bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“Courtesy, respect, and follow through”: a mixed methods evaluation of faculty members’ experiences, needs, and approaches to research collaborations
Authors: Friedman Daniela B. , Ek Christina , Neils-Strunjas Jean , Tanner Andrea , Hebert James R. , Donelle Lorie , Levkoff Sue E. , Hucek Freda Allyson , Yelton Brooks , Porter Dwayne E.
Published: January 2025

Introduction

Guided by a communications-focused framework developed by an interdisciplinary team of authors, this paper presents data from a survey of health science faculty members to better understand how research collaborations are established and maintained.

Methods

An electronic survey was distributed to faculty in six colleges at a Research 1 institution. Quantitative data were downloaded into Excel and then RStudio for descriptive analysis. Open-ended, qualitative responses were coded and analyzed for themes.

Results

Most respondents were in public health (44.0%) or medicine (25.3%); 40.0% were tenured. A grant deadline was the main impetus reported for initiating research collaborations (86.1%). Most respondents (76.5%) sought federal research funding. Establishing roles at the start of collaborations was considered either extremely (74.4%) or somewhat (25.6%) valuable; most (78.0%) decided on roles in a collaborative manner. Women were significantly more likely than men to publish with community members (p < 0.001) and disseminate findings beyond journal publications or presentations (e.g., reports; p < 0.001). Individuals in public health were more likely than those in other disciplines to publish with community members (p = 0.026).

Discussion

Findings suggest reaching out to collaborators to prepare a grant application no later than three months and ideally six months in advance. Expertise played a role in collaborator invitation, but personal qualities such as work ethic and enthusiasm for the research were also valued. Including and mentoring students on research teams was considered an important ingredient in research collaborations. Results should help guide efforts to establish and maintain research teams and may provide guidance to both novice and experienced researchers.
Multi-Objective Optimization Scheduling of a Wind–Solar Energy Storage Microgrid Based on an Improved OGGWO Algorithm
Authors: Mo Dong , Li Qiuwen , Sun Yan , Zhuo Yixin , Deng Fangming
Published: January 2025

To achieve the optimal solution between construction costs and carbon emissions in the multi-target optimization scheduling, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimization scheduling design for wind–solar energy storage microgrids based on an improved oppositional gradient grey wolf optimization (OGGWO) algorithm. First, two new features were added to the traditional grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm to solve the multi-target optimization scheduling of grid-connected microgrids, aiming to improve solution quality and convergence speed. Furthermore, Gaussian walk and Lévy flight are introduced to enhance the search capability of the proposed OGGWO algorithm. This method expands the search range while sacrificing only a small amount of search speed, contributing to obtaining the global optimal solution. Finally, the gradient direction is considered in the feature search process, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the search space, which facilitates achieving the global optimum. Experimental results indicate that, compared to traditional methods, the proposed improved OGGWO algorithm can achieve standard deviations of 4.88 and 4.46 in two different scenarios, demonstrating significant effectiveness in reducing costs and pollution.
A Massively Parallel SMC Sampler for Decision Trees
Authors: Drousiotis Efthyvoulos , Varsi Alessandro , Phillips Alexander M. , Maskell Simon , Spirakis Paul G.
Published: January 2025

Bayesian approaches to decision trees (DTs) using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) samplers have recently demonstrated state-of-the-art accuracy performance when it comes to training DTs to solve classification problems. Despite the competitive classification accuracy, MCMC requires a potentially long runtime to converge. A widely used approach to reducing an algorithm’s runtime is to employ modern multi-core computer architectures, either with shared memory (SM) or distributed memory (DM), and use parallel computing to accelerate the algorithm. However, the inherent sequential nature of MCMC makes it unsuitable for parallel implementation unless the accuracy is sacrificed. This issue is particularly evident in DM architectures, which normally provide access to larger numbers of cores than SM. Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) samplers are a parallel alternative to MCMC, which do not trade off accuracy for parallelism. However, the performance of SMC samplers in the context of DTs is underexplored, and the parallelization is complicated by the challenges in parallelizing its bottleneck, namely redistribution, especially on variable-size data types such as DTs. In this work, we study the problem of parallelizing SMC in the context of DTs both on SM and DM. On both memory architectures, we show that the proposed parallelization strategies achieve asymptotically optimal O(log2N) time complexity. Numerical results are presented for a 32-core SM machine and a 256-core DM cluster. For both computer architectures, the experimental results show that our approach has comparable or better accuracy than MCMC but runs up to 51 times faster on SM and 640 times faster on DM. In this paper, we share the GitHub link to the source code.
Towards Inclusive Entrepreneurship: Addressing Constraining and Contributing Factors for Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa
Authors: Ebewo Patrick Ebong , Schultz Cecile , Mmako Mphoreng Magdeline
Published: January 2025

