bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Un atelier sur l'avenir de la radioprotection
Authors: Laurier D. , Schneider T.
Published: August 2024

Un atelier sur l’avenir de la radioprotection a été organisé conjointement par l’Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN), le Centre d’étude sur l’évaluation de la protection dans le domaine nucléaire (CEPN) et la Commission internationale de protection radiologique (CIPR) en mars 2024. L’objectif était de présenter les développements récents au sein de la CIPR et d’échanger avec les représentants de la communauté française de la radioprotection sur l’examen et la révision du Système de protection radiologique. Cet article présente une synthèse des principaux points de discussion abordés durant cet atelier.
Homeopathy in Lymphatic Filariasis: A Narrative Review
Authors: Prusty Akhyaya Kumar , Nayak Chaturbhuja , Prusty Umakanta , Bhandari Preeti
Published: August 2024

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is globally considered a neglected tropical disease (NTD), as well as the second leading cause of disability. The financial and social burden of LF is significant and has an impact on the patient's ability to work, participate in social activities, and raise a family. Diethylcarbamazine (DEC), an antifilarial medication, is currently the preferred treatment for LF. However, its use can have some short-term adverse events. So, the effective management of LF is the need of the hour for preventing disease progression and episodes of acute adenolymphangitis. This article attempts to review the available literature on homeopathic intervention, which is an alternative, cost-effective and safer therapeutic option in the treatment of LF. A comprehensive search was made for studies conducted from 1980 to 2019 in different databases and resources, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. In addition, a manual search of monographs and research studies of the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) related to filariasis was conducted through the AYUSH Research Portal, Archive on Homoeopathy, and CCRH e-library. According to study design, aims and objectives, sample size, study duration, intervention, outcome parameters, and results, the literature that is currently accessible has been categorized. Out of 15 studies screened, 8 related to homeopathy on LF were selected for this review. Of these, 1 randomized open label comparative trial, 2 single-blind nonrandomized placebo-controlled trials, 4 single-arm interventional trials, and 1 retrospective observational study were found. Except one single blind placebo-controlled nonrandomized study, the outcomes of other studies were found to be in favor of homeopathy. The review shows that there may be some beneficial effects of homeopathy in the management of LF. However, there are inconsistencies, gaps in the study, and insufficient outcome measures in the included literatures, which make it impossible to draw any firm conclusions. Subsequent research endeavors ought to surmount these challenges and conform to enhanced research design and methods.
Improving a spacecraft’s return to Earth
Authors: Green Leigh Ann
Published: August 2024

A new simulation model may result in more stable reentries.
A dual-band polarization independent dielectric metasurface-based absorber for sensing application in the visible light regime
Authors: Younesiraad Hemn , Sharifi Hadi , Masoumi Reza , Bemani Mohammad
Published: August 2024

We present a dual-band, polarization-independent dielectric terahertz absorber exhibiting near-perfect absorption and minimal reflection at frequencies of f
1 = 419 THz and f
2 = 528 THz. Using electromagnetic theory, we modeled the structure to derive the surface electric admittance and magnetic impedance of the metasurface, elucidating the conditions required for perfect absorption in terms of inverse electric and magnetic polarizabilities. The absorber features a tunable symmetrical design, facilitating precise frequency adjustment by modifying structural parameters and ensuring polarization independence for perpendicularly incident electromagnetic waves. This scalable and versatile absorber, constructed from readily available materials, is optimally suited for applications in resource detection, imaging, sensing, and medical diagnostics, attributed to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and high performance.
Stability analysis for passive robots walking on inclined surfaces with local angles
Authors: Zhou Yining , Sun Zhongkui , Zhao Nannan , Xu Wei
Published: August 2024

For common-legged robots with a kind of stiff joints, the human-like and consecutive gait shown by passive walking robots is a bit difficult to achieve because of varying degrees of control, which is usually accompanied by computational cost. Of course, passive dynamic walking undoubtedly has its inevitable disadvantages because of the lack of control, which is stability. At the same time, the significant nonlinearity of the passive gait increases the difficulty of realizing the walking stability of the passive robot. Therefore, the passive robot still needs certain control to achieve stable walking even on the natural plane or smooth slope. In this paper, a passive robot model walking on an inclined plane with a local angle is studied. First of all, the approximate solution of the nonlinear dynamic equation is given by the perturbation method, and the conditions for the robot to achieve stable walking without external forces are obtained. Further, the input-output feedback linearization control based on hybrid zero dynamics is employed to carry out virtual constraints on the passive robot during the swing stage of walking, facilitating the transition from the unstable state to the stable periodic state. From the result of the experiments, the walking stability of the passive robot is improved over a larger range of walking status values compared with the condition without external force control, and the use of this method reduces the complicated work of solving the fixed point. These findings possibly have reference value in passive walking stabilization control. Meanwhile, the simulation results obtained by designing and studying the minimum controlled walking model show that human walking is based on the uncontrolled mechanical process. The exploration of the mechanism of passive gait can provide some enlightenment to the research of human texture and the application of exoskeleton.
Why cosmic voids matter: mitigation of baryonic physics
Authors: Schuster Nico , Hamaus Nico , Dolag Klaus , Weller Jochen
Published: August 2024

