bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WWOX and metabolic regulation in normal and pathological conditions
Authors: Baryła Izabela , Kośla Katarzyna , Bednarek Andrzej K.
Published: October 2022

WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) spans the common fragile site FRA16D. There is evidence that translocations and deletions affecting WWOX accompanied by loss of expression are frequent in many cancers and often correlate with a worse prognosis. Additionally, WWOX germline mutations were also found to be the cause of pathologies of brain development. Because WWOX binds to some transcription factors, it is a modulator of many cellular processes, including metabolic processes. Recently, studies have linked WWOX to familial dyslipidemias, osteopenia, metabolic syndrome, and gestational diabetes, confirming its role as a regulator of steroid, cholesterol, glucose, and normal bone metabolism. The WW domain of WWOX is directly engaged in the control of the activity of transcription factors such as HIF1α and RUNX2; therefore, WWOX gene alterations are associated with some metabolic abnormalities. Presently, most interest is devoted to the associations between WWOX and glucose and basic energy metabolism disturbances. In particular, its involvement in the initiation of the Warburg effect in cancer or gestational diabetes and type II diabetes is of interest. This review is aimed at systematically and comprehensively presenting the current state of knowledge about the participation of WWOX in the metabolism of healthy and diseased organisms.
Geometrical investigation of cooling channels with two alternated isothermal blocks under forced convective turbulent flow
Authors: Feijó Bruno Costa , Fragassa Cristiano , Teixeira Filipe Branco , Rocha Luiz Alberto Oliveira , Isoldi Liércio André , dos Santos Elizaldo Domingues
Published: October 2022

The present work performs a numerical analysis of the geometrical investigation of a two-dimensional channel with two alternated isothermal rectangular blocks subjected to turbulent forced convective flows. Constructal Design associated with Exhaustive Search is used to investigate the influence of the geometry of the isothermal blocks over the performance of the cooling convective flows in a multi-objective viewpoint, i.e., considering the pressure drop and heat transfer rate. The time-averaged equations of continuity, momentum, and energy conservation are solved with the finite volume method. The k–$$\omega $$
ω
shear stress transport model is used for the closure of turbulence. The effect of the two proposed degrees of freedom, the height/length ratio of the two blocks ($$H_{1}/L_{1}$$

H
1

/

L
1

and $$H_{2}/L_{2})$$

H
2

/

L
2

)

, is analyzed in relation to the proposed objectives. Regarding the thermal purpose, the geometry with the highest insertion into the channel led to the best performance, while the opposite configuration led to the best fluid dynamic performance. This behavior was similar to that previously found in the literature for forced convective laminar flows. For a multi-objective perspective, the use of technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution indicated that asymmetric blocks led to the best multi-objective performance when both performance indicators had the same weight.
The progression of doxorubicin-induced intestinal mucositis in rats
Authors: Kullenberg F. , Peters K. , Luna-Marco C. , Salomonsson A. , Kopsida M. , Degerstedt O. , Sjöblom M. , Hellström P. M. , Heindryckx F. , Dahlgren D. , Lennernäs H.
Published: October 2022

Chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis is a severe side effect contributing to reduced quality of life and premature death in cancer patients. Despite a high incidence, a thorough mechanistic understanding of its pathophysiology and effective supportive therapies are lacking. The main objective of this rat study was to determine how 10 mg/kg doxorubicin, a common chemotherapeutic, affected jejunal function and morphology over time (6, 24, 72, or 168 h). The secondary objective was to determine if the type of dosing administration (intraperitoneal or intravenous) affected the severity of mucositis or plasma exposure of the doxorubicin. Morphology, proliferation and apoptosis, and jejunal permeability of mannitol were examined using histology, immunohistochemistry, and single-pass intestinal perfusion, respectively. Villus height was reduced by 40% after 72 h, preceded at 24 h by a 75% decrease in proliferation and a sixfold increase in apoptosis. Villus height recovered completely after 168 h. Mucosal permeability of mannitol decreased after 6, 24, and 168 h. There were no differences in intestinal injury or plasma exposure after intraperitoneal or intravenous doxorubicin dosing. This study provides an insight into the progression of chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis and associated cellular mucosal processes. Knowledge from this in vivo rat model can facilitate development of preventive and supportive therapies for cancer patients.
Do graspable objects always leave a motor signature? A study on memory traces
Authors: Daprati Elena , Balestrucci Priscilla , Nico Daniele
Published: October 2022

