bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The influence of the legislative and judicial branches on moral judgment and norm perception with the special case of judicial intervention
Authors: Zeev‐Wolf Maor , Mentovich Avital
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the capacity of the legislative and judicial branches to shift moral judgment in the direction of the law, when they assume complementary, or competing, normative stances. Participants were asked to rate the morality and social acceptability of ethically dubious behaviors that were either permitted, or prohibited, by the legislative or judicial branch. We found that (i) the legislative branch alters moral judgment in the direction of its legislation, such that conduct seems more moral when the law permits it; (ii) the capacity of the legislative branch to alter moral judgments is similar to that of the judicial branch; (iii) the influence of both branches on moral judgment stems from their ability to impact upon prevailing norms; (iv) disagreements between the branches weakens their ability to influence moral judgment and norm perception. Our findings suggest that both branches are powerful norm setters, involved in shaping people's moral values.
Advective sorting of silt by currents: A laboratory study
Authors: Culp Jeff , Parent Andrew M. , Abolfazli Ehsan , Strom Kyle , Romans Brian W.
Published: May 2021

Accumulations of fine sediments along continental shelf and deep‐sea bathymetric contours, known as contourite drifts, form a sedimentary record that is dependent on oceanographic processes such as ocean–basin‐scale circulation. A tool used to aid in interpretation of such deposits is the sortable silt hypothesis, which suggests that the mean size of the sortable silt (silt from 10 to 63 μm) within a deposit can be used as a proxy for current velocity. While the hypothesis has been applied to numerous drift deposits, it has not been extensively explored. Slow deposition rates of contourite drift systems make it difficult to study in the deep ocean, and past laboratory studies have not tested the full range of conditions or mechanisms that could lead to sorting. This study uses flume experiments and theory to examine how the mean sortable silt in a deposit is related to current velocity under the action of advective depositional sorting. Tests were conducted for a fixed amount of time with four suspended sediment mixtures and current velocities typical of deep‐sea settings (5 to 25 cm s−1). Developed beds were sampled at fixed locations from the entrance and sized. The deposit grain size fined downstream and coarsened with increasing velocity at a particular distance from the inlet. Simple theory was able to capture the observations. Regardless of bed morphology or source sediment mixture, the mean sortable silt in the deposit was related to velocity at a particular flume location across all sediment mixtures. The slope of the relationship between velocity and size was dependent on the distance between the inlet and location of interest. Despite the simplified nature of the study, and the limitations regarding the presumed variability in natural systems, these findings broadly support the validity of mean sortable as a proxy for palaeocurrent velocity at a distance along a depositing current.
A Novel In Vitro and In Silico System for Analyzing Complex Mechanobiological Behavior of Chondrocytes in Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Constructs
Authors: Leung Sophia , Kim Jung-Joo , Musson David S. , McGlashan Sue R. , Cornish Jillian , Anderson Iain , Shim Vickie B. K.
Published: May 2021

Physiological loading is essential for the maintenance of articular cartilage through the regulation of tissue remodeling. To correctly understand the behavior of chondrocytes in their native environment, cell stimulating devices and bioreactors have been developed to examine the effect of mechanical stimuli on chondrocytes. This study describes the design and validation of a novel system for analyzing chondrocyte deformation patterns. This involves an in vitro mechanical device for a controlled application of multi-axial-loading regimes to chondrocyte-seeded agarose constructs and in silico models for analyzing chondrocyte deformation patterns. The computer-controlled device precisely applies compressive, tensile, and shear strains to hydrogel constructs using a customizable macro-based program. The synchronization of the displacements is shown to be accurate with a 1.2% error and is highly reproducible. The device design allows housing for up to eight novel designed free-swelling three-dimensional hydrogel constructs. Constructs include mesh ends and are optimized to withstand the application of up to 7% mechanical tensile and 15% shear strains. Constructs were characterized through mapping the strain within as mechanical load was applied and was validated using light microscopy methods, chondrocyte viability using live/dead imaging, and cell deformation strains. Images were then analyzed to determine the complex deformation strain patterns of chondrocytes under a range of dynamic mechanical stimulations. This is one of the first systems that have characterized construct strains to cellular strains. The features in this device make the system ideally suited for a systematic approach for the investigation of the response of chondrocytes to a complex physiologically relevant deformation profile.
The Thermohydraulic Characteristics and Optimization Study of Radial Porous Heat Sinks Using Multi-Objective Computational Method
Authors: Al-damook Amer , Azzawi Itimad D. J.
Published: May 2021

