bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective molecular characterization of organic aerosols using in situ laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry
Authors: Yuan Daohe , Qi Yulin , Ma Chao , Fu Pingqing , Volmer Dietrich A.
Published: June 2024

Rationale

The sources and chemical compositions of organic aerosol (OA) exert a significant influence on both regional and global atmospheric conditions, thereby having far‐reaching implications on environmental chemistry. However, existing mass spectrometry (MS) methods have limitations in characterizing the detailed composition of OA due to selective ionization as well as fractionation during cold‐water extraction and solid‐phase extraction (SPE).

Methods

A comprehensive MS study was conducted using aerosol samples collected on dusty, clean, and polluted days. To supplement the data obtained from electrospray ionization (ESI), a strategy for analyzing OAs collected using the quartz fiber filter directly utilizing laser desorption ionization (LDI) was employed. Additionally, the ESI method was conducted to explore suitable approaches for determining various OA compositions from samples collected on dusty, clean, and polluted days.

Results

In situ LDI has the advantages of significantly reducing the sample volume, simplifying sample preparation, and overcoming the problem of overestimating sulfur‐containing compounds usually encountered in ESI. It is suitable for the characterization of highly unsaturated and hydrophobic aerosols, such as brown carbon‐type compounds with low volatility and high stability, which is supplementary to ESI.

Conclusions

Compared with other ionization methods, in situ LDI helps provide a complementary description of the molecular compositions of OAs, especially for analyzing OAs in polluted day samples. This method may contribute to a more comprehensive MS analysis of the elusive compositions and sources of OA in the atmosphere.
ESG performance and firm risk in the U.S. financial firms
Authors: Lee Jooh , Koh Kyungyeon (Rachel)
Published: June 2024

This study examines the association between the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and firm risk in U.S. financial firms. We find a significant negative association between the composite ESG performance and total, idiosyncratic, and systematic risks after controlling for firm and year fixed effects and other risk predictors. We also examine the effect of each pillar of ESG on this relationship and find that “S” and “G” exhibit a significant negative relationship with both systematic and idiosyncratic risks of firms, while “E” is only associated with systematic risk. Lastly, we demonstrate that ESG performance is negatively associated with the extent to which leverage contributes to firm risk, supporting our premise that ESG alleviates financial risk. Overall, we provide empirical evidence of potential risk management benefits of ESG in the financial industry.
Reproductive outcomes of embryo cryopreservation and transfer at the start‐up phase of fertility preservation in Japan
Authors: Takae Seido , Harada Miyuki , Nakamura Kentaro , Furuyama Sayako , Ono Masanori , Osuga Yutaka , Suzuki Nao
Published: June 2024

Purpose

To verify the effectiveness of embryo transfer (ET) using cryopreserved embryo as fertility preservation (FP).

Methods

This study was a questionnaire survey. The total number of embryo cryopreservation (EC) was investigated between 2014 and 2020. And for patients who underwent ET among study period, details of EC, outcome of ET, number of live births, and mortality were investigated.

Results

Of the 150 facilities, 114 responded (76.0%). A total of 1420 EC were performed during the study period; and ET was performed for 417 patients. Breast cancer was the most common primary disease. A total of 199 live births (including prospective) were obtained by ET; 1.7 EC and 2.2 ET were performed per patient, and live birth rate was 21.4% per ET (28.1% on 35–37‐year‐old patients). The number of EC and ET increased with age. The final birth rate, including pregnancies other than FP, was 51.8%. Ovarian stimulation with aromatase inhibitors was commonly used, although with no effect on live birth rates. Random start stimulation was also common, experienced by 36.3% of breast cancer patients.

Conclusion

Reproductive outcomes of ETs following EC as FP are acceptable. This research project was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN000043664).
Adaptive decentralized fixed‐time neural control for constrained strong interconnected nonlinear systems with input quantization
Authors: Wei Fansen , Zhang Liang , Niu Ben , Zong Guangdeng
Published: June 2024

This article investigates the problem of adaptive decentralized fixed‐time tracking control for strong interconnected nonlinear systems with full‐state constraints and input quantization. During the control design process, the assumption that the strong interconnection terms are bounded is removed via an inherent feature of the Gaussian function in neural networks. Unlike presvious nonlinear state‐dependent function (NSDF) that can only handle a single constraint, a novel form of NSDF is introduced to cope with more types of state constraints in this article. Meanwhile, the introduced NSDF is still available when the system states are unconstrained. Simultaneously, quantized input is directly handled by utilizing the intrinsic characteristics of the hysteresis quantizer. Then, based on the Lyapunov stability theory, all signals in the closed‐loop systems and tracking error are guaranteed to be bounded within fixed‐time. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed control scheme is illustrated by simulation results.
Defining their real problems, getting public and policy attention: Global struggles of deprived communities for sustainable development
Authors: Ziafati Bafarasat Abbas
Published: June 2024

