bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of independent risk factors associated with surgical site infections from caesarean section
Authors: Erritty Matthew , Hale Joann , Thomas James , Thompson Anna , Wright Ria , Low Anna , Carr Megan , George Richard , Williams Lisa , Dumitrescu Alexandra , Rees Jacqui , Irukulla Shashi , Robin Jonathan , Fry Christopher H. , Fluck David , Han Thang S.
Published: December 2022

Background

The present study assessed factors associated with the risk of surgical site infections (SSI) after a caesarean section (C-section).

Methods

Data were collected in 1682 women undergoing elective (53.9%) and emergency (46.1%) C-sections between 1st August 2020, and 30th December 2021, at a National Health Service hospital (Surrey, UK).

Results

At the time of C-section, the mean age was 33.1 yr (SD ± 5.2). Compared to women with BMI < 30 kg/m2, those with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 had a greater risk of SSI, OR 4.07 (95%CI 2.48–6.69). Women with a history of smoking had a greater risk of SSI than those who had never smoked, OR 1.69 (95%CI 1.05–2.27). Women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and had a smoking history or emergency C-section had 3- to tenfold increases for these adverse outcomes. Ethnic minority, diabetes or previous C-section did not associate with any of the outcomes.

Conclusions

High BMI, smoking, and emergency C-section are independent risk factors for SSI from C-section. Women planning conception should avoid excess body weight and smoking. Women with diabetes and from ethnic minority backgrounds did not have increased risks of SSI, indicating a consistent standard of care for all patients.
Investigating task preparation and task performance as triggers of the backward inhibition effect
Authors: Prosser Laura Joy , Yamaguchi Motonori , Swainson Rachel
Published: December 2022

Backward inhibition is posited to aid task switching by counteracting the tendency to repeat a recent task. Evidence that factors such as cue transparency affect backward inhibition seems to imply that it is generated during task preparation, making its absence following trials on which a prepared task was not performed (nogo trials) surprising. However, the nogo method used in previous studies might have prevented detection of preparation-driven effects. We used a truncated-trial method instead, omitting stages of a trial with no need for a nogo signal. In Experiment 1, an n − 2 repetition cost (suggested to indicate backward inhibition) followed trials truncated after response selection, indicating that response execution is not necessary to trigger backward inhibition. In Experiments 2 and 3, no n − 2 repetition cost was obtained following trials truncated after cue presentation. To ensure some task preparation on cue-only trials, Experiment 4 used a double-registration procedure where participants responded to the task cue and the target on each trial. In contrast to Experiments 2 and 3, a small n − 2 repetition cost followed trials truncated after cue responses, affecting cue responses on the current trial. In addition, the n − 2 repetition cost was increased at cue responses and became evident at target responses when the preceding trial also involved a target response. These results imply that backward inhibition might be generated by processes occurring up to and including a cue response, affecting subsequent cue responses, as well as during task performance itself, affecting subsequent cue and target responses.
Roadmap to recovery revealed through the reintroduction of an IUCN Red List species
Authors: Wilson Belinda A. , Evans Maldwyn J. , Gordon Iain J. , Pierson Jennifer C. , Brockett Brittany M. , Wimpenny Claire , Batson William G. , Newport Jenny , Manning Adrian D.
Published: December 2022

Reintroductions are powerful tools for tackling biodiversity loss, but the resulting populations can be intrinsically small and vulnerable. It is therefore critical to maximise the number of individuals that are available to contribute to recovery efforts. To address this, we investigated how demographic parameters from a reintroduced population can reveal threats to long-term persistence, inform thresholds for management interventions, and create targets for removing an endangered species from the IUCN Red List. We calculated capture-mark-recapture population estimates for eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) which had been reintroduced to a fenced reserve in the Australian Capital Territory. We then incorporated the resulting demographic parameters into population viability analyses (PVAs) to estimate probabilities of persistence under several scenarios, including supplementations and harvests (removal of individuals for translocation to other locations). After determining sustainable harvest rates, we then ‘back-cast’ the population size and occupancy area required to remove the species from the IUCN Red List within 10 years. Our demographic results indicated high mean apparent survival (90% ± 5), and PVAs revealed the probability of persistence over a 50-year time horizon was 50.5% with no interventions, 0% when the population was harvested of > 6 individuals, and 100% if harvests ≤ 54 juveniles were combined with an annual supplementation of ten maternal females (with ≤ 6 young each). Based on this model, a total harvest area of 413 km2 and an occupancy area of 437 km2 would be needed to recover the species within 10 years (i.e., 90 similar fenced reserves, not accounting for edge effects). Due to the inherent difficulty in securing large areas for species recovery, we see these ambitious targets as a call to create coordinated and collaborative sanctuary networks where species can be managed as a metapopulation across multiple sites. By taking advantage of a rapid life history and harvesting the ‘doomed surplus’, managers can achieve their stretch goals for species recovery in the long term.
Kinetic study and real-time monitoring strategy for TEMPO-mediated oxidation of bleached eucalyptus fibers
Authors: Mazega André , Santos Alexandre F. , Aguado Roberto , Tarrés Quim , Fiol Núria , Pèlach M. Àngels , Delgado-Aguilar Marc
Published: December 2022

