bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Gaussian process regression‐based surrogate model of the varying workpiece dynamics for chatter prediction in milling of thin‐walled structures
Authors: Yang Yun , Yang Yang , Xiao Manyu , Wan Min , Zhang Weihong
Published: April 2022

Since the dynamics of thin‐walled structures instantaneously varies during the milling process, accurate and efficient prediction of the in‐process workpiece (IPW) dynamics is critical for the prediction of chatter stability of milling of thin‐walled structures. This article presents a surrogate model of the IPW dynamics of thin‐walled structures by combining Gaussian process regression (GPR) with proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) when IPW dynamics at a large number of cutting positions has to be predicted. The GPR method is used to learn the mapping between a set of the known IPW dynamics and the corresponding cutting positions. POD is used to reduce the order of the matrix assembled by the mode shape vectors at different cutting positions, before the GPR model of the IPW mode shape is established. The computation time of the proposed model is mainly composed of the time taken for predicting a known set of IPW dynamics and the time taken for training GPR models. Simulation shows that the proposed model requires less computation time. Moreover, the accuracy of the proposed model is comparable to that of the existing methods. Comparison between the predicted stability lobe diagram and the experimental results shows that IPW dynamics predicted by the proposed model is accurate enough for predicting the stability of milling of thin‐walled structures.
Safety and efficacy of voxelotor in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease aged 4 to 11 years
Authors: Estepp Jeremie H. , Kalpatthi Ram , Woods Gerald , Trompeter Sara , Liem Robert I. , Sims Kacie , Inati Adlette , Inusa Baba P. D. , Campbell Andrew , Piccone Connie , Abboud Miguel R. , Smith‐Whitley Kim , Dixon Sandra , Tonda Margaret , Washington Carla , Griffin Noelle M. , Brown Clark
Published: April 2022

Background

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a devastating, multisystemic disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. The earliest clinical manifestations of SCD can affect infants as young as 6 months of age, and pediatric patients are at risk for acute and life‐threatening complications. Early intervention with treatments that target the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of SCD, sickle hemoglobin (HbS) polymerization, are expected to slow disease progression and circumvent disease‐associated morbidity and mortality.

Procedure

The HOPE‐KIDS 1 trial (NCT02850406) is an ongoing four‐part, phase 2a, open‐label, single‐ and multiple‐dose study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of voxelotor—a first‐in‐class HbS polymerization inhibitor—in patients aged 6 months to 17 years with SCD. Initial findings from a cohort of 45 patients aged 4 to 11 years who received voxelotor treatment for up to 48 weeks are reported.

Results

Hemoglobin (Hb) response, defined as a >1.0 g/dl increase from baseline, was achieved at week 24 by 47% (n = 16/34) of patients with Hb measurements at baseline and week 24. At week 24, 35% (n = 12/34) and 21% (n = 7/34) of patients had a >1.5 g/dl increase and a >2.0 g/dl increase from baseline in Hb concentration, respectively. Concurrent improvements in hemolytic markers were observed. Voxelotor was well tolerated in this young cohort, with no newly emerging safety signals.

Conclusions

Based on its mechanism as an HbS polymerization inhibitor, voxelotor improves Hb levels and markers of hemolysis and has the potential to mitigate SCD‐related complications; these results support its use in patients aged ≥4 years.
Hypoalbuminemia and not undernutrition predicts high‐dose methotrexate‐induced nephrotoxicity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in resource‐constrained centers
Authors: Khera Sanjeev , Sharma Gaurav , Negi Vandana , Shaw Subhash Chandra
Published: April 2022

Background

The standard practice to mitigate high‐dose methotrexate (HD‐MTX)–induced nephrotoxicity (HMN) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is to monitor levels until serum MTX falls below a predefined threshold. It is not feasible in most resource‐constrained centers. Literature on the various factors affecting HMN in these centers is limited, retrospective, and heterogeneous. Though hypoalbuminemia has been postulated as a risk factor for HMN, the relationship of undernutrition with HMN has not been studied.

Procedure

This prospective observational study consecutively enrolled children < 12 years old with ALL receiving HD‐MTX. Children with preexisting renal disease and exposed to nephrotoxic drugs two weeks preceding HD‐MTX infusion were excluded. HD‐MTX was administered over 24 hours (BFM‐2009 protocol) with 12 hours of prehydration. Solitary MTX levels at 36 hours (MTX36) were outsourced, and 6‐8 doses of leucovorin were given six‐hourly. Hydration was continued till last dose of leucovorin. Various factors affecting HMN (rise in creatinine to 1.5 times baseline) were recorded: age, sex, type of ALL, risk group of ALL, first dose of MTX, dose of MTX, undernourishment, serum protein, and albumin along with C‐reactive protein and MTX36 levels.

Results

Forty‐four children who received 150 HD‐MTX cycles were analyzed. HMN was seen in 14% of cycles. On univariate analysis, undernourishment, MTX36 levels, hypoproteinemia, and hypoalbuminemia were significantly associated with HMN. On multivariate analysis, hypoalbuminemia and MTX36 levels significantly predicted the development of HMN with odds ratios of 4.71 and 1.45.