Agenda is the list of issues or problems that policymakers agree to consider. Agenda setting is a struggle between stakeholders to define these issues. Communities suffering from pollution, homelessness, unemployment, and other unsustainabilities have the best science and most legitimate interest to define these problems for policymakers. However, our knowledge about bottom‐up agenda setting is limited. This study is an original, first‐time investigation to explore and conceptualize how deprived communities engage in the competition to set policy agendas. The findings from analyzing secondary evidence indicate that deprived communities engage in agenda‐setting competition in a three‐step process of (i) defining their problems; (ii) seeking public attention to their problems; and (iii) demanding policy attention to their problems. Strategies that deprived communities use in these steps are identified and illustrated. The study produces a conceptual toolkit to research and map bottom‐up agenda‐setting. The toolkit might be further tested and refined, including in environmental studies. Bottom‐up agenda setting is fundamental to sustainable development by ensuring that framing of social and environmental problems comes from their sufferers so that policymakers rather provide solutions.
Drivers for and barriers to circular economy transition in the textile industry: A developing economy perspective
Authors: Farrukh Amna , Sajjad Aymen
Published: June 2024

Increasingly, pressing sustainability issues including the rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates, climate change‐related vulnerabilities, and natural resource depletion have propelled companies to transition from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE). While circular business models are gaining currency in the manufacturing sector, empirical research on CE transition in the continuous process industry in developing economies is scarce. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers and barriers of CE adoption in the textile industry of Pakistan. To this end, we utilized a qualitative methodology, and a total of 22 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with consultants and senior corporate managers working in the textile sector. Building on the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) and institutional theory, the findings revealed various internal drivers (resource efficiency‐related, organization‐related, and research and innovation‐related factors) and external drivers (market, regulatory, and societal factors) for CE transition. Additionally, the findings demonstrated internal barriers including behavioral, technical, and economic issues, and external issues such as customer and brand‐related barriers, regulatory and policy‐related barriers, as well as supply chain‐related barriers hindering the adoption of CE. We argue that it is one of the early studies to utilize the NRBV and institutional theory to examine the drivers and barriers and provide novel insights into the CE transition in the textile process industry in a developing economy. The findings can assist academics, consultants, practitioners, and policymakers to understand and promote CE as a sustainable strategy in the textile process industry.
deepAFT: A nonlinear accelerated failure time model with artificial neural network
Authors: Norman Patrick A. , Li Wanlu , Jiang Wenyu , Chen Bingshu E.
Published: June 2024

The Cox regression model or accelerated failure time regression models are often used for describing the relationship between survival outcomes and potential explanatory variables. These models assume the studied covariates are connected to the survival time or its distribution or their transformations through a function of a linear regression form. In this article, we propose nonparametric, nonlinear algorithms (deepAFT methods) based on deep artificial neural networks to model survival outcome data in the broad distribution family of accelerated failure time models. The proposed methods predict survival outcomes directly and tackle the problem of censoring via an imputation algorithm as well as re‐weighting and transformation techniques based on the inverse probabilities of censoring. Through extensive simulation studies, we confirm that the proposed deepAFT methods achieve accurate predictions. They outperform the existing regression models in prediction accuracy, while being flexible and robust in modeling covariate effects of various nonlinear forms. Their prediction performance is comparable to other established deep learning methods such as deepSurv and random survival forest methods. Even though the direct output is the expected survival time, the proposed AFT methods also provide predictions for distributional functions such as the cumulative hazard and survival functions without additional learning efforts. For situations where the popular Cox regression model may not be appropriate, the deepAFT methods provide useful and effective alternatives, as shown in simulations, and demonstrated in applications to a lymphoma clinical trial study.
Enzyme‐Like Photocatalytic Octahedral Rh/Ag2MoO4 Accelerates Diabetic Wound Healing by Photo‐Eradication of Pathogen and Relieving Wound Hypoxia
Authors: Li Hui , Jiang Jingai , Lv Xinyi , Xu Yan , Wang Wenjun , Yang Dongliang , Dong Xiaochen
Published: June 2024

The harsh environment of diabetic wounds, including bacterial infection and wound hypoxia, is not conducive to wound healing. Herein, an enzyme‐like photocatalytic octahedral Rh/Ag2MoO4 is developed to manage diabetic‐infected wounds. The introduction of Rh nanoparticles with catalase‐like catalytic activity can enhance the photothermal conversion and photocatalytic performance of Rh/Ag2MoO4 by improving near‐infrared absorbance and promoting the separation of electron‐hole pairs, respectively. Rh/Ag2MoO4 can effectively eliminate pathogens through a combination of photothermal and photocatalytic antibacterial therapy. After bacteria inactivation, Rh/Ag2MoO4 can catalyze hydrogen peroxide to produce oxygen to alleviate the hypoxic environment of diabetic wounds. The in vivo treatment effect demonstrated the excellent therapeutic performance of Rh/Ag2MoO4 on diabetic infected wounds by removing infectious pathogens and relieving oxygen deficiency, confirming the potential application of Rh/Ag2MoO4 in the treatment of diabetic infected wounds.
A novel Fe2O3@CeO2 heterojunction substrate with high surface‐enhanced Raman scattering performance
Authors: Zhang Mingjian , Meng Xiangyu , Yu Jian , Xie Yujiao , Liu Lexuan , Wang Yuening , Song Xiaoyu , Chen Guoxin , Ren Wenzhi , Qiu Lin , Wu Aiguo , Wang Xiaotian , Lin Jie
Published: June 2024

