call for researchers and educators to interrogate gendered discourse around knowledge and comprehension to avoid reproducing traditional gender inequities.
Auf den Spuren des Urknalls
Authors: Gerberding Oliver , Grundmann Jens , Wutzler René , Basalaev Artem 
Published: April 2024

ZusammenfassungSeit der LIGO‐Kollaboration Ende 2015 der erste direkte Nachweis gravitationsbedingter Ausbreitungen von Raumzeit‐Störungen gelang, steht ein weiteres Werkzeug zur Beobachtung des Weltalls zur Verfügung. In verschiedensten Projekten feilt man nun an der Verfeinerung der Messtechnik, um aus möglichst weiter Entfernung ausgesendete Signale untersuchen und so noch weiter in die Vergangenheit des Weltalls schauen zu können. Neben exzellenten Laser‐Interferometern, deren Funktionsweise hier kurz vorgestellt wird, braucht es zuverlässige Vakuumtechnik für den Erfolg dieser Messungen.Was beim Aufbau einer solchen Vakuumanlage zu berücksichtigen ist, und welche Pumpentypen dabei zum Einsatz kommen, wird hier anhand des Projekts „VATIGrav” beschrieben.
Vacuum Guerikianum ‐ Guericke‐Vakuum
Authors: Knapp Wolfram 
Published: April 2024

ZusammenfassungOtto von Guericke hat die Vakuumpumpe etwa 1649 in Magdeburg erfunden und weiterentwickelt. Damit begründete er die Vakuumtechnik, deren weltweite Anwendung gegenwärtig rasant wächst. Das Guericke‐Vakuum ist der Druckbereich von Atmosphärendruck bis zu dem Vakuumdruck, den Otto von Guericke in seinen Experimenten minimal erreicht hat bzw. erreicht haben könnte. Der Vakuumdruck wurde von Guericke nicht gemessen. Aber mit seinen Versuchsbedingungen: 1. Wasser als Dichtungsflüssigkeit, 2. Glasrezipient und 3. Beobachtung von Wasserdampf beim Abpumpen, kann der unterste Vakuumenddruck anhand der Sättigungsdampfdruckkurve von Wasser rekonstruiert werden. Das Ergebnis ist abhängig von der Temperatur. Wie genau auch, das Guericke‐Vakuum entspricht dem Grobvakuum‐Bereich der Vakuumtechnik. In Würdigung Guerickes genialem Wirken zur Begründung und Entwicklung der Vakuumtechnik nennen wir das Grobvakuum auch Guericke‐Vakuum, welches den Druckbereich von Normaldruck bis 1 hPa umfasst.
Empowering PVD for corrosion protection
Authors: Hoche Holger , Ulrich Thomas , Kaestner Peter , Oechsner Matthias 
Published: April 2024

SummaryA novel, monolithic DC‐magnetron sputtered TiN+MgGd coating, only 3to5 μm thick, effectively protects steel substrates from corrosion. This achievement is due to alloying of TiN with MgGd, which not only maintains the renowned wear resistance of TiN coatings, but potentially improves it through optimized deposition parameters.The key to the enhanced corrosion resistance lies in the addition of magnesium (Mg) and gadolinium (Gd). It reduces the coating's free corrosion potential, thereby mitigating the driving force for galvanic corrosion between coating and substrate. Moreover, at specific Mg to Gd ratios, a cathodic protection effect can be observed. Crucially, the presence of Gd is essential for this performance. It imparts hydrophobicity to the coating surface, reinforces a passivating layer and significantly enhances defect tolerance.This discovery paves the way for a sustainable alternative to electroplated chromium or combined electroplating and PVD, offering superior corrosion protection with minimal coating thickness.
Angeregte Moleküle
Authors: Stadtmüller Benjamin 
Published: April 2024

