bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanical properties and acoustic emission characteristics of deep hard coal after segmented high-temperature treatment
Authors: Wang Chun , Li Xin-ru , Cheng Lu-ping , Jiang Dong-ping , Xiong Zu-qiang , Lei Bin-bin , Zhang Pan-long , Zhan Shuai-fei
Published: January 2023

Based on engineering background that local heating of coal seam is uneven due to underground coal gasification, coal-bed gas exploitation via heat injection, spontaneous combustion of coal seam, etc., segmented heating coal sample was used to simulate coal seam under uneven heating condition, and experimental study on mechanical behaviors of coal sample after segmented heat treatment at high temperatures was conducted. Test results show that temperature at 100 °C ~ 400 °C did not reach ignition temperature of deep hard coal for the experiment and was not enough to change main ingredients of coal sample, which less affected compression strength, elastic modulus, acoustic emission behavior of coal sample. Although compaction stage-elastic stage-plastic stage-broken stage appeared in compression stress–strain curve of coal sample, height increase led to decrease of compression strength, elastic modulus of coal sample, cumulative amplitude and ringing count for acoustic emission in the form of power function. Meanwhile, it is found that final failure modes of coal sample after segmented heat were mainly shear failure and separation failure and friction mixed failure was secondary. In addition, influence of heating temperature at 100 °C ~ 400 °C on failure modes of coal sample was small. However, height increase in the heating section of coal sample made shear failure surface gradually move to the heating section and separation failure surface moved with the change of contact surface position between heating section and non-heating section. Furthermore, the integral failure degree of coal sample was more serious. Finally, based on variation behaviors of acoustic emission parameter for coal sample after segmented heating, inversion formula on acoustic emission parameter for strength of coal sample was discussed and verified via experimental result of coal sample with different segmented heat height after heating treatment at 200 °C.
Isolation and characterization of nanocellulose from selected hardwoods, viz., Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. and Casuarina equisetifolia L., by steam explosion method
Authors: Raju Vishnu , Revathiswaran Revathi , Subramanian Kizhaeral Sevanthapandian , Parthiban Kalappan Thangamuthu , Chandrakumar Kalichamy , Anoop Elaveetil Vasu , Chirayil Cintil Jose
Published: January 2023

Extraction of nanocellulose is challenging, especially from hardwoods due to its complex chemical structure as well as structural hierarchy. In this study, nanocellulose was isolated from wood pulp of two hardwood species, namely Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. and Casuarina equisetifolia L. by steam explosion process. Pure cellulose wood pulp was obtained through Kraft pulping process followed by alkaline and bleaching pre-treatments. Isolated nanocellulose was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectra, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Nanocellulose obtained from both species showed non-significant difference with average diameter of 27.801 nm for eucalyptus and 28.690 nm for casuarina, which was confirmed from TEM and AFM images. FTIR spectra of nanocellulose showed prominent peaks corresponding to cellulose and absence of peaks corresponding to lignin. The elemental purity of nanocellulose was confirmed with EDAX detector. XRD analysis showed the enrichment of crystalline cellulose in nanocellulose, and also confirmed the significant conversion of cellulose I to cellulose II. During TG analysis the untreated fibres started to degrade earlier than the nanocellulose which indicated the higher thermal stability of nanocellulose. Highly entangled network like structure along with high aspect ratio make the nanofibres a versatile material for reinforcing the composites. This successful method can be replicated for industrial level production of cellulose nanofibres.
Monetization in online streaming platforms: an exploration of inequalities in Twitch.tv
Authors: Houssard A. , Pilati F. , Tartari M. , Sacco P. L. , Gallotti R.
Published: January 2023

The live streaming platform Twitch underwent in recent years an impressive growth in terms of viewership and content diversity. The platform has been the object of several studies showcasing how streamers monetize their content via a peculiar system centered around para-sociality and community dynamics. Nonetheless, due to scarcity of data, lots is still unknown about the platform-wide relevance of this explanation as well as its effect on inequalities across streamers. In this paper, thanks to the recent availability of data showcasing the top 10,000 streamers revenue between 2019 and 2021, as well as viewership data from different sources, we characterized the popularity and audience monetization dynamics of the platform. Using methods from social physics and econometrics, we analyzed audience building and retention dynamics and linked them to observed inequalities. We found a high level of inequality across the platform, as well as an ability of top streamers to diversify their revenue sources, through audience renewal and diversification in monetization systems. Our results demonstrate that, even if the platform design and affordance favor monetization for smaller creators catering to specific niches, its non-algorithmic design still leaves room for classical choice biases allowing a few streamers to emerge, retain and renew a massive audience.
Comparison of conventional and contemporary root canal disinfection protocols against bacteria, lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
Authors: Alquria Theeb A. , Alfirdous Rayyan A. , Gupta Swati , Santamaria Mauro P. , Santamaria Ingrid F. , Gomes Ana P. M. , Tiradentes Naiara , Silva Eduardo G. , Martinho Frederico C.
Published: January 2023

