bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultrahigh Energy Storage Performance of BiFeO3‐BaTiO3 Flexible Film Capacitor with High‐Temperature Stability via Defect Design
Authors: Hu Yu‐Qing , Mattursun Abliz , Feng Min , Liu Ning‐Tao , Wang Hao‐Nan , Qu Ke , Deng Xing , Guan Zhao , Yang Zhen‐Zhong , Chen Bin‐Bin , Zhong Ni , Duan Chun‐Gang , Xiang Ping‐Hua
Published: July 2024

Nanoengineering polar oxide films have attracted great attention in energy storage due to their high energy density. However, most of them are deposited on thick and rigid substrates, which is not conducive to the integration of capacitors and applications in flexible electronics. Here, an alternative strategy using van der Waals epitaxial oxide dielectrics on ultra‐thin flexible mica substrates is developed and increased the disorder within the system through high laser flux. The introduction of defects can efficiently weaken or destroy the long‐range ferroelectric ordering, ultimately leading to the emergence of a large numbers of weak‐coupling regions. Such polarization configuration ensures fast polarization response and significantly improves energy storage characteristics. A flexible BiFeO3‐BaTiO3 (BF‐BT) capacitor exhibits a total energy density of 43.5 J cm−3 and an efficiency of 66.7% and maintains good energy storage performance over a wide temperature range (20–200 °C) and under large bending deformation (bending radii ≈ 2 mm). This study provides a feasible approach to improve the energy storage characteristics of dielectric oxide films and paves the way for their practical application in high‐energy density capacitors.
Lubricin‐Inspired Nanozymes Reconstruct Cartilage Lubrication System with an “In‐Out” Strategy
Authors: Du Chengcheng , Chen Zhuolin , Liu Senrui , Liu Jiacheng , Zhan Jingdi , Zou Jing , Liao Junyi , Huang Wei , Lei Yiting
Published: July 2024

Lubricin, secreted primarily by chondrocytes, plays a critical role in maintaining the function of the cartilage lubrication system. However, both external factors such as friction and internal factors like oxidative stress can disrupt this system, leading to osteoarthritis. Inspired by lubricin, a lubricating nanozyme, that is, Poly‐2‐acrylamide‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid sodium salt‐grafted aminofullerene, is developed to restore the cartilage lubrication system using an “In‐Out” strategy. The “Out” aspect involves reducing friction through a combination of hydration lubrication and ball‐bearing lubrication. Simultaneously, the “In” aspect aims to mitigate oxidative stress by reducing free radical, increasing autophagy, and improving the mitochondrial respiratory chain. This results in reduced chondrocyte senescence and increased lubricin production, enhancing the natural lubrication ability of cartilage. Transcriptome sequencing and Western blot results demonstrate that it enhances the functionality of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I, III, and V, thereby improving mitochondrial function in chondrocytes. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the lubricating nanozymes reduce cartilage wear, improve chondrocyte senescence, and mitigate oxidative stress damage, thereby mitigating the progression of osteoarthritis. These findings provide novel insights into treating diseases associated with oxidative stress and frictional damage, such as osteoarthritis, and set the stage for future research and development of therapeutic interventions.
Monitoring of compressive strength gain in mass concrete using embedded piezoelectric transducers
Authors: Ai Demi , Chen Chaokun , Zhu Hongping
Published: July 2024

This study extended the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique to monitor the 28‐day age of strength gain in mass concrete, although it has been validated in strength monitoring of a lab‐scaled concrete specimen. Embedded piezoelectric (PZT) transducer, namely, aluminum embedded PZT (AEP), that was wrapped by two sandwich aluminum pastes was proposed for EMI monitoring. The workability of the AEP was first verified via finite element analysis, where the effect of hydration heat on the EMI signature of the AEP was evaluated via numerical modeling and prior thermal test. In the experiment, totally four AEP transducers arranged at different loci were applied to monitor strength gain in a mass concrete specimen. As a comparison, the maturity method was also performed to estimate the strength of the specimen. Characteristics of EMI signature and its statistical indices including root mean square deviation (RMSD) and mean absolute percentage deviation (MAPD) were analyzed and correlated to strength development in mass concrete. Monitoring results indicated that the AEP transducers were capable of identifying the strength gain of mass concrete. The logarithmic function between the RMSD/MAPD index values and compressive strength perfectly predicted the strength development, which could be further employed for real‐life and in situ applications.
Pilot‐scale evaluation of cascade anaerobic digestion of mixed municipal wastewater treatment sludges
Authors: Zhu Yancong , Yu Daozhong , Koornneef Eddie , Parker Wayne J.
Published: July 2024

