Beyond authorship: Analyzing contributions in PLOS ONE and the challenges of appropriate attribution

Purpose:This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of authorship attributions in scientific publications,focusing on the fairness and precision of individual contributions within academic works.Design/methodology/approach:The study analyzes 81,823 publications from the journal PLOS ONE,covering the period from January 2018 to June 2023.It examines the authorship attributions within these publications to try and determine the prevalence of inappropriate authorship.It also investigates the demographic and professional profiles of affected authors,exploring trends and potential factors contributing to inaccuracies in authorship.Findings:Surprisingly,9.14%of articles feature at least one author with inappropriate authorship,affecting over 14,000 individuals(2.56%of the sample).Inappropriate authorship is more concentrated in Asia,Africa,and specific European countries like Italy.Established researchers with significant publication records and those affiliated with companies or nonprofits show higher instances of potential monetary authorship.Research limitations:Our findings are based on contributions as declared by the authors,which implies a degree of trust in their transparency.However,this reliance on self-reporting may introduce biases or inaccuracies into the dataset.Further research could employ additional verification methods to enhance the reliability of the findings.Practical implications:These findings have significant implications for journal publishers,Beyond authorship:Analyzing contributions in PLOS ONE and Maddi,A.,&the challenges of appropriate attribution highlighting the necessity for robust control mechanisms to ensure the integrity of authorship attributions.Moreover,researchers must exercise discernment in determining when to acknowledge a contributor and when to include them in the author list.Addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining the credibility and fairness of academic publications.Originality/value:This study contributes to an understanding of critical issues within academic authorship,shedding light on the prevalence and impact of inappropriate authorship attributions.By calling for a nuanced approach to ensure accurate credit is given where it is due,the study underscores the importance of upholding ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

Opinions of Students on the Contribution of the DIVA 3D Virtual Dissection Table to the Teaching of Anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology of Bamako

Objective: Study the contribution of the DIVA 3D dissection table in the teaching of anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine and Odontology of Bamako. Material and Methods: This was a qualitative study carried out from November 1 to December 30, 2023 at the clinical and morphological anatomy laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology of Bamako. Included in this study were students who participated in practical and tutorial sessions. The variables studied during this study were: the previous performance of dissection on a cadaver by the students, the opinion of the students on dissection on a cadaver, the replacement of dissection on a cadaver by virtual dissection in the absence of a body, the level student satisfaction. Results: We surveyed 130 participants. The average age was 22 ± 0.2 years with extremes of 17 and 29 years. 95.3% of participants were students. According to 66.7% of participants, virtual dissection is a good palliative in the absence of a corpse. 95.3% of participants found using the virtual dissection table easy with an average of 7.88 ± 1.4. The overall assessment was well rated by 99.3% of participants. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the virtual dissection table should be improved by integrating commented videos. The use of the DIVA 3D virtual dissection table during practical and tutorial sessions is well appreciated by the students. We believe that the teaching of anatomy using 3D digital technology should be included in the study programs of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology.

National Social Investment Programmes in Nigeria:A Descriptive Analysis of the Socio-Economic Contributions of N-Power Programme in Benue State

This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.

An Analysis of Innovative Contributions to the Important Discourse on the Development of New Quality Productivity

The discourse on developing high-quality productivity marks a significant theoretical innovation,which is conducive to the modernization and sinicization of Marxism.It refines our understanding of“new quality productivity,”defining it as an advanced form driven by innovation,embodying“high technology,efficiency,and quality,”with the aim of comprehensively enhancing productivity.It elucidates the necessity of cultivating such forces,asserting that they are crucial for achieving high-quality development,securing a leading position in global technology,and fulfilling the aspirations for a better life.Moreover,it outlines a new implementation route,emphasizing strategies such as fostering technological autonomy,nurturing emerging industries,integrating education and talent in technology,adopting a“build through challenges”approach,adjusting solutions locally,and providing categorized guidance,all of which are based on the ongoing comprehensive reforms.

