bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing the PhD thesis project in relation to individual contexts: a multiple case study of five doctoral researchers
Authors: Inouye Kelsey 
Published: June 2022

Abstract The early phase of doctoral education is a critical yet under-researched period in PhD programs, when doctoral researchers must solidify their thesis projects prior to embarking on data collection. What makes this time particularly challenging is that new doctoral researchers synthesize their research thinking while they are still learning the expectations and nature of PhD research. This study draws on Emirbayer and Mische’s (1998) chordal triad of agency to explore how PhD researchers’ goals and experiences (individual contexts) influence how they approach doctoral research and develop their thesis projects during the first year of the PhD. The results of this small-scale longitudinal multiple case study of five first-year UK PhD social science researchers suggest that there are at least three approaches PhD researchers may adopt in developing their research projects, influenced by personal histories and post-PhD goals—pragmatic/strategic, idealistic, and realistic. In turn, these approaches may change over time as PhD researchers acquire experience and encounter critical events. Implications include the need for attention to a diversity of PhD researchers’ needs and goals, which may necessitate additional support or training in tailored areas, and a call for questioning the capacity of PhD researchers to contribute to/stretch the structures surrounding thesis writing.
Light absorptance of algal films for photosynthetic rate determinations
Authors: Ritchie Raymond J. , Sma-Air Suhailar , Runcie John W. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractA Reflectance Absorptance Transmittance (RAT) meter, developed for routine measurements of Abtλ nm on leaves, was used to measure absorptance of algal films mounted on glass fibre filter disks for use in PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) fluorometry. Absorptance readings (Abtλ nm) are essential to quantitate the photosynthetic electron transport rate from PAM data and are also helpful if algal disks are used in an IRGA (InfraRed Gas Analyzer). Measurements were made on Synechococcus R-2 (Cyanophyceae), Acaryochloris marina (Chlorobacteria), Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorophyceae), Chaetoceros sp. (Bacillariophyceae) and Isochrysis sp. (Haptophyta) in blue (445 nm), green (525 nm) and red (625 nm) light. Plots of Abtλ vs. Chl a (mg Chl a m-2) or Chl d for Acaryochloris (mg Chl d m-2) of the algae followed exponential saturation curves (Abt%λ = Abt%λ, ∞ (1-e-k×Chl)) usually reaching asymptotes in the blue light used by blue-diode PAM machines. Synechococcus, Chlorella, Chaetoceros and Isochrysis Abt%445nm saturates ≈ 50-100 mg Chl a m-2 (Synechococcus: Abt%445 nm, max = 77.3±0.94, ±95% conf. limits, Chlorella: Abt%445 nm, max = 77.0±2.06, Chaetoceros: Abt%445 nm, max = 80.6±1.87; Isochrysis: 83.2±8.06 mg Chl a m-2); Acaryochloris above about 100 mg Chl d m-2. Asymptotic loading of cells was in general easily achieved in blue light in the case of Synechococcus, Chlorella and Acaryochloris but not in green, red or “white” light. It was difficult to achieve asymptotic loading for Chaetoceros and Isochrysis due to mucilaginous blockage of the filter disks.
Determination of nuclear graphite impurities by prompt gamma activation analysis to support decommissioning operations
Authors: Mossini Eros , Revay Zsolt , Camerini Andrea , Giola Marco , Magugliani Gabriele , Macerata Elena , Mariani Mario 
Published: June 2022

AbstractElemental composition of non-irradiated nuclear grade graphite was determined by Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) to quantitively assess some neutron activation precursors. The knowledge of these data is paramount for an accurate radiological characterization of the material before decommissioning of graphite-moderated nuclear reactors. Bulk results of most of the nuclides were consistent with benchmark Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and literature data. In the case of 14N and 35Cl, depth distribution profiles were observed and quantified for the first time. These outcomes could shine a light on 14C and 36Cl depth distribution profiles and fractional release during leaching experiments.
Sex differences in arterial identity correlate with neointimal hyperplasia after balloon injury
Authors: Gao Mingjie , Gao Xixiang , Taniguchi Ryosuke , Brahmandam Anand , Matsubara Yutaka , Liu Jia , Liu Hao , Zhang Weichang , Dardik Alan 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
Background
Endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic arterial disease exhibits sex differences in clinical outcomes including restenosis. However, sex-specific differences in arterial identity during arterial remodeling have not been described. We hypothesized that sex differences in expression of the arterial determinant erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular receptor interacting protein (Ephrin)-B2 occur during neointimal proliferation and arterial remodeling.

