bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantum theory, thermal gradients and the curved Euclidean space
Authors: Ganesh S.
Published: July 2022

The Euclidean space, obtained by the analytical continuation of time, to an imaginary time, is used to model thermal systems. In this work, it is taken a step further to systems with spatial thermal variation, by developing an equivalence between the spatial variation of temperature in a thermal bath and the curvature of the Euclidean space. The variation in temperature is recast as a variation in the metric, leading to a curved Euclidean space. The equivalence is substantiated by analyzing the Polyakov loop, the partition function and the periodicity of the correlation function. The bulk thermodynamic properties like the energy, entropy and the Helmholtz free energy are calculated from the partition function, for small metric perturbations, for a neutral scalar field. The Dirac equation for an external Dirac spinor, traversing a thermal bath with spatial thermal gradients, is solved in the curved Euclidean space. The fundamental behavior exhibited by the Dirac spinor eigenstate, may provide a possible mechanism to validate the theory, at a more basal level, than examining only bulk thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, in order to verify the equivalence at the level of classical mechanics, the geodesic equation is analyzed in a classical backdrop. The mathematical apparatus is borrowed from the physics of quantum theory in a gravity-induced space–time curvature. As spatial thermal variations are obtainable at quantum chromodynamic or quantum electrodynamic energies, it may be feasible for the proposed formulation to be validated experimentally.
Broadband characteristics of high-performance energy-harvesting phononic crystals with point defect
Authors: Yang Xian’e , Zhong Jiahui , Xiang Jiawei
Published: July 2022

As an artificial periodic material, phononic crystals (PnCs) are suitable for energy harvesting from vibration and noise environments of equipments. A two-dimensional (2D) PnC with a point defect is presented to design a piezoelectric energy-harvesting (PEH) device. Using finite element (FE) simulations, bandwidth and electric power of the initial supercell using the PnC are obtained but do not attain the optimal performance. Therefore, five geometric parameters are considered to perform the numerical experiment using a five-factor and seven-level experimental design. The two relationships between the five geometric parameters and PnCs bandwidth, the five geometric parameters, and output power are finally obtained. The two functional relationships are regarded as a unified objective function to further optimize five geometric parameters. The optimized PnC-based PEH device will achieve better output power within broadband. It is expected to be used to design PEH devices to achieve better output power in wider bandwidth.
Equilibrium vacancy concentration and thermodynamic quantities of BCC defective alloys FeCrSi and VWSi under pressure
Authors: Hoc Nguyen Quang , Viet Le Hong , Dat Hua Xuan
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we present the analytic expressions of the cohesive energy, the alloy parameters, the equation of state, the mean nearest neighbor distance, the Helmholtz free energy, equilibrium vacancy concentration and thermodynamic quantities such as the isothermal compressibility, the thermal expansion coefficient, the heat capacities at constant volume and at constant pressure for BCC defective ternary substitutional and interstitial alloy ABC derived by the statistical moment method. The obtained thermodynamic quantities depend on temperature, pressure, concentration of substitutional atoms, concentration of interstitial atoms and equilibrium vacancy concentration. Thermodynamic quantities of BCC defective metal A, BCC defective substitutional alloy AB, BCC defective interstitial alloy AC and BCC defective metal A are specific cases for thermodynamic quantities of BCC defective ternary substitutional and interstitial alloy ABC. The theoretical results are calculated numerically to alloys FeCrSi and VWSi. Our calculated results of thermal expansion coefficient and heat capacities at constant pressure for main metals Fe, V are in good agreement with experimental data. Our other calculated results for thermodynamic quantities of alloys FeCrSi and VWSi at different temperature, pressure, concentration of substitutional atoms and concentration of interstitial atoms orient and predict new experimental data in the future
Adaptive Image Reconstruction for Defense Against Adversarial Attacks
Authors: Yang Yanan , Shih Frank Y. , Chang I-Cheng
Published: July 2022

Adversarial attacks can fool convolutional networks and make the systems vulnerable to fraud and deception. How to defend against malicious attacks is a critical challenge in practice. Adversarial attacks are often conducted by adding tiny perturbations on images to cause network misclassification. Noise reduction can defend the attacks; however, it is not suited for all the cases. Considering that different models have different tolerance abilities on adversarial attacks, we develop a novel detecting module to remove noise by adaptive process and detect adversarial attacks without modifying the models. Experimental results show that by comparing the classification results on adversarial samples of MNIST and two subclasses of ImageNet datasets, our models can successfully remove most of the noise and obtain detection accuracies of 97.71% and 92.96%, respectively. Furthermore, our adaptive module can be assembled into different networks to achieve detection accuracies of 70.83% and 71.96%, respectively, on the white-box adversarial attacks of ResNet18 and SCD01MLP images. The best accuracy of 62.5% is obtained for both networks when dealing with the black-box attacks.
Deep Morphological Neural Networks
Authors: Shen Yucong , Shih Frank Y. , Zhong Xin , Chang I-Cheng
Published: July 2022

