bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation on effect of water jet erosion parameters on HVOF sprayed Cr3C2-NiCr coatings on stainless steel: a mathematical approach
Authors: Arunkumar K , Thirumalaikumarasamy D , Thirumal P
Published: April 2022

Chromium carbides are major components in turbine blades due to their high wear resistance, low friction coefficient, and corrosion resistance at high temperature, typically manufactured by thermal spraying for coating applications. For their excellent oxidation and corrosion tolerance, high-speed thermal spray cermet coatings are commonly used to reduce wear at high temperatures and in corrosive conditions. Coatings based on Cr3C2-NiCr have been deposited by means of the HVOF thermal spraying technique on an AISI 304 steel substrate. Furthermore, the erosion behavior of the substrate and coated samples was tested using a water jet erosion test. The effect of water jet parameters, including angle of impingement, water jet velocity, standoff distance, and erodent discharge, on the erosion rate was systematically investigated. Experiments were conducted on the basis of the core composite architecture and the surface response approach for the creation of multiple regression models. Through the analysis of variance, the precision of the regression models was sufficient to establish associations between input parameters and responses. Results revealed that the most prevailing factor impacting the erosion rate of the coatings, followed by water jet velocity, standoff distance, and eroding discharge, was the angle of impingement.
International Conference on Innovation and Application in Science and Technology (ICIAST 2021) December 21-23, 2021
Authors: Tripathi R. , Srivastava B. K. , Mishra R. K. , Singh P.
Published: April 2022

We are very pleased to present the conference proceedings of ICIAST-2021. The conference has been organized in virtual mode due to worldwide COVID Protocol and safety measures by Department of Applied Sciences, Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India during December, 21-23, 2021, in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

In this conference approx. 300 young researchers, engineers, scientists, academicians and industrial delegates participated from more than 20 countries of the globe on common virtual platform of zoom to share and exchange their research findings including theoretical results, novel scientific models and work in progress in the different areas of Science & Technology. During virtual conversations participants from remote areas faced sometime network issues but overall communication was good throughout the even. More than 30 international resource persons from different fields share their expertise with the young academicians and researcher with case studies and concrete examples within allowed time span. The scientific & technical program of the three days international conference have review talks, invited lectures, contributed oral presentations.

This proceeding includes papers from Physics, Mathematics and their applications. A sound understanding of the same shall help emergence of new ideas that can be helpful in building trained professionals who can serve in the knowledge-based industries. We are pleased to appreciate our dynamic reviewers who took time and effort for providing their valuable comments in time and help towards the improvement of quality of papers through rigours review process.

List of Organizing Committee, image, ICIAST-2021 Proceeding Editorial Team are available in this pdf.
Scaling Theory for Driven Polymer Translocation through a Double Nanopore
Authors: Bhattacharya Aniket
Published: April 2022

We study DNA translocation through a double nanopore system subject to a net bias using Brownian dynamics simulation on a model system. We consider the limit dLR < < L, where dLR
is the distance between the pores and L = Nσ is the contour length of the chain consisting of N monomers of diameter σ. In this limit, we generalize a scaling ansatz for the mean first passage time, originally proposed for the driven translocation through a single nanopore, for the double nanopore system and demonstrate its validity using simulation data. The simulation data enables us to extract the pore friction as a function of the chain stiffness. The method can be used to determine the mean first passage time 〈τ〉 for longer chains difficult to extract from BD simulation.
Visualization by optical fluorescence of two-phase flow in a three-dimensional porous medium
Authors: Brodin Joachim Falck , Moura Marcel , Toussaint Renaud , Måløy Knut Jørgen , Rikvold Per Arne
Published: April 2022

Slow flow of a single fluid through a porous medium is well understood on a macroscopic level through Darcy’s law, a linear relation between flow rate and a combination of pressure differences, viscosity, and gravitational forces. Two-phase flow is complicated by the interface separating the fluids, but understanding of two-dimensional, two-phase flow has been obtained from experiments using transparent cells. In most three-dimensional media, however, visual observation is difficult. Here, we present preliminary results of experiments on a model medium consisting of randomly packed glass spheres, in which one fluorescent liquid invades another. By refractive index matching and scanning with a sheet-shaped laser beam, we obtain slices of the flow patterns, which we combine into three-dimensional pictures. We observe a compact region of invading fluid, surrounded by finger-like protrusions. The compact region becomes more dominant with increasing invader flow rate. The patterns are theoretically analyzed in terms of the interplay between gravitational, viscous, and capillary forces.
Fast simulation of a large polymer with untruncated interaction near the collapse transition
Authors: Schnabel Stefan , Janke Wolfhard
Published: April 2022

We show how polymer models with untruncated intra-molecular interactions and continuous degrees of freedom can be investigated by means of Monte Carlo techniques even for large systems. To this end we adapt Clisby’s method for the simulation of self-avoiding walks and introduce a novel way to implement the well-known Metropolis algorithm.
GPU molecular dynamics: Algorithms and performance
Authors: Rapaport D C
Published: April 2022