Methods and results
Carotid balloon injury was performed in female and male Sprague–Dawley rats without or 14 days after gonadectomy; the left common carotid artery was injured and the right carotid artery in the same animal was used as an uninjured control. Arterial hemodynamics were evaluated in vivo using ultrasonography pre-procedure and post-procedure at 7 and 14 days and wall composition examined using histology, immunofluorescence and Western blot at 14 days after balloon injury. There were no significant baseline sex differences. 14 days after balloon injury, there was decreased neointimal thickness in female rats with decreased smooth muscle cell proliferation and decreased type I and III collagen deposition, as well as decreased TNFα- or iNOS-positive CD68+ cells and increased CD206− or TGM2-positive CD68+ cells. Female rats also showed less immunoreactivity of VEGF-A, NRP1, phosphorylated EphrinB2, and increased Notch1, as well as decreased phosphorylated Akt1, p38 and ERK1/2. These differences were not present in rats pretreated with gonadectomy.

Conclusions
Decreased neointimal thickness in female rats after carotid balloon injury is associated with altered arterial identity that is dependent on intact sex hormones. Alteration of arterial identity may be a mechanism of sex differences in neointimal proliferation after arterial injury.
Learning inter-class optical flow difference using generative adversarial networks for facial expression recognition
Authors: Guo Wenping , Zhao Xiaoming , Zhang Shiqing , Pan Xianzhang 
Published: June 2022

AbstractFacial expression recognition is a fine-grained task because different emotions have subtle facial movements. This paper proposes to learn inter-class optical flow difference using generative adversarial networks (GANs) for facial expression recognition. Initially, the proposed method employs a GAN to produce inter-class optical flow images from the difference between the static fully expressive samples and neutral expression samples. Such inter-class optical flow difference is used to highlight the displacement of facial parts between the neutral facial images and fully expressive facial images, which can avoid the disadvantage that the optical flow change between adjacent frames of the same video expression image is not obvious. Then, the proposed method designs four-channel convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to learn high-level optical flow features from the produced inter-class optical flow images, and high-level static appearance features from the fully expressive facial images, respectively. Finally, a decision-level fusion strategy is adopted to implement facial expression classification. The proposed method is validated on two public facial expression databases, BAUM_1a, SAMM and AFEW5.0, demonstrating its promising performance.
Low loss hybrid plasmonic photonic crystal waveguide for optical communication applications
Authors: Hassan Hala Mossad I. , Areed Nihal F. F. , El-Mikati H. A. , Hameed Mohamed Farhat O. , Obayya S. S. A. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractIn this paper, a new design of hybrid plasmonic photonic crystal (PhC) waveguide is proposed and analyzed at operating wavelength of 1550 nm. The suggested design consists of hybrid cylindrical core with periodic grating as a cladding region. The effective index (neff), propagation length (Lp), and normalized mode effective area (Aeff) of the supported modes are numerically investigated using full vectorial finite element method. The cladding geometry is tuned to obtain long propagation length with good field confinement. The reported plasmonic PhC with uniform grating achieves long propagation length and low propagation loss of 124 µm, and 0.035 dB/µm respectively. Further, the PhC with chirped cladding offers propagation length and low propagation loss of 162 µm, and 0.0268 dB/µm at λ = 1550 nm, respectively.
Model Transfer and Universal Patterns: Lessons from the Yule Process
Authors: Tieleman Sebastiaan 
Published: June 2022

