bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From High Bar to Uneven Bars: The Impact of Information Granularity in Quality Certification
Authors: Hui Xiang , Liu Zekun , Zhang Weiqing
Published: January 2023

Quality certification is ubiquitously used in markets with asymmetric information, but little is known about the impact of the number of certification tiers on market outcomes. Exploiting a field experiment on a large e-commerce marketplace with an existing two-tier certification, we study the impact of introducing a new certification tier that is less history dependent and less demanding than the existing top tier. Consistent with the theoretical literature on information design, we find that the change in information granularity among the previously noncertified sellers increases demand for high-quality young sellers, incentivizes their quality provision, and increases their chance of eventually obtaining the top-tier certification. Moreover, the three-tier certification structure prompts established sellers with higher effort cost to reduce their effort, opt out of the top tier, and adopt the new tier instead. Lastly, we provide evidence that the net impact of introducing the new certification tier on seller effort depends on how history dependent the certification requirements are in a market.

This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing.

Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4666 .
The Influence of the Business Risk-Based Auditing Application on the Audit Process: An Empirical Investigation in the Yemeni Context.
Authors: Esmail Zaid Mohammed , Haque S.M Imamul
Published: January 2023

This paper examines the impact of the modern audit approach, "Business risk auditing (BRA)," on the audit process. The cost of the BRA application and the impacts of this approach on the analytical procedures, internal controls, and audit evidence are the primary issues of this study. An empirical design using a structured questionnaire has been adopted to collect the data required to test the study’s hypotheses. The data was analyzed using the PLS-SEM technique, a hybrid of the partial least squares that is based on structural equation modelling. The study found that the high costs resulting from the BRA approach represent significant obstacles to implementing this methodology in the Yemeni audit context. However, auditors in Yemen believe that applying the BRA approach positively impacts the conduct of audits. The findings revealed a significant influence of the BRA approach on each audit procedure and audit quality in general. The present study has practical implications where it could raise the Yemeni auditors' awareness of the BRA approach, which is directly related to many International Auditing Standards (IAS). Therefore, BRA adoption will also assist in meeting ISAs' prerequisites. In addition to being the first study that looks at the advanced audit methods in Yemen, it is one of the few to examine the spread of BRA in developing nations.
Supracrestal tissue attachment: an update
Authors: Shah Jaini , Webb Leah , McColl Ewen , Daldry Michael , Bhagi Serena , Witton Rob
Published: January 2023

Supracrestal tissue attachment (STA) is a relatively new term that was introduced in 2017 following the World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases and Conditions, co-sponsored by the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP), which included expert participants from all over the world. It has replaced the term biological width, and refers to the junctional epithelium and supracrestal connective tissue. This article provides an updated review of the anatomy of STA, highlights the negative effects of violation and discusses its clinical relevance in restorative dentistry, including the use of crown lengthening. The impact of implants on STA is highlighted, and a summary of the relevance of STA in implant dentistry is also discussed.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: To allow dental practitioners to have more confidence providing adequate function, comfort, and aesthetics in the dentition, while maintaining periodontal health.
One-Box ALPR Tolling
Authors: Haub Heimo
Published: January 2023

The integration of technologies for electronic tolling and enforcement can lead to new, cost-efficient and flexible appliances that are fit for the future demands of rural and urban road networks
Traffic-Busting Toll Patrols
Authors: Maloney Nate
Published: January 2023

Automatic license plate recognition technology can help keep traffic moving freely in congested metropolitan areas
Chris Koniditsiotis
Authors: Wordsworth Saul
Published: January 2023

Chris Koniditsiotis, president of the International Society for Weigh-in-Motion, talks Covid-19, in-vehicle scales and why international, high-speed direct enforcement for WIM could be just around the corner
Octavia Hill
Authors: Kelly Matthew
Published: January 2023

This chapter focuses on Octavia Hill's work and her ideas which have been the subject of sophisticated historical research and analysis. It examines the arguments she made, and the circumstances in which she made them. To fully understand Hill's position, the chapter seeks to distinguish nature and open space from Victorian constructions of Nature and Open Space, phenomena which delivered a series of ‘aesthetic, ideological and moral goods’. It then chronicles how Hill helped to popularise the idea that environments act upon human beings, for good and for ill, and how she helped translate into practical work the idea that the natural environment could have a reformatory effect on the individual. The chapter then shifts to discuss Hill's friendships, networks, and Open Space campaigning. It traces those connections by considering her beloved Kentish hills, where her legacy is strongly manifest in the patchwork of designated sites, including much National Trust land, that allows access today. Such a designation archipelago is broadly characteristic of any pedestrian passage through an English landscape today.
On the Seam: Artists Books and the Unmaking of the Book
Authors: Mann Barbara E.
Published: January 2023

