bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermophysical Properties of Low GWP Refrigerants: An Update
Authors: Fedele L. , Lombardo G. , Greselin I. , Menegazzo D. , Bobbo S.
Published: April 2023

In the last decades, the industry of HVAC&R has faced continuous changes trying to identify environmentally friendly refrigerants for the numerous applications of the sector. However, the amount of low GWP fluids still available as potential refrigerants is limited to some natural fluids and, among synthetic chemicals, to hydrofluoroolefins (HFO). The knowledge of the thermophysical properties of these compounds and the evaluation of their energy efficiency in experimental apparatuses is essential to properly address the selection of the most suitable fluids. However, regarding the wide majority of HFOs, the information on the thermophysical properties, especially for the blends, are still scarce and require further research. In this work, an analysis of the possible substitutes and the available experimental data sets on their thermophysical properties was carried out to find out for which fluids further studies are needed to obtain an accurate representation of their thermophysical properties. Specifically, for 21 pure refrigerants, an overview of the thermodynamic (critical point, psat, PVT, heat capacity and speed of sound) and transport properties (λ, μ, σ) data published in the peer reviewed literature was provided. In addition, a more comprehensive analysis was carried out for four fluids (R1243zf, R1233zd(E), R1336mzz(Z), and R1224yd(Z)), for which major efforts have been made in the last 4 years to investigate the above thermophysical properties. Although an increasing amount of data sets on thermophysical properties have been compiled in recent years, the present study indicates that research efforts are still needed, especially on transport properties, as only 4 of the fluids of interest for the present research have been fully investigated (R1234yf, R1234ze(E), R1233zd(E), R1243zf), while other 4 (R1234ze(Z), R1336mzz(Z), R1224yd(Z), R1336mzz(E)) have been almost completely characterised.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-associated orbital cellulitis: a case series
Authors: Ang Terence , Cameron Cassie , Tong Jessica Y. , Wilcsek Geoff , Tan Jeremy , Patel Sandy , Selva Dinesh
Published: April 2023

Purpose

In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) orbital cellulitis (OC) has drawn increasing clinical and public health concern. We present a case series of MRSA OC encountered at four Australian tertiary institutions.

Methods

A multi-centre retrospective case series investigating MRSA OC in Australia from 2013 to 2022. Patients of all ages were included.

Results

Nine cases of culture-positive non-multi-resistant MRSA
(nmMRSA) OC were identified at four tertiary institutions across Australia (7 male, 2 female). Mean age was 17.1 ± 16.7 years (range 13-days to 53-years), of which one was 13 days old, and all were immunocompetent. Eight (88.9%) patients had paranasal sinus disease, and seven (77.8%) had a subperiosteal abscess. Four (44.4%) had intracranial extension, including one (11.1%) case which was also complicated by superior sagittal sinus thrombosis. Empirical antibiotics, such as intravenous (IV) cefotaxime alone or IV ceftriaxone and flucloxacillin, were commenced. Following identification of nmMRSA, targeted therapy consisting of vancomycin and/or clindamycin was added. Nine (100%) patients underwent surgical intervention. Average hospital admission was 13.7 ± 6.9 days (range 3–25 days), with two patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission due to complications related to their orbital infection. All patients had favourable prognosis, with preserved visual acuity and extraocular movements, following an average follow-up period of 4.6 months (range 2–9 months).

Conclusion

NMMRSA OC can follow an aggressive clinical course causing severe orbital and intracranial complications across a wide demographic. However, early recognition, initiation of targeted antibiotics and surgical intervention when required can effectively manage these complications and achieve favourable visual outcomes.
Translation and Factorial Validation of the Self-Compassion Scale for Adolescents in a German Community Sample
Authors: Gruber Elena , Baumann Ines , Vonderlin Eva , Bents Hinrich , Heidenreich Thomas , Mander Johannes , Kalmar Julia
Published: April 2023

Self-compassion, which refers to being kind and understanding toward oneself when suffering or experiencing personal inadequacies, is widely seen as a protective factor against mental health problems in adolescents and adults. To date, most research is conducted on adults using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), although adolescence is seen as a challenging period in life. Self-compassion research has only recently started to focus on childhood and adolescence. We aimed to translate the English version of the SCS for adolescents into German, test its psychometric properties, and examine potential gender differences more closely. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to find the best-fitting model out of a two, three, and six-factorial solution. The sample consisted of 255 adolescents, 10 to 19 years old, from a community sample. The study was designed as an online survey. We found the six-factorial solution to best fit our data. Males were significantly more self-compassionate than females. The Self-Compassion Scale – Children and Adolescents (SCS-CA) and its subscales showed good internal consistency as well as good content, criterion, and construct validity with measures of mindfulness, quality of life, and psychopathology. We discuss implications of these findings for a better understanding of adolescent well-being and mental health, as well as potential benefits of a future application of this measure. Overall, our findings suggest that the developed questionnaire is an economical, valid, and reliable measure to assess self-compassion in German adolescents. Trial registration: From ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT04034576 (registered 07/17/19).
Revisiting Deception in Breonna Taylor’s Case: A Cognitive-Acoustic Approach
Authors: El-Zawawy Amr M.
Published: April 2023

