bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asociación entre el incumplimiento del tratamiento farmacológico y el uso de los servicios de salud en adultos mayores diabéticos e hipertensos atendidos durante los años 2010-2015 en el Centro Médico Naval
Authors:   , Calderon Coasaca Nikhol Gianela , Reyes Arce Karla Francesca
Published: August 2023

Introducción: La presencia de una enfermedad no transmisible se asoció con un aumento de las hospitalizaciones, así como también un aumento en la prevalencia de uso de consultas médicas ambulatorias. Objetivo: Determinar la asociación entre el incumplimiento del tratamiento farmacológico y el uso de los servicios de salud en los pacientes adultos mayores diabéticos tipo 2 e hipertensos atendidos durante los años 2010-2015 en el servicio de geriatría del Centro Médico Naval “Cirujano Mayor Santiago Távara”. Métodos: estudio observacional analítico, retrospectivo, secundario a una base de datos. La población incluye pacientes de edad ≥ 60 años que vivan en Lima o Callao. Creamos la variable uso de servicios de salud y tuvimos como variable interviniente la coexistencia de hipertensión y diabetes mellitus. Utilizamos análisis bivariado y regresión lineal para determinar la asociación entre incumplimiento al tratamiento y uso de servicios de salud. Resultados: Se analizaron 1761 pacientes, tuvieron 78.42 años de edad en promedio (Desviación Estándar [DE]=8.54), 1396 pacientes (79.2%) tuvieron algún tipo de incumplimiento al tratamiento, el promedio de usos de servicios de salud fue significativamente mayor en los pacientes en los que se encontró algún tipo de incumplimiento al tratamiento farmacológico, siendo esta correlación más fuerte y positiva en el estrato de pacientes con coexistencia de hipertensión y diabetes. Conclusiones: El incumplimiento del tratamiento farmacológico en pacientes adultos mayores hipertensos y diabéticos se asocia con un mayor uso de los servicios de salud.
Assessing wildfire hazard in the wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs) of Central Portugal
Authors: Nunes Adélia , Figueiredo Albano , Pinto Carlos Daniel , Lourenço Luciano
Published: August 2023

In Portugal, as in other parts of the world, the rapid growth of housing in and near the wildland–urban interface (WUI) increases the wildfire risk to lives and structures. To reduce this risk, it is necessary to identify WUI housing areas that are more susceptible to fire. The goal of our study was to assess wildfire hazard in the Central Region of Portugal and also in the contact with the 60 373 km of WUIs existing in the study area. The degree to which wildfire is a hazard to the landscape and the different urban interfaces areas was assessed using the spatial arrangement of land use/land cover (LULC), topography and historical incidence of burnt area. The results show that in more than half of the Central Region territory the wildfire hazard is high or very high, however, most of the WUI are in contact with low or very low hazard classes, in a total of 87% of the segments. The LULC analysis in the different wildfire Hazard classes in WUI contact areas shows that agricultural crops are predominant in the low and very low hazard classes, while in the very high and high hazard classes shrub communities, and coniferous and scrub forests dominate, respectively. These results suggest that agricultural land around isolated houses and villages can act as a buffer against wildfires. The analysis of spatial variations in wildfire hazards at landscape/municipal and at the WUI level can assist in designing appropriate prevention measures and improving the effectiveness of fire prevention, however wildfire patterns depend on several other variables that need to be included in the wildfire risk analysis.
Friction Crush Welding of Dissimilar Materials: Numerical Modelling and Experimental Investigation
Authors: Kumar Ashu , Brar Gurinder Singh , Singh Prem
Published: August 2023

Several present day applications require joining of dissimilar materials by solid state processes. In this research work, two dissimilar metals – Aluminium and Steel were joined with a newly developed Friction Crush Welding (FCW) process. Macro-structure images along with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern were used to investigate the prepared samples. This work also aims to develop a novel Finite Element (FE) model based on ABAQUS for FCW of Aluminium-Steel materials. The numerical model was developed as a three-dimensional, explicit non-linear model utilising the Lagrange technique in ABAQUS. The developed FE model was validated by comparing the simulation results with experimental temperature data obtained by infrared thermography. The predicted temperature values from FE model are in excellent agreement with the experimentally measured values. The influence of welding variables, i.e., tool rotational speed (2000, 3000 and 4000 rpm) and welding speed (15, 30 and 45 mm/min) on temperature was also investigated. Results show that best weld structure is obtained when welding is performed at speed of 30 mm/min and tool rotational speed of 3000 rpm. The developed FE model of the FCW process may be used for predicting the temperatures and predicting the weld structure.
Oral SARS-CoV-2 host responses predict the early COVID-19 disease course
Authors: Seaman William T , Keener Olive , Mei Wenwen , Mollan Katie R , Jones Corbin D , Pettifor Audrey , Bowman Natalie M , Wang Frank , Webster-Cyriaque Jennifer
Published: August 2023

