bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physical Investigation of Deformation Behaviour of Single and Twin Tunnel under Static Loading Condition
Authors: Kumar Parvesh , Shrivastava Amit Kumar
Published: December 2021

This paper presents a new testing method for the problems encountered in field testing. To this end, single-tunnel and twin-tunnel small-scale rock models are prepared in the laboratory. A new methodology is proposed to encounter problems that are faced during field testing. The test results show that rock strength characteristics, overburden pressure, and tunnel spacing have important effects on the stability of underground structures. For rocks with poor strength properties, the damage degree is greater. When the strength property of rock changes, the deformation value of unlined tunnels changes from 21.05% to 27.58%, while that of lined tunnels changes from 11% to 21.42%. Also, in the twin tunnel, the deformation value reduces from 20% to 15.78% when the spacing between the tunnels is increased. For the measurement of stress and deformation in tunnels, the results obtained from experiments are analyzed. The method adopted in this study helps determine the tunnel’s design parameters to make it safe under overlying static loads. Finally, the key factors affecting the stability of underground structures are determined by simulating the field conditions through experimental research.
Time-Aware and Feature Similarity Self-Attention in Vessel Fuel Consumption Prediction
Authors: Park Hyun Joon , Lee Min Seok , Park Dong Il , Han Sung Won
Published: December 2021

An accurate vessel fuel consumption prediction is essential for constructing a ship route network and vessel management, leading to efficient sailings. Besides, ship data from monitoring and sensing systems accelerate fuel consumption prediction research. However, the ship data consist of three properties: sequential, irregular time interval, and feature importance, making the predicting problem challenging. In this paper, we propose Time-aware Attention (TA) and Feature-similarity Attention (FA) applied to bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). TA acquires time importance by nonlinear function from irregular time intervals in each sequence and emphasizes data depending on the importance. FA emphasizes data based on similarities of features in the sequence by estimating feature importance with learnable parameters. Finally, we propose the ensemble model of TA and FA-based BiLSTM. The ensemble model, which consists of fully connected layers, is capable of simultaneously capturing different properties of ship data. The experimental results on ship data showed that the proposed model improves the performance in predicting fuel consumption. In addition to model performance, visualization results of attention maps and feature importance help to understand data properties and model characteristics.
Framework for Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Distribution and Clustering of Drought Characteristics in Hunan Province
Authors: Huang Chunxiao , Hu Shunshi , Ali Baig Muhammad Hasan , Huang Ying
Published: December 2021

Drought is a widespread phenomenon in the context of global climate change. Owing to the geographical location of Hunan Province in the middle reaches of Yangtze River and the abundance of forests area in this region with a large population, there is a need to focus on the impacts of drought for devising policies. The spatiotemporal distribution scheme of a given area must be determined to plan water management and protect ecosystems effectively. This study proposes a framework for exploring the spatiotemporal distribution model of drought using comprehensive surveys of historical meteorological stations, which consists of two parts, namely the characteristics of drought extraction in the spatiotemporal distribution and drought models discovered by the clustering method. Firstly, we utilized the run theory to extract drought characteristics, such as drought duration, drought severity, and drought intensity. Secondly, the K-means clustering method was adopted to explore the distribution patterns on the basis of the drought characteristics. Lastly, the method was applied to Hunan Province. Results show that historical drought conditions can be monitored with their characteristics of spatiotemporal variability. Three drought distribution clusters exist in this region. Cluster 1 in western Hunan tends to be a long-term, low-intensity drought, cluster 2 in the southern part tends to be a short-term, high-intensity drought, and cluster 3 in the central part is prone to severe drought. The proposed framework is flexible as it allows parameters to be adjusted and extraction methods to achieve reasonable results for a given area.
Challenges of Biomass Utilization for Bioenergy in a Climate Change Scenario
Authors: Freitas Emanuelle , Salgado José , Alnoch Robson , Contato Alex , Habermann Eduardo , Michelin Michele , Martínez Carlos , Polizeli Maria
Published: December 2021

The climate changes expected for the next decades will expose plants to increasing occurrences of combined abiotic stresses, including drought, higher temperatures, and elevated CO2 atmospheric concentrations. These abiotic stresses have significant consequences on photosynthesis and other plants’ physiological processes and can lead to tolerance mechanisms that impact metabolism dynamics and limit plant productivity. Furthermore, due to the high carbohydrate content on the cell wall, plants represent a an essential source of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels production. Thus, it is necessary to estimate their potential as feedstock for renewable energy production in future climate conditions since the synthesis of cell wall components seems to be affected by abiotic stresses. This review provides a brief overview of plant responses and the tolerance mechanisms applied in climate change scenarios that could impact its use as lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy purposes. Important steps of biofuel production, which might influence the effects of climate change, besides biomass pretreatments and enzymatic biochemical conversions, are also discussed. We believe that this study may improve our understanding of the plant biological adaptations to combined abiotic stress and assist in the decision-making for selecting key agronomic crops that can be efficiently adapted to climate changes and applied in bioenergy production.
Mollusc N-glycosylation: Structures, Functions and Perspectives
Authors: Staudacher Erika
Published: December 2021