This work assessed the performance of a pilot‐scale cascade anaerobic digestion (AD) system when treating mixed municipal wastewater treatment sludges. The cascade system was compared with a conventional continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) digester (control) in terms of process performance, stability, and digestate quality. The results showed that the cascade system achieved higher volatile solids removal (VSR) efficiencies (28–48%) than that of the reference (25–41%) when operated at the same solids residence time (SRT) in the range of 11–15 days. When the SRT of the cascade system was reduced to 8 days the VSR (32–36%) was only slightly less than that of the reference digester that was operated at a 15‐day SRT (39–43%). Specific hydrolysis rates in the first stage of the cascade system were 66–152% higher than those of the reference. Additionally, the cascade system exhibited relatively stable effluent concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs: 100–120 mg/l), while the corresponding concentrations in the control effluent demonstrated greater fluctuations (100–160 mg/l). The cascade system's effluent pH and VFA/alkalinity ratios were consistently maintained within the optimal range. During a dynamic test when the feed total solids concentration was doubled, total VFA concentrations (85–120 mg/l) in the cascade system were noticeably less than those (100–170 mg/l) of the control, while the pH and VFA/alkalinity levels remained in a stable range. The cascade system achieved higher total solids (TS) content in the dewatered digestate (19.4–26.8%) than the control (17.4–22.1%), and E. coli log reductions (2.0–4.1 log MPN/g TS) were considerably higher (p < 0.05) than those in the control (1.3–2.9 log MPN/g TS). Overall, operating multiple CSTRs in cascade mode at typical SRTs and mixed sludge ratios enhanced the performance, stability digesters, and digestate quality of AD.

Practitioner Points

Enhanced digestion of mixed sludge digestion with cascade system.

Increased hydrolysis rates in the cascade system compared to a reference CSTR.

More stable conditions for methanogen growth at both steady and dynamic states.

Improved dewaterability and E. coli reduction of digestate from the cascade system.
Analysis of the effect of staple line reinforcement on leaking and bleeding after sleeve gastrectomy from the UK National Bariatric Surgery Registry
Authors: Niaz Osamah , Askari Alan , Currie Andrew , McGlone Emma Rose , Zakeri Roxanna , Khan Omar , Welbourn Richard , Pring Chris , Small Peter , Al‐Taan Omer , Mahawar Kamal , Mamidanna Ravikrishna
Published: July 2024

Introduction

Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is currently the most frequently performed procedure for obesity worldwide. Staple line reinforcement (SLR) has been suggested as a strategy to reduce the risk of staple line leak or bleeding; however, its use for SG in the United Kingdom (UK) is unknown. This study examined the effect of SLR on the development of postoperative complications from SG using a large national dataset from the UK.

Methods

Patients undergoing either primary or revision SG over 10 years from Jan 2012 to Dec 2021 were identified by the National Bariatric Surgery Registry. Comparative and logistic regression analyses were undertaken to determine the effect of SLR on staple line leak and bleeding.

Results

During this time, 14,231 patients underwent SG for whom there were complete data. Of these, 76.5% were female and the median age was 46 years (IQR: 36–53). The rate of surgical complications was 2.3% (n = 219/14,231). The incidence of bleeding was 1.3% (n = 179/14,231) and leak was 1.0% (n = 140/14,231). Over time, the use of SLR of any variety declined significantly from 99.7% in 2012 to 57.3% in 2021 (p < 0.001). Multivariable (adjusted) regression analysis demonstrated that neither the use of nor the type of reinforcement had any effect on the rate of bleeding or leaking.

Conclusion

SLR for SG has declined in the UK since 2012. There were no differences in staple line leak or bleed with or without reinforcement.
Mitochondrial Alpha-Keto Acid Dehydrogenase Complexes: Recent Developments on Structure and Function in Health and Disease
Authors: Szabo Eszter , Nagy Balint , Czajlik Andras , Komlodi Timea , Ozohanics Oliver , Tretter Laszlo , Ambrus Attila
Published: July 2024

The present work delves into the enigmatic world of mitochondrial alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complexes discussing their metabolic significance, enzymatic operation, moonlighting activities, and pathological relevance with links to underlying structural features. This ubiquitous family of related but diverse multienzyme complexes is involved in carbohydrate metabolism (pyruvate dehydrogenase complex), the citric acid cycle (α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex), and amino acid catabolism (branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex, α-ketoadipate dehydrogenase complex); the complexes all function at strategic points and also participate in regulation in these metabolic pathways. These systems are among the largest multienzyme complexes with at times more than 100 protein chains and weights ranging up to ~10 million Daltons. Our chapter offers a wealth of up-to-date information on these multienzyme complexes for a comprehensive understanding of their significance in health and disease.
Towards Improving the Correct Lyric Detection by Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
Authors: Yamamoto Hayato , Fels Deborah , Yasu Keiichi , Hiraga Rumi
Published: July 2024