Conclusion

Hypoalbuminemia and solitary serum MTX levels predict HMN in centers where serial MTX level monitoring is not feasible.
Registration of ‘MSB‐264’ and ‘MSB‐285’ bermudagrasses
Authors: Dong Hongxu , Philley H. Wayne , Harris‐Shultz Karen
Published: April 2022

‘MSB‐264’ (Reg. no. CV‐47, PI 699313) and ‘MSB‐285’ (Reg. no. CV‐48, PI 699314) are fine‐textured, high‐quality interspecific bermudagrasses (Cynodon dactylon × Cynodon transvaalensis) developed at Mississippi State University. These two grasses were released on 25 Aug. 2021 from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Compared with Tifgreen‐derived bermudagrass cultivars, MSB‐264 and MSB‐285 were bred from a much different genetic background. Through the 2013 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program warm‐season putting green test, data were collected for 4 yr across 11 locations in the United States. Compared with the commercial cultivars (‘Sunday’, ‘TifEagle’, ‘Tifdwarf’, and ‘Mini‐Verde’) and other experimental lines, both MSB‐264 and MSB‐285 exhibited superior turf quality, leaf texture, density, genetic color, fall and winter color retention, spring green‐up speed, and percent ground living cover. MSB‐264 and MSB‐285 also have a more upright leaf orientation than traditional bermudagrass putting green cultivars. Although MSB‐264 and MSB‐285 had higher seedhead production compared with the commercial cultivars and other experimental lines, regular mowing could effectively remove seedheads. MSB‐264 and MSB‐285 have demonstrated positive performance data and are the first hybrid bermudagrass cultivars used for golf greens that are not related to Tifgreen.
Protecting our environment, a motivating outdoor game for proteomics!
Authors: Armengaud Jean
Published: April 2022

The global Earth ecosystem faces many intertwined threats, primarily anthropogenic pollution, drastic reduction of wild spaces, faster spread of pathogens, and global climate warming. Ecotoxicology, the integration of toxicology and ecology, aims to describe the effects of toxicants on organisms, whether at the level of the population, the community, the ecosystem, or the biosphere. Sentinel species are employed to assess threats to life, giving advance warning of danger. In this issue of Proteomics, Wilde and collaborators (Proteomics 2022, 22, https://doi.org/10.1002/pmic.202100289) present a comprehensive coverage of the proteome of the crustacean Daphnia magna, a species used to evaluate aquatic pollution. This study illustrates how current shotgun proteomics technology allows straightforward quantitation of any protein for whole animals or dissected organs, making global molecular phenotyping a reality for animals. Tandem mass spectrometry operated in data‐independent acquisition can be used to compare the response of sentinels to various environmental conditions. The current low number of well‐annotated animal or plant genomes, the high diversity of genetic backgrounds of each species, and the paucity of knowledge about protein functions for most of the relevant sentinels pose huge challenges for data interpretation. As a result, ecology and ecotoxicology today constitute an exceptional field for proteomics.
Innovation in insecticide discovery: Approaches to the discovery of new classes of insecticides
Authors: Sparks Thomas C , Bryant Robert J
Published: April 2022

The continuing demand for agrochemical insecticides that can meet increasing grower, environmental, consumer and regulatory requirements creates the need for the development of new solutions for managing crop pest insects. The development of resistance to the currently available insecticidal products adds another critical driver for new insecticidal active ingredients (AIs). One avenue to meeting these challenges is the creation of new classes of insecticidal molecules to act as starting points and prototypes stimulating further spectrum, efficacy and environmental impact refinements. A new class of insecticides is foreshadowed by the first molecule exemplifying that class (first‐in‐class, FIC) and offers one measure of innovation within the agrochemical industry. Most insecticides owe their discovery to competitor‐inspired (i.e. competitor patents/products) or next‐generation (follow‐on to a company's pre‐existing product) strategies. In contrast, FIC insecticides primarily emerge from a bioactive hypothesis approach, with the largest segment resulting from the exploration of new areas of chemistry/heterocycles and underexploited motifs. Natural products also play an important role in the discovery of FIC insecticides. Understanding the origins of these FIC compounds and the approaches used in their discovery can provide insights into successful strategies for future FIC insecticides. This review analyses information on historic and recently introduced FIC insecticides. Its main objective has been to identify the most successful discovery strategies for identifying new agrochemical solutions to meet the challenge of minimizing crop losses resulting from insects. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Iodinated Diketopiperazines: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Iodinated Analogues of Cyclo(L‐Tyrosine‐L‐Tyrosine) Peptides
Authors: Purushotham Manasa , Paul Bishwajit
Published: April 2022

