bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A 3D FRACTAL MODEL COUPLED WITH TRANSPORT AND ACTION MECHANISMS TO PREDICT THE APPARENT PERMEABILITY OF SHALE MATRIX
Authors: WANG SIYUAN , HOU PENG , LIANG XIN , SU SHANJIE , LIU QUANSHENG
Published: February 2024

The permeability of shale controls gas transport in shale gas reservoirs. The shale has a complex pore structure at the nanoscale and its permeability is affected by multiple transport and action mechanisms. In this study, a 3D fractal model for predicting the apparent gas permeability of shale matrix is presented, accounting for the effects of the transport mechanisms (bulk gas transport and adsorption gas diffusion) and action mechanisms (gas adsorption, real gas properties, water film, stress dependence, and total organic carbon (TOC) content). The proposed model is validated with the published experimental data. A series of sensitivity analyses are performed to investigate the influence of fractal characteristics and action mechanisms on the apparent permeability caused by each transport mechanism. The results show that the real gas properties, water film, and stress dependence cause different effects on the total apparent permeability of shale under different fractal characteristics. The maximum pore diameter is inversely proportional to the effects of these action mechanisms, and the porosity is positively proportional to the effects of real gas properties and water film but inversely proportional to the effects of stress dependence. An increase in TOC content can cause an improvement in the total apparent permeability. Furthermore, the effects of action mechanisms on the apparent permeability caused by different transport mechanisms are differently affected by the fractal characteristics. Changes in fractal characteristics mainly affect the apparent permeability caused by slip flow in the real gas effect, slip flow and Knudsen diffusion in the water film effect, and all transport mechanisms in the stress dependence effect.
A STUDY OF FRACTAL DUAL MOMENTUM INVESTMENT STRATEGY UNDER THE CONSTRAINT OF MULTI-FRACTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STOCK MARKET
Authors: WU XU , WANG PEIYU , YANG CHI , XIAO YAN
Published: February 2024

Since the discovery of momentum effect, people have started the journey of using the momentum effect to construct momentum strategies. As a result of coupling cross-sectional and time-series momentum strategy, dual momentum strategy (DM strategy) has been widely used in practice and closely followed by academics. To address the shortcoming of the classical DM strategy that has not considered the multi-fractal characteristics of the stock market, we construct the fractal dual momentum strategy (FDM strategy) from the two aspects of optimizing the ranking index of the cross-sectional momentum strategy by using fractal statistical measures and improving the timing selection of the time-series momentum strategy by using the trend entropy dimension. The empirical results show that the FDM strategy outperforms the DM strategy. Both in terms of the size and stability of the strategy returns, the FDM strategy shows an optimization effect compared with the DM strategy, which is beneficial to provide investors with better decision-making references.
Innovative Deep Learning Strategies for Chaotic Data Classification: A Multi-Algorithm Comparison in the Presence of Noise
Authors: Lin Shih-Lin
Published: February 2024

Chaos is prevalent in both nature and science, appearing in data, time series and complex systems. Chaotic systems exhibit numerous uncertainties, akin to noise, which challenge researchers to distinguish or analyze potential underlying patterns or even identify the type of system involved. However, determining the kind of chaotic system is essential, as it enables prediction, synchronization, control, treatment and application. This study employs machine learning to classify chaotic data through a simulation involving three types of research data: Lorenz data, Lorenz combined with Gaussian white noise, Gaussian white noise and pink noise, utilizing six distinct algorithms. The most effective testing results are achieved using Mobilenet, with a classification accuracy of 97.38% and a loss of 0.2680 across these six data types.
Clifford Deformations of Koszul Frobenius Algebras and Noncommutative Quadrics
Authors: He Jiwei , Ye Yu
Published: February 2024

A Clifford deformation of a Koszul Frobenius algebra [Formula: see text] is a finite dimensional [Formula: see text]-graded algebra [Formula: see text], which corresponds to a noncommutative quadric hypersurface [Formula: see text] for some central regular element [Formula: see text]. It turns out that the bounded derived category [Formula: see text] is equivalent to the stable category of the maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules over [Formula: see text] provided that [Formula: see text] is noetherian. As a consequence, [Formula: see text] is a noncommutative isolated singularity if and only if the corresponding Clifford deformation [Formula: see text] is a semisimple [Formula: see text]-graded algebra. The preceding equivalence of triangulated categories also indicates that Clifford deformations of trivial extensions of a Koszul Frobenius algebra are related to Knörrer's periodicity theorem for quadric hypersurfaces. As an application, we recover Knörrer's periodicity theorem without using matrix factorizations.
On the Enhanced Power Graph of a Semigroup
Authors: Dalal Sandeep , Kumar Jitender , Singh Siddharth
Published: February 2024

