bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Full-Endoscopic Trans-Kambin Triangle Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Surgical Technique and Nomenclature
Authors: Ishihama Yoshihiro , Morimoto Masatoshi , Tezuka Fumitake , Yamashita Kazuta , Manabe Hiroaki , Sugiura Kosuke , Takeuchi Makoto , Takata Yoichiro , Sakai Toshinori , Maeda Toru , Nagamachi Akihiro , Sairyo Koichi
Published: November 2021

Background Full-endoscopic lumbar surgery is used for decompression of lumbar spinal canal stenosis. Now, a cage can be inserted through Kambin's triangle for lumbar interbody fusion (LIF). We have been performing full-endoscopic trans-Kambin triangle LIF (KLIF) at our institution since 2018. In this article, we describe this technique and present our results.

Methods We performed full-endoscopic one-level KLIF in 10 patients. The procedure is as follows. First, percutaneous pedicle screws are inserted. Listhesis is reduced if necessary. The endoscope is inserted in Kambin's triangle. Next, the superior articular process is partially removed, enlarging Kambin's triangle to allow safe insertion of the cage. A cannula is inserted into the disk to avoid damaging the exiting nerve. The disk material is shaved and curetted. Finally, the harvested bone is packed in a cage and inserted into the disk space. We analyze the complications, visual analog scores (VAS), and MacNab's criteria.

Results One patient had an irritation in the exiting nerve at L4–L5. The VAS for back pain and leg pain decreased from 69 to 9 and from 60 to 9, respectively. The clinical outcome was considered excellent in eight and good in two patients.

Conclusions Kambin's triangle lies immediately behind the psoas major. Therefore, we consider KLIF as a lateral LIF procedure comparable with oblique or extreme LIF. However, unlike oblique or extreme LIF, there are no major vessels and organs in the surgical field; therefore, KLIF is the safest type of lateral LIF. Furthermore, using the endoscope, we can perform decompression directly using the facetectomy technique.
Hematolymphoid Neoplasms in Serous Effusions: Morphological Spectrum, Distribution, and Role of Ancillary Techniques—A Retrospective Analysis of 75 cases
Authors: Sukumaran Renu , Nayak Nileena , Nair Rekha A. , Kattoor Jayasree , Jacob Priya Mary , Narayanan Geetha , Thankamony Priyakumari
Published: November 2021

Introduction Involvement of body fluids can occur at the time of diagnosis or during the disease course of hematolymphoid neoplasms. Cytodiagnosis of malignant effusion is important in effective clinical management.

Objectives (1) The aims of the study were to determine the frequency of distribution of various hematolymphoid neoplasms involving body fluids, (2) to study the morphology of hematolymphoid neoplasms in fluids, and (3) to assess the role of ancillary techniques in the diagnosis.

Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, all cases of hematolymphoid neoplasms involving body fluids diagnosed from January 2016 to December 2018 were evaluated.

Results During the 3-year period, there were 75 cases of hematological malignancies involving body fluids. These included 48 male patients and 27 female patients. Pleural fluid was involved in majority of cases (56 cases; 74.67%), followed by ascitic fluid (17 cases; 22.67%), and pericardial fluid (2 cases; 2.67%). High cellularity, monotonous population of cells, high nuclear-cytoplasmic (N/C) ratio, indentation/irregularity of nuclear membrane, immature chromatin/irregular clumping of chromatin, increased mitosis, and karyorrhexis were the key features which helped to differentiate between reactive and neoplastic processes. There were 35 cases of B-cell neoplasms, 33 cases of T-cell neoplasms, and seven cases of myeloid neoplasms involving body cavity fluids. T-lymphoblastic lymphoma was the most common subtype (29 cases; 38.7%), followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (12 cases; 16%). In 53 cases, effusion was present in the initial presentation itself. Initial diagnosis was made in effusion cytology in 25 cases (33.33% of the total), with the help of flow cytometry in 20 cases, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in cell blocks in five cases.

Conclusion Diagnosis of hematolymphoid neoplasms in body fluids based on correlation with clinical details, critical evaluation of cytology findings, and comparison with previous diagnosis along with the judicious use of ancillary techniques helps in deciding an early treatment plan.
Hemolytic Anemia and Hypoxic Brain Injury following Mothball Ingestion in a G6PD Nondeficient Infant: A Case Report
Authors: Nongrum Saahil Manna L. , Chandel Anuragsingh B. , Varma Ravi , Jategaonkar Smita , Jain Manish
Published: November 2021

Mothballs are a common household item used as repellents and deodorizers. They are potential hazards and rare agents of poisoning in children. They are composed mainly of naphthalene, camphor, and 1, 4-dichlorobenzene in varying amounts depending on the manufacturers. It is essential to rule out poisoning by naphthalene in children presenting with hemolysis by eliciting a proper history. Since mothballs are readily available at home, children are drawn to it because of its attractive color and its consumption is a likely possibility. This is a case of ingestional naphthalene poisoning in a 1-year-old glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase nondeficient male child who presented with altered sensorium and hemolytic anemia. The child developed methemoglobinemia and sustained hypoxic brain injury. He was successfully managed by oral ascorbic acid, blood transfusion, and requisite supportive treatments. We report a case of naphthalene toxicity with hemolytic anemia and hypoxic brain damage to highlight the possibility of naphthalene poisoning in young children presenting with hemolytic anemia.
Occurrence of Dengue Virus Infection with Multiple Serotypes in Central Karnataka, India
Authors: Shivaswamy VinodKumar C. , Shivanagowda Prasad B. , Kenchappa Kalappanavar N. , Lakshminarayan Jayasimha V.
Published: November 2021

Objective To find the incidence of concurrent infection of dengue and correlate the difference in clinical features, laboratory diagnoses, and outcomes between dengue and dengue-like illnesses.

