bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rationale and design of a randomised trial of trientine in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Authors: Farrant John , Dodd Susanna , Vaughan Carly , Reid Anna , Schmitt Matthias , Garratt Clifford , Akhtar Mohammed , Mahmod Masliza , Neubauer Stefan , Cooper Robert M , Prasad Sanjay K , Singh Anvesha , Valkovič Ladislav , Raman Betty , Ashkir Zakariye , Clayton Dannii , Baroja Olatz , Duran Beatriz , Spowart Catherine , Bedson Emma , Naish Josephine H , Harrington Chris , Miller Christopher A
Published: May 2023

Aims

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterised by left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), myocardial fibrosis, enhanced oxidative stress and energy depletion. Unbound/loosely bound tissue copper II ions are powerful catalysts of oxidative stress and inhibitors of antioxidants. Trientine is a highly selective copper II chelator. In preclinical and clinical studies in diabetes, trientine is associated with reduced LVH and fibrosis, and improved mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. Trientine was associated with improvements in cardiac structure and function in an open-label study in patients with HCM.

Methods

The Efficacy and Mechanism of Trientine in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (TEMPEST) trial is a multicentre, double-blind, parallel group, 1:1 randomised, placebo-controlled phase II trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of action of trientine in patients with HCM. Patients with a diagnosis of HCM according to the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines and in New York Heart Association classes I–III are randomised to trientine or matching placebo for 52 weeks. Primary outcome is change in left ventricular (LV) mass indexed to body surface area, measured using cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Secondary efficacy objectives will determine whether trientine improves exercise capacity, reduces arrhythmia burden, reduces cardiomyocyte injury, improves LV and atrial function, and reduces LV outflow tract gradient. Mechanistic objectives will determine whether the effects are mediated by cellular or extracellular mass regression and improved myocardial energetics.

Conclusion

TEMPEST will determine the efficacy and mechanism of action of trientine in patients with HCM.

Trial registration numbers

NCT04706429andISRCTN57145331.
Trends in paediatric firearm-related encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic by age group, race/ethnicity and schooling mode in Tennessee
Authors: McKay Tara , Gastineau Kelsey , Wrenn Jesse O , Han Jin H , Storrow Alan B
Published: May 2023

Background

Increases in paediatric firearm-related injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic may be due to changes in where children and adolescents spent their time. This study examines changes in the frequency of paediatric firearm-related encounters as a function of schooling mode overall and by race/ethnicity and age group at a large trauma centre through 2021.

Methods

We use data from a large paediatric and adult trauma centre in Tennessee from January 2018 to December 2021 (N=211 encounters) and geographically linked schooling mode data. We use Poisson regressions to estimate smoothed monthly paediatric firearm-related encounters as a function of schooling mode overall and stratified by race and age.

Results

Compared with pre pandemic, we find a 42% increase in paediatric encounters per month during March 2020 to August 2020, when schools were closed, no significant increase during virtual/hybrid instruction, and a 23% increase in encounters after schools returned to in-person instruction. The effects of schooling mode are heterogeneous by patient race/ethnicity and age. Encounters increased among non-Hispanic black children across all periods relative to pre pandemic. Among non-Hispanic white children, encounters increased during the closure period and decreased on return to in-person instruction. Compared with pre pandemic, paediatric firearm-related encounters increased 205% for children aged 5–11 and 69% for adolescents aged 12–15 during the school closure period.

Conclusion

COVID-19-related changes to school instruction mode in 2020 and 2021 are associated with changes in the frequency and composition of paediatric firearm-related encounters at a major trauma centre in Tennessee.
Undermining autonomy and consent: the transformative experience of disease
Authors: Hofmann Bjørn
Published: May 2023

Disease radically changes the life of many people and satisfies formal criteria for being a transformative experience. According to the influential philosophy of Paul, transformative experiences undermine traditional criteria for rational decision-making. Thus, the transformative experience of disease can challenge basic principles and rules in medical ethics, such as patient autonomy and informed consent. This article applies Paul’s theory of transformative experience and its expansion by Carel and Kidd to investigate the implications for medical ethics. It leads to the very uncomfortable conclusion that disease involves transformative experiences in ways that can reduce people’s rational decision-making ability and undermine the basic principle of respect for autonomy and the moral rule of informed consent. While such cases are limited, they are crucial for medical ethics and health policy and deserve more attention and further scrutiny.
Occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers exposed to cleaning agents in tertiary hospitals
Authors: Mwanga Hussein H , Baatjies Roslynn , Jeebhay Mohamed Fareed
Published: May 2023

Objectives

This study investigated occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers (HWs) exposed to cleaning agents in two tertiary hospitals in South Africa and Tanzania.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 697 participants completed questionnaire interviews while 654 underwent fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing. Asthma Symptom Score (ASS) was computed based on the sum of answers to five questions on asthma-related symptoms in the past 12 months. For exposure–response analyses, cleaning agent-related self-reported exposure variables were categorised into three levels (cleaning product not used; use of a cleaning product for up to 99 min per week and use of a cleaning product for ≥100 min per week).

