bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carbon dioxide flooding to reduce postoperative neurological injury following surgery for acute type A aortic dissection: a prospective, randomised, blinded, controlled clinical trial, CARTA study protocol - objectives and design
Authors: Ede Jacob , Teurneau-Hermansson Karl , Moseby-Knappe Marion , Ramgren Birgitta , Bjursten Henrik , Ederoth Per , Larsson Mårten , Mattsson-Carlgren Niklas , Sjögren Johan , Wierup Per , Nozohoor Shahab , Zindovic Igor
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Neurological complications after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) increase patient morbidity and mortality. Carbon dioxide flooding is commonly used in open-heart surgery to reduce the risk of air embolism and neurological impairment, but it has not been evaluated in the setting of ATAAD surgery. This report describes the objectives and design of the CARTA trial, investigating whether carbon dioxide flooding reduces neurological injury following surgery for ATAAD.

Methods and analysis

The CARTA trial is a single-centre, prospective, randomised, blinded, controlled clinical trial of ATAAD surgery with carbon dioxide flooding of the surgical field. Eighty consecutive patients undergoing repair of ATAAD, and who do not have previous neurological injuries or ongoing neurological symptoms, will be randomised (1:1) to either receive carbon dioxide flooding of the surgical field or not. Routine repair will be performed regardless of the intervention. The primary endpoints are size and number of ischaemic lesions on brain MRI performed after surgery. Secondary endpoints are clinical neurological deficit according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, level of consciousness using the Glasgow Coma Scale motor score, brain injury markers in blood after surgery, neurological function according to the modified Rankin Scale and postoperative recovery 3 months after surgery.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval has been granted by Swedish Ethical Review Agency for this study. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed media.

Trial registration number

NCT04962646.
Impacts of unifying urban and rural residents’ medical insurance on the hospitalisation expenses of rural patients in eastern China: an interrupted time series analysis
Authors: Qin Zhaohui , Liu Sha , Zhou Min , Chen Lijiang , Huang Wenhao , Shen Liang
Published: May 2023

Objectives

This study evaluated the impact of the Urban and Rural Residents’ Basic Medical Insurance scheme on hospitalisation expenses of rural patients in eastern China, which unified separate healthcare systems for urban and rural residents.

Design

Monthly hospitalisation data from municipal and county hospitals were collected from the local Medicare Fund Database, covering the period from January 2018 to December 2021. The unification of insurance between urban and rural patients was implemented at different times for county and municipal hospitals. An interrupted time series analysis was used to assess the immediate and gradual effects of the integrated policy on the total medical expenses, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses and effective reimbursement rate (ERR) among rural patients.

Setting and participants

This study included 636 155 rural inpatients over 4 years in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.

Results

In January 2020, the policy of urban and rural medical insurance was initially integrated in county hospitals, after which the ERR decreased at a monthly rate of 0.23% (p=0.002, 95% CI −0.37% to −0.09%) compared with the preintervention period. After the insurance systems were unified in municipal hospitals in January 2021, OOP expenses decreased by ¥63.54 (p=0.002, 95% CI −102.48 to −24.61) and the ERR increased at a monthly rate of 0.24% (p=0.029, 95% CI 0.03% to 0.045%).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the unification of urban and rural medical insurance systems was an effective intervention to reduce the financial burden of illness for rural inpatients, especially OOP expenses for hospitalisation in municipal hospitals.
Paper and screen media in current health education practices aimed at older adults: a scoping review protocol
Authors: Ferraz Larissa Taveira , Santos Anna Julia Tavares , Lorenzi Lorena Jorge , Castro Paula Costa , Frohlich David Mark , Barley Elizabeth
Published: May 2023

Introduction

With technological advancement and the COVID-19 pandemic, paper-based media are giving way to screen-based media to promote healthy ageing. However, there is no review available covering paper and screen media use by older people, so the objective of this review is to map the current use of paper-based and/or screen-based media for health education aimed at older people.

Methods and analysis

The literature will be searched in Scopus, Web of Science, Medline, Embase, Cinahl, The ACM Guide to Computing Literature and Psyinfo databases. Studies in English, Portuguese, Italian or Spanish published from 2012 to the date of the search will be examined. In addition, an additional strategy will be carried out, which will be a Google Scholar search, in which the first 300 studies according to Google’s relevance algorithm will be verified. The terms used in the search strategy will be focused on older adults, health education, paper-based and screen-based media, preferences, intervention and other related terms. This review will include studies where the average age of the participants was 60 years or older and were users of health education strategies through paper-based or screen-based media. Two reviewers will carry out the selection of studies in five steps: identification of studies and removal of duplicates, pilot test, selection by reading titles and abstracts, full-text inclusion and search for additional sources. A third reviewer will resolve disagreements. To record information from the included studies, a data extraction form will be used. The quantitative data will be presented in a descriptive way and the qualitative data through Bardin’s content analysis.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not applicable to the scoping review. The results will be disseminated through presentations at significant scientific events and published in journals in the area.

