bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling Flexible Multi-Body Systems Within the Udwadia–Kalaba Framework, a Lumped Parameter Approach
Authors: Yap Edward J. H. , Rezgui Djamel , Lowenberg Mark H. , Neild Simon A. , Rahman Khosru
Published: October 2022

It is common practice within multi-body dynamic (MBD) modeling to assume that individual bodies are rigid however this can be an oversimplification especially when slender bodies are present resulting in inaccurate estimations of the system's natural frequencies and overall behavior. To address this shortfall, we extend the Udwadia–Kalaba (U–K) MBD formulation in this paper to model flexible multibody systems for purposes of exploring system natural frequencies. To model the flexibility, a lumped parameter approach is proposed, which in this work idealizes a flexible beam as a series of discrete rigid elements connected by torsional springs. In the U–K formulation, a mechanical system can also be discretized into rigid elements and adapted. This is viewed as a benefit for incorporating a lumped parameter approach within the U–K formulation to model flexible multibody systems. A flexible crank-slider mechanism is introduced and modeled within the Udwadia–Kalaba formulation to capture the dynamics of flexibility through linkage compliance. The model is validated against an alternatively formulated MBD model and system natural frequencies and mode shapes numerically predicted. Results of the study show the effectiveness and potential of extending the application of the Udwadia–Kalaba formulation by using a lumped parameter approach to dynamically model flexible multibody systems.
Tawaf – cleansing our souls: A model of supervision for Muslims
Authors: Akhter Selina
Published: October 2022

INTRODUCTION: Cultural supervision with Māori (tangata whenua) in social work has been a focus of practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. New approaches to address the cultural needs of Māori social workers and those of other cultural backgrounds have been developed. This article portrays a model of cultural supervision for Muslim social workers in Aotearoa.APPROACH: The broader methodological structure of this reflective account is a kaupapa Māori framework and Rangahau (a Wānanga response to research). Rangahau is the traditional Māori methodology of inquiry utilising mātauranga Māori and āhuatanga Māori – traditional Māori bodies of knowledge from the context of a Māori world view. Critical self-reflection and use of reflective journals are used as methods of the rangahau.FINDINGS: A model of supervision is presented which is tawaf, a ritual of haj – one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims (who follow Islam as a religion) perform haj (pilgrimage) to receive hedayet (spiritual guidance) to cleanse their nafs (soul). In this model, the phases of tawaf have been applied to structure and guide social work supervision sessions designed for Muslim social workers. Some important values of Islam such as tawbah, sabr, shukr, tawakkul, and takwa, have been integrated into the model as every action of Muslims is value-based. The model combines both nafs and a value-based approach in supervision.IMPLICATIONS: Tawaf represents the Islamic worldview and aims to deconstruct and reconstruct supervisees’ practice and assumptions. This will be used in the context of cultural supervision with Muslim social workers by Muslim supervisors.
The role of contextual knowledge through the eyes of a resettlement social worker
Authors: Fitzgerald Hawa
Published: October 2022

It is commonly known that social workers are required to possess wide-ranging knowledge. Furthermore, a multi-dimensional approach to social work knowledge is required to help social workers make decisions in their practice. Thus, for many social workers, it is almost impossible to emphasise only one dimension of knowledge over others. One area of social work that is of particular interest is resettlement for former refugees. The knowledge required for social workers practising in refugee resettlement must include contextual knowledge of both local and global contexts. This article is a reflection from a resettlement social worker, who shares her own practice journey in working with former refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand. As part of this reflection, the social worker shares her experience in utilising different types of knowledge to inform decision-making processes in her practice. She hopes this article can encourage further reflections in our social work practice with former refugees to become more culturally sensitive, effective and contextual to each social work scenario.
The Council of Social Work Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Staniforth Barbara , Hunt Sonya , Jackson Suzette
Published: October 2022

INTRODUCTION: Despite tertiary social work education commencing in Aotearoa New Zealand by 1950, it was not until the mid-1990s that social work educators established a unifying body (the Council). The Council aimed to promote teaching and research in social work within Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, and enhance relationships and collaboration within the sector.
METHODS: A qualitative, critical realist research methodology has been utilised, analysing interviews with eight people who have served as president of the Council or chair of the field education sub-committee since the Council’s inception. Data were augmented with Council archives, including minutes and reports.
FINDINGS: Themes of registration, relationships, resourcing and bicultural commitments were identified. These provide an overview of key issues that have impacted on social work education in Aotearoa over the past 25 years and record the rich stories of some of the key people involved.
CONCLUSIONS: Social work educators established a forum to unify their voices and enhance standards in social work education. Ongoing professionalisation and developing regulation of social workers became a Council focus. Future challenges for the Council include ensuring its viability and operation, responding to bicultural responsibilities and strengthening the voice of social work educators in a state-regulated environment.
Contributions to the building of social work knowledge in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond
Authors: Beddoe Liz
Published: October 2022

Editorial
Mindfulness-induced endogenous theta stimulation occasions self-transcendence and inhibits addictive behavior
Authors: Garland Eric L. , Hanley Adam W. , Hudak Justin , Nakamura Yoshio , Froeliger Brett
Published: October 2022