The enhanced power graph [Formula: see text] of a semigroup [Formula: see text] is a simple graph whose vertex set is [Formula: see text] and two vertices [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] are adjacent if and only if [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] for some [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the subsemigroup generated by [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we first describe the structure of [Formula: see text] for an arbitrary semigroup [Formula: see text], and then discuss the connectedness of [Formula: see text]. Further, we characterize the semigroup [Formula: see text] in the cases when [Formula: see text] is separately a complete, bipartite, regular, tree and null graph. The planarity, together with the minimum degree and independence number, of [Formula: see text] is also investigated. The chromatic number of a spanning subgraph, i.e., the cyclic graph, of [Formula: see text] is proved to be countable. In the final part of this paper, we construct an example of a semigroup [Formula: see text] such that the chromatic number of [Formula: see text] need not be countable.
Deep Network for Image Compressed Sensing Coding Using Local Structural Sampling
Authors: Cui Wenxue , Wang Xingtao , Fan Xiaopeng , Liu Shaohui , Gao Xinwei , Zhao Debin
Published: February 2024

Existing image compressed sensing (CS) coding frameworks usually solve an inverse problem based on measurement coding and optimization-based image reconstruction, which still exist the following two challenges: (1) the widely used random sampling matrix, such as the Gaussian Random Matrix (GRM), usually leads to low measurement coding efficiency, and (2) the optimization-based reconstruction methods generally maintain a much higher computational complexity. In this article, we propose a new convolutional neural network based image CS coding framework using local structural sampling (dubbed CSCNet) that includes three functional modules: local structural sampling, measurement coding, and Laplacian pyramid reconstruction. In the proposed framework, instead of GRM, a new local structural sampling matrix is first developed, which is able to enhance the correlation between the measurements through a local perceptual sampling strategy. Besides, the designed local structural sampling matrix can be jointly optimized with the other functional modules during the training process. After sampling, the measurements with high correlations are produced, which are then coded into final bitstreams by the third-party image codec. Last, a Laplacian pyramid reconstruction network is proposed to efficiently recover the target image from the measurement domain to the image domain. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms the existing state-of-the-art CS coding methods while maintaining fast computational speed.
IMPACTS Homeostasis Trust Management System: Optimizing Trust in Human-AI Teams
Authors: Hou Ming , Banbury Simon , Cain Brad , Fang Scott , Willoughby Hannah , Foley Liam , Tunstel Edward , Rudas Imre J.
Published: February 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more ubiquitous throughout our lives. As our reliance on this technology increases, ensuring human operators maintain an adequate level of trust is integral to their safe and effective operations. To facilitate the appropriate level of operator trust in AI, a mechanism to continuously evaluate and calibrate human–AI trust is required. Such a Trust Management System (TMS) will be integral to developing trustworthy AI systems and thus enabling collaborative and effective Human–AI Teaming (HAT) in future operations. This article starts a review of the current state-of-the-art in trust research applicable to HAT, then summarizes the development and presents the IMPACTS (Intention, Measurability, Performance, Adaptivity, Communication, Transparency, Security) homeostasis TMS. It is based on a dynamic and transactional trust framework and allows for continuous trust monitoring, managing, and behaviour adjustment to ensure operator trust is calibrated.
Filter-based Stance Network for Rumor Verification
Authors: Li Jun , Bin Yi , Ma Yunshan , Yang Yang , Huang Zi , Chua Tat-Seng
Published: February 2024

Rumor verification on social media aims to identify the truth value of a rumor, which is important to decrease the detrimental public effects. A rumor might arouse heated discussions and replies, conveying different stances of users that could be helpful in identifying the rumor. Thus, several works have been proposed to verify a rumor by modelling its entire stance sequence in the time domain. However, these works ignore that such a stance sequence could be decomposed into controversies with different intensities, which could be used to cluster the stance sequences with the same consensus. In addition, the existing stance extractors fail to consider both the impact of all previously posted tweets and the reply chain on obtaining the stance of a new reply. To address the above problems, in this article, we propose a novel stance-based network to aggregate the controversies of the stance sequence for rumor verification, termed Filter-based Stance Network (FSNet). As controversies with different intensities are reflected as the different changes of stances, it is convenient to represent different controversies in the frequency domain, but it is hard in the time domain. Our proposed FSNet decomposes the stance sequence into multiple controversies in the frequency domain and obtains the weighted aggregation of them. Specifically, FSNet consists of two modules: the stance extractor and the filter block. To obtain better stance features toward the source, the stance extractor contains two stages. In the first stage, the tweet representation of each reply is obtained by aggregating information from all previously posted tweets in a conversation. Then, the features of stance toward the source, i.e., rumor-aware stance, are extracted with the reply chains in the second stage. In the filter block module, a rumor-aware stance sequence is constructed by sorting all the tweets of a conversation in chronological order. Fourier Transform thereafter is employed to convert the stance sequence into the frequency domain, where different frequency components reflect controversies of different intensities. Finally, a frequency filter is applied to explore the different contributions of controversies. We supervise our FSNet with both stance labels and rumor labels to strengthen the relations between rumor veracity and crowd stances. Extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets demonstrate that our model substantially outperforms all the baselines.
Review—Recent Applications of Resistive-pulse Sensing Using 2D Nanopores
Authors: Kececi Kaan , Dinler Ali
Published: February 2024

