bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classification Algorithm for Skin Color (CASCo): A new tool to measure skin color in social science research
Authors: Rejón Piña René Alejandro , Ma Chenglong
Published: February 2023

Objective

A growing body of literature reveals that skin color has significant effects on people's income, health, education, and employment. However, the ways in which skin color has been measured in empirical research have been criticized for being inaccurate, if not subjective and biased.

Objective

Introduce an objective, automatic, accessible and customizable Classification Algorithm for Skin Color (CASCo).

Methods

We review the methods traditionally used to measure skin color (verbal scales, visual aids or color palettes, photo elicitation, spectrometers and image‐based algorithms), noting their shortcomings. We highlight the need for a different tool to measure skin color

Results

We present CASCo, a (social researcher‐friendly) Python library that uses face detection, skin segmentation and k‐means clustering algorithms to determine the skin tone category of portraits.

Conclusion

After assessing the merits and shortcomings of all the methods available, we argue CASCo is well equipped to overcome most challenges and objections posed against its alternatives. While acknowledging its limitations, we contend that CASCo should complement researchers. toolkit in this area.
Race, linked fate, and attitudes toward the police
Authors: Russell Erica B. , Garand James C.
Published: February 2023

Objectives

In this article, we explore the effects of race linked fate and racial self‐identification on Americans’ attitudes toward the police. We suggest that the strength of the connection between race linked fate and police attitudes depends on whether a given racial group experiences or perceives a pattern of marginalization and discrimination by the police that targets their racial group. We expect that the negative relationship between race linked fate and police attitudes will be strongest among African Americans and Latinos (i.e., two groups with often contentious relations with law enforcement), weaker among Asians and other race individuals, and negligible or (possibly) positive for whites.

Methods

Using data from the 2016 Voter Study Group survey, we estimate a series of ordinary least squares regression and binary logit models of police attitudes.

Results

We find, as expected, that the effects of race linked fate on attitudes toward the police are very strong for African Americans and Latinos, weak and/or inconsistent for Asians and other race respondents, and nonexistent for white respondents.

Conclusion

These results point to the importance of racial self‐identification and race linked fate in shaping attitudes about the police, particularly among African Americans and Latinos.
Sensor-Less Grasping Force Control of a Pneumatic Underactuated Robotic Gripper
Authors: Hua Hongliang , Song Jie , Zhao Jingbo , Liao Zhenqiang
Published: February 2023

The primary motivation of this study is to develop a sensor-less, easily controlled, and passively adaptive robotic gripper. A back-drivable pneumatic underactuated robotic gripper (PURG), based on the pneumatic cylinder and underactuated finger mechanism, is presented to accomplish the above goals. A feedforward grasping force control method, based on the learned kinematics of the underactuated finger mechanism, is proposed to achieve sensor-less grasping force control. To enhance the grasping force control accuracy, a state-based actuating force modeling method is presented to compensate the hysteresis error which exists in the transmission mechanism. Actuating force control experiment is performed to validate the effectiveness of the state-based actuating pressure modeling method. Results reveal that compared with the non-state-based modeling method, the proposed state-based actuating force modeling method could reduce the modeling error and control error by about 37.0% and 77.2%, respectively. Results of grasping experiments further reveal that grasping force could be accurately controlled by the state-based feedforward control model in a sensor-less approach. Adaptive grasping experiments are performed to exhibit the effectiveness of the sensor-less grasping force control approach.
A Novel Variable Stiffness Compliant Robotic Link Based on Discrete Variable Stiffness Units for Safe Human–Robot Interaction
Authors: Fu Jiaming , Yu Ziqing , Lin Han , Zheng Lianxi , Gan Dongming
Published: February 2023

Variable stiffness manipulators balance the trade-off between manipulation performance needing high stiffness and safe human–robot interaction desiring low stiffness. Variable stiffness links enable this flexible manipulation function during human–robot interaction. In this paper, we propose a novel variable stiffness link based on discrete variable stiffness units (DSUs). A DSU is a parallel guided beam that can adjust stiffness discretely by changing the cross-sectional area properties of the hollow beam segments. The variable stiffness link (Tri-DSU) consists of three tandem DSUs to achieve eight stiffness modes and a stiffness ratio of 31. To optimize the design, stiffness analysis of the DSU and Tri-DSU under various configurations and forces was performed by a derived linear analytical model which applies to small/intermediate deflections. The model is derived using the approach of serially connected beams and superposition combinations. 3D-Printed prototypes were built to verify the feature and performance of the Tri-DSU in comparison with the finite element analysis and analytical model results. It’s demonstrated that our model can accurately predict the stiffnesses of the DSU and Tri-DSU within a certain range of parameters. Impact tests were also conducted to validate the performance of the Tri-DSU. The developed method and analytical model are extendable to multiple DSUs with parameter configurations to achieve modularization and customization, and also provide a tool for the design of reconfigurable collaborative robot (cobot) manipulators.
Design and Modeling Framework for DexTeR: Dexterous Continuum Tensegrity Manipulator
Authors: Woods Cole , Vikas Vishesh
Published: February 2023

