bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The origin of Ti 1s XANES main edge shifts and EXAFS oscillations in the energy storage materials Ti2CT
x
and Ti3C2T
x
MXenes
Authors: Näslund Lars-Åke , Magnuson Martin
Published: May 2023

A potential application of two-dimensional (2D) MXenes, such as Ti2CT
x
and Ti3C2T
x
, is energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors, batteries, and hydride electrochemical cells, where intercalation of ions between the 2D layers is considered as a charge carrier. Electrochemical cycling investigations in combination with Ti 1s x-ray absorption spectroscopy have therefore been performed with the objective to study oxidation state changes during potential variations. In some of these studies Ti3C2T
x
has shown main edge shifts in the Ti 1s x-ray absorption near-edge structure. Here we show that these main edge shifts originate from the Ti 4p orbital involvement in the bonding between the surface Ti and the termination species at the fcc-sites. The study further shows that the t
2g

–eg
crystal field splitting (10Dq) observed in the pre-edge absorption region indicate weaker Ti–C bonds in Ti2CT
x
and Ti3C2T
x
compared to TiC and the corresponding MAX phases. The results from this study provide information necessary for improved electronic modeling and subsequently a better description of the materials properties of the MXenes. In general, potential applications, where surface interactions with intercalation elements are important processes, will benefit from the new knowledge presented.
Encrypted optical fiber tag based on encoded fiber Bragg grating array
Authors: Cai Zhihao , Li Bozhe , Bai Zhiyong , Liu Dejun , Yang Kaiming , Liu Bonan , Zhao Cong , Zou Mengqiang , Zhou Jie , Jiang Shangben , Huang Jingyi , Liu Li , Zhang Xuming , Qu Junle , Wang Yiping , Liao Changrui
Published: May 2023

Optical fibers are typically used in telecommunications services for data transmission, where the use of fiber tags is essential to distinguish between the different transmission fibers or channels and thus ensure the working functionality of the communication system. Traditional physical entity marking methods for fiber labeling are bulky, easily confused, and, most importantly, the label information can be accessed easily by all potential users. This work proposes an encrypted optical fiber tag based on an encoded fiber Bragg grating (FBG) array that is fabricated using a point-by-point femtosecond laser pulse chain inscription method. Gratings with different resonant wavelengths and reflectivities are realized by adjusting the grating period and the refractive index modulations. It is demonstrated that a binary data sequence carried by a fiber tag can be inscribed into the fiber core in the form of an FBG array, and the tag data can be encrypted through appropriate design of the spatial distributions of the FBGs with various reflection wavelengths and reflectivities. The proposed fiber tag technology can be used for applications in port identification, encrypted data storage, and transmission in fiber networks.
Fabrication of polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based 3D electronics with fine resolution by a hydrophobic treatment assisted hybrid additive manufacturing method
Authors: Wu Liexin , Meng Li , Wang Yueyue , Lv Ming , Ouyang Taoyuan , Wang Yilin , Zeng Xiaoyan
Published: May 2023

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a free-form technology that shows great potential in the integrated creation of three-dimensional (3D) electronics. However, the fabrication of 3D conformal circuits that fulfill the requirements of high service temperature, high conductivity and high resolution remains a challenge. In this paper, a hybrid AM method combining the fused deposition modeling (FDM) and hydrophobic treatment assisted laser activation metallization (LAM) was proposed for manufacturing the polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based 3D electronics, by which the conformal copper patterns were deposited on the 3D-printed PEEK parts, and the adhesion between them reached the 5B high level. Moreover, the 3D components could support the thermal cycling test from −55 °C to 125 °C for more than 100 cycles. Particularly, the application of a hydrophobic coating on the FDM-printed PEEK before LAM can promote an ideal catalytic selectivity on its surface, not affected by the inevitable printing borders and pores in the FDM-printed parts, then making the resolution of the electroless plated copper lines improved significantly. In consequence, Cu lines with width and spacing of only 60 µm and 100 µm were obtained on both as-printed and after-polished PEEK substrates. Finally, the potential of this technique to fabricate 3D conformal electronics was demonstrated.
Electric-driven flexible-roller nanoimprint lithography on the stress-sensitive warped wafer
Authors: Fan Yu , Wang Chunhui , Sun Jiaxing , Peng Xiaogang , Tian Hongmiao , Li Xiangming , Chen Xiaoliang , Chen Xiaoming , Shao Jinyou
Published: May 2023

Surface nanopatterning of semiconductor optoelectronic devices is a powerful way to improve their quality and performance. However, photoelectric devices’ inherent stress sensitivity and inevitable warpage pose a huge challenge on fabricating nanostructures large-scale. Electric-driven flexible-roller nanoimprint lithography for nanopatterning the optoelectronic wafer is proposed in this study. The flexible nanoimprint template twining around a roller is continuously released and recovered, controlled by the roller’s simple motion. The electric field applied to the template and substrate provides the driving force. The contact line of the template and the substrate gradually moves with the roller to enable scanning and adapting to the entire warped substrate, under the electric field. In addition, the driving force generated from electric field is applied to the surface of substrate, so that the substrate is free from external pressure. Furthermore, liquid resist completely fills in microcavities on the template by powerful electric field force, to ensure the fidelity of the nanostructures. The proposed nanoimprint technology is validated on the prototype. Finally, nano-grating structures are fabricated on a gallium nitride light-emitting diode chip adopting the solution, achieving polarization of the light source.
A review on micro-drilling by electrochemical discharge machining
Authors: P S Sourav , Singh Shashank , Malik Anup
Published: May 2023

The electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) process is a hybrid of electric discharge machining and electrochemical machining. It was developed to overcome the limitations of other machining technologies on the micromachining of non-conducting materials. The performance of the process depends on various parameters. In this review article, the implications of input parameters on machining performance have been covered in detail. It is observed that various input parameter levels give different rate and quality of machining. A higher applied voltage and electrolyte concentration give a higher material removal rate but has adverse effects such as overcutting and heat-affected zone. The optimum process parameters for better material removal rate and surface quality have been discussed. The ECDM technique has undergone numerous modifications to meet various machining needs. The main ECDM process variants have been thoroughly examined. A wide variety of non-conducting materials, including glass, ceramics, and reinforced composites, have been successfully machined using the ECDM technique. The applications of the ECDM process have been examined and addressed. Potential future research directions and present advancements have also been presented.
Representations of Drag Culture
Authors: Brennan Niall
Published: May 2023

Drag may be understood as performing a gender other than one’s self-identified gender. Drag is therefore underpinned by the concept of gender performativity, or acts that naturalize constructs of gender, yet drag complicates gender performativity by imitating and parodying such “natural” performances of gender. Drag is also underpinned by camp, a sensibility combining incongruity, theatricality, and humor emanating from the 1960s gay liberation movement and more recently appropriated by heteronormative culture industries, bringing forth the need to differentiate queer (political) from gay (mainstream) camp deployment. In American popular culture, the focus of this entry, drag most closely approximates cross-dressing as a mainly humorous narrative trope involving a duplicitous cross-dresser (and knowing viewer) and a duped (and often amorous) “victim.” Cross-dressing therefore should be discerned from transvestism, which involves greater subjective investment in performing a gendered other, and from the antiquated terminology of transsexualism, which implies the desire to become a gendered other. In these differences, drag can invoke gender, race, and ethnicity with different levels of performative consequence, such that women and Black men performing drag assume historical and institutional significance differently from (white) men role-playing as women. Lastly, RuPaul’s Drag Race, the American reality/competition television series, has brought drag into global, commercial mainstream culture by establishing drag as a paradigmatic, professionalized set of performances. While Drag Race has moved queer politics into public discourse with greater visibility for LGBTQ+ peoples and communities, the reality series has circumscribed “winning” and “losing” versions of drag and, by consequence, versions of gender performativity, most notably by circumscribing the boundaries of drag between gender performativity and transgender identities.
Sound Studies and Speech Rhetoric
Authors: Eckstein Justin
Published: May 2023

The communication discipline has a unique take on the intersection of sound and rhetoric that comes from the history of speech. While scholars of composition examined text as a way to understand sound and rhetoric, the legacy of public speaking teachers (who insisted that speech expressed something beyond the text itself) led to a foundational shift. Speech rhetoric gave birth to a new set of objects, research, and instruction around sound. The public conditions and topoi that help determine signal from noise create a robust area of study. While there are different avenues around how sound is known, each gets at this basic intersection of sound and the contingent of a civic movement that makes up the center of the communication discipline’s unique contribution to the interdisciplinary conversation on rhetoric.

The unique configuration of sound and rhetoric that makes up speech was born from the history of communication studies. The vocality inherent in a speech of any form is about drawing relations together in time’s presence, something not captured by the metaphor of the text. Speech as metaphor gives rise to three facets of investigation into rhetoric. The first focuses on sound’s pre-symbolic and pre-cognitive influence on the listener. The second examines sound’s unique contributions to speechmaking from both the speaker’s perspective and the listener’s; it asks how sound serves as a resource for invention and what individual opportunities and constraints it produces. Lastly, the examination moves from individual to societal as speech becomes a mode for public advocacy and cultural exchange, adding to the broader conversation on rhetoric across disciplines.
Women in Eritrea
Authors: Belloni Milena
Published: May 2023