The Contribution Margin due to a Limiting Factor in the Presence of Several Sales Options: Actuality Is Not Always As It Appears at the Beginning of the Analysis

The analysis of company data useful for economic decisions,if not interpreted in an overall view of the company situation,can lead to wrong conclusions.This is the case when a company has to choose between several sales options for one or more products in the presence of a limiting factor.The continuation of the investigation often denies the initial analysis.Not everything is as it appears,therefore,at the beginning of the deepening of the data useful for economic decisions.As it is well known,the choices of profitability concerning the planning of the sale of company products take place,at least in the majority of cases,through the determination of the contribution margin,i.e.the profitability margin connected to the individual goods/services sold by the companies(selling price net of variable costs).The contribution margin can be determined with four objectives:(1)Determination of the yield of the single product,net of variable costs only.In this case,the margin defines unitary,from net product yield to unitary contribution margin.(2)Determination of the return on total sales of an individual product,net of variable costs.In this hypothesis,reference is made to the first level(or gross)contribution margin.(3)Determination of the ability of the individual product to contribute to the coverage of fixed costs common to the company.This margin is determined net of special product variable and fixed costs.This aggregate is defined as a Level II(or semi-gross)margin.(4)Determination of the useful value in the planning choices in case of presence of scarce productive factors.In this case,it must identify the so-called unitary margin for low factor.Here we will only deal with the problem of the use of the contribution margin in the presence of rare factors.To complete the analysis,below are some very brief considerations regarding,respectively,the unitary,level I,and level II contribution margin in order to better understand where the problem of the most convenient choice of income is located in the event of the presence of rare production factors,especially in an environment characterized by a plurality of sales options.

Moisture Sources and Their Contributions to Summer Precipitation in the East of Southwest China

Complex topography,special geographical location and sea-land-air interactions lead to high interannual variability of summer precipitation in the east of Southwest China(ESWC).However,the contributions,influencing factors and mechanisms of remote and local evaporation remain to be further investigated.Using clustering analysis and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory version 5 model,we analyze the contributions of remote moisture transport and local evaporation to summer precipitation in the ESWC and their causes.There are mainly five remote moisture channels in the ESWC,namely the Arabian Sea channel,Bay of Bengal channel,western Pacific channel,Northwest channel 1 and Northwest channel 2.Among the five channels,the western Pacific channel has the largest number of trajectories,while the Bay of Bengal channel has the largest contribution rate of specific humidity(33.33%)and moisture flux(33.14%).The amount of regional average precipitation is close to that of the precipitation caused by remote moisture transport,and both are considerably greater than the rainfall amount caused by local evaporation.However,on interannual time scales,precipitation recirculation rates are negatively correlated to regional average precipitation and precipitation caused by remote moisture transport but are consistent with that caused by local evaporation.An apparent"+-+"wave train can be found on the height anomaly field in East Asia,and the sea surface temperature anomalies are positive in the equatorial Middle-East Pacific,the South China Sea,the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.These phenomena cause southwest-northeast moisture transport with strong updrafts,thereby resulting in more precipitation in the ESWC.

An evaluation method of contribution rate based on fuzzy Bayesian networks for equipment system-of-systems architecture

The contribution rate of equipment system-of-systems architecture(ESoSA)is an important index to evaluate the equipment update,development,and architecture optimization.Since the traditional ESoSA contribution rate evaluation method does not make full use of the fuzzy information and uncertain information in the equipment system-of-systems(ESoS),and the Bayesian network is an effective tool to solve the uncertain information,a new ESoSA contribution rate evaluation method based on the fuzzy Bayesian network(FBN)is proposed.Firstly,based on the operation loop theory,an ESoSA is constructed considering three aspects:reconnaissance equipment,decision equipment,and strike equipment.Next,the fuzzy set theory is introduced to construct the FBN of ESoSA to deal with fuzzy information and uncertain information.Furthermore,the fuzzy importance index of the root node of the FBN is used to calculate the contribution rate of the ESoSA,and the ESoSA contribution rate evaluation model based on the root node fuzzy importance is established.Finally,the feasibility and rationality of this method are validated via an empirical case study of aviation ESoSA.Compared with traditional methods,the evaluation method based on FBN takes various failure states of equipment into consideration,is free of acquiring accurate probability of traditional equipment failure,and models the uncertainty of the relationship between equipment.The proposed method not only supplements and improves the ESoSA contribution rate assessment method,but also broadens the application scope of the Bayesian network.

List of Contributors

The Astronomical Techniques and Instruments would like to sincerely thank the following individuals who contribute to this issue.The success of our publication hinges on the contributions of time and energy put forth by these professionals.