The present work aims at glimpsing the rate-determinant process parameters of TEMPO-mediated oxidation of bleached kraft cellulose for developing kinetic models and real-time monitoring tools. This may contribute to the scaling up of this reaction, frequently used as precursor of the production of cellulose nanofibers. For this, the effect of temperature, TEMPO and NaBr contents, and surface area of the fibers was assessed by means of a total experimental batch of 18 combinations, monitoring the carboxyl content (CC) of the samples and the NaOH consumption during oxidation. The obtained data was used to calculate the kinetic constant as a function of the conditions, as well as correlating the CC with the NaOH consumption, obtaining a strong linear correlation between these parameters. It was found that similar correlations could be used regardless process conditions, except for the case of TEMPO, which was found to protect the fibers from depolymerization and, thus, having different behavior at increasing TEMPO contents. Overall, the obtained results in the present study reveal the suitability of upscaling TEMPO-mediated oxidation, as well as having a deeper understanding on how the key parameters involved in the reaction affect the reaction path and, thus, contributing to the industrial deployment of oxidized cellulose and nanofibers.
Importance of the perceived quality of touchpoints for customer journey analysis – evidence from the B2B sector
Authors: Koch Christian , Hartmann Michael
Published: December 2022

We investigate how the perceived quality influences touchpoint performance to provide a more nuanced understanding for analysing customer journeys. To answer the research questions, a survey in a real life online setting was carried out. The setting contained complex service solutions that were offered in a business-to-business context. The quantitative study shows that the perceived quality of a website has an influence on consumers’ buying intention. This correlation increases as the customer journey progresses. The perceived quality influences the website’s impact on visitors’ buying intention with a medium to strong effect size and the influence of a website’s quality on the impact on visitors’ buying intention varies significantly at different customer journey phases. While extant research focusses either on customer experience at touchpoints or touchpoints’ effects on buying behavior, we combine insights from both streams of research to highlight the role of website quality in determining touchpoint performance along the customer journey. Practitioners can use these insights to allocate resources in marketing and sales more efficiently.
Introduction to a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Well-Being: Combining Life Satisfaction and Interdependent Happiness Across 49 Different Cultures
Authors: Krys Kuba , Haas Brian W. , Igou Eric Raymond , Kosiarczyk Aleksandra , Kocimska-Bortnowska Agata , Kwiatkowska Anna , Lun Vivian Miu-Chi , Maricchiolo Fridanna , Park Joonha , Šolcová Iva Poláčková , Sirlopú David , Uchida Yukiko , Vauclair Christin-Melanie , Vignoles Vivian L. , Zelenski John M. , Adamovic Mladen , Akotia Charity S. , Albert Isabelle , Appoh Lily , Mira D. M. Arévalo , Baltin Arno , Denoux Patrick , Domínguez-Espinosa Alejandra , Esteves Carla Sofia , Gamsakhurdia Vladimer , Fülöp Márta , Garðarsdóttir Ragna B. , Gavreliuc Alin , Boer Diana , Igbokwe David O. , Işık İdil , Kascakova Natalia , Klůzová Kráčmarová Lucie , Kosakowska-Berezecka Natasza , Kostoula Olga , Kronberger Nicole , Lee J. Hannah , Liu Xinhui , Łużniak-Piecha Magdalena , Malyonova Arina , Barrientos Pablo Eduardo , Mohorić Tamara , Mosca Oriana , Murdock Elke , Mustaffa Nur Fariza , Nader Martin , Nadi Azar , Okvitawanli Ayu , van Osch Yvette , Pavlopoulos Vassilis , Pavlović Zoran , Rizwan Muhammad , Romashov Vladyslav , Røysamb Espen , Sargautyte Ruta , Schwarz Beate , Selim Heyla A. , Serdarevich Ursula , Stogianni Maria , Sun Chien-Ru , Teyssier Julien , van Tilburg Wijnand A. P. , Torres Claudio , Xing Cai , Bond Michael Harris
Published: December 2022

How can one conclude that well-being is higher in country A than country B, when well-being is being measured according to the way people in country A think about well-being? We address this issue by proposing a new culturally sensitive method to comparing societal levels of well-being. We support our reasoning with data on life satisfaction and interdependent happiness focusing on individual and family, collected mostly from students, across forty-nine countries. We demonstrate that the relative idealization of the two types of well-being varies across cultural contexts and are associated with culturally different models of selfhood. Furthermore, we show that rankings of societal well-being based on life satisfaction tend to underestimate the contribution from interdependent happiness. We introduce a new culturally sensitive method for calculating societal well-being, and examine its construct validity by testing for associations with the experience of emotions and with individualism-collectivism. This new culturally sensitive approach represents a slight, yet important improvement in measuring well-being.
Performance evaluation of multi-exaflops machines using Equality network topology
Authors: Liang Chi-Hsiu , Cheng Chun-Ho , Wu Hong-Lin , Li Chao-Chin , Huang Po-Lin , Hwang Chi-Chuan
Published: December 2022

