bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quasi-Shor Algorithms for Global Benchmarking of Universal Quantum Processors
Authors: Dai Genting , He Kaiyong , Zhao Changhao , He Yongcheng , Liu Jianshe , Chen Wei
Published: December 2022

This work generalizes Shor’s algorithm into quasi-Shor algorithms by replacing the modular exponentiation with alternative unitary operations. By using the quantum circuits to generate Bell states as the unitary operations, a specific example called the Bell–Shor algorithm was constructed. The system density matrices in the quantum circuits with four distinct input states were calculated in ideal conditions and illustrated through chromatic graphs to witness the evolution of quantum states in the quantum circuits. For the real part of the density matrices, it was revealed that the number of zero elements dramatically declined to only a few points after the operation of the inverse quantum Fourier transformation. Based on this property, a protocol constituting a pair of error metrics Γa and Γb is proposed for the global benchmarking of universal quantum processors by looking at the locations of the zero entries and normalized average values of non-zero entries. The protocol has polynomial resource requirements with the scale of the quantum processor. The Bell–Shor algorithm is capable of being a feasible setting for the global benchmarking of universal quantum processors.
Relationship between Fault Level and System Strength in Future Renewable-Rich Power Grids
Authors: Aljarrah Rafat , Karimi Mazaher , Marzooghi Hesamoddin , Alnaser Sahban , Al-Omary Murad , Salem Qusay , Harasis Salman
Published: December 2022

The fault level is used as a simple indicator for scanning the system strength in power systems. To an extent, this has proven its efficacy in classical power systems based on synchronous generation (SG). However, power electronics-based renewable energy sources (RESs), due to their controlled and limited fault current contribution, may affect the impedance, fault level, and system strength in a non-linear manner. Hence, this raises a question about the validity of using the fault level as a measure reflecting the system strength in future grids. This paper intends to shed light on the above question by examining the correlation between the fault level and the system strength in future grid scenarios. This is achieved in two steps: first, by employing the measure-based Thevenin impedance for fault level estimation in renewable-rich grids, and second, by comparing these estimated fault levels with those obtained from steady-state and dynamic simulations. While the results have demonstrated the suitability of using the fault level for system strength scanning in scenarios of low penetration of RESs, they revealed that such a tool might be misleading with very high RES penetrations. The findings have been verified using the adjusted IEEE nine-bus test system in DIgSILENT PowerFactory.
ROS-Based Condition Monitoring Architecture Enabling Automatic Faults Detection in Industrial Collaborative Robots
Authors: Nabissi Giacomo , Longhi Sauro , Bonci Andrea
Published: December 2022

The Condition Monitoring (CM) of industrial collaborative robots (cobots) has the potential to decrease downtimes in highly automated production systems. However, in such complex systems, defining a strategy for effective CM and automatically detecting failures is not straightforward. In this paper, common issues related to the application of CM to collaborative manipulators are first introduced, discussed, and then, a solution based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) is proposed. The content of this document is highly oriented towards applied research and the novelty of this work mainly lies in the proposed CM architecture, while the methodology chosen to assess the manipulator’s health is based on previous research content. The CM architecture developed and the relative strategy used to process data are useful for the definition of algorithms for the automatic detection of failures. The approach is based on data labeling and indexing and aims to extract comparable data units to easily detect possible failure. The end of this paper is provided with a proof of concept (PoC) applied to an industrial collaborative manipulator where the proposed CM strategy has been implemented and tested in a real application scenario. Finally, it is shown how the proposed methodology enables the possibility of defining standard Health Indicators (HIs) to detect joint anomalies using torque information even under a highly dynamic and non-stationary environmental conditions.
Improvement of Immune and Hematopoietic Functions by Litsea japonica Fruit Extract in Cyclophosphamide-Treated BALB/c Mice
Authors: Ji Seon Yeong , Bang EunJin , Hwangbo Hyun , Kim Min Yeong , Kim Da Hye , Koo Young Tae , Kim Jin Soo , Lee Ki Won , Park Sun Young , Kwon Chan-Young , Lee Hyesook , Kim Gi-Young , Choi Yung Hyun
Published: December 2022

Loss of immunity is an important cause in the pathology of infectious disease. This study investigates the effect of Litsea japonica fruit extract (LJFE) as a potential functional food on immunity and hematopoietic function in immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. Immunity-stimulating activity was observed in mice supplemented with LJFE at low (25 mg/kg), medium (50 mg/kg), and high (100 mg/kg) dosage for seven days after administration of cyclophosphamide. LJFE treatment significantly improved spleen injury score (p < 0.001) and body weight (p < 0.02) by approximately two-fold with a high dosage of LJFE (100 mg/kg). Spleen-derived lymphocyte analysis demonstrated that the numbers of clusters of differentiation (CD)4+ and CD8+ T-cells were notably increased by approximately two-fold (p < 0.001) with a high dosage of LJFE (100 mg/kg). In mouse splenocytes differentiated into T- and B-lymphocytes, LJFE significantly induced proliferation up to approximately 90% of control for T- (p < 0.001) and B-lymphocytes (p < 0.01) with a high dosage of LJFE (100 mg/kg). Furthermore, LJFE significantly recovered the numbers of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that serum levels of immune-related cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-2, and interferon (IFN)-γ, were notably Increased. In addition, serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgM, and IgG were restored by LJFE treatment. This study provides a reference to use L. japonica as a functional food ingredient to improve immunity and hematological function in humans.
A Snapshot on the Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Organic Pollutants in an Urban River
Authors: Canle Moisés , Antão-Geraldes Ana M.
Published: December 2022

