bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Der Letzte Hilfe Kurs professionell – erste Erfahrungen mit einem eintägigen niedrigschwelligen Palliative Care Fortbildungsangebot für Personal aus dem Gesundheitswesen
Authors: Bollig Georg , Schmidt Marina , Aumann Dirk , Knopf Boris
Published: August 2022

Hintergrund und Ziel Der Letzte Hilfe Kurs für die Bevölkerung ist ein niedrigschwelliges Angebot zur Information über Begleitung am Lebensende in nur vier Unterrichtseinheiten. Ziel der aktuellen Studie ist die Evaluation der Machbarkeit sowie der Beurteilung des neu entwickelten Letzte Hilfe Kurses professionell für Mitarbeiter im Gesundheitswesen mit 10 Unterrichtseinheiten durch die Teilnehmer*innen.

Materialien und Methoden Vier Online Letzte Hilfe Kurse professionell mit 60 Teilnehmern*innen aus verschiedenen Bereichen des Gesundheitswesens wurden durchgeführt. Die Evaluation basiert auf mixed-methods mit einem Fragebogen und Fokusgruppeninterviews via Video. Die Interviews wurden digital aufgezeichnet. Die Analyse und Präsentation der Daten basiert auf qualitative description und qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse.

Ergebnisse 53 von 60 Teilnehmer*innen (88%) nahmen an Fokusgruppeninterviews teil. 36 der 60 Teilnehmer*innen (60%) beteiligten sich zusätzlich an der Evaluation durch Ausfüllen eines Fragebogens. 33 von 36 Teilnehmer*innen (92%) geben an, den Kurs weiterempfehlen zu wollen. 32 von 36 Teilnehmer*innen (89%) halten den Kurs für hilfreich für alle Berufsgruppen im Gesundheitswesen. Die Ergebnisse aus den Fragebögen und Fokusgruppeninterviews zeigten, dass die Mehrzahl der Teilnehmer*innen den Kurs hilfreich für alle Berufsgruppen im Gesundheitswesen finden und die Erweiterung des Blickwinkels, die Eröffnung neuer Perspektiven sowie die Reflektion und Erarbeitung von Handlungsoptionen in der Palliativversorgung schätzen.

Schlussfolgerungen und Ausblick Die Kurse wurden von den Teilnehmer*innen sehr gut angenommen. Ein laufendes Projekt in Schleswig-Holstein soll den Effekt der Kurse in einem größeren Rahmen und mit höherer Teilnehmerzahl weiter evaluieren.
Postoperative Tachycardia in Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: Is It a Reason to Worry?
Authors: Bernstein Jaime L. , Huang Hao , Otterburn David M.
Published: August 2022

Background Many patients who undergo free flap breast reconstruction develop postoperative hemodynamic changes, most noticeably, tachycardia. As there is currently no consensus on whether this tachycardia leads to clinically significant morbidity, it can trigger physician alarm and lead to extensive work-up. In this study, we aim to evaluate the predictors, evaluation, and outcomes associated with postoperative tachycardia in deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap patients.

Methods A retrospective review of DIEP flap patients between 2011 and 2020 was performed. Variables examined included demographics, preoperative laboratories and heart rate (HR), and intraoperative factors. Work-up of postoperative tachycardia and adverse postoperative events was noted. Tachycardia was defined as persistent HR of 100 beats/min or more for at least 12 consecutive hours following surgery. Tachycardic patients were compared with non-tachycardic patients using regression analysis.

Results In total, 249 patients (439 flaps) were included in this study. Sixty-one patients (24.9%) developed tachycardia postoperatively. Regression analysis revealed that preoperative HR (p = 0.002) and flap weight (p = 0.037) predicted the development of tachycardia. While tachycardic patients were significantly more likely to undergo additional imaging and specialty consultations (p <0.05), they were not at higher risk for most postoperative complications, with the exception of delayed abdominal donor-site healing.

Conclusion A significant number of DIEP flap patients can be expected to develop persistent tachycardia postoperatively. Isolated tachycardia should be considered a relatively benign finding that does not warrant extensive work-up or prolonged inpatient monitoring. Having the ability to predict tachycardia using preoperative HR and flap weight arms plastic surgeons with the confidence to limit costly work-up.
Providing evidence for two remarkably stable liquid states in water
Authors: Ikenson Ben
Published: August 2022

Examining the second glass transition without pressure-induced ice amorphization via micron-sized water droplets
Couple-Specific Dependency Scale in Spanish adolescents and invariance by gender and relationship status (Escala de dependencia específica de la pareja en adolescentes españoles e invarianza por género y estatus de las relaciones)
Authors: Lorente-Anguís Antonia , Lopez-Zafra Esther
Published: August 2022