The present paper proposes an eclectic model for examining the cognitive load involved in detecting deception that benefits from the acoustic dimension as an exercise in cognitive forensic linguistics. The corpus used is composed of the legal confession transcripts of the Breonna Taylor’s Case, a 26-year-old African-American woman worker who was shot dead by police officers in Louisville, Ky., in March 2020 during a crackdown on her apartment. The dataset comprises transcripts and recordings of the persons involved in the shooting event but have given unclear charges, and those accused of contributory negligence due to wanton misfiring. The data is analyzed based on the video interviews and reaction times (RT) as an application of the model proposed. The findings reveal that the episodes chosen and how they are analyzed exhibit that the modified ADCM along with the acoustic dimension provide a clear picture of cognitive load management in the course of constructing and producing lies.
Preemptive scheduling of parallel jobs of two sizes with controllable processing times
Authors: Shioura Akiyoshi , Strusevich Vitaly A. , Shakhlevich Natalia V.
Published: April 2023

In parallel machine scheduling, a size of a job is defined as the number of machines that are simultaneously required for its processing. This paper considers a scheduling problem in which the set of jobs consists of jobs of two sizes: the conventional jobs (each job requires a single machine for its processing) and parallel jobs (each job to be simultaneously processed on more than one machine). The processing times are controllable, and they have to be chosen from given intervals in order to guarantee the existence of a preemptive schedule in which all jobs are completed by a common deadline. The objective is to minimize the total compression cost which reflects possible reductions in processing times. Unlike problems of classical scheduling with conventional jobs, the model under consideration cannot be directly handled by submodular optimization methods. We reduce the problem to maximizing the total weighted work of all jobs parametrized with respect to total work of the parallel jobs. The solution is delivered by separately finding the breakpoints for the maximum total weighted work of the parallel jobs and for the maximum total weighted work of the conventional jobs. This results in a polynomial-time algorithm that is no slower than needed to perform sorting of jobs’ parameters.
Assessing large landscape patterns of potential fire connectivity using circuit methods
Authors: Buchholtz Erin K. , Kreitler Jason , Shinneman Douglas J. , Crist Michele , Heinrichs Julie
Published: April 2023

Context

Minimizing negative impacts of wildfire is a major societal objective in fire-prone landscapes. Models of fire connectivity can aid in understanding and managing wildfires by analyzing potential fire spread and conductance patterns. We define ‘fire connectivity’ as the landscape’s capacity to facilitate fire transmission from one point on the landscape to another.

Objectives

Our objective was to develop an approach for modeling fire connectivity patterns representing potential fire spread and relative flow across a broad landscape extent, particularly in the management-relevant context of fuel breaks.

Methods

We applied an omnidirectional circuit theory algorithm to model fire connectivity in the Great Basin of the western United States. We used predicted rates of fire spread to approximate conductance and calculated current densities to identify connections among areas with high spread rates. We compared existing and planned fuel breaks with fire connectivity patterns.

Results

Fire connectivity and relative flow outputs were characterized by spatial heterogeneity in the landscape’s capacity to transmit fire. We found that existing fuel break networks were denser in areas with relatively diffuse and impeded flow patterns, rather than in locations with channelized flow.

Conclusions

This approach could be paired with traditional fire behavior and risk analyses to better understand wildfire spread as well as direct strategic placement of individual fuel breaks within larger networks to constrain fire spread. Thus, our findings may offer local- to landscape-level support for management actions that aim to disrupt fire spread and mitigate the costs of fire on the landscape.
Runx2 overexpression promotes bone repair of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH)
Authors: Xu Hai-Jia , Liu Xiang-Zhong , Yang Lu , Ning Yu , Xu Liang-Liang , Sun Da-Ming , Liao Wen , Yang Yi , Li Zhang-Hua
Published: April 2023

Background

Runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx2) has been considered an inducer to improve bone repair ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

Methods and results

Twenty-four rabbits were used to establish Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) and randomly devided into four groups: Adenovirus Runx2 (Ad-Runx2) group, Runx2-siRNA group, MSCs group and Model group. At 1 week after model establishment, the Ad-Runx2 group was treated with 5 × 107 MSCs transfected through Ad-Runx2, the Runx2-siRNA group was treated with 5 × 107 MSCs transfected through Runx2-siRNA, the MSCs group was injected with 5 × 107 untreated MSCs, and the Model group was treated with saline. The injection was administered at 1 week and 3 weeks after model establishment. The expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), Runx2 and Osterix from the femoral head was detected at 3 and 6 weeks after MSCs being injected, and Masson Trichrome Staining, Gross Morphology, X-ray and CT images observation were used to evaluate the repair effect of ONFH. The data revealed that the expression of BMP-2, Runx2 and Osterix in the Runx2-siRNA group was reduced at 3 weeks compared with the MSCs group, and then the expression further reduced at 6 weeks, but was still higher than the Model group besides Osterix; The expression of these three genes in the Ad-Runx2 group was higher than in the MSCs group. Masson Trichrome Staining, Gross Morphology and X-ray and CT images observation revealed that necrotic femoral head of the MSCs group was more regular and smooth than the Runx2-siRNA group, which has a collapsed and irregular femoral head. In the Ad-Runx2 group, necrotic femoral head was basically completely repaired and covered by rich cartilage and bone tissue.

