bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Minimum standard assessment of informed consent for internal medicine transition to residency program: A cohort study
Authors: Marwaha Mannat , Bhalla Raman , Rao Shivani , Chen Catherine
Published: September 2023

Background and Aims

Interns must be proficient in obtaining informed consent (IC), which is the Association of American Medical College's 11th of 13 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Medical students have limited opportunity to practice IC during clerkships, resulting in inconsistent proficiency. We aimed to create a tool to assess whether our transition to residency (TTR) workshop enables fourth‐year medical students to meet a minimum standard of obtaining IC.

Methods

Sixty fourth‐year medical students were enrolled in the internal medicine virtual TTR course during AY2021. The curriculum prioritizes deliberate practice activities. Pre‐ and postworkshop assignments involved students typing verbatim what they would say during IC encounters. We modified an IC abstraction tool created by Spatz et al. to assess a minimum standard for students' IC assignments. Our final 7‐item tool consisted of the following domains: “What,” “Why,” “How,” “Benefits,” “Quantitative Risks,” “Qualitative Risks,” and “Alternatives,” weighing 1 point each. A minimum standard was obtained with a score of 6 or more points by appropriately discussing at least one domain involving risk and all other domains.

Results

Students scored highly on the prework domains pertaining to “What,” “Why,” and “How” of the procedure with no significant difference on postwork. Significant improvement was achieved on postwork domains covering “Benefits” (p = 0.039) and “Alternatives” (p = 0.031). For domains involving “Qualitative” and “Quantitative Risks,” there were no statistically significant improvements from pre‐ to postwork scores. Fifteen and 22 students met the minimum standard for IC on pre‐ and postwork, respectively.

Conclusion

Our students demonstrated a good a priori understanding of the “What,” “Why,” and “How” domains. After the workshop, they more reliably discussed “Benefits” and “Alternatives.” Our abstraction tool helped assess the strengths and weaknesses in our students' IC skillset and helped recognize areas of our curriculum that will benefit from improvements to bring students to meet the minimum standard.
Non‐spinal low back pain: Global epidemiology, trends, and risk factors
Authors: Shokri Pourya , Zahmatyar Mahdi , Falah Tafti Mahdi , Fathy Mobin , Rezaei Tolzali Mohammadmahdi , Ghaffari Jolfayi Amir , Nejadghaderi Seyed Aria , Sullman Mark J. M. , Kolahi Ali‐Asghar , Safiri Saeid
Published: September 2023

Background and Aims

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most debilitating and prevalent disorders. The prevalence of LBP ranges from 30% to 80%, depending on the population, and increases with age. Causes of LBP are typically classified as spinal and non‐spinal. The main goal of this study was to investigate the non‐spinal causes of LBP, since neglecting these factors leads to increases in the financial, psychological, and physical burden of LBP on individuals as well as on society.

Methods

The data were extracted after searching the PubMed database and Google Scholar search engine up to October 27, 2021. We included all studies that were conducted on a human population and assessed the effects of epidemiological, biological, psychological, and sociodemographic factors on the incidence or progression of LBP.

Results

The most common causes of non‐spinal LBP were diseases such as nephrolithiasis, endometriosis, tumors, fibromyalgia, and conditions like psychological disorders and pregnancy. Nevertheless, the perceived intensity of the pain can be affected by factors such as socioeconomic level, genetics, age, habits, diet, and psychological status.

Conclusion

The epidemiology, etiologies, and risk factors associated with LBP should be more clearly recognized to better prevent, diagnose, and treat the underlying disease and to reduce the burden of LBP.
Evaluation of acceptance, attitude, and knowledge towards artificial intelligence and its application from the point of view of physicians and nurses: A provincial survey study in Iran: A cross‐sectional descriptive‐analytical study
Authors: Hamedani Zeinab , Moradi Mohsen , Kalroozi Fatemeh , Manafi Anari Ali , Jalalifar Erfan , Ansari Arina , Aski Behzad H. , Nezamzadeh Maryam , Karim Bardia
Published: September 2023

Background and Aims

The prospect of using artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is bright and promising, and its use can have a significant impact on cost reduction and decrease the possibility of error and negligence among healthcare workers. This study aims to investigate the level of knowledge, attitude, and acceptance among Iranian physicians and nurses.

Methods

This cross‐sectional descriptive‐analytical study was conducted in eight public university hospitals located in Tehran on 400 physicians and nurses. To conduct the study, convenient sampling was used with the help of researcher‐made questionnaires. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS 21 The mean and standard deviation and Chi‐square and Fisher's exact tests were used.

