bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Treatment outcomes of mucosal melanoma of the head and neck: Analysis of 190 cases from a single institution
Authors: Chen Shu‐Wei , Li Meng‐Hua , Liu Jian‐Liang , Chen Jing‐Tao , Wang Jia , Li Hui , Li Xi‐Yuan , Zhang Ying , Song Ming , Lu Jia‐Xuan , Chen Wen‐Kuan
Published: May 2023

Objectives

To analyze the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of mucosal melanoma of the head and neck (MMHN) from a single institution.

Methods

From December 1989 to November 2018, 190 patients diagnosed with MMHN were included. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method for univariate analysis with a log‐rank test for significance and Cox regression for multivariate analysis.

Results

With a median follow‐up time of 43.5 months, 126 (68.5%) patients died. The median DSS was 35 months. The 3‐ and 5‐year disease‐specific survival (DSS) rates were 48.1% and 33.7%, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was 34 months. The 3‐ and 5‐year OS rates were 47.0% and 32.9%, respectively. In univariate analysis, the T3 stage, received surgery, R0 resection, and combined therapy (surgery+biotherapy/biochemotherapy) were significantly associated with better survival. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that the T4 stage (HR = 1.692; 95% CI, 1.175–2.438; p = .005) and the N1 stage (HR = 1.600; 95% CI, 1.023–2.504; p = .039) were strong prognostic factors for poor survival, and that combined therapy (surgery+biotherapy/biochemotherapy) was a strong prognostic factor for better survival outcome (HR = 0.563; 95% CI, 0.354–0.896; p = .015).

Conclusion

The prognosis of MMHN remains poor. Systemic treatment is warranted to reduce MMHN progression. Surgery combined with biotherapy may improve survival.
On splitting trees
Authors: Laguzzi Giorgio , Mildenberger Heike , Stuber‐Rousselle Brendan
Published: May 2023

We investigate two variants of splitting tree forcing, their ideals and regularity properties. We prove connections with other well‐known notions, such as Lebesgue measurablility, Baire‐ and Doughnut‐property and the Marczewski field. Moreover, we prove that any absolute amoeba forcing for splitting trees necessarily adds a dominating real, providing more support to Hein's and Spinas' conjecture that .
A Review of Sustainable Bio‐Based Insulation Materials for Energy‐Efficient Buildings
Authors: Raja Pradeep , Murugan Vignesh , Ravichandran Sindhu , Behera Laxmidhar , Mensah Rhoda Afriyie , Mani Satthiyaraju , Kasi AnanthaKumar , Balasubramanian Karthik Babu Nilagiri , Sas Gabriel , Vahabi Henri , Das Oisik
Published: May 2023

The surge towards a sustainable future in the construction industry requires the use of bio‐based insulation materials as an alternative to conventional ones for improving energy efficiency in structures. In this article, the features of bio‐based insulation materials, including their thermal conductivities, moisture buffering value, fire performance, and life cycle evaluations are examined. It is clear from the review that pre‐ and post‐treatment of the bio‐based materials used for insulation materials optimize their properties. The life cycle analysis reveals a significant reduction in global warming potential (GWP) compared to conventional foams. In addition, it is envisaged that producing bio‐based insulation materials on a larger scale will further decrease the net GWP. The article, therefore, proposes the implementation of policies that will promote the commercialization of bio‐based insulation materials.
On a generalization of the extended best polynomial approximation operator in Orlicz–Lorentz spaces
Authors: Gareis María Inés , Kovac Federico Dario , Levis Fabián Eduardo
Published: May 2023

In this paper, we consider the best polynomial approximation operator defined on an Orlicz–Lorentz space , and its extension to , where w is a non‐negative continuous weight function and is the derivative of ϕ, which is not required to be an Orlicz function. Our work generalizes a recent result in this field on an Orlicz–Lorentz space generated by an Orlicz function. In addition, we establish some properties and estimates for any extended best polynomial approximation.
Research status, hotspots and trends on oral care research in the elderly published from 2002 to 2022: A bibliometric analysis – A review article
Authors: Zhang Jingwen , Weng Yanqiu , Qiao Mengting , Chen Wenyao , Zhang Lingjuan
Published: May 2023

Aims

The aim of this study was to analyse the status, hotspots and trends of research on oral care for the elderly in mainland China in the past 20 years through bibliometrics, which aims to provide new ideas and targets for future clinical work and research.

Design

Bibliometric analysis.

Methods

Relevant literature was retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Web of Science and PubMed. NoteExpress, Co‐Occurrence and CiteSpace were used to analyse bibliometric features in terms of year of publication, journal of publication, authors, institution and keywords.

