bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-organ auto-delineation in head-and-neck MRI for radiation therapy using regional convolutional neural network
Authors: Dai Xianjin , Lei Yang , Wang Tonghe , Zhou Jun , Rudra Soumon , McDonald Mark , Curran Walter J , Liu Tian , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: November 2021

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows accurate and reliable organ delineation for many disease sites in radiation therapy because MRI is able to offer superb soft-tissue contrast. Manual organ-at-risk delineation is labor-intensive and time-consuming. This study aims to develop a deep-learning-based automated multi-organ segmentation method to release the labor and accelerate the treatment planning process for head-and-neck (HN) cancer radiotherapy. A novel regional convolutional neural network (R-CNN) architecture, namely, mask scoring R-CNN, has been developed in this study. In the proposed model, a deep attention feature pyramid network is used as a backbone to extract the coarse features given by MRI, followed by feature refinement using R-CNN. The final segmentation is obtained through mask and mask scoring networks taking those refined feature maps as input. With the mask scoring mechanism incorporated into conventional mask supervision, the classification error can be highly minimized in conventional mask R-CNN architecture. A cohort of 60 HN cancer patients receiving external beam radiation therapy was used for experimental validation. Five-fold cross-validation was performed for the assessment of our proposed method. The Dice similarity coefficients of brain stem, left/right cochlea, left/right eye, larynx, left/right lens, mandible, optic chiasm, left/right optic nerve, oral cavity, left/right parotid, pharynx, and spinal cord were 0.89 ± 0.06, 0.68 ± 0.14/0.68 ± 0.18, 0.89 ± 0.07/0.89 ± 0.05, 0.90 ± 0.07, 0.67 ± 0.18/0.67 ± 0.10, 0.82 ± 0.10, 0.61 ± 0.14, 0.67 ± 0.11/0.68 ± 0.11, 0.92 ± 0.07, 0.85 ± 0.06/0.86 ± 0.05, 0.80 ± 0.13, and 0.77 ± 0.15, respectively. After the model training, all OARs can be segmented within 1 min.
A comprehensive analytical model for ambipolar transport in nano-dimensional VOPc/p-6P OHJFET for applications in organic electronics
Authors: Katiyar Suleshma , Verma Neha , Jogi Jyotika
Published: November 2021

This paper presents a compact analytical DC model for high mobility VOPc (vanadyl pthalocyanine)/p-6P (para-sexiphenyl) ambipolar organic heterojunction field-effect transistor (OHJFET). The proposed model accounts for both unipolar and ambipolar regimes of VOPc/p-6P ambipolar OHJFET by considering spatial charge carrier density in the channel. The model incorporates subthreshold conduction phenomenon in addition to describing beyond threshold transport. The model is extended to describe ambipolar regime occurring in subthreshold region at low drain to source voltage, V
DS. Device characteristics and various parameters obtained are presented and are further used to model recombination zone and channel potential profile. Results obtained, are compared with available experimental data and a good match is observed.
Crystalline anisotropy of β-Ga2O3 thin films on a c-plane GaN template and a sapphire substrate
Authors: Ma Xiaocui , Xu Rui , Mei Yang , Ying Leiying , Zhang Baoping , Long Hao
Published: November 2021

In this work, crystalline anisotropy of heteroepitaxial (

2
ˉ

01

) β-Ga2O3 films on a c-plane sapphire substrate and a GaN template was investigated using x-ray diffraction. The (

2
ˉ

01

) ω-scan broadening of β-Ga2O3 on GaN exhibited six-fold rotational symmetric anisotropy along different azimuths, with maxima along the [010] direction and minima along the [102] direction, respectively. However, in β-Ga2O3 on sapphire, it was nearly isotropic. Smaller lattice mismatch between β-Ga2O3 and GaN were taken into account to explain the discrepancy, which also explained the better quality of β-Ga2O3 deposited on GaN. Our results present a new viewpoint of the crystallographic anisotropy of (

2
ˉ

01

) β-Ga2O3 thin films.
Shape optimization of magnetorheological damper piston based on parametric curve for damping force augmentation
Authors: Liu Gaoyu , Gao Fei , Liao Wei-Hsin
Published: November 2021

Making full use of the magnetically controllable rheological properties of magnetorheological (MR) fluid, MR actuators have been applied in many engineering fields. To adapt to different application scenarios, parameters of MR actuators often need to be optimized. Previous MR actuator optimization was focused on finding optimal combinations of geometric dimensions and physical parameters that meet certain requirements. The parts with optimized dimensions were still in regular shape, which might not bring optimal damping performance. Therefore, in this paper, shape optimization of MR damper piston based on parametric curve is performed for the first time. First, the regional magnetic saturation problem in the previous prototype is stated. Then, the MR damper with normal piston is simulated as a reference. Later, Bezier curve, one of the typical parametric curves, is used to form the piston with optimized parameters, and the MR damper with optimized piston is also simulated. Finally, prototypes of the MR dampers with normal and optimized pistons are fabricated and tested. Compared with the MR damper with normal piston, the one with optimized piston has larger field dependent force and total damping force under relatively large current, with about 52% and 24% maximum increasing percentage, respectively. The controllable force range of the MR damper with optimized piston is also larger than that with normal piston.
Superconductivity in doped Weyl semimetal Mo0.9Ir0.1Te2 with broken inversion symmetry
Authors: Mandal Manasi , Patra Chandan , Kataria Anshu , Paul Suvodeep , Saha Surajit , Singh R P
Published: November 2021