Protocol registration number

Open science framework (DOI: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/GKEAH).
Evaluation of the effect of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate on arrhythmia-related cardiovascular outcomes in patients receiving chronic haemodialysis with hyperkalaemia: protocol for the multicentre, randomised, controlled DIALIZE-Outcomes study
Authors: Fishbane Steven , Jadoul Michel , Dember Laura , Kovesdy CP , Al-Shurbaji Ayman , Lisovskaja Vera , Sekar Priya , Katona Brian , Guzman Nicolas , Herzog Charles
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Patients with kidney failure receiving chronic haemodialysis have elevated risk of arrhythmias potentially increasing the likelihood of sudden cardiac death, stroke and hospitalisation. The DIALIZE study (NCT03303521) demonstrated that sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) was an efficacious and well-tolerated treatment for predialysis hyperkalaemia in patients undergoing haemodialysis. The DIALIZE-Outcomes study evaluates the effect of SZC on sudden cardiac death and arrhythmia-related cardiovascular outcomes in patients receiving chronic haemodialysis with recurrent hyperkalaemia.

Methods and analysis

International, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at 357 study sites across 25 countries. Adults (≥18 years) receiving chronic haemodialysis three times per week with recurrent predialysis serum potassium (K+) ≥5.5 mmol/L post long interdialytic interval (LIDI) are eligible. Patients (~2800) will be randomised 1:1 to SZC or placebo, starting at 5 g orally once daily on non-dialysis days and titrated weekly in 5 g increments (maximum 15 g) to target predialysis serum K+4.0–5.0 mmol/L post LIDI. The primary objective is to evaluate efficacy of SZC versus placebo in reducing occurrence of the primary composite endpoint of sudden cardiac death, stroke or arrhythmia-related hospitalisation, intervention or emergency department visit. Secondary endpoints include efficacy of SZC versus placebo in maintaining normokalaemia (serum K+4.0–5.5 mmol/L post LIDI) at the 12-month visit, preventing severe hyperkalaemia (serum K+≥6.5 mmol/L post LIDI) at the 12-month visit and reducing the incidence of individual cardiovascular outcomes. Safety of SZC will be evaluated. The study is event driven, with participants remaining in the study until 770 primary endpoint events have occurred. Average time in the study is expected to be ~25 months.

Ethics and dissemination

Approval was obtained from the relevant institutional review board/independent ethics committee from each participating site (approving bodies in supplementary information). The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

Trial registration numbers

EudraCT 2020-005561-14 and clinicaltrials.gov identifierNCT04847232.
Mature tertiary lymphoid structures are key niches of tumour-specific immune responses in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas
Authors: Kinker Gabriela Sarti , Vitiello Glauco Akelinghton Freire , Diniz Ariane Barros , Cabral-Piccin Mariela Pires , Pereira Pedro Henrique Barbosa , Carvalho Maria Letícia Rodrigues , Ferreira Wallax Augusto Silva , Chaves Alexandre Silva , Rondinelli Amanda , Gusmão Arianne Fagotti , Defelicibus Alexandre , dos Santos Gabriel Oliveira , Nunes Warley Abreu , Claro Laura Carolina López , Bernardo Talita Magalhães , Nishio Ricardo Tadashi , Pacheco Adhemar Monteiro , Laus Ana Carolina , Arantes Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista , Fleck Julia Lima , de Jesus Victor Hugo Fonseca , de Moricz André , Weinlich Ricardo , Coimbra Felipe José Fernandez , de Lima Vladmir Cláudio Cordeiro , Medina Tiago da Silva
Published: May 2023

Objective

To better understand the immune microenvironment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), here we explored the relevance of T and B cell compartmentalisation into tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) for the generation of local antitumour immunity.

Design

We characterised the functional states and spatial organisation of PDAC-infiltrating T and B cells using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), flow cytometry, multicolour immunofluorescence, gene expression profiling of microdissected TLSs, as well as in vitro assays. In addition, we performed a pan-cancer analysis of tumour-infiltrating T cells using scRNA-seq and sc T cell receptor sequencing datasets from eight cancer types. To evaluate the clinical relevance of our findings, we used PDAC bulk RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the PRINCE chemoimmunotherapy trial.

Results

We found that a subset of PDACs harbours fully developed TLSs where B cells proliferate and differentiate into plasma cells. These mature TLSs also support T cell activity and are enriched with tumour-reactive T cells. Importantly, we showed that chronically activated, tumour-reactive T cells exposed to fibroblast-derived TGF-β may act as TLS organisers by producing the B cell chemoattractant CXCL13. Identification of highly similar subsets of clonally expandedCXCL13+tumour-infiltrating T cells across multiple cancer types further indicated a conserved link between tumour-antigen recognition and the allocation of B cells within sheltered hubs in the tumour microenvironment. Finally, we showed that the expression of a gene signature reflecting mature TLSs was enriched in pretreatment biopsies from PDAC patients with longer survival after receiving different chemoimmunotherapy regimens.

