bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chromoelectric field correlator for quarkonium transport in the strongly coupled $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 Yang-Mills plasma from AdS/CFT
Authors: Nijs Govert , Scheihing-Hitschfeld Bruno , Yao Xiaojun
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that a gauge-invariant correlation function of two chromoelectric fields connected by a straight timelike adjoint Wilson line encodes crucial information about quark-gluon plasma (QGP) that determines the dynamics of small-sized quarkonium in the medium. Motivated by the successes of holographic calculations to describe strongly coupled QGP, we calculate the analog gauge-invariant correlation function in strongly coupled $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at finite temperature by using the AdS/CFT correspondence. Our results indicate that the transition processes between bound and unbound quarkonium states are suppressed in strongly coupled plasmas, and moreover, the leading contributions to these transition processes vanish in both the quantum Brownian motion and quantum optical limits of open quantum system approaches to quarkonia.
Phases of theories with fermions in AdS
Authors: Kakkar Astha , Sarkar Swarnendu
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We study the phases of Yukawa theories at weak coupling and the Gross-Neveu models in AdS spaces at zero and finite temperature. Following the method used in [15], we first compute the one-loop partition functions, using the generalized eigenfunctions of the Dirac and Laplace operators on Euclidean AdS in the Poincaré coordinates. These functions satisfy desired periodicities under thermal identification. The method replicates results for partition functions known in the literature. We then study the phases of these field theories with fermions as regions in the corresponding parameter spaces at zero temperature. The phases and the corresponding phase boundaries are further identified as a function of the mass-squared of the scalar field and temperature for the Yukawa theories. While for the Gross-Neveu models, the changes in the phases as a function of the fermionic mass and the coupling constant at finite temperature are discussed. The Gross-Neveu-Yukawa model is studied for AdS4. We also note certain deviations from phases of these theories in flat space.
Stepped partially acoustic dark matter, large scale structure, and the Hubble tension
Authors: Buen-Abad Manuel A. , Chacko Zackaria , Kilic Can , Marques-Tavares Gustavo , Youn Taewook
Published: June 2023

Abstract

We propose a new interacting dark sector model, Stepped Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (SPartAcous), that can simultaneously address the two most important tensions in current cosmological data, the H0 and S8 problems. As in the Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (PAcDM) scenario, this model features a subcomponent of dark matter that interacts with dark radiation at high temperatures, suppressing the growth of structure at small scales and thereby addressing the S8 problem. However, in the SPartAcous model, the dark radiation includes a component with a light mass that becomes non-relativistic close to the time of matter-radiation equality. As this light component annihilates away, the remaining dark radiation heats up and its interactions with dark matter decouple. The heating up of the dark sector results in a step-like increase in the relative energy density in dark radiation, significantly reducing the H0 tension, while the decoupling of dark matter and dark radiation ensures that the power spectrum at larger scales is identical to ΛCDM.
COVID-19 als Versicherungsfall der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung: Berufskrankheit oder Arbeitsunfall
Authors: Böckelmann Irina , Meyer Frank , Thielmann Beatrice
Published: June 2023

Die SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie führte zu vielen Infektionen mit dem Virus und Erkrankungen an Coronavirus-Krankheit-2019 (COVID-19). Als Konsequenz davon war ein enormer Anstieg gemeldeter und anerkannter Berufskrankheiten (BK) und Arbeitsunfälle (AU) bei den Berufsgenossenschaften (BG) und Unfallkassen als Träger der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung zu verzeichnen. Die Publikation hat das Ziel, die Unterschiede von BK oder AU aufzuzeigen und die aktuellen Daten zum BK-Geschehen aufzuarbeiten. Dabei wird auf Definitionen von BK und AU, die Unterschiede in den Voraussetzungen für eine Anerkennung im Sinne einer BK oder eines AU eingegangen. Des Weiteren werden die Leistungsansprüche dargestellt. Zuletzt werden statistischen Kennzahlen der BK nach Nr. 3101 und den AU dargestellt.

Ergebnisse (Eckpunkte):

– AU und BK sind nach § 7 SGB VII Versicherungsfälle der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung.

– In der Chirurgie wird wie spezifisch im übrigen Gesundheitswesen die Relevanz der SARS-CoV-2-Infektion mit ihrer Post-COVID beim Personal für die arbeitsmedizinische Vorsorge und als anzuerkennender Fall der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung (BK oder AU) deutlich.

– Maßgeblich für die Anerkennung sind die Dauer und die Intensität des Kontaktes (örtliche Nähe) – die SARS-CoV-2-Arbeitsschutzregel vom 20.08.2020 sieht hier im Wesentlichen eine Kontaktdauer von mindestens 15 min bei einer räumlichen Entfernung von weniger als 1,5–2 m vor (weitere Aspekte: intensiverer kürzerer Kontakt, Anzahl der nachweislich infizierten Personen im engeren Tätigkeitsumfeld bzw. der üblichen Personenkontakte, räumliche Situation, Arbeitsweg, besondere Konstellationen).