In modern computing architectures, graph theory is the soul of the play due to the rising core counts. It is indispensable to keep finding a better way to connect the cores. A novel chordal-ring interconnect topology system, Equality, is revisited in this paper to compare with a few previous works. This paper details the procedures for constructing the Equality interconnects, its special routing procedures, the strategies for selecting a configuration, and evaluating its performance using the open-source cycle-accurate BookSim package. Four scenarios representing small- to large-scale computing facilities are presented to assess the network performance. This work shows that in 16,384-endpoint systems, the Equality network turns out to be the most efficient system. The results also show the steady scalability of Equality networks extending to 48–320K, and a million endpoints. Equality networks are adjustable to fit with commodity hardware and resilient under ten common traffic models. It is suggested that Equality network topology can be used in constructing efficient multi-exaflops supercomputers and data centers.
Modeling psychopathology: 4D multiplexes to the rescue
Authors: Kästner Lena
Published: December 2022

Accounts of mental disorders focusing either on the brain as neurophysiological substrate or on systematic connections between symptoms are insufficient to account for the multifactorial nature of mental illnesses. Recently, multiplexes have been suggested to provide a holistic view of psychopathology that integrates data from different factors, at different scales, or across time. Intuitively, these multi-layered network structures present quite appealing models of mental disorders that can be constructed by powerful computational machinery based on increasing amounts of real-world data. In this paper, I systematically examine what challenges psychopathology models face and to what extent different species of psychopathology models can address them. My analysis highlights that while multiplexes, as they are usually conceived, appear promising, they suffer from the same problems as other approaches. To remedy this, I suggest, we must go a step further and combine different kinds of multiplexes into 4D models. Once we embrace 4D multiplexes and identify appropriate ways to constrain them, we might unlock the true potential of multiplexes for making headway in psychopathology research.
Artificial intelligence-based volumetric analysis of muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration in patients with hip osteoarthritis and its correlation with health-related quality of life
Authors: Iwasa Makoto , Takao Masaki , Soufi Mazen , Uemura Keisuke , Otake Yoshito , Hamada Hidetoshi , Sato Yoshinobu , Sugano Nobuhiko , Okada Seiji
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have enabled precise three-dimensional analysis of individual muscles on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance images via automatic segmentation. This study aimed to perform three-dimensional assessments of pelvic and thigh muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration in patients with unilateral hip osteoarthritis using CT and to evaluate the correlation with health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods

The study included one man and 43 women. Six muscle groups were segmented, and the muscle atrophy ratio was calculated volumetrically. The degree of fatty degeneration was defined as the difference between the mean CT values (Hounsfield units [HU]) of the healthy and affected sides. HRQoL was evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ).

Results

The mean muscle atrophy rate was 16.3%, and the mean degree of muscle fatty degeneration was 7.9 HU. Multivariate correlation analysis revealed that the WOMAC stiffness subscale was significantly related to fatty degeneration of the hamstrings, the WOMAC physical function subscale was significantly related to fatty degeneration of the iliopsoas muscle, and the JHEQ movement subscale was significantly related to fatty degeneration of the hip adductors.

Conclusion

We found that fatty degeneration of the hamstrings, iliopsoas, and hip adductor muscles was significantly related to HRQoL in patients with hip osteoarthritis. These findings suggest that these muscles should be targeted during conservative rehabilitation for HOA and perioperative rehabilitation for THA.
Active biomonitoring of potentially toxic elements in urban air by two distinct moss species and two analytical techniques: a pan-Southeastern European study
Authors: Urošević M. Aničić , Lazo P. , Stafilov T. , Nečemer M. , Andonovska K. Bačeva , Balabanova B. , Hristozova G. , Papagiannis S. , Stihi C. , Suljkanović M. , Špirić Z. , Vassilatou V. , Vogel-Mikuš K.
Published: December 2022

This is the first study to use moss transplants as a biomonitoring technique and inductively plasma mass spectrometry to investigate airborne potentially toxic element pollution and air quality in urban areas on a regional scale across nine Southeastern European countries. The mosses in bags were exposed for 2 months during the winter season (2019/2020) at five sites in each of the selected urban areas next to air quality (AQ) monitoring stations. The sites were selected concerning different land use classes (typical urban, residential, urban background, and rural sites). The concentrations of 35 elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A comparison with elemental analysis performed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence is also presented. Concentrations of the potentially toxic element in moss bags exposed in urban areas were significantly higher, while those exposed in rural areas did not differ significantly from the initial content of unexposed moss. Linear regression analysis revealed no significant differences between the average concentrations of elements in H. cupressiforme and S. girgensohnii moss bags (linearity R2 = 0.94). It shows similar trends in elements in both moss species. The median values of contamination factors in both moss species ranged mostly from 1.2 to 2.17, indicating the exposure sites show no contamination to slight contamination status (C1 to C2 scales). High values of relative accumulation factors were found for Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Sb, and V in moss bags, indicating these elements are the most abundant in most sampling sites, which may increase human exposure through inhalation and could lead to harmful health problems.
Temperature and Particle-size Effects on the Formation of Silica Gels from Silica Sols
Authors: Sögaard Christian , Hagström Magnus , Abbas Zareen
Published: December 2022