The use of porous media (PM) to improve conductive heat transfer has been at the focus of interest in recent years. Limited studies, however, have focused on heat transfer in radial heat sinks (RHSs) fully and partially saturated porous media with a different arrangement. As a development of the above-mentioned investigations, this research, therefore, addresses the ability of radial porous heat sink solutions to improve the thermohydraulic characteristics and reduce the effect of the second thermodynamics law. The response surface methodology (RSM) technique with ansysfluent-cfd is utilized to optimize the thermohydraulic features and the total entropy generation by the multi-objective optimum design for different design parameters such as porosity (Ø), inlet temperature (Tin), and applied heat flux (Q) simultaneously after achieving the optimum porous media arrangement related to the flow direction. The results show that, in terms of the flow direction, the optimum radial porous heat sink of the 100%PM model is recognized as providing the best results and the best option (fully saturated porous media). Moreover, a significant agreement between the predicted and numerical simulation data for the optimum values is also seen. The optimum and undesirable designs of the thermohydraulic features, the total entropy generation, and the optimum thermal management are detected in this investigation.
Local Thermal Nonequilibrium Analysis of Boundary Layer Flow of Carreau Fluid Over a Wedge in a Porous Medium
Authors: Kudenatti Ramesh B. , L. Sandhya
Published: May 2021

This work examines the steady two-dimensional mixed convection boundary layer flow of non-Newtonian Carreau fluid embedded in a porous medium. The impermeable wedge is at rest over which the momentum and thermal boundary layers form due to the motion of Carreau fluid with a large Reynolds number. We consider local thermal nonequilibrium for which the temperature of the solid porous medium is different from that of the fluid phase, and hence, a single heat-transport equation is replaced by a two-temperature model. The governed equations for flow and heat transfer are converted into a system of ordinary differential equations using a similarity approach. It is observed that local thermal nonequilibrium effects are dominant for small interphase heat transfer rate and porosity scaled conductivity parameters. It is shown that the temperature at any location of the solid porous medium is always higher than that of the fluid phase. When these parameters are increased gradually, the local thermal equilibrium phase is recovered at which the temperatures of the fluid and solid are identical at each pore. A similar trend is noticed for both shear-thinning and shear-thickening fluids. The results further show that heat exchange between the fluid and solid porous medium is similar to both assisted and opposed flows and Carreau fluid. The velocity and temperature fields for the various increasing fluid index, Grashof number, and permeability show that the thickness of the momentum and thermal boundary layer is thinner.
Isobaric Specific Heat Capacity for Al2O3/Water Ethylene Glycol Mixture Nanofluid
Authors: Hassan Alamir H. , Hassan M. A. M. , Shedid Mohamed H.
Published: May 2021

Specific heat is a vital characteristic of nanofluids. The present work is an experimental assessment for the isobaric specific heat measurements for the Al2O3 nanoparticle dispersed in a base fluid of different mixture of ethylene glycol and water at 30, 40, 50, and 60 vol% based. The experiments were conducted over temperature range from 35 to 105 °C with nanoparticle concentrations of 0.5–2.5 vol%. The results indicated that the specific heat of nanofluid decreases as the nanoparticle volume increases and percentage of ethylene glycol in base fluid increases but increases as the temperature increases. This characteristic demonstrates that the use of nanofluids should be at as high temperature as possible to fulfill a good beneficial effect. A new correlation from the measurements with maximum deviation of 2.2% was found to estimate the specific heat for these nanofluids.
Flexible UVC Wrap for Sanitization of Carry-Home Items
Authors: Hu Jia , Long Steven , Ting Louis
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns on public health and household safety. Contamination of carry-home items by the SARS-CoV2 virus represents a potential risk to households. The common method of manual wipedown of carry-home items using liquid-form disinfectants is not a controlled and standardized process due to differences in operator performance and various surface types and topology. This project aims to develop a cost-effective and convenient UVC sanitization device that accommodates carry-home items of different surface topologies. The device is designed in the form of a flexible wrap and can be manually fabricated using readily available off-the-shelf components. Preliminary testing has shown that the device is capable of producing minimum UVC intensity of 27.17μW/cm2 at 275nm wavelength which exceeds the minimum value of 19.97μW/cm2 required to deactivate the coronavirus in 30 seconds.
Sensor Fused Blood Pressure Measuring Device Capable of Recording Korotkoff Sounds in Inflationary Curves
Authors: Vazquez Enrique Alvarez , Ewert Daniel , Jorgenson Dave , Sand Michael
Published: May 2021

This study describes a non-invasive medical device capable of measuring arterial blood pressure (BP) with a combination of inflationary and deflationary procedures. The device uses the pressure cuff pressure signal, arterial skin-surface acoustics, and photoplethysmography (PPG) to make a sensor-fusion estimation of blood pressure readings. We developed an apparatus composed of 1) a modified off-the-shelf oscillometric blood pressure system, 2) a contact microphone with an amplifier, 3) and high-sensitivity pulse oximeter, and its control electronics.
Characterization of Grasp Performance Using a Sensorized Glove System
Authors: Lee Joshua , Mu Derrick , Hammond Frank L.
Published: May 2021