Self-regulation is instantiated by theta oscillations (4 to 8 Hz) in neurons of frontal midline brain regions. Frontal midline theta (FMΘ) is inversely associated with default mode network (DMN) activation, which subserves self-referential processing. Addiction involves impaired self-regulation and DMN dysfunction. Mindfulness is an efficacious self-regulatory practice for treating addiction, but little is known about the mechanisms by which mindfulness reduces addictive behavior. In this mechanistic study of long-term opioid users (
N
= 165), we assessed meditation-induced FMΘ as a mediator of changes in opioid misuse. Relative to a supportive psychotherapy control, participants treated with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) exhibited increased FMΘ during a laboratory-based meditation session. FMΘ during meditation was associated with self-transcendent experiences characterized by ego dissolution, nondual awareness, and bliss. MORE’s effects on decreasing opioid misuse were mediated by increased FMΘ. Given the role of aberrant self-referential processing in addiction, mindfulness-induced endogenous theta stimulation might “reset” DMN dysfunction to inhibit addictive behavior.
Global estimates of fishing gear lost to the ocean each year
Authors: Richardson Kelsey , Hardesty Britta Denise , Vince Joanna , Wilcox Chris
Published: October 2022

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a major contributor to ocean pollution, with extensive social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, quantitative ALDFG estimates are dated and limited in scope. To provide current global estimates, we interviewed fishers around the world about how much fishing gear they lose annually and multiplied reported losses by global fishing effort data. We estimate that nearly 2% of all fishing gear, comprising 2963 km
2
of gillnets, 75,049 km
2
of purse seine nets, 218 km
2
of trawl nets, 739,583 km of longline mainlines, and more than 25 million pots and traps are lost to the ocean annually. These estimates represent critical baselines that can inform solutions targeted to ALDFG reduction strategies.
Large-number detrital zircon U-Pb ages reveal global cooling caused the formation of the Chinese Loess Plateau during Late Miocene
Authors: Zhang Hanzhi , Lu Huayu , He Jing , Xie Wanting , Wang Hanlin , Zhang Hongyan , Breecker Daniel , Bird Anna , Stevens Thomas , Nie Junsheng , Li Gaojun
Published: October 2022

The formation and evolution of the landscape of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is debated because of uncertainties regarding dust provenance. We present a quantitative estimation of dust source contributions to the CLP, based on more than 37,100 detrital zircon U-Pb ages, combined with mineral assemblages and isotope analyses. Our results reveal that the CLP was stepwise formed by ~8 million years (Ma) and is mainly composed of material from the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, with stepwise shifts in relative contributions of different eolian silt sources occurring at ~2.6 Ma and 1.5 to 1.2 Ma. We infer that these changes were driven by stepwise global cooling, which induced aridification and enhanced silt production in glaciated-cold climate dust source regions, as well as dust ablation in the expanded arid regions. We propose that global cooling, rather than regional tectonic deformation, was the main driver of the formation and evolution of the CLP during late Cenozoic.
Hamiltonian engineering of spin-orbit–coupled fermions in a Wannier-Stark optical lattice clock
Authors: Aeppli Alexander , Chu Anjun , Bothwell Tobias , Kennedy Colin J. , Kedar Dhruv , He Peiru , Rey Ana Maria , Ye Jun
Published: October 2022

Engineering a Hamiltonian system with tunable interactions provides opportunities to optimize performance for quantum sensing and explore emerging phenomena of many-body systems. An optical lattice clock based on partially delocalized Wannier-Stark states in a gravity-tilted shallow lattice supports superior quantum coherence and adjustable interactions via spin-orbit coupling, thus presenting a powerful spin model realization. The relative strength of the on-site and off-site interactions can be tuned to achieve a zero density shift at a “magic” lattice depth. This mechanism, together with a large number of atoms, enables the demonstration of the most stable atomic clock while minimizing a key systematic uncertainty related to atomic density. Interactions can also be maximized by driving off-site Wannier-Stark transitions, realizing a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic dynamical phase transition.
Electrically addressable integrated intelligent terahertz metasurface
Authors: Chen Benwen , Wang Xinru , Li Weili , Li Chun , Wang Zhaosong , Guo Hangbin , Wu Jingbo , Fan Kebin , Zhang Caihong , He Yunbin , Jin Biaobing , Chen Jian , Wu Peiheng
Published: October 2022

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) play an essential role in various applications, such as next-generation communication, uncrewed vehicles, and vital sign recognizers. However, in the terahertz (THz) region, the development of RISs is limited because of lacking tunable phase shifters and low-cost sensors. Here, we developed an integrated self-adaptive metasurface (SAM) with THz wave detection and modulation capabilities based on the phase change material. By applying various coding sequences, the metasurface could deflect THz beams over an angle range of 42.8°. We established a software-defined sensing reaction system for intelligent THz wave manipulation. In the system, the SAM self-adaptively adjusted the THz beam deflection angle and stabilized the reflected power in response to the detected signal without human intervention, showing vast potential in eliminating coverage dead zones and other applications in THz communication. Our programmable controlled SAM creates a platform for intelligent electromagnetic information processing in the THz regime.
Translating diagnostics and drug delivery technologies to low-resource settings
Authors: Euliano Erin M. , Sklavounos Alexandros A. , Wheeler Aaron R. , McHugh Kevin J.
Published: October 2022

