bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin of China
Authors: Chen Ruimin , Ma Xiaojun , Zhao Yanzhi , Wang Shuo , Zhang Shiqi
Published: January 2023

This paper discusses the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin; this information will help promote ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. Efforts in the Yellow River Basin represent a major national strategy for carbon peaking and carbon neutralization. Using the panel data of 56 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2003 to 2017, traditional and spatial Markov transition probability matrices were built to thoroughly explore the temporal and spatial evolution process and the typical characteristics of carbon emissions in its prefecture-level cities. These data are ingeniously employed by the generalized divisia index decomposition method (GDIM) to thoroughly analyse the driving mechanisms and forces behind the evolution of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities. However, the evolution of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities has reached a point of stability that maintains the original state, making it difficult to achieve significant improvements in the short term. The results indicate that overall, the carbon emissions of prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin are increasing. In these cities, neighbourhood types have a considerable impact on the transmission of carbon emission types. Low-emission areas can encourage a reduction in carbon emissions, whereas high-emission areas can encourage an increase. There is a club convergence phenomenon of "high-high convergence, low-low convergence, high-pulling low, low-inhibiting high" in the geographical structure of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities. The amount of energy consumed, technological advancement, per capita carbon emissions, and output carbon intensity increase carbon emissions, whereas energy consumption carbon intensity, energy intensity, and carbon technology intensity decrease carbon emissions. As a result, prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin should actively engage these reduction-oriented factors rather than strengthening the role of increase-oriented ones. The Yellow River Basin's key pathways for lowering carbon emissions include boosting research and development, promoting and applying carbon emission reduction technologies, decreasing energy intensity, maximizing energy structure, and increasing energy consumption efficiency.
γ-Aminobutyric acids (GABA) and serum GABA/AABA (G/A) ratio as potential biomarkers of physical performance and aging
Authors: Wang Zhiying , Lyssikatos Charalampos , Liu Ziyue , Warden Stuart J. , Bonewald Lynda , Brotto Marco
Published: January 2023

Background: Physical activity maintains musculoskeletal and general overall health. Declining physical performance is the most obvious indicator of declining health with aging. Early identification of declining physical performance using biomarkers would be useful in predicting treatment outcomes and identifying potential therapeutics.
Method: As γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a muscle autocrine factor, can function as muscle relaxant and L-α-aminobutyric acid (L-AABA), is a biomarker for malnutrition, and depression, we sought to determine if they may also be useful for monitoring physical performance during aging. Serum levels were quantified in 120 individuals divided by age, gender, and physical capacity into low (LP), average (AP), and high (HP) performers and correlated with physical parameters and performance.
Results: Both GABA and the ratio of GABA/AABA (G/A), but not AABA, were highly positively associated with age (Pearson correlations r=0.35, p=0.0001 for GABA, and r=0.31, p=0.0007 for G/A, n=120). GABA showed negative associations in the whole cohort with physical performance (fast gait speed, 6 minute walking test (6MWT), PROMIS score, and SF36 PFS raw score) and with subtotal and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD). L-AABA was positively associated with usual gait speed, 6MWT, total SPPB score, and SF36 PFS raw score in total 120 human subjects, also with 6MWT and SF36 PFS raw score in the 60 male subjects, but no associations were observed in the 60 females. As both GABA and L-AABA appear to be indicative of physical performance, but in opposite directions, we examined the G/A ratio. Unlike GABA, the G/A ratio showed a more distinct association with mobility tests such as total SPPB score, usual and fast gait speed, 6MWT, and SF36 PFS raw score in the males, regardless of age and metabolic status. Serum G/A ratio could be potentially linked to physical performance in the male population.
Conclusions: All these findings strongly suggest that GABA, L-AABA, and the G/A ratio in human serum may be useful markers to link with age and physical function. Taking these aminobutyric acids into consideration may significantly enhance the goal of identifying universal biomarkers to accurately predict physical performance and the beneficial effects of exercise on aging.
Development patterns, material metabolism, and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of high-speed railway in China
Authors: Mao Ruichang , Wu Yankun , Chen Jian , Chen Peng , Li Xiaodong
Published: January 2023

China built the longest high-speed rail (HSR) network by consuming massive construction materials. However, the characterization of HSR material metabolism and associated emissions at national level remains less explored. Here, we revealed the material metabolism and life-cycle GHG emissions from 2008 to 2035 in China’s HSR network. We show that material stocks temporally amount from 0.6 gigatons in 2010 to 3.7 gigatons in 2020, dominated by aggregate and cement rather than steel. Spatially, material distributions across provinces are becoming balanced. Growing HSR speed increased the construction material demands and flows, but technological advances significantly offset these increasing consumptions, especially for developing bridge-girder spans and ballasted tracks. Our results demonstrate the life cycle emissions of HSR, with 1,008 megatons of carbon replacement value and annually 31 megatons of operational GHG emissions in 2020, and highlight the environmental benefits of HSR to inform green transportation transitions.
Brain size mediates the choice of breeding strategy in the Red-backed shrike Lanius collurio
Authors: Bialas Joanna T. , Łukasz Dylewski , Marcin Tobolka
Published: January 2023

