bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nano‐mechanical approach to study the behavior of annealed nanodiamond reinforced epoxy nanocomposites
Authors: Singh Baljit , Mohanty Akash 
Published: February 2023

AbstractNanodiamonds (NDs) are potential fillers that provide excellent mechanical and multifunctional capabilities. The growing interest in using NDs in a variety of fields has prompted researchers to use NDs to prepare various structural composites. In this work, ND surface modification was performed by a physical process as a systematic approach to remove the sp2 carbon content and noncarboneous particles from pristine NDs. The nanohardness and viscoelastic response of modified NDs incorporated with the epoxy matrix were further investigated. The surface morphology and crystalline nature of NDs/epoxy nanocomposites were investigated by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, and x‐ray diffraction. Nanoindentation and nano‐dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests were conducted on different composites with 0–0.5 wt% filler variations. The nanohardness and nano‐DMA of various composites were performed at two different loads (5 and 10 mN) in a frequency range of 10–250 Hz. The maximum improvement in the young's modulus was 79% and 52% with the 5 and 10 mN loads, respectively, corresponding to 0.3 wt% filler loading. The storage modulus and loss modulus values increased with the ND concentration in epoxy composites for 10 mN loads compared to 5 mN loads. From the nano‐DMA study, a higher phase lag of the tan δ curve was obtained for 5 and 10 mN loads, with larger tan δ values for NDs nanofiller‐loaded composites compared to neat epoxy. When compared to the 5 mN load, the tan δ value for the 10 mN load increased by 0.3 wt%. Thus, these composites can be used for automobiles and aerospace applications.
Developmental origins of health and disease: Impact of paternal nutrition and lifestyle
Authors: Shi Qiaoyu , Qi Kemin 
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACTMost epidemiological and experimental studies have focused on maternal influences on offspring's health. The impact of maternal undernutrition, overnutrition, hypoxia, and stress is linked to adverse offspring outcomes across a range of systems including cardiometabolic, respiratory, endocrine, and reproduction among others. During the past decade, it has become evident that paternal environmental factors are also linked to the development of diseases in offspring. In this article, we aim to outline the current understanding of the impact of male health and environmental exposure on offspring development, health, and disease and explore the mechanisms underlying the paternal programming of offspring health. The available evidence suggests that poor paternal pre‐conceptional nutrition and lifestyle, and advanced age can increase the risk of negative outcomes in offspring, via both direct (genetic/epigenetic) and indirect (maternal uterine environment) effects. Beginning at preconception, and during utero and the early life after birth, cells acquire an epigenetic memory of the early exposure which can be influential across the entire lifespan and program a child's health. Potentially not only mothers but also fathers should be advised that maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle is important to improve offspring health as well as the parental health status. However, the evidence is mostly based on animal studies, and well‐designed human studies are urgently needed to verify findings from animal data.
Assessing the impact of poverty alleviation programs on poverty reduction in Nigeria: Selected programs
Authors: Gidigbi Matthew O. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe menace of poverty can seem unavoidable in a developing country like Nigeria, with well over half the population under the poverty threshold despite several poverty alleviation programs implemented over four decades. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact of selected poverty alleviation programs on poverty reduction in Nigeria, covering the period from 1981 to 2015. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and CBN Annual Reports constituted the main sources of data used in this study. Autoregressive distributed lagged models were used in estimating the relationship. Two categories of social intervention programs—“income and wealth redistribution programs” (a proxy for “longevity” in the Multidimensional Poverty Index [MPI] [Category 1]) and “access and empowerment programs” (a proxy for “education attainment” in the MPI [Category 2])—were used, and both were found to reduce the poverty rate. Thus, a percentage point increment in access and empowerment programs reduces the poverty rate by 1.33%. The Category 1 relationship, however, was found to be statistically insignificant. In conclusion, the provision of credit facilities, social capital, and a congenial business environment should be encouraged by both public and private bodies in the poverty alleviation agenda.
