bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metalens array for quantum random number
Authors: Fan Yubin , Chen Shufan , Liu Xiaoyuan , Che Xiaoyu , Qiu Xiaodong , Chen Mu Ku , Tsai Din Ping
Published: September 2024

Quantum random number generation (QRNG) leveraging intrinsic quantum uncertainty has attracted significant interest in the field of integrated photonic architecture, with applications in quantum cryptography, tests of quantum nonlocality, and beyond. The demand for compact, low-energy consumption, robust, fast, and cost-effective QRNGs integrated into photonic chips is highlighted, whereas most previous works focused on bulk optics. Here, based on the metalens array entangled source, we experimentally realized a miniaturized, high-dimensional quantum random number generator via a meta-device without post-randomness extraction. Specifically, the device has a high-density output with 100 channels per square millimeter. This chip-scale quantum randomness source can obtain random number arrays without post-randomness extraction and enable compact integration for quantum applications needing secure keys or randomness. Our approach demonstrates potential in secure key generation and randomness for quantum applications.
Leader–follower dynamics during early social interactions matter for infant word learning
Authors: Goupil Louise , Dautriche Isabelle , Denman Katherine , Henry Zion , Marriott-Haresign Ira , Wass Sam
Published: September 2024

We know little about the mechanisms through which leader–follower dynamics during dyadic play shape infants’ language acquisition. We hypothesized that infants’ decisions to visually explore a specific object signal focal increases in endogenous attention, and that when caregivers respond to these proactive behaviors by naming the object it boosts infants’ word learning. To examine this, we invited caregivers and their 14-mo-old infants to play with novel objects, before testing infants’ retention of the novel object-label mappings. Meanwhile, their electroencephalograms were recorded. Results showed that infants’ proactive looks toward an object during play associated with greater neural signatures of endogenous attention. Furthermore, when caregivers named objects during these episodes, infants showed greater word learning, but only when caregivers also joined their focus of attention. Our findings support the idea that infants’ proactive visual explorations guide their acquisition of a lexicon.
Auditory arguments, advertising, and argumentation theory
Authors: Groarke Leo , Kišiček Gabrijela
Published: September 2024

In this essay, we explore the ways in which argumentation theory can be applied to multimodal advertising. In our discussion we emphasize “auditory” advertisements: advertisements that depend on non-verbal sounds. We show how key tools developed by argumentation theorists (KC tables, argument diagrams, and argument schemes) can be used to analyze and assess advertisements of this sort. Doing so demonstrates one way in which standard methods of argument analysis and evaluation can be applied to one important multimodal genre.
Critical reconstructions of populist multimodal argumentation
Authors: Serafis Dimitris , Mădroane Irina Diana , Lalér Theodor
Published: September 2024

This article extends to the study of populist argumentation a framework for the analysis of inferences implicitly emerging from multimodal artifacts. The framework builds on a post-structuralist approach to populism and integrates multimodal critical discourse studies and argumentation studies, specifically the Argumentum Model of Topics. Particular emphasis is laid on the contribution of visual discourse to the process of inference-making in interrelation with verbal discourse. We illustrate the framework by examining the social media posts of three populist right-wing parties/party members from Sweden, Greece and Romania. Finally, we discuss future avenues for the analysis of populist communication practices online from the perspective we propose.
Detecting generic patterns in multimodal argumentation
Authors: Stöckl Hartmut
Published: September 2024

The present study devises and puts into practice an annotation scheme for interrogating the patterns of multimodal argumentation found in environmental protection print-advertisements collected between 2018 and 2022. 134 ads featuring the sub-topics climate change, deforestation, pollution, and preservation have been subjected to annotations for various features on four levels: genre/text, image, multimodal argument and multimodal coherence/rhetoric. By contrast with previous, predominantly case-based studies in argumentation, the approach presented here aims not to reconstruct single instances of multimodal argumentation but to identify recurrent patterns along with their typical features. The results show distinct regularities in the way arguments for environmental protection are constructed from large images and short text.
Work done on a tennis ball yo–yo
Authors: Cross Rod
Published: September 2024

A tennis ball with string around an equator was allowed to fall like a yo–yo. Measurements and calculations are presented on the total work done on the ball to increase its translational and rotational kinetic energy.
Millimeter wave radiation to measure blood flow in healthy human subjects
Authors: Nelson Julia Louise , Cobb Connor , Keller Joshua L , Traylor Miranda K , Nelson David A , Francis Christopher Michael
Published: September 2024