We utilize the Magneticum suite of state-of-the-art hydrodynamical, as well as dark-matter-only simulations to investigate the effects of baryonic physics on cosmic voids in the highest-resolution study of its kind. This includes the size, shape and inner density distributions of voids, as well as their radial density and velocity profiles traced by (sub-) halos, baryonic and cold dark matter particles. Our results reveal observationally insignificant effects that slightly increase with the inner densities of voids and are exclusively relevant on scales of only a few Mpc. Most notably, we identify deviations in the distributions of baryons and cold dark matter around halo-defined voids, relevant for weak lensing studies. In contrast, we find that voids identified in cold dark matter, as well as in halos of fixed tracer density exhibit nearly indistinguishable distributions and profiles between hydrodynamical and dark-matter-only simulations, consolidating the universality and robustness of the latter for comparisons of void statistics with observations in upcoming surveys. This corroborates that voids are the components of the cosmic web that are least affected by baryonic physics, further enhancing their use as cosmological probes.
Thermal conductivity analysis of nanofluid through laser speckle method
Authors: Sa Jayashree , Tripathy Amita , Nath Ganeswar
Published: August 2024

The significance of laser interaction in assessing the stability of colloidal CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in water medium is highlighted in this study. Utilizing the laser speckle technique, a non-destructive optical method, the activities of NPs synthesized in continuous wave (CW) mode are examined. The size of the cerium oxide NPs is determined through Particle Size Analyzer technique. The fluctuation in intensity of laser speckle scattered from various particles reflects the configuration of NPs in the base fluid medium, offering valuable insights into their stability. Further confirmation of NP stability is obtained through UV–Visible absorption spectroscopy. The examination of CeO2 NPs in deionized water is conducted with a CW mode He–Ne laser operating at 632 nm. This laser interaction approach proves to be instrumental in evaluating the thermal properties of the prepared samples, particularly the thermal conductivity, which shows enhancements at varying concentrations and temperatures. The findings demonstrate the potential of fabricating CeO2-water nanofluids with improved thermal conductivity through laser interaction in a liquid medium, thereby eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals and vacuum conditions. This suggests promising applications in medium-temperature scenarios.
Leveraging Frequency and Spatial Domain Information for Underwater Image Restoration
Authors: Zhang Haopeng , Xu Hongli , Yu Xiaosheng , Zhang Xiangyue , Wu Chengdong
Published: August 2024

Underwater image restoration is pivotal for enhancing the visual perception of underwater robots by improving image visibility and quality. Typically, underwater images are compromised by color distortion, low contrast, and noise, which degrade the robots’ environmental perception. This paper introduces FS-Net, an innovative approach that synergistically utilizes information from both the frequency and spatial domains to overcome these challenges. By strategically separating and processing different frequency components, FS-Net effectively reduces noise and preserves intricate details. Concurrently, advanced spatial domain filtering and enhancement techniques are employed to augment contrast and rectify color distortions. This dual-domain integration ensures a comprehensive and efficient restoration process. We rigorously evaluate FS-Net using a well-established underwater image dataset, where it demonstrates substantial enhancements in both visual quality and quantitative performance metrics over existing methods. This work significantly advances underwater imaging technology, offering a robust solution that markedly improves image clarity and utility for underwater robotic applications.
UAV Control With Terminal Velocity Vector Constraints
Authors: Cui JiaXiang , Fang Ke
Published: August 2024

The paper focuses on the UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) control strategy with terminal velocity vector constraints. Given the constraints on the position, velocity magnitude and velocity vector of points A and B, it uses a polynomial trajectory to plan a smooth continuous way that satisfies the constraints. To resolve the problem that the traditional cascade PID cannot control the position and velocity at the same time, it improves the cascade PID structure. Finally, a case study is provided to prove the algorithmic strategy. The result shows that, it satisfies the constraints on the terminal velocity vector.
Research on Underwater Skylight Orientation Based on Polarization
Authors: Yan Dekun , Ruan Yaohuang , Wang Xiaotong , Chen Yujie , Kong Fang
Published: August 2024

Underwater skylight polarization orientation possesses various advantages, including high precision, strong anti-interference ability, high information acquisition rate, and the absence of error accumulation over time. To compute the polarization distribution of underwater skylight polarization image data, an image conversion algorithm is proposed. Subsequently, the least squares method is employed to extract the solar meridian from the polarization images, facilitating the calculation of underwater skylight polarization distribution and the high-precision extraction of polarization information. Through experiments conducted in different environments and at various time periods within the same location, a comparative analysis was undertaken between the azimuth angle of the solar meridian extracted from the actually detected polarization distribution maps and the solar azimuth angle simulated based on single Rayleigh scattering. The experimental data exhibited slight discrepancies, thereby validating the stability of underwater polarization distribution and the feasibility of determining the solar meridian direction.
A Novel Algorithm for Tire-Road Friction Coefficient Estimation Using Adaptive Backpropagation Neural Network
Authors: Bei Zequn , Chen Xiang , Zhao Wanzhong , Wang Chunyan
Published: August 2024