This study devised a dual-species biofilm model to investigate bacteria, lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) simultaneously, and compared the efficacy of conventional and contemporary disinfection protocols. Seventy single-rooted mandibular premolars were included. Fourteen teeth were negative control, and 56 teeth were infected with 3-week-old E. faecalis and E. coli GFP biofilm. Fourteen/56 teeth were positive control, with seven teeth processed for CLSM analysis and seven teeth sampled with paper points (PPs) and cryogenically ground for bacterial, LTA, and LPS analyses. Forty-two teeth were randomly divided into three groups: GWS (GentleWave system) + MIT (minimally invasive technique), PUI (passive ultrasonic irrigation) + CIT (conventional instrumentation technique), and XP-EF (XP-endo Finisher) + CIT (All, n = 14). Samples were collected before (s1) and after disinfection (s2) with PPs and after cryogenically ground (s3). CFUs were counted, and LTA and LPS were quantified with LTA-ELISA and LAL assay, respectively. XP-EF was as effective as PUI (p > 0.05). GWS + MIT was the most effective disinfection protocol against bacteria, LTA, and LPS (p < 0.05). In conclusion, PUI, XP-EF, and GWS were highly effective against bacteria, LTA, and LPS, with GWS being the most effective.
Pilot study of optical coherence tomography angiography-derived microvascular metrics in hands and feet of healthy and diabetic people
Authors: Untracht Gavrielle R. , Dikaios Nikolaos , Durrani Abdullah K. , Bapir Mariam , Sarunic Marinko V. , Sampson David D. , Heiss Christian , Sampson Danuta M.
Published: January 2023

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a non-invasive, high-resolution imaging modality with growing application in dermatology and microvascular assessment. Accepted reference values for OCTA-derived microvascular parameters in skin do not yet exist but need to be established to drive OCTA into the clinic. In this pilot study, we assess a range of OCTA microvascular metrics at rest and after post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (PORH) in the hands and feet of 52 healthy people and 11 people with well-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We calculate each metric, measure test–retest repeatability, and evaluate correlation with demographic risk factors. Our study delivers extremity-specific, age-dependent reference values and coefficients of repeatability of nine microvascular metrics at baseline and at the maximum of PORH. Significant differences are not seen for age-dependent microvascular metrics in hand, but they are present for several metrics in the foot. Significant differences are observed between hand and foot, both at baseline and maximum PORH, for most of the microvascular metrics with generally higher values in the hand. Despite a large variability over a range of individuals, as is expected based on heterogeneous ageing phenotypes of the population, the test–retest repeatability is 3.5% to 18% of the mean value for all metrics, which highlights the opportunities for OCTA-based studies in larger cohorts, for longitudinal monitoring, and for assessing the efficacy of interventions. Additionally, branchpoint density in the hand and foot and changes in vessel diameter in response to PORH stood out as good discriminators between healthy and T2DM groups, which indicates their potential value as biomarkers. This study, building on our previous work, represents a further step towards standardised OCTA in clinical practice and research.
Application of improved transformer based on weakly supervised in crowd localization and crowd counting
Authors: Gao Hui , Zhao Wenjun , Zhang Dexian , Deng Miaolei
Published: January 2023

To the problem of the complex pre-processing and post-processing to obtain head-position existing in the current crowd localization method using pseudo boundary box and pre-designed positioning map, this work proposes an end-to-end crowd localization framework named WSITrans, which reformulates the weakly-supervised crowd localization problem based on Transformer and implements crowd counting. Specifically, we first perform global maximum pooling (GMP) after each stage of pure Transformer, which can extract and retain more detail of heads. In addition, we design a binarization module that binarizes the output features of the decoder and fuses the confidence score to obtain more accurate confidence score. Finally, extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method achieves significant improvement on three challenging benchmarks. It is worth mentioning that the WSITrans improves F1-measure by 4.0%.
A 178-clinical-center experiment of integrating AI solutions for lung pathology diagnosis
Authors: Ibragimov Bulat , Arzamasov Kirill , Maksudov Bulat , Kiselev Semen , Mongolin Alexander , Mustafaev Tamerlan , Ibragimova Dilyara , Evteeva Ksenia , Andreychenko Anna , Morozov Sergey
Published: January 2023

In 2020, an experiment testing AI solutions for lung X-ray analysis on a multi-hospital network was conducted. The multi-hospital network linked 178 Moscow state healthcare centers, where all chest X-rays from the network were redirected to a research facility, analyzed with AI, and returned to the centers. The experiment was formulated as a public competition with monetary awards for participating industrial and research teams. The task was to perform the binary detection of abnormalities from chest X-rays. For the objective real-life evaluation, no training X-rays were provided to the participants. This paper presents one of the top-performing AI frameworks from this experiment. First, the framework used two EfficientNets, histograms of gradients, Haar feature ensembles, and local binary patterns to recognize whether an input image represents an acceptable lung X-ray sample, meaning the X-ray is not grayscale inverted, is a frontal chest X-ray, and completely captures both lung fields. Second, the framework extracted the region with lung fields and then passed them to a multi-head DenseNet, where the heads recognized the patient’s gender, age and the potential presence of abnormalities, and generated the heatmap with the abnormality regions highlighted. During one month of the experiment from 11.23.2020 to 12.25.2020, 17,888 cases have been analyzed by the framework with 11,902 cases having radiological reports with the reference diagnoses that were unequivocally parsed by the experiment organizers. The performance measured in terms of the area under receiving operator curve (AUC) was 0.77. The AUC for individual diseases ranged from 0.55 for herniation to 0.90 for pneumothorax.
Potential of hydroethanolic leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum in ameliorating redox status and lung injury in COPD: an in vivo and in silico study
Authors: Srivastava Atul , Subhashini  , Pandey Vinita , Yadav Vandana , Singh Sangita , Srivastava Ragini
Published: January 2023

