bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CCR2-positive monocytes contribute to the pathogenesis of early diabetic retinopathy in mice
Authors: Saadane Aicha , Veenstra Alexander A. , Minns Martin S. , Tang Jie , Du Yunpeng , Abubakr Elghazali Fatima , Lessieur Emma M. , Pearlman Eric , Kern Timothy S.
Published: January 2023

Aims/hypothesis

Accumulating evidence suggests that leucocytes play a critical role in diabetes-induced vascular lesions and other abnormalities that characterise the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. However, the role of monocytes has yet to be fully investigated; therefore, we used Ccr2−/− mice to study the role of CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes in the pathogenesis of diabetes-induced degeneration of retinal capillaries.

Methods

Experimental diabetes was induced in wild-type and Ccr2−/− mice using streptozotocin. After 2 months, superoxide levels, expression of inflammatory genes, leucostasis, leucocyte- and monocyte-mediated cytotoxicity against retinal endothelial cell death, retinal thickness and visual function were evaluated. Retinal capillary degeneration was determined after 8 months of diabetes. Flow cytometry of peripheral blood for differential expression of CCR2 in monocytes was assessed.

Results

In nondiabetic mice, CCR2 was highly expressed on monocytes, and Ccr2−/− mice lack CCR2+ monocytes in the peripheral blood. Diabetes-induced retinal superoxide, expression of proinflammatory genes Inos and Icam1, leucostasis and leucocyte-mediated cytotoxicity against retinal endothelial cells were inhibited in diabetic Ccr2-deficient mice and in chimeric mice lacking Ccr2 only from myeloid cells. In order to focus on monocytes, these cells were immuno-isolated after 2 months of diabetes, and they significantly increased monocyte-mediated endothelial cell cytotoxicity ex vivo. Monocytes from Ccr2-deficient mice caused significantly less endothelial cell death. The diabetes-induced retinal capillary degeneration was inhibited in Ccr2−/− mice and in chimeric mice lacking Ccr2 only from myeloid cells.

Conclusions/interpretation

CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes contribute to the pathogenesis of early lesions of diabetic retinopathy.

Graphical abstract
In-depth characterization of protein N-glycosylation for a COVID-19 variant-design vaccine spike protein
Authors: Huang Jiangming , Hou Shouzeng , An Jiao , Zhou Chenliang
Published: January 2023

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and remains one of the biggest pandemics around the world since 2019. Vaccination has proved to be an effective way of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and alleviating the hospitalization burden. Among different forms of COVID-19 vaccine design, the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus is widely used as a candidate vaccine antigen. As a surface protein on the virus envelop, the spike was reported to be heavily N-glycosylated and glycosylation had a great impact on its immunogenicity and efficacy. Besides, N-glycosylation might vary greatly on different expression systems and sequence variant designs. Therefore, comprehensive analysis of spike N-glycosylation is of great significance for better vaccine understanding and quality control. In this study, full characterization of N-glycosylation was performed for a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell expressed variant-designed spike protein. The spike protein featured the latest six-proline substitution design together with the incorporation of a combination of mutation sites. Trypsin and Glu-C digestion coupled with PNGase F strategies were adopted, and effective LC–MS/MS methods were applied to analyze samples. As a result, a total of 19 N-glycosites were identified in the recombinant pike protein at intact N-glycopeptide level. Quantitative analysis of released glycan by LC–MS/MS was also performed, and 31 high-abundance N-glycans were identified. Sequencing analysis of glycan was further provided to assist glycan structure confirmation. Moreover, all of the analyses were performed on three consecutive manufactured batches and the glycosylation results on both glycosite and glycans showed good batch-to-batch consistency. Thus, the reported analytical strategy and N-glycosylation information may well facilitate studies on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein analysis and quality studies.

Graphical Abstract
Pediatric whole-body magnetic resonance imaging: comparison of STIR and T2 Dixon sequences in the detection and grading of high signal bone marrow changes
Authors: Zadig P. , von Brandis E. , Ording Müller L. S. , Tanturri de Horatio L. , Rosendahl K. , Avenarius D. F. M.
Published: January 2023

Objectives

To compare short time inversion recovery (STIR) and T2 Dixon in the detection and grading of high signal intensity areas in bone marrow on whole-body MRI in healthy children.

Methods

Prospective study, including whole-body 1.5-T MRIs from 77 healthy children. Two experienced radiologists in consensus identified and graded areas of high bone marrow signal on STIR and T2-weighted (T2W) turbo spin echo (TSE) Dixon images (presence, extension) in two different sessions at an interval of at least 3 weeks. In a third session, a third observer joined the two readers for an additional consensus reading with all sequences available (substitute gold standard).

Results

Four hundred ninety of 545 (89.9%) high signal areas were visible on both sequences, while 27 (5.0%) were visible on STIR only and 28 (5.1%) on T2W Dixon only. Twenty-four of 27 (89%) lesions seen on STIR only, and 25/28 (89%) seen on T2W Dixon only, were graded as mildly increased signal intensity. The proportion of true positive high signal lesions was higher for the T2W Dixon images as compared to STIR (74.2% vs. 68.2%) (p = 0.029), while the proportion of false negatives was lower (25.9% vs. 31.7% (p = 0.035) for T2W Dixon and STIR, respectively). There was a moderate agreement between the T2W Dixon and STIR-based extension scores on a 0–4 scale, with a kappa of 0.45 (95% CI = 0.34–0.56).