Results

A total of 716 related articles were obtained. The number of publications shows an increasing trend over time, only 2017–2021; 309 papers were published, accounting for 43.2% of the total number of publications. A total of 238 articles were published in Science Citation Index journals or Chinese core journals, accounting for 33.2% of the total number of articles. The study of oral health‐related quality of life in the elderly is a hot research topic. There is a lack of research on the elderly living in elderly care facilities.
Transient and fully reversible changes in laboratory parameters and modifications of the cytokine profile during blinatumomab treatment in children with relapsed or refractory B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Locatelli Franco , Markovic Ana , Klinger Matthias , Zeng Ting , Zugmaier Gerhard
Published: May 2023

We analyzed changes in laboratory parameters, including blood counts, liver enzymes, inflammation and coagulation markers, and cytokines, from 70 blinatumomab‐treated pediatric patients (NCT01471782). Overall, trends were consistent in responders and nonresponders. Platelets and lymphocytes peaked on day (D) 10 in cycle 1 and returned to baseline on D42 and D29, respectively. Neutrophils peaked on D2 and returned to baseline on D42. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin peaked on D17, reversing to baseline on D29; total protein levels were constant. These findings indicate that blinatumomab‐induced changes in laboratory parameters were transient, reversible, and not requiring treatment interruptions in responders and nonresponders.
Registration of 252 sequenced sorghum mutants as a community reverse genetic resource
Authors: Xin Zhanguo , Jiao Yinping , Burow Gloria , Hayes Chad , Chen Junping , Burke John , Pugh N. Ace , Ware Doreen
Published: May 2023

Induced mutagenesis is a powerful approach to generate variations that can be used toward the elucidation of gene function and create new traits for crop improvement. We have developed a pedigreed mutant library through chemical mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)‐treated seed from the sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) inbred line BTx623. The mutant library displayed a wide diversity of phenotypes, including potential traits of significant agronomic value. A selection of 252 lines (Reg. no. GS‐794–Reg no. GS‐1045, PI 701562–PI 701813) were sequenced to an average depth of 16x with paired‐end sequencing using Illumina Highseq. This endeavor resulted in the detection and cataloguing of more than 1.8 million canonical EMS‐induced mutations (variants). The variants were distributed across the sorghum genome uniformly, with 24,757 genes affected by impactful mutations that may alter the gene function. Mutations in genes of interest can be searched online through SorghumBase (https://www.sorghumbase.org). These sequenced mutants can be ordered through GRIN (https://www.ars-grin.gov/) with no associated fee.
Improving the quality of co‐evolution intermolecular contact prediction with DisVis
Authors: van Keulen Siri C. , Bonvin Alexandre M. J. J.
Published: May 2023

The steep rise in protein sequences and structures has paved the way for bioinformatics approaches to predict residue–residue interactions in protein complexes. Multiple sequence alignments are commonly used in contact predictions to identify co‐evolving residues. These contacts, however, often include false positives (FPs), which may impair their use to predict three dimensional structures of biomolecular complexes and affect the accuracy of the generated models. Previously, we have developed DisVis to identify FP in mass spectrometry cross‐linking data. DisVis allows to assess the accessible interaction space between two proteins consistent with a set of distance restraints. Here, we investigate if a similar approach could be applied to co‐evolution predicted contacts in order to improve their precision prior to using them for modeling. We analyze co‐evolution contact predictions with DisVis for a set of 26 protein–protein complexes. The DisVis‐reranked and the original co‐evolution contacts are then used to model the complexes with our integrative docking software HADDOCK using different filtering scenarios. Our results show that HADDOCK is robust with respect to the precision of the predicted contacts due to the 50% random contact removal during docking and can enhance the quality of docking predictions when combined with DisVis filtering for low precision contact data. DisVis can thus have a beneficial effect on low quality data, but overall HADDOCK can accommodate FP restraints without negatively impacting the quality of the resulting models. Other more precision‐sensitive docking protocols might, however, benefit from the increased precision of the predicted contacts after DisVis filtering.
Insights from 665 tank farm fires—The second database update
Authors: Paula Henrique Martini
Published: May 2023

This article updates earlier publications of an ongoing research project on worldwide fire incidents that occurred in tank farms, which store products ranging from low flashpoint materials to crude and heavier hydrocarbons. The incidents and information in the database came from almost 300 sources, including technical reports and news releases. This research supports tank farm hazard identification/risk assessment and the reliability analysis of fire water protection systems (FWS). The research provides valuable insights such as the frequency of tank farm fires, the frequency of boilovers, the frequency of injuries/fatalities, the probability of failure of the FWSs, and the time to extinguish (TtEx) the fires. When the database provides sufficient information, these numbers appear as a function of the stored product. The data also allows plotting TtEx as a function of time for over a century. Additionally, this article illustrates the results of a confidence level analysis of the risk assessment of a distribution terminal that handles low and high‐flashpoint products.
The molecular mechanisms underlying anti‐inflammatory effects of galangin in different diseases
Authors: Hassanein Emad H. M. , Abd El‐Maksoud Mostafa S. , Ibrahim Islam M. , Abd‐alhameed Esraa K. , Althagafy Hanan S. , Mohamed Nesma M. , Ross Samir A.
Published: May 2023

