Search

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 investigates the impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of agricultural production in Turkey between 2004 and 2019. Our findings show that climate change has a pervasive impact on agricultural development. The empirical results show that the average temperature is negatively associated with agricultural land use, grain, and legume production. Moreover, regional variability analyses reveal the nonmonotonic relationships between climatic factors and agricultural output. Climate change hurts agricultural production in northern and central regions the most. This finding points out the ineffectiveness of one-size-fits-all-type pol- icies for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in topography with sizeable spatial dissimilarities. Over- all, our results suggest that climate change will significantly threaten the evolution of agricultural activities that are critical for regional development. In addition, findings show that spatial spillovers and heterogeneity will be crucial for designing climate change policies for rural and agricultural development.

This paper investigates the impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of agricultural production in Turkey between 2004 and 2019. Our findings show that climate change has a pervasive impact on agricultural development. The empirical results show that the average temperature is negatively associated with agricultural land use, grain, and legume production. Moreover, regional variability analyses reveal the nonmonotonic relationships between climatic factors and agricultural output. Climate change hurts agricultural production in northern and central regions the most. This finding points out the ineffectiveness of one-size-fits-all-type pol- icies for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in topography with sizeable spatial dissimilarities. Over- all, our results suggest that climate change will significantly threaten the evolution of agricultural activities that are critical for regional development. In addition, findings show that spatial spillovers and heterogeneity will be crucial for designing climate change policies for rural and agricultural development.

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 papers in this issue have specific and focused targets that are essential for making incremental progress on the very difficult problem of identifying the coevolutionary interactions of cognition and culture. The purpose of this paper is to discern the shape of a few of the large problems that loom over these more narrowly focussed papers, and to explain and assess the ways these papers contribute to their solution. The background problems described are (a) the character of the selective interactions between the evolution of culture and of cognition; (b) the special features of cumulative cultural evolution; and (c) the place of language in an account of cognition-culture coevolution. The paper ends with some reflections on the extraordinarily difficult challenge of testing scenarios in this field

This paper argues that although legislation on voluntary assisted dying should always allow medical practitioners to practise conscientious objection, there should always be an obligation on the conscientious objector to refer anyone who inquires about voluntary assisted dying to other medical practitioners who have no conscientious objection. The paper refutes the concern that this requirement effectively undermines the conscientious objector's right to object, explaining exactly why this concern is misplaced.

There is legal uncertainty in Australia around whether an advance directive to voluntarily stop eating and drinking will be followed. The objective of this paper is to explore the ethical and legal validity of advance directives that request the voluntary stopping of eating and drinking against a backdrop of late stage dementia. The paper concludes that the voluntary stopping of eating and drinking should be viewed in law as a form of ‘treatment’ that competent adults can nominate in advance directives thereby providing dementia patients with the opportunity to choose in advance, if they wish, to end their life legally, with dignity and comfort, and in a manner that does not implicate others in criminal behaviour such as assisted suicide, acceleration of death or euthanasia.

This engagement-based paper in understanding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting by enterprises is aimed at exploring the complexity and emerging phenomenon within the Chinese context. As one of the few initiatives to explore senior managers’ perceptions toward ESG in China grounded empirically in utilizing qualitative methodology, this study seeks to bridge the gap of existing ESG research, which is dominated by quantitative research and studies in developed ‘western’ countries. It adds to the sparse literature pertaining to rich cultural ‘emic’ data in the field. In addressing this, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers from 21 companies in various industries in China. An inquiry paradigm utilising constructivist ontology and interpretivist epistemology was required in understanding the normative assumptions underpinning ESG reporting in China through the lenses of the participants. This paper is part of a larger field study on ESG in China. This paper extends the utilisation of a variety of social system-based theoretical concepts such as stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory that have been approached by various accounting researchers. This study provides emerging themes that appear to highlight five main motivating drivers and six major barriers that impede ESG reporting in China as perceived by the senior managers. What sets it apart contextually from most research is the salient low-key Chinese culture that emerged as a barrier to implementation of ESG reporting. This study is significant to ESG practice in China with both theoretical and practical implications. It contributes to the body of knowledge in the use of systems-oriented theories. Its findings are helpful in refining recommendations to aid regulators and companies in identifying strategies likely to yield improved ESG reporting for economies with similar context to China.

This paper reports the latest developments for the photogrammetric open‐source tool called GRAPHOS (inteGRAted PHOtogrammetric Suite). GRAPHOS includes some recent innovations in the image‐based 3D reconstruction pipeline, from automatic feature detection/description and network orientation to dense image matching and quality control. GRAPHOS also has a strong educational component beyond its automated processing functions, reinforced with tutorials and didactic explanations about algorithms and performance. The paper highlights recent developments carried out at different levels: graphical user interface (GUI), didactic simulators for image processing, photogrammetric processing with weight parameters, dataset creation and system evaluation

