bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recombinant ovine prion protein can be mutated at position 136 to improve its efficacy as an inhibitor of prion propagation
Authors: Kopycka Katarzyna , Maddison Ben C. , Gough Kevin C.
Published: March 2023

Prion diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders with no effective therapeutics. The central event leading to the pathology in the diseases is the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc and its accumulation in the central nervous system. Previous studies demonstrated that recombinant PrP (rPrP) and PrP peptides can inhibit the formation of PrPSc. Here, the effectiveness of ovine rPrP mutants at codon 136 and peptides derived from this region were assessed for their ability to inhibit PrPSc replication, using protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). Based on a rPrP VRQ (rVRQ) genotype background (positions 136, 154 and 171) and mutations at position 136, the most effective inhibitors were V136R, V136K and V136P mutants, with IC50 values of 1 to 2 nM; activities much more potent than rVRQ (114 nM). rRRQ and rKRQ were also shown to effectively inhibit multiple ruminant prion amplification reactions that used distinct prion strain seeds and substrate PRNP genotypes. rRRQ, rKRQ and rPRQ were also shown to effectively protect Rov9 cells from scrapie infection when applied at 250 nM. The study demonstrates for the first time that the rPrP sequence can be mutated at sites known to be involved in prion disease susceptibility, to produce inhibitors with improved efficacy.
Top-down effect of dialogue coherence on perceived speaker identity
Authors: Warnke Lena , de Ruiter Jan P.
Published: March 2023

A key mechanism in the comprehension of conversation is the ability for listeners to recognize who is speaking and when a speaker switch occurs. Some authors suggest that speaker change detection is accomplished through bottom-up mechanisms in which listeners draw on changes in the acoustic features of the auditory signal. Other accounts propose that speaker change detection involves drawing on top-down linguistic representations to identify who is speaking. The present study investigates these hypotheses experimentally by manipulating the pragmatic coherence of conversational utterances. In experiment 1, participants listened to pairs of utterances and had to indicate whether they heard the same or different speakers. Even though all utterances were spoken by the same speaker, our results show that when two segments of conversation are spoken by the same speaker but make sense for different speakers to say, listeners report hearing different speakers. In experiment 2 we removed pragmatic information from the same stimuli by scrambling word order while leaving acoustic information intact. In contrast to experiment 1, results from the second experiment indicate no difference between our experimental conditions. We interpret these results as a top-down effect of pragmatic expectations: knowledge of conversational structure at least partially determines a listener’s perception of speaker changes in conversation.
Regardless of personality, males show similar levels of plasticity in territory defense in a Neotropical poison frog
Authors: Peignier Mélissa , Bégué Lauriane , Ringler Max , Szabo Birgit , Ringler Eva
Published: March 2023

Animal personality traits are sometimes linked to an individual’s degree of plasticity, with certain personality types being more plastic than others. In territorial species, consistently high levels of aggression might increase the risk of harmful fights, while consistently low aggression might lead to the loss of a territory. Consequently, reacting plastically with an appropriate territorial response should be beneficial to avoid these risks. An integrative investigation of both personality traits and plasticity can help us better understand the dynamics of aggressive interactions during male-male competition. Here, we used a free-ranging Neotropical poison frog population to investigate the role of plasticity in male territorial aggression towards intruders. We conducted repeated standardized territorial intrusion experiments mimicking frogs of different body sizes via playback calls with different peak frequencies. We found individual repeatability for the latency to reach and approach a simulated intruder and observed that both aggressive and less aggressive males decreased their level of aggression towards big intruders. However, our results do not support a correlation between personality and plasticity in the context of male territory defense during the breeding season. We discuss how such a correlation between personality and plasticity might be conditional on the costs and benefits across contexts.
The endometrial microbiota of women with or without a live birth within 12 months after a first failed IVF/ICSI cycle
Authors: Bui Bich Ngoc , van Hoogenhuijze Nienke , Viveen Marco , Mol Femke , Teklenburg Gijs , de Bruin Jan-Peter , Besselink Dagmar , Brentjens Linda Stevens , Mackens Shari , Rogers Malbert R. C. , Steba Gaby S. , Broekmans Frank , Paganelli Fernanda L. , van de Wijgert Janneke H. H. M.
Published: March 2023

The endometrial microbiota composition may be associated with implantation success. However, a ‘core’ composition has not yet been defined. This exploratory study analysed the endometrial microbiota by 16S rRNA sequencing (V1–V2 region) of 141 infertile women whose first IVF/ICSI cycle failed and compared the microbiota profiles of women with and without a live birth within 12 months of follow-up, and by infertility cause and type. Lactobacillus was the most abundant genus in the majority of samples. Women with a live birth compared to those without had significantly higher Lactobacillus crispatus relative abundance (RA) (p = 0.029), and a smaller proportion of them had ≤ 10% L. crispatus RA (42.1% and 70.4%, respectively; p = 0.015). A smaller proportion of women in the male factor infertility group had ≤ 10% L. crispatus RA compared to women in the unexplained and other infertility causes groups combined (p = 0.030). Women with primary infertility compared to secondary infertility had significantly higher L. crispatus RA (p = 0.004); lower proportions of them had ≤ 10% L. crispatus RA (p = 0.009) and > 10% Gardnerella vaginalis RA (p = 0.019). In conclusion, IVF/ICSI success may be associated with L. crispatus RA and secondary infertility with endometrial dysbiosis, more often than primary infertility. These hypotheses should be tested in rigorous well-powered longitudinal studies.
Terahertz graphene-based multi-functional anisotropic metamaterial and its equivalent circuit model
Authors: Asgari Somayyeh , Fabritius Tapio
Published: March 2023

