bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intense PSMA Uptake in a Vertebral Hemangioma Mimicking a Solitary Bone Metastasis in the Primary Staging of Prostate Cancer via 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT
Authors: Gossili Farid , Lyngby Clarissa G. , Løgager Vibeke , Zacho Helle D.
Published: May 2023

A 78-year-old man with newly diagnosed high-risk prostate cancer underwent 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for primary staging. This showed a single, very intense PSMA uptake in the vertebral body of Th2, without discrete morphological changes on low-dose CT. Thus, the patient was considered oligometastatic and underwent MRI of the spine for stereotactic radiotherapy planning. MRI demonstrated an atypical hemangioma in Th2. A bone algorithm CT scan confirmed the MRI findings. The treatment was changed, and the patient underwent a prostatectomy with no concomitant therapy. At three and six months after the prostatectomy, the patient had an unmeasurable PSA level, confirming the benign etiology of the lesion.
A Bibliometric Analysis on Arrhythmia Detection and Classification from 2005 to 2022
Authors: Gronthy Ummay Umama , Biswas Uzzal , Tapu Salauddin , Samad Md Abdus , Nahid Abdullah-Al
Published: May 2023

Bibliometric analysis is a widely used technique for analyzing large quantities of academic literature and evaluating its impact in a particular academic field. In this paper bibliometric analysis has been used to analyze the academic research on arrhythmia detection and classification from 2005 to 2022. We have followed PRISMA 2020 framework to identify, filter and select the relevant papers. This study has used the Web of Science database to find related publications on arrhythmia detection and classification. “Arrhythmia detection”, “arrhythmia classification” and “arrhythmia detection and classification” are three keywords for gathering the relevant articles. 238 publications in total were selected for this research. In this study, two different bibliometric techniques, “performance analysis” and “science mapping”, were applied. Different bibliometric parameters such as publication analysis, trend analysis, citation analysis, and networking analysis have been used to evaluate the performance of these articles. According to this analysis, the three countries with the highest number of publications and citations are China, the USA, and India in terms of arrhythmia detection and classification. The three most significant researchers in this field are those named U. R. Acharya, S. Dogan, and P. Plawiak. Machine learning, ECG, and deep learning are the three most frequently used keywords. A further finding of the study indicates that the popular topics for arrhythmia identification are machine learning, ECG, and atrial fibrillation. This research provides insight into the origins, current status, and future direction of arrhythmia detection research.
Improving the Trustworthiness of Interactive Visualization Tools for Healthcare Data through a Medical Fuzzy Expert System
Authors: Albarrak Abdullah M.
Published: May 2023

Successful healthcare companies and illness diagnostics require data visualization. Healthcare and medical data analysis are needed to use compound information. Professionals often gather, evaluate, and monitor medical data to gauge risk, performance capability, tiredness, and adaptation to a medical diagnosis. Medical diagnosis data come from EMRs, software systems, hospital administration systems, laboratories, IoT devices, and billing and coding software. Interactive diagnosis data visualization tools enable healthcare professionals to identify trends and interpret data analytics results. Selecting the most trustworthy interactive visualization tool or application is crucial for the reliability of medical diagnosis data. Thus, this study examined the trustworthiness of interactive visualization tools for healthcare data analytics and medical diagnosis. The present study uses a scientific approach for evaluating the trustworthiness of interactive visualization tools for healthcare and medical diagnosis data and provides a novel idea and path for future healthcare experts. Our goal in this research was to make an idealness assessment of the trustworthiness impact of interactive visualization models under fuzzy conditions by using a medical fuzzy expert system based on an analytical network process and technique for ordering preference by similarity to ideal solutions. To eliminate the ambiguities that arose due to the multiple opinions of these experts and to externalize and organize information about the selection context of the interactive visualization models, the study used the proposed hybrid decision model. According to the results achieved through trustworthiness assessments of different visualization tools, BoldBI was found to be the most prioritized and trustworthy visualization tool among other alternatives. The suggested study would aid healthcare and medical professionals in interactive data visualization in identifying, selecting, prioritizing, and evaluating useful and trustworthy visualization-related characteristics, thereby leading to more accurate medical diagnosis profiles.
Preliminary Report on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Biomarkers in Non-Responders and Responders to Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injection for Diabetic Macular Oedema
Authors: Chouhan Sanjana , Kalluri Bharat Rekha , Surya Janani , Mohan Sashwanthi , Balaji Janarthanam , Viekash V. , Lakshminarayanan Vasudevan , Raman Rajiv
Published: May 2023