Conclusions

Overexpression of Runx2 can improve osteoblastic phenotype maintenance of MSCs and promote necrotic bone repair of ONFH.
Sensitivity to change of generic preference-based instruments (EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, and HUI3) in the context of treatment for people with prescription-type opioid use disorder in Canada
Authors: Whitehurst David G. T. , Mah Cassandra , Krebs Emanuel , Enns Benjamin , Socias M. Eugenia , Jutras-Aswad Didier , Le Foll Bernard , Nosyk Bohdan ,   For the OPTIMA Research Group within the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Using data from a randomized controlled trial for treatment of prescription-type opioid use disorder in Canada, this study examines sensitivity to change in three preference-based instruments [EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3)] and explores an oft-overlooked consideration when working with contemporaneous responses for similar questions—data quality.

Methods

Analyses focused on the relative abilities of three instruments to capture change in health status. Distributional methods were used to categorize individuals as ‘improved’ or ‘not improved’ for eight anchors (seven clinical, one generic). Sensitivity to change was assessed using area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curve (AUC) analysis and comparisons of mean change scores for three time periods. A ‘strict’ data quality criteria, defined a priori, was applied. Analyses were replicated using ‘soft’ and ‘no’ criteria.

Results

Data from 160 individuals were used in the analysis; 30% had at least one data quality violation at baseline. Despite mean index scores being significantly lower for the HUI3 compared with EQ-5D instruments at each time point, the magnitudes of change scores were similar. No instrument demonstrated superior sensitivity to change. While six of the 10 highest AUC estimates were for the HUI3, ‘moderate’ classifications of discriminative ability were identified in 12 (of 22) analyses for each EQ-5D instrument, compared with eight for the HUI3.

Conclusion

Negligible differences were observed between the EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, and HUI3 regarding the ability to measure change. The prevalence of data quality violations—which differed by ethnicity—requires further investigation.
Use of the visual analogue scale for health state valuation: a scoping review
Authors: Åström Mimmi , Thet Lwin Zin Min , Teni Fitsum Sebsibe , Burström Kristina , Berg Jenny
Published: April 2023

Objectives

The visual analogue scale (VAS) has been used in the context of health and healthcare for various purposes, for example, to measure pain and to provide a single-index measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This scoping review aims to describe how the VAS has been used for health state valuation in the published literature.

Methods

The search was carried out in Medline, Web of Science and PsycInfo. The findings of the included articles were tabulated and presented descriptively using frequencies and proportions.

Results

The database search yielded 4856 unique articles, out of these, 308 were included. In 83% of the articles, the main purpose for using a VAS was to value health states. The two most common perspectives when valuing health states with a VAS were hypothetical (44%) and own health (34%). Some (n = 14) articles used the VAS in the context of economic evaluations, including calculating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). A large variation in the design of the VAS was found, including the description of the lower and upper anchors. Advantages and disadvantages with using a VAS were mentioned in 14% of the included articles.

Conclusion

The VAS has been a common method for valuing health states, both as a stand-alone method and in combination with other valuation methods. Despite its widespread use, the design of the VAS has been inconsistent which makes comparison of results across studies challenging. Further research on the role of using the VAS in economic evaluations is warranted.
Turbulence, Intermittency, and Cross-Scale Energy Transfer in an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection
Authors: Márquez Rodríguez Roque , Sorriso-Valvo Luca , Yordanova Emiliya
Published: April 2023

Solar wind measurements carried out by NASA’s Wind spacecraft before, during, and after the passing of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME), detected on 12 – 14 September 2014, have been used in order to examine several properties of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. Spectral indices and flatness scaling exponents of magnetic field, velocity, and proton density measurements were obtained, and provided a standard description of the characteristics of turbulence within different sub-regions of the ICME and its surroundings. This analysis was followed by the validation of the third-order moment scaling law for isotropic, incompressible MHD turbulence in the same sub-regions, which confirmed the fully developed nature of turbulence in the ICME plasma. The energy transfer rate was also estimated in each ICME sub-region and in the surrounding solar wind. An exceptionally high value was found within the ICME sheath, accompanied by enhanced intermittency, possibly related to the powerful energy injection associated with the arrival of the ICME.
Survivorship and food consumption of immatures and adults of Apis mellifera and Scaptotrigona bipunctata exposed to genetically modified eucalyptus pollen
Authors: dos Santos Charles F. , Ramos Jenifer D. , de Carvalho Fernanda G. , Dorneles Andressa L. , Menezes Thais R. D. , Pinheiro Ana Cristina , Blochtein Betina
Published: April 2023

