bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stress testing of Docker containers running on a Windows operating system
Authors: Sergeev A , Rezedinova E , Khakhina A
Published: September 2022

At the moment, Docker technology is becoming more prevalent in the Windows environment. The pertinent topic in this regard is how Docker containers running on the Windows operating system would behave in the event of a resource deficit. The article discusses circumstances in which there is insufficient processor or RAM to service all running containers. It is proposed to employ stress and volume testing to investigate the stability and reliability of Docker containers. The purpose of stress testing is to determine how the system behaves when the load on the application is greatly increased in comparison to what was initially expected. By delivering enormous amounts of data for processing, volume testing is accomplished. To assess container performance during stress testing, a Prometheus-based technology stack is used. Docker containers running in a Windows system have been shown to operate predictably under extreme load conditions. As the processor load increases, the performance of the containerized program drops proportionately to the decrease in processor time allocated. When there is insufficient RAM to run all containers, Docker uses virtual memory to dynamically distribute memory amongst containers. If a container's execution is halted due to a lack of available RAM on the system, the container's execution is terminated. Other containers continue to function normally.
Blockchain and IoT integration for smart transportation
Authors: Valchanov H , Aleksieva V
Published: September 2022

The safe transport of special and dangerous cargos is essential for the ecological environment and human health. Modern solutions are based on monitoring of the parameters of their transport with sensors in real time, which allows rapid response to unexpected events. Despite the information available from the sensors, the process of proving an insurance event and paying compensation is the same as for other insurances. This paper proposes a blockchain and IoT based model that chronologically records the data from the sensors located at the vehicle with goods, and the smart contract which sends timely signals to stakeholders (including the insurer) when the parameters of the sensors exceed the set thresholds. An experimental implementation on HyperLedger Fabric is presented, which proves the applicability of the proposed model.
Privacy preserving knowledge graph for healthcare applications
Authors: Sharma N , Bhatt R
Published: September 2022

Knowledge graphs in healthcare applications help all the stakeholders in the healthcare domain. The doctors can consult across various hospitals for a particular scenario or can query the knowledge graph for the history of the patients. Similarly, the patients can query the knowledge graph through well-defined interface or a Chabot system for location of the nearest doctor with a high rating. The physicians can query the knowledge graph for a generic drug family or detecting salt of a particular drug. The paper proposes architecture for knowledge graph in healthcare domain. Further, privacy preserving for a medical domain is an essential requirement. The paper proposes privacy preserving schemes for knowledge graph for healthcare applications.
A method for drone positioning for water areas caption based on find lake in images
Authors: Boychev I , Spasova G
Published: September 2022

This article presents a method for automatically positioning an unmanned aerial vehicle in 3D space. The aim is to capture lake-type water sources, using maximum coverage of the water source in the images taken by the aircraft camera. The method is based on recognizing a water object in a series of images and finding one in which the water source occupies the maximum area. For the implementation of the method the software environment MATLAB is used.
An approach of energy self-sufficiency at sports facilities
Authors: Karapidakis E , Apostolakis S , Vidakis N
Published: September 2022

Sports facilities are special cases of large-scale building complexes that demand large amounts of energy and power. This is due to the specific requirements of the thermal energy and the different kind of several activities that need considerable high load demands in relatively short time. Energy self-sufficiency of a building complex is defined as the ability to fulfil its own energy needs. This paper evaluates the energy consumption of the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens and proposes ways to support and enhance its operation, introducing the self-sufficiency concept, where load demand will be served by energy sources from the internal grid of the sport center, targeting to the highest possible autonomous operation. To achieve the minimum imports from the utility grid, the paper proposes the operation of a CHP unit and the installation of photovoltaics (PV), with the support of battery storage system and the existing gensets of the facility.
Increasing building`s self-sufficiency rates through PV plus storage hybrids
Authors: Kisyov P
Published: September 2022

Decarbonizing the building stock is of utmost importance for achieving sustainability as buildings are holding an important role for the clean energy transition. In this paper, the impact on the electrical consumption and building related CO2 emissions are analysed through real measurements by taking the effect from the implementation PV plus battery energy storage hybrids within 5 residential buildings in Plovdiv area. Increased self-sufficiency rates are quantified for a period of 3 years under pure self-consumption mode, where no power sells are taking place. Indicators such as monthly and yearly self-sufficiency rates with and without storage are compared. Building`s related CO2 avoidance are also compared in two scenarios-with and without battery energy storage system.
Comparative analysis of thermal comfort in the traditional and smart buildings
Authors: Dębska L
Published: September 2022

