bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Labour alternative dispute resolution modes in Zimbabwe
Authors: Ndhlovu Pilot , Mukuze Kebiat , Ndhlovu Provilence 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe study looks at the defining features of various labour dispute resolution modes and their appropriateness in Zimbabwe. Researchers used a qualitative approach to collect and analyse data, drawing on a purposive sampling method to select and distribute open-ended questionnaires to 38 participants. The study established that the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) modes used in Zimbabwe are collective bargaining, conciliation, and arbitration, all formalised and regulated by the Labour Act (2015). Nevertheless, these ADR mechanisms have numerous flaws including, that they are not ‘culturally’ close to citizens, and as a result, access to justice is still a challenge, they are also expensive and cannot be easily understood by ordinary employees. Accordingly, the study recommends that the government amend the Labour Act (2015) to return to the old conciliation and arbitration system which was decentralised to the districts. When making the amendments to the Labour Act, the government should also consult with general employees and employers, because they are the victims of the current system. Furthermore, workers’ committees and trade unions should also be empowered to support and educate employees.
Fertilizer use in conventional cereal production in northern Greece: Mapping gaps for improving sustainability
Authors: Vindena Vassiliki , Toubou Elisavet , Koutroubas Spyridon D. , Damalas Christos A. 
Published: August 2023

Summary
Optimizing fertilizer use in intensively cropped soils is essential, but knowledge of related issues among farmers is lacking. The present study assessed farmers’ perceptions of fertilizers and practices of fertilizer use in intensive cereal production in rural areas of Evros in northern Greece. In total, 250 cereal farmers were chosen for this study, and more than half of the farmers (53.6%) perceived that chemical fertilizers are hazardous, corroborating a general perception of chemophobia. Nevertheless, almost all farmers (98.8%) stated that they applied fertilization in their cereal production. Among them, 82.8% applied inorganic fertilizers, 9.2% applied green manure, 4.4% applied animal manure, and 3.6% applied commercial organic fertilizers. Most farmers used rates within the recommended rates in cereal production, while 12.9% and 6.2% of the farmers reported fertilization rates that were significantly lower or higher than those recommended for the area, respectively. Almost half of the farmers (48.8%) stated that they often use slow-release fertilizers and 30.8% stated that they frequently use foliar-applied fertilizers in cereals. Most farmers (57.2%) never kept records of annual fertilizations, while two-thirds of the farmers (66.4%) never asked for a soil analysis. Overall, most farmers (52.0%) showed traditional behavior, while only 5.2% showed innovative behavior in fertilizer use. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the innovative behavior was promoted by large-scale farmers, farmers who applied crop rotation, and farmers who perceived inorganic fertilizers as harmful. Moreover, large farm size and favorable attitudes concerning organic fertilizers were significantly associated with organic fertilizers use.
Advancing Regional Water Supply Management and Infrastructure Investment Pathways That Are Equitable, Robust, Adaptive, and Cooperatively Stable
Authors: Gold David F. , Reed Patrick M. , Gorelick David E. , Characklis Gregory W. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractRegionalization approaches—where utilities in close geographic proximity cooperate to manage drought risks and co‐invest in new infrastructure—are increasingly necessary strategies for leveraging economies of scale to meet growing demands and navigate financial risks. However, regionalization also brings new challenges to water supply planning. Successful regionalization policies must equitably balance the interests of multiple partners while navigating power relationships between regional actors. In long‐term infrastructure planning contexts, this challenge is heightened by the evolving system‐state dynamics, which may be fundamentally reshaped by infrastructure investment. This work introduces Equitable, Robust, Adaptive, and Stable Deeply Uncertain Pathways (DU PathwaysERAS), an exploratory modeling framework for developing regional water supply management and infrastructure investment pathways. DU PathwaysERAS provides an integrated framework for stakeholders to evaluate the equity of policy outcomes across cooperating partners and explore regional power relationships within cooperative infrastructure policies. To capture the time‐evolving dynamics of infrastructure pathways, DU PathwaysERAS features new tools to measure the adaptive capacity of pathway policies and evaluate time‐evolving vulnerability. We demonstrate our framework on a six‐utility water supply partnership seeking to develop cooperative infrastructure investment pathways in the Research Triangle, North Carolina. Our results indicate that commonly employed framings of robustness can have large and unintended adverse consequences for regional partnerships. Results further illustrate that regional and individual vulnerabilities are highly interdependent and emphasize the need to limit counterparty risks through carefully designed cooperative agreements. Beyond the Research Triangle, these results are broadly applicable to cooperative water supply infrastructure investment and management globally.
