bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of point‐of‐care ultrasound for detection of retinal detachment in emergency department
Authors: Sung Kai Man , Li Chi , Chiu King Yung , Chan Ho Yin , Lee Ping Chung Gordon
Published: November 2024

Introduction

Retinal detachment (RD) is an ocular emergency commonly encountered in the emergency department (ED). Point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) has been proposed to rapidly identify the diagnosis. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of POCUS for detection of RD by a group of emergency physicians (EP) who had no prior experience in ocular POCUS.

Methods

This was a retrospective single‐center cohort study conducted between July 2023 and April 2024. All EP without any experience of POCUS in the department were invited to participate voluntarily in the study. They received a structured training session prior to the commencement of study which included a 30‐min lecture followed by a 30‐min supervised hands‐on practice on healthy individuals. All adult patients presenting to ED with acute onset flashes, floaters, and monocular visual loss were included. Patients who met one of the following criteria were excluded: pre‐existing or known RD, suspected ruptured eyeball, and unable to communicate in either Chinese or English. The final diagnosis by ophthalmologists were used as the gold standard for comparison.

Results

A total of 12 EP participated in the study and 89 patients were identified. Fourteen of them received the diagnosis of RD by ophthalmologists. Overall, the sensitivity of ocular POCUS was 93% (95% confidence interval (CI = 66%–100%). Specificity was 89% (95% CI = 80%–95%). The positive predictive value was 62% (95% CI = 45%–76%) and the negative predictive value was 98% (95% CI = 91%–100%).

Conclusion

Ocular POCUS has high sensitivity and negative predictive value for detection of RD. It is a useful and readily available diagnostic tool in ED even for EP without prior experience.
Multimodal hand/finger movement sensing and fuzzy encoding for data‐efficient universal sign language recognition
Authors: Wei Caise , Liu Shiqiang , Yuan Jinfeng , Zhu Rong
Published: November 2024

Wearable sign language recognition helps hearing/speech impaired people communicate with non‐signers. However current technologies still unsatisfy practical uses due to the limitations of sensing and decoding capabilities. Here, A continuous sign language recognition system is proposed with multimodal hand/finger movement sensing and fuzzy encoding, trained with small word‐level samples from one user, but applicable to sentence‐level language recognition for new untrained users, achieving data‐efficient universal recognition. A stretchable fabric strain sensor is developed by printing conductive poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) ink on a pre‐stretched fabric wrapping rubber band, allowing the strain sensor with superior performances of wide sensing range, high sensitivity, good linearity, fast dynamic response, low hysteresis, and good long‐term reliability. A flexible e‐skin with a homemade micro‐flow sensor array is further developed to accurately capture three‐dimensional hand movements. Benefitting from fabric strain sensors for finger movement sensing, micro‐flow sensor array for 3D hand movement sensing, and human‐inspired fuzzy encoding for semantic comprehension, sign language is captured accurately without the interferences from individual action differences. Experiment results show that the semantic comprehension accuracy reaches 99.7% and 95%, respectively, in recognizing 100 isolated words and 50 sentences for a trained user, and achieves 80% in recognizing 50 sentences for new untrained users.

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Lightweight and Privacy‐Preserving Authentication Protocol for Smart Village
Authors: Panigrahi Ranjeet Kumar , Kumar Raghvendra
Published: November 2024

Smart villages, utilizing digital technology, present a viable solution to address rural communities' needs, especially in developing countries. However, high infrastructure costs, informal economies, and governance issues pose significant challenges, impeding the realization of government aspirations for the smart village concept. This study focuses on preserving privacy and enhancing security within IoT‐enabled smart villages. We propose a lightweight, privacy‐preserving remote user authentication protocol utilizing geometric secret sharing to mitigate security vulnerabilities in resource‐constrained IoT devices. The protocol eliminates the need for traditional passwords and smart cards, reducing user burden and enhancing usability. Performance analysis and comparative evaluations, including power consumption, security features, and computational costs, demonstrate the efficacy and robustness of our protocol.
Microfluidic visualization of in‐situ emulsification during surfactant flooding
Authors: Fang Yiwei , Li Moyi , Peng Baoliang , Liu Weidong , Liao Guangzhi , Zhao Xuezhi , Feng Yujun
Published: November 2024

Surfactant plays a crucial role in the chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) process, and in‐situ emulsification is regarded as one of the mechanisms for surfactant flooding. However, no direct evidences are available so far to show how emulsions are generated in porous media, and how emulsification is essential for cEOR. To address these issues, binary mixtures of several currently‐used sulfonate surfactants, SH5, SH6, and SHZ, were formulated with connate brine to displace crude oil in both 2D microfluidic chips and 3D glass beads porous media, as well as artificial cores. It was found that both “oil‐in‐water” (O/W) and “water‐in‐oil” (W/O) macroemulsions can be formed in‐situ inside the porous media, and they improve oil recovery mainly through breaking residual oil into small drops and improving mobility ratio, which can significantly reduce the residual oil saturation by up to 12.8% in 2D microchips. The in‐situ emulsification in 3D glass beads medium can get oil recovery factor up to 15% over water flooding. In‐situ formulation of microemulsion was also observed in microfluidic flow tests. Part of the oil phase is emulsified into microemulsions that are present in the middle phase, further mobilizing the oil trapped downstream, lowering residual oil saturation from 54.8% to 11.3% in 2D microchips, and enhancing oil recovery factor up to 25% in core flooding test. These findings advance insightful understanding of in‐situ emulsification during surfactant flooding process under simulated oil reservoir condition, offering real‐time evidence of how both macro‐ and micro‐emulsions formation help for cEOR.
Brachytherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Maintaining Local Control While Minimizing Complications
Authors: Montreuil Julien , Kholodovsky Eric , Markowitz Moses , Torralbas Fitz Sergio , Campano Dominic , Geiger Erik , Hornicek Francis , Crawford Brooke , Keisch Martin , Temple H. Thomas
Published: November 2024

