bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Aerodynamic Performance Analysis of Camber Morphing and Conventional Airfoils
Authors: Majid Tuba , Jo Bruce W.
Published: November 2021

This paper aims to numerically validate the aerodynamic performance and benefits of variable camber rate morphing wings, by comparing them to conventional ones with plain flaps, when deflection angles vary, assessing their D reduction or L/D improvement. Many morphing-related research works mainly focus on the design of morphing mechanisms using smart materials, and innovative mechanism designs through materials and structure advancements. However, the foundational work that establishes the motivation of morphing technology development has been overlooked in most research works. All things considered, this paper starts with the verification of the numerical model used for the aerodynamic performance analysis and then conducts the aerodynamic performance analysis of (1) variable camber rate in morphing wings and (2) variable deflection angles in conventional wings. Finally, we find matching pairs for a direct comparison to validate the effectiveness of morphing wings. As a result, we validate that variable camber morphing wings, equivalent to conventional wings with varying flap deflection angles, are improved by at least 1.7% in their L/D ratio, and up to 18.7% in their angle of attack, with α = 8° at a 3% camber morphing rate. Overall, in the entire range of α, which conceptualizes aircrafts mission planning for operation, camber morphing wings are superior in D, L/D, and their improvement rate over conventional ones. By providing the improvement rates in L/D, this paper numerically evaluates and validates the efficiency of camber morphing aircraft, the most important aspect of aircraft operation, as well as the agility and manoeuvrability, compared to conventional wing aircraft.
Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle Modelling and Model Predictive Control
Authors: Vu Trieu Minh , Moezzi Reza , Cyrus Jindrich , Hlava Jaroslav , Petru Michal
Published: November 2021

This paper presents the modelling and calculations for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) in parallel configuration, including a main electrical driving motor (EM), an internal combustion engine (ICE), and a starter/generator motor. The modelling equations of the HEV include vehicle acceleration and jerk, so that simulations can investigate the vehicle drivability and comfortability with different control parameters. A model predictive control (MPC) scheme with softened constraints for this HEV is developed. The new MPC with softened constraints shows its superiority over the MPC with hard constraints as it provides a faster setpoint tracking and smoother clutch engagement. The conversion of some hard constraints into softened constraints can improve the MPC stability and robustness. The MPC with softened constraints can maintain the system stability, while the MPC with hard constraints becomes unstable if some input constraints lead to the violation of output constraints.
Feasibility of Acoustic Print Head Monitoring for Binder Jetting Processes with Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Lechner Philipp , Heinle Philipp , Hartmann Christoph , Bauer Constantin , Kirchebner Benedikt , Dobmeier Fabian , Volk Wolfram
Published: November 2021

The clogging of piezoelectric nozzles is a typical problem in various additive binder jetting processes, such as the manufacturing of casting molds. This work aims at print head monitoring in these binder jetting processes. The structure-born noise of piezoelectric print modules is analyzed with an Artificial Neural Network to classify whether the nozzles are functional or clogged. The acoustic data are studied in the frequency domain and utilized as input for an Artificial Neural Network. We found that it is possible to successfully classify individual nozzles well enough to implement a print head monitoring, which automatically determines whether the print head needs maintenance.
The Influence of Drying Temperature on Color Change of Hornbeam and Maple Wood Used as Surface and Inner Layers of Wood Composites
Authors: Klement Ivan , Vilkovský Peter , Vilkovská Tatiana , Orłowski Kazimierz A. , Barański Jacek , Chuchala Daniel , Suchta Aleksandra
Published: November 2021

The thermal treatment of wood changes its structure due to the degradation of wood polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), so the physical properties of wood are either improved or degraded. Color changes apply not only to natural wood, but also to such wood composites for which some amount of glue is used in their construction (e.g., plywood, blockboard or laminboard). This article is focused on the analysis of hornbeam and field maple wood color changes influenced by drying temperature. Two types of drying modes were used: hot-air mode where the temperature of the drying environment was 60 °C, and high-temperature mode with a drying temperature of 120 °C. The drying mode was divided into two phases depending on the moisture content of the wood. The compared woods had similar values of color coordinates at the beginning of drying. During hot-air drying, the largest changes in color coordinates occurred during the first 24 h. The total color difference between the color at the end and the beginning of drying was 7.3 for hornbeam and 11.1 for maple. The overall color difference between the compared woods was minimal. During high-temperature drying (120 °C), the color changes of the dried woods were more pronounced. In the case of maple wood, there was a very significant change in color and the value of ΔE* was twice as high as for hornbeam. The total color difference between the color at the end and at the beginning of drying was 8.7 for hornbeam and 18.9 for maple.
Pre-Dialytic SpO2 Measured with a Wearable Device as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients with OSA and Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Lu Hsiao-Wei , Kuo Pin-Hung , Choy Cheuk-Sing , Hsieh Chih-Yu , Chang Jia-Feng , Wu Mai-Szu , Zheng Jing-Quan , Liou Jian-Chiun
Published: November 2021

