bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Aerosols’ variability and their relationship with climatic parameters over West Africa
Authors: Ochei Michael , Oluleye Ayodeji , Wolke Ralf , Pratt Dawn , Njie Teeda 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAerosols’ influences on Earth’s climate have been documented by several authors. This ranges from scattering and reflecting of shortwave radiation (direct effect) which is also regarded as the “Whitehouse Effect,” to the ability to act as condensation nuclei (indirect effect) which results in cloud droplet formation. This broad summary of aerosol’s effect on earth’s climate has in turn affected some other weather variables either positively or negatively depending on people’s perspectives. This work was done in a view to ascertaining some of these claims by determining the statistical significance of some certain aerosol’s relationships with some selected weather variables. This was done over six (6) stations across the West African region to represent the climatic zones from the rainforest around the coasts to the desert of the Sahel. Data used consist of aerosol types (biomass burning, carbonaceous, dust, and PM2.5) and climatic types (convective precipitation, wind speed, and water vapor) over a period of 30 years, with the python and ferret programs explicitly used for the graphical analyses. Climatologically, locations close to the point source seem to record more of the presence of the pollutants than the farthest ones. Results indicated that aerosols were more pronounced in the dry months of NDJF over the rainforest region depending on the latitudinal position of the location. The relationship result showed a negative correlation between convective precipitation and aerosols, except carbonaceous. But the strongest relationship can be found between water vapor and the selected aerosol types.
Evaluating the use of UV photoluminescence for surveying the immature stages of rare butterflies: a case study using the Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni)
Authors: Tilley Gareth J. , Anderson Max , Stewart Alan J. A. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractConservation of rare and elusive butterflies can benefit from the use of contrasting survey techniques to confirm their presence and to understand the lifecycle in more detail. This case study trialed different survey techniques for all stages of the lifecycle (ova, larva, pupa and adult) to assess their value for monitoring Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni) populations in Britain.Daytime surveys for well camouflaged ova, larvae and pupae yielded little success. However, the novel use of UV flashlights in nocturnal surveys for photoluminescent larvae was found to be an effective technique when compared to surveying adult butterflies. Critically, combined surveying for larvae and adults provides unique insights into the behaviour of the species at different stages in the lifecycle and, when used in combination, gives a more holistic understanding of the true nature of a colony of Black Hairstreak butterflies.Implications for insect conservation: our results show that the novel use of nocturnal surveys for larvae with UV flashlights is a valuable technique for surveying for Black Hairstreak butterflies. It therefore has potential to be used in conjunction with other survey techniques for assessing the health of a colony and supporting conservation at different stages of the lifecycle of the butterfly.
Combined and distributional effects of EPL reduction and hiring incentives: an assessment using the Italian “Jobs Act”
Authors: Ardito Chiara , Berton Fabio , Pacelli Lia 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
After two decades of labour market reforms at the margin, the great recession created political scope to reduce the employment protection still benefitting the workers on open-ended contracts. To support employment levels, these policies have generally been combined with generous employment subsidies. While the theoretical and empirical literature on the two interventions taken in isolation appear generally abundant, almost nothing is known when they come combined. Analogously, no evidence is available on their distributional effects. This paper aims to fill these two gaps by means of counterfactual models estimated on high-frequency employer-employee-linked Italian data. Taking advantage of the quasi-experimental conditions created by the reforms enforced in Italy in 2015, we fit a (non-linear) difference-in-differences strategy into a competing risks duration model. We find prompt sensitivity of small firms to the incentives, while the large ones waited until they were combined with lower firing costs. Small firms substitute temporary for permanent employment, while larger ones do not seem inclined to forego fixed-term contracts, possibly for a probationary period. The reforms have benefitted domestic workers over foreigners, prime-age and older individuals over the young, and those with higher human capital. No gender effects emerge. Small firms operating in non-innovative sectors carry the bulk of heterogeneity effects. Finally, analysis on duration of newly activated open-ended contracts reveals a transitory effect, as separations jumped once the subsidies came to an end.
The Effect of Different Stabilisers on Stability and Photothermal Profiling of Gold Nanorods
Authors: Khoza Karabo Kamogelo , Lebepe Thabang Calvin , Mbaz Gracia it Mwad , Oluwafemi Oluwatobi Samuel 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe photothermal application of gold nanorods (AuNRs) as a photothermal agent has gained popularity due to their optical, photothermal and biological properties. However, AuNRs are synthesised using a biotoxic surfactant (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) which limits their biological applications. Though different techniques have been established to address this challenge using different stabilizers or passivating agents, the effect of these stabilizers on AuNRs' colloidal stability, thermal stability, and photothermal conversion efficiency still need to be investigated. In this study, we evaluated the effect of different polymers or stabilisers; two synthetic polymers [methoxy polyethylene glycol thiol (mPEG-SH) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)] and one biopolymer (gelatin) on the stability and photothermal properties of AuNRs. AuNRs absorbing around 800 nm were synthesised and coated with these three stabilisers. The colloidal stability of the as-synthesised material was evaluated in Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI-1640) using Ultraviolet–Visible–Near-Infrared (UV–Vis–NIR). The results show that PEG@AuNRs was more stable in both media due to fewer functional groups on its structure to bond with ions and protein. PVP@AuNRs showed good thermal stability under heat incubation (at 37, 50 and 70 °C) for 24 h because of its high thermal decomposition properties, while PEG@AuNRs proved superior in improving the AuNRs heat generation. In addition, coating with different polymers did not affect the photothermal ability of AuNRs. This study demonstrated that it is crucial to choose polymers with less functional groups when coating nanoparticles for biological application.
Measuring human mobility in times of trouble: an investigation of the mobility of European populations during COVID-19 using big data
Authors: Guardabascio Barbara , Brogi Federico , Benassi Federico 
Published: May 2023

