National Academy Research Articles

Overt Scientific Bias and Clandestine Acts by Trusted Scientists: The Flawed Application of the Linear No-threshold Model.

The Health Physics Society (HPS) released a video documentary on the history of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model in April 2022. It exposed many scientific and ethical failings of many leaders, influential scientists, and organizations that have resulted in the current system of radiological protection. Since then, the society received many comments; most were supportive, while a few criticized the video documentary as delivering an anti-LNT message. Shortly thereafter, many emails discovered via an independent Freedom of Information Act request revealed multiple layers of coordination between prominent people in the field of radiation protection to coopt the leadership within the HPS and suppress information they perceived or assumed to be contrary to a pro-LNT message. Many of these emails were published by JunkScience.com, an independent organization that exposes faulty scientific data and analyses used to advance special interests and hidden agendas. This Forum article is intended to document in the peer-reviewed literature the JunkScience.com findings of clandestine acts by trusted scientists within the radiation protection community. The emails exposed strong personal biases, actions taken by leaders within the National Commission on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) to "save the Society" from its "downward spiral," and actions taken by NCRP and HPS members serving on a National Academies of Sciences committee to suppress scientific information relevant to the debate about health effects in low-dose environments. These anti-science actions harm our entire profession and the trust that Congress bestows on our scientific organizations expecting to receive objective recommendations based on sound science. It is important that these events are recorded in the scientific literature from a historical perspective. The radiation protection community will be judged not by what is revealed in this article but by what actions are taken from here.

Properties of W–Ta Materials of the Neutron-Producing Target of the Subcritical Assembly at the National Scientific Centre ‘Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology’ of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The works in the field of radiation materials science of target materials of neutron sources based on the subcritical assemblies controlled by linear accelerators of electrons or protons, so-called accelerator driven systems (ADS), are reviewed. Now, electronuclear ADS systems are the prototype of safe nuclear reactors of the 5th generation. In connection with the physical start-up of the neutron source facility of the National Scientific Centre ‘Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology’ of the N.A.S. of Ukraine (NSC ‘KhIPT’ NASU), the target of which is fabricated from powdered tungsten covered with tantalum, the issues of preparation technology, construction, and physical and mechanical properties of W–Ta materials of targets in non-irradiated and irradiated states are considered. The nuclear-physical processes of radiation damage to the target during co-irradiation of it with both neutrons of a subcritical assembly and high-energy e- and γ-beams are analyzed. The target resources of ADS systems are estimated. As noted, the difficulty of predicting the ‘survivability’ of the W–Ta target also relates to the fact that, except for the works carried out at the NSC ‘KhIPT’ NASU in 70–90th of the last century, there are no experimental works in the world on the radiation damage of reactor materials by high-energy electrons with an energy of 100 MeV and above.

Current Status of School Culture According to the Concept of Learning Organization at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

The school culture of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has both common features and unique characteristics of “Party School Culture”. The cultural levels of the Academy according to the concept of a learning organization are expressed through tangible factors: working environment, landscape, declared value system, development strategy and policy, etc. Correctly identifying the level of response of the elements belonging to school culture according to the concept of learning organization at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics is an important basis to help the school assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current school culture, thereby having measures to build school culture according to the concept of learning organization in a scientific, appropriate and comprehensive manner.

ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ВОДНЫХ РЕСУРСОВ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ

It is well known that recently the topic of water resources not only in Central Asia, but also throughout the world has been gaining its relevance. The problems of shortage of drinking water, melting glaciers, drying up of lakes, and climate change on a global scale have been on the main agendas at the main platforms of the UN for many years as the main threats. If you do not start solving the water problem today, then tomorrow it will be too late. We are witnessing how conflicts are already occurring in the world over water, which are escalating into armed clashes, riots, rallies, protests and others. Unfortunately, such phenomena occur not overseas, but before our eyes in Kyrgyzstan, and throughout Central Asia. We believe that today in the water sector there is a great demand for improving the quality of knowledge of hydro-specialists and the assistance of the Institute of Water Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic. Everyone knows that recently water resources not only in Central Asia, but also throughout the world have been gaining their relevance. Lack of drinking water, melting glaciers, drying up lakes, and climate change on a global scale have been heard for several years at the main rostrum of the global international organization of the United Nations as one of the main threats. If you do not start solving the water problem today, then tomorrow it will be too late. Because of water, conflicts occur in the world, which escalate into armed clashes, riots, rallies, protests and others. This problem is not happening overseas, but before our eyes in Kyrgyzstan and in Central Asia as a whole. We think that today in the water sector it is very important to improve the quality of knowledge of hydro- specialists and assistance from the Institute of Water Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.