In this paper, a graphene-based multi-functional anisotropic metamaterial composed of two finite parallel graphene ribbons in each unit cell is designed and proposed in the 0.1–5.5 terahertz (THz) region. Simulations are performed by the finite element method (FEM) in the frequency-domain solver of CST Software. An equivalent circuit modeling (ECM) as a simplified approach has been provided by a MATLAB code to model the performance of the metamaterial. The metastructure is polarization-sensitive because of the geometric non-symmetry. The absorption/reflection spectrum of the metamaterial is dynamically tunable by changing the Fermi energy level of the graphene. The introduced metamaterial can act as a THz switch and inverter at 1.23 and 4.21 THz. It acts as an ON state when the incident electric field is in the x-direction and acts as an OFF state when the incident electric field is in the y-direction. It can also act as a bi-functional mirror: a triple-band mirror for the incident electric field in the x-direction and an ultra-broadband mirror for the incident electric field in the y-direction. The proposed metamaterial has a maximum absorption of 100%, maximum linear dichroism (LD) of 100%, and a maximum switching extinction ratio of 33.01 dB. The metamaterial and its applications could be used as a potential platform in future THz devices and systems.
Age and sex differences in the effectiveness of intradialytic resistance training on muscle function
Authors: Zelko Aurel , Rosenberger Jaroslav , Kolarcik Peter , Madarasova Geckova Andrea , van Dijk Jitse P. , Reijneveld Sijmen A.
Published: March 2023

Previous research shows the beneficial effects of an intradialytic resistance training (IRT) on muscle function in haemodialysis patients. However, patients vary highly in their functional responses to IRT, may be due to effects of age and sex heterogeneities in adaptation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the degree to which the effects of IRT on the muscle function of haemodialysis patients vary by age and sex. We included 57 patients who completed a 12-week IRT (EXG) and 33 patients who received no IRT (CNG) during haemodialysis. Muscle function (MF) was assessed using dynamometry before and after a 12-week intervention and after a 12-week follow-up. After the 12-week intervention, we found a moderation effect of age in the relative (%) change (p = 0.011) and absolute (Δ) change (p = 0.027) of MF, and a moderation effect of sex in %MF (p = 0.001), but not in ΔMF (p = 0.069). Regarding patients’ age, the change of MF was only significantly different between EXG and CNG patients aged 60–70 years (%MF, EXG: + 34.6%, CNG: − 20.1%, p < 0.001; ΔMF, EXG: + 44.4 N, CNG: − 22.1 N, p < 0.001). Regarding patients’ sex, the change of MF was only significantly different between EXG and CNG female patients (%MF, EXG: + 23.9%, CNG: − 23.6%, p < 0.001). Age and sex did not significantly moderate changes in MF measures after 12 weeks of follow-up. We conclude that both age and sex of haemodialysis patients affect their functional response to IRT in the short term.

Trial Registration: Intradialytic Resistance Training in Haemodialysis Patients (IRTHEP)—#NCT03511924, 30/04/2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03511924.
Melanopic irradiance defines the impact of evening display light on sleep latency, melatonin and alertness
Authors: Schöllhorn Isabel , Stefani Oliver , Lucas Robert J. , Spitschan Manuel , Slawik Helen C. , Cajochen Christian
Published: March 2023

Evening light-emitting visual displays may disrupt sleep, suppress melatonin and increase alertness. Here, we control melanopic irradiance independent of display luminance and colour, in 72 healthy males 4 h before habitual bedtime and expose each of them to one of four luminance levels (i.e., dim light, smartphone, tablet or computer screen illuminance) at a low and a high melanopic irradiance setting. Low melanopic light shortens the time to fall asleep, attenuates evening melatonin suppression, reduces morning melatonin, advances evening melatonin onset and decreases alertness compared to high melanopic light. In addition, we observe dose-dependent increases in sleep latency, reductions in melatonin concentration and delays in melatonin onset as a function of melanopic irradiance—not so for subjective alertness. We identify melanopic irradiance as an appropriate parameter to mitigate the unwanted effects of screen use at night. Our results may help the many people who sit in front of screens in the evening or at night to fall asleep faster, feel sleepier, and have a more stable melatonin phase by spectrally tuning the visual display light without compromising the visual appearance.
Exchange field enhanced upper critical field of the superconductivity in compressed antiferromagnetic EuTe2
Authors: Sun Hualei , Qiu Liang , Han Yifeng , Zhang Yunwei , Wang Weiliang , Huang Chaoxin , Liu Naitian , Huo Mengwu , Li Lisi , Liu Hui , Liu Zengjia , Cheng Peng , Zhang Hongxia , Wang Hongliang , Hao Lijie , Li Man-Rong , Yao Dao-Xin , Hou Yusheng , Dai Pengcheng , Wang Meng
Published: March 2023