Background

This study aims to assess the clinical and oncologic outcomes of high‐dose brachytherapy (BRT) versus both preoperative and postoperative external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in the setting of high‐grade soft tissue sarcoma.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of 144 patients treated surgically for soft tissue sarcoma at the same institution from 2010 to 2021. Patients treated for a soft tissue sarcoma with surgery and radiation therapy in the form of BRT, Neoadjuvant EBRT (Neo‐EBRT) or adjuvant EBRT (AD‐EBRT) were included.

Results

56 patients were treated with BRT, 42 with Neo‐EBRT, and 46 with AD‐EBRT. There was a greater incidence of grouped wound complications in Neo‐EBRT with 50% compared to both BRT with 25% and AD‐EBRT with 28.3% (p = 0.02). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that there was an increased risk of wound complications with Neo‐EBRT when compared to brachytherapy (p = 0.03 and p = 0.007, respectively). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that there was no difference in risk of LR between treatment groups (p = 0.28).

Conclusion

Brachytherapy is a valuable treatment modality that offers clinical and logistical advantages when compared to the conventional Neo‐EBRT in soft tissue sarcomas. Brachytherapy offers a lower risk of wound complications and a comparable local control. This manuscript presents decision‐making strategies for determining the appropriate radiation modality for specific circumstances.
Artificial Vegetation Restoration Enhances Soil Fertility and Microbial Network Complexity in Eroded Areas
Authors: Wang Xiaopeng , Zhou Man , Tan Zechuang , Wang Zumei , Lin Gengen , Zhang Yue , Jiang Fangshi , Huang Yanhe , Lin Jinshi
Published: November 2024

Although artificial vegetation restoration measures decelerate soil erosion, the impacts on soil microbial communities and soil fertility remain unclear. This impedes our ability to assess the true effects of artificial vegetation restoration measures on degraded soil ecosystems. To address this issue, we used vegetation restoration plots in severely eroded areas in China as research objects and applied high‐throughput sequencing technology to determine the composition of the soil bacterial and fungal communities. Compared with eroded sites, artificial vegetation restoration plots not only presented greater microbial diversity and network complexity but also presented increased resistance to environmental stress. Artificial vegetation restoration measures altered the microbial community composition by increasing the content of soil alkali‐hydrolyzable nitrogen, reducing the relative abundance of dominant microbes such as Chloroflexi and Ascomycota. Changes in microbial community characteristics were closely associated with variations in a comprehensive index of soil fertility induced by artificial vegetation restoration measures. In summary, these results indicate that artificial vegetation restoration measures have significant positive impacts on the rehabilitation of degraded soil ecosystems.
Postionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging: Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Guan Xiaokang , Lu Qiao , Liu Shuxian , Yan Xiaowen
Published: November 2024

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) technologies are widely used today to study the in situ spatial distributions for a variety of analytes. As these technologies advance, the pursuit of higher resolution in MSI has intensified. The limitation of direct desorption/ionization is its insufficient ionization, posing a constraint on the advancement of high‐resolution MSI technologies. The introduction of postionization process compensates the low ionization efficiency caused by sacrificing the desorption area while pursuing high spatial resolution, resolving the conflict between high spatial resolution and high sensitivity in direct desorption/ionization method. Here, we discuss the sampling and ionization steps of MSI separately, and review the postionization methods in MSI according to three different sampling modes: laser sampling, probe sampling, and ion beam sampling. Postionization technology excels in enhancing ionization efficiency, boosting sensitivity, mitigating discrimination effect, simplifying sample preparation, and expanding the scope of applicability. These advantages position postionization technology as a promising tool for biomedical sciences, materials sciences, forensic analysis and other fields.
The histological growth patterns in liver metastases from colorectal cancer display differences in lymphoid, myeloid, and mesenchymal cells
Authors: Garcia‐Vicién Gemma , Ruiz Núria , Micke Patrick , Ruffinelli José Carlos , Mils Kristel , Bañuls María , Molina Natalia , Pardo Miguel A. , Lladó Laura , Mezheyeuski Artur , Molleví David G.
Published: November 2024