We present a grasp performance evaluation system that uses a sensorized glove to measure the kinematics and the contact dynamics of human object manipulation. This system is envisioned as an alternative to visual evaluation methods currently used by skilled physicians to determine the severity of functional hand impairments due to blunt trauma (ligament injuries tin the fingers) and neurological disorders (cerebral palsy, stroke, etc.). The proposed grasp evaluation system can benefit physicians and prosthetists by providing an objective, consistent metric to evaluate hand function and potentially reducing the amount of time required for diagnoses. Human subject study involving grasps of daily objects were conducted to demonstrate the system’s ability to accurately measure the kinematics and dynamics of grasping tasks, and generate graphical representations of the grasp contact dynamics with color map visualization.
Enhancing Mimetic Three-Dimensional Modeling and Printing for Presurgical Planning Applications: Improved Soft Tissue Assesments, Analyses and Consolidation Strategies
Authors: Vergen Jorge A. , Iles Tinen L. , Iaizzo Paul A.
Published: May 2021

Mimetic three-dimensional (3D) printing has been shown to enhance presurgical planning and improve patient outcomes. However, data inconsistencies and non-optimized soft tissue data management strategies have impaired efforts to characterize soft tissues and translate biophysical values to 3D printing media durometers and shore values. As a result, finished models are inconsistent and exhibit reduced mimetic qualities. Improving biophysical characterizations of soft tissues, analysis strategies, and consolidation infrastructures are important factors that will improve 3D modeling in a presurgical planning setting. In our ongoing associated studies, both physiologically viable and formalin fixed large mammalian tissues (including human) were assessed using uniaxial and biaxial testing strategies. Biophysical datasets were analyzed using a gated analysis strategy, tailored to data acquisition methods developed within the University of Minnesota Visible Heart® Labs (VHL). A SQL database was then constructed to consolidate analyzed data for future retrieval. This strong preliminary data is a foundation for further development and refinement of future studies. It is our long-term goal that these strategies be improved and adopted to enhance the mimetic qualities of 3D presurgical planning models.
Development of an Oropharyngeal Swab Assembly
Authors: Peng Chengyang , Shen Tao
Published: May 2021

Oropharyngeal (OP) swabbing is a clinical specimen collection method to diagnose the presence of viral infection in the respiratory tract. During the Covid-19 pandemic, OP swab sampling plays an important role in the disease diagnosis. With its advantages in direct visualization of the swab site and less training requirement on medical professionals, OP swab is massively used for COVID-19 specimen collection in many countries. However, patients may demonstrate less tolerance for the OP swabbing by gagging or closing their mouths, which puts the swab tip in contact with the oral palate or tongue and results in defective sampling. Gagging and other involuntary reactions increase the risk to medical workers who are in direct contact with the patients. To solve these issues, this research presents a novel OP swab assembly which can assist adult patients to collect OP swab specimen by themselves or facilitate adults to collect specimens for their children or disable family members. The OP swab assembly has features to mitigate discomforts in the swab procedures as so to reduce involuntary reactions, minimizing specimen contamination. It also has features to keep the mouth open and constrain the motion of the swab tip in the effective sampling area, furtherly ensuring the high quality of the specimen. Experiments were conducted on a standard adult human skull mannequin by using the presented OP swab assembly. The results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of self-collection for OP swabs using the presented assembly and method.
Designing a 3D Printed Bone Simulant for Wire Navigation Training
Authors: Williams Evan , Long Steven , Tatum Marcus , Anderson Donald D. , Thomas Geb
Published: May 2021

Medical simulation has risen in popularity as a method of improving surgical outcomes for less experienced practitioners. In orthopedic surgery, haptic feedback is an essential element of simulation. In the case of Kirschner wire navigation, for example, a steel pin is drilled through cortical bone and into cancellous bone. Currently, many orthopedic simulations use Sawbones polyurethane foam surrogates as a bone simulant (Sawbones, Vashon Island, WA). When designing a simulator, however, creating or modifying an existing mold for cast parts is costly, which can be a critical limitation. A relatively low-cost alternative is 3D printing prototype bone surrogates.

In this experiment, three rapid-prototyped bone samples were printed from light-weight polylactic acid, each with different material densities based on their printing temperature. In a blind test, orthopedic surgeons were asked to drill a Kirschner wire into four bone simulants: three made from polylactic acid, each prepared with different printing temperatures, and a Sawbones control. The surgeons rated their experience with the surface engagement, drill feel, and ability to redirect their wire. The survey found that the densest sample, printed at the lowest temperature, received the highest surgeon rating, with an average score of 13.5/15 ± 2.60; the Sawbones control received the worst rating: 6.5/15 ± 2.96.
Design of Bio-Exoskeleton for Elbow Rehabilitation
Authors: Delgado Pablo , Arachchige Don Thisath Attampola , Gomez Jesus , Miranda Virgil , Yihun Yimesker
Published: May 2021

In this study, a methodology for designing a task-based exoskeleton which can recreate the end-effector trajectory of a given limb during a rehablitation task/movement is presented. The exoskeleton provides an option to replace traditional jointbased exoskeleton joints, which often have alignment issues with the biological joint. The proper fit of the exoskeleton to the user and task are research topics to reduce pain or joint injuries as well as for the execution of the task. The proposed task-based synthesis method was successfully applied to generate the 3D motions of the elbow flexion and extensions using a one degree of freedom (DOF), spatial four-bar mechanism. The elbow joint is analyzed through motion capture system to develop the bio-exoskeleton. The resulted exoskeleton does not need to align with the corresponding limb joint to generate the desired anatomical motion.
Medication Management System Design for Isolated Patient Care
Authors: Abigail Swamidoss Samhith Kethireddy , Alghamdi Bushra , Hickman Ronald L. , Knighton Shanina , Pekarek Miriam , Drummond Colin K.
Published: May 2021

