bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prompt acceleration of a short-lifetime low-energy muon beam
Authors: Wang Xiao-Nan , Lan Xiao-Fei , Huang Yong-Sheng , Zhang Hao , Yu Tong-Pu
Published: September 2021

An energetic muon beam is an attractive key to unlock new physics beyond the Standard Model—the lepton flavor violation or the anomalous magnetic moment—and is also a competitive candidate for expected neutrino factories. Muon scientific applications are limited by low flux cosmic-ray muons, low energy muon sources, or extremely expensive muon accelerators. The prompt acceleration of a low-energy muon beam is found in a plasma wakefield driven by an electron beam. A muon beam can be accelerated from 275 MeV to more than 10 GeV within 22.5 ps in this wakefield. Choosing the proper time delay between the driving electron beam and the muon beam injected into the plasma, the longitudinal size of the muon beam and the energy dispersion of the muon beam are compressed. The efficiency of the energy transfer from the driving electron beam to the muon beam can reach 20%. This prompt acceleration is a promising avenue to bring expected neutrino factories and muon colliders into reality and to catch new physics beyond the Standard Model.
Multiple abnormality classification in wireless capsule endoscopy images based on EfficientNet using attention mechanism
Authors: Guo Xudong , Zhang Lulu , Hao Youguo , Zhang Linqi , Liu Zhang , Liu Jiannan
Published: September 2021

The wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) procedure produces tens of thousands of images of the digestive tract, for which the use of the manual reading process is full of challenges. Convolutional neural networks are used to automatically detect lesions in WCE images. However, studies on clinical multilesion detection are scarce, and it is difficult to effectively balance the sensitivity to multiple lesions. A strategy for detecting multiple lesions is proposed, wherein common vascular and inflammatory lesions can be automatically and quickly detected on capsule endoscopic images. Based on weakly supervised learning, EfficientNet is fine-tuned to extract the endoscopic image features. Combining spatial features and channel features, the proposed attention network is then used as a classifier to obtain three classifications. The accuracy and speed of the model were compared with those of the ResNet121 and InceptionNetV4 models. It was tested on a public WCE image dataset obtained from 4143 subjects. On the computer-assisted diagnosis for capsule endoscopy database, the method gives a sensitivity of 96.67% for vascular lesions and 93.33% for inflammatory lesions. The precision for vascular lesions was 92.80%, and that for inflammatory lesions was 95.73%. The accuracy was 96.11%, which is 1.11% higher than that of the latest InceptionNetV4 network. Prediction for an image only requires 14 ms, which balances the accuracy and speed comparatively better. This strategy can be used as an auxiliary diagnostic method for specialists for the rapid reading of clinical capsule endoscopes.
Numerical profile correction of microwave cavity resonance spectroscopy measurements of the electron density in low-pressure discharges
Authors: Staps T. J. A. , Platier B. , Mihailova D. , Meijaard P. , Beckers J.
Published: September 2021

Low-temperature plasmas are widely studied in laboratory environments and form the backbone of many industrial processes. Highly energized electrons enable processes such as ionization, dissociation, and plasma chemical reactions, while the heavy species, such as neutral gas atoms and molecules, remain near room temperature. Hence, understanding the electron dynamics is crucial to the control and optimization of plasmas and their applications. In this contribution, we investigated the impact of electron density profile correction on microwave cavity resonance spectroscopy (MCRS) as a diagnostic tool for low-pressure discharges. Following standard practice, we first obtained a volume-averaged electron density by assuming a uniform plasma in the interpretation of the MCRS diagnostic technique. Second, we compare the experiments with a numerical model solved using PLASIMO software to evaluate the predictive capabilities. Third, we obtained profile-corrected electron densities by means of incorporating the numerically obtained distribution of the electron density and the numerical solution for the resonant microwave electric field in the interpretation of the experimental data using MCRS. Although the volume-averaged data agree closely with the electron density found from the numerical model, it is shown that implementing the spatial distribution of the electron density and the microwave electric field leads to a significant correction to the experimental data. The developed strategy could easily be implemented in other situations deploying MCRS as a non-invasive technique for measuring the electron density.
Causality, intermittence, and crossphase evolution during confinement transitions in the TJ-II stellarator
Authors: van Milligen B. Ph. , Carreras B. A. , Voldiner I. , Losada U. , Hidalgo C. ,   TJ-II Team
Published: September 2021

