bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Electrocatalyst Fabrication Using Metal Nanoparticles Prepared in Ionic Liquids
Authors: Yao Yu , Tsuda Tetsuya , Torimoto Tsukasa , Kuwabata Susumu 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMetal nanoparticle‐based electrocatalysts are widely used in electronic devices, which serve for electrochemical reactions like oxygen reduction reaction, alcohol oxidation and CO2 reduction reaction. These catalyst‐dependent reactions are the key of the emerging clean energy systems. Catalyst design and synthesis therefore have received keen attention in past decades. We are motivated to study synthesis approaches of metal nanoparticle‐based electrocatalysts using ionic liquids (ILs), which are promising solvents for the nanoparticle preparation because of their unique physicochemical properties. In this personal account, we review our previous and present works on nanoparticle preparation in IL and utilization of the obtained nanoparticles as electrocatalysts.
SDGs as Indicators of Holistic Small Town Tourism Development. A Case for Phuthaditjhaba South Africa
Authors: Sarudzai Mutana , Geofrey Mukwada 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMountainous small towns are often geographically isolated, lack access to main decision making centres and are in many cases plagued by incessant weather related natural disasters. While these realities reduce the options for economic activities available in these towns, the lifestyles, cultures of their residents, as well as their communities’ close relations with nature, make them attractive and unique tourism destinations. Many local leaders advocate for the opening of these towns to tourism for the expected economic benefits. However, tourism should be developed in a holistic manner in order to bring benefits to the economy, the host communities and the environment these destinations. In this chapter, Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 12 and 13 are used to demonstrate that the achievement of holistic tourism development in the small town of Phuthaditjhaba relies heavily on the manner of development of tourism that respects the interconnectedness of these SDGs. The authors used critical discourse analysis of available literature, to conclude that tourism development in Phuthaditjhaba currently lacks balance between economic, environmental and socio-cultural benefits to the community, and suggested practical steps for the use of SDGs in planning and implementing tourism development in the lead-up to the year 2030.
Exploring the of Establishment of an Urban Forest in Phuthaditjhaba to Create a More Sustainable Future Urban Environment
Authors: Taylor Susan Jean 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis document review evaluates modes of appropriate urban tree planting that could quickly (within 20 years) create a tree canopy in Phuthaditjhaba to provide social benefits, deal with a future urban heat island effect and create resilience to climate change. Phuthaditjhaba (pop. 54 000), a dense rural–urban settlement in QwaQwa, South Africa, faces looming threats linked to climate change, including health impacts as heat waves become more common and severe in southern Africa. One of the ways of creating a more liveable and sustainable urban environment is through tree planting in streets, schools, clinics and homesteads. Phuthaditjhaba, located in a montane grassland biome, is virtually treeless and a future tree canopy in this city would need to be envisaged and planned for. Challenges to growing trees here include the harsh climate and the shortage of water, the lack of a ‘green’ vision from the local municipality, as well as the cost of purchasing or growing thousands of suitable saplings. Modelling and various other forms of data and information gathering can assist in optimising tree species selection and planting, but data for Phuthaditjhaba is not available. Creating an urban tree canopy in Phuthaditjhaba would contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This study also reflects on ways to create livelihoods in this remote semi-urban setting through tree growing, tree planting, arbocare and landscape restoration measures.
Imagining the Future Phuthaditjhaba—Vision 2121
Authors: van Biljon Louw 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe following issues need to be clarified before an approach is formulated which will facilitate the planning of a sustainable Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa: What is the essence of a long-term vision? How long is long-term? It is suggested that the short time horizons used in Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) are much too immediate and it is proposed that 100-year planning and a vision which corresponds to that time span should be employed. ‘Backcasting’, as a method to formulate such a vision, is proposed. This idealised strategy is counterpoised with current planning practice and the socio-spatial constraints of Phuthaditjhaba. Phuthaditjhaba’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Spatial Development Framework (SDF) are analysed and an assessment made whether these two tools address or impede sustainable development.What is meant by a sustainable city/community? A comparative analysis of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are made with three case study approaches to sustainable development. From this, a synthesis of substantive principles is proposed. It is also proposed that communities—rather than towns or cities—be acknowledged as the building blocks of sustainability. How then should a community be defined? Defining and demarcating communities based on people’s perceptions and experiences of their spatial environments is proposed, leaning on the methodology of Image and Place studies. Recommendations for planning are made whereby it is hoped that Phuthaditjhaba could become its vision as a sustainable montane city in Africa.