Access to music for people who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HoH) includes the instrumental portion and the lyrics. While closed captioning can provide the lyrics in text format, it does not necessarily provide accurate timing of the lyrics with the instrumental portion. This study aims to clarify how vibrotactile stimuli affect understanding the onset timing of song lyrics for D/HoH people. To achieve this goal, we developed a system called VIBES: VIBrotactile Engagement for Songs that simultaneously provides music and vibration playback as an iPhone app. Unlike other vibrotactile systems for music, which focus primarily on the percussion/beat or frequencies of the instrumental portions, VIBES presents vibrations for the timing of vocal utterances, syllable by syllable. We conducted a study with 10 participants to determine the system’s effectiveness by comparing the understanding of lyric timing with vibration and sound only. Statistically, one of the four songs in the experiment showed significant differences, where understanding lyric timing with vibration is better than in sound-only conditions. Two songs revealed the opposite results, and the other showed no differences between the two conditions. Although these results were unexpected, we obtained several findings to make the next version of VIBES, such as the frequency of vibrations.
PDF Accessibility in International Academic Publishers
Authors: Pierrès Oriane , Schmitt-Koopmann Felix , Darvishy Alireza
Published: July 2024

Academic articles are commonly published in Portable Document Format (PDF). However, for many people with visual impairments, PDF formats present significant accessibility issues. This study addresses two research questions: 1) To what extent are PDFs in prominent academic repositories accessible? and 2) To what extent are accessibility issues in academic articles known and addressed by repositories? To answer these questions, 8,000 PDFs from four prominent repositories (Springer, Elsevier, ACM, and Wiley) were retrieved and were automatically analysed according to accessibility criteria based on the Matterhorn Protocol. Additionally, a quantitative content analysis was performed on the submission guidelines of repositories to determine the degree to which accessibility is considered in document creation. Results suggest that most PDFs were not tagged in spite of the fact that some repositories included accessibility in their general author guidelines. This paper concludes with recommendations to improve the accessibility of papers in academic repositories.
Visual Reconstruction of Irregular Crack in Austenitic Stainless Steel Based on ACFM Technique
Authors: Yuan Xin’an , Li Wei , Zhao Jianming , Yin Xiaokang , Li Xiao , Zhao Jianchao
Published: July 2024

For the advantages of corrosion resistance, high toughness and plasticity, the austenitic stainless steel is widely used in the petrochemical special equipment and offshore structure. The austenitic stainless steel usually services in high temperature, high pressure and corrosive medium environment. Various types of irregular cracks are easily introduced in the surface of the austenitic stainless steel, which threats the safety of the structure. Due to the property of non-magnetic, weak conductivity and coarse grain, it is still a challenge to detect and evaluate irregular cracks in the austenitic stainless steel using the nondestructive testing (NDT) method. The visual reconstruction method is presented to detect and evaluate the irregular crack in the austenitic stainless steel based on the alternating current field measurement (ACFM) technique. The austenitic stainless steel irregular crack ACFM finite element simulation model is set up. The distorted electromagnetic field around the irregular crack is analyzed. The vertical direction magnetic field (Magnetic field perpendicular to specimen, called Bz) image gradient field visual reconstruction method is presented to reconstruct the surface profile of the irregular crack. The irregular crack testing experiments are carried out to verify the efficiency of the visual reconstruction method. The results show that the current field induced by the ACFM probe gathers at the tips of the irregular crack in the austenitic stainless steel. The gathered current makes the vertical direction magnetic field Bz distorted. The Bz image gradient field can reflect the location of the gathered current. The surface profile of the irregular crack can be imaged visually and evaluated accurately by the Bz image gradient field visual reconstruction method.
Visual ACFM System Modeling and Optimization for Accurate Measurement of Underwater Cracks
Authors: Yuan Xin’an , Li Wei , Zhao Jianming , Yin Xiaokang , Li Xiao , Zhao Jianchao
Published: July 2024

Alternating current field measurement (ACFM) has been proven to be a promising technique for sizing cracks on underwater structures. Precision and visualization are two big challenges for measuring underwater structure cracks, which is constrained by signal attenuation, interference factor and lags of signal processing. In this paper, an optimum visual ACFM (VACFM) system based on time-constant method (TCM) is proposed for visualization and accurate measurement of underwater structure cracks. Based on optimized results by finite element model (FEM), a novel probe and signal processing system are developed and sealed. Results obtained from crack inspection experiment with TCM show that the VACFM system is able to size the lengths and visually display the profiles of underwater structure cracks. The measuring errors of the crack length increase as the scanning speed increases; it is less than 10% at scanning speed of 3.81 mm/s, and smaller to longer cracks.
Research on High-Precision Evaluation of Crack Dimensions and Profiles Methods for Underwater Structure Based on ACFM Technique
Authors: Yuan Xin’an , Li Wei , Zhao Jianming , Yin Xiaokang , Li Xiao , Zhao Jianchao
Published: July 2024

The conventional alternating current field measurement (ACFM) technique evaluates the crack dimensions by the distance between Bz peaks and the Bx trough. The interaction of the crack length and depth on the characteristic signals is not considered before, which results in the low accuracy evaluation results of crack dimensions and profiles. In the light of the problems above, the 3D simulation model of ACFM is set up in the underwater environment. The influence rules of the crack length and depth on the characteristic signals are analyzed. On this basis, the two-step interpolation crack dimensions evaluation algorithm and the segmentation interpolation crack profiles reconstruction algorithm are presented to achieve high-precision evaluation of crack dimensions and profiles. The underwater ACFM testing system is set up and the crack detection experiments are carried out. The results show that the crack depth does not affect the distance between the peak and trough of the Bz. The crack length that is shorter than 30 mm affects the trough of the Bx. The two-step interpolation algorithm based on the Bx and Bz can achieve high-precision evaluation of the crack length and depth. The maximum errors of the evaluated length and depth are 3.0 and 7.5% respectively. The segmentation interpolation algorithm based on the Bx can achieve high-precision visual reconstruction of the crack profile. The maximum error of the reconstructed profile is 5.7%.
Effective field theories for dark matter pairs in the early universe: center-of-mass recoil effects
Authors: Biondini S. , Brambilla N. , Qerimi G. , Vairo A.
Published: July 2024