Oxidative stress and inflammation are hypothesised as the main contributor for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke (CS), a major cause of COPD leads to inflammation resulting in recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages which are rich sources of oxidants. Activation of these cells produces excess oxidants and depletes antioxidants resulting in stress. Presently, effective drug for COPD is limited; therefore, novel compounds from natural sources, including plants are under exploration. The present study aims to investigate the protective effect ofOcimum sanctumleaf extract (OLE) in CS − induced model of COPD. Exposure to CS was performed thrice a week for 8 weeks and OLE (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg) was administered an hour before CS exposure. Control group (negative control) were exposed to ambient air while COPD group was exposed to CS (positive control). Administration of OLE doses reduced inflammation, decreased oxidant concentration and increased antioxidant concentration (p < 0.01). Molecular docking studies between the major phytocompounds of OLE (Eugenol, Cyclohexane and Caryophyllene) and antioxidant enzymes Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase, Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Glutathione reductase (GR) and Glutathione S Transferase (GST) showed strong binding interaction in terms of binding energy. In vivo and in silico findings for the first time indicates that OLE extract significantly alleviates oxidative stress by its potent free radical scavenging property and strong interaction with antioxidant enzymes. OLE extract may prove to be a therapeutic option for COPD prevention and treatment.
Therapeutic beta-lactam dosages and broad-spectrum antibiotics are associated with reductions in microbial richness and diversity in persons with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Hahn Andrea , Burrell Aszia , Chaney Hollis , Sami Iman , Koumbourlis Anastassios C. , Freishtat Robert J. , Crandall Keith A. , Zemanick Edith T.
Published: January 2023

Persons with cystic fibrosis (PwCF) suffer from pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) related in part to lung infection. While higher microbial diversity is associated with higher lung function, the data on the impact of short-term antibiotics on changes in microbial diversity is conflicting. Further, Prevotella secretes beta-lactamases, which may influence recovery of lung function. We hypothesize that sub-therapeutic and broad spectrum antibiotic exposure leads to decreasing microbial diversity. Our secondary aim was to evaluate the concerted association of beta-lactam pharmacokinetics (PK), antibiotic spectrum, microbial diversity, and antibiotic resistance on lung function recovery using a pathway analysis. This was a retrospective observational study of persons with CF treated with IV antibiotics for PEx between 2016 and 2020 at Children’s National Hospital; respiratory samples and clinical information were collected at hospital admission for PEx (E), end of antibiotic treatment (T), and follow-up (F). Metagenomic sequencing was performed; PathoScope 2.0 and AmrPlusPlus were used for taxonomic assignment of sequences to bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). M/W Pharm was used for PK modeling. Comparison of categorical and continuous variables and pathway analysis were performed in STATA. Twenty-two PwCF experienced 43 PEx. The study cohort had a mean age of 14.6 years. Only 12/43 beta-lactam courses had therapeutic PK, and 18/43 were broad spectrum. A larger decrease in richness between E and T was seen in the therapeutic PK group (sufficient − 20.1 vs. insufficient − 1.59, p = 0.025) and those receiving broad spectrum antibiotics (broad − 14.5 vs. narrow − 2.8, p = 0.030). We did not detect differences in the increase in percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (ppFEV1) at end of treatment compared to PEx based on beta-lactam PK (sufficient 13.6% vs. insufficient 15.1%) or antibiotic spectrum (broad 11.5% vs. narrow 16.6%). While both therapeutic beta-lactam PK and broad-spectrum antibiotics decreased richness between PEx and the end of treatment, we did not detect longstanding changes in alpha diversity or an association with superior recovery of lung function compared with subtherapeutic PK and narrow spectrum antimicrobials.
Applied novel functionality in separation procedure from leaching solution of zinc plant residue by using non-aqueous solvent extraction
Authors: Badihi Fatemeh , Haghighi Asl Ali , Asadollahzadeh Mehdi , Torkaman Rezvan
Published: January 2023