Molluscs display a sophisticated N-glycan pattern on their proteins, which is, in terms of involved structural features, even more diverse than that of vertebrates. This review summarises the current knowledge of mollusc N-glycan structures, with a focus on the functional aspects of the corresponding glycoproteins. Furthermore, the potential of mollusc-derived biomolecules for medical applications is addressed, emphasising the importance of mollusc research.
The Current State of Beta-Cell-Mass PET Imaging for Diabetes Research and Therapies
Authors: Cheung Pierre , Eriksson Olof
Published: December 2021

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease affecting over 400 million people worldwide and one of the leading causes of death, especially in developing nations. The disease is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, caused by defects in the insulin secretion or action pathway. Current diagnostic methods measure metabolic byproducts of the disease such as glucose level, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin or C-peptide levels, which are indicators of the beta-cell function. However, they inaccurately reflect the disease progression and provide poor longitudinal information. Beta-cell mass has been suggested as an alternative approach to study disease progression in correlation to beta-cell function, as it behaves differently in the diabetes physiopathology. Study of the beta-cell mass, however, requires highly invasive and potentially harmful procedures such as pancreatic biopsies, making diagnosis and monitoring of the disease tedious. Nuclear medical imaging techniques using radiation emitting tracers have been suggested as strong non-invasive tools for beta-cell mass. A highly sensitive and high-resolution technique, such as positron emission tomography, provides an ideal solution for the visualization of beta-cell mass, which is particularly essential for better characterization of a disease such as diabetes, and for estimating treatment effects towards regeneration of the beta-cell mass. Development of novel, validated biomarkers that are aimed at beta-cell mass imaging are thus highly necessary and would contribute to invaluable breakthroughs in the field of diabetes research and therapies. This review aims to describe the various biomarkers and radioactive probes currently available for positron emission tomography imaging of beta-cell mass, as well as highlight the need for precise quantification and visualization of the beta-cell mass for designing new therapy strategies and monitoring changes in the beta-cell mass during the progression of diabetes.
Optimized Technologies for Cointegration of MOS Transistor and Glucose Oxidase Enzyme on a Si-Wafer
Authors: Ravariu Cristian , Parvulescu Catalin Corneliu , Manea Elena , Tucureanu Vasilica
Published: December 2021

The biosensors that work with field effect transistors as transducers and enzymes as bio-receptors are called ENFET devices. In the actual paper, a traditional MOS-FET transistor is cointegrated with a glucose oxidase enzyme, offering a glucose biosensor. The manufacturing process of the proposed ENFET is optimized in the second iteration. Above the MOS gate oxide, the enzymatic bioreceptor as the glucose oxidase is entrapped onto the nano-structured TiO2 compound. This paper proposes multiple details for cointegration between MOS devices with enzymatic biosensors. The Ti conversion into a nanostructured layer occurs by anodization. Two cross-linkers are experimentally studied for a better enzyme immobilization. The final part of the paper combines experimental data with analytical models and extracts the calibration curve of this ENFET transistor, prescribing at the same time a design methodology.
Math Anxiety Is Related to Math Difficulties and Composed of Emotion Regulation and Anxiety Predisposition: A Network Analysis Study
Authors: Daches Cohen Lital , Korem Nachshon , Rubinsten Orly
Published: December 2021

Current evidence suggests emotion regulation is an important factor in both math anxiety and math performance, but the interplay between these constructs is unexamined. Given the multicomponent structure of math anxiety, emotion regulation, and math performance, here, we aimed to provide a comprehensive model of the underlying nature of the links between these latent variables. Using the innovative network analysis approach, the study visualized the underlying links between directly observable and measurable variables that might be masked by traditional statistical approaches. One hundred and seventeen adults completed a battery of tests and questionnaires on math anxiety, emotion regulation, and math performance. The results revealed: (1) state math anxiety (the emotional experience in math-related situations), rather than trait math anxiety, was linked to anxiety predisposition, subjective valence of math information, and difficulties in emotion regulation; (2) the link between state math anxiety and math performance partialed out the link between trait math anxiety and performance. The study innovatively demonstrates the need to differentiate between traits and tendencies to the actual emotional experience and emotion regulation used in math anxiety. The results have important implications for the theoretical understanding of math anxiety and future discussions and work in the field.
Explicit Dynamic Analysis by a Rigid Body-Spring Model of Impact Loads of Artillery on Middle Age Fortifications
Authors: Tateo Vito , Casolo Siro
Published: December 2021