A snapshot screening was carried out in an urban river at the end of a dry period in the water and sediments to assess the presence and environmental risk for the following CECs: paracetamol, ibuprofen, diclofenac, clofibric acid, carbamazepine, ofloxacin, caffeine, tonalide, galaxolide, and bisphenol-A. Concomitantly, the occurrence and environmental risk of sixteen PAHs congeners, six indicator PCBs, and twelve dioxin-like PCBs were evaluated in sediments. The most abundant and ubiquitous CECs were bisphenol A (BPA) and caffeine, and the total contents in the surface water varied between 90.95–212.18 and 3.17–167.38 ng·L−1, respectively. The concentrations found in lixiviates ranged from 134.94–772.85 (BPA) and 14.43–92.60 ng·L−1 (caffeine). Other CECs were detected in lower concentrations, and their presence varied between sampled sites. Values of total PAHs congeners in sediment varied between 10.39–52.91 ng·g−1 dw. The majority of the detected PAHs seem to have a pyrolitic origin with a small petrogenic contribution. Total PCBs’ concentrations ranged from 5.06 to 6.13 ng·g−1 dw. Despite the relatively low concentration of most of the detected compounds, the overall environmental risk, considering the screened compounds altogether, cannot be considered negligible. The obtained results are discussed in terms of other data available (though highly dispersed) in the literature. A four-color alert system is included to inform about the level of risk associated with the amount of each CEC, PAH, and PCB.
Research on the Design Method of Pure Electric Vehicle Acceleration Motion Sense Sound Simulation System
Authors: Fu Jianghua , Zhu Chunrong , Su Jintao
Published: December 2022

Due to the emerging trend of energy conservation and emission reduction around the world, the new energy vehicle industry has achieved rapid development. However, there are new challenges regarding vehicle NVH(noise, vibration, and harshness). When a pure electric vehicle is being driven, the inside of the vehicle is relatively quiet, which cannot bring the driver sound feedback reflecting the change of the vehicle state. In order to solve this problem, this paper studies the design method of a sound simulation system for acceleration motion in pure electric vehicles. In this paper, the motion characteristics of automobile engine acceleration sound, sound signal analysis and processing, subjective evaluation of sound quality, and sound synthesis strategy are studied. By reading the vehicle running state data on the CAN bus of pure electric vehicles, the goal of engine motion sense sound simulation during vehicle acceleration is achieved. This helps to enhance driving feedback and improve user driving experience.
Energy Management Strategy of Hydrogen Fuel Cell/Battery/Ultracapacitor Hybrid Tractor Based on Efficiency Optimization
Authors: Xu Wenxiang , Liu Mengnan , Xu Liyou , Zhang Shuai
Published: December 2022

With the application of new energy technology, hybrid agricultural machinery has been developed. This article designs a hybrid tractor energy management method to solve the problem of high energy consumption caused by significant load fluctuation of the tractor in field operation. This article first analyzes the characteristics of the hydrogen fuel cell, power battery, and ultracapacitor and designs a hybrid energy system for the tractor. Second, the energy management strategy (EMS) of multi-layer decoupling control based on the Haar wavelet and logic rule is designed to realize the multi-layer decoupling of high-frequency, low-frequency, and steady-state signals of load demand power. Then, the EMS redistributes the decoupled power signals to each energy source. Finally, a hardware-in-loop simulation experiment was carried out through the model. The results show that, compared with single-layer control strategies such as fuzzy control and power-following control, the multi-layer control strategy can allocate the demand power more reasonably, and the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell is the highest. The average efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell was increased by 2.87% and 1.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the equivalent hydrogen consumption of the tractor was reduced by 17.06% and 5.41%, respectively, within the experimental cycle. It is shown that the multi-layer control strategy considering power fluctuation can improve the vehicle economy based on meeting the power demanded by the whole vehicle load.
Low-Quality Integrated Circuits Image Verification Based on Low-Rank Subspace Clustering with High-Frequency Texture Components
Authors: Tan Guoliang , Liang Zexiao , Chi Yuan , Li Qian , Peng Bin , Liu Yuan , Li Jianzhong
Published: December 2022

With the vigorous development of integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, the harmfulness of defects and hardware Trojans is also rising. Therefore, chip verification becomes more and more important. At present, the accuracy of most existing chip verification methods depends on high-precision sample data of ICs. Paradoxically, it is more challenging to invent an efficient algorithm for high-precision noiseless data. Thus, we recently proposed a fusion clustering framework based on low-quality chip images named High-Frequency Low-Rank Subspace Clustering (HFLRSC), which can provide the data foundation for the verification task by effectively clustering those noisy and low-resolution partial images of multiple target ICs into the correct categories. The first step of the framework is to extract high-frequency texture components. Subsequently, the extracted texture components will be integrated into subspace learning so that the algorithm can not only learn the low-rank space but also retain high-frequency information with texture characteristics. In comparison with the benchmark and state-of-the-art method, the presented approach can more effectively process simulation low-quality IC images and achieve better performance.
Multi-Class Breast Cancer Histopathological Image Classification Using Multi-Scale Pooled Image Feature Representation (MPIFR) and One-Versus-One Support Vector Machines
Authors: Clement David , Agu Emmanuel , Suleiman Muhammad A. , Obayemi John , Adeshina Steve , Soboyejo Wole
Published: December 2022

