bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Surface Defect Detection Method of Wire Rope Outer Covering Layer Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Shi Enxiu , Huang Xuxiang , Zhang Pan , Hu Gangyi
Published: October 2024

Aiming at the requirement of a certain enterprise for the visual inspection accuracy of the surface defects of the outer sheath of the wire rope to reach 95 %, this paper adopts the existing Faster R-CNN algorithm to detect the surface defects of the outer sheath of the wire rope, and its accuracy mAP 0.5 is 8 8.7%. In order to improve the detection accuracy, the Faster R-CNN algorithm is improved. Among them, ResNeXt-101 is obtained on the basis of ResNeXt-50. It is used as the backbone network, and the attention mechanism feature pyramid network ACFPN is introduced to extract multi-scale features to enhance the network’s defect detection ability. The defect detection accuracy mAP 0.5 is improved to 93.2% In view of the diversity and large size differences of the defects of the outer sheath of the wire rope, a new loss function is constructed for the network. At the same time, the BO algorithm is used to optimize the hyperparameters of the stochastic gradient optimizer SGD of the improved network. The final designed ResNeXt101-ACFPN-Faster R-CNN algorithm is used to detect the surface defects of the outer sheath of the wire rope, and the detection accuracy mAP 0.5 reaches 95.8%. The detection goal of the enterprise is achieved. The research results show that the network optimization method proposed in this paper has a good effect on improving the detection accuracy of the surface defects of the outer sheath of the wire rope, and also verifies the effectiveness and feasibility of the algorithm improvement.
SFFN: Serial Feature Fusion Network for Visual Tracking
Authors: Kou Qi , Wang Peng , Sun Mengyu , Li Xiaoyan , Di Ruohai , Lv Zhigang
Published: October 2024

Recently, The Transformer tracker has excellent visual target tracking performance. The parallel arrangement of structural feature fusion networks proposed by the TransT tracker makes the Transformer learn the erroneous information. To address the issue, this paper proposes the SFFN tracker. It constructed a serial feature fusion network with the Transformer module in a serial interleaved arrangement to avoid learning erroneous information during the Transformer feature fusion process. The experiments show that SFFN performs well on the GOT-10k dataset, and it improves over TransT by 2.6%, 2.6%, and 2.3% in AO, SR0.5, and SR0.75, respectively.
Lightweight Object Detection Based on Autonomous Driving
Authors: Hua Song , Wang Peng , Li Xiaoyan , Sun Bo , Sun Mengyu , Di Ruohai , Lv Zhigang
Published: October 2024

Addressing the issues of low accuracy and large size for tiny objects like pedestrians, non-motor vehicles, and vehicles in traditional object detection models for autonomous driving. An advanced variant of the YOLOv7-tiny model for automatic driving object detection is proposed in this study. The VoVEGSCSP module, designed for cross-layer integration within local networks, is introduced. The SPPCSPC module was replaced with the Space Pyramid Pool Fast (SPPF). This reduces parameters and calculations while preserving the diversity of the original feature scale. CARAFE is a lightweight universal upsampling operator that replaces nearest neighbor interpolation in the upsampling module, thereby reducing feature information loss during upsampling. Results demonstrate that on the KITTI dataset, the improved YOLOv7-tiny algorithm reduces parameters by 35.7% and computation by 34.1%, with only a 0.7% decrease in mAP@0.5 accuracy.
UAV detection technology research based on deep learning
Authors: Wang Yu , Bai Xiaojun , Di Liuhua , Zhao Shifeng
Published: October 2024

In the process of UAV target recognition, the target is small, the feature is not obvious, and the recognition accuracy is low, a UAV target detection method called YOLOv8-UD is proposed based on YOLOv8. This method replaces downsampling layers with SPD convolutions to mitigate fine-grained feature loss issues. It employs a BiFPN structure to get information which is multi-scale, enhancing representation of global semantic message and Improve awareness of small goals. As a result, to target detection, it significantly enhances the correctness and effectiveness. Additionally, to address difficulty of detecting low-resolution small targets, the network structure was modified by adding a detection head, for small target, thereby enhancing capability to detect it. Combining an improved loss function based on Inner-IoU accelerated model convergence and improved detection accuracy of samples at high IoU thresholds. We can tell by experiments that The algorithm proposed in this paper have 0.805 and 0.334 in mAP(0.5) and mAP(0.5:0.95) metrics, respectively. Compared to YOLOv8, improvements of 4.6% and 7% are achieved in mAP(0.5) and mAP (0.5:0.95) metrics. The experiments validate that the proposed way significantly enhances accuracy to UAV small target detection.
Lightweight Detection Algorithm for Air-to-Ground Threat Object
Authors: Xu Xin , Liu Bin , Zhong Yun , Hua Song
Published: October 2024