Mathematical morphology intends to extract object features such as geometric and topological structures in digital images. Given a set of target images and original images, it is cumbersome and time-consuming to determine the suitable morphological operations and structuring elements. In this paper, we propose deep morphological neural networks, which include a nonlinear feature extraction layer to learn the structuring element correctly and an adaptive layer to select appropriate morphological operations automatically. We demonstrate the applications of object recognition, including hand-written digits, geometric shapes, traffic signs, and brain tumor. Experimental results show the higher computational efficiency and higher accuracy of our developed model as compared against existing convolutional neural network models.
Monitoring the Growth Status of Corn Crop from UAV Images Based on Dense Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Li Yu , Zhu Jia , Xing Yuling , Dai Zhangyan , Huang Jin , Hassan Saeed-Ul
Published: July 2022

Monitoring corn crop growth status is of great significance to crop production, breeding, and seed production. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (UAVs) technology makes it possible to use computer vision technology to identify corn growth stage intelligently. A model customized for corn growth status monitoring based on a dense convolutional neural network (CM-CNN) was proposed, including a two-way dense module and a new activation function ELU. The two-way dense module enlarges the receptive field, while the ELU alleviates gradient disappearance and speeds up learning in deep neural networks. Dense architecture concatenates all the previous layer features to enhance feature reuse. The proposed CM-CNN performs well in classifying corn growth stages. Experimental results show that CM-CNN is a state-of-the-art method, with an accuracy of its relevant data up to 99.3%. Compared with other CNN models, viz. AlexNet, ZFNet, VGG, InceptionV3, Xception and ResNet, fewer parameters are in CM-CNN.
Bullet Train Motion Video-Based Noise-Barrier Defects Inspection Method
Authors: Zhao Hongwei , Xu Huating , Li Yidong , Dong Rui , Liu Junbo , Wang Shengchun
Published: July 2022

Vision-based automatic noise-barrier inspection of high-speed railway, instead of manual patrol, remains a great challenge. Even though many supervised learning-based methods have been developed, massive redundant video frames and scarce defective samples are the main obstacles to leverage the performance of the noise-barrier inspection task. To tackle the problems, we present a novel Vision-based Noise-barrier Inspection System (VNIS), which is deployed on the bullet train to inspect the noise-barrier defects by using motion video. VNIS uses the proposed panorama generation model based on motion video to obtain panoramic images from massive redundant video sequences. Then, we employ a self-supervised learning deep network to solve the problem of the scarce defective samples. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on a large-scale video dataset of bullet train. VNIS yields competitive performance on noise-barrier defects inspection. Specifically, an average accuracy of 99.14% is achieved for noise-barrier defects inspection.
An Improved Switched-Inductor and Switched-Capacitor Networks-Based High-Step-Up-Ratio DC–DC Converter
Authors: Bhukya Ramu , Shanmugasundaram N.
Published: July 2022

Achieving higher voltage at load side is essential in many applications, especially in small-scale solar PV systems. Traditional boost converter fails to lift the voltage level beyond five times due to saturation in the passive elements. In order to attain high voltage gain ratio, a novel switched-inductor and switched-capacitor networks-based high-gain step-up converter is proposed in this paper. It can attain higher voltage gain at lower duty ratios, thereby reducing the losses associated with the converter and enhancing the efficiency. The detailed analysis of the proposed converter has been made under the CCM and DCM conditions. Moreover, investigation on device stresses is carried out and the results are compared with recently derived converters. Also, the performance comparison of the proposed converter with other published topologies is presented in this paper. In order to validate the operation details, the measured results are presented and the same have been confirmed with the theoretical approach. Furthermore, experimental works have been carried out and the results are presented to confirm the feasibility of the operation.
A Graph-Based Clustering Algorithm for the Internet of Vehicles
Authors: Yang Fan , Zhang ShiLong , Huang Jie , Cao Yang , Zuo Xun , Yang Chuan , Zhang Bo
Published: July 2022

In the large-scale and ultra-dense Internet of Vehicles (IoVs), constructing the simplest backbone network is an urgent problem to be solved. In fact, constructing the simplest backbone network is an NP-hard problem, and at present, there is no effective solution. In this paper, we propose a graph-based clustering algorithm to solve this problem and construct the simplest backbone network in the large-scale and ultra-dense IoV. We establish a backbone network model for the large-scale and ultra-dense IoV and optimize the backbone network by employing a novel local search iterative algorithm. Simulation results show that with the increase in node density, the number of clusters selected by the proposed algorithm tends to be stable, while the number of optimized clusters decreases by 28.87% on an average. Thus, the proposed algorithm can effectively simplify the backbone network.
Well-posedness and exponential decay for the Navier–Stokes equations of viscous compressible heat-conductive fluids with vacuum
Authors: Lai Suhua , Xu Hao , Zhang Jianwen
Published: July 2022

