bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Aerenchyma tissue of Juncus effusus L.: a novel resource for sustainable natural cellulose foams
Authors: Chen Qi , van Dijken Jur , Maniar Dina , Loos Katja 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe demand for sustainable, low-cost, and high-performance natural cellulose foams with isotropic structures has increased greatly due to growing environmental awareness. However, the synthesis of current cellulose foams/aerogels requires substantial amounts of energy and chemicals, mainly due to the challenges posed by the poor solubility and processability of raw cellulose derived from biomass resources. Consequently, these challenges further highlight the advantages offered by the direct utilization of natural cellulose foams, considering their economic and environmental benefits. Previous studies on natural cellulose foams have predominantly focused on specific plant components such as phloem, xylem, vascular vessels, fruits, and seeds. In this study, we present an overlooked alternative: the aerenchyma tissue of aquatic or wetland plants. Specifically, we investigated on Juncus effusus L. (JE), a commonly found problematic wetland weed that is known for its high reproductive ability, causing a reduction in annual forage yield. The aerenchyma tissue of JE was discovered to possess a well-developed 3D interconnected hierarchical structure, exhibiting remarkable properties as a natural lignocellulosic foam. These properties include exceptional compressibility, hydrophobicity (water contact angle: 147°), lightweights (density: 0.017 g/cm3), and high porosity (98%). Through this study, we have introduced a novel natural cellulose foam and explored the utilization of biomass derived from wetland weed wastes.
Emerging Adult Resilience to the Early Stages of the COVID-Pandemic: A Systematic Scoping Review
Authors: Theron L. C. , Cockcroft K. , Annalakshmi N. , Rodgers J. G. , Akinduyo T. E. , Fouché A. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractHuman resilience to COVID-19 related stressors remains a pressing concern following the aftereffects of the pandemic and in the face of probable future pandemics. In response, we systematically scoped the available literature (n = 2030 records) to determine the nature and extent of research on emerging adults’ adaptive responses to COVID-19 stressors in the early stages of the pandemic. Using a multisystem resilience framework, our narrative review of 48 eligible studies unpacks the personal, relational, institutional and/or physical ecological resources that enabled positive emerging adult outcomes to COVID-18 stressors. We found that there is a geographical bias in studies on this topic, with majority world contexts poorly represented. Resources leading to positive outcomes foregrounded psychological and social support, while institutional and ecological supports were seldom mentioned. Multisystemic combinations of resources were rarely considered. This knowledge has valuable implications for understanding resilience in the context of other large-scale adverse conditions.
National legislative adoption of international wildlife law after treaty ratification
Authors: Goyes David Rodríguez 
Published: September 2023

AbstractSince the 1970s, the world has witnessed a proliferation of international treaties championing the protection of wildlife. The effectiveness of those treaties, which together comprise international wildlife law (IWL), depends on their national implementation by individual states rather than on their number. National implementation of IWL ranges from legislative action, to resource allocation, to individual behavioural change. Inadequate IWL implementation can facilitate and even lead to wildlife crime. Therefore, examining how countries operationalise their commitments derived from IWL is important to understand the efficacy (or lack thereof) of wildlife treaties. The main goal of this article is to investigate the dynamics by which nations internalise international wildlife commitments into state law, by using Norway as a case study. The article thus explores the social dynamics that shaped the domestic legal action that Norway undertook after its ratification of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). The study is based on historical data documenting Norway’s legislative processes derived from the conventions and historical records of the country’s environmental conflicts. It applies Chambliss’s sociology of law perspective on conflict to interpret the material. While many globalisation scholars hold that globalisation stripped states of legislative sovereignty, this article argues that Norway’s wildlife policy is mostly dependent on clashes between national forces, rather than Norway conceding legislative powers to the international community. In other words, the tension between economic growth and ecosystem conservation determines how Norway implements IWL commitments. This article contributes to the literature on environmental regime effectiveness and the domestic impact of treaties.
Welcome to the jungle!: An overview of modern taxonomy of cyanobacteria
Authors: Kaštovský Jan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe application of modern molecular methods and phylogenetic approaches saw an explosion in cyanobacterial taxonomy in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. The relative ease of description of new taxa and the pressure to publish a high number of scientific papers has created apparent confusion. The situation is particularly complicated for ecologically oriented limnological research and practical hydrobiologists especially have numerous criticisms of this trend. On closer observation, however, the situation is not as tragic as it first appears. More than a thousand new species have been discovered or renamed and only 18 percent are freshwater planktonic species, which garner the most interest in routine analyses. Most new taxa are described from terrestrial habitats. Despite the increase in studies from tropical areas, most of the new species are from the temperate zone, which probably does not account for the reality. Significant advances in modern taxonomy are visible mainly for the trichal types, but other groups such as the pleurocapsal species are considerably less studied. In this article I try to show that, despite all the difficulties and limitations, it is not necessary to consider these rapid changes as a complication in common cyanobacteriological research.
Life in a changing environment: dreissenids’ feeding response to different temperature
Authors: Haltiner Linda , Rossbacher Silvan , Alexander Josephine , Dennis Stuart R. , Spaak Piet 
Published: September 2023