In this work, we study spontaneous electron to ion root transitions in TJ-II using Langmuir probes. By scanning the probe position on a shot to shot basis, we reconstruct a spatiotemporal map of the evolution of important turbulent quantities in the plasma edge region. We pay particular attention to the evolution of the cross phase between transport-relevant variables, showing the spatiotemporal evolution of this quantity for the first time, revealing the outward propagation of the changes associated with the transition. We also compute the intermittence parameter, which allows us to conclude that the turbulence, although its amplitude increases, condenses in a reduced number of dominant modes and becomes less bursty. The causal relationship between variables is studied using the transfer entropy, clarifying the interactions between the main variables and offering a rather complete picture of the complex evolution of the plasma across the confinement transition.
Bubble lifetimes in DNA gene promoters and their mutations affecting transcription
Authors: Hillebrand M. , Kalosakas G. , Bishop A. R. , Skokos Ch.
Published: September 2021

Relative lifetimes of inherent double stranded DNA openings with lengths up to ten base pairs are presented for different gene promoters and corresponding mutants that either increase or decrease transcriptional activity in the framework of the Peyrard–Bishop–Dauxois model. Extensive microcanonical simulations are used with energies corresponding to physiological temperature. The bubble lifetime profiles along the DNA sequences demonstrate a significant reduction of the average lifetime at the mutation sites when the mutated promoter decreases transcription, while a corresponding enhancement of the bubble lifetime is observed in the case of mutations leading to increased transcription. The relative difference in bubble lifetimes between the mutated and wild type promoters at the position of mutation varies from 20% to more than 30% as the bubble length decreases.
Elasto-inertial microparticle focusing in straight microchannels: A numerical parametric investigation
Authors: Charjouei Moghadam Mohammad , Eilaghi Armin , Rezai Pouya
Published: September 2021

Elasto-inertial microfluidic particle separation has attracted attention in biotechnological applications due to its passive nature and enhanced versatility compared to inertial systems. Developing a robust elasto-inertial sorting device can be facilitated with numerical simulation. In this study, a numerical parametric investigation was undertaken to study elasto-inertial focusing of microparticles in a straight microchannel. Our goal was to develop an approach that could be both accurate and easily implementable on the commercial solvers. We simulated the flow field using the Carreau model. The resulting elastic lift force was implemented based on an approximation of the Oldroyd-B model. Results were verified and validated against experimental measurements by us and others. A parametric study was conducted to investigate elasto-inertial particle focusing considering the important non-dimensional numbers such as the Reynolds number (Re), the Deborah number (De), dimensionless channel length (L), and blockage ratio (β). Based on this investigation, the commonly used design threshold, that is, De·L·β2=1, for particle focusing was modified and a new threshold was proposed De·Re0.2·L·β2=5. This reduced particle dispersion throughout the width of the channel from ∼20% to ∼3%. Based on this analysis and the new thresholding scheme, an empirical non-dimensional correlation was developed to predict elasto-inertial particle dispersion in straight square cross-sectional microchannels. Using this new correlation, variation in predicted dispersion was reduced from ∼15% to less than ∼5%. Our model can be used to optimize the design of elasto-inertial microfluidic particle sorters to improve experimental outcomes.
Efficiency of terahertz undulator radiation from short electron bunches moving in the field of permanently magnetized helices
Authors: Balal N. , Bratman V. L. , Lurie Yu. , Magory E.
Published: September 2021

The motion and radiation of short dense bunches of ultrarelativistic electrons produced by laser-driven accelerators and moving in an undulator in the form of magnetized helices have been studied. Simulations demonstrate the possibility of generating wideband THz pulses with energies of hundreds of microjoules and relatively high efficiency in regimes close to the group synchronism of electrons with the waveguide mode.
Ion acceleration in a wall-less Hall thruster
Authors: Simmonds Jacob , Raitses Yevgeny
Published: September 2021

In wall-less Hall thrusters, the ionization of the propellant and the acceleration of the ions occur outside the thruster [S. Mazouffre, S. Tsikata, and J. Vaudolon, in 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cleveland, OH, 2014)]. This reduces interactions between the plasma and the thruster parts as compared to conventional annular and cylindrical Hall thrusters and promises a longer thruster lifetime. With a much simpler design, these non-conventional thrusters are also easier to miniaturize for operation at low power levels of a few hundred watts and lower. In this work, experiments demonstrate that a miniaturized (3 cm diameter) 200 W wall-less thruster is also able to achieve similar voltage utilization, propellant utilization, and current utilization efficiencies as conventional Hall thrusters. Yet, thruster performance of the wall-less thruster is generally lower due to a much larger plume divergence than that in conventional Hall thrusters. This plume divergence is a consequence of ion acceleration in the fringing magnetic field. Thrust and plasma measurements suggest that the thrust generated by the wall-less thruster is due to two components: ion acceleration by the JxB force in the region of the fringing magnetic field radially away from the thruster and by plasma expansion in the diverging magnetic field near the thruster axis.
A novel framework for cost-effectively reconstructing the global flow field by super-resolution
Authors: Wang Longyan , Luo Zhaohui , Xu Jian , Luo Wei , Yuan Jianping
Published: September 2021