– Für die detaillierte Darstellung des Settings Chirurgie können keine Fallzahlen eruiert werden. – Bei der Begutachtung von COVID-19-Folgen bzw. „Post-COVID“ als BK bestehen noch immense Probleme und Herausforderungen, da zahlreiche Unsicherheitsfaktoren wie z. B. unzureichend gesichertes Wissen zum weiteren Langzeitverlauf über die Jahre oder das breit gefächerte Symptomspektrum die ärztliche Beurteilung der Folgen dieser Erkrankung erschweren.

Schlussfolgerung: Die SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie stellt sich als eine besondere Herausforderung der Chirurgie mit fachspezifisch immanent intensiverem Patientenkontakt bzw. des gesamten Gesundheitswesens dar, die durchaus langanhaltende Veränderungen verursachte und deren adäquate gesundheitsbetreuerische wie auch versicherungsrechtliche Aufarbeitung der (fallspezifischen) Konsequenzen noch beträchtliche Anstrengungen und Ressourcen erfordern dürfte.
Elective Recurrent Inguinal Hernia Repair: Value of an Abdominal Wall Surgery Unit
Authors: Rodrigues‐Gonçalves V. , Martínez‐López M. , Verdaguer‐Tremolosa M. , Martínez‐López P. , López‐Cano M.
Published: June 2023

Background

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of an abdominal wall surgery unit on postoperative complications (within 90 days postoperatively), hernia recurrence and chronic postoperative inguinal pain after elective recurrent inguinal hernia repair.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients who underwent elective recurrent inguinal hernia repair between January 2010 and October 2021. Short‐ and long‐term outcomes were compared between the group of patients operated on in the abdominal wall surgery unit and the group of patients operated on by other units not specialized in abdominal wall surgery. A logistic regression model was performed for hernia recurrence.

Results

A total of 250 patients underwent elective surgery for recurrent inguinal hernia during the study period. The patients in the abdominal wall surgery group were younger (P ≤ 0.001) and had fewer comorbidities (P ≤ 0.001). There were no differences between the groups in terms of complications. The patients in the abdominal wall surgery group presented fewer recurrences (15% vs. 3%; P = 0.001). Surgery performed by the abdominal wall surgery unit was related to fewer recurrences in the multivariate analysis (HR = 0.123; 95% CI = 0.21–0.725; P = 0.021).

Conclusions

Specialization in abdominal wall surgery seems to have a positive impact in terms of recurrence in recurrent inguinal hernia repair. The influence of comorbidities or type of surgery (i.e., outpatient surgery) require further study.
PVDF-based (V2O5)x. (Mn0.4Fe2.6O4)(2−x), x = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1] nanocomposites for tailoring the optical and nonlinear optical properties of PVDF
Authors: Ramadan Rania , Ahmed M. K. , El-Masry Mai M.
Published: June 2023

Nanocomposites comprising (V2O5)x. (Mn0.4Fe2.6O4)(2−x), where x = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1], were successfully synthesized by milling each single phase of V2O5 and Mn0.4Fe2.6O4 nanostructured samples. We studied the structure and morphology of the prepared samples through X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. UV–Vis. spectrum analysis was used to study the optical characteristics. As an attempt to improve the optical and nonlinear optical properties of the PVDF blend, the prepared nanocomposites were used as nanofillers for the poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer. Optical and nonlinear optical properties of the PVDF polymer were tuned using (V2O5)x. (Mn0.4Fe2.6O4)(2−x), where x = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1] nanocomposite. The obtained results showed a tunable spectrum, absorption, refractive index, and dielectric constant at wavelengths ranging from 200 to 800 nm. However, the results showed that the (V2O5)0.6. (Mn0.4Fe2.6O4)1.4, sample was the best for obtaining the lowest transmittance percentage and bandgap energy. The nonlinear optical properties and Kerr effect (quadratic electro-optic effect) showed a significant response, which can be tuned in the range from 200 to 1200 nm of wavelength using the investigated samples. Finally, incorporating (V2O5)x. (Mn0.4Fe2.6O4)(2−x), where x = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1], nanoparticles in the PVDF polymer improved the hydrophilic behavior of the PVDF films. This study suggests a promising nanocomposite material for tunable optoelectronics and useful polymer membranes.
Can incorrect artificial intelligence (AI) results impact radiologists, and if so, what can we do about it? A multi-reader pilot study of lung cancer detection with chest radiography
Authors: Bernstein Michael H. , Atalay Michael K. , Dibble Elizabeth H. , Maxwell Aaron W. P. , Karam Adib R. , Agarwal Saurabh , Ward Robert C. , Healey Terrance T. , Baird Grayson L.
Published: June 2023

Objective

To examine whether incorrect AI results impact radiologist performance, and if so, whether human factors can be optimized to reduce error.

Methods

Multi-reader design, 6 radiologists interpreted 90 identical chest radiographs (follow-up CT needed: yes/no) on four occasions (09/20–01/22). No AI result was provided for session 1. Sham AI results were provided for sessions 2–4, and AI for 12 cases were manipulated to be incorrect (8 false positives (FP), 4 false negatives (FN)) (0.87 ROC-AUC). In the Delete AI (No Box) condition, radiologists were told AI results would not be saved for the evaluation. In Keep AI (No Box) and Keep AI (Box), radiologists were told results would be saved. In Keep AI (Box), the ostensible AI program visually outlined the region of suspicion. AI results were constant between conditions.