Colorectal liver metastases grow following different histologic growth patterns (HGPs), classified as desmoplastic and nondesmoplastic (dHGP, non‐dHGP), being the latter associated with worst prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the tumor microenvironment (TME) between HGPs supporting different survival. Multiplexed immunohistochemical staining was performed with the Opal7 system in a 100‐patients cohort to evaluate the tumor–liver interface with three different cell panels: lymphoid, myeloid, and carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts. Differences between HGPs were assessed by Mann–Whitney U test with Pratt correction and Holm–Bonferroni multitest adjustment. Cytotoxic T‐cells were more abundant in tumoral areas of dHGP, while non‐dHGP had higher macrophages infiltration, Th2, CD163+, and Calprotectin+ cells as well as higher pSMAD2 expression. Regarding carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts, several subsets expressing COL1A1 were enriched in dHGP, while αSMAlow_single cells were present at higher densities in non‐dHGP. Interestingly, Calprotectin+ cells confer better prognoses in non‐dHGP, identifying a subgroup of good outcome patients that unexpectedly also show an enrichment in other myeloid cells. In summary, our results illustrate different TME landscapes with respect to HGPs. dHGP presents a higher degree of immunocompetence, higher amounts of Collagen 1 as well as lesser presence of myeloid cell populations, features that might be influencing on the better prognosis of encapsulated metastases.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Measurement of New 1144‐Type Iron‐Based Superconductors: A Systematic Review
Authors: Mebratie Gedefaw , Negussie Tamiru , Kahsay Gebregziabher
Published: November 2024

The newly discovered 1144‐type iron‐based superconductors (FeBSCs) are hybrids of the same two 122‐type structures. The novel 1144‐type FeBSCs were synthesized with a superconducting transition temperature ranging from 31 to 37 K. This study systematically investigates the current findings and future possibilities of EuRbFe4As4, EuCsFe4As4, CaRbFe4As4, and CaKFe4As4 FeBSCs since they have high upper critical magnetic field, high critical current density and low anisotropy, strong vortex pinning properties. The current review article gives a brief explanation on the crystal structure, electronic structure, band gap, magnetic properties, superconductivity, pairing mechanism, synthesis methods, characterization, and measuring mechanisms of the selected novel 1144‐type FeBSCs.
Centralized Investigator Review of Radiological and Functional Imaging Reports in Real‐World Oncology Studies: The SACHA‐France Experience
Authors: Berlanga Pablo , Aerts Isabelle , Corradini Nadège , Ndounga‐Diakou Lee Aymar , Entz‐Werle Natacha , Ducassou Stéphane , André Nicolas , Sevrin François , Chastagner Pascal , Puiseux Chloe , Cleirec Morgane , Plantaz Dominique , De Carli Emilie , Gambart Marion , Khanfar Camille , Thouvenin Sandrine , Petit Arnaud , Klein Sébastien , Briandet Claire , Millot Frédéric , Pluchart Claire , Reguerre Yves , Schneider Pascale , Serre Jill , Halfon‐Domenech Carine , Carausu Liana , Piguet Christophe , Saumet Laure , Benadiba Joy , Abbou Samuel , Laghouati Salim , Geoerger Birgit , Vassal Gilles
Published: November 2024

SACHA‐France (NCT04477681) is a prospective real‐world study that collects clinical safety and efficacy data of novel anticancer therapies prescribed off‐label or on compassionate use to patients <25 years. From March 2020 until February 2024, 640 patients with solid tumors or lymphomas were included, with 176 (28%) reported objective tumor responses. Centralized medical monitoring of local radiological/functional imaging reports by the SACHA coordinating investigator led to response modification in 45 out of 176 cases (26%), highlighting the relevance of the medical review of study data. We suggest this pragmatic approach for improving clinical trial data when centralized radiological review is not performed.
Potential for Recycled Silicon Solar Cells as Feedstock for New Ingot Growth
Authors: Geerligs L. J. , Kuypers Ando D. , Theelen Mirjam J.
Published: November 2024

This paper investigates, by modeling, the potential for high‐value recycling of silicon wafers recovered from end‐of‐life PV modules. Technology for PV module recycling is making steady progress, both at recycling companies and R&D institutes, and it is possible that as a result, soon a stream of wafers or wafer fragments recovered from waste modules will become commercially available. Recycling the silicon for manufacturing of new PV modules is an opportunity both for reduction of cost and reduction of environmental footprint of PV. In this paper, we analyze possibilities for recycling of wafer fragments as feedstock for new silicon ingot growth. This could save up to about 0.16 kWh/Wp energy for production of the new PV system. Compared with lower value applications of the recovered silicon, the potential value and energy savings when used as feedstock for ingot growth are considerably higher. This paper presents the possibilities and challenges for recycling wafer fragments from the point of view of dopant type and resistivity control, and mitigation of the impact of recombination activity from possible increased impurity levels or related to boron. Because in current PV production a rapid transition to n‐type wafer doping is taking place, the paper also considers the question what can be done with p‐type doped recycled wafer material. We illustrate how application for perovskite–silicon tandem cells helps to mitigate possible performance loss from metallic impurities or boron. The application in tandem cells is perhaps the only realistic approach to make economically worthwhile use of recycled B‐doped silicon as feedstock for silicon ingot growth.
Impact of Self‐Regulated Learning Programs in Primary Education: A Systematic Review
Authors: Olid‐Luque Marta , Ayllón‐Salas Patricia , Arco‐Tirado José L. , Fernández‐Martín Francisco D.
Published: November 2024