Methodology A total of 2,256 patients with suspected dengue fever during the period of July 2014 to June 2020 as per the WHO case definition for dengue fever were enrolled in the study. All patients admitted with a suspected dengue fever were studied in detail in terms of demographic features, clinical features, and laboratory profiles. Two blood samples were collected from each patient with a history of fever for 5 to 7 days. Investigation consisted of CBC, Widal test, malarial card test, Weil Felix test, Scrub typhus test, chikungunya, dengue parameters such as dengue NS1, IgM, and IgG, and real-time PCR for dengue serotypes were performed for each sample.

Results A total of 1,412 males (62.6%) and 844 females (37.4%) of age 2 to 44 years were hospitalized. Out of 2,256 clinically suspected dengue cases, 1,306 cases were positive and 950 were negative by RT-PCR test. Fever was the most common clinical features among the RT-PCR-positive cases, followed by retroorbital pain (85.9%), flushing in 77.5%, and rashes in 84.8% of patients. ARDS was seen in 9.7% and splenomegaly in 27.5% patients. A platelet count of less than 100,000 was observed in 1,838 (81.5%) patients, and a platelet count of less than 20,000 was observed in 147 (6.5%) patients.

Of 2,256 samples, 1,306 (57.9%) tested positive for dengue viral RNA by RT-PCR. Also, 798 cases were infected with a single DENV serotype, and 608 had a concurrent infection. Of the 798 single DENV serotype infection cases, 392 (54.2%) were typed as DENV-2 and 218 (29.2%) as DENV-3. Coinfection with serotypes DENV-2 and DENV-3 was found to account for 67.8% of all concurrent infections.

Conclusion The study showed that dengue fever with concurrent infection with multiple serotypes is on the rise, and an occurrence of recombination may lead to the emergence of more virulent strains showing varied clinical presentations.
Formation of density corrugations due to zonal flow in wave-kinetic framework
Authors: Sasaki M. , Itoh K. , McMillan B. F. , Kobayashi T. , Arakawa H. , Chowdhury J.
Published: November 2021

The formation of density corrugation due to zonal flow, so-called zonal staircase, is investigated theoretically, based on the wave-kinetic framework. The wave-kinetic simulation is performed, considering the profile corrugation and the turbulence trapping mechanism, where the profile corrugation changes the growth rate and the dispersion relation of turbulence. The zonal density is generated by the modulation of particle transport. We obtain the analytical expression for the zonal density, which determines the staircase height. It is found that the amplitude normalized by the ambient density can be comparable to the zonal flow normalized by the diamagnetic drift velocity. The key effect that determines the turbulence profile is found to be the phenomenon of turbulence trapping by zonal flow, while the profile corrugation due to zonal density has weaker effects. Thus, turbulence is localized where the flow curvature is negative, which leads to a flattening of the density profile through the enhancement of particle transport. This fact clearly shows that the effect of turbulence trapping dominates the density gradient dependence of the local linear instability.
Comparison of private flux region instability in conventional and super-X divertor configurations
Authors: Baver D. A. , Myra J. R. , Militello F. , Moulton D.
Published: November 2021

Understanding turbulence in the divertor leg of tokamaks is essential to predict the heat deposition profile on the divertor plate. This in turn is important for evaluating advanced divertor configurations, such as the super-X divertor. Within the divertor region, the private flux region is of interest because it is relatively unaffected by turbulence extending from the outboard midplane, so instabilities in this region could have a particularly pronounced effect on transport. These instabilities are modeled using the Arbitrary Topology Equation Reader (ArbiTER) eigenvalue code. Eigenmodes are examined further by comparing physics models to determine the fundamental mechanisms behind their formation and quantifying the effect of individual terms. This analysis is conducted on both conventional and super-X divertors to compare these effects. The resulting analysis reveals the presence of a geodesic curvature driven instability that is significantly more pronounced in the super-X configuration.
Large negative thermal quenching of yellow luminescence in non-polar InGaN/GaN quantum wells
Authors: Wang Xiaorui , Wang Tao , Yu Dapeng , Xu Shijie
Published: November 2021