Results

Relative to the No AI condition (FN = 2.7%, FP = 51.4%), FN and FPs were higher in the Keep AI (No Box) (FN = 33.0%, FP = 86.0%), Delete AI (No Box) (FN = 26.7%, FP = 80.5%), and Keep AI (Box) (FN = to 20.7%, FP = 80.5%) conditions (all ps < 0.05). FNs were higher in the Keep AI (No Box) condition (33.0%) than in the Keep AI (Box) condition (20.7%) (p = 0.04). FPs were higher in the Keep AI (No Box) (86.0%) condition than in the Delete AI (No Box) condition (80.5%) (p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Incorrect AI causes radiologists to make incorrect follow-up decisions when they were correct without AI. This effect is mitigated when radiologists believe AI will be deleted from the patient’s file or a box is provided around the region of interest.

Clinical relevance statement

When AI is wrong, radiologists make more errors than they would have without AI. Based on human factors psychology, our manuscript provides evidence for two AI implementation strategies that reduce the deleterious effects of incorrect AI.

Key Points

• When AI provided incorrect results, false negative and false positive rates among the radiologists increased.

• False positives decreased when AI results were deleted, versus kept, in the patient’s record.

• False negatives and false positives decreased when AI visually outlined the region of suspicion.
Evaluation of a population-based breast cancer screening in North China
Authors: Wu Siqi , Liang Di , Shi Jin , Li Daojuan , Liu Yanyu , Hao Yahui , Shi Miaomiao , Du Xinyu , He Yutong
Published: June 2023

Background

Despite mammography-based screening for breast cancer has been conducted in many countries, there are still little data on participation and diagnostic yield in population-based breast cancer screening in China.

Methods

We enrolled 151,973 eligible women from four cities in Hebei Province within the period 2013–2021 and followed up until December 31, 2021. Participants aged 40–74 who assessed as high risk were invited to undergo breast ultrasound and mammography examination. Overall and group-specific participation rates were calculated. Multivariable analyses were used to estimate the factors associated with participation rates. The diagnostic yield of both screening and no screening groups was calculated. We further analyzed the stage distribution and molecular subtype of breast cancer cases by different modes of cancer detection.

Results

A total of 42,547 participants were evaluated to be high risk of breast cancer. Among them, 23,009 subjects undertook screening services, with participation rate of 54.08%. Multivariable logistic regression model showed that aged 45–64, high education level, postmenopausal, current smoking, alcohol consumption, family history of breast cancer, and benign breast disease were associated with increased participation of screening. After median follow-up of 3.79 years, there were 456 breast cancer diagnoses of which 65 were screen-detected breast cancers (SBCs), 27 were interval breast cancers (IBCs), 68 were no screening cancers, and 296 were cancers detected outside the screening program. Among them, 92 participants in the screening group (0.40%) and 364 in the non-screening group (0.28%) had breast cancer detected, which resulted in an odds ratio of 1.42 (95% CI 1.13–1.78; P = 0.003). We observed a higher detection rate of breast cancer in the screening group, with ORs of 2.42 (95% CI 1.72–3.41) for early stage (stages 0–I) and 2.12 (95% CI 1.26–3.54) for luminal A subtype. SBCs had higher proportion of early stage (71.93%) and luminal A subtype (47.22%) than other groups.

Conclusions

The significant differences in breast cancer diagnosis between the screening and non-screening group imply an urgent need for increased breast cancer awareness and early detection in China.
Critical Issues of Ore Flow for the Raise Caving Method
Authors: Koch Lukas Alexander , Ladinig Tobias
Published: June 2023

Ore flow has been identified as one of the critical points of developing the novel mining method Raise Caving (RC). The focus of this contribution is on the key issues of ore-flow and on how to encounter them to enable a safe, efficient, and economic mining operation.

In the de-stressing phase of RC, narrow, tabular de-stressing slots are developed via raises, only the blast swell is drawn, and hence they stay filled with blasted material at all times to support the hanging wall in order to prevent early caving and dilution ingress. To simultaneously enable a free surface at the top for blasting, the extracted amount from the bottom needs to be monitored consistently. Another point in the narrow de-stressing slots is to prevent hang-ups by an adequate slot thickness. Hang-ups in higher zones are especially critical as they are difficult to resolve and may lead to unnoticed hanging wall caving.

In the following production phase, production stopes are developed in the de-stressed area behind the slots. During this phase, the stopes are always filled with blasted material as a support for the hanging wall. They are only drawn-empty at a later point after the stopes are fully established. The most important issue for production stopes is to prevent early dilution in order to extract the deposit economically. Additionally, the free surface needs to be prepared for upcoming blasts. To optimize the extraction, a uniform flow towards the draw-points needs to be created. The mentioned points can be addressed by a proper mine design and draw strategy. The parts of the mine design include the draw-point spacing, the draw-point position, and the draw-bell layout. Further on, the draw strategy must enable a uniform draw, guide the ore down the inclined stope, and prevent early dilution. The critical points mentioned in this contribution are approached by the R&D with empirical, numerical, and analytical means.
Stress monitoring using wearable sensors: IoT techniques in medical field
Authors: Talaat Fatma M. , El-Balka Rana Mohamed
Published: June 2023