Women entrepreneurs are increasingly recognised as pivotal contributors to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and employment generation, particularly in developing economies like South Africa. This study explores the contributing and constraining factors that shape the future of women’s entrepreneurship in South Africa through the lens of Institutional Theory. Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine (9) women entrepreneurs affiliated with a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development. The findings highlight key enabling factors, such as mentorship, education, supportive policies, collaboration, and government intervention programmes, which equip women entrepreneurs with the skills, networks, and resources needed to thrive. However, significant barriers persist, including financial exclusion, societal norms, ineffective policies, and psychological constraints such as low entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The study concludes that aligning institutional support across the regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive dimensions is essential for fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Recommendations include simplifying access to funding, expanding mentorship opportunities, and addressing systemic cultural and policy barriers to create a more equitable and supportive environment for women entrepreneurs.
Hierarchical Stratification for Spatial Sampling and Digital Mapping of Soil Attributes
Authors: Melo Derlei D. , Cunha Isabella A. , Amaral Lucas R.
Published: January 2025

This study assessed whether stratifying agricultural areas into macro- and micro-variability regions allows targeted sampling to better capture soil attribute variability, thus improving digital soil maps compared to regular grid sampling. Allocating more samples where soil variability is expected offers a promising alternative. We evaluated two sampling densities in two agricultural fields in Southeast Brazil: a sparse density (one sample per 2.5 hectares), typical in Precision Agriculture, and a denser grid (one sample per hectare), which usually provides reasonable mapping accuracy. For each density, we applied three designs: a regular grid and grids with 25% and 50% guided points. Apparent soil magnetic susceptibility (MSa) delimited macro-homogeneity zones, while Sentinel-2’s Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) identified micro-homogeneity, guiding sampling to pixels with higher Fuzzy membership. The attributes assessed included phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and clay content. Results showed that the 50% guided sample configuration improved ordinary kriging interpolation accuracy, particularly with sparse grids. In the six sparse grid scenarios, in four of them, the grid with 50% of the points in regular design and the other 50% directed by the proposed method presented better performance than the full regular grid; the higher improvement was obtained for clay content (RMSE of 54.93 g kg−1 to 45.63 g kg−1, a 16.93% improvement). However, prior knowledge of soil attributes and covariates is needed for this approach. We therefore recommend two-stage sampling to understand soil properties’ relationships with covariates before applying the proposed method.
Exploring Gait Recognition in Wild Nighttime Scenes
Authors: Li Haotian , Gong Wenjuan , Li Yutong , Wu Yikai , Li Kechen , Gonzàlez Jordi
Published: January 2025

Currently, gait recognition research is gradually expanding from ideal indoor environments to real-world outdoor scenarios. However, recognition scenarios in practical applications are often more complex than those considered in existing studies. For instance, real-world scenarios present multiple influencing factors, such as viewpoint variations and diverse carried items. Notably, many gait recognition tasks occur under low-light conditions at night. At present, research on gait recognition in nocturnal environments is relatively limited, and effective methods for nighttime gait recognition are lacking. To address this gap, this study extends gait recognition research to outdoor nighttime environments and introduces the first wild gait dataset encompassing both daytime and nighttime data, named Gait Recognition of Day and Night (GaitDN). Furthermore, to tackle the challenges posed by low-light conditions and other influencing factors in outdoor nighttime gait recognition, we propose a novel pose-based gait recognition framework called GaitSAT. This framework models the intrinsic correlations of human joints by integrating self-attention and graph convolution modules. We conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed method and existing approaches using both the GaitDN dataset and other available datasets. The proposed GaitSAT achieves state-of-the-art performance on the OUMVLP, GREW, Gait3D, and GaitDN datasets, with Rank-1 accuracies of 60.77%, 57.37%, 22.90%, and 86.24%, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that GaitSAT achieves higher accuracy and superior generalization capabilities compared to state-of-the-art pose-based methods.
Thermoforming of Non-Developable Surfaces: Challenges in the Manufacture of Solid Surfaces, the Case of Krion K-Life
Authors: Ventura Blanch Ferran , Shahdadpuri Aswani Vishal , Hernández Vílchez Pablo
Published: January 2025

This research arises from the need to rethink children’s play spaces found in the city through new manufacturing methods of solid surface materials such as Krion K-Life 1100, which allow the creation of complex ergonomic shapes. The method consisted of an iterative digital fabrication process, in which a series of molds were developed and adjusted to thermoform a solid surface material, adapting the design in each iteration according to the results obtained. Parametric digital modeling techniques and in-depth curvature analysis were carried out to optimize the geometry, in order to meet the technical limitations of the material and the manufacturing process itself. The results showed that, through precise adjustments in the curvature and thickness of the surface, it is possible to thermoform the solid surface without defects, such as folds or wrinkles, revealing it as a viable material for the generation of complex double-curved geometries, opening up a range of possibilities from the creation of new children’s spaces to parametric facades optimized according to their location.
Rebar Recognition Using Multi-Hyperbolic Attention in Faster R-CNN
Authors: Li Chuan , Cai Nianbiao , Pu Tong , Yang Xi , Liu Hao , Wang Lulu
Published: January 2025