Fluid data are of great significance for analyzing the fluid structure and understanding the law of fluid movement. Apart from the experimental test, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method has been widely applied in the field of fluid dynamics over the past few decades. However, due to the high computational costs of CFD method and the limitation of computational resources, it is still challenging to accurately calculate and obtain the high-resolution (HR) flow fields. To this end, a novel framework based on the super-resolution (SR) algorithm, namely, new enhanced down-sampled skip-connection and multi-scale (E-DSC/MS), is reported to achieve the HR global flow reconstruction from low-resolution data. Through the new SR flow reconstruction method, the HR flow fields of two benchmark 2D cases (i.e., cylinder and hydrofoil) are precisely and efficiently predicted using a universal SR model. The effectiveness of the new E-DSC/MS algorithm is tested by comparing it with the traditional super-resolution convolution neural network and U-net in terms of the velocity field prediction of the self-region (training region) and other-region (untrained region). The result shows that the universal SR flow reconstruction framework is able to increase the spatial resolution of velocity field by 16 times, and flow fields reconstructed by E-DSC/MS are in good agreement with the ground-truth data. In addition, the E-DSC/MS model could reconstruct the global flow field with a correlation coefficient of more than 99% regardless of the selection of the arbitrary region/window for SR training. The present method overcomes the limitation of the existing techniques in efficiently reconstructing HR flow field, which helps to reduce the requirement for expensive experimental equipment and to accelerate the CFD simulation process.
Bilingual lexical representation
Authors: Davis Chris , Kim Jeesun
Published: September 2021

This paper has two aims: (1) to examine evidence for noncognate translation priming from cross-language masked priming studies of printed words. (2) to introduce an automatic procedure for creating masked speech priming experiments. For (1) we conducted two meta-analyses that aggregated evidence from masked translation priming studies in the L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 prime-target directions. These showed that there was evidence of significant priming for both directions, and that priming was larger for the L1-L2 direction. The analyses revealed considerable heterogeneity in outcomes, particularly for priming in the L1 to L2 direction. For (2) we outlined some of the practical difficulties that are involved in implementing a masked speech priming experiment and offered a largely automated solution (that we will make available).1 We then briefly considered whether the work with written primes and targets may translate to the spoken medium.
A TLR7 antagonist restricts interferon-dependent and -independent immunopathology in a mouse model of severe influenza
Authors: Rappe Julie C.F. , Finsterbusch Katja , Crotta Stefania , Mack Matthias , Priestnall Simon L. , Wack Andreas
Published: September 2021

Cytokine-mediated immune-cell recruitment and inflammation contribute to protection in respiratory virus infection. However, uncontrolled inflammation and the “cytokine storm” are hallmarks of immunopathology in severe infection. Cytokine storm is a broad term for a phenomenon with diverse characteristics and drivers, depending on host genetics, age, and other factors. Taking advantage of the differential use of virus-sensing systems by different cell types, we test the hypothesis that specifically blocking TLR7-dependent, immune cell–produced cytokines reduces influenza-related immunopathology. In a mouse model of severe influenza characterized by a type I interferon (IFN-I)–driven cytokine storm, TLR7 antagonist treatment leaves epithelial antiviral responses unaltered but acts through pDCs and monocytes to reduce IFN-I and other cytokines in the lung, thus ameliorating inflammation and severity. Moreover, even in the absence of IFN-I signaling, TLR7 antagonism reduces inflammation and mortality driven by monocyte-produced chemoattractants and neutrophil recruitment into the infected lung. Hence, TLR7 antagonism reduces diverse types of cytokine storm in severe influenza.
Stress-induced modification of gyration dynamics in stacked double-vortex structures studied by micromagnetic simulations
Authors: Iurchuk V , Körber L , Deac A M , Faßbender J , Lindner J , Kákay A
Published: September 2021

In this paper, using micromagnetic simulations, we investigate the stress-induced frequency tunability of double-vortex nano-oscillators comprising magnetostrictive and non-magnetostrictive ferromagnetic layers separated vertically by a non-magnetic spacer. We show that the relative orientations of the vortex core polarities p
1 and p
2 have a strong impact on the eigen-frequencies of the dynamic modes. When the two vortices with antiparallel polarities have different eigen-frequencies and the magnetostatic coupling between them is sufficiently strong, the stress-induced magnetoelastic anisotropy can lead to the single-frequency resonant gyration mode of the two vortex cores. Additionally, for the case of parallel polarities, we demonstrate that for sufficiently strong magnetostatic coupling, the magnetoelastic anisotropy leads to the coupled vortex gyration in the chaotic regime and to the lateral separation of the vortex core trajectories. These findings offer a path for achieving a fine control over gyration frequencies and trajectories in vortex-based oscillators via adjustable elastic stress, which can be easily generated and tuned electrically, mechanically or optically.
Preliminary Design Concept of Garbage Collecting Machine
Authors: Hidayat A M , Hamisa A H , Razman R , Yunus A H
Published: September 2021