Conclusion

We provided a framework for understanding the biological role of PDAC-associated TLSs and revealed their potential to guide the selection of patients for future immunotherapy trials.
Mental health service use among Canadian veterans within the first 5 years following service: methodological considerations for comparisons with the general population
Authors: St.Cyr Kate , Kurdyak Paul , Smith Peter M , Mahar Alyson L
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Previous research comparing veteran and civilian mental health (MH) outcomes often assumes stable rates of MH service use over time and relies on standardisation or restriction to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics. We aimed to explore the stability of MH service use in the first 5 years following release from the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and to demonstrate the impact of using increasingly stringent matching criteria on effect estimates when comparing veterans with civilians, using incident outpatient MH encounters as an example.

Methods

We used administrative healthcare data from veterans and civilians residing in Ontario, Canada to create three hard-matched civilian cohorts: (1) age and sex; (2) age, sex and region of residence; and (3) age, sex, region of residence and median neighbourhood income quintile, while excluding civilians with a history of long-term care or rehabilitation stay or receipt of disability/income support payments. Extended Cox models were used to estimate time-dependent HRs.

Results

Across all cohorts, time-dependent analyses suggested that veterans had a significantly higher hazard of an outpatient MH encounter within the first 3 years of follow-up than civilians, but differences were attenuated in years 4–5. More stringent matching decreased baseline differences in unmatched variables and shifted the effect estimates, while sex-stratified analyses revealed stronger effects among women compared with men.

Conclusions

This methods-focused study demonstrates the implications of several study design decisions that should be considered when conducting comparative veteran and civilian health research.
Stellate ganglion block catheter for paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity: calming the ‘neuro-storm’
Authors: Lee Man-Cheung , Bartuska Andrew , Chen Jeffrey , Kim Richard K , Jaradeh Safwan , Mihm Fred
Published: May 2023

Background

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) is an autonomic disorder affecting patients with severe acquired brain injury characterized by intermittent sympathetic discharges with limited therapeutic options. We hypothesized that the PSH pathophysiology could be interrupted via stellate ganglion blockade (SGB).

Case presentation

A patient with PSH after midbrain hemorrhage followed by hydrocephalus obtained near-complete resolution of sympathetic events for 140 days after SGB.

Conclusion

SGB is a promising therapy for PSH, overcoming the limitations of systemic medications and may serve to recalibrate aberrant autonomic states.
Stand- and tree-level responses to a range of initial basal area densities following partial harvest of complex spruce–fir stands in central British Columbia: 25-year results of a long-term field experiment
Authors: Jull Michael , Griesbauer Hardy
Published: May 2023

As forest managers increasingly seek to implement partial-harvest silviculture systems in complex forests, more data are required on the potential development of the residual stand following treatment. In this study, we present 25-year data from a long-term silvicultural study of tree- and stand-level responses to differing levels of basal area following partial harvest in a complex spruce–fir forest in central British Columbia, Canada. Reducing stand basal area elicited stronger basal area increment response in fir than spruce; however, spruce productivity was overall higher than fir across all treatments. Smaller trees increased their size proportionally more than larger trees, and thinning resulted in increased recruitment of smaller trees into larger diameter classes. At the stand-level, basal area reductions to well below 20 m2/ha resulted in higher volume and basal area growth over the length of this study, and suggest that optimum stand-level growth may be achieved at lower basal areas than suggested in prior literature. We also found a positive relationship between stand-level residual basal area and mortality. In central British Columbia, stand structure, species composition, and growth rates in complex spruce–fir forests can be maintained through partial-harvest silviculture treatments.
Spatial scale affects the importance of deterministic and stochastic factors in the structuring of tadpole assemblages in Brazilian Cerrado
Authors: Fava Fernanda Guimarães , Alves Gabriela , da Paixão Ingrid , Melo Muryllo , Nomura Fausto
Published: May 2023

Many factors influence the structure of natural assemblages. Species interaction and environmental factors may generate deterministic patterns, whereas dispersal and ecological drift may generate stochastic patterns. We used pond systems to understand how deterministic and stochastic factors interact and influence tadpole assemblages at different spatial scales. We used variation partitioning and a co-occurrence analysis to evaluate how local environment heterogeneity, species interaction, and spatial variables affected species composition at local and regional scales in Brazilian savanna. Both deterministic and stochastic processes were important to explain tadpole distribution at regional scale, but with a greater contribution of stochastic factors. At local scales, environmental and niche traits were more important to explain tadpole distribution into the habitats. We demonstrate that in Brazilian Cerrado, species composition can be explained by the "MacArthur paradox", in which niche processes are important at local scales, whereas dispersal constraints and population processes lead to stochastic patterns in species distribution at large spatial scales.
Nuclear structure advancements with multi-nucleon transfer reactions
Authors: Pérez-Vidal R. M. , Galtarossa F. , Mijatović T. , Szilner S. , Zanon I. , Brugnara D. , Pellumaj J. , Ciemala M. , Valiente-Dobón J. J. , Corradi L. , Clément E. , Leoni S. , Fornal B. , Siciliano M. , Gadea A.
Published: May 2023

