bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pulmonary Function in Human Spaceflight
Authors: Stepanek Jan , Blue Rebecca S. , Connolly Desmond
Published: July 2023

Human spaceflight is entering a time of markedly increased activity fueled by collaboration between governmental and private industry entities. This has resulted in successful mission planning for destinations in low Earth orbit, lunar destinations (Artemis program, Gateway station) as well as exploration to Mars. The planned construction of additional commercial space stations will ensure continued low Earth orbit presence and destinations for science but also commercial spaceflight participants. The human in the journey to space is exposed to numerous environmental challenges including increased gravitational forces, microgravity, altered human physiology during adaptation to weightlessness in space, altered ambient pressure, as well as other important stressors contingent on the type of mission and destination. This chapter will cover clinically important aspects relevant to lung function in a normally proceeding mission; emergency scenarios such as decompression, fire, etc., will not be covered as these are beyond the scope of this review. To date, participation in commercial spaceflight by those with pre-existing chronic medical conditions is very limited, and hence, close collaboration between practicing pulmonary specialists and aerospace medicine specialists is of critical importance to guarantee safety, proper clinical management, and hence success in these important endeavors.
Barriers to Implementation of Advanced Endoscopic Procedures
Authors: Gupta Abhinav , Wlodarczyk Jordan , Cologne Kyle G.
Published: July 2023

Advanced endoscopy has been shown to be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of both benign and low-grade malignant colorectal lesions. In fact, advanced endoscopic procedures are being adopted as standard approaches to these lesions in many places around the world; however, their implementation in the United States has not been as widespread. We ascribe the difficulty in implementation to two reasons: (1) lack of advanced endoscopic training and (2) failure in reimbursement models as they relate to endoscopy. In this article, we hope to describe these barriers and inspire colorectal surgeons to try and overcome them. As surgical specialists with a mastery of endoscopic techniques, colorectal surgeons would be able to maximize benefit for their patients and minimize health care costs in the long run.
Creating the Future of (Endoluminal) GI Interventions
Authors: Milsom Jeffrey W. , Pua Bradley P. , Sedrakyan Art , Lowenfeld Lea , Yeo Heather L.
Published: July 2023

Major innovation into how we pursue diagnosis and therapies for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases is urgently needed to seek better, less invasive, and less costly innovations in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in the GI tract. Learning from prior paradigm shifts in cardiac and vascular we present here several initial steps we have undertaken to follow the endoluminal path, using advanced imaging methods, including endoscopy, and data management with avoidance of entry into a body cavity when possible. We will review the benefit and ease of incorporating routine fluoroscopy with endoscopy to improve safety and efficiency. We describe the development of “hybrid” procedure rooms for GI interventions and rationale for their use. We also emphasize the importance of collaborating with interventional radiologists, software engineers, and data specialists. We predict major improvement in outcomes in both diagnosis and treatment will follow.
Effect of online video infotainment on audience attention
Authors: Dai Xinran , Wang Jing
Published: July 2023

Based on the attention economy theory, this study used the regression analysis method to analyse the effect of online video information entertainment on audience attention’s breadth, depth, engagement, and validity. The empirical research results show that highly positive and negative emotions significantly impact the audience’s attention in infotainment. We found that content storytelling, star characters, soft news themes, and sensational headlines have a significant positive effect. From the perspective of online video and media platforms, time fragmentation significantly impacts the audience’s attention positively and negatively. The diversification of presentation methods, the number of labels, and authoritative media have significant positive effects, whereas the number of topics has a significant negative impact.
Casting pearls before marbles: contrasting mobility of non-wetting drops
Authors: Thompson Avery
Published: July 2023

Although similar in appearance and behavior, two methods of creating non-wetting drops exhibit fundamental differences in mobility and surface interactions.
Nanomaterials may offer smaller, low-power alternative to detecting chiral volatile organic compounds
Authors: Lim Alane
Published: July 2023

