bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Combined clinoptilolite and Fe(O)OH for efficient removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) with enhanced solid–liquid separation
Authors: Enemmoh Jennifer N. , Harbottle David , Yusuf Muhammad , Hunter Timothy N. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This study investigated combining fine clinoptilolite with iron hydroxide coagulant, as a cost-effective, dual-purpose flocculant for enhanced removal of Pb2⁺ or Cu2⁺ ions, along with the solid–liquid separation and physicochemical analysis. For the clinoptilolite, adsorption kinetics fitted a pseudo-second-order (PSO) rate model with higher rate constants for Pb2+, while equilibrium adsorption data fitted the Langmuir monolayer model, with Q

max
similar at 18.8 mg/g for Pb2+ and 18.3 mg/g Cu2+. TEM elemental mapping of the clinoptilolite evidenced areas of K and Fe impurities, while SEM suggested a uniform distribution of aggregates comprising a clinoptilolite core with decorated FeOOH. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the FeOOH phase as α-FeOOH (Goethite) with no change in structure on inclusion of adsorbed Pb2+. Combined clinoptilolite-FeOOH flocs were significantly larger than FeOOH only precipitates, while flocs formed from 0.5 wt% FeOOH and 1 wt% clinoptilolite produced the fastest settling rates and greatest consolidation. Compressive yield stress data also correlated with enhanced dewatering of the combined systems, due to the dense clinoptilolite acting as a weighter material. For final metals removal, combined flocs outperformed FeOOH across a broad concentration range, achieving > 98% removal for both Pb2⁺ or Cu2⁺. The greater metals removal combined with denser floc production and improved settling features highlights significantly enhanced performance above that possible from either ion exchange or precipitation alone.

Graphical abstract
The aberrant expression of CD39 is associated with the dismal outcome of patients with cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Zheng Bohao , Shen Sheng , Wang Jiwen , Sun Wentao , Wan Wenze , Liu Jiaying , Zhang Dexiang , Ni Xiaoling , Suo Tao , Liu Han , Ni Xiaojian , Liu Houbao 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate the biological function and the underlying mechanism of CD39 in cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods
Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR), western blot (WB), and immunohistochemistry staining was used to evaluate the expression level of CD39 in cholangiocarcinoma. Kaplan–Meier and Cox hazard ratio regression analyses were implicated to evaluate the prognostic significance of CD39. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was carried out to evaluate the proliferative capacity, while transwell assay was used to detect the migration and invasion ability. In addition, B-NDG mice were used for the in vivo assay. The potential protein binding with the CD39 was identified through co-immunoprecipitation.

Results
CD39 was aberrantly expressed in the tumor tissue and cholangiocarcinoma cell lines. CD39 was identified as an independent poor prognostic factor in cholangiocarcinoma. In addition, in vitro and in vivo data indicated that the knockdown of CD39 could suppress the proliferation, migration, and invasion ability. The opposite results were observed when CD39 was overexpressed. Mechanistically, CD39 could bind with Annexin A2 (ANXA2), which influences the phosphorylation level of ANXA2 at the Tyr24 site, thereby promoting the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling, which resulted in the biological change in cholangiocarcinoma.

