bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changes in Type 2 Diabetes Trends in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Schmitt Jessica A , Ashraf Ambika P , Becker David J , Sen Bisakha
Published: April 2022

Context

There is concern that the growing incidence of pediatric type 2 diabetes (T2D) may have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective

To examine whether trends in new-onset pediatric T2D—inclusive of patients requiring hospitalization and patients managed as outpatients—were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare patient characteristics prior to and during COVID-19.

Methods

A retrospective single-center medical record review was conducted in a hospital which cares for 90% of Alabama’s pediatric T2D patients. Patients with new-onset T2D referred from March 2017 to March 2021 were included. Counts of patients presenting per month (“monthly rates”) were computed. Linear regression models were estimated for the full sample and stratified by Medicaid and non-Medicaid insurance status. Patient characteristics prior to vs during COVID-19 were compared.

Results

A total of 642 patients presented with new-onset T2D over this period. Monthly rates were 11.1 ± 3.8 prior to COVID-19 and 19.3 ± 7.8 during COVID-19 (P = .004). Monthly rates for Medicaid patients differed prior to and during COVID-19 (7.9 ± 3.4 vs 15.3 ± 6.6, P = .003) but not for non-Medicaid patients (3.3 ± 1.7 vs 4.0 ± 2.4, P = .33). Regression results showed significant increases in monthly rates during COVID-19 for the full sample (β= 5.93, P < .05) and for Medicaid enrollees (β= 5.42, P < .05) Hospitalization rate, severity of obesity, and hemoglobin A1c remained similar prior to and during COVID-19, though the proportion of male patients increased from 36.8% to 46.1% (P = .021).

Conclusions

A rise in new-onset T2D was observed among Alabama’s youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, a burden that disproportionately affected Medicaid enrollees and males. Future research should explore the pathways through which the pandemic impacted pediatric T2D.
P2P lending platforms in Malaysia: What do we know?
Authors: Nguyen Lan Thi Phuong , Kalabeke Wisdom , Muthaiyah Saravanan , Cheng Ming Yu , Hui Kwan Jing , Mohamed Hazik
Published: April 2022

Background - With the recent evolution of Financial Technology (FinTech), 11 peers to peer (P2P) lending platforms have been regulated by the Securities Commission in Malaysia since 2016. P2P lending platforms offer new investment opportunities to individual investors to earn higher rates on return than what traditional lenders usually provide. However, individual investors may face higher potential risks of default from their borrowers. Therefore, individual investors need to understand the potential exposure to such P2P lending platforms to make an effective investment decision. This study aims to explore the potential risk exposures that individual investors may experience at Malaysia's licensed P2P lending platforms.  

Methods - Based on data collected manually from nine P2P lending platforms over five months, relationships between interest rates and various risk classifying factors such as credit rating, industry, business stage, loan purpose, and loan duration are examined.  

 Results- This study shows that loans with a similar credit rating and with or without similar loan purpose; and a business stage may offer investors significantly different interest rates. In addition, loans with shorter durations may provide investors with higher interest rates than those with longer durations. Finally, loans issued by companies from the same industry appeared to be charged with similar interest. These findings are valuable to investors to prepare themselves before making their investments at the P2P lending platforms.  

Conclusion- With first hand-collected data, this study provides an original insight into Malaysia's current P2P lending platforms. Findings obtained for relationships between interest rates and risk classifying factors such as credit rating, industry, business stage, loan purpose and loan duration are valuable to investors of Malaysian P2P lending platforms.
Assessment of serum testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone levels in female patients with acne vulgaris
Authors: Nguyen Phu Cuong , Nguyen Hoang Van , Vu Van Tien , Pham Van Tran , Tran Dang Quyet , Nguyen Thanh Tung
Published: April 2022

Introduction: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit with differential pathogenesis. To elucidate the roles of hormones in acne pathogenesis, we conducted a study to evaluate the serum testosterone, estradiol, progesterone levels in women with acne vulgaris.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study, and 175 women with acne vulgaris were examined; their serum estradiol, progesterone, testosterone were analyzed by chemiluminescence technique and compared with the healthy control group.

Results: Increased serum hormone levels in women with acne vulgaris were accounted for 29.7%, and hyperandrogenism was accounted for 16.0% of cases. We found significant differences in testosterone levels (mean value, 55.67±25.56 versus 38.37±10.16 ng/dL, p<0.05) respectively in the acne group and the control group. However, the estradiol level of the acne group (323.15±93.31 pmol/L) was lower than the control group (370.94±58.88 pmol/L) with p<0.05). No statistically significant differences were found for progesterone (0.60±0.38 versus 0.50±0.15 ng/mL, p>0.05) levels. Moreover, we did not find the relationship between serum hormone levels and the severity of acne vulgaris.