Objective. Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a progressive cardiovascular condition affecting 8–10 million adults in the United States. PAD elevates the risk of cardiovascular events, but up to 50% of people with PAD are asymptomatic and undiagnosed. In this study, we tested the ability of a device, REFLO (Rapid Electromagnetic FLOw), to identify low blood flow using electromagnetic radiation and dynamic thermography toward a non-invasive PAD diagnostic. Approach. During REFLO radio frequency (RF) irradiation, the rate of temperature increase is a function of the rate of energy absorption and blood flow to the irradiated tissue. For a given rate of RF energy absorption, a slow rate of temperature increase implies a large blood flow rate to the tissue. This is due to the cooling effect of the blood. Post-irradiation, a slow rate of temperature decrease is associated with a low rate of blood flow to the tissue. Here, we performed two cohorts of controlled flow experiments on human calves during baseline, occluded, and post-occluded conditions. Nonlinear regression was used to fit temperature data and obtain the rate constant, which was used as a metric for blood flow. Main results. In the pilot study, (N = 7) REFLO distinguished between baseline and post-occlusion during the irradiation phase, and between baseline and occlusion in the post-irradiation phase. In the reliability study, (N = 5 with 3 visits each), two-way ANOVA revealed that flow and subject significantly affected skin heating and cooling rates, while visit did not. Significance. Results suggest that MMW irradiation can be used to distinguish between blood flow rates in humans. Utilizing the rate of skin cooling rather than heating is more consistent for distinguishing flow. Future modifications and clinical testing will aim to improve REFLO’s ability to distinguish between flow rates and evaluate its ability to accurately identify PAD.
The compression deformation and particles removal of PVA brushes during the post-CMP cleaning process
Authors: Chen Fuping , Wang Yin , Zhou Fan , Chai Guangming , Jin Haiyang , Li Zengyuan , Zhang Jiani , Jiang Yinkui , Wu Zihang , Liu Jiajie , Zhou Frey , Yang Shu , Zhang Xiaoyan , Zhao Hu , Li Xuejun , Zhang David Wei
Published: September 2024

In advanced wafer manufacturing processes, a wet cleaning system (wet in dry out) integrated with chemical mechanical polishing equipment is the primary form of post-chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) cleaning. This pioneering study addresses the quantitative description of the contact between a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge brush and the wafer surface and establishes a relationship between the compression deformation as a function of the pressure on the wafer surface to achieve precise control of the contact between the brush and the wafer. The physical properties of the three types of PVA sponge brushes, namely, porosity, saturated water absorption, and pore change rate, were analyzed, and the effect of particle removal was explored. Finally, the effect of the brush on removing the residual polishing liquid from the wafer surface under different compression deformation conditions was studied, and its internal mechanism was explained. A ‘√’ curve was observed between the compression deformation (stress) and particle removal effect. When the compression deformation (stress) is 0.5 mm (35.11 g), the 26 nm particles on the wafer surface after post-CMP cleaning can reach less than 10ea.
Dancing bubble sonoluminescence in phosphoric acid solution
Authors: Wang 王 Dexin 德鑫 , Qinghim 清 河美 , Bao 包 Wurihan 乌日汗 , Han 韩 Haiying 海英 , Naranmandula 那 仁满都拉
Published: September 2024

Sonoluminescence is more distinctly observed in phosphoric and sulfuric acid, which exhibit high viscosity and lower vapor pressures relative to water. Within an 85-wt% phosphoric acid solution saturated with argon (Ar), variations in the light-emitting regimes of bubbles were noted to correspond with increments in the driving acoustic intensity. Specifically, the bubbles were observed to perform a dance-like motion 2 cm below the multi-bubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) cluster, traversing a 25-mm2 grid during the camera exposure period. Spectral analysis conducted at the beginning of the experiment showed a gradual attenuation of CN (B2Σ–X2Σ) emission concurrent with a strengthening of Ar (4p–4s) atom emission lines. The application of a theoretical temperature model to the spectral data revealed that the internal temperature of the bubbles escalates swiftly upon their implosion. This study is instrumental in advancing the comprehension of the underlying mechanisms of sonoluminescence and in the formulation of a dynamic model for the behavior of the bubbles.
Additional observational features of the thin-shell wormhole by considering quantum corrections*
Authors: Chen 陈 Yun-Xian 芸仙 , Zheng 郑 He-Bin 何斌 , He 何 Ke-Jian 柯腱 , Li 李 Guo-Ping 国平 , Jiang 蒋 Qing-Quan 青权
Published: September 2024

By considering an asymmetric thin-shell wormhole (ATSW) surrounded by an optically and geometrically thin disk, we investigate the luminosity distribution of this ATSW with the spacetime on two sides encoded with the renormalization group improved (RGI) parameters (Ω, γ). Although some light rays are absorbed into the throat in the vicinity of the wormhole, they return through the throat with certain conditions, unlike in the case of black holes. The spacetime on one side of the wormhole can capture the additional photons emitted from the thin disk, resulting in several interesting observable features of the wormhole. The results in this paper show that there are two additional orbit numbers n in the ATSW and six transfer functions, rather than three as in the black hole case. In this case, the ATSW indeed has a more complex observable structure, where some additional light rings arise naturally. For instance, there are two additional photon rings for the emitted Model 1. Moreover, we also find a new wide hump between the first and second additional photon rings in Model 2. The effects of Ω and γ on the observed images are clearly addressed throughout this study, and the influence of Ω is found to be larger. Finally, we conclude that the observations of the RGI-ATSW can help further distinguish it from other ATSWs and black holes when a thin accretion disk exists around it.
A comprehensive analysis of Urban Ecosystem Services and their Valuation – a Case Study on Barasat City, India
Authors: Mukherjee Kasturi , Bhadra Tuhin
Published: September 2024