In air-to-ground threat object detection, the typically strong concealment, small size, and high movement speed of threat objects often lead to challenges such as missed detections, low accuracy, and an excessive number of network parameters. An efficient lightweight detection algorithm for air-to-ground threat objects is proposed, built upon the YOLOv7-tiny framework. To address the issue of large network parameters, lightweight modules ELAN-GS and Slim-Neck are employed. Additionally, to refine the detection precision for small objects, the NWD metric and NWD loss function are introduced. Results from experiments on the DOTA dataset highlight that, compared with the original network, the proposed algorithm achieves a 33.2% reduction in parameters and a 26.3% reduction in computational cost. The small object accuracy, mAPs@0.5:0.95, is 23.7%, which is a 4.4% enhancement relative to the original network. The significant reduction in parameters and computational cost, along with the substantial improvement in small object detection accuracy, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
SPCF-YOLO: Dense Small Target Detection Algorithm for Autonomous Driving
Authors: Zhao Yan , Zhao Xiangmo , Wang Peng , Li Liangliang , Sun Bo , Di Ruohai
Published: October 2024

In the automatic driving scene, the pedestrian and vehicle targets are dense and block each other, and the problem of target false detection and missing detection is easy to occur. In this paper, a dense small target detection algorithm SPCF-YOLO is proposed. A new SPCSA module has been designed to strengthen the capture of edge features in occluded small targets. MPDIoU replaces the original CIOU loss function to address cases where the predicted and real frames have the same aspect ratio, but the aspect ratio difference of anchor frame is large. Experimental results show that in KITTI 2D data set, compared with the original YOLOv7 algorithm, mAP@0.5 is 93.5%, an increase of 0.5%. mAP@0.5:0.95 is 66.9%, an increase of 2%; micro-target mAP@0.5:0.95 is 50.3%, an increase of 2.6%; and the computational load and parameter number remain basically unchanged, which proves the effectiveness of the design algorithm.
Research on Polyurethane Creep Prediction Model Based on BWO-BP
Authors: Di Ruohai , Song Nan , Lv Zhigang , Li Jianheng , Gao Hui , Xu Yuntao
Published: October 2024

Polyurethane foam materials can creep under the influence of temperature, humidity, and pressure during use, which seriously affects their safety and state of use. Therefore, studying the creep behavior of polyurethane foam materials and developing corresponding creep mechanism models have significant scientific value for understanding their damage patterns. As a type of machine learning, Backpropagation (BP) neural network can be used for data analysis. However, there are many issues when determining the network structure. Whale Optimization (BWO) algorithm, as a type of swarm intelligence algorithm, can efficiently determine the framework of the BP model. BP which has been optimized through the BWO algorithm, has been utilized to construct a model for the prediction of polyurethane’s creep failure. The optimization process has significantly lowered the mean squared error from 0.30 in the non-optimized BP model to 0.07 in the enhanced BWO-BP model, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Research on Image Inpainting Algorithm Based on Self-Attention Mechanism
Authors: Zhao Li , Jiao Yuxin , Shi Jiangrong , Cao Lei , Liang Huan
Published: October 2024

This paper presents a two-path image coloring network based on generative adversarial networks to address structure loss and texture blurring in image coloring. The network uses a modified residual network and adds long-term and short-term attention mechanisms in the decoding stage. The input picture is identified using a patch discriminator. The algorithm is validated using the Places2 dataset and its restoration results are evaluated using image evaluation methods. Experiments show that the larger the occluded region, the better the results. The algorithm improves psnr and ssim values by about 2% and 15% compared to traditional algorithms, and the images repaired are clearer and more realistic.
Reactive Load Pre-measurement for Large Industrial Users Based on Improved GBDT Regression Algorithm
Authors: Gao Zeming , Cheng Lun , Yang Xiaodong , Chen Linhao
Published: October 2024

With the development of intelligence and marketization of power system, reactive load prediction is the key technology applied to the intelligent technical means of power grid. For large industrial users, the management of reactive power is one of the key factors to maintain the voltage stability. Therefore, the accurate prediction of the reactive load of large industrial users is of great significance to optimize the operation of the power system and reduce energy waste. To this end, this paper realizes the prediction set date based on the improved gradient lifting tree (Gradient Boosting Decision Tree, GBDT) regression algorithm, selects the whole data as the historical data for training, and compares the data with the traditional prediction method. The experiments show that the improved GBDT regression algorithm is 28.9% more accurate than the time series algorithm MA, which predicts only from historical data.
Research on Target Position and Motion Parameters Based on Azimuth Wave Number of Echo Signal
Authors: Chu Lina , Song Bin , Wang Lin , Zhao Yuefei , Li Can , Zhao Song
Published: October 2024

The circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR) system by a small rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, being capable of three-dimensional target imaging, is one of the research hotspots in SAR imaging. In this paper, for the frequency modulated continuous wave CSAR system, the geometric structure and wavenumber spectrum are derived, and then the relationship between the azimuth wavenumber and system parameters as well as flight motion conditions is analyzed. Through simulation analysis, it is verified that the azimuth wavenumber of the echo signal is affected by the position and motion parameters of the imaging target, laying a theoretical foundation for the development and application of the wavenumber domain imaging algorithm of CSAR.
Upper Limb Motion Intention Recognition Based on sEMG and EMD-LSSVM
Authors: Wang Xuefeng , Liao Fuyuan , Zhang Wenyue , Yao Fei , Li Jiajun
Published: October 2024