The recognition of road conditions is highly significant for improving the active safety of vehicles. Among them, the estimation of tire-road friction coefficient (TRFC) is particularly important. However, TRFC is difficult to measure directly by onboard sensors. In this paper, a novel scheme based on Cubature Kalman filter (CKF) and an adaptive backpropagation neural network (ABPNN) is proposed to estimate the TRFC. Firstly, a nonlinear 3-degree-of-freedom vehicle model and a Magic Formula tire model are established. Then, Cubature Kalman filter (CKF) algorithm is presented to estimate the vehicle driving state. Then, BP neural network is combined with adaptive learning rate to estimate TRFC. Finally, the estimation algorithm was validated using Carsim/Simulink. The co-simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has remarkable estimation accuracy and is suitable for different complex road conditions.
Contactifications: a Lagrangian description of compact Hamiltonian systems*
Authors: Grabowska Katarzyna , Grabowski Janusz , Kuś Marek , Marmo Giuseppe
Published: August 2024

If η is a contact form on a manifold M such that the orbits of the Reeb vector field

R

form a simple foliation

F

on M, then the presymplectic 2-form

d

η

on M induces a symplectic structure ω on the quotient manifold

N
=
M

/

F

. We call

(
M
,
η
)

a contactification of the symplectic manifold

(
N
,
ω
)

. First, we present an explicit geometric construction of contactifications of some coadjoint orbits of connected Lie groups. Our construction is a far going generalization of the well-known contactification of the complex projective space

C

P

n
−
1

, being the unit sphere

S

2
n
−
1

in

C

n

, and equipped with the restriction of the Liouville 1-form on

C

n

. Second, we describe a constructive procedure for obtaining contactification in the process of the Marsden–Weinstein–Meyer symplectic reduction and indicate geometric obstructions for the existence of compact contactifications. Third, we show that contactifications provide a nice geometrical tool for a Lagrangian description of Hamiltonian systems on compact symplectic manifolds

(
N
,
ω
)

, on which symplectic forms never admit a ‘vector potential’.
Effect of coffee type composition ratio and brewing temperature on the physicochemical and organoleptic properties of Arabica-Excelsa brewed filter coffee
Authors: Purwanto EH , Mahendra AR , Sunardi  , Aunillah A , Wibowo NA , Wardiana E
Published: August 2024

Arabica coffee is popular for its good quality and Excelsa coffee has a unique taste but rarely, both have the potential to be combined. The research was carried out to study the effect of the Arabica-Excelsa blending ratio and brewing temperature with the pour-over method on brewed filter coffee’s physicochemical and organoleptic properties. The research design was a completely randomized design with two factors: the percentage ratio of coffee types and different brewing temperatures. The analyses carried out were on the organoleptic properties (flavor, aftertaste, and overall) and physicochemical properties (antioxidant activity, caffeine content, pH, and total dissolved solids [TDS]) of brewed coffee. The results of this study indicated that the interaction between two factors had a very significant effect on the organoleptic and chemical characteristics. Increasing the percentage ratio of arabica composition results in higher antioxidant activity, caffeine content, acidity (low pH), and TDS. The high consumer preference based on the organoleptic properties of the Arabica composition >50% can be equaled by the Excelsa composition >50% at a brewing temperature of 90 °C, with Excelsa having the advantage in aftertaste attributes. Meanwhile, with an Arabica-Excelsa ratio of 50%:50%, the most preferred is at a brewing temperature of 80 °C.
Mechanical Properties Characteristics of Sago Starch and Chitosan-Based Edible Films with Varying Concentrations
Authors: Lintang Meivie , Layuk Payung , Joseph Gabriel , Winanda Elisa , Sondakh Joula , Kairupan Agustinus , Polakitan August
Published: August 2024

This study aimed to obtain the mechanical properties of edible films based on sago starch and chitosan at various concentrations of glycerol and chitosan. The study used a completely randomized design for the combination of sago 2.5%, chitosan 0.5%, and glycerol treatment variations, with six treatments and three replicates. Additional research was conducted on differences in chitosan, starch, and glycerol concentrations. The mechanical properties of the edible film in the form of thickness, elongation value, tensile strength, and WVTR value at 2.5% starch concentration tended to increase with increasing glycerol concentration. The highest edible thickness of the film was obtained by the addition treatment of glycerol (7 grams) with a thickness of 0.268 cm; the greatest elongation value was found in the addition of glycerol (6 grams) of 30.69%; the greatest tensile strength (2.9130) was obtained in glycerol (8 grams); and the lowest WVTR value was in glycerol (2 grams) with a value of 7.51250 g/m2/hour. Increasing the chitosan concentration in the chitosan-coated starch film increases tensile strength and elongation while lowering the WVTR value. The 1.5-gram sample yielded a WVTR of 9.982 (g/m2/jam), a tensile strength of 2.74 MPa, and an elongation of 16.0066%.
Improvement of the quality of garlic bulbs with long light treatment using LED light
Authors: Aziz H , Rahayu S T , Cartika I , Soetiarso T A , Basuki R S
Published: August 2024

