bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
No news is bad news: local news intensity and firms’ information environments
Authors: Allee Kristian D. , Cating Ryan , Rawson Caleb 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
We examine the effects of local newspapers on firms’ information environments. With newspaper employment dropping precipitously in the last few decades, we posit that these changes will harm local firms’ information environments. Consistent with local news improving information environments, we find that volatility, spreads, and illiquidity increase as local newspaper intensity declines and that this is associated with firms’ importance in their local economy. We further find that for firms that are more important in their community, or have busy analysts, less local newspaper intensity is associated with significantly lower analyst accuracy and higher forecast dispersion. This is consistent with local newspapers improving information environments, even for sophisticated and likely remote information intermediaries. We also investigate how stakeholders respond to declines in local news and find that managers increase the amount of forward-looking disclosures while analysts increase coverage. These results provide insights into the methods by which stakeholders attempt to improve firms’ information environments when local news coverage fades.
National indication document and aortic valve replacement landscape in the Netherlands
Authors: Eerdekens Rob , van Steenbergen Gijs , El Farissi Mohamed , Demandt Jesse , van ’t Veer Marcel , Daeter Edgar , Timmers Leo , de Weger Arend , Medendorp Niki , Tonino Pim ,   the Transcatheter Heart Valve Intervention Registry Committee, van den Branden B. , Vis M.M. , Tonino W. A. L. , van Mieghem N. M. D. A. , Schotborgh C. E. , Hermanides R. , van der Kley F. , Kats S. , Porta F. , Stoel M. G. , Amoroso G. , van Wely M. , Timmers L. , Voskuil M. , van der Werf H. W. ,   Cardiothoracic Surgery Registry Committee of the Netherlands Heart Registry, Bramer S. , van Boven W. J. P. , Vonk A. B. A. , Koene B. M. J. A. , Bekkers J. A. , Hoohenkerk G. J. F. , Markou A. L. P. , de Weger A. , Segers P. , Porta F. , Speekenbrink R. G. H. , Stooker W. , Li W. W. L. , Daeter E. J. , van der Kaaij N. P. , Douglas Y. 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Introduction
Based on European guidelines, transcatheter aortic valve implementation (TAVI) could be the therapy of choice in patients with severe aortic stenosis aged ≥ 75 years. In the Netherlands, there has been a debate between healthcare providers and the National Health Care Institute regarding reimbursement for TAVI, which resulted in an indication document that defines TAVI patients who are eligible for reimbursement. This document has been effective since 1 January 2021.

Methods
We extracted data from the Netherlands Heart Registry for patients who underwent biological surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or TAVI in the Netherlands from 2018 through 2021. We compared baseline characteristics and variables from the indication document for the subsequent years and age groups. We also analysed the annual SAVR/TAVI ratio.

Results
The total number of patients treated with SAVR or TAVI was constant in 2018–2021. Baseline characteristics of patients treated with TAVI did not differ throughout the years. The SAVR/TAVI ratio shifted towards a higher percentage of TAVI from 2018 to 2019. From 2019 to 2020, the TAVI percentage was constant. Since the implementation of the indication document (in 2021), a change in the SAVR/TAVI ratio was not found either.

Conclusion
Since the implementation of the national indication document for AVR in 2021, no major effect was seen for the SAVR versus TAVI landscape in the Netherlands.
A Resampling Approach for Causal Inference on Novel Two-Point Time-Series with Application to Identify Risk Factors for Type-2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Dai Xiaowu , Mouti Saad , Vale Marjorie Lima do , Ray Sumantra , Bohn Jeffrey , Goldberg Lisa 
Published: October 2023