Results

Asthma-related outcomes (ASS and FeNO) demonstrated positive associations with medical instrument cleaning agents (orthophthalaldehyde and enzymatic cleaners) and tasks (instruments precleaning and changing sterilisation solutions) as well as patient care activities (disinfection prior to procedures and disinfecting wounds). A particularly pronounced dose–response relationship was observed between work-related ocular-nasal symptoms and medical instrument cleaning agents (orthophthalaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, enzymatic cleaners, alcohols and bleach) (OR range: 2.37–4.56) and tasks (OR range: 2.92–4.44). A strong association was also observed between ASS and use of sprays for fixed surface cleaning (mean ratio 2.81; 95% CI 1.41 to 5.59).

Conclusions

Specific agents for medical instrument disinfection for example, orthophthalaldehyde and enzymatic cleaners, patient care activities and use of sprays are important occupational risk factors for airway disease among HWs.
One-loop electron mass and QED trace anomaly
Authors: Eides Michael I.
Published: May 2023

Electron mass is considered as a matrix element of the energy–momentum trace in the rest frame. The one-loop diagrams for this matrix element are different from the textbook diagrams for the electron mass renormalization. We clarify connection between the two sets of diagrams and explain analytically and diagrammatically why the results of both calculations coincide.
Impact of electric charges on chaos in magnetized Reissner–Nordström spacetimes
Authors: Yang Daqi , Liu Wenfang , Wu Xin
Published: May 2023

We consider the motion of test particles around a Reissner–Nordström black hole immersed into a strong external magnetic field modifying the spacetime structure. When the particles are neutral, their dynamics are nonintegrable because the magnetic field acts as a gravitational effect, which destroys the existence of a fourth motion constant in the Reissner–Nordström spacetime. A time-transformed explicit symplectic integrator is used to show that the motion of neutral particles can be chaotic under some circumstances. When test particles have electric charges, their motions are subject to an electromagnetic field surrounding the black hole as well as the gravitational forces from the black hole and the magnetic field. It is found that increasing both the magnetic field and the particle energy or decreasing the particle angular momentum can strengthen the degree of chaos regardless of whether the particles are neutral or charged. The effect of varying the black hole positive charge on the dynamical transition from order to chaos is associated with the electric charges of particles. The dynamical transition of neutral particles has no sensitive dependence on a change of the black hole charge. An increase of the black hole charge weakens the chaoticity of positive charged particles, whereas enhances the chaoticity of negative charged particles. With the magnitude of particle charge increasing, chaos always gets stronger.
Depositional environment and aquifer properties of the Sherwood Sandstone Group in the Cleveland Basin based on investigations at Woodsmith Mine
Authors: Timmen C. , Brown L. , Heap M. , Hornung A.
Published: May 2023

A major mining project by Anglo American plc at Woodsmith Mine is targeting deep polyhalite deposits in the Cleveland Basin of North Yorkshire. The mine shaft design included hydrogeological assessment of the full 1600 m hydrostratigraphic sequence to be intersected. Of this sequence the most significant aquifer that will be intersected is the Sherwood Sandstone Group (SSG), which will be encountered at depths of between 800 and 1050 m below surface. Deep exploratory cored boreholes were completed at the site to allow both laboratory and field testing. The methods used to determine the aquifer characteristics comprised geotechnical laboratory testing of rock core and oilfield downhole wireline technology. Geotechnical triaxial tests were used to determine the horizontal and vertical permeability of rock core recovered from deep exploration boreholes. Wireline Elementary Log ANalyses (ELAN) and Modulation Dynamic Testing (MDT) were used to determine hydraulic conductivity and porosity of the SSG sequence encountered. Formation Micro Imager (FMI) was used to determine sedimentary depositional features. This paper presents a review of the ground investigation data collected to characterize anisotropy between horizontal and vertical flow within the SSG in this part of the Cleveland Basin.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Hydrogeology of Sandstone collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/hydrogeology-of-sandstone
Sediment preservation and accretion rates of fluvial meander-belt deposits: variations with temporal scale and river size
Authors: Yan N. , Colombera L. , Mountney N. P.
Published: May 2023

The preservation and accretion rates of fluvial meander-belt deposits appear to vary with the time over which they are evaluated, but the drivers of this effect are not fully understood. Using channel trajectories tracking the temporal evolution of meandering rivers, constrained with data on past river planforms, a numerical model is used to simulate planform evolutions of meander-belt reaches that underwent different types of meander transformation behaviours and bend cutoffs. Sediment preservation and bar accretion rates are quantified for three hierarchies of depositional products: (i) accretion stages reflecting intervals of bend migration by a certain meander-transformation style, (ii) meander-belt segments encompassing multiple stages but no bend cutoffs and (iii) meander-belt segments that experienced one or multiple cutoffs. Results show that distinct power-law relationships between the accretion rate and the time of sedimentation exist for river systems of different magnitudes in scale. Within each order of magnitude in river-system size, a single power-law relationship fails to effectively capture all depositional hierarchies. Sediment preservation varies with the time over which it is computed, but systematic variations in accretion rates with time primarily portray an apparent dependency of river migration rates on time: these variations largely reflect the temporal resolution and timespan of the modelled examples, highlighting an inherent issue affecting studies of river evolutions.
Digital Economy: The Economics of the Digital Economy
Authors: Lewis Ted G.
Published: May 2023

