bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Poisson spectrum of the symmetric algebra of the Virasoro algebra
Authors: Sierra Susan J. , Petukhov Alexey V.
Published: April 2023

Let $W = \mathbb {C}[t,t^{-1}]\partial _t$ be the Witt algebra of algebraic vector fields on $\mathbb {C}^\times$ and let $V\!ir$ be the Virasoro algebra, the unique nontrivial central extension of $W$. In this paper, we study the Poisson ideal structure of the symmetric algebras of $V\!ir$ and $W$, as well as several related Lie algebras. We classify prime Poisson ideals and Poisson primitive ideals of $\operatorname {S}(V\!ir)$ and $\operatorname {S}(W)$. In particular, we show that the only functions in $W^*$ which vanish on a nontrivial Poisson ideal (that is, the only maximal ideals of $\operatorname {S}(W)$ with a nontrivial Poisson core) are given by linear combinations of derivatives at a finite set of points; we call such functions local. Given a local function $\chi \in W^*$, we construct the associated Poisson primitive ideal through computing the algebraic symplectic leaf of $\chi$, which gives a notion of coadjoint orbit in our setting. As an application, we prove a structure theorem for subalgebras of $V\!ir$ of finite codimension and show, in particular, that any such subalgebra of $V\!ir$ contains the central element $z$, substantially generalising a result of Ondrus and Wiesner on subalgebras of codimension one. As a consequence, we deduce that $\operatorname {S}(V\!ir)/(z-\zeta )$ is Poisson simple if and only if $\zeta \neq ~0$.
Support varieties and stable categories for algebraic groups
Authors: Friedlander Eric M.
Published: April 2023

We consider rational representations of a connected linear algebraic group $\mathbb {G}$ over a field $k$ of positive characteristic $p > 0$. We introduce a natural extension $M \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_M$ to $\mathbb {G}$-modules of the $\pi$-point support theory for modules $M$ for a finite group scheme $G$ and show that this theory is essentially equivalent to the more ‘intrinsic’ and ‘explicit’ theory $M \mapsto \mathbb {P}\mathfrak{C}(\mathbb {G})_M$ of supports for an algebraic group of exponential type, a theory which uses $1$-parameter subgroups $\mathbb {G}_a \to \mathbb {G}$. We extend our support theory to bounded complexes of $\mathbb {G}$-modules, $C^\bullet \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_{C^\bullet }$. We introduce the tensor triangulated category $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$, the Verdier quotient of the bounded derived category $D^b(\mathit {Mod}(\mathbb {G}))$ by the thick subcategory of mock injective modules. Our support theory satisfies all the ‘standard properties’ for a theory of supports for $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$. As an application, we employ $C^\bullet \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_{C^\bullet }$ to establish the classification of $(r)$-complete, thick tensor ideals of $\mathit {stmod}(\mathbb {G})$ in terms of locally $\mathit {stmod}(\mathbb {G})$-realizable subsets of $\Pi (\mathbb {G})$ and the classification of $(r)$-complete, localizing subcategories of $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$ in terms of locally $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$-realizable subsets of $\Pi (\mathbb {G})$.
Extracellular vesicles as markers and mediators of pregnancy complications: gestational diabetes, pre‐eclampsia, preterm birth and fetal growth restriction
Authors: Farrelly Rachel , Kennedy Margeurite Gina , Spencer Rebecca , Forbes Karen
Published: April 2023

In high income countries, approximately 10% of pregnancies are complicated by pre‐eclampsia (PE), preterm birth (PTB), fetal growth restriction (FGR) and/or macrosomia resulting from gestational diabetes (GDM). Despite the burden of disease this places on pregnant people and their newborns, there are still few, if any, effective ways of preventing or treating these conditions. There are also gaps in our understanding of the underlying pathophysiologies and our ability to predict which mothers will be affected. The placenta plays a crucial role in pregnancy, and alterations in placental structure and function have been implicated in all of these conditions. As extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as important molecules in cell‐to‐cell communication in health and disease, recent research involving maternal‐ and placental‐derived EV has demonstrated their potential as predictive and diagnostic biomarkers of obstetric disorders.  This review will consider how placental and maternal EVs have been investigated in pregnancies complicated by PE, PTB, FGR and GDM and aims to highlight areas where further research is required to enhance the management and eventual treatment of these pathologies.

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El estado de la investigación contable en Venezuela
Authors: Viloria Ortega Norka Judith
Published: April 2023

La investigación contable en Venezuela se enfrenta a un posible estancamiento de la agenda investigativa. Algunos investigadores lo denominan parálisis paradigmática, referida a la concentración en temáticas y uso, casi exclusivo, de un solo enfoque investigativo que privilegia lo cuantitativo, y que, de alguna forma, incide en el sistema de creencias de los investigadores sobre la necesidad de publicar bajo el paradigma dominante. Desde esta perspectiva, la intencionalidad del artículo es analizar el estado de la investigación contable en Venezuela, utilizando criterios descriptivos relacionados a las características de las publicaciones de los contadores públicos durante el período 2011-2021, y la opinión de investigadores venezolanos que han publicado artículos a través de una consulta electrónica realizada en 2021. Los resultados indican que los artículos en revistas no contables son escasos, y que se concentran en una dedicada a la Contabilidad. Además, existe una tendencia en los artículos al enfoque dominante, no así en las tesis doctorales que muestran investigaciones con ambos enfoques. En cuanto a las consecuencias para la disciplina, estas se relacionan con las limitaciones de contribuir al acervo del conocimiento desde otras visiones y temáticas. Se concluye que existen indicios de estancamiento de la disciplina contable, en lo que respecta al enfoque y temáticas trabajadas pues estas se concentran en lo cuantitativo y en los temas normativos.
Investigación contable en Colombia durante la segunda década del siglo XXI: Transición hacia discusiones extrarregionales
Authors: Macias Hugo A. , Patiño Ruth Alejandra , Castaño Carlos Eduardo
Published: April 2023