The development of artillery in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages brought a necessary change in military architecture. This change was a radical rethinking of the entire geometry and architectural design of city walls which required an increase in thickness to resist repeated artillery strikes. The damage due to the impact loads on Middle Age fortification walls is analyzed herein with explicit dynamic analyses. This study was developed both with finite element models and an innovative rigid body-spring model with diagonal springs (RBSM), showing the different peculiarities of these two different approaches and how their results can be integrated. The numerical models clearly showed that the presence of an inner core of softer material tends to modify the impact effects by reducing the degree of damage at the expense of an extension of the damaged area.
Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Ficus elastica Mediated Zinc Oxide-Zirconium Dioxide Nanocatalyst at Elevated Calcination Temperature: Physicochemical Study
Authors: Haq Sirajul , Afsar Humma , Din Israf Ud , Ahmad Pervaiz , Khandaker Mayeen Uddin , Osman Hamid , Alamri Sultan , Shahzad Muhammad Imran , Shahzad Nadia , Rehman Wajid , Waseem Muhammad
Published: December 2021

The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine 6G dye was achieved using a Ficus elastica (F. elastic) leaf extract mediated zinc oxide-zirconium dioxide nanocatalyst (ZnO-ZrO2 NC) under stimulated solar light, resulting in a substantial increase in photocatalytic activity at the highest calcination temperature. The crystal phase and crystallite size were determined using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and the degree of crystallinity was observed to rise with increasing calcination temperature. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) was used to investigate the elemental composition and purity of ZnO-ZrO2 NC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the surface morphology, and the morphological characteristics were altered when the calcination temperature was varied. For the ZnO-ZrO2 NC calcined at 100, 300, 600, and 900 °C, the average grain size determined from SEM images is 79.56 nm, 98.78 (2) nm, 54.86 (2) nm, and 67.43 (2) nm, respectively. Using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) data, the optical band gap energy was calculated using a Tauc’s plot. The ZnO in ZnO-ZrO2 NC calcined at 100, 300, 600, and 900 °C had band gap energies of 3.31, 3.36, 3.38, and 3.29 eV. Similarly, ZrO2 in ZnO-ZrO2 NC calcined at 100, 300, 600, and 900 °C had band gap energies of 3.96, 3.99, 3.97, and 4.01 eV, respectively. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to identify the presence of various functional groups. The photocatalytic activity was also examined in relation to calcination temperature, pH, starting concentration, and catalyst dosage. Enhanced photocatalytic activity was observed at pH 11 and 15 ppm initial concentration with a catalyst dose of 25 mg. The photocatalytic activity of the sample calcined at 900 °C was the highest, with 98.94 percent of the dye mineralized in 330 min at a degradation rate of 0.01261/min.
In Situ Growth of Exsolved Nanoparticles under Varying rWGS Reaction Conditions—A Catalysis and Near Ambient Pressure-XPS Study
Authors: Lindenthal Lorenz , Huber Joel , Drexler Hedda , Ruh Thomas , Rameshan Raffael , Schrenk Florian , Löffler Stefan , Rameshan Christoph
Published: December 2021

Perovskite-type oxides are highly flexible materials that show properties that are beneficial for application in reverse water-gas shift processes (rWGS). Due to their stable nature, the ability to incorporate catalytically active dopants in their lattice structure, and the corresponding feature of nanoparticle exsolution, they are promising candidates for a materials design approach. On an industrial level, the rWGS has proven to be an excellent choice for the efficient utilisation of CO2 as an abundant and renewable carbon source, reflected by the current research on novel and improved catalyst materials. In the current study, a correlation between rWGS reaction environments (CO2 to H2 ratios and temperature), surface morphology, and catalytic activity of three perovskite catalysts (Nd0.6Ca0.4Fe0.9Co0.1O3-δ, Nd0.6Ca0.4Fe0.97Co0.03O3-δ, and Nd0.6Ca0.4Fe0.97Ni0.03O3-δ) is investigated, combining catalytic measurements with SEM and NAP-XPS. The materials were found to react dynamically to the conditions showing both activation due to in situ nanoparticle exsolution and deactivation via CaCO3 formation. This phenomenon could be influenced by choice of material and conditions: less reductive conditions (larger CO2 to H2 or lower temperature) lead to smaller exsolved particles and reduced carbonate formation. However, the B-site doping was also important; only with 10% Co-doping, a predominant activation could be achieved.
Roadmap of Effects of Biowaste-Synthesized Carbon Nanomaterials on Carbon Nano-Reinforced Composites
Authors: Thippeswamy Bhavana H. , Maligi Anantha Sunil , Hegde Gurumurthy
Published: December 2021

