bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A hidden population of active galactic nuclei can explain the overabundance of luminous z > 10 objects observed by JWST
Authors: Hegde Sahil , Wyatt Michael M. , Furlanetto Steven R.
Published: August 2024

The first wave of observations with JWST has revealed a striking overabundance of luminous galaxies at early times (z > 10) compared to models of galaxies calibrated to pre-JWST data. Early observations have also uncovered a large population of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at z > 6. Because many of the high-z objects appear extended, the contribution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to the total luminosity has been assumed to be negligible. In this work, we use a semi-empirical model for assigning AGNs to galaxies to show that active galaxies can boost the stellar luminosity function (LF) enough to solve the overabundance problem while simultaneously remaining consistent with the observed morphologies of high-z sources. We construct a model for the composite AGN+galaxy LF by connecting dark matter halo masses to galaxy and SMBH masses and luminosities, accounting for dispersion in the mapping between host galaxy and SMBH mass and luminosity. By calibrating the model parameters — which characterize the M
∙
-M* relation — to a compilation of z > 10 JWST UVLF data, we show that AGN emission can account for the excess luminosity under a variety of scenarios, including one where 10% of galaxies host BHs of comparable luminosities to their stellar components. Using a sample of simulated objects and real observations, we demonstrate that such low-luminosity AGNs can be `hidden' in their host galaxies and be missed in common morphological analyses. We find that for this explanation to be viable, our model requires a population of BHs that are overmassive (M
∙
/M* ~ 10-2) with respect to their host galaxies compared to the local relation and are more consistent with the observed relation at z = 4-8. We explore the implications of this model for BH seed properties and comment on observational diagnostics necessary to further investigate this explanation.
Comment on ‘Relationship between magnetic field and tokamak size—a system engineering perspective and implications to fusion development’
Authors: Creely A.J. , Brunner D. , Eich T. , Greenwald M.J. , LaBombard B. , Mumgaard R.T. , Segal M. , Sorbom B.N. , Whyte D.G.
Published: August 2024

The recent Federici et al (2024 Nucl. Fusion
64 036025) article makes the argument that higher magnetic fields cannot reduce the size and cost of a tokamak-based fusion power plant due to: structural considerations of the toroidal field (TF) coils, the required thickness for neutron shielding and the blanket, and challenges with heat exhaust in the divertor. This conclusion is based on a series of assumptions that are design decisions made by the authors, not fundamental limits on physics or engineering. This Comment demonstrates that the conclusions of Federici et al are invalid if one makes different design choices and that its results are therefore not broadly generalizable.
Design of switching system between LED light and pulsed laser at the cold light source end of hysteroscopy
Authors: Wang JR , Ge CH , Wang QB , Zou GS , Zhang XM , Yi H , Zhang YL , Wu SL , Li H
Published: August 2024

With the development of photoacoustic imaging technology, photoacoustic imaging technology has the advantages of noninvasiveness, high resolution, high imaging speed, etc., and shows a broad application prospect in tumor tissue detection. As a tool for endometrial cancer screening, hysteroscopy, combined with photoacoustic imaging technology, is also radiation-free compared to other detection means, providing a better screening tool for uterine disease screening. Since hysteroscopy has only one light source incident end, in order to detect conveniently and save time and effort, we need to observe both the photoacoustic signal and the internal uterine condition for subsequent treatment, for this reason, this paper proposes a scheme to change the incident light source by using the rotating light source toggle switch of the reflector to collect the photoacoustic signal inversion image and the observation image of the cold light source of LED on the agar block samples and the isolated tissues, respectively, for image comparison. Image comparisons were performed. The experimental results show that this scheme achieves the expected effect, which can not only examine the photoacoustic signal of abnormal tissue to obtain its inverse image, but also directly observe and acquire images of the site, which is expected to be applied to the screening and clinical treatment of intrauterine diseases.
Study on Strength Behavior of Expansive Soil Stabilized with Dune Sand and Sodium Silicate
Authors: Mahdi Hayder A. , Ahmed Balqees A. , Ahmed Mahmood D.
Published: August 2024