Conclusion: This study showed that the female acne vulgaris patients may have high serum testosterone levels and low serum estradiol levels compared with those of female controls. However, hormone alterations had no correlation with the acne grades.
The genome sequence of the blue-rayed limpet, Patella pellucida Linnaeus, 1758
Authors: Lawniczak Mara K.N. ,   Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding collective,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life programme,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: DNA Pipelines collective,   Tree of Life Core Informatics collective,   Darwin Tree of Life Consortium
Published: April 2022

We present a genome assembly from an individual Patella pellucida (the blue-rayed limpet; Mollusca; Gastropoda; Patellidae). The genome sequence is 712 megabases in span. The majority of the assembly (99.85%) is scaffolded into 9 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome was assembled and is 14.9 kilobases in length.
Integral Column Generation for Set Partitioning Problems with Side Constraints
Authors: Tahir Adil , Desaulniers Guy , El Hallaoui Issmail
Published: April 2022

The integral column generation algorithm (ICG) was recently introduced to solve set partitioning problems involving a very large number of variables. This primal algorithm generates a sequence of integer solutions with decreasing costs, leading to an optimal or near-optimal solution. ICG combines the well-known column generation algorithm and a primal algorithm called the integral simplex using decomposition algorithm (ISUD). In this paper, we develop a generalized version of ICG, denoted I2CG, that can solve efficiently large-scale set partitioning problems with side constraints. This new algorithm can handle the side constraints in the reduced problem of ISUD, in its complementary problem, or in both components. Computational experiments on instances of the airline crew pairing problem (CPP) and the multidepot vehicle routing problem with time windows show that the latter strategy is the most efficient one and I2CG significantly outperforms basic variants of two popular column generation heuristics, namely, a restricted master heuristic and a diving heuristic. For the largest tested CPP instance with 1,761 constraints, I2CG can produce in less than one hour of computational time more than 500 integer solutions leading to an optimal or near-optimal solution.

Summary of Contribution: In this paper, we develop a new integral column generation algorithm that can solve efficiently large-scale set partitioning problems with side constraints. The latter alter the quasi-integrality property needed for primal integral algorithms. The paper adds a methodological contribution remedying this issue. This remedy should, in our opinion, boost the use of primal exact methods, especially in the column generation context. The paper also has a computational contribution. Effectively, computational experiments on instances of the airline crew pairing problem and the multidepot vehicle routing problem with time windows are extensively discussed. We compare the proposed algorithm to basic variants of two popular column generation heuristics.
Can Consumer-Posted Photos Serve as a Leading Indicator of Restaurant Survival? Evidence from Yelp
Authors: Zhang Mengxia , Luo Lan
Published: April 2022

Despite the substantial economic impact of the restaurant industry, large-scale empirical research on restaurant survival has been sparse. We investigate whether consumer-posted photos can serve as a leading indicator of restaurant survival above and beyond reviews, firm characteristics, competitive landscape, and macroconditions. We employ machine learning techniques to extract features from 755,758 photos and 1,121,069 reviews posted on Yelp between 2004 and 2015 for 17,719 U.S. restaurants. We also collect data on restaurant characteristics (e.g., cuisine type, price level) and competitive landscape as well as entry and exit (if applicable) time from each restaurant’s Yelp/Facebook page, own website, or Google search engine. Using a predictive XGBoost algorithm, we find that consumer-posted photos are strong predictors of restaurant survival. Interestingly, the informativeness of photos (e.g., the proportion of food photos) relates more to restaurant survival than do photographic attributes (e.g., composition, brightness). Additionally, photos carry more predictive power for independent, young or mid-aged, and medium-priced restaurants. Assuming that restaurant owners possess no knowledge about future photos and reviews, photos can predict restaurant survival for up to three years, whereas reviews are only predictive for one year. We further employ causal forests to facilitate the interpretation of our predictive results. Among photo content variables, the proportion of food photos has the largest positive association with restaurant survival, followed by proportions of outside and interior photos. Among others, the proportion of photos with helpful votes also positively relates to restaurant survival.

This paper was accepted by Juanjuan Zhang, marketing.

Funding: The authors thankNvidia and Clarifai for supporting this research.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4359 .
Explaining Excess Entry in Winner-Take-All Markets
Authors: Laferrière Vincent , Staubli David , Thöni Christian
Published: April 2022

We report experimental data from standard market entry games and winner-take-all games. At odds with traditional decision-making models with risk aversion, the winner-take-all condition results in substantially more entry than the expected-payoff-equivalent market entry game. We explore three candidate explanations for excess entry: blind spot, illusion of control, and joy of winning, none of which receive empirical support. We provide a novel theoretical explanation for excess entry based on cumulative prospect theory and test it empirically. Our results suggest that excess entry into highly competitive environments is not caused by a genuine preference for competing, but is instead driven by probability weighting. Market entrants overweight the small probabilities associated with the high payoff outcomes in winner-take-all markets, while they underweight probable failures.

