bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Concepturealize™: a new contribution to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models
Authors: Allen Graeme Joseph
Published: January 2022

It is widely accepted that somewhere in the region of 90–95% of startups fail. It is often suggested that the majority of unsuccessful startups either failed to identify a viable idea, or they failed to execute the idea effectively enough to get to market before running out of cash. Two approaches stand out as being particularly well-suited to addressing these problems: Design Thinking and Lean Startup, respectively. This paper presents the Concepturealize™ methodology that cross-applies Design Thinking and Lean Startup as a single iterative process and that enables the entrepreneur to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models. Existing literature reveals a need for further exploration of cross-application of Design Thinking and Lean Startup (and other related methodologies) in the areas of business model development and innovation. This work answers the research question by review of prior attempts to combine Design Thinking and Lean Startup and presenting the Concepturealize™ model that cross-applies Design Thinking and Lean Startup in a single iterative methodology and that enables the practitioner to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models. By following this new process model correctly, a practitioner will be guided to uncover a viable way to create value, develop a deep understanding of the value proposition, the target customers and how to reach and serve them, together with the expected revenue and costs, all needed to properly formulate the business model. Finally, the practitioner may use the Concepturealize™ model to retest the problem–solution fit and understand how the customers perception of value has altered, each time a new product or new features are launched, looking to continually add value at each cycle. Whilst prior research has explored how organisations may make use of both DT and LS, it has failed to demonstrate how they may be used in parallel, throughout the entire business model development process, instead it demonstrates examples of insight into where to transition from one model to the other. This work progresses the state of the art by following Design Science guidelines to present how the true, in-parallel, cross-application of DT and LS, in the context of business model development, is possible.
CT-based radiomic nomogram for predicting the severity of patients with COVID-19
Authors: Shi Hengfeng , Xu Zhihua , Cheng Guohua , Ji Hongli , He Linyang , Zhu Juan , Hu Hanjin , Xie Zongyu , Ao Weiqun , Wang Jian
Published: January 2022

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic now, and the severity of COVID-19 determines the management, treatment, and even prognosis. We aim to develop and validate a radiomics nomogram for identifying patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods

There were 156 and 104 patients with COVID-19 enrolled in primary and validation cohorts, respectively. Radiomics features were extracted from chest CT images. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was used for feature selection and radiomics signature building. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to develop a predictive model, and the radiomics signature, abnormal WBC counts, and comorbidity were incorporated and presented as a radiomics nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was assessed through its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness.

Results

The radiomics signature consisting of four selected features was significantly associated with clinical condition of patients with COVID-19 in the primary and validation cohorts (P < 0.001). The radiomics nomogram including radiomics signature, comorbidity and abnormal WBC counts showed good discrimination of severe COVID-19, with an AUC of 0.972, and good calibration in the primary cohort. Application of the nomogram in the validation cohort still gave good discrimination with an AUC of 0.978 and good calibration. Decision curve analysis demonstrated that the radiomics nomogram was clinically useful to identify the severe COVID-19.

Conclusion

We present an easy-to-use radiomics nomogram to identify the patients with severe COVID-19 for better guiding a prompt management and treatment.
Excitotoxicity, calcium and mitochondria: a triad in synaptic neurodegeneration
Authors: Verma Manish , Lizama Britney N. , Chu Charleen T.
Published: January 2022

Glutamate is the most commonly engaged neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, acting to mediate excitatory neurotransmission. However, high levels of glutamatergic input elicit excitotoxicity, contributing to neuronal cell death following acute brain injuries such as stroke and trauma. While excitotoxic cell death has also been implicated in some neurodegenerative disease models, the role of acute apoptotic cell death remains controversial in the setting of chronic neurodegeneration. Nevertheless, it is clear that excitatory synaptic dysregulation contributes to neurodegeneration, as evidenced by protective effects of partial N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists. Here, we review evidence for sublethal excitatory injuries in relation to neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Huntington’s disease. In contrast to classic excitotoxicity, emerging evidence implicates dysregulation of mitochondrial calcium handling in excitatory post-synaptic neurodegeneration. We discuss mechanisms that regulate mitochondrial calcium uptake and release, the impact of LRRK2, PINK1, Parkin, beta-amyloid and glucocerebrosidase on mitochondrial calcium transporters, and the role of autophagic mitochondrial loss in axodendritic shrinkage. Finally, we discuss strategies for normalizing the flux of calcium into and out of the mitochondrial matrix, thereby preventing mitochondrial calcium toxicity and excitotoxic dendritic loss. While the mechanisms that underlie increased uptake or decreased release of mitochondrial calcium vary in different model systems, a common set of strategies to normalize mitochondrial calcium flux can prevent excitatory mitochondrial toxicity and may be neuroprotective in multiple disease contexts.
Spatio-temporal monitoring of humidity induced 3D displacements and strains in mounted and unmounted parchments
Authors: Papanikolaou Athanasia , Dzik-Kruszelnicka Dorota , Kujawinska Malgorzata
Published: January 2022