Silica nanoparticles (silica sols) based gels have increasingly been used as alternative grouting material for sealing the small fractures in the tunnel walls. Gelling of silica nanoparticles at room temperature has been investigated thoroughly but gelling at different temperatures scarcely investigated. At the same time temperature is one of major factor which can affect the long-term stability of grouted silica. In this work we have investigated the gelling of three different types of silica sols (Levasil CS40-213, Levasil CS40-222, and Levasil CS30-236) having different particle sizes, in 0.28 M NaCl at 10, 20 and 30 °C. Aggregation process, starting from the addition of salt to the gelling point, was monitored by measuring the time dependent particle size distribution. Electrospray scanning mobility particle sizer (ES-SMPS) was used to measure the aggregating. These measurements were complemented by rheological measurements in order to get a relationship between changes in aggregate structure and in the viscosity of silica suspension. Data from the temperature dependent gel time measurements were used to calculate the activation energy. At room temperature, silica sols with smallest average particle size showed the shortest gel times whereas the sols with the largest particle size showed the longest gel time. However, at increasing temperature shorter gel times were seen for all the sols. Temperature dependent rheological measurements showed similar trends in viscosity changes as seen for gel times i.e., increased temperature leads to quicker increase in the viscosity and a sharp increase in viscosity near the gelling point. Our calculations of fractal dimensions showed that in the gel network there are still many free particles which continuously incorporated into the gel network. Apparent activation energies calculated for CS40-213, CS40-222, CS30-236 were 13.40, 23.36 and 41.45 kJ/mol, respectively. These values are lower than values reported for silica in the literature. Moreover, temperature dependent zeta potential measurements show that zeta potential get less negative as temperature increase. The above mentioned measurements are at odd what has been reported in literature but we have provided plausible explanation of these results.
The Presence of Residual Vascular and Adipose Tissue Inflammation on 18F-FDG PET in Patients with Chronic Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Toivonen Sini , Lehtinen Miia , Raivio Peter , Sinisalo Juha , Loimaala Antti , Uusitalo Valtteri
Published: December 2022

Purpose

We evaluated the residual vascular and adipose tissue inflammation in patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) using positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods

Our study population consisted of 98 patients with known CAD and 94 control subjects who had undergone 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET due to non-cardiac reasons. Aortic root and vena cava superior 18F-FDG uptake were measured to obtain the aortic root target-to-background ratio (TBR). In addition, adipose tissue PET measurements were done in pericoronary, epicardial, subcutaneous, and thoracic adipose tissue. Adipose tissue TBR was calculated using the left atrium as a reference region. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or as median (interquartile range).

Results

The aortic root TBR was higher in CAD patients compared to control subjects, 1.68 (1.55–1.81) vs. 1.53 (1.43–1.64), p < 0.001. Subcutaneous adipose tissue uptake was elevated in CAD patients 0.30 (0.24–0.35) vs. 0.27 (0.23–0.31), p < 0.001. Metabolic activity of CAD patients and control subjects was comparable in the pericoronary (0.81 ± 0.18 vs. 0.80 ± 0.16, p = 0.59), epicardial (0.53 ± 0.21 vs. 0.51 ± 0.18, p = 0.38) and thoracic (0.31 ± 0.12 vs. 0.28 ± 0.12, p = 0.21) adipose tissue regions. Aortic root or adipose tissue 18F-FDG uptake was not associated with the common CAD risk factors, coronary calcium score, or aortic calcium score (p value > 0.05).

Conclusion

Patients with a chronic CAD had a higher aortic root and subcutaneous adipose tissue 18F-FDG uptake compared to control patients, which suggests residual inflammatory risk.
Effect of concentration on the properties of nitrogen-doped zinc oxide thin films grown by electrodeposition
Authors: Musiliyu K. A. , Ogunmola E. D. , Ajayi A. A. , Abodunrin O. W.
Published: December 2022

Zinc oxide is one of the most researched semiconductors owing to the outstanding properties that make it useful in various industrial applications, such as solar cells and other optoelectronics. In this work, ZnO thin films were prepared in five different concentrations and doped with four nitrogen atoms from triethylene tetramine (TETA) to fabricate a ZnO for optoelectronic applications using an electrodeposition technique. The doped ZnO thin films were synthesized and deposited on ITO glass substrates. The deposited thin films were annealed at 400°Cfor 60min in a furnace under the same conditions. The thin films' optical, electrical, and surface morphological properties were characterized using UV–Vis Spectrophotometer, Four Point Probe (FPP), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), respectively. The optical properties confirmed the film's suitability for various transparent device applications with a high optical transmittance of about 90% at the wavelength between 250 and 950 nm. The optical band gaps of 3.25 eV to 3.50 eV were obtained at ZnO concentrations from 0.2 M to 1.0 M. The SEM images depicted a polycrystalline nature of the films with irregular nanoparticle shapes across the substrates. Electrical results established the high conductivity of nitrogen-doped ZnO thin films, thereby making the thin films suitable as transparent conducting oxides for devices such as solar cells and optoelectronics.
On b-acyclic chromatic number of a graph
Authors: Anholcer Marcin , Cichacz Sylwia , Peterin Iztok
Published: December 2022