This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

Funding: This work was supported by the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung [Grants 100018_182185 and 26022621] and the Dr. h.c. Emil Zaugg-Fonds [Grant B11162135].

Supplemental Material: The data files and e-companion are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4397 .
Highlighting the latest research: March 2022
Authors: Palmer Sarah Jane
Published: April 2022

Sarah Jane Palmer presents a selection of recently published articles of interest to nurses working in cardiovascular nursing. The aim of this roundup is to provide a brief overview of the research papers selected. A full reference is provided for those who wish to look at the research in further detail.
Escherichia coli Strains in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Review
Authors: Al-Amrah Hadba , Alotaibi Hanan , Sadiq Nemat
Published: April 2022

Gastrointestinal tract conditions, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease, have been linked to adhesive invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) pathotypes, with comparable pathogenic properties, although the incidence of AIEC with UC and CD is generally undetermined. While a significant advance has been made in understanding the pathogenic processes of AIEC since it was first characterized a decade ago, the molecular basis that determines the phenotypic features of AIEC pathotypes is still unknown. This article reviews studies that examine the prevalence of E. coli in patients with IBD and discusses its pathophysiological role.
Recent Upgradation in Bioanalytical Studies
Authors: Rakesh Shelke Rakesh Shelke , Rishipathak Dinesh
Published: April 2022

Analytical methodologies are critical throughout the medicine development process, including marketing and post-marketing studies. The advancement of bio-analytical techniques has resulted in a dynamic field with many exciting potentials for further advancement in the future. Bio-analysis is commonly utilised in the pharmaceutical drug development of drug's and its metabolites' quantitative levels. The goal is to undertake pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, as well as kinetics, toxicokinetics, bioequivalence, and exposure studies. Bioanalytical research employs a variety of bioanalytical techniques, including new instrumental techniques, separation techniques, and ligand-Indused test. This study emphasizes the importance of bio-analytical techniques and hyphenated devices in evaluating drug bio-analysis and the role of several current bio-analytical techniques such as LC-Mass, HPLC-PDA, UPLC-Mass spectroscopy, HPTLC, LC-Tandem, AAS, ICP-Mass.etc., and their recent modernization in drug analytical and bio-analysis investigations
The Use of Medicinal Plant Extract in Hand Sanitizer and Spray to Combat Against Covid-19
Authors: Cholkar Shalmali Shirish , Gawade Ashwini Ramkrishana , Kuchekar Ashwin Bhanudas
Published: April 2022

The current applications of nanomedicine span from the treatment of an infection right up to the treatment of cancer. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have established themselves as reliable delivery systems for delivering therapeutic agents including nucleic acids since they prevent in vivo degradation of nucleic acids and facilitate their target-specific delivery. The mRNA is one such nucleic acid that is delivered by the LNPs for the treatment of infectious diseases. This review provides a detailed insight into the concept of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, their mechanism of action, manufacturing process, critical considerations in the formulation, development, and manufacturing of these vaccines, and explains the vital role of LNPs in the development of these vaccines. Certain shortcomings of the lipid nanoparticle-mRNA vaccine concerning the in vitro stability of the mRNA and the LNP have also been highlighted in this review.
Magnetic Drug Delivery System: New Hope for Cancer Patients
Authors: J. Khairnar Shubham , S. Kasar Diptanshu , G. Patil Jivan , S. Gayake Rahul , S. Gosavi Piyushgir , R. Chavan Sonali
Published: April 2022

Now a day’s many types of research are carried out on drug delivery systems for early diagnosis and precise treatment with the primary aim of delivering the drug with maximum therapeutic action, fewer side effects, fast onset of action. Magnetic drug delivery can fulfil this entire requirement. Magnetic drug delivery system is defined as delivery of drug to the targeted tissue with help of magnet which may overcome many problems arises due to conventional drug delivery systems such as reticuloendothelial system clearance(RES clearance) and Target specificity. There have been very few studies on magnetic drug delivery systems, yet they can be quite helpful in treating life-threatening diseases like cancer and have very few side effects.
Lipid Nanoparticles: Key Facilitators of mRNA Vaccine Development
Authors: Cholkar Shalmali Shirish , Gawade Ashwini Ramkrishana , Kuchekar Ashwin Bhanudas
Published: April 2022

The current applications of nanomedicine span from the treatment of an infection right up to the treatment of cancer. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have established themselves as reliable delivery systems for delivering therapeutic agents including nucleic acids since they prevent in vivo degradation of nucleic acids and facilitate their target-specific delivery. The mRNA is one such nucleic acid that is delivered by the LNPs for the treatment of infectious diseases. This review provides a detailed insight into the concept of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, their mechanism of action, manufacturing process, critical considerations in the formulation, development, and manufacturing of these vaccines, and explains the vital role of LNPs in the development of these vaccines. Certain shortcomings of the lipid nanoparticle-mRNA vaccine concerning the in vitro stability of the mRNA and the LNP have also been highlighted in this review.
Effects of Quality Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity on Yogurt Added With Cold Brew Liquid Coffee Containing Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
Authors: Lim Seung-Yong
Published: April 2022

