bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vegetation change over 140 years in a sagebrush landscape of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, USA
Authors: Fox Kara M. , Margolis Ellis Q. , Lopez Manuel K. , Kasten Ella A. , Stevens Jens T. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractQuestionsBig sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems across the western United States have experienced many changes in ecosystem dynamics and vegetation composition over the last century due to livestock grazing, non‐native species, and changing climate and fire regimes. We conducted the first systematic investigation of historical vegetation composition and vegetation change in a sagebrush landscape in the southwestern United States, asking whether sagebrush or grass dominated the landscape historically?LocationThe Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (RGDN), northern New Mexico, USA.MethodsWe combined General Land Office (GLO) surveys from 1881 with modern vegetation maps, field vegetation surveys, and sagebrush ages from growth ring analysis to test for changes in vegetation in the RGDN over the last 140 years.ResultsWe found that big sagebrush presence across the study area increased significantly, from being present on 16% of section lines in 1881 to 79% in 2019, and only three section lines lost sagebrush presence during that period. Concurrently, the number of section lines with low grass index more than doubled since 1881, while moderate and high grass index declined. Grass declined equally in areas where sagebrush increased and areas with no change in sagebrush, suggesting that changes in both vegetation types were catalyzed by external factors, likely including overgrazing. The growth ring analysis of 93 sagebrush revealed a maximum age of 87 years and establishment in every decade since the 1930s, consistent with the GLO results.ConclusionsThe significant vegetation changes in the RGDN over the last century, including an increase of sagebrush, provide important context about the shifting mosaic of grasslands and shrublands relevant to current and future management and ecosystem dynamics.
Aquinas on the Fixity of the Will After Death
Authors: Feser Edward 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAquinas holds that after death, the human soul can no longer change its basic orientation either toward God or away from him. He takes this to be knowable not only from divine revelation but by purely philosophical reasoning. The heart of his position is that the basic orientation of an angelic will is fixed immediately after its creation, and that the human soul after death is relevantly like an angel. This article expounds and defends Aquinas's position, paying special attention to the action theory underlying it.
Providence, Divine Causality, and the Gratuitousness of Love: A Thomist Perspective
Authors: Van Nieuwenhove Rik 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBroadly drawing on the writings of Thomas Aquinas, this article is a systematic-theological (rather than historical-theological) engagement with the theme of providence and divine causality. It aims to dispel some modern misunderstandings of these topics by highlighting how pre-modern approaches differ from today's perspective. It does so by arguing, firstly, that Thomas, given his teleological focus, construes divine causality not so much as efficient causality but rather in terms of final causality. I will also make the point that Thomas's calling God a ‘universal cause’ should not be construed in terms of omni-causality, as if God predetermines every event (be it necessarily or contingently). In the final part of this contribution, I make some observations on the arbitrariness of afflictions and the connection with the gratuitousness of charity within the providential ordering.
Aquinas's Fourth Way, Beauty, and Virtues
Authors: Pouivet Roger 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMany questions have been raised concerning the logical validity of Aquinas's Fourth Way. Some commentators judge the Fourth Way to be problematic while others find it delightful. In this paper, the Fourth Way is understood as a reflection on what it is to attribute to things around us scalar predicates. Does the Fourth Way not resemble what Wittgenstein observes when speaking about ‘the standard meter’? If so, is the Fourth Way significantly different from what might be called a ‘mystical’ line of thinking? If not, it would be this mystical meaning that is used in the Way with respect to ‘God exists’. How should we understand this mystical meaning? By noting that beauty appears as a response-dependent property and by stressing that in order to attribute it to something we must possess certain virtues. Beauty would then be relative to virtues which are linked to the mystical meaning of ‘God’. Why could such a use, concerning the predicate ‘beautiful’ (even if that is not mentioned in the Fourth Way) not constitute an explanation of ‘what we call God’? This is a question to which the reading of the Fourth Way might lead.