When designing structures constructed on soil that undergoes volumetric changes due to variations in its moisture content, the upward pressure exerted by the soil poses a risk to the safety of the facilities. A significant number of researchers are looking into solutions to either treat these soils or lessen the detrimental consequences they have. One treatment option involves stabilizing these soils by adding low-expansion soil or materials, which can impact their swell characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the effect that the addition of dune sand and sodium silicate material would have on the swellability and strength behaviour of swellable bentonite soil. Soil samples were prepared containing bentonite soil (68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82), dune sand (11%, 12%, and 15%), and sodium silicate (0%, 4%, 6%, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, and 21%), to Get different soils with varying swelling capacities. The increased addition rates of sodium silicate significantly affected the soil’s swelling qualities. This was evident in the decrease in swelling pressure, as assessed by the free swelling method, from 882 kPa to 38 kPa, despite the drop in the percentage of dune sand. The change also resulted in modifications to the mechanical test results. The value of Cc decreased from 0.29 to 0.21 when sodium silicate was added at a rate of 11%. Similarly, the value of Cs decreased from 0.032 to 0.024 when sodium silicate was added at 14%. Additionally, the shear strength parameter Cu increased from 110 kN/m2 to 261 kN/m2 when sodium silicate was added at a rate of 4%. Furthermore, the value of Φ increased from 10o to 41o when sodium silicate was added at 11%. The Atterberg limit’s swelling indicators also went down. The addition of 10% sodium silicate is an optimal solution for decreasing soil swelling and enhancing the mechanical characteristics of the soil, even at modest rates of dune sand addition.
Methodology for landslide risk assessment – a case study of the Poroj River catchment area
Authors: Jovanovski Milorad , Peshevski Igor , Nedelkovska Natasha , Papic Jovan Br.
Published: August 2024

The article presents basic elements of methodology for landslide risk assessment applied for a case study of the Poroj River catchment area in Macedonia. This region is known as very vulnerable and susceptible to landslide, erosion and flood phenomena, with high level of risks over affected population and infrastructure. Main elements of risk assessment are related to: preparation of shallow landslide susceptibility models, calculation of slope stability and probability of failure of large deep landslide Gjermo located in the middle of catchment area, using the software RocPlane, estimation of eroded volume of landslide with a risk of a damming of the river and determination of possible consequences due to these events. The presented methodology also includes elements of detecting unstable zones applying Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar technology. Several consequences with the landslide probability classes are defined, and they are combined as pairs of values in a risk matrix. Results are presented in a form of susceptibility maps for several scenarios (in relation to the values of the geotechnical parameters and the saturation degree of the ground) and the final landslide risk map. The obtained susceptibility maps show that shallow landslides models depend a lot on the saturation degree, but in the analyzed cases, it is evident that the area of Gjermo village landslide is in the zones where the safety factor F<1. From the prepared landslide risk map it is evident that the area of Gjermo village is at the highest risk. The surrounding area of the village, where some houses can be affected together with local infrastructure and the zone around the Hydro Power Plant - HPP3 are at medium risk, and the rest of the catchment area is at low risk because there is no population or infrastructure to be affected by possible sliding. The prepared maps can be used in the design of protection measures necessary to reduce the possible consequences.
Comparison Between Circular Sewer Pipe and Non-Circular Sewer Cross Sections
Authors: Wirya Abdulrazaq Alend , Arbili Mohamed M.
Published: August 2024

Circular pipes offer a significant advantage over non-circular ones because they maintain a higher flow velocity when half full or nearly full, even when the slope is the same. This advantage stems from the geometry of circles, which, among all polygon shapes, has the largest area for a given perimeter. As a result, circular pipes are the most cost-effective option for construction. However, when dealing with relatively low fluid flow, circular sections may not be the most efficient choice. At lower flow rates, there is greater friction when the flow cross-section is increases, leading to lower flow velocities. This lower velocity is the main drawback of circular pipes, as it provides more opportunities for sediment to settle within the pipe. Sewer system where the water level varies throughout the day. Using the Manning equation, you can easily observe this phenomenon. As the water level decreases, the flow speed also slows down because the space available for water to flow through becomes more restricted. When the water flow is reduced, maintaining a sufficiently high flow speed is crucial to prevent the accumulation of waste or debris. This emphasizes the importance of exploring different shapes for sewer pipes to find the most effective one. The current research employed both numerical and graphical analysis to illustrate the subtle differences between circular and non-circular cross sections. This discrepancy is particularly evident within a fullness ratio range of 0.05% to 0.25%. Conversely, beyond this range, circular sections exhibit a relatively higher velocity.
Smart Irrigation Technique in the Fixed Irrigation System Based on Soil Moisture Content
Authors: Mohsin Tahir Dana , Omran Al-Sulttani Ali
Published: August 2024

The growing water demand has raised serious concerns about the future of irrigated agriculture in many parts all over the world, changing environmental conditions and shortage of water (especially in Iraq) have led to the need for a new system that efficiently manages the irrigation of crops. With the increasing population growing at a rapid pace, traditional agriculture will have a tough time meeting future food demands. Water availability and conservation are major concerns for farmers. The configuration of the smart irrigation system was designed based on data specific to the parameters concerning the characteristics of the plant and the properties of soil which are measured once in the research (permeability, pH, humidity, porosity, etc.), the soil moisture content sensors are placed in the root zone of plants when the crop needs to be irrigated the sensors send notifications to the user of the system from the application on a smartphone to operate the water pump and on the contrary when the soil saturated the sensors notify the user to turn off the water pump. This paper aims to discuss the aspects related to designing and fabricating an automatic irrigation system using sensors of soil moisture content using this method will save time and money significantly. The study found that the quantity of water consumed to irrigate the yellow corn crop in the portion assigned for smart irrigation technique in an area of 875 m2 is less than the amount of consumed water utilized in the section allocated for fixed sprinkler irrigation in the same area by 34.444%, furthermore, the yield of the yellow corn crop grown using smart irrigation technique exceeds that of the crop grown by fixed sprinkler irrigation. And also, human intervention will be reduced.
Applying SWOT Analysis to Manage Maintenance of Municipal Water Projects in Karbala City
Authors: Ibraheem Shaimaa , Tuama Al-Awadi Aysar , Jasim Mohammed Al-Saadi Riyadh
Published: August 2024

