bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial well-being needs of alcohol/drug sufferers and therapeutic architectural solutions in rehabilitation centre, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Ekhaese Eghosa , Ezeora Ifeanyi
Published: June 2023

Background: In a rehabilitation centre designed for drug and alcohol recovery, the therapeutic environment may enhance the psychosocial well-being of sufferers and facilitate a speedy recovery. This study aims to investigate the psychosocial well-being needs (PWNs) of users in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre (ADRC) and how therapeutic architectural solutions (TASs) can promote a healing environment through design.

Methods: The study employed a mixed research method (qualitative and quantitative). The research strategy was a case study of four rehabilitation centres in Nigeria’s busiest cities; Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Enugu. Data were collected via survey questionnaires, an in-depth interview guide, an observation guide, and a checklist of TACs in a healthcare facility. We first investigated what the PWNs of alcohol and drug sufferers (ADSs) are, then identified the therapeutic architectural components (TACs) of an ADRC, before determining what effect TACs have on the recovery process of substance abuse patients.

Results: The findings identify eight PWNs and nine TACs essential in an ADRC. The result indicates that TACs have a significant effect on the recovery process of ADSs. However, based on the study results, a framework (framework here refers to using an intelligent and sensitive conceptual design structure as a standard guide for the building archetype rehabilitation facility, which supports mental health service delivery) may be recommended for rehabilitation facilities with TASs for Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD).

Conclusion: The study result presents a correlation between ADSs' recovery rates and a well-designed therapeutic environment. So, there is a need for evidence-based design (EBD) of rehabilitation centres with full compliments of a therapeutic architectural environment and integration of mental health services into routine care in sub-Saharan Africa. Limitations include that analyses were cross-sectional and thus may not deduce causal directions, and the authors based the result on self-report.
1st ASCS: Expanding the ISCB Student Council Symposia to Asia
Authors: Grover Aayush , Riaz Arsalan , Al Sium Syed Muktadir , Dincaslan Fatma B. , Chowdhury Sanjana Fatema , Olguin-Orellana Gabriel J , Parra R. Gonzalo , Eranti Pradeep
Published: June 2023

Since 2004, the ISCB Student Council (ISCB-SC) has successfully organized Student Council Symposia across several continents, including North America, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, as well as local events led by more than 25 Regional Student Groups (RSG) across the world. The ISCB-SC Symposia provide students and early career researchers the chance to showcase their work at an international venue in a format that includes keynote talks, round table discussions, workshops, and more. After several efforts spanning several years to build enough critical mass in the region, we have successfully organized the first Asian Student Council Symposium (1st ASCS). This article discusses the organizational details of this unprecedented event, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned.
Specific modulation of flavor and aroma of Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare var. hirtum) and its essential oil
Authors: Ciesielski Wojciech , Gąstoł Maciej , Girek Tomasz , Kulawik Damian , Oszczęda Zdzisław , Pisulewska Elżbieta , Tomasik Piotr
Published: June 2023

Plantations of Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare var. hirtum) were watered with water treated for 30 min with low-temperature, low-pressure glow plasma of low frequency either in the air, under nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane or molecular oxygen.The kind of the water influenced the yield and quality of crops in terms of a number of plants, their height, total biomass, total number and mass of leaves. Watering the plants with every kind of the plasma treated water provided essential changes in the composition of isolated essential oil. In such manner the composition of the essential oil could be tailored following the consumer demands, particularly in cases of designing better cure potential for herbal medicine and aromatherapy. The selection of particular kind of the plasma treated water for watering provides essential oil of diverse suitability as the spice and flavouring agent. Regarding the kind of water taken for watering always carvacrol was a dominating component of the essential oil. Application of particular kind of treated water always changed the yield of particular components of the oil up to a total inhibition of its formation but never resulted in formation of novel components.
Equisetum arvense L. field horsetail (Equisetaceae Michx. ex DC.)
Authors: Wróbel Dominik , Różański Henryk
Published: June 2023

The article is part of the series, devoted to studies on Equisetum species occurring in Poland. The species described here, Equisetum arvense L. – field horsetail, is regarded as typical for the entire genus. Among others, some morphological and anatomical characteristics of the species, its taxonomic diversity, distribution and association with specihc habitat types, as well as threats, traditional use and life cycle are presented below. The phytochemical composition has been presented in the context of ancient and modern phytotherapy.
Asymptotically Optimal Control of Make-to-Stock Systems
Authors: Gao Xuefeng , Huang Junfei
Published: June 2023

We consider multiclass make-to-stock production/inventory systems in which the manager makes three decisions, including pricing, outsourcing, and scheduling, to maximize the long-run average profit. For a sequence of systems in the heavy-traffic regime, with linear or strictly convex holding/waiting cost functions, we propose a sequence of policies and establish its asymptotic optimality. Our proof combines the lower bound approach and a thorough steady-state analysis of the systems. We also establish general results on the existence and tightness of the stationary distributions of the state processes under a more general family of policies.

