bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Topology Design of Compliant Mechanism Design With Multiple Component Modeling Connected by Various Joints
Authors: Kim Jun Hwan , Yoon Gil Ho
Published: May 2024

This study presents a novel framework for the optimal design of compliant mechanisms, specifically addressing the structural drawbacks of conventional single-point or de facto hinges. The hinges often lead to structural instability and stress concentration while deriving maximum motion. To overcome these issues, we introduce a new method that can design stable and elastic domains connected by either revolute or prismatic joints. The new method, called sequential analysis based on the reaction force, can successfully eliminate weak hinge points while optimizing joint locations. The efficiency of developed methodology is validated through several numerical examples, yielding compliant mechanisms with suppressed hinges.
A Synthesis Approach of XYZ Compliant Parallel Mechanisms Toward Motion Decoupling With Isotropic Property and Simplified Manufacturing
Authors: Leng Chuyang , Hao Guangbo , Ren Xiaoze , Wang Changsheng , Li Yanming , Zhang Yuanzhao , Li Haiyang
Published: May 2024

Decoupled compliant parallel mechanisms with isotropic legs possess many excellent performances, including ease of actuation, control, manufacture and mathematical analysis, as well as effective error compensation. Despite the advent of numerous isotropic compliant parallel mechanisms, their synthesis process predominantly relies on the empirical knowledge of engineers, with an absence of dedicated synthesis methodologies. This paper proposes the constraint algebra method, a novel synthesis method capable of autonomously exploring feasible constraint space for the synthesis. This method involves algebraic formulation of the constraints for the compliant modules, followed by solving constraint equations to find the feasible constraints and orientations, thereby facilitating the synthesis with intended performance characteristics. The multiplicity of solutions to the constraint equations enables the generation of diverse designs, including innovative configurations that are challenging to obtain via other methods and experience. Furthermore, by the consideration of machinability in several steps of synthesis, the optimal configuration can be selected for simplified manufacture. A design case has been monolithically prototyped and experimentally tested. The proposed methodology holds promise for potential extension to the synthesis of other types of compliant mechanisms.
The Cognitive Function and Taekwondo-Specific Kick Performance of Taekwondo Athletes at Different Hydration Statuses
Authors: Zheng Ai-Chi , He Cheng-Shiun , Lu Chi-Cheng , Hung Bao-Lien , Chou Kuei-Ming , Fang Shih-Hua
Published: May 2024

Purpose: Successful participation in taekwondo (TKD) requires athletes to possess quick decision-making abilities and demonstrate technical proficiency during competition. Dehydration, occurring during both training and competition, is widely recognized to have various negative effects. Methods: This study investigated the impact of different levels of dehydration on cognitive function, as measured by the Vienna Test System, and the specific performance of kicking techniques among TKD athletes. Using a randomized crossover design, 12 participants were involved in the study. Before and after 1 hour of training at 80% of maximal heart rate, participants were weighed and provided urine samples. All participants were randomly assigned to 3 different hydration conditions: the euhydrated (EUH) group had unrestricted access to fluid consumption, while the hypohydrated (HYP) and severely HYP (S-HYP) groups experienced reductions of 2.0% and 4.0% of their initial body weight, respectively. Results: The EUH group exhibited better reaction speed in reaction-time test-form S1 than the HYP and S-HYP groups. Notably, the EUH group demonstrated a significantly higher success rate in the front-side kick (EUH 98%, HYP 90%, S-HYP 88%; P < .05). However, the success rates of back roundhouse kick and free head kick were similar among the 3 statuses. Furthermore, postexercise heart rates were found to be significantly higher in the HYP and S-HYP groups compared with the EUH group. Conclusions: This study provides insight into the negative effects of dehydration on cognitive function and TKD-specific performance. It is recommended that TKD athletes maintain optimal hydration levels during training and competition to ensure optimal performance.
Hidden delta degradation due to fluvial sediment decline and intensified marine storms
Authors: Zhu Qingguang , Xing Fei , Wang Ya Ping , Syvitski Jaia , Overeem Irina , Guo Jin , Li Yuan , Tang Jieping , Yu Qian , Gao Jianhua , Gao Shu
Published: May 2024

Deltas are threatened by erosion due to climate change and reduced sediment supply, but their response to these changes remains poorly quantified. We investigate the abandoned Yellow River delta that has transitioned from rapid growth to ongoing deterioration due to a river avulsion removing the sediment supply. Integrating bathymetric data, process observations, and sediment transport modeling, we find that while the subaerial delta was stabilized by engineering measures, the subaqueous delta continued to erode due to intensified storms, losing 39% of its mass deposited before the avulsion. Long-term observations show that winter storms initiate scouring of the subaqueous delta, contributing up to 70% of seabed erosion. We then analyze 108 global deltas to assess subaqueous delta erosion risks and identify 17 deltas facing similar situations of sediment decline and storm intensification during the past 40 years. Our findings suggest that subaqueous delta erosion must be integrated into delta sustainability evaluations.
Highly efficient microbial inactivation enabled by tunneling charges injected through two-dimensional electronics
Authors: Suh In-Yong , Huo Zheng-Yang , Jung Jae-Hwan , Kang Donghyeon , Lee Dong-Min , Kim Young-Jun , Kim Bosung , Jeon Jinyoung , Zhao Pin , Shin Jeonghune , Kim SeongMin , Kim Sang-Woo
Published: May 2024