Purpose: To identify optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) biomarkers in patients who were treated for diabetic macular oedema (DME) with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections and compare the OCTA parameters between responders and non-responders. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 61 eyes with DME who received at least one intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was included between July 2017 and October 2020. The subjects underwent a comprehensive eye examination followed by an OCTA examination before and after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection. Demographic data, visual acuity, and OCTA parameters were documented, and further analysis was performed pre- and post-intravitreal anti-VEGF injection.Results: Out of 61 eyes which underwent intravitreal anti-VEGF injection for diabetic macular oedema, 30 were responders (group 1) and 31 were non-responders (group 2). We found that the responders (group 1) had a higher vessel density in the outer ring that was statistically significant (p = 0.022), and higher perfusion density was noted in the outer ring (p = 0.012) and full ring (p = 0.044) at levels of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP). We also observed a lower vessel diameter index in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) in responders when compared to non-responders (p < 0.00). Conclusion: The evaluation of SCP in OCTA in addition to DCP can result in a better prediction of treatment response and early management in diabetic macular oedema.
Islet Autoantibodies to Pancreatic Insulin-Producing Beta Cells in Adolescent and Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Siddiqui Khalid , Nawaz Shaik Sarfaraz , Alfadda Assim A. , Mujammami Muhammad
Published: May 2023

(1) Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease caused by the destruction of pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells. T1D is one of the most common endocrine and metabolic disorders occurring in children. Autoantibodies against pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells are important immunological and serological markers of T1D. Zinc transporter 8 autoantibody (ZnT8) is a recently identified autoantibody in T1D; however, no data on ZnT8 autoantibody in the Saudi Arabian population have been reported. Thus, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of islet autoantibodies (IA-2 and ZnT8) in adolescents and adults with T1D according to age and disease duration. (2) Methods: In total, 270 patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. After meeting the study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria, 108 patients with T1D (50 men and 58 women) were assessed for T1D autoantibody levels. Serum ZnT8 and IA-2 autoantibodies were measured using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. (3) Results: IA-2 and ZnT8 autoantibodies were present in 67.6% and 54.6% of patients with T1D, respectively. Autoantibody positivity was found in 79.6% of the patients with T1D. Both the IA-2 and ZnT8 autoantibodies were frequently observed in adolescents. The prevalence of IA-2 and ZnT8 autoantibodies in patients with a disease duration < 1 year was 100% and 62.5%, respectively, which declined with an increase in disease duration (p < 0.020). Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between age and autoantibodies (p < 0.004). (4) Conclusions: The prevalence of IA-2 and ZnT8 autoantibodies in the Saudi Arabian T1D population appears to be higher in adolescents. The current study also showed that the prevalence of autoantibodies decreased with disease duration and age. IA-2 and ZnT8 autoantibodies are important immunological and serological markers for T1D diagnosis in the Saudi Arabian population.
Electrochemical Creatinine (Bio)Sensors for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Renal Malfunction and Chronic Kidney Disorders
Authors: Saddique Zohaib , Faheem Muhammad , Habib Amir , UlHasan Iftikhar , Mujahid Adnan , Afzal Adeel
Published: May 2023

In the post-pandemic era, point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of diseases is an important research frontier. Modern portable electrochemical (bio)sensors enable the design of POC diagnostics for the identification of diseases and regular healthcare monitoring. Herein, we present a critical review of the electrochemical creatinine (bio)sensors. These sensors either make use of biological receptors such as enzymes or employ synthetic responsive materials, which provide a sensitive interface for creatinine-specific interactions. The characteristics of different receptors and electrochemical devices are discussed, along with their limitations. The major challenges in the development of affordable and deliverable creatinine diagnostics and the drawbacks of enzymatic and enzymeless electrochemical biosensors are elaborated, especially considering their analytical performance parameters. These revolutionary devices have potential biomedical applications ranging from early POC diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other kidney-related illnesses to routine monitoring of creatinine in elderly and at-risk humans.
Determination of a Representative and 3D-Printable Root Canal Geometry for Endodontic Investigations and Pre-Clinical Endodontic Training—An Ex Vivo Study
Authors: Kucher Michael , Dannemann Martin , Modler Niels , Böhm Robert , Hannig Christian , Kühne Marie-Theres
Published: May 2023

Models of artificial root canals are used in several fields of endodontic investigations and pre-clinical endodontic training. They allow the physical testing of dental treatments, the operating of instruments used and the interaction between these instruments and the tissues. Currently, a large number of different artificial root canal models exist whose geometry is created either on the basis of selected natural root canal systems or to represent individual geometrical properties. Currently, only a few geometric properties such as the root canal curvature or the endodontic working width are taken into consideration when generating these models. To improve the representational capability of the artificial root canal models, the aim of the current study is therefore to generate an artificial root canal based on the statistical evaluation of selected natural root canals. Here, the approach introduced by Kucher for determining the geometry of a root canal model is used, which is based on the measurement and statistical evaluation of the root canal center line’s curvatures and their cross-sectional dimensions. Using the example of unbranched distal root canals of mandibular molars (n = 29), an artificial root canal model representing the mean length, curvature, torsion and cross-sectional dimensions of these teeth could be derived.
Circulation of 137Cs in Various Forest Plants in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone during the Year
Authors: Zarubina Nataliia
Published: May 2023