Conclusion
Authors: Membretti Andrea , Taylor Susan Jean , Delves Jess L. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the conclusive chapter we underline that—in line with UN Agenda 2030—many research funding bodies now require researchers to explicitly address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their research design. Consultations with scientists and practitioners in Phuthaditjhaba during research for this book highlighted that the SDGs still do not currently have a prominent role in the scientific research in the region. Nevertheless, throughout this collective volume they have provided authors with an important reference point which helps frame local research in a global agenda. Mountain communities are often especially challenged by increased exposure and vulnerability to global change including climate change, and there is a need for on-going research to highlight local adaptation and mitigation strategies. These communities need to be recognised as partners in research, policy and decision-making processes. While the UN SDGs can be used as a roadmap towards a more sustainable future, this depends on their application by scientists, practitioners and policymakers at local level. The ongoing European-South African research partnership which produced this publication will continue providing a space for co-learning on data collection and analysis methods, within the theoretical framework jointly defined. Only with close collaboration between scientists from multiple disciplines, policymakers and civil society will a sustainable future for this African mountain city be possible.
Using Local Spatial Biodiversity Plans to Meet the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Buschke Falko , Mosikidi Toka , le Roux Aliza , Mofokeng Lefu , Vanschoenwinkel Bram 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent global development ambitions, but achieving these goals depends on local-level application. Many local governments, especially in countries with emerging economies, lack the capacity and resources to integrate SDGs into municipal planning. The feasibility of local implementation is particularly challenging in areas with rugged topography and international borders, such as the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, South Africa, into which the city of Phuthaditjhaba falls. Here we explore the suitability of existing spatial biodiversity plans for local application in the six local municipalities within Thabo Mofutsanyana District. We considered four plans related to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including international maps of (1) Key Biodiversity Areas and (2) Strategic Water Source Areas; a national (3) Protected Area Expansion Strategy; and a provincial map of (4) Critical Biodiversity Areas. Although these plans were not designed specifically to meet the SDGs, we show that they can be repurposed to address seven of the 17 SDGs. Next, we summarised the spatial coverage of each plan across the six local municipalities and evaluated the opportunities and shortcomings of using these plans for local application. Our findings guide local officials on the most efficient way to plan for the SDGs using currently available spatial products.
Beneficial Role of Pollination and Soil Fertility for Soybean Production in Mountainous Farming Conditions
Authors: Adelabu Dolapo Bola , Franke Angelinus C. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe synergetic potentials of essential ecosystem services have not been well explored under mountainous farming conditions in southern Africa. Cropping practices that maximize beneficial pollinators and reduce dependency on chemical inputs through efficient crop management in the mountainous environment are needed. The synergetic potentials of insect pollination on soybeans under varying soil fertility during two seasons in Phuthaditjhaba, the Free State, South Africa was examined. We manipulated soil fertility with fertilizer treatments and used exclusion bags to manipulate pollination intensity. High intensity of pollination services increased the seed yield by approximately 0.5 tons per hectare on optimally fertilized soil and 0.3 tons per hectare on minimally fertilized soil. This study found complementary benefits of using appropriate fertilizer rates on crop pollination. It is an efficient way to minimize losses in crop production and improve yields. However, minimal fertilizer application that is common among smallholder farmers still gave substantial yield in insect pollinator-rich environments such as Phuthaditjhaba. This finding gives an immense advantage to farmers in Phuthaditjhaba who tend to minimize the use of fertilizer due to financial issues. Harnessing the prospects from these ecosystem service benefits would help local communities to attain sustainable food production (SDGs 2 and 15).
Afromontane Community’s Dependence on the Water and Climate Change Nexus of the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountain Range: The Case of Phuthaditjhaba
Authors: Sekhele Ntebohiseng , Otomo Patricks Voua 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPhuthaditjhaba is situated at the foothills of the Maloti-Drakensberg, one of southern Africa’s primary water-producing regions. Nevertheless, the region suffers from a recurring lack of sufficient water for domestic and agricultural use. Since 2015, this chronic water crisis has created a state of conflict between the inhabitants of the region and the local government. Against the backdrop of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, this paper provides a commentary on the contrasting realities of this town nestled within one of South Africa’s most biodiverse regions, yet lacking in the very resource for which it is supposedly famous. We identify both gross mismanagement and neglect by local municipal authorities and climate change as compounding factors leading to the recurring lack of sufficient good quality water in the region. These are some of the major threats to sustainable development in Phuthaditjhaba, which may exacerbate poverty and escalate social tensions that often burst into spontaneous social unrest in the town and its surroundings.