The digital economy is characterized by so-called infinite shelf space, zero marginal cost, increasing returns, and friction-free transactions. These and other factors have made crypto currencies an attractive alternative to fiat currency. This essay focuses on the larger implications of cryptocurrency and its role in the economy of the digital economy. While cryptocurrencies appear to be ideal for the digital era, they also have some serious limitations such as vulnerabilities to selfish mining and lack of consumer protections.
Side-channel Elimination via Partial Control-flow Linearization
Authors: Soares Luigi , Canesche Michael , Pereira Fernando Magno Quintão
Published: May 2023

Partial control-flow linearization is a code transformation conceived to maximize work performed in vectorized programs. In this article, we find a new service for it. We show that partial control-flow linearization protects programs against timing attacks. This transformation is sound: Given an instance of its public inputs, the partially linearized program always runs the same sequence of instructions, regardless of secret inputs. Incidentally, if the original program is publicly safe, then accesses to the data cache will be data oblivious in the transformed code. The transformation is optimal: Every branch that depends on some secret data is linearized; no branch that depends on only public data is linearized. Therefore, the transformation preserves loops that depend exclusively on public information. If every branch that leaves a loop depends on secret data, then the transformed program will not terminate. Our transformation extends previous work in non-trivial ways. It handles C constructs such as “goto,” “break,” “switch,” and “continue,” which are absent in the FaCT domain-specific language (2018). Like Constantine (2021), our transformation ensures operation invariance but without requiring profiling information. Additionally, in contrast to SC-Eliminator (2018) and Lif (2021), it handles programs containing loops whose trip count is not known at compilation time.
Relationship Between Implicit Intelligence Beliefs and Maladaptive Self-Regulation of Learning
Authors: Flanigan Abraham E. , Peteranetz Markeya S. , Shell Duane F. , Soh Leen-Kiat
Published: May 2023

Objectives
. Although prior research has uncovered shifts in
computer science (CS)
students’ implicit beliefs about the nature of their intelligence across time, little research has investigated the factors contributing to these changes. To address this gap, two studies were conducted in which the relationship between ineffective self-regulation of learning experiences and CS students’ implicit intelligence beliefs at different times during the semester was assessed.

Participants
. Participants for Studies 1 (n = 536) and 2 (n = 222) were undergraduate students enrolled in introductory- and upper-level CS courses at a large, public, Midwestern university. Race-ethnicity information was not collected due to IRB concerns about possible secondary identification of participants from underrepresented groups.

Study Method
. Participants completed a condensed version of the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale [
16
,
54
] and the Lack of Regulation Scale from the Student Perceptions of Classroom Knowledge Building scale [
51
,
53
] at the beginning (Studies 1 and 2), middle (Study 2), and end (Studies 1 and 2) of semester-long undergraduate CS courses. Survey responses were analyzed using path analyses to investigate how students’ lack of regulation experiences throughout the semester predicted their implicit intelligence beliefs at the beginning (Study 2) and end (Studies 1 and 2) of the semester.

Findings
. Results from Study 1 indicate that undergraduate CS students come to more strongly believe that their intelligence is a fixed, unchanging entity from the beginning until the end of the semester. Moreover, participants’ responses to the lack of regulation scale were predictive of their implicit intelligence beliefs at the end of the semester. Results from Study 2 indicate that ineffective self-regulation experiences early in the semester enhance CS students’ belief in the unchanging nature of intelligence (i.e., during the first half of the semester). Taken altogether, these findings provide evidence that self-regulation experiences influence students’ beliefs about the malleability of intelligence.

Conclusions
. Findings align with Bandura's [
4
] contention that students’ behaviors and experiences influence their values and beliefs. Students who experienced poor self-regulated learning came to view intelligence as more of a fixed, unalterable entity than their more successfully self-regulated peers. Findings suggest that CS instructors can positively affect student motivation and engagement by embedding self-regulated learning strategy instruction into their courses and helping CS students adopt an incremental-oriented (e.g., growth-oriented) belief system about their intellectual abilities.
TinyM
2
Net-V2: A Compact Low-power Software Hardware Architecture for

M

ulti

m

odal Deep Neural Networks
Authors: Rashid Hasib-Al , Kallakuri Utteja , Mohsenin Tinoosh
Published: May 2023

With the evaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there has been a resurgence of interest in how to use AI algorithms on low-power embedded systems to broaden potential use cases of the Internet of Things (IoT). To mimic multimodal human perception, multimodal deep neural networks (M-DNN) have recently become very popular with the classification task due to their impressive performance for computer vision and audio processing tasks. This article presents

TinyM
2
Net-V2

—a compact low-power software hardware architecture for
m
ulti
m
odal deep neural networks for resource-constrained tiny devices. To compress the models to implement on tiny devices, cyclicly sparsification and hybrid quantization (4-bits weights and 8-bits activations) methods are used. Although model compression techniques are an active research area, we are the first to demonstrate their efficacy for multimodal deep neural networks, using cyclicly sparsification and hybrid quantization of weights/activations.