Hypoxemia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been recognized as a threat to life. Nonetheless, information regarding the association between pre-dialytic pulse oximeter saturation (SpO2) level, OSA and mortality risks remains mysterious in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Bioclinical characteristics and laboratory features were recorded at baseline. Pre-dialytic SpO2 was detected using a novel microchip LED oximetry, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score greater than 10 indicated OSA. Non-adjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality were analyzed for pre-dialytic SpO2, OSA and potential risk factors. During 2152.8 patient-months of follow-up, SpO2 was associated with incremental risks of all-cause and CV death (HR: 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82–0.98) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.80–0.98), respectively). The association between OSA and CV mortality was significant (HR: 3.19 (95% CI: 1.19–9.38). In the multivariate regression analysis, pre-dialytic SpO2 still had an increase in all-cause and CV death risk (HR: 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79–0.98), 0.82 (95% CI: 0.71–0.96), respectively). Considering the high prevalence of silent hypoxia in the post COVID-19 era, a lower pre-dialytic SpO2 level and severe OSA warn clinicians to assess potential CV risks. In light of clinical accessibility, the microchip LED oximetry could be developed as a wearable device within smartphone technologies and used as a routine screen tool for patient safety in the medical system.
Elastic CRFs for Open-Ontology Slot Filling
Authors: Dai Yinpei , Zhang Yichi , Liu Hong , Ou Zhijian , Huang Yi , Feng Junlan
Published: November 2021

Slot filling is a crucial component in task-oriented dialog systems that is used to parse (user) utterances into semantic concepts called slots. An ontology is defined by the collection of slots and the values that each slot can take. The most widely used practice of treating slot filling as a sequence labeling task suffers from two main drawbacks. First, the ontology is usually pre-defined and fixed and therefore is not able to detect new labels for unseen slots. Second, the one-hot encoding of slot labels ignores the correlations between slots with similar semantics, which makes it difficult to share knowledge learned across different domains. To address these problems, we propose a new model called elastic conditional random field (eCRF), where each slot is represented by the embedding of its natural language description and modeled by a CRF layer. New slot values can be detected by eCRF whenever a language description is available for the slot. In our experiment, we show that eCRFs outperform existing models in both in-domain and cross-domain tasks, especially in predicting unseen slots and values.
GoZone: A Numerical Model for Travelling Fires Based on Cellular Automata Concept
Authors: Gamba Antonio , Franssen Jean-Marc
Published: November 2021

Fires in large compartments tend to burn locally and to move across the floor over a period of time; this particular behaviour has been discovered to challenge the assumption of uniform gas temperature in the fire compartment. Recent studies on fires in large compartments have led to the now widely known concept of “travelling fires”. Several models have been proposed to describe the evolution in time of travelling fires. Although these models represented an innovative step in the field of travelling fires, the major drawbacks of these models can be found in the simplification of fire dynamics (constant spread rate, 1D imposed fire path) and limited field of application (rectangular based geometries). The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical model of travelling fire. The model was based on an improved zone model combined with a cellular automata model. The software GoZone, in which the model was implemented, is intended to be a practical solution to analyse fires in large compartments of potentially any shape. GoZone is aimed to describe the complex dynamics of the fire from ignition to a phase of growing localised fire that may eventually travel in the compartment, possibly followed by a flashover. The main sub models comprising GoZone are presented. A comparison is given with the results of under ventilated fire test 2 of the BST/FSR 1993 test series and with respect to the Veselì travelling fire test is shown. GoZone shows a promising capacity to represent fires in a large compartment in both air and fuel controlled fire conditions.
Characterisation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Linear Friction Welded α+β Titanium Alloy to Nitinol
Authors: Rehman Ateekh Ur , Kishore Babu Nagumothu , Talari Mahesh Kumar , Usmani Yusuf , Alkhalefah Hisham
Published: November 2021

A variable area nozzle integrated into the design of a high-bypass-ratio turbofan engine effectively saves up to 10% in aircraft fuel consumption. Additionally, noise emissions can be lowered at airports during take-off and landing by having better control of the nozzle diameter. Shape memory capabilities of Nitinol alloys could be availed in the form of actuators in the construction of such a nozzle. However, these Nitinol actuators must be joined to Ti-6Al-4V, a prominent alloy making up most of the rest of the nozzle. Because of the huge differences in the physical and metallurgical properties of these alloys, fusion welding is not as effective as solid-state welding. In the current study, a linear friction welding process was adopted to join Ti-6Al-4V to Nitinol successfully. The effect of friction welding on the evolution of weld macro and microstructures; hardness and tensile properties were studied and discussed. The macrostructure of Ti-6Al-4V and Nitinol’s dissimilar joint revealed flash formation mainly on the Ti-6Al-4V side due to its reduced flow strength at high temperatures. Optical microstructures revealed fine grains in Ti-6Al-4V immediately adjacent to the interface due to dynamic recrystallisation and strain hardening effects. In contrast, Nitinol remained mostly unaffected. An intermetallic compound (Ti2Ni) was seen to have formed at the interface due to the extreme rubbing action, and these adversely influenced the tensile strength and elongation values of the joints.
Dissimilar Rotary Friction Welding of Inconel 718 to F22 Using Inconel 625 Interlayer
Authors: Rehman Ateekh Ur , Kishore Babu Nagumothu , Talari Mahesh Kumar , Anwar Saqib , Usmani Yusuf , Al-Samhan Ali M.
Published: November 2021