Diagnostics and drug delivery technologies engineered for low-resource settings aim to meet their technical design specifications using strategies that are compatible with limited equipment, infrastructure, and operator training. Despite many preclinical successes, very few of these devices have been translated to the clinic. Here, we identify factors that contribute to the clinical success of diagnostics and drug delivery systems for low-resource settings, including the need to engage key stakeholders at an early stage, and provide recommendations for the clinical translation of future medical technologies.
Leveraging technology to address current and future world issues
Authors: Weissleder Ralph
Published: October 2022

Biotechnology is essential to advance modern medicine and alleviate global health crises, yet commercialization is often wrought by competing forces.
Efficient Suppression of Natural Plasmid-Borne Gene Expression in Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Using a Compact CRISPR Interference System
Authors: Yao Shigang , Wei Dawei , Tang Na , Song Yuqin , Wang Chao , Feng Jie , Zhang Gang
Published: October 2022

There is an urgent need for efficient tools for genetic manipulation to assess plasmid function in clinical drug-resistant bacterial strains. To address this need, we developed an all-in-one CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system that easily inhibited the gene expression of a natural multidrug-resistant plasmid in an sequence type 23 (ST23)
Klebsiella pneumoniae
isolate.
First Isolation of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Carrying Plasmid-Borne
vanD1
Authors: Hisatsune Junzo , Tanimoto Koichi , Kohara Tadahiro , Myoken Yoshinari , Tomita Yoshiharu , Sugai Motoyuki
Published: October 2022

Vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecium
carrying the
vanD1
gene on plasmid pEF-D was isolated from a fecal sample of a hospitalized patient in Japan. The strain JH5687 showed moderate resistance to vancomycin (MIC, 16 μg/mL) but remained susceptible to teicoplanin (MIC, 1 μg/mL).
Parasite Genotype Is a Major Predictor of Mortality from Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: Grace Cooper Alastair , Sousa Carvalho Kátia Silene , Sousa Lima Mayara Ingrid , Costa Silva Vladimir , Reis-Cunha João Luís , Brune Matthew J. , Forrester Sarah , Pedrozo e Silva de Azevedo Conceição de Maria , Costa Dorcas Lamounier , Speed Doug , Mottram Jeremy C. , Jeffares Daniel C. , Costa Carlos H. N.
Published: October 2022

Multiple factors contribute to the risk of mortality from visceral leishmaniasis (VL), including, patient genotype, comorbidities, and nutrition. Many of these factors are influenced by socioeconomic biases.
Macrophage Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Metabolic Reprogramming Induced by Leishmania donovani Require Lipophosphoglycan and Type I Interferon Signaling
Authors: Acevedo Ospina Hamlet , Guay-Vincent Marie-Michèle , Descoteaux Albert
Published: October 2022

To colonize host phagocytes,
Leishmania
metacyclic promastigotes subvert host defense mechanisms and create a specialized intracellular niche adapted to their replication. This is accomplished through the action of virulence factors, including the surface coat glycoconjugate lipophosphoglycan.
Roles of the Microbiota of the Female Reproductive Tract in Gynecological and Reproductive Health
Authors: Zhu Bin , Tao Zhi , Edupuganti Laahirie , Serrano Myrna G. , Buck Gregory A.
Published: October 2022

The microbiome of the female reproductive tract defies the convention that high biodiversity is a hallmark of an optimal ecosystem. Although not universally true, a homogeneous vaginal microbiome composed of species of
Lactobacillus
is generally associated with health, whereas vaginal microbiomes consisting of other taxa are generally associated with dysbiosis and a higher risk of disease.
Evolution of Virulence, Fitness, and Carbapenem Resistance Transmission in ST23 Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae with the Capsular Polysaccharide Synthesis Gene
wcaJ
Inserted via Insertion Sequence Elements
Authors: Wang Shuyi , Ding Qi , Zhang Yawei , Zhang Anru , Wang Qi , Wang Ruobing , Wang Xiaojuan , Jin Longyang , Ma Shuai , Wang Hui
Published: October 2022

Klebsiella pneumoniae
is one of the most common nosocomial pathogens worldwide, and we speculated that the evolution of the capsule might result in the convergence of carbapenem resistance and hypervirulence of
K. pneumoniae
. The
wcaJ
gene was first reported to be interrupted by insertion sequence elements in ST23-K1 hypervirulent
Klebsiella pneumoniae
, resulting in little capsule synthesis, which plays an important role in virulence.
Distributional Pattern of Bacteria, Protists, and Diatoms in Ocean according to Water Depth in the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Xu Shannan , Liu Yong , Zhang Zhe , Xu Youwei , Qi Zhanhui
Published: October 2022

