bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exactness Conditions for Semidefinite Programming Relaxations of Generalization of the Extended Trust Region Subproblem
Authors: Jiang Rujun , Li Duan
Published: August 2022

The extended trust region subproblem (ETRS) of minimizing a quadratic objective over the unit ball with additional linear constraints has attracted a lot of attention in the last few years because of its theoretical significance and wide spectra of applications. Several sufficient conditions to guarantee the exactness of its semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation have been recently developed in the literature. In this paper, we consider a generalization of the extended trust region subproblem (GETRS), in which the unit ball constraint in the ETRS is replaced by a general, possibly nonconvex, quadratic constraint, and the linear constraints are replaced by a conic linear constraint. We derive sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the exactness of the SDP relaxation of the GETRS under mild assumptions. Our main tools are two classes of convex relaxations for the GETRS based on either a simultaneous diagonalization transformation of the quadratic forms or linear combinations of the quadratic forms. We also compare our results to the existing sufficient conditions in the literature. Finally, we extend our results to derive a new sufficient condition for the exactness of the SDP relaxation of general diagonal quadratically constrained quadratic programs, where each quadratic function is associated with a diagonal matrix.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 11801087, 12171100, 72161160340]; Hong Kong Research Grants Council [Grants 14213716 and 14202017]; and Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai [Grant 22ZR1405100].
Enhanced Balancing of Bias-Variance Tradeoff in Stochastic Estimation: A Minimax Perspective
Authors: Lam Henry , Zhang Xinyu , Zhang Xuhui
Published: August 2022

In “Enhanced Balancing of Bias-Variance Tradeoff in Stochastic Estimation: A Minimax Perspective”, the authors study a framework to construct new classes of stochastic estimators that can consistently beat existing benchmarks regardless of key model parameter values. Oftentimes biased estimators, such as finite-difference estimators in black box stochastic gradient estimation, require selection of tuning parameters to balance bias and variance and ultimately minimize overall errors. Unfortunately, this relies on model knowledge that is unknown a priori and thus leads to ad hoc choices in practice. The authors introduce a new notion called asymptotic minimax risk ratio, which is designed to compare new estimators against existing benchmarks, whose values less than one imply that the new estimators could asymptotically outperform the benchmarks regardless of the model parameter value. Based on this, the authors study an outperforming weighting scheme by explicitly analyzing the asymptotic minimax risk ratio via a tractable reformulation of a nonconvex optimization problem.
Establishing health visitors’ professional identity
Authors: Seaman Helen Elizabeth
Published: August 2022

Although literature has often alluded to health visitors’ professional identity, a comprehensive definition of what this was remained elusive. Health visitors’ professional identity is important and forms a framework underpinning practice. Health visitors need to know, and feel secure in, who they are and what they do in order for them to practise effectively as public health practitioners and make a positive health difference to their clients’ lives. A qualitative extended study was carried out to investigate how service changes affected health visitors’ professional identity. Twenty health visitors were interviewed over 22 months using interpretative phenomenological analysis, combined with an art-based approach. The study model comprised a literature review and the health visitors’ understanding of their identity and professional identity. This article describes how a comprehensive definition of professional identity was established; how, and in what ways, service changes affected the participants’ professional identity, along with recommendations and implications for policy and practice, will be addressed at a later date.
A depleted workforce
Authors: Oldman Crystal
Published: August 2022

The decline of the nursing and health visiting workforce in the community appears to be in conflict with the aims and objectives of the NHS Long Term Plan, says Crystal Oldman. Where is the workforce plan to address the problem?
Elastic net-based non-negative iterative three-operator splitting strategy for Cerenkov luminescence tomography
Authors: Chen Yi , Li Weitong , Du Mengfei , Su Linzhi , Yi Huangjian , Zhao Fengjun , Li Kang , Wang Lin , Cao Xin
Published: August 2022

Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) provides a powerful optical molecular imaging technique for non-invasive detection and visualization of radiopharmaceuticals in living objects. However, the severe photon scattering effect causes ill-posedness of the inverse problem, and the location accuracy and shape recovery of CLT reconstruction results are unsatisfactory for clinical application. Here, to improve the reconstruction spatial location accuracy and shape recovery ability, a non-negative iterative three operator splitting (NNITOS) strategy based on elastic net (EN) regularization was proposed. NNITOS formalizes the CLT reconstruction as a non-convex optimization problem and splits it into three operators, the least square, L1/2-norm regularization, and adaptive grouping manifold learning, then iteratively solved them. After stepwise iterations, the result of NNITOS converged progressively. Meanwhile, to speed up the convergence and ensure the sparsity of the solution, shrinking the region of interest was utilized in this strategy. To verify the effectiveness of the method, numerical simulations and in vivo experiments were performed. The result of these experiments demonstrated that, compared to several methods, NNITOS can achieve superior performance in terms of location accuracy, shape recovery capability, and robustness. We hope this work can accelerate the clinical application of CLT in the future.
Fundamental efficiency bound for quantum coherent energy transfer in nanophotonics
Authors: Cortes Cristian L. , Sun Wenbo , Jacob Zubin
Published: August 2022