The high hygroscopicity and heterogeneity of parchment make it particularly sensitive to changes in environmental conditions. The proper housing of a historical parchment, including mounting should mitigate the impact of the changes on the object. However, finding an appropriate mounting method requires detailed knowledge of the mechanical response of a parchment on the combined influence from environmental changes and forces introduced by the mounting. In this paper we present the capabilities of 3D digital image correlation (3D DIC) method implemented for full-field, spatio-temporal monitoring of displacements and strains in parchment exposed to environmental changes. We combine the measurement concept with the particular, critical task of evaluating the effectiveness of stabilising a single sheet of parchment mounted using elastic polyester strips. 3D DIC is implemented to record in non-invasive and non-contact way the full-field response of parchment mock-ups to fluctuations of the relative humidity (RH) without interfering with the climatic chamber processes. We measure and compare the impact of fluctuating RH on unmounted and mounted parchment samples, through the full-field 3D measurements of dimensional changes at selected humidity levels, and through the local and global analysis of the samples’ response (displacement/strains) in time. We had proven in quantitative and detailed way that the applied mount fully fulfils its task, namely reduce significantly the out-of-plane displacements and strains occurring in the parchment during RH changes in the range from 39 to 80%. Our study also demonstrates the possibilities of using 3D DIC for the efficient support of conservation scientists in the development of storage, mounting, and treatment protocols for historical parchment.
Hydrodynamic cavitation for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment: a review of recent developments and future perspectives
Authors: Bimestre Thiago Averaldo , Júnior José Antonio Mantovani , Canettieri Eliana Vieira , Tuna Celso Eduardo
Published: January 2022

The hydrodynamic cavitation comes out as a promising route to lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment releasing huge amounts of energy and inducing physical and chemical transformations, which favor lignin–carbohydrate matrix disruption. The hydrodynamic cavitation process combined with other pretreatment processes has shown an attractive alternative with high pretreatment efficiency, low energy consumption, and easy setup for large-scale applications compared to conventional pretreatment methods. This present review includes an overview of this promising technology and a detailed discussion on the process of parameters that affect the phenomena and future perspectives of development of this area.
Prevalence rate of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and computer vision syndrome (CVS) symptoms predisposition among digital device users of Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Z , Rahman M , Olive A H , Hasan MK
Published: January 2022

Background

Around 5.29% of the world population is suffering from ADHD, and 60 million people are suffering from CVS, with an increasing rate of prevalence of these disorders. This study aimed to determine the prevalence rate of ADHD and CVS symptoms among the Bangladeshi population.

Results

To assess the aim of the study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted online through stratified sampling, and 197 responses were collected from the participants. Our survey method follows these criteria where the ARSV1.1 standard questionnaire was followed for the ADHD questionnaire, and a self-administered questionnaire was established based on the symptoms of CVS. The male age ranges from 18–24 have the highest value of ADHD (34%) coincided with > 6 h digital device usage (51%), and the Stroop effect is significantly correlated with the ADHD score (0.498, p < 0.01). The Stroop effect value is also higher among the males aged 18–24, digital device users for > 6 h (48%).

Conclusions

With the advent of science, it is impossible to avoid digital devices as necessary. Notwithstanding, safe and appropriate use of digital media is a must for healthy living.
Pathophysiological effects of Tamiflu on liver and kidneys of male rats
Authors: Abdel-Ghaffar Wafaa H. , Abdelghffar Eman A.
Published: January 2022

Background

Tamiflu/oseltamivir phosphate (OP), an anti-influenza drug, has a highly doubted safety especially after many cases of abnormal behaviour and deaths reported after being used. Such controversy was also locally and globally generated, especially after being heavily used in COVID-19 treatment protocol. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of three different doses of OP on the liver and kidneys of male adult albino rats through histological approaches, measuring their DNA integrity and biochemical analyses. Different doses of Tamiflu applied to humans were converted to rats, then observed their effects on the liver and kidneys. Rats were divided into four groups. G1: considered as control group. The rest of the three treated groups were received the same calculated dose of Tamiflu (6.75 mg/kg b.w.) in three different durations. G2, G3 and G4 represented the animals orally received OP, in which the rats received OP twice for 5 consecutive days, once for 10 and 45 days, respectively.

Results

Our data showed numerous deleterious necrotic and fibrotic histopathological changes in the liver, and kidneys; as well as necrotic DNA smears, by using electrophoresis, in OP-treated rats of G2 and G4. In addition, OP significantly increased the serum cellular hepatic/renal toxicity markers (ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, indirect bilirubin, urea, creatinine, uric acid, & Na+). Also, it showed a reduction in the levels of serum total protein, albumin and K+ ions in rats of G2 and G4 compared with G1. In G3, OP treatment did not significantly alter hepatic/renal histological, DNA integrity and biochemical analyses in rats. 