AbstractInvasive species have far-reaching consequences for whole ecosystems. The two dreissenids zebra and quagga mussels are two of the most successful invaders in aquatic systems. Quagga mussels can colonize deeper parts of a lake while zebra mussels prefer shallow areas. Both species show large variability in shell morphology, but only quagga mussels show a shallow and deep-water morphotype. The aim of this study is to investigate the depth adaptation of quagga mussels and the potential filtration advantage of the quagga mussel compared to the zebra mussel. We conducted common garden experiments, where we measured filtration rates at different temperatures of quagga mussels collected from different water depths and compared them to zebra mussel from 1m depth. We found filtration rates to be strongly temperature dependent, and in particular, lower at 4 °C. Overall, zebra mussels fed less than quaggas. Quagga mussels collected from 1 m depth fed more at higher temperature than quaggas from 30 and 60 m. We hypothesize that deep-water quagga mussels are less sensitive to lower temperature and/or constrained to modify filtration rates at higher temperatures.
Intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide 0.19 mg (ILUVIEN®) in patients with non-infectious uveitis: real-world effectiveness and safety outcomes at 12 months
Authors: Moll-Udina Aina , Hernanz Inés , Sainz-de-la-Maza Maite , Pelegrín Laura , Coelho-Borges Ana Isabel , Pazos Marta , Adán Alfredo , Llorenç Victor 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Purpose
This study assessed the effectiveness of the 0.19-mg fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant by multimodal measurements in patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU) in a real-world setting in Spain.

Methods
A prospective study of patients who had NIU including uveitic macular oedema (UME) with ≥ 12 months follow-up was done. Exclusion criteria include infectious uveitis and uncontrolled glaucoma or ocular hypertension requiring more than 2 medications. Effectiveness was assessed using a multicomponent outcome measure that included nine outcomes. Effectiveness was defined as all components being met at every timepoint. Secondary outcome measures were onset or progression of glaucoma and investigator-reported adverse events.

Results
Twenty-six eyes from 22 patients were included, with 96.2% having an indication including UME. During the 12-month study, the FAc implant was effective in 15 (57.7%) eyes, reaching effectiveness as soon as 2 weeks post-implantation. Mean best-corrected visual acuity and mean central macular thickness (CMT) were significantly improved vs. baseline at all timepoints (all comparisons p < 0.01). During the 12-month study, inflammation markers (anterior chamber cells and vitreous haze) had also significantly declined. Factors predicting effectiveness at month 12 were systemic corticosteroid dose pre-FAc, higher immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) load at baseline and thicker retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) at baseline (all p < 0.05). Factors predicting failure were male gender, thinner RNFL at baseline and treatment ineffectiveness at 1 month (all p < 0.05). In parallel, corticosteroid and IMT use also declined significantly. No significant increase in IOP was detected.

