bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tailoring hydrophobicity vs. water capacity of adsorbents for adsorption applications: role of composites
Authors: Atalay-Oral Cigdem , Tatlier Melkon
Published: April 2024

Water adsorption capacities of various adsorbents reported in the literature were investigated to define a hydrophobicity index that was plotted vs. water capacity. In this plot, logarithmic curves were proposed to be used as indicators of performance limits of adsorbents, especially for adsorption heat pumps. In spite of their useful adsorption properties, zeolites generally exhibited quite low hydrophobicity, remaining well below the logarithmic curve. In this study, the use of composites of zeolite NaY was examined both theoretically and experimentally for improvements in the water capacity and hydrophobicity. Salt impregnation and hydrothermal synthesis experiments were performed to prepare composites of zeolite NaY with LiCl/MgCl2 salts and activated carbon, respectively. Water capacity and hydrophobicity of zeolite NaY composites were generally superior to those of pure zeolite. Zeolite composites may be advantageous for enhancing adsorption capacity and hydrophobicity of zeolites while eliminating low stability and slow adsorption kinetics of other adsorbents. Interface between two different phases might indicate another opportunity to provide improved adsorption properties for zeolite composites.
Why is nutrient cycling in food systems so limited? A case study from the North-Netherlands region
Authors: Tamsma Durk W. , van Middelaar Corina E. , de Boer Imke J. M. , Kros Johannes , van Ittersum Martin K. , Schut Antonius G. T.
Published: April 2024

Identifying pathways to circular agriculture requires a profound understanding of nutrient flows and losses throughout the food system, and of interactions between biophysical conditions, land use, food production and food consumption. We quantified nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) flows of the food system of the North-Netherlands (NN) region and of its 30 subregions varying in biophysical and socio-economic conditions. The food system included agriculture, food processing, consumption, and waste processing. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) and the nutrient cycling counts were calculated. Results show a low NUE (25%) and PUE (59%) of the food system. External inputs were used to maintain high yields and production. Nutrient cycling was very limited with losses from agriculture ranging from 143 to 465 kg N ha−1 y−1 and 4 to 11 kg P ha−1 y−1. Food system losses ranged from 181 to 480 kg N ha−1 y−1 and from 7 to 31 kg P ha−1 y−1 and varied with biophysical conditions, population density and farming systems. Large losses were associated with livestock farming and farming on drained peat soils. Food system efficiency was strongly associated with the utilization of produce. We conclude that increasing circularity requires tailoring of agriculture to local biophysical conditions and food system redesign to facilitate nutrient recycling. Steps towards circularity in NN include: matching livestock production to feed supply from residual flows and lands unsuitable for food crops, diversifying crop production to better match local demand and increasing waste recovery.
Dual effects of drying and urban pollution on leaf litter decomposition and shredder consumption in permanent and intermittent streams
Authors: Martinez-Sanz Itxaso , Muñoz Isabel , Viza Aida , Oliva Francesc , Menéndez Margarita
Published: April 2024

In the present study we investigated the combined effect of flow intermittence and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent on leaf litter decomposition in two Mediterranean streams with permanent and intermittent flow regimes. The litter decomposition experiment was performed using black poplar litter bags where we measured litter mass loss, fungal biomass, aquatic hyphomycete sporulation and species richness and C:N ratio. Afterwards, the remaining litter material from the different treatments was offered to the shredder Potamophylax latipennis in a microcosm laboratory experiment, and its growth and consumption rates were studied. We hypothesised that drying would decrease leaf litter decomposition in the permanent stream more than in the intermittent stream and that WWTP effluent would compensate for drying effects when both stressors interacted. The results indicated that drying has the greatest impact on the permanent stream, decreasing decomposition, aquatic hyphomycete species richness, and leaf litter quality. In the intermittent stream, WWTP effluent decreases aquatic hyphomycete species richness, but drying increases it, showing an opposing effect and a synergistic interaction. In the permanent stream drying provoked an increase in the shredder consumption rate. Thus, the expected more frequent intermittence in rivers under climate change may threaten the processing of organic matter.
Knowledge-based, computerized, patient clinical decision support system for perioperative pain, nausea and constipation management: a clinical feasibility study
Authors: Noll Eric , Noll-Burgin Melanie , Bonnomet François , Reiter-Schatz Aurelie , Gourieux Benedicte , Bennett-Guerrero Elliott , Goetsch Thibaut , Meyer Nicolas , Pottecher Julien
Published: April 2024

Opioid administration is particularly challenging in the perioperative period. Computerized-based Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are a promising innovation that might improve perioperative pain control. We report the development and feasibility validation of a knowledge-based CDSS aiming at optimizing the management of perioperative pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and laxative medications. This novel CDSS uses patient adaptive testing through a smartphone display, literature-based rules, and individual medical prescriptions to produce direct medical advice for the patient user. Our objective was to test the feasibility of the clinical use of our CDSS in the perioperative setting. This was a prospective single arm, single center, cohort study conducted in Strasbourg University Hospital. The primary outcome was the agreement between the recommendation provided by the experimental device and the recommendation provided by study personnel who interpreted the same care algorithm (control). Thirty-seven patients were included in the study of which 30 (81%) used the experimental device. Agreement between these two care recommendations (computer driven vs. clinician driven) was observed in 51 out 54 uses of the device (94.2% [95% CI 85.9–98.4%]). The agreement level had a probability of 86.6% to exceed the 90% clinically relevant agreement threshold. The knowledge-based, patient CDSS we developed was feasible at providing recommendations for the treatment of pain, PONV and constipation in a perioperative clinical setting.