A method is proposed to enhance the precision of recognizing upper limb motion intentions using surface electromyography. This approach combines empirical mode decomposition with a least squares support vector machine. This method performs empirical mode decomposition on the preprocessed sEMG to obtain its intrinsic mode function and residual function, this method assesses the correlation between each intrinsic mode function and sEMG signals, and selects the component with high correlation as the effective component. Finally, the time-domain features of sEMG and the first three intrinsic mode functions are calculated and combined to obtain a new feature vector. The findings indicate that using EMD-LSSVM improves the accuracy of recognizing upper limb motion intentions by 9 % and 5 % higher than that of EMD-SVM and EMD-PSO-SVM respectively.
One-Step Molten Salt Method For Synthesis of Perovskite-Like Sr2Nb2O7 and Sr5Nb4O15 Ceramics
Authors: Xi Dongyang , Sun Lei
Published: October 2024

In this study, Sr2Nb2O7 and Sr5Nb4O15 layered perovskite-like ceramics were synthesized by a single process using a one-step molten salt method. By optimizing the key parameters, including the choice of molten salt, reaction temperature and residence time, two materials achieve synchronous production. The crystal structures of the synthesized materials were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. It is proved that it has typical perovskite-like structural characteristics. Scanning electron microscopy reveals the morphology of these materials. Sr2Nb2O7 presents a sheet-based structure, and Sr5Nb4O15 presents a rod-based structure. This study provides an efficient and direct method for the synthesis of perovskite materials. One-step molten salt method has great potential in the synthesis of multiphase materials. These findings are expected to promote the application of perovskite materials in the fields of electronics, optics and catalysis.
Detection of Amphibian Species based on Cytochrome b Metabarcoding using High-Throughput Sequencing Approach
Authors: Farhana Ramli Farah , Munian Kaviarasu
Published: October 2024

Amphibians are essential in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, contributing to multiple ecological functions. The presence of amphibians in a particular area usually signifies a healthy ecosystem as it indicates that the habitat meets the requirements of their life cycles. However, the amphibian population have been declining due to human activities including pollution and habitat destruction. Researchers are using new methods to monitor amphibian diversity to address this decline. Conventional sampling methods were compared with new DNA metabarcoding techniques using advanced sequencing platforms. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the early detection of amphibian species using Cytochrome b (Cytb) gene with metabarcoding methods and next generation sequencing techniques. Thirty-one samples were used in this study and underwent processes such as extraction, amplification using Cytb gene, library preparation, and sequencing. The result showed that the total number of reads was 658,655, with reads in OTUs numbered 474,061. Out of 31 samples, only three species were successfully detected: Fejervarya limnocharis with the highest abundance (20.6%), followed by Polypedates leucomystax and Pulchrana baramica. The results indicate that Cytb has low capabilities in detecting amphibian species, which might be due to its highly conserved region and the lack of databases for this gene. For future studies, an enhanced DNA metabarcoding procedure should be applied, including better choice of genetic marker and bioinformatics pipelines to minimize error and to improve the accuracy and reliability of detecting amphibian’s species using NGS and DNA metabarcoding. This would enhance efforts to protect amphibian biodiversity.
Insights into Microbial Communities and Foodborne Pathogens in Food Samples from Kinta Valley, Perak, Malaysia through Metagenomic Analysis
Authors: Quek Jia Weai Jerrald , Leong Wong Jun , Liang Tan Joon , Chieng Yeo Chew , Hoon Saw Seow
Published: October 2024

Foodborne illnesses pose an escalating global threat, predominantly stemming from bacterial contamination. Despite a growing incidence rate in Malaysia, there remains a dearth of comprehensive studies utilising metagenomic approaches to analyse foodborne pathogens. This study aimed to assess microbial communities and identify foodborne pathogens in 27 samples, including vegetables, meats, and fruits through whole-genome shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Our analysis revealed a prevalent bacterial presence in most samples, with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes exhibiting notable abundance. Taxonomic profiling unveiled diverse microbial profiles, with specific genera indicating potential health hazards. Detection of common foodborne pathogens, including Escherichia, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, Vibrio, Cronobacter, Bacillus, Yersinia, and Klebsiella, underscored contamination risks associated with these food items. Importantly, our approach facilitated species-level taxonomic resolution, crucial for pinpointing potential foodborne pathogens. The detection of these pathogens in the samples highlights concerns regarding food safety and consumption risks. However, our findings also emphasize the potential of metagenomic sequencing to enhance pathogen detection techniques.
Computational Insights into Kaempferol and Luteolin: Potential Mitigators of the Omicron B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 Variant
Authors: Yu Heng Liew , Khoo Gideon , Griffiths Lyn R. , Keat Wei Loo
Published: October 2024

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been circulating in the local and global population. Among the SARS-CoV-2 variants, the Omicron strain tends to be detected in the recent genomic surveillance studies. Despite being a manageable disease, recovered patients may experience post-COVID-19 conditions such as cough (50.6%), fatigue (45.8%), and memory loss (37.4%). While developing an updated vaccine for COVID-19 is time-consuming, the in-silico discovery of phytoconstituents that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD), may provide insights on the potential of edible plants as complementary treatments. This study aimed to investigate and compare the ligand-protein interactions of phytoconstituents and COVID-19 treatment drug, remdesivir, to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The molecular docking results indicated that kaempferol and luteolin could potentially mitigate COVID-19, as they exhibited higher RBD-binding affinities than remdesivir.
A Markovian Gauss inequality for asymmetric deviations from the mode of symmetric unimodal distributions
Authors: Klaassen Chris
Published: October 2024