Disparity in income poverty and multidimensional poverty estimates: The Indian scenario with special reference to Salboni and Binpur‐I blocks
Authors: Roy Amrita , Chakraborti Chandrima 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThere is no consensus among studies about how to define or measure poverty. Two widely used criteria to estimate poverty are the minimum expenditure criteria (income or monetary poverty) and the extent of deprivation regarding different dimensions representing quality of living of individuals (multidimensional poverty). This study compares income poverty and multidimensional poverty estimates across Indian states in recent years. Although both the poverty estimates indicate significant reduction in poverty, income and multidimensional poverty estimates differ significantly. Then the critical question is whether both measures identify the same set of households as poor or not. If alternate definitions of poverty identify different households as poor then we should be cautious about choosing the correct method to estimate poverty. In this context, we have studied the cases of two blocks, Salboni and Binpur I from Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal. Using our own data from these two blocks, we find that poverty incidence calculated using two different measures for Salboni and Binpur I blocks give significantly different estimates. Even though most of the multidimensional poor households were also identified as income poor, not all income poor households were identified as multidimensionally poor.
Recent Asymmetric Phase‐Transfer Catalysis with Chiral Binaphthyl‐Modified and Related Phase‐Transfer Catalysts over the Last 10 Years
Authors: Lee Hyo‐Jun , Maruoka Keiji 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn this personal account, we describe our recent advances in the three types of phase‐transfer catalysis for various transformations including asymmetric induction: Firstly, asymmetric phase‐transfer catalysis with Maruoka‐type C2‐symmetric chiral biaryl‐modified tetraalkylammonium salts and phosphonium salts; Secondly, asymmetric phase‐transfer catalysis under base‐free and neutral conditions; Thirdly, hydrogen‐bonding catalysis using tetraalkylammonium and trialkylsulfonium salts. These three different strategies are illustrated by using various phase‐transfer catalyzed transformations.
Effect of storage time on the antimicrobial properties of chitosan
Authors: Balasubramanian Srimathy , Selvaraj Senthil Kumar , Santhanam Sakthivel , Boominathan Senthil Kumar 
Published: February 2023

AbstractChitosan (CS) is well known as one of the natural polymers. It is one of the familiar antibacterial materials owing to its safety, non‐toxicity and biocompatibility. However, its prolonged capability to act as an antibacterial agent is not yet investigated in detail. i.e., as to how much time it can withstand its ability as an antibacterial agent is very significant for practical purposes. Hence, in the present study, CS solution and thin films in different ratios were prepared and were stored up to 24 months. Later observations were carried on different samples after storage time to assess its potential toward antimicrobial activity. It was noted that CS thin films had superior properties even after storage time of 24 months when compared to solution and powder forms. In addition to the above, morphology of the nanofilms and the presence of functional groups were also studied in detail.
Introduction: Honing Local Techniques in a Globalized World
Authors: Hård Mikael 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn their daily lives, people around the world use tools and material objects, also known as technologies. Despite the notion that high-tech equipment now rule the world, local tools and techniques endure. Global histories of technology must reflect this reality—and historians must resist reproducing grandiose, one-sided narratives of globalization and modernization. By presenting microhistories from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, this book sheds light on the rich and varied technological history of these regions. In Chap. 1, the author argues that we better understand “technology” by redefining it in terms of “material culture,” a concept applicable to every region of the world, including Europe and North America. For the historian of technology, the material-culture approach entails treating heavily industrialized as well as less industrialized regions equally.
Building Missionary Stations in Southeast Asia: Nias Islanders Deploy Adzes
Authors: Hård Mikael 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn their determination to proselytize, Christian missionaries from Europe and North America built outposts in many parts of the world. Based on sources from the islands of Nias and Sumatra in today’s Indonesia, Chap. 2 demonstrates that the construction of missionary stations in the decades around 1900 relied on locally available expertise, labor, and building materials, just as daily life at the stations relied on a locally available labor force and locally produced foodstuff. Although missionaries brought with them to the islands drawing and tools (e.g., saws), indigenous carpenters often preferred their own tools (e.g., adzes); they used architectural solutions indigenous to the islands and incorporated local style elements in their structures. During construction, missionaries and local artisans exchanged technical knowledge and skills, turning the missionary station into a low-tech “trading zone.”