Garlic is one type of vegetable that is strategically developed. Its need increases every year as the main spice of cuisine in Indonesia and a functional food that is beneficial to human health. Improvements in cultivation technology need to increase productivity, among other things, by increasing the length of lighting with white LED lights. This study evaluates the quality of garlic bulbs produced using white LED lights. The research was conducted in the experimental garden of the Indonesian Vegetable Research Institute (IVEGRI) in Lembang at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level in March–October 2021. Varieties used are Tawangmangu Baru. The lighting duration consists of 4 treatments: 3 hours, 5 hours, 7 hours, and control (without lighting). The addition of lighting by LED lights begins at 18.00. The remote controller sets the length of lighting. Lighting was given to all experimental plants in the field. Garlic bulbs from the harvest were observed, including diameter, texture, moisture content, ash content, TSS (Total Soluble Solute), and VRS (Volatile Reducing Substance) content. The design carried out is a group random design. The data obtained were analyzed for variance (ANOVA) using SPSS software and further tested with Duncan’s Multiple Distance Test at a 95% confidence level. The results showed that the long lighting treatment significantly affected tuber weight, texture, ash content, and TSS. In three hours, lighting treatments, the weight of the bulb was significantly than the control (without lighting). TSS content in the five hours lighting treatment were higher than in other treatments.
Enhancing Water Sustainability in Greenhouses: A Study on Rainwater Harvesting Potential for Crop Water Supply
Authors: Sirait S , Suhardiyanto H , Saptomo S K , Liyantono
Published: August 2024

Climate change influences water availability and agricultural development in greenhouses in Tarakan City, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. Water scarcity can diminish crop yields, endangering food security and the environment’s future sustainability. Despite the fact that the study area receives a lot of rainfall, much of it is wasted. During the rainy season, there is an excess of water, but much of it becomes runoff, and flooding is frequent. The study investigates the feasibility of rainwater harvesting from the greenhouse rooftop of the University of Borneo Tarakan to supply crop water demands. The research stages included an examination of dependable rainfall, an examination of harvested rainwater volume, and crop water demands in the greenhouse. During 2001–2020, the rooftop rainwater harvesting system of the 120 m2 greenhouse has the potential to yield an average volume captured of 22.26 m3/month and the cumulative volume captured reaches 1771.15 m3/year. The efficiency of the rainwater harvesting system reaches 100%, it can fully fulfill the water needs of tomato crops grown in the greenhouse with an average volume demand of 10.06 m3/month. The greenhouse’s rainwater harvesting system has the capability to produce 12.20 m3/month of surplus water while maintaining environmental sustainability.
A perceived suggestion for green infrastructure planning strategies at urban park in Malaysia: A case study in Taman Tasik Bandar Enstek
Authors: Azuwa Nurzawani
Published: August 2024

Urban parks have long played an integral role in community landscapes. Urban parks are great locations for green infrastructure because they are frequently highly visible, multipurpose public places with green features. As awareness of the benefits of green infrastructure has expanded over the last decade, its utilization has increased. However, in Malaysia there is still less use of green infrastructure in urban parks, even parks that apply green infrastructure are not well maintained. The lack of maintaining green infrastructure features can reduce the benefits of parks to create new high-performance public spaces towards social and economic consequences. The study explores the suggestion for green infrastructure planning strategies at urban park in Malaysia. This study was conducted at Taman Tasik Bandar Enstek. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of green infrastructure at Taman Tasik Bandar Enstek and provide suggestions of green infrastructure element at Taman Bandar Taman Tasik Bandar Enstek. The study was using descriptive case study where observations were conducted. The site analysis was conducted to identify the quality of green infrastructure at Taman Tasik Bandar Enstek. The possibility of certain enhancements to the site’s amenities or infrastructure, as well as an emphasis on making more effective use of scarce resources. Optimizing the management of green infrastructure would result in a better design that will provide healthy and high-quality urban living. Humankind benefits psychologically and physiologically from experiencing and interacting with nature, as well as spiritual well-being.
On the comparison between topological and surface sensitivities for bio-fluid dynamics applications
Authors: Segalerba Eric , Gallorini Emanuele , Quadrio Maurizio , Pralits Jan
Published: August 2024