Abstract

For non-relativistic thermal dark matter, close-to-threshold effects largely dominate the evolution of the number density for most of the times after thermal freeze-out, and hence affect the cosmological relic density. A precise evaluation of the relevant interaction rates in a thermal medium representing the early universe includes accounting for the relative motion of the dark matter particles and the thermal medium. We consider a model of dark fermions interacting with a plasma of dark gauge bosons, which is equivalent to thermal QED. The temperature is taken to be smaller than the dark fermion mass and the inverse of the typical size of the dark fermion-antifermion bound states, which allows for the use of non-relativistic effective field theories. For the annihilation cross section, bound-state formation cross section, bound-state dissociation width and bound-state transition width of dark matter fermion-antifermion pairs, we compute the leading recoil effects in the reference frame of both the plasma and the center-of-mass of the fermion-antifermion pair. We explicitly verify the Lorentz transformations among these quantities. We evaluate the impact of the recoil corrections on the dark matter energy density. Our results can be directly applied to account for the relative motion of quarkonia in the quark-gluon plasma formed in heavy-ion collisions. They may be also used to precisely assess thermal effects in atomic clocks based on atomic transitions; the present work provides a first field theory derivation of time dilation for these processes in vacuum and in a medium.
Regional Language Speech Recognition from Bone Conducted Speech Signals Through CCWT Algorithm
Authors: Putta Venkata Subbaiah , Priyadharson A. Selwin Mich
Published: July 2024

Speech enhancement, or SE, is a method of converting an input speech signal into a target signal with improved quality of voice and readability. To hear the voice, the skeleton bone vibrates ultra smooth thanks to bone conduction. The benefits of Bone-Conducted Microphone (BCM) speech include noise reduction and enhanced communication quality in high-noise environments. To acquire signals and precisely model word phonemes, BCM relies on the placement of bones. Certain computer techniques are expensive and ineffective in simulating signal phonemes. Three wavelet transform techniques are presented in this work: complex continuous wavelet transforms (CCWT), steady wavelet transforms (SWT), and discrete wavelet transforms (DWT). The right ramp, the voice box, and the mastoid were the three distinct bony locations for which the speech intelligibility of the BCM signal was evaluated. The listener evaluated the comprehension of the speech after obtaining the BCM signal for Tamil words. Speech quality is enhanced by the location of the larynx bone in comparison to alternative calculation methods.
Mechanisms of microbial co-aggregation in mixed anaerobic cultures
Authors: Doloman Anna , Sousa Diana Z.
Published: July 2024

Co-aggregation of anaerobic microorganisms into suspended microbial biofilms (aggregates) serves ecological and biotechnological functions. Tightly packed aggregates of metabolically interdependent bacteria and archaea play key roles in cycling of carbon and nitrogen. Additionally, in biotechnological applications, such as wastewater treatment, microbial aggregates provide a complete metabolic network to convert complex organic material. Currently, experimental data explaining the mechanisms behind microbial co-aggregation in anoxic environments is scarce and scattered across the literature. To what extent does this process resemble co-aggregation in aerobic environments? Does the limited availability of terminal electron acceptors drive mutualistic microbial relationships, contrary to the commensal relationships observed in oxygen-rich environments? And do co-aggregating bacteria and archaea, which depend on each other to harvest the bare minimum Gibbs energy from energy-poor substrates, use similar cellular mechanisms as those used by pathogenic bacteria that form biofilms? Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of why and how mixed anaerobic microbial communities co-aggregate and discuss potential future scientific advancements that could improve the study of anaerobic suspended aggregates.

Key points

• Metabolic dependency promotes aggregation of anaerobic bacteria and archaea

• Flagella, pili, and adhesins play a role in the formation of anaerobic aggregates

• Cyclic di-GMP/AMP signaling may trigger the polysaccharides production in anaerobes
Classification of variant portal vein anatomy based on three-dimensional CT: surgical implications
Authors: Liu Zheyu , Shen Tianni , Xia Kexin , He Junye , Rui Tianhao , Chen Wei
Published: July 2024

Purposes

The purpose of this study was to develop a new and more comprehensive classification system for portal vein (PV) variations using three-dimensional visualization and evaluation (3DVE) and to discuss the prevalence rates and clinical implications of the variants.

Methods

The anatomies of PVs were tracked and analyzed by using three-dimensional visualization of CT images acquired between 2013 and 2022. Scans from 200 adults were evaluated and a total of 178 patients (N = 178) were included in the study. The new classification system, named BLB classification, was developed based on the level of the absent PV branch in each variant anatomy.

