bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Portable waste bank for plastic bottles by weight and bottle categories
Authors: Maulana Surya , Laurelyanti  , Herawan Safarudin Gazali
Published: March 2022

Garbage is basically a material that is wasted or disposed of from a source resulting from human activities or natural processes that have no economic value, and can even have a negative value if it is not handled properly. Of the various kinds of waste that exist, one type of waste that can still be reused is plastic bottle waste. This study discusses the design and manufacture of a portable plastic bottle waste bank that provides sales value automatically through measuring the weight of plastic bottles using Arduino software. This plastic bottle waste bank tool is designed with the feature of automatic sales value acquisition through the acquisition of scale calibration data and determination of bottle categories measured using an IR sensor. The plastic bottle waste bank system is set using the Arduino Uno program to obtain the calibration factor from the load cell sensor. The test results show that the calibration factor with a value of 701 shows the smallest error percentage value and the average weight of the measuring stone is close to the actual value with the average data collection variable i in one experiment of 5. Testing on this waste bank tool is quite good because the tool able to provide categories and selling prices of plastic bottles based on a given programming function. However, this tool still lacks in the accuracy of calibration on the scales.
Design simulation of nonlinear static 2D and steady state thermal for sustainability downlight casing base
Authors: Sahroni Taufik Roni
Published: March 2022

This paper explains the design and simulation of nonlinear static 2D and steady state thermal for sustainability downlight casing base. The main problem in designing of downlight casing base is to ensure the heat transferred to the surrounding while maintaining the quality of light. This study simulates of 6-in casing base downlight and Polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC-ABS) based material. New product design methodology was presented using SolidWorks simulation to represent the phenomena of heat transfer in the downlight casing base at the design stage. The result shows the nonlinear static 2D for main base was achieved. The parameters of materials, dimension, and thickness was contributed in the seamless of heat transferred form casing base to the surrounding at ambient temperature. This practice prevents the quality of light while heat flux as applied to be further study. In addition, the steady state thermal simulation shows significant heat flux and convection changes to every face of casing base parts. Thus, this study is proposed to manage the development of new design relates with nonlinear static 2D and steady state thermal analysis for sustainability downlight casing base.
Lighting system evaluations of working space in educational building, Universitas Indonesia
Authors: Heindri Natasia , Dewi Ova C. , Ismoyo Agust D.
Published: March 2022

This paper aims to evaluate the natural and artificial lighting systems for working space at the educational building in Universitas Indonesia. The doctoral working spaces and innovation laboratories are used as the case studies. The evaluation variables include orientation, openings, and lighting placement. The presence of variables can minimize the use of artificial lighting during the operating hours with clear sky conditions according to the SNI. The tools involved in this study are Lux meter and DIALux evo version 9.2 to perform the direct measurement and simulation. This study found that the lighting planning has fulfilled the SNI standards for doctoral working space with a minimum of 350 Lux and innovation laboratories which require 500 Lux. The direct measurement results of lighting range utilizing the natural light show output with an average of 182.8-1,278.1 Lux and the combination with artificial light from 222-1,883.8 Lux. Meanwhile, for the DIALux evo simulation, each room has exceeded the lower limit of lighting criteria between 403-3,739 Lux.
Resilient Covid-19 Village: The Application of Healthy Housing in Densely Populated Area in Surabaya. Study Case: Kampung Pradah, Surabaya.
Authors: Agustina Ira Audia , Noegroho Noegi , Ardiani Yanita Milla , Avida Christina
Published: March 2022

The presence of thematic villages in cities in Indonesia has increasingly sprung up and become one of the important programs to increase tourism by the local government. The existence of urban thematic villages is in densely populated areas, where the theme raised on average focuses on visual and spatial storytelling. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting on the decline in tourist interest, the existence of resilient villages where the creation of a safe and comfortable ecosystem for activities for visitors and villagers has become a priority. This underlies the importance of the existence of a standard guide to create a healthy spatial environment in a densely populated residential area. This research was conducted to be able to find the model, so that it can be an early guide in the presence of a healthy and comfortable thematic village in the pandemic era. This research was conducted using the case study of Kampung Pradah Surabaya, with qualitative methodology using literature studies and design modelling. The goal of this are that this pilot research can be a foundation in the development of thematically covid healthy areas by using sustainable community housing concept.
Sustainability in West Java traditional house: A case study from Julang Ngapak House
Authors: Mariana Y , Suryawinata B A , Peranginangin E
Published: March 2022

Bamboo is one of the strongest woody plant species available and is usually found in rural areas. In general, bamboo is widely used in traditional house structures and construction systems because the material is easily available. This study found that the use of local wisdom materials in traditional Julang Ngapak house make the building more durable, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, has aesthetic value, the shape of the roof creates an attic space for thermal comfort, proper cross-ventilation, and a renewable construction system. In addition, the shape of the bamboo house is determined by climate, location, and purpose, building technology, and historical experience. Bamboo is the alternative future construction material for sustainable development.
Smart Thermal Scanner Camera Implementation for Primary Screening of Covid-19 Suspects at Financial Planning Office’s Lobby
Authors: Harjo A A , Suwondo L , Teresa  , Cipta Y H , Pramono A
Published: March 2022