This paper is concerned with the Cauchy problem of Navier–Stokes equations for compressible viscous heat-conductive fluids with far-field vacuum at infinity in [Formula: see text]. For less regular data and weaker compatibility condition than those proposed by Cho–Kim [Existence results for viscous polytropic fluids with vacuum, J. Differ. Equ. 228 (2006) 377–411], we first prove the existence of local-in-time solutions belonging to a larger class of functions in which the uniqueness can be shown to hold. The local solution is in fact a classical one away from the initial time, provided the initial density is more regular. We also establish the global well-posedness of classical solutions with large oscillations and vacuum in the case when the initial total energy is suitably small. The exponential decay estimates of the global solutions are obtained.
Quantitative stochastic homogenization of an unbounded front propagation problem
Authors: Hajej Ahmed
Published: July 2022

We obtain quantitative stochastic homogenization results for Hamilton–Jacobi equations arising in front propagation problems which move in the normal direction with a possible unbounded velocity. More precisely, we establish error estimates and rates of convergence for homogenization and effective Hamiltonian. The main idea is to perturb our unbounded problem by a bounded one, and to establish stability results in this context. Then, we combine the estimates that we find with the ones from the bounded case.
On a parameterization of (1,1)-knots
Authors: Frías José
Published: July 2022

A (1,1)-knot in the 3-sphere is a knot that admits a 1-bridge presentation with respect to a Heegaard torus in [Formula: see text]. A new parameterization of [Formula: see text]-knots distinct from the classical ones is introduced. This parameterization is obtained from minimum length representatives of homotopy classes of arcs in the multipunctured plane. In the particular case of satellite (1,1)-knots, it is proven that the introduced parameterization is essentially unique. A generalization of this parameterization to the family of [Formula: see text]-knots for any [Formula: see text] is proposed.
The geometric realization of a normalized set-theoretic Yang–Baxter homology of biquandles
Authors: Wang Xiao , Yang Seung Yeop
Published: July 2022

Biracks and biquandles, which are useful for studying the knot theory, are special families of solutions of the set-theoretic Yang–Baxter equation. A homology theory for the set-theoretic Yang–Baxter equation was developed by Carter et al. in order to construct knot invariants. In this paper, we construct a normalized (co)homology theory of a set-theoretic solution of the Yang–Baxter equation. We obtain some concrete examples of nontrivial [Formula: see text]-cocycles for Alexander biquandles. For a biquandle [Formula: see text] its geometric realization [Formula: see text] is discussed, which has the potential to build invariants of links and knotted surfaces. In particular, we demonstrate that the second homotopy group of [Formula: see text] is finitely generated if the biquandle [Formula: see text] is finite.
The homomorphism defect of an extended Levine–Tristram signature via twisted homology
Authors: Merz A.
Published: July 2022

Taking the Levine–Tristram signature of the closure of a braid defines a map from the braid group to the integers. A formula of Gambaudo and Ghys provides an evaluation of the homomorphism defect of this map in terms of the Burau representation and the Meyer cocycle. In 2017, Cimasoni and Conway generalized this formula to the multivariable signature of the closure of colored tangles. In this paper, we extend even further their result by using a different 4-dimensional interpretation of the signature. We obtain an evaluation of the additivity defect in terms of the Maslov index and the isotropic functor [Formula: see text]. We also show that in the case of colored braids this defect can be rewritten in terms of the Meyer cocycle and the colored Gassner representation, making it a direct generalization of the formula of Gambaudo and Ghys.
REGULARIZATION OF CAUCHY PROBLEM FOR 2D TIME-FRACTIONAL DIFFUSION EVOLUTION EQUATIONS
Authors: BINH TRAN THANH , BINH NGUYEN PHUC , THANG BUI DINH , LONG LE DINH
Published: July 2022

In this work, we focus on an initial value problem for a class of 2D time-fractional diffusion evolution equations with Riemann–Liouville fractional derivative. There are three new results in this paper. First of all, the existence and ill-posedness result (in the sense of Hadamard) in three cases which are consisting of homogeneous, inhomogeneous, and nonlinear problems are considered. Next, by using the Fourier truncation method, we show that regularized problems are well-posed. Finally, some demonstrated examples are presented to test the proposed method.
Coupled Vibration Analysis of Rotating Composite Laminated Beams in Hygrothermal Environment Using the Green’s Function Method
Authors: Li X. , Qin Y. , Zhou Z. H.
Published: July 2022

This paper is concerned with coupled vibration of rotating composite laminated beams under hygrothermal environment. The governing equations of the coupled vibration of the beams considering hygrothermal effects and rotating motion are derived on the base of d’Alembert principle. Green’s function method is adopted to obtain the flapwise-edgewise coupled vibration characteristics of the beams. Then, a comprehensive parametric study on natural frequencies of flapwise and edgewise bending vibrations is numerically performed. Results indicate that the flapwise-edgewise coupling factors are essential for the vibration analysis of the high-speed rotating structures. Temperature variation, moisture concentration, rotating speed, and design parameters have a significant influence on the coupled vibration characters of the beams, and thermal expansion deformation is nonnegligible in the coupled vibration analysis.
Bending and Vibration Analysis of the FG Circular Nanoplates Subjected to Hygro-Thermo-Electrical Loading Based on Nonlocal Strain Gradient Theory
Authors: Wang Yun , Hong Weiwei , Smitt John
Published: July 2022