Airborne pathogens retain prolonged infectious activity once attached to the indoor environment, posing a pervasive threat to public health. Conventional air filters suffer from ineffective inactivation of the physics-separated microorganisms, and the chemical-based antimicrobial materials face challenges of poor stability/efficiency and inefficient viral inactivation. We, therefore, developed a rapid, reliable antimicrobial method against the attached indoor bacteria/viruses using a large-scale tunneling charge–motivated disinfection device fabricated by directly dispersing monolayer graphene on insulators. Free charges can be stably immobilized under the monolayer graphene through the tunneling effect. The stored charges can motivate continuous electron loss of attached microorganisms for accelerated disinfection, overcoming the diffusion limitation of chemical disinfectants. Complete (>99.99%) and broad-spectrum disinfection was achieved <1 min of attachment to the scaled-up device (25 square centimeters), reliably for 72 hours at high temperature (60°C) and humidity (90%). This method can be readily applied to high-touch surfaces in indoor environments for pathogen control.
p37 regulates VCP/p97 shuttling and functions in the nucleus and cytosol
Authors: Wrobel Lidia , Hoffmann Johanna L. , Li Xinyi , Rubinsztein David C.
Published: May 2024

The AAA
+
-ATPase valosin-containing protein (VCP; also called p97 or Cdc48), a major protein unfolding machinery with a variety of essential functions, localizes to different subcellular compartments where it has different functions. However, the processes regulating the distribution of VCP between the cytosol and nucleus are not understood. Here, we identified p37 (also called UBXN2B) as a major factor regulating VCP nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. p37-dependent VCP localization was crucial for local cytosolic VCP functions, such as autophagy, and nuclear functions in DNA damage repair. Mutations in VCP causing multisystem proteinopathy enhanced its association with p37, leading to decreased nuclear localization of VCP, which enhanced susceptibility to DNA damage accumulation. Both VCP localization and DNA damage susceptibility in cells with such mutations were normalized by lowering p37 levels. Thus, we uncovered a mechanism by which VCP nucleocytoplasmic distribution is fine-tuned, providing a means for VCP to respond appropriately to local needs.
Inverted nucleation for photoinduced nonequilibrium melting
Authors: Hwang Junha , Ihm Yungok , Nam Daewoong , Shin Jaeyong , Park Eunyoung , Lee Sung Yun , Lee Heemin , Heo Seung-Phil , Kim Sangsoo , Ahn Je Young , Shim Ji Hoon , Kim Minseok , Eom Intae , Noh Do Young , Song Changyong
Published: May 2024

Ultrafast photoinduced melting provides an essential platform for studying nonequilibrium phase transitions by linking the kinetics of electron dynamics to ionic motions. Knowledge of dynamic balance in their energetics is essential to understanding how the ionic reaction is influenced by femtosecond photoexcited electrons with notable time lag depending on reaction mechanisms. Here, by directly imaging fluctuating density distributions and evaluating the ionic pressure and Gibbs free energy from two-temperature molecular dynamics that verified experimental results, we uncovered that transient ionic pressure, triggered by photoexcited electrons, controls the overall melting kinetics. In particular, ultrafast nonequilibrium melting can be described by the reverse nucleation process with voids as nucleation seeds. The strongly driven solid-to-liquid transition of metallic gold is successfully explained by void nucleation facilitated by photoexcited electron–initiated ionic pressure, establishing a solid knowledge base for understanding ultrafast nonequilibrium kinetics.
Efficient pure-red perovskite light-emitting diodes with strong passivation via ultrasmall-sized molecules
Authors: Jiang Ji , Shi Mingming , Xia Zhengchang , Cheng Yong , Chu Zema , Zhang Wei , Li Jingzhen , Yin Zhigang , You Jingbi , Zhang Xingwang
Published: May 2024

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have attracted great attention in recent years; however, the halogen vacancy defects in perovskite notably hamper the development of high-efficiency devices. Previously, large-sized passivation agents have been usually used, while the effect of defect passivation is limited due to the weak bonding or the large space steric hindrance. Here, we predict that the ultrasmall-sized formate (Fa) and acetate (Ac) have more efficient passivation ability because of the stronger binding with the perovskite, as demonstrated by density functional theory calculation. We introduce ultrasmall-sized cesium salts (CsFa/CsAc) into buried interface, which can also diffuse into the bulk, resulting in both buried interface and bulk passivation. In addition, the improved perovskite growth has been found due to the enhanced hydrophily after introducing CsFa/CsAc as additive. According to these advantages, a pure-red PeLED with 24.2% efficiency at 639 nm has been achieved.
A comparison of students’ preferences for face-to-face and online laboratory sessions: insights from students’ perception of their learning experiences in an immunology course
Authors: Png Chin Wen , Goh Lih Ing , Chen Yuanxiang Kenneth , Yeo Huimin , Liu Haiyan
Published: May 2024

