bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lung Function in Children with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia
Authors: Ferraro Valentina Agnese , Castaldo Raimondo Junior , Tonazzo Valentina , Zanconato Stefania , Carraro Silvia
Published: February 2023

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is characterized by impaired mucociliary clearance that results in accumulation of mucus and bacteria in the airways. Lower respiratory tract infections lead to airway remodeling and lung function impairment. The aim of our narrative review is to discuss available data on lung function in PCD children, focusing on risk factors for lung function impairment. Methods: Relevant published studies searching MEDLINE/Pubmed are included in this narrative review, using these terms: “primary ciliary dyskinesia” and “pulmonary function test” or “spirometry” or “lung function”. Filters were language (English) and age of study subjects (0–18 years). Results and Conclusions: The majority of recent published studies showed normal spirometric values in PCD children, even if some authors described a pulmonary impairment. Together with spirometry, Lung Clearance Index has been applied for detecting peripheral airway disease, and it might have a role in early mild lung disease assessment. Studies on lung function trajectories after PCD diagnosis showed a significant heterogeneity, with some patients maintaining reasonably good lung function, whereas others showing a decline. Further studies are needed to analyze lung function prospectively from childhood into adulthood, and to evaluate whether lung function trajectories are affected by PCD clinical phenotype, ultrastructural ciliary defect or genetic background.
Reliability and Validity of the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA) in a Sample of Greek Students
Authors: Moustaka Evangelia , Bacopoulou Flora , Manousou Kyriaki , Kanaka-Gantenbein Christina , Chrousos George P. , Darviri Christina
Published: February 2023

This research outlines the initial validation of a new instrument to quantify academic stress, the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA). A total of 399 students (61.9% females, 38.1% males), with a mean age of 16.3 years, participated in the research protocol. Cronbach’s α for the total 16-item ESSA scale was 0.878, suggesting good reliability. Cronbach’s α for each one of the five components were statistically positively significant. The Greek version of the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA) can be utilized as a valid tool to measure the perceived educational stress in adolescents.
The Influence of Aspect Ratio of Steel Fibers on the Conductive and Mechanical Properties of Compound Cement Reactive Powder Concrete
Authors: Liang Zhao , Peng Xi , Wang Hui
Published: February 2023

The performance of steel fibers reinforced RPC has a great relationship with the aspect ratio of the fibers. It is necessary to systematically study the relationship between the aspect ratio and the mechanical properties of RPC and the force-electricity response. In this paper, the flexural strength, the compressive strength and the flexural toughness and AC electrical resistance and AC impedance spectroscopy of reactive powder concrete are investigated. The flexural strength, compressive strength, and flexural toughness with the curing age of 1 day and 28 days are tested. The cement is the compound cement in this study, and the mass ratio of ordinary portland cement and sulphoaluminate cement is 1:1, and two kinds of steel fibers with aspect ratios of 30(AR-30) and 75(AR-75) are used. The fiber content is 2% of the concrete volume. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning electron microscope energy spectrum analysis (EDS) are investigated to analyze the composition of the hydration products. It can be obtained from the research results that the flexural strength and the compressive strength of reactive powder concrete decrease with the increase of steel fibers content with an aspect ratio of 30. The decreasing rates of the flexural strength and the compressive strength with the curing age of 1 d and 28 d are 14.93%~83.26% and 0.40%~46.36% with the incorporation of steel fibers with an aspect ratio of 30. The flexural toughness decreases in the form of a quadratic function with the mass ratio of steel fibers with an aspect ratio of 30. The electrical resistance of reactive powder concrete increases with the increase of steel fibers with an aspect ratio of 30. The maximum decreasing rate of electrical conductivity is 91.16%. The AC impedance spectrum is obtained, and the electric circuit of reactive powder concrete accords with the series conduction model, which parallel electrical resistance and capacitance of pore solution, rapid strength RPC and steel fibers respectively connect with a contact resistance of the electrode and specimens. It is found that the steel fibers network with an aspect ratio of 75 is closer by studying the equivalent circuit diagram.
Investigation of the Properties of Multilayer Nanostructured Coating Based on the (Ti,Y,Al)N System with High Content of Yttrium
Authors: Grigoriev Sergey , Vereschaka Alexey , Milovich Filipp , Sitnikov Nikolay , Bublikov Jury , Seleznev Anton , Sotova Catherine , Rykunov Alexander
Published: February 2023

The studies are focused on the properties of the multilayer composite coating based on the (Ti,Y,Al)N system with high content of yttrium (about 40 at.%) of yttrium (Y). The hardness and elastic modulus were defined, and the resistance to fracture was studied during the scratch testing. Two cubic solid solutions (fcc phases), including c-(Ti,Y,Al)N and c-(Y,Ti,Al)N, are formed in the coating. The investigation of the wear resistance of the (Ti,Y,Al)N-coated tools during the turning of steel in comparison with the wear resistance of the tools with the based on the (Ti,Cr,Al)N system coating and the uncoated tools found a noticeable increase (by 250%–270%) in rake wear resistance. Active oxidation processes are observed in the (Ti,Y,Al)N coating during wear. It can be assumed that yttrium oxide is predominantly formed with a possible insignificant formation of titanium and aluminum oxides. At the same time, complete oxidation of c-(Y,Ti,Al)N nanolayers is not observed. Some hypotheses explaining the rather high performance of a coating with a high yttrium content are considered.
Sustainable Textile Fabric Coatings: From Materials to Applications
Authors: Attia Nour , Elashery Sally , Abd-Ellah Marwa
Published: February 2023