АНАЛІЗ СТАТИСТИЧНИХ ДАНИХ РЕЗУЛЬТАТІВ ЗАВЕРШЕНИХ РОБІТ У ГАЛУЗІ ЕЛЕКТРОЕНЕРГЕТИКИ В УСТАНОВАХ ВІДДІЛЕННЯ ФІЗИКО-ТЕХНІЧНИХ ПРОБЛЕМ ЕНЕРГЕТИКИ НАН УКРАЇНИ

Considered the actual problem of monitoring the results of scientific research and collecting data necessary for the formation of policy for the development of priority areas of science, technology and innovation. An analysis of the de-velopment of research in the direction of "electric power" in the institutions of the Department of Physical and Techni-cal Problems of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the period from 1995 to 2021 was carried out. Indicators of the financing of these studies during the considered period are given, it is concluded that the growing trend of their financing against the background of the decreasing trend of general expenditures on science indicates the priority of this direction for the national economy of the country. Ref. 12, fig. 6.

OUTCOMES OF SHOULDER JOINT ENDOPROSTHETICS AFTER REMOVAL OF TUMORS IN THE HUMERUS

Introduction. The use of endoprostheses of the shoulder joint is possible with primary and secondary (metastatic) tumor lesions of the proximal part of the humerus. The possibility of using both individual oncological endoprostheses and modular oncological endoprostheses for tumors of the proximal part of the humerus is reported. Aim. To assess the effectiveness of restoring the function of the shoulder joint and upper limb and improving the patient's quality of life after shoulder joint arthroplasty for tumors of the proximal part of the humerus. Materials and methods. The results of the treatment of 27 patients who underwent shoulder arthroplasty in the conditions of the clinical departments of the "Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine" for tumors of the proximal part of the humerus from 2014 to 2024 were evaluated. Endoprosthesis was performed in 22 (81.5%) patients with primary tumors of the proximal part of the humerus and in 5 (18.5%) with metastatic tumors. Endoprosthesis of the shoulder joint was performed with individual oncological endoprostheses in 24 (88.9%) patients and modular oncological endoprostheses in 3 (11.1%) patients. Arthroplasty was primary in 25 (92.6%) patients and secondary in 2 (7.4%) patients. Results. During follow-up, 3 (11.1%) patients died with an average follow-up period of 10.3±1.9 months, the other 24 (88.9%) were alive, with an average follow-up period of 88.1±8.7 months. The overall frequency of complications in our study was 6 (22.2%) cases, 3 (11.1%) patients had an infectious complication in the late postoperative period after 12, 24 and 36 months, 1 (3.7%) patient had aseptic loosening of the leg of the endoprosthesis after 36 months, in 2 (7.4%) patients after 5 and 6 months, dislocation of the head of the endoprosthesis from the joint cavity was noted. Local tumor recurrence was observed in 2 (7.4%) patients. The overall mean MSTS total limb functional outcome after shoulder arthroplasty for all 27 patients was 74.2%, and of the 24 patients who survived, the mean limb functional outcome after shoulder arthroplasty was 78.4%. The patients' quality of life (according to the EORTQ-QLQ-С30 questionnaire) increased from 32 points in the preoperative period to 78 points after shoulder joint replacement. Conclusions. Endoprosthetics is a modern method for reconstructing bone segments in the surgical treatment of tumors of long bones in the limbs. This method allows for the replacement of bone defects of any size (volume) and length. Shoulder joint endoprosthetics within the framework of combination and multimodal treatment of primary and metastatic tumors of the proximal part of the humerus provides restoration of both shoulder joint functions and the upper limb as a whole, thereby improving the quality of life for this group of patients.