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been applied in many fields due to its advantages of fast and nondestructive detection. For semiconductors, the large‐scale electron‐hole pair separation of heterojunction is conducive to efficient charge transfer, which is a promising SERS substrate. Here, we designed a Fe2O3@CeO2 heterojunction substrate by hydrothermal method and explored its enhancement mechanism in detail. α‐Fe2O3 is a promising semiconductor with a narrow bandgap, and CeO2 has adequate oxygen vacancies on the surface. Combing α‐Fe2O3 and CeO2 into a shell‐core structure, Fe2O3@CeO2 heterojunction presents higher SERS performance than pure Fe2O3 and CeO2 for methyl orange (MO) molecule with a limit of detection (LOD) of 5 × 10−8 mol/L. Under the excitation of 514 nm, Fe2O3 can produce an effective exciton resonance due to its narrow bandgap (2.01 eV). The oxygen vacancy in CeO2 acts as the active site to promote the adsorption of molecules and facilitate the photo‐induced charge transfer (PICT) between the substrate and MO molecules. Therefore, the high SERS performance of Fe2O3@CeO2 heterojunction is achieved due to the coupling effect of excitons resonance, molecular resonance, and PICT resonance. It is found that Fe2O3@CeO2 has good SERS performance and stability to organic pesticides, especially metamitron (LOD = 5 × 10−9 mol/L). This work combines the advantages of Fe2O3 being prone to producing photoelectrons and abundant oxygen vacancies of CeO2, providing a reference for designing semiconductor SERS.
Automated construction of reference model for software remodularization through software evolution
Authors: Meng Fanyi , Yu Hai , Chong Chun Yong , Wang Ying , Zhu Zhiliang
Published: June 2024

The undocumented evolution of a software project and its underlying architecture underscores the need to recover the architecture from the software's implementation‐level artifacts. Despite the existence of various software remodularization techniques, they often suffer from inaccuracies, and evaluating their effectiveness is challenging due to the absence of accurate “ground‐truth” architectures or reference models. Prior studies on reference model construction are time‐consuming and labor‐intensive as it heavily relies on manual analysis by domain experts. Besides, other existing approaches that directly utilize the directory or package structure of the latest version can be unreliable, lacking in‐depth analysis of the employed software structure. To address the above limitations, in this paper, we proposeAutomatedConstruction ofReferenceModel (ACRM), an approach for automatically constructing reference models by assigning weights to classes for various software projects using the metadata of all software versions and historical maintenance records. We evaluate ACRM through both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The experiment results provide quantitative validation and show that the generated reference models are reasonable, as confirmed by the relationship between proposed reference models and architectural smells or bugs. Furthermore, we conduct a survey among the practitioners from industry, to gain insights from practitioners' practices and further validate the generated reference models. The survey shows that, on average, 87% of the participants agree with the reference models generated by ACRM. Moreover, we propose an improved metric,wc2c, which analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of different types of software clustering techniques using the proposed reference models of the given software. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits of using ACRM in analyzed projects, particularly in terms of improving software quality, reducing maintenance costs, and enhancing developer productivity.
Hierarchical Polyimide‐Covalent Organic Frameworks Carbon Fiber Structures Enhancing Physical and Electrochemical Properties
Authors: Coia Piers , Dharmasiri Bhagya , Hayne David J. , Borkar Ameya , Hua Carol , Austria Elmer , Akhavan Behnam , Judicpa Mia Angela Nuñeza , Usman Ken Aldren Sumaya , Razal Joselito , Henderson Luke C.
Published: June 2024

The multifunctionality of carbon fiber (CF) is being extensively explored. Herein, polyimide covalent organic frameworks (PI‐COFs) are grafted bound to CF to enhance their mechanical and electrochemical properties. Here, a range of COF scaffolds are grafted to the surface of CFs via a two‐step functionalization. First, melamine is tethered to the fiber surface to provide an anchoring point for the COFs followed by a “graft from” approach to grow three different sized PI‐COFs utilizing three differently sized dianhydride, PMDA to form MA‐PMDA, NTCDA to form MA‐NTCDA, and PTCDA to form MA‐PTCDA COFs. These COFs increase the capacitance of CF by a maximum of 2.9 F g−1 (480% increase) for the MA‐PTCDA, this coincides with an increase in interfacial shear strength by 67.5% and 52% for MA‐NTCDA and MA‐PTCDA, respectively. This data represents that the first‐time CF has been modified with PI‐COFs and allows access to COF properties including their porosity and CO2 capture ability while being attached to a substrate. This may lead to additional high‐value recyclability and second‐life applications for CFs.
Advancements in Starch‐Based Aerogels and Hydrogels for Treatment of Water Containing Heavy Metals – A Short Review
Authors: Kirti Nikhil , Gupta Arijit Dutta , Singh Harinder , Tiwari Hansnath , Blennow Andreas
Published: June 2024