This study investigated the content of 137Cs (a long-lived radioactive isotope of caesium) in various parts of Pinus sylvestris L. (Scotch pine) and Dicranum polysetum Sw. (rugose fork-moss) at three different sites within the exclusion zone of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant over two years. The Leliv site is located within the 10 km zone, while the Paryshiv and Dytiatky sampling sites are within the 30 km zone. Samples of different P. sylvestris organs were collected, including 1- and 2-year-old branches and needles and wood and outer bark, and the entire D. polysetum. Sampling was conducted every two weeks throughout the year during 2014 and 2015. The specific activity levels of 137Cs in the samples were measured using gamma spectrometry with a CANBERRA gamma spectrometer unit and a coaxial high-purity HPGe semiconductor detector. The study found that at the Leliv and Paryshiv sites, the highest content of 137Cs in living organs of P. sylvestris was found in the wood. At the Dytiatky site, the needles and branches of the first and second years had anomalously high concentrations of radiocaesium (137Cs). This could be due to a thin layer of forest litter (1.5 cm) at that site. The study also found significant changes in the specific activity levels of 137Cs in living pine organs throughout the year. The highest concentration was observed in pine branches and needles in summer, and the maximum values in wood were observed in winter. The study suggests that a constant circulation of 137Cs in the soil–plant system can cause seasonal changes in the content of 137Cs in living pine organs. Symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi can play an important role in the circulation of radiocaesium in forest ecosystems. The outer bark of P. sylvestris did not show any seasonal changes in the content of 137Cs. It may not be involved in radiocaesium redistribution inside the plant but can serve as a long-term source of this radionuclide entering the forest litter. The study found no seasonal changes in the accumulation of 137Cs by D. polysetum, which might be due to the physiological characteristics of this plant species. Based on the analysis of the conducted studies, the recommendation is to consider the seasonal changes in the content of 137Cs during monitoring activities and when using Scots pine in areas potentially contaminated with this radionuclide.
Extensive Reading and Science Vocabulary Learning in L2: Comparing Reading-Only and Reading-While-Listening
Authors: Serrano Raquel
Published: May 2023

This paper presents a study analyzing second language vocabulary gains after an extensive reading program that included non-fiction graded readers of scientific content in English. The study was conducted in a Spanish primary school (N = 96) and implemented in two different modalities: reading-only and reading-while-listening, which included audiobooks. The study lasted one school year and involved 39 science graded readers, making it unique in its duration and scope. The findings indicate that the practice of extensive reading resulted in notable improvements in vocabulary acquisition during the first half of the school year; however, the advantages were less evident in the second half. Different factors intrinsic to the program but also related to students’ motivation will be discussed in order to explain the findings.
Learning Difficulties with the Concept of Function in Maths: A Literature Review
Authors: Trujillo Macarena , Atarés Lorena , Canet María José , Pérez-Pascual María Asunción
Published: May 2023

The concept of function is a threshold concept in mathematics since it is essential for a deep understanding of the subject and is often problematic for students. Despite the importance of this concept, numerous studies have found that students have several difficulties and misconceptions about it. This work aims to assess, classify and synthesize the existing information about the learning difficulties and misconceptions related to the concept of function. In this sense, the main achievement of the work is the synthesis and classification by topics of the information gathered from the literature.
Assisting Heart Valve Diseases Diagnosis via Transformer-Based Classification of Heart Sound Signals
Authors: Yang Dongru , Lin Yi , Wei Jianwen , Lin Xiongwei , Zhao Xiaobo , Yao Yingbang , Tao Tao , Liang Bo , Lu Sheng-Guo
Published: May 2023

Background: In computer-aided medical diagnosis or prognosis, the automatic classification of heart valve diseases based on heart sound signals is of great importance since the heart sound signal contains a wealth of information that can reflect the heart status. Traditional binary classification algorithms (normal and abnormal) currently cannot comprehensively assess the heart valve diseases based on analyzing various heart sounds. The differences between heart sound signals are relatively subtle, but the reflected heart conditions differ significantly. Consequently, from a clinical point of view, it is of utmost importance to assist in the diagnosis of heart valve disease through the multiple classification of heart sound signals. Methods: We utilized a Transformer model for the multi-classification of heart sound signals. It has achieved results from four abnormal heart sound signals and the typical type. Results: According to 5-fold cross-validation strategy as well as 10-fold cross-validation strategy, e.g., in 5-fold cross-validation, the proposed method achieved a highest accuracy of 98.74% and a mean AUC of 0.99. Furthermore, the classification accuracy for Aortic Stenosis, Mitral Regurgitation, Mitral Stenosis, Mitral Valve Prolapse, and standard heart sound signals is 98.72%, 98.50%, 98.30%, 98.56%, and 99.61%, respectively. In 10-fold cross-validation, our model obtained the highest accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F1 score all at 100%. Conclusion: The results indicate that the framework can precisely classify five classes of heart sound signals. Our method provides an effective tool for the ancillary detection of heart valve diseases in the clinical setting.
Benefits of Monthly Storage Rates in Shared Storage for Energetic Communities
Authors: Böhringer Marcel , Kharrat Achraf , Hanson Jutta
Published: May 2023