Understanding the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism has been a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. Here we report high pressure studies on the C-type antiferromagnetic semiconductor EuTe2 up to 36.0 GPa. A structural transition from the I4/mcm to the C2/m space group is identified at ~16 GPa. Superconductivity is observed above ~5 GPa in both structures. In the low-pressure phase, magnetoresistance measurements reveal strong couplings between the local moments of Eu2+ and the conduction electrons of Te 5p orbits. The upper critical field of superconductivity is well above the Pauli limit. While EuTe2 becomes nonmagnetic in the high-pressure phase and the upper critical field drops below the Pauli limit. Our results demonstrate that the high upper critical field of EuTe2 in the low-pressure phase is due to the exchange field compensation effect of Eu2+ and the superconductivity in both structures may arise in the framework of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory.
Asymmetric sulfonylation with sulfur dioxide surrogates: a new access to enantiomerically enriched sulfones
Authors: Zhang Jun , Wang Peiqi , Li Yanzhi , Wu Jie
Published: March 2023

In this highlight, we survey recent exciting advances in asymmetric sulfonylation by using sulfur dioxide surrogates, and discuss asymmetric induction modes, reaction mechanisms, substrate scope and opportunities for further studies.
Polyacrylamide gel as a new embedding medium for the enhancement of metabolite MALDI imaging
Authors: Yang Chenyu , Wu Ran , Liu Haiqiang , Qin Liang , Chen Lulu , Xu Hualei , Hu Hao , Li Jinrong , Guo Hua , Shi Yiyang , Jiang Dongxu , Hao Qichen , Feng Jinchao , Zhou Yijun , Liu Xiangyi , Li Gaopeng , Wang Xiaodong
Published: March 2023

Polyacrylamide gel (PAAG) as a novel embedding medium enhances the in situ detection and imaging of metabolites in biological fragile tissues (e.g., eyeballs) via MALDI-MSI.
Multiphase PCL semi-interpenetrating networks exhibiting the triple- and stress-free two-way shape memory effect
Authors: Uto Koichiro , Matsushita Yoshitaka , Ebara Mitsuhiro
Published: March 2023

The development of multiphase polymer networks by semi-IPNs composed of homologous polymers using poly(ε-caprolactone).
Initial yield of hydrated electron production from water radiolysis based on first-principles calculation
Authors: Kai Takeshi , Toigawa Tomohiro , Matsuya Yusuke , Hirata Yuho , Tezuka Tomoya , Tsuchida Hidetsugu , Yokoya Akinari
Published: March 2023

For water radiolysis, conventional simulation methods estimate free radical yields based on the cross-sections. Our results indicated that electron dynamic motion must be further solved to predict the initial yields of hydrated electrons.
Highly sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry detection method for levoglucosan based on Na+ enhancing its ionization efficiency
Authors: Yao Xiunan , Wang Ninglian , Zheng Xingwang , Li Quanlian , Santos Ewerton , Maharjan Linda , Wang Junjie , Guo Zhihui , Guo Jiahua , Zhang Huan , Zheng Kui , Wu Jingquan , Li Yao
Published: March 2023

Levoglucosan combined with Na+ has high ionization efficiency in positive ionization, a new simple, effective and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS detection method for levoglucosan in aqueous sample use [M + Na]+ as the precursor ion was developed.
One-dimensional organic metal halide nanoribbons with dual emission
Authors: Lee Sujin , Karkee Rijan , Ben-Akacha Azza , Luong Derek , Vellore Winfred J. S. Raaj , Lin Xinsong , Strubbe David A. , Ma Biwu
Published: March 2023

A 1D organic metal halide hybrid (C8H28N5Pb3Cl11) containing metal halide nanoribbons has been developed to exhibit efficient dual emission.
An umpolung strategy for chemically selective intermolecular cross-enolate-type coupling of N-alkenoxypyridinium salts with aldehydes
Authors: Dong Guichao , Jiang Mengfei , Wu Nan , Zhang Shengxiang , Zhu Huilong , Xu Zhou
Published: March 2023

Primary aldehydes are capable of cross-coupling with modified N-alkenoxyheteroarenium salts to construct C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds with good chemical selectivity, offering structurally diverse 1,4-ketoaldehydes under metal-catalyst-free and ambient-temperature conditions.
Effect of intermolecular interaction of the charge-transfer complex between molecular “tweezers” and C60/C70 on second-order nonlinear optical properties
Authors: Wang Li , Liu Yan-Li , Li Quan-Jiang , He Di , Chen Sheng-Hui , Wang Mei-Shan
Published: March 2023

Through increasing the volume of fullerene and embedding alkali metal ions, we could enhance intermolecular interactions and intermolecular CT significantly, thereby improving the second-order NLO properties of CT complexes.
Tuning the photochemical ring-closing reaction efficiency in diarylethene-based photoswitches through engineering of internal charge transfer
Authors: Baggi Nicolò , Léaustic Anne , Zhou Yang , Métivier Rémi , Maurel François , Yu Pei
Published: March 2023

The development of a tuning method of the photocyclization quantum yield (ΦOF-CF) of diarylethenes through tailored internal charge transfer (CT) is proposed through joint experimental and theoretical investigation of 8 switches.
Various surface-active agents used in flotation technology for the removal of noxious pollutants from wastewater: a critical review
Authors: Pooja G. , Senthil Kumar P.
Published: March 2023

