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Recently, poled Na₀.₅₀Bi₀.₅₀TiO₃‐BaTiO₃ (NBT‐BT)‐based polycrystalline materials have been characterized as possessing a high degree of poling‐induced domain texture in their remanent state. This finding is suggested to be the reason for their stable mechanical quality factor at high‐vibration velocity, making them promising candidates for high‐power applications. The materials in consideration are prone to self‐heating and thermal run‐away, particularly at slightly elevated temperatures. Therefore, this paper evaluates the temperature dependence of the poling‐induced domain texture of (Na₀.₄₇Bi₀.₄₇Ba₀.₀₆)TiO₃ (NBT‐6BT) doped with 0.5 mol% of Mg as compared to undoped NBT‐6BT. Its influence on small‐signal, large‐signal, and high‐power properties was investigated. To obtain a fundamental understanding of crystal structure, in‐situ synchrotron measurements were conducted as function of temperature to establish a relationship between structure and piezoelectric properties of both Mg‐doped and undoped NBT‐6BT materials.

Memory performance is a crucial bottleneck in many GPGPU applications, making optimizations for hardware and software mandatory. While hardware vendors already use highly efficient caching architectures, software engineers usually have to organize their data accordingly in order to efficiently make use of these, requiring deep knowledge of the actual hardware. In this paper we present a novel technique for fine‐grained memory profiling that simulates the whole pipeline of memory flow and finally accumulates profiling values in a way that the user retains information about the potential region in the GPU program by showing these values separately for each allocation. Our memory simulator turns out to outperform state‐of‐the‐art memory models of NVIDIA architectures by a magnitude of 2.4 for the L1 cache and 1.3 for the L2 cache, in terms of accuracy. Additionally, we find our technique of fine grained memory profiling a useful tool for memory optimizations, which we successfully show in case of ray tracing and machine learning applications.

Recently, poled Na₀.₅₀Bi₀.₅₀TiO₃‐BaTiO₃ (NBT‐BT)‐based polycrystalline materials have been characterized as possessing a high degree of poling‐induced domain texture in their remanent state. This finding is suggested to be the reason for their stable mechanical quality factor at high‐vibration velocity, making them promising candidates for high‐power applications. The materials in consideration are prone to self‐heating and thermal run‐away, particularly at slightly elevated temperatures. Therefore, this paper evaluates the temperature dependence of the poling‐induced domain texture of (Na₀.₄₇Bi₀.₄₇Ba₀.₀₆)TiO₃ (NBT‐6BT) doped with 0.5 mol% of Mg as compared to undoped NBT‐6BT. Its influence on small‐signal, large‐signal, and high‐power properties was investigated. To obtain a fundamental understanding of crystal structure, in‐situ synchrotron measurements were conducted as function of temperature to establish a relationship between structure and piezoelectric properties of both Mg‐doped and undoped NBT‐6BT materials.

Memory performance is a crucial bottleneck in many GPGPU applications, making optimizations for hardware and software mandatory. While hardware vendors already use highly efficient caching architectures, software engineers usually have to organize their data accordingly in order to efficiently make use of these, requiring deep knowledge of the actual hardware. In this paper we present a novel technique for fine‐grained memory profiling that simulates the whole pipeline of memory flow and finally accumulates profiling values in a way that the user retains information about the potential region in the GPU program by showing these values separately for each allocation. Our memory simulator turns out to outperform state‐of‐the‐art memory models of NVIDIA architectures by a magnitude of 2.4 for the L1 cache and 1.3 for the L2 cache, in terms of accuracy. Additionally, we find our technique of fine grained memory profiling a useful tool for memory optimizations, which we successfully show in case of ray tracing and machine learning applications.

Recently, poled Na₀.₅₀Bi₀.₅₀TiO₃‐BaTiO₃ (NBT‐BT)‐based polycrystalline materials have been characterized as possessing a high degree of poling‐induced domain texture in their remanent state. This finding is suggested to be the reason for their stable mechanical quality factor at high‐vibration velocity, making them promising candidates for high‐power applications. The materials in consideration are prone to self‐heating and thermal run‐away, particularly at slightly elevated temperatures. Therefore, this paper evaluates the temperature dependence of the poling‐induced domain texture of (Na₀.₄₇Bi₀.₄₇Ba₀.₀₆)TiO₃ (NBT‐6BT) doped with 0.5 mol% of Mg as compared to undoped NBT‐6BT. Its influence on small‐signal, large‐signal, and high‐power properties was investigated. To obtain a fundamental understanding of crystal structure, in‐situ synchrotron measurements were conducted as function of temperature to establish a relationship between structure and piezoelectric properties of both Mg‐doped and undoped NBT‐6BT materials.

Memory performance is a crucial bottleneck in many GPGPU applications, making optimizations for hardware and software mandatory. While hardware vendors already use highly efficient caching architectures, software engineers usually have to organize their data accordingly in order to efficiently make use of these, requiring deep knowledge of the actual hardware. In this paper we present a novel technique for fine‐grained memory profiling that simulates the whole pipeline of memory flow and finally accumulates profiling values in a way that the user retains information about the potential region in the GPU program by showing these values separately for each allocation. Our memory simulator turns out to outperform state‐of‐the‐art memory models of NVIDIA architectures by a magnitude of 2.4 for the L1 cache and 1.3 for the L2 cache, in terms of accuracy. Additionally, we find our technique of fine grained memory profiling a useful tool for memory optimizations, which we successfully show in case of ray tracing and machine learning applications.