Rebar constitutes a crucial element within tunnel lining structures, where its precise arrangement plays a pivotal role in determining both structural stability and load-bearing capacity. Due to the rebar’s high dielectric constant approaching infinity, radar signal reflections are intensified, manifesting as distinct hyperbolic patterns within radar imagery. By performing convolutional operations, these hyperbolic features of rebar can be effectively extracted from radar images. Building upon the feature extraction capabilities of the ResNet50 model, this study introduces a Deformable Attention to Capture Salient Information (DAS) mechanism, employing deformable and separable convolutions to enhance rebar localization and concentrate on hyperbolic features resulting from multiple reflections. Before the Region Proposal Network (RPN) and region of interest (ROI) pooling stages in Faster R-CNN, this study integrates a hyperbolic attention (HAT) module. Through refined distance metrics, the hyperbolic attention mechanism enhances the network’s Precision in identifying rebar hyperbolic features within feature maps. To ensure robustness across diverse conditions, this study utilizes a simulated public dataset for tunnel linings, alongside real data from the Husa Tunnel, to create a comprehensive ground-penetrating radar image dataset for tunnel linings. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model achieved an Average Precision of 94.93%, reflecting a 3.14% increase compared to the baseline model. Lastly, in a random selection of 50 radar images for testing, the model achieved a rebar detection accuracy of 93.46%, representing an enhancement of 0.94% over the baseline model.
Characterization of Congolese Woody Biomass and Its Potential as a Bioenergy Source
Authors: Nkoua Ngavouka Maryse D. , Mayala Tania S. , Douma Dick H. , Brown Aaron E. , Hammerton James M. , Ross Andrew B. , Nsongola Gilbert , M’Passi-Mabiala Bernard , Lovett Jon C.
Published: January 2025

This study assesses and characterizes six woody biomass (WB) species commonly harvested in the Republic of Congo: Millettia laurentii (WB1), Millettia eetveldeana (WB2), Hymenocardia ulmoides (WB3), Markhamia tomentosa (WB4), Pentaclethra eetveldeana (WB5), and Hymenocardia acida (WB6). Characterization was performed using proximate analysis with a Thermo Gravimetric Analyser (TGA), ultimate analysis with a CHNS Analyser, higher heating value (HHV) determination, metal content analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation. The proximate analysis results showed that volatile matter varied between 74.6% and 77.3%, while the ultimate analysis indicated that carbon content ranged from 43% to 46%, with low nitrogen content. XRF analysis revealed low levels of heavy metals in all samples. The HHV results, using three models (Dulong’s equation, Friedl, and proximate analysis), showed higher values with Friedl’s method (17.3–18.2 MJ/kg) and proximate analysis (15.26–19.23 MJ/kg) compared to Dulong’s equation (13.9–14.9 MJ/kg). Savannah biomass (WB6) exhibited high AGB (7.28 t), 14.55 t/ha, and carbon stock (7.28 t). Compared to forest biomass, savannah biomass presents a higher potential for bioenergy production. Minimal statistical analysis of wood biomass showed that parameters such as volatile matter (VM), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and calculated HHV have low variability, suggesting the biomass is relatively homogeneous. However, moisture and nitrogen showed significant standard deviations, indicating variability in storage conditions or sample nature. Statistical analysis of forest biomass estimation revealed different mean values for diameter, AGB (t and t/ha), and carbon stock, with high standard deviations, indicating a heterogeneous forest with both young and mature trees. These analyses and estimates indicate that these WB species are suitable for biofuel and bioenergy production using gasification, pyrolysis, and combustion processes. Among these thermochemical processes, gasification is the most efficient compared to combustion and pyrolysis.
Reliability of an Inertial Measurement System Applied to the Technical Assessment of Forehand and Serve in Amateur Tennis Players
Authors: Caprioli Lucio , Romagnoli Cristian , Campoli Francesca , Edriss Saeid , Padua Elvira , Bonaiuto Vincenzo , Annino Giuseppe
Published: January 2025

Traditional methods for evaluating tennis technique, such as visual observation and video analysis, are often subjective and time consuming. On the other hand, a quick and accurate assessment can provide immediate feedback to players and contribute to technical development, particularly in less experienced athletes. This study aims to validate the use of a single inertial measurement system to assess some relevant technical parameters of amateur players. Among other things, we attempt to search for significant correlations between the flexion extension and torsion of the torso and the lateral distance of the ball from the body at the instant of impact. This research involved a group of amateur players who performed a series of standardized gestures (forehands and serves) wearing a sensorized chest strap fitted with a wireless inertial unit. The collected data were processed to extract performance metrics. The percentage coefficient of variation for repeated measurements, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Spearman’s correlation were used to determine the system’s reliability. High reliability was found between sets of measurements in all of the investigated parameters. The statistical analysis showed moderate and strong correlations, suggesting possible applications in assessing and optimizing specific aspects of the technique, like the player’s distance to the ball in the forehand or the toss in the serve. The significant variations in technical execution among the subjects emphasized the need for tailored interventions through personalized feedback. Furthermore, the system allows for the highlighting of specific areas where intervention can be achieved in order to improve gesture execution. These results prompt us to consider this system’s effectiveness in developing an on-court mobile application.
Population Genomics Reveals Elevated Inbreeding and Accumulation of Deleterious Mutations in White Raccoon Dogs
Authors: Tian Yinping , Lin Yu , Ma Yue , Li Jiayi , Sahu Sunil Kumar , Fan Jiale , Lin Chen , Li Zhiang , Shi Minhui , He Fengping , Bai Lianduo , Fu Yuan , Deng Zhangwen , Guo Huabing , Li Haimeng , Li Qiye , Xu Yanchun , Lan Tianming , Hou Zhijun , Xia Yanling , Yang Shuhui
Published: January 2025