Breast cancer (BC) is currently the most common form of cancer diagnosed worldwide with an incidence estimated at 2.26 million in 2020. Additionally, BC is the leading cause of cancer death. Many subtypes of breast cancer exist with distinct biological features and which respond differently to various treatment modalities and have different clinical outcomes. To ensure that sufferers receive lifesaving patients-tailored treatment early, it is crucial to accurately distinguish dangerous malignant (ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, and papillary carcinoma) subtypes of tumors from adenosis, fibroadenoma, phyllodes tumor, and tubular adenoma benign harmless subtypes. An excellent automated method for detecting malignant subtypes of tumors is desirable since doctors do not identify 10% to 30% of breast cancers during regular examinations. While several computerized methods for breast cancer classification have been proposed, deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have demonstrated superior performance. In this work, we proposed an ensemble of four variants of DCNNs combined with the support vector machines classifier to classify breast cancer histopathological images into eight subtypes classes: four benign and four malignant. The proposed method utilizes the power of DCNNs to extract highly predictive multi-scale pooled image feature representation (MPIFR) from four resolutions (40×, 100×, 200×, and 400×) of BC images that are then classified using SVM. Eight pre-trained DCNN architectures (Inceptionv3, InceptionResNetv2, ResNet18, ResNet50, DenseNet201, EfficientNetb0, shuffleNet, and SqueezeNet) were individually trained and an ensemble of the four best-performing models (ResNet50, ResNet18, DenseNet201, and EfficientNetb0) was utilized for feature extraction. One-versus-one SVM classification was then utilized to model an 8-class breast cancer image classifier. Our work is novel because while some prior work has utilized CNNs for 2- and 4-class breast cancer classification, only one other prior work proposed a solution for 8-class BC histopathological image classification. A 6B-Net deep CNN model was utilized, achieving an accuracy of 90% for 8-class BC classification. In rigorous evaluation, the proposed MPIFR method achieved an average accuracy of 97.77%, with 97.48% sensitivity, and 98.45% precision on the BreakHis histopathological BC image dataset, outperforming the prior state-of-the-art for histopathological breast cancer multi-class classification and a comprehensive set of DCNN baseline models.
Special Issue on Application of Artificial Intelligence in Mechatronics
Authors: Guo Kai
Published: December 2022

In recent years, artificial intelligence has promoted the rapid development of intelligence in various fields, with mechatronics being one of its hot research topics [...]
Latency-Aware Accelerator of SIMECK Lightweight Block Cipher
Authors: Alharbi Adel R. , Tariq Hassan , Aljaedi Amer , Aljuhni Abdullah
Published: December 2022

This article presents a latency-optimized implementation of the SIMECK lightweight block cipher on a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) platform with a block and key lengths of 32 and 64 bits. The critical features of our architecture include parallelism, pipelining, and a dedicated controller. Parallelism splits the digits of the key and data blocks into smaller segments. Then, we use each segmented key and data block in parallel for encryption and decryption computations. Splitting key and data blocks helps reduce the required clock cycles. A two-stage pipelining is used to shorten the critical path and to improve the clock frequency. A dedicated controller is implemented to provide control functionalities. For the performance evaluation of our design, we report implementation results for two different cases on Xilinx 7-series FPGA devices. For our case one, the proposed architecture can operate on 382, 379, and 388 MHz frequencies for Kintex-7, Virtex-7, and Artix-7 devices. On the same Kintex-7, Virtex-7, and Artix-7 devices, the utilized Slices are 49, 51, and 50. For one encryption and decryption computation, our design takes 16 clock cycles. The minimum power consumption is 172 mW on the Kintex-7 device. For the second case, we targeted the same circuit frequency of 50 MHz for synthesis on Kintex-7, Virtex-7, and Artix-7 devices. With minimum hardware resource utilization (51 Slices), the least consumed power of 13.203 mW is obtained for the Kintex-7 device. For proof-of-concept, the proposed SIMECK design is validated on the NEXYS 4 FPGA with the Artix-7 device. Consequently, the implementation results reveal that the proposed architecture is suitable for many resource-constrained cryptographic applications.
Ergonomics Evaluation Using Motion Capture Technology—Literature Review
Authors: Rybnikár Filip , Kačerová Ilona , Hořejší Petr , Šimon Michal
Published: December 2022