The urban environment blends natural and artificial components, influenced by factors like culture, behavior, politics, economics, and social structures. Ecosystem services, beneficial to humans, are valued based on the cost of replication. Given urban expansion, studying urban ecosystems is increasingly crucial. This research assesses ecosystem service value (ESV) changes at a regional level from 1989 to 2020 in Barasat, West Bengal, within Kolkata’s urban area. The ESV variations are examined with the value coefficients and land use data. Barasat, an ancient town, is chosen as a case study. Land cover changes are analyzed using 1989, 2001, 2014, and 2020 imagery classified into six categories: built-up areas, water bodies, vegetation, bare soil, homesteads with plantations, and agricultural land. Nine ecosystem services are identified, with calculations made for each ecosystem’s surface area and total service value in 1989 and 2020. Barasat’s urban growth trend has transformed ecosystems into urban areas, reducing service values over time. This study underscores the importance of locally generated urban ecosystem services for city life and calls for attention in urban and environmental management practices.
Pick the butt up! Upcycling cigarette butts in road building material for sustainable road construction.
Authors: Ahlawat Yadvendra , Bhardawaj Avdesh , Bhardwaj Raghav
Published: September 2024

Roads are the lifeline of any nation. They are vital in passenger and freight transportation. Over usage and heavy loads put a lot of stress and strain on the health of the roads. On the other hand, cigarette butts (CB) are discarded unsafely after smoking and persist in nature as the cellulose acetate content in them, which is a microplastic, that does not decompose easily leading to a lot of littering, pollution and toxin dispersal in the environment. This proposed research utilizes the discarded cigarette butts into road construction material increasing its strength, durability and resistance against rutting while reducing costs and thermal conductivity to maintaining better surface temperatures. The utilization of discarded cigarette butts in road construction is a sustainable solution to not only strengthen the roads, but also reduce the negative environmental impact of improper cigarette butt disposal. In contrast to conventional bitumen roads, these roads possess superior toughness along with broad level durability. Multi-pronged approach to research was implemented here that included firstly a thorough literature review, conceiving the research design, conduct of research steps, evaluation of experimental results, and finally drawing conclusions from them. These experiments included retrieval of cellulose acetate from CBs, traditional physical and rheology tests, sieve analysis by Rothfuch’s technique and Marshall stability test. This paper aims to contribute to sustainable development goals by utilizing CBs to strengthen roads and clean the environment by eliminating this litter.
A comparative study of indoor and outdoor air quality and associated potential health effects in Gurugram, India.
Authors: Bhardawaj Avdesh , Chaudhary Anurag Singh , Bhardwaj Raghav
Published: September 2024

Deteriorating air quality remains a leading reason for global human illness and death. This study aims to investigate and compare inside and outside ambient air quality in 15 locations of Gurugram, India. Research technique adopted comprised of extracting outdoor air quality parameter values via Air Quality Index reporting stations for the entire year 2022. Parallel to that, indoor air quality parameter values of houses close to those monitoring stations were recorded through low-cost IoT based AirCubic sensors (T1595) as PM2.5, PM10, relative humidity (RH) and carbon monoxide (CO). After statistical evaluation, it was found that there were significant variations in outdoor and indoor air quality with maximum variations seen in colder season. The study revealed that PM levels were generally lower inside homes than outsides, while CO and RH concentrations were higher indoors. However, these levels often exceeded the acceptable thresholds set by both Indian national and global air quality standards, that could potentially result in harmful health effects, as well as increased risk of short and long-term illnesses, and even death. It may be concluded that more research, extensive air quality monitoring, data sharing, citizen awareness, and better technical and policy inputs are required to maintain healthy air quality for a sustainable lifestyle.
Investigation of the influencing factors and optimization study for the removal of levofloxacin in water using commercial TiO2 photocatalyst under UV-LED irradiation
Authors: Quoc Thao Tran , Tan Thi Pham , Thi Diem Tran , Pham Thanh Hien Lam , Thi Thuy Nguyen , Thi Bich Huyen Trinh , Thi Cam Tien Nguyen , Nhat Huy Nguyen
Published: September 2024