This work presents the emergence of superconductivity in Ir—doped Weyl semimetal T
d
—MoTe2 with broken inversion symmetry. Chiral anomaly induced planar Hall effect and anisotropic magneto-resistance confirm the topological semimetallic nature of Mo

1
−
x

Ir
x
Te2. Observation of weak anisotropic, moderately coupled type-II superconductivity in T
d
-Mo

1
−
x

Ir
x
Te2 makes it a promising candidate for topological superconductor.
Line-shape broadening of an autoionizing state in helium at high XUV intensity
Authors: Aufleger Lennart , Friebel Patrick , Rupprecht Patrick , Magunia Alexander , Ding Thomas , Rebholz Marc , Hartmann Maximilian , Ott Christian , Pfeifer Thomas
Published: November 2021

We study the interaction of intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light with the 2s2p doubly excited state in helium. In addition to previously understood energy-level and phase shifts, high XUV intensities may lead to other absorption-line-shape distortions. Here, we report on experimental transient-absorption spectroscopy results on the 2s2p line-width modification in helium in intense stochastic XUV fields. A few-level-model simulation is realized to investigate the origins of this effect. We find that the line-shape broadening is connected to the strong coupling of the ground state to the 2s2p doubly excited state which is embedded in the ionization continuum. As the broadening takes place for intensities lower than for other strong-coupling processes, e.g. observed asymmetry changes of the absorption profile, this signature can be identified already in an intermediate intensity regime. These findings are in general relevant for resonant inner-shell transitions in nonlinear experiments with XUV and x-ray photon energies at high intensity.
A thermodynamically consistent Markovian master equation beyond the secular approximation
Authors: Potts Patrick P , Kalaee Alex Arash Sand , Wacker Andreas
Published: November 2021

Markovian master equations provide a versatile tool for describing open quantum systems when memory effects of the environment may be neglected. As these equations are of an approximate nature, they often do not respect the laws of thermodynamics when no secular approximation is performed in their derivation. Here we introduce a Markovian master equation that is thermodynamically consistent and provides an accurate description whenever memory effects can be neglected. The thermodynamic consistency is obtained through a rescaled Hamiltonian for the thermodynamic bookkeeping, exploiting the fact that a Markovian description implies a limited resolution for heat. Our results enable a thermodynamically consistent description of a variety of systems where the secular approximation breaks down.
Alkali-metal(Li, Na, and K)-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayer: an investigation of its outstanding electronic, optical, and photocatalytic properties
Authors: Sun Zhiyuan , Xu Jing , Mwankemwa Nsajigwa , Yang Wenxing , Wu Xianwen , Yi Zao , Chen Shanjun , Zhang Weibin
Published: November 2021

Single-layer MoSi2N4, a high-quality two-dimensional material, has recently been fabricated by chemical vapor deposition. Motivated by this latest experimental work, herein, we apply first principles calculations to investigate the electronic, optical, and photocatalytic properties of alkali-metal(Li, Na, and K)-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayer. The electronic structure analysis shows that pristine MoSi2N4 monolayer exhibits an indirect bandgap (E
g = 1.89 eV). By contrast, the bandgaps of one Li-, Na-, and K-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayer are 1.73 eV, 1.61 eV, and 1.75 eV, respectively. Moreover, the work function of MoSi2N4 monolayer (4.80 eV) is significantly reduced after the adsorption of alkali metal atoms. The work functions of one Li-, Na-, and K-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayer are 1.50 eV, 1.43 eV, and 2.03 eV, respectively. Then, optical investigations indicate that alkali metal adsorption processes substantially increase the visible light absorption range and coefficient of MoSi2N4 monolayer. Furthermore, based on redox potential variations after alkali metals are adsorbed, Li- and Na-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayers are more suitable for the water splitting photocatalytic process, and the Li-adsorbed case shows the highest potential application for CO2 reduction. In conclusion, alkali-metal-adsorbed MoSi2N4 monolayer exhibits promising applications as novel optoelectronic devices and photocatalytic materials due to its unique physical and chemical properties.
Neuro-symbolic A.I. for the smart city
Authors: Morel Gilles
Published: November 2021

Smart building and smart city specialists agree that complex, innovative use cases, especially those using cross-domain and multi-source data, need to make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, today’s AI mainly concerns machine learning and artificial neural networks (deep learning), whereas the first forty years of the discipline (the last decades of the 20th century) were essentially focused on a knowledge-based approach, which is still relevant today for some tasks. In this article we advocate a merging of these two AI trends – an approach known as neuro-symbolic AI – for the smart city, and point the way towards a complete integration of the two technologies, compatible with standard software.
Cloud-based Hardware-in-the-Loop testing of building automation controllers
Authors: Maghnie M , Stegemerten F , Niewöhner A , Baranski M , Kümpel A , Müller D
Published: November 2021