This paper aims to study the maintenance management reality of four water treatment plants in Karbala governorate and indicate the problems that need to be addressed. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) techniques were used to analyze the maintenance management. A questionnaire was prepared according to SWOT analysis requirements. The Delphi technique and the Likert scale were utilized and applied to several water stations, based on plans and reports of design, operation and maintenance, and field visits to these stations. To achieve this goal, a questionnaire was organized and conducted to obtain the opinion of experts in the business sectors in the areas of operation, maintenance, implementation, and planning of water filtration plants, the academic sector, environment, and technology, as input to the SWOT model. Three rounds of the questionnaire were sent to more than 100 experts varying in qualifications and experience, taking into account the issues of the elements required for SWOT analysis which are management and use of water plants and networks, human resources and manpower, budget, financial and economic affairs. The weight, relative importance, and implementation of each item in each SWOT element and issues were computed. The results showed that in the internal elements, the element of strength has a higher importance than weakness, and this points to the necessity of supporting, developing, and paying attention to these points. At the same time, this does not mean neglecting the weak points. As for the external elements, the elements of opportunities and threats are equal in importance, attaining medium importance. Here, despite the presence of the external elements and the degree of medium importance, this does not mean in any way to leave these points outside the circle of attention, as their equal importance calls for the necessity of paying attention to these points with the same degree of attention because they still have the same effect. For issues within the SWOT elements, it was found that in strength, human resources have less importance compared to the budget and cost, which are equally important with management and use, which calls for more attention to these aspects. Whereas, in weakness, the three issues are equal in degree of importance, and opportunities, the issues are also equal in degree of importance. This shows that the three issues have the same impact within the elements of weakness, opportunity, and threat, which calls for attention to them to the same degree.
A New Strengthening Technique for Reinforced Concrete Corbels Openings Using Steel Plates
Authors: Hassan Hadeel Sadeq Mohammed , Yasir Ali Ammar
Published: August 2024

This study aimed to study the behavior of corbels with openings and aimed at examining the potential use of strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) corbels that had openings with steel plates. Experiments were done to examine the load-bearing capacity of ten corbels having square, circular, horizontal, and vertical holes. All corbels had symmetrical cantilever projections that measured 250mm long, 160mm wide, 240mm deep at the column face, and 80mm deep at the free end. Test parameters included the opening shape, the presence and absence of horizontal ties, and steel plates. There are three tested groups: group A included three corbels with horizontal ties, group B included three corbels without horizontal ties, and group C included four corbels, strengthening two corbels from group A and two corbels from group B. The results showed that the vertical opening has a greater impact than the horizontal opening in terms of maximum load. Also, the absence of horizontal closed ties increases cracking load by about 25%, decreases maximum load by about 16%, and increases service deflection by about 385%. On the other hand, corbels without horizontal ties had a negative effect on openings. The degradation in ultimate load and cracking load was about 16% and 25%, respectively, and the increase in service deflection was about 299%. The presence of the square opening reduced the maximum load by 13%, increase service deflection about 156%, decrease cracking load about 31%. Also, strengthening results have the greatest effect on vertical openings. The strengthening of corbels with openings by using steel plates showed that the greatest compensation for lost strength was in corbels without horizontal ties. The enhancement in ultimate load was about 33% more than corbel without steel plates and 12% more than reference without opening.
Enhancing Sewage Pipeline Project Cost Estimations in Iraq through Artificial Neural Network Models
Authors: Abbas Abdullah , Aswed Gafel K.
Published: August 2024

Managing wastewater systems effectively is vital, for planning as it impacts health and the environments sustainability. The financial aspect, especially estimating costs plays a role in project execution. Traditional cost estimation methods have often proven unreliable due to the nature of construction projects. This research introduces a perspective by using network (ANN) models to enhance the accuracy of cost predictions for sewer pipeline projects in Iraq. By analyzing a dataset that considers factors like project size, complexity, material types and regional aspects the study showcases how artificial neural networks can capture nonlinear relationships within the data. The main goals include pinpointing factors influencing cost estimation accuracy during the pre-design stage and crafting ANN-based tools tailored for various design phases. The approach involves constructing an ANN model validated against data from projects. It was found that ANN has the ability to predict the cost of implementing sewer pipe projects with a very good degree of accuracy, as the correlation coefficient (R) reached (97.1%), with an average accuracy rate of (98.5%). This research doesn’t just add value to construction management by offering a budgeting tool. It also helps allocate resources effectively ensuring the financial feasibility of important infrastructure projects.
Microstructure evolution in laser-based powder bed fusion of metals
Authors: Nadimpalli Venkata K , Yu Tianbo
Published: August 2024