ZusammenfassungDie Umwandlung von Licht in Ladungsträger und deren Transport zu elektrischen Kontakten sind die Hauptaufgaben organischer Halbleiter in Bauelementen der Informationstechnologie und Photovoltaik. Doch bislang ist wenig über die gegenseitige Beeinflussung beider Prozesse bekannt. Die zeitaufgelöste Photoelektronen‐Spektroskopie mit ultrakurzen Pulsen im extremen UV‐Bereich liefert Einblicke in die Kopplung von optischen und Transporteigenschaften in organischen Halbleitern.
Fabrication and antimicrobial properties of novel meropenem‐honey encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles against multiresistant and biofilm‐forming Staphylococcus aureus as a new antimicrobial agent
Authors: Hajimohammadi Sameh , Momtaz Hassan , Tajbakhsh Elahe 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundHoney exhibits a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, including methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ones. Chitosan (Cs) is a mucoadhesive polymer that also has antibacterial properties. Special attention has been paid to the design of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as new nano drug delivery systems to overcome bacterial resistance and its problems.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study is to synthesize Cs‐meropenem NPs with/without honey as an antibiofilm and antibacterial agent to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus.MethodsThis study synthesized meropenem and honey‐loaded Cs nanogels and subsequently characterized them by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and DLS‐zeta potential. Using the broth microdilution and crystal violet assays, the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of meropenem and honey‐loaded Cs nanogel, free meropenem, free honey, and free Cs NPs were investigated in vitro against MRSA strains. 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) was also used to test the cytotoxicity of several Cs‐NPs compound against the HEK‐293 regular cell line.ResultsThe average size of meropenem and honey‐Cs‐NPs was reported to be 119.885 nm, and encapsulation efficiency was 88.33 ± 0.97 with stability up to 60 days at 4°C. The NPs showed enhanced antibiofilm efficacy against S. aureus at sub‐minimum inhibitory concentrations. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of meropenem and honey‐encapsulated Cs against the HEK‐293 normal cell line was insignificant.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that meropenem and honey‐Cs‐NPs might be potential antibacterial and antibiofilm materials.
Establishment of the HPLC fluorescence detection method for plasma trace ivermectin and its pharmacokinetics in Bactrian camel
Authors: Hou Bin , Wang Haifeng , Jiang Nan , Haosi Bilige , Hasi Surong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackground and objectiveIvermectin (IVM), a widely used veterinary anthelmintic, lacks recommended doses for Bactrian camels. This study aims to establish its pharmacokinetics in Bactrian camels, comparing with other livestock.MethodsA method for high‐performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection of IVM in plasma was developed.ResultsIVM exhibited linear scaling (y = 0.6946x + 0.0088, R2 = 0.9988) within 0.025–5 ng/mL, with a lower limit of quantification of 25.00 pg/mL, high recovery (>70%) and low RSD (<7%). In Bactrian camels, IVM injection showed a low Cmax, extended Tmax and apparent secondary absorption compared to cattle and sheep.ConclusionsSlow absorption and widespread distribution were observed, with peak concentration and area under the curve correlating positively with the dose. This study provides insights into IVM pharmacokinetics in Bactrian camels, informing dose determination and highlighting potential metabolic differences compared to other livestock.
Identifying veterinary surgeons’ barriers to, and potential solutions for, improving antimicrobial stewardship among sheep farmers in Northern Ireland
Authors: Crawford Paul E. , Hamer Kim , Lovatt Fiona , Behnke Malgorzata C. , Robinson Philip A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundIn order to improve antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), including changes in antimicrobial prescribing and use, an enhanced understanding is needed of the barriers that veterinary surgeons (vets) encounter to institute such change.MethodsA qualitative approach, using grounded theory, was followed. Interviews and discussion groups, with vets and farm industry stakeholders in Northern Ireland (NI), were undertaken to identify and explore attitudes and behaviours surrounding AMS, with a particular emphasis on the barriers vets encountered and the context within which they were working.ResultsSeven inter‐related themes associated with improving AMS among their sheep farming clients were identified. The first six addressed barriers were working under commercial and practical constraints, farmer behaviour, multiple medicine sources, poor prescribing practice, a perceived lack of incentive or facilitation to improve AMS and a perceived lack of action by regulators to challenge poor AMS. The seventh theme revealed suggestions vets considered that may improve AMS in NI, including greater state intervention in recording and regulating medicine sales.ConclusionsImproving AMS will require vets and their client farmers to change behaviour. This will involve concerted effort over an extended period of time to enact and embed change. Veterinary surgeons believe that further action by the industry and state to develop centralised antimicrobial sales recording and by the state to enforce prescribing regulations will aid their efforts. However, critical to achieving this is the development of a sustainable and funded mechanism to create more meaningful farmer–vet consultation around flock health prior to every prescription to improve AMS and sheep welfare.
Upper gastrointestinal and hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery in New Zealand: Balancing the volume‐outcome relationship with accessibility in a surgically low volume country
Authors: Koea Jonathan , Chao Phillip , Srinivasa Sanket , Gurney Jason 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIntroductionNew Zealand has a population of only 5.5 million meaning that for many surgical procedures the country qualifies as a “low‐volume center.” However, the health system is well developed and required to provide complex surgical procedures that benchmark internationally against comparable countries. This investigation was undertaken to review regional variation and volumes of complex resection and palliative upper gastrointestinal (UGI) surgical procedures within New Zealand.MethodsData pertaining to patients undergoing complex resectional UGI procedures (esophagectomy, gastrectomy, pancreatectomy, and hepatectomies) and palliative UGI procedures (esophageal stenting, enteroenterostomy, biliary enteric anastomosis, and liver ablation) in a New Zealand hospital between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2019 were obtained from the National Minimum Dataset.ResultsNew Zealand is a low‐volume center for UGI surgery (229 hepatectomies, 250 gastrectomies, 126 pancreatectomies, and 74 esophagectomies annually). Over 80% of patients undergoing hepatic resection/ablation, gastrectomy, esophagectomy, and pancreatectomy are treated in one of the six national cancer centers (Auckland, Waikato, Mid‐Central, Capital Coast, Canterbury, or Southern). There is evidence of the decreasing frequency of these procedures in small centers with increasing frequency in large centers suggesting that some regionalization is occurring. Palliative procedures were more widely performed. Indigenous Māori were less likely to be treated in a nationally designated cancer center than non‐Māori.ConclusionsThe challenge for New Zealand and similarly sized countries is to develop and implement a system that optimizes the skills and pathways that come from a frequent performance of complex surgery while maintaining system resilience and ensuring equitable access for all patients.