Large negative thermal quenching (NTQ) of the yellow luminescence (YL) for a temperature increase from 5 to 300 K is observed in non-polar InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) samples due to the thermal migration of carriers from the InGaN QW layers to the GaN barrier layers for the first time. Such an unusual phenomenon happens only when the carriers are optically excited inside the QW layers, providing solid evidence for the occurrence of thermal transfer of photoexcited carriers from the QW layers to the GaN barrier layers. A simple model considering the thermal transfer of carriers is proposed to interpret the observed NTQ phenomenon. The thermal activation energy of the carriers is determined by fitting the reciprocal temperature dependence of the YL intensity in the Arrhenius plot with the model.
Nonlinear heating and scattering in a single crystalline silicon nanostructure
Authors: Li Chien-Hsuan , Tang Yu-Lung , Takahara Junichi , Chu Shi-Wei
Published: November 2021

Silicon nanophotonics has attracted significant attention because of its unique optical properties such as efficient light confinement and low non-radiative loss. For practical applications such as all-optical switch, optical nonlinearity is a prerequisite, but the nonlinearity of silicon is intrinsically weak. Recently, we discovered a giant nonlinearity of scattering from a single silicon nanostructure by combining Mie resonance enhanced photo-thermal and thermo-optic effects. Since scattering and absorption are closely linked in Mie theory, we expect that absorption, as well as heating, of the silicon nanostructure shall exhibit similar nonlinear behaviors. In this work, we experimentally measure the temperature rise of a silicon nanoblock by in situ Raman spectroscopy, explicitly demonstrating the connection between nonlinear scattering and nonlinear heating. The results agree well with finite-element simulation based on the photo-thermo-optic effect, manifesting that the nonlinear effect is the coupled consequence of the red shift between scattering and absorption spectra. Our work not only unravels the nonlinear absorption in a silicon Mie-resonator but also offers a quantitative analytic model to better understand the complete photo-thermo-optic properties of silicon nanostructures, providing a new perspective toward practical silicon photonics applications.
Correlation between deep-level defects and functional properties of β-(SnxGa1-x)2O3 on Si photodetectors
Authors: Hatipoglu Isa , Hunter Daniel A. , Mukhopadhyay Partha , Williams Martin S. , Edwards Paul R. , Martin Robert W. , Schoenfeld Winston V. , Naresh-Kumar G.
Published: November 2021

Heterogeneous integration of β-(SnxGa1−x)2O3 (TGO) UV-C photodetectors on silicon substrates by molecular beam epitaxy is demonstrated. Multimodal electron microscopy and spectroscopy techniques reveal a direct correlation between structural, compositional, and optical properties of TGO and the functional properties of the photodetectors. Wavelength dispersive x-ray spectroscopy results accurately determine Sn concentrations (x) in the region of 0.020, and room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging shows changes in the CL emission intensity in TGO compared with a Ga2O3 sample with no Sn. Alloying Ga2O3 with Sn is shown to quench the red emission and enhance the blue emission. The increase in blue emission corresponds to the rise in VGa-related deep acceptors responsible for the high gain observed in the TGO detectors. A Ga2O3 nucleation layer is shown to improve the TGO surface quality and give better device properties compared to TGO grown directly onto the Si substrate, including a higher specific detectivity on the order of 1012 Jones.
Estimates of the stochasticity of droplet dispersion by a cough
Authors: Trivedi Shrey , Gkantonas Savvas , Mesquita Léo C. C. , Iavarone Salvatore , Oliveira Pedro M. de , Mastorakos Epaminondas
Published: November 2021

In this paper, the statistical distributions of the position and the size of the evaporating droplets after a cough are evaluated, thus characterizing the inherent stochasticity of respiratory releases due to turbulence. For that, ten independent realizations of a cough with realistic initial conditions and in a room at 20 °C and 40% relative humidity were performed with large eddy simulations and Lagrangian tracking of the liquid phase. It was found that although turbulence decreases far from the emitter, it results in large variations in the spatial distribution of the droplets. The total suspended liquid mass after 60 s from the cough is in good agreement with that estimated by a one-dimensional model accounting for settling and evaporation under quiescent conditions, while deposition times of droplets in the 10–100 μm range are found to vary significantly, reflected in the mass of liquid, and hence the virus content, potentially inhaled by a receptor. The high variability between events is due to the local fluctuations of temperature, humidity, and velocity on droplet evaporation and motion. The droplet distribution suggests that, in the absence of face coverings, an unprotected cough is not safe at 2 m away from the emitter even outdoors. The results indicate that mitigation measures, such as ventilation to address long-range transmission, can be based on the total suspended liquid content evaluated from reduced-order models. However, the large variability of viral content in the near field produces wide variations in estimates of risk; therefore, a stochastic approach is needed for evaluating short-range transmission risk.
Internal and external hydrodynamics of Taylor cone under constant and alternating voltage actuation
Authors: Gupta Archana , Mishra Bal Krishan , Panigrahi P. K.
Published: November 2021

Electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) is carried out in the Taylor cone mode for generating unimodal particle distribution, which can be achieved by either constant voltage actuation (CVA) or alternating voltage actuation (AVA). The present study reports an experimental investigation of the flow field both inside and outside the Taylor cone using light sheet fluorescence imaging and time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurements. Liquid ethanol is used as the working fluid and the amplitude of both constant and alternating electric potential difference is set at the same value, i.e., VC=VA=5.2 kV with an actuation frequency of 200 Hz in the case of alternating EHDA. The hydrodynamic behavior both inside and outside the Taylor cone is presented for the first time. The flow field measurements demonstrate meridional circulation from the nozzle exit toward the apex of the Taylor cone along the generatrix followed by flow from the apex of the Taylor cone along the central axis. A symmetric toroidal vortex is observed inside the Taylor cone in the case of CVA and an asymmetric toroidal vortex is observed for AVA. The flow field shows streamline-like flow in the ambient medium from the nozzle toward the ground electrode along the interface of the Taylor cone jet for CVA. In contrast, two vortical structures are observed around the apex of the Taylor cone for AVA. The velocity profile near the liquid–air interface of the Taylor cone indicates no direct correlation between the flow field inside the Taylor cone with the flow of the ambient medium. This difference may be attributed to the corona wind generated due to asymmetric electrode configuration. The unsteady flow field generated by alternating EHDA has great potential for enhanced heat transfer using spray cooling.
High-Q plasmonic nanowire-on-mirror resonators by atomically smooth single-crystalline silver flakes
Authors: Schörner Christian , Lippitz Markus
Published: November 2021

Plasmonic nanoparticles in close vicinity to a metal surface confine light to nanoscale volumes within the insulating gap. With gap sizes in the range of a few nanometers or below, atomic-scale dynamical phenomena within the nanogap come into reach. However, at these tiny scales, an ultra-smooth material is a crucial requirement. Here, we demonstrate large-scale (50 μm) single-crystalline silver flakes with a truly atomically smooth surface, which are an ideal platform for vertically assembled silver plasmonic nanoresonators. We investigate crystalline silver nanowires in a sub-2 nm separation to the silver surface and observe narrow plasmonic resonances with a quality factor Q of about 20. We propose a concept toward the observation of the spectral diffusion of the lowest-frequency cavity plasmon resonance and present first measurements. Our study demonstrates the benefit of using purely crystalline silver for plasmonic nanoparticle-on-mirror resonators and further paves the way toward the observation of dynamic phenomena within a nanoscale gap.
Computing vibrational energy levels by solving linear equations using a tensor method with an imposed rank
Authors: Kallullathil Sangeeth Das , Carrington Tucker
Published: November 2021

Present day computers do not have enough memory to store the high-dimensional tensors required when using a direct product basis to compute vibrational energy levels of a polyatomic molecule with more than about five atoms. One way to deal with this problem is to represent tensors using a tensor format. In this paper, we use the canonical polyadic (CP) format. Energy levels are computed by building a basis from vectors obtained by solving linear equations. The method can be thought of as a CP realization of a block inverse iteration method with multiple shifts. The CP rank of the tensors is fixed, and the linear equations are solved with an method. There is no need for rank reduction and no need for orthogonalization, and tensors with a rank larger than the fixed rank used to solve the linear equations are never generated. The ideas are tested by computing vibrational energy levels of a 64-D bilinearly coupled model Hamiltonian and of acetonitrile (12-D).
Traditional soybean (
Authors: Zhang Zhong-Hua , Palta Jairo A. , Lu Ping , Ren Ming-Jian , Zhu Xing-Tao , He Jin
Published: November 2021

Traditional soybean (Glycine max L.) breeding has improved seed yield in high-input agricultural systems, under high nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) supply. The seed yield improvements under non-P supply and the seed protein and mineral content dilution by yield improvement were evaluated in 18 soybean cultivars released from 1995 to 2016 in south-east China. Soybean varieties were grown under rainfed conditions in the field under 0 and 35 kg P ha−1 in four sites: Dafang and Shiqian in the growing season of 2017 and Dafang and Puding in the 2018 season. The seed yield, seed protein content and nine seed nutrition concentration were examined. Soybean seed yield increased with the year of release at rates of 5.5–6.7 g m−2 year−1 under 35 kg P ha−1 and 3.9–4.8 g m−2 year−1 under non-P supply in the four experiments. The increase resulted from increases in the number of filled-pods and total seed number rather than from single seed weight and number of seeds per pod. Seed protein content and seed nutrition concentration has not changed with the year of release under 0 and 35 kg P ha−1. Grain yield was positively correlated with the seed Fe concentration. The cultivar superiority of seed yield, seed P, Zn and Ca concentration was negatively correlated with their static stability coefficient. Traditional soybean breeding increased yield under both P and non-P supply, without affecting seed protein content and mineral concentrations. A trade-off between high seed yield and seed P, Zn and Ca concentration and their stability under different environments was shown.
Pregnancy and weaning regulate human maternal liver size and function
Authors: Q. Bartlett Alexandra , Vesco Kimberly K. , Purnell Jonathan Q. , Francisco Melanie , Goddard Erica , Guan Xiangnan , DeBarber Andrea , Leo Michael C. , Baetscher Eric , Rooney William , Naugler Willscott , Guimaraes Alexander R. , Catalano Patrick , Xia Zheng , Schedin Pepper
Published: November 2021

Significance

These human data are consistent with reproductive control of liver size and function in women and concur with recent observations in rodents, suggesting a conserved liver biology. The question of whether this described liver biology has implications for maternal health during pregnancy or sex-specific risk for liver disease remains to be determined. However, our evidence suggestive of weaning-induced liver involution in women may lead to improved understanding of the high rates of liver metastasis observed in young postpartum breast cancer patients.
Correlated diffusion in lipid bilayers
Authors: Schoch Rafael L. , Brown Frank L. H. , Haran Gilad
Published: November 2021