Conclusions

Most high signal bone marrow changes identified on a 1.5-T whole-body MRI were seen on both STIR and water-only T2W Dixon, underscoring the importance of using identical protocols when following bone-marrow signal changes over time.

Key Points

• Whole-body MRI is increasingly being used to diagnose and monitor diseases in children, such as chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis, malignant/metastatic disease, and histiocytosis.

• Standardized and validated imaging protocols, as well as reference standards by age for the growing skeleton are lacking.

• Prospective single-center study showed that 90% of high signal bone marrow areas identified on a 1.5-T whole-body MRI in healthy children is seen on both STIR and water-only T2W Dixon, while 5% is seen on STIR only and 5% on T2W Dixon only.
Impact of sea ice transport on Beaufort Gyre liquid freshwater content
Authors: Cornish Sam B. , Muilwijk Morven , Scott Jeffery R. , Marson Juliana M. , Myers Paul G. , Zhang Wenhao , Wang Qiang , Kostov Yavor , Johnson Helen L. , Marshall John
Published: January 2023

The Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort Gyre (BG) is a wind-driven reservoir of relatively fresh seawater, situated beneath time-mean anticyclonic atmospheric circulation, and is covered by mobile pack ice for most of the year. Liquid freshwater accumulation in and expulsion from this gyre is of critical interest due to its potential to affect the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and due to the importance of freshwater in modulating vertical fluxes of heat, nutrients and carbon in the ocean, and exchanges of heat and moisture with the atmosphere. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that wind-driven sea ice transport into/from the BG region influences the freshwater content of the gyre and its variability. To test this hypothesis, we use the results of a coordinated climate response function experiment with four ice-ocean models, in combination with targeted experiments using a regional setup of the MITgcm, in which we rotate the surface wind forcing vectors (thereby changing the ageostrophic component of these winds). Our results show that, via an effect on the net thermodynamic growth rate, anomalies in sea ice transport into the BG affect liquid freshwater adjustment. Specifically, increased ice import increases freshwater retention in the gyre, whereas ice export decreases freshwater in the gyre. Our results demonstrate that uncertainty in the ageostrophic component of surface winds, and in the dynamic sea ice response to these winds, has important implications for ice thermodynamics and freshwater. This sensitivity may explain some of the observed inter-model spread in simulations of Beaufort Gyre freshwater and its adjustment in response to wind forcing.
Mouth rinsing and ingesting salty or bitter solutions does not influence corticomotor excitability or neuromuscular function
Authors: Gray Edward , Cavaleri Rocco , Siegler Jason
Published: January 2023

Purpose

To explore the effect of tasting unpleasant salty or bitter solutions on lower limb corticomotor excitability and neuromuscular function.

Methods

Nine females and eleven males participated (age: 27 ± 7 years, BMI: 25.3 ± 4.0 kg m−2). Unpleasant salty (1 M) and bitter (2 mM quinine) solutions were compared to water, sweetened water, and no solution, which functioned as control conditions. In a non-blinded randomized cross-over order, each solution was mouth rinsed (10 s) and ingested before perceptual responses, instantaneous heart rate (a marker of autonomic nervous system activation), quadricep corticomotor excitability (motor-evoked potential amplitude) and neuromuscular function during a maximal voluntary contraction (maximum voluntary force, resting twitch force, voluntary activation, 0–50 ms impulse, 0–100 impulse, 100–200 ms impulse) were measured.

Results

Hedonic value (water: 47 ± 8%, sweet: 23 ± 17%, salt: 71 ± 8%, bitter: 80 ± 10%), taste intensity, unpleasantness and increases in heart rate (no solution: 14 ± 5 bpm, water: 18 ± 5 bpm, sweet: 20 ± 5 bpm, salt: 24 ± 7 bpm, bitter: 23 ± 6 bpm) were significantly higher in the salty and bitter conditions compared to control conditions. Nausea was low in all conditions (< 15%) but was significantly higher in salty and bitter conditions compared to water (water: 3 ± 5%, sweet: 6 ± 13%, salt: 7 ± 9%, bitter: 14 ± 16%). There was no significant difference between conditions in neuromuscular function or corticomotor excitability variables.

Conclusion

At rest, unpleasant tastes appear to have no influence on quadricep corticomotor excitability or neuromuscular function. These data question the mechanisms via which unpleasant tastes are proposed to influence exercise performance.
Quantitative perfusion assessment using indocyanine green during surgery — current applications and recommendations for future use
Authors: Van Den Hoven P. , Osterkamp J. , Nerup N. , Svendsen M. B. S. , Vahrmeijer Alexander , Van Der Vorst J. R. , Achiam M. P.
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Incorrect assessment of tissue perfusion carries a significant risk of complications in surgery. The use of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging with Indocyanine Green (ICG) presents a possible solution. However, only through quantification of the fluorescence signal can an objective and reproducible evaluation of tissue perfusion be obtained. This narrative review aims to provide an overview of the available quantification methods for perfusion assessment using ICG NIR fluorescence imaging and to present an overview of current clinically utilized software implementations.

