bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
First Clinical Results of a New Generation of Ablative Solid-State Lasers
Authors: Pajic Bojan , Pajic-Eggspuehler Brigitte , Cvejic Zeljka , Rathjen Christian , Ruff Viktor
Published: January 2023

In the early 2000s, solid-state lasers emerged as an alternative technology to excimer systems in refractive surgery. Despite some technological limits at the time, good clinical results could be achieved with solid-state laser systems. This prospective case series reports clinical outcomes of five eyes treated with a newly developed solid-state laser system (AquariuZ) in three patients. Patients underwent preoperative examination, including corneal topo-and tomography, aberrometry, and confocal microscopy. All patients received a femtosecond LASIK with the Ziemer LDV Z8, a refractive treatment with the AquariuZ solid-state ablation laser, and were then followed up for a period of up to 12 months. The applied aspheric optimized profiles did not induce higher-order aberrations nor spherical aberration in any of these operated subjects. No eye lost BCVA lines throughout the duration of the follow-up. Six months after surgery, the safety index of patient 1 was 5, and for patients 2 and 3, it equaled 1. Confocal laser microscopy imaging findings were comparable to those seen typically for excimer lasers. The obtained results are encouraging and confirm that the new solid-state laser system is safe.
Current Advances in Gene Therapies of Genetic Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Saidia Anissa Rym , Ruel Jérôme , Bahloul Amel , Chaix Benjamin , Venail Frédéric , Wang Jing
Published: January 2023

Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) refers to a range of hearing impairments characterized by an impaired transmission of sound from the cochlea to the brain. This defect can be due to a lesion or defect in the inner hair cell (IHC), IHC ribbon synapse (e.g., pre-synaptic release of glutamate), postsynaptic terminals of the spiral ganglion neurons, or demyelination and axonal loss within the auditory nerve. To date, the only clinical treatment options for ANSD are hearing aids and cochlear implantation. However, despite the advances in hearing-aid and cochlear-implant technologies, the quality of perceived sound still cannot match that of the normal ear. Recent advanced genetic diagnostics and clinical audiology made it possible to identify the precise site of a lesion and to characterize the specific disease mechanisms of ANSD, thus bringing renewed hope to the treatment or prevention of auditory neurodegeneration. Moreover, genetic routes involving the replacement or corrective editing of mutant sequences or defected genes to repair damaged cells for the future restoration of hearing in deaf people are showing promise. In this review, we provide an update on recent discoveries in the molecular pathophysiology of genetic lesions, auditory synaptopathy and neuropathy, and gene-therapy research towards hearing restoration in rodent models and in clinical trials.
Two-Years Follow-Up of Symptoms and Return to Work in Complex Post-COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Van Wambeke Erika , Bezler Cécile , Kasprowicz Anne-Marie , Charles Anne-Laure , Andres Emmanuel , Geny Bernard
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Many COVID-19 patients present with severe long-lasting symptoms. They might benefit from a coordination team to manage such complex situations, but late efficacy still needs to be determined. Population and Methods: Out of 105 contacts, 45 patients had two phone consultations separated by personalized support 15 and 22 months, respectively, after COVID infection. Self-reported symptoms, feelings of improvement and ability to return to work allowed us to determine the efficacy of the therapeutic strategy proposed. Results: Unlike what was expected, many post-COVID-19 patients directly contacted the coordination team and had significant pre-existing comorbidities. Despite exercise, respiratory, olfactory rehabilitations, cognition/speech therapy and/or psychological support, the more frequent self-reported symptoms (fatigue, neurocognitive disorders, muscles and joint pain) did not resolve. However, dyspnea, anxiety and chest pain were significantly reduced. Finally, 2/3 of the patients felt some degree of improvement and returned to work either partially or fully, but 1/3 remained complaining of symptoms and out of work as late as 22 months after COVID occurrence. All patients greatly appreciated the second phone consultation. Conclusions: In such complex situations, besides early and adapted rehabilitations and psychological help allowing better symptom management, relatively simple actions such as a phone call might be very useful to reduce patients’ feelings of abandonment.
Cationic Polymerized Epoxy and Radiation Cured Acrylate Blend Nanocomposites Based on WS2 Nanoparticles—Part A: Curing Processes and Kinetics
Authors: Gershoni Gilad , Dodiuk Hanna , Tenne Reshef , Kenig Samuel
Published: January 2023

