bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
European Union Cooperation in Colombia: A Commitment to Peacebuilding in Historical Perspective
Authors: Duque Juana García
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes the historical evolution of the EU’s international development cooperation in Colombia. This has continued to favour peacebuilding, which began two decades ago with the Peace Laboratories and has continued to the present day. The internationalization of the Colombian armed conflict during the mandate of President Pastrana attracted resources from international cooperation in the search for a negotiated peace. Following the failure of the dialogues with the FARC-EP, the Colombian government developed the Plan Colombia, which was not supported by the EU. The latter, on the contrary, during the mandate of President Uribe, when the path of negotiation with the armed groups was closed, opted to give economic and political support to the Peace Laboratories. In this way, it sought to build peace in the midst of the conflict by strengthening local capabilities and social processes. Later, during the mandate of President Santos, the EU was one of the main supporters of the negotiations in Havana and, subsequently, of the Peace Agreement.
Do stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of Nitella flexilis differ between softwater and hardwater lakes?
Authors: Pronin Eugeniusz , Banaś Krzysztof , Chmara Rafał , Ronowski Rafał , Merdalski Marek , Santoni Anne-Lise , Mathieu Olivier
Published: May 2023

The composition of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) is widely used for tracking the origin of organic matter (OM) present in lacustrine sediments. These isotopes also define the evolution of OM in food web loops. Charophyte species Nitella flexilis C. Agardh, 1824 can be found in different aquatic environments where it contributes significantly to sediment formation and influences biota function. Therefore, it is crucial to study more about δ13C and δ15N in different lake types. Here, we present the results of the first comprehensive study of N. flexilis δ13C and δ15N, which add to the knowledge of the C and N isotope records of charophytes. We obtained the δ13C and δ15N records of N. flexilis OM from hardwater and softwater lakes and checked for differences between these records. We also analyzed the differences in physical and chemical parameters. Finally, we compared the δ13C and δ15N records with physical and chemical parameters to identify the variables that have the highest influence on N. flexilis δ13C and δ15N values. Our study showed that both δ13C and δ15N did not differ significantly in the two types of lakes, although the lakes had significant differences in several physical and chemical parameters (pH, Ca2+, dissolved inorganic carbon, total phosphorus, conductivity). However, we observed that δ13C values were influenced by light conditions (photosynthetic active radiation, depth, dissolved OM), while δ15N values were influenced by the total nitrogen concentration in water.
Clinicopathologic and prognostic factors of patients with T3/T4 colorectal signet ring cell carcinoma: a population-based study
Authors: Zhang Fan , Xu Boqi , Peng Yao , Mao Zhongqi
Published: May 2023

Background

To evaluate cancer-specific survival (CSS) and construct a nomogram to predict the CSS of patients with colorectal signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC).

Methods

The data for patients with colorectal SRCC from 2000 to 2019 was identified from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to minimize bias between SRCC and adenocarcinoma patients. Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were used to estimate the CSS. A nomogram was constructed based on the independent prognostic factors identified by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. The model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration plots.

Results

Poor CSS was more common in patients with colorectal SRCC, especially in patients with T4/N2 stage, tumor size > 80 mm, grade III-IV, and chemotherapy. Age, T/N stage, and tumor size > 80 mm were identified as independent prognostic indicators. And a prognostic nomogram was constructed and validated as an accurate model for the CSS of patients with colorectal SRCC by ROC curves and calibration plots.

Conclusion

Patients with colorectal SRCC have a poor prognosis. And the nomogram was expected to be effective in predicting the survival of patients with colorectal SRCC.
Acoustic Analysis of Voluntary Coughs, Throat Clearings, and Induced Reflexive Coughs in a Healthy Population
Authors: Mootassim-Billah Sofiana , Schoentgen Jean , De Bodt Marc , Roper Nicolas , Digonnet Antoine , Le Tensorer Mathilde , Van Nuffelen Gwen , Van Gestel Dirk
Published: May 2023

Cough efficacy is considered a reliable predictor of the aspiration risk in head and neck cancer patients with radiation-associated dysphagia. Currently, coughing is assessed perceptually or aerodynamically. The goal of our research is to develop methods of acoustic cough analysis. In this study, we examined in a healthy population the acoustical differences between three protective maneuvers: voluntary cough, voluntary throat clearing, and induced reflexive cough. Forty healthy participants were included in this study. Voluntary cough, voluntary throat clearing, and reflexive cough samples were recorded and analyzed acoustically. Temporal acoustic features were the following: the slope and curvature of the amplitude contour, as well as the average, slope, and curvature of the sample entropy and kurtosis contours of the recorded signal. Spectral features were the relative energy in the frequency bands (0–400 Hz, 400–800 Hz, 800–1600 Hz, 1600 Hz-3200 Hz, > 3200 Hz) as well as the weighted spectral energy. Results showed that, compared to a voluntary cough, a throat clearing starts with a weaker onset pulse and involves oscillations from the onset to the offset (concave curvature of the amplitude contour, p < 0.05), lower average (p < 0.05), and slope (p < 0.05) as well as lower convex curvature (p < 0.05) of the kurtosis contour. An induced reflexive cough starts with a higher and briefer onset burst and includes higher frication noise (larger convexity of the curvature of the amplitude and kurtosis contours (p < 0.05)) compared to a voluntary cough. The conclusion is that voluntary coughs are acoustically significantly different from voluntary throat clearings and induced reflexive coughs.
Some Applications of Renormalization Group to Few-Body Problems in EFT
Authors: Mindadze B. , Epelbaum E. , Gegelia J.
Published: May 2023