Photocatalysis holds significant promise for effectively eliminating toxins, hard-to-biodegrade, and persistent organic pollutants in water. In this study, we used commercial TiO2 as a photocatalyst under UVA-LED irradiation to remove levofloxacin from water. In the photocatalytic tests, levofloxacin removal efficiency in water reached 68.21% after 120 minutes at pH 4 with an antibiotic/catalyst concentration ratio of 1:20. ANOVA revealed that the model achieved significance, as indicated by a p-value of 0.009. LEVO degradation under UVA-LED is three times higher than that under natural light. Optimal conditions for LEVO removal include pH 4, LEVO/TiO2 ratio of 1:20, and UVA-LED irradiation. The regression model predicts LEVO removal with high accuracy (R2 = 0.8469). This study highlights the use of photocatalysis with TiO2 as a promising approach for pharmaceutical pollutant removal, emphasizing the need for further research in sustainable water treatment technologies.
Simulation of the effects of pile-rock breakwaters on the coastal sediment transport at Ganh-Hao beach, Bac-Lieu province, Vietnam
Authors: Tuan Duc Ho , Quang Truong Nguyen , Quang Hung Phan , Dinh Vu Trinh , Thong Nguyen
Published: September 2024

In recent years, the flat riverside coastal area of the Mekong Delta has been dealing with complex issues related to erosion and the buildup of sediment. Numerous research efforts have been undertaken to propose ways to address the adverse effects of shoreline erosion. One of these proposed solutions involves the construction of various types of breakwaters. A contemporary approach includes a design featuring concrete piles combined with a rock core, which has shown promising initial results in reducing wave impact and promoting sediment accumulation behind the structure. This study adopts a quantitative approach to examine how this structure influences sedimentation and erosion processes, the movement of suspended sandy sediments, and the seafloor within the zone extending from the structure to the shore. The research team utilized the Telemac numerical model, which combines dynamic hydrological calculations with simulations of coastal waves and sediment transport. The simulation results indicate a noticeable reduction in the concentration of suspended sandy sediments and an enhancement in sediment deposition in the area behind the coastal structure.
Assessment on the awareness and attitude about waste recycling in three Vietnamese universities in the framework of GREENUS project
Authors: Thi Tham Tran , Palmieri Roberta , Serranti Silvia , Calderari Gabriella
Published: September 2024

GREEN waste management new edUcation System for recycling and environmental protection in Asia (GREENUS) is a project funded by the European Union to develop the technical capabilities of the younger generations in the waste management sector in Vietnam, enhancing the fundamental role of universities. As a part of the GREENUS project, this study aims to investigate the level of awareness and attitude of the Vietnamese universities about waste recycling and the impact of the project activities. Data were gathered from a questionnaire, which was distributed to three universities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Can Tho University, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology) for three months in 2023. Descriptive statistics and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis were used to analyze the data. The results show that Professors/lecturers as well as older people have higher level of awareness and appear more inclined to engage in waste separation. In addition, females express more willingness to participate in the separate collection of waste for recycling than males. Regarding small electronic devices, the majority replace their mobile phones within three to five years due to damage, while laptops tend to have a longer lifespan, often exceeding five years. Furthermore, the majority of respondents (over 70%) find the GREENUS initiative effective in enhancing their awareness of the importance of proper waste management. They believe that the initiative is valuable since it simply explains why appropriate waste management is everyone responsibility, provides new knowledge on waste management techniques and inspires/motivates people to handle waste correctly. The study can represent a good source of references for suggesting practical policies that spread a new recycling culture, promoting the use of innovative waste collection and recycling systems in the Universities.
Green biochar briquette from enzymatic pretreated biomass wastes via mild-temperature pyrolysis for eco-friendly biofuels
Authors: Xuan Que Vo Nguyen , Tuan Nguyen Ngoc , Xuan Phuong Vo Nguyen
Published: September 2024

In this study, benefits of the enzymatic pretreatment of mixed biomass wastes to a thermochemically favourable precursor for production of ecological biofuels are demonstrated. Biochar briquettes derived from the enzymatic- hydrolysis assisted, mild-temperature pyrolysis of biomass wastes are rich in carbon, exhibit higher calorific values and emit less toxic gases during combustion. Specifically, HHV value of the pretreated briquette increases one half of that of untreated briquette. Levels of CO and CO2 emission during the production and consumption of the treated briquette are lower than those of the untreated one. The results indicate a superior performance of biochar produced from the mixtures of various biomass wastes via the combined enzymatic pretreatment and mild-temperature pyrolysis processes in sustainable applications including biofuels.
A capsule-based scaffold incorporating decellularized extracellular matrix and curcumin for islet beta cell therapy in type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Ma Hailin , Xu Jie , Fang Huan , Su Ya , Lu Yueqi , Shu Yan , Liu Wang , Li Bing , Cheng Yuen Yee , Nie Yi , Zhong Yiming , Song Kedong
Published: September 2024