Brain size of vertebrates is a trade-off between natural selection for enhanced cognitive abilities and the energetic constraints of producing brain tissue. Processing a large amount of information can be beneficial but is also time-consuming. Breeding strategy choice, whether it comes to timing of breeding onset or nest-site selection, can be related to the size of the brain. Our study aims to reveal if there is relationship between brain size, timing of breeding, nest-site choice, and breeding success in Red-backed shrike Lanius collurio. We found that first egg laying date was affected by females' head size, with large-headed females laying eggs later in the breeding season. The study also found that the probability of breeding success increased with increased nest concealment, however, the relationship was negligible in large-headed males. In turn, the nest concealment was not affected by head size but only by the date of the breeding onset. The study suggests that the choice of breeding strategy may be mediated by brain size: large-headed females may take more time to choose a nesting site, which may delay the onset of breeding, and large-headed males may be able to compensate for poor nest concealment.
Balanced task allocation and motion planning of a multi-robot system under fuzzy time windows
Authors: Xidias Elias , ZACHARIA PARASKEVI
Published: January 2023

A fleet of robots has been effectively used in various application domains such as industrial plant inspection. This paper proposes a solution to the combined problem of task allocation and motion planning problem for a fleet of mobile robots which are requested to operate in an intelligent industry. More specifically, the robots are requested to serve a set of inspection points within given service time windows. In comparison with the conventional time windows, our problem considers fuzzy time windows to express the decision maker’s satisfaction for visiting an inspection point. The paper develops a unified approach to the combined problem of task allocation and motion planning for a fleet of mobile robots with three objectives (a) minimizing the total travel cost considering all robots and tasks (b) balancing fairly the workloads among robots and (c) maximizing the satisfaction grade of the decision maker for receiving the services. The optimization problem is solved by using a novel combination of a Genetic Algorithm and fuzzy set theory. The computational results illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
A test of the seasonal availability of water hypothesis in a C3/C4 mixed grassland
Authors: Hajek Olivia , Sturchio Matthew , Knapp Alan
Published: January 2023

Understanding how cool-season C3 and warm-season C4 grasses will respond to climate change is critical for predicting future grassland functioning. With warming, C4 grasses are expected to increase relative to C3 grasses. But, alterations in the seasonal availability of water may also influence C3/C4 dynamics because of their distinct seasons of growth. To better understand how shifts in the seasonal availability of water can affect ecosystem function in a northern mixed grass prairie in southeastern Wyoming, we reduced early season rainfall (April – June) using rainout shelters and added the amount of excluded precipitation during the latter half of the growing season (July-September), effectively shifting spring rainfall to summer rainfall. As expected, this shift in precipitation seasonality influenced patterns of soil water availability, leading to increased soil respiration in the summer months and sustained canopy greenness throughout the growing season. Despite these responses, there were no significant differences in C3 aboveground net primary production (ANPP) between the seasonally shifted treatment (SEAS) and the plots that received ambient (AMB) precipitation. This was likely due to the high levels of spring soil moisture present before rainout shelters were deployed that sustained C3 grass growth. However, in plots with high C4 grass cover, C4 ANPP increased significantly in response to increased summer rainfall. Overall, we provide the first experimental evidence that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation, with no change in temperature, will differentially impact C3 vs. C4 species, altering the dynamics of carbon cycling and canopy albedo in this extensive semi-arid grassland.
Assessing canopy structure in Andean (agro)forests using 3D UAV remote sensing
Authors: Bolívar-Santamaría Sergio , Reu Björn
Published: January 2023

Agroforestry systems (AFS) are important for biodiversity conservation outside protected areas. The presence of shade trees in AFS form structurally complex habitats that provide food for many species. Habitat complexity is considered an essential biodiversity variable and its characterization is now possible using remote sensing techniques, including 3D point clouds derived from images obtained with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, studies evaluating the relationship between canopy structure and variables derived from 3D clouds are rare for AFS, especially for the tropical Andes. Here, we show how six important variables of canopy structure can be predicted across a canopy structure gradient from AFS with cacao and coffee to a natural forest using characteristics extracted from the 3D point clouds and multiple linear regression. For leaf area index the best model obtained an R² of 0.82 with a relative RMSE = 24%, for canopy cover an R² of 0.81 and relative RMSE = 13%, for above-ground biomass (AGB) an R² of 0.81 and relative RMSE = 10%, the density of shade trees was predicted with an R² of 0.66 and relative RMSE = 34%, the mean height and the standard deviation of height in the canopy obtained an R² of 0.82 and 0.79 respectively, and relative RMSE of 18% for both. The approach presented in this study allows an accurate characterization of the canopy structure of AFS using UAVs, which can be useful for assessing above-ground biomass and biodiversity in tropical agricultural landscapes to monitor sustainable management practices and derive payments for ecosystem services.
Barriers to adherence to cytology exam: a case study in low-income Colombian women
Authors: Jaramillo Paula C Bermúdez , Quintero Marcela Arrivillaga , Poveda Kirvis J. Torres , Libreros Diana M Castrillón , Castillo Lorena E Castillo , Acevedo Daniela Neira
Published: January 2023