In this paper we show that the Aron-Berner type extension of polynomials preserves the P-continuity property. To this end we introduce a new version of Goldstine's Theorem for locally complemented subspaces., Depto. de Análisis Matemático y Matemática Aplicada, Fac. de Ciencias Matemáticas, TRUE, pub

Wiley-Blackwell. The authors thanks economical support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, research project FIS2008-00200. GAC acknowledges the support of the grant Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Finally, MM reckons illuminating discussions with Dr. Mattia Cafasso in relation with orthogonality and singularity confinement, and both authors are grateful to Prof. Gabriel Álvarez Galindo for several discussions and for the experimental confirmation, via Mathematica, of the existence of the confinement of singularities in the 2 × 2 case., n this paper, matrix orthogonal polynomials in the real line are described in terms of a RiemannHilbert problem. This approach provides an easy derivation of discrete equations for the corresponding matrix recursion coefficients. The discrete equation is explicitly derived in the matrix Freud case, associated with matrix quartic potentials. It is shown that, when the initial condition and the measure are simultaneously triangularizable, this matrix discrete equation possesses the singularity confinement property, independently if the solution under consideration is given by the recursion coefficients to quartic Freud matrix orthogonal polynomials or not., Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Depto. de Física Teórica, Fac. de Ciencias Físicas, TRUE, pub

A bounded linear operator T on a Banach space X is called hypercyclic if there exists a vector x is an element of X such that its orbit, {T(n)x}, is dense in X. In this paper we show hypercyclic properties of the orbits of the Cesaro operator defined on different spaces. For instance, we show that the Cesaro operator defined on L(p)[0, 1] (1 < p < infinity) is hypercyclic. Moreover, it is chaotic and it has supercyclic subspaces. On the other hand, the Cesaro operator defined on other spaces of functions behave differently. Motivated by this, we study weighted Cesaro operators and different degrees of hypercyclicity are obtained. The proofs are based on the classical Muntz-Szasz theorem. We also propose problems and give new directions., Junta de Andalucia, UCA, Junta de Andalucıa, Depto. de Análisis Matemático y Matemática Aplicada, Fac. de Ciencias Matemáticas, Instituto de Matemática Interdisciplinar (IMI), TRUE, pub

The aim of this paper is to show that there exist infinite dimensional Banach spaces of functions that, except for 0, satisfy properties that apparently should be destroyed by the linear combination of two of them. Three of these spaces are: a Banach space of differentiable functions on R(n) failing the Denjoy-Clarkson property; a Banach space of non Riemann integrable bounded functions, but with antiderivative at each point of an interval; a Banach space of infinitely differentiable functions that vanish at infinity and are not the Fourier transform of any Lebesgue integrable function., MEC and FEDER, Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship, MEC and FEDER, Depto. de Análisis Matemático y Matemática Aplicada, Fac. de Ciencias Matemáticas, Instituto de Matemática Interdisciplinar (IMI), TRUE, pub

The use of novel battery technologies in short-haul electric aircraft can support the aviation sector in achieving its goals for a sustainable development. However, the production of the batteries is often associated with adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts, potentially leading to burden shifting. Therefore, this paper investigates alternative technologies for lithium–sulfur all-solid-state batteries (LiS-ASSBs) in terms of their contribution to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We propose a new approach that builds on life cycle sustainability assessment and links the relevant impact categories to the related SDGs. The approach is applied to analyze four LiS-ASSB configurations with different solid electrolytes, designed for maximum specific energy using an electrochemical model. They are compared to a lithium–sulfur battery with a liquid electrolyte as a benchmark. The results of our cradle-to-gate analysis reveal that the new LiS-ASSB technologies generally have a positive contribution to SDG achievement. However, the battery configuration with the best technical characteristics is not the most promising in terms of SDG achievement. Especially variations from the technically optimal cathode thickness can improve the SDG contribution. A sensitivity analysis shows that the results are rather robust against the weighting factors within the SDG quantification method.

Prior studies revealed that government is key factor influencing firms' decisions about the implementation of environmental innovations and pursuit of sustainable development as well as shaping their environmental orientation. However, the role of firms' R&D within these processes remains unclear. This paper explores the relationship between firms' environmental regulation, R&D, environmental orientation, and environmental outputs to better understand the relationships and dynamics among them. We used the World Bank Enterprise Survey 2019 data on 737 firms from the Czech Republic and Slovenia and employed structural equation modeling. The results indicate that environmental orientation positively influences R&D and environmental outputs. Moreover, environmental regulations spur firms' environmental orientation as well as environmental outputs. On the other hand, the findings reveal that R&D is neither a key factor nor plays a key role as a mediator of environmental regulations and environmental orientation affecting environmental outputs based on the sample of selected countries pertaining to Central and Eastern Europe., Předchozí studie odhalily, že vláda je klíčovým faktorem ovlivňujícím rozhodování firem o zavádění ekologických inovací a snaze o udržitelný rozvoj, stejně jako utváření jejich environmentální orientace. Role firemního výzkumu a vývoje v těchto procesech však zůstává nejasná. Tento dokument zkoumá vztah mezi environmentální regulací firem, výzkumem a vývojem, environmentální orientací a environmentálními výstupy, aby lépe porozuměl vztahům a dynamice mezi nimi. Použili jsme data Enterprise Survey 2019 Světové banky o 737 firmách z České republiky a Slovinska a použili jsme modelování strukturálních rovnic. Výsledky ukazují, že environmentální orientace pozitivně ovlivňuje VaV a environmentální výstupy. Kromě toho ekologické předpisy podněcují orientaci firem na životní prostředí a také environmentální výstupy. Na druhé straně zjištění ukazují, že VaV není ani klíčovým faktorem, ani nehraje klíčovou roli jako zprostředkovatel environmentálních předpisů a environmentální orientace ovlivňující environmentální výstupy na vzorku vybraných zemí střední a východní Evropy.