When used as an alternative source of drugs to treat inflammation‐associated diseases, phytochemicals with anti‐inflammatory properties provide beneficial impacts. Galangin is one of the most naturally occurring flavonoids. Galangin has many biological activities, such as anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative, antimicrobial, anti‐obesity, antidiabetic, and anti‐genotoxic activities. We observed that galangin was well tolerated and positively impacted disease underlying inflammation for the renal, hepatic, central nervous system, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal system, skin, and respiratory disorders, as well as ulcerative colitis, acute pancreatitis, retinopathy, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Galangin anti‐inflammatory effects are mediated mainly by suppressing p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinases, nuclear factor‐kappa B, and nod‐like receptor protein 3 signals. These effects are confirmed and supported by molecular docking. Clinical translational research is required to accelerate the bench‐to‐bedside transfer and determine whether galangin can be utilised as a safe, natural source of pharmaceutical anti‐inflammatory medication for humans.
Preparation of water‐based flexography printing ink by KMnO4 modified activated carbon for fruit ripening control application
Authors: Nasomboon Pachanat , Somsesta Noppon , Hongrattanavichit Intatch
Published: May 2023

Ethylene is a type of gas that fruits and vegetables can produce naturally. The release of ethylene gas from fruits and vegetables causes them to ripen and undergo physical, chemical and biological changes, such as changes in the appearance in terms of shape and colour, changes in firmness and texture, changes in taste and changes in nutritional value. Furthermore, it also facilitates the growth of microorganisms. These changes lead to spoilage if the fruit or vegetables are left to over ripen. Therefore, the prevention and reduction of damage caused by the ripening of fruits and vegetables entail reducing or slowing down the release of ethylene gas produced by them. This research project aimed to study the properties of activated carbon and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) modified activated carbon, applied as a printing layer on plastic materials for bananas, in terms of their adsorption and decomposition of ethylene. Active and water‐based flexography printing inks were prepared from water‐based binder and ethylene adsorbing and scavenging agents (activated carbon and KMnO4 modified activated carbon) at various concentrations of active agents, that is, 0.0, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0%w/v. Then, those inks were printed on polypropylene plastic substrate. The delayed ripening of fruits results showed that the plastic materials coated with modified activated carbon inks delayed the physiology disorder (colour and firmness changing about 250% and 226%) and prolonged the storage time up to 14 days when compared with control. In addition, the functional ink layer also presented a high efficiency of abrasion resistance of about 75 cycles of rubbing at 1.8 kg. The products that stem from this research can be applied as packaging for fruits and vegetables in the form of bags, stickers and product pads that can help extend the life and slow the ripening of fruits and vegetables.
Evaluating the impact of land surface on medium‐range weather forecasts using screen‐level analyses
Authors: Bélair Stéphane , Alavi Nasim , Carrera Marco L. , Abrahamowicz Maria , Bilodeau Bernard , Simjanovski Dragan , Charpentier Dorothée , Badawy Bakr , Leroyer Sylvie
Published: May 2023

In this study screen‐level analyses of air temperature and humidity are used to objectively evaluate the impact of a new land‐surface package being considered for implementation in Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)'s medium‐range global deterministic numerical weather prediction (NWP) system. Through its control of heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes to the atmosphere, the land surface has a substantial impact on near‐surface meteorology and on the atmospheric boundary layer. The approach examined in this study is based on the comparison between model forecasts and screen‐level analyses. It demonstrates the impact on medium‐range NWP of a new land‐surface package that includes (i) a new set of databases to specify soils and land‐cover characteristics, (ii) improved land‐surface initial conditions obtained by the assimilation of space‐based remote‐sensing observations, and (iii) a more sophisticated scheme for land‐surface modelling. The evaluation method is shown to provide useful information on the impact of the new land‐surface package, including lead‐time‐averaged difference maps as well as plots showing the evolution with lead time of the standard deviation of errors (STDE) and of the temporal correlation between forecasts and analyses. The new land‐surface package has a positive impact on near‐surface forecasts of air temperature and humidity for a summertime period, with smaller STDE and larger temporal correlation for both variables. The improvement is greater for humidity than for air temperature. The maximum impact is found around seven‐day lead time, with substantial gains in absolute and relative values for STDE and temporal correlation. The positive impact is also quantified in terms of prediction hours, with gains of about one day at the medium range. Details of the pros and cons for this objective evaluation approach are discussed.
Inference for block progressive censored competing risks data from an inverted exponentiated exponential model
Authors: Wang Liang , Wu Shuo‐Jye , Lin Huizhong , Tripathi Yogesh Mani
Published: May 2023

In this paper, reliability estimation for a competing risks model is discussed under a block progressive censoring scheme, which improves experimental efficiency through testing items under different testing facilities. When the lifetime of units follows an inverted exponentiated exponential distribution (IEED) and taking difference in testing facilities into account, various approaches are established for estimating unknown parameters, reliability performances and the differences in different testing facilities. Maximum likelihood estimators of IEED competing risks parameters together with existence and uniqueness are established, and the reliability performances and the difference in different testing facilities are also obtained in consequence. In addition, a hierarchical Bayes approach is proposed and the Metropolis‐Hastings sampling algorithm is constructed for complex posterior computation. Finally, extensive simulation studies and a real data analysis are carried out to elaborate the performance of the methods, and the numerical results show that the proposed hierarchical Bayes model outperforms than classical likelihood method under block progressive censoring.
An active learning reliability algorithm using DMSSA‐optimized Kriging model and parallel infilling strategy
Authors: Sun Yuhang , Liu Zhijie , Zhi Pengpeng , Wang Xiaobang , Wang Junjie
Published: May 2023