The COVID-19 global pandemic has prompted educators in universities to reconsider their teaching methods, mainly due to the social distancing measures imposed within the classroom settings. On the other hand, the growing importance of continuing education opportunities for adult learners after graduation has seen the need to transform traditional teaching modes that primarily depend on face-to-face interaction into virtual modes, which are deemed more time- and cost-efficient. These major shifts in social and economic developments have a significant impact on the evolution of curriculum planning in higher education. Education that has scientific inquiry components inevitably comes into question, as conventional beliefs that experiments should be hands-on and will not be as effective if conducted virtually cast doubts on the move to the online space. This paper discusses the background of an impending shift in a university’s approach to more online-based laboratory classes in an immunology course, as well as the exploration of the potential of conducting online laboratory experiments based on student perceptions.
4′-Fluorouridine inhibits alphavirus replication and infection
in vitro
and
in vivo
Authors: Yin Peiqi , May Nicholas A. , Lello Laura Sandra , Fayed Atef , Parks M. Guston , Drobish Adam M. , Wang Sainan , Andrews Meghan , Sticher Zachary , Kolykhalov Alexander A. , Natchus Michael G. , Painter George R. , Merits Andres , Kielian Margaret , Morrison Thomas E.
Published: May 2024

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an enveloped, positive-sense RNA virus that has re-emerged to cause millions of human infections worldwide. In humans, acute CHIKV infection causes fever and severe muscle and joint pain. Chronic and debilitating arthritis and joint pain can persist for months to years. To date, there are no approved antivirals against CHIKV. Recently, the ribonucleoside analog 4′-fluorouridine (4′-FlU) was reported as a highly potent orally available inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza virus replication. In this study, we assessed 4′-FlU’s potency and breadth of inhibition against a panel of alphaviruses including CHIKV, and found that it broadly suppressed alphavirus production in cell culture. 4′-FlU acted on the viral RNA replication step, and the first 4 hours post-infection were the critical time for its antiviral effect.
In vitro
replication assays identified nsP4 as the target of inhibition.
In vivo
, treatment with 4′-FlU reduced disease signs, inflammatory responses, and viral tissue burden in mouse models of CHIKV and Mayaro virus infection. Treatment initiated at 2 hours post-infection was most effective; however, treatment initiated as late as 24–48 hours post-infection produced measurable antiviral effects in the CHIKV mouse model. 4′-FlU showed effective oral delivery in our mouse model and resulted in the accumulation of both 4′-FlU and its bioactive triphosphate form in tissues relevant to arthritogenic alphavirus pathogenesis. Together, our data indicate that 4′-FlU inhibits CHIKV infection
in vitro
and
in vivo
and is a promising oral therapeutic candidate against CHIKV infection.

IMPORTANCE

Alphaviruses including chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are mosquito-borne positive-strand RNA viruses that can cause various diseases in humans. Although compounds that inhibit CHIKV and other alphaviruses have been identified
in vitro
, there are no licensed antivirals against CHIKV. Here, we investigated a ribonucleoside analog, 4′-fluorouridine (4′-FlU), and demonstrated that it inhibited infectious virus production by several alphaviruses
in vitro
and reduced virus burden in mouse models of CHIKV and Mayaro virus infection. Our studies also indicated that 4′-FlU treatment reduced CHIKV-induced footpad swelling and reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Inhibition in the mouse model correlated with effective oral delivery of 4′-FlU and accumulation of both 4′-FlU and its bioactive form in relevant tissues. In summary, 4′-FlU exhibits potential as a novel anti-alphavirus agent targeting the replication of viral RNA.
Genomic profiling and characterization of ocular
Chlamydia trachomatis
reference strain B/HAR36
Authors: Ghasemian Ehsan , Holland Martin J.
Published: May 2024

The human pathogen
Chlamydia trachomatis
has multiple serovariants that have distinct organotropisms. We recently revised genomic sequence data linked to ocular reference strain, B/HAR36. Now linked to its correct genomic data in the European Nucleotide Archive, we describe its genomic features.
A survey of multiple candidate probiotic bacteria reveals specificity in the ability to modify the effects of key wound pathogens
Authors: Alhubail Muna , McBain Andrew J. , O'Neill Catherine A.
Published: May 2024

We have evaluated the inhibitory effects of supernatants and lysates derived from several candidate probiotics, on the growth and biofilm formation of wound pathogens, and their ability to protect human primary epidermal keratinocytes from the toxic effects of pathogens. Supernatants (neutralized and non-neutralized) and lysates (
via
sonication) from
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacterium longum, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus
GG, and
Escherichia coli
Nissle 1917 were tested for their inhibitory effects against
Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
and
Acinetobacter baumanni
. The supernatants of
L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, B. longum,
and
L. rhamnosus
GG reduced the growth of
S. aureus, E. coli,
and
A. baumanni. B. longum
additionally inhibited
P. aeruginosa
growth. However, neutralized
Lactobacillus
supernatants did not inhibit growth and in some cases were stimulatory. Lysates of
L. plantarum
and
L. reuteri
inhibited
S. pyogenes
while
B. longum
lysates inhibited
E. coli
and
S. aureus
growth.
E. coli
Nissle 1917 lysates enhanced the growth of
S. pyogenes
and
P. aeruginosa
. Biofilm formation by
E. coli
was reduced by lysates of
L. reuteri
and neutralized supernatants of all candidate probiotics.
P. aeruginosa
biofilm formation was reduced by
E. coli
Nissle supernatant but increased by
L. plantarum, L. reuteri,
and
Bifidobacterium longum
lysates.
L. reuteri
decreased the toxic effects of
S. aureus
on keratinocytes while
E. coli
Nissle 1917 lysates protected keratinocytes from
S. pyogenes
toxicity. In conclusion, lactobacilli and
E. coli
Nissle lysates confer inhibitory effects on pathogenic growth independently of acidification and may beneficially alter the outcome of interactions between host cell-pathogen in a species-specific manner.