Methods

PubMed was searched for clinical studies on the quantification of ICG NIR fluorescence imaging to assess tissue perfusion. Data on the utilized camera systems and performed methods of quantification were collected.

Results

Eleven software programs for quantifying tissue perfusion using ICG NIR fluorescence imaging were identified. Five of the 11 programs have been described in three or more clinical studies, including Flow® 800, ROIs Software, IC Calc, SPY-Q™, and the Quest Research Framework®. In addition, applying normalization to fluorescence intensity analysis was described for two software programs.

Conclusion

Several systems or software solutions provide a quantification of ICG fluorescence; however, intraoperative applications are scarce and quantification methods vary abundantly. In the widespread search for reliable quantification of perfusion with ICG NIR fluorescence imaging, standardization of quantification methods and data acquisition is essential.
Combined effects of vitamin D and neferine on the progression and metastasis of colorectal cancer
Authors: Yang Jinfeng , Zhang Qinyu , Huang Guanlin , Cong Jiacheng , Wang Ting , Zhai Xiaoya , Zhang Juzheng , Qi Guangying , Zhou Lihua , Jin Jiamin
Published: January 2023

Purpose

To investigate the synergistic effect of vitamin D and neferine on the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

The synergistic effect of biologically active form of vitamin D, VD3 and neferine on the treatment of CRC was investigated by bliss analysis. Colony formation and wound healing ability, migration and invasion ability, and epithelial mesenchymal transition of HCT-116 cells, as a response to the combination treatment with VD3 and neferine were evaluated.

Results

VD3 and neferine showed a synergistic effect on CRC cell growth at a relatively low dose. The wound healing and colony formation capacity, cell migration and invasion abilities were all decreased by combination use of VD3 and neferine, compared to the VD3 or neferine treated single group. Furthermore, VD3 and neferine significantly decreased the expressions of N-cadherin, vimentin, snail, and slug in HCT-116 cells.

Conclusion

These data suggest that neferine enhances the anticancer capability of VD3 and reduces the dose dependency of VD3. The combination of vitamin D with neferine appears to be a potential therapeutic strategy for CRC.
Mental burden and moral distress among oncologists and oncology nurses in Germany during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey
Authors: Sommerlatte Sabine , Lugnier Celine , Schoffer Olaf , Jahn Patrick , Kraeft Anna-Lena , Kourti Eleni , Michl Patrick , Reinacher-Schick Anke , Schmitt Jochen , Birkner Thomas , Schildmann Jan , Herpertz Stephan
Published: January 2023

Purpose

There is evidence for mental burden and moral distress among healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, there is scarcity of analyses regarding possible correlations of mental burden and moral distress in this context. This study provides data to quantify mental burden and possible associations with moral distress among physicians and nurses working in oncology in Germany.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with physicians and nurses working in oncology in Germany between March and July 2021. Next to sociodemographic characteristics and working conditions, mental burden and moral distress were assessed using standardized instruments. Binary multivariate logistic regression using the enter method was performed in order to explore the relationship between mental burden and moral distress.

Results

121 physicians and 125 nurses were included in the study. Prevalence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms, anxiety, somatic symptoms, burnout symptoms and moral distress was 19.2, 14.5, 12.7, 46.0 and 34.7% in physicians and 41.4, 24.0, 46.8, 46.6 and 60.0% in nurses respectively. Mental burden was significantly associated with moral distress, being female/diverse, younger age < 40 and increase in workload. Nurses who felt sufficiently protected from COVID-19 reported significantly less moral distress.

Conclusion

To improve pandemic resilience, there is a need to ensure safe working environment including psychosocial support. Further evidence on risk and protective factors for moral distress is needed to be able to develop and implement strategies to protect healthcare workers within and beyond the pandemic.
CheSS: Chest X-Ray Pre-trained Model via Self-supervised Contrastive Learning
Authors: Cho Kyungjin , Kim Ki Duk , Nam Yujin , Jeong Jiheon , Kim Jeeyoung , Choi Changyong , Lee Soyoung , Lee Jun Soo , Woo Seoyeon , Hong Gil-Sun , Seo Joon Beom , Kim Namkug
Published: January 2023

Training deep learning models on medical images heavily depends on experts’ expensive and laborious manual labels. In addition, these images, labels, and even models themselves are not widely publicly accessible and suffer from various kinds of bias and imbalances. In this paper, chest X-ray pre-trained model via self-supervised contrastive learning (CheSS) was proposed to learn models with various representations in chest radiographs (CXRs). Our contribution is a publicly accessible pretrained model trained with a 4.8-M CXR dataset using self-supervised learning with a contrastive learning and its validation with various kinds of downstream tasks including classification on the 6-class diseases in internal dataset, diseases classification in CheXpert, bone suppression, and nodule generation. When compared to a scratch model, on the 6-class classification test dataset, we achieved 28.5% increase in accuracy. On the CheXpert dataset, we achieved 1.3% increase in mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve on the full dataset and 11.4% increase only using 1% data in stress test manner. On bone suppression with perceptual loss, we achieved improvement in peak signal to noise ratio from 34.99 to 37.77, structural similarity index measure from 0.976 to 0.977, and root-square-mean error from 4.410 to 3.301 when compared to ImageNet pretrained model. Finally, on nodule generation, we achieved improvement in Fréchet inception distance from 24.06 to 17.07. Our study showed the decent transferability of CheSS weights. CheSS weights can help researchers overcome data imbalance, data shortage, and inaccessibility of medical image datasets. CheSS weight is available at https://github.com/mi2rl/CheSS.
Strategic Conflict Management using Recurrent Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning for Urban Air Mobility Operations Considering Uncertainties
Authors: Huang Cheng , Petrunin Ivan , Tsourdos Antonios
Published: January 2023