In order to meet the technical requirements, it is necessary to infuse new functions into textile fabrics due to the rapid advancement in the exploitation of textile-based materials in various industrial applications [...]
Sb2Se3 Polycrystalline Thin Films Grown on Different Window Layers
Authors: Pasini Stefano , Spoltore Donato , Parisini Antonella , Foti Gianluca , Marchionna Stefano , Vantaggio Salvatore , Fornari Roberto , Bosio Alessio
Published: February 2023

Sb2Se3 is a typical V2VI3 binary chalcogenide compound characterized by a single crystalline phase and a fixed composition. Sb2Se3 displays a narrow energy gap ranging from 1.1 to 1.3 eV, which are quite optimal values for single-junction solar cells. Earth-abundant and non-toxic components make this material a good candidate for low-cost thin-film solar cells. In substrate configuration, a world record efficiency of 9.2% was recently obtained. Sb2Se3 thin films exhibit an accentuated predisposition to form (Sb4Se6)n ribbons along the [001] direction. This anisotropy heavily influences the charge transport of the photogenerated carriers. In this work, structural characterization of the Sb2Se3 films showed that the crystalline quality and preferential orientation are strongly dependent on the window layer used. To better understand the growth mechanism, Sb2Se3 thin films were deposited by close-spaced sublimation on five different window layers, such as CdS, CdS:F, CdSe, As2S3, and ZnCdS. Sb2Se3-based solar cells, realized in superstrate configuration on these different substrates, evidently demonstrate the influence of the Sb2Se3 preferential orientation on the photovoltaic parameters.
Hydrogenation Behavior of Cr-Coated Resistance Upset Welds of E110 Zirconium Alloy
Authors: Kashkarov Egor , Gusev Kirill , Kudiiarov Viktor , Kurdyumov Nikita , Sidelev Dmitrii
Published: February 2023

The hydrogenation behavior of Cr-coated resistance upset welds (RUW) of E110 zirconium alloy was investigated at 360, 450 and 900 °C and a hydrogen pressure of 2 bar. The deposition of Cr coating, via magnetron sputtering, can decrease the hydrogen absorption rate of an RUW Zr alloy. The activation energy for the hydrogen absorption of Cr-coated specimens (84 kJ/mol) is higher in comparison with uncoated ones (71 kJ/mol), which indicates the deceleration of the hydriding of welded Zr alloys in the case of Cr coating deposition. A Cr coating can limit the formation of radially oriented hydrides and the hardening of RUW specimens at 360 and 450 °C. No significant difference in the hydrogen absorption rate was found at 900 °C. The application of Cr coating deposition to protect resistance-upset-welded Zr alloys in a hydrogen atmosphere is discussed.
High Temperature Oxidation of Enamel Coated Low-Alloyed Steel 16Mo3 in Water Vapor
Authors: Boissonnet Germain , Rzad Ewa , Troncy Romain , Dudziak Tomasz , Pedraza Fernando
Published: February 2023

New types of ceramic coatings based on SiO2-Na2O-B2O3-TiO2 oxide phases were investigated as protection for boiler steel in power generation systems. Low-alloyed Cr-Mo 16Mo3 steel was coated with different compositions of enamel coatings to assess the protective potential of these coatings under water vapor at high temperatures. Oxidation at 650 °C for 50 h in Ar + water vapor was performed in a TGA apparatus to investigate the oxidation kinetics. The results indicate that the ceramic coatings provided a high degree of protection for the steel exposed to such conditions compared to the uncoated 16Mo3 steel. Furthermore, despite the formation of cracks in the coatings, no spallation from the steel surface was observed. Interconnected porosity in the coatings is suspected to provoke interfacial degradation.
Optimized Packing Titanium Alloy Powder Particles
Authors: Duriagina Zoia , Pankratov Alexander , Romanova Tetyana , Litvinchev Igor , Bennell Julia , Lemishka Igor , Maximov Sergiy
Published: February 2023

To obtain high-quality and durable parts by 3D printing, specific characteristics (porosity and proportion of various sizes of particles) in the mixture used for printing or sintering must be assured. To predict these characteristics, a mathematical model of optimized packing polyhedral objects (particles of titanium alloys) in a cuboidal container is presented, and a solution algorithm is developed. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the results obtained by the algorithm are very close to experimental findings. This justifies using numerical simulation instead of expensive experimentation.
Gain Properties of the Single Cell of a One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal with PT Symmetry
Authors: Witoński Piotr , Mossakowska-Wyszyńska Agnieszka , Szczepański Paweł
Published: February 2023