IMPORTANCE

One of the attributes of probiotics is their ability to inhibit pathogens. For this reason, many lactobacilli have been investigated for their effects as potential topical therapeutics against skin pathogens. However, this field is in its infancy. Even though probiotics are known to be safe when taken orally, the potential safety concerns when applied to potentially compromised skin are unknown. For this reason, we believe that extracts of probiotics will offer advantages over the use of live bacteria. In this study, we have surveyed five candidate probiotics, when used as extracts, in terms of their effects against common wound pathogens. Our data demonstrate that some probiotic extracts promote the growth of pathogens and highlight the need for careful selection of species and strains when probiotics are to be used topically.
Designing a smallpox B-cell and T-cell multi-epitope subunit vaccine using a comprehensive immunoinformatics approach
Authors: Yu Changqing , Wu Qi , Xin Jiuqing , Yu Qiujuan , Ma Zhixin , Xue Mengzhou , Xu Qingyuan , Zheng Chunfu
Published: May 2024

Smallpox is a highly contagious human disease caused by the variola virus. Although the disease was eliminated in 1979 due to its highly contagious nature and historical pathogenicity, with a mortality rate of up to 30%, this virus is an important candidate for biological weapons. Currently, vaccines are the critical measures to prevent this virus infection and spread. In this study, we designed a peptide vaccine using immunoinformatics tools, which have the potential to activate human immunity against variola virus infection efficiently. The design of peptides derives from vaccine-candidate proteins showing protective potential in vaccinia WR strains. Potential non-toxic and nonallergenic T-cell and B-cell binding and cytokine-inducing epitopes were then screened through a priority prediction using special linkers to connect B-cell epitopes and T-cell epitopes, and an appropriate adjuvant was added to the vaccine construction to enhance the immunogenicity of the peptide vaccine. The 3D structure display, docking, and free energy calculation analysis indicate that the binding affinity between the vaccine peptide and Toll-like receptor 3 is high, and the vaccine receptor complex is highly stable. Notably, the vaccine we designed is obtained from the protective protein of the vaccinia and combined with preventive measures to avoid side effects. This vaccine is highly likely to produce an effective and safe immune response against the variola virus infection in the body.

IMPORTANCE

In this work, we designed a vaccine with a cluster of multiple T-cell/B-cell epitopes, which should be effective in inducing systematic immune responses against variola virus infection. Besides, this work also provides a reference in vaccine design for preventing monkeypox virus infection, which is currently prevalent.
Features of a Low-Temperature Charge Density Wave in the Monoclinic Phase of NbS3 Manifested in the NMR and in Transport Properties
Authors: Semakin A. S. , Mukhamedshin I. R. , Zybtsev S. G. , Pokrovskii V. Ya.
Published: May 2024

The relaxation of the transverse nuclear magnetization in the monoclinic phase of NbS3 has been studied by the 93Nb nuclear magnetic resonance method near the temperature TP2 = 150 K, at which a low-temperature charge density wave is formed. It has been shown that the critical slowing down of one of the vibrational modes of the lattice, which is quite slow even above TP2, occurs slightly below TP2. The transition at TP2 occurs not only in low-resistance samples, as thought previously, but also in high-resistance ones, and involves Nb atoms in the bulk of a sample. The transport properties of high-resistance samples, namely, the smearing of the depinning threshold for the charge density wave below TP2, confirm that the phase transition in them occurs at TP2. It has been concluded that the distortion of the lattice at TP2 is not due to the Peierls mechanism and can be attributed to the Keldysh–Kopaev transition. Another possible mechanism is the fluctuation distortion of the lattice above TP2 that prevents the sliding of the charge density wave.
Improving endoscopy unit efficacy and retention through the provision of role-specific admin and clerical training
Authors: Dawson Michael , Rankin Melissa , Smith Grahame
Published: May 2024

The North West Endoscopy Academy is committed to ensuring endoscopy training is of a standardised high quality that is multidisciplinary. It seeks to address the historic lack of admin training by providing a core admin and clerical (A&C) skills in endoscopy course for all A&C staff. The competency framework used for this training is the first developed specifically for A&C staff in endoscopy and the early indications are that it has significantly contributed to the efficacy of a unit’s performance, highlighting that greater focus should be placed on providing these opportunities to A&C staff in the future. This article will explore the aims and methodology of the course and present evaluation data to discuss the successes and future recommendations. We have used a combination of teaching methods, such as small group work, case study analysis and traditional classroom teaching to provide an education programme which seeks to underline existing best practice and introduce new themes and ways of working. Our two-tiered evaluation has shown this approach to be effective, in the future, we intend to implement a further evaluation to establish the long-term added value of the training. In combination, we will begin work on advanced skills modules aimed at supervisory and management staff.
Deep learning-based model for difficult transfemoral access prediction compared with human assessment in stroke thrombectomy
Authors: Canals Pere , Garcia-Tornel Alvaro , Requena Manuel , Jabłońska Magda , Li Jiahui , Balocco Simone , Díaz Oliver , Tomasello Alejandro , Ribo Marc
Published: May 2024