Eucalyptuscomprises the largest planted area of cultivated production forest in Brazil. Genetic modification (GM) of eucalyptus can provide additional characteristics for increasing productivity and protecting wood yield, as well as potentially altering fiber for a diversity of industrial uses. However, prior to releasing a new GM plant, risk assessments studies with non-target organisms must be undertaken. Bees are prominent biological models since they play an important role in varied ecosystems, including forEucalyptuspollination. The main goal of this study was to evaluate whether a novel event (Eucalyptus751K032), which carries thecp4-epspsgene that encodes the protein CP4-EPSPS andnptIIgene that encodes the protein NPTII, might adversely affect honey bees (Apis mellifera) and stingless bees (Scaptotrigona bipunctata). The experiments were performed in southern Brazil, as follows: (i) larvae and adults were separately investigated, (ii) three or four different pollen diets were offered to bees, depending on larval or adult status, and (iii) two biological attributes,i.e., survivorship of larvae and adults and food intake by adults were evaluated. The diets were prepared with pollen from GMEucalyptus751K032; pollen from conventionalEucalyptusclone FGN-K, multifloral pollen or pure larval food. The insecticide dimethoate was used to evaluate the sensitivity of bees to toxic substances. Datasets were analyzed with Chi-square test, survival curves and repeated measures ANOVA. Results indicated no evidence of adverse effects of Eucalyptus pollen 751K032 on either honey bees or stingless bees assessed here. Therefore, the main findings suggest that the novel event may be considered harmless to these organisms since neither survivorship nor food consumption by bees were affected by it.
Associations of continuous anionic gap detection with the mortality in critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy
Authors: Zhai Yiling , Luo Changjun , Zhou Tao , Zeng Guangzhi , Huang Qiongyan , Li Jun
Published: April 2023

Purpose

To investigate the associations of anion gap (AG) levels before and 1-day after hemodialysis as well as anion gap changes with the mortality in critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT).

Methods

Totally, 637 patients from MIMIC-III were included in this cohort study. The associations between AG (T0), AG (T1), or ∆AG [AG (T0) − AG (T1)], and the risk of 30-day or 1-year mortality were examined by Cox restricted cubic spline regression models. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model was applied to assess the associations between AG (T0), AG (T1), ∆AG with 30-day and 1-year mortality, respectively.

Results

The median follow-up time was 18.60 (8.53, 38.16) days and 263 (41.3%) patients were survived. There was a linear relationship between AG (T0), AG (T1) or ∆AG and the risk of 30-day or 1-year mortality, respectively. The risk of 30-day mortality was higher in AG (T0) > 21 group (HR = 1.723, 95% CI 1.263–2.350), and AG (T1) > 22.3 group (HR = 2.011, 95% CI 1.417–2.853), while lower in AG > 0 group (HR = 0.664, 95% CI 0.486–0.907). The risk of 1-year mortality was increased in AG (T0) > 21 group (HR = 1.666, 95% CI 1.310–2.119), and AG (T1) > 22.3 group (HR = 1.546, 95% CI 1.159–2.064), while decreased in AG > 0 group (HR = 0.765, 95% CI 0.596–0.981). Patients with AG (T0) ≤ 21 had higher 30-day and 1-year survival probability than those with AG (T0) > 21.

Conclusion

AG before and after dialysis as well as the changes of AG were important factors associated with the risk of 30-day and 1-year mortality in critically ill patients receiving RRT.
Differentiation of silent corticotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) from non-functioning PitNETs using kinetic analysis of dynamic MRI
Authors: Amano Taishi , Masumoto Tomohiko , Watanabe Daisuke , Hoshiai Sodai , Mori Kensaku , Sakamoto Noriaki , Kino Hiroyoshi , Akutsu Hiroyoshi , Nakajima Takahito
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Silent corticotroph pituitary adenomas (SCAs)/pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) are common non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFAs)/PitNETs with a clinically aggressive course. This study aimed to investigate the ability of time-intensity analysis of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for distinguishing adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-positive SCAs and ACTH-negative SCAs from other NFAs.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively evaluated the dynamic MRI findings of patients with NFAs. The initial slope of the kinetic curve (slopeini) obtained by dynamic MRI for each tumor was analyzed using a modified empirical mathematical model. The maximum slope of the kinetic curve (slopemax) was obtained by geometric calculation.

Results

A total of 106 patients with NFAs (11 ACTH-positive SCAs, 5 ACTH-negative SCAs, and 90 other NFAs) were evaluated. The kinetic curves of ACTH-positive SCAs had significantly lesser slopeini and slopemax compared with ACTH-negative SCAs (P = 0.040 and P = 0.001, respectively) and other NFAs (P = 0.018 and P = 0.035, respectively). Conversely, the slopeini and slopemax were significantly greater in ACTH-negative SCAs than in NFAs other than ACTH-negative SCAs (P = 0.033 and P = 0.044, respectively). In receiver operating characteristic analysis of ACTH-positive SCAs and other NFAs, the area under the curve (AUC) values for slopeini and slopemax were 0.762 and 0748, respectively. In predicting ACTH-negative SCAs, the AUC values for slopeini and slopemax were 0.784 and 0.846, respectively.