Traditional solvent extraction (SX) procedures limit metal separation and purification, which consist of the organic and aqueous phases. Because differences in metal ion solvation lead to distinct distribution properties, non-aqueous solvent extraction (NASX) considerably expands the scope of solvent extraction by replacing the aqueous phase with alternate polar solvents. In this study, an experimental design approach used non-aqueous solvent extraction to extract cobalt from zinc plant residue. The aqueous phase comprises ethylene glycol (EG), LiCl and metal ions. In kerosene, D2EHPA, Cyanex272, Cyanex301, and Cyanex302 extractants were used as a less polar organic phase. Various factors were investigated to see how they affected extraction, including solvent type, extractant type and phase ratio, pH, Co(II) concentration, and temperature. The results revealed that at a concentration of 0.05 M, the Cyanex301 extractant could achieve the requisite extraction efficiency in kerosene. The optimal conditions were chosen as the concentration of Cyanex 301 (0.05 M), the concentration of cobalt (833 ppm), the pH (3.5), and the percent of EG (80%). As a result, during the leaching process, these systems are advised for extracting and separating a combination of various metal ions.
Serum globulin is a novel predictor of mortality in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Hsieh Yao-Peng , Tsai Shr-Mei , Kor Chew-Teng , Chiu Ping-Fang
Published: January 2023

Serum globulin, which is composed mainly of immunoglobulins and acute phase proteins, can be considered as reflecting the inflammatory state. We conducted the present study to investigate the role of globulin in mortality risk in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). The study participants were categorized by the median globulin value (2.8 g/dL) as the high globulin group (≥ 2.8 g/dL), and low globulin group (< 2.8 g/dL). Serum globulin is calculated by the equation: (serum total protein-serum albumin). The area under the curve (AUC) by the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis was calculated to compare the mortality prediction capacity of globulin with that of ferritin, and WBC counts. Among the 554 patients, 265 (47.83%) were men, the mean age was 52.91 ± 15.54 years and the body mass index was 23.44 ± 3.88 kg/m2. Multivariate Cox models showed the high globulin group had higher mortality risks of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared with the low globulin group with adjusted HRs of 2.06 (95% CI 1.39–3.05) and 1.94 (95% CI 1.18–3.16), respectively. The AUC of univariate and multivariate models for all-cause mortality resulted in higher AUC values for globulin than for ferritin and white blood cell (WBC) counts. In patients undergoing PD, the serum globulin can serve as a novel and independent determinant of predicting overall and CVD- associated mortality.
Significant changes in soil microbial community structure and metabolic function after Mikania micrantha invasion
Authors: Zhao Panpan , Liu Biying , Zhao Hengjun , Lei Zhengyan , Zhou Ting
Published: January 2023

Currently,Mikania micrantha(M. micrantha) has invaded Guangdong, Guangxi and other provinces in China, causing serious harm to the forests of southeastern China. Soil microorganisms play an important role in the establishment ofM. micranthainvasion, affecting plant productivity, community dynamics, and ecosystem function. However, at present, howM. micranthainvasion affects soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus phase functional genes and the environmental factors that cause gene expression changes remain unclear, especially in subtropical forest ecosystems. This study was conducted in Xiangtoushan National Forest Park in Guangdong Province to compare the changes in soil nutrients and microorganisms afterM. micranthainvasion of a forest. The microbial community composition and metabolic function were explored by metagenome sequencing. Our results showed that afterM. micranthainvasion, the soil was more suitable for the growth of gram-positive bacteria (Gemmatimonadetes). In addition, the soil microbial community structure and enzyme activity increased significantly afterM. micranthainvasion. Correlation analysis and Mantel test results suggested that total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3–-N), and soil dissolved organic matter (DOM; DOC and DON), were the strong correlates of soil microbial nitrogen functional genes, while soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and available phosphorus (Soil-AP) were strongly correlated with the expression of soil microbial phosphorus functional gene.Mikania micranthainvasion alters soil nutrients, microbial community composition and metabolic function in subtropical forests, creates a more favorable growth environment, and may form a positive feedback process conducive toM. micranthainvasion.
Effects of serum estrogen levels before frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer on pregnancy outcomes in hormone replacement cycles
Authors: Du Yi-ran , Yang Ke , Liu Jie
Published: January 2023