The transplantation of islet beta cells offers an alternative to heterotopic islet transplantation for treating type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). However, the use of systemic immunosuppressive drugs in islet transplantation poses significant risks to the body. To address this issue, we constructed an encapsulated hybrid scaffold loaded with islet beta cells. This article focuses on the preparation of the encapsulated structure using 3D printing, which incorporates porcine pancreas decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) to the core scaffold. The improved decellularization method successfully preserved a substantial proportion of protein (such as Collagen I and Laminins) architecture and glycosaminoglycans in the dECM hydrogel, while effectively removing most of the DNA. The inclusion of dECM enhanced the physical and chemical properties of the scaffold, resulting in a porosity of 83.62% ± 1.09% and a tensile stress of 1.85 ± 0.16 MPa. In teams of biological activity, dECM demonstrated enhanced proliferation, differentiation, and expression of transcription factors such as Ki67, PDX1, and NKX6.1, leading to improved insulin secretion function in MIN-6 pancreatic beta cells. In the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion experiment on day 21, the maximum insulin secretion from the encapsulated structure reached 1.96 ± 0.08 mIU ml−1, representing a 44% increase compared to the control group. Furthermore, conventional capsule scaffolds leaverage the compatibility of natural biomaterials with macrophages to mitigate immune rejection. Here, incorporating curcumin into the capsule scaffold significantly reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ) secretion by RAW264.7 macrophages and T cells in T1DM mice. This approach protected pancreatic islet cells against immune cell infiltration mediated by inflammatory factors and prevented insulitis. Overall, the encapsulated scaffold developed in this study shows promise as a natural platform for clinical treatment of T1DM.
Plasticity and strength of an equiatomic and a non-equiatomic HfNbTaTiZr high entropy alloy during uniaxial loading : a molecular dynamics simulation study
Authors: Bordoloi Puja , Hazarika Manash Protim , Tripathi Ajay , Chakraborty Somendra Nath
Published: September 2024

Understanding plasticity and strength of high entropy alloys of HfNbTaTiZr is extremely significant in building nuclear reactors, gas turbines, aerospace devices etc. Here we study an equiatomic (Hf0.20-Nb0.20-Ta0.20-Ti0.2-Zr0.20) and a non-equiatomic (Hf0.35-Nb0.20-Ta0.15-Ti0.15-Zr0.15) mixture of two alloys under uniaxial tensile loading from molecular dynamics simulations. Modified Embedded atom potential is used to model both these bcc alloys and all simulations are performed at 300 K with three different tensile strain rates–0.0002, 0.0005 and 0.001 ps−1. Radial distribution functions, bond-orientational parameters and OVITO are used to analyse the MD trajectories. At 0.001 ps−1 strain, both these alloys deform similarly, but differences are observed at 0.0005 and 0.0002 ps−1 strains. At these rates, both alloys deform elastically till 3%, thereafter they deform plastically till 15%–20% strain. Yield strengths are comparable in the elastic limit but in the plastic limit non-equiatomic alloy have higher strength. In equiatomic alloy, bcc phase transforms to fcc whereas in non-equiatomic alloy bcc phase transforms to both fcc and hcp. Formation of hcp atoms (50%) decrease the plasticity of the non-equiatomic alloy but increases its strength. We also observe that in both these alloys and at all strain rates, bcc atoms transform to fcc/hcp atoms through an intermediate amorphous like state. Local coordination and orientation of all atoms change similarly in equiatomic mixture. But in non-equiatomic mixture local orientation in Hf, Ti and Zr changes differently compared to Nb and Ta.
A simple green synthesis of carbon quantum dots from Prunus Armeniaca and their application as fluorescent probes for the selective and sensitive detection of Cd2+ metal ion
Authors: Mujahid M
Published: September 2024

This study used a hydrothermal approach to synthesis carbon dots (CDs) from apricot peel, which were then used as a probe for the selective and sensitive detection of Cd2+ ions. The synthesized CDs’ surface groupings, structure, shape, biological nature, and overall size were examined using standard characterization techniques. With a quantum yield of 22.1%, these CDs showed excitation-dependent fluorescence emission. In addition, Cd2+ ions were distinguished from other metal ions by a noticeable drop in fluorescence intensity. The fluorescence probe showed a linear response ranging from 0–300 μM and a detection threshold (DT) of 0.21 μM, indicating its effectiveness for Cd2+ detection. Furthermore, the CDs demonstrated the practical application by detecting Cd2+ ion in actual water samples.
Multivariate process capability analysis for evaluating metal additive manufacturing via electron beam melting
Authors: Ameen Wadea , Alatefi Moath , Al-Ahmari Abdulrahman , Aldoukhi Murtadha , Ghaleb Atef M , Alfaify Abdullah Yahia
Published: September 2024