Independent living care for polypharmacy patients can be complicated in those situations with medications that are pro re nata (PRN, “as needed”). Such medication regimen may involve multiple dosing whereby specific drug contraindications might be easily overlooked by hospice and palliative care patients, or by those isolated and not in regular contact with care providers. The goal of this paper is to describe the development steps and current design of a system providing medication decision support for isolated patients. With an increased number of patients living alone or isolated - a situation exacerbated during the COVID19 pandemic – polypharmacy patients may be challenged when PRN (as needed) medications confound what might ordinarily be a routine medication schedule. Central to our medication management system design is the so-called “conversational agent” that when integrated with a natural language processing front- end and classification tree algorithm provide a dynamic framework for patient self-management of medications. Research on “patient need” revealed patients were more likely to embrace the system if the system were autonomous, secure, and not cloud-based.
Neck Movement Classification Using Surface Electromyography: A Novel Linear Algorithm Based on Muscle Coordination
Authors: Zhu Yi , Mahnan Arash , Konczak Jϋrgen
Published: May 2021

With a growing interest in real-time control of prostheses and wearable rehabilitation devices to treat motor dysfunction, there is a need to classify normal and abnormal body movement using kinematic and electrophysiological data. This paper presents a novel linear algorithm that can classify 10 distinct neck movements based on signals of only four surface electromyography (sEMG) electrodes. We here report on data of 5 healthy adults performing the 10 different neck movements: flexion/extension, right/left lateral flexion, right/left rotation, and four multiplanar directions. Surface EMG electrodes were attached to five locations: 1) left and right sternocleidomastoid, 2) left and right trapezius, and 3) the C7 spinal segment as reference. The algorithm yielded an accuracy of 92.5% in classifying six single-planar neck movement directions and an average accuracy of 81.2% in classifying all ten directions. The algorithm's performance was validated by comparing its accuracy with two conventional classification methods: Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The algorithm has 40% higher accuracy compared to LDA and the comparable accuracy of a three-layer ANN. The linearity and simplicity of the our algorithm enables its deployment on low-cost processors and systems. Future research will be focused on the classification of more complex neck movements and applications in neuromodulation devices.
A Pneumatic Compression Vest for Transthoracic Manipulation of Ventilation-Perfusion in Critical Care Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused by COVID-19
Authors: Ambrose Alexander B. , Tiziani Lucas , Ward Donald J. , Weinmann Maxwell , Hammond Frank L.
Published: May 2021

Critical Care patients who experience symptoms of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) are commonly placed on mechanical ventilators to increase the oxygen being supplied to their pulmonary system. If patients’ pulmonary inflammation is severe, they can experience ventilation-perfusion mismatch (V/Q mismatch) where blood flow and gas exchange are mismatched such that oxygen uptake is greatly impaired. In these cases, patients are typically rotated into a prone position to facilitate improved blood flow to segments of the lung that were not previously participating in the gas exchange process. However, proning a patient has a significant risk of complications. The low-cost vest presented in this work is designed to be used as a surrogate to patient proning while also requiring less hospital staff to operate than the proning process. The vest was preliminarily tested on 6 patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who experienced ARDS and presumptive V/Q mismatch. The results from this preliminary testing show that 5 out of 6 patients showed a significant increase in ventilation-perfusion similar to the effects of proning.
Quantifying Postural Instability with Pose Estimation Software and 3D Depth Extraction
Authors: Piazza Cara , Schroeder Joseph , Lu Chiahao , Erdman Arthur , Johnson Matthew , Cooper Scott E.
Published: May 2021

Patients who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease are more prone to postural instability, a major risk factor for falls. One of the most common clinical methods of gauging the severity of a patient’s postural instability is with the retropulsion test [1], in which a clinician perturbs the balance of the patient and then rates their response to the perturbation. This test is subjective and largely based on the observations made by the clinician. In order to improve postural instability diagnosis and encourage more meaningful therapies for this cognitive-motor symptom, there is a clinical need to enable more objective, quantifiable approaches to measuring postural instability. In this paper, we describe a novel computational approach to quantifying the number, length, and trajectory of steps taken during a retropulsion test or other type of balance perturbation from a single camera facing the anterior side (front) of the subject. The computational framework involved first analyzing the video data using markerless pose estimation algorithms to track the movement of the subject’s feet. These pixel data were then converted from 2D to 3D using calibrated transformation functions, and then analyzed for consistency when compared to the known step lengths. The testing data showed accurate step length estimation within 1 cm, which suggests this computational approach could have utility in a variety of clinical environments.
Helical Needle Suture Inserter Provides Increased Suture Retention Force Compared to a Straight Needle
Authors: Campbell Etse-Oghena Y. , Rylander Christopher G.
Published: May 2021