Trial registration number & date The study protocol was registered in ClinicalTrial.gov before enrollment began (NCT05707247 on January 26th, 2023).
Unlocking the potential of RNN and CNN models for accurate rehabilitation exercise classification on multi-datasets
Authors: Zaher Moamen , Ghoneim Amr S. , Abdelhamid Laila , Atia Ayman
Published: April 2024

Physical rehabilitation is crucial in healthcare, facilitating recovery from injuries or illnesses and improving overall health. However, a notable global challenge stems from the shortage of professional physiotherapists, particularly acute in some developing countries, where the ratio can be as low as one physiotherapist per 100,000 individuals. To address these challenges and elevate patient care, the field of physical rehabilitation is progressively integrating Computer Vision and Human Activity Recognition (HAR) techniques. Numerous research efforts aim to explore methodologies that assist in rehabilitation exercises and evaluate patient movements, which is crucial as incorrect exercises can potentially worsen conditions. This study investigates applying various deep-learning models for classifying exercises using the benchmark KIMORE and UI-PRMD datasets. Employing Bi-LSTM, LSTM, CNN, and CNN-LSTM, alongside a Random Search for architectural design and Hyper-parameter tuning, our investigation reveals the (CNN) model as the top performer. After applying cross-validation, the technique achieves remarkable mean testing accuracy rates of 93.08% on the KIMORE dataset and 99.7% on the UI-PRMD dataset. This marks a slight improvement of 0.75% and 0.1%, respectively, compared to previous techniques. In addition, expanding beyond exercise classification, this study explores the KIMORE dataset’s utility for disease identification, where the (CNN) model consistently demonstrates an outstanding accuracy of 89.87%, indicating its promising role in both exercises and disease identification within the context of physical rehabilitation.
Design of miniaturized wide band-pass plasmonic filters in MIM waveguides with tailored spectral filtering
Authors: Ebadi Seyed Morteza , Khani Shiva , Örtegren Jonas
Published: April 2024

This paper reports the design and numerical results of three new extremely compact and efficient flat-top band-pass plasmonic filters operating in the near-infrared region. The proposed structures are realized in metal–insulator-metal plasmonic waveguides based on stub, tilted T-junction and right-angle trapezoid configurations. A built-in parameterized genetic algorithm is applied to maximize the transmission efficiency, while at the same time contributing to shrinking down the size of the device structures. It is shown that the tunability of the optical filters can be realized by modulating their structural parameters to gain control over the band-pass filtering wavelengths. Numerical calculations are conducted based on the finite element method of CST Microwave Studio and demonstrate that the suggested ultra-compact plasmonic waveguide filters offer wide bandwidths of more than 270 nm, 424 nm, and 289 nm, with transmission efficiencies of higher than 80%, 74.2%, and 74.3%, respectively. The sizes of the proposed wavelength filters are 490 nm × 575 nm, 350 nm × 180 nm, and 420 nm × 150 nm, respectively, which make them attractive candidates for applications in high density photonic integrated circuits (PICs). As a result, because of the promising characteristics of the proposed topologies such as their high efficiency, compact size, tunability, and simple structure they may find applications in on-chip integration, laser technology, and multi-photon fluorescence.
Tourism marketing, ileity and the construction of a real ideality
Authors: de Carvalho Adalberto Dias , Oliveira Cristiana
Published: April 2024

This study delves into the realm of island marketing, challenging prevailing assumptions held by potential mainland and urban tourists. It adopts a critical approach aimed at unraveling the motivations and expectations of these tourists in relation to island destinations, exploring the conflictual connections between the implicit beliefs in insularity and islandness. The study refutes simplistic stereotypes that often dominate insular tourism marketing, which abstractly portrays tropical islands as paradises of happiness and tranquility. The research identifies several values and benefits that significantly impact the motivation of island tourists, while recognizing the uniqueness of islands as tourist destinations. These include the allure of the sea and beaches as sources of leisure and well-being, the distinctiveness of island communities marked by authenticity and ancestral isolation, the promise of adventure in unfamiliar spaces, emotional involvement through personal spontaneity and freedom, and the opportunity to connect with preserved nature. For many small islands, tourism serves as a crucial economic resource, and their promotion centers around the idea of paradise and escape from the everyday routine—a concept referred to as “island desire” within a utopian context. The study also discusses the evolving role of communication technologies, the equivocal notion of authenticity, the significance of interculturality, and the contrasting perceptions of the sea for mainlanders and islanders. It emphasizes the need for island marketing professionals to draw from anthropological and epistemological insights to inform their creative communication strategies.
The influence of geopolitics on research activity and international collaboration in science: the case of Russia
Authors: Zhang Lin , Cao Zhe , Sivertsen Gunnar , Kochetkov Dmitry
Published: April 2024