This paper aims to fill the gap in knowledge about building control testing, thus encouraging control evaluation, to ultimately improve energy efficiency in building operation. A hardware controller and its digital twin are tested in real-time in a separate platform in the cloud, and the results are analyzed to determine what insights can tests on virtual controllers give about the behaviors of their real-life hardware counter-parts. Key performance indicators (KPIs) from literature are used to evaluate the control. It is shown that although the controllers differ in their control output time-series, their overall performance profile along the entire simulation run follows a similar pattern (KPI percent error varies between 3% and 8%). This implies that virtual controller testing can be a good indicator of hardware controller behavior.
Dimensionality reduction and clustering of time series for anomaly detection in a supermarket heating system
Authors: Salmina Lorenzo , Castello Roberto , Stoll Justine , Scartezzini Jean-Louis
Published: November 2021

A timely identification of an anomalous functioning of the energy system of an industrial building would increase the efficiency and the resilience of the energy infrastructure, beside reducing the economic wastage. This work has been inspired by the need of identifying, for a series of supermarket buildings in Switzerland, the failures happening in their heating systems across the years in an unsupervised and easy-to-visualize fashion for the building managers. The lack of any a-priori label differentiating between typical and anomalous behaviors calls for the usage of unsupervised machine learning methods to extract the relevant features to describe the system operations, to reduce the dimension of the feature space, and to cluster together similar patterns of operations. The method is validated on a standard supermarket building, where it successfully discriminates winter and summer operations from periods of refurbishment or malfunctioning of the heating system.
A Machine Learning approach to enhance indoor thermal comfort in a changing climate
Authors: Kramer Tobias , Garcia-Hansen Veronica , Nik Sara Omrani Vahid M. , Chen Dong
Published: November 2021

This paper presents an alternative workflow for thermal comfort prediction. By using the leverage of Data Science & AI in combination with the power of computational design, the proposed methodology exploits the extensive comfort data provided by the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort Database II to generate more customised comfort prediction models. These models consider additional, often significant input parameters like location and specific building characteristics. Results from an early case study indicate that such an approach has the potential for more accurate comfort predictions that eventually lead to more efficient and comfortable buildings.
Procedural modeling buildings for finite element method simulation
Authors: Besuievsky G , García-Nevado E , Patow G , Beckers B
Published: November 2021

Finite element methods for heat simulation at urban scale require mesh-volume models, where the meshing process requires a special attention in order to satisfy FEM requirements. In this paper we propose a procedural volume modeling approach for automatic creation of mesh-volume buildings, which are suitable for FEM simulations at urban scale. We develop a basic rule-set library and a building generation procedure that guarantee conforming meshes. In this way, urban models can be easily built for energy analysis. Our test-case shows a street created with building prototypes that fulfill all the requirements for being loaded in a FEM numerical platform such as Cast3M (www-cast3m.cea.fr).
Transient thermal response of opaque building envelope elements: EPFL campus case study
Authors: Rahiminejad Mohammad , Berquand Cécile , Khovalyg Dolaana
Published: November 2021

The building envelope acts as a shield against varying weather conditions and modulates thermal energy flow between outdoors and indoors. The choice of layers used in the assembly impacts the heat loss and gain through the wall structure and potentially can affect the comfort indoors. Thus, the building envelope plays an essential role in the thermal performance of the building. Optimizing the cladding design in the envelope has recently become increasingly important to reach sustainable development strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This paper aims to analyze several cladding types used on the EPFL campus in Lausanne and compare their impact on the energy performance of the building envelopes. The building assemblies constructed on the EPFL campus in different years vary in composition and thermo-physical properties of the layers used. The impact of these parameters on the thermal performance of the wall assembly is evaluated by comparing the variation of heat flux and temperature fluctuations within the wall structure. The results obtained highlight the importance of the building envelope layers and materials used in the wall structure. Due to the variations in the thermal inertia of different wall assemblies, a time shift of more than 3 hours in the transient response of the building envelope to the fluctuation of the outdoor weather conditions is observed.
Solar thermal component activation
Authors: Hachul Helmut , Ridder Daniela , Tekinbas Yesim , Giovannetti Federico , Weiland Finn , Kirchner Maik
Published: November 2021

Wall and roof components made of steel sandwich elements are firmly established in industrial and commercial construction. They are cost-effective and characterized by excellent physical properties. Here, hybrid approaches from heating- and cooling ceiling construction were examined for the solar thermal activation of sandwich elements. Besides the implementation of the solar components, the connection to and the optimization of the system technology was focused. In addition, alternative piping materials were investigated numerically and experimentally. The performance as well as the static and thermo-hydraulic behavior of the new active components were simulatively and experimentally examined, and the economic viability of the variants was also checked. With the newly developed solar sandwich elements, an overall energy concept was developed with connection variants to the building services system, control and storage technology. Steel sandwich elements with mineral fiber core are well suited for the hidden integration of component parts such as pipe registers and heat conducting plates. The functionality of the component has been proven, the implementation of heat exchanger leads to considerable heat gains. In combination with a brine-to-water heat pump system, the solar panel can provide for a more sustainable operation and a significant size reduction of the geothermal source.
Experimental analysis of heat prosumers under low temperature thermal network
Authors: Kim Min-Hwi , Lee Dong-Won , Kim Duek-Won , Heo Jaehyeok
Published: November 2021