The rate of Covid-19 spreading and sufferer are increasing. It has been infecting many people from various countries, including Indonesia. It needs efforts and community participation to minimise the COVID-19 virus spreading. One of the efforts that can be done is to utilise technology development. Implementing it in the office may be more efficient, effective, and improved to achieve maximum outcomes, particularly in terms of COVID-19 transmission in the office area, ensuring that performance processes run smoothly and maintain a healthy and conducive office atmosphere. By embedding the Smart Thermal Scanner Camera technology directly into the door sensor, it will determine who is susceptible to COVID-19 and thus minimise its spread. The methodology in this research is using descriptive qualitative methods. The modern technology implementation in this office is located in the lobby area, aims to facilitate communication and operational processes. The technology applied in the lobby area is a UV lamp air purifier, touchless door sensor, and thermal scanner. These three technologies support the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic so that workers or guests can use in-office services more safely and comfortably.
Real-time Weed Identification Using Machine Learning and Image Processing in Oil Palm Plantations
Authors: Firmansyah Erick , Suparyanto Teddy , Ahmad Hidayat Alam , Pardamean Bens
Published: March 2022

The effectiveness and efficiency of the operation of oil palm plantations are considered to be the most crucial factor to develop the productivity and profitability of the palm oil business. One of the major obstacles for the plants to optimally produce crops based on their capacity is caused by the presence of noxious weeds in the plantation area. However, weed control via chemical processes may potentially harm the surrounding environment if it is not properly managed. Therefore, an automatic system to assist the farmers to identify and control the weeds is required to minimize harmful impacts on the environment. Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based systems provide powerful tools to perform such tasks. In this work, we aim for an ML-based system design to perform an automatic weed recognition task. The methodology can provide an effort for environmental sustainability in oil palm plantations. The weed identification involves the description, the local names, and tolerance class of the weeds as well as suggestions to control them. The flow of this work consists of weed and herbicide data acquisition, data labeling, model configurations, and data training. Further, the proposed system can be adopted as an android-based application in mobile devices that can deploy the trained model to predict weed category in both real-time and non-real-time tasks.
Automatic Buyer Machine for Beverage Waste
Authors: Linando Barry , Jembar Jomantara Muhammad , Atmadja Wiedjaja
Published: March 2022

Automatic Buyer Machine for Beverage Waste is an automatic machine for buying beverage packaging waste using a Raspberry Pi as the main controller and the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) method. By using object detection, the machine can recognize the classification of trained objects. If the object detection is successful in classifying the object, then the object will be accepted by the machine and then directed to the container according to each classification. This experiment uses the Pre-Trained SSDLITE_MOBILENET_V2_COCO model and works well on a Raspberry Pi. The results of the experiment yield an accuracy rate of 95% when the detection model is trained using an augmentation configuration. It was concluded that the system is able to detect beverage packaging objects according to the classification.
Virtual Plant Computational Model of Green-Leaf Vegetable Plant Bok Choy (Brassica chinensis L.) for Investment Decision
Authors: Utama D. N. , Wibowo A.
Published: March 2022

Plant computational modelling is a part of ecological informatics. It is a research domain that model the plant/s and is correlated to an environmental issue. A vegetable is one imperative plant. It has an important role in aspects of health, the environment, and also the economy. The study was performed to make a plant computational model of the green-leaf vegetable plant Bok Choy that can suggest the environment-oriented decision in agriculture investment. Two methods functional structural plant modelling (FSPM) and simple mathematics are operated respectively to model the Bok Choy plant morphologically and the decision recommendation. The study produced the morphological 3-dimension (3D) model of the forty-fve-day-age plant Bok Choy and investment decision to plant Bok Choy in a hydroponic system.
Antioxidant and Nutritional Analysis of Organic Black Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Milk
Authors: Romulo A , Sadek N F
Published: March 2022

The consumption trend of the plant-based product has increased over the last few years, from health reasons to the unsustainability of consuming animal product. Plant-based product has been perceived by consumers as products to improve human health and well-being. Plant-based milk substitute such as rice milk is an example of the product and could be made from various rice varieties. Black rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one type of rice that is cultivated in Indonesia. Black rice has been reported to poses antioxidant activity, which is beneficial for health. For this reason, black rice has the potency to be further processed into a functional drink. However, the information regarding the antioxidant and nutritional content in the processed form is still lacking. This research aimed to analyze the antioxidant activity and nutritional content of organic black rice milk. Proximate analysis and antioxidant content (DPPH and total phenol) were conducted in this experiment. The results showed that black rice milk contained 92.36% water, 0.67% fat, 0.14% protein, 0.15% ash, and 6.69% carbohydrate. Black rice milk can inhibit 69.18% activity of 0.2 mmol DPPH radicals. It also contained total phenolic content of 32.75 mg GAE/ 100 mL
Microalgae pigments as a promising immunomodulating food ingredient: In silico study
Authors: Widyaningrum D , Oktafika R A , Cecilia D
Published: March 2022

