bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surface Modification of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Nanosheets for Intrinsically Self‐Healing Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical Properties
Authors: Ratwani Chirag R. , Zhao Shengxi , Huang Yi , Hadfield Mark , Kamali Ali Reza , Abdelkader Amr M. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractNanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties and efficient self‐healing characteristics can change how the artificially engineered materials’ life cycle is perceived. Improved adhesion of nanomaterials with the host matrix can drastically improve the structural properties and confer the material with repeatable bonding/debonding capabilities. In this work, exfoliated 2H‐WS2 nanosheets are modified using an organic thiol to impart hydrogen bonding sites on the otherwise inert nanosheets by surface functionalization. These modified nanosheets are incorporated within the PVA hydrogel matrix and analyzed for their contribution to the composite's intrinsic self‐healing and mechanical strength. The resulting hydrogel forms a highly flexible macrostructure with an impressive enhancement in mechanical properties and a very high autonomous healing efficiency of 89.92%. Interesting changes in the surface properties after functionalization show that such modification is highly suitable for water‐based polymeric systems. Probing into the healing mechanism using advanced spectroscopic techniques reveals the formation of a stable cyclic structure on the surface of nanosheets, mainly responsible for the improved healing response. This work opens an avenue toward the development of self‐healing nanocomposites where chemically inert nanoparticles participate in the healing network rather than just mechanically reinforcing the matrix by slender adhesion.
A protocol to establish trust on biometric authentication devices
Authors: Kiran Usha , Moona Rajat , Biswas Santosh 
Published: March 2023

AbstractOne of the most extensively utilized mechanisms for person authentication is a system built using biometric‐based authentication. However, many applications use biometric authentication devices that do not support any device authentication mechanisms. As a result, a counterfeit scanning device may be substituted for the genuine one. Non‐authentic biometric authentication devices may perform some additive / subtractive or malicious functions. This paper proposes a technique for establishing trust in biometric authentication devices. The device authentication procedure is essential to build trust in biometric authentication devices such that non‐genuine biometric authentication devices are not used, which may compromise the loss of authentication factor and its replay when the genuine user is not getting authenticated. The protocol uses strong cryptographic mechanisms to authenticate the biometric authentication device with the application server and includes mechanisms for protection against the tampering of biometric templates and to prevent replay attacks. We also perform a formal verification using BAN logic to demonstrate that the proposed protocol meets the defined objectives. The proposed protocol can be used with any biometric authentication device to achieve the same objectives.
Assay of iodine monochloride via iodination of 2‐chloroaniline using reversed‐phase liquid chromatography
Authors: Purushottam Sutar , Kumar Ajay , Ganesh Chaturbhuj 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIodine monochloride is conventionally determined using the sodium thiosulphate titration method. Recently, mono‐iodination of 2‐chloroaniline in N,N‐dimethylformamide has been reported in the presence of iodine monochloride. A reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method for the assay of iodine monochloride on the C18 column has been developed via the iodination of 2‐chloroaniline. Chromatographic separation was achieved using gradient elution with water and acetonitrile as mobile phase at 1 ml/min flow rate and detection at 304 nm. The elution of 2‐chloro‐4‐iodoaniline was observed at 5.492 min. Under the given experimental conditions, an excess of 2‐chloroaniline dissolved in acetonitrile reacted with a known amount of pure iodine monochloride resulting in 2‐chloro‐4‐iodoaniline. The amount of 2‐chloro‐4‐iodoaniline formed is a measure of the initial iodine monochloride concentration, thus providing the assay of iodine monochloride. The method was validated as per the guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and found to be linear (r2 = 0.999) and accurate (98%–102%) for iodine monochloride concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 mg/ml. The intra‐day and inter‐day precision were within 1%. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the assay of commercially available iodine monochloride, Wijs solution, and in‐situ generated iodine monochloride samples. Thus, a novel, simple, accurate, and precise HPLC method has been developed for iodination monochloride assay.