AbstractTwo-point time-series data, characterized by baseline and follow-up observations, are frequently encountered in health research. We study a novel two-point time-series structure without a control group, which is driven by an observational routine clinical dataset collected to monitor key risk markers of type-2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We propose a resampling approach called “I-Rand” for independently sampling one of the two-time points for each individual and making inferences on the estimated causal effects based on matching methods. The proposed method is illustrated with data from a service-based dietary intervention to promote a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD), designed to impact risk of T2D and CVD. Baseline data contain a pre-intervention health record of study participants, and health data after LCD intervention are recorded at the follow-up visit, providing a two-point time-series pattern without a parallel control group. Using this approach we find that obesity is a significant risk factor of T2D and CVD, and an LCD approach can significantly mitigate the risks of T2D and CVD. We provide code that implements our method.
Assessment of solar photovoltaic potential of selected site locations in cities across sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Ebhota Williams S. , Tabakov Pavel Y. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractDespite the successes recorded over the years, photovoltaic (PV) cells’ power conversion efficiency (PCE) of commercially available crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV panels still hovers between 10 and 21%. For optimal performance at 17–21% PCE, certain factors need to be understood and addressed. This study estimates the solar PV potential of selected cities across Africa, using computational modelling. The selected sites’ cities are Abuja, Addis Ababa, Kinshasa, Pretoria, and Tripoli. Sites’ coordinate systems will be exploited to generate data from meteorological databases of the selected locations needed for the PV potential assessment. This information coupled with PV system configuration will be used as inputs for PV design and simulation. The PV potential of the selected location will be extracted from the resulting simulation reports in terms of irradiance, possible power output generation, performance ratio (PR) and capacity factor (CF). The study results and analysis as extracted from the reports of the modelled hypothetical 10-kWhp c-Si rooftop PV systems at the selected sited locations, show that—Pretoria possesses the highest GTI (2234.4 kWh/m2) and the lowest GTI (1766.7 kWh/m2) was observed in Kinshasa; Pretoria has the highest PV power output (PVOUT) (17.292 MWh/), and the least (13.678 MWh) in Kinshasa; the highest PR (77.4%) was observed in Kinshasa and Pretoria and the lowest PR (76.4%) in Tripoli; Pretoria and Kinshasa recorded the highest CF (19.7%) and lowest CF (15.6%), respectively. The results indicate that the examined locations are technically viable for the PV system schemes, and therefore, massive deployment of this technology in these areas is advised.
Enhanced oral delivery of hesperidin-loaded sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin/chitosan nanoparticles for augmenting its hypoglycemic activity: in vitro-in vivo assessment study
Authors: Elmoghayer Mona Ebrahim , Saleh Noha Mohamed , Abu Hashim Irhan Ibrahim 
Published: October 2023

AbstractHesperidin (Hsd), a bioactive phytomedicine, experienced an antidiabetic activity versus both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. However, its intrinsic poor solubility and bioavailability is a key challenging obstacle reflecting its oral delivery. From such perspective, the purpose of the current study was to prepare and evaluate Hsd-loaded sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin/chitosan nanoparticles (Hsd/CD/CS NPs) for improving the hypoglycemic activity of the orally administered Hsd. Hsd was first complexed with sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) and the complex (CX) was found to be formed with percent complexation efficiency and percent process efficiency of 50.53 ± 1.46 and 84.52 ± 3.16%, respectively. Also, solid state characterization of the complex ensured the inclusion of Hsd inside the cavity of SBE-β-CD. Then, Hsd/CD/CS NPs were prepared using the ionic gelation technique. The prepared NPs were fully characterized to select the most promising one (F1) with a homogenous particle size of 455.7 ± 9.04 nm, a positive zeta potential of + 32.28 ± 1.12 mV, and an entrapment efficiency of 77.46 ± 0.39%. The optimal formula (F1) was subjected to further investigation of in vitro release, ex vivo intestinal permeation, stability, cytotoxicity, and in vivo hypoglycemic activity. The results of the release and permeation studies of F1 manifested a modulated pattern between Hsd and CX. The preferential stability of F1 was observed at 4 ± 1 °C. Also, the biocompatibility of F1 with oral epithelial cell line (OEC) was retained up to a concentration of 100 µg/mL. After oral administration of F1, a noteworthy synergistic hypoglycemic effect was recorded with decreased blood glucose level until the end of the experiment. In conclusion, Hsd/CD/CS NPs could be regarded as a hopeful oral delivery system of Hsd with enhanced antidiabetic activity.
Graphical Abstract
Balancing Caution and the Need for Change: The General Contextual Integrity Approach
Authors: O’Neill Elizabeth 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIn this reply to van de Poel’s (Philosophy & Technology, 35(3), 82, 2022) commentary on O’Neill (Philosophy & Technology, 35(79), 2022), I discuss two worries about the general contextual integrity approach to evaluating technological change. First, I address van de Poel’s concern that the general contextual integrity approach will not supply the right guidance in cases where morally problematic technological change poses no threat to contextual integrity. Second, I elaborate on how the approach supplies mechanisms for balancing caution with the need for change.
Synthesis and Applications of Crown Ether-Linked Metal–Organic Framework Composite-Based Sensors for Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Lead
Authors: El-Attar Rehab O. , Abdelhameed Reda M. , Khaled Elmorsy 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe present work demonstrates the construction and electrochemical characterization of novel disposable screen-printed carbon sensors integrated with functionalized MIL-53-NH2 metal–organic framework cross-linked with crown ethers and calixarene macrocyclic compounds for sensitive differential pulse voltammetric determination of lead ions in tap, surface water and biological fluid samples. The electroanalytical parameters were optimized regarding the nature of the electrode modifier, supporting electrolyte, the working pH value, scan rate, deposition potential, deposition time, reproducibility of measurement and the operational lifetime. Working electrodes dropcasted with MIL-53-NH2-dibenzo-24-crown-8-ether nanocomposite (MOFCE24) showed the proper performance within the lead concentration ranging from 13.75 to 217.83 ppb with LOD and LOQ values of 3.18 and 9.62 ppb, respectively. The synergistic effect of the metal–organic frameworks as transducer and dibenzo 24-crown-8-ether as sensing elements accelerates the electron transfer process at the electrode surface and improves the sensor selectivity through complexation of the lead ions with the crown ether moiety. The fabricated sensors showed high measuring reproducibility with long operational life time (60 days), which can be attributed to the formation of cross-linked ionophore/metal–organic framework with limited leaching of the sensing element in the measuring solution. The introduced sensors were utilized for the onsite voltammetric determination of lead in environmental and biological samples with acceptable average recoveries comparable with the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric method.
Endophytic fungi–assisted biomass synthesis of gold, and zinc oxide nanoparticles for increasing antibacterial, and anticancer activities
Authors: Hammad Sameh E. , El-Rouby Mahmoud N. , Abdel-Aziz Marwa M. , El-Sayyad Gharieb S. , Elshikh Hussein H. 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Pathogenic microorganisms and cancer continue to be the most difficult problem in public health care and the incidence of diseases caused by such resistant strains and cancer cells are growing. Recent advances in nanotechnology open up new possibilities for creating novel, exciting nanoparticles that are safe for human cells and may be used as smart antibacterial and anticancer medicines. The novelty of the present study is the extracellular green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), and gold (Au) NPs using the cell filtrate of the endophytic fungus Fusarium chlamydosporum MW341592.1 isolated from healthy leaves of Eucalyptus sideroxylon plant. Eco-friendly synthesized ZnO NPs and Au NPs were screening for their activity against select carcinomic cell lines and some multidrug-resistant bacteria. The synthesized ZnO NPs and Au NPs were characterized by UV-Vis. spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transition electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The UV-Vis. absorption spectra of the produced ZnO NPs showed bands in the UV area at 320 nm, whereas the Au NPs showed bands in the UV region at 530 nm. TEM revealed average sizes for ZnO NPs, and Au NPs as 19.3 nm and 22.1 nm, respectively, while shape revealed both ZnO NPs and Au NPs with spherical-like shape. Biological assay showed that raising in the synthesized NP concentration lowers the number of HCT-116 human colon cancer cells and CACO2 human intestinal cancer cells, as well as associated pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Multi-view dual-channel graph convolutional networks with multi-task learning
Authors: Ling Yuting , Li Yuan , Liu Xiyu , Qu Jianhua 
Published: October 2023