All the constantly growing thermal requirements of people pose new challenges for designers in the field of modern and smart construction. The main idea of such buildings is to ensure the best possible conditions for the internal environment, especially in public facilities. In Poland, the majority of university buildings are traditional buildings that have been modernized, thus increasing the feeling of thermal comfort by people. The aim of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of two rooms, for the smart building "Energis" and the traditional building "B" at the Kielce University of Technology. The testo 400 device was used to carry out the study, which, through parameters taken from the environment, enabled the calculation using the ISO 7730 standard, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and anonymous questionnaires from which an averaged Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV). The temperature of the first room was 26.7°C, and the temperature of the second was 23.6°C. The results turned out to be intriguing as the analysis showed that the students were not satisfied with the conditions in the smart building.
Modeling of indoor thermal comfort in the intelligent building
Authors: Krawczyk N , Dębska L
Published: September 2022

Thermal comfort is generally determined with the Fanger model, which originates from the 60’s. Its accuracy can be considered disputable and it is often challenged, however it is the basis for the international standards up to this day - namely ISO 7730 and ASHRAE-55 (US standard). The present work aims to develop a modified correlation based on experimental measurements made with questionnaires and the Testo 400 microclimate meter. The original model is modified in such a way that the concentration of carbon dioxide is taken into account (the original model does not take it into account at all). The experimental results have proven to be in good agreement with the modified correlation in the wide range of CO2 levels. The modification that included CO2 provided more accurate results than the original model, proving that the concept is justified.
Comparative criteria for objective evaluation of the efficiency of RF power amplifiers
Authors: Tomov M B , Kogias P G , Sadinov S M , Malamatoudis M N
Published: September 2022

Objective comparison of radio frequency amplifiers, which are infinitely diverse in their parameters and purpose is a difficult engineering task. For its successful solution it is necessary to define objective criteria that allow to quantify qualitatively and quantitatively the scheme and mode of operation of the amplifier, without this assessment depending on the absolute values of current, voltage, power and parameters of active and passive elements in the electronic circuit.
Timing characteristics of the R13089-100 photomultiplier tube coupled with 1.5" × 1.5" CeBr3 scintillators and its application in lifetime measurements
Authors: Das Sneha , Bhattacharyya S. , Bhattacharya Soumik , Banik R. , Chakraborty S. , Dar Shabir
Published: September 2022

The fast-timing performance of the Hamamatsu Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) model R13089-100 is
investigated using 1.5" × 1.5" CeBr3 scintillators.
The time walk was measured using the Mirror-Symmetric Centroid Difference (MSCD) method for various PMT Bias voltages and CFD delays, to optimize the
parameters for measurement of the lifetime of nuclear excited states
via the γ-γ fast-timing technique.
The 152Eu and 133Ba sources were used for investigation on timing characteristics.
Lifetimes of 161 and 383 keV states of
133Cs from the decay of 133Ba radioactive source have been determined for
different bias voltages of PMT and CFD delays, with two
1.5" × 1.5" CeBr3 detector setup.
The lifetime of 1522 keV state of 209Po from the decay of 209At,
produced from α induced fusion evaporation reaction, has also been determined.
The results reported in the present paper show that the time resolution and
time-walk characteristics of the Hamamatsu PMT R13089-100 can
be improved in low-energy region using higher PMT bias voltage and shorter CFD delay.
Plasma characterization in CW and pulsed mode and its effect on beam current in 2.45 GHz ECR Ion source
Authors: Kewlani H.M. , Gharat S.H. , Roychowdhury P. , Dikshit B.
Published: September 2022

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) is used as a front end for Low Energy High
Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA) at BARC. A 50 keV ECRIS is designed and developed for the
proton ion beam for this accelerator. The key requirements of the ion source are beam current
∼ 10 – 15 mA and beam emittance ∼ 0.2 π mm-mrad. In the commissioning phase of
LEHIPA, the ion source is operated in pulsed mode to mitigate the effect of thermal and radiation
load. Measurements have been carried out to understand the behavior of pulsed plasma and its
effect on ion beam. An Automated Langmuir Probe (ALP) and its associated circuit are designed and
developed for this purpose. The ALP circuit consists of a voltage sweep generator, current sense
circuit, and voltage sense circuit. The effect of microwave power and pulsed plasma duration on
the plasma and the ion beam parameters have been studied. The plasma parameters are correlated
with the beam parameters.
Feasibility of utilizing radiochromic nickel complex gel for radiation processing
Authors: Babaei Vahidreza , Pourimani Reza , Kashian Sedighe , Rezaeian Peiman , Akhavan Azam
Published: September 2022