Treating emerging pollutants from industrial effluent that cause inevitable damage to human wellness and the environment is paramount.
Visible-light-driven 3-hydroxybutyrate production from acetone and low concentrations of CO2 with a system of hybridized photocatalytic NADH regeneration and multi-biocatalysts
Authors: Kita Yu , Amao Yutaka
Published: March 2023

Visible-light-driven 3-hydroxybutyrate production from low-concentration CO2 and waste acetone was developed for the first time by using the system of hybridized photocatalytic NADH regeneration and multi-biocatalysts.
High-precision measurement of Cd isotopes in ultra-trace Cd samples using double spike-standard addition MC-ICP-MS
Authors: Chang Hui , Zhu Jian-Ming , Wang Xiangli , Gao Ting
Published: March 2023

A flowchart of obtaining Cd isotope ratios using double spike-standard addition MC-ICP-MS.
Ultrathin CuBi2O4 on a bipolar Bi2O3 nano-scaffold: a self-powered broadband photoelectrochemical photodetector with improved responsivity and response speed
Authors: Dong Boheng , Zhang Xinya , Cheng Hui , Jiang Xiang , Wang Fuxian
Published: March 2023

Bi2O3 nano-scaffold supported ultrathin CuBi2O4 exhibits improved light absorption and charge separation, enabling self-powered photodetection of broadband light with high responsivity (75 mA W−1) and response speed (0.18/0.19 ms).
A DFT study of Ni-catalyzed (3 + 3)-annulation between donor–acceptor cyclopropanes and diaziridines
Authors: Dai Song-Shan , Yang Xiao-jiao , Fang Ran , Kirillov Alexander M. , Yang Lizi
Published: March 2023

The mechanism and stereoselectivity of the Ni-catalyzed [3 + 3] annulation between donor–acceptor cyclopropanes (DACs) and diaziridines were rationalized by DFT calculations.
Associative learning mechanism for drug‐target interaction prediction
Authors: Zhu Zhiqin , Yao Zheng , Qi Guanqiu , Mazur Neal , Yang Pan , Cong Baisen
Published: March 2023

As a necessary process of modern drug development, finding a drug compound that can selectively bind to a specific protein is highly challenging and costly. Exploring drug‐target interaction strength in terms of drug‐target affinity (DTA) is an emerging and effective research approach for drug development. However, it is challenging to model drug‐target interactions in a deep learning manner, and few studies provide interpretable analysis of models. This paper proposes a DTA prediction method (mutual transformer‐drug target affinity [MT‐DTA]) with interactive learning and an autoencoder mechanism. The proposed MT‐DTA builds a variational autoencoders system with a cascade structure of the attention model and convolutional neural networks. It not only enhances the ability to capture the characteristic information of a single molecular sequence but also establishes the characteristic expression relationship for each substructure in a single molecular sequence. On this basis, a molecular information interaction module is constructed, which adds information interaction paths between molecular sequence pairs and complements the expression of correlations between molecular substructures. The performance of the proposed model was verified on two public benchmark datasets, KIBA and Davis, and the results confirm that the proposed model structure is effective in predicting DTA. Additionally, attention transformer models with different configurations can improve the feature expression of drug/protein molecules. The model performs better in correctly predicting interaction strengths compared with state‐of‐the‐art baselines. In addition, the diversity of drug/protein molecules can be better expressed than existing methods such as SeqGAN and Co‐VAE to generate more effective new drugs. The DTA value prediction module fuses the drug‐target pair interaction information to output the predicted value of DTA. Additionally, this paper theoretically proves that the proposed method maximises evidence lower bound for the joint distribution of the DTA prediction model, which enhances the consistency of the probability distribution between actual and predicted values. The source code of proposed method is available at https://github.com/Lamouryz/Code/tree/main/MT‐DTA.
Queries allocation in WSNs with fuzzy control system
Authors: Abbassi Kamel , Ezzedine Tahar
Published: March 2023

Processing queries in wireless sensor networks causes quality of service challenges such as data latency and validity. In fact, this paper is going to shed light on identifying the right trade‐off between latency and the freshness of the data. For this purpose, a fuzzy logic‐based decision‐making system that assigns incoming queries either to the sensor network, where the queries are waiting to be processed into a queue, or a central database which provides stored and potentially stale data or to a cache server which in turn provides acceptable latency and recent data, is provided. Thus, a new rule‐based system decision is introduced, that minimizes the request latency and returns the most recent data. In addition, a comparison between the approach and other work that is restricted to the database server and sensor network with no focus on the caching server is provided. This paper is going to carry on with the theory of Markov Chain which is more complicated compared to the fuzzy logic system. This approach is confirmed in the basis of an experience is developed with python.
An analytical optimum method for simultaneous integration of PV, wind turbine and BESS to maximize technical benefits
Authors: Khoubseresht Omid , Rajabinezhad Mohamadamin , Mousazadeh Mousavi Seyyed Yousef
Published: March 2023