Cationic photo-initiated and polymerized epoxies are characterized by good adhesion, high modulus, zero volatiles, low shrinkage and living polymerization characteristics. Radiation—cured acrylate resins are characterized by rapid initial curing with increased initial strength. The combination of radiation-cured acrylates and epoxies may present advantageous attributes. Thus, the system investigated is a hybrid epoxy/methyl acrylate and three different initiators for cationic polymerization of epoxies, the radical reaction of acrylates and the thermal initiator. When incorporating additives like opaque WS2 nanoparticles (NPs), absorption of the photo radiation takes place, which may lead to low photo activity. Curing kinetics measurements revealed that the absorbing/masking effect of WS2 was insignificant, and surprisingly, the level of curing was enhanced when the WS2 NPs were incorporated. FTIR results demonstrated that covalent bonds were formed between the inorganic fullerenes (IF-WS2) and the crosslinked matrix. Viscosity measurements showed a surprising reduction of five to ten times in the low-shear viscosity upon NPs incorporation compared to neat resins. It was concluded that the decrease of viscosity by the inorganic NPs, in addition to the enhanced level of conversion, has profound advantages for structural adhesives and 3D printing resins. To the best of our knowledge, this investigation is the first to report on a radiation-induced curing system containing opaque WS2 NPs that leads to an enhanced degree of curing and reduced shear viscosity.
Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Hypersensitivity in Gifted Individuals
Authors: Gillioz Christelle , Nicolet-dit-Félix Maroussia , Fiori Marina
Published: January 2023

The goal of the present study was to investigate the associations between high intelligence, emotional intelligence (EI), and emotional hypersensitivity in a sample of 304 Mensa members. In addition, we aimed to shed light on how highly intelligent individuals process emotional information. In a previous study, we found that individuals with high EI in the general population are characterized by an attentional bias toward emotional information. We tested whether this effect holds for highly intelligent individuals by drawing on the same procedure: participants (N = 124 Mensa members) had to report a letter appearing behind a picture of a face with emotional or a neutral facial expression, and their reaction time to provide an answer was recorded. Comparing the results from the general population to those of Mensa members, we found that Mensa members did not show the attentional bias toward emotional information found in the general population. Mensa members were equally fast to evaluate letters replacing emotional and neutral expressions, and this result was not influenced by EI level. Possible explanations include the role of inhibitory processes (a factor related to intelligence), which might have contributed to treating emotional information as purely cognitive.
Offshore Measurements and Numerical Validation of the Mooring Forces on a 1:5 Scale Buoy
Authors: Engström Jens , Shahroozi Zahra , Katsidoniotaki Eirini , Stavropoulou Charitini , Johannesson Pär , Göteman  Malin
Published: January 2023

Wave energy conversion is a renewable energy technology with a promising potential. Although it has been developed for more than 200 years, the technology is still far from mature. The survivability in extreme weather conditions is a key parameter halting its development. We present here results from two weeks of measurement with a force measurement buoy deployed at Uppsala University’s test site for wave energy research at the west coast of Sweden. The collected data have been used to investigate the reliability for two typical numerical wave energy converter models: one low fidelity model based on linear wave theory and one high fidelity Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes model. The line force data is also analysed by extreme value theory using the peak-over-threshold method to study the statistical distribution of extreme forces and to predict the return period. The high fidelity model shows rather good agreement for the smaller waves, but overestimates the forces for larger waves, which can be attributed to uncertainties related to field measurements and numerical modelling uncertainties. The peak-over-threshold method gives a rather satisfying result for this data set. A significant deviation is observed in the measured force for sea states with the same significant wave height. This indicates that it will be difficult to calculate the force based on the significant wave height only, which points out the importance of more offshore experiments.
Numerical Simulation on the Local Scour Processing and Influencing Factors of Submarine Pipeline
Authors: Hu Ke , Bai Xinglan , Vaz Murilo A.
Published: January 2023

To investigate the different influencing characteristics of local scour around submarine pipelines, hydrodynamic and sediment transport two-dimensional models based on Flow-3D are used to numerically simulate the local scour around the pipeline under steady currents. An RNG k-ε turbulence model is applied to simulate the turbulent flow field around the pipeline. The instantaneous shear stress of the bed surface is taken as the starting and transporting conditions of the sediment. The simulation results of the equilibrium scour depth and terrain around the pipeline are verified with the previous experimental results, which perform with good agreement. Then, the numerical simulation method is applied to investigate the local scour process around the pipeline. The results show that shear stress is the main driving force of scour around a pipeline. The velocity, sediment grain size, pipeline diameter, and the initial gap between the pipeline and the seabed, significantly affects submarine pipeline equilibrium scour depth and terrain in varying degrees.
Rapid Magnetic Susceptibility Characterization of Coastal Morphosedimentary Units at Two Insular Strandplains in Estonia
Authors: Buynevich Ilya V. , Tõnisson Hannes , Rosentau Alar , Hang Tiit , Kont Are , Tamura Toru , Suuroja Sten , Palginõmm Valdeko , Döring Sophia F. S.
Published: January 2023

