bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Households’ energy conservation and efficiency awareness practices in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana
Authors: Baidoo Abigail Nana Ama , Danquah Jones Abrefa , Nunoo Edward Kweku , Mariwah Simon , Boampong Georgina Nyarko , Twum Eric , Amankwah Emmanuel , Nyametso Johnie Kodjoe 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThermal power generation is the main source of power in the energy mix of the country. Erratic rainfall patterns, the high cost of fossil fuel for thermal generation, and increase electricity demand have contributed to rampant power outages in the recent past. This paper examined energy conservation and efficiency awareness practices of households in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. It assessed the level and variability in energy conservation practices and the level of energy-savings awareness education among households. Three hundred and ninety-six households were randomly selected from nine communities using stratified sampling techniques. Five stakeholders from the electricity sector were purposively sampled for in-depth interviews. The data sets were modeled using the utility maximization framework to econometrically estimate socioeconomic factors influencing the energy conservation behaviour of households. The findings reveal that years spent in school by household heads, income levels, expenditure, age of households, and the number of times electricity power triples off daily were among the key factors influencing individual households’ choice of energy-efficient appliances. There was significant variability between existing social strata in terms of income and use of electrical appliances among households that warrants policy direction. Based on the findings, this study recommends a robust energy literacy program to improve households’ energy efficiency practices awareness, and to ensure energy cost savings, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation that will enhance the drive towards achieving sustainable development goals seven.
Sustainable scientific publishing: a pilot survey on stakeholder motivations and opinions
Authors: Höller Yvonne , Urbschat Mæva Marlene , Bathke Arne 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAssessing sustainability of journals and publishers could guide the choice of a publication venue. However, sustainable scientific publishing is not sufficiently defined. We assessed motivations for sustainable scientific publishing and importance ratings of sustainability aspects of scientific publishing in an online survey. The questionnaire was answered by 129 participants, including publishing scientists, non-academic research institution employees, editors, administrative staff of scientific journals and publishing companies, and individuals working at sustainability organizations. Personal motivation was rated to be important for all stakeholders, especially for scientists (p < .001). Universities, journals, non-academic staff at universities, journals, and publishers were perceived to be motivated to act sustainably because of external factors such as incentives, policies, laws, and regulations (p < .001). The most important sustainability aspects of scientific publishing were the proportion of open access articles and open access costs, a sustainability policy, plan, and report, digital publication, publication of sustainability topics, support of sustainable actions for staff, sustainable operations, e.g., sustainable transport, and social responsibility for staff, including gender aspects. The low response rate limits conclusions. The results suggest a sustainability index for scientific publishers could serve as an aid for decision making in scientific publishing.
Flat bands, sharp physics
Authors: Leykam Daniel 
Published: January 2024

AbstractFlat bands arise in periodic media when symmetries or fine-tuning result in perfect wavepacket localisation. Flat band localisation is fragile and exhibits remarkably sharp sensitivity to perturbations including interactions and disorder, leading to a variety of interesting quantum and classical phenomena. Originally a theoretical curiosity, advances in fabrication methods have allowed flat band physics to be observed down to the nanoscale. This article briefly reviews progress in the study of flat bands and disorder over the past decade and provides an outlook on where this exciting field is headed.
Effect of water absorption, hardness, and acoustic properties on sandwich syntactic foam composite for structural and marine applications
Authors: Afolabi Olusegun Adigun , Mohan Turup Pandurangan , Kanny Krishnan 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn this study, a sandwich composite structure was fabricated with core syntactic foam composites (SFC) reinforced with face-sheets of combined kenaf and glass fibers. The core SFC was made from hollow glass microsphere (HGM)/epoxy resin mixture. The focus of this study is to design a suitable material for marine, automobile, and structural applications by investigating the water absorption capacity, hardness, buoyancy, and acoustic resistance level of the sandwich composite. Four sequences of face-sheet reinforcement [e.g. kenaf-kenaf(KK); glass-glass(GG); glass-kenaf(GK), and kenaf-glass(KG)] were adopted. The results show that the KK sandwich absorbed more water, with buoyancy level of 0.329% than other sequence. GK shows the highest sandwich in hardness strength with 58Hv, and 35% more than the KK, while there was no significant difference in the sound pressure level of the sandwich composite.
Plant disease resistance outputs regulated by AP2/ERF transcription factor family
Authors: Ma Ning , Sun Ping , Li Zhao-Yang , Zhang Fu-Jun , Wang Xiao-Fei , You Chun-Xiang , Zhang Chun-Ling , Zhang Zhenlu 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPlants have evolved a complex and elaborate signaling network to respond appropriately to the pathogen invasion by regulating expression of defensive genes through certain transcription factors. The APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) family members have been determined as key regulators in growth, development, and stress responses in plants. Moreover, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the critical roles of AP2/ERFs in plant disease resistance. In this review, we describe recent advances for the function of AP2/ERFs in defense responses against microbial pathogens. We summarize that AP2/ERFs are involved in plant disease resistance by acting downstream of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, and regulating expression of genes associated with hormonal signaling pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and formation of physical barriers in an MAPK-dependent or -independent manner. The present review provides a multidimensional perspective on the functions of AP2/ERFs in plant disease resistance, which will facilitate the understanding and future investigation on the roles of AP2/ERFs in plant immunity.
Indoor positioning with multi-beam CSI of commercial 5G signals
Authors: Zhou Xin , Chen Liang , Ruan Yanlin , Chen Ruizhi 
Published: January 2024