We derive a unified quantum theory of coherent and incoherent energy transfer between two atoms (donor and acceptor) valid in arbitrary Markovian nanophotonic environments. Our theory predicts a fundamental bound

η

m
a
x

=

γ
a

γ
d

+

γ
a

for energy transfer efficiency arising from the spontaneous emission rates γ
d
and γ
a
of the donor and acceptor. We propose the control of the acceptor spontaneous emission rate as a new design principle for enhancing energy transfer efficiency. We predict an experiment using mirrors to enhance the efficiency bound by exploiting the dipole orientations of the donor and acceptor. Of fundamental interest, we show that while quantum coherence implies the ultimate efficiency bound has been reached, reaching the ultimate efficiency does not require quantum coherence. Our work paves the way towards nanophotonic analogues of efficiency-enhancing environments known in quantum biological systems.
High-performance lithium-niobate-on-insulator optical filter based on multimode waveguide gratings
Authors: He Jianghao , Liu Dajian , Pan Bingcheng , Huang Yishu , Zhu Mingyu , Zhang Ming , Dai Daoxin
Published: August 2022

A high-performance optical filter is proposed and realized with multimode waveguide grating (MWG) and two-mode multiplexers on the x-cut lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) platform for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The present optical filter is designed appropriately to avoid material anisotropy as well as mode hybridness, and has a low excess loss of 0.05 dB and a high sidelobe suppression ratio (SLSR) of 32 dB in theory with Gaussian apodization. The fabricated filters show a box-like response with 1-dB bandwidth of 6–23 nm, excess loss of ∼0.15 dB, sidelobe suppression ratio of >26 dB. The device performance is further improved with a sidelobe suppression ratio as high as 48 dB and a low excess loss of ∼0.25 dB by cascading two identical MWGs.
Acoustic-resolution-based spectroscopic photoacoustic endoscopy towards molecular imaging in deep tissues
Authors: Xiao Jiaying , Jiang Jinsheng , Zhang Jiaxi , Wang Yongjun , Wang Bo
Published: August 2022

Due to many technical difficulties, the study of molecular photoacoustic endoscopic (PAE) imaging in deep tissues is limited. In this work, we have set up a multimodal acoustic-resolution-based PAE (AR-PAE) system to image the rabbit rectum and preliminarily explored the potential of molecular PAE for deep-seated targets in proof-of-concept. We developed an improved back-projection (IBP) algorithm for focused detection over the centimeter-scale imaging depth. We also developed a deep-learning-based algorithm to remove the electrical noise from the step motor to prevent data averaging for reduced scanning time. We injected a dose of indocyanine green (ICG) near the rabbit rectum and compared 2D and 3D photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) images at different wavelengths. We proposed incorporating a small camera to guide the slow PA/US endoscopic scan. Results show that this system has achieved a lateral resolution of about 0.77/0.65 mm for PA/US images with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25/38 dB at an imaging depth of 1.4 cm. We found that the rectum wall and the ICG can be well distinguished spectroscopically. Results also show that the PA images at 532 nm have higher signal intensity and reflection artifacts from pelvic tendons and bones than those at longer wavelengths such as 800 nm. The proposed methods and the intuitive findings in this work may guide and promote the development of high-penetration molecular PAE.
Mid-infrared ultra-broadband optical Kerr frequency comb based on a CdTe ring microresonator: a theoretical investigation
Authors: Lu Siyi , Liu Xin , Shi Yaqi , Yang Hang , Long Zhe , Li Yang , Wu Han , Liang Houkun
Published: August 2022

Microresonator Kerr frequency combs are coherent light sources that emit broadband spectrum of evenly spaced narrow lines in an optical microresonator, which provide breakthroughs in many technological areas, such as spectroscopy, metrology, optical telecommunications, and molecular sensing. The development of mid-infrared (MIR) optical frequency comb (OFC) based on microresonators could pave the way for high performance spectroscopy in the MIR “molecular fingerprint” region. However, the generation of microresonator MIR OFC, especially towards the long-wavelength MIR (>10 µm) region, is prohibited by the transmission window of the commonly used Kerr optical media such as Si and Si3N4, and low nonlinearity at long wavelengths. Here, we seek the possibility to realize an ultra-broadband frequency comb operating in the long-wavelength MIR region based on a cadmium telluride (CdTe) ring microresonator. CdTe features a broad transmission range covering the wavelengths of 1∼25 µm, a flat dispersion profile, and an extraordinary third-order nonlinear refractive index (∼1.4 × 10−17 m2W−1 at 7 µm) which is 2-order greater than that of Si3N4, making it a promising platform to realize MIR Kerr frequency comb. Based on the above excellent optical properties, we design a CdTe/cadmium sulfide (CdS)/Si heterojunction microring resonator to generate an ultra-broadband MIR OFC. Through the numerical simulation, the geometric parameters (width, height, and radius) of the microresonator, polarization, wavelength of the pump, and quality factor are investigated and optimized. As a result, a MIR OFC covering 3.5∼18 µm is numerically demonstrated by using the pump wavelength of 7 µm and a pump power of 500 mW. This is the first simulation demonstration of Kerr OFC with the spectral range extending beyond 10 µm, to the best of our knowledge. This work provides new opportunities for the realization of ultrabroad microresonator frequency combs based on novel Kerr optical medium, which can find important applications ranging from calibration of astronomical spectrographs to high-fidelity molecular spectroscopy.
Dual-channel anticounterfeiting color-nanoprinting with a single-size nanostructured metasurface
Authors: Dai Qi , Zhu Guodong , Zhang Weiguo , Li Jiaxin , Li Zile , Cui Hao , Wei Kai , He Zhixue , Guan Zhiqiang , Zheng Guoxing
Published: August 2022

