bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hepatic danger signaling triggers TREM2
+
macrophage induction and drives steatohepatitis via MS4A7-dependent inflammasome activation
Authors: Zhou Linkang , Qiu Xiaoxue , Meng Ziyi , Liu Tongyu , Chen Zhimin , Zhang Peng , Kuang Henry , Pan Tong , Lu You , Qi Ling , Olson David P. , Xu X. Z. Shawn , Chen Y. Eugene , Li Siming , Lin Jiandie D.
Published: March 2024

Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH), formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is an advanced stage of metabolic fatty liver disease. The pathogenic mechanisms of MASH center on hepatocyte injury and the ensuing immune response within the liver microenvironment. Recent work has implicated TREM2
+
macrophages in various disease conditions, and substantial induction of TREM2
+
NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs) serves as a hallmark of metabolic liver disease. Despite this, the mechanisms through which NAMs contribute to MASH pathogenesis remain poorly understood. Here, we identify membrane-spanning 4-domains a7 (MS4A7) as a NAM-specific pathogenic factor that exacerbates MASH progression in mice. Hepatic MS4A7 expression was strongly induced in mouse and human MASH and associated with the severity of liver injury. Whole-body and myeloid-specific ablation of
Ms4a7
alleviated diet-induced MASH pathologies in male mice. We demonstrate that exposure to lipid droplets (LDs), released upon injury of steatotic hepatocytes, triggered NAM induction and exacerbated MASH-associated liver injury in an MS4A7-dependent manner. Mechanistically, MS4A7 drove NLRP3 inflammasome activation via direct physical interaction and shaped disease-associated cell states within the liver microenvironment. This work reveals the LD-MS4A7-NLRP3 inflammasome axis as a pathogenic driver of MASH progression and provides insights into the role of TREM2
+
macrophages in disease pathogenesis.
Primary hepatic Castleman disease
Authors: Danis Hillary Elizabeth , Keenan Corey , Schaber John , Grasso Samuel L
Published: March 2024

Castleman disease (CD) is a rare, benign lymphoproliferative disorder with characteristic histopathological features, but variable aetiology, presentation, treatment and prognosis. It is broadly classified based on its location and histopathological features, with unicentric hyaline vascular disease presenting most commonly. We present a case of primary, unicentric hepatic CD that was incidentally found on imaging and managed with laparoscopic resection.
‘Tumour-like’ lesion caused by cervical discal instability
Authors: Santoro Giuseppe Diodato , Morselli Carlotta , Cirullo Agostino , Bassani Roberto
Published: March 2024

We present the case of a man in his 40s who sought medical attention due to central cord syndrome. MRI findings demonstrated contrast uptake, spinal swelling, syrinx formation and narrowing of the spinal canal. We encountered two potential scenarios:when malignancy is suspected, the patient would undergo a biopsy. However, if the lesion is ultimately determined to be benign, the patient would have been subjected to an avoidable risk of neurological damage associated with the procedure. Conversely, addressing the lesion as a result of a degenerative process (discal instability), performing an anterior approach for interbody fusion with an underlying malignant process could lead to substantial delays in the diagnosis, finally producing a poor outcome. A comprehensive imaging workup was conducted to rule out malignancy. We hypothesised that discal instability was responsible for the observed findings. The patient was successfully treated with anterior cervical decompression and fusion, without complications. Follow-up evaluations confirmed remission of the condition.
Loneliness and the risk of type 2 diabetes
Authors: Rosenkilde Siri , Hoffmann Sofie Have , Thorsted Anne Bonde , Horsbøl Trine Allerslev , Madsen Katrine Rich , Lehn Sara Fokdal , Kofoed-Enevoldsen Allan , Iversen Peter Bindslev , Grønkjær Marie Stjerne , Thygesen Lau Caspar
Published: March 2024

Introduction

The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally. Recent research suggests that loneliness could be a potential risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association between loneliness and type 2 diabetes and the modifying effect of mental disorders.

Research design and methods

We conducted a prospective study including 465 290 adults (aged ≥16 years) who participated in either the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey or the Danish National Health Survey between 2000 and 2017. Loneliness was based on self-report, while type 2 diabetes was measured using an algorithm combining several health registers including type 2 diabetes patients treated both within the hospital sector and general practice. Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results

During a mean follow-up time of 6.3 years, 13 771 individuals (3%) developed type 2 diabetes. Feeling lonely once in a while was associated with a 14% increased risk of type 2 diabetes (95% CI 1.09 to 1.20), while feeling lonely often was associated with a 24% increased risk (95% CI 1.14 to 1.34), independent of sociodemographic factors and body mass index. The association was stronger among individuals without a mental disorder (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.34 among those feeling lonely often) compared with those with a mental disorder (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.23).