General aspects of applying renormalization group in perturbative calculations are briefly discussed. Next, an application of the Wilsonian renormalization group with multitude of cutoff parameters to halo EFT for P-wave shallow states is considered.
Single-incision laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty: 1,054 procedures and experience
Authors: Jiao Jingyi , Zhu Xiaojun , Zhou Chun , Wang Peng
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Although there have been numerous studies on single-incision laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (SIL-IHR), the short- and long-term outcomes in patients from a large single institution who underwent single-incision laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty (SIL-TAPP) have rarely been reported. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of SIL-TAPP and its safety and feasibility in patients from a large single institution.

Methods

The details of 1,054 procedures in 966 patients who underwent SIL-TAPP at the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2015 to October 2022 were retrospectively analysed. SIL-TAPP was performed completely through the umbilicus using conventional laparoscopic instruments. Short-term and long-term outcomes of SIL-TAPP were collected by outpatient and telephone follow-ups. In addition, we further compared the operation time, length of postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications of patients with simple and complicated unilateral inguinal hernias.

Results

A total of 1,054 procedures were performed for 878 unilateral inguinal hernias and 88 bilateral inguinal hernias. In total, there were 803 (76.2%) indirect inguinal hernias, 192 (18.2%) direct inguinal hernias, 51 (4.8%) femoral hernias and 8 (0.8%) combined hernias. The mean operative time was 35.5 ± 17.0 min for unilateral inguinal hernias and 51.9 ± 25.5 min for bilateral inguinal hernias. There was one (0.1%) conversion to two-incision laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty. No intraoperative haemorrhages, inferior epigastric vessel injury or nerve damage occurred. Postoperative complications were minor and could be resolved without surgical intervention. The mean length of hospital stay was 1.3 ± 0.8 days. The median follow-up was 44 months, no trocar hernia occurred, and there was one (0.1%) recurrence. The operation time in the complicated inguinal hernia group was significantly higher than that in the simple inguinal hernia group (38.9 ± 22.3 vs. 35.0 ± 15.6, p = 0.025). The length of postoperative hospital stay and complication rate of the complicated inguinal hernia group were slightly higher than those of the simple inguinal hernia group, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion

SIL-TAPP is safe and technically feasible, and both short- and long-term outcomes are acceptable.
Tolerant macaque species are less impulsive and reactive
Authors: Loyant Louise , Waller Bridget M. , Micheletta Jérôme , Meunier Hélène , Ballesta Sébastien , Joly Marine
Published: May 2023

Inhibitory control, the inhibition of impulsive behaviours, is believed to be key in navigating a complex social environment. Species characterised by higher social tolerance, living in more complex groups, with more diverse relationships, face higher uncertainty regarding the outcome of social interactions and, therefore, would benefit from employing more inhibitory strategies. To date, little is known about the selective forces that favour the evolution of inhibitory control. In this study, we compared inhibitory control skills in three closely related macaque species which differ in their social tolerance style. We tested 66 macaques from two institutions (Macaca mulatta, low tolerance; M. fascicularis, medium tolerance; and M. tonkeana, high tolerance) using a battery of validated inhibitory control touchscreen tasks. Higher social tolerance was associated with enhanced inhibitory control performances. More tolerant species were less impulsive and less distracted by pictures of unknown conspecifics. Interestingly, we did not find evidence that social tolerance degree was associated with performance in reversal learning. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that evolution has promoted the development of socio-cognitive skills to cope with the demands related to the complexity of the social environment.
Leading Without a Self: Implications of Buddhist Practices for Pseudo-spiritual Leadership
Authors: Fry Louis W. , Vu Mai Chi
Published: May 2023

This paper extends Being-centered and spiritual leadership theory using non-self from the Buddhist philosophy to further our understanding of how inner life functions as the source of spiritual leadership. While spiritual leadership theory has received widespread acceptance and considerable empirical support, its developmental process and potential for being used to pursue self-centered ends remain underdeveloped. Drawing on non-self from the Buddhist emptiness theory, we identify different egoistic forms of attachment at each level of being that can lead to forms of suffering in spiritual leadership. Then we show how leaders operating at lower levels of being can fall into the trap of practicing a form of pseudo-spiritual leadership that is overly focused on self-centered or instrumental purposes and economic rationality. We then introduce mechanisms to move beyond pseudo-spiritual leadership practices and discuss implications for future theory, research, and practice.
On a Computationally Ill-Behaved Bilevel Problem with a Continuous and Nonconvex Lower Level
Authors: Beck Yasmine , Bienstock Daniel , Schmidt Martin , Thürauf Johannes
Published: May 2023