Harnessing spin selection in chiral molecules miniaturizes sensors and expands applications for VOC detection.
Testing of two-dimensional Gaussian processes by sample cross-covariance function
Authors: Maraj-Zygmąt Katarzyna , Grzesiek Aleksandra , Sikora Grzegorz , Gajda Janusz , Wyłomańska Agnieszka
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we address the issue of testing two-dimensional Gaussian processes with a defined cross-dependency structure. Multivariate Gaussian processes are widely used in various applications; therefore, it is essential to identify the theoretical model that accurately describes the data. While it is relatively straightforward to do so in a one-dimensional case, analyzing multi-dimensional vectors requires considering the dependency between the components, which can significantly affect the efficiency of statistical methods. The testing methodology presented in this paper is based on the sample cross-covariance function and can be considered a natural generalization of the approach recently proposed for testing one-dimensional Gaussian processes based on the sample autocovariance function. We verify the efficiency of this procedure on three classes of two-dimensional Gaussian processes: Brownian motion, fractional Brownian motion, and two-dimensional autoregressive discrete-time process. The simulation results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the testing methodology, even for small sample sizes. The theoretical and simulation results are supported by analyzing two-dimensional real-time series that describe the main risk factors of a mining company, namely, copper price and exchange rates (USDPLN). We believe that the introduced methodology is intuitive and relatively simple to implement, and thus, it can be applied in many real-world scenarios where multi-dimensional data are examined.
PT-symmetric solitons and parameter discovery in self-defocusing saturable nonlinear Schrödinger equation via LrD-PINN
Authors: Zhu Bo-Wei , Bo Wen-Bo , Cao Qi-Hao , Geng Kai-Li , Wang Yue-Yue , Dai Chao-Qing
Published: July 2023

We propose a physical information neural network with learning rate decay strategy (LrD-PINN) to predict the dynamics of symmetric, asymmetric, and antisymmetric solitons of the self-defocusing saturable nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the PT-symmetric potential and boost the predicted evolutionary distance by an order of magnitude. Taking symmetric solitons as an example, we explore the advantages of the learning rate decay strategy, analyze the anti-interference performance of the model, and optimize the network structure. In addition, the coefficients of the saturable nonlinearity strength and the modulation strength in the PT-symmetric potential are reconstructed from the dataset of symmetric soliton solutions. The application of more advanced machine learning techniques in the field of nonlinear optics can provide more powerful tools and richer ideas for the study of optical soliton dynamics.
Mountain pass solution for the self-dual Einstein–Maxwell–Higgs model on compact surfaces
Authors: Sohn Juhee
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we find two different solutions for the self-dual Maxwell–Higgs model coupled with gravitational fields by employing variational methods. One is a local minimizer and the other is the mountain pass solution.
Niobium and rhenium doping in MoSe2 monolayer during molecular beam epitaxy: Shallow dopants and defect proliferation
Authors: Zhang Junqiu , Xia Yipu , Yu Zhoubin , Yue Xingyu , Jin Yuanjun , Yuan Mengfei , Feng Yue , Li Bin , Wang Bo , Ho Wingkin , Liu Chang , Xu Hu , Jin Chuanhong , Xie Maohai
Published: July 2023

Monolayer (ML) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted a lot of research interest in recent years due to their many interesting properties as well as their application promises. Depending on the specific combinations of metals (e.g., Mo and W) with chalcogen elements (e.g., S, Se, and Te), binary TMDs exhibit a wide spectrum of physical characteristics, e.g., from metal to semiconductor and/or superconductor. Extension from binary to ternary compounds and alloys may offer even wider variations of properties and are thus of interest from both fundamental and practical points of view. In this work, we substitute Mo for niobium (Nb) and rhenium (Re) in ML MoSe2 during molecular-beam epitaxy and probe their effects on structural and electrical properties. We find that low-concentration Nb and Re in ML-MoSe2 are both shallow dopants, with Re being an electron donor and Nb acceptor, respectively. By changing Nb(Re)/Mo flux ratios, we can effectively tune the Fermi level by varying electron or hole concentrations in MoSe2. On the other hand, both Nb and Re are found to cause mirror-twin domain boundary defects to proliferate in MoSe2.
Criticality in transient behavior of coupled oscillator system toward chimera and synchronization
Authors: Yao Nan , Zhang Qian-Yun , Ren De-Yi , Li You-Jun , Su Chun-Wang , Gao Zhong-Ke , Kurths Jürgen
Published: July 2023

