bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical relevance of distinguishing autoimmune nodopathies from CIDP: longitudinal assessment in a large cohort
Authors: Broers Merel C , Wieske Luuk , Erdag Ece , Gürlek Cemre , Bunschoten Carina , van Doorn Pieter A , Eftimov Filip , Kuitwaard Krista , de Vries Juna M , de Wit Marie-Claire Y , Nagtzaam Mariska MP , Franken Suzanne C , Zhu Louisa , Paunovic Manuela , de Wit Maurice , Schreurs Marco WJ , Lleixà Cinta , Martín-Aguilar Lorena , Pascual-Goñi Elba , Querol Luis , Jacobs Bart C , Huizinga Ruth , Titulaer Maarten J
Published: October 2023

Background

The aim of this study was to determine treatment response and whether it is associated with antibody titre change in patients with autoimmune nodopathy (AN) previously diagnosed as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), and to compare clinical features and treatment response between AN and CIDP.

Methods

Serum IgG antibodies to neurofascin-155 (NF155), contactin-1 (CNTN1) and contactin-associated protein 1 (CASPR1) were detected with cell-based assays in patients diagnosed with CIDP. Clinical improvement was determined using the modified Rankin scale, need for alternative and/or additional treatments and assessment of the treating neurologist.

Results

We studied 401 patients diagnosed with CIDP and identified 21 patients with AN (10 anti-NF155, 6 anti-CNTN1, 4 anti-CASPR1 and 1 anti-NF155/anti-CASPR1 double positive). In patients with AN ataxia (68% vs 28%, p=0.001), cranial nerve involvement (34% vs 11%, p=0.012) and autonomic symptoms (47% vs 22%, p=0.025) were more frequently reported; patients with AN improved less often after intravenous immunoglobulin treatment (39% vs 80%, p=0.002) and required additional/alternative treatments more frequently (84% vs 34%, p<0.001), compared with patients with CIDP. Antibody titres decreased or became negative in patients improving on treatment. Treatment withdrawal was associated with a titre increase and clinical deterioration in four patients.

Conclusions

Distinguishing CIDP from AN is important, as patients with AN need a different treatment approach. Improvement and relapses were associated with changes in antibody titres, supporting the pathogenicity of these antibodies.
Delivery of UK military upper limb prosthetics: current concepts and future directions
Authors: Thomas Robert Llewellyn , Howes R , McMenemy L , Hindle P , Wordsworth M , Staruch R
Published: October 2023

Upper limb prosthetics have a challenging task. A natural upper limb combines strength, coordination and dexterity to accomplish daily activities such as eating, writing, working and social interaction. Artificially replicating these functions requires a prosthetic with composite, synchronous motor function while maintaining sensory feedback and skeletal stability. Achieving these functions requires interfaces between biology and machine across nerve, muscle, bone and skin. This leads to issues related to infection, foreign material encapsulation and implant stability, and electrical signal transduction and interpretation. Over the last 20 years the advent of technologies such as osseointegration, targeted muscle reinnervation, implantable myoelectric sensors, peripheral nerve interfaces and pattern recognition technology has sought to address these problems.

Due to many advances in prehospital care, truncated timelines to damage control surgery and improved combat personal protective equipment, the numbers of amputees have increased with more patients surviving injury. From October 2001 to March 2019 there were 333 amputees from Afghanistan and Iraq compared with 457 fatalities over a similar period. Over a third of these were significant multiple amputees. With a functional, robust upper limb prosthetic which mirrors or exceeds normal function, injured service personnel could be returned to an active combat role. This has benefits for their physical and mental health, improves employability prospects and allows Defence to retain some of its most highly motivated and skilled people who represent significant financial investment.
Nine years of surgical activity in the deployed French military role 2 medical treatment facility in Mali
Authors: Pfister Georges , Aries P , de Lesquen H , Mathieu L
Published: October 2023

Introduction

In January 2013, France launched a military operation in Mali, which ended in August 2022. This study aimed to analyse the global activity performed by a surgical team within the role 2 medical treatment facility (MTF) deployed in Gao during this period, in order to adapt medical battlefield support and combat casualty care teaching.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted using the French surgical database OpEX (French Military Health Service) from January 2013 to August 2022. All patients operated on were included.

Results

During this period, 1298 patients with a median age of 29 (range: 23–38) years were included. Among them, 229 (17.6%) underwent a combat-related trauma surgery (CRTS), 234 (18.0%) underwent a non-CRTS, 167 (12.9%) underwent a non-trauma-related surgery and 668 (51.5%) underwent a scheduled surgery in the context of medical supply to the population.

Among the CRTS group, 195 (85.2%) patients underwent an orthopaedic procedure, 73 (31.8%) required a general surgery. Finally, 15 (6.6%) wounded required a specialised surgery.

