bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Different Ectopic Hoxa2 Expression Levels in Mouse Cranial Neural Crest Cells Result in Distinct Craniofacial Anomalies and Homeotic Phenotypes
Authors: Kitazawa Taro , Minoux Maryline , Ducret Sebastien , Rijli Filippo M.
Published: January 2022

Providing appropriate positional identity and patterning information to distinct rostrocaudal subpopulations of cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) is central to vertebrate craniofacial morphogenesis. Hox genes are not expressed in frontonasal and first pharyngeal arch (PA1) CNCCs, whereas a single Hox gene, Hoxa2, is necessary to provide patterning information to second pharyngeal arch (PA2) CNCCs. In frog, chick and mouse embryos, ectopic expression of Hoxa2 in Hox-negative CNCCs induced hypoplastic phenotypes of CNCC derivatives of variable severity, associated or not with homeotic transformation of a subset of PA1 structures into a PA2-like identity. Whether these different morphological outcomes are directly related to distinct Hoxa2 overexpression levels is unknown. To address this issue, we selectively induced Hoxa2 overexpression in mouse CNCCs, using a panel of mouse lines expressing different Hoxa2 ectopic expression levels, including a newly generated Hoxa2 knocked-in mouse line. While ectopic Hoxa2 expression at only 60% of its physiological levels was sufficient for pinna duplication, ectopic Hoxa2 expression at 100% of its normal level was required for complete homeotic repatterning of a subset of PA1 skeletal elements into a duplicated set of PA2-like elements. On the other hand, ectopic Hoxa2 overexpression at non-physiological levels (200% of normal levels) led to an almost complete loss of craniofacial skeletal structures. Moreover, ectopic Hoxa5 overexpression in CNCCs, while also resulting in severe craniofacial defects, did not induce homeotic changes of PA1-derived CNCCs, indicating Hoxa2 specificity in repatterning a subset of Hox-negative CNCCs. These results reconcile some discrepancies in previously published experiments and indicate that distinct subpopulations of CNCCs are differentially sensitive to ectopic levels of Hox expression.
Digitization of Handwritten Chess Scoresheets with a BiLSTM Network
Authors: Majid Nishatul , Eicher Owen
Published: January 2022

During an Over-the-Board (OTB) chess event, all players are required to record their moves strictly by hand, and later the event organizers are required to digitize these sheets for official records. This is a very time-consuming process, and in this paper we present an alternate workflow of digitizing scoresheets using a BiLSTM network. Starting with a pretrained network for standard Latin handwriting recognition, we imposed chess-specific restrictions and trained with our Handwritten Chess Scoresheet (HCS) dataset. We developed two post-processing strategies utilizing the facts that we have two copies of each scoresheet (both players are required to write the entire game), and we can easily check if a move is valid. The autonomous post-processing requires no human interaction and achieves a Move Recognition Accuracy (MRA) around 95%. The semi-autonomous approach, which requires requesting user input on unsettling cases, increases the MRA to around 99% while interrupting only on 4% moves. This is a major extension of the very first handwritten chess move recognition work reported by us in September 2021, and we believe this has the potential to revolutionize the scoresheet digitization process for the thousands of chess events that happen every day.
Texture Management for Glossy Objects Using Tone Mapping
Authors: Hirose Ikumi , Nagasawa Kazuki , Tsumura Norimichi , Yamamoto Shoji
Published: January 2022

In this paper, we proposed a method for matching the color and glossiness of an object between different displays by using tone mapping. Since displays have their own characteristics, such as maximum luminance and gamma characteristics, the color and glossiness of an object when displayed differs from one display to another. The color can be corrected by conventional color matching methods, but the glossiness, which greatly changes the impression of an object, needs to be corrected. Our practical challenge was to use tone mapping to correct the high-luminance part, also referred to as the glossy part, which cannot be fully corrected by color matching. Therefore, we performed color matching and tone mapping using high dynamic range images, which can record a wider range of luminance information as input. In addition, we varied the parameters of the tone-mapping function and the threshold at which the function was applied to study the effect on the object’s appearance. We conducted a subjective evaluation experiment using the series category method on glossy-corrected images generated by applying various functions to each display. As a result, we found that the differences in glossiness between displays could be corrected by selecting the optimal function for each display.
Value Improving Practices in Production of Hydrocarbon Resources in the Arctic Regions
Authors: Semenova Tatyana
Published: January 2022