Due to the limited sample sizes and highly complicated performance functions, how to improve the reliability calculation accuracy and efficiency is an important issue for complex equipment working in harsh environments. This paper proposes an active learning reliability algorithm based on the double‐mutation slap swarm algorithm‐optimized (DMSSA) Kriging surrogate model, parallel infilling strategy and subset simulation (SS). In the method, the uniform design (UD) is employed to select the initial sampling points and their real responses of performance functions are estimated. The DMSSA integrates Cauchy and Gauss mutation to explore the optimal hyperparameter of Kriging model with high accuracy. The parallel infilling strategy combines the expected improvement (EI), minimizing prediction (MP) and mean squared error (MSE) criteria to find new sampling points, which are adaptively added into the database in each iteration to update the design of experiment (DoE). Ultimately, the SS method is employed to deal with the small failure probability problems. Five various examples are analyzed to verify the calculation accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.
MRI and clinical findings in 133 dogs with recurrent deficits following intervertebral disc extrusion surgery
Authors: Suiter Emma , Grapes Nicholas , Martin‐Garcia Lucia , De Decker Steven , Gutierrez‐Quintana Rodrigo , Wessmann Annette
Published: May 2023

Background

Recurrence of neurological signs following surgery for intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) is reported, yet many cases lack MRI‐confirmed diagnosis. This study describes the MRI and clinical findings in dogs presenting with recurrence of neurological signs following surgical treatment of IVDH.

Methods

Medical records of dogs that underwent decompressive surgery for IVDH followed by a subsequent MRI within 12 months were retrospectively reviewed.

Results

One hundred and thirty‐three dogs were identified, all of which initially presented with intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE). Of these, 109 (81.9%) had a recurrent IVDE, and 24 (18.1%) had an alternative diagnosis that included haemorrhage (n = 10), infection (n = 4), soft tissue encroachment (n = 3), myelomalacia (n = 3) or other (n = 4). Same‐site IVDE recurrence or alternative diagnoses were significantly more likely to present within 10 days postoperatively. Thirty‐nine percent of dogs presenting with ‘early recurrence’ had an alternative diagnosis. Type of surgery, fenestration, neurological grade or IVDE site was not significantly associated with the subsequent MRI diagnosis.

Limitations

Limitations include the retrospective study design, the exclusion of conservatively managed recurrences, the variable length of follow‐up and differences in the clinicians' surgical experience.

Conclusion

The most common cause for the recurrence of neurological signs following decompressive spinal surgery was IVDE. Just over one‐third of dogs presenting with early recurrence had an alternative diagnosis.
Schizosaccharomyces lindnerisp. nov., a fission yeast occurring in honey
Authors: Brysch‐Herzberg Michael , Jia Guo‐Song , Sipiczki Matthias , Seidel Martin , Li Wen , Assali Imen , Du Li‐Lin
Published: May 2023

Two strains of fission yeast were isolated from honey. They differ from the type strain ofSchizosaccharomyces octosporusby three substitutions in the D1/D2 domain of the nuclear 26S large subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence, resulting in a 99.5% identity. In the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (consisting of ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2), the strains differ fromS. octosporusby 16 gaps and 91 substitutions, which is equivalent to an identity of 88.1%. Genome sequencing on one of the new strains revealed that the average nucleotide identity (ANI) between its genome and the reference genome ofS. octosporusis 90.43% and there exist major genome rearrangements between the two genomes. Mating analysis revealed thatS. octosporusand one of the new strains are completely reproductively separated. A strong prezygotic barrier exists and the few mating products consist of diploid hybrids that do not form recombinant ascospores. In the new strains, asci are either zygotic, arising from conjugation, or they develop without conjugation from asexual cells (azygotic). Compared to the currently recognizedSchizosaccharomycesspecies, the spectrum of nutrients that are assimilated by the new strains is restricted. Of the 43 carbohydrates that were included in the physiological standard tests, only 7 were assimilated. According to the results of the genome sequence analysis, the mating trials, and the phenotypic characterization, the new speciesSchizosaccharomyces lindneriis described to accommodate the two strains (holotype: CBS 18203T and ex‐type: MUCL 58363; MycoBank no.: MB 847838).
Maverick Matters: Client Contribution and Selection in Federated Learning
Authors: Huang Jiyue , Hong Chi , Liu Yang , Chen Lydia Y. , Roos Stefanie
Published: May 2023