Fine-scale analysis of ocean microbes provides insights into the dynamics and functions of the ocean microbiome community. Here, using amplicon and metagenome sequencing methods, we found that diatoms in the northern South China Sea displayed a potential water-depth pattern in species richness and community composition, which may be related to their biological characteristics. The potential effects of the differences in geographic sites mainly occurred in the diatom and bacterial communities.
The Role of Molossidae and Vespertilionidae in Shaping the Diversity of Alphacoronaviruses in the Americas
Authors: Caraballo Diego A. , Sabio María S. , Colombo Valeria C. , Piccirilli María Guadalupe , Vico Lorena , Hirmas Riade Stella Maris , Campos Josefina , Martínez Gustavo , Beltrán Fernando , Baumeister Elsa , Cisterna Daniel M.
Published: October 2022

Bats harbor the largest diversity of coronaviruses among mammals. In the Americas, seven alphacoronavirus lineages circulate among bats.
Diaphragm electrical activity during weaning of nasal high-flow therapy in preterm infants
Authors: Naples Rebecca , Fenton Alan C , Brodlie Malcolm , Harigopal Sundeep , O'Brien Chris
Published: October 2022

Objective

To determine whether electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi) changes with weaning nasal high-flow (HF) therapy in preterm infants according to a standardised protocol.

Design

Prospective observational cohort study.

Setting

Neonatal intensive care unit.

Patients

Preterm infants born at <32 weeks gestation, receiving nasal HF as part of routine clinical care.

Interventions

Infants recruited to the study had their HF weaned according to set clinical criteria. Edi was measured using a modified gastric feeding tube serially from baseline (pre-wean) to 24-hours post-wean.

Main outcome measures

Change in Edi from baseline was measured at four time points up to 24 hours after weaning. Minimum Edi during expiration, maximum Edi during inspiration and amplitude of the Edi signal (Edidelta) were measured. Clinical parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate and fraction of inspired oxygen) were also recorded.

Results

Forty preterm infants were recruited at a mean corrected gestational age of 31.6 (±2.7) weeks. Data from 156 weaning steps were analysed, 91% of which were successful. Edi did not change significantly from baseline during flow reduction steps, but a significant increase in diaphragm activity was observed when discontinuing HF (median increase in Edideltaimmediately post-discontinuation 1.7 µV (95% CI: 0.6 to 3.0)) and at 24 hours 1.9 µV (95% CI: 0.7 to 3.8)). No significant difference in diaphragm activity was observed between successful and unsuccessful weaning steps.

Conclusions

A protocolised approach to weaning has a high probability of success. Edi does not change with reducing HF rate, but significantly increases with discontinuation of HF from 2 L/min.
Metastatic triple negative breast cancer with NTRK gene fusion on tissue but not on ctDNA molecular profile
Authors: Singh Nupur , Singh Rishika , Decker Brennan , Robins David , Vidal Gregory
Published: October 2022

A woman presented to medical oncology with almost 4 years of untreated, slowly progressing, triple negative metastatic breast cancer to the lung. About 15 years prior, she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast with ipsilateral chest wall recurrence 6 years later. Comprehensive molecular profiling of a metastatic lesion detected a hotspotETV6-NTRK3fusion, which was not present on circulating tumour DNA or molecular profile performed 4 years prior. A second look pathological examination demonstrated tumour characteristics consistent with secretory breast carcinoma. Identification ofETV6­-NKRT3fusion allowed for treatment with larotrectinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor specifically indicated for secretory breast carcinoma. After 3 months, she experienced a partial response.
The time lords – measurement and performance in sprinting
Authors: McCrory P
Published: October 2022

This article has been retracted
Definitions for the purist
Authors: McCrory P
Published: October 2022

This article has been retracted. See the retraction notice for details. The PDF is retained for transparency.
How should we teach sports medicine?
Authors: McCrory P
Published: October 2022

This article has been retracted. See the retraction notice for details. The PDF is retained for transparency.
Tripartite antigen-agnostic combination immunotherapy cures established poorly immunogenic tumors
Authors: Borchmann Sven , Selenz Carolin , Lohmann Mia , Ludwig Hanna , Gassa Asmae , Brägelmann Johannes , Lohneis Philipp , Meder Lydia , Mattlener Julia , Breid Sara , Nill Marieke , Fassunke Jana , Wisdom Amy J. , Compes Anik , Gathof Birgit , Alakus Hakan , Kirsch David , Hekmat Khosro , Büttner Reinhard , Reinhardt H. Christian , Hallek Michael , Ullrich Roland T.
Published: October 2022

Background

Single-agent immunotherapy has shown remarkable efficacy in selected cancer entities and individual patients. However, most patients fail to respond. This is likely due to diverse immunosuppressive mechanisms acting in a concerted way to suppress the host anti-tumor immune response. Combination immunotherapy approaches that are effective in such poorly immunogenic tumors mostly rely on precise knowledge of antigenic determinants on tumor cells. Creating an antigen-agnostic combination immunotherapy that is effective in poorly immunogenic tumors for which an antigenic determinant is not known is a major challenge.

Methods

We use multiple cell line and poorly immunogenic syngeneic, autochthonous, and autologous mouse models to evaluate the efficacy of a novel combination immunotherapy named tripartite immunotherapy (TRI-IT). To elucidate TRI-ITs mechanism of action we use immune cell depletions and comprehensive tumor and immune infiltrate characterization by flow cytometry, RNA sequencing and diverse functional assays.