Due to the increasingly high proportion of manual activities in production processes, there is a constant risk of musculoskeletal disorders or work-related injuries. The risk of these problems is exacerbated by the trend towards an ageing working population. European legislation is pressing for improved working conditions to eliminate the risks associated with health problems for workers. For this reason, the application of ergonomics in this field is growing. Musculoskeletal disorders, which are most often caused by inappropriate working postures, are a major problem. There are many methods for evaluating working postures. However, there is a high degree of subjectivity in the risk assessment. Motion capture kinematic suits can ensure the objectivity of the assessment. This article discusses research on ergonomics assessment using motion capture technology. A systematic literature search method was used for the research, beginning with the determination of the research procedure, through the definition of the research queries, to the formulation of the research itself to identify relevant sources. The study presents the most widely used methods for assessing the ergonomics of work positions using motion capture technology, their advantages, and disadvantages. It also follows the trend in the number of publications between 2010 and 2022 in countries where the topic is most frequently addressed and in the industries where motion capture technology is used for ergonomics assessment in general. The research showed that this approach is most often used in industry and logistics, and less frequently in healthcare and sport. The authors agree that the most frequently used ergonomics assessment methods are not complex enough to be used in combination with motion capture and that a combination of the two is needed. At the same time, this technology has become very important in the field of ergonomic evaluation of work positions, offering a higher degree of objectivity, or can be combined with the use of virtual reality, but the evaluation systems are still not error-free and there is a need for continuous improvement.
Citrus Tree Crown Segmentation of Orchard Spraying Robot Based on RGB-D Image and Improved Mask R-CNN
Authors: Cong Peichao , Zhou Jiachao , Li Shanda , Lv Kunfeng , Feng Hao
Published: December 2022

Orchard spraying robots must visually obtain citrus tree crown growth information to meet the variable growth-stage-based spraying requirements. However, the complex environments and growth characteristics of fruit trees affect the accuracy of crown segmentation. Therefore, we propose a feature-map-based squeeze-and-excitation UNet++ (MSEU) region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) citrus tree crown segmentation method that intakes red–green–blue-depth (RGB-D) images that are pixel aligned and visual distance-adjusted to eliminate noise. Our MSEU R-CNN achieves accurate crown segmentation using squeeze-and-excitation (SE) and UNet++. To fully fuse the feature map information, the SE block correlates image features and recalibrates their channel weights, and the UNet++ semantic segmentation branch replaces the original mask structure to maximize the interconnectivity between feature layers, achieving a near-real time detection speed of 5 fps. Its bounding box (bbox) and segmentation (seg) AP50 scores are 96.6 and 96.2%, respectively, and the bbox average recall and F1-score are 73.0 and 69.4%, which are 3.4, 2.4, 4.9, and 3.5% higher than the original model, respectively. Compared with bbox instant segmentation (BoxInst) and conditional convolutional frameworks (CondInst), the MSEU R-CNN provides better seg accuracy and speed than the previous-best Mask R-CNN. These results provide the means to accurately employ autonomous spraying robots.
Comprehensive Analysis of the Expression and Clinical Significance of RAS Family Members in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Based on Bioinformatics Data and the A549 Cell Line Model
Authors: Pązik Milena , Żebrowska-Nawrocka Marta , Wosiak Agnieszka , Pietrzak Jacek , Balcerczak Ewa
Published: December 2022

Lung cancer is the second most frequent worldwide diagnosed cancer. Mutations in the RAS genes family are among the most common oncogenic alterations occurring in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many treatment options against KRAS mutations have been developed for NSCLC; however, they remain insufficient. Moreover, the role of KRAS and HRAS gene expression in lung cancer remains unclear. However, inhibitors of RAS genes expression seem to be a good candidate for new drugs agents in NSCLC. This study used bioinformatical analysis to determine KRAS and HRAS gene expression and its clinical significance, and then examined the influence of three different RAS inhibitors (farnesythiosalicylic acid (FTS), deltarasin and Kobe0065) on cell growth and the KRAS and HRAS gene expression (by RT-qPCR) in human NSCLC A549 cells. KRAS and HRAS were shown to be overexpressed in NSCLC compared to non-tumor lung tissues of healthy individuals (from databases) and significantly associated with different clinicopathological features. It was also found that FTS, in a dose-dependent manner, suppressed proliferation of human A549 cells, while deltarasin reduced expression of HRAS in the lung cancer cells. To sum up, the results obtained from analyses based on bioinformatics databases indicate that the studied genes are potential risk factors for the development of lung cancer. On the other hand, studies of their expression on cell lines indicated that they may also be potentially important in the response to treatment using RAS inhibitors.
Study on Dynamic Performance Parameters of Laser Tracker Based on Self-Developed Circular Trajectory Generator System
Authors: Lv Fei , Hu Chang’an , Sun Haifeng , Li Wanze
Published: December 2022

The laser tracker has characteristics of high measurement accuracy and wide measurement range. Laser tracker technology, as an effectively large-scale measuring approach, plays a critical role in dynamic measurement. Currently, the static performance of laser trackers has been well studied. However, the dynamic characteristics of the laser tracker remain unclear in terms of evaluating its dynamic performance. The circular trajectory generator measurement system can quantify the dynamic performance of the laser tracker. We developed a standard circular trajectory generator using a stable servo system and then conducted an in-depth study on the dynamic performance of the laser tracker through statistical analysis. Numerous experiments have shown that if the laser tracker is set at equal spacing, the dynamic indication error is smallest when the measurement distance is 3 m, indicating that the fitted diameter at a distance of 3 m is closest to the diameter of the circular trajectory generator. If the laser tracker is set with equal sampling frequency, the dynamic indication error is smallest when the measurement distance is 5 m. When the circular trajectory generator is at low speed, the measurement spacing of sampling points of the laser tracker is fixed proportional to the number of measurement points, while at low or high speed the sampling frequency of the laser tracker is fixed proportionally to the number of measurement points. These conclusions will facilitate the application of the laser tracker in dynamic measurement.
The Evolution of the Architectural Façade since 1950: A Contemporary Categorization
Authors: Cucuzzella Carmela , Rahimi Negarsadat , Soulikias Aristofanis
Published: December 2022