The relevance of the article is due to the fact that as the ice melts, the Arctic Ocean is becoming increasingly available. This fact has renewed the interest in Arctic mineral resources. The purpose of this article is to study special aspects of the development of Arctic hydrocarbon resources, which can boost the economic growth of the Russian economy in the medium term, and to identify approaches to enhance the economic value of these processes. The purpose was achieved by the solution of the following objectives: analysis of the current state of the Arctic resources, as well as the situation on both the global and Russian markets for hydrocarbon resources; study of the special part played by Arctic marine hydrocarbons; and substantiation of the development of transport infrastructure as an important factor in enhancing the economic efficiency of the production of offshore hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic Regions. The methodological framework of the article is formed by the fundamental provisions of economic theory, national economy, economic, environmental and energy security, as well as discoveries and developments by foreign and domestic scientists to ensure the economic efficiency of offshore hydrocarbon production in the Arctic Regions. The author’s sequence of stages for calculating the technical and economic potential of offshore oil and gas fields in the Arctic is proposed, which, unlike the existing ones, is based on an integral indicator combining financial, technical, climatic and service-infrastructure characteristics of fields, which makes it possible to make a rating of fields to determine the order and priority of the beginning of their development. The necessity of taking into account a wide list of factors in the comparative analysis of oil and gas fields in the Arctic in order to make strategic management decisions on the priority of field development is proved. The article suggests that the organizational structure and legal support be differentiated by management levels (mega-level, macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level), as it pertains to the extraction of marine hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic Regions and the development of the transport infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route.
On the Genesis of the South China Sea Mesoscale Eddies
Authors: Zhao Yuhui , Yang Yang , Mao Longjiang , Zhang Yuanzhi
Published: January 2022

The climatology of the mesoscale eddies in the upper layer of the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated for an understanding of its genesis using the outputs from a 1/12.5° ocean reanalysis. Employed is a recently developed multiscale energetics formalism on the basis of a multiscale window transform (MWT) and the theory of canonical transfer. Three scale windows, namely, background flow, mesoscale eddy and synoptic eddy, are differentiated, and fields on different scales are reconstructed henceforth. Diagnosis of the mesoscale eddy energy budget reveals that barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, wind work, advection and pressure work are essential ingredients of the eddy energy sources and sinks in the SCS, but their contributions vary from region to region. In the southwestern part of the SCS, the regional mesoscale eddy energy is mainly generated by barotropic instability, while in the northeastern SCS, baroclinic instability and the wind working directly on the eddies are the two dominant eddy generation processes. The eddies southwest of Taiwan are damped by outward energy transport via advection, while the decay of those southeast of Vietnam is due to pressure work. The three-scale framework also reveals that the interaction between the mesoscale eddies and higher-frequency synoptic eddies mainly serves as a sink for the mesoscale eddy energy in the SCS, except for the northeastern SCS, where significant inverse cascade of kinetic energy is found.
Dynamic Response of Multiconnected Floating Solar Panel Systems with Vertical Cylinders
Authors: Song Jihun , Kim Joonseob , Lee Jeonghwa , Kim Seungjun , Chung Woochul
Published: January 2022

In this study, the dynamic response of a multiconnected floating solar panel system with a vertical pontoon were studied under various scenarios. First, a floating solar panel pontoon is modeled by combining nine single-unit vertical cylinders (arranged in parallel, horizontally and vertically, 3 m apart from each other). Each cylinder will be considered a rigid body, and they are connected to each other with a frame, so that they can oscillate together. Each floating solar panel pontoon was connected to a steel pipe, and a hinged connector was attached to the connecting point of each steel pipe, while it was fixed at each pontoon. In this study, as a floating solar panel system, a 10 × 10 system was adopted at a water depth of 50 m. Furthermore, a catenary mooring system with steel wire rope was installed to enhance its station-keeping capability. As an environmental load, wave excitation force, under normal operating and extreme conditions, was considered. To confirm the dynamic behavior of the system, a connector boundary condition sensitivity test was conducted under a 0° heading (west to east). It has been proven that an unexpected dynamic response along the sway, roll, and yaw directions is observed in the hinged connector case, due to the second generated moment caused by the movement of the facilities. Furthermore, judging from extreme simulation results, the larger the external environmental loading, the greater the dynamic response of the system, due to amplified wave excitation forces. Finally, under the multiple mooring line failure scenario, the dynamic response of the system is significantly amplified, due to the loss of mooring tension, except for the roll response.
Tetrodotoxin Retention in the Toxic Goby Yongeichthys criniger
Authors: Tatsuno Ryohei , Shikina Miwako , Yamamoto Yuta , Kanahara Yoko , Takatani Tomohiro , Arakawa Osamu
Published: January 2022

To investigate tetrodotoxin (TTX) retention by the toxic goby Yongeichthys criniger, rearing experiments feeding nontoxic diets were conducted using 12 (Group I) and 17 (Group II) specimens collected from a natural environment. The specimens were reared in an aquarium with aeration and fed a diet lacking TTX for 60 days. Specimens were removed at 0, 20, 40, and 60 days (Group I) or 0, 30, and 60 days (Group II) after initiation of rearing. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry revealed that whole-body concentrations and amounts of TTX decreased with increasing rearing duration in Group I. There were similar decreases in Group II, but the trend differed among tissues; the concentrations and amounts of TTX in the skin exhibited the greatest decreases. The results imply that Y. criniger has low TTX retention ability.
The Impact of Typhoon Intensity on Wave Height and Storm Surge in the Northern East China Sea: A Comparative Case Study of Typhoon Muifa and Typhoon Lekima
Authors: Wang Junyan , Mo Dongxue , Hou Yijun , Li Shuiqing , Li Jian , Du Mei , Yin Baoshu
Published: January 2022