Seminal scientific papers positing that mycorrhizal fungal networks can distribute carbon (C) among plants have stimulated a popular narrative that overstory trees, or 'mother trees', support the growth of seedlings in this way. This narrative has far-reaching implications for our understanding of forest ecology and has been controversial in the scientific community. We review the current understanding of ectomycorrhizal C metabolism and observations on forest regeneration that make the mother tree narrative debatable. We then re-examine data and conclusions from publications that underlie the mother tree hypothesis. Isotopic labeling methods are uniquely suited for studying element fluxes through ecosystems, but the complexity of mycorrhizal symbiosis, low detection limits, and small carbon discrimination in biological processes can cause researchers to make important inferences based on miniscule shifts in isotopic abundance, which can be misleading. We conclude that evidence of a significant net C transfer via common mycorrhizal networks that benefits the recipients is still lacking. Furthermore, a role for fungi as a C pipeline between trees is difficult to reconcile with any adaptive advantages for the fungi. Finally, the hypothesis is neither supported by boreal forest regeneration patterns nor consistent with the understanding of physiological mechanisms controlling mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Seminal scientific papers positing that mycorrhizal fungal networks can distribute carbon (C) among plants have stimulated a popular narrative that overstory trees, or 'mother trees', support the growth of seedlings in this way. This narrative has far-reaching implications for our understanding of forest ecology and has been controversial in the scientific community. We review the current understanding of ectomycorrhizal C metabolism and observations on forest regeneration that make the mother tree narrative debatable. We then re-examine data and conclusions from publications that underlie the mother tree hypothesis. Isotopic labeling methods are uniquely suited for studying element fluxes through ecosystems, but the complexity of mycorrhizal symbiosis, low detection limits, and small carbon discrimination in biological processes can cause researchers to make important inferences based on miniscule shifts in isotopic abundance, which can be misleading. We conclude that evidence of a significant net C transfer via common mycorrhizal networks that benefits the recipients is still lacking. Furthermore, a role for fungi as a C pipeline between trees is difficult to reconcile with any adaptive advantages for the fungi. Finally, the hypothesis is neither supported by boreal forest regeneration patterns nor consistent with the understanding of physiological mechanisms controlling mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Seminal scientific papers positing that mycorrhizal fungal networks can distribute carbon (C) among plants have stimulated a popular narrative that overstory trees, or 'mother trees', support the growth of seedlings in this way. This narrative has far-reaching implications for our understanding of forest ecology and has been controversial in the scientific community. We review the current understanding of ectomycorrhizal C metabolism and observations on forest regeneration that make the mother tree narrative debatable. We then re-examine data and conclusions from publications that underlie the mother tree hypothesis. Isotopic labeling methods are uniquely suited for studying element fluxes through ecosystems, but the complexity of mycorrhizal symbiosis, low detection limits, and small carbon discrimination in biological processes can cause researchers to make important inferences based on miniscule shifts in isotopic abundance, which can be misleading. We conclude that evidence of a significant net C transfer via common mycorrhizal networks that benefits the recipients is still lacking. Furthermore, a role for fungi as a C pipeline between trees is difficult to reconcile with any adaptive advantages for the fungi. Finally, the hypothesis is neither supported by boreal forest regeneration patterns nor consistent with the understanding of physiological mechanisms controlling mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Reproducing the features of the extracellular matrix is important for fabricating three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue regeneration. A collagen‐like polypeptide, poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly), is a promising material for 3D scaffolds because of its excellent physical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. In this paper, we present a novel photocrosslinked poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogel as a 3D scaffold for simultaneous rat bone marrow stromal cell (rBMSC) encapsulation. The hydrogels were fabricated using visible‐light photocrosslinking at various concentrations of methacrylated poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) (20–50 mg/ml) and irradiation times (3 or 5 min). The results show that the rBMSCs encapsulated in the hydrogels survived 7 days of incubation. Calcium deposition on the encapsulated rBMSCs was assessed with scanning electron microscope observation, Alizarin Red S, and von Kossa staining. The most strongly stained area was observed in the hydrogel formed with 30 mg/ml of methacrylated poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) with 5‐min irradiation. These findings demonstrate that poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogels support rBMSC viability and differentiation, as well as demonstrating the feasibility of using poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogels as a cytocompatible, biodegradable 3D scaffold for tissue regeneration.

This paper studies the joint dynamics of foreign direct investments (FDI) and output growth in European regions by using spatially augmented systems of equations modeling framework that incorporates third-region and spillover effects. The joint framework is used to study the dynamic impacts of regional human capital endowments, which demonstrates the importance of explicitly accounting for an endogenous relationship. The relationship is highlighted in a stylized projection exercise, where the long-run impacts are pronounced in Eastern Europe and capital cities. Overall, ignoring the relationship of regional economic performance and FDI distorts the implied transmission mechanism, which is of utmost importance for policy makers.

This paper studies the joint dynamics of foreign direct investments (FDI) and output growth in European regions by using spatially augmented systems of equations modeling framework that incorporates third-region and spillover effects. The joint framework is used to study the dynamic impacts of regional human capital endowments, which demonstrates the importance of explicitly accounting for an endogenous relationship. The relationship is highlighted in a stylized projection exercise, where the long-run impacts are pronounced in Eastern Europe and capital cities. Overall, ignoring the relationship of regional economic performance and FDI distorts the implied transmission mechanism, which is of utmost importance for policy makers.