Imaged capillary isoelectric focusing employing fluorocarbon and methylcellulose coated fused silica capillary for characterization of charge heterogeneity of protein biopharmaceuticals
Authors: Kwok Teresa , Chan She Lin , Shi Jessica , Zhou Mike , Schaefer Anna , Bo Tao , Li Victor , Huang Tiemin , Chen Tong 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIdentifying and characterizing charge heterogeneity is essential for the successful development and production of biopharmaceuticals. Imaged capillary isoelectric focusing technology based on isoelectric point differentiation has been becoming the gold standard of quality and manufactory process control in the biopharmaceutical industry due to its high‐resolution characterization of protein charge variants with high throughput. Fluorocarbon‐coated capillaries are widely used in the imaged capillary isoelectric focusing to suppress the electroosmotic flow and minimize the protein adsorption onto the fused silica capillary inner surface. Additionally, polymers such as methylcellulose are usually added to the sample solution to serve as a dynamic capillary coating that improves the peak shape and resolution during the imaged capillary isoelectric focusing separation, especially for complex proteins. However, the addition of methylcellulose tends to result in tedious operation, “spike peaks” from bubble generation, and frequent capillary blockage during the imaged capillary isoelectric focusing separation. In addition, methylcellulose is not compatible with mass spectrometry and easily produces the contamination of mass spectrometry ion source when carrying out imaged capillary isoelectric focusing—mass spectrometry direct coupling. Recently, a new imaged capillary isoelectric focusing method was developed employing a methylcellulose‐coated capillary cartridge, to avoid the addition of methylcellulose which is then present throughout the whole analysis. When applied to protein drug characterization the established imaged capillary isoelectric focusing method demonstrated high repeatability, stable coatings, outstanding separation efficiency, and excellent isoelectric point differentiation. In addition, we compared imaged capillary isoelectric focusing separation using the methylcellulose‐coated capillary with that utilizing the routinely coated capillary such as fluorocarbon, illustrating that methylcellulose coating provided consistent results and could be seamlessly integrated into an existing drug discovery process. Finally, the methylcellulose‐coated fused silica capillary was applied to imaged capillary isoelectric focusing—mass spectrometry for characterizing protein charge variants allowing reliable identification of mass spectrometry after imaged capillary isoelectric focusing separation. This can greatly simplify the operation steps and prevent the contamination of mass spectrometry ion source that often results from using routinely coated capillaries ultimately making this an essential innovation of imaged capillary isoelectric focusing—mass spectrometry that greatly improves the imaged capillary isoelectric focusing compatibility with mass spectrometry.
Single‐atom catalyst application in distributed renewable energy conversion and storage
Authors: Li Xiao , Xu Wenxiu , Fang Yuhan , Hu Riming , Yu Jiayuan , Liu Hong , Zhou Weijia 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn recent years, owing to the depletion of fossil energy and the aggravation of environmental pollution, the conversion and storage of distributed renewable energy (such as solar energy, wind energy, and tidal energy) based on electrochemical technology have attracted extensive attention. Electrocatalytic processes with high efficiency and high selectivity play a key role in clean energy conversion and storage. With the nearly 100% atomic utilization rate and unique catalytic activity, single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have been rapidly developed and widely used in the field of energy conversion and storage. In this review, we first introduce the characteristics of SACs. Then, we focus on the application of SACs in energy conversion, including water electrolysis reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, nitrate reduction reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, and carbon dioxide reduction reaction. In terms of energy storage, we focus on supercapacitors and Li–S batteries. Further, we enumerate some of the methods for the synthesis of SACs in high metal loading or large scale. Finally, the main challenges and opportunities for this emerging field in the future are discussed and prospected.
Driving digital engineering integration and interoperability through semantic integration of models with ontologies
Authors: Dunbar Daniel , Hagedorn Thomas , Blackburn Mark , Dzielski John , Hespelt Steven , Kruse Benjamin , Verma Dinesh , Yu Zhongyuan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractEngineered solutions are becoming more complex and multi‐disciplinary in nature. This evolution requires new techniques to enhance design and analysis tasks that incorporate data integration and interoperability across various engineering tool suites spanning multiple domains at different abstraction levels. Semantic web technologies (SWT) offer data integration and interoperability benefits as well as other opportunities to enhance reasoning across knowledge represented in multiple disparate models. This paper introduces the digital engineering framework for integration and interoperability (DEFII) for incorporating SWT into engineering design and analysis tasks. The framework includes three notional interfaces for interacting with ontology‐aligned data. It also introduces a novel model interface specification diagram (MISD) that provides a tool‐agnostic model representation enabled by SWT that exposes data stored for use by external users through standards‐based interfaces. Use of the framework results in a tool‐agnostic authoritative source of truth spanning the entire project, system, or mission.