Measures about dependency in romantic relations mostly focus on adults, even though the first couple relations begin during adolescence. This study aims to adapt and validate a widely used instrument in different ages, the Spouse Specific Dependence Scale, in a sample of adolescents. A total of 481 participants, 15–17 years old (Study 1 = 234, M age  = 16.04 years, SD = 0.68, and Study 2 = 247, M age = 15.88, SD = 0.72), completed the scale to determine its psychometric guarantees. In Study 1, a three-dimensional model yielded adequate indices, and invariance showed that girls and boys involved in a current relationship interpret items in a similar way. Moreover, the instrument shows convergent validation with jealousy and sexism. In Study 2, adolescents who were not in a relationship were compared to the Study 1 participants. Measurement invariance by relationship status showed that the two subsamples interpret the items in a different way. Our results show that this instrument is appropriated for measuring partner dependency in adolescent couples, but only when involved in a current relationship.
Microstructure evaluation and thermal deformation behaviours of wrought magnesium alloys
Authors: Kong Fanxiao , Xie Weidong , Wei Guobing , Ma Zhenduo , Chen Hao , Fan Chao
Published: August 2022

Due to the large orientation gradient, the dynamic recrystallisation of Mg–Zn–Nd–Zr wrought alloy occurred first around grain boundaries. The Nd-rich second phase promoted the nucleation of recrystallisation. With the increasing strain, more non-basal plane slip occurred near the grain boundary, which caused the adjacent subgrain boundary merging into a high angle grain boundary. In addition, some twin intersecting regions gathered high-density dislocation, leading to twin dynamic recrystallisation. By deducing the stress–strain constitutive relation during thermal deformation and analysing the relation between the apparent value of constant creep exponent ( n) and the corresponding deformation mechanism, the dominant mechanism of dislocation sliding and climbing during dynamic recrystallisation was deduced backwards.
Quantum backaction evading measurements of a silicon nitride membrane resonator
Authors: Liu Yulong , Zhou Jingwei , Mercier de Lépinay Laure , Sillanpää Mika A
Published: August 2022

Quantum backaction disturbs the measurement of the position of a mechanical oscillator by introducing additional fluctuations. In a quantum backaction measurement technique, the backaction can be evaded, although at the cost of losing part of the information. In this work, we carry out such a quantum backaction measurement using a large 0.5 mm diameter silicon nitride membrane oscillator with 707 kHz frequency, via a microwave cavity readout. The measurement shows that quantum backaction noise can be evaded in the quadrature measurement of the motion of a large object.
The galaxy power spectrum on the lightcone: deep, wide-angle redshift surveys and the turnover scale
Authors: Pryer Dan , Smith Robert E. , Booth Robin , Blake Chris , Eggemeier Alexander , Loveday Jon
Published: August 2022

We derive expressions for the survey-window convolved galaxy power
spectrum in real space for a full sky and deep redshift survey, but
taking into account the geometrical lightcone effect. We investigate
the impact of using the standard mean redshift approximation as a
function of survey depth, and show that this assumption can lead to
both an overall amplitude suppression and scale-dependent error when
compared to the 'true' spectrum. However, we also show that by using a
carefully chosen 'effective fixed-time', one can find a range of
scales where the approximation to the full model is highly accurate,
but only on a more restricted set of scales. We validate the theory by
constructing dark matter and galaxy lightcone mock surveys from a
large N-body simulation with a high cadence of snapshots. We do this
by solving the light cone equation exactly for every particle, where
the particle worldlines are obtained in a piecewise fashion with cubic
interpolation between neighbouring snapshots. We find excellent
agreement between our measurements and the theory (∼ ±5%)
over scales (0.004 h Mpc-1 ≤ k ≤ 0.54 h Mpc-1) and for a variety of
magnitude limits. Finally, we look to see how accurately we can measure the
turnover scale of the galaxy power spectrum k
0. Using the lightcone
mocks we show that one can detect the turnover scale with a
probability P ≥ 95% in an all-sky catalogue limited to an
apparent magnitude m
lim ∼ 21. We also show that the
detection significance would remain high for surveys with m
lim ∼ 22 and 20% sky coverage.
Gravitational production of dark photon dark matter with mass generated by the Higgs mechanism
Authors: Sato Takanori , Takahashi Fuminobu , Yamada Masaki
Published: August 2022

We study the gravitational production of dark photon dark matter during inflation, when dark photons acquire mass by the Higgs mechanism. In the previous study, it was assumed that the dark photon has a Stückelberg mass, or a mass generated by the Higgs mechanism with a sufficiently heavy Higgs boson. In this paper we consider a case in which the Higgs boson is not fully decoupled; the Higgs field changes its vacuum expectation value after inflation. Then, the dark photon mass also changes with time after inflation, and the time evolution of the longitudinal mode is different from the case with a Stückelberg mass. Consequently, the spectrum of the dark photon energy density can have two peaks at an intermediate scale and a small scale. We show that the dark photon can explain the dark matter if its current mass is larger than 6 μeV × (HI
/1014 GeV)-4 and smaller than 0.8 GeV × (HI
/1014 GeV)-3/2, with HI
being the Hubble parameter during inflation. A higher mass is required if one considers a larger gauge coupling constant. The result for the Stückelberg mass can be reproduced in the limit of a small gauge coupling constant. We also comment on the constraints set by various conjectures in quantum gravity theory.
Stabilization of spatiotemporal dissipative solitons in multimode fiber lasers by external phase modulation
Authors: Kalashnikov V L , Wabnitz S
Published: August 2022