For a random variable with a unimodal distribution and finite second moment Gauß (1823) proved a sharp bound on the probability of the random variable to be outside a symmetric interval around its mode. An alternative proof for it under the assumption of a finite

r
r

-th absolute moment is given (

r
≥
1

r\geq 1

), based on the Khintchine representation of unimodal random variables. A special instance of the resulting Narumi–Gauß inequality is the one with finite first absolute moment, which might be called a Markovian Gauß inequality.

For symmetric unimodal distributions with finite second moment Semenikhin (2019) generalized the Gauß inequality to arbitrary intervals. For the class of symmetric unimodal distributions with finite first absolute moment we construct a Markovian version of it. Related inequalities of Volkov (1969) and Sellke and Sellke (1997) will be discussed as well.
On the discrepancy of low-dimensional probability measures
Authors: Weiss Christian
Published: October 2024

Calculating the star-discrepancy of a point set in the

d
d

-dimensional unit cube with respect to the Lebesgue measure is an NP-hard problem. Still explicit formulas, which allow for an easy implementation, have been derived. These formulas are particularly compact in the case of dimensions

d
=
1
,
2

d=1,2

by the work of Niederreiter, and Bundschuh and Zhu. In this paper, we generalize their formulas to arbitrary measures in the dimension

d
=
1

d=1

and to a wide class of measures in the dimension

d
=
2

d=2

. In order to give a potential application of such formulas, we reprove from it the fact that the Lebesgue measure is the hardest measure to approximate in the dimension

d
=
1

d=1

.
The projective Fraïssé limit of the family of all connected finite graphs with confluent epimorphisms
Authors: Charatonik Włodzimierz , Kwiatkowska Aleksandra , Roe Robert
Published: October 2024

We investigate the projective Fraïssé family of finite connected graphs with confluent epimorphisms and the continuum obtained as the topological realization of its projective Fraïssé limit. This continuum was unknown before. We prove that it is indecomposable, but not hereditarily indecomposable, one-dimensional, Kelley, pointwise self-homeomorphic, but not homogeneous. It is hereditarily unicoherent and each point is the top of the Cantor fan. Moreover, the universal solenoid, the universal pseudo-solenoid, and the pseudo-arc may be embedded in it.
Long strings of consecutive composite values of polynomials
Authors: Ford Kevin , Gabdullin Mikhail
Published: October 2024

We show that for any polynomial

f
:

Z

→

Z

f:\mathbb {Z}\to \mathbb {Z}

with positive leading coefficient and irreducible over

Q

\mathbb {Q}

, if

x
x

is large enough then there is a string of

(
log
⁡
x
)
(
log
⁡
log
⁡
x

)

1

/

835

(\log x)(\log \log x)^{1/835}

consecutive integers

n
∈
[
1
,
x
]

n\in [1,x]

for which

f
(
n
)

f(n)

is composite. This improves the result by Kevin Ford, Sergei Konyagin, James Maynard, Carl Pomerance, and Terence Tao [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 23 (2023), pp. 667–700], which has the exponent of

log
⁡
log
⁡
x

\log \log x

being a constant depending on

f
f

which can be exponentially small in the degree of

f
f

.
Diffusion within the synaptonemal complex can account for signal transduction along meiotic chromosomes
Authors: von Diezmann Lexy , Bristow Chloe , Rog Ofer
Published: October 2024

Meiotic chromosomes efficiently transduce information along their length to regulate the distribution of genetic exchanges (crossovers). However, the mode of signal transduction remains unknown. A conserved protein interface called the synaptonemal complex forms between the parental chromosomes. The synaptonemal complex exhibits liquid-like behaviors, suggesting that the diffusion of signaling molecules along its length could coordinate crossover formation. Here, we directly test the feasibility of such a mechanism by tracking a component of the synaptonemal complex (SYP-3) and a conserved regulator of exchanges (ZHP-3) in live Caenorhabditis elegans gonads. While we find that both proteins diffuse within the synaptonemal complex, ZHP-3 diffuses 4- and 9-fold faster than SYP-3 before and after crossover designation, respectively. We use these measurements to parameterize a physical model for signal transduction. We find that ZHP-3, but not SYP-3, can explore the lengths of chromosomes on the time scale of crossover designation, consistent with a role in the spatial regulation of exchanges. Given the conservation of ZHP-3 paralogues across eukaryotes, we propose that diffusion along the synaptonemal complex may be a conserved mechanism of meiotic regulation. More broadly, our work explores how diffusion compartmentalized by condensates could regulate crucial chromosomal functions.
Discovery
Authors: Parslow Christopher
Published: October 2024