Thermal Dispersion in a Fracture‐Matrix System With Application to Geothermal Energy Extraction
Authors: Dejam Morteza , Hassanzadeh Hassan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWe studied thermal dispersion in a fracture walled by a porous and permeable rock matrix, where the fluid flow and heat transport are coupled across the interface between these media. The reduced order model of the advective‐dispersive heat transport in the fracture‐matrix system is resulted from the Reynolds decomposition. The model allows the calculations of the upscaled dispersion and advection terms. A simple scaling relation is developed to estimate heat extraction from geothermal fracture‐matrix systems. It was shown that the extracted heat is inversely proportional to the height of the matrix squared. Our finding also revealed that the dimensionless extracted heat is weakly dependent on fracture Peclet number and matrix Darcy number and is threefold the matrix dimensionless thermal diffusion time. In the analysis presented, we assumed a homogenous system. The heterogeneity caused by a variation in fracture and rock matrix properties (such as porosity, permeability, thickness, and aperture) adds more complexity. Including these complexities in the determination of the thermal dispersion with the coupled fracture‐matrix approach needs further investigation. However, the developed model, along with the findings of this study, provides valuable insight into the physics of thermal energy extraction from fractured geothermal reservoirs and can be used for testing the underlying hypotheses in real‐field applications.
Accurate sex prediction of cisgender and transgender individuals without brain size bias
Authors: Wiersch Lisa , Hamdan Sami , Hoffstaedter Felix , Votinov Mikhail , Habel Ute , Clemens Benjamin , Derntl Birgit , Eickhoff Simon B. , Patil Kaustubh R. , Weis Susanne 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe increasing use of machine learning approaches on neuroimaging data comes with the important concern of confounding variables which might lead to biased predictions and in turn spurious conclusions about the relationship between the features and the target. A prominent example is the brain size difference between women and men. This difference in total intracranial volume (TIV) can cause bias when employing machine learning approaches for the investigation of sex differences in brain morphology. A TIV-biased model will not capture qualitative sex differences in brain organization but rather learn to classify an individual’s sex based on brain size differences, thus leading to spurious and misleading conclusions, for example when comparing brain morphology between cisgender- and transgender individuals. In this study, TIV bias in sex classification models applied to cis- and transgender individuals was systematically investigated by controlling for TIV either through featurewise confound removal or by matching the training samples for TIV. Our results provide strong evidence that models not biased by TIV can classify the sex of both cis- and transgender individuals with high accuracy, highlighting the importance of appropriate modeling to avoid bias in automated decision making.
The effect of three-layer liner on the jet formation and penetration capability of shaped charge jet
Authors: Hao Zhiwei , Wang Zhijun , Wang Yifan , Duan Conghui , Ji Qing 
Published: August 2023

AbstractIn order to solve the problem of insufficient penetration ability of common liner, a new three-layer liner was proposed. AUTODYN software was used to simulate the efflux forming process of three-layer liner. The influence of four different impact impedance liner materials and different thickness ratio of three-layer liner on efflux performance was studied. In order to study the penetration ability of shaped charge to semi-infinite target plate, the penetration calculation of the target plate was carried out by taking several standoff under different thickness ratios. The optimal thickness ratio of three-layer liner was determined by studying the penetration depth and opening size of the target plate. The results show: By comparing the matching of liner materials with different impact impedances, the head velocity, effective length, total energy, total kinetic energy and effective jet mass of the jet formed when the three-layer liner material is AL 2024, copper and nickel from the outside to the inside are the best. In the analysis of the matching of the thickness ratio of the three-layer liner, the key to the jet forming is the thickness ratio of the outer liner. Within a certain range, the greater the proportion of the thickness of the outer liner, the better the jet forming; when the material of the three-layer liner is AL 2024-copper-nickel from outside to inside, the thickness ratio of the liner is 4/1/1 from outside to inside, and the jet forming is the best. The maximum penetration depth of the shaped charge with a thickness ratio of 1/1/4 from the outside to the inside of the three-layer liner is 395.5 mm, which is 52.3% higher than that of the shaped charge with a double-layer liner. Compared with the shaped charge with single-layer liner, the penetration depth is increased by 62.6%. When the thickness ratio of the three-layer liner is 1/1/4 from the outside to the inside, the maximum entrance diameter of the target plate is 14.3 mm, which is the same as that of the shaped charge with the double-layer liner. Compared with the shaped charge with single-layer liner, the entrance diameter is in-creased by 14.4%.