Withstanding Globalization in Northern India: Farmers Make Sugar for Local Consumption
Authors: Hård Mikael 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAccording to standard global histories of sugar, the plantation model invades the world, and slavery becomes the norm. The microhistory of sugarcane in India under British rule is different, however. Traditional sugarcane varieties proved well-matched to local conditions; production remained small-scale; and most consumers continued to favor muscovado and other varieties of brown sugar over highly refined, white sugar. Chapter 4 shows how the history of sugar in Northern India diverged from the standard narrative. Indeed, the traditional production system aligned with the concept of “appropriate technology”: both sugarcane cultivation and sugar manufacturing required minimal investment; they were based on locally accessible knowledge and skills; maintenance and repair of the system could be achieved locally; and the methods used were well-suited to the physical environment and social milieu.
Accessing Electricity in East Africa: Dar es Salaam Dwellers Pursue Power
Authors: Hård Mikael 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn colonial Dar es Salaam, electricity was meant to signal social status—and to differentiate high-income and low-income neighborhoods. Only wealthy colonizers and merchants had full access to electric power. Whereas the majority of people in European cities were provided electricity in their homes, most people deemed “African” in Dar es Salaam were denied access to the grid. Despite the electricity providers’ purported role as “public utilities,” they did not serve the majority of the population. Chapter 5 argues that electricity provision in the capital of German East Africa and British Tanganyika was a biased process in which power was dispensed according to class and perceived race. Exercising their political power, the city authorities prioritized lighting public spaces such as downtown streets, large thoroughfares, and the streets of upper-class neighborhoods.
Doing It Yourself in Central Asia: Uzbeks Build Adobe Houses
Authors: Hård Mikael 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe history of construction practices and daily life in Central Asia challenges the narrative of the Soviet Union as a centralized, monolithic society—and of Soviet cities rife with modernist buildings made of reinforced concrete. Drawing on oral histories, Chap. 9 offers a counternarrative that emphasizes local initiatives and self-organization. The chapter illustrates how, during Soviet rule, people mobilized the age-old Muslim tradition of carrying out collective work (hashar) to renovate communal infrastructure and individual homes. In Samarkand, Uzbekistan, as well as other cities in Central Asia, people collaborated to maintain, repair, and expand the structures in their neighborhoods (mahallas). People also came together to work on private, traditional courtyard houses, most of which were built with adobe: locally manufactured mud bricks.
Soziale Arbeit und marginalisierte Quartiere – eine Einleitung mit einem Impuls zu GWA und lokaler Demokratie
Authors: Oehler Patrick , Janett Sandra 
Published: February 2023

ZusammenfassungDer Beitrag führt in die Thematik des Bandes – Soziale Arbeit und marginalisierte Quartiere – ein und verbindet dies mit Überlegungen Martin Kronauers zu „Stadt und (neue) soziale Frage“. Davon ausgehend werden in einem nächsten Schritt marginalisierte Quartiere als Orte lokaler Demokratie beleuchtet und daran anknüpfend auf den Zusammenhang von Gemeiwesenarbeit und lokaler Demokratie eingegangen. Damit soll aufgezeigt werden, dass Soziale Arbeit in Form von Gemeinwesenarbeit, aber auch anderen Zugängen, ganz unterschiedliche Beiträge zur Quartiers- und Stadtentwicklung, aber eben auch zu Demokratieentwicklung und -förderung beitragen kann und diese beiden Aspekte – in einer Demokratie – letztlich aufeinander verwiesen sind.