This paper presents an evaluation of the effect of needle geometry on the strength of a tether made using a barbed suture inserted into phantom tissue using a unique device. This tether is designed to secure an intrauterine device (IUD) to uterine fundus, with the aim of improving retention of IUDs inserted in the immediate postpartum period. A factorial experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of needle geometry on tether strength. Tether strength was characterized by the peak retention force of a suture subjected to a uniaxial tensile load. Experiments were performed using phantom tissue. Two needle geometries and three suture sizes were evaluated. Sutures deposited in phantom tissue with the helical needle had up to 132% increase in retention forces compared to sutures inserted with a straight needle, with more advantage at greater active length. The helical needle provides increased suture retention force and is a suitable tether delivery mechanism for this application.
Optimal Design of a Mechatronic Lever Arm for Pneumatic Exoskeleton: Design and Validation
Authors: Ward Donald , Epstein Brian , Tiziani Lucas , Hammond Frank L.
Published: May 2021

Pneumatically powered, lower limb exoskeletons provide high levels of compliant assistance to a user and add little on-body mass when the power source is located off the body. Such tethered systems are useful to testing the impact of control methods on a user’s metabolic performance and benefit from the pneumatic actuators’ simplicity of control. However, the pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM), a popular lightweight actuator, suffers from a nonlinear relationship between its contraction force, length and actuation pressure, reducing its output capabilities and complicating the design of exoskeletons that implement these actuators. This work describes a mechatronic lever arm system that extends the capabilities of a PAM actuated exoskeleton by configuring the moment arm, joint angle profile to create a torque profile specific to the designers’ requirements. A design optimization shows how the proposed system can tailor the exoskeleton performance without changing the simplistic, on-off pressure control. The specifications and the expected performance of the detailed design is described.
Phosphorylated Gβ is a directional cue during yeast gradient tracking
Authors: Abdul-Ganiyu Rashida , Venegas Leon A. , Wang Xin , Puerner Charles , Arkowitz Robert A. , Kay Brian K. , Stone David E.
Published: May 2021

A fluorescent biosensor in yeast shows how the phosphorylated Gβ subunit contributes to the sensing of a pheromone gradient.
Risky Business: Oropharyngeal Bacteria Linked to Risk for Invasive Fungal Infection
Authors: Dongari-Bagtzoglou Anna
Published: May 2021

This work combines a clinical investigation with a mouse model of fungal infection to study the role of bacterial microbiota in fungal invasion. The investigators identified a dysbiosis in the oropharyngeal mucosa that was associated with a high risk for invasive infection in hematologic oncology patients.
Levels and Characteristics of mRNAs in Spores of Firmicute Species
Authors: Byrd Brandon , Camilleri Emily , Korza George , Craft D. Levi , Green Joshua , Rocha Granados Maria , Mok Wendy W. K. , Caimano Melissa J. , Setlow Peter
Published: May 2021

Only ∼6% of mRNAs in spores of six firmicute species are at ≥1 molecule/spore, many abundant spore mRNAs encode proteins similar to
B. subtilis
spore proteins, and some abundant
B. subtilis
and
C. difficile
spore mRNAs were fragmented. Most of the abundant
B. subtilis
and other
Bacillales
spore mRNAs are transcribed under the control of the forespore-specific RNA polymerase σ factors, F or G, and these results may stimulate transcription analyses in developing spores of species other than
B. subtilis
.
Reconstructing a Wild-Type Pseudomonas aeruginosa Reference Strain PAO1
Authors: Lee Samuel , Gallagher Larry , Manoil Colin
Published: May 2021

The
P. aeruginosa
reference strain PAO1 carries a regulatory mutation that may affect processes characterized in it. To eliminate complications due to the mutation, we constructed a version of the missing wild-type parent strain and developed methods to transfer mutations between PAO1 and the new strain. The methods are likely to be applicable to other isolates of
P. aeruginosa
as well.
Streptococcus suis Encodes Multiple Allelic Variants of a Phase-Variable Type III DNA Methyltransferase, ModS, That Control Distinct Phasevarions
Authors: Tram Greg , Jen Freda E.-C. , Phillips Zachary N. , Timms Jamie , Husna Asma-Ul , Jennings Michael P. , Blackall Patrick J. , Atack John M.
Published: May 2021

Streptococcus suis
is a causative agent of meningitis, polyarthritis, and polyserositis in swine, and it is a major cause of zoonotic meningitis in humans. Here, we investigate epigenetic gene regulation in
S. suis
by multiple phasevarions controlled by the phase-variable type III DNA methyltransferase ModS.
IL-1R1-Dependent Signals Improve Control of Cytosolic Virulent Mycobacteria
In Vivo
Authors: van der Niet Sanne , van Zon Maaike , de Punder Karin , Grootemaat Anita , Rutten Sofie , Moorlag Simone J. C. F. M. , Houben Diane , van der Sar Astrid M. , Bitter Wilbert , Brosch Roland , Hernandez Pando Rogelio , Pena Maria T. , Peters Peter J. , Reits Eric A. , Mayer-Barber Katrin D. , van der Wel Nicole N.
Published: May 2021