Several studies have reported the existence of reciprocal interactions between the type of motor activity physically performed on objects and the conceptual knowledge that is retained of them. Whethercovertmotor activity plays a similar effect is less clear. Certainly, objects are strong triggers for actions, and motor components can make the associated concepts more memorable. However, addition of an action-related memory trace may not always be automatic and could rather depend on ‘how’ objects are encountered. To test this hypothesis, we compared memory for objects that passive observers experienced as verbal labels (the word describing them), visual images (color photographs) and actions (pantomimes of object use). We predicted that the more direct the involvement of action-related representations the more effective would be the addition of a motor code to the experience and the more accurate would be the recall. Results showed that memory for objects presented as words i.e., a format that might only indirectly prime the sensorimotor system, was generally less accurate compared to memory for objects presented as photographs or pantomimes, which are more likely to directly elicit motor simulation processes. In addition, free recall of objects experienced as pantomimes was more accurate when these items afforded actions performed towards one’s body than actions directed away from the body. We propose that covert motor activity can contribute to objects’ memory, but the beneficial addition of a motor code to the experience is not necessarily automatic. An advantage is more likely to emerge when the observer is induced to take a first-person stance during the encoding phase, as may happen for objects affording actions directed towards the body, which obviously carry more relevance for the actor.
Fetal 4D flow MRI of the great thoracic vessels at 3 Tesla using Doppler-ultrasound gating: a feasibility study
Authors: Knapp J. , Tavares de Sousa M. , Lenz A. , Herrmann J. , Zhang S. , Kording F. , Hergert B. , Adam G. , Bannas P. , Schoennagel B. P.
Published: October 2022

Objectives

To evaluate the feasibility of Doppler-ultrasound (DUS)-gated 4D flow MRI of the fetal great thoracic vessels at 3T in a clinical setting.

Methods

Sixteen consecutive fetuses (range 30+4–38+5 weeks) with (n = 11) and without (n = 5) cardiovascular anomalies underwent 4D flow MRI of the great thoracic vessels at 3T. Direct fetal cardiac gating was obtained using a MR-compatible DUS device. 4D flow MRI–based visualisation and quantification of four target regions (ascending aorta (AAo), descending aorta (DAo), main pulmonary artery (MPA), and ductus arteriosus (DA)) were performed using dedicated software.

Results

Fetal 4D flow MRI of the great thoracic vessels was successful in 12/16 fetuses (75%) by adopting clinical 4D flow MR protocols in combination with direct fetal cardiac DUS-gating. Four datasets were excluded due to artefacts by fetal movement or maternal breathing. 4D flow MRI–derived time-velocity curves revealed typical arterial blood flow patterns in the aorta. 4D flow quantification was achieved for the pre-defined target regions. Average velocity and flow volume were 21.1 ± 5.2 cm/s and 6.0 ± 3.1 mL/s in the AAo, 24.3 ± 6.7 cm/s and 8.4 ± 3.7 mL/s in the DAo, 21.9 ± 6.4 cm/s and 7.8 ± 4.2 mL/s in the MPA, and 23.4 ± 4.7 cm/s and 5.9 ± 3.6 mL/s in the DA, respectively.

Conclusions

Combination of DUS-gating of the fetal heart and 4D flow MRI allows comprehensive visualisation and quantification of haemodynamics in the fetal great thoracic vessels. DUS-gated fetal 4D flow MRI may provide a new diagnostic approach for prenatal assessment of blood flow haemodynamics.

Key Points

• Fetal cardiac Doppler-ultrasound (DUS) gating and 4D flow MRI can be successfully combined.

• DUS-gated fetal 4D flow MRI allowed visualisation and evaluation of streamline directionality, illustration of blood flow variations, and pulsatile arterial waveforms in the target vessels.

• 4D flow MRI–based visualisation and quantification of the fetal great thoracic vessels were successful and flow metrics agreed with echocardiographic reference values.
Intakes of major food groups in China and UK: results from 100,000 adults in the China Kadoorie biobank and UK biobank
Authors: Papier Keren , Kakkoura Maria G. , Guo Yu , Knuppel Anika , Pei Pei , Tong Tammy Y. N. , Yu Canqing , Perez-Cornago Aurora , Chang Wing Ching , Chen Junshi , Lv Jun , Li Liming , Chen Zhengming , Du Huaidong , Key Timothy J.
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Different populations may exhibit differences in dietary intakes, which may result in heterogeneities in diet–disease associations. We compared intakes of major food groups overall, by sex, and by socio-economic status (SES) (defined as both education and income), between participants in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) and the UK Biobank (UKB).

Methods

Data were from ~ 25,000 CKB participants who completed a validated interviewer-administered computer-based questionnaire (2013–2014) and ~ 74,000 UKB participants who completed ≥ 3 web-based 24-h dietary assessments (2009–2012). Intakes of 12 major food groups and five beverages were harmonized and compared between the cohorts overall, by sex and by SES. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression examined the associations between dietary intakes and body mass index (BMI) in each cohort.

Results

CKB participants reported consuming more rice, eggs, vegetables, soya products, and less wheat, other staple foods (other than rice and wheat), fish, poultry, all dairy products, fruit, and beverages compared to UKB participants. Red meat intake was similar in both cohorts. Having a higher SES was generally associated with a higher consumption of foods and beverages in CKB, whereas in UKB dietary intakes differed more by education and income, with a positive association observed for meat and income in both UKB and CKB but an inverse association observed for education in UKB. Associations of dietary intakes with BMI varied between the two cohorts.