The field of tensegrity faces challenges in design to facilitate efficient fabrication, and modeling due to the antagonistic nature of tension and compression elements. The research presents design methodology, and modeling framework for a human-spine inspired Dexterous continuum Tensegrity manipulatoR (DexTeR). DexTeR is a continuum manipulator that comprises of an assembly of “vertebra” modules fabricated using two curved links and 12 strings, and actuated using motor-tendon actuators. The fabrication methodology involves the construction of the equivalent graph of the module and finding the Euler path that traverses every edge of the graph exactly once. The vertices and edges of the graph correspond to the holes and strings or links of the mechanism. Unlike traditional rigid manipulators, the design results in centralization of the majority of the weight of the actuators at the base with negligible effect on the manipulator dynamics. For the first time in literature, we fabricate a tensegrity manipulator that is assembled using ten modules to conceptually validate the time and cost efficiency of the approach. A dynamic model of a vertebra module is presented using the Euler–Newton approach with screw theory representation. Each rigid link is represented using a screw, a six-dimensional vector with components of angular rotation, and linear translation. The nonlinearity in the system arises from the discontinuous behavior of the strings and the “closed-chain” nature of the mechanism. The behavior of the strings is piece-wise continuous to model their slack, compliant, or tension states.
Analyzing Harmony and Discord Among Optimal Building Controllers Responding to Energy, Cost, and Carbon Reduction Objectives
Authors: Li Lily X. , Pavlak Gregory S.
Published: February 2023

Optimization and control of building thermal energy storage holds great potential for unlocking demand-side flexibility, an asset that is being given much attention in current grid reforms responding to the climate crisis. As greater information regarding grid operations is becoming available, grid-interactive building controls inherently have become a multi-objective problem. Typical multi-objective optimization frameworks often introduce greater complexity and computational burden and are less favorable for achieving widespread adoption. With the overall goal of easing deployment of advanced building controls and aiding the building-to-grid integration, this work aims to evaluate the trade-offs and degrees of sub-optimality introduced by implementing single-objective controllers only. We formulate and apply a detailed single-objective, model predictive control (MPC) framework to individually optimize building thermal storage assets of two types of commercial buildings, informed by future grid scenarios, around energy, economic, environmental, and peak demand objectives. For each day, we compare the building’s performance in every category as if it had been controlled by four separate single-objective model predictive controllers. By comparing the individual controllers for each day, we reveal the level of harmony or discord that exists between these simple single-objective problems. In essence, we quantify the potential loss that would occur in three of the objectives if the optimal control problem were to optimally respond to only one of the grid signals. Results show that on most days, the carbon and energy controllers retained most of the savings in energy, cost, and carbon. Trade-offs were observed between the peak demand controller and the other objectives, and during extreme energy pricing events. These observations are further discussed in terms of their implications for the design of grid-interactive building incentive signals and utility tariffs.
Entropy Generation Minimization for Boiling Flow Inside Evaporator Tube With R32 and R410A Refrigerants: A Comparison of Different Two-Phase Flow Models
Authors: Hossain Md Naim , Ghosh Koushik
Published: February 2023

The objective of the present work is to find out the optimal mass flux of two common refrigerants, R32 and R410A, undergoing boiling in an evaporator tube based on the entropy generation minimization approach. An entropy generation model is developed for two-phase boiling flow based on the drift flux approach. The distinct terms for entropy generation due to heat transfer and pressure drop are developed. The optimal solutions of the present model under a practical range of parametric conditions are compared with that obtained from the existing homogeneous and separated flow-based model. Analysis reveals that increasing the evaporator diameter and heat flux increases the optimal mass flux at minimum entropy generation for both refrigerants. On the other hand, increasing the evaporator length decreases the optimal mass flux. It is observed that the optimal mass flux data for all parametric conditions deviate within 10–15% on the positive and negative sides for drift flux and homogeneous models, respectively, compared to separate flow model. The present analysis also reveals that the overall deviation of data of the drift flux model and homogeneous flow model indicates a standard deviation of 1.95–1.98%, respectively.
Assessment of a Conjugate Heat Transfer Method on an Effusion Cooled Combustor Operated With a Swirl Stabilized Partially Premixed Flame
Authors: Amerini A. , Paccati S. , Mazzei L. , Andreini A.
Published: February 2023