What policies are there and what policies are missing? A Photovoice study of adolescents' perspectives on obesity‐prevention policies in their local environment
Authors: Banik Anna , Knai Cecile , Klepp Knut‐Inge , Rutter Harry , Rito Ana , Lien Nanna , Baillergeau Evelyne , Szczuka Zofia , Boberska Monika , Kulis Ewa , Luszczynska Aleksandra 
Published: September 2023

SummaryThe aim of this study was to investigate adolescents' critical awareness of whether obesity prevention policies targeting physical activity (PA) and nutrition were operating in their local community. Participants were 41 adolescents (aged 16–18, 90% women) recruited from three communities in Poland. Prior to this study, they were involved in obesity‐prevention participatory initiatives (conducted within the CO‐CREATE project), where obesity‐related public policy limitations were analyzed in a youth‐led discussion. A Photovoice exercise was designed to capture obesity‐related public policies that were either present or absent in young people's local environments. The photographs (N = 213) were coded and mapped according to the policy themes they illustrated, using the MOVING and NOURISHING frameworks. The public policies represented in the photographs are most frequently related to: healthy retail or food service environments; food advertising or promotion; structures and surroundings that promote PA; and infrastructure and opportunities that support public or active transport. Adolescents are critically aware of the presence and lack of specific public policies operating in their local environment, particularly policies affecting structural aspects of food and PA environments. Policy‐oriented photovoice exercises may prompt critical awareness among adolescents and empower them to contribute to obesity prevention policy processes.
Co‐creating obesity prevention policies with youth: Policy ideas generated through the CO‐CREATE project
Authors: Conway‐Moore Kaitlin , Knai Cécile , Finegood Diane , Johnston Lee , Brinsden Hannah , Aguiar Anaely , Kopainsky Birgit , Önal Furkan , Helleve Arnfinn , Klepp Knut‐Inge , Lien Nanna , Luszczynska Aleksandra , Rito Ana Isabel , Rønnestad Alfred Mestad , Ulstein Madeleine , Blanchard Laurence , Savona Natalie , Rutter Harry 
Published: September 2023

SummaryDespite growing recognition of the importance of applying a systems lens to action on obesity, there has only been limited analysis of the extent to which this lens has actually been applied. The CO‐CREATE project used a youth‐led participatory action research approach to generate policy ideas towards the reduction of adolescent overweight and obesity across Europe. In order to assess the extent to which these youth‐generated policy ideas take a systems approach, we analyzed them using the Intervention Level Framework (ILF). The ILF ascribes actions to one of five system levels, from Structural Elements, the least engaged with system change, up to Paradigm, which is the system's deepest held beliefs and thus the most difficult level at which to intervene. Of the 106 policy ideas generated by young people during the CO‐CREATE project, 91 (86%) were categorized at the level of Structural Elements. This emphasis on operational rather than systems level responses echoes findings from a previous study on obesity strategies. Analyzing the distribution of systems level responses using the ILF has the potential to support more effective action on obesity by allowing identification of opportunities to strengthen systems level responses overall.
Bryophytes dominate plant regulation of soil microclimate in alpine grasslands
Authors: Jaroszynska Francesca , Althuizen Inge , Halbritter Aud Helen , Klanderud Kari , Lee Hanna , Telford Richard J. , Vandvik Vigdis 
Published: September 2023

Soil temperature and moisture are important regulators of a broad range of biotic and abiotic processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Vegetation can, in turn, play a role in regulating soil microclimate, which creates potential for powerful and interactive feedbacks from soil and vegetation on the atmosphere. Although the regulatory effect of vegetation on soil microclimatic conditions has been quite extensively and empirically assessed, most studies have determined the net effect of intact woody vegetation versus bare ground. However, for other plant functional groups we lack a clear understanding of their role and any climate‐context dependency in controlling microclimatic conditions.We investigated the role of three major plant functional groups – graminoids, forbs and bryophytes – in regulating soil microclimate in semi‐natural alpine grasslands. Using a fully factorial above‐ground biomass removal experiment, we assessed the role of these plant functional groups in regulating soil temperature amplitude, soil moisture, and number of freezing days. The experiment was replicated across orthogonal temperature and precipitation gradients in Norway to assess whether the effects of functional group abundance varied with climate.The effect of plant biomass on soil microclimate varied among functional groups across the climatic gradients. Bryophytes reduced growing season soil temperature, whereas graminoids and forbs did not (0.5ºC compared to 0ºC), and with a stronger effect in colder climates at higher elevations and on days with high solar radiation. Bryophyte biomass further reduced the number of soil freezing days at boreal and sub‐alpine sites. Finally, graminoid biomass partly explained variation in soil moisture: soils dried more under graminoids at drier sites.Our findings highlight that functional group identity plays a key role in regulating soil microclimate in alpine grasslands across seasons. The strong effect of bryophytes on soil temperature points to their importance in the plant community for a variety of ecosystem functions, some of which may be indirectly vulnerable to future warming via biomass reductions of bryophytes.