The formation of animal breeds usually begins with a small subsample from their ancestral population. Deleterious mutations accumulate in the population under genetic drift, inbreeding, and artificial selection during the development and maintenance of traits desired by humans. White raccoon dogs are among the most popular breeds of farmed raccoon dogs, but white raccoon dogs are more susceptible to disease and have a lower reproductive ability. However, the accumulation of deleterious mutations in this white breed is largely unknown. By analyzing and comparing whole-genome sequencing data from 20 white raccoon dogs and 38 normal raccoon dogs, we detected an increased occurrence of loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in white raccoon dogs compared with normal raccoon dogs. With the finding of a significantly higher dosage of homozygous missense mutations in the white raccoon dog genome, we detected a greater fitness cost in white raccoon dogs. Although a much higher FROH level for ROH fragments longer than 1 Mb has been reported in white raccoon dogs, we did not detect a genetic signal of genetic purging in white raccoon dogs. This study provides valuable genomic resources and new insights into the accumulation of mutation loads in farmed raccoon dogs.
Aerodynamic and Inertial Loading Effects of Insect-Inspired Appendages in Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Ogunwa Titilayo , Chahl Javaan
Published: January 2025

Insects enhance aerodynamic flight control using the dynamic movement of their appendages, aiding in balance, stability, and manoeuvrability. Although biologists have observed these behaviours, the phenomena have not been expressed in a unified mathematical flight dynamics framework. For instance, relevant existing models tend to disregard either the aerodynamic or the inertial effects of the appendages of insects, such as the abdomen, based on the assumption that appendage dynamic effects dominate in comparison to aerodynamic effects, or that appendages are stationary. However, appendages in insects exist in various shapes and sizes, which affect the level of both the inertial and aerodynamic contributions to the overall system. Here, the effects of the individual dynamic, inertial and aerodynamic contributions of biologically inspired appendages in fixed wing forward flight demonstrate the utility of the framework on an example system. The analysis demonstrates the effect of these aerodynamic appendages on the steady flight and manoeuvre performance of a small aircraft with an actuated aft appendage capable of movement in the longitudinal and lateral axes, analogous to an insect abdomen. We use the method to consider designs with different appendage areas. The example case showed that ignoring the aerodynamic contribution might yield useful insights depending on the size of the appendage, but including the aerodynamic effects as part of a consistent mathematical framework leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the role of appendage morphology. The method allows improved modelling for modern multivariate control system design using bioinspired appendages. Inertia-dominated appendages provided more advantages in energy-based longitudinal manoeuvres and in trimmed flight, with reduced advantage in initiating lateral manoeuvres.
Are the Notions of Leader–Member Exchange and Organisational Citizenship Effective in Enhancing Teachers’ Job Performance in Türkiye? A Moderated Mediation Model
Authors: Çevik Mehmet Sabir
Published: January 2025

This study is correlational and cross-sectional quantitative research that examines the moderating role of working time with the school principal on the effect of leader–member exchange on teachers’ job performance through organisational citizenship. Data were collected from 481 teachers in 43 public schools across the western, central, northern, southern, and eastern regions of Türkiye using the convenience sampling method. The Leader–Member Exchange Scale, Organisational Citizenship Scale, and Employee Performance Scale were used as data collection tools. Data were analysed through descriptive analyses, Pearson correlation analysis, and moderator and moderated mediation analyses. The results indicated positive and significant relationships among leader–member exchange, organisational citizenship behaviours, and teachers’ job performance. It was found that leader–member exchange indirectly affected teachers’ job performance through organisational citizenship, and working time with the school principal served as a moderator in the relationship between leader–member exchange and organisational citizenship. The indirect effect of leader–member exchange on job performance through organisational citizenship was stronger for teachers with shorter working durations with the principal.
Combined Elastic and Limit Analysis for Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Pitched Portal Frames
Authors: Postiglione Marco , De Angelis Fabio , Brandonisio Giuseppe
Published: January 2025