Coastal archives of changing hydrometeorological conditions include mineralogical anomalies, such as heavy-mineral concentrations (HMCs) of variable thickness and intensity, which contain varying ferrimagnetic (e.g., magnetite) fractions. As an effective alternative to laborious mineralogical and granulometric analysis, we present the first set of bulk-volume low-field magnetic susceptibility (MS) databases from beach and dune lithosomes in the Western Estonian archipelago: Harilaid cuspate foreland (westernmost Saaremaa Island) and Tahkuna strandplain (northernmost Hiiumaa Island). Readings were conducted both in situ from trench walls and on core subsamples. At the Tahkuna site, late Holocene beach ridges reveal substantially lower values: quartz-dominated dune sequences grade from 5–20 μSI downward to diamagnetically dominated (−1–7 μSI) beach facies. Values are higher (20–140 μSI) in historically reactivated parabolic dunes that are encroaching southward over the strandplain. At the Harilaid site, four beach dune ridges (height: 2–3 m) that span the past 250–300 years show a general increase in mean MS from 320–850 μSI with decreasing age, with peaks of 1000–2000 μSI below the dune crests (depth: ~0.3–0.6 m) likely related to contemporary wind acceleration during ridge aggradation. The highest mineralogical anomalies range from 2000–5500 μSI in the historic dune sections and exceed 8000 μSI along the actively eroding upper-berm segments, typical of HMCs generated by moderate storms. MS anomalies are likely correlated with high-amplitude electromagnetic signal responses in georadar records and provide useful information for optical luminescence sampling strategies. Our study demonstrates that magnetic susceptibility trends provide a useful means of rapidly assessing relative temporal changes in overall wave/wind climates, help identify and correlate discrete anomalies related to extreme events, serve as local beach/dune boundary indicators, and represent potentially quantifiable paleo-energy indices.
A Modified Wake Oscillator Model for the Cross-Flow Vortex-Induced Vibration of Rigid Cylinders with Low Mass and Damping Ratios
Authors: Zhang Xiulin , Zhang Xu , Zhou Shuni , Yang Wenzha , Xu Liangbin , Yi Lina , Tian Gengqing , Ma Yong , Hao Yuheng , Ni Wenchi
Published: January 2023

The classical wake oscillator model is capable of predicting the vortex-induced vibration response of a cylinder at high mass-damping ratios, but it fails to perform satisfactorily at low mass-damping ratios. A modified wake oscillator model is presented in this paper. The modification method involves analyzing the variation law of the add mass coefficient of the cylinder versus reduced velocity and expressing the reference lift coefficient CL0 as a function of the add mass coefficient. The modified wake oscillator model has been demonstrated to have better accuracy in capturing maximum amplitudes and flow velocity at low mass-damping ratios. However, the modified model at present form is unable to accurately predict the vortex-induced vibration response at high damping ratios. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new modification idea. In order to achieve better results when applying this modification idea to particular objects, it may be necessary to first understand the response law of these kinds of objects.
Convolutional Neural Network Predictions for Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes-Based Numerical Simulations
Authors: Abucide-Armas Alvaro , Portal-Porras Koldo , Fernandez-Gamiz Unai , Zulueta Ekaitz , Teso-Fz-Betoño Adrian
Published: January 2023

The application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to turbulent flow has been a considerable topic of research for many years. Nonetheless, using CFD tools results in a large computational cost, which implies that, for some applications, CFD may be unviable. To date, several authors have carried out research applying deep learning (DL) techniques to CFD-based simulations. One of the main applications of DL with CFD is in the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to predict which samples will have the desired magnitude. In this study, a CNN which predicts the streamwise and vertical velocities and the pressure fields downstream of a circular cylinder for a series of time instants is presented. The CNN was trained using a signed distance function (SDF), a flow region channel (FRC) and the t-1 sample as inputs, and the ground-truth CFD data as the output. The results showed that the CNN was able to predict multiple time instants with low error rates for turbulent flows with variable input velocities to the domain.
Cell-Free Supernatant of Bacillus subtilis Reduces Kiwifruit Rot Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea through Inducing Oxidative Stress in the Pathogen
Authors: Fan Yezhen , Liu Kui , Lu Ruoxi , Gao Jieyu , Song Wu , Zhu Hongyan , Tang Xiaofeng , Liu Yongsheng , Miao Min
Published: January 2023

Biological control of postharvest diseases has been proven to be an effective alternative to chemical control. As an environmentally friendly biocontrol agent, Bacillus subtilis has been widely applied. This study explores its application in kiwifruit soft rot and reveals the corresponding mechanisms. Treatment with cell-free supernatant (CFS) of Bacillus subtilis BS-1 significantly inhibits the mycelial growth of the pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea and attenuates the pathogenicity on kiwifruit in a concentration-dependent manner. In particular, mycelial growth diameter was only 21% of the control after 3 days of treatment with 5% CFS. CFS caused swelling and breakage of the hyphae of B. dothidea observed by scanning electron microscopy, resulting in the leakage of nucleic acid and soluble protein and the loss of ergosterol content. Further analysis demonstrated that CFS significantly induces the expression of Nox genes associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by 1.9–2.7-fold, leading to a considerable accumulation of ROS in cells and causing mycelial cell death. Our findings demonstrate that the biocontrol effect of B. subtilis BS-1 CFS on B. dothidea is realized by inducing oxidative damage to the mycelia cell.
In Vitro Fermentation of Pleurotus eryngii Mushrooms by Human Fecal Microbiota: Metataxonomic Analysis and Metabolomic Profiling of Fermentation Products
Authors: Christodoulou Paris , Vlassopoulou Marigoula , Zervou Maria , Xanthakos Evangelos , Moulos Panagiotis , Koutrotsios Georgios , Zervakis Georgios I. , Kerezoudi Evangelia N. , Mitsou Evdokia K. , Saxami Georgia , Kyriacou Adamantini , Pletsa Vasiliki , Georgiadis Panagiotis
Published: January 2023