This chapter reconstructs the history of the prosciutto sundial beginning with its rediscovery and the first written descriptions. It examines the earliest discussions of it on the international scholarly network circulating clandestine information about the finds from Herculaneum and Pompeii to illustrate how these established the errors and misconceptions recycled in later studies. The controversies sparked inside the Bourbon court by its discovery and initial analysis are revealed in a rare eyewitness account excerpted here for the first time. It emphasizes the light it sheds on a variety of aspects of these early excavations.
The Luther Myth
Authors: Hayden-Roy Patrick
Published: October 2024

This study traces the transposition of Luther’s image from religious reformer to völkisch icon in the period from the close of the Napoleonic Wars up through the immediate post-World-War II era. Using evidence drawn from not only theological works and literary and philosophical sources, but also speeches, theatrical works, public celebrations and monuments, it traces the development of Luther’s image within the German Protestant imagination. The study demonstrates how this image evolved within the environment of German nationalist sentiment of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from a religious reformer and advocate of freedom to a symbol of völkisch nationalist identity, such that with the seizure of power by the Nazis, Luther was used to portray a symbiosis between the new regime and the tradition of Protestant religiosity. The study looks particularly at how Protestant Germans styled Luther to affirm the essentialist racial identity politics of the Nazis, the cult of authoritarian leadership around Adolf Hitler, the drive to impose state control over all competing sources of authority, and the victimizing of German Jews.
The Reborn Luther
Authors: Hayden-Roy Patrick
Published: October 2024

In the aftermath of the war, German theologians repurposed Luther in the environment of cultural crisis as a living source of renewal. Looking at the founding of the Luther Society in 1919 by Rudolf Eucken as well as the emergence of the “Luther Renaissance,” it considers how Luther is styled as an existential hero in the emerging scholarship of Karl Holl, Emanuel Hirsch, Paul Althaus, and others, where his personal struggle for faith could be appropriated and reenacted by German Protestants to provide a source of identity that could both resist the spirit of Weimar democracy, and provide a sense of living identity for the German Volk. In this setting, the theological bases for Luther’s völkisch identity were fully worked out, as well as his affirmation of charismatic authoritarian leadership as a model for political renewal. This sets the stage for the reception of Luther in the era that would follow with the Nazi seizure of power.
Luther the Anti-Semite (?)
Authors: Hayden-Roy Patrick
Published: October 2024

Chapter 7 considers the painful topic of Luther’s anti-Jewish writings and the role they played in the Third Reich. It goes back to trace the public reception of Luther’s anti-Jewish writings in the anti-Semitic movements that welled up in the Wilhelmine Reich, and how that passed down into the era after the war, setting up the emergence of Luther in the 1930s as a supportive resource for the policies of the regime towards the Jews. These policies are received quite differently in different parts of the Protestant church—fully affirmed by the “German Christian” wing of the church, but resisted by the Confessing Church, at least as they affected Jewish converts. Both wings drew upon to Luther as a resource, and the contradictions highlighted therein demonstrate why his notorious anti-Jewish invective did not necessarily fit well with the ideological anti-Semitism of the Third Reich.
New horizons in systems engineering and thinking to improve health and social care for older people
Authors: Aujla Navneet , Tooman Tricia , Arakelyan Stella , Kerby Tim , Hartley Louise , O’Donnell Amy , Guthrie Bruce , Underwood Ian , Jacko Julie A , Anand Atul
Published: October 2024

Existing models for the safe, timely and effective delivery of health and social care are challenged by an ageing population. Services and care pathways are often optimised for single-disease management, while many older people are presenting with multiple long-term conditions and frailty. Systems engineering describes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to change that is focused on people, system understanding, design and risk management. These principles are the basis of many established quality improvement (QI) tools in health and social care, but implementation has often been limited to single services or condition areas. Newer engineering techniques may help reshape more complex systems. Systems thinking is an essential component of this mindset to understand the underlying relationships and characteristics of a working system. It promotes the use of tools that map, measure and interrogate the dynamics of complex systems. In this New Horizons piece, we describe the evolution of systems approaches while noting the challenges of small-scale QI efforts that fail to address whole-system problems. The opportunities for novel soft-systems approaches are described, along with a recent update to the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, which includes human-centred design. Systems modelling and simulation techniques harness routine data to understand the functioning of complex health and social care systems. These tools could support better-informed system change by allowing comparison of simulated approaches before implementation, but better effectiveness evidence is required. Modern systems engineering and systems thinking techniques have potential to inform the redesign of services appropriate for the complex needs of older people.
C–H functionalization of camphor through emerging approaches
Authors: Sennari Goh , Yamagishi Hiroki , Sarpong Richmond
Published: October 2024

Camphor and related monoterpenoid natural products have served as versatile “chiral pool” materials in organic chemistry for over half a century. Historically, many researchers have used a variety of transformations involving orchestrated rearrangements of the bornane skeleton to functionalize the camphor framework, expanding the utility of this chiral building block. Recent developments in C–H functionalization methodologies provide myriad opportunities to derivatize the camphor framework in a selective and predictable fashion. In this review, a short summary of the methods for functionalization of the camphor scaffold using rearrangement chemistry is provided followed by a discussion of emerging methods for directed C–H functionalizations that provide diverse new ways to derivatize the camphor framework.
Application of Polydopamine-Based Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction for Highly Sensitive Determination of Aristolochic Acid I from Traditional Chinese Medicine Samples
Authors: Li Huimin , Cao Huina , Zhang Zixin , Tian Fei , Zhang Yi , Wu Lijie
Published: October 2024