In this work, we introduce a method for the stabilization of spatiotemporal (ST) solitons. These solitons correspond to light bullets in multimode optical fiber lasers, energy-scalable waveguide oscillators and amplifiers, localized coherent patterns in Bose–Einstein condensates, etc. We show that a three-dimensional confinement potential, formed by a spatial transverse (radial) parabolic graded refractive index and dissipation profile, in combination with quadratic temporal phase modulation, may permit the generation of stable ST dissipative solitons. This corresponds to combining phase mode-locking with the distributed Kerr-lens mode-locking. Our study of the soliton characteristics and stability is based on analytical and numerical solutions of the generalized dissipative Gross–Pitaevskii equation. This approach could lead to higher energy (or condensate mass) harvesting in coherent spatio-temporal beam structures formed in multimode fiber lasers, waveguide oscillators, and weakly-dissipative Bose–Einstein condensates.
The Determination of Reward Function in AGV Motion Control Based on DQN
Authors: Chen Yubin , Li Dancheng , Zhong Huagang , Zhu Ouwen , Zhao Ziqi
Published: August 2022

Motion control is a very important part in the field of AGV(Automated Guided Vehicle). A good motion control method can make the movement of AGV more stable. Network models of reinforcement learning is one of the methods to solve the problem of AGV in motion control. This paper introduces the Markov Decision Process and the role of reward function. Besides, it studies and analyzes several classic reinforcement learning cases. DQN(Deep Q-Learning Network) which belongs to deep reinforcement learning network model is adopted. We set up several sets of comparative experiments with different reward functions by using sparse reward setting method, formalized reward setting method and reward coefficient variation reward setting method. Also we adjust the time of training. Through comparison, a reward function suitable for solving the problem of AGV motion control is obtained. In the field of AGV motion control, reinforcement learning model can converge faster and make more correct decisions. The reward function is verified in the simulation environment built by ROS(Robot Operating System).
Research and Analysis of Small Current Grounding Line Selection System
Authors: Xinzheng Jiang , Nan Jiang
Published: August 2022

In the small current grounding system, because the short-circuit fault of single-phase grounding accounts for more than 80% of the total short-circuit fault, the selection of single-phase grounding fault line is still the main problem in electrical engineering. This paper studies the principles, advantages and disadvantages of various line selection technical methods in case of single-phase grounding fault, and puts forward the improved method of comprehensive line selection for the problem of misjudgment of fault line selection. On this basis, it puts forward the improved method of comprehensive line selection, verifies the line selection device of 10kV transmission line through the relevant data obtained from design calculation and simulation experiment, and puts forward a more reasonable design scheme for the hardware circuit and software circuit of the line selection device, The fault tolerance and accuracy of small current grounding line selection system are improved.
Negative Damping Mechanism Analysis of Power System Stabilizer Based on Damping Torque
Authors: Zhu Xueqin , Yang Yiqiang , Fu Jiangtao , Bai Wenrui , Su Xiaolin
Published: August 2022

Power system stabilizer plays an important role in suppressing the low frequency oscillations, but a PSS with poorly tuned parameters may produce negative damping and aggravate the system oscillation. The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanism of damping of a PSS in multi machine system and to analyze whether the PSS has produced negative damping. This paper adopts Park model for analysis. According to the concepts of complex frequency and generalized phasor, the correlation between the damping torque phasor and the real part of the complex eigenvalue is studied. With the auxiliary of Park equivalent circuits, the damping torque provided by the excitation system is separated from the electrical torque phasor. Then, the damping torque coefficient of the PSS is defined as an indicator of the damp effect of the stabilizer. Finally, the simulation results of single machine infinite bus system and 4-machine system demonstrate the validation of the proposed method for evaluating the damping effect of PSS on the system.
Lithium-ion Batteries RUL Prediction Based on Temporal Pattern Attention
Authors: Qin Haochen , Fan Xuexin , Fan Yaxiang , Wang Ruitian , Tian Fengyuan
Published: August 2022

Accurate prediction of battery remaining useful life (RUL) under various operating conditions is essential for battery management systems to evaluate battery reliability, reduce the risk of battery usage and provide a rationale for battery maintenance. However, RUL prediction is a challenging problem since battery degradation is a nonlinear process and is influenced by external factors. In order to improve the prediction speed and accuracy, the research proposes a new Li-ion batteries RUL prediction method based on temporal pattern attention-based, which can take into account the influence of different variables for prediction. To model time-invariant patterns across multiple time steps, it combines a gated recurrent unit (GRU), a convolutional neural network, and an attention mechanism. Battery capacity, impedance and temperature are taken as input to train the model. Experiments are validated on public datasets and the results are compared with state of art methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves the lowest MAE with 8.99, which proves the effectiveness of the method.
VSC-HVDC Incorporated Corrective Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow
Authors: Fu Cong , Zhong Yashan , Zhang Pingping , He Xiangzhen , Yang Yun , Zuo Jian
Published: August 2022