Rapid industrialization and profligate use of resources in the present era has led to increase in the concentration of toxic heavy metal ions in water bodies and has become a serious environmental concern. Starch hydrogels and aerogels with engineered functionality, porosity, regeneration characteristics, and high surface to volume ratio have rendered them potential candidates for the adsorption of heavy metal ions from wastewater streams. However, grafting, crosslinking, and composting of the starch aerogels and hydrogels to tailor them in response to various stimuli such as ionic strength, pH, and temperature has added an advantage in the treatment of wastewater containing heavy metal ions. This review critically analyses the various synthesis routes for the production of starch‐based aerogels and hydrogels with physico‐chemical characteristics (amylose content, gelatinization temperature, surface area, density, and porosity) and their applicability to adsorb heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Co) ions from wastewater. Future prospects in the development of economical and robust starch‐based aerogels and hydrogels in terms of their stability and reusability have also been discussed.
Estimation of the bar stress based on crack width measurements in reinforced concrete structures
Authors: Corres Enrique , Muttoni Aurelio
Published: June 2024

Estimating the stress of reinforcing bars and its variations in service conditions can be useful to determine the reserve capacity of structures or to assess the risk of fatigue in the reinforcement. This paper investigates the use crack width measurements to estimate the stress in the bars. In existing structures, crack width formulations can be used to estimate the stress in the reinforcement from crack width measurements, profiting from additional information that can be measured in‐situ, such as the crack spacing. Recent experimental results show that the values of the mean bond stress typically considered in code formulations overestimate the actual bond stresses activated in cracked concrete specimens. This paper presents the results of an experimental program consisting of reinforced concrete ties and beams instrumented with Digital Image Correlation and fiber optical measurements. The results confirm the differences with typically assumed bond stresses. A formulation to estimate the bond stresses in service conditions is derived from the results of the numerical integration of a previously developed local bond–slip relationship. Their pertinence for the estimation of the stress in the reinforcement from the measured crack width is evaluated with satisfactory results for monotonic loading and for the maximum force in cyclic tests.
EMC Research Efforts in the IEEJ Technical Committee and State‐of‐the‐Art Case Studies on ESD Found in its Technical Papers
Authors: Fujiwara Osamu
Published: June 2024

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) has been known to cause electromagnetic noise against electronic equipment and devices even before the technical concept of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) was established 68 years ago in the United States and 48 years ago in Japan, while the ESD still continues to be studied as one of the most significant issues that should be solved in EMC areas. This is largely because the underlying nature of ESD has yet to be essentially elucidated from an EMC perspective. On the other hand, as an academic research organization on EMC in Japan, a Technical Committee named ‘EMCJ’ on ‘Environmental Electromagnetic Engineering’ was founded in 1976 in both the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) and the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers or the present IEICE (Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers) to address EMC concerns. Since then, the EMCJ has been jointly conducting EMC research activities under the IEICE as the nominating body and the IEEJ as the associative body, whereas the EMCJ of IEEJ was dissolved in 1999 to form a new Technical Committee on EMC (TC‐EMC) in order to deal with EMC issues appropriate to the IEEJ. In this review, to mark the 25th anniversary of the IEEJ Technical Committee on EMC (TC‐EMC) in 2024, the EMC research efforts and activities that the TC‐EMC has conducted over the past 25 years from January 2000 to March 2024 are surveyed from 1272 technical papers presented at the technical meetings. Furthermore, among the ESD issues identified in these technical papers, the latest case studies utilizing ‘spark resistance laws’ that allow the analysis of the initial behavior of sparks, in which a spark is the essence of ESD and is the key to open the door to elucidate the phenomenon, particularly from an EMC perspective, are reviewed. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Exploring social justice education in Türkiye: Unveiling the impact on university students' social justice perspectives
Authors: Kilic Tugce , Atay Derin
Published: June 2024

The significance of social justice in education has become increasingly important, as education plays a crucial role in empowering individuals and fostering a dynamic environment that promotes awareness of social justice issues. This study focuses on exploring social justice education (SJE) within the context of Türkiye, where research in this area is relatively limited, particularly in terms of classroom‐based investigations. This qualitative study adopted the case study design and facilitates as an extracurricular activity focusing on sustainable development goals, given the absence of a predefined curriculum or specific lesson plans for SJE. The study involved 15 students from a state university preparatory English class and utilized diverse online resources. The study's results indicated a significant transformative influence, specifically in enhancing the comprehension of the scope of social justice and fostering critical thinking abilities. The implications of the study are discussed in detail.
A framework for teaching a moral dilemma narrative to multilingual middle school students: A genre‐based approach
Authors: McKee Jared , Fang Zhihui
Published: June 2024