Results

Using the BLB classification system, PVs were divided into thirteen subtypes. Only 82.6–84.8% of the portal veins of the 178 patients were depicted in Atri’s, Cheng’s or Covey’s classification, compared with 100% identified by the BLB classification. The BLB classification was validated against external data sets from previous studies, with 97.0-98.9% of patients classified by the BLB system.

Conclusion

Variant PV anatomies are more commonly seen based on 3DVE than in previous reports. The BLB classification covers almost all portal vein variants and may be used for planning liver surgery.
Retroperitoneum revisited: a review of radiological literature and updated concept of retroperitoneal fascial anatomy with imaging features and correlating anatomy
Authors: Boekestijn B. , Wasser M. N.J.M. , Mieog J. S.D. , DeRuiter M. C.
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Spread of disease in the retroperitoneum is dictated by the complex anatomy of retroperitoneal fasciae and is still incompletely understood. Conflicting reports have led to insufficient and incorrect anatomical concepts in radiological literature.

Methods

This review will discuss previous concepts prevalent in radiological literature and their shortcomings will be highlighted. New insights from recent anatomical and embryological research, together with imaging examples, will be used to clarify patterns of disease spread in the retroperitoneum that remain unexplained by these concepts.

Results

The fusion fascia and the renal fascia in particular give rise to planes and spaces that act as vectors for spread of disease in the retroperitoneum. Some of these planes and structures, such as the caudal extension of the renal fascia, have previously not been described in radiological literature.

Conclusion

New insights, including the various fasciae, potential spaces and planes, are incorporated into an updated combined retroperitoneal fascial concept.
Bone marrow cells contribute to seven different endothelial cell populations in the heart
Authors: Shabani Parisa , Ohanyan Vahagn , Alghadeer Ammar , Gavazzi Daniel , Dong Feng , Yin Liya , Kolz Christopher , Shockling Lindsay , Enrick Molly , Zhang Ping , Shi Xin , Chilian William
Published: July 2024

Understanding the mechanisms underlying vascular regeneration in the heart is crucial for developing novel therapeutic strategies for myocardial ischemia. This study investigates the contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to endothelial cell populations in the heart, and their role in cardiac function and coronary circulation following repetitive ischemia (RI). Chimeric rats were created by transplanting BM cells from GFP female rats into irradiated male recipients. After engraftment chimeras were subjected to RI for 17 days. Vascular growth was assessed from recovery of cardiac function and increases in myocardial blood flow during LAD occlusion. After sorting GFP+ BM cells from heart and bone of Control and RI rats, single-cell RNA sequencing was implemented to determine the fate of BM cells. Our in vivo RI model demonstrated an improvement in cardiac function and myocardial blood flow after 17 days of RI with increased capillary density in the rats subjected to RI compared to Controls. Single-cell RNA sequencing of bone marrow cells isolated from rats' hearts identified distinct endothelial cell (EC) subpopulations. These ECs exhibited heterogeneous gene expression profiles and were enriched for markers of capillary, artery, lymphatic, venous, and immune ECs. Furthermore, BM-derived ECs in the RI group showed an angiogenic profile, characterized by upregulated genes associated with blood vessel development and angiogenesis. This study elucidates the heterogeneity of bone marrow-derived endothelial cells in the heart and their response to repetitive ischemia, laying the groundwork for targeting specific subpopulations for therapeutic angiogenesis in myocardial ischemia.
Advanced techniques for automated emotion recognition in dogs from video data through deep learning
Authors: Franzoni Valentina , Biondi Giulio , Milani Alfredo
Published: July 2024

Inter-species emotional relationships, particularly the symbiotic interaction between humans and dogs, are complex and intriguing. Humans and dogs share fundamental mammalian neural mechanisms including mirror neurons, crucial to empathy and social behavior. Mirror neurons are activated during the execution and observation of actions, indicating inherent connections in social dynamics across species despite variations in emotional expression. This study explores the feasibility of using deep-learning Artificial Intelligence systems to accurately recognize canine emotions in general environments, to assist individuals without specialized knowledge or skills in discerning dog behavior, particularly related to aggression or friendliness. Starting with identifying key challenges in classifying pleasant and unpleasant emotions in dogs, we tested advanced deep-learning techniques and aggregated results to distinguish potentially dangerous human--dog interactions. Knowledge transfer is used to fine-tune different networks, and results are compared on original and transformed sets of frames from the Dog Clips dataset to investigate whether DogFACS action codes detailing relevant dog movements can aid the emotion recognition task. Elaborating on challenges and biases, we emphasize the need for bias mitigation to optimize performance, including different image preprocessing strategies for noise mitigation in dog recognition (i.e., face bounding boxes, segmentation of the face or body, isolating the dog on a white background, blurring the original background). Systematic experimental results demonstrate the system’s capability to accurately detect emotions and effectively identify dangerous situations or signs of discomfort in the presence of humans.
On the optimality and decay of p-Hardy weights on graphs
Authors: Fischer Florian
Published: July 2024