With the rapid development and diverse engineering applications of VSC-HVDC technology, development in power industry has put forward higher economic and security requirements for the security-constrained optimal power flow. Under these circumstances, this paper proposes a security-constrained optimal power flow model for hybrid AC/DC power grids that incorporates the VSC-HVDC corrective control. The linear relationship between the pre-contingency state power flow and post-contingency state power flow is established based on the shift factor and the reliability constraints are described as the linear inequality constraints of the post-contingency state active power flow which is expressed by the pre-contingency state branch power flow. With the inherent ability of the VSC-HVDC converter station (short as VSC station) to rapidly regulate active power taken into account, this paper utilizes the linear relationship between the active power adjustment of the VSC station and the power flows of transmission lines and electrical equipment and corrects the reliability constraints with the sensitivity coefficient. Hence the correction of the post-contingency state power flow is reflected in the constraints. By solving the proposed model with the primal-dual interior-point method, the pre-contingency state optimal security operating point that considers the corrective capability of the VSC stations is obtained. Finally, the correctness and validity of the proposed model is verified based on a VSC-HVDC modified IEEE 14-bus system.
Design and Implementation of AGV Scheduling System based on Spring
Authors: Zhao Ruihang , Zhang Wei
Published: August 2022

This paper designs and implements an AGV scheduling application based on spring framework. This application consists of four modules, intelligent scheduling module, traffic control module, equipment management module and communication protocol module. Through interaction with AGV vehicle-mounted applications, the intelligent scheduling module realizes the function of automatic task allocation and vehicle body accepting tasks autonomously, which solves the problem of low efficiency of existing applications. Traffic control can avoid congestion by announcing node, path and area possession, which solves the problem of congestion that is easy to occur in multi-vehicle operation. The equipment management module realizes the management function of charging station, temporary parking point and other equipment; Communication protocol module to solve the vehicle, equipment, applications between the information encryption, protocol definition and other functions.
Redundancy Strategy of Cascaded Energy Storage System Based on Model Prediction Control
Authors: Yang Bo , Tang Wencheng
Published: August 2022

The cascaded energy storage system is difficult to achieve global optimal control, because its controlled object includes not only external variables such as output power, voltage and current, but also various internal variables such as power module capacitor voltage and battery cluster charge state. Redundancy strategy is proposed in this paper based on model prediction control. Firstly, the predictive model of the system in discrete domain is constructed, and the fast model predictive control method of the cascaded energy storage system is studied to realize the global optimal control and improve the dynamic response performance of the cascaded energy storage system. Secondly, in order to realize the continuous and reliable operation of the cascaded energy storage system under the fault state, the redundancy control method of the cascaded energy storage system is studied. Finally, the validity and effectiveness have been testified by relevant simulations.
Study of Electromagnetic Characteristics of Silicon Steel Sheet and Transformer Vibration Under Different Tension/Compression Stress
Authors: Houguang Chu , Longfei Li , Lei Liu , Fei Zhang , Sirui Zhu , Libing Zhou , Zhaoguang Du , Jintao Wen
Published: August 2022

In order to study the electromagnetic and vibration performance of transformer under different tensile and compressive stresses. This paper firstly studies the magnetic properties of core silicon steel sheets for transformers under different tensile and compressive stresses, the B-H curves, B-P curves, and permeability curves of silicon steel sheets under different tensile and compressive stresses are given. Secondly, based on the test results of magnetic characteristics of the silicon steel sheet, the electromagnetic performance and vibration of a 3kVA transformer are simulated and analyzed. In the simulation process, the influence of different tensile and compressive stresses on the performance of the silicon steel sheet core of the transformer is considered. It provides a new idea for the electromagnetic-vibration analysis of transformers.
Development and Application of Infrared Video Intelligent Diagnosis Device for Substation Equipment Based on Edge Calculation
Authors: Liu Guangwei , Mu Ka , Liu Boyan , Ma Xinsheng , Hao Zhen , Ma Jixian
Published: August 2022

In recent years, infrared detection technology is widely used in the field of state detection of power equipment. It can timely and effectively find equipment defects and avoid the further development of equipment defects. However, the conventional manual inspection has some problems, such as heavy workload, long time-consuming and low efficiency. Based on the research of infrared image intelligent detection technology of substation equipment based on deep learning algorithm and digital image lossless compression technology, a set of infrared video intelligent diagnosis device of substation equipment based on edge calculation is developed and applied in practice. The device realizes local real-time rapid processing and timely diagnosis of equipment defects, and the accuracy of defect identification is about 94.44%, which greatly improves the safe and stable operation level and power supply reliability of substation equipment.
Resilience Assessment of An Expressway Microgrid Considering Network Reconfiguration
Authors: Cheng Boyuan , Tian Xinshou , Jia Limin
Published: August 2022

