bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of the U.S. Defense Stock Markets under the Russia–Ukraine Conflict
Authors: Wu Xinpei , Xu Heming , Wu Shuo , Huang Menghao , Wang Jian 
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we adopt multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) to explore relationships between the Russia–Ukraine conflict and defense stock markets. Specifically, we analyze the behaviors of 20 U.S. defense stock markets confronting with the Russia–Ukraine conflict. By using the stock price charts, combined with multifractal spectra and singularity exponents calculated by MF-DFA, we explore how the conflict affects the defense stock markets in perspectives of closing price, market efficiency and stability. In addition, the obtained results reveal high level of consistency while each type shows distinct features. According to singularity exponents, we observe that all 20 stocks can be divided into three types which we note as [Formula: see text] A, B and C. We infer from the singularity spectra that the [Formula: see text] A stock price will experience plummet after the conflict, instead, stock price of [Formula: see text] A increases based on stock price charts, while stock price of [Formula: see text] B and C rises as predicted. For [Formula: see text] A stocks, their market efficiency and stability show increments where we draw completely opposite conclusion for [Formula: see text] B stocks. Furthermore, we also note that [Formula: see text] C stocks include two defense stocks having a special phenomenon, and their multifractal spectra indicate the increase in stock price which behave like [Formula: see text] B stocks. However, their singularity exponents reduce during the conflict, meaning the slump in their market efficiency, which share the same characteristic as [Formula: see text] A stocks. Hence, we treat [Formula: see text] C stocks as a unique type. To mitigate the influence of stochastic elements in the experimental process, three comparative analyses are undertaken. We humbly believe that the induced implications are aroused by the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
The semitrivial ideal extension
Authors: Troia D. 
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we aim to generalize the ideal duplication defined for numerical semigroups to commutative rings with unity. We introduce the semitrivial ideal extension, a construction that, starting with an ideal of a commutative ring [Formula: see text] with unity and a submodule of a module [Formula: see text] over [Formula: see text], under specific assumptions, produces an ideal of the semitrivial extension [Formula: see text]. Using this tool we characterize the homogeneous prime ideals of a semitrivial extension and we completely describe the family of the maximal ideals. Furthermore, as it was done for the numerical duplication, using the semitrivial ideal extension, we characterize the modules [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is nearly Gorenstein.
Impact on the Volume of Pathology Reports Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in SEER Cancer Registries
Authors: Chtourou Amina , Sanchez Pamela V. , Golden Todd , Chen Huann-Sheng , Schwartz Stephen M. , Wu Xiao-Cheng , Hernandez Brenda Y. , Harrison Jovanka N. , Penberthy Lynne , Negoita Serban 
Published: August 2023

Abstract

Introduction:
Health care procedures including cancer screening and diagnosis were interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent of this impact on cancer care in the United States is not fully understood. We investigated pathology report volume as a reflection of trends in oncology services pre-pandemic and during the pandemic.

Methods:
Electronic pathology reports were obtained from 11 U.S. central cancer registries from NCI's SEER Program. The reports were sorted by cancer site and document type using a validated algorithm. Joinpoint regression was used to model temporal trends from January 2018 to February 2020, project expected counts from March 2020 to February 2021 and calculate observed-to-expected ratios. Results were stratified by sex, age, cancer site, and report type.

Results:
During the first 3 months of the pandemic, pathology report volume decreased by 25.5% and 17.4% for biopsy and surgery reports, respectively. The 12-month O/E ratio (March 2020–February 2021) was lowest for women (O/E 0.90) and patients 65 years and older (O/E 0.91) and lower for cancers with screening (melanoma skin, O/E 0.86; breast, O/E 0.88; lung O/E 0.89, prostate, O/E 0.90; colorectal, O/E 0.91) when compared with all other cancers combined.

Conclusions:
These findings indicate a decrease in cancer diagnosis, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decrease in the number of pathology reports may result in a stage shift causing a subsequent longer-term impact on survival patterns.