We developed a simple strategy to diiodinated tyrosine (Tyr) amino acid at the 3‐ and 5‐ positions from the commercially available Fmoc/Boc‐L‐Tyrosine monomer. The iodinated tyrosine monomer have been further adopted to generate a variety of iodinated Fmoc tyrosine dimers. Upon Fmoc elimination, we obtained diketopiperazine (DKP) analogues of Cyclo(L‐Tyr‐L‐Tyr) with varied number of iodine atoms. We also report the biological studies of these iodinated DKP analogues in three different cancer cell lines. We demonstrate that the number of iodine atoms in the Cyclo(L‐Tyr‐L‐Tyr) DKP analogues, and the presence of electron‐rich phenolic group are essential structural parameters to have pronounced cytotoxic activity in three different cancer cell lines.
2D Materials and Primary Human Dendritic Cells: A Comparative Cytotoxicity Study
Authors: Lin Hazel , Peng Shiyuan , Guo Shi , Ma Baojin , Lucherelli Matteo Andrea , Royer Cathy , Ippolito Stefano , Samorì Paolo , Bianco Alberto
Published: April 2022

Human health can be affected by materials indirectly through exposure to the environment or directly through close contact and uptake. With the ever‐growing use of 2D materials in many applications such as electronics, medical therapeutics, molecular sensing, and energy storage, it has become more pertinent to investigate their impact on the immune system. Dendritic cells (DCs) are highly important, considering their role as the main link between the innate and the adaptive immune system. By using primary human DCs, it is shown that hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), graphene oxide (GO) and molybdenum disulphide have minimal effects on viability. In particular, it is evidenced that hBN and GO increase DC maturation, while GO leads to the release of reactive oxygen species and pro‐inflammatory cytokines. hBN and MoS2 increase T cell proliferation with and without the presence of DCs. hBN in particular does not show any sign of downstream T cell polarization. The study allows ranking of the three materials in terms of inherent toxicity, providing the following trend: GO > hBN ≈ MoS2, with GO the most cytotoxic.
All‐Small‐Molecule Organic Solar Cells with Efficiency Approaching 16% and FF over 80%
Authors: Meng Lingxian , Li Mingpeng , Lu Guanyu , Shen Zichao , Wu Simin , Liang Huazhe , Li Zhixiang , Lu Guanghao , Yao Zhaoyang , Li Chenxi , Wan Xiangjian , Chen Yongsheng
Published: April 2022

Molecule engineering has been demonstrated as a valid strategy to adjust the active layer morphology in all‐small‐molecule organic solar cells (ASM‐OSCs). In this work, two non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs), FO‐2Cl and FO‐EH‐2Cl, with different alkyl side chains are reported and applied in ASC‐OSCs. Compared with FO‐2Cl, FO‐EH‐2Cl is designed by replacing the octyl alkyl chains with branched iso‐octyl alkyl chains, leading to an enhanced molecular packing, crystallinity, and redshifted absorption. With a small molecule BSFTR as donor, the device of BSFTR:FO‐EH‐2Cl obtains a better morphology and achieves a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.78% with a notable fill factor (FF) of 80.44% than that of the FO‐2Cl‐based device with a PCE of 15.27% and FF of 78.41%. To the authors’ knowledge, the FF of 80.44% is the highest value in ASM‐OSCs. These results demonstrate a good example of fine‐tuning the molecular structure to achieve suitable active layer morphology with promising performance for ASM‐OSCs, which can provide valuable insight into material design for high‐efficiency ASM‐OSCs.
Clinician's voice: Trauma‐informed practices in higher education
Authors: Hunter Josalin J.
Published: April 2022

As higher education practitioners, it can feel like our growing awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma makes us responsible for the care of faculty, staff, and students in the learning environment even when we feel inadequate in doing so. As both an educator and clinician, I am aware of how difficult it might be to identify and address this in classrooms and on college campuses. This article provides some background about how trauma manifests and offers recommendations for engaging in trauma‐informed practices with students.
Examining the Effect of Digital Storytelling on English Speaking Proficiency, Willingness to Communicate, and Group Cohesion
Authors: Huang Heng‐Tsung Danny
Published: April 2022

This study focused on digital storytelling (DST) as a task in technology‐mediated task‐based language teaching and examined its effects on English speaking proficiency, willingness to communicate in English (WTCE), and group cohesion (GC). Two intact classes of Taiwanese EFL students, either as the DST group or as the comparison group, first responded to the WTCE scale, the GC scale, and a standardized English speaking test. Next, the DST group completed two DST tasks, each of which entailed locating information, generating the story script, obtaining visual and aural support, rehearsing and recording the oral reading, combining the visual and aural support with the audio recording to create the digital story, and playing the digital story and then telling the story again with the muted digital story in class. During the weeks when the DST group presented digital stories, the comparison group watched and discussed movies and composed a reflective report in English. Finally, both groups responded to the WTCE scale and GC scale again and took another set of the standardized English speaking test. Data analyses disclosed that DST tasks significantly increased English speaking proficiency and GC but affected WTCE in a positive yet nonsignificant manner.
Wind tunnel study on natural instability of the normal force on a full‐scale wind turbine blade section at Reynolds number 4.7 · 106
Authors: Neunaber Ingrid , Danbon Frédéric , Soulier Antoine , Voisin Dimitri , Guilmineau Emmanuel , Delpech Philippe , Courtine Sébastien , Taymans Claire , Braud Caroline
Published: April 2022