Results

In this study, the level of knowledge among the research subjects was average (14.66 ± 4.53), the level of their attitude toward AI was relatively favorable (47.81 ± 6.74), and their level of acceptance of AI was average (103.19 ± 13.70). Moreover, from the participant's perspective, AI in medicine is most widely used in increasing the accuracy of diagnostic tests (86.5%), identifying drug interactions (82.75%), and helping to analyze medical tests and imaging (80%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the variable of acceptance of AI and the participant's level of education (p = 0.028), participation in an AI training course (p = 0.022), and the hospital department where they worked (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

In this study, both the knowledge and the acceptance of the participants towards AI were proved to be at an average level and the attitude towards AI was relatively favorable, which is in contrast with the very rapid and inevitable expansion of AI. Although our participants were aware of the growing use of AI in medicine, they had a cautious attitude toward this.
The WHO has declared the end of pandemic phase of COVID‐19: Way to come back in the normal life
Authors: Sarker Rapty , Roknuzzaman A. S. M. , Nazmunnahar  , Shahriar Mohammad , Hossain Md. Jamal , Islam Md. Rabiul
Published: September 2023

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has resulted in significant global mortality and morbidity affecting millions of lives. As healthcare authorities worldwide are still paying substantial attention to COVID‐19, other diseases continue to cause more deaths than COVID‐19. The decreasing number of COVID‐19 cases and deaths indicates that the pandemic is close to the end. For effective pandemic management, healthcare facilities worldwide have established COVID‐19 units and testing facilities, instituting infection prevention and control measures, and employing telehealth services. Healthcare professionals have identified some promising treatments for COVID‐19; also, mass vaccinations have improved patient outcomes. Instead of COVID‐19 as a pandemic, it is time to pay more attention to other diseases to lessen their impact on public health. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of the pandemic phase of COVID‐19 considering the current COVID‐19 situation and our preparedness, past pandemic experience, and long pandemic impact on social and economic life on May 5, 2023. In this article, we briefly discussed the present challenges due to COVID‐19, necessary precautions, and future directions to return to life as before COVID‐19.
An efficient stacked bidirectionalGRU‐LSTMnetwork for intracranial hemorrhage detection
Authors: Kothala Lakshmi Prasanna , Guntur Sitaramanjaneya Reddy
Published: September 2023

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a dangerous condition that needs prompt diagnosis and treatment. Computed tomography (CT) images are employed in examination of individuals with ICH, which produces better results and cost‐effective than MRI. The existing convolutional neural network (CNN) models are unable to consider inter‐pixel dependency, which leads to false predictions while considering the input CT Images. In this study, we implemented an efficient model of a stack of bidirectional gated recurrent unit (Bi‐GRU) with a bidirectional long short‐term memory (Bi‐LSTM) based CNN to improve detection accuracy in the case of 2D slices. The proposed model holds slice‐wise information by accessing the properties of both Bi‐LSTM and Bi‐GRU modules in a single unit. As a result, the model attained a testing and training accuracy of 96.2% and 93.4%, respectively, with a test loss score of 0.126. In addition, the proposed model could outperform the state‐of‐the‐art CNN in identifying brain hemorrhages.
Monitoring angiogenesis in skin autografts using photoacoustic microscopy
Authors: Zhang Dong , Liu Changjiang , Yuan Ying , Yu Yifeng , Qi Baiwen , Yu Aixi
Published: September 2023

Background

Skin autografts have been broadly used to manage the skin and soft tissue defects. It is important for surgeons to assess the vitality of skin autografts via observing the angiogenesis. However, there is lack of reliable approach for giving the quantitative angiogenesis information on the skin autografts. Recently, photoacoustic microscopy imaging has attracted much attention based on its good performance in angiography.

Methods

In this study, we aim to monitor angiogenesis in skin autografts via PAM, and further verify its clinical potential for the early prediction of skin autografts clinical outcome.

Results and Conclusions

The results indicate that PAM is a feasible, precise, high‐resolution, noninvasive technique for the early prediction of necrosis of skin autografts via monitoring the angiogenesis, providing a promising tool for surgeons to use this surgical technology.
Total and orbital density‐based analyses of molecules revealing long‐range interaction regions
Authors: Hasebe Masatoshi , Tsutsumi Takuro , Taketsugu Tetsuya , Tsuneda Takao
Published: September 2023

Total and orbital electron densities of molecules are explored for the effect of the long‐range correction (LC) for density functional theory (DFT) exchange functionals by comparing to the effect of the ab initio coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method. Calculating the LC effect on the total electron densities shows that the LC stabilizes the electrons around the long‐range interaction regions of kinetic energy density, which are assumed to be electrons other than free electrons and self‐interacting electrons, while the CCSD method stabilizes the electrons in the long‐range interaction regions in the vertical molecular planes. As a more precise test, the LC effect on orbital densities are compared to the CCSD effect on Dyson orbital densities. Surprisingly, these effects are similar for the unoccupied orbitals, indicating that the LC covers the effects required to reproduce the CCSD Dyson unoccupied orbitals. For exploring the discrepancies between these effects on the occupied orbitals, the photoionization cross sections are calculated as a direct test for the shapes of the HOMOs to investigate the differences between these effects on the occupied orbitals. Consequently, the LC clearly produces the canonical HOMOs close to the CCSD Dyson and experimental ones, except for the HOMO of benzene molecule that mixes with the HOMO1 for the CCSD Dyson orbitals. This indicates that the orbital analyses using the photoionization cross sections are available as a direct test for the quality of DFT functionals.
Encouraging engineering design teams to engage in expert iterative practices with tools to support coaching in problem‐based learning
Authors: Rees Lewis Daniel G. , Carlson Spencer E. , Riesbeck Christopher K. , Gerber Elizabeth M. , Easterday Matthew W.
Published: September 2023

Background

To create design solutions experienced engineering designers engage in expert iterative practice. Researchers find that students struggle to learn this critical engineering design practice, particularly when tackling real‐world engineering design problems.