This article reviews the recent advances and applications of resistive-pulse sensors of 2D nanopores, which are based on atomically thin materials such as graphene, MoS2, WS2, h-BN, and MXenes. Due to their thickness, they are superior to other materials (e.g., SiNx, SiO2) in terms of spatial resolution which is desired for DNA, RNA, and protein sequencing. They can be used for single-molecule detection and analysis as well as their nature. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed such as improving the stability, large-scale production, and size reproducibility of 2D nanopores. This review briefly discusses briefly the nanopore fabrication techniques, recent sensing applications in the last five years, and performance characteristics of 2D nanopore sensors, as well as their advantages and limitations over other types of nanopore sensors.
Normal vision and development in mice with low functional expression of Kir7.1 in heterozygosis for a blindness-producing mutation inactivating the channel
Authors: Vera Erwin , Cornejo Isabel , Henao Juan Carlos , Tribiños Felipe , Burgos Johanna , Sepúlveda Francisco V. , Cid L. Pablo
Published: February 2024

Human retinal pigment epithelium K+ channel Kir7.1 is affected by generally recessive mutations leading to blindness. We investigate one such mutation, isoleucine-to-threonine at position 120, both in vitro and in vivo in knockin mice. The mutated channel is inactive and in heterozygosis gives a hypomorphic phenotype with normal retinal function. Mutant channels do not interfere with wild-type Kir7.1 channels which are expressed concomitantly without hindrance, providing an explanation for the recessive nature of the disease.
Beating the heart failure odds: long-term survival after myocardial ischemia in juvenile rainbow trout
Authors: Zena Lucas A. , Ekström Andreas T. , Morgenroth Daniel , McArley Tristan , Axelsson Michael , Sundh Henrik , Palmquist Anders , Johansen Ida B. , Gräns Albin , Sandblom Erik
Published: February 2024

Juvenile rainbow trout exhibit a remarkable capacity to recover from cardiac injury caused by myocardial ischemia. Recovery from cardiac damage occurs through adaptive ventricular remodeling, coupled with a rapid cardiac revascularization response. These findings carry significant implications for understanding the mechanisms governing cardiac health within salmonid fishes, which are particularly susceptible to cardiac diseases.
A New Theoretical Method for Solving Forward Kinematics of the Parallel Mechanisms Based on Transfer Matrix
Authors: Wang Jin , Jing Zijian , Guo Junli , Qin Tao , Li Han , Li Xin , Li Zhenchuang , Meng Fanhui , Qi Bo
Published: February 2024

The flexible parallel mechanism is widely utilized in precision instruments, thanks to its numerous advantages, such as high precision, frictionless operation, and seamless movements. The establishment of the motion equations for this mechanism is crucial for designing, analyzing, controlling, and simulating parallel mechanisms. While the existing inverse kinematics solution theory is comprehensive, developing a forward solution model is challenging due to the nonlinear nature of the attitude equation. To address this issue, a new method based on the transfer matrix approach is proposed in this research to calculate the forward kinematics of parallel mechanisms. The proposed method is applied to analyze the forward kinematics and workspace of both planar and spatial flexible mechanisms. Simulation calculations and experiments are conducted to verify the method’s effectiveness. The results demonstrate that the error is approximately 2%, indicating the feasibility and accuracy of the calculation method.
Daily Functionality of People with Low Vision: The Impact of Visual Acuity, Depression, and Life Orientation—A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Gkioka Mara , Almpanidou Stavroula , Lioti Niki , Almaliotis Diamantis , Karampatakis Vasileios
Published: February 2024

Background. Low vision (LV) has a significant negative impact on the activities of daily life as well as on the psychological health of patients. Objectives. The objective of this study is to investigate psychological, clinical, and demographic factors that may impact the daily functionality of patients with LV. Methods. A convenience sample of 53 patients, meeting the WHO criteria for LV, was recruited. Questionnaires on daily functionality, depression, and life orientation (in terms of optimism/pessimism) were administered along with a semistructured personal interview. Key Findings. The main results revealed a significant negative correlation between daily functionality and depression (r = −0.423, p < 0.001). Conversely, there is a positive correlation between daily functionality and visual acuity (r = 0.415, p < 0.001), while years since diagnosis were negatively correlated with depression (r = −0.345, p < 0.001). Depression seems to be a moderate predictor of a person’s daily functionality (β = −0.389, p < 0.002), followed by visual acuity (β = −0.344, p = 0.006), explaining the 31.1% of the total variance. Conclusions. The study supports a correlation between daily functionality and both depression and visual acuity. Optimism as a personality characteristic did not factor into the prediction model for daily functionality, but it showed a strong correlation with lower levels of depressive symptoms. This highlights the potential for developing coping strategies for chronic disease management. Recommendations. The study could serve as a useful guide and may urge clinicians to pay attention to the psychological evaluation of these patients, supporting their unique emotional needs. Mental health professionals can use patients’ positive resources to provide appropriate counseling and embrace the coping skills that encourage their engagement in activities of daily life.
Effects of Different Solvents on the Total Phenol Content, Total Flavonoid Content, Antioxidant, and Antifungal Activities of Micromeria graeca L. from Middle Atlas of Morocco
Authors: El Kamari Fatima , El Omari Hajar , El-Mouhdi Karima , Chlouchi Amina , Harmouzi Anjoud , Lhilali Ilham , El Amrani Jihane , Zahouani Chadia , Hajji Zouhair , Ousaaid Driss
Published: February 2024