Federated learning (FL) enables collaborative learning between parties, called clients, without sharing the original and potentially sensitive data. To ensure fast convergence in the presence of such heterogeneous clients, it is imperative to timely select clients who can effectively contribute to learning. A realistic but overlooked case of heterogeneous clients are Mavericks, who monopolize the possession of certain data types, e.g., children hospitals possess most of the data on pediatric cardiology. In this paper, we address the importance and tackle the challenges of Mavericks by exploring two types of client selection strategies. First, we show theoretically and through simulations that the common contribution-based approach, Shapley Value, underestimates the contribution of Mavericks and is hence not effective as a measure to select clients. Then, we propose FedEMD, an adaptive strategy with competitive overhead based on the Wasserstein distance, supported by a proven convergence bound. As FedEMD adapts the selection probability such that Mavericks are preferably selected when the model benefits from improvement on rare classes, it consistently ensures the fast convergence in the presence of different types of Mavericks. Compared to existing strategies, including Shapley Value-based ones, FedEMD improves the convergence speed of neural network classifiers with FedAvg aggregation by 26.9% and its performance is consistent across various levels of heterogeneity.
Constrained Portfolio Management Using Action Space Decomposition for Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Winkel David , Strauß Niklas , Schubert Matthias , Ma Yunpu , Seidl Thomas
Published: May 2023

Financial portfolio managers typically face multi-period optimization tasks such as short-selling or investing at least a particular portion of the portfolio in a specific industry sector. A common approach to tackle these problems is to use constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) methods, which may suffer from sample inefficiency, hyperparameter tuning, and lack of guarantees for constraint violations. In this paper, we propose Action Space Decomposition Based Optimization (ADBO) for optimizing a more straightforward surrogate task that allows actions to be mapped back to the original task. We examine our method on two real-world data portfolio construction tasks. The results show that our new approach consistently outperforms state-of-the-art benchmark approaches for general CMDPs.
Gastronomy and Tourism in Remote European Areas: Toward a Food and Wine Atlas of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria
Authors: Salerno Giovanni , Palladino Monica , Cafiero Carlo , Romeo Giuseppa , Marcianò Claudio
Published: May 2023

The European Union, apart from its well-developed socio-economic regions, is also characterized by marginal, remote rural areas, where the difficult socio-economic conditions and gentrification are the basis of an increasing phenomenon of depopulation and territorial abandonment. In some of these areas, sometimes, not only the development of inland and/or mountainous areas is complex, but also coastal development is not easy, and it calls for synergies between regional authorities, enterprises, universities, schools, and, more in general, local private and public stakeholders. In such vulnerable areas, there is a greater necessity to build proper governance systems, where local communities and public and private stakeholders have the responsibility to meet, discuss and actively participate as public-private partnerships (PPP) in local development processes. In such a context this paper highlights some of the research themes that have been developed in the research project on Gastronomy and Tourism in remote European Areas with particular reference to the creation of a gastronomic Atlas, still under development, of the Italian area of study, the Metropolitan Town of Reggio Calabria.
Problemstellung: Lücken interdisziplinärer Forschung und ihre Folgen für die Energie- und Rohstoffbranche
Authors: Walter Stefanie
Published: May 2023

Die Bedeutung von Akzeptanz nimmt bei der Realisierung von Projekten zu – seien sie wirtschaftlicher, politischer oder gesellschaftlicher Art (Hitschfeld & Lachmann, 2013). Sachargumente von Politiker- und Industrievertrer:innen werden oft nicht mehr akzeptiert, Aussagen von Expert:innen zum Teil infrage gestellt und Vorhabensträger:innen, Parlamente, Genehmigungsbehörden und selbst Gerichte erfahren öffentlich Kritik (SzéIl, 1992; Brettschneider, 2012, 2013, 2016). Davon sind nicht nur einzelne Branchen betroffen, sondern es handelt sich um einen gesellschaftlichen Wandel, in dem Akzeptanz ein Teil des gesellschaftlichen Wertekanons ist (Bentele et al., 2015).
The top quark legacy of the LHC Run II for PDF and SMEFT analyses
Authors: Kassabov Zahari , Madigan Maeve , Mantani Luca , Moore James , Alvarado Manuel Morales , Rojo Juan , Ubiali Maria
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We assess the impact of top quark production at the LHC on global analyses of parton distributions (PDFs) and of Wilson coefficients in the SMEFT, both separately and in the framework of a joint interpretation. We consider the broadest top quark dataset to date containing all available measurements based on the full Run II luminosity. First, we determine the constraints that this dataset provides on the large-x gluon PDF and study its consistency with other gluon-sensitive measurements. Second, we carry out a SMEFT interpretation of the same dataset using state-of-the-art SM and EFT theory cal- culations, resulting in bounds on 25 Wilson coefficients modifying top quark interactions. Subsequently, we integrate the two analyses within the SIMUnet approach to realise a simul- taneous determination of the SMEFT PDFs and the EFT coefficients and identify regions in the parameter space where their interplay is most phenomenologically relevant. We also demonstrate how to separate eventual BSM signals from QCD effects in the interpretation of top quark measurements at the LHC.
Zooming in on the horizon when in its Meissner state
Authors: Giribet Gaston , La Madrid Joan , Montecchio Luciano , Rubín de Celis Emilio , Schmied Pedro
Published: May 2023