Background

In mechanical thrombectomy (MT), extracranial vascular tortuosity is among the main determinants of procedure duration and success. Currently, no rapid and reliable method exists to identify the anatomical features precluding fast and stable access to the cervical vessels.

Methods

A retrospective sample of 513 patients were included in this study. Patients underwent first-line transfemoral MT following anterior circulation large vessel occlusion stroke. Difficult transfemoral access (DTFA) was defined as impossible common carotid catheterization or time from groin puncture to first carotid angiogram >30 min. A machine learning model based on 29 anatomical features automatically extracted from head-and-neck computed tomography angiography (CTA) was developed to predict DTFA. Three experienced raters independently assessed the likelihood of DTFA on a reduced cohort of 116 cases using a Likert scale as benchmark for the model, using preprocedural CTA as well as automatic 3D vascular segmentation separately.

Results

Among the study population, 11.5% of procedures (59/513) presented DTFA. Six different features from the aortic, supra-aortic, and cervical regions were included in the model. Cross-validation resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve of 0.76 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.76) for DTFA prediction, with high sensitivity for impossible access identification (0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.94). The model outperformed human assessment in the reduced cohort [F1-score (95% CI) by experts with CTA: 0.43 (0.37 to 0.50); experts with 3D segmentation: 0.50 (0.46 to 0.54); and model: 0.70 (0.65 to 0.75)].

Conclusions

A fully automatic model for DTFA prediction was developed and validated. The presented method improved expert assessment of difficult access prediction in stroke MT. Derived information could be used to guide decisions regarding arterial access for MT.
Epigenome-wide association study of lung cancer among never smokers in two prospective cohorts in Shanghai, China
Authors: Rahman Mohammad L , Breeze Charles E , Shu Xiao-Ou , Wong Jason Y Y , Blechter Batel , Cardenas Andres , Wang Xuting , Ji Bu-Tian , Hu Wei , Cai Qiuyin , Hosgood H Dean , Yang Gong , Shi Jianxin , Long Jirong , Gao Yu-Tang , Bell Douglas A , Zheng Wei , Rothman Nathaniel , Lan Qing
Published: May 2024

Background

The aetiology of lung cancer among individuals who never smoked remains elusive, despite 15% of lung cancer cases in men and 53% in women worldwide being unrelated to smoking. Epigenetic alterations, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm) changes, have emerged as potential drivers. Yet, few prospective epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), primarily focusing on peripheral blood DNAm with limited representation of never smokers, have been conducted.

Methods

We conducted a nested case-control study of 80 never-smoking incident lung cancer cases and 83 never-smoking controls within the Shanghai Women’s Health Study and Shanghai Men’s Health Study. DNAm was measured in prediagnostic oral rinse samples using Illumina MethylationEPIC array. Initially, we conducted an EWAS to identify differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with lung cancer in the discovery sample of 101 subjects. The top 50 DMPs were further evaluated in a replication sample of 62 subjects, and results were pooled using fixed-effect meta-analysis.

Results

Our study identified three DMPs significantly associated with lung cancer at the epigenome-wide significance level of p<8.22×10−8. These DMPs were identified as cg09198866 (MYH9;TXN2), cg01411366 (SLC9A10) and cg12787323. Furthermore, examination of the top 1000 DMPs indicated significant enrichment in epithelial regulatory regions and their involvement in small GTPase-mediated signal transduction pathways. Additionally, GrimAge acceleration was identified as a risk factor for lung cancer (OR=1.19 per year; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.34).

Conclusions

While replication in a larger sample size is necessary, our findings suggest that DNAm patterns in prediagnostic oral rinse samples could provide novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of lung cancer in never smokers.
Prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition in hospitalized patients: a retrospective, cross-sectional study of single-day screening
Authors: Alvarez-Altamirano Karolina , Bejarano-Rosales Mónica P. , González-Rodríguez Bárbara Kassandra , Mondragón-Nieto Grissel , Alatriste-Ortiz Gabriela , Noguez Liz J. Jiménez , Gutiérrez-Salmeán Gabriela , Fuchs-Tarlovsky Vanessa
Published: May 2024