Conclusions

Loneliness independently increased the risk of type 2 diabetes. The effect was more pronounced in individuals without a mental disorder, as having a mental disorder itself likely increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing loneliness as a modifiable risk factor in preventing type 2 diabetes.
International REACH forgiveness intervention: a multisite randomised controlled trial
Authors: Ho Man Yee , Worthington Everett L , Cowden Richard G , Bechara Andrea Ortega , Chen Zhuo Job , Gunatirin Elly Yuliandari , Joynt Shaun , Khalanskyi Viacheslav V , Korzhov Hennadii , Kurniati Ni Made Taganing , Rodriguez Nicole , Anastasiya Salnykova Anastasiya , Shtanko Liudmyla , Tymchenko Sergiy , Voytenko Vitaliy L , Zulkaida Anita , Mathur Maya B , VanderWeele Tyler J
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To determine whether a brief self-directed forgiveness workbook intervention could alter forgiveness, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms.

Design

A multisite randomised waitlist-controlled trial was conducted among 4598 participants. Recruitment occurred from 11 February 2020 to 30 September 2021. Final follow-up occurred on 25 October 2021.

Setting

Participants were recruited from community-based samples in sites in Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Participants

Individuals (n=7837) were screened for eligibility. For inclusion, participants needed to be ≥18 years and have experienced an interpersonal transgression. The analytic sample consisted of n=4598 participants, median age 26 and 73% female.

Interventions

At each site, participants were randomly assigned to either immediate receipt of a self-directed forgiveness workbook intervention, or to receipt after a 2 week delay.

Main outcomes measures

The primary outcomes were unforgiveness (Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory-18), depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory-18) measured at 2 weeks following intervention assignment.

Results

At 2 weeks follow-up, unforgiveness was lower among the immediate-treatment group compared with the delayed-treatment group (standardised mean difference=−0.53 (95% CI=−0.58 to –0.47)); similar patterns were found for depression (standardised mean difference=−0.22 (95% CI=−0.28 to –0.16)) and anxiety symptoms (standardised mean difference=−0.21 (95% CI=−0.27 to –0.15)).

Conclusions

A brief workbook intervention promoted forgiveness and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms. The promotion of forgiveness with such workbooks has the potential for widespread dissemination to improve global mental health.

Trial registration number

NCT04257773.
Difficulties faced by physicians from four European countries in rebutting antivaccination arguments: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Holford Dawn , Schmid Philipp , Fasce Angelo , Garrison Amanda , Karlsson Linda , Taubert Frederike , Verger Pierre , Lewandowsky Stephan , Fisher Harriet , Betsch Cornelia , Rodrigues Fernanda , Soveri Anna
Published: March 2024

Introduction

Physicians play a critical role in encouraging their patients to get vaccinated, in part by responding to patients’ concerns about vaccines. It is, therefore, important to understand what difficulties physicians have in dealing with different concerns they may encounter. The aim of this article was to determine physicians’ perceptions of difficulties in rebutting different antivaccination arguments from patients using data collected as part of a cross-sectional, cross-national questionnaire on physicians’ vaccine attitudes and behaviours.

Methods

Physicians in 4 European countries (Finland, Germany, France and Portugal, total n=2718) rated 33 different arguments, chosen to represent 11 different psychological motivations underlying vaccine hesitancy, in terms of their perceptions of how difficult each argument would be to rebut.

Results

Across all countries, physicians perceived arguments based on religious concerns and ‘reactance’ (ie, resistance to perceived curbs of freedom) to be the most difficult to rebut, whereas arguments based on patients’ distorted perception of the risks of disease and vaccines were perceived to be the easiest. There were also between-country differences in the level of perceived difficulty of argument rebuttal. Physicians’ perceived difficulty with rebutting arguments was significantly negatively correlated with their vaccine recommendation behaviours and their preparedness for vaccination discussions.

Conclusions

Physicians may feel better equipped to counter arguments that can be rebutted with facts and evidence but may struggle to respond when arguments are motivated by psychological dispositions or values.
Holistic health and social care outreach for people experiencing homelessness with recent non-fatal overdose in Glasgow, Scotland: the Pharmacist and third sector Homeless charity worker Outreach Engagement Non-medical Independent prescriber Rx (PHOENIx) pilot randomised controlled trial
Authors: Lowrie Richard , McPherson Andrew , Mair Frances S , Stock Kate , Maguire Donogh , Paudyal Vibhu , Duncan Clare , Blair Rebecca , Lombard Cian , Ross Steven , Hughes Fiona , Moir Jane , Scott Ailsa , Reilly Frank , Sills Laura , Hislop Jennifer , Wishart Stephen , Brannan David , Robertson James Roy , Ramage Rebekah , Boyle Alison , Greenlaw Nicola , Williamson Andrea E
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To examine randomised controlled trial (RCT) progression criteria including emergency department (ED) attendance and non-fatal overdose, from a holistic, integrated health and social care outreach intervention (PHOENIx), for people experiencing homelessness with recent non-fatal street drug overdose.

Design

Pilot RCT. 1:1 randomisation to PHOENIx plus usual care (UC) or UC.

Setting

Glasgow, Scotland.

Participants

128 adults experiencing homelessness with at least one non-fatal street drug overdose in the preceding 6 months.

Interventions

Pharmacists from the National Health Service and third sector homelessness workers offered weekly outreach. PHOENIx teams develop therapeutic relationships to address health (physical health, mental health and problem drug use) and social care (housing, welfare benefits and social prescribing) in addition to UC. UC comprised building-based primary and secondary health, social and third sector services.