A radiation-sensitive nickel nitrate complex gel was prepared in three concentrations, and dosimetric characteristics were investigated for routine use in gamma radiation processing. Nickel nitrate hexahydrate/Gelatin/1,5-diphenylcarbazone (Ni/G/DPCO) gel demonstrated a maximum wavelength of 535 nm and linear dose-response of 10–1300 Gy. By increasing the absorbed dose, the Ni/G/DPCO gel has a visual color change from purple to colorless. The dose rate dependence on the gel sensitivity at 1.17 and 0.062 Gy/s dose rates was less than 10% difference at a linear dose range of 10–1300 Gy. Color stability before and after irradiation was up to 35 days, and the overall coefficient of variation, CV%, was found to be 3.87%. Hence, the observations proved that the gel has favorable characteristics for food irradiation, insect population control, and irradiation of agricultural products.
Design of a prototype analog front-end ASIC for the LGAD readout
Authors: Chen H. , Qin J. , Zhao L. , Li Z. , Cai Y. , An Q.
Published: September 2022

Low-gain avalanche detector (LGAD) is being researched and designed in ATLAS and CMS experiments aiming to distinguish collisions that are close in both space and time to meet the challenge of pileup in HL-LHC, through its high resolution in position and time measurement. Considering the high spatial density of the detector channels, the area and power consumption per each channel are quite limited, so a front-end ASIC, instead of discrete-component electronics, is expected to collect and process the signal output by the LGAD. The processed signal is a digital pulse containing the precise information of time of arrival (TOA) and time over threshold (TOT). A prototype analog front-end ASIC for LGAD readout based on 180 nm CMOS technology with low power consumption, called LATIC0, has been designed and tested. As the first prototype, this ASIC aims to study the performance of the analog front-end for the further work. And the test results indicate that a time precision better than 20 ps-rms is achieved (at 10 fC injected charge with 6 pF capacitance), and the curves of TOA and TOT versus charge concord well with expectations.
Interpretation of wind turbine performance decline with age based on SCADA data analysis
Authors: Castellani F , Astolfi D , Natili F , Vedovelli M , Khedr A
Published: September 2022

The performance of wind turbines depends non-trivially on environmental conditions and working parameters and it is therefore complicated to interpret it reliably. Nevertheless, this is fundamental in order to formulate actions for the improvement of wind turbine efficiency. Basing on this, the objective of the present study is developing appropriate SCADA data analysis methods for the long-term investigation of wind turbine performance and interpreting meaningful real-world test cases. Data have been provided by the companies ENGIE Italia and Lucky Wind. The test cases cover different technologies: four Vestas V100 with hydraulic pitch actuation and six Senvion MM92 with electric pitch actuation. The keystone of this work is a deeper exploitation, with respect to the state of the art, of the measurement channels contained in the SCADA-collected data sets. In particular, operation curves related to the blade pitch have been analysed using the method of bins and it arises that the pitch manifold pressure and the pitch motor currents are important quantities to monitor for, respectively, hydraulic and electric pitch control technology. The comparative test case analysis supports the hypothesis that the hydraulic blade pitch is a critical component which is likely associated to the most noticeable performance worsening in time.
On the use of Artificial Intelligence for Condition Monitoring in Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines
Authors: Bonacina Fabrizio , Miele Eric Stefan , Corsini Alessandro
Published: September 2022

Wind power is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sectors and is considered instrumental in the ongoing decarbonization process. However, wind turbines (WTs) present high operation and maintenance costs caused by inefficiencies and failures, leading to everincreasing attention to effective Condition Monitoring (CM) strategies. Nowadays, modern WTs are integrated with sensor networks as part of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for supervision purposes. CM of wind farms through predictive models based on routinely collected SCADA data is envisaged as a viable mean of improving producibility by spotting operational inefficiencies. In this paper, we introduce an unsupervised anomaly detection framework for wind turbine using SCADA data. It involves the use of a multivariate feature selection algorithm based on a novel Combined Power Predictive Score (CPPS), where the information content of combinations of variables is considered for the prediction of one or more key parameters. The framework has been tested on SCADA data collected from an off-shore wind farm, and the results showed that it successfully detects anomalies and anticipates major bearing failures by outperforming a recent deep neural approach.
The winds of change: the role of community engagement and benefit-sharing in wind farm developments
Authors: San Martin O , Morales E , Antas J , Seumas S , Wallace J
Published: September 2022

This article reviews the sustainability dilemma raised by the need for increased renewable (low-carbon) energy generation – replacing fossil-based sources – to accommodate the desired climate targets while at the same time enhancing the social acceptance by local communities. A “triple challenge” of climate change, renewable energy production, and the social license are at the center of such a dilemma. Even though a low-carbon or ultimately a net-zero emissions development pattern is hypothetically conceivable – the social acceptance of “social license to build and operate” renewable energy developments (e.g., wind parks) remains a key to successfully achieving the climate targets. The drivers of a social license to operate onshore wind farms are diverse. This paper looks at benefit sharing and meaningful community participation schemes as mechanisms to attain the social license to operate new renewable energy projects. We identified challenges that affect the efficacy of these mechanisms. In the absence of certain conditions, these mechanisms might not achieve the expected social license. The challenges can be grouped into two categories: those under the scope of the regulators or planning authorities; and those related to the developers. The need for and the advantages of community engagement and benefit-sharing initiatives to achieve the social license to operate are illustrated with examples from wind development projects (in the UK and Spain).
Design Evolution of CTV Vessels
Authors: Chivilo Francesco , Page Andrew
Published: September 2022

When talking about the construction and operations/maintenance (O&M) of an offshore windfarm site it is critical the windfarm developer identify the important role that maritime vessels will play.