Microalgae pigments attract the commercial market as functional food ingredients because of their potential as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Through in vitro and in vivo studies, microalgae pigments showed a potential therapeutic effect to reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting inflammation signaling. Our study explored the potency of microalgae pigments as an immunomodulator by modeling the direct interaction between pigments and pro-inflammatory proteins by molecular docking. The docking study was carried out using AutoDock Vina. At the same time, the binding visualization was obtained by using Discovery Studio Visualizer. The result showed all investigated microalgae pigments (i.e., phycocyanobilin, astaxanthin, β-carotene, 9-cis- (β-carotene, and violaxanthin) docked to pro-inflammatory proteins (i.e., IL-6, TNF-α, and NIK), respectively in various binding energy. The binding between pigment compounds and the target protein is mostly attributed to the Van der Waals interaction. Notably, the pigments docked in crucial residues in proinflammatory proteins, suggesting the effect of the protein interaction on its receptor and cytokines activity. The results showed a therapeutic potency of microalgae pigment to support immune system modulation that could prevent and attenuate chronic inflammation.
Optimization of the sensory qualities of extruded crunchies using mixture design
Authors: Pinili E L , Tabinas R J A , Besas J R , Esprela L T
Published: March 2022

The study aimed to optimize the sensory qualities of extruded crunchies using banana flour, cassava starch, and all-purpose flour as the main raw materials. Mixture statistical design was used to determine the optimum formulation of crunchies. Sensory acceptability in terms of color, taste, crunchiness, and general acceptability were evaluated. Results showed that the sensory qualities of crunchies were significantly affected by the level of banana flour, cassava starch, and all-purpose flour. Among the treatments, formulation of crunchies with 100% all-purpose flour, formulation with 50% banana flour & 50% all-purpose flour, and the mixture with 66.67% all-purpose flour, 16.67% banana flour & 16.67% cassava starch were considered as the optimum mixtures. It is recommended to use considerable amount of all-purpose flour with banana flour and cassava starch in the production of extruded crunchies.
Assessing the effect of using Rice-Mongo Crunchies(RMC) as complementary food in Malnutrition Feeding programs
Authors: Torrejos S B , Tabinas RJ , Besas J R , Patarata MK , Somosot I
Published: March 2022

Overcoming malnutrition in all its forms (including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and, obesity) is more than securing enough food for survival, especially what children eat – they must also be nutritious. This study documented the effects of feeding the DOST-PINOY complementary food to malnourished kids ranging from 14 months to 54 months, non-school age children. Four ‘barangays’ in the city with the highest incidence of malnutrition (based on 2016 data) became recipients of the study during a four’ year consecutive period. The children were categorized as severely underweight or underweight children. The feeding program used Rice-Mongo crunches (RMC), which was feed continuously for 120 days. The results showed an increase in the weight gained during the four months of feeding with RMC . Furthermore, there was a significant difference in weights during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th months of feeding against the initial weights. The increase in weight varied between 0.20-0.800 kg as observe per child per month. At the end of the 4th month of feeding, the total weight gained varied from 0.3 kg to 2.8 kg per child.
Study on optimization of ready-to-drink (RTD) guava juice production process at PT. XYZ using lean six sigma application
Authors: Zhe Gabrielle , Amrinola Wiwit
Published: March 2022

Continuous improvement efforts have been carried out in various ways by the food industry, especially in the production process so that it can work optimally, effectively, efficiently, and without defects so that the quality of the products produced is appropriate to the standards that have been set. one method that can be used to achieve this is to use the concept of lean six sigma analysis. PT. XYZ is a food company engaged in the processing of soft drinks such as fruit juice drinks. One of the main types of products is RTD guava juice. The production process carried out by this company is still semi-automatic. This causes the duration of the process to be not optimal, as a result, there is an impact on fast-moving products, such as RTD guava juice. To overcome these problems, it is done using an improved method with the concept of lean six sigma. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the optimization of the production process of RTD guava juice at PT. XYZ uses the lean six-sigma method. The results of this study show that the value added is 64.89% and the sigma value is 3.973 with the location of the highest waste in the production process being a defect, waiting, inappropriate process, and unnecessary motion. The problems from the causes of non-optimal products are spilled, product leaks, and engine disturbances. It was found that the main factors of non-optimality are man, method, and machine.
Effect of plasma activated water (PAW) in maintaining the quality of cherry tomatoes
Authors: Pirdo Kasih Tota , Danil Daliansyah , Geraldine Eric , Widyaningrum Dwiyantari
Published: March 2022

Recently consumer demand of fresh fruits has been increased because public are more aware with their health. Fruits are often consumed raw, and that increase the chances of people being infected by pathogenic bacteria. This problem encourages the need to find new methods to maintain the quality and hygiene of fruits. Preservation methods that are often used today have many disadvantages, for example the use of temperature-based method that could possibly damage the texture and nutrient of the fruits. In this study, the use of Plasma Activated Water (PAW) on cherry tomatoes was proven to be able to maintain fruit quality for 2 days longer. This is because PAW has a higher oxidation reduction potential (ORP) compared to ordinary water. The higher the ORP is shown to have a better ability to inactivate the microorganisms attached to the fruit surface
Microstructure, mechanical and wear properties of boron carbide reinforced nickel alloy composites processed by bottom pouring type stir casting process
Authors: Veerappan G , Ravichandran M , Alagarsamy S V , Mohanavel V
Published: March 2022