The concept “Internet of Things” (IoT), which facilitates communication between linked devices, is relatively new. It refers to the next generation of the Internet. IoT supports healthcare and is essential to numerous applications for tracking medical services. By examining the pattern of observed parameters, the type of the disease can be anticipated. For people with a range of diseases, health professionals and technicians have developed an excellent system that employs commonly utilized techniques like wearable technology, wireless channels, and other remote equipment to give low-cost healthcare monitoring. Whether put in living areas or worn on the body, network-related sensors gather detailed data to evaluate the patient's physical and mental health. The main objective of this study is to examine the current e-health monitoring system using integrated systems. Automatically providing patients with a prescription based on their status is the main goal of the e-health monitoring system. The doctor can keep an eye on the patient's health without having to communicate with them. The purpose of the study is to examine how IoT technologies are applied in the medical industry and how they help to raise the bar of healthcare delivered by healthcare institutions. The study will also include the uses of IoT in the medical area, the degree to which it is used to enhance conventional practices in various health fields, and the degree to which IoT may raise the standard of healthcare services. The main contributions in this paper are as follows: (1) importing signals from wearable devices, extracting signals from non-signals, performing peak enhancement; (2) processing and analyzing the incoming signals; (3) proposing a new stress monitoring algorithm (SMA) using wearable sensors; (4) comparing between various ML algorithms; (5) the proposed stress monitoring algorithm (SMA) is composed of four main phases: (a) data acquisition phase, (b) data and signal processing phase, (c) prediction phase, and (d) model performance evaluation phase; and (6) grid search is used to find the optimal values for hyperparameters of SVM (C and gamma). From the findings, it is shown that random forest is best suited for this classification, with decision tree and XGBoost following closely behind.
Factors influencing the reliability of intraoperative testing in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Mederer Tobias , Deuter Daniel , Bründl Elisabeth , Forras Patricia , Schmidt Nils Ole , Kohl Zacharias , Schlaier Jürgen
Published: June 2023

Background

Several meta-analyses comparing the outcome of awake versus asleep deep brain stimulation procedures could not reveal significant differences concerning the postoperative improvement of motor symptoms. Only rarely information on the procedural details is provided for awake operations and how often somnolence and disorientation occurred, which might hamper the reliability of intraoperative clinical testing. The aim of our study was to investigate possible influencing factors on the occurrence of somnolence and disorientation in awake DBS procedures.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 122 patients with Parkinson's disease having received implantation of a DBS system at our centre. Correlation analyses were performed for the duration of disease prior to surgery, number of microelectrode trajectories, AC-PC-coordinates of the planned target, UPDRS-scores, intraoperative application of sedative drugs, duration of the surgical procedure, perioperative application of apomorphine, and the preoperative L-DOPA equivalence dosage with the occurrence of intraoperative somnolence and disorientation.

Results

Patients with intraoperative somnolence were significantly older (p=0.039). Increased duration of the DBS procedure (p=0.020), delayed start of the surgery (p=0.049), higher number of MER trajectories (p=0.041), and the patients’ % UPDRS improvement (p=0.046) also correlated with the incidence of intraoperative somnolence. We identified the main contributing factor to intraoperative somnolence as the use of sedative drugs applied during skin incision and burr hole trepanation (p=0.019). Perioperatively applied apomorphine could reduce the occurrence of somnolent phases during the operation (p=0.026).

Conclusion

Several influencing factors were found to seemingly increase the risk of intraoperative somnolence and disorientation, while the use of sedative drugs seems to be the main contributing factor. We argue that awake DBS procedures should omit the use of sedatives for best clinical outcome. When reporting on awake DBS surgery these factors should be considered and adjusted for, to permit reliable interpretation and comparison of DBS study results.
Image embedding for denoising generative models
Authors: Asperti Andrea , Evangelista Davide , Marro Samuele , Merizzi Fabio
Published: June 2023

Denoising Diffusion models are gaining increasing popularity in the field of generative modeling for several reasons, including the simple and stable training, the excellent generative quality, and the solid probabilistic foundation. In this article, we address the problem of embedding an image into the latent space of Denoising Diffusion Models, that is finding a suitable “noisy” image whose denoising results in the original image. We particularly focus on Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models due to the deterministic nature of their reverse diffusion process. As a side result of our investigation, we gain a deeper insight into the structure of the latent space of diffusion models, opening interesting perspectives on its exploration, the definition of semantic trajectories, and the manipulation/conditioning of encodings for editing purposes. A particularly interesting property highlighted by our research, which is also characteristic of this class of generative models, is the independence of the latent representation from the networks implementing the reverse diffusion process. In other words, a common seed passed to different networks (each trained on the same dataset), eventually results in identical images.
Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief, Low Intensity Parenting Intervention to Promote Healthy Living: The Lifestyle Triple P Seminar Series
Authors: Bartlett J. A. , Sanders Matthew R. , Tellegen Cassandra L. , Leong Gary M.
Published: June 2023