Nasal Breathing Difficulties (NBD) consist of pathologies which are difficult to diagnose, heal and affect a high percentage of the population; the only way to treat these diseases is, most of the times, by surgery but the success rate is not very high since many patients have no relief from it. This should be attributed to the variety of the nose’s functions, which is far more complex than a simple duct to connect the environment to the lungs. CFD is emerging as an innovative approach to study these problems systematically; in this contribution the target is to use a method based on adjoint equations to get senstivity maps whose purpose is to provide surgeons with more informations on which are the regions, inside the nose, to focus on. This work focuses only on the reduction of the pressure drop across the nose, therefore a single objective function is used. Three different frameworks, with two formulations of the continuous adjoint equation method, are compared: in two cases topological sensitivities were used while in the latter the surface sensitivity was evaluated.
Evaluation of a carbon dioxide fish barrier with OpenFOAM
Authors: Politano M , Cupp A , Smith D , Schemmel A , Jackson P R , Zuercher J
Published: August 2024

The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is a potential route for the migration of aquatic invasive species from the Mississippi River basin into the Great Lakes. Electric deterrence barriers were constructed in the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal (CSSC), within CAWS, to prevent invasive fish from reaching the Great Lakes. Despite the high efficiency of these barriers, occasional maintenance events are a weakness in the system that fish can exploit to access the Great Lakes. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a carbon dioxide (CO2) infusion system to deter fish during the maintenance of the electric barriers. A simplified two-fluid model was implemented in the OpenFOAM solver to represent the underwater CO2 bubble plume and predict the concentration of dissolved CO2 in the canal. Simulations under three canal flowrates and two sparger systems were conducted assuming a constant gas flowrate. Numerical results indicate that, for all simulated conditions, the CO2 concentration is not fully mixed creating passageways that invasive fish could potentially use to migrate upstream. Injecting 4-mm bubbles induces two large-scale recirculations that are expected to synergistically improve fish avoidance. On the other hand, injection of 20 μm bubbles results on almost immediate dissolution with minimal impact on the flow pattern. To improve effectiveness, a pulse system was proposed to create a CO2 gradient, and thus promote a more responsive behaviour from fish. According to the simulations, this system not only increases efficiency but also extends the operation of the CO2 barrier. Moreover, the pulse concept mitigates potential impact of elevated CO2 downstream of the CSSC.
Lagrangian properties of the blood flow through human and murine aortic arches: towards improved customised therapies and diagnostic techniques
Authors: Ghiglia Simone , Mazzuoli Marco , Guerrero Joel
Published: August 2024

The mass transport properties of the blood flow in the aortic arch are investigated by means of direct numerical simulations. The aortic arches in human and murine cases are assumed to be similar (with similarity factor equal to 20) and characterised by constant diameter, while the axis lays on a plane. The simulations were carried out using OpenFOAM (v.10). The flow regime appears remarkably different in the two cases because flow separation and vortical structures appear during the systolic phases in the human case, which are absent at the mouse scale. Consequently, peaks of the wall-shear-stress occur at different phases and, in the murine case, are characterised by a magnitude nearly 4 times larger than in the human case. The trajectories of fluid particles are computed in order to evaluate the dispersion efficiency exploited by biomedical applications (e.g. drug delivery or solid micro carriers). Despite the different flow regimes, in both system particles uniformly released at the inlet preserve a homogeneous distribution as they flow in the aortic arch. In particular, during the early decelerating phases of systole, the fluid trajectories are found frequently to approach the zones of the wall where the shear-stress is large.
Synergistic effect of cobalt ferrite-graphene oxide based hyperthermia and capsaicin to induce apoptosis and inhibit telomerase activity in breast cancer cells
Authors: Lajevardian Seyed Ali , Alibakhshi Abbas , Hosseinzadeh Simzar , Mobaraki Fatemeh , Movahedi Monireh , Hatamie Shadie , Tabarzad Maryam , Ranjbari Javad
Published: August 2024

Capsaicin is a bioactive phytochemical of red and chili peppers. It has shown therapeutic properties, including anticancer activities. In this study, the potential anti-telomerase effect of capsaicin, as well as synergic inhibitory effect of this compound in combination with cobalt ferrite-graphene oxide nanocomposites was investigated on breast cancer cell line. For this purpose, cobalt ferrite/graphene oxide (CoFe2O4/GO) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. Then, the effect of different concentrations of capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO nanoparticles, and their combination on the breast adenocarcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and MCF-10A) were analyzed using MTT assay and quantitative real-time PCR for assessing their effect on the cell viability and the expression changes in telomerase reverse transcriptase (tert), Bax and Bcl2 genes, respectively. The results showed a synergistic effect of capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO NPs on MCF-7 cell lines that reduced the IC50 value from 0.1 and 1 mg/ml for capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO nanoparticles, to 0.05 and 0.5 mg ml−1, respectively. Moreover, telomerase and bcl2 genes expression decreased after capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO NPs treatment; while in contrast, bax gene expression significantly increased. Consequently, capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO NPs treatment could induce apoptosis and inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. In conclusion, combinational treatment with capsaicin and CoFe2O4/GO NPs could be considered as an efficient therapeutic regimen for breast cancer.
Commuting Jordan types: A survey
Authors: Khatami Leila
Published: August 2024

