• Energy Research
• Open Access close
• Embargo close
• DE close
• RO close

Transformation of business models using digital technologies is depicted by the European Green Deal (EC, 2019) as a key factor in achieving sustainability goals. For the business environment, the digitalization of organizations entails changes in the accounting functions, correlated with the increase in the volume and nature of managed data. In this paper, we analyse the impact of digital technologies in the field of accounting. We also investigate the degree of adequacy of the Romanian higher education system to the educational needs associated with the digital skills required of professional accountants from different generations. We use data collected from the curricula of business bachelor’s programs from the four largest university cities in Romania. Results illustrate the universities’ potential for training specialists to assimilate and steer the digital transformation of the accounting profession.

Abstract 3D printed concrete is a relatively new technology that has been gaining popularity in the construction industry in recent years. It involves the use of a 3D printer to deposit layers of concrete in a pre-determined pattern, gradually building up a three-dimensional structure. This process offers several benefits over traditional concrete construction methods, such as the ability to create complex geometries and reduce material waste. One of the main advantages of 3D printed concrete is its ability to produce highly customized and unique designs that would be difficult or impossible to achieve using traditional construction techniques. Additionally, the precision of the 3D printing process allows for greater control over the properties of the concrete, such as its strength and porosity, which can be tailored to suit the specific requirements of the project. Another benefit of 3D printed concrete is its potential for sustainability. By minimizing material waste and using eco-friendly materials, this technology has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of construction.

AbstractVertical land motion (VLM) from past and ongoing glacial changes can amplify or mitigate ongoing relative sea level change. We present a high‐resolution VLM model for the wider Arctic, that includes both present‐day ice loading (PDIL) and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). The study shows that the nonlinear elastic uplift from PDIL is significant (0.5–1 mm yr−1) in most of the wider Arctic and exceeds GIA at 15 of 54 Arctic GNSS sites, including sites in nonglaciated areas of the North Sea region and the east coast of North America. Thereby the sea level change from PDIL (1.85 mm yr−1) is significantly mitigated from VLM caused by PDIL. The combined VLM model was consistent with measured VLM at 85% of the GNSS sites ( ) and outperformed a GIA‐only model ( ). Deviations from GNSS‐measured VLM can be attributed to local circumstances causing VLM.

After a general introduction into the Shockley theory of current voltage (J–V) characteristics of inorganic and organic semiconductor junctions of different bandwidth, we apply the Shockley theory-based, one diode model to a new type of perovskite junctions with polaronic charge carriers. In particular, we studied manganite–titanate p–n heterojunctions made of n-doped SrTi1−yNbyO3, y = 0.002 and p-doped Pr1−xCaxMnO3, x = 0.34 having a strongly correlated electron system. The diffusion length of the polaron carriers was analyzed by electron beam-induced current (EBIC) in a thin cross plane lamella of the junction. In the J–V characteristics, the polaronic nature of the charge carriers is exhibited mainly by the temperature dependence of the microscopic parameters, such as the hopping mobility of the series resistance and a colossal electro-resistance (CER) effect in the parallel resistance. We conclude that a modification of the Shockley equation incorporating voltage-dependent microscopic polaron parameters is required. Specifically, the voltage dependence of the reverse saturation current density is analyzed and interpreted as a voltage-dependent electron–polaron hole–polaron pair generation and separation at the interface.

The increasing market share of electric vehicles and the politically intended phase-out of the internal combustion engine require reliable and realistic predictions for future consumption and greenhouse gas emissions as a function of technological solutions. This also includes the consumption- and emission-intensive transport of goods. We consider both passenger vehicles and commercial vehicle traffic in our study and have investigated whether there are drive alternatives to the battery electric vehicle that enable uninterrupted trips with a long range, especially for regional delivery services and internationally active freight forwarders. To this end, we have analysed three system architectures and their expected technological progress until 2050: battery electric vehicles (BEV), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) running on compressed natural gas (CNG). The latter case serves as a best-practice reference from a combustion technology perspective. The analysis is based on a validated and proven physical model and predicts that the BEV2050 will consume 3.5 times less energy and emit 15 times fewer greenhouse gases than the ICEV-CNG2020, whereas the FCEV2050 will consume 2.5 times less energy and emit 6.5 times fewer greenhouse gases than the ICEV-CNG2020 on the road (hilly terrain, transition season, and WLTP triple-mixed drive cycle). The advantages of the BEV result from the shorter drive train with lower total losses. Our results thus confirm the expected role of the BEV as the dominant drive technology in the future, and light vehicles with low-to-medium-range requirements will especially benefit from it. On the other hand, since the greenhouse gas emissions of the FCEV2050 are lower by a factor of 6.5 than those of the ICEV-CNG2020, it is reasonable to conclude that the FCEV can play a significant role in transport until 2050 when long distances have to be covered. Our model-based approach also allows us to determine the energy fractions of the acting physical forces and thus calculate the consumption shares: electric drive recuperation increases BEV and FCEV range by about 15% in 2020 and will increase it by about 20% in 2050, depending on drive technology and vehicle type. Air and rolling resistance contribute 20% each to the total consumption. The consumption of the accessories of modern vehicles with a share of about 10% of the total consumption cannot be neglected.

A number of studies point at platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity being reduced in alcoholics with a family history of drinking, this being a possible vulnerability marker for alcoholism. To test this hypothesis, we examined a group of recently detoxified alcoholics with high (n = 25) and low genetic loading for alcoholism (n = 28) and a group of healthy controls (n = 21). Clinical assessments were made using the SCID II interview for psychiatric disorders, the Family History Assessment Module and the Semi-Structural Assessment of Genetics in Alcoholism, a questionnaire especially designed for genetic studies. Platelet MAO activity with and without ethanol stimulation and the percentage of MAO activity with ethanol did not differ between groups. The only significant difference was a lower inhibition of MAO activity with ethanol in alcoholics both with and without a family history compared to controls. In patients with antisocial personality traits, platelet MAO activity was also not found to be different from other alcoholics. Our findings question the hypothesis of reduced platelet MAO activity to be a possible vulnerability marker for alcoholism.

Although rare, temporally and taxonomically highly-resolved palaeoecological studies with high chronological precision are essential to perform detailed comparisons with precisely dated independent evidence such as archaeological findings, historical events, or palaeoclimatic data. Using a new highly-resolved and chronologically precise sedimentary record from Lago di Mezzano (central Italy), we reconstruct decadal-scale vegetation, species diversity, and fire dynamics, aiming to better understand the linkages between climate, land use, fire, and plant communities from the Neolithic to the Copper Age (c. 5100–3100 cal. BC). Closed, mixed beech-oak forests, including evergreen Quercus ilex, dominated the landscape around Lago di Mezzano during the Neolithic and were disturbed by repeated opening phases, with important implications for lake biogeochemistry and mixing regimes. This was in conjunction with increasing fire activity to promote agro-pastoral practices, as inferred from increasing charcoal, Cerealia type, Triticum type, Hordeum type, Plantago lanceolata type, and Urtica pollen. Fires, on their turn, augmented species diversity (richness and evenness). The comparison of the Mediterranean record from Lago di Mezzano with available continuous and high-precision submediterranean and cool-temperate palynological sequences suggests comparable land use pulses across Southern and Central European regions, most likely in connection with climate change. The outcomes of this study are not only of palaeoecological and archaeological interest; they may also help to improve projections of ecosystem dynamics under future global change.