We study the possible influences of the Russia-Ukraine War on Russia’s research productivity and international collaboration in science. For this purpose, we introduce and apply two recently developed indicators of relative intensity and balance in international collaboration. To see whether longitudinal trends have changed recently, we combine a long-term perspective based on annual updates since the year 2000 with a short-term perspective based on monthly updates since the beginning of 2022. The clearest change is that the productivity of Russian science, as measured within Web of Science, has dramatically decreased after several years of growth. There is also a clear decline in the degree of international collaboration in fields of research that heavily rely on large multinational infrastructures established through state agreements. In other fields, however, the degree of international collaboration is more stable. The general decline in Russian science seems to be more driven by internal factors than by loss of partnerships abroad.
Approximate bilateral filters for real-time and low-energy imaging applications on FPGAs
Authors: Spagnolo Fanny , Corsonello Pasquale , Frustaci Fabio , Perri Stefania
Published: April 2024

Bilateral filtering is an image processing technique commonly adopted as intermediate step of several computer vision tasks. Opposite to the conventional image filtering, which is based on convolving the input pixels with a static kernel, the bilateral filtering computes its weights on the fly according to the current pixel values and some tuning parameters. Such additional elaborations involve nonlinear weighted averaging operations, which make difficult the deployment of bilateral filtering within existing vision technologies based on real-time and low-energy hardware architectures. This paper presents a new approximation strategy that aims to improve the energy efficiency of circuits implementing the bilateral filtering function, while preserving their real-time performances and elaboration accuracy. In contrast to the state-of-the-art, the proposed technique allows the filtering action to be on the fly adapted to both the current pixel values and to the tuning parameters, thus avoiding any architectural modification or tables update. When hardware implemented within the Xilinx Zynq XC7Z020 FPGA device, a 5 × 5 filter based on the proposed method processes 237.6 Mega pixels per second and consumes just 0.92 nJ per pixel, thus improving the energy efficiency by up to 2.8 times over the competitors. The impact of the proposed approximation on three different imaging applications has been also evaluated. Experiments demonstrate reasonable accuracy penalties over the accurate counterparts.
Ski-orienteering: a scientific perspective on a multi-dimensional challenge
Authors: Ståhl Jonatan , Larsson Roland , Holmberg Hans-Christer
Published: April 2024

Ski-orienteering, which combines cross-country skiing with orienteering, dates back to the late 1800s, with the first World Championships in 1975. While researchers have explored the physiological and biomechanical determinants of success in cross-country skiing and orienteering separately in detail, scientific knowledge concerning ski-orienteering remains limited. Based on the information that is presently available together with interviews with elite ski-orienteers, we explore here for the first time the historical development, physiological, biomechanical, and psychological demands, certain training strategies, and future prospects and challenges associated with this sport, including its potential to become an Olympic event. A demanding endurance sport (with racing times of 12–120 min), ski-orienteering requires both considerable aerobic and anaerobic capacity, as well as well-trained upper and lower body muscles. In addition, ski-orienteering demands advanced skiing technique on various types of terrain, with frequent changes between sub-techniques, on both wide and narrow tracks and with numerous turns on downhill terrain. Moreover, success in this sport requires accurate and rapid orienteering—the ability to navigate a complex network of ski tracks with numerous intersections/crossings in a manner designed to pass the multiple control points in the order indicated on the map as rapidly as possible, i.e., advanced spatial cognition and highly developed navigational skills. Thus, ski-orienteering requires training designed to improve both relevant physiological characteristics and orienteering skills, which should become the focus of future interdisciplinary research on this complex sport.
Business intelligence and business analytics in tourism: insights through Gioia methodology
Authors: Jiménez-Partearroyo Montserrat , Medina-López Ana , Rana Sudhir
Published: April 2024

Although Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Analytics (BA) have been widely adopted in the tourism sector, comparative research using BI and BA remains scarce. To fill this gap in the literature, the present study explores how BI and BA contribute to strategic innovation, address operational challenges, and enhance customer engagement. To this end, using a dual-method approach that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, we first conduct a bibliometric analysis using SciMAT. This sets the stage for the subsequent application of the Gioia methodology. Specifically, we perform an in-depth qualitative examination of a total of 12 scholarly articles on the tourism sector, evenly split between BI and BA. Upon synthesizing the findings on the roles of BI and BA, we outline distinct pathways through which they influence tourism sector management solutions. Based on the obtained evidence, we argue that, while BI focuses on technological advancement and operational integration, BA is more aligned with predictive analytics and data-driven customer engagement. These insights provide managers with a better understanding of the roles of BI and BA, serving as a guide for their strategic applications, from improving service quality to innovating in customer engagement. The novelty of this approach lies in its use of the Gioia methodology, in a comparative analysis to evaluate the separate yet complementarily roles of BI and BA, and in enhancing tourism industry practices.
Economic interactions that are beyond simulation
Authors: Gallagher Shaun , Mastrogiorgio Antonio
Published: April 2024