Dissimilar metal joining has always been a challenging task because of the metallurgical incompatibility and difference in melting points of alloys being joined. Diffusion and mixing of alloying elements from dissimilar base metals at the weld often cause unwanted metallurgical changes resulting in unsuccessful welds or underperformance of the weldment. Solid-state dissimilar friction welds of Inconel 718 and F22 were prepared in this study with an Inconel 625 interlayer to address the carbon enrichment of Inconel 718 during the welding. Defect-free rotary friction welds were produced in this study. Microstructural and mechanical properties investigation of the weldments and base metals was carried out, and results were analysed. Intermixing zone was observed at the weld interface due to the softening of the metal at the interface and rotatory motion during the welding. The high temperatures and the plastic deformation of the intermixing zone and thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) resulted in the grain refinement of the weld region. The highest hardness was observed at the Inconel 718/F22 weld interface due to the plastic strain and the carbon diffusion. The tensile specimens failed in the F22 base metal for the weld prepared with and without the Inconel 625 interlayer. Inconel 718/F22 welds exhibited lower toughness values compared to the Inconel 718/F22 welds prepared with Inconel 625 interlayer.
Multilevel Privacy Assurance Evaluation of Healthcare Metadata
Authors: Sohail Syeda Amna , Bukhsh Faiza Allah , van Keulen Maurice
Published: November 2021

Healthcare providers are legally bound to ensure the privacy preservation of healthcare metadata. Usually, privacy concerning research focuses on providing technical and inter-/intra-organizational solutions in a fragmented manner. In this wake, an overarching evaluation of the fundamental (technical, organizational, and third-party) privacy-preserving measures in healthcare metadata handling is missing. Thus, this research work provides a multilevel privacy assurance evaluation of privacy-preserving measures of the Dutch healthcare metadata landscape. The normative and empirical evaluation comprises the content analysis and process mining discovery and conformance checking techniques using real-world healthcare datasets. For clarity, we illustrate our evaluation findings using conceptual modeling frameworks, namely e3-value modeling and REA ontology. The conceptual modeling frameworks highlight the financial aspect of metadata share with a clear description of vital stakeholders, their mutual interactions, and respective exchange of information resources. The frameworks are further verified using experts’ opinions. Based on our empirical and normative evaluations, we provide the multilevel privacy assurance evaluation with a level of privacy increase and decrease. Furthermore, we verify that the privacy utility trade-off is crucial in shaping privacy increase/decrease because data utility in healthcare is vital for efficient, effective healthcare services and the financial facilitation of healthcare enterprises.
Trajectory Planning for a Mobile Robot in a Dynamic Environment Using an LSTM Neural Network
Authors: Molina-Leal Alejandra , Gómez-Espinosa Alfonso , Escobedo Cabello Jesús Arturo , Cuan-Urquizo Enrique , Cruz-Ramírez Sergio R.
Published: November 2021

Autonomous mobile robots are an important focus of current research due to the advantages they bring to the industry, such as performing dangerous tasks with greater precision than humans. An autonomous mobile robot must be able to generate a collision-free trajectory while avoiding static and dynamic obstacles from the specified start location to the target location. Machine learning, a sub-field of artificial intelligence, is applied to create a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network that is implemented and executed to allow a mobile robot to find the trajectory between two points and navigate while avoiding a dynamic obstacle. The input of the network is the distance between the mobile robot and the obstacles thrown by the LiDAR sensor, the desired target location, and the mobile robot’s location with respect to the odometry reference frame. Using the model to learn the mapping between input and output in the sample data, the linear and angular velocity of the mobile robot are obtained. The mobile robot and its dynamic environment are simulated in Gazebo, which is an open-source 3D robotics simulator. Gazebo can be synchronized with ROS (Robot Operating System). The computational experiments show that the network model can plan a safe navigation path in a dynamic environment. The best test accuracy obtained was 99.24%, where the model can generalize other trajectories for which it was not specifically trained within a 15 cm radius of a trained destination position.
Model Updating of a Freight Wagon Based on Dynamic Tests under Different Loading Scenarios
Authors: Silva Rúben , Ribeiro Diogo , Bragança Cássio , Costa Cristina , Arêde António , Calçada Rui
Published: November 2021