Results

We show that combined adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) with lymphokine-activated killer cells, cytokine-induced killer cells, Vγ9Vδ2-T-cells (γδ-T-cells) and T-cells enriched for tumor recognition (CTLs) display synergistic antitumor effects, which are further enhanced by cotreatment with anti-PD1 antibodies. Most strikingly, the full TRI-IT protocol, a combination of this ACT with anti-PD1 antibodies, local immunotherapy of agonists against toll-like receptor 3, 7 and 9 and pre-ACT lymphodepletion, eradicates and induces durable anti-tumor immunity in a variety of poorly immunogenic syngeneic, autochthonous, as well as autologous humanized patient-derived models. Mechanistically, we show that TRI-IT coactivates adaptive cellular and humoral, as well as innate antitumor immune responses to mediate its antitumor effect without inducing off-target toxicity.

Conclusions

Overall, TRI-IT is a novel, highly effective, antigen-agnostic, non-toxic combination immunotherapy. In this study, comprehensive insights into its preclinical efficacy, even in poorly immunogenic tumors, and mode of action are given, so that translation into clinical trials is the next step.
The Terreneuvian MacCodrum Brook section, Mira terrane, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada: age constraints from ash layers, organic-walled microfossils, and trace fossils
Authors: Barr Sandra M. , White Chris E. , Palacios Teodoro , Jensen Sören , van Rooyen Deanne , Crowley James L.
Published: October 2022

The MacCodrum Formation is a classical “lower” Cambrian unit in southeastern Cape Breton Island stratigraphy, described since the 1800s. The age of this formation and its correlation with other Avalonian Cambrian units in eastern Newfoundland and southern New Brunswick have remained uncertain through numerous revisions. Here we present U-Pb CA-TIMS ages from an ash bed in the basal part of the MacCodrum Formation in its type-section on MacCodrum Brook that fix the maximum time of deposition at 531.86 ± 0.34 Ma. Organic-walled microfossils sampled throughout the MacCodrum Formation type-section yield acritarch taxa identifying the Asteridium– Comasphaerdium Zone, whereas the first acritarchs of the Skiagia– Fimbriaglomerella Zone appear in the overlying Canoe Brook Formation in other sections. The radiometric age and acritarch zonation place the MacCodrum Formation in the upper Fortunian, Cambrian Stage 2. Among trace fossils in the MacCodrum Formation, the meandering trace fossil Didymaulichnus dailyi comb. nov. is of particular note and morphologically identical to the type material from the lower part of the Ratcliffe Brook Formation in New Brunswick. The new radiometric and biostratigraphic data presented here provide the first firm constraints on the age of the MacCodrum Formation and enable more precise correlation with sections in southern New Brunswick and eastern Newfoundland.
Age-dependent effect of insulin in the regulation of intracellular calcium in ventricular cardiomyocytes
Authors: Bkaily Ghassan , Al-Shahrani Maram Ali , Nader Moni , Jacques Danielle
Published: October 2022

In this study, we wanted to verify whether the effect of insulin on calcium homeostasis depends on the heart's development stage. Using a quantitative 3D confocal microscopy, we tested the effect of a high insulin concentration (100 µU) in freshly cultured ventricular cardiomyocytes from newborn and adult rats. Our results showed that the cytosolic basal level of calcium was higher in newborn cardiomyocytes with no change in the nuclear basal calcium level compared with the adult cardiomyocytes; in addition, insulin induced a slow increase of cytosolic and nuclear calcium in newborn ventricular cardiomyocytes, followed by two phases. However, the first phase of slow cytosolic and nuclear calcium increase was absent in adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, the time to the onset of increase of cytosolic and nuclear calcium was longer in newborn cardiomyocytes compared with adults. Moreover, the time to peak of the calcium transient was shorter in newborns than in adult cardiomyocytes. These results demonstrate that insulin differently regulates calcium homeostasis in newborns than in adult cardiomyocytes. Thus, newborn rat cardiomyocytes, commonly used in research as a model for adult cardiomyocytes, should be used with caution when dealing with insulin in normal and disease conditions.
Chromosomes in the African frog genus Tomopterna (Pyxicephalidae) and probing the origin of tetraploid Tomopterna tandyi
Authors: Bogart James P. , Dawood Abeda , Becker François S. , Channing Alan
Published: October 2022

Speciation by polyploidization has been documented to have independently occurred in 12 families of anuran amphibians. Tomopterna tandyi was described as a South African allotetraploid species of sand frogs in the family Pyxicephalidae. Recent taxonomic revisions and new species descriptions in the genus present problems with respect to the evolution of this tetraploid species. Chromosomes, mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, isozymes, and male mating calls were examined for T. tandyi and for diploid species of Tomopterna. Mitochondrial sequences confirmed the diploid species, T. adiastola, to be the maternal ancestor that gave rise to the tetraploid about 5 mya. Nuclear sequences and isozymes reveal a complex reticulation of paternal ancestry that may be explained by occasional hybridization of T. tandyi with diploid species of Tompoterna at various times in sympatric populations. Interspecific diploid to tetraploid gene introgression is suspected to have also occurred in Australian and North American tetraploid species of frogs. Diploid to tetraploid introgression is facilitated through triploid hybrids that are more viable than diploid hybrids and produce unreduced triploid eggs.
Compatibility of big bang nucleosynthesis in some modified gravities
Authors: Sultan Abdul Malik , Jawad Abdul
Published: October 2022