Analysis of Zinc and Stromal Immunity in Disuse Osteoporosis: Mendelian Randomization and Transcriptomic Analysis
Authors: Lyu Fei , Wang Li , Jia Yiming , Wang Yuanlin , Qi Haolan , Dai Zhengxu , Zhou Xuyang , Zhu Haoran , Li Bing , Xu Yujing , Liu Jun 
Published: September 2023

ObjectiveDisuse osteoporosis is known to be primarily caused by a lack of exercise. However, the causal relationships between zinc and immunity and disuse osteoporosis remain unknown. This study investigated these relationships and their potential mechanisms.MethodsThis study was an integrative study combining genome‐wide association studies and transcriptomics. Two‐sample Mendelian randomization analysis (MR) was used to analyze the causal relationships between exposures (zinc, immunity, physical activity) and the outcome (osteoporosis) with the aid of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables (IVs). Four models, MR‐Egger, inverse variance weighted, weighted median and MR‐Pleiotrophy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MRPRESSO), were used to calculate odds ratio values. Sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses were also performed using MRPRESSO and MR‐Egger methods. The mRNA transcriptomic analysis was subsequently conducted. Zinc metabolism scores were acquired through single‐sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis algorithms. Stromal scores were obtained using the R Package “estimate” algorithms. Important Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology pathways were also derived through gene set variation analysis. Cytoscape software helped construct the transcription factor (TF)–mRNA–microRNA (miRNA) network. Virtual screening and molecular docking were performed. Polymerase chain reaction validation was also carried out in vivo.ResultsCausal relationships were demonstrated between zinc and exercise (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30–2.95, p = 0.001), exercise and immunity (95% CI = 0.36–0.80, p = 0.002), exercise and osteoporosis (95% CI = 0.97–0.99, p = 0.0007), and immunity disorder and osteoporosis (95% CI = 1.30–2.03, p = 0.00002). One hundred and seventy‐nine mRNAs in important modules were screened. Combining the differential expressional genes (DEGs) and the Boruta selection, six DEGs were screened (AHNAK, CSF2, ADAMTS12, SRA1, RUNX2, and SLC39A14). TF HOXC10 and miRNA hsa‐miR‐204 were predicted. Then, the TF–mRNA–miRNA network was successfully constructed. RUNX2 and SLC39A14 were identified as hub mRNAs in the TF–mRNA–miRNA network. Eventually, the novel small drug C6O4NH5 was designed according to the pharmacophore structure of SLC39A14. The docking energy for the novel drug was −5.83 kcal/mol. SLC39A14 and RUNX2 were downregulated (of statistical significance p‐value < 0.05) in our animal experiment.ConclusionThis study revealed that zinc had a protective causal relationship with disuse osteoporosis by promoting exercise and immunity. SLC39A14 and RUNX2 mRNA participated in this zinc‐related mechanism.