The purpose of this study is to compare the quality characteristics and antioxidant activities of the tagatose yogurt with different contents (6, 8, 10%) of cold brew liquid coffee. Tagatose is a low-calorie food ingredient with putative health-promoting benefits. The tagatose yogurt was fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus at 37±1oC for 20 h. The changes in acid production (pH and titratable acidity), viscosity, and lactic acid bacteria were determined every 5 h during fermentation. Color value was determined before and after fermentation, and antioxidant activities were performed after fermentation in triplicate. The yogurts containing cold brew liquid coffee had lower pH, higher acidity, and viscosity than the control, regardless of the liquid coffee contents. All samples had increasing levels of lactic acid bacteria over the fermentation period, but lactic acid bacteria of yogurts with the addition of cold brew liquid coffee increased further than the control. The total polyphenol/flavonoid content, DPPH/ ABTS/H2O2 radical scavenging activities, and reducing power increased when the liquid coffee content of the yogurt rose. Consequently, the optimal quality of tagatose yogurt was found when 6-8% of cold brew liquid coffee was added according to the overall results of quality properties and antioxidant activity.
Preparation and Quality Characteristics of Jelly According to Various Gelling Agents
Authors: Cha Eun-Sung , Yi Hye-Yoon , Lim Su-Youn , Chun Ji-Yeon
Published: April 2022

Various jellies were produced depending on the type and concentration of gelling agent (nine types), which added a single or double agent in jelly production. Firstly, jelly was manufactured using nine different single gelling agents and characterized. Secondly, six suitable gelling agents were selected to combine double gelling agents among nine gelling agents. To find the optimum gelling agent condition, jelly was intentionally made around 3.6-3.7 pH and 4- 5 N fracturability. A total of 1.2% gelling agent (both single and double agents) was suitable for making jelly (3.6- 3.7 pH, 4-5 N fracturability). According to the analytical result, the optimum single gelling agent was κ-carrageenan and gellan gum, while a suitable combination of double gelling agents was κ-carrageenan and gellan gum at ratios of 1.0:0.2, 0.8:0.4, and 0.6:0.6 and agar and locust bean gum at ratios of 0.8:0.4, 0.6:0.6.
Ethnic faultline in the farmer–pastoralist conflict (FPC) – when does ethnicity matter to the FPCs? A case study of Adani-Nimbo area in South-Eastern Nigeria
Authors: Nwankwo Cletus Famous , Okafor Uchenna Paulinus
Published: April 2022

The farmer–pastoralist conflict (FPC) has been discussed and given ethnic and religious appellations in some countries of West Africa, such as Ghana and Nigeria. In Nigeria, such a reading of the conflict is rampant in the media and dominant in national political discourse. However, these ethno-religious insinuations have not received serious scholarly treatment in Nigeria or been downplayed. In this paper, I examine the context in which ethnicity becomes vital to the FPCs, based on fieldwork in the Nimbo-Adani area of Uzo-Uwani municipal council of Enugu State affected most by the conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria. This area is an essential hot spot of the FPCs that has not been explored in analyzing the FPCs in Nigeria. The study is based on field observations and semi-structured in-depth interviews. The paper draws on the FPCs literature regarding the influence of ethnic identities on the conflict. It shows that the difference in ethnicity between pastoralists and farming communities is not the primary root of the conflict. At the first outbreak of violence, the difference in ethnicity was not the cause of the conflict. Ethnic identity only gets cited after the first brutal fighting between the nomads and the farming community. Non-violent conflicts often occur because of cattle destruction of farm crops and pollution of water sources. Although the herders are accused of various atrocities, such as rape and kidnapping, the first outbreak of violence was caused by retaliation for killing a herder in one of the villages. Heightening ethnic identity amplifies the construction of the herders’ identity and social status as non-indigenous and non-belonging in the villages. Thus, the villages seek the eviction of the herders based on their social status as non-indigenes. The paper argues that ethnic faultlines matter to the FPCs but only after other factors have initiated the conflict. Therefore, we should pay attention to the primary root of conflicts and how they get the basis for social exclusion activated.
State legitimacy and Third World conflicts
Authors: Khan Waheed A.
Published: April 2022

Dealing with the post-World War II security issues, in this article I outline an approach that takes into account the context of the weak states in Third World environments. In this respect, first of all I make a case that domestic politics should be factored in the security concerns of states. Especially in the Third World context domestic political and social dissentions become key factors in defining foreign policy behavior of such states. Secondly, I highlight regional context, especially unstable regional conditions, regional hierarchies, and other factors that contribute to conflict propensities of states situated in the Third World environments. Finally, I make a case that, compared to democracy, legitimacy is a better variable to explain the link between domestic politics and foreign policy behavior of the Third World states. Legitimacy is not only value-neutral variable, but can also be applied across time and place.
International Structural Competitiveness and the Hierarchy in the World Economy
Authors: Markaki Maria , Economakis George
Published: April 2022