Metasurface-based structural-colors are usually implemented by changing the dimensions of nanostructures to produce different spectral responses. Therefore, a single-size nanostructured metasurface usually cannot display structural-colors since it has only one design degree of freedom (DOF), i.e., the orientation angles of nanostructures. Here, we show structural-color nanoprinting images can be generated with a single-size nanostructured metasurface, enabled by designing the anisotropic nanostructure with different spectral responses along its long- and short-axis directions, respectively. More interestingly, the concept of orientation degeneracy of nanostructures can be applied in the metasurface design, which shows two spectral modulations can be implemented under different polarization directions of output light, thus extending the color-nanoprinting from single-channel to dual-channel. The proposed dual-channel metasurface used for anticounterfeiting color-nanoprinting has presented the advantages of ultra-compactness, high information capacity, and vivid colors, which can develop broad applications in fields such as high-end anticounterfeiting, high-density information storage, optical encryption, etc.
Consistent pattern printing of the gap structure in femtosecond laser DMD projection lithography
Authors: Wang Tian-Wei , Dong Xian-Zi , Jin Feng , Zhao Yuan-Yuan , Liu Xiang-Yang , Zheng Mei-Ling , Duan Xuan-Ming
Published: August 2022

Maskless lithography technologies have been developed and played an important role in the fabrication of functional micronano devices for microelectronics, biochips and photonics. Optical projection lithography based on digital micromirror device (DMD) is an efficient maskless lithography technology that can rapidly fabricate complex structures. The precise modulation of gap width by DMD maskless optical projection lithography (MOPL) using femtosecond laser becomes important for achieving micronano structures. Herein, we have investigated the relationship between the structure morphology and the light intensity distribution at the image plane by multi-slit diffraction model and Abbe imaging principle, and optimized the gap width more accurately by modulating exposure energy. The aperture diameter of the objective lens has a substantial effect on the pattern consistency. The continuously adjustable structural gap widths of 2144 nm, 2158 nm and 1703 nm corresponding to 6, 12, 24 pixels are obtained by varying the exposure energy in the home-built MOPL system. However, the ideal gap structure cannot be obtained only by adjusting the exposure energy when the gap width is small, such as 1 or 2 pixels. Furthermore, we have proposed an alternative way to achieve fine gap structures through the structural decomposition design and precise control of exposure energy in different regions without changing the MOPL optical system. This study would provide a promising protocol for fabricating gap microstructures with controllable configuration using MOPL technique.
Mitigating speckle noise in a laser Doppler vibrometer using Fourier analysis
Authors: Jin Yang , Li Zili
Published: August 2022

We propose two strategies for eliminating the speckle noise in a laser Doppler vibrometer according to Fourier analysis. Fourier transform is theoretically conducted on the speckle pattern phases, whose variation dominantly contributes to the speckle noise. The calculated and experimental frequency spectra of speckle noise both present oscillations of the frequency series (frequency peaks have constant intervals). (1) A low-pass filter can remove the noise if the vibration frequency is far lower than the first frequency peak of the noise. (2) The vibration energy can be revealed by removing the oscillating frequency trend. Physical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of both despeckling strategies.
Photoacoustic testing of shear viscoelastic properties of soft tissues using annular beam illumination
Authors: Zhao Zijie , Zou Jun
Published: August 2022

This Letter reports a new, to the best of our knowledge, photoacoustic excitation method for evaluating the shear viscoelastic properties of soft tissues. By illuminating the target surface with an annular pulsed laser beam, circularly converging surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are generated, focused, and detected at the center of the annular beam. The shear elasticity and shear viscosity of the target are extracted from the dispersive phase velocity of the SAWs based on the Kelvin–Voigt model and nonlinear regression fitting. Agar phantoms with different concentrations, and animal liver and fat tissue samples have successfully been characterized. Different from previous methods, the self-focusing of the converging SAWs allows sufficient SNR to be obtained even with low pulsed laser energy density, which makes this approach well compatible with soft tissues under both ex vivo and in vivo testing conditions.
Post chemical etching of tapered seven-core fiber sensor for enhanced figure of merit
Authors: Tian Zhen , Yao Yicun , Yuan Jinhui , Zhang Liqiang , Chen Nan-Kuang , Zhang Yanqing , Wang Minghong , Wu Qiang
Published: August 2022