The rapidly evolving urban air mobility (UAM) develops the heavy demand for public air transport tasks and poses great challenges to safe and efficient operation in low-altitude urban airspace. In this paper, the operation conflict is managed in the strategic phase with multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) in dynamic environments. To enable efficient operation, the aircraft flight performance is integrated into the process of multi-resolution airspace design, trajectory generation, conflict management, and MARL learning. The demand and capacity balancing (DCB) issue, separation conflict, and block unavailability introduced by wind turbulence are resolved by the proposed the multi-agent asynchronous advantage actor-critic (MAA3C) framework, in which the recurrent actor-critic networks allow the automatic action selection between ground delay, speed adjustment, and flight cancellation. The learned parameters in MAA3C are replaced with random values to compare the performance of trained models. Simulated training and test experiments performed on a small urban prototype and various combined use cases suggest the superiority of the MAA3C solution in resolving conflicts with complicated wind fields. And the generalization, scalability, and stability of the model are also demonstrated while applying the model to complex environments.
Fear, Fanaticism, and Fragile Identities
Authors: Tietjen Ruth Rebecca
Published: January 2023

In this article, I provide a philosophical analysis of the nature and role of perceived identity threats in the genesis and maintenance of fanaticism. First, I offer a preliminary definition of fanaticism as the social identity-defining devotion to a sacred value that demands universal recognition and is complemented by a hostile antagonism toward people who dissent from one’s group’s values. The fanatic’s hostility toward dissent thereby takes the threefold form of outgroup hostility, ingroup hostility, and self-hostility. Second, I provide a detailed analysis of the fears of fanaticism, arguing that each of the three aforementioned forms of hostile antagonism corresponds to one form of fear or anxiety: the fanatic’s fear of the outgroup, renegade members of the ingroup, and problematic aspects of themselves. In each of these three forms of fear, the fanatic experiences both their sacred values and their individual and social identity as being threatened. Finally, I turn to a fourth form of fear or anxiety connected to fanaticism, namely the fanatic’s anxiety of and flight from the existential condition of uncertainty itself, which, at least in some cases, ground the fanatic’s fearfulness.
Multiplatform molecular analysis of vestibular schwannoma reveals two robust subgroups with distinct microenvironment
Authors: Landry Alexander P. , Wang Justin Z. , Suppiah Suganth , Zadeh Gelareh
Published: January 2023

Background

Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is the most common tumour of the cerebellopontine angle and poses a significant morbidity for patients. While many exhibit benign behaviour, others have a more aggressive nature and pattern of growth. Predicting who will fall into which category consistently remains uncertain. There is a need for a better understanding of the molecular landscape, and important subgroups therein, of this disease.

Methods

We select all vestibular schwannomas from our tumour bank with both methylation and RNA profiling available. Unsupervised clustering methods were used to define two distinct molecular subgroups of VS which were explored using computational techniques including bulk deconvolution analysis, gene pathway enrichment analysis, and drug repurposing analysis. Methylation data from two other cohorts were used to validate our findings, given a paucity of external samples with available multi-omic data.

Results

A total of 75 tumours were analyzed. Consensus clustering and similarity network fusion defined two subgroups (“immunogenic” and “proliferative”) with significant differences in immune, stroma, and tumour cell abundance (p < 0.05). Gene network analysis and computational drug repurposing found critical differences in targets of immune checkpoint inhibition PD-1 and CTLA-4, the MEK pathway, and the epithelial to mesenchymal transition program, suggesting a need for subgroup-specific targeted treatment/trial design in the future.

Conclusions

We leverage computational tools with multi-omic molecular data to define two robust subgroups of vestibular schwannoma with differences in microenvironment and therapeutic vulnerabilities.
How Hot Can Small Solar Flares Get?
Authors: Harra Louise , Battaglia Andrea F. , Barczynski Krzysztof , Collier Hannah , Krucker Säm , Reeves Katharine K. , Doschek George
Published: January 2023

The temperature reached by solar flares is a key parameter to understanding the physical process that causes the energy release. In this work, we analysed data from a Hinode Observing Programme that focused on high cadence measurement of the flaring plasma. This was carried out when the X-ray imager and spectrometer (STIX) on Solar Orbiter was observing. We analysed 3 small microflares, and determined their evolution and temperature. The temperature of the B2.8 microflare reached 16 MK. There was evidence in the smaller B1.4 flare of Fe xxiv emission, indicating that hot plasma of 15 MK can be reached.
Urinary concentration of selected nonpersistent endocrine disrupting chemicals—reproductive outcomes among women from a fertility clinic
Authors: Radwan Paweł , Wielgomas Bartosz , Radwan Michał , Krasiński Rafał , Bujak-Pietrek Stella , Polańska Kinga , Kilanowicz Anna , Jurewicz Joanna
Published: January 2023