Conclusion

The large differences in dietary intakes and their associations with SES and BMI could provide insight into the interpretation of potentially different diet–disease associations between CKB and UKB.
How I do it: Cochlear Osia 2 System surgery placement
Authors: Soloperto Davide , Dallari Virginia , Molteni Gabriele
Published: October 2022

Background

The Cochlear™ Osia® 2 System is an active transcutaneous bone-anchored hearing implant with a newly developed piezoelectric transducer that is fixed to a titanium implant (BI300).

Methods

It uses digital piezoelectric stimulation to bypass non-functional areas of the natural hearing system and send sound directly to the cochlea. This device is designed to meet the needs of patients with unilateral and bilateral conductive or mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness.

Conclusion

We show step by step how to place the new active transcutaneous bone conduction implant, Cochlear™ Osia® 2 System, which utilizes a piezoelectric actuator anchored to the mastoid bone through an osseointegrated screw.
Platelet lysate can support the development of a 3D-engineered skin for clinical application
Authors: Banakh I. , Rahman Md. M. , Arellano C. L. , Marks D. C. , Mukherjee S. , Gargett C. E. , Cleland H. , Akbarzadeh S.
Published: October 2022

Safety concerns associated with foetal bovine serum (FBS) have restricted its translation into clinics. We hypothesised that platelet lysate (PL) can be utilised as a safe alternative to produce serum-free 3D-engineered skin. PL supported a short-term expansion of fibroblasts, with negligible replication-induced senescence and directed epidermal stratification. PL-expanded fibroblasts were phenotypically separated into three subpopulations of CD90+FAP+, CD90+FAP− and CD90−FAP+, based on CD90 (reticular marker) and FAP (papillary marker) expression profile. PL drove the expansion of the intermediate CD90+ FAP+ subpopulation in expense of reticular CD90+FAP−, which may be less fibrotic once grafted. The 3D-engineered skin cultured in PL was analysed by immunofluorescence using specific markers. Detection of ColIV and LMN-511 confirmed basement membrane. K10 confirmed near native differentiation pattern of neo-epidermis. CD29- and K5-positive interfollicular stem cells were also sustained. Transmission and scanning electron microscopies detailed the ultrastructure of the neo-dermis and neo-epidermis. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of the effect of PL on skin maturation, growth factor contents in PL were measured, and TGF-β1 was identified as one of the most abundant. TGF-β1 neutralising antibody reduced the number of Ki67-positive proliferative cells, suggesting TGF-β1 plays a role in skin maturation. Moreover, the 3D-engineered skin was exposed to lucifer yellow on days 1, 3 and 5. Penetration of lucifer yellow into the skin was used as a semi-quantitative measure of improved barrier function over time. Our findings support the concept of PL as a safe and effective serum alternative for bioengineering skin for cell therapies.
H-DAC: discriminative associative classification in data streams
Authors: Seyfi Majid , Xu Yue
Published: October 2022

In this paper, we propose an efficient and highly accurate method for data stream classification, called discriminative associative classification. We define class discriminative association rules (CDARs) as the class association rules (CARs) in one data stream that have higher support compared with the same rules in the rest of the data streams. Compared to associative classification mining in a single data stream, there are additional challenges in the discriminative associative classification mining in multiple data streams, as the Apriori property of the subset is not applicable. The proposed single-pass H-DAC algorithm is designed based on distinguishing features of the rules to improve classification accuracy and efficiency. Continuously arriving transactions are inserted at fast speed and large volume, and CDARs are discovered in the tilted-time window model. The data structures are dynamically adjusted in offline time intervals to reflect each rule supported in different periods. Empirical analysis shows the effectiveness of the proposed method in the large fast speed data streams. Good efficiency is achieved for batch processing of small and large datasets, plus 0–2% improvements in classification accuracy using the tilted-time window model (i.e., almost with zero overhead). These improvements are seen only for the first 32 incoming batches in the scale of our experiments and we expect better results as the data streams grow.
Cleansing efficacy of an auto-cleaning toothbrushing device with nylon bristles: a randomized-controlled pilot study
Authors: Keller Mathias , Keller Gregor , Eller Thomas , Sigwart Lukas , Wiesmüller Vera , Steiner René , Offermanns Vincent , Kapferer-Seebacher Ines
Published: October 2022

Objectives

To compare the cleansing efficacy of an auto-cleaning device with nylon bristles (Y-brush®) to that of manual toothbrushing.

Materials and methods

Twenty probands refrained from oral hygiene for 3 days. Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index was assessed before and after (randomized) toothbrushing either with the auto-cleaning device for 5 s per jaw or with a manual toothbrush for a freely chosen time up to 4 min. The clinical investigation was repeated in a cross-over design. In a third trial period, the brushing time for auto-cleaning was increased to 15 s per jaw. The study was supplemented by plaster cast analyses.