Purpose/Hypothesis

To improve our ability to teach iteration, this study contributes (i) a new teaching approach to improve student teams' expert iterative practices, and (ii) provides support to existing frameworks—chiefly the Design Risk Framework—that predict the key metacognitive processes we should support to help students to engage in expert iterative practices in real‐world engineering design.

Design/Method

In a 3‐year design‐based research study, we developed a novel approach to teaching students to take on real‐world engineering design projects with real clients, users, and contexts to engage in expert iterative practices.

Results

Study 1 confirms that student teams struggle to engage in expert iterative practices, even when supported by problem‐based learning (PBL) coaching. Study 2 tests our novel approach, Planning‐to‐Iterate, which uses (i) templates, (ii) guiding questions to help students to define problem and solution elements, and (iii) risk checklists to help student teams to identify risks. We found that student teams using Planning‐to‐Iterate engaged in more expert iterative practices while receiving less PBL coaching.

Conclusions

This work empirically tests a design argument—a theory for a novel teaching approach—that augments PBL coaching and helps students to identify risks and engage in expert iterative practices in engineering design projects.
Improvements in SINTEX‐F2 seasonal prediction by implementing an atmospheric nudging scheme
Authors: Baba Yuya
Published: September 2023

Improvements in the seasonal prediction system Scale Interaction Experiment‐Frontier version 2 (SINTEX‐F2) achieved via atmospheric initialisation were evaluated using hindcast experiments. The atmospheric initialisation in the system was implemented using an atmospheric nudging scheme. The prediction skill of SINTEX‐F2 with and without initialisation (new and original systems) for nine climate indices that represent the interannual variability were evaluated against the observational data. It was found that the prediction skill for some climate indices in the Tropics and most of the climate indices in the midlatitude including subtropics was improved by the atmospheric initialisation. The skills for El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and ENSO Modoki, however, remained comparable with the original system. Further investigation for the prediction skill revealed that the sea level pressure (SLP) in the midlatitude was predicted better by the new system than in the original system. The 2‐m temperature was better predicted by the new system, due to the improved SLP prediction. The precipitation prediction was improved in regions where the improved interannual variability had an influence on the variability of precipitation. The difference in air–sea coupling regimes was found to be effective for improving the prediction skill in different latitudes. The atmospheric nudging enhances correct atmospheric feedback on the ocean in midlatitude leading to better subsurface ocean properties; thus, it can improve the prediction skill there. However, by neglecting the ocean side feedback, it deteriorates the prediction skill in Tropics where the sea surface temperature (SST) feedback on the atmosphere is dominant. The finding for the prediction skill is general and can be used for other prediction systems to increase their prediction skill using an atmospheric nudging scheme.
Decannulation in Revision Pediatric Laryngotracheal Reconstruction
Authors: Leonard James A. , Blumenthal Daniel L. , Behzadpour Hengameh K. , Lawlor Claire M. , Preciado Diego
Published: September 2023

Objectives

To evaluate how patient characteristics and surgical techniques influence the rate of and time to decannulation after pediatric revision laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Methods

The study was a retrospective cohort investigation of children with a history of laryngotracheal stenosis treated between 2008 and 2021 with revision open airway surgery. The primary outcome evaluated was decannulation. The secondary outcome analyzed was time to decannulation.

Results

Thirty‐nine children were included in the study with median age 49 months; 61.5% were male. Children undergoing single stage revision surgery were far more likely to be decannulated (OR 6.25, 95% CI 1.33–45.97, p = 0.0343). Rolling logistic regression of the probability of decannulation stratified by time between open surgeries demonstrated significantly decreased chance of decannulation with reoperation within 6 months. Children managed with anterior/posterior grafting compared with a single graft were observed to have an increased time to decannulation, (HR 0.365, 95% CI 0.148–0.899, p = 0.005, Log‐Rank).

Conclusion

We observe that in the case of revision pediatric open airway surgery, chance of decannulation is improved when surgery is performed in a single stage as well as 6 months after the most recent procedure. Patients and families should be counseled that complex stenosis requiring double stage procedures or anterior/posterior grafting is associated with a decreased probability of decannulation and increased postoperative time with a tracheostomy, respectively.

Level of Evidence

4 Laryngoscope, 134:1926–1932, 2024
Extreme Ultra‐Wideband Optoelectronic Frequency‐Modulated Continuous‐Wave Terahertz Radar
Authors: Mohammadzadeh Shiva , Keil Andreas , Kocybik Michael , Schwenson Lauri Maximilian , Liebermeister Lars , Kohlhaas Robert , Globisch Björn , von Freymann Georg , Seewig Jörg , Friederich Fabian
Published: September 2023