In this article, the researchers employ a linguistically informed approach to close reading that teaches a moral dilemma through an autobiographical short story. The approach, based on systemic functional linguistics, uses genre analysis that can draw students' attention to the structure, vocabulary, and grammar within literary texts, helping them better understand how meaning is constructed in the text. The authors exemplify this approach through the close reading of “Little Things Are Big” by Jesús Colón (1961) and provide implications for teaching literature about moral dilemmas and close reading to multilingual learners in a middle school ELA classroom. Through this analysis of the story, the authors demonstrate the power of close reading in a multilingual educational setting, showing how genre analysis enables a functional focus on language and meaning in literary reading.
The Relevance of Sr–O–C Isotope Analysis on Burnt Human Skeletal Remains in Archeological and Forensic Contexts: A Review and Future Directions
Authors: De Coster Maura , Ammer Saskia , Laning Tim , Kootker Lisette M.
Published: June 2024

Recovery and identification of heavily burnt and fragmented skeletal remains pose significant challenges in fire and arson investigations. The ability to identify individuals is crucial in such cases, prompting extensive research into various techniques to aid in the identification process, including isotopic analysis. Although direct personal identification is not achievable through isotopic analysis of skeletal remains, it serves as a valuable tool for obtaining chemical elements of the biological profile. Strontium (Sr), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) isotope analyses have been widely used in archeological contexts but are relatively new approaches in the medicolegal domain. Oxygen isotope analysis, for instance, offers insights into the burning temperature, while strontium isotope analysis provides valuable information for tracing the individual's movement across geologically distinct landscapes. Consequently, the investigation of the impact of heat on the biogenic isotope composition of human bones in forensic contexts has gained significant attention. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the key archeological and forensic questions addressed by Sr–O–C isotope analysis of burnt skeletal remains. By examining the current state of the art and prospects, we aim to contribute to a broader understanding and potential advancements in the field of forensic isotope research.

This article is categorized under:

Forensic Biology > Interpretation of Biological Evidence

Forensic Anthropology > Trauma Analysis
Pediatric stoma in Zambia: Current ethical challenges and advancement of public policy
Authors: Kazen Katherine , Roche Keelin , Ward Luther , Feltis Brad , Ibrahim Sufyan A.
Published: June 2024

Introduction

Pediatric ostomy creation is becoming increasingly prevalent in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The procedure is associated with both physical and ethical challenges for patients, their families, and medical providers.

Ethical Discussion

Counseling parents of children in need of ostomy creation must address each of their trepidations while seeking to promote the ethical tenets of beneficence, non‐maleficence, autonomy, quality of life, and justice.

Conclusion

As pediatric surgical care in SSA continues to progress, efforts to ameliorate challenges to providing holistic patient‐centric care must also progress. This manuscript outlines ethical dilemmas associated with pediatric ostomy care in SSA and lists efforts and initiatives seeking to address them.
Nonlinear analysis of laminated composite shells with piezoelectric patches under displacement‐dependent pressure loads
Authors: Kulikov Gennady M. , Plotnikova Svetlana V.
Published: June 2024

In this paper, the three‐dimensional stress field in nonlinear laminated composite shells with piezoelectric patches subjected to displacement‐dependent loads is analyzed. To solve the problem, the geometrically exact (GeX) hybrid‐mixed four‐node solid‐shell element has been developed. The term GeX means that the middle surface is described by analytical functions, including spline functions, and, therefore, the coefficients of the first and second fundamental forms are taken exactly at the element nodes. The laminated solid‐shell element formulation is based on the choice of an arbitrary number of sampling surfaces (SaS) parallel to the middle surface and located at the Chebyshev polynomial nodes within the layers, in order to introduce the displacements and electric potentials of these surfaces as unknown functions. The outer surfaces and interfaces are also included into a set of SaS. Due to analytical integration utilized to evaluate the tangent stiffness matrix, the proposed GeX piezoelectric solid‐shell element under nonconservative loading exhibits superior performance in the case of coarse meshes and allows the use of only one load step in all considered benchmark problems. Therefore, it can be recommended for the large deformation analysis of doubly curved laminated composite shells with piezoelectric patches, since the SaS formulation allows one to find three‐dimensional solutions of electroelasticity with a prescribed accuracy.
Going to the Edge: Bringing Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Together
Authors: Karner Michael , Hillebrand Joachim
Published: June 2024

Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is the natural evolution for both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) because they are mutually beneficial. AI increases the value of the IoT through Machine Learning by transforming the data into useful information, while the IoT increases the value of AI through connectivity and data exchange. Therefore, InSecTT—Intelligent Secure Trustable Things, a pan-European effort with 52 key partners from 12 countries (EU and Turkey), provides intelligent, secure, and trustworthy systems for industrial applications. This results in comprehensive cost-efficient solutions of intelligent, end-to-end secure, trustworthy connectivity and interoperability to bring the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence together. InSecTT aims at creating trust in AI-based intelligent systems and solutions as a major part of the AIoT. This article provides an overview of the concept and ideas behind InSecTT, serving as a baseline for all subsequent chapters and articles.
AI-Enhanced Connection Management for Cellular Networks
Authors: Wenning Bernd-Ludwig
Published: June 2024

Cellular networks such as 4G, 5G and beyond are essential components of current and future communication infrastructure. Current research topics such as smart mobility, intelligent transportation systems and autonomous driving heavily depend on the availability of ubiquitous connectivity. In addition, consumer demand for cellular network resources is ever growing. In the context of the InSecTT project, cellular connectivity contributes, e.g., to use cases in the rail domain, where remote monitoring, maintenance and diagnostics rely on the presence of cellular uplinks from the rolling stock to cloud services. As the rolling stock moves, these uplinks are subject to continuously changing conditions that affect the availability and quality of the connection. To counteract this and to increase resilience, onboard systems may be equipped with a number of uplink options that can be used. This chapter discusses the use of AI to assess and manage the available connections and to move data traffic between the available links according to their expected data rates.
Vehicle Communication Platform to Anything-VehicleCAPTAIN
Authors: Pilz Christoph
Published: June 2024

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is on the verge of being integrated as an integral part of modern vehicles. However, the battle for the final V2X radio technology is still not decided, and the available message standards are complex, hindering research and development. Hence, in our work, we provide a toolbox for early-stage development within V2X, called vehicle communication platform to anything (vehicleCAPTAIN). The vehicleCAPTAIN toolbox comprises (i) a set of software that mitigates the need to adapt for different V2X hardware vendors by decoupling and simplifying implementation, (ii) a set of libraries that supports encoding and decoding of messages, and (iii) a set of software bindings to enable development with ROS2. All software is provided as free and open source (FOSS). Within this work, we prove the functionality of the toolbox with classic end-to-end tests, as well as Qosium, a quality-of-service testing application. Finally, we highlight the applicability and benefits of the vehicleCAPTAIN toolbox for early-stage V2X research and development.
Working with AIoT Solutions in Embedded Software Applications. Recommendations, Guidelines, and Lessons Learned
Authors: Gratorp Christina
Published: June 2024

This chapter aims to be a broad introduction for embedded systems professionals that wish to add machine learning to traditional embedded software. It briefly describes the foundation for a stable and secure IoT communication platform, touching on important areas such as the MQTT protocol and data extraction. The discussion is based on a case study for a digitalized marine vessel, and focuses on guidelines and recommendations for how to work with machine learning models in industrial embedded software applications.
Innovative Solutions for Maritime Infrastructures Monitoring and Protection
Authors: Pacini Francesco , Marroccella Daniele , Lagudi Antonio , Drago Manuel Fortunato , Buffone Francesco , De Rango Floriano , Bruno Fabio
Published: June 2024

The global economy heavily relies on maritime commerce, commonly known as the “Blue Economy,” which involves the transportation of raw materials and products via maritime traffic and the utilization of marine resources, including oil, gas, and underwater mines. The importance of various infrastructures linked to the sea, such as fish farms, pipelines, underwater power and data cables, cannot be overstated as they have significant impacts on both local and global economies. Therefore, safeguarding these infrastructures against both symmetric and asymmetric threats is crucial to prevent disruptions to vital services and avoid negative impacts on the economy and quality of life. This book chapter presents an underwater access control system designed to monitor and prevent unauthorized access to port areas from the seaside to safeguard maritime infrastructures. The system consists of acoustic and magnetic barriers connected to a wireless communication network that can collect and transmit data to the infrastructure control centre. The system provides robust, dependable, and secure solutions for near real-time data transfer, enabling continuous monitoring and prompt response to potential threats. This chapter provides a detailed description of the system architecture and its primary components, focusing on the technological aspects and innovative solutions used to meet the proposed requirements.
Indoor Navigation with a Smartphone
Authors: Torkar Drago
Published: June 2024

This chapter presents a cost-effective system for indoor localization and navigation that does not require the use of satellite positioning or data communication networks. The system, implemented as a smartphone app, relies on QR codes that are pre-generated and attached to the walls inside the building. By utilizing the information from these codes and the smartphone's inertial motion unit (IMU) sensors processed by the Pedestrian Dead-Reckoning (PDR) algorithm, the user's current position can be determined. The Dijkstra navigation algorithm is then used to guide the user to the desired destination. The smartphone app can also be used as a healthcare logistics service in mass-casualty incidents for collecting and reporting georeferenced triage decisions to the cloud.
Die Sorge um Andere am Lebensende
Authors: Stadelmann Karin A.
Published: June 2024