We investigated the effects of serum estrogen levels before frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer on pregnancy outcomes in hormone replacement cycles. Clinical data of 708 hormone replacement cycles with frozen-thawed blastocyst were retrospectively analyzed. According to quartile (P25) of serum estrogen levels on the endometrium transformation day, the 708 cycles were divided into group A1 (E2 < 157.5 pg/ml), group A2 (157.5 pg/ml ≤ E2 < 206.4 pg/ml), group A3 (206.4 pg/ml ≤ E2 < 302.3 pg/ml) and group A4 (E2 ≥ 302.3 pg/ml). According to quartile (P25) of serum estrogen levels on the frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer day, the 708 cycles were divided into group B1 (E2 < 147 pg/ml), group B2 (147 pg/ml ≤ E2 < 200.4 pg/ml), group B3 (200.4 pg/ml ≤ E2 < 323 pg/ml) and group B4 (E2 ≥ 323 pg/ml). According to different clinical outcomes, the 708 cycles were divided into clinical pregnant group and non-clinical pregnant group. The group A4 (E2 ≥ 302.3 pg/ml on the endometrium transformation day) was significantly lower than other groups in blastocyst implantation rate and multiple-pregnancy rate (P < 0.05). The days of taking progynova was significantly different among groups on both endometrium transformation day and frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer day (P < 0.05), but there were no statistical differences in the mean age, endometrial thickness and number of high-quality blastocysts transferred among groups (P > 0.05). The mean age was significantly younger and the number of high-quality blastocysts transferred was significantly higher in the clinical pregnant group than in the non-clinical pregnant group (P < 0.05), but endometrial thickness, days of taking progynova, progesterone level on the blastocyst transfer day, and E2 level were not significantly different between both groups (P > 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that age was an independent factor affecting clinical pregnancy (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis displayed that the serum estrogen levels did not affect clinical pregnancy (P > 0.05). The days of taking progynova and serum estrogen levels before frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer do not affect pregnancy outcomes in hormone replacement cycles.
Combination resonance and primary resonance characteristics of a dual-rotor system under the condition of the synchronous impact of the inter-shaft bearing
Authors: Zuo Guanshu , Hou Lei , Lin Rongzhou , Ren Shuangxing , Chen Yushu
Published: January 2023

The internal structure of many aero-engines is designed with a dual-rotor system. Up to now, there have been few studies on the influence of aerodynamic excitation on the dual-rotor system. The phenomenon of synchronous impact may occur when the frequency of the aerodynamic excitation force of the fan blade is close to the characteristic frequency of the inter-shaft bearing. This paper investigates the dynamic characteristics of a dual-rotor system under the condition of synchronous impact. The system's motion equations are formulated considering the complex nonlinearities of the inter-shaft bearing, such as Hertz contact force of 10/9 exponential function, clearance, and periodic varying compliance. In addition, the inter-shaft bearing with a local defect is considered. The fan blade’s aerodynamic excitation force is modeled by synthesizing multiple harmonic excitation forces, the amplitudes of which are obtained by the Fourier series expansion. Numerical simulations are employed to get the dynamic responses of the system. The results show that the dynamic characteristic of the dual-rotor system at the primary resonance caused by the high-pressure (H.P.) rotor is not changed by the aerodynamic excitation force, while the primary resonance caused by the low-pressure (L.P.) rotor increases significantly. However, three aerodynamic resonances of the amplitude-frequency response of the dual-rotor system are emerging in the low-frequency region (124, 146 and 186 rad/s). When the synchronous impact phenomenon occurs, the amplitude of the three resonance peaks will increase twice compared to the original status, leading to a doubled increase in the dynamic load of the inter-shaft bearing. The characteristics of the dual-rotor system affected by the parameters such as initial phase difference of local defect, rotor eccentricity of system, clearance of inter-shaft bearing, and the stiffness and damping of supports are discussed in detail. The results obtained provide a deep insight into the mechanism of synchronous impact.
Double-diffusive Hamel–Jeffrey flow of nanofluid in a convergent/divergent permeable medium under zero mass flux
Authors: Ahmad S. , Farooq M.
Published: January 2023

In the recent era, the nanofluid's transportation due to the Jeffrey–Hemal flow phenomenon (i.e., carrying fluid through a converging/diverging channel) has significant applications in numerous engineering and science technologies. Therefore, multi-disciplinary evolution and research motivated us to present current attempt. The aim of this attempt is to present Jeffrey–Hamel mechanism of the nanofluid through non-parallel channel under thermally balance non-Darcy permeable medium impacts. The nanomaterial is represented using the Buongiorno nanofluid model. The investigation also includes zero mass flux impacts as well as variable rheological fluid properties. The influences of temperature jump are also encountered in the current analysis. The governing flow expressions under the Jeffrey–Hemal analysis are made dimensionless utilizing the similarity variables. The dimensionless equations are then solved using the analytical scheme (homotopy method) and the obtained series solutions are convergent. The influences of the involved parameters on concerned profiles are investigated through graphs. Force of drag, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are elaborated graphically. In this analysis, intensification in Prandtl number enhances the heat transfer rate whereas decrement is seen in heat transfer rate for larger thermal slip parameter. Further, mass diffusivity parameter adversely affects the mass transfer rate. The current analysis incorporates numerous industrial and technological processes including transportation, material synthesis, microfluidics, high-power Xrays, biomedical, solid-state lighting, microelectronics, scientific measurement, medicine, molten polymers extrusion via converging dies, cold drawing operation related to polymer industry etc.
Cardiac arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Rawshani Araz , McGuire Darren K. , Omerovic Elmir , Sattar Naveed , McMurray John J. V. , Smith Ulf , Redfors Bjorn , Bergfeldt Lennart , Eliasson Bjorn , Borén Jan , Bhatt Deepak L. , Bergstrom Goran , Rawshani Aidin
Published: January 2023