Objectives: Oral fluids provide ready detection of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and host responses. This study sought to determine relationships between oral virus, oral anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, and symptoms.
Methods: Saliva/throat wash (saliva/TW) were collected from asymptomatic and symptomatic, nasopharyngeal (NP) SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR+, subjects (n=47). SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR, N-antigen detection by immunoblot and lateral flow assay (LFA) were performed. RT-qPCR targeting viral subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) was sequence confirmed. SARS-CoV-2-anti-S protein RBD LFA assessed IgM and IgG responses. Structural analysis identified host salivary molecules analogous to SARS-CoV-2-N-antigen. Statistical analyses were performed.
Results: At baseline, LFA-detected N-antigen was immunoblot-confirmed in 82% of TW. However, only 3/17 were saliva/TW qPCR+. Sixty percent of saliva and 83% of TW demonstrated persistent N-antigen at 4 weeks. N-antigen LFA signal in three negative subjects suggested potential cross-detection of 4 structurally analogous salivary RNA binding proteins (alignment 19-29aa, RMSD 1-1.5 Angstroms). At entry, symptomatic subjects demonstrated replication-associated sgRNA junctions, were IgG+ (94%/100% in saliva/TW), and IgM+ (75%/63%). At 4 weeks, SARS-CoV-2 IgG (100%/83%) and IgM (80%/67%) persisted. Oral IgG correlated 100% with NP+PCR status. Cough and fatigue severity (p=0.0008 and 0.016), and presence of nausea, weakness, and composite upper respiratory symptoms (p=0.005, 0.037 and 0.017) were negatively associated with oral IgM. Female oral IgM levels were higher than male (p=0.056).
Conclusion: Important to transmission and disease course, oral viral replication and persistence showed clear relationships with select symptoms, early Ig responses, and gender during early infection. N-antigen cross-reactivity may reflect mimicry of structurally analogous host proteins.
Ceftazidime/avibactam combined with colistin: a novel attempt to treat carbapenem- resistant gram-negative bacilli infection
Authors: Zheng Zihao , Shao Ziqiang , Lu Lihai , Tang Siyu , Shi Kai , Gong Fangxiao , Liu Jingquan
Published: August 2023

Background
The rapid global emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacilli (CRO) is recognized as a major public health concern, and there are currently few effective treatments for CRO infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with CRO infections treated with ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ/AVI) combined with colistin from October 2019 to February 2023 in China.
Methods
A total of 31 patients with CRO infections were retrospectively identified using the electronic medical record system of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital.
Results
Thirty-one patients were treated with CAZ/AVI combined with colistin. Respiratory tract infections (27/31, 87%) were most common. Pathogens included carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (17/31, 54.8%), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (9/31, 29.0%), and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5/31, 16.1%). The 30-day mortality rate was 29.0%, and the average lengths of hospital and ICU stay among all patients were 39.0 and 17.0 days, respectively. The average lengths of ICU stay among the survivors and non-survivors were 19.7 and 10.7 days, respectively (P = 0.023). In addition, the pathogen was cleared within 7 days in 20 patients (20/31, 64.5%). Among all patients, average levels of the inflammatory indicator CRP were significantly lower 7 (152.23 ± 68.42 mg/L vs 94.56 ± 56.86 mg/L, P = 0.002) and 14 (152.23 ± 68.42 mg/L vs 83.20 ± 55.87 mg/L, P = 0.005) days after combination therapy than levels 24 h before therapy. Similarly, CRP levels among the survivors were significantly lowered by treatment, with 145.61 ± 70.42 mg/L vs 94.82 ± 53.76 mg/L (P = 0.018) at 7 days and 145.61 ± 70.42 mg/L vs 86.16 ± 57.98 mg/L (P = 0.027) at 14. However, there were no significant differences in PCT or WBC levels among all patients or among survivors.
Conclusions
CAZ/AVI combined with colistin reduced the inflammatory response in patients with CRO infection, but more studies will be needed to determine whether the combination can increase the 7-day microbial clearance rate and reduce the 30-day mortality rate.
Multi-trait GWAS for diverse ancestries: Mapping the knowledge gap
Authors: Troubat Lucie , Fettahoglu Deniz , Aschard Hugues , Julienne Hanna
Published: August 2023