A novel photonic terahertz measurement system based on a frequency‐modulated continuous‐wave (FMCW) radar approach is presented. In previous works, fast frequency modulation has been demonstrated in connection with a continuous wave terahertz spectroscopy setup based on the photomixing principle. In this paper, a terahertz radar based on both a photomixing transmitter and a photomixing receiver, in contrast to the rigid spectroscopy approach, is reported. Hereby, frequency modulation bandwidths of more than 1.65 THz in radar operation is achieved. This corresponds to an order of magnitude more than what is previously achieved by terahertz radar systems. At the same time, measurement rates can be achieved that are comparable with radar systems based on Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) according to the current state of the art. Within the scope of the work, two operating modes are realized, one with a measurement rate of about 560 Hz at 600 GHz modulation bandwidth and one with 200 Hz at 1.65 THz modulation bandwidth, which can be set within the spectrum from 50 GHz to about 4.5 THz. The possibility to adjust the operating range of the radar without necessary hardware adaptations is another unique feature of the presented system, which allows the operator to choose a suitable frequency band that corresponds best to a certain measurement scheme via software settings. Besides the potential for multi‐layer thickness inspections, the capabilities of this technique for terahertz imaging applications are presented.
Progress in Glucose‐Sensitive Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Li Yaxun , Feng Guoqin , Liu Jiajia , Yang Tingting , Hou Ruxia , Liu Junyu , Wang Xiangyu
Published: September 2023

Diabetes mellitus is one of the key diseases of clinical concern that can lead to a variety of serious complications and it is characterized by increased blood glucose levels. Glucose‐sensitive hydrogel is gaining attention as a smart hydrogel capable of sensing glucose molecules for diabetes and related complications. In order to better understand this hydrogel, this paper reviews its basic design principles and focuses on the therapeutic efficacy of this hydrogel in delivering insulin, drugs, and bioactives for diabetes and diabetes‐related complications. Its use as a biosensing device for glucose measurement in body fluids and dynamic monitoring of wounds is also presented, and its potential application in the treatment of diabetes and related diseases is highly summarized.
Rees algebras and generalized depth‐like conditions in prime characteristic
Authors: Costantini Alessandra , Maddox Kyle , Miller Lance Edward
Published: September 2023

In this paper, we address a question concerning nilpotent Frobenius actions on Rees algebras and associated graded rings. We prove a nilpotent analog of a theorem of Huneke for Cohen–Macaulay singularities. This is achieved by introducing a depth‐like invariant which captures as special cases Lyubeznik's F‐depth and the generalized F‐depth from Maddox–Miller and is related to the generalized depth with respect to an ideal. We also describe several properties of this new invariant and identify a class of regular elements for which weak F‐nilpotence deforms.
Matching digital companions with customers: The role of perceived similarity
Authors: Gelbrich Katja , Kerath Alina , Chun HaeEun Helen
Published: September 2023

Digital companions are an advanced form of digital agents that do not only provide advice and support but accompany people on their day‐to‐day customer journeys. This article sheds light on the psychological processes underlying customers’ responses to these digital companions (i.e., virtual friends or co‐consumers). We propose that framing them as matched with customers on goal‐relevant attributes (i.e., attributes related to customers’ consumption goals) fosters positive customer outcomes (i.e., consumption enjoyment and positive word‐of‐mouth), mediated by perceived similarity in these attributes. Importantly, in this matching context, humanlikeness serves as a boundary condition for perceived similarity to occur. Furthermore, the effect of perceived similarity on customer outcomes is driven by perceived connectedness. In Study 1, in the context of experiential learning, we identified shared interest and personality as goal‐relevant attributes underlying perceived similarity. With the manipulation of the match frame and humanlike versus artificial voice of the digital companion, Study 2 supports our propositions and highlights shared interest, but not personality, as the core driver. We provide recommendations on how to design and market digital companions to foster connection and favorable customer outcomes.
Three‐dimensional echo‐shifted EPI with simultaneous blip‐up and blip‐down acquisitions for correcting geometric distortion
Authors: Sun Kaibao , Chen Zhifeng , Dan Guangyu , Luo Qingfei , Yan Lirong , Liu Feng , Zhou Xiaohong Joe
Published: September 2023

Purpose

EPI with blip‐up/down acquisition (BUDA) can provide high‐quality images with minimal distortions by using two readout trains with opposing phase‐encoding gradients. Because of the need for two separate acquisitions, BUDA doubles the scan time and degrades the temporal resolution when compared to single‐shot EPI, presenting a major challenge for many applications, particularly fMRI. This study aims at overcoming this challenge by developing an echo‐shifted EPI BUDA (esEPI‐BUDA) technique to acquire both blip‐up and blip‐down datasets in a single shot.

Methods

A 3D esEPI‐BUDA pulse sequence was designed by using an echo‐shifting strategy to produce two EPI readout trains. These readout trains produced a pair of k‐space datasets whose k‐space trajectories were interleaved with opposite phase‐encoding gradient directions. The two k‐space datasets were separately reconstructed using a 3D SENSE algorithm, from which time‐resolved B0‐field maps were derived using TOPUP in FSL and then input into a forward model of joint parallel imaging reconstruction to correct for geometric distortion. In addition, Hankel structured low‐rank constraint was incorporated into the reconstruction framework to improve image quality by mitigating the phase errors between the two interleaved k‐space datasets.

Results

The 3D esEPI‐BUDA technique was demonstrated in a phantom and an fMRI study on healthy human subjects. Geometric distortions were effectively corrected in both phantom and human brain images. In the fMRI study, the visual activation volumes and their BOLD responses were comparable to those from conventional 3D echo‐planar images.

Conclusion

The improved imaging efficiency and dynamic distortion correction capability afforded by 3D esEPI‐BUDA are expected to benefit many EPI applications.
Quality of life in individuals with knee osteoarthritis versus asymptomatic individuals
Authors: Obara Karen , Cardoso Jefferson R. , Reis Bianca M. , Matos Marcos A. , Kawano Marcio M.
Published: September 2023

Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterised by joint degeneration and represents the leading cause of disability in old age. OA entails a personal burden, with suffering and reduced quality of life (QoL).