Conclusions

The therapeutic and long-term prophylactic doses of OP most likely cause structural and functional hepato- and nephrotoxicity in experimentally subjected rats. So, caution must be taken during Tamiflu treatment, and not used for long durations and/or with repetitive doses (time- and/or accumulative-dose-dependent); especially with patients suffer from liver and/or kidney dysfunction, while the short-term prophylactic dose of OP appears to be relatively safe and could be explored for oral medications.

Graphical Abstract
Do propranolol and amisulpride modulate confidence in risk-taking?
Authors: Habicht Johanna , Dubois Magda , Michely Jochen , Hauser Tobias U.
Published: January 2022

Background: Making rational choices and being able to consciously reflect on the goodness of these choices is important for successfully navigating the world. Value-based decisions have been extensively studied, but we know little about the factors that influence our confidence in value-based choice. Particularly, we know very little about the neurotransmitters that may mediate these processes. 

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study design involving 61 healthy human subjects (30 female), we assessed the contributions of dopamine (400 mg amisulpride) and noradrenaline (40 mg propranolol) to value-based decision making and the subjective confidence therein in a monetary risky gambling task. 

Results: We did not find any significant effect of either of the two pharmacological manipulations, neither on value-based decision making, nor on subjective confidence.  

Conclusion: We discuss these (null) findings, and release all relevant data and code. This will allow researchers to further interrogate the data, to counteract publication biases in favour of significant findings, and to use our study as a source for balanced meta-analyses.
Does Large-scale Social Restriction Affect Firms' Financial Performance?
Authors:   School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung Indonesia, Fikri Muhamad , Noveria Ana
Published: January 2022

Abstract. To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has had some large-scale social restrictions (LSSR). As a side effect, many firms experienced a decrease in their revenues, which will decrease their financial performance. This research seeks to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affects financial performance of companies listed in the Indonesian stock exchange. To analyze the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, an ordinary least square (OLS) regression is employed with a dummy variable of the period before and after the pandemic started. Furthermore, to examine the causal effect of LSSR, this study uses the difference-in-difference method with a dummy variable whether the businesses could still operate during the LSSR. The results show that COVID-19 pandemic has a significant negative effect on firms’ financial performance represented by ROA. Secondly, by employing panel-data regression with difference-in-difference, it is found that the LSSR has an insignificant effect on firms’ performance in affected firms. From the results, this research can contribute to the literature to see the effect of the large-scale social restrictions on firms’ financial performance. This research also can be used as a consideration for the government in making future policies to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, difference-in-difference, firms’ financial performance, large-scale social restrictions
Enhancing The Awareness of Mechanization Adoption in Agriculture Through Game-Based Learning
Authors:   School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung Indonesia, Handayati Yuanita , Putranto Nur Arief Rahmatsyah , Ardhito Himawan Nur
Published: January 2022

Abstract. This research implements game-based learning to build rice farmers' awareness of the importance of using mechanization or advanced technology in agriculture. The use of mechanization is one way to increase farming productivity and efficiency, improve the quality and added value of products, and empower farmers. This study examines farmers' attitudes towards the adoption of mechanized methods and proposes a suitable game-based learning approach. First, qualitative methods were employed to develop the game by gathering information, pilot testing, and asking for feedback from farmers. Then, the quantitative method is applied to assess the game's effectiveness using a post- and pretest questionnaire. Cluster analysis was also conducted to determine the proper learning approach based on the farmers' characteristics. The game-based approach is shown to shed light on fostering the adoption of mechanized methods. There are two clusters identified. On average, the first cluster has a younger age, higher educational background, and more positive attitudes toward using mechanized methods. The second cluster, on average, has an older age, a lower educational level, and lower scores in their attitudes toward the adoption of mechanization. The findings also suggest that the farmers in the first cluster may be reached using a pedagogy-based approach, whereas the second is likely to be more receptive to an andragogy-based approach. Keywords: Agriculture; rice farmers; mechanization method; game-based learning; learning approach
Infinitive reduction in a migrant Shtokavian dialect in Albania: Language contact supporting Balkanization
Authors: Makartsev Maxim
Published: January 2022

Under the long-term influence of Albanian, the Shtokavian migrant dialect in Fier and the vicinity (originally the Novi Pazar-Sjenica-Tutin area) has significantly reduced the use of infinitives in verbal complements of modals. Subjunctives have mostly replaced infinitives in these contexts, bringing the dialect closer to Balkan Slavic in structural terms.
The geographical and social distribution of native languages in central Ukraine
Authors: Zeller Jan
Published: January 2022