A comparative study was conducted on typhoon intensity factors affecting the marine environment using two representative cases: Typhoon Lekima, which made landfall at Shandong Peninsula, the Northern East China Sea, and Typhoon Muifa, which did not. Using the ADCIRC and SWAN models, we developed a coupled numerical model and applied it to simulate the storm surge and destructive waves caused by typhoons. Three typhoon parameters—maximum wind speed, radius of maximum wind speed, and translation speed—were investigated through sensitivity experiments. The storm surge during the typhoon that made landfall showed a positive correlation with the distance of the typhoon’s center. The maximum significant wave height and storm surge had near-linear growth with a maximum wind speed but decreased with the growth rate of the radius of maximum wind. A rapid typhoon translation speed from 47 km/h to 60 km/h could cause a storm surge resonance phenomenon at the northern coast of the East China Sea.
Comparative Cost Analysis of Four Different Computer-Assisted Technologies to Implant a Total Knee Arthroplasty over Conventional Instrumentation
Authors: Christen Bernhard , Tanner Lars , Ettinger Max , Bonnin Michel P. , Koch Peter P. , Calliess Tilman
Published: January 2022

Several computer-assisted technologies, such as navigation and robotics, have been introduced to Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) in order to increase surgical precision and reduce complications. However, these technologies are often criticized due to the increased costs and effort associated with them; however, comparative data are missing. The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in intraoperative workflows and the related perioperative cost-profiles of four current computer-assisted technologies, used to implant a TKA, in order to gain a comparison to conventional instrumentation. For the cost analysis, additional preoperative imaging and instruments, increased operating room (OR) and planning-time, and expenditures for technical support of the equipment and disposals were calculated, in comparison to conventional TKA, for (1) standard computer-navigation, (2) patient specific instruments (PSI), (3) image-based robotic assistance, and (4) imageless robotic assistance. Workflows at four expert centers which use these technologies were reviewed by an independent observer. The total cost calculation was based on a 125 TKA per year unit in Switzerland. Computer-navigation resulted in 14 min (+23%) increased surgery time and, overall, USD 650 in additional costs. PSI technology saved 5 min (8%) OR time but it created USD 1520 in expenditures for imaging and disposals. The image-based robotic system was the most expensive technology; it created overall additional costs of USD 2600, which predominately resulted from technical support, disposals, the CT-Scan, and 14 min of increased OR time. The imageless robotic assistance resulted in the largest increase in OR-time, as it resulted in an additional 25 min (+42%) on average. Overall, additional costs of USD 1530 were calculated. Every one of the assistive technologies in this study increased the total cost of TKA when compared to a conventional technique, and the most important variables, related to cost, were technical support and additional disposables. The longer surgical times and additional surgical trays required for the techniques had a marginal effect on overall costs. This comparative cost analysis gives valuable information for future efforts to calculate the real costs of these technologies and the subsequent return on investment of each technique.
Could Long-Acting Cabotegravir-Rilpivirine Be the Future for All People Living with HIV? Response Based on Genotype Resistance Test from a Multicenter Italian Cohort
Authors: De Vito Andrea , Botta Annarita , Berruti Marco , Castelli Valeria , Lai Vincenzo , Cassol Chiara , Lanari Alessandro , Stella Giulia , Shallvari Adrian , Bezenchek Antonia , Di Biagio Antonio
Published: January 2022

Long-acting (LA) formulations have been designed to improve the quality of life of people with HIV (PWH) by maintaining virologic suppression. However, clinical trials have shown that patient selection is crucial. In fact, the HIV-1 resistance genotype test and the Body Mass Index of individual patients assume a predominant role in guiding the choice. Our work aimed to estimate the patients eligible for the new LA therapy with cabotegravir (CAB) + rilpivirine (RPV). We selected, from the Antiviral Response Cohort Analysis (ARCA) database, all PWH who had at least one follow-up in the last 24 months. We excluded patients with HBsAg positivity, evidence of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (except K103N) and integrase inhibitor mutations, and with a detectable HIV-RNA (>50 copies/mL). Overall, 4103 patients are currently on follow-up in the ARCA, but the eligible patients totaled 1641 (39.9%). Among them, 1163 (70.9%) were males and 1399 were Caucasian (85.3%), of which 1291 (92%) were Italian born. The median length of HIV infection was 10.2 years (IQR 6.3–16.3) with a median nadir of CD4 cells/count of 238 (106–366) cells/mm3 and a median last available CD4 cells/count of 706 (509–944) cells/mm3. The majority of PWH were treated with a three-drug regimen (n = 1116, 68%). Among the 525 (30.3%) patients treated with two-drug regimens, 325 (18.1%) were treated with lamivudine (3TC) and dolutegravir (DTG) and only 84 (5.1%) with RPV and DTG. In conclusion, according to our snapshot, roughly 39.9% of virologically suppressed patients may be suitable candidates for long-acting CAB+RPV therapy. Therefore, based on our findings, many different variables should be taken into consideration to tailor the antiretroviral treatment according to different individual characteristics.
Does 3D Printing-Assisted Acetabular or Pelvic Fracture Surgery Shorten Hospitalization Durations among Older Adults?
Authors: Hung Chun-Chi , Wu Jia-Lin , Cheng Yung-Wen , Chen Wei-Liang , Lee Shih-Han , Yeh Tsu-Te
Published: January 2022