Sustainable growth can be achieved by recycling waste material into useful resources without affecting the natural ecosystem. Among all nanomaterials, carbon nanomaterials from biowaste are used for various applications. The pyrolysis process is one of the eco-friendly ways for synthesizing such carbon nanomaterials. Recently, polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) filled with biowaste-based carbon nanomaterials attracted a lot of attention due to their enhanced mechanical properties. A variety of polymers, such as thermoplastics, thermosetting polymers, elastomers, and their blends, can be used in the formation of composite materials. This review summarizes the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials, polymer nanocomposites, and mechanical properties of PNCs. The review also focuses on various biowaste-based precursors, their nanoproperties, and turning them into proper composites. PNCs show improved mechanical properties by varying the loading percentages of carbon nanomaterials, which are vital for many defence- and aerospace-related industries. Different synthesis processes are used to achieve enhanced ultimate tensile strength and modulus. The present review summarizes the last 5 years’ work in detail on these PNCs and their applications.
Effect of Metal Sequestrants on the Decomposition of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate
Authors: Broemmelsiek Emil J. , Rovey Joshua L. , Berg Steven P.
Published: December 2021

Hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) is an energetic salt used in flight-proven green monopropellants such as ASCENT (formerly AF-M315E), flown in NASA’s 2019 Green Propellant Infusion Mission, and SHP163, flown in JAXA’s Rapid Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1. The decomposition of HAN is catalyzed by metals commonly found in storage tanks, a factor limiting its use. This work investigates the ability of metal-sequestering chelating agents to inhibit the decomposition of HAN. Isothermal and dynamic thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to find isothermal decomposition rates, decomposition onset temperatures, and first-order Arrhenius reaction rate parameters. In the present research, 2,2′-bipyridine (Bipy), triethanolamine (TEA), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were studied as 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5% by weight additives in 90% aqueous HAN. An isothermal decomposition rate of 0.137%/h at 348 K was observed for HAN. The addition of 1% Bipy and 1% TEA reduced the isothermal decomposition rate by 20.4% to 0.109%/h, and by 3.65% to 0.132%/h, respectively, showing that Bipy can inhibit decomposition. The addition of 1% EDTA increased the isothermal decomposition rate by 12.4% to 0.154%/h. Bipy was found to increase the decomposition onset temperature from 454.8 K to 461.8 K, while the results for TEA and EDTA were inconclusive. First order reaction rates calculated by the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method were found to be insufficient to capture the effects of the tested additives. Bipy was found to inhibit the decomposition of HAN, while TEA and EDTA produced little or negative effect, a result believed to be due to poor metal complex stability at low pH and high acidity, respectively. Spectrophotometry, used for colorimetric analysis of Bipy+iron complexes, showed that Bipy forms chelate complexes with trace iron impurities when added to HAN solutions.
pH-Dependent Selective Colorimetric Detection of Proline and Hydroxyproline with Meldrum’s Acid-Furfural Conjugate
Authors: Zeußel Lisa , Aziz Carlos , Schober Andreas , Singh Sukhdeep
Published: December 2021

Activated 2-furfural gives intense color formation when reacted with amines, due to a ring opening reaction cascade that furnishes a conjugated molecular system. Unique colorimetric characteristic of this reaction makes it an interesting candidate for developing chemosensors operating in visible range. Among many activated 2-furfural derivatives, Meldrum’s acid furfural conjugate (MAFC) recently gained significant interest as colorimetric chemosensor. MAFC has been explored as selective chemosensor for detecting amines in solution, secondary amines on polymer surfaces and even nitrogen rich amino acids (AA) in aqueous solution. In this work, the pH dependency of MAFC-AA reaction is explored. It was found that proline gives an exceptionally fast colored reaction at pH 11, whereas at other pHs, no naked eye color product formation was observed. The reaction sequence including ring opening reaction upon nucleophilic addition of cyclic amine of proline resulting in a conjugated triene was confirmed by NMR titrations. The highly pH dependent reaction can e.g., potentially be used to detect proline presence in biological samples. An even more intense color formation takes place in the reaction of natural proline derivative 4-hydroxyproline. The detection limit of proline and 4-hydroxyproline with MAFC solution was found to be 11 µM and 6 µM respectively.
Educational Pain Points for Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors: Review of Risks and Remedies
Authors: Stavinoha Peter L. , Trinh-Wong Thuy , Rodriguez Laura N. , Stewart Chawncey M. , Frost Kris
Published: December 2021

Evolving treatment paradigms have led to increased survival rates for children diagnosed with a brain tumor, and this has increasingly shifted clinical and research focus to morbidity and quality of life among survivors. Among unfavorable outcomes, survivors of pediatric brain tumors are at risk for academic failure and low educational attainment, which may then contribute to lower health related quality of life, lower income and vocational status, and a greater likelihood of dependence on others in adulthood. Several specific risk factors for lower educational performance and attainment have been investigated. These are typically examined in isolation from one another which clouds understanding of the full range and potential interplay of contributors to educational difficulties. This review integrates and summarizes what is known about the direct and indirect barriers to educational success and performance (i.e., educational pain points) to enhance clinician knowledge of factors to consider when working with pediatric brain tumor survivors. Specific barriers to educational success include neurocognitive difficulties, school absences, psychosocial challenges, challenges to knowledge and communication, and physical and sensory difficulties. Finally, we discuss the current state of educational interventions and supports and offer recommendations for future research to improve educational outcomes for pediatric brain tumor survivors.
Towards Consensus on Good Practices for the Use of New Technologies for Intervention and Support in Developmental Dyslexia: A Delphi Study Conducted among Italian Specialized Professionals
Authors: Lorusso Maria Luisa , Borasio Francesca , Da Rold Martina , Martinuzzi Andrea
Published: December 2021