Multi-Nucleon Transfer (MNT) reactions have been used for decades as a reaction mechanism, in order to populate excited states in nuclei far from stability and to perform nuclear structure studies. Nevertheless, the development of set-ups involving high acceptance tracking magnetic spectrometers (mainly existing in Europe), coupled with the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) opens new possibilities, especially if they are used in conjunction with high-intensity stable beams or ISOL RIBs. In this article, we will discuss the capabilities of such set-ups aiming at different goals, including complete information in high-resolution spectroscopy as well as lifetime measurements.
Multi-Angle Models and Lightweight Unbiased Decoding-Based Algorithm for Human Pose Estimation
Authors: He Jianghai , Zhang Weitong , Shang Ronghua , Feng Jie , Jiao Licheng
Published: May 2023

When a top-down method is taken to the task of human pose estimation, the accuracy of joint point localization is often limited by the accuracy of human detection. In addition, conventional algorithms commonly encode the image to generate a heat map before processing, but the systematic error in decoding the heat map back to the original image has an impact on the positioning. Therefore, to address the two problems, we propose an algorithm that uses multiple angle models to generate the human boxes and then performs lightweight decoding to recover the image. The new boxes can better fit humans and the recovery error can be reduced. First, we split the backbone network into three sub-networks, the first sub-network is responsible for generating the original human box, the second sub-network is responsible for generating a coarse pose estimation in the boxes, and the third sub-network is responsible for a high-precision pose estimation. In order to make the human box fit the human body better, with only a small number of interfering pixels inside the box, models of the human boxes with multiple rotation angles are generated. The results from the second sub-network are used to select the best human box. Using this human box as input to the third sub-network can significantly improve the accuracy of the pose estimation. Then to reduce the errors arising from image decoding, we propose a lightweight unbiased decoding strategy that differs from traditional methods by combining multiple possible offsets to select the direction and size of the final offset. On the MPII dataset and the COCO dataset, we compare the proposed algorithm with 11 state-of-the-art algorithms. The experimental results show that the algorithm achieves a large improvement in accuracy for a wide range of image sizes and different metrics.
Application of Reservoir Computing Based on a 2D Hyperchaotic Discrete Memristive Map in Efficient Temporal Signal Processing
Authors: Xu Shengjie , Ren Jing , Ji’e Musha , Duan Shukai , Wang Lidan
Published: May 2023

The analysis of time series is essential in many fields, and reservoir computing (RC) can provide effective temporal processing that makes it well-suited for time series analysis and prediction tasks. In this study, we introduce a new discrete memristor model and a corresponding two-dimensional hyperchaotic map with complex dynamic properties that are well-suited for reservoir computing. By applying this map to the RC, we enhance the state richness of the reservoir, resulting in improved performance. The paper evaluates the performance of the proposed RC approach using time series data for sunspot, exchange rate, and solar-E forecasting tasks. Our experimental results demonstrate that this approach is highly effective in handling temporal data with both accuracy and efficiency. And comparing with other discrete memristive chaotic maps, the proposed map is the best for improving the RC performance. Furthermore, the proposed RC model is characterized by a simple structure that enables it to fully exploit the time-dependence of the state values of the hyperchaotic map.
Phases and Their Transitions Characterizing the Dynamics of Global Terrorism: A Multidimensional Scaling and Visualization Approach
Authors: Lopes António M.
Published: May 2023

This paper proposes a technique based on unsupervised machine learning to find phases and phase transitions characterizing the dynamics of global terrorism. A dataset of worldwide terrorist incidents, covering the period from 1970 up to 2019 is analyzed. Multidimensional time-series concerning casualties and events are generated from a public domain database and are interpreted as the state of a complex system. The time-series are sliced, and the segments generated are objects that characterize the dynamical process. The objects are compared with each other by means of several distances and classified by means of the multidimensional scaling (MDS) method. The MDS generates loci of objects, where time is displayed as a parametric variable. The obtained portraits are analyzed in terms of the patterns of objects, characterizing the nature of the system dynamics. Complex dynamics are revealed, with periods resembling chaotic behavior, phases and phase transitions. The results demonstrate that the MDS is an effective tool to analyze global terrorism and can be adopted with other complex systems.
Global Hopf Bifurcation of State-Dependent Delay Differential Equations
Authors: Guo Shangjiang
Published: May 2023

We apply the [Formula: see text]-equivariant degree method to a Hopf bifurcation problem for functional differential equations with a state-dependent delay. The formal linearization of the system at a stationary state is extracted and translated into a bifurcation invariant by using the homotopy invariance of [Formula: see text]-equivariant degree. As a result, the local Hopf bifurcation is detected and the global continuation of periodic solutions is described.
Nonexistence and Uniqueness of Limit Cycles in a Class of Three-Dimensional Piecewise Linear Differential Systems
Authors: Chen Ting , Huang Lihong , Llibre Jaume
Published: May 2023

During the last twenty years there has been increasing interest in studying the piecewise differential systems, mainly due to their many applications in natural science and technology. Up to now the most studied differential systems are in dimension two, here we study them in dimension three. One of the main difficulties for studying these differential systems consists in controlling the existence and nonexistence of limit cycles, and the numbers when they exist.