Significance

Dynamic processes on membrane surfaces are essential for biological function. Traditionally, quantitative measurements of lipid/protein motion have been interpreted in the framework of membrane hydrodynamics. However, some recent single-molecule tracking studies have proven difficult to interpret via hydrodynamic arguments. Does this suggest a failure of hydrodynamic theory or simply highlight the dangers in attempting to extend hydrodynamic arguments down to molecular scales? Intermolecular correlations are superior to single-molecule observations for studying hydrodynamics due to the longer length scales involved. The current work reports dynamic pair correlations of lipids in model membranes. Submicron distance-dependent correlations are well resolved, and complementary numerical calculations indicate that hydrodynamic theory can predict membrane dynamics over distances of tens of nanometers and longer.
Phonological features that predict accentedness, comprehensibility, and perceived teaching suitability in Arizona K-12
teachers
Authors: Moran Meghan Kerry
Published: November 2021

Motivated by a proposed administrative practice that would have discriminated against non-native English speaking
(NNES) teachers, this study described an extensive phonological analysis on speech samples from ten certified Arizona teachers to
investigate linguistic features that differentiate native English speaking (NES) teachers from NNES teachers. In addition,
educational stakeholders (n = 141) impressionistically evaluated the speech samples for comprehensibility,
accentedness, and perceived teaching suitability. Phonological features were used to predict listeners’ ratings on these three
constructs. Multiple phonological features were found to predict comprehensibility, accentedness, and perceived teaching
suitability, but each construct was predicted by a unique set of features. Lastly, stakeholders’ evaluations of NES and NNES
teachers were analyzed. Despite individual variability in many of the features of NNES and NES teachers’ speech, educational
stakeholders rated NNES teachers as more accented, less comprehensible, and less suited to teach.
Spatializing kinship
Authors: Ward Shannon M.
Published: November 2021

This paper explores children’s language socialization into kin-based peer relationships in Amdo, Tibet. I examine spontaneous interactions in one extended family to show how children link place and kinship using spatial deixis, the grammatical system that encodes context-dependent reference to location, in Amdo Tibetan. I analyze uses of spatial deixis in two interactive routines: (1) peer-group play, and (2) children’s scaffolding of infants’ roles in multiparty participation frameworks. I argue that children use their emerging deictic repertoires to ‘spatialize kinship,’ mapping kinship relations onto the immediate spaces of co-present interactions as well as the enduring places of the village’s geography. Previous studies have noted that culturally specific forms of relationality influence adults’ uses of deixis by shaping the pragmatics of interactive settings. Building on these insights, the data from Amdo demonstrate the need to consider cultural associations between place and kinship when examining the acquisition of deixis in early childhood.
ACC1-expressing pathogenic T helper 2 cell populations facilitate lung and skin inflammation in mice
Authors: Nakajima Takahiro , Kanno Toshio , Yokoyama Satoru , Sasamoto Shigemi , Asou Hikari K. , Tumes Damon J. , Ohara Osamu , Nakayama Toshinori , Endo Yusuke
Published: November 2021

T cells possess distinguishing effector functions and drive inflammatory disorders. We have previously identified IL-5–producing Th2 cells as the pathogenic population predominantly involved in the pathology of allergic inflammation. However, the cell-intrinsic signaling pathways that control the pathogenic Th2 cell function are still unclear. We herein report the high expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) in the pathogenic CD4+ T cell population in the lung and skin. The genetic deletion of CD4+ T cell–intrinsic ACC1 dampened eosinophilic and basophilic inflammation in the lung and skin by constraining IL-5 or IL-3 production. Mechanistically, ACC1-dependent fatty acid biosynthesis induces the pathogenic cytokine production of CD4+ T cells via metabolic reprogramming and the availability of acetyl-CoA for epigenetic regulation. We thus identified a distinct phenotype of the pathogenic T cell population in the lung and skin, and ACC1 was shown to be an essential regulator controlling the pathogenic function of these populations to promote type 2 inflammation.
Domestic Constitutional Oversight and International Courts
Authors: Powell Emilia Justyna , Rothkopf Ilana
Published: November 2021

Does a domestic constitutional court within a state encourage greater acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)? This question is particularly relevant in Islamic law states (ILS). One might expect that ILS, which embrace the rule of law domestically, might do so internationally. However, this expectation paints an overly simplistic picture of the constitutional court’s role and its relationship with domestic and international politics. Employing original data on constitutional references to constitutional courts (1946–2012), we show that in the context of ILS, acceptance of the ICJ’s jurisdiction is conditional on an independent constitutional court.
A note on the high-dimensional sparse Fourier transform in the continuous setting*
Authors: Chen Liang
Published: November 2021

In this paper, we theoretically propose a new hashing scheme to establish the sparse Fourier transform in high-dimensional space. The estimation of the algorithm complexity shows that this sparse Fourier transform can overcome the curse of dimensionality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first polynomial-time algorithm to recover the high-dimensional continuous frequencies.
Joint estimation of Robin coefficient and domain boundary for the Poisson problem
Authors: Nicholson Ruanui , Niskanen Matti
Published: November 2021