This article presents an efficient methodology for the calibration of a numerical model of a Sgnss freight railway wagon based on experimental modal parameters, namely natural frequencies and mode shapes. Dynamic tests were performed for two distinct static loading configurations, tare weight and current operational overload, under demanding test conditions, particularly during an unloading operation of the train and without disturbing its tight operational schedule. These conditions impose restrictions to the tests, especially regarding the test duration, sensor positioning and system excitation. The experimental setups involve the use of several high-sensitivity accelerometers strategically distributed along with the vehicle platform and bogies in the vertical direction. The modal identification was performed with the application of the enhanced frequency-domain decomposition (EFDD) method, allowing the estimation of 10 natural frequencies and mode shapes associated with structural movements of the wagon platform, which in some cases are coupled with rigid body movements. A detailed 3D FE model of the freight wagon was developed including the platform, bogies, wheelsets, primary suspensions and wheel–rail interface. The model calibration was performed sequentially, first with the unloaded wagon model and then with the loaded wagon model, resorting to an iterative method based on a genetic algorithm. The calibration process allowed the obtainment of the optimal values of eight numerical parameters, including a double estimation of the vertical stiffness of the primary suspensions under the unloaded and loaded static configurations. The results demonstrate that the primary suspensions present an elastic/almost elastic behaviour. The comparison of experimental and numerical responses before and after calibration revealed significant improvements in the numerical models and a very good correlation between the experimental and numerical responses after calibration.
Evaluating the Flexibility Benefits of Smart Grid Innovations in Transmission Networks
Authors: Vita Vasiliki , Christodoulou Christos , Zafeiropoulos Ilias , Gonos Ioannis , Asprou Markos , Kyriakides Elias
Published: November 2021

The decision-making process during system planning of power systems is something that requires integrated tools that evaluate technical parameters, environmental impact, and overall costs and benefits with various performance indicators (i.e., key performance indicators KPIs). Several cost–benefit analysis approaches have been presented worldwide, providing analytic procedures to quantify the impact and practical effects of specific electricity projects. The implementation of innovation technology into the electricity networks play a critical role to optimizing overall costs. The targets set by the Clean Energy Package have been the main driver for the disruption occurring in the electricity sector, setting electrification of sectors and digitalization as additional emerging challenges. In the present paper, an evaluation approach for the flexibility benefits of smart grid innovations will be presented, as it has been developed and implemented in the context of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation project FLEXITRANSTORE. Flexibility is a prerequisite in an effort to achieve an electrical system of low CO2 emissions. Moreover, flexibility contributes to the increase of renewable energy sources penetration, to the network investments deferral and to the enhancement of the efficiency of the system operation, avoiding generation capacity oversizing. Thus, flexibility has been the scope of many projects lately. FLEXITRANSTORE pilot projects are implemented in various sites across Europe and are briefly presented and the respective technologies are propagated on system level approach, evaluating the respective benefits on a specific use case for the power system of Cyprus, where the one of the pilots is located. The paper tries to show the big picture of the project and presents system study use case to highlight the system impacts of the technologies. To this direction, the installation of a BESS to the Cypriot power system is studied, in an effort to examine its impact to the enhancement of the system’s flexibility, considering IRRE as an indicator.
A Study on Interaction Prediction for Reducing Interaction Latency in Remote Mixed Reality Collaboration
Authors: Choi Yujin , Son Wookho , Kim Yoon Sang
Published: November 2021

Various studies on latency in remote mixed reality collaborations (remote MR collaboration) have been conducted, but studies related to interaction latency are scarce. Interaction latency in a remote MR collaboration occurs because action detection (such as contact or collision) between a human and a virtual object is required for finding the interaction performed. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method based on interaction prediction to reduce the time for detecting the action between humans and virtual objects. The proposed method predicts an interaction based on consecutive joint angles. To examine the effectiveness of the proposed method, an experiment was conducted and the results were given. From the experimental results, it was confirmed that the proposed method could reduce the interaction latency compared to the one obtained by conventional methods.
Analysis of Ozone Concentrations between 2002–2020 in Urban Air in Northern Spain
Authors: García M. Ángeles , Villanueva Javier , Pardo Nuria , Pérez Isidro A. , Sánchez M. Luisa
Published: November 2021

This paper analyses surface ozone measurements at five stations in an urban area (Valladolid) in the upper Spanish plateau over the period 2002–2020. Temporal evolutions, the relationship between ozone and other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, and the assessment of the ozone concentration trend during the study period were analysed. Daily evolution of ozone at all the stations showed mean maximum concentrations in the afternoon, 15:00 GMT, with values ranging between 73.8 and 80.9 µg m−3, evidencing the influence of photochemical processes favoured by solar radiation in ozone formation. The lowest levels were recorded at night and in the early morning, 7:00 GMT, and were between 23.4 and 32.3 µg m−3, related with the reduction by NO reactions and deposition processes. A broad spring–summer peak between May and July was seen, with the highest values in the latter, with a mean value of up to 73.8 µg m−3. The variation in the monthly mean ozone concentrations of the different percentiles was analysed using a harmonic model. The empirical equation described the experimental values satisfactorily, with a confidence level of 95% and coefficients of determination above 80%, confirming the major decreasing trend in the ozone peak values over the study period.
Constacyclic Codes over Finite Chain Rings of Characteristic p
Authors: Alabiad Sami , Alkhamees Yousef
Published: November 2021