This chapter studies the genre of artists' books, which shares with the book as a historical form an essential quality: one's relationship to it is shaped by its material features—its paper, binding, size, weight, and shape. Given the centrality of the text within Judaic tradition, it is not surprising to find many Jewish artists working with this genre. The chapter organizes the discussion in relation to the broader concern with materiality: each artist's book discussed references or revisits specific material matters from earlier chapters. Beyond engagements such as the linkage of image and text, or attention to things and objecthood, the artist's book also foregrounds the presence of the sacred within an ostensibly secular form. Ultimately, and regardless of its particular form or subject matter, the artist's book is that secular genre in which a trace of sacred aura most enduringly abides. The chapter then looks at the works of Jewish book artists such as Lynne Avadenka and Tatana Kellner.
This Is a Dream Come True
Authors: Polisi Joseph W.
Published: January 2023

This chapter discusses the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts under the helm of its new chair, Beverly Sills. In addition to being a world-class performer, Sills was the first woman to chair the Center's board and the first chief trustee who had previously not been a board member. Both Sills and Nathan Leventhal were intent on easing the tension between the constituents and Lincoln Center, Inc. The “us versus them” mentality of the past Center leadership created a “dysfunctional family” dynamic. Regrettably, the next venture developed by the Sills–Leventhal team—a three-week festival—only caused further tensions. And as the Lincoln Center Festival was getting off the ground in the summer of 1996, another artistic force was coming of age with the creation of a Lincoln Center constituent exclusively dedicated to the art of jazz. At the center of this new constituent was Wynton Marsalis—a young trumpeter from New Orleans, schooled in both classical and jazz tradition.
An Innovative, Risk-Taking, Adventurous, Artistic Entity
Authors: Polisi Joseph W.
Published: January 2023

This chapter takes a look at the events at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts during the late 1990s. As the decade came to a close, Beverly Sills and Nathan Leventhal raised the important issue of the Center's future by commissioning a study titled “Committee for the 21st Century: Report to the Lincoln Center Board of Directors.” One aspect of the report involved a poll of each of the constituent's physical plant needs. The chapter also follows the installation of a sound enhancement system in the State Theater. This, combined with the search for a new hall, accelerated New York City Opera's downward slide at the Lincoln Center. In the meantime, Sills and Leventhal announced the creation of the Committee for the 21st Century in March 1998 and commenced on the unlikely saga of the sale of a work of art by the American painter Jasper Johns, titled Numbers 1964. Finally, in the midst of further high-quality events at the close of the decade, Leventhal resigned after seventeen years of service.
Welcome to the Urbanism of Lilt and Swoon
Authors: Polisi Joseph W.
Published: January 2023

This chapter takes a look at how the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' leadership addressed the issue of the New York Philharmonic lease agreement and the future use of Avery Fisher Hall. Before that could be resolved, however, an incident occurred at the Lincoln Center which distracted its leaders from the merger. Peter M. Lehrer, who had only taken on the chair of the Center's Redevelopment Corporation board nine months earlier, resigned and called the project wasteful and badly managed. Yet remarkably, as various challenges confronted the Center leadership—with the resignations of two Redevelopment Corporation chairs in the span of one year and the continuous infighting threatening the core values that the Center's founders had established in the mid-1950s—the administrative staff of the Center and of the Redevelopment Project doggedly continued to move their venture forward. Levy was clearly committed to significant renovations and Rebecca Robertson had done yeoman's work in maintaining focus despite some very difficult working conditions. The chapter also discusses the architectural team behind the Sixty-Fifth Street to provide new street-level entrances and open the Center to neighboring communities.
Conclusion
Authors: Pittock Murray
Published: January 2023

This concluding chapter gives an overview of Scotland's history and nationality. The visibility of Scottish nationality is not widely known due to the way history is remembered through the frames of experience and the composite monarchy model. Moreover, the modern and partial view of the nature of sovereignty as defined by the Westphalian peace of 1648 affected the lack of understanding of Scottish nationality. The chapter discusses the context of the 2014 Referendum being at odds with British polity and Parliament's understanding of history. It also looks into the possibility of Scottish independence in line with the concern of Brexit, the UK's exit from the European Union.
A Short Walk to Freedom
Authors: Hutchinson Robert
Published: January 2023

In considering the final phase of the United States’ incarceration of German war criminals from 1953 to 1958, this chapter contemplates what it meant to “rehabilitate” a war criminal. From October 1953, when the Interim Mixed Board heard its first petition, until May 1958, when the last Nuremberg war criminals passed through Landsberg’s gates as free men, American policymakers in Bonn and Washington increasingly decided that the war criminals were not so different from every other prisoner in the United States. Prisoners in the United States were entitled to parole hearings and a system of supervised release, so the Interim Mixed Board and Mixed Board must fulfill this function as well. Leaving prison decades ahead of schedule, the Nuremberg war criminals received monetary compensation from the state, social support from sympathetic friends, relatives, and parole supervisors, and near unceasing encouragement from their American warders to ensure that their swift reentry into West German society proceeded smoothly. To a man, they continued to deny the legitimacy of their criminal convictions or their previous incarceration.
Indispensable Nation
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