We consider the problem of simultaneously inferring the heterogeneous coefficient field for a Robin boundary condition on an inaccessible part of the boundary along with the shape of the boundary for the Poisson problem. Such a problem arises in, for example, corrosion detection, and thermal parameter estimation. We carry out both linearised uncertainty quantification, based on a local Gaussian approximation, and full exploration of the joint posterior using Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. By exploiting a known invariance property of the Poisson problem, we are able to circumvent the need to re-mesh as the shape of the boundary changes. The linearised uncertainty analysis presented here relies on a local linearisation of the parameter-to-observable map, with respect to both the Robin coefficient and the boundary shape, evaluated at the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimates. Computation of the MAP estimate is carried out using the Gauss–Newton method. On the other hand, to explore the full joint posterior we use the Metropolis-adjusted Langevin algorithm, which requires the gradient of the log-posterior. We thus derive both the Fréchet derivative of the solution to the Poisson problem with respect to the Robin coefficient and the boundary shape, and the gradient of the log-posterior, which is efficiently computed using the so-called adjoint approach. The performance of the approach is demonstrated via several numerical experiments with simulated data.
Data analysis procedures for time-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at a SASE free-electron-laser
Authors: Mayer Dennis , Lever Fabiano , Gühr Markus
Published: November 2021

The random nature of self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is a well-known challenge for x-ray core level spectroscopy at SASE free-electron lasers (FELs). Especially in time-resolved experiments that require a combination of good temporal and spectral resolution the jitter and drifts in the spectral characteristics, relative arrival time as well as power fluctuations can smear out spectral-temporal features. We present a combination of methods for the analysis of time-resolved photoelectron spectra based on power and time corrections as well as self-referencing of a strong photoelectron line. Based on sulfur 2p photoelectron spectra of 2-thiouracil taken at the SASE FEL FLASH2, we show that it is possible to correct for some of the photon energy drift and jitter even when reliable shot-to-shot photon energy data is not available. The quality of pump–probe difference spectra improves as random jumps in energy between delay points reduce significantly. The data analysis allows to identify coherent oscillations of 1 eV shift on the mean photoelectron line of 4 eV width with an error of less than 0.1 eV.
Multilevel plate-type acoustic metamaterials with level-to-level modal antiresonance for sound insulation
Authors: Ye Yingrui , Wang Xiaopeng , Zhang Bo , Chen Tianning
Published: November 2021

With the goal of engineering applications, the scalability of plate-type acoustic metamaterials (PAMs) is significant. However, most of the designed large-scale PAMs are formed by extending a single PAM cell to an array of cells, which will inevitably introduce vibroacoustic behavior to the entire array structure, resulting in a decay of sound transmission loss (STL) performance in certain frequency bands. To overcome this weakness, we present a new conceptual design of a multilevel PAM to enhance STL performance again by considering level-to-level modal antiresonance. The modal antiresonance of the second-level PAM, which manifests itself as the coupling through out-of-plane vibration of the first- and second-level PAMs, is analyzed to reveal the physical mechanisms. In addition, we also find that the STL profile of the second-level PAM has different dependence on the masses placed on the PAM cell and PAM array. We theoretically design and experimentally demonstrate the sound insulation properties of the proposed second-level PAM. Since the configuration of the multilevel PAM can be easily and flexibly designed in accordance with actual application requirements, it has broad application prospects including but not limited to submarine shells, aircraft cabins, and transformer rooms.
Simultaneous description of wobbling and chiral properties in even-odd triaxial nuclei
Authors: Raduta C M , Raduta Apolodor A , Poenaru Robert , Raduta Alexandu Horia
Published: November 2021

A particle-triaxial rigid core Hamiltonian is semi-classically treated. The coupling term corresponds to a particle rigidly coupled to the triaxial core, along a direction that does not belong to any principal plane of the inertia ellipsoid.The equations of motion for the angular momentum components provide a sixth-order algebraic equation for one component and subsequently equations for the other two. Linearizing the equations of motion, a dispersion equation for the wobbling frequency is obtained. The equations of motion are also considered in the reduced space of generalized phase space coordinates. Choosing successively the three axes as quantization axis will lead to analytical solutions for the wobbling frequency, respectively. The same analysis is performed for the chirally transformed Hamiltonian. With an illustrative example one identiﬁed wobbling states whose frequencies are mirror image to one another. Changing the total angular momentum I, a pair of twin bands emerged. Note that the present formalism conciliates between the two signatures of triaxial nuclei, i.e., they could coexist for a single nucleus.
Reorganization of the topological surface mode of topological insulating α-Sn
Authors: Tan Rui , Qi Qi , Wang Peng , Cao Yanqiang , Si Rongrong , Wang Maoxiang , Wang Xiaoxiong
Published: November 2021