The aim of this paper is to determine the level of competitiveness of national economies and their resulting hierarchy in the world economy. Based on the assumption that there is a structural relationship between the competitiveness of a national economy and the level of its economic development, we identify the main structural factors of international competitiveness. These factors are the degree of diversification of the productive structure of a national economy and the strength of its domestic sectoral productive linkages—which are both related to the level of industrial and technological development and the technological structure of exports. The Technologically Advanced Domestic Value Added in Exports, which condenses the above structural factors, is proposed as a measure of the level of competitiveness of national economies. This measure is implemented in order to determine the hierarchical position of 43 economies in terms of their international competitiveness. In addition, another measure of international competitiveness, the Economic Complexity Index, is examined and tested. When comparing the examined economies’ hierarchical positions obtained by using the two measures, a high correlation and a strong positive linear relationship between them is revealed.
Student Workers as a Source of Instant and Submissive Labour
Authors: Kaykısız Aslı , Akpınar Taner
Published: April 2022

This paper considers student employees in tourism in Antalya, Turkey. The appearance of undergraduate students in the labour market in Turkey has been an observable fact, especially since the beginning of the 2000s. One can see them in many different areas of the labour market. What matters in terms of labour demand is their student status, not their skill, experience, etc. The tourism industry is one of the economic activities in which undergraduate students are densely employed. Undergraduate students are employed informally for casual jobs by agencies functioning like employment agencies, but they are not officially employment agencies. The tourism industry in Antalya has a seasonal nature, and of course employment in this area is seasonal as well. However, in some seasons, there is an instant labour demand, and undergraduate students are viewed as a good labour supply for this demand. Currently, no scientific work has been carried out on this issue. This paper intends to present some preliminary findings on student employment.
Ricardo’s Labor Theory of Value Is Alive And Well in Contemporary Capitalism
Authors: Tsoulfidis Lefteris
Published: April 2022

This article, by utilizing Ricardo’s numerical examples, derives theoretical statements about the deviations of relative values (prices) from relative labor times. These deviations result from the presence of capital and the distributive variables (rate of profit and wage) and production (turnover) times. Furthermore, Ricardo argued that the intertemporal changes in relative (market) prices were no different from the respective changes in natural (or equilibrium) prices. Both depend primarily on changes in unit labor values and secondarily on capital intensities. The article continues by testing the extent to which Ricardo’s thesis holds by utilizing input-output data from the US and Chinese economies. The derived empirical results lend overwhelming support to Ricardo’s thesis, which is conformable with major aspects of Marx’s theory of value.
Marxism and MMT
Authors: Anastasi Anthony William Donald
Published: April 2022

As of now, there has been a relatively insufficient amount of scholarship tying Marxist theory to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This article argues that Marxists should take a closer look at the economic theory. MMT is a normative theory and could be used to promote any worldview or theory. Marxists should use it to argue for and, if implemented, manage non-reformist reforms such as a Job Guarantee and publicly funded elections. These reforms could raise the material and working conditions of the working class, strengthen class consciousness, and condition society for a post-capitalist economic system.
Real-time detection method of gear contact fatigue pitting based on machine vision
Authors: Li Hai , Zeng Chengkai , Zhao Peijie , Qin Zhipeng , Yang Yan
Published: April 2022

This paper proposes a real-time detection method for gear contact
fatigue pitting based on machine vision in order to improve the
detection accuracy and detection efficiency of specimen fatigue
pitting in gear contact fatigue tests and to realize the
visualization, quantification, and real-time detection of gear
pitting. Under the principle of gear meshing and the shooting
principle of a line-scan camera, a test detection system for gear
contact fatigue is established, and the optimal centrifugal shooting
distance for the gear tooth surface is obtained by analyzing the gear
rotation process. In response to the phenomenon of image overlap
caused by the inconsistency between the speed of each point on the
gear tooth profile and the line frequency set by the camera, an image
correction algorithm of the gear meshing surface has been proposed,
which has been proven to have improved the accuracy of the detection
results of gear contact fatigue pitting corrosion. The detection
accuracy of fatigue pitting corrosion is improved by combining the
preliminary detection and the accurate detection of the fatigue
features. The depth information of the extracted contour pitting pits
is extracted by the sequential forward selection (SFS) algorithm. The
experimental results showed that

0.1216

m
m

2

is the average absolute error of
pitting corrosion detection, the average relative error is 2.2188%,
and the detection accuracy is 97.7812%. The proposed pitting corrosion
detection system advances in visualization, quantification, real-time
monitoring, and failure judgment with a new, to the best of our
knowledge, experimental approach for gear contact fatigue pitting
corrosion detection.
Multiview three-dimensional imaging using a Risley-prism-based spatially adaptive virtual camera field
Authors: Liu Xingsheng , Li Anhu
Published: April 2022