A previous study of MD algorithms designed for GPU use is extended to cover more recent developments in GPU architecture. Algorithm modifications are described, togther with extensions to more complex systems. New measurements include the effects of increased parallelism on GPU performance, as well as comparisons with multiple-core CPUs using multitasking based on CPU threads and message passing. The results show that the GPU retains a significant performance advantage.
Study, implementation and testing of radiation tolerant design for testability solutions for CMS OT FE ASICs
Authors: Bergamin G. , Caratelli A. , Ceresa D. , Kloukinas K. , Scarfì S. , Nookala A.
Published: April 2022

The MPA and SSA development is approaching the production phase with an approximate volume of more than 200k ASICs, corresponding to 1200 wafers. The limited manufacturing yield requires testing strategies able to identify defective units and guarantee the correct functionality of the tracker modules. This contribution presents innovative methods to replace the currently used functional tests for the digital part of the ASICs, showing limited testing accuracy and long testing time. The proposed solution exploits the concept of structural test and new testing algorithms such as Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) for general digital logic and March for memory elements. Design for Testability (DFT) hardware is integrated on chip to test SRAM memories, peripheral logic and MPA pixel array, providing internal control and observation points for the implementation of the those algorithms. Particular attention is given to power increase, timing and placement impact as well as radiation tolerance of the introduced circuitry, which must be fully transparent during the normal operation of the chip. A faster and more accurate testing approach is presented, from design methodology to implementation choices and silicon results, for a reliable and cost effective testing procedure.
Machine learning for real-time processing of ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter signals with FPGAs
Authors: Chiedde N.
Published: April 2022

The ATLAS experiment at CERN measures energy of proton-proton (p-p) collisions with a repetition frequency of 40 MHz at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The readout electronics of liquid-argon (LAr) calorimeters are being prepared for high luminosity-LHC (HL-LHC) operation as part of the phase-II upgrade, anticipating a pileup of up to 200 simultaneous p-p interactions. The increase of the number of p-p interactions implies that calorimeter signals of up to 25 consecutive collisions overlap, making energy reconstruction more challenging. In order to achieve the goal of the HL-HLC, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are used to process digitized pulses sampled at 40 MHz in real time and different machine learning approaches are being investigated to deal with signal pileup. The convolutional and recurrent neural networks outperform the optimal signal filter currently in use, both in terms of assigning the reconstructed energy to the correct proton bunch crossing and in terms of energy resolution. The enhancements are focused on energy obtained from overlapping pulses. Because the neural networks are implemented on an FPGA, the number of parameters, resource usage, latency and operation frequency must be carefully analysed. A very good agreement is observed between neural network implementations in FPGA and software.
Simulation of a Xe-based X-ray Polarimeter at 10–30 keV
Authors: Zhang J. , Cai X. , Huang Y. , Liu Q. , Xie F. , Li J. , Liu H.
Published: April 2022

Polarization detection of X-rays is a non-negligible topic
to astrophysical observation. Many polarization detection methods
have been well developed for X-rays in the energy range below
10 keV, while the detection at 10–30 keV is rarely
discussed. This paper presents a simulation study of a Xe-based gas
pixel detector, which can achieve the polarization detection of
X-rays at 10–30 keV. To verify the emission angle distribution of
photoelectrons, different electromagnetic models in Geant4 were
investigated. After a necessary modification by considering the
missing factor when sampling the emission angle, a good agreement
can be achieved. Moreover, the detection capability of 20 keV
polarized photons was discussed and the modulation factor of 43%
could be obtained.
Irrigated cropland expansion exacerbates the urban moist heat stress in northern India
Authors: Guo Qiang , Zhou Xudong , Satoh Yusuke , Oki Taikan
Published: April 2022

Agricultural irrigation has significantly reshaped the land surface energy and water balance. Previous studies have well investigated its cooling effect on air temperature (T
air). However, its effect on increasing air humidity which can intensify the humid heat was often overlooked, particularly over urban areas with high population density, high T
air, and consequently greater exposure to moist heat stress. In this study, using state-of-the-art reanalysis data at a high spatial resolution (∼9 km), we evaluated how changes in area equipped for irrigation (AEI) around a city affect urban moist heat stress (UMHS) in more than 1000 cities in China and India. In addition to T
air, wet-bulb temperature (T
WB) and wet-bulb globe temperature (T
WBG), which consider humidity and are closer to the perceived temperature, were assessed. We found that although AEI expansion lowers urban T
air, irrigation increases T
WB and T
WBG due to increased air humidity, thereby exacerbating the UMHS. This ‘warming’ effect of irrigation is more evident in northern India where AEI has expanded significantly in recent decades, and is prominent in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, when precipitation and air humidity are low. However, this effect is not evident in China due to the lower intensity of AEI expansion and differing climatic conditions. Overall, this study highlights the side-effect of irrigation on regional climate, providing crucial information for better understanding urban heat stress and for future city planning.
Thermal and structural studies of Bismuth Borate glasses modified with Gadolinium Oxide for solid state lighting applications
Authors: Prasanth M , Ravi N , Thyagarajan K , Venkata Krishnaiah K
Published: April 2022