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays a crucial role in the design of cooling systems in gas turbine combustors due to the difficulties and costs related to experimental measurements performed in pressurized reactive environments. Despite the massive advances in computational resources in the last years, reactive unsteady and multi-scale simulations of combustor real operating conditions are still computationally expensive. Modern combustors often employ cooling schemes based on effusion technique, which provides uniform protection of the liner from hot gases, combining the heat removal by means of heat sink effect with liner coverage and protection by film cooling. However, a large number of effusion holes results in a relevant increase of computational resources required to perform a CFD simulation capable of correctly predicting the thermal load on the metal walls within the combustor. Moreover, a multi-physics and multi-scale approach is mandatory to properly consider the different characteristic scales of the several heat transfer modes within combustion chambers to achieve a reliable prediction of aerothermal fields within the combustor and wall heat fluxes and temperatures. From this point of view, loosely coupled approaches permit a strong reduction of the calculation time, since each physics is solved through a dedicated solver optimized according to the considered heat transfer mechanism. The object of this work is to highlight the capabilities of a loosely coupled unsteady multi-physics tool (U-THERM3D) developed at the University of Florence within ansys fluent. The coupling strategy will be employed for the numerical analysis of the TECFLAM effusion cooled swirl burner, an academic test rig well representative of the working conditions of a partially premixed combustion chamber equipped with an effusion cooling system, developed by the collaboration of the Universities of Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and the DLR. The highly detailed numerical results obtained from the unsteady multi-physics and multi-scale simulation will be compared with experimental data to validate the numerical procedure.
A Kinematically Constrained Kalman Filter for Sensor Fusion in a Wearable Origami Robot
Authors: Yumbla Emiliano Quinones , Li Dongting , Nibi Tolemy M. , Aukes Daniel M. , Zhang Wenlong
Published: February 2023

Sensing for wearable robots is an ongoing challenge, especially given the recent trend of soft and compliant robots. Recently, a wearable origami exoshell has been designed to sense the user’s torso motion and provide mobility assistance. The materials of the exoshell contribute to a lightweight design with compliant joints, which are ideal characteristics for a wearable device. Common sensors are not ideal for the exoshell as they compromise these design characteristics. Rotary encoders are often rigid metal devices that add considerable weight and compromise the flexibility of the joints. Inertial measurement unit sensors are affected by environments with variable electromagnetic fields and therefore not ideal for wearable applications. Hall effect sensors and gyroscopes are utilized as alternative compatible sensors, which introduce their own set of challenges: noisy measurements and drift due to sensor bias. To mitigate this, we designed the Kinematically Constrained Kalman filter for sensor fusion of gyroscopes and Hall effect sensors, with the goal of estimating the human’s torso and robot joint angles. We augmented the states to consider bias related to the torso angle in order to compensate for drift. The forward kinematics of the robot is incorporated into the Kalman filter as state constraints to address the unobservability of the torso angle and its related bias. The proposed algorithm improved the estimation performance of the torso angle and its bias, compared to the individual sensors and the standard Kalman filter, as demonstrated through bench tests and experiments with a human user.
Numerical Investigations on Suspended Power Cable Configurations for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines in Deep Water Powering an FPSO
Authors: Schnepf Anja , Devulder Aymeric , Johnsen Øyvind , Ong Muk Chen , Lopez-Pavon Carlos
Published: February 2023

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are an opportunity for floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs) to reduce emissions. To avoid long connecting power cables with long transmission distances between a FOWT and an FPSO, the novel concept of a suspended power cable in a large water depth of 1000 m is investigated in this study. The power cable is kept floating between the sea surface and the seabed without touching either of them. A catenary configuration and two configurations with subsea buoys attached at different locations along the cable are investigated. The OC3-Hywind 5 MW reference FOWT is set up with a deepwater mooring system, and a spread-moored FPSO is modeled with characteristics similar to existing FPSOs. Steady-state and dynamic simulations are carried out in the numerical software OrcaFlex. The different configurations are first evaluated in steady-state analyses. The largest tensions are observed for the catenary configuration, whereas it shows the lowest horizontal cable excursions. Buoys attached along the center section of the cable lift it into regions with strong currents. This results in a large horizontal excursion of the cable and large tensions. The suspended configuration with buoys attached evenly over the cable results in significantly lower tensions than the other two configurations. It is studied further with dynamic analyses. The tensions at the floater hang-offs increase by a maximum of 24% compared to steady-state results indicating that dynamic analysis is crucial for the design of suspended cable configurations.
A Theoretical and Experimental Study on High-Efficiency and Ultra-Low Damage Machining of Diamond
Authors: Yuan Song , Guo Xiaoguang , Wang Hao , Gao Shang
Published: February 2023

Diamond has attracted extensive attention from many scholars due to its characteristics, whereas the high-efficiency and ultra-low damage machining regarding diamond is still a bottleneck restricting its applications. Herein, a new polishing equipment was built, and a new method of photochemical mechanical polishing (PCMP) combining mechanical + chemical + optical field coupling was proposed to solve the problem of high-efficiency and ultra-low damage machining of diamond. The experimental results show that the sub-nanoscale surface of Ra 0.071 nm, rms 0.090 nm, Rz 0.943 nm, and the micro removal rate per hour can be obtained after PCMP for the first time. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results manifest that the damage of the diamond substrate after PCMP is amorphous carbon damage, and the damage thickness of amorphous carbon is only 0.6 nm. The PCMP model of ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was constructed to elucidate the microscopic mechanism during the diamond PCMP process. Simulation results show that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation increases the activity of diamond by decreasing the stability of substrate and weakening the C-C bonds, thus promoting the oxidation of diamond surface. Our experimental and theoretical research provides an insight for realizing high-efficiency and ultra-low damage machining of diamond.
Effect of Angular Amplitude on the Result of a Pendulum Experiment
Authors: Pan Meng , Zhang Jie
Published: February 2023