For decades,
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
has been one of the deadliest pathogens known. Despite infecting approximately one-third of the human population, no effective treatment or vaccine is available.
Paraneoplastic pemphigus caused by pre-existing stroma-rich variant of Castleman disease: from a pathologist’s point of view
Authors: Gwiti Paida , Melegh Zsombor , Johnston Sarah , Sutak Judit
Published: May 2021

A young woman presented with mucocutaneous blisters and ulcerating lesions, and was diagnosed with erythrodermic pemphigus complicated by bronchiolitis obliterans. Her clinical condition did not improve on immunosuppressive therapy. She had a history of an asymptomatic retroperitoneal mass, presumed to be a dermoid cyst, followed up clinically. Due to the pre-existing nature of the retroperitoneal mass, the paraneoplastic nature of the pemphigus was initially not recognised, but after a multidisciplinary team meeting a biopsy was performed. Histology revealed a rare stroma-rich variant of Castleman disease with a prominent stroma demonstrating a myoid phenotype. Resection of the retroperitoneal tumour resulted in resolution of the cutaneous blisters. This emphasises the importance to consider paraneoplastic disease in treatment-resistant pemphigus as surgical removal of the tumour forms the mainstay of therapy. The differential diagnosis should include Castleman disease and careful evaluation of histology is essential with the awareness of this rare stroma-rich variant.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated constrictive pericarditis
Authors: Beckerman Jennifer Kate , Alarfaj Mohammad , Tracy Cynthia M , Faiwiszewski Ariel D , Choi Andrew D
Published: May 2021

This report documents a rare case of COVID-19-associated constrictive pericarditis (CP) in the setting of a recent COVID-19 infection. A 55-year-old man with a history of hypertension and gout presented with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia with progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome. His hospital course was complicated by a large pericardial effusion; an emergent bedside transthoracic echocardiography was concerning for cardiac tamponade, so pericardiocentesis was performed. A workup with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed changes consistent with a diagnosis of CP. Viral and idiopathic aetiologies are the most common cause of CP in the developed world, with COVID-19 now a proposed predisposing viral illness. The virus induces systemic inflammation and pericardial changes that can lead to CP physiology. Imaging modalities including echocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance play an integral role in confirming the diagnosis.
Micromotor-mediated sperm constrictions for improved swimming performance
Authors: Striggow Friedrich , Nadporozhskaia Lidiia , Friedrich Benjamin M. , Schmidt Oliver G. , Medina-Sánchez Mariana
Published: May 2021

Sperm-driven micromotors, consisting of a single sperm cell captured in a microcap, utilize the strong propulsion generated by the flagellar beat of motile spermatozoa for locomotion. It enables the movement of such micromotors in biological media, while being steered remotely by means of an external magnetic field. The substantial decrease in swimming speed, caused by the additional hydrodynamic load of the microcap, limits the applicability of sperm-based micromotors. Therefore, to improve the performance of such micromotors, we first investigate the effects of additional cargo on the flagellar beat of spermatozoa. We designed two different kinds of microcaps, which each result in different load responses of the flagellar beat. As an additional design feature, we constrain rotational degrees of freedom of the cell’s motion by modifying the inner cavity of the cap. Particularly, cell rolling is substantially reduced by tightly locking the sperm head inside the microcap. Likewise, cell yawing is decreased by aligning the micromotors under an external static magnetic field. The observed differences in swimming speed of different micromotors are not so much a direct consequence of hydrodynamic effects, but rather stem from changes in flagellar bending waves, hence are an indirect effect. Our work serves as proof-of-principle that the optimal design of microcaps is key for the development of efficient sperm-driven micromotors.

Graphic Abstract
REFLECTANT PHOTONIC CRYSTALS PRODUCED VIA POROUS-ALUMINA-ASSISTED-ANODIZING OF Al/Nb AND Al/Ta SYSTEMS
Authors: PLIGOVKA ANDREI
Published: May 2021

The development of new nanomaterials with controlled characteristics for nanophotonics is of great relevance. In this work, photonic crystals with reflectance at the wavelength of 690[Formula: see text]nm and the value of 28% were formed by porous-alumina-assisted-anodizing of system Al/Ta on Si wafer. By selecting improved anodizing modes of system Al/Nb on glass, the reflectance was increased to 42% at the wavelength of 340[Formula: see text]nm. This result shows the high promise of the proposed methods and in the future will significantly improve the result by trying two- or three-stage methods of porous-alumina-assisted-anodizing, nanoimprint stamps and optimization of the anodizing modes for any wavelengths.
COMPREHENSIVE UTILIZATION OF PHOSPHOGYPSUM: ADSORPTION OF METHYLENE BLUE AND ITS APPLICATION IN BRICKS
Authors: GAO YA , SUN DI , HAN CHENGLIANG , HUANG JUNJUN
Published: May 2021