Hospital malnutrition remains a significant public health issue, particularly in developing countries. The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) proposed homogenizing criteria to standardize malnutrition diagnosis. This study aimed to retrospectively determine the prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition diagnoses among hospitalized patients using the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS)-2002 screening instrument and the GLIM criteria, respectively. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study from nutritional records of patients hospitalized in a single centre 2021. Nutrition data from records included medical diagnosis, gender, length of stay, age, weight, height, body mass index, weight loss, calf circumference, and middle upper arm circumference. Nutritional risk and malnutrition were evaluated using NRS-2002 and GLIM criteria. Its concordance was further evaluated by using a Kappa test. The study included 616 records of patients; 52.3% ( n = 322) of the population were male. The prevalence of nutritional risk, according to NRS-2002, was 69.5% ( n = 428). Nutritional risk as well as malnutrition diagnosis according to GLIM criteria was observed in 87.8% ( n = 374) of patienttritional risk and malnutrition were evaluated using NRS-2002 and GLIM criteria. Its concordance was further evaluated by using a Kappa test. Ws. Tools showed a strong concordance (κ= 0.732). All anthropometric data, except for height, were found to be significantly different between patients with moderate and severe malnutrition ( p < 0.05). Our findings highlight a high prevalence of malnutrition in this group of hospitalized patients in Mexico. NRS-2002 demonstrated good agreement with the diagnosis of malnutrition according to GLIM criteria and could be considered part of the straightforward two-step approach for malnutrition; however, further studies are needed.
Discovery of leaderless bacteriocins through genome mining
Authors: Alkassab Daniah , Sampang Julia , Budhwani Zafina , Buragina Jenna T. , Lussier Leah , Acedo Jeella Z.
Published: May 2024

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has prompted the search for antibiotic alternatives, and bacteriocins have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Bacteriocins refer to a large family of antimicrobial peptides that are ribosomally synthesized by bacteria. The class of bacteriocins called leaderless bacteriocins is a unique group distinguished by the absence of a leader peptide and post-translational modifications, and hence their linear structures. Members of this class have been discovered by a traditional approach of screening bacterial isolates for antimicrobial activity and subsequently identifying the active molecule. This study presents the first extensive genome mining approach for leaderless bacteriocin discovery. In detail, we performed a precursor peptide-based genome mining to search for novel leaderless bacteriocins. Over 400 producer organisms with putative leaderless bacteriocins encoded in their genomes were identified, revealing the widespread occurrence of leaderless bacteriocins. Among the identified putative bacteriocins, 122 are unique peptide sequences. To validate our genome mining results, a novel bacteriocin we termed miticin, encoded in the genome of Streptococcus mitis, was obtained through chemical synthesis. Miticin was indeed found to be active, specifically against a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria. With this study, we provide the foundation for exploring a repertoire of potential novel antimicrobials identified through an innovative bioinformatics-guided approach, representing a significant leap compared to traditional screening and isolation methods for the discovery of bioactive molecules, specifically leaderless bacteriocins.
Monte Carlo simulation study on the reliability of concrete-filled HSS beam-column design provisions
Authors: Rahbarimanesh Sadaf , Tousignant Kyle
Published: May 2024

Revisions were recently proposed to the way in which concrete-filled hollow structural section members are handled in CSA S16. These revisions were based on previous research, comparisons to experiments, and a first-order reliability method analysis of existing provisions for compression and flexural members. In this paper, this topic is further expanded by using Monte Carlo Simulations (MCS) to determine the inherent reliability of the previous and new design rules for concrete-filled rectangular hollow section (RHS) and circular hollow section (CHS) beam-columns. A representative set of concrete-filled RHS and CHS members with variations in concrete strength, wall slenderness, effective length, and loading eccentricity are analyzed. Using MCS, the reliability index ( β+ ) of each is determined over a range of live-to-dead load ratios. Inherent β+ values are compared to the code-specified target (i.e., β+ = 3.0 per Annex B of CSA S16) and the CSA S16:19 and AISC 360-16 provisions.
Cytochrome P450 1B1 is critical in the development of TNF-α, IL-6, and LPS-induced cellular hypertrophy
Authors: ElKhatib Mohammed A.W. , Gerges Samar H. , Isse Fadumo A. , El-Kadi Ayman O.S.
Published: May 2024

Heart failure (HF) is preceded by cellular hypertrophy (CeH) which alters expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) and arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. Inflammation is involved in CeH pathophysiology, but mechanisms remain elusive. This study investigates the impacts of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on the development of CeH and the role of CYP1B1. AC16 cells were treated with TNF-α, IL-6, and LPS in the presence and absence of CYP1B1-siRNA or resveratrol. mRNA and protein expression levels of CYP1B1 and hypertrophic markers were determined using PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. CYP1B1 enzyme activity was determined, and AA metabolites were analyzed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Our results show that TNF-α, IL-6, and LPS induce expression of hypertrophic markers, induce CYP1B1 expression, and enantioselectively modulate CYP1B1-mediated AA metabolism in favor of mid-chain HETEs. CYP1B1-siRNA or resveratrol ameliorated these effects. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the crucial role of CYP1B1 in TNF-α, IL-6, and LPS-induced CeH.
Antimagicness of tensor product for some wheel related graphs with star
Authors: Latchoumanane Vinothkumar , Varadhan Murugan
Published: May 2024