The aims of this systematic review were to identify, describe, and synthesize the characteristics and effectiveness of self‐regulated learning training programs on primary education students' self‐regulated learning and academic achievement. The study implemented a systematic review protocol that encompassed both primary and complementary literature searches to ensure the comprehensive inclusion of unbiased studies. Subsequently, the results were analyzed by narrative content analysis. After the selection process, 10 studies were finally qualified for data extraction and review. The results revealed that the selected interventions had a statistically significant positive impact and effectiveness in fostering students' self‐regulated learning. Additionally, many of them seemed to be effective in terms of improving pupils' academic performance. Nevertheless, this systematic review emphasizes the necessity for additional studies employing robust evaluation research designs to enhance the quality of research in this domain.
Bee bread collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) as a terrestrial pesticide biomarker to complement water studies
Authors: Stalder Samira , Fracheboud Marion , Stalder Ann‐Kathrin , Droz Benoît , Chiaia‐Hernández Aurea C. , Kast Christina
Published: November 2024

BACKGROUND

Pesticides in aquatic environments are frequently studied, yet those in terrestrial environments remain relatively unexplored. This study monitored bee bread collected from two apiaries located in a typical agricultural environment in Switzerland from March to August 2022 as a proxy for terrestrial pesticide inputs. The temporal appearance of the selected pesticides was compared to their profiles in the water of a small catchment within this area.

RESULTS

Overall, 62% (31 of 50) of the targeted pesticides were detected in bee bread, with occurrences in both apiaries largely overlapping (23 pesticides), demonstrating a similar agricultural landscape across the region. Furthermore, nine pesticides were detected in bee bread and water, two pesticides were detected only in bee bread, and two additional pesticides were detected only in water. Comparative temporal analysis revealed that pesticides with moderate‐to‐high movement potential [Groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) ≥ 2.19] appeared simultaneously in bee bread and water (azoxystrobin, boscalid, flufenacet and terbuthylazine). However, pesticides with low movement potential (GUS ≤ 1.86) showed different profiles in both matrices (cyprodinil, prosulfocarb, tebuconazole and thiacloprid), indicating the difficulty of predicting their fate, given that they adhere to soil particles and cannot be covered by current water monitoring programmes.

CONCLUSION

Our findings present bee bread as a viable biomarker for monitoring pesticides by complementing the conventional water monitoring, and permitting a more comprehensive assessment of the exposure of terrestrial organisms to pesticides. Bee bread allows immediate recording of the applied pesticides and promptly reflects the seasonal variation in pesticide use. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Improving Survey Inference Using Administrative Records Without Releasing Individual‐Level Continuous Data
Authors: Williams Sharifa Z. , Zou Jungang , Liu Yutao , Si Yajuan , Galea Sandro , Chen Qixuan
Published: November 2024

Probability surveys are challenged by increasing nonresponse rates, resulting in biased statistical inference. Auxiliary information about populations can be used to reduce bias in estimation. Often continuous auxiliary variables in administrative records are first discretized before releasing to the public to avoid confidentiality breaches. This may weaken the utility of the administrative records in improving survey estimates, particularly when there is a strong relationship between continuous auxiliary information and the survey outcome. In this paper, we propose a two‐step strategy, where the confidential continuous auxiliary data in the population are first utilized to estimate the response propensity score of the survey sample by statistical agencies, which is then included in a modified population data for data users. In the second step, data users who do not have access to confidential continuous auxiliary data conduct predictive survey inference by including discretized continuous variables and the propensity score as predictors using splines in a Bayesian model. We show by simulation that the proposed method performs well, yielding more efficient estimates of population means with 95% credible intervals providing better coverage than alternative approaches. We illustrate the proposed method using the Ohio Army National Guard Mental Health Initiative (OHARNG‐MHI). The methods developed in this work are readily available in the R package AuxSurvey.
Se‐Doped CoS2@MoS2 Heterostructures on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Overall Water Splitting
Authors: Jiang Yuwei , An Xuguang , Zhang Yu , Wang Feng , Abdukayum Abdukader , Kong Qingquan , Gao Sanshuang , Hu Guangzhi
Published: November 2024

The use of efficient and affordable non‐precious metal catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions is vital for replacing and widely implementing new energy sources. Nevertheless, improving the catalytic performance of these non‐precious‐metal bifunctional electrocatalysts continues to be a major challenge. In this article, an optimized Se‐incorporated bulk CoS2@MoS2 heterostructure grown on the surface of carbon nanotubes is reported. The resulting Se‐CoS2@MoS2/CNTs exhibit robust bifunctional electrocatalytic performance, with low overpotentials of 85 and 240 mV @ 10 mA·cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively. The materials exhibit superior long‐term stability of over 145 h, surpassing most electrocatalysts of similar type. This enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effect at the interface between the MoS2 and CoS2 phases, abundant active sites, and high active surface area, which collectively improves the electron‐transfer efficiency during the reaction process. Furthermore, the incorporation of the amorphous state of Se into the heterostructure yields a change in the crystallinity of the heterostructure in the electronic structure, which optimizes the adsorption and activation energy barriers of the catalytic intermediate. This study thus presents a promising approach to regulating anion doping in bifunctional electrocatalysts.
Advancements in Colorful Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells: Enhancing Aesthetic Appeal and Efficiency
Authors: Khandelwal Kanupriya , Biswas Subhayan , Sharma Ganesh D.
Published: November 2024