We construct optimal Hardy weights to subcritical energy functionals h associated with quasilinear Schrödinger operators on infinite graphs. Here, optimality means that the weight w is the largest possible with respect to a partial ordering, and that the corresponding shifted energy functional $$h-w$$

h
-
w

is null-critical. Moreover, we show a decay condition of Hardy weights in terms of their integrability with respect to certain integral weights. As an application of the decay condition, we show that null-criticality implies optimality near infinity. We also briefly discuss an uncertainty-type principle, a Rellich-type inequality and examples.
A Liouville theorem for elliptic equations with a potential on infinite graphs
Authors: Biagi Stefano , Meglioli Giulia , Punzo Fabio
Published: July 2024

We investigate the validity of the Liouville property for a class of elliptic equations with a potential, posed on infinite graphs. Under suitable assumptions on the graph and on the potential, we prove that the unique bounded solution is $$u\equiv 0$$

u
≡
0

. We also show that on a special class of graphs the condition on the potential is optimal, in the sense that if it fails, then there exist infinitely many bounded solutions.
Parametric Analysis of Borehole Breakout and Spalling Phenomena: An Experimental Investigation
Authors: Xiang Zizhuo , Oh Joung , Si Guangyao , Canbulat Ismet
Published: July 2024

This study investigated borehole breakout and spalling phenomena through true-triaxial experiments conducted on cubic Gosford sandstone and yellow mudstone specimens. The experiments were carried out based on the custom-developed borehole breakout testing system, which could enable the pre-stressed (PS) tests (applying stresses onto intact specimens and then drilling). In comparison to the pre-drilled (PD) tests (applying stresses onto specimens with pre-drilled boreholes), the PS tests consistently resulted in wider and deeper breakouts under the same far-field stresses in both rock types, which are attributed to the impacts of excavation-unloading and removal of rock debris. The results from 36 PS tests indicated that the breakout and spalling extent are affected by all three principal stresses, and the impact of each stress was also quantitively assessed and compared. Moreover, analysis of experimental data from this study and the literature revealed that a unique correlation between breakout angle and normalised breakout depth could not be obtained, suggesting deriving two principal stress components from two breakout geometries should be viable. Furthermore, empirical correlations based on the maximum tangential stress (σmax) and out-of-plane stress were developed to characterise the breakout geometries, which outperformed those previous relations based solely on σmax across all datasets. This suggests that while the breakout and spalling phenomena are primarily controlled by σmax, a more accurate representation of failure extent can be achieved by considering the out-of-plane stress.
Phylogenetic relationships and divergence time of Hydrangea sect. Macrophyllae (Hydrangeaceae) revealed by genome-wide SNPs
Authors: Murakami Shoki , Ito Takuro , Uemachi Tatsuya , Fujii Shinji , Matsuo Ayumi , Suyama Yoshihisa , Maki Masayuki
Published: July 2024

Hydrangea sect. Macrophyllae comprises deciduous shrubs including two species with seven infraspecific taxa distributed throughout the Japanese Archipelago and adjacent areas. In this study, we revealed a phylogeny of Hydrangea sect. Macrophyllae by using a larger dataset of genome-wide SNPs than those employed in a previous study and by adding more comprehensive taxa/populations, which cover the entire distribution of the section. We then revised the taxonomic treatment of sect. Macrophyllae based on the higher-resolution phylogenetic trees obtained in this study. The phylogenetic trees estimated in this study showed five major clades, suggesting that H. serrata var. minamitanii and var. yesoensis should be treated as independent species from other H. serrata, that H. serrata var. australis and var. yakushimensis could be subclassified under the major clades and that var. angustata could be a synonym of var. serrata. The divergence time of these major clades was estimated to be in the Pleistocene.
Comparative life cycle assessment of sequential chemical and electrochemical processes for the treatment of industrial textile wastewater
Authors: Salazar-Sogamoso Luis Miguel , Gómez-García Miguel-Ángel , Dobrosz-Gómez Izabela
Published: July 2024