Wind turbines are exposed to the turbulent wind of the atmospheric boundary layer. Consequently, the aerodynamic forces acting on the rotor blades are highly complex. To improve the understanding, a common practice is the experimental or numerical investigation of 2d (wind turbine) blade sections. In these investigations, the flow around the 2d blade section is assumed to be two‐dimensional; however, 3d effects are known to occur. Therefore, we combine 2d CFD simulations and experimental investigations in a wind tunnel with a 2d wind turbine rotor blade section at full‐scale (i.e., chord length
and chord‐based Reynolds number of
). In the wind tunnel, the inflow turbulence intensity is
. To avoid wall effects biasing the results, the profile does not span the whole test section. The profile was equipped with two rows of pressure taps around the airfoil, close to the center, to monitor the time‐resolved aerodynamic response as well as the flow around the airfoil. The normal force,
curves, and the separation point are analyzed. While 2d simulations and experiments match well, in the experiments, we find natural instabilities, that is, local and temporal variations of the flow separation point at angles of attack close to the maximum lift that are not triggered externally, for example, by inflow variations.
Localization and Inflation
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

Localization and inflation have become essential means of mitigating the effects of the low-rank approximation in ensemble methods. Localization increases the effective rank of the ensemble covariance matrix and allows it to fit a large number of independent observations. Thus, we use localization to reduce sampling errors, in combination with inflation, to reduce the underestimation of the ensemble variance caused by the low-rank approximation. These methods are essential for high-dimensional applications, and this chapter will give a general introduction to various formulations of localization and inflation methods.
Methods’ Summary
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

The previous chapters illustrate how we could start from Bayes’ theorem and apply a sequence of assumptions or approximations that allow us to derive the most popular data-assimilation methods in use today. This chapter attempts to summarize the different techniques and presents and compares them in the context of the approximations we made to derive them. We provide a graphical overview that makes it easy to relate different methods and lists the applied approximations.
Comparison of Methods on a Scalar Model
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

This chapter aims to demonstrate the impact of some of the critical approximations we apply with different assimilation methods. Using a simple scalar model, we can simulate many realizations and eliminate sampling errors.
Maximum a Posteriori Solution
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

We will now introduce a fundamental approximation used in most practical data-assimilation methods, namely the definition of Gaussian priors. This approximation simplifies the Bayesian posterior, which allows us to compute the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate and sample from the posterior pdf. This chapter will introduce the Gaussian approximation and then discuss the Gauss–Newton method for finding the MAP estimate. This method is the starting point for many of the data-assimilation algorithms discussed in the following chapters.
Strong-Constraint 4DVar
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

This chapter introduces the strong-constraint 4-dimensional variational (SC-4DVar) method. By strong constraint, we refer to the dynamical model having no model errors. Hence, the model solution over the assimilation window is entirely determined by the model as soon as we give the initial conditions.
Weak Constraint 4DVar
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

It is also possible to formulate the 4DVar problem with the model acting as a weak constraint. We then search for a model solution close to the measurements that “almost” satisfies the dynamical model and its initial and boundary conditions. The concept of the model being a “weak constraint” as opposed to “strong constraint” was introduced by Sasaki
(1970b). An early weak-constraint assimilation study is the one byBennett and McIntosh
(1982 who solved the weak-constraint variational inverse problem for an ocean tidal model.
Kalman Filters and 3DVar
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

This chapter discusss solution methods for particular cases of the minimization problem defined by the cost function in Eq. (10.1007/978-3-030-96709-3_3). We start by looking for a closed-form solution that minimizes the cost function, and then we continue discussing how specific cases lead to several well-known methods. The first case assumes that the measurements are all located at the initial time of the assimilation window. Thus, there is no need for any model integrations during the minimization.
Randomized-Maximum-Likelihood Sampling
Authors: Evensen Geir , Vossepoel Femke C. , van Leeuwen Peter Jan
Published: April 2022

In the following, we derive some methods for sampling the posterior conditional pdf in Eq. (10.1007/978-3-030-96709-3_3). We aim to estimate the full pdf, not only finding its maximum. We will, in this chapter, use an approach named randomized maximum likelihood (RML) sampling.
False-negative rate in the extended prospective TATTOO trial evaluating targeted axillary dissection by carbon tattooing in clinically node-positive breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy
Authors: de Boniface Jana , Frisell Jan , Kühn Thorsten , Wiklander-Bråkenhielm Ingrid , Dembrower Karin , Nyman Per , Zouzos Athanasios , Gerber Bernd , Reimer Toralf , Hartmann Steffi
Published: April 2022

Purpose

In clinically node-positive breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST), nodal metastases can be initially marked and then removed during surgical axillary staging. Marking methods vary significantly in terms of feasibility and cost. The purpose of the extended TATTOO trial was to report on the false-negative rate (FNR) of the low-cost method carbon tattooing.

Methods

The international prospective single-arm TATTOO trial included clinically node-positive breast cancer patients planned for NST from November 2017 to January 2021. For the present analysis, patients who received both the targeted procedure with or without an additional sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy and a completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) were selected. Primary endpoint was the FNR.