AbstractModel transfer refers to the observation that particular model structures are used across multiple distinct scientific domains. This paper puts forward an account to explain the inter-domain transfer of model structures. Central in the account is the role of validation criteria in determining whether a model is considered to be useful by practitioners. Validation criteria are points of reference to which model correctness for a particular purpose is assessed. I argue that validation criteria can be categorized as being mathematical, theoretical or phenomenological in nature. Model transfer is explained by overlap in validation criteria between scientific domains. Particular emphasis is placed on overlap between phenomenological criteria. Overlap in phenomenological criteria can be explained through the notion of universal patterns. Universal patterns are abstract structures that can be made to refer to multiple distinct phenomena when coupled with phenomena-specific empirical content. I present the case study of the Yule Process, in which universal patterns play a crucial role in explaining model transfer. This paper provides an account of model transfer that stays close to modelling practice and expands existing accounts by introducing the notion of universal patterns.
Relation Between the Number of Peaks and the Number of Reciprocal Sign Epistatic Interactions
Authors: Saona Raimundo , Kondrashov Fyodor A. , Khudiakova Ksenia A. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractEmpirical essays of fitness landscapes suggest that they may be rugged, that is having multiple fitness peaks. Such fitness landscapes, those that have multiple peaks, necessarily have special local structures, called reciprocal sign epistasis (Poelwijk et al. in J Theor Biol 272:141–144, 2011). Here, we investigate the quantitative relationship between the number of fitness peaks and the number of reciprocal sign epistatic interactions. Previously, it has been shown (Poelwijk et al. in J Theor Biol 272:141–144, 2011) that pairwise reciprocal sign epistasis is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the existence of multiple peaks. Applying discrete Morse theory, which to our knowledge has never been used in this context, we extend this result by giving the minimal number of reciprocal sign epistatic interactions required to create a given number of peaks
Development of a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Track for Internal Medicine Residents
Authors: Nathanson Robert , Le Minh-Phuong T. , Proud Kevin C. , LoPresti Charles M. , Haro Elizabeth K. , Mader Michael J. , O’Rorke Jane , Wathen Patricia I. , Soni Nilam J. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractBackgroundPoint-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training has been increasing among internal medicine (IM) residency programs, but few programs can provide longitudinal training due to barriers such as lack of trained faculty.AimDescribe the development of a longitudinal POCUS track for IM residents using local and external resources, including a national POCUS certificate program.SettingUniversity-based IM residency program affiliated with a public and veterans affairs hospital.ParticipantsTwelve IM residents from 2018 to 2021.Program DescriptionResidents complete a national POCUS certificate program by attending live courses and completing online modules, an image portfolio, and final knowledge/skills assessments. Locally, residents participate in 1-month procedure and diagnostic POCUS rotations and provide peer-to-peer POCUS teaching of residents and medical students.Program EvaluationThe POCUS track increased residents’ use and comfort with diagnostic and procedural applications. All residents rated being satisfied or very satisfied with the track and would recommend it to prospective applicants (100%). The most commonly reported barriers to utilizing POCUS per residents were time constraints (83%), lack of available ultrasound equipment (83%), and lack of trained faculty (58%).DiscussionIM residency programs with limited faculty expertise in POCUS can leverage external resources to provide longitudinal POCUS training to its residents.
Introduction to coherent quantization
Authors: Neumaier Arnold , Farashahi Arash Ghaani 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThis paper studies coherent quantization, the way operators in the quantum space of a coherent space—defined in the recent book ’Coherent Quantum Mechanics’ by the first author—can be studied in terms of objects defined directly on the coherent space. The results may be viewed as a generalization of geometric quantization, including the non-unitary case. Care has been taken to work with the weakest meaningful topology and to assume as little as possible about the spaces and groups involved. Unlike in geometric quantization, the groups are not assumed to be compact, locally compact, or finite-dimensional. This implies that the setting can be successfully applied to quantum field theory, where the groups involved satisfy none of these properties. The paper characterizes linear operators acting on the quantum space of a coherent space in terms of their coherent matrix elements. Coherent maps and associated symmetry groups for coherent spaces are introduced, and formulas are derived for the quantization of coherent maps. The importance of coherent maps for quantum mechanics is due to the fact that there is a quantization map that associates homomorphically with every coherent map a linear operator from the quantum space into itself. The quantization map generalizes the second quantization procedure for free classical fields to symmetry groups of general coherent spaces. Field quantization is obtained by specialization to Klauder spaces, whose quantum spaces are the bosonic Fock spaces. Implied by the new approach is a short, coordinate-free derivation of all basic properties of creation and annihilation operators in Fock spaces.
Rapidly dissolving bilayer microneedles enabling minimally invasive and efficient protein delivery to the posterior segment of the eye
Authors: Wu Yu , Vora Lalitkumar K. , Donnelly Ryan F. , Singh Thakur Raghu Raj 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe discovery of proteins that neutralise vascular endothelial growth factors, such as pegaptanib, ranibizumab and aflibercept, can inhibit the process of angiogenesis, thereby restoring eyesight in individuals with retinal vascular disorders. However, due to the posterior location and chronic nature of retinal diseases, a safe and effective intraocular protein delivery system is currently lacking. Thus, dissolving bilayer microneedles (MNs) with the potential to deliver proteins to the back of the eye in an efficient and minimally invasive manner were developed in this study. A model protein, ovalbumin (OVA), was incorporated into MNs fabricated from different polymers, including hyaluronic acid (HA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Optimised PVA/PVP MNs were demonstrated to be robust enough to pierce porcine sclera with > 75% of the needle length penetrating the sclera and dissolving within 150 s. SDS-PAGE and OVA-specific ELISA revealed that the bioactivity of the model protein was maintained during the manufacture of MNs. In hen’s egg-chorioallantoic membrane test, MNs fabricated from all chosen polymers were classified as non-irritants. Furthermore, ex vivo permeation studies showed that optimised MNs could permeate 86.99 ± 7.37% of OVA through the sclera, twice that of the needle-free patch (42.16 ± 3.95%), highlighting the capability of MNs to circumvent physical barriers and promote protein delivery to the posterior segment of the eye. In this work, a novel, efficient and safe intraocular protein delivery system was successfully established.
Graphical abstract
Coordinating visual and algebraic reasoning with quadratic functions
Authors: Wilkie Karina J. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractQuadratics provide a foundational context for making sense of many important algebraic concepts, such as variables and parameters, nonlinear rates of change, and views of function. Yet researchers have highlighted students’ difficulties in connecting such concepts. This in-depth qualitative study with two pairs of Year 10 (15 or 16-year-old) students investigated the potential of figural pattern generalisation—a context not traditionally used for teaching quadratics—to stimulate students’ coordination of visual and algebraic reasoning and attention to quadratic function concepts. Theorisations of embodied visualisation, algebraic thinking, and student noticing were drawn on to analyse the pairs responding to 19 quadratic figural pattern generalisation tasks interspersed throughout their class topic on quadratic equations. It was found that students became adept at connecting the generality of different types of structural aspects of figures (square, rectangular, linear, constant/invariant) to their symbolic expression in quadratic equations. Students’ construction of numeric instantiations of figural aspects was found to support pairs in moving towards symbolic generalisation. Task prompts to find different (but equivalent) algebraic equations for the same pattern evidenced pairs beginning to distinguish among general, factorised and standard forms of quadratic equations. One pair’s attention to first and second differences (between total quantities of figures in a sequence) highlighted both the difficulty of and potential for connecting quadratic rate-of-change concepts and parameters visually. Implications for including figural pattern generalisation when teaching quadratics and suggestions for further research are shared.
A technoeconomic analysis of sewage sludge valorization for carbon emission reduction
Authors: Woo Desmond Chien Yang , Goh Qi Hao , Poh Phaik Eong , Chew Irene Mei Leng 
Published: June 2022