Abstract

When approaching extremality, rotating black holes tend to expel the magnetic field in which they are immersed. This phenomenon, being reminiscent of the Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect in superconductors, is known as the black hole Meissner effect, and here we study it in the backreacting regime and from the near horizon perspective. By resorting to methods recently developed in the literature, which allow to compute conserved charges in the near horizon region, regardless the details of the asymptotia at large distance, we investigate the properties of the black hole horizon when in its Meissner state. We show that, when in such state, the horizon exhibits two sets of supertranslation symmetries as well as a symmetry generated by the local conformal group. The supertranslations are generated by two infinite sets of currents, one of which comes from local dilations of the advanced null coordinate at the horizon, and the other from local gauge transformations that preserve the electromagnetic field configuration at the horizon. We show that the evaluation of the conserved charges associated to these symmetries correctly reproduce the physical charges of the magnetized black holes and their thermodynamics. This represents a concrete application of the techniques developed in [1–3] and it extends the results of [4] to arbitrary values of the black hole charges. In addition, we elaborate on the charges computation at the horizon: we show the equivalence between the horizon charges and the evaluation of the corresponding Komar integrals. Besides, we show the validity of the Gauss phenomenon by explicitly relating near horizon charges with fluxes and charges computed by other techniques. All this provides a method to derive the thermodynamics of magnetized horizons in a quite succinct way, including the case of horizons exhibiting the Meissner effect.
Discrete symmetries and efficient counting of operators
Authors: Calò Simon , Marinissen Coenraad , Rahn Rudi
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We present DECO (“Discrete and Efficient Counting of Operators”), an implementation of the Hilbert series to enumerate subleading operator bases for SMEFT-like EFTs with symmetry groups as typically found in flavour and BSM physics. DECO can accommodate EFTs with arbitrary numbers and combinations of the SM gauge groups, as well as the discrete groups S4, A4, and ℤn, and U(1) groups with residual global charge (and these groups’ most important representations). The program is highly modular and can easily be extended to additional groups and/or representations. We demonstrate the design cases for DECO by using it to cross-check subleading operator bases of EFTs in the literature, which allows us to identify a missing operator in a widely used model for the neutrino masses and discuss said operator’s impact.
The extremal Kerr entropy in higher-derivative gravities
Authors: Cano Pablo A. , David Marina
Published: May 2023

Abstract

We investigate higher derivative corrections to the extremal Kerr black hole in the context of heterotic string theory with α′ corrections and of a cubic-curvature extension of general relativity. By analyzing the near-horizon extremal geometry of these black holes, we are able to compute the Iyer-Wald entropy as well as the angular momentum via generalized Komar integrals. In the case of the stringy corrections, we obtain the physically relevant relation S(J) at order α′2. On the other hand, the cubic theories, which are chosen as Einsteinian cubic gravity plus a new odd-parity density with analogous features, possess special integrability properties that enable us to obtain exact results in the higher-derivative couplings. This allows us to find the relation S(J) at arbitrary orders in the couplings and even to study it in a non-perturbative way. We also extend our analysis to the case of the extremal Kerr-(A)dS black hole.
Towards improved porous models for solid/fluid topology optimization
Authors: Theulings Maarten J. B. , Langelaar Matthijs , van Keulen Fred , Maas Robert
Published: May 2023

Modeling of fluid flows in density-based topology optimization forms a longstanding challenge. Methods based on the Navier–Stokes equations with Darcy penalization (NSDP equations) are widely used in fluid topology optimization. These methods use porous materials with low permeability to represent the solid domain. Consequently, they suffer from flow leakage in certain areas. In this work, the governing equations for solid/fluid density-based topology optimization are reevaluated and reinterpreted. The governing equations are constructed using the volume averaged Navier–Stokes (VANS) equations, well known in the field of porous flow modeling. Subsequently, we simplify, interpret and discretize the VANS equations in the context of solid/fluid topology optimization, and analytically derive lower bounds on the Darcy penalization to sufficiently prevent flow leakage. Based on both the NSDP and VANS equations, two flow solvers are constructed using the Finite Volume method. Their precision and the lower bound on the Darcy penalization are investigated. Subsequently, the solvers are used to optimize flow channels for minimal pressure drop, and the resulting designs and convergence behavior are compared. The optimization procedure using the VANS equations is found to show less tendency to converge to inferior local optima for more precise flow solutions and is less sensitive to its parameter selection.
Shedding light on starvation in darkness in the plastid-bearing sea slug Elysia viridis (Montagu, 1804)
Authors: Frankenbach Silja , Melo Clavijo Jenny , Brück Michael , Bleidißel Sabrina , Simon Martin , Gasparoni Gilles , Lo Porto Christina , Laetz Elise M. J. , Greve Carola , Donath Alexander , Pütz Laura , Sickinger Corinna , Serôdio João , Christa Gregor
Published: May 2023