Conclusions

Dynamic MRI can distinguish ACTH-positive SCAs and ACTH-negative SCAs from other NFAs.
Fabrication of Calcium Phosphate Coatings by the Inflight Reaction of Precursor Feedstocks Using Plasma Spraying
Authors: Chahal H. K. , Matthews S. , Jones M. I.
Published: April 2023

Hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) coatings are often made in a two-step process, where hydroxyapatite is firstly synthesized, and then applied as a coating for different applications. One way to make the process more efficient, is to combine the synthesis and coating processes into a single step. Plasma spray is a common method used to apply hydroxyapatite as a coating, as it is a fast and controlled method of coating materials. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inflight reaction of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and brushite (CaHPO4·2H2O) to synthesize hydroxyapatite using plasma spray. Various plasma spray parameters were used to observe their effect on the quantity of hydroxyapatite produced in the coating. Phase analysis was carried out using XRD, and the morphology of the coatings was observed using SEM. Plasma spray coatings containing hydroxyapatite, tetracalcium phosphate (Ca4(PO4)2O) and calcium oxide (CaO) were successfully made from the reaction between the precursor powders. The plasma spray parameters which influenced the particle velocity were found to have the largest effect on the quantity of hydroxyapatite produced in the coating. The plasma temperature was also found to affect the amount of hydroxyapatite produced.
‘Isn’t It a Bit Rough?’ – Vietnamese Audience Reception of Wrist-grabbing in Korean Television Dramas, Feminist Consciousness, and Fantasy
Authors: Gammon Thi
Published: April 2023

Over the past two decades, Korean television drama (K-drama), which stands at the forefront of the Korean Wave, the popularisation of South Korean pop culture worldwide, has raised controversy over male characters’ sexist and patriarchal behaviours. At the centre of such controversy is the trope of wrist-grabbing, characterised by a man’s attempt to grasp a woman’s wrist to drag her to another place and force a conversation. Previous studies about international fans have revealed strong disapproving reactions, especially from feminist-identified viewers. This article on Vietnamese audience reception showed variations: some enjoyed wrist-grabbing, some condemned the act, while others exhibited ambivalence. These varied responses expose many influencing factors: Confucian-inflected patriarchal values, feminist discourses, lived experiences, and suspension of disbelief in media consumption. This analysis of the audience readings of fiction reveals some truth about gender politics in Vietnam, including a certain level of patriarchal celebration and weak feminist consciousness. The article contributes to contemporary Vietnamese studies, gender studies, research of the Korean Wave, and media audience research.
In-vitro Modulation of mTOR-HIF-1α Axis by TLR7/8 Agonist (Resiquimod) in B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Authors: Hanafy Rana M. , Demian Soheir R. , Abou-Shamaa Lobna A. , Ghallab O. , Osman Eman M.
Published: April 2023

Targeting toll-like receptors (TLRs), via TLR agonists, has been implicated in the regulation of immunometabolism. B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) represents a suitable model for B-cell derived malignancies with shifted metabolic adaptations. Several signaling pathways have been found to be critical in metabolic reprogramming of CLL, including mechanistic target of rapamycin- hypoxia inducible factor-1α (mTOR- HIF-1α) pathway, the main metabolic regulator of glycolysis. Here, we investigated the effect of TLR7/8 agonist (Resiquimod) on the expression of mTOR and HIF-1α in patients with CLL. B cells were purified using Rosettesep Human B cell Enrichment Cocktail (Stem cell Technologies, Vancouver, BC, Canada#15,024) from peripheral venous blood of CLL patients (n = 20) and healthy individuals (n = 15). Isolated B cells were then cultured in both presence and absence of Resiquimod. Gene expression of mTOR and HIF-1α were assessed using qRT-PCR. Resiquimod significantly decreased mTOR and HIF-1α gene expression in both CLL (p < 0.001and p < 0.001, respectively) and Normal B cells (p = 0.004 and p = 0.001, respectively). Resiquimod may reprogram immunometabolism of malignant B-CLL cells via down-regulation of key glycolytic metabolic actors, mTOR and HIF-1α genes. Accordingly, Resiquimod may be an adjuvant as a therapeutic tool for CLL, which needs to be studied further.
Heuristics for the shelf space allocation problem
Authors: Czerniachowska Kateryna , Michalak Krzysztof , Hernes Marcin
Published: April 2023