This paper presents a combined approach for the seismic vulnerability assessment of pitched portal frames by coupling elastic and limit analysis. Pitched portal frames are widely adopted both in civil and industrial building structures, as well as in architectural heritage structures, including cathedral portal frames in ecclesiastical buildings. The seismic vulnerability assessment of such structures is crucial for mitigating territorial seismic risk. In this study, elastic and limit analyses are adopted and combined to evaluate the seismic capacity of pitched portal frames. To this end, a simplified model is proposed to analyze both linear and non-linear responses of these structures under horizontal actions. Although the analysis focuses on two-dimensional (2D) portal frames, it can be extended to three-dimensional (3D) buildings in a straightforward manner due to the specific characteristics of the analyzed structural scheme. The proposed approach provides a preliminary yet efficient evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of buildings with pitched portal frames. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed procedure ensures valuable applicability in large-scale seismic assessments.
Advances in Glioblastoma Diagnosis: Integrating Genetics, Noninvasive Sampling, and Advanced Imaging
Authors: Gough Ryan , Treffy Randall W. , Krucoff Max O. , Desai Rupen
Published: January 2025

Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor in adult patients, and despite standard-of-care treatment, median survival has remained less than two years. Advances in our understanding of molecular mutations have led to changes in the diagnostic criteria of glioblastoma, with the WHO classification integrating important mutations into the grading system in 2021. We sought to review the basics of the important genetic mutations associated with glioblastoma, including known mechanisms and roles in disease pathogenesis/treatment. We also examined new advances in image processing as well as less invasive and noninvasive diagnostic tools that can aid in the diagnosis and surveillance of those undergoing treatment for glioblastoma. Our review is intended to serve as an overview of the current state-of-the-art in the diagnosis and management of glioblastoma.
Cr3+-Doped Anatase-Phase TiO2 Nanocrystals with (101) and (004) Dominant Facets: Synthesis and Characterization
Authors: Hossain Rayhan , Apblett Allen
Published: January 2025

Anatase-phase rod-shaped TiO2 nanocrystals are prepared by the solvothermal method, the surface is metalated, and doped nanocrystals are achieved by thermal diffusion of surface metal ions. Incorporation of dopant ions into TiO2 lattice enhances the visible light absorption of the material and in some cases can increase the rate of photocatalysis. Even though there are overflowing studies on the preparation of doped TiO2 materials, there are no methods that enable the precise control of dopant concentration in TiO2 nanocrystals. We have developed a method to load the surface of oleic acid stabilized anatase-phase rod-shaped TiO2 nanocrystals (approx. 3 ± 1 nm diameter and 40 ± 10 nm long) with transition metal ions followed by ion diffusion to prepare metal-doped nanocrystals with exact control of the dopant concentration. Specifically, in this work, Cr3+ adsorbs TiO2 nanorods to yield a green colloid, followed by ion diffusion at elevated temperature. After removal of any remaining surface Cr3+, tan-colored chromium-doped TiO2 nanorods can be obtained. Electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction indicate no change in nanocrystal size and morphology throughout the process. The TiO2 nanorods play an important role in photocatalysis owing to their excellent chemical and physical properties. Titanium dioxide is a low-cost, non-toxic, highly stable, chemically robust material. Doped TiO2 materials have found application in photocatalysis (oxidative degradation of organic molecules, hydrogen evolution), photovoltaics, solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and sensors. TiO2 photocatalysis is also the basis for clean energy technologies, such as dye-sensitized solar cells and photoelectrochemical cells. In photocatalysis applications, nanocrystalline TiO2 presents advantages of a high surface area, ability to control the surface facet, and minimized bulk recombination.
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Reverse Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Pigs with Metabolic Syndrome and Renovascular Hypertension
Authors: Krueger Alexander B. C. , Zhu Xiangyang , Siddiqi Sarosh , Whitehead Emma C. , Tang Hui , Jordan Kyra L. , Lerman Amir , Lerman Lilach O.
Published: January 2025

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with low-grade inflammation, which can be exacerbated by renal artery stenosis (RAS) and renovascular hypertension, potentially worsening outcomes through pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study investigated whether mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) could reduce fat inflammation in pigs with MetS and RAS. Twenty-four pigs were divided into Lean (control), MetS, MetS + RAS, and MetS + RAS + MSCs. In the MSC-treated group, autologous adipose-derived MSCs (107 cells) were injected into the renal artery six weeks after RAS induction. After four weeks, fat volumes and inflammatory markers were assessed. MSC treatment reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (MCP-1, TNF-a, IL-6) in the renal vein blood and in perirenal fat. The MSCs also decreased fat fibrosis, restored adipocyte size, and altered adipogenesis-related gene expression, particularly in the perirenal fat. These effects were less pronounced in subcutaneous fat. The MSC therapy attenuated fat inflammation and improved metabolic outcomes in pigs with MetS + RAS, suggesting that adipose-derived MSCs may offer a promising therapeutic approach for metabolic disorders.
Comparison of CT-Guided Microwave Ablation of Liver Malignancies with and Without Intra-Arterial Catheter Placement for Contrast Administration
Authors: Beeskow Anne Bettina , Gößmann Holger , Meyer Hans-Jonas , Seehofer Daniel , Berg Thomas , van Bömmel Florian , Schindler Aaron , Struck Manuel Florian , Denecke Timm , Ebel Sebastian
Published: January 2025