Parents play a key role in establishing a healthy home environment. This randomised controlled trial examined the efficacy of a low-intensity parenting intervention (three 2-hour Lifestyle Triple P-Positive Parenting Program Seminars) for parents who are concerned about or interested in learning more about healthy lifestyle behaviours for children. Parents of 160 children aged 3–10 years were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. Primary outcomes of parenting practices, child lifestyle-specific and general behaviour and parent self-efficacy were assessed via parent self-report. Secondary outcomes included child BMI z-score, a food diary measuring energy intake, physical activity levels measured by accelerometers and parent reported time spent on screen-based activities. Assessment occurred at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6- and 12-months after completion. At 12-months post-intervention, intent-to-treat analyses found a significant intervention effect on overall ineffective parenting, lifestyle-specific and general parenting confidence. Child lifestyle problem behaviours reduced, with no effects on general child behaviour. On the secondary exploratory outcomes, time spent watching television reduced with no other significant effects detected. Parents viewed the intervention as high-quality and acceptable. A brief parenting program aiming to promote healthy lifestyles for all families offers promise for improving parenting skills and child lifestyle behaviour.
Quantifying pulse oximeter accuracy during hypoxemia and severe anemia using an in vitro circulation system
Authors: Gylys Raymond , Feiner John , Pologe Jonas , Delianides Theodore , Sutter Stephanie , Bickler Philip , Lipnick Michael S.
Published: June 2023

Anemia and hypoxemia are common clinical conditions that are difficult to study and may impact pulse oximeter performance. Utilizing an in vitro circulation system, we studied performance of three pulse oximeters during hypoxemia and severe anemia. Three oximeters including one benchtop, one handheld, and one fingertip device were selected to reflect a range of cost and device types. Human blood was diluted to generate four hematocrit levels (40%, 30%, 20%, and 10%). Oxygen and nitrogen were bubbled through the blood to generate a range of oxygen saturations (O2Hb) and the blood was cycled through the in vitro circulation system. Pulse oximeter saturations (SpO2) were paired with simultaneously-measured O2Hb readings from a reference CO-oximeter. Data for each hematocrit level and each device were least-squares fit to a 2nd-order equation with quality of each curve fit evaluated using standard error of the estimate. Bias and average root mean square error were calculated after correcting for the calibration difference between human and in vitro circulation system calibration. The benchtop oximeter maintained good accuracy at all but the most extreme level of anemia. The handheld device was not as accurate as the benchtop, and inaccuracies increased at lower hematocrit levels. The fingertip device was the least accurate of the three oximeters. Pulse oximeter performance is impacted by severe anemia in vitro. The use of in vitro calibration systems may play an important role in augmenting in vivo performance studies evaluating pulse oximeter performance in challenging conditions.
The lure of the big city: smaller Danish rookeries are increasingly associated with urban land cover
Authors: Heldbjerg Henning , Pedersen Claus Lunde , Therkildsen Ole R. , Bregnballe Thomas , Ettrup Henning , Kahlert Johnny , Vikstrøm Thomas , Fox Anthony D.
Published: June 2023

Rooks Corvus frugilegus are common and widespread in urban and agricultural habitats in Denmark. Large numbers are killed annually by derogation shooting to control population growth to reduce noise near populated areas and prevent agricultural damage. Responding to increasing public complaints about noise nuisance from urban rookeries, we investigated changes in extent of urban and agricultural habitats within 500 m, 1000 m and 2000 m of all known breeding rook colonies (rookeries) in eastern Jutland, Denmark in 1991 compared to 2021 based on open access land cover GIS layers in 1990 and 2019. Numbers of rookeries increased by 40% from 95 (1991) to 133 (2021) but nest abundance increased only by 6% from 10,299 to 10,887 due to more and significantly smaller rookeries, increasingly associated with urban sites. In both years, the proportion of urban area within distance classes of rookeries was significantly higher, and the area of agriculture significantly lower, than at randomly chosen points in the same region. The proportion of urban area around each rookery decreased with increasing distance, whereas the proportion of agricultural land cover increased. The proportional area of urban land use within the distance classes increased between 1991 and 2021 whereas agricultural land cover decreased. Given no simultaneous major change in overall land use, our results indicate an increasing selection by rooks for smaller urban rookeries over agricultural landscapes, where rookeries have declined. We consider these trends, especially the proliferation of smaller rookeries in urban areas, as a potential explanation for the upsurge in public complaints about rookery noise in residential areas. We urge further research to explain the causes behind these trends before we can provide science-based solutions to resolve such conflicts effectively.
Evaluation of Larger Test Portion Sizes for Escherichia coli Shiga Toxin Producer (STEC) on the Detection by Immunomagnetic Separation and Real-Time PCR in Meat and Vegetables
Authors: Bouvier M. , Canizares M. , Hamadou B. , Guenser M. , Sergentet D. Thevenot
Published: June 2023