There are a huge array of marine assets required in the process of developing and maintaining a windfarm, these include but are not limited to cable laying vessels, construction jack-up vessels, accommodation ships, survey vessels and for the purpose of this paper crew transfer vessels (CTVs).

Offshore infrastructure including the wind turbines themselves and offshore substations need to be maintained during their lifetime for the system to be successful and for offshore windfarms the sole means of access to the offshore infrastructure is via a vessel. As a result, access to the wind turbines need to be possible throughout the year in a variety of weather and seastate conditions.

For this reason, a very specific vessel type, designed specifically for this purpose is required to provide the maximum possible range of access to the wind turbine maintenance technicians.

Like any other you need the right tool for the job.

The evolution in this industry depends not only on the designers but also engine and machinery manufacturers, classification societies, shipbuilders, operators and charterers to stay in front and to ensure the best solution is being offered in terms of economics, safety, reliability and environmental impact.

In addition, in a renewable industry is important that all parts stay consistent with the industry goal, posing additional requirements and challenges to the design of the vessels of the future.

This paper has been written to present the evolution and the future of the design of the CTV vessel, from the experience of a designer and the application worldwide of a technology developed in the birthplace of the offshore wind industry.
The role of the local Supply Chain in the development of floating offshore wind power.
Authors: Balanda Ksenia , Ariatti Angela , Monaghan Lorraine , Dissegna Camilla
Published: September 2022

Given many countries net zero targets, the pipeline for floating offshore wind projects (FLOWPs) is promising. Compared to other renewable technologies FLOWPs are complex structures that consist of extremely heavy components. FLOWP construction requires floaters, turbines (towers, rotors and nacelles), mooring and anchoring systems, dynamic inter array and export (offshore and onshore) cables, in addition to the electrical substations (offshore and onshore). The requirements in terms of heavy raw materials (cement, steel, etc.) should ideally be met by the local supply chain. This is particularly important given the consideration of local commitments in many seabed leasing rounds or for authorisation processes. There is a strong inter-dependency between the success of FLOWPs and the presence of a well organised and developed local supply chain. Local procurement of the goods and services for the construction and maintenance of the FLOWP would have a positive impact on the local industrial sector. However, there is a risk that the local supply chain will not make the necessary timely investment required to be able to meet the demand of materials and components to support local FLOWPs. This would be a loss for the local economy but also for the developers. Two approaches are discussed which may help mitigate such risk.
Enhancement of tribological and mechanical properties of TiB2 - Co cladded layer developed by tungsten inert gas cladding on AISI 1020 Steel
Authors: Kumar Sujeet , Kumar Das Anil
Published: September 2022

In the present study, various compositions of TiB2-Co coating were deposited on AISI 1020 mild steel by tungsten inert gas cladding method. In this work, various heat energy of TIG with a fixed travelling speed of 1.5 mm s−1 was used to deposit the coating layer. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal heat input of TIG to develop a thick layer in terms of coating microstructure and bonding quality. The influence of cobalt addition and current variation on microhardness and wear properties of the cladded layer was also investigated. The metallographic examination and microstructural analysis were investigated by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The microhardness and wear rate have been analyzed by Vickers microhardness and dry sliding wear test, respectively. The investigations reveal that the influence of heat input on the wear resistance and hardness of the coated layer was significant. The microhardness value increases with increase in wt.% of TiB2 coating powder when TIG parameter is constant. The microhardness value also increases with decrease in heat input of the TIG when composition of the coating is kept constant. The maximum microhardness value was achieved up to 2563 HV0.1 which was 15 times higher than the substrate hardness value of 170 HV0.1. From the wear test result, it was noticed that the minimum wear rate found was 8.24 × 10–8 g Nm−1 for the coating composed by lower heat input (720 J mm−1) and higher wt.% of TiB2 (90 wt.%).
Simulation analysis of flank wear and tool life prediction for cutting superalloy under high-pressure cooling
Authors: Wu Mingyang , Wei Min , Zhang Yali , Li Lubin , Cheng Yaonan
Published: September 2022