Conclusions

In line with the activity described in the role 2 MTF deployed in other contemporary asymmetric conflicts, this activity is moderate, especially if only combat-related injuries are considered; medical support to the population occupied most of the surgical activity. For CRTS, most of the traumas are limb traumas. Other traumas are composed of various lesions, which are often life-threatening. This fact imposes the presence of an orthopaedic surgeon with the appropriate equipment, as well as a general surgeon with a wide range of skills, in asymmetric conflicts.
Linear Fractals with Weights
Authors: Kak Subhash
Published: October 2023

Linear fractals associated with weights are investigated. Such fractals are important from a conservation law perspective that is relevant in a variety of physical systems such as materials science, sand dune fractals, barred galaxies, as well as in temporal processes like in the electroencephalogram (EEG). The weight associated with fractals is an additional feature that may be associated with distributions consistent with the ubiquitous power law and the first digit phenomenon. These distributions form a bridge to processes and applications in natural, biological, and engineering systems and, therefore, open up the possibility of the application of linear weighted fractals to these subjects. Two linear fractal algorithms that are near optimal in the information theoretic sense are described. A mechanism for the emergence of these fractals is proposed: it is the indistinguishability amongst the particles in the evolution and transformation of physical systems. Since the fractal approach is an established method of signal processing and coding, the newly proposed weighted fractals have the potential to lead to new useful algorithms.
The Dimensionality of Genetic Information
Authors: Kak Subhash
Published: October 2023

This paper investigates the dimensionality of genetic information from the perspective of optimal representation. Recently it has been shown that optimal coding of information is in terms of the noninteger dimension of e, which is accompanied by the property of scale invariance. Since Nature is optimal, we should see this dimension reflected in the organization of the genetic code. With this as background, this paper investigates the problem of the logic behind the nature of the assignment of codons to amino acids, for they take different values that range from 1 to 6. It is shown that the non-uniformity of this assignment, which goes against mathematical coding theory that demands a near uniform assignment, is consistent with noninteger dimensions. The reason why the codon assignment for different amino acids varies is because uniformity is a requirement for optimality only in a standard vector space, and is not so in the noninteger dimensional space. It is noteworthy that there are 20 different covering regions in an e-dimensional information space, which is equal to the number of amino acids. The problem of the visualization of data that originates in an e-dimensional space but examined in a 3-dimensional vector space is also discussed. It is shown that the assignment of the codons to the amino acids is fractal-like that is well modeled by the Zipf distribution which is a power law. It is remarkable that the Zipf distribution that holds for the letter frequencies of words in a natural language also applies to the rank order of triplets in the code for amino acids.
Prologue: the founding of the Cretaceous System
Authors: Hart Malcolm B.
Published: October 2023

Following the publication of country-wide geological maps by William Smith and George Bellas Greenhough, Jean Baptiste Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy embarked on the geological mapping of France and the adjacent areas of the Low Countries and Northern Italy, publishing his map in 1822. In the legend of that map was the rock unit identified as ‘Terrain Crétacé’ and that was the birth of the Cretaceous System that we still use today. During the remainder of the nineteenth century, many geoscientists in Europe, and elsewhere, worked on the Cretaceous strata and – over time – generated our present understanding of the longest period in the Phanerozoic. This includes luminaries such as Alcide d'Orbigny, Charles Darwin, Edmond Hébert, Charles Barrois, Alfred Jukes-Browne and Arthur Rowe. Gradually, the appreciation for Cretaceous climates, sea levels, oceanic anoxia, palaeontology and biogeography expanded, and many of these topics will be covered in contributions to this Special Publication that celebrates the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Cretaceous System.
The dinosaur boom in the Cretaceous
Authors: Benton Michael J.
Published: October 2023

Dinosaurs were thriving at the beginning of the Cretaceous, and yet major changes had occurred across the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. The sauropods were replaced by ornithopods as dominant herbivores, which has been explained by many ecological scenarios, including the replacement of gymnosperms by angiosperms as dominant land plants. The ornithischians went on to radiate substantially in the mid and Late Cretaceous, with the key clades (hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, ankylosaurs) specializing in different feeding modes and diets, and reaching huge abundance in many faunas. New computational methods allow palaeobiologists to assess aspects of the palaeobiology, macroecology and macroevolution of dinosaurs through the Cretaceous in testable and repeatable ways. These new approaches have shed light on many mysteries, such as whether dinosaurs ate flowers, why the hadrosaurs were so successful and why some theropods became larger or smaller, or switched from carnivory to herbivory. There are further debates around the final demise of dinosaurs, where regional and global data suggest the group was in decline through the latter part of the Late Cretaceous before they were finished by the asteroid impact.
The Application Research of Distributed Interface Coordination Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning in English MOOC Platform
Authors: Ma Xueyan
Published: October 2023

