16168 research outputs found
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Digital assets: risks, regulations, mitigation /
No full textDigital assets (DAs) such as cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and central bank digital currencies, are transforming financial markets with new business models, investment opportunities, and transaction efficiencies. Underpinned by blockchain, distributed ledger technology, and smart contracts, digital innovations are reshaping the financial ecosystem. However, their rapid growth introduces substantial risks, including fraud, market manipulation, cybersecurity threats, and regulatory uncertainty. This position paper offers an interdisciplinary and empirically grounded analysis of the DA landscape. We define and classify major asset types, trace their evolution from speculative instruments to functional tools, and assess current adoption trends. Additional technological developments (e.g., decentralized finance and NFT expansion) are examined for their role in accelerating this transformation. We also analyze the global regulatory landscape, highlighting jurisdictional differences, classification challenges, and emerging governance frameworks. To address key risks, we derive mitigation strategies via quantitative analysis and case-based evidence. The risks include balancing innovation with investor protection through adaptive regulatory design, promoting cross-border regulatory harmonization to prevent arbitrage and fragmentation, and supporting experimentation through regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs. By adopting a forward-looking, evidence-based, and collaborative regulatory approaches, stakeholders can harness the benefits of DAs while managing systemic risks and maintaining market integrity
Transforming waste into value: the role of recovered carbon fibre and oil shale ash in enhancing cement-based structural composites /
No full textEconomic and technological factors necessitate the use of alternative fuels during oil shale combustion, a process that generates substantial amounts of solid waste with varying ash compositions. This study evaluates the potential of two such waste materials: (i) fly ash derived from the combustion of oil shale (a fine particulate residue from burning crushed shale rock, sometimes combined with biomass), and (ii) short carbon fibres recovered from the pyrolysis (a process of decomposing materials at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen) of waste wind turbine blades. Oil shale ash from two different sources was investigated as a partial cement replacement, while recycled short carbon fibres (rCFs) were incorporated to enhance the functional properties of mortar composites. Results showed that carbonate-rich ash promoted the formation of higher amounts of monocarboaluminate (a crystalline hydration product in cement chemistry), leading to a refined pore structure and increased volumes of reaction products—primarily calcium silicate hydrates (C–S–H, critical compounds for cement strength). The findings indicate that the mineralogical composition of the modified binder (the mixture that holds solid particles together in mortar), rather than the fibre content, is the dominant factor in achieving a dense microstructure. This, in turn, enhances resistance to water ingress and improves mechanical performance under long-term hydration and freeze–thaw exposure. Life cycle assessment (LCA, a method to evaluate environmental impacts across a product’s lifespan) further demonstrated that combining complex binders with rCFs can significantly reduce the environmental impacts of cement production, particularly in terms of global warming potential (−4225 kg CO2 eq), terrestrial ecotoxicity (−1651 kg 1,4-DCB), human non-carcinogenic toxicity (−2280 kg 1,4-DCB), and fossil resource scarcity (−422 kg oil eq). Overall, the integrative use of OSA and rCF presents a sustainable alternative to conventional cement, aligning with principles of waste recovery and reuse, while providing a foundation for the development of next-generation binder systems
Design and performance evaluation of orbital angular momentum metasurface for THz vortex waves generation based on fourier transform /
No full textIntroduction: Because it is anticipated to be a new physical quantity for communication multiplexing and has significant potential for increasing channel capacity and enhancing spectrum resource utilization, researchers have been looking more closely at orbital angular momentum (OAM). Because of its potential to increase transmission capacity, vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have recently become a focus of much investigation. One of the main challenges now is how to effectively manufacture OAM in the terahertz (THz) spectrum because existing THz vortex wave generation devices are constrained by only functioning at one frequency, having a small bandwidth, and having low conversion efficiency. Methods: Therefore, this paper proposes a novel OAM metasurface design for generating vortex electromagnetic waves in the THz spectrum. The Pancharatnam-Berry phase idea and the phase superposition principle were used to create a single-layer reflective metasurface and a projected ultra-wideband reflective meta-atom. Results and discussion: Each OAM mode in the reflected field was broken down using the Fourier transform, and the purity of the OAM modes was quantitatively examined. The dominant OAM mode had the highest energy weight share (l = −2) in all vortex waves at various frequencies, and the designed metasurface was further optimized to enhance the energy share corresponding to the dominant mode. With its high main mode energy, wide operating bandwidth, and excellent conversion efficiency, the proposed metasurface provides a benchmark for the effective production of wideband THz vortex waves
From local experiments to global transition pathways: integrating circular and nature-based solutions for a climate-resilient future :
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Self-explainable AI and attention for interpretable cancer analysis with image and omics data (Multi-Modal): a systematic review /
No full textBackground: Cancer is acknowledged as a complex and heterogeneous disease, known for significant mortality rates, consequently demanding a comprehensive and integrated approach to improve diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies. Such an integrative approach can be based on multimodal data, including medical imaging and omics data, which provide complementary insights into the disease. Simultaneously, advancements in Artificial Intelligence, particularly in deep learning, have shown promising results in the analysis of complex datasets, including multimodal data, thus enhancing cancer-related activities. Nonetheless, many deep learning models operate as 'BLACK-BOXES,' limiting clinical adoption due to a lack of transparency and trust. Self-Explainable Artificial Intelligence (S-XAI) aims to address this limitation by developing approaches that explain the internal processes of AI models, focusing on built-in interpretability to enhance trustworthiness and adoption. Attention mechanisms, which draw inspiration from human visual perception, facilitate AI models to focus on the key features of input data; while not explicitly designed for explainability, they naturally highlight key features, thus providing insights into the reasoning processes of the model. Despite their potential advantages, significant knowledge gaps remain in this domain, particularly regarding S-XAI integrated with Attention Mechanisms for multimodal cancer data, which remain unexplored. To address these gaps, this systematic review adheres to a pre-registered protocol. Objectives: To systematically review and synthesize existing literature concerning the deployment of attention mechanisms in S-XAI for interpretable cancer analysis using either multimodal integration or individual use of medical images and omics data. Methods: This systematic review complies with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Comprehensive searches will be conducted across electronic databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore for data retrieval. The studies will be screened and data extracted by a primary reviewer and verified by supervisors, employing suitable tools for bias risk assessment. Results: The findings of this systematic review will be comprehensively summarized and presented. Conclusions: This systematic review is essential to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of S-XAI with attention mechanisms, and their potential uses to improve interpretability in multimodal cancer analysis
Demokratinis atsparumas Lietuvoje ir ES: pilietinės visuomenės ir piliečių dalyvavimo vaidmens analizė.