Conclusion
CD39 was identified as an independent prognostic factor of poor overall survival for patients with cholangiocarcinoma. In terms of the biological role of CD39, our data indicated that CD39 promoted the progression and metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma through binding with ANXA2, and through activating the PI3K/AKT signaling. In brief, CD39 is a potential prognostic factor and therapeutical target for cholangiocarcinoma.
An underwater acoustic semantic communication approach to underwater image transmission
Authors: Zhang Ying , Li Huanyu , Li Bingyu , Li Li , Zhang Weibo , Wang Hao , Ren Peng 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
We develop an underwater acoustic semantic communication approach for underwater image transmission in this study. The developed approach has two main merits. First, it enables efficient underwater image transmission, in terms of microvolume textual semantics, via the underwater acoustic channel, which typically has limited bandwidth. Second, it enhances robust underwater image transmission by leveraging semantic communication in the underwater environment, where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is typically low. To achieve these goals, semantic representations for underwater images are developed. Specifically, at the transmitter’s end, semantic extraction is conducted by converting an original underwater image into descriptive text, from which an entity list is subsequently identified. The entity list represents the textual semantics of the underwater image, providing a microvolume representation for efficient underwater image transmission. The entity list is then transmitted through the underwater acoustic channel to the receiver. At the receiver’s end, semantic reconstruction is conducted by converting the received entity list back into descriptive text, which is subsequently converted into a generated underwater image semantically consistent with the original. The semantic extraction and semantic reconstruction of the underwater image are empowered by deep learning technologies with the support of a reliable semantic knowledge base. The experimental results prove that our approach offers advantages, in terms of microvolume and robust representations, over standard approaches to underwater image transmission. Therefore, this approach establishes a new baseline for underwater image transmission, which could potentially overcome the challenges posed by the narrow bandwidth and low SNR of the underwater acoustic channel.
THUCYDIDES, SEGESTA AND LEONTINI: RETHINKING THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION
Authors: Thatcher Mark R. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Modern accounts of Sicilian history in the late fifth century b.c.e. and its relations with Athens often follow Thucydides’ Athenocentric narrative closely, largely ignoring the Sicilian background. This article instead foregrounds the actions and concerns of two important Sicilian cities, Segesta and Leontini, whose perspectives Thucydides chose to leave out or downplay. In particular, Segesta was involved in the complex cross-cultural dynamics of western Sicily, while Leontini demonstrated resilience in its resistance to Syracusan imperialism. Both cities’ relations with Athens emerged from their pre-existing policies and strategies. This article thus develops an alternate narrative of these events that complements Thucydides’ Athenocentric one. To accomplish this, it argues for a more nuanced approach to Thucydides’ narrative: reading it against the grain, supplementing it with data from Diodorus and epigraphy, and placing it in its Sicilian historical and cultural context. In this way, the article develops a new approach to the methodological issues involved in writing the history of poleis that are not emphasized in major extant narrative sources. Recognizing Segesta and Leontini as political actors with their own goals and agendas enables both a new reading of Thucydides and a less Athenocentric account of late fifth-century Sicilian history.
Covert contraceptive use among women with a previous unintended pregnancy in Nigeria: A multilevel investigation of individual- and contextual-level factors
Authors: Ujah Otobo I. , Salemi Jason L. , Rapkin Rachel B. , Sappenfield William , Daley Ellen M. , Kirby Russell S. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Covert contraceptive use is a strategy to avoid unintended pregnancy. However, evidence regarding the multilevel factors linking past experiences of unintended pregnancy with covert contraceptive use is limited. The objective of this study was to identify the compositional and contextual factors associated with covert contraceptive use among women with a prior unintended pregnancy. Framed by the socio-ecological model, a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from Round 5 of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 project in Nigeria. Non-pregnant women aged 15–49 years who reported a previous mistimed or unwanted pregnancy were included (N = 1631). Multilevel logistic regression models with random intercepts were specified to investigate the relationship between covert contraceptive use and compositional and contextual factors. Approximately 4.54% (95% CI = 3.28–6.25) of women reported covert contraceptive use. At the individual level, having less than secondary education (aOR = 5.88, 95% CI = 1.20–28.72) and being single (aOR = 11.29, 95% CI = 2.93–43.56) were associated with higher odds of covert contraceptive use. There was no significant association between covert contraceptive use and the type of unintended pregnancy (mistimed: aOR = 3.13, 95% CI = 0.88–11.13). At the community level, living in a community with average poverty levels (aOR = 6.18, 95% CI = 1.18–32.55) and high exposure to family planning mass media (aOR = 6.84, 95% CI = 1.62–29.11) were associated with higher odds of covert contraceptive use. Measures of variation showed significant variation in covert contraceptive use across communities. Further research is warranted to better understand the underlying mechanisms in these observed associations and variations in covert contraceptive use among women following the experience of an unintended pregnancy. Additionally, there is a need to design family planning strategies that integrate community-level structures.
Family functioning in families with 11-year-old children at familial high risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and population-based controls: The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study VIA 11
Authors: Hemager Nicoline , Gjøde Ida Christine Tholstrup , Gregersen Maja , Brandt Julie Marie , Søndergaard Anne , Krantz Mette Falkenberg , Veddum Lotte , Knudsen Christina Bruun , Andreassen Anna Krogh , Piché Geneviève , Nordentoft Merete , Greve Aja Neergaard , Thorup Anne Amalie Elgaard 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Poorer family functioning during childhood is associated with severe mental disorders in adulthood in the general population. However, family functioning is understudied in families with parental schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. We aimed to investigate family functioning in families with 11-year-old children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder compared with controls. Second, we aimed to examine associations between family functioning and levels of child psychopathology, child global functioning, and parental social functioning.