Developing information technology and other business management firms is not the same as technological advancement. The only way we can declare that complete technical progress is in place and operating well in the nation is if the education system has been built. The educational system is set up to instruct pupils via wireless technologies and online classes. Advancement in online classes has resulted in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Platform. The advantage of the MOOC platform is that it is a platform that provides free online courses for anyone to register and continue the course at their own pace. On this MOOC platform, implementing Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) aids in choosing the course and learning through an intelligent mechanism. The transmission between students and teachers will significantly rise because of this teaching strategy through the Distributed Interface Coordination (DIC) mechanism where the resources are distributed in the wireless networking environment. Additionally, the registered students should possess privileges to access the resources. This combination of DIC with DRL can be termed as DIC-DRL model for the proposed system. The data was collected using a low packet rate and outdated wireless connection technologies. The suggested model has a 97.67 percent accuracy rate in comparison with the existing model's support vector machine (SVM) mechanism.
Ensemble Active Learning by Contextual Bandits for AI Incubation in Manufacturing
Authors: Zeng Yingyan , Chen Xiaoyu , Jin Ran
Published: October 2023

An Industrial Cyber-physical System (ICPS) provides a digital foundation for data-driven decision-making by artificial intelligence (AI) models. However, the poor data quality (e.g., inconsistent distribution, imbalanced classes) of high-speed, large-volume data streams poses significant challenges to the online deployment of offline-trained AI models. As an alternative, updating AI models online based on streaming data enables continuous improvement and resilient modeling performance. However, for a supervised learning model (i.e., a base learner), it is labor-intensive to annotate all streaming samples to update the model. Hence, a data acquisition method is needed to select the data for annotation to ensure data quality while saving annotation efforts. In the literature, active learning methods have been proposed to acquire informative samples. Different acquisition criteria were developed for exploration of under-represented regions in the input variable space or exploitation of the well-represented regions for optimal estimation of base learners. However, it remains a challenge to balance the exploration-exploitation trade-off under different online annotation scenarios. On the other hand, an acquisition criterion learned by AI adapts itself to a scenario dynamically, but the ambiguous consideration of the trade-off limits its performance in frequently changing manufacturing contexts. To overcome these limitations, we propose an ensemble active learning method by contextual bandits (
CbeAL
).
CbeAL
incorporates a set of active learning agents (i.e., acquisition criteria) explicitly designed for exploration or exploitation by a weighted combination of their acquisition decisions. The weight of each agent will be dynamically adjusted based on the usefulness of its decisions to improve the performance of the base learner. With adaptive and explicit consideration of both objectives,
CbeAL
efficiently guides the data acquisition process by selecting informative samples to reduce the human annotation efforts. Furthermore, we characterize the exploration and exploitation capability of the proposed agents theoretically. The evaluation results in a numerical simulation study and a real case study demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of
CbeAL
in manufacturing process modeling of the ICPS.
FlowPix: Accelerating Image Processing Pipelines on an FPGA Overlay using a Domain Specific Compiler
Authors: Choudhury Ziaul , Gulati Anish , Purini Suresh
Published: October 2023

The exponential performance growth guaranteed by Moore’s law has started to taper in recent years. At the same time, emerging applications like image processing demand heavy computational performance. These factors inevitably lead to the emergence of domain-specific accelerators (DSA) to fill the performance void left by conventional architectures. FPGAs are rapidly evolving towards becoming an alternative to custom ASICs for designing DSAs because of their low power consumption and a higher degree of parallelism. DSA design on FPGAs requires careful calibration of the FPGA compute and memory resources towards achieving optimal throughput.

Hardware Descriptive Languages (HDL) like Verilog have been traditionally used to design FPGA hardware. HDLs are not geared towards any domain, and the user has to put in much effort to describe the hardware at the register transfer level. Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) and compilers have been recently used to weave together handwritten HDLs templates targeting a specific domain. Recent efforts have designed DSAs with image-processing DSLs targeting FPGAs. Image computations in the DSL are lowered to pre-existing templates or lower-level languages like HLS-C. This approach requires expensive FPGA re-flashing for every new workload. In contrast to this fixed-function hardware approach, overlays are gaining traction.
Overlays
are DSAs resembling a processor, which is synthesized and flashed on the FPGA once but is flexible enough to process a broad class of computations through soft reconfiguration. Less work has been reported in the context of image processing overlays. Image processing algorithms vary in size and shape, ranging from simple blurring operations to complex pyramid systems. The primary challenge in designing an image-processing overlay is maintaining flexibility in mapping different algorithms.