Outcomes

Primary: progression criteria: recruitment (≥100 participants in 4 months); ≥80% of participants with data collected at baseline, 6 and 9 months; ≥60% of participants retained in the trial at each follow-up period (6 and 9 months); ≥60% of participants receiving the intervention weekly; any reduction in the rate of presentation to ED and overdoses, at 6- or 9-month follow-up. Secondary: participants with, and time to: hospitalisations; health-related quality of life (QoL); treatment uptake for physical and mental health conditions, and problematic drug use.

Results

Progression criteria were exceeded. In PHOENIx compared with UC, there appeared to be a delay in the median time to ED visit, overdose and hospitalisation but no improvement in number of participants with ED visits, overdoses or hospitalisations. QoL and treatment uptake appeared to be higher in PHOENIx versus UC at 6 and 9 months.

Conclusions

A definitive RCT is merited, to assess the impact of PHOENIx on people with multiple, severe disadvantages.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN10585019.
Sociodemographic disparities in awareness of chronic conditions: an observational study among older persons in rural north-east of South Africa
Authors: Ohene-Kwofie Daniel , Riumallo-Herl Carlos , Kabudula Chodziwadziwa , Gómez-Olivé Francesc Xavier
Published: March 2024

Background

The prevalence of chronic diseases is high among the older population. Awareness of these conditions is a crucial prerequisite to initiate treatment, control and prevent further complications. This study evaluates sociodemographic disparities in awareness of chronic diseases among people 40 years and over in rural South Africa.

Methods

Data from the baseline survey of the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa were analysed to estimate the level of awareness of chronic conditions such as HIV, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia among the population 40+ years. We compare self-reported awareness with objective measurements and conduct logistic regressions to evaluate sociodemographic determinants of awareness of chronic conditions.

Results

We find that 80% of individuals have at least one chronic condition—HIV, diabetes, hypertension and/or dyslipidaemia. Awareness rates were relatively high among those with at least one chronic condition but varied across conditions and genders: HIV (83% for women, 84% for men), hypertension (88% of women, 81% of men); diabetes (76% for women, 75% for men); dyslipidaemia (10% for both women and men). We observe differences across individual, household and community factors. Generally, women are more aware of their condition; awareness increases with age except for HIV; persons from high consumption per capita households, living with one or more persons and living closer to a health facility are more likely to be aware of their conditions.

Conclusions

Older adults in rural South Africa are generally aware of their chronic conditions, though there are important differences by age, gender and socioeconomic status. However, there is still a fraction unaware of their conditions and, therefore, lacking the necessary information to initiate treatment and implement behavioural changes to control them. Our findings may guide policy-makers directing the required efforts to promote targeted awareness campaigns by sociodemographic/socioeconomic subgroups.
Incidence and contributing factors of dementia among people living with HIV in British Columbia, Canada, from 2002 to 2016: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Shayegi-Nik Sara , Honer William G , Vila-Rodriguez Fidel , Nanditha Ni Gusti Ayu , Patterson Thomas L , Guillemi Silvia , Nathani Hasan , Trigg Jason , Yin Weijia , Fonseca Alejandra , T Takeh Bronhilda , Barrios Rolando , Montaner Julio S G , Lima Viviane D
Published: March 2024

Introduction

Dementia is a progressive and debilitating disease, and people living with HIV (PLWH) often develop dementia much earlier than those not living with HIV. We estimated the incidence and prevalence of dementia and identified its key risk factors in a cohort of PLWH in British Columbia, Canada.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study used data from the Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS study. Eligible individuals were diagnosed with HIV, ≥40 years of age, naïve to antiretroviral therapy (ART), had no dementia at the index date and were followed for ≥1 year during 2002–2016. Our main outcome was incident dementia. We examined the effect of sociodemographic and clinical covariates on the incidence of dementia using a cause-specific hazard (CSH) model, with all-cause mortality as a competing risk event.

Results

Among 5121 eligible PLWH, 108 (2%) developed dementia. The crude 15-year prevalence of dementia was 2.1%, and the age–sex standardised incidence rate of dementia was 4.3 (95% CI: 4.2 to 4.4) per 1000 person-years. Among the adjusted covariates, CD4 cell count<50 cells/mm3(adjusted CSH (aCSH) 8.61, 95% CI: 4.75 to 15.60), uncontrolled viremia (aCSH 1.95, 95% CI: 1.20 to 3.17), 10-year increase in age (aCSH 2.41, 95% CI: 1.89 to 3.07), schizophrenia (aCSH 2.85, 95% CI: 1.69 to 4.80), traumatic brain injury (aCSH 2.43, 95% CI: 1.59 to 3.71), delirium (aCSH 2.27, 95% CI: 1.45 to 3.55), substance use disorder (SUD) (aCSH 1.94, 95% CI: 1.18 to 3.21) and mood/anxiety disorders (aCSH 1.80, 95% CI: 1.13 to 2.86) were associated with an increased hazard for dementia. Initiating ART in 2005–2010 (versus<2000) produced an aCSH of 0.51 (95% CI: 0.30 to 0.89).