Results

Full-mouth plaque reduction was higher with manual toothbrushing than with auto-cleaning for 5 s per jaw (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference on smooth tooth surfaces but on marginal and interdental sites. Increasing the brushing time of auto-cleaning to 15 s per jaw resulted in a comparable full-mouth plaque reduction as with manual toothbrushing (p = 0.177). In 95% of individuals, the device was too short not completely covering second molars. In 30.67% of teeth, the gingival margin was not covered by bristles.

Conclusions

Auto-cleaning devices with nylon bristles have a future potential to reach plaque reduction levels comparable to manual toothbrushing, although manufacturers must focus on improving an accurate fit.

Clinical relevance

Under the premise of an ameliorated fit, the auto-cleaning device might be recommendable for people with low brushing efficacy. Interdental sites remain a failure point if adjunct interdental cleaning is not viable.
Gel Biter: food texture discriminator based on physical reservoir computing with multiple soft materials
Authors: Hirose Kosuke , Sudo Ikuma , Ogawa Jun , Watanabe Yosuke , Shiblee M. D. Nahin Islam , Khosla Ajit , Kawakami Masaru , Furukawa Hidemitsu
Published: October 2022

The human oral structure contains organs with distinctly different physical properties, such as teeth, gums, and tongues. When food enters the oral cavity, we can recognize the tactile sensation and shape of the object from multiple perspectives through the texture of the teeth and tongue. Therefore, it is possible to regard oral structures as a group of tactile sensors based on these functions. In this study, we developed a soft-matter artificial mouth that can accurately detect subtle differences in texture by creating and combining oral structural organs using polymer materials with different physical properties and mounting them as end-effectors for a robot arm. The same piezoelectric film sensor was embedded inside each organ, making it possible to acquire tactile sensations from the same object as completely different signal waveforms. We tested whether the sensor data obtained from each soft-matter material could be used for excellent object recognition by applying various machine learning methods. In an actual experiment, we learned the waveform data obtained from chewing sweets and snacks, such as rice crackers, and applied machine learning to classify the data, which led to an accuracy rate of over 90%.
The steady state and response to a periodic stimulation of the firing rate for a theta neuron with correlated noise
Authors: Franzen Jannik , Ramlow Lukas , Lindner Benjamin
Published: October 2022

The stochastic activity of neurons is caused by various sources of correlated fluctuations and can be described in terms of simplified, yet biophysically grounded, integrate-and-fire models. One paradigmatic model is the quadratic integrate-and-fire model and its equivalent phase description by the theta neuron. Here we study the theta neuron model driven by a correlated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise and by periodic stimuli. We apply the matrix-continued-fraction method to the associated Fokker-Planck equation to develop an efficient numerical scheme to determine the stationary firing rate as well as the stimulus-induced modulation of the instantaneous firing rate. For the stationary case, we identify the conditions under which the firing rate decreases or increases by the effect of the colored noise and compare our results to existing analytical approximations for limit cases. For an additional periodic signal we demonstrate how the linear and nonlinear response terms can be computed and report resonant behavior for some of them. We extend the method to the case of two periodic signals, generally with incommensurable frequencies, and present a particular case for which a strong mixed response to both signals is observed, i.e. where the response to the sum of signals differs significantly from the sum of responses to the single signals. We provide Python code for our computational method: https://github.com/jannikfranzen/theta_neuron.
Photocatalytic activation of Ag-doped SrSnO3 nanorods under visible light for reduction of p-nitrophenol and methylene blue mineralization
Authors: Ghubish Z. , Kamal R. , Mahmoud Hala R. , Saif M. , Hafez H. , El-Kemary M.
Published: October 2022

The utilization of solar energy for the treatment of wastewater pollutants by photocatalysts has been considered a promising solution to address environmental problems. Herein, we have synthesized silver nanoparticle-doped strontium stannate (Ag-doped SrSnO3) nanorods by hydrothermal method followed by ultrasonic treatment. The developed nanocomposites were applied for photocatalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB) mineralization under visible light illumination. The effect of hydrothermal duration time (16–25) h, Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) concentration (0.5–2.5) wt% on the crystal, surface, optical, photoluminescence as well as photocatalytic activity were studied. A well-defined crystalline cubic phase of SrSnO3 was obtained. CTAB inhibits the crystal growth of SrSnO3. Reduction of 4-NP and MB mineralization were used as two-model reactions for testing the effect of Ag doping concentration on the photocatalytic activities of Ag/SrSnO3 under visible light illumination. The obtained results show that 2.0 wt% of Ag-doped SrSnO3 exhibits efficient photocatalytic reduction of 4-NP with 98.2% conversion within 5 min of reaction time. Also, 87% of the MB sample was mineralized after 1 h of visible illumination using 2.0% Ag/SrSnO3 in the presence of H2O2. Besides, we have discussed the possible photocatalytic mechanism for reduction of 4-NP and mineralization of MB using 2.0 wt% of Ag doped SrSnO3 under visible light illumination.
Preparation, investigation, and temperature sensing application of rGO/SnO2/Co3O4 composite
Authors: Morsy Mohamed , Darwish A. G. , Mokhtar M. M. , Elbashar Yahia , Elzwawy Amir
Published: October 2022