Методологічні засади макроекономічного оцінювання ефективності розвитку аграрної науки

The study’s purpose is to provide a comprehensive methodology for macroeconomic assessment of the efficiency of agricultural science development. Research methods: method of system analysis, synthesis, economic and mathematical modeling. Research results. A comprehensive methodology for macroeconomic assessment of the effectiveness of agricultural science development has been developed. It has been shown that the assessment of the national economic effect of agricultural science should consider the following main factors: the general macroeconomic state of the national economy; direct impact of scientific research; the accumulated impact of scientific research; geo-economic effect of scientific research; social aspects of the organization of scientific research It has been proved that macro-evaluation of the development efficiency of agricultural science and the activities of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine should be carried out in the following sequence: analysis of the general macroeconomic situation of the national economy, the place and role of science in its development; analysis of the general state of development of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine; analysis of the national economic importance of agricultural science by intersectoral balances; analysis of the macro-efficiency of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine Scientific novelty. The methodology of macroeconomic assessment of the development efficiency of agricultural science is not just comprehensive, but it is also based on intersectoral balances and takes into account the activities of the main spending unit in this area – the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. This comprehensive approach instills confidence in its thoroughness and reliability. Practical significance. The developed methodology is based on the statistical data and is fully applicable in its current form. Macroeconomic assessments of the effectiveness of agricultural science development are suitable for comparisons over time and between other sectors of science in Ukraine and internationally. Prospects for further research are promising. They include analyzing the efficiency of the development of domestic agricultural science and developing strategic directions for improving the efficiency of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. These future research prospects should inspire optimism about the potential advancements in the field. Keywords: corporate control, economic security, integration associations, joint-stock companies, organizational and methodological support, corporate management.

Practice Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder by the JSMD (Japanese Society of Mood Disorders).

The Japanese Society of Mood Disorders (JSMD) published treatment guidelines of bipolar disorder in 2011. The present guidelines incorporating new findings were developed to comply to the guidelines of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) by utilizing systematic reviews and meta-analysis and taking patient and family opinions as well as insights from multiple professional fields into account. They support combination therapy using mood stabilizers and second-generation antipsychotics in many aspects. They also have limitations, including the grouping of mood stabilizers and second-generation antipsychotics when meta-analysis was performed despite their distinct properties, due to the scarcity of drug-specific evidence. Despite the limitations, these guidelines provide clinical decision support for psychiatrists in Japan.

Editorial Foreword

Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Physics and Mathematics is a series of biennial conferences initiated by the Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1997, dedicated to the heritage of J´anos Bolyai, Carl Friedrich Gauss, and Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevski (BGL, alphabetically), and held at various sites connected with the founders of the new geometry; for history see: https://indico.cern.ch/event/586799/page/8964-former-blg-conferences.

Scientific and information provision of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine during the period of independence: directions, achievements, perspectives

Scientific and information provision of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine during the period of independence: directions, achievements, perspectives