It is well known that bilevel optimization problems are hard to solve both in theory and practice. In this paper, we highlight a further computational difficulty when it comes to solving bilevel problems with continuous but nonconvex lower levels. Even if the lower-level problem is solved to $$\varepsilon $$
ε
-feasibility regarding its nonlinear constraints for an arbitrarily small but positive $$\varepsilon $$
ε
, the obtained bilevel solution as well as its objective value may be arbitrarily far away from the actual bilevel solution and its actual objective value. This result even holds for bilevel problems for which the nonconvex lower level is uniquely solvable, for which the strict complementarity condition holds, for which the feasible set is convex, and for which Slater’s constraint qualification is satisfied for all feasible upper-level decisions. Since the consideration of $$\varepsilon $$
ε
-feasibility cannot be avoided when solving nonconvex problems to global optimality, our result shows that computational bilevel optimization with continuous and nonconvex lower levels needs to be done with great care. Finally, we illustrate that the nonlinearities in the lower level are the key reason for the observed bad behavior by showing that linear bilevel problems behave much better at least on the level of feasible solutions.
Target for campaign success: an empirical analysis of equity crowdfunding in Japan
Authors: Honjo Yuji , Kurihara Koki
Published: May 2023

This study investigates campaign success in equity crowdfunding, using campaigns listed on a leading Japanese equity crowdfunding platform with an all-or-nothing rule. We examine how campaign success depends on campaign- and firm-specific characteristics, including the campaign target amount. We find that patenting positively affects campaign success and the campaign target amount. The results indicate that innovative firms have a higher probability of campaign success, while they set a higher target amount. We also provide evidence that campaigns that have already provided services and products have a lower probability of success, although not always significant, and firms tend to set a lower target amount. Moreover, campaigns launched by venture capital-backed firms are more likely to succeed than others. Furthermore, campaigns launched by firms eligible for the Angel Tax System, introduced in Japan as a tax incentive for investment in young and small firms, have a higher tendency to succeed in equity crowdfunding. Our findings suggest that the Angel Tax System attract more crowd investors and such tax incentives help raise funds on equity crowdfunding platforms for new businesses.
Recurrent neural networks for generalization towards the vessel geometry in autonomous endovascular guidewire navigation in the aortic arch
Authors: Karstensen Lennart , Ritter Jacqueline , Hatzl Johannes , Ernst Floris , Langejürgen Jens , Uhl Christian , Mathis-Ullrich Franziska
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Endovascular intervention is the state-of-the-art treatment for common cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. Automation of the procedure may improve the working conditions of physicians and provide high-quality care to patients in remote areas, posing a major impact on overall treatment quality. However, this requires the adaption to individual patient anatomies, which currently poses an unsolved challenge.

Methods

This work investigates an endovascular guidewire controller architecture based on recurrent neural networks. The controller is evaluated in-silico on its ability to adapt to new vessel geometries when navigating through the aortic arch. The controller’s generalization capabilities are examined by reducing the number of variations seen during training. For this purpose, an endovascular simulation environment is introduced, which allows guidewire navigation in a parametrizable aortic arch.

Results

The recurrent controller achieves a higher navigation success rate of 75.0% after 29,200 interventions compared to 71.6% after 156,800 interventions for a feedforward controller. Furthermore, the recurrent controller generalizes to previously unseen aortic arches and is robust towards size changes of the aortic arch. Being trained on 2048 aortic arch geometries gives the same results as being trained with full variation when evaluated on 1000 different geometries. For interpolation a gap of 30% of the scaling range and for extrapolation additional 10% of the scaling range can be navigated successfully.

Conclusion

Adaption to new vessel geometries is essential in the navigation of endovascular instruments. Therefore, the intrinsic generalization to new vessel geometries poses an essential step towards autonomous endovascular robotics.
Können plakatbezogene Nudges zum Treppensteigen animieren?
Authors: Boyde Isabell , Ewert Benjamin , Dadaczynski Kevin
Published: May 2023

Hintergrund

Bewegungsmangel ist mitverantwortlich für die Entstehung nichtübertragbarer Krankheiten und zählt zu einem der führenden Risikofaktoren für frühzeitige Todesfälle. Treppensteigen bietet eine niedrigschwellige Möglichkeit, das Aktivitätsniveau im Alltag zu steigern. Studien berichten über positive Effekte von sog. „Nudges“ in Zusammenhang mit Maßnahmen zur Bewegungsförderung.

Zielstellung

Dieser Beitrag stellt das Nudge-basierte Pilotprojekt „Marburg. Geht doch!“ vor und überprüft dessen Wirkung auf die niedrigschwellige körperliche Aktivität (Nutzung der Treppe).

Methodik

Die Überprüfung von Unterschieden im Treppennutzungsverhalten erfolgte durch nicht-teilnehmende Beobachtungen vor sowie 2 Wochen nach Initiierung der Nudge-Intervention mithilfe eines standardisierten Beobachtungsbogens sowie Feedbackgesprächen mit Passant*innen (nBZP1 = 2118, nBZP2 = 2149). Die Daten wurden bivariat mittels Kreuztabelle und angeschlossenem χ2-Test ausgewertet. Die Auswertung des strukturierten Feedbacks erfolgte univariat mithilfe von prozentualen Häufigkeiten.