Measuring gravitational acceleration with a simple pendulum is a traditional mechanical experiment. With the improvement of measurement accuracy (such as the use of a photogate timer) and the improvement of calculation ability (such as the use of a computer for data analysis), some previously ignored factors may arise. This paper studies the effect of angular amplitude on the result of this simple pendulum experiment.
Hip Joint Biomechanical Parameters and Their Relationship With the Esthetic Functional Performance of the Développé à la Seconde Movement in Classical Ballet Dancers
Authors: Metzen Fernanda , Ribeiro-Alvares João Breno , Pompeo Klauber Dalcero , Sonda Francesca Chaida , Santos Rodrigo Silva , Vaz Marco Aurélio
Published: February 2023

Développé à la seconde is a classic ballet movement that requires the maintenance of a high hip joint range of motion (ROM) and muscle strength. However, the contribution of these hip joint biomechanical parameters to this movement’s esthetic performance is unclear. Therefore, this study evaluated hip joint biomechanical characteristics of 21 experienced ballet dancers (15–29 y old) and verified the relationship between these variables with the développé à la seconde static and dynamic performance. Correlations between age, ballet practice time, gluteus maximus and gluteus medius thicknesses, ROM, and muscle strength with absolute and relative static and dynamic performances were verified. Flexors, extensors, and internal rotators peak strength and external rotation ROM were highly correlated with absolute and relative static performances (0.5–0.7). Flexors and extensors strength and external and internal rotation ROM showed the highest correlations with the développé dynamic performance (0.49–0.67). Flexor strength and flexor and internal rotation ROM predicted 26% to 41% of this movement’s static and dynamic performances. Thus, from a biomechanical perspective, clinical assessment of hip strength and ROM may be used to predict the quality of the ballet dancers’ performance of the développé à la seconde and guide classical ballet training.
Giant proximity exchange and flat Chern band in 2D magnet-semiconductor heterostructures
Authors: Paul Nisarga , Zhang Yang , Fu Liang
Published: February 2023

van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures formed by two-dimensional (2D) magnets and semiconductors have provided a fertile ground for fundamental science and spintronics. We present first-principles calculations finding a proximity exchange splitting of 14 meV (equivalent to an effective Zeeman field of 120 T) in the vdW magnet-semiconductor heterostructure MoS 
2
/CrBr 
3
, leading to a 2D spin-polarized half-metal with carrier densities ranging up to 10
13
cm
−2
. We consequently explore the effect of large exchange coupling on the electronic band structure when the magnetic layer hosts chiral spin textures such as skyrmions. A flat Chern band is found at a “magic” value of magnetization

m
¯

∼
0.2

for Schrödinger electrons, and it generally occurs for Dirac electrons. The magnetic proximity–induced anomalous Hall effect enables transport-based detection of chiral spin textures, and flat Chern bands provide an avenue for engineering various strongly correlated states.
Xeno interactions between MHC-I proteins and molecular chaperones enable ligand exchange on a broad repertoire of HLA allotypes
Authors: Sun Yi , Papadaki Georgia F. , Devlin Christine A. , Danon Julia N. , Young Michael C. , Winters Trenton J. , Burslem George M. , Procko Erik , Sgourakis Nikolaos G.
Published: February 2023

Immunological chaperones tapasin and TAP binding protein, related (TAPBPR) play key roles in antigenic peptide optimization and quality control of nascent class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) molecules. The polymorphic nature of MHC-I proteins leads to a range of allelic dependencies on chaperones for assembly and cell-surface expression, limiting chaperone-mediated peptide exchange to a restricted set of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allotypes. Here, we demonstrate and characterize xeno interactions between a chicken TAPBPR ortholog and a complementary repertoire of HLA allotypes, relative to its human counterpart. We find that TAPBPR orthologs recognize empty MHC-I with broader allele specificity and facilitate peptide exchange by maintaining a reservoir of receptive molecules. Deep mutational scanning of human TAPBPR further identifies gain-of-function mutants, resembling the chicken sequence, which can enhance HLA-A*01:01 expression in situ and promote peptide exchange in vitro. These results highlight that polymorphic sites on MHC-I and chaperone surfaces can be engineered to manipulate their interactions, enabling chaperone-mediated peptide exchange on disease-relevant HLA alleles.
pDC-like cells are pre-DC2 and require KLF4 to control homeostatic CD4 T cells
Authors: Rodrigues Patrick Fernandes , Kouklas Athanasios , Cvijetic Grozdan , Bouladoux Nicolas , Mitrovic Mladen , Desai Jigar V. , Lima-Junior Djalma S. , Lionakis Michail S. , Belkaid Yasmine , Ivanek Robert , Tussiwand Roxane
Published: February 2023