α-Sn is a topologically nontrivial semimetal in its natural structure. Upon compressively strained in plane, it transforms into a topological insulator. But, up to now, a clear and systematic understanding of the topological surface mode of topological insulating α-Sn is still lacking. In the present work, first-principle simulations are employed to investigate the electronic structure evolution of Ge1−x
Sn
x
alloys aiming at understanding the band reordering, topological phase transition and topological surface mode of α-Sn in detail. Progressing from Ge to Sn with increasing Sn content in Ge1−x
Sn
x
, the conduction band inverts with the first valence band (VB) and then with the second VB sequentially, rather than inverting with the latter directly. Correspondingly, a topologically nontrivial surface mode arises in the first inverted band gap. Meanwhile, a fragile Dirac cone appears in the second inverted band gap as a result of the reorganization of the topological surface mode caused by the first VB. The reorganization of the topological surface mode in α-Sn is very similar to the HgTe case. The findings of the present work are helpful for understanding and utilizing of the topological surface mode of α-Sn.
Stable and enhanced electrochemical performance based on hierarchical core–shell structure of CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 electrode for hybrid supercapacitor
Authors: Xu Qing , Wang Yintao , Meng Suci , Jiang Deli , Chen Min
Published: November 2021

Herein, accessible and low-cost CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 core–shell nanoneedle arrays have been prepared via a two-step approach comprised with hydrothermal-calcination and electrochemical deposition procedures, successfully. In the beginning, CoMn2O4 nanoneedle arrays took root on Ni foam to form the core skeleton and subsequently, hierarchical Ni3S2 nanosheets uniformly overlaid on the surface of CoMn2O4 nanoneedles shaping the shell structure. This CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 material was measured directly as supercapacitor electrode and presented high specific capacity of 192.2 mAh g−1 with current density of 1 A g−1. Besides, the electrode delivered outstanding cyclical stability as the capacity retention attained 90.2% after charge–discharge measurement at a large current density of 10 A g−1 for 10 000 cycles. Furthermore, a hybrid supercapacitor assembled by CoMn2O4@Ni3S2 cathode and activated carbon anode represented a high energy density of 51.2 Wh kg−1 with the power density of 1030.0 W kg−1. This work shows a facile and inexpensive procedure to design high-performance and strong-stability supercapacitor electrodes.
Electron beam analysis induces Cl vacancy defects in a NaCl thin film
Authors: Quertite Khalid , Enriquez Hanna , Trcera Nicolas , Bendounan Azzedine , Mayne Andrew J , Dujardin Gérald , El kenz Abdallah , Benyoussef Abdelilah , Dappe Yannick J , Kara Abdelkader , Oughaddou Hamid
Published: November 2021

This work reports on the electron-induced modification of NaCl thin film grown on Ag(110). We show using low energy electron diffraction that electron beam bombardment leads to desorption and formation of Cl vacancy defects on NaCl surface. The topographic structure of these defects is studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) showing the Cl defects as depressions on the NaCl surface. Most of the observed defects are mono-atomic vacancies and are located on flat NaCl terraces. Auger electron spectroscopy confirms the effect of electron exposure on NaCl thin films showing Cl atoms desorption from the surface. Using density functional theory taken into account the van der Waals dispersion interactions, we confirm the observed experimental STM measurements with STM simulation. Furthermore, comparing the adsorption of defect free NaCl and defective NaCl monolayer on Ag(110) surfaces, we found an increase of the adhesion energy and the charge transfer between the NaCl film and the substrate due to the Cl vacancy. In details, the adhesion energy increases between the NaCl film and the metallic Ag substrate from 30.4 meV Å−2 for the NaCl film without Cl vacancy and from 39.5 meV Å−2 for NaCl film with a single Cl vacancy. The charge transfer from the NaCl film to the Ag substrate is enhanced when the vacancy is created, from 0.63e− to 1.25e−.
Highlighting considerations in experimental design: the case of multimeters
Authors: Levy Smadar , Noga Adi , Kapach Zehorit , Yerushalmi Edit
Published: November 2021

The instructional lab setting has been found to be dominated by prescribed tasks and pre-prepared lab kits. This was explained by teachers’ need to guide students to simultaneously progress through a lab curriculum, which prompts them to standardize the lab experience. Nevertheless, prominent professional associations have persistently called to better represent experimental research practices in the lab, and to grant students more agency in the experimental process by orienting them towards more open-ended lab experiences. This paper reports a lab activity designed to advance students’ agency in the practice of experimental design, in a setting governed by a high-stakes national matriculation exam. Three hundred teachers of advanced level high-school physics experienced the lab activity in a national network of professional learning communities (PLCs). The activity was anchored in an experiment to determine the relationship between the current through a battery and its terminal voltage. It was designed to problematize students’ considerations underlying the choices of the location of the voltmeter and the measuring scale of the ammeter, and the possible implications for the validity of the experimental results; e.g. control of the variables, as well as the range and the accuracy of measurements. Teachers first performed the lab activity as learners, discussed it in the PLC meeting, and finally reflected on their experience. Individual responses to the lab worksheets and the reflections were analyzed. Initially, teachers’ considerations did not portray key aspects related to the validity of the experimental results, such as how design choices related to the location of the voltmeter and the ammeter measuring scale impacted the accuracy and range of the measurements and the control of variables. The teachers were highly engaged in the peer discussion in the PLC and found the lab activity valuable in raising students’ awareness of important considerations in experimental design.
Prostate and dominant intraprostatic lesion segmentation on PET/CT using cascaded regional-net
Authors: Matkovic Luke A , Wang Tonghe , Lei Yang , Akin-Akintayo Oladunni O , Abiodun Ojo Olayinka A , Akintayo Akinyemi A , Roper Justin , Bradley Jeffery D , Liu Tian , Schuster David M , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: November 2021