Ergebnisse

Durch die Intervention konnte keine signifikante Erhöhung der Treppennutzung festgestellt werden. Differenziert nach Geschlecht ließ sich bei Frauen im zweiten Beobachtungszeitpunkt eine signifikant höhere Treppennutzung von etwa 4 % beobachten (χ2[df = 1] = 5,361, p < 0,05). Während sich für die Altersgruppen keine signifikanten Unterschiede absichern ließen, fanden sich in Abhängigkeit des Beobachtungsorts nicht homogene Unterschiede der Treppennutzung. Die Feedbackgespräche wiesen für die Mehrheit der befragten Personen auf eine positive Bewertung der Nudging-Intervention.

Schlussfolgerung

Obgleich eine Verbesserung der Treppennutzung für die in dieser Studie beobachtete Gesamtpopulation nicht beobachtet werden konnte, liefern die Ergebnisse dennoch Hinweise für das Potenzial von Nudging-Interventionen zur Förderung eines insgesamt aktiveren Lebensstils. Künftige Interventionen sollten stärkere Sorgfalt auf die inhaltliche Gestaltung und das Design legen, geschlechtsspezifisch ausgerichtet sein und angemessene Evaluationsdesigns anwenden.
Kinetics of Transformation, Border of Metastable Miscibility Gap in Fe–Cr Alloy and Limit of Cr Solubility in Iron at 858 K
Authors: Dubiel S. M. , Żukrowski J.
Published: May 2023

The study was aimed at determination of the position of the Fe-rich border of the metastable miscibility gap (MMG) and of the solubility limit of Cr in iron at 858 K. Towards this end, a Fe73.7Cr26.3 alloy was isothermally annealed at 858 K in vacuum up to 8144 hours and Mössbauer spectra were recorded at room temperature after every step of the annealing. Three spectral parameters viz. the average hyperfine field, 〈B〉, the average isomer shift, 〈IS〉, and the probability of the atomic configuration with no Cr atoms in the two-shell vicinity of the probe Fe atoms, P(0,0), gave evidence that the transformation process took place in two stages. All three parameters could have been well described in terms of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov equation, yielding kinetics parameters. The first stage, associated with the phase decomposition, proceeded much faster than the second stage, associated with the alpha-to-sigma phase transformation. The most reliable estimation of the position of the MMG and that of the value of the Cr solubility limit was obtained from the annealing time dependence of 〈B〉, namely 24.5 at. pct Cr for the former and 20.3 at. pct Cr for the latter. A comparison of these figures with the recent phase diagrams pertinent to Fe–Cr system was done.
A general class of shock models with dependent inter-arrival times
Authors: Goyal Dheeraj , Hazra Nil Kamal , Finkelstein Maxim
Published: May 2023

We introduce and study a general class of shock models with dependent inter-arrival times of shocks that occur according to the homogeneous Poisson generalized gamma process. A lifetime of a system affected by a shock process from this class is represented by the convolution of inter-arrival times of shocks. This class contains many popular shock models, namely the extreme shock model, the generalized extreme shock model, the run shock model, the generalized run shock model, specific mixed shock models, etc. For systems operating under shocks, we derive and discuss the main reliability characteristics (namely the survival function, the failure rate function, the mean residual lifetime function and the mean lifetime) and study relevant stochastic comparisons. Finally, we provide some numerical examples and illustrate our findings by the application that considers an optimal mission duration policy.
Structural insights into regulation of CCN protein activities and functions
Authors: Monsen Vivi Talstad , Attramadal Håvard
Published: May 2023

CCN proteins play important functions during development, in repair mechanisms following tissue injury, as well as in pathophysiologic mechanisms of metastasis of cancer. CCNs are secreted proteins that have a multimodular structure and are categorized as matricellular proteins. Although the prevailing view is that CCN proteins regulate biologic processes by interacting with a wide array of other proteins in the microenvironment of the extracellular matrix, the molecular mechanisms of action of CCN proteins are still poorly understood. Not dissuading the current view, however, the recent appreciation that these proteins are signaling proteins in their own right and may even be considered preproproteins controlled by endopeptidases to release a C-terminal bioactive peptide has opened new avenues of research. Also, the recent resolution of the crystal structure of two of the domains of CCN3 have provided new knowledge with implications for the entire CCN family. These resolved structures in combination with structural predictions based upon the AlphaFold artificial intelligence tool provide means to shed new light on CCN functions in context of the notable literature in the field. CCN proteins have emerged as important therapeutic targets in several disease conditions, and clinical trials are currently ongoing. Thus, a review that critically discusses structure - function relationship of CCN proteins, in particular as it relates to interactions with other proteins in the extracellular milieu and on the cell surface, as well as to cell signaling activities of these proteins, is very timely.