The aims of this study were (i) to evaluate the performance of the Assurance® GDS method combining immunomagnetic separation and real-time PCR for STEC detection in pooled samples (up to 375g) of vegetables and meat, and (ii) to compare its performances to that of the reference method ISO/TS-13136:2012 (25 g sample size) in artificially contaminated samples. The alternative Assurance® GDS method includes enrichment in proprietary broth at 41.5°C for 10 h followed by primary screening of TOP 7 STEC containing eae, stx genes and O157:H7 markers using MPX-Top 7 (IMS+PCR), secondary screening for serogroup identification using MPX-ID/EHEC-ID (IMS+PCR). And finally, cultural confirmation from same IMS beads on two selective agars is set up. For reference method, the enrichment was performed in BPW at 41.5°C for 18 h. A total of 120 samples of meat and vegetables, including 20 uninoculated and 100 samples spiked with stressed cells (<12 CFU/25 or 375g) of STEC, were analyzed using both methods. Our results showed that the Assurance® GDS method LOD50 ranged from 0.12 CFU/375 to 0.522 CFU/375 g and the LOD95 from 0.518 CFU/375 to 2.257 CFU/375 g. These data are similar to the LOD50 data of the reference method.
Lysobacter changpingensis sp. nov., a novel species of the genus Lysobacter isolated from a rhizosphere soil of strawberry in China
Authors: Niu Bang-Yan , Ren Dong-Jun , Zhang Fang-Bo , Zhu Hong-Tu , Wei Hai-Lei , Ma Ming-Chao , Gao Miao
Published: June 2023

In the present work, we characterized in detail strain CM-3-T8T, which was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of strawberries in Beijing, China, in order to elucidate its taxonomic position. Cells of strain CM-3-T8T were Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, aerobic, short rod. Growth occurred at 25–37 °C, pH 5.0–10.0, and in the presence of 0–8% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain CM-3-T8T formed a stable clade with Lysobacter soli DCY21T and Lysobacter panacisoli CJ29T, with the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 98.91% and 98.50%. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain SG-8 T and the two reference type strains listed above were 76.3%, 79.6%, and 34.3%, 27%, respectively. The DNA G + C content was 68.4% (mol/mol). The major cellular fatty acids were comprised of C15:0 iso (36.15%), C17:0 iso (8.40%), and C11:0 iso 3OH (8.28%). The major quinone system was ubiquinone Q-8. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylethanolamine (PME), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), and aminophospholipid (APL). On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic, and phylogenetic evidence, strain CM-3-T8T (= ACCC 61714 T = JCM 34576 T) represents a new species within the genus Lysobacter, for which the name Lysobacter changpingensis sp. nov. is proposed.
New insights on Teotihuacan color technology: a proposal of a technological style for mural painting
Authors: López-Puértolas Carlos , Casanova-González Edgar , Mitrani Alejandro , Ruvalcaba-Sil José Luis
Published: June 2023

Teotihuacan, the main city of the Classic period in Central Mexico (ca. 150/200–650 CE), was among many things, a colorful city. Through its application on mural painting, ceramics, lapidary, bone, textiles, and the human body itself, coloring materials gave meaning to the Teotihuacan reality. This research presents color as a socio-technological phenomenon from the archaeology of color, the anthropology of technology, and the application of the concept of technological style.

From this scope, pictorial palettes of mural painting fragments from three Teotihuacan architectural compounds were studied by digital microscopy, colorimetry, fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) in order to identify the color technology of pigments. This approach led us to identify materials shared by the three studied compounds, red and yellow earths, cinnabar, malachite, pseudomalachite, azurite, and the Teotihuacan grayish blue, found to contain a mix of bone black with calcite. Our results contribute to the discussion on the use of raw materials and their mixtures. We observed a standardization of pigment technology in Teotihuacan mural painting through the use of shared and standard formulations with four indicators that we propose as markers of a technological style for pigments, along with variations in the color materials that evidence the use of different strategies for the procurement and distribution of raw materials among the diverse architectural assemblages of the city.
Tetrandrine citrate suppresses lung adenocarcinoma growth via SLC7A11/GPX4-mediated ferroptosis
Authors: Mo Xiaocong , Hu Di , Yuan Kaisheng , Luo Juyu , Huang Cheng , Xu Meng
Published: June 2023

Ferroptosis is a mode of programmed cell death that plays a crucial role in tumor biology processes. Although tetrandrine citrate (TetC) has been demonstrated to exert anti-tumor effects, it is still unclear whether TetC inhibits lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression by inducing ferroptosis. The study showcased the inhibitory effect of TetC on the viability and progression of tumor cells, including intracellular iron overload, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), over-expression of malondial-dehyde (MDA), and depletion of glutathione (GSH). Notably, TetC-induced cell death was clearly reversed by three different ferroptosis-related inhibitors. TetC also induced changes in the mitochondrial morphology of LUAD cells, similar to those observed in typical ferroptosis. Further analysis through Western blot (WB) and Immunofluorescence (IF) assays identified that TetC inhibited the expression and fluorescence intensity of both solute carrier family 7 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase-4 (GPX4). More importantly, over-expression of SLC7A11 could rescue the TetC-induced ferroptosis. Finally, in our vivo experiment, we discovered that TetC significantly slowed the growth rate of subcutaneous transplanted A549 cells, ultimately proving to be biosafe. In conclusion, our study first identified the mechanism by which TetC-induced ferroptosis in LUAD via SLC7A11/GPX4 signaling.
Enhancing microstructural and biomethane yield of Xyris capensis using combined oxidative and nanoparticle additive pretreatment methods
Authors: Olatunji Kehinde O. , Madyira Daniel M.
Published: June 2023