The understanding of womanhood in Eritrea reflects the country’s complex ethnic mosaic, social divides, and stratified history. Given the paucity of sources, understanding of women in traditional precolonial society is mediated by the accounts of colonial ethnographers. These accounts tend to produce an overall image of a patriarchal society in which women had little or no power. However, studies in the early 21st century have highlighted how women also assumed important responsibilities in traditional societies, and in some cases in negotiations with colonial rulers. Indigenous women played an important symbolic role during the Italian colonial period as objects of conquest, domination, and violence. However, the economic and social transformations triggered by the colonial administration indirectly allowed Indigenous women to enlarge the spectrum of gender expectations characterizing traditional societies. Women became laborers, business owners, heads of households, and concubines playing important political and cultural roles and mediating between Indigenous and colonial societies. With the end of Italian rule and emergence of the nationalist movement, some Indigenous women became active in the arts, theater, and then the political struggle for Eritrean independence. Many women actively participated in the thirty-year struggle against Ethiopia, and this led to a revolution in the way of thinking about gender equality, womanhood, and the female body. However, this cultural shift had limited effects on wider society. Notwithstanding the important legal recognition of women’s rights after independence in 1993, society remains overwhelmingly patriarchal. While some women engaged in the struggle for independence, others became refugees in Sudan or were pioneers of international migration, supporting their families and the nation in times of crisis; Eritrean women made up the bulk of those who moved to Italy and the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1990s, womanhood in Eritrea is characterized by the coexistence of contradictory models of femininity, which range from a patriarchal understanding of women as mothers and wives to a conception of women as fighters, breadwinners, and migrants.
Islamic Bioethics: Milk Banks
Authors: Bouzenita Anke Iman
Published: May 2023

Breastfeeding (al-riḍāʿah) is a traditionally widespread phenomenon in Islamic culture. As breastfeeding of other than the own biological children establishes a foster relationship which leads to the prohibition of marriage (taḥrῑm) between the breastfed infant, the wet nurse, and a specified number of other persons, there are several religious legal and cultural inhibitions among Muslims regarding the use of donor milk from unidentified sources. This article provides an insight into the reception of milk banks in the Islamic world as against the culturally unique background of foster relations.
Philosophy of the Anthropocene
Authors: Dutreuil Sébastien , Charbonnier Pierre
Published: May 2023

The Anthropocene was proposed in 2000 as the name of a new geological epoch, succeeding to the Holocene, and marked by the influence of humanity as a biological species on its geological environment. It has resonated differently in three major epistemological domains, where the configurations of the debate has varied. For Earth system science, within which the term emerged, the Anthropocene was a keyword encompassing and stimulating large research programs which stimulated original and new scientific investigations and synthesis. The term had a more specific and evidential meaning for the geological community, which seized it after 2008. Documenting empirically the Anthropocene meant different things for these two scientific communities: tracking down every single impact humanity has on the environment on which humanity depends upon to survive for the former; analyzing how this influence can be documented in Earth’s strata for the latter. These two different epistemological regimes are intertwined with two different normative registers. Earth system science assumed from the very start a normative position: international experts elaborate normative concepts and produce scientific synthesis meant to define the conceptual space, quantitatively delimited, within which political decisions related to global environmental issues ought to be taken. By contrast, geologists were more cautious, and for some, reluctant, to engage in normative issues; but political issues unavoidably emerged when the starting date was discussed. This politicization of the debate was accompanied by human and social sciences, seizing up the debate at the same time as geologists and lay public did, toward the end of the 2000s.
Environmental and Cultural Flows in Aotearoa and Australia
Authors: O'Donnell Erin , Macpherson Elizabeth
Published: May 2023

In settler colonial states like Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, water for the environment and the water rights of Indigenous Peoples often share the common experience of being too little and too late. Water pathways have been constrained and defined by settler colonialism, and as a result, settler state water law has both a legitimacy problem, in failing to acknowledge or implement the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a sustainability problem, as the health of water systems continues to decline. In both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, the focus of water law has historically been to facilitate use of the water resource to support economic development, excluding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and poorly protecting water ecosystems. However, in the early 21st century, both countries made significant advances in recognizing the needs of the environment and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) provides an important bicultural and bijural framework that is beginning to influence water management. In 2017, as part of a Treaty dispute settlement, Aotearoa New Zealand passed legislation to recognize Te Awa Tupua (the Whanganui River) as a legal person and created a new collaborative governance regime for the river, embedding the interests and values of Māori at the heart of river management. In Australia, water recovery processes to increase environmental flows have been under way since the 1990s, using a combination of water buybacks and water savings through increased efficiency. There has been growing awareness of Indigenous water rights in Australia, although progress to formally return water rights to Indigenous Peoples remains glacially slow. Like Aotearoa New Zealand, in 2017, Australia also passed its first legislation that recognized a river (the Birrarung/Yarra River) as a living entity and, in doing so, formally recognized the responsibilities of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people as Traditional Owners of the river. This trend toward more holistic river management under a relational paradigm, in which the relationships between peoples and places are centered and celebrated, creates a genuine opportunity for water governance in settler states that begins to address both the legitimacy and sustainability flaws in settler state water law. However, these symbolic shifts must be underpinned by relationships of genuine trust between Indigenous Peoples and the state, and they require significant investment from the state in their implementation.
Experimental study on NOx emission characteristics under oxy-fuel combustion
Authors: Wu Haibo , An Zhiyong , Zhang Kai , Mao Yu , Zheng Zhimin , Liu Zhaohui
Published: May 2023