Funding: X. Gao’s research is supported in part by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council [Grants 14201520, 14201421, and 14212522]. J. Huang’s research is supported in part by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council [Grants 14500819 and 14505820] and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72222023].
Asymptotic Optimality of Semi-Open-Loop Policies in Markov Decision Processes with Large Lead Times
Authors: Bai Xingyu , Chen Xin , Li Menglong , Stolyar Alexander
Published: June 2023

A generic way to verify asymptotic optimality of semi-open-loop policies for a wide class of MDPs with large lead times.

In many real-life inventory models, order lead times can result in uncertain effects of inventory decisions. However, as the lead time grows large, one would naturally postulate that the effect of the delayed order depends weakly on the current inventory level and, thus, intuit that decoupling the delayed order with the current inventory level may provide good heuristics. Motivated by these examples, in “Asymptotic Optimality of Semi-open-Loop Policies in Markov Decision Processes with Large Lead Times,” Bai et al. consider a generic Markov decision process (MDP) with one delayed control and one immediate control. For MDPs defined on general spaces with uniformly bounded cost functions and a fast mixing property, they construct a periodic semi-open-loop policy for each lead time value and show that these policies are asymptotically optimal as the lead time goes to infinity. For MDPs defined on Euclidean spaces with linear dynamics and convex structures, they impose another set of conditions under which constant delayed-control policies are asymptotically optimal.
The Radical Flank Revisited: How Regulatory Discretion Shapes the Effectiveness of Social Activism on Business Outcomes
Authors: Grandy Jake B. , Hiatt Shon R.
Published: June 2023

Although scholarship has highlighted how stakeholders can influence business outcomes, few studies have examined how simultaneous, different tactics interact to impact firms. Critical to understanding this interaction is the radical flank effect, which asserts that the moderate and radical elements of social activist tactics can interact to either enhance or diminish a movement’s ability to accomplish its goals. However, research is unclear about when and whether the radical flank effect enhances or diminishes activist influence, nor has it empirically analyzed factors that influence the direction of the effect. To address these limitations, we explore one such factor—regulatory agency discretion, or regulators’ flexibility to interpret and implement public policies. Drawing on management and political sociology studies, we argue that discretion affects the salience of regulatory accountability to the public and thereby alters the radical flank effect on business outcomes in regulated markets. We analyze stakeholder opposition to U.S. hydroelectric power facilities from 1987 to 2019. The results show that high discretion enhances the radical flank effect and detrimentally affects business outcomes, whereas low discretion reverses the radical flank effect and favorably affects business outcomes.

Funding: This work was supported by the Kauffman Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and the Harvard Business School Division of Research.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.16104 .
Which Types of Investments Benefit from Retaining the Flexibility to Terminate?
Authors: Chavda Ankur
Published: June 2023

Firms can choose to make investments while retaining the option to terminate them prior to completion. This flexibility can mitigate uncertainty about the investment that is present at the time of its initial funding. However, this flexibility can also detrimentally alter actions within the firm that are necessary for the investment’s success, such as whether scarce firm resources are allocated to the investment. This paper develops a set of hypotheses which predicts flexibility may not improve investment performance when the investment generates limited early-stage learning and requires certain types of resources. These hypotheses are empirically tested in a data set of new U.S. television programs, comparing programs that receive commitment in the form of a straight-to-series order with programs that are flexibly developed through a piloting process. This paper contributes to the literatures on innovation, entrepreneurship and real options by identifying which investment types will benefit most from flexibility.

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2021.0095 .
Optimally Scheduling Public Safety Power Shutoffs
Authors: Lesage-Landry Antoine , Pellerin Félix , Callaway Duncan S. , Taylor Joshua A.
Published: June 2023

In an effort to reduce power system-caused wildfires, utilities carry out public safety power shutoffs (PSPSs), in which portions of the grid are deenergized to mitigate the risk of ignition. The decision to call a PSPS must balance reducing ignition risks and the negative impact of service interruptions. In this work, we consider three PSPS scheduling scenarios, which we model as dynamic programs. In the first two scenarios, we assume that N PSPSs are budgeted as part of the investment strategy. In the first scenario, a penalty is incurred for each PSPS declared past the Nth event. In the second, we assume that some costs can be recovered if the number of PSPSs is below N while still being subject to a penalty if above N. In the third, the system operator wants to minimize the number of PSPSs such that the total expected cost is below a threshold. We provide optimal or asymptotically optimal policies for each case, the first two of which have closed-form expressions. Lastly, we establish the applicability of the first PSPS model’s policy to critical peak pricing and obtain an optimal scheduling policy to reduce the peak demand based on weather observations.