Renewable energy production from lignocellulose materials is a significant interest of modern research because it can assist in reducing the global challenges of climate preservation and energy demand. Lignocellulose materials are recalcitrant and are not easy to digest during anaerobic digestion, and this necessitated their pretreatment before anaerobic digestion for effective and efficient use of the feedstock. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of oxidative, nanoparticle additive, and combined pretreatment on the microstructural arrangement and biomethane yield of Xyris capensis, an economical feedstock that is readily available. Xyris capensis was pretreated with the oxidizing agent at varying conditions of H2O2: H2SO4 using 100: 0%, 95: 5%, 85: 15%, and 75: 25%. The effects of the pretreatment on the microstructure, crystallinity, and functional groups of the substrate were investigated. Pretreated and untreated substrates were digested as mono pretreatment and in combination with 20 mg/L Fe3O4 (< 50 nm) nanoparticles at mesophilic temperature to study the influence of pretreatment on biomethane yield. Results from structural analyses showed that the pretreatment conditions have a varying degree of effect on the microstructural arrangement. The optimum biomethane yield of 212.18 mL CH4/gVSadded, representing 48% improvement, was recorded for a single pretreatment. For the combined pretreatment method, the highest biomethane yield of 278.59 mL CH4/gVSadded, which represents a 95% increase, was observed. Therefore, combined oxidative pretreatment and Fe3O4 nanoparticle additive could be a promising approach to debase the recalcitrant properties of lignocellulose feedstock microstructure to enhance the biomethane yield. This technique can improve energy recovery from lignocellulose materials, assist in decarbonization of the environment, and can be examined on a commercial scale.
Medicolegal Cases in Bariatric Surgery in the United Kingdom
Authors: Fehervari Matyas , Fadel Michael G. , Reddy Marcus , Khan Omar A.
Published: June 2023

Purpose of review

To evaluate the current state of bariatric medicolegal activity and explore the reasons of litigation in bariatric surgery. The underlying legal principles in bariatric medicolegal cases and most frequent pitfalls will also be discussed.

Recent findings

There is a growing number of litigations in bariatric surgery, particularly relating to complications and long waiting lists for bariatric surgery within the public-funded health systems. The main issues are related to consent, lack of follow-up, delayed identification of complications and lack of appropriate emergency management of complications, involving bariatric surgeons, clinicians, general practitioners and multidisciplinary team members. Appropriate multidisciplinary involvement pre- and postoperatively and robust follow-up protocols can help to mitigate the risks.

Bariatric surgery requires a unique paradigm with a multidisciplinary approach both pre- and postoperatively to improve the long-term functional outcomes of patients. There is a rising incidence of medicolegal claims following bariatric surgery. The underlying reasons for this are multifactorial including an increase in the volume of surgery, high patient expectations, the incidence of long-term postoperative complications and the requirement of long-term follow-up.
Eating disorders and emotional dysregulation are associated with insufficient weight loss after bariatric surgery: a 1-year observational follow-up study
Authors: Barbuti Margherita , Carignani Giulia , Weiss Francesco , Calderone Alba , Fierabracci Paola , Salvetti Guido , Menculini Giulia , Tortorella Alfonso , Santini Ferruccio , Perugi Giulio
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Subjects with obesity, especially those seeking bariatric surgery, exhibit high rates of mental disorders and marked psychopathological traits. The primary objective of this prospective, non-interventional study was to investigate whether the presence of different psychiatric disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and emotional dysregulation influenced weight loss at 1-year follow-up after surgery.

Methods

Subjects consecutively referred for pre-surgical evaluation at the Obesity Center of Pisa University Hospital were recruited. Psychiatric diagnoses were made through the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and ADHD symptomatology was assessed with the Wender–Reimherr Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (WRAADDS). Emotional dysregulation was investigated through the WRAADDS and self-report questionnaires. After surgery, weight and obesity-related comorbidities were monitored during follow-up.

Results

Of the 99 participants recruited, 76 underwent surgery and 65 could be reevaluated 1 year after surgery. Subjects with insufficient weight loss (excess body mass index loss ≤ 53%, n = 15) had more frequent lifetime binge eating disorder (BED) and BED-mood disorders comorbidity than subjects with favorable post-surgical outcome. Additionally, they scored higher on both physician-administered and self-report scales assessing emotional dysregulation, which represents a nuclear symptom of ADHD in adults. At the logistic regression analysis, older age, higher preoperative excess body mass index and greater affective instability were predictors of reduced weight loss at 1-year follow-up.

Conclusion

Emotional dysregulation seems to be associated with a worse outcome after bariatric surgery. Further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to confirm the influence of different psychiatric disorders and psychopathological traits on post-surgical outcome.