Malaysia can only recycle about 1,150 tons of solid waste than 23,000 tons of solid waste disposed of every day. This amount is equivalent to 5% of the total solid waste disposed of. At the same time, 19% of waste is dumped into water drainages such as rivers, trench, and drains. This activity contributes to clogged drains, mosquito breeding, and the transmission of other diseases. Waste management is an important issue that is commonly discussed and highlighted in the media. The most common issue is how to efficiently and effectively collect garbage waste. The current method of collecting garbage is very time-consuming and requires many workforces. In addition, the existing machine is expensive, and its usage is limited to certain areas only. To save the energy of human resources and time, a new garbage collector design should be proposed. Usage of machines focused on the big flat area such as at a field and open area like parking lot area. This area is commonly used for significant events like a night market, expo, concert, or exhibition. Therefore, this concept design is intended to solve and surmount the stated problem by designing and developing the new design garbage collector machine. The concept design follows an essential design process that identifies needs, conceptual design, embodiment design, and detail design. This design can be developed for the expected result and proceed for proof-of-concept testing to test the functionality and capability.
Development of Automotive Air-Conditioning System Test Rig for Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Authors: Hamisa A H , Azmi W H , Yusof T M , Sharif M Z , Dahlan A A
Published: September 2021

Introducing nanoparticles in liquid-based mixtures began to gain attention in various industries. This is supported by previous studies to improve the performance and provide energy saving for the system. Among its uses is in the VCRS and automotive air conditioning (AAC) system. The lubricant used in this system has the potential to have a good effect on the performance. Before testing the nanolubricant enhancement performance, an automotive air conditioning (AAC) system test rig based on hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) AC system has to be developed; therefore, this paper presented the development process of AAC test rig specific for the HEV. In order to analyze the performance, 11 thermocouples, a digital pressure gauge with data logger, and AC/DC power clamp were assembled and used. After that, the experiment was conducted with five different initial refrigerant charges and three different compressor speeds. This method was applied to both pure POE lubricant and SiO2/POE nanolubricant. Then, the heat absorbs, compressor work, and coefficient of performance (COP) were evaluated. The highest average COP for SiO2/POE nanolubricant was achieved at a 40 % duty cycle (2520 RPM) speed with a value of 2.84. The highest enhancement of the COP is 25.1% at 60% duty cycle (3180 RPM) speed with 160 grams of initial refrigerant charged an average enhancement of the COP is 13.16%.
Utilization Of Beverage Cans Waste As A Metal Matrix Composite
Authors: Pramono A , Khaerudini D S , Milandia A
Published: September 2021

Waste of beverage cans has not been utilized properly so far and it tends to cause environmental _pollution. Thus, the efforts are required to utilize the waste material from these cans into useful or advance product. Currently, there are many technological advancement applications requiring such components that have mild but good in mechanical properties. This work tries to the utilize the soft drink beverage cans waste as a main raw material. By utilizing the heat at temperatures above recrystallization accompanied by nitrogen infiltration to inhibit porosity, followed by the addition of magnesium as a wetting agent. The combination of those materials will facilitate in improving the produced mechanical properties. The utilization of beverage cans as a metal matrix composites is expected to be able to maintain environmental balance, because it cannot be naturally degraded . In this work, the beverage cans serve as a matrix, the alumina (Al2O3) of 10-20 vol.% used as reinforcement, and magnesium (Mg) of 14-16 % of weight percent as a wetting agent. The result shows that the composition combination of 20 vol.% of weight percent Al2O3 and 14 vol.% of weight percent Mg produces the highest mechanical properties and evenly distributed constituent. Thus, the_waste of beverage cans based on aluminum AA3104 is highly recommended to be used as a matrix combined with reinforcement of Al2O3 and wetting agent of Mg. It is proposed that by using beverage cans waste as metal matrix composite (MMC),the land pollution can be reduced and environmental balance can be enhanced properly.
Alleviating the unfairness of recommendation by eliminating the conformity bias
Authors: Ma Zhe , Dong Qiang
Published: September 2021

Recommendation systems play a critical role in the Internet era. In the past decade, many methods have been proposed to improve the accuracy of recommendation. However, simply increasing the accuracy is usually accompanied by the popularity bias in the recommendation results. In addition, from the perspective of item providers the popularity bias will bring unfairness in exposure of different items to users. In this paper, we propose a method to alleviate problems of unfairness and popularity bias. The main idea is based on the hypothesis that some interactions of users with popular items are not due to their preferences, but attribute to the conformity propensity, which aggravates the popularity bias problem. Thus we consider to eliminate these so called “unreliable interactions” to alleviate the unfairness. We propose a two-step preferential diffusion process between conformity users and popular items in the random walk recommendation algorithm to reduce the effect of unreliable interaction and alleviate the popularity bias and unfairness under the condition of ensuring accuracy. The experiment results on the two benchmark datasets, Movie-Lens and Netflix, show that our algorithm can improve the fairness of recommendation results and alleviate the popularity bias while achieving slightly increased recommendation accuracy.
Study on the mechanism of potential pharmacological action of Daphne Genkwa of anti-tumor based on data mining, network pharmacology and molecular docking
Authors: Wu Jun , Qiu Zhaozhi , Wei Pinghua , Guo Mengya , Shen Xingang , Liu Yunfeng , Huang Junlin
Published: September 2021