By declaring a language as their native language or mother tongue, people carry out an act of identification with this language, and via this language with people and ideas to whom they assign the same language. This comes to the fore especially when external conflicts are transferred to the linguistic constellation. This is the case in Ukraine, where three languages / codes are at the disposal: the state’s official language Ukrainian, but also Russian, and “suržyk”, a widespread form of speech containing both Ukrainian and Russian elements. Based on a survey from 2014 in the central regions of Ukraine, this article examines which of these languages / codes are chosen as a native language and how this choice is connected with more objective aspects of language use. By means of generative additive mixed-effects modeling, it will be shown how this choice varies both socially and geographically.
Rozważania o tureckich sufiksach w języku macedońskim
Authors: Sawicka Irena
Published: January 2022

Artykuł wylicza problemy gramatyczne/morfonologiczne, jakie generują na gruncie języka macedońskiego sufiksy zapożyczone z języka tureckiego. Główny temat stanowią rozważania o etymologii słowiańskiego sufiksu deminutywno-hipokorystycznego -če. Pod uwagę brany jest ewentualny wpływ turecki na utrwalenie i frekwencję tego sufiksu.
Risk Disclosure in Crowdfunding
Authors: Kim Keongtae , Park Jooyoung , Pan Yang , Zhang Kunpeng , Zhang Xiaoquan (Michael)
Published: January 2022

How should crowdfunding platforms alleviate information asymmetry between creators and crowdfunders? In traditional financial markets, public companies are required to disclose potential risks to their investors, and such risk disclosure requirements are enforced by legal and fiduciary regulations. In the crowdfunding context, however, such information asymmetry concerns are often addressed by crowdfunding platforms. In this study, we examine whether and how a regulation to increase the salience of project risks in crowdfunding affects crowdfunders’ funding decisions. We find that increasing the awareness of project risks is associated with inferior funding outcomes of crowdfunding projects, and the effect exists mainly for high-risk projects but not much for low-risk projects. In addition, high-risk projects benefit from a risk disclosure with relevant information, authentic language, and balanced tones that are not overly negative or optimistic. Despite the negative short-term effects, technology funders tend to interpret risk disclosures rationally over time, suggesting a positive long-term effect. Implications for research and insights for practitioners are discussed, particularly the fact that disclosure policies may make crowdfunding markets more sustainable by reducing information asymmetry and helping crowdfunders make more informed decisions.
Online Policies for Efficient Volunteer Crowdsourcing
Authors: Manshadi Vahideh , Rodilitz Scott
Published: January 2022

Nonprofit crowdsourcing platforms such as food recovery organizations rely on volunteers to perform time-sensitive tasks. Thus, their success crucially depends on efficient volunteer utilization and engagement. To encourage volunteers to complete a task, platforms use nudging mechanisms to notify a subset of volunteers with the hope that at least one of them responds positively. However, because excessive notifications may reduce volunteer engagement, the platform faces a tradeoff between notifying more volunteers for the current task and saving them for future ones. Motivated by these applications, we introduce the online volunteer notification problem, a generalization of online stochastic bipartite matching where tasks arrive following a known time-varying distribution over task types. Upon arrival of a task, the platform notifies a subset of volunteers with the objective of minimizing the number of missed tasks. To capture each volunteer’s adverse reaction to excessive notifications, we assume that a notification triggers a random period of inactivity, during which she will ignore all notifications. However, if a volunteer is active and notified, she will perform the task with a given pair-specific match probability that captures her preference for the task. We develop an online randomized policy that achieves a constant-factor guarantee close to the upper bound we establish for the performance of any online policy. Our policy and hardness results are parameterized by the minimum discrete hazard rate of the interactivity time distribution. The design of our policy relies on sparsifying an ex ante feasible solution by solving a sequence of dynamic programs. Furthermore, in collaboration with Food Rescue U.S., a volunteer-based food recovery platform, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our policy by testing it on the platform’s data from various locations across the United States.

This paper was accepted by Gabriel Weintraub, revenue management and market analytics.
Market Shifts in the Sharing Economy: The Impact of Airbnb on Housing Rentals
Authors: Li Hui , Kim Yijin , Srinivasan Kannan
Published: January 2022

This paper examines the impact of Airbnb on the local rental housing market. Airbnb provides landlords an alternative opportunity to rent to short-term tourists, potentially leading some landlords to switch from long-term rentals and thereby, affecting rental housing supply and affordability. Despite recent government regulations to address this concern, it remains unclear how many and what types of properties are switching. Combining Airbnb and American Housing Survey data, we estimate a structural model of property owners’ decisions and conduct counterfactual analyses to evaluate various regulations. We find that Airbnb mildly cannibalizes the long-term rental supply. Cities where Airbnb is more popular experience a larger rental supply reduction, but they do not necessarily have a larger percentage of switchers. Affordable units are the major sources of both the negative and positive impacts of Airbnb. They cause a larger rental supply reduction, which harms local renters; they also create a larger market expansion effect, which benefits local hosts who own affordable units and may be less economically advantaged. Policy makers need to strike a balance between local renters’ affordable housing concerns and local hosts’ income source needs. We also find that imposing a linear tax is more desirable than limiting the number of days a property can be listed. We propose a new convex tax that imposes a higher tax on expensive units and show that it can outperform existing policies in terms of reducing cannibalization and alleviating social inequality. Finally, Airbnb and rent control can exacerbate each other’s negative impacts.