In this paper, an analysis of gain properties of a single primitive cell of a one-dimensional photonic crystal with parity–time symmetry is demonstrated for the first time. The proposed simple model makes it possible to study the transmission and amplification properties of the investigated cell made of a wide range of optical materials, taking into account the refractive index of the surrounding medium. This analysis is carried out with the use of a transfer matrix method. The obtained characteristics allow indicating the optimal size of the studied structure providing wave amplification, i.e., a transmittance greater than unity. In this case, the increase in the wave intensity in the gain layer exceeds its decrease in the loss layer. This effect is illustrated with the distributions of the electromagnetic field of waves propagating inside the cell.
Pulsed and Static Magnetic Field Influence on Metallic Alloys during Solidification
Authors: Milgrāvis Mikus , Krastiņš Ivars , Kaldre Imants , Kalvāns Matīss , Bojarevičs Andris , Beinerts Toms
Published: February 2023

Electromagnetic methods can be used to affect the solidification of metallic alloys. Combined alternating and static (DC) magnetic fields can induce pressure waves in liquid metals in a contactless manner, refining grain structure, preventing component segregation, and dispersing added particles. Here, the possibility of using a pulsed magnetic field in combination with a DC magnetic field to improve the solidification structure of metals is investigated. This enables achieving higher pressure amplitude and liquid movement within the whole crucible volume at the same power consumption. This can be a prospective way to achieve a fine-grained and a more homogeneous microstructure of metallic alloys as well as disperse added particles. In this work, analytical description of the phenomena and numerical modeling of the pressure amplitude and melt motion has been performed. A series of experiments have been carried out to demonstrate the effect of such interaction on the solidified metal microstructure. It is found that a combination of pulsed and DC magnetic fields creates strong compression and expansion of the liquid metal. Metals solidified under such interaction exhibit finer grain structure in Sn-Pb alloy and improved TiB2 particle distribution in 6061 aluminum alloy.
Green Route Synthesis and Molecular Docking of Azines Using Cellulose Sulfuric Acid under Microwave Irradiation
Authors: Gomha Sobhi , Riyadh Sayed , Alharbi Reem , Zaki Magdi , Abolibda Tariq , Farag Basant
Published: February 2023

A novel catalytic approach for the synthesis of symmetric and asymmetric azines has been developed. The environmentally benign protocol was achieved via condensation of 1-[(2-thienyl)ethylidene]hydrazine (1) with different aromatic aldehydes 2a–h and acetyl heterocyclic compounds (4, 6, 8, 10, and 12) in the presence of cellulose sulfuric acid (CSA) as the green catalyst. These procedures offer an interesting method for the large-scale industrial manufacture of azines due to their high percentage yield, mild reaction conditions, broad substrate range, and utilization of an economical and environmentally acceptable catalyst. Additionally, the molecular docking of the products to the monoamine oxidase (MAO-A) target protein was achieved to highlight the possible binding interaction with the amino acid residues Arg51, Glu43, Gly22, Gly49, Gly443, Ala272, Ile335, and Tyr407 at the point of binding. The binding interaction energy was discovered to be (− 6.48 kcal/mol) for the protein MAO-A (PDB ID: 2Z5X). The most effective azine derivatives 7 and 13 revealed some major conserved interactions between the MAO-A protein’s binding site amino acid residues and the PDB co-crystal ligand 2Z5X. Moreover, azine derivatives 3a and 3f showed the lowest binding activity with the target MAO-A.
New Records of Marine Tardigrades (Arthotardigrada) from the Iberian Peninsula: Biogeographical Implications
Authors: Rubal Marcos , Fontoura Paulo , Veiga Puri
Published: February 2023

Biogeography patterns of marine tardigrades are poorly studied. Many species of marine tardigrades are considered endemic, but this high number may be an artifact resulting from skewed knowledge about marine tardigrade diversity in different regions of the world. On the other hand, some species of marine tardigrades are considered cosmopolitan. Most of these were described many years ago. Unfortunately, these early descriptions are very incomplete and omit many characteristics with diagnostically relevant value, thus, resulting in many types of these records of these species worldwide. The objective of this study is to report, for the first time, the presence of three species of marine tardigrades in the Atlantic shores of the Iberian Peninsula. These three species were previously described from other regions of the world and the biogeographic consequences of their presence on the study area are discussed. These records provide valuable insights about the biogeography of marine tardigrades in this region.
Optic Nerve Ultrasound Evaluation in Children: A Review
Authors: Abbinante Giulia , Vitiello Livio , Coppola Alessia , Salerno Giulio , Gagliardi Vincenzo , Pellegrino Alfonso
Published: February 2023