Abstract The fifth-generation (5G) network has been deployed for a vast number of users. The advanced capabilities of 5G technology have opened up opportunities for accuracy positioning and navigation. However, when it comes to indoor positioning using commercial 5G signals, there are persistent challenges. One particular challenge arises from the fact that in numerous indoor scenarios, there is only one base station (called gNB) heard from the receiver. This limitation makes the traditional geometric methods difficult to be applied indoors for 5G positioning. To solve the problem of indoor positioning with single 5G gNB, we propose a fingerprinting method based on the multi-beam of 5G downlink signals. This method utilizes the multi-beam Channel State Information (CSI) and employs an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) for dimensionality reduction, aiming to improve both the accuracy and efficiency of indoor positioning. To assess the effectiveness of this method, field tests were conducted in indoor scenarios. The results demonstrate that, by taking the advantages of multi-beam property in 5G signals, it is able to achieve CSI positioning in single-gNB scenario, and the positioning accuracy over 94% while improving the positioning efficiency.
Gamification as a methodology to enhance analytical and sustainable engagement on social media
Authors: Gil Ruiz Paula 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThis research examines the impact of gamification on the development of critical thinking skills to counter misinformation, focusing specifically on students’ roles as developers of educational software. Involving 107 university students, this study employs an experimental pretest–posttest methodology. An educational Escape Room was implemented, and its influence on critical and digital competencies was scrutinized. The procedure comprised three stages: pretest measurement, formative intervention, and posttest evaluation. A comparative analysis of the scores for the questions highlights a pressing need to enhance media and digital literacy. The findings reveal a predominance of responses indicating improvements in source verification and fact-checking. However, no significant differences were observed in the pre and post responses (0.607 > 0.05), leading to the conclusion that the implementation of a technological training program does not significantly contribute to acquiring skills for identifying falsehoods and deceptions on the internet. In conclusion, the study underscores the necessity to develop effective strategies to address misinformation and recognizes gamification as a motivating educational tool.
Examining the use of ChatGPT in public universities in Hong Kong: a case study of restricted access areas
Authors: Cheng Michelle W. T. , YIM Iris H. Y. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractSince late November 2022, generative AI ChatGPT has drawn waves of attention in society, and its impacts certainly extend to the higher education setting. Although ChatGPT has not been officially released for registration in Hong Kong, the higher education setting has been responding differently. The article conducted a systematic review of local newspapers published between 1 December 2022 and 31 July 2023 to analyse how the eight public universities in Hong Kong responded. This article divided the timeline into three phases: procrastination, remediation, and adaptation. Recommendations are given to universities for making policies and management based on the findings, including making timely but temporary announcements at the university level and updating course outlines that explicitly stated to what extent GenAI can be used in each course. This study used Hong Kong to serves as a reference for universities that are still struggling with the usage of ChatGPT and GenAI technologies in the restricted access areas.
Gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: industrial vis-a-vis academic perspective
Authors: Parmaxi Antigoni , Christou Eirini , Fernández Valdés Julia , Puente Hevia Dalia María , Perifanou Maria , Economides Anastasios A. , Mazaj Jelena , Manchenko Maryna 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe aim of this study is to present the findings of a qualitative study aiming at capturing key stakeholders’ perceptions with regard to: (a) gender equality in academia and the workplace; (b) challenges, needs, and experiences in academia and workplace with regard to gender. This research captures the current situation of gender equality in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and provides a deep understanding of the needs, challenges and experiences both men and women encounter in academia vis-a-vis the industry. Forty-one interviews were conducted in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain. Data collected demonstrate a variety of challenges faced by all genders in the workplace and in academia, as well as the need for more concrete actions that will allow for a gender-balanced perspective to be heard in the STEM fields. Implications for practitioners, policymakers and researchers are also provided.
Cultivating educational adaptability through collaborative transdisciplinary learning spaces
Authors: Ramachandran Aishwarya , Schwellnus Meg , Gladwin Derek , Derby-Talbot Ryan , Ellis Naoko 
Published: January 2024