Parabens and benzophenones are compounds widely used in cosmetics and personal care products. Although human exposure is widespread there is a limited number of epidemiological studies assessing the relationship between exposure to these chemicals and female reproductive health. The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between paraben and benzophenone concentrations and reproductive outcomes among women attending a fertility center. This prospective cohort included 450 women undergoing in vitro treatment (IVF) at fertility clinic in Poland. The validated gas chromatography ion-tap mass spectrometry to assess concentrations of parabens in urine (methyl (MP), ethyl (EP), propyl (PP), butyl paraben (BP)) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) was used. To explore the relationship between concentrations of examined chemicals and reproductive outcomes (methaphase II (MII) oocyte yield, total oocyte yield, implantation rate, fertilization rate, clinical pregnancy, live births), multivariable generalized linear mixed model was used for the analysis. Increased exposure to butyl paraben was associated with a significant decrease in MII oocyte count (p = 0.007) when exposure to BP was treated as the continuous variable. Additionally, the exposure to BP in the highest quartile of exposure also decreases MII oocyte count (p = 0.02) compared to the lowest quartile. Urinary concentrations of BP were not related to total oocyte count, fertilization and implantation rate, clinical pregnancy, and live birth when the exposure variable was continuous variable or in the quartiles of exposure. Exposure to MP, EP, PP, the sum of examined parabens, and benzophenone-3 were not related to any of the examined reproductive outcomes. Exposure to butyl paraben was associated with a decrease in MII oocyte count among women attending fertility clinic rinsing concerns that exposure may have a potential adverse impact on embryological outcomes. The results emphasize the importance to reduce chemicals in the environment in order to minimize exposure. As this is the first study showing such an association, further research is needed to confirm these novel results in other populations.

Graphical Abstract
Strength gains after 12 weeks of resistance training correlate with neurochemical markers of brain health in older adults: a randomized control 1H-MRS study
Authors: Sheoran Samrat , Vints Wouter A. J. , Valatkevičienė Kristina , Kušleikienė Simona , Gleiznienė Rymantė , Česnaitienė Vida J. , Himmelreich Uwe , Levin Oron , Masiulis Nerijus
Published: January 2023

Physical exercise is considered a potent countermeasure against various age-associated physiological deterioration processes. We therefore assessed the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training on brain metabolism in older adults (age range: 60–80 years). Participants either underwent two times weekly resistance training program which consisted of four lower body exercises performed for 3 sets of 6–10 repetitions at 70–85% of 1 repetition maximum (n = 20) or served as the passive control group (n = 21). The study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to quantify the ratio of total N-acetyl aspartate, total choline, glutamate-glutamine complex, and myo-inositol relative to total creatine (tNAA/tCr, tCho/tCr, Glx/tCr, and mIns/tCr respectively) in the hippocampus (HPC), sensorimotor (SM1), and prefrontal (dlPFC) cortices. The peak torque (PT at 60°/s) of knee extension and flexion was assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer. We used repeated measures time × group ANOVA to assess time and group differences and correlation coefficient analyses to examine the pre-to-post change (∆) associations between PT and neurometabolite variables. The control group showed significant declines in tNAA/tCr and Glx/tCr of SM1, and tNAA/tCr of dlPFC after 12 weeks, which were not seen in the experimental group. A significant positive correlation was found between ∆PT knee extension and ∆SM1 Glx/tCr, ∆dlPFC Glx/tCr and between ∆PT knee flexion and ∆dlPFC mIns/tCr in the experimental group. Overall, findings suggest that resistance training seems to elicit alterations in various neurometabolites that correspond to exercise-induced “preservation” of brain health, while simultaneously having its beneficial effect on augmenting muscle functional characteristics in older adults.
Fixed points and steady solitons for the two-loop renormalization group flow
Authors: García-Río E. , Mariño-Villar R. , Vázquez-Abal M. E. , Vázquez-Lorenzo R.
Published: January 2023

Solitons for the two-loop renormalization group flow are studied in the four-dimensional homogeneous setting, providing a classification of algebraic steady four-dimensional solitons.
Heterogenitätsreflexive Interaktionsgestaltung als Herausforderung
Authors: Lochner Barbara , Rehklau Christine
Published: January 2023

Pädagogische Interaktionen weisen häufig eine hohe Nähe zu Alltagskommunikation auf. Um gesellschaftliche Ungleichheitsverhältnisse in professionellen Kontexten der Sozialen Arbeit und der Pädagogik nicht unreflektiert zu reproduzieren, ist es erforderlich, sich von den pragmatischen Zwecken der Alltagskommunikation zu lösen. Erst dann öffnet sich der Raum dafür, die in den alltäglichen Interaktionsweisen eingelagerten sozialen Positionierungen zugänglich zu machen und aufzubrechen.
Learning analytics as data ecology: a tentative proposal
Authors: Prinsloo Paul , Khalil Mohammad , Slade Sharon
Published: January 2023

