bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Antisemitic Attitudes and Conspiracy Beliefs: A Cross-Sectional Study of UK-Resident Adults
Authors: Allington Daniel , Hirsh David , Katz Louise 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThis cross-sectional study follows Open Science principles in estimating relationships between antisemitism, i.e. anti-Jewish bigotry, and conspiracy belief, i.e. endorsement of conspiracy theories, through analysis of data collected from a representative sample of UK adults ($$n =$$

n
=

1722). Antisemitism was measured using the Generalized Antisemitism scale, and conspiracy belief was measured using the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs scale. Positive relationships were found to exist between all forms of antisemitism and all types of conspiracy belief, and an average across all items of the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs scale was found to predict Generalized Antisemitism at least as well as any individual type of conspiracy belief. On a more detailed level, antisemitic attitudes relating to British Jews were found to be most strongly associated with belief in conspiracies relating to personal well-being, while antisemitic attitudes relating to the State of Israel and its supporters were found to be most strongly associated with belief in conspiracies relating to government malfeasance. Generalized Antisemitism itself was found to be most strongly associated with belief in malevolent global conspiracies. Exploratory analysis additionally examined the effect of standard demographic variables that had been introduced into the main analysis as controls. Through this means, it was found that antisemitic attitudes relating both to Jews qua Jews and to Israel and its supporters are more prevalent among less highly educated people and members of other-than-white ethnic groups, while antisemitic attitudes relating to Israel and its supporters are more common among younger people. In addition, it was found that female gender is associated with reduced antisemitic attitudes relating to Jews qua Jews and also with increased antisemitic attitudes relating to Israel and its supporters. However, the addition of demographic controls did not explain any additional variance in Generalized Antisemitism beyond that which was already explained by conspiracy belief – perhaps suggesting that demographic characteristics are more strongly associated with the inclination towards particular expressions of antisemitism than with antisemitism itself.
Tracing early life histories from Roman times to the Medieval era: weaning practices and physiological stress
Authors: Velte Maren , Czermak Andrea , Grigat Andrea , Neidich Deborah , Trautmann Bernd , Lösch Sandra , Päffgen Bernd , Harbeck Michaela 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIn humans, breastfeeding and weaning depend on the infant’s needs and physiology but are also influenced by environmental and cultural factors. While infant feeding strategies vary across different regions and historical eras, the associated transition from breastmilk to solid foods is universally thought to be stressful. However, still little is known about infant feeding practices and possibly associated stress in former times. This also applies to the period of transition from classical antiquity to medieval times, which shaped modern Western civilization. To enhance the understanding of childhood nutrition and stress during this period, we first analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in serial dentine samples from the first molars of 38 individuals buried in the region once known as the Roman frontier province ofRaetia secunda, now encompassing Southern Bavaria. In addition, we investigated the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), known to be a marker of unspecific physiological stress, within their dentition. We used this data to create isotope profiles that display dietary changes in comparison with the occurrence of LEH. We found highly variable δ15N and δ13C values and different shapes of isotope profiles which indicate different nutrition of breastfeeding individuals, complementary foods and post-weaning diets, and individual weaning patterns. For most individuals, the weaning process was completed between the ages of two and three. Interestingly, some females of non-local origin show longer weaning periods, likely displaying the influence of different cultural practices in other communities. We also found that LEH most frequently occurred in the post-weaning phase, which supports the assumption that children were at increased risk once breastfeeding had ceased completely. Furthermore, a change in the post-weaning diet in the seventh century coincided with an increased prevalence of LEH, indicating that the foods chosen or available during this time affected the susceptibility of children to stress. In conclusion, our study unveiled diverse infant feeding strategies practiced across various communities, both in different historical eras and geographical locations.
Eating Prickly Peas: Sharing Play Worlds During Preschool Meals
Authors: Wiggins Sally , Willemsen Annerose , Cromdal Jakob 
Published: November 2023

AbstractPlay has long been understood as an important pedagogical practice, particularly in early childhood education and care settings. Playing with food, however, has typically been overlooked, and very little is known about food play during mealtimes. The apparent dichotomy between rule-following and playfulness at mealtimes has led to a paucity of research on playing while eating. This paper raises the profile of food play and examines instances in which young children initiate pretend play with their food during shared mealtimes. Data are taken from a large corpus of video-recorded lunches in Swedish preschools, and episodes featuring pretend play with food were analysed using multimodal interaction analysis. The results illustrate how play signalling is multimodally achieved, directed first to teachers, often involves other children, and enables the multiactivity of playing and eating. Children invited teachers into their imaginary worlds and teacher’s responses enabled the play narrative to develop and co-exist with the institutional demands of eating lunch together. The paper provides empirical evidence that pretend play with food during meals offers affordances for generating and sharing imaginary worlds with teachers and peers.
Parallelization of AMALGAM algorithm for a multi-objective optimization of a hydrological model
Authors: Besalatpour Ali A. , Pourreza-Bilondi Mohsen , Aghakhani Afshar Amirhosein 
Published: November 2023