Results

Out of 172 included patients, 149 had undergone a completion ALND. The detection rate for the tattooed node was 94.6% (141 out of 149). SLN biopsy was attempted in 132 out of 149 patients with a detection rate of 91.7% (121 out of 132). SLN and tattooed node were identical in 58 out of 121 individuals (47.9%). The combined procedure, i.e. targeted axillary dissection (TAD) was successful in 147 of 149 cases (98.7%). Four out of 65 patients with a clinically node-negative status after NST had a negative TAD but metastases on ALND, corresponding to a FNR of 6.2%. All false-negative TAD procedures were performed in the first 2 years of the trial (2018–2019, p = 0.022).

Conclusion

Carbon tattooing is a feasible marking method for TAD with a high detection rate and an acceptably low FNR.

The TATTOO trial was preregistered as prospective trial before initiation at the University of Rostock, Germany (DRKS00013169).
Designing Maker initiatives for educational inclusion
Authors: Leonard Simon N. , Repetto Manuela , Kennedy JohnPaul , Tudini Enza , Fowler Samuel
Published: April 2022

The “Maker” movement is a cultural as well as educational phenomenon that has the potential to offer significant opportunities to students in conditions of social, economic and cultural disadvantage. The research reported in this paper, however, suggests that the simple provision of “Maker Spaces” for such activity is simplistic and not sufficient to realise this potential. The research involved a mixed methods study of a cohort of year 7 students (n = 26) in an Australian school located in a socio-economically disadvantaged outer-metropolitan region. The cohort undertook a range of Maker activities at a new “creativity centre” built at the school. Results indicate that the activities had positive impact on student attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) overall, but that the impact was highly specific across attitudinal constructs. A strong ranging effect was also evident, suggesting that the impact of the experience was highly dependent on students’ initial attitudes. Reflecting on these results, the paper also offers a reference framework that may help keep equity in mind when designing different kinds of Maker experience.
CCND1 Amplification in Breast Cancer -associations With Proliferation, Histopathological Grade, Molecular Subtype and Prognosis
Authors: Valla Marit , Klæstad Elise , Ytterhus Borgny , Bofin Anna M.
Published: April 2022

CCND1 is located on 11q13. Increased CCND1 copy number (CN) in breast cancer (BC) is associated with high histopathological grade, high proliferation, and Luminal B subtype. In this study of CCND1 in primary BCs and corresponding axillary lymph node metastases (LNM),we examine associations between CCND1 CN in primary BCs and proliferation status, molecular subtype, and prognosis. Furthermore, we studied associations between CCND1 CN and CNs of FGFR1 and ZNF703, both of which are located on 8p12. Fluorescence in situ hybridization probes for CCND1 and chromosome 11 centromere were used on tissue microarrays comprising 526 BCs and 123 LNM. We assessed associations between CCND1 CN and tumour characteristics using Pearson’s χ2 test, and estimated cumulative risks of death from BC and hazard ratios in analysis of prognosis. We found CCND1 CN ≥ 4 < 6 in 45 (8.6%) tumours, and ≥ 6 in 42 (8.0%). CCND1 CN (≥ 6) was seen in all molecular subtypes, most frequently in Luminal B (HER2−) (20/126; 16%). Increased CCND1 CN was associated with high histopathological grade, high Ki-67, and high mitotic count, but not prognosis. CCND1 CN ≥ 6 was accompanied by CN increase of FGFR1 in 6/40 cases (15.0%) and ZNF703 in 5/38 cases (13.2%). Three cases showed CN increase of all three genes. High CCND1 CN was most frequent in Luminal B (HER2−) tumours. Good correlation between CCND1 CNs in BCs and LNM was observed. Despite associations between high CCND1 CN and aggressive tumour characteristics, the prognostic impact of CCND1 CN remains unresolved.
Colorizing Grayscale CT images of human lungs using deep learning methods
Authors: Wang Yuewei , Yan Wei Qi
Published: April 2022

Image colorization refers to computer-aided rendering technology which transfers colors from a reference color image to grayscale images or video frames. Deep learning elevated notably in the field of image colorization in the past years. In this paper, we formulate image colorization methods relying on exemplar colorization and automatic colorization, respectively. For hybrid colorization, we select appropriate reference images to colorize the grayscale CT images. The colours of meat resemble those of human lungs, so the images of fresh pork, lamb, beef, and even rotten meat are collected as our dataset for model training. Three sets of training data consisting of meat images are analysed to extract the pixelar features for colorizing lung CT images by using an automatic approach. Pertaining to the results, we consider numerous methods (i.e., loss functions, visual analysis, PSNR, and SSIM) to evaluate the proposed deep learning models. Moreover, compared with other methods of colorizing lung CT images, the results of rendering the images by using deep learning methods are significantly genuine and promising. The metrics for measuring image similarity such as SSIM and PSNR have satisfactory performance, up to 0.55 and 28.0, respectively. Additionally, the methods may provide novel ideas for rendering grayscale X-ray images in airports, ferries, and railway stations.
The potential of cover crops to increase soil organic carbon storage in German croplands
Authors: Seitz Daria , Fischer Lisa Mareen , Dechow Rene , Wiesmeier Martin , Don Axel
Published: April 2022

Aims

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of croplands can be enhanced by targeted management, which boosts soil fertility and contributes to climate change mitigation. One SOC sequestration option is adopting cover crops. The aim of this study was to quantify the SOC sequestration potential of cover crops in Germany.

