bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of a Newly Developed Slotted Bladed Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine: A Numerical and Response Surface Methodology Analysis
Authors: Sarkar Dipankar , Shukla Shivam , Alom Nur , Sharma Prabhakar , Bora Bhaskor J.
Published: November 2022

In the past few years, wind energy became the most reliable and clean energy source throughout the world. This research broadly has focused on the 2D design of the conventional (without slot) wind turbine blades as well as slotted airfoil blades for places having a low power density of wind. For vertical axis wind turbines, optimum airfoil design plays a vital role in the aerodynamic efficiency of the wind turbine. To get better aerodynamic efficiency, a feasible airfoil criterion of selection, played an important role in the chosen blade design. In this paper, the conventional NACA0018 profile without slots and slotted airfoil profile is selected for measuring the turbine blade performance. The geometry of the computational domain has been created using the solid works software and the computational investigation has been performed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver ansys fluent 2020 R2 with the help of the shear stress transport (SST k–ω) turbulence model. The simulations are conducted initially with base airfoil and then varying the different structures of slots. After introducing slots in the base airfoil, efficiency was increased in terms of lift coefficient (Cl) and power coefficient (Cp) by 2.32% and 17.94%, respectively at the angle of attack of 15 deg. The results indicate that slotted airfoils have a better lift coefficient and power coefficient compared to an airfoil without a slot. The best turbine operating parameters were found to be 14.82 deg of angle of attack, 1.73 coefficient of lift, and 2.99 tip speed ratio (TSR) by using the response surface methodology (RSM). At these optimal settings, the best Cp response was 0.406. A field experiment was carried out to verify the modeling-optimization outcomes, and the results were within 7% of the model projected results. Thus, this type of slotted airfoil designed for a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) can be used to harness wind energy potential more efficiently.
Experimental Bench-Scale Study on Cuttings-Bed Erosion in Horizontal Wells
Authors: Pedrosa Camilo , Lund Bjørnar , Opedal Nils , Ytrehus Jan David , Saasen Arild
Published: November 2022

Cuttings-beds formation while drilling wellbores is a common challenge, especially for horizontal wells, as drilled particles have higher area to be deposited and form cuttings-beds, which can cause several problems such as increased torque and drag, pipe sticking or pipe breakage, among others. Removal of the drilled cuttings is done by circulating a suitable drilling fluid through the wellbore. This paper presents results from laboratory tests with deposited cuttings-bed and the flow of a fluid to erode the bed. The simulated cuttings-bed is a 1 m long deposited sand-bed in a horizontal section. Three different types of fluids are being used in the tests. To investigate how the rheological properties can affect the erodibility of the cuttings-bed, water (as a Newtonian fluid), a xanthan gum solution, and a water-based drilling fluid prepared for an offshore field operation (as a non-Newtonian fluids) are applied. Ultrasound measurements together with differential bed weight have been used to analyze the fluid–bed interaction. Results have shown that the cuttings-bed is eroded by dune movement. Saltation and dragging of sand particles due to the fluid flow appear to create a crest and then avalanche them down. The different types of fluids undergo different shear rates from the same pump power as the viscosity changes, as well as flow rates dependency along the dune extent.
Influence of Heave Plate on the Flow-Induced Motions of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine
Authors: Gonçalves Rodolfo T. , Malta Edgard B. , Simos Alexandre N. , Hirabayashi Shinichiro , Suzuki Hideyuki
Published: November 2022

Flow-induce motions (FIM) small-scale model tests were performed for the Jappaku floating offshore wind turbines (JPK), a FOWT developed to operate in Brazilian waters. This paper aims to investigate the presence of FIM on the JPK to show the importance of heave plate (HP) design and to show how HP mitigates FIM. Three different HP dimensions were tested and compared with the condition without HP. In addition, two different incidence angles of the current were tested, namely, 0 deg and 180 deg. The results showed amplitudes in the transverse direction similar to the diameter of the external platform column for the case without HP. These amplitudes are higher than the ones observed for previous deep-draft semi-submersibles found in the literature. Conversely, the largest HP dimensions implied in mitigation of the FIM amplitudes, i.e., very low amplitudes, were observed. The presence of the central column played an essential role in FIM and significantly modified the amplitudes in different current incidences. Due to the different diameters of the external and central columns, the FIM presented two different branches of response related to the vortex-shedding frequency around the columns. The results showed that significant FIM could occur for this specific JPK investigation even with HP. The HP design has a positive effect on reducing dynamic behaviors due to the wave and current incidences. Therefore, its design must be included in the preliminary stages of FOWT developments.
Modeling and Performance Assessment of a Hypothetical Stand-Alone Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plant Supported by Climatic Measurements in Ipoh, Malaysia
Authors: Mohammad Sanan T. , Al-Kayiem Hussain H. , Khlief Ayad K. , Aurybi Mohammed A.
Published: November 2022