Postmigrantische Nachbarschaften – zwischen Marginalisierung und Widerspruch
Authors: Althaus Eveline 
Published: February 2023

ZusammenfassungIn Großwohnsiedlungen aus den 1960er und 1970er Jahren gehört Diversität zum Wohnalltag – gerade auch vor dem Hintergrund der postmigrantischen Nachbarschaften, die sich hier im Laufe der Jahre herausgebildet haben. Eine Studie am ETH Wohnforum hat sich vertieft mit solchen Nachbarschaftskonfigurationen auseinandergesetzt (Althaus, Eveline. 2018. Sozialraum Hochhaus. Nachbarschaft und Wohnalltag in Schweizer Großwohnbauten. Bielefeld: transcript.). Dieser Beitrag fasst einige wesentliche Erkenntnisse daraus zusammen und diskutiert, was zur Marginalisierung wie auch zur Resilienz dieser sozialräumlichen Settings beiträgt, wie Differenzen (re-)produziert und hinterfragt werden, aber auch, wie wir in Fachdiskursen den postmigrantischen Realitäten vor Ort gerechter werden können.
Testing Seed for Quality
Authors: Rajendra Prasad S. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe value of seed depends on its quality. Hence, evaluation of seed quality is of critical value in any seed production system. It is, therefore, desired that seed quality is tested for all essential parameters, following the standard procedures and performing the tests in such a manner that the results are consistent and are reproducible, within the permissible limits of tolerance. As the submitted sample is only a minute fraction of the whole seed lot, reproducibility and reliability of results will greatly depend on the precision of sampling. Hence, the accuracy in sampling and precision in testing the vital parameters of seed quality form the essential components of quality assurance process. Though the seed testing procedures are essentially based on the ISTA Rules, each country may modify these to suit its requirement, crop- and variety-specific characteristics, and the available resources without compromising on the accuracy in seed quality evaluation. The essential components of seed quality and standard procedures to evaluate the same are discussed.
Seed Health: Testing and Management
Authors: Vishunavat Karuna , Prabakar Kuppusami , Anand Theerthagiri 
Published: February 2023

AbstractHealthy seeds play an important role in growing a healthy crop. Seed health testing is performed by detecting the presence or absence of insect infestation and seed-borne diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The most detrimental effect of seed-borne pathogens is the contamination of previously disease-free areas and the spread of new diseases. Sowing contaminated or infected seeds not only spreads pathogens but can also reduce yields significantly by 15–90%. Some of the major seed-borne diseases affecting yield in cereals, oilseeds, legumes, and vegetables, particularly in the warm and humid conditions prevailing in the tropical and sub-tropical regions, are blast and brown spot of rice, white tip nematode and ear-cockle in wheat, bacterial leaf blight of rice, downy mildews, smuts, head mould, seedling rots, anthracnose, halo blight, and a number of viral diseases. Hence, detection of seed-borne pathogens, such as fungi (anthracnose, bunt, smut, galls, fungal blights), bacteria (bacterial blights, fruit rots, cankers), viruses (crinkle, mottle, mosaic), and nematodes (galls and white tip), which transmit through infected seed to the main crop, is an important step in the management strategies for seed-borne diseases. Thus, seed health testing forms an essential part of seed certification, phytosanitary certification, and quarantine programmes at national and international levels. Detection of seed-borne/transmitted pathogens is also vital in ensuring the health of the basic stock used for seed production and in maintaining the plant germplasm for future research and product development. Besides the precise and reproducible testing methods, appropriate practices during seed production and post-harvest handling, including seed treatment and storage, are important components of seed health management and sustainable crop protection.