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have been shown to play an important role during immune responses, ranging from initial viral control through the production of type I interferons to antigen presentation. However, recent studies uncovered unexpected heterogeneity among pDCs. We identified a previously uncharacterized immune subset, referred to as pDC-like cells, that not only resembles pDCs but also shares conventional DC (cDC) features. We show that this subset is a circulating precursor distinct from common DC progenitors, with prominent cDC2 potential. Our findings from human CD2-iCre and CD300c-iCre lineage tracing mouse models suggest that a substantial fraction of cDC2s originates from pDC-like cells, which can therefore be referred to as pre-DC2. This precursor subset responds to homeostatic cytokines, such as macrophage colony stimulating factor, by expanding and differentiating into cDC2 that efficiently prime T helper 17 (T
H
17) cells. Development of pre-DC2 into CX3CR1
+
ESAM
−
cDC2b but not CX3CR1
−
ESAM
+
cDC2a requires the transcription factor KLF4. Last, we show that, under homeostatic conditions, this developmental pathway regulates the immune threshold at barrier sites by controlling the pool of T
H
17 cells within skin-draining lymph nodes.
Genomic Sequencing from Sputum for Tuberculosis Disease Diagnosis, Lineage Determination, and Drug Susceptibility Prediction
Authors: Nilgiriwala Kayzad , Rabodoarivelo Marie-Sylvianne , Hall Michael B. , Patel Grishma , Mandal Ayan , Mishra Shefali , Andrianomanana Fanantenana Randria , Dingle Kate , Rodger Gillian , George Sophie , Crook Derrick W. , Hoosdally Sarah , Mistry Nerges , Rakotosamimanana Niaina , Iqbal Zamin , Grandjean Lapierre Simon , Walker Timothy M.
Published: February 2023

Universal access to drug susceptibility testing for newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients is recommended. Access to culture-based diagnostics remains limited, and targeted molecular assays are vulnerable to emerging resistance mutations.
Interactions between Culturable Bacteria Are Predicted by Individual Species’ Growth
Authors: Nestor Einat , Toledano Gal , Friedman Jonathan
Published: February 2023

In order to understand the function and structure of microbial communities, one must know all pairwise interactions that occur between the different species within the community, as these interactions shape the community’s structure and functioning. However, measuring all pairwise interactions can be an extremely difficult task especially when dealing with big complex communities.
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus nsp5 Induces Incomplete Autophagy by Impairing the Interaction of STX17 and SNAP29
Authors: Zhou Yanrong , Li Yang , Tao Ran , Li Jia , Fang Liurong , Xiao Shaobo
Published: February 2023

A substantial number of viruses have been demonstrated to utilize or hijack autophagy to benefit their replication. In the case of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), previous studies have demonstrated the proviral effects of autophagy on PRRSV proliferation.
SDCBP promotes pancreatic cancer progression by preventing YAP1 from β-TrCP-mediated proteasomal degradation
Authors: Liu Jing , Bai Weiwei , Zhou Tianxing , Xie Yongjie , Yang Bo , Sun Jingyan , Wang Yifei , Li Xueyang , Hou Xupeng , Liu Ziyun , Fu Danqi , Yan Jingrui , Jiang Wenna , Zhao Kaili , Zhou Bodong , Yuan Shuai , Guo Yu , Wang Hongwei , Chang Antao , Gao Song , Shi Lei , Huang Chongbiao , Yang Shengyu , Hao Jihui
Published: February 2023

Objective

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal tumour with limited treatment options. Here, we identified syndecan binding protein (SDCBP), also known as syntenin1, as a novel targetable factor in promoting PDAC tumour progression. We also explored a therapeutic strategy for suppressing SDCBP expression.

Design

We used samples from patients with PDAC, human organoid models, LSL-KrasG12D/+mice, LSL-Trp53R172H/+ and Pdx1-Cre (KPC) mouse models, and PDX mouse models. Immunostaining, colony formation assay, ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine incorporation assay, real-time cell analysis, cell apoptosis assay, automated cell tracking, invadopodia detection and gelatin degradation assays, coimmunoprecipitation, and pull-down assays were performed in this study.

Results

The median overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates in the high-SDCBP group were significantly shorter than those in the low-SDCBP group. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that SDCBP promotes PDAC proliferation and metastasis. Mechanically, SDCBP inhibits CK1δ/ε-mediated YAP-S384/S387 phosphorylation, which further suppresses β-TrCP-mediated YAP1 ubiquitination and proteasome degradation by directly interacting with YAP1. SDCBP interacts with the TAD domain of YAP1, mainly through its PDZ1 domain. Preclinical KPC mouse cohorts demonstrated that zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) suppresses PDAC tumour progression by suppressing SDCBP.

Conclusions

SDCBP promotes the proliferation and metastasis of PDAC by preventing YAP1 from β-TrCP-mediated proteasomal degradation. Therefore, ZnPT could be a promising therapeutic strategy to inhibit PDAC progression by suppressing SDCBP.
Plasma viscosity, immunoglobulins and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality: new data and meta-analyses
Authors: Lowe Gordon D O , Harris Katie , Koenig Wolfgang , Ben-Shlomo Yoav , Thorand Barbara , Peters Annette , Meisinger Christa , Imhof Armin , Tunstall-Pedoe Hugh , Peters Sanne A E , Woodward Mark
Published: February 2023

Aims

Associations of plasma viscosity and plasma Ig levels (a determinant of viscosity) with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events; and with CHD, cardiovascular disease (CVD: CHD and stroke) and all-cause mortalities.