TinyM
2
Net-V2

shows that even a tiny multimodal deep neural network model can improve the classification accuracy more than that of any unimodal counterparts. Parameterized M-DNN model architecture was designed to be evaluated in two different case-studies: vehicle detection from multimodal images and audios and COVID-19 detection from multimodal audio recordings. The most compressed

TinyM
2
Net-V2

achieves 92.5% COVID-19 detection accuracy (6.8% improvement from the unimodal full precision model) and 90.6% vehicle classification accuracy (7.7% improvement from the unimodal full precision model). A parameterized and flexible FPGA hardware accelerator was designed as well for

TinyM
2
Net-V2

models. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work accelerating multimodal deep neural network models on low-power Artix-7 FPGA hardware. We achieved energy efficiency of 9.04 GOP/s/W and 15.38 GOP/s/W for case-study 1 and case-study 2, respectively, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art results. Finally, we compared our tiny FPGA hardware implementation results with off-the-shelf resource-constrained devices and showed our implementation is faster and consumed less power compared to the off-the-shelf resource-constrained devices.
How the CYBATHLON Competition Has Advanced Assistive Technologies
Authors: Jaeger Lukas , Baptista Roberto de Souza , Basla Chiara , Capsi-Morales Patricia , Kim Yong Kuk , Nakajima Shuro , Piazza Cristina , Sommerhalder Michael , Tonin Luca , Valle Giacomo , Riener Robert , Sigrist Roland
Published: May 2023

Approximately 1.1. billion people worldwide live with some form of disability, and assistive technology has the potential to increase their overall quality of life. However, the end users’ perspective and needs are often not sufficiently considered during the development of this technology, leading to frustration and nonuse of existing devices. Since its first competition in 2016, CYBATHLON has aimed to drive innovation in the field of assistive technology by motivating teams to involve end users more actively in the development process and to tailor novel devices to their actual daily-life needs. Competition tasks therefore represent unsolved daily-life challenges for people with disabilities and serve the purpose of benchmarking the latest developments from research laboratories and companies from around the world. This review describes each of the competition disciplines, their contributions to assistive technology, and remaining challenges in the user-centered development of this technology.
Sociology for Beginners
Authors: Manza Jeff
Published: May 2023

This article examines the teaching of the introductory course in sociology. The first section sets the context of the teaching of introductory sociology in American higher education. The second turns to an examination of the written materials of introductory sociology: the textbooks used in the vast majority of these courses. Their widespread use provides a window into how introductory sociology has evolved over time. These texts also provide a view of what certain stakeholders—publishers and a select group of authors—have taken as central for beginners to master. The third section considers the scholarship on teaching and learning (SOTL) literature in sociology, which has produced research on current pedagogical practices and on strategies, techniques, ideas, and solutions to problems that contemporary introductory instructors face. A short conclusion offers a reflection on the implications of these issues for the future of teaching in the discipline.
The Social Construction of Age: Concepts and Measurement
Authors: Johfre Sasha , Saperstein Aliya
Published: May 2023

Age as an individual characteristic is ubiquitous in social science research because it has important associations with numerous outcomes of interest. Yet age is rarely treated as a phenomenon that requires explanation or theoretical attention. To advance research in sociology and beyond, we bring together previously siloed literatures on the conceptualization and measurement of age. Our framework presents age as a system of inequality that can be understood through concepts and processes that operate at multiple levels of analysis. At the individual level, we argue age is best conceptualized and operationalized as multidimensional. We review a range of measures, from birth cohort to physical appearance, that can be fruitfully combined in empirical research to account for this complexity. The multidimensionality of age also highlights how it is “done” in interactions, connecting the social construction of age to the intersectional production of inequality.
Impedance Analysis of Three-Dimensional Continuous Carbon Filament Embroidered Electrodes in Large 300 cm2 Redox Flow Cells
Authors: Aguiló-Aguayo Noemí , Tschannett Jacqueline , Manian Avinash P. , Bechtold Thomas , Scheiderbauer Manuel
Published: May 2023

The paper investigates the use of three-dimensional (3D) continuous carbon filament electrodes prepared using tailored fiber placement (i.e. embroidered electrodes) in a 300 cm2 redox flow cell with 50% state-of-charge (SOC) ferro/ferricyanide redox couple as the probe electrolyte. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was conducted to identify the different resistance contributions, and thus voltage losses of the electrodes. The findings indicate that: (1) achievingh high frequency resistance values comparable to the felts is possible through side contacting of continuous filament electrodes to the graphite plates, eliminating the need to press the entire electrode structure. (2) The embroidered electrodes can minimize pressure drop, regardless of the electrode thickness, due to the parallel orientation of the carbon filaments to the electrolyte flow, resulting in reduced hydraulic resistance. (3) To reduce charge-transfer resistances, an oxidation treatment is required to improve the wettability of the electrodes, and the duration of the activation treatment must be optimized to avoid filament breakage due to etching. (4) Embroidered electrodes exhibit higher mass transfer coefficients thanfelts, which is attributed to the perpendicular orientation of the carbon filaments to the electrolyte flow. The paper provides avenues for further development of 3D carbon fiber electrodes.
Detailed Studies on the Synthesis Methods and Characterizations of Nanocrystalline Cr2O3 Phase Materials for NIR Pigmentation Applications
Authors: Ashika S. A. , Balamurugan S. , Sana Fathima T. K. , Palanisami N. , Viswanathan T.
Published: May 2023