Let R be a finite commutative chain ring of characteristic p with invariants p,r, and k. In this paper, we study λ-constacyclic codes of an arbitrary length N over R, where λ is a unit of R. We first reduce this to investigate constacyclic codes of length ps (N=n1ps,p∤n1) over a certain finite chain ring CR(uk,rb) of characteristic p, which is an extension of R. Then we use discrete Fourier transform (DFT) to construct an isomorphism γ between R[x]/ and a direct sum ⊕b∈IS(rb) of certain local rings, where I is the complete set of representatives of p-cyclotomic cosets modulo n1. By this isomorphism, all codes over R and their dual codes are obtained from the ideals of S(rb). In addition, we determine explicitly the inverse of γ so that the unique polynomial representations of λ-constacyclic codes may be calculated. Finally, for k=2 the exact number of such codes is provided.
The Effect of Different Feeding Applications on the Swimming Behaviour of Siberian Sturgeon: A Method for Improving Restocking Programmes
Authors: Gebauer Tatyana , Gebauer Radek , Císař Petr , Tran Hung Quang , Tomášek Ondřej , Podhorec Peter , Prokešová Markéta , Rebl Alexander , Stejskal Vlastimil
Published: November 2021

Restocking programmes of different fish species have been implemented worldwide. However, the survival of hatchery-reared fish after release to riverine ecosystems is at a very low level. One of the reasons for the high mortality rate of post-released fish is their modified swimming behaviour due to the hatchery rearing practice. To investigate one of the possible causes for modified swimming behaviour, Acipenser baerii larvae were exposed to surface- and bottom-feeding applications with day and night light regimes in a factorial design. We also analysed the effect of 5 and 10 days of starvation after different feeding applications on sturgeon swimming behaviour. The surface-feeding application was previously expected to promote the frequent Siberian sturgeon swim up to the mid- and top-water layers in our rearing facilities. However, our results indicated that the modified behaviour of the Siberian sturgeon in our study was caused by fish starvation and a possible predator-free environment rather than by the method of feed application or the day/night light regimes. These results may be used to improve the implementation of restocking programmes either through modified hatchery rearing practice or the training of foraging skills with predator stimuli.
Chairside CAD/CAM Materials: Current Trends of Clinical Uses
Authors: Marchesi Giulio , Camurri Piloni Alvise , Nicolin Vanessa , Turco Gianluca , Di Lenarda Roberto
Published: November 2021

Restorative materials are experiencing an extensive upgrade thanks to the use of chairside Computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) restorations. Therefore, due to the variety offered in the market, choosing the best material could be puzzling for the practitioner. The clinical outcome of the restoration is influenced mainly by the material and its handling than by the fabrication process (i.e., CAD/CAM). Information on the restorative materials performances can be difficult to gather and compare. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of chairside CAD/CAM materials, their classification, and clinically relevant aspects that enable the reader to select the most appropriate material for predictable success.
Neuropathological Changes in the Brains of Suicide Killers
Authors: Stępień Tomasz , Heitzman Janusz , Wierzba-Bobrowicz Teresa , Gosek Paweł , Krajewski Paweł , Chrzczonowicz-Stępień Agnieszka , Berent Jarosław , Jurek Tomasz , Bolechała Filip
Published: November 2021

Background: Homicide combined with subsequent suicide of the perpetrator is a particular form of interpersonal violence and, at the same time, a manifestation of extreme aggression directed against oneself. Despite the relatively well-described individual acts of homicide and suicide, both in terms of psychopathology and law, acts of homicide and subsequent suicide committed by the same person are not well-studied phenomena. The importance of emotional factors, including the influence of mental state deviations (psychopathology), on this phenomenon, is discussed in the literature, but still there is relatively little data with which to attempt neuropathological assessments of the brains of suicide killers. This paper is dedicated to the issue based on the neuropathological studies performed. Methods: We analyzed a group of murder–suicides using histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Results: The results of our research indicate the presence of neurodegenerative changes including multiple deposits of ß-amyloid in the form of senile/amyloid plaques and perivascular diffuse plaques. Conclusions: Neurodegenerative changes found in the analyzed brains of suicide killers may provide an interesting starting point for a number of analyses. The presence of neurodegenerative changes at such a young age in some murderers may suggest preclinical lesions that affect cognitive functions and are associated with depressed moods.
The σ1 Receptor and the HINT1 Protein Control α2δ1 Binding to Glutamate NMDA Receptors: Implications in Neuropathic Pain
Authors: Rodríguez-Muñoz María , Cortés-Montero Elsa , Onetti Yara , Sánchez-Blázquez Pilar , Garzón-Niño Javier
Published: November 2021