Broad‐spectrum resistance gene RPW8.1 balances immunity and growth via feedback regulation of WRKYs
Authors: Yang Xue‐Mei , Zhao Jing‐Hao , Xiong Xiao‐Yu , Hu Zhang‐Wei , Sun Ji‐Fen , Su Hao , Liu Yan‐Jing , Xiang Ling , Zhu Yong , Li Jin‐Lu , Bhutto Sadam Hussain , Li Guo‐Bang , Zhou Shi‐Xin , Li Chi , Pu Mei , Wang He , Zhao Zhi‐Xue , Zhang Ji‐Wei , Huang Yan‐Yan , Fan Jing , Wang Wen‐Ming , Li Yan 
Published: September 2023

SummaryArabidopsis RESISTANCE TO POWDERY MILDEW 8.1 (RPW8.1) is an important tool for engineering broad‐spectrum disease resistance against multiple pathogens. Ectopic expression of RPW8.1 leads to enhanced disease resistance with cell death at leaves and compromised plant growth, implying a regulatory mechanism balancing RPW8.1‐mediated resistance and growth. Here, we show that RPW8.1 constitutively enhances the expression of transcription factor WRKY51 and activates salicylic acid and ethylene signalling pathways; WRKY51 in turn suppresses RPW8.1 expression, forming a feedback regulation loop. RPW8.1 and WRKY51 are both induced by pathogen infection and pathogen−/microbe‐associated molecular patterns. In ectopic expression of RPW8.1 background (R1Y4), overexpression of WRKY51 not only rescues the growth suppression and cell death caused by RPW8.1, but also suppresses RPW8.1‐mediated broad‐spectrum disease resistance and pattern‐triggered immunity. Mechanistically, WRKY51 directly binds to and represses RPW8.1 promoter, thus limiting the expression amplitude of RPW8.1. Moreover, WRKY6, WRKY28 and WRKY41 play a role redundant to WRKY51 in the suppression of RPW8.1 expression and are constitutively upregulated in R1Y4 plants with WRKY51 being knocked out (wrky51 R1Y4) plants. Notably, WRKY51 has no significant effects on disease resistance or plant growth in wild type without RPW8.1, indicating a specific role in RPW8.1‐mediated disease resistance. Altogether, our results reveal a regulatory circuit controlling the accumulation of RPW8.1 to an appropriate level to precisely balance growth and disease resistance during pathogen invasion.
Impact of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and subjective well‐being
Authors: He Quan , Ma Wanglin , Vatsa Puneet , Zheng Hongyun 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper estimates the effects of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and people's subjective well‐being. We consider four categories of household expenditures (that on clothes, durable goods, consumer goods, and cultural and leisure activities) and four indicators (life satisfaction, contentment, income satisfaction, and depression) of subjective well‐being. We use the Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting estimator to analyze the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey data while accounting for the selection bias inherent in mobile payment adoption. The empirical results show that people's decisions to adopt mobile payment are positively associated with their educational levels, car ownership, social interaction, internet penetration rate, and residential location. Mobile payment adoption significantly increases household expenditures on consumer goods and cultural and leisure activities but not on expenditures on clothes and durable goods. Moreover, mobile payment adoption significantly decreases people's contentment while increasing depression. We also find that mobile payment adoption significantly decreases the contentment of urban people but significantly increases the depression of rural people.
Street‐level bureaucrats' discretion between individual and institutional factors: The analysis of the minimum income policy implementation in two Italian regions
Authors: Andreotti Alberta , Coletto Diego , Rio Anna 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe article provides and empirically tests an analytical model that considers the relationship between the discretionary power of street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) and the institutional and organisational structures at meso and macro levels. The proposal maintains a bottom‐up perspective in the analysis of discretionary practices; at the same time, it highlights the relevance of multilevel governance systems as institutional spaces in opening and constraining the room for manoeuvre of SLBs. The analytical model is tested to comparatively analyse the implementation of the Italian guaranteed minimum income (Reddito di Cittadinanza) in two different regional welfare systems. The analysis focused on the practices and perceptions of the “navigators”, a new professional group introduced to implement the same policy. The fieldwork pointed out different spaces for and forms of discretion, highlighting that different institutional arrangements affect discretion and the variability of practices; however individual and professional group factors coupled with similar external constraints nuanced this variability with the emergence of common ones. In this article, the analytical model allowed to consider in a comparative perspective how institutional factors, besides individual and professional ones, influence discretion.