With the development of distributed generation, energy supply to the transportation industry through microgrids has become a reality. However, in recent years, affected by environmental changes, extreme weather has occurred frequently. Due to the simple topology, the safe operation of microgrids has been threatened. Therefore, it is necessary to analysis and assess the resilience of microgrids. At the same time, due to the high penetration rate of distributed generation, the microgrid can be reconfigured during extreme disasters to form distributed generation islands to ensure the power supply of local loads. This paper first introduces the resilience curve and resilience index of the expressway microgrid, and then proposes a mathematical model for network reconfiguration to improve the resilience of the microgrid. Finally, the resilience assessment method proposed in this paper is used to assess the resilience of an expressway microgrid under extreme storm weather, then, the reconfigured system is obtained by solving the model, which verifies the effectiveness of this method in improving the resilience.
One-Shot Face Recognition through a Region Inception ResNet with Modified Triplet Loss
Authors: Sun Bo , Luo Ao , Rong Bojie , He Jun , Yu Lejun
Published: August 2022

Face recognition has become a convenient method for identity verification, especially the one-shot task has much practical value. Some former works have achieved considerable results. However, they perform ill under the situation of COVID-19 with more and more people wearing a mask. This requires the extracted face features distinguishable and robust enough for classifying different masked people. It is difficult for the one-shot task with only one sample for training. To solve this problem, we designed a network called Region Inception ResNet with Modified Triplet Loss, which generates robust features. It keeps high accuracy even under masked condition. The networks are trained on the datasets of CASIA-Webface and Ms-Celeb-1M, tested on LFW (Labelled Faces in the Wild). Experiments in Section 6 show the effectiveness of our method.
Lossless Compression and Optimization Method of Data Flow Efficiency of Infrared Image Depth Learning Model of Substation Equipment
Authors: Liu Guangwei , Hao Zhen , Niu Zheng , Mu Ka , Ma Jixian , Zhang Wenzhe
Published: August 2022

Infrared detection of substation equipment has become one of the important means for live detection of power grid equipment. The insulation fault and equipment defect of electrical equipment in operation can be found by using infrared thermal imaging technology. Infrared image deep learning model usually needs a very large computational cost and storage space, which greatly limits the application of deep learning model in embedded terminal. In order to apply the deep learning model well in embedded devices with limited resources, this paper proposes a lossless compression method of infrared image deep learning model of substation equipment, which can reduce the size of the deep learning network model by 35 to 49 times without loss of recognition accuracy. A hybrid sparse matrix storage format based on recursion and a cache blocking method based on multi-core/many-core processors are proposed to optimize the data flow efficiency between processors.
Image Point Set Registration: Phased Gaussian Mixture Model
Authors: Hu Xin , Qin Hao
Published: August 2022

The introduction of probability model into point set matching has achieved great success. Because the image point set has more outliers and the image has complex transformation, the traditional Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) does not perform well in image point set matching. In this paper, we propose a Phased Gaussian Mixture Model (PGMM) for point set registration between images. Different from the existing registration algorithms based on GMM, PGMM uses Locality Sensitive Hashing to distinguish the feature reliability of feature points. The initial transformation relation is obtained in the segment with high feature reliability and vector constraint is applied to other segments. The average Hamming distance is used to give different weights to each Gaussian component, which is related to the characteristics between data points and model points. The proposed method has good performance in the case of large image transformation scale.
A Water Gauge Scale Capturing Method in Tidal Well Based on Image Recognition
Authors: Guo Hai , Wang Yanyan , Zhang Yifei
Published: August 2022

Tide level observation data is an important technical support data for the delimitation of warning tide level and disaster prevention. The performance of the tidal well is tested by regularly checking the external water gauge, so as to maintain the tidal follow-up and wave dissipation of the tidal well. The check of water gauge inside and outside the well shall be carried out once a month. It is time-consuming and labour consuming. The paper proposes a real-time borehole water gauge capturing algorithm in tidal well based on image recognition. Experiments have proved that the method can recognize the water gauge scale effectively. The comparison experiments with the other standard measurement method are done. It can be seen from the comparison chart that the error between the water gauge scale and the tide level value is ± 1cm, which meets the national standard.
Engineering naturally-derived human connective tissues for clinical applications using a serum-free production system
Authors: Safoine Meryem , Côté Alexandra , Leloup Romane , Hayward Cindy Jean , Plourde Campagna Marc-André , Ruel Jean , Fradette Julie
Published: August 2022