Conclusion
The FAc implant is safe and effective at treating NIU over 12 months in a real-world setting in Spain.
Effectiveness and safety of fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant in diabetic macular edema patients considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies (REACT): a prospective, non-randomized, and multicenter study
Authors: Ruiz-Moreno José María , Adán Alfredo , Lafuente María , Asencio Durán Mónica , Arias Barquet Luís , García Layana Alfredo , Araiz Iribarren Javier 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Objective
To assess the effectiveness and safety of the intravitreal fluocinolone-acetonide implant (FAc-i) in patients with chronic diabetic macular edema who did not sufficiently respond to other available therapies.

Methods
This was a multicenter, prospective, non-randomized, and phase-IV observational study conducted on patients with recurrent-DME who were insufficient responders to currently available therapies (REACT-Study). The primary end-point was the mean change in best-corrected-visual-acuity from baseline to month-24 values.

Results
Thirty-one eyes from 31 patients were included in the study. Mean age was 68.0 ± 7.7 years, and 10 (32.3%) were women. Study patients had received 5.3 ± 7.3 previous DME treatments before starting the study. In the overall study sample, BCVA improved from 56.1 ± 12.3 letters at baseline to 62.4 ± 17.0 letters at month-24 (p = 0.0510). The eyes with a baseline BCVA < 70 ETDRS letters had a significant improvement in BCVA from 53.2 ± 10.2 letters at baseline to 61.5 ± 17.9 letters at month-24 (p = 0.0165). In the overall study population, central-subfoveal-thickness (CST) was significantly reduced from 474.0 ± 135.1 µm at baseline to 333.4 ± 135.6 at month-24 (p < 0.0001). Similarly, macular-volume (MV) was significantly reduced from 10.7 ± 2.7 mm3 at baseline to 9.6 ± 2.9 mm3 (p = 0.0027) at month-24. Among the 31 study eyes, 19 (61.3%) required an additional treatment for DME. Throughout the study, 9 (29.0%) eyes required ocular hypotensive medication for controlling their intraocular-pressure and 5 (16.1%) eyes underwent cataract surgery.

Conclusions
In DME eyes who did not sufficiently respond to previous therapies, the FAc-i was associated with an improvement in visual and anatomic outcomes. There were no unexpected adverse-events.

Trial registration number
EudraCT identifier: 2016-001680-37.
Electrochemical determination of cadmium ions in biological and environmental samples using a newly developed sensing platform made of nickel tungstate-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes
Authors: Mohammed Rabee H. R. , Hassan Rabeay Y. A. , Mahmoud Rehab , Farghali Ahmed A. , Hassouna Mohamed E.M. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractSimple and rapid analysis of cadmium ion in environmental and biological samples is of great importance due to the severe toxicity caused by this heavy metal. In the present work, nickel tungstate (NiWO4) dispersion was mixed with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to obtain a homogenous composite of (NiWO4/MWCNTs) which was assigned as carbon paste electrode modifier. The composite was fully characterized using various characterization techniques including X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR). The electrochemical redox reactions of cadmium (II) ions at the modified electrode interface were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Effective parameters on the electro-analysis assay performance including the electrode composition, types of electrolyte, scan rate and pH were tested to achieve the best effective optimum conditions. Accordingly, a linear relation of cadmium ions was achieved in the concentration range 50–450 µM with limit of detection of 0.12 µM. Besides, the proposed electrode was successfully used to monitor trace amounts of cadmium ions in various real samples.
Graphical abstract
Schematic illustration of synthesis process of NiWO4/MWCN nanocomposite and its application as high-performance cadmium ion sensors
A Fuzzy Logic Approach of Pareto Optimality for Multi-objective Path Planning in case of Unmanned Surface Vehicle
Authors: Ntakolia Charis , Kladis Georgios P. , Lyridis Dimitrios V. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractUnmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are nowadays used in various applications for security, inspection and delivery among others. To operate in dynamic and complex environments efficiently demands an optimal path planning where multiple factors should be taken into account. In this paper, the multi-objective path planning problem of USV is formulated aiming to minimize the traveled distance maximizing in parallel the trajectory smoothness and energy efficiency. To address this multi-objective path planning problem with contradicting terms, the popular Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is employed enhanced with the proposed Fuzzy Pareto framework. In particular, ACO is used to solve the problem by finding the Pareto solutions optimizing each single objective. Then these solutions are evaluated via the Mamdani fuzzy inference system to identify the optimal one. The ranking of the solutions is based on the defuzzification values. A case study is performed in a simulation area based on Saronic Gulf topology. The results showed that depending the needs of an operation and the conditions of the area of operations (number of obstacles, currents, and distance from the initial to the target point), each objective can impact the path quality differently.
Ising Model with a Magnetic Field
Authors: Meissner Krzysztof A. , Ircha Dobiesław , Olszewski Wojciech , Ruta Joanna , Słapek Anna 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe paper presents the low temperature expansion of the 2D Ising model in the presence of the magnetic field in powers of $$x=\exp (-J/(kT))$$