This paper proposes a DSL-based overlay accelerator called
FlowPix
for image processing applications. The DSL programs are expressed as pipelines, with each stage representing a computational step in the overall algorithm. We implement 15 image-processing benchmarks using FlowPix on a Virtex-7-690t FPGA. The benchmarks range from simple blur operations to complex pipelines like Lucas-Kande optical flow. We compare FlowPix against existing DSL-to-FPGA frameworks like Hetero-Halide and Vitis Vision library that generate fixed-function hardware. On most benchmarks, we see up to 25% degradation in latency with approximately a 1.7x to 2x increase in the FPGA LUT consumption. Our ability to execute any benchmark without incurring the high costs of hardware synthesis, place-and-route, and FPGA re-flashing justifies the slight performance loss and increased resource consumption that we experience. FlowPix achieves an average frame rate of 170 FPS on HD frames of 1920 × 1080 pixels in the implemented benchmarks.
Robust RGB-T Tracking via Adaptive Modality Weight Correlation Filters and Cross-modality Learning
Authors: Zhou Mingliang , Zhao Xinwen , Luo Futing , Luo Jun , Pu Huayan , Xiang Tao
Published: October 2023

RGBT tracking is gaining popularity due to its ability to provide effective tracking results in a variety of weather conditions. However, feature specificity and complementarity have not been fully used in existing models that directly fuse the correlation filtering response, which leads to poor tracker performance. In this article, we propose correlation filters with adaptive modality weight and cross-modality learning (AWCM) ability to solve multimodality tracking tasks. First, we use weighted activation to fuse thermal infrared and visible modalities, and the fusion modality is used as an auxiliary modality to suppress noise and increase the learning ability of shared modal features. Second, we design modal weights through average peak-to-correlation energy coefficients to improve model reliability. Third, we propose consistency in using the fusion modality as an intermediate variable for joint learning consistency, thereby increasing tracker robustness via interactive cross-modal learning. Finally, we use the alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm to produce a closed solution and conduct extensive experiments on the RGBT234, VOT-TIR2019, and GTOT tracking benchmark datasets to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed AWCM against compared to existing tracking algorithms. The code developed in this study is available at the following website.

1
Carbon Dependencies in Datacenter Design and Management
Authors: Acun Bilge , Lee Benjamin , Kazhamiaka Fiodar , Sundarrajan Aditya , Maeng Kiwan , Chakkaravarthy Manoj , Brooks David , Wu Carole-Jean
Published: October 2023

Building a sustainable datacenter requires coordinated decisions in its design and system management. Existing research work on datacenter sustainability often considers the design space in isolation and misses opportunities to minimize carbon footprint through coordinated design and management where sustainability is a first-class objective. Design decisions such as datacenter site selection, renewable energy investment portfolios, and the provisioning of energy storage are intertwined with complementary solutions for operation, including various forms of demand response and carbon-aware workload management. In this paper, we advocate for holistic frameworks that take into account both
operational and embodied carbon
to coordinate between datacenter design and system management decisions.
Something Old, Something New: Extending the Life of CPUs in Datacenters
Authors: Tomlinson Amanda , Porter George
Published: October 2023

Datacenter operators are increasingly powering their operations with low-carbon energy sources such as wind and solar. As a result, the overall carbon footprint of datacenters increasingly comes from the manufacturing phase of server lifecycles. The most direct way to reduce the environmental impact of datacenters is to amortize the manufacturing emissions of hardware over longer timespans by keeping hardware in production beyond today's relatively short refresh cycles.

In this paper we analyze the feasibility of server lifespan extension in datacenters using a series of microbenchmarks. We find that while newer processors outperform older ones, the difference is workload dependent, with some workloads showing promise for older CPUs. We also analyze the potential of incorporating overclocking to further extend server lifespans.
JPEG Column: 96th JPEG Meeting
Authors: Pinheiro Antonio
Published: October 2023

The 96
th
JPEG meeting was held online from 25 to 29 July 2022. The meeting was one of the most productive in the recent history of JPEG with the analysis of the responses of two Calls for Proposals (CfP) for machine learning-based coding solutions, notably JPEG AI and JPEG Pleno Point Cloud Coding. The superior performance of the CfP responses compared to the state-of-the-art anchors leave little doubt about the future of coding technologies becoming dominated by machine learning-based solutions with the expected consequences on the standardisation pathway. A new era of multimedia coding standardisation has begun. Both activities had defined a verification model, and are pursuing a collaborative process that will select the best technologies for the definition of the new machine learning-based standards.
Highly Active Electrospinning Electrode Based on MOF for High-Performance Vanadium Flow Batteries
Authors: Liu Lansong , Zhang Xihao , Zhang Yifan , Zhang Yanbo , Zhou Qi , Hou Shaoyu , He Hongxiang , Zhao Jingling , Liu Jianguo , Yan Chuanwei
Published: October 2023

Electrospinning technology has demonstrated excellent prospects in the preparation of structurally controllable functional carbon nanofibers for vanadium flow batteries. However, traditional electrospinning carbon nanofibers used for vanadium flow batteries still suffer from defects in electrochemical activity. Herein, a highly active carbon nanofiber electrode based on metal-organic framework materials has been prepared. The introduction and carbonization of the metal-organic framework UiO-66 in the fibers increase the mesoporous structure of the electrode surface. Additionally, the carbonized UiO-66 forms catalytic ZrO2, which enhances the catalytic activity of the carbon nanofibers. Compared to traditional electrospinning carbon nanofibers, the carbon nanofiber electrode based on metal-organic framework exhibits significantly improved wettability and electrochemical properties, which enhance the mass transfer performance and electrochemical activity. The vanadium flow battery adopting active carbon nanofibers achieves an energy efficiency of 83.33% at 200 mA cm−2, and possesses excellent durability performance with unobvious decay after 1000 charge-discharge cycles at 200 mA cm−2. This study provides guidance for further synthesis of high-performance electrodes for vanadium flow batteries.
The metabolic benefits of substituting sucrose for maple syrup are associated with a shift in carbohydrate digestion and gut microbiota composition in high-fat high-sucrose diet-fed mice
Authors: Morissette Arianne , André Diana Majolli , Agrinier Anne-Laure , Varin Thibault V. , Pilon Geneviève , Flamand Nicolas , Houde Vanessa P. , Marette André
Published: October 2023