Chimera states in spatiotemporal dynamical systems have been investigated in physical, chemical, and biological systems, while how the system is steering toward different final destinies upon spatially localized perturbation is still unknown. Through a systematic numerical analysis of the evolution of the spatiotemporal patterns of multi-chimera states, we uncover a critical behavior of the system in transient time toward either chimera or synchronization as the final stable state. We measure the critical values and the transient time of chimeras with different numbers of clusters. Then, based on an adequate verification, we fit and analyze the distribution of the transient time, which obeys power-law variation process with the increase in perturbation strengths. Moreover, the comparison between different clusters exhibits an interesting phenomenon, thus we find that the critical value of odd and even clusters will alternatively converge into a certain value from two sides, respectively, implying that this critical behavior can be modeled and enabling the articulation of a phenomenological model.
A modeling approach to understanding OLED performance improvements arising from spatial variations in guest:host blend ratio
Authors: Greenberg M. , Sanderson S. , White R. D. , Vamvounis G. , Burn P. L. , Philippa B.
Published: July 2023

Phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) suffer from efficiency roll off, where device efficiency rapidly decays at higher luminance. One strategy to minimize this loss of efficiency at higher luminance is the use of non-uniform or graded guest:host blend ratios within the emissive layer. This work applies a multi-scale modeling framework to elucidate the mechanisms by which a non-uniform blend ratio can change the performance of an OLED. Mobility and exciton data are extracted from a kinetic Monte–Carlo model, which is then coupled to a drift diffusion model for fast sampling of the parameter space. The model is applied to OLEDs with uniform, linear, and stepwise graduations in the blend ratio in the emissive layer. The distribution of the guests in the film was found to affect the mobility of the charge carriers, and it was determined that having a graduated guest profile broadened the recombination zone, leading to a reduction in second order annihilation rates. That is, there was a reduction in triplet–triplet and triplet-polaron annihilation. Reducing triplet–triplet and triplet-polaron annihilation would lead to an improvement in device efficiency.
High-performance Kerr quantum battery
Authors: Ukhtary Muhammad Shoufie , Nugraha Ahmad R. T. , Cahaya Adam B. , Rusydi Andrivo , Majidi Muhammad Aziz
Published: July 2023

We propose and investigate the performance of a hybrid quantum battery, the so-called Kerr quantum battery, which consists of two interacting quantum oscillators, i.e., the charger is a harmonic oscillator and the battery is an anharmonic oscillator involving the Kerr nonlinearity. Such a setup creates nonuniform spacing between energy levels of the quantum oscillator that increases with the energy level. We find that the Kerr quantum battery can store more energy than the qubit battery and reaches maximum stored energy faster than the harmonic oscillator battery. In particular, the average charging power of the Kerr quantum battery is larger than the qubit battery. Furthermore, most of the stored energy in the Kerr quantum battery can be extracted for work. All of the properties of the Kerr quantum battery are controlled by the strength of nonlinearity, in which the enhancement of the nonlinearity transforms the battery from a harmonic oscillator to a qubit.
Study on the energy-focusing mechanism of spatial bubble clusters
Authors: Bian Zhendong , Du Tezhuan , Huang Jianlin , Wang Jingzhu , Wang Yiwei
Published: July 2023

Cavitation research has important implications in fields such as mechanical drag reduction, material processing, and new medical device development. Bubble cluster formation, development, and collapse are critical steps in the cavitation process. High-precision numerical simulations have shown that the collapse of bubble clusters exhibits a characteristic energy focusing from the outside to the inside. This study proposes a focus-type model for the energy transfer in bubble clusters to analyze the formation mechanism of collapse pressure and improve the accuracy of quantitative predictions. The model comprises multiple bubbles (α) radiating energy and a bubble (β) receiving energy. Through numerical simulation, the energy transfer law during bubble interaction is studied, showing that relative energy transfer decreases as the dimensionless distance increases, which corresponds with the theoretical model. The study further analyses the relationship between energy transfer in basic and composite bubble cluster structures. Additionally, the study observed the pressure focusing effect of the bubble clusters and found a strong correlation between the focusing effect and dimensionless distance.
Out-of-pocket payments: impacts on healthcare decision-making and system and individual level measures to minimise the burden
Authors: Neil Amanda L.
Published: July 2023