The United States remains “the indispensable nation,” this book argues. The book highlights factors that create this indispensability, such as the absence of desirable alternatives, the shortcomings of other proposed strategies, and the harmful consequences of retrenchment for allies and likeminded countries. In a world full of revisionist powers, America's role is more important than ever. No other country is capable of playing this role of critically important leadership. America remains the essential pillar of the postwar liberal order. It is a center of both political and financial stability, and it promotes important values that the revisionist powers do not. Not beholden to any particular theory, this book is a clear-eyed analysis of the role the United States should play in the world as it exists today.
Is The United States A Disruptor?
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter explores the question of whether the United States can be considered a disruptor of world order. It argues that the principal agents of disruption are the revisionist powers, namely China's seizure and militarization of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea, its repeated use of economic blackmail, its “wolf warrior” diplomacy, and its obstructive behavior concerning Covid-19. It also notes Russia's annexation of Crimea, its invasion of eastern Ukraine, and its aggressive use of cyber hacking. The chapter discusses the crucial difference between committing violations of an international order that one essentially supports and rejecting that order entirely. To the extent that the United States is at fault, the global issue in recent years has been one of retrenchment and not efforts to impose liberal hegemony.
Alternatives To The United States
Authors: Lieber Robert J.
Published: January 2023

This chapter assesses whether international and regional institutions can provide alternatives resources of order that can answer the question of U.S. indispensability. It describes the United Nations and other international organizations that exist to address common problems but are typically limited by the lack of agreement among the five permanent members of the Security Council. Disagreements among the UN agencies and other global institutions make it difficult to achieve effective measures. The chapter explains how important international norms have emerged on the law of the sea, nuclear proliferation, the environment, trade, human rights, war crimes, and other issues. It details how the European Union is constrained by its own institutional limitations and policy disagreements among its twenty-seven member states, which is its internal divisions on how to deal with Russia and China as well as its initial disarray in coping with the pandemic.
Introduction
Authors: Stoyle Mark
Published: January 2023

This chapter sets out to provide a new history of the Western Rising, and to consider the disturbances afresh: beginning with the preliminary tremors which may be seen, in retrospect, to have provided a series of ominous warnings — or ‘fore-halsenings’, as the expressive contemporary dialect term had it — of the great explosion of popular anger that was soon to come. It discusses the series of major political aftershocks that occurred in London after the protests had been suppressed. The chapter also examines the impulses that destabilised West Country society during the early years of the sixteenth century. It then looks at the ordinary people who rose up in protest in the West Country — in both 1548 and 1549 — who were fully aware of the currents of political and religious opposition to the Edwardine regime that existed in other parts of the kingdom. Ultimately, the chapter hopes to show that the Tudor world was a world that the West Country insurgents of 1549 came much closer than is generally realised to turning upside down.
Development of a Checklist to Identify Injury Hazards on Row Crop Farms in the Midwestern United States
Authors: Faust Kayla , Casteel Carri , Gerr Fredric , Cavanaugh Joseph E. , Boonstra D. Erik , Anthony T. Renee , Soupene Victor A. , Ramirez Marizen
Published: January 2023

Highlights

Sustainable tools for surveillance of farm injuries and injury-related hazards in the U.S. are needed.

A new tool for the surveillance of injury hazards on row crop farms has excellent inter-rater reliability.

The new tool is simple and straightforward to complete and requires minimal training.

Abstract. Agriculture is among the most dangerous industries in the U.S., yet routine surveillance of injury hazards is not currently being conducted on a national level. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe a new tool, called the Hazard Assessment Checklist (HAC), to identify and characterize farm hazards that increase injury risk to farmers and farm workers; and (2) report the inter-rater reliability of the new tool when administered on row-crop farms in Iowa. Based on a literature review and a consensus of expert opinion, the HAC included hazards related to self-propelled vehicles, powered portable implements, fixed machinery and equipment, farm buildings and structures, fall risks, and portable equipment associated with fall risks. A scoring metric indicating the extent of compliance with recommended safety guidelines and standards was developed for each item of the HAC, which included compliant, minimal improvement needed, substantial improvement needed, and not compliant. Inter-rater reliability was assessed from data collected by research staff on 52 row crop farms in Iowa. Cohen’s weighted Kappa values demonstrated high inter-rater reliability, ranging between 0.86 and 0.94 for all HAC sections. The HAC can be completed in 1.5 to 2 hours on each farm and requires about three hours of training, two of which are spent in the field training. The ability to monitor injury-related hazards over time using an empirically driven tool will contribute significantly to injury prevention efforts in an industry with consistently high rates of fatal and nonfatal injuries. Keywords: Agriculture, Audit, Checklist, Hazards, Injury.
Ressignificando a formação do professor de língua inglesa em comunidades de prática na Bahia
Authors: Passos Jamille , Euf Cristina Arcuri
Published: January 2023