Colombia se ha destacado en Latinoamérica por la existencia de una comunidad contable nacional, que se ha venido fortaleciendo desde la década de los 80. Esa comunidad se encuentra en eventos anuales, desarrolla proyectos formales, se ha venido adaptando paulatinamente a las exigencias del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (Minciencias) y ha conseguido resultados de investigación cada vez más cualificados. En la primera década del siglo XXI, esa dinámica nacional se integró con otras dinámicas latinoamericanas y, al parecer, en la segunda década se dio una transición hacia la integración con la investigación extrarregional. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar evidencia de que la segunda década del siglo XXI fue una década de transición hacia un nivel más avanzado de interacción. Para ello, se llevó a cabo una revisión de literatura, se analizó la dinámica de ocho revistas nacionales durante la década y se analizaron las primeras publicaciones en revistas reconocidas extrarregionalmente. En los resultados, se destaca la participación en nuevos congresos internacionales y la formación doctoral, que han abierto las puertas a una participación más activa en las discusiones extrarregionales.
La investigación en Contabilidad: Desafíos y oportunidades en Uruguay
Authors: Pontet Ubal Norma
Published: April 2023

El presente trabajo pretende contextualizar la investigación en Contabilidad en Uruguay, mostrando un marco en la formación profesional del país, y su anclaje institucional vía universidades y agrupaciones profesionales. Se aplica una metodología cualitativa descriptiva y documental, ilustrativa, cuyo alcance busca definir las características que reúne la investigación contable en Uruguay, a partir de la revisión de la literatura académica del tema. De igual forma, se analizan los referentes del contexto en la creación del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores y la Agencia Nacional de Innovación e Investigación (ANNI) que ha dado lugar a diagnósticos y propuestas de diferentes actores. La discusión activa continuará en cuanto la producción intelectual de las Ciencias Sociales incremente y la Contabilidad como ciencia, ocupe un lugar destacado. Las redes de investigación tienen un papel clave en el desarrollo continuo.
Resultados del tamizaje neonatal en una institución de cuarto nivel en Bogotá (Colombia)
Authors: Lince Isabella , Lince-Rivera Catalina , Mogollón Portilla Valentina , Suárez Obando Fernando , Bertolotto Cepeda Ana María , Navarro Marroquín Sandra Milena , Vargas Vaca Yaris Anzully
Published: April 2023

Introducción: La Ley 1980 de 2019 regula y amplía la práctica del tamizaje neonatal y lo constituye como derecho de todo recién nacido. El Hospital Universitario San Ignacio es pionero en Colombia en implementarla, como parte del programa de atención integral al recién nacido. Objetivo: Describir los primeros resultados de la implementación del tamizaje neonatal en una institución de cuarto nivel en Bogotá (Colombia). Método: Estudio observacional-descriptivo, de tipo transversal entre el 1.º de octubre de 2020 y el 1.º de enero de 2022. Muestra censal de los nacidos vivos con exclusión de los fallecidos en el primer mes de vida. Resultados:Se analizaron 1255 recién nacidos. El reflejo rojo fue anormal en 0,2% de los recién nacidos y en 4,5% no se realizó́. Del tamizaje neonatal básico (TNB), hubo autorización por la EPS en 63,2% de los pacientes, y en promedio el tiempo para la toma de la muestra fue de 5 días. La adherencia de los familiares para la toma de TNB de forma ambulatoria (después de las 72 horas desde del egreso) fue del 69,6%. El tamizaje de TSH neonatal se tomó́ al 100% de los recién nacidos y en 98,2% fue normal. El tamizaje para cardiopatías congénitas fue reportado como normal en el 94% de los pacientes. El resultado de audiología fue normal en el 99,6%. Conclusiones:El tamizaje neonatal es factible de implementar. Sus resultados benefician la atención de los pacientes, por lo que se deben continuar desarrollando estrategias para su ejecución.
Valoración preoperatoria y preparación para cirugía de cadera en el adulto mayor
Authors: Dueñas Orejuela María Fernanda , Chavarro Carvajal Diego Andres
Published: April 2023

Con el aumento del envejecimiento poblacional mundial, se han incrementado múltiples enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles, entre ellas la osteoporosis, que es una las principales causas de fracturas por fragilidad. La fractura de cadera es una de las principales causas de morbimortalidad y pueden ocasionar discapacidad. Por esto, es importante realizar una valoración preoperatoria que se basa en un abordaje integral. Este consiste en un manejo interdisciplinario, llamado comanejo médico-quirúrgico ortogeriátrico, cuyo propósito es la preservación de la funcionalidad y reducción de complicaciones hospitalarias a corto y mediano plazo. El objetivo de esta revisión narrativa es describir el abordaje de los pacientes con fractura de cadera, cómo y dónde se diagnostica, la valoración preoperatoria y su implicación en la práctica clínica diaria.
Automatedly Distilling Canonical Equations From Random State Data
Authors: Jin Xiaoling , Huang Zhanchao , Wang Yong , Huang Zhilong , Elishakoff Isaac
Published: April 2023