Nerve injury produces neuropathic pain through the binding of α2δ1 proteins to glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). Notably, mice with a targeted deletion of the sigma 1 receptor (σ1R) gene do not develop neuropathy, whereas mice lacking the histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (Hint1) gene exhibit exacerbated allodynia. σ1R antagonists more effectively diminish neuropathic pain of spinal origin when administered by intracerebroventricular injection than systemically. Thus, in mice subjected to unilateral sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI), we studied the participation of σ1Rs and HINT1 proteins in the formation of α2δ1-NMDAR complexes within the supraspinal periaqueductal gray (PAG). We found that δ1 peptides required σ1Rs in order to interact with the NMDAR NR1 variant that contains the cytosolic C1 segment. σ1R antagonists or low calcium levels provoke the dissociation of σ1R-NR1 C1 dimers, while they barely affect the integrity of δ1-σ1R-NR1 C1 trimers. However, HINT1 does remove δ1 peptides from the trimer, thereby facilitating the subsequent dissociation of σ1Rs from NMDARs. In σ1R−/− mice, CCI does not promote the formation of NMDAR-α2δ1 complexes and allodynia does not develop. The levels of α2δ1-σ1R-NMDAR complexes increase in HINT1−/− mice and after inducing CCI, degradation of α2δ1 proteins is observed. Notably, σ1R antagonists but not gabapentinoids alleviate neuropathic pain in these mice. During severe neuropathy, the metabolism of α2δ1 proteins may account for the failure of many patients to respond to gabapentinoids. Therefore, σ1Rs promote and HINT1 proteins hinder the formation α2δ1-NMDAR complexes in the PAG, and hence, the appearance of mechanical allodynia depends on the interplay between these proteins.
Real-Time Monitoring of Levetiracetam Effect on the Electrophysiology of an Heterogenous Human iPSC-Derived Neuronal Cell Culture Using Microelectrode Array Technology
Authors: Di Credico Andrea , Gaggi Giulia , Izzicupo Pascal , Ferri Laura , Bonanni Laura , Iannetti Giovanni , Di Baldassarre Angela , Ghinassi Barbara
Published: November 2021

Levetiracetam (LEV) is a broad-spectrum and widely used antiepileptic drug that also has neuroprotective effects in different neurological conditions. Given its complex interaction with neuronal physiology, a better comprehension of LEV effects on neurons activity is needed. Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) represent an advanced technology for the non-invasive study of electrophysiological activity of neuronal cell cultures. In this study, we exploited the Maestro Edge MEA system, a platform that allows a deep analysis of the electrical network behavior, to study the electrophysiological effect of LEV on a mixed population of human neurons (glutamatergic, GABAergic and dopaminergic neurons, and astrocytes). We found that LEV significantly affected different variables such as spiking, single-electrode bursting, and network bursting activity, with a pronounced effect after 15 min. Moreover, neuronal cell culture completely rescued its baseline activity after 24 h without LEV. In summary, MEA technology confirmed its high sensitivity in detecting drug-induced electrophysiological modifications. Moreover, our results allow one to extend the knowledge on the electrophysiological effects of LEV on the complex neuronal population that resembles the human cortex.
Objective Knowledge Mediates the Relationship between the Use of Social Media and COVID-19-Related False Memories
Authors: Scuotto Chiara , Ilardi Ciro Rosario , Avallone Francesco , Maggi Gianpaolo , Ilardi Alfonso , Borrelli Giovanni , Gamboz Nadia , La Marra Marco , Perrella Raffaella
Published: November 2021

The exposure to relevant social and/or historical events can increase the generation of false memories (FMs). The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a calamity challenging health, political, and journalistic bodies, with media generating confusion that has facilitated the spread of fake news. In this respect, our study aims at investigating the relationships between memories (true memories, TMs vs. FMs) for COVID-19-related news and different individual variables (i.e., use of traditional and social media, COVID-19 perceived and objective knowledge, fear of the disease, depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms). One hundred and seventy-one university students (131 females) were surveyed. Overall, our results suggested that depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms did not affect the formation of FMs. Conversely, the fear of loved ones contracting the infection was found to be negatively associated with FMs. This finding might be due to an empathy/prosociality-based positive bias boosting memory abilities, also explained by the young age of participants. Furthermore, objective knowledge (i) predicted an increase in TMs and decrease in FMs and (ii) significantly mediated the relationships between the use of social media and development of both TMs and FMs. In particular, higher levels of objective knowledge strengthened the formation of TMs and decreased the development of FMs following use of social media. These results may lead to reconsidering the idea of social media as the main source of fake news. This claim is further supported by either the lack of substantial differences between the use of traditional and social media among participants reporting FMs or the positive association between use of social media and levels of objective knowledge. The knowledge about the topic rather than the type of source would make a difference in the process of memory formation.
Emotional Rational Education Training Associated with Mindfulness for Managing Anxiety within Adolescents Affected by High-Functioning Autism: A Descriptive Study
Authors: Frolli Alessandro , Ricci Maria Carla , Di Carmine Francesca , Orefice Agnese , Saviano Emilio , Carotenuto Marco
Published: November 2021