AbstractA calibration procedure is essential step to achieve a realistic model simulation particularly in hydrological model which simulates water cycle in the basin. This process is always faced with challenges due to selection of objective function and highly time-consuming. This study aimed to take advantage of parallel processing to accelerate the computations involved with simulation process of hydrologic model linked with the multi-objective optimization algorithm of AMALGAM for multi-site calibration of SWAT hydrologic model parameters. In order to illustrate how meaningful SWAT model calibration trade-off between the four objective functions involved in AMALGAM optimization program, the Pareto solution sets were provided. Furthermore, it is implemented a group of model runs with a number of cores involved (from one to eight) to demonstrate and evaluate the running of parallelized AMALGAM with taking advantages of “spmd” method to decrease the running time of the SWAT model. The results revealed the robustness of the method in reducing computational time of the parameter calibration significantly. This strategy with 4-objective functions focuses on high streamflow (Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient), low streamflow (Box–Cox transformed root–mean–square error), water balance (runoff coefficient error), and flashiness (slope of the flow duration curve error) provided an efficient tool to decide about the best simulation based on the investigated objective functions. This study also provides a strong basis for multi-objective optimization of hydrological and water quality models and its general analytical framework could be applied to other parts of the world.
Combining RUSLE model and the vegetation health index to unravel the relationship between soil erosion and droughts in southeastern Tunisia
Authors: Terwayet Bayouli Olfa , Zhang Wanchang , Terwayet Bayouli Houssem 
Published: November 2023

AbstractDroughts and soil erosion are among the most prominent climatic driven hazards in drylands, leading to detrimental environmental impacts, such as degraded lands, deteriorated ecosystem services and biodiversity, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. In response to the current lack of studies combining drought conditions and soil erosion processes, in this study, we developed a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach to assess soil erosion and droughts, thereby revealing the relationship between soil erosion and droughts under an arid climate. The vegetation condition index (VCI) and temperature condition index (TCI) derived respectively from the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) MOD13A2 and land surface temperature (LST) MOD11A2 products were combined to generate the vegetation health index (VHI). The VHI has been conceived as an efficient tool to monitor droughts in the Negueb watershed, southeastern Tunisia. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model was applied to quantitatively estimate soil erosion. The relationship between soil erosion and droughts was investigated through Pearson correlation. Results exhibited that the Negueb watershed experienced recurrent mild to extreme drought during 2000–2016. The average soil erosion rate was determined to be 1.8 t/(hm2·a). The mountainous western part of the watershed was the most vulnerable not only to soil erosion but also to droughts. The slope length and steepness factor was shown to be the most significant controlling parameter driving soil erosion. The relationship between droughts and soil erosion had a positive correlation (r=0.3); however, the correlation was highly varied spatially across the watershed. Drought was linked to soil erosion in the Negueb watershed. The current study provides insight for natural disaster risk assessment, land managers, and stake-holders to apply appropriate management measures to promote sustainable development goals in fragile environments.
Motion estimation and multi-stage association for tracking-by-detection
Authors: Li Ye , Wu Lei , Chen Yiping , Wang Xinzhong , Yin Guangqiang , Wang Zhiguo 
Published: November 2023

AbstractMulti-object tracking (MOT) aims to locate and identify objects in videos. As deep learning brings excellent performances to object detection, the tracking-by-detection (TBD) has gradually become a mainstream tracking framework. However, some drawbacks still exist in the current TBD framework: (1) inaccurate prediction of the bounding boxes would occur in the detection part, which is caused by overlooking the actual pedestrian ratio in the surveillance scene. (2) The width of the bounding boxes in the next frame might be indirectly predicted by the aspect ratio, which increases the error of width prediction in the motion prediction part. (3) Association is only performed for high-confidence detection boxes, and the low-confidence boxes caused by occlusion are discarded in the data association part, resulting in fragmentation of trajectories. To address the above issues, we propose a multi-target tracking model incorporating motion estimation and multi-stage association (MEMA). First, the aspect ratio of the ground-true bounding box is introduced to improve the fit of the detection and the ground-true bounding box, and we design the elliptical Gaussian kernel to improve the positioning accuracy of the object center point. Then, the prediction state vector of the Kalman filter is modified to predict the width and its corresponding velocity directly. It can reduce the width error of the prediction box and eliminate the velocity error of the motion estimation, which leads to a more pedestrian-friendly prediction bounding box. Finally, we propose a multi-stage association strategy to correlate different confidence boxes. Without using the appearance feature, the strategy can reduce the impact of occlusion and improve the tracking performance. On the MOT17 test set, the method proposed in this paper achieves a MOTA of 74.3% and an IDF1 of 72.4%, outperforming the current SOTA.
Evolutionary auto-design for aircraft engine cycle
Authors: Feng Xudong , Liu Zhening , Wu Feng , Wang Handing 
Published: November 2023