Fenton-based processes, chemical and electrochemical, have attracted the interest of industrial and academic researchers for wastewater treatment. However, the deficiency of rigorous comparison between different methods, including assessment of their impact on the environment, has hindered their large-scale application. This study reports for the first time on the sustainability of raw textile wastewater treatment through two sequential processes, Coagulation-Flocculation-Fenton-Neutralization (CF-F-N) and Coagulation-Flocculation-Electro-Fenton-Neutralization (CF-EF-N), based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The CF-F-N and CF-EF-N were optimized at laboratory scale and compared through LCA, using the IPCC-2013 and ReCiPe-2016 midpoint and endpoint methods. The highest CO2emissions relied on the wastewater primary treatment by CF. This due to the high amount of hazardous sludge generated and the technology necessary for its disposal (i.e., 16.89 kg CO2-Eq/FU for underground deposit in security cells or 47.52 kg CO2-Eq/FU for incineration) as well as the consumption of reagents required for the treatment (alum, 7.72 kg CO2-Eq/FU; and slaked lime, 5.56 kg CO2-Eq/FU). Regarding the sequential processes, the EF-N presented lower carbon footprint (CFP) than the F-N (14.74 kg CO2-Eq/FU vs. 20.74 kg CO2-Eq/FU). Electricity (87.02% of the total CFP) and reagents (88.63% of the total CFP) denoted the main environmental hotspot during the EF-N and F-N, respectively. The EF-N, compared to the F-N, had an inferior incidence in 14 of the 18 impact categories analyzed using the ReCiPe-2016 method at the midpoint level. This is the result of low consumption of reagents and auxiliary chemicals. The electricity was also found as main environmental hotspot of the EF-N. The ReCiPe-2016 method at the endpoint level showed that the EF-N resulted in lower environmental load in all impact categories. The economic performance (11.91 USD/m3for CF-EF-N vs. 13.66 USD/m3for CF-F-N) and LCA demonstrated the competitiveness of the electrochemical sequential process compared to the chemical one. The CF-EF-N can be considered more environmentally sustainable technology.
Relationship between nailfold capillaroscopy findings and the etiology and prognosis of interstitial lung disease
Authors: Acemoğlu Şerife Şeyda Zengin , Türk İpek , Deniz Pelin Pınar , Aşık Mehmet Ali , Arslan Didem , Hanta İsmail , Ünal İlker
Published: July 2024

Objectives

Connective tissue-associated interstitial lung diseases (CTD-ILD) are believed to be caused by microvascular damage. The objective of this study was to assess the nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) pattern in patients diagnosed with both CTD-ILD and non-CTD-ILD to identify microvascular changes and determine the relation between capillaroscopic parameters, clinical variables, and disease-related measurements.

Patients and methods

This cross-sectional study included 95 patients with interstitial lung disease who applied to our Rheumatology and Chest Clinics between September 2021 and July 2023. The patients were divided into two groups based on their diagnosis: non-CTD-ILD (group 1) and CTD-ILD (group 2). Nailfold capillaroscopy was performed.

Results

Ninety-five patients, 49 (51% female, mean age 62.31 ± 11.027 years) in group 1 and 46 (69.6% female, mean age 62.09 ± 10.887 years) in group 2, were included in the study. Abnormal capillary morphologies were both detected in the CTD-ILD group and the non-CTD-ILD groups. In patients with a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern on chest computed tomography (CT), tortuosity was higher than in patients with non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) (P = 0.041), and the proportion of tortuosity increased significantly as the duration of the disease increased (P = 0.016).

Conclusion

Our study highlights capillaroscopic abnormalities alone may not be sufficient to differentiate CTD-ILD (other than systemic sclerosis) from non-CTD-ILD. The presence of NFC abnormalities in non-CTD-ILD may suggest that fibrotic lung disease could potentially play a role in the deterioration of the microvascular structure or abnormal angiogenesis. Our study demonstrated that a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating clinical, morphological, pathological, and serological evaluations, is necessary for interpreting ILD.

Key Points• Capillaroscopic abnormalities can also be seen in non-CTD-ILD.• Capillaroscopy findings do not distinguish the non-Ssc etiology of ILD.• Nailfold capillaroscopy may have the potential to serve as a useful tool in predicting prognosis and monitoring the disease progression in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
A comprehensive study on modern optimization techniques for engineering applications
Authors: Selvarajan Shitharth
Published: July 2024

Rapid industrialization has fueled the need for effective optimization solutions, which has led to the widespread use of meta-heuristic algorithms. Among the repertoire of over 600, over 300 new methodologies have been developed in the last ten years. This increase highlights the need for a sophisticated grasp of these novel methods. The use of biological and natural phenomena to inform meta-heuristic optimization strategies has seen a paradigm shift in recent years. The observed trend indicates an increasing acknowledgement of the effectiveness of bio-inspired methodologies in tackling intricate engineering problems, providing solutions that exhibit rapid convergence rates and unmatched fitness scores. This study thoroughly examines the latest advancements in bio-inspired optimisation techniques. This work investigates each method’s unique characteristics, optimization properties, and operational paradigms to determine how revolutionary these approaches could be for problem-solving paradigms. Additionally, extensive comparative analyses against conventional benchmarks, such as metrics such as search history, trajectory plots, and fitness functions, are conducted to elucidate the superiority of these new approaches. Our findings demonstrate the revolutionary potential of bio-inspired optimizers and provide new directions for future research to refine and expand upon these intriguing methodologies. Our survey could be a lighthouse, guiding scientists towards innovative solutions rooted in various natural mechanisms.
Seismic site effects in Lisbon: the role of complex geological and morphological conditions
Authors: Oliveira Liliana , Gomes Rui Carrilho , Amoroso Sara , Pagliaroli Alessandro , Teves-Costa Paula
Published: July 2024