Methods

Meta-analysis of plasma viscosity levels from the MONitoring of trends and determinants of CArdiovascular (MONICA)/Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg, MONICA Glasgow and Speedwell Studies; and five other published studies. Meta-analysis of IgA, IgG and IgM levels from the Augsburg, Glasgow and Speedwell studies; and one other published study.

Results

Over median follow-up periods of 14–26 years, there were 2270 CHD events, and 4220 all cause deaths in 28 605 participants with baseline plasma viscosity measurements. After adjustment for major risk factors, (HRs; 95% CIs) for a 1 SD increase in viscosity were 1.14 (1.09 to 1.20) for CHD events; and 1.21 (1.17 to 1.25) for all-cause mortality. 821 CHD events and 2085 all-cause deaths occurred in 8218 participants with baseline Ig levels. For CHD events, adjusted HRs for 1 SD increases in IgA, IgG and IgM were, respectively, 0.97 (0.89 to 1.05); 0.95(0.76 to 1.17) and 0.90 (0.79 to 1.03). Corresponding adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality were 1.08 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.13), 1.03 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.14) and 1.01 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.06).

Conclusions

After risk factor adjustment, plasma viscosity was significantly associated with risks of CHD events; and with CHD, CVD and all-cause mortalities. We found no significant association of IgA, IgG or IgM levels with incident CHD events or mortality, except for a borderline association of IgA with all-cause mortality.
Impact of vehicle platoon on energy and emission in mixed traffic environment
Authors: Zhang Yan-Tao , Chen Yu-Zhang , Shi Cong-Ling , Hu Mao-Bin
Published: February 2023

Vehicle platoons were recently proposed to reduce energy consumption and emissions. However, the majority of platooning studies have focused on pure connected automated vehicle (CAV) environments with limited insights into energy consumption and emissions. This paper quantifies fuel consumption and emissions by studying the microscopic movements of CAVs and human driving vehicles (HDVs) in mixed traffic flows. With an extended cellular automaton model, a four-lane mixed traffic flow of CAVs and HDVs is investigated in detail. The results have shown that ad hoc platoon formation can lead to frequent acceleration and lane changing, resulting in more fuel consumption and emission. With a dedicated CAV lane (DCL) strategy, the interference of CAVs and HDVs is greatly reduced, thereby improving the fuel economy and emission reduction. The findings can benefit the organization of vehicle platoons in the persisting mixed traffic flow environment.
DOES INTERNET USAGE TIME PROMOTE HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION? — MICRO EVIDENCE FROM CHINA
Authors: FENG FAN , FENG KUO , JIAN XIAO JING
Published: February 2023

Adopting an instrumental-variable (IV) approach, this paper explored the potential effects of internet usage time on household consumption with data from the 2014, 2016, and 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). After completing mechanism tests, we found that longer internet usage time was linked to greater household consumption through increased engagement with online shopping, more frequent retrieval of online information, and more online socializing. Moreover, the results suggested that families living in rural areas, and central and western regions tended to consume more as their internet usage time increased.
QCD cusp anomalous dimension: Current status
Authors: Grozin Andrey
Published: February 2023

Calculation results for the HQET field anomalous dimension and the QCD cusp anomalous dimension, as well as their properties, are reviewed. The HQET field anomalous dimension [Formula: see text] is known up to four loops. The cusp anomalous dimension [Formula: see text] is known up to three loops, and its small-angle and large-angle asymptotics up to four loops. Some (but not all) color structures at four loops are known with the full [Formula: see text]-dependence. Some simple contributions are known at higher loops. For the [Formula: see text] asymptotics of [Formula: see text] (the light-like cusp anomalous dimension) and the [Formula: see text]-term of the small-[Formula: see text] expansion (the Bremsstrahlung function), the [Formula: see text] SYM results are equal to the highest-weight parts of the QCD results. There is an interesting conjecture about the structure of [Formula: see text] which holds up to three loops; at four loops it holds for some color structures and breaks down for other ones. In the cases when it holds, it related highly nontrivial functions of [Formula: see text], and it cannot be accidental; however, the reasons of this conjecture and its failures are not understood. The cusp anomalous dimension at the Euclidean angle [Formula: see text] is related to the static quark–antiquark potential due to conformal symmetry; in QCD, this relation is broken by an anomalous term proportional to the [Formula: see text]-function.