AbstractTraditional engine cycle innovation is limited by human experiences, imagination, and currently available engine component performance expectations. Thus, the engine cycle innovation process is quite slow for the past 90 years. In this work, we propose a mixed variable multi-objective evolutionary optimization method for automatic engine cycle design. In the first, a simulation toolkit is developed for performance evaluation of potentially viable engine cycle solutions. Then, the engine cycle solutions are mixed encoded by the pins and the parameters of different engine components. The new engine cycle solutions are generated through the mutation operator. Finally, we construct two optimization objectives to drive the optimization process. Through the experimental research, new engine cycle solutions are discovered that exceed the performance of known turbojet and turbofan engines.
A Simple Conceptual Model of Energy Transition
Authors: Hannesson Rögnvaldur 
Published: November 2023

AbstractA conceptual model of the electricity market is formulated. Demand can be either high or low, with given probabilities. Inflexible production units with high fixed cost supply the base load of low demand, while flexible units with lower fixed cost and rising marginal cost supply the rest. In a reference case, all production units cover exactly their fixed cost from inframarginal rents. Then a transition to renewable energy is analyzed. There is a certain probability that the renewable energy will not be available, but when it is, it supplies the previous base load. A back-up capacity to supply peak demand is assumed to be made available. The effect of availability of renewable energy on electricity price and fixed cost recovery is analyzed.
Heteroatom-doped biochar devised from cellulose for CO2 adsorption: a new vision on competitive behavior and interactions of N and S
Authors: Sun Yuxuan , Jia Jixiu , Liu Zhidan , Liu Ziyun , Huo Lili , Zhao Lixin , Zhao Yanan , Yao Zonglu 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBiochar, as a potential CO2 adsorbent, is of great significance in addressing the problem of global warming. Previous studies have demonstrated that the CO2 adsorption performance of biochar can be improved by nitrogen and sulfur doping. Co-doping can integrate the structure and function of two elements. However, the physicochemical interaction of nitrogen and sulfur during doping and the CO2 adsorption process remains unclear in co-doped biochar. In this study, the heteroatom-doped biochar was prepared with different additives (urea, sodium thiosulfate, and thiourea) via hydrothermal carbonization, and the physicochemical interaction of nitrogen and sulfur in co-doped biochar was investigated extensively. The findings revealed that nitrogen and sulfur competed for limited doped active sites on the carbon skeleton during the co-doping process. Interestingly, thiourea retained the amino group on the surface of biochar to a great extent due to carbon–sulfur double bond breaking and bonding, which facilitated the formation of pore in the activation process. Significantly, co-doping had no significant improvement effect although nitrogen and sulfur doping separately enhanced the CO2 adsorption performance of biochar by 11.9% and 8.5%. The nitrogen-containing and sulfur-containing functional groups in co-doped biochar exhibited mutual inhibition in the process of CO2 adsorption. The findings of this study will have pertinent implications in the application of N/S co-doped biochar for CO2 adsorption.
Graphical Abstract
Regulation of regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Islam Md Khairul , Mummadi Sai Teja , Liu Sanzhen , Wei Hairong 
Published: November 2023

AbstractWe employed several algorithms with high efficacy to analyze the public transcriptomic data, aiming to identify key transcription factors (TFs) that regulate regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana. Initially, we utilized CollaborativeNet, also known as TF-Cluster, to construct a collaborative network of all TFs, which was subsequently decomposed into many subnetworks using the Triple-Link and Compound Spring Embedder (CoSE) algorithms. Functional analysis of these subnetworks led to the identification of nine subnetworks closely associated with regeneration. We further applied principal component analysis and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis to reduce the subnetworks from nine to three, namely subnetworks 1, 12, and 17. Searching for TF-binding sites in the promoters of the co-expressed and co-regulated (CCGs) genes of all TFs in these three subnetworks and Triple-Gene Mutual Interaction analysis of TFs in these three subnetworks with the CCGs involved in regeneration enabled us to rank the TFs in each subnetwork. Finally, six potential candidate TFs—WOX9A, LEC2, PGA37, WIP5, PEI1, and AIL1 from subnetwork 1—were identified, and their roles in somatic embryogenesis (GO:0010262) and regeneration (GO:0031099) were discussed, so were the TFs in Subnetwork 12 and 17 associated with regeneration. The TFs identified were also assessed using the CIS-BP database and Expression Atlas. Our analyses suggest some novel TFs that may have regulatory roles in regeneration and embryogenesis and provide valuable data and insights into the regulatory mechanisms related to regeneration. The tools and the procedures used here are instrumental for analyzing high-throughput transcriptomic data and advancing our understanding of the regulation of various biological processes of interest.
Influence of copper content on the structure and properties of aluminium alloys
Authors: Płonka Bartłomiej , Żyłka Konrad , Remsak Krzysztof , Rajda Marek , Zdunek Joanna , Moszczyńska Dorota 
Published: November 2023