Level of evidence

V, prospective descriptive study.
Contour detection network for zero-shot sketch-based image retrieval
Authors: Zhang Qing , Zhang Jing , Su Xiangdong , Bao Feilong , Gao Guanglai
Published: June 2023

Zero-shot sketch-based image retrieval (ZS-SBIR) is a challenging task that involves searching natural images related to a given hand-drawn sketch under the zero-shot scene. The previous approach projected image and sketch features into a low-dimensional common space for retrieval, and used semantic features to transfer the knowledge of seen to unseen classes. However, it is not effective enough to align multimodal features when projecting them into a common space, since the styles and contents of sketches and natural images are different and they are not one-to-one correspondence. To solve this problem, we propose a novel three-branch joint training network with contour detection network (called CDNNet) for the ZS-SBIR task, which uses contour maps as a bridge to align sketches and natural images to alleviate the domain gap. Specifically, we use semantic metrics to constrain the relationship between contour images and natural images and between contour images and sketches, so that natural image and sketch features can be aligned in the common space. Meanwhile, we further employ second-order attention to capture target subject information to increase the performance of retrieval descriptors. In addition, we use a teacher model and word embedding method to transfer the knowledge of the seen to the unseen classes. Extensive experiments on two large-scale datasets demonstrate that our proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art CNN-based models: it improves by 2.6% on the Sketchy and 1.2% on TU-Berlin datasets in terms of mAP.
Energy management for wearable medical devices based on gaining–sharing knowledge algorithm
Authors: Mohamed Samah , Nomer Hazem A. A. , Yousri Retaj , Mohamed Ali Wagdy , Soltan Ahmed , Darweesh M. Saeed
Published: June 2023

Wearable devices are a growing field of research that can have a wide range of applications. The energy harvester is the most common source of power for wearable devices as well as in wireless sensor networks that require a battery-free operation. However, their power is restricted; consequently, power saving is crucial for wearable devices. Finding the best schedule for the various tasks that run on the wearable device can help to reduce power consumption. This paper presents a task scheduler for wearable medical devices based on Gaining–Sharing Knowledge (GSK) algorithm. The purpose of this task scheduler is to handle the tasks of a heart rate sensor and a temperature sensor to optimize the energy consumption throughout wearable medical devices. The proposed GSK-based scheduling algorithm is assessed against the state-of-the-art technique. The data used in our experiments are collected from an in-lab prototype.
Does Social Media Engagement Influence Men’s Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery?
Authors: Truasheim Sian , Bonell Sarah
Published: June 2023

Men’s cosmetic surgery rates are increasing globally. Existing literature suggests that social media engagement encourages women to undergo cosmetic surgery, yet the relationship between social media and cosmetic surgery for men remains underexamined. The aim of this study was therefore to explore if social media engagement impacted men’s interest in undergoing cosmetic surgery. Using an adapted version of the Passive and Active Use Measure to assess social media engagement, the relationship between social media engagement and cosmetic surgery consideration was explored. Among 311 American adult men (Mage = 37.7), passive social media engagement (e.g., viewing photos, browsing profiles) was found to have a small positive relationship with consideration of cosmetic surgery (p < .05, 95% CI [0.12, 0.49]). Conversely, Active Non-social media engagement (e.g., posting videos, tagging) and Active Social media engagement (e.g., posting statuses, commenting) did not predict cosmetic surgery consideration. These results demonstrate that the ways in which men use social media (rather than whether or not they use social media in general) determines their interest in cosmetic surgery. While social media engagement is a known correlate for appearance dissatisfaction in women, this study provides evidence that social media engagement is potentially also harmful to men’s body image. This preliminary research may contribute to informing best clinical practice for men experiencing body dissatisfaction. Namely, reducing passive social media use may alleviate men’s likelihood of pursing cosmetic surgery, in turn reducing their exposure to the physical and psychological risks associated with undergoing cosmetic surgery.
A directed persistent homology theory for dissimilarity functions
Authors: Méndez David , Sánchez-García Rubén J.
Published: June 2023

We develop a theory of persistent homology for directed simplicial complexes which detects persistent directed cycles in odd dimensions. We relate directed persistent homology to classical persistent homology, prove some stability results, and discuss the computational challenges of our approach. Our directed persistent homology theory is motivated by homology with semiring coefficients: by explicitly removing additive inverses, we are able to detect directed cycles algebraically.
Convolutional Neural Networks Trained to Identify Words Provide a Surprisingly Good Account of Visual Form Priming Effects
Authors: Yin Dong , Biscione Valerio , Bowers Jeffrey S.
Published: June 2023

A wide variety of orthographic coding schemes and models of visual word identification have been developed to account for masked priming data that provide a measure of orthographic similarity between letter strings. These models tend to include hand-coded orthographic representations with single unit coding for specific forms of knowledge (e.g., units coding for a letter in a given position). Here we assess how well a range of these coding schemes and models account for the pattern of form priming effects taken from the Form Priming Project and compare these findings to results observed with 11 standard deep neural network models (DNNs) developed in computer science. We find that deep convolutional networks (CNNs) perform as well or better than the coding schemes and word recognition models, whereas transformer networks did less well. The success of CNNs is remarkable as their architectures were not developed to support word recognition (they were designed to perform well on object recognition), they classify pixel images of words (rather than artificial encodings of letter strings), and their training was highly simplified (not respecting many key aspects of human experience). In addition to these form priming effects, we find that the DNNs can account for visual similarity effects on priming that are beyond all current psychological models of priming. The findings add to the recent work of Hannagan et al. (2021) and suggest that CNNs should be given more attention in psychology as models of human visual word recognition.