Conclusions

We demonstrated the negative role of immunosuppression and inflammation on the incidence of dementia among PLWH. Our study also calls for the enhanced integration of care services provided for HIV, mental health, SUD and other risk-inducing comorbidities as a means of lowering the risk of dementia within this population.
Use of contraceptives, empowerment and agency of adolescent girls and young women: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lassi Zohra S , Rahim Komal Abdul , Stavropoulos Alexandra Maria , Ryan Lareesa Marie , Tyagi Jyoti , Adewale Bisi , Kurji Jaameeta , Bhaumik Soumyadeep , Meherali Salima , Ali Moazzam
Published: March 2024

Introduction

The evidence on adolescent empowerment, which involves access to personal and material resources for reproductive autonomy and economic equity, is limited. This systematic review assesses the use of contraceptives in empowering and strengthening the agency and vice versa among adolescents and young women.

Methods

We ran the searches in six electronic databases: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), The Campbell Library, MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Web of Science. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using ROBINS-I and ROB-II tools as appropriate. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4.

Results

Forty studies that assessed the impact of empowerment on contraceptive use were included. Of these, 14 were non-randomised studies for intervention (NRSIs), and the remaining 26 were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The results from RCTs show a significant effect of the sexual and reproductive health empowerment in increasing ever use of contraception (RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.02, 1.45; n=9; I²=77%; GRADE: Very Low), and insignificant effect on unprotected sex (RR 0.97; 95% CI 0.74, 1.26; n=5; I²=86%; GRADE: Very Low) and adolescent pregnancy (RR 1.07; 95% CI 0.61, 1.87; n=3; I²=36%; GRADE: Very Low). None of the studies assessed impact of contraceptive use on empowerment.

Conclusions

Empowerment of adolescents and young women certainly improves contraceptive use in the immediate or short-term period. However, more robust studies with low risk of bias, longer-term outcomes, and impact of contraceptive use on empowerment and agency-strengthening are required. To increase contraceptive use uptake, tailored policies and delivery platforms are necessary for youth in low- and middle-income countries.
Patterns of concomitant traumatic brain injury and ocular trauma in US service members
Authors: Gu Weidong , Groves Lucas L , McClellan Scott F
Published: March 2024

Background

Concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI) and ocular trauma (OT) are caused by the same physical mechanisms, which may complicate therapeutic intervention if screening and evaluation of each condition are not promptly initiated. The aim of this study is to identify concomitant TBI in OT patients and characterize the pattern of those injured service members (SMs) in non-combat environments to assist in the early detection and treatment of both TBI and OT.

Methods

Encounters matching the case definitions of TBI and OT for injured SMs were extracted from the Military Health System. Concomitant TBI and OT was identified as patients who were diagnosed with both medical conditions within 30 days. Incidence rates of concomitance were analyzed using a Poisson regression model. The odds of mechanisms and types of OT with concomitant TBI were analyzed using logistic regression models.

Results

From 2017 to 2021, there were 71 689 SMs diagnosed with TBI, and 69 358 patients diagnosed with OT. There were 3251 concomitant cases identified. The overall concomitance rate in OT patients was 4.7%. Clinical presentations of concomitant OT had a higher rate of complications. Blast, transport accidents, assaults, alcohol, falls, and sports-related injuries (in decreasing order) were significantly associated with concomitance rates. Compared with closed globe injuries, OT with orbital fractures, rupture, laceration, adnexal periocular injury, and penetrating injury had higher risks of concomitant TBI. For patients with orbital fractures, nearly half (44.1%) sustained a concomitant TBI.

Conclusions

A practical approach using temporal proximity of diagnostic data was developed to identify concomitant cases of TBI and OT which presented with more severe injury types than non-concomitant cases. These results indicate OT patients with orbital or open globe injuries sustained from high-impact mechanisms warrant further TBI screening to prompt early detection and treatment.

Level of evidence

IV.
Optimizing the evaluation of root system architectural traits in Brassica napus
Authors: Yang Chunxiao , Fredua-Agyeman Rudolph , Hwang Sheau-Fang , Gorim Linda Y. , Strelkov Stephen E.
Published: March 2024

A semi-hydroponic system was developed to assess canola ( Brassica napus L.) root architectural traits. Four cultivars were grown under controlled conditions in germination paper rolls immersed in half-strength Hoagland’s solution. Eight parameters, including total root length, total root surface area, average root diameter, tip number, total primary root length, total lateral root length, total tertiary root length, and basal link length, were analyzed using the WinRHIZO software after 7, 14, and 21 days. The results suggested that 14 days in the semi-hydroponic system were optimal for accurate root trait assessment, as clear differences were observed while maintaining ease of handling and scanning.
On the canonical equivalence between Jordan and Einstein frames
Authors: Gionti Gabriele , Galaverni Matteo
Published: March 2024