This study investigated the applicability and thermal performance of heat prosumers in a bidirectional thermal network through experimental analysis. To realize the bidirectional thermal network and heat prosumers, the existing small-scale centralized district cooling and heating system was retrofitted to form a small-scale heat network with three thermal energy prosumers. The existing small-scale centralized district cooling and heating network consists of seven buildings: high schools, management center, childcare center, baby care center, youth center, library, and public health center. Among these, high school and childcare center were retrofitted from heat consumers to heat prosumers. Control logic for the proposed heat prosumer was also demonstrated. For the case study, the operation of the specific day was selected. The amount of heat supplied from the STES in the management center was 798.7 kWh that contained 17% of the total load. The heat supply from the TES connected to the heat pump in the management center was 2,270.5 kWh, the absorption heat pump for high school. The amount of heat supply for public buildings and schools was 824.0 kWh and 513.8 kWh, respectively, and the heat supply from the childcare center through geothermal heat pump was 295.2 kWh.
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) for Sustainable Architecture to Supply Domestic Hot Water and Heating Loads of Buildings
Authors: Zarrinkafsh Hamidreza , Eslamirad Nasim , Luca Francesco De
Published: November 2021

Parabolic Trough Concentrators (PTC) are the most common solar concentrators. However, the high cost of production, operation, sun- tracking system, and the environmental sensitivity made them unprofitable for urban contexts. Lenses are more efficient and effective, but the complexity of manufacturing made them less used in sustainable architecture. This research proposes a liquid lens to be integrated into buildings’ envelope and compared with a PTC based on the energy production and reduced CO2 emissions over a year. The output energy, temperature, and efficiency of concentrator are obtained by the physics of light equations, and Ray-tracing software simulation. The results show that water lenses are at least 6% more efficient, their output temperature is higher, their underneath greenhouse effect made them less sensitive to the environment, and are still productive in high latitudes where PTCs are not operative. The paper presents the full result of the research that was registered as a patent.
Laboratory testing of a high efficiency light redirection system
Authors: Thanachareonkit A , Fernandes L L , Mouledoux J , Lee E S
Published: November 2021

Automated daylight redirecting slat technologies are designed to divert sunlight into the living space. They have a distinct advantage in that they can be retracted and extended, and slat angles can be adjusted according to the solar geometry and sky conditions. This study aimed to explore the geometric and photometric properties of a novel high-efficiency light redirection system (LRS). The LRS prototypes were installed in the clerestory window in the south-facing window testbed office and monitored under real sun and sky conditions. Workplane illuminance, daylight delivery efficiency (DDE) and visual comfort were evaluated. A number of simulation studies were conducted to evaluate the LRS and compare the results to the laboratory tests. The study shows that the specular properties of the slats provided significantly higher work plane illuminance and DDE. All systems showed an acceptable discomfort glare, or daylight glare probability (DGP) lower than 0.35. The comparison of the laboratory test and computer simulation was conducted using a Radiance tool. The results show that, for specular slats, the mkillum method with plastic material provided accurate work plane illuminance compared to the measurement. All simulated DGP shows accurate results compared to the laboratory test.
Urban cooling strategies as interaction opportunities in the public space: a methodological proposal
Authors: Stavropulos-Laffaille X. , Requena-Ruiz I. , Drozd C. , Leduc T. , Servières M. , Siret D.
Published: November 2021

In the context of global warming, cities promote temporary or permanent public space designs based on the integration of various cooling techniques, hereafter called spatio-climatic devices, to locally cool down the atmosphere and preserve urban liveability. Such public spaces create interaction opportunities for citizens to seek thermal pleasure outdoors. To inform about the citizens’ thermal experience of these spaces, this paper explores fieldwork and data analysis methods at the crossroads of urban climatology, environmental psychology and urban design. Four spatio-climatic configurations are investigated in the ‘Extraordinary Garden’ in Nantes (France) through mobile microclimate measurements and ethnographic observations. By applying an ‘urban transect’ approach, preliminary selected microclimate, behavioural and activity observation data is displayed together with spatial information. This allows to highlight thermal situations induced by urban design and to link them to specific citizen-environment interactions. As a result, this approach contributes to a better characterization of urban cool spots as a strategy for more resilient public spaces.
Fighting energy poverty in a typical Peruvian rural house
Authors: Gutierrez Gino , Angelis Enrico De
Published: November 2021