A low cost-effective and simple synthesis method combining magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) and high-pressure liquid chromatography was developed for the analysis of aristolochic acids I (AAI) in traditional Chinese medicine samples. A novel polydopamine (PDA) modified magnetic nanoparticles with one single carbon layer (Fe3O4@1C NPs) via one-pot hydrothermal approach was prepared and then successfully employed to extract AAI for the first time. Dopamine (DA) can form a PDA layer on Fe3O4@1C NPs surface through self-polymerization to form Fe3O4@1C@PDA. As a surface modifier of DA, PDA offered more adsorption sites to AAI due to π–π stacking, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The parameters of MSPE were optimized by univariate and multivariate methods (Box–Behnken design) in detail. High degree of linearity was obtained in the range of 0.05–200.0 μg/mL. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.08 and 0.25 μg/mL, respectively. The recoveries of AAI in spiked Xiaoqinglong mixture samples were in the range of 86.7 to 108.5% with the relative standard deviation of less than 5.2%. Thus, a fast, convenient, sensitive and eco-friendly method was successfully proposed and became a promising approach for the determination of AAI in herbal plants or its preparation in the manufacturing procedure.
Adding traditional and emerging biomarkers for risk assessment in secondary prevention: a prospective cohort study of 20 656 patients with cardiovascular disease
Authors: Rochmawati Ike Dhiah , Deo Salil , Lees Jennifer S , Mark Patrick B , Sattar Naveed , Celis-Morales Carlos , Pell Jill P , Welsh Paul , Ho Frederick K
Published: October 2024

Aims

This study aims to explore whether conventional and emerging biomarkers could improve risk discrimination and calibration in the secondary prevention of recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), based on a model using predictors from SMART2 (Secondary Manifestations of ARTerial Disease).

Methods and results

In a cohort of 20 658 UK Biobank participants with medical history of ASCVD, we analysed any improvement in C indices and net reclassification index (NRI) for future ASCVD events, following addition of lipoprotein A (LP-a), apolipoprotein B, Cystatin C, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), to a model with predictors used in SMART2 for the outcome of recurrent major cardiovascular event. We also examined any improvement in C indices and NRIs replacing creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with Cystatin C–based estimates. Calibration plots between different models were also compared. Compared with the baseline model (C index = 0.663), modest increments in C indices were observed when adding HbA1c (ΔC = 0.0064, P < 0.001), Cystatin C (ΔC = 0.0037, P < 0.001), GGT (ΔC = 0.0023, P < 0.001), AST (ΔC = 0.0007, P < 0.005) or ALP (ΔC = 0.0010, P < 0.001) or replacing eGFRCr with eGFRCysC (ΔC = 0.0036, P < 0.001) or eGFRCr-CysC (ΔC = 0.00336, P < 0.001). Similarly, the strongest improvements in NRI were observed with the addition of HbA1c (NRI = 0.014) or Cystatin C (NRI = 0.006) or replacing eGFRCr with eGFRCr-CysC (NRI = 0.001) or eGFRCysC (NRI = 0.002). There was no evidence that adding biomarkers modified calibration.

Conclusion

Adding several biomarkers, most notably Cystatin C and HbA1c, but not LP-a, in a model using SMART2 predictors modestly improved discrimination.
SARS-CoV-2 ORF 3a-mediated currents are inhibited by antiarrhythmic drugs
Authors: Wiedmann Felix , Boondej Emika , Stanifer Megan , Paasche Amelie , Kraft Manuel , Prüser Merten , Seeger Timon , Uhrig Ulrike , Boulant Steeve , Schmidt Constanze
Published: October 2024

Aims

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been linked to cardiovascular complications, notably cardiac arrhythmias. The open reading frame (ORF) 3a of the coronavirus genome encodes for a transmembrane protein that can function as an ion channel. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF 3a protein in COVID-19-associated arrhythmias and its potential as a pharmacological target.

Methods and results

Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) and cultured human fibroblasts were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Subsequent immunoblotting assays revealed the expression of ORF 3a protein in hiPSC-CM but not in fibroblasts. After intracytoplasmic injection of RNA encoding ORF 3a proteins into Xenopus laevis oocytes, macroscopic outward currents could be measured. While class I, II, and IV antiarrhythmic drugs showed minor effects on ORF 3a-mediated currents, a robust inhibition was detected after application of class III antiarrhythmics. The strongest effects were observed with dofetilide and amiodarone. Finally, molecular docking simulations and mutagenesis studies identified key amino acid residues involved in drug binding.

Conclusion

Class III antiarrhythmic drugs are potential inhibitors of ORF 3a-mediated currents, offering new options for the treatment of COVID-19-related cardiac complications.
Patient safety in general practice during COVID-19: a descriptive analysis in 38 countries (PRICOV-19)
Authors: Van Poel Esther , Vanden Bussche Pierre , Collins Claire , Lagaert Susan , Ares-Blanco Sara , Astier-Pena Maria Pilar , Gabrani Jonila , Gomez Bravo Raquel , Hoffmann Kathryn , Klemenc-Ketis Zalika , Mallen Christian , Neves Ana Luisa , Ožvačić Zlata , Tkachenko Victoria , Zwart Dorien , Willems Sara
Published: October 2024

Background

This article aims to examine patient safety in general practice during COVID-19.