Background
Cervical cytology is essential for the early detection of cervical cancer. However, in Colombia during 2019, 50% of women with health insurance for poor people (subsidized regime) were screened, compared to 100% of women with health insurance for people with capacity to pay a contribution (contributive regime); these differences reflect significant barriers to face. The objective of this study was to identify the barriers and facilitators of adherence to the cytology exam in low-income women affiliated to the subsidized regime in a public primary care network in the city of Cali, Colombia from 2014 to 2018.
Methods
In a qualitative case study, the experience of women and health care and administrative personnel was recovered. Forty-seven women participated in seven focus group discussions; Five other women using the program participated in in-depth interviews; Finally, we interviewed eight people from the healthcare area and the health services administration.
Results
Women describe living conditions, fear, shame, and fears of the procedure as barriers. As facilitators, they recognize agile attention, ease of consulting services, and having social support. However, the health care and administration personnel consider the lack of up-to-date information on women a significant barrier, challenging recruiting and following up.
Conclusions
complex interventions are required to be adapted to the social conditions, culture, and social processes of the women affiliated with the subsidized health insurance. This might facilitate adherence in groups of non-adherent women with low adherence.
KRT18 regulates trophoblast cell migration and invasion that are essential for embryo implantation
Authors: Liang Xiaoling , Qiu Xiaoxiao , Ma Yana , Xu Wenzhi , Chen Sijia , Zhang Peipei , Liu Mengying , Lin Xiaona
Published: January 2023

Female infertility is a worldwide concern that impacts the quality of life and well-being of affected couples. Failure of embryo implantation is a major cause of early pregnancy loss, which is precisely regulated by a programed molecular mechanism. Current studies have shown that proper trophoblast adhesion and invasion are essential for embryo implantation. However, the potential regulatory mechanism involved in trophoblast adhesion and invasion is yet to be fully elucidated. KRT18 has been reported to plays a critical role in early embryonic development, but its physiological function in embryo implantation remains unclear. In the present study, we revealed that KRT18 was highly expressed in trophoblast cells and knockdown of KRT18in mouse embryos inhibited embryo adhesion reaction and implantation. In vitro experiments further showed that silencing KRT18 disturbed trophoblast migration and invasion. More importantly, we provide evidence that KRT18 directly binds to and stabilizes cell surface E-cadherin in trophoblast cells through microscale thermophoresis (MST) analysis and molecular biology experiments. In brief, our data reveal that KRT18, which is highly expressed in trophoblast cells, plays an important role in the regulation of trophoblast invasion and adhesion during embryo implantation by directly binding to E-cadherin.
Integrated Analysis of Microfacies, Depositional Environment, and Reservoir Potential of the Sakesar Formation in the Potwar Basin, Pakistan
Authors: Shah Syed Bilawal Ali
Published: January 2023

The microfacies, depositional environment, and reservoir potential of the Sakesar Formation have been evaluated using detailed petrographic and petrophysical techniques at the surface (Pail village exposed section) and subsurface (Amir Pur oilfield well). Ten samples were collected from a stratigraphic exposed sections of Sakesar Formation at Pail Village in Potwar Basin, Pakistan. Microscopic analysis of the samples revealed two microfacies: Numulitic wackestone and Millioloidal wackestone. The texture of the wackestone in the Sakesar Limestone at the studied section indicates that it was formed in a shallow area of the middle shelf. This is supported by the presence of certain types of fossils. The limestone is mostly gray, hard, and contains fossils and chert nodules in the upper portion, with some interspersed marl and shale in the lower section Wireline log data from the Amir Pur well were used to evaluate the reservoir potential, with results showing 5.3% sonic porosity and 3.16% effective porosity. However, low neutron porosity suggests a lack of fluid saturation. Overall, the Sakesar Formation has poor reservoir potential for producing hydrocarbons in the Amir Pur oilfield.
Effect of regular exercise assessed by pedometer on pregnancy outcomes and maternal mental health.
Authors: Simavli Serap , Ulas Deniz , Kosus Aydın , Kosus Nermin , Kaygusuz İkbal
Published: January 2023