Community energy storages, i.e., central battery storages that take over the self-consumption optimisation of energetic communities, can play a central role in the cellular structure of the energy system. However, if the central storage is only used for optimising households’ self-demand, the use is neither economical nor efficient. Therefore, it is conceivable to use the storage for different applications. This article focused on a monthly storage rate for households in energetic communities. First, different households’ storage capacities were determined to demonstrate the benefits of a monthly adjustment in the shared storage for households and storage operators. The advantages are shown compared to annual storage rates and they can be seen on both sides. Households can increase their degree of self-sufficiency and their self-consumption rate through the monthly storage rates. In addition, the storage operator gains more security through the fixed monthly storage rates and has further opportunities to generate revenue through daily sales. In some months, the results show a secondary use potential of over 82% related to the monthly rate, which is determined by the complete data set and additionally substantiated for two exemplary households. In the second part of the article, the annual and monthly storage rates for different kinds of households were transferred into a multiple linear regression model. The model enables us to determine the monthly and annual storage rates of households on the basis of the annual electricity consumption, the installed photovoltaic power, and the rated power of the electric vehicle charging station as well as the heat pump. The estimated results show small deviations from the calculated results and can be used to simplify the planning of the community energy storage for various districts.
On Combining Wavefront and Tile Parallelism with a Novel GPU-Friendly Fast Search
Authors: Papaioannou Georgios I. , Koziri Maria , Loukopoulos Thanasis , Anagnostopoulos Ioannis
Published: May 2023

As the necessity of supporting ever-increasing demands in video resolution leads to new video coding standards, the challenge of harnessing their computational overhead becomes important. Such overhead stems not only from the increased image data due to higher resolutions but also from the coding techniques per se that are introduced by each standard to improve compression. All modern standards in the field of video coding offer high compression efficiency, but this is achieved by increasing the computational complexity of the encoding part. Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) videos, bring new encoding implementation schemes that are being recommended for CPU and GPU parallelization. Therefore, several works are published to achieve better performance and reduce encoding complexity. Following this idea, we proposed and evaluated a hybrid encoding scheme that utilizes the constant growth of the CPU power with the massive GPU popularity in parallel. Taking advantage of the encoding schemes from the leading video coding standards, such as High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) and Versatile Video Coding (VVC), which support parallel processing thru Wavefront or Tiling, in our work, we combined both of them at the same time as a whole, and in addition, we introduced a GPU-friendly fast search algorithm that is highly parallel and alternative to the default non-parallel TZ-Search. Through an experimental evaluation with common test sequences, the proposed GPU Fast Motion Estimation with our previous Wavefront per Tile Parallelism (WTP) was shown to provide valid trade-off between speedup and video coding efficiency, effectively combining the best of two worlds, i.e., WTP using CPUs and parallel Motion Estimation with GPUs.
Enhancing Physical Layer Security of Cooperative Nonorthogonal Multiple Access Networks via Artificial Noise
Authors: Jiang Dan , Gao Yuanyuan , Li Guoxin , Sha Nan , Bian Xu , Wang Xiaoyu
Published: May 2023

The massive connectivity requirement and security issues have become major factors restricting the further development of the Internet of Things. Nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) can be combined with physical layer security (PLS) to achieve massive connectivity and secure transmission. This article investigates the PLS performance for a downlink communication system over Nakagami-m fading channels, with full-duplex (FD) cooperative NOMA transmission aided by artificial noise (AN). While direct communication is built between the base station and two NOMA users, the strong user is employed as an FD relay as well as the jammer to enhance the PLS of the legitimate transmission in the presence of a passive eavesdropper (Eve). Closed-form analytical expressions in terms of the outage probability of the legitimate users and the intercept probability of Eve are derived to evaluate the security–reliability trade-off (SRT) of the proposed scheme. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to validate the veracity of the theoretic analyses and illustrate that the proposed scheme is superior in terms of SRT to the benchmark schemes in the low SNR region. Furthermore, the results reveal that the SRT performance of the two NOMA users can be enhanced through a proper AN-bearing ratio and power allocation optimization.
Applications and Technologies of Big Data in the Aerospace Domain
Authors: Adamopoulou Evgenia , Daskalakis Emmanouil
Published: May 2023