A post chemical etching process to a tapered seven-core fiber (TSCF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated to effectively adjust the mode profiles of high-order supermodes, aimed to improve the figure of merit (FOM). The experimental results show that the FOM of an etched TSCF is as high as 1431.36 1/RIU, a 7.32-times enhancement compared with that of TSCF without etching, provided the TSCF has the same taper waist diameter of 19.20 µm. The proposed method opens a new, to the best of our knowledge, method for optimizing optical fiber sensor performance.
Mid-infrared fiber gas amplifier in acetylene-filled hollow-core fiber
Authors: Huang Wei , Zhou Zhiyue , Cui Yulong , Wang Zefeng , Chen Jinbao
Published: August 2022

We report here the first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of a mid-infrared (mid-IR) fiber gas amplifier based on acetylene-filled hollow-core fibers. A quasi-all-fiber structure fiber acetylene laser in a single-pass configuration is used as a seed. The injection of the seed removes the threshold and increases the laser efficiency, which are more pronounced at high pressure. In a 3.1-m HCF filled with 2.5 mbar of acetylene, the fiber gas amplifier shows a conversion efficiency (relative to the coupled pump power) of 22.2% at 3.1 µm, which is increased by 35% compared with that without the seed. Both the seed laser and the amplifier laser have good beam quality with M2 < 1.1. It is predictable that such a fiber gas amplifier can achieve a more efficient and higher power mid-IR output for other selected molecular species compared with the single-pass structure, which is beneficial to the development of high-power mid-IR fiber gas lasers.
Integrated communication and polarization sensing in self-homodyne coherent systems
Authors: Zeng Yifan , Wang Xuefeng , Li Weihao , Wang Li , Tang Ming
Published: August 2022

We propose and demonstrate an integrated polarization sensing technique by fully exploiting the adaptive polarization controller (APC) in a self-homodyne coherent (SHC) communication system. By analyzing the APC control signal, the input state of polarization (SOP) can be fully restored. The effect of the polarization tracking results on sensing accuracy is carefully studied in simulation to determine the acceptable SOP rotation speed. We experimentally restore the SOP rotation trajectory using an APC, conduct a comparison with a polarization analysis instrument, and verify its potential as a polarization measurement. Finally, without additional components or burdening digital signal processing (DSP), in-service detections of up to 400-Hz vibration and 2.4-nε micro-strain are achieved in the operated SHC system with 400-Gb/s DP-16QAM transmission.
Local laser oxidation of titanium film for the post-fabrication trimming of photonic integrated circuits
Authors: Tronev Aleksandr V. , Parfenov Mikhail V. , Bozhko Sergey I. , Ionov Andrey M. , Mozhchil Rais N. , Chekmazov Sergey V. , Agruzov Petr M. , Ilichev Igor V. , Shamrai Aleksandr V.
Published: August 2022

Local laser oxidation of a thin titanium film is considered as a means of a precise adjustment of losses and effective refractive index of dielectric optical waveguides. A fine phase control of an operating point and extinction ratio enhancement up to 57 dB were demonstrated using an integrated optical Ti:LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder modulator. This technique only slightly affects the dielectric waveguide material and is very promising for a high precision permanent trimming of photonic devices based on dielectric waveguides of different material platforms and fabrication technologies.
Tuft Cells Are Present in Submandibular Glands Across Species
Authors: Tavares dos Santos Harim , Nam Kihoon , Maslow Frank M. , Small Travis , Galloway Tabitha L.I. , Dooley Laura M. , Tassone Patrick T. , Zitsch Robert P. , Weisman Gary A. , Baker Olga J.
Published: August 2022

Tuft cells are bottle-shaped, microvilli-projecting chemosensory cells located in the lining of a variety of epithelial tissues and, following their identification approximately 60 years ago, have been linked to immune system function in a variety of epithelia. Until recently, Tuft cells had not been convincingly demonstrated to be present in salivary glands with their detection by transmission electron microscopy only shown in a handful of earlier studies using rat salivary glands, and no follow-up work has been conducted to verify their presence in salivary glands of other species. Here, we demonstrate that Tuft cells are present in the submandibular glands of various species (i.e., mouse, pig and human) using transmission electron microscopy and confocal immunofluorescent analysis for the POU class 2 homeobox 3 (POU2F3), which is considered to be a master regulator of Tuft cell identity.
The influence of the pavement friction coefficient evolution caused by traffic flow on the risk of motorway horizontal curves
Authors: Xu Guilong , Xu Jinliang , Shan Huagang , Gao Chao , Ran Jinsong , Ma Yongji , Yao Yuhong
Published: August 2022