Funding: This work was funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Institute for Data Valorization, the National Science Foundation [Award 1351900], the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy [Award DE-AR0001061], and the University of California Office of the President Laboratory Fees Program [Grant LFR-20-652467].
Alpha-gal syndrome – A case report of tick-borne anaphylactic shock
Authors: Muller Jiri , Jaroslav Radej Jaroslav Radej , Miroslav Kriz Miroslav Kriz , Eliska Hunkova Eliska Hunkova , Jan Kasparek Jan Kasparek , Martin Matejovic Martin Matejovic
Published: June 2023

The most common cause of vasoplegic shock in critical care is sepsis. However, although rarely and only in specifically sensitised individuals previously bitten by a tick, red meat may provoke a delayed allergic reaction called an alpha-gal syndrome. We present a case of a protracted life-threatening manifestation of alpha-gal syndrome, which, due to an unusual absence of typical features of anaphylaxis can masquerade as septic shock and calls attention to the premature diagnostic closure as a contributor to diagnostic error. Alpha-gal syndrome is a relatively new, but increasingly recognised health issue. We propose that alpha-gal syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of vasoplegic shock of unclear aetiology even in the absence of typical allergic symptomatology and typical allergen exposure since alpha-gal is present in a wide variety of carriers.
Wells syndrome with generalized oedema
Authors: Manti Magdalini , Pappa Efthymia , Arkouli Vasiliki , Marinos Leonidas , Christopoulos Constantinos
Published: June 2023

Wells syndrome or eosinophilic cellulitis is a rare and relapsing skin disease which lacks systemic involvement. A skin biopsy is needed to establish a diagnosis. Several precipitating factors have been proposed but no proven causative link has been found. On the other hand, Churg-Strauss syndrome, also known as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), an auto-immune disease, is associated with multiorgan, including cutaneous manifestations. We report a case with overlapping features of Wells and Churg-Strauss syndrome, suggesting that these syndromes could be part of the same nosological entity.
Greener respiratory prescribing – better for planet and patient
Authors: Henry Heather
Published: June 2023

Nurses can help the NHS to make respiratory care more sustainable safely. Heather Henry explains how
Managing skin tears in primary care settings
Authors: Nazarko Linda
Published: June 2023

Linda Nazarko looks at what nurses can do to mitigate the effects of these often-painful wounds
Reflection and refraction of higher-order Hermite–Gaussian beams: a vector wave analysis
Authors: Ma Wanqi , Cui Zhiwei , Ren Shuaishuai , Shi Yiyu , Liu Zhanfei
Published: June 2023

Hermite–Gaussian beams, as a typical kind of higher-order mode laser beams, have attracted intensive attention because of their interesting properties and potential applications. In this paper, a full vector wave analysis of the higher-order Hermite–Gaussian beams upon reflection and refraction is reported. The explicit analytical expressions for the electric and magnetic field components of the reflected and refracted Hermite–Gaussian beams are derived with the aid of angular spectrum representation and vector potential in the Lorenz gauge. Based on the derived analytical expressions, local field distributions of higher-order Hermite–Gaussian beams reflection and refraction at a plane interface between air and BK7 glass are displayed and analyzed.
DMD-based compact SIM system with hexagonal-lattice-structured illumination
Authors: Liu Qingqing , Zhou Dakai , Zhang Jinfeng , Ji Cheng , Du Kuangwei , Chen Youhua , Liu Wenjie , Kuang Cuifang
Published: June 2023

In this study, we developed a novel, compact, and efficient structured illumination microscopy (SIM) system, to our best knowledge. A binary hexagonal lattice pattern was designed and implemented on a digital micromirror device (DMD), resulting in a projection-based structured-light generation. By leveraging the combination of the high-speed switching capability of the DMD with a high-speed CMOS camera, the system can capture 1024×1024 pixels images at a 200 fps frame rate when provided with sufficient illumination power. The loading of the hexagonal lattice pattern reduces the number of images required for reconstruction to seven, and by utilizing the DMD modulating characteristics on the illumination path, there is no need to use bulky mechanical structures for phase shifting. We designed a compact system with 110mm×150mm×170mm dimensions that displayed a 1.61 resolution enhancement for fluorescent particle and biological sample imaging.
Applications of the non-negative least-squares deconvolution method to analyze energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectra
Authors: Zhao Wei , Ai Xianyu , Xiao Wuyun , Chen Ye , Li Jinglun , Zhao Hui , Chen Wenzhuo
Published: June 2023

We used the Monte Carlo simulation method to establish a detector response matrix and the non-negative least-squares method to deconvolute x-ray spectra. The simulation and experimental data verified the effectiveness of this method, and the influence of full-width at the half of the maximum calibration accuracy on the deconvolution results was investigated. The non-negative least-squares method had high accuracy and efficiency compared with others. The results showed that, except for Zn, the relative errors between the inversion and the standard values were less than 0.1% for the simulated spectra. For the experimental data, the relative errors were within 0.2%. The peaks with similar characteristic energies can be better distinguished in the deconvolution spectra, reducing the errors caused by overlapping peaks in subsequent analysis.
Interferometric measurement of the radius of curvature based on axial displacement from a confocal position and corresponding defocus wavefront
Authors: Liu Yiming , Li Jinpeng , Hu Yao , Zhang Shaohui , Wang Zichen , Xu Chuheng , Yang Shuai , Zhao Weiqian , Hao Qun
Published: June 2023