This study presents a conceptual design for a concentrated solar power plant by using direct steam generation and a stand-alone power system based on a concentration of solar parabolic troughs. The system is located at the solar research site (SRS) of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS in Ipoh, Malaysia. The model system uses an integrated turbine with 1.2 kW generators, and steam is generated by a flow loop powered by solar parabolic trough concentrators. An in-situ calculation of normal direct irradiance was conducted in SRS and used as an input for the mathematical model. The model was developed to assess the transient behavior of the system and the behavior of the projected power generation under seasonal variations and daily solar radiation. The parabolic trough power plant achieved the highest average output of 8.85% during the low rainfall season in March.
Athletic Advisors’ Experiences Supporting Athletes Through Head Coach Transitions
Authors: Rubin Lisa M. , Huml Matt R.
Published: November 2022

Head coaches play an important role in their influence on college athletes and their academic goals. Concerns have been raised about coaches’ prioritizing athletic team success over academics. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of head coach transition on National Collegiate Athletic Association teams’ academic culture through the perspectives of athletic advisors. Interviews were conducted with 16 athletic advisors on their perceptions of the previous and new coaches’ perspective on, and involvement with, academics in addition to the transition period. Findings show the importance of the relationship between coaches and athletic advisors, that advisors were quick to discern if the new coach was going to elevate or deteriorate the program’s academic culture compared with predecessors, the need for advisors’ involvement in the search process for a new coach, and the role academics had in coach searches.
Identifying the Gene Regulatory Network of the Starvation-Induced Transcriptional Activator Nla28
Authors: Ma Muqing , Garza Anthony G. , Lemon David J. , Caro Eduardo A. , Ritchie Linnea , Ryan Charles , Spearing Victoria M. , Murphy Kimberly A. , Welch Roy D.
Published: November 2022

In bacteria, starvation leads to profound changes in behavior and physiology. Some of these changes have economic and health implications because the starvation response has been linked to the formation of biofilms, virulence, and antibiotic resistance.
Functional Peroral Infectivity Complex of White Spot Syndrome Virus of Shrimp
Authors: Wang Xi , Chen Cheng , Zhang Nan , Chen Qingxiu , Zhang Fenghua , Liu Xijia , Li Fang , Shi Zheng-Li , Vlak Just M. , Wang Manli , Hu Zhihong
Published: November 2022

White spot disease, caused by the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), is a major scourge in cultured shrimp production facilities worldwide. This disease is only effectively controlled by sanitation.
Zinc Finger Protein BCL11A Contributes to the Abortive Infection of
Hirame novirhabdovirus
(HIRRV) in B Lymphocytes of Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)
Authors: Tang Xiaoqian , Sun Pingyuan , Wang Hongxiang , Cao Jing , Xing Jing , Sheng Xiuzhen , Chi Heng , Zhan Wenbin
Published: November 2022

HIRRV is a fish rhabdovirus that is considered as an important pathogen threatening the fish farming industry represented by flounder because of its high infectivity and fatality rate. To date, research toward understanding the complex pathogenic mechanism of HIRRV is still in its infancy and faces many challenges.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Phaeobacter
sp. Strain G2, Isolated from a Lab Culture of the Calcifying Alga Emiliania huxleyi
Authors: Chang Siwat , Wang Tzu-Haw , Lai Ming-Wei , Ku Chuan
Published: November 2022

We report the complete genome sequence of
Phaeobacter
sp. strain G2, which was isolated from a lab culture of the coccolithophore alga
Emiliania huxleyi
strain RCC 1216. The 4,963,472-bp sequence has a G+C content of 58.85% and was assembled using Illumina short reads and Oxford Nanopore Technologies long reads.
Cerebrospinal fluid shunt infections in children
Authors: Konrad Emily , Robinson Joan L , Hawkes Michael T
Published: November 2022

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are commonly used for the long-term management of hydrocephalus in children. Shunt infection remains a common complication, occurring in about 5%–15% of CSF shunts. This narrative review summarises key evidence from recent literature on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, management, outcomes and prevention of CSF shunt infections in children. The majority of shunt infections occur due to contamination at the time of surgery, with coagulase-negative staphylococci andStaphylococcus aureusbeing the most common infecting organisms. Clinical presentations of shunt infection can be varied and difficult to recognise. CSF cultures are the primary test used for diagnosis. Other CSF and blood parameters may aid in diagnosis but lack sensitivity and specificity. Core aspects of management of shunt infections include systemic antimicrobial therapy and surgical removal of the shunt. However, many specific treatment recommendations are limited by a lack of robust evidence from large studies or controlled trials. Shunt infections may result in long hospital stays, worsening hydrocephalus, neurological sequelae and other complications, as well as death. Therefore, reducing the incidence of infection and optimising management are high priorities. Antibiotic prophylaxis at the time of shunt placement, improved surgical protocols and antibiotic-impregnated shunts are key strategies to prevent shunt infections. Nevertheless, further work is needed to identify additional strategies to prevent complications and improve outcomes.
Venolymphatic malformation of tongue: a prompt life saving intervention
Authors: Ganesan Aparna , Hegde Adarsh Ishwar , Ghosh Tushar Suvra , Chaudhry Kirti
Published: November 2022