The effect of flank wear on the cutting process of PCBN tool machining GH4169 superalloy under high-pressure cooling conditions was studied in this article. First of all, the cutting models of different flank wear under conventional cooling and coolant pressure of 50 bar were established by the Third Wave AdvantEdge. Secondly, under the same wear state, the author compared the simulation results of high-pressure cooling with that of conventional cooling. Simultaneously, the influence of flank wear width(VB) on cutting force, the temperature of the machining zone, and surface residual stress during coolant pressure of 50 bar was discussed. Finally, the PCBN tool life forecasting model was established by a method of the GA-BP neural network, and then the generalization ability of the forecasting model was evaluated by 6-fold cross-validation method. The results show that high-pressure cooling cutting effectively grows down the cutting force and temperature generated during the cutting process, and with the rise of flank wear width(VB), the cutting force, the temperature of the machining zone, and residual stress values show an increasing trend. The main reason is that the aggravated flank wear results in strong extrusion friction and plastic deformation in the contact area between the tool and the workpiece, which has different effects on the force-thermal characteristics.
Electrically conductive porous Ti3C2T
x
MXene-polymer composites from high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs)
Authors: Cao Huaixuan , Wang Yifei , Sarmah Anubhav , Liu Kai-Wei , Tan Zeyi , Arole Kailash Dhondiram , Lutkenhaus Jodie L , Radovic Miladin , Green Micah J , Pentzer Emily B
Published: September 2022

Porous MXene-polymer composites have gained attention due to their low density, large surface area, and high electrical conductivity, which can be used in applications such as electromagnetic interference shielding, sensing, energy storage, and catalysis. High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) can be used to template the synthesis of porous polymer structures, and when solid particles are used as the interfacial agent, composites with pores lined with the particles can be realized. Here, we report a simple and scalable method to prepare conductive porous MXene/polyacrylamide structures via polymerization of the continuous phase in oil/water HIPEs. The HIPEs are stabilized by salt flocculated Ti3C2T
x
nanosheets, without the use of a co-surfactant. After polymerization, the polyHIPE structure consists of porous polymer struts and pores lined with Ti3C2T
x
nanosheets, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The pore size can be tuned by varying the Ti3C2T
x
concentration, and the interconnected Ti3C2T
x
network allows for electrical percolation at low Ti3C2T
x
loading; further, the electrical conductivity is stable for months indicating that in these composites, the nanosheets are stable to oxidation at ambient conditions. The polyHIPEs also exhibit rapid radio frequency heating at low power (10 °C s−1 at 1 W). This work demonstrates a simple approach to accessing electrically conductive porous MXene/polymer composites with tunable pore morphology and good oxidation stability of the nanosheets.
Easy synthesis of high (110) facet-exposed BiOCl microspheres with excellent visible light degradation capability towards RhB
Authors: Xu Guilong , Liu Shucheng , Tang Yi , Wen Xiaogang
Published: September 2022

A novel BiOCl microsphere with high (110) facets exposure is successfully synthesized via a one-step solvothermal process in the presence of ethylene glycol without any other surfactant. The percentage of exposed (110) facets can be easily controlled by reactant concentration. The obtained BiOCl microsphere exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). Under visible light irradiation, 100 ml 20 mg l−1 RhB can be completely decomposed in only 45 min. The excellent performance can be attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes benefited from the special electronic structure of BiOCl microspheres. The (110) crystal facets are beneficial for holes transfer while the electrons migrate in [001] direction which is perpendicular to the (110) facet, thus extending the lifetime of photoinduced charges. This study may open more possibilities for the rational design and controllable synthesis of visible light photocatalysts with excellent performance.
Microstructure and enhanced mechanical properties of Mg-3Sn alloy with Mn addition
Authors: Fang Yongqiang , Yu Zeli , Yuan Shuai , Zhang Shuxiang , Zhang Yixin , Zhang Bing , Wang Ke , Wei Qi , Lu Wenjing , Ma Xiaochen
Published: September 2022

The effects of Mn content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the extruded Mg-3Sn-xMn (x = 0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5) alloys was systematically investigated in this study. More importantly, the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Sn-Mn alloy was revealed in detail by calculating the various strength contribution value. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloys were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and universal testing machine. The results revealed that the average grain size (AGS) decreased from 21.45 μm to 10.51 μm and then increased to 13.41 μm with increasing Mn content. It was observed that the second phases are dispersed in Mg-Sn-Mn alloys, namely the granular Mg2Sn phase and the rod-shaped α-Mn. Furthermore, the Mg-3Sn-1.5Mn alloy exhibits the optimal comprehensive mechanical properties with ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS), and elongation to fracture (EL) of 249.5 MPa, 203.3 MPa, and 19.3%, respectively. The YS of Mg-3Sn-1.5Mn alloy was significantly enhanced by 42.5 MPa than that of Mg-3Sn alloy, accompanied by a moderately improved elongation from 15.4% to 19.3%. The higher strength of the Mg-3Sn-1.5Mn alloy was attributed to grain refinement (25.2 ∼ 28.8 MPa) and second phase strengthening (17.097∼17.147 MPa), while the enhanced plasticity of the alloy is due to the weakening of the basal texture, and the higher SF of the prismatic 〈a〉 slip.
From the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture to Nagao’s conjecture
Authors: Kim Seoyoung , Murty M.
Published: September 2022