The association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the development of cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disturbances has not been extensively studied. Arrhythmia was defined as atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF/AFl), ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), and conduction abnormality as sinus node disease (SND), atrioventricular (AV) block or pacemaker implantation, and intraventricular conduction blocks (IVCB). Incidence rates and Cox regression were used to compare outcomes, and to assess optimal levels for cardiometabolic risk factors and risk associated with multifactorial risk factor control (i.e., HbA1c, LDL-C, systolic blood pressure (SBP), BMI and eGFR), between patients with versus without T2D. The analyses included data from 617,000 patients with T2D and 2,303,391 matched controls. Patients with diabetes and the general population demonstrated a gradual increase in rates for cardiac conduction abnormalities and virtually all age-groups for AF/AFI showed increased incidence during follow-up. For patients with versus without T2D, risks for cardiac arrhythmias were higher, including for AF/AFl (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.16–1.18), the composite of SND, AV-block or pacemaker implantation (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.37–1.43), IVCB (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.18–1.28) and VT/VF (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04–1.13). For patients with T2D who had selected cardiometabolic risk factors within target ranges, compared with controls, risk of arrythmia and conduction abnormalities for T2D vs not were: AF/AFl (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05–1.14), the composite of SND, AV-block or pacemaker implantation (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.94–1.18), IVCB (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.60–0.98), and for VT/VF (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.80–1.17). Cox models showed a linear risk increase for SBP and BMI, while eGFR showed a U-shaped association. Individuals with T2D had a higher risk of arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities than controls, but excess risk associated with T2D was virtually not evident among patients with T2D with all risk factors within target range. BMI, SBP and eGFR displayed significant associations with outcomes among patients with T2D.
Microevolutionary dynamics of eccDNA in Chinese hamster ovary cells grown in fed-batch cultures under control and lactate-stressed conditions
Authors: Chitwood Dylan G. , Wang Qinghua , Klaubert Stephanie R. , Green Kiana , Wu Cathy H. , Harcum Sarah W. , Saski Christopher A.
Published: January 2023

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines are widely used to manufacture biopharmaceuticals. However, CHO cells are not an optimal expression host due to the intrinsic plasticity of the CHO genome. Genome plasticity can lead to chromosomal rearrangements, transgene exclusion, and phenotypic drift. A poorly understood genomic element of CHO cell line instability is extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) in gene expression and regulation. EccDNA can facilitate ultra-high gene expression and are found within many eukaryotes including humans, yeast, and plants. EccDNA confers genetic heterogeneity, providing selective advantages to individual cells in response to dynamic environments. In CHO cell cultures, maintaining genetic homogeneity is critical to ensuring consistent productivity and product quality. Understanding eccDNA structure, function, and microevolutionary dynamics under various culture conditions could reveal potential engineering targets for cell line optimization. In this study, eccDNA sequences were investigated at the beginning and end of two-week fed-batch cultures in an ambr®250 bioreactor under control and lactate-stressed conditions. This work characterized structure and function of eccDNA in a CHO-K1 clone. Gene annotation identified 1551 unique eccDNA genes including cancer driver genes and genes involved in protein production. Furthermore, RNA-seq data is integrated to identify transcriptionally active eccDNA genes.
Structural and UV-blocking properties of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium/CuO nanocomposite films
Authors: Badry Rania , El-Nahass Mahmoud M. , Nada Nadra , Elhaes Hanan , Ibrahim Medhat A.
Published: January 2023

Nanoparticles have made a substantial contribution to the field of skincare products with UV filters in preserving human skin from sun damage. The current study aims to create new polymer nanocomposite filters for the efficient block of UV light that results from the stratospheric ozone layer loss. The casting approach was used to add various mass fractions of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) to a solution of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The amorphous nature of CMC was revealed by XRD analysis, with the intensity of the typical peak of virgin polymer in the nanocomposite spectrum decreasing dramatically as the doping amount was increased. The FTIR spectra revealed the functional groups of CMC and the good interaction between the CMC chain and CuO-NPs. Optical experiments revealed that the optical transmittance of pure CMC was over 80%, whereas it dropped to 1% when CuO-NPs content was increased to 8 wt.%. Surprisingly, the inclusion of CuO-NPs considerably improved the UV blocking property of the films extended from the UV region (both UV-A: 320–400 nm and UV-B: 280–320 nm) to the visible region. Optical band gap of CMC decreased sharply with increasing CuO concentration. The tunable optical characteristics can be utilized in UV- blocking filters and various optoelectronics applications.
Electrodeposition and analysis of thick bismuth films
Authors: Hatfield Kendrich O. , Dervishi Enkeleda , Johnson Don , Clark Courtney , Brown Nathan , Kidman Genevieve C. , Williams Darrick J. , Hooks Daniel E.
Published: January 2023