Unter diesem Kapitel wird der Forschungsstand über die Soziale Arbeit im Feld von Sterben und Tod bzw. in der Palliative Care aufgearbeitet – dies basierend auf der eigens durchgeführten Literaturrecherche, welche insbesondere zwischen 2018 und 2021 umgesetzt und seit 2021 bis zum März 2023 mit einzelnen neueren Publikationen ergänzt worden ist. Die Darlegung des Forschungsstandes nimmt folglich den gegenwärtigen Stand der fachwissenschaftlichen Debatte in diesen Jahren auf und geht auf deutschsprachige sowie partiell auf internationale Publikationen ein, erhebt aber für sich keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit.
Die Methodologie des Forschungsprozesses
Authors: Stadelmann Karin A.
Published: June 2024

Die Qualität für ein Forschungsvorhaben erwächst aus der besonderen Sorgfalt in der Vorbereitung, Analyse und Interpretation von Daten. Auch ich habe mich an diesen Maximen orientiert, um die wissenschaftliche Zielsetzung der vorliegenden Forschung zu realisieren. So wurden im Vorfeld sorgfältige Überlegungen im Hinblick auf das methodische Vorgehen und den Auswertungsprozess angestellt. Der Entscheid für die Auswertung der Daten fiel auf die dokumentarische Methode.
Empirischer Teil: Rekonstruktionen von Orientierungsmustern und Begründung des eigenen Tätigseins der Fachpersonen der Sozialen Arbeit in der Palliative Care
Authors: Stadelmann Karin A.
Published: June 2024

Berufliches Handeln zeigt sich nicht nur im Tun und manifestiert sich in der Handlungspraxis, sondern ebenfalls in der Narration und damit in der Form, wie über das eigene berufliche Handeln gesprochen und gedacht wird. Wie beschreiben Fachpersonen der Sozialen Arbeit ihr berufliches Handeln im Feld der Palliative Care? Dies ist die zentrale Frage der vorliegenden Forschung und dieses Kapitels. Um darauf empirisch fundierte Antworten zu finden, wurden mittels rekonstruktiven Verfahrens aus den sieben Interviews Orientierungsmuster und Begründungen, welche von Seiten der Fachpersonen selbst bezogen auf unterschiedliche Aspekte im Arbeitsalltag herangezogen wurden, herausgearbeitet.
Propensity Score-matched Comparison of WEB 17 and WEB 21 with 4–7 mm Device Sizes for the Treatment of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms
Authors: Goertz Lukas , Liebig Thomas , Siebert Eberhard , Zopfs David , Pennig Lenhard , Schlamann Marc , Radomi Alexandra , Dorn Franziska , Kabbasch Christoph
Published: June 2024

Purpose

The WEB 17 system represents the fifth generation of Woven Endobridge (WEB) flow disruptors and features a low profile with fewer wires than its predecessor, the WEB 21. The present study compares the safety and efficacy of the WEB 17 and WEB 21 for the treatment of unruptured cerebral aneurysms with 4–7 mm device sizes, which were available for both systems.

Methods

Patient and aneurysm characteristics, complications, clinical outcome and angiographic results were retrospectively analysed. 1:1 propensity score matching was performed to adjust for minor baseline differences between the groups.

Results

Sixty aneurysms treated with WEB 21 and 90 with WEB 17 were included. The overall failure rate (deployment failure and adjunctive stent) was significantly higher with WEB 21 (16.7%) than with WEB 17 (3.3%, p < 0.01). The rates of neurological events between WEB 21 (6.7%) and WEB 17 treatment (1.1%) were not significantly different (p = 0.08). Also, procedural morbidity was comparably low in both groups (WEB 21: 3.3%, WEB 17: 0%, p = 0.16). The rates of complete/adequate occlusion at follow up were 69.7%/86.4% for WEB 17 vs. 80.4%/91.3% for WEB 21 at short-term (p = 0.27), and 64.5%/83.9% vs. 75.9%/86.2% at mid-term (p = 0.41), respectively. Propensity score matching confirmed the results of the unmatched series.

Conclusion

WEB 17 and WEB 21 had a similar safety and efficacy profile, but WEB 17 was associated with an improved feasibility. Prospective studies with long-term follow-up will define the full potential of the WEB 17 system.
Information technology, market congestion, and economic geography
Authors: Aiba Ikuto
Published: June 2024

I investigate the impact of economic integration, in terms of trade costs and information technology, on the interregional location patterns of retail firms by introducing three features into a new economic geography model: individuals consume only a restricted number of varieties; firms compete for customer acquisition; and the advancement of information technology enables consumers to easily perceive and buy products sold by firms in distant regions. I consider two possibilities regarding competition for attention: relative competition, in which a firm can attract more consumers by advertising more than the average level, and absolute competition, in which each firm competes with another to enhance the share of its advertisement in the market. I show that consumption variety is richer in the agglomerated region, but spatial consumption inequality shrinks as information technology develops. A reduction in trade costs may cause the redispersion of economic activities under sufficiently low trade costs only in the case of absolute competition. This is more likely when competition for attention is fierce and information technology is not fully developed. The results not only support the complementarity between information technology and cities but also provide a new insight that competition among firms is an important factor governing the impact of information technology on economic geography.
Cluster analysis for systematic database extension to improve machine learning performance in double-sided incremental sheet forming
Authors: Möllensiep Dennis , Schäfer Jan , Pasch Felix , Kuhlenkötter Bernd
Published: June 2024