Let G be a graph. We introduce the acyclic b-chromatic number of G as an analogue to the b-chromatic number of G. An acyclic coloring of a graph G is a map $$c:V(G)\rightarrow \{1,\ldots ,k\}$$

c
:
V
(
G
)
→
{
1
,
…
,
k
}

such that $$c(u)\ne c(v)$$

c
(
u
)
≠
c
(
v
)

for any $$uv\in E(G)$$

u
v
∈
E
(
G
)

and the induced subgraph on vertices of any two colors $$i,j\in \{1,\ldots ,k\}$$

i
,
j
∈
{
1
,
…
,
k
}

induces a forest. On the set of all acyclic colorings of G we define a relation whose transitive closure is a strict partial order. The minimum cardinality of its minimal element is then the acyclic chromatic number A(G) of G and the maximum cardinality of its minimal element is the acyclic b-chromatic number $$A_{\textrm{b}}(G)$$

A
b

(
G
)

of G. We present several properties of $$A_{\textrm{b}}(G).$$

A
b

(
G
)

.

In particular, we derive $$A_{\textrm{b}}(G)$$

A
b

(
G
)

for several known graph families, derive some bounds for $$A_{\textrm{b}}(G),$$

A
b

(
G
)

,

compare $$A_{\textrm{b}}(G)$$

A
b

(
G
)

with some other parameters and generalize some influential tools from b-colorings to acyclic b-colorings.
Data-driven Harris Hawks constrained optimization for computationally expensive constrained problems
Authors: Fu Chongbo , Dong Huachao , Wang Peng , Li Yihong
Published: December 2022

Aiming at the constrained optimization problem where function evaluation is time-consuming, this paper proposed a novel algorithm called data-driven Harris Hawks constrained optimization (DHHCO). In DHHCO, Kriging models are utilized to prospect potentially optimal areas by leveraging computationally expensive historical data during optimization. Three powerful strategies are, respectively, embedded into different phases of conventional Harris Hawks optimization (HHO) to generate diverse candidate sample data for exploiting around the existing sample data and exploring uncharted region. Moreover, a Kriging-based data-driven strategy composed of data-driven population construction and individual selection strategy is presented, which fully mines and utilizes the potential available information in the existing sample data. DHHCO inherits and develops HHO's offspring updating mechanism, and meanwhile exerts the prediction ability of Kriging, reduces the number of expensive function evaluations, and provides new ideas for data-driven constraint optimization. Comprehensive experiments have been conducted on 13 benchmark functions and a real-world expensive optimization problem. The experimental results suggest that the proposed DHHCO can achieve quite competitive performance compared with six representative algorithms and can find the near global optimum with 200 function evaluations for most examples. Moreover, DHHCO is applied to the structural optimization of the internal components of the real underwater vehicle, and the final satisfactory weight reduction effect is more than 18%.
Discrete matrix factorization cross-modal hashing with multi-similarity consistency
Authors: Li Yiru , Hu Peiwen , Li Ying , Peng Shouyong , Zhang Xiaofeng , Yue Jun , Yao Tao
Published: December 2022

Recently, matrix factorization-based hashing has gained wide attention because of its strong subspace learning ability and high search efficiency. However, some problems need to be further addressed. First, uniform hash codes can be generated by collective matrix factorization, but they often cause serious loss, degrading the quality of hash codes. Second, most of them preserve the absolute similarity simply in hash codes, failing to capture the inherent semantic affinity among training data. To overcome these obstacles, we propose a Discrete Multi-similarity Consistent Matrix Factorization Hashing (DMCMFH). Specifically, an individual subspace is first learned by matrix factorization and multi-similarity consistency for each modality. Then, the subspaces are aligned by a shared semantic space to generate homogenous hash codes. Finally, an iterative-based discrete optimization scheme is presented to reduce the quantization loss. We conduct quantitative experiments on three datasets, MSCOCO, Mirflickr25K and NUS-WIDE. Compared with supervised baseline methods, DMCMFH achieves increases of $$0.22\%$$

0.22
%

, $$3.00\%$$

3.00
%

and $$0.79\%$$

0.79
%

on the image-query-text tasks for three datasets respectively, and achieves increases of $$0.21\%$$

0.21
%

, $$1.62\%$$

1.62
%

and $$0.50\%$$

0.50
%

on the text-query-image tasks for three datasets respectively.
Robust neural dynamics with adaptive coefficient applied to solve the dynamic matrix square root
Authors: Jiang Chengze , Wu Chaomin , Xiao Xiuchun , Lin Cong
Published: December 2022

Zeroing neural networks (ZNN) have shown their state-of-the-art performance on dynamic problems. However, ZNNs are vulnerable to perturbations, which causes reliability concerns in these models owing to the potentially severe consequences. Although it has been reported that some models possess enhanced robustness but cost worse convergence speed. In order to address these problems, a robust neural dynamic with an adaptive coefficient (RNDAC) model is proposed, aided by the novel adaptive activation function and robust evolution formula to boost convergence speed and preserve robustness accuracy. In order to validate and analyze the performance of the RNDAC model, it is applied to solve the dynamic matrix square root (DMSR) problem. Related experiment results show that the RNDAC model reliably solves the DMSR question perturbed by various noises. Using the RNDAC model, we are able to reduce the residual error from 10$$^1$$