Introduction: The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme(NDIS) is attempting to address long-term inequalities experienced by people with disability. Through planning, the NDIS aims for people with disability to exercise choice and control over supports. People with intellectual disability will be the largest group of NDIS participants. It isi mportant to understand how they experience and perceive NDIS planning. Methods: Ten adults with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of NDIS planning .Phenomenology and thematic analysis were utilised. Introduction: The need for research to inform policy and practice is increasingly crucial in the fast‐moving context of disability internationally. Stakeholders in this process come with bodies of knowledge and expectations of each other that are seldom made explicit, or are themselves objects of inquiry. In particular, researchers frequently grapple with how best to operationalise the theoretical and conceptual foundations of their work in ways that are accessible and applicable in the real world. Methods: This paper outlines three intersecting ideas that have been successfully used to underpin an approach to developing evidence‐informed resources for use by people with disability and practitioners – Knowledge Translation, Praxis and Action Research. Results: The insights emerging from the combination of these ideas are demonstrated in the ways that they enable reflexive practice for all stakeholders in the research process. This is particularly so for researchers themselves. Implications: Drawing on a framework which pays attention to the relationship between theory and its application to practice has significant benefits for understanding the positioning and contribution of all stakeholders in the knowledge production and translation process.Implications: In principle the NDIS presents a real opportunity to increase choice and control, social participation an

Zinc deficiency is a global public health problem, affecting ~17% of the world’s population, with the greatest burden in low and middle-income countries. An increasing body of evidence suggests that biofortification may be a cost-effective and sustainable approach to reducing zinc and other micronutrient deficiencies. Biofortification enhances the nutritional quality of food crops through conventional plant breeding techniques and agronomic practices. This paper presents our ongoing research on biofortification in Pakistan, where over 40% of women are zinc deficient. The Biofortified Zinc Flour to Eliminate Deficiency (BiZiFED) project aims to investigate the impact of biofortification as a strategy to alleviate zinc deficiency in Pakistan. The project is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Global Challenges Research Fund from May 2017 to April 2019. This paper outlines the four objectives and work packages within the BiZiFED project: 1) a doubleblind, randomised controlled trial to examine the effect of consuming flour made from a high zinc variety of biofortified wheat (Zincol- 2016/NR-421) on dietary zinc intake and status; 2) a cost-effectiveness study to assess the health and economic impact of agronomic biofortification of wheat; 3) a mixed methods study to explore the cultural acceptability and sustainability of biofortification in Pakistan; 4) capacity building and development of long-term research partnerships in Pakistan. The findings will contribute to the evidence base for the potential impact of biofortification to alleviate zinc deficiency among the poorest communities.

Through the influence of neoliberal ideas, many critical infrastructures that used to be under public ownership have been opened up for market competition. Using the Swedish railway system as a case, this paper empirically explores whether such reforms have given rise to common-pool resource problems, and discusses possible implications. The results show that institutional restructuring has created challenges related to balancing the use of the infrastructure with a sufficient level of maintenance. The paper concludes that the main value of analysing critical infrastructures from the perspective of common-pool resources is the possibility of juxtaposing the way organizational and institutional interactions across scales generate both short-term gains and long-term negative side effects influencing reliability and safety.

This paper reports the latest developments for the photogrammetric open‐source tool called GRAPHOS (inteGRAted PHOtogrammetric Suite). GRAPHOS includes some recent innovations in the image‐based 3D reconstruction pipeline, from automatic feature detection/description and network orientation to dense image matching and quality control. GRAPHOS also has a strong educational component beyond its automated processing functions, reinforced with tutorials and didactic explanations about algorithms and performance. The paper highlights recent developments carried out at different levels: graphical user interface (GUI), didactic simulators for image processing, photogrammetric processing with weight parameters, dataset creation and system evaluation

Balancing urban and rural development is an important political goal in China. The failure of rural land privatization has led to a low level of rural economic development and a vast property income gap between citizens and farmers. This paper illustrates the reasons for property income inequality from the perspective of the land tenure system and the dualistic household registration system. After evaluating the segmentation of the rural land market and the rigid nature of rural land assets, a population–land coupling urbanization mechanism is proposed. The paper argues that China’s land property system has externalized a high degree of geospatial and social urban and rural intertwinement. Major reform of the rural land property rights system is required to correct the situation (further development of the social security system and stable urbanization) and to increase property income potential for farmers.

Zinc deficiency is a global public health problem, affecting ~17% of the world’s population, with the greatest burden in low and middle-income countries. An increasing body of evidence suggests that biofortification may be a cost-effective and sustainable approach to reducing zinc and other micronutrient deficiencies. Biofortification enhances the nutritional quality of food crops through conventional plant breeding techniques and agronomic practices. This paper presents our ongoing research on biofortification in Pakistan, where over 40% of women are zinc deficient. The Biofortified Zinc Flour to Eliminate Deficiency (BiZiFED) project aims to investigate the impact of biofortification as a strategy to alleviate zinc deficiency in Pakistan. The project is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Global Challenges Research Fund from May 2017 to April 2019. This paper outlines the four objectives and work packages within the BiZiFED project: 1) a doubleblind, randomised controlled trial to examine the effect of consuming flour made from a high zinc variety of biofortified wheat (Zincol- 2016/NR-421) on dietary zinc intake and status; 2) a cost-effectiveness study to assess the health and economic impact of agronomic biofortification of wheat; 3) a mixed methods study to explore the cultural acceptability and sustainability of biofortification in Pakistan; 4) capacity building and development of long-term research partnerships in Pakistan. The findings will contribute to the evidence base for the potential impact of biofortification to alleviate zinc deficiency among the poorest communities.

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.