To make comparative studies on the different synthesis methods of Cr2O3 nanomaterials, efforts were made to syntheses of Cr2O3 nanomaterials by precipitation method, hydrothermal method, ball milling method, and thermal treatment method. Different characterization techniques were used to examine the structural, microstructural, thermal, and optical properties of Cr2O3 nanomaterials obtained by distinct approaches. When the precursor, Cr(NO3)3.9H2O heat treated at 200 °C shows amorphous in nature, whereas the pure rhombohedral [R-3c h (167)] Cr2O3 phase forms at >350 °C. Upon heat treating (650 °C) the precipitated and hydrothermally obtained products, the amorphous phase changed to the nanocrystalline Cr2O3 phase. The UV–Vis diffuse reflectance measurements exhibit slight variation in the peak intensity of absorbance and calculated Eg values ranging from 1.82 to 2.3 eV. Significant changes in the NIR reflectance (<5 to ∼50%) values are seen in the 750–2500 nm regions for the Cr2O3 phase nanomaterials. The precursor salt calcined at 900 °C exhibits good green color Cr2O3 phase materials with higher NIR reflectance of ∼50% at ∼2370 nm than the other samples, which is promising for potential NIR reflecting green pigment application. While the calcination of the precursor at 650 °C shows the spherical-shaped nanoparticles, the precipitated product heat treated at 650 °C reveals spherical-shaped nanoparticles in the agglomerated form for the nanocrystalline Cr2O3 phase materials. The Raman bands observed in the wavenumber region, 80–1000 cm−1 with significant differences in the shape of peaks are characteristic of the nanocrystalline Cr2O3 phase materials.
Influence of Processing Experimental Parameters of PEDOT: PSS on the Photovoltaic Performance on CdTe Solar Cells
Authors: Mendoza-Pérez R. , Del Oso José A. , Sastré-Hernández J. , Reyes-García B. P. , Hernández J. Aguilar
Published: May 2023

Hybrid CdTe solar cells including the organic polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in the typical structure were fabricated. PEDOT:PSS was added as a p+ region in the structure of solar cells after CdTe deposition and before the processing of the Cu–Mo back contact and was compared with a CdTe reference solar cells without polymer. The PEDOT:PSS was deposited at different rotational speeds of 3000 to 6000 rpm for 30 s, by spin coating technique. The obtained thicknesses were around 20–40 nm. Adequate coverage of the CdTe surface and grain morphology was obtained, when the polymer was deposited at 5000 rpm of rotational speed this according to Scanning Electron Microscope measurements. The final structure of the solar cells was SnO2:F/ZnO+CdS-TT/CdTe+CdCl2-TT/PEDOT:PSS/Cu-Mo. In our results was clear that the solar cells with PEDOT:PSS processed at different rotational speeds had higher fill factor and thus higher photovoltaic efficiencies. A high photovoltaic efficiency of around 13% was obtained when PEDOT:PSS was deposited at 5000 rpm and the Cu–Mo back contact was processed with a substrate temperature of 200 °C. A particular increment in the photovoltaic efficiency of solar cells close to 8% was achieved, when the Cu–Mo back contact was processed at room temperature.
Ferroelectric Tunnel Thin-Film Transistor for Synaptic Applications
Authors: Ma William Cheng-Yu , Su Chun-Jung , Kao Kuo-Hsing , Cho Ta-Chun , Guo Jing-Qiang , Wu Cheng-Jun , Wu Po-Ying , Hung Jia-Yuan
Published: May 2023

In this work, a ferroelectric tunnel thin-film transistor (FeT-TFT) with polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) channel and ferroelectric HfZrOx gate dielectric is demonstrated with analog memory characteristics for the application of synaptic devices. The FeT-TFT exhibits a much lower conduction current of ∼0.032 times in transfer characteristics and maximum conductance (Gd) of ∼ 0.14 to 0.2 times in potentiation and depression operation than the FeTFT due to FeT-TFT’s carrier transport mechanism: interband tunneling. This work employed pulse widths of 75, 150, and 300 ns to modulate Gd, and it was found that using a pulse width of 75 ns could achieve low asymmetry ∼ 1 and high Gd ratio ∼ 20.63 under the consideration of operation speed. When the pulse time is increased, the potentiation and depression voltages can be significantly decreased to maintain the low asymmetry, but the Gd ratio is also reduced. In addition, the endurance characteristic of poly-Si FeT-TFT is found to be strongly related to the degradation effect of subthreshold swing due to the dynamic stress effect in the endurance measurement. This result reveals that the reliability of ferroelectric devices is not only owing to the degradation of the remanent polarization.
Maternal Western-style diet in nonhuman primates leads to offspring islet adaptations including altered gene expression and insulin hypersecretion
Authors: Carroll Darian T. , Elsakr Joseph M. , Miller Allie , Fuhr Jennifer , Lindsley Sarah Rene , Kirigiti Melissa , Takahashi Diana L. , Dean Tyler A. , Wesolowski Stephanie R. , McCurdy Carrie E. , Friedman Jacob E. , Aagaard Kjersti M. , Kievit Paul , Gannon Maureen
Published: May 2023