We present a three-dimensional (3D) imaging system that incorporates a stationary camera and Risley prisms. By planning prism rotation to generate a spatially adaptive virtual camera field, the system allows multiple virtual cameras in the field to capture any object from different perspectives for 3D reconstruction. An automatic virtual camera calibration method based on perspective projection and geometric optics is developed to enable virtual camera field construction and characterization. Moreover, a 3D computational reconstruction framework is proposed for multiview information fusion using the virtual camera field. This framework combines nonlinear distortion correction with epipolar geometry computation to efficiently perform image rectification and stereo matching, which can further facilitate 3D object reconstruction through multiview triangulation. The experiments on synthetic and real data validate the feasibility and flexibility of our 3D imaging technique.
Automatic initial configuration in off-axis reflective optical system design using combined nodal and Seidel aberration
Authors: Qu Zheng , Zhong Xing , Zhang Kun , Li Lei , Wang Yuanhang
Published: April 2022

Currently, an off-axis reflective optical system is designed always from a coaxial initial system, and good imaging performance depends heavily on the choice of good initial configurations. This paper first establishes an imaging-performance evaluation function of the off-axis initial configuration based on nodal aberration theory and Seidel aberration theory. An automatic optimization method of the off-axis initial configuration using the global simulated annealing algorithm is proposed. Two design examples of off-axis three-mirror reflective optical systems are used to demonstrate the effectiveness and simplicity based on the initial configuration design method. Example 1: a series of optical systems with a large

10

∘

×

3

∘

field of view (FOV) is quickly and simply implemented using simple surfaces, and the optical systems exhibit perfect imaging quality. Example 2: starting from the good automatic initial configurations, two larger

20

∘

×

3

∘

FOV optical systems with focal lengths of 500 mm and

f

-numbers of five are designed, resulting in good imaging performance and providing a valuable design reference.
Top-of-atmosphere hyper and multispectral signatures of submerged plastic litter with changing water clarity and depth
Authors: Garaba Shungudzemwoyo P. , Harmel Tristan
Published: April 2022

The exploitation of satellite remote sensing is expected to be a critical asset in monitoring floating and submerged plastic litter in all aquatic environments. However, robust retrieval algorithms still havel to be developed based on a full understanding of light interaction with plastic litter and the other optically active constituents of the atmosphere-water system. To this end, we performed laboratory-based hyperspectral reflectance measurements of submerged macroplastics under varying water clarity conditions (clear – 0 mg/L, moderate – 75 mg/L, very turbid – 321.3 mg/L) and submersion depths. This comprehensive optical dataset was used (i) to relate the plastic-related signal to submersion depth and turbidity parameters, and (ii) to investigate the top-of-atmosphere signal through full radiative transfer calculations. Simulated TOA radiation was used to explore the nominal pixel and spectral requirements based on WorldView-3, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3 missions with very high to moderate geo-spatial resolutions. Results showed that plastics remained detectable when submerged in the top ∼1 m of the water column regardless of water clarity conditions. At TOA, uncertainties attached to atmospheric correction were shown to be reasonable and acceptable for plastic detection purposes in the infrared part of the spectrum (> 700 nm). The impact of aerosols on the TOA signal was found to be complex as (i) over large plastic patches. The aerosols produced little impact on satellite observations mostly due to adjacency effects and (ii) optical signature from isolated/small extent plastic patches was critically altered suggesting the atmospheric transmittance should be accurately corrected for in plastic detection algorithms. The sensitivity analyses also revealed that the narrow band widths of Sentinel-3 did not improve detection performance compared to the WorldView-3 coarser band widths. It is proposed that high spatial resolution wavebands such as the pan-chromatic could be advantageously explored for submerged plastic monitoring applications.
Electrically injected GaN-on-Si blue microdisk laser diodes
Authors: Tang Yongjun , Feng Meixin , Zhao Hanru , Wang Jin , Liu Jianxun , Sun Xiujian , Sun Qian , Zhang Shuming , Yang Hui
Published: April 2022

III-nitride blue microdisk laser diodes are highly desirable in emerging applications, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and visible light communication. However, the electrically pumped blue microdisk lasers have been lagging for decades owing to weak optical confinement and large internal absorption loss. In this study, the waveguide layers and cladding layers were carefully engineered to enhance the optical confinement and reduce internal absorption loss. Therefore, the first electrically injected blue microdisk laser diodes grown on Si substrates have been successfully fabricated, and exhibited a resistor-capacitance-limited bandwidth of 24.1 GHz, showing highly promising applications in high-speed and large-modulation-bandwidth visible light communication.
Hyperuniform scalar random fields for lensless, multispectral imaging systems: erratum
Authors: Chen Yuyao , Britton Wesley A. , Dal Negro Luca
Published: April 2022