Objective

To compare the QoL of individuals with OA to that of asymptomatic individuals in order to determine the actual impact of OA on the affected population.

Method

Cross‐sectional study with a sample of 140 patients diagnosed with OA. Another 51 sex‐ and age‐matched asymptomatic individuals with no clinical signs of knee OA or lower limb osteoarticular symptoms for at least the preceding six months were recruited. Knee OA was stratified radiologically according to the Ahlbäck classification (1968). QoL was measured using the SF‐36 questionnaire (Medical Outcomes Study 36‐Item Short‐Form Health Survey). The participants were assigned to “osteoarthritis” (OG) or “asymptomatic” (AG) groups.

Results

The OG presented greater body mass and BMI than the AG. Perceived QoL was worse for the OG than the AG across SF‐36 domains. In the comparison of the grades of OA degeneration, the group with Ahlbäck grades 4 and 5 (severe) perceived their QoL as poorer than those with grades 1, 2, and 3 (moderate). The grade of OA, older age, and BMI were shown to be strong independent predictors of poor perceived quality of life.

Conclusion

Individuals with knee OA showed worse perceived QoL compared with asymptomatic individuals. The domains with the lowest scores were physical functioning and functional limitation. Quality of life was influenced by BMI, age, sex, and grade of osteoarthritis.
Exploring Biological Interactions: A New Pyrazoline as a Versatile Fluorescent Probe for Energy Transfer and Cell Staining Applications
Authors: Beşer Burcu Meryem , Yildirim Berat
Published: September 2023

Fluorescent dyes are used in biological systems, because they are highly sensitive and selective. In this work, we investigated the fluorescent probe properties of 2‐(5‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)‐1H‐pyrazol‐3‐yl) phenol (PYDP) in two media [sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and human serum albumin (HSA)]. Energy transfer parameters, photophysical and thermodynamic parameters of probe were determined. We investigated cytotoxicity of PYDP against colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT‐29), breast cancer cell lines (MCF‐7) and 3T3‐L1 adipocytes (3T3 L1) cells. The cell staining property of PYDP was monitored using a confocal microscope. The results showed that PYDP binds to HSA, bindings are due to electrostatic/ionic interactions, and the binding process is spontaneous. PYDP was found to exhibit negligible cytotoxicity at high concentrations, and confocal microscope images showed that PYDP stained the cytoplasm of MCF‐7 cells.
Prediction of protein interactions is essential for studying biomolecular mechanisms
Authors: Vakser Ilya A.
Published: September 2023

Structural characterization of protein interactions is essential for our ability to understand and modulate physiological processes. Computational approaches to modeling of protein complexes provide structural information that far exceeds capabilities of the existing experimental techniques. Protein structure prediction in general, and prediction of protein interactions in particular, has been revolutionized by the rapid progress in Deep Learning techniques. The work of Schweke et al. (Proteomics 2023, 23, 2200323) presents a community‐wide study of an important problem of distinguishing physiological protein–protein complexes/interfaces (experimentally determined or modeled) from non‐physiological ones. The authors designed and generated a large benchmark set of physiological and non‐physiological homodimeric complexes, and evaluated a large set of scoring functions, as well as AlphaFold predictions, on their ability to discriminate the non‐physiological interfaces. The problem of separating physiological interfaces from non‐physiological ones is very difficult, largely due to the lack of a clear distinction between the two categories in a crowded environment inside a living cell. Still, the ability to identify key physiologically significant interfaces in the variety of possible configurations of a protein–protein complex is important. The study presents a major data resource and methodological development in this important direction for molecular and cellular biology.
Low‐affinity insulin‐like growth factor binding protein 7 and its association with pulmonary arterial hypertension severity and survival
Authors: Torres Guillermo , Lancaster Andrew C. , Yang Jun , Griffiths Megan , Brandal Stephanie , Damico Rachel , Vaidya Dhananjay , Simpson Catherine E. , Martin Lisa J. , Pauciulo Michael W. , Nichols William C. , Ivy David D. , Austin Eric D. , Hassoun Paul M. , Everett Allen D.
Published: September 2023

Insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) binding proteins (IGFBPs) are a family of growth factor modifiers, some of which are known to be independently associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) survival. IGF factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) is a unique low‐affinity IGFBP that, independent of IGF, stimulates prostacyclin production. This study proposed to establish associations between IGFBP7 and PAH severity and survival, using enrollment and longitudinal samples. Serum IGFBP7 levels were significantly elevated in patients with PAH compared to controls. After adjusting for age and sex, logarithmic increases in IGFBP7 were associated with a 20 m shorter six‐minute walk distance (6MWD; p < 0.001), a 2−3 mmHg higher mean right atrial pressure (p < 0.001 and 0.02), and a higher likelihood of a greater REVEAL 2.0 risk category placement (p < 0.001). Kaplan−Meier analysis demonstrated significantly decreased survival with IGFBP7 above the median and Cox multivariable analysis adjusted for age and sex, demonstrated higher serum IGFBP7 was an independent predictor of survival. Though the exact mechanism is still unknown, given IGFBP7's role as a prostacyclin stimulant, it has potential use as a therapeutic target for disease modulation.
Bumpless‐transfer‐based fault tolerant control for the quadcopter: Piecewise homogeneous emission probability approach
Authors: Cai Bo , Pei Dacheng
Published: September 2023