The use of new technologies for intervention in developmental dyslexia is steadily growing. In order to better understand the needs, the expectations, and the attitudes of Italian expert health professionals concerning such technologies, a national survey was conducted applying the Delphi methodology. Ad-hoc questionnaires were sent out to a group of eighteen experts over three successive rounds, and anonymously collected responses were aggregated and shared with the group after each round, aiming to reach a consensus on the proposed response. The goal was to define a series of statements that could form the basis for international “good practices” in the use of technologies for intervention to support dyslexia in children and adolescents. In the first round, the experts’ general opinions were collected with both multiple choice and open questions, and in the second round consensus was assessed on a series of statements based on the first replies. The cut-off of 75% consensus on each statement was reached after three rounds. Fifteen experts completed all the rounds of the process, and a final version of the statements regarding good practice in the use of technologies for dyslexia could be defined.
Increasing Prevalence of Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Arab Youth: A Time-Series Study from 2010–2019
Authors: Amer Osama E. , Sabico Shaun , Khattak Malak N. K. , Alnaami Abdullah M. , Aljohani Naji J. , Alfawaz Hanan , AlHameidi Abdulaziz , Al-Daghri Nasser M.
Published: December 2021

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiometabolic disorders, mostly studied in adults with certain ethnic groups, such as Arabs with higher predisposition and heritability. In this time-series study, we tried to determine the prevalence of MetS in the Arabic pediatric population from 2010–2019 to gauge the need to intervene in the younger population. Methods: A total of 7985 Saudi school children aged 12–18 coming from different sets of cohorts in different timepoints were included in this time-series studies (Year 2010, n = 2081, 877 boys and 1204 girls; Year 2015, n = 3360, 1625 boys and 1735 girls, Year 2019, n = 2544, 956 boys and 1588 girls). Anthropometrics were measured as well as fasting blood samples for the assessment of lipids and glucose. Screening for MetS was conducted using the pediatric definition obtained from the 2004 definition of de Ferranti et al. Results: In 2010, the prevalence of MetS was 11.8%, which increased sharply to 20.1% in 2015 and again in 2019 to 20.6%. Stratified according to sex, the increased prevalence of MetS was more evident in boys with only 7.8% in 2010 jumping to 25.3% in 2019. In girls, the increase in prevalence was modest with 14.8% in 2010 to 17.7% in 2019. In both boys and girls, the highest increase in prevalence among MetS components was observed to be low HDL-cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and central obesity, respectively. Conclusions: The alarming increase in pediatric MetS among Arab children and adolescents over a short timespan have significant clinical and economic implications if not addressed immediately. Health policy makers should implement lifestyle interventions aimed at high-risk children or overweight youths.
Attitudes and Perceptions of School Teachers in Melilla Regarding the Care Provided to Students with Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Luque-Vara Trinidad , Fernández-Gómez Elisabet , Linares-Manrique Marta , Navarro-Prado Silvia , Sánchez-Ojeda María Angustias , Enrique-Mirón Carmen
Published: December 2021

The main objective of the study was to assess the perception of non-university teachers in the city of Melilla to help students with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), as well as their attitudes towards helping these students in diabetic emergencies. This observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study analyzed the answers given by 441 teachers from 25 public institutions in the city of Melilla to a survey on the attitude and perception regarding the capacity of educational institutions (16 questions) to help and manage students with T1DM. Out of 47.6% of teachers who represent having had students with TIDM, only 4.8% acknowledged having been trained in diabetes. The percentage that has experienced a hypoglycaemia episode at the institution was 29.9%. More than half of participants acknowledged that their educational institution is not prepared to manage diabetic emergencies. Only 5.7% stated their institutions have glucagon in their first-aid kit and less than half of participants (44.7%) would be willing to administer it if necessary. Teachers of educational institutions believe they have not been particularly trained in the care of students living with T1DM and point out that their educational institutions are not prepared to help in diabetic emergencies.
Unraveling Variations in Celiac Trunk and Hepatic Artery by CT Angiography to Aid in Surgeries of Upper Abdominal Region
Authors: Malviya Kapil Kumar , Verma Ashish , Nayak Amit Kumar , Mishra Anand , More Raghunath Shahaji
Published: December 2021