This paper studies the joint dynamics of foreign direct investments (FDI) and output growth in European regions by using spatially augmented systems of equations modeling framework that incorporates third-region and spillover effects. The joint framework is used to study the dynamic impacts of regional human capital endowments, which demonstrates the importance of explicitly accounting for an endogenous relationship. The relationship is highlighted in a stylized projection exercise, where the long-run impacts are pronounced in Eastern Europe and capital cities. Overall, ignoring the relationship of regional economic performance and FDI distorts the implied transmission mechanism, which is of utmost importance for policy makers.

The history of slavery in Britain and the British empire has placed the legislative milestones of anti-slavery - the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the abolition of slavery in 1833 - at the centre of historical inquiry. This essay considers why the passing of anti-slavery laws, rather than the implementation of anti-slavery reforms, has been so pivotal in the historiography. It asks what the history of slavery in Britain and the British empire would look like if turned toward the continuities between slavery and freedom, rather than emphasizing the bright line of emancipation. It places British approaches to the history of slavery into a wider historiographical context, and considers how renewed emphasis on the physical experience and everyday routines of slavery and anti-slavery and a rigorous rethinking of the archives might shape the future of the field.

Background: Geant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro- and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing. Aims: To respond to these needs, we developed G4-Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics. Materials and Methods: G4-Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4-Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant-val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes. Results: This paper describes the tests included in G4-Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data. Discussion: Our results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics. Conclusion: The results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.

Background: Geant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro- and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing. Aims: To respond to these needs, we developed G4-Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics. Materials and Methods: G4-Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4-Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant-val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes. Results: This paper describes the tests included in G4-Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data. Discussion: Our results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics. Conclusion: The results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.

Clinical relevance: Clinical optometric practice is underpinned by a rigorous research base, the primary evidence for which is publications in refereed scientific journals. Leading optometrists who publish this work should be identified and celebrated. Background: This work aims to derive publication metrics of the leading optometric researchers worldwide. Methods: An extensive global search was conducted to discover leading optometric researchers; 480 names were identified. A custom-designed bibliographic search tool was developed to interrogate the Scopus database (Elsevier) and extract publication metrics using the unique Scopus Author Identifier number for each optometrist. On 13 January 2021, the full list was reduced to 200 optometrists (the ‘Top 200’) ranked by h-index–the ‘Global Optometrist Top 200 Research Ranking’. The output from the custom tool automatically updates every 24 hours and is available at www.optomrankings.com. Results: The Top 200 have h-indices ranging from 20 to 67 and have published between 28 and 440 papers. Sixty one (30.5%) are women. Konrad Pesudovs has the highest h-index (67) and citations (51,193). The most prolific author is Robert Hess (442 papers). David Piñero is publishing at the fastest rate (17.6 papers per year). The Top 200 work in 13 nations, of whom 172 (86.0%) work in four nations: USA–76 (38.0%), Australia–43 (21.5%), UK–41 (20.5%) and Canada–16 (8.0%). Of the 72 institutions represented, the University of California, Berkeley, USA is home to the most Top 200 optometrists (17) and has the highest combined h-index of Top 200 optometrists (132). Conclusions: The optometric profession is supported by a robust research base, prosecuted by a large international cohort of optometric researchers who publish extensively on a broad range of ophthalmic issues and whose work is highly cited. The 200 most impactful optometrists in the world are identified.

Clinical relevance: Examination of the literature can help answer the age-old question of the extent to which rigid contact lenses can be considered an art versus a science. Background: This work aims to assemble rigid contact lens-related publication metrics to identify the most impactful papers, authors, institutions, countries and journals. Methods: A search was undertaken of the Scopus database to identify rigid contact lens-related articles published since this lens type was first described in 1949. The 25 most highly cited papers were determined from the total list of 1,823 papers found. Rank-order lists by count were assembled for the ‘top 25ʹ in each of four categories: authors, institutions, countries and journals. A subject-specific rigid contact lens h-index (hRL-index) was derived for each author, institution, country and journal to serve as a measure of impact in the field. A short list of the top constituents in each category were ranked by hRL-index and tabulated. Results: The most highly cited paper (467 citations) is entitled ‘Risk factors and prognosis for corneal ectasia after LASIK’, by Randleman et al. Karla Zadnik (hRL = 20; 32 papers) and Richard Hill (h = 10; 50 papers) are most impactful and prolific authors, respectively. The Ohio State University (hRL = 24; 96 papers) is the most impactful and prolific institution and the United States (hRL = 51; 680 papers) is the most impactful and prolific country. Optometry and Vision Science (hRL = 30; 233 papers) is the most impactful journal. Conclusions: Impactful authors, institutions, countries and journals in the field of rigid lenses are identified. Although there is perhaps an artistic element to rigid contact lens fitting, the solid literature base underpinning the field of rigid contact lenses revealed here belies the notion that rigid lenses fitting is more of an art than a science.