This paper investigates the fault‐tolerant control for quadcopter systems with the condition of reducing the bumps of system states. Allowing for the unavailable information of fault detection and identification (FDI) process in reality, a novel fault‐tolerant control scheme integrated with semi‐Markov stochastic process is considered, which stands in marked contrast to previous researches with the assumption of accurate FDI information. The emission probability satisfying piecewise homogeneous property is introduced to express the relationship between the obtained FDI information and real one, which covers more practical scenarios compared with existing ones. Afterwards, sufficient conditions on existence of the bumpless transfer controller reaching prescribed performance are obtained insuring that the quadcopter system is stable in the sense of mean square stability (MSS) and capable of dealing with the unavoidable bumps of states caused by stochastic switching dynamics. Eventually, simulations and comparative studies are performed to illustrate the advantages of the proposed strategy.
High Yield Synthesis of Green Pyrolytic Oil via Thermal Cracking of Ricinoleic Acid Methyl Ester
Authors: Yogesh Dhanuskar Sagarkumar , Modak Arindam , Mhatre Dwijraj , Naik Satya N. , Pant Kamal K.
Published: September 2023

Castor oil has the potential to be a renewable resource for the synthesis of high‐value‐added chemicals. This work focuses on the thermal cracking of ricinoleic acid methyl esters (RAME), the major component of castor oil in a micro fixed bed reactor that was used to produce methyl undecenoate (MU) and heptaldehyde (HEP). MU and HEP have wide applications in polymers, cosmetics, and drug industries. The effect of flow rate, sweeping gas flow rate, preheating and reaction temperatures were examined briefly. Thermal cracking of RAME at a preheating temperature of 350 °C and reaction temperatures of 550 °C, produced high yields of MU and HEP at 46.7 and 27.3 wt.% respectively. The increase in sweep flow rate from 15 ml min−1 to 25 ml min−1 enhanced the production of pyrolytic oil yield to 92.6 wt.%. Density functional theory (DFT) was performed to examine the experimental results and distribution of the products involved in the dissociation of RAME. Assuming C−C bond scission followed by the cleavage of the OH bond, the reaction energy of MU and HEP thermal cracking is computed using DFT. This research may provide an alternative pathway to produce important chemicals from castor oil for upscaling and process development for the industry.
Construction of CeO2/PbFe12O19 Heterojunction Photocatalysts and their Preference for the Photodegradation of −C=O and −CONH2
Authors: Chen Xiangyu , Wang Shifa , Jin Yujia , Han Mengjun , Li Maoyuan , Gao Huajing , Yang Hua , Fang Leiming , Angadi. Jagadeesha , Abd El‐Rehim A. F. , Mossad Ali Atif , Li Dengfeng
Published: September 2023

Preparation of CeO2/PbFe12O19 (CO/PFO) heterojunction photocatalysts with the different CO contents as visible‐light photocatalysts were synthesized by a polyacrylamide gel route combined with a low temperature sintering technique. A variety of characterization techniques have been used to confirm that the CO/PFO heterojunction photocatalysts contain only Ce, Pb, Fe and O elements, which also indicates that the special interfacial contact between CO and PFO is formed and there are a large number of oxygen vacancies and interfacial defects in CO/PFO heterojunction photocatalysts. The coupling of CO and PFO enhances the optical absorption coefficients of CO and PFO and slightly decreases the optical band gap (Eg) of the host lattice (PFO). Rhodamine B (RhB), phenol, bisphenol A (BPA) and oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC‐HCl) were used as target degradation pollutants to investigate the degradation preference of CO/PFO heterojunction photocatalysts. The degradation percentages of the RhB, Phenol, BPA and OTC‐HCl are 20.35 %, 38.77 %, 18.11 % and 75.32 %, respectively. The results showed that the hydroxyl radical played a dominant role in the degradation of pollutants by the CO/PFO heterojunction photocatalysts and preferred to degrade −C=O and −CONH2. This new idea will provide technical support for cutting functional groups of pollutants purposefully.
Electrochemical Oxidation of Formic Acid on PdM (M=Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Ag) Alloy Nanoparticles with Low M Content: A Comparative Study
Authors: Gharib Azar , Arab Ali
Published: September 2023

PdM (M=Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Ag) alloy nanoparticles with low M content were prepared using a chemical method and characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX), EDX mapping, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The electro‐oxidation of formic acid on these samples was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and chronoamperometry in H2SO4 solution. The PdAg electrocatalyst demonstrated superior electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of formic acid with the mass activity of 1980 mA mg−1Pd which was significantly higher than the mass activity of commercial Pd/C electrocatalysts. Additionally, the PdAg electrocatalyst had the best CO poisoning tolerance as well as the best stability in the considered solution.
Versatile Multi‐Wavelength Light‐Responsive Metal‐Organic Frameworks Micromotor through Porphyrin Metalation for Water Sterilization
Authors: Zhao Yu , Yuan Mengge , Yang Haowei , Li Jie , Ying Yulong , Li Jinhua , Wang Weihao , Wang Sheng
Published: September 2023