Understanding of variations in the course and source of abdominal arteries is crucial for any surgical intervention in the peritoneal space. Intricate surgeries of the upper abdominal region, such as hepato-biliary, pancreatic, gastric and splenic surgeries, require precise knowledge of regular anatomy and different variations related to celiac trunk and hepatic artery. In addition, information about the origin of inferior phrenic artery is important in conditions such as hepatocellular carcinoma and gastroesophageal bleeding management. The present study gives an account of anatomical variations in origin and branching pattern of celiac trunk and hepatic artery by the use of CT (computed tomographic) angiography. The study was performed on 110 (66 females and 44 males) patients in a north Indian population. Results unraveled the most common celiac trunk variation as hepatosplenic trunk with left gastric artery, which was observed in 60% of cases, more common in females than in males. Gastrosplenic and hepato-gastric trunk could be seen in 4.55% and 1.82% cases respectively. Gastrosplenic trunk was more commonly found in females, whereas hepato-gastric trunk was more common in males. A gastrosplenic trunk, along with the hepato-mesenteric trunk, was observed in 1.82% cases and was more common in males. A celiacomesenteric trunk, in which the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery originated as a common trunk from the aorta, was seen only in 0.91% of cases, and exhibited an origin of right and left inferior phrenic artery from the left gastric artery. The most common variation of hepatic artery, in which the right hepatic artery was replaced and originated from the superior mesenteric artery, was observed in 3.64%, cases with a more common occurrence in males. In 1.82% cases, the left hepatic artery was replaced and originated from the left gastric artery, which was observed only in females. Common hepatic artery originated from the superior mesenteric artery, as observed in 1.82% cases, with slightly higher occurrence in males. These findings not only add to the existing knowledge apart from giving an overview of variations in north Indian population, but also give an account of their correlation with gender. The present study will prove to be important for various surgeries of the upper abdominal region.
Polyp Detection from Colorectum Images by Using Attentive YOLOv5
Authors: Wan Jingjing , Chen Bolun , Yu Yongtao
Published: December 2021

Background: High-quality colonoscopy is essential to prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancers. The data of colonoscopy are mainly stored in the form of images. Therefore, artificial intelligence-assisted colonoscopy based on medical images is not only a research hotspot, but also one of the effective auxiliary means to improve the detection rate of adenomas. This research has become the focus of medical institutions and scientific research departments and has important clinical and scientific research value. Methods: In this paper, we propose a YOLOv5 model based on a self-attention mechanism for polyp target detection. This method uses the idea of regression, using the entire image as the input of the network and directly returning the target frame of this position in multiple positions of the image. In the feature extraction process, an attention mechanism is added to enhance the contribution of information-rich feature channels and weaken the interference of useless channels; Results: The experimental results show that the method can accurately identify polyp images, especially for the small polyps and the polyps with inconspicuous contrasts, and the detection speed is greatly improved compared with the comparison algorithm. Conclusions: This study will be of great help in reducing the missed diagnosis of clinicians during endoscopy and treatment, and it is also of great significance to the development of clinicians’ clinical work.
Two Needle Passes Achieve Similar Diagnostic Yield Compared to Three Passes Regarding Diagnosis of Solid Pancreatic Lesions in Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration
Authors: Koukoulioti Eleni , Tziatzios Georgios , Tadic Mario , Dimitriadis Stavros , Gkolfakis Paraskevas , Politi Ekaterini , Stoos-Veic Tajana , Turcic Petra , Chatzidakis Alexandros , Lazaridis Lazaros-Dimitrios , Farmaki Maria , Vezakis Antonios , Triantafyllou Konstantinos , Polydorou Andreas , Papanikolaou Ioannis S.
Published: December 2021

Current guidelines advocate 3–4 passes with a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) to achieve high rates of diagnostic samples for malignancy when performing endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided sampling of solid pancreatic lesions, in the absence of on-site cytologic evaluation. The aim of this study is to compare 2 vs. 3 needle passes in EUS-FNA for solid pancreatic lesions in terms of incremental diagnostic yield and to identify factors associated with the procedure’s outcome. In this retrospective study, 2 passes of EUS-FNA were found to have similar diagnostic yield compared to 3 passes for the diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses, suggesting that there might be no significant incremental tissue yield when 3 passes are performed.
Understanding Different Approaches to ECE Pedagogy through Tensions
Authors: Kangas Jonna , Ukkonen-Mikkola Tuulikki , Harju-Luukkainen Heidi , Ranta Samuli , Chydenius Heidi , Lahdenperä Jaana , Neitola Marita , Kinos Jarmo , Sajaniemi Nina , Ruokonen Inkeri
Published: December 2021

The concept of pedagogy is the key to understanding pedagogy in early childhood education (ECE) in the Nordic countries, which are known for their high quality of life and education. However, in ECE, there are several different approaches toward pedagogy and it can be said that pedagogy is a multidimensional and dynamic concept. In this paper, the different approaches to pedagogy are defined and reconceptualized through an integrative literature analysis focusing on scientific papers and research reports of the concept. Five approaches to pedagogy were constructed: pedagogy through interaction, pedagogy through scaffolding, pedagogy through didactics, pedagogy through expertise, and pedagogy through future orientation. The identified tensions and elements within the five approaches are presented. Finally, the shared elements among these pedagogical approaches are presented in a dynamic model.
Lesson Study as a Means to Change Secondary Preservice Physics Teachers’ Practice in the Use of Multiple Representations in Teaching
Authors: Conceição Teresa , Baptista Mónica , Ponte João Pedro
Published: December 2021