Micromeria graeca L. is a dense chemical source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, which have various health-related properties. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of different extractor solvents on phenol and flavonoid contents, as well as the antioxidant and antifungal activities of different extracts. Initially, three extractor solvents (methanol, ethyl acetate, and water) were used to prepare the Soxhlet extracts, which were then examined for their polyphenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant potential using three complementary assays (DPPH, FRAP, and TAC). The antifungal capacity against the two fungal strains (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) was performed using the method of diffusion on disc. The dosage of phytochemical compounds revealed that the highest values were established in water extract with values of 360 ± 22.1 mg GAE/g dry weight plant and 81.3 ± 21.2 mg RE/g dry weight plant for TPC and TFC, respectively. In addition, the strongest antioxidant activity measured by DPPH and FRAP assays was established in water extract with IC50 values of 0.33 ± 0.23 and 0.23 ± 0.12 mg/mL, respectively, while the methanol extract showed the best antioxidant activity as measured by TAC with an IC50 of 483 ± 17.6 mg GAEq/g dry weight plant. The water extract recorded the most important antifungal activity against Candida albicans with an inhibition zone of 16 ± 1.6 mm and MFC = 500 μg/mL, whereas ethyl acetate extract showed the lowest activity against both studied fungi strains. Micromeria graeca L. contains considerable amounts of bioactive contents with high antioxidant and antifungal potentials, which may make it a promising source of antioxidants and natural antifungal agents.
A Deep-Learning Approach to a Volumetric Radio Environment Map Construction for UAV-Assisted Networks
Authors: Shawel Bethelhem S. , Woldegebreal Dereje H. , Pollin Sofie
Published: February 2024

Providing global coverage for ubiquitous users is a key requirement of the fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless technologies. This can be achieved by integrating airborne networks, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite networks, with terrestrial networks. However, the deployment of airborne networks in a three-dimensional (3D) or volumetric space requires a new understanding of the propagation channel and its losses in both the areal and altitude dimensions. Despite significant research on radio environment map (REM) construction, much of it has been limited to two-dimensional (2D) contexts. This neglects the altitude-related characteristics of electromagnetic wave propagation and confines REMs to 2D formats, which limits the comprehensive and continuous visualization of propagation environment variation in spatial dimensions. This paper proposes a volumetric REM (VREM) construction approach to compute 3D propagation losses. The proposed approach addresses the limitations of existing approaches by learning the spatial correlation of wireless propagation channel characteristics and visualizing REM in areal and height/altitude dimensions using deep learning models. Specifically, the approach uses two deep learning-based models: volume-to-volume (Vol2Vol) VREM with 3D-generative adversarial networks and sliced VREM with altitude-aware spider-UNets. In both cases, knowledge of the propagation environment and transmitter locations in 3D space is used to capture the spatial and altitude dependency of the propagation channel’s characteristics. We developed the Addis dataset, a large REM dataset comprising 54,000 samples collected from the urban part of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to train the proposed models. Each sample of data comprises a 512-meter by 512-meter areal resolution with different 3D obstacles (buildings and terrain), 15 simulated propagation loss maps at every 3-meter altitude resolution, and 80 different 3D transmitter locations. The results of the training and testing of the proposed models reveal that the constructed VREMs are statistically comparable. In particular, the Vol2Vol approach has a minimum L1 loss of 0.01, which further decreases to 0.0084 as the line-of-sight (LoS) probability increases to 0.95.
Decoding the Luxury Brand Attachment: The Power of Social Media in Driving Consumer Action in Kuwait
Authors: Thanasi-Boçe Marsela , Zaidi Syed Faizan Hussain , Kurtishi-Kastrati Selma , Momin Mujtaba
Published: February 2024

Enhancing the capacity of a luxury brand to stir a deep connection with customers has always been the focus of practitioners in the luxury industry. This study explores the potential role of social media in converting attachment with a luxury brand into desirable marketing outcomes. The relationships between “luxury brand attachment,” “motivation,” “social media usage,” “word-of-mouth,” and “purchase intention” are examined to understand the drivers and outcomes of luxury brand attachment in social media. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 341 social media users on various platforms. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Amos. The results revealed that the most important attribute generating luxury attachment in social media is the capacity of a luxury brand to show prestige and status. The direct relationship between luxury brand attachment and purchase intentions is nonsignificant. A stronger attachment to a luxury brand does not entice direct intention to purchase it unless certain motives drive consumers’ luxury engagement in social media. These insights can guide marketing managers in creating effective strategies for their luxury products.
Inhibition of Oxidative Stress‐Induced Ferroptosis Can Alleviate Rheumatoid Arthritis in Human
Authors: Liu Yang , Liang Jiang , Sha Zongge , Yang Changfu
Published: February 2024