Laser-based powder bed fusion (LPBF) of metals offers the unique possibility of creating the microstructure voxel-by-voxel. The minimum voxel size in each direction is dependent on material dosing accuracy coupled with laser processing parameters. The rapid solidification conditions during LPBF lead to material heterogeneity coupled with hierarchical and non-equilibrium microstructures. The current paper delves into two different pathways available currently to control microstructure in LPBF, namely: in-situ microstructure control through material distribution to form functionally graded components with complex interfaces; application of post-processing thermo-mechanical treatments to control the microstructure. Unlike traditional manufacturing methods, each voxel in LPBF can be further processed multiple times after the first fusion process. Such in-situ processing presents further opportunity for tailoring the microstructure of each voxel in 3D. A future perspective is thus offered on the opportunities to control and engineer LPBF microstructures in metals.
Microstructure Evolution and Precipitation Strengthening Behaviour of Additively Manufactured High-speed Steels
Authors: Zhang H , Venero D A , Park J , Petegem S V , Özsoy A , Soundarapandiyan G , Robertson S , Zhang X , Chen B
Published: August 2024

Additively manufactured (AM) high-speed steels were investigated, focusing specifically on the microstructure evolution during post-treatment in S390 steel and the rapid solidification process in M50 steel. An improved understanding of the processing-microstructure-property relationship for AM high-speed steel is achieved through a combination of post-mortem microstructure characterisation on precipitates and in-situ tracking of phase evolution. Quantitative characterisation of primary carbides and nanoprecipitates highlights the strengthening through nanoprecipitates that contribute to the exceedingly high hardness of 921 HV. Phase evolution during tempering was examined through in-situ synchrotron diffraction and ex-situ small-angle neutron scattering, revealing primary carbide growth by 60 nm within 2 minutes and nanoparticle precipitation with a size of 1.4 nm after 60-minute tempering. Additionally, the microstructure evolution of AM M50 steel was investigated by operando synchrotron diffraction, unveiling cooling rates in the order of 105 K/s during liquid-solid transformation. After printing, the carbon content of 0.47 wt.% in the matrix was derived from the martensite tetragonality. The insights gained serve as a valuable guide for designing future steel groups and developing heat treatment procedures tailored for the AM process.
Applying lab-based DCT to reveal and quantify the 3D grain structure of a miniature chess rook produced by binder jetting
Authors: Sun J , Bachmann F , Oddershede J , Lauridsen E
Published: August 2024

Imaging the 3D grain microstructure of additively manufactured (AM) metal samples non-destructively is key to a better understanding of the material performance. Recent advances of lab-based diffraction contrast tomography (DCT) enable non-destructively mapping the spatial distribution of crystallographic orientations in the bulk of certain types of metal AM parts. Combining these 3D texture measurements with traditional absorption contrast tomography (ACT) gives unprecedented insights into materials structure, such as the spatial distribution of porosities and the relationship between microstructural anisotropies and the build direction. Here, the combination of ACT and DCT is exemplified for a metal AM sample produced by binder jetting. This application highlights some of the recent technical progress enabling 3D mapping of metal AM structures and leads to a discussion of remaining challenges for lab-based DCT in the metal AM field.
Revisiting the Theory of Spinodal Strengthening: Implications for Inhomogeneous Additive and Irradiated Structural Alloys
Authors: Civiero Riccardo , El-Azab Anter
Published: August 2024

Composition fluctuations are commonly observed in additive manufactured alloys, high entropy alloys and irradiated alloys. These fluctuations, which arise due to thermodynamic and/or kinetic factors, influence the mechanical strength of alloys. The classical theory of spinodal strengthening in alloys with coherency stress arising due to the spinodal long-range composition fluctuations has been developed by Cahn, Kato and others. We present the motivations for revisiting Cahn’s theory to account for the concurrent solid solution strengthening in spinodally strengthened alloys by taking into consideration the effect of the solute friction along with the internal coherency stress. We briefly expose the model we developed to achieve the aforementioned aim and discuss some findings.
Effect of multi-pass shot peening on the microstructure of LPBF AlSi10Mg alloy
Authors: Snopiński P , Yu T , Zhang X , Juul Jensen D
Published: August 2024