Background: The aim of this study was to compare microwave ablation (MWA) with and without prior placement of an intra-arterial catheter for the purpose of application of contrast medium (CM). Methods: 148 patients (45 female, 65.1 ± 14.9 years) with liver tumors who underwent CT-guided MWA were included. Of these, 25 patients had an IA catheter placed in the hepatic artery. Results: 37 patients underwent planning imaging for MWA without CM. A total of 86 patients received a standard dose of 80 mL intravenous (IV) CM for the planning scans. The patients with an IA catheter (n = 25) received an IA application of 10 mL CM. A total of 29 patients received contrast-enhanced scans in the PV phase for control of needle positioning after IV application of a standard dose of 80 mL CM. In patients with an IA catheter, control of the needle position was performed by single-slice scans. IA CM application during the ablation enabled monitoring of the ablation zone. Over the entire intervention, patients with IA catheters received less CM as compared to patients without an IA catheter (39.1 ± 10.4 mL vs. 141 ± 39.69 mL; p < 0.001). Conclusions: IA catheter placement was associated with a significant decrease of the amount of CM during MWA and enabled monitoring of the ablation zone.
Lifetime Attributable Risk in Mammography Screenings in Dubai: The Influence of Breast Thickness and Age on Radiation Exposure
Authors: Noor Kaltham Abdulwahid Mohd , Norsuddin Norhashimah Mohd , Isa Iza Nurzawani Che , Abdul Karim Muhammad Khalis
Published: January 2025

Background/Objectives: This study investigated the lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of radiation-induced breast cancer from mammography screening in Dubai. It aimed to explore the relationship between breast thickness, patient age, and the associated radiation dose during mammographic examinations. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 2601 patients aged 40 to 69 across five screening facilities in Dubai’s healthcare system. Due to a low correlation between the mean glandular dose (MGD) and breast thickness, both glandular and non-glandular doses were included in calculations as the organ dose (OD). This comprehensive approach examined the impact of whole breast tissue on risk assessments. Key exposure parameters such as the kilovoltage peak (kVp), milliampere-seconds (mAs), and source-to-skin distance were extracted from the dose survey. Results: Our findings reveal that the organ dose increases with breast thickness, emphasizing the need for dose optimization in denser tissues. The LAR decreases with age across all thickness categories, but higher initial LAR values were seen in younger patients with thicker tissue. This study emphasizes the increased sensitivity of younger women, who usually have denser breast tissue, to radiation-induced cancer risks. Conclusions: Personalized screening protocols considering age and breast thickness are crucial for balancing early cancer detection benefits with radiation risks. Future research should improve mammography protocols, explore alternative methods, and consider generic testing for young high-risk patients to mitigate risks while maintaining diagnostic efficacy.
Exploring the Transferability of STEM PBL Instructional Principles from Higher Education to K-12 Classrooms
Authors: Bicer Ali , Aldemir Tugce , Davis Trina J. , Young Jamaal
Published: January 2025

The first objective of this study was to explore which principles of STEM PBL instruction pre-service teachers found most beneficial in enhancing their understanding of mathematics- and science-related concepts. The second objective was to identify the instructional practices from STEM PBL that pre-service teachers intended to incorporate into their future teaching practices. We conducted a descriptive qualitative study, analyzing data from interviews (n = 8), reflections, and classroom artifacts (ntotal = 43). The findings revealed 12 distinct themes: six associated with the first objective and six linked to the second objective. Two themes—communication and real-world relevance—emerged as common across both objectives. The significance of this study lies not only in identifying key principles of STEM PBL but also in highlighting the need to emphasize these principles in various instructional methods, enhancing the transferability of innovative practices to future teachers’ mathematics classrooms.
The Joint Estimation of SOC-SOH for Lithium-Ion Batteries Based on BiLSTM-SA
Authors: Wu Lingling , Chen Chao , Li Zhenhua , Chen Zhuo , Li Hao
Published: January 2025

Lithium-ion batteries are commonly employed in energy storage because of their extended service life and high energy density. This trend has coincided with the rapid growth of renewable energy and electric automobiles. However, as usage cycles increase, their effectiveness diminishes over time, which can undermine both the system’s performance and security. Therefore, monitoring the state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) of batteries in real time is particularly important. Traditional SOC calculation methods typically treat SOC and SOH as independent variables, overlooking the coupling between them. To tackle this issue, the paper introduces a joint SOC-SOH estimation approach (BiLSTM-SA) that leverages a bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network combined with a self-attention (SA) mechanism. The proposed approach is validated using a publicly available dataset. With the SOH taken into account, the MAE and RMSE of the SOC are 0.84% and 1.20%, showing notable increases in accuracy relative to conventional methods. Additionally, it demonstrates strong robustness and generalization across datasets with multiple temperatures.
KWM-B: Key-Information Weighting Methods at Multiple Scale for Automated Essay Scoring with BERT
Authors: Miao Tengteng , Xu Dong
Published: January 2025