Purpose
For healthy pregnant women, regular exercise is advised due to the wealth of advantages it has for both physical and emotional well-being. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of physical activity and exercise capasity assessed by pedometer on obstecric and neonatal outcomes.
Methods
Women who has exercised during their pregnancy for 30 minutes or more were defined exercise group and women who has not exercised were defined as a control group. Exercise capasity of women was assessed with 6 minutes walking test with using step counter and its association with pregnancy outcome was determined. Postpartum anxiety level and satisfaction rate were measured using the visual analog scale (VAS), postpartum depression rate was assessed with Edingburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) at postpartum day one and day eight.
Results
Steps count and step length were found significantly higher and pregnancy complications were lower in the exercise group (p < 0.05). Duration of labor, firts breastfeeding time and neonatal intencive care unit (NICU) needs were found shorter in the exercise group (p < 0.05). A significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of anxiety level and satisfaction rate (p < 0.05) and postpartum depression rate at postpartum day one and day eight (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Regular exercise during pregnancy has a positive effect on pregnancy outcome and maternal health without causing complications for the mother and baby.
Selenite adsorption and reduction via Iron(II) impregnated activated carbon produced from the Phosphoric acid activation of landfill waste wood
Authors: Strong Oliver , France Hamant , Scotland Kevin , Wright Kelly , Vreugdenhil Andrew James
Published: January 2023

Chemical activation of waste materials to form activated carbon, (AC) is complicated by the large amounts of chemical activating agents required and wastewater produced. To address these problems, we have developed an optimized process for producing AC by phosphoric acid activation of construction waste. Waste wood from construction sites was ground and treated with an optimized phosphoric acid digestion and activation that resulted in high surface areas (> 2000 m2/g) and a greater recovery of phosphoric acid. Subsequently the phosphoric acid activated carbon (PAC), was functionalized with iron salts and evaluated for its efficacy on the adsorption of selenite and selenate. Total phosphoric acid recovery was 96.7% for waste wood activated with 25% phosphoric acid at a 1:1 ratio, which is a substantially higher phosphoric acid recovery than previous literature findings for phosphoric acid activation. Post activation impregnation of iron salts resulted in iron(II) species adsorbed to the PAC surface. The iron(II) chloride impregnated AC removed up to 12.45 ± 0.025 mg selenium per g Iron-PAC. Competitive ions such as sulfate and nitrate had little effect on selenium adsorption, however, phosphate concentration did negatively impact the selenium uptake at high phosphate levels. At 250 ppm, approximately 75 of adsorption capacity of both the selenate and the selenite solutions was lost, although selenium was still preferentially adsorbed. Peak adsorption occurred between a pH of 4 and 11, with a complete loss of adsorption at a pH of 13.
Gastrinomas and Non-functioning Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome Type-1 (MEN-1)
Authors: CAMERA LUIGI , Boccadifuoco Francesca , Modica Roberta , Messerini Luca , Faggiano Antongiulio , Romeo Valeria , Gaudieri Valeria , Colao Annamaria , Maurea Simone , Brunetti Arturo
Published: January 2023

Purpose: Illustrate imaging findings of gastrinomas and non-functioning pancreatic endocrine tumors (NF-PNET) in a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type-1 (MEN-1) syndrome with a radiologic-pathologic correlation for both along with the results of a 13 yrs observational study.
Methods: A 48 yrs old male patient with MEN-1 and a Zollinger-Ellison syndrome was submitted to a duodeno-cephalopancreatectomy (DCP) extended to the pancreatic body to remove several gastrinomas shown by an endoscopic-ultrasonography as well as a large (> 2 cm) hypo-vascular pancreatic nodule shown by a contrast-enhanced multi-detector CT (CE-MDCT). Further conventional (CT/MR) and functional imaging (68Ga-PET-DOTA-TOC) studies were performed over the next 13 years.
Results: Up to 14 gastrin-positive NET-G1 (pT2,N1) as well as a single PNET-G2 (pT2,N0) were found at histo-pathology which also showed a NET-G1 in the uncinate process where CE-MDCT documented a 9 mm hyper-vascular nodule. A 7 mm pancreatic nodule with identical contrast-enhancement pattern was also shown at the level of the pancreatic tail which was left to preserve endocrine function. At this level, follow-up studies documented the occurence of a small (< 1 cm) hypo-vascular nodule which was metastatic at presentation and rapidly progressed under somastatin-analogs therapy whereas the hyper-vascular nodule remained stable over 13 years. Both the pancreatic lesion as well as the hepatic metastasis showed pathologic uptake of the radiotracer with a SUVmax of 6.3 and 29.5, respectively, allowing the patient to be scheduled for a Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy performed with 29.6 GBq of 177Lu-Oxotreotide.
Conclusions: Contrast-enhancement patterns are correlated with both the histological grade as well as the biological behaviour of PNETS.
An analysis of the effect of fiscal expenditure on the income distribution of Chilean households
Authors: Garrido Nicolás , Morales Jeffry
Published: January 2023

This study analyzes the effect of government spending on income distribution in Chile for 2016 using a multiplier model with the Social Accounting Matrix. The results indicate that increasing fiscal expenditure has a regressive effect on the income share of households in the richest quintile and widens the income gap between the two poorest quintiles and the third and fourth quintiles. When the effect of fiscal expenditure is measured by its nominal impact, households with the highest income receive approximately ten times more income than those with the lowest income. Thus, the regressivity of the income share of the richest households conceals an unequal distribution of the nominal income generated by the fiscal expenditure. Using counterfactual simulations, we suggested that fiscal expenditures could become more equalitarian through policies affecting the distribution of labor payments.
The development of a new patient-reported outcome measure in recessive ataxias: The Person-Reported Ataxia Impact Scale
Authors: Tremblay Marjolaine , Brais Bernard , Asselin Véronique , Buffet Martin , Girard André , Girard Denis , Berbiche Djamal , Gagnon Cynthia
Published: January 2023