Venolymphatic malformations (VLMs) of the head and neck can have varied clinical presentation with associated complications. Timely diagnosis and treatment is warranted to curb the morbidity and obtain satisfactory outcomes. We present the case of a male patient in his early 20s with VLM of the tongue who received precise interventions which were executed with active contributions from a team of anaesthesiologists, interventional radiologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons and intensivists. We highlight the importance of an immediate, comprehensive and multimodal treatment approach for VLMs of the maxillofacial region.
Transtentorial herniation syndrome from meningococcal meningitis in a young woman: the case for neurocritical care
Authors: Yang Eleen , Sekhon Mypinder , Griesdale Donald
Published: November 2022

We report a case of a previously healthy early adolescent female who presented with meningococcal meningitis. While in hospital, she had marked neurologic deterioration with clinical herniation from malignant cerebral oedema. She was transferred to a neurocritical care centre where she underwent invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain tissue oxygen (PbtO2) monitoring. Early in her course, she demonstrated a compete absence of autoregulation, with pressure passive cerebral blood flow. As a result, maintaining a mean arterial pressure between 50 mm Hg and 60 mm Hg, which ensured adequate cerebral oxygenation, while avoiding increases in ICP. Although her course was initially complicated by bilateral optic neuropathy, she has subsequently made a full neurologic recovery and is now undertaking postsecondary education. This case highlights that access to specialist neurocritical care, guided by neurophysiologic monitoring of ICP and PbtO2, may help improve outcomes, even among those patients with catastrophic cerebral oedema from bacterial meningitis.
Nivolumab after selective internal radiation therapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: a phase 2, single-arm study
Authors: de la Torre-Aláez Manuel , Matilla Ana , Varela Maria , Iñarrairaegui Mercedes , Reig Maria , Lledó Jose Luis , Arenas Juan Ignacio , Lorente Sara , Testillano Milagros , Márquez Laura , Da Fonseca Leonardo , Argemí Josepmaria , Gómez-Martin Carlos , Rodriguez-Fraile Macarena , Bilbao Jose I , Sangro Bruno
Published: November 2022

Purpose

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) and liver-only disease ineligible for chemoembolization.

Patients and methods

NASIR-HCC is a single-arm, multicenter, open-label, phase 2 trial that recruited from 2017 to 2019 patients who were naïve to immunotherapy and had tumors in the BCLC B2 substage (single or multiple tumors beyond the up-to-7 rule), or unilobar tumors with segmental or lobar portal vein invasion (PVI); no extrahepatic spread; and preserved liver function. Patients received SIRT followed 3 weeks later by nivolumab (240 mg every 2 weeks) for up to 24 doses or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Safety was the primary endpoint. Secondary objectives included objective response rate (ORR), time to progression (TTP), and overall survival (OS).

Results

42 patients received SIRT (31 BCLC-B2, 11 with PVI) and were followed for a median of 22.2 months. 27 patients discontinued and 1 never received Nivolumab. 41 patients had any-grade adverse events (AE) and 21 had serious AEs (SAE). Treatment-related AEs and SAEs grade 3–4 occurred in 8 and 5 patients, respectively. Using RECIST 1.1 criteria, ORR reported by investigators was 41.5% (95% CI 26.3% to 57.9%). Four patients were downstaged to partial hepatectomy. Median TTP was 8.8 months (95% CI 7.0 to 10.5) and median OS was 20.9 months (95% CI 17.7 to 24.1).

Conclusions

The combination of SIRT and nivolumab has shown an acceptable safety profile and signs of antitumor activity in the treatment of patients with uHCC that were fit for SIRT.

Trial registration number

NCT03380130
Maturation and abundance of tertiary lymphoid structures are associated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in resectable non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Sun Xiaoyan , Liu Weiran , Sun Leina , Mo Huilan , Feng Yingnan , Wu Xinyi , Li Chenguang , Chen Chen , Li Jingjing , Xin Ying , Zhang Zhenfa , Wang Changli , Zhang Bin , Yue Dongsheng
Published: November 2022

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) existence is correlated with favorable prognosis in many types of cancer including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, TLS formation and its relationship with treatment response remains unknown in NSCLC who received anti-PD-1 antibody plus chemotherapy as the neoadjuvant treatment (neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy). Here, we investigate TLS maturation and abundance in resectable NSCLC receiving neoadjuvant treatments. We retrospectively collected formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues from patients with resectable NSCLC (stage II–IIIA) from three cohorts based on treatment: naïve (N=40), neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (N=40), and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (N=41). The TLS in tumor tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the differences in TLS maturation and abundance among different treatment groups were analyzed, as well as the relationship with pathological response and prognosis of patients. Multiplex immunofluorescence staining was used to explore the features of immune microenvironment. Higher major pathological response (MPR) rate and pathological complete response (pCR) rate were in the neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy group than in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group (MPR: 45.0% vs 17.1%; pCR: 35.0% vs 4.9%). Among the three cohorts, neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy-treated NSCLCs displayed highest TLS maturation and abundance. Both the maturation and abundance of TLS were significantly correlated with MPR in both the neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy and the chemotherapy group. Patients with high maturation and abundance of TLS exhibited better disease-free survival (DFS) in all the three cohorts. TLS maturation was also an independent predictor for DFS in the neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy and treatment naïve group. Multiplex immunohistochemistry analysis using paired biopsy-surgery samples showed increased infiltration of CD8+T cell and decreased infiltration of M1 and M2 macrophages after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy treatment in patients achieving MPR. There were no significant differences in features of immune cell infiltration for those with mature TLS achieving MPR when cross-compared across the three cohorts. These results demonstrate that TLS maturation is associated with MPR and an independent predictor for DFS in resectable neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy-treated NSCLC. The induction of TLS maturation may be a potential mechanism of action of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in resectable NSCLC.
Enhanced efficacy of direct immunochemotherapy for hepatic cancer with image-guided intratumoral radiofrequency hyperthermia
Authors: Kan Xuefeng , Zhou Guanhui , Zhang Feng , Ji Hongxiu , Shin David S , Monsky Wayne , Zheng Chuansheng , Yang Xiaoming
Published: November 2022