The radius of curvature (R) is a fundamental parameter of
spherical optical surfaces. The measurement range of the widely
adopted traditional interferometric method is limited by the length of
the precision linear guide rail carrying the measured surface from the
cat’s eye to the confocal position, and the test result is vulnerable
to airflow and vibration in the test environment. An interferometric
method is proposed for the radius measurement of spherical surfaces
based on a small axial moving distance and the corresponding defocus
wavefront to eliminate the dependence on a long guide rail and extend
the measuring range. To eliminate the influence of the test
environment and calculate the R, a defocus transform algorithm is
proposed to instantaneously measure the defocus wavefront from a
single interferogram. Numerical simulations theoretically demonstrate
that there is no limit to the measurement range of this method because
only a short distance of the measured mirror must be moved. A
spherical mirror with a radius of curvature of 101.6087 mm is
experimentally tested, and the relative measurement error is 0.037%.
This method can achieve high accuracy for optical shops and greatly
increase the measurement range of the interferometric method without
additional equipment.
Observation of bound solitons generated by a figure-9 fiber laser in the 1  µm band
Authors: Hou Yuezhang , Liu Yangmei , Li Zhili , Zhou Yuanzhu , Luo Ting , Ren Hang , Pan Xinjian , Wang Tianshu , Jiang Huilin
Published: June 2023

The paper describes the observation of diverse bound-state patterns, including tightly bound states, loosely bound states, and composite bound states, in a figure-9 fiber laser. By performing dispersion management and using polarization-maintaining fibers with high gain coefficient, stable dispersion-managed solitons and bound solitons can be simultaneously generated. This work advances our understanding of complex soliton dynamics and presents a novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach for future applications of bound states. Additionally, the research involves integrated packaging, effectively enhancing overall work stability.
Estimation of the full shape of the crystalline lens from OCT: validation using stretched donor lenses
Authors: Martínez-Enríquez Eduardo , Maceo Heilman Bianca , de Castro Alberto , Mohamed Ashik , Ruggeri Marco , Zvietcovich Fernando , Manns Fabrice , Marcos Susana
Published: June 2023

Quantifying human crystalline lens geometry as a function of age and accommodation is important for improved cataract and presbyopia treatments. In previous works we presentedeigenlensesas a basis of 3-D functions to represent the full shape of the crystalline lensex vivo. Also, we presented the application ofeigenlensesto estimate the full shape of the lensin vivofrom 3-D optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, where only the central part of the lens -visible through the pupil- is available. The current work presents a validation of the use ofeigenlensesto estimatein vivothe full shape of dis-accommodated lenses. We used 14ex vivocrystalline lenses from donor eyes (11-54 y/o) mounted in a lens stretcher, and measured the geometry and the power of the lenses using a combined OCT and ray tracing aberrometry system.Ex vivo, the full extent of the lens is accessible from OCT because the incident light is not blocked by the iris. We measured in non-stretched (fully accommodated) and stretched (mimickingin vivodis-accommodated lenses) conditions. Then, we simulated computationallyin vivoconditions on the obtainedex vivolenses geometry (assuming that just the portion of the lens within a given pupil is available), and estimated the full shape usingeigenlenses.The mean absolute error (MAE) between estimated and measured lens’ diameters and volumes were MAE = 0.26 ± 0.18 mm and MAE = 7.0 ± 4.5 mm3, respectively. Furthermore, we concluded that the estimation error between measured and estimated lenses did not depend on the accommodative state (change in power due to stretching), and thuseigenlensesare also useful for the full shape estimation ofin vivodis-accommodated lenses.
Active imaging through dense fog by utilizing the joint polarization defogging and denoising optimization based on range-gated detection
Authors: Huang Feng , Qiu Shaoping , Liu Hao , Liu Yu , Wang Pengfei
Published: June 2023