Some new results are also presented. Using the recent four-loop result for [Formula: see text], here we obtain analytical expressions for some terms in the four-loop on-shell renormalization constant of the massive quark field [Formula: see text] which were previously known only numerically. We also present two new contributions to [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] at five loops and to the quark–antiquark potential at four loops.
Gravito-optics and intensity correlations for binary inspiral signal detections
Authors: Jones Preston , Barrett Alexander , Carpenter Justin , Gretarsson Andri , Gretarsson Ellie , Hughey Brennan , Smith Darrel , Zanolin Michele , Singleton Douglas
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we examine the correlation functions associated with intensity interferometry and gravito-optics of gravitational wave (GW) signals from compact binary coalescences (CBC). Previous theoretical studies of the gravito-optics of GWs have concentrated on the characterization of both the classical and the nonclassical properties of signals from cosmological sources in the early Universe. These previous works assume a periodic signal similar to the signals studied widely in optics and quantum optics and do not apply to transient signals. We develop the gravito-optics of intensity correlations for descriptions of the detection of transient signals from CBC and apply these methods to calculate the two-point intensity correlations for the GW discovery. We also discuss the necessary theoretical work required for the description of the quantum gravito-optics of intensity correlations in the detection of signals from binary inspirals.
The eye of the storm: Optical properties
Authors: Narzilloev Bakhtiyor , Ahmedov Bobomurat
Published: February 2023

Investigation of the optical properties of a black hole described by the so-called “eye of the storm” space–time has been the main aim of the work. Such a space–time is regular and recovers the Minkowski space–time at asymptotical infinity due to the effect of the so-called “suppression parameter” involved in the metric. It has been shown that an increase in the suppression parameter reduces the inclination angle of photons in the close regions around a black hole due to gravitational lensing. Investigation of the photon motion has also shown that bigger values of this parameter reduce the photon sphere radius as well. It has been also detected that the shape of a black hole shadow is affected in the presence of the suppression parameter and the bigger values of this parameter twist the shape of a shadow stronger. Lastly, it has been demonstrated that the average shadow radius is bigger for smaller suppression parameters and the distortion of the shape of shadow from a circle is bigger for bigger suppression parameters and bigger spin of a black hole.
2D circular-shaped sensor of poly (vinylidene fluoride) piezoelectric fibers fabricated through near-field direct-write electrospinning
Authors: Chou Huann-Ming , Yang Hui-Chun
Published: February 2023

This study presented an innovative concept to develop a home-made equipment to make a 2D circular-shaped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fiber piezoelectric sensor. The fibers spun by direct-write near-field electrospinning can be collected orderly to enhance the orientation of dipole moments and the piezoelectric effect. The electrospinning system mainly consists of a high voltage power supply system, a digitally controlled [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] table, a solution injection system, and a rotating flat disc collector system. PVDF piezoelectric fibers were spun for the sensing element of the sensor with a diameter of [Formula: see text]16 [Formula: see text]m under a high electric field ([Formula: see text] V/m). The optimal parameters of electrospinning process were investigated and determined by the uniform design (UD) method in terms of the working high voltage, feeding rate, and gap distance between the needle and collector. In addition, a prototype of this newly designed rotating flat disc collector system was utilized to make 2D circular-shaped PVDF piezoelectric fibers. Besides, the newly-designed radial electrodes were used to characterize multi-directional sensing ability. The 2D circular-shaped fibers were then packaged with this radial electrodes and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film together to measure the dynamic behavior characteristics.
Glass formation ability and physical properties of Fe–B–Y bulk metallic glass alloys with different Nb contents
Authors: Liu Chi-Fan , Shi Shih-Chen , Sun Ting-Ting , Chen Tao-Hsing
Published: February 2023

This study investigated the effects of Nb addition on the glass formation ability, mechanical properties, and microstructural evolution of Fe–Y–B bulk metallic glass (BMG) alloys. The glass formation ability of the alloys with different Nb contents was evaluated by means of X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical properties of the various BMGs were examined using a universal testing machine (MTS 810) under quasi-static strain rates of 10[Formula: see text]–10[Formula: see text] s[Formula: see text]. The high strain rate mechanical properties of the BMGs were tested using a split Hopkinson pressure bar system under strain rates of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] s[Formula: see text]. Finally, the microstructures of the fracture surfaces of the alloys tested at different strain rates were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Preparation and mechanical properties of plain jute rope fabric reinforced polylactic acid composites
Authors: Chen Jiang-Chiang , Wu Chang-Mou , Li Jia-Sheng
Published: February 2023

The biodegradable natural jute threads (JT) were braided into jute flag ropes (JFR) by a flag braiding machine first. Then, JT and JFR were woven into plain-woven jute thread fabrics (JTF) and jute flag rope fabrics (JFRF), respectively, by using a dobby loom. Subsequently, JTF and JFRF were impregnated with polylactic acid (PLA) resin to become JTF/PLA and JFRF/PLA composites, respectively. These JTF/PLA and JFRF/PLA composites are biodegradable. The tensile, compressive, and bending characteristics of these composites were examined by a material test system (MTS 810). In addition, the impact properties of these composites were evaluated by an Izod tester. The experimental results show that the braiding technique strengthened the jute ropes. The JFRF/PLA composite has high tensile strength, compressive modulus, bending modulus, and impact resistance
Artificial Intelligence-Aided SLA Planning via Reverse Engineering the QoE/QoS Relations
Authors: Rineh A. S. Mousavi , Kazemitabar J. , Zadeh A.
Published: February 2023