The natural sweetener maple syrup has sparked much interest as an alternative to refined sugars. This study aimed to investigate whether the metabolic benefits of substituting sucrose with an equivalent dose of maple syrup could be linked to changes in gut microbiota composition and digestion of carbohydrates in obese mice. We demonstrated that maple syrup is less detrimental than sucrose on metabolic health and possesses a prebiotic-like activity through novel gut microbiota and liver mechanisms.
The impact of a single dose of whey protein on glucose flux and metabolite profiles in normoglycemic males: insights into glucagon and insulin biology
Authors: Ang Teddy , Mason Shaun A. , Dao Giang M. , Bruce Clinton R. , Kowalski Greg M.
Published: October 2023

Protein ingestion concurrently stimulates glucagon and insulin secretion. Here we show that in normoglycemic males, ingestion of a single “standard” 25 g serving of rapidly absorbing whey protein drives a sufficiently large glucagon and insulin response, such that it simultaneously increases endogenous glucose production and glucose disposal. We speculate on a novel theory that could potentially explain how the antagonistic/synergistic actions of glucagon and insulin simultaneously provide tight control of glucose and nitrogen homeostasis.
Adipocyte traits limiting cellular insulin responsiveness and glucose transport
Authors: Fryklund Claes , Neuhaus Mathis , Stenkula Karin G.
Published: October 2023

This work illustrates that adipocyte characteristics related to fat depot origin rather than adipocyte size per se limit cellular insulin responsiveness and glucose uptake in male C57BL/6J mice. These findings contribute to the overall understanding of factors limiting adipocyte function and how adipose progression affects insulin response and glucose transport capacity differently in diverse fat depots. Future studies examining whether the proposed characteristics hold true in adipocytes derived from female mice or human origin are needed.
Increased astrocytic GLT-1 expression in tripartite synapses is associated with SCI-induced hyperreflexia
Authors: Benson Curtis A. , King Jared F. , Kauer Sierra D. , Waxman Stephen G. , Tan Andrew M.
Published: October 2023

The role of astrocytes in H-reflex hyperexcitability following SCI remains understudied. Our findings establish a relationship between GLT-1 expression, its proximity to neuronal PSD-95 in the spinal cord ventral horn, and the loss of H-reflex RDD, i.e., hyperreflexia. Our findings provide a new perspective on synaptic alterations and the development of SCI-related spasticity.
Neuromotor control of spontaneous quiet breathing in awake rats evaluated by assessments of diaphragm EMG stationarity
Authors: Khurram Obaid U. , Mantilla Carlos B. , Sieck Gary C.
Published: October 2023

We characterized three phases of neuromotor control—motor unit recruitment, sustained activity, and derecruitment—based on statistical assessments of stationarity of the diaphragm muscle (DIAm) EMG activity in awake rats. Our findings may allow indirect estimates of the contribution of motor unit recruitment and frequency coding toward generating force and provide novel insights about the temporal aspects of DIAm neuromotor control and descending respiratory drive in unanesthetized animals.
Caffeine does not influence persistent inward current contribution to motoneuron firing
Authors: Mackay Karen , Orssatto Lucas B. R. , Polman Remco , Van der Pols Jolieke C. , Trajano Gabriel S.
Published: October 2023

Persistent inward current (PIC) contribution to motoneuron firing increases with contraction intensities and is reduced after repetitive sustained maximal contractions, regardless of caffeine consumption. Reductions of PIC contribution to motoneuron firing and peak firing frequencies were largely associated, evidencing a novel mechanism underpinning decrements in maximal torque production capacity following repetitive sustained maximal contractions. Caffeine consumption attenuated neuromuscular performance reductions—allowing higher time-torque integral production during repetitive sustained maximal contractions. This was unlikely mediated by PIC.
Visual feedback and declines in attention are associated with altered visual strategy during a force-steadiness task in older adults
Authors: Heintz Walters Brittany , Huddleston Wendy E. , O’Connor Kristian , Wang Jinsung , Hoeger Bement Marie , Keenan Kevin G.
Published: October 2023