The present paper introduces an analytical approach for integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) into power grids. The given method aims to simultaneously identify optimal buses and capacities of DERs and BESSs, with regard to the responsive load demand along with the stochastic nature of wind turbine (WT) and photovoltaic (PV) units, and then to minimize energy losses and improve voltage profiles. For this purpose, the responsive load model, the uncertainties in the WT and PV units, and the BESSs are firstly modeled. Secondly, the output curve of BESSs is obtained so that demand and supply can be balanced effectively, so as to utilize the full‐potential output of DERs. Thirdly, a set of formulation is developed for simultaneous integration of the DERs and the BESSs. This formulation reflects on different levels of loads and DERs for each period as well as each segment with their corresponding probability density. Finally, the proposed method is tested on the standard IEEE 33‐bus network. These results verify that sizing and sitting of DERs and BESSs can significantly shape the planning results of DERs and increase their penetration in the power grids at the same time.
An improved generative adversarial network for remote sensing image super‐resolution
Authors: Guo Jifeng , Lv Feicai , Shen Jiayou , Liu Jing , Wang Mingzhi
Published: March 2023

Spatial resolution is an important indicator that measures the quality of remote sensing images. Image texture has been successfully recovered by generative adversarial networks in deep learning super‐resolution (SR) methods. However, the existing methods are prone to image texture distortion. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes an improved generative adversarial network to enhance the super‐resolution reconstruction effect of medium‐ and low‐resolution (LR) remote sensing images. This network is based on the Super Resolution Generative Adversarial Network (SRGAN), which makes great improvements in the structure of the connection between the inside and outside of the residual block and the design of the model loss function. At the same time, the G1–G2–G3 structure between residuals effectively combines the image information of the three scales of small, medium and large. The model loss function can be designed based on the Charbonnier loss function to narrow the pixel distance between the reconstructed remote sensing image and the original image. Furthermore, targeted perceptual loss can direct the network to restore the texture details of the image according to the semantic category. The subjective and objective evaluation of the generated images and the ablation experiments prove that compared with SRGAN and other networks, our method can generate more realistic and reliable textures. Additionally, the indicators [peak signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), multiscale structural similarity (MS‐SSIM)] used to measure the quality of the reconstructed image obtain improved objective quantitative evaluation.
Non‐negative low‐rank adaptive preserving sparse matrix regression model for supervised image feature selection and classification
Authors: Chen Xiuhong , Zhu Xingyu , Lu Yun , Pu Zhifang
Published: March 2023

The sparse matrix regression (SMR) model for the feature selection method has attracted much attention. However, most existing models do not consider the globality and adaptively preserve the local structure of the image data in projection space. To settle such issues, an adaptive non‐negative low‐rank preserving SMR model for supervised image feature selection is proposed. It first uses the low‐rank representation with non‐negative constraint to capture the globality and more discriminative information of image data and makes the error matrix in self‐representation of training data sparse. Next, the non‐negative low‐rank representation coefficients are used to establish a graph matrix learning model to reveal the local manifold structure of the image data. Thus, the proposed model enhances the discriminative ability as well as performs feature selection by the obtained transformation matrix. Finally, an alternating iterative algorithm for solving this model is developed and its convergence and complexity are also analyzed. Experimental results on some image data sets show that the proposed algorithm is effective for images and its recognition ability is obviously superior to other existing methods. In addition, the proposed method is also applied to two scene image classifications to further verify its effectiveness.
A differentiated decision‐making algorithm for automated vehicles based on pedestrian feature estimation
Authors: Wang Yuning , Huang Heye , Zhang Bo , Wang Jianqiang
Published: March 2023

One critical difficulty to high‐level automated driving is the decision‐making process of automated vehicles in complicated traffic environments, especially in situations mixed of pedestrians and vehicles. This paper proposes a differentiated decision‐making algorithm to promote passing capability and efficiency in mixed traffic conditions. First, the behavioural characteristic of pedestrians, denoted as the pedestrian feature index, is estimated by a multi‐layer perception module input with quantitative analysis of pedestrian action. Based on estimation results, the decision algorithm merges pedestrian feature index into intelligent driver model and adjusts corresponding parameters, which used to be unchangeable so that the ego‐vehicle can make differential decisions according to various pedestrian features. Validation on the PIE dataset shows that the accuracy of pedestrian feature estimation is ensured. A simulation scenario is established utilizing cellular automata, and the results indicate that the proposed decision‐making algorithm can greatly improve passing efficiency under safety and manoeuvrability prerequisite.
Whether and how congested is a road? Indices, updating strategy and a vision‐based detection framework
Authors: Gao Fei , You Shengzhe , Wang Jinchao , Zhang Shifeng , Xie Di
Published: March 2023

Traffic congestion detection method based on surveillance video is gradually widely used in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Due to complex challenges such as weather change, vehicle occlusion, camera jitter, camera installation location, and so on, current methods are difficult to balance in real time and accuracy. Here, a new real‐time and robust traffic congestion detection framework and a vision‐based multi‐dimensional congestion detection model are proposed. Firstly, the framework introduces an object detector based on the lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN) and an efficient multi‐object IoU‐like tracker to obtain traffic dynamic information in real time. Then, traffic density, traffic velocity, and duration of instantaneous congestion are defined and a multi‐dimensional congestion detection model is established. Furthermore, an adaptive updating strategy of dynamic parameters is investigated. Finally, in multiple groups of comparative experiments, the framework is verified to be applicable to a variety of lightweight CNN detectors and IoU‐like trackers. The precision and recall of the multi‐dimensional congestion model can reach 95.1% and 92.1% respectively, with 43FPS. The comparative experimental results show that the proposed method is real‐time, more robust and accurate, and can be employed for online traffic congestion detection based on surveillance video.
Calculating QCD Phase Diagram Trajectories of Nuclear Collisions using a Semi-analytical Model
Authors: Mendenhall Todd , Lin Zi-Wei
Published: March 2023