Background

It is still a challenge to prevent tumor recurrence post radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of medium-to-large hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Immunochemotherapy, a combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy, has demonstrated a great potential in augmenting the treatment efficacy for some malignancies. In this study, we validated the feasibility of using radiofrequency hyperthermia (RFH)-enhanced intratumoral immunochemotherapy of LTX-315 with liposomal doxorubicin for rat orthotopic HCC.

Methods

Different groups of luciferase-labeled rat HCC cells and rat orthotopic HCC models were treated by: (1) phosphate buffered saline; (2) RFH; (3) LTX-315; (4) RFH+LTX-315; (5) liposomal doxorubicin; (6) RFH+liposomal doxorubicin; (7) LTX-315+liposomal doxorubicin; and (8) RFH+LTX-315+liposomal doxorubicin. Cell viabilities and apoptosis of different treatment groups were compared. Changes in tumor sizes were quantified by optical and ultrasound imaging, which were confirmed by subsequent histopathology. The potential underlying biological mechanisms of the triple combination treatment (RFH+LTX-315+liposomal doxorubicin) were explored.

Results

Flow cytometry and MTS assay showed the highest percentage of apoptotic cells and lowest cell viability in the triple combination treatment group compared with other seven groups (p<0.001). Tumors in this group also presented the most profound decrease in bioluminescence signal intensities and the smallest tumor volumes compared with other seven groups (p<0.001). A significant increase of CD8+T cells, CD8+/interferon (IFN)-γ+T cells, CD8+/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α+T cells, and natural killer cells, and a significant decrease of regulatory T cells were observed in the tumors (p<0.001). Meanwhile, a significantly higher level of Th1-type cytokines in both plasma (interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, IL-18, IFN-γ) and tumors (IL-2, IL-18, IFN-γ, TNF-α), as well as a significantly lower Th2-type cytokines of IL-4 and IL-10 in plasma and tumor were detected.

Conclusions

Intratumoral RFA-associated RFH could enhance the efficacy of immunochemotherapy of LTX-315 with liposomal doxorubicin for HCC, which may provide a new strategy to increase the curative efficacy of thermal ablation for medium-to-large HCC.
Ipilimumab plus nivolumab in avelumab-refractory Merkel cell carcinoma: a multicenter study of the prospective skin cancer registry ADOREG
Authors: Glutsch Valerie , Schummer Patrick , Kneitz Hermann , Gesierich Anja , Goebeler Matthias , Klein Detlef , Posch Christian , Gebhardt Christoffer , Haferkamp Sebastian , Zimmer Lisa , Becker Jürgen C , Leiter Ulrike , Weichenthal Michael , Schadendorf Dirk , Ugurel Selma , Schilling Bastian
Published: November 2022

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare, highly aggressive skin cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation. Immune checkpoint inhibition has significantly improved treatment outcomes in metastatic disease with response rates to programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibition of up to 62%. However, primary and secondary resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition remains a so far unsolved clinical challenge since effective and safe treatment options for these patients are lacking.

Fourteen patients with advanced (non-resectable stage III or stage IV, Union international contre le cancer 2017) Merkel cell carcinoma with primary resistance to the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab receiving subsequent therapy (second or later line) with ipilimumab plus nivolumab (IPI/NIVO) were identified in the prospective multicenter skin cancer registry ADOREG. Five of these 14 patients were reported previously and were included in this analysis with additional follow-up. Overall response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events were analyzed.

All 14 patients received avelumab as first-line treatment. Thereof, 12 patients had shown primary resistance with progressive disease in the first tumor assessment, while two patients had initially experienced a short-lived stabilization (stable disease). Six patients had at least one systemic treatment in between avelumab and IPI/NIVO. In total, 7 patients responded to IPI/NIVO (overall response rate 50%), and response was ongoing in 4 responders at last follow-up. After a median follow-up of 18.85 months, median PFS was 5.07 months (95% CI 2.43—not available (NA)), and median OS was not reached. PFS rates at 12 months and 24 months were 42.9% and 26.8 %, respectively. The OS rate at 36 months was 64.3%. Only 3 (21%) patients did not receive all 4 cycles of IPI/NIVO due to immune-related adverse events.