The retailers’ goals to maximize the profit of the products in stores are realized on the planogram shelves. In this paper, we investigated a practical shelf space allocation model with a visible horizontal and vertical grouping of products into categories, which takes into account the number of facings, capping and nesting of a product. The result is four groups of constraints, such as shelf constraints, product constraints, multi-shelves constraints, and category constraints that are used in the model. We proposed 6 heuristics to solve the planogram profit maximization problem. The developed techniques on which heuristics are based may be applied to other category of management shelf space allocation problems because all of them share the same nature of the problem, i.e., the initial step of creating the allocation of products on the shelf and steps in which shelves are combined. Experiments were based on data sets generated according to contemporary real retail conditions. The efficiency of the designed heuristics has been estimated using the CPLEX solver.
A comprehensive framework towards segmenting and classifying breast cancer patients using deep learning and Aquila optimizer
Authors: Balaha Hossam Magdy , Antar Esraa Raffik , Saafan Mahmoud M. , El-Gendy Eman M.
Published: April 2023

Breast cancer is among the major frequent types of cancer worldwide, causing a significant death rate every year. It is the second most prevalent malignancy in Egypt. With the increasing number of new cases, it is vital to diagnose breast cancer in its early phases to avoid serious complications and deaths. Therefore, routine screening is important. With the current evolution of deep learning, medical imaging became one of the interesting fields. The purpose of the current work is to suggest a hybrid framework for both the classification and segmentation of breast scans. The framework consists of two phases, namely the classification phase and the segmentation phase. In the classification phase, five different CNN architectures via transfer learning, namely MobileNet, MobileNetV2, NasNetMobile, VGG16, and VGG19, are applied. Aquila optimizer is used for the calculation of the optimal hyperparameters of the different TL architectures. Four different datasets representing four different modalities (i.e., MRI, Mammographic, Ultrasound images, and Histopathology slides) are used for training purposes. The framework can perform both binary- and multi-class classification. In the segmentation phase, five different structures, namely U-Net, Swin U-Net, Attention U-Net, U-Net++, and V-Net, are applied to identify the region of interest in the ultrasound breast images. The reported results prove the efficiency of the suggested framework against current state-of-the-art studies.
A multi-item scale for open strategy measurement
Authors: Radomska Joanna , Szpulak Aleksandra , Wołczek Przemysław
Published: April 2023

Recent trends in strategic management and the strategy-as-practice stream of research have led to a proliferation of studies on open strategy. However, there is a general lack of research focused on valid and reliable measures of open strategy. In this paper, we developed and validated the open strategy scale to measure open strategy constructs derived from two dimensions—transparency and inclusion. We used the mixed methods composed in the multi-phase model of scale development. As a result, we have proposed a multi-item scale to measure the strategy openness. Our results demonstrate the validity and reliability of the scale proposed. The main implication of this research is that the scale may serve as both—an integrated tool for assessment of the overall level of open strategy development and an instrument for more detailed analysis of constructs to reveal the room for improvement or investigate the effect brought by managerial decisions.
Transformer tracking with multi-scale dual-attention
Authors: Wang Jun , Lai Changwang , Zhang Wenshuang , Wang Yuanyun , Meng Chenchen
Published: April 2023

Transformer-based trackers greatly improve tracking success rate and precision rate. Attention mechanism in Transformer can fully explore the context information across successive frames. Nevertheless, it ignores the equally important local information and structured spatial information. And irrelevant regions may also affect the template features and search region features. In this work, a multi-scale feature fusion network is designed with box attention and instance attention in Encoder–Decoder architecture based on Transformer. After extracting features, the local information and structured spatial information is learnt by multi-scale box attention, and the global context information is explored by instance attention. Box attention samples grid features from the region of interest. Therefore, it effectively focuses on the region of interest (ROI) and avoids the influence of irrelevant regions in feature extraction. At the same time, instance attention can also pay attention to the context information across successive frames, and avoid falling into local optimum. The long-range feature dependencies are learned in this stage. Extensive experiments are conducted on six challenging tracking datasets to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed tracker MDTT, including UAV123, GOT-10k, LaSOT, VOT2018, TrackingNet, and NfS. In particular, the proposed tracker achieves AUC score of $$64.7 \% $$

64.7
%

on LaSOT, $$78.1 \%$$

78.1
%

on TrackingNet and precision score of $$89.2 \%$$

89.2
%

on UAV123, which outperforms the baseline and most recent advanced trackers.
Quantification of collective behaviour via causality analysis
Authors: Lonhus Kirill , Rychtáriková Renata , Štys Dalibor
Published: April 2023

Terms such as leader, mediator, and follower sound equal in the description of a pack of wolves, a street protest crowd, or a business team and have very similar meanings. This indicates the presence of some general law or structure that governs collective behaviour. To reveal this, we selected the most common parameter for most levels of the organisation—motion. A causality analysis of distance correlations was performed to obtain follow-up networks that show who follows whom and how strongly. These networks characterise an observed system in general and work as an automation bridge between the biological experiment and the broad field of network analysis. The proposed method was tested on 3D image data from a controlled experiment on a 6-member school of aquarium fish of Tiger Barb. The network patterns can be easily ethologically interpreted and agreed with expected behaviour.
Endogenous constraints on full productive capacity in a free-market economy
Authors: Cole Nicolas D.
Published: April 2023