Background: Approximately 95% of samples analyzed in univariate genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are of European ancestry. This bias toward European ancestry populations in association screening also exists for other analyses and methods that are often developed and tested on European ancestry only. However, existing data in non-European populations, which are often of modest sample size, could benefit from innovative approaches as recently illustrated in the context of polygenic risk scores.
Methods: Here, we extend and assess the potential limitations and gain of our multi-trait GWAS pipeline, JASS (Joint Analysis of Summary Statistics), for the analysis of non-European ancestries. To this end, we conducted the joint GWAS of 19 hematological traits and glycemic traits across five ancestries (European (EUR), admixed American (AMR), African (AFR), East Asian (EAS), South-East Asian (SAS)).
Results: We detected 367 new genome-wide significant associations in non-European populations (15 in Admixed American (AMR), 72 in African (AFR) and 280 in East Asian (EAS)). New associations detected represent 7%, 25% and 21% of associations in the AFR, AMR and EAS populations, respectively. Overall, multi-trait testing increases the replication of European associated loci in non-European ancestry by 15%. Pleiotropic effects were highly similar at significant loci across ancestries (e.g. the mean correlation between multi-trait genetic effects of EUR and EAS ancestries was 0.88). For hematological traits, strong discrepancies in multi-trait genetic effects are tied to known evolutionary divergences: the ARKC1 loci, which is adaptive to overcome the p.vivax induced malaria.
Conclusions: Multi-trait GWAS can be a valuable tool to narrow the genetic knowledge gap between European and non-European populations.
Insight into age-related changes of the human facial skeleton based on medieval European osteological collection
Authors: Walczak Anna , Krenz-Niedbała Marta , Łukasik Sylwia
Published: August 2023

Aging changes in the facial skeleton are concentrated mostly in orbits, maxilla and mandible. The aim of this study was to analyze metric traits of the adult viscerocranium in a medieval sample from Cedynia (Poland, Central Europe) and confront the results with literature data for modern populations. It was assumed that diet-related greater biomechanical forces generated during mastication in medieval versus modern times led to slower rate of bone resorption with age. 3D models of the facial skeleton were created for 230 individuals, categorized into young, middle and old adults. Besides, a subgroup of edentulous middle adults was distinguished. Orbits, pyriform aperture, maxilla and mandible were measured using Geomagic Studio 12 and analyzed among age categories as well as dentate and edentulous subgroups. The values of the orbital and pyriform aperture measurements tended to increase with age and reached statistical significance in males (right orbit height, left orbit width, pyriform aperture surface area). In females, maxillary height significantly decreased at right first premolar and first molar, together with height of the right mandibular ramus. In edentulous individuals of both sexes the orbits were wider, and maxillary and mandibular heights were lower than in dentate individuals. This study revealed similar character and direction of the aging process of the facial skeleton in medieval and modern adults, however slower rate of resorptive changes was found in the former sample, which suggests, that diet-related biomechanical forces can influence intensification of the aging processes in the facial skeleton.
Geospatial Analysis, Mapping, and Clustering of Cholera Resurgence in Malawi
Authors: Tobias Chitani , Mwanza Brave , Chiziwa Wezzie , Mwase Emmanuel , Nyirenda Gertrude , Ngwira Susan , Kalenga Godfrey , Mbakaya Balwani Chingatichifwe.
Published: August 2023

Background
The resurgence of the cholera epidemic in Malawi poses a substantive threat to the government schema and necessitates more targeted intervention methods for long-term management. This study focused on geographical analysis of cholera incidence in Malawi to investigate the existence of regional hotspots and predictors.
Methods
The geographical association between cholera occurrences and environmental risk variables in the research region was mapped and explored in this study. The research area was divided into three regions thus northern, central, and southern. ArcGIS 10.41 was also used to gather and analyze GIS layers such as cholera incidence data from government archives.
Results
The study found that hotspots were found to be mostly in towns, near water bodies, and garbage dump sites. According to the findings of this study, garbage disposal sites and markets were the most predisposing factors, whereas abattoirs were the least.
Conclusion
The study's distinctiveness stems from the use of mapping to show the hotspots and the pattern of cholera risk, as well as to offer unambiguous information for the creation of environmental supervision methods.
Extraction of peroxidase enzyme from cabbage legs for catalytic biodegradation of textile dyes and bisphenol A in wastewater: Purification and characterization technologies
Authors: Mohammed Weam Abdulwahhab , Ridha Mohanad J. M
Published: August 2023

In this work, the peroxidase enzyme was extracted from cabbage legs obtained from restaurant waste. Additionally, a comparison was made between crude and pure enzymes to evaluate their efficacy as catalysts for the biodegradation of common contaminants, textile dyes, and bisphenol A. The concentration of protein, bioactivity of peroxidase, and specific activity of both crude and pure enzymes were experimentally determined. The extracted peroxidase enzyme displayed optimal bioactivity at pH 6 and a temperature of 40°C. Moreover, it exhibited good stability across a wide pH range (3–7), retaining 65% of its original bioactivity at 60°C. The addition of FeSO4 and ZnCl2 enhanced enzyme activity by 153% and 120%, respectively, whereas exposure to CuCl2, AgNo3, and HgCl2 ions reduced enzyme activity by 60%, 53%, and 25%, respectively. The crude enzyme exhibited remarkable efficiency in decolorizing the synthetic dyes, with percentage decolorization of 86% and 78% for reactive blue 49 (RB) and reactive green 19 (RG), respectively, after a 10-hour incubation at the laboratory scale. Similarly, the pure enzyme exhibited a decolorization percentage of 79% and 75% for RB and RG, respectively, under the same conditions. The crude enzyme showed a high degradation efficiency of 92.8% for bisphenol A degradation in aqueous solution after 5 h.
Evaluation of Comorbidity Burden on Disease Progression and Mortality in Patients with Interstitial Pneumonia with Autoimmune Features: a Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Joerns Elena K. , Ghebranious Michelle A. , Adams Traci N. , Makris Una E.
Published: August 2023