This experimental investigation deals with the fabrication of boron carbide (B4C) particulates reinforced Nickel based Waspaloy (WA) composite. The bottom pouring type stir casting machine under argon atmosphere was used to prepare the composites. B4C content was reinforced with Nickel based WA in the weight basis (0, 4, 8 and 12 %). The microstructure of the prepared composites was studied by using SEM and EDS. The tensile strength, impact strength, hardness and density of the samples have been reported. Then the Pin on Disc (POD) setup was used to study the wear performance of the samples. The wear parameters were analyzed by using Grey relational analysis (GRA) for the low specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF) for produced composites. The addition of B4C improved the mechanical properties of the sample up to 8% and then tends to decreases. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that, load is the most dominant parameter which affects the SWR of the composite. From the GRA, Load 20 N, sliding speed 1146 rpm, 12% B4C are found to be optimum parameters for minimum SWR and COF.
Study on microstructure and abrasive wear properties of in-situ TiC reinforced high chromium cast iron matrix composite
Authors: Zhu Mingming , Jiang Yehua , Sui Yudong , Zhou Mojin
Published: March 2022

In this paper, the TiC particle-reinforced high chromium cast iron matrix composite was prepared in situ by the method of injection infiltration, and the effect of adding different volume fractions of moderators on the size of the reinforcing particles, the volume fraction of the reinforcing particles and the abrasive wear of the composite was systematically studied. Performance impact. The research results show that the TiC particles obtained by the in situ method are uniformly distributed in the matrix of high chromium cast iron, and the interface between the particles and the matrix is clean. And as the volume fraction of the moderator increases, the size of the obtained TiC particles becomes smaller and more uniform, and the volume fraction of the reinforcing particles also gradually decreases with the increase of the volume fraction of the moderator. And the introduction of TiC has increased the hardness of the material by up to 69.036%. Abrasive wear experiments show that the introduction of the moderator makes the reinforcing particles smaller, which further improves the wear resistance of the composite material, and the composite material with 20% moderator content has the best wear resistance, compared to The wear resistance of the metal matrix material is increased by 1.8 times.
Highly stable, low-voltage operable high-mobility flexible organic thin-film transistors based on a tri-layer gate dielectric
Authors: Qi Weihao , Xu Qingling , Yiqi Zhang , Ding Yin , Su Jing , Wang Wei
Published: March 2022

The application fields of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) depend on their field-effect mobility (μ). The low-voltage operation and good operating stability are the prerequisites for the practical applications of OTFTs. To date, it is still a huge challenge to obtain low-voltage operable OTFTs with high μ and good operating stability at the same time. In this work, we elaborately design and process a tri-layer gate dielectric, for pursuing the low-voltage operable, high-performance flexible OTFTs. The effects of the gate dielectrics on the device performances and the relevant mechanisms are discussed in detail. The tri-layer gate dielectric has a large gate capacitance per unit area, and simultaneously suppresses the polarization effect of the gate dielectric and the charge trapping at the interface and bulk of the gate dielectric, by which both the μ and the operating stability are significantly improved. As a result, the flexible OTFTs exhibit excellent figures of merit at low operating voltages below 4 V, with high μ up to 2.6 cm2 Vs−1, good bias stress stability with a negligible change of the channel current for 5000 s, and good mechanical flexibility with a negligible performance degradation after the tension bending for 1000 times at small curvature radii of both 5.0 mm and 3.0 mm in sequence. Our works provide a strategy for developing the high-performance flexible OTFTs with low-voltage operation, high μ and good operating stability simultaneously.
The prediction model of regression for the CO removal from exhaust using plasma- catalyst process
Authors: Yarahmadi Rasoul , Soleimani-Alyar Somayeh
Published: March 2022

Background. The present study considers the main physicochemical parameters included in the optimum removal efficiency of carbon monoxide (CO) using the plasma-driven catalysis reactor. Material and Methods. A nonthermal plasma (NTP) –catalyst process was applied to investigate the removal efficiency of CO. The interaction of proposed factors such as; temperature, space-time, propane concentration, applied voltage, and the current was studied to estimate the optimum conditions of CO removal efficiency. Data analysis of experiments was done using General Linear Model (GLM) analysis in SPSS (version 22.0.) and fit linear regression model in MATLAB R2013a software. Results and Discussion. The results showed the interaction of temperature and space-time play a key role in CO removal (P-value <0.05). This interaction was found significantly positive with a decrease in space-time. The effect of applied voltage and current (i.e., two main parameters of power consumption) was found significant in the interaction model of C3H8/CO ratio with temperature, as well as space-time. Also, the presented regression model of results confirms the meaningful effect of interactions. Reduction of space-time is known as an energy consumption parameter controlled by reactor gap discharge, gas composition, and inner electrode material. The effect of propane presence as a reducer agent in the gas composition was found significant in the interaction model of space-time and temperature. Conclusion. Considering physicochemical parameters in designing NTP- catalyst reactors can influence energy efficiency significantly.
3D printed hydrogel for soft thermo-responsive smart window
Authors: Chen Lei , Duan Guihui , Zhang Ce , Cheng Ping , Wang Zhaolong
Published: March 2022