Traditional metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) based micro/nanomotors (MOFtors) can achieve three‐dimensional (3D) motion mainly depending on noble metal (e.g., Pt), toxic fuels (e.g., hydrogen peroxide), and surfactants, or under external magnetic fields. In this study, light‐driven MOFtors are constructed based on PCN‐224(H) and regulated their photothermal and photochemical properties responding to the light of different wavelengths through porphyrin metalation. The resulting PCN‐224(Fe) MOFtors presented a strong 3D motion at a maximum speed of 1234.9 ± 367.5 µm s−1 under visible light due to the various gradient fields by the photothermal and photochemical effects. Such MOFtors exhibit excellent water sterilization performance. Under optimal conditions, the PCN‐224(Cu) MOFtors presented the best antibacterial performance of 99.4%, which improved by 23.4% compared to its static counterpart and 43.7% compared to static PCN‐224(H). The underlying mechanism demonstrates that metal doping could increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and result in a more positive surface charge under light, which are short‐distance effective sterilizing ingredients. Furthermore, the motion of MOFtors appears very important to extend the short‐distance effective sterilization and thus synergistically improve the antibacterial performance. This work provides a new idea for preparing and developing light‐driven MOFtors with multi‐responsive properties.
Experimental study and numerical analysis of the interfacial bonding performance of T‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tubes
Authors: Bai Ying‐hua , Xie Bo , Shen Kang , Yan Yan
Published: September 2023

The effects of core concrete strength (C30, C40, and C50), steel tube length (600, 1000, and 1400 mm), and steel tube wall thickness (3, 4, and 5 mm) on the bonding performance of T‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tubes (CFSTs) were systematically investigated using push‐out test. Via the test, the patterns of the failure modes, load‐slip curves, stress‐slip curves, and distribution law of longitudinal strain were observed for the specimens, and the bond‐slip constitutive model for T‐shaped CFSTs was established. The test results indicate that the bond stress of T‐shaped CFSTs increases with the increase in concrete strength and tube wall thickness, while the steel tube length has less influence on the bond stress. In addition, non‐linear spring elements were used to simulate the interfacial bonding behavior based on the bond‐slip equation, which is in good agreement with the experimental curve results.
The Sunspot Number Forecasting Using a Hybridization Model of EMD, LSTM and Attention Mechanism
Authors: Yang Jianzhong , Fu Nian , Chen Huirong
Published: September 2023

Sunspot number forecasting is a significant task for human beings in order to observe solar activity, and it is a classical chaotic time series. To improve the forecasting accuracy, we proposed a hybrid forecasting model based on empirical mode decomposition, long short‐term memory neural network and attention mechanism. First, the empirical mode decomposition is used to transfer the sunspot number to several sub‐components called IMFs and residual. Then, the IMFs and residual are input to the prediction module that is composed of long short‐term memory neural network and attention mechanism. Finally, the forecasting result is accumulated by the IMFs and residual through the predict module. The RMSE, MAE, MAPE and R2 indexes of our method are 1.567, 1.048, 1.8% and 0.9997. We also compare with GRU, informer and XGBoost‐DL, our method improves accuracy above 24 and 18 of RMSE and MAE, respectively. The experiment results demonstrate our method has higher precision. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Registrar saw block schedule's benefits from two sides
Authors: Enos Gary A.
Published: September 2023

Colorado College's block plan schedule dates to the 1970s, and Phillip Apodaca has experienced its advantages both as a student and now as Registrar. In one of Apodaca's first courses as an undergraduate at the college, his geology professor was able to take the class on an extended field trip to the mountains without concerns about other coursework interfering.
Kapitel 28. Theorien des Wandels und der Gestaltung von Strukturen: Gesellschaft-Natur-Perspektive
Authors: Haderer Margaret , Brand Ulrich , Daniel Antje , Exner Andreas , Fankhauser Julia , Görg Christoph , Novy Andreas , Schinko Thomas , Schlitz Nicolas , Strüver Anke
Published: September 2023

Die Gesellschaft-Natur-Perspektive beschäftigt sich mit historisch entstandenen, tiefenwirksamen Treibern der Klimakrise. Ihr Fokus liegt auf klimaschädlichen Merkmalen von Natur-Mensch-Beziehungen, die für die westliche Moderne typisch und auch in Österreich wirksam sind. Dazu zählen Wachstumszwang, Kapitalakkumulation, dualistische Verständnisse von Natur und Mensch, Vorstellungen und Praktiken der Naturbeherrschung, sozial-ökologische Ungleichheit und disziplinäre Wissensproduktion.
Kapitel 2. Perspektiven zur Analyse und Gestaltung von Strukturen klimafreundlichen Lebens
Authors: Novy Andreas , Haderer Margaret , Kubeczko Klaus , Aigner Ernest , Bärnthaler Richard , Brand Ulrich , Brudermann Thomas , Daniel Antje , Exner Andreas , Fankhauser Julia , Getzner Michael , Görg Christoph , Jonas Michael , Ohndorf Markus , Ornetzeder Michael , Plank Leonhard , Schinko Thomas , Schlitz Nicolas , Strüver Anke , Tödtling Franz
Published: September 2023