1

to 10$$^{-4}$$

-
4

with noise perturbed and reached a satisfying and competitive convergence speed, which converges within 3 s.
Stratifying the space of barcodes using Coxeter complexes
Authors: Brück Benjamin , Garin Adélie
Published: December 2022

Embeddings of the space of barcodes in Euclidean spaces are unstable due to the permutation of the bars of a barcode. We use tools from geometric group theory to produce a stratification of the space $${\mathcal {B}}_n$$

B
n

of barcodes with n bars that takes into account these permutations. This gives insights in the combinatorial structure of $${\mathcal {B}}_n$$

B
n

. The top-dimensional strata are indexed by permutations associated to barcodes as defined by Kanari, Garin and Hess. More generally, the strata correspond to marked double cosets of parabolic subgroups of the symmetric group $${\text {Sym}}_{ n }$$

Sym
n

. This subdivides $${\mathcal {B}}_n$$

B
n

into regions that consist of barcodes with the same averages and standard deviations of birth and death times and the same permutation type. We obtain coordinates that form a new invariant of barcodes, extending the one of Kanari–Garin–Hess. This description also gives rise to metrics on $${\mathcal {B}}_n$$

B
n

that coincide with modified versions of the bottleneck and Wasserstein metrics.
A review of supersonic molecular beam injection for plasma fueling and physical studies in magnetic fusion devices
Authors: Xiao G. L. , Zhong W. L. , Duan X. R. , Feng B. B. , Chen C. Y. , Bucalossi J. , Zou X. L. , Hu J. S. , Kwak Jong-Gu , Xiao W. W. , Takenaga H. , Chen Z. Y. , Sun H. J. , Zhang Y. P. , Yin J. , Zhu Y. R. , Tong R. H. , Yu D. L. , Shi Z. B. , Xu M.
Published: December 2022

In magnetic confinement fusion devices, supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) is commonly used as a fueling method, which has also performed well in physical studies since it was first proposed on the HL-1 tokamak by Southwestern Institute of Physics. This study presents the development of the SMBI technique since its first use in fusion experimental devices and reviews the progress on the investigation of plasma physics using the SMBI. In addition, this study further discusses the potential applications of the SMBI technique on future fusion devices.
Progress in the development and understanding of a high poloidal-beta tokamak operating scenario for an attractive fusion pilot plant
Authors: Ding Siye , Garofalo Andrea M.
Published: December 2022

The high poloidal-beta ($$\beta _{\textrm{P}}$$

β
P

) regime was first proposed as a high bootstrap current scenario for a steady-state fusion pilot plant (FPP) in the 1990s (Kikuchi in Nucl Fusion 30:265, 1990). Since then, there have been many theoretical, modeling, and experimental research activities on this topic. A joint DIII-D/EAST research team began exploring the high-$$\beta _{\textrm{P}}$$

β
P

regime in 2013, focusing on addressing the needs of attractive FPP design by taking advantage of the extensive diagnostic set and sophisticated plasma control system on DIII-D and the well-developed integrated modeling capability at General Atomics. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate such a scenario on EAST with truly long pulse and metal wall compatibility. This paper summarizes the highlights of the research results on DIII-D by the joint team in the past decade. Experimental evidence and modeling analysis show the high-$$\beta _{\textrm{P}}$$

β
P

scenario has great advantages in addressing key needs for an attractive FPP design, such as high-energy confinement quality at low rotation, excellent core-edge integration, high line-averaged density above the Greenwald limit, low disruption risk, and high bootstrap current fraction for steady-state operation. This provides a relatively safe and economical option to base an FPP design on that will lead to commercial fusion energy.
Sovereignty in the Digital and Contact Tracing Apps
Authors: Tretter Max
Published: December 2022

Recently, the concept of sovereignty in the digital has attracted much attention. Several publications dealing with this concept assume that it can best be described as a network of different, overlapping exercises of power. Nevertheless, there is a need for further research on how exactly sovereignty in the digital can be understood. In order to contribute to a better understanding of this concept, I illustrate its complex structure using contact tracing apps as a paradigmatic example. I conduct a narrative review to show what sovereignty looks like in the context of these apps. In the context of digital contact tracing apps, sovereignty is best understood as a complex network of three actors—nations, (big tech) companies, and individuals—that exercise various forms of power against or on behalf of each other to claim sovereignty for themselves and to either weaken or strengthen the sovereignty claims of other actors. Since large parts of the results can be generalized from the particular context of contact tracing apps, they contribute to a better overall understanding of the concept of sovereignty in digital. This might, in turn, be helpful for discussions about this technology as well as about the regulation and governance of the digital in general.
Using eyewitnesses to promote students’ understanding of empathy in the history classroom
Authors: Bartelds Hanneke , Savenije Geerte M. , van Drie Jannet , van Boxtel Carla
Published: December 2022