Clinical relevance: The scientific foundations for clinical contact lens practice are rooted in the ophthalmic literature. This analysis of contact lens papers celebrates contemporary research achievements in the contact lens field. Background: This work aims to assemble contact lens-related publication metrics so as to identify the most impactful papers published so far this century, as well the top countries, authors, institutions and journals. Methods: A search was undertaken of the titles of papers on the Scopus database to identify contact lens-related articles published this century. The ten most highly cited papers were determined from the total list of 4,164 papers found. Rank-order lists by count were assembled for the ‘top 25ʹ in each of four categories: authors, institutions, countries and journals. A 20-year subject-specific contact lens h-index (hCL-20-index) was derived for each author, institution, country and journal to serve as a measure of impact in the field. The top 10 constituents (of the top 25) of each category were ranked by hCL-20-index and tabulated for consideration. Results: The most highly cited paper this century is entitled ‘Soft contact lens polymers: An evolution’, by Nicholson and Vogt. Lyndon Jones is the most impactful author, with a hCL-20-index of 32. The University of New South Wales (Australia) produces the most impactful contact lens-related papers, and the United States is the most highly-ranked country. Optometry and Vision Science is the most impactful journal in the contact lens field. Conclusions: Contact lens materials and lens-associated keratitis are topics of high interest in the contemporary contact lens literature, with an emerging interest in orthokeratology for myopia control and glucose monitoring. Impactful 21st century authors, institutions, countries and journals are identified. Optometry is revealed as the leading profession in relation to the publication of imp

With enhanced financial liberalisation, banks’ reliance on traditional intermediary functions has gradually declined, changing the risk profile of these systemically important financial institutions. This paper examines an important channel through which these changes occur, the spillover effects from an increase in stock market liquidity on traditional bank business. This is the first paper to provide empirical evidence of a decline in the value of bank deposits and loans as aggregate stock market liquidity increases, with data from 7,297 banks in 39 countries from 1999 to 2014. We find that such effects vary with the level of financial development in the country and with the level of investor protection. These findings provide information for policy-makers to better understand important spillover effects of policy changes designed to enhance stock market liquidity.

Background: Geant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro- and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing. Aims: To respond to these needs, we developed G4-Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics. Materials and Methods: G4-Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4-Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant-val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes. Results: This paper describes the tests included in G4-Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data. Discussion: Our results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics. Conclusion: The results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.

Background: Geant4 is a Monte Carlo code extensively used in medical physics for a wide range of applications, such as dosimetry, micro- and nanodosimetry, imaging, radiation protection, and nuclear medicine. Geant4 is continuously evolving, so it is crucial to have a system that benchmarks this Monte Carlo code for medical physics against reference data and to perform regression testing. Aims: To respond to these needs, we developed G4-Med, a benchmarking and regression testing system of Geant4 for medical physics. Materials and Methods: G4-Med currently includes 18 tests. They range from the benchmarking of fundamental physics quantities to the testing of Monte Carlo simulation setups typical of medical physics applications. Both electromagnetic and hadronic physics processes and models within the prebuilt Geant4 physics lists are tested. The tests included in G4-Med are executed on the CERN computing infrastructure via the use of the geant-val web application, developed at CERN for Geant4 testing. The physical observables can be compared to reference data for benchmarking and to results of previous Geant4 versions for regression testing purposes. Results: This paper describes the tests included in G4-Med and shows the results derived from the benchmarking of Geant4 10.5 against reference data. Discussion: Our results indicate that the Geant4 electromagnetic physics constructor G4EmStandardPhysics_option4 gives a good agreement with the reference data for all the tests. The QGSP_BIC_HP physics list provided an overall adequate description of the physics involved in hadron therapy, including proton and carbon ion therapy. New tests should be included in the next stage of the project to extend the benchmarking to other physical quantities and application scenarios of interest for medical physics. Conclusion: The results presented and discussed in this paper will aid users in tailoring physics lists to their particular application.

This paper explores participation trends in interven-tions that promote self-evaluation exercises on the ef-fective use of digital technologies in schools. We use a unique dataset consisting of 83,185 respondents from 924 Spanish schools that used SELFIE, a tool based on self-reflection questionnaires that capture differ-ent dimensions of school's digital capacity. We ben-efit from a natural experiment situation caused by the parallel use of SELFIE by two groups of schools. The first group was externally selected as part of a repre-sentative sample of Spanish schools. Conversely, the second group voluntarily decided to use SELFIE as a diagnostic tool for a subsequent self-evaluation exer-cise. Moreover, a subset of schools were located in re-gions where authorities embedded SELFIE in broader digitalisation programmes. By comparing these groups, it is shown that schools that decide to partici-pate in SELFIE voluntarily are those with a lower initial digitalisation level. It is also found that the promotion of the use of SELFIE as part of public interventions can increase participation but mainly attracts digitally advanced schools. In conclusion, policy interventions aiming to develop the digital capacity of schools need to plan how to reach those schools that need it more in order to be more equitable.

Some claim that when an agent does something, their action should be treated as a particular event. However, a challenge to this has it that if we understand agency through the category particular event, then we must also deploy another, process, because we act in the present but particular events can only exist in the past. In this paper, I show how this argument can be resisted, but suggest that consideration of it should nevertheless lead one to adopt a conception of events which reflects the idea that intentional action involves self-known change. We thus get into focus how understanding agency in terms of events involves attending to the interaction between the nature of events, the metaphysics of tense, and our epistemological situation as agents.

FEBS Open Bio and our fellow FEBS Press journals have a strong commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scientific literature. The life sciences, in particular, are suffering from an ongoing reproducibility crisis, and this may in part be fuelled by mistakes, manipulation or outright fabrication of the presented data. We were recently made aware of several articles published in FEBS Open Bio that appear to contain full or partial duplications of images from other published articles in a different scientific context. In most of these cases, the duplications were taken from previously published papers. After thorough investigation and subsequent discussion within FEBS Press and with Wiley's Integrity in Publishing Group, we have retracted most of these articles.