Let

E
E

be an elliptic curve over

Q

\mathbb {Q}

with discriminant

Δ
E

\Delta _E

. For primes

p
p

of good reduction, let

N
p

N_p

be the number of points modulo

p
p

and write

N
p

=
p
+
1
−

a
p

N_p=p+1-a_p

. In 1965, Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer formulated a conjecture which implies
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="limit Underscript x right-arrow normal infinity Endscripts StartFraction 1 Over log x EndFraction sigma-summation Underscript StartLayout 1st Row p less-than-or-equal-to x 2nd Row p does-not-divide normal upper Delta Subscript upper E Baseline EndLayout Endscripts StartFraction a Subscript p Baseline log p Over p EndFraction equals negative r plus one half comma">

lim

x
→
∞

1

log
⁡
x

∑

p
≤
x

p
∤

Δ

E

a
p

log
⁡
p

p

=
−
r
+

1
2

,

\begin{equation*} \lim _{x\to \infty }\frac {1}{\log x}\sum _{\substack {p\leq x\\ p\nmid \Delta _{E}}}\frac {a_p\log p}{p}=-r+\frac {1}{2}, \end{equation*}

where

r
r

is the order of the zero of the

L
L

-function

L

E

(
s
)

L_{E}(s)

of

E
E

at

s
=
1

s=1

, which is predicted to be the Mordell-Weil rank of

E
(

Q

)

E(\mathbb {Q})

. We show that if the above limit exits, then the limit equals

−
r
+
1

/

2

-r+1/2

. We also relate this to Nagao’s conjecture. This paper also includes an appendix by Andrew V. Sutherland which gives evidence for the convergence of the above-mentioned limit.
Implementation of an electronic pharmacy scoring tool to prioritize clinical pharmacists’ daily workflow at a pediatric institution
Authors: D Brax Amber , Sapko Matthew M , Cole Justin W , Landgrave Lindsay C , Magers Jacqueline K , Pierson Shawn M
Published: September 2022

Purpose

To describe the development and implementation of an electronic pharmacy scoring tool (PST) to prioritize patients requiring clinical pharmacy intervention and assist in workload management in a freestanding pediatric hospital using quality improvement methodology.

The department of pharmacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital developed a pediatric-specific PST within the electronic medical record to aid in patient prioritization and ensuring proficient daily workflow and qualifying workload for clinical pharmacists. The PST identifies patients for monitoring of high-risk medications, complex medication regimens, or abnormal laboratory values related to medication management. Application of the scoring tool ensures each patient is reviewed by clinical pharmacy staff each day, with initial efforts focused on patients with significant clinical pharmacy needs. This tool reduces the need for time-intensive manual chart review for identification of patients whose medication use and/or laboratory values afford greater opportunity for pharmacist intervention. Additionally, clinical pharmacist productivity metrics and workloads are considered, with the qualifying of patient care activities and quantification of time spent on patient review.

Conclusion

A PST enhances pediatric patient prioritization for clinical pharmacists by identifying patients most likely to require intervention in real time. The scoring tool enables future assessment of clinical pharmacists’ workload assignments and better quantifies time spent on patient care activities.
Pachymic acid alleviates experimental pancreatic fibrosis through repressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Authors: Li Fu , Chen Meng , Ji Jianmei , Tang Rui , Huang Jinxin , Zhang Xiwen , Yu Jinzhong
Published: September 2022

Pachymic acid (PA), a natural triterpenoid, possesses the capacity to repress inflammatory and profibrotic responses. However, the role of PA in pancreatic fibrosis remains unclear. Here the effect of PA on anti-fibrogenic response was investigated using in vivo and in vitro pancreatitis models. We demonstrated that PA treatment repressed TGF-β-induced pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) activation in vitro, as evidenced by decreased expression of Collagen I, α-smooth muscle actin, and fibronectin. PA decreased Cerulein-induced acinar injury and pancreatic fibrosis in an experimental pancreatitis model. Mechanistically, PA repressed Cerulein or (TGF-β)-induced activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling and thus decreased NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in PSCs. Pharmacological inhibition of NLRP3 repressed TGF-β-induced activation of PSCs. More important, NLRP3 activator partially attenuated the effect of PA on inhibiting PSCs activation. Collectively, these data demonstrate that PA represses PSCs activation and pancreatic fibrosis through repressing NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling.
LDAformer: predicting lncRNA-disease associations based on topological feature extraction and Transformer encoder
Authors: Zhou Yi , Wang Xinyi , Yao Lin , Zhu Min
Published: September 2022