The full employment interest rate implicit in classical economic theory is 4½%, deduced by including the rate of normal profit in a simple macroeconomic model. By not fixing the interest rate at this optimum, Central Banks endogenously maintain excess productive capacity, cause unemployment, and encourage the exploitation of Labour by Capital.
222Rn calibration procedure for water analyses by liquid scintillation counting
Authors: Gomes Ana Rita , Dias Sérgio , Mourato Anabela , Abrantes João , Reis Mário
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Among the several methods to measure 222Rn in water, the liquid scintillation counting (LSC) technique is one of the most sensitive and widely used when analysing non-saline waters by liquid extraction, providing excellent accuracy, precision and low-level detection limits. When using the liquid scintillation counter Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL (Perkin-Elmer) it is not possible to make an automatic determination of the alpha/beta discrimination parameter, being necessary to evaluate the pulse decay discriminator (PDD) value manually to the 222Rn determination. In this work, we describe the steps to perform the calibration of that type of equipment.

Methods

The method consists in the preparation of standard samples from a 226Ra certified standard solution and the adjustment of the PDD value by hand until the percentage of alpha events reaches a plateau of a near-constant fraction of total events. The process consists in taking several measures between PDD 80 and 200 with 15 min counting time each. Within the plateau, the alpha/beta ratio was used to determine the plateau final range as well as the optimum PDD value. After that, the calibration standards and blanks were measured and the region of interest (ROI) was established by finding the maximum value for the figure of merit (FOM) in the upper and lower limits.

Results

The optimal PDD value of 148 was established by the alpha/beta ratio, and after that, it was possible to measure 226Ra standards to perform the calibration. An efficiency of (9.758±0.035) × 10–1 was obtained. In routine measurements, a detection limit of about 0.50 Bq L–1 is achieved for a 120 min counting time. To evaluate the uncertainty budget, the uncertainties of the net count rate, the efficiency, the sample amount and the decay correction factor were considered.

Conclusions

A method was developed for the calibration of LSC Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL with the optimization of the PDD using a 226Ra standard solution. The acquisition to obtain the plot of the variation of the events fraction in each window (alpha and beta) in function of PDD allowed to evaluate a plateau where the fraction of events was at a minimum. Afterwards, it was possible to measure the set of 226Ra standards after the equilibrium with 222Rn and determine the efficiency for 222Rn with a detection limit of about 0.50 Bq L–1 in routine analyses.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Multi-stage biomedical
feature selection extraction algorithm for cancer detection
Authors: Keshta Ismail , Deshpande Pallavi Sagar , Shabaz Mohammad , Soni Mukesh , Bhadla Mohit kumar , Muhammed Yasser
Published: April 2023

Cancer is a significant cause of death worldwide. Early cancer detection is
greatly aided by machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to gene microarray
data sets (microarray data). Despite this, there is a significant discrepancy between
the number of gene features in the microarray data set and the number of samples.
Because of this, it is crucial to identify markers for gene array data. Existing feature
selection algorithms, however, generally use long-standing, are limited to
single-condition feature selection and rarely take feature extraction into account. This
work proposes a Multi-stage algorithm for Biomedical Deep Feature Selection (MBDFS) to
address this issue. In the first, three feature selection techniques are combined for
thorough feature selection, and feature subsets are obtained; in the second, an
unsupervised neural network is used to create the best representation of the feature
subset to enhance final classification accuracy. Using a variety of metrics, including a
comparison of classification results before and after feature selection and the
performance of alternative feature selection methods, we evaluate MBDFS's efficacy. The
experiments demonstrate that although MBDFS uses fewer features, classification accuracy
is either unchanged or enhanced.
Foaming and defoaming–concepts and their significance in food and allied industries: a review
Authors: Deotale Shweta M. , Dutta Sayantani , Moses J. A. , Anandharamakrishnan C.
Published: April 2023

Foaming is an essential unit operation in several food processing industries. Although foaming is advantageous for a few industries, it causes huge losses in others. Foam generation as well as its stabilization is a complex phenomenon, and its efficient control is a mandatory operation in the food industry. Surface tension, viscosity, and ionic strength are the factors that influence foaming behavior. Film elasticity and the production of gelatinous surface layers are linked to the stability of persistent foams. Several chemicals, natural oils, esters, and fatty acids are found to be the components to reduce foaming during food processing. In the present review, the science behind foaming has been discussed in detail along with its stabilization, destabilization as well as different methods to control the foaming during processing. Here, the merits and demerits of foaming are also elaborated on with suitable examples. The current review also provides new insights into the application of foaming and defoaming substances in vegan industries and its effect on the stabilization and destabilization of foam at the air–water interface.
An investigation on the structural and optical properties of mercaptosuccinic acid capped cadmium telluride quantum dots
Authors: Borah Dibya Jyoti , Saikia D. , Das A. , Saikia P. K. , Mostako A. T. T.
Published: April 2023