Some claim that when an agent does something, their action should be treated as a particular event. However, a challenge to this has it that if we understand agency through the category particular event, then we must also deploy another, process, because we act in the present but particular events can only exist in the past. In this paper, I show how this argument can be resisted, but suggest that consideration of it should nevertheless lead one to adopt a conception of events which reflects the idea that intentional action involves self-known change. We thus get into focus how understanding agency in terms of events involves attending to the interaction between the nature of events, the metaphysics of tense, and our epistemological situation as agents.

FEBS Open Bio and our fellow FEBS Press journals have a strong commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scientific literature. The life sciences, in particular, are suffering from an ongoing reproducibility crisis, and this may in part be fuelled by mistakes, manipulation or outright fabrication of the presented data. We were recently made aware of several articles published in FEBS Open Bio that appear to contain full or partial duplications of images from other published articles in a different scientific context. In most of these cases, the duplications were taken from previously published papers. After thorough investigation and subsequent discussion within FEBS Press and with Wiley's Integrity in Publishing Group, we have retracted most of these articles.

This paper aims to identify financially and environmentally promising project portfolio decisions under CO2 fleet emission restrictions in the automotive industry. These decisions are particularly difficult due to uncertain demand, ever-stricter CO2 fleet emission thresholds, and an increasing number of alternative powertrain technologies that can be integrated into different vehicle projects with high project-specific investments and long product life cycles. We develop a mixed-integer linear programming model that maximizes the net present value of car manufacturers’ project portfolios, so-called cycle plans, by selecting specific vehicle projects and by determining the respective production quantities to comply with the given thresholds for the CO2 fleet emissions. By applying the model to an illustrative European car manufacturer, promising cycle plan decisions are determined and analyzed across six market demand scenarios. The results reveal that compliance with the European emission thresholds until 2035 is generally possible if electric vehicle demand gains momentum, but threshold exceedance and corresponding penalty payments can be financially advantageous in some situations. Long-term compliance with CO2 regulation and financial success is supported by the fast market introduction of battery electric vehicles and the preparation of fuel cell electric vehicles for a later market introduction in large-sized vehicles.

In this paper, we provide novel evidence on the effect of local unemployment rate on life satisfaction. With this, we contribute to the expanding literature that aims to understand the role of the local labor market's conditions for individual well-being. This information can be used to only analyze the impact of regional economic policies, as well as to understand individuals' behavior and reactions to policy changes. In concrete, we investigate how changes in local unemployment rate affect subjective well-being in Germany, allowing for the presence of spatial spillovers and considering the role played by regional borders. The results indicate that higher unemployment in the own local area of residence has a negative effect on satisfaction. Similarly, individuals' happiness negatively correlates with the unemployment rate in contiguous local areas, but only if these areas are located in the same Federal State as the one where the individual lives. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that these negative effects of local unemployment rate are larger for individuals with stronger ties to the job market and less secure jobs.

As our societies transform into knowledge societies, skills are playing an ever-increasing role in life. Despite recent efforts to consistently measure adult skills across countries, a challenge remains to understand how skills evolve over time and what the main drivers behind these changes are. By applying demographic methods to estimate the development of skills over the life course, this paper presents the reconstruction of empirical adult literacy test results along cohort lines by age, sex, and educational attainment for 44 countries for the period 1970–2015. Results suggest significant heterogeneity in the pattern of changes in literacy skills with age, reflecting the differential exposure to cognitive stimulation over the life course and suggesting that the development of skills in a country is also the consequence of a changing composition of its population. Gender, however, was found to have hardly any effect on how literacy skills evolve between the ages of 15 and 65. On the aggregate level, findings reveal considerable differences between countries—regarding both the level of skills and their development over time. Overall, it was found that massive educational expansions happening globally in the recent past only partly resulted in a corresponding rise in skills.

Energy policy in Jordan is a contested issue as several options for deployment of technologies exist. Oil shale and renewable energy sources are two energy generation technologies which are currently being intensively considered by the Jordanian energy policy process and there are oil shale and renewable energy projects which are currently in operation, in planning or in construction. Each of these options relates to various perceptions of risks and benefits of a given technology and has its opponents and supporters. Understanding of how inhabitants of communities where infrastructure is planned perceive these energy generation technologies is crucial as infrastructure will impact the life of the community and the feedback from the community can improve the deployment of infrastructure. The major focus of this paper is on attitudes of local communities where oil shale and renewable energies are in operation. To identify of how various environmental, technical, social and environmental factors influence attitudes including awareness and perceptions of these two energy generation technologies we conducted large scale surveys in four different communities of Jordan. Two of these communities (Ma’an and Tafileh) had renewable energy projects and other two communities (Lajoun and Attarat) had projects on oil shale extraction and power generation.

The area of smart power grids needs to constantly improve its efficiency and resilience, to provide high quality electrical power in a resilient grid, while managing faults and avoiding failures. Achieving this requires high component reliability, adequate maintenance, and a studied failure occurrence. Correct system operation involves those activities and novel methodologies to detect, classify, and isolate faults and failures and model and simulate processes with predictive algorithms and analytics (using data analysis and asset condition to plan and perform activities). In this paper, we showcase the application of a complex-adaptive, self-organizing modeling method, and Probabilistic Boolean Networks (PBNs), as a way towards the understanding of the dynamics of smart grid devices, and to model and characterize their behavior. This work demonstrates that PBNs are equivalent to the standard Reinforcement Learning Cycle, in which the agent/model has an interaction with its environment and receives feedback from it in the form of a reward signal. Different reward structures were created to characterize preferred behavior. This information can be used to guide the PBN to avoid fault conditions and failures., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

This paper shows that brand reputation alone may not be sufficient to help firms successfully issue green bonds and that they may need superior corporate social responsibility performance in the form of high ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores to unlock the full potential of their brand reputation. Using a sample of 338 international green bond issues across 108 unique firms, we found significant positive effects of ESG disclosure score and its interaction brand reputation on the issuance of green bonds while controlling for other variables, such as fixed effects of industry, region, and time. We also show that it is the S (Social) component of ESG and the interactions of its E (Environmental) and G (Governance) components with brand reputation which drive successful green bond issuance. Besides extending the current research on the impact of brand reputation and ESG on green bonds, these results also have important managerial implications for analysts, fund managers, and firms planning to raise green capital.