Graphical abstract

Suggested mechanism for activation and inhibition of signaling by the CCN protein family (graphics generated withBioRender.com).
No (good) loss no gain: systematic evaluation of loss functions in deep learning-based side-channel analysis
Authors: Kerkhof Maikel , Wu Lichao , Perin Guilherme , Picek Stjepan
Published: May 2023

Deep learning is a powerful direction for profiling side-channel analysis as it can break targets protected with countermeasures even with a relatively small number of attack traces. Still, it is necessary to conduct hyperparameter tuning to reach strong attack performance, which can be far from trivial. Besides many options stemming from the machine learning domain, recent years also brought neural network elements specially designed for side-channel analysis. The loss function, which calculates the error or loss between the actual and desired output, is one of the most important neural network elements. The resulting loss values guide the weights update associated with the connections between the neurons or filters of the deep learning neural network. Unfortunately, despite being a highly relevant hyperparameter, there are no systematic comparisons among different loss functions regarding their effectiveness in side-channel attacks. This work provides a detailed study of the efficiency of different loss functions in the SCA context. We evaluate five loss functions commonly used in machine learning and three loss functions specifically designed for SCA. Our results show that an SCA-specific loss function (called CER) performs very well and outperforms other loss functions in most evaluated settings. Still, categorical cross-entropy represents a good option, especially considering the variety of neural network architectures.
Crosstalk between long noncoding RNA and microRNA in Cancer
Authors: Bhattacharjee Rahul , Prabhakar Neeraj , Kumar Lamha , Bhattacharjee Arkadyuti , Kar Sulagna , Malik Sumira , Kumar Dhruv , Ruokolainen Janne , Negi Arvind , Jha Niraj Kumar , Kesari Kavindra Kumar
Published: May 2023

miRNAs and lncRNAs play a central role in cancer-associated gene regulations. The dysregulated expression of lncRNAs has been reported as a hallmark of cancer progression, acting as an independent prediction marker for an individual cancer patient. The interplay of miRNA and lncRNA decides the variation of tumorigenesis that could be mediated by acting as sponges for endogenous RNAs, regulating miRNA decay, mediating intra-chromosomal interactions, and modulating epigenetic components. This paper focuses on the influence of crosstalk between lncRNA and miRNA on cancer hallmarks such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition, hijacking cell death, metastasis, and invasion. Other cellular roles of crosstalks, such as neovascularization, vascular mimicry, and angiogenesis were also discussed. Additionally, we reviewed crosstalk mechanism with specific host immune responses and targeting interplay (between lncRNA and miRNA) in cancer diagnosis and management.

Graphic Abstract
Analysis of two thermoelastic problems with the Green–Lindsay model
Authors: Bazarra Noelia , Fernández José R. , Quintanilla Ramón
Published: May 2023

In this paper, we analyze, from the numerical point of view, two thermo-elastic problems involving the Green–Lindsay theory. The coupling term is different for each case, involving second order or first order spatial derivatives, respectively. The variational formulation leads to a linear coupled system which is written in terms of the velocity and temperature speed. An existence and uniqueness results and the exponential energy decay for the problem with the stronger coupling are recalled. The polynomial energy decay for the weaker coupling is then proved but using the theory of linear semigroups. Then, a fully discrete approximation is introduced using the finite element method and an implicit scheme. A discrete stability property and a main a priori error estimates result are shown, from which we can derive the linear convergence of the approximations. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the algorithm, the discrete energy decay and the dependence on the relaxation parameter.
Biological Tissue-Inspired Ultrasoft, Ultrathin, and Mechanically Enhanced Microfiber Composite Hydrogel for Flexible Bioelectronics
Authors: Gao Qiang , Sun Fuqin , Li Yue , Li Lianhui , Liu Mengyuan , Wang Shuqi , Wang Yongfeng , Li Tie , Liu Lin , Feng Simin , Wang Xiaowei , Agarwal Seema , Zhang Ting
Published: May 2023

Hydrogels offer tissue-like softness, stretchability, fracture toughness, ionic conductivity, and compatibility with biological tissues, which make them promising candidates for fabricating flexible bioelectronics. A soft hydrogel film offers an ideal interface to directly bridge thin-film electronics with the soft tissues. However, it remains difficult to fabricate a soft hydrogel film with an ultrathin configuration and excellent mechanical strength. Here we report a biological tissue-inspired ultrasoft microfiber composite ultrathin (< 5 μm) hydrogel film, which is currently the thinnest hydrogel film as far as we know. The embedded microfibers endow the composite hydrogel with prominent mechanical strength (tensile stress ~ 6 MPa) and anti-tearing property. Moreover, our microfiber composite hydrogel offers the capability of tunable mechanical properties in a broad range, allowing for matching the modulus of most biological tissues and organs. The incorporation of glycerol and salt ions imparts the microfiber composite hydrogel with high ionic conductivity and prominent anti-dehydration behavior. Such microfiber composite hydrogels are promising for constructing attaching-type flexible bioelectronics to monitor biosignals.
Highly Efficient and Stable FAPbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules Based on Exposure of the (011) Facet
Authors: Zhang Kai , Ding Bin , Wang Chenyue , Shi Pengju , Zhang Xianfu , Liu Cheng , Yang Yi , Gao Xingyu , Wang Rui , Tao Li , Brooks Keith G. , Dai Songyuan , Dyson Paul J. , Nazeeruddin Mohammad Khaja , Ding Yong
Published: May 2023