This study contributes novel findings of age-related changes in visual strategy and associations with attentional deficits during hand motor tasks. Older adults used fewer saccades than young adults and with higher versus lower gain visual feedback during a force-steadiness task. A subset of older adults used an altered visual strategy when allocating attention across multiple tasks. Given that this subset demonstrated attentional deficits, the altered visual strategy could serve to indicate motor and/or cognitive impairments.
Synthesis and Characterization of PANI/ZnFe2O4 nRs with Different Doping Concentrations for Potential Applications in Various Fields
Authors: Hamdalla Taymour A. , Aljohani Meshari M. , Alsharari Abdulrhman M.
Published: October 2023

The wide-ranging potential of polyaniline (PANI) composites in energy storage, electrochemical, sensing, and electromagnetic shielding applications emphasizes researchers to improve its properties. Here, the doping of ZnFe2O4 nRs by 1, 3, and 5 wt. % within polyaniline has been done. Then, we characterize the doped material using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to verify the successful incorporation of polyaniline onto the nRs. TGA showed that doping of PANI with ZnFe2O4 nRs enhanced the interfacial interactions between the two components. This provided a more stable matrix structure and enhanced the thermal stability of the composite. The transmission of light has been increased by about 18% due to the increase in crystallinity accompanied by ZnFe2O4 doping. As the ZnFe2O4 nRs doping rose, our PANI samples’ optical band gap values slightly decreased by about 10%. In addition, it has been found that the optical characteristics such as refractive index, extension coefficient, surface, and volume energy loss function essentially showed ZnFe2O4 doping dependency. The nonlinear constants of the doped samples have increased due to the new charge carriers and altered the electronic and optical properties of the composite material. Our obtained results show that PANI@ ZnFe2O4 nRs have potential applications such as optical sensors, electrochemical, optoelectronics, and photocatalysis.
A Movie Recommender System Based on User Profile and Artificial Bee Colony Optimization
Authors: Rajabi Kouchi Faezeh , Oftadeh Balani Sahar , Esmaeilpour Amirhossein , Shafieian Masoume , Sirwan Rzgar , Hussein Mohammed Adil
Published: October 2023

In this study, a new algorithm for recommending movies to viewers has been proposed. To do this, the suggested method employs data mining techniques. The proposed method includes three steps for generating recommendations: “preprocessing of user profile information,” “feature extraction,” and “recommendation.” In the first step of proposed method, the user information will be examined and transformed into a form that can be handled in the next phases. In the second step of the proposed method, user attributes are then extracted as a collection of their individual qualities, as well as the average rating of each user for various genres. The bee colony optimization algorithm is then used to select the optimal features. Finally, in the third step of the proposed method, the ratings of similar users are utilized to offer movies to the target user, and the similarities between various users are determined using the characteristics calculated for them, as well as the Euclidean distance criteria. The proposed method was evaluated using the MovieLens database, and its output was assessed in terms of precision and recall criteria; these results show that the proposed method will increase the precision by an average of 1.39% and the recall by 0.8% compared to the compared algorithms.
Meal Timing Habits among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: AlMuammar Sarah , Ahmed Algarni Abeer , Badroun Ftoon , Hassan Mushaeb Hanan , Khalid Abu Sadi Raneem , Algarni Areej
Published: October 2023

Background. The global rise in noncommunicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions, is a growing concern worldwide. Unhealthy dietary behaviors, specifically the habits of skipping breakfast and consuming late dinners, have emerged as key dietary behaviors with significant health implications. Methods. This cross-sectional survey-based study aimed to investigate meal-timing habits among adults in Saudi Arabia, with a particular focus on breakfast skipping. Results. The study included 2,262 participants, of whom 58.0% were women and 42.0% were men. It found that 31.4% of participants had less than three meals per day, and 74.2% reported snacking. Moreover, 16.8% of participants skipped breakfast and 18.9% of participants had late dinner. Females were found to be 1.3 times more likely to skip breakfast than males (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.6,

P
=
0.04

), while unemployed individuals were three times more likely to skip breakfast than those with full-time jobs (OR = 3.0, 95% CI 1.3–7.1,

P
=
0.01

). Conclusion. The study highlights a high prevalence of breakfast skipping and late evening dinners among adults in Saudi Arabia, particularly among females and unemployed individuals. Targeted interventions to promote healthy eating habits are needed to improve nutritional status and prevent chronic diseases in this population.
A Fitted Numerical Approach for Singularly Perturbed Two-Parameter Parabolic Problem with Time Delay
Authors: Daba Imiru Takele , Melesse Wondwosen Gebeyaw , Kebede Guta Demisu
Published: October 2023

This paper is aimed at constructing and analyzing a fitted approach for singularly perturbed time delay parabolic problems with two small parameters. The proposed computational scheme comprises the implicit Euler and especially finite difference method for the time and space variable discretization, respectively, on uniform step size. The stability and convergence analysis of the method is provided and is first-order parameter uniform convergent. Further, the numerical results depict that the present method is more convergent than some methods available in the literature.
A Study on the Analysis of the Ground Compaction Effect According to the Roller Operation Method through CMV Analysis Using IC Rollers
Authors: Kim Jinyoung , Lee Sung-Yeol , Cho Jin-woo
Published: October 2023