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmunity illness, mainly featured with synovitis of the joint. The specificity of ferroptosis is disparate in different diseases, and the mechanism of ferroptosis in RA has some uncertainty yet. Therefore, the mechanism of ferroptosis was deeply observed in RA patients and animal models. In this paper, plasma of RA patients, the tumor necrosis factor‐alpha‐induced human synovial fibroblasts, and an animal model of arthritis induced by collagen were applied to initially inquire about the therapeutic effect of ferroptosis. For the RA patients, ELISA detected protein expression of glutathione (GSH), GPX4, Nrf2, Keap‐1, and ferritin. In cell experiments, erastin or fer‐1 regulated the invasion of human synovial fibroblast cells, mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression, marker protein, and so on. For the animal experiments, 32 Sprague–Dawley male rats were randomly separated into four groups with a collagen‐induced RA model for 14 days and administered with erastin or fer‐1 for 35 days. The expressions of GSH, GPX4, Nrf2, and Keap‐1 were lower, and the ferritin was higher in RA patients, and the expressions of these proteins varied significantly after disease remission. In addition, ferroptosis inactivation also reduced the proliferation and migration ability, mitochondrial membrane potential, and ROS in cells. We discovered unexpectedly that activation of ferroptosis meaningfully forbore the foot swelling in animals with CIA, reduced arthritis scores, destruction of bone, and articular synovitis, and also decreased the high expression of inflammatory factors in plasma. There is a nonlinear relationship between human disease manifestations and animal model pathology. Ferroptosis regulating in RA for humans or animals may produce different effects.
Technical Skills Curriculum in Neonatology: A Modified European Delphi Study
Authors: Bay Emma Therese , Breindahl Niklas , Nielsen Mathilde M. , Roehr Charles C. , Szczapa Tomasz , Gagliardi Luigi , Vento Maximo , Visser Douwe H. , Stoen Ragnhild , Klotz Daniel , Rakow Alexander , Breindahl Morten , Tolsgaard Martin G. , Aunsholt Lise
Published: February 2024

Introduction: Simulation-based training (SBT) aids healthcare providers in acquiring the technical skills necessary to improve patient outcomes and safety. However, since SBT may require significant resources, training all skills to a comparable extent is impractical. Hence, a strategic prioritization of technical skills is necessary. While the European Training Requirements in Neonatology provide guidance on necessary skills, they lack prioritization. We aimed to identify and prioritize technical skills for a SBT curriculum in neonatology. Methods: A three-round modified Delphi process of expert neonatologists and neonatal trainees was performed. In round one, the participants listed all the technical skills newly trained neonatologists should master. The content analysis excluded duplicates and non-technical skills. In round two, the Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation Needs Assessment Formula (CAMES-NAF) was used to preliminarily prioritize the technical skills according to frequency, importance of competency, SBT impact on patient safety, and feasibility for SBT. In round three, the participants further refined and reprioritized the technical skills. Items achieving consensus (agreement of ≥75%) were included. Results: We included 168 participants from 10 European countries. The response rates in rounds two and three were 80% (135/168) and 87% (117/135), respectively. In round one, the participants suggested 1964 different items. Content analysis revealed 81 unique technical skills prioritized in round two. In round three, 39 technical skills achieved consensus and were included. Conclusion: We reached a European consensus on a prioritized list of 39 technical skills to be included in a SBT curriculum in neonatology.
Single-nucleus sequencing of silkworm larval brain reveals the key role of lysozyme in the antiviral immune response in brain hemocytes
Authors: Feng Min , Fei Shigang , Zou Jinglei , Xia Junming , Lai Wenxuan , Huang Yigui , Swevers Luc , Sun Jingchen
Published: February 2024

The brain is considered as an immune-privileged organ, yet innate immune reactions can occur in the central nervous system of vertebrates and invertebrates. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) is an economically important insect and a lepidopteran model species. The diversity of cell types in the silkworm brain, and how these cell subsets produce an immune response to virus infection, remains largely unknown. We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) to identify 19 distinct clusters representing Kenyon cell, glial cell, olfactory projection neuron, optic lobes neuron, hemocyte-like cell, and muscle cell types in the B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infected and uninfected silkworm larvae brain at the late stage of infection. Further, we found that the cell subset that exerts an antiviral function in the silkworm larvae brain corresponds to hemocytes. Specifically, antimicrobial peptides were significantly induced by BmNPV infection in the hemocytes, especially lysozyme, exerting antiviral effects. Our single-cell dataset reveals the diversity of silkworm larvae brain cells, and the transcriptome analysis provides insights into the immune response following virus infection at the single-cell level.
Arterial-Portal Venous Shunt after Drug-Eluting Bead Transarterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients: Risk factors and Impact on Patient Survival
Authors: Hien Phan Nhan , Chun Ho Jong , Oh Jung Suk , Kim Su Ho , Choi Byung Gil
Published: February 2024