The architectural façade has been a site of intensive experimentation and innovation throughout the 20th century, something that continues to this day, resulting in a vast range of architectural imagery, often incohesive in the post-modern reality. This research explores contemporary façade types and classifies the character of exterior building surfaces. In this paper, we aim to explore how the façade has been designed and has affected its surroundings. How and why has the façade evolved in the ways that it has? Is it the material innovation, structural novelty, the new design techniques or new aesthetics? We adopt a method of analytical induction to extract the most prevalent façade themes from relevant contemporary literature, characterize their meanings and categorize them in order to better explain the many sides of the façade. We set out to define the principles of façade design to then develop a general categorization, which can be applied to most building façades in recent history.
Andy Warhol’s Silver Liz at the International Celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976
Authors: Sidorova Elena
Published: December 2022

In 1976, at the moment when the U.S. celebrated the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution, one of its prominent citizens, Pop artist Andy Warhol (1928–1987), enjoyed growing popularity. By turning from a Sixties underground artist into a truly mediated business persona, he inaugurated his Interview magazine, published several books, and began to receive hundreds of commissioned portraits from socialites, film and music stars, and celebrities. Even though some academic research sheds light on the history of the international circulation of Warhol’s oeuvre during the artist’s lifetime and after his death, nothing is still widely known about his contributions to the international celebrations of the U.S. Bicentennial. The current paper aims to fill in this research gap. It examines how and why Warhol’s painting Silver Liz was exhibited in 200 Years of American Painting organized by the U.S. government in Landesmuseum Bonn in 1976 as part of the international celebrations of the U.S. Bicentennial and explains how this show influenced both the artist’s international success and the U.S. Cultural Cold War strategy.
Evolution of the Soot-Particle Size Distribution Function in the Cylinder and Exhaust System of Piston Engines: Simulation
Authors: Frolov Sergey M. , Avdeev Konstantin A. , Ivanov Vladislav S. , Vlasov Pavel A. , Frolov Fedor S. , Semenov Ilya V. , Belotserkovskaya Marina S.
Published: December 2022

A computational tool for simulating the temporal evolution of the soot-particle size distribution function (SDF) in the internal combustion engine (ICE) and in the attached exhaust pipe is developed and tested against available experimental data on the soot-particle SDF at the outlet of the exhaust system. Firstly, a database of soot particle properties (particle mean diameter, dispersion, total particle number density vs. time for different fuels, fuel-to-air equivalence ratios, temperatures, pressures, and exhaust gas recirculation) is developed based on the thoroughly validated detailed model of soot formation under ICE conditions. The database is organized in the form of look-up tables. Secondly, the soot-particle SDF in the database is approximated using the log-normal SDF, which is directly used in the multidimensional calculations of the ICE operation process. Thirdly, the coagulation model of soot particles is developed, which includes three coagulation mechanisms: Brownian, turbulent–kinetic, and turbulent–diffusion. This model is applied for simulating the evolution of the soot-particle SDF in the exhaust pipe after opening the exhaust valve. Calculations show that the coagulation process of soot particles in the exhaust pipe has a significant effect on the mean size of particles at the outlet of the exhaust system (the mean particle diameter can increase by almost an order of magnitude), and the dominant mechanism of particle coagulation in the exhaust system of a diesel engine is the Brownian mechanism. The objective, approach, and obtained results are the novel features of the study.
Temperature and Moisture Gradients Drive the Shifts of the Bacterial Microbiomes in 1000-Year-Old Mausoleums
Authors: Li Xin , Zhou Xiao’ai , Wu Chen , Petropoulos Evangelos , Yu Yongjie , Feng Youzhi
Published: December 2022

Cultural relics conservation and prevention from bacterial deterioration are critical for our historical heritage. Thus far, the variations of the ecophysiological features of deteriorating bacterial communities along gradients of temperature and moisture remain unclear. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to investigate the changing pattern of bacterial communities on bricks at different positions along two such gradients in the Two Mausoleums of the Southern Tang Dynasty, which have more than 1000 years of history. We found that the tombs were inhabited by a phylogenetically and functionally diverse bacterial microbiomes. Herein, Proteobacteria (34.5%), Cyanobacteria (31.3%), Bacteroidetes (7.8%) and Actinobacteria (7.4%), as well as ‘Amino Acid Metabolism (11.2%)’ and ‘Carbohydrate Metabolism (10.5%)’ accounted for the majorities of their compositional and functional profiles related to biodeterioration. Non-metric scaling in combination with PERMANOVA tests indicated that shifts in bacterial community compositions were governed by temperature, followed by moisture. In addition, we found that tourism-related anthropogenic activities could have played non-negligible roles in community assembly, especially in the areas that account as attractions (i.e., back room of the Qinling Mausoleum). Collectively, this study advances the knowledge regarding the deteriorating microbiomes of cultural monuments, which is essential for the conservation of historical cultural relics.
Impact of Thermal Forcing over the Southeast of the Tibetan Plateau on Frequency of Tropical Cyclones Affecting Guangxi during Boreal Summer
Authors: Zhang Chengyang , Lai Sheng , Zheng Fengqin , He Liyang , Luo Xiaoli , Huang Cuiyin , Zhou Xiuhua , He Hui
Published: December 2022