In this paper, we survey the progress in the problem of finding the maximum commuting nilpotent orbit that intersects the centralizer of a given nilpotent matrix.
Some remarks on varieties whose twisted normal bundle is an instanton
Authors: Antonelli Vincenzo , Casnati Gianfranco
Published: August 2024

Let

X
⊆

P

N

X\subseteq {\mathbb {P}^{N}}

be a smooth variety with normal bundle

N

X

\mathcal {N}_X

. In this note we prove that if

N

X

⊗

O

P

N

(
−
t
)

\mathcal {N}_X\otimes \mathcal {O}_{{\mathbb {P}^{N}}}(-t)

is an instanton with quantum number

k
k

, then

dim
⁡
(
X
)
=
N
−
2

\dim (X)=N-2

,

t
=
1

t=1

and, when

dim
⁡
(
X
)
≥
4

\dim (X) \ge 4

, also

⌊
dim
⁡
(
X
)

/

2
⌋
≤
deg
⁡
(
X
)

\lfloor \dim (X)/2\rfloor \le \deg (X)

. Moreover, we also discuss some methods for constructing smooth varieties such that

N

X

⊗

O

P

N

(
−
1
)

\mathcal {N}_X\otimes \mathcal {O}_{{\mathbb {P}^{N}}}(-1)

is an instanton with

k
≠
0

k\ne 0

, illustrating them with explicit examples and counterexamples.
Standard Artinian algebras and Lefschetz properties: A geometric approach
Authors: Bricalli Davide , Favale Filippo
Published: August 2024

In this paper we deal with Lefschetz properties for standard Artinian Gorenstein algebras (SAGAs). We will briefly present some geometric methods already used by the authors in collaboration with G.P. Pirola which allowed to prove the validity of some weak and strong Lefschetz properties for complete intersection SAGAs presented by quadrics of codimension

5
5

and

6
6

. We focus on complete intersection SAGAs presented by quadrics where “special” elements appear. In particular, we are interested in elements of degree

1
1

and

2
2

whose associated multiplication map from

R
1

R^1

has not maximal rank and in the information they give about the structure of the starting SAGA or, when the SAGA is a Jacobian ring of a smooth cubic

X
X

, about the geometry of

X
X

itself and its hessian.
From Rome to Rabat: Carla Accardi’s Encounters with Moroccan Modernism
Authors: Morale Giulia
Published: August 2024

In December 1972, the Sicilian, Rome-based artist Carla Accardi landed in Rabat for an exhibition at the Galerie de l’Atelier. The exhibition included her Tent (1965–1966), a nomadic dwelling built with see-through plastic sheets and adorned with arabesque signs and luminous waves, as well as a series of paintings on canvas made of similar colourful signs. This essay contextualises Accardi’s journey from Rome to Rabat, the first of her frequent travels to Morocco, within a series of encounters with an art group known as the School of Casablanca. The group included Moroccan artists Farid Belkahia, Mohammed Chabâa and Mohamed Melehi, the gallerist Pauline De Mazières, founder of l’Atelier, and the Sicilian anthropologist and art critic Toni Maraini. It ultimately seeks to contribute to a wider disciplinary call to reorient modern Italian studies away from Euro-American paradigms, and towards the politics and poetics of the South, here used in its more fluid definition to denote the wider Mediterranean region.
CycPeptMP: enhancing membrane permeability prediction of cyclic peptides with multi-level molecular features and data augmentation
Authors: Li Jianan , Yanagisawa Keisuke , Akiyama Yutaka
Published: August 2024

Cyclic peptides are versatile therapeutic agents that boast high binding affinity, minimal toxicity, and the potential to engage challenging protein targets. However, the pharmaceutical utility of cyclic peptides is limited by their low membrane permeability—an essential indicator of oral bioavailability and intracellular targeting. Current machine learning-based models of cyclic peptide permeability show variable performance owing to the limitations of experimental data. Furthermore, these methods use features derived from the whole molecule that have traditionally been used to predict small molecules and ignore the unique structural properties of cyclic peptides. This study presents CycPeptMP: an accurate and efficient method to predict cyclic peptide membrane permeability. We designed features for cyclic peptides at the atom-, monomer-, and peptide-levels and seamlessly integrated these into a fusion model using deep learning technology. Additionally, we applied various data augmentation techniques to enhance model training efficiency using the latest data. The fusion model exhibited excellent prediction performance for the logarithm of permeability, with a mean absolute error of $0.355$ and correlation coefficient of $0.883$. Ablation studies demonstrated that all feature levels contributed and were relatively essential to predicting membrane permeability, confirming the effectiveness of augmentation to improve prediction accuracy. A comparison with a molecular dynamics-based method showed that CycPeptMP accurately predicted peptide permeability, which is otherwise difficult to predict using simulations.
Rationale for adopting a combination of monoparametric MRI with the prostate-specific antigen in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer: comparison with standard biparametric and multiparametric MRI
Authors: Park Seung Hyun , Choi Moon Hyung , Lee Young Joon , Jung Seung Eun
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To compare prostate monoparametric MRI (monoMRI), which uses only diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), with biparametric (bpMRI) and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) in detecting clinically significant cancer (CSC) and to evaluate the effect of the combination of monoMRI results and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.