The contribution of root respiration of Pinus koraiensis seedlings to total soil respiration under elevated CO_2 concentrations

The impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (500 靘olmol-1and 700 靘olmol-1) on total soil respiration and the contribution of root respiration of Pinus koraiensis seedlings were investigated from May to October in 2003 at the Research Station of Changbai Mountain Forest Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jilin Province, China. After four growing seasons in top-open chambers exposed to elevated CO2, the total soil respiration and roots respiration of Pinus koraiensis seedlings were measured by a LI-6400-09 soil CO2 flux chamber. Three PVC cylinders in each chamber were inserted about 30 cm into the soil in-stantaneously to terminate the supply of current photosynthates from the tree canopy to roots for separating the root respiration from total soil respiration. Soil respirations both inside and outside of the cylinders were measured on June 16, August 20 and October 8, respectively. The results indicated that: there was a marked diurnal change in air temperature and soil temperature at depth of 5 cm on June 16, the maximum of soil temperature at depth of 5 cm lagged behind that of air temperature, no differences in temperature between treatments were found (P>0.05). The total soil respiration and soil respiration with roots severed showed strong diurnal and seasonal patterns. There was marked difference in total soil respiration and soil respiration with roots severed between treatments (P<0.01); Mean total soil respiration and contribution of root under different treatments were 3.26, 4.78 and 1.47 靘olm 2s-1, 11.5%, 43.1% and 27.9% on June 16, August 20 and October 8, respectively.

Study on Contribution of Potassium,Nitrogen and Organic Fertilizer to Farmers' Super Rice Production Economy——Based on Empirical Study of 690 Rice Farmers in Eight Counties in Liaoning,Zhejiang and Hunan Province

[Objective] The aim was to investigate the contribution of potassium,nitrogen and organic fertilizer to super rice production.[Method] The data about the labor force input,fertilizer input,organic fertilizer input,contents of effective nitrogen and effective potassium in production,obtained through empirical study of 690 rice farmers in eight counties （cities） in Liaoning,Zhejiang and Hunan in 2009,were analyzed by using Cobb-Douglas production function model to study influence of material input （especially the fertilizer input） and labor force input to the yield of super rice,and the correlation between the input and the yield of rice production.[Result] The increase in amount of organic fertilizer has significantly increased the yield of super rice.The amount of chemical fertilizer applied is becoming more reasonable,but increase of yield does not result in increase of value.Different types of fertilizers have significantly different capabilities in increasing yields of super rice.The potassium fertilizer is superior to phosphorous fertilizer,while phosphorous is superior to nitrogenous fertilizer in improving production capacity.[Conclusion] The paper suggests that it should continue to increase the amount of organic fertilizers and potassium fertilizer and meanwhile control the amount of nitrogenous fertilizer in super rice production at present.

Research on Economic Impact of Super Rice on Rice Growers and Contribution to Food Security

Super rice is an essendal part of China＇s rice production. Through survey on actual situation of 1568 households of rice growers in Heilongjiang, Hunan and Zhejiang provinces, this paper focused on influence of super rice development on increase of China＇s grain yield, influence on increase of rice growers＇ economic in- come, difference in production cost and profit between the North and the South, as well as profit percentage of super rice in production, processing, and sales. It obtained following results： rice price determines rice growers＇ income; expansion of super rice extension area plays a great role in increase of China＇s grain yield; by 2015 and 2020, keeping the yield of other crops not changed, merely the extension of super rice can increase grain for 5 million tons and 11 million tons separately; super rice significantly increases rice growers＇ economic income; for production cost of super rice, the South is higher than the North, and the profit ratio of cost is up to 35.54% on average; with respect of profit in production, processing, and sales, the ratio is 1：2：1.5; with the yield of other crops unchanged, every increase of 1% in area percentage of super rice to rice will additionally produce 1 million tons of grain for China, which is equivalent to saving the yield of 133 300 hm2 farmland and can additional feed 3.5 million people. In view of importance of super rice production, at the same time of strengthening research on super rice variety, it is required to accelerate expanding production area of super rice in suitable areas. Since the development of super rice can support China＇s ration demand of increasing population, China should make effort to realize ＂one yuan for one mu＂ financial subsidy for super rice of main grain production provinces and counties. Besides, China should establish special financial plan for extension of super rice.

Agricultural Development of Nanjing Suburban Counties based on Contribution Models of Production Factors

According to data in Nanjing Statistical Yearbook, contribution made by agricultural production factors was analyzed with contribution models of agricultural factors and the results showed that with restriction of labor force and land, Nanjing suburban counties have entered into a stage of ＂high input-high output＂, considering no matter from agricultural total value of output or from agricultural added value. In future, structure configuration of agricultural input factors should be optimized in Nanjing suburban counties by technology input to improve agricultural technology and technical efficiency in order to further achieve sustainable development of agriculture.