Biocompatibility and efficacy of prostatic urethral lift in benign prostate hyperplasia: an in vivo and in vitro study
Authors: Xia Yuqi , Yuan Tianhui , Zou Wei , Li Haoyong , Ning Jinzhuo , Ruan Yuan , Xu Lizhe , Yu Weimin , Cheng Fan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe study aimed to assess the biocompatibility and efficacy of a prostatic urethral lift (PUL) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Human BPH-1 cells were co-cultured with implant anchors and sutures, and cytotoxicity was measured. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe adhesion and growth of cells and to evaluate implant biocompatibility. Fifteen male beagle dogs were randomly assigned to the surgical (n = 9) or sham-operated (n = 6) groups. The surgical group underwent cystotomy, and PUL was used to insert two implants in each lobe of the prostate to compress the enlarged prostate and dilate the urethra; the sham group underwent cystotomy without implant insertion. Compared with the control group, no significant difference in cell viability among the groups with different co-culture times of implant anchors and sutures (P > 0.05) was observed. SEM revealed good adhesion and growth of prostate cells on the implants. Improvements in urine flow rates remained stable at 7, 28, and 180 days after surgery, and the urethral diameter in the prostate region was significantly increased compared with that before surgery. PUL is a biocompatible and effective treatment for BPH, improving the urine flow rate without causing inflammation, tissue damage, or cytotoxic effects. Here, the basis for further PUL application was provided.
Combined serum albumin, fecal immunochemical test, and leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein levels for predicting prognosis in remitting patients with ulcerative colitis
Authors: Nakamura Naohiro , Honzawa Yusuke , Nishimon Shuhei , Sano Yasuki , Tokutomi Yutaro , Ito Yuka , Yagi Naoto , Kobayashi Sanshiro , Aoi Mamiko , Tahara Tomomitsu , Fukata Norimasa , Fukui Toshiro , Naganuma Makoto 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis study investigated the usefulness of serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein (LRG) and fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for predicting relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Data of 194 patients tested for LRG between January 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively collected and clinical characteristics were recorded. LRG was strongly correlated with CRP levels and it had a moderately negative correlation with albumin levels, whereas FIT was not significantly correlated with either CRP or albumin levels. Furthermore, the median serum albumin and FIT were significantly different between patients with or without clinical relapse; while the LRG level was not associated with clinical relapse. Although LRG is not an independent factor for predicting clinical relapse, the cumulative remission rate was significantly higher in patients with higher albumin than in those with lower albumin. Furthermore, the combination of FIT and albumin was useful for predicting for relapse, patients with higher FIT and lower albumin tended to have higher relapse rates than those with both lower FIT and albumin and those with lower FIT and higher albumin. Our study indicated that serum albumin level is useful for predicting relapse, even in remitting outpatients. Although LRG is not an independent factor for predicting clinical relapse, it is useful for identifying patients that are likely to relapse when combined serum albumin or FIT results.