The friction coefficient between the tire and the road is one of the key parameters affecting road traffic safety. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the risk of skidding for the vehicles due to the friction evolution caused by the traffic polishing in the horizontal curve. Based on the reliability theory, an innovative dynamic risk assessment model is developed in the present study for passenger cars and trucks. The influence of two traffic characteristics for pavement friction is quantified: cumulative traffic volume (CTV) and annual average daily traffic of trucks (AADTT). The speed distribution on the horizontal curve of the motorway is obtained through field experiments as the basic parameter of the model. The Hasofer-Lind Method is adopted to solve the reliability and the risk probability of vehicle skidding. The results show that in the traffic characteristics, the AADTT has a significant impact on the pavement friction; When the AADTT on the road exceeds 2000 veh/d, the increasing CTV leads to friction decrease rapidly and therefore has a significant impact on the risk of horizontal curve. Especially for roads with more than 50 million vehicles of the CTV, the risk of the horizontal curve shows a sharp increase with CTV rising. The research results can provide reference for the road maintenance department to determine the timing of road maintenance.
Squalene in oil-based adjuvant improves the immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 RBD and confirms safety in animal models
Authors: Choque-Guevara Ricardo , Poma-Acevedo Astrid , Montesinos-Millán Ricardo , Rios-Matos Dora , Gutiérrez-Manchay Kristel , Montalvan-Avalos Angela , Quiñones-Garcia Stefany , Cauti-Mendoza Maria de Grecia , Agurto-Arteaga Andres , Ramirez-Ortiz Ingrid , Criollo-Orozco Manuel , Huaccachi-Gonzales Edison , Romero Yomara K. , Perez-Martinez Norma , Isasi-Rivas Gisela , Sernaque-Aguilar Yacory , Villanueva-Pérez Doris , Ygnacio Freddy , Vallejos-Sánchez Katherine , Fernández-Sánchez Manolo , Guevara-Sarmiento Luis A. , Fernández-Díaz Manolo , Zimic Mirko ,   for the COVID-19 Working Group in Perú
Published: August 2022

COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of vaccines against its etiologic agent, SARS-CoV-2. However, the emergence of new variants of the virus lead to the generation of new alternatives to improve the current sub-unit vaccines in development. In the present report, the immunogenicity of the Spike RBD of SARS-CoV-2 formulated with an oil-in-water emulsion and a water-in-oil emulsion with squalene was evaluated in mice and hamsters. The RBD protein was expressed in insect cells and purified by chromatography until >95% purity. The protein was shown to have the appropriate folding as determined by ELISA and flow cytometry binding assays to its receptor, as well as by its detection by hamster immune anti-S1 sera under non-reducing conditions. In immunization assays, although the cellular immune response elicited by both adjuvants were similar, the formulation based in water-in-oil emulsion and squalene generated an earlier humoral response as determined by ELISA. Similarly, this formulation was able to stimulate neutralizing antibodies in hamsters. The vaccine candidate was shown to be safe, as demonstrated by the histopathological analysis in lungs, liver and kidney. These results have shown the potential of this formulation vaccine to be evaluated in a challenge against SARS-CoV-2 and determine its ability to confer protection.
A direct shear apparatus for intact rock under dynamic moisture content
Authors: Ma Liyao , Hu Bin , Cui Kai , Wei Erjian , Zhang Zhen , Wang Zeqi
Published: August 2022

Under field conditions, the moisture content of rock changes with the weather during prolonged creep. In order to investigate the effect of moisture content change on long-term shear strength and deformation behavior, a shear apparatus for intact rock was developed. Since three prefabricated holes are drilled in the upper part of the rock sample, the water injection device and the gas injection device can be used to inject water and gas into the rock sample alternately during the test to adjust the moisture content without removing the normal load and shear load. By using silicone gasket and seals in the shear box, fluid injection at a pressure of 5 MPa was achieved without leakage. Shear creep tests of argillaceous shale were conducted under both constant and dynamic moisture conditions, and the results were described by the Nishihara model. The experimental results revealed that there are significant differences in the long-term shear strength and deformation of argillaceous shale under different moisture content conditions. The proposed rock shear apparatus can advance the quantitative study of the shear creep properties of rock samples during moisture content changes and has certain practical application value for the prediction of engineering rock mass stability during rainfall.
Saturation flow rate analysis for special width approach lanes: An empirical study in Karlsruhe, Germany
Authors: Xu Jingqi , Kigen Kevin K. , Xu Dalin , Wang Shilin , Gu Min , Liu Xinyu , Zhao Jing
Published: August 2022

The special width approach lane (SWAL) is a newly proposed unconventional design, whereby a wide approach lane is divided into two narrower lanes. The design entails the use of a single lane by two passenger cars or one heavy vehicle. Such design has been applicated at signalized intersections of Karlsruhe, Germany. This paper focuses on the saturation flow rate analysis since most existing studies on such design rely on the default highway capacity manual (HCM) values. Saturation flow rate data was collected at four SWAL design based signalized intersections with procedural steps of the HCM 2010 using the video camera. The two-sample t-test was performed to explore the potential influencing factors, and then the non-linear regression analysis was conducted to estimate the saturation flow rate of SWAL. The proposed model can effectively depict the saturation flow rate with lane marking, presence of cyclists, and rainfall being the influencing factors. The overall accuracy of the proposed model is about 95%. The results indicate that the three influencing factors are independent of each other. The existence of cyclists and rainfall lead to a decrease in the saturation flow rate, while the lane markings can improve the saturation flow rate. Moreover, the SWAL works well in Karlsruhe, Germany. The model predicts a base saturation flow rate value of 1652 pcu/h/ln, which is plausible with comparison of the base saturation flow rate recommended in the German Highway Capacity Manual.
Association between serum chloride levels with mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: An observational multicenter study employing the eICU database
Authors: Zhu Xu , Xue Jing , Liu Zheng , Dai Wenjie , Xiang Jingsha , Xu Hui , Zhou Qiaoling , Zhou Quan , Chen Wenhang
Published: August 2022

Objective

The effect of the serum chloride (Cl) level on mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) remains unknown. We sought an association between mortality and serum Cl.

