bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inhaled remdesivir reduces viral burden in a nonhuman primate model of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Vermillion Meghan S. , Murakami Eisuke , Ma Bin , Pitts Jared , Tomkinson Adrian , Rautiola Davin , Babusis Darius , Irshad Hammad , Seigel Dustin , Kim Cynthia , Zhao Xiaofeng , Niu Congrong , Yang Jesse , Gigliotti Andrew , Kadrichu Nani , Bilello John P. , Ellis Scott , Bannister Roy , Subramanian Raju , Smith Bill , Mackman Richard L. , Lee William A. , Kuehl Philip J. , Hartke Jim , Cihlar Tomas , Porter Danielle P.
Published: December 2021

Remdesivir (RDV) is a nucleotide analog prodrug with demonstrated clinical benefit in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In October 2020, the U.S. FDA approved intravenous RDV as the first treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, RDV has been approved or authorized for emergency use in more than 50 countries. To make RDV more convenient for nonhospitalized patients earlier in disease, alternative routes of administration are being evaluated. Here, we investigated the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of RDV administered by head dome inhalation in African green monkeys (AGM). Relative to an intravenous administration of RDV at 10 mg/kg, an about 20-fold lower dose administered by inhalation produced comparable concentrations of the pharmacologically active triphosphate in lower respiratory tract tissues. Distribution of the active triphosphate into the upper respiratory tract was also observed after inhaled RDV exposure. Inhalation RDV dosing resulted in lower systemic exposures to RDV and its metabolites as compared with intravenous RDV dosing. An efficacy study with repeated dosing of inhaled RDV in an AGM model of SARS-CoV-2 infection demonstrated reductions in viral replication in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissues compared with placebo. Efficacy was observed with inhaled RDV administered once daily at a pulmonary deposited dose of 0.35 mg/kg beginning about 8 hours after infection. Moreover, the efficacy of inhaled RDV was similar to that of intravenous RDV administered once at 10 mg/kg followed by 5 mg/kg daily in the same study. Together, these findings support further clinical development of inhalation RDV.
Laryngeal varices: an atypical cause of globus
Authors: Ringrose Tom , Patel Jamie , Amir Ghasemi Aria
Published: December 2021

Laryngeal varices are rare and are usually associated with vocal cord trauma secondary to excessive use of voice. This report is the first documented case of laryngeal varices secondary to thyroid goitre. This is a report of an 83-year-old woman with a known retrosternal goitre chiefly with symptoms of globus. Retrosternal goitre was found to be compressing the pharyngeal venous plexus causing laryngeal venous structures bilaterally to be engorged along the aryepiglottic folds, arytenoids, posterior commissure and extending in to the postcricoid region. The presence of laryngeal varices carries a significant increased risk of haemorrhage. This case presents an atypical presentation of globus and the first reported case in the literature of laryngeal varices secondary to a thyroid goitre.
Carotid artery web with fetal posterior cerebral artery variant masquerading as recurrent ipsilateral cryptogenic ischaemic strokes
Authors: Mehra Rohit , Patra Vikram , Dhillan Rishi
Published: December 2021

A 31-year-old woman was referred to vascular surgeons with the history of recurrent ischaemic strokes in two cerebral artery territories over a span of 1 year. On investigation, she was found to have a right internal carotid artery web, with thrombus and a fetal right posterior cerebral artery (PCA), which explained the ischaemic strokes in right middle cerebral and PCA territory. The rare association of these two infrequent entities makes the case a singular one in the medical literature. Successful surgical excision was done after multidisciplinary teamwork. The carotid web was excised as part of carotid artery endarterectomy and repaired with great saphenous vein patch angioplasty. The patient made a good recovery.
Insulin receptor cleavage induced by estrogen impairs insulin signaling
Authors: Yuasa Tomoyuki , Takata Yasunori , Aki Nanako , Kunimi Kotaro , Satoh Miki , Nii Mari , Izumi Yoshihiko , Otoda Toshiki , Hashida Seiichi , Osawa Haruhiko , Aihara Ken-ichi
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Soluble insulin receptor (sIR), which is the ectodomain of insulin receptor (IR), is present in human plasma. Plasma sIR levels are positively correlated with blood glucose levels and negatively correlated with insulin sensitivity. An in vitro model of IR cleavage shows that extracellular calpain 2 directly cleaves IR, which generates sIR, and sequential cleavage of the IRβ subunit by γ-secretase impairs insulin signaling in a glucose concentration-dependent manner. Nevertheless, sIR levels vary among subjects with normal glucose levels.

Research design and methods

We examined sIR levels of pregnant women throughout gestation. Using an in vitro model, we also investigated the molecular mechanisms of IR cleavage induced by estradiol.

Results

In pregnant women, sIR levels were positively correlated with estrogen levels and significantly increased at late pregnancy independent of glucose levels. Using an in vitro model, estrogen elicited IR cleavage and impaired cellular insulin signaling. Estradiol-induced IR cleavage was inhibited by targeting of calpain 2 and γ-secretase. Estrogen exerted these biological effects via G protein-coupled estrogen receptor, and its selective ligand upregulated calpain 2 expression and promoted exosome secretion, which significantly increased extracellular calpain 2. Simultaneous stimulation of estrogen and high glucose levels had a synergic effect on IR cleavage. Metformin prevented calpain 2 release in exosomes and restored insulin signaling impaired by estrogen.