In this study, we explored the potential targets and mechanisms of Daphne genkwa anti-tumor through data mining, network pharmacology, and molecular docking techniques. The protein-protein Interaction Network (PPI) and the "active component-target" network of anti-tumor target sites of Daphne Genkwa were constructed, then the core target and the active components were studied by molecular docking. A total of 7 active ingredients, 116 potential targets, 9775 tumor-related targets were obtained. Among them, 177 were the intersection targets of ingredients and diseases. The ingredients-targets visual network diagram showed 126 nodes and 216 edges. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed the molecular functions, cellular ingredients, biological processes and pathways of the anti-tumor targets of Daphne genkwa. The results of molecular docking showed that the active components of Daphne Genkwa bind well to the anti-tumor core protein. In conclusion, Daphne genkwa can exert anti-tumor effects through multiple channels and targets.
A novel MAC protocol with independent double-pilot scheme and NOMA for MTC in IoT networks
Authors: Zhao Jihang , Wang Cong , Ma Wenfeng , Tian Hui , Wu Xia , Cao Xun , Yao Yuanxiang
Published: September 2021

With the rapid growth of IoT devices, machine communication is becoming more and more popular in 5G wireless communication systems. This paper proposes a novel MAC protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT) in a scenario with a gateway and multiple IoT devices. The IoT devices with packets (active IoT devices) send independent double-pilot(IDP). The gateway takes the number and ID of IoT devices and allocates appropriate power to IoT devices. These IoT devices adjust the power and transmit packets using the Power domain Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access Protocol (PD-NOMA). Compared with the traditional single pilot scheme (TSP), the independent double-pilot can dramatically reduce the pilot collision probability, although it will probably bring a moderate increase in detection workload. Furthermore, the IDP-NOMA protocol proposed in this paper dramatically improves the system throughput and the probability of transmission success.
Enlightenment of corpus-assisted medical translation based on computer technology
Authors: Chen Chen , Guo Zikai
Published: September 2021

With the advancement of modern science and technology, more and more computers or corpus aids used by computers or other equipment are used in translation more and more, especially in some professional fields. Due to a large number of professional words and complex topic sentence propositions, corpus-assisted translation has played an increasingly important role in our scientific translation at this stage. Furthermore, with the continuous expansion of our international medical program exchanges, the translation of medical English plays a significant role in developing our country's medical and health services and promoting other medical information. Traditional English translation cannot meet the growing demand for translation, and computer-assisted translation is a trend in translation. This paper studies the corpus-assisted medical translation based on computer technology. Firstly, it uses the literature research method to explain the characteristics of medical translation and the advantages of corpus-assisted translation, and then gives relevant suggestions for auxiliary medical translation. Finally, experiments are carried out on computer-aided corpus-assisted medical translation, and changes in the efficiency and quality of translation after medical-assisted translation are added. The experiment results show that the efficiency of the medical-assisted translation is not improved, but the quality of the translation is better. The accuracy percentage of the experimental group's translation term is 87% higher than that of the control group 65%.
Sub histogram equalization with a brightness clipping for image enhancement
Authors: Yang Andong
Published: September 2021

To get better image enhancement effect, this paper proposed an image enhancement method: Sub Histogram Equalization with a Brightness Clipping(SHEBC). In the proposed method, we use the histogram segmentation to control the enhancement and maximum entropy, use the average brightness value to maintain the brightness. The simulation results show that the method has a good effect on contrast enhancement and brightness retention, and the local details are also well processed for image enhancement.
A quantitative evaluation of the issue of drought definition: a source of disagreement in future drought assessments
Authors: Satoh Yusuke , Shiogama Hideo , Hanasaki Naota , Pokhrel Yadu , Boulange Julien Eric Stanislas , Burek Peter , Gosling Simon Newland , Grillakis Manolis , Koutroulis Aristeidis , Müller Schmied Hannes , Thiery Wim , Yokohata Tokuta
Published: September 2021