This study focuses on the emission characteristics of NOx under oxy-fuel combustion conditions. A comparative analysis with air combustion was performed. NOx emission, control measures and influence factors under different working conditions were studied. Experiments were carried out on a 3-MWth test platform and a laboratory platform. The ‘π’-type furnace was adopted, with the furnace width of 2.6 m, depth of 2.0 m and height of 10.5 m for the 3-MWth coal-fired boiler. NOx emissions at different oxygen concentrations and different air distribution were investigated; the effects of H2O and CO2 concentration on denitrification efficiency and SO2/SO3 conversion rate were explored. Experiment results suggest that, compared with air combustion, NO concentration (volume basis) at the furnace outlet under oxy-fuel combustion is higher than that of air combustion, but the amount of NOx emissions in the discharged gas significantly decrease compared to the air combustion conditions. In addition, the formation of NOx can be effectively controlled through staged combustion. Furthermore, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitrification efficiency and the conversion rate of SO2 to SO3 decreases when the CO2 concentration and the H2O content increase, indicating that CO2 and H2O have an adverse effect on the performance of the catalyst. Additionally, compared with CO2 concentration, H2O content has a greater effect on catalyst performance.
Evaluation of series-parallel-cross-tied PV array configuration performance with maximum power point tracking techniques under partial shading conditions
Authors: Narne Dharani Kumar , Ramesh Kumar T A , Alla RamaKoteswaraRao
Published: May 2023

Tracking the maximum power point is a critical issue with solar systems. The power output of the solar panel varies due to variations in irradiance and temperature. Nonuniform irradiation due to partial shading conditions has a direct impact on the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) systems. To build a diversity of maximum power point tracking algorithms in solar PV systems, this work focuses on perturb and observe, incremental conductance, and fuzzy logic control methodologies. The suggested fuzzy logic control method outperformed the conventional incremental conductance and perturb and observe algorithms with a collection of 49 rules. This paper presents a novel series-parallel-cross-tied PV array configuration with a developed fuzzy methodology. To comment on the performance of a proposed system under various partial shading conditions, a series-parallel PV array configuration has been considered. The simulation result demonstrates that the fuzzy method has a percentage improvement in the global maximum power point tracking efficiency of 24.85% when compared to the perturb and observe method and a 65.5% improvement when compared to the incremental conductance method under long wide partial shading conditions. In the case of the middle partial shading condition, the fuzzy method has a percentage improvement in the global maximum power point tracking efficiency of 12.4% compared to the perturb and observe method and a 60.7% improvement compared to the incremental conductance method.
Decentralized solar-powered cooling systems for fresh fruit and vegetables to reduce post-harvest losses in developing regions: a review
Authors: Amjad Waseem , Munir Anjum , Akram Fatima , Parmar Aditya , Precoppe Marcelo , Asghar Furqan , Mahmood Faisal
Published: May 2023

The availability of on-farm storage and processing is a critical challenge facing small farmers, which hinders agricultural productivity. Thirty per cent of the food produced globally is lost after harvest, with the proportion being exceptionally high in low- and middle-income countries due to a lack of on-farm handling and storage facilities. Conventional cold-storage solutions have not taken off at the smallholder level, mainly due to a lack of availability and access to reliable grid electricity. Therefore, off-grid decentralized solar-powered cold-storage units can play a vital role in preserving the produce at production sites and enhancing livelihood and rural development with a minimal carbon footprint. To maintain low temperatures at every step of the agricultural value chain, known as the ‘cold chain’, several technology vendors aim to improve the shelf life and user benefit. Small-scale farmers, which account for two-thirds of all food losses, are another group they focus on. This study examines the existing situation, importance and potential opportunities of decentralized cold-storage systems for fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition to economic, social, technological and environmental limitations, this study examines the triumphs and challenges of incorporating solar-energy-powered cold storage into developing communities. Although the private sector, NGOs and some government agencies are working to promote decentralized cold-storage facilities, relatively little has been done so far to have a significant influence on post-harvest losses and food security. There are still knowledge gaps on decentralized cold-storage facilities. The primary operational constraint is the economic situation of end users and the lack of financing alternatives for smallholder farmers.
Design and optimization of CSP power plants for Pakistan: a comparative study
Authors: Liaqat Kashif , Ordonez Juan C
Published: May 2023

Despite having very high solar irradiance, Pakistan still does not have any installed concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. Several studies have shown that multiple locations within the country are suitable for CSP plants, but there is limited availability of comprehensive comparative studies. Therefore, this article presents a comparative analysis of different CSP technologies in Pakistan, focusing on their potential to address the country’s energy crisis. The study evaluates the pros and cons of different CSP technologies at various locations through site assessment, modelling, optimization and economic analysis using the System Advisor Model. Quetta and Nawabshah were selected as the locations for modelling multiple scenarios of 100-MW plants, using central receiver systems, parabolic trough collectors and linear Fresnel reflectors. The plants were integrated with thermal energy storage and the storage capacity was optimized using parametric analysis. The results showed that a central receiver system for the location of Quetta was the most favourable option, with an annual energy yield of 622 GWh at 7.44 cents/kWh, followed by a central receiver system for Nawabshah (608 GWh, 9.03 cents/kWh). This study is the first to show that switching between line-concentrated and point-concentrated CSP technologies can open new opportunities for sites in Pakistan with relatively high solar resources, resulting in a 21.3% reduction in the levelized cost.
Usefulness of Serum Leucine-rich Alpha 2 Glycoprotein in Crohn’s Disease: Is There Any Difference between Small Intestine and Colonic Lesions?
Authors: Matsumoto Satohiro , Mashima Hirosato
Published: May 2023

Background

The usefulness of leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein (LRG) to evaluate Crohn’s disease (CD) activity differs among various intestinal lesions. We aimed to evaluate the association between endoscopic disease activity based on the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s disease (SES-CD) and LRG level separately for small intestinal and colonic lesions.