Conclusions

Estradiol-induced IR cleavage causes cellular insulin resistance, and its molecular mechanisms are shared with those by high glucose levels. sIR levels at late pregnancy are significantly elevated along with estrogen levels. Therefore, estradiol-induced IR cleavage is preserved in pregnant women and could be part of the etiology of insulin resistance in gestational diabetes mellitus and overt diabetes during pregnancy.
Transfer in care and diabetes distress in young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Sattoe Jane , Peeters Mariëlle , Bronner Madelon , van Staa AnneLoes
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Diabetes distress (DD) is a serious problem in many people with diabetes and is associated with unfavorable clinical and psychosocial outcomes in children and adults. Little is known about DD in young adults (YAs) with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who transferred to adult care. This study aimed to explore the differences between YAs with/without DD regarding transfer experiences, self-management and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Research design and methods

Cross-sectional online questionnaire completed by YAs with T1DM after transfer. DD was measured with the short-form Problem Areas in Diabetes scale. Descriptive analyses were followed by t-tests and χ2tests to explore differences between the groups with/without DD. Effect sizes were calculated.

Results

Of 164 respondents with mean age 22.7 (±1.56) years, 60.7% was female. The total sample scored low on DD (6.52±4.67; range: 0–17), but 57 (34.8%) had a score ≥8, indicating DD. YAs with DD felt less ready to transfer to adult care than those without DD and scored lower on alliance between pediatric and adult care and reception in adult care. They also reported poorer self-management skills and lower HRQoL in all domains of functioning.

Conclusions

More than one-third YAs experienced DD after transfer; this was associated with less favorable transition, self-management and psychosocial outcomes. Transfer in care seems to be a source of DD. Systematic screening on DD and attention for YAs’ worries is recommended in both pediatric and adult care.
Treatment-refractory ulcerative colitis responsive to indigo naturalis
Authors: Saiki Julie P , Andreasson Johan OL , Grimes Kevin V , Frumkin Lyn R , Sanjines Elvi , Davidson Matthew G , Park KT , Limketkai Berkeley
Published: December 2021

Background

Indigo naturalis (IN) is an herbal medicine that has been used for ulcerative colitis with an unclear mechanism of action. Indigo and indirubin, its main constituents, are ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We assessed the safety, efficacy, and colon AhR activity of IN given orally to patients with treatment-refractory ulcerative colitis. The role of AhR in IN benefit was further evaluated with an AhR antagonist in a murine colitis model.

Methods

This open-label, dose-escalation study sequentially treated 11 patients with ulcerative colitis with either IN 500 mg/day or 1.5 g/day for 8 weeks, followed by a 4-week non-treatment period. The primary efficacy endpoint was clinical response at week 8, assessed by total Mayo score. Secondary endpoints included clinical remission, Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity, quality of life, and colon AhR activity measured by cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) RNA expression.

Results

Ten of 11 (91%) patients, including 8/9 (89%) with moderate-to-severe disease, achieved a clinical response. Among these 10 patients, all had failed treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid, 8 patients with a tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitor, and 6 patients with TNF-alpha inhibitor and vedolizumab. Five patients were corticosteroid dependent. Clinical response was observed in all five patients who had been recommended for colectomy. Three patients achieved clinical remission. All patients experienced improved endoscopic severity and quality of life. Four weeks after treatment completion, six patients had worsened partial Mayo scores. Four patients progressed to colectomy after study completion. Colon CYP1A1 RNA expression increased 12 557-fold at week 8 among six patients evaluated. No patient discontinued IN due to an adverse event. Concomitant administration of 3-methoxy-4-nitroflavone, an AhR antagonist, in a murine colitis model abrogated the benefit of IN.

Conclusion

IN is a potentially effective therapy for patients with treatment-refractory ulcerative colitis. This benefit is likely through AhR activation.

Trial registration number

NCT02442960.
Involving im/migrant community members for knowledge co-creation: the greater the desired involvement, the greater the need for capacity building
Authors: Turin Tanvir Chowdhury , Chowdhury Nashit , Haque Sarika , Rumana Nahid , Rahman Nafiza , Lasker Mohammad A A
Published: December 2021

Researchers need to observe complex problems from various angles and contexts to create workable, effective and sustainable solutions. For complex societal problems, including health and socioeconomic disparities, cross-sectoral collaborative research is crucial. It allows for meaningful interaction between various actors around a particular real-world problem through a process of mutual learning. This collaboration builds a sustainable, trust-based partnership among the stakeholders and allows for a thorough understanding of the problem through a solution-oriented lens. While the created knowledge benefits the community, the community is generally less involved in the research process. Often, community members are engaged to collect data or for consultancy and knowledge dissemination; however, they are not involved in the actual research process, for example, developing a research question and using research tools such as conducting focus groups, analysis and interpretation. To be involved on these levels, there is a need for building community capacity for research. However, due to a lack of funds, resources and interest in building capacity on the part of both researchers and the community, deeper and meaningful involvement of community members in research becomes less viable. In this article, we reflect on how we have designed our programme of research—from involving community members at different levels of the research process to building capacity with them. We describe the activities community members participated in based on their needs and capacity. Capacity-building strategies for each level of involvement with the community members are also outlined.
Development and validation pathways of artificial intelligence tools evaluated in randomised clinical trials
Authors: Siontis George C M , Sweda Romy , Noseworthy Peter A , Friedman Paul A , Siontis Konstantinos C , Patel Chirag J
Published: December 2021

Objective

Given the complexities of testing the translational capability of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools, we aimed to map the pathways of training/validation/testing in development process and external validation of AI tools evaluated in dedicated randomised controlled trials (AI-RCTs).