Tropical cyclones entering coastal areas adversely affect southern China. However, changes in the frequency of tropical cyclones affecting the west of southern China remain unclear. Our study reveals the possible impact of the thermal forcing anomaly over the southeast Tibetan Plateau (TP) on the frequency of tropical cyclones affecting Guangxi formed within the west of 120° E during boreal summer. Further analysis indicates that the cooling over the southeast TP is accompanied by local descending motions over southeastern TP and compensating ascending motions over eastern Indochina Peninsula and results in a reduced 850–200 hPa vertical wind shear over the north of 15° N in South China Sea (SCS), which is conducive to the westward development of tropical cyclones and favorable conditions for the formation of TCs affecting Guangxi over the SCS. Finally, the results from a linear baroclinic model experiment also verify that the changes in the 850–200 hPa vertical wind shear over southern SCS and compensating vertical motions over eastern Indochina Peninsula are associated with the thermal forcing anomaly over the southeast TP. Our results imply that in summer the thermal forcing anomaly over TP should be emphasized when interpreting and predicting the frequency of tropical cyclones affecting local areas in southern China.
Numbers of Mutations within Multicellular Bodies: Why It Matters
Authors: Frank Steven A.
Published: December 2022

Multicellular organisms often start life as a single cell. Subsequent cell division builds the body. Each mutational event during those developmental cell divisions carries forward to all descendant cells. The overall number of mutant cells in the body follows the Luria–Delbrück process. This article first reviews the basic quantitative principles by which one can understand the likely number of mutant cells and the variation in mutational burden between individuals. A recent Fréchet distribution approximation simplifies calculation of likelihoods and intuitive understanding of process. The second part of the article highlights consequences of somatic mutational mosaicism for understanding diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and atherosclerosis.
The Asymptotic Behavior for Generalized Jiřina Process
Authors: Lv You , Huang Huaping
Published: December 2022

As the classic branching process, the Galton-Watson process has obtained intensive attentions in the past decades. However, this model has two idealized assumptions–discrete states and time-homogeneity. In the present paper, we consider a branching process with continuous states, and for any given n∈N, the branching law of every particle in generation n is determined by the population size of generation n. We consider the case that the process is extinct with Probability 1 since in this case the process will be substantially different from the size-dependent branching process with discrete states. We give the extinction rate in the sense of L2 and almost surely by the form of harmonic moments, that is to say, we show how fast {Zn−1} grows under a group of sufficient conditions. From the result of the present paper, we observe that the extinction rate will be determined by an asymptotic behavior of the mean of the branching law. The results obtained in this paper have the more superiority than the counterpart from the existing literature.
Defect Chemistry in Zn3V4(PO4)6
Authors: Kuganathan Navaratnarajah
Published: December 2022

Zinc-ion batteries have attracted great interest for their low cost, safety, and high energy density. Recently, Zn3V4(PO4)6 has been reported to be a promising cathode material for zinc-ion batteries. The defect chemistry, diffusion of Zn-ions, and solution of dopants are examined by advanced simulation techniques. The simulation results show that the most favorable intrinsic defect is the Zn-V anti-site. A zig-zag pattern of long-range Zn2+ diffusion is observed and the activation energy of 1.88 eV indicates that the ionic conductivity of this material is low. The most promising isovalent dopants on the Zn site are Ca2+ and Fe2+. Although the solution of Ga3+, Sc3+, In3+, Y3+, Gd3+, and La3+ on the V site is exoergic, the most promising is In3+. Different reaction routes for the formation of Zn3V4(PO4)6 are considered and the most thermodynamically favorable reaction consists of binary oxides (ZnO, V2O3, and P2O5) as reactants.
Engineered Microenvironments for 3D Cell Culture and Regenerative Medicine: Challenges, Advances, and Trends
Authors: Guller Anna , Igrunkova Alexandra
Published: December 2022

The overall goal of regenerative medicine is to restore the functional performance of the tissues and organs that have been severely damaged or lost due to traumas and diseases [...]
Biomechanics Assist Measurement, Modeling, Engineering Applications, and Clinical Decision Making in Medicine
Authors: Chi Qingjia , Liu Pengchao , Liang Huaping
Published: December 2022

Biomechanical studies of surgeries and medical devices are usually performed with human or animal models [...]
Current Role of Intra-Articular Injections of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Adhesive Capsulitis of Shoulder: A Systematic Review
Authors: Harna Bushu , Gupta Vijay , Arya Shivali , Jeyaraman Naveen , Rajendran Ramya Lakshmi , Jeyaraman Madhan , Gangadaran Prakash , Khanna Manish , Hong Chae Moon , Ahn Byeong-Cheol
Published: December 2022