Canonical equations play a pivotal role in various sub-fields of physics and mathematics. However, for complex systems and systems without first principles, deriving canonical equations analytically is quite laborious or might even be impossible. This work is devoted to automatedly distilling the canonical equations solely from random state data. The random state data are collected from stochastically excited, dissipative dynamical systems either experimentally or numerically, while other information, such as the system characterization itself and the excitations, is not needed. The identification procedure comes down to a nested optimization problem, and the explicit expressions of the momentum (density) functions and energy (density) functions are identified simultaneously. Three representative examples are investigated to illustrate its high accuracy of identification, the small requirement for data amount, and high robustness to excitations and dissipation. The identification procedure serves as a filter, filtering out nonconservative information while retaining conservative information, which is especially suitable for systems with unobtainable excitations.
Voltage-Mediated Enhances Lithium-Ion Storage in LiTiOPO4 by Combustion Method
Authors: Gu Xiujuan , Cai Yanjun , Yao Xiang , Tian Hualing , Su Zhi
Published: April 2023

LiTiOPO4 was prepared by solid-phase combustion method using citric acid as fuel. The LiTiOPO4 materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction test (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The XRD test showed that the synthesized samples were pure phases and the addition of different weight fractions of the combustion agent citric acid did not change the phase structure of the LiTiOPO4. The microscopic observations revealed that the LiTiOPO4 prepared after the addition of citric acid as a combustion agent was a sheet-like stacked structure. The electrochemical test results showed that the rate discharge capacity of LiTiOPO4 anode at 5000 mA g−1 maintains 184.7 mAh g−1 in the voltage range of 0.01–3.0 V and keeps at 147.2 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles. The LiTiOPO4 anode exhibits excellent cycling stability and good reversibility, which is attributed to the high crystallinity of LiTiOPO4 prepared by solid-phase combustion and the lamellar stacked layer structure that facilitates lithium-ion insertion/de-insertion.
Evaluating the Feasibility of the Education, Movement, and Understanding (EMU) Program: A Primary School-Based Physical Education Program Integrating Indigenous Games Alongside Numeracy and Literacy Skills
Authors: Eather Narelle , Riley Nicholas , Babic Mark , Bennie Andrew , Maynard John , Morgan Philip J.
Published: April 2023

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a 16-lesson integrated physical education program focusing on Indigenous games: Education, Movement, and Understanding (EMU). Method: The study aligned with current physical education, English, and mathematics syllabi and involved 105 children (9–12 years) from two primary schools (Awabakal Country, Australia; 2020). Children participated in sixteen 45–60 min EMU lessons over 8 weeks, with feasibility and preliminary efficacy outcomes assessed via mixed methods. Results: EMU was delivered successfully by the research team, with excellent student and teacher evaluations (M = 4.36–5.0 across 20 items). Improvements resulted for children’s cardiorespiratory fitness (d = 0.37, p = .001), enjoyment of sport (d = 0.27, p = .024), physical self-perceptions (d = 0.27, p = .043), and academic achievement (spelling d = 0.91, addition d = 0.40, subtraction d = 0.53, and division d = 0.68). No significant changes in well-being or multiplication scores resulted. Conclusion: Our results provide support for the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of EMU as a beneficial and enjoyable integrated primary school physical education program.
Point of Care CD4 Testing in National Household Surveys – Results and Quality Indicators from Eleven Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) Surveys
Authors: Birhanu Sehin , Winterhalter Frieda S. , Stupp Paul , Cates Melissa , Rottinghaus Erin , Yavo Daniel , Wray-Gordon Floris , Lupoli Kathryn , Ndongmo Clement B. , Longwe Herbert , Reid Giles A. , Metz Melissa , Saito Suzue , McCracken Stephen , Brown Kristin , Voetsch Andrew C. , Duong Yen T. , Parekh Bharat S. , Patel Hetal K.
Published: April 2023

The manuscript describes CD4 levels among HIV-positive individuals and baseline CD4 levels among HIV-negative individuals from 11 sub-Saharan countries, thereby highlighting the importance of CD4 markers in the context of the HIV epidemic. Despite increased ARV access in each country, advanced HIV disease (CD4 < 200 cells/mm
3
) persists among approximately 11% of HIV-positive individuals.
Conceptual Design and Mechanical Analysis of a Lunar Anchored Cislunar Tether
Authors: Wang Weiwei  , Zhigang Wu , Jiafu Liu
Published: April 2023

A long tether anchored to the lunar surface and extended to position tens thousands of kilometers above the Earth is put forward. It could be used as an auxiliary cislunar traffic track to transfer cargos along it to the Moon without rocket landing and ascending, saving fuels. The configuration and statics of the tether is examined carefully within the Earth–Moon circular restricted three-body system. Firstly, the tensile stress in the tether is regarded as a main restriction factor, which is calculated for the case with a constant cross section. By then, the allowable endpoint position is proposed. So far, only materials available in laboratory, such as carbon nanotube, can sustain such a long and thin tether. Secondly, the constant tensile stress tether with variant cross section is taken into account. Then the key restriction factor is becoming the variation ratio of the tether’s cross section, which is determined by the material’s density and the tensile stress. In this condition, available materials expand to carbon fiber and some mass-produced composite materials. As a verdict, such a lunar anchored cislunar tether is more than science fiction in the sense of mechanics and material.
Lower eyelid lengthening in facial nerve palsy: when is a periosteal flap required?
Authors: Jamison Aaron , Patel Bhupendra C , Hunt Samantha , Malhotra Raman
Published: April 2023

Background/aims

To present a case series of patients with facial nerve palsy (FNP) undergoing lower eyelid surgery where inadequate horizontal tarsal length was encountered and managed with a periosteal flap.