Soil Organic Nitrogen and Its Contribution to Crop Production

Plant growth and crop production depend to a large extent on soil N supplying capacity （SNSC）： The higher the SNSC, the higher the dependence of crops on soil and the lower the N fertilizer recovery. Of the SNSC, soil organic N （ON） played a key role in supplying N nutrient to crop production and still does in many subsistence and low-input farming systems. In this paper, soil ON contents, types, chemical components and its contribution to plant production are reviewed up to date in details, the characteristics of ON in dryland soils discussed together with its chemical components, and the mineralization and availability to plants of some important chemical components are emphasized at the last part for practical considerations.

Weapons system portfolio selection based on the contribution rate evaluation of system of systems

The weapons system portfolio selection problem arises at the equipment demonstration stage and deals with the military application requirements.Further,the contribution rate of the system is one of the important indicators to evaluate the role of a system,which can facilitate the weapons system portfolio selection.Therefore,combining the system contribution rate with system portfolio selection is the focus of this study.It also focuses on calculating the contribution rates of multiple equipment systems with various types of capabilities.The contribution rate is measured by establishing a hierarchical multi-criteria value model from three dimensions.Based on the value model,the feasible portfolios are developed under certain cost constraints and the optimal weapons system portfolios are obtained by using the classification optimization selection strategy.Finally,an illustrative example is presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed model.

Climate Change Impact and Its Contribution Share to Paddy Rice Production in Jiangxi, China

In the study, an improved approach was proposed to identify the contribution shares of three group factors that are climate, technology and input, social economic factors by which the grain production is shaped. In order to calibrate the method, Jiangxi Province, one of the main paddy rice producers in China was taken as an example. Based on 50 years （1961-2010） meteorological and statistic data, using GIS and statistical analysis tools, the three group factors that in certain extent impact China＇s paddy rice production have been analyzed quantitatively. The individual and interactive contribution shares of each factor group have been identiifed via eta square （η2）. In the paper, two group ordinary leasr square （OLS） models, paddy models and climate models, have been constructed for further analysis. Each model group consists of seven models, one full model and six partial models. The results of paddy models show that climate factors individually and interactively contribute 11.42-15.25%explanatory power to the variation of paddy rice production in the studied province. Technology and input factors contribute 16.17%individually and another 8.46%interactively together with climate factors, totally contributing about 25%. Social economic factors contribute about 7%of which 4.65%is individual contribution and 2.49%is interactive contribution together with climate factors. The three factor groups individually contribute about 23%and interactively contribute additional 41%to paddy rice production. In addition every two of the three factor groups also function interactively and contribute about 22%. Among the three factor groups, technology and input are the most important factors to paddy rice production. The results of climate models support the results of paddy models, and display that solar radiation （indicated by sunshine hour variable） is the dominate climate factor for paddy rice production.

Heat contribution of the Indonesian throughflow to the Indian Ocean

Based on the high-resolution Eulerian fields of an ocean general circulation model simulation, the heat contribution of the Indonesian throughflow(ITF) to the Indian Ocean is estimated by Lagrangian tracing method.The heat transport of each particle of ITF waters is calculated by tracing temperature change along the trajectory until the particle exits the Indian Ocean. The simulation reveals that the ITF waters flow westward and branch near Madagascar, further showing the ITF waters are redistributed in both northern and southern Indian Ocean.Heat budget analysis indicates that the ITF waters gain 0.41 PW(Petawatts, 1015 W) in the northern Indian Ocean and lose 0.56 PW in the southern Indian Ocean, respectively. As a result, the ITF waters warm the whole Indian Ocean basin with only 0.15 PW, which shows an "insignificant" role of ITF on the Indian Ocean because of the heat exchange compensation between northern and southern Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the tracing pathways show that the ITF waters mainly flow out the Indian Ocean at both sides of the basin via Agulhas Current and Leeuwin Current. About 89% of the ITF waters leave along western boundary and the rest 11% along eastern boundary. Compared to seeding section, 0.10 PW and 0.05 PW are released to the Indian Ocean, respectively.