Droughts are anticipated to intensify in many parts of the world due to climate change. However, the issue of drought definition, namely the diversity of drought indices, makes it difficult to compare drought assessments. This issue is widely known, but its relative importance has never been quantitatively evaluated in comparison to other sources of uncertainty. Here, encompassing three drought categories (meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts) with four temporal scales of interest, we evaluated changes in the drought frequency using multi-model and multi-scenario simulations to identify areas where the definition issue could result in pronounced uncertainties and to what extent. We investigated the disagreement in the signs of changes between drought definitions and decomposed the variance into four main factors: drought definitions, greenhouse gas concentration scenarios, global climate models, and global water models, as well as their interactions. The results show that models were the primary sources of variance over 82% of the global land area. On the other hand, the drought definition was the dominant source of variance in the remaining 17%, especially in parts of northern high-latitudes. Our results highlight specific regions where differences in drought definitions result in a large spread among projections, including areas showing opposite signs of significant changes. At a global scale, 7% of the variance resulted independently from the definition issue, and that value increased to 44% when 1st and 2nd order interactions were considered. The quantitative results suggest that by clarifying hydrological processes or sectors of interest, one could avoid these uncertainties in drought assessments to obtain a clearer picture of future drought change.
Quality of the thermodynamic uncertainty relation for fast and slow driving
Authors: Koyuk Timur , Seifert Udo
Published: September 2021

The thermodynamic uncertainty relation originally proven for systems driven into a non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) allows one to infer the total entropy production rate by observing any current in the system. This kind of inference scheme is especially useful when the system contains hidden degrees of freedom or hidden discrete states, which are not accessible to the experimentalist. A recent generalization of the thermodynamic uncertainty relation to arbitrary time-dependent driving allows one to infer entropy production not only by measuring current-observables but also by observing state variables. A crucial question then is to understand which observable yields the best estimate for the total entropy production. In this paper we address this question by analyzing the quality of the thermodynamic uncertainty relation for various types of observables for the generic limiting cases of fast driving and slow driving. We show that in both cases observables can be found that yield an estimate of order one for the total entropy production. We further show that the uncertainty relation can even be saturated in the limit of fast driving.
Modeling research on laser quenching process of GCr15 bearing steel basing on material properties obtained with experimental methods
Authors: Li Zhiqiang , Wen Zhi , Su Fuyong
Published: September 2021

A combination of temperature and microstructure prediction models for the laser quenching process of GCr15 bearing steel was established. The thermo-physical parameters and austenitizaiton kinetics of GCr15 bearing steel were obtained with the laser flash and dilatometer experiments, respectively, to improve the prediction accuracy of the model. The dilatometric experiment results for the austenitization kinetics for high heating rates were fitted with the isochronal JMA relationship. Basing on the experimental results, the temperature and microstructure evolutions of GCr15 bearing steel during the laser quenching processes were simulated. According to the simulation results, optimized technological parameters for the laser quenching process were proposed.
Evaluation of the relationship between strength, quality grade, microstructure and abrasion of concrete
Authors: Warudkar Abhijit , Elavenil S
Published: September 2021

Surface abrasion is the most general cause of concrete deterioration. Abrasion can be a catalyst for structural failures, as abrasion leads to structural cracks and reinforcement corrosion. The abrasion of the concrete surface is a reflection of the compressive strength and quality grading of the concrete. This study aims to examine the relationship between abrasion, compressive strength, and quality grading of concrete. The mechanical properties, quality grading, and abrasion of the concrete were evaluated based on the compressive strength (IS 516), ultrasonic pulse velocity (IS 13311), and sandblasting abrasion testing (IS 9284), respectively. Abrasion resistance increased with compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The study was supported by microstructural analysis and surface chemical composition of the concrete. It was concluded that quality grading, sound microstructure, and abrasion resistant concrete with higher compressive strength along with the use of superplasticiser leads to better abrasion resistance.
The influence of rare earth elements lanthanum on corrosion resistance of steel plate for offshore platform
Authors: Ruifeng Dong , Hua Li , Xiaoyu Zhang , Xiangtao Deng , Qingling Cui , Jiquan Chen , Xiong Yang , Jianwei Liang
Published: September 2021

Two kinds of offshore platform steels without rare earth elements and with trace rare earth elements lanthanum (less than 20ppm) were selected as the research objects. The corrosion of the two groups of steels was simulated by salt spray corrosion chamber. The macro/micro corrosion morphology of the two groups of steels was studied by scanning electron microscope; The periodic immersion corrosion experiment was used to accelerate the corrosion, the weight loss method was used to study the corrosion kinetics, and the morphology of corrosion rust layer was observed by scanning electron microscope; The composition and content of corrosion products were analyzed by XRD; The electrochemical behavior of the steel after corrosion was analyzed by electrochemical polarization curve and Nyquist diagram. The results show that the addition of trace rare earth elements lanthanum (less than 20ppm) can reduce the corrosion rate and corrosion current of two kinds of offshore platform steel with different strength, and the corrosion layer is more compact, which is a corrosion product with protective performance α- FeOOH increased. The addition of trace rare earth elements lanthanum (less than 20ppm) improves the corrosion resistance of two kinds of offshore platform steels with different strength.
Giant Peltier conductivity in an uncompensated semimetal Ta2PdSe6
Authors: Nakano Akitoshi , Yamakage Ai , Maruoka Urara , Taniguchi Hiroki , Yasui Yukio , Terasaki Ichiro
Published: September 2021