This paper is devoted to investigate the implications of Einstein-Aether and modified Hořava–Lifshitz theories of gravity to the formation of light elements in the early universe named as big bang nucleosynthesis. We choose different models from these theories for a detailed investigation of big bang nucleosynthesis epoch and compare it with the observational bounds. That is, we compare the deviation of freeze-out temperature $$T_{_f}$$

T

f

with the $$\Lambda $$
Λ
CDM paradigm and use observational bounds on $$\left| \frac{\Delta T_{_f}}{T_{_f}}\right| $$

Δ

T

f

T

f

to inspect constraints on the involved free parameters of these models. We apply Chi-square test on the Hubble parameter H in each model to analyze the compatibility of model parameters with the observations and find consistent results. We find that chosen models of Einstein-Aether gravity and modified Hořava–Lifshitz gravity can satisfy big bang nucleosynthesis constraints and thus constitute a viable cosmology since they can be source for dark energy sector and late-time accelerated expansion.
Superintegrability for ($$\beta $$-deformed) partition function hierarchies with W-representations
Authors: Wang Rui , Liu Fan , Zhang Chun-Hong , Zhao Wei-Zhong
Published: October 2022

We construct the ($$\beta $$β-deformed) partition function hierarchies withW-representations. Based on theW-representations, we analyze the superintegrability property and derive their character expansions with respect to the Schur functions and Jack polynomials, respectively. Some well known superintegrable matrix models such as the Gaussian hermitian one-matrix model (in the external field),$$N\times N$$N×Ncomplex matrix model,$$\beta $$β-deformed Gaussian hermitian and rectangular complex matrix models are contained in the constructed hierarchies.
Dam-induced changes in river flow dynamics revealed by RQA
Authors: Kędra Mariola
Published: October 2022

The impact of dam construction on the river environment has been widely studied from various perspectives (e.g. biochemical, hydrological, ecological, geomorphological). To obtain new information, recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) is used to analyze the dynamics of mountain river flow and its changes caused by the construction of dam reservoirs with different parameters and functions. The analysis focuses on daily river flow for time periods before and after the construction of selected reservoirs in the Polish Carpathians. RQA shows that the reservoirs in question significantly changed the dynamics of the river flow in terms of the two considered complexity measures, indicating an increase in the regularity, autocorrelation and laminarity of the river flow dynamics for the river section below the reservoirs. Interestingly, the results suggest that the large complex of two reservoirs (Czorsztyn–Sromowce Wyżne) has a weaker impact on the dynamics of the river flow below the dam than the smaller Dobczyce reservoir; this may indicate an important role of the balancing reservoir (Sromowce Wyżne) in mitigating the changes taking place in the affected river system.
Ginsenoside Rg5: A Review of Anticancer and Neuroprotection with Network Pharmacology Approach
Authors: Gao Xu-Fei , Zhang Jun-Jie , Gong Xiao-Jie , Li Ke-Ke , Zhang Lian-Xue , Li Wei
Published: October 2022

Ginsenoside Rg5 (G-Rg5) is a rare ginsenoside isolated from ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer), and this compound is increasingly known for its potent pharmacological activities. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the main activities and mechanisms of G-Rg5 by adopting network pharmacological analysis combined with a summary of published articles. The 100 target genes of G-Rg5 were searched through available database, subjected to protein–protein interaction (PPI) network generation and then core screening. The results showed that G-Rg5 has promising anticancer and neuroprotective effects. By summarizing these two pharmacological activities, we found that G-Rg5 exerts its therapeutic effects mainly through PI3K/AKT, MAPK signaling pathways, and the regulation of apoptosis and cell cycle. And these results were corroborated by KEGG analysis. Likewise, molecular docking of the related proteins was performed, and the binding energies were all less than [Formula: see text]7.0[Formula: see text]kJ/mol, indicating that these proteins had excellent binding capacity with G-Rg5. The network pharmacology results revealed many potential G-Rg5 mechanisms, which need to be further explored. We expect that the network pharmacology approach and molecular docking techniques can help us gain a deeper understanding of the therapeutic mechanisms of different ginsenosides and even the ginseng plant, for further developing their therapeutic potential as well as clinical applications.
Security and Usability of a Personalized User Authentication Paradigm: Insights from a Longitudinal Study with Three Healthcare Organizations
Authors: Constantinides Argyris , Belk Marios , Fidas Christos , Beumers Roy , Vidal David , Huang Wanting , Bowles Juliana , Webber Thais , Silvina Agastya , Pitsillides Andreas
Published: October 2022