Impact:
Investigation on the longer-term impact of the pandemic on pathology services is vital to understand if cancer care delivery levels continue to be affected.
QUE SONT MES « SEMI -» DEVENUS ?
Authors: Costantini Michel 
Published: August 2023

La notion de semi-symbolisme demeure théoriquement et pratiquement problématique, depuis l’invention et l’usage flamboyant qu’en fit Jean-Marie Floch dans les années quatre-vingt et quatre-vingt dix du siècle précédent. Testant sa nécessité dogmatique et son efficacité pragmatique en considérant la recherche que ce dernier avait menée à propos de l’icône de la Trinité peinte par Andreï Rublev, et qui est consignée dans son ouvrage posthume de 2009, on suggère la possibilité de l’intégration de la démarche analytique de la sémiotique dans une autre grille et d’une réorganisation des rapports entre « interférences du contexte », « sens plastique », et « outil semi-symbolique ».
Initiation into Philosophy
Authors: Kotva Simone 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Maine de Biran (1766–1824) was one of the most influential philosophers in France during the nineteenth century, being the principal inspiration for French spiritualism and French reflexive philosophy. He was also a significant Freemason. This article offers a translation of Biran’s two surviving Freemasonry Speeches, delivered c. 1810, and an introduction to Biran’s Freemasonry from the perspective of his philosophical work. The introduction gives a timeline of Biran’s Freemasonry and an overview of the text of the Speeches. It then considers some principal themes in francophone Freemasonic culture of the Restoration, especially the practice of ritualized introspection, before moving onto compare, briefly, the content of the Speeches to the main philosophical essay by Biran with which the Speeches is contemporaneous. Based on this evidence, the introduction makes suggestions regarding the role played by Freemasonry in the development of French spiritualism, and indicates trajectories for future research.
The Salvific City
Authors: Martin Thomas W. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This exploratory essay examines the cultural assumptions at the intersection of our multi-sensory lived experience in contemporary urban built environments, the impact of that experience on our imaginative world for our assumptions about a normative urban environment – what I call a moral imaginary – , how imagination guides urban construction, and the Christian West’s most normative utopian vision of urbanity, the New Jerusalem. This exploration takes place within an eclectic amalgam of theory focused on environmental ethics. The overall goal, using ecological hermeneutics, is to retrieve the voice of the Earth from beneath the streets of gold. Can the New Jerusalem be imagined as a city that offers salvation to the Earth?
Your Brain Makes You Do It
Authors: Craffert Pieter F. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This article contains a critical reflection of the neuroscientific research of Benjamin Libet which claims that free will does not exist and that it is your brain and not you that takes decisions. The Libetian style research on free will is characterised by a conceptual reduction of free will, a perpetuation of dualistic thinking and the ontological emaciation of free will as a mechanistic action instead of as a complex process. The underlying philosophical and metaphysical assumptions of Libetian research is critically analysed with the verdict that it is not about free will and that it does not in any way addresses the complex nature of free will in humans. Viewed against an alternative neuroscientific perspective on free will, three astonishing features of these studies are highlighted in conclusion.
Archipelagic Currents in the Global Novel
Authors: Norgaard Lara 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Crime fiction, a frequently translated and highly translatable literary genre, has generated perspectives on the global and the local in ways that shape cartographies of world literature. The Indonesian novel 24 Hours with Gaspar by Sabda Armandio is a case study for how specific texts within the genre can serve as points of departure for theorizing cultural geography in an imaginative mode. Analyzing Gaspar through three spatial optics, this paper considers the novel’s global influences, the elements that fall into relief as local in translation, and – by attending to patterns of movement and contact that complicate place-based perspectives – the archipelagic qualities of the text. By imagining this alternative conception of literary space, Armandio’s novel recasts the contemporary global novel as the product of contact, mobility, and linguistic and material flows rather than sites of static national or regional identity.
From Czechoslovakia with Nightmares
Authors: Nutting Imogen 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
This study follows the origins of and search for “Clock Man”, from a nineteenth century Yorkshire folktale to a 2012 forum post about a lost 1976 Czechoslovakian stop motion film, and evaluates its merits as a piece of contemporary world literature. The internet has significantly altered how people communicate and share stories, allowing a range of texts to be instantly created, disseminated and discussed around the world. As the classification and study of ‘world literature’ are affected by changing standards of communication and literary merit, these new media communications can provide contemporary insight into how literature may be found in virtual public spaces. This paper blends theories of literariness, reception and new media with Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of deterritorialization to track the changes in the “Clock Man” story and observe broader trends of contemporary world literature in digital storytelling spaces.
A Relational Realist Vision for Education Policy and Practice
Authors: Adi Basem 
Published: August 2023