Methods
In this prospective, population-based cohort study, we included 160 families with parental schizophrenia, 95 families with parental bipolar disorder, and 177 control families. Family functioning was measured with the 12-item version of the McMaster Family Assessment Device – General Functional Scale.

Results
Families with parental schizophrenia (Cohen’s d = 0.29; p = .002) and parental bipolar disorder (Cohen’s d = 0.34; p = .004) had significantly poorer family functioning and a significantly higher prevalence of clinically significant family dysfunction (Cohen’s d range = 0.29–0.34; p values = .007) than control families. Across study groups, poorer family functioning was associated with higher levels of child psychopathology and poorer social functioning of the primary caregiver (p values < .001).

Conclusions
Children in families with parental schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are at increased risk of experiencing family dysfunction, and poorer family functioning confers risk for more symptoms of child psychopathology and poorer parental social functioning. Future studies should investigate the potentially predictive value of family dysfunction in relation to later illness onset and other adverse outcomes in these populations.
A Tolerated Terror: Rahmah bin Jabir and the Age of Revolutions in the Gulf, 1760-1830
Authors: Roberts Nicholas P. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Rahmah bin Jabir (c. 1760-1826) is one of the most frequently mentioned persons in British sources from the Gulf in the first decades of the nineteenth century. He is also found throughout important Arabic-language chronicles. Despite his prominence in the sources, however, scholars have paid him relatively little attention, in either English or in Arabic. Though often cast as a pirate, this article argues that Rahmah bin Jabir was a political entrepreneur critical to shaping the international order of the Gulf in the first half of the nineteenth century. Reading against the grain of the colonial archive and synthesizing British sources with Arab chronicles, this article brings to life a textured political imaginary of the Gulf in the global age of revolutions, using Rahmah to weave overlapping political agendas between different emerging states, including the Omanis, the Saudi-Wahhabis, the Bahrainis, the Qataris, and the British. I suggest that Rahmah stands as one figure through whom historians can continue piecing together an age of revolutions in the Gulf that is more than Europe's emergence into modernity, one that highlights a complex and vibrant history of negotiation, endurance, and resiliency.
Findings and challenges in understanding the impacts of human-induced trampling on Antarctic edaphic microbial communities and their recovery potential
Authors: Fernández-Martínez Miguel Ángel , Galbo Cacha Rosa MarÍa , López-Archilla Ana Isabel , Tejedo Pablo , Garrido-Benavent Isaac , De Los Ríos Asunción , Benayas Javier 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, covering less than 1% of the continent, are under increasing anthropogenic threats, particularly from climate change and tourism. This study focuses on the impact of human trampling on soil microbial communities in Barrientos Island (South Shetlands archipelago), a frequently visited location. Soil samples were collected within and at the edge of two established paths representing varying levels of human disturbance. Physical and chemical analyses revealed significant differences between the paths, potentially creating anaerobic conditions favorable for specific microbial taxa. Thus, microbial communities also differed between the paths. Aerobic heterotrophic taxa were dominant in the less disturbed path, while anaerobic taxa such as Bacteroidetes vadinHA17 thrived in the more compacted path. Although alpha diversity indices did not differ, beta diversity analyses showed notable distinctions, particularly between the paths rather than trampled and untrampled areas. These findings suggest that microbial communities may recover following the stop of human activity, but also that indigenous microbial communities or other overlooked factors may be influencing the recovery potential. This study thus offers a starting point for similar research, as it highlights the need for further investigation to determine whether human trampling or other environmental factors are primarily responsible for these differences.
Do chinstrap penguins use olfactory cues for partner recognition?
Authors: Amo Luisa , Rodríguez-Gironés Miguel Ángel , Barbosa Andrés 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Although there is increasing evidence that birds have individual chemical profiles that can be used in different social contexts, partner scent recognition has only been explored in procellariiform seabirds, a group of birds known for their highly developed olfactory system. However, olfaction is not restricted to Procellariiformes, and birds with smaller olfactory bulbs can also use chemical cues in different social contexts. More evidence from different bird groups is needed to disentangle whether olfaction plays a general role in partner recognition. We performed a choice experiment to examine whether chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis antarcticus can discriminate the scent of their partner from the scent of other conspecifics. Our results do not suggest a preference of penguins for the scent of their partners. Our results highlight the need to carry out additional studies to determine the mechanisms underlying partner recognition in penguins.
Health professionals’ use of smartphone apps for clients with low back pain: an observational study
Authors: Didyk Claudia , Lewis Lucy Kate , Lange Belinda 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Aim:
This study aimed to explore health professionals’ use, barriers, confidence, and preferences for technology and smartphone apps to assist clients with self-managing low back pain (LBP).