Lisbon’s historical seismicity, socioeconomic importance and population density contribute to a moderate to high seismic risk. The geological setting of the city includes cases of inclined layers, interbedding sedimentary rock layers in soil deposits, sand and clay layers in the same geological unit, leading to cases of shear wave velocity inversion and a large scatter of geotechnical properties within each geological unit. The morphological setting of the city is characterised by the existence of several hills and relatively shallow, stream-carved valleys filled with alluvial deposits. The seismic site effects in Lisbon were assessed through numerical simulation using the linear equivalent method and adopting the two types of seismic action defined in the Portuguese National Annex of Eurocode 8: (i) one-dimensional subsoil models covering the city, at sites where borehole data and geophysical data were available; (ii) two-dimensional subsoil models along three cross-sections representative of the geological settings and morphology. The distribution of amplification factors in the city revealed a pattern related to ground characteristics that impact seismic soil response, such as the presence of high-thickness cover deposits, significant shear-wave variations, alluvial valleys, a crest or significant slope variations and inclined layers. The 2D/1D spectral ratio highlighted the areas were 2D seismic effects are more important. The soil factor determined in the numerical analyses was consistently greater than the soil factor values indicated in Eurocode 8.
The impact of simulation applications on the problem-solving and decision-making skills of school administrators and prospective administrators: An experimental study
Authors: Atici Esra Kaya , Turhan Muhammed
Published: July 2024

Although the competencies expected from administrators have increased with the development of technology, it is seen that there are a limited number of studies on innovative approaches in training school administrators. The study aims investigate the impact of simulation applications on the problem-solving and decision-making abilities of school administrators and prospective administrators. To achieve this objective, a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted, using experimental and control groups. The study employed a parallel mixed design, which combines quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The research group consisted of 61 school administrators and prospective administrators, with 30 participants in the experimental group and 31 in the control group. The Melbourne Decision Making Questionary I-II (MCDS I-II) and the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) were utilized as data collection instruments before and after the 6-week experimental process. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview form was administered to the experimental group participants following the application. The results of the data analysis indicated that the simulation application effectively enhanced the decision-making and problem-solving skills of the experimental group participants, while reducing the use of approaches that hindered the positive effects of these skills.
Analyzing the environmental role of resource efficiency, economic globalization, and biomass usage in Malaysia: a time-varying causal approach
Authors: Awosusi Abraham Ayobamiji , Eweade Babatunde Sunday , Ojekemi Opeoluwa Seun
Published: July 2024

Malaysia’s commitment towards sustainable environment requires implementing clean energy sources and less raw materials usage, which could have a significant impact on the nation’s biocapacity and ecological footprint. As a result, this study examined the environmental impact of resource efficiency, biomass energy, and economic growth in Malaysia, within the load capacity curve hypothesis framework, while controlling economic globalization, financial globalization and trade globalization. This research utilizes the ARDL estimator and the bootstrapped time-varying causality (TVC) approach to analyse the dataset from 1970 to 2018. The findings of the ARDL estimator reveals that biomass energy and resource efficiency increase load capacity factor (LF), while trade globalization reduces LF in Malaysia. Furthermore, the result uncovered the validity of the load capacity curve hypothesis, highlighting that the persistent economic activities will help to achieving ecological quality in Malaysia. The result of the bootstrapped TVC approach reveals a feedback causal association between LF and its predictors in Malaysia. These results emphasize the need for an effective circular economy, which involves maximizing resource use, reducing waste, and incorporating biomass energy into this framework.
Learning Analytics Dashboards for Assessing Remote Labs Users' Work: A Case Study with VISIR-DB
Authors: Serrano Vanessa , Cuadros Jordi , Fernández-Ruano Laura , García-Zubía Javier , Hernández-Jayo Unai , Lluch Francesc
Published: July 2024

In science and engineering education, remote laboratories are designed to bring ubiquity to experimental scenarios, by having real laboratories operated through the Internet. Despite that remote laboratories enable the collection of students' work data, the educational use of these data is still underdeveloped. Learning analytics dashboards are common tools to present and analyze educational data to provide indicators to understand learning processes. This paper presents how data from remote labs, such as Virtual Instruments Systems In Reality (VISIR), can be analyzed through a learning analytics dashboard to help instructors provide better feedback to their pupils. Visualizations to study the use of the VISIR, to assess students’ performance in a particular activity and to facilitate the assisted assessment of students are introduced to the VISIR dashboard (VISIR-DB). These visualizations include a new recodification of circuits that keeps the fragment being measured, in order to better identify student’s intention. VISIR-DB also incorporates functions to check a priori steps in the resolution process and/or potential errors (observation items), and logical combinations of them to grade students' performance according to the expected outcomes (assessment milestones). Both work indicators, observation items and assessment milestones, can be defined in activity-specific text files and allow for checking the circuit as coded by the interface, the conceptual circuit it represents, its components, parameters, and measurement result. Main results in the use of VISIR for learning DC circuits course show that students mainly use VISIR when indicated by instructors and a great variability regarding to time of use and number of experiments performed. For the particular assessment activity, VISIR-DB helps to easily detect that there is a significant number of students that did not achieved any of the expected tasks. Additionally, it helps to identify students that still make a huge number of errors at the end of the course. Appropriate interventions can be taken from here.