Managing patients with neurocritical illness requires monitoring and treating elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), especially in cases in children. In terms of precise and real-time measurements, invasive ICP measurements are presently the gold standard for the initial diagnosis and follow-up ICP assessments. As a rapid and non-invasive way to detect elevated ICP, point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) has been proposed. The utility of bedside POCUS of ONSD to detect elevated ICP with excellent diagnostic test accuracy in adults has already been demonstrated. Nonetheless, data on the relationship between POCUS of ONSD and ICP in children are scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to point out the most recent findings from the pediatric published literature and briefly discuss what was assessed with ONSD ultrasound examination, and also to describe and discuss the diagnostic procedures available for optic nerve ultrasound appraisal. A search of the medical databases PubMed and Scopus was carried out. The terms such as “ocular ultrasonography”, “ICP assessment”, “children”, “point-of-care ultrasound”, and “POCUS” were searched. In conclusion, the use of the standardized A-scan technique coupled with the B-scan technique should be suggested to provide data that are as accurate, precise, repeatable, and objective as possible.
A Review on Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation (EUS-RFA) of Pancreatic Lesions
Authors: Karaisz Fred G. , Elkelany Osama O. , Davies Benjamin , Lozanski Gerard , Krishna Somashekar G.
Published: February 2023

The morbidity associated with pancreatectomies limits surgical options for high-risk patients with pancreatic neoplasms that warrant resection. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) offers a minimally invasive and potentially definitive means to treat pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and precancerous pancreatic cystic lesions. In addition, EUS-RFA may play a role in the treatment and palliation of non-surgical cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The efficacy of RFA appears to be further enhanced by systemic immunomodulatory effects. Here, we review current studies on the developing role of EUS-RFA in these pancreatic pathologies.
Placenta Previa et Percreta: A Potentially Life-Threatening Condition
Authors: Bachmann Cornelia , Abele Harald , Hoopmann Markus
Published: February 2023

Placenta percreta occurs in about 5% of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) and causes high maternal and fetal peripartum morbidity/mortality. A 34-year-old multiparous 4G2P (1xcesarean section (CS)) was admitted to hospital at the 34th week of gestation. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed a placenta previa totalis et percreta with a small tissue layer towards the bladder. Ultrasound was crucial for further planning. An interdisciplinary setting was established based on this life-threatening diagnosis. Due to the onset of labor one day later, a CS was performed. Intraoperatively, the suspicion was confirmed of a placenta previa et percreta with CS scar infiltration. Due to the life-threatening bleeding risk, simultaneous subtotal hysterectomy was needed. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically. The higher the number of previous CS, the higher the PASrate. Placenta percreta is the most severe form of this, characterized by placental invasion through the entirety of the myometrium and possibly into extrauterine tissues. This case demonstrates the great importance of prenatal diagnosis with the realization of dimensions of this very rare finding, especially with an increasing CS rate and other associated complications. Due to the close interdisciplinary cooperation of the prenatal diagnosticians, obstetricians, and anesthesiologists with optimal care in a specialized center, the otherwise high morbidity/mortality can be minimized.
The Immediate Hypoalgesic Effect of Low and High Force Thoracic Mobilizations in Asymptomatic Subjects as Measured by Pain Pressure Thresholds (PPT)
Authors: Syrgiamiotis Charilaos , Krekoukias Georgios , Gkouzioti Katerina , Hebron Clair
Published: February 2023

Physiotherapists commonly use mobilizations for treating patients with thoracic spine pain (TSP). There is evidence to suggest that spinal mobilizations can decrease pain. Different doses of mobilization treatment are applied, however there is a paucity of evidence on the influence of these dosage parameters. The effect of different forces of treatment remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether there was a difference in the hypoalgesic effect of high and low force thoracic mobilizations. This single-blinded, randomized, within-subject, repeated measures, cross-over design recruited 28 asymptomatic participants. Participants received the experimental conditions of high (200 N) and low force (30 N) mobilizations to T6 at least 48 h apart. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were measured before and immediately after each experimental intervention at three different standardized sites. The results demonstrated that high force thoracic mobilizations caused a significant increase in PPT measures compared to low force mobilizations. This effect was detected at all PPT sites. This study suggests that high force thoracic PA mobilizations cause a significantly greater hypoalgesic response in asymptomatic participants than low force thoracic mobilizations. The hypoalgesic response seems to be elicited not only locally at the site of the intervention, but in a widespread manner.
The Association between Admission Serum Phosphorus and Preoperative Deep Venous Thrombosis in Geriatric Hip Fracture: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Lu Dong-Xing , Zhang Kun , Ma Teng , Li Ming , Li Zhong , Xu Yi-Bo , Wang Chao-Feng , Ren Cheng , Zhang Bin-Fei
Published: February 2023