Simulated Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation of Atmospheric Methane over China:Contributions from Key Sources

We used the global atmospheric chemical transport model,GEOS-Chem,to simulate the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of surface-layer methane （CH4） in 2004,and quantify the impacts of individual domestic sources and foreign transport on CH4 concentrations over China.Simulated surface-layer CH4 concentrations over China exhibit maximum concentrations in summer and minimum concentrations in spring.The annual mean CH4 concentrations range from 1800 ppb over western China to 2300 ppb over the more populated eastern China.Foreign emissions were found to have large impacts on CH4 concentrations over China,contributing to about 85％ of the CH4 concentrations over western China and about 80％ of those over eastern China.The tagged simulation results showed that coal mining,livestock,and waste are the dominant domestic contributors to CH4 concentrations over China,accounting for 36％,18％,and 16％,respectively,of the annual and national mean increase in CH4 concentration from all domestic emissions.Emissions from rice cultivation were found to make the largest contributions to CH4 concentrations over China in the summer,which is the key factor that leads to the maximum seasonal mean CH4 concentrations in summer.

CiteOpinion: Evidence-based Evaluation Tool for Academic Contributions of Research Papers Based on Citing Sentences

Purpose:To uncover the evaluation information on the academic contribution of research papers cited by peers based on the content cited by citing papers,and to provide an evidencebased tool for evaluating the academic value of cited papers.Design/methodology/approach:CiteOpinion uses a deep learning model to automatically extract citing sentences from representative citing papers;it starts with an analysis on the citing sentences,then it identifies major academic contribution points of the cited paper,positive/negative evaluations from citing authors and the changes in the subjects of subsequent citing authors by means of Recognizing Categories of Moves(problems,methods,conclusions,etc.),and sentiment analysis and topic clustering.Findings:Citing sentences in a citing paper contain substantial evidences useful for academic evaluation.They can also be used to objectively and authentically reveal the nature and degree of contribution of the cited paper reflected by citation,beyond simple citation statistics.Practical implications:The evidence-based evaluation tool CiteOpinion can provide an objective and in-depth academic value evaluation basis for the representative papers of scientific researchers,research teams,and institutions.Originality/value:No other similar practical tool is found in papers retrieved.Research limitations:There are difficulties in acquiring full text of citing papers.There is a need to refine the calculation based on the sentiment scores of citing sentences.Currently,the tool is only used for academic contribution evaluation,while its value in policy studies,technical application,and promotion of science is not yet tested.

Source Contributions to PM2.5 under Unfavorable Weather Conditions in Guangzhou City,China

Historical haze episodes（2013–16） in Guangzhou were examined and classified according to synoptic weather systems.Four types of weather systems were found to be unfavorable, among which ＂foreside of a cold front＂（FC） and ＂sea high pressure＂（SP） were the most frequent（〉 75% of the total）. Targeted case studies were conducted based on an FC-affected event and an SP-affected event with the aim of understanding the characteristics of the contributions of source regions to fine particulate matter（PM（2.5）） in Guangzhou. Four kinds of contributions—namely, emissions outside Guangdong Province（super-region）, emissions from the Pearl River Delta region（PRD region）, emissions from Guangzhou–Foshan–Shenzhen（GFS region）, and emissions from Guangzhou（local）—were investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting–Community Multiscale Air Quality model. The results showed that the source region contribution differed with different weather systems. SP was a stagnant weather condition, and the source region contribution ratio showed that the local region was a major contributor（37%）, while the PRD region, GFS region and the super-region only contributed 8%, 2.8% and 7%, respectively, to PM（2.5） concentrations. By contrast, FC favored regional transport. The super-region became noticeable,contributing 34.8%, while the local region decreased to 12%. A simple method was proposed to quantify the relative impact of meteorology and emissions. Meteorology had a 35% impact, compared with an impact of-18% for emissions, when comparing the FC-affected event with that of the SP. The results from this study can provide guidance to policymakers for the implementation of effective control strategies.

Optimal investment for the defined-contribution pension with stochastic salary under a CEV model

In this paper, we study the optimal investment strategy of defined-contribution pension with the stochastic salary. The investor is allowed to invest in a risk-free asset and a risky asset whose price process follows a constant elasticity of variance model. The stochastic salary follows a stochastic differential equation, whose instantaneous volatility changes with the risky asset price all the time. The HJB equation associated with the optimal investment problem is established, and the explicit solution of the corresponding optimization problem for the CARA utility function is obtained by applying power transform and variable change technique. Finally, we present a numerical analysis.