x
=
exp
(
-
J
/
(
k
T
)
)

and $$z=\exp (B/(kT))$$

z
=
exp
(
B
/
(
k
T
)
)

with full polynomials in z up to $$x^{88}$$

x
88

and full polynomials in $$x^4$$

x
4

up to $$z^{-60}$$

z

-
60

, in the latter case the polynomials are explicitly given. The new result presented in the paper is an expansion not in inverse powers of z but in $$(z^2+x^8)^{-k}$$

(

z
2

+

x
8

)

-
k

where the subsequent coefficients (polynomials in $$x^4$$

x
4

) turn out to be divisible by increasing powers of $$(1-x^4)$$

(
1
-

x
4

)

. This result gives a hint about the intriguing ‘off-diagonal’ correlations in the Ising model mixing the $$B\ne 0$$

B
≠
0

contributions with the usual low temperature $$B=0$$

B
=
0

expansion what may be useful on the road to find the full analytic expression for the partition function of the Ising model with non-vanishing magnetic field. The paper describes both the analytic expansions of the partition function and the efficient combinatorial methods to get the coefficients of the expansion.
On the estimation of landslide intensity, hazard and density via data-driven models
Authors: Di Napoli Mariano , Tanyas Hakan , Castro-Camilo Daniela , Calcaterra Domenico , Cevasco Andrea , Di Martire Diego , Pepe Giacomo , Brandolini Pierluigi , Lombardo Luigi 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMaps that attempt to predict landslide occurrences have essentially stayed the same since 1972. In fact, most of the geo-scientific efforts have been dedicated to improve the landslide prediction ability with models that have largely increased their complexity but still have addressed the same binary classification task. In other words, even though the tools have certainly changed and improved in 50 years, the geomorphological community addressed and still mostly addresses landslide prediction via data-driven solutions by estimating whether a given slope is potentially stable or unstable. This concept corresponds to the landslide susceptibility, a paradigm that neglects how many landslides may trigger within a given slope, how large these landslides may be and what proportion of the given slope they may disrupt. The landslide intensity concept summarized how threatening a landslide or a population of landslide in a study area may be. Recently, landslide intensity has been spatially modeled as a function of how many landslides may occur per mapping unit, something, which has later been shown to closely correlate to the planimetric extent of landslides per mapping unit. In this work, we take this observation a step further, as we use the relation between landslide count and planimetric extent to generate maps that predict the aggregated size of landslides per slope, and the proportion of the slope they may affect. Our findings suggest that it may be time for the geoscientific community as a whole, to expand the research efforts beyond the use of susceptibility assessment, in favor of more informative analytical schemes. In fact, our results show that landslide susceptibility can be also reliably estimated (AUC of 0.92 and 0.91 for the goodness-of-fit and prediction skill, respectively) as part of a Log-Gaussian Cox Process model, from which the intensity expressed as count per unit (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91 and 0.90 for the goodness-of-fit and prediction skill, respectively) can also be derived and then converted into how large a landslide or several coalescing ones may become, once they trigger and propagate downhill. This chain of landslide intensity, hazard and density may lead to substantially improve decision-making processes related to landslide risk.
Attractor selection in nonlinear oscillators by temporary dual-frequency driving
Authors: Krähling Péter , Steyer Joshua , Parlitz Ulrich , Hegedűs Ferenc 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper presents a control technique capable of driving a harmonically driven nonlinear system between two distinct periodic orbits. A vital component of the method is a temporary dual-frequency driving with tunable driving amplitudes. Theoretical considerations revealed two necessary conditions: one for the frequency ratio of the dual-frequency driving and another one for torsion numbers of the two orbits connected by bifurcation curves in the extended dual-frequency driving parameter space. Although the initial and the final states of the control strategy are single-frequency driven systems with distinct parameter sets (frequencies and driving amplitudes), control of multistability is also possible via additional parameter tuning. The technique is demonstrated on the symmetric Duffing oscillator and the asymmetric Toda oscillator.
Identifying possible biomarkers of lower urinary tract symptoms using metabolomics and partial least square regression
Authors: Hopland-Nechita Florin V , Andersen John R , Rajalahti Tarja Kvalheim , Andreassen Trygve , Beisland Christian 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Introduction
The objective of this study was to explore potential novel biomarkers for moderate to severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) using a metabolomics-based approach, and statistical methods with significant different features than previous reported.