AbstractNetwork embedding has been extensively used in several practical applications and achieved great success. However, existing studies mainly focus on single task or single view and cannot obtain deeper relevant information for accomplishing tasks. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to address the problem of insufficient information consideration in network embedding, which is termed multi-task-oriented adaptive dual-channel graph convolutional network (TAD-GCN). We firstly use kNN graph construction method to generate three views for each network dataset. Then, the proposed TAD-GCN contains dual-channel GCN which can extract the specific and shared embeddings from multiple views simultaneously, and attention mechanism is adopted to fuse them adaptively. In addition, we design similarity constraint and difference constraint to further enhance their semantic similarity and ensure that they capture the different information. Lastly, a multi-task learning module is introduced to solve multiple tasks simultaneously and optimize the model with its losses. The experimental results demonstrate that our model TAD-GCN not only completes multiple downstream tasks at the same time, but also achieves excellent performance compared with eight state-of-the-art methods.
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an External Pose-Tracking System for Underwater Cameras
Authors: Winkel Birger , Nakath David , Woelk Felix , Köser Kevin 
Published: October 2023

AbstractTo advance underwater computer vision and robotics from lab environments and clear water scenarios to the deep dark ocean or murky coastal waters, representative benchmarks and realistic datasets with ground truth information are required. In particular, determining the camera pose is essential for many underwater robotic or photogrammetric applications and known ground truth is mandatory to evaluate the performance of, e.g., simultaneous localization and mapping approaches in such extreme environments. This paper presents the conception, calibration, and implementation of an external reference system for determining the underwater camera pose in real time. The approach, based on an HTC Vive tracking system in air, calculates the underwater camera pose by fusing the poses of two controllers tracked above the water surface of a tank. It is shown that the mean deviation of this approach to an optical marker-based reference in air is less than 3 mm and 0.3$$^{\circ }$$