Adhesive capsulitis shoulder is a common problem of patients presenting with shoulder pain and disability. The approach to such patients includes a variety of modalities. This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment. A literature search was performed between January 2010 and 30 May 2022. MeSH terms used were ‘Platelet-rich plasma’ OR ‘PRP’ AND ‘Frozen shoulder’ OR ‘Adhesive capsulitis shoulder’ OR ‘Periarthritis shoulder’. The search included published articles in the English language involving human subjects. Studies evaluating other types of shoulder disorders, in vitro studies, review articles, animal-model studies, and pre-clinical trials were excluded. The data regarding study characteristics, efficacy, and safety outcomes were analyzed. A total of 11 studies with 347 patients over 10 years were finally included in this review. Most publications were in 2019 and 2020, mostly from India. This review included seven comparative studies, three case series, and one case report. In seven studies, a single intra-articular PRP injection was administered, whereas in the rest of the studies two or multiple injections were given. Only one study demonstrated an equivocal efficacy of PRP and steroid intra-articular injection. The rest all depicted better clinical and functional outcomes with the PRP injection. Only one study compared the outcomes of hydro-dissection treatment in adhesive capsulitis with the intra-articular PRP injection. The rest all either examined PRP alone or compared it with the steroid intra-articular injection. None of the studies showed any major side effects. The intra-articular injections of PRP in the management of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder provide a new treatment approach. Further studies are required to ascertain the efficacy and safety of the PRP intraarticular injection as a management alternative in adhesive capsulitis.
Persulfidation of DJ-1: Mechanism and Consequences
Authors: Galardon Erwan , Mathas Nicolas , Padovani Dominique , Le Corre Laurent , Poncet Gabrielle , Dairou Julien
Published: December 2022

DJ-1 (also called PARK7) is a ubiquitously expressed protein involved in the etiology of Parkinson disease and cancers. At least one of its three cysteine residues is functionally essential, and its oxidation state determines the specific function of the enzyme. DJ-1 was recently reported to be persulfidated in mammalian cell lines, but the implications of this post-translational modification have not yet been analyzed. Here, we report that recombinant DJ-1 is reversibly persulfidated at cysteine 106 by reaction with various sulfane donors and subsequently inhibited. Strikingly, this reaction is orders of magnitude faster than C106 oxidation by H2O2, and persulfidated DJ-1 behaves differently than sulfinylated DJ-1. Both these PTMs most likely play a dedicated role in DJ-1 signaling or protective pathways.
miDruglikeness: Subdivisional Drug-Likeness Prediction Models Using Active Ensemble Learning Strategies
Authors: Cai Chenjing , Lin Haoyu , Wang Hongyi , Xu Youjun , Ouyang Qi , Lai Luhua , Pei Jianfeng
Published: December 2022

The drug development pipeline involves several stages including in vitro assays, in vivo assays, and clinical trials. For candidate selection, it is important to consider that a compound will successfully pass through these stages. Using graph neural networks, we developed three subdivisional models to individually predict the capacity of a compound to enter in vivo testing, clinical trials, and market approval stages. Furthermore, we proposed a strategy combing both active learning and ensemble learning to improve the quality of the models. The models achieved satisfactory performance in the internal test datasets and four self-collected external test datasets. We also employed the models as a general index to make an evaluation on a widely known benchmark dataset DEKOIS 2.0, and surprisingly found a powerful ability on virtual screening tasks. Our model system (termed as miDruglikeness) provides a comprehensive drug-likeness prediction tool for drug discovery and development.
A New Immersive Rehabilitation Therapy (MoveR) Improves More Than Classical Visual Training Visual Perceptual Skills in Dyslexic Children
Authors: Gibert Charlotte , Roger Florent , Icart Emmanuel , Brugulat Marie , Bucci Maria Pia
Published: December 2022

In this study, we wonder how to compare the improvement in visual perceptual skills (by using the test of visual perceptual skills, TVPS) in children with dyslexia after two visual training types (a new immersive rehabilitation therapy called MoveR, and the classical vision therapy). Thirty-nine children with dyslexia were enrolled in the study. They were split into two groups (G1 and G2) matched in IQ (intelligence quotient), sex, and age. Children of the group G1 underwent to MoveR training while children of the group G2 underwent to visual training. TVPS scores of four subtests were assessed twice before and 6 months after the two different types of training (MoveR or visual). MoveR training is an immersive therapy to reinforce visual discrimination, visual attention, saccadic/vergence system and spatial orientation. Visual therapy is based by training different types of eyes movements (horizontal, vertical and oblique pursuits and saccades, convergence and divergence movements), reading task and some exercise for improving eyes–head coordination. Each training type lasted 30 min a day, five days a week, for two weeks. Before training, the TVPS scores of the four subtests measured were statistically similar for both groups of children with dyslexia (G1 and G2). After training, both group of children (G1 and G2) improved the TVPS score of the four subtests assessed; however, such improvement reached significance in G1 only. We conclude that MoveR training could be a more useful tool than classical visual training to improve visual perceptual abilities in dyslexic children. Follow up studies on a larger number of dyslexic children will be necessary in order to explore whether such improvement persists over time and its eventual implication in reading or other classroom’s activities.
Association of Severe Bronchiolitis during Infancy with Childhood Asthma Development: An Analysis of the ECHO Consortium
Authors: Nanishi Makiko , Chandran Aruna , Li Xiuhong , Stanford Joseph B. , Alshawabkeh Akram N. , Aschner Judy L. , Dabelea Dana , Dunlop Anne L. , Elliott Amy J. , Gern James E. , Hartert Tina , Herbstman Julie , Hershey Gurjit K. Khurana , Hipwell Alison E. , Karagas Margaret R. , Karr Catherine J. , Leve Leslie D. , Litonjua Augusto A. , McEvoy Cindy T. , Miller Rachel L. , Oken Emily , O’Shea T. Michael , Paneth Nigel , Weiss Scott T. , Wright Robert O. , Wright Rosalind J. , Carroll Kecia N. , Zhang Xueying , Zhao Qi , Zoratti Edward , Camargo Carlos A. , Hasegawa Kohei
Published: December 2022