Thermoelectric properties of single crystal Ta2PdSe6 is investigated by means of transport measurements, and a density functional calculation. We found a giant Peltier conductivity of 100 A cm−1 K−1 at 10 K and successfully explained it by means of conventional semiconductor theory. We concluded that an uncompensated semimetal, high mobility, and heavy effective mass are responsible for the giant Peltier conductivity. Our finding opens a new ground in the field of thermoelectrics to explore much better semimetals for a new possible application such as an electric current generator for a superconducting magnet.
You Can Never Be Sure
Authors: Spaide Christopher
Published: September 2021

If you had to name the genre of The Selected Letters of John Berryman, how many different answers could you give? This essay considers a handful of approaches to reading poets’ correspondence and to the particularly disordered case of Berryman’s letters. After reading the letters the predominant way we approach modern poets’ correspondence today—as an assemblage of documentary evidence that stands alongside but not in place of a biography—this essay proposes a fruitful alternative: to focus less on their sender and more on their addressees. In that broader light, The Selected Letters is the best book ever assembled on what John Berryman needed from, and could provide for, anyone who wasn’t John Berryman. The remainder of the essay surveys what Berryman offered several generations of poets, from peers like Elizabeth Bishop, to near-contemporaries like Adrienne Rich, to poets working today. What many contemporary poets have found most useful—and most objectionable—in his work may be a permission-granting hostility, which they have wrested away and turned back on Berryman himself. After speculating about lessons we could take from Berryman’s example, this essay concludes on a central question raised by his tumultuous reception: how can you ever be sure?
Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Liquid AbobotulinumtoxinA Formulation for Moderate-to-Severe Glabellar Lines: A Phase III, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled and Open-Label Study
Authors: Kestemont Philippe , Hilton Said , Andriopoulos Bill , Prygova Inna , Thompson Catherine , Volteau Magali , Ascher Benjamin
Published: September 2021

Background

A ready-to-use liquid formulation of abobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A solution) has been developed.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of aboBoNT-A solution for the treatment of glabellar lines.

Methods

This was a multicenter, multinational, Phase III study (NCT02493946), with randomized double-blind placebo-controlled (DBPC; 2:1 aboBoNT-A solution 50 U/placebo) and open-label (4 cycles aboBoNT-A solution) periods; additional patients were recruited into the open-label period. Patients were 18 to 65 years old, BoNT-naïve, and dissatisfied/very dissatisfied with moderate/severe glabellar lines at maximum frown. Investigator’s live assessment (primary endpoint)/subject’s self-assessment of glabellar line severity at maximum frown, patient satisfaction with glabellar line appearance, and FACE-Q patient-reported scales (facial appearance overall, psychological well-being, aging) were assessed. Adverse events were monitored. Analyses were performed on DBPC and long-term analysis (LTA; all patients receiving ≥1 aboBoNT-A solution injection) populations.

Results

Responder rates for the investigator’s live assessment, the subject’s self-assessment, and patient satisfaction were consistent at Day 29 postinjection across repeat LTA cycles (82.2%-87.8%, 62.8%-80.6%, and 72.2%-87.8%, respectively), with statistically significantly higher responder rates vs placebo (DBPC cycle: 81.6% vs 0.8%, 68.1% vs 2.3%, and 83.1% vs 5.7%, respectively; all P < 0.0001). Consistent improvements on FACE-Q scales occurred with repeat cycles (DBPC cycle: aboBoNT-A solution vs placebo, P < 0.0001). No new or unexpected adverse events, or neutralizing antibodies, were observed.

Conclusions

These results support the long-term efficacy and safety of aboBoNT-A solution, and its superiority over placebo, for treatment of glabellar lines in adults.

Level of Evidence: 1
DEMETER: efficient simultaneous curation of genome-scale reconstructions guided by experimental data and refined gene annotations
Authors: Heinken Almut , Magnúsdóttir Stefanía , Fleming Ronan M T , Thiele Ines
Published: September 2021

Motivation

Manual curation of genome-scale reconstructions is laborious, yet existing automated curation tools do not typically take species-specific experimental and curated genomic data into account.

Results

We developed Data-drivEn METabolic nEtwork Refinement (DEMETER), a Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA) Toolbox extension, which enables the efficient, simultaneous refinement of thousands of draft genome-scale reconstructions, while ensuring adherence to the quality standards in the field, agreement with available experimental data and refinement of pathways based on manually refined genome annotations.