A longstanding issue is the classical equivalence between the Jordan and the Einstein frames, which is considered just a field redefinition of the metric tensor and the scalar field. In this work, based on the previous result that the Hamiltonian transformations from the Jordan to the Einstein frame are not canonical on the extended phase space, we study the possibility of the existence of canonical transformations. We show that on the reduced phase space – defined by suitable gauge fixing of the lapse and shifts functions – these transformations are Hamiltonian canonical. Poisson brackets are replaced by Dirac’s brackets following the Bergman-Dirac’s procedure. The Hamiltonian canonical transformations map solutions of the equations of motion in the Jordan frame into solutions of the equations of motion in the Einstein frame.
Application of hyperspectral imaging for characterization of VOC-induced historical glass corrosion
Authors: Sharma Deepshikha , Schmidt-Ott Katharina , Rothenhäusler Ulrike , George Sony , Joseph Edith , Lombardo Tiziana
Published: March 2024

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) provides high-resolution recording of the spectral information at every spatial point (pixel) of an object throughout a contiguous range of wavelengths. This paper reports an attempt at exploring the application of HSI in transmittance mode for the identification and quantification of corrosion in transparent historical glass, which is difficult to identify by visual inspection. This was done using model glass samples mimicking historical composition and subjected to artificial ageing in the presence of volatile organic compounds. Hyperspectral images of unaged and aged glass samples were recorded with two cameras covering visible and near infrared (VNIR, 400–1000 nm) and short-wave infrared range (SWIR, 1000–2500 nm) using a custom-made HSI set-up in transmission mode. The HSI data were further processed to classify and visualize corrosion in different ageing environments and ageing periods. The results show that HSI can be employed as a valuable tool to assess glass corrosion at early stages, especially by analysing the SWIR spectral region—which shows the water absorption by the glass matrix due to corrosion.
Sign-of-coupling dependence of von Neumann entanglement entropy in networks of quantum oscillators
Authors: He Pei-Song
Published: March 2024

In this paper, we investigated the sign-of-coupling dependence of the von Neumann Entanglement Entropy (EE) between system and environment in the ground state of networks of N coupled quantum oscillators. We find that whether the EE increases or decreases with the amplitude of coupling strengths between particles depends on the repulsive or attractive nature of the couplings, and it also depends on whether the coupling is between system-environment or particles both in the environment. In particular, the EE decreases with the amplitude of an attractive coupling between particles both in the environment. We also find that the EE varies nonmonotonically with number of particles directly interacting with the system with attractive couplings; besides, the position-momentum uncertainty of the particle in the system and the EE vary contrarily when the particle-number is small.
Slow Invariant Manifolds of Memristor-Based Chaotic Circuits
Authors: Ginoux Jean-Marc , Meucci Riccardo , Chen Guanrong , Chua Leon O.
Published: March 2024

This work presents an efficient approach for computing the slow invariant manifold of the fourth-order canonical memristor-based Chua circuits using the flow curvature method. First, the magnetic-flux and charge characteristic curve is generated from the classical circuit with a piecewise-linear function. Then, the characteristic curve is generated from the circuit with the piecewise-linear function replaced by a cubic function. Further, the duality principle is applied to studying such memristor-based circuits in the three-dimensional flux-linkage and charge phase space and then in the four-dimensional current–voltage phase space. It is demonstrated that the slow invariant manifolds of these fourth-order memristor-based chaotic circuits can be more directly computed for the first case than the second.
Emergence of Hidden Strange Nonchaotic Attractors in a Rational Memristive Map
Authors: Durairaj Premraj , Kanagaraj Sathiyadevi , Zheng Zhigang , Karthikeyan Anitha , Rajagopal Karthikeyan
Published: March 2024

To exemplify the existence of hidden strange nonchaotic attractors (HSNAs) and transition mechanism, we consider a rational memristive map with additional force. We find that the four-torus bifurcates into the eight-torus through torus doubling as a function of the control parameter. Following that, the formation of strange nonchaotic attractors occurs when increasing the control parameter. As a result, it is clear that the suggested rational maps reach hidden chaotic attractors via HSNAs through the route of torus doubling to torus breakdown. The obtained dynamical transitions are validated further using bifurcation analysis and the largest Lyapunov exponents. In particular, the obtained HSNAs are confirmed through distinct statistical measures including 0–1 test and singular continuous spectrum.
Coupled HR–HNN Neuron with a Locally Active Memristor
Authors: Huang Lili , Wang Shaotian , Lei Tengfei , Huang Keyu , Li Chunbiao
Published: March 2024

Local activity could be the source for complexity. In this study, a multistable locally active memristor is proposed, whose nonvolatile memory, as well as locally active characteristics, is validated by the power-off plot and DC [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] plot. Based on the two-dimensional Hindmarsh–Rose neuron and a one-dimensional Hopfield neuron, a simple neural network is constructed by connecting the two neurons with the locally active memristor. Coexisting multiple firing patterns under different initial conditions are investigated according to the controlled coupling factor. The results suggest that the system exhibits coexisting periodic and chaotic bursting with different firing patterns. Complex firing only occurs in the locally active area of the defined memristor, meanwhile the system shows a periodic oscillation in the passive area. Beyond this, the coupled neurons exhibit the specific phenomenon of attractor growing in the locally active region of the memristor. The circuit simulations by Power Simulation (PSIM) are included confirming the numerical simulations and theoretic analysis.
Stabilization of Laminars in Chaos Intermittency
Authors: Katayama Michiru , Ikeda Kenji , Ueta Tetsushi
Published: March 2024