This paper examines the deflection and vibration of the circular nanoplates made of functionally graded (FG) materials. The material properties of the system vary across the thickness based on the power-law distribution. The system is assumed to be subjected to hygro-thermo-electrical loadings based on nonlinear relations. The first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is applied to model the circular plate as a continuous system. The nonlocal strain gradient theory is employed to consider the small-scale impacts. The dynamic equations of the motion of the FG circular nanoplate for diverse boundary conditions are derived using Hamilton’s principle, and the differential quadrature (DQ) procedure is used to obtain the deflection and frequency of the system in a discrete state. The effects of various parameters, such as small-scale factors, FG material characteristics, external voltage, and hygro-thermal loadings, on the vibration of FG circular nanoplates are explored.
Random Dynamic Analysis of Wind-Vehicle-Bridge System Based on ARMAX Surrogate Model and High-Order Differencing
Authors: Han Xu , Xiang Huoyue , Chen Xuli , Zhu Jin , Li Yongle
Published: July 2022

To investigate the stochastic characteristics of vehicle-bridge (VB) system under crosswind, an efficient method which combines AutoRegressive Moving Average with eXogenous inputs (ARMAX) model, high-order differencing (HOD) and important sample was proposed in this paper. First, the wind turbulence spectra relative to a moving vehicle and equivalent static gust load method were adopted to simplify the turbulent wind field of VB system, and a wind-vehicle-bridge (WVB) model was established and verified. Then, an analysis framework for WVB system based on ARMAX model was proposed, and HOD method and important sample were used to improve the prediction performance of the surrogate model. Prediction accuracy and calculation efficiency of proposed AMRAX model were verified and compared by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Finally, the impacts of vehicle speed and wind velocity on the stochastic characteristics of train response were discussed. Results indicate that the HOD method has significantly improved the prediction performance of ARMAX model for lateral response of trains, and the train responses predicted by ARMAX model based on HOD and important sample show perfect agreement with target results. Compared with MCS, the calculation efficiencies of proposed ARMAX model are improved by about two orders of magnitude. The extreme values of the train response with different vehicle speed and wind velocity gradually obey right skewness distribution, especially the lateral acceleration.
The Superhydrophobic and Oleophobic Material Constructed with γ-AlOOH Micro-Nanostructure
Authors: Chen Menglong , Ma Rui , Jiang Qi
Published: July 2022

Inorganic micro-nanomaterial is an excellent choice for constructing the functional surface of liquid repellency. In this work, [Formula: see text]-AlOOH micro-nanostructure with special morphology was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method using common feedstock. Stearic acid was used as a hydrophobic modifier to obtain the superhydrophobic and oleophobic surface with good durability. Stearic acid molecule and [Formula: see text]-AlOOH are connected by both physical and chemical adsorption, which is more conducive to improve structure stability. The water contact angle and diiodomethane contact angle of the film could reach up to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. Both morphology and composition of [Formula: see text]-AlOOH are affected efficiently by the valence anions in hydrothermal reaction. Reaction conditions including reaction time, substrate and surfactant have a great influence on the morphology and wetting performance of [Formula: see text]-AlOOH structure. The surface hydroxyl group on substrate surface plays a guidance and orientation role in the growth of micro-nanostructure. The surface wettability depends on its roughness. The superhydrophobic and oleophobic [Formula: see text]-AlOOH surface prepared with a simple method and cheap raw material has broad application prospect.
Predicting Acute Endophthalmitis for Patients with Cataract Surgery Using Hierarchical and Probabilistic Representation of Clinical Codes
Authors: Haque Md Enamul , Pershing Suzann
Published: July 2022

Post-surgery acute endophthalmitis is a rare ocular disease that is most prevalent among patients with cataract surgery. It is difficult to identify these rare but possible diseases as the symptoms are not quite visible. In addition, endophthalmitis introduces significant burden in public health and requires patients to undergo increased physician visits and procedures such as pars plana vitrectomy. Eventually, endophthalmitis patients become impaired with reduced vision and degraded quality of life. Therefore, the early diagnosis or prediction of acute endophthalmitis would benefit a significant portion of the patients to lead healthy life after the cataract surgery. In this study, we propose Predicting Cataract surgery-based acute Endophthalmitis (PrediCatE), a prediction technique that is applied on patient’s previous visits to predict acute endophthalmitis after their cataract surgery. We specifically apply neighborhood-based language modeling and classification algorithms on the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS®) registry dataset. In addition, we explain the use of mixture of clinical concepts in the classification process. Our empirical results demonstrate promising outcomes that will enhance the development and evaluation process of predictive modeling approaches in ophthalmic healthcare.
Quantification and Mitigation of Directional Pairwise Class Confusion Bias in a Chatbot Intent Classification Model
Authors: Sayenju Sudhashree , Aygun Ramazan , Boardman Jonathan , Don Duleep Prasanna Rathgamage , Zhang Yifan , Franks Bill , Johnston Sereres , Lee George , Sullivan Dan , Modgil Girish
Published: July 2022