Methods

We searched for peer-reviewed protocols and completed AI-RCTs evaluating the clinical effectiveness of AI tools and identified development and validation studies of AI tools. We collected detailed information, and evaluated patterns of development and external validation of AI tools.

Results

We found 23 AI-RCTs evaluating the clinical impact of 18 unique AI tools (2009–2021). Standard-of-care interventions were used in the control arms in all but one AI-RCT. Investigators did not provide access to the software code of the AI tool in any of the studies. Considering the primary outcome, the results were in favour of the AI intervention in 82% of the completed AI-RCTs (14 out of 17). We identified significant variation in the patterns of development, external validation and clinical evaluation approaches among different AI tools. A published development study was found only for 10 of the 18 AI tools. Median time from the publication of a development study to the respective AI-RCT was 1.4 years (IQR 0.2–2.2).

Conclusions

We found significant variation in the patterns of development and validation for AI tools before their evaluation in dedicated AI-RCTs. Published peer-reviewed protocols and completed AI-RCTs were also heterogeneous in design and reporting. Upcoming guidelines providing guidance for the development and clinical translation process aim to improve these aspects.
Effect of a cervical collar on head and neck acceleration profiles during emergency spinal immobilisation and extrication procedures in elite football (soccer) players: protocol for a randomised, controlled cross-over trial
Authors: Callaghan Michael J , Hughes Tom , Davin John , Hayes Russell , Hough Neil , Torpey Daniel , Perry David , Dawson Sam , Murray Eoghan , Jones Richard K
Published: December 2021

When immobilisation after a cervical spine or head injury is required, the role of the rigid cervical collar is unclear and controversial. There is a need for further studies investigating the use of a rigid cervical collar when head and neck trauma occurs in sport. This study will compare present practice (immobilisation with a cervical collar) to the same procedure without a collar during a simulated spinal immobilisation and extraction scenario from the field of play to the side-line in football (soccer). It will use a prospective cohort within-subjects cross over randomised, controlled trial design. Healthy participants will assume the role of players with a head or neck injury. Clinical practitioners will perform the immobilisation and extrication procedure according to current clinical guidelines. Three dimensional linear and angular acceleration profiles of the head and torso will be measured and the time taken to complete the procedure. The interventions will be a ‘cervical collar’ or ‘no collar’ in random order. Data from the IMUs will be transferred wirelessly to a computer for analysis. Accordingly, within-subject differences between each condition (collar vs no collar) will be assessed with parametric or non-parametric inferential statistics. Statistical significance will be set at p<0.05.

Trial registration number:ISRCTN16515969
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Hypophysitis: Lessons Learnt from a Large Cancer Cohort
Authors: Kotwal Anupam , Rouleau Samuel G , Dasari Surendra , Kottschade Lisa , Ryder Mabel , Kudva Yogish C , Markovic Svetomir , Erickson Dana
Published: December 2021

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can cause pituitary dysfunction due to hypophysitis. We aimed to characterize ICI-induced hypophysitis and examine its association with overall survival in this single-center retrospective cohort study of adult patients with cancer who received an ICI from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2016. A total of 896 patients were identified who received ipilimumab alone (n=120); ipilimumab and nivolumab (n=50); ipilimumab before or after pembrolizumab (n=70); pembrolizumab alone (n=406); and nivolumab alone (n=250). Twenty-six patients (2.9%) developed hypophysitis after a median of 2.3 months. Median age at the start of ICI was 57.9 years and 54% were men. Hypophysitis occurred in 7.9% of patients receiving ipilimumab alone or in combination or sequence with a programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor; 1.7% after pembrolizumab alone, never after nivolumab alone. Secondary adrenal insufficiency occurred in all hypophysitis cases. Use of ipilimumab alone or in combination was associated with pituitary enlargement on imaging and mass effects more frequently than pembrolizumab alone. Occurrence of hypophysitis was associated with improved overall survival by univariate analysis (median 50.7 vs 16.5 months; p=0.015) but this association was not observed in multivariable landmark survival analysis (HR for mortality 0.75; 95% CI 0.38 to 1.30; p=0.34) after adjusting for age, sex and malignancy type. To conclude, hypophysitis occurred most frequently after ipilimumab and manifested as anterior hypopituitarism affecting the corticotrophs more commonly than thyrotrophs and gonadotrophs. Mass effects and pituitary enlargement occurred more frequently in ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis. The association of hypophysitis with overall survival needs further investigation.
Tumor-associated macrophages induced spheroid formation by CCL18-ZEB1-M-CSF feedback loop to promote transcoelomic metastasis of ovarian cancer
Authors: Long Lingli , Hu Yue , Long Tengfei , Lu Xiaofang , Tuo Ying , Li Yubing , Wang Min , Ke Zunfu
Published: December 2021

Background

Ovarian cancer (OvCa)-tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) spheroids are abundantly present within ascites of high malignant patients. This study investigated the mutual interaction of OvCa cells and TAMs in the spheroids.