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN 2023 ON THE TERRITORY OF THE DOMINICAN MONASTERY IN VINNYTSIA

Archaeological researches of 2023 on the territory of the site of architecture and urban planning «Dominican Monastery» in Vinnytsia was carried out by the Archaeological Expedition of the Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore as part of the «Program of Archaeological Research on the Territory of Sites which are part of the Vinnytsia City Territorial Community for 2022—2024» approved by the Vinnytsia City Council. The main task for 2023 was to open a preserved excavation area (excavation area 1) and to complete it. This excavation area was established and explored in 2013—2018 by the Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, headed by Dr. Larysa Vynogrodska. In the Excavation area 1 several objects in 2023 were discovered: building 1 — the remains of the foundations of a cult (?) building from the late 17th — the first half of the 18th century and constructive ditches of the building (the name and number according to the numbering of Dr. L. Vynogrodskaya); building 2 — the remains of the foundations of the building, constructed in the late 19th — the first half of the 20th century; building 3 is a deepened structure, explored in 2013—2014 (the name and number according to the numbering made by Dr. L. Vynogrodska); building 4 — a brick crypt (?) of the late 17th — early 18th centuries; object 1 — deepened with a step (partially explored) — late 16th — 17th centuries; object 2 is a burial contained the remains of five persons (burials 3—7), burials 5 and 6 are dated ca. late 17th — early 18th century; pits 1, 3 — objects of the 20th century (pit 2 is the object explored in 2013—2014); burial 1 — an animal skeleton in anatomical order which was discovered in the 17th—19th century layer (sector B6—B7 in the excavation area); burial 2 — a human burial approximately dated to the 18th century. Photofixation, processing and drawing of the material have been done, orthophoto plans and 3D modeling of objects in excavation area 1 were made based on the results of the archaeological expedition of the Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore in 2023. In addition to archaeological research, all known written sources of the 17th century about the territory of the Dominican monastery, its founders and clergy were widely involved. These sources were processed by researcher of Vinnytsia Museum Victoria Kolesnyk. Due to her sophisticated research in 2023 it was possible to attribute the architectural remains in excavation area-1 as the stone foundations of the Dominican monastery during its first phase of its existence. Probably, the discovered remains are traces of the renovation of the monastery building from the late 17th — the first half of the 18th century and existed until the time of the second phase of construction, which began in the second half of the 18th century. The result of the second phase of construction is the raising of a complex of buildings which are in use for now and as a complex with a status of National Importance, named the «Dominican Monastery».

MANTA: a negative-triangularity NASEM-compliant fusion pilot plant

Abstract The MANTA (Modular Adjustable Negative Triangularity ARC-class) design study investigated how negative-triangularity (NT) may be leveraged in a compact, fusion pilot plant (FPP) to take a ‘power-handling first’ approach. The result is a pulsed, radiative, ELM-free tokamak that satisfies and exceeds the FPP requirements described in the 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report ‘Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid’ (2021 Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid). A self-consistent integrated modeling workflow predicts a fusion power of 450 MW and a plasma gain of 11.5 with only 23.5 MW of power to the scrape-off layer (SOL). This low P SOL together with impurity seeding and high density at the separatrix results in a peak heat flux of just 2.8 MW m−2. MANTA’s high aspect ratio provides space for a large central solenoid (CS), resulting in ∼15 minute inductive pulses. In spite of the high B fields on the CS and the other REBCO-based magnets, the electromagnetic stresses remain below structural and critical current density limits. Iterative optimization of neutron shielding and tritium breeding blanket yield tritium self-sufficiency with a breeding ratio of 1.15, a blanket power multiplication factor of 1.11, toroidal field coil lifetimes of 3100 ± 400 MW · yr, and poloidal field coil lifetimes of at least 890 ± 40 MW · yr. Following balance of plant modeling, MANTA is projected to generate 90 MW of net electricity at an electricity gain factor of ∼ 2.4 . Systems-level economic analysis estimates an overnight cost of US$3.4 billion, meeting the NASEM FPP requirement that this first-of-a-kind be less than US$5 billion. The toroidal field coil cost and replacement time are the most critical upfront and lifetime cost drivers, respectively.

An innovative Doctor of Nursing Practice scholarly project curriculum model: Strategies for supporting learners at various entry levels

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program curriculum must address the challenge of developing Competency Based Education (CBE) curriculum for DNP Scholarly Projects tailored to meet variations in nursing learner preparation and practice, from novice bachelor's entry level and master's advanced nurse practice expert entry level pathways. The recent Future of Nursing 2020–2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity report by the National Academy of Medicine advocates that competency-based education (CBE) approaches in nursing schools should focus upon the advanced practice nursing population within collaborative academic practice partnerships. This article describes an innovative DNP Scholarly Project Curriculum model at an academic health science center that integrates academic partnerships and CBE strategies that have been developed for second degree Bachelor's direct entry to nursing (direct entry), post BS in nursing to DNP (BS to DNP), Post Master's to DNP (PM DNP) entry levels of preparation. The DNP Scholarly Project Curriculum utilizes an innovative, scaffolded approach to fostering CBE for the assessment of learning activities at the doctoral level. The DNP Scholarly Project Curriculum includes domains of quality improvement, critical appraisal of the literature, evidence-based practice models, implementation practice models, policy analysis, and process/outcome evaluations. Preliminary alumni and stakeholder feedback suggests that these projects are not only impacting practice but improving learner competency in quality improvement science. Implementation of this model has led to enhanced CBE-driven curriculum teaching and learning strategies, and sustainable collaborative academic partnerships.