Methods

A two-centre retrospective, non-comparative case series of all patients with FNP who underwent lower eyelid periosteal flap procedures. Theatre records identified all such procedures performed by, or under the supervision of, one of two surgeons (RM, BCP) between November 2018 and November 2020. Outcome measures, including the Cornea, static Asymmetry, Dynamic function, Synkinesis grading score, were measured preoperatively and postoperatively.

Results

All 17 patients had undergone medial canthal tendon (MCT) plication. Six had previously undergone MCT plication then were listed for further lower eyelid surgery. In 11 cases, horizontal deficiency was encountered intraoperatively, immediately following MCT plication. Four patients were surgery-naïve. 94% were within the ‘contraction phase’ of FNP (ie, greater than 1-year duration); eight (45%) had previously undergone lower eyelid shortening procedures (such as lateral tarsal strip procedure, LTS). All patients had improved lower eyelid position postoperatively, although at 1-year postoperation, four patients require redo lower eyelid surgery.

Conclusions

MCT plication and stabilisation appear to be closely linked to the need for lower eyelid lengthening procedures, particularly in patients who have also undergone LTS and/or those within the ‘contraction phase’ of FNP. Unnecessary loss of horizontal tarsal length (particularly during LTS procedures) must be avoided in patients with FNP. Surgeons managing such patients should take care to identify inadvertent eyelid shortening early and be prepared to perform a lateral periosteal flap when required.
Long versus short peroral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of achalasia: results of a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial
Authors: Familiari Pietro , Borrelli de Andreis Federica , Landi Rosario , Mangiola Francesca , Boskoski Ivo , Tringali Andrea , Perri Vincenzo , Costamagna Guido
Published: April 2023

Objective

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has become standard treatment for achalasia with comparable efficacy to surgery. In most of published series, the length of myotomy is 12–13 cm. Shorter cuts could have the advantage of shorter procedure time and possibly reduced gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) rate.

Design

This single-centre, patient-blinded, randomised, non-inferiority clinical trial included 200 patients, who were randomly allocated, to receive either a long-POEM (13 cm; 101 patients) or a short-POEM (8 cm; 99 patients). Primary outcome was defined as an Eckardt symptom score of ≤3 at 24 months after the procedure; a non-inferiority design was chosen with an accepted success range of 6% between the two treatments. Secondary outcomes included operating time, complication rate, postoperative manometry, GORD rate and quality of life.

Results

In the intention-to-treat analysis, clinical success rates were 89.1% in the long-POEM and 98.0% in the short-POEM group, resulting in an absolute between-group difference of −8.9% (90% CI −14.5 to −3.3).

Procedure time was significantly reduced in the short-POEM as compared with the long-POEM group (40 vs 50 min, p<0.0001). Severe adverse events occurred in one patient in both groups.

No differences were observed in postoperative GORD: acid exposure >6% on pH monitoring study at 6 months was seen in 34.3% (long-POEM) vs 31.1% (short-POEM), while endoscopic oesophagitis was diagnosed in 37.6% vs 51.5% at 6 months and in 21% vs 24.5% at 24 months. Regular proton pump inhibitor use was not different either (36.8% vs 37.5%).

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates non-inferiority of a shorter cut length of POEM as compared with the standard treatment, which saved some procedural time. GORD rate was not reduced by reducing cutting length.

Trial registration number

NCT03450928.
Serum lipidome unravels a diagnostic potential in bile acid diarrhoea
Authors: Lewinska Monika , Kårhus Martin Lund , Ellegaard Anne-Marie Gade , Romero-Gómez Manuel , Macias Rocio I R , Andersen Jesper B , Knop Filip Krag
Published: April 2023

Objective

Bile acid diarrhoea (BAD) is debilitating yet treatable, but it remains underdiagnosed due to challenging diagnostics. We developed a blood test-based method to guide BAD diagnosis.

Design

We included serum from 50 treatment-naive patients with BAD diagnosed by gold standard75selenium homotaurocholic acid test, 56 feature-matched controls and 37 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Metabolomes were generated using mass spectrometry covering 1295 metabolites and compared between groups. Machine learning was used to develop a BAD Diagnostic Score (BDS).

Results

Metabolomes of patients with BAD significantly differed from controls and NAFLD. We detected 70 metabolites with a discriminatory performance in the discovery set with an area under receiver-operating curve metric above 0.80. Logistic regression modelling using concentrations of decanoylcarnitine, cholesterol ester (22:5), eicosatrienoic acid, L-alpha-lysophosphatidylinositol (18:0) and phosphatidylethanolamine (O-16:0/18:1) distinguished BAD from controls with a sensitivity of 0.78 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.89) and a specificity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.98). The model was independent of covariates (age, sex, body mass index) and distinguished BAD from NAFLD irrespective of fibrosis stage. BDS outperformed other blood test-based tests (7-alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one and fibroblast growth factor 19) currently under development.