Aesthetics play a pivotal role in the development of semitransparent organic solar cells (ST‐OSCs), enabling their seamless integration into buildings and various structures without compromising visual appeal while generating electricity. The incorporation of attractive designs not only enhances consumer acceptance and marketability but also broadens the applicability of ST‐OSCs to windows, facades, and electronic devices. Moreover, aesthetically pleasing solar cells foster a positive, ecofriendly image, driving innovation in renewable energy technologies. This study introduces an effective method for advancing the aesthetic appeal of ST‐OSCs through Fabry–Perot microcavity resonance, which increases color saturation by narrowing the transmittance spectrum. A novel Fabry–Perot etalon electrode, consisting of Ag/barium (II) fluoride (BaF2)/Ag, is integrated as a top transparent electrode, achieving both high color purity and high‐power conversion efficiency (PCE) in colorful ST‐OSCs. By precisely controlling the thickness of the BaF2 layer, a wide color gamut with high color purity is achieved, producing vibrant blue, green, and red hues. The photovoltaic devices were fabricated in ambient conditions, with the blue device exhibiting a PCE of 11.52% and a transmittance peak (T%) of 31.66%, the green device showing a PCE of 11.37% with a T% of 26.66%, and the red device achieving a PCE of 11.29% with a T% of 12.24%. These colorful ST‐OSCs, with their required transmitted colors and high color purity, hold significant potential for future developments in energy harvesting.
Federated Learning‐Based Mobile Traffic Prediction in Satellite‐Terrestrial Integrated Networks
Authors: Jiang Weiwei , Mu Jianbin , Han Haoyu , Zhang Yang , Huang Sai
Published: November 2024

Introduction

With the development and integration of satellite and terrestrial networks, mobile traffic prediction has become more important than before, which is the basis for service provision and resource scheduling when supporting various vertical applications. However, existing traffic prediction methods, especially deep learning‐based methods, require massive data for model training. Due to data privacy concerns, mobile traffic data are not easily shared among different parties, making it difficult to obtain a precise prediction model.

Methods

To mitigate the data leakage risk, a federated learning framework is proposed in this study for mobile traffic prediction in satellite‐terrestrial integrated networks to achieve a tradeoff between data privacy and prediction accuracy. In the proposed framework, local models are trained in base stations on the ground, and a global model is aggregated in the satellite edge server in space.

Results

A deep learning‐based prediction model with an adaptive graph convolutional network (AGCN) and long short‐term memory (LSTM) modules is proposed and validated in numerical experiments, which achieves the lowest prediction error with a real‐world traffic dataset when compared with other graph neural network (GNN) variants in the federated learning setting.

Conclusion

Numerical experiments with a real‐world mobile traffic dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, which outperforms other GNN variants with lower prediction errors.
N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Reactions Involving Acetylenic Breslow and/or Acylazolium as Key Intermediates
Authors: He Yujie , Chen Jintao , Jiang Yu , Fang Xiaoyu , Liu Junyang , Yan Jia‐Lei
Published: November 2024

N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis has been developed as a powerful tool in modern synthetic chemistry. NHC catalytic activation of ynals and alkynoic acid derivatives provided versatile reactions that involve acetylenic Breslow and/or acylazolium as key intermediates, and diverse transformations have been established for access to molecules with unique skeletons in efficient fashions. Herein we summarize the recent achievements in NHC‐catalyzed reactions involving acetylenic Breslow and/or acylazolium intermediates. Different reactions belonging to three catalytic modes, including (1) conjugate additions to acetylenic Breslow derived α,β‐unsaturated acylazolium intermediates, (2) β‐umpolung of ynals via acetylenic Breslow intermediates, and (3) conjugate additions to acetylenic acylazolium intermediates, are emphasized with examples and plausible mechanisms cited to guide a better understanding.
Radiographic and tomographic findings of excretory urography of avian kidneys after induced nephropathy in broiler chicken as a model
Authors: Zangisheh Mahsa , Masoudifard Majid , Madani Seyed Ahmad , Vajhi Alireza , hasannejhad Hamideh , Ghojoghi Ameneh
Published: November 2024

Background

Although kidney diseases have a high prevalence, initial recognition and diagnosis of renal disease are complicated in avian medicine.

Objective

The aim of this study is to assess the intraosseous excretory urography (IOEU) in order to introduce a new method for evaluation of kidney's function in broilers as a primary model of birds.

Methods

A total of 10 male broiler chickens at the age of 20 days were included and evaluated with plain and serial post‐contrast radiography and computed tomography (CT) scan to check the time and concentration of the contrast media (CM) passage from the kidney. In the next step, after the nephropathy induction with gentamicin, plain and serial post‐contrast radiography and CT scan were repeated. After the necropsy, kidney samples were sent for histopathology evaluation, and statistical analysis of data obtained from image analysis was conducted.

Results

After nephropathy induction, all of the chickens exhibited increase in kidney size and in histopathological evaluation, all the samples (30 of 30) showed severe tubular necrosis and mild glomerulopathy. In the IOEU, the average time to create the maximum concentration of CM, the average time to decrease the CM concentration from the kidney and the time of the complete clearance of CM indicated a significant incensement after nephropathy compared to the time before it.