Out-of-pocket healthcare payments are a concern for all, particularly those least able to afford them, a situation only being exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis. This article aims to provide an overview of out-of-pocket payments and their impacts on decision-making: whether, or not to delay care or seek care at all. The impact of average out-of-pocket payments on demand for mental healthcare services is provided as a specific example. The available data indicate a positive linear relationship between the average out-of-pocket payments for Medicare services by type of provider, and the proportion of patients who decide not to obtain care from a given type provider. This article also poses that current safety net processes are not consumer centric, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Safety Net particularly so, and that change is required. It is recommended that a consumer-centric approach should be adopted with everyone listed on a Medicare card automatically included in the assessment of the Medicare and PBS Safety Nets and for the PBS Safety Net to be automatically assessed through Services Australia. Links to websites are provided to support individual decision-making and registering for available safety nets. Finally, supply side considerations and their implications for market equilibrium and the economy are briefly overviewed.
Habitat, connectivity, and roadkill of Korea’s apex predator, the yellow-throated marten
Authors: Kang Wanmo , Choi Taeyoung , Kim GoWoon , Woo Donggul
Published: July 2023

Context The yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula), an endangered species in South Korea, is an important apex predator of that country’s temperate forest ecosystem. Human impacts on the landscape continue to threaten marten populations, for which there is insufficient understanding of critical habitats and areas required for population connectivity. Aims In this study, our aim was to develop models of habitat suitability and connectivity networks for the yellow-throated marten to inform comprehensive landscape conservation strategies. Methods We used an ensemble of five species distribution models (boosted regression trees, BRT; generalised linear model, GLM; multivariate adaptive regression spline, MARS, maximum entropy model, MaxEnt; and random forest, RF) to identify the main environmental factors influencing marten distribution and potential suitable habitats. We employed a network-based landscape lattice approach combined with circuit theory to predict the potential habitat linkages of martens, and we examined their relevance to marten roadkill. Key results Five species distribution models performed well with a range of test area under the curve (AUC) values from 0.809 to 0.826 (mean = 0.820) with true skill statistic values over 0.5. Elevation and the amount of vegetation cover were the first and second-most important factors for occurrence probability, and they generally exerted positive influences. Distances from human settlements and roads were also positively related to occurrence probability. We determined appropriate spatial resolutions for conserving functional habitat linkages, which are related to its roadkill distribution, and identified the distribution pattern of key linkage areas. Conclusions We effectively identified the potential distribution of marten habitats and linkages between them at regional and functional levels to maintain ecological processes. Implications The results and approaches presented here could be useful in understanding and delineating priority habitats and linkage areas for species conservation and landscape management.
Ancient vertebrate dermal armor evolved from trunk neural crest
Authors: Stundl Jan , Martik Megan L. , Chen Donglei , Raja Desingu Ayyappa , Franěk Roman , Pospisilova Anna , Pšenička Martin , Metscher Brian D. , Braasch Ingo , Haitina Tatjana , Cerny Robert , Ahlberg Per E. , Bronner Marianne E.
Published: July 2023

Bone is an evolutionary novelty of vertebrates, likely to have first emerged as part of ancestral dermal armor that consisted of osteogenic and odontogenic components. Whether these early vertebrate structures arose from mesoderm or neural crest cells has been a matter of considerable debate. To examine the developmental origin of the bony part of the dermal armor, we have performed in vivo lineage tracing in the sterlet sturgeon, a representative of nonteleost ray-finned fish that has retained an extensive postcranial dermal skeleton. The results definitively show that sterlet trunk neural crest cells give rise to osteoblasts of the scutes. Transcriptional profiling further reveals neural crest gene signature in sterlet scutes as well as bichir scales. Finally, histological and microCT analyses of ray-finned fish dermal armor show that their scales and scutes are formed by bone, dentin, and hypermineralized covering tissues, in various combinations, that resemble those of the first armored vertebrates. Taken together, our results support a primitive skeletogenic role for the neural crest along the entire body axis, that was later progressively restricted to the cranial region during vertebrate evolution. Thus, the neural crest was a crucial evolutionary innovation driving the origin and diversification of dermal armor along the entire body axis.
Proxalutamide reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated inflammatory response
Authors: Qiao Yuanyuan , Wotring Jesse W. , Zheng Yang , Zhang Charles J. , Zhang Yuping , Jiang Xia , Pretto Carla D. , Eyunni Sanjana , Parolia Abhijit , He Tongchen , Cheng Caleb , Cao Xuhong , Wang Rui , Su Fengyun , Ellison Stephanie J. , Wang Yini , Qin Jun , Yan Honghua , Zhou Qianxiang , Ma Liandong , Sexton Jonathan Z. , Chinnaiyan Arul M.
Published: July 2023