Currently, Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications like chatbots are very close to mimick human responses. This has been achieved via powerful and sophisticated models like Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT). Although, the capabilities that such models offer are superior to the technologies that preceded it, these models still possess bias. BERT or similar models are mostly trained on text corpora that deviate in important ways from the text encountered by a chatbot in a problem-specific context. Past research on NLP bias has heavily focused on measuring and mitigating bias with respect to protected attributes (stereotyping like gender, race, ethnicity, etc.), but the exploration of model bias with respect to classification labels remained yet to be explored. We investigate how a classification model hugely favors one class with respect to another. In this paper, we propose a bias evaluation technique called directional pairwise class confusion bias that highlights our chatbot intent classification models bias on pairs of classes. Lastly, we also demonstrate two bias mitigation strategies on a few example-biased pairs.
Three-dimensional quantification of protoporphyrin IX in photodynamic therapy using SFDI/DFT: A pilot experimental validation
Authors: Dan Mai , Song Weijie , Liu Meihui , Zhang Yaru , Gao Feng
Published: July 2022

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) dosimetry, including light dose, photosensitizer dose and tissue oxygen, has been a research focus in PDT. In this work, we present a three-dimensional (3D) quantification of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) using combined spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and diffuse fluorescence tomography (DFT). The SFDI maps both the distributions of tissue absorption and scattering properties at three wavelengths and accordingly provides the optical background for DFT and extracts the tissue oxygenation for assessing the therapeutic outcomes, while DFT dynamically monitors the 3D distribution of PpIX dose from measured fluorescence signals for the procedure optimization. A pilot in vivo application in tumor nude models showed that the proposed SFDI/DFT is able to dynamically trace changes in the PpIX concentration and tissue oxygen during the treatment, rendering it a potentially powerful tool for PDT to improve clinical efficacy.
Characteristic polynomials of random truncations: Moments, duality and asymptotics
Authors: Serebryakov Alexander , Simm Nick , Dubach Guillaume
Published: July 2022

We study moments of characteristic polynomials of truncated Haar distributed matrices from the three classical compact groups [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. For finite matrix size we calculate the moments in terms of hypergeometric functions of matrix argument and give explicit integral representations highlighting the duality between the moment and the matrix size as well as the duality between the orthogonal and symplectic cases. Asymptotic expansions in strong and weak non-unitarity regimes are obtained. Using the connection to matrix hypergeometric functions, we establish limit theorems for the log-modulus of the characteristic polynomial evaluated on the unit circle.
Limiting eigenvalue behavior of a class of large dimensional random matrices formed from a Hadamard product
Authors: Silverstein Jack W.
Published: July 2022

This paper investigates the strong limiting behavior of the eigenvalues of the class of matrices [Formula: see text], studied in [V. L. Girko, Theory of Stochastic Canonical Equations: Vol. [Formula: see text] (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2001)]. Here, [Formula: see text] is an [Formula: see text] random matrix consisting of independent complex standardized random variables, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], has nonnegative entries, and ∘ denotes Hadamard (componentwise) product. Results are obtained under assumptions on the entries of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] which are different from those in [V. L. Girko, Theory of Stochastic Canonical Equations: Vol. 1 (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2001)], which include a Lindeberg condition on the entries of [Formula: see text], as well as a bound on the average of the rows and columns of [Formula: see text]. The present paper separates the assumptions needed on [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. It assumes a Lindeberg condition on the entries of [Formula: see text], along with a tightness-like condition on the entries of [Formula: see text].
Basic Statistics for Surgeons
Authors: XU Joshua , AN Vincent V.G. , SIVAKUMAR Brahman S.
Published: July 2022

Interpreting research is an important skill to ensure one can maintain their practise with current evidence. The technicalities of statistics can be daunting and thus, this article aims to provide a clear overview of key statistical tests that a surgeon will encounter. It highlights the various study designs, summary statistics and comparative tests that are used in clinical research. Furthermore, it provides a guide to determine which statistical method is most appropriate for various study designs. Overall, it aims to act as an introductory text to supplement further reading into the more advanced statistical methodologies.

Level of Evidence: Level V
Patient-Centred Outcomes Following Open Carpal Tunnel Release: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature
Authors: LIAO Christopher D. , ABDOU Salma A. , DAAR David A. , LEE Z-Hye , THANIK Vishal
Published: July 2022

Background: Patients’ individual interpretations of their own health outcomes are becoming increasingly important metrics in defining clinical success across all specialties, especially in hand surgery. However, there is a relative paucity of data using validated health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) assessments for carpal tunnel release (CTR). The purpose of this study was to review published outcomes on traditional open CTR to formally assess the current need for more accurate, validated assessment tools to evaluate CTR-specific HR-QoL.