Prediction of aerodynamic performance of NREL offshore 5‐MW baseline wind turbine considering power loss at varying wind speeds
Authors: Lin Yu‐Hsien , Chen Hsuan‐Kuang , Wu Kuan‐Yi 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate the aerodynamic performance of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offshore 5‐MW baseline wind turbine with single rotor and full wind turbine. Using statistical methods, the relation between pitch angle and performance when the speed is above the rated wind speed was analyzed; furthermore, other published data were compiled to establish the functional equations of power, thrust with various inflow wind speeds, and pitch angles. In addition, according to shape optimization based on parametric modeling, the two‐dimensional cross‐section of the wind turbine blade can be defined through a metasurface approach, and the three‐dimensional surface modeling of the wind turbine blade, nacelle, and tower is completed using the nonuniform rational B‐splines (NURBS) interpolator. In terms of aerodynamic simulation, the unstructured polygon mesh was used herein to discretize the space and simulate the highly curved and twisted surfaces of the blade. In this study, the compact and accurate mesh form obtained through a grid independence test will be used to analyze the distribution of the pressure coefficient, shear stress coefficient, and limited streamline on the blade surface at various inflow wind speeds and pitch angles to understand the differences between different turbulence models and the causes of power and thrust attenuation at high inflow wind speeds. In addition, the phenomena of blade‐tip vortices, dynamic stall, blade loading, and the interaction between nacelle and tower were collectively explored.
Managing the migration – Maasai Mara National Reserve and Serengeti World Heritage Site connectivity
Authors: Nzioka Jacinta 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe greatest natural mass wildlife migration on the planet, involving one ecosystem, two different nations and millions of animals, brings together the Serengeti World Heritage Site (WHS) in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. In terms of natural heritage, the border is crossed by the Mara River and represents a fluid boundary. On the scale of Indigenous local communities, the borderlands area is also shared on both sides by the Maasai peoples, long associated with a pastoral and herding tradition of domesticated animals, but more recently through transformed engagement in conservation and tourism activities. But with regard to the more substantive conservation, tourism and other economic or political aspects, the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania forms a more challenging frontier which, to be truly effective, demands a greater degree of cooperation and joined-up management of the ecosystem.
Preventing violent extremism in cross-border villages in the Lake Chad Basin countries: A lesson in cross-border cooperation
Authors: Hervé Allahissem 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis article summary covers the activities carried out by the Youth Organization for Peace and Development (YOPD) in the cross-border villages of the Lake Chad basin. The YOPD is an organization governed by Chadian law which works particularly in the cross-border villages of the Lake Chad basin. Thus, the Youth Organization for Development and Peace promotes peace and peaceful cohabitation between young Chadians, Cameroonians, Nigerians and Nigeriens of different religious denominations living in cross-border villages located in the Lake Chad basin. The YOPD also offers literacy courses to stateless populations living in cross-border villages in these countries, who are unfortunately excluded from the traditional education system because they lack nationality and official papers. Finally, the OJDP offers vocational training to disadvantaged young people in order to enable them to take charge of themselves and not succumb to the temptation to join the Boko Haram group.
Regional cooperation for the conservation of biodiversity in the Congo Basin forests: Feedback on actions carried out in the TRIDOM-TNS landscapes
Authors: Resende Tales Carvalho , Meikengang Avenir Geradine 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBiodiversity does not adhere to political boundaries. Globally, more than 50% of all terrestrial species have a range that crosses an international border. This includes more than 50% of all mammals, 25% of all amphibians and almost 70% of all birds. Of the threatened species, over 20% had a transboundary range (Mason et al., 2020). Covering a total area of more than 1.5 million km2 in six Central African countries (Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo), the so-called Congo Basin forests are the second largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon Basin. They form the most diverse assemblage of plants and animals in Africa, and are home to some 10,000 species of plants, 1,000 birds, 700 fish and 400 mammals, including many iconic species such as forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. Currently, almost 15% of the total forest area of the Congo Basin has protected area status. The management of these protected areas is now based on a new paradigm: the landscape conservation approach. Twelve landscapes have been identified as priorities in the Congo Basin because of their relative taxonomic importance, overall integrity, and the resilience of the ecological processes they represent. Among these landscapes, the TRIDOM (Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé) (Cameroon, Congo and Gabon) and TNS (Trinational Sangha) (Cameroon, Congo and Central African Republic) stand out as hosting the majority of the last remaining forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in Central Africa. The presence of four of the eight natural World Heritage sites in the Congo Basin forests testifies to the exceptional importance of these two contiguous transboundary landscapes. This article will review the evolution of regional cooperation for the conservation of biodiversity in the Congo Basin forests by providing feedback on actions carried out in the TRIDOM and TNS landscapes.