Background
Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) is a subset of interstitial lung disease that manifests with interstitial pneumonia and features of autoimmunity while not meeting classification criteria for a defined rheumatic disease. Comorbidity burden is an important prognostic indicator in various rheumatic and interstitial lung diseases, but few studies have commented on comorbidities in this population. This study was conducted to evaluate the association of individual comorbidities, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and the Rheumatic Disease Comorbidity Index (RDCI) with lung disease progression and transplant/mortality outcomes in patients with IPAF.
Methods
In a retrospective study, we evaluated the prevalence and severity of comorbidities in an institutional cohort of patients with IPAF. Using Cox regression, we correlated the association of individual comorbidities and comorbidity burden using CCI and RDCI with time to lung disease progression (defined as relative forced vital capacity (FVC) decline of 10% or more) and with time to lung transplant/all-cause mortality. We compared the performance of CCI and RDCI, while adjusting for the Interstitial Lung Disease Gender-Age-Physiology (ILD-GAP) index.
Results
In a sample of 201 individuals with IPAF, a history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or cardiovascular disease (CVD), moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, or fracture was associated with a faster onset of lung disease progression, while a history of gastroesophageal reflux was protective. History of CVA/CVD, diabetes mellitus, and lymphoma were associated with a faster onset of lung transplant/death. Both CCI and RDCI were significantly associated with shorter time to lung disease progression (hazard ratio [HR] 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.19 and HR 1.12 with 95%CI 1.00-1.26, respectively) and lung transplant/mortality (HR 1.18 [1.07–1.30] and 1.31 [1.10–1.57], respectively).
Conclusions
CCI and RDCI may be useful tools in assessing prognosis in patients with IPAF in terms of both lung disease progression and mortality. Prospective studies are needed to further evaluate the performance of CCI and RDCI and the impact of optimizing comorbid conditions that may mitigate poor outcomes among patients with IPAF.
Opening eyes on seedling tuber quality in potato: size matters
Authors: Stockem Julia , Bus Merijn D. , de Vries Michiel E. , Struik Paul C.
Published: August 2023

For potato, diploid hybrid breeding is a novel breeding technique that speeds up the development of new varieties. A consequence of hybrid breeding is the introduction of hybrid true potato seeds as starting material. From these seeds, seedling tubers can be produced in one field season, to use as starting material for a seed or a ware crop in the following year. For breeding purposes as well as for seed crop and ware crop production it is essential to produce seedling tubers of high quality. The production of seedling tubers is a new step in the potato production chain, therefore, we investigated the effect of tuber quality traits on plant development and yield. With similar seedling tuber weight, more eyes per seedling tuber led to more stems per plant. This was compensated by a lower number of tubers per stem resulting in an equal total tuber number and weight per plant at the end of the growing season. A higher seedling tuber weight led to a higher soil cover in the field. Therefore, all hybrids produced a higher total tuber weight per plant when grown from larger seedling tubers than when grown from smaller seedling tubers, while number of eyes and stems per tuber has no effect on final yield when using equal seedling tuber weight.
Icaritin Promotes Brain Functional Rehabilitation in Ischemic Stroke Rats by Regulating Astrocyte Activation and Polarization Via GPER
Authors: Su Guangjun , Yu Zining , Liu Gaigai , Zhang Limei , Zhao Guojian , Luo Li , Fang Shicai , Zhang Qian , Tang Shi , Cao Xingling , Huang Cheng , Huang Zhihua , Li Liangdong
Published: August 2023

Cerebral ischemic injury induces the polarization of astrocytes toward two different phenotypes, i.e., the proinflammatory A1 phenotype and the protective, anti-inflammatory A2 phenotype, affects the prognosis of cerebral ischemia. To explore the neuroprotective effect of phytoestrogens Icaritin (ICT) on cerebral ischemic rehabilitation and the preliminary mechanism of regulating astrocyte polarization. The Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO)/reperfusion was performed on male adultsand then treated with ICT (i.p.) once daily for 28 days. Intervention of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) specific inhibitor G15 was repeated. The body weight, Garcia JH scale, right/left brain weight ratio, CatWalk gait test and Y maze test to assess overall neural function in rats. Cytokines in ischemic cortical were detected by ELISA. And the double immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting to evaluated the activation and A1 and A2 polarization of astrocytes. The results showed that ICT treatment markedly perfected functional outcomes on a long-term basis after ischemic stroke, it also improved learning and memory and gait. ICT inhibited the polarization of A1 type astrocytes and promoted the polarization of A2 type astrocytes, promote neuron regeneration in hippocampus dentate gyrus (DG) region. G15 removes some of the protective effects of ICT. The experimental results show that ICT exerts neuroprotective effects and regulates astrocyte polarization through GPER, suggesting that it may be a potential therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke during the recovery period.
Machining of additively manufactured alloy 718 in as-built and heat treated condition: surface integrity and cutting tool wear
Authors: Holmberg Jonas , Berglund Johan , Brohede Ulrika , Åkerfeldt Pia , Sandell Viktor , Rashid Amir , Zhao Xiaoyu , Dadbakhsh Sasan , Fisher Marie , Hryha Eduard , Wiklund Urban , Hassila Carl Johan Karlsson , Hosseini Seyed
Published: August 2023