AbstractSpatial mobility is a distinctive feature of human history and has important repercussions in many aspects of societies. Spatial mobility has always been a subject of interest in many disciplines, even if only mobility observable from traditional sources, namely migration (internal and international) and more recently commuting, is generally studied. However, it is the other forms of mobility, that is, the temporary forms of mobility, that most interest today’s societies and, thanks to new data sources, can now be observed and measured. This contribution provides an empirical and data-driven reflection on human mobility during the COVID pandemic crisis. The paper has two main aims: (a) to develop a new index for measuring the attrition in mobility due to the restrictions adopted by governments in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. The robustness of the proposed index is checked by comparing it with the Oxford Stringency Index. The second goal is (b) to test if and how digital footprints (Google data in our case) can be used to measure human mobility. The study considers Italy and all the other European countries. The results show, on the one hand, that the Mobility Restriction Index (MRI) works quite well and, on the other, the sensitivity, in the short term, of human mobility to exogenous shocks and intervention policies; however, the results also show an inner tendency, in the middle term, to return to previous behaviours.
Subsidizing private childcare in a universal regime
Authors: Räsänen Tapio , Österbacka Eva 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAll families in Finland have the freedom to choose between subsidized home care, universal public childcare, and private childcare. We study the impact of the introduction of private childcare subsidies in Finland. Private childcare subsidies have causal effects on take-up but no impact on home care or employment among women with small children. Instead, private services seem to crowd out public childcare. Private services have a socioeconomic gradient by mother’s education that steepens when the subsidy increases. Families’ preferences between home care, public childcare, and private childcare do not explain the result.
What are the main environmental impacts and products contributing to the biodiversity footprint of EU consumption? A comparison of life cycle impact assessment methods and models
Authors: Sanyé-Mengual Esther , Biganzoli Fabrizio , Valente Antonio , Pfister Stephan , Sala Serenella 
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Recent developments in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) target at better addressing biodiversity impacts, including the extended modeling of drivers of biodiversity loss. This led to the development of multiple LCIA methods addressing the area of protection of ecosystem quality (i.e, biodiversity loss) over time. This paper aims at systematically comparing available operational LCIA methods and models for assessing the main drivers of biodiversity impacts of EU consumption and unveiling similarities and differences among current methods.

Methods
This paper compares the biodiversity impacts of EU consumption by implementing eight LCIA methods and models: five full LCIA methods (namely, LC-IMPACT, Impact World + , Ecological Scarcity 2013, ReCiPe 2016, and Stepwise), a land-use intensity-specific LCIA model, and two approaches based on the GLOBIO model. The EU Consumption Footprint model is adopted as case study. The comparative analysis between the assessed methods aimed at identifying convergent and divergent results regarding the drivers of biodiversity impacts of EU consumption. The analysis focused on four different levels: impact category, representative product (modeled consumed products), inventory process, and elementary flow. The agreement among the methods in defining an element as relevant was evaluated. Finally, gaps among methods were assessed in terms of coverage of impact categories and elementary flows.

Results and discussion
The analysis unveiled that there is a certain level of agreement among available LCIA methods and models regarding the most contributing impact categories and products to the overall biodiversity footprint due to EU consumption. Land use, climate change, and ecotoxicity had a major contribution to overall impacts, thereby highlighting their role as drivers of biodiversity loss. Biodiversity impacts were due to a limited number of consumed products, where food (meat), mobility, and household goods were identified as top contributors. Most contributing inventory processes and elementary flows were associated to most contributing representative products (e.g, animal feed). The relevance and presence of elementary flows in LCIA methods and models were heterogeneous for most of the impact categories.