The uprising era of technological applications seeks solutions that facilitate daily life activities. Sensors with their different types provide fast and reliable information. The employment of graphene oxide in these sensors complies with the general requirement for sensor's functionalization and easily achieves the purpose for which the sensor was prepared. In this report, we have synthesized rGO/SnO2/Co3O4 composite with a star-like structure through a facile chemical route. The mentioned structure was employed as a temperature sensor within a temperature range of 25–125 °C and a wide span of relative humidity values. In order to assess the quality of preparation and the sensing ability, the composite was inspected by the following techniques: XRD, FTIR, SEM, and thermal analysis in addition to the sensing measurements. The XRD results affirmed the successful incorporation of the SnO2/Co3O4 onto the rGO with 18 nm average crystallite size. The SEM results revealed the characteristic star-like structure with a mean length of 100 nm. The main functional groups are reflected in the FTIR results. The outcomes elucidated a linear response between the resistance and temperature, where the temperature coefficient of resistance is estimated to be 0.006/°C. These results confirm the validity of this structure for temperature sensing applications.
Stepwise Excited-state Double Proton Transfer and Fluorescence Decay Analysis
Authors: Wróblewski Tomasz , Ushakou Dzmitryi
Published: October 2022

This work considers excited state intramolecular proton transfers (ESIPT) occurred in multiple hydroxyl-containing compounds with one proton transfer site in the normal form. If several hydroxyl groups are located close to each other in a molecule, then the ESIPT process can lead to the next one. A proton donor site in the first ESIPT will be a proton acceptor during the second reaction. Therefore, a number of consecutive excited state proton transfers can occur. This work deals with the case of two successive proton transfers occurred in the molecular system. Such process is called as a stepwise excited state intramolecular double proton transfer (stepwise ESIDPT). It leads to the formation of two molecular tautomers. Therefore, fluorescence of such compounds can contain different emission bands correspond to emission of normal form and two tautomers. In this work, a rigorous analysis of fluorescence decay kinetics has been made using the model with three species, including a normal molecular form and two tautomers. The work presents theoretical framework of fluorescence decay analysis of ESIDPT process taking into account three species emission. Theoretically, the stepwise proton transfers can be consisted of more than two ESIPT reactions. It depends on molecular structure and number of involved hydroxyl groups. Here, a formal analysis of fluorescence decay kinetics has been made in the case of a stepwise process consisting of two proton transfers. Moreover, the quantum-chemical calculations have been performed in the case of scutellarein. It is a multiple hydroxyl-containing flavone and, therefore, it can be applied as a model molecule to study stepwise intramolecular proton transfers. The hypothetical scheme of ESIDPT has been proposed for this compound.

Graphical abstract
A flexible scope theory of intensionality
Authors: Elliott Patrick D.
Published: October 2022

Extant attempts to incorporate intensionality into the grammar either systematically over-generate, or systematically under-generate. In this paper, building on Keshet (Linguist and Philos 33(4):251–283, 2011), we aim to reconcile a scopal account of de re with the possibility of de re readings out of scope islands. By adapting compositional techniques for dealing with exceptionally scoping indefinites (Charlow, in On the semantics of exceptional scope, PhD thesis, Rutgers University, 2014; The scope of alternatives: indefiniteness and islands. Linguist and Philos 43(4):427–472, 2020), we develop an intensional grammar in which exceptional de re is achieved via cyclic scope. World-sensitive expressions are converted into scope-takers via a constrained inventory of type-flexible operators. Type flexibility explains the possibility of apparently island-violating de re by predicting the possibility of cyclic scope-taking. We argue that the resulting theory—which we dub the flexible scope theory—is sufficiently expressive to address the under-generation issues of current accounts, while still capturing constraints on de re in an explanatory fashion.
Investigations on speaker adaptation using a continuous vocoder within recurrent neural network based text-to-speech synthesis
Authors: Mandeel Ali Raheem , Al-Radhi Mohammed Salah , Csapó Tamás Gábor
Published: October 2022

This paper presents an investigation of speaker adaptation using a continuous vocoder for parametric text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis. In purposes that demand low computational complexity, conventional vocoder-based statistical parametric speech synthesis can be preferable. While capable of remarkable naturalness, recent neural vocoders nonetheless fall short of the criteria for real-time synthesis. We investigate our former continuous vocoder, in which the excitation is characterized employing two one-dimensional parameters: Maximum Voiced Frequency and continuous fundamental frequency (F0). We show that an average voice can be trained for deep neural network-based TTS utilizing data from nine English speakers. We did speaker adaptation experiments for each target speaker with 400 utterances (approximately 14 minutes). We showed an apparent enhancement in the quality and naturalness of synthesized speech compared to our previous work by utilizing the recurrent neural network topologies. According to the objective studies (Mel-Cepstral Distortion and F0 correlation), the quality of speaker adaptation using Continuous Vocoder-based DNN-TTS is slightly better than the WORLD Vocoder-based baseline. The subjective MUSHRA-like test results also showed that our speaker adaptation technique is almost as natural as the WORLD vocoder using Gated Recurrent Unit and Long Short Term Memory networks. The proposed vocoder, being capable of real-time synthesis, can be used for applications which need fast synthesis speed.
Automatic facial emotion recognition at the COVID-19 pandemic time
Authors: Castellano Giovanna , De Carolis Berardina , Macchiarulo Nicola
Published: October 2022