Edible mushrooms contain biologically active compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and anticancer properties. The link between their anticancer and immunomodulatory properties with their possible prebiotic activity on gut micro-organisms has been the subject of intense research over the last decade. Lyophilized Pleurotus eryngii (PE) mushrooms, selected due to their strong lactogenic effect and anti-genotoxic, immunomodulatory properties, underwent in vitro static batch fermentation for 24 h by fecal microbiota from eight elderly apparently healthy volunteers (>65 years old). The fermentation-induced changes in fecal microbiota communities were examined using Next Generation Sequencing of the hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Primary processing and analysis were conducted using the Ion Reporter Suite. Changes in the global metabolic profile were assessed by 1H NMR spectroscopy, and metabolites were assigned by 2D NMR spectroscopy and the MetaboMiner platform. PLS-DA analysis of both metataxonomic and metabolomic data showed a significant cluster separation of PE fermented samples relative to controls. DEseq2 analysis showed that the abundance of families such as Lactobacillaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae were increased in PE samples. Accordingly, in metabolomics, more than twenty metabolites including SCFAs, essential amino acids, and neurotransmitters discriminate PE samples from the respective controls, further validating the metataxonomic findings.
Designing a Characteristics Effectiveness Model for Internal Audit
Authors: Grima Steven , Baldacchino Peter J. , Grima Simon , Kizilkaya Murat , Tabone Norbert , Ellul Lauren
Published: January 2023

Identifying factors/latent constructs deemed to influence internal audit effectiveness (IAE), through identifying variables used as measures of effectiveness and hypothesising which variables have a statistically significant relationship with IAE was the primary objective. Secondary objectives involved exploring the perceptions and viewpoints of internal auditing and providing general recommendations. To achieve the above objectives, questionnaires were remitted to internal auditors (IA) in various countries, receiving 402 final valid responses. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to identify new latent variables/constructs, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in structural equation modelling (SEM) utilised to confirm these factors. The EFA process identified 7 latent factors, with 5 being confirmed through SEM. These factors, confirmed the positive influence of 8/16 hypotheses with 3/16 having partial confirmation, 4/16 not achieving any statistically significant evidence and 1/16 having negative influence. Risk Management, IA size, competency, management support, External Audit (EA) and Audit Committee (AC) cooperation, follow-up process, and control environment were all deemed to positively influence IA effectiveness. Independence, objectivity, and standard adherence achieved partial confirmation of their positive influence. Audit quality, Big Data, scope limitations and public/private organisations achieved no statistically significant results on their influence, while outsourcing was deemed to negatively influence effectiveness.
Application of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Neuropathic Pain: A Narrative Review
Authors: Tsai Yuan-Yuan , Wu Wei-Ting , Han Der-Sheng , Mezian Kamal , Ricci Vincenzo , Özçakar Levent , Hsu Po-Cheng , Chang Ke-Vin
Published: January 2023

Neuropathic pain, affecting 6.9–10% of the general population, has a negative impact on patients’ quality of life and potentially leads to functional impairment and disability. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)—a safe, indirect and non-invasive technique—has been increasingly applied for treating neuropathic pain. The mechanism underlying rTMS is not yet well understood, and the analgesic effects of rTMS have been inconsistent with respect to different settings/parameters, causing insufficient evidence to determine its efficacy in patients with neuropathic pain. This narrative review aimed to provide an up-to-date overview of rTMS for treating neuropathic pain as well as to summarize the treatment protocols and related adverse effects from existing clinical trials. Current evidence supports the use of 10 Hz HF-rTMS of the primary motor cortex to reduce neuropathic pain, especially in patients with spinal cord injury, diabetic neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia. However, the lack of standardized protocols impedes the universal use of rTMS for neuropathic pain. rTMS was hypothesized to achieve analgesic effects by upregulating the pain threshold, inhibiting pain impulse, modulating the brain cortex, altering imbalanced functional connectivity, regulating neurotrophin and increasing endogenous opioid and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Further studies are warranted to explore the differences in the parameters/settings of rTMS for treating neuropathic pain due to different disease types.
3-(1-Ethylamino-ethylidene)-1-methyl-pyrrolidine-2,4-dione
Authors: Angelov Plamen , Terziyska Paraskeva , Georgiev Danail
Published: January 2023

3-(1-Ethylamino-ethylidene)-1-methyl-pyrrolidine-2,4-dione was obtained as an unexpected product in a three-step synthesis starting with o-nitrobenzoyl sarcosine, acetoacetanilide and ethylamine. The compound showed moderate antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli.
Temperature during Repetitive Short-Term Operation of a Brake with Functionally Graded Friction Element
Authors: Yevtushenko Aleksander , Topczewska Katarzyna , Zamojski Przemysław
Published: January 2023