In this study, we investigated the effect of multi-pass shot peening (SP) on the microstructural evolution of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion AlSi10Mg alloy. Characterization techniques included optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results revealed that multi-pass SP induces a gradient microstructure with notable alterations in the grain structure extending to a depth of approximately 45 μm. EBSD analysis revealed that the SP treatment induced grain refinement and formation of subgrains (average distances between boundaries vary from 3.6 μm in the un-deformed area to 0.4 μm near the heavily deformed surface area). It is discussed how this refined microstructure following SP may lead to substantial improvements in mechanical properties and fatigue strength, and thus hold promises for increased performance of critical components across various industrial applications.
Plasmon–phonon gain in CdHgTe structures with near-surface HgTe quantum wells
Authors: Ya Aleshkin V , Rudakov A O , Dubinov A A , Morozov S V
Published: August 2024

The work is devoted to the study of plasmon–phonon gain in CdHgTe/HgTe structures with quantum wells (QWs) located near the boundary of the structure with vacuum/air (near-surface QWs). The issue of the influence of the distance between QWs on the plasmon–phonon gain has been studied. It has been shown that a decrease in the distance from the nearest QW to the structure boundary leads to an increase in the phase velocity of the generated plasmon–phonon and a decrease in the power absorbed by phonons in the barriers. This leads to a decrease in the threshold concentration of nonequilibrium carriers required to begin of plasmon–phonon gain under conditions of optical excitation.
Synthesis, characterization, and gas-sensing application of Cd0.5Zn0.5NdxFe2–xO4 nanoparticles
Authors: Korek Hani , Habanjar Khulud , Elsharkawy Sherif G , Awad R
Published: August 2024

Fabrication of Cd0.5Zn0.5NdxFe2–xO4 nanoparticles, with x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08, has been carried out using a wet chemical co-precipitation method. The effect of the rare earth Nd3+ doping on the prepared ferrites was structurally investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD) along with Rietveld refinement. The results indicate great crystallinity in the FCC Fd3m spinel structure of Cd0.5Zn0.5NdxFe2–xO4 nanoparticles. The lattice parameter increases with the increase of doping concentration from 8.5378 until 8.5432 Å and the crystallite size obtained using Debye-Sherrer, Williamson–Hall, Size-strain plot (SSP), and Halder-Wagner (H-W) methods, decreases until the solubility limit of the materials is at x = 0.04. By using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the morphological analysis reveals the spherical shape of the samples with minor agglomeration with the aid of using a Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) capping agent. The grain size ranges from 14.37 to 15.24 nm. Raman spectroscopy verifies the incorporation of Nd3+ in the octahedral sites and the decrease in particle size. The elemental composition was verified using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The magnetic properties were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and it shows superparamagnetic behavior with a decrease in the saturation magnetization from 2.207 to 1.918 emu g−1 and an increase in coercivity from 7.194 to 14.397 G. The prepared materials were tested as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sensors by studying their sensitivity, selectivity, optimum working temperature, response, and recovery times. Nd3+ doping shows a great increase in LPG sensing sensitivity 4 to 20 times than the pure samples. The doping concentration also decreases the response and recovery times.
RobMedNAS: searching robust neural network architectures for medical image synthesis
Authors: Zhang Jinnian , Chen Weijie , Joshi Tanmayee , Uyanik Meltem , Zhang Xiaomin , Loh Po-Ling , Jog Varun , Bruce Richard , Garrett John , McMillan Alan
Published: August 2024

Investigating U-Net model robustness in medical image synthesis against adversarial perturbations, this study introduces RobMedNAS, a neural architecture search strategy for identifying resilient U-Net configurations. Through retrospective analysis of synthesized CT from MRI data, employing Dice coefficient and mean absolute error metrics across critical anatomical areas, the study evaluates traditional U-Net models and RobMedNAS-optimized models under adversarial attacks. Findings demonstrate RobMedNAS’s efficacy in enhancing U-Net resilience without compromising on accuracy, proposing a novel pathway for robust medical image processing.
Enhancing quantum annealing accuracy through replication-based error mitigation*
Authors: Djidjev Hristo N
Published: August 2024

Quantum annealers like those manufactured by D-Wave Systems are designed to find high quality solutions to optimization problems that are typically hard for classical computers. They utilize quantum effects like tunneling to evolve toward low-energy states representing solutions to optimization problems. However, their analog nature and limited control functionalities present challenges to correcting or mitigating hardware errors. As quantum computing advances towards applications, effective error suppression is an important research goal. We propose a new approach called replication based mitigation (RBM) based on parallel quantum annealing (QA). In RBM, physical qubits representing the same logical qubit are dispersed across different copies of the problem embedded in the hardware. This mitigates hardware biases, is compatible with limited qubit connectivity in current annealers, and is well-suited for currently available noisy intermediate-scale quantum annealers. Our experimental analysis shows that RBM provides solution quality on par with previous methods while being more flexible and compatible with a wider range of hardware connectivity patterns. In comparisons against standard QA without error mitigation on larger problem instances that could not be handled by previous methods, RBM consistently gets better energies and ground state probabilities across parameterized problem sets.
The effect of uncertainty in humidity and model parameters on the prediction of contrail energy forcing
Authors: Platt John C , Shapiro Marc L , Engberg Zebediah , McCloskey Kevin , Geraedts Scott , Sankar Tharun , Stettler Marc E J , Teoh Roger , Schumann Ulrich , Rohs Susanne , Brand Erica , Van Arsdale Christopher
Published: August 2024