Conclusions
The results of this study highlight the importance of impact category coverage in the assessment of biodiversity impacts. Limited coverage of impact categories (e.g, methods limited to assess land use) might underestimate the impacts of other drivers of biodiversity loss, especially climate change and ecotoxicity. Further efforts are required to assess the effects of spatial regionalization and the inclusion of missing drivers, recently developed in LCIA.
Investigation of Novel Nano-carbide WC/CoCr Coatings Applied by HVAF
Authors: Bobzin K. , Wietheger W. , Burbaum E. , Johann L. M. , Rempe L. J. , Matikainen V. , Kanerva U. , Karhu M. , Lagerbom J. , Kaunisto K. , Lartigue J.-F. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractWear leads to high material and energy losses in various industries. The manufacturing of novel nano-carbide WC/CoCr powder feedstock materials promises a further increase in the performance of thermally sprayed wear protection coatings. A novel experimental powder and a commercial ultra-fine carbide WC/CoCr reference are thermally sprayed onto a 1.0038 substrate by High Velocity Air Fuel (HVAF) spraying. The specimens are metallographically prepared and analyzed by means of light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Vickers Hardness testing is conducted by micro-indentation, and the porosities are determined by optical image analysis. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis is used to investigate the phase retention. Fine nanocrystalline WC structures are preserved in the dense coatings. A significant effect of powder type on the porosity of the coating was found. No systematic relationships could be identified between the coating structure and the two parameter settings. It was possible to influence decarburization via both the powder type and the selected parameters. The resulting experimental and commercial nanostructured WC/CoCr coatings exhibit high, narrow hardness values with medians of 1.400 < HV0.3 < 1.470. The novel nanostructured coating can contribute to reduced wear and therefore improve the efficient utilization of critical raw materials like tungsten.
Inhibition of TNF-α Oncogene Expression by Artemisia Annua L. Extract Against Pioglitazone Side Effects in Male Albino Mice
Authors: Botrous Silvia , Elmaghraby Ayaat , El-Achy Samar , Mustafa Yehia , Badr Effat , Haggag Amany , Abdel-Rahman Salah 
Published: May 2023

AbstractPioglitazone (Actos) is one of the most recent oral antidiabetic drugs for treating the second type of diabetes mellitus as a common chronic and lifelong disease, but with harmful side effects. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Artemisia annua L. extract against the Actos drug side effects in the male albino mice. In present study, the use of Actos drug alone induced hepatotoxicity, renal inflammation, hematological disorders and bladder cancer, which are manifested by biochemical abnormalities and histopathological changes, moreover, the severity of toxicity depends on its dose. In contrast, the concurrent treatment with both Actos drug (45 mg/kg) and Artemisia extract (4 g/kg) was effective against the harmful side effects of the Actos drug. Where, the biochemical, hematological and histopathological investigations showed that the hepatotoxicity, renal inflammation, hematological disorders and histopathological changes were improved using combination of Actos and Artemisia extract. In addition, the results of TNF-ɑ oncogene expression levels in bladder tissues were significantly decreased by about 99.99% using the mix of both Actos drug and Artemisia extract. In conclusion, these findings reveal that the Artemisia annua extract on TNF-ɑ oncogene expression level is very significant and effective natural product against harmful side effects of pioglitazone which associated with an increased risk of incident bladder cancer among people, but for application more studies must be achieved in that field.
The Role of Trainers in Implementing Virtual Simulation-based Training: Effects on Attitude and TPACK Knowledge
Authors: Polikarpus Stella , Luik Piret , Poom-Valickis Katrin , Ley Tobias 
Published: May 2023