Over the last few years, Big Data applications have attracted ever-increasing attention in several scientific and business domains. Biomedicine, transportation, entertainment, and aerospace are only a few examples of sectors which are increasingly dependent on applications, where knowledge is extracted from huge volumes of heterogeneous data. The main goal of this paper was to conduct an academic literature review of prominent publications revolving around the application of BD in aerospace. A total of 67 publications were analyzed, highlighting the sources, uses, and benefits of BD. For categorizing the publications, a novel 6-fold approach was introduced including applications in aviation technology and aviation management, UAV-enabled applications, applications in military aviation, health/environment-related applications, and applications in space technology. Aiming to provide the reader with a clear overview of the existing solutions, a total of 15 subcategories were also utilized. The results indicated numerous benefits deriving from the application of BD in aerospace. These benefits referred to the aerospace domain itself as well as to many other sectors including healthcare, environment, humanitarian operations, network communications, etc. Various data sources and different Machine Learning models were utilized in the analyzed publications and the use of BD-based techniques enabled us to extract useful correlations and gain useful insights from large volumes of data.
Efficient Simulation of Volumetric Deformable Objects in Unity3D: GPU-Accelerated Position-Based Dynamics
Authors: Va Hongly , Choi Min-Hyung , Hong Min
Published: May 2023

This paper proposes an efficient approach for simulating volumetric deformable objects using the Position-Based Dynamics (PBD) method. Volumetric bodies generated by TetGen are used to represent three-dimensional objects, which accurately capture complex shapes and volumes. However, when a large number of constraints are applied to the system to solve using serialized algorithms on central processing units (CPU), the computational cost can become a bottleneck of the simulation. To address this issue, the proposed implementation algorithm takes advantage of graphic processing unit (GPU) acceleration and parallel processing to improve the efficiency of the simulation. We propose two specific contributions: firstly, the use of the PBD method with volume constraint for tetrahedral elements to simulate volumetric deformable objects realistically; secondly, an efficient GPU-accelerated algorithm for implementing the PBD method that significantly improves computational efficiency. We also applied the node-centric and constraint-centric algorithms to solve the stretch constraint in the GPU-based algorithm. The implementation was performed using Unity3D. The compute shader feature of Unity3D was utilized to perform thousands of parallel computations in a single pass, making it possible to simulate large and complex objects in real-time. The performance of the simulation can be accelerated by using GPU-based methods with stretch and bending constraints, which provides significant speedup factors compared to using only the CPU for deformable objects such as Bunny, Armadillo, and Dragon. The constraint-centric and node-centric GPU approaches provide speedup factors of up to 8.9x and 8x, respectively, while the GPU-based methods with all types of constraints exhibit a slight decrease but still operate at real-time speeds. Overall, this approach enables the simulation of complex and irregular shapes with plausible and realistic results, while also achieving speed, robustness, and flexibility. Additionally, the proposed approach can be applied to general simulation and other game engines that support GPU-based acceleration.
Heterogeneous Quasi-Continuous Spiking Cortical Model for Pulse Shape Discrimination
Authors: Liu Runxi , Liu Haoran , Yang Bo , Gu Borui , Yin Zhengtong , Liu Shan
Published: May 2023

The present study introduces the heterogeneous quasi-continuous spiking cortical model (HQC-SCM) method as a novel approach for neutron and gamma-ray pulse shape discrimination. The method utilizes specific neural responses to extract features in the falling edge and delayed fluorescence parts of radiation pulse signals. In addition, the study investigates the contributions of HQC-SCM’s parameters to its discrimination performance, leading to the development of an automatic parameter selection strategy. As HQC-SCM is a chaotic system, a genetic algorithm-based parameter optimization method was proposed to locate local optima of HQC-SCM’s parameter solutions efficiently and robustly in just a few iterations of evolution. The experimental results of this study demonstrate that the HQC-SCM method outperforms traditional and state-of-the-art pulse shape discrimination algorithms, including falling edge percentage slope, zero crossing, charge comparison, frequency gradient analysis, pulse-coupled neural network, and ladder gradient methods. The outstanding discrimination performance of HQC-SCM enables plastic scintillators to compete with liquid and crystal scintillators’ neutron and gamma-ray pulse shape discrimination ability. Additionally, the HQC-SCM method outperforms other methods when dealing with noisy radiation pulse signals. Therefore, it is an effective and robust approach that can be applied in radiation detection systems across various fields.
W-Band GaN HEMT Switch Using the State-Dependent Concurrent Matching Method
Authors: Im Hyemin , Lee Jaeyong , Park Changkun
Published: May 2023

In this study, a W-band GaN single-pole single-throw (SPST) switch was designed. To realize the pass and isolation modes of the SPST switch, we proposed the design technique of a unit branch consisting of one transistor and one transmission. The characteristic impedance and length of the transmission line were determined by the impedance and the angle at which the straight line connecting the impedances of the on and off states of the transistor meets the real axis of the Smith chart. Using the design technique, the matching networks for the pass and isolation modes of the switch are concurrently completed. In order to improve the insertion loss and isolation characteristics of the switch, the size of the transistor and the number of unit branches were investigated. To verify the feasibility of the proposed design technique, we designed the W-band SPST switch using a 100 nm GaN HEMT process. The measured insertion loss and isolation were below 2.9 dB and above 23.5 dB, respectively, in the frequency range from 91 GHz to 101 GHz.
An Accelerator for Semi-Supervised Classification with Granulation Selection
Authors: Song Yunsheng , Zhang Jing , Zhao Xinyue , Wang Jie
Published: May 2023