Conclusions

BDS derived from serum metabolites in a single-blood sample showed robust identification of patients with BAD with superior specificity and sensitivity compared with current blood test-based diagnostics.
In-house homologous recombination deficiency testing in ovarian cancer: a multi-institutional Italian pilot study
Authors: Pepe Francesco , Guerini-Rocco Elena , Fassan Matteo , Fusco Nicola , Vacirca Davide , Ranghiero Alberto , Venetis Konstantinos , Rappa Alessandra , Taormina Sergio Vincenzo , Russo Gianluca , Rebellato Elena , Munari Giada , Moreno-Manuel Andrea , De Angelis Carmine , Zamagni Claudio , Valabrega Giorgio , Malapelle Umberto , Troncone Giancarlo , Barberis Massimo , Iaccarino Antonino
Published: April 2023

Aims

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPIs) represent a standard of care for the clinical management of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). The recognition of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) has emerged as a predictive biomarker of response for first-line PARPIs treatment in patients with HGOSC. On the other hand, this test is extremely complex and therefore it is often externalised. Regrettably, the reliability of outsourced HRD testing can be troubled by inconclusive results and high rejection rates. In this methodological study, we assessed the technical feasibility, interassay and interlaboratory reproducibility of in-house HRD testing using three different commercially available next-generation sequencing assays.

Methods

A total of n=20 epithelial ovarian cancer samples previously analysed with MyChoice CDx were subjected to HRD retesting using three different platforms in three different major pathology laboratories, that is, SOPHiA DDM HRD Solution, HRD focus and Oncomine homologous recombination repair pathway predesigned panel. Concordance was calculated by Cohen’s (dual) and Fleiss (triple) κ coefficients.

Results

In-houseBRCA1/2molecular testing yielded a concordance rate >90.0% among all participating centres. HRD scores were successfully calculated by each institution with a concordance rate of 76.5%. Concerning the external gold standard test, the overall percentage of agreement ranged from 80.0% to 90.0% with a positive percentage agreement ranging from 75.0% to 80.0% and a negative percentage agreement ranging from 80.0% to 100%.

Conclusions

In-house testing for HRD can be reliably performed with commercially available next-generation sequencing assays.
Comparison of design characteristics and toxicant emissions from Vuse Solo and Alto electronic nicotine delivery systems
Authors: Talih Soha , Karaoghlanian Nareg , Salman Rola , Fallah Sacha , Helal Alissa , El-Hage Rachel , Saliba Najat , Breland Alison , Eissenberg Thomas , Shihadeh Alan
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Vuse Solo is the first electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the USA. Salient features of the Vuse Solo product such as nicotine form, draw resistance, power regulation and electrical characteristics have not been reported previously, and few studies have examined the nicotine and other toxicant emissions of this product. We investigated the design characteristics and toxicant emissions of the Solo as well as Alto, another Vuse product with a greater market share than Solo.

Methods

Total/freebase nicotine, propylene glycol to vegetable glycerin ratio, carbonyl compounds (CC) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified by gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence from aerosol emissions generated in 15 puffs of 4 s duration. The electric power control system was also analysed.

Results

The average power delivered was 2.1 W and 3.9 W for Solo and Alto; neither system was temperature-controlled. Vuse Solo and Alto, respectively, emitted nicotine at a rate of 38 µg/s and 115 µg/s, predominantly in the protonated form (>90%). Alto’s ROS yield was similar to a combustible cigarette and one order of magnitude greater than that of Solo. Total carbonyls from both products were two orders of magnitude lower than combustible cigarettes.

Conclusion

Vuse Solo is an above-Ohm ENDS that emits approximately one-third the nicotine flux of a Marlboro Red cigarette (129 µg/s) and considerably lower CC and ROS yields than a combustible cigarette. With its higher power, the nicotine flux and ROS yield from Alto are similar to Marlboro Red levels; Alto may thus present greater abuse liability than the lower sales-volume Solo.
Long-term axial performance of continuous-flight pile in frozen soil
Authors: Gao Shuai , Sego David , Deng Lijun
Published: April 2023

A number of buildings in the Canadian Arctic communities have failed or showed signs of failure of pile foundations caused by climate-change-induced excessive settlements. Effects of climate change warrant alternative pile types and new installation methods. Installing a pile into frozen soils by the torque method is rare in current practice of the Canadian Arctic. The continuous-flight pile is a new foundation type that is installed by torque. This study is aimed at investigating the axial load transfer of continuous-flight piles in frozen soils under long-term loads. A primary objective is to examine the effects of soil temperature, water content, and soil salinity on the resistance and the failure mode of continuous-flight piles in frozen soils. A series of axial load tests of model continuous-flight piles with a shaft diameter of 89 mm were carried out in the lab. Results show that primary and secondary creeps were observed during the constant load tests. The cylindrical shear mode and individual bearing mode were observed and inferred from the measured data. The adfreeze shear resistance and the individual plate bearing resistance under constant loads were estimated and verified using data from the literature. The adfreeze resistance increased with the applied load, and the plate bearing resistance increased as the normalized pile displacement rate increased. The mobilized adfreeze and plate bearing resistances suggest a potential increased load capacity of the continuous-flight pile compared to conventional smooth piles of similar diameter.
Optimizing the inspection schedule for bridge networks
Authors: Abdelkhalek Sherif , Zayed Tarek
Published: April 2023