Previous work has shown that while the net effect of aircraft condensation trails (contrails) on the climate is warming, the exact magnitude of the energy forcing per meter of contrail remains uncertain. In this paper, we explore the skill of a Lagrangian contrail model (CoCiP) in identifying flight segments with high contrail energy forcing. We find that skill is greater than climatological predictions alone, even accounting for uncertainty in weather fields and model parameters. We estimate the uncertainty due to humidity by using the ensemble ERA5 weather reanalysis from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) as Monte Carlo inputs to CoCiP. We unbias and correct under-dispersion on the ERA5 humidity data by forcing a match to the distribution of in situ humidity measurements taken at cruising altitude. We take CoCiP energy forcing estimates calculated using one of the ensemble members as a proxy for ground truth, and report the skill of CoCiP in identifying segments with large positive proxy energy forcing. We further estimate the uncertainty due to model parameters in CoCiP by performing Monte Carlo simulations with CoCiP model parameters drawn from uncertainty distributions consistent with the literature. When CoCiP outputs are averaged over seasons to form climatological predictions, the skill in predicting the proxy is 44%, while the skill of per-flight CoCiP outputs is 84%. If these results carry over to the true (unknown) contrail EF, they indicate that per-flight energy forcing predictions can reduce the number of potential contrail avoidance route adjustments by 2x, hence reducing both the cost and fuel impact of contrail avoidance.
Effect of pile driving induced ground vibrations and stress distribution to close settlements: a case study
Authors: Ongen Tugce , Yetkin Mustafa Emre , Kilinc Mehmet Emre
Published: August 2024

The pile method, applied in the foundational operations of construction to enhance soil-bearing capacity, is utilized in locations with insufficient soil support. Its purpose is to reinforce the foundation and improve soil stability before constructing a structure. In this study, vibrations occurring during the application of Vibrex-type piles for foundation reinforcement in a construction project located in the Konak district of Izmir Province were measured at various distances from the measurement points. The study further explored the influence of pile application on soil stability, considering the geomechanical properties of the site’s soil structure. The analysis of the study’s graph indicates that stress and vibration velocity remains at optimal levels, suggesting favorable working conditions.
JefiAtten: an attention-based neural network model for solving Maxwell’s equations with charge and current sources
Authors: Sun Ming-Yan , Xu Peng , Zhang Jun-Jie , Du Tai-Jiao , Wang Jian-Guo
Published: August 2024

We present JefiAtten, a novel neural network model employing the attention mechanism to solve Maxwell’s equations efficiently. JefiAtten uses self-attention and cross-attention modules to understand the interplay between charge density, current density, and electromagnetic fields. Our results indicate that JefiAtten can generalize well to a range of scenarios, maintaining accuracy across various spatial distribution and handling amplitude variations. The model showcases an improvement in computation speed after training, compared to traditional integral methods. The adaptability of the model suggests potential for broader applications in computational physics, with further refinements to enhance its predictive capabilities and computational efficiency. Our work is a testament to the efficacy of integrating attention mechanisms with numerical simulations, marking a step forward in the quest for data-driven solutions to physical phenomena.
Evaluation of glucose-lowering medications in older people: a comprehensive systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Pan Ssu-Yu , Su En-Lin , Huang Chi-Jung , Chuang Shao-Yuan , Chiang Chern-En , Chen Chen-Huan , Cheng Hao-Min
Published: August 2024

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasingly being diagnosed in older adults. Our objective is to assess the advantages and potential drawbacks of different glucose-lowering medications in this specific population.

Methods

A network meta-analysis was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials that examined patient-centered outcomes in adults aged ≥65 years with T2DM. We searched PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Embase up to September 23, 2023. Quality of eligible studies were assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool.

Results

A total of 22 trials that involved 41 654 participants were included, incorporating sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, metformin, sulfonylureas (SU) and acarbose. Our findings reveal that GLP-1RAs reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (risk ratio [RR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71 to 0.97) and body weight (mean difference [MD], −3.87 kg; 95% CI, −5.54 to −2.21). SGLT2 inhibitors prevent hospitalization for heart failure (RR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.77), renal composite outcome (RR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.89), and reduce body weights (MD, −1.85 kg; 95% CI, −2.42 to −1.27). SU treatment increases the risk of any hypoglycaemia (RR, 4.19; 95% CI, 3.52 to 4.99) and severe hypoglycaemia (RR, 7.06; 95% CI, 3.03 to 16.43). GLP-1RAs, SGLT2 inhibitors, metformin, SU and DPP-4 inhibitors are effective in reducing glycaemic parameters. Notably, the number of treatments needed decreases in most cases as age increases.