Bismuth based borate glasses with combination B2O3 –Bi2O3 – Gd2O3 - K2O-Li2O (BBiGdKLi) were prepared by melt-quenching method at 1250 °C for thermal and structural properties investigation.. Glass transition temperature (Tg) was observed at 681 K in heat capacity (Cp) vs temperature plot. As the temperature increases the specific heat or heat capacity also increases but a sudden fall in Cp was noticed at 962 K which is known to be crystalline temperature (Tc) of BBiGdKLi glass. Borate units comprising non-bridging oxygen (NBO) such as υ(B-O-Gd/Bi/K/Li) occured due to asymmetric stretching vibration at 976 cm-1 revealed in Raman spectrum excited by 532 nm laser. B1s, Bi 4f and Gd 4d binding energies from the XPS spectra of BBiGdKLi glass are corresponding to 188.9, 156.35 & 161.75 and 156.35 & 161.7 eV, respectively. The thermal behavior of BBiGdKLi glass suggest that these glasses could be significant materials for solid state lighting applications.
Iron oxide nanoparticles mediated hyperthermia on cancer cell lines
Authors: Samuel Reinhard T , Khanum Umme Hani , Daniel Elcey C
Published: April 2022

Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. The technology can be used to treat cancer by the application of hyperthermia to magnetic nanoparticles and is found to be effective in cancer repression. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation method. Synthesized nanoparticles were ranging from 10 to 20nm size with Iron concentration of 6 μg. Cancer cell lines, A549 and HeLa, were subjected to hyperthermia treatment and the effect of iron oxide nanoparticles was analysed by Microscopic and Spectroscopic analysis, along with MTT assay in order to check the toxicity of the nanoparticles. Viability of the cells with respect to the concentration of the nanoparticles was determined. Under the influence of the electromagnetic field, iron oxide nanoparticles reduced the viability of the cancer cell lines ie., 44% after 5 minutes, 31% and 29% after 10 minutes of exposure.
Microstructural and mechanical characterization of HSLA X70 Welded joints using eddy current testing (ECT)
Authors: Bensaid N. , Benlamnouar M. F. , Badji R. , Saadi T. , Zidani M. , Gousmine M.
Published: April 2022

This paper proposes an approach for measuring the mechanical properties by non-destructive testing techniques using eddy current testing (ECT), for a welded and heat-treated microalloyed material (X70) dedicated to hydrocarbon transport. This study offers a new measurement method based on linear approach, to expect mechanical property in microstructures by using Non-destructive testing (ECT) that can apply to mechanical systems, materials, weldments, etc. The result show that hardness measurements are in broad have the same trend with impedance function which depend of heat treatment variable applied to weld joint.
Smart membrane absorbing electromagnetic waves based on polyvinyl chloride/graphene composites
Authors: Bouriche Sabrina , Makhlouf Mourad , Kadari Mohamed , Bakli Hind , Hamoumi Yacine , Benaicha Bouabdellah , Taibi Aicha , Benmaamar Zoubir
Published: April 2022

The rapid proliferation and intensive use of electronic devices have led to an increase in electronic pollution, such as electronic noise, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and radiofrequency interference (RFI), which cause malfunctions of electronic devices. The emergence of flexible polymer composites has a remarkable potential for electromagnetic shielding depending on their unique characteristics, such as their electrical, thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties, which are very useful for suppressing electromagnetic noise. Graphene (G) and its composites can serve as better shielding materials against these interferences due to their lightweight and high corrosion resistance. Researchers are still grappling with the need for flexible and scalable smart composite materials to prevent radioactive pollution from electronic devices. The inclusion of next-generation graphene (G) conductive fillers loaded with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) /graphene is the subject of our current research (G). Due to the absorption-dominated shielding process, the composite has an extraordinarily low percolation threshold and a high shielding efficiency (SE) against electromagnetic interference (EMI).The distribution and dispersion patterns of graphene particles in the matrix phase were validated by SEM electron micrographs. The composite, which contains just 40% graphene by weight, has an EMI SE value of 26 dB in the frequency range of 10 to 15 GHz and is only 2 mm thick.In this case, we believe that promoting a scalable and industrially viable G/PVC composite, which is a novel and strong candidate in the burgeoning field of high-stress electromagnetic shielding applications in the future, is the best option.
Supervised and semi-supervised 3D organ localisation in CT images combining reinforcement learning with imitation learning
Authors: Iyer Sankaran , Blair Alan , Dawes Laughlin , Moses Daniel , White Christopher , Sowmya Arcot
Published: April 2022