The increasing need for tissue substitutes in reconstructive surgery spurs the development of engineering methods suited for clinical applications. Cell culture and tissue production traditionally require the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) which is associated with various complications especially from a translational perspective. Using the self-assembly approach of tissue engineering, we hypothesized that all important parameters of tissue reconstruction can be maintained in a production system devoid of FBS from cell extraction to tissue reconstruction. We studied two commercially available serum-free medium (SFM) and xenogen-free serum-free medium (XSFM) for their impact on tissue reconstruction using human adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) in comparison to serum-containing medium. Both media allowed higher ASC proliferation rates in primary cultures over five passages compared with 10% FBS supplemented medium while maintaining high expression of mesenchymal cell markers. For both media, we evaluated extracellular matrix production and deposition necessary to engineer manipulatable tissues using the self-assembly approach. Tissues produced in SFM exhibited a significantly increased thickness (up to 6.8-fold) compared with XSFM and FBS-containing medium. A detailed characterization of tissues produced under SFM conditions showed a substantial 50% reduction of production time without compromising key tissue features such as thickness, mechanical resistance and pro-angiogenic secretory capacities (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, hepatocyte growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin-1) when compared to tissues produced in the control FBS-containing medium. Furthermore, we compared ASCs to the frequently used human dermal fibroblasts (DFs) in the SFM culture system. ASC-derived tissues displayed a 2.4-fold increased thickness compared to their DFs counterparts. In summary, we developed all-natural human substitutes using a production system compatible with clinical requirements. Under culture conditions devoid of bovine serum, the resulting engineered tissues displayed similar and even superior structural and functional properties over the classic FBS-containing culture conditions with a considerable 50% shortening of production time.
Watersaving Cleaning Processing of Sheep Wool and Eco-friendly Extraction of Lanolin
Authors: Wang He , Couture Sylvain , Bédard Jérôme
Published: August 2022

Sheep wool, an important natural raw material for textile industry. This article propose a watersaving sheep wool cleaning processing. For each kilogram of wool, containing about 35% impurities, the water loss in washing is as low as 2.5 liters. Wool washing sewage with high content of COD (chemical oxygen demand), up to 20-30 g/L, is treated by neutral detergent and then a solid hydroxide (Calcium Hydroxide or Alum) with cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) in order to have a fast flocculation of solid waste. The COD content in wastewater can be as low as 352 mg/L. On the other hand, solid matter contains a large amount of high-value chemical oils, collectively known as lanolin, by extraction of solid matter in hot alcoholic solution (85% Ethanol,15% methanol) at 60 degrees Celsius. About 40 g of lanolin crude product is obtained.
Energy Efficient Operation Optimization of Building Air-conditioners via Simulator-assisted Asynchronous Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Zhang Wenhao , Zhang Zhiang
Published: August 2022

At present, buildings are the major energy consumers in most developed and developing countries. Energy efficiency is one of the primary objectives of today’s building projects, especially in the context of carbon-peak and carbon-neutral. In buildings, air-conditioning systems account for nearly half of total building energy consumption. Optimal control and operation can significantly improve air-conditioning’s energy efficiency but the key challenge is the complex dynamics of air-conditioning systems. This study focuses the energy efficient operation of air-conditioners in office buildings, and proposes a simulation-assisted reinforcement learning (RL) method to develop energy efficient operation strategies. This study uses a whole building energy simulation model to build the environmental simulator for the air-conditioning system, and uses asynchronous RL algorithm to learn energy efficient operation strategies. Energy saving and Setpoint Not Met is used as the optimization objective as well as the criteria for evaluating the performance of the RL operation strategies. A validation simulator with varied weather conditions is also built to validate the robustness of reinforcement learning. The results show that, compared to common rule-based control strategy, 16.1% energy saving with better thermal comfort can be achieved by the RL operation strategy. In addition, the results also show the RL operation strategy has a certain level of robustness.
Nanopore quality score resolution can be reduced with little effect on downstream analysis
Authors: Rivara-Espasandín Martín , Balestrazzi Lucía , Dufort y Álvarez Guillermo , Ochoa Idoia , Seroussi Gadiel , Smircich Pablo , Sotelo-Silveira José , Martín Álvaro
Published: August 2022

Motivation

The use of high precision for representing quality scores in nanopore sequencing data makes these scores hard to compress and, thus, responsible for most of the information stored in losslessly compressed FASTQ files. This motivates the investigation of the effect of quality score information loss on downstream analysis from nanopore sequencing FASTQ files.

Results

We polished de novo assemblies for a mock microbial community and a human genome, and we called variants on a human genome. We repeated these experiments using various pipelines, under various coverage level scenarios and various quality score quantizers. In all cases, we found that the quantization of quality scores causes little difference (or even sometimes improves) on the results obtained with the original (non-quantized) data. This suggests that the precision that is currently used for nanopore quality scores may be unnecessarily high, and motivates the use of lossy compression algorithms for this kind of data. Moreover, we show that even a non-specialized compressor, such as gzip, yields large storage space savings after the quantization of quality scores.