Planning for Effective and Sustainable Water Access and Provision in QwaQwa Through the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Mocwagae Kgosi , Mphambukeli Thulisile 
Published: January 2023

AbstractQwaQwa is a former Bantustan, which consisted of 13 sections of the Phuthaditjhaba Township and 99 surrounding villages. On 1 January 2016, the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality reported that the Fika Patso Dam, which supplies the majority of water to QwaQwa, had insufficient water, subsequently shutting it down. The community of QwaQwa had reportedly been struggling to access drinking water since 2016, which forced them to collect water from provisional or improvised municipal water tankers. This chapter documents the lived experiences of 11 communities in the greater QwaQwa area, highlighting their struggle to access adequate drinking water. The chapter proposes planning interventions for effective and sustainable water access and provision in QwaQwa. It also looks at Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 11 to address policy issues toward effective and sustainable water provision in QwaQwa. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. The qualitative method administered 10 semi-structured interviews with key informants (municipal officials and political leaders) and three households for 326 min in total. A total of 571 household questionnaires were administered for quantitative data collection. Discourse and thematic methods were used for the qualitative data analysis, and descriptive and inferential statistics for the quantitative data analysis. The study established that post-apartheid’s ineffective planning for water access in QwaQwa, significantly and negatively affected the greater QwaQwa community, resulting in the local communities having to travel long distances to collect water. It took more time to collect water, while the water quantity decreased with an increased cost of accessing water. The misfortune of the QwaQwa water crisis presents a challenge for the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 11 that require basic service provision and making cities more inclusive by the municipality.
Policy for AI as a System Technology
Authors: Sheikh Haroon , Prins Corien , Schrijvers Erik 
Published: January 2023

AbstractArtificial intelligence is not just another technology – it is a ‘system technology’ that will fundamentally change our society. That is the key message of this report. Government and society therefore need to be much more aware of and actively involved in AI’s integration into daily life. The government in particular needs to focus on five overarching tasks to help shape the integration process, because only then will it be able to continue to protect the civic values affected by AI. Such a challenge demands a policy infrastructure that reflects both a political and an administrative commitment.
AI as a System Technology
Authors: Sheikh Haroon , Prins Corien , Schrijvers Erik 
Published: January 2023

AbstractNow we know what AI is and have seen how the technology has made the transition from the lab to society in recent years, we turn our attention to the process of embedding AI into society. What is required to incorporate AI into our society? To answer that question, this chapter presents a framework within which AI can be viewed as a particular type of technology, namely a system technology, with a number of historical precedents. By viewing AI in this way, we can draw various conclusions from the history of other system technologies. That in turn provides a basis for reflecting on what we need to do with AI and how we can address the many issues associated with it. It is not our intention to imply that history always repeats itself or that technological development has deterministic characteristics. We do not set out a rigid framework but identify general patterns that shed light on the present, while recognizing that the past and the present differ. By adopting this approach, we seek to look beyond the current situation and thus beyond the whims of the day.
International Positioning
Authors: Sheikh Haroon , Prins Corien , Schrijvers Erik 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe final overarching task we have identified concerns a country’s international positioning in the field of AI. This task is slightly different from the previous four because it plays out at a level influenced to some degree by all of them. Myths about AI also exist in the international domain, which are addressed in the international media and by international companies and research institutes. Several issues of contextualization also have an international dimension. For example, the global discussion about the rollout of 5G and European ambitions to develop a common data infrastructure (such as Gaia-X) affect the development of the technical ecosystem for AI. Stakeholder engagement can affect the local or national situation, but also has an international dimension; for example, in the role played by global scientific associations and NGOs. To a large extent the international arena is also where applicable regulation is implemented, such as treaties that govern dangerous applications of technology, ethical guidelines or the EU’s ambitions to regulate AI.
On the Development of a European Tracker of Societal Issues and Economic Activities Using Alternative Data
Authors: Consoli Sergio , Colagrossi Marco , Panella Francesco , Barbaglia Luca 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe provide an overview on the development of a tracker of economic activities and societal issues across EU member states mining alternative data sources, that can be used to complement official statistics. Considered alternative datasets include Google Searches, Dow Jones Data, News and Analytics (DNA), and the Global Dataset of Events, Language and Tone (GDELT). After providing an overview on the methodology under current development, some preliminary findings are also given.
Advancements in the Sine Cosine Algorithm
Authors: Bansal Jagdish Chand , Bajpai Prathu , Rawat Anjali , Nagar Atulya K. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the last few decades, the development and advancement of meta-heuristic algorithms have become the focus of the research community as these algorithms face various challenges like, balance between exploration and exploitation, tuning of parameters, getting trapped in local optima, and very slow convergence rate. Sine cosine algorithm (SCA) also faces similar kinds of challenges and sometimes fails to perform effectively in finding the global optimal solution. Sine and cosine are trigonometric operators with a 90$$^\circ $$phase shift from each other. The range of sine and cosine functions lies in the range$$[-1,1]$$. Sine and cosine functions in the position update equation of SCA help solutions to perform search procedure. However, in some situations, SCA promotes similar solutions in the search space, which results in the loss of diversity in the population, and the search process is susceptible to trapping in the region of local optimum [1]. Motivated by these challenges, SCA has been modified to improve its capability and efficiency in several ways. Several strategies have been employed to alter the basic version of SCA [2], aiming to enhance its effectiveness and optimization capabilities. In this chapter, we will discuss about these modifications and strategies, which have been incorporated into the sine cosine algorithm (SCA) in past few years. Apart from this, we will briefly describe the applications of the modified versions of SCA.