The object of study is the temperature of a braking system, operating in repetitive short-term (RST) mode. One element of the considered friction pair is made of a functionally gradient material (FGM), and the other of a homogeneous material. To determine the temperature on the friction surfaces of both elements, the previously obtained, exact solution of the boundary value problem of heat conduction was adopted, with account of the heat generation due to the friction. A calculation scheme was proposed that takes into consideration thermal sensitivity of materials and variations of the friction coefficient under the influence of temperature. Calculations were performed for two-component FGM (ZrO2–Ti-6Al-4V) in combination with gray cast iron (ChNMKh). It was found that for selected friction pair materials, consideration of their thermal sensitivity reduces the time of braking and the value of temperature achieved on the friction surfaces. At the same time, the whole process was characterized by a good stability of braking with a slight decrease in efficiency in each subsequent cycle.
Molecular Dynamics Study on Crack Propagation in Al Containing Mg–Si Clusters Formed during Natural Aging
Authors: Lee Sangjun , Kang Heon , Bae Donghyun
Published: January 2023

The crack propagation behavior of Al containing Mg–Si clusters is investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to demonstrate the relationship between the natural aging time in Al–Si–Mg alloys and ductility. Experimental results show that the elongation at failure decreases with natural aging. There are few studies on the relationship between natural aging and ductility because of the difficult observation of Mg–Si clusters. To solve the difficulty, cracked Al containing Mg–Si clusters of varying sizes are assumed for the MD simulations. A larger Mg–Si cluster in Al results in earlier crack opening and dislocation emission. Moreover, as the Mg–Si cluster size increases, the stress near the crack tip becomes more concentrated. This causes rapid crack propagation, a similar effect to that of crack tip sharpening. As a result of long-term natural aging, the cracks expand rapidly. The influence of geometry is also investigated. Crack lengthening and thickness reduction negatively impact the fracture toughness, with the former having a larger impact than the latter. Although there are several discrepancies in the practical deformation conditions, the simulation results can help to more thoroughly understand natural aging in Al–Si–Mg alloys.
Prolonging Campaign Life of Blast Furnace Trough by Water Cooling
Authors: Li Zhiyuan , Wang Haifei , Ding Fengshou , Tang Huiqing
Published: January 2023

A long campaign life of the trough of the blast furnace (BF) is important for improving the BF operation efficiency, reducing the cost of blast furnace ironmaking, and bettering the working conditions of the casting yard. In this paper, a water cooling device was designed for the trough of a BF with a volume of 630 m3. The effect of water cooling on lengthening the unit campaign life of the trough was investigated using industrial tests, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. Results showed that by using water cooling, the throughput of the trough in a unit campaign was increased by 40,000 tons, and its unit campaign life was increased by 34 days. During a unit campaign cycle, the influence of the water cooling device on the temperature distribution in refractory materials gradually developed from the low-temperature zone to the high-temperature zone, and the expansion of the high-temperature zone was suppressed. Therefore, the water cooling device inhibited the dissolution of refractory materials and retarded the chemical erosion from the molten slag and the atmosphere.
Disturbance Rejection Control for Active Vibration Suppression of Overhead Hoist Transport Vehicles in Semiconductor Fabs
Authors: Qiu Jiajie , Kim Hongjin , Xia Fangzhou , Youcef-Toumi Kamal
Published: January 2023

In modern semiconductor fabrication plants, automated overhead hoist transport (OHT) vehicles transport wafers in front opening unified pods (FOUPs). Even in a cleanroom environment, small particles excited by the mechanical vibration of the FOUP can still damage the chips if such particles land on the critical area of the wafers. To minimize the vibration excitation force transferred to the FOUP, this research focuses on controlling the vibration displacement level of an OHT hand unit interface between the OHT vehicle and the FOUP. However, since the OHT vehicle and the FOUP keep traveling, the target system is floating and there exists no external anchoring point for a controlling force source. In addition, no sensor attachments are permitted on mass-production FOUPs, which makes this vibration level suppression problem more challenging. In this research, a custom testbed is designed to replicate the acceleration profile of the OHT vehicle under its travel motion. Then, system modeling and identification is conducted using simulation and experiment to verify the fabricated testbed design. Finally, a disturbance observer-based controller (DOBC) is developed and implemented on a custom active vibration suppression actuator with inertia force-based counterbalancing to reduce peak vibration amplitude from 870 μm to 230 μm.
Linear Quadratic Optimal Control with the Finite State for Suspension System
Authors: Fu Qidi , Wu Jianwei , Yu Chuanyun , Feng Tao , Zhang Ning , Zhang Jianrun
Published: January 2023