Availability and supplementary information

Quantizers are freely available for download at: https://github.com/mrivarauy/QS-Quantizer.
Social Work During COVID-19 in Slovenia: Absent, Invisible or Ignored?
Authors: Mešl Nina , Leskošek Vesna , Rape Žiberna Tamara , Kodele Tadeja
Published: August 2022

The article discusses the results of a research study on social work during COVID-19 in Slovenia. Governmental measures to prevent the spread of the disease have increased the need for assistance to various groups of people but at the same time limited their access to social services. The main research question was to what extent social workers and social services were able to reorganise and adapt to crisis conditions and how this relates to the role of social work in society. Data were collected using mixed methods: online survey and interviews with social workers. Content analysis and selective coding, thematic analysis and univariate descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The analysis shows that the ability of social workers to respond to the growing and changing needs of people during the pandemic depended on the context in which they worked. Social work was perceived as more effective and responsive in social services where professional autonomy was assured and valued and where horizontal relationships existed between staff and management. The study contributed to a better understanding of the context in which the pandemic occurred and identified some structural barriers to successful social work that are internationally comparable and relevant.
Online dynamic rumour propagation model considering punishment mechanism and individual personality characteristics
Authors: Sun Chengai , Qiao Donghang , Qiu Liqing
Published: August 2022

In the Internet era, rumours will spread rapidly in the network and hinder the development of all aspects of society. To create a harmonious network environment, it is essential to take punitive measures against malicious rumour mongers on social platforms. Take the measure of forbidden as an example. The forbidden one may stop spreading rumours because of being punished, or he may become a disseminator again because of paranoia. Other people who know rumours may become alert and stop propagating rumours or temporarily forget rumours. And therefore, the forbidden state is added to describe the above phenomenon, and the SIFR (Ignorant–Disseminator–Forbidden–Restorer) model is proposed. Taking the vigilance and paranoia derived from punishment measures into account, the connection edges from the forbidden to the disseminator and from the disseminator to the restorer are increased in this model. And then, the stability of SIFR model is proved by using the basic regeneration number and Routh–Hurwitz stability theorem. The simulation results demonstrate that individual paranoia may do harm to the control of rumour dissemination. While the punishment mechanism, individual forgetting mechanism and vigilance can effectively curb the spread of rumours.
Dynamics of monocyte-derived macrophage diversity in experimental myocardial infarction
Authors: Rizzo Giuseppe , Gropper Julius , Piollet Marie , Vafadarnejad Ehsan , Rizakou Anna , Bandi Sourish Reddy , Arampatzi Panagiota , Krammer Tobias , DiFabion Nina , Dietrich Oliver , Arias-Loza Anahi-Paula , Prinz Marco , Mack Matthias , Schlepckow Kai , Haass Christian , Silvestre Jean-Sébastien , Zernecke Alma , Saliba Antoine-Emmanuel , Cochain Clément
Published: August 2022

Aims

Macrophages have a critical and dual role in post-ischaemic cardiac repair, as they can foster both tissue healing and damage. Multiple subsets of tissue resident and monocyte-derived macrophages coexist in the infarcted heart, but their precise identity, temporal dynamics, and the mechanisms regulating their acquisition of discrete states are not fully understood. To address this, we used multi-modal single-cell immune profiling, combined with targeted cell depletion and macrophage fate mapping, to precisely map monocyte/macrophage transitions after experimental myocardial infarction.

Methods and results

We performed single-cell transcriptomic and cell-surface marker profiling of circulating and cardiac immune cells in mice challenged with acute myocardial infarction, and integrated single-cell transcriptomes obtained before and at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11 days after infarction. Using complementary strategies of CCR2+ monocyte depletion and fate mapping of tissue resident macrophages, we determined the origin of cardiac macrophage populations. The macrophage landscape of the infarcted heart was dominated by monocyte-derived cells comprising two pro-inflammatory populations defined as Isg15hi and MHCII+Il1b+, alongside non-inflammatory Trem2hi cells. Trem2hi macrophages were observed in the ischaemic area, but not in the remote viable myocardium, and comprised two subpopulations sequentially populating the heart defined as Trem2hiSpp1hi monocyte-to-macrophage intermediates, and fully differentiated Trem2hiGdf15hi macrophages. Cardiac Trem2hi macrophages showed similarities to ‘lipid-associated macrophages’ found in mouse models of metabolic diseases and were observed in the human heart, indicating conserved features of this macrophage state across diseases and species. Ischaemic injury induced a shift of circulating Ly6Chi monocytes towards a Chil3hi state with granulocyte-like features, but the acquisition of the Trem2hi macrophage signature occurred in the ischaemic tissue. In vitro, macrophages acquired features of the Trem2hi signature following apoptotic-cell efferocytosis.