Perovskite crystal facets greatly impact the performance and stability of their corresponding photovoltaic devices. Compared to the (001) facet, the (011) facet yields better photoelectric properties, including higher conductivity and enhanced charge carrier mobility. Thus, achieving (011) facet-exposed films is a promising way to improve device performance. However, the growth of (011) facets is energetically unfavorable in FAPbI3 perovskites due to the influence of methylammonium chloride additive. Here, 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium chloride ([4MBP]Cl) was used to expose (011) facets. The [4MBP]+ cation selectively decreases the surface energy of the (011) facet enabling the growth of the (011) plane. The [4MBP]+ cation causes the perovskite nuclei to rotate by 45° such that (011) crystal facets stack along the out-of-plane direction. The (011) facet has excellent charge transport properties and can achieve better-matched energy level alignment. In addition, [4MBP]Cl increases the activation energy barrier for ion migration, suppressing decomposition of the perovskite. As a result, a small-size device (0.06 cm2) and a module (29.0 cm2) based on exposure of the (011) facet achieved power conversion efficiencies of 25.24% and 21.12%, respectively.
Construction of Self-Assembly Based Tunable Absorber: Lightweight, Hydrophobic and Self-Cleaning Properties
Authors: Zhou Zehua , Zhu Qianqian , Liu Yue , Zhang Yan , Jia Zirui , Wu Guanglei
Published: May 2023

Although multifunctional aerogels are expected to be used in applications such as portable electronic devices, it is still a great challenge to confer multifunctionality to aerogels while maintaining their inherent microstructure. Herein, a simple method is proposed to prepare multifunctional NiCo/C aerogels with excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties, superhydrophobicity, and self-cleaning by water-induced NiCo-MOF self-assembly. Specifically, the impedance matching of the three-dimensional (3D) structure and the interfacial polarization provided by CoNi/C as well as the defect-induced dipole polarization are the primary contributors to the broadband absorption. As a result, the prepared NiCo/C aerogels have a broadband width of 6.22 GHz at 1.9 mm. Due to the presence of hydrophobic functional groups, CoNi/C aerogels improve the stability in humid environments and obtain hydrophobicity with large contact angles > 140°. This multifunctional aerogel has promising applications in electromagnetic wave absorption, resistance to water or humid environments.
Cognitive subtyping of university students with dyslexia in a semi-transparent orthography: what can weaknesses and strengths tell us about compensation?
Authors: Faísca Luís , Reis Alexandra , Araújo Susana
Published: May 2023

Developmental dyslexia is characterized by a profile of reading- and writing-related difficulties which stands out as a core deficit in phonological processing. Although these difficulties seem to persist into adulthood, it is still an open question to what extent they are immune, or not, to the extensive training resulting from extended schooling. The main objective of this study was to explore the heterogeneity of the cognitive profile of European Portuguese highly literate adults with dyslexia. Thirty-one university students diagnosed with dyslexia during childhood and their matched skilled adult control readers were assessed through a battery of reading and cognitive tests. A cluster analysis of data obtained from participants with dyslexia identified two profile groups. While Cluster 1 grouped participants with clear phonological deficits and concomitant reading difficulties, Cluster 2 showed better performance on most of the core skills associated with reading and also better general cognitive abilities, suggesting that these dyslexic readers have partially resolved their phonological constraints along the development, probably due to the systematic exposure to reading and writing. As Cluster 2 matched typical readers in general cognitive abilities, it might also be the case that cognitive strengths associated with general intelligence worked as protective factors, helping students to strategically compensate for their reading difficulties. Overall, these results suggest that both mechanisms–partial remediation of the core phonological deficit and adoption of compensatory strategies supported by general cognitive skills–might contribute together to improving the reading performance of highly literate adults with dyslexia.
Comparative genome analysis of three euplotid protists provides insights into the evolution of nanochromosomes in unicellular eukaryotic organisms
Authors: Jin Didi , Li Chao , Chen Xiao , Byerly Adam , Stover Naomi A. , Zhang Tengteng , Shao Chen , Wang Yurui
Published: May 2023

One of the most diverse clades of ciliated protozoa, the class Spirotrichea, displays a series of unique characters in terms of eukaryotic macronuclear (MAC) genome, including high fragmentation that produces nanochromosomes. However, the genomic diversity and evolution of nanochromosomes and gene families for spirotrich MAC genomes are poorly understood. In this study, we assemble the MAC genome of a representative euplotid (a new model organism in Spirotrichea) species, Euplotes aediculatus. Our results indicate that: (a) the MAC genome includes 35,465 contigs with a total length of 97.3 Mb and a contig N50 of 3.4 kb, and contains 13,145 complete nanochromosomes and 43,194 predicted genes, with the majority of these nanochromosomes containing tiny introns and harboring only one gene; (b) genomic comparisons between E. aediculatus and other reported spirotrichs indicate that average GC content and genome fragmentation levels exhibit interspecific variation, and chromosome breaking sites (CBSs) might be lost during evolution, resulting in the increase of multi-gene nanochromosome; (c) gene families associated with chitin metabolism and FoxO signaling pathway are expanded in E. aediculatus, suggesting their potential roles in environment adaptation and survival strategies of E. aediculatus; and (d) a programmed ribosomal frameshift (PRF) with a conservative motif 5′-AAATAR-3′ tends to occur in longer genes with more exons, and PRF genes play an important role in many cellular regulation processes.
Identifying Methods to Select and Tailor Implementation Strategies to Context-Specific Determinants in Child Mental Health Settings: A Scoping Review
Authors: Sridhar Aksheya , Olesegun Ola , Drahota Amy
Published: May 2023