The Automatic Essay Scoring (AES) task aims to automatically evaluate the quality of papers through machines, thereby reducing the burden on teachers and improving the fairness of grading. Although pretrained models perform well in natural language processing (NLP) tasks, in the AES field, large pretrained language models like BERT have not shown greater advantages than other deep learning models such as CNN. Existing research has often analyzed articles as a whole, ignoring the differences in the importance of information in each part of the article. In response to this issue, this article proposes a new framework based on BERT, which adopts a multi-scale key information weighting method, focusing on important information at the token, sentence, paragraph, and document scales to express the semantic content of core ideas more effectively. In addition, this article enhances the model’s ability to identify key information through data augmentation techniques. The evaluation results using quadratic weighted kappa (QWK) indicate that the framework outperforms existing mainstream models on the Public Automatic Student Assessment Award (ASAP) dataset.
Progressive Domain Adaptation for Thermal Infrared Tracking
Authors: Li Qiao , Tan Kanlun , Yuan Di , Liu Qiao
Published: January 2025

Due to the lack of large-scale labeled Thermal InfraRed (TIR) training datasets, most existing TIR trackers are trained directly on RGB datasets. However, tracking methods trained on RGB datasets suffer a significant drop-off in TIR data, due to the domain shift issue. To address this issue, we propose a Progressive Domain Adaptation framework for TIR tracking (PDAT), which can effectively transfer knowledge from labeled RGB datasets to TIR tracking without requiring a large amount of labeled TIR data. The framework consists of an Adversarial-based Global Domain Adaptation module and a Clustering-based Subdomain Adaptation module to gradually align feature distributions between RGB and TIR domains. Additionally, we collected a large-scale TIR dataset with over 1.48 million unlabeled TIR images for training the proposed domain adaptation framework. Our experimental results on five TIR tracking benchmarks show that the proposed method improves the baseline tracking performance without compromising the tracking speed. Notably, on LSOTB-TIR100, LSOTB-TIR120, and PTB-TIR, the Success rates were approximately 6 percentage points higher than the baseline, demonstrating its effectiveness.
Unsteady Loading on a Tidal Turbine Due to the Turbulent Wake of an Upstream Turbine Interacting with a Seabed Ridge
Authors: Hurubi Sulaiman , Mullings Hannah , Ouro Pablo , Stansby Peter , Stallard Tim
Published: January 2025

Tidal sites can present uneven seabed bathymetry features that induce favourable or adverse pressure gradients and are sources of turbulence, and so are likely to affect the operation, performance, and wake recovery dynamics of deployed tidal-stream turbines. Large-eddy simulations are conducted to analyse the unsteady loading of a tidal turbine subjected to the wake of an upstream turbine that interacts with a two-dimensional ridge located between the two turbines. Relative to an isolated turbine, blade fatigue loading is increased by up to 43% when subject to the wake of a turbine located 8 turbine diameters upstream interacting with a ridge located 2 turbine diameters upstream, whereas for the same spacing, the turbine wake led to a limited 6% reduction in loading and the ridge wake only caused a 79% increase. For larger spacings, the trends were similar, but the magnitude of difference reduced. Predictions of fatigue loads with a blade element momentum model (BEMT) provided a good agreement for flat bed conditions. However, the ridge-induced pressure gradient drives rapid spatial change of coherent flow structures, which limits the applicability of Taylor’s frozen turbulence hypothesis adopted in the BEMT. Reasonable prediction of rotor loading with BEMT was found to be obtained using the turbulent onset flow field at a plane one-diameter upstream of the turbine. This is more accurate than use of the planes at the rotor plane or two-diameters upstream, as coherent structures represent those modified by wake recovery and rotor induction in the approach flow to the turbine.
Romosozumab as Treatment for Severe Osteoporosis in Heart and Lung Transplant Recipients
Authors: Raven Lisa M. , Center Jacqueline R. , Muir Christopher A.
Published: January 2025

Background: Osteoporosis is common in transplant recipients, and fracture risk is high. Standard treatment is with anti-resorptive medications. Despite high fracture rates, there are limited data on the use of anabolic bone therapies in transplant recipients. Aim: To evaluate skeletal outcomes after treatment with romosozumab for 12 months in heart and lung transplant recipients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of transplant recipients who completed 12 months of romosozumab treatment at a single centre. Results: Six transplant recipients completed 12 months of romosozumab treatment, commenced after a median of 3 years post transplant (range 2–20). Four patients (66%) were still receiving prednisolone treatment at the time of starting romosozumab. All patients had a history of fracture and had previously received anti-resorptive therapy (4 with zoledronate, 2 with denosumab for >2 years). Following completion of romosozumab treatment, all patients were consolidated with zoledronate or denosumab. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured prior to and after completion of romosozumab treatment. The median baseline lumbar spine (LS) T-score was −2.3 SD (range −3.1 to +0.9) and total femur T-score was −2.2 SD (range −2.9 to −1.6). Most (5/6) patients experienced an increase in BMD at the LS (median change +7.1%). Most (5/6) patients did not experience clinically significant change in total femur BMD, apart from one patient who experienced a 9% gain. Three patients (50%) experienced subsequent fractures during (1/3) or after completing (2/3) romosozumab treatment. Conclusions: These cases demonstrate severe osteoporosis in transplant recipients. Most patients in our case series had improvement in LS BMD following romosozumab treatment, yet new fractures still occurred during follow-up. The appropriate use of romosozumab in heart and lung transplant patients with osteoporosis requires further study.
Heterologous Expression and Adaptive Evolution of ε-Poly-lysine Synthase Gene in Corynebacterium glutamicum
Authors: Pan Long , Chen Yihang , Liao Aimei , Hou Yinchen , Huang Jihong
Published: January 2025