This article proposes a user-adaptable and personalized authentication paradigm for healthcare organizations, which anticipates to seamlessly reflect patients’ episodic and autobiographical memories to graphical and textual passwords aiming to improve the security strength of user-selected passwords and provide a positive user experience. We report on a longitudinal study that spanned over 3 years in which three public European healthcare organizations participated to design and evaluate the aforementioned paradigm. Three studies were conducted (
n
= 169) with different stakeholders: (1) a verification study aiming to identify existing authentication practices of the three healthcare organizations with diverse stakeholders (
n
= 9), (2) a patient-centric feasibility study during which users interacted with the proposed authentication system (
n
= 68), and (3) a human guessing attack study focusing on vulnerabilities among people sharing common experiences within location-aware images used for graphical passwords (
n
= 92). Results revealed that the suggested paradigm scored high with regard to users’ likeability, perceived security, usability, and trust, but more importantly it assists the creation of more secure passwords. On the downside, the suggested paradigm introduces password guessing vulnerabilities by individuals sharing common experiences with the end users. Findings are expected to scaffold the design of more patient-centric knowledge-based authentication mechanisms within today's dynamic computation realms.
Code Search: A Survey of Techniques for Finding Code
Authors: Di Grazia Luca , Pradel Michael
Published: October 2022

The immense amounts of source code provide ample challenges and opportunities during software development. To handle the size of code bases, developers commonly search for code, e.g., when trying to find where a particular feature is implemented or when looking for code examples to reuse. To support developers in finding relevant code, various code search engines have been proposed. This article surveys 30 years of research on code search, giving a comprehensive overview of challenges and techniques that address them. We discuss the kinds of queries that code search engines support, how to preprocess and expand queries, different techniques for indexing and retrieving code, and ways to rank and prune search results. Moreover, we describe empirical studies of code search in practice. Based on the discussion of prior work, we conclude the article with an outline of challenges and opportunities to be addressed in the future.
Building a Closed-Domain Question Answering System for a Low-Resource Language
Authors: Tran Phuoc , Nguyen Dat , Tran Huu-Anh , Nguyen Thien , Tran Tram
Published: October 2022

In recent years, the Question Answering System (QAS) has been widely used to develop many systems, such as conversation systems, chatbots, and intelligent search. Depending on the amount of information or knowledge that the system processes, the system can be applied in answering the questions in an open domain or closed domain. There are many approaches to solving the QA problem, but the neural network models have yielded impressive and promising results, especially the Machine Reading Comprehension approach. In this article, we build a closed-domain QAS for a low-resource language, Vietnamese—specifically, “The Postgraduate Admission of Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam.” In addition, we have created two datasets to serve our QAS: vi-SQuAD v1.1, which is automatically translated and edited from SQuAD (Stanford University Question Answering Dataset), and HUFI-PostGrad, which is manually collected. We use two main models for the system, including the Intent Classification model and the Machine Reading Comprehension model. Experimental results initially show that our QAS gives encouraging results.
Developing a Large Benchmark Corpus for Urdu Semantic Word Similarity
Authors: Muneer Iqra , Fatima Ghazeefa , Khan Muhammad Salman , Adeel Nawab Rao Muhammad , Saeed Ali
Published: October 2022

The semantic word similarity task aims to quantify the degree of similarity between a pair of words. In literature, efforts have been made to create standard evaluation resources to develop, evaluate, and compare various methods for semantic word similarity. The majority of these efforts focused on English and some other languages. However, the problem of semantic word similarity has not been thoroughly explored for South Asian languages, particularly Urdu. To fill this gap, this study presents a large benchmark corpus of 518 word pairs for the Urdu semantic word similarity task, which were manually annotated by 12 annotators. To demonstrate how our proposed corpus can be used for the development and evaluation of Urdu semantic word similarity systems, we applied two state-of-the-art methods: (1) a word embedding–based method and (2) a Sentence Transformer–based method. As another major contribution, we proposed a feature fusion method based on Sentence Transformers and word embedding methods. The best results were obtained using our proposed feature fusion method (the combination of best features of both methods) with a Pearson correlation score of 0.67. To foster research in Urdu (an under-resourced language), our proposed corpus will be free and publicly available for research purposes.
Minimum Scan Cover and Variants: Theory and Experiments
Authors: Buchin Kevin , Hill Alexander , Fekete Sándor , Kleist Linda , Kostitsyna Irina , Krupke Dominik , Lambers Roel , Struijs Martijn
Published: October 2022

We consider a spectrum of geometric optimization problems motivated by contexts such as satellite communication and astrophysics. In the problem
Minimum Scan Cover with Angular Costs
, we are given a graph
G
that is embedded in Euclidean space. The edges of
G
need to be scanned, i.e., probed from both of their vertices. To scan their edge, two vertices need to face each other; changing the heading of a vertex incurs some cost in terms of energy or rotation time that is proportional to the corresponding rotation angle. Our goal is to compute schedules that minimize the following objective functions: (i) in
Minimum Makespan Scan Cover
(MSC-MS), this is the time until all edges are scanned; (ii) in
Minimum Total Energy Scan Cover
(MSC-TE), the sum of all rotation angles; and (iii) in
Minimum Bottleneck Energy Scan Cover
(MSC-BE), the maximum total rotation angle at one vertex.