Methods

We simulated SOC scenarios on 1,267 cropland sites with site-specific management data using an SOC model ensemble consisting of RothC and C-TOOL. A new method was developed to estimate carbon input from cover crops that included the effects of climate, sowing date and species on cover crop biomass production.

Results

The recent cover crop area could be tripled to 30% of arable land in Germany. This would enhance total carbon input by 12% and increase SOC stocks by 35 Tg within 50 years, corresponding to an annual increase of 0.06 Mg C ha-1, 2.5 Tg CO2 or 0.8 per mill of current SOC stocks in 0–30 cm depth. On sites with cover crops, 0.28–0.33 Mg C ha-1 a-1 would be accumulated within 50 years. Our simulations predicted that even if the full potential for cover crop growth were realised, there would still be a decline in SOC stocks in German croplands within 50 years due to the underlining negative SOC trend.

Conclusions

Cover crops alone cannot turn croplands from carbon sources to sinks. However, growing them reduces bare fallow periods and SOC losses and thus is an effective climate change mitigation strategy in agriculture.
Impact of mannose-binding lectin gene polymorphism on lung functions among workers exposed to airborne Aspergillus in a wastewater treatment plant in Egypt
Authors: Saad-Hussein Amal , Moubarz Gehan , Mahdy-Abdallah Heba , Helmy Mona Adel
Published: April 2022

In this study, the risk ofAspergillus(Asp.) positivity and its respiratory health impacts on wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) workers were studied. In addition, it identified the geno-susceptibility role of mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) gene polymorphisms and the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) serum levels on the pulmonary functions of theAsp.-positive workers. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed for 89 workers from a selected WWTP, after exclusion of the smokers. Molecular identification ofAsp.blood positivity was done by 18S rRNA sequencing. Determination of MBL2 gene polymorphism and estimation of MBL serum levels were done. PFTs revealed abnormalities in 49.2% of the workers.Asp.was positive in 42.5% of the workers with different species. Among theAsp.-positive workers, 6.5% of the workers were with obstructive PFTs, 12.9% with restriction, and 22.6% with combined PFT abnormalities. MBL2 genotyping showed that wild genotype AA was common (68.5%) amongAsp.-positive workers compared to the other genotypes. This allele, whether homozygous or heterozygous, was significantly associated with decline in PFTs of the exposed workers. MBL serum levels were significantly lower in workers with obstructive, restrictive, and combined PFT abnormalities compared to those with normal PFTs, and in the workers withAsp.-positive species than theAsp.-negative workers. Moreover, it was significantly lower in workers withAsp. fumigatuscompared to that in the workers with otherAsp.species, and in theAsp.-positive workers with homozygous or heterozygous A allele compared to that in theAsp.-positive workers with homozygous B allele. Working in a WWTP can be associated with impaired PFTs due to exposure to airborne fungi. MBL2 genotyping showed thatAsp.-positive workers with homozygous or heterozygous A allele were at risk to develop decline in their PFTs.
Analysis of the selective traveling salesman problem with time-dependent profits
Authors: Barrena Eva , Canca David , Coelho Leandro C. , Laporte Gilbert
Published: April 2022

We consider a generalization of the selective traveling salesman problem (STSP) in which the benefit of visiting a location changes over time. This new problem, called the selective travelling salesman problem with time-dependent profits (STSP-TDP), is defined on a graph with time-dependent profits associated with the vertices, and consists of determining a circuit of maximal total profit. In the STSP-TDP the tour length must not exceed a maximum value, and its starting and ending times must both lie within a prespecified planning horizon. This problem arises in planning tourist itineraries, mailbox collection, military surveillance, and water sampling, where the traveler accumulates different profits upon visiting the locations throughout the day. We focus on analyzing several variants of the problem depending on the shape of the time-dependent profit function. If this function is not monotonic, it may be worth visiting a site more than once. We propose formulations for the single-visit case and for when multiple visits are allowed, in which case the problem reduces to an STSP, which is adapted to be solved as a longest path problem. These formulations are then solved for piecewise-linear profit functions using a general-purpose solver, and tested on several artificially created instances and on four TSPLib instances involving up to 535 vertices. A detailed analysis of the problem and the solution is performed.
Pet Ownership and the Risk of Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Surma Stanisław , Oparil Suzanne , Narkiewicz Krzysztof
Published: April 2022

Purpose of Review

Hypertension prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction are cornerstones in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Potential applicability of nontraditional cardiovascular risk reduction methods, such as pet ownership, raises a growing interest.