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum phosphorus level and preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in geriatric hip fractures. Methods: Older adults with hip fractures were screened between January 2015 and September 2019. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected. Multivariate binary logistic regression and generalized additive models were used to identify the linear and nonlinear associations between serum phosphorus levels and preoperative DVT. Analyses were performed using Empower Stats and R software. Results: In this study, 1818 patients were included, with an average age of 79.39 ± 6.87. Of these, 30.25% were males, and 580 patients had DVT. The study found that when serum phosphorus was used as a continuous variable, there was a statistically significant difference in the relationship between blood phosphorus and the occurrence of DVT (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we also found curvilinear relationships. Serum phosphorus = 0.71 mmol/L was the inflection point in the curve. When serum phosphorus was <0.71 mmol/L, the serum phosphorus was associated with DVT (OR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.04–2.59; p = 0.0333). With a 0.1 mmol/L increase, the DVT increased 0.64 times. When phosphorus was >0.71 mmol/L, there was no significant difference in the correlation between serum phosphorus levels and DVT (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 0.98–1.09; p = 0.186). Conclusion: Serum phosphorus was nonlinearly associated with preoperative DVT in geriatric patients with hip fractures, and serum phosphorus level could be considered a predictor of DVT risk.
Delayed Aortic Valve Perforation Caused by Blunt Trauma
Authors: Tateishi Kazuya , Asselin Chantal Y. , Elmann Elie M. , De Gregorio Joseph
Published: February 2023

Traumatic aortic regurgitation (AR) is a rare complication of blunt chest trauma. We described the case of a 35-year-old male who presented to our hospital with shortness of breath 7 years after sustaining blunt chest trauma associated with a motorcycle accident. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram detected severe AR with two separate jets. The patient was diagnosed with congestive heart failure due to severe AR, and surgical aortic valve replacement was performed. A large perforation of the right coronary cusp likely sustained during the initial blunt chest trauma injury was confirmed surgically. As AR caused by blunt chest trauma can gradually worsen, it is necessary to confirm if there is a history of trauma in patients with severe AR of unknown origin.
Tunnel Fenestration of the Mandibula after Unsuccessful Post Traumatic Treatment: A Case Report of the One Year Follow-Up
Authors: Gillner Peter , Mosch Richard , von See Constantin
Published: February 2023

Particularly severe cases with tunneled defects are rarely reported and are described only in a few case reports. This case report describes the treatment of a tunnel fenestration in the lower central jaw after unsuccessful endodontic treatment following trauma of incisors 31 and 41 over the course of six years, which led to the development of an internal granuloma and a radicular cyst in the lower jaw. The patient presented with a 2.67 cm3 radicular cyst displacing the surrounding tissue at regio 31 and 41, which resulted in a tunnel-like bony defect. Endodontic treatment and periapical root tip resection on teeth 31 and 41 with cystectomy, and with a 12 month follow-up, were successful in the healing of the bone defect. The preserved teeth received lithium disilicate crowns for definite restoration one year postoperatively. This treatment can be an option for the therapy of large cysts.
Effect of Different Surface Treatments on the Shear Bond Strength of Metal Orthodontic Brackets Bonded to CAD/CAM Provisional Crowns
Authors: Haber Dany , Khoury Elie , Ghoubril Joseph , Cirulli Nunzio
Published: February 2023

Background: The aim of this study was to find the best surface treatment for CAD/CAM provisional crowns allowing the optimal bond strength of metal brackets. Methods: The sample consists of 30 lower bicuspids and 180 provisional crowns. The provisional crowns were randomly divided into six different groups. Orthophosphoric acid etching (37%) was applied to 30 lower bicuspids. The provisional crowns had undergone different surface treatments. Group 1: No treatment (Control Group). Group 2: Diamond bur. Group 3: Sandblasting. Group 4: Plastic Conditioner. Group 5: Diamond bur and Plastic Conditioner. Group 6: Sandblasting and Plastic Conditioner. The brackets in all groups were identically placed using Transbond XT® Primer and Transbond XT® Paste. Then, the entire sample underwent an artificial aging procedure, and a measurement of the bond strength was conducted. After debonding, the surface of the crowns was examined to determine the quantity of the adhesive remnant. Results: Bonding to natural crowns recorded the highest average, followed by the averages of groups 5 and 6. However, group 1 recorded the lowest average. Groups 2 and 4 had very close averages, as well as groups 5 and 6. A statistically significant difference between the averages of all groups was recorded (p < 0.001) except for groups 2 and 4 (p = 0.965) on the one hand, and groups 5 and 6 (p = 0.941) on the other hand. Discussion: The bonding of brackets on provisional crowns is considered a delicate clinical procedure. In fact, unlike natural crowns, the orthophosphoric acid usually used does not have any effect on the surface of provisional crowns. Conclusions: Using a diamond bur combined with the plastic conditioner and sandblasting combined with that same product resulted in a bond strength close to natural crown.
AeRChain: An Anonymous and Efficient Redactable Blockchain Scheme Based on Proof-of-Work
Authors: Luo Bin , Yang Changlin
Published: February 2023