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, data suggested that males had a higher risk of developing severe disease and that androgen deprivation therapy might be associated with protection. Combined with the fact that
TMPRSS2
(
transmembrane serine protease 2
), a host entry factor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was a well-known androgen-regulated gene, this led to an upsurge of research investigating androgen receptor (AR)-targeting drugs. Proxalutamide, an AR antagonist, was shown in initial clinical studies to benefit COVID-19 patients; however, further validation is needed as one study was retracted. Due to continued interest in proxalutamide, which is in phase 3 trials, we examined its ability to impact SARS-CoV-2 infection and downstream inflammatory responses. Proxalutamide exerted similar effects as enzalutamide, an AR antagonist prescribed for advanced prostate cancer, in decreasing AR signaling and expression of
TMPRSS2
and
angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)
, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor. However, proxalutamide led to degradation of AR protein, which was not observed with enzalutamide. Proxalutamide inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection with an IC
50
value of 97 nM, compared to 281 nM for enzalutamide. Importantly, proxalutamide inhibited infection by multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants and synergized with remdesivir. Proxalutamide protected against cell death in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma, and overall survival of mice was increased with proxalutamide treatment prior to cytokine exposure. Mechanistically, we found that proxalutamide increased levels of NRF2, an essential transcription factor that mediates antioxidant responses, and decreased lung inflammation. These data provide compelling evidence that proxalutamide can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and cytokine-induced lung damage, suggesting that promising clinical data may emerge from ongoing phase 3 trials.
Parasite effects on receivers in animal communication: Hidden impacts on behavior, ecology, and evolution
Authors: Reichert Michael S. , Bolek Matthew G. , McCullagh Elizabeth A.
Published: July 2023

Parasites exert a profound effect on biological processes. In animal communication, parasite effects on signalers are well-known drivers of the evolution of communication systems. Receiver behavior is also likely to be altered when they are parasitized or at risk of parasitism, but these effects have received much less attention. Here, we present a broad framework for understanding the consequences of parasitism on receivers for behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary processes. First, we outline the different kinds of effects parasites can have on receivers, including effects on signal processing from the many parasites that inhabit, occlude, or damage the sensory periphery and the central nervous system or that affect physiological processes that support these organs, and effects on receiver response strategies. We then demonstrate how understanding parasite effects on receivers could answer important questions about the mechanistic causes and functional consequences of variation in animal communication systems. Variation in parasitism levels is a likely source of among-individual differences in response to signals, which can affect receiver fitness and, through effects on signaler fitness, impact population levels of signal variability. The prevalence of parasitic effects on specific sensory organs may be an important selective force for the evolution of elaborate and multimodal signals. Finally, host–parasite coevolution across heterogeneous landscapes will generate geographic variation in communication systems, which could ultimately lead to evolutionary divergence. We discuss applications of experimental techniques to manipulate parasitism levels and point the way forward by calling for integrative research collaborations between parasitologists, neurobiologists, and behavioral and evolutionary ecologists.
Quantum interferometry and pathway selectivity in the nonlinear response of photosynthetic excitons
Authors: Kizmann Matthias , Yadalam Hari Kumar , Chernyak Vladimir Y. , Mukamel Shaul
Published: July 2023

We propose a time–frequency resolved spectroscopic technique which employs nonlinear interferometers to study exciton–exciton scattering in molecular aggregates. A higher degree of control over the contributing Liouville pathways is obtained as compared to classical light. We show how the nonlinear response can be isolated from the orders-of-magnitude stronger linear background by either phase matching or polarization filtering. Both arise due to averaging the signal over a large number of noninteracting, randomly oriented molecules. We apply our technique to the Frenkel exciton model which excludes charge separation for the photosystem II reaction center. We show how the sum of the entangled photon frequencies can be used to select two-exciton resonances, while their delay times reveal the single-exciton levels involved in the optical process.
Perception of classical music: development of creativity and musical experience in middle music schools (La percepción de la música clásica: desarrollo de la creatividad y de la experiencia musical en los centros de secundaria de educación musical)
Authors: Hu Shihong , Li Yang
Published: July 2023