Methods

We examined the correlation between LRG level and SES-CD and performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine the LRG cutoff value in 141 patients who underwent endoscopy (total 235 measurements). Furthermore, the LRG cutoff value was analyzed by comparing small intestinal and colonic lesions.

Results

LRG levels were significantly higher in patients without mucosal healing than in those with mucosal healing (15.9 μg/mL vs 10.5 μg/mL, P < .0001). The LRG cutoff value for mucosal healing was 14.3 μg/mL (area under the ROC curve [AUC]: 0.80; sensitivity: 0.89; specificity: 0.63). The LRG cutoff value for patients with type L1 was 14.3 μg/mL (sensitivity: 0.91; specificity: 0.53), and that for patients with type L2 was 14.0 μg/mL (sensitivity: 0.95; specificity: 0.73). The diagnostic performance (AUC) of LRG and C-reactive protein (CRP) for mucosal healing was, respectively, 0.75 and 0.60 (P = 0.01) in patients with type L1 and 0.80 and 0.85 (P = 0.90) in patients with type L2.

Conclusions

The optimal LRG cutoff value for evaluating mucosal healing in CD is 14.3 μg/mL. LRG is more useful than CRP for predicting mucosal healing in patients with type L1. The superiority of LRG to CRP differs between small intestinal and colonic lesions.
Septal radioablation therapy for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: first-in-human study
Authors: Li Xuping , Zhu Zhaowei , Liu Jun , Gao Yawen , Xiao Yichao , Fang Zhenfei , Liu Qiming , Liu Xianling , Hu Chunhong , Ma Fang , Zeng Mu , Liu Zhi , Hu Lin , Liu Na , Xiang Fan , Hu Xinqun , Huang Lihong , Zhou Shenghua
Published: May 2023

Aims

There is still no non-invasive septal reduction therapy for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). This study aimed to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in patients with drug-refractory symptomatic HOCM.

Methods and results

The radiation target of ventricular septum was determined by multiple anatomical imaging. Stereotactic body radiotherapy was performed with standard techniques. Patients were treated with a single fraction of 25 Gy, followed up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months by clinical visit. Five patients were enrolled and completed the 12 months follow-up. The mean radioablation time was 21.6 min, and the mean target volume was 10.5 cm3. All five patients survived and showed improvements in symptoms after SBRT. At 12 months post-SBRT, the echocardiography-derived left ventricular outflow tract gradient decreased from 88 mmHg (range, 63–105) to 52 mmHg (range, 36–66) at rest and from 101 mmHg (range, 72–121) to 74 mmHg (range, 65–100) after Valsalva. The end-diastolic thickness of the targeted septum reduced from 23.7 mm (range, 20.3–29) to 22.4 mm (range, 19.7–26.5); 6 min walking distance increased from 190.4 m (range, 50–370) to 412.0 m (range, 320–480). All patients presented with new fibrosis in the irradiated septum area. No radiation-related complications were observed during SBRT and up to 12 months post procedure.

Conclusion

The current study suggests that SBRT might be a feasible radioablation therapeutic option for patients with drug-refractory symptomatic HOCM.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04686487
Comparative analysis of machine learning vs. traditional modeling approaches for predicting in-hospital mortality after cardiac surgery: temporal and spatial external validation based on a nationwide cardiac surgery registry
Authors: Zeng Juntong , Zhang Danwei , Lin Shen , Su Xiaoting , Wang Peng , Zhao Yan , Zheng Zhe
Published: May 2023

Aims

Preoperative risk assessment is crucial for cardiac surgery. Although previous studies suggested machine learning (ML) may improve in-hospital mortality predictions after cardiac surgery compared to traditional modeling approaches, the validity is doubted due to lacking external validation, limited sample sizes, and inadequate modeling considerations. We aimed to assess predictive performance between ML and traditional modelling approaches, while addressing these major limitations.

Methods and results

Adult cardiac surgery cases (n = 168 565) between 2013 and 2018 in the Chinese Cardiac Surgery Registry were used to develop, validate, and compare various ML vs. logistic regression (LR) models. The dataset was split for temporal (2013–2017 for training, 2018 for testing) and spatial (geographically-stratified random selection of 83 centers for training, 22 for testing) experiments, respectively. Model performances were evaluated in testing sets for discrimination and calibration. The overall in-hospital mortality was 1.9%. In the temporal testing set (n = 32 184), the best-performing ML model demonstrated a similar area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.797 (95% CI 0.779–0.815) to the LR model (AUC 0.791 [95% CI 0.775–0.808]; P = 0.12). In the spatial experiment (n = 28 323), the best ML model showed a statistically better but modest performance improvement (AUC 0.732 [95% CI 0.710–0.754]) than LR (AUC 0.713 [95% CI 0.691–0.737]; P = 0.002). Varying feature selection methods had relatively smaller effects on ML models. Most ML and LR models were significantly miscalibrated.