Introduction. Autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxias (ARCAs) are inherited neurological disorders that can affect both thecentral and peripheral nervous systems. To assess the effects of interventions according to the perception of people affected, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) must be available.
Objective. This paper presents the development process of the Person-Reported Ataxia Impact Scale (PRAIS), a new PROM in recessive ataxias, and the documentation of its content validity, interpretability, and construct validity (structural and discriminant).
Patients and methods.The development followed the PROMIS framework and the Food and Drug Administration guidelines. A mixed-method study design was used to develop the PROM. A systematic review of the literature, semistructured interviews, and discussion groups was conducted to constitute an item pool. Experts’ consultation helped formulate items, and the questionnaire was sent online to be completed by people affected. Statistical analyseswere performed to assess the structural and discriminant validity.
Results. A total of 125 people affected by recessive ataxia completed the questionnaire. The factoranalysis confirmed the three components: physical functions and activities, mental functions, and social functions. The statistical analysis showed that it can discriminate between stages of mobility and level of autonomy. It showed very good levels of internal consistency (0.79 to 0.89).
Conclusion. The Person-Reported Ataxia Impact Scale (PRAIS) is a 38-item questionnaire that assesses the manifestations and impacts of the disease according to the perception of people affected by recessive ataxia. It can be used in clinical and research settings.
Spectral Indices for Characterizing Lentil Accessions in the Dryland of Pacific Northwest
Authors: Amin Md Nurul , Islam Mazadul
Published: January 2023

Lentil is a cool season legume crop suffering terminal stress in different part of the world, especially in North America, Australia, Southwest Asia and North Africa. Drought stress, which is often linked with high temperatures, is very damaging to grain legumes in practically all agricultural environments. In this experiment, 49 accessions were sown with a check variety in an augmented design in Whitlow farm 2015, central ferry farm 2016 and Spillman farm 2016, Washington state university. The three different locations were in the dryland of southeastern Washington. The collected 49 accessions were screened, where 32 germplasm were taken from the United States Department of Agriculture's single plant-derived core collection and 16 from lentil reference population of ICARDA and one check variety was Avondale. Secondary traits such as green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI), red normalized difference vegetation index (RNDVI), photochemical reflectance index (PRI), red normalized difference vegetation index (RNDVI), water band index (WBI), and normalized water index (NWI) were collected using a multi spectral reflectance device and agronomic metrics days to flowering (DTF), biomass and seed yield (SYP) data were also collected as well. Multi trait genotype ideotype distance (MGIDI) addresses the restrictions of AMMI and GGE analysis by using BLUP and ideotype distance, which can properly select genotypes with higher yields as well as consider other desirable parameters GNDVI, RNDVI, PRI, WBI, NWI. The accessions Avondale, PI 368647, ILL7090, PI33690, PI 5187, ILL 86, ILL595, PI 533690, PI 518734, ILL 1649, ILL 4781 were selected as the ten best genotypes and Avondale, ILL7090, PI533690 were less affected by G x E interaction and selected for further evaluation based on AMMI, GGE and MGIDI index.
Learning Curve and Analysis of the First Robot-assisted Gynecologic Surgeries in a Highly Specialised Center
Authors: Schröder Carolin , Mangler Mandy , Lanowska Malgorzata , Blohmer Jens-Uwe , Mustea Alexander
Published: January 2023

Background
The da Vinci robotic system is a new operative tool and its exact role in a highly specialised centre for surgical cancer therapy has yet to be defined.
Materials and Methods
In a monocentric study, the first patients who underwent robot-assisted gynecological surgery between February 2014 and July 2015 by one surgeon at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Campus Mitte have been compared 1:1 to patients, operated conventionally by laparoscopy. Matching was done by one of the principal investigators. The measured parameters were surgery time (ST), total surgery time (TST), loss of haemoglobin level, estimated blood loss and length of hospitalisation. The postoperative complications were evaluated using the international Clavien-Dindo classification. A learning curve was evaluated and thecomplication parameters of the robot-assisted group were compared within different learning phases.
Results
For the robot-assisted group, TST was longer (mean [SD] minutes, 212 [87], 185 [89], p = 0.005). There were no differences in blood loss (mean [SD] loss of haemoglobin in g/dl, 1.7 [1.1], 0.9 [1.6], p = 0.60; mean [SD] estimated blood loss in ml, 215 [190], 204 [195], p = 0.375) and length of stay (mean [SD] days, 7 [2], 7 [3], p = 0.972). The learning curve showed a three-phase division after an initial learning curve of only twelve robot-assisted surgeries. There was no difference in the overall complication rates between the two groups as well as between the three learning phases of the robot group.
Conclusion
Robot-assisted gynecological surgeries are associated with longer operating times. Differences regarding complication parameters and postoperative recovery were not observed.
Multi-Step Transfer Learning in Natural Language Processing in the Health Domain
Authors: Manaka Thokozile , Zyl Terence van , Kar Deepak , Wade Alisha
Published: January 2023