Chaos intermittency is composed of a laminar regime, which exhibits almost periodic motion, and a burst regime, which exhibits chaotic motion; it is known that in chaos intermittency, switching between these regimes occurs irregularly. In the laminar regime of chaos intermittency, the periodic solution before the saddle node bifurcation is closely related to its generation, and its behavior becomes periodic in a short time; the laminar is not, however, a periodic solution, and there are no unstable periodic solutions nearby. Most chaos control methods cannot be applied to the problem of stabilizing a laminar response to a periodic solution since they refer to information about unstable periodic orbits. In this paper, we demonstrate a control method that can be applied to the control target with laminar phase of a dynamical system exhibiting chaos intermittency. This method records the time series of a periodic solution prior to the saddle node bifurcation as a pseudo-periodic orbit and feeds it back to the control target. We report that when this control method is applied to a circuit model, laminar motion can be stabilized to a periodic solution via control inputs of very small magnitude, for which robust control can be obtained.
From 1D Endomorphism to Multidimensional Hénon Map: Persistence of Bifurcation Structure
Authors: Belykh V. N. , Barabash N. V. , Grechko D. A.
Published: March 2024

The renowned 2D invertible Hénon map turns into 1D noninvertible quadratic map when its leading parameter [Formula: see text] becomes zero. This well-known link was studied by Mira who demonstrated that the bifurcation set of Hénon diffeomorphism is similar to his “box-within-a-box” bifurcation structure of 1D endomorphism. In general, such similarity has not been strictly established, especially in multidimensional cases. In this paper, we proved that the Mira bifurcation structure of a quadratic noninvertible map persists when the parameter increases from zero and the map turns into an invertible multidimensional generalized Hénon map. The changes of periodic and homoclinic orbits and chaotic attractors at this transition are described. We proved the existence of Newhouse regions is different from those Mira boxes that accumulate to the homoclinic bifurcations.
Enhancing Speech Assistive Systems Through a Sequence-to-Vector Representation Approach for Disordered Speech
Authors: Vishnika Veni S. , Santhi B.
Published: March 2024

Speech assistive system for people with neuro disorders is a highly challenging task till date. Any kind of neuro cognitive disability affects the speech production mechanism that leads to speech impairment. Representation learning methods have recently emerged to improve the outcome of machine learning algorithms. In case of complex recognition tasks such as disordered speech recognition, learning compact and efficient representations for disordered speech utterances is important. Recent deep learning-based architectures need sufficiently large amount of impaired speech samples which are tedious with respect to neurologically disabled people. In this work, we focus on proposing a representation learning approach that uses traditional sequential model such as Hidden Markov Model (HMM) which works moderately well with small amount of impaired speech data. We propose a novel sequence to vector-based HMM State Sequence (HMM-SS) approach which is very compact and has proved to be an efficient representation for disordered speech utterances. The efficiency of the proposed HMM-SS approach is assessed using four datasets, namely 50 words of TORGO, 100-common words dataset of the UA-SPEECH, 50 help-seeking words and 100-common words of Impaired speech corpus in Tamil corpus. The proposed approach outperforms the baseline HMM, DNN-HMM and a recent state-of-the-art approach for all four datasets. The discriminative ability and the compactness of the proposed representation proved effective for disordered speech recognition.
LUBRICATION PROPERTIES OF MXenes AND THEIR COMPOSITES: A REVIEW
Authors: YAN JIAYUAN , ZHANG XIAOLIANG , WANG YANMING
Published: March 2024

Friction and wear phenomena are common problems in sliding equipment, so materials with excellent antifriction and wear resistance properties are getting increasingly more attention. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide, have always been the research hotspots on account of their special structures and excellent tribological properties. In 2011, MXene, an important member of the 2D material family, was launched. With excellent properties such as ultra-high strength, rich surface end groups, and relatively low cost, MXenes have great potential as lubricant additives. Although these properties have proved to be the reason why MXenes are impressive, the preparation of MXenes composites and the understanding of their mechanical and tribological mechanisms remain to be further investigated. In addition, the abundant surface end groups of MXenes nanosheets make them relatively easy to be functionalized, which has attracted widespread attention. This review aims to comprehensively understand the tribological properties of MXenes nanolayers and to summarize and sort out recent research progress. First, the preparation of MXenes is reviewed, and then the latest research progress of MXenes in liquid lubrication, solid lubrication, and solid–liquid hybrid systems since the advent of MXenes is summarized. Finally, some current problems are presented and an outlook on the development of MXenes is given.
Fault Signal Perception of Nanofiber Sensor for 3D Human Motion Detection Using Multi-Task Deep Learning
Authors: Liu Yun
Published: March 2024