Additive manufacturing (AM) using powder bed fusion is becoming a mature technology that offers great possibilities and design freedom for manufacturing of near net shape components. However, for many gas turbine and aerospace applications machining is still required, which motivates further research on the machinability and work piece integrity of additive manufactured superalloys. In this work, turning tests has been performed on components made with both Powder Bed Fusion for Laser Beam (PBF-LB) and Electron Beam (PBF-EB) in as-built and heat treated conditions. The two AM processes, and the respective heat treatments, have generated different microstructural features that have great impact on both the tool wear and the work piece surface integrity. The results show that the PBF-EB components have relatively lower geometrical accuracy, a rough surface topography, a coarse microstructure with hard precipitates and low residual stresses after printing. Turning of the PBF-EB material results in high cutting tool wear, which induced moderate tensile surface stresses that are balanced by deep compressive stresses and a superficial deformed surface that is greater for the heat treated material. In comparison, the PBF-LB components have a higher geometrical accuracy, relatively smooth topography and a fine microstructure, but with high tensile stresses after printing. Machining of PBF-LB material resulted in higher tool wear for the heat-treated material, increase of 49%, and significantly higher tensile surface stresses followed by shallower compressive stresses below the surface compared to the PBF-EB materials, but with no superficially deformed surface. It is further observed an 87% higher tool wear for PBF-EB in as-built condition and 43% in the heat treated condition compared to the PBF-LB material. These results show that selection of cutting tool and cutting settings are critical, which requires development of suitable machining parameters that are designed for the microstructure of the material.
Passive Surveillance of Wildlife in Northwestern Italy: A Possible Cognitive Approach Through Geographical Disctrict Study and Elementary Analysis of Hair
Authors: Trossi Andrea , Berti Giovanna , Palmegiano Paolo , Robetto Serena , Orusa Riccardo , Zoppi Simona , Carella Emanuele , Abete Maria Cesarina , Squadrone Stefania
Published: August 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Prediction of nonmass breast cancer based on ultrasound and molybdenum target characteristics
Authors: Wang Zhuoran , Cao Xufeng , Jia Chunmei , Mi Na , Li Tingting , Wang Jingjie , Fan Ruiqi , Quan Jiayu
Published: August 2023

To investigate the effect of ultrasound and molybdenum target X-ray characteristics in predicting nonmass breast cancer. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 185 nonmass breast lesion patients between September 2019 and 2021. Benign and malignant nonmass breast lesions were typed into lamellar hypoechoic, ductal alteration, microcalcification, and structural disorder types, as seen on ultrasonography. In addition, the differences in molybdenum target X-ray parameters, ultrasonographic manifestations and ultrasound characteristics among individuals with nonmass breast lesions were studied. Ultrasound manifestation of microcalcified type and suspicious malignancy on molybdenum target X-ray evaluation were independently associated with nonmass breast cancer and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The subsequent logistic regression model was as follows: Logit (P) =-1.757+2.194*microcalcification type on ultrasound + 1.520*suspicious malignancy on molybdenum target X-ray evaluation. The areas under the ROC curves for microcalcification type on ultrasound, suspicious malignancy on molybdenum target X-ray, and the diagnostic model were 0.733, 0.667, and 0.827, respectively.Using ultrasound and molybdenum targets for diagnosis can increase the accuracy in finding nonmass breast cancer.The findings of this study can help improve the rate of detecting nonlumpy breast cancer and provide an imaging basis for improving the prognosis of breast cancer patients.
Research on the Temperature Field and Water Discharge Around Different Drainage Structures for the Cold Tunnel
Authors: Jia Lianyan , Zhu Jinhuan , Wang Zhiqi , Jia Gan , Zhang Haidong , Tan Lizhen , Liu Lulu
Published: August 2023

Cold tunnels are vulnerable to frost damage, which poses a serious threat to their safe operation. This article focuses on the Hongtushan Tunnel and presents results from indoor model tests investigating the temperature field variations in surrounding rock at the tunnel bottom and the Water Discharge process of drainage structures under different conditions. The study analyzed the relationship between freezing depths of the model tunnel's surrounding rock and changes in both air temperature and depth within the tunnel, comparing the test results with on-site measurements of freezing depths. The findings revealed that insulation measures have a greater impact on the central drainage ditch than the cold-resistant drainage tunnel; implementing insulation measures for drainage structures significantly increased water discharge within the same time period. Moreover, the freezing depth of surrounding rocks under the tunnel arch exhibited a quadratic polynomial distribution along the depth direction. By taking advantage of the similarity between freezing depths and temperatures, combined with on-site temperature measurements inside the tunnel, actual freezing depths can be calculated, providing guidance for drainage structure placement. These results offer important insights for mitigating frost damage in high-altitude tunnels and promoting safer tunnel operations.
Inhibition of Topoisomerase 2 catalytic activity impacts the integrity of heterochromatin and repetitive DNA and leads to interlinks between clustered repeats
Authors: Soutoglou Evi , Amoiridis Michalis , Meaburn Karen , Verigos John , Gittens William , Ye Tao , Neale Matthew
Published: August 2023