Conclusion

Intraosseous excretory urography (IOEU) is a safe contrast imaging modality and can be useful in the assessment of the urinary system in chickens to check the changes in kidney size and function.
The Use of Intra‐Operative Endoscopy in Dogs and Cats for the Removal of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies: Five Cases (2014–2015)
Authors: Israeli Inbar
Published: November 2024

Objectives

We report the use of intra‐operative endoscopy, termed here ‘surgically‐assisted endoscopy’. The procedure spares a gastrotomy, therefore, shortening anaesthetic time, minimising potential complications and resulting in a quicker and less painful recovery.

Methods

Four dogs and one cat requiring surgical celiotomy for various conditions were treated. In all animals, a gastrointestinal foreign body (FB) was located at surgery. During the surgery, with the patient still in dorsal recumbency and the abdomen still open, in lieu of gastrotomy, the animals had their FBs removed via endoscopy, sparing a gastrotomy procedure and its potential complications.

Results

In all five cases, a gastrotomy was avoided and the FBs were successfully extracted using the endoscope. Only one minor complication was seen intra‐operatively and none at short‐term follow‐up.

Clinical Significance

Although prognosis after gastrotomy is considered excellent, potential complications still exist and include haemorrhage, intra‐operative spillage, peritonitis and post‐operative dehiscence. Alternatively, endoscopy negates many of those possible complications and shortens anaesthesia time. In many cases of gastric FBs, or where intestinal FBs can be safely manipulated into the stomach, surgically assisted endoscopy could be considered a viable and potentially preferred option to gastrotomy.
UNER: Universal Named-Entity Recognition Framework
Authors: Alves Diego , Thakkar Gaurisha , Tadić Marko
Published: November 2024

Named-entity recognition and classification (NERC) is an essential natural language processing (NLP) task involved in many applications like interactive question answering, summarising, relation extraction, and text mining. Available NERC corpora follow different annotation schemes that vary in terms of formats and levels of complexity according to research requirements: from 1-level hierarchy annotations (e.g., “Person”, “Location”, and “Organisation”) to multi-level schemes. Inspired by the work of the Universal Dependencies framework in terms of a standard representation of parsed trees, we developed the universal named-entity recognition (UNER) framework, which consists of a multi-level NERC hierarchy and a corresponding workflow that parses data from Wikipedia and DBpedia, translating it to UNER annotations. This chapter presents the UNER hierarchy and its workflow for data extraction and annotation. The proposed process was used to generate an English corpus, which was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. Furthermore, seven strategies for annotation improvement were presented and discussed, showing that the usage of information from the Open Event Knowledge Graph (OEKG) can improve our dataset.
Conversational Question Answering over Knowledge Graphs
Authors: Kacupaj Endri , Singh Kuldeep , Maleshkova Maria , Lehmann Jens
Published: November 2024

Question answering (QA) over knowledge graphs (KGs) is an essential task that maps a user’s utterance to a query over a KG to retrieve the correct answer. Earlier methods in this field relied heavily on predefined templates and rules, which had limited adaptability and learning capability. Recent research has made significant strides in answering straightforward questions, and there has been notable success in tackling more intricate queries as well. However, a key challenge remains that, often, a single round of question and answer is not enough. Users might have follow-up questions that delve deeper into a subject, relying on information from their initial queries. This situation is particularly common in conversational settings, where each new question might refer back to earlier topics or answers. In this chapter, we explore advanced techniques for handling such conversational QA over knowledge graphs. We leverage deep neural networks and multi-task learning approaches to create systems that can understand and respond to a series of interconnected questions. By focusing on these conversational aspects and the nuances between different types of queries, we aim to bridge a significant gap in current research, offering more dynamic and context-aware systems that can adapt to the evolving nature of human inquiry.
Targeting the Right Problem with Your Start-up: Uncovering Validation Techniques
Authors: Kuckertz Andreas , Leicht Thomas , Scheu Maximilian , da Silva Wagner Indra , Ebersberger Bernd
Published: November 2024

In this chapter, you will learn why validation is crucial throughout your start-up’s lifecycle, how to generate validated learning to inform entrepreneurial decision-making, and how to use validation to explore problems. We emphasize the importance of validating assumptions to avoid misjudging product ideas. By integrating the lean start-up framework and effectuation heuristics, we highlight the process of testing assumptions through customer feedback and iterative experimentation. We offer a generic validation blueprint comprising three steps—reflect, inquire, and learn—encouraging entrepreneurs to continuously validate their path toward achieving product/market fit and enhance their start-up’s chances of success. We offer advice for immediate action.
„Die beste Alkoholprävention ist die Antiemanzipation“
Authors: Balz Viola
Published: November 2024