This paper was accepted by Matt Shum, marketing.

Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4288 .
Decomposition Branching for Mixed Integer Programming
Authors: Yıldız Barış , Boland Natashia , Savelsbergh Martin
Published: January 2022

Applications of mixed integer programming can be found in many industries, such as transportation, healthcare, energy, and finance, and their economic impact is significant. It is also well known that mixed integer programs (MIPs) can be very difficult to solve. Their challenge continues to stimulate research in the design and implementation of efficient and effective techniques that can better solve them. In this study, we introduce a novel and powerful approach for solving certain classes of mixed integer programs (MIPs): decomposition branching. Two seminal and widely used techniques for solving MIPs, branch-and-bound and decomposition, form its foundation. Computational experiments with instances of a weighted set covering problem and a regionalized p-median facility location problem with assignment range constraints demonstrate its efficacy: it explores far fewer nodes and can be orders of magnitude faster than a commercial solver and an automatic Dantzig-Wolfe approach.
British values to please inspectors?
Authors: Caswell Jo
Published: January 2022

British values – do we teach them, or do they naturally occur? How do we teach children to become tolerant of one another? And is tolerance really what we need and want to achieve?
What is CPD?
Authors: Bradbury Aaron
Published: January 2022

We know that high quality learning and Continual Professional Development (CPD) for early years professionals can often feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Here I explain what CPD is, the different forms it can take place in and why it is important.
What is right for you?
Authors: Bradbury Aaron
Published: January 2022

There are many routes into becoming qualified in the early years. There is a national standard in England and similar requirements in other parts of the United Kingdom. These differ and so it is important that you know the requirements within the career framework that is relevant to your setting.
Reflecting and journaling
Authors: Baker Charlotte , Szreder Maria
Published: January 2022

Reflection is a key part of day-to-day practice for early years practitioners, but how can this fit into their busy work and be most effective rather than having them feeling rushed and overwhelmed with thoughts? Charlotte Baker and Maria Szreder discuss the option of journaling and how this can be of value to those working in the sector.
Emotional regulation
Authors: Baker Charlotte
Published: January 2022

If you're happy and you know it, tell the truth: emotional regulation in early years. Charlotte Baker poses the question of when do we draw the line from allowing open emotion to expecting control from children in the early years.
Critical approach to CPD
Authors: Kilgour Stephen
Published: January 2022

A critical approach is not only needed due to the amount and different types of CPD out there, but to empower and motivate all practitioners in their own learning. Stephen discusses how developing a critical approach to our own professional learning makes investment in CPD so much more worthwhile.
The clinical impact of hydro-responsive dressings in dynamic wound healing: Part II
Authors: Sterpione Francois , Mas Karine , Rippon Mark G , Rogers Alan A , Mayeux Georges , Rigaudier Florian , Chauvelot Pierre , Robilliart Ludovic , Juhel Christine , Lecomte Yann
Published: January 2022

Objective:

Over the course of a wound's healing trajectory, whether the wound is acute or hard-to-heal, management is likely to involve the use of several different dressing types. Minimising the complexity of treatment (in terms of dressing usage) would aid clinicians in providing effective wound care but excellent clinical outcomes must remain the primary goal.

Method:

This study was an open-labelled, non-comparative study assessing the clinical effectiveness of a coordinated wound dressing treatment regimen. After an initial phase of using a hydro-responsive wound dressing (HydroClean, HRWD-1, PAUL HARTMANN AG, Germany) to cleanse and debride hard-to-heal wounds, the wounds were subsequently treated with either HydroTac (HRWD-2, PAUL HARTMANN AG, Germany) (to maintain healing progression and re-epithelialisation) or RespoSorb (a superabsorbent dressing, PAUL HARTMANN AG, Germany) (to manage moderate-to-high levels of exudate). The Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) assessment tool was used to measure the wound status over the course of the treatment period and to assess several wound status parameters (for example, wound area, exudate levels and wound characteristics such as level of re-epithelialisation).

Results:

The results from this study demonstrated that wounds treated with HRWD-2 showed a positive healing response when using the PUSH score assessment tool with a significant mean reduction (p<0.0001) in the PUSH score of wounds treated with HRWD-2, with >75% of wounds being closed by the end of the study. This result underlines the effectiveness of HRWD-2 in supporting healing progression.