This study evaluates a typical, informal construction in the Peruvian highlands of Cuzco, a site at an Equatorial latitude (13,5° S), approximately, 3.400 mamsl, with a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb). Its aim is to compare low-cost passive retrofit strategies, applicable in cities and rural areas with similar climate, and validate a best choice. To carry out this study a dynamic energy simulation was performed, using the typical meteorological year (IWEC) provided by ASHRAE. The model was used to understand the effects of simple changes in the envelope configuration and the associated effect on infiltration, and their combination, on the indoor comfort and the energy performance of the building. The outcomes were displayed in a simple Energy-needs/transformation cost chart and a Pareto curve was selected, identifying an optimal subset of solutions. Adequate indoor conditions can be obtained with the implementation of only passive strategies, mainly empowering the thermal insulation of walls, roofs and windows using simple, low cost, local technologies, and the control of the heat transmission toward the soil: the energy poverty of the informal settlements of Cuzco can be fought with very simple initiatives, that require investments with a reasonably short return of investment.
Enhanced drought resistance of vegetation growth in cities due to urban heat, CO2 domes and O3 troughs
Authors: Fu Peng , Hu Leiqiu , Ainsworth Elizabeth A , Tai Xiaonan , Myint Soe W , Zhan Wenfeng , Blakely Bethany J , Bernacchi Carl J
Published: November 2021

Sustained increase in atmospheric CO2 is strongly coupled with rising temperature and persistent droughts. While elevated CO2 promotes photosynthesis and growth of vegetation, drier and warmer climate can potentially negate this benefit, complicating the prediction of future terrestrial carbon dynamics. Manipulative studies such as free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments have been useful for studying the joint effect of global change factors on vegetation growth; however, their results do not easily transfer to natural ecosystems partly due to their short-duration nature and limited consideration of climatic gradients and potential confounding factors, such as O3. Urban environments serve as a useful small-scale analogy of future climate at least in reference to CO2 and temperature enhancements. Here, we develop a data-driven approach using urban environments as test beds for revealing the joint effect of changing temperature and CO2 on vegetation response to drought. Using 75 urban-rural paired plots from three climate zones over the conterminous United States (CONUS), we find vegetation in urban areas exhibits a much stronger resistance to drought than in rural areas. Statistical analysis suggests the drought resistance enhancement of urban vegetation across CONUS is attributed to rising temperature (with a partial correlation coefficient of 0.36) and CO2 (with a partial correlation coefficient of 0.31) and reduced O3 concentration (with a partial correlation coefficient of −0.12) in cities. The controlling factor(s) responsible for urban-rural differences in drought resistance of vegetation vary across climate regions, such as surface O3 gradients in the arid climate, and surface CO2 and O3 gradients in the temperate and continental climates. Thus, our study provides new observational insights on the impacts of competing factors on vegetation growth at a large scale, and ultimately, helps reduce uncertainties in understanding terrestrial carbon dynamics.
Probing biexciton in monolayer WS2 through controlled many-body interaction
Authors: Chatterjee Suman , Das Sarthak , Gupta Garima , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Majumdar Kausik
Published: November 2021

The monolayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides host strongly bound excitonic complexes and are an excellent platform for exploring many-body physics. Here we demonstrate a controlled kinetic manipulation of the five-particle excitonic complex, the charged biexciton, through a systematic dependence of the biexciton peak on excitation power, gate voltage, and temperature using steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence. With the help of a combination of the experimental data and a rate equation model, we argue that the binding energy of the charged biexciton is less than the spectral separation of its peak from the neutral exciton. We also note that while the momentum-direct radiative recombination of the neutral exciton is restricted within the light cone, such restriction is relaxed for a charged biexciton recombination due to the presence of near-parallel excited and final states in the momentum space.
Experimental error mitigation using linear rescaling for variational quantum eigensolving with up to 20 qubits
Authors: Rosenberg Eliott , Ginsparg Paul , McMahon Peter L
Published: November 2021

Quantum computers have the potential to help solve a range of physics and chemistry problems, but noise in quantum hardware currently limits our ability to obtain accurate results from the execution of quantum-simulation algorithms. Various methods have been proposed to mitigate the impact of noise on variational algorithms, including several that model the noise as damping expectation values of observables. In this work, we benchmark various methods, including a new method proposed here. We compare their performance in estimating the ground-state energies of several instances of the 1D mixed-field Ising model using the variational-quantum-eigensolver algorithm with up to 20 qubits on two of IBM’s quantum computers. We find that several error-mitigation techniques allow us to recover energies to within 10% of the true values for circuits containing up to about 25 ansatz layers, where each layer consists of CNOT gates between all neighboring qubits and Y-rotations on all qubits.
A short review on the advancement in the development of TiO2 and ZnO based photo-anodes for the application of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)
Authors: Kumar Deepak
Published: November 2021

Population growth significantly expanding the boundaries of residential areas and living standards for humankind results in a tremendous increase in energy consumption. Unlike fossil fuels, which are found only in a few sites and non-renewable sources, solar energy is renewable and freely available in every part of the world. A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a suitable electrochemical device to harness solar energy to produce power and is advantageous for its simplicity and inexpensive cost. Variations in photo-electrodes micro/nanostructure shape, doping, size, and crystal phase can improve the DSSCs performance by enhancing dye loading, improved light scattering ability, and/or faster electron transit and longer electron lifetime. The high yielding techniques for producing diverse morphologies for nanoparticles with appropriate band gaps might thus be considered another feasible strategy for improving cell performance. The impact of influencing parameters on photovoltaic characteristics of photo-anode for DSSC application is investigated in this review article. The descriptions are presented by compiling a list of relevant literature reports.
Banach space valued weak second order stochastic processes
Authors: Kakihara Yûichirô
Published: November 2021