In this paper, we argue that not all economic interactions can be simulated. Specific types of interactions, instantiated in and instantiating of institutional structures, are embodied in ways that do not admit entailing laws and cannot be expressed in a computational model. Our arguments have two implications: (i) zero intelligence is not merely a computational phenomenon but requires an “embodied” coupling with the environment (theoretical implication); and (ii) some interactions, on which collective phenomena are based, are unprestatable and generate emerging phenomena which cannot be entailed by computation (methodological implication).
Signalwirkung von Bildungskarrieren für die Einmündungschancen in eine duale Ausbildung: Ergebnisse einer Vignettenstudie
Authors: Schuchart Claudia , Schimke Benjamin
Published: April 2024

Das deutsche Bildungssystem erlaubt über allgemeinbildende und berufliche Schulen eine Vielfalt von Bildungswegen zu schulischen Abschlüssen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird mithilfe einer Vignettenstudie die Auswahl von Bewerberinnen und Bewerbern mit Haupt-, mittlerem Schulabschluss und Studienberechtigung von allgemeinbildenden und beruflichen Schulen für ein Bewerbungsgespräch für einen dualen Ausbildungsberuf experimentell untersucht. Auf der Grundlage eines Signalling-Ansatzes wurden fünf Hypothesen zur Signalwirkung von Schulabschluss, Schulart und des mit einem Schulabschluss erworbenen allgemeinbildenden vs. berufspraktischen Wissens entwickelt. Der Datensatz umfasst 884 Personalrekrutierende in Unternehmen mit anspruchsgeringen (mehr als die Hälfte der Auszubildenden verfügt höchstens über den mittleren Schulabschluss) und 1308 Rekrutierende in Unternehmen mit anspruchshohen Ausbildungsberufen (mehr als die Hälfte der Auszubildenden verfügt mindestens über einen mittleren Abschluss). Die Ergebnisse zeigen für beide Segmente, dass die deutlichste Signalwirkung auf die Einschlägigkeit des berufspraktischen Wissens entfällt: Die besten Chancen auf eine Einladung hatten Bewerber mit einem Schulabschluss von einer beruflichen Schule in einem für den Ausbildungsberuf einschlägigen Berufsfeld, während die geringsten Chancen Bewerber mit einem Schulabschluss von einer beruflichen Schule in einem für den Ausbildungsberuf distalen Berufsfeld hatten.
Segment Anything Is Not Always Perfect: An Investigation of SAM on Different Real-world Applications
Authors: Ji Wei , Li Jingjing , Bi Qi , Liu Tingwei , Li Wenbo , Cheng Li
Published: April 2024

Recently, Meta AI Research approaches a general, promptable segment anything model (SAM) pre-trained on an unprecedentedly large segmentation dataset (SA-1B). Without a doubt, the emergence of SAM will yield significant benefits for a wide array of practical image segmentation applications. In this study, we conduct a series of intriguing investigations into the performance of SAM across various applications, particularly in the fields of natural images, agriculture, manufacturing, remote sensing and healthcare. We analyze and discuss the benefits and limitations of SAM, while also presenting an outlook on its future development in segmentation tasks. By doing so, we aim to give a comprehensive understanding of SAM’s practical applications. This work is expected to provide insights that facilitate future research activities toward generic segmentation. Source code is publicly available at https://github.com/LiuTingWed/SAM-Not-Perfect.
View selection in multi-view stacking: choosing the meta-learner
Authors: van Loon Wouter , Fokkema Marjolein , Szabo Botond , de Rooij Mark
Published: April 2024

Multi-view stacking is a framework for combining information from different views (i.e. different feature sets) describing the same set of objects. In this framework, abase-learneralgorithm is trained on each view separately, and their predictions are then combined by ameta-learneralgorithm. In a previous study, stacked penalized logistic regression, a special case of multi-view stacking, has been shown to be useful in identifying which views are most important for prediction. In this article we expand this research by considering seven different algorithms to use as the meta-learner, and evaluating their view selection and classification performance in simulations and two applications on real gene-expression data sets. Our results suggest that if both view selection and classification accuracy are important to the research at hand, then the nonnegative lasso, nonnegative adaptive lasso and nonnegative elastic net are suitable meta-learners. Exactly which among these three is to be preferred depends on the research context. The remaining four meta-learners, namely nonnegative ridge regression, nonnegative forward selection, stability selection and the interpolating predictor, show little advantages in order to be preferred over the other three.
Directional Solidification of Single-Crystal Blades in Industrial Conditions Using the Developed Gas Cooling Casting Method
Authors: Szeliga Dariusz , Piechowicz Łukasz , Lisiewicz Marcin , Wiechczyński Artur
Published: April 2024