Conclusion:

The results from this study support the coordinated use of HRWDs for the effective management and treatment of a variety of hard-to-heal wounds.
Advances in Evolutionary Optimization of Quantum Operators
Authors: Žufan Petr , Bidlo Michal
Published: January 2022

A comparative study is presented regarding the evolutionary design of quantum operators in the form of unitary matrices.A comparative study is presented regarding the evolutionary design of quantum operators in the form of unitary matrices.    Three existing techniques (representations) which allow generating unitary matrices are used in various evolutionary algorithms in order to optimize their coefficients.    The objective is to obtain as precise quantum operators (the resulting unitary matrices) as possible for given quantum transformations.    Ordinary evolution strategy, self-adaptive evolution strategy and differential evolution are applied with various settings as the optimization algorithms for the quantum operators.    These algorithms are evaluated on the tasks of designing quantum operators for the 3-qubit and 4-qubit maximum amplitude detector and a solver of a logic function of three variables in conjunctive normal form.    These tasks require unitary matrices of various sizes.    It will be demonstrated that the self-adaptive evolution strategy and differential evolution are able to produce remarkably better results than the ordinary evolution strategy.    Moreover, the results can be improved by selecting a proper settings for the evolution as presented by a comparative evaluation.
Improving Breast Cancer Classification using (SMOTE) Technique and Pectoral Muscle Removal in Mammographic Images
Authors: Abdulla Srwa Hasan , Sagheer Ali Makki , Veisi Hadi
Published: January 2022

Computer-aided diagnosis methods are being developed to assist radiologists to improve the interpretation of mammograms for the detection and diagnose of breast cancer, reduce the errors and mistakes made by human beings. In addition, it provides a more accurate and reliable classification of benign and malignant abnormalities. In the mammogram diagnosis, the pectoral muscle appears in Mediolateral oblique views (MLO) of the right and left of the breast. Considering that, the pectoral muscle has the same density as the small suspicious masses in the image and can affect/bias the results of image processing methods. This paper presents a diagnosis method to detect an abnormality in mammograms automatically. Before abnormality identification, image-processing techniques are used to correctly segment the suspicious region-of-interest (ROI). The background of the mammograms has been darkened to distinguish the breast area from any blemishes or writings that will be removed. Then the breast area has been extracted after ignoring the empty regions around the breast in mammogram images. After that, the mammogram image is inverted and the inverted image is then subtracted from the initial image. For pectoral muscle removal, a region growing method using the K-means clustering method is used. Afterward, suspicious ROI is segmented utilizing the K-means with thresholding technique. To detect abnormalities in mammograms, shape-based features, moment invariants, and also fractal dimensions are extracted from the segmented ROI. The Mini-MIAS dataset is used to evaluate the proposed method and is predominately composed of benign samples with only a tiny percent of malignant samples. To accomplish far better classifier efficiency, the SMOTE algorithm is used to present new samples from the minority classes to get a balanced dataset. Random forest classifier utilized to classify the segmented region as benign and malignant. The experimental results obtained an accuracy of 97.1%, the sensitivity of 95.1%, and the achieved specificity is 98.5%.
Computer Estimation of JRC Index Using Function Moments
Authors: Martisek Dalibor
Published: January 2022

The paper deals with a shape of geological discontinuities. This shape significantly affects the stability of rock massifs. The joint roughness coefficient (JRC) is one of the main shape indicators but the methods of its estimation are based on the empirical analysis of fracture curves in present. We propose a new mathematically correct theory of automatic estimation of the JRC. It shows that determination of the JRC should be based not only on subjective experience, but objective shape characteristics should be used as well. The moment method is one of the possibilities. The principal moments of a fracture surface and the elongation of so called equimomental ellipse can be determined as the possible characteristics of the shape of a fracture surface. The paper introduces a software which is able to reconstruct a 3D profile of a scanned surface and to assign its JRC index automatically.
A Systematic Review and Analysis on Deep Learning Techniques Used in Diagnosis of Various Categories of Lung Diseases
Authors: Jasthy Sreedevi , Vangipuram Radhakrishna , Dutta Sushama Rani
Published: January 2022

One of the record killers in the world is lung disease. Lung disease denotes to many disorders affecting the lungs. These diseases can be identified through Chest X- Ray, Computed Tomography CT, Ultrasound tests. This study provides a systematic review on different types of Deep Learning (DL) designs, methods, techniques used by different researchers in diagnosing COVID-19, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Lung tumor, etc. In the present research study, a systematic review and analysis is carried by following PRISMA research methodology. For this study, more than 900 research articles are considered from various indexing sources such as Scopus and Web of Science. After several selection steps, finally a 40 quality research articles are included for detailed analysis. From this study, it is observed that majority of the research articles focused on DL techniques with Chest X-Ray images and few articles focused on CT scan images and very few have focused on Ultrasound images to identify the lung disease
Bioluminescence tomography reconstruction in conjunction with an organ probability map as an anatomical reference
Authors: Yin Wanzhou , Li Xiang , Cao Qian , Wang Hongkai , Zhang Bin
Published: January 2022