This volume argues that relational realism can help us to make better educational policy that is more effective in practice. Basem Adi draws on critical realism to thoroughly re-examine fundamental assumptions about how government policymaking works, developing an ontological basis from which to examine existing government approaches and imagine an alternative approach based on a relational realist-informed critical pedagogy.
Adi casts familiar issues in a new light by drawing on a less familiar theoretical and meta-theoretical tradition, offering a critique that can be productively engaged with by many educational organizations to tackle the issues they face.
A Relational Realist Vision for Education Policy and Practice will be of great interest to academics of sociology, critical realism, sociological theory and education, as well as policymakers and educators seeking a theoretical perspective on their work.
7. 1001 Nights of Research: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
Magic Carpet Ride
Authors: Roberts Jennifer 
Published: August 2023

In this chapter, my story is recounted as one who transitioned into academia later in life, navigating a world that was alien to the business field where I had previously worked. I touch on some personal aspects of the reasons for doing a PhD and my journey through the field of distance education, both as a student and then later as a researcher/professor.
Each of my stories concludes with a snippet of advice for emerging distance education researchers based on my personal experiences. This includes developing self-confidence and overcoming sensitivities and self-doubt, aligning with a mentor, and understanding the importance of collaboration and sharing. Finally, I also include publishing aspects relevant to authors from developing countries such as cognitive or confirmation biases of editors towards researchers from "other" countries.
Simulated Diurnal Pulses in Hurricane Dorian (2019)
Authors: Piersante Jeremiah O. , Corbosiero Kristen L. , Fovell Robert G. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Radially outward-propagating, diurnal pulses in tropical cyclones (TCs) are associated with TC intensity and structural changes. The pulses are observed to feature either cloud-top cooling or warming, so-called cooling pulses (CPs) or warming pulses (WPs), respectively, with CPs posing a greater risk for hazardous weather because they often assume characteristics of tropical squall lines. The current study evaluates the characteristics and origins of simulated CPs using various convection-permitting Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model simulations of Hurricane Dorian (2019), which featured several CPs and WPs over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. CP evolution is tested against choice of microphysics parameterization, whereby the Thompson and Morrison schemes present distinct mechanisms for CP creation and propagation. Specifically, the Thompson CP is convectively coupled and propagates outward with a rainband within 100–300 km of the storm center. The Morrison CP is restricted to the cirrus canopy and propagates radially outward in the upper-level outflow layer, unassociated with any rainband, within 200–600 km of the storm center. The Thompson simulation better represents the observations of this particular event, but it is speculated that CPs in nature can resemble characteristics from either MP scheme. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate pulses beyond just brightness temperature (e.g., reflectivity, rain rate), especially within simulations where full fields are available.