ε-Poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) is a natural preservative that has excellent properties such as high safety, good antibacterial effect, wide antibacterial spectrum, and high temperature resistance compared to other food preservatives. At present, the main production strain of ε-PL is Streptomyces albulus (S. albulus). Due to the large amount of mycelium and by-products during fermentation, its production cost is much higher than other food preservatives, which seriously hinders the application of ε-PL in the food industry. Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) is a food safety strain that is widely used in the fermentation industry to produce various amino acids. Its ability to produce high amounts of L-lysine can provide sufficient precursor substances for the synthesis of ε-PL, making it an ideal strain for the heterologous expression of ε-PL synthase genes (pls). In this experiment, a recombinant C. glutamicum capable of synthesizing ε-PL and exhibiting certain physiological resistance to ε-PL was obtained by amplifying pls and heterologous expression in C. glutamicum for the first time. Further optimization of the fermentation temperature, initial pH, and inoculation amount of the recombinant strain resulted in an increase in the ε-PL fermentation yield from 0.12 g/L to 0.22 g/L. Finally, through adaptive evolution of the recombinant strain, the ε-PL tolerance of the recombinant strain was increased to 1.3 g/L, and the yield of ε-PL ultimately reached 0.34 g/L, which increased by 54.55% compared to the initial strain. The recombinant C. glutamicum constructed in this study can significantly shorten the fermentation cycle, reduce bacterial volume and the synthesis of secondary metabolites, which is beneficial for the separation and purification of products, thereby further reducing the production cost of ε-PL and accelerating the process of replacing chemical food preservatives with natural food preservatives.
Establishment of Gill-Derived Primary Cell Cultures from Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) as an Alternative Platform for Studying Host–Virus Interactions
Authors: Wang Ziwen , Nie Li , Fei Chenjie , Chen Jiong
Published: January 2025

A primary cell culture derived from the gill tissues of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) was successfully established and characterized, providing a physiologically relevant model for virological research. Gill tissues were enzymatically dissociated, and their cells were cultured in M199 supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum at 25 °C, yielding optimal growth. Viral replication within these primary cells was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, and further qRT-PCR demonstrated the upregulation of antiviral genes (IFN1, Mx1, ISG15, and Viperin). These primary gill cells of spindle-like morphology exhibited significantly higher susceptibility to Micropterus salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) compared to established cell lines, as evidenced by higher viral titers, thus establishing their suitability for studying host–virus interactions. Furthermore, these cells were amenable to genetic manipulation, with the successful transfection of an mCherry reporter gene using commercially available reagents. These findings highlight the utility of the largemouth bass gill-derived primary cell culture as an alternative in vitro system for investigating MSRV pathogenesis and host immune responses, which serves as a stepping stone for improved antiviral strategies in largemouth bass aquaculture.
High-Pressure Treatment in Combination with Reduced Sodium for Improving the Physicochemical Properties and Sensory Qualities of Pork Gels
Authors: Wang Weitong , Cai Jingying , Tsutsuura Satomi , Nishiumi Tadayuki
Published: January 2025

High-pressure treatment was utilized in this study to produce high-quality, reduced-sodium pork gels with desirable texture and sensory properties, addressing the challenge of maintaining quality in low-sodium meat products to meet health-conscious consumer demands. High-pressure treatment applied within the range of 150–200 MPa significantly reduced cooking loss while maintaining moisture content and provided an ideal network structure for reduced-sodium pork gels. High-pressure treatment at up to 100–200 MPa, in combination with added sodium chloride and sodium polyphosphate, was evaluated for its effects on gel texture, with results indicating that high-pressure treatment significantly improved breaking stress (increased by 10.01% under 150 MPa and 14.66% under 200 MPa), modulus of elasticity (increased by 14.77% under 150 MPa and 24.17% under 200 MPa), and hardness (increased by 11.12% under 150 MPa and 11.45% under 200 MPa). Rheological characteristic measurements revealed that gel strength was highest at 150 MPa (G′ = 443,000 Pa; G″ = 66,300 Pa and tanδ = 0.15), which showed higher G′ and G″ values and similar tanδ compared to the 0.1 MPa, 2% NaCl + 0.5% SPP condition (G′ = 334,000 Pa; G″ = 49,200 Pa; tanδ = 0.148). Protein analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a reduction in the α-actinin band with increased pressure, which suggested protein interactions were enhanced. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated that protein denaturation occurred more readily at higher pressures (0.071 J/g at 0.1 MPa, 0.057 J/g at 150 MPa, and 0.039 J/g at 200 MPa). These findings underscore the value of treatment under high pressure at 150 MPa developing reduced-sodium meat products with desirable texture and flavor characteristics.