Notadamente, há muito tempo a globalização tem sido foco de inúmeros debates e investigação dos fenômenos sociais ao qual lhe são atribuídos. Este artigo visa um aprofundamento sobre questões relacionadas à formação linguístico-educacional do professor de Língua Inglesa (LI), tendo como objeto de análise uma revisitação teórica sobre os estudos da Pedagogia dos Multiletramentos, formação crítica do professor e interfaces permitidas pela Linguística Aplicada (LA) – disciplina do curso de graduação de Letras em universidades públicas no estado da Bahia. Parafraseando Monte Mór (2008), os estudos sobre letramentos críticos têm evidenciado “a relevância de uma educação engajada na mudança social, diversidade cultural, igualdade econômica e participação política”, por ora mencionada por Muspratt, Luke e Freebody (1997), através “das tecnologias de escrita e outros modos de inscrição”. Nesse sentido, objetivamos, também, demonstrar relações entre línguas, tecnologias e sociedade a partir de práxis alternativa construída por graduandos de Letras (LI), em pré-serviço, a partir dos (multi)letramentos e das interfaces epistemológicas da LA.
LSTM-based real-time signal quality assessment for blood volume pulse analysis
Authors: Gao Haoyuan , Zhang Chao , Pei Shengbing , Wu Xiaopei
Published: January 2023

Remote photoplethysmogram (rPPG) is a low-cost method to extract blood volume pulse (BVP). Some crucial vital signs, such as heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) etc. can be achieved from BVP for clinical medicine and healthcare application. As compared to the conventional PPG methods, rPPG is more promising because of its non-contacted measurement. However, both BVP detection methods, especially rPPG, are susceptible to motion and illumination artifacts, which lead to inaccurate estimation of vital signs. Signal quality assessment (SQA) is a method to measure the quality of BVP signals and ensure the credibility of estimated physiological parameters. But the existing SQA methods are not suitable for real-time processing. In this paper, we proposed an end-to-end BVP signal quality evaluation method based on a long short-term memory network (LSTM-SQA). Two LSTM-SQA models were trained using the BVP signals obtained with PPG and rPPG techniques so that the quality of BVP signals derived from these two methods can be evaluated, respectively. As there is no publicly available rPPG dataset with quality annotations, we designed a training sample generation method with blind source separation, by which two kinds of training datasets respective to PPG and rPPG were built. Each dataset consists of 38400 high and low-quality BVP segments. The achieved models were verified on three public datasets (IIP-HCI dataset, UBFC-Phys dataset, and LGI-PPGI dataset). The experimental results show that the proposed LSTM-SQA models can effectively predict the quality of the BVP signal in real-time.
Photon amplification and cavity-polariton-like generation in metallic nanoshells localized in optical cavity
Authors: Zhang Yi
Published: January 2023

In this paper, I provide nanoshell as a new candidate to achieve the lasing and cavity-polariton-like. Owing to the energy levels in hybridized plasmon modes of nanoshell, I combine the two-level nature of dark and bright plasmon modes of nanoshell with plasmon enhancement of optical second-order nonlinear in metal surface to achieve the lasing of photon, especially under the condition of no population inversion. This provide a new idea to realize nanolaser. Furthermore, using the dipole-dipole interaction between naoshells, the one dimensional array of nanoshells can form new lattice plasmon polaritons similar to exciton-polariton in optical microcavity. Because the nanoshells are much easier to control compared with atoms, the nanoshells arrays (1D and 2D) are good platforms to mimic atomic arrays interacting with cavity photons. This has some potential value in quantum optics of plasmon.
Co-designed metaoptoelectronic deep learning
Authors: Villegas Burgos Carlos Mauricio , Xiong Pei , Qiu Liangyu , Zhu Yuhao , Vamivakas A. Nickolas
Published: January 2023

A metaoptical system is co-designed with electronic hardware to implement deep learning image recognition. The optical convolution block includes a reflective metasurface to perform one layer of a deep neural network. The optical and digital components are jointly optimized to perform an image classification task attaining 65% accuracy, which is close to the 66% accuracy of a fully-digital network where the optical block is replaced by a digital convolution layer.
Photonic time crystals: a materials perspective [Invited]
Authors: Saha Soham , Segal Ohad , Fruhling Colton , Lustig Eran , Segev Mordechai , Boltasseva Alexandra , Shalaev Vladimir M.
Published: January 2023

Recent advances in ultrafast, large-modulation photonic materials have opened the door to many new areas of research. One specific example is the exciting prospect of photonic time crystals. In this perspective, we outline the most recent material advances that are promising candidates for photonic time crystals. We discuss their merit in terms of modulation speed and depth. We also investigate the challenges yet to be faced and provide our estimation on possible roads to success.
Photon echoes using atomic frequency combs in Pr:YSO — experiment and semiclassical theory
Authors: Sharma Aditya N. , Levine Zachary H. , Ritter Martin A. , Kagalwala Kumel H. , Weissler Eli J. , Goldschmidt Elizabeth A. , Migdall Alan L.
Published: January 2023