Methods

Three-dimensional coculture system and transwell coculture system were created to mimic the OvCa and TAMs in spheroids and in disassociated state. Transwell-migration assay and scratch wound healing assay were used to measure the invasive and migratory capacity. Western blot, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and immunostaining were used to measure the mesenchymal and epithelial markers. Flow cytometry was used to assess the polarization of TAMs. Also, the differential gene expression profile of OvCa cells and OvCa cells from spheroids were tested by RNA-sequence. Finally, the ovarian mice models were constructed by intraperitoneal injection of ID8 or OvCa-TAMs spheroids.

Results

Our results indicated that the formation of OvCa-TAMs spheroids was positive related to the malignancy of OvCa cells. M2-TAMs induced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of OvCa cells by releasing chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18) in the spheroids. While, CCL18 induced macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) transcription in OvCa cells through zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1). This study further indicated that M-CSF secreted by OvCa cells drived the polarization of M2-TAMs. Therefore, a CCL18-ZEB1-M-CSF interacting loop between OvCa cells and TAMs in the spheroids was identified. Moreover, with blocking the expression of ZEB1 in the OvCa cell, the formation of OvCa-TAMs spheroids was impeded. In the ovarian mice models, the formation of OvCa-TAMs spheroids in the ascites was promoted by overexpressing of ZEB1 in OvCa cells, which resulted in faster and earlier transcoelomic metastasis.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that the formation of OvCa-TAMs spheroids resulted in aggressive phenotype of OvCa cells, as a specific feedback loop CCL18-ZEB1-M-CSF in it. Inhibition of ZEB1 reduced OvCa-TAMs spheroids in the ascites, impeding the transcoelomic metastasis and improving the outcome of ovarian patients.
LLDAS is an attainable treat-to-target goal in childhood-onset SLE
Authors: Wahadat Mohamed Javad , van den Berg Lotte , Timmermans Demi , van Rijswijk Kevin , van Dijk-Hummelman Annette , Bakx Susan , Verkaaik Marleen , Versnel Marjan A , Kamphuis Sylvia
Published: December 2021

Objectives

To study whether clinical remission (CR) and Low Lupus Disease Activity State (LLDAS) are achievable goals in childhood-onset SLE.

Methods

Data on medication use and disease activity were prospectively collected. LLDAS was defined as Safety of Estrogen in Lupus Erythematosus National Assesment-SLE disease Activity Index (SELENA-SLEDAI) ≤4 with zero scores for renal, Central Nervous System (CNS), serositis, vasculitis and constitutional components, no increase in any SLEDAI component since the previous visit, PGA ≤1, and prednisone dose ≤7.5 mg/day. CR on treatment (Tx) was defined as a Physician Global Assessment <0.5, SELENA-SLEDAI=0, with prednisone ≤5 mg/day and maintenance treatment with immunosuppressives. CR off Tx was the same but without prednisone or other immunosuppressive usage.

Results

51 patients (700 visits) were included. Within 3 months after diagnosis, 94.1% of children were treated with hydroxychloroquine and 60.8% with prednisone. Prednisone dosage decreased from a median of 0.74 mg/kg/day at diagnosis to 0.44 mg/kg/day at 3 months and 0.16 mg/kg/day at 6 months after diagnosis. Use of mycophenolate mofetil increased from 25.5% to 56.9% within 6 months after diagnosis. All children achieved LLDAS (median 186 days) and 72.5% remained in LLDAS >50% of time. 52.9% children achieved CR on Tx, and only 21.6% children achieved CR off Tx.

Conclusions

LLDAS is an attainable treat-to-target goal in contrast to CR on and off Tx. Even more, LLDAS can be reached with limited use of corticosteroids with early introduction of immunosuppressives.
Gradient flow and holography from a local Wilsonian cutoff
Authors: Ellwanger Ulrich
Published: December 2021

We consider the vacuum partition function of a 4d scalar QFT in a curved background as function of bare marginal and relevant couplings. A local UV cutoff $$\Lambda (x)$$

Λ
(
x
)

transforming under Weyl rescalings allows to construct Weyl invariant kinetic terms including Wilsonian cutoff functions. The local cutoff can be absorbed completely by a rescaling of the metric and the bare couplings. The vacuum partition function satisfies consistency conditions which follow from the Abelian nature of local redefinitions of the cutoff, and which differ from Weyl rescalings. These imply a gradient flow for beta functions describing the cutoff dependence of rescaled bare couplings. The consistency conditions allow to satisfy all but one Hamiltonian constraints required for a holographic description of the flow of bare couplings with the cutoff.
f(T) cosmology with nonzero curvature
Authors: Paliathanasis Andronikos
Published: December 2021