Significance Statement
Tropical cyclone size and structure are influenced by the time of day. Identifying and predicting such characteristics is critical for evaluating hazardous weather risk of storms close to land. While satellite observations are valuable for recognizing daily fluctuations of tropical cyclone clouds as seen from space, they do not reliably capture what occurs at the surface. To investigate the relationship between upper-level cloud oscillations and rainbands, this study analyzes simulations of a major hurricane along the coast of Florida. The results show that rainbands are not always tied to changes in cloud tops, suggesting multiple pathways toward the daily oscillation of upper-level tropical cyclone clouds.
Does the Use of Ethyl Chloride Spray Facilitate Radial Angiography?
Authors: Koca Fatih , Levent Fatih , Demir Ömer Furkan , Kat Nurcan , Tenekecioglu Erhan 
Published: August 2023

Ethyl chloride (EC) spray is a vapocoolant which is used in interventional procedures as a topical local anesthetic. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether or not EC spray can facilitate radial coronary angiography. The study was conducted on a study group EC of 106 (age: 58.1 ± 12.4) patients and a control group (placebo) of 104 (age: 59.1 ± 10.8) patients. Visual analogue scale scores (VAS), radial cannulation failure (RCF), the rates of clinical and anatomical radial artery spasm (RAS), pain lasting >2 day and >1 week, and radial artery occlusion (RAO) at first week and first month were evaluated in both groups. VAS scores, the rates of RCF, clinical and anatomical RAS and pain lasting >1 week were found significantly lower in the study group than the control group ( p < .001, p = .024, p=.009, p = .028 and p = .042, respectively). But the rates of RAO were similar in both groups. Topical spray including EC, which has low-cost and rapid efficacy, may be preferred in transradial coronary angiography as it reduces the risk of RCF and RAS, and increases patient comfort with its analgesic effect, without significant side-effects.
Applying a Human Rights Lens to Poverty and Economic Inequality: The Experience of the South African Human Rights Commission
Authors: Liebenberg Sandra , Slade Bradley 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe Constitution of South Africa, 1996, is committed to redressing poverty and inequality. This is evident in its inclusion of a range of justiciable socio-economic rights along with a strong substantive right to equality and non-discrimination. The South African Human Rights Commission is a state institution established by the Constitution to support constitutional democracy. It has wide-ranging powers to investigate, monitor and protect human rights, including an express constitutional mandate in relation to socio-economic rights. This article examines how it has sought to apply its constitutional and legislative mandates to various manifestations of poverty and economic inequality in South Africa. It focuses on three broad areas of the Commission’s work with a view to identifying its achievements as well as some of the key challenges it has faced. Based on this analysis, the article concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of the experience of the Commission for fourth branch institutions, specifically national human rights institutions, that apply a human rights lens to poverty and economic inequality.
Surface Modification – Blood Compatibility
Authors: Sharma Chandra P. , Ashalatha P. V. 
Published: August 2023

A study was made of the influence of processing parameters and methodology of sample treatments on blood compatibility. The processing parameters, for example casting and precipitating, cause a difference in the surface energy; however, when a passive layer of proteins comes on to the surface the relative variation is insignificant. ATR work suggests that the chemical group distribution at the air-polymer interface and the glass-polymer interface is different in the case of cast films while for the precipitated films both surfaces seem to be closer. Ellipsometric studies at the liquid-polymer interface suggest that the relative increase in the thickness of the adsorbed proteins may be influenced by the passivity of the surface and interdiffusion of protein molecules into the passive layer; the latter requires further investigation. Our studies suggest that a better approach towards blood compatibility may be the combination of passivity and a distribution of proper functional groups (heparin type) on the surface.
Fire Performance and Characteristics of British Rail Flexible Polyurethane Foam Seating
Authors: Gotch T.M. , Morris V.C. 
Published: August 2023

Despite the many desirable features (light weight, low cost, good comfort characteristics) of polyurethane foams for transport seating, and that modem moulding techniques permit fast production rates and ergonomic feature incorporation, they exhibit problems of relative ease of ignition and propensity to produce smoke and toxic gases when burned. To reduce the latter on BR, the selection of suitable foams is closely controlled, and the facility exists to check flammability and other properties to BS and BR specifications. To evaluate fire performance in the final seating configuration, full-size testing is also undertaken on the foam/covering materials under conditions of accidental ignition. Results variation using the same foam/cover combination has been greater than normal experimental error. A detailed assessment programme, including the use of barrier foams, is being initiated to provide a greater understanding of the fire mechanism, and the uprating of the fire resistance of the whole range of seating.
Recovery of Chlorofluorocarbon 11 by Activated Carbon Scrubbing on a Polyurethane Foam Slabstock Plant
Authors: Nutt A.R. , Skidmore D.W. 
Published: August 2023