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases were queried according to PRISMA guidelines for all studies investigating patient-reported outcomes following traditional open CTR. Analysis focused on HR-QoL, symptomatic relief, functional status, overall satisfaction and return to work or activities of daily living (ADLs).

Results: In total, 588 unique articles were screened, and 30 studies met selection criteria. HR-QoL was formally assessed in only 3 studies using the validated 36-Item Short Form Survey. Symptomatic relief was measured in 29 (97%) studies, making it the most frequently reported item, whereas functional ability was reported by 19 (63%) studies. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire was the most frequently utilised tool to assess symptomatic relief (13/30) and functional improvement (11/30). Using unvalidated custom surveys, 14 studies (47%) reported patient satisfaction and 12 studies (40%) documented time to return to work/ADLs.

Conclusion: There is a dearth of studies utilising HR-QoL assessment tools to evaluate outcomes following traditional open CTR. The creation and validation of new CTR-specific HR-QoL tools accounting for both physical and psychological health is warranted.

Level of Evidence: Level II (Therapeutic)
A Comparison of Arc of Motion, Radiological Parameters of the Wrist and Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation between Adult Transfusion Dependent Thalassemics and Normal Subjects
Authors: GARG Varun , DHAWAN Pawan , VALSANGKAR Nikhil , KUMAR Ajeet
Published: July 2022

Background: Bony deformities and arthropathies have been noticed in thalassemia patients. The aim of this study is to compare the arc of motion and radiological parameters of the wrist and patient rated wrist evaluation (PRWE) between adult transfusion-dependent thalassemics and normal subjects.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was done in the department of orthopaedics over a period of 2 years where a total of 30 skeletally mature thalassemia major patients (group A) were assessed. The data was then compared with the data of demographically matched 30 healthy adults (group B). Arc of motion of the dominant wrist that included flexion, extension, radial and ulnar deviation, pronation and supination was measured using a handheld goniometer for both groups. Radiographs of the dominant wrist were obtained in both groups and used to determine the radial height, radial articular angle and carpal slip. PRWE was used to assess the function of the wrist. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Clinical abnormalities at the wrist joint were found in 80% of thalassaemia patients. There was a statistically significant increase in ulnar deviation, wrist extension and decrease in wrist flexion in group A compared to group B. Radiological abnormalities were found in 100% of thalassaemia patients. All the radiological parameters were significantly increased in group A compared to group B. There were no differences in PRWE scores between both groups.

Conclusion: Clinical and radiological changes of wrist joint occur in skeletally mature thalassaemia major patients due to shortened ulna compared to healthy adults. This may be due to disease itself, bone marrow expansion, osteopenia, drug (chelating agent) or iron toxicity. Understanding the changes at the wrist in patients with thalassemia major is important to increasing the life expectancy of these patients.

Level of Evidence: Level IV (Diagnostic)
Self-Reported Disability Following Surgery for Dupuytren Contracture in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients
Authors: STIRLING Paul H. C. , DUCKWORTH Andrew D. , McEACHAN Jane E.
Published: July 2022

Background: The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of diabetes mellitus on patient-reported functional outcome measures (PROMs) and satisfaction following surgical treatment of Dupuytren contracture.

Methods: Preoperative and 1-year postoperative PROMs were collected prospectively over 6 years (2013–2019). Patients completed the QuickDASH score and were asked ‘how normal is your hand?’, recording responses on a 100-point visual analogue scale. Patient satisfaction was also self-reported.

Results: Paired responses were available for 520 hands (478 patients; 72% follow-up rate). There were 62 patients with diabetes (12%). Pre (12.5 vs. 9.1; p = 0.01) and postoperative (11.4 vs. 6.8; p = 0.02) QuickDASH scores were significantly, but not clinically, worse in diabetic patients. Patient satisfaction was high in both groups. A large and significant improvement in self-perceived hand normality was observed in both groups (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in preoperative or change in hand normality between the groups, but the postoperative normal hand score was significantly higher in non-diabetic patients (94 vs. 90; p = 0.02).

Conclusion: Our study has demonstrated statistically significantly worse disability in diabetic patients with Dupuytren contracture both pre- and postoperatively, though the observed differences were far below the minimum clinically important difference for the QuickDASH. Both groups reported a large and statistically significant improvement in self-perceived hand normality following surgery.