Imaging through the scattering medium, such as fog, is important for military and civilian applications. However, the fog concentration restricts the current defogging methods; the image will be seriously degraded in dense fog scenes. Here, an imaging technique by developing joint active polarization defogging and denoising optimization methods based on range-gated detection is proposed for the target in fog conditions. The range-gated imaging method shields the scattering light from outside the selected region to improve the signal intensity. The properties of signal light, backscattering light, and forward scattering light in the range-gated imaging way are analyzed experimentally and theoretically. Thus the elimination method of backscattering light is developed in terms of polarization differences in the degree of polarization and angle of polarization, and the block-matching with 3D transform-domain collaborative filtering (BM3D) algorithm is developed to remove the effect of the forward scattering light on the image. By adopting the proposed defogging method, the clear imaging of the target under fog with an optical thickness of up to 5 is realized, and the target contour and detail information are successfully recovered. Compared with the complete failure of the current defogging method, this method can recover targets with high contrast and signal-to-noise ratio in dense fog scenes, which exhibits widespread application potential for target detection and recognition in severe weather and turbid underwater environment.
Direct performance comparison of antiresonant and Kagome hollow-core fibers in mid-IR wavelength modulation spectroscopy of ethane
Authors: Jaworski Piotr , Wu Dakun , Yu Fei , Krzempek Karol
Published: June 2023

In this paper, we experimentally asses the performance of wavelength modulation spectroscopy-based spectrometers incorporating 1.3 m-long gas absorption cells formed by an antiresonant hollow core fiber (ARHCF) and a Kagome hollow core fiber. To evaluate the discrepancies with minimum methodology error, the sensor setup was designed to test both fibers simultaneously, providing comparable measurement conditions. Ethane (C2H6) with a transition located at 2996.88 cm−1 was chosen as the target gas. The experiments showed, that due to better light guidance properties, the ARHCF-based sensor reached a minimum detection limit of 4 ppbv for 85 s integration time, which is more than two times improvement in comparison to the result obtained with the Kagome fiber.
Multicore fiber beacon system for reducing back-reflection in satellite quantum key distribution
Authors: Simmons Cameron , Donaldson Ross
Published: June 2023

Optical beaconing is an important part of the acquisition, pointing and tracking system necessary for free-space quantum key distribution (QKD). However, uplink beacon back-reflections from the receiver architecture can result in noise. Wavelength- and time-division multiplexing has been used, but neither is yet sufficient to make back-reflection negligible. The use of additional telescopes increases complexity and pointing error. Here, we propose the use of a 2-by-2 multicore fiber, to act as an optical uplink beacon source. This spatially separates the QKD channel and optical uplink beacon. Up to 50 dB improvement in noise rejection over a purely spectrally divided system was demonstrated. The route to further improvements through greater fiber core separation is described. Beacon systems designed in this way could provide a combination of reduced complexity and improved noise performance to free-space and satellite QKD and optical communications.
Enhanced secrecy in optical communication using speckle from multiple scattering layers
Authors: Rates Alfredo , Vrehen Joris , Mulder Bert , Ijzerman Wilbert L. , Vos Willem L.
Published: June 2023

We study the secrecy of an optical communication system with two scattering layers, to hide both the sender and receiver, by measuring the correlation of the intermediate speckle generated between the two layers. The binary message is modulated as spatially shaped wavefronts, and the high number of transmission modes of the scattering layers allows for many uncorrelated incident wavefronts to send the same message, making it difficult for an attacker to intercept or decode the message and thus increasing secrecy. We collect 50,000 intermediate speckle patterns and analyze their correlation distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test. We search for further correlations using the K-Means and Hierarchical unsupervised classification algorithms. We find no correlation between the intermediate speckle and the message, suggesting a person-in-the-middle attack is not possible. This method is compatible with any digital encryption method and is applicable for codifications in optical wireless communication (OWC).
Design of more efficient luminescent solar concentrators by using peripherally dye-doped stacked optical fibers
Authors: Arrue J. , Vieira A. , García-Ramiro M. B. , Jiménez F. , Grandes J. , Illarramendi M. A. , Zubia J. , Guarrotxena N.
Published: June 2023

Ways of improving the optical efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators based on multiple poly(methyl methacrylate) plastic optical fibers peripherally doped with two promising types of dyes are analyzed by means of a Monte-Carlo computational model developed by us. By comparing the performance of optical fibers doped with lumogen red and lumogen yellow, or combinations of them at several concentrations, this work clarifies how to achieve a better compromise between the trapping efficiency of the sunlight and the reabsorption of the light emitted by the mixture in stacked optical fibers connected to a photovoltaic solar cell.
Quantifying and mitigating optical surface loss in suspended GaAs photonic integrated circuits
Authors: Thomas Robert , Li Haoyang , Laverock Jude , Balram Krishna C.
Published: June 2023

Understanding and mitigating optical loss is critical to the development of high-performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs). In particular, in high refractive index contrast compound semiconductor (III–V) PICs, surface absorption and scattering can be a significant loss mechanism, and needs to be suppressed. Here, we quantify the optical propagation loss due to surface state absorption in a suspended GaAs PIC platform, probe its origins using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry, and show that it can be mitigated by surface passivation using alumina (Al2O3).
Scintillation minimization versus intensity maximization in optimal beams
Authors: Nair Anjali , Li Qin , Stechmann Samuel N
Published: June 2023