Photon echoes in rare-earth-doped crystals are studied to understand the challenges of making broadband quantum memories using the atomic frequency comb (AFC) protocol in systems with hyperfine structure. The hyperfine structure of Pr3+ poses an obstacle to this goal because frequencies associated with the hyperfine transitions change the simple picture of modulation at an externally imposed frequency. The current work focuses on the intermediate case where the hyperfine spacing is comparable to the comb spacing, a challenging regime that has recently been considered. Operating in this regime may facilitate storing quantum information over a larger spectral range in such systems. In this work, we prepare broadband AFCs using optical combs with tooth spacings ranging from 1 MHz to 16 MHz in fine steps, and measure transmission spectra and photon echoes for each. We predict the spectra and echoes theoretically using the optical combs as input to either a rate equation code or a density matrix code, which calculates the redistribution of populations. We then use the redistributed populations as input to a semiclassical theory using the frequency-dependent dielectric function. The two sets of predictions each give a good, but different account of the photon echoes.
3D flexible compositing resonant cavity system for high-performance SERS sensing
Authors: Liu Weihao , Li Yaru , Li Zhen , Du Xuejian , Xie Shuqi , Liu Cong , Jiang Shouzhen , Li Zhong
Published: January 2023

Arrayed resonant cavity with outstanding optical trapping ability have received increasing attention in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Here, a three-dimensional (3D) composite AgNPs-Al2O3/Au/inverted patterned sapphire substrate PMMA (IPSSPMMA) flexible resonant cavity system is theoretically and experimentally investigated as a flexible SERS sensor. With the help of an effective plasma coupling (localized surface plasmons (LSPs) and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)), as shown by the Finite Element Method, a resonant cavity between IPSSPMMA and a particle-film nanostructure is created. Moreover, the proposed fabrication scheme can be easily used for large-scale fabrication. To measure the performance of IPSSPMMA, Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) and Crystalline violet (CV) were used as probe molecules with limit of detection (LOD) of 6.01 × 10−12 M and 5.36 × 10−10 M, respectively, and enhancement factors (EF) of R6G up to 8.6 × 109. Besides, in-situ detection of CV on the surface of aquatic products with a LOD of 3.96 × 10−5 M, enables highly sensitive in-situ detection of surface analytes. The Raman performance and in-situ detection results demonstrate that the proposed flexible compositing resonant cavity system has the advantages of ultra-sensitivity, stability, uniformity, and reproducibility, and has great potential for applications in the food safety field.
Raman spectroscopy of optical-trapped single particle using bull’s eye nanostructure
Authors: Ma Jian , Ning XiongJie , Lou YuanHao , Wu Dan , Min QiuHong , Wang YiRui , Zhang Quan , Pang YuanJie
Published: January 2023

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has enabled single nanoparticle Raman sensing with abundant applications in analytical chemistry, biomaterials, and environmental monitoring. Genuine single particle Raman sensing requires a cumbersome technique, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) based tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy; SERS-based single particle Raman sensing still collects an ensemble signal that samples, in principle, a number of particles. Here, we develop in situ Raman-coupled optical tweezers, based on a hybrid nanostructure consisting of a single bowtie aperture surrounded by bull’s eye rings, to trap and excite a rhodamine-6G-dye-doped polystyrene sphere. We simulated a platform to ensure sufficient enhancement capability for both optical trapping and SERS of a single nanoparticle. Experiments with well-designed controls clearly attribute the Raman signal origin to a single 15-nm particle trapped at the center of a nanohole, and they also clarified the trapping and Raman enhancement role of the bull’s eye rings. We claim Raman sensing of a smallest optically trapped particle.
Metasurface-tunable lasing polarizations in a microcavity
Authors: Yuan Zhiyi , Huang Shih-Hsiu , Qiao Zhen , Wu Pin Chieh , Chen Yu-Cheng
Published: January 2023

Manipulating polarization states of microlasers is essentially
important in many emerging optical and biological applications.
Strategies have been focused on using external optical elements or
surface nanostructures to control the polarization state of laser
emission. Here we introduce a strategy for manipulation of laser
polarization based on metasurfaces through round trips of photons
confined inside an active optical cavity. The roles of intracavity
metasurfaces and light–meta-atom interactions were investigated under
a stimulated emission process in a microcavity. Taking advantage of
strong optical feedback produced by the Fabry–P

e
´

rot optofluidic microcavity,
light–meta-atom interactions are enlarged, resulting in polarized
lasing emission with high purity and controllability. Depending on the
metasurface structural orientation, the polarization state of lasing
emission can be actively modulated as linearly polarized or
elliptically polarized with different degrees of circular polarization
at a source within the microcavity. This study provides insight into
fundamental laser physics, opening possibilities by bridging
metasurfaces into microlasers.
Accelerating superluminal laser focus generated by a long-focal-depth mirror with high numerical aperture
Authors: Fan Quanping , Miao Zhuanglei , yang hua , Fan Wei , Chen Yong , liu Dongxiao , Zhang Qiangqiang , Zang Huaping , Wang Yiming , Wei Lai
Published: January 2023