Banach space valued stochastic processes of weak second order on a locally compact abelian group

G
G

is considered. These processes are recognized as operator valued processes on

G
G

. More fully, letting

U

\mathfrak {U}

be a Banach space and

H

\mathfrak {H}

a Hilbert space, we study

B
(

U

,

H

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {H})

-valued processes. Since

B
(

U

,

H

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {H})

has a

B
(

U

,

U

∗

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {U}^*)

-valued gramian, every

B
(

U

,

H

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {H})

-valued process has a

B
(

U

,

U

∗

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {U}^*)

-valued covariance function. Using this property we can define operator stationarity, operator harmonizability and operator

V
V

-boundedness for

B
(

U

,

H

)

B(\mathfrak {U},\mathfrak {H})

-valued processes, in addition to scalar ones. Interrelations among these processes are obtained together with the operator stationary dilation.
Assessment of Patient Satisfaction With Appearance, Psychological Well-being, and Aging Appraisal After Upper Blepharoplasty: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Domela Nieuwenhuis Ileen , Luong Kim Phi , Vissers Lieke C M , Hummelink Stefan , Slijper Harm P , Ulrich Dietmar J O
Published: November 2021

Background

To determine the success of an upper blepharoplasty, a popular cosmetic procedure, it is essential to measure outcomes from the patient perspective because these often outweigh objective outcomes.

Objectives

This study aimed to assess patient-reported satisfaction with facial appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal after upper blepharoplasty with validated questionnaires.

Methods

This prospective cohort study included upper blepharoplasty patients from 8 outpatient clinics. Patient-reported satisfaction was assessed with the FACE-Q at intake, and 6 and 12 months postoperatively.

Results

In total, 2134 patients were included. High satisfaction with outcome and decision to undergo treatment were measured 6 months postoperatively. Large improvements in FACE-Q scores (range, 0-100) between intake and 6 months postoperatively were seen for satisfaction with appearance (mean, effect size: eyes +48, 2.6; upper eyelids +48, 3.1; facial appearance overall +26, 1.4), psychological well-being (+11, 0.56), and aging appraisal (+22, 1.0). Patients reported they appeared a mean [standard deviation] 3.3 [5.2] years younger postblepharoplasty. No clinically relevant changes were seen between 6 and 12 months. Additionally, improvements in appearance were not dependent on their intake scores, whereas improvements in psychological well-being and aging appraisal were smaller in patients with higher intake scores. Satisfaction with treatment outcome was strongly correlated with appearance satisfaction but not with aging appraisal.

Conclusions

Significant improvements in patient satisfaction regarding appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal can be seen 6 months after blepharoplasty, and outcomes remain stable up to 12 months postoperatively. These data may be used to inform patients and clinicians and improve the overall quality of care.

Level of Evidence: 4
Assessment of Robot-Assisted Mandibular Contouring Surgery in Comparison With Traditional Surgery: A Prospective, Single-Center, Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Lin Li , Sun Mengzhe , Xu Cheng , Gao Yuan , Xu Haisong , Yang Xianxian , He Hao , Wang Bingshun , Xie Le , Chai Gang
Published: November 2021

Background

Few clinical studies on robot-assisted surgery (RAS) for mandibular contouring have been reported.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to follow the long-term effectiveness and safety of RAS for craniofacial bone surgery.

Methods

This small-sample, early-phase, prospective, randomized controlled study included patients diagnosed with mandibular deformity requiring mandibular contouring surgery. Patients of both genders aged 18 to 30 years without complicated craniofacial repair defects were enrolled and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio by a permuted-block randomized assignments list generated by the study statistician. The primary outcomes were the positioning accuracy and accuracy of the osteotomy plane angle 1 week after surgery. Surgical auxiliary measurement index, patient satisfaction scale, surgical pain scale, perioperative period, and complications at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months after surgery were also analyzed.

Results

One patient was lost to follow-up, resulting in a total of 14 patients in the traditional surgery group and 15 in the robot-assisted group (mean [standard deviation] age, 22.65 [3.60] years). Among the primary outcomes, there was a significant difference in the positioning accuracy (2.91 mm vs 1.65 mm; P < 0.01) and angle accuracy (13.26º vs 4.85º; P < 0.01) between the 2 groups. Secondary outcomes did not significantly differ.

Conclusions

Compared to traditional surgery, robot-assisted mandibular contouring surgery showed improved precision in bone shaving, as well as higher safety.