We investigate exact and analytic solutions in [Formula: see text] gravity within the context of a Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker background space with nonzero spatial curvature. For the power-law theory [Formula: see text] we find that the field equations admit an exact solution with a linear scalar factor for negative and positive spatial curvature. That Milne-like solution is asymptotic behavior for the scale factor near the initial singularity for the model [Formula: see text]. The analytic solution for that specific theory is presented in terms of Painlevé series for [Formula: see text]. Moreover, from the value of the resonances of the Painlevé series we conclude that the Milne-like solution is always unstable while for large values of the independent parameter, the field equations provide an expanding universe with a de Sitter expansion of a positive cosmological constant. Finally, the presence of the cosmological term [Formula: see text] in the studied [Formula: see text] model plays no role in the general behavior of the cosmological solution and the universe immerge in a de Sitter expansion either when the cosmological constant term [Formula: see text] in the [Formula: see text] model vanishes.
Numerical investigation of gold plated single-core photonic crystal fiber-based refractive index sensor
Authors: Kiroriwal Monika , Singal Poonam
Published: December 2021

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based single-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) biosensor is investigated with external gold coating. All the geometrical parameters such as a gold layer, an analyte layer, a lattice period and cladding air holes are optimized to enhance the sensing ability of the sensor by introducing the finite element method. The designed sensor is able to achieve the highest amplitude sensitivity (AS) of 2258.95 RIU[Formula: see text] with an acceptable refractive index sensitivity (RIS) of 6000 nm/RIU over the analyte refractive index (ARI) span of 1.31–1.40. This sensor can detect a slight index alteration in the sensing medium using a resolution of [Formula: see text] and a high figure of merit (FOM) of 79.01. With the enhanced modal behavior with simple geometry, the resulting sensor can be suitable for real-time monitoring in biological, biochemical and bio-imaging applications.
Multiple breathers and high-order rational solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional B-type Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation
Authors: Liu Na , Tang Xinhua , Zhang Weiwei
Published: December 2021

This paper is devoted to obtaining the multi-soliton solutions, high-order breather solutions and high-order rational solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional B-type Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (BKP) equation by applying the Hirota bilinear method and the long-wave limit approach. Moreover, the interaction solutions are constructed by choosing appropriate value of parameters, which consist of four waves for lumps, breathers, rouges and solitons. Some dynamical characteristics for the obtained exact solutions are illustrated using figures.
The critical values of coupling strength of the non-self-dual Ising lattices under decimation transformation
Authors: Kaya Tuncer
Published: December 2021

In this work, the values of critical coupling strengths of the Ising lattices which are changing their lattice structure (or non-self-dual) under decimation transformations, such as the honeycomb, the triangular and the body centered cubic Ising lattices, are obtained by a modified real space renormalization group approach (RSRG). This modification is necessary to obtain a proper relation between the coupling strengths of the original and the decimated lattices. Indeed, we have achieved to obtain a proper renormalized coupling strength relation for honeycomb and triangular lattices readily, since the decimation transformation of the honeycomb lattice produces the triangular lattice or vice versa. Here, the problem of having physically untractable interactions between degrees of freedom in the renormalized Hamiltonian, which leads eventually to inevitable approximations in the treatment, except for the 1D Ising chain, has been solved with a proper approximation. Especially for the 3D Ising lattices, the physically untractable interactions appearing in the renormalized Hamiltonian make the mathematical treatment too cumbersome. As a result, there is not enough research dealing with the 3D Ising lattices using RG theory. Our approximation is based on using the simple relation [Formula: see text], which is, of course, a very relevant first-order approximation, if [Formula: see text]. With the help of this approximation, decimation transformation process produces only pairwise interactions in the renormalized Hamiltonian instead of having four spins, six spins, or even eight spin interactions which appear naturally if all the terms are kept in the renormalized Hamiltonians of the Ising lattices in 2D and higher dimensions. Without this approximation, one cannot apply analytic RG treatment feasibly to even simple cubic lattice, let alone applying it to the body centered cubic lattice. Using this modified RG approach, the values of critical coupling strengths of the honeycomb, the triangular and the body centered cubic Ising lattices are obtained analytically as 0.6470, 0.2754 and 0.1589, respectively. Apparently, these estimations are really close to the results obtained from cumbersome exact treatments which are 0.6585, 0.2747 and 0.1575 for the honeycomb, the triangular and the body centered cubic lattices.
INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AND FOREARM POSTURES WITH GRIP STRENGTH IN YOUNG ADULTS
Authors: Alam Mohd Mukhtar , Ahmad Israr , Kumar Yogesh , Samad Abdul , Upadhyay Yogesh , Khan Abid Ali
Published: December 2021