In free-space optical communications and other applications, it is
desirable to design optical beams that have reduced or even minimal
scintillation. However, the optimization problem for minimizing
scintillation is challenging, and few optimal solutions have been
found. Here we investigate the general optimization problem of
minimizing scintillation and formulate it as a convex optimization
problem. An analytical solution is found and demonstrates that a beam
that minimizes scintillation is incoherent light (i.e., spatially
uncorrelated). Furthermore, numerical solutions show that beams
minimizing scintillation give very low intensity at the receiver. To
counteract this effect, we study a new convex cost function that
balances both scintillation and intensity. We show through numerical
experiments that the minimizers of this cost function reduce
scintillation while preserving a significantly higher level of
intensity at the receiver.
Geometric-phase-based axicon lens for computational achromatic imaging
Authors: Ren Jiaqi , Zhou Yingjie , Shao Zhenglong , Zhu Chen , Fan Fan , Tang Dongliang
Published: June 2023

Conventional optical imaging systems usually utilize several lenses within a precise assembly to eliminate chromatic aberration, which increases the difficulty of system integration. In recent years, with the rapid development of metasurfaces and liquid crystals (LCs), planar optical elements provide feasible solutions to realize flexible light manipulation and lightweight systems. However, there also exists chromatic aberration, which can be corrected but at the cost of a complex device design. Here, a geometric-phase-based axicon lens is utilized to correct chromatic aberration across a broadband wavelength with the assistance of a post-process algorithm. The axicon lens is fabricated through arranging orientations of liquid-crystal molecules with a standard photoalignment technique, and it produces an approximately invariant point spread function (PSF) at several discrete wavelengths, which is used as the prior information to extract the object in the blurred image. In the experiment, the reconstruction quality is significantly improved after the post-process algorithm. We expect our work to provide further development to reduce the dispersion with both the device design and the computational image technique.
Fiber-based high-speed 3D schlieren imaging
Authors: Li Xiang , Lei Qingchun , Bao Wei , Li Xuesong , Fan Wei
Published: June 2023

This Letter reports the first demonstration of a high-speed three-dimensional (3D) schlieren technique based on the combination of fiber imaging, Toepler’s lens-type schlieren, and computed tomography (CT). The technique uses a single high-speed camera, two xenon lamps, and a series of fiber bundles to simultaneously capture the schlieren images of turbulent flames from seven orientations with a framerate beyond tens of kHz. The presented method complements the existing technique with advantages of being flexible, high speed, and low cost. The 3D schlieren technique is first demonstrated and validated on the turbulent premixed flame and stable laminar premixed flame, respectively. Then, the 3D schlieren technique is used to measure the transient, dynamic ignition process. The results show that time-resolved 3D fundamental properties of ignition kernels (i.e., structure and edge speed) can be obtained by the technique.
A new human embryonic cell type associated with activity of young transposable elements allows definition of the inner cell mass
Authors: Singh Manvendra , Kondrashkina Aleksandra M. , Widmann Thomas J. , Cortes Jose L. , Bansal Vikas , Wang Jichang , Römer Christine , Garcia-Canadas Marta , Garcia-Perez Jose L. , Hurst Laurence D. , Izsvák Zsuzsanna
Published: June 2023

There remains much that we do not understand about the earliest stages of human development. On a gross level, there is evidence for apoptosis, but the nature of the affected cell types is unknown. Perhaps most importantly, the inner cell mass (ICM), from which the foetus is derived and hence of interest in reproductive health and regenerative medicine, has proven hard to define. Here, we provide a multi-method analysis of the early human embryo to resolve these issues. Single-cell analysis (on multiple independent datasets), supported by embryo visualisation, uncovers a common previously uncharacterised class of cells lacking commitment markers that segregates after embryonic gene activation (EGA) and shortly after undergo apoptosis. The discovery of this cell type allows us to clearly define their viable ontogenetic sisters, these being the cells of the ICM. While ICM is characterised by the activity of an Old non-transposing endogenous retrovirus (HERVH) that acts to suppress Young transposable elements, the new cell type, by contrast, expresses transpositionally competent Young elements and DNA-damage response genes. As the Young elements are RetroElements and the cells are excluded from the developmental process, we dub these REject cells. With these and ICM being characterised by differential mobile element activities, the human embryo may be a “selection arena” in which one group of cells selectively die, while other less damaged cells persist.
Impact of variability in cell cycle periodicity on cell population dynamics
Authors: Nowak Chance M. , Quarton Tyler , Bleris Leonidas
Published: June 2023