People use various nonverbal communicative channels to convey emotions, among which facial expressions are considered the most important ones. Thus, automatic Facial Expression Recognition (FER) is a fundamental task to increase the perceptive skills of computers, especially in human-computer interaction. Like humans, state-of-art FER systems are able to recognize emotions from the entire face of a person. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a massive use of face masks that help in preventing infection but may hamper social communication and make the recognition of facial expressions a very challenging task due to facial occlusion. In this paper we propose a FER system capable to recognize emotions from masked faces. The system checks for the presence of a mask on the face image and, in case of mask detection, it extracts the eyes region and recognizes the emotion only considering that portion of the face. The effectiveness of the developed FER system was tested in recognizing emotions and their valence only from the eyes region and comparing the results when considering the entire face. As it was expected, emotions that are related mainly to the mouth region (e.g., disgust) are barely recognized, while positive emotions are better identified by considering only the eyes region. Moreover, we compared the results of our FER system to the human annotation of emotions on masked faces. We found out that the FER system outperforms the human annotation, thus showing that the model is able to learn proper features for each emotion leveraging only the eyes region.
Experimental and numerical characterization of a D-shaped PCF refractive index sensor
Authors: Azab Mohammad Y. , Hameed Mohamed Farhat O. , Mahdiraji Ghafour Amouzad , Adikan Faisal Rafiq Mahamd , Obayya S. S. A.
Published: October 2022

Highly sensitive D-shaped plasmonic photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensor is proposed, analyzed and fabricated for refractive index (RI) sensing. The reported sensor relies on the coupling between the core guided mode and the surface plasmon mode at the metallic/dielectric interface. The resonance frequency is a function of the analyte RI within a range of 1.33–1.354. Therefore, the reported D-shaped PCF holds great potential as a highly sensitive RI sensor to detect an unknown analyte refractive index within the tested RI range. The geometrical parameters are studied to maximize the sensor sensitivity by using full vectorial finite element method. Then, the optimum design is fabricated by using stack and draw technique. The fabricated PCF sensor achieves high sensitivity of 294.11 nm/RIU with a resolution of $$3.4 \times 10^{ - 4} \;{\text{RIU}}$$

3.4
×

10

-
4

RIU

. The reported RI sensor can be used for glucose concentration detection where the analyte refractive index changes with the glucose concentration within the studied RI range. Hence, this design will play a significant role in the biomedical sensor industry.
The wellbeing of women and men with and without disabilities: evidence from cross-sectional national surveys in 27 low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Emerson Eric , Llewellyn Gwynnyth
Published: October 2022

Background

Little is known about disability-related inequities in personal wellbeing (PWB) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Method

Secondary analysis of data collected in Round 6 of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) undertaken in 27 LMICs (n = 296,693 women, 66,557 men). Data were aggregated across countries by mixed effects multi-level modelling and meta-analysis.

Results

Women and men with disabilities were less likely than their non-disabled peers to report being happy and to be satisfied with their life. These differences were evident in all countries for women and in 18 of 22 countries for men. Aggregated data indicated that: (1) women with disabilities were 14–15% less likely to be happy and 17% less likely to be satisfied with their lives; (2) men with disabilities were 15–17% less likely to be happy and 17–19% less likely to be satisfied with their lives; (3) disability-related inequalities in personal wellbeing were reduced by 22–26% for women and 11–22% for men by adjusting for differences in living conditions.

Conclusions

Future releases of MICS data could prove a valuable resource in monitoring country-level progress to realising Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the extent to which progress is equitable between women and men and between people with/without disabilities. Results also suggest that a significant proportion of the disability-related inequities in wellbeing may be accounted for by modifiable differences in their living conditions and life experiences.
A phase transition for finding needles in nonlinear haystacks with LASSO artificial neural networks
Authors: Ma Xiaoyu , Sardy Sylvain , Hengartner Nick , Bobenko Nikolai , Lin Yen Ting
Published: October 2022