Governments and policymakers worldwide have been setting targets to achieve an ambitious net-zero emission target by 2050 to tackle the pressing issue of climate change. However, achieving the net-zero emission target by 2050 depends on the factors determining the transition from traditional fossil fuel energy sources to renewables. In connection with this, policymakers have emphasised the need to transition from a linear to a circular economy. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of the progress towards a circular economy in reducing CO2 emissions and promoting environmental sustainability. To do so, we use annual historical data for a panel of 29 European countries from 2000 to 2020. Using an identification strategy that adopts heteroscedastic-based instrumental variables and addresses endogeneity issues, we find that progress towards a circular economy significantly improves environmental quality via reducing CO2 emissions. Our findings suggest that business strategies promoting recycling and circular economy practices play an important role in environmental sustainability by reducing emissions.

FEBS Open Bio and our fellow FEBS Press journals have a strong commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scientific literature. The life sciences, in particular, are suffering from an ongoing reproducibility crisis, and this may in part be fuelled by mistakes, manipulation or outright fabrication of the presented data. We were recently made aware of several articles published in FEBS Open Bio that appear to contain full or partial duplications of images from other published articles in a different scientific context. In most of these cases, the duplications were taken from previously published papers. After thorough investigation and subsequent discussion within FEBS Press and with Wiley's Integrity in Publishing Group, we have retracted most of these articles.

A commercial insurance company in the Czech Republic provided data on critical illness insurance. The survival analysis was used to study the influence of the gender of an insured person, the age at which the person entered into an insurance contract, and the region where the insured person lived on the occurrence of an insured event. The main goal of the research was to investigate whether the influence of explanatory variables is estimated differently when two different approaches of analysis are used. The two approaches used were (1) the Cox proportional hazard model that does not assign a specific cause, such as a certain diagnosis, to a critical illness insured event and (2) the competing risks models. Regression models related to these approaches were estimated by R software. The results, which are discussed and compared in the paper, show that insurance companies might benefit from offering policies that consider specific diagnoses as the cause of insured events. They also show that in addition to age, the gender of the client plays a key role in the occurrence of such insured events., Komerční pojišťovna působící v České republice poskytla údaje o pojištění závažných onemocnění. Analýza přežití byla využita ke zkoumání vlivu pohlaví pojištěného, ​​věku, kdy osoba uzavřela pojistnou smlouvu, a regionu, kde pojištěný žil, na vznik pojistné události. Hlavním cílem výzkumu bylo zjistit, zda je vliv vysvětlujících proměnných odhadován odlišně při použití dvou různých přístupů. Byly použity přístupy (1) Coxův model proporcionálního rizika, který nepřiřazuje konkrétní příčinu, jako je určitá diagnóza, pojistné události kritického onemocnění, a (2) modely konkurujících rizik. Regresní modely související s těmito přístupy byly odhadnuty pomocí softwaru R. Výsledky, které jsou v příspěvku diskutovány a srovnávány, ukazují, že pojišťovny by mohly mít prospěch z nabídky pojistek, které berou jako příčinu pojistných událostí konkrétní diagnózu. Ukazují také, že klíčovou roli při vzniku takových pojistných událostí hraje kromě věku i pohlaví klienta.

In this paper, I address a complex of challenges around religiously grounded ethical ideas in education, the public sphere and public institutions, focussing on the question of LGBTQ+ rights education and an exemplary conflict over this topic in Birmingham, England, in 2019. I argue that it is important, both theoretically and practically, to approach the issue, not just as a conflict between religious and liberal/secular world views, but also as a product of relatively rapid historical change in moral understandings, which has not been equally distributed in the populations that are affected by it. I revisit (1) the genealogy of current liberal conceptions on marriage, sexuality and partnership; (2) Paul Rabinow's pluralist notion of 'the contemporary' and (3) the clashing vulnerabilities of groups involved in contemporary conflicts over religion and sexual identity, to offer historically and socially sensitive tools for both theoretical and practical renegotiation.

This paper investigates the impact of the Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHSC) scheme on voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in China. Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) design, we find that companies that participate in the SHSC scheme are more inclined to voluntarily issue CSR reports. This effect is more pronounced for companies that have limited access to international markets and those with weak corporate governance. Additional analyses show that SHSC-connected firms also produce higher quality CSR reports and achieve a better CSR performance. Our findings imply that capital market liberalisation promotes voluntary corporate disclosure for investors.

Objectives: GrandSchools is a new concept which co-locates retirement villages with secondary schools in the one physical environment. Designed to enhance the health and wellbeing of both younger and older generations, this intergenerational shared campus model promotes intergenerational inclusivity and active learning and living . In this paper, we explore stakeholder experts’ perceptions of current opportunities and impediments of this proposed intergenerational learning and living model. Methods: A qualitative study reporting on findings from an industry seminar (n=50) and key interviews (n=10) from stakeholders in education, health, higher education, the management, and operation of retirement villages, and design firms. Results: Three key themes summarised participants’ assessment of the value, risks, and what needs to change for intergenerational living and learning to become a reality. Conclusion: By bringing younger and older generations together in one shared campus location, GrandSchools is a novel idea to promote intergenerational inclusivity, enhancing the health and wellbeing of our whole community.