Methods

In this study, 193 patients (average age 70.5 years; average PSA 7.9 ng/mL) underwent prebiopsy MRI and subsequent prostate biopsy from January 2020 to February 2022. Two radiologists independently reviewed the 3 MRI protocols using the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS). Interreader agreement was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and diagnostic performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The Youden index was used to determine the new cutoff value of PSA for detecting CSCs in patients with negative monoMRI results.

Results

CSC was confirmed in 109 patients (56.5%). The interreader agreement on monoMRI (ICC = 0.798) was comparable to that on bpMRI and mpMRI (ICC = 0.751 and 0.714, respectively). ROC curve analysis of the 3 protocols revealed no difference in detecting CSCs (P > 0.05). Applying a new PSA cutoff value (9.5 and 7.4 ng/mL, respectively) in monoMRI-negative patients improved the sensitivity of monoMRI from 89.9% to 96.3% for Reader 1, and from 95.4% to 99.1% for Reader 2.

Conclusions

MonoMRI based solely on DWI demonstrated similar diagnostic performance to bpMRI and mpMRI in detecting CSCs, and the combination of PSA level with monoMRI has the potential to effectively triage patients with a high likelihood of CSCs.

Advances in knowledge

Monoparametric MRI conducted only with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), may show comparable performance to biparametric and multiparametric MRI in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer. In patients with negative monoparametric MRI results, implementing a new PSA cutoff value to determine the need for a biopsy could decrease the number of missed prostate cancer.
434 Determining the Utility of Early Phase [99mTc]Tc-MIBI Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography with Contrast Enhanced Computerised tomography(SPECT/CECT) in Localisation of Parathyroid Adenomas for Surgical Planning
Authors: Vemulapalli K , Pencharz D
Published: August 2024

Aim

To assess the utility of early phase [99mTc]Tc-MIBI SPECT scan compared to delayed phase [99mTc]Tc-MIBI SPECT and contrast-enhanced CT imaging in patients undergoing [99mTc]Tc-MIBI SPECT/CECT for localisation of parathyroid adenomas in preparation for parathyroidectomy surgery.

Method

A retrospective review of the images and reports of 52 consecutive patients who underwent nuclear medicine parathyroid studies was carried out. These were assessed to determine utility in interpretation of the early-phase SPECT compared to the delayed-phase SPECT and contrast-enhanced CT in detecting and localising parathyroid adenomas in preparation for parathyroidectomies by otorhinolaryngology surgeons.

Results

In 73% (n=38/52) of patients, the early-phase SPECT did not add any benefit to the localisation of the parathyroid adenoma. There were no patients who had any clear benefit by undergoing an early-phase SPECT. In 12% (n=6/52) of patients, there was no adenoma seen on any imaging modality. 12% (n=6/52) of patients were excluded because there was no contrast medium administered, and one patient had their study cancelled.

Conclusions

Overall, there was no evidence that the early-phase SPECT study added any benefit to the localisation of parathyroid adenomas, when performing [99mTc]Tc-MIBI SPECT/CECT scans. We plan to perform a prospective study with a larger sample size to draw more concrete conclusions and overcome the limitations of this retrospective study design. By not performing the early-phase SPECT study, there can be increased scanner time available to perform a greater number of imaging studies in a given timeframe, without having an impact on surgical planning or patient outcomes.
815 A Retrospective Audit of the Management of Calcium Following Total or Completion Thyroidectomy, a Two Cycle Audit
Authors: Wharf O , Subramaniam M
Published: August 2024

Aim

Hypocalcaemia is a major complication following total and completion thyroidectomy, causing severe symptoms such as paraesthesia, seizures and increasing hospitalisation time. We aimed to minimise the incidence of complications and readmission due to hypocalcaemia following thyroid surgery by reviewing adherence to local guidelines and considering how current practice could be improved.

Method

Retrospective analysis of 26 case files was performed, notes were reviewed for documentation of prescription of Calcichew-D3 before surgery, timing of calcium and parathyroid blood tests and whether the local guidelines for post-operative care after total or completion thyroidectomy were correctly followed. A re-audit was performed after local guidelines were updated, an education session was delivered to staff and a pre-operative pack was produced. The pack included the patient’s consent form, symptoms of hypocalcaemia and, if eligible, a prescription of Calcichew-D3.