BACKGROUND: Grip strength is widely accepted as an indicator of maximum hand strength and contraction of active muscles of the hand and forearm. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of forearm posture (pronation, supination and neutral) and anthropometric variation on MVC grip strength and grip endurance time in young university adults. METHODS: Fifty healthy, right-handed men volunteered to participate in this study. The experiment was characterized by measuring MVC grip strength and endurance time of 50% MVC randomly in three different postures (supine, pronation and neutral). Performance was assessed in terms of dependent variables: MVC grip strength and grip endurance time. RESULTS: MANCOVA results showed no significant effect of posture on MVC grip strength (p = 0:333) and grip endurance time (p = 0:772). There was a significant effect of age (p = 0.044), height (p = 0.012) and forearm length (p = 0.039) on the grip endurance time in supine position. However, palm circumference had a significant effect on MVC grip strength (p = 0.036) in pronation posture only. The pronation forearm posture produces 7.4% more grip strength than a supine posture. In addition, the grip endurance time was improved in the supine position, compared to the neutral and pronation forearm posture. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the MVC grip strength is affected by the weight and palm circumference. In addition, palm circumference was the most influential factor affecting grip strength. Thus, anthropometric and posture-specific grip strength data are essential for clinical and industrial applications. The results can be used to prepare guidelines for rehabilitation, health care, sport and medicine.
Novel Isotropic Anti-Tri-Missing Rib Auxetics with Prescribed In-Plane Mechanical Properties Over Large Deformations
Authors: Zhu Yilin , Jiang Songhui , Li Jian , Pokkalla Deepak Kumar , Wang Qingyuan , Zhang Chuanzeng
Published: December 2021

Analogy with the standard anti-tri-chiral auxetic structure, a novel anti-tri-missing rib structure is proposed in this work. Finite element (FE) analyses (on one unit-cell) were carried out first to investigate the auxeticity and the underlying deformation mechanisms of the proposed structure with linear elastic base material. FE results show that the structure exhibits constant NPR over a relatively large strain range at few specific orientations. However, its auxetic behavior is inconspicuous and the in-plane isotropy only holds over limited strain range owing to the deficient rotational mechanism. An enhanced design with increased interior angle of the ligament and triangle reinforcement within the rotational central core was then proposed to improve the auxeticity and its in-plane isotropy. A theoretical formulation of the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio for the enhanced design was further developed based on Castigliano’s theorem. Tunable elastic modulus in the linear elastic regime and controllable isotropic constant NPRs over large strain ranges were thus achieved for the enhanced design without significantly compromising the overall stiffness. The targeted NPR performances were also verified with nonlinear base materials. Uniaxial tensile experiments and finite size simulations for lattice structures comprising an array of enhanced anti-tri-missing rib unit cells were finally performed to validate the FE and theoretical results obtained from unit-cell analyses.
First-principles investigations of the half-metallic ferromagnetic LaCoTiIn equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloy for spintronics
Authors: Aravindan V. , Rajarajan A. K. , Vijayanarayanan V. , Mahendran M.
Published: December 2021

We have evaluated the structural and mechanical stability, electronic structure, total spin magnetic moment, and Curie temperature of LaCoTiIn Equiatomic Quaternary Heusler Alloy (EQHA) using first-principles studies. The Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) and GGA+U schemes have been used as exchange-correlation functional for the above calculations. From the ground state calculation, LaCoTiIn EQHA with a Type-III structure in the ferromagnetic (FM) state is found to be stable. The electronic structure of LaCoTiIn EQHA depicts half-metallic behavior which has metallic overlap in the spin up ([Formula: see text] channel and a semiconductor band gap in the other channel. The spin–orbit coupling of LaCoTiIn has a great influence on the band gap of the material. The computed band gap values for the spin down ([Formula: see text] channel are 0.480 eV and 0.606 eV by using the GGA and GGA+U schemes. The total spin magnetic moment is 1 [Formula: see text], according to the Slater–Pauling rule, [Formula: see text] = ([Formula: see text] - 18) [Formula: see text]. These results obtained can be used as a valuable reference for future research, or they will be used to further motivate the experimental synthesis of the corresponding alloy.
ASTRO: Reducing COVID-19 Exposure through Contact Prediction and Avoidance
Authors: Anastasiou Chrysovalantis , Costa Constantinos , Chrysanthis Panos K. , Shahabi Cyrus , Zeinalipour-Yazti Demetrios
Published: December 2021

The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and benefits of recommending paths that reduce the exposure to and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus by avoiding crowded indoor or outdoor areas. Existing path discovery techniques are inadequate for coping with such dynamic and heterogeneous (indoor and outdoor) environments—they typically find an optimal path assuming a homogeneous and/or static graph, and hence they cannot be used to support contact avoidance. In this article, we pose the need for
Mobile Contact Avoidance Navigation
and propose
ASTRO
(
A
ccessible
S
patio-
T
emporal
R
oute
O
ptimization), a novel graph-based path discovering algorithm that can reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure by taking into consideration the congestion in indoor spaces.
ASTRO
operates in an A
*
manner to find the most promising path for safe movement within and across multiple buildings without constructing the full graph. For its path finding,
ASTRO
requires predicting congestion in corridors and hallways. Consequently, we propose a new grid-based partitioning scheme combined with a hash-based two-level structure to store congestion models, called
CM-Structure
, which enables on-the-fly forecasting of congestion in corridors and hallways. We demonstrate the effectiveness of
ASTRO
and the accuracy of
CM-Structure
’s congestion models empirically with realistic datasets, showing up to one order of magnitude reduction in COVID-19 exposure.
An Interview Method for Engaging Personal Data
Authors: Moore Jimmy , Goffin Pascal , Wiese Jason , Meyer Miriah
Published: December 2021