The effect of gas cooling on microstructure refinement during the production of single crystal blades by the Developed Gas Cooling Casting (DGCC) method was investigated. Primary dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) reached the highest values in the airfoil and lowest in the blade platform. However, with the Bridgman method, the tendency of PDAS change along the blade was the opposite. When using the DGCC method, the PDAS decreased by about 100 µm in the platform compared to the conventional radiation cooling.
Medium-Term Outcomes from a Series of 1000 One Anastomosis Gastric Bypass in Australia: A Case Series
Authors: Hailstone Laura , Tovmassian David , Nguyen Chu Luan , Wong Pearl , Le Page Philip Alexander , Martin David , Taylor Craig
Published: April 2024

Purpose

This study presents the short- (less than 6 months) and medium-term (6 months to 2 years) outcomes for weight loss and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for all patients undergoing one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) across multiple institutions between 2015 and 2021.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected databases was performed including 1022 participants who underwent OAGB at multiple institutions by multiple surgeons between 2015 and 2021. Primary outcome was percentage total weight loss (TWL) and secondary outcomes were achieving resolution of T2DM; OAGB specific short- and medium-term complications including bile reflux, marginal ulceration and internal herniation.

Results

One thousand and twenty-two patients underwent OAGB (81% primary surgery). A percentage of 34.1% (n = 349) had a preoperative diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Mean TWL was 33.6 ± 9%  with a T2DM remission rate of 74% at 1-year post-op. Rates of bile reflux and marginal ulceration was 1.1% (n = 11) and 1.1% (n = 11). There were no cases of internal herniation during the follow-up period.

Conclusion

OAGB results has echoed previously published work as being efficacious and safe in a short-medium term. The prevalence of complications, especially bile reflux is overall low in our population and no current evidence exists to support an increased risk of metaplasia or malignancy related to bile within the stomach.

Graphical Abstract
Cannabinoids for Acute Pain Management: Approaches and Rationale
Authors: Botea Mihai O. , Andereggen Lukas , Urman Richard D. , Luedi Markus M. , Romero Carolina S.
Published: April 2024

Purpose of the Review

Acute pain management remains a challenge and postoperative pain is often undermanaged despite many available treatment options, also including cannabinoids.

Recent Findings

In the light of the opioid epidemic, there has been growing interest in alternative care bundles for pain management, including cannabinoids as potential treatment to decrease opioid prescribing. Despite the lack of solid evidence on the efficacy of cannabinoids, their use among patients with pain, including those using opioids, is currently increasing. This use is supported by data suggesting that cannabinoids could potentially contribute to a better pain management and to a reduction in opioid doses while maintaining effective analgesia with minimum side effects.

The scientific basis for supporting the use of cannabis is extensive, although it does not necessarily translate into relevant clinical outcomes. The use of cannabinoids in acute pain did not always consistently show statistically significant results in improving acute pain. Large randomized, controlled trials evaluating diverse cannabis extracts are needed in different clinical pain populations to determine safety and efficacy.
Traumatic fractures in an early 19th century museum skeleton suggest the homicide of an old Munich character: the history of “Finessensepperl” (Finesse Joseph)
Authors: Nerlich Andreas G. , Panzer Stephanie , Lehn Christine , Friederichs Jan , Peschel Oliver K.
Published: April 2024

The well preserved skeleton of Joseph Huber, a very well-known historical character of the 19th century Munich, also nicknamed “Finessen-Sepperl”, is the starting point of the reconstruction of life and death of this historical individual. He was known as a postilion d´amour (love’s messenger) of the Royal Bavarian capital with numerous comments and anecdotes and a few biographical sketches that indicate he remained well until the last few years of his life where requests for his duties lessened. The skeleton shows a small-sized male individual with almost complete loss of teeth, but otherwise very well-mineralized bone, having suffered from three episodes of trauma – an old-healed incomplete femoral neck fracture leading to severe osteoarthrosis, a clavicle fracture of the medial third with a few weeks old callus formation, and fresh serial rib fractures along with severe skull trauma with fractures of the os temporale and petrosum, presumably leading to intracranial bleeding and finally death. The type and distribution of these latter two injuries are in agreement with a murderous attack – which was retrospectively reported several years after his death, while the old-healed femoral neck fracture may have caused reduction in Joseph´s walking activities but not reduced requests for his services. Paleopathology not only identifies the terminal decline, but also previous diseases of this Old Bavarian character and thereby completes his story.
Beyond formal innovation: family supportive supervisor behavior promote employee bootlegging behavior through thriving at work
Authors: Wang Hongyu , Sun Hongduo , Wan Pengyu
Published: April 2024