Availability and implementation

DEMETER and tutorials are freely available at https://github.com/opencobra.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Cognitive performance in idiopathic intracranial hypertension and relevance of intracranial pressure
Authors: Grech Olivia , Clouter Andrew , Mitchell James L , Alimajstorovic Zerin , Ottridge Ryan S , Yiangou Andreas , Roque Marianne , Tahrani Abd A , Nicholls Matthew , Taylor Angela E , Shaheen Fozia , Arlt Wiebke , Lavery Gareth G , Shapiro Kimron , Mollan Susan P , Sinclair Alexandra J
Published: September 2021

Cognitive impairments have been reported in idiopathic intracranial hypertension; however, evidence supporting these deficits is scarce and contributing factors have not been defined. Using a case-control prospective study, we identified multiple domains of deficiency in a cohort of 66 female adult idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients. We identified significantly impaired attention networks (executive function) and sustained attention compared to a body mass index and age matched control group of 25 healthy female participants. We aimed to investigate how cognitive function changed over time and demonstrated that deficits were not permanent. Participants exhibited improvement in several domains including executive function, sustained attention and verbal short-term memory over 12-month follow-up. Improved cognition over time was associated with reduction in intracranial pressure but not body weight. We then evaluated cognition before and after a lumbar puncture with acute reduction in intracranial pressure and noted significant improvement in sustained attention to response task performance. The impact of comorbidities (headache, depression, adiposity and obstructive sleep apnoea) was also explored. We observed that body mass index and the obesity associated cytokine interleukin-6 (serum and cerebrospinal fluid) were not associated with cognitive performance. Headache severity during cognitive testing, co-morbid depression and markers of obstructive sleep apnoea were adversely associated with cognitive performance. Dysregulation of the cortisol generating enzyme 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 has been observed in idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Elevated cortisol has been associated with impaired cognition. Here, we utilized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for multi-steroid profiling in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients. We noted that reduction in the serum cortisol:cortisone ratio in those undergoing bariatric surgery at 12 months was associated with improving verbal working memory. The clinical relevance of cognitive deficits was noted in their significant association with impaired reliability to perform visual field tests, the cornerstone of monitoring vision in idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Our findings propose that cognitive impairment should be accepted as a clinical manifestation of idiopathic intracranial hypertension and impairs the ability to perform visual field testing reliably. Importantly, cognitive deficits can improve over time and with reduction of intracranial pressure. Treating comorbid depression, obstructive sleep apnoea and headache could improve cognitive performance in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Game-theoretical mapping of fundamental brain functions based on lesion deficits in acute stroke
Authors: Malherbe Caroline , Cheng Bastian , Königsberg Alina , Cho Tae-Hee , Ebinger Martin , Endres Matthias , Fiebach Jochen B , Fiehler Jens , Galinovic Ivana , Puig Josep , Thijs Vincent , Lemmens Robin , Muir Keith W , Nighoghossian Norbert , Pedraza Salvador , Simonsen Claus Z , Wouters Anke , Gerloff Christian , Hilgetag Claus C , Thomalla Götz
Published: September 2021

Lesion analysis is a fundamental and classical approach for inferring the causal contributions of brain regions to brain function. However, many studies have been limited by the shortcomings of methodology or clinical data. Aiming to overcome these limitations, we here use an objective multivariate approach based on game theory, Multi-perturbation Shapley value Analysis, in conjunction with data from a large cohort of 394 acute stroke patients, to derive causal contributions of brain regions to four principal functional components of the widely used National Institutes of Health Stroke Score measure. The analysis was based on a high-resolution parcellation of the brain into 294 grey and white matter regions. Through initial lesion symptom mapping for identifying all potential candidate regions and repeated iterations of the game-theoretical approach to remove non-significant contributions, the analysis derived the smallest sets of regions contributing to each of the four principal functional components as well as functional interactions among the regions. Specifically, the factor ‘language and consciousness’ was related to contributions of cortical regions in the left hemisphere, including the prefrontal gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus, the ventromedial putamen and the inferior frontal gyrus. Right and left motor functions were associated with contributions of the left and right dorsolateral putamen and the posterior limb of the internal capsule, correspondingly. Moreover, the superior corona radiata and the paracentral lobe of the right hemisphere as well as the right caudal area 23 of the cingulate gyrus were mainly related to left motor function, while the prefrontal gyrus, the external capsule and the sagittal stratum fasciculi of the left hemisphere contributed to right motor function.

Our approach demonstrates a practically feasible strategy for applying an objective lesion inference method to a high-resolution map of the human brain and distilling a small, characteristic set of grey and white matter structures contributing to fundamental brain functions. In addition, we present novel findings of synergistic interactions between brain regions that provide insight into the functional organization of brain networks.