Redactable Blockchain aims to ensure the immutability of the data of most applications and provide authorized mutability for some specific applications, such as for removing illegal content from blockchains. However, the existing Redactable Blockchains lack redacting efficiency and protection of the identity information of voters participating in the redacting consensus. To fill this gap, this paper presents an anonymous and efficient redactable blockchain scheme based on Proof-of-Work (PoW) in the permissionless setting, called “AeRChain”. Specifically, the paper first presents an improved Back’s Linkable Spontaneous Anonymous Group (bLSAG) signatures scheme and uses the improved scheme to hide the identity of blockchain voters. Then, in order to accelerate the achievement of redacting consensus, it introduces a moderate puzzle with variable target values for selecting voters and a voting weight function for assigning different weights to puzzles with different target values. The experimental results show that the present scheme can achieve efficient anonymous redacting consensus with low overhead and reduce communication traffic.
Two Types of Trilocality of Probability and Correlation Tensors
Authors: Xiao Shu , Cao Huaixin , Guo Zhihua , Han Kanyuan
Published: February 2023

In this work, we discuss two types of trilocality of probability tensors (PTs) P=〚P(a1a2a3)〛 over an outcome set Ω3 and correlation tensors (CTs) P=〚P(a1a2a3|x1x2x3)〛 over an outcome-input set Δ3 based on a triangle network and described by continuous (integral) and discrete (sum) trilocal hidden variable models (C-triLHVMs and D-triLHVMs). We say that a PT (or CT) P is C-trilocal (resp. D-trilocal) if it can be described by a C-triLHVM (resp. D-triLHVM). It is proved that a PT (resp. CT) is D-trilocal if and only if it can be realized in a triangle network by three shared separable states and a local POVM (resp. a set of local POVMs) performed at each node; a CT is C-trilocal (resp. D-trilocal) if and only if it can be written as a convex combination of the product deterministic CTs with a C-trilocal (resp. D-trilocal) PT as a coefficient tensor. Some properties of the sets consisting of C-trilocal and D-trilocal PTs (resp. C-trilocal and D-trilocal CTs) are proved, including their path-connectedness and partial star-convexity.
Discussion on Electron Temperature of Gas-Discharge Plasma with Non-Maxwellian Electron Energy Distribution Function Based on Entropy and Statistical Physics
Authors: Akatsuka Hiroshi , Tanaka Yoshinori
Published: February 2023

Electron temperature is reconsidered for weakly-ionized oxygen and nitrogen plasmas with its discharge pressure of a few hundred Pa, with its electron density of the order of 1017m−3 and in a state of non-equilibrium, based on thermodynamics and statistical physics. The relationship between entropy and electron mean energy is focused on based on the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) calculated with the integro-differential Boltzmann equation for a given reduced electric field E/N. When the Boltzmann equation is solved, chemical kinetic equations are also simultaneously solved to determine essential excited species for the oxygen plasma, while vibrationally excited populations are solved for the nitrogen plasma, since the EEDF should be self-consistently found with the densities of collision counterparts of electrons. Next, the electron mean energy U and entropy S are calculated with the self-consistent EEDF obtained, where the entropy is calculated with the Gibbs’s formula. Then, the “statistical” electron temperature Test is calculated as Test=[∂S/∂U]−1. The difference between Test and the electron kinetic temperature Tekin is discussed, which is defined as [2/(3k)] times of the mean electron energy U=⟨ϵ⟩, as well as the temperature given as a slope of the EEDF for each value of E/N from the viewpoint of statistical physics as well as of elementary processes in the oxygen or nitrogen plasma.
An IPSO-FW-WSVM Method for Stock Trading Signal Forecasting
Authors: Chen Yingjun , Zhu Zhigang
Published: February 2023

Trading signal detection is a very popular yet challenging research topic in the financial investment area. This paper develops a novel method integrating piecewise linear representation (PLR), improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) and a feature-weighted support vector machine (FW-WSVM) to analyze the nonlinear relationships between trading signals and the stock data hidden in historical data. First, PLR is applied to generate numerous trading points (valleys or peaks) based on the historical data. These turning points’ prediction is formulated as a three-class classification problem. Then, IPSO is utilized to find the optimal parameters of FW-WSVM. Lastly, we conduct a series of comparative experiments between IPSO-FW-WSVM and PLR-ANN on 25 stocks with 2 different investment strategies. The experiment results show that our proposed method achieves higher prediction accuracy and profitability, which indicates the IPSO-FW-WSVM method is effective in the prediction of trading signals.
Can Accounting Value Relevance and Pricing Error Influence Stock Price of High-Technology Service Enterprises?
Authors: Sukmadilaga Citra , Santoso Jose Christian , Ghani Erlane K.
Published: February 2023

This study examines whether relevant accounting ratios influence the stock prices of high-technology service enterprises in five countries, namely, the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and France. Subsequently, this study determines the existence of pricing error (if any) between the intrinsic value and the market value of the stock price due to the accounting ratios. Content analysis was performed on the annual reports of 326 high-technology service enterprises to determine the effect of three accounting ratios, namely diluted earnings per share, revenue per share, and book value per share, on the stock price of the high-technology service enterprises. This study shows that diluted earnings per share and book value per share influence the stock price of high-technology service enterprises. However, this study shows revenue per share does not influence the stock price of high-technology service enterprises. In addition, this study shows that, on average, the pricing error of high-technology services enterprises is considered moderate, with some countries exhibiting higher pricing errors. This study provides insight into how much accounting ratios can influence the movement of stock prices and, in turn, assist investors in understanding the key metrics within the high-technology industry.
Exploratory Study on the Blended Learning of Research and Language Skills in EFL and Interinstitutional Assessment
Authors: Mora-López Natalia , Bernárdez-Vilaboa Ricardo
Published: February 2023