∘

. Finally, the usability of the system for underwater applications is demonstrated.
A comprehensive data analysis of e-bike mobility and greenhouse gas emissions in a higher education community: IPBike study of case
Authors: Azevedo Beatriz Flamia , Metzger Kelson , Pereira Ana I. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractSustainable mobility is a goal for several countries. This kind of mobility depends not only on personal motivation but also on government actions. Encouraging people, particularly children and younger, to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of using sustainable transport, like bicycles, is crucial to developing a sustainable society. This work presents the IPBike project, a Portuguese project applied at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. This project aims to promote the use of sustainable transport in the academic community through a rental bike program. This paper presents the results of the over three years of the IPBike project, as well as the user’s impressions and suggestions to improve the project. Moreover, a greenhouse gas emission reduction is estimated, comparing the displacement using bikes or only by cars. In general, the results achieved are promising to promote sustainable cities and plan the future since the bikes of the project are constantly rented and the user’s positive feedback, which makes the IPBikes a popular community asset. Moreover, the results demonstrate a bike-sharing program’s capacity to impact people’s lives, improve their health, reduce travel expenses, and impact society and the environment. Besides, according to the estimates, the IPBikes provided a reduction of 7% per year in the greenhouse gases emitted by the users, which means a significant reduction all over the project implantation.
Investigating Effects of Reverse Osmosis-Treated Water on the Corrosion Rate of Chains in Armoured Face Conveyor for Longwall Mining
Authors: Sul Jung-Hoon , Probyn Benjamin , Donnelly Brendan , Piyathilaka Lasitha , Jeong Sanghyun 
Published: October 2023

AbstractPremature failure of armoured face conveyor (AFC) chains due to corrosion is a significant proportion of the unplanned downtime experienced on longwall equipment. The AFC chains are constantly in contact with water and wet coal. The premature failure issue of AFC chains has become more prominent since the introduction of longwall top-coal caving with its additional AFC. Reverse osmosis (RO) is a popular water treatment method for reducing salinity and dissolved solids, but its impact on the corrosion of the AFC chains is unclear. This study has been commissioned to investigate the direct effects of RO water on the corrosion of AFC chains. An immersion test was carried out using AFC chain steel submerged in two water samples: untreated dam water and treated water from an RO treatment plant. Elemental analysis was conducted for both water samples, and four corrosion indices were measured for both water samples. The RO water more vigorously dissolves calcium carbonate scales leading to increased corrosion of the AFC chains although the dam water has much higher levels of calcium, chloride, sulphate, sodium, and magnesium. Bicarbonate ions are the main alkaline factor of water that provides the buffering capacity to acids. Decreased alkalinity without balancing other ions in water causes high corrosivity and decreased scaling tendencies.
Clay-based materials for enhanced water treatment: adsorption mechanisms, challenges, and future directions
Authors: Khan Shahab , Ajmal Sanila , Hussain Tanveer , Rahman Mudassir Ur 
Published: October 2023

AbstractWater treatment is of paramount importance to ensure the availability of clean and safe drinking water. In recent years, clay-based materials have gained significant attention as promising adsorbents for water treatment applications. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of different clay types and their surface adsorption properties for water treatment. This review begins by introducing the diverse types of clays commonly used in water treatment, including kaolin, montmorillonite, bentonite, and others. Each clay type is examined in terms of its unique mineral composition, surface properties, and structural characteristics. Subsequently, the adsorption mechanisms of clay surfaces are explored, shedding light on the intricate interactions between contaminants and the active sites on clay surfaces. The factors influencing the adsorption process, such as pH, temperature, contact time, and initial concentration of contaminants, are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the review highlights the adsorption capacity and efficiency of different clay types for the removal of various contaminants from water. These contaminants encompass heavy metals, organic pollutants, dyes, and emerging contaminants. The role of surface modification techniques, such as cation exchange, functionalization, and composite formation, in enhancing the adsorption performance of clays is also elucidated. Moreover, the review addresses the challenges and limitations associated with clay-based adsorbents, including issues related to regeneration, disposal, and cost-effectiveness. Strategies for overcoming these challenges and potential future directions in the field of clay-based water treatment are presented.
Academic learning hours post-COVID-19 according to online teaching–learning in higher education
Authors: Koren Michal , Zerahia Roei 
Published: October 2023

AbstractAcademic institutions have existed for centuries. In most places in the world, classes begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue into the evening hours, usually ending no later than 10:00 p.m. Although online teaching and learning have existed for over a decade, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was developed and expanded drastically. As a result, new opportunities for innovation in the teaching and learning world were created. One potential opportunity is the exploration of learning hours, which is the topic of this paper. This paper presents a case study of an asynchronous academic course that took place at the end of the pandemic (Spring semester, Q2 of 2022). In this case, the teaching hours were around the clock, as were the learning hours, compared to traditional classes (which are either face-to-face or delivered live online) occurring in the same semester and at the same academic institution. This study aims to raise the question of whether current academic course hours are based on past habits or whether it is necessary to reconsider and adjust the hours to be more suitable for twenty first-century students and according to the need for more flexibility.