Focal boost to dominant intraprostatic lesions (DILs) has recently been proposed for prostate radiation therapy. Accurate and fast delineation of the prostate and DILs is thus required during treatment planning. In this paper, we develop a learning-based method using positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) images to automatically segment the prostate and its DILs. To enable end-to-end segmentation, a deep learning-based method, called cascaded regional-Net, is utilized. The first network, referred to as dual attention network, is used to segment the prostate via extracting comprehensive features from both PET and CT images. A second network, referred to as mask scoring regional convolutional neural network (MSR-CNN), is used to segment the DILs from the PET and CT within the prostate region. Scoring strategy is used to diminish the misclassification of the DILs. For DIL segmentation, the proposed cascaded regional-Net uses two steps to remove normal tissue regions, with the first step cropping images based on prostate segmentation and the second step using MSR-CNN to further locate the DILs. The binary masks of DILs and prostates of testing patients are generated on the PET/CT images by the trained model. For evaluation, we retrospectively investigated 49 prostate cancer patients with PET/CT images acquired. The prostate and DILs of each patient were contoured by radiation oncologists and set as the ground truths and targets. We used five-fold cross-validation and a hold-out test to train and evaluate our method. The mean surface distance and DSC values were 0.666 ± 0.696 mm and 0.932 ± 0.059 for the prostate and 0.814 ± 1.002 mm and 0.801 ± 0.178 for the DILs among all 49 patients. The proposed method has shown promise for facilitating prostate and DIL delineation for DIL focal boost prostate radiation therapy.
Impact identification on concrete panels using a surface-bonded smart piezoelectric module system
Authors: Manawadu Ayumi , Qiao Pizhong
Published: November 2021

Timely identification of collision damage, especially in aging bridges, is critical for the safety of commuters. However, there is no efficient, cost-effective,in-situtechnique to serve this purpose. Wave propagation-based structural health monitoring (SHM) using piezoelectric material is a promising alternative for remote sensing. To that end, this study aims to develop a wave propagation-based monitoring technique using surface-bonded smart piezoelectric modules (SPM) to determine the impact force, location, and projectile properties of low-velocity impacts on concrete panels. An impact source localization algorithm used in composite structures is adapted and simplified for concrete structures. This technique is validated using a combined experimental and numerical investigation, which shows good agreement with the actual impact source location. The impact force, projectile mass, and velocity are determined using a semi-theoretical-experimental technique based on Reed contact model. A special contact-SPM is fabricated and calibrated to determine the contact force at the impact location. The relationship between contact-SPM response and distributed-SPM response is determined using a drop-weight test with steel sphere. The peak contact force and contact duration are in good agreement with Reed contact model, although the latter overpredicts the given parameters. A simplified formula based on Reed contact model is used to inversely estimate the projectile velocity of a known mass and vice versa. Then, using the pre-calibrated data, the impact force, projectile properties, and impact force-time distribution are determined using the response of distributed-SPM system. The technique is validated using an arbitrary steel sphere mass. As demonstrated in the combined experimental, theoretical, and numerical study, the proposed surface-bonded SPM system is capable of effectively identifying low-velocity impact incidents on concrete structures, which could potentially facilitate inexpensive,in-situ, real-time condition assessment.
Metamaterials with enhanced mechanical properties and tuneable Poisson’s ratio
Authors: Alomarah Amer , Masood Syed H , Ruan Dong
Published: November 2021

This paper reports a structural modification of an auxetic metamaterial with a combination of representative re-entrant and chiral topologies, namely, a re-entrant chiral auxetic (RCA) metamaterial. The main driving force for the structural modification was to overcome the undesirable properties of the RCA metamaterial such as anisotropic mechanical response under uniaxial compression. Additively manufactured polyamide 12 specimens via Multi Jet Fusion were quasi-statically compressed along the two in-plane directions. The experimental results confirmed that the modified structure was less sensitive to the loading direction and the deformation was more uniform. Moreover, similar energy absorptions were obtained when the modified metamaterial was crushed along the two in-plane directions. The energy absorption per unit volume was improved from 390 to 950 kJ m−3 and from 500 to 1000 kJ m−3 compared with the RCA when they were crushed along the X and Y directions, respectively. The absorbed energy per unit mass (specific energy absorption) also improved from 1.4 to 2.9 J g−1 and from 1.78 to 3.1 J g−1 compared with that of the RCA under the axial compression along the X and Y directions. Furthermore, parametric studies were performed and the effects of geometric parameters of the modified metamaterial were numerically investigated. Tuneable auxetic feature was obtained. The energy absorption and Poisson’s ratio of the modified metamaterial offer it a good candidate for a wide range of potential applications in the areas such as aerospace, automotive, and human protective equipment.