In this paper, we study the nonsymmetric limit cycles for a family of three-dimensional piecewise linear differential systems with three zones separated by two parallel planes. For this class of differential systems we study the nonexistence, existence and uniqueness of their limit cycles.
Efficient Neuromorphic Reservoir Computing Using Optoelectronic Memristors for Multivariate Time Series Classification
Authors: Su Jing , Lu Jiale , Sun Fan , Zhou Guangdong , Duan Shukai , Hu Xiaofang
Published: May 2023

Reservoir computing (RC) has attracted much attention as a brain-like neuromorphic computing algorithm for time series processing. In addition, the hardware implementation of the RC system can significantly reduce the computing time and effectively apply it to edge computing, showing a wide range of applications. However, many hardware implementations of RC use different hardware to implement standard RC without further expanding the RC architecture, which makes it challenging to deal with relatively complex time series tasks. Therefore, we propose a bidirectional hierarchical light reservoir computing method using optoelectronic memristors as the basis for the hardware implementation. The approach improves the performance of hardware-implemented RC by allowing the memristor to capture multilevel temporal information and generate a variety of reservoir states. Ag[Formula: see text]GQDs[Formula: see text]TiOx[Formula: see text]FTO memristors with negative photoconductivity effects can map temporal inputs nonlinearly to reservoir states and are used to build physical reservoirs to accomplish higher-speed operations. The method’s effectiveness is demonstrated in multivariate time series classification tasks: a predicted accuracy of 98.44[Formula: see text] is achieved in voiceprint recognition and 99.70[Formula: see text] in the mobile state recognition task. Our study offers a strategy for dealing with multivariate time series classification issues and paves the way to developing efficient neuromorphic computing.
Color-Unrelated Head-Shoulder Networks for Fine-Grained Person Re-identification
Authors: Xu Boqiang , Liang Jian , He Lingxiao , Wu Jinlin , Fan Chao , Sun Zhenan
Published: May 2023

Person
re-identification (re-id)
attempts to match pedestrian images with the same identity across non-overlapping cameras. Existing methods usually study person re-id by learning discriminative features based on the clothing attributes (e.g., color, texture). However, the clothing appearance is not sufficient to distinguish different persons especially when they are in similar clothes, which is known as the
fine-grained (FG)
person re-id problem. By contrast, this paper proposes to exploit the color-unrelated feature along with the head-shoulder feature for FG person re-id. Specifically, a
color-unrelated head-shoulder network (CUHS)
is developed, which is featured in three aspects: (1) It consists of a lightweight head-shoulder segmentation layer for localizing the head-shoulder region and learning the corresponding feature. (2) It exploits
instance normalization (IN)
for learning color-unrelated features. (3) As IN inevitably reduces inter-class differences, we propose to explore richer visual cues for IN by an attention exploration mechanism to ensure high discrimination. We evaluate our model on the FG-reID, Market1501, and DukeMTMC-reID datasets, and the results show that CUHS surpasses previous methods on both the FG and conventional person re-id problems.
FVF-AKA: A Formal Verification Framework of AKA Protocols for Multi-server IoT
Authors: Fei Yuan , Zhu Huibiao , Yin Jiaqi
Published: May 2023

As IoT in a multi-server environment increases resources’ utilization, more and more problems of IoT authentication and key agreement are being revealed. The Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) protocol plays an important role in solving these problems. Many AKA protocols have been proposed, and some of them support their own verifications. However, a unifying verification framework for multi-server IoT is lacking. In this article, we propose a formal verification framework of AKA protocols for multi-server IoT (FVF-AKA). It supports the construction of CSP models for the AKA protocol, the implementation of the CSP models in PAT with C#, and the verification of formal models. With the help of C#, many complex functions in the AKA protocol can be implemented. We also design an algorithm to support automatic conversion from the CSP model to the PAT model. FVF-AKA can verify four fundamental properties (deadlock freedom, entity legitimacy, timeout delay, and session key consistency). It also supports the verification of security properties for the AKA protocol suffering from four different attacks (relay attacks, denial of service attacks, server spoofing attacks, and session key attacks). Our approach can be applied to most AKA protocols for multi-server IoT generally. By applying FVF-AKA to two AKA protocols, we can verify whether they satisfy the fundamental properties and analyze their security properties in vulnerable environments. Our work would help to analyze the AKA protocol for multi-server IoT and provide the foundation for the analysis of enhancing its security and robustness.
Thermodynamics, Transport, and Kinetics in BaZr0.8Y0.2O3−δ
Electrolytes and their Impact on Hydrogen Separation and Compression
Authors: Zhu Huayang , Shin Yewon , Ricote Sandrine , Kee Robert J.
Published: May 2023