Thin-walled aluminium waste remelting in circulation circuit with magnetodynamic pump

Modern technologies for remelting thin-walled aluminium waste are considered, and a new method to implement such process is proposed. This made it possible to increase the yield of a suitable remelted product to 83% from the mass of the initial remelting portion. The main idea is to use indirect heating of the charge. This will allow to significantly reduce the irreversible loss of metal due to burning which can reach 60%. In the proposed process, solid waste is melted by overheated melt stream. The movement of such stream is provided by the action of electromagnetic field. For the practical implementation of the offered idea, there was used a magnetodynamic pump (MDP) designed in the Physico-Technological Institute of Metals and Alloys of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The MDP has a significantly higher heat and power factor than electromagnetic pumps of travelling magnetic field which are often used in similar technologies. Mathematical model of the remelting process of aluminium thin-walled and fine charge due to convective heat transfer was developed. On the basis of this model, an engineering calculation of the specific process of remelting used aluminium cans in the liquid aluminium stream was also carried out. The obtained results were used at further conducting a full-scale experiment. There is designed and successfully practically tested the experimental two-chamber circulation circuit with MDP for remelting thin-walled aluminium waste. Recommendations for further development of the proposed process were formulated.Graphical abstract

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Ganoderma lingzhi and Ganoderma lucidum Fruiting Body Extracts

INTRODUCTION. Ganoderma spp. have been used as a traditional oriental medicine and a bioactive dietary supplement. These fungi are a promising source of effective antioxidants. Currently, there is no regulatory framework to control the quality of this herbal drug and its bioactive components in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Therefore, it is essential to study the chemical composition and pharmacological activity spectrum of G. lingzhi and G. lucidum extracts.AIM. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of G. lingzhi and G. lucidum fruiting body extracts.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study focused on pure cultures of G. lingzhi and G. lucidum obtained from the fungal species collection of the Forest Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Fungal biomass was grown using two substrates, including alder sawdust (1–3 mm fraction) and oak shavings (5–10 mm fraction). The fungal biomass was extracted using repeated maceration with 70% ethanol. The study tested the free radical-scavenging activity of the extracts in reactions with the stable free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the radical cation derived from 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS). The chemical composition was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS). The assays for phenols, steroids, and triterpenes used spectrophotometry.RESULTS. The extract of G. lucidum strain 334 cultivated on the alder substrate demonstrated the highest free radical-scavenging activity (IC50 =3.1±0.2 μg/mL (DPPH), IC50 =3.7±0.2 μg/mL (ABTS)), the highest phenolic content (326.2±16.5 μmol/g), and the highest triterpene content (2.00±0.11 mmol/g) of all the studied extracts. The antioxidant activity of the extracts of G. lingzhi and G. lucidum may be attributed to the content of ganoderic acid D, lucidenic acid D, naringenin, and other phenolic compounds.CONCLUSION. The high yield of extracts with a significant radical-scavenging activity makes artificially cultivated G. lingzhi and G. lucidum mushrooms a promising source of natural antioxidants.