AbstractEmpowering students and scholars to effectively address complex societal challenges frequently entails embracing unconventional pathways to foster transdisciplinary (TD) education. This empowerment is further facilitated by collaborative efforts supported by the TD experience. This paper examines one such initiative: a student-centered, experimental design of a TD doctoral pilot program for environmental sustainability at the University of British Columbia, a large, research-intensive public university in Canada. In this study, we documented shifts in participants’ development and assessed the impact of TD collaboration conditions on the educational design process. The findings indicate that engaging in collaborative TD experiences yields substantial pedagogical benefits, introducing novel opportunities for design and experimentation. This TD space appears to offer conducive conditions for students and faculty to more effectively navigate adaptive and innovative contexts within higher education. Pedagogical experimentation of this nature provides insights that are challenging to derive from theoretical speculation alone, offering potential pathways for today’s learners and educators as they confront complex societal challenges.
Prioritizing environmental policies in Greek coastal municipalities
Authors: Kontopyrakis Kyriakos E. , Velegrakis Adonis F. , Monioudi Isavela N. , Ćulibrk Alexandra 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe aim of the present contribution has been to present a methodological framework to gauge/assess the perceptions and identify the policy priorities of local-decision-makers for the management of the coastal zone under a changing climate, on the basis of structured ‘interviews’ of the local decision makers. The framework was applied in two different coastal areas in Greece: a) Elefsina, an urban-industrial area west of Athens with a long industrial history (and the 2023 European Capital of Culture); and b) the Aegean island of Santorini/Thera, a major international tourist destination due to the rare aesthetics of its volcanic landscape. The framework implementation showed that a) policy prioritization is characterized by an (understandably) overarching objective to address immediate environmental and socio-economic challenges in short time tables due also to constraints in appropriate human and financial resources and the reliance on higher governance (regional/national) levels; b) policy axis and action prioritizations are controlled by the local environmental setting and development model; c) interestingly for coastal municipalities policy actions associated with the study/protection of coastal ecosystems ranked very low albeit for different stated reasons; and d) climate change impacts and adaptation have not been prioritized highly in both coastal municipalities, in contrast to the large impacts and needs for adaptation projected for these areas and the evolving policy and legislation frameworks. It appears that higher efforts should be made in terms of the assessment of climate change impacts, and the dissemination of the assessment results and the relevance of the evolving policy and legislation regimes to the local policy makers.
Adjuvant chemotherapy on survival of patients with stage IB non‑small cell lung cancer: a comparison study with propensity score matching
Authors: Yang Xinyu , Han Guang , Hu Yunfan , Ren Changhao , Zhao Mengnan , Jiang Tian , Feng Mingxiang , Li Ming 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Background
This study aimed to investigate whether patients with stage IB NSCLC could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods
In the years 2010 to 2015, 1,829 NSCLC patients with stage IB disease were chosen from the SEER database. To equalize the baseline characteristics between the surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy group (intervention) and the surgery alone group (control), propensity score matching (PSM) was used. The log-rank test plotted Kaplan–Meier survival curves to compare the overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Cox proportional hazard regression was used to perform univariate and multivariate analysis on overall survival.

Results
One hundred ninety-seven patients in each group with a mean follow-up period of 65.4 months were enrolled after PSM. A significant benefit in overall survival ([intervention vs. control] HR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.54 to 0.94; P = 0.026) was detected in the intervention group before PSM. And there were significantly improved OS (HR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42 to 0.92; P = 0.036) and DSS (HR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.52 to 0.95; P = 0.044) for the patients with visceral pleural invasion (VPI) in the intervention group compared with the control group. After PSM, the patients with VPI in the intervention group had better overall survival (HR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.40 to 0.98; P = 0.048) than those in the control group. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that VPI (HR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.54; P < 0.001) was also an independent prognostic factor.