No full textThis article examines the relationship between civil society, civic participation, and democratic resilience in Lithuania within a European Union (EU) comparative frame. A mixed-methods design integrates a nationally representative public survey (N = 1,255; May–July 2024) with indicators from the EU Resilience Dashboards (data through 2022). To substantiate inferences, we report an ordinal association matrix (Kendall’s τ-b) alongside a compact logistic model with average marginal effects. Readiness to engage in active protest is positively associated with civic engagement (+4.9 percentage points per one-step increase on a 0–3 scale) and with perceiving a citizens–government conflict (+12.1 pp), and declines modestly with age (−0.19 pp per year). The association with institutional trust is small and only marginal. In the EU comparison, Lithuania ranks above the EU average on the geopolitical dimension, around the average on digital, and below the average on social-economic and green dimensions. We argue that cultivating civic habits and ensuring credible channels for voice constitute proximate (micro-level) levers of democratic resilience, while addressing capacity shortfalls identified by the dashboards operates at the meso/macro level. The study contributes an integrated micro–macro account of democratic resilience in a geopolitically exposed EU member state and clarifies where policy leverage is likely to be most effective
Magnetic mineralogy in lunar mare basalts and implications for paleointensity retrieval /
No full textLunar paleomagnetic studies have identified multidomain metallic Fe–Ni alloys as the dominant magnetic contributors in mare basalts. Here, we explore the low-temperature magnetic behavior of standard samples for a suite of opaque minerals that occur within mare basalts (single-domain and multidomain Fe, wüstite, ulvöspinel, iron chromite, ilmenite, and troilite). We compare the observed low-temperature behaviors to those of several Apollo mare basalt samples (10003, 10044, 10020, 10069, 10071, 12009, 12022, 15597). Notable magnetic transitions were detected at (Formula presented.) 30 K (ilmenite), 60–80 K (chromite, troilite), and 100–125 K (ulvöspinel, chromite). We also investigated the effects of low-temperature cycling on mare basalt remanence and observed that only grains with coercivities (Formula presented.) 20–40 mT were cleaned. This suggests a minimal impact of diurnal temperature cycling at the lunar surface on the retrieved lunar paleointensity values. Using comprehensive electron microscopy techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we further examined magnetic phases within four Apollo 11 mare basalt samples. Our findings revealed the presence of Fe grains (one to 10 μm in diameter) associated with troilite contain sub-grains ranging in size from tens to hundreds of nanometers in some samples. These grains, which fall within the single-domain to multi-domain range as observed in their first-order reversal curves, might have the potential to retain high coercivity components and thereby effectively record an ancient dynamo field
Environmental impact assessment of logging residue utilization for increased bioenergy production from scots pine forest stands in Lithuania using a life cycle approach /
No full textThe strategic importance of forest biomass as a renewable energy source is growing across the EU, driven by climate goals, energy security, and the abundance of logging residues. While logging waste offers considerable potential for bioenergy production, its life cycle environmental impacts remain insufficiently understood. This study evaluates the impacts of utilizing Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) logging residues for energy production in Lithuania using a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA). Two harvesting scenarios were assessed at midpoint and endpoint levels: one excluding and one including logging residues. The results show that about 173.2 tons of biofuels can be produced from one hectare of Scots pine forest over a 100-year cycle, generating up to 513.6 MWh of energy when residues are utilized. The LCA revealed improvements in 9 of 18 impact categories, with greenhouse gas avoidance increasing from –52 to –89.5 t CO2 eq, and overall endpoint impacts decreasing by nearly 39%. The novelty of this study lies in applying established LCA methods with region- and species-specific data, partly obtained through monitoring, for Scots pine residues in Lithuania, while extending system boundaries to include soil degradation, storage losses, and ash management—providing a more holistic and Northern Europe-relevant perspective