The long-focal-depth mirror is a novel reflective element proposed in recent years. Due to the advantages of negligible dependence on wavelength and high damage threshold, it is suitable to focus ultra-short laser pulses with broadband spectra and high intensity with a focal depth of centimeter scale. To the best of our knowledge, the focusing properties of this mirror has been only studied under low numerical aperture (NA). In this paper, we extend it to the case of high NA and it is proved that an accelerating superluminal laser focus can be always generated by this extension, in which the degree of acceleration increases with the increase of NA. And the velocity of laser focus increases approximately linearly from c to 1.6c for NA=0.707. Due to its properties of tight focusing, the Richards-Wolf integrals have been used to study the intensity distribution of each polarization component for different kinds of incident light. And these are linearly polarized light, radially polarized light, azimuthally polarized light, linearly polarized light with spiral phase, and linearly polarized light with ultrashort pulses. From comparisons of numerical results, the intensity distributions are obviously different for different kind of incident light, and accelerating superluminal laser focus with special structure (such as the hollow conical beam) can be produced under appropriate condition. We believe this study can expand the fields of application for the long-focal-depth mirror.
Graphene-coated three-twisted-taper and four-twisted-taper for highly sensitive temperature and strain sensing
Authors: fan huibo , Yin Qiming , Fan Hongwei , Lu Cong
Published: January 2023

Fiber-optic sensor has emerged fast development and greatly applied in various fields. In this paper, by manually fire-drawing method of single mode fibers, we propose and fabricate two kinds of ultra-compact graphene-coated three-twisted-taper and four-twisted-taper for the highly sensitive temperature and strain sensing. Due to the asymmetric and twisted structure induced more propagating modes in the tapered fiber, and excellent optical propeties of surface plasmon polariton (spp) effect and fast thermal response of graphene, a number of high-order modes are confined and stably transmit in the twisted taper to enhance the multi-mode interference, followed by the optical sensitivity improvement. For the case of three-twisted-taper with coated graphene, high sensitivities of -66.2 pm/ºC for temperature sensing and -173.4 pm/µε for tensile strain sensing are measured in sequence. For the case of graphene-coated four-twisted-taper, high sensitivities of -61.7 pm/ºC for temperature sensing and -103.2 pm/µε for tensile strain sensing are measured. Comparatively, twisted tapers without coated graphene are also proposed for the temperature and strain sensing with relatively small sensitivities, further verifying the advantage of coated graphene on the fiber-optic sensing. This results will open a brand-new door in the temperature and strain sensing fields with easy fabrication process, ultra-compact structure and high sensitivities.
Spectral-temporal Measurement Capabilities of Third-order Correlators
Authors: Bock S. , Oksenhendler Thomas , Püschel Thomas , Gebhardt René , Helbig Uwe , Pausch Richard , Ziegler Tim , Bernert Constantin , Zeil Karl , Irman Arie
Published: January 2023

We present a method extending scanning third-order correlator temporal pulse evolution measurement capabilities of high power short pulse lasers to spectral sensitivity within the spectral range exploited by typical chirped pulse amplification systems. Modelling of the spectral response achieved by angle tuning of the third harmonic generating crystal is applied and experimentally validated. Exemplary measurements of spectrally resolved pulse contrast of a Petawatt laser frontend illustrate the importance of full bandwidth coverage for the interpretation of relativistic laser target interaction in particular for the case of solid targets.
Sequencing-based fine-mapping and in silico functional characterization of the 10q24.32 arsenic metabolism efficiency locus across multiple arsenic-exposed populations
Authors: Chernoff Meytal Batya , Delgado Dayana , Tong Lin , Chen Lin , Oliva Meritxell , Tamayo Lizeth I. , Best Lyle G. , Cole Shelley , Jasmine Farzana , Kibriya Muhammad G. , Nelson Heather , Huang Lei , Haack Karin , Kent Jack , Umans Jason G. , Graziano Joseph , Navas-Acien Ana , Karagas Margaret R. , Ahsan Habib , Pierce Brandon L.
Published: January 2023

Inorganic arsenic is highly toxic and carcinogenic to humans. Exposed individuals vary in their ability to metabolize arsenic, and variability in arsenic metabolism efficiency (AME) is associated with risks of arsenic-related toxicities. Inherited genetic variation in the 10q24.32 region, near the arsenic methyltransferase (AS3MT) gene, is associated with urine-based measures of AME in multiple arsenic-exposed populations. To identify potential causal variants in this region, we applied fine mapping approaches to targeted sequencing data generated for exposed individuals from Bangladeshi, American Indian, and European American populations (n = 2,357, 557, and 648 respectively). We identified three independent association signals for Bangladeshis, two for American Indians, and one for European Americans. The size of the confidence sets for each signal varied from 4 to 85 variants. There was one signal shared across all three populations, represented by the same SNP in American Indians and European Americans (rs191177668) and in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with a lead SNP in Bangladesh (rs145537350). Beyond this shared signal, differences in LD patterns, minor allele frequency (MAF) (e.g., rs12573221 ~13% in Bangladesh ~0.2% among American Indians), and/or heterogeneity in effect sizes across populations likely contributed to the apparent population specificity of the additional identified signals. One of our potential causal variants influencesAS3MTexpression and nearby DNA methylation in numerous GTEx tissue types (with rs4919690 as a likely causal variant). Several SNPs in our confidence sets overlap transcription factor binding sites and cis-regulatory elements (from ENCODE). Taken together, our analyses reveal multiple potential causal variants in the 10q24.32 region influencing AME, including a variant shared across populations, and elucidate potential biological mechanisms underlying the impact of genetic variation on AME.
Analytical performance of 17 commercially available point-of-care tests for CRP to support patient management at lower levels of the health system
Authors: Calarco Serafina , Fernandez-Carballo B. Leticia , Keller Thomas , Weber Stephan , Jakobi Meike , Marsall Patrick , Schneiderhan-Marra Nicole , Dittrich Sabine
Published: January 2023