Bootlegging behavior enables employees to better utilize their creativity to contribute more to their organization. Therefore, the facilitative antecedents of employee bootlegging must be emphasized. The role of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB), which is critical in the increasingly prevalent telecommuting context of the post-pandemic era, in facilitating employee bootlegging behavior has not received enough attention. Thus, combining the telecommuting context with the work–home resource model and using thriving at work and proactive personality as a mediator and moderator, respectively, we constructed a moderated mediation model to test whether, how, and when FSSB facilitates employee bootlegging behavior. The empirical results, based on an analysis of 277 telecommuters, indicate that FSSB positively influences employee bootlegging behavior directly and indirectly through thriving at work, and proactive personality plays a moderated mediating role in the first stage. This study expands research on the antecedents of employee bootlegging behavior, deepens understanding of FSSB and thriving at work in the telecommuting context, and provides suggestions on addressing the challenges of innovation for telecommuters.
Dyeing of Cotton and Wool Fibers with the Aqueous Extract of Alnus glutinosa: Evaluation of Their Ultraviolet Protection Factor, Their Color fastness and the Antioxidant Activity of the Aqueous Extract
Authors: Tsouka Niki , Lazari Diamanto , Nikolaidis Nikolaos , Dimitriadis Kiriakos , Vouvoudi Evangelia , Theodoropoulos Konstantinos
Published: April 2024

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the dyeing properties and behavior of the aqueous extract of Alnus glutinosa leaves when applied on cotton and wool fibers. The antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content of the aqueous extract were calculated. The colorfastness of the dyed samples such as washing, acid and alkali perspiration, wet and dry fastness and light fastness was performed. The ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) which is a measurement of the protection offered by the dyed fabric substrates against ultraviolet radiation was also assessed. It was found that Alnus glutinosa aqueous extract shows exceptionally high antioxidant activity and high phenolic content. The dyed samples showed astonishingly high light fastness approaching the light fastness of synthetic dyes such as the vat dyes or metal complex dyes. The conferred protection of the dyed samples against the distractive ultraviolet radiation is exceptionally high as this is demonstrated by the high UPF measurements of the dyed samples.
Organic 6G networks: ultra-flexibility through extensive stateless functional split
Authors: Corici Marius , Eichhorn Fabian , Buhr Hauke , Magedanz Thomas
Published: April 2024

With the increase in hardware performance, the 5G mobile network architecture shifted from physical components to software-only micro-services. The very modular network functions can be deployed flexibly on commodity hardware. However, the extensive modularity of these network functions is increasing the number of managed entities, and the core network request latency. Also, it requires extensive procedures to be able to re-select the components for specific devices, a fundamental condition for a potential system scale-down. In this paper, we propose a new organic 6G network architecture that handles these challenges through a new functionality split based on the experience of IT software services. Furthermore, we provide an analysis based on main 5G procedures, showing that the newly proposed architecture is handling the re-selection of functionality significantly better, which is a cornerstone of high-speed scaling (especially scaling-out), as well as migration of functionality and users.
Hidden numbers, hidden people: Family violence among South Asian Australians
Authors: De Silva Heshani Samantha , Shepherd Stephane M. , McEwan Troy E.
Published: April 2024

International research suggests that migrants face additional challenges that may heighten their risk of experiencing family violence (FV). South Asians are one of Australia’s fastest growing immigrant populations—yet relatively little is known about their experiences of FV. This study sought to address this research gap by ascertaining what could be gleaned about FV experiences of Australian South Asians the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s 2016 Personal Safety Survey (PSS). While prior versions of the PSS have been deemed non-representative of minority cultural groups, it remains the largest FV victimisation dataset in Australia, and undoubtedly would include information about South Asian Australians. Specifically this study examined the lifetime prevalence and 10-year incidence of most recent FV among South Asian-born (SAB) immigrants and compared these figures to Australian-born (AB) individuals. SAB Australians included in the PSS reported lower lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and a lower 10-year incidence of at least one type of FV (IPV and/or non-partner FV) than AB Australians. The sampling approach of the PSS was shown to have substantial methodological limitations that reduced the utility of these findings. Specifically, the sampling of South Asian immigrants in Australia was not demographically representative nor was the sample size sufficient for meaningful analysis. The implications of these limitations and recommendations to address them in future population-level FV surveys are explored.
An overview on glycation: molecular mechanisms, impact on proteins, pathogenesis, and inhibition
Authors: Uceda Ana Belén , Mariño Laura , Casasnovas Rodrigo , Adrover Miquel
Published: April 2024