Methods

In total, 5489 GP practices from 37 European countries and Israel filled in the online self-reported PRICOV-19 survey between November 2020 and December 2021. The outcome measures include 30 patient safety indicators on structure, process, and outcome.

Results

The data showed that structural problems often impeded patient safety during COVID-19, as 58.6% of practices (3209/5479) reported limitations related to their building or infrastructure. Nevertheless, GP practices rapidly changed their processes, including the appointment systems. Implementation proved challenging as, although 76.1% of practices (3751/4932) developed a protocol to answer calls from potential COVID patients, only 34.4% (1252/3643) always used it. The proportion of practices reported having sufficient protected time in general practitioners’ schedules to review guidelines remained consistent when comparing the pre-COVID (34.2%,1647/4813) with the COVID period (33.2%,1600/4813). Overall, 42.8% of practices (1966/4590) always informed home care services when patients were diagnosed with COVID-19, while this decreased to 30.1% for other major infectious diseases (1341/4458). Most practices reported at least one incident of delayed care in patients with an urgent condition, most often because the patient did not come to the practice sooner (60.4%, 2561/4237). Moreover, 31.1% of practices (1349/4199) always organized a team discussion when incidents happened. Overall, large variations were found across countries and patient safety indicators.

Conclusions

The results demonstrated that European GP practices adopted numerous measures to deliver safe care during COVID-19. However, multilayered interventions are needed to improve infection control and GP practice accessibility in future pandemics.
Increased intrinsic membrane excitability is associated with olivary hypertrophy in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1
Authors: Morrison Logan M , Huang Haoran , Handler Hillary P , Fu Min , Jones Deborah M , Bushart David D , Pappas Samuel S , Orr Harry T , Shakkottai Vikram G
Published: October 2024

One of the characteristic regions of brainstem degeneration across multiple spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) is the inferior olive (IO), a medullary nucleus that plays a key role in motor learning. The vulnerability of IO neurons remains a poorly-understood area of SCA pathology. In this work, we address this by evaluating IO disease in SCA1, a prototypic inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy, using the genetically-precise SCA1 knock-in (SCA1-KI) mouse. We find that these mice exhibit olivary hypertrophy, a phenotype reminiscent of a degenerative disorder known as hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD). Similar to early stages of HOD, SCA1-KI IO neurons display early dendritic lengthening and later somatic expansion without frank cell loss. Though HOD is known to be caused by brainstem lesions that disrupt IO inhibitory innervation, we observe no loss of inhibitory terminals in the SCA1-KI IO. Additionally, we find that a separate mouse model of SCA1 in which mutant ATXN1 is expressed solely in cerebellar Purkinje cells shows no evidence of olivary hypertrophy. Patch-clamp recordings from brainstem slices indicate that SCA1-KI IO neurons are hyperexcitable, generating spike trains in response to membrane depolarization. Transcriptome analysis further reveals reduced medullary expression of ion channels responsible for IO neuron spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP)—a result that appears to have a functional consequence, as SCA1-KI IO neuron spikes exhibit a diminished AHP. These findings suggest that expression of mutant ATXN1 in IO neurons results in an HOD-like olivary hypertrophy, in association with increased intrinsic membrane excitability and ion channel transcriptional dysregulation.
The prognostic superiority of second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitor in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Naiki Taku , Takahara Kiyoshi , Watanabe Hiromitsu , Nakane Keita , Sugiyama Yosuke , Koie Takuya , Shiroki Ryoichi , Miyake Hideaki , Yasui Takahiro
Published: October 2024

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare prognostic outcomes of administering first- or second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitors in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and to find prognostic indicators.

Methods

This retrospective study included 198 patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer from 14 institutions associated with Tokai Urologic Oncology Research Seminar. Forty-two patients were treated with combined androgen blockade using first-generation inhibitors (bicalutamide or flutamide), and 156 were treated with second-generation inhibitors (abiraterone/enzalutamide or apalutamide/darolutamide) after primary androgen deprivation therapy failure. We compared survival outcomes of combined androgen blockade using first-generation inhibitors and second-generation inhibitor treatments, and analyzed clinicopathological or serum parameters and survival outcome.

Results

Combined androgen blockade and second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitor groups demonstrated median progression-free survival of 10.2 (95% confidence interval: 5.5–12.3) and 26.0 (95% confidence interval: 21.9–38.4; P < 0.001) months, respectively. Cut-off levels for clinical biomarkers were targeted to <0.2 ng/ml prostate-specific antigen levels 3 months after treatment initiation for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; the patient group that achieved this showed better progression-free survival (median 14.7 months, 95% confidence interval: 10.3–23.9 not achieved, median not applicable, 95% confidence interval: 24.6–not applicable achieved; P < 0.00001). Multivariate analysis revealed significant prognostic factors: second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitor as first-line treatment (odds ratio: 5.05, 95% confidence interval: 1.54–16.6) and a high hemoglobin level (odds ratio: 2.92, 95% confidence interval: 1.26–6.76).