Operation of a pilot scale activated carbon CFC 11 recovery unit has been studied. For CFC 11 the trapping efficiency of the scrubber is close to 100% immediately after regeneration, falling to 95% when 12% by weight CFC has been added to the scrubber. About 10–15% of the CFC used by the plant is captured. Recovery is less efficient due to losses in the condenser, and only 50–60% of the trapped material is obtained for re-use. Examination of this material has shown significant differences from the unused sample, but admixture of recovered with unused CFC has proved successful in plant operations. For TDI, the unit is 100% efficient input concentrations as high as 3 ppm being reduced to the non-detectable level at the outlet (limit of detection 0.005 ppm). The current calculated TDI loading is 2% by weight of the carbon. For the tertiary amine catalysts used on the plant input concentrations were 0.5–7.1 ppm for DMEA and less than 0.1 ppm to 2.5 ppm DABCO. Outlet concentrations were 0.1 to 0.4 ppm for DMEA and were not detectable for DABCO (limit of detection 0.05 to 0.1 ppm).
Polyurethane Elastomers as Hydraulic Seal Materials
Authors: Hepburn C. 
Published: August 2023

The availability of the diisocyanate paraphenylene diisocyanate (PPDI) and cyclohexyl diisocyanate (CHDI) has made possible the synthesis of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPLTs) which have greater thermal stability than previously obtainable as predicted from their DMTA thermograms. The ability to combine elevated temperature service with the unique strength and wear resistant properties of polyurethane, together with the automation made possible by thermoplastic injection moulding is considered to represent an advance in current seal materials. This paper describes the special synthesis and formulation of TPU's based on PPDI and CHDI together with a spectrum of the strength properties used to judge them as potential seal elastomers. Some of these TPU elastomers possess tensile strengths of 50 MPa and compression set values of <25% obtained by using special post-curing techniques. DMTA data is used to predict these TPU's responses to elevated temperatures.
A Study of the Low Smoke Potential, Flame Resistance and Processibility of High Index Polyisocyanurate Rigid Foam
Authors: Cunningham A. , Eling B. , Sparrow D.J. 
Published: August 2023

Recent advances in our isocyanate and catalyst development programmes have stimulated a re-examination of the rigid polyisocyanurate (PIR) foams, and a study has been undertaken to explore the limits of flame resistance, low smoke emission and processibility in these systems. An experimental investigation was therefore carried out to determine the influence of the main PIR formulation parameters on fire and smoke performance of the derived foam. The results demonstrated that low smoke values can be obtained in non fire retarded PIR foams at isocyanate indices of approximately 400. However, to ensure high oxygen index together with low smoke emission, it was found to be necessary to use both high weight fractions of isocyanate (above 0.8) and isocyanate indices above 600. In such systems the addition of low levels of phosphorus containing fire retardants was particularly beneficial in increasing the fire resistance of the foam without increasing smoke emission significantly. Further benefits were obtained by the use of the high functionality MDI variants. These results indicated that this technology can provide PIR foams with an oxygen index up to 29% and an NBS smoke chamber optical density to levels as low as 100. Finally it was demonstrated that the manufacturing difficulties that are traditionally associated with high index PIR formulations can be overcome by the use of a novel catalyst package. Thus a novel class of foam insulation having high isocyanate index and high weight fraction of isocyanate has been identified and given the name ‘SHINDEX’ foam. Because the need for expensive fire retardants is minimised, it is expected that this material will be cost effective for technically demanding applications and should increase the market penetration of isocyanate based foam insulation.