DNA replication and transcription generate DNA supercoiling, which can cause topological stress and intertwining of daughter chromatin fibers, posing challenges to the completion of DNA replication and chromosome segregation. Type II topoisomerases (Top2s) are enzymes that relieve DNA supercoiling and decatenate braided sister chromatids. How Top2 complexes deal with the topological challenges in different chromatin contexts, and whether all chromosomal contexts are subjected equally to torsional stress and require Top2 activity is unknown. Here we show that catalytic inhibition of the Top2 complex in interphase has a profound effect on the stability of heterochromatin and repetitive DNA elements. Mechanistically, we find that catalytically inactive Top2 is trapped around heterochromatin leading to DNA breaks and unresolved catenates, which necessitate the recruitment of the structure specific endonuclease, Ercc1-XPF, in an Slx4- and SUMO-dependent manner. Our data are consistent with a model in which Top2 complex resolves not only catenates between sister chromatids but also inter- chromosomal catenates between clustered repetitive elements.
A Novel Approach for Robust Solid/electrolyte Interface Formation in Lithium-Ion Batteries using Methyl p-toluenesulfonate Additive
Authors: Hamidi Susan , Javanbakht Mehran , Mousazadeh Mohammad Hassan , Tafreshi Saeedeh Sarabadani
Published: August 2023

In this study, a novel S-based compound, methyl p-toluene sulfonate (MPTS) has been investigated as film forming additive in Li/graphite cells. According to the density functional theory (DFT) investigation of electron affinity energy of MPTS and carbonate solvents, MPTS has more negative electron affinity energy of -2.17 eV, whilst it is only − 1.03 eV for ethylene carbonate (EC) and − 0.73 eV for dimethyl carbonate (DMC). It confirms the highest reductive activity of MPTS, which was consistent with the CV test result. The physicochemical features of the graphite electrode were studied using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field-emission scanning microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), The electrochemical tests results showed that the battery with 1.5% wt% MPTS exhibited a low impedance on the electrode interface and remarkable cyclability, maintaining 93.17% of its initial capacity at 0.2 C after 100 cycles, approximately 11% more than the conventional electrolyte. These outstanding performances are ascribed to the preferential absorption of MPTS and the as-created interface. TEM and XPS analysis confirmed that MPTS forms a thinner SEI layer containing sulfur on the graphite electrode, predicted by recommended mechanism via theoretical calculations. This protective sulfur-containing film promotes faster lithium intercalation/deintercalation kinetics via declining the charge transfer resistance.
Observation of abrasives under morphable polishing tools with a high-speed camera
Authors: Nie Qianqian
Published: August 2023

Polishing abrasives play a crucial role in polishing and significantly influence the polishing rate and quality. Current research on direct observation of abrasives under polishing tools with complicated surface textures is limited. In this work, high speed camera is applied to observe the abrasives under morphable polishing tools with smooth, labyrinth and dimple textures at the tool rotational speed (300, 600 and 900 rpm) and tool offset (0.2, 0.5 and 1 mm). The results shows that the number of abrasives in the contact area is increased with the tool rotational speed and decreased with the tool offset. Among the three tools, dimple tools retain more abrasives than labyrinth and smooth tools. Abrasive trajectories are nearly horizontal, in accordance with the polishing velocity direction. The velocity magnitude is mainly influenced by the horizontal velocity u, as the vertical velocity v is relatively small. The velocity magnitude increases with the tool rotational speed and the tool offset. Among the three tools, the velocity is higher under labyrinth and dimple tools than under smooth tools. The pressure and abrasive velocity were increased by ~ 25% and 70%, while the resultant removal volume was increased by 54.2% with a dimple tool than a labyrinth tool.
Split-and-Recombine and Vision Transformer Based 3D Human Pose Estimation
Authors: Lu Xinyi , Xu Fan , Hu Shuiyi , Yu Tianqi , Hu Jianling
Published: August 2023