Computer aided diagnostics often requires analysis of a region of interest (ROI) within a radiology scan, and the ROI may be an organ or a suborgan. Although deep learning algorithms have the ability to outperform other methods, they rely on the availability of a large amount of annotated data. Motivated by the need to address this limitation, an approach to localisation and detection of multiple organs based on supervised and semi-supervised learning is presented here. It draws upon previous work by the authors on localising the thoracic and lumbar spine region in CT images. The method generates six bounding boxes of organs of interest, which are then fused to a single bounding box. The results of experiments on localisation of the Spleen, Left and Right Kidneys in CT Images using supervised and semi supervised learning (SSL) demonstrate the ability to address data limitations with a much smaller data set and fewer annotations, compared to other state-of-the-art methods. The SSL performance was evaluated using three different mixes of labelled and unlabelled data (i.e. 30:70,35:65,40:60) for each of lumbar spine, spleen left and right kidneys respectively. The results indicate that SSL provides a workable alternative especially in medical imaging where it is difficult to obtain annotated data.
Activation effect of soil available nitrogen, manganese and cobalt after addition of different fumigants
Authors: Yan Dongdong , Wang Qing , Song Zhaoxin , Fang Wensheng , Wang Qiuxia , Li Yuan , Cao Aocheng
Published: April 2022

Soil fumigation is a well-established method for controlling soil-borne diseases. Better quantification of soil available nitrogen and trace elements may provide recommendations on the safe and effective application of soil fumigants. The effects of four fumigants on the available soil nitrogen and trace elements (including Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd) were investigated in the laboratory incubation with agricultural soil. The results showed that soil fumigation increased soil mineral nitrogen and available Mn, Co, Ni. A significant increase of soil NH4
+-N and available Mn was observed in all fumigation treatments. Chloropicrin treatments showed the largest increase of soil NH4
+-N. In addition, chloropicrin and dazomet increased Mn and Co to a greater extent than dimethyl disulfide and 1,3-dichloropropene in soil. Available Mn content after chloropicrin fumigation has increased by 2.2 times compared with control treatments, and available Co content in dazomet treatments is also 2.8 times more than untreated control. In fumigated soil, the steady increase of soil available elements is beneficial to nutrient uptake by plants. Soil fumigation created an activation effect on soil mineral nitrogen and available trace elements, which may increase their bioavailability to plants and promote plant growth.
Near-field radiative heat transfer in hyperbolic materials
Authors: Liu Ruiyi , Zhou Chenglong , Zhang Yong , Cui Zheng , Wu Xiaohu , Yi Hongliang
Published: April 2022

In the post-Moore era, as the energy consumption of micro-nano electronic devices rapidly increases, near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT) with super-Planckian phenomena has gradually shown great potential for applications in efficient and ultrafast thermal modulation and energy conversion. Recently, hyperbolic materials, an important class of anisotropic materials with hyperbolic isofrequency contours, have been intensively investigated. As an exotic optical platform, hyperbolic materials bring tremendous new opportunities for NFRHT from theoretical advances to experimental designs. To date, there have been considerable achievements in NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, which range from the establishment of different unprecedented heat transport phenomena to various potential applications. This review concisely introduces the basic physics of NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, lays out the theoretical methods to address NFRHT for hyperbolic materials, and highlights unique behaviors as realized in different hyperbolic materials and the resulting applications. Finally, key challenges and opportunities of the NFRHT for hyperbolic materials in terms of fundamental physics, experimental validations, and potential applications are outlined and discussed.
On the exceptional zeros of 𝑝-non-ordinary 𝑝-adic 𝐿-functions and a conjecture of Perrin-Riou
Authors: Benois Denis , Büyükboduk Kâzım
Published: April 2022

Our goal in this article is to prove a form of

p
p

-adic Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer formula for the second derivative of the

p
p

-adic

L
L

-function associated to a newform

f
f

which is non-crystalline semistable at

p
p

at its central critical point, by expressing this quantity in terms of a

p
p

-adic (cyclotomic) regulator defined on an extended trianguline Selmer group. We also prove a two-variable version of this result for height pairings we construct by considering infinitesimal deformations afforded by a Coleman family passing through

f
f

. This, among other things, leads us to a proof of an appropriate version of Perrin-Riou’s conjecture in this set up.
Derangements and the 𝑝-adic incomplete gamma function
Authors: O’Desky Andrew , Richman David
Published: April 2022

We introduce a

p
p

-adic analogue of the incomplete gamma function. We also introduce quantities (

m
m

-values) associated to a function on natural numbers and prove a new characterization of

p
p

-adic continuity for functions with

p
p

-integral

m
m

-values. Combinatorial interpretations for the integral values of the incomplete gamma function and functions with

m
m

-values zero or one are obtained, which show that these functions count derangements in generalized symmetric groups and permutations with restricted cycle lengths.
National trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections for 2022
Authors: Tichy Eric M , Hoffman James M , Suda Katie J , Rim Matthew H , Tadrous Mina , Cuellar Sandra , Clark John S , Ward Jennifer , Schumock Glen T
Published: April 2022

Purpose

To report historical patterns of pharmaceutical expenditures, to identify factors that may influence future spending, and to predict growth in drug spending in 2022 in the United States, with a focus on the nonfederal hospital and clinic sectors.

Methods

Historical patterns were assessed by examining data on drug purchases from manufacturers using the IQVIA National Sales Perspectives database. Factors that may influence drug spending in hospitals and clinics in 2022 were reviewed—including new drug approvals, patent expirations, and potential new policies or legislation. Focused analyses were conducted for biosimilars, cancer drugs, generics, COVID-19 pandemic influence, and specialty drugs. For nonfederal hospitals, clinics, and overall (all sectors), estimates of growth of pharmaceutical expenditures in 2022 were based on a combination of quantitative analyses and expert opinion.