Optimizing the inspection route for a bridge network is a paramount factor in reducing inspection duration and cost, particularly for bridges located in a large geographical area. In this respect, this study presents a bridge network inspection planning model. The model aims to minimize the total inspection cost by reducing traveling distance, accommodation cost, wasted time, and inspection crew cost. The model was developed based on the main concept of the multiple traveling salesman problem. In this model, a discrete event simulation engine was built to estimate the inspection duration for each bridge in the network, whereas the genetic algorithm approach was used to optimize the inspection route. Python was used in coding the model steps. Web scraping technique was utilized to develop a geospatial information algorithm dedicated to extracting the actual driving distance between any two points in the inspection route. To tackle the limitations of previous models, the developed model considered several parameters, such as bridge inspection durations that are either shorter or longer than a day shift, variations in the accommodation fees, actual driving distance, minimum workload to assign a new inspection crew, and minimum time to allow starting inspection activities in a new bridge. Considering these parameters make the developed model comprehensive and more accurate. The model was tested against a real bridge network in the IL, USA, and it proved its effectiveness in optimizing the inspection route. The model provides strong guidance for consultants and authorities in charge of bridges in planning the upcoming inspection activities.
Proton, deuteron and triton flow measurements in Au+Au collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{_{{\text {NN}}}}}= 2.4$$ GeV
Authors: Adamczewski-Musch J. , Arnold O. , Behnke C. , Belounnas A. , Berger-Chen J. C. , Blanco A. , Blume C. , Böhmer M. , Bordalo P. , Chlad L. , Ciepal I. , Deveaux C. , Dreyer J. , Epple E. , Fabbietti L. , Filip P. , Fonte P. , Franco C. , Friese J. , Fröhlich I. , Galatyuk T. , Garzón J. A. , Gernhäuser R. , Greifenhagen R. , Gumberidze M. , Harabasz S. , Heinz T. , Hennino T. , Hlavac S. , Höhne C. , Holzmann R. , Kämpfer B. , Kardan B. , Koenig I. , Koenig W. , Kohls M. , Kolb B. W. , Korcyl G. , Kornakov G. , Kornas F. , Kotte R. , Kugler A. , Kunz T. , Lalik R. , Lapidus K. , Lopes L. , Lorenz M. , Mahmoud T. , Maier L. , Malige A. , Mangiarotti A. , Markert J. , Matulewicz T. , Maurus S. , Metag V. , Michel J. , Mihaylov D. M. , Müntz C. , Münzer R. , Naumann L. , Nowakowski K. , Parpottas Y. , Pechenov V. , Pechenova O. , Piasecki K. , Pietraszko J. , Przygoda W. , Pysz K. , Ramos S. , Ramstein B. , Rathod N. , Rodriguez-Ramos P. , Rosier P. , Rost A. , Rustamov A. , Salabura P. , Scheib T. , Schuldes H. , Schwab E. , Scozzi F. , Seck F. , Sellheim P. , Selyuzhenkov I. , Siebenson J. , Silva L. , Singh U. , Smyrski J. , Sobolev Yu. G. , Spataro S. , Spies S. , Ströbele H. , Stroth J. , Sturm C. , Svoboda O. , Szala M. , Tlusty P. , Traxler M. , Tsertos H. , Wagner V. , Wendisch C. , Wiebusch M. G. , Wirth J. , Wójcik D. , Zumbruch P. ,   HADES collaboration
Published: April 2023

High-precision measurements of flow coefficients $$v_{n}$$

v
n

($$n = 1 - 4$$

n
=
1
-
4

) for protons, deuterons and tritons relative to the first-order spectator plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{_{{\text {NN}}}}}= 2.4$$

s

NN

=
2.4

 GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the SIS18/GSI. Flow coefficients are studied as a function of transverse momentum $$p_{{\text {t}}}$$

p
t

and rapidity $$y_{{\text {cm}}}$$

y
cm

over a large region of phase-space and for several classes of collision centrality. A clear mass hierarchy, as expected by relativistic hydrodynamics, is found for the slope of $$v_{1}$$

v
1

, $$d v_{1}/d y^{\prime }|_{y^{\prime } = 0}$$

d

v
1

/
d

y
′

|

y
′

=
0

where $$y^{\prime }$$

y
′

is the scaled rapidity, and for $$v_{2}$$

v
2

at mid-rapidity. Scaling with the number of nucleons is observed for the $$p_{{\text {t}}}$$

p
t

 dependence of $$v_{2}$$

v
2

and $$v_{4}$$

v
4

at mid-rapidity, which is indicative for nuclear coalescence as the main process responsible for light nuclei formation. $$v_{2}$$

v
2

is found to scale with the initial eccentricity $$\langle \epsilon _{2} \rangle $$

⟨

ϵ
2

⟩

, while $$v_{4}$$

v
4

scales with $$\langle \epsilon _{2} \rangle ^{2}$$

⟨

ϵ
2

⟩

2

and $$\langle \epsilon _{4} \rangle $$

⟨

ϵ
4

⟩

. The multi-differential high-precision data on $$v_{1}$$

v
1

, $$v_{2}$$

v
2

, $$v_{3}$$

v
3

, and $$v_{4}$$

v
4

provides important constraints on the equation-of-state of compressed baryonic matter.
A Design and Investigation Inexact Compressor Based on Low Power Multiplier
Authors: Nagar Sheetal , Saxena Shanky , Patel Govind Singh , Nayak Seema , Kumar Abhishek
Published: April 2023