Central to the institutionalization of learning analytics is the need to understand and improve student learning. Frameworks guiding the implementation of learning analytics flow from and perpetuate specific understandings of learning. Crucially, they also provide insights into how learning analytics acknowledges and positions itself as entangled in institutional data ecosystems, and (increasingly) as part of a data ecology driven by a variety of data interests. The success of learning analytics should therefore be understood in terms of data flows and data interests informing the emerging and mutually constitutive interrelationships and interdependencies between different stakeholders, interests and power relations. This article analyses several selected frameworks to determine the extent to which learning analytics understands itself as a data ecosystem with dynamic interdependencies and interrelationships (human and non-human). Secondly, as learning analytics increasingly becomes part of broader data ecologies, we examine the extent to which learning analytics takes cognizance of the reality, the potential and the risks of being part of a broader data ecology. Finally, this article examines the different data interests vested in learning analytics and critically considers implications for student data sovereignty. The research found that most of the analyzed frameworks understand learning analytics as a data ecosystem, with very little evidence of a broader data ecological understanding. The vast majority of analyzed frameworks consider student data as valuable resource without considering student data ownership and their data rights for self-determination.
Centrifugal partition chromatography as a potential method of isolation and purification of amphiphilic substances from a solid-state fermentation process
Authors: Bochynek Michał , Hodurek Paweł , Łukaszewicz Marcin , Lewińska Agnieszka
Published: January 2023

Separating amphiphilic compounds from complex matrix is challenging. Surfactin, cyclic lipopeptides group, was used as a model to find the proper separation conditions and parameters. The aim of the work was to solve the emulsification plug problem in countercurrent partition chromatography (CPC). The selected solvent system was a composition of n-heptane/n-butanol/methanol/aqueous buffer (20 mM disodium phosphate with 50 mM NaCl) at a ratio of 2:3:2:3. Several elution method modifications were applied. The most important was an appropriate mobile phase flow rate adjustment (flow rate gradient), minimizing the risk of stationary phase leakage. During the CPC procedures, the hydrostatic pressure was monitored as a factor of stationary phase retention. The hydrostatic pressure indicated the biphasic system’s stability. A flow rate of 2 ml/min resulted in column stabilization and peak resolution during chromatographic separation. In order to avoid uncontrolled leakage, the flow rate was increased gradually. At 3.5 ml/min, there was a small loss of the stationary phase as the hydrostatic pressure decreased from 32 to nearly 18 bar. After designing the method, it was tested with SU containing extracts obtained from SSF to show its effectiveness. Our results showed that the single dual-mode method can be used to remove matrix’s impurities and separate surfactin as a mixture of homologues with more than 80% purity. Moreover, application of the double dual-mode method allows for the isolation of fractions containing individual surfactin homologues in amounts of about 70% of the sample, which makes it possible to conduct further biological research.
Application of nickel plating by galvanization on steel surface of brazed cemented carbide-maraging steel joints
Authors: Tillmann W. , Ulitzka T. , Dahl L. , Wojarski L. , Ulitzka H. , Koymatli M.
Published: January 2023

Recently, the integration of a maraging steel heat treatment into a vacuum brazing has been conducted successfully to manufacture high-strength and sound cemented carbide-steel joints with elevated mechanical properties of the steel component. Besides the use of low-melting silver-based active filler alloys and cost-intensive palladium-containing filler alloys, the application of a nickel layer on the maraging steel surface by an arc-PVD process is an adequate approach to overcome the low wettability of those steels, which is caused by high fractions of elements with a high oxygen affinity like titanium and molybdenum. Though nickel plating by arc-PVD is an elaborate and time-consuming coating process, it is not suitable for industrial applications since a high vacuum is required in the specimen chamber and only a small number of specimens can be processed at the same time.

Therefore, this publication evaluates the application of nickel galvanization by chemical plating and electroplating as an alternative nickel-coating method to manufacture a brazed joint between a cemented carbide and maraging steel (1.2709) component by using the copper filler metal Cu 110 (TM = 1085 °C). The electroplated and PVD-coated reference specimens featured a sound joint from a minimum nickel layer thickness of 7.0 µm with a similar microstructure consisting mainly of a copper-based fillet and a nickel-rich phase band at the maraging steel-fillet interface. The chemical-plated specimens showed excessive diffusion between the joining partners due to the presence of melting point depressant phosphor between 10.5 and 12.0 wt.-% in the applied characteristic nickel-phosphorus layer. Consequently, titanium migration occurred from the maraging steel surface to the cemented carbide-fillet interface, and columnar iron-cobalt phases formed originating from the cemented carbide into the copper-rich fillet. Except for the specimens coated with no nickel and a 2.5-µm PVD layer, all brazed joints featured a shear strength of at least 150.0 MPa. The maximum shear strength of 344.8 MPa was achieved by electroplating the maraging steel joining surface with a 20.0-µm-thick nickel layer. Moreover, the steel heat treatment was carried out successfully since an elevated and homogenous hardness of at least 648 HV1 was measured in all steel specimens after brazing.
Optimization of combustion characteristics of novel hydrodynamic cavitation based waste cooking oil biodiesel fueled CI engine
Authors: Halwe Aboli D. , Deshmukh Samir J. , Kanu Nand Jee , Gawande Jagannath S.
Published: January 2023