Smart windows with tunable optical properties that respond to external environments are being developed to reduce energy consumption in buildings. In the present study, we introduce a new type of 3D printed hydrogel with amazing flexibility and stretchability (as large as 1500%), as well as tunable optical performance controlled by surrounding temperatures. The hydrogel on a PDMS substrate shows transparent-opaque transition with high solar modulation (ΔT
sol) up to 79.332% around its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) while maintaining a high luminous transmittance (T
lum) of 85.847% at 20 °C. In addition, selective transparent-opaque transition above LCST can be achieved by patterned hydrogels which are precisely fabricated via a projection micro-stereolithography based 3D printing technique. Our hydrogel promises great potential applications for the next generation of soft smart windows.
Evaluation of mechanical properties of TiB2-TiO2 ceramic composite coating on AISI 1020 mild steel by TIG cladding
Authors: Kumar Sujeet , Das Anil Kumar
Published: March 2022

The main objective of the present work was to enhance the mechanical properties of AISI 1020 steel by depositing the TiB2-TiO2 composite coating on it with the help of the tungsten inert gas (TIG) cladding process. The semi-solid mixture of 50 wt% of TiB2 and 50 wt% of TiO2 was preplaced on AISI 1020 steel and a TIG torch was used as heat source to melt the preplaced layer as well as substrate layer to produce the new coating layer. Characteristics of the cladded layer were examined using Vickers microhardness tester, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffractometer (XRD). The TIG currents have shown a significant influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coated layer. Metallography result also shows that the input current of the TIG cladding has considerable effect on the microstructure and quality of the coating. Microstructural changes in the clad layer were studied in detail. The Vickers micro-hardness value of the coated layer increases with decrease in input current and maximum microhardness was achieved about 568 HV0.05 which was about 3.5 times higher than that of the substrate (157 HV0.05). The dry sliding abrasive wear test was performed against EN31 hardened alloy steel as counter body by pin-on-disc tribometer with sliding distance of 1036 meters. The coating produced at lower TIG current (110 A) exhibits minimum average wear rate 1.46 × 10−6 g N−1m−1 while coating processed at higher TIG current (155 A) exhibits higher average wear rate 2.18 × 10−6 g N−1m−1. It was also concluded that the wear rate of the TiB2-TiO2 coating decreases with decreasing processing current and minimum wear rate (1.46 × 10−6 g N−1m−1) obtained up to 2.5 times lower as compare to wear of AISI 1020 mild steel substrate (3.65 × 10−6 g N−1m−1) which makes the TiB2-TiO2 coating suitable for application as wear resistance components. The average coefficient of friction also decreases with increasing TIG current and found maximum (0.76) and minimum (0.58) for the coating deposited at 110 A and 155 A current, respectively.
Threshold approximations for the resolvent of a polynomial nonnegative operator pencil
Authors: Sloushch V. , Suslina T.
Published: March 2022

In a Hilbert space

H

\mathfrak {H}

, a family of operators

A
(
t
)

A(t)

,

t
∈

R

t\in \mathbb {R}

, is treated admitting a factorization of the form

A
(
t
)
=
X
(
t

)
∗

X
(
t
)

A(t) = X(t)^* X(t)

, where

X
(
t
)
=

X
0

+

X
1

t
+
⋯
+

X
p

t
p

X(t)=X_0+X_1t+\cdots +X_pt^p

,

p
≥
2

p\ge 2

. It is assumed that the point

λ
0

=
0

\lambda _0=0

is an isolated eigenvalue of finite multiplicity for

A
(
0
)

A(0)

. Let

F
(
t
)

F(t)

be the spectral projection of

A
(
t
)

A(t)

for the interval

[
0
,
δ
]

[0,\delta ]

. For

|

t

|

≤

t
0

|t| \le t^0

, approximation in the operator norm in

H

\mathfrak {H}

for the projection

F
(
t
)

F(t)

with an error

O
(

t

2
p

)

O(t^{2p})

is obtained as well as approximation for the operator

A
(
t
)
F
(
t
)

A(t)F(t)

with an error

O
(

t

4
p

)

O(t^{4p})

(the so-called threshold approximations). The parameters

δ
\delta

and

t
0

t^0

are controlled explicitly. Using threshold approximations, approximation in the operator norm in

H

\mathfrak {H}

is found for the resolvent

(
A
(
t
)
+

ε

2
p

I

)

−
1

(A(t)+\varepsilon ^{2p}I)^{-1}

for

|

t

|

≤

t
0

|t|\le t^0

and small

ε
>
0

\varepsilon >0

with an error

O
(
1
)

O(1)

. All approximations mentioned above are given in terms of the spectral characteristics of the operator

A
(
t
)

A(t)

near the bottom of the spectrum. The results are aimed at application to homogenization problems for periodic differential operators in the small period limit.
Stakeholders’ views on the use of psychotropic medication in older people: a systematic review
Authors: Bednarczyk Eliza , Cook Sarah , Brauer Ruth , Garfield Sara
Published: March 2022

Background

psychotropic medication use has been shown to increase with age and has been associated with increased risk of falls, strokes and mortality. Various guidelines, regulations and tools have been developed to reduce inappropriate prescribing, but this remains high. In order to understand the reasons for this, we aimed to systematically review healthcare professionals’, patients’ and family caregivers’ attitudes towards the use of psychotropic medication in older people.