Conclusion
Stage IB NSCLC with VPI could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy after R0 resection.
Lung cancer surgery: innovations and future perspectives
Authors: Yu Xiangyang , Wang Feng , Ma Kai , Yu Zhentao 
Published: January 2024

AbstractNine decades ago in 1933, Evarts A. Graham performed the first successful pneumonectomy in a patient with primary pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma. The patient survived for another 30 years, which drew the curtain on the surgical treatment of lung cancer. Surgical resection continues to be the cornerstone of multidisciplinary treatment for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer and a proportion of those with locally advanced disease. Moreover, recent years have seen developments in automatic control, biomechanics, robotics, image transmission, artificial intelligence, three-dimensional reconstruction and printing, biological pharmacy, and molecular biology. Therefore, there is now an increasing focus on how to integrate these technologies into lung cancer surgery to improve quality of life, resect the tumor accurately, expand the population that is suitable for surgical management, predict disease recurrence with better accuracy, and ultimately achieve long-term survival. This article systematically reviews the innovative achievements that may be detrimental to current clinical practice and in future clinical trials, and simultaneously provides a brief overview of the polyvagal perspective in this field.
The Magnificent Seven: Exemption, Relief, Equivalence, Recognition, Substitution, Deference, Trust – Reducing Regulatory Duplication and Frictions in the Cross-Border Supply of Financial Services
Authors: Foster Jonathan R.M. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractA financial services supplier authorised in its home state that wishes to supply services cross-border into another state will, absent any relief, have in addition to meet the regulatory requirements of that host state to trade in it. Regulatory frictions including duplicative regulatory requirements are barriers to cross-border trade. This article considers certain techniques deployed to reduce such barriers, noting that trust plays a part in many of them. These techniques grant relief to incoming firms from obligations to comply with the regulatory requirements of a host state. They may take the form of unilateral arrangements, with or without any conditions. There may be assessments of equivalence as a basis for relief from compliance with the host state’s rules: deference to the home state’s regime, a basis for recognition, whether unilateral or mutual. Recognition may be given effect through a party’s domestic laws or in international law under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Article VII. A GATS Article VII agreement can relieve regulatory frictions in the financial services sector alone as there is no requirement for “substantial sectoral coverage” as required for regional trade agreements under GATS Article V. Mutual recognition agreements for financial services in international law are, however, few in number.
Political dynamics behind different policy options: Long-term care insurance policymaking in Beijing and Shanghai from the perspective of local policymakers
Authors: Chen Chunhua 
Published: January 2024

AbstractFacing ageing challenges, long-term care (LTC) has become a focus of policymaking and policy analysis in China. However, the burgeoning literature obscures a lack of understanding of LTC policymaking, implying a linear and neutral process. This depoliticisation is unrealistic and contributes little to understanding the diversity of LTC policies and improving inclusive LTC provision. Focusing on the core institutional arrangement, LTC insurance (LTCI), this article explores a highly politicised policymaking process and reveals complex political deliberations behind different LTCI choices across regions. Underpinned by the multiple streams approach, which supports a systematic comparison of the policy process, this article identifies four key factors from a relational perspective that influence LTCI policymaking, including the tension between evidence and politics in the construction of LTC issues, the tension between policy effectiveness and stability in the assessment of policy options, strong or weak political will, and the presence or absence of municipal government.
Effect of fatty acid-enriched black soldier fly larvae meal combined with chitinase on the metabolic processes of Nile tilapia
Authors: Agbohessou Pamphile S. , Mandiki Robert , Mes Wouter , Blanquer Aude , Gérardy Mazarine , Garigliany Mutien-Marie , Lambert Jérôme , Cambier Pierre , Tokpon Nicole , Lalèyè Philippe A. , Kestemont Patrick 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe aim of this study is to determine to what extent the addition of chitinase to black soldier fly (BSF) larval meal enriched or not with long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) could improve growth, protein digestion processes and gut microbial composition in Nile tilapia. Two different types of BSF meal were produced, in which larvae were reared on substrates formulated with vegetable culture substrate (VGS) or marine fish offal substrate (FOS). The BSF raised on VGS was enriched in α-linolenic acid (ALA), while that raised on FOS was enriched in ALA + EPA + DHA. Six BSF-based diets, enriched or not with chitinase, were formulated and compared with a control diet based on fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO). Two doses (D) of chitinase from Aspergillus niger (2 g and 5 g/kg feed) were added to the BSF larval diets (VGD0 and FOD0) to obtain four additional diets: VGD2, VGD5, FOD2 and FOD5. After 53 d of feeding, results showed that the BSF/FOS-based diets induced feed utilisation, protein efficiency and digestibility, as well as growth comparable to the FMFO control diet, but better than the BSF/VGS-based diets. The supplementation of chitinase to BSF/FOS increased in fish intestine the relative abundance of beneficial microbiota such as those of the Bacillaceae family. The results showed that LC-PUFA-enriched BSF meal associated with chitinase could be used as an effective alternative to fishmeal in order to improve protein digestion processes, beneficial microbiota and ultimately fish growth rate.