In road construction, the compaction process using vibratory rollers is essential to increase the ground stiffness in earthworks. There need to be clear standards regarding the operation of compaction rollers during compaction work. Various simple quality inspection techniques have been developed to check the stiffness of the ground, but plate load test and field density test are the most commonly used test methods to evaluate the degree of compaction during road construction. However, both inspection methods could be more efficient, as they cannot be performed in all sections due to time and cost. Additionally, in compaction work today, the worker will individually judge the number of compactions, thickness, speed, vibration etc. based on his or her own experience. This means that the quality of compaction varies depending on the worker. In this study, quality inspection results for all sections were obtained using an intelligent quality control system that employs an IC roller, a technology that is now commercially available. The effect of the operating conditions of the vibrating roller (roller compaction direction, compaction roller speed, and compaction roller vibration method) on the compaction quality was analyzed using the intelligent quality control value. Through our highway construction site tests, it was found that the speed of the compaction roller and the vibration method of the compaction roller affected the degree of compaction, but the direction of compaction did not. Therefore, if the compaction work is performed by adjusting the driving speed and vibration method of the vibrating roller according to the ground conditions, repetitive compaction work can be reduced, thereby reducing construction costs and lowering work time, which will achieve an improved work efficiency.
Positivity-Preserving Discontinuous Galerkin Methods on Triangular Meshes for Macroscopic Pedestrian Flow Models
Authors: Yang L. , Liang H. , Du J. , Wong S. C.
Published: October 2023

The macroscopic models for solving the pedestrian flow problem can be generally classified into two categories as follows: first-order continuum models and high-order continuum models. In first-order continuum models, the density satisfies the mass conservation law, the speed is defined by a flow-density relationship, and the desired directional motion of pedestrians is determined by an Eikonal-type equation. In contrast, in high-order models, the velocity is governed by the momentum conservation law. In this study, we summarize existing first-order and high-order models and rewrite them in the form of unified scalar or system hyperbolic conservation laws. Next, we apply high-order discontinuous Galerkin methods with a positivity-preserving limiter on unstructured triangular meshes to solve the conservation law and a second-order fast-sweeping scheme to solve the Eikonal equations. Our method can efficiently model real-life complex computational regions and avoid nonphysical solutions and simulation blow-ups. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed solution algorithm. The numerical results validate the reliability of the proposed numerical method and highlight the advantages of triangular meshes.
A Prediction Model for Sight-Threatening Diabetic Retinopathy Based on Plasma Adipokines among Patients with Mild Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: An Yaxin , Cao Bin , Li Kun , Xu Yongsong , Zhao Wenying , Zhao Dong , Ke Jing
Published: October 2023

Background. Accumulating evidence has suggested a link between adipokines and diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study is aimed at investigating the risk factors for sight-threatening DR (STDR) and establishing a prognostic model for predicting STDR among a high-risk population of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods. Plasma concentrations of adipokines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In the case-control set, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to select optimal predictive cytokines for STDR, involving severe nonproliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR. Support vector machine (SVM) was used to examine the possible combination of baseline plasma adipokines to discriminate the patients with mild NPDR who will later develop STDR. An individual prospective cohort with a follow-up period of 3 years was used for the external validation. Results. In both training and testing sets, involving 306 patients with T2DM, median levels of plasma adiponectin (APN), leptin, and fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) were significantly higher in the STDR group than those in mild NPDR. Except for adipsin, the other three adipokines, FABP4, APN, and leptin, were selected by PCA and integrated into SVM. The accuracy of the multivariate SVM classification model was acceptable in both the training set (AUC=0.81,sensitivity=71%, andspecificity=91%) and the testing set (AUC=0.77,sensitivity=61%, andspecificity=92%). 110 T2DM patients with mild NPDR, the high-risk population of STDR, were enrolled for external validation. Based on the SVM, the risk of each patient was calculated. More STDR occurred in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group, which were grouped by the median value of APN, FABP4, and leptin, respectively. The model was validated in an individual cohort using SVM with the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity reaching 0.77, 64%, and 91%, respectively. Conclusions. Adiponectin, leptin, and FABP4 were demonstrated to be associated with the severity of DR and maybe good predictors for STDR, suggesting that adipokines may play an important role in the pathophysiology of DR development.
Spatial Transcriptomics Suggests That Alterations Occur in the Preneoplastic Breast Microenvironment of BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers
Authors: Caputo Anthony , Vipparthi Kavya , Bazeley Peter , Downs-Kelly Erinn , McIntire Patrick , Duckworth Lauren A. , Ni Ying , Hu Bo , Keri Ruth A. , Karaayvaz Mihriban
Published: October 2023