Methods

a systematic literature search was carried out from inception to September 2020 using PUBMED, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL and hand-searching of reference lists. Included studies investigated stakeholder views on psychotropic in adults over the age of 65. Findings were thematically synthesised.

Results

overall, there was an acceptance of long-term psychotropic medication for older people both living in the community and in residential care. While healthcare professionals were aware of guidelines for the use of benzodiazepines and psychotropic medicines, they identified barriers to following them on individual, team and organisational levels. Alternative non-pharmacological approaches were not always available or accepted by patients.

Conclusion

psychotropic medicine use in older adults remains a complex issue, which needs to be addressed on a broad level. Attitudes of older people and healthcare professionals encourage long-term use. Meanwhile, various internal and external factors act as barriers to the use of non-drug alternatives in this population. In order to reduce overprescribing of psychotropics, there is a need to increase the acceptability and accessibility of alternative interventions in both care homes and the community.
Care of the older trauma patient following low-energy transfer trauma—highlighting a research void
Authors: Tonkins Michael , Bradbury Daniel , Bramley Paul , Sabir Lisa , Wilkinson Anna , Lecky Fiona
Published: March 2022

Background

in high-income countries trauma patients are becoming older, more likely to have comorbidities, and are being injured by low-energy mechanisms. This systematic review investigates the association between higher-level trauma centre care and outcomes of adult patients who were admitted to hospital due to injuries sustained following low-energy trauma.

Methods

a systematic review was conducted in January 2021. Studies were eligible if they reported outcomes in adults admitted to hospital due to low-energy trauma. In the presence of study heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was pre-specified.

Results

three studies were included from 2,898 unique records. The studies’ risk of bias was moderate-to-serious. All studies compared outcomes in trauma centres verified by the American College of Surgeons in the USA. The mean/median ages of patients in the studies were 73.4, 74.5 and 80 years. The studies reported divergent results. One demonstrated improved outcomes in level 3 or 4 trauma centres (Observed: Expected Mortality 0.973, 95% CI: 0.971–0.975), one demonstrated improved outcomes in level 1 trauma centres (Adjusted Odds Ratio 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56–0.91), and one demonstrated no difference between level 1 or 2 and level 3 or 4 trauma centre care (adjusted odds ratio 0.91, 95% CI: 0.80–1.04).

Conclusions

the few relevant studies identified provided discordant evidence for the value of major trauma centre care following low-energy trauma. The main implication of this review is the paucity of high-quality research into the optimum care of patients injured in low-energy trauma. Further studies into triage, interventions and research methodology are required.
Aesthetic Values of the Buccal Fat Pad Excision in Middle-Aged Patients
Authors: Kubo Takayuki
Published: March 2022

Background

Despite buccal fat pad (BFP) excision being an effective and established surgery for the reduction of lower facial volume, there are very few reports explaining a systematic and reliable method for this surgery. The author will demonstrate one method for BFP excision surgery with some important tips and information on the procedure.

Objectives

The author performed BFP excision surgery for patients seeking facial slimming or improvement of the ptotic lower face. To know the true efficacy of this surgery, objective facial scales were compared preoperatively and postoperatively.

Methods

Preoperative and postoperative three-dimensional (3D) pictures were taken, and numerical data for cheek volume and horizontal lower facial length were obtained from 3D picture analysis. The data were statistically analyzed to reveal postoperative improvements.

Results

The average age of the patients was 54.23 ± 10.31 years old. BFP excision surgery took 60.30 ± 5.93 minutes. Preoperative and 12 months postoperative body weight was 52.3 ± 6.84 and 52.3 ± 6.75 kg, respectively. The average weights for excised BFP were 1.74 ± 0.72 g right and 1.59 ± 0.71 g left. The average of preoperative lower facial volumes was 209.36 ± 30.22 mL right and 209.03 ± 30.13 mL left. The average 12 months postoperative lower facial volumes were 205.00 ± 30.37 mL right and 204.43 ± 30.02 mL left. The results showed a significant difference in both sides (P < 0.01). The average of horizontal lower facial lengths was 238.73 ± 10.87 mm preoperatively and 235.06 ± 10.57 mm 12 months postoperatively. The results affirm that there is a significant difference (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

A properly executed BFP excision can achieve distinct facial slimming for the capacious face and can also contribute to improving lower face sagging due to BFP ptosis in middle-aged patients.