The control algorithm could greatly help the suspension system improve the comprehensive performance of the vehicle. Existing control methods need to obtain the intermediate states, which are difficult to obtain directly or accurately when estimated by filters or observers. Thus, this paper proposed a new practical finite state LQR control method to deal with this problem. By combining with the output state of the finite sensor of the vehicle suspension system and weakening the unknown state as the goal, an optimization model is established with the design variables as the LQR weight coefficients. Then, the direct relationship between the current control input and the finite sensor output is obtained, and the finite state LQR control is realized. Taking the quarter-car suspension model as an example, the corresponding noise is added considering sensor accuracy, and the control performance of the four control methods is studied considering the uncertainties of suspension system parameters. In addition, the acceleration of sprung mass and the dynamic travel coefficient of suspension have been separately calculated by methods of finite state LQR control, LQR control, and PID control. The results show that there is not much difference between them under shock excitation or random excitation. However, the finite state LQR control method has the best comprehensive control performance in that its dynamic tire load coefficient is better than other methods; it could take into account the suspension work stroke coefficient, dynamic tire load coefficient, and sprung mass’ acceleration of the vehicle suspension system at the same time. In order to realize the optimal control effect with limited sensor arrangement, the finite state LQR control method only needs to obtain the current sensor output and the current control input, without estimating the unknown intermediate state. By this means, the proposed control method greatly simplifies the design of the control system and has great advantages on practical value.
Similarity Feature Construction for Matching Ontologies through Adaptively Aggregating Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Xue Xingsi , Guo Jianhua , Ye Miao , Lv Jianhui
Published: January 2023

Ontology is the kernel technique of Semantic Web (SW), which enables the interaction and cooperation among different intelligent applications. However, with the rapid development of ontologies, their heterogeneity issue becomes more and more serious, which hampers communications among those intelligent systems built upon them. Finding the heterogeneous entities between two ontologies, i.e., ontology matching, is an effective method of solving ontology heterogeneity problems. When matching two ontologies, it is critical to construct the entity pair’s similarity feature by comprehensively taking into consideration various similarity features, so that the identical entities can be distinguished. Due to the ability of learning complex calculating model, recently, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a popular method of constructing similarity features for matching ontologies. The existing ANNs construct the similarity feature in a single perspective, which could not ensure its effectiveness under diverse heterogeneous contexts. To construct an accurate similarity feature for each entity pair, in this work, we propose an adaptive aggregating method of combining different ANNs. In particular, we first propose a context-based ANN and syntax-based ANN to respectively construct two similarity feature matrices, which are then adaptively integrated to obtain a final similarity feature matrix through the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) and Analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI)’s benchmark and anatomy track are used to verify the effectiveness of our method. The experimental results show that our approach’s results are better than single ANN-based ontology matching techniques and state-of-the-art ontology matching techniques.
Approximate Reasoning for Large-Scale ABox in OWL DL Based on Neural-Symbolic Learning
Authors: Zhu Xixi , Liu Bin , Zhu Cheng , Ding Zhaoyun , Yao Li
Published: January 2023

The ontology knowledge base (KB) can be divided into two parts: TBox and ABox, where the former models schema-level knowledge within the domain, and the latter is a set of statements of assertions or facts about instances. ABox reasoning is a process of discovering implicit knowledge in ABox based on the existing KB, which is of great value in KB applications. ABox reasoning is influenced by both the complexity of TBox and scale of ABox. The traditional logic-based ontology reasoning methods are usually designed to be provably sound and complete but suffer from long algorithm runtimes and do not scale well for ontology KB represented by OWL DL (Description Logic). In some application scenarios, the soundness and completeness of reasoning results are not the key constraints, and it is acceptable to sacrifice them in exchange for the improvement of reasoning efficiency to some extent. Based on this view, an approximate reasoning method for large-scale ABox in OWL DL KBs was proposed, which is named the ChunfyReasoner (CFR). The CFR introduces neural-symbolic learning into ABox reasoning and integrates the advantages of symbolic systems and neural networks (NNs). By training the NN model, the CFR approximately compiles the logic deduction process of ontology reasoning, which can greatly improve the reasoning speed while ensuring higher reasoning quality. In this paper, we state the basic idea, framework, and construction process of the CFR in detail, and we conduct experiments on two open-source ontologies built on OWL DL. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of our method and show that the CFR can support the applications of large-scale ABox reasoning of OWL DL KBs.
Optimizing Traffic Light Green Duration under Stochastic Considerations
Authors: Stoilova Krasimira , Stoilov Todor
Published: January 2023

An optimization model for traffic light control in an urban network of intersections is derived. The model is based on store-and-forward analytic relations, which account for the length of the queue of waiting vehicles in front of the traffic light intersection. The model is complicated with probabilistic relations that formalize the requirements for maintaining short queues of vehicles. Probabilistic inequalities apply to each intersection of the city network. Approximations of probability inequalities are given in the article. Quadratic deterministic inequalities, which are part of the set of the traffic flow control optimization problem, are derived. Numerical simulations are performed, applying mean estimated data for real traffic in an urban area of Sofia. The model predictive approach is applied to traffic light optimization and control. Empirical results give advantages of the obtained model compared to the classical store-and-forward optimization model for the total number of vehicles waiting in the considered urban network.
Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling of Constraint Factors Affecting Project Performance in the Egyptian Building Industry
Authors: Rady Mohammed , Kineber Ahmed Farouk , Hamed Mohammed Magdy , Daoud Ahmed Osama
Published: January 2023