3D‐printed electrospun fibres for wound healing
Authors: Ye Xilin , Zhang Enshuo , Huang Yaqin , Tian Feng , Xue Jiajia 
Published: September 2023

AbstractWound management for acute and chronic wounds has become a serious clinical problem worldwide, placing considerable pressure on public health systems. Owing to the high‐precision, adjustable pore structure, and repeatable manufacturing process, 3D‐printed electrospun fibre (3DP‐ESF) has attracted widespread attention for fabricating wound dressing. In addition, in comparison with 2D electrospun fibre membranes fabricated by traditional electrospinning, the 3D structures provide additional guidance on cell behaviour. In this perspective article, we first summarise the basic manufacturing principles and methods to fabricate 3DP‐ESF. Then, we discuss the function of 3DP‐ESF in manipulating the different stages of wound healing, including anti‐bacteria, anti‐inflammation, and promotion of cell migration and proliferation, as well as the construction of tissue‐engineered scaffolds. In the end, we provide the current challenge faced by 3DP‐ESF in the application of skin wound regeneration and its promising future directions.
On the distribution of modular inverses from short intervals
Authors: Garaev Moubariz Z. , Shparlinski Igor E. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractFor a prime number p and integer x with , let denote the multiplicative inverse of x modulo p. In this paper, we are interested in the problem of distribution modulo p of the sequence
and in lower bound estimates for the corresponding exponential sums. As representative examples, we state the following two consequences of the main results.For any fixed and for any sufficiently large integer N, there exists a prime number p with
such that
For any fixed positive , there exists a positive constant c such that the following holds: for any sufficiently large integer N there is a prime number such that
and
Attenuation of Detrimental Hub Leakage Effects in an Axial Compressor Rotor by Customized Geometrical Design Features
Authors: Petermann Jannik , Schulz Kevin , Becker Bernd , Gümmer Volker 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The aerodynamic impact of hub gap leakage on the performance characteristics of an axial compressor rotor in conventional design (no blisk) with a high hub-to-tip ratio has been investigated using three-dimensional steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations. The inclusion of circumferential hub gaps in front of the leading edge and after the trailing edge, as well as inter-platform leakage, reduced the total pressure ratio and the polytropic efficiency of the rotor by as much as 3.74% and 3.97%, respectively, compared to a design case with clean endwalls. Potential design recommendations in terms of improved aerodynamic robustness against leakage effects were derived from the separate sealing of each hub gap. Six geometry modifications were assessed, which based on these results. In a throttled operating condition, large edge radii in the front gap on the disk and platform partially recovered the initial losses of both the total pressure ratio (17.7%) and polytropic efficiency (19.6%). A circular lateral platform shape with the opening pointing toward the blade’s pressure side showed superior loss recovery capabilities at a dethrottled operating point. The combination of both features did not reduce the losses further. However, the circular lateral platform shape combined with smaller front gap chamfers proved more beneficial in a throttled state.
Pressure Characteristic Rollover of a Transonic Centrifugal Impeller
Authors: Cao Teng , Hayashi Yoshihiro , Tomita Isao 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
This paper presents a detailed numerical investigation of a transonic centrifugal compressor to understand the mechanism causing its pressure rise characteristic rollover, which fundamentally impacts compressor stability. Distinct characteristic rollover behaviors at different compressor speeds are predicted and studied. It is found that the impeller characteristic rollover occurs at high blade tip Mach number (&gt;1) conditions. It is the result of a combination of the inducer and exducer performance. The inducer is found to stall early, while the exducer is mostly a stable part maintaining the overall impeller stability. The overall impeller characteristic rolls over when the exducer’s performance deteriorates significantly, which happens at higher flow conditions toward high speed. This is due to the flow compressibility effect (density change). It shows that the flow density across the impeller increases with the blade tip Mach number. The increased density leads to a reduced exducer exit flow coefficient with higher workload and aerodynamic losses. Detailed analysis is carried out to understand the 1D and 3D flow mechanisms governing the inducer and exducer, hence the impeller characteristic.