This scoping review describes the state of the literature regarding Implementation Strategy Mapping Methods (ISMMs) within the context of child mental health practice delivery. Goals included (a) identify and describe ISMMs addressing determinants of implementing mental health evidence-based interventions (MH-EBIs) for children and (b) describe the scope of the literature (e.g., outcomes, remaining gaps) related to identified ISMMs. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 197 articles were identified. After removing 54 duplicates, 152 titles and abstracts were screened, yielding 36 articles that were screened during the full-text review. The final sample included four studies and two protocol papers (n = 6). A data charting codebook was developed a priori to capture relevant information (e.g., outcomes) and content analysis was utilized to synthesize findings. Six ISMMs were identified: innovation tournament, concept mapping, modified conjoint analysis, COAST-IS, focus group, and intervention mapping. ISMMs were successful in leading to the identification and selection of implementation strategies at participating organizations, and all ISMMs included stakeholders throughout these processes. Findings revealed the novelty of this research area and highlighted numerous areas for future investigation. Implications related to implementation, service, and client outcomes are discussed, including the possible impact of utilizing ISMMs to increase access to MH-EBIs for children receiving services in community settings. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of one of the five priority areas within implementation strategy research—enhancing methods used to design and tailor implementation strategies—by providing an overview of methods that may be utilized to facilitate MH-EBI implementation in child mental health care settings.

Trial Registration: Not applicable.
Transition to hybrid teaching of mathematics: challenges and coping strategies of Swedish teachers
Authors: Ottergren Elin , Ampadu Ernest
Published: May 2023

Sweden was one of the few countries that did not close down their schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Different hybrid teaching methods were adopted, some of which are here to stay. This qualitative study explores the challenges that Swedish mathematics teachers had transitioning from face-to-face to hybrid teaching and the coping strategies that they adopted to reduce the effect of these challenges on their practices, well-being and students’ learning experiences. The results from the study were gathered from some 51 primary and secondary mathematics teachers in Stockholm using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analysed with cognisance of Lazarus and Folkman’s coping theory and Simonson’s equivalence theory. The results revealed that hybrid teaching had some negative impact on teaching quality, student achievement, student health, teacher workload, and teacher-student dialogue, which underpins the Swedish school curriculum. This lack of dialogue and high-quality interaction undermines the equivalency theory principle, which suggests that the format of instruction should not influence the quality of students’ learning experiences. Also, the results revealed that majority of the teachers ascribed positively to problem-based coping strategies as compared to the emotion-based coping strategy as they worked hard to provide students with good learning opportunities.
Buprenorphine/naloxone initiation and referral as a quality improvement intervention for patients who live with opioid use disorder: quantitative evaluation of provincial spread to 107 rural and urban Alberta emergency departments
Authors: Stone Kayla D. , Scott Ken , Holroyd Brian R. , Lang Eddy , Yee Karen , Taghizadeh Niloofar , Deol Janjeevan , Dong Kathryn , Fanaeian Josh , Ghosh Monty , Low Keysha , Ross Marshall , Tanguay Robert , Faris Peter , Day Nathaniel , McLane Patrick
Published: May 2023

Objectives

Opioid use disorder is a major public health concern that accounts for a high number of potential years of life lost. Buprenorphine/naloxone is a recommended treatment for opioid use disorder that can be started in the emergency department (ED). We developed an ED-based program to initiate buprenorphine/naloxone for eligible patients who live with opioid use disorder, and to provide unscheduled, next-day follow-up referrals to an opioid use disorder treatment clinic (in person or virtual) for continuing patient care throughout Alberta.

Methods

In this quality improvement initiative, we supported local ED teams to offer buprenorphine/naloxone to eligible patients presenting to the ED with suspected opioid use disorder and refer these patients for follow-up care. Process, outcome, and balancing measures were evaluated over the first 2 years of the initiative (May 15, 2018–May 15, 2020).

Results

The program was implemented at 107 sites across Alberta during our evaluation period. Buprenorphine/naloxone initiations in the ED increased post-intervention at most sites with baseline data available (11 of 13), and most patients (67%) continued to fill an opioid agonist prescription at 180 days post-ED visit. Of the 572 referrals recorded at clinics, 271 (47%) attended their first follow-up visit. Safety events were reported in ten initiations and were all categorized as no harm to minimal harm.

Conclusions

A standardized provincial approach to initiating buprenorphine/naloxone in the ED for patients living with opioid use disorder was spread to 107 sites with dedicated program support staff and adjustment to local contexts. Similar quality improvement approaches may benefit other jurisdictions.
Physics Linkages Between Arterial Morphology, Pulse Wave Reflection and Peripheral Flow
Authors: Tucker Trevor
Published: May 2023

Background

Previous physics-based analyses of arterial morphology in relation to pulsatile pressure and flow, with pulse wave reflection, focused on the large arteries and required assumptions about the relative thicknesses of arterial walls and the velocities of pulse waves in the arteries. A primary objective of this study was to analyze arterial morphology and pulse wave reflection, using physics-based wave propagation, which explicitly includes arterial stiffness, with potential autonomic flow regulation, for both large and small arteries.