Once a fault occurs in the nanofiber sensor, the scientific and reliable three-dimensional (3D) human motion detection results will be compromised. It is necessary to accurately and rapidly perceive the fault signals of the nanofiber sensor and determine the type of fault, to enable it to continue operating in a sustained and stable manner. Therefore, we propose a fault signal perception method for 3D human motion detection nanofiber sensor based on multi-task deep learning. First, through obtaining the fault characteristic parameters of the nanofiber sensor, the fault of the nanofiber sensor is reconstructed to complete the fault location of the nanofiber sensor. Second, the fault signal of the nanofiber sensor is mapped by the penalty function, and the feature extraction model of the fault signal of the nanofiber sensor is constructed by combining the multi-task deep learning. Finally, the multi-task deep learning algorithm is used to calculate the sampling frequency of the fault signal, and the key variable information of the fault of the nanofiber sensor is extracted according to the amplitude of the state change of the nanofiber sensor, to realize the perception of the fault signal of the nanofiber sensor. The results show that the proposed method can accurately perceive the fault signal of a nanofiber sensor in 3D human motion detection, the maximum sensor fault location accuracy is 97%, and the maximum noise content of the fault signal is only 5 dB, which shows that the method can be widely used in fault signal perception.
Entropy Kernel Graph Cut Feature Space Enhancement with SqueezeNet Deep Neural Network for Textural Image Segmentation
Authors: Niazi Mehrnaz , Rahbar Kambiz
Published: March 2024

Recently, image segmentation based on graph cut methods has shown remarkable performance on a set of image data. Although the kernel graph cut method provides good performance, its performance is highly dependent on the data mapping to the transformation space and image features. The entropy-based kernel graph cut method is suitable for segmentation of textured images. Nonetheless, its segmentation quality remains significantly contingent on the accuracy and richness of feature space representation and kernel centers. This paper introduces an entropy-based kernel graph cut method, which leverages the discriminative feature space extracted from SqueezeNet, a deep neural network. The fusion of SqueezeNet’s features enriches the segmentation process by capturing high-level semantic information. Moreover, the extraction of kernel centers is refined through a weighted k-means approach, contributing further to the segmentation’s precision and effectiveness. The proposed method, while exploiting the benefits of suitable computational load of graph cut methods, will be a suitable alternative for segmenting textured images. Laboratory results have been taken on a set of well-known datasets that include textured shapes in order to evaluate the efficiency of the algorithm compared to other well-known methods in the field of kernel graph cut.
Modelling physical controls on mine water heat storage systems
Authors: Todd Fiona , McDermott Christopher , Harris Andrew Fraser , Bond Alexander , Gilfillan Stuart
Published: March 2024

The use of abandoned mines as a heat source and store has been receiving increased attention as a renewable heat source and storage solution in the transition away from traditional gas heating. The hydraulic, thermal and geomechanical processes governing heat storage and extraction are complex and understanding these processes is critical to safe heat extraction and injection into mine water systems. This paper outlines the development of a fully coupled thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) 2D model to understand the mechanical stability of room and pillar workings during heat injection and extraction. It was found that the cyclical injection and extraction of heat does have an impact on both the modelled displacements and mechanical stability of the system. The impact risk reduces with temperature and the operational processes (e.g. injection temperature and water level) have more of an impact than the underlying geological conditions. These results are significant and could be included in a regulatory system to reduce the likelihood of stability impacts in mine water heating and cooling schemes.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of The Earth as a thermal battery: future directions in subsurface thermal energy storage systems collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/thermal-energy
Audio-Visual Contrastive Pre-train for Face Forgery Detection
Authors: Zhao Hanqing , Zhou Wenbo , Chen Dongdong , Zhang Weiming , Guo Ying , Cheng Zhen , Yan Pengfei , Yu Nenghai
Published: March 2024

The highly realistic avatar in the metaverse may lead to deepfakes of facial identity. Malicious users can more easily obtain the three-dimensional structure of faces, thus using deepfake technology to create counterfeit videos with higher realism. To automatically discern facial videos forged with the advancing generation techniques, deepfake detectors need to achieve stronger generalization abilities. Inspired by transfer learning, neural networks pre-trained on other large-scale face-related tasks would provide fundamental features for deepfake detection. We propose a video-level deepfake detection method based on a temporal transformer with a self-supervised audio–visual contrastive learning approach for pre-training the deepfake detector. The proposed method learns motion representations in the mouth region by encouraging the paired video and audio representations to be close while unpaired ones to be diverse. The deepfake detector adopts the pre-trained weights and partially fine-tunes on deepfake datasets. Extensive experiments show that our self-supervised pre-training method can effectively improve the accuracy and robustness of our deepfake detection model without extra human efforts. Compared with existing deepfake detection methods, our proposed method achieves better generalization ability in cross-dataset evaluations.
Isomorphism Testing for Graphs Excluding Small Topological Subgraphs
Authors: Neuen Daniel
Published: March 2024

We give an isomorphism test that runs in time
n

polylog(
h
)

on all
n
-vertex graphs excluding some
h
-vertex graph as a topological subgraph. Previous results state that isomorphism for such graphs can be tested in time
n

polylog(
h
)

(Babai, STOC 2016) and

n
{f(h)

for some function
f
(Grohe and Marx, SIAM J. Comp., 2015).