To achieve low power consumption and high performance, an approximate multiplier is a commonly used operation. A new approximate computation method has been used for Error Tolerant Image Processing applications. This operation is popular in error tolerance applications. Inexact computing is applied to error-tolerant digital signal processing applications where error can be tolerated. Multiplier is the basic unit of arithmetic logic unit of any computer computational unit. In this paper, a new approximate compressor computation method is proposed for error-tolerant image processing applications. An approximate compressor has been designed for better output power with an improved figure of merit. A comparison of the proposed compressor with the previous 4:2 compressor design has been investigated and a reduction in area, delay and power consumption has been achieved. A similar algorithm has been applied to 8-bit multiplier applications which have considerable error performance. With the newly designed multiplier using a compressor, the simulation results compared the best power utilization. The results of designing the multiplier indicate that the proposed design of a multiplier using an approximate compressor achieves a reduction in power by 129[Formula: see text]mw.
Dataset Enhancement and Multilingual Transfer for Named Entity Recognition in the Indonesian Language
Authors: Khairunnisa Siti Oryza , Chen Zhousi , Komachi Mamoru
Published: April 2023

Named entity recognition in the Indonesian language has significantly developed in recent years. However, it still lacks standardized publicly available corpora; a small dataset is available but suffers from inconsistent annotations. Therefore, we re-annotated the dataset to improve its consistency and benefit the community. Our re-annotation led to better training results from an effective baseline model consisting of bidirectional long short-term memory and conditional random fields. To fully utilize the limited available data, we utilized better contextualization and transferred external knowledge by exploiting monolingual and multilingual pre-trained language models, such as IndoBERT and XLM-RoBERTa. In addition to the general improvement from the language models, we observed that the monolingual model is more sensitive, while the multilingual ones show advantages in rich morphological knowledge. We also applied cross-lingual transfer learning to utilize high-resource corpora in other languages. We adopted English, Spanish, Dutch, and German as the source languages for the target Indonesian language and found that Dutch plays a special role in the data transfer method due to morphological similarity attributable to historical reasons.
Causal Disentangled Recommendation against User Preference Shifts
Authors: Wang Wenjie , Lin Xinyu , Wang Liuhui , Feng Fuli , Ma Yunshan , Chua Tat-Seng
Published: April 2023

Recommender systems easily face the issue of user preference shifts. User representations will become out-of-date and lead to inappropriate recommendations if user preference has shifted over time. To solve the issue, existing work focuses on learning robust representations or predicting the shifting pattern. There lacks a comprehensive view to discover the underlying reasons for user preference shifts. To understand the preference shift, we abstract a causal graph to describe the generation procedure of user interaction sequences. Assuming user preference is stable within a short period, we abstract the interaction sequence as a set of chronological environments. From the causal graph, we find that the changes of some unobserved factors (e.g., becoming pregnant) cause preference shifts between environments. Besides, the fine-grained user preference over item categories sparsely affects the interactions with different items. Inspired by the causal graph, our key considerations to handle preference shifts lie in modeling the interaction generation procedure by: (1) capturing the preference shifts across environments for accurate preference prediction and (2) disentangling the sparse influence from user preference to interactions for accurate effect estimation of preference. To this end, we propose a Causal Disentangled Recommendation (CDR) framework, which captures preference shifts via a temporal variational autoencoder and learns the sparse influence from multiple environments. Specifically, an encoder is adopted to infer the unobserved factors from user interactions while a decoder is to model the interaction generation process. Besides, we introduce two learnable matrices to disentangle the sparse influence from user preference to interactions. Last, we devise a multi-objective loss to optimize CDR. Extensive experiments on three datasets show the superiority of CDR in enhancing the generalization ability under user preference shifts.
Metabolic profiling of in vivo right ventricular function and exercise performance in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Simpson Catherine E. , Coursen Julie , Hsu Steven , Gough Ethan K. , Harlan Robert , Roux Aurelie , Aja Susan , Graham David , Kauffman Matthew , Suresh Karthik , Tedford Ryan J. , Kolb Todd M. , Mathai Stephen C. , Hassoun Paul M. , Damico Rachel L.
Published: April 2023

In this cohort of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), we investigate metabolomic associations with comprehensive right ventricular (RV) functional measurements derived from multibeat RV pressure-volume loop analysis. Our results show that tryptophan metabolism, particularly the kynurenine pathway, is linked to intrinsic RV function and PAH pathobiology. Findings also highlight the importance of arginine bioavailability in the cardiopulmonary system’s response to exercise stress. Metabolite profiles selected via unbiased analysis outperformed N-terminal prohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in predicting load-independent measures of RV function at rest and cardiopulmonary system performance under stress. Overall, this work suggests the potential for select metabolites to function as disease-specific biomarkers, offers insights into PAH pathobiology, and informs discovery of potentially targetable RV-centric pathways.
Antiobesity Effect of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei LM‐141 on High‐Fat Diet‐Induced Rats through Alleviation of Inflammation and Insulin Resistance
Authors: Wu Ching-Shuang , Lin Chih-Chieh , Hsieh Feng-Ching , Wu Tai-Yun , Fang Ai-Hui
Published: April 2023