Accurate and precise point-of-care (POC) testing for C-reactive protein (CRP) can help support healthcare providers in the clinical management of patients. Here, we compared the analytical performance of 17 commercially available POC CRP tests to enable more decentralized use of the tool. The following CRP tests were evaluated. Eight quantitative tests: QuikRead go (Aidian), INCLIX (Sugentech), Spinit (Biosurfit), LS4000 (Lansionbio), GS 1200 (Gensure Biotech), Standard F200 (SD Biosensor), Epithod 616 (DxGen), IFP-3000 (Xincheng Biological); and nine semi-quantitative tests: Actim CRP (ACTIM), NADAL Dipstick (nal von minden), NADAL cassette (nal von minden), ALLTEST Dipstick (Hangzhou Alltest Biotech), ALLTEST Cassette cut-off 10-40-80 (Hangzhou Alltest Biotech), ALLTEST Cassette cut-off 10–30 (Hangzhou Alltest Biotech), Biotest (Hangzhou Biotest Biotech), BTNX Quad Line (BTNX), BTNX Tri Line (BTNX). Stored samples (n = 660) had previously been tested for CRP using Cobas 8000 Modular analyzer (Roche Diagnostics International AG, Rotkreuz, Switzerland (reference standards). CRP values represented the clinically relevant range (10–100 mg/L) and were grouped into four categories (<10 mg/L, 10–40 mg/L or 10–30 mg/L, 40–80 mg/L or 30–80 mg/L, and > 80mg/L) for majority of the semi-quantitative tests. Among the eight quantitative POC tests evaluated, QuikRead go and Spinit exhibited better agreement with the reference method, showing slopes of 0.963 and 0.921, respectively. Semi-quantitative tests with the four categories showed a poor percentage agreement for the intermediate categories and higher percentage agreement for the lower and upper limit categories. Analytical performance varied considerably for the semi-quantitative tests, especially among the different categories of CRP values. Our findings suggest that quantitative tests might represent the best choice for a variety of use cases, as they can be used across a broad range of CRP categories.
Factor structure of Participation Behavioural Questionnaire (PBQ) in patients with hand injuries
Authors: Farzad Maryam , MacDermid Joy , Rassafiani Mehdi
Published: January 2023

Background

Participation is considered a critical outcome of successful rehabilitation and should be evaluated.

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the structural validity of the Participation Behaviour Questionnaire (PBQ) in people with hand injuries.

Methodology

The PBQ contains 30 items that measure participation as conceptualized in the ICF. PBQ was developed with Rasch analysis to measure participation in hand injured. A sample of 404 patients with hand injuries and a mean age of 37 (16.0) participated and was randomly split for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA).

Results

Both EFA and CFA confirmed a four factor-solution. These factors were named: Social Participation and Interpersonal Relationships, Autonomy and Role, Subjective Satisfaction with Participation, Recreational, Sport, and Leisure Time. The value of Cronbach’s alpha was 0.96 for the total scale and >0.85 for each subscale.

Conclusions

The structural validity of the PBQ was confirmed using both EFA and CFA. The PBQ measures four dimensions of participation.
Occurrence, fate, and risk assessment of antibiotics in typical pharmaceutical manufactories and receiving water bodies from different regions
Authors: Liu Yuanfei , Cai Dan , Li Xin , Wu Qingyao , Ding Ping , Shen Liangchen , Yang Jian , Hu Guocheng , Wu Jinhua , Zhang Lijuan
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to investigate the presence and persistence of antibiotics in wastewater of four typical pharmaceutical manufactories in China and receiving water bodies and suggest the removal of antibiotics by the wastewater treatment process. It also evaluated the environmental impact of antibiotic residues through wastewater discharge into receiving water bodies. The results indicated that thirteen antibiotics were detected in wastewater samples with concentrations ranging from 57.03 to 726.79 ng/L. Fluoroquinolones and macrolides were the most abundant antibiotic classes found in wastewater samples, accounting for 42.5% and 38.7% of total antibiotic concentrations, respectively, followed by sulfonamides (16.4%) and tetracyclines (2.4%). Erythromycin-H2O, lincomycin, ofloxacin, and trimethoprim were the most frequently detected antibiotics; among these antibiotics, the concentration of ofloxacin was the highest in most wastewater samples. No significant difference was found in different treatment processes used to remove antibiotics in wastewater samples. More than 50% of antibiotics were not completely removed with a removal efficiency of less than 70%. The concentration of detected antibiotics in the receiving water bodies was an order of magnitude lower than that in the wastewater sample due to dilution. An environmental risk assessment showed that lincomycin and ofloxacin could pose a high risk at the concentrations detected in effluents and a medium risk in their receiving water bodies, highlighting a potential hazard to the health of the aquatic ecosystem. Overall, The investigation was aimed to determine and monitor the concentration of selected antibiotics in 4 typical PMFs and their receiving water bodies, and to study the removal of these substances in PMFs. This study will provide significant data and findings for future studies on antibiotics-related pollution control and management in water bodies.
A conserved motif suggests a common origin for a group of proteins involved in the cell division of Gram-positive bacteria
Authors: Martinez-Goikoetxea Mikel , Lupas Andrei N.
Published: January 2023