AbstractDesigning new aluminium alloys always requires an assessment of the influence of modified contents of the main alloying additions on the required properties for a specific application. The aim of this study was to develop a new alloy with a higher tensile strength than the tensile strength obtained in typical 6xxx series alloys, with a satisfactory hot extrusion ductility. The article presents the results of studies on the influence of copper additions, in three variants, on the structure and mechanical properties of extruded aluminium profiles in various heat treatment states. The base reference for the presented studies was the following aluminium alloys: AlMgSi (EN AW-6063) and AlCuMgMn (EN AW-2017). On this basis, three alloy variants with Cu contents of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 weight % were selected. These alloys were cast by vertical semi-continuous casting in the form of ingots with a diameter of 100 mm. Hot deformation studies were carried out in the process of co-extrusion on a semi-industrial line consisting of a horizontal 5 MN press together with auxiliary devices. The extruded profiles were free from defects that could have resulted from the process, such as overheating, cracks and blisters. The materials in the form of extruded profiles, in the heat treatment states T1 and T4, were characterised in terms of structure and mechanical properties. The variants with Cu contents of 2.5 wt% and 3.5 wt% had comparable structure and grain size, and the variant with 4.5 wt% Cu had a finer microstructure. For the studied alloys after heat treatment, higher the strength, higher the Cu content in the alloy, ranging from 445 to 543 MPa. It has been found that it is possible to develop modified aluminium alloys based on the 6xxx series with an increased copper addition (but still below the content typical for Al alloys of the 2xxx series) that will have a strength above 400 MPa. The first variant of the new alloy with a Cu content of 2.5 wt% meets the set goal and meets the requirements set at the beginning of the studies.
Analyses of hot/warm CO2 removal processes for IGCC power plants
Authors: Chen Shiaoguo , Wang Ping , Hopkinson David P. , Ciferno Jared P. , Duan Yuhua 
Published: November 2023

AbstractCompared with a pulverized coal power plant, the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) has several advantages, including, among others better environmental performance and low CO2 capture cost. Hot/warm CO2 removal from syngas has also been a subject of research due to its potentially higher thermal efficiency. In this study, we proposed a generic adsorption based hot/warm CO2 removal process for IGCC power plants. Through analyses of the proposed generic process we have demonstrated that higher temperature of the hot/warm CO2 removal process will results in larger heat of adsorption, which in turns may increase energy consumption of the process. Under most of the operating temperature range, hot/warm CO2 removal process will lead to more electricity loss compared to the baseline Selexol process. However, if the adsorption step takes place at a temperature close to or higher than the highest steam temperature in steam cycle, our analysis indicates that the process may lead to minimal electricity loss. The study also provided some other insights into the pathways for hot/warm CO2 removal process to improve its energy performance through process and sorbent designs.
Graphical Abstract
A Novel Distance Measure and CRADIS Method in Picture Fuzzy Environment
Authors: Yuan Jiaqi , Chen Zichun , Wu Miaofeng 
Published: November 2023

AbstractPicture fuzzy set (PFS) is an extension of intuitionistic fuzzy set, providing a more realistic representation of information characterized by fuzziness, ambiguity, and inconsistency. Distance measure plays a crucial role in organizing diverse strategies for addressing multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problems. In this paper, we provide a novel distance measure on the basis of Jensen–Shannon divergence in a picture fuzzy environment. This newly proposed PF distance measure not only satisfies the four properties of metric space, but also has good differentiation. Numerical example and pattern recognition are used to compare the proposed PF distance measure with some existing PF distance measures to illustrate that the new PF distance has effectiveness and superiority. Then, we develop a maximum deviation method in association with the proposed distance measure to evaluate the weight of the attribute with picture fuzzy information in the MADM problem. Subsequently, a new MADM method is proposed under picture fuzzy environment, which is on the basis of new PF distance measure and the compromise ranking of alternatives from distance to ideal solution (CRADIS) method. Finally, we furnish an illustrative example and perform a comparative analysis with various decision-making methods to confirm the validity and practicability of the improved MADM method.