We present an erratum to our Letter [Opt. Lett. 46, 5360 (2021)10.1364/OL.437936]. This erratum refers to Fig. 3, where a previous version was wrongly uploaded during the final resubmission of the paper. This correction has no influence on the text, the results, and the conclusions of the original Letter.
Ultra-flat, low-noise, and linearly polarized fiber supercontinuum source covering 670–1390 nm: publisher’s note
Authors: Genier Etienne , Grelet Sacha , Engelsholm Rasmus D. , Bowen Patrick , Moselund Peter M. , Bang Ole , Dudley John M. , Sylvestre Thibaut
Published: April 2022

This publisher’s note contains a correction to Opt. Lett. 46, 1820 (2021)10.1364/OL.420676.
Meteorological factors and non-pharmaceutical interventions explain local differences in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria
Authors: Ledebur Katharina , Kaleta Michaela , Chen Jiaying , Lindner Simon D. , Matzhold Caspar , Weidle Florian , Wittmann Christoph , Habimana Katharina , Kerschbaumer Linda , Stumpfl Sophie , Heiler Georg , Bicher Martin , Popper Nikolas , Bachner Florian , Klimek Peter
Published: April 2022

The drivers behind regional differences of SARS-CoV-2 spread on finer spatio-temporal scales are yet to be fully understood. Here we develop a data-driven modelling approach based on an age-structured compartmental model that compares 116 Austrian regions to a suitably chosen control set of regions to explain variations in local transmission rates through a combination of meteorological factors, non-pharmaceutical interventions and mobility. We find that more than 60% of the observed regional variations can be explained by these factors. Decreasing temperature and humidity, increasing cloudiness, precipitation and the absence of mitigation measures for public events are the strongest drivers for increased virus transmission, leading in combination to a doubling of the transmission rates compared to regions with more favourable weather. We conjecture that regions with little mitigation measures for large events that experience shifts toward unfavourable weather conditions are particularly predisposed as nucleation points for the next seasonal SARS-CoV-2 waves.
Inter-paralog amino acid inversion events in large phylogenies of duplicated proteins
Authors: Pascarelli Stefano , Laurino Paola
Published: April 2022

Connecting protein sequence to function is becoming increasingly relevant since high-throughput sequencing studies accumulate large amounts of genomic data. In order to go beyond the existing database annotation, it is fundamental to understand the mechanisms underlying functional inheritance and divergence. If the homology relationship between proteins is known, can we determine whether the function diverged? In this work, we analyze different possibilities of protein sequence evolution after gene duplication and identify “inter-paralog inversions”, i.e., sites where the relationship between the ancestry and the functional signal is decoupled. The amino acids in these sites are masked from being recognized by other prediction tools. Still, they play a role in functional divergence and could indicate a shift in protein function. We develop a method to specifically recognize inter-paralog amino acid inversions in a phylogeny and test it on real and simulated datasets. In a dataset built from the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) sequences found in 88 fish species, we identify 19 amino acid sites that went through inversion after gene duplication, mostly located at the ligand-binding extracellular domain. Our work uncovers an outcome of protein duplications with direct implications in protein functional annotation and sequence evolution. The developed method is optimized to work with large protein datasets and can be readily included in a targeted protein analysis pipeline.
Understanding glioblastoma invasion using physically-guided neural networks with internal variables
Authors: Ayensa-Jiménez Jacobo , Doweidar Mohamed H. , Sanz-Herrera Jose A. , Doblare Manuel
Published: April 2022

Microfluidic capacities for both recreating and monitoring cell cultures have opened the door to the use of Data Science and Machine Learning tools for understanding and simulating tumor evolution under controlled conditions. In this work, we show how these techniques could be applied to study Glioblastoma, the deadliest and most frequent primary brain tumor. In particular, we study Glioblastoma invasion using the recent concept of Physically-Guided Neural Networks with Internal Variables (PGNNIV), able to combine data obtained from microfluidic devices and some physical knowledge governing the tumor evolution. The physics is introduced in the network structure by means of a nonlinear advection-diffusion-reaction partial differential equation that models the Glioblastoma evolution. On the other hand, multilayer perceptrons combined with a nodal deconvolution technique are used for learning the go or grow metabolic behavior which characterises the Glioblastoma invasion. The PGNNIV is here trained using synthetic data obtained from in silico tests created under different oxygenation conditions, using a previously validated model. The unravelling capacity of PGNNIV enables discovering complex metabolic processes in a non-parametric way, thus giving explanatory capacity to the networks, and, as a consequence, surpassing the predictive power of any parametric approach and for any kind of stimulus. Besides, the possibility of working, for a particular tumor, with different boundary and initial conditions, permits the use of PGNNIV for defining virtual therapies and for drug design, thus making the first steps towards in silico personalised medicine.
Projected novelty in the climate envelope of the California Current at multiple spatial-temporal scales
Authors: Smith James A. , Pozo Buil Mercedes , Fiechter Jerome , Tommasi Desiree , Jacox Michael G.
Published: April 2022