At low to moderate collision energies where the parton formation time τF is not small compared to the nuclear crossing time, the finite nuclear thickness significantly affects the energy density ϵ(t) and net conserved-charge densities such as the net-baryon density nB(t) produced in heavy ion collisions. As a result, at low to moderate energies the trajectory in the QCD phase diagram is also affected by the finite nuclear thickness. Here, we first discuss our semi-analytical model and its results on ϵ(f), nR(t), nQ(t), and ns(t) in central Au+Au collisions. We then compare the T(t), μB(t), μQ(t), and μS(t) extracted with the ideal gas equation of state (EoS) with quantum statistics to those extracted with a lattice QCD-based EoS. We also compare the T-μB trajectories with the RHIC chemical freezeout data. Finally, we discuss the effect of transverse flow on the trajectories.
Higher-order moments of net-proton and the QCD phase structure
Authors: Ko Ho San
Published: March 2023

Higher-order cumulants of the conserved quantities and their ratios are powerful tools to study the properties of QGP and explore the QCD phase structure, such as critical point and/or the first-order phase transition boundary. In this proceedings, we present the recent results of the higher-order cumulants and ratios at different collision energies. We compare the results with hadronic transport model, Hadron Resonance Gas model, and QCD thermodynamic calculations and discuss the physics implications. Additionally, we mention the near future cumulant analyses and an initial volume fluctuation issue.
Global spin alignment of ɸ and K*0 vector mesons in Au+Au collisions from RHIC BES-II program
Authors: Wilks Gavin ,   for the STAR Collaboration
Published: March 2023

Global spin alignment is a preferential alignment of a particle’s spin along the orbital angular momentum produced in heavy-ion collisions. The global spin alignment of vector mesons (JP = 1−) ϕ and K*0 may be sensitive to the vorticity in the medium and hadronization mechanisms. The second phase of RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES-II) program provides higher statistics data sets for Au+Au collisions at √SNN = 7.7 - 19.6 GeV. From this data, we can make high precision measurements of ϕ and K*0 global spin alignment, allowing for more differential studies not possible with the BES-I data. We can also compare global spin alignment between ϕ and K*0, where the lifetime of ϕ is roughly ten times larger than that of K*0 and the latter is more sensitive to hadronic rescattering. We report high precision measurements for the global spin alignment of ϕ at √SNN = 19.6 GeV from BES-II.
Charmonium, Bc and X(3872) Transport at the LHC
Authors: Wu Biaogang , Tang Zhanduo , He Min , Rapp Ralf
Published: March 2023

We deploy a kinetic-rate equation to evaluate the transport of J/ψ, ψ(2S), Bc and X (3872) in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions and compare their production yields to experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider. The rate equation has two main transport parameters: the equilibrium limit and reaction rate for each state. The temperature-dependent equilibrium limits include charm- and bottom-quark fugacities based on their initial production. The reaction rates for charmonia, bottomonia and Bc rely on charm- and bottomquark masses and binding energies from a thermodynamic T-matrix approach. For the X (3872) particle, internal structure information is encoded in reaction rates and initial conditions in the hadronic phase via two different scenarios: a loosely bound hadronic molecule vs. a compact tetraquark.
Measurements of global and local polarization of hyperons in isobar collisions at 200 GeV from STAR
Authors: Gou Xingrui
Published: March 2023

In heavy-ion collisions, the observation of the global and local polarization of hyperons has revealed the existence of large vorticities perpendicular to reaction plane due to system’s orbital angular momentum and along beam direction due to collective velocity field, respectively. With the high-statistics data from isobar collisions of Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr at √SNN = 200 GeV collected by the STAR experiment, we present differential measurements of global polarization for Λ/Λ¯ as a function of centrality. These measurements allow us to study the possible magnetic field driven effects through the polarization difference between Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr, owing to a larger magnetic field in the former. Furthermore, the first measurements of Λ hyperon local polarization along beam direction relative to the third-order event plane as well as the second-order event plane are presented. A comparison of results from isobar and Au+Au collisions provides important new insights into the collision system size dependence of the vorticities in heavy-ion collisions.
Estimate of a nonflow baseline for the chiral magnetic effect in isobar collisions at RHIC
Authors: Feng Yicheng
Published: March 2023

Recently, STAR reported the isobar (4496Ru + 4496Ru, 4096Zr + 4096Zr) results for the chiral magnetic effect (CME) search. The Ru+Ru to Zr+Zr ratio of the CME-sensitive observable Δγ, normalized by elliptic anisotropy (υ2), is observed to be close to the inverse multiplicity (N) ratio. In other words, the ratio of the NΔγ/υ2 observable is close to the naive background baseline of unity. However, nonflow correlations are expected to cause the baseline to deviate from unity. To further understand the isobar results, we decompose the nonflow contributions to NΔγ/υ2 (isobar ratio) into three terms and quantify each term by using the nonflow in υ2 measurement, published STAR data, and HIJING simulation. From these studies, we estimate a nonflow baseline of the isobar ratio of NΔγ/υ2 for the CME and discuss its implications.
Effizienz im OP – korrelieren Zahlen und Benchmarks tatsächlich mit einer Kapazitätsoptimierung?
Authors: Schüpfer Guido , Scherzinger Bernhard , Mauch Jacqueline
Published: March 2023