Results

In 2021, overall pharmaceutical expenditures in the US grew 7.7% compared to 2020, for a total of $576.9 billion. Utilization (a 4.8% increase), price (a 1.9% increase) and new drugs (a 1.1% increase) drove this increase. Adalimumab was the top drug in terms of overall expenditures in 2021, followed by apixaban and dulaglutide. Drug expenditures were $39.6 billion (a 8.4% increase) and $105.0 billion (a 7.7% increase) in nonfederal hospitals and in clinics, respectively. In clinics and hospitals, new products and increased utilization growth drove growth, with decreasing prices for both sectors acting as an expense restraint. Several new drugs that are likely to influence spending are expected to be approved in 2022. Specialty and cancer drugs will continue to drive expenditures along with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

For 2022, we expect overall prescription drug spending to rise by 4.0% to 6.0%, whereas in clinics and hospitals we anticipate increases of 7.0% to 9.0% and 3.0% to 5.0%, respectively, compared to 2021. These national estimates of future pharmaceutical expenditure growth may not be representative of any particular health system because of the myriad of local factors that influence actual spending.
Design and application of a knowledge network for automatic prioritization of drug mechanisms
Authors: Mayers Michael , Tu Roger , Steinecke Dylan , Li Tong Shu , Queralt-Rosinach Núria , Su Andrew I
Published: April 2022

Motivation

Drug repositioning is an attractive alternative to de novo drug discovery due to reduced time and costs to bring drugs to market. Computational repositioning methods, particularly non-black-box methods that can account for and predict a drug’s mechanism, may provide great benefit for directing future development. By tuning both data and algorithm to utilize relationships important to drug mechanisms, a computational repositioning algorithm can be trained to both predict and explain mechanistically novel indications.

Results

In this work, we examined the 123 curated drug mechanism paths found in the drug mechanism database (DrugMechDB) and after identifying the most important relationships, we integrated 18 data sources to produce a heterogeneous knowledge graph, MechRepoNet, capable of capturing the information in these paths. We applied the Rephetio repurposing algorithm to MechRepoNet using only a subset of relationships known to be mechanistic in nature and found adequate predictive ability on an evaluation set with AUROC value of 0.83. The resulting repurposing model allowed us to prioritize paths in our knowledge graph to produce a predicted treatment mechanism. We found that DrugMechDB paths, when present in the network were rated highly among predicted mechanisms. We then demonstrated MechRepoNet’s ability to use mechanistic insight to identify a drug’s mechanistic target, with a mean reciprocal rank of 0.525 on a test set of known drug–target interactions. Finally, we walked through repurposing examples of the anti-cancer drug imatinib for use in the treatment of asthma, and metolazone for use in the treatment of osteoporosis, to demonstrate this method’s utility in providing mechanistic insight into repurposing predictions it provides.

Availability and implementation

The Python code to reproduce the entirety of this analysis is available at: https://github.com/SuLab/MechRepoNet (archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6456335).

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
SASpector: analysis of missing genomic regions in draft genomes of prokaryotes
Authors: Lood Cédric , Correa Rojo Alejandro , Sinar Deniz , Verkinderen Emma , Lavigne Rob , Noort Vera van
Published: April 2022

Missing regions in short-read assemblies of prokaryote genomes are often attributed to biases in sequencing technologies and to repetitive elements, the former resulting in low sequencing coverage of certain loci and the latter to unresolved loops in the de novo assembly graph. We developed SASpector, a command-line tool that compares short-read assemblies (draft genomes) to their corresponding closed assemblies and extracts missing regions to analyze them at the sequence and functional level. SASpector allows to benchmark the need for resolved genomes, can be integrated into pipelines to control the quality of assemblies, and could be used for comparative investigations of missingness in assemblies for which both short-read and long-read data are available in the public databases.

Availability and implementation

SASpector is available at https://github.com/LoGT-KULeuven/SASpector. The tool is implemented in Python3 and available through pip and Docker (0mician/saspector).

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Long-Term Treatment with the Combination of Rivaroxaban and Aspirin in Patients with Chronic Coronary or Peripheral Artery Disease: Outcomes During the Open Label Extension of the COMPASS trial
Authors: Eikelboom John W , Bosch Jacqueline , Connolly Stuart J , Tyrwitt Jessica , Fox Keith A A , Muehlhofer Eva , Neumann Christoph , Tasto Christoph , Bangdiwala Shrikant I , Diaz Rafael , Alings Marco , Dagenais Gilles R , Leong Darryl P , Lonn Eva M , Avezum Alvaro , Piegas Leopoldo S , Widimsky Petr , Parkhomenko Alexander N , Bhatt Deepak L , Branch Kelley R H , Probstfield Jeffrey L , Lopez-Jaramillo Patricio , Rydén Lars , Pogosova Nana , Keltai Katalin , Keltai Matyas , Ertl Georg , Stoerk Stefan , Dans Antonio L , Lanas Fernando , Liang Yan , Zhu Jun , Torp-Pedersen Christian , Maggioni Aldo P , Commerford Patrick J , Guzik Tomasz J , Vanassche Thomas , Verhamme Peter , O'Donnell Martin , Tonkin Andrew M , Varigos John D , Vinereanu Dragos , Felix Camillo , Kim Jae-Hyung , Ibrahim Khairul S , Lewis Basil S , Metsarinne Kaj P , Aboyans Victor , Steg Phillippe Gabriel , Hori Masatsugu , Kakkar Ajay , Anand Sonia S , Lamy Andre , Sharma Mukul , Yusuf Salim
Published: April 2022