Seed Quality Enhancement
Authors: Weissmann Elmar A. , Raja K. , Gupta Arnab , Patel Manish , Buehler Alexander 
Published: February 2023

AbstractWith the expansion of precision and intensive agriculture, seed quality, which alone could contribute up to 15–20 per cent in terms of crop productivity, has assumed greater importance. Every care is taken not only to produce high-quality seeds and maintain the same through various stages of production, from growing conditions of the seed crop to pre-harvest, harvest, processing and storage activities, but also to adopt certain technologies to further improve the performance of seeds upon sowing of the crop under a wide range of environments. These technologies, collectively known as ‘enhancement’, cover a variety of methods applicable to different crop species and aimed at meeting specific requirements, such as unfavourable growing conditions of hard/acidic/sodic soil, high or low temperature, excess or deficient rainfall, etc., as well as the stress imposed by the presence of pests and diseases that affect crop performance, particularly during the early vegetative stage resulting in poor seed emergence, crop establishment and vegetative growth. Selection of the appropriate and cost-effective technologies is important in accruing the best results from seed enhancement.
Seed Vigour and Invigoration
Authors: Basu Sudipta , Groot Steven P. C. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractSeed vigour is an important aspect of seed quality. It is a quantitative trait which is responsible for overall seed performance in terms of rate and uniformity of seed germination, seedling growth, emergence ability under unfavourable environments and post storage performance. Seed vigour is controlled by genetic factors, initial seed quality, production environments, harvesting and storage conditions. Seed vigour tests provide a more sensitive index of seed performance per se than the germination test. Efforts have been focused on developing novel or improving existing methods of vigour estimation in different crops. The vigour tests are tools routinely used for in-house seed quality control programs, especially for field and vegetable crops. Some treatments can improve seed vigour, although the treatment effects are more evident under sub-optimum than optimum growing conditions. This chapter deals with different aspects of seed vigour and its effects on plant growth and discusses physiological and biochemical parameters to understand underlying mechanisms.
Seed Longevity and Deterioration
Authors: Ranganathan Umarani , Groot Steven P. C. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe fundamental deteriorative processes that lead to loss of seed viability contrastingly vary between desiccation insensitive (orthodox) and desiccation sensitive seeds (recalcitrant). Orthodox seeds which undergo maturation drying are bestowed with protective mechanisms which guard the seeds against deterioration. They include the accumulation of antioxidants, non-reducing sugars, protective proteins such as late embryogenesis abundant proteins, heat-shock proteins, lipocalins, hormones and chemical protectants (raffinose family oligosaccharides, flavonoids, lignins, vitamin E). The nuclear DNA is packed denser and chlorophyll is degraded. Besides, the cytoplasm is capable of transitioning between liquid and glassy state depending on the moisture content of the seeds aiding in the maintenance of seed viability potential. In the dry seeds, the glassy state of the cytoplasm ensures the stabilization of cellular components by arresting cell metabolism. However, even with low moisture content and a glassy state of cytoplasm, reactive oxygen species generated due to the presence of oxygen in the storage atmosphere may cause the ageing of seed. As the seed moisture content increases, mitochondrial respiration gets activated, also leading to increased production of reactive oxygen species, owing to inefficient mitochondrial activity. The reactive oxygen species lead to the oxidation of essential molecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids. Further, mitochondrial membranes also get oxidized, leading to reduced aerobic respiration potential. When the damage is not substantial, orthodox seeds are capable of repairing the molecular damages that accumulate during storage, enabling the seeds to partially overcome the damages and extend their longevity. This includes activation of repair of cell membranes, DNA, RNA, proteins and mitochondria as the seeds imbibe water.Unlike the orthodox seeds, the recalcitrant seeds are largely devoid of protective mechanisms which guard the seeds against rapid deterioration. The recalcitrant seeds are shed from the mother tree at high moisture content while they are metabolically active. After dispersal, the seeds undergo deteriorative changes during drying due to the damage to the cytoskeleton (physical damage), besides reactive oxygen species-induced damage due to lack of antioxidant activity (metabolism-induced damage). Even when maintained under high moisture content, seeds exhibit dysfunction of the cell organelles and extensive vacuolization predisposing the seeds to deterioration. Thus, recalcitrant seeds are prone to deterioration either under low or high moisture content.