Conclusions

Our findings suggested prostate-specific antigen < 0.2 ng/ml after 3 months may be a practical prognostic indicator of survival outcomes in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Patients showing a high hemoglobin level should be intensively treated with second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitors rather than combined androgen blockade using first-generation inhibitors.
Contribution of health insurance to racial and ethnic disparities in advanced-stage diagnosis of 10 cancers
Authors: Pal Choudhury Parichoy , Sineshaw Helmneh M , Freedman Rachel A , Halpern Michael T , Nogueira Leticia , Jemal Ahmedin , Islami Farhad
Published: October 2024

For many anatomic cancer sites, it is unclear to what extent differences in health insurance coverage contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in the diagnosis of stage III and IV disease. Using the National Cancer Database (1 893 026 patients aged 18-64 years, diagnosed between 2013 and 2019), we investigated a potential mediating role of health insurance (privately insured vs uninsured) in explaining racial and ethnic disparities in stage at diagnosis of 10 cancers—breast (female), prostate, colorectum, lung, cervix, uterus, stomach, urinary bladder, head and neck, and skin melanoma— detectable early through screening, physical examination, or clinical symptoms. The analyses provided evidence of mediation of disparities among non-Hispanic Black vs White individuals in 8 cancers (range of proportions mediated: 4.5%-29.1%), in Hispanic vs non-Hispanic White individuals in 6 cancers (13.2%-68.8%), and in non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander vs White individuals in 3 cancers (5.8%-11.3%). To summarize, health insurance accounts for a statistically significant proportion of the racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosis of stage III and IV disease across a range of cancer types.
Transmission properties of longitudinal waves on origami cylindrical shells
Authors: Fang Qian-Yi , Xu Zhu-Long , Yan Ting , Chuang Kuo-Chih
Published: October 2024

In this work, vibrational properties related to longitudinal waves on Miura origami cylindrical shells are investigated. Based on the established kinematic equations of arc Miura-ori with arbitrary side lengths, we designed a Miura-ori cylindrical shell structure that is nearly rigid-foldable, minimizing the unpredictable deformation caused by non-rigid properties. The band structure and transmission properties of the designed origami cylindrical shell were simulated and the influences of geometric parameters on wave propagations were analyzed. Finally, the reliability of the finite element simulation was verified by experiments. Our results reveal that the Miura-ori cylindrical shells also exhibit notable transmission properties with band gaps as well as a dead zone that has not been observed in other periodic cylindrical structure studies. Specifically, the proposed origami cylindrical shell has a wide band gap, a narrow band gap, and a dead zone, which has a lower center frequency of about one-third compared to that of an ordinary cylindrical shell with the same characteristic size and material. This work can serve as a reference for future engineering applications involving origami cylindrical shells.
simba-EoR: early galaxy formation in the simba simulation including a new sub-grid interstellar medium model
Authors: Jones E , Smith B , Davé R , Narayanan D , Li Q
Published: October 2024

We update the dust model present within the simba galaxy simulations with a self-consistent framework for the co-evolution of dust and molecular hydrogen populations in the interstellar medium, and use this to explore $z \ge 6$ galaxy evolution. In addition to tracking the evolution of dust and molecular hydrogen abundances, our model fully integrates these species into the simba simulation, explicitly modelling their impact on physical processes such as star formation and cooling through the inclusion of a novel two-phase sub-grid model for interstellar gas. Running two cosmological simulations down to $z \sim 6$ we find that our simba-EoR model displays a generally tighter concordance with observational data than fiducial simba. Additionally we observe that our simba-EoR models increase star formation activity at early epochs, producing larger dust-to-gas ratios consequently. Finally, we discover a significant population of hot dust at $\sim 100$ K, aligning with contemporaneous observations of high-redshift dusty galaxies, alongside the large $\sim 20$ K population typically identified.
The radio-infrared nebula in II Zw 40: clusters forming in colliding elongated clouds
Authors: Beilis Dan , Beck Sara C , Lacy John , Turner Jean L , Liu Hauyu Baobab , Ho Paul T P , Consiglio S Michelle
Published: October 2024

II Zw 40 is a starburst dwarf and merger product, and holds a radio-infrared supernebula excited by thousands of embedded OB stars. We present here observations of three aspects of the supernebula: maps of the K and KU radio continuum that trace dense ionized gas with spatial resolution ${\sim} 0.1^{\prime \prime }$, a spectral data cube of the [S iv]$10.5\,\mu$m emission line that measures the kinematics of the ionized gas with velocity resolution 4.5 km s$^{-1}$, and an ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) spectral cube of the CO(3-2) line that probes the dense warm molecular gas with spatial and velocity resolution comparable to the ionized gas. The observations suggest that the supernebula is the overlap, collision or merger of two star clusters, each associated with an elongated molecular cloud. We accordingly modelled the supernebula with simulations of colliding clusters. The model that best agrees with the data is a grazing collision that has distorted the gas and stars to create the distinctive structures observed. These models may have wide applicability in the cluster-rich regions of young starbursts.