Empathy is important in our digitized and polarized world and an important aspect of education. What contribution can history teachers make to develop this in their students? In this study we investigated whether a lesson unit making use of eyewitnesses and designed from six pedagogical principles, resulted in more confidence in the ability to empathize, attributed importance to empathy and understanding of empathy by 10th grade students. In addition, we investigated the differences between two conditions: the use of a guest speaker versus eyewitnesses in a documentary. In this quasi-experimental intervention study, we used a pretest-posttest-follow-up design. The data were collected via questionnaires containing closed and open questions. The results showed that students (N = 97) in both conditions gained confidence in their ability to empathize and improved their ability to explain what empathy means and why it is important. After two months, progress on these items was still significant. In the condition with the guest speaker students scored significantly higher on understanding empathy than students who participated in the lesson unit with the documentary. This study contributes to the understanding of developing empathy through the use of eyewitnesses in history classes and the measurement of students’ understanding of empathy.
Investor Behavior at the 52-Week High
Authors: Della Vedova Joshua , Grant Andrew , Westerholm P. Joakim
Published: December 2022

This study uncovers how household investors intensify the effect of the 52-week high (52WH): increased volume and momentum-like returns at the 52WH price. Using daily household and institutional trading data, we find that households sharply increase their selling, particularly with limit orders at the 52WH price. This behavior is indicative of anchoring, as it is robust to past returns and intensified by proximity, market uncertainty, and salience of the 52WH. This uninformed limit order selling at and prior to the 52WH leads to a doubling of unconditional 52WH anomaly returns. Post-event returns benefit institutions, which act as counterparties.
Water Vapor Vertical Distribution on Mars During Perihelion Season of MY 34 and MY 35 With ExoMars‐TGO/NOMAD Observations
Authors: Brines A. , López‐Valverde M. A. , Stolzenbach A. , Modak A. , Funke B. , Galindo F. G. , Aoki S. , Villanueva G. L. , Liuzzi G. , Thomas I. R. , Erwin J. T. , Grabowski U. , Forget F. , Lopez‐Moreno J. J. , Rodriguez‐Gomez J. , Daerden F. , Trompet L. , Ristic B. , Patel M. R. , Bellucci G. , Vandaele A. C.
Published: December 2022

The water vapor in the Martian atmosphere plays a significant role in the planet's climate, being crucial in most of the chemical and radiative transfer processes. Despite its importance, the vertical distribution of H2O in the atmosphere has not still been characterized precisely enough. The recent ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission, with its Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument, has allowed us to measure the H2O vertical distribution with unprecedented resolution. Recent studies of vertical profiles have shown that high dust concentration in the atmosphere, in particular during dust storms, induces an efficient transport of the H2O to higher altitudes, from 40 km up to 80 km. We study the H2O vertical distribution in a subset of solar occultations during the perihelion of two Martian years (MYs), including the 2018 Global Dust Storm (GDS), in order to compare the same Martian season under GDS and non‐GDS conditions. We present our state‐of‐the‐art retrieval scheme, and we apply it to a combination of two diffraction orders, which permits sounding up to about 100 km. We confirm recent findings of H2O increasing at high altitudes during Ls = 190°–205° in MY 34, reaching abundances of about 150 ppmv at 80 km in both hemispheres not found during the same period of MY 35. We found a hygropause's steep rising during the GDS from 30 up to 80 km. Furthermore, strong supersaturation events have been identified at mesospheric altitudes even in presence of water ice layers retrieved by the IAA team.
An Ocean Acoustic Modeling Based on the Physical Parameters Clustering of the Arctic Ice Floes: Applied to the Study of Acoustic Field Response as Ice Floes Thickness Varies
Authors: Lu Can , Xu Jian , Zhang Xuefeng , Wang Zichen , Jin Kangkang
Published: December 2022

The varies of ice floe thickness (IFH) is a very influential research content in the Earth system academic research, it is closely related to the distribution of underwater acoustic fields. However, the discontinuous physical parameters of ice floes make it difficult to clear this relationship with conventional acoustic propagation models or measured data. Unlike the conventional acoustic models that treat ice floes as one or more physical simplified acoustic reflection layers, this study employs machine learning and FEM (finite element method) modeling to incorporate ice floes' physical parameters into the acoustic field model. The physical parameters of ice floes associated with acoustic field modeling are screened by using the principal component analysis method. On this basis, these ice floes were spatially divided into three highly differentiated and interpretable typical ice clusters using the K‐Means method. We treated ice as a multi‐layer elastic medium, and then the FEM acoustic model was built under the fluid‐structure coupling condition. Measured data (UNDER‐ICE) and MIT acoustic models (OASES) were used to validate our FEM results. We demonstrated that the modeling improves the distribution characteristics of surface channel arrival amplitude under ice floes cover. From the perspective of the model application, the acoustic field response as IFH varies is closely related to the category and region of ice floes.
An Efficient Parameterization for Surface Shortwave 3D Radiative Effects in Large‐Eddy Simulations of Shallow Cumulus Clouds
Authors: Tijhuis Mirjam , van Stratum Bart J. H. , Veerman Menno A. , van Heerwaarden Chiel C.
Published: December 2022