Regression of 3D human pose from monocular images faces many challenges, especially for rare poses and occlusions. To solve these problems, we propose SR-ViT, a novel approach based on Split-and-Recombine and Visual Transformer for 3D human pose estimation. Our method first feeds the 2D joint coordinates of multi-frame images into the 3D feature extractor to obtain the 3D features of each frame. After feature fusion with the position embedding information, the global correlation between all frames is modeled by the Transformer encoder, and the final 3D pose output is obtained with a regression head, which achieves the estimation of the 3D pose of the center frame from consecutive multi-frame images and effectively solves the joint occlusion problem. By improving the structure of the 3D feature extractor and the design of the loss function, the prediction performance of rare poses is improved. The model performance is also enhanced by improving the self-attention mechanism in both global and local aspects. Our method has been evaluated on two benchmark datasets, namely, Human3.6M and MPI-INF-3DHP. Experimental results show that our method outperforms the benchmark methods on both datasets.
Validating an algebraic approach to characterizing resonator networks
Authors: Horowitz Viva R. , Carter Brittany , Hernandez Uriel , Scheuing Trevor , Alemán Benjamín J.
Published: August 2023

Resonator networks are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems, such as solid-state materials, electrical circuits, quantum processors, and even neural tissue. To understand and manipulate these networks it is essential to characterize their building blocks, which include the mechanical analogs of mass, elasticity, damping, and coupling of each resonator element. While these mechanical parameters are typically obtained from response spectra using least-squares fitting, this approach requires a priori knowledge of all parameters and is susceptible to large error due to convergence to local minima. Here we validate an alternative algebraic means to characterize resonator networks with no or minimal a priori knowledge. Our approach recasts the equations of motion of the network into a linear homogeneous algebraic equation and solves the equation with a set of discrete measured network response vectors. For validation, we employ our approach on noisy simulated data from a single resonator and a coupled resonator pair, and we characterize the accuracy of the recovered parameters using high-dimension factorial simulations. Generally, we find that the error is inversely proportional to the signal-to-noise ratio, that measurements at two frequencies are sufficient to recover all parameters, and that sampling near the resonant peaks is optimal. Our simple, powerful tool will enable future efforts to ascertain network properties and control resonator networks in diverse physical domains.
Preoperatively predicting the lymph node metastasis and prognosis for gastric cancer patients
Authors: Wang Danfang , Wang Yaxin , Dong Lin , Zhang Xin , Du Jianfei
Published: August 2023

The preoperative distinguishment of lymph nodes (LN) with metastasis plays a pivotal role in guiding the surgical extension for gastric cancer (GC). We aim to identify the preparative risk factors for LN metastasis in GC patients. We retrospectively reviewed 424 patients who underwent radical GC resection in our medical center between Jan 2011 and Dec 2018. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify risk factors for LN metastasis, while multivariate COX regression was utilized to evaluate prognostic factors. 245 out of 424 people were identified with LN metastases. In multivariate analysis, low levels of albumin and prealbumin, as well as high levels of CEA, CA199, and platelets, were found to be significantly associated with LN metastasis in patients with GC. In survival analysis, older age, larger tumors, higher levels of D-dimer and CA199, advanced staging, lower prealbumin levels, and absence of adjuvant chemotherapy was discovered to be associated with a poorer prognosis in patients with GC. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that preoperative prealbumin-bound tumor markers can effectively predict LN metastasis in GC. Additionally, prealbumin was found to possess prognostic value as well.
Impact of Deep Brain Stimulation therapy on the vertebral sagittal balance in Parkinson’s disease patients
Authors: Somma Teresa , Fellico Fabrizio , De Rosa Andrea , Bocchino Andrea , Corvino Sergio , Milone Antonio , Cappabianca Paolo , Esposito Felice
Published: August 2023

Background
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterized by cardinal motor signs: 4-6 Hz resting tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. In addition, 3-18% of PD patients have camptocormia, an abnormal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine, which may have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Different possible treatments have been suggested for such a condition, but no one is resolutive.
This study aims to define the possible impact of DBS, with selective targeting on the dorso-lateral region of STN, on the sagittal balance of patients affected by PD.
Patients and Methods
Among all patients undergone DBS procedures in our Institution, we selected 8 subjects, 4 female and 4 males, with selective targeting on the dorso-lateral region of the Subthalamic Nucleus (STN) because of camptocormia and other severe postural changes. Radiological assessments of spinal balance parameters before surgery and at 6 and 12 months post-surgery were carried out.
Results
Comparison of preoperative and postoperative spine X-ray data showed that patients showed a statistically significant improvement in dorsal kyphosis angle (D-Cobb) 12 months after the operation.
Conclusions
Deep Brain Stimulation with selective targeting of the dorsal lateral part of the STN may induce changes of the posture in patients with Parkinson’s Disease 12 months after the operation, which appears to improve in this small sample size, but larger observational and controlled trials would be required to confirm this observation.
A single-cell transcriptomic study reveals immune suppressive cancer cell-immune cell interactions in the triple negative canine breast cancers
Authors: Kim Myung-Chul , Borcherding Nick , Song Woo-Jin , Kolb Ryan , Zhang Weizhou
Published: August 2023