Recent Findings

Studies show that having pets may reduce the risk of death from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular causes. Furthermore, results of some studies indicate that having pets may reduce the risk of developing hypertension and improve blood pressure control in patients with established hypertension. In addition, there is evidence that having pets may improve the prognosis of patients after myocardial infarction and stroke. One of the most important cardioprotective mechanisms of pet ownership is reduction in activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Pet ownership has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, likely related to antihypertensive and cardioprotective mechanisms.
Een kwalitatief onderzoek naar het zoeken naar hulp door boeren met psychosociale problemen
Authors: Kuijk Jorien , Wessel Rilana , Kunst Anton
Published: April 2022

Samenvatting

Inleiding

Dit onderzoek is uitgevoerd naar aanleiding van zorgen over het welzijn van boeren en het mogelijke probleem dat ze onvoldoende psychosociale hulp krijgen.

Methode

Wij onderzochten waardoor boeren psychosociale problemen ontwikkelen, hoe ze daarmee omgaan en welke barrières ze tegenkomen bij het zoeken naar hulp. We hebben kwalitatieve interviews uitgevoerd onder zestien boeren, voornamelijk melkveehouders, uit de regio IJsselland. De transcripten werden inductief gecodeerd en thematisch geanalyseerd.

Resultaten

We vonden dat boeren psychosociale problemen ontwikkelen door hoge druk van veranderende wet- en regelgeving, afhankelijkheid van banken en grote bedrijven, schaalvergroting, kleine winstmarges en de vele eisen die aan hun bedrijfsvoering worden gesteld. Daarnaast hebben ze last van beeldvorming in de media en onder burgers. Ze gaan bij stress en problemen harder werken en lossen het zelf op. Ze erkennen het belang van praten, ook informeel, maar het initiatief nemen ze vaak niet of relatief laat. Professionele hulp zoeken ze niet gauw, vanwege het taboe op geestelijke gezondheidszorg, en boeren zien hulp zoeken veelal als falen. Ook weten ze vaak niet waar ze bij het boerenbestaan aansluitende hulp kunnen vinden.

Conclusie

(Prevalente) psychosociale problemen bij boeren worden onvoldoende adequaat geadresseerd. We bevelen aan om begrip van het boerenbestaan bij hulpverleners en het vertrouwen van boeren in de hulpverlening te vergroten.
Application of dedicated software for balancing water systems of a deep mine
Authors: Krzeszowski Światosław , Grajper Paweł
Published: April 2022

Balancing the systems of waters in mines or in selected parts of them is an important part of works carried out by geological services of the mines, including the works aiming, for instance, at recording the types of waters flowing into mine excavations, assessing the impact of mining operations on the environment and foreseeing water threats. The article presents research performed with the objective of balancing the selected water systems of the deep coal mine “Jankowice.” The research was performed with the help of the software dedicated directly for balancing water systems, in particular water systems in mines. The computational methods of this software are based on the techniques of matrix calculations, in particular on the methods of results coordination. It allows to obtain fully compliant balances with minimal adjustments of the measured values describing both the types of the system incoming waters and collective waters which are a mixture of types of waters incoming to the system. The results of the conducted research showed the usefulness of the KYBL software for balancing the water systems of deep mines. It was also shown that this tool could also be used to balance any other water systems with a similar physical mixing model as in the case of deep mine water systems.
Synthesis of CuAl-layered double hydroxide/MgO2 nanocomposite catalyst for the degradation of organic dye under dark condition
Authors: Aragaw Setegn Geta , Feysia Gebisa Bekele , Gultom Noto Susanto , Kuo Dong-Hau , Abdullah Hairus , Chen Xiaoyun , Zelekew Osman Ahmed
Published: April 2022

Water pollution as a result of releasing organic and inorganic pollutants is the main concern and health risk factor for human beings. To minimize the effect of toxicity from pollutants, enormous method has been applied. In this report, the CuAl-layered double hydroxide/MgO2 composite catalysts were synthesized via in-situ growth of magnesium peroxide on the layered double hydroxide (LDH) sheet. The preparations of the catalysts were performed with varying the ratio of LDH: MgO2 which was abbreviated as CuAl-LDH/MgO2-35, CuAl-LDH/MgO2-50, and CuAl-LDH/MgO2-65 for 35:65, 50:50, and 65:35% weight ratios, respectively. The prepared catalysts were characterized and evaluated for methyl orange (MO) dye degradation at room temperature under dark conditions. Among the catalysts, CuAl-LDH/MgO2-50 showed an excellent Fenton-like reaction under neutral condition at which 97% of MO was degraded in the 100 min reaction. However, CuAl-LDH, MgO2, CuAl-LDH/MgO2-35, and CuAl-LDH/MgO2-65 catalysts degrade only 61, 8, 35, and 69% of MO dye. The highest degradation efficiency for CuAl-LDH/MgO2-50 could be due to the presence of optimum amount of copper along with the sufficient amount of generated hydrogen peroxide from MgO2 to run the Fenton-like reaction process. Moreover, the catalyst can also be able to use repeatedly with a minimum loss of activity. In general, the result suggests that CuAl-LDH/MgO2 composite is an option for the degradation of organic pollutants.
Meaning in the Pursuit of Pleasure
Authors: MATHESON DAVID
Published: April 2022