Methods

We identified AKI patients in the eICU Collaborative Research Database from 2014 to 2015 at 208 US hospitals. The outcomes included in-hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. Time-varying covariates Cox regression models and the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves were used to assess the association between serum Cl levels and mortality. Multivariable adjusted restricted cubic spline models were used to analyze the potential nonlinear relationship between mortality and serum Cl.

Results

In total, 4,234 AKI patients were included in the study. Compared with normochloremia (98≤chloride<108mEq/L), hypochloremia (Cl<98mEq/L) was associated with mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] for in-hospital mortality 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20–1.80, P = 0.0003; adjusted HR for ICU mortality 1.37, 95% CI 1.05–1.80, P = 0.0187). Hyperchloremia showed no significant difference in mortality compared to normochloremia (adjusted HR for in-hospital mortality 0.89, 95% CI 0.76–1.04, P = 0.1438; adjusted HR for ICU mortality 0.87, 95% CI 0.72–1.06, P = 0.1712). Smoothing curves revealed continuous non-linear associations between serum Cl levels and mortality. The K-M curve showed that patients with hypochloremia presented with a lower survival rate.

Conclusions

Lower serum Cl levels after ICU admission was associated with increased in-hospital and ICU mortality in critically ill patients with AKI. The results should be verified in well-designed prospective studies.
A qualitative investigation of organizational challenges and facilitators to screening individuals experiencing homelessness for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Houston, Texas
Authors: Celeste-Villalvir Alane , Wilkerson J. Michael , Markham Christine , Rodriguez Lourdes , Schick Vanessa
Published: August 2022

Background

Individuals experiencing homelessness may be at a disproportionately high risk for hepatitis C (HCV) because they may be more likely to engage in HCV risk behaviors. Community organizations that provide services to these vulnerable individuals can effectively screen, diagnose, and navigate them into HCV care. However, screening people experiencing homelessness for HCV at such organizations is limited by various challenges that remain understudied, including budgetary considerations and strategies to improve teamwork and communication. Accordingly, this study investigated the organizational challenges and facilitators to HCV screening of individuals experiencing homelessness as reported by homeless services providers.

Methods

Staff (N = 21) at two community organizations in Houston, Texas, completed an interviewer-administered survey and a semi-structured interview in August 2020 to assess the challenges and facilitators to screening people experiencing homelessness for HCV. Interviews were coded, and a thematic analysis was conducted to identify challenges as well as facilitators to HCV screening among individuals experiencing homelessness.

Results

Almost half of participants were employed in social services (42.86%; n = 9), while the remainder were employed in management/administration and health services. Barriers to HCV screening included funding, logistics, and resource-related challenges; and limited communication and collaboration around HCV screening. Facilitators to HCV screening included providing HCV education and training for all staff; and incentivizing, formalizing, and funding HCV screening.

Conclusions

Community organizations can help minimize barriers to HCV screening among individuals experiencing homelessness by providing staff with training specific to HCV, client education around HCV and the screening process, and providing clients with incentives for participation, as well as by maximizing community and clinic partnerships to provide linkage to care and services to this high-risk population.
Atrous residual convolutional neural network based on U-Net for retinal vessel segmentation
Authors: Wu Jin , Liu Yong , Zhu Yuanpei , Li Zun
Published: August 2022

Extracting features of retinal vessels from fundus images plays an essential role in computer-aided diagnosis of diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cerebrovascular diseases. Although a number of deep learning-based methods have been used in this field, the accuracy of retinal vessel segmentation remains challenging due to limited densely annotated data, inter-vessel differences, and structured prediction problems, especially in areas of small blood vessels and the optic disk. In this paper, we propose an ARN model with a atrous block to address these issues, which can avoid the loss of data structure, and enlarge the receptive field, so that each convolution output contains a larger range of information. In addition, we also introduce residual convolution network to increase the network depth and improve the network performance.Some key parameters are used to measure the feasibility of the model, such as sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), F1-score (F1), accuracy (Acc), and area under each curve (AUC). Experimental results on two benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods, which accuracy are 0.9686 on the DRIVE and 0.9746 on the CHASE DB1. The segmentation structure can assist the doctor in diagnosis more effectively.
Waste treatment innovation for infusion bottles using soil solution
Authors: Marsum Marsum , Sunarto Sunarto , Widodo Widodo , Khayan Khayan , Wardoyo Slamet
Published: August 2022

The amount of medical waste, especially infusion bottles, is a problem for environmental pollution. Improper management of infusion bottle waste can have an impact on disease transmission. The medical waste treatment used high technology and high costs will be a financial burden, so simple and effective treatment innovations is needed. This study uses an experimental method of removing bacteria from infusion bottles using a mixture of water and Andoso soil as a solution for washing infusion bottle waste. The soil solution concentration used in washing was 45% with a contact time of 2 minutes. The experiment was carried out with two repetitions. The treatment effect on decreasing the number of bacteria using a multiple linear regression mathematical model. The results showed that the disinfection process of bacterial-contaminated infusion bottles using water required rinsing up to six times, whereas using 45% andosol soil solution only rinsed once. The effectiveness of the disinfection of infusion bottles contaminated with bacteria using soil solution reduces the number of bacteria by 98%.
Pro-inflammatory cytokines in aqueous humor from dogs with anterior uveitis and post-operative ocular hypertension following phacoemulsification, primary glaucoma, and normal healthy eyes
Authors: Terhaar Hannah M. , Henriksen Michala de Linde , Uhl Lisa K. , Boeckling Corey , Mehaffy Carolina , Hess Ann , Lappin Michael R.
Published: August 2022