The increment in the usage of automobiles is resulting in increased greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions continuously and there is a substantial need to reduce them effectively. The present research work investigates the emission behavior of waste cooking oil biodiesel doped with CuO nanoparticles during testing in Compression Ignition (CI) engines. This investigation is based on the effective emission reduction analysis emitted by diesel fuel during experimentation on CI engines. It suggests a cost effective modification of biodiesel as a fuel prepared from waste cooking oil (WCO) by a novel hydrodynamic cavitation technique which includes the hydrodynamic cavitation reaction mixture composed of 1.28 L of methanol and 10 g KOH and 5 L of preheated WCO at 45 °C in the cavitation reactor for 40 min. These reactants are synthesized utilizing the principle of cavitation and the final manufactured esterified oil is authenticated with ASTM Standard property measurement for suitability check. In the research work, two different investigations are carried out. In the first one, WCO biodiesel-diesel blends of 0, 30, and 100% (B0, B30, B100) ratio are prepared and the emission characteristics have investigated at 1500 rpm constant speed with varying load and indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP). In the second investigation, the emission suitable blend B30 is doped with CuO nanoparticles, keeping other parameters as per the previous setup, the emission characteristics investigated for the second one. For precise results, more experimental trials are needed to achieve this decrease in the emission of harmful gases. Using an amalgamation of L9 Taguchi and response surface methodology (RSM) the maximum emission control with a minimum number of experimental trials is achieved. The first investigation includes the predefined predictors as A (blend), B (load), and C (IMEP), where blends (0 ≤ A ≤ 100%), load (0 ≤ B ≤ 12 kg), IMEP (3.5 ≤ C ≤ 7.5 bar) are controllable features. Optimization process resulted into a minimum emission of CO, CO2, and NOx by appertaining the condemnatory merger of inputs such as blend B0 (Diesel), load 12 kg, and IMEP 3.48 bar in the first investigation, which has resulted into 0.08 ppm CO, 0.6 ppm CO2 and 30 ppm NOx emission. Taguchi analysis-based second experimental investigation includes the predefined predictors as A (CuO), B (load), and C (IMEP), including nanoparticles CuO in blend B30, and the prognosticated results of optimization are 0.03 ppm CO, 0.3 ppm CO2 and 21 ppm NOx emission. In current investigation, the percentage reduction is found to be 92.3%, 94.82%, and 96% compared to the emission of diesel in CO, CO2 and NOx gases, respectively. The coefficient of determination is almost equal to 1, which reveals the chosen optimization technique is very accurate in prediction. The investigation has provided suitable minimum emission characteristics in a cost-effective way.
Decohering tensor network quantum machine learning models
Authors: Liao Haoran , Convy Ian , Yang Zhibo , Whaley K. Birgitta
Published: January 2023

Tensor network quantum machine learning (QML) models are promising applications on near-term quantum hardware. While decoherence of qubits is expected to decrease the performance of QML models, it is unclear to what extent the diminished performance can be compensated for by adding ancillas to the models and accordingly increasing the virtual bond dimension of the models. We investigate here the competition between decoherence and adding ancillas on the classification performance of two models, with an analysis of the decoherence effect from the perspective of regression. We present numerical evidence that the fully decohered unitary tree tensor network (TTN) with two ancillas performs at least as well as the non-decohered unitary TTN, suggesting that it is beneficial to add at least two ancillas to the unitary TTN regardless of the amount of decoherence may be consequently introduced.
Minimizing the Adverse Impact of Drought on Corn by Applying Foliar Potassium Humate Combined with Chitosan
Authors: Elshamly Ayman M. S.
Published: January 2023

Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of potassium humate (KH) and chitosan (CH) on ameliorating drought effects, but their combined applications in promoting these benefits are still unfound. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of KH and CH on corn growth, yield, nutrient contents, and water productivity under full and limited irrigation conditions. Under the drip irrigation system, a split-plot experiment was performed with three replications in the second week of February in the seasons of 2021 and 2022. The main plot was equipped with a valve and a flow emitter to control the amount of the targeted irrigation levels (full irrigation and limited irrigation from the development stage onwards), as well as four foliar applications in the subplot (0, CH 500 mg l−1, KH 3000 mg l−1, and CH 500 mg l−1 + KH 3000 mg l−1). It was found that separate foliar applications of KH or combined foliar applications of KH + CH had a significant impact on the most examined traits. However, compared to the control, adopting limited irrigation and applying combined applications thereof have significantly increased iron, zinc, manganese, oil, protein, yield, and water productivity. In addition, this combination decreased proline, and the maximum reduction was observed for the combined application with adopting full irrigation. In arid regions, the researcher recommends treating stressed plants with combined foliar applications of KH + CH, which could help plants overcome the negative effects of drought and attain the highest yield and water productivity.
Automated Clustering Technique (ACT) for Early Onset Scoliosis: A preliminary report
Authors: Viraraghavan Girish , Cahill Patrick J. , Vitale Michael G. , Williams Brendan A. ,   Pediatric Spine Study Group, Balasubramanian Sriram
Published: January 2023

Purpose

While the C-EOS system helps organize and classify Early Onset Scoliosis (EOS) pathology, it is not data-driven and does not help achieve consensus for surgical treatment. The current study aims to create an automated method to cluster EOS patients based on pre-operative clinical indices.