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a chronic and persistent pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) whose characteristic deficit is represented by social difficulties, semantic–pragmatic alterations and a limited, unusual and repetitive pattern of interests and behaviors. Specifically, individuals with high-functioning autism (HFA) frequently exhibit associated internalizing symptoms that are not part of the diagnostic criteria but which, nonetheless, tend to impair daily functioning. In this study, we investigated how some forms of treatment could be useful in subjects with HFA who display internalizing symptoms. Theoretical background relates to standard cognitive therapy (SCT) and rational education training with mindfulness (M-ERE). Methods: In this study, we investigated how some forms of treatment could be useful in subjects with HFA and internalizing symptoms, focusing on standard cognitive therapy (SCT) and mindfulness associated with emotional rational education training (M-ERE). We selected two groups of HFA patients with significant internalizing symptoms and performed two different forms of treatment for six months: SCT and M-ERE. The aim of the study was to verify the effectiveness of an M-ERE protocol with respect to anxious and depressive symptoms in subjects with HFA. Furthermore, we wanted to compare the results obtained with this combined treatment with those obtained in HFA subjects treated with SCT. Results: Our analyses showed an improvement in the internalizing symptoms (especially those related to the anxiety dimension) of the group that followed a treatment based on mindfulness and rational emotional education for 6 months compared to the group that had instead performed a 6-month treatment based on the SCT. Conclusions: Our hypotheses were supported by the results, which highlighted the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in the treatment of internalizing symptoms in adolescents with HFA, and specifically showed that an M-ERE intervention appears more effective in managing anxiety compared to treatment with SCT and appears to be equally effective in the management of depressive symptoms. Not only was the M-ERE treatment effective for the management of anxious and depressive symptoms in subjects with HFA, but the efficacy for the management of anxious symptoms was greater than the SCT treatment.
A Conceptual Framework for Modeling Social Risk Tolerance for PPP Projects: An Empirical Case of China
Authors: Jiang Weiyan , Lei Jingshu , Sang Meiyue , Wang Yinghui , Ye Kunhui
Published: November 2021

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are a useful approach that allows the public sector to collaborate with private investors in financing, implementing, and operating public sector facilities. Over the past few decades, the occurrence of social risks and the vulnerability of PPP projects to these risks have caused numerous project failures. While practitioners claim to manage the social risks of PPP projects, little effort has been made to explore the proper ways of doing this. In this study, we present a social risk tolerance (SRT) concept and propose a model to quantify the tolerance of PPP projects to social risks. One hundred and twenty-three PPP projects were collected from China for model validation. The results indicate a positive relationship between SRT values and project size and that the SRT has diminishing marginal values. This paper presents a new concept in PPP research and provides an appropriate approach for managing the social risks of PPP projects. The research findings can help both the public and private sectors understand the social risks associated with PPP projects and determine effective countermeasures to control these risks.
A Minimal Subset of Seven Genes Associated with Tumor Hepatocyte Differentiation Predicts a Poor Prognosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Desoteux Matthis , Louis Corentin , Bévant Kevin , Glaise Denise , Coulouarn Cédric
Published: November 2021

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly cancer worldwide as a result of a frequent late diagnosis which limits the therapeutic options. Tumor progression in HCC is closely correlated with the dedifferentiation of hepatocytes, the main parenchymal cells in the liver. Here, we hypothesized that the expression level of genes reflecting the differentiation status of tumor hepatocytes could be clinically relevant in defining subsets of patients with different clinical outcomes. To test this hypothesis, an integrative transcriptomics approach was used to stratify a cohort of 139 HCC patients based on a gene expression signature established in vitro in the HepaRG cell line using well-controlled culture conditions recapitulating tumor hepatocyte differentiation. The HepaRG model was first validated by identifying a robust gene expression signature associated with hepatocyte differentiation and liver metabolism. In addition, the signature was able to distinguish specific developmental stages in mice. More importantly, the signature identified a subset of human HCC associated with a poor prognosis and cancer stem cell features. By using an independent HCC dataset (TCGA consortium), a minimal subset of seven differentiation-related genes was shown to predict a reduced overall survival, not only in patients with HCC but also in other types of cancers (e.g., kidney, pancreas, skin). In conclusion, the study identified a minimal subset of seven genes reflecting the differentiation status of tumor hepatocytes and clinically relevant for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients.
Fertility Counseling in Survivors of Cancer in Childhood and Adolescence: Time for a Reappraisal?
Authors: Filippi Francesca , Peccatori Fedro , Manoukian Siranoush , Clerici Carlo Alfredo , Dallagiovanna Chiara , Meazza Cristina , Podda Marta , Somigliana Edgardo , Spreafico Filippo , Massimino Maura , Terenziani Monica
Published: November 2021