Clinical trials show promising outcomes for dogs with advanced solid tumors following treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is very aggressive with very low response rates to ICIs. No study defines how canine TNBC interacts with the immune system within the tumor microenvironment, which is investigated in this study at the single cell level. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets, including 6 groups of 30 dogs, were subject to integrated bioinformatic analysis. Immune modulatory TNBC subsets were identified by functional enrichment with immune-suppressive gene sets, including anti-inflammatory and M2-like macrophages. Key genes and immune-suppressive signaling pathways for TNBC included angiogenesis and leukocyte chemotaxis. Interactome analysis identified significant interactions between distinct subsets of cancer cells and effector T cells, suggesting T cell suppression. This is the first study to define immune-suppressive cancer cell subsets at the single-cell level, revealing potential mechanisms by which TNBC induces immune evasion in dogs.
WITHDRAWN: Breast Cancer Detection by Using VGG19 Deep Learning Network with Image Filtering and Histogram Equalization Methods
Authors: ESMERAY Furkan , GÜLTEN Arif
Published: August 2023

Deep learning techniques, one of these machine learning techniques, are also at a very important point. Thanks to the classification made with deep learning techniques, high accuracy rates can be obtained for cancer diagnosis and faster results can be obtained. In this study, VGG19 network architecture, one of the deep learning methods, was used to classify mammogram images.
In addition, image equalization and image filtering methods were applied to the images used. In this way, it was also determined which method achieved higher accuracy when the image filtering and image synchronization methods used were run together with the VGG19 deep learning network architecture. The combination of CLAHE histogram equalization and VGG19 deep learning network gave the highest accuracy. The accuracy rate of the training data in the created network is 99.82%. In addition, the loss rate of the training data in the network is 0.76% and the validation rate of the test data in the network is 99.63%. The number of correct positive images is 796, the number of false positive images is 0, the number of correct negative images is 798, and the number of false negative images is 6. These image numbers belong to the test data. The number of correctly classified images in the test data is 1594. These values ​​are very good values ​​for classification of mammogram images.
Simulation of ground motion emissions from wind turbines in low mountain ranges: implications for amplitude decay prediction
Authors: Gaßner Laura , Gärtner Marie A. , Ritter Joachim
Published: August 2023

The characterization and prediction of wind turbine (WT) emissions are important steps in reducing their impact on humans or sensitive technologies such as seismic stations or physics experiments. Here, WT ground motion emissions are studied along two measurement lines set up at two wind farms on the Eastern Swabian Alb, southwest Germany. The main purpose of the data analysis is to estimate amplitude decay rates from vertical component data and surface wave phase velocities excited by the permanent motion of the WT towers. Phase velocities as well as geological information serve as input to build realistic subsurface models for numerical wave field simulations. Amplitude A decay rates are characterized by b-values through A~1/rb depending on distance r and are derived from peaks in power spectral density (PSD). We find an increase of bPSD with frequency from 0.5 to 3.2. For low frequencies (1.2 Hz and 3.6 Hz), bPSD~0.5-1.1, hence close to the geometrical spreading factor of surface waves (bPSD=1). Anelastic damping and scattering seem not to be significant at these frequencies which also shows in numerical simulations for quality factors Q=50-200. We also find that the emitted wavefields from several WTs interfere, especially in the near-field, and produce strong local ground motion amplitudes. The inclusion of a steep topography present in low mountain ranges adds more wave field distortions which can further increase the amplitudes. This needs to be considered when predicting WT induced ground motions.
Bioindication for Ecosystem Regeneration towards Natural conditions – the BERN data base and BERN model
Authors: Schlutow Angela , Kraft Philipp , Scheuschner Thomas , Schröder Winfried
Published: August 2023

The BERN model (Bioindication for Ecosystem Regeneration towards Natural conditions) was developed to integrate ecological cause-effect relationships into studies on environmental status assessment and forecasting. Common approaches such as ordination (Roberts 1986) or bioindication based on individual species like PROPS or MultiMOVE model are of limited use because it is not possible to predict the occurrence of a plant species on the basis of site factors, since the competitive influences cannot be determined in advance according to current knowledge. Therefore, the BERN model takes into account the structure of plant communities with the abundance and cover rates of species in the competitive equilibrium of pristine plant communities as a reference for determining anthropogenically induced changes. Qualitative knowledge on the relationship between site types and vegetation communities is widely available, as can be seen from the extensive phytosociological publications. The aim of the BERN model is to make part of this knowledge available in numerical form for computer-based ecosystem modelling. The task of the BERN database is to document reference data for the occurrence of plant species in competitive equilibrium with each other and in equilibrium with the site factors. The BERN model combines the fundamental species niches that mainly form the competitively stable structure of a pristine plant community in order to determine the realised multifactorial niche of this community. The community database includes 887 central European plant communities and links to their diagnostically defining species composition. The database defines the niche of 2210 central European plant species for the soil properties pH, base saturation, carbon to nitrogen ratio and wetness index and the climatic properties continentality, length of vegetation period and climatic water balance. Another difference to all the other models mentioned above is the BERN database with historical recordings at more or less undisturbed sites. The BERN database now contains so many vegetation relevés that the database can be considered representative at least for Central Europe. The methodology of creating the BERN database and the BERN model is documented and applications are demonstrated with examples.