In this work, comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum was developed. Methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution was adsorbed by waste phosphogypsum (PG), and then the MB-adsorbed PG was used to the fabrication of PG bricks. The adsorption mechanism and the strength of PG bricks also have been studied. The dye maximum capacity of PG monolayer adsorption was found to be 0.2[Formula: see text]mg/g. The kinetic behavior is more accordant with the intra-particle diffusion equation. The MB-adsorbed PG could be effectively used as a raw material for building material. The mechanical properties of PG bricks were little different from the one of the water-washed PG bricks. The 2h-flexural and compressing strengths were about 2.8[Formula: see text]MPa and 6[Formula: see text]MPa, the dry-flexural and compressing strengths were about 5[Formula: see text]MPa and 20[Formula: see text]MPa.
Maximal Subgroups in the Classical Groups Normalizing Solvable Subgroups
Authors: Hou Xin , Li Shangzhi , Yang Yucheng
Published: May 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be a classical group over an arbitrary field [Formula: see text], acting on an [Formula: see text]-dimensional [Formula: see text]-space [Formula: see text]. All those maximal subgroups of [Formula: see text] are classified each of which normalizes a solvable subgroup [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] not lying in [Formula: see text].
Heptavalent Symmetric Graphs with Certain Conditions
Authors: Du Jiali , Feng Yanquan , Liu Yuqin
Published: May 2021

A graph [Formula: see text] is said to be symmetric if its automorphism group [Formula: see text] acts transitively on the arc set of [Formula: see text]. We show that if [Formula: see text] is a finite connected heptavalent symmetric graph with solvable stabilizer admitting a vertex-transitive non-abelian simple group [Formula: see text] of automorphisms, then either [Formula: see text] is normal in [Formula: see text], or [Formula: see text] contains a non-abelian simple normal subgroup [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is explicitly given as one of 11 possible exceptional pairs of non-abelian simple groups. If [Formula: see text] is arc-transitive, then [Formula: see text] is always normal in [Formula: see text], and if [Formula: see text] is regular on the vertices of [Formula: see text], then the number of possible exceptional pairs [Formula: see text] is reduced to 5.
Universal Deformation Rings of Modules over Self-injective Cluster-Tilted Algebras Are Trivial
Authors: Gaviria I.D.M. , Vélez-Marulanda José A.
Published: May 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be a fixed algebraically closed field of arbitrary characteristic, let [Formula: see text] be a finite dimensional self-injective [Formula: see text]-algebra, and let [Formula: see text] be an indecomposable non-projective left [Formula: see text]-module with finite dimension over [Formula: see text]. We prove that if [Formula: see text] is the Auslander–Reiten translation of [Formula: see text], then the versal deformation rings [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] (in the sense of F.M. Bleher and the second author) are isomorphic. We use this to prove that if [Formula: see text] is further a cluster-tilted [Formula: see text]-algebra, then [Formula: see text] is universal and isomorphic to [Formula: see text].
Selective Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Formate with High Current Densities
Authors: Yang Xiulin , Liu Defei , Zhong Shenghong , Zhou Xiaofeng , Huang Kuo-Wei , Li Lain-Jong , Lai Zhiping
Published: May 2021

Selective conversion of CO2 to formate with high current densities is highly desirable but still challenging. Copper hollow fibers with interconnected pore structures were fabricated via a facile method and used as a stand-alone cathode for highly efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate. Our studies revealed that delivering the reactant CO2 gas to the inner space of the hollow fiber could build up a higher CO2 partial pressure in the pores and presumably reduce the concentration of H[Formula: see text] from the electrolyte to effectively suppress the major competing reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), from 46.9% faradaic efficiency (FE) to 15.0%. A high selectivity for CO2 reduction to formate with a maximum FE of 77.1% was achieved with a high current density of 34.7[Formula: see text]mA cm[Formula: see text], which is one of the highest FEs on Cu-based materials. Mechanistic studies suggest that the abundant active sites along with the unique crystal facets induced by the high pressure of CO2 at the pore surface in the “gas in” mode are attributed to the superior electroactivity and selectivity for the CO2 reduction to formate. The Cu hollow fiber electrodes exhibit an outstanding long-term stability at high current density, showing great potential for large-scale practical applications.
Temporal State Machines: Using Temporal Memory to Stitch Time-based Graph Computations
Authors: Madhavan Advait , Daniels Matthew W. , Stiles Mark D.
Published: May 2021

Race logic, an arrival-time-coded logic family, has demonstrated energy and performance improvements for applications ranging from dynamic programming to machine learning. However, the various
ad hoc
mappings of algorithms into hardware rely on researcher ingenuity and result in custom architectures that are difficult to systematize. We propose to associate race logic with the mathematical field of tropical algebra, enabling a more methodical approach toward building temporal circuits. This association between the mathematical primitives of tropical algebra and generalized race logic computations guides the design of temporally coded tropical circuits. It also serves as a framework for expressing high-level timing-based algorithms. This abstraction, when combined with temporal memory, allows for the systematic exploration of race logic–based temporal architectures by making it possible to partition feed-forward computations into stages and organize them into a state machine. We leverage analog memristor-based temporal memories to design such a state machine that operates purely on time-coded wavefronts. We implement a version of Dijkstra’s algorithm to evaluate this temporal state machine. This demonstration shows the promise of expanding the expressibility of temporal computing to enable it to deliver significant energy and throughput advantages.
Mutational Signatures: From Methods to Mechanisms
Authors: Kim Yoo-Ah , Leiserson Mark D.M. , Moorjani Priya , Sharan Roded , Wojtowicz Damian , Przytycka Teresa M.
Published: May 2021