Introduction: The effectiveness of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been well established. The differential impacts of drug-eluting bead TACE (DEB-TACE) as opposed to conventional TACE (cTACE) on vascular changes, such as arterial-portal venous shunts (APSs), have been recognized. However, their subsequent effects on treatment outcomes have not been fully explored. This study aims to identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of APS in HCC patients treated with DEB-TACE and to evaluate its impact on patient survival. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted from January 2012 to December 2018 including 74 HCC patients receiving DEB-TACE as initial treatment and a 1:1 cTACE. Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Logistic regression identified significant risk factors for APS occurrence after DEB-TACE. Results: APS incidence was significantly higher after DEB-TACE than cTACE (46.0% vs. 16.2%, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in median OS between APS and non-APS groups after DEB-TACE: 50 months (24.6–75.4) versus 26.9 months (19.5–43.2), p = 0.111; median PFS was 15.6 months (4.1–27.1) and 9.5 months (6.8–12.1) for the two groups, respectively, p = 0.065. Risk factors for APS occurrence after DEB-TACE were more than two feeding arteries (OR: 7.25, 95% CI: 1.82–28.95, p = 0.005) and non-selective embolization (OR: 8.02, 95% CI: 2.30–27.95, p = 0.001). Conclusion: APS occurrence was higher in DEB-TACE-treated HCC patients, but it did not significantly affect OS and PFS. More than two feeding arteries and non-selective embolization were significant risk factors for APS occurrence after DEB-TACE.
Characterization of Tumor Responses in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Lenvatinib in the Phase 3 Randomized Trial: REFLECT
Authors: Finn Richard S. , Qin Shukui , Piscaglia Fabio , Evans Thomas R. Jeffry , Knox Jennifer J. , López López Carlos , Ramji Zahra , Ren Min , Mody Kalgi , Vogel Arndt , Kudo Masatoshi
Published: February 2024

Introduction: In REFLECT, lenvatinib was noninferior to sorafenib in terms of overall survival (OS) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC; median 13.6 vs. 12.3 months; HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.79–1.06). The objective response rate (ORR) with lenvatinib was 18.8% by blinded independent imaging review (IIR) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1); per modified RECIST (mRECIST), the ORR was 40.6%. We sought to further characterize these tumor responses and explore ORR’s importance among outcomes for patients with HCC. Methods: Efficacy assessments included all patients randomly assigned to receive lenvatinib treatment (if bodyweight ≥60 kg, 12 mg/day; if <60 kg, 8 mg/day). Time to first objective response (TTR) and duration of response (DOR) included patients who achieved a partial or complete tumor response. Tumors were assessed by IIR per RECIST v1.1 or mRECIST. Results: Four hundred seventy-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive lenvatinib. By IIR, 90 patients (18.8%) achieved an objective response per RECIST v1.1, and 194 (40.6%) had an objective response per mRECIST. Median TTR/DOR were 2.8 months/7.4 months in responders per RECIST v1.1, and 1.9 months/7.3 months in responders per mRECIST, respectively. Per baseline disease characteristics, ORRs by Child-Pugh score (A5/A6) were 21.2%/11.2% per RECIST v1.1 and 42.9%/33.6% per mRECIST, respectively. By baseline alpha-fetoprotein level (<400/≥400 ng/mL), ORRs were 21.4%/15.4% per RECIST v1.1 and 45.6%/33.8% per mRECIST, respectively. Incidences of treatment-related treatment-emergent adverse events were 98.9% in responders per RECIST v1.1 and 97.9% in responders per mRECIST. Conclusions: Responses were seen even in those patients with more severe disease at baseline. Tumor responses occurred early and were durable.
Cardiogenic Shock in Older Adults: A Focus on Age-Associated Risks and Approach to Management: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Authors: Blumer Vanessa , Kanwar Manreet K. , Barnett Christopher F. , Cowger Jennifer A. , Damluji Abdulla A. , Farr Maryjane , Goodlin Sarah J. , Katz Jason N. , McIlvennan Colleen K. , Sinha Shashank S. , Wang Tracy Y. ,   on behalf of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Disease in Older Populations Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; and Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia
Published: February 2024

Cardiogenic shock continues to portend poor outcomes, conferring short-term mortality rates of 30% to 50% despite recent scientific advances. Age is a nonmodifiable risk factor for mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock and is often considered in the decision-making process for eligibility for various therapies. Older adults have been largely excluded from analyses of therapeutic options in patients with cardiogenic shock. As a result, despite the association of advanced age with worse outcomes, focused strategies in the assessment and management of cardiogenic shock in this high-risk and growing population are lacking. Individual programs oftentimes develop upper age limits for various interventional strategies for their patients, including heart transplantation and durable left ventricular assist devices. However, age as a lone parameter should not be used to guide individual patient management decisions in cardiogenic shock. In the assessment of risk in older adults with cardiogenic shock, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach is central to developing best practices. In this American Heart Association scientific statement, we aim to summarize our contemporary understanding of the epidemiology, risk assessment, and in-hospital approach to management of cardiogenic shock, with a unique focus on older adults.
Sarcophagidae (Insecta: Diptera) of Saudi Arabia: new records, an updated checklist and a new species
Authors: DAWAH HASSAN A. , ABDULLAH MOHAMMED A. , PAPE THOMAS
Published: February 2024