Level of Evidence: 2
News in Astronomy & Geophysics – December 2021
Authors: Bowler Sue , Gunn Alastair
Published: November 2021

A digest of some of the big stories from the past two months
Questions to Heaven
Authors: Fernando Benjamin , Wójcicka Natalia , Han Zhanwen , Stott Alexander , Ceylan Savas , Charalambous Constantinos , Collins Gareth S , Estévez Daniel , Froment Marouchka , Golombek Matthew , Gülzow Peter , Horleston Anna , Karatekin Ozgur , Kawamura Taichi , Larmat Carene , Maguire Ross , Nissen-Meyer Tarje , Plasman Matthieu , Qia Yuqi , Rolland Lucie , Spiga Aymeric , Stähler Simon , Teanby Nicholas A , Zhao Yu-Yan Sara , Giardini Domenico , Lognonné Philippe , Daubar Ingrid J
Published: November 2021

Benjamin Fernando and colleagues report on the international cooperation involved InSight's attempt to gather seismic data from the arrival at Mars of China's Zhurong rover.
Who will rise to Fritz Zwicky's challenge?
Authors: Rees Martin
Published: November 2021

What would famously forthright astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky have made of astronomy today? By Martin Rees, winner of the inaugural Fritz Zwicky prize.
Plasma protein binding prediction focusing on residue-level features and circularity of cyclic peptides by deep learning
Authors: Li Jianan , Yanagisawa Keisuke , Yoshikawa Yasushi , Ohue Masahito , Akiyama Yutaka
Published: November 2021

Motivation

In recent years, cyclic peptide drugs have been receiving increasing attention because they can target proteins that are difficult to be tackled by conventional small-molecule drugs or antibody drugs. Plasma protein binding rate (%PPB) is a significant pharmacokinetic property of a compound in drug discovery and design. However, due to structural differences, previous computational prediction methods developed for small-molecule compounds cannot be successfully applied to cyclic peptides, and methods for predicting the PPB rate of cyclic peptides with high accuracy are not yet available.

Results

Cyclic peptides are larger than small molecules, and their local structures have a considerable impact on PPB; thus, molecular descriptors expressing residue-level local features of cyclic peptides, instead of those expressing the entire molecule, as well as the circularity of the cyclic peptides should be considered. Therefore, we developed a prediction method named CycPeptPPB using deep learning that considers both factors. First, the macrocycle ring of cyclic peptides was decomposed residue by residue. The residue-based descriptors were arranged according to the sequence information of the cyclic peptide. Furthermore, the circular data augmentation method was used, and the circular convolution method CyclicConv was devised to express the cyclic structure. CycPeptPPB exhibited excellent performance, with mean absolute error (MAE) of 4.79% and correlation coefficient (R) of 0.92 for the public drug dataset, compared to the prediction performance of the existing PPB rate prediction software (MAE=15.08%, R=0.63).

Availability and implementation

The data underlying this article are available in the online supplementary material. The source code of CycPeptPPB is available at https://github.com/akiyamalab/cycpeptppb.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Blocking the BKCa channel induces NF-κB nuclear translocation by increasing nuclear calcium concentration
Authors: Kent Lindsey N , Li Youe , Wakle-Prabagaran Monali , Naqvi Mashal Z , Weil Sophia G , England Sarah K
Published: November 2021

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) transcriptionally regulates several genes involved in initiating uterine contractions. A key factor controlling NF-κB activity is its translocation to the nucleus. In myometrial smooth muscle cells (MSMCs), this translocation can be stimulated by the inflammatory molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or by blocking the potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M alpha 1 (KCNMA1 or BKCa) with paxilline (PAX). Here, we sought to determine the mechanism by which blocking BKCa causes NF-κB-p65 translocation to the nucleus in MSMCs. We show that LPS- and PAX-induced NF-κB-p65 translocation are similar in that neither depends on several mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, but both require increased intracellular calcium (Ca2+). However, the nuclear transport inhibitor wheat germ agglutinin prevented NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation in response to LPS but not in response to PAX. Blocking BKCa located on the plasma membrane resulted in a transient NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation that was not sufficient to induce expression of its transcriptional target, suggesting a role for intracellular BKCa. We report that BKCa also localizes to the nucleus and that blocking nuclear BKCa results in an increase in nuclear Ca2+ in MSMCs. Together, these data suggest that BKCa localized on the nuclear membrane plays a key role in regulating nuclear Ca2+ and NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation in MSMCs.
Role of autocrine bone morphogenetic protein signaling in trophoblast stem cells
Authors: Au Jennie , Requena Daniela F , Rishik Hannah , Kallol Sampada , Tekkatte Chandana , Farah Omar A , Kittle Ryan , Meads Morgan , Wakeland Anna , Soncin Francesca
Published: November 2021

The Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathway is involved in numerous developmental processes, including cell growth, apoptosis, and differentiation. In mouse embryogenesis, BMP signaling is a well-known morphogen for both mesoderm induction and germ cell development. Recent evidence points to a potential role in development of the extraembryonic compartment, including trophectoderm-derived tissues. In this study, we investigated the effect of BMP signaling in both mouse and human trophoblast stem cells (TSC) in vitro, evaluating the expression and activation of the BMP signaling response machinery, and the effect of BMP signaling manipulation during TSC maintenance and differentiation. Both mouse trophoblast stem cells (mTSC) and human trophoblast stem cells (hTSC) expressed various BMP ligands and the receptors BMPR1A and BMPR2, necessary for BMP response, and displayed maximal active BMP signaling when undifferentiated. We also observed a conserved modulatory role of BMP signaling during trophoblast differentiation, whereby maintenance of active BMP signaling blunted differentiation of TSC in both species. Conversely, the effect of BMP signaling on the undifferentiated state of TSC appeared to be species-specific, with SMAD-independent signaling important in maintenance of mTSC, and a more subtle role for both SMAD-dependent and -independent BMP signaling in hTSC. Altogether, these data establish an autocrine role for the BMP pathway in the trophoblast compartment. As specification and correct differentiation of the extraembryonic compartment are fundamental for implantation and early placental development, insights on the role of the BMP signaling in early development might prove useful in the setting of in vitro fertilization as well as targeting trophoblast-associated placental dysfunction.
Phthalates and alternative plasticizers differentially affect phenotypic parameters in gonadal somatic and germ cell lines
Authors: Rajkumar Abishankari , Luu Trang , Beal Marc A , Barton-Maclaren Tara S , Hales Barbara F , Robaire Bernard
Published: November 2021

The developmental and reproductive toxicity associated with exposure to phthalates has motivated a search for alternatives. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the adverse effects of some of these chemicals. We used high-content imaging to compare the effects of mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) with six alternative plasticizers: di-2-ethylhexyl terephthalate (DEHTP); diisononyl-phthalate (DINP); di-isononylcyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH); 2-ethylhexyl adipate (DEHA); 2,2,4-trimethyl 1,3-pentanediol diisobutyrate (TXIB) and di-iso-decyl-adipate (DIDA). A male germ spermatogonial cell line (C18–4), a Sertoli cell line (TM4) and two steroidogenic cell lines (MA-10 Leydig and KGN granulosa) were exposed for 48 h to each chemical (0.001–100 μM). Cell images were analyzed to assess cytotoxicity and effects on phenotypic endpoints. Only MEHP (100 μM) was cytotoxic and only in C18–4 cells. However, several plasticizers had distinct phenotypic effects in all four cell lines. DINP increased Calcein intensity in C18–4 cells, whereas DIDA induced oxidative stress. In TM4 cells, MEHP, and DINCH affected lipid droplet numbers, while DEHTP and DINCH increased oxidative stress. In MA-10 cells, MEHP increased lipid droplet areas and oxidative stress; DINP decreased the number of lysosomes, while DINP, DEHA, and DIDA altered mitochondrial activity. In KGN cells, MEHP, DINP and DINCH increased the number of lipid droplets, whereas DINP decreased the number of lysosomes, increased oxidative stress and affected mitochondria. The Toxicological Priority Index (ToxPi) provided a visual illustration of the cell line specificity of the effects on phenotypic parameters. The lowest administered equivalent doses were observed for MEHP. We propose that this approach may assist in screening alternative plasticizers.
Movement-related EEG signatures associated with freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: an integrative analysis
Authors: Karimi Fatemeh , Niu Jiansheng , Gouweleeuw Kim , Almeida Quincy , Jiang Ning
Published: November 2021

Freezing of gait is the most severe gait deficit associated with Parkinson’s disease and significantly affects patients’ independence and consequently their quality of life. The lack of a clear understanding of its underlying neurophysiological mechanism has resulted in limited effectiveness of the current treatment options. In this study, we investigated EEG features over (pre-)supplementary motor area and primary motor cortex during a simple cue-based ankle dorsiflexion movement. These features include movement-related cortical potentials (0.05–5 Hz) and brain oscillations (1–50 Hz). Electromyogram signal from the tibialis anterior muscle of the dominant foot was used to determine the movement onset. The EEG features before, during and following the onset of the movement were compared among three groups of participants: patients with freezing (N = 14, 11 males), patients without freezing (N = 14, 13 males) and healthy age-matched controls (N = 13, 10 males) with 15 recorded trials for each individual. Additionally, Parkinson’s disease patients with freezing of gait were separated into mild (N = 7) and severe cases (N = 5), so that EEG features associated with freezing severity could be investigated. The results indicated significant differences between patients with severe freezing of gait compared to healthy controls and patients without freezing of gait. In addition, patients with mild and severe freezing represented cortical activity differences. For patients with freezing, the initial component of movement-related cortical potential is significantly lower than that of the healthy controls (P = 0.002) and is affected by the severity of freezing. Furthermore, a striking absence of beta frequency band (12–35 Hz) desynchronization was observed in patients with freezing, especially low-beta frequency band over Cz, before the movement, which was also associated with the severity of the freezing of gait. Low-beta (13–20 Hz) and high-beta (21–35 Hz) frequency band activities represented unique features for each group. Beta event-related desynchronization over Cz present in healthy controls prior to movement onset, was partially replaced by the theta band (4–8 Hz) synchrony in patients with freezing. Patients with severe freezing also represented some level of theta band synchronization over contralateral supplementary motor area. This suggests the involvement of cognitive processing over the motor cortex in controlling cue-based voluntary movement as a compensatory mechanism associated with freezing of gait. The EEG features identified in this study are indicative of important freezing of gait clinical characteristics such as severity and contribute to a better understanding of the underlying neurophysiology of the mysterious phenomenon of freezing of gait.