Kapitel 2 systematisiert entlang von vier Perspektiven in den Sozialwissenschaften weit verbreitete Theorien zur Analyse und Gestaltung von Strukturen klimafreundlichen Lebens. Das Kapitel möchte Leser_innen des Berichts bewusst machen, mit wie grundlegend unterschiedlichen Zugängen Forscher_innen Strukturen klimafreundlichen Lebens analysieren. Dies ist wichtig, um zu verstehen, dass es nie nur eine, sondern immer mehrere Perspektiven auf Strukturen klimafreundlichen Lebens gibt. Dieses Bewusstsein hilft, die Komplexität der Sozialwissenschaften und damit die Komplexität der Aufgabe – Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben zu gestalten – zu erfassen. Unterschiedliche Zugänge zu sehen, bedeutet auch, ein besseres Verständnis von konfligierenden Problemdiagnosen, Zielhorizonten und Gestaltungsoptionen zu entwickeln und – idealerweise – damit umgehen zu können.
Associations between anthropometric parameters and immune-phenotypical characteristics of circulating Tregs and serum cytokines
Authors: Schmitz Timo , Freuer D. , Meisinger C. , Linseisen J.
Published: September 2023

Objective

To investigate the associations between several anthropometric parameters and regulatory T cells (Tregs) and circulating cytokines in a population-based cohort.

Methods

Between 2018 and 2021, a total of 238 participants were examined up to three times within the scope of the MEGA study in Augsburg, Germany. Tregs were analyzed using flow cytometry and the serum concentrations of 52 cytokines were determined. Anthropometric parameters were measured, using also bioelectrical impedance analysis: body mass index (BMI), relative total body fat, relative visceral adipose tissue (rVAT), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body fat distribution. Associations were analyzed using linear mixed models with random intercept (Tregs) and conventional linear regression models (cytokines).

Results

WC and WHR were inversely associated with the general Treg subset. Four parameters (BMI, rVAT, WC, and WHR) were inversely associated with the conventional Treg population. Three cytokines showed a particularly strong association with several anthropometric parameters: the cutaneous T-cell attracting chemokine was inversely associated with anthropometric parameters, while hepatocyte growth factor and interleukine-18 showed positive associations.

Conclusions

Anthropometric measures are associated with Tregs and serum cytokine concentrations revealing new important interconnections between obesity and the adaptive immune system.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment predicts radiation-induced acute toxicity in prostate cancer patients
Authors: Paal Katarzyna , Stranz Bettina , Thurner Eva-Maria , Langsenlehner Uwe , Renner Wilfried , Brunner Thomas Baptist , Langsenlehner Tanja
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The purpose of the present prospective study was to evaluate the significance of geriatric conditions measured by a comprehensive geriatric assessment (GA) for the prediction of the risk of high-grade acute radiation-induced toxicity.

Methods

A total of 314 prostate cancer patients (age ≥ 65 years) undergoing definitive radiotherapy at a tertiary academic center were included. Prior to treatment, patients underwent a GA. High-grade toxicity was defined as acute toxicity grade ≥ 2 according to standard RTOG/EORTC criteria. To analyze the predictive value of the GA, univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were applied.

Results

A total of 40 patients (12.7%) developed acute toxicity grade ≥ 2; high grade genitourinary was found in 37 patients (11.8%) and rectal toxicity in 8 patients (2.5%), respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed a significant association of comorbidities with overall toxicity grade ≥ 2 (odds ratio [OR] 2.633, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.260–5.502; p = 0.010) as well as with high-grade genitourinary and rectal toxicity (OR 2.169, 95%CI1.017–4.625; p = 0.045 and OR 7.220, 95%CI 1.227–42.473; p = 0.029, respectively). Furthermore, the Activities of Daily Living score (OR 0.054, 95%CI 0.004–0.651; p = 0.022), social status (OR 0.159, 95%CI 0.028–0.891; p = 0.036), and polypharmacy (OR 4.618, 95%CI 1.045–20.405; p = 0.044) were identified as independent predictors of rectal toxicity grade ≥ 2.

Conclusion

Geriatric conditions seem to be predictive of the development of high-grade radiation-induced toxicity in prostate cancer patients treated with definitive radiotherapy.
Quasi-Newton methods for topology optimization using a level-set method
Authors: Blauth Sebastian , Sturm Kevin
Published: September 2023

The ability to efficiently solve topology optimization problems is of great importance for many practical applications. Hence, there is a demand for efficient solution algorithms. In this paper, we propose novel quasi-Newton methods for solving PDE-constrained topology optimization problems. Our approach is based on and extends the popular solution algorithm of Amstutz and Andrä (J Comput Phys 216: 573–588, 2006). To do so, we introduce a new perspective on the commonly used evolution equation for the level-set method, which allows us to derive our quasi-Newton methods for topology optimization. We investigate the performance of the proposed methods numerically for the following examples: Inverse topology optimization problems constrained by linear and semilinear elliptic Poisson problems, compliance minimization in linear elasticity, and the optimization of fluids in Navier–Stokes flow, where we compare them to current state-of-the-art methods. Our results show that the proposed solution algorithms significantly outperform the other considered methods: They require substantially less iterations to find a optimizer while demanding only slightly more resources per iteration. This shows that our proposed methods are highly attractive solution methods in the field of topology optimization.