Genetic predisposition could have an important role in the pathogenesis of cancers in children and adolescents. A recent study by our group showed that, among female survivors of cancers in childhood and adolescence, the proportion of cases involving a possible genetic predisposition was sizable (at least one in five). Our sample is too small to be representative of the general population, but it gave us an opportunity to reappraise this issue. Women with a genetic predisposition can transmit the risk of cancer to their offspring, and their awareness of this may influence their reproductive and fertility preservation choices. In our experience, a predisposition to cancer receives little attention in the fertility counseling and decision-making process unless a patient already has a definitive molecular diagnosis of a hereditary cancer syndrome. We feel it is essential to empower women on this issue, particularly as there are ways to overcome the problem, including preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-M) in definitively diagnosed cases, egg donation and adoption. In the context of fertility counseling for survivors of cancer in childhood and adolescence who have reached adulthood, the risk of transmitting a predisposition to cancer should be discussed with patients, if relevant and desired.
Emerging Therapeutic Landscape of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas Based on Advances in Biology: Current Status and Future Directions
Authors: Khan Maliha , Samaniego Felipe , Hagemeister Fredrick B. , Iyer Swaminathan P.
Published: November 2021

T-cell lymphomas are a relatively rare group of malignancies with a diverse range of pathologic features and clinical behaviors. Recent molecular studies have revealed a wide array of different mechanisms that drive the development of these malignancies and may be associated with resistance to therapies. Although widely accepted chemotherapeutic agents and combinations, including stem cell transplantation, obtain responses as initial therapy for these diseases, most patients will develop a relapse, and the median survival is only 5 years. Most patients with relapsed disease succumb within 2 to 3 years. Since 2006, the USFDA has approved five medications for treatment of these diseases, and only anti-CD30-therapy has made a change in these statistics. Clearly, newer agents are needed for treatment of these disorders, and investigators have proposed studies that evaluate agents that target these malignancies and the microenvironment depending upon the molecular mechanisms thought to underlie their pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss the currently known molecular mechanisms driving the development and persistence of these cancers and discuss novel targets for therapy of these diseases and agents that may improve outcomes for these patients.
How to Improve TRUS-Guided Target Biopsy following Prostate MRI
Authors: Park Byung Kwan
Published: November 2021

TRUS is a basic imaging modality when radiologists or urologists perform cognitive fusion or image fusion biopsy. This modality plays the role of the background images to add to an operator’s cognitive function or MRI images. Operators need to know how to make TRUS protocols for lesion detection or targeting. Tumor location, size, and shape on TRUS are different from those on MRI because the scan axis is different. TRUS findings of peripheral or transition tumors are not well known to radiologists and urologists. Moreover, it remains unclear if systematic biopsy is necessary after a tumor is targeted. The purpose of this review is to introduce new TRUS protocols, new imaging features, new biopsy techniques, and to assess the necessity of systematic biopsy for improving biopsy outcomes.
Dysregulation of Cytoskeleton Remodeling Drives Invasive Leading Cells Detachment
Authors: Peng Jei-Ming , Chen Wei-Yu , Cheng Jai-Hong , Luo Jia-Wun , Tzeng Hong-Tai
Published: November 2021

Detachment of cancer cells is the first step in tumor metastasis and malignancy. However, studies on the balance of initial tumor anchoring and detachment are limited. Herein, we revealed that the regulation of cytoskeleton proteins potentiates tumor detachment. The blockage of TGF-β1 using neutralizing antibodies induced cancer cell detachment in the Boyden chamber and 3D in-gel spheroid models. Moreover, treatment with latrunculin B, an actin polymerization inhibitor, enhanced cell dissociation by abolishing actin fibers, indicating that TGF-β1 mediates the formation of actin stress fibers, and is likely responsible for the dynamics of anchoring and detachment. Indeed, latrunculin B disrupted the formation of external TGF-β1-induced actin fibers and translocation of intracellular vinculin, a focal adhesion protein, resulting in the suppression of cell adhesion. Moreover, the silencing of vimentin substantially reduced cell adhesion and enhanced cell detachment, revealing that cell adhesion and focal adhesion protein translocation stimulated by TGF-β1 require vimentin. Using the 3D in-gel spheroid model, we found that latrunculin B suppressed the cell adhesion promoted by external TGF-β1, increasing the number of cells that penetrated the Matrigel and detached from the tumor spheres. Thus, cytoskeleton remodeling maintained the balance of cell anchoring and detachment, and the TGF-β1/vimentin/focal adhesion protein assembly axis was involved in the control dynamics of initial tumor detachment.