A graph [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] vertices and [Formula: see text] edges has antimagic labeling if there is a bijection from the edge set of the graph to the label set [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] vertices must have distinct vertex sums, where the vertex sums are determined by adding up all the edge labels incident to each vertex [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text]. Hartsfield and Ringel conjectured that every connected graph is antimagic, except [Formula: see text]. In this study, we identified a class of connected graphs that lend credence to this conjecture. In this paper, we proved that the tensor product of a Wheel Graph, Helm Graph, and Flower graph with Star is antimagic.
Photocatalytic activity of BaTi5O11 nanocrystals synthesized by hydrothermal method
Authors: Zhang Wang , Han Jiazheng , Cheng Xingguo , Guo Dongyun
Published: May 2024

[Formula: see text] nanocrystals were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and their photocatalytic performance was investigated by degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV-light irradiation. About 82% MB was photodegraded after 30 min irradiation, which indicated that the [Formula: see text] nanocrystals had good photocatalytic performance due to the distorted [Formula: see text] octahedra in the monoclinic [Formula: see text] crystal structure and nano-size [Formula: see text] particles. It indicated that the [Formula: see text] nanocrystals were promising candidates as UV-light photocatalysts.
The Cretaceous world: plate tectonics, palaeogeography and palaeoclimate
Authors: Scotese Christopher R. , Vérard Christian , Burgener Landon , Elling Reece P. , Kocsis Adam T.
Published: May 2024

The tectonics, geography and climate of the Cretaceous world were very different from the modern world. At the start of the Cretaceous, the supercontinent of Pangaea had just begun to break apart and only a few small ocean basins separated Laurasia, West Gondwana and East Gondwana. Unlike the modern world, there were no significant continent–continent collisions during the Cretaceous, and the continents were low-lying and easily flooded. The transition from a Pangaea-like configuration to a more dispersed continental arrangement had important effects on the global sea level and climate. During the Early Cretaceous, as the continents rifted apart, the new continental rifts were transformed into young ocean basins. The oceanic lithosphere in these young ocean basins was thermally elevated, which boosted sea level. Sea level, on average, was
c.
70 m higher than that of the present day. Sea level was highest during the mid-Cretaceous (90–80 Ma), with a subsidiary peak occurring
c.
120 Myr ago (early Aptian). Overall, the Cretaceous was much warmer than the present-day climate (>10°C warmer). These very warm times produced oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), and the high temperatures in equatorial regions sometimes made terrestrial and shallow-marine ecosystems uninhabitable (temperatures >40°C). This is unlike anything we have seen in the last 35 Myr and may presage the eventual results of man-made global warming. This mostly stable, hot climate regime endured for nearly 80 Myr before dramatically terminating with the Chicxulub bolide impact 66 Myr ago. Temperatures plummeted to icehouse levels in the ‘impact winter’ as a result of sunlight-absorbing dust and aerosols being thrown into the atmosphere. As a consequence of the collapse of the food chain,
c.
75% of all species were wiped out. The effect of this extinction event on global ecosystems was second only to the great Permo-Triassic Extinction.
Book Review: Understanding Large Language Models: Learning Their Underlying Concepts and Technologies
Authors: Rogers David S.
Published: May 2024

Understanding Large Language Models: Learning Their Underlying Concepts and Technologies is written by Thimira Amaratunga and published by Apress, ©2023, paperback, ISBN-13 (pbk): 979-8-8688-0016-0, 156 pp., $44.99.
HLS-IRT: Hardware Trojan Insertion through Modification of Intermediate Representation During High-Level Synthesis
Authors: Mukherjee Rijoy , Ghosh Archisman , Chakraborty Rajat Subhra
Published: May 2024

Modern integrated circuit (IC) design incorporates the usage of proprietary computer-aided design (CAD) software and integration of third-party hardware intellectual property (IP) cores. Subsequently, the fabrication process for the design takes place in untrustworthy offshore foundries that raises concerns regarding security and reliability. Hardware Trojans (HTs) are difficult to detect malicious modifications to IC that constitute a major threat, which if undetected prior to deployment, can lead to catastrophic functional failures or the unauthorized leakage of confidential information. Apart from the risks posed by rogue human agents, recent studies have shown that high-level synthesis (HLS) CAD software can serve as a potent attack vector for inserting HTs. In this article, we introduce a novel automated attack vector, which we term “HLS-IRT”, by inserting HT in the register transfer logic (RTL) description of circuits generated during an HLS based IC design flow, by directly modifying the compiler-generated intermediate representation (IR) corresponding to the design. We demonstrate the attack using a design and implementation flow based on the open-source
Bambu
HLS software and
Xilinx
FPGA, on several hardware accelerators spanning different application domains. Our results show that the resulting HTs are surreptitious and effective, while incurring minimal design overhead. We also propose a novel detection scheme for HLS-IRT, since existing techniques are found to be inadequate to detect the proposed HTs.
Characterizing and Optimizing LDPC Performance on 3D NAND Flash Memories
Authors: Li Qiao , Chen Yu , Wu Guanyu , Du Yajuan , Ye Min , Gan Xinbiao , Zhang Jie , Shen Zhirong , Shu Jiwu , Xue Chun
Published: May 2024