Acetabular or anterior pelvic ring fractures are rare but extremely complicated and challenging injuries for orthopedic trauma surgeons. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is widely used in the management of these two fracture types for surgical benefits. Our study aimed to explore whether 3D printing-assisted acetabular or pelvic surgery is beneficial in terms of shortening the length of hospital stay (LHS) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay (ICU LS) for older patients. This retrospective study included two groups of 76 participants over 60 years old who underwent operations with (n = 41) or without (n = 35) guidance by 3D printing. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to analyze continuous variables. Chi-square analysis was applied for categorical variables. Univariable and multivariable linear regression models were used to analyze the factors associated with LHS. The median LHS in the group without 3D printing assistance was 16 (12–21) days, and the median ICU LS was 0 (0–2) days. The median LHS in the group with 3D printing assistance was 17 (12.5–22.5) days, and the median ICU LS was 0 (0–3) days. There was no significant difference in LHS associated with 3D printing assistance vs. that without 3D printing among patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation for pelvic or acetabular fractures. The LHS positively correlated with the ICU LS whether the operation was 3D printing assisted or not. For fracture surgery in older patients, in addition to the advancement of surgical treatment and techniques, medical teams require more detailed preoperative evaluations, and more personalized medical plans regarding postoperative care to achieve the goals of shortening LHS, reducing healthcare costs, and reducing complication rates.
Spatiotemporal Evolution of Entrepreneurial Activities and Its Driving Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China
Authors: Zhang Haipeng , Chen Wei , Liu Zhigao
Published: January 2022

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of entrepreneurial activities in the local municipalities of the Yangtze River Delta at long timescales from a geographic perspective and to reveal the underlying factors driving such evolution. The ontology of entrepreneurial activities—startups—was chosen as the object of this study, and the developmental characteristics of entrepreneurial activities in the region since 2001 were explored in two dimensions: time series changes and spatial evolution. The driving mechanism was further explored using the geographical detector. The results showed that: (1) Intensive entrepreneurial activities have been underway in the Yangtze River Delta since the beginning of the 21st century. The entrepreneurial process has undergone a stable period of slow growth (2001–2013), as well as one of rapid growth (2014–2018). The number of startups increased during this period, from 241,700 in 2001 to 1,959,600 in 2018. (2) The density of entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta has increased since 2001. The agglomerative patterns showed developmental trends of both concentration and diffusion, forming a dotted pattern of agglomeration centered on the provincial capitals of Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei and a belt of agglomeration centered on Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou. (3) High-value agglomeration of entrepreneurial activities was found to be relatively stable, and low-value agglomeration steadily weakened. Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nantong have long been part of H-H clusters, while Chizhou, Wuhu, Bozhou, Huaibei, and Huainan in Anhui have become areas of depressed entrepreneurial activities. (4) Financial strength, degree of informationization, economic foundation, innovative vitality, openness, and market demand are the main factors affecting entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta. Entrepreneurial activities have significant spatial correlation, and areas with high entrepreneurial vitality radiate their effect to the entrepreneurial activities in the surrounding areas. The factors affecting entrepreneurial activities have multiple characteristics, and policy makers should promote entrepreneurial activities with a comprehensive vision and multi-channel efforts. The findings of this study add to the understanding of the spatial proximity characteristics of long time series of entrepreneurial activities at the municipal scale in developing countries and reveal the characteristics of the multi-factor combinations affecting them.
The Effect of the Human Footprint and Climate Change on Landscape Ecological Risks: A Case Study of the Loess Plateau, China
Authors: Qu Zhi , Zhao Yonghua , Luo Manya , Han Lei , Yang Shuyuan , Zhang Lei
Published: January 2022