Objective: Many studies have shown that severe (hospitalized) bronchiolitis during infancy is a risk factor for developing childhood asthma. However, the population subgroups at the highest risk remain unclear. Using large nationwide pediatric cohort data, namely the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we aimed to quantify the longitudinal relationship of bronchiolitis hospitalization during infancy with asthma in a generalizable dataset and to examine potential heterogeneity in terms of major demographics and clinical factors. Methods: We analyzed data from infants (age <12 months) enrolled in one of the 53 prospective cohort studies in the ECHO Program during 2001–2021. The exposure was bronchiolitis hospitalization during infancy. The outcome was a diagnosis of asthma by a physician by age 12 years. We examined their longitudinal association and determined the potential effect modifications of major demographic factors. Results: The analytic cohort consisted of 11,762 infants, 10% of whom had bronchiolitis hospitalization. Overall, 15% subsequently developed asthma. In the Cox proportional hazards model adjusting for 10 patient-level factors, compared with the no-bronchiolitis hospitalization group, the bronchiolitis hospitalization group had a significantly higher rate of asthma (14% vs. 24%, HR = 2.77, 95%CI = 2.24–3.43, p < 0.001). There was significant heterogeneity by race and ethnicity (Pinteraction = 0.02). The magnitude of the association was greater in non-Hispanic White (HR = 3.77, 95%CI = 2.74–5.18, p < 0.001) and non-Hispanic Black (HR = 2.39, 95%CI = 1.60–3.56; p < 0.001) infants, compared with Hispanic infants (HR = 1.51, 95%CI = 0.77–2.95, p = 0.23). Conclusions: According to the nationwide cohort data, infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis are at a higher risk for asthma, with quantitative heterogeneity in different racial and ethnic groups.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as an Indicator for Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A Systematic Review
Authors: Mosiołek Anna , Pietrzak Magdalena , Tabisz Maria , Wojtaszek Wiktoria , Zabielska Michalina , Ostrowska Agnieszka , Szwed Paweł , Mosiołek Jadwiga , Szulc Agata
Published: December 2022

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein affecting survival of existing neurons and neuronal maturation. Patients suffering from several mental disorders exhibit reduced BDNF levels comparing to healthy population. In this systematic review we aim to evaluate the effect of broadly defined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on BDNF levels in psychiatric patients. A literature search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar data bases. The resources were searched between 14 January and 3 February 2022. Following the inclusion criteria, a total of 10 randomized-controlled trials were included. The results of our research indicate that BDNF levels might be considered an indicator of a result achieved in psychotherapy of cognitive functions. However, no such correlation was observed for mindfulness-based practices intended to lower stress levels or improve the quality of life. It is important to notice that present research showed no consistent correlation between the increase in BDNF levels and the perceived effectiveness of the procedures. Thus, the exact role of BDNF remains unknown, and so far, it cannot be taken as an objective measure of the quality of the interventions.
A Near-Infrared Mechanically Switchable Elastomeric Film as a Dynamic Cell Culture Substrate
Authors: Spiaggia Giovanni , Taladriz-Blanco Patricia , Hengsberger Stefan , Septiadi Dedy , Geers Christoph , Lee Aaron , Rothen-Rutishauser Barbara , Petri-Fink Alke
Published: December 2022

Commercial static cell culture substrates can usually not change their physical properties over time, resulting in a limited representation of the variation in biomechanical cues in vivo. To overcome this limitation, approaches incorporating gold nanoparticles to act as transducers to external stimuli have been employed. In this work, gold nanorods were embedded in an elastomeric matrix and used as photothermal transducers to fabricate biocompatible light-responsive substrates. The nanocomposite films analysed by lock-in thermography and nanoindentation show a homogeneous heat distribution and a greater stiffness when irradiated with NIR light. After irradiation, the initial stiffness values were recovered. In vitro experiments performed during NIR irradiation with NIH-3T3 fibroblasts demonstrated that these films were biocompatible and cells remained viable. Cells cultured on the light stiffened nanocomposite exhibited a greater proliferation rate and stronger focal adhesion clustering, indicating increased cell-surface binding strength.