With the development of NAND flash memories’ bit density and stacking technologies, while storage capacity keeps increasing, the issue of reliability becomes increasingly prominent. Low-density parity check (LDPC) code, as a robust error-correcting code, is extensively employed in flash memory. However, when the RBER is prohibitively high, LDPC decoding would introduce long latency. To study how LDPC performs on the latest 3D NAND flash memory, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of LDPC decoding performance using both the theoretically derived threshold voltage distribution model obtained through modeling (Modeling-based method) and the actual voltage distribution collected from on-chip data through testing (Ideal case). Based on LDPC decoding results under various interference conditions, we summarize four findings that can help us gain a better understanding of the characteristics of LDPC decoding in 3D NAND flash memory. Following our characterization, we identify the differences in LDPC decoding performance between the Modeling-based method and the Ideal case. Due to the accuracy of initial probability information, the threshold voltage distribution derived through modeling deviates by certain degrees from the actual threshold voltage distribution. This leads to a performance gap between using the threshold voltage distribution derived from the Modeling-based method and the actual distribution. By observing the abnormal behaviors in the decoding with the Modeling-based method, we introduce an Offsetted Read Voltage (ΔRV) method for optimizing LDPC decoding performance by offsetting the reading voltage in each layer of a flash block. The evaluation results show that our ΔRV method enhances the decoding performance of LDPC on the Modeling-based method by reducing the total number of sensing levels needed for LDPC decoding by 0.67% to 18.92% for different interference conditions on average, under the P/E cycles from 3,000 to 7,000.
Exploiting Instance-level Relationships in Weakly Supervised Text-to-Video Retrieval
Authors: Yin Shukang , Zhao Sirui , Wang Hao , Xu Tong , Chen Enhong
Published: May 2024

Text-to-Video Retrieval is a typical cross-modal retrieval task that has been studied extensively under a conventional supervised setting. Recently, some works have sought to extend the problem to a weakly supervised formulation, which can be more consistent with real-life scenarios and more efficient in annotation cost. In this context, a new task called Partially Relevant Video Retrieval (PRVR) is proposed, which aims to retrieve videos that are partially relevant to a given textual query, i.e., the videos containing at least one semantically relevant moment. Formulating the task as a Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) ranking problem, prior arts rely on heuristics algorithms such as a simple greedy search strategy and deal with each query independently. Although these early explorations have achieved decent performance, they may not fully utilize the bag-level label and only consider the local optimum, which could result in suboptimal solutions and inferior final retrieval performance. To address this problem, in this paper, we propose to exploit the relationships between instances to boost retrieval performance. Based on this idea, we creatively put forward: (1) a new matching scheme for pairing queries and their related moments in the video; and (2) a new loss function to facilitate cross-modal alignment between two views of an instance. Extensive validations on three publicly available datasets have demonstrated the effectiveness of our solution and verified our hypothesis that modeling instance-level relationships is beneficial in the MIL ranking setting. Our code will be publicly available at
https://github.com/xjtupanda/BGM-Net
.
Variate Associated Domain Adaptation for Unsupervised Multivariate Time Series Anomaly Detection
Authors: He Yifan , Bian Yatao , Ding Xi , Wu Bingzhe , Guan Jihong , Zhang Ji , Zhou Shuigeng
Published: May 2024

Multivariate Time Series Anomaly Detection (MTS-AD) is crucial for the effective management and maintenance of devices in complex systems, such as server clusters, spacecrafts, and financial systems, and so on. However, upgrade or cross-platform deployment of these devices will introduce the issue of cross-domain distribution shift, which leads to the prototypical problem of domain adaptation for MTS-AD. Compared with general domain adaptation problems, MTS-AD domain adaptation presents two peculiar challenges: (1) the dimensions of data from the source domain and the target domain are usually different, so alignment without losing any information is necessary; and (2) the association between different variates plays a vital role in the MTS-AD task, which is overlooked by traditional domain adaptation approaches. Aiming at addressing the above issues, we propose a Variate Associated Domain Adaptation Method Combined with a Graph Deviation Network (VANDA) for MTS-AD, which includes two major contributions. First, we characterize the intra-domain variate associations of the source domain by a graph deviation network (GDN), which can share parameters across domains without dimension alignment. Second, we propose a sliding similarity to measure the inter-domain variate associations and perform joint training by minimizing the optimal transport distance between source and target data for transferring variate associations across domains. VANDA achieves domain adaptation by transferring both variate associations and GDN parameters from the source domain to the target domain. We construct two pairs of MTS-AD datasets from existing MTS-AD data and combine three domain adaptation strategies with six MTS-AD backbones as the benchmark methods for experimental evaluation and comparison. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, which outperforms the benchmark methods, and significantly improves the AD performance of the target domain by effectively utilizing the source domain knowledge.
Finite-Time Consensus of Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems via Event-Triggered Impulsive Control
Authors: Yang Shasha , Liu Ziming , Ji Lianghao
Published: May 2024

In this study, the finite-time consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems via event-triggered impulsive control is investigated. We leverage a novel approach that combines impulsive control, event-triggered communication, and finite-time stability theory. This successful combination achieves finite-time consensus while minimizing communication. In addition, the event-triggered condition determines both the impulsive instants and the update times for the finite-time control. Furthermore, it is shown that the Zeno-behavior and chattering phenomenon can be eliminated under our work. Numerical examples and simulations are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.