To fit sparse linear associations, a LASSO sparsity inducing penalty with a single hyperparameter provably allows to recover the important features (needles) with high probability in certain regimes even if the sample size is smaller than the dimension of the input vector (haystack). More recently learners known as artificial neural networks (ANN) have shown great successes in many machine learning tasks, in particular fitting nonlinear associations. Small learning rate, stochastic gradient descent algorithm and large training set help to cope with the explosion in the number of parameters present in deep neural networks. Yet few ANN learners have been developed and studied to find needles in nonlinear haystacks. Driven by a single hyperparameter, our ANN learner, like for sparse linear associations, exhibits a phase transition in the probability of retrieving the needles, which we do not observe with other ANN learners. To select our penalty parameter, we generalize the universal threshold of Donoho and Johnstone (Biometrika 81(3):425–455, 1994) which is a better rule than the conservative (too many false detections) and expensive cross-validation. In the spirit of simulated annealing, we propose a warm-start sparsity inducing algorithm to solve the high-dimensional, non-convex and non-differentiable optimization problem. We perform simulated and real data Monte Carlo experiments to quantify the effectiveness of our approach.
The determinants of university strategic positioning and the obscuring of institutional diversity: an Australian case study
Authors: Zipparo Julian
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the recent body of research exploring strategic positioning, and the processes and factors which influence the development and content of university strategies and plans, with lessons then applied to open questions of institutional diversity and its determinants. Following a sector level analysis of the contents of university positioning documents, an in-depth case study is developed of a large Australian university, where the interaction of intra-institutional ‘meso’ layers is explored to show a confluence of factors contributing to positioning. The case demonstrates that institutional positioning involves the selective crafting of narratives for multiple purposes, including the seeking and portrayal of internal cohesion, identity enhancement, and resource seeking. Importantly, while cross-institutional comparison of positioning narratives portrays an undifferentiated and somewhat homogenous sector, positioning is found within the case institution to obscure what is significant internal diversity and complexity. The implications of these findings for research exploring institutional diversity, and policies seeking to stimulate it, are discussed.
Maxillomandibular advancement for obstructive sleep apnea: a retrospective prognostic factor study for surgical response
Authors: Zhou Ning , Ho Jean-Pierre T. F. , Visscher Wouter P. , Su Naichuan , Lobbezoo Frank , de Lange Jan
Published: October 2022

Purpose

To identify potential predictors of surgical response to maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) from the most common clinically available data (patient-related, polysomnographic, cephalometric, and surgical variables).

Methods

This was a retrospective study comprised of consecutive patients who underwent MMA for moderate to severe OSA. Relevant clinical, polysomnographic, cephalometric, and surgical variables were collected as independent variables (predictors). The association of the independent variables with a favorable surgical response to MMA was assessed in univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

In 100 patients (82% male; mean age 50.5 years), the mean apnea hypopnea index [AHI] was 53.1 events/h. The rate of favorable surgical response was 67%. Based on multivariate analysis, patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) had 0.140 times lower odds of a favorable response to MMA (OR: 0.140 [0.038, 0.513], P = 0.003). For each 1-unit increase in central apnea index (CAI) and superior posterior airway space (SPAS), there were 0.828 and 0.724 times lower odds to respond favorably to MMA (OR: 0.828 [0.687, 0.997], P = 0.047; and 0.724 [0.576, 0.910], P = 0.006), respectively.

Conclusion

The findings of this study suggest that the surgical outcome of MMA may be less favorable when patients with OSA have certain phenotypic characteristics: the presence of CVD, higher CAI and larger SPAS. If confirmed in future studies, these variables may guide patient selection for MMA.
Cues of wealth and the subjective perception of rich people
Authors: Rinn Robin , Ludwig Jonas , Fassler Pauline , Deutsch Roland
Published: October 2022

These pre-registered studies shed light on the cues that individuals use to identify rich people. In two studies (N = 598), we first developed a factor-analytical model that describes the content and the mental structure of 24 wealth cues. A third within-subject study (N = 89) then assessed the perception of rich subgroups based on this model of wealth cues. Participants evaluated the extent to which the wealth cues applied to two distinct subgroups of rich people. The results show: German and US-American participants think that one can identify rich people based on the same set of cues which can be grouped along the following dimensions: luxury consumption, expensive hobbies, spontaneous spending, greedy behavior, charismatic behavior, self-presentation, and specific possessions. However, Germans and US-Americans relied on these cues to different degrees to diagnose wealth in others. Moreover, we found evidence for subgroup-specific wealth cue profiles insofar as target individuals who acquired their wealth via internal (e.g., hard work) compared to external means (e.g., lottery winners) were evaluated differently on these wealth cues, presumably because of their perceived differences in valence and competence. Together, this research provides new insights in the cognitive representation of the latent construct of wealth. Practical implications for research on the perception of affluence, and implications for political decision makers, are discussed in the last section.
Timescales and contribution of heating and helicity effect in helicity-dependent all-optical switching
Authors: Li Guan-Qi , Zheng Xiang-Yu , Wang Jun-Lin , Lu Xian-Yang , Wu Jing , Cai Jian-Wang , Meng Hao , Liu Bo , Ostler Thomas A. , Xu Yong-Bing
Published: October 2022

The heating and helicity effects induced by circularly polarized laser excitation are entangled in the helicity-dependent all-optical switching (HD-AOS), which hinders understanding the magnetization dynamics involved. Here, applying a dual-pump laser excitation, first with a linearly polarized (LP) laser pulse followed by a circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse, the timescales and contribution from heating and helicity effects in HD-AOS were identified with a Pt/Co/Pt triple-layer. When the LP laser pulses preheat the sample to a nearly fully demagnetized state, the CP laser pulses with a power reduced by 80% switch the sample’s magnetization. By varying the time delay between the two pump pulses, the results show that the helicity effect, which gives rise to the deterministic helicity-induced switching, arises almost instantly within 200 fs close to the pulse width upon laser excitation. The results reveal that the transient magnetization state upon which CP laser pulses impinge is the key factor for achieving HD-AOS, and importantly, the tunability between heating and helicity effects with the unique dual-pump laser excitation approach will enable HD-AOS in a wide range of magnetic material systems having wide-ranging implications for potential ultrafast spintronics applications.