Sacoglossa are known for stealing photosynthetically active chloroplasts from their macroalgal food and incorporating them into their cytosol. The nutritional support these alien organelles (kleptoplasts) provide to the slugs is still debatable. Comparing slugs starved in continuous darkness (non-photosynthetic condition) and light (photosynthetic condition) is often used to understand the contribution of the kleptoplasts to the slugs' metabolism. Here, we examined the slugs' side of starvation in darkness to better understand the effects of darkness on the slugs. We compared the gene expression profile and digestive activity of Elysia viridis, starved for one week under ambient light and continuous darkness. Starvation in darkness led to the up-regulation of genes related to glucose deficiency, while genes involved in the development, cellular organization, and reproduction were down-regulated. This specific gene expression may counteract reduced nutrient availability under non-photosynthetic conditions. Under photosynthetic conditions, kleptoplasts may have a higher nutritional value and may be able to support some metabolic processes. It appears that the slugs can only access kleptoplast photosynthates through autophagy during starvation. Nevertheless, autophagy and length reduction in darkness are highly elevated compared to light conditions, suggesting that more slug tissue is needed to satisfy the nutritional demands under non-photosynthetic conditions. Since we did not detect a gene expression related to the export of photosynthates to the slugs, our results support the hypothesis that slugs use kleptoplasts as larders accessible via autophagy. As long as the kleptoplasts are functional, they provide an energetic support, helping the slugs to reduce starvation-induced stress.
The influence of degradation in different pH buffer solutions on the optical and durability properties of Monocryl suture: (an in vitro study)
Authors: Hamza Ahmed A. , El-Bakary Mohammed A. , El-Rashidy Noha M. , Omar Emam
Published: May 2023

The objective of this work is to investigate the hydrolytic degradation of the Monocryl (PGA/PCL) surgical suture in different pH buffer solutions, and its correlation with the structural alterations the material undergoes. To this end, an in vitro degradation study was conducted under acidic (pH = 2), physiological (pH = 7.4), and alkaline (pH = 8.5) conditions at 37 °C, over 25 days. Changes in the swelling rate, structural and mechanical properties of the Monocryl sample with the degradation time were characterized, from which the related degradation mechanism of the material was concluded. Results showed that the structural values of the Monocryl sample were more sensitive in the alkaline medium than the acidic and neutral ones. It exhibited a reduction in birefringence values by 11.5% from the original one in the buffer solution of pH = 8.5, only 4% at pH = 2, and 2.6% at pH = 7.4, after 20 days of degradation durations. Over the same time period, mechanical loss in neutral, acidic, and alkaline media was decreased to 19, 14.9, and 8.3%, respectively. The obtained results revealed that the Monocryl suture exhibits enhanced degradation properties in neutral conditions rather than both acidic and alkaline ones, with a more homogeneous degradation behavior during the degradation process.

Graphical abstract
Clinical outcomes, complications, and survivorship for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty versus total knee arthroplasty in patients aged 80 years and older with isolated medial knee osteoarthritis: a matched cohort analysis
Authors: D’Ambrosi Riccardo , Ursino Chiara , Mariani Ilaria , Ursino Nicola , Formica Matteo , Chen Antonia F.
Published: May 2023

Purpose

The primary goal of this study is to compare clinical outcomes, complication rate, and survivorship in octogenarians who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) by performing a matched cohort analysis.

Methods

We analyzed 75 medial UKAs performed by a single experienced surgeon. The included cases were matched with 75 TKAs performed during the same study period. Potential TKA matches used identical exclusion criteria. UKAs were age-, gender-, and body mass index (BMI)-matched at the rate of 1 UKA to 1 TKA from our departmental database. Clinical evaluation included the visual analog scale for pain, range of motion (ROM—flexion and extension), Knee Society Score (KSS), and Oxford Knee Score (OKS). Each patient was clinically evaluated on the day before the surgery (T0) and at two follow-ups at least 12 months (T1) and 24 months (T2) after the surgery. For the survivorship, revision was defined as failure of the implant (periprosthetic joint infection, periprosthetic fracture, or aseptic loosening), and survival was based on implant revision or patient death. Undesirable clinical developments that were not present at baseline or that increased in severity after treatment were classified as adverse events.

Results

The mean age at the time of the surgery was 82.1 ± 1.9 years for UKA and 81.5 ± 1.8 years for TKA (p = 0.06). The two groups differed in regard to surgical time (UKA 44.9 ± 7.2 min; TKA 54.4 ± 11.3 min; p < 0.001); furthermore, the UKA group showed better function (ROM; flexion and extension) than the TKA group at each follow-up time point (p < 0.05). Both groups reported a significant improvement in all clinical scores (KSS and OKS) when compared with their preoperative status (p < 0.05), while no differences were found between the groups at each follow-up (p > 0.05). The UKA group reported 7 (9.3%) failures, while TKA reported 6 failures. There were no survival differences between the groups (T1: p = 0.2; T2: p = 0.5). Overall complication rate was 6% in the UKA group versus 9.75% in TKA (p = 0.2).