Whether investigating research questions or designing systems, many researchers and designers need to engage users with their personal data. However, it is difficult to successfully design user-facing tools for interacting with personal data without first understanding what users want to do with their data. Techniques for raw data exploration, sketching, or physicalization can avoid the perils of tool development, but prevent direct analytical access to users' rich personal data. We present a new method that directly tackles this challenge: the data engagement interview. This interview method incorporates an analyst to provide real-time personal data analysis, granting interview participants the opportunity to directly engage with their data, and interviewers to observe and ask questions throughout this engagement. We describe the method's development through a case study with asthmatic participants, share insights and guidance from our experience, and report a broad set of insights from these interviews.
SwiVR-Car-Seat
Authors: Colley Mark , Jansen Pascal , Rukzio Enrico , Gugenheimer Jan
Published: December 2021

Autonomous vehicles provide new input modalities to improve interaction with in-vehicle information systems. However, due to the road and driving conditions, the user input can be perturbed, resulting in reduced interaction quality. One challenge is assessing the vehicle motion effects on the interaction without an expensive high-fidelity simulator or a real vehicle. This work presents SwiVR-Car-Seat, a low-cost swivel seat to simulate vehicle motion using rotation. In an exploratory user study (N=18), participants sat in a virtual autonomous vehicle and performed interaction tasks using the input modalities touch, gesture, gaze, or speech. Results show that the simulation increased the perceived realism of vehicle motion in virtual reality and the feeling of presence. Task performance was not influenced uniformly across modalities; gesture and gaze were negatively affected while there was little impact on touch and speech. The findings can advise automotive user interface design to mitigate the adverse effects of vehicle motion on the interaction.
MSLife
Authors: Guo Gabriel , Zhang Hanbin , Yao Liuyi , Li Huining , Xu Chenhan , Li Zhengxiong , Xu Wenyao
Published: December 2021

Treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) focuses on managing its symptoms (e.g., depression, fatigue, poor sleep quality), varying with specific symptoms experienced. Thus, for optimal treatment, there arises the need to track these symptoms. Towards this goal, there is great interest in finding their relevant phenotypes. Prior research suggests links between activities of daily living (ADLs) and MS symptoms; therefore, we hypothesize that the behavioral phenotype (revealed through ADLs) is closely related to MS symptoms. Traditional approaches to finding behavioral phenotypes which rely on human observation or controlled clinical settings are burdensome and cannot account for all genuine ADLs. Here, we present MSLife, an end-to-end, burden-free approach to digital behavioral phenotyping of MS symptoms in the wild using wearables and graph-based statistical analysis. MSLife is built upon (1) low-cost, unobtrusive wearables (i.e., smartwatches) that can track and quantify ADLs among MS patients in the wild; (2) graph-based statistical analysis that can model the relationships between quantified ADLs (i.e., digital behavioral phenotype) and MS symptoms. We design, implement, and deploy MSLife with 30 MS patients across a one-week home-based IRB-approved clinical pilot study. We use the GENEActiv smartwatch to monitor ADLs and clinical behavioral instruments to collect MS symptoms. Then we develop a graph-based statistical analysis framework to model phenotyping relationships between ADLs and MS symptoms, incorporating confounding demographic factors. We discover 102 significant phenotyping relationships (e.g., later rise times are related to increased levels of depression, history of caffeine consumption is associated with lower fatigue levels, higher relative levels of moderate physical activity are linked with decreased sleep quality). We validate their healthcare implications, using them to track MS symptoms in retrospective analysis. To our best knowledge, this is one of the first practices to digital behavioral phenotyping of MS symptoms in the wild.
Smart Webcam Cover
Authors: Do Youngwook , Park Jung Wook , Wu Yuxi , Basu Avinandan , Zhang Dingtian , Abowd Gregory D. , Das Sauvik
Published: December 2021

Laptop webcams can be covertly activated by malware and law enforcement agencies. Consequently, 59% percent of Americans manually cover their webcams to avoid being surveilled. However, manual covers are prone to human error---through a survey with 200 users, we found that 61.5% occasionally forget to re-attach their cover after using their webcam. To address this problem, we developed Smart Webcam Cover (SWC): a thin film that covers the webcam (PDLC-overlay) by default until a user manually uncovers the webcam, and automatically covers the webcam when not in use. Through a two-phased design iteration process, we evaluated SWC with 20 webcam cover users through a remote study with a video prototype of SWC, compared to manual operation, and discussed factors that influence users' trust in the effectiveness of SWC and their perceptions of its utility.
Electromagnetic Occlusion Algorithm Based on FPGA and Panel Grouping and Its Optimization
Authors: Ge Junfeng , Li Ning , Cao Jianying
Published: December 2021