In this study, we set out to evaluate the antiobesity activities of our newly isolated Lacticaseibacillus paracasei LM‐141 (LPLM141) using a high‐fat diet (HFD)‐fed rat model. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with a HFD with or without low‐dosage (2 × 107 CFU/day per rat) or high‐dosage (2 × 109 CFU/day per rat) LPLM141 for 14 weeks. The results showed that administration of LPLM141 significantly decreased body weight gain, liver weight, adipose tissue weight, and epididymal white adipocyte size increased by HFD feeding. The abnormal serum lipid profile induced by HFD feeding was normalized by administration of LPLM141. The enhanced chronic low‐grade inflammation in HFD‐fed rats was reduced by LPLM141 supplementation, as reflected by decreased serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) levels, reduced macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue, and increased serum adiponectin concentration. In addition, the elevations of proinflammatory cytokine genes and suppression of PPAR‐γ mRNA in adipose tissues of rats fed with a HFD were markedly reversed by LPLM141 administration. Oral administration of LPLM141 induced browning of epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) and activation of interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) in rats fed with HFD. Consumption of LPLM141 exhibited a significant amelioration in insulin resistance, which were mechanistically caused by downregulation of the serum leptin level and upregulation of hepatic IRS‐1 and p‐Akt protein expressions, in HFD treated rats. LPLM141 consumption significantly decreased hepatic lipogenic gene expressions and preserved liver function stimulated by HFD treatment. Administration of LPLM141 obviously mitigated hepatic steatosis observed in HFD feeding rats. Our current findings shed light on LPLM141 supplementation that exhibited an antiobesity effect in HFD‐fed rats by alleviating inflammation and insulin resistance, which further highlighted the potential of utilizing LPLM141 as a preventive/therapeutic probiotic agent for obesity.
The Utility of Bronchoscopy in Hydralazine-Induced ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
Authors: Khosla Atulya Aman , Saunders Hollie , Helgeson Scott , Hikida Hiroshi , Aslam Nabeel , Salem Fadi , Albadri Sam , Baig Hassan
Published: April 2023

Hydralazine is a vasodilator used for the management of hypertension, heart failure, and hypertensive emergencies in pregnancy. It has been implicated in the causation of drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DLE) and rarely with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), which may present as a pulmonary-renal syndrome and be rapidly fatal. Herein, we describe a case of hydralazine-associated AAV presenting as acute kidney injury with the use of early bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with serial aliquots to aid with diagnosis. Our case highlights how, in the correct clinical setting, BAL can act as a rapid diagnostic test to help guide quicker treatment to allow for better patient outcomes.
Body Weight Management in Healthy Humans Using Low-Sugar and High-Dietary Fiber Noodles : A Single Group Pre-Post Trial
Authors: Kadokura Kazunari , Tomita Tsuyoshi , Toyama Haruki , Ohnuki Koichiro , Suruga Kohei
Published: April 2023

Background. The recommendation of the low-carbohydrate diet by the American Diabetes Association (2013) has popularized its use as a nutritional treatment. Previously, we evaluated the effects of a novel strategy to reduce dietary intake based on low-sugar, high-dietary fiber noodles (LS-HDFNs) composed of okara and konjac on blood glucose levels in healthy animals, animal models of type 2 diabetes, and healthy humans (the single meal test). In this study, a single group pre-post trial for 28 days administration was carried out to investigate the body weight management in healthy humans using LS-HDFNs. Methods. Nine healthy subjects were requested to eat LS-HDFNs once (180 g) daily for 28 days. Physical characteristics and blood biochemical parameters were measured before (0 day) and after (28 days) the consumption of the noodles. Qualitative analysis of compounds in the noodles was investigated by the HPLC system and the UPLC/qTOF-MS system. Results. The LS-HDFNs group did not exhibit any complications or adverse effects. Furthermore, the body weights, body fat percentage, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly reduced after 28 days of LS-HDFNs consumption. Some isoflavones, amino acids, peptides, and phospholipids were contained in the LS-HDFNs. Conclusion. As per our knowledge, this is the first study of the usefulness of consumption of LS-HDFNs for 28 days for body weight management in healthy humans. LS-HDFNs may be useful for body weight management. This trial is registered with number 2020002, registered on 2nd March 2020.
The Regulation of Plasma Interleukin-6 Levels Is Modified by Hippocampal Sclerosis and Its Lateralization in Drug-Resistant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Authors: Peltola Maria , Basnyat Pabitra , Liimatainen Suvi , Rainesalo Sirpa , Pesu Marko , Peltola Jukka
Published: April 2023

Background. Several studies have reported the association of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), but the regulation of IL-6 in hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is less studied. Objectives. To analyse IL-6 levels and the IL-6/IL-10 ratio in a larger, well-characterized group of patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy (DRE), focusing especially on TLE and TLE-associated HS. Methods. IL-6 levels were measured by ELISA in plasma in a cross-sectional cohort of 265 patients comprising TLE with HS (

n
=
34

), TLE without HS (

n
=
103

), extratemporal lobe epilepsy (

n
=
92

), and idiopathic generalized epilepsy (

n
=
36

). Results. The IL-6/IL-10 ratio was higher in TLE with HS than in TLE without HS (3.1 vs. 1.6,

p
=
0.042

), whereas the median levels of IL-6 did not differ among epilepsy types. TLE without HS patients had a higher proportion of increased IL-6 levels than TLE with HS patients (

p
=
0.021

). Additionally, IL-6 levels were higher in patients with right-sided HS than in those with left lateralization (1.71 vs. 0.80 pg/mL,

p
=
0.04

). In TLE with HS patients, IL-6 levels showed a negative correlation with seizure frequency during the last month (

r
=
−
0.342

;

p
=
0.047

), whereas in TLE without HS patients, the correlation was positive but did not reach significance (

r
=
0.136

;

p
=
0.169

). Conclusion. IL-6 levels and the IL-6/IL-10 ratio are differentially regulated among patients with TLE depending on the presence of HS and its lateralization, suggesting that TLE with HS is a distinct category regarding cytokine activation.