AbstractVirtual simulations (VS) are gaining more popularity in vocational education and training (VET) to train professional competencies. However, implementing VS into organisations requires the involvement of trainers in, and the development of their knowledge to fulfil a meaningful approach to integrating this technology into teaching. In the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS) VS have been used for more than a decade to train and assess rescue and police staff work and related competencies such as decision-making and problem-solving. As there is a lack of research as to the role of trainers in the implementation process of virtual simulation-based training (VSBT) in organisations, a survey among EASS trainers (N = 146) was used to reveal their role in the implementation, their attitudes towards the use of VS and their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). While attitudes grow more positive with the use of VS and especially with training others to use it, integrated knowledge about using technology in training seems to depend on the active participation of trainers in its creation. We discuss the important role of involving trainers in the implementation of VS-based training to ensure the successful use of VS in vocational education.
The Topological State Derivative: An Optimal Control Perspective on Topology Optimisation
Authors: Baumann Phillip , Mazari-Fouquer Idriss , Sturm Kevin 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIn this paper, we introduce the topological state derivative for general topological dilatations and explore its relation to standard optimal control theory. We show that for a class of partial differential equations, the shape-dependent state variable can be differentiated with respect to the topology, thus leading to a linearised system resembling those occurring in standard optimal control problems. However, a lot of care has to be taken when handling the regularity of the solutions of this linearised system. In fact, we should expect different notions of (very) weak solutions, depending on whether the main part of the operator or its lower order terms are being perturbed. We also study the relationship with the topological state derivative, usually obtained through classical topological expansions involving boundary layer correctors. A feature of the topological state derivative is that it can either be derived via Stampacchia-type regularity estimates or alternately with classical asymptotic expansions. It should be noted that our approach is flexible enough to cover more than the usual case of point perturbations of the domain. In particular, and in the line of (Delfour in SIAM J Control Optim 60(1):22–47, 2022; J Convex Anal 25(3):957–982, 2018), we deal with more general dilatations of shapes, thereby yielding topological derivatives with respect to curves, surfaces or hypersurfaces. To draw the connection to usual topological derivatives, which are typically expressed with an adjoint equation, we show how usual first-order topological derivatives of shape functionals can be easily computed using the topological state derivative.
Toward an analysis of water resources components through the Budyko approach in a large-scale framework, Iran
Authors: Mianabadi Ameneh , Pourreza-Bilondi Mohsen 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAnalyzing the water resources components and connecting these components in the large-scale framework lead the decision makers and scientists to find better innovative and more effective solutions to water crisis challenges. Hence, in this study, the trend in the water balance components during 1984–2010 has been analyzed in all 30 major basins in Iran through the Budyko framework considering the role of nature and humans in the water systems. The results show that the evaporation ratio (E/P) is higher than one in the hyper-arid and arid areas, especially in the years with less precipitation. It indicates that in these regions, the basins are under non-steady-state conditions and do not follow the Budyko framework. The trend analysis shows that in the western parts of the country, precipitation is considerably decreasing, leading to less runoff and available surface water and more demand for groundwater extraction. However, the basins in these areas are still under steady-state conditions with inconsiderable water crises. We argue that policymakers need to provide appropriate long-term plans for drought and climate change adaptation focusing on groundwater management to avoid the critical water challenges in these areas.
On arclength problem for analytic functions
Authors: Chudziak Małgorzata , Nunokawa Mamoru , Sokół Janusz , Trybucka Edyta 
Published: May 2023

AbstractLet $${\mathcal {A}}$$
A
be the class of functions $$\begin{aligned} g(z)=z+\sum _{n=2}^{\infty }a_nz^n \end{aligned}$$

g

(
z
)

=
z
+

∑

n
=
2

∞

a
n

z
n

which are analytic in the unit disk $${\mathbb {D}}=\{z:|z|<1\}$$

D
=
{
z
:
|
z
|
<
1
}

. We denote by C(r, g) the closed curve which is the image of $$|z|=r<1$$

|
z
|
=
r
<
1

under the mapping $$w=g(z)$$

w
=
g
(
z
)

, furthermore we denote by L(r, g) the length of C(r, g). In this paper we are interested in finding the maximum of the length L(r, f) as f(z) runs through all members of a fixed class of functions.
Association Between Uterine Volume and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Reproductive Outcomes of Infertile Patients with Adenomyosis
Authors: Zhang Wen , Pan Ningning , Han Bing , Li Xiaoxue , Li Rong , Ma Caihong , Qiao Jie 
Published: May 2023

AbstractTo explore the association between uterine volume and in vitro fertilization (IVF) reproductive outcomes of infertile patients with adenomyosis, we performed a retrospective cohort study of infertile patients with adenomyosis who underwent IVF from January 2009 to December 2019 in our clinical center. Patients were divided into five groups according to the uterine volume before the IVF cycle. A line graph was drawn to demonstrate the linear trend of IVF reproductive outcomes with uterine volume. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore the association between uterine volume of adenomyosis patients and IVF reproductive outcomes in first fresh embryo transfer (ET) cycle, first frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycle, and per ET cycle. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression were conducted to evaluate the association between uterine volume and cumulative live birth. A total of 1155 infertile patients with adenomyosis were included. Clinical pregnancy rate showed no significant correlation with uterine volume in first fresh ET cycle, first FET cycle, and per ET cycle; miscarriage rate showed an upward trend with uterine volume increasement, in which the uterine volume turning point was 8 weeks of gestation; live birth rate showed a downward trend with turning point of 10 weeks of gestation. Subsequently, patients were divided into two groups (uterine volume ≤ 8 weeks of gestation vs. uterine volume > 8 weeks of gestation). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that patients with a uterus larger than 8 weeks of gestation had a higher miscarriage rate and a lower live birth rate in all ET cycles. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression demonstrated lower cumulative live birth rate in patients with a uterine volume larger than 8 weeks of gestation. IVF reproductive outcome gets worse as uterine volume increases in infertile patients with adenomyosis. Adenomyosis patients with a uterus larger than 8 weeks of gestation had a higher miscarriage rate and a lower live birth rate.