With the development of digital signal processing and advanced algorithms, real‐time signal processing based on FPGA and DSP is suitable for high‐speed radar signal processing. With the rapid development of science and technology, war has entered the information age guided by high technology, and advanced science and technology has played a vital role in the trend of war. In recent years in the modern war, many countries invest a lot of research effort on the stealth technology, and advanced stealth technology can use a variety of technical means to alter or weaken the feature information of the target, confuse the enemy radar detection system effectively, reduce the chance of being detected to the largest extent, and prolong the lifecycle of aircraft and weapons. This research mainly discusses the electromagnetic occlusion algorithm and its optimization based on FPGA and panel grouping. The FPGA model selected for this study is XC6VLX240T‐1FF1156I. Because the amount of data processed here is not very large, the cache part directly uses the on‐chip storage resources of the FPGA, and the AD device is used to perform analog‐to‐digital/digital‐to‐analog conversion on the signal and perform digital up‐down conversion. For a facet, it is necessary to first verify whether it is a bright facet and set the flag to mark it, then the facet needs to be occluded with the triangular facet marked as a bright facet, and all bright facets that have been marked need to be traversed. Open MP parallelization of the occlusion algorithm is as follows: The physical optics method is used to calculate the target RCS, and the focus of parallelism is placed on the part with a large amount of calculation. When using Open MP to design a program on a multicore computer, each group is assigned a thread to give full play to the core computing power. The total field is scattered and superimposed by each surface element. This part uses the parallel processing mode of Open MP, which allows the panel judgment in the group to be carried out at the same time. This part requires schedule to allocate resources and use different parallel mechanisms for different calculations to optimize debugging. In the angular range where there is multiple scattering at 0° ≤ φ ≤ 90°, the calculation results and the measurement results are in good agreement, and when the two planes are simulated with 1820 triangular faces, the fast multiple scattering in this paper only needs 4 minutes. This research has realized the general radar signal processing method based on FPGA structure, and the design has important engineering realization significance.
Delineating the Spatial Boundaries of Megaregions in China: A City Network Perspective
Authors: Chen Wei
Published: December 2021

Globalization and informatization have significantly reshaped the map of the global economy. Mega cities and regions have become the battlegrounds in the interplay between globalization and localization, with megaregions becoming the most globally significant spatial configurations in this regard. However, academics and government departments disagree on how to define the spatial boundaries of megaregions. In this study, on the basis of highway traffic flow data between cities, we integrate the community detection and core‐periphery profile algorithms to characterize the city networks in China and identify the city groups and delineate the core structures of city groups, which are the underlying megaregional structures in China. Based on this, we identify 21 megaregions among city groups in China, including the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei, and Chengdu‐Chongqing megaregions, and preliminarily delineate their spatial boundaries. On the whole, there are spatial differences among China’s megaregions to a certain extent. Central and eastern China have numerous, large, and a high density of megaregions, while the western region has relatively few megaregions. The latter also differs notably from mature megaregions in terms of rank sizes, urban systems, and functional divisions of labor. Generally, this study develops a novel analytical framework for identifying the functional regions of megaregional space in China from a perspective of relational geography, with methodological implications for other fields of inquiry.
Experimental and Numerical Study of Strength and Failure Behavior of Precracked Marble under True Triaxial Compression
Authors: Han Yong , Zhao Yuemao , Li Jinglong
Published: December 2021

Cracks play an important role in evaluating the strength and failure behavior of engineering rock mass. In order to increase the understanding of strength and failure mechanism of precracked rock, crack propagation and coalescence from preexisting cracks under true triaxial compression are investigated using true triaxial compression tests and Cellular Automata Software for engineering Rockmass fracturing process (CASRock). Three types of specimens were studied experimentally and numerically. Experimental and numerical results show that both the preferential angle and areal intensity of preexisting cracks can affect the compressive strength and failure behavior of the specimens. The peak strength firstly decreases and then increases with increase of the preferential angle. Also, the peak strength nonlinearly decreases with the increase of cracks’ areal intensity. The numerical results show that the crack initiation and coalescence are observed and characterized from the inner and outer tips of preexisting cracks in specimens containing single crack and multiple parallel cracks. The main shear failure in the specimen containing multiple unparallel preexisting cracks initiate and propagate from one of the macroscopic preexisting cracks, and other preexisting cracks do not initiate, propagate, and coalesce until reaching the peak strength.
Three-Dimensional Prescribed-Time Pinning Group Cooperative Guidance Law
Authors: Ma Wenhui , Liang Xiaogeng , Fang Yangwang , Deng Tianbo , Fu Wenxing
Published: December 2021

In order to overcome the drawbacks of the convergence time boundary dependent on tuning parameters in existing finite/fixed-time cooperative guidance law, this paper presents a three-dimensional prescribed-time pinning group cooperative guidance scheme that ensures multiple unpowered missiles to intercept multiple stationary targets. Firstly, combining a prescribed-time scaling function with pinning group consensus theory, the prescribed-time consensus-based cooperative guidance law is proposed. Secondly, the prescribed-time convergence of the proposed pinning group consensus-based cooperative guidance law proves that the convergence can be achieved at a specified time, regardless of initial conditions and parameters. Furthermore, the design steps including two stages of the proposed guidance law are given for engineering application. Extensive simulations are carried out in three cases to verify the properties. Simulation results show the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed prescribed-time consensus-based cooperative guidance scheme.