The cell cycle consists of a series of orchestrated events controlled by molecular sensing and feedback networks that ultimately drive the duplication of total DNA and the subsequent division of a single parent cell into two daughter cells. The ability to block the cell cycle and synchronize cells within the same phase has helped understand factors that control cell cycle progression and the properties of each individual phase. Intriguingly, when cells are released from a synchronized state, they do not maintain synchronized cell division and rapidly become asynchronous. The rate and factors that control cellular desynchronization remain largely unknown. In this study, using a combination of experiments and simulations, we investigate the desynchronization properties in cervical cancer cells (HeLa) starting from the G1/S boundary following double-thymidine block. Propidium iodide (PI) DNA staining was used to perform flow cytometry cell cycle analysis at regular 8 hour intervals, and a custom auto-similarity function to assess the desynchronization and quantify the convergence to an asynchronous state. In parallel, we developed a single-cell phenomenological model the returns the DNA amount across the cell cycle stages and fitted the parameters using experimental data. Simulations of population of cells reveal that the cell cycle desynchronization rate is primarily sensitive to the variability of cell cycle duration within a population. To validate the model prediction, we introduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to increase cell cycle noise. Indeed, we observed an increase in cell cycle variability under LPS stimulation in HeLa cells, accompanied with an enhanced rate of cell cycle desynchronization. Our results show that the desynchronization rate of artificially synchronized in-phase cell populations can be used a proxy of the degree of variance in cell cycle periodicity, an underexplored axis in cell cycle research.
iPiDA-SWGCN: Identification of piRNA-disease associations based on Supplementarily Weighted Graph Convolutional Network
Authors: Hou Jialu , Wei Hang , Liu Bin
Published: June 2023

Accurately identifying potential piRNA-disease associations is of great importance in uncovering the pathogenesis of diseases. Recently, several machine-learning-based methods have been proposed for piRNA-disease association detection. However, they are suffering from the high sparsity of piRNA-disease association network and the Boolean representation of piRNA-disease associations ignoring the confidence coefficients. In this study, we propose a supplementarily weighted strategy to solve these disadvantages. Combined with Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs), a novel predictor called iPiDA-SWGCN is proposed for piRNA-disease association prediction. There are three main contributions of iPiDA-SWGCN: (i) Potential piRNA-disease associations are preliminarily supplemented in the sparse piRNA-disease network by integrating various basic predictors to enrich network structure information. (ii) The original Boolean piRNA-disease associations are assigned with different relevance confidence to learn node representations from neighbour nodes in varying degrees. (iii) The experimental results show that iPiDA-SWGCN achieves the best performance compared with the other state-of-the-art methods, and can predict new piRNA-disease associations.
Carboxylic acids that drive mosquito attraction to humans activate ionotropic receptors
Authors: Ray Garrett , Huff Robert M. , Castillo John S. , Bellantuono Anthony J. , DeGennaro Matthew , Pitts R. Jason
Published: June 2023

The mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is highly anthropophilic and transmits debilitating arboviruses within human populations and between humans and non-human primates. Female mosquitoes are attracted to sources of blood by responding to odor plumes that are emitted by their preferred hosts. Acidic volatile compounds, including carboxylic acids, represent particularly salient odors driving this attraction. Importantly, carboxylic acids are major constituents of human sweat and volatiles generated by skin microbes. As such, they are likely to impact human host preference, a dominant factor in disease transmission cycles. A more complete understanding of mosquito host attraction will necessitate the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of volatile odor detection that function in peripheral sensory neurons. Recent studies have shown that members of the variant ionotropic glutamate receptor gene family are necessary for physiological and behavioral responses to acidic volatiles in Aedes. In this study, we have identified a subfamily of variant ionotropic receptors that share sequence homology across several important vector species and are likely to be activated by carboxylic acids. Moreover, we demonstrate that selected members of this subfamily are activated by short-chain carboxylic acids in a heterologous cell expression system. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that members of this receptor class underlie acidic volatile sensitivity in vector mosquitoes and provide a frame of reference for future development of novel mosquito attractant and repellent technologies.
Spatiotemporal bayesian modelling of scorpionism and its risk factors in the state of São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: Chiaravalloti-Neto Francisco , Lorenz Camila , Lacerda Alec Brian , de Azevedo Thiago Salomão , Cândido Denise Maria , Eloy Luciano José , Wen Fan Hui , Blangiardo Marta , Pirani Monica
Published: June 2023

Background

Scorpion stings in Brazil represent a major public health problem due to their incidence and their potential ability to lead to severe and often fatal clinical outcomes. A better understanding of scorpionism determinants is essential for a precise comprehension of accident dynamics and to guide public policy. Our study is the first to model the spatio-temporal variability of scorpionism across municipalities in São Paulo (SP) and to investigate its relationship with demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and climatic variables.

Methodology

This ecological study analyzed secondary data on scorpion envenomation in SP from 2008 to 2021, using the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) to perform Bayesian inference for detection of areas and periods with the most suitable conditions for scorpionism.