A useful measure of general climate stress is where and when novel habitats emerge. Here we evaluate ‘climate envelope novelty’–a spatial indicator of system-level habitat change–in the California Current System (CCS), by quantifying the emergence of novel ocean conditions in multivariate physical-biogeochemical space. We use downscaled climate projections from three earth system models out to 2100 under emission scenario RCP8.5, and detect novelty at multiple spatial-temporal scales using two methods (n-dimensional hypervolumes and extrapolation detection). Under high emissions, persistent novelty doesn’t appear until around 2040 and then only in small patches of Southern California and the Pacific North West. However, novelty increases rapidly after this (especially in warmer seasons), so that by 2060 up to 50% of the CCS in an average year has shifted to a novel local climate, which increases to 100% by 2090. These results are for the average year, and the first years to experience these levels of novelty typically occur 20 years sooner. The ecosystem will increasingly experience novel combinations of warmer temperatures, lower dissolved oxygen (especially inshore), and a shallower mixed layer (especially offshore). The emergence of extensive local novelty year-round has implications for the required ubiquitous redistribution or adaptation of CCS ecology, and the emergence of extensive regional novelty in warmer months has implications for bioregional change and regionally emerging fisheries. One of our climate projections showed considerably less novelty, indicating that realistic uncertainties in climate change (especially the rate of warming) can mean the difference between a mostly novel or mostly analog future.
Systems genetics in the rat HXB/BXH family identifies Tti2 as a pleiotropic quantitative trait gene for adult hippocampal neurogenesis and serum glucose
Authors: Senko Anna N. , Overall Rupert W. , Silhavy Jan , Mlejnek Petr , Malínská Hana , Hüttl Martina , Marková Irena , Fabel Klaus S. , Lu Lu , Stuchlik Ales , Williams Robert W. , Pravenec Michal , Kempermann Gerd
Published: April 2022

Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus contributes to learning and memory in the healthy brain but is dysregulated in metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. The molecular relationships between neural stem cell activity, adult neurogenesis, and global metabolism are largely unknown. Here we applied unbiased systems genetics methods to quantify genetic covariation among adult neurogenesis and metabolic phenotypes in peripheral tissues of a genetically diverse family of rat strains, derived from a cross between the spontaneously hypertensive (SHR/OlaIpcv) strain and Brown Norway (BN-Lx/Cub). The HXB/BXH family is a very well established model to dissect genetic variants that modulate metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and we have accumulated deep phenome and transcriptome data in a FAIR-compliant resource for systematic and integrative analyses. Here we measured rates of precursor cell proliferation, survival of new neurons, and gene expression in the hippocampus of the entire HXB/BXH family, including both parents. These data were combined with published metabolic phenotypes to detect a neurometabolic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for serum glucose and neuronal survival on Chromosome 16: 62.1–66.3 Mb. We subsequently fine-mapped the key phenotype to a locus that includes the Telo2-interacting protein 2 gene (Tti2)—a chaperone that modulates the activity and stability of PIKK kinases. To verify the hypothesis that differences in neurogenesis and glucose levels are caused by a polymorphism inTti2, we generated a targeted frameshift mutation on the SHR/OlaIpcv background. Heterozygous SHR-Tti2+/-mutants had lower rates of hippocampal neurogenesis and hallmarks of dysglycemia compared to wild-type littermates. Our findings highlightTti2as a causal genetic link between glucose metabolism and structural brain plasticity. In humans, more than 800 genomic variants are linked toTTI2expression, seven of which have associations to protein and blood stem cell factor concentrations, blood pressure and frontotemporal dementia.
The spindle assembly checkpoint and the spatial activation of Polo kinase determine the duration of cell division and prevent tumor formation
Authors: Gallaud Emmanuel , Richard-Parpaillon Laurent , Bataillé Laetitia , Pascal Aude , Métivier Mathieu , Archambault Vincent , Giet Régis
Published: April 2022

The maintenance of a restricted pool of asymmetrically dividing stem cells is essential for tissue homeostasis. This process requires the control of mitotic progression that ensures the accurate chromosome segregation. In addition, this event is coupled to the asymmetric distribution of cell fate determinants in order to prevent stem cell amplification. How this coupling is regulated remains poorly described. Here, using asymmetrically dividing Drosophila neural stem cells (NSCs), we show that Polo kinase activity levels determine timely Cyclin B degradation and mitotic progression independent of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). This event is mediated by the direct phosphorylation of Polo kinase by Aurora A at spindle poles and Aurora B kinases at centromeres. Furthermore, we show that Aurora A-dependent activation of Polo is the major event that promotes NSC polarization and together with the SAC prevents brain tumor growth. Altogether, our results show that an Aurora/Polo kinase module couples NSC mitotic progression and polarization for tissue homeostasis.