EGFL7 loss correlates with increased VEGF-D expression, upregulating hippocampal adult neurogenesis and improving spatial learning and memory
Authors: Barth Kathrin , Vasić Verica , McDonald Brennan , Heinig Nora , Wagner Marc-Christoph , Schumann Ulrike , Röhlecke Cora , Bicker Frank , Schumann Lana , Radyushkin Konstantin , Baumgart Jan , Tenzer Stefan , Zipp Frauke , Meinhardt Matthias , Alitalo Kari , Tegeder Irmgard , Schmidt Mirko H. H. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractNeural stem cells reside in the subgranular zone, a specialized neurogenic niche of the hippocampus. Throughout adulthood, these cells give rise to neurons in the dentate gyrus, playing an important role in learning and memory. Given that these core cognitive processes are disrupted in numerous disease states, understanding the underlying mechanisms of neural stem cell proliferation in the subgranular zone is of direct practical interest. Here, we report that mature neurons, neural stem cells and neural precursor cells each secrete the neurovascular protein epidermal growth factor-like protein 7 (EGFL7) to shape this hippocampal niche. We further demonstrate that EGFL7 knock-out in a Nestin-CreERT2-based mouse model produces a pronounced upregulation of neurogenesis within the subgranular zone. RNA sequencing identified that the increased expression of the cytokine VEGF-D correlates significantly with the ablation of EGFL7. We substantiate this finding with intraventricular infusion of VEGF-D upregulating neurogenesis in vivo and further show that VEGF-D knock-out produces a downregulation of neurogenesis. Finally, behavioral studies in EGFL7 knock-out mice demonstrate greater maintenance of spatial memory and improved memory consolidation in the hippocampus by modulation of pattern separation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that both EGFL7 and VEGF-D affect neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus, with the ablation of EGFL7 upregulating neurogenesis, increasing spatial learning and memory, and correlating with increased VEGF-D expression.
Five-year illness trajectories across racial groups in the UK following a first episode psychosis
Authors: Griffiths Siân Lowri , Bogatsu Tumelo , Longhi Mia , Butler Emily , Alexander Beel , Bandawar Mrunal , Everard Linda , Jones Peter B. , Fowler David , Hodgekins Joanne , Amos Tim , Freemantle Nick , McCrone Paul , Singh Swaran P. , Birchwood Max , Upthegrove Rachel 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Psychosis disproportionally affects ethnic minority groups in high-income countries, yet evidence of disparities in outcomes following intensive early intervention service (EIS) for First Episode Psychosis (FEP) is less conclusive. We investigated 5-year clinical and social outcomes of young people with FEP from different racial groups following EIS care.

Method
Data were analysed from the UK-wide NIHR SUPEREDEN study. The sample at baseline (n = 978) included White (n = 750), Black (n = 71), and Asian (n = 157) individuals, assessed during the 3 years of EIS, and up to 2 years post-discharge (n = 296; Black [n = 23]; Asian [n = 52] and White [n = 221]). Outcome trajectories were modelled for psychosis symptoms (positive, negative, and general), functioning, and depression, using linear mixed effect models (with random intercept and slopes), whilst controlling for social deprivation. Discharge service was also explored across racial groups, 2 years following EIS.

Results
Variation in linear growth over time was accounted for by racial group status for psychosis symptoms—positive (95% CI [0.679, 1.235]), negative (95% CI [0.315, 0.783]), and general (95% CI [1.961, 3.428])—as well as for functioning (95% CI [11.212, 17.677]) and depressive symptoms (95% CI [0.261, 0.648]). Social deprivation contributed to this variance. Black individuals experienced greater levels of deprivation (p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.187, 0.624]). Finally, there was a greater likelihood for Asian (OR = 3.04; 95% CI [2.050, 4.498]) and Black individuals (OR = 2.47; 95% CI [1.354, 4.520]) to remain in secondary care by follow-up.

Conclusion
Findings suggest variations in long-term clinical and social outcomes following EIS across racial groups; social deprivation contributed to this variance. Black and Asian individuals appear to make less improvement in long-term recovery and are less likely to be discharged from mental health services. Replication is needed in large, complete data, to fully understand disparities and blind spots to care.