Abstract Sewage sludge (SS) is a residual resulting from wastewater treatment that contains both organic and inorganic materials. Nowadays, SS management is a major issue owing to economic considerations and environmental pressure. It has been reported that the current sludge-to-landfill method would pose potential risks to human health and the environment. The incorporation of sustainable sludge valorization techniques (SVTs) into the SS treatment process could be a promising solution by transforming SS into value-added products, which mitigates the environmental impact of SS disposal. However, the selection of the most optimal process pathway from various SVTs is a challenging task. Hence, this paper proposes a mathematical optimization framework to determine the most sustainable SVT pathway using a single objective function of total annualized cost (TAC) minimization with the consideration of carbon pricing. A case study is conducted to evaluate the performance of the optimized SVT pathway compared to the conventional sludge management practice using different SS sources: (1) domestic sewage sludge and (2) a mixture of industrial sludge and domestic SS. The results reveal that the SVT pathway, which includes anaerobic digestion (AD) and followed by land application, is the most ideal route for domestic SS feed. For mixed SS feed, AD followed by landfilling is preferred due to the presence of hazardous constituents in mixed SS. Sensitivity analysis is performed to study the effect of SS quantity and carbon pricing on the SVT selection. It is expected that this study could provide critical insights into the development of a sustainable SS treatment process.
A Proposed Methodological Approach for Considering Community Resilience in Technology Development and Disaster Management Pilot Testing
Authors: Benekos Ioannis , Bekiaris Evangelos , Wodniak Katarzyna , Serhan Waleed , Sułkowski Łukasz , Gharrad Hana , Yasar Ansar 
Published: June 2022