In this work, a sonication induced modified wet chemical approach is adopted to synthesize highly luminescent and water soluble cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs). The morphology, size, crystal structural, and optical properties of CdTe QDs are investigated for different refluxing time (1–4 h). The refluxing time-dependent optical constants viz. band gap energy and Urbach energy of the QDs are estimated from UV–Visible absorption spectra. The optical band gap energy decreased from ~ 2.12 to 1.92 eV and the Urbach energy increased from ~ 361 to 487 meV, with the increase in refluxing time. CdTe QDs are found to be uniform in size. The average size of the QDs estimated from the High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope image analysis is about 5.8 and 8.2 nm for refluxing times 1 and 4 h, respectively. The growth mechanism of the QDs as a function of refluxing time has also been discussed. The fluorescence spectra of the QDs, revealed emission peaks having wavelength from ~ 534 to 585 nm, under the excitation wavelength of 320 nm. The fluorescence emission peaks showed a bathochromic shift with increasing refluxing time. CdTe QDs also exhibit excitation-dependent fluorescence behaviour. Two crystalline phases of the CdTe QDs, namely hexagonal and cubic are confirmed from the High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope images and Selected Area Electron Diffraction patterns analysis. The phase transformation from hexagonal to cubic is successfully achieved by tuning the refluxing time from 1 to 4 h.
Initial steps for the Portuguese Atlas of geographical variation in healthcare
Authors: von Hafe Francisco , Azevedo Salomé , Fragata José , Londral Ana Rita
Published: April 2023

Non-clinical aspects contribute to differences in healthcare practices within each country, which may imply that some patients do not receive the care they need. In contrast, others may not benefit from the care that they receive. However, to the authors’ knowledge, only a few geographical variation studies with a national scope were recently conducted in Portugal. This study aimed to test if it was possible to conduct a geographical variation analysis in Portugal using publicly available data to compare the 18 districts and stimulate a debate around this topic. To achieve this goal, we first investigated the publicly available Portuguese National Health Service database (Transparency Portal) for data from activities and procedures that could be included in this analysis. Four were included: percentage of cesarian sections in total births, rate of hip surgeries within the first 48 h after admission in patients older than 65, rate of consumed antibiotics in the total drugs consumed, and percentage of elective surgeries. After retrieving the data, we mapped the results and computed the ratio of variation and the coefficient of variation. Finally, we discussed the results with medical doctors, public health researchers, and health economists. Results suggested geographical variation mainly in the rate of hip surgeries performed 48 h after admission (from 18.53% to 83.64%). Overall, the results highlighted the need for a national benchmarking system to span this analysis to other activities and initiate a broader discussion with patients, clinicians, providers, and policymakers.
Recent progresses on graphene-based artificial nanostructures: a perspective from scanning tunneling microscopy
Authors: Liu Yi-Wen , He Lin
Published: April 2023

Graphene, a Dirac semimetal, exhibits the simplest lattice configuration and band structure in the world of two-dimensional materials. Due to its remarkable brevity and tunability, graphene becomes an ideal platform for studying the fundamental physics arising from the linear dispersion around the Dirac point, as well as for exploring symmetry-breaking orders in the flat band through playing with various artificial structures and external fields. In this review, we provide an overview of the nanoscale graphene model structures such as defects, quantum dots, strains, and superlattices in scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. Utilizing nanostructures in diverse dimensions, we present some behaviors of electrons near singularities of density of states from the perspective of scanning tunneling microscopy.
Modality
Authors: Roca-Royes Sònia
Published: April 2023

Modality is a vast phenomenon. In fact, it is arguably a plurality of phenomena. Within it, one type of modality warrants distinctive interest in philosophy and, in particular, in metaphysics. In view of this, this Element has a first part devoted to modality as a general phenomenon, where different types of modalities are distinguished, and where the question of unification is raised. Following this, the second part is focused on metaphysical modality: the type of modality that is of distinctive interest in metaphysics, and thus for the series of this Element. In this second part, the overarching question is about the source of metaphysical modality, and the discussion here informs back, and is informed by, the question of unification from the first part. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
The Hazards of Great Leadership
Authors: Beggan James K. , Allison Scott T. , Goethals George R.
Published: April 2023

The value of great leaders seems to be an unquestioned assumption. The goal of this Element is to explore the counterintuitive idea that great leaders can pose a hazard to themselves and their followers. Great leadership, which accomplishes morally commendable and difficult objectives by leaders and followers, requires competence, morality, and charisma. A hazard is a condition or event that leads to human loss, such as injury, death, or economic misfortune. A leader can become a hazard through social psychological processes, which operate through the metaphor of Seven Deadly Sins, to create negative consequences. Great leaders can undermine their own success and accomplishments, as well as their followers. They can become a threat to the organization in which they are employed. Finally, great leaders can become a danger to the larger society. The damage great leaders can create can be reduced by applying the corresponding virtue.