Due to its unique physical and chemical properties, bismuth is an attractive candidate for a wide range of applications such as battery anodes, radiation shielding, and semiconductors, to name a few. This work presents the electrodeposition of mechanically stable and homogenous bismuth films at micron-scale thicknesses. A simple one-step electrodeposition process using either a pulse/reverse or direct current source yielded thick, homogenous, and mechanically stable bismuth films. Morphology, electrochemical behavior, adhesion, and mechanical stability of bismuth coatings plated with varying parameters were characterized via optical profilometry, cyclic voltammetry, electron microscopy, and tribology. Scratch testing on thick electroplated coatings (> 100 µm) revealed similar wear resistance properties between the pulse/reverse plated and direct current electroplated films. This study presents a versatile bismuth electroplating process with the possibility to replace lead in radiation shields with an inexpensive, non-toxic metal, or to make industrially relevant electrocatalytic devices.
New mathematical model based on geometric algebra for physical power flow in theoretical two-dimensional multi-phase power circuits
Authors: Montoya Francisco G. , Prado Xabier , Arrabal-Campos Francisco M. , Alcayde Alfredo , Mira Jorge
Published: January 2023

This study proposes an explanation for the physical power flow in planar circuits by analogy to theoretical two-dimensional circuits using a new mathematical model based on Geometric Algebra (GA) and 2D Maxwell’s equations. In contrast with traditional 3D physics in the observable real world, the magnetic field can be defined as a bivector instead of an axial vector allowing to obtain the Poynting Vector directly in a 2D flat world, where physical variables of planar circuits can be obtained. This approach is presented here for the first time to the best of the author’s knowledge. Previous investigations have focused on simplifications and symmetries of real 3D circuits studied mainly in the phasor and frequency domain. In this work, the electromagnetic power flow phenomenon is analyzed on a completely 2D time-domain basis and derived directly from the undisputed Maxwell equations, formulated in two dimensions. Several cases of special interest in AC multi-phase circuits are presented using the proposed technique, bringing a new simplified approach to the measurement of power flow exchange between the source and the load. It suggests a new way to understand energy propagation from a purely physical point of view.
A comprehensive deep learning method for empirical spectral prediction and its quantitative validation of nano-structured dimers
Authors: Verma Sneha , Chugh Sunny , Ghosh Souvik , Rahman B. M. Azizur
Published: January 2023

Nanophotonics exploits the best of photonics and nanotechnology which has transformed optics in recent years by allowing subwavelength structures to enhance light-matter interactions. Despite these breakthroughs, design, fabrication, and characterization of such exotic devices have remained through iterative processes which are often computationally costly, memory-intensive, and time-consuming. In contrast, deep learning approaches have recently shown excellent performance as practical computational tools, providing an alternate avenue for speeding up such nanophotonics simulations. This study presents a DNN framework for transmission, reflection, and absorption spectra predictions by grasping the hidden correlation between the independent nanostructure properties and their corresponding optical responses. The proposed DNN framework is shown to require a sufficient amount of training data to achieve an accurate approximation of the optical performance derived from computational models. The fully trained framework can outperform a traditional EM solution using on the COMSOL Multiphysics approach in terms of computational cost by three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, employing deep learning methodologies, the proposed DNN framework makes an effort to optimise design elements that influence the geometrical dimensions of the nanostructure, offering insight into the universal transmission, reflection, and absorption spectra predictions at the nanoscale. This paradigm improves the viability of complicated nanostructure design and analysis, and it has a lot of potential applications involving exotic light-matter interactions between nanostructures and electromagnetic fields. In terms of computational times, the designed algorithm is more than 700 times faster as compared to conventional FEM method (when manual meshing is used). Hence, this approach paves the way for fast yet universal methods for the characterization and analysis of the optical response of nanophotonic systems.
Predicting mortality and visualizing health care spending by predicted mortality in Danes over age 65
Authors: Hansen Anne Vinkel , Mortensen Laust Hvas , Ekstrøm Claus Thorn , Trompet Stella , Westendorp Rudi
Published: January 2023

Health care expenditure in the last year of life makes up a high proportion of medical spending across the world. This is often framed as waste, but this framing is only meaningful if it is known at the time of treatment who will go on to die. We analyze the distribution of health care spending by predicted mortality for the Danish population over age 65 over the year 2016, with one-year mortality predicted by a machine learning model based on sociodemographics and use of health care services for the two years before entry into follow-up. While a reasonably good model can be built, extremely few individuals have high ex-ante probability of dying, and those with a predicted mortality of more than 50% account for only 2.8% of total health care expenditure. Decedents outspent survivors by a factor of more than ten, but compared to survivors with similar predicted mortality they spent only 2.5 times as much. Our results suggest that while spending in the last year of life is indeed high, this is nearly all spent in situations where there is a reasonable expectation that the patient can survive.
Essential oil composition and total phenolic content in Cupressus arizonica G. in response to microbial inoculation under water stress conditions
Authors: Aalipour Hamed , Nikbakht Ali , Sabzalian Mohammad R.
Published: January 2023