In this multicenter evaluation, we observed high response rates, a durable benefit and promising OS rates after treatment with later-line combined IPI/NIVO. In conclusion, our patient cohort supports our prior findings with an encouraging activity of second-line or later-line IPI/NIVO in patients with anti-PD-L1-refractory Merkel cell carcinoma.
Public willingness to participate in population DNA screening in Australia
Authors: Tiller Jane M , Bakshi Andrew , Brotchie Adam R , Green Robert C , Winship Ingrid M , Lacaze Paul
Published: November 2022

Background

Population-based DNA screening for medically actionable conditions has the potential to improve public health by enabling early detection, treatment and/or prevention; however, public attitudes and willingness to participate in DNA screening have not been well investigated.

Methods

We presented a scenario to members of the Australian public, randomly selected from the electoral roll via the Australian Survey of Societal Attitudes, describing an adult population DNA screening programme currently under development, to detect risk of medically actionable cancers and heart disease. We asked questions regarding willingness to participate and pay, preferred delivery methods and concerns.

Results

We received 1060 completed questionnaires (response rate 23%, mean age 58 years). The vast majority (>92%) expressed willingness to undertake DNA screening. When asked about the optimal age of screening, most (56%) favoured early adulthood (aged 18–40 years) rather than at birth or childhood. Many respondents would prefer samples and data be kept for re-screening (36%) or research use (43%); some preferred samples to be destroyed (21%). Issues that decrease likelihood of participation included privacy (75%) and insurance (86%) implications.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates public willingness to participate in population DNA screening in Australia, and identifies barriers to participation, to be addressed in the design of screening programmes. Results are informing the development of a pilot national DNA screening programme.
Impairments to executive function in emerging adults with Huntington disease
Authors: Pfalzer Anna C , Watson Kelly H , Ciriegio Abagail E , Hale Lisa , Diehl Spencer , McDonell Katherine E , Vnencak-Jones Cindy , Huitz Elizabeth , Snow Abigail , Roth Marissa C , Guthrie Cara S , Riordan Heather , Long Jeffrey D , Compas Bruce E , Claassen Daniel O
Published: November 2022

Background and objectives

The clinical diagnosis of Huntington disease (HD) is typically made once motor symptoms and chorea are evident. Recent reports highlight the onset of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms before motor manifestations. These findings support further investigations of cognitive function across the lifespan of HD sufferers.

Methods

To assess cognitive symptoms in the developing brain, we administered assessments from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery, an age-appropriate cognitive assessment with population norms, to a cohort of children, adolescents and young adults with (gene-expanded; GE) and without (gene-not-expanded; GNE) the trinucleotide cytosine, adenine, guanine (CAG) expansion in the Huntingtin gene. These five assessments that focus on executive function are well validated and form a composite score, with population norms. We modelled these scores across age, and CAP score to estimate the slope of progression, comparing these results to motor symptoms.

Results

We find significant deficits in the composite measure of executive function in GE compared with GNE participants. GE participant performance on working memory was significantly lower compared with GNE participants. Modelling these results over age suggests that these deficits occur as early as 18 years of age, long before motor manifestations of HD.

Conclusions

This work provides strong evidence that impairments in executive function occur as early as the second decade of life, well before anticipated motor onset. Future investigations should delineate whether these impairments in executive function are due to abnormalities in neurodevelopment or early sequelae of a neurodegenerative process.
Adult-onset epilepsy and risk of traumatic brain injury: a nationwide cohort study
Authors: Posti Jussi P , Ruuskanen Jori O , Kytö Ville
Published: November 2022

Background

A knowledge gap exists regarding the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients with epilepsy.

Methods

Patients with adult-onset epilepsy during 2005–2018 in Finland were studied using retrospective longitudinal national registry-linkage design. Patients with epilepsy (n=35 686; 51% men; mean age 56.6 years) were 1:1 matched to non-epileptic controls by age, sex, comorbidity burden and cohort entry year. The primary outcome was TBI leading to admission or death, secondary outcomes were TBI admission, fatal TBI, acute neurosurgical operations (ANOs) for TBI and TBI recurrence.

Results

The cumulative rate of the primary endpoint was 1.2% at 1 year, 5.6% at 10 years and 7.3% at 14 years in the epilepsy group versus 2.9% at 14 years in the matched controls (HR=3.77; p<0.0001). Epilepsy was associated with increased risk of TBI admission (6.9% vs 2.7%; HR=3.96; p<0.0001), ANOs (1.3% vs 0.4%; HR=7.00; p<0.0001) and fatal TBI (1.3% vs 0.5%; HR=3.82; p<0.0001), during follow-up. Competing risk analyses confirmed the association of epilepsy with all outcomes (p<0.0001). Epilepsy was associated with TBI recurrence during follow-up (HR 1.72; p=0.002).