Electron beam melting (EBM) as one of the relatively new metal AM techniques showed promising and increasing applications. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the quality of the EBM process using its critical quality characteristics. However, EBM and different AM process parts have many functionally or statistically correlated quality characteristics. Consequently, the quality characteristics of the EBM process should be evaluated together. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the quality of the EBM process using a multivariate process capability index (MPCI). In this study, the dimensional accuracy in different directions is considered as a quality characteristics. The proposed methodology involves producing a large sample of small specimens of square shape using EBM technology. Three critical dimensions of the specimen in the X, Y, and Z axis are investigated as quality characteristics. The dimensions of quality characteristics are measured using a precise measurement device. The normality and stability assumptions of the collected data are investigated using skewness measure, and multivariate process control chart respectively. Then a large sample of the multivariate normal data is simulated using computer software to estimate the percent of nonconforming (PNC) from the established specification limits, which is used to estimate MPCI. Finally, the capable tolerance of the process is estimated and the sensitivity analysis of variation is investigated. The results show the capability of the EBM process under different specification limits designations. Estimating MPCI revealed that the EBM process is capable under very coarse limits only. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis showed that variation in quality characteristics data is very sensitive for MPCI estimation, especially variation in width quality characteristic.
Exploring alternative polymer materials for joint liners: a software-guided material selection
Authors: Yilmaz Galip , Gerdan Zeynep , Çolak Murat
Published: September 2024

This study explores the alternative polymer materials and selection process for joint implant liners, focusing on applying CES Selector software to identify suitable polymer materials. CES Selector provides an easy-to-use interface. It offers multiple selection methods, including boundary values and property constraints. Seven materials were excluded from the analysis, resulting in 19 potential candidates, including unconventional options like EVOH, PCTA, PESU, PI, PPA, PPC, PPSU, and PSU. The materials underwent evaluation based on key criteria, including tensile strength, Young’s modulus, compressive strength, fatigue strength, and fracture toughness. Overall, TPU exhibited a remarkable combination of high mechanical strength and adaptable Young’s modulus, making it a top contender. However, in other evaluation criteria, PI surpassed TPU, solidifying its potential as a superior choice. This systematic approach provides valuable insights for engineers and designers seeking innovative materials for joint implant liners. The study results broaden the range of materials used in implant manufacturing, providing potential alternatives that offer better long-term durability and performance.
Strategic selection of metal-cutting processes for thick steel plates using a hybrid decision methodology
Authors: Kumari Anita , Acherjee Bappa
Published: September 2024

Metal-cutting is indispensable in manufacturing, enabling precise component fabrication for industries like construction, automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding, where accurate, efficient cutting of thick steel plates is crucial. This paper introduces a novel case study to strategically determine the optimal metal-cutting process for thick steel plates utilizing a hybrid MOORA-PSI approach. The use of the hybrid MOORA-PSI method simplifies decision-making by integrating weight assignment and ranking of alternatives. Five prominent metal-cutting processes, including oxygen flame, plasma arc, laser, wire EDM (wire electro-discharge machining), and abrasive water jet cutting, are commonly used for cutting thick steel plates, each with unique capabilities and limitations, and are considered potential alternatives. Eight evaluation criteria, capital cost, running cost, accuracy, edge quality, kerf width, maximum thickness, production flexibility, and production rate, are used to assess these metal-cutting alternatives. Wire EDM ranks as the optimal choice for cutting thick steel plates based on defined evaluation criteria, with laser cutting closely trailing, followed by oxygen flame, abrasive water jet, and plasma cutting successively. The results are validated by comparing them with those of other MCDM approaches and by conducting a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test, yielding consistent results. Additionally, sensitivity analysis, employing criteria weight exchange and dynamic variations in the decision-making matrix, further confirms the accuracy and reliability of the findings.
Critical review of current understanding of passive façade design in residential buildings
Authors: Lee Yilin , Ng Edward
Published: September 2024

A systematic literature review is an objective method to critically evaluate current understanding in the field of building façades. Due to the topical nature of climate change and its impact on the design and performance of facades, the review will critically evaluate selected studies on their ability to respond to current climate (climate-responsiveness) and future climate changes. The study focuses on residential façades since a lack of research was identified for residential (64 studies) compared to commercial façades (255 studies). The study employs the PRISMA model to identify 105 relevant studies. These were analysed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current body of literature on residential façades. Common focus domains were grouped into following research clusters: aesthetics, acoustics, structure, sustainability, pathology, thermal comfort, and natural ventilation, energy efficiency and building performance. Two types of research gaps were identified, gaps by climate and building height, and authors’ self-reported gaps. Reported research gaps were grouped into 3 categories: data, methodology and theory. Quantitative building performance has been thoroughly studied. However, the impact of human behaviour, elements of future change, and climate change on building performance present research gaps which require further investigation. Moreover, only 15 studies (14.3%) were conducted for a tropical climate, and only 8 (7.6%) studies investigated high-rise buildings. High-density megacities and high-rise buildings will become more common, and mainly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions. It is, therefore, important to research how residential façades should be designed for high-rise buildings in hot climates considering future change. The critical evaluation assesses whether and how these studies address climate change and extreme weather. Additionally, socio-economic changes are important. Land scarcity, increasing real estate values, and shrinking family size could lead to smaller flat sizes. Future work may consider the delicate balance between façade ratio, flat size, energy, cost, and comfort.
Letting Go
Authors: Kurz Demie
Published: September 2024