Conclusions

Novel glucose-lowering medications with benefits that outweigh risks should be prioritized for older patients with diabetes.
Potential roles for artificial intelligence in clinical microbiology from improved diagnostic accuracy to solving the staffing crisis
Authors: Graf Erin , Soliman Amr , Marouf Mohamed , Parwani Anil V , Pancholi Preeti
Published: August 2024

Objectives

This review summarizes the current and potential uses of artificial intelligence (AI) in the current state of clinical microbiology with a focus on replacement of labor-intensive tasks.

Methods

A search was conducted on PubMed using the key terms clinical microbiology and artificial intelligence. Studies were reviewed for relevance to clinical microbiology, current diagnostic techniques, and potential advantages of AI in routine microbiology workflows.

Results

Numerous studies highlight potential labor, as well as diagnostic accuracy, benefits to the implementation of AI for slide-based and macroscopic digital image analyses. These range from Gram stain interpretation to categorization and quantitation of culture growth.

Conclusions

Artificial intelligence applications in clinical microbiology significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, offering promising solutions to labor-intensive tasks and staffing shortages. More research efforts and US Food and Drug Administration clearance are still required to fully incorporate these AI applications into routine clinical laboratory practices.
What’s Past is Prologue: Democracy in the Age of Originalism
Authors: Kirsch Geoffrey R
Published: August 2024

This essay reviews three recent books grappling with the history and meaning of US constitutional democracy, written in a time when an originalist, conservative Supreme Court serves as the Constitution’s final arbiter. Democracies in America: Keywords for the Nineteenth Century and Today, edited by D. Berton Emerson and Gregory Laski, and The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story, by Kermit Roosevelt III, strive to appropriate originalist methods toward progressive ends. By contrast, Cass R. Sunstein’s How to Interpret the Constitution evinces a pragmatic skepticism of any such historically bound modes of interpretation. The tension between these approaches, I suggest, has shaped US constitutional discourse since the nineteenth century.
Management of Serious Adverse Events Following Deoxycholic Acid Injection for Submental and Jowl Fat Reduction: A Systematic Review and Management Recommendations
Authors: Shridharani Sachin M , Kennedy MacKenzie L
Published: August 2024

Pivotal Phase 3 randomized control trials have demonstrated a favorable safety profile for ATX-101 in submental fat (SMF) reduction; however, in real-world settings, several serious adverse events (SAEs) have been reported, most of which are procedure related and avoidable. Current understanding of the management of uncommon AEs and SAEs is based on the aesthetic surgeon's discretion, and overzealous protocols for sclerosis agents are being applied for ATX-101-induced arterial injury. This review focuses on showcasing the management of SAEs reported previously and updating it with personal clinical experiences with ATX-101 for SMF and jowl fat reduction. Along with adherence to the standard procedures for ATX-101 administration, the authors recommend investigating other potential causes of SMF accumulation and jowling mechanism, appropriate demarcation of the surface area to determine the number of vials, and assessment of the fat pad thickness to determine the number of required treatment cycles for optimal therapeutic outcomes. Surgery is preferable for jowling caused by compartment displacement (ptosis), whereas fat-reducing treatments such as ATX-101 are contraindicated for jowling caused by subcutaneous tissue atrophy. Some proactive measures that can be employed to prevent AEs include avoiding intradermal injections to prevent skin ulceration/necrosis, injecting lidocaine to check for smile asymmetry as an indication of marginal mandibular nerve proximity, administering 1 to 2 mm deeper injections in males to prevent alopecia, employing good aseptic techniques to prevent abscess formation, injecting 1 product at a time using correctly labeled syringes, and confirming the diagnosis of pyoderma gangrenosum before treating it as an infection.

Level of Evidence: 3
Exploration correlates with dietary choosiness and avoidance learning style in a generalist predator
Authors: Kuo Chi-Yun , Chen Yu-Hsi , Meng Ai-Ching , Wu Yu-Zhe , Yang Shan-Yu , Yeh Ching-Ning
Published: August 2024

The hypothesis of slow–fast syndromes predicts a correlation between personality type and learning style; fast explorers would have a more proactive (fast but inflexible) learning style whereas slow explorers would be more reactive (slow but flexible) learners. Empirical evidence for this personality-cognition coupling remains inconclusive and heavily biased toward birds. Moreover, most studies did not examine the personality-cognition correlation when the cognitive task is discerning food quality, a scenario directly related to energy acquisition that underpins the evolution of slow–fast syndromes. In this study, we examined the exploration–cognition correlation in the context of avoidance learning in an opportunistic predator—the common sun skink Eutropis multifasciata. We quantified exploration tendencies of individuals in an unfamiliar environment and compared foraging behaviors when lizards associated prey color and taste during the initial learning trials and subsequent reverse learning trials, where the color–taste associations were switched. We found that fast explorers were less choosy and modified their foraging behaviors less with experience, conforming to a more proactive cognitive style. In contrast, slow explorers were reactive learners and were able to change foraging behaviors in both learning and reverse learning phases, even though the ability to do so depended on the color–taste treatment. Contrary to conventional predictions, the proactive–reactive learning styles in our focal species were not differentiated by a learning speed-flexibility trade-off. Our findings offer nuanced support to the slow–fast syndromes and suggest that the two types of exploration–cognition correlations could be different responses to fast-changing environmental predictability.
Publication-ready single nucleotide polymorphism visualization with snipit
Authors: O’Toole Áine , Aziz Ammar , Maloney Daniel
Published: August 2024