Mutations are the driving force of evolution, yet they underlie many diseases, in particular, cancer. They are thought to arise from a combination of stochastic errors in DNA processing, naturally occurring DNA damage (e.g., the spontaneous deamination of methylated CpG sites), replication errors, and dysregulation of DNA repair mechanisms. High-throughput sequencing has made it possible to generate large datasets to study mutational processes in health and disease. Since the emergence of the first mutational process studies in 2012, this field is gaining increasing attention and has already accumulated a host of computational approaches and biomedical applications.
Aerosol Spray Assisted Synthesis of Ni Doped BaTiO3 Hollow Porous Spheres/Graphene as Photoanode for Water Splitting
Authors: El Emam Hadeer k. , El-Dek S. I. , El Rouby Waleed M. A.
Published: May 2021

A key challenge in photoelectrochemical water splitting is to fabricate nanostructured photoelectrodes with desirable properties. Herein, Ni doped BaTiO3 hollow spheres (HS) supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite were successfully synthesized by aerosol spray drying method. Former spheres consisted of small nanoparticles with size 5–20 nm possessing high porosity and large area. Characterizations were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO nanocomposites as photoanodes exhibited an enhanced photoelectrochemical performance and long-term stability compared to BaTiO3 HS and BaTiO3 HS/RGO. The photocurrent density of Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO photoanode revealed 8.14 μA cm−2 which is 37% more than BaTiO3 HS. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO exhibited the lowest charge transfer resistance in comparison with BaTiO3 HS and BaTiO3 HS/RGO which leads to enhancement in the electrocatalytic activity. The successful doping of BaTiO3 HS by Ni and its loading over RGO increases the separation rate of photogenerated electrons and holes and improved the light harvesting. Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO as photo-electrocatalyst exhibits excellent activity toward water oxidation capability and presents a new approach for high-efficient future photo-electrocatalysis.
Wet Etching Behavior of Amorphous CuZr Thin Film in Hydrogen Peroxide Solution for Stretchable Display
Authors: Bae Jin-Won , Kim Myeong-Joon , Seo Jong-Hyun
Published: May 2021

Stretchable displays, a key benchmark for the next generation of display technologies, will be bendable, foldable, flexible and use a stretchable copper film. Amorphous CuZr has been selected for the copper metallization of the stretchable display due to its excellent elongation properties compared to conventional metals. However, little is known about the etching mechanism for amorphous CuZr and copper in a hydrogen peroxide solution containing fluorine ions. In this paper, the wet etching behavior of amorphous Cu50Zr50 thin films in a hydrogen peroxide-based copper wet etchant is studied using an electrochemical potentio-dynamic technique and surface analysis. An anodic Tafel slope of approximately 30 mV/decade is obtained. A new dissolution mechanism in the presence of 0.1 M fluoride ions in hydrogen peroxide solution is suggested. It should be noted that the wet etching rate of amorphous CuZr is strongly dependent on the existence of fluoride ions in the wet etchant.
The Beneficial Effects of Moxibustion on Overweight Adolescent Girls
Authors: Yeh Yuan-Chieh , Chen Chin-Chang , Cheng Ching-Yi , Chang Hsin-Ning , Huang Tse-Hung
Published: May 2021

Among adolescent girls, overweight or obesity has both physical and psychological involvement. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of moxibustion using a moxa burner. Fifty-four eligible girls aged 15–18 years with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25.3 were enrolled in the study. The girls were randomly allocated to the treatment (n = 27) and control (n = 27) groups. The girls underwent treatment three times per week for 8 weeks (24 treatments). Moxibustion was applied to the RN12, RN6, ST25, ST36, and SP6 acupoints. Physical assessments were BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body fat ratio (BFR). Psychological outcomes were measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Data were collected at the beginning of the study (baseline), week 4, and week 8. Of the 54 participants, 46 completed the trial. The difference in mean BMI from baseline between the two groups was 0.097 (p=0.655) at week 4 and −0.794 (p=0.001) at week 8. The mean WHR of the treatment group was significantly reduced compared with baseline, with a −0.011 (p=0.017) and −0.035 (p<0.001) mean change at weeks 4 and 8, respectively. The mean BFR was slightly reduced (−0.253;p=0.474) at week 4 compared with baseline in the treatment group. At week 8, it was significantly reduced (−2.068;p<0.001) from baseline in the treatment group. The mean RSE in the treatment group showed no significant increase from baseline at week 4 (0.155 points,p=0.803), but it improved significantly from baseline at week 8 (1.606 points,p=0.021) compared to that in the control group. No obvious adverse effect was reported during this study. Moxibustion using a moxa burner may be an effective and safe intervention for overweight adolescent girls, having both physical and psychological benefits.