How are parents in America doing? Are they “helicopter parenting,” micromanaging the lives of their children? Failing to spend enough time with their children? While Americans raise questions about today’s parents, the challenges of parenting are not well understood. Based on numerous interviews with a diverse group of mothers of teenagers and young adults, Letting Go moves beyond popular views and offers a new understanding of parenting that demonstrates the challenging situations parents must navigate today as they guide their children through adolescence and young adulthood.

Parents are expected to supervise the lives of their teens on an ongoing basis and ensure that they safely transition to young adulthood and on to adulthood and gain the credentials they need to succeed in an era when reaching adulthood has become more demanding. At the same time, parents must pull back and “let go” so their teens and young adults learn to take more responsibility for their lives. The negotiations with teens and young adults over control, trust, and letting go that mothers describe in this book offer an invaluable portrayal of the uncertainties and questions that underlie the day-to-day lives of contemporary parents.

At a time when the transition to adulthood has become longer and more challenging, Letting Go offers a nuanced, candid portrayal of the real dilemmas parents face at this time, the deeply emotional dynamics involved in raising adolescents and young adults, and the ways social policy can play a key role in helping young people ultimately succeed.
Promoting School Success and Preparing for Postsecondary Education
Authors: Kurz Demie
Published: September 2024

Chapter 4 explores the challenges mothers face in supporting their teens’ education. Mothers feel tremendous responsibility for ensuring that their teens succeed in school. They monitor teens’ progress in school, talk with their teens about assignments and deadlines, help them with school-related problems, attend parent-teacher meetings, and meet with teachers to learn of their teens’ progress in school. They provide encouragement for teens, help with their schoolwork as appropriate, and emotional support for teens who feel stress over their schoolwork. At the same time, mothers pull back and urge their teens to take responsibility for their schoolwork. Pulling back and letting go of some of their involvement in teens’ schoolwork can be challenging, as the stakes for successfully completing secondary school and obtaining some type of further education are high. Mothers feel they cannot let their teens fall behind. In the current era, the successful completion of high school and college is essential for achieving an adequate standard of living in adulthood.
Genome-wide analysis of flavonoid biosynthetic genes in Musaceae (Ensete, Musella, and Musa species) reveals amplification of flavonoid 3ʹ,5ʹ-hydroxylase
Authors: Cui Dongli , Xiong Gui , Ye Lyuhan , Gornall Richard , Wang Ziwei , Heslop-Harrison Pat , Liu Qing
Published: September 2024

Flavonoids in Musaceae are involved in pigmentation and stress responses, including cold resistance, and are a component of the healthy human diet. Identification and analysis of the sequence and copy number of flavonoid biosynthetic genes are valuable for understanding the nature and diversity of flavonoid evolution in Musaceae species. In this study, we identified 71–80 flavonoid biosynthetic genes in chromosome-scale genome sequence assemblies of Musaceae, including those of Ensete glaucum, Musella lasiocarpa, Musa beccarii, M. acuminata, M. balbisiana and M. schizocarpa, checking annotations with BLAST and determining the presence of conserved domains. The number of genes increased through segmental duplication and tandem duplication. Orthologues of both structural and regulatory genes in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway are highly conserved across Musaceae. The flavonoid 3ʹ,5ʹ-hydroxylase gene F3ʹ5ʹH was amplified in Musaceae and ginger compared with grasses (rice, Brachypodium, Avena longiglumis, and sorghum). One group of genes from this gene family amplified near the centromere of chromosome 2 in the x = 11 Musaceae species. Flavonoid biosynthetic genes displayed few consistent responses in the yellow and red bracts of Musella lasiocarpa when subjected to low temperatures. The expression levels of MlDFR2/3 (dihydroflavonol reductase) increased while MlLAR (leucoanthocyanidin reductase) was reduced by half. Overall, the results establish the range of diversity in both sequence and copy number of flavonoid biosynthetic genes during evolution of Musaceae. The combination of allelic variants of genes, changes in their copy numbers, and variation in transcription factors with the modulation of expression under cold treatments and between genotypes with contrasting bract-colours suggests the variation may be exploited in plant breeding programmes, particularly for improvement of stress-resistance in the banana crop.
Evaluating GPT and BERT models for protein–protein interaction identification in biomedical text
Authors: Rehana Hasin , Çam Nur Bengisu , Basmaci Mert , Zheng Jie , Jemiyo Christianah , He Yongqun , Özgür Arzucan , Hur Junguk
Published: September 2024

Motivation

Detecting protein–protein interactions (PPIs) is crucial for understanding genetic mechanisms, disease pathogenesis, and drug design. As biomedical literature continues to grow rapidly, there is an increasing need for automated and accurate extraction of these interactions to facilitate scientific discovery. Pretrained language models, such as generative pretrained transformers and bidirectional encoder representations from transformers, have shown promising results in natural language processing tasks.