Materials and Methods
The patients and the controls were selected to participate in the study according to inclusion/exclusion criteria (n = 82). We recorded the following variables: International prostatic symptom score (IPSS), prostate volume, comorbidities, PSA, height, weight, triglycerides, glycemia, HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure. The study of 41 plasma metabolites was done using the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique. First, the correlations between the metabolites and the IPSS were done using Pearson. Second, significant biomarkers of LUTS from metabolites were further analysed using a multiple linear regression model. Finally, we validated the findings using partial least square regression (PLS).

Results
Small to moderate correlations were found between IPSS and methionine (-0.301), threonine (-0.320), lactic acid (0.294), pyruvic acid (0.207) and 2-aminobutyric-acid (0.229). The multiple linear regression model revealed that only threonine (p = 0.022) was significantly associated with IPSS, whereas methionine (p = 0.103), lactic acid (p = 0.093), pyruvic acid (p = 0.847) and 2-aminobutyric-acid (p = 0.244) lost their significance. However, all metabolites lost their significance in the PLS model.

Conclusion
When using the robust PLS-regression method, none of the metabolites in our analysis had a significant association with lower urinary tract symptoms. This highlights the importance of using appropriate statistical methods when exploring new biomarkers in urology.
Actuator-level motion and contact episode learning and classification using adaptive resonance theory
Authors: Bargsten Vinzenz , Kirchner Frank 
Published: September 2023

AbstractSeveral methods exist to detect and distinguish collisions of robotic systems with their environment, since this information is a critical dependency of many tasks. These methods are prevalently based on thresholds in combination with filters, models, or offline trained machine learning models. To improve the adaptation and thereby enable a more autonomous operation of robots in new environments, this work evaluates the applicability of an incremental learning approach. The method addresses online learning and recognition of motion and contact episodes of robotic systems from proprioceptive sensor data using machine learning. The objective is to learn new category templates representing previously encountered situations of the actuators and improve them based on newly gathered similar data. This is achieved using an artificial neural network based on adaptive resonance theory (ART). The input samples from the robot’s actuator measurements are preprocessed into frequency spectra. This enables the ART neural network to learn incrementally recurring episodic patterns from these preprocessed data. An evaluation based on preliminary experimental data from a grasping motion of a humanoid robot’s arm encountering contacts is presented and suggests that this is a promising approach.