Conclusion

Patients with adult-onset epilepsy have a significantly increased risk of severe and fatal TBI. The results underline the importance of TBI prevention in epilepsy.
The circadian clock protein PER1 is important in maintaining endothelin axis regulation in Dahl salt-sensitive rats
Authors: Costello Hannah M. , Juffre Alexandria , Cheng Kit-Yan , Bratanatawira Phillip , Crislip G. Ryan , Zietara Adrian , Spires Denisha R. , Staruschenko Alexander , Douma Lauren G. , Gumz Michelle L.
Published: November 2022

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a peptide hormone that acts on its receptors to regulate sodium handling in the kidney's collecting duct. Dysregulation of the endothelin axis is associated with various diseases, including salt-sensitive hypertension and chronic kidney disease. Previously, our lab has shown that the circadian clock gene PER1 regulates ET-1 levels in mice. However, the regulation of ET-1 by PER1 has never been investigated in rats. Therefore, we used a novel model where knockout of Per1 was performed in Dahl salt-sensitive rat background (SS Per1 −/−) to test a hypothesis that PER1 regulates the ET-1 axis in this model. Here, we show increased renal ET-1 peptide levels and altered endothelin axis gene expression in several tissues, including the kidney, adrenal glands, and liver in SS Per1 −/− compared with control SS rats. Edn1 antisense lncRNA Edn1-AS, which has previously been suggested to be regulated by PER1, was also altered in SS Per1 −/− rats compared with control SS rats. These data further support the hypothesis that PER1 is a negative regulator of Edn1 and is important in the regulation of the endothelin axis in a tissue-specific manner.
Schwinger–Dyson truncations in the all-soft limit: a case study
Authors: Aguilar A. C. , Ferreira M. N. , Oliveira B. M. , Papavassiliou J.
Published: November 2022

We study a special Schwinger–Dyson equation in the context of a pure SU(3) Yang–Mills theory, formulated in the background field method. Specifically, we consider the corresponding equation for the vertex that governs the interaction of two background gluons with a ghost–antighost pair. By virtue of the background gauge invariance, this vertex satisfies a naive Slavnov–Taylor identity, which is not deformed by the ghost sector of the theory. In the all-soft limit, where all momenta vanish, the form of this vertex may be obtained exactly from the corresponding Ward identity. This special result is subsequently reproduced at the level of the Schwinger–Dyson equation, by making extensive use of Taylor’s theorem and exploiting a plethora of key relations, particular to the background field method. This information permits the determination of the error associated with two distinct truncation schemes, where the potential advantage from employing lattice data for the ghost dressing function is quantitatively assessed.
Wormhole generating function in f(R,T) gravity
Authors: Ghosh Bikram , Mitra Saugata
Published: November 2022

In this work, we have studied the traversable wormhole geometries in [Formula: see text] gravity theory, where [Formula: see text] denotes the Ricci scalar and [Formula: see text] is the trace of the energy–momentum tensor. Firstly, two new shape functions are obtained for some assumed generating function. Also, some new generating functions are obtained in wormhole geometry for some well-known shape functions and redshift functions. Energy conditions are examined in each wormhole solution and it is found that a particular type of wormhole satisfies all the energy conditions in a region.
Contribution of suction phenomenon and thermal slip effects for radiated hybrid nanoparticles (Al2O3 −Cu/H2O) with stability framework
Authors: Dero Sumera , Abdelhameed T. N. , Al-Khaled Kamel , Lund Liaquat Ali , Khan Sami Ullah , Tlili Iskander
Published: November 2022

This thermal case pronounced the stability framework for stagnation point flow of magnetized alumina and copper nanoparticles with due exponentially shrinking permeable surface. The thermal stability and enhancement of water base liquid had been taken into account with uniform impulsion of hybrid nanomaterials. The induced flow results via exponentially shrinking permeable surface. The similarity transformation simplifies the mathematical model where governing formulated system for hybrid nanofluid is altered into the nondimensional form. A numerical solver called bvp4c is employed in MATLAB software to aid in the problem-solving process, and dual branches have been found. The significance of pertaining parameters associated to the flow model is inspected in view of thermal properties. The findings show that there are two branches for suction strength [Formula: see text] and magnetic strength [Formula: see text]. The bifurcation values [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] reduce for the occurrence of dual branches as the solid volume percentages of copper increase. Furthermore, for the upper branch solutions, the skin friction and heat transfer rate rise as [Formula: see text] increases. The temporal stability analysis determines the stability of the dual branches, and it is discovered that only one of them is stable and physically applicable. The presence of suction parameter effectively controls the thermal transportation phenomenon.
Finite element simulations for slip flow and heat transfer phenomenon through a cosine-based wavy channel
Authors: Aich Walid , Shaikh Hisam-Uddin , Memon Abid Ali , Lund Liaquat Ali , Khan Sami Ullah , Alhadri Muapper , Said Lotfi Ben , Kolsi Lioua
Published: November 2022