Graphical abstract
Analyzing WLCG File Transfer Errors Through Machine Learning
Authors: Clissa Luca , Lassnig Mario , Rinaldi Lorenzo
Published: October 2022

The increasingly growing scale of modern computing infrastructures solicits more ingenious and automatic solutions to their management. Our work focuses on file transfer failures within the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid and proposes a pipeline to support distributed data management operations by suggesting potential issues to investigate. Specifically, we adopt an unsupervised learning approach leveraging Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning tools to automatically parse error messages and group similar failures. The results are presented in the form of a summary table containing the most common textual patterns and time evolution charts. This approach has two main advantages. First, the joint elaboration of the error string and the transfer’s source/destination enables more informative and compact troubleshooting, as opposed to inspecting each site and checking unique messages separately. As a by-product, this also reduces the number of errors to check by some orders of magnitude (from unique error strings to unique categories or patterns). Second, the time evolution plots allow operators to immediately filter out secondary issues (e.g. transient or in resolution) and focus on the most serious problems first (e.g. escalating failures). As a preliminary assessment, we compare our results with the Global Grid User Support ticketing system, showing that most of our suggestions are indeed real issues (direct association), while being able to cover 89% of reported incidents (inverse relationship).
Effect of CO2 tax on energy use in oil production: waterflooding optimization under different emission costs
Authors: Angga I Gusti Agung Gede , Bellout Mathias , Kristoffersen Brage Strand , Bergmo Per Eirik Strand , Slotte Per Arne , Berg Carl Fredrik
Published: October 2022

Tackling emissions from hydrocarbon production is a necessity because hydrocarbon production will last for a prolonged time. As a popular hydrocarbon production method, waterflooding operation is energy-intensive and accounts for significant CO2 emissions. This article investigates the effect of CO2 tax level on recovery process of already producing fields with waterflooding. Our methodology is waterflooding optimization in reservoir simulation models, specifically optimizing well-controls. Unlike traditional studies, our optimization objective comprises two components: the profitability of hydrocarbon production and an additional tax proportional to CO2 emissions. The associated CO2 emissions is estimated using a scheme developed upon an integrated model of reservoir, surface network, and topside facility. We examine our methodology on two cases with heterogeneous reservoir models. In each case, we optimize multi-scenarios enforcing different CO2 tax rates. The solutions indicate that imposing a higher CO2 tax rate reduces both emissions and hydrocarbon production. The fractional reduction of oil produced is however smaller than the emission reduction. While an increased tax rate drives the topside equipment to operate at higher efficiencies, the main effects of a higher tax rate are reduced water injection and more efficient subsurface drainage. There is a non-linear relationship between the reduced production and emissions. For increasing tax levels there are diminishing returns on lower emissions, reflecting reduced opportunities for emission reduction by changes in the drainage strategy. Some increments on the tax rate will therefore have negligible impacts on the optimal drainage strategy, and hence an adverse effect on the profitability with negligible emission reduction.
Gripping adhesive principles in the design of effectors
Authors: Horák Marcel , Starý Michal , Matúšek Ondřej , Novotný František
Published: October 2022

This article presents a basic study of knowledge in the research and development of specific gripping elements based on the principle of adhesion. It summarizes the use of materials with a high degree of surface adhesion in the design of gripping elements usable in industry to provide stable gripping of objects during automatic manipulation. The principle of a combined element proposed by the authors, where the gripping force is derived through both vacuum and adhesion, is presented. The conditions of operation in an active or completely passive mode without the need to connect an energy source are discussed in detail. In the active mode, a significant increase in gripping forces is demonstrated compared to standard vacuum elements, which has a positive effect on the amounts of compressed air consumed and the level of grip safety in production processes. To ensure the optimal function of the adhesive gripping elements, the design of a specifically designed fluid position compensator and an active system for disturbing the adhesive gripping forces is presented. The functionality of the designed element is demonstrated through several laboratory tests under various conditions, and the results clearly confirm an increase in gripping forces in the axial and in particular the radial direction of the load. The research includes the design of a computer model of deformation-adhesive contact, respecting the time dependence of the deformation of the adhesive layer and the gradual loss of contact with the object.

Article highlights:

Experimental study presents use of PU materials in adhesive and combined gripping elements.

Adhesive contact theory is applied for a numerical simulation and prepared computer model is subsequently verified.

Authors present new proprietary solution of gripping element applicable in industrial robotics.