The formation of a heterogeneous set of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is the final outcome of a non-enzymatic process that occurs in vivo on long-life biomolecules. This process, known as glycation, starts with the reaction between reducing sugars, or their autoxidation products, with the amino groups of proteins, DNA, or lipids, thus gaining relevance under hyperglycemic conditions. Once AGEs are formed, they might affect the biological function of the biomacromolecule and, therefore, induce the development of pathophysiological events. In fact, the accumulation of AGEs has been pointed as a triggering factor of obesity, diabetes-related diseases, coronary artery disease, neurological disorders, or chronic renal failure, among others. Given the deleterious consequences of glycation, evolution has designed endogenous mechanisms to undo glycation or to prevent it. In addition, many exogenous molecules have also emerged as powerful glycation inhibitors. This review aims to provide an overview on what glycation is. It starts by explaining the similarities and differences between glycation and glycosylation. Then, it describes in detail the molecular mechanism underlying glycation reactions, and the bio-molecular targets with higher propensity to be glycated. Next, it discusses the precise effects of glycation on protein structure, function, and aggregation, and how computational chemistry has provided insights on these aspects. Finally, it reports the most prevalent diseases induced by glycation, and the endogenous mechanisms and the current therapeutic interventions against it.
Formation mechanical mechanism of low-angle fractures in pre-salt carbonate reservoirs: a case study from Carboniferous KT-I formation of the NT oilfield in the eastern margin of the Precaspian Basin, Kazakhstan
Authors: Li Changhai , Zhao Lun , Liu Bo , Li Weiqiang , Shi Kaibo , Zhao Wenqi , Li Jianxin , Zhu Qiang , Li Yunhai , Ma Caiqin
Published: April 2024

Fracture is an important factor that affects the oil and gas productivity of carbonate reservoirs. Much researches have been done on the origin of high-angle fractures in carbonate reservoirs, but few efforts have been made on the genetic mechanical mechanism of low-angle fractures. Based on the seismic data, core data, conventional logging data and rock mechanics experimental data, combined with three-dimensional in situ stress field simulation methods, the features, formation geological conditions and genetic mechanical mechanism of low-angle fractures (LAFs) were analyzed by applying Coulomb–Moore criterion, Griffith criterion and non-coordination criterion. The proportion of the number of shear fractures is as high as 90.2%, while that of tensile fractures is only 9.8% in the study area. Shear fractures are mainly unfilled fractures, and tensile fractures are mainly partially filled fractures. The LAFs were formed in the second tectonic movement, in which the knee-fold structure with high in the west and low in the east developed in the study area. The buried depth of most parts of the KT-I formation is 800 m when the study area develops the knee-fold structure, with a maximum depth of 1800 m and a minimum buried depth of 70 m, and the dip angle of the steepest part of the stratum is about 20°. A large number of LAFs were formed in the study area under the joint influence of tectonics and abnormally high pressure of water, including near-horizontal LAFs in the non-weak fabrics section (type I low-angle shear fractures), the LAFs having a certain angle with bedding in the non-weak fabrics section (type II low-angle shear fractures) and near-horizontal LAFs in the weak fabrics section (type III low-angle shear fractures). The formation of type I and type II low-angle shear fractures follows the Coulomb–Moore criterion. Type I low-angle shear fractures are formed in strata with a certain dip angle, while type II low-angle shear fractures are formed in near-horizontal strata. Type III low-angle shear fractures are formed under the comprehensive influence of pre-existing weak fabrics and strong horizontal extrusion, which follows the non-coordination criterion. Low-angle tensile fractures are mainly caused by abnormally high pressure and reverse faults in the study area, following Griffith’s criterion. The research in this paper not only reveals the formation mechanical mechanism of LAFs in pre-salt carbonate reservoirs but also provides guidance for the prediction of LAFs and solving the problem of water channeling caused by LAFs in oil fields.
Extending air traffic control tasks to control air taxis and to warn of critical wildlife: an impact analysis
Authors: Metz I. C. , Schier-Morgenthal S.
Published: April 2024

Despite large and successful efforts to keep wildlife off airports, many collisions between aircraft and animals still happen at low altitudes outside the airport boundaries, where wildlife is most abundant. These wildlife strikes are especially threatening for aircraft departing from airports as well as for envisioned low-flying urban air mobility aircraft. The here presented study evaluates the operational feasibility of a concept to provide tower air traffic controllers with wildlife strike risk information to contribute in a reduction of these critical strikes. For this purpose, real-time human-in-the-loop simulations with ten air traffic controllers were performed in a 360° tower simulator. Based on controller feedback as well as measures for safety and efficiency, the findings indicate feasibility of providing controllers with wildlife strike risk information. It is expected that the refinement of the procedures presented here will pave the way towards field-tests and eventually actual implementation of air traffic control involvement in wildlife strike prevention.
Estimates for the lowest Neumann eigenvalues of parallelograms and domains of constant width
Authors: Léna Corentin , Rohleder Jonathan
Published: April 2024

We prove sharp upper bounds for the first and second non-trivial eigenvalues of the Neumann Laplacian in two classes of domains: parallelograms and domains of constant width. This gives in particular a new proof of an isoperimetric inequality for parallelograms recently obtained by A. Henrot, A. Lemenant and I. Lucardesi.
Detection of virus-specific T cells via ELISpot corroborates early diagnosis in human Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) encephalitis
Authors: Bauswein Markus , Eid Ehab , Eidenschink Lisa , Schmidt Barbara , Gessner André , Tappe Dennis , Cadar Dániel , Böhmer Merle M. , Jockel Laura , van Wickeren Nora , Garibashvili Tamara , Wiesinger Isabel , Wendl Christina , Heckmann Josef G. , Angstwurm Klemens , Freyer Martin
Published: April 2024

Background

Within endemic regions in southern and eastern Germany, Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) causes rare zoonotic spill-over infections in humans, leading to encephalitis with a high case-fatality risk. So far, intra-vitam diagnosis has mainly been based on RT-qPCR from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serology, both being associated with diagnostic challenges. Whilst low RNA copy numbers in CSF limit the sensitivity of RT-qPCR from this material, seroconversion often occurs late during the course of the disease.