The identification of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)-disease associations is of great value for disease diagnosis and treatment, and it is now commonly used to predict potential lncRNA-disease associations with computational methods. However, the existing methods do not sufficiently extract key features during data processing, and the learning model parts are either less powerful or overly complex. Therefore, there is still potential to achieve better predictive performance by improving these two aspects. In this work, we propose a novel lncRNA-disease association prediction method LDAformer based on topological feature extraction and Transformer encoder. We construct the heterogeneous network by integrating the associations between lncRNAs, diseases and micro RNAs (miRNAs). Intra-class similarities and inter-class associations are presented as the lncRNA-disease-miRNA weighted adjacency matrix to unify semantics. Next, we design a topological feature extraction process to further obtain multi-hop topological pathway features latent in the adjacency matrix. Finally, to capture the interdependencies between heterogeneous pathways, a Transformer encoder based on the global self-attention mechanism is employed to predict lncRNA-disease associations. The efficient feature extraction and the intuitive and powerful learning model lead to ideal performance. The results of computational experiments on two datasets show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art baseline methods. Additionally, case studies further indicate its capability to discover new associations accurately.
Attention-aware contrastive learning for predicting T cell receptor–antigen binding specificity
Authors: Fang Yiming , Liu Xuejun , Liu Hui
Published: September 2022

Motivation

It has been proven that only a small fraction of the neoantigens presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules on the cell surface can elicit T cells. This restriction can be attributed to the binding specificity of T cell receptor (TCR) and peptide-MHC complex (pMHC). Computational prediction of T cells binding to neoantigens is a challenging and unresolved task.

Results

In this paper, we proposed an attention-aware contrastive learning model, ATMTCR, to infer the TCR–pMHC binding specificity. For each TCR sequence, we used a transformer encoder to transform it to latent representation, and then masked a percentage of amino acids guided by attention weights to generate its contrastive view. Compared to fully-supervised baseline model, we verified that contrastive learning-based pretraining on large-scale TCR sequences significantly improved the prediction performance of downstream tasks. Interestingly, masking a percentage of amino acids with low attention weights yielded best performance compared to other masking strategies. Comparison experiments on two independent datasets demonstrated our method achieved better performance than other existing algorithms. Moreover, we identified important amino acids and their positional preference through attention weights, which indicated the potential interpretability of our proposed model.
Mental Health Problems amongst Left-behind Adolescents in China: Serial Mediation Roles of Parent-Adolescent Communication and School Bullying Victimisation
Authors: Xie Qian-Wen , Zhao Guanlan , Lu Jingjing , Chen Roujia , Xu Jiayao , Wang Menmen , Akezhuoli Hailati , Wang Feng , Zhou Xudong
Published: September 2022

Background

Adolescent mental health is a global public health concern and parental migration has been identified as a risk factor. However, the effect mechanism remained unclear.

Methods

A total of 2,737 participants (mean = 11.93, SD = 1.23) were recruited from twelve schools in migrant-sending areas in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. The participants responded to items in Child Depression Inventory, Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale, Olweus Bully or Victim Questionnaire and socio-demographic questions. Serial multiple mediation models were analysed using the bootstrapping method.

Results

Current and previous left-behind (LB) experience were significantly associated with higher risks of depression, non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). Mother–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation, in serial order, mediated the effect of current LB status on mental health (p < 0.05). In terms of previously LB adolescents, parent–adolescent communication was a standalone mediator (p < 0.01) and the serial mediation effect of parent–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation was significant.

Conclusions

Lack of parent–adolescent communication and school bullying victimisation acted as risk factors for the negative effect of LB status or experience on adolescent mental health. The importance of these two interpersonal factors motivates future intervention initiatives to support the mental health of LB adolescents from an integrated perspective.
Twenty years of real-world data to estimate chronic kidney disease prevalence and staging in an unselected population
Authors: Santos-Araújo Carla , Mendonça Luís , Carvalho Daniel Seabra , Bernardo Filipa , Pardal Marisa , Couceiro João , Martinho Hugo , Gavina Cristina , Taveira-Gomes Tiago , Dinis-Oliveira Ricardo Jorge
Published: September 2022

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a global public health burden, but its true prevalence is not fully characterized in the majority of countries. We studied the CKD prevalence in adult users of the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare units of an integrated health region in northern Portugal (n = 136 993; representing ∼90% of the region’s adult population). Of these, 45 983 (33.6%) had at least two estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) assessments and 30 534 (22.2%) had at least two urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR) assessments separated by at least 3 months. CKD was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines as a persistent decrease in eGFR (<60 ml/min/1.73 m2) and/or an increase in UACR (≥30 mg/g). The estimated overall prevalence of CKD was 9.8% and was higher in females (5.5%) than males (4.2%). From these, it was possible to stratify 4.7% according to KDIGO guidelines. The prevalence of CKD was higher in older patients (especially in patients >70 years old) and in patients with comorbidities.