DivIVA, GpsB, FilP, and Scy are all involved in bacterial cell division. They have been reported to interact with each other, and although they have been the subject of considerable research interest, not much is known about the molecular basis for their biological activity. Although they show great variability in taxonomic occurrence, phenotypic profile, and molecular properties, we find that they nevertheless share a conserved N-terminal sequence motif, which points to a common evolutionary origin. The motif always occurs N-terminally to a coiled-coil helix that mediates dimerization. We define the motif and coiled coil jointly as a new domain, which we name DivIVA-like. In a large-scale survey of this domain in the protein sequence database, we identify a new family of proteins potentially involved in cell division, whose members, unlike all other DivIVA-like proteins, have between 2 and 8 copies of the domain in tandem. AlphaFold models indicate that the domains in these proteins assemble within a single chain, therefore not mediating dimerization.
Promoting early neovascularization by allotransplanted adipose-derived Muse cells in an ovine model of acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Castillo Martha G. , Peralta Tomás M. , Locatelli Paola , Velazquez Candela , Herrero Yamila , Crottogini Alberto J. , Olea Fernanda D. , Cuniberti Luis A.
Published: January 2023

Background

Recent preclinical studies have demonstrated that bone marrow (BM)-derived Muse cells have a homing mechanism to reach damaged cardiac tissue while also being able to reduce myocardial infarct size and improve cardiac function; however, the potential of BM-Muse cells to foster new blood-vessel formation has not been fully assessed. Up to date, adipose tissue (AT)-derived Muse cells remain to be studied in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of the present study was to analyze in vitro and in vivo the neovascularization capacity of AT-Muse cells while exploring their biodistribution and differentiation potential in a translational ovine model of AMI.

Methods and results

AT-Muse cells were successfully isolated from ovine adipose tissue. In adult sheep, one or more diagonal branches of the left anterior descending coronary artery were permanently ligated for thirty minutes. Sheep were randomized in two groups and treated with intramyocardial injections: Vehicle (PBS, n = 4) and AT-Muse (2x107 AT-Muse cells labeled with PKH26 Red Fluorescent Dye, n = 4). Molecular characterization showed higher expression of angiogenic genes (VEGF, PGF and ANG) and increased number of tube formation in AT-Muse cells group compared to Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) group. At 7 days post-IAM, the AT-Muse group showed significantly more arterioles and capillaries than the Vehicle group. Co-localization of PKH26+ cells with desmin, sarcomeric actin and troponin T implied the differentiation of Muse cells to a cardiac fate; moreover, PKH26+ cells also co-localized with a lectin marker, suggesting a possible differentiation to a vascular lineage.

Conclusion

Intramyocardially administered AT-Muse cells displayed a significant neovascularization activity and survival capacity in an ovine model of AMI.
The effects of short interventions of focused-attention vs. self-compassion mindfulness meditation on undergraduate students: Evidence from self-report, classroom performance, and ERPs
Authors: O’Hare Aminda J. , Gemelli Zachary T.
Published: January 2023

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training has been shown to improve cognitive processing, wellbeing, and academic performance. However, mindfulness interventions that are integrated into non-mindfulness related courses have not been well-investigated. Further, the unique effects of different aspects of MBSR training are not as well understood. This paper examines the effects that are uniquely associated with focused-attention versus self-compassion mindfulness practices utilizing a multi-method approach. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during an Emotional Flanker task, and self-report measures of wellbeing and measures of classroom performance were collected before and after training. Participants were students in two sections of the same undergraduate course and either completed 10 weeks of focused-attention practice or self-compassion practice that was built into their class sessions. Students in the focused-attention group (mean age = 22.08) had reduced interference effects on their reaction times following the training. Students in the self-compassion group (mean age = 23.91) showed altered processing of conflict on negative trials via the N2 and P3 ERP amplitudes after the training. This group also reported significant improvements in wellbeing and performed significantly better on more class tests compared to the focused-attention group. These data support the effectiveness of incorporating brief, simplified mindfulness practices in any classroom as an intervention to improve attention, wellbeing and classroom performance.