Level of Evidence: Level III (Therapeutic)
Use of a Free Medial Femoral Condyle Periosteal Flap in Digital Reconstruction – A Report of Two Patients
Authors: HIBINO Naohito , YAMANO Masahiro , HAMADA Yoshitaka , TAKAHASHI Yoshinori
Published: July 2022

We reconstructed a segmental bone defect in a finger associated with a dorsal skin defect using a bone graft covered with a free medial femoral condyle periosteal flap and a skin graft in two patients. The vascularised periosteal flap (VPF) improved the survival of the bone graft and allowed the take of the skin graft. The use of a VPF can be considered in patients with crush injury of the digits with segmental loss of bone and dorsal skin

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
On-Top Plasty in Post-Axial Polydactyly: A Case Report and Recommendation to Modify the Classifications
Authors: MOZAFFARIAN Kamran , VOSOUGHI Amir Reza , MOZAFFARIAN Dordaneh
Published: July 2022

Post-axial polydactyly (PAP) is almost always treated by ablation of the sixth ray since the ulnar duplicate is universally inadequate and the radial one is normal. We report a patient with bilateral PAP with skeletal abnormalities in both radial and ulnar duplicates. This unusual presentation cannot be classified according to previous classifications of PAP and precludes simple ablation as the treatment of choice. Both hands of this patient were treated by on-top plasty with excellent functional and cosmetic results. A modification of the previous classifications is recommended at the end of this article.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Development of Atypical Ulnar Fracture is Associated with Bisphosphonate Therapy and Severe Spinal Deformity: A Case Report
Authors: OKAMOTO Michio , KASHII Masafumi , ABE Shingo
Published: July 2022

Atypical ulna fracture (AUF) is relatively rare and is known to be associated with prolonged bisphosphonate (BP) use. The developmental mechanism remains unclear. We report a patient with an AUF associated with BP and severe spinal deformity. The patient was an 85-year-old woman receiving oral alendronate for 8 years without vitamin D supplementation. During regular kitchen work, she needed left upper limb support. She presented with atraumatic pain over the ulna. Radiographs revealed a transverse fracture in the proximal ulna and ulna bowing deformity. Whole-spine standing radiographs showed severe degenerative kyphoscoliosis. The skin induration with pigmentation on her left elbow that suggested prolonged overload and during standing work, coincided exactly with fracture location. This report suggests that ‘direct stress’, with persistent local overload on the proximal ulna, is one of the developmental mechanisms of AUF, in addition to persistent suppression of bone remodelling by prolonged BP use and vitamin D deficiency.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Quadrant Flap for Fingertip Reconstruction in Macrodactyly: Technique and Case Report
Authors: KAEMPF DE OLIVEIRA Ricardo , FARINA BRUNELLI João Pedro , SOLDADO Francisco , VERGARA AMADOR Enrique
Published: July 2022

Macrodactyly is a serious and rare disease and considered one of the most difficult pathologies to treat. There is no rule and the treatment for each patient must be tailor-made, depending on the location and degree of macrodactyly. Although amputation is a valid option for adult patients, nail preservation and reconstruction are important and has a direct impact on the treatment outcome, both aesthetically and on the patient’s self-esteem. We have used a wide, z-shaped fingertip flap associated with the preservation of a nail quadrant, bone shortening and distal interphalangeal arthrodesis. We have obtained good functional and aesthetic outcomes with this ‘quadrant flap’ technique. The technique allows decreasing digit size and volume and reconstruction of the nail complex and finger pulp.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Simultaneous Reconstruction of the Distal Radioulnar Joint Ligaments and Interosseous Membrane Combined with Ulna Shortening Osteotomy for Chronic Essex-Lopresti Injury
Authors: THATCHER Keely M. , SIVAKUMAR Brahman S. , GRAHAM David J.
Published: July 2022

The Essex-Lopresti pattern of injury comprises radial head fracture, distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) dislocation and disruption of the interosseus membrane (IOM). Diagnosis is often delayed, and reconstruction remains a management dilemma, with several proposed techniques addressing the radial head via either replacement or fixation; reconstruction of the DRUJ ligaments via anatomic or non-anatomic methods; and IOM reconstruction with synthetic grafts, allograft or autograft. We present a 26-year-old man with a chronic Essex-Lopresti injury who underwent revision ulnar shortening osteotomy (USO), IOM reconstruction using a brachioradialis graft and an Adams–Berger ligament reconstruction of the DRUJ ligaments following a three-year course of increasing pain and instability following radial head dislocation. This case demonstrates the feasibility of a single-stage reconstruction of a chronic Essex-Lopresti injury using a brachioradialis and a palmaris longus autograft.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Locking of the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the Thumb Caused by Entrapment of the Radial Sesamoid Bone
Authors: LEE Sanglim , JEON Suk Ha
Published: July 2022

Locking of metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints of the thumb may be a consequence of dorsal subluxation from hyperextension injury. The joint is locked in mild hyperextension and cannot flex actively or passively. We report four patients with locked MCP joint of the thumb due to radial sesamoid entrapment after hyperextension or forced flexion injury. All patients had a prominent radial condyle of the metacarpal bone. Three patients had a deformity of the longitudinal groove on which the sesamoid was overlaid. The radial sesamoid was entrapped proximal to the radial condyle which could result in limited extension and hinged flexion of the joint. Excision of the radial sesamoid could release the locked joint. The radial sesamoid should be assessed if the motion of the thumb MCP joint is limited after flexion or extension injury.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Finger Amputation after Pinning of the Distal Interphalangeal Joint for Acute Closed Tendinous Mallet Finger: A Rare but Devastating Complication
Authors: LUCCHINA Stefano , MERONI Matteo , MOLITOR Martin , GUIDI Marco
Published: July 2022