Multiple representations, such as experimental data, schemas, tables, and graphs, are an essential resource in science teaching. However, their use in the classroom typically poses a challenge for preservice teachers. The aim of this research is to examine changes in the practices of a group of preservice teachers regarding the use of multiple representations in the teaching of kinetic energy to 9th grade students, when this training is included in their initial teacher education program. For this purpose, a collaborative, reflexive, and student-learning centered approach, namely, a lesson study with three cycles, was implemented. A descriptive and content analysis for qualitative data collected showed improvement in the practices of the preservice teachers, namely on the representations both of the event that represents the “real” world, as well as of the scientific concepts. The results obtained contribute to deepening the knowledge on the use of multiple representations by preservice teachers, as well as to increasing the knowledge on using lesson study to develop the ability to use multiple representations during initial teacher education.
Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving System for Genomic Data Management Using Local Differential Privacy
Authors: Park Young-Hoon , Kim Yejin , Shim Junho
Published: December 2021

The advances made in genome technology have resulted in significant amounts of genomic data being generated at an increasing speed. As genomic data contain various privacy-sensitive information, security schemes that protect confidentiality and control access are essential. Many security techniques have been proposed to safeguard healthcare data. However, these techniques are inadequate for genomic data management because of their large size. Additionally, privacy problems due to the sharing of gene data are yet to be addressed. In this study, we propose a secure genomic data management system using blockchain and local differential privacy (LDP). The proposed system employs two types of storage: private storage for internal staff and semi-private storage for external users. In private storage, because encrypted gene data are stored, only internal employees can access the data. Meanwhile, in semi-private storage, gene data are irreversibly modified by LDP. Through LDP, different noises are added to each section of the genomic data. Therefore, even though the third party uses or exposes the shared data, the owner’s privacy is guaranteed. Furthermore, the access control for each storage is ensured by the blockchain, and the gene owner can trace the usage and sharing status using a decentralized application in a mobile device.
IPGM: Inertial Proximal Gradient Method for Convolutional Dictionary Learning
Authors: Li Jing , Wei Xiao , Wang Fengpin , Wang Jinjia
Published: December 2021

Inspired by the recent success of the proximal gradient method (PGM) and recent efforts to develop an inertial algorithm, we propose an inertial PGM (IPGM) for convolutional dictionary learning (CDL) by jointly optimizing both an ℓ2-norm data fidelity term and a sparsity term that enforces an ℓ1 penalty. Contrary to other CDL methods, in the proposed approach, the dictionary and needles are updated with an inertial force by the PGM. We obtain a novel derivative formula for the needles and dictionary with respect to the data fidelity term. At the same time, a gradient descent step is designed to add an inertial term. The proximal operation uses the thresholding operation for needles and projects the dictionary to a unit-norm sphere. We prove the convergence property of the proposed IPGM algorithm in a backtracking case. Simulation results show that the proposed IPGM achieves better performance than the PGM and slice-based methods that possess the same structure and are optimized using the alternating-direction method of multipliers (ADMM).
The Human—Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System Based on SSVEP—Brain Computer Interface
Authors: Chung Ming-An , Lin Chia-Wei , Chang Chih-Tsung
Published: December 2021

The brain–computer interface (BCI) is a mechanism for extracting information from the brain, with this information used for various applications. This study proposes a method to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying through a BCI system using the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) approach. The UAV’s screen emits three frequencies for visual stimulation: 15, 23, and 31 Hz for the UAV’s left-turn, forward-flight, and right-turn functions. Due to the requirement of immediate response to the UAV flight, this paper proposes a method to improve the accuracy rate and reduce the time required to correct instruction errors in the resolution of brainwave signals received by UAVs. This study tested ten subjects and verified that the proposed method has a 10% improvement inaccuracy. While the traditional method can take 8 s to correct an error, the proposed method requires only 1 s, making it more suitable for practical applications in UAVs. Furthermore, such a BCI application for UAV systems can achieve the same experience of using the remote control for physically challenged patients.
An Adaptive Routing Framework for Efficient Power Consumption in Software-Defined Datacenter Networks
Authors: Nsaif Mohammed , Kovásznai Gergely , Rácz Anett , Malik Ali , de Fréin Ruairí
Published: December 2021