Programed adaptations in islets in response to maternal WSD exposure may alter β-cell response to metabolic stress in offspring. We show that islets from maternal WSD-exposed offspring hypersecrete insulin, possibly due to increased components of stimulus-secretion coupling. These findings suggest that islet hyperfunction is programed by maternal diet, and changes can be detected as early as the postweaning period in nonhuman primate offspring.
Lung pericytes as mediators of inflammation
Authors: Rayner Samuel G. , Hung Chi F. , Liles W. Conrad , Altemeier William A.
Published: May 2023

Pericytes are microvascular mural cells that directly contact endothelial cells. They have long been recognized for their roles in vascular development and homeostasis, but more recently have been identified as key mediators of the host response to injury. In this context, pericytes possess a surprising degree of cellular plasticity, behaving dynamically when activated and potentially participating in a range of divergent host responses to injury. Although there has been much interest in the role of pericytes in fibrosis and tissue repair, their involvement in the initial inflammatory process has been understudied and is increasingly appreciated. Pericytes mediate inflammation through leukocyte trafficking and cytokine signaling, respond to pathogen-associated molecular patterns and tissue damage-associated molecular patterns, and may drive vascular inflammation during human SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this review, we highlight the inflammatory phenotype of activated pericytes during organ injury, with an emphasis on novel findings relevant to pulmonary pathophysiology.
Experiences on the Utility and Barriers of Telemedicine in Healthcare Delivery in Kenya
Authors: Onsongo Simon , Kamotho Charles , Rinke de Wit Tobias F. , Lowrie Kinga
Published: May 2023

Introduction. Telemedicine is the provision of health services over a distance using information communication technology devices. Telemedicine is emerging as a promising component of healthcare care delivery worldwide, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the factors promoting uptake, barriers, and opportunities for telemedicine among doctors in Kenya. Methodology. A semiquantitative, cross-sectional online survey was conducted among doctors in Kenya. During a month, between February and March 2021, 1,200 doctors were approached by email and WhatsApp, of whom 13% responded. Findings. A total of 157 interviewees participated in the study. The general usage of telemedicine was 50%. Seventy-three percent of doctors reported using a mix of in-person care and telemedicine. Fifty percent reported using telemedicine to support physician-to-physician consultations. Telemedicine had limited utility as a standalone clinical service. The inadequate information communication technology infrastructure was the most reported barrier to telemedicine, followed by a cultural resistance to using technology to deliver healthcare services. Other notable barriers were the high cost of initial setup limited skills among patients, limited skills among doctors, inadequate funding to support telemedicine services, weak legislative/policy framework, and lack of dedicated time for telemedicine services. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the uptake of telemedicine in Kenya. Conclusion. The most extensive use of telemedicine in Kenya supports physician-to-physician consultations. There is limited single use of telemedicine in providing direct clinical services to patients. However, telemedicine is regularly used in combination with in-person clinical services, allowing for continuity of clinical services beyond the physical hospital infrastructure. With the widespread adoption of digital technologies in Kenya, especially mobile telephone technologies, the growth opportunities for telemedicine services are immense. Numerous mobile applications will improve access capabilities for both service providers and users and bridge the gaps in care.
Equipment Quality Information Mining Method Based on Improved Apriori Algorithm
Authors: Li Fulin , Meng Chen , Wang Cheng , Fan Shuyi
Published: May 2023

Equipment quality‐related data contains valuable information. Data mining technology seems to be an efficient method for extracting knowledge from large amounts of data. In this paper, a general method for equipment quality information mining based on association rule is proposed for complex equipment. Due to the shortcomings of classical association rule mining algorithms such as long running time and high memory consumption, the candidate itemset generation process is optimized, and an improved Apriori algorithm is proposed. Taking five experimental data sets as the object, the performance of the algorithms is tested using time complexity and spatial complexity as evaluation criteria. Comparative experiments show that the improved algorithm had advantages. To further implement data processing and information representation, a matrix‐based strong association rule extraction algorithm was proposed. Taking a certain type of equipment as an example, a simulation experiment was conducted using the method proposed in this article in reliability test data sets, and some interesting knowledge was obtained through mining, verifying the effectiveness of the method. The research in this article seems promising with respect to improving the scientific level of equipment support.
Risk Assessment of Scientific and Technological Cooperation among RCEP Countries Based on Cloud Model
Authors: Long Lijuan , Wang Yuanchang
Published: May 2023