Der Beitrag widmet sich aus einer geschlechterhistorischen Perspektive der Geschichte von sowie Diskussionen über einen konstatierten Anstieg von Frauenalkoholismus in der Bundesrepublik. Seit den 1950er Jahren beklagt der psychiatrische, pädagogische und psychologische Diskurs einen zunehmenden weiblichen Alkoholkonsum und macht die Frauenemanzipation als dessen Ursache aus. Der Artikel beleuchtet die männlich dominierten Debatten über Frauenalkoholismus bis 1968 sowie anschließend einsetzende feministische Kritiken. Er analysiert die in den Diskussionen über „die trinkende Frau“ zum Ausdruck kommenden Veränderungen der gesellschaftlichen Rolle von Frauen sowie zeitgleich sich formierende wissenschaftlich-patriarchale Gegenbewegungen. Dabei zeigt der Beitrag zum einen, wie ein klassischer Suchtbegriff aufgrund des Scheiterns medizinischer Behandlungsversuche erodiert und durch neues psychosoziales Erklärungswissen ersetzt wird. Zum anderen verdeutlicht er, wie die Frauenselbsthilfe sich dieses Wissen aneignet und neu interpretiert.
Trajectory of beta cell function and insulin clearance in stage 2 type 1 diabetes: natural history and response to teplizumab
Authors: Galderisi Alfonso , Sims Emily K. , Evans-Molina Carmella , Petrelli Alessandra , Cuthbertson David , Nathan Brandon M. , Ismail Heba M. , Herold Kevan C. , Moran Antoinette
Published: November 2024

Aims/hypothesis

We aimed to analyse TrialNet Anti-CD3 Prevention (TN10) data using oral minimal model (OMM)-derived indices to characterise the natural history of stage 2 type 1 diabetes in placebo-treated individuals, to describe early metabolic responses to teplizumab and to explore the predictive capacity of OMM measures for disease-free survival rate.

Methods

OMM-estimated insulin secretion, sensitivity and clearance and the disposition index were evaluated at baseline and at 3, 6 and 12 months post randomisation in placebo- and teplizumab-treated groups, and, within each group, in slow- and rapid-progressors (time to stage 3 disease >2 or

$$\le$$

≤

2 years). OMM metrics were also compared with the standard AUC C-peptide. Percentage changes in CD8+ T memory cell and programmed death-1 (PD-1) expression were evaluated in each group.

Results

Baseline metabolic characteristics were similar between 28 placebo- and 39 teplizumab-treated participants. Over 12 months, insulin secretion declined in placebo-treated and rose in teplizumab-treated participants. Within groups, placebo slow-progressors (n=14) maintained insulin secretion and sensitivity, while both declined in placebo rapid-progressors (n=14). Teplizumab slow-progressors (n=28) maintained elevated insulin secretion, while teplizumab rapid-progressors (n=11) experienced mild metabolic decline. Compared with rapid-progressor groups, insulin clearance significantly decreased between baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months in the slow-progressor groups in both treatment arms. In aggregate, both higher baseline insulin secretion (p=0.027) and reduced 12 month insulin clearance (p=0.045) predicted slower progression. A >25% loss of insulin secretion at 3 months had specificity of 0.95 (95% CI 0.86, 1.00) to identify rapid-progressors and correctly classified the 2 year risk for progression in 92% of participants, with a sensitivity of 0.19 (95% CI 0.08, 0.30). OMM-estimated insulin secretion outperformed AUC C-peptide to differentiate groups by treatment or to predict progression. Metabolic changes were paralleled by relative frequency of change in PD-1+ CD8+ T effector memory cells.

Conclusions/interpretation

OMM measures characterise the metabolic heterogeneity in stage 2 diabetes, identifying differences between rapid- and slow-progressors, and heterogeneous impacts of immunotherapy, suggesting the need to account for these differences when designing and interpreting clinical trials.

Graphical Abstract
Model design in data science: engineering design to uncover design processes and anomalies
Authors: Bordas Antoine , Le Masson Pascal , Weil Benoit
Published: November 2024

In the current data-rich environment, valorizing of data has become a common task in data science and requires the design of a statistical model to transform input data into a desirable output. The literature in data science regarding the design of new models is abundant, while in parallel, other streams of literature such as epistemology of science, has shown the relevance of anomalies in model design processes. Anomalies are to be understood as unexpected observations in data, an historical example being the discovery of Mercury based on its famous anomalous precession perihelion. Therefore, this paper addresses the various design processes in data science and their relationships to anomalies. To do so, we conceptualize what designing a data science model means, and we derive three design processes based on the latest theories in engineering design. This allows us to formulate assumptions regarding the relationships between each design process and anomalies, which we test with several case studies. Notably, three processes for the design of models in data science are identified and, for each of them, the following information is provided: (1) the various knowledge leveraged and generated and (2) the specific relations with anomalies. From a theoretical standpoint, this work is one of the first applications of design methods in data science. This work paves the way for more research at the intersection of engineering design and data science, which could enrich both fields.
Progressive degradation of acetylated wood by the brown rot fungi Coniophora puteana and Rhodonia placenta
Authors: Belt Tiina , Awais Muhammad
Published: November 2024