Incremental sheet forming is a process for the production of sheet metal parts in small batch sizes. Due to the relatively low geometrical accuracy and the lack of precise and fast finite element analysis simulations of the process, industrial use cases are rare. Recently, a vast amount of scientific approaches simulated the process by utilizing machine learning techniques. Their success is limited by the quantity and quality of the used process data. Research institutes are struggling to gather enough data without industrial cooperations. For maximizing the distribution of process data in an experimental series and therefore their applicability for machine learning, the authors present a novel cluster analysis approach to systematically extend an existing database. The whole established process database consisting of 70 forming experiments and their toolpaths and digitizations is published to be used as a foundation for similar research.
What Bordism-Theoretic Anomaly Cancellation Can Do for U
Authors: Debray Arun , Yu Matthew
Published: June 2024

We perform a bordism computation to show that the $$E_{7(7)}({\mathbb {R}})$$

E

7
(
7
)

(
R
)

U-duality symmetry of 4d $${\mathcal {N}} = 8$$

N
=
8

supergravity could have an anomaly invisible to perturbative methods; then we show that this anomaly is trivial. We compute the relevant bordism group using the Adams and Atiyah–Hirzebruch spectral sequences, and we show the anomaly vanishes by computing $$\eta $$
η
-invariants on the Wu manifold, which generates the bordism group.
Impact of frailty on perioperative outcomes following percutaneous nephrolithotomy in older persons: evidence from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample
Authors: Chien You-Chiuan , Chen Pao-Hwa , Chang Yaw-Jen
Published: June 2024

To evaluate the impact of frailty on perioperative outcomes of older patients undergoing PCNL, utilizing the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Data of hospitalized patients ≥ 60 years who received PCNL were extracted from the 2010 to 2020 NIS database, and included demographics, clinical, and hospital-related information. Patients were assigned to low (< 5), medium (5–15), and high frailty risk (> 15) groups based on the hospital frailty risk score (HFRS). Associations between frailty risk and perioperative outcomes including total hospital cost were determined using population-weighted linear and logistic regression analyses. Data of 30,829 hospitalized patients were analyzed (mean age 72.5 years; 55% male; 78% white). Multivariable analyses revealed that compared to low frailty risk, increased frailty risk was significantly associated with elevated in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 10.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.38–18.62), higher incidence of unfavorable discharge (aOR = 5.09, 95% CI: 4.43–5.86), prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS; aOR = 7.67, 95% CI: 6.38–9.22), increased transfusion risk (aOR = 8.05, 95% CI: 6.55–9.90), increased total hospital costs (adjusted Beta = 37.61, 95% CI: 36.39–38.83), and greater risk of complications (aOR = 8.52, 95% CI: 7.69–9.45). Frailty is a significant prognostic indicator of adverse perioperative outcomes in older patients undergoing PCNL, underscoring importance of recognizing and managing frailty in older patients.
Application of biofilm dispersion-based nanoparticles in cutting off reinfection
Authors: Li Xiaojuan , Lin Shiyu , Wang Yueli , Chen Yang , Zhang Wei , Shu Gang , Li Haohuan , Xu Funeng , Lin Juchun , Peng Guangneng , Fu Hualin
Published: June 2024

Bacterial biofilms commonly cause chronic and persistent infections in humans. Bacterial biofilms consist of an inner layer of bacteria and an autocrine extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Biofilm dispersants (abbreviated as dispersants) have proven effective in removing the bacterial physical protection barrier EPS. Dispersants are generally weak or have no bactericidal effect. Bacteria dispersed from within biofilms (abbreviated as dispersed bacteria) may be more invasive, adhesive, and motile than planktonic bacteria, characteristics that increase the probability that dispersed bacteria will recolonize and cause reinfection. The dispersants should be combined with antimicrobials to avoid the risk of severe reinfection. Dispersant-based nanoparticles have the advantage of specific release and intense penetration, providing the prerequisite for further antibacterial agent efficacy and achieving the eradication of biofilms. Dispersant-based nanoparticles delivered antimicrobial agents for the treatment of diseases associated with bacterial biofilm infections are expected to be an effective measure to prevent reinfection caused by dispersed bacteria.

Key points

• Dispersed bacteria harm and the dispersant’s dispersion mechanisms are discussed.

• The advantages of dispersant-based nanoparticles in bacteria biofilms are discussed.

• Dispersant-based nanoparticles for cutting off reinfection in vivo are highlighted.