Data Center Networks (DCNs) form the backbone of many Internet applications and services that have become necessary in daily life. Energy consumption causes both economic and environmental issues. It is reported that 10% of global energy consumption is due to ICT and network usage. Computer networking equipment is designed to accommodate network traffic; however, the level of use of the equipment is not necessarily proportional to the power consumed by it. For example, DCNs do not always run at full capacity yet the fact that they are supporting a lighter load is not mirrored by a reduction in energy consumption. DCNs have been shown to unnecessarily over-consume energy when they are not fully loaded. In this paper, we propose a new framework that reduces power consumption in software-defined DCNs. The proposed approach is composed of a new Integer Programming model and a heuristic link utility-based algorithm that strikes a balance between energy consumption and performance. We evaluate the proposed framework using an experimental platform, which consists of an optimization tool called LinGo for solving convex and non-convex optimization problems, the POX controller and the Mininet network emulator. Compared with the state-of-the-art approach, the equal cost multi-path algorithm, the results show that the proposed method reduces the power consumption by up to 10% when the network is experiencing a high traffic load and 63.3% when the traffic load is low. Based on these results, we outline how machine learning approaches could be used to further improve our approach in future work.
Revisiting Symptom-Based Fault Tolerant Techniques against Soft Errors
Authors: So Hwisoo , Didehban Moslem , Ko Yohan , Jeyapaul Reiley , Kim Jongho , Kim Youngbin , Lee Kyoungwoo , Shrivastava Aviral
Published: December 2021

Aggressive technology scaling and near-threshold computing have made soft error reliability one of the leading design considerations in modern embedded microprocessors. Although traditional hardware/software redundancy-based schemes can provide a high level of protection, they incur significant overheads in terms of performance and hardware resources. The considerable overheads from such full redundancy-based techniques has motivated researchers to propose low-cost soft error protection schemes, such as symptom-based error protection schemes. The main idea behind a symptom-based error protection scheme is that soft errors in the system will quickly generate some symptoms, such as exceptions, branch mispredictions, cache or TLB misses, or unpredictable variable values. Therefore, monitoring such infrequent symptoms makes it possible to cover the manifestation of failures caused by soft errors. Symptom-based protection schemes have been suggested as shortcuts to achieve acceptable reliability with comparable overheads. Since the symptom-based protection schemes seem attractive due to their generality and simplicity, even state-of-the-art protection schemes exploit them as the baseline protections. However, our detailed analysis of the fault coverage and performance overheads of such schemes reveals that the user-visible failure coverage, particularly of ReStore, is limited (29% on average). By contrast, the runtime overheads are significant (40% on average) because the majority of the fault injection experiments, which were considered as detected/recovered failures by low-level symptoms, are actually benign faults by program-level masking effects.
GaAs-Based Serial-Input-Parallel-Output Interfaces for Microwave Core-Chips
Authors: Ramella Chiara , Estebsari Motahhareh , Nasri Abbas , Pirola Marco
Published: December 2021

Microwave core-chips are highly integrated MMICs that are in charge of all the beam-shaping functions of a transmit-receive module within a phased array system. Such chips include switches, amplifiers and attenuators, phase shifters, and possibly other elements, each to be controlled by external digital signals. Given the large number of control lines to be integrated in a core-chip, the embedding of a serial to parallel interface is indispensable. Digital design in compound semiconductor technology is still rather challenging due to the absence of complementary devices and the availability of a limited number of metallization layers. Moreover, in large arrays, high chip yield and repeatability are required. This paper discusses and compares challenges and solutions for the key sub-circuits of GaAs serial to parallel converters for core-chip applications, reviewing the pros and cons of the different implementations proposed in the literature.
Design and Analysis of Wideband Flexible Self-Isolating MIMO Antennas for Sub-6 GHz 5G and WLAN Smartphone Terminals
Authors: Kulkarni Jayshri , Alharbi Abdullah G. , Desai Arpan , Sim Chow-Yen-Desmond , Poddar Ajay
Published: December 2021

A single radiator that is a part of four-port diversity Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna design is composed of four octagonal rings embedded between the two opposite sides of a T-shaped conductive layer surrounded by inverted angular edge cut L-shaped and E-shaped structures. The radiators are placed at the four corners with common ground at the center of a smartphone to form a four-element mobile MIMO antenna. The printing of the antenna is carried out on the flexible polyamide substrate (dielectric constant = 3.5 and loss tangent = 0.0027) with dimensions of 70 × 145 × 0.2 mm3. A wide impedance bandwidth of (84.12%) 2.39 to 5.86 GHz is achieved for all four radiators. The compact size of the radiators along with their placement enables the proposed MIMO antenna to occupy much less area while preserving the space for 2G/3G/4G antennas. The placement of the antennas results in self-isolation between antenna elements by achieving isolation greater than 17.5 dB in the desired operating bands. Furthermore, besides showing a high efficiency of 85% and adequate gain above 4 dBi, good diversity performances such as Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) of less than 0.05, Diversity Gain (DG) of above 9.8 dB, Mean Effective Gain (MEG) of −3.1 dB, Channel Capacity of 21.50 bps/Hz, and Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC) of below −10 dB are achieved by the flexible MIMO smartphone antenna. The effect of bending along the X and Y-axis on the performance of the proposed MIMO antenna is also analyzed where decent performance is observed. This makes the proposed flexible four-element MIMO antenna a potential candidate to be deployed in future smartphones.