The increase in ecological risks caused by human activities has become a global concern in recent years. The Landscape Ecological Risk Index based on the theory of landscape ecology is more suitable for assessing large-scale ecological risks. Assessing landscape ecological risks and the mechanisms by which humans directly or indirectly affect them will help to manage and control the regions’ ecological risks through scientific and policy methods. In this study, a new model of landscape ecological risk assessment based on the moving window method is proposed. The Loess Plateau of China is used as an example, and the Human Footprint Index dataset of the Loess Plateau is constructed. Different human footprint factors and climate factors are applied, and the human direct and indirect effects on the landscape ecological risks of the Loess Plateau are explored based on the geographical detector model. The results show that, in 2000, 2010 and 2020, the landscape ecological risks of the Loess Plateau are currently in an unstable state, and the highest value area of the Landscape Ecological Risk Index continues to expand, with values of 113,566.1553 km2, 114,575.6772 km2 and 120,718.5363 km2, respectively. Among all the human footprint factors, the population density factor has the highest effect on the landscape ecological risks of the Loess Plateau. Among the climate factors, both the average temperature factor and the average lagged temperature factor have significant effects on the landscape ecological risks of the Loess Plateau. With the interaction of any two human footprint factors and climate factors, the effect of these factors on the landscape ecological risks of the Loess Plateau is enhanced.
More on Sibilant Devoicing in Spanish Diachrony: An Initial Phonetic Approach
Authors: Rost Bagudanch Assumpció
Published: January 2022

The devoicing of sibilants took place in Early Modern Spanish, a phenomenon which has been considered problematic to account for due to its occurrence context (medial intervocalic position). Traditional explanations invoked Basque influence or a structural reorganization in search for a more balanced system. However, phonetically based reasons were proposed by some scholars. This research is a preliminary attempt to support these proposals with experimental data from a comparative grammar perspective. The Catalan sibilant system, which is very similar to the Medieval Spanish one, is acoustically and perceptively studied in order to investigate the acoustic cues of voicing and to determine if devoicing is possible. Results indicate that (a) voicing relies mainly in the proportion of unvoiced frames of the segments, on its duration, and, to a lesser extent, on its intensity; (b) sibilant devoicing occurs in all voiced categories; (c) auditorily, confusion between voiced and voiceless segments can be attested for every sibilant pair, and (d) the misparsings are more common in affricate and in palatal sibilants, [d͡ʒ] being the most prone to be labelled as unvoiced. These findings prove that the historical process in Spanish could have a phonetic basis.
Do Not Give Up Your Stethoscopes Yet—Telemedicine for Chronic Respiratory Diseases in the Era of COVID-19
Authors: Simeone Stephen , Condit Daniel , Nadler Evan
Published: January 2022

Telemedicine in its many forms has been utilized across numerous medical specialties to facilitate and expand access to medical care, optimize existing healthcare infrastructure to encourage patient–provider communication, reduce provider burnout, and improve patient surveillance. Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic there has been widening of existing socioeconomic disparities in healthcare access for those with chronic respiratory diseases, sparking interest in expanding the use of telemedicine modalities to enhance access to pulmonology specialist care, pulmonary rehabilitation, symptom monitoring, and early identification of clinical exacerbations. Furthermore, the use of telemedicine has been expanded into the intensive care setting to improve patient outcomes and offset provider demands following the increase in critically ill patients due to COVID-19. While an invaluable modality by which to broaden healthcare access and increase the efficacy of care delivery, telemedicine must be used in conjunction with face-to-face physical evaluation and appropriate clinical testing to optimize its benefit. We present here our view of the benefits and disadvantages of the use of telemedicine in the management of chronic respiratory disorders from the perspective of practicing clinicians.
Studies on the Ageing of Cement Stabilized Rammed Earth Material in Different Exposure Conditions
Authors: Rosicki Łukasz , Narloch Piotr
Published: January 2022

This paper aims to test the deterioration of cement stabilized rammed earth and consider its characteristics during its lifespan in various exposure conditions. Both visual and mechanical properties were tested to determine the impact of long-term exposure to natural weather conditions. Cemented stabilized rammed earth is a variation of the traditional rammed earth building material which has been used since ancient history and is strengthened by the addition of stabilizers in the form of Portland cement. This article analyzes the long-term properties of wall panels made of this material, which were subjected to varying exposure conditions for five years. After this period, compression tests of specimens cut from panels stored in various environmental conditions were carried out. Based on the results and visual properties of the specimens, long-term changes in unconfined compressive strength were observed and primary durability attributes were described. Despite minimal visible wear to the external layers of the wall panels, the natural weather conditions proved to deteriorate material strength characteristics, especially on specimens with high cement content. No correlation between visual characteristics and compressive strength measures were found. The present study is vital in adequately describing cement stabilized rammed earth behavior in natural weather conditions typical of a humid continental climate.
The Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Fe-B-W-Mn-Al Alloy in Liquid Zinc
Authors: Luo Zixiang , Liu Ke , Cui Zizhen , Ouyang Xuemei , Zhang Chen , Yin Fucheng
Published: January 2022