Methods

Pulse wave reflections that occur at arterial bifurcations, and their impact on macrocirculation and microcirculation pulse pressures and flows, are analyzed using the physics of wave propagation and impedance matching.

Results

The optimum combinations of arterial dimensions and stiffnesses which minimize pulsatile reflections at arterial bifurcations are identified for both macrocirculation and microcirculation. The optimum ratio of arterial bifurcations’ branch-to-trunk luminal areas is predicted to have a value of 1.26, (with corresponding optimum stiffnesses) based on the principle that autonomic flow regulation minimizes pulsatile reflections. This newly predicted value of area ratio compares favorably with the Murray Scaling Law value of 1.26. For an area ratio of 1.26, the optimum bifurcation stiffness ratio is predicted to have a value of 1.12 for bifurcations in the macrocirculation and a value of 0.89 in the microcirculation. The analysis predicts that minimal pulsatile reflections may occur for area ratios not equal to 1.26, when vasodilation adjusts arterial stiffness to compensate for non-optimal arterial area ratios. The analysis predicts that the capillaries have about one-tenth the stiffness of the aorta, and the capillary bed possesses about one thousand times more total luminal area than the aorta. The analysis predicts there are about thirty generations, aorta to capillaries, of arterial bifurcations in an arterial tree.

Conclusions

The optimum arterial morphologies predicted by this physics-based analysis correspond to those observed in human vascular physiology. The contributions that arterial stiffnesses and dimensions make to optimal pulsatile flow are relevant to the development of pharmaceuticals related to autonomic vasodilation, to the development of optimally designed stents and to surgical procedures related to vascular modification.
A wheel-shaped gallium-sulfide molecular ring with enhanced photocatalytic activity via indium alloying
Authors: Wu Tao , Han Bing , Liu Jia-Xin , Zhang Jiaxu , Xue Chaozhuang , Wang Xiang , Li Dong-Sheng
Published: May 2023

An counterpart-shaped gallium-sulfide molecular ring with its indium alloyed one toward efficient photocatalytic dye degradation and comparable photocatalytic hydrogen production.
Construction of catalytic cavities in porous aromatic frameworks for effective alcohol oxidation
Authors: Zhai Yuhui , Lei Hengtao , Li Yue , Song Jian , Jing Xiaofei , Shi Xiaoyuan , Tian Yuyang , Zhu Guangshan
Published: May 2023

Catalytic cavities were constructed within PAF skeletons. Functional groups with catalytic activity are exclusively located in the cavities, leading to high porosity and fully utilization of the active sites.
Age‐aware relay strategy with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer in remote monitoring systems
Authors: Tian Yujia , Meng Yue , Zhao Xinlong , Wen Xu , Meng Lei , Qin Xiaoqi
Published: May 2023

Remote monitoring systems has emerged to automate public services, where Internet of Things (IoT) devices are deployed to collect and relay streams of status updates to a remote control centre. The freshness of collected data is of critical importance to system performance, which can be quantified by the concept of age of information (AoI). To obtain timely perception of the monitored area, each sensor tends to sample status updates at the maximum frequency, which may lead to device drop‐outs due to limited battery capacity. Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) is considered as a promising technology to prolong network lifetime. In this paper, a SWIPT‐enabled two‐hop relay network, where a relay node uses power splitting protocol to assist data transmissions from multiple source nodes to the destination is considered. The impact of power splitting coefficients, data arrival pattern and time‐varying channel conditions on the averaged age performance and expected lifetime of the system is theoretically analysed. Moreover, a lightweight relay strategy which selectively forward packets based on a reward function consisting of energy level at relay node and expected age reduction is developed. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy outperforms existing schemes in collecting status updates in a timely and energy‐efficient manner.
Stochastic viscosity approximations of Hamilton–Jacobi equations and variance reduction
Authors: Ferré Grégoire
Published: May 2023

We consider the computation of free energy-like quantities for diffusions when resorting to Monte Carlo simulation is necessary, for instance in high dimension. Such stochastic computations typically suffer from high variance, in particular in a low noise regime, because the expectation is dominated by rare trajectories for which the observable reaches large values. Although importance sampling, or tilting of trajectories, is now a standard technique for reducing the variance of such estimators, quantitative criteria for proving that a given control reduces variance are scarce, and often do not apply to practical situations. The goal of this work is to provide a quantitative criterion for assessing whether a given bias reduces variance, and at which scale. We rely for this on a recently introduced notion of stochastic solution for Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations. Based on this tool, we introduce the notion of k-stochastic viscosity approximation (SVA) of a HJB equation. We next prove that such approximate solutions are associated with estimators having a relative variance of order k − 1 at log-scale. In particular, a sampling scheme built from a 1-SVA has bounded variance as noise goes to zero. Finally, in order to show that our definition is relevant, we provide examples of stochastic viscosity approximations of order one and two, with a numerical illustration confirming our theoretical findings.