Accurate risk assessment of international scientific and technological (S&T) cooperation is significant to international cooperation. In this paper, 5 risk dimensions with respect to the political, economic, social, cultural as well as technological of the regional comprehensive economic partnership countries (RCEP) are selected to establish a proper S&T cooperation index system for risk assessment. To calculate the weight of each index, a cross-entropy combination weighting method is proposed based on the combination weighting method of game theory. Furthermore, the standard cloud model is constructed by using the golden ratio, and the risk of S&T cooperation among the RCEP countries is analyzed by the cloud model. The results show that the combination weighting method proposed in this paper is effective, and its calculation is simpler than that of the game theory combination weighting method. Besides, compared with political, social, cultural, and technological indicators, economic indicators have a greater impact on S&T cooperation risk. Furthermore, it is also obtained from the results that the risk of S&T cooperation with China and the Philippines is at a lower to low level and medium to higher level, respectively, and the risk of S&T cooperation with other countries is all at a lower to medium level.
Identification of Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow Patterns in Horizontal Wells of Shale Gas Reservoirs Based on Production Logging Data
Authors: Zhao Xiaoyun , Song Hongwei , Wang Mingxing , Shi Xinlei
Published: May 2023

In order to clarify the gas-water two-phase flow law in horizontal wells and study the gas-water two-phase flow characteristics in horizontal wells, firstly, the gas-water two-phase in a horizontal well is numerically simulated and analyzed, and the flow pattern distribution under different well inclination angles and different phase separation flow rates is obtained. Secondly, a series of production logging instruments including CAT instrument was used to conduct experimental research on gas-water two-phase flow under different flow conditions, and the measured values of each CAT probe were extracted to reflect the local holdup under different flow patterns. Finally, SSA-BP neural network algorithm is used to identify a gas-water two-phase flow pattern in a wellbore by using experimental parameters such as center holdup, well inclination angle, spinner revolution, and CAT probe measurements. The recognition accuracy of the neural network was improved from 83.75% to 91.66%, and the operation speed was accelerated. It provides a research idea to explore the flow characteristics of gas-water two-phase flow in horizontal wells.
Uncovering Resilient Actions of Robotic Technology with Data Interpretation Trajectories Using Knowledge Representation Procedures
Authors: Teekaraman Yuvaraja , Kirpichnikova Irina , Manoharan Hariprasath , Kuppusamy Ramya , Radhakrishnan Arun
Published: May 2023

This article highlights the importance of learning models which prevent the resilient attack of robotic technology with a subset of trajectories. Many complement models are introduced in the field of path planning robots without any knowledge of representation procedures, so robotic data are subject to different attacks from several users. During such attacks, the data will be misplaced and commands specified to robots will be disorganized so a new training data set has to be incorporated which is a difficult task. Therefore, to prevent probability of data failure time-dependent binary probability prototypes are introduced with low training data. Furthermore, a regularized boosting procedure (RBP) has been applied with different weights to switch multiple robots with discrete knowledge representation. Then a high space block is incorporated for maximizing coverage areas during loss functions and this is implicit as an innovative technique as compared with existing procedures. To validate the effectiveness of proposed learning techniques in robots, four scenarios are considered which include accuracy and success rate of detection. Subsequently, the outcomes prove that the robotic path with learning models are highly effective for an average percentile of 86% as compared to conventional techniques.
Risk Assessment for Water Disaster of Karst Tunnel Based on the Weighting of Reliability Measurement and Improved Extension Cloud Model
Authors: Jiang Yingli , Cui Jie , Liu Hao , Zhang Yanlong
Published: May 2023

Risk assessment of water disaster in karst tunnels is a nonlinear, complex, and uncertain system problem. Based on the reliability measurement method and extension cloud theory, the reliability measurement weighting and improved extension cloud model are established for the risk assessment of water disaster in karst tunnels. Firstly, on the basis of fully considering the relevance of evaluation indicators, a dynamic weighting theory for reliability measurement of indicators based on Jousselme distance is proposed. Secondly, according to the two different entropy algorithms of the extension cloud model, an improved extension cloud model is proposed based on the entropy algorithm fusion of game theory. The comprehensive cloud correlation degree obtained by the improved extension cloud model is combined with the indicator reliability measure weight. Then, the dangerous state of the water disaster in karst tunnels is judged, and the visualization of the water disaster level judgment is realized. And the model is tested with sample data from six typical karst tunnels. Finally, the model is applied to the Yangpeng Karst Tunnel on the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway. The results show that the water disaster level of the tunnel is I, and the evaluation results are consistent with the actual situation. Compared with the matter element extension model and the extension cloud model, the calculation results are more accurate. The corresponding treatment measures have been taken, and the good effect of water disaster treatment has been achieved. The practical value of the model is further proved, and a new reference method is provided for the prediction and prevention of water disaster in karst tunnels.
Data from MDM2 inhibition enhances immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy by increasing IL-15 and MHC class II production
Authors: Langenbach Marlene , Giesler Sophie , Richtsfeld Stefan , da Costa-Pereira Sara , Rindlisbacher Lukas , Wertheimer Tobias , Braun Lukas M. , Andrieux Geoffroy , Duquesne Sandra , Pfeifer Dietmar , Woessner Nadine M. , Menssen Hans D. , Taromi Sanaz , Duyster Justus , Boerries Melanie , Brummer Tilman , Blazar Bruce R. , Minguet Susana , Turko Patrick , Levesque Mitchell P. , Becher Burkhard , Zeiser Robert
Published: May 2023