This is the first real-world-based study to characterize CKD prevalence in a large, unselected Portuguese population. It probably provides the nearest estimate of the true CKD prevalence and may help healthcare providers to guide CKD-related policies and strategies focused on prevention and on the improvement of cardiovascular disease and other outcomes.
Factors associated with changing alcohol consumption during the first UK lockdown
Authors: McAloney-Kocaman Kareena , McPherson Kerri E , McGlinchey Emily , Armour Cherie
Published: September 2022

Background

In response to COVID-19 there have been lockdowns and restrictions to hospitality services. Drinking behaviours often change in response to traumatic events and changes in the drinking environment, and this is influenced by a range of factors. This study explores self-reported changes in alcohol consumption in the third month of the UK lockdown, associations with socio-demographics factors and with COVID-19-related concerns, and mental health and wellbeing.

Methods

The COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study was a longitudinal, online, three-wave survey of 1958 UK adults. Data were collected during the first UK lockdown; wave 1 launched 23 March 2020, wave 2 was 1 month after and wave 3 2 months after completion of wave 1A hierarchical multinomial regression model was estimated to investigate factors associated with changes in perceived alcohol consumption in the third month of the lockdown.

Results

The majority of participants reported changes in drinking (62%) with over one-third indicating increased consumption. Student status and worries about the financial implications of COVID-19 were associated with lower odds of decreased alcohol consumption. Those with above average income and those with children in the household had lower odds of increased alcohol consumption, while younger adults had higher odds of increased alcohol consumption.

Conclusions

This study adds to the growing body of research showing changes in alcohol consumption behaviours during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and identifies risk and protective factors which can aid in targeting intervention at those most in need of support.
Viral life strategies in a heavily anthropized tropical lagoon
Authors: Andrianjakarivony Harilanto Felana , Desnues Christelle , Cecchi Philippe , Bettarel Yvan
Published: September 2022

Ecological traits of aquatic microorganisms have been poorly investigated in tropical latitudes, especially in lagoons, which are often subjected to strong anthropogenic influence, conducive to microbial development. In this study, we examined the abundance of both viral and bacterial communities, as well as their interactions (lytic and lysogenic infections) in the water and sediment of seven main stations of the Ebrié Lagoon (Ivory Coast) with contrasting levels of eutrophication. The highest bacterial and viral concentrations in both planktonic and benthic samples were found in the most eutrophicated stations, where viral lytic infections also exhibited their highest values. Conversely, the highest fractions of inducible lysogens were measured in the most oligotrophic stations, suggesting that these two main viral life strategies are mutually exclusive in this lagoon. Our findings also revealed the importance that nutrients (especially ammonium) play as drivers of the interactions between viruses and their bacterial hosts in tropical lagoons.
Phylogenomic analyses and host range prediction of cluster P mycobacteriophages
Authors: Howell Abigail A , Versoza Cyril J , Cerna Gabriella , Johnston Tyler , Kakde Shriya , Karuku Keith , Kowal Maria , Monahan Jasmine , Murray Jillian , Nguyen Teresa , Sanchez Carreon Aurely , Streiff Abigail , Su Blake , Youkhana Faith , Munig Saige , Patel Zeel , So Minerva , Sy Makena , Weiss Sarah , Pfeifer Susanne P
Published: September 2022

Bacteriophages, infecting bacterial hosts in every environment on our planet, are a driver of adaptive evolution in bacterial communities. At the same time, the host range of many bacteriophages—and thus one of the selective pressures acting on complex microbial systems in nature—remains poorly characterized. Here, we computationally inferred the putative host ranges of 40 cluster P mycobacteriophages, including members from 6 subclusters (P1–P6). A series of comparative genomic analyses revealed that mycobacteriophages of subcluster P1 are restricted to the Mycobacterium genus, whereas mycobacteriophages of subclusters P2–P6 are likely also able to infect other genera, several of which are commonly associated with human disease. Further genomic analysis highlighted that the majority of cluster P mycobacteriophages harbor a conserved integration-dependent immunity system, hypothesized to be the ancestral state of a genetic switch that controls the shift between lytic and lysogenic life cycles—a temperate characteristic that impedes their usage in antibacterial applications.
Biologics: how far can they go in Crohn’s disease?
Authors: Dunleavy Katie A , Pardi Darrell S
Published: September 2022

Crohn’s disease is a chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disorder, characterized by episodes of relapsing and remitting flares. As the disease mechanism becomes better elucidated, there is a significant increase in the number of available biologic therapies. This article summarizes and synthesizes current Food and Drug Administration-approved biological therapy for Crohn’s disease and examines the positioning of medical therapy as emerging biologics break onto the market.