Blended learning is receiving more and more attention due to social changes, technological advances, and the increasing internationality of studies, and research needs to be carried out to explore the possibilities this instruction modality offers to university students. This project aimed to test the feasibility and success of a blended course on research and EFL skills and to determine whether there is an internationally shared criterion when assessing students’ scientific work. To do so, a short module on research skills was designed and implemented with 30 students from the BSc in Optics and Optometry from the Complutense University of Madrid, whose final project, the production of a scientific poster, was assessed by three instructors from different universities. The results show that the content and modality of the teaching were successful in the increase in students’ research and language skills. The assessment of the posters showed heterogeneous evaluations regarding the quality of their visual features and their contents. Therefore, more research is needed on international perspectives about the presentation of results in the academic and scientific genre to pursue the creation and dissemination of homogeneous criteria, and therefore improve students’ performance with an international value.
Development of Apple Detection System and Reinforcement Learning for Apple Manipulator
Authors: Andriyanov Nikita
Published: February 2023

Modern deep learning systems make it possible to develop increasingly intelligent solutions in various fields of science and technology. The electronics of single board computers facilitate the control of various robotic solutions. At the same time, the implementation of such tasks does not require a large amount of resources. However, deep learning models still require a high level of computing power. Thus, the effective control of an intelligent robot manipulator is possible when a computationally complex deep learning model on GPU graphics devices and a mechanics control unit on a single-board computer work together. In this regard, the study is devoted to the development of a computer vision model for estimation of the coordinates of objects of interest, as well as the subsequent recalculation of coordinates relative to the control of the manipulator to form a control action. In addition, in the simulation environment, a reinforcement learning model was developed to determine the optimal path for picking apples from 2D images. The detection efficiency on the test images was 92%, and in the laboratory it was possible to achieve 100% detection of apples. In addition, an algorithm has been trained that provides adequate guidance to apples located at a distance of 1 m along the Z axis. Thus, the original neural network used to recognize apples was trained using a big image dataset, algorithms for estimating the coordinates of apples were developed and investigated, and the use of reinforcement learning was suggested to optimize the picking policy.
Intelligent Fractional Order Sliding Mode Based Control for Surgical Robot Manipulator
Authors: Sachan Shailu , Swarnkar Pankaj
Published: February 2023

In the era of digital OT (Operating Theatre), the developments in Robot-Assisted Surgery (RAS) can greatly benefit the medical field. RAS is a method of technological advancement that uses surgical robots to assist complicated surgeries. Its implementation improves the ability of the specialised doctors to perform surgery to a great extent. This paper addresses the dynamics and control of the highly non-linear 3DOF surgical robot manipulator in the occurrence of external disturbances and uncertainties. The integration of non-linear robust SMC (Sliding Mode Control) with smoothing mechanism, FOPID (Fractional-Order Proportional Integral Derivative) controller and fuzzy controller provides a high degree of robustness and minimal chatter. The addition of type-2 fuzzy logic to the controller, named intelligent T2F-SFOSMC (Type-2 Fuzzy-Smoothing Fractional Order Sliding Mode Controller), improves the system’s performance by ruling out the disturbances and uncertainties. The prototype model is developed in a laboratory and its outcomes are validated on OP5600: a real-time digital simulator. The simulation results and experimental results of the proposed T2F-SFOSMC are compared with conventional controllers, which illustrates the efficacy and superiority of the proposed controller’s performance during the typical situation of surgery. The proposed T2F-SFOSMC outperforms conventional controllers by providing greater precision, stability and robustness to time-varying nonlinear multi-incision trajectory.
Novel PV Power Hybrid Prediction Model Based on FL Co-Training Method
Authors: Wang Hongxi , Shen Hongtao , Li Fei , Wu Yidi , Li Mengyu , Shi Zhengang , Deng Fangming
Published: February 2023

Existing photovoltaic (PV) power prediction methods suffer from insufficient data samples, poor model generalization ability, and the inability to share power data. In this paper, a hybrid prediction model based on federated learning (FL) is proposed. To improve communication efficiency and model generalization ability, FL is introduced to combine data from multiple locations without sharing to collaboratively train the prediction model. Furthermore, a hybrid LSTM-BPNN prediction model is designed to improve the accuracy of predictions. LSTM is used to extract important features from the time-series data, and BPNN maps the extracted high-dimensional features to the low-dimensional space and outputs the predicted values. Experiments show that the minimum MAPE of the hybrid prediction model constructed in this paper can reach 1.2%, and the prediction effect is improved by 30% compared with the traditional model. Under the FL mode, the trained prediction model not only improves the prediction accuracy by more than 20% but also has excellent generalization ability in multiple scenarios.
Energy-Constrained Deep Neural Network Compression for Depth Estimation
Authors: Zeng Xiangrong , Zhang Maojun , Zhong Zhiwei , Liu Yan
Published: February 2023