As part of a study on the biodiversity of Diptera of south-western Saudi Arabia, a survey of the Diptera fauna of Jazan, Asir and Najran at 10 sites was performed between 2012–2015 mainly using Malaise traps, sweep nets and baited traps. A total of 21 species of Sarcophagidae are recorded and documented with photographs, seven of which represent new country records for Saudi Arabia. Including species with a reliable previous record from Saudi Arabia, the total number of species of Sarcophagidae known from Saudi Arabia now stands at 51. All species of Sarcophagidae recorded from Saudi Arabia are listed, including distributions and the source where species were first recorded. Material studied as part of the project resulted in 16 new country records for other countries. Alusomyia Villeneuve, 1933 is here synonymized with Hoplacephala Macquart, 1834, syn. nov., argued from the presence of four proclinate orbital bristles, the row of strong parafacial setae close to the anteroventral eye-margin, the large gena and the robust habitus compared to most other miltogrammines. The generic synonomy requires the new combinations Hoplacephala transfuga (Villeneuve, 1933), comb. nov. and Hoplacephala turana (Rohdendorf, 1975), comb. nov. Sarcophaga surcoufi Villeneuve, 1913 is synonymized with Engelisca adhamae Lehrer & Abou-Zied, 2008, syn. nov. An appendix authored by Dr J.C. Deeming contains the description of Sarcophaga dawahi Deeming, sp. nov.
Taxonomic revision of the Stenodynerus fastidiosissimus species-group in Western Europe and North Africa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)
Authors: SELIS MARCO , CILIA GIOVANNI , WOOD THOMAS J. , SOON VILLU
Published: February 2024

The fastidiosissimus species-group of Stenodynerus de Saussure, 1863 is revised in Western Europe and North Africa, combining morphological data and DNA barcoding. Six species are recognized: S. difficilis (Morawitz, 1867) stat. resurr. (= S. fastidiosissimus auct.), S. fastidiosissimus (de Saussure, 1855), S. laborans (Costa, 1882) stat. resurr., S. montanus Selis, sp. nov., S. muelleri (Dusmet, 1917) (= Stenodynerus gusenleitneri Giordani Soika, 1986 syn. nov.), and S. rufescens Giordani Soika, 1977 stat. nov. Lectotypes are designated for Odynerus fastidiosissimus de Saussure, 1855 and Odynerus insularis André, 1883 non Smith, 1859. A key for the identification of members of this species-group is provided. DNA barcodes are published for every species, representing the first available sequences for the fastidiosissimus species-group.
Description of a new species of the genus Woznessenskia from Xizang, China (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae)
Authors: ZHANG ZI-HENG , TIAN HAO-HU , LONG XIAO-YU , YIN ZI-XU , LI KAI , HE ZHU-QING
Published: February 2024

The gryllacridid genus Woznessenskia Gorochov, 2002 comprises 13 extant species from Asia, with 8 species reported from China and 5 species reported from Vietnam. A new species from Xizang, China, Woznessenskia lianhua sp. nov., is reported in this paper.
Genetic Inroads into the Art of James Joyce
Authors: Gabler Hans Walter
Published: February 2024

This book is a treasure trove comprising core writings from Hans Walter Gabler‘s seminal work on James Joyce, spanning fifty years from the analysis of composition he undertook towards a critical text of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, through the Critical and Synoptic Edition of Ulysses, to Gabler‘s latest essays on (appropriately enough) Joyce’s sustained artistic innovation.

Not only does this span of essays trace the evolution of Gabler’s thinking about Joyce’s originality and creative energy. It also reflects the development and maturation of Gabler‘s own genetic criticism and his methodology of genetic editing, which grows in depth and complexity across the collection. The reader will explore Joyce’s life and works through Gabler’s incisive eye, while also examining a progress of his reflections on his edition of Ulysses and the past controversy that beset it.