This paper initially fits a comprehensive set of thermodynamic and transport properties charged mobile defects (protons, oxygen vacancies, and small polarons) in proton-conducting BaZr0.8Y0.2O3−δ
(BZY20). The fits are based on recently published measurements, including conductivity, proton concentrations via Karl–Fischer titration, and non-stoichiometry via thermogravimetric analysis, all with wide ranges of temperatures and pressures. These properties are needed for inclusion in physics-based models. The paper goes on to fit charge-transfer kinetics in Butler–Volmer form, based primarily in protonic-ceramic fuel cell data in button-cell format. These fits use the previously fitted thermodynamic and transport properties without alteration. The next step is to consider the kinetics of H2O-incorporation kinetics (i.e. Stotz-Wagner hydration). Unfortunately, to date, there are no direct measurements of these thermal (i.e. not charge-transfer) kinetics. However, the present analysis shows great sensitivities to the defect-incorporation kinetics, ranging from near equilibration to strong rate limitations. The paper concludes with modeling and interpreting the performance of an electrochemical hydrogen-compression cell, using the newly established properties.
Feature-Driven Closed-Loop Optimization for Battery Fast Charging Design with Machine Learning
Authors: Zhang Yongzhi , Han Dou , Xiong Rui
Published: May 2023

Electric vehicle batteries must possess fast rechargeability. However, fast charging of lithium-ion batteries remains a great challenge. This paper develops a feature-driven closed-loop optimization (CLO) methodology to efficiently design health-conscious fast-charging strategies for batteries. To avoid building an early outcome predictor, the feature highly related to battery end-of-life is used as the optimization objective instead of using the predicted lifetime. This feature is extracted from the battery’s early cycles and the experimental cost is thus reduced. By developing closed-loop multi-channel experiments with Bayesian optimization (BO), the optimal charging protocols with long cycle lives are located quickly and efficiently among 224 four-step, 10 min fast-charging protocols. Experimental results show that BO performs well with different acquisition functions, and a minimum of 12 paralleled channels for each round of experiments are recommended to obtain stable optimization results. Compared with the benchmark, the developed method recommends similar fast-charging protocols with long cycle lives based on much less experimental cost.
Construction of a Cuproptosis‐Related lncRNA Prognostic Model for Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma and Screening of Potential Drugs
Authors: Ma Xuzhan , Sun Libin
Published: May 2023

Objective. This study aimed to analyze the cuproptosis‐related long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) in patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA), construct a prognostic model, and screen its potential drugs. Methods. The transcriptome expression and clinical and mutation burden data related to BLCA were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The prognostic lncRNAs were screened using univariate Cox and Lasso regression analyses, and then included in the multifactor risk ratio model. The risk score of each sample was calculated based on the prognostic model formula, and the patients were divided into high‐ and low‐risk groups for survival difference analysis. Clinically relevant receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, C‐index principal component analysis, and clinical data statistics were used to evaluate the predictive power of the model. The risk‐differential lncRNAs were functionally enriched. We calculated the tumor mutation burden of risk lncRNAs, and survival and the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion analyses for high‐ and low‐risk groups. Finally, immunocorrelation analysis and potential drug screening were performed. Results. Eleven lncRNAs with independent prognostic significance were screened out to construct the prognostic model. Survival analysis showed a significant difference in survival between the high‐ and low‐risk groups. The areas under the ROC curve at 1, 3, and 5 years were 0.711, 0.679, and 0.713, respectively. The discrimination between the lncRNA high‐ and low‐risk groups in the constructed model was the most obvious. The risk‐differential lncRNAs were closely related to immunity. The treatment drugs with high sensitivity were screened based on the IC50 value. Conclusion. The 11 cuproptosis‐related lncRNAs may serve as molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets for BLCA.
Modal Analysis and Flow through Sectionalized Pipeline Gate Valve Using FEA and CFD Technique
Authors: Sozinando Desejo Filipeson , Tchomeni Bernard Xavier , Alugongo Alfayo Anyika
Published: May 2023

Sectionalized gate valves can reduce the volume of product released in the event of a buried pipeline failure or rupture. The risk of pipeline failure is a constant and common occurrence, and many factors can lead to pipeline incidents. In this paper, the free undamped vibration of the pipeline, sectionalized gate valve structure, and the dynamics of the fluid passing through the system are investigated. First and foremost, a modal analysis based on finite element analysis (FEA) is introduced as a fundamental linear dynamics analysis to provide insight into how a pipeline sectionalized gate valve structure may respond to different types of dynamic loading. Secondly, an implicit numerical analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed to describe physical quantities such as the flow velocity profiles at different stream positions and pressure fields at different points in a control volume. Through modal analysis, the effective mass factor shows the mass involved in each mode and helps identify modes with high potential to cause damage and prioritize efforts to address them. The CFD suggests that the sectionalized design of the gate valve leads to a strong vorticity of the fluid in the transversal direction of the flow and a decrease in efficiency due to pressure drop.
Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and γ-Secretase Inhibitor Treatments Suppress Amyloid-β25–35-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Rat Dams and Cortical Degeneration in Offspring
Authors: Gaber Asmaa , Elbakry Ahlam M. , Aljarari Rabab M. , Jaber Fatima A. , Khadrawy Yasser A. , Sabry Dina , Abo-ELeneen Rasha E. , Ahmed Osama M.
Published: May 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of age-related neurodegeneration and ensuing cognitive impairment. Progressive deposition of extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates (plaques) and intracellular hyperphosphorylated Tau protein (p-Tau) are the core pathological markers of AD but may precede clinical symptoms by many years, presenting a therapeutic window of opportunity. Females are more frequently afflicted by AD than males, necessitating evaluation of novel treatments for the female population. The current study examined the protective efficacies of intravenous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and oral gamma-secretase inhibitor-953 (GSI-953) during pregnancy on cognitive impairment in rat dams and neurodegeneration in offspring induced by intracerebroventricular injection of Aβ25–35 prior to pregnancy. The Aβ25–35 (AD) group exhibited significant (