Aims

To describe outcomes of patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) enrolled in the Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies (COMPASS) randomized trial who were treated with the combination of rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily and aspirin 100 mg once daily during long-term open-label extension (LTOLE).

Methods and results

Of the 27 395 patients enrolled in COMPASS, 12 964 (mean age at baseline 67.2 years) from 455 sites in 32 countries were enrolled in LTOLE and treated with the combination of rivaroxaban and aspirin for a median of 374 additional days (range 1–1191 days). During LTOLE, the incident events per 100 patient years were as follows: for the primary outcome [cardiovascular death, stroke, or myocardial infarction (MI)] 2.35 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.11–2.61], mortality 1.87 (1.65–2.10), stroke 0.62 (0.50–0.76), and MI 1.02 (0.86–1.19), with CIs that overlapped those seen during the randomized treatment phase with the combination of rivaroxaban and aspirin. The incidence rates for major and minor bleeding were 1.01 (0.86–1.19) and 2.49 (2.24–2.75), compared with 1.67 (1.48–1.87) and 5.11 (95% CI 4.77–5.47), respectively, during the randomized treatment phase with the combination.

Conclusion

In patients with chronic CAD and/or PAD, extended combination treatment for a median of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years was associated with incidence rates for efficacy and bleeding that were similar to or lower than those seen during the randomized treatment phase, without any new safety signals.
Prognostic value of left atrial strain in patients with congenital aortic stenosis
Authors: Mutluer Ferit Onur , Bowen Daniel J. , van Grootel Roderick W. J. , Kardys Isabella , Roos-Hesselink Jolien W. , van den Bosch Annemien E.
Published: April 2022

Aim

To explore whether left atrial (LA) strain with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) can contribute to prognostication in patients with congenital aortic stenosis (CAS).

Methods and results

In this prospective study, consecutive outpatients with stable CAS and healthy adults were enrolled between 2011 and 2015. Left atrial function was analysed with STE using Tomtec software. Associations between LA strain (LAS) measurements and primary composite outcome (any adverse cardiovascular event, hospitalization, or re-intervention) and secondary outcome (re-interventions) were assessed with Cox regression analysis. In total, 98 patients with CAS (mean age: 35.0 ± 11.9 year, female: 59.2%) and 121 controls (age: 43.9 ± 13.8 year, female: 55.4%) were included. The majority of patients were in NYHA class I: 97 (99%) at baseline. At baseline, LA conduit strain (LAS-cd) and strain rate (LASR-cd) were significantly lower in patients than in controls when corrected for age and sex (−18.1 ± 8.7 vs. −23.5 ± 9.9%, P = 0.001 and −0.73 ± 0.31 vs. −1.02 ± 0.43/s, P < 0.001). During a median follow-up of 6.4 years (5.7–7.1), the primary composite outcome occurred in 48 (39.6%) patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that decreased LAS-cd (<21%) was associated with a higher occurrence of the primary outcome (log-rank: P = 0.008). Depressed LAS-cd and LASR-cd were both associated with the primary composite outcome [univariable hazard ratio (HR) = 0.64(0.46–0.88), P = 0.005 and HR = 0.68(0.55–0.83), P < 0.001, respectively]; adjusted HR (for LAS-cd and LASR-cd, respectively): 0.31(0.09–1.04), P = 0.06 and 0.49(0.26–0.89), P = 0.02.

Conclusion

Impairment in LA conduit function assessed with STE carries prognostic value in patients with CAS and can be implemented in clinical management.
Changes in Objectively Measured Physical Activity Are Associated With Perceived Physical and Mental Fatigability in Older Men
Authors: Qiao Yujia (Susanna) , Moored Kyle D , Boudreau Robert M , Roe Lauren S , Cawthon Peggy M , Stone Katie L , Cauley Jane A , Glynn Nancy W
Published: April 2022

Background

Lower physical activity (PA) is associated with greater perceived fatigability, a person-centered outcome. The association between change in PA and fatigability with advanced age has yet to be established.

Methods

Community-dwelling older men (N = 1 113, age = 84.1 ± 3.9 years at Year 14) had free-living PA assessed using SenseWear Armband prospectively at Year 7 (2007–2009) and Year 14 (2014–2016) of Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study, a longitudinal cohort established in 2000 (baseline). We categorized percent changes in PA into groups (large decline → large increase) for 4 metrics: step count, light intensity PA (LIPA, metabolic equivalents [METs] >1.5 to <3.0), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, METs ≥ 3.0), and sedentary behavior (SB, METs ≤ 1.5, excluding sleep). Perceived physical and mental fatigability were measured (Year 14) with the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS, higher score = greater fatigability; range = 0–50). Associations between each metric of percent changes in PA and fatigability were examined using linear regression, adjusted for demographics, change in health conditions, and Year 7 step count or total PA (METs > 1.5).