River Communities, Disaster Science, and the Politics of Water Safety: Understanding Water Quality Debates in the Aftermath of the Gold King Mine Spill

ABSTRACT After environmental disasters, scientific claims about environmental risk face a paradox. Impacted communities turn to scientific bodies for safety information, yet scientific findings are often challenged publicly in post-disaster debates. This study explores this paradox after the 2015 Gold King Mine spill in the Animas River, USA. We ask how a river is declared “safe” after such a disaster, by whom, and based on what metrics. We examine how scientific claims about water safety were debated in newspapers in three locations: Silverton and Durango, Colorado, and the Navajo Nation. Drawing on Cash et al.’s [Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(14), 8086–8091. https://do.org/10.1073/pnas.1231332100] key features of science for public decision-making, we find that local debates hinged on issues of salience, credibility, and legitimacy, but these criteria varied in importance across locations. We also argue that these criteria do not sufficiently explain river safety debates. Attention to regulatory and scientific standards used to interpret river safety is necessary for understanding spill responses. Clean Water Act (CWA) standards sidelined public concerns about waterways that fell outside CWA benchmarks. This study highlights the importance of scrutinizing the standards used to deem environments “safe” when producing and communicating disaster science. Key policy highlights Scientific communication after an environmental disaster should be salient, credible, and legitimate. In addition, the scientific and regulatory standards used to deem post-disaster environments “safe” must be scrutinized and their limitations acknowledged. Acknowledging and addressing community-specific concerns and histories – especially those of indigenous communities – is vital in disaster-recovery communication.

The name for a well-known crop: Rumex kioviensis, a hybridogenous taxon derived from R. patientia × R. tianschanicus (Polygonaceae)

The new crops developed at the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv from the initial artificial interspecific crosses Rumex patientia × R. tianschanicus are variously known in botanical and agricultural literature under the hybrid formula or informal names “Shchavnat”, “Hybrid Dock”, “Rumex K-1”, “Rumex OK-2”, or names of cultivars cv. ‘Kyivskyi Ultra’, cv. ‘Shpinat Uteusha’, cv. ‘Nastavnyk’, etc. A brief overview of the history of development of these cultivars is provided. These robust perennial plants are cultivated at present as spinach greens, fodder, and high-yield biomass producers for bioenergy applications in several European and other countries (Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Romania, etc.). Numerous agricultural, horticultural, and biotechnological publications about these new crops are now available, including various aspects of and data on their biochemistry, physiology, genetics, morphology, propagation, agrotechniques, biomass and biofuel production potential, nutritional value, etc. Also, these hybrid cultivars were reported in several regions of Central Europe as potentially invasive weeds escaped from cultivation. Considering the growing popularity of the Hybrid Dock as a green leaf vegetable, a biomass and biofuel producing crop (among other uses), and a potentially invasive alien, we think that a proper botanical name should be assigned to that taxon. Here it is described as a new hybridogenous species Rumex kioviensis Rakhmetov, A. Mosyakin & Mosyakin. Diagnostic characters distinguishing this new taxon from its parent taxa and other related species are indicated. Some remaining taxonomic and nomenclatural problems regarding Asian taxa related to R. patientia are briefly discussed.

UKRAINIAN PHD STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD AI LANGUAGE PROCESSING TOOLS IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Mastering academic writing skills in English is essential for future researchers. At present, AI language processing tools provide high-quality, accessible, and fast assistance for translation, editing, and stylistic enhancement of scientific texts. However, their use within English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses generates mixed reactions among educators and raises ethical concerns. Our study aimed to explore the predominant perceptions of AI language processing tools by PhD students of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) from the viewpoint of their integration into the academic English course taught in the first year of their PhD studies. The study involved 52 PhD students from various NASU institutes. They completed a survey with both closed-ended and open-ended questions regarding their previous and expected use of online translators, writing enhancement tools, and ChatGPT for research writing purposes. The results of the survey show that NASU PhD students have extensive experience with online translators, but are less familiar with writing enhancement tools and less certain about their potential use in the future. Almost a third of the respondents expressed reservations about using ChatGPT for academic writing due to academic integrity concerns. Most of the respondents (66%) agree that the basics of ethical use of AI writing and editing tools should be incorporated into EAP courses. One subgroup of the participants (n = 11) took part in a small-scale additional intervention focused on writing enhancement tools. They were asked to apply Grammarly, QuillBot, and ChatGPT to edit their course projects (presentations of the current state of their dissertation research) and compare these tools according to various criteria. The feedback provided by this subgroup indicates that they were most satisfied with the quality of editing provided by ChatGPT but found Grammarly and QuillBot easier to use and more suitable for superficial grammar checks. We found out that the AI tools helped participants achieve improvements primarily in such aspects as the use of articles, punctuation, use of prepositions, and elimination of redundancy. The study has significant pedagogical implications, promoting the wider use of AI tools in the context of teaching English for Academic Purposes and addressing appropriate teaching techniques and methods.