Semi-supervised classification is one of the core methods to deal with incomplete tag information without manual intervention, which has been widely used in various real problems for its excellent performance. However, the existing algorithms need to store all the unlabeled instances and repeatedly use them in the process of iteration. Thus, the large population size may result in slow execution speed and large memory requirements. Many efforts have been devoted to solving this problem, but mainly focused on supervised classification. Now, we propose an approach to decrease the size of the unlabeled instance set for semi-supervised classification algorithms. In this algorithm, we first divide the unlabeled instance set into several subsets with the information granulation mechanism, then sort the divided subsets according to the contribution to the classifier. Following this order, the subsets that take great classification performance are saved. The proposed algorithm is compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms on 12 real datasets, and experiment results show it could get a similar prediction ability but have the lowest instance storage ratio.
Comparing the Size at Onset of Sexual Maturity of Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus, Cancridae) in Berwickshire and Northumberland
Authors: Easton Blair Alexander Andrew , Boon Andrew , Richards Joe , Scott Kevin
Published: May 2023

The literature suggests regional variations in the size at which sexual maturity is reached for commercially important edible crab (Cancer pagurus), worth GBP 74.3 million annually, which could have implications for regional fisheries management. Berwickshire and Northumberland are geographically divided by the Scotland and England border and remain within the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC (Special Area of Conservation). Each are managed by differing fisheries authorities and Minimum Conservation Reference Sizes (MCRS). Morphometric measurements were recorded for each C. pagurus individual to categorise morphometric maturity using segmented regression, with gonadal maturity categorised using visual gonad characteristics and general linear model regressions to compare onset in sexual maturity. Results showed regional variations for gonadal maturity with males reaching sexual onset at a carapace width size of 108.5 mm in Berwickshire and 109.9 mm in Northumberland; females at a size of 126.8 mm in Berwickshire and 120.8 mm in Northumberland. This was also true for morphometric maturity based on chelae height, that males (141.1 mm) and females (134.7 mm) from Berwickshire were morphometrically mature at greater sizes than males (130.1 mm) and females (120.8 mm) from Northumberland. This study shows that the respective MCRS in both regions are appropriate for the C. pagurus populations, but implications for fisheries management could be present.
LC-MS Based Metabolomic Profiling of Largehead Hairtail (Trichiurus japonicus) Ovary Reveals Metabolic Signatures of Ovarian Developmental Process (II–IV)
Authors: Feng Liu-Ying , Yan Li-Ping , Li Run-Wei , Li Sheng-Fa , Cheng Jia-Hua , Jin Yan
Published: May 2023

Trichiurus japonicus is an economically important fish that ranks 11th in global marine fish capture production. However, the reproductive characteristics of this fish have undergone notable changes in recent decades, potentially affecting the quality of offspring and sustainable utilization. To improve our understanding of the physiological regulation of maturation in T. japonicus, untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry was utilized to identify the small molecules that characterize the comprehensive metabolic profiles of ovaries during ovary development from stage II to stage IV. According to the results of OPLS-DA, the ovarian metabolite profiles of the three developmental stages were separated. The concentrations of 124 and 100 metabolites were significantly altered between stage II vs. III and III vs. IV, respectively. Lipids and lipid-like molecules accounted for the largest proportion of the altered metabolites, followed by amino acids, peptides, and analogues. The significantly altered metabolites-enriched pathways differed slightly between stages II and III and stages III and IV. Steroid-related pathways were heavily affected during stages II to III, while significantly altered metabolites from stages III to IV were involved in oocyte-maturation-related pathways. Through metabonomics analysis, potentially important metabolic pathways and metabolites between different ovarian stages were detected, providing basic information for further investigation of maturation mechanisms in wild fish.
The Role of Thermoviscous and Thermocapillary Effects in the Cooling and Gravity-Driven Draining of Molten Free Liquid Films
Authors: Alahmadi Hani , Naire Shailesh
Published: May 2023

We theoretically considered two-dimensional flow in a vertically aligned thick molten liquid film to investigate the competition between cooling and gravity-driven draining, which is relevant in the formation of metallic foams. Molten liquid in films cools as it drains, losing its heat to the surrounding colder air and substrate. We extended our previous model to include non-isothermal effects, resulting in coupled non-linear evolution equations for the film’s thickness, extensional flow speed and temperature. The coupling between the flow and cooling effect was via a constitutive relationship for temperature-dependent viscosity and surface tension. This model was parameterized by the heat transfer coefficients at the film–air free surface and film–substrate interface, the Péclet number, the viscosity–temperature coupling parameter and the slope of the linear surface tension–temperature relationship. A systematic exploration of the parameter space revealed that at low Péclet numbers, increasing the heat transfer coefficient and gradually reducing the viscosity with temperature was conducive to cooling and could slow down the draining and thinning of the film. The effect of increasing the slope of the surface tension–temperature relationship on the draining and thinning of the film was observed to be more effective at lower Péclet numbers, where surface tension gradients in the lamella region opposed the gravity-driven flow. At higher Péclet numbers, though, the surface tension gradients tended to enhance the draining flow in the lamella region, resulting in the dramatic thinning of the film in the later stages.
Antiviral Activity of Beebread, Bee-Collected Pollen and Artificially Fermented Pollen against Influenza A Virus
Authors: Dimitriou Tilemachos , Asoutis Didaras Nikos , Barda Christina , Skopeliti Dimitra , Kontogianni Katerina , Karatasou Katerina , Skaltsa Helen , Mossialos Dimitris
Published: May 2023