As a result of the restricted access to data in healthcare facilities due to patient privacy and confidentiality policies, the application of general natural language processing (NLP) techniques has advanced relatively slowly in the health domain. Additionally, because clinical data is unique to various institutions and laboratories, there aren't enough standards and standards for data annotation. In places without robust death registration systems, the cause of death (COD) is determined through a verbal autopsy (VA) report. A non-clinician field agent completes a VA report using a set of predefined questions as a guidance in order to identify the symptoms of a COD. The narrative text of the VA report is used as a case study to examine the difficulties of applying NLP techniques to the health care domain.Motivated by multi-step learning where a final learning task is realized via a sequence of intermediate learning tasks, this paper presents a framework to leverage knowledge across the two domain adaptation settings of feature extraction and fine-tuning to improve VA narrative representations for COD classification task in the health domain. We use the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and Embeddings from Language Models (ELMo) models pretrained on the general English and health domains to extract features from the VA narratives. Our results demonstrate increased performance when the two embeddings from the English and health domains—learned through the domain adaptation tasks of feature extraction and fine-tuning are combined. The advantage of using character embeddings in conjunction with word embeddings is also apparent.
Performance Analysis of Authentication system: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Singla Divya , Verma Neetu
Published: January 2023

Data authentication is vital nowadays, as the development of the internet and its applications allow users to have all-time data availability, attracting attention towards security and privacy and leading to authenticating legitimate users. We have diversified means to gain access to our accounts, like passwords, biometrics, and smartcards, even by merging two or more techniques or various factors of authentication. This paper presents a systematic literature review of papers published from 2010 to 2022 and gives an overview of all the authentication techniques available in the market. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of all three authentication techniques with all the performance metrics (Accuracy, Equal Error Rate (EER), False Acceptance Rate (FAR)), security, privacy, memory requirements, and usability (Acceptability by user)) that will help one choose a perfect authentication technique for an application. In addition, the study also explores the performance of multimodal and multi-factor authentication and the application areas of authentication.
Role and modality of combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy in Stage III-IV Unresectable Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Guo Yongxin , An Qi , Chen Lining , Li Tianyu , Chen Dongjie , Liang Jun , Wang Luhua , Jiang Wei
Published: January 2023

Background
The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy was rarely reported in the management of small cell lung cancer(SCLC). We retrospectively assessed the role and modality of this combination in Stage III-IV unresectable SCLC.
Methods
We conducted this study in the South Branch of National Cancer Center(Shenzhen, China). Efficacy and safety of immunotherapy combined with radiotherapy were evaluated in III to IV SCLC patients according to AJCC 8th edition. Thereinto, patients received first-line chemo-immunotherapy and sequential thoracic consolidation radiotherapy (TCRT) were further evaluated. Survival and descriptive analyses were performed.
Results
Between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021, 51 patients were included in our analysis. Median follow-up was 28.0 months(95%CI 22.8–33.2). Patients received radiotherapy in treatment course had a prolonged 2-year overall survival(OS). And in the first-line immunotherapy cohort of 27 patients, the addition of TCRT significantly improved 2y-OS(72.22% vs. 13.89%, p = 0.0048), 2y-locoregional recurrence free survival(LRRFS)(90.00% vs 48.00%, p = 0.011), and 2y-distance progression free survival(DPFS)(66.67% vs. 16.67%, p = 0.039). Subgroup analyses showed that TCRT rendered superior outcomes regardless of brain metastases. Dose-escalation(45Gy/15f) and earlier radiotherapy seemed to improve the benefit. Of 70.37%(19/27) patients experienced disease progression in the TCRT evaluation cohort, 63.16%(12/19) patients failed in brain. A tendency toward better OS and superior brain metastases free survival(BMFS) were observed after receiving prophylactic cranial irradiation(PCI). Finally, the most common grade 2 or higher toxic effects were pneumonitis in all patients(11.76% of immune-related vs. 7.84% of radiation related).
Conclusion
Earlier addition of TCRT to immunotherapy could significantly improve survival and extracranial control for stage IIIA-IVB unresectable SCLC patients, with no increased risk of adverse events. In the era of immunotherapy, PCI may still be a recommended strategy. Further investigation is warranted.
Integrating synthetic accessibility with AI-based generative drug design
Authors: Parrot Maud , Tajmouati Hamza , Silva Vinicius Barros Ribeiro da , Atwood Brian , Fourcade Robin , Gaston-Mathé Yann , Huu Nicolas Do , Perron Quentin
Published: January 2023