Abstract
The treatment of metastatic melanoma patients with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) leads to impressive response rates but primary and secondary resistance to ICI reduce progression-free survival. Novel strategies that interfere with resistance mechanisms are key to further improve patient outcome during ICI therapy. P53 is often inactivated by mouse-double-minute-2 (MDM2), which may decrease immunogenicity of melanoma cells.
We analyzed primary patient-derived melanoma cell lines, performed bulk sequencing analysis of patient-derived melanoma samples and used melanoma mouse models to investigate the role of MDM2-inhibition for enhanced ICI therapy.
We found increased expression of IL-15 and MHC-II in murine melanoma cells upon p53 induction by MDM2-inhibition. MDM2-inhibitor induced MHC-II and IL-15-production, which was p53 dependent as p53 knockdown blocked the effect. Lack of IL-15-receptor in hematopoietic cells or IL-15 neutralization reduced the MDM2-inhibition/p53-induction mediated anti-tumor immunity. p53 induction by MDM2-inhibition caused anti-melanoma immune memory as T cells isolated from MDM2-inhibitor treated melanoma bearing mice exhibited anti-melanoma activity in secondary melanoma-bearing mice. In patient-derived melanoma cells p53 induction by MDM2-inhibition increased IL-15 and MHC-II. IL-15 and CIITA expression was associated with a more favorable prognosis in patients bearing WT but not TP53 mutated melanoma. Implications: MDM2-inhibition represents a novel strategy to enhance IL-15 and MHC-II-production, which disrupts the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Based on our findings a clinical trial combining MDM2-inhibition with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma is planned.
Data from Myeloid-Derived Suppressor–Cell Dynamics Control Outcomes in the Metastatic Niche
Authors: Kreger Jesse , Roussos Torres Evanthia T. , MacLean Adam L.
Published: May 2023

Abstract
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) play a prominent role in the tumor microenvironment. A quantitative understanding of the tumor–MDSC interactions that influence disease progression is critical, and currently lacking. We developed a mathematical model of metastatic growth and progression in immune-rich tumor microenvironments. We modeled the tumor–immune dynamics with stochastic delay differential equations and studied the impact of delays in MDSC activation/recruitment on tumor growth outcomes. In the lung environment, when the circulating level of MDSCs was low, the MDSC delay had a pronounced impact on the probability of new metastatic establishment: blocking MDSC recruitment could reduce the probability of metastasis by as much as 50%. To predict patient-specific MDSC responses, we fit to the model individual tumors treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors via Bayesian parameter inference. We reveal that control of the inhibition rate of natural killer (NK) cells by MDSCs had a larger influence on tumor outcomes than controlling the tumor growth rate directly. Posterior classification of tumor outcomes demonstrates that incorporating knowledge of the MDSC responses improved predictive accuracy from 63% to 82%. Investigation of the MDSC dynamics in an environment low in NK cells and abundant in cytotoxic T cells revealed, in contrast, that small MDSC delays no longer impacted metastatic growth dynamics. Our results illustrate the importance of MDSC dynamics in the tumor microenvironment overall and predict interventions promoting shifts toward less immune-suppressed states. We propose that there is a pressing need to consider MDSCs more often in analyses of tumor microenvironments.
Data from Driver Mutations Dictate the Immunologic Landscape and Response to Checkpoint Immunotherapy of Glioblastoma
Authors: Yeo Alan T. , Shah Rushil , Aliazis Konstantinos , Pal Rinku , Xu Tuoye , Zhang Piyan , Rawal Shruti , Rose Christopher M. , Varn Frederick S. , Appleman Vicky A. , Yoon Joon , Varma Hemant , Gygi Steven P. , Verhaak Roel G.W. , Boussiotis Vassiliki A. , Charest Al
Published: May 2023

Abstract
The composition of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is considered a key determinant of patients’ response to immunotherapy. The mechanisms underlying TIME formation and development over time are poorly understood. Glioblastoma (GBM) is a lethal primary brain cancer for which there are no curative treatments. GBMs are immunologically heterogeneous and impervious to checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. Utilizing clinically relevant genetic mouse models of GBM, we identified distinct immune landscapes associated with expression of EGFR wild-type and mutant EGFRvIII cancer driver mutations. Over time, accumulation of polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) was more pronounced in EGFRvIII-driven GBMs and was correlated with resistance to PD-1 and CTLA-4 combination checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. We determined that GBM-secreted CXCL1/2/3 and PMN-MDSC–expressed CXCR2 formed an axis regulating output of PMN-MDSCs from the bone marrow leading to systemic increase in these cells in the spleen and GBM tumor-draining lymph nodes. Pharmacologic targeting of this axis induced a systemic decrease in the numbers of PMN-MDSC, facilitated responses to PD-1 and CTLA-4 combination checkpoint blocking immunotherapy, and prolonged survival in mice bearing EGFRvIII-driven GBM. Our results uncover a relationship between cancer driver mutations, TIME composition, and sensitivity to checkpoint blockade in GBM and support the stratification of patients with GBM for checkpoint blockade therapy based on integrated genotypic and immunologic profiles.