Conclusion

ML provided only marginal improvements over traditional modelling approaches in predicting cardiac surgery mortality with routine preoperative variables, which calls for more judicious use of ML in practice.
Heart failure, peripheral artery disease, and dapagliflozin: a patient-level meta-analysis of DAPA-HF and DELIVER
Authors: Butt Jawad H , Kondo Toru , Yang Mingming , Jhund Pardeep S , Docherty Kieran F , Vaduganathan Muthiah , Claggett Brian L , Hernandez Adrian F , Lam Carolyn S P , Inzucchi Silvio E , Martinez Felipe A , de Boer Rudolf A , Kosiborod Mikhail N , Desai Akshay S , Køber Lars , Ponikowski Piotr , Sabatine Marc S , Shah Sanjiv J , Zaozerska Natalia , Wilderäng Ulrica , Bengtsson Olof , Solomon Scott D , McMurray John J V
Published: May 2023

Aims

Because an increased risk of amputation with canagliflozin was reported in the CANVAS trials, there has been a concern about the safety of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who are at higher risk of amputation.

Methods and results

A patient-level pooled analysis of the DAPA-HF and DELIVER trials, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of dapagliflozin in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced, mildly reduced/preserved ejection fraction, respectively, was conducted. In both trials, the primary outcome was the composite of worsening HF or cardiovascular death, and amputation was a prespecified safety outcome. Peripheral artery disease history was available for 11 005 of the total 11 007 patients. Peripheral artery disease was reported in 809 of the 11 005 patients (7.4%). Median follow-up was 22 months (interquartile range 17–30). The rate of the primary outcome (per 100 person-years) was higher in PAD patients than that in non-PAD patients: 15.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.1–17.3) vs. 10.6 (10.2–11.1]; adjusted hazard ratio 1.23 (95% CI 1.06–1.43). The benefit of dapagliflozin on the primary outcome was consistent in patients with [hazard ratio 0.71 (95% CI 0.54–0.94)] and without PAD [0.80 (95% CI 0.73–0.88)] (Pinteraction = 0.39). Amputations, while more frequent in PAD patients, were not more common with dapagliflozin, compared with placebo, irrespective of PAD status (PAD, placebo 4.2% vs. dapagliflozin 3.7%; no PAD, placebo 0.4% vs. dapagliflozin 0.4%) (Pinteraction = 1.00). Infection rather than ischaemia was the main trigger for amputation, even in patients with PAD.

Conclusion

The risk of worsening HF or cardiovascular death was higher in patients with PAD, as was the risk of amputation. The benefits of dapagliflozin were consistent in patients with and without PAD, and dapagliflozin did not increase the risk of amputation.
Dapagliflozin and diuretic utilization in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: the DELIVER trial
Authors: Chatur Safia , Vaduganathan Muthiah , Claggett Brian , Vardeny Orly , Desai Akshay S , Jhund Pardeep S , de Boer Rudolf A , Lam Carolyn S P , Kosiborod Mikhail N , Shah Sanjiv J , Martinez Felipe , Inzucchi Silvio E , Hernandez Adrian F , Haddad Tariq , Mitter Sumeet S , Miao Zi Michael , Petersson Magnus , Maria Langkilde Anna , McMurray John J V , Solomon Scott D
Published: May 2023

Aims

Dapagliflozin reduced the combined risk of worsening heart failure or cardiovascular death among patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction. In this study, the safety and efficacy of dapagliflozin according to background diuretic therapy and the influence of dapagliflozin on longitudinal diuretic use were evaluated.

Methods and results

In this pre-specified analysis of the Dapagliflozin Evaluation to Improve the LIVEs of Patients With Preserved Ejection Fraction Heart Failure (DELIVER) trial, the effects of dapagliflozin vs. placebo were assessed in the following subgroups: no diuretic, non-loop diuretic, and loop diuretic furosemide equivalent doses of <40, 40, and >40 mg, respectively. Of the 6263 randomized patients, 683 (10.9%) were on no diuretic, 769 (12.3%) were on a non-loop diuretic, and 4811 (76.8%) were on a loop diuretic at baseline. Treatment benefits of dapagliflozin on the primary composite outcome were consistent by diuretic use categories (P  interaction = 0.64) or loop diuretic dose (P  interaction = 0.57). Serious adverse events were similar between dapagliflozin and placebo arms, irrespective of diuretic use or dosing. Dapagliflozin reduced new initiation of loop diuretics by 32% [hazard ratio (HR) 0.68; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55–0.84, P < 0.001] but did not influence discontinuations/disruptions (HR 0.98; 95% CI: 0.86–1.13, P = 0.83) in follow-up. First sustained loop diuretic dose increases were less frequent, and sustained dose decreases were more frequent in patients treated with dapagliflozin: net difference of −6.5% (95% CI: −9.4 to −3.6; P < 0.001). The mean dose of loop diuretic increased over time in the placebo arm, a longitudinal increase that was significantly attenuated with treatment with dapagliflozin (placebo-corrected treatment effect of −2.5 mg/year; 95% CI: −1.5, −3.7, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

In patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction, the clinical benefits of dapagliflozin relative to placebo were consistent across a wide range of diuretic categories and doses with a similar safety profile. Treatment with dapagliflozin significantly reduced new loop diuretic requirement over time.
CoVEffect: interactive system for mining the effects of SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variants based on deep learning
Authors: Serna García Giuseppe , Al Khalaf Ruba , Invernici Francesco , Ceri Stefano , Bernasconi Anna
Published: May 2023

Background

Literature about SARS-CoV-2 widely discusses the effects of variations that have spread in the past 3 years. Such information is dispersed in the texts of several research articles, hindering the possibility of practically integrating it with related datasets (e.g., millions of SARS-CoV-2 sequences available to the community). We aim to fill this gap, by mining literature abstracts to extract—for each variant/mutation—its related effects (in epidemiological, immunological, clinical, or viral kinetics terms) with labeled higher/lower levels in relation to the nonmutated virus.

Results

The proposed framework comprises (i) the provisioning of abstracts from a COVID-19–related big data corpus (CORD-19) and (ii) the identification of mutation/variant effects in abstracts using a GPT2-based prediction model. The above techniques enable the prediction of mutations/variants with their effects and levels in 2 distinct scenarios: (i) the batch annotation of the most relevant CORD-19 abstracts and (ii) the on-demand annotation of any user-selected CORD-19 abstract through the CoVEffect web application (http://gmql.eu/coveffect), which assists expert users with semiautomated data labeling. On the interface, users can inspect the predictions and correct them; user inputs can then extend the training dataset used by the prediction model. Our prototype model was trained through a carefully designed process, using a minimal and highly diversified pool of samples.

Conclusions

The CoVEffect interface serves for the assisted annotation of abstracts, allowing the download of curated datasets for further use in data integration or analysis pipelines. The overall framework can be adapted to resolve similar unstructured-to-structured text translation tasks, which are typical of biomedical domains.
Geodetic constraints of the 2015Mw6.5 Alor, East Indonesia earthquake: a strike-slip faulting in the convergent boundary
Authors: Xu Guangyu , Wen Yangmao , Yi Yaning , Guo Zelong , Wang Leyang , Xu Caijun
Published: May 2023

On 2015 November 4, an Mw 6.5 earthquake struck the east region of Alor Island, eastern Indonesia. Here, we use Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 data to explore the coseismic surface displacement of this earthquake. Based on the ALOS-2 coseismic interferograms, the first fault model and coseismic slip distribution of the 2015 Alor earthquake are presented in this study. The preferred slip model links to a blind south-southeast striking, south-southwest dipping strike-slip fault with amount of normal slip component and a peak slip of 2.09 m at 2.34 km of depth. Considering the fact that the ascending and descending InSAR prediction of the distributed slip model does not fit the InSAR observations at the northwest and southeast tips with the simple planar fault model. We tried to construct a strike-variable fault model to further improve data fit. The results of the calculated Coulomb stress change imply that the regions with positive CFS changes mainly located at the northwest and southeast extremities of the rupture of the Alor earthquake, and in the lobes north and south of the rupture. The most striking discovery from the InSAR observations of the Alor earthquake is that most of the displacements occurred on a fault whose existence was unknown before the earthquake.
Thermo-poro-viscoelastic response of a disc-shaped inclusion
Authors: Nespoli Massimo , Belardinelli Maria Elina , Bonafede Maurizio
Published: May 2023

The study of deformation sources in volcanic and geothermal fields is a topic of great importance that generates a large debate in the scientific literature. A correct interpretation of the deformation sources acting in a volcanic context is crucial to distinguish between the mechanical effects due to the tectonic of the area, the intrusion of new magma and/or the mechanical response of rocks to temperature or pore pressure changes. In the recent literature, thermo-poro-elastic (TPE) inclusions were proposed as possible deformation sources that can explain seismicity and displacements even in absence of the emplacement of new magma. In fact, TPE inclusions allow us to compute the mechanical effects due to temperature and pore-pressure changes brought by the arrival of hot and pressurized fluids permeating a closed volume. In the present work, we improve the modellization of such deformation sources to include the effects of viscoelasticity, which should be expected in high temperature and fluid saturated rocks due to thermally activated and pressure-solution creep. The analytical thermo-poro-viscoelastic (TPVE) solutions for a disc-shaped inclusion embedded in a uniform viscoelastic medium are obtained through the correspondence principle. Our results can be useful to represent transient effects of both deformation and stress fields that can occur in both volcanic and geothermal areas, which would be difficult to explain otherwise. In fact, TPE inclusion models predict that an increase of uplift occurs simultaneously with an increase of stress, and vice versa. Instead, we shall see that a TPVE inclusion can provide an increase of uplift even in presence of a strongly decreasing deviatoric stress. For this reason, a TPVE inclusion can be suitable to represent a decrease in seismicity rate accompanied by an increase in surface uplift, as observed, for example, during the ’82–’84 unrest phase of Campi Flegrei in Italy.
SIMPLACE—a versatile modelling and simulation framework for sustainable crops and agroecosystems
Authors: Enders Andreas , Vianna Murilo , Gaiser Thomas , Krauss Gunther , Webber Heidi , Srivastava Amit Kumar , Seidel Sabine Julia , Tewes Andreas , Rezaei Ehsan Eyshi , Ewert Frank
Published: May 2023