Results

We evaluated the performance of PPI identification using multiple transformer-based models across three manually curated gold-standard corpora: Learning Language in Logic with 164 interactions in 77 sentences, Human Protein Reference Database with 163 interactions in 145 sentences, and Interaction Extraction Performance Assessment with 335 interactions in 486 sentences. Models based on bidirectional encoder representations achieved the best overall performance, with BioBERT achieving the highest recall of 91.95% and F1 score of 86.84% on the Learning Language in Logic dataset. Despite not being explicitly trained for biomedical texts, GPT-4 showed commendable performance, comparable to the bidirectional encoder models. Specifically, GPT-4 achieved the highest precision of 88.37%, a recall of 85.14%, and an F1 score of 86.49% on the same dataset. These results suggest that GPT-4 can effectively detect protein interactions from text, offering valuable applications in mining biomedical literature.

Availability and implementation

The source code and datasets used in this study are available at https://github.com/hurlab/PPI-GPT-BERT.
Feature selection by replicate reproducibility and non-redundancy
Authors: Capraz Tümay , Huber Wolfgang
Published: September 2024

Motivation

A fundamental step in many analyses of high-dimensional data is dimension reduction. Two basic approaches are introduction of new synthetic coordinates and selection of extant features. Advantages of the latter include interpretability, simplicity, transferability, and modularity. A common criterion for unsupervized feature selection is variance or dynamic range. However, in practice, it can occur that high-variance features are noisy, that important features have low variance, or that variances are simply not comparable across features because they are measured in unrelated numeric scales or physical units. Moreover, users may want to include measures of signal-to-noise ratio and non-redundancy into feature selection.

Results

Here, we introduce the RNR algorithm, which selects features based on (i) the reproducibility of their signal across replicates and (ii) their non-redundancy, measured by linear dependence. It takes as input a typically large set of features measured on a collection of objects with two or more replicates per object. It returns an ordered list of features, i1,i2,…,ik, where feature i1 is the one with the highest reproducibility across replicates, i2 that with the highest reproducibility across replicates after projecting out the dimension spanned by i1, and so on. Applications to microscopy-based imaging of cells and proteomics highlight benefits of the approach.

Availability and implementation

The RNR method is available via Bioconductor (Huber W, Carey VJ, Gentleman R et al. (Orchestrating high-throughput genomic analysis with bioconductor. Nat Methods 2015;12:115–21.) in the R package FeatSeekR. Its source code is also available at https://github.com/tcapraz/FeatSeekR under the GPL-3 open source license.
A Three-Year Comparison of Global Social Worker Working Conditions
Authors: Ravalier Jermaine M , McFadden Paula , Jones David , Truell Rory
Published: September 2024

Social workers play a vital role in the lives of some of the most vulnerable people around the world. However, evidence increasingly shows that social workers across the world are exposed to chronically difficult working conditions. This study seeks to outline the influence of working conditions on well-being of social workers worldwide, and compare whether working conditions and well-being changed across a three-year period via a two-phase cross-sectional survey. The survey aimed to measure these working conditions and well-being at a national level across the world. Results demonstrated significant differences in six of seven conditions measured, with each of demands, control, role understanding, change communication and psychological well-being worsening across time. These changes were particularly mirrored in European social workers. However, North American social work respondents saw improvements in role understanding and relationships with colleagues. Policy makers, professional organisations and employers need to pay attention to these findings and consider methods to be undertaken which can improve on these findings, because without improvements we will see declining working conditions and well-being in the sector, with all of the knock-on effects on vulnerable individuals and families that go along with the decline.
How to make a shared decision with older persons for end-stage kidney disease treatment: the added value of geronto-nephrology
Authors: Guerville Florent , Pépin Marion , Garnier-Crussard Antoine , Beuscart Jean-Baptiste , Citarda Salvatore , Hocine Aldjia , Villain Cédric , Tannou Thomas
Published: September 2024

Improving care for older people with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) requires the adaptation of standards to meet their needs. This may be complex due to their heterogeneity in terms of multimorbidity, frailty, cognitive decline and healthcare priorities. As benefits and risks are uncertain for these persons, choosing an appropriate treatment is a daily challenge for nephrologists. In this narrative review, we aimed to describe the issues associated with healthcare for older people, with a specific focus on decision-making processes; apply these concepts to the context of ESKD; identify components and modalities of shared decision-making and suggest means to improve care pathways. To this end, we propose a geronto-nephrology dynamic, described here as the necessary collaboration between these specialties. Underscoring gaps in the current evidence in this field led us to suggest priority research orientations.