The objective of current communication is to study heat transfer phenomenon for slip flow of viscous fluid due to wavy channel with general cosine function boundaries and fixed amplitude. The walls along with slip boundary constraints are kept at different temperatures. The flow is incompressible and Newtonian with AIS as a predicting material being used to check the fluids and thermal properties. The Navier–Stokes expressions with 2D flow regime subject to heat transfer due to convection are used to develop the simulations. A parametric theoretical assumptions analysis is performed for specified range of Reynolds number (100–1000) with upper and lower surface vibration periods of 1 to 6. The results are displayed with graphs, surface and contours plots and first, ever a novel work was done to represent the percentage change in velocity magnitude and local Nusselt number as surface plots and contours, respectively. The results are authentic due to mesh independent study and verification with the experimental correlation. A periodic flow at the lower wall was deducted. The maximum and average rotation rates attain a linear relationship with Reynolds number and their correlation was found. The simulations show the strict relationship of Reynolds number and the geometry of the channel with shear rate. The pressure gradient in [Formula: see text]-direction was found minimum in trough and maximum in the crest region. It has been observed that the boundary friction is reduced due to periodic variation of walls surface.
An analysis of noise folding for low-rank matrix recovery
Authors: Huang Jianwen , Zhang Feng , Wang Jianjun , Wang Hailin , Liu Xinling , Jia Jinping
Published: November 2022

Previous work regarding low-rank matrix recovery has concentrated on the scenarios in which the matrix is noise-free and the measurements are corrupted by noise. However, in practical application, the matrix itself is usually perturbed by random noise preceding to measurement. This paper concisely investigates this scenario and evidences that, for most measurement schemes utilized in compressed sensing, the two models are equivalent with the central distinctness that the noise associated with double noise model is larger by a factor to [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] are the dimensions of the matrix and [Formula: see text] is the number of measurements. Additionally, this paper discusses the reconstruction of low-rank matrices in the setting, presents sufficient conditions based on the associating null space property to guarantee the robust recovery and obtains the number of measurements. Furthermore, for the non-Gaussian noise scenario, we further explore it and give the corresponding result. The simulation experiments conducted, on the one hand show effect of noise variance on recovery performance, on the other hand demonstrate the verifiability of the proposed model.
Mixed-norm Herz spaces and their applications in related Hardy spaces
Authors: Zhao Yirui , Yang Dachun , Zhang Yangyang
Published: November 2022

In this paper, the authors introduce a class of mixed-norm Herz spaces, [Formula: see text], which is a natural generalization of mixed-norm Lebesgue spaces and some special cases of which naturally appear in the study of the summability of Fourier transforms on mixed-norm Lebesgue spaces. The authors also give their dual spaces and obtain the Riesz–Thorin interpolation theorem on [Formula: see text]. Applying these Riesz–Thorin interpolation theorem and using some ideas from the extrapolation theorem, the authors establish both the boundedness of the Hardy–Littlewood maximal operator and the Fefferman–Stein vector-valued maximal inequality on [Formula: see text]. As applications, the authors develop various real-variable theory of Hardy spaces associated with [Formula: see text] by using the existing results of Hardy spaces associated with ball quasi-Banach function spaces. These results strongly depend on the duality of [Formula: see text] and the non-trivial constructions of auxiliary functions in the Riesz–Thorin interpolation theorem.
Fluidic Topology Optimization with an Anisotropic Mixture Model
Authors: Li Yifei , Du Tao , Srinivasan Sangeetha Grama , Wu Kui , Zhu Bo , Sifakis Eftychios , Matusik Wojciech
Published: November 2022

Fluidic devices are crucial components in many industrial applications involving fluid mechanics. Computational design of a high-performance fluidic system faces multifaceted challenges regarding its geometric representation and physical accuracy. We present a novel topology optimization method to design fluidic devices in a Stokes flow context. Our approach is featured by its capability in accommodating a broad spectrum of boundary conditions at the solid-fluid interface. Our key contribution is an anisotropic and differentiable constitutive model that unifies the representation of different phases and boundary conditions in a Stokes model, enabling a topology optimization method that can synthesize novel structures with accurate boundary conditions from a background grid discretization. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach by conducting several fluidic system design tasks with over four million design parameters.
MyStyle
Authors: Nitzan Yotam , Aberman Kfir , He Qiurui , Liba Orly , Yarom Michal , Gandelsman Yossi , Mosseri Inbar , Pritch Yael , Cohen-Or Daniel
Published: November 2022

We introduce MyStyle, a personalized deep generative prior trained with a few shots of an individual. MyStyle allows to reconstruct, enhance and edit images of a specific person, such that the output is faithful to the person's key facial characteristics. Given a small reference set of portrait images of a person (~ 100), we tune the weights of a pretrained StyleGAN face generator to form a local, low-dimensional, personalized manifold in the latent space. We show that this manifold constitutes a personalized region that spans latent codes associated with diverse portrait images of the individual. Moreover, we demonstrate that we obtain a personalized generative prior, and propose a unified approach to apply it to various ill-posed image enhancement problems, such as inpainting and super-resolution, as well as semantic editing. Using the personalized generative prior we obtain outputs that exhibit high-fidelity to the input images and are also faithful to the key facial characteristics of the individual in the reference set. We demonstrate our method with fair-use images of numerous widely recognizable individuals for whom we have the prior knowledge for a qualitative evaluation of the expected outcome. We evaluate our approach against few-shots baselines and show that our personalized prior, quantitatively and qualitatively, outperforms state-of-the-art alternatives.
Sprite-from-Sprite
Authors: Zhang Lvmin , Wong Tien-Tsin , Liu Yuxin
Published: November 2022