Our result also unifies and extends previous isomorphism tests for graphs of maximum degree
d
running in time
n

polylog(
d
)

(SIAM J. Comp., 2023) and for graphs of Hadwiger number
h
running in time
n

polylog(
h
)

(SIAM J. Comp., 2023).
Parallel Topology-aware Mesh Simplification on Terrain Trees
Authors: Song Yunting , Fellegara Riccardo , Iuricich Federico , De Floriani Leila
Published: March 2024

We address the problem of performing a topology-aware simplification algorithm on a compact and distributed data structure for triangle meshes, the Terrain trees. Topology-aware operators have been defined to coarsen a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) without affecting the topology of its underlying terrain, i.e., without modifying critical features of the terrain, such as pits, saddles, peaks, and their connectivity. However, their scalability is limited for large-scale meshes. Our proposed algorithm uses a batched processing strategy to reduce both the memory and time requirements of the simplification process, and thanks to the spatial decomposition on the basis of Terrain trees, it can be easily parallelized. Also, since a Terrain tree after the simplification process becomes less compact and efficient, we propose an efficient post-processing step for updating hierarchical spatial decomposition. Our experiments on real-world TINs, derived from topographic and bathymetric LiDAR data, demonstrate the scalability and efficiency of our approach. Specifically, topology-aware simplification on Terrain trees uses 40% less memory and half the time compared to the most compact and efficient connectivity-based data structure for TINs. Furthermore, the parallel simplification algorithm on the Terrain trees exhibits a 12× speedup with an OpenMP implementation. The quality of the output mesh is not significantly affected by the distributed and parallel simplification strategy of Terrain trees, and we obtain similar quality levels compared to the global baseline method.
x
Meta
: SSD-HDD-hybrid Optimization for Metadata Maintenance of Cloud-scale Object Storage
Authors: Chen Yan , Ke Qiwen , Li Huiba , Wu Yongwei , Zhang Yiming
Published: March 2024

Object storage has been widely used in the cloud. Traditionally, the size of object metadata is much smaller than that of object data, and thus existing object storage systems (such as Ceph and Oasis) can place object data and metadata, respectively, on hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) to achieve high I/O performance at a low monetary cost. Currently, however, a wide range of cloud applications organize their data as large numbers of small objects of which the data size is close to (or even smaller than) the metadata size, thus greatly increasing the cost if placing all metadata on expensive SSDs.

This article presents x
Meta
, an SSD-HDD-hybrid optimization for metadata maintenance of cloud-scale object storage. We observed that a substantial portion of the metadata of small objects is rarely accessed and thus can be stored on HDDs with little performance penalty. Therefore, x
Meta
first classifies the
hot
and
cold
metadata based on the frequency of metadata accesses of upper-layer applications and then adaptively stores the hot metadata on SSDs and the cold metadata on HDDs. We also propose a merging mechanism for hot metadata to further improve the efficiency of SSD storage and optimize range key query and insertion for hot metadata by designing composite keys. We have integrated the x
Meta
metadata service with Ceph to realize a high-performance, low-cost object store (called xCeph). The extensive evaluation shows that xCeph outperforms the original Ceph by an order of magnitude in the space requirement of SSD storage, while improving the throughput by up to 2.7×.
Carbon Inverse Opal Macroporous Monolithic Structures as Electrodes for Na-ion and K-ion Batteries
Authors: Carroll Aoife , Grant Alex , Zhang Yan , Gulzar Umair , Ahad Syed Abdul , Geaney Hugh , O’Dwyer Colm
Published: March 2024

Highly ordered three-dimensionally structured carbon inverse opals (IOs) produced from sucrose are stable electrodes in sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries. The walls of the ordered porous carbon structure contain short-range graphitic areas. The interconnected open-worked structure defines a conductive macroporous monolithic electrode that is easily wetted by electrolytes for Na-ion and K-ion systems. Electrochemical characterization in half-cells against Na metal electrodes reveals stable discharge capacities of 25 mAh g−1 at 35 mA g−1 and 40 mAh g−1 at 75 mA g−1 and 185 mA g−1. In K-ion half cells, the carbon IO delivers capacities of 32 mAh g−1 at 35 mA g−1 and ∼25 mAh g−1 at 75 mA g−1 and 185 mA g−1. The IOs demonstrate storage mechanisms involving both capacitive and diffusion-controlled processes. Comparison with non-templated carbon thin films highlights the superior capacity retention (72% for IO vs 58% for thin film) and cycling stability of the IO structure in Na-ion cells. Robust structural integrity against volume changes with larger ionic radius of potassium ions is maintained after 250 cycles in K-ion cells. The carbon IOs exhibit stable coulombic efficiency (>99%) in sodium-ion batteries and better coulombic efficiency during cycling compared to typical graphitic carbons.
Differential clustering of visual and choice- and saccade-related activity in macaque V3A and CIP
Authors: Zhu Zikang , Kim Byounghoon , Doudlah Raymond , Chang Ting-Yu , Rosenberg Ari
Published: March 2024

The occipital and parietal cortices of macaque monkeys are bridged by hierarchically organized areas V3A and CIP. These areas support 3-D visual transformations, carry choice-related activity during 3-D perceptual tasks, and possess saccade-related activity. This study quantifies the functional clustering of neuronal response properties within V3A and CIP for each of these domains. The findings reveal domain-specific cross-area differences in clustering that may reflect the areas’ roles in sensorimotor processing.