How interdisciplinary is it? A new method for quantifying interdisciplinarity in student teams & examination of a large project-based program

ABSTRACT The European Higher Education Area and the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have called on higher education to support interdisciplinary learning. The National Academies recommend evaluating interdisciplinary education against relevant criteria, but beyond listing student majors, institutions cannot easily quantify interdisciplinarity in education. The Rao-Stirling diversity index, which incorporates measures of cognitive distance, is used to quantify the interdisciplinarity of research. This study extends the use of the Rao-Stirling diversity index to the context of higher education to: (1) determine whether it provides a more nuanced measure of interdisciplinarity than number of majors, and (2) to examine patterns in interdisciplinarity across 79 student teams in Georgia Tech’s Vertically Integrated Projects Program (N = 1218). The analysis employed cognitive distances developed in a previous study. Distributions of diversity indexes and enrollment by major were examined across the program, along with visualizations for 4 teams. Results show the Rao-Stirling diversity index provided a more comprehensive measure of team interdisciplinarity, and it indicated higher interdisciplinarity in more teams and in comparatively smaller teams than the number of majors would imply. Indexes across the program were examined graphically and explored through regression. Results indicated that higher interdisciplinarity was associated with smaller team size, implying a possible need for additional support for these teams. The utility of the index in quantifying the interdisciplinarity of teams and in revealing a previously unknown pattern confirm its usefulness within the context of higher education. Limitations, implications for research and practice, and future directions are discussed.

Uncovering Reduction Mechanisms of Fluoroethylene Carbonate

Energy storage plays an integral role in climate change mitigation, given that many promising alternatives to fossil fuel-based technologies rely on intermittent energy sources like the sun or wind. Particularly, lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are a promising technology due to lithium’s high theoretical specific capacity and low reduction potential, which can result in batteries with energy densities surpassing current state of the art lithium-ion batteries.1 Electrolyte design is a key strategy to improve the cycling stability and Coulombic efficiency of LMBs, where the highly reductive lithium metal anode reacts with the electrolyte during cycling, resulting in capacity loss. These reactions form a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), and many successful electrolyte engineering strategies have involved tuning the SEI to be mechanically and chemically stable to prevent further reactions.In this research, we focus on fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), a highly effective electrolyte solvent in LMBs.2 Although prior research has illuminated key reduction products of FEC2,3, including lithium fluoride (LiF), there remains a gap in understanding regarding the mechanism by which FEC and other similar fluorinated solvents are reduced to form an SEI. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated that a preformed SEI comprised solely of LiF breaks down during cycling, illustrating that bulk chemical and mechanical properties of SEI components may not translate to their function within the SEI.4 In this work, we employ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to study intermediate generation during FEC reduction. We pursued both a chemical reduction using lithium naphthalenide and an electrochemical approach to reduce FEC. The use of EPR with spin traps enables insight into the radical species formed during FEC reduction, which we hypothesize are precursors to cross-linked polymer networks that are key to a high performing SEI. Here, we employed conventional post-mortem SEI analysis like X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) in addition to EPR to clarify reduction mechanisms of FEC and form a framework for studying electrolyte reduction intermediates. Ultimately, this approach affords insight into electrolyte breakdown mechanisms to form an effective SEI which can both accommodate volume expansion and inhibit parasitic electrolyte consumption. This will guide electrolyte design for high Coulombic efficiency LMBs in the future.References K. G. Gallagher et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 7, 1555–1563 (2014).X.-Q. Zhang, X.-B. Cheng, X. Chen, C. Yan, and Q. Zhang, Advanced Functional Materials, 27, 1605989 (2017).Y. Jin et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 139, 14992–15004 (2017).M. He, R. Guo, G. M. Hobold, H. Gao, and B. M. Gallant, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117, 73–79 (2020).