Bee-collected pollen (BCP) and the naturally fermented BCP product known as bee bread (BB) are functional foods renowned for their nutritious, antioxidant, antibacterial and other therapeutic properties. This is the first study employed to assess the antiviral activity of BCP and BB against influenza A virus (IAV) H1N1 along with their proteinaceous, aqueous and n-butanol fractions. Additionally, artificially fermented BCP has been evaluated against IAV (H1N1). Antiviral activity was assessed in vitro by comparative real-time PCR assay. IC50 values ranged from 0.022 to 10.04 mg/mL, and Selectivity Index (SI) values ranged from 1.06 to 338.64. Artificially fermented BCP samples AF5 and AF17 demonstrated higher SI values than unfermented BCP, and proteinaceous fractions demonstrated the highest SI values. The chemical profile of BCP and BB samples, analyzed using NMR and LC-MS, revealed the presence of specialized metabolites that may contribute toward the antiviral activity. Overall, the significant anti-IAV activity of BB and BCP harvested in Thessaly (Greece) could be attributed to chemical composition (especially undiscovered yet proteinaceous compounds) and possibly to microbiome metabolism. Further research regarding the antiviral properties of BCP and BB will elucidate the mode of action and could lead to new treatments against IAV or other viral diseases.
Note on the Generalized Branching Random Walk on the Galton–Watson Tree
Authors: Attia Najmeddine , Amami Rim , Amami Rimah
Published: May 2023

Let ∂T be a super-critical Galton–Watson tree. Recently, the first author computed almost surely and simultaneously the Hausdorff dimensions of the sets of infinite branches of the boundary of ∂T along which the sequence SnX(t)/SnX˜(t) has a given set of limit points, where SnX(t) and SnX˜(t) are two branching random walks defined on ∂T. In this study, we are interested in the study of the speed of convergence of this sequence. More precisely, for a given sequence s=(sn), we consider Eα,s=t∈∂T:SnX(t)−αSnX˜(t)∼snasn→+∞. We will give a sufficient condition on (sn) so that Eα,s has a maximal Hausdorff and packing dimension.
Investigating the Influence of a Pre-Existing Shear Band on the Seismic Response of Ideal Step-like Slopes Subjected to Weak Motions: Preliminary Results
Authors: Falcone Gaetano , Elia Gaetano , di Lernia Annamaria
Published: May 2023

The assessment of slope susceptibility to seismically-induced displacements receives wide attention in the geotechnical earthquake engineering field, but the alteration of the seismic wave inside the slope and at the ground surface due to the presence of a shear band confining a quiescent landslide body is rarely investigated. This paper describes the preliminary results of the numerical analysis of two step-like FE models, reproducing a gentle slope and steep cutting subjected to weak earthquakes, thus focusing on seismic wave amplification processes only. The results show that the higher the thickness of the weakened zone, the higher the maximum value of the amplification factors predicted at the ground surface. For gentle slopes affected by a landslide body confined by a thick shear band, the highest amplification factors are expected in the longer period range of 0.7–1.1 s, while the highest level of amplification is achieved in the intermediate period interval of 0.4–0.8 s in the case of steep slopes. In addition, the parasitic vertical component of acceleration can be considerably amplified beyond the crest and at the toe of the slope for increasing band thickness, especially in the case of steep topography, for which the effects of the shear band morphology enhance those related to the topographic profile. Finally, the fundamental frequency of the sloping deposit is not particularly affected by the presence of the shear band, while the amplitude of the amplification function at the fundamental frequency is clearly related to its thickness.
Practices of Self-Care in Healthy Old Age: A Field Study
Authors: González-González Estela , Requena Carmen
Published: May 2023

Two competing psychological approaches for how to care for oneself to stay healthy in old age have coexisted and dominated the scientific literature. Objective: Identify the self-care practices of healthy older adults and establish the relationship between these practices and the cognitive processes involved. Method: 105 healthy older people (83.91% women) recorded their self-care practices using the Care Time Test and underwent a cognitive evaluation. Results: The frequency and variety of different activities that participants spent performing on a day of the week where they had the fewest obligations are as follows: nearly 7 h on seven survival activities, 4 h and 30 min on three maintenance of functional independence activities and 1 h on one activity that promoted personal development. Older people who carry out activities in a developmental approach showed better everyday memory (8.63 points) and attention levels (7.00 points) than older people who carry out activities using a conservative approach (memory: 7.43; attention level: 6.40). Conclusion: The results evidenced that the frequency and variety of activities that promote personal development are associated with better attention and memory performance.
Biostimulants of Different Origins Increase Mineral Content and Yield of Wild Rocket While Reducing Nitrate Content through Successive Harvests
Authors: El-Nakhel Christophe , Petropoulos Spyridon , Di Mola Ida , Ottaiano Lucia , Cozzolino Eugenio , Rouphael Youssef , Mori Mauro
Published: May 2023