Lake Chad Cultural Landscape: An uncommon transnational potential in the midst of multiple challenges
Authors: Koffi Bryan , Diawara Bandiougou , Moriset Sébastien 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn the heart of the Sahelian belt, on the borders of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, lies the Lake Chad Cultural Landscape, one of the largest inhabited lacustrine landscapes on our planet. This immense freshwater expanse in the middle of a desert is shared by Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria and currently covers 17,000 km2. This area offers a great diversity of wetland ecosystems that makes it a great source of life for many animal species in this semi-desert environment. On the shores of the lake, the desert sands and the water meet in a complex network of meanders, sometimes turned into areas for cultivation and breeding by the inhabitants. Lake Chad is unique in that it is covered by hundreds of islands, many of which are inhabited by several communities that rely on its resources and perpetuate sober lifestyles that ensure their resilience. This cohabitation between Man and nature, which dates back to the Palaeolithic era, gives a true dimension of cultural landscape to this vast lake.
Justification and Scope of the Book
Authors: Muradian Roldan , Villamayor-Tomas Sergio 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAcademic schools are important institutions for consolidating and disseminating ideas. They can be defined as diffused communities held together by a collectively constructed body of knowledge, a shared worldview and a network of social relations. Identifying and delimiting academic schools might be a hard endeavor, since they are embedded in a fluid “state of spirit,” which is context- and time-specific, and not always easy to systematize and communicate. However, we still think that the notion (or metaphor) of “school” still makes sense to characterize the bonding elements that hold together and give coherence to the diverse ideas, debates and approaches represented in this book.
Materials Flow Analysis in Latin America
Authors: Pérez-Rincón Mario Alejandro 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBased on a systematic and organized literature review, the academic production for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was evaluated. This allowed us to know the research developments and to identify the influence of the “Barcelona School” (EB) and Professor Joan Martínez-Alier in this field of work in the region. The general balance of the literature reviewed (47 texts), shows the important influence of the EB for LAC: more than half of the publications have its origin, more than a third correspond to doctoral theses linked to the ICTA-UAB and 30% are published in journals originating in the ICTA-UAB. Thematically, the articles evaluated incorporate the main topics promoted by the EB. They are oriented towards studying the relationships between the metabolic dynamics of economies, environmental pressures and liabilities, and ecological distributive conflicts. These orientations correspond precisely to Professor Martínez-Alier’s central field of work: the link between ecological economics and political ecology. Methodologically, the potential and weaknesses of MFA were identified. Long-term material flow series have the potential to study large material-economic transitions, but little depth. Short and more detailed series, combining MFA with other methodologies, allow to better delve into the black box of energy-material flows and the environmental impacts of economic dynamics.
Biophysical Approaches to Food System Analysis in Latin America
Authors: Ramos-Martin Jesus , Falconí Fander 
Published: March 2023

AbstractOne of the main lines of research of the Barcelona School of Ecological Economics is representing the economic process from its biophysical side. In particular, this chapter focuses on the biophysical analysis of food systems in Latin America. The different approaches presented allow for comprehensive biophysical representations of food systems that may inform policymakers in rural development, sustainable production, trade, and nutrition policies in a way that broadens and complements conventional monetary analysis. Building on the concepts of unequal exchange and ecologically unequal exchange, we use here the concept of caloric unequal exchange, which defines the deterioration of terms of trade in food in terms of calories. The conclusion reached is that, although calories exported by the region to the rest of the world are more expensive than those imported, the ratio is deteriorating over time.
Ecologically Unequal Exchange: The Renewed Interpretation of Latin American Debates by the Barcelona School
Authors: Saes Beatriz Macchione 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe ecological perspective of unequal exchange between core and peripheral countries or regions has been discussed at least since the 1980s, when Stephen Bunker analysed how the lack of political power in the Brazilian Amazon extractivist areas led to an unequal distribution of extraction costs and benefits, favouring central importing regions. Subsequent contributions are based on different theoretical perspectives, from Marxist and world-system approaches to thermodynamics and Odum’s energy framework. In Barcelona School of Environmental Social Science, researchers and students led by Joan Martínez-Alier have contributed empirically and theoretically to the ecologically unequal exchange approach advancement since the mid-1990s. This chapter analyses those contributions, highlighting their original interpretation of Latin American debates and theories. I discuss how the debate over the external debt in Latin America – which seriously affected these countries in the 1980s – and the main theories of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), have decisively influenced the unequal trade theoretical and empirical works developed at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB). Firstly, these works reinforced the Latin American environmental justice organizations’ claim for the recognition of an ecological debt from Global North to Global South. Secondly, they provided a renewed interpretation of ECLAC economist Raúl Prebisch’s hypothesis that trade terms are structurally unfavourable to peripheral countries.