Level of Evidence: 4
Social drivers of maturation age in female geladas
Authors: Feder Jacob A , Beehner Jacinta C , Baniel Alice , Bergman Thore J , Snyder-Mackler Noah , Lu Amy
Published: March 2022

Female reproductive maturation is a critical life-history milestone, initiating an individual’s reproductive career. Studies in social mammals have often focused on how variables related to nutrition influence maturation age in females. However, parallel investigations have identified conspicuous male-mediated effects in which female maturation is sensitive to the presence and relatedness of males. Here, we evaluated whether the more “classic” socioecological variables (i.e., maternal rank, group size) predict maturation age in wild geladas—a primate species with known male-mediated effects on maturation and a grassy diet that is not expected to generate intense female competition. Females delayed maturation in the presence of their fathers and quickly matured when unrelated, dominant males arrived. Controlling for these male effects, however, higher-ranking daughters matured at earlier ages than lower-ranking daughters, suggesting an effect of within-group contest competition. However, contrary to predictions related to within-group scramble competition, females matured earliest in larger groups. We attribute this result to either: 1) a shift to “faster” development in response to the high infant mortality risk posed by larger groups; or 2) accelerated maturation triggered by brief, unobserved male visits. While earlier ages at maturation were indeed associated with earlier ages at first birth, these benefits were occasionally offset by male takeovers, which can delay successful reproduction via spontaneous abortion. In sum, rank-related effects on reproduction can still occur even when socioecological theory would predict otherwise, and males (and the risks they pose) may prompt female maturation even outside of successful takeovers.
Habitat choice versus habitat transformation in a nest-building fish: which matters most?
Authors: Dhamelincourt Marius , Rives Jacques , Lange Frédéric , Elosegi Arturo , Tentelier Cédric
Published: March 2022

Animals of many species lay their eggs in nests built to provide their offspring a suitable microhabitat during a critical phase of development. Nest characteristics result from two processes: habitat choice and modification that may impact differently nest suitability for eggs. This field-based study aimed to estimate their independent effects and their interaction effects on the capacity of sea lamprey nests to retain eggs. Physical variables linked to both habitat choice and habitat modification affected nest suitability, but higher effect sizes indicated the prevalence of habitat modification. The most retentive nests were built in habitats with slower current (habitat choice) and had steeper slope between the deepest part of the nest (pit) and the downstream mound (habitat modification); the positive effect of the steep slope increasing with flow velocity in the nest. Our results show that habitat choice and habitat modification must be taken into account in evolutionary or conservation studies that analyze nest-building animals.
DTI-HETA: prediction of drug–target interactions based on GCN and GAT on heterogeneous graph
Authors: Shao Kanghao , Zhang Yunhao , Wen Yuqi , Zhang Zhongnan , He Song , Bo Xiaochen
Published: March 2022

Drug–target interaction (DTI) prediction plays an important role in drug repositioning, drug discovery and drug design. However, due to the large size of the chemical and genomic spaces and the complex interactions between drugs and targets, experimental identification of DTIs is costly and time-consuming. In recent years, the emerging graph neural network (GNN) has been applied to DTI prediction because DTIs can be represented effectively using graphs. However, some of these methods are only based on homogeneous graphs, and some consist of two decoupled steps that cannot be trained jointly. To further explore GNN-based DTI prediction by integrating heterogeneous graph information, this study regards DTI prediction as a link prediction problem and proposes an end-to-end model based on HETerogeneous graph with Attention mechanism (DTI-HETA). In this model, a heterogeneous graph is first constructed based on the drug–drug and target–target similarity matrices and the DTI matrix. Then, the graph convolutional neural network is utilized to obtain the embedded representation of the drugs and targets. To highlight the contribution of different neighborhood nodes to the central node in aggregating the graph convolution information, a graph attention mechanism is introduced into the node embedding process. Afterward, an inner product decoder is applied to predict DTIs. To evaluate the performance of DTI-HETA, experiments are conducted on two datasets. The experimental results show that our model is superior to the state-of-the-art methods. Also, the identification of novel DTIs indicates that DTI-HETA can serve as a powerful tool for integrating heterogeneous graph information to predict DTIs.
Investigating Secondary Trauma in Student Placements: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Conroy Diana , Benaton Tonimarie , Babicova Ivana , Eate Elizabeth
Published: March 2022

It is well established that secondary trauma is a phenomenon that affects professionals in a range of health and social care settings, including social work. Whilst students going into placement are often exposed to similar experiences as qualified colleagues, limited research has been undertaken to investigate whether students suffer secondary trauma from their placement experience. This quantitative exploratory study of forty-five students on a Social Work and a Health and Social Care undergraduate degree course examined the potential impact of secondary trauma in placements using a Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. This article will explore secondary trauma, how students are prepared for placement and student well-being in general. The findings of the study indicated that no students appear to have suffered from secondary trauma in placements, suggesting that there may be other potential support mechanisms that could have reduced, impacted or negated the issue. A discussion of some of these mechanisms is explored. Finally, this article calls for educators and professionals in higher education and placement agencies/organisations to be aware of the potential impact on student well-being.
Structural (dys)connectivity associates with cholinergic cell density in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Lin Chen Pei , Frigerio Irene , Boon Baayla D C , Zhou Zihan , Rozemuller Annemieke J M , Bouwman Femke H , Schoonheim Menno M , van de Berg Wilma D J , Jonkman Laura E
Published: March 2022

Cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease, specifically amnestic (memory dominant) deficits, are associated with cholinergic degeneration in the basal forebrain. The cholinergic nucleus within the basal forebrain, the nucleus basalis of Meynert, exhibits local atrophy and reduced cortical tract integrity on MRI, and reveals amyloid-β and phosphorylated-tau pathology at autopsy. To understand the pathophysiology of nucleus basalis of Meynert atrophy and its neocortical projections in Alzheimer’s disease, we used a combined post-mortem in situ MRI and histopathology approach. A total of 19 Alzheimer’s disease (10 amnestic and nine non-amnestic) and nine non-neurological control donors underwent 3 T T1-weighted MRI for anatomical delineation and volume assessment of the nucleus basalis of Meynert, and diffusion-weighted imaging for microstructural assessment of the nucleus and its projections. At subsequent brain autopsy, tissue dissection and immunohistochemistry were performed for amyloid-β, phosphorylated-tau and choline acetyltransferase. Compared to controls, we observed an MRI-derived volume reduction and altered microstructural integrity of the nucleus basalis of Meynert in Alzheimer’s disease donors. Furthermore, decreased cholinergic cell density was associated with reduced integrity of the nucleus and its tracts to the temporal lobe, specifically to the temporal pole of the superior temporal gyrus, and the parahippocampal gyrus. Exploratory post hoc subgroup analyses indicated that cholinergic cell density could be associated with cortical tract alterations in amnestic Alzheimer’s disease donors only. Our study illustrates that in Alzheimer’s disease, cholinergic degeneration in the nucleus basalis of Meynert may contribute to damaged cortical projections, specifically to the temporal lobe, leading to cognitive deterioration.
Taming the Barbarian Empress: Post-alteric Imaginary of Gender Egalitarianism and Pan-Chinese Nationalism in the Legend of Xiao Chuo
Authors: Kang Dongjing
Published: March 2022

Representations of ethnic minority women often symbolized China’s efforts in nation-building. This study uses insights from the post-alteric frame to analyze the images of the Khitan empress Xiao Yanyan in the 2020 TV series the Legend of Xiao Chuo (LXC). It uses a critical multimodal discourse analysis of the series and viewer comments to examine three images of Xiao as her relationships with two romantic partners unfolds: the unruly and innocent child; the self-sacrificing political victim; and the pan-Chinese superheroine. Taming the great Khitan empress has created a spectacular matriarchal fiction for cosmopolitan Chinese post-feminists and endorsed the grand narrative of assimilating ethnic minorities into the building of China’s identity as a pan-Chinese “melting-pot.”
Temporal trends of mortality in patients with infective endocarditis: a nationwide study
Authors: Jensen Andreas Dalsgaard , Østergaard Lauge , Petersen Jeppe Kofoed , Graversen Peter Laursen , Butt Jawad Haider , Hadji-Turdeghal Katra , Dahl Anders , Bruun Niels Eske , Iversen Kasper , Bundgaard Henning , Køber Lars , Fosbøl Emil Loldrup
Published: March 2022

Aims

Little is known about the mortality for patients with infective endocarditis (IE) on a nationwide scale, and previous studies have been conducted in selected cohorts from tertiary centers. We aimed to investigate temporal trends in mortality using nationwide Danish registries.

Methods and results

We identified patients with first-time IE between 1999–2018, and they were grouped by calendar periods (1999–2003, 2004–2008, 2009–2013, 2014–2018). One-year mortality was estimated using Kaplan–Meier estimates. For calendar periods, odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) were computed using multivariable adjusted logistic regression and Cox proportional Hazards analyses for in-hospital and one-year mortality, respectively. We identified 8804 patients with IE. Age and proportions of men were: 66.7 (25th–75th percentile: 53.4–76.7) years and 59.9% in 1999–2003 and 72.8 (25th–75th percentile: 63.4–80.3) and 65.8% in 2014–2018. In-hospital mortality was 1999–2003: 24.5%, 2004–2008: 22.8%, 2009–2013: 18.8%, and 2014–2018: 18.3%. Relative to 1999–2003, adjusted likelihoods of in-hospital mortality were: OR = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.69–0.96) in 2004–2008, OR = 0.59 (95% CI: 0.50–0.69) in 2009–2013, and OR = 0.51 (95% CI: 0.43–0.60) in 2014–2018. By calendar periods, crude risks of one-year mortality were: 34.4% (95% CI: 32.0–36.8%), 33.5% (95% CI: 31.5–35.6%), 32.1% (95% CI: 30.2–34.0%), and 33.1% (95% CI: 31.3–34.8%). Relative to 1999–2003, adjusted rates of one-year mortality were: HR = 0.88 (95% CI 0.79–0.99) in 2004–2008, HR = 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68–0.86) in 2009–2013, and HR = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64–0.81) in 2014–2018.

Conclusion

In this nationwide study of patients with first-time IE between 1999–2018, both short- and long-term survival has improved over time when accounting for changes in patient characteristics.

One-sentence Summary

When accounting for patient characteristics, both short- and long-term mortality have improved in patients with first-time infective endocarditis.