This classic compendium combining well-seasoned scholarship and fresh criticism is an essential read for critics of Modernism, digital humanists, scholars and students of James Joyce, and anyone interested in the art of literary analysis.
Structures of Memory and Orientation
Authors: Gabler Hans Walter
Published: February 2024

The Wandering Rocks episode of Ulysses opens the novel’s second half on fresh grounds of poetics. This chapter describes how this patterning of the text manifests Dublin beyond its content.
Ulysses 1922 and the Golden Mean
Authors: Gabler Hans Walter
Published: February 2024

This chapter reviews the appendices of the author’s critical and synoptic Ulysses edition to ascertain Joyce’s process of proof-reading and text-expanding to ensure that the text body of Ulysses would be divided by printers into a day-time and a night-time sequence of 366 pages each (that is, two ‘years’ of pages; the year of initial publication was a leap-year). This chapter further ascertains that Joyce sized the extension of the Ulysses text body in proportions by page numbers to the ratio of the Golden Mean.
2022 CEOS International Thermal Infrared Radiometer Comparison. Part II: Field Comparison of Radiometers
Authors: Yamada Yoshiro , Harris Subrena , Wimmer Werenfrid , Holmes Raymond , Nightingale Tim , Lee Arrow , Jepsen Nis , Morgan Nicole , Göttsche Frank-M. , Niclòs Raquel , Perelló Martín , Garcia-Santos Vicente , Donlon Craig , Fox Nigel
Published: February 2024

An international comparison of field-deployed radiometers for sea surface skin temperature (SSTskin) retrieval was conducted during two weeks in June 2022. The comparison comprised a laboratory comparison and a field comparison. The field comparison of the radiometers took place on the second week at a seaside pier on the south coast of England. Six thermal infrared radiometers were compared with each other while continuously viewing the closely adjacent surface of the sea from the end of the pier. This paper reports the results of this field comparison. All participants’ radiometers agreed with the reference value, evaluated as the simple mean of the participant-reported values, within the claimed uncertainties. The SSTskin variation during the 5-day period was within 3°C around 18.3°C, which is 2 times as large in range as in the previous comparison in 2016, while the mean of the difference from the reference value over the period evaluated for each participant was found to be within 0.07°C, which is a 2-times improvement on the previous results. During the comparison an insignificant but noticeable abrupt shift in measured value occurred in one of the radiometers, which could not have been detected without comparison with other instruments. This demonstrated the effectiveness of having long-term stable internal reference sources in the instrument, a feature this particular radiometer did not have. The combined results from the laboratory comparison and the field comparison contribute to improve confidence in the retrieved SSTskin.
Exploration of Global and Specialized Near-Infrared Calibrations for the Quantification of Nutritional Content in Grapevine Organs, Berry Phenological Stages, and Shoot Lignification
Authors: van Wyngaard Elizma , Blancquaert Erna , Nieuwoudt Hélène , Aleixandre-Tudo Jose Luis
Published: February 2024

Current infrared spectroscopy applications in the field of viticulture are moving toward direct in-field measuring techniques. However, limited research is available on quantitative applications using direct measurement of fresh tissue. The few studies conducted have combined the spectral data from various cultivars, growing regions, grapevine organs, and phenological stages during model development. The spectral data from these heterogeneous samples are combined into a single data set and analyzed jointly during quantitative analysis. Combining the spectral information of these diverse samples into a global data set could be an unsuitable approach and could yield less accurate prediction results. Spectral differences among samples could be overlooked during model development and quantitative analysis. The development of specialized calibrations should be considered and could lead to more accurate quantitative analyses. This study explored a model optimization strategy attempting global and specialized calibrations. Global calibrations, containing data from multiple organs, berry phenological, and shoot lignification stages, were compared to specialized calibrations per organ or stage. The global calibration for organs contained data from shoots, leaves, and berries and produced moderately accurate prediction results for nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. The specialized calibrations per organ yielded more accurate calibrations with a coefficient of determination in validation (R2val) at 90.65% and a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) at 0.32% dry matter (DM) for the berries’ carbon calibrations. The leaves and shoots carbon calibrations had R2val and RMSEP at 84.99%, 0.34% DM, and 90.06%, 0.37% DM, respectively. The specialized calibrations for nitrogen and hydrogen showed similar improvements in prediction accuracy per organ. Specialized calibrations per phenological and lignification stage were also explored. Not all stages showed improvement, however, most stages had comparable or improved results for the specialized calibrations compared to the global calibrations containing all phenological or lignification stages. The results indicated that both global and specialized calibrations should be considered during model development to optimize prediction accuracy.
Machine Learning-Assisted Determination of C6H14 Mole Fraction From Molecular Emissions of Laser-Induced Hexane–Air Plasmas
Authors: Rao Ashwin P. , Nawar Noshin , Annesley Christopher J.
Published: February 2024

Laser-induced plasmas of materials containing hydrocarbons present strong carbon molecular emission features. Using these emissions to build models relating changes in spectral features to a physical parameter of the system, such as hydrocarbon content, can be difficult because of the dynamic complexity of the spectral features and temperature disequilibrium between molecular species. This study presents machine learning models trained to quantify the mole fraction of hexane in hexane–air plasmas from CN Violet and C2 Swan spectral features. Ensemble regression methods provide the most accurate predictions with root mean squared error on the order 10−2. Artificial neural network regressions produce predictions with superlative sensitivity, exhibiting detection limits as low as 0.008. These foundational models can be further refined with more advanced data to quantify the presence of carbon species in complex plasma environments, such as high-speed reacting flows.