AbstractNowadays, resilience has become an indispensable term in several aspects and areas of research and life. Reaching consensus on what actually constitutes “resilience,” “community,” and “community resilience” is still a task that guarantees a vivid exchange of opinions, sometimes escalating into debates, both in the scientific community and among practitioners. Figuring out how to practically apply resilience principles goes even a step further. This study attempts to circumvent the need for a universal agreement on the definition of “community resilience,” which may still be immature, if not impossible, at this time. We accomplish this by proposing a practical methodological approach with concrete methods on how to agree and implement commonly accepted community resilience principles in the context of technology development and pilot testing for disaster management. The proposed approach was developed, tested, and validated in the context of the Horizon 2020 EU-funded project Search and Rescue. Major aspects of the approach, along with considerations for further improvement and adaptation in different contexts, are addressed in the article.
Natural Stibnite for Lithium-/Sodium-Ion Batteries: Carbon Dots Evoked High Initial Coulombic Efficiency
Authors: Xiang Yinger , Xu Laiqiang , Yang Li , Ye Yu , Ge Zhaofei , Wu Jiae , Deng Wentao , Zou Guoqiang , Hou Hongshuai , Ji Xiaobo 
Published: June 2022

Highlights

The chemical process of local oxidation–partial reduction–deep coupling for
stibnite reduction of carbon dots (CDs) is revealed by in-situ high-temperature X-ray
diffraction.

Sb2S3@xCDs anode delivers high initial coulombic efficiency in lithium ion
batteries (85.2%) and sodium ion batteries (82.9%), respectively.

C–S bond influenced by oxygen-rich carbon matrix can restrain the conversion of
sulfur to sulfite, well confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
characterization of solid electrolyte interphase layers helped with density
functional theory calculations.

CDs-induced Sb–O–C bond is proved to effectively regulate the interfacial
electronic structure.

Abstract
The application of Sb2S3 with marvelous theoretical capacity for alkali metal-ion batteries is seriously limited by its poor electrical conductivity and low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE). In this work, natural stibnite modified by carbon dots (Sb2S3@xCDs) is elaborately designed with high ICE. Greatly, chemical processes of local oxidation–partial reduction–deep coupling for stibnite reduction of CDs are clearly demonstrated, confirmed with in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction. More impressively, the ICE for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is enhanced to 85%, through the effect of oxygen-rich carbon matrix on C–S bonds which inhibit the conversion of sulfur to sulfite, well supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of solid electrolyte interphase layers helped with density functional theory calculations. Not than less, it is found that Sb–O–C bonds existed in the interface effectively promote the electronic conductivity and expedite ion transmission by reducing the bandgap and restraining the slip of the dislocation. As a result, the optimal sample delivers a tremendous reversible capacity of 660 mAh g−1 in LIBs at a high current rate of 5 A g−1. This work provides a new methodology for enhancing the electrochemical energy storage performance of metal sulfides, especially for improving the ICE.