Most atmospheric models consider radiative transfer only in the vertical direction (1D), as 3D radiative transfer calculations are too costly. Thereby, horizontal transfer of radiation is omitted, resulting in incorrect surface radiation fields. The horizontal spreading of diffuse radiation results in darker cloud shadows, whereas it increases the surface radiation in clear sky patches (cloud enhancement). In this study, we developed a simple method to account for the horizontal transfer of diffuse radiation. We spatially filter the surface diffuse radiation field with a Gaussian filter, which is conceptually simple and computationally efficient. We applied the filtering to the results of Large‐Eddy Simulations for two summer days in Cabauw, the Netherlands, on which shallow cumulus clouds formed during the day. We obtained the optimal filter size by matching the simulation results with detailed high‐quality observations (1 Hz). Without the filtering, cloud enhancements are not captured, and the probability distribution of global radiation is unimodal, whereas the observed distribution is bimodal. After filtering, the probability distribution of global radiation is bimodal and cloud enhancements are simulated, in line with the observations. We found that small changes in the filter width do not strongly influence the results. Furthermore, we showed that the width of the filter can be parameterized as a linear function of for example, the cloud cover. Hence, this work presents a proof‐of‐concept for our method to come to more realistic surface irradiances by filtering diffuse radiation at the surface.
Scale Analysis on Unstructured Grids: Kinetic Energy and Dissipation Power Spectra on Triangular Meshes
Authors: Juricke S. , Bellinghausen K. , Danilov S. , Kutsenko A. , Oliver M.
Published: December 2022

Fourier spectra are powerful tools to analyze the scale behavior of turbulent flows. While such spectra are mathematically based on regular periodic data, some state‐of‐the‐art ocean and climate models use unstructured triangular meshes. Observational data is often also available only in an unstructured fashion. In this study, scale analysis specifically for the output of models with triangular meshes is discussed and the representable wavenumbers for Fourier analysis are derived. Aside from using different interpolation methods and oversampling prior to the computation of Fourier spectra, we also consider an alternative scale analysis based on the Walsh–Rademacher basis, that is, indicator functions. It does not require interpolation and can be extended to general unstructured meshes. A third approach based on smoothing filters which focus on grid scales is also discussed. We compare these methods in the context of kinetic energy and dissipation power of a turbulent channel flow simulated with the sea ice‐ocean model FESOM2. One simulation uses a classical viscous closure, another a new backscatter closure. The latter is dissipative on small scales, but anti‐dissipative on large scales leading to more realistic flow representation. All three methods clearly highlight the differences between the simulations as concerns the distribution of dissipation power and kinetic energy over scales. However, the analysis based on Fourier transformation is highly sensitive to the interpolation method in case of dissipation power, potentially leading to inaccurate representations of dissipation at different scales. This highlights the necessity to be cautious when choosing a scale analysis method on unstructured grids.
Increased blood neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) associated with early life stress: translational findings in recent-onset schizophrenia and rodent model
Authors: Corsi-Zuelli Fabiana , Schneider Ayda Henriques , Santos-Silva Thamyris , Loureiro Camila Marcelino , Shuhama Rosana , Menezes Paulo Rossi , Guimarães Francisco Silveira , Gomes Felipe Villela , Cunha Fernando Queiroz , Louzada-Junior Paulo , Del-Ben Cristina Marta
Published: December 2022

Higher levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and elevated neutrophil counts are consistently reported in the blood of patients with schizophrenia. Stressors during childhood and/or adolescence are major socioenvironmental risk factors for schizophrenia and may contribute to immune dysregulation. Previous studies using blood cytokines to stratify patients with schizophrenia suggest that only a subset presents a low-grade inflammatory state. However, these studies have not addressed whether environmental factors such as childhood maltreatment contributed to identifying inflammatory clusters. Moreover, a neutrophil-related mechanism (Neutrophil Extracellular Traps; NETs) central to both the initiation and chronicity of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases has never been investigated in psychiatry. Elevated NETs in schizophrenia may predispose patients to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases resulting in reduced life expectancy. We, therefore, investigated NETs as a novel mechanism and biological target in early schizophrenia and their role together with IL-6 and childhood maltreatment in identifying cluster subgroups. We found increased NETs in the plasma of patients with early schizophrenia (n = 78) compared to both their unaffected siblings (n = 25) and community controls (n = 78), irrespective of sex, body mass index, psychoactive drug use, or tobacco smoking. Increased NETs in patients were unrelated to antipsychotic treatment, which was further tested in vitro using fresh neutrophils. By applying unsupervised two-step clustering analysis, we integrated values of NETs, IL-6, and childhood maltreatment scores. We identified two main clusters; childhood maltreatment scores and NETs were the most important variables contributing to cluster separation (high-CL1 and low-CL2), while IL-6 was the least contributor. Patients allocated in the high-CL1 (61.5%) had significantly higher childhood maltreatment scores, NETs, and IL-6 levels than the remaining groups (patients low-CL2, siblings, and controls high-CL1 and low-CL2). We complemented these findings with a rat model based on stress exposure during adolescence that results in several schizophrenia-like changes in adulthood. We found that adolescent stressed rats had higher NETs and IL-6 levels in serum compared to non-stressed rats with a tendency to produce more NETs from the bone marrow. Altogether, this study brings a novel cellular-based mechanism in schizophrenia that, combined with early-stress, could be useful to identify subgroups for more personalised treatments.