Acetylation is a wood modification method that reduces the hygroscopicity of wood and increases its resistance to degradation by wood decaying fungi. Even though acetylated wood can have very high decay resistance, the wood material can be degraded and sometimes deacetylated by fungi. This study investigated the degradation and deacetylation of acetylated wood by Coniophora puteana and Rhodonia placenta to better understand the relationship between degradation and deacetylation in two different brown rot fungi. Wood samples were exposed to the fungi in a stacked-sample decay test, followed by acetyl content measurements and FTIR spectroscopy to investigate chemical changes in the samples. The results showed that both fungi could degrade acetylated wood to high mass loss despite a strong reduction in moisture content, but only R. placenta was found to cause preferential deacetylation. The deacetylation was slight and only observed in the early stages of decay in highly acetylated wood. Otherwise, acetyl groups were lost from the samples at the rate of mass loss. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the loss of acetyl groups and revealed some chemical differences between unacetylated and acetylated wood. The spectral data indicated the loss of acetyl groups from lignin, which suggests that the loss of acetyl groups is not only due to the degradation of acetylated carbohydrates. The degradation of acetylated wood required further investigation, but it is clear that extensive deacetylation is not a requirement for brown rot degradation.
Dopaminergic PET to SPECT domain adaptation: a cycle GAN translation approach
Authors: Lopes Leonor , Jiao Fangyang , Xue Song , Pyka Thomas , Krieger Korbinian , Ge Jingjie , Xu Qian , Fahmi Rachid , Spottiswoode Bruce , Soliman Ahmed , Buchert Ralph , Brendel Matthias , Hong Jimin , Guan Yihui , Bassetti Claudio L. A. , Rominger Axel , Zuo Chuantao , Shi Kuangyu , Wu Ping
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Dopamine transporter imaging is routinely used in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS) diagnosis. While [11C]CFT PET is prevalent in Asia with a large APS database, Europe relies on [123I]FP-CIT SPECT with limited APS data. Our aim was to develop a deep learning-based method to convert [11C]CFT PET images to [123I]FP-CIT SPECT images, facilitating multicenter studies and overcoming data scarcity to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements.

Methods

A CycleGAN was trained on [11C]CFT PET (n = 602, 72%PD) and [123I]FP-CIT SPECT (n = 1152, 85%PD) images from PD and non-parkinsonian control (NC) subjects. The model generated synthetic SPECT images from a real PET test set (n = 67, 75%PD). Synthetic images were quantitatively and visually evaluated.

Results

Fréchet Inception Distance indicated higher similarity between synthetic and real SPECT than between synthetic SPECT and real PET. A deep learning classification model trained on synthetic SPECT achieved sensitivity of 97.2% and specificity of 90.0% on real SPECT images. Striatal specific binding ratios of synthetic SPECT were not significantly different from real SPECT. The striatal left-right differences and putamen binding ratio were significantly different only in the PD cohort. Real PET and real SPECT had higher contrast-to-noise ratio compared to synthetic SPECT. Visual grading analysis scores showed no significant differences between real and synthetic SPECT, although reduced diagnostic performance on synthetic images was observed.

Conclusion

CycleGAN generated synthetic SPECT images visually indistinguishable from real ones and retained disease-specific information, demonstrating the feasibility of translating [11C]CFT PET to [123I]FP-CIT SPECT. This cross-modality synthesis could enhance further AI classification accuracy, supporting the diagnosis of PD and APS.
On the Löwner-John Ellipsoids of the Metric Polytope
Authors: Gartsman Raziel , Linial Nati
Published: November 2024

The collection of all n-point metric spaces of diameter $$\le 1$$

≤
1

constitutes a polytope $$\mathcal {M}_n \subset \mathbb {R}^{\left( {\begin{array}{c}n\\ 2\end{array}}\right) }$$

M
n

⊂

R

n

2

, called the Metric Polytope. In this paper, we consider the best approximations of $$\mathcal {M}_n$$

M
n

by ellipsoids. We give an exact explicit description of the largest volume ellipsoid contained in $$\mathcal {M}_n$$

M
n

. When inflated by a factor of $$\Theta (n)$$

Θ
(
n
)

, this ellipsoid contains $$\mathcal {M}_n$$

M
n

. It also turns out that the least volume ellipsoid containing $$\mathcal {M}_n$$

M
n

is a ball. When shrunk by a factor of $$\Theta (n)$$

Θ
(
n
)

, the resulting ball is contained in $$\mathcal {M}_n$$

M
n

. We note that the general theorems on such ellipsoid posit only that the pertinent inflation/shrinkage factors can be made as small as $$O(n^2)$$

O
(

n
2

)

.
Refugee mothers’ mental health in Denmark: possibilities and limits of home visiting programs
Authors: Marti-Castaner Maria , Poulsen Vivian Rueskov , Di Nucci Ezio , Villadsen Sarah Fredsted
Published: November 2024

Purpose

To explore the experiences of refugee mothers and community health nurses participating in a nurse home visiting program in Denmark, focusing on the program’s effects on the psychosocial well-being of refugee mothers during the transition to motherhood.

Methods

The nurse home visiting program was an add-on the public care offered to all families, with extra training of the community health nurses and more time to engage with the families with immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Community health nurses (12) and participating women (9) participated in qualitative interviews between September and December 2020, following the program’s conclusion.

Results

Utilizing the Resource-Based Model of refugee adaptation as a theoretical framework, we identified four main themes: (i) negotiating parenting norms and gaining confidence through parenting resources; (ii) finding emotional support to cope with integration pressures; (iii) expanding social resources, (iv) building bridges with welfare state services. These themes captured the resources gained by mothers through the home visiting program, positively influencing their psychosocial well-being, while also acknowledging the impact of the socio-political context on community health nurses’ work and mothers’ daily lives.

Conclusion

Findings offer insights about the potential and limitations of tailored nurse home visiting programs for refugee families, emphasizing the positive impact on mental health. However, challenges such as assimilation pressures, unwelcoming immigration policies, and discrimination may hinder program effectiveness.