Results

Men declined 2 336 ± 2 546 (34%) steps/d, 24 ± 31 (25%) LIPA min/d, 33 ± 58 (19%) MVPA min/d, and increased 40 ± 107 (6%) SB min/d over 7.2 ± 0.7 years. Compared to large decline (% change less than −50%), those that maintained or increased step count had 3–8 points lower PFS Physical scores; those who maintained or increased LIPA and MVPA had 2–3 and 2–4 points lower PFS Physical scores, respectively (all p ≤ .01). Associations were similar, but smaller, for PFS Mental scores.

Conclusion

Older men who maintained or increased PA had lower fatigability, independent of initial PA. Our findings inform the types and doses of PA that should be targeted to reduce fatigability in older adults.
The Negative Impact of Adult Children’s Marital Dissolution on Older Parents’ Mental Health in South Korea
Authors: Ko Pei-Chun , Sung Pildoo
Published: April 2022

Objective

Little is known about whether and the extent children’s marital dissolution deteriorates older parents’ mental health. This study examines the association of children’s marital dissolution with parents’ mental health, and whether children’s gender and intergenerational contact and support moderate such an association in South Korea, where family lives are strongly linked under the Confucian collectivistic legacy.

Methods

We apply fixed-effects models on 15,584 parent–child dyads nested in 5,673 older parents (45–97 years in Wave 1) participating in the four waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), conducted from 2006 to 2012.

Results

In South Korea, a son’s transition to marital dissolution is associated with higher levels of parents’ depressive symptoms. Frequent parent–son contacts of at least once a week, living with a son, and increasing financial transfers from parents to a son tend to reduce the negative association of the son’s marital dissolution with parents’ depressive symptoms.

Discussion

The findings imply that a son’s transition to marital dissolution, as a later-life stressor, is detrimental to parents’ mental health in a patrilineal Asian cultural context. The study also highlights the importance of intergenerational bonding in mitigating the negative impact of children’s marital dissolution upwardly transmitted to their older parents.
Aging in Nepal
Authors: Tausig Mark , Subedi Janardan
Published: April 2022

Like many countries, the increase in the population of older adults in Nepal has led to national policies and programs to address their needs. It would, however, also be fair to say that not enough is yet known about older adults and hence it is unclear if government programs truly address those needs. Nepal is a very poor country that is still largely rural and characterized by extremes of inequality based on caste/ethnicity, gender, region, and income/wealth. In this paper, we describe the demographic and social conditions of older adults in Nepal, inequality, sources, and limitations of the data about older adults, and public policy and programs for older adults. We believe that studies of older adults in Nepal would benefit from adopting social determinants of health, healthy aging, and life-course perspectives to both identify needs and formulate policy for older adults in Nepal.
Sourcemap: a graphical representation to enhance the low frequency source radiation
Authors: Herrero A , Avallone A
Published: April 2022

Data from dense seismic arrays allow nowadays to map directly the radiation of the seismic source in space. However, the main features observed on these maps are usually linked to the propagation, its attenuation and some site effects. Only few parameters like the magnitude or fault extension may be inferred through the shape and the size of the epicentral area. In this work, we propose a new strategy able to produce fast qualitative maps, ‘Sourcemaps’, that highlight directly some basic characteristics of the seismic source. They are based on a parameter which is robust and fast to compute with a minimal processing: the displacement response spectrum (DRS) computed at low frequency. In order to highlight the source effects, we correct the DRS by the geometrical spreading. We have applied this strategy to some earthquakes occurred in Japan in the last 25 yr using K-NET/KiK-net data. In these examples, we show that the source parameters such as the focal mechanism (nodal planes) and the directivity may be clearly seen on the Sourcemaps. Some site effects at large scale are still visible. The strategy proposed in this work is completely automatic without the need of a visual inspection of the input data. Thus it provides a robust assessment of key parameters of the source. We suggest a systematic computation of these ‘Sourcemaps’ after each event inside a dense network.
Severe Activity of Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19
Authors: Macaluso Fabio Salvatore , Giuliano Alessandra , Fries, Walter , Viola Anna , Abbruzzese Alfredo , Cappello Maria , Giuffrida Enrica , Carrozza Lucio , Privitera Antonino Carlo , Magnano Antonio , Ferracane Concetta , Scalisi Giuseppe , Minissale Maria Giovanna , Giangreco Emiliano , Garufi Serena , Bertolami Carmelo , Cucinotta Ugo , Graziano Francesco , Casà Angelo , Renna Sara , Teresi Giulia , Rizzuto Giulia , Mannino Mariella , Maida Marcello , Orlando Ambrogio
Published: April 2022

Background

Data from the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic suggested that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are not at higher risk of being infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) than the general population and that a worse prognosis is not associated with immunomodulatory drugs, with the possible exception of systemic steroids.