Agricultural system analysis has considerably evolved over the last years, allowing scientists to quantify complex interactions in crops and agroecosystems. Computer-based models have become a central tool for such analysis, using formulated mathematical representations (algorithms) of different biophysical processes to simulate complex system’s behaviour. Nevertheless, the current large variety of algorithms in combination with nonstandardization in their use limits rapid and rigorous model improvement and testing. This is particularly important because contextualization is a key aspect used to formulate the appropriate model structure for a specific research question, framing a clear demand for ‘next generation’ models being modular and flexible. This paper aims to describe the Scientific Impact assessment and Modelling PLatform for Advanced Crop and Ecosystem management (SIMPLACE), which has been developed over the last decade to address the various aforementioned issues and support appropriate model formulations and interoperability. We describe its main technical implementation and features to develop customized model solutions that can be applied to a number of cropping systems with high flexibility, performance and transparency. A brief review of exemplary applications of SIMPLACE is provided covering the different topics, crops and cropping systems, spatial scales and geographies. We stress that standardized documentation of modules, variables ontology and data archives are key requirements to maintain and assist model development and reproducibility. The increasing demand for more complex, diversified and integrated production systems (e.g. intercropping, livestock-grazing, agroforestry) and the associated impacts on sustainable food systems also require the strong collaboration of a multidisciplinary community of modellers and stakeholders.
Doors to the Homes: Signal Potential of Red Coloration of Claws in Social Hermit Crabs
Authors: Doherty C T M , Laidre M E
Published: May 2023

Synopsis

Red coloration on a signaler's body may be an informative signal in many animals. For species that inhabit architecture (e.g., burrows, nests, or other structures), certain parts of the body are more exposed than others, potentially serving as superior platforms for signaling via coloration. Yet whether animals differentially advertise red coloration on body parts that are more versus less exposed from their architecture remains to be tested. Here, we systematically quantified red coloration in social hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus). These crabs inhabit architecturally remodeled shells and have claws that visibly block the shell entrance, like doors to their homes. We hypothesized that red coloration of claws may be a signal of resource-holding potential (RHP). Consistent with this RHP signaling hypothesis, we found that within the same individuals’ bodies, exposed claws showed significantly greater red coloration than unexposed carapaces. Furthermore, larger body size predicted greater red coloration of claws. Competing hypotheses (e.g., interspecific signaling, camouflage, and UV protection), while not explicitly tested, nevertheless appear unlikely based on natural history. Red claw coloration may therefore function as a signal to conspecifics, and experiments are now needed to test recipient responses. Broadly, relative to surrounding architecture, exposed body surfaces offer rich potential as signaling platforms for coloration.
Prey-associated genetic differentiation in two species of silver fly (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), Leucotaraxis argenticollis and L. piniperda
Authors: Havill Nathan P , Bittner Tonya D , Andersen Jeremy C , Dietschler Nicholas J , Elkinton Joseph S , Gaimari Stephen D , Griffin Brian P , Zembrzuski Deanna , Whitmore Mark C
Published: May 2023

Sympatric host-associated genetic differentiation is a prominent pattern that could lead to speciation. In insects, there are numerous examples of host-associated differentiation among herbivores that prefer different plants, and parasitoids that prefer different hosts, but few examples for specialist predators. We developed new microsatellite loci for two species of silver fly, Leucotaraxis argenticollis (Zetterstedt) and L. piniperda (Malloch) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), being evaluated as biological control agents for the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), in eastern North America where it is a nonnative pest. We obtained DNA from specimens of both fly species feeding on native A. tsugae in western North America, as well as on other western and eastern adelgid species. We performed population genetic analyses using the new loci and DNA barcode sequences. Our results confirmed east–west allopatric divergence and uncovered nested genetic differentiation associated with different adelgid prey species and their host plants in western North America for both species of silver flies. For both species, there is also evidence for a longer history of diversification in the west, with ancestral specialization of feeding on pine adelgids, which was retained after range expansion to the east. More recently, divergence to feeding on new adelgid prey species occurred in the west. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that host-alternating life cycles in Adelgidae may provide temporary escape from specialist predators. We discuss the implications for biological control efficacy and potential for lineage hybridization as western flies are released in the east to control A. tsugae.