The best treatment for mallet fingers is still a matter of debate. Numerous splints with different designs to keep the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint in extension have been described in literature. The outcomes of splint treatment are generally good with occasional reports of minor skin complications. Percutaneous Kirschner-wire pinning of the DIP joint for closed tendinous mallet finger represents a alternative treatment modality that reliably immobilises the joint and does not need much patient compliance or use of an external splint. We report a rare but devastating complication of percutaneous pinning of the DIP joint for closed tendinous mallet finger.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)
Guaranteeing Timed Opacity using Parametric Timed Model Checking
Authors: André Étienne , Lime Didier , Marinho Dylan , Sun Jun
Published: July 2022

Information leakage can have dramatic consequences on systems security. Among harmful information leaks, the timing information leakage occurs whenever an attacker successfully deduces confidential internal information. In this work, we consider that the attacker has access (only) to the system execution time. We address the following timed opacity problem: given a timed system, a private location and a final location, synthesize the execution times from the initial location to the final location for which one cannot deduce whether the system went through the private location. We also consider the full timed opacity problem, asking whether the system is opaque for all execution times. We show that these problems are decidable for timed automata (TAs) but become undecidable when one adds parameters, yielding parametric timed automata (PTAs). We identify a subclass with some decidability results. We then devise an algorithm for synthesizing PTAs parameter valuations guaranteeing that the resulting TA is opaque. We finally show that our method can also apply to program analysis.
Design and Implementation of a Coarse-grained Dynamically Reconfigurable Multimedia Accelerator
Authors: Nguyen Hung K. , Tran Xuan-Tu
Published: July 2022

This article proposes and implements a Coarse-grained dynamically Reconfigurable Architecture, named Reconfigurable Multimedia Accelerator (REMAC). REMAC architecture is driven by the pipelined multi-instruction-multi-data execution model for exploiting multi-level parallelism of the computation-intensive loops in multimedia applications. The novel architecture of REMAC's reconfigurable processing unit (RPU) allows multiple iterations of a kernel loop can execute concurrently in the pipelining fashion by the temporal overlapping of the configuration fetch, execution, and store processes as much as possible. To address the huge bandwidth required by parallel processing units, REMAC architecture is proposed to efficiently exploit the abundant data locality in the kernel loops to decrease data access bandwidth while increase the efficiency of pipelined execution. In addition, a novel architecture of dedicated hierarchy data memory system is proposed to increase data reuse between iterations and make data always available for parallel operation of RPU. The proposed architecture was modeled at RTL using VHDL language. Several benchmark applications were mapped onto REMAC to validate the high-flexibility and high-performance of the architecture and prove that it is appropriate for a wide set of multimedia applications. The experimental results show that REMAC's performance is better than Xilinx Virtex-II, ADRES, REMUS-II, and TI C64+ DSP.
Estimating Probabilistic Safe WCET Ranges of Real-Time Systems at Design Stages
Authors: Lee Jaekwon , Shin Seung Yeob , Nejati Shiva , Briand Lionel , Parache Yago Isasi
Published: July 2022

Estimating worst-case execution time (WCET) is an important activity at early design stages of real-time systems. Based on WCET estimates, engineers make design and implementation decisions to ensure that task executions always complete before their specified deadlines. However, in practice, engineers often cannot provide precise point WCET estimates and prefer to provide plausible WCET ranges. Given a set of real-time tasks with such ranges, we provide an automated technique to determine for what WCET values the system is likely to meet its deadlines and, hence, operate safely with a probabilistic guarantee. Our approach combines a search algorithm for generating worst-case scheduling scenarios with polynomial logistic regression for inferring probabilistic safe WCET ranges. We evaluated our approach by applying it to three industrial systems from different domains and several synthetic systems. Our approach efficiently and accurately estimates probabilistic safe WCET ranges within which deadlines are likely to be satisfied with a high degree of confidence.
Morphogenetic Roles of Hydrostatic Pressure in Animal Development
Authors: Bagnat Michel , Daga Bijoy , Di Talia Stefano
Published: July 2022

During organismal development, organs and systems are built following a genetic blueprint that produces structures capable of performing specific physiological functions. Interestingly, we have learned that the physiological activities of developing tissues also contribute to their own morphogenesis. Specifically, physiological activities such as fluid secretion and cell contractility generate hydrostatic pressure that can act as a morphogenetic force. Here, we first review the role of hydrostatic pressure in tube formation during animal development and discuss mathematical models of lumen formation. We then illustrate specific roles of the notochord as a hydrostatic scaffold in anterior-posterior axis development in chordates. Finally, we cover some examples of how fluid flows influence morphogenetic processes in other developmental contexts. Understanding how fluid forces act during development will be key for uncovering the self-organizing principles that control morphogenesis.