Die Effizienz eines OP-Betriebes trägt wesentlich zur Performance einer chirurgischen Klinik bei. Durch das Erreichen einer vordefinierten OP-Auslastung mittels optimierter Prozesse wird
der größtmögliche Deckungsbeitrag pro OP-Stunde für eine Disziplin angestrebt. Ineffizienzen wie Unpünktlichkeit, lange Wechselzeiten, Fallabsagen, fehlende Standardisierungen in Prozessen
und Materialeinsatz werden konsequent monitorisiert und verbessert. Zur zweckdienlichen Steuerung des OP-Betriebes ist ein mehrdimensionales Kennzahlensystem Voraussetzung. Eine enge
Verzahnung des OP-Prozesses mit dem perioperativen Geschehen ermöglicht eine optimierte präoperative Verweildauer und steuert die mittlere Aufenthaltsdauer im Krankenhaus mit. Überlastungen
des Personals sind zu vermeiden und genügend Kapazitäten für Notfälle so vorzuhalten, dass diese zeitgerecht versorgt werden können. In einem ersten Schritt sind für die erhobenen Kennzahlen
Sollwerte zu definieren, damit Verbesserungen ausgelöst werden können. Durch Managementmaßnahmen, die auch auf mathematischen Ansätzen wie der Queuing-Theorie beruhen können, ist die
Variabilität der Nachfrage zu senken und für die richtige Bereitstellung der Notfallkapazitäten zu sorgen.
Geburtsvorbereitung des Beckens aus osteopathischer
Sicht
Authors: Fisahn Barbara
Published: March 2023

Für eine komplikationsfreie Geburt müssen alle Beckengelenke und
deren angrenzende Strukturen frei beweglich sein. Die Autorin vermittelt anhand
anschaulicher Praxisbeispiele, was eine Geburtsvorbereitung des Beckens aus
osteopathischer Sicht kennzeichnet, wie Hebammen einzelne Aspekte in ihre
Betreuung aufnehmen können und wann es sinnvoll sein kann, eine
Osteopath*in hinzuzuziehen.
Geburtsvorbereitung im Kontext von Mythos und Evidenz
Authors: Büthe Kirstin , Schwenger-Fink Cornelia
Published: March 2023

Himbeerblättertee, Dammmassage, Heublumenauflage – wenn es um die
Vorbereitung der Geburt geht, erhalten Schwangere oft Empfehlungen, die aus dem
Erfahrungsschatz von Hebammen stammen. Doch für manche dieser
Maßnahmen fehlen wissenschaftliche Nachweise, die ihre Wirksamkeit eindeutig
belegen. Die Autorinnen dieses Artikels haben eine Literaturrecherche
durchgeführt, um gängige Empfehlungen hinsichtlich ihrer Evidenzlage
zu überprüfen.
Vertical and Leg Stiffness Modeling During Running: Effect of Speed
and Incline
Authors: Meyer Frédéric , Falbriard Mathieu , Aminian Kamiar , Millet Gregoire P
Published: March 2023

A spring mass model is often used to describe human running, allowing to
understand the concept of elastic energy storage and restitution. The stiffness
of the spring is a key parameter and different methods have been developed to
estimate both the vertical and the leg stiffness components. Nevertheless, the
validity and the range of application of these models are still debated. The aim
of the present study was to compare three methods (i. e., Temporal,
Kinetic and Kinematic-Kinetic) of stiffness determination. Twenty-nine healthy
participants equipped with reflective markers performed 5-min running bouts at
four running speeds and eight inclines on an instrumented treadmill surrounded
by a tri-dimensional motion camera system. The three methods provided valid
results among the different speeds, but the reference method (i. e.,
Kinematic-Kinetic) provided higher vertical stiffness and lower leg stiffness
than the two other methods (both p<0.001). On inclined terrain, the
method using temporal parameters provided non valid outcomes and should not be
used. Finally, this study highlights that both the assumption of symmetry
between compression and decompression phases or the estimation of the vertical
displacement and changes in leg length are the major sources of errors when
comparing different speeds or different slopes.
A Novel Technique Restores Function while Eliminating Intractable Neuropathic Pain in a 71-Year-Old Diabetic Patient under Challenging Injury Conditions
Authors: Micheo William F. , Foy Christian A. , Kuffler Damien P.
Published: March 2023

Background The extent of functional recovery induced in healthy patients by sensory nerve grafts, the clinical “gold standard” technique for repairing peripheral nerves with a gap, is significantly limited by increasing gap length, time between trauma and repair, and patient age. When the values of any two, or all three, variables increase simultaneously, there is little to no recovery. For diabetic patients, even under the best of conditions and without any large variables, the extent of axon regeneration and functional recovery is significantly less, but generally none. Therefore, novel techniques are required that enhance recovery in diabetic patients.

Methods A 12-cm long median nerve gap in the wrist/palm of a 71-year-old male long-term diabetic patient was bridged 1.3 years post nerve injury with a sural nerve graft within a platelet-rich plasma-filled collagen tube.