Snipit is an analysis and visualization tool designed for summarizing single nucleotide polymorphisms in sequences in comparison to a reference sequence. This tool efficiently catalogues nucleotide and amino acid differences, enabling clear comparisons through customizable, publication-ready figures. With features such as configurable colour palettes, customizable record sorting, and the ability to output figures in multiple formats, snipit offers a user-friendly interface for researchers across diverse disciplines. In addition, snipit includes a specialized recombi-mode for illustrating recombination patterns, which can highlight otherwise often difficult-to-detect relationships between sequences.

Availability and implementation

Snipit is an open-source python-based tool that is hosted on GitHub under a GNU-GPL 3.0 licence (https://github.com/aineniamh/snipit). It can be installed from PyPi using pip. Source code and additional documentation can be found on the GitHub repository.
Clinical applications of generative artificial intelligence in radiology: image translation, synthesis, and text generation
Authors: Zhong Zhiqi , Xie Xueqian
Published: August 2024

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled tasks in radiology, including tools for improving image quality. Recently, new hotspots have emerged, such as intra- or inter-modal image translation, task-specific image synthesis, and text generation. Advances in generative AI have facilitated the move towards low-dose, cost-effective, and high-quality radiological image acquisition. Large language models can aid radiologists by generating professional answers and facilitating patient-physician communications. However, radiologists must be aware of potential inaccuracies in the generated content and should only use such tools after rigorous validation of their performance.
Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors in the treatment of glomerular diseases: a CKJ controversy
Authors: Caravaca-Fontán Fernando , del Vecchio Lucia , Praga Manuel , Floege Jürgen , Zoccali Carmine
Published: August 2024

Integrating sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) into the treatment for chronic kidney disease (CKD) has marked a significant therapeutic advance in nephrology. Clinical trials such as DAPA-CKD and EMPA-KIDNEY have demonstrated the beneficial effects of SGLT2i in slowing CKD progression and reducing proteinuria. However, the applicability of these results to patients with glomerulonephritis is still unresolved due to various limitations. This manuscript combines the evidence supporting the use of SGLT2i in glomerular diseases, highlights the limitations and strikes a conclusive balance on their role in clinical practice.
Interactive effects of sedimentary turbidity and elevated water temperature on the Pugnose Shiner (Miniellus anogenus), a threatened freshwater fish
Authors: Fortin-Hamel Liana , Chapman Lauren J
Published: August 2024

High turbidity and elevated water temperature are environmental stressors that can co-occur in freshwater ecosystems such as when deforestation increases solar radiation and sedimentary runoff. However, we have limited knowledge about their combined impacts on fish behaviour and physiology. We explored independent and interactive effects of sedimentary turbidity and temperature on the swimming activity and both thermal and hypoxia tolerance of the Pugnose Shiner (Miniellus anogenus, formerly Notropis anogenus), a small leuciscid fish listed as Threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). Fish underwent a 15-week acclimation to two temperatures (16°C or 25°C) crossed with two turbidities (~0 NTU or 8.5 NTU). Swimming activity was measured during the first 8 weeks of acclimation. Fish in warm water were more active compared to those in cold water, but turbidity had no effect on activity. Behavioural response to hypoxia was measured after 12 weeks of acclimation, as the oxygen level at which fish used aquatic surface respiration (ASR). Fish in warm water engaged in ASR behaviour at higher oxygen thresholds, indicating less tolerance to hypoxia. Turbidity had no effect on ASR thresholds. Finally, thermal tolerance was measured as the critical thermal maximum (CTmax) after 13–15 weeks of acclimation. Acclimation to warm water increased fish CTmax and Tag (agitation temperature) but reduced the agitation window (°C difference between Tag and CTmax) and thermal safety margin (°C difference between the acclimation temperature and CTmax). Furthermore, fish in warm, turbid water had a lower CTmax and smaller thermal safety margin than fish in warm, clear water, indicating an interaction between turbidity and temperature. This reduced thermal tolerance observed in Pugnose Shiner in warm, turbid water highlights the importance of quantifying independent and interactive effects of multiple stressors when evaluating habitat suitability and conservation strategies for imperilled species.