Building constraints hinder building operations from meeting a project’s time, budget, and quality objectives. For a construction project to provide satisfying results, it is essential to recognize and address such constraints early on. Unfortunately, research on the causes of building constraints and their implications for building management has been limited. Therefore, there is a pressing need to study the sources of constraints and how they impact project results. Consequently, this study addresses this gap by examining the hurdles confronting Egypt’s general building construction projects. Building constraints were identified from previous studies, which were then contextually investigated using a survey questionnaire within the Egyptian construction sector. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) findings indicated that the constraint factors could be divided into six constructs: environment, stakeholders, regulations, policies, management, and traditional beliefs and ownership. Partial least square structural equation modeling was also utilized to create a constraint factor model. The findings demonstrated that environmental restrictions were significant obstacles to the effective execution of a project. The results of this research can assist decision makers in Egypt’s building sector in cutting costs and improving sustainability by easing the effects of limiting variables.
Analysis of Industrial Product Sound by Applying Image Similarity Measures
Authors: Ćirić Dejan , Perić Zoran , Vučić Nikola , Miletić Miljan
Published: January 2023

The sounds of certain industrial products (machines) carry important information about these products. Product classification or malfunction detection can be performed utilizing a product’s sound. In this regard, sound can be used as it is or it can be mapped to either features or images. The latter enables the implementation of recently achieved performance improvements with respect to image processing. In this paper, the sounds of seven industrial products are mapped into mel-spectrograms. The similarities of these images within the same class (machine type) and between classes, representing the intraclass and interclass similarities, respectively, are investigated. Three often-used image similarity measures are applied: Euclidean distance (ED), the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC), and the structural similarity index (SSIM). These measures are mutually compared to analyze their behaviors in a particular use-case. According to the obtained results, the mel-spectrograms of five classes are similar, while two classes have unique properties manifested in considerably larger intraclass as opposed to interclass similarity. The applied image similarity measures lead to similar general results showing the same main trends, but there are differences among them as mutual relationship of similarity among classes. The differences between the images are more blurred when the SSIM is applied than using ED and the PCC.
SimSST: An R Statistical Software Package to Simulate Stop Signal Task Data
Authors: Soltanifar Mohsen , Lee Chel Hee
Published: January 2023

The stop signal task (SST) paradigm with its original roots in 1948 has been proposed to study humans’ response inhibition. Several statistical software codes have been designed by researchers to simulate SST data in order to study various theories of modeling response inhibition and their assumptions. Yet, there has been a missing standalone statistical software package to enable researchers to simulate SST data under generalized scenarios. This paper presents the R statistical software package “SimSST”, available in Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN), to simulate stop signal task (SST) data. The package is based on the general non-independent horse race model, the copulas in probability theory, and underlying ExGaussian (ExG) or Shifted Wald (SW) distributional assumption for the involving go and stop processes enabling the researchers to simulate sixteen scenarios of the SST data. A working example for one of the scenarios is presented to evaluate the simulations’ precision on parameter estimations. Package limitations and future work directions for its subsequent extensions are discussed.
Changes in microRNAs during Storage and Processing of Breast Milk
Authors: Kim Jun Hwan , Kim Ki-Uk , Min Hyeyoung , Lee Eun Sun , Lim In Seok , Song Jeonglyn , Kang Insoo , Yi Dae Yong
Published: January 2023

Human breast milk (HBM) is the ideal source of nutrients for infants and is rich in microRNA (miRNA). In recent years, expressed breast milk feeding rather than direct breastfeeding has become increasingly prevalent for various reasons. Expressed HBM requires storage and processing, which can cause various changes in the ingredients. We investigated how the miRNAs in HBM change due to processes often used in real life. HBM samples collected from 10 participants were each divided into seven groups according to the storage temperature, thawing method, and storage period. In addition, we analyzed the miRNA changes in each group. The number of microRNAs that showed significant expression was not large compared to the thousands of miRNAs contained in breast milk. Therefore, it is difficult to suggest that the various storage and thawing processes have a great influence on the overall expression of miRNA. However, a short-term refrigeration storage method revealed little change in nutrients compared to other storage and thawing methods. Taking all factors into consideration, short-term refrigeration is recommended to minimize changes in the composition or function of breast milk.
Novel Hybrid Indole-Based Caffeic Acid Amide Derivatives as Potent Free Radical Scavenging Agents: Rational Design, Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, In Silico and In Vitro Investigations
Authors: Elkamhawy Ahmed , Oh Na Kyoung , Gouda Noha A. , Abdellattif Magda H. , Alshammari Saud O. , Abourehab Mohammed A. S. , Alshammari Qamar A. , Belal Amany , Kim Minkyoung , Al-Karmalawy Ahmed A. , Lee Kyeong
Published: January 2023