Results By 2 months post-repair, the patient's level 6 chronic neuropathic pain was permanently eliminated. By 6.75 months, the palm had recovered good sensitivity to stimuli of all sensory modalities, including 4.56 g pressure and less than 15 mm two-point discrimination. Each finger had good motor function of M3–5, with partial to complete sensitivity to stimuli of all sensory modalities and an overall recovery of S3.

Conclusion This technique permanently eliminates severe chronic neuropathic pain while simultaneously inducing good motor and sensory recovery in a long-term diabetic patient, under conditions where recovery is rarely, if ever, seen, even in non-diabetic patients. This technique holds great promise of restoring function to diabetic patients, for whom it is otherwise not possible.
BMP2 and GDF5 for Compartmentalized Regeneration of the Scapholunate Ligament
Authors: Lui Hayman , Vaquette Cedryck , Denbeigh Janet M. , Bindra Randy , van Wijnen Andre J. , Kakar Sanjeev
Published: March 2023

Background Chronic injuries to the scapholunate ligament (SLIL) alter carpal kinematics and may progress to early degenerative osteoarthritis. To date, there is no consensus for the best method for SLIL reconstruction. This study aims to assess the use of growth factors (bone morphogenetic protein [BMP]2 and growth and differentiation factor 5 [GDF5]) for compartmentalized regeneration of bone and ligament in this multiphasic scaffold in a rabbit knee model.

Case Description A total of 100 µg of BMP2 and 30 µg of GDF5 were encapsulated into a heparinized gelatin–hyaluronic acid hydrogel and loaded into the appropriate compartment of the multiphasic scaffold. The multiphasic scaffold was implanted to replace the native rabbit medial collateral ligament (n = 16). The rabbits were randomly assigned to two different treatment groups. The first group was immobilized postoperatively with the knee pinned in flexion with K-wires for 4 weeks (n = 8) prior to sacrifice. The second group was immobilized for 4 weeks, had the K-wires removed followed by a further 4 weeks of mobilization prior to sample harvesting.

Literature Review Heterotopic ossification as early as 4 weeks was noted on gross dissection and confirmed by microcomputed tomography and histological staining. This analysis revealed formation of a bony bridge located within and over the ligament compartment in the intra-articular region. Biomechanical testing showed increased ultimate force of the ligament compartment at 4 weeks postimplantation consistent with the presence of bone formation and higher numbers of scaffold failures at the bone–tendon junction. This study has demonstrated that the addition of BMP2 and GDF5 in the bone–ligament–bone (BLB) scaffold resulted in heterotopic bone formation and failure of the ligament compartment.

Clinical Relevance The implantation of a three-dimensional-printed BLB scaffold alone demonstrated superior biomechanical and histological results, and further investigation is needed as a possible clinical reconstruction for the SLIL.
Field emission cathodes made from knitted carbon nanotube fiber fabrics
Authors: Fairchild Steven B. , Amanatides Chelsea E. , de Assis Thiago A. , Murray Paul T. , Tsentalovich Dmitri , Ellis Jeffrey L. , Portillo Salvador , Kanel Sushil R. , Bulmer John S. , Park Jeongho , Dion Genevieve , Boeckl John J.
Published: March 2023

Field electron emission cathodes were constructed from knitted fabrics comprised entirely of carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers. The fabrics consisted of a top layer array of ∼2 mm high looped structures and a bottom layer that was 1 mm thick with a flat underlying surface. Field emission (FE) experiments were performed on 25.4 mm diameter CNT fabric cathodes in both direct current (DC) and pulsed voltage (PV) modes, and the results were compared to those obtained from a CNT film cathode. The DC measurements were performed at a maximum voltage of 1.5 kV. The CNT fabric cathode emitted 20 mA, which was an 8× increase over the emission current from the CNT film cathode. The DC results were analyzed using the corrected form of the Fowler–Nordheim FE theory initially developed by Murphy and Good, which allows for the determination of the formal emission area and effective gap-field enhancement factor. The PV experiments resulted in Ampere level emission currents from both CNT fabric and CNT film cathodes. For a 25 kV, 500 ns voltage pulse, the CNT fabric cathode emitted 4 A, which was 2× more current than the CNT film cathode. Scanning electron microscopy imaging after PV testing revealed that the fibers remained intact after >5000 pulses. These results indicate that knitted CNT fabrics offer a promising approach for developing large area, conformable, robust FE cathodes for vacuum electronic devices.
High temperature spectroscopy of ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
Authors: Attrash Mohammed , Shtempluck Oleg , Buks Eyal
Published: March 2023

We study the spectroscopy of an ensemble of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond at high temperatures between room temperature and 700K under high vacuum conditions. Spin resonances are studied using optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR), and optical spectroscopy is employed to study radiative transitions. Upon increasing the temperature, the intensity of radiative decay in visible and infrared decreased. In addition, the ODMR resonance frequencies were decreased, and the phonon line emission shifted to higher wavelengths. Density functional theory calculation of the zero-field splitting parameter (D) revealed that thermal expansion is not enough to explain the shift in the ODMR frequencies. Fitting the measured intensity of photo-luminescence with the theoretical predictions of the Mott–Seitz model yields the value of 0.22eV for the energy barrier associated with nonradiative decay.