Conclusion

Our work provides a comprehensive map of monocyte/macrophage transitions in the ischaemic heart, constituting a valuable resource for further investigating how these cells may be harnessed and modulated to promote post-ischaemic heart repair.
The Pictorial Fit-Frail Scale—Malay version (PFFS-M): reliability and validity testing in Malaysian primary care
Authors: Ahip Sally S , Ghazali Sazlina S , Theou Olga , Samad Azah A , Lukas Sabrina , Mustapha Ummu K , Thompson Mark Q , Visvanathan Renuka
Published: August 2022

Background

This study investigated the reliability and convergent validity of the PFFS-Malay version (PFFS-M) among patients (with varying educational levels), caregivers, and health care professionals (HCPs). PFFS-M cutoffs for frailty severity were developed.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study from 4 primary care clinics where 240 patients aged >60 years and their caregivers were enrolled. Patients were assigned to a nurse or a health care assistant (HCA) for 2 separate PFFS-M assessments administered by HCPs of the same profession, as well as by a doctor during the first visit (inter-rater reliability). Patients were also administered the Self-Assessed Report of Personal Capacity & Healthy Ageing (SEARCH) tool, a 40-item frailty index, by a research officer. The correlation between patients’ PFFS-M scores and SEARCH tool scores determined convergent validity. Patients returned 1 week later for PFFS-M reassessment by the same HCPs (test–retest reliability). Caregivers completed the PFFS-M for the patient at both clinic visits. Classification cut-points for the PFFS-M were derived against frailty categories defined through the SEARCH tool.

Results

The inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.92 [95% CI, 0.90–0.93)] and test–retest (ICC = 0.94 [95% CI, 0.92–0.95]) reliability between all raters was excellent, including by patients’ education levels. The convergent validity was moderate (r = 0.637, p < 0.001), including for varying educational background. PFFS-M categories were identified as: 0–3, no frailty; 4–5, at risk of frailty; 6–8, mild frailty; 9–12, moderate frailty; and >13, severe frailty.

Conclusion

PFFS-M is a reliable and valid tool with frailty severity scores now established for use of this tool in primary care clinics.
TOP-2 is differentially required for the proper maintenance of the cohesin subunit REC-8 on meiotic chromosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans spermatogenesis and oogenesis
Authors: Rourke Christine , Jaramillo-Lambert Aimee
Published: August 2022

During meiotic prophase I, accurate segregation of homologous chromosomes requires the establishment of chromosomes with a meiosis-specific architecture. The sister chromatid cohesin complex and the enzyme Topoisomerase II (TOP-2) are important components of meiotic chromosome architecture, but the relationship of these proteins in the context of meiotic chromosome segregation is poorly defined. Here, we analyzed the role of TOP-2 in the timely release of the sister chromatid cohesin subunit REC-8 during spermatogenesis and oogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that there is a different requirement for TOP-2 in meiosis of spermatogenesis and oogenesis. The loss-of-function mutation top-2(it7) results in premature REC-8 removal in spermatogenesis, but not oogenesis. This correlates with a failure to maintain the HORMA-domain proteins HTP-1 and HTP-2 (HTP-1/2) on chromosome axes at diakinesis and mislocalization of the downstream components that control REC-8 release including Aurora B kinase. In oogenesis, top-2(it7) causes a delay in the localization of Aurora B to oocyte chromosomes but can be rescued through premature activation of the maturation promoting factor via knockdown of the inhibitor kinase WEE-1.3. The delay in Aurora B localization is associated with an increase in the length of diakinesis bivalents and wee-1.3 RNAi mediated rescue of Aurora B localization in top-2(it7) is associated with a decrease in diakinesis bivalent length. Our results imply that the sex-specific effects of TOP-2 on REC-8 release are due to differences in the temporal regulation of meiosis and chromosome structure in late prophase I in spermatogenesis and oogenesis.
Aging in Nigeria: A Growing Population of Older Adults Requires the Implementation of National Aging Policies
Authors: Mbam Kingsley Chima , Halvorsen Cal J , Okoye Uzoma Odera
Published: August 2022

While the continent of Africa currently has the lowest share of adults aged 60 and older in its population among all world regions, the total number of older Africans is projected to triple between 2020 and 2050. Nigeria—Africa’s leading economy and most populated country—has the highest number of older people in the continent and the 19th highest across the globe, with the population of Nigerians aged 65 and older projected to nearly triple by 2050. However, the increase in older Nigerians is occurring against the backdrop of extreme poverty, unsolved development problems, socioeconomic inequality, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a decline in the traditional care and support of older adults. Additionally, the absence of an operational national aging policy or safety net services and programs poses a unique challenge to older Nigerians and their families. In this article, we examined social statistics and the current literature to describe aging in the Nigerian context. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing effective governmental policy interventions for the adequate care and support of older Nigerians and the training of gerontological professionals. This article will describe the demography of aging in Nigeria, significant areas of research, key scholars and publicly available data sets, public policy issues, and emerging issues affecting the health and well-being of older Nigerians.