Methods:
Prospective observational cross-sectional survey of registered Australian health professionals that managed clients with LBP.

Results:
In total, 52 survey responses were included (mean age 43 ±13.8 years). Most did not personally use healthy lifestyle apps (60%) and did not recommend apps due to a lack of knowledge of app effectiveness (93%). The largest barrier to recommending apps was the potential for apps to be misused as a substitute to health professional diagnosis. Fifteen recommended smartphone apps (mean age 36 ±10.6 years) and were at least moderately confident in choosing/recommending apps (94%) and assessing app quality (80%). Those more likely to recommend apps personally used apps for healthy lifestyle behaviours (odds ratio (OR) 5.1 (p = 0.009)) were physiotherapists (OR 0.13 (p = 0.035) c/f chiropractors in their profession for <10 years (OR 8.6 (p = 0.015)) c/f >30 years. Increasing age decreased the odds (OR 0.94 (p = 0.013)) of recommending apps.

Conclusions:
Health professionals do not recommend LBP self-management apps due to a lack of knowledge of their effectiveness. Those that do recommend apps are confident with app choice, recommendation, and app quality assessment. Physiotherapists with <10 years’ experience were most likely to recommend apps.
POLYNOMIALS REPRESENTED BY NORM FORMS VIA THE BETA SIEVE
Authors: Shute Alec 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
A central question in Arithmetic geometry is to determine for which polynomials

$f \in \mathbb {Z}[t]$

and which number fields K the Hasse principle holds for the affine equation

$f(t) = \mathbf {N}_{K/\mathbb {Q}}(\mathbf {x}) \neq 0$

. Whilst extensively studied in the literature, current results are largely limited to polynomials and number fields of low degree. In this paper, we establish the Hasse principle for a wide family of polynomials and number fields, including polynomials that are products of arbitrarily many linear, quadratic or cubic factors. The proof generalises an argument of Irving [27], which makes use of the beta sieve of Rosser and Iwaniec. As a further application of our sieve results, we prove new cases of a conjecture of Harpaz and Wittenberg on locally split values of polynomials over number fields, and discuss consequences for rational points in fibrations.
Women’s Property and the Downward Spiral into Fraud: Questioning the Persistent Narrative of Progress in Women’s Legal Status
Authors: Edwards Laura F. 
Published: February 2025