Methods

This retrospective, observational study included consecutive IBD patients from the Sicilian Network for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SN-IBD) cohort who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis (polymerase chain reaction–confirmed presence of the viral genome in a nasopharyngeal swab) during the second COVID-19 pandemic wave (September 2020 to December 2020). Data regarding demographics, IBD features and treatments, and comorbidities were analyzed in correlation with COVID-19 clinical outcomes.

Results

Data on 122 patients (mean age, 43.9 ± 16.7 years; males, 50.0%; Crohn’s disease, 62.3%; ulcerative colitis, 37.7%) were reported. Twelve patients developed COVID-19-related pneumonia (9.8%), 4 (3.3%) required respiratory assistance (nonmechanical ventilation or orotracheal intubation), and 4 died (case fatality rate, 3.3%). In a multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.034; 95% CI, 1.006–1.147; P = .032) and severe IBD activity (OR, 13.465; 95% CI, 1.104–164.182; P = .042) were independent predictors of COVID-19-related pneumonia, while severe IBD activity (OR, 15.359; 95% CI, 1.320–178.677; P = .030) was the only independent predictor of severe COVID-19, a composite endpoint defined as the need for respiratory assistance or death. A trend towards a protective role of tumor necrosis factor α inhibitors on pneumonia development was reported (P = .076).

Conclusions

In this cohort of patients with IBD and SARS-CoV-2 infection, severe IBD activity was the only independent risk factor for severe COVID-19.
Evaluation of Kinesiophobia in Survivors of Major Burn Injury
Authors: Jeong Won J , Holavanahalli Radha K , Kowalske Karen J
Published: April 2022

Kinesiophobia, the fear of movement and reinjury, has not been described in burn injury survivors. Physical activity is a key component of burn rehabilitation programs. Yet, not all burn survivors exercise at the recommended level. This is an exploratory study examining the association of the demographics and injury characteristics of burn survivors with a fear of movement. The subjective fear of movement was measured using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK). The TSK score was compared between several demographics and injury characteristics by performing the independent sample t-test. Sixty-six percent of subjects in our study (n = 35), reported high levels of kinesiophobia (score 37 or above). The mean scores of the TSK were greater in males (40.7), non-white (43.0), Hispanic/Latino (41.1), age greater than 50 years (42.3), and TBSA burn of >15% compared to females (36.9), white (38.5), non-Hispanic/Latino (39.3), age 50 years or less (38.1), and TBSA 15% or less (39.4), respectively. However, with the exception of time postinjury, none of the mean differences were statistically significant. Subjects who had sustained a burn injury more than 12 months ago showed higher levels of kinesiophobia than the subjects who were injured within 12 months with a mean difference of 7.35 (P = .01). Thus, this study highlights the importance of 1) continued, long-term follow-up for burn survivors, and 2) appropriate educational and treatment interventions to address any underlying existing, new, or emerging medical issues that may contribute to the fear or avoidance of movement.
Phase arrival picking for bridging multi-source downhole microseismic data using deep transfer learning
Authors: Zhang Yilun , Leng Jiaxuan , Dong Yihan , Yu Zhichao , Hu Tianyue , He Chuan
Published: April 2022

The phase arrival picking of the downhole microseismic dataset is a critical step in fracturing monitoring data processing. Recently, data-driven methods have been widely used in seismology studies, especially in seismic phase picking. The picking results heavily depend on whether large quantities of accurately labeled phase samples could be obtained to extract the characteristics of seismic waveforms. Also, there is a shortcoming of poor generalization ability in dealing with the cross-source transfer scenarios. In this paper, we propose a novel deep transfer learning method for microseismic phase arrival picking by fine-tuning one existing pretrained model based on a few phase samples. The pretrained model, which has been domain-adapted for phase picking, adopts 2D U-Net to both extract time and space features, thereby improving the overall picking accuracy. Moreover, the fully convolutional U-Net architecture has the ability to handle samples with variable sizes so could be used for bridging downhole microseismic data from different sources. The results of two transfer cases show that compared with the direct application of the pretrained model and a newly trained model, the proposed method could provide more satisfactory performance with only limited seismic phase samples. Also, our method significantly reduces the cost of labeling and saves time because of avoiding repeated training.
Association Between State Hepatitis A Vaccination Requirements and Hepatitis A Vaccination Rates
Authors: Choi Yoonyoung , Bhatti Alexandra , Liu Zhiwen , Ruch Alex , Skolnik Ava , Carias Cristina , Goveia Michelle G , Simon Jakub K
Published: April 2022

Using National Immunization Survey Child and Teen (2008-2017), we associated state vaccination requirements with hepatitis A (Hep A) vaccination rates in children and adolescents. States with school entry or both childcare and school entry requirements were associated with 35%-40% higher Hep A vaccination rates, compared with states without such requirements.
Sequential loss of dynein sequences precedes complete loss in land plants
Authors: Lucas Jessica , Geisler Matt
Published: April 2022

Dynein motor proteins, often considered to be missing in land plants, are found in plants that reproduce with flagellated sperm.