Conclusion

The UKA and TKA patients had similar clinical outcomes, post-operative range of motion, and survivorship in octogenarians with medial knee osteoarthritis, with comparable complication rate. Both the surgical procedures may be considered in this patient population, but further long-term follow-up is needed.

Level of evidence

Level III.
Bioaerosol-induced in vitro activation of toll-like receptors and inflammatory biomarker expression in waste workers
Authors: Eriksen Elke , Afanou Anani Komlavi , Straumfors Anne , Graff Pål
Published: May 2023

Purpose

Occupational exposure to bioaerosols during waste handling remains a health concern for exposed workers. However, exposure-related health effects and underlying immunological mechanisms are still poorly described.

Methods

The present study assessed the inflammatory potential of work-air samples (n = 56) in vitro and investigated biomarker expression in exposed workers (n = 69) compared to unexposed controls (n = 25). These quantitative results were compared to self-reported health conditions.

Results

Personal air samples provoked an activation of TLR2 and TLR4 HEK reporter cells in one-third of all samples, indicating that the work environment contained ligands capable of inducing an immune response in vitro. Monocyte levels, as well as plasma biomarker levels, such as IL-1Ra, IL-18 and TNFα were significantly higher in exposed workers, compared to the control group when confounding factors such as BMI, sex, age and smoking habits were accounted for. Furthermore, a significant exposure-related increase in midweek IL-8 levels was measured among exposed workers. Tendencies of increased prevalence of health effects of the respiratory tract were identified in exposed workers.

Conclusion

Inhalable dust provoked TLR activation in vitro, indicating that an exposure-related immune response may be expected in susceptible workers. However, despite significant differences in inflammatory plasma biomarker levels between exposed and unexposed workers, prevalence of self-reported health effects did not differ between the groups. This may be due to the healthy worker effect, or other factors such as adequate use of personal protective respiratory devices or adaptation to the work environment with reduced activation of the immune system.
Size-Dependent Behaviour of Hard Rock Under Triaxial Loading
Authors: González-Fernández Manuel A. , Estévez-Ventosa Xian , Alejano Leandro R. , Masoumi Hossein
Published: May 2023

Understanding size effects is important to rigorously analyse the behaviour of rocks and rock masses at different scales and for different applications. A number of empirical and numerical studies have included size effects on the uniaxial compressive strength of different rocks, but only few have focussed on the triaxial compressive strength. In this study, several triaxial tests were conducted on granite samples at different confinements (from 0.2 to 15 MPa) and sizes (from 30 to 84 mm in diameter). The most relevant strength parameters were recovered including peak and residual strengths, orientation and frictional response of shear bands. Size effects were observed to be less dominant at high confining pressures for both peak and residual strengths. The resulting data were analysed in the context of size-dependent rock strength theories. For peak strength analyses, the unified size effect law (USEL) and the improved unified size law (IUSEL) were used, in which the double trends, ascending descending behaviours were observed. Size-dependent Hoek–Brown modified failure criteria based on USEL and IUSEL were fit to peak strengths exhibiting a good agreement between the models and the laboratory data. The brittle-ductile transition and the frictional behaviour of shear band under triaxial loading were also analysed. A clear brittle behaviour was particularly observed in samples with large-diameters tested at low confinements. Finally, in regards to frictional behaviour, the shear band angle found to be affected by both confinement and sample size.
Spatio-temporal variation in avian taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity and its relevance for conservation in a wetland ecosystem in Myanmar
Authors: Htay Thazin , Røskaft Eivin , Ringsby Thor Harald , Ranke Peter Sjolte
Published: May 2023

Wetland ecosystems host an extensive number of avian species and play therefore a key role in biodiversity conservation. However, avifauna in wetlands is severely impacted by the anthropogenic transformation of natural habitats into other land uses. Understanding how habitat changes influence avian community dynamics is crucial for effective management and conservation of bird habitats. Here, we assessed spatio-temporal variation in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, and assembly structures of the bird community in the Indawgyi Wetland Ecosystem in Myanmar. Bird surveys were seasonally conducted at 120 sample plots, which were equally distributed among four habitat types subject to different level of human influences (natural lake habitat, seasonally flooded grasslands, riparian forest, and agricultural land). Across habitat types, functional and phylogenetic diversity were the highest in the lake habitat, especially during the migration season, and the lowest in the cultivated habitat. Our results indicated over-dispersed functional and phylogenetic structures in the lake habitat, with clustered structures in the remaining habitats. Diversity of species important for conservation was also higher in the lake habitat and in areas far away from human disturbances. Spatial variation of bird community diversity suggests that conservation efforts in this ecosystem should concentrate more on the lake habitat and associated grassland habitats. Moreover, our results suggest the need for habitat restoration in riparian forests and increased sustainable agricultural practices in order to improve the contribution of these habitats to the diversity in the avifauna community. Our study highlighted the importance of integrating functional and phylogenetic dimensions into biodiversity analyses providing broader ecological insights for conservation.