METTL14 inhibits malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by targeting the autophagy-related gene RB1CC1 in an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent manner
Authors: Liang Jianfeng , Cai Hongshi , Hou Chen , Song Fan , Jiang Yaoqi , Wang Ziyi , Qiu Danqi , Zhu Yue , Wang Fang , Yu Dongsheng , Hou Jinsong 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays crucial roles in tumorigenesis and autophagy. However, the underlying mechanisms mediated by m6A and autophagy in the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. In the present study, we revealed that down-regulated expression of METTL14 was correlated with advanced clinicopathological characteristics and poor prognosis in OSCC. METTL14 knockdown significantly inhibited autophagy and facilitated malignant progression in vitro, and promoted tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. A cell model of rapamycin-induced autophagy was established to identify RB1CC1 as a potential target gene involved in m6A-regulated autophagy in OSCC, through RNA sequencing and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (meRIP-seq) analysis. Mechanistically, we confirmed that METTL14 posttranscriptionally enhanced RB1CC1 expression in an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent manner, thereby affecting autophagy and progression in OSCC, through methylated RNA immunoprecipitation qRT-PCR (meRIP-qPCR), RNA stability assays, mutagenesis assays and dual-luciferase reporter. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that METTL14 serves as an OSCC suppressor by regulating the autophagy-related gene RB1CC1 through m6A modification, which may provide a new insight for the diagnosis and therapy of OSCC.
Retrograde Coronary Sinus Versus Antegrade Cardioplegic Perfusion: A Review
Authors: James David A. 
Published: August 2023

Retrograde coronary sinus perfusion may provide equal if not better myocardial protection than antegrade cardioplegia during certain heart surgeries.
The coronary venous system can be divided into the greater and lesser systems and veno-venous and arterio-venous anastomoses. Venous drainage varies greatly and retrograde coronary sinus perfusion depends on this variation.
Antegrade cardioplegia is effective in some severely obstructed vasculature due to collaterals but generally these are insufficient and areas of the heart remain unprotected.
The coronary venous system is a low pressure system unaffected by atherosclerosis. Great care must be taken to avoid overpressurization. Because direct cannulation can be difficult, Fabiani created a technique whereby the right heart is pressurized causing backflow into the sinus. Diehl combined this right heart approach with a dose of antegrade cardioplegia to stop the heart quickly.
Investigators have compared retrograde coronary sinus perfusion to antegrade cardioplegia using infrared myocardial thermography, microsphere injection, and crystalloid and perfluorocarbon cardioplegia.
Retrograde coronary sinus perfusion remains a viable alternative to antegrade cardioplegia for various cardiac conditions and its application may increase as investigators improve and simplify the technique.
Multi-mode polarization-filtering hollow core anti-resonance fiber using SPR
Authors: Xu Ziyi , Liu Shuo , Ma Rui 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
A multi-mode polarization-filtering hollow core anti-resonance fiber whose cladding is composed of four circular tubes and four elliptical tubes is demonstrated. In the vertical directions, two small nested elliptical tubes are coated with gold films in the inner wall. This fiber can filter x-polarized LP01, LP21 and LP02 modes in different wavelengths through surface plasmon resonance which, is produced by two gold films. The polarization extinction ratio of LP01, LP21 and LP02 modes can reach 293, 116 and 30 at the wavelength of 1550 nm, 1570 nm and 1574 nm, respectively. We can adjust the polarization-filtering operation wavelength by changing the ellipticity of elliptical tubes in the cladding. Thus, this fiber can achieve polarization-filtering operation in the whole C and L bands.