P
<
0.001

) impairments in the Y-maze and novel object recognition test performance prior to conception. Histological analysis of the offspring cortex revealed substantial dendritic shrinkage and activation of microglial cells, while neurochemical analysis demonstrated significant increases in the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In contrast, BM-MSC or GSI-953 treatment of dams following Aβ25–35 injection significantly (

P
<
0.001

) reduced the number and size of activated microglial cells, markedly increased dendrite length, and reversed proinflammatory cytokine elevations in offspring. Moreover, BM-MSC or GSI-953 treatment reversed the Aβ25–35-induced amyloid precursor protein and p-Tau elevations in the offspring brain; these changes were accompanied by upregulation of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor and downregulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β in the serum and brain. Treatment with BM-MSCs or GSI-953 also reversed Aβ25–35-induced elevations in different gene expressions in the neonatal cortex. Finally, treatment of dams with BM-MSCs or GSI-953 prevented the Aβ25–35-induced disruption of newborn brain development. Thus, BM-MSC and GSI-953 treatments have broad-spectrum effects against Aβ25–35-induced brain pathology, including the suppression of neural inflammation, restoration of developmental plasticity, and promotion of neurotrophic signaling.
Designing Airline Hub-and-Spoke Network and Fleet Size by a Biobjective Model Based on Passenger Preferences and Value of Time
Authors: Nasrollahi Mahdi , Abdi Kordani Ali
Published: May 2023

This study presents a biobjective hub-and-spoke (HS) network design model for the global air passenger networks. The model explores the tradeoff between the total airline cost (airline preference) and lost time cost for passengers (user preference) as the model’s objectives. Most previous studies have focused on airline objectives and established HS networks based on the viewpoint of airlines, despite the importance of passenger objectives. Poor passenger service and inconvenience and dissatisfaction may lead to network breakdown. The major criteria for passenger dissatisfaction in HS networks are schedule and trip delays caused by nondirect flights. These delays (the lost time cost for passengers) are multiplied by the passengers’ value of time (VOT) and minimized as one of the model’s objectives. Another objective that is minimized is the transportation costs of the airline depending on the services provided (short-, medium-, and large-haul flights). The model is solved in a case study (Iranian Aeronautics Network) that is applied to the well-known yearbook of tourism statistics data. Pareto frontier was found for all candidate airports. Also, the number of aircraft required (short-, medium-, and large-haul), as well as the average load factor for different types of aircraft in various weights of the first objective (airline costs), was presented. The results of Pareto frontier indicated that Imam Khomeini International Airport should be selected as the global hub airport for Iran international flight network. Otherwise, Shiraz International Airport and Tabriz International Airport (as the first alternative), as well as Isfahan International Airport and Mashhad International Airport (as the second alternative), would be the best choices. The weight of the first objective (airline costs) seems to be between 0.7 to 1, a practical and logical weight that can reduce passenger costs (as the second objective) by 20% on average by adding only 15 long-haul, 40 medium-haul, and 37 short-haul aircraft to the airline’s fleet. Also, in this range, the average load factor for medium- and long-haul aircrafts is greater than 0.9, which seems to be ideal.
Volatile Components’ Variation Analysis on Ginseng Stems and Leaves at Different Growth Ages by HS-SPME-GC-MS
Authors: Zhang Hui-E. , Li Guang , Hou JianFeng , Han YanYan , Ye Ping , Chen ChangBao , Xu XiaoHong , Wang EnPeng
Published: May 2023

Panax ginseng is a famous valuable folk herb, the price of which particularly depends on its cultivation age. Since the classical chemical analysis usually needs to destroy the plants which is not suitable for the old wild ginseng due to the huge cost, in the current study, we employed the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS methodology which has the advantage of time-saving, nondestructive, and green to analyze the growth age of ginseng (roots) via determining the volatile components of ginseng stem and leaves (GSLs) combined with metabolic profiles way. 100 mg of finely ground GSL samples (3–7 years) were extracted by a 65 μm PDMS-DVB fiber in the headspace and then analyzed within 20 mins. The content assay of total saponins, crude polysaccharides, and total protein was also included. As a result of GC-MS-based profiling, the orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis’ (OPLS-DA) score plots showed excellent classification of four comparison groups (the 3- and 4-, 3-and 5-, 3- and 6-, and 3- and 7-year-old GSL) with 100% discrimination rate, respectively. 263 common differential variables were gained referring to the VIP and