Principal findings

From the spring of 2008 to 2021, the relative risk (RR) increased eight times in SP, from 0.47 (95%CI 0.43–0.51) to 3.57 (95%CI 3.36–3.78), although there has been an apparent stabilization since 2019. The western, northern, and northwestern parts of SP showed higher risks; overall, there was a 13% decrease in scorpionism during winters. Among the covariates considered, an increase of one standard deviation in the Gini index, which captures income inequality, was associated with a 11% increase in scorpion envenomation. Maximum temperatures were also associated with scorpionism, with risks doubling for temperatures above 36°C. Relative humidity displayed a nonlinear association, with a 50% increase in risk for 30–32% humidity and reached a minimum of 0.63 RR for 75–76% humidity.

Conclusions

Higher temperatures, lower humidity, and social inequalities were associated with a higher risk of scorpionism in SP municipalities. By capturing local and temporal relationships across space and time, authorities can design more effective strategies that adhere to local and temporal considerations.
Sustainable energy management using the Internet of Things (IoT)
Authors: Shah Mian Hazrat , Khan Shahbaz , Khan Asif , Khan Ilyas , Eldin Sayed M.
Published: June 2023

The world has a lot of want for energy due to the rapid pace of its consumption. The world’s energy resources, especially non-renewable sources, are vanishing by leaps and bounds. However, agencies like the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable development have defined some preventive measures to consider while consuming energy. The main issue in Pakistan is that the consumer is not supplied with electric power in a managed way, and the way of installation causes a lot of impairment to the expensive tools in the power distribution system. The motivation of this research focuses on energy management, making the distribution authority more powerful, digitalization, and protection of expensive components in electrical power systems. The proposed methodology uses current and voltage sensors to remotely monitor the amount of power being supplied to the consumer continuously, along with a microcontroller responsible for activating the relay in case of over-consumption and the Global System for Mobile (GSM) network to warn the consumer and inform the authority. This research work prevents manual and laborious meter readings and protects electrical instruments. Further, this work can enable online billing, pre-paid billing, and energy saving and provide a base for power theft detection.
Cash flow management and its effect on firm performance: Empirical evidence on non-financial firms of China
Authors: Laghari Fahmida , Ahmed Farhan , López García María de las Nieves
Published: June 2023

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of changes in cash flow measures and metrics on firm financial performance. The study uses generalized estimating equations (GEEs) methodology to analyze longitudinal data for sample of 20288 listed Chinese non-financial firms from the period 2018:q2-2020:q1. The main advantage of GEEs method over other estimation techniques is its ability to robustly estimate the variances of regression coefficients for data samples that display high correlation between repeated measurements. The findings of study show that the decline in cash flow measures and metrics bring significant positive improvements in the financial performance of firms. The empirical evidence suggests that performance improvement levers (i.e. cash flow measures and metrics) are more pronounced in low leverage firms, suggesting that changes in cash flow measures and metrics bring more positive changes in low leverage firms’ financial performance relatively to high leveraged firms. The results hold after mitigating endogeneity based on dynamic panel system generalized method of moments (GMM) and sensitivity analysis considering the robustness of main findings. The paper makes significant contribution to the literature related to cash flow management and working capital management. Since, this paper is among few to empirically study, how cash flow measures and metrics are related to firm performance from dynamic stand point especially from the context of Chinese non-financial firms.
Filarial DAF-12 sense the host serum to resume iL3 development during infection
Authors: Bétous Rémy , Emile Anthony , Che Hua , Guchen Eva , Concordet Didier , Long Thavy , Noack Sandra , Selzer Paul M. , Prichard Roger , Lespine Anne
Published: June 2023

Nematode parasites enter their definitive host at the developmentally arrested infectious larval stage (iL3), and the ligand-dependent nuclear receptor DAF-12 contributes to trigger their development to adulthood. Here, we characterized DAF-12 from the filarial nematodes Brugia malayi and Dirofilaria immitis and compared them with DAF-12 from the non-filarial nematodes Haemonchus contortus and Caenorhabditis elegans. Interestingly, Dim and BmaDAF-12 exhibit high sequence identity and share a striking higher sensitivity than Hco and CelDAF-12 to the natural ligands Δ4- and Δ7-dafachronic acids (DA). Moreover, sera from different mammalian species activated specifically Dim and BmaDAF-12 while the hormone-depleted sera failed to activate the filarial DAF-12. Accordingly, hormone-depleted serum delayed the commencement of development of D. immitis iL3 in vitro. Consistent with these observations, we show that spiking mouse charcoal stripped-serum with Δ4-DA at the concentration measured in normal mouse serum restores its capacity to activate DimDAF-12. This indicates that DA present in mammalian serum participate in filarial DAF-12 activation. Finally, analysis of publicly available RNA sequencing data from B. malayi showed that, at the time of infection, putative gene homologs of the DA synthesis pathways are coincidently downregulated. Altogether, our data suggest that filarial DAF-12 have evolved to specifically sense and survive in a host environment, which provides favorable conditions to quickly resume larval development. This work sheds new light on the regulation of filarial nematodes development while entering their definitive mammalian host and may open the route to novel therapies to treat filarial infections.