Nowadays, biostimulant application is a sustainable practice with which to reduce inputs while maintaining crop yield and quality. Furthermore, the successive harvesting technique is also adopted to increase overall yield and reduce production costs in leafy vegetables. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was performed to compare four different biostimulants, (i) two from enzymatic hydrolysate of Fabaceae species, (ii) one made from betaine, alginic acid and caidrin, (iii) and another one made from alfalfa extract, algae and molasses rich in low-molecular-weight amino acids, in order to verify their ability to limit nitrate accumulation in wild rocket leaves while boosting yield and quantitative and qualitative components through successive harvests. Successive harvests increased the marketable yield of wild rocket by 41% on average compared to the first harvest, whereas biostimulants treatments increased the yield by 38% on average compared to the control. The SPAD index was increased due to successive harvesting and biostimulant application. While biostimulant application resulted in a 24% decrease in nitrates, it also caused a considerable increase in mineral content in wild rocket leaves. Both biostimulant application and successive harvesting showed promising results, and they could be suggested in leafy vegetable cultivation due to the boosted yield and quality.
Non-Enzymatic and Enzymatic Antioxidant Responses of Hypericum perforatum L. Hairy Roots upon Photooxidative Stress
Authors: Tusevski Oliver , Gadzovska Simic Sonja
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to evaluate the non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant response of fifteen Hypericum perforatum L. dark-grown (HR1 A-HR1 O) and photoperiod-exposed (HR2 A-HR2 O) hairy root clones. Dark-grown HR1 clones were characterized with high biomass accumulation and up-regulated phenylpropanoid metabolism through phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL)-mediated production of flavonoids, flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins. These groups of phenolics showed superior hydrogen-donating capability and significantly contributed to the antioxidant capacity of dark-grown HR1 clones. Photoperiod-exposed HR2 clones showed green coloration with shoot regenerative potential and reduced biomass accumulation. Photoperiod exposition improved the production of hypericins, as well as ferrous chelating properties and lipid peroxidation inhibition activity in HR2 cultures. Furthermore, HR2 clones were represented with enhanced activity of antioxidant enzymes (guaiacol peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) that resulted in suppression of oxidative stress markers (hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion and malondialdehyde). These observations revealed the involvement of an efficient antioxidant defense system in the adaptive response of HR to photooxidative stress. Altogether, photoperiod-exposed H. perforatum HR2 clones were considered as a promising alternative for further scale-up production of naphthodianthrones that could be used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Research-Gap-Spotting in Plum–Apricot Hybrids—Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activities, and Health Beneficial Properties
Authors: Popova Aneta , Mihaylova Dasha , Pandova Svetla , Doykina Pavlina
Published: May 2023

Plum–apricot hybrids are successful backcrosses of plums and apricots resulting in plumcots, pluots, and apriums. A topic search on plums, apricots, and plumcots shows that extensive information exists on the agro-morphology, genotyping, bioactive substances, and nutritive value of the genus Prunus, and plums and apricots, in particular. However, when search results for plum–apricot hybrids were evaluated for the period 2010–2023, only a few papers focused partially on the topic of their metabolomics. A database search (Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar) exposed that less than 10 articles/year appeared in Scopus on the topic of plum–apricot hybrids, 618 papers were found on Google Scholar (2010–2023), and only 2 results were found in PubMed for the same period using the same keywords. This shows the grand research opportunity and the need for providing a thorough chemical characterization of the existing plum–apricot hybrids. This review aims at schematizing the available information about plum–apricot hybrids (with reference to their parents), identifying the gaps about their bioactive compounds, antioxidant activities, and health beneficial properties, as well as pointing to future perspectives in terms of fruit hybrid characterization.
Nuclear Motion Is Classical: Spectra of Hydrogen Chloride and Ammonia
Authors: Frank Irmgard
Published: May 2023

The concept of classical nuclear motion is extremely successful in describing motion at the atomic scale. In describing chemical reactions, it is even far more convincing than the picture obtained by using the Schrödinger equation for time development. However, this theory must be subject to critical tests. In particular, it must be checked if vibrational and rotational spectra are obtained correctly. Particularly critical are the spectra of small molecules containing the light hydrogen atom, since they have a distinctive rotational structure. The present study presents computations of the spectra of ammonia and hydrogen chloride using ab initio molecular dynamics, that is, by describing nuclear motion classically.