Arizona Cypress is one of the drought-resistant, aromatic, and aesthetically pleasing trees having several pharmacological uses. Certain microorganisms contribute to the secondary metabolism and synthesis of bioactive compounds in aromatic and medicinal plants. This study aimed to determine the photosynthetic pigments, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and essential oil composition of Arizona cypress under two irrigation regimes and microbial inoculations. We established a factorial experiment with three mycorrhizae inoculations (Rhizophagusirregularis, Funneliformismosseae, and a mixture of R.irregularis and F.mosseae), a rhizobacterium inoculation (Pseudomonasfluorescens), and two irrigation regimes (well-watered and water stress). Under the water stress regime, seedlings inoculated with F.mosseae (0.46%) and non-inoculated control plants (0.29%) had the highest and lowest essential oil contents, respectively. GC–MS analysis revealed that limonen, a-pinene, terpinen-4-ol, and umbellulone were the most abundant compounds in the seedlings and treatments under study. The water stress regime had a significant and dominant effect on essential oil and antioxidant capacity, whereas seedling growth and photosynthetic pigments tended to decrease under stress conditions. However, co-inoculation of seedlings with mycorrhizae and the bacterium resulted in an increase in phenolic compounds and carotenoids. Under conditions of water stress and mycorrhizal symbiosis, the results of the current study may help increase the level of valuable compounds in Arizona cypress for further pharmaceutical applications.
Association of IL-4 with pachychoroid neovasculopathy
Authors: Baba Takashi , Koyama Ayumi , Uotani Ryu , Miyake Hitomi , Inata Kodai , Sasaki Shin-ichi , Shimizu Yumiko , Inoue Yoshitsugu , Adachi Kaori , Nanba Eiji , Miyazaki Dai
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify the inflammatory cytokines that were associated with pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV). Seventy-five eyes of 75 patients with PNV, 145 eyes of 145 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration without pachyvessels, and 150 eyes of 150 normal subjects were examined for the levels of intraocular cytokines. In eyes with PNV, the levels of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and VEGF were significantly higher than that of the controls. Logistic regression analysis showed that the highest association with the pachyvessels was found for IL-4, IL-2, and IL-1α. In eyes with PNV, the levels of IL-4, IL-2, IL-5, IL-13, IL-1α, and IL-1β were significantly higher in eyes with both increased choroidal thickness and choroidal vessel diameter. The strongest correlation with the choroidal thickness and vessel diameter was observed for IL-4. In PNV eyes with polypoidal lesions, the levels of IL-4, IL-17, and TNFβ were significantly correlated with the number of polypoidal lesions. Of these cytokines, IL-4 was especially associated with the thickness of the choroidal vessels and the formation of polypoidal lesions. We conclude that IL-4 is most likely involved in establishing the clinical characteristics of PNV and polypoidal vascular remodeling.
Research on optimization of control parameters of gravity shaking table
Authors: You Keshun , Liu Huizhong
Published: January 2023

When image processing and machine vision technology are used to extract features from the image of the ore belt of the shaking table, so as to realize the analysis of the processing indictors and mapping of control parameters. To realize the adaptive optimization of the multiple control parameters of the shaking table, it is necessary to have thorough access to the parameters of the internal and external properties of the gravity shaker, such as internal control parameters and external ore zone characteristics, as well as the processing indicators. In this study, information on the multi-scale characteristics of the zone is obtained through a visual experimental system, and the data-driven model of the separation process is constructed to characterize the relationship between the properties of the internal and external parameters of the shaking table, eventually, an adaptive optimization method of control parameters of the shaking table based on maximizing beneficiation efficiency is proposed. The research results show that the data from the geometric characteristics of the ore belts obtained from practical experiments all satisfy the statistical distribution requirements. In the three optimized support vector regression (SVR) models, the sparrow search algorithm optimized SVR (SSA-SVR) has the best comprehensive performance, which overcomes the limits of data samples under objective conditions and basically meets the existing industrial requirements. With these helps, the proposed optimization method has realized the continuous optimization of multiple control parameters of the shaking table, and the optimization results have a good guarantee.
IMU-based human activity recognition and payload classification for low-back exoskeletons
Authors: Pesenti Mattia , Invernizzi Giovanni , Mazzella Julie , Bocciolone Marco , Pedrocchi Alessandra , Gandolla Marta
Published: January 2023

Nowadays, work-related musculoskeletal disorders have a drastic impact on a large part of the world population. In particular, low-back pain counts as the leading cause of absence from work in the industrial sector. Robotic exoskeletons have great potential to improve industrial workers’ health and life quality. Nonetheless, current solutions are often limited by sub-optimal control systems. Due to the dynamic environment in which they are used, failure to adapt to the wearer and the task may be limiting exoskeleton adoption in occupational scenarios. In this scope, we present a deep-learning-based approach exploiting inertial sensors to provide industrial exoskeletons with human activity recognition and adaptive payload compensation. Inertial measurement units are easily wearable or embeddable in any industrial exoskeleton. We exploited Long-Short Term Memory networks both to perform human activity recognition and to classify the weight of lifted objects up to 15 kg. We found a median F1 score of $$90.80\%$$

90.80
%

(activity recognition) and $$87.14\%$$

87.14
%

(payload estimation) with subject-specific models trained and tested on 12 (6M-6F) young healthy volunteers. We also succeeded in evaluating the applicability of this approach with an in-lab real-time test in a simulated target scenario. These high-level algorithms may be useful to fully exploit the potential of powered exoskeletons to achieve symbiotic human–robot interaction.