Background

The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in aqueous humor (AH) from dogs with anterior uveitis and post-operative ocular hypertension (POH) following phacoemulsification, in AH from dogs with primary glaucoma, and in normal healthy eyes with no signs of anterior uveitis or other ocular diseases.

Methods

An exploratory study including 21 samples of AH collected from 15 dogs; post-phacoemulsification with anterior uveitis and POH (‘POH group’, n = 10 samples), primary glaucoma (‘glaucoma group’, n = 6 samples), and normal (‘normal group’, n = 5 samples). Target mass spectrometry via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM-MS) with the Canine Cytokine SpikeMix™ as internal standard was used to measure the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.

Results

The MRM-MS method measured 15 pro-inflammatory cytokines. Tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels in AH were different between all three groups (glaucoma>POH>normal) (p =.05,p =.02, respectively). Additionally, IL-6 was higher in the ‘POH group’ compared to the ‘glaucoma group’ (p =.04) and IL-4 was higher in the ‘POH group’ compared to the ‘normal group’ (p =.04). Intraocular pressure (IOP) was positively associated with increased AH levels of IL-18 (Spearman correlation = .64,p= .03).

Conclusions

MRM-MS using the Canine Cytokine SpikeMix™ as an internal standard was established as a method to detect pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in canine AH. The study demonstrated increased levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-18, and TNFα in AH from canines with POH following phacoemulsification. Primary glaucomatous eyes had the highest levels of IL-18 and TNFα which may indicate that inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of primary glaucoma in dogs.
Differences in the subgingival microbiome according to stage of periodontitis: A comparison of two geographic regions
Authors: Lafaurie Gloria Inés , Neuta Yineth , Ríos Rafael , Pacheco-Montealegre Mauricio , Pianeta Roquelina , Castillo Diana Marcela , Herrera David , Reyes Jinnethe , Diaz Lorena , Castillo Yormaris , Sanz Mariano , Iniesta Margarita
Published: August 2022

No microbiological criteria were included in the 2018 EFP-AAP classification of periodontal diseases that could be used to differentiate between stages and grades. Furthermore, differences in the subgingival microbiome depending on stage and grade have not been established. Sixty subgingival biofilm samples were collected in Spain (n = 30) and Colombia (n = 30) from three distinct patient categories: those with periodontal health/gingivitis (n = 20), those with stage I-II periodontitis (n = 20), and those with stage III-IV periodontitis (n = 20). Patients were evaluated by 16S rRNA gene amplification sequencing. Amplicon sequence variants were used to assign taxonomic categories compared to the Human Oral Microbiome Database (threshold ≥97% identity). Alpha diversity was established by Shannon and Simpson indices, and principal coordinate analysis, ANOSIM, and PERMANOVA of the UNIFRAC distances were performed using QIIME2. Although differences in the alpha diversity were observed between samples according to country, Filifactor alocis, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-4] bacterium HMT 369, Fretibacterium fastidiosum, Lachnospiraceae [G-8] bacterium HMT 500, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-5] [Eubacterium] saphenum, Peptostreptococcus stomatis, and Tannerella forsythia were associated with periodontitis sites in all stages. However, only F. alocis, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-4] bacterium HMT 369, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-9] [Eubacterium] brachy, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-5] [Eubacterium] saphenum, and Desulfobulbus sp. HMT 041 were consistent in stage III-IV periodontitis in both countries. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia were differentially expressed in severe lesions in the countries studied. Although some non-cultivable microorganisms showed differential patterns between the different stages of periodontitis, they were not the same in the two countries evaluated. Further studies using larger samples with advanced next-generation techniques for high-throughput sequencing of phyla and non-cultivable bacteria within the subgingival microbiome could provide more insight into the differences between stages of periodontitis.
Blood-biomarkers and devices for atrial fibrillation screening: Lessons learned from the AFRICAT (Atrial Fibrillation Research In CATalonia) study
Authors: Palà Elena , Bustamante Alejandro , Clúa-Espuny Josep Lluis , Acosta Juan , González-Loyola Felipe , Santos Sara Dos , Ribas-Segui Domingo , Ballesta-Ors Juan , Penalba Anna , Giralt Marina , Lechuga-Duran Iñigo , Gentille-Lorente Delicia , Pedrote Alonso , Muñoz Miguel Ángel , Montaner Joan
Published: August 2022

Background and objective

AFRICAT is a prospective cohort study intending to develop an atrial fibrillation (AF) screening program through the combination of blood markers, rhythm detection devices, and long-term monitoring in our community. In particular, we aimed to validate the use of NT-proBNP, and identify new blood biomarkers associated with AF. Also, we aimed to compare AF detection using various wearables and long-term Holter monitoring.