AbstractThis article challenges the narratives that we tell ourselves about women’s history in the nineteenth century, particularly narratives that celebrate progress in the legal status of women, based on the acquisition of rights. As it shows, legal changes in the nineteenth century lumped all women into an artificially reductive category “women,” separated them from their families’ property, and turned those claims into something so problematic that they were linked to fraud. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was difficult to imagine that family property to which women contributed all their lives might actually belong to them. The article focuses on white women of considerable means. But the point is that the problematic legal category “women” not only compromised all women’s legal claims to property, but also obscured other, important social and legal differences—including those of race and class—among them.
A GENUINELY UNTYPED EXPLANATION OF COMMON BELIEF AND KNOWLEDGE
Authors: GORBOW PAUL 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This paper provides a consistent first-order theory solving the knower paradoxes of Kaplan and Montague, with the following main features: 1. It solves the knower paradoxes by providing a faithful formalization of the principle of veracity (that knowledge requires truth), using both a knowledge and a truth predicate. 2. It is genuinely untyped i.e., it is untyped not only in the sense that it uses a single knowledge predicate applying to all sentences in the language (including sentences in which this predicate occurs), but in the sense that its axioms quantify over all sentences in the language, thus supporting comprehensive reasoning with untyped knowledge ascriptions. 3. Common knowledge predicates can be defined in the system using self-reference. These facts, together with a technique based on Löb’s theorem, enables it to support comprehensive reasoning with untyped common knowledge ascriptions (without having any axiom directly addressing common knowledge).
Reading Ely in Tokyo
Authors: Tew Yvonne 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
John Hart Ely’s theory of judicial review was centrally concerned with the role of courts in preserving democracy in the constitutional context of the United States. At first blush, then, the comparative turn toward Ely might strike a jarring note. This article contributes to the discourse on comparative political process theory, or comparative representation-reinforcing theory, by examining the judicial role in preserving democracy, as well as the role that courts can play in constructing and facilitating constitutional democracy, particularly in fragile democracies. It considers three illustrative examples: the United Kingdom Supreme Court decision overruling the prorogation of Parliament; the Malaysian Federal Court’s development of a constitutional basic structure doctrine; and the Malawi Supreme Court’s decision invalidating the outcome of a presidential election. It concludes with reflections on juristocracy and distrust, and the reach (and limits) of the endeavor to expand Ely’s theory globally.
Causal Effect Between Natural Hair Color and Endometriosis in a European Population: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization
Authors: Zhang Yuping , Feng Ying 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Previous observational studies have suggested an association between natural hair color and the risk of endometriosis; however, the causal relationship remains unclear. Here, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to evaluate the potential causal link between natural hair color and endometriosis using 428 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as genetic instruments derived from a genomewide meta-analysis comprising over 4511 cases and 227,260 controls of European ancestry. Our findings indicate that dark brown hair is associated with a decreased risk of developing endometriosis (dark brown IVW OR: 0.844, 95% CI [0.725, 0.984], p < .05). Conversely, dark hair color and lighter hair colors (red, blonde, and light brown) did not demonstrate a significant association with endometriosis risk (dark IVW OR: 0.568, 95% CI [0.280, 1.15], p = .117; red IVW OR: 1.058, 95% CI [0.719, 1.558], p = .77; blonde IVW OR: 1.158, 95% CI [0.886, 1.514], p = .28; light brown IVW OR: 1.306, 95% CI [0.978, 1.743], p = .07). These results provide compelling MR evidence supporting a causal association between natural hair color and endometriosis risk. Our findings underscore the need for larger scale studies and randomized controlled trials to delineate the biological mechanisms driving the association between hair color and endometriosis.