Generative models are frequently used for de novo design in drug discovery projects to propose new molecules. However, the question of whether or not the generated molecules can be synthesized is not systematically taken into account during generation, even though being able to synthesize the generated molecules is a fundamental requirement for such methods to be useful in practice. Methods have been developed to estimate molecule “synthesizability”, but, so far, there is no consensus on whether or not a molecule is synthesizable. In this paper we introduce the Retro-Score (RScore), which computes a synthetic feasibility score of molecules by performing a full retrosynthetic analysis through our data-driven synthetic planning software Spaya, and its dedicated API: Spaya-API (https://spaya.ai). We start by comparing several synthetic feasibility scores to a binary ground truth of synthetic feasibility as estimated by chemists on a bench of generated molecules, as a first experimental validation that the RScore is a reliable synthetic feasibility score. We then describe a pipeline to generate molecules that validate a list of targets while still being easy to synthesize. We further this idea by performing experiments comparing molecular generator outputs across a range of constraints and conditions. We show that the RScore can be learned by a Neural Network, which leads to a new score: RSPred. We demonstrate that using the RScore or RSPred as a constraint during molecular generation enables our molecular generators to produce more synthesizable solutions, with higher diversity. The open-source Python code containing all the scores and the experiments can be found on https://github.com/iktos/generation-under- synthetic-constraint.
Obtaining of novel pyrazolo pyrimidine disazo dyes derived from 4-position and a theoretical and experimental comparison of their characteristic properties
Authors: Demircali Aykut , Bayrakdar Alpaslan , Kizak Hazal , Tasli Pinar Tunay , Yıldırım Fati
Published: January 2023

In the study,
5-(4-Arylazo-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole-5-ylazo)4-hydroxy-6-methyl-1H-pyrimidin-2-one
dyes were synthesized and were reported. At the beginning of the
study, first of all, aniline and aniline compounds derived from the
4 position were interacted with the 3-aminocrotononitrile which the
active methylene compound. Then, these compounds were reacted with
hydrazine monohydrate and 5-amino-4-arylazo-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole
(2a-2e) mono azo dyes were synthesized as a result of ring closing
reaction. In the next step, 2a-2e dyes were diazotized again and
intermediate products were formed by coupling with ethyl
acetoacetate. At the last stage, these intermediate compounds were
heated with urea under appropriate laboratory conditions and were
obtained
5-(4-Arylazo-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole-5-ylazo)4-hydroxy-6-methyl-1H-pyrimidin-2-one
dyestuffs (3a-3e). In the continuation, the structure
characteristics of compounds were characterized by methods such as
elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy-Attenuated total reflectance and 1H-Nuclear
magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The measurements of the dyes were
taken in 6 different solvents in the UV Visible spectrophotometer.
By comparing the results, the solvent, substituent and acid-base
properties of the compounds were examined. In addition to the
experimental characterization of the compounds discussed in the
present article, their molecular structures, spectroscopic and
electronic properties are analyzed theoretically using ab-initio
calculation methods based on density functional theory (DFT) in the
ground state to support experimental studies.
Numerical Simulation of Flow-Diverting Stent: Comparison between branches in Bifurcation Brain Aneurysm
Authors: Boite Yasmin , Klein Tânia Suaiden , Medronho Ricardo de Andrade , Wajnberg Eduardo
Published: January 2023

The usage of flow-diverting stents in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms is widespread due to their high success and low complication rates. However, their use is still not officially recommended for bifurcation aneurysms, as there is a risk of generating ischemic complications due to the reduced blood flow to the jailed branch. Many works utilize computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study how hemodynamic variables respond to flow diverter placement, but few seem to use it to verify flow variation between branches of bifurcation aneurysms and to aid in the choice of the best ramification for device placement. This investigation was performed in the present work, by comparing wall shear stress (WSS) and flowrates for a patient-specific scenario of a Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) aneurysm, considering device placement on each branch. A secondary objective was to follow a methodology that provides fast results, envisioning application to daily medical practice. The device was simplified as a homogeneous porous medium and extreme porosity values were simulated for comparison. Results suggest that stent placement on either branch is both safe and effective, significantly reducing WSS and flow into the aneurysm while maintaining flow to the different ramifications within acceptable thresholds.
BMRTD: Buffer Management policy based on Remaining Time to encounter nodes with the Destination node in delay tolerant networks
Authors: Karami Ahmad , Derakhshanfard Nahideh
Published: January 2023