Methods

359 subjects aged 65–75 years with hypertension and diabetes were included in two phases: Phase I (n = 100) and Phase II (n = 259). AF diagnosis was performed by baseline 12-lead ECG, 4 weeks of Holter monitoring (NuuboTM), and/or medical history. An aptamer array including 1310 proteins was measured in the blood of 26 patients. Candidates were selected according to p-value, logFC and biological function to be tested in verification and validation phases. Several screening devices were tested and compared: AliveCor, Watch BP, MyDiagnostick and Fibricheck.

Results

AF was present in 34 subjects (9.47%). The aptamer array revealed 41 proteins with differential expression in AF individuals. TIMP-2 and ST-2 were the most promising candidates in the verification analysis, but none of them was further validated. NT-proBNP (log-transformed) (OR = 1.934; p<0.001) was the only independent biomarker to detect AF in the whole cohort. Compared to an ECG, WatchBP had the highest sensitivity (84.6%) and AUC (0.895 [0.780–1]), while MyDiagnostick showed the highest specificity (97.10%).

Conclusion

The inclusion and monitoring of a cohort of primary care patients for AF detection, together with the testing of biomarkers and screening devices provided useful lessons about AF screening in our community. An AF screening strategy using rhythm detection devices and short monitoring periods among high-risk patients with high NT-proBNP levels could be feasible.
Human coronaviruses disassemble processing bodies
Authors: Kleer Mariel , Mulloy Rory P. , Robinson Carolyn-Ann , Evseev Danyel , Bui-Marinos Maxwell P. , Castle Elizabeth L. , Banerjee Arinjay , Mubareka Samira , Mossman Karen , Corcoran Jennifer A.
Published: August 2022

A dysregulated proinflammatory cytokine response is characteristic of severe coronavirus infections caused by SARS-CoV-2, yet our understanding of the underlying mechanism responsible for this imbalanced immune response remains incomplete. Processing bodies (PBs) are cytoplasmic membraneless ribonucleoprotein granules that control innate immune responses by mediating the constitutive decay or suppression of mRNA transcripts, including many that encode proinflammatory cytokines. PB formation promotes turnover or suppression of cytokine RNAs, whereas PB disassembly corresponds with the increased stability and/or translation of these cytokine RNAs. Many viruses cause PB disassembly, an event that can be viewed as a switch that rapidly relieves cytokine RNA repression and permits the infected cell to respond to viral infection. Prior to this submission, no information was known about how human coronaviruses (CoVs) impacted PBs. Here, we show SARS-CoV-2 and the common cold CoVs, OC43 and 229E, induced PB loss. We screened a SARS-CoV-2 gene library and identified that expression of the viral nucleocapsid (N) protein from SARS-CoV-2 was sufficient to mediate PB disassembly. RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization revealed that transcripts encoding TNF and IL-6 localized to PBs in control cells. PB loss correlated with the increased cytoplasmic localization of these transcripts in SARS-CoV-2 N protein-expressing cells. Ectopic expression of the N proteins from five other human coronaviruses (OC43, MERS, 229E, NL63 and SARS-CoV) did not cause significant PB disassembly, suggesting that this feature is unique to SARS-CoV-2 N protein. These data suggest that SARS-CoV-2-mediated PB disassembly contributes to the dysregulation of proinflammatory cytokine production observed during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Spain’s historical debt to Western Sahara: An interview with Eoghan Gilmartin
Authors: Kelly Deirdre
Published: August 2022

In March 2022, the Spanish government, under socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, broke with five decades of neutrality on Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. Sánchez sent a letter to Moroccan King Mohammed VI, supporting Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan for Western Sahara within the Moroccan state. Madrid-based journalist, Eoghan Gilmartin, discusses Spain’s historical debt to Western Sahara, Spanish–Moroccan relations, Spanish contemporary politics and the current energy crisis. Gilmartin’s work has appeared in publications including Jacobin Magazine, Tribune Magazine, Open Democracy, Novara Media and CTXT. He was interviewed on 20 May 2022 by Deirdre Kelly, a lecturer in Spanish at Technological University Dublin. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Autonomy and agency: The event of punk
Authors: Cashell K. (K. C.)
Published: August 2022

This article interrogates the contested politics of punk. Against the reactionary trend to accept the ephemerality of punk as evidence of its obvious failure, its political naivete and subsequent recuperation, I defend the continuing relevance of punk precisely as a political project. Identified as an event in Badiou’s sense, punk erupts spontaneously in parallel with complementary European resistance movements and, for a brief incandescent moment, convulses history, placing all criteria of meaning and value in question. So, even if it ‘disappeared just as quickly’, punk survives its transience through people who, haunted by its emancipatory promise and radicalized by its ‘aesthetics of resistance’, are motivated to ‘a new way of being’ in its memory. Channelling the late Mark Fisher (aka k-punk), this article recovers the lost politics of punk, invoking its fidelity to social transformation through autonomous cultural practice to fulfil its revolutionary promise. The argument concludes that, far from an exhausted ‘musical genre’, the event of punk remains efficacious precisely because it is not reducible to any of its actual historical iterations.