Here I speak in favor of the view that life's meaning can be found in the pursuit of pleasure. I first present an argument for this view that is grounded in a traditional concept of meaning. To help ease remaining concerns about accepting it, I then draw attention to four things the view does not imply: (1) that we have a reason to take hedonistic theories of meaning seriously; (2) that meaning can be found in the deeply immoral, the deeply ignorant, or the deeply repulsive pursuit of pleasure; (3) that there is a significantly easier route to meaning than the pursuit of morality, the pursuit of knowledge, or the pursuit of art; and (4) that meaning can be found in pursuits that involve only baser aspects of human nature.
Antimicrobial stewardship in Latin America: Past, present, and future
Authors: Fabre Valeria , Cosgrove Sara E. , Secaira Clara , Tapia Torrez Juan Carlos , Lessa Fernanda C. , Patel Twisha S. , Quiros Rodolfo
Published: April 2022

Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in well-resourced countries has been associated with reductions in antibiotic-resistant infections and improved patient outcomes. Several guidance documents providing recommendations on how to structure antimicrobial stewardship activities at the national and hospital level in resource-limited settings have been published. However, few hospitals in Latin America report having a structure or resources needed for a successful ASP. Given the alarming increases in antimicrobial resistance in Latin America, better understanding of barriers to promote implementation of effective ASPs is urgently needed. We have summarized past and present antimicrobial stewardship activities in Latin American hospitals, and we describe key elements needed in future efforts to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship in the region.
Forest terrains influence walking kinematics among indigenous Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon
Authors: Holowka Nicholas B. , Kraft Thomas S. , Wallace Ian J. , Gurven Michael , Venkataraman Vivek V.
Published: April 2022

Laboratory-based studies indicate that a major evolutionary advantage of bipedalism is enabling humans to walk with relatively low energy expenditure. However, such studies typically record subjects walking on even surfaces or treadmills that do not represent the irregular terrains our species encounters in natural environments. To date, few studies have quantified walking kinematics on natural terrains. Here we used high-speed video to record marker-based kinematics of 21 individuals from a Tsimane forager–horticulturalist community in the Bolivian Amazon walking on three different terrains: a dirt field, a forest trail and an unbroken forest transect. Compared with the field, in the unbroken forest participants contacted the ground with more protracted legs and flatter foot postures, had more inclined trunks, more flexed hips and knees, and raised their feet higher during leg swing. In contrast, kinematics were generally similar between trail and field walking. These results provide preliminary support for the idea that irregular natural surfaces like those in forests cause humans to alter their walking kinematics, such that travel in these environments could be more energetically expensive than would be assumed from laboratory-based data. These findings have important implications for the evolutionary energetics of human foraging in environments with challenging terrains.
Role detection in bicycle-sharing networks using multilayer stochastic block models
Authors: Carlen Jane , de Dios Pont Jaume , Mentus Cassidy , Chang Shyr-Shea , Wang Stephanie , Porter Mason A.
Published: April 2022

In urban systems, there is an interdependency between neighborhood roles and transportation patterns between neighborhoods. In this paper, we classify docking stations in bicycle-sharing networks to gain insight into the human mobility patterns of three major cities in the United States. We propose novel time-dependent stochastic block models, with degree-heterogeneous blocks and either mixed or discrete block membership, which classify nodes based on their time-dependent activity patterns. We apply these models to (1) detect the roles of bicycle-sharing stations and (2) describe the traffic within and between blocks of stations over the course of a day. Our models successfully uncover work blocks, home blocks, and other blocks; they also reveal activity patterns that are specific to each city. Our work gives insights for the design and maintenance of bicycle-sharing systems, and it contributes new methodology for community detection in temporal and multilayer networks with heterogeneous degrees.
The Chemical Bond is a Real Pattern
Authors: Seifert Vanessa A.
Published: April 2022

There is a persisting debate about what chemical bonds are and whether they exist. I argue that chemical bonds are real patterns of interactions between subatomic particles. This proposal resolves the problems raised in the context of existing understandings of the chemical bond and provides a novel way to defend the reality of chemical bonds.
Non-degeneracy of synchronized vector solutions for weakly coupled nonlinear schrödiner systems
Authors: Guo Qing , Zhao Leiga
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we consider the following two-component Schrödiner system
\[ \begin{cases} -\Delta u_1 +V_1(x) u_1= \mu_1 u_1^{3} +\beta u_1u_2^{2} & \text{in}\;\mathbb{R}^{3},\\ -\Delta u_2+V_2(x) u_2= \mu_2 u_2^{3} +\beta u_1^{2}u_2 & \text{in}\;\mathbb{R}^{3}. \end{cases} \]First, we revisit the proof of the existence of an unbounded sequence of non-radial positive vector solutions of synchronized type obtained in S. Peng and Z. Wang [Segregated and synchronized vector solutions for nonlinear Schrödinger systems, Arch. Rational Mech. Anal. 208 (2013), 305–339] to give a point-wise estimate of the solutions. Taking advantage of these estimates, we then show a non-degeneracy result of the synchronized solutions in some suitable symmetric space by use of the locally Pohozaev identities. The main difficulties of BEC systems come from the interspecies interaction between the components, which never appear in the study of single equations. The idea used to estimate the coupling terms is inspired by the characterization of the Fermat points in the famous Fermat problem, which is the main novelty of this paper.