Many applications, such as autonomous driving, robotics, etc., require accurately estimating depth in real time. Currently, deep learning is the most popular approach to stereo depth estimation. Some of these models have to operate in highly energy-constrained environments, while they are usually computationally intensive, containing massive parameter sets ranging from thousands to millions. This makes them hard to perform on low-power devices with limited storage in practice. To overcome this shortcoming, we model the training process of a deep neural network (DNN) for depth estimation under a given energy constraint as a constrained optimization problem and solve it through a proposed projected adaptive cubic quasi-Newton method (termed ProjACQN). Moreover, the trained model is also deployed on a GPU and an embedded device to evaluate its performance. Experiments show that the stage four results of ProjACQN on the KITTI-2012 and KITTI-2015 datasets under a 70% energy budget achieve (1) 0.13% and 0.61%, respectively, lower three-pixel error than the state-of-the-art ProjAdam when put on a single RTX 3090Ti; (2) 4.82% and 7.58%, respectively, lower three-pixel error than the pruning method Lottery-Ticket; (3) 5.80% and 0.12%, respectively, lower three-pixel error than ProjAdam on the embedded device Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier. These results show that our method can reduce the energy consumption of depth estimation DNNs while maintaining their accuracy.
BadDGA: Backdoor Attack on LSTM-Based Domain Generation Algorithm Detector
Authors: Zhai You , Yang Liqun , Yang Jian , He Longtao , Li Zhoujun
Published: February 2023

Due to the outstanding performance of deep neural networks (DNNs), many researchers have begun to transfer deep learning techniques to their fields. To detect algorithmically generated domains (AGDs) generated by domain generation algorithm (DGA) in botnets, a long short-term memory (LSTM)-based DGA detector has achieved excellent performance. However, the previous DNNs have found various inherent vulnerabilities, so cyberattackers can use these drawbacks to deceive DNNs, misleading DNNs into making wrong decisions. Backdoor attack as one of the popular attack strategies strike against DNNs has attracted widespread attention in recent years. In this paper, to cheat the LSTM-based DGA detector, we propose BadDGA, a backdoor attack against the LSTM-based DGA detector. Specifically, we offer four backdoor attack trigger construction methods: TLD-triggers, Ngram-triggers, Word-triggers, and IDN-triggers. Finally, we evaluate BadDGA on ten popular DGA datasets. The experimental results show that under the premise of 1‰ poisoning rate, our proposed backdoor attack can achieve a 100% attack success rate to verify the effectiveness of our method. Meanwhile, the model’s utility on clean data is influenced slightly.
Multi-Task Learning Model Based on BERT and Knowledge Graph for Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis
Authors: He Zhu , Wang Honglei , Zhang Xiaoping
Published: February 2023

Aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA) aims to identify the sentiment of an aspect in a given sentence and thus can provide people with comprehensive information. However, many conventional methods need help to discover the linguistic knowledge implicit in sentences. Additionally, they are susceptible to unrelated words. To improve the performance of the model in the ABSA task, a multi-task sentiment analysis model based on Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT) and a Knowledge Graph (SABKG) is proposed in this paper. Expressly, part-of-speech information is incorporated into the output representation of BERT, thereby obtaining textual semantic information through linguistic knowledge. It also enhances the textual representation to identify the aspect terms. Moreover, this paper constructs a knowledge graph of aspect and sentiment words. It uses a graph neural network to learn the embeddings in the triplet of “aspect word, sentiment polarity, sentiment word”. The constructed graph improves the contextual relationship between the text’s aspect and sentiment words. The experimental results on three open datasets show that the proposed model can achieve the most advanced performance compared with previous models.
Methodological Research on Image Registration Based on Human Brain Tissue In Vivo
Authors: Nan Jiaofen , Su Junya , Zhang Jincan
Published: February 2023

As one of the critical steps in brain imaging analysis and processing, brain image registration plays a significant role. In this paper, we proposed a technique of human brain image registration based on tissue morphology in vivo to address the problems of previous image registration. First, different feature points were extracted and combined, including those at the boundary of different brain tissues and those of the maximum or minimum from the original image. Second, feature points were screened through eliminating their wrong matching pairs between moving image and reference image. Finally, the remaining matching pairs of feature points were used to generate the model parameters of spatial transformation, with which the brain image registration can be finished by combining interpolation techniques. Results showed that compared with the Surf, Demons, and Sift algorithms, the proposed method can perform better not only for four quantitative indicators (mean square differences, normalized cross correlation, normalized mutual information and mutual information) but also in spatial location, size, appearance contour, and registration details. The findings may suggest that the proposed method will be of great value for brain image reconstruction, fusion, and statistical comparison analysis.