The microstructure, interfacial characteristics, and corrosion resistance of Fe-W-Mn-Al-B alloys in molten zinc at 520 °C have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA). The experimental results indicate that the Fe-B alloy with 11 wt.% W, 7 wt.% Mn, and 4 wt.% Al addition displays a lamellar eutectic microstructure and excellent corrosion resistance to molten zinc. The toughness of M2B-type borides in the hyper-eutectic Fe-4.2B-11W-7Mn-4Al alloy can be more than doubled, reaching 10.5 MPa·m1/2, by adding Mn and Al. The corrosion layer of the Fe-3.5B-11W-7Mn-4Al alloy immersed in molten zinc at 520 °C comprises Fe3AlZnx, δ-FeZn10, ζ-FeZn13, and η-Zn. The lamellar borides provide the mechanical protection for α-(Fe, Mn, Al), and the thermal stability of borides improves as the fracture toughness of the borides increases, which jointly contribute to the improvement of the corrosion resistance to the molten zinc.
Potential Valorization of Waste Tires as Activated Carbon-Based Adsorbent for Organic Contaminants Removal
Authors: Frikha Kawthar , Limousy Lionel , Pons Claret Joan , Vaulot Cyril , Pérez Karin Florencio , Garcia Beatriz Corzo , Bennici Simona
Published: January 2022

The present study investigates the potential of waste tires to produce a valuable adsorbent material for application in wastewater treatment. In the first stage, the pyrolysis of ground rubber tire was explored using non-isothermal and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis experiments. The effect of operating parameters, such as heating rate and pyrolysis temperature, on the pyrolysis product yields was considered. The slow pyrolysis of ground rubber tire was taken up in a large-scale fixed-bed reactor for enhanced char recovery. Four pyrolysis temperatures were selected by thermogravimetric data. The product yields were strongly influenced by the pyrolysis temperature; at higher temperatures, the formation of more gases and liquid was favored, while at lower pyrolysis temperatures, more char (solid fraction) was formed. The produced chars were characterized in terms of mineral composition, textural properties, proximate analysis, and structural properties to identify the relationships between the pyrolysis temperature and the char properties. In a second step, a series of activated chars were prepared, starting from the pyrolytic chars via chemical and/or physical activation methods. Then, the activated chars were characterized and tested as adsorbents for atrazine and ibuprofen. Adsorption experiments in aqueous media were carried out in a small-scale batch reactor system. Chemical activation seems appropriate to significantly reduce the inorganic compounds initially present in ground rubber tire and contribute to an important increase in the surface area and porosity of the chars. Adsorption experiments indicated that chemically activated chars exhibit high aqueous adsorption capacity for atrazine.
Hygrothermal Behavior of a Washing Fines–Hemp Wall under French and Tunisian Summer Climates: Experimental and Numerical Approach
Authors: Boumediene Naima , Collet Florence , Prétot Sylvie , Elaoud Sami
Published: January 2022

This study experimentally and numerically investigates the hygrothermal behavior of a wall made of washing fines hemp composite under typical French and Tunisian summer climates. Actually, insulating bio-based building materials are designed in order to reduce energy and non-renewable resources consumptions. Once their multiphysical properties are characterized at material scale, it is necessary to investigate their behavior at wall scale. Washing fines hemp composite shows low thermal conductivity and high moisture buffer ability. The test wall is implemented as separating wall of a bi-climatic device, which allows simulating indoor and outdoor climates. The numerical simulations are performed with WUFI Pro 6.5 Software. The results are analyzed from the temperature, relative humidity and vapor pressure kinetics and profiles and from heat and moisture transfer and storage. The thermal conductive resistance calculated at the end of the stabilization phase is consistent with the theoretical one. The hygric resistance is consistent for simulation up to steady state. The dynamic phase under daily cyclic variation shows that for such cycles two thirds of the thickness of the wall on the exterior side are active. It also highlights sorption-desorption phenomena in the wall.
Modeling Lane-Changing Behavior Based on a Joint Neural Network
Authors: Dong Changyin , Liu Yunjie , Wang Hao , Ni Daiheng , Li Ye
Published: January 2022

This paper proposes a joint neural network model to imitate lane-changing behaviors. Specifically, lane-changing decision-making process is captured by probabilistic neural network (PNN) and lane-changing decision-making process is learned by back-propagation neural network (BPNN). The link between the two neural networks is the target gap for lane-changing. After testing and calibrating the joint neural network model, simulation experiments are designed to study heterogeneous traffic flow at an off-ramp bottleneck. Numerical simulations are conducted in various traffic scenarios with different market penetration rates (MPRs) of intelligent vehicles (IVs) and proportions of exit vehicles. Finally, the performance of heterogeneous flows is evaluated from the perspectives of average speed, road capacity, and safety. The results show that joint neural network can accurately predict the gap types chosen for lane changes and vehicle trajectory during lane-changing. For the traffic system, road capacity obtains the least value when the MPR of IVs is 50%. Moreover, frequent lane-changing movements upstream the off-ramp bottleneck determine the areas at greatest risk. However, when MPR of IVs is over 80% or proportion of exit vehicles is below 15%, both traffic efficiency and safety can be significantly improved. This work provides some insights into the application of machine learning algorithms to traffic flow modeling, and conducts quantitative analysis on the impact of key parameters on traffic systems. Findings of this work can support management and operation of automated highway systems in the future.
Improving Crisis Events Detection Using DistilBERT with Hunger Games Search Algorithm
Authors: Adel Hadeer , Dahou Abdelghani , Mabrouk Alhassan , Abd Elaziz Mohamed , Kayed Mohammed , El-Henawy Ibrahim Mahmoud , Alshathri Samah , Amin Ali Abdelmgeid
Published: January 2022