Results

100% of patients had their calcium level correctly checked the following morning. Despite this, 3 patients were readmitted with hypocalcaemia following surgery. There was only evidence that 58% of patients had Calcichew-D3 recommended before surgery. Following the interventions, local guidelines were followed correctly in 100% of patients and no patients were readmitted due to hypocalcaemia over the audit period.

Conclusions

An update of local guidelines and education of staff led to an increased understanding of the management of hypocalcaemia following thyroid surgery and there was a reduced incidence of readmissions over the audit period. Furthermore, correct use of guidelines would lead to potential cost saving through avoidance of unnecessary blood tests.
Using integrative taxonomy to clarify species boundaries in Diervilla (bush-honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae)
Authors: Mathews Katherine G , Wheeler Brandon , Silveira Luiz
Published: August 2024

The taxonomic limits across Diervilla, a genus endemic to Eastern North America, are puzzling, compounded by broad morphological variation within species which may overlap across species. Here we used an integrative taxonomic approach to determine the degree of genetic, morphological, and geographical overlap across Diervilla species. We combined phylogenetic and quantitative analysis of ddRAD sequences, multivariate morphometrics, and qualitative morphological comparisons, and gathered occurrence data from herbarium specimens and samples collected anew. Species delimitation methods consistently identified D. lonicera as distinct, but disagreed on the limits between D. rivularis and D. sessilifolia. However, all three species can be consistently separated genetically, as revealed by principal coordinates analysis of the ddRAD sequences, as well as morphologically, as revealed by linear discriminant analysis of morphometric data. The distinctiveness across the three species was further confirmed by separate permutational analyses of variance. Moreover, the three species are largely separated geographically: D. lonicera is predominantly northern in distribution and restricted to higher elevations at lower latitudes, while D. rivularis and D. sessilifolia are parapatric in the Southern Appalachians. Informed by our integrative analyses, we provide information on geographical distributions and a dichotomous key for Diervilla species.
Landscape of racial and ethnic health disparities in the All of Us Research Program
Authors: Lam Vincent , Sharma Shivam , Spouge John L , Jordan I. King , Mariño-Ramírez Leonardo
Published: August 2024

The All of Us Research Program (“All of Us”) is an initiative led by the National Institutes of Health whose goal is to advance research on personalized medicine and health equity through the collection of genetic, environmental, demographic, and health data from volunteer participants who reside in the USA. The program’s emphasis on recruiting a diverse participant cohort makes “All of Us” an effective platform for investigating health disparities. In this work, we analyzed participant electronic health record (EHR) data to identify the diseases and disease categories in the “All of Us” cohort for which racial and ethnic prevalence disparities can be observed. In conjunction with these analyses, we developed the US Health Disparities Browser as an interactive web application that enables users to visualize differences in race- and ethnic-group-specific prevalence estimates for 1755 different diseases: https://usdisparities.biosci.gatech.edu/. The web application features a catalog of all diseases represented in the browser, which can be sorted by overall prevalence as well as the variance in prevalence across racial and ethnic groups. The analyses outlined here provide details on the nature and extent of racial and ethnic health disparities in the “All of Us” participant cohort, and the accompanying browser can serve as a resource through which researchers can explore these disparities

Database URL: https://usdisparities.biosci.gatech.edu.
Acupuncture indication knowledge bases: meridian entity recognition and classification based on ACUBERT
Authors: Xu TianCheng , Wen Jing , Wang Lei , Huang YueYing , Zhu ZiJing , Zhu Qian , Fang Yi , Yang ChengBiao , Xia YouBing
Published: August 2024

In acupuncture diagnosis and treatment, non-quantitative clinical descriptions have limited the development of standardized treatment methods. This study explores the effectiveness and the reasons for discrepancies in the entity recognition and classification of meridians in acupuncture indication using the Acupuncture Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (ACUBERT) model. During the research process, we selected 54 593 different entities from 82 acupuncture medical books as the pretraining corpus for medical literature, conducting classification research on Chinese medical literature using the BERT model. Additionally, we employed the support vector machine and Random Forest models as comparative benchmarks and optimized them through parameter tuning, ultimately leading to the development of the ACUBERT model. The results show that the ACUBERT model outperforms other baseline models in classification effectiveness, achieving the best performance at Epoch = 5. The model’s “precision,” “recall,” and F1 scores reached above 0.8. Moreover, our study has a unique feature: it trains the meridian differentiation model based on the eight principles of differentiation and zang-fu differentiation as foundational labels. It establishes an acupuncture-indication knowledge base (ACU-IKD) and ACUBERT model with traditional Chinese medicine characteristics. In summary, the ACUBERT model significantly enhances the classification effectiveness of meridian attribution in the acupuncture indication database and also demonstrates the classification advantages of deep learning methods based on BERT in multi-category, large-scale training sets.

Database URL: http://acuai.njucm.edu.cn:8081/#/user/login?tenantUrl=default