We present an approach to decompose cartoon animation videos into a set of "sprites" --- the basic units of digital cartoons that depict the contents and transforms of each animated object. The sprites in real-world cartoons are unique: artists may draw arbitrary sprite animations for expressiveness, where the animated content is often complicated, irregular, and challenging; alternatively, artists may also reduce their workload by tweening and adjusting sprites, or even reuse static sprites, in which case the transformations are relatively regular and simple. Based on these observations, we propose a sprite decomposition framework using Pixel Multilayer Perceptrons (Pixel MLPs) where the estimation of each sprite is conditioned on and guided by all other sprites. In this way, once those relatively regular and simple sprites are resolved, the decomposition of the remaining "challenging" sprites can simplified and eased with the guidance of other sprites. We call this method "sprite-from-sprite" cartoon decomposition. We study ablative architectures of our framework, and the user study demonstrates that our results are the most preferred ones in 19/20 cases.
Hierarchical Layout Blending with Recursive Optimal Correspondence
Authors: Xu Pengfei , Li Yifan , Yang Zhijin , Shi Weiran , Fu Hongbo , Huang Hui
Published: November 2022

We present a novel method for blending hierarchical layouts with semantic labels. The core of our method is a hierarchical structure correspondence algorithm, which recursively finds optimal substructure correspondences, achieving a globally optimal correspondence between a pair of hierarchical layouts. This correspondence is consistent with the structures of both layouts, allowing us to define the union of the layouts' structures. The resulting compound structure helps extract intermediate layout structures, from which blended layouts can be generated via an optimization approach. The correspondence also defines a similarity measure between layouts in a hierarchically structured view. Our method provides a new way for novel layout creation. The introduced structural similarity measure regularizes the layouts in a hyperspace. We demonstrate two applications in this paper, i.e., exploratory design of novel layouts and sketch-based layout retrieval, and test them on a magazine layout dataset. The effectiveness and feasibility of these two applications are confirmed by the user feedback and the extensive results. The code is available at https://github.com/lyf7115/LayoutBlending.
Pattern-Based Cloth Registration and Sparse-View Animation
Authors: Halimi Oshri , Stuyck Tuur , Xiang Donglai , Bagautdinov Timur , Wen He , Kimmel Ron , Shiratori Takaaki , Wu Chenglei , Sheikh Yaser , Prada Fabian
Published: November 2022

We propose a novel multi-view camera pipeline for the reconstruction and registration of dynamic clothing. Our proposed method relies on a specifically designed pattern that allows for precise video tracking in each camera view. We triangulate the tracked points and register the cloth surface in a fine-grained geometric resolution and low localization error. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our registration exhibits stable correspondence, tracking the same points on the deforming cloth surface along the temporal sequence. As an application, we demonstrate how the use of our registration pipeline greatly improves state-of-the-art pose-based drivable cloth models. Furthermore, we propose a novel model,
Garment Avatar
, for driving cloth from a dense tracking signal which is obtained from two opposing camera views. The method produces realistic reconstructions which are faithful to the actual geometry of the deforming cloth. In this setting, the user wears a garment with our custom pattern which enables our driving model to reconstruct the geometry. Our code and data are available at https://github.com/HalimiOshri/Pattern-Based-Cloth-Registration-and-Sparse-View-Animation. The released data includes our pattern and registered mesh sequences containing four different subjects and 15k frames in total.
Human Performance Modeling and Rendering via Neural Animated Mesh
Authors: Zhao Fuqiang , Jiang Yuheng , Yao Kaixin , Zhang Jiakai , Wang Liao , Dai Haizhao , Zhong Yuhui , Zhang Yingliang , Wu Minye , Xu Lan , Yu Jingyi
Published: November 2022

We have recently seen tremendous progress in the neural advances for photo-real human modeling and rendering. However, it's still challenging to integrate them into an existing mesh-based pipeline for downstream applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive neural approach for high-quality reconstruction, compression, and rendering of human performances from dense multi-view videos. Our core intuition is to bridge the traditional animated mesh workflow with a new class of highly efficient neural techniques. We first introduce a neural surface reconstructor for high-quality surface generation in minutes. It marries the implicit volumetric rendering of the truncated signed distance field (TSDF) with multi-resolution hash encoding. We further propose a hybrid neural tracker to generate animated meshes, which combines explicit non-rigid tracking with implicit dynamic deformation in a self-supervised framework. The former provides the coarse warping back into the canonical space, while the latter implicit one further predicts the displacements using the 4D hash encoding as in our reconstructor. Then, we discuss the rendering schemes using the obtained animated meshes, ranging from dynamic texturing to lumigraph rendering under various bandwidth settings. To strike an intricate balance between quality and bandwidth, we propose a hierarchical solution by first rendering 6 virtual views covering the performer and then conducting occlusion-aware neural texture blending. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in a variety of mesh-based applications and photo-realistic free-view experiences on various platforms, i.e., inserting virtual human performances into real environments through mobile AR or immersively watching talent shows with VR headsets.