Previous theoretical work on MSC-MS revealed a close connection to graph coloring and the cut cover problem, leading to hardness and approximability results. In this article, we present polynomial-time algorithms for one-dimensional (1D) instances of MSC-TE and MSC-BE but NP-hardness proofs for bipartite 2D instances. For bipartite graphs in 2D, we also give 2-approximation algorithms for both MSC-TE and MSC-BE. Most importantly, we provide a comprehensive study of practical methods for all three problems. We compare three different mixed-integer programming and two constraint programming approaches and show how to compute provably optimal solutions for geometric instances with up to 300 edges. Additionally, we compare the performance of different meta-heuristics for even larger instances.
A Semantically Driven Hybrid Network for Unsupervised Entity Alignment
Authors: Li Jia , Song Dandan , Wu Zhijing
Published: October 2022

The major challenge in the task of entity alignment (EA) lies in the heterogeneity of the knowledge graph. The traditional solution to EA is to first map entities to the same space via knowledge embedding and then calculate the similarity between entities from different knowledge graphs. However, these methods mainly rely on manually labeled seeds of EA, which limits their applicability. Some researchers have begun using pseudo-labels rather than seeds for unsupervised EA. However, directly using pseudo-labels causes new problems, such as noise in the pseudo-labels. In this article, we propose a model called the Semantically Driven Hybrid Network (SDHN) to reduce the impact of noise in the pseudo-labels on the performance of EA models. The SDHN consists of two modules: a Teacher–Student Network (TSN) and a Rotation and Penalty (RAP) module. The TSN module reduces the impact of noise in two ways: (1) The TSN’s teacher network guides its student network to construct pseudo-labels based on semantic information instead of directly creating pseudo-labels. (2) It adaptively fuses semantic information into student networks to improve the final representation of entity embedding. Finally, the TSN enhances the performance of models of entity alignment via the RAP module. The results of experiments on multiple benchmark datasets showed that the SDHN outperforms state-of-the-art models.
Analysis of Software Engineering Skills Gap in the Industry
Authors: Akdur Deniz
Published: October 2022

Many practitioners might struggle with becoming productive in different
software engineering (SE)
roles due to misalignment of the skills learnt during the university time with what is expected in the industry. Companies spend significant resources to train the personnel, whose academic backgrounds are not only based on “computing disciplines”. Hiring properly trained practitioners allows employers to spend less time while incorporating them more efficiently into the workforce; for employees, knowing the most important skillset is helpful to increase their chance of employability. On the other hand, for academia, understanding the necessary skillset is critical to make curriculum updates. To achieve these objectives, we conducted a survey, which was responded to by 628 software practitioners, who completed their undergraduate degree in Turkey, working in 13 countries. This paper sheds light on the most important (hard and soft) skills in the industry by presenting various cross-factor analyses as well as their coverage in the academic curriculum (mostly in Turkish universities). The results showed that the most important skills are related to various factors such as profiles of the practitioners (e.g., SE role(s), work experience) and the characteristics of the product developed by the practitioner. The findings revealed that both academia and industry should invest in skills improvement: academia can make necessary educational updates according to industrial needs; whereas industry can provide practical experiences to students. By creating the awareness of the expected skillset, both practitioners and academics will benefit from the results, which help close the gaps that can and should be achieved through more
Industry Academia Collaborations (IACs)
.
Low-Latency Speculative Inference on Distributed Multi-Modal Data Streams
Authors: Li Tianxing , Huang Jin , Risinger Erik , Ganesan Deepak
Published: October 2022

While multi-modal deep learning is useful in distributed sensing tasks like human tracking, activity recognition, and audio and video analysis, deploying state-of-the-art multi-modal models in a wirelessly networked sensor system poses unique challenges. The data sizes for different modalities can be highly asymmetric (e.g., video vs. audio), and these differences can lead to significant delays between streams in the presence of wireless dynamics. Therefore, a slow stream can significantly slow down a multimodal inference system in the cloud, leading to either increased latency (when blocked by the slow stream) or degradation in inference accuracy (if inference proceeds without waiting).
“SPEEK-COF” Composite Cation Exchange Membrane for Zn-I2 Redox Flow Battery
Authors: Chola Noufal Merukan , Bavdane Priyanka P. , Nagarale Rajaram K.
Published: October 2022

Zinc-based energy storage is increasingly getting attention owing to its outstanding characteristics over to the other systems. Their high abundance, user-friendliness, environmental benignity, and low reduction potential which can avoid unwanted hydrogen evolution are some of the attractive features. Appropriate membrane selection for the zinc-based redox flow battery is challenging. Herein we report the composite of SPEEK (sulfonated polyether ether ketones) with covalent organic frameworks (COF) as a potential membrane for zinc-based redox flow battery. Biphenyl-based knitting type COF was prepared, post sulfonated and blended with SPEEK. In a Zn/I2 redox flow battery system, the discharge capacity was found to be 19.8 AhL−1, 17.4 AhL−1, 15.1 AhL−1 for 20%, 15%, 10% SCOF loading respectively against 14.5 AhL−1 for pristine SPEEK at 20 mAcm−2 current density. The capacity was improved by about 36% higher than the neat SPEEK membrane. This improvement in the battery performance might be due to the higher ionic conductivity and hydrophilicity after SCOF loading. We found that the 15% loading was the maximum limit for the battery performance, beyond which the energy efficiency was found to be fading, which is due to the excessive dendrite growth on the membrane surface.