This paper presents an alternative event detection model based on the integration between the DistilBERT and a new meta-heuristic technique named the Hunger Games Search (HGS). The DistilBERT aims to extract features from the text dataset, while a binary version of HGS is developed as a feature selection (FS) approach, which aims to remove the irrelevant features from those extracted. To assess the developed model, a set of experiments are conducted using a set of real-world datasets. In addition, we compared the binary HGS with a set of well-known FS algorithms, as well as the state-of-the-art event detection models. The comparison results show that the proposed model is superior to other methods in terms of performance measures.
Mathematical Modeling and Simulation in Mechanics and Dynamic Systems
Authors: Scutaru Maria Luminita , Pruncu Catalin-Iulian
Published: January 2022

Although it has previously been considered difficult to make further contributions in the field of mechanics, the spectacular evolution of technology and numerical calculation techniques has caused this opinion to be reconsidered and to the development of more and more sophisticated models that describe, as accurately as possible, the phenomena that take place in dynamic systems [...]
Predictive Modeling of Short-Term Rockburst for the Stability of Subsurface Structures Using Machine Learning Approaches: t-SNE, K-Means Clustering and XGBoost
Authors: Ullah Barkat , Kamran Muhammad , Rui Yichao
Published: January 2022

Accurate prediction of short-term rockburst has a significant role in improving the safety of workers in mining and geotechnical projects. The rockburst occurrence is nonlinearly correlated with its influencing factors that guarantee imprecise predicting results by employing the traditional methods. In this study, three approaches including including t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), K-means clustering, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were employed to predict the short-term rockburst risk. A total of 93 rockburst patterns with six influential features from micro seismic monitoring events of the Jinping-II hydropower project in China were used to create the database. The original data were randomly split into training and testing sets with a 70/30 splitting ratio. The prediction practice was followed in three steps. Firstly, a state-of-the-art data reduction mechanism t-SNE was employed to reduce the exaggeration of the rockburst database. Secondly, an unsupervised machine learning, i.e., K-means clustering, was adopted to categorize the t-SNE dataset into various clusters. Thirdly, a supervised gradient boosting machine learning method i.e., XGBoost was utilized to predict various levels of short-term rockburst database. The classification accuracy of XGBoost was checked using several performance indices. The results of the proposed model serve as a great benchmark for future short-term rockburst levels prediction with high accuracy.
Convergence Theorems in Interval-Valued Riemann–Lebesgue Integrability
Authors: Croitoru Anca , Gavriluţ Alina , Iosif Alina , Sambucini Anna
Published: January 2022

We provide some limit theorems for sequences of Riemann–Lebesgue integrable functions. More precisely, Lebesgue-type convergence and Fatou theorems are established. Then, these results are extended to the case of Riemann–Lebesgue integrable interval-valued multifunctions.
Controlling Chaos in Van Der Pol Dynamics Using Signal-Encoded Deep Learning
Authors: Zhai Hanfeng , Sands Timothy
Published: January 2022

Controlling nonlinear dynamics is a long-standing problem in engineering. Harnessing known physical information to accelerate or constrain stochastic learning pursues a new paradigm of scientific machine learning. By linearizing nonlinear systems, traditional control methods cannot learn nonlinear features from chaotic data for use in control. Here, we introduce Physics-Informed Deep Operator Control (PIDOC), and by encoding the control signal and initial position into the losses of a physics-informed neural network (PINN), the nonlinear system is forced to exhibit the desired trajectory given the control signal. PIDOC receives signals as physics commands and learns from the chaotic data output from the nonlinear van der Pol system, where the output of the PINN is the control. Applied to a benchmark problem, PIDOC successfully implements control with a higher stochasticity for higher-order terms. PIDOC has also been proven to be capable of converging to different desired trajectories based on case studies. Initial positions slightly affect the control accuracy at the beginning stage yet do not change the overall control quality. For highly nonlinear systems, PIDOC is not able to execute control with a high accuracy compared with the benchmark problem. The depth and width of the neural network structure do not greatly change the convergence of PIDOC based on case studies of van der Pol systems with low and high nonlinearities. Surprisingly, enlarging the control signal does not help to improve the control quality. The proposed framework can potentially be applied to many nonlinear systems for nonlinear controls.
Intelligent Robust Cross-Domain Fault Diagnostic Method for Rotating Machines Using Noisy Condition Labels
Authors: Ainapure Abhijeet , Siahpour Shahin , Li Xiang , Majid Faray , Lee Jay
Published: January 2022