Conventional solid fats play a crucial role as an ingredient in many processed foods. However, these fats contain a high amount of saturated fats and trans fats. Legislations and dietary recommendations related to these two types of fats set forth as a consequence of evidence showing their deleterious health impact have triggered the attempts to find alternate tailor-made lipids for these solid fats. Oleogels is considered as a novel alternative, which has reduced saturated fat and no trans fat content. In addition to mimicking the distinctive characteristics of solid fats, oleogels can be developed to contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and used to deliver bioactives. Although there has been a dramatic rise in the interest in developing oleogels for food applications over the past decade, none of them has been commercially used in foods so far due to the deficiency in their crystal network structure, particularly in monocomponent gels. Very recently, there is a surge in the interest in using of combination of gelators due to the synergistic effects that aid in overcoming the drawbacks in monocomponent gels. However, currently, there is no comprehensive insight into synergism among oleogelators reported in recent studies. Therefore, a comprehensive intuition into the findings reported on synergism is crucial to fill this gap. The objective of this review is to give a comprehensive insight into synergism among gelators based on recent literature. This paper also identifies the future research propositions towards developing oleogels capable of exactly mimicking the properties of conventional solid fats to bridge the gap between laboratory research and the food industry.

The development of biodegradable food packaging with superior properties and functionalities compared to conventional food packaging is one of the emerging research interests. Immediate disposal of conventional single use nonbiodegradable food packaging results in adverse environmental impact. Utilization of either biomass-based, microorganism-derived, or biotechnologically synthesized biopolymers as biodegradable matrices is the common approach toward achieving sustainability. Consequently, starch and cellulose are being commonly used as biodegradable matrices. However, rather than being fully biodegradable, most of them can be considered as semibiodegradable. Majority of the review studies are based on matrices that have an origin in edible sources, which might result in food insecurity. Although development of bio-based polymers with sound packaging properties have been extensively studied, the potential agro-industrial waste as alternative, eco-friendly, and economically viable matrices have attracted little attention. Therefore, the approaches of developing biodegradable food packaging and the framework of converting agro-industrial waste into biodegradable packaging matrices are discussed comparatively in this paper. It also critiques the approaches and valorization of agro-industrial waste in biodegradable food packaging. Thereby, an overview of physicochemical, functional, and biodegradable properties of commonly used biodegradable food packaging materials are provided as an insight for agro-industrial waste-based food packaging. The potential use of agro-industrial waste-based biodegradable food packaging materials against commonly used biodegradable food packaging materials has been highlighted in this study. Thereby, the vital necessity of growing awareness about agro-industrial waste as biodegradable food packaging materials is emphasized through this comprehensive review.

As our societies transform into knowledge societies, skills are playing an ever-increasing role in life. Despite recent efforts to consistently measure adult skills across countries, a challenge remains to understand how skills evolve over time and what the main drivers behind these changes are. By applying demographic methods to estimate the development of skills over the life course, this paper presents the reconstruction of empirical adult literacy test results along cohort lines by age, sex, and educational attainment for 44 countries for the period 1970–2015. Results suggest significant heterogeneity in the pattern of changes in literacy skills with age, reflecting the differential exposure to cognitive stimulation over the life course and suggesting that the development of skills in a country is also the consequence of a changing composition of its population. Gender, however, was found to have hardly any effect on how literacy skills evolve between the ages of 15 and 65. On the aggregate level, findings reveal considerable differences between countries—regarding both the level of skills and their development over time. Overall, it was found that massive educational expansions happening globally in the recent past only partly resulted in a corresponding rise in skills.

Energy policy in Jordan is a contested issue as several options for deployment of technologies exist. Oil shale and renewable energy sources are two energy generation technologies which are currently being intensively considered by the Jordanian energy policy process and there are oil shale and renewable energy projects which are currently in operation, in planning or in construction. Each of these options relates to various perceptions of risks and benefits of a given technology and has its opponents and supporters. Understanding of how inhabitants of communities where infrastructure is planned perceive these energy generation technologies is crucial as infrastructure will impact the life of the community and the feedback from the community can improve the deployment of infrastructure. The major focus of this paper is on attitudes of local communities where oil shale and renewable energies are in operation. To identify of how various environmental, technical, social and environmental factors influence attitudes including awareness and perceptions of these two energy generation technologies we conducted large scale surveys in four different communities of Jordan. Two of these communities (Ma’an and Tafileh) had renewable energy projects and other two communities (Lajoun and Attarat) had projects on oil shale extraction and power generation.

Energy policy in Jordan is a contested issue as several options for deployment of technologies exist. Oil shale and renewable energy sources are two energy generation technologies which are currently being intensively considered by the Jordanian energy policy process and there are oil shale and renewable energy projects which are currently in operation, in planning or in construction. Each of these options relates to various perceptions of risks and benefits of a given technology and has its opponents and supporters. Understanding of how inhabitants of communities where infrastructure is planned perceive these energy generation technologies is crucial as infrastructure will impact the life of the community and the feedback from the community can improve the deployment of infrastructure. The major focus of this paper is on attitudes of local communities where oil shale and renewable energies are in operation. To identify of how various environmental, technical, social and environmental factors influence attitudes including awareness and perceptions of these two energy generation technologies we conducted large scale surveys in four different communities of Jordan. Two of these communities (Ma’an and Tafileh) had renewable energy projects and other two communities (Lajoun and Attarat) had projects on oil shale extraction and power generation.