To alleviate the ill-posedness of bioluminescence tomography (BLT)
reconstruction, anatomical information from computed tomography (CT)
or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is usually adopted to improve the
reconstruction quality. With the anatomical information, different
organs could be segmented and assigned with appropriate optical
parameters, and the reconstruction could be confined into certain
organs. However, image segmentation is a time-consuming and
challenging work, especially for the low-contrast organs. In this
paper, we present a BLT reconstruction method in conjunction with an
organ probability map to effectively incorporate the anatomical
information. Instead of using a segmentation with a fixed organ map,
an organ probability map is established by registering the CT image of
the mouse to the statistical mouse atlas with the constraints of the
mouse surface and high-contrast organs (bone and lung). Then the organ
probability map of the low-contrast organs, such as the liver and
kidney, is determined automatically. After discretization of the mouse
torso, a heterogeneous model is established as the input for
reconstruction, in which the optical parameter of each node is
calculated according to the organ probability map. To take the
advantage of the sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL) method in recovering
block sparse signals in inverse problems, which is common in BLT
applications where the target distribution has the characteristic of
sparsity and block structure, a two-step method in conjunction with
the organ probability map is presented. In the first step, a fast
sparse algorithm, L1-LS, is used to reveal the source distribution on
the organ level. In the second step, the bioluminescent source is
reconstructed on the pixel level based on the SBL method. Both
simulation and in vivo experiments are conducted, and
the results demonstrate that the organ probability map in conjunction
with the proposed two-step BLT reconstruction method is feasible to
accurately reconstruct the localization of the bioluminescent light
source.
Quantitative measurement of optical properties and Hb concentration in a rodent model of inflammatory Meibomian gland dysfunction using spatial frequency domain imaging
Authors: Kim Hyeongbeom , Cho Kyong Jin , Durkin Anthony J. , Tromberg Bruce J. , Park Ilyong
Published: January 2022

Herein, to investigate a new diagnostic method for Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) induced by eyelid inflammation, optical properties and deoxy-hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in rodent eyelid tissues, including Meibomian glands(MGs), were measured using spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI). Complete Freund’s adjuvant solutions were injected into the eyelid margins of Sprague–Dawley rats to induce MGD. After three weeks, the optical properties and Hb of the MG and non-MG regions of the eyelids were measured ex–vivo using an SFDI system. The comparison of Hb showed that the MGD group exhibited significantly higher values than those of the control group in both regions. The optical properties at 730 and 850 nm for the MG regions in the MGD group were significantly different from those in the control group. In addition, the 630 nm absorption coefficients of both regions were significantly higher in the MGD group than in the control group. Thus, the SFDI technique can detect the increased Hb concentration and changes in the optical properties of the eyelids due to inflammatory MGD in a noncontact manner and has the potential to be used as a novel quantitative diagnostic method for the occurrence of MGD.
Small form factor flow virometer for SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Hussain Rubaiya , Ongaro Alfredo E. , Rodriguez de la Concepción Maria L. , Wajs Ewelina , Riveira-Muñoz Eva , Ballana Ester , Blanco Julià , Toledo Ruth , Chamorro Anna , Massanella Marta , Mateu Lourdes , Grau Eulalia , Clotet Bonaventura , Carrillo Jorge , Pruneri Valerio
Published: January 2022

Current diagnostics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection heavily rely on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or on rapid antigen detection tests. The former suffers from long time-to-result and high cost while the latter from poor sensitivity. Therefore, it is crucial to develop rapid, sensitive, robust, and inexpensive methods for SARS-CoV-2 testing. Herein, we report a novel optofluidic technology, a flow-virometry reader (FVR), for fast and reliable SARS-CoV-2 detection in saliva samples. A small microfluidic chip together with a laser-pumped optical head detects the presence of viruses tagged with fluorescent antibodies directly from saliva samples. The technology has been validated using clinical samples with high sensitivity (91.2%) and specificity (90%). Thanks also to its short time-to-result (<30 min) and small size (25 × 30 × 13 cm), which can be further reduced in the future, it is a strong alternative to existing tests, especially for point-of-care (POC) and low resource settings.
Polarization-controlled single-particle scattering imaging spectroscopy using waveguide excitation
Authors: Tsai Wan-Shao , Shen Li , Hou Yuan-Chih , Lay Tsong-Sheng
Published: January 2022

An imaging spectroscopic system that enables spatially-resolved detection of single-particle scattering with polarization-controlled waveguide excitation scheme is presented. The detected microscopic images of inhomogeneous nanostructures are recorded in a time sequence into a data cube based on a Michelson interferometer. The interferograms on selected pixels are Fourier-transformed into multiple spectra. The waveguide excitation scheme is presented for both transmission and reflection measurements while the dark-field excitation scheme is presented in transmission measurements for comparison. Gold nanoparticles, nanorods, and particles on film are utilized in the detection of polarization-dependent spectra. Measurement results are verified with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The polarization-controlled coupling conditions in nanorods and particle-on-film systems are discussed with simulated field distributions around the nanostructures.
Photonic generation of a microwave waveform with an ultra-long temporal duration using a frequency-shifting dispersive loop
Authors: Cao Ruidong , Wang Guangying , Li Minghai , Zhang Jiejun , Yao Jianping
Published: January 2022