Methods

A total of 1114 EOS patients were used for the study, with the following distribution by etiology: congenital (240), idiopathic (217), neuromuscular (417), syndromic (240). Pre-operative clinical indices used for clustering were age, major curve (Cobb) angle, kyphosis, number of levels involved in a major curve (Cobb angle) and kyphosis along with deformity index (defined as the ratio of major Cobb angle and kyphosis). Fuzzy C-means clustering was performed for each etiology individually, with one-way ANOVA performed to assess statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Results

The automated clustering method resulted in three clusters per etiology as the optimal number based on the highest average membership values. Statistical analyses showed that the clusters were significantly different for all the clinical indices within and between etiologies. Link to the ACT-EOS web application: https://biomed.drexel.edu/labs/obl/toolkits/act-eos-application.

Conclusion

An automated method to cluster EOS patients based on pre-operative clinical indices was developed identifying three unique, data-driven subgroups for each C-EOS etiology category. Adoption of such an automated clustering framework can help improve the standardization of clinical decision-making for EOS.
Completing a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union
Authors: Begg Iain
Published: January 2023

This Element examines efforts to strengthen Economic and Monetary Union in the European Union, especially over the last decade, asking if enough has been done to render it more sustainable and resilient. Drawing on a survey of 111 leading experts on the economics and politics of EMU, this Element reviews the wide-ranging reforms undertaken since the crises of the early 2010s and assesses whether they go far enough. Although it concludes that much has been done to push the euro towards being a more complete currency, it identifies remaining flaws and challenges which EU leaders need to resolve.
Basfar v. Wong (U.K. Sup. Ct.)
Authors: Denza Eileen
Published: January 2023

As the rules against modern slavery and trafficking have grown over the past three decades and become more effectively enforced, awareness has grown that domestic servants of diplomats form a class that is particularly vulnerable to exploitation, which means they are unusually badly protected and often unable to secure justice. First, the immunity of diplomats and other members of diplomatic missions forms an obstacle to civil and criminal proceedings against them; second, if a judgment is obtained through waiver of immunity, it cannot be enforced; and third, even if the diplomat is expelled, this still leaves the servant without an effective remedy.
Print Networks, Manuscript Pamphleteering, and the Development of Prison Politics in Seventeenth-Century London
Authors: Bell Richard Thomas
Published: January 2023

The 1622 publication of Imprisonment of Mens Bodies for Debt marked the beginning of a decades-long tradition of anti-carceral activism in London's prisons. By recovering prison activists’ practices of publication and republication, the article reveals a vibrant world of textual production in prisons that enabled political interventions grounded in the material and structural conditions of incarceration. Anti-carceral activism relied on the varied uses of print and manuscript that formed part of the day-to-day experience of incarceration. These local practices were combined with new processes of national political communication, from parliamentary petitioning and news printing in the 1620s, to manuscript pamphleteering and the demand for legal texts in the 1630s, and the explosion of radical printing and political agitation in the 1640s. Operating at the intersection of quotidian textual practice and developing forms of political communication, prison activism became engaged in wider currents of national debate. Thus, the article demonstrates how a relatively marginal social constituency could utilize these modes and networks of political communication across multiple media and how, in turn, such groups could both develop connections to radical political networks and come to imagine their cause as part of a wider political moment.
Acoustic resonance mechanism for axisymmetric screech modes of underexpanded jets impinging on an inclined plate
Authors: Li Xiangru , Wu Xuecheng , Liu Luhan , Zhang Xiwen , Hao Pengfei , He Feng
Published: January 2023

In this paper, the acoustic resonance mechanism for different axisymmetric screech modes of the underexpanded jets that impinge on an inclined plate is investigated experimentally. The ideally expanded Mach number of jets (

$M_j$

) ranges from 1.05 to 1.56. The nozzle-to-plate distance at the jet axis and the impingement angle are respectively set as 5.0

$D$

and

$30^{\circ }$

, where

$D$

is the nozzle exit diameter. The acoustic results show that the

$M_j$

range for the A2 screech mode of impinging jets is broader than that of underexpanded free jets, and a new axisymmetric screech mode A3 appears. With the increase of

$M_j$

, the effect of the impinging plate on the shock cell structures of jets becomes obvious gradually, and the second suboptimal peaks are evident in the axial wavenumber spectra of mean shock structures. The coherent flow structures at screech frequencies are extracted from time-resolved schlieren images via the spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD). The axial wavenumber spectra of the selected SPOD modes suggest that the A1, A2 and A3 screech modes are respectively closed by the guided jet modes that are energized by the interactions between the Kelvin–Helmholtz wavepacket and the first three shock wavenumber peaks. The upstream- and downstream-propagating waves that constitute the screech feedback loop are analysed by applying wavenumber filters to the wavenumber spectra of SPOD modes. The frequencies of these three screech modes can be predicted by the phase constraints between the nozzle exit and the rear edge of the third shock cell. For the A3 mode, the inclined plate invades the third shock cell with the increase of

$M_j$

, and the phase constraint cannot be satisfied at the lower side of the jets, which leads the A3 mode to fade away. The present results suggest that external boundaries can modulate the frequency and mode of jet screech by changing the axial spacings of shock cells.