Cross-domain fault diagnosis methods have been successfully and widely developed in the past years, which focus on practical industrial scenarios with training and testing data from numerous machinery working regimes. Due to the remarkable effectiveness in such problems, deep learning-based domain adaptation approaches have been attracting increasing attention. However, the existing methods in the literature are generally lower compared to environmental noise and data availability, and it is difficult to achieve promising performance under harsh practical conditions. This paper proposes a new cross-domain fault diagnosis method with enhanced robustness. Noisy labels are introduced to significantly increase the generalization ability of the data-driven model. Promising diagnosis performance can be obtained with strong noise interference in testing, as well as in practical cases with low-quality data. Experiments on two rotating machinery datasets are carried out for validation. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm is well suited to be applied in real industrial environments to achieve promising performance with variations of working conditions.
Free and Forced Vibration Analysis of Two-Dimensional Linear Elastic Solids Using the Finite Element Methods Enriched by Interpolation Cover Functions
Authors: Li Yancheng , Dang Sina , Li Wei , Chai Yingbin
Published: January 2022

In this paper, a novel enriched three-node triangular element with the augmented interpolation cover functions is proposed based on the original linear triangular element for two-dimensional solids. In this enriched triangular element, the augmented interpolation cover functions are employed to enrich the original standard linear shape functions over element patches. As a result, the original linear approximation space can be effectively enriched without adding extra nodes. To eliminate the linear dependence issue of the present method, an effective scheme is used to make the system matrices of the numerical model completely positive-definite. Through several typical numerical examples, the abilities of the present enriched three node triangular element in forced and free vibration analysis of two-dimensional solids are studied. The results show that, compared with the original linear triangular element, the present element can not only provide more accurate numerical results, but also have higher computational efficiency and convergence rate.
Relationship of Time-Dependent Parameters from Destructive and Non-Destructive Tests of Structural Concrete
Authors: Lehner Petr , Hrabová Kristýna
Published: January 2022

Reinforced concrete structures are typically exposed to a combination of aggressive substances and mechanical stresses, which contribute to fast degradation. The present research was conducted to evaluate five time-dependent parameters from several different tests, namely compressive strength, static modulus, dynamic modulus, surface, and bulk electrical resistance. Some parameters were obtained using destructive testing (DT) and some using non-destructive testing (NDT). Due to the correlation and calculation of regression curves, it was possible to compare the correlation of parameters important for estimating the durability of reinforced concrete structures in relation to degradation and corrosion. Concrete of C40/50 grade was examined in several time periods, and the parameter relationships were analysed. At the same time, a statistical evaluation was carried out, and therefore the study contains the average values and standard deviations of all measured parameters. The results show that the compressive strength and the electrical resistivity of the surface and bulk have a high correlation. In contrast, the dynamic modulus and electrical resistivity have low linear correlation, but it was possible to apply a quadratic curve with a high degree of fit. For the comparison of static elastic modulus and electrical resistance, the quality of the quadratic regression model was low but sufficient. The results show that, for structural concrete, the presented NDT methods can be used to estimate other parameters obtained from the DT methods.
Periodic Orbits of a Mosquito Suppression Model Based on Sterile Mosquitoes
Authors: Zhu Zhongcai , Shi Yantao , Yan Rong , Hu Linchao
Published: January 2022

In this work, we investigate the existence and stability of periodic orbits of a mosquito population suppression model based on sterile mosquitoes. The model switches between two sub-equations as the actual number of sterile mosquitoes in the wild is assumed to take two constant values alternately. Employing the Poincaré map method, we show that the model has at most two T-periodic solutions when the release amount is not sufficient to eradicate the wild mosquitoes, and then obtain some sufficient conditions for the model to admit a unique or exactly two T-periodic solutions. In particular, we observe that the model displays bistability when it admits exactly two T-periodic solutions: the origin and the larger periodic solution are asymptotically stable, and the smaller periodic solution is unstable. Finally, we give two numerical examples to support our lemmas and theorems.
Variational Bayesian Inference in High-Dimensional Linear Mixed Models
Authors: Yi Jieyi , Tang Niansheng
Published: January 2022

In high-dimensional regression models, the Bayesian lasso with the Gaussian spike and slab priors is widely adopted to select variables and estimate unknown parameters. However, it involves large matrix computations in a standard Gibbs sampler. To solve this issue, the Skinny Gibbs sampler is employed to draw observations required for Bayesian variable selection. However, when the sample size is much smaller than the number of variables, the computation is rather time-consuming. As an alternative to the Skinny Gibbs sampler, we develop a variational Bayesian approach to simultaneously select variables and estimate parameters in high-dimensional linear mixed models under the Gaussian spike and slab priors of population-specific fixed-effects regression coefficients, which are reformulated as a mixture of a normal distribution and an exponential distribution. The coordinate ascent algorithm, which can be implemented efficiently, is proposed to optimize the evidence lower bound. The Bayes factor, which can be computed with the path sampling technique, is presented to compare two competing models in the variational Bayesian framework. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed variational Bayesian method. An empirical example is analyzed by the proposed methodologies.