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females, affecting one in every eight women and accounting for the majority of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Germline mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are significant risk factors for specific subtypes of breast cancer. BRCA1 mutations are associated with basal-like breast cancers, whereas BRCA2 mutations are associated with luminal-like disease. Defects in mammary epithelial cell differentiation have been previously recognized in germline BRCA1/2 mutation carriers even before cancer incidence. However, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we employ spatial transcriptomics to investigate defects in mammary epithelial cell differentiation accompanied by distinct microenvironmental alterations in preneoplastic breast tissues from BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and normal breast tissues from noncarrier controls. We uncovered spatially defined receptor–ligand interactions in these tissues for the investigation of autocrine and paracrine signaling. We discovered that β1-integrin-mediated autocrine signaling in BRCA2-deficient mammary epithelial cells may differ from BRCA1-deficient mammary epithelial cells. In addition, we found that the epithelial-to-stromal paracrine signaling in the breast tissues of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is greater than in control tissues. More integrin–ligand pairs were differentially correlated in BRCA1/2-mutant breast tissues than noncarrier breast tissues with more integrin receptor-expressing stromal cells.

Implications:

These results suggest alterations in the communication between mammary epithelial cells and the microenvironment in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, laying the foundation for designing innovative breast cancer chemo-prevention strategies for high-risk patients.
Supplementary Figures from Aerobic Exercise Alters the Melanoma Microenvironment and Modulates ERK5 S496 Phosphorylation
Authors: Savage Hannah , Pareek Sumedha , Lee Jonghae , Ballarò Riccardo , Conterno Minussi Darlan , Hayek Karma , Sadullozoda Mumina , Lochmann Brooke S. , McQuade Jennifer L. , LaVoy Emily C. , Marmonti Enrica , Patel Hetal , Wang Guangyu , Imanishi Masaki , Kotla Sivareddy , Abe Jun-ichi , Schadler Keri
Published: October 2023

Supplementary Figures S1-S8
TABLE 1 from High In Vitro and In Vivo Activity of BI-847325, a Dual MEK/Aurora Kinase Inhibitor, in Human Solid and Hematologic Cancer Models
Authors: Vuaroqueaux Vincent , Musch Alexandra , Peille Anne-Lise , Kelter Gerhard , Weichert Loreen , Metz Thomas , Hendriks Hans R. , Fiebig Heinz-Herbert
Published: October 2023

Human cell line panel (n = 294) and cancer types investigated for BI-847325 efficacy
Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Households of People Living with Obesity in France
Authors: Fabron Cécile , Laville Martine , Aron-Wisnewsky Judith , Disse Emmanuel , Gatta-Cherifi Blandine , Jacobi David , Montastier Emilie , Oppert Jean-Michel , Gaillard Léa , Detournay Bruno , Czernichow Sébastien
Published: October 2023

Background/Objectives: Overweight and obesity result in a substantial economic burden in both low- and high-income countries. Moreover, this burden is often underestimated because it only partially accounts for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) related to obesity. The objective of our study was not only to evaluate OOPE incurred by people with obesity in relation to their disease with respect to direct medical expenditures and direct non-medical expenditures but also the proportion of people living with obesity who have forgone obesity-related healthcare due to the costs of such care. Methods: An observational descriptive survey was conducted among people with class II/III obesity attending six obesity treatment centers in France. Volunteer adult participants completed a written/phone questionnaire on their related expenditures over the last 6 months for current expenditures and over the last 5 years for occasional ones. The costs were expressed in 2022 EUR. Results: 299 people participated (age: 46 years [SD: 13.9], women: 72%, BMI ≥40 kg/m2: 62% and 48% with comorbidities). 65% had a professional activity. 83% declared that they had OOPE related to obesity representing annually EUR 2027/individual on average (5% of the household revenue), including weight loss and nutritional products, vitamins, meal programs, gym memberships, psychologists, but mainly adapted clothing, additional travel costs, and others. 15% of the respondents had to modify their professional activity due to obesity and 15% forwent some medical care in the last 12 months. Conclusions: OOPE is a significant part of the economic burden of obesity. Despite some limitations due to the specificities of the participants and because some costs may be more related to social activities affected by obesity than to healthcare, it seems important to consider these expenditures in cost estimates for obesity.
Two Cases of Exacerbation of Asthma during Treatment with Enfortumab Vedotin
Authors: Homma Takamasa , Tanaka Kuniaki , Takeda Naoya , Okada Yu , Torii Shota , Esaki Hideki , Sakakibara Takashi , Takimoto Norio
Published: October 2023

Enfortumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate against nectin-4 that is recently being used in the management of patients with urothelial carcinoma. The common adverse events include rashes, peripheral neuropathy, and hyperglycemia. Only a few cases of associated respiratory symptoms have been reported. Herein, we describe 2 patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma who experienced asthma exacerbation after initiating enfortumab vedotin treatment. Both patients improved with inhalation therapy. Since nectin-4 is expressed in the tracheal epithelium, its association with asthma is likely. This study highlights that clinicians should caution patients with a history of asthma against the worsening of respiratory symptoms when enfortumab vedotin is administered.