Delay Tolerant Network (DTN) is a kind of network that there is no continuous network connectivity among nodes. There are no end-to-end and constant connection paths from source nodes to destination nodes due to the mobility nature of nodes. In such networks there exists an inevitable long delivery delay. DTN is designed to perform properly over intermittent connections among nodes. Because of mobile nature of nodes, routing in DTN is based on store-carry-forward patterns to forward messages. Store-carry-forward is based on appropriateness of next node to deliver the message. Improving performance of such networks depends on both routing protocol and buffer management policy when nodes have limited buffer space. However, by sending multiple messages to a node, the number of received messages may exceed the capacity of the nodes and cause a buffer overflow. In order to increase performance, we have to drop some messages and receive some new one. Dropping appropriate message is a challenging problem. Deleting an appropriate message and replacing with a message with better condition can leads to increasing delivery ratio and decreasing delivery delay. Recognizing message with better condition is another challenge. So an efficient buffer management is very important to improving routing performance. Most buffer management policies are mainly for routing protocols. In this paper, we propose a buffer management policy for RPRTD routing protocol in delay tolerant network. This approach is based on Remaining Time to encounter nodes with the Destination node of messages (RTD). This algorithm determines which of the messages should be transmitted, which of the nodes should be considered as sender and which of the messages should be dropped when the buffer is full. Simulation results show that proposed algorithm has improved the delivery ratio and delay in delivering messages compared to the state of the art.
Green Chlorobenzene nitration by ultrasonic-assisted synthesized sulfated ZrO2 catalyst with NO2
Authors: Deng Renjie , Cui Haishuai , Liu Meilin , Ni Wenjin , Tian Yao , Liu Huajie
Published: January 2023

Different solid superacid sulfated ZrO2 (SO42-/ZrO2) samples were successfully prepared by conventional and ultrasonic assisted chemical precipitation process, and then they were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, BET, NH3-TPD and Py-FT-IR. The results indicate that the acidity and surface area of sulfated sample can be increased by using ultrasonic. Furthermore, this ultrasonic-assisted catalyst was used for the chlorobenzene nitration using NO2 as nitrating agent. The catalyst shows excellent catalytic activity and reusability for the nitration of chlorobenzene giving high para selectivity. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism was proposed by combination of experimental results and theoretical calculations. The present work provides an easy-to-implement, mild and environmentally friendly approach for the efficient preparation of valuable para-nitrochlorobenzene, which has extensive industrial application prospects.
Observation of Kondo effect in transition metal dichalcogenides VX 2 (X=Se & Te) due to low-temperature weak ferromagnetism
Authors: Kar Indrani , Ghosh Susanta , Gupta Shuvankar , Chakraborty Sudip , Thirupathaiah Setti
Published: January 2023

We report on the electrical transport, magnetotransport, and magnetic properties studies on the transition metal dichalcogenides VSe2 and VTe2 and draw a comprehensive comparison between them. We observe Kondo effect in both systems due to weak ferromagnetic ordering at low temperature , resulting into resistance upturn at 6 K for VSe2 and 12 K for VTe2. From the field dependent resistance measurements we find that the data is fitted best with modified Hamann equation corrected by the quantum Brillouin function for VSe2, while the data is fitted best with modified Hamann equation corrected by the classical Langevin function for VTe2. We attribute the differing formalisms for the same Kondo effect in VSe2 and VTe2 to their extrinsic sample properties rather than the intrinsic nature of the material. Interestingly, we observe a contrasting magnetoresistance (MR) property between these systems across the Kondo temperature. That means, negative MR is found in both systems in the Kondo state. In the normal state MR is positive for VSe2, while it is negligible for VTe2. In addition, both systems show weak ferromagnetism at low temperature due to intercalated V atoms.
Properties of Circular cosh-Gaussian beams focused by a thin lens system under a turbulent atmosphere
Authors: Lazrek M. , Hricha Z. , Belafhal A.
Published: January 2023

The propagation of a Circular cosh-Gaussian beam (CiChGB) through a paraxial ABCD optical system in a turbulent atmosphere is investigated based on the extended Collins formula and Rytov theory. In particular, the analytical expression for the on-axis average intensity of a CiChGB focused by a thin lens in a turbulent atmosphere is derived in detail. From the obtained formula, the on-axis intensity distribution of the output beam is discussed numerically with a comparison to direct propagation in free space. The influences of the turbulence strength and initial beam parameters on the on-axis intensity are examined. It is found that the on-axis intensity near the focus region is less affected by atmospheric turbulence compared to the free space.
Predicting Suspicious Money Laundering Transactions using Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Lokanan Mark , Maddhesia Vikas
Published: January 2023

This study employs machine learning techniques to identify key drivers of suspicious activity reporting. The data for this study comes from all suspicious activities reported to the California government in 2018. In total, there were 45,000 records of data that represent various features. The paper uses linear regression along with Lasso, Ridge, and Elastic Net to perform feature regularization and address overfitting with the data. Other probabilistic and non-linear algorithms, namely, support vector machines, random forests, XGBoost, and CatBoost, were used to deal with the complexity of the data. The results from the mean squared and root mean squared errors indicate that the ensemble tree-based algorithm performed better than the statistical and probabilistic models. The findings revealed that filings from regulators, the type of products, and customers' relationships with the institutions were the top contributors to SAR filings. Through the evaluation of a vast amount of data, this study provides valuable insights for identifying suspicious activities in financial transactions and has the potential to significantly improve suspicious transaction monitoring.