Antioxidant small molecules can prevent or delay the oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Herein, a structure-based hybridization of two natural antioxidants (caffeic acid and melatonin) afforded a novel hybrid series of indole-based amide analogues which was synthesized with potential antioxidant properties. A multiple-step scheme of in vitro radical scavenging assays was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the synthesized compounds. The results of the DPPH assay demonstrated that the indole-based caffeic acid amides are more active free radical scavenging agents than their benzamide analogues. Compared to Trolox, a water-soluble analogue of vitamin E, compounds 3a, 3f, 3h, 3j, and 3m were found to have excellent DPPH radical scavenging activities with IC50 values of 95.81 ± 1.01, 136.8 ± 1.04, 86.77 ± 1.03, 50.98 ± 1.05, and 67.64 ± 1.02 µM. Three compounds out of five (3f, 3j, and 3m) showed a higher capacity to neutralize the radical cation ABTS•+ more than Trolox with IC50 values of 14.48 ± 0.68, 19.49 ± 0.54, and 14.92 ± 0.30 µM, respectively. Compound 3j presented the highest antioxidant activity with a FRAP value of 4774.37 ± 137.20 μM Trolox eq/mM sample. In a similar way to the FRAP assay, the best antioxidant activity against the peroxyl radicals was demonstrated by compound 3j (10,714.21 ± 817.76 μM Trolox eq/mM sample). Taken together, compound 3j was validated as a lead hybrid molecule that could be optimized to maximize its antioxidant potency for the treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases.
Diversity of Fast-Growth Spore-Forming Microbes and Their Activity as Plant Partners
Authors: Artigas Ramírez María Daniela , Agake Shin-ichiro , Maeda Masumi , Kojima Katsuhiro , Ohkama-Ohtsu Naoko , Yokoyama Tadashi
Published: January 2023

Biofertilizers are agricultural materials capable of reducing the usage amounts of chemical fertilizers. Spore-forming microorganisms (SFM) could be used for plant growth promotion or to improve plant health. Until now, biofertilizers based on SFM have been applied for rice and other crops. In this study, we isolated and characterized SFM, which were colonized on the Oryza sativa L. roots. SFM were analyzed regarding the short-term effects of biofertilization on the nursery growths. Analysis was performed without nitrogen or any inorganic fertilizer and was divided into two groups, including bacteria and fungi. SF-bacteria were dominated by the Firmicutes group, including species from Viridibacillus, Lysinibacillus, Solibacillus, Paenibacillus, Priestia, and mainly Bacillus (50%). The fungi group was classified as Mucoromycota, Basidiomycota, and mainly Ascomycota (80%), with a predominance of Penicillium and Trichoderma species. In plant performance in comparison with B. pumilus TUAT1, some bacteria and fungus isolates significantly improved the early growth of rice, based on 48 h inoculum with 107 CFU mL−1. Furthermore, several SFM showed positive physiological responses under abiotic stress or with limited nutrients such as phosphorous (P). Moreover, the metabolic fingerprint was obtained. The biofertilizer based on SFM could significantly reduce the application of the inorganic fertilizer and improve the lodging resistances of rice, interactively enhancing better plant health and crop production.
Urbanization Reduces Phyllosphere Microbial Network Complexity and Species Richness of Camphor Trees
Authors: Zhang Yifang , Li Xiaomin , Lu Lu , Huang Fuyi , Liu Hao , Zhang Yu , Yang Luhua , Usman Muhammad , Li Shun
Published: January 2023

Studies on microbial communities associated with foliage in natural ecosystems have grown in number in recent years yet have rarely focused on urban ecosystems. With urbanization, phyllosphere microorganisms in the urban environment have come under pressures from increasing human activities. To explore the effects of urbanization on the phyllosphere microbial communities of urban ecosystems, we investigated the phyllosphere microbial structure and the diversity of camphor trees in eight parks along a suburban-to-urban gradient. The results showed that the number of ASVs (amplicon sequence variants), unique on the phyllosphere microbial communities of three different urbanization gradients, was 4.54 to 17.99 times higher than that of the shared ASVs. Specific microbial biomarkers were also found for leaf samples from each urbanization gradient. Moreover, significant differences (R2 = 0.133, p = 0.005) were observed in the phyllosphere microbial structure among the three urbanization gradients. Alpha diversity and co-occurrence patterns of bacterial communities showed that urbanization can strongly reduce the complexity and species richness of the phyllosphere microbial network of camphor trees. Correlation analysis with environmental factors showed that leaf total carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S), as well as leaf C/N, soil pH, and artificial light intensity at night (ALIAN) were the important drivers in determining the divergence of phyllosphere microbial communities across the urbanization gradient. Together, we found that urbanization can affect the composition of the phyllosphere bacterial community of camphor trees, and that the interplay between human activities and plant microbial communities may contribute to shaping the urban microbiome.