P

values. 32 volatile metabolites were identified and showed good age discrimination capacities with an area under the curve (AUC) value of more than 0.8 by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Remarkably, there was one volatile component of sesquiterpenes, 1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, 2, 6, 6-trimethyl-, which showed an excellent prediction with the AUC value of 1.0 among all the four compared groups, which could be the potential biomarker to distinguish all the four compared groups. The total contents of different growth ages of components of ginseng stems and leaves were distinct. The contents of total protein (4.80 ± 0.27%) and crude polysaccharide (24.15 ± 0.89%) in the 4th year of GSLs were the highest among the five cultivation years. The content of total saponins (4.66 ± 0.38%) in the 5th year of GSLs was the highest. These results could provide a novel reference for the GSLs’ harvest and application periods. Moreover, the current study could also supply a promising way to set up a nondestructive, in situ, and green approach to discriminate the growth age of Panax ginseng rapidly without digging the roots out instead of detecting the VOCs of GSLs.
Study on Energy Conversion Efficiency and Structure Optimization of the Multorifices Nozzle for Radial Jet Drilling
Authors: Huang Famu , Zhu Ziheng , Wang Jian , Zhang Ping , Ren Zhongxin , Lu Jun , Su Haibo , Zhang Hong , Li Jingbin
Published: May 2023

Underground gas storage (UGS) is a crucial method for mitigating seasonal fluctuations in natural gas consumption. However, in China, UGS is primarily achieved through the conversion of abandoned gas reservoirs with limited storage capacity. Radial jet drilling (RJD) is an effective technology for the secondary development of depleted reservoirs. The multiorifice nozzle is a critical component that can efficiently break rock and create radial holes to increase gas production. In this study, we investigate the impact of nozzle structure on energy conversion efficiency through numerical simulations and experiments. Additionally, we design a swirling multiorifice nozzle and verify its effectiveness in field applications. Our findings indicate that the nozzle pressure drop and vorticity are primarily generated at the acute angle of the orifices. The number of forward orifices is directly proportional to energy loss, while the discharge coefficient and hydraulic performance initially increase and then decrease. Swirling multiorifice nozzle have fewer backward orifices, so they have less energy loss and a larger discharge coefficient. It has achieved better rock-breaking results in field applications. In conclusion, this study provides theoretical guidance and technical support for the secondary development of gas storage.
Two-Layer Parallel Fuzzy Logic Controller Design for Semiactive Suspension System with a Full Car Model
Authors: Van Tan Vu
Published: May 2023

This paper presents research results on semiactive suspension using a fuzzy logic controller. Firstly, a full car model is built with 7 degrees of freedom using a semiactive suspension system at all four wheels. The dynamic equations are converted to the state space representation to facilitate control design and improve accuracy in simulation design. Then, a two-layer parallel fuzzy logic controller is designed with 49 and 25 rules for two fuzzy inference systems. In this way, the fuzzy logic controller is able to respond to a wide operating range of the system and the output force is smoother. Finally, the evaluation results are performed in the frequency and time domains with a real random road profile, and they showed that the root mean square value of the signals when using a semiactive suspension system with the proposed fuzzy logic controller decreased by over 25% compared to the passive suspension system. This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed controller in improving the ride comfort, the road holding and ensuring the suspension travel of cars.
A New Experimental Method for the Nonlinear Modal Parameter Identification of a Pressurized Water Reactor Fuel Assembly
Authors: Yang Chen , Guo Yan , Hu Xiao , Zhang Yanhong
Published: May 2023

Establishing a dynamic model that accurately describes a realistic pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly is crucial to precisely evaluate the mechanical properties of the fuel assembly in seismic or loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs). The pluck test combined with the logarithmic decrement method has been widely applied in previous studies to extract fundamental modal parameters to calibrate dynamic models. However, most previous investigations focused on the first cycle of free vibration, which is strongly affected by stiction, baseline shift, drop conditions, and high-order mode interference, leading to inaccurate results. Moreover, these traditional methods cannot be used to extract high-order modal parameters. In this work, a novel experimental method for identifying the nonlinear modal parameters of a PWR fuel assembly is proposed. First, two algorithms are adopted to decompose the free vibration. Second, the local linearized modal parameters are extracted by a single-degree-of-freedom fitting method with a sliding window. Finally, these local linearized modal parameters are summed to obtain the nonlinear relationships between the modal parameters and amplitude. The new method makes more effective use of experimental data, obtains more accurate modal parameters than the logarithmic decrement method, and is capable of extracting high-order modal parameters. In the end, the test results are fitted by a fractional polynomial, which is of great value for numerical simulations.