Comparison of chitosan and SLN nano-delivery systems for antibacterial effect of cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) oil against MDR K pneumoniae and E coli
Authors: Rohani Masoumeh , Nemattalab Mehran , Hedayati Mohammad , Ghasemi Saeed , Hesari Zahra 
Published: August 2023

Abstract

Objectives. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli are among the widespread causes of hospital infections, and their biofilm forming ability causes their resistance to antibiotics. Cinnamon oil (CO) has presented confirmed antimicrobial activity. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and chitosan nanoparticles are promising carrier systems to increase the stability and therapeutic effects of oils. Methods. This study was designed to develop chitosan nanoparticles containing cinnamon oil (CO–CH) and compare it with cinnamon oil loaded in SLN (CO-SLN). Physicochemical evaluations and antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities were determined. Results. SLN showed a regular morphology and a spherical shape with an average size of 40.65 nm and the CO–CH showed a non-rounded edge with an average size of approximately 116.1 nm. The Encapsulation efficiency of CO–CH and CO–SLN nanoparticles were about 97.5% and 80%, respectively. Results showed 70% cumulative release in CH–CO compared to 40% in CO-SLN in 24 h. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E coli and K pneumoniae for CO–CH, CO-SLN and pure CO were 10–15 μg ml−1 , 60 –80 μg ml−1 and 155–175 μg ml−1, respectively. Conclusion. Utilizing nano- systems for the delivery of CO can significantly potentiate its antimicrobial activity. CO–CH revealed a 6-fold higher antibacterial effect compared to CO-SLN and more than 10-fold stronger activity compared to CO.
Wide-angle high-performance polarizers based on all-elliptical-metamaterial one-dimensional photonic crystals
Authors: She Yuchun , Cheng Zhaoming , Li Hongju , Hu Shi , Zheng Yunbao , Wu Feng 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
As a class of all-dielectric metamaterials, elliptical metamaterials (EMMs) with elliptical iso-frequency curves provide a lossless platform to manipulate light with unity efficiency. Herein, we select two kinds of EMMs as the elements to constitute a special class of one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals (PCs) called all-EMM 1D PCs and realize polarization-sensitive photonic bandgaps (PBGs). Enabled by the polarization-sensitive property of the PBG, we achieve a wide-angle high-performance polarizer. The maximum polarization extinction ratio reaches 1.82 × 104 and the width of the operating angle range reaches 36.07°. Besides, the performance of the polarizer demonstrates robustness against the layer thickness. The all-EMM 1D PCs are 1D nanostructures completely consisting of dielectric thin films, which can be much easily fabricated compared with 2D and 3D nanostructures. Our work provides a lithography-free recipe to design wide-angle high-performance polarizers.
Canonical analysis and modified Faddeev-Jackiw approach for the Jackiw-Teitelboim model in two dimensions
Authors: Cabrera Jaime Manuel , Paulin Fuentes Jorge Mauricio 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This article presents an analysis of the constraints of the Jackiw-Teitelboim model in two dimensions via the canonical analysis using the Dirac algorithm and modified Faddeev-Jackiw (FJ) approach. The analysis primarily focuses on the identification of constraints, gauge transformations, counting of physical degrees of freedom, and the generalized FJ brackets and Dirac’s brackets. To ensure gauge symmetry within the symplectic formalism and maintain consistency with the Dirac formalism, we employ the Montani-Wotzasek method, which effectively utilizes the zero modes of the symplectic matrix. Additionally, the Poincaré symmetry and diffeomorphisms in the model are identified. Finally, we present the equivalence between the generalized FJ and Dirac brackets when all the second-class constraints are treated as zero equations.
Synthesis of drug carrier carbon nanofoam by chemical vapor deposition using Agar/NaCl catalyst
Authors: Muchlisha N , Widjonarko D M , Saraswati T E 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Carbon nanofoam is one of the carbon allotropes having sp2 and sp3 hybridized carbon, with graphite or non-graphite-like structures, a stable framework, and very low density. This study aims to synthesize carbon nanofoam by chemical vapor deposition using an Agar/NaCl catalyst and Ar/C2H2 gases at 700°C. The success of the synthesis was analyzed using FTIR and SEM-EDX analysis. The carbon nanofoam obtained was hydrophobic. The FTIR spectra show absorption at wavenumber 3445, 2921, and 1527 cm−1, respectively, indicating the presence of hydroxyl groups, aliphatic C-H, and C=C stretching. However, its FTIR spectra indicate the absence of hydrophilic groups, such as covalent-bonded oxygen-containing functional groups. The SEM image shows the interconnected framework with irregular pores. The elemental analysis using EDX shows that the prepared CNF contains C and O elements of 92.45 and 7.6%, respectively. The prepared carbon nanofoam shows ascorbic acid slowing release in its drug carrier application due to its large porosity and surface area.