A photonic approach to generate a linearly chirped microwave waveform (LCMW) with an ultra-long temporal duration is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The microwave waveform generation is achieved based on spectral-shaping and wavelength-to-time (SS-WTT) mapping by using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a frequency-shifting dispersive loop (FSDL), respectively. To make the generated microwave waveform have an ultra-long temporal duration, the FSDL is operating to allow a spectrally shaped optical pulse to recirculate in a dispersive loop multiple times with a low propagating loss, to generate a microwave waveform with a temporal duration that is more than one order of magnitude longer than that of a microwave waveform generated using a dispersive element without recirculation. To generate a LCMW, the spectral shaper is configured to have a free spectral range (FSR) that is linearly increasing or decreasing with optical wavelength. The proposed approach is experimentally demonstrated. Two LCMWs, by allowing an optical pulse recirculating in the FSDL for three and seven round trips, tripled and septupled temporal durations of 64 and 182 ns are generated. The generation of two LCMWs with ultra-long temporal durations of 370 ns and 450 ns are also demonstrated.
Real-time demonstration of 103.125-Gbps fiber–THz–fiber 2 × 2 MIMO transparent transmission at 360–430 GHz based on photonics
Authors: Zhang Jiao , Zhu Min , Lei Mingzheng , Hua Bingchang , Cai Yuancheng , Zou Yucong , Tian Liang , Li Aijie , Wang Yanyi , Huang Yongming , Yu Jianjun , You Xiaohu
Published: January 2022

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate the first real-time transparent fiber–THz–fiber 2 × 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission system with a record line rate of 125.516 Gbps at 360–430 GHz based on photonic remote heterodyning, hybrid optoelectronic down-conversion, and commercial digital coherent modules. The 103.125-Gbps net data rate using dual-polarization quadrature phase-shift keying (DP-QPSK) modulation is successfully transmitted over two spans of 20-km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) and 60-cm wireless distance under 15% soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) for a pre-FEC bit error ratio (BER) threshold of 1.56 × 10−2 (post-FEC BER < 10−15). The optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) margin and the stability of the transmission system are extensively investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to realize >100-Gbps real-time transparent fiber–THz–fiber link transmission at beyond the 350-GHz band, making it a promising scheme to pave the way towards a practical seamless integration of a fiber–THz–fiber link to the future 6G mobile communication system.
Reconfigurable microwave photonic filter based on a quantum dash mode-locked laser
Authors: Sun Hao , Khalil Mostafa , Liu Jiaren , Lu Zhenguo , Poole Philip J. , Weber John , Plant David V. , Chen Lawrence R.
Published: January 2022

We demonstrate a reconfigurable microwave photonic (MWP) filter using a quantum dash (QDash) mode-locked laser (MLL) that can generate an optical frequency comb (OFC) with ∼50 comb lines and a free spectral range of 25 GHz. Thanks to the large number of comb lines, the MWP filter responses can be easily programmed by tailoring the OFC spectrum. We implement MWP filter responses with Gaussian, sinc, flat-top, and multiple peaks, as well as demonstrate that tuning of the central frequency. We achieve a minimum 3 dB bandwidth of ∼100 MHz for a sinc-shaped MWP filter, while the maximum out-of-band rejection can be up to ∼30 dB with Gaussian apodization. Our results show that the QDash-MLL is a promising OFC source for developing integrated and reconfigurable MWP filters.
InGaP quantum nanophotonic integrated circuits with 1.5% nonlinearity-to-loss ratio
Authors: Zhao Mengdi , Fang Kejie
Published: January 2022

Optical nonlinearity plays a pivotal role in quantum information
processing using photons, from heralded single-photon sources and
coherent wavelength conversion to long-sought quantum repeaters.
Despite the availability of strong dipole coupling to quantum
emitters, achieving strong bulk optical nonlinearity is highly
desirable. Here, we realize quantum nanophotonic integrated circuits
in thin-film InGaP with, to our knowledge, a record-high ratio of

1.5
%

between the single-photon nonlinear
coupling rate (

g

/

2
π
=
11.2

M
H
z

) and cavity-photon loss rate. We
demonstrate second-harmonic generation with an efficiency of

71200
±
10300
%

/

W

in the InGaP photonic circuit and
photon-pair generation via degenerate spontaneous parametric
downconversion with an ultrahigh rate exceeding 27.5 MHz/µW—an order
of magnitude improvement of the state of the art—and a large
coincidence-to-accidental ratio up to

1.4
×

10
4

. Our work shows InGaP as a
potentially transcending platform for quantum nonlinear optics and
quantum information applications.