Case presentation

Here, we report the new case of a 40 − 50 year-old patient in whom the detection of virus-specific T cells via ELISpot corroborated the diagnosis of BoDV-1 infection. The patient showed a typical course of the disease with prodromal symptoms like fever and headaches 2.5 weeks prior to hospital admission, required mechanical ventilation from day three after hospitalisation and remained in deep coma until death ten days after admission.

Results

Infection was first detected by positive RT-qPCR from a CSF sample drawn four days after admission (viral load 890 copies/mL). A positive ELISpot result was obtained from peripheral blood collected on day seven, when virus-specific IgG antibodies were not detectable in serum, possibly due to previous immune adsorption for suspected autoimmune-mediated encephalitis.

Conclusion

This case demonstrates that BoDV-1 ELISpot serves as additional diagnostic tool even in the first week after hospitalisation of patients with BoDV-1 encephalitis.
Sea and brackish water desalination through a novel PVDF-PTFE composite hydrophobic membrane by vacuum membrane distillation
Authors: Madupathi Madhu Mala , Srishti S. , Fatima S. , Sridhar Sundergopal
Published: April 2024

The present study aims to evaluate the performance of porous hydrophobic Polyvinylidene fluoride − Polytetrafluoroethylene (PVDF-PTFE) composite membranes for desalination by vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) technique. The effect of operating parameters such as feed NaCl concentration (10,000 to 40,000 mg/L), feed temperature (50 °C to 80 °C), and downstream pressure (80 to 120 mmHg) on water permeation rate was studied. The increase in feed temperature enhanced the water permeation rate due to a rise in driving force across the membrane. For a constant downstream pressure of 80 mmHg, feed temperature of 80 °C and feed flow rate of 80 L/h, the membrane exhibited a maximum water flux of 3 kg/m2h with 99.86% salt rejection when aqueous NaCl concentration of 10,000 mg/L was charged as feed. Membrane characterization was performed using various analytical tools to determine physico-chemical properties such as pore size, structural elucidation, thermal stability, crystallinity, and hydrophobicity of the membrane material. Further, a temperature and concentration polarization coefficient-based analysis was performed by solving the mass and heat transport model equations using MATLAB software. The proposed research study promotes the application of VMD for recovering potable water from highly saline sea/brackish water and alleviates brine disposal issues.
Panoptic segmentation of 3D point clouds with Gaussian mixture model in outdoor scenes
Authors: Wang Yizhou , Wang Longguang , Hu Qingyong , Liu Yan , Zhang Ye , Guo Yulan
Published: April 2024

Accurate panoptic segmentation of 3D point clouds in outdoor scenes is critical for the success of applications such as autonomous driving and robot navigation. Existing methods in this area typically assume that the differences between instances are greater than the differences between points belonging to the same instance and use heuristic techniques for segmentation. However, this assumption may not hold in real scenes with occlusion and noise. In addition, most of the previous methods formulate point-wise embedding learning and instance clustering as two decoupled steps for separate optimization, making it a challenging task to learn discriminative embeddings. To address these issues, we introduce a framework for modeling points belonging to the same instance using learnable Gaussian distributions and formulate the point cloud as a Gaussian mixture model. Based on this formulation, we introduce a unified loss function that links the embedding learning and instance clustering in an end-to-end manner. Our framework is generic and can be seamlessly incorporated with existing panoptic segmentation networks. By explicitly modeling intra-instance variance and leveraging end-to-end optimization, our framework improves the discrimination capability of point embeddings with higher accuracy and robustness. Extensive experiments on two large-scale benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Transfusion-transmitted infections
Authors: Kim Han Joo , Ko Dae-Hyun
Published: April 2024

The risk of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) has always existed because transfused blood products are biological materials derived from humans. To prevent TTIs, screening strategies have been developed for various infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus, contributing significantly to reducing TTI globally. Nevertheless, septic transfusion reactions (STRs) due to bacterial contamination remain an unresolved issue. Various infectious diseases can be transmitted through blood products, and preventive and selective screening strategies have been applied across different regions. Although multiple strategies, including culture-based and rapid detection kit-based methods, have been introduced to overcome STRs, complete prevention has not yet been achieved. Recently, pathogen inactivation methods have been developed to eliminate non-specific organisms rather than screening specific organisms. This approach is anticipated to contribute significantly to diminishing the risk of TTIs in the future.