Along with the growth of the Internet comes a competitive environment among Internet service providers. In this regard, quality of service (QoS) and customer’s quality of experience (QoE) are introduced as the two main criteria of satisfaction for network users/regulators. In this paper, we evaluate these two criteria for one of the largest Internet service communication networks in Iran. By providing a predictive model, we propose a solution to improve the quality of the communication. Our model predicts the quality of experience from the quality-of-service parameters with an accuracy of roughly 90%. Next, we reverse-engineer the relationship between the quality of experience and quality of service to develop a service level agreement (SLA) contract. The relationship between quality of experience and quality of service is then compiled into a set of if-then rules. By using a decision tree classifier, we were able to set the quality-of-service parameter thresholds for the gold, silver, and bronze SLAs.
A Hierarchical Feature Ensemble Deep Learning Approach for Software Defect Prediction
Authors: Zhang Shenggang , Jiang Shujuan , Yan Yue
Published: February 2023

Software defect prediction can detect modules that may have defects in advance and optimize resource allocation to improve test efficiency and reduce development costs. Traditional features cannot capture deep semantic and grammatical information, which limits the further development of software defect prediction. Therefore, it has gradually become a trend to use deep learning technology to automatically learn valuable deep features from source code or relevant data. However, most software defect prediction methods based on deep learning extraction features from a single information source or only use a single deep learning model, which leads to the fact that the extracted features are not comprehensive enough to affect the final prediction performance. In view of this, this paper proposes a Hierarchical Feature Ensemble Deep Learning (HFEDL) Approach for software defect prediction. Firstly, the HFEDL approach needs to obtain three types of information sources: abstract syntax tree (AST), class dependency network (CDN) and traditional features. Then, the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory based on Attention mechanism (BiLSTM+Attention) are used to extract different valuable features from the three information sources and multiple prediction sub-models are constructed. Next, all the extracted features are fused by a filter mechanism to obtain more comprehensive features and construct a fusion prediction sub-model. Finally, all the sub-models are integrated by an ensemble learning method to obtain the final prediction model. We use 11 projects in the PROMISE defect repository and evaluate our approach in both non-effort-aware and effort-aware scenarios. The experimental results show that the prediction performance of our approach is superior to state-of-the-art methods in both scenarios.
Vibration-Based Structural Damage Identification Using P-CNN and Time-Frequency Hybrid Index under the Conditions of Uncertainties and Incomplete Measurements
Authors: Xiang Chunyan , Gu Jianfeng , Sun Chang , Wu Dawei , Huang Minshui , Qu Hao
Published: February 2023

The accuracy of vibration-based structural damage identification is affected by uncertainties in vibration measurements and finite element modeling. Moreover, a sufficient number of sensor measurements are not practical in large-scale structures. In this regard, the frequency domain [frequencies and mode shapes (FMS)] and time domain [acceleration cross-correlation function (ACCF)] indexes are put into a parallel convolutional neural network (P-CNN, a new convolutional neural network architecture with dual-channel) to locate and quantify structural damage. First, this approach is verified by a numerical model of a simply-supported beam, and the performance is evaluated by comparing it with methods using FMS and ACCF indexes input to the conventional 2D-CNN, respectively. The comparative results demonstrate that the proposed method can identify the damage with the lowest error, and the errors are less than 5%. In addition, three sparse measurement conditions are adopted to investigate the effect of the number of measuring points on damage identification. It is found that under the influence of uncertainties, even if only four sensors are used, this approach can identify damage accurately. Second, an engineering example of a continuous rigid frame bridge is adopted to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. The results show that when the number of sensors accounts for 65% and 47% of test sensors, respectively, it performs well in locating and quantifying structural damage. Therefore, this method can not only reduce the number of sensors and eliminate uncertainties effects, but also improve the performance of the 2D-CNN through information fusion and complementarity, which is also beneficial to minimize the cost of sensor layout in actual structures.
Optimal Noise-Boosted Estimator Design Via Adaptive Stochastic Resonance
Authors: Pan Yan , Xu Liyan , Duan Fabing , Chapeau-Blondeau François
Published: February 2023

In signal estimation, an optimal estimator is frequently unachievable because its closed form may not be analytically tractable or is too complex to implement. Alternatively, one can turn to suboptimal yet easily implementable estimators for practical signal estimation tasks. In this paper, an optimal noise-boosted estimator is designed and the adaptive stochastic resonance method is implemented to simultaneously exploit the beneficial role of the injected noise as well as the learning ability of the estimator parameter. Aiming to effectively improve the estimation performance, we use the kernel function method to find an approximate solution for the probability density function (PDF) of the optimal injected noise. During this process, the noise PDF and the estimator parameter establish a finite-dimensional non-convex optimization space for maximizing the estimation performance, which is adaptively searched by the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm at each iteration. Two representative estimation problems are explored. The obtained results demonstrate that this adaptive stochastic resonance method can improve the performance of the suboptimal estimators and bring it very close to that of the optimal estimator.
Gyro-groups, gyro-splittings and co-homology
Authors: Lal Ramji , Kakkar Vipul
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we study gyro-groups associated to groups, group extensions admitting gyro-sections, and corresponding co-homologies. We also describe the obstructions in terms of co-homomology. The notion of gyro-Schur multiplier and that of gyro-Milnor [Formula: see text] group are introduced.