The study aims to investigate the impact of a specially designed intervention programme on middle school students’ creative thinking and musical experience. The study was conducted among 120 students ( SD = 13.4) at middle music schools in the PRC. The instruments included the Creative Personality Scale (CPS) and the Scale of Musical Experience (SME). On the CPS post-test, the control group demonstrated the same creativity, suggesting the impossibility of independent development of creative abilities within an educational institution. The influence group demonstrated increased medium creativity (10.0%) and strong creativity (11.1%). SME post-test in the control group suggests that poor musical experience fell by 11.4%, medium experience increased by 6.4% and strong musical experience increased by 5.0%. The influence secured the dominance of the medium musical experience, with poor musical experience reduced by 22.3% and strong experience increased by 15.7%. The present findings can enhance scientific knowledge about classical music practices and their adoption within educational institutions. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that creativity-oriented practices can be integrated into music schools.
Separable ball around any full-rank multipartite product state
Authors: Wen Robin Yunfei , Kempf Achim
Published: July 2023

We show that around any m-partite product state

ρ

p
r
o
d

=

ρ
1

⊗
…
⊗

ρ
m

of full rank (that is

d
e
t

(

ρ

p
r
o
d

)
≠
0
)

, there exists a finite-sized closed ball of separable states centered around

ρ

p
r
o
d

whose radius is

β
:=

2

1
−
m

/

2

λ

m
i
n

(

ρ

p
r
o
d

)

. Here,

λ

m
i
n

(

ρ

p
r
o
d

)

is the smallest eigenvalue of

ρ

p
r
o
d

. We are assuming that the total Hilbert space is finite dimensional and we use the notion of distance induced by the Frobenius norm. Applying a scaling relation, we also give a new and simple sufficient criterion for multipartite separability based on trace:

T
r

[
ρ

ρ

p
r
o
d

]
2

/

T
r

[

ρ
2

]
⩾

T
r

[

ρ

p
r
o
d

2

]
−

β
2

. Using the separable balls around the full-rank product states, we discuss the existence and possible sizes of separable balls around any multipartite separable states, which are important features for the set of all separable states. We discuss the implication of these separable balls on entanglement dynamics.
Low energy magnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerve - a simulation study
Authors: Sandurkov B , Rapp J , Hemmert W , Gleich B
Published: July 2023

Peripheral magnetic stimulation is a promising assistive technique for rehabilitation. Today’s magnetic stimulation devices, designed for transcranial stimulation, operate at currents of 6 kA and higher. This makes them expensive and bulky. Many motor neurons in peripheral nerves are more accessible, have large diameters, and require significantly lower field strengths for stimulation. In this work, we present a simulation environment to determine the threshold current required to trigger an action potential in phrenic nerve motor neurons for different coil geometries. An anatomical model was used for coil placement and realistic field calculations. The field distribution was calculated using the finite integration technique and then applied to a neuronal model to simulate the axon membrane dynamics. For general applicability, the coil-nerve distance and the axon diameter were varied. We show that the required current was approximately 1.3 kA for a nerve-coil distance of 35 mm, which corresponds to 20% of the available power of a commercial TMS device. By including the nearby vagus nerve in the simulations, we showed that accidental stimulation of this nerve is highly unlikely. Our results pave the way for the development of smaller, less complex, and more affordable stimulators and promise to increase the use of peripheral magnetic stimulators in clinical settings.
Free and bound sodium identification by skin dielectric properties separation algorithm of bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (spa-BIS) in human skin model
Authors: Ibrahim Kiagus A , Wicaksono Ridwan , Baidillah Marlin R , Ito Koichi , Takei Masahiro
Published: July 2023

Free and bound sodium in human skin models have been identified by two proposals: skin’s phantom fabrication and skin’s dielectric properties separation algorithm of bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (spa-BIS). The spa-BIS consist of conductivity-permittivity separation, contact impedance compensation, and a correlation score algorithm based on the vessel with a bipolar electrode. The skin phantom fabrication comprises a recipe combination with temperature-controlled protocol and sodium molarity calculation. In experiments, the human skin models are created to mimic the electrical properties of skin under

1

MHz

with several different sodium molarities. Based on five types of human skin models with five samples of each group, the free sodium type conductivity and concentration results

R

2

=
0.9903

−

following a linear trendline of concentration change in skin tissues theorems with the fRequency range from

1

kHz

to

1

MHz

,

while the bound sodium type results

R

2

=
0.9061

−

.

The spa-BIS compensate

7
−
16

Ω

of vessel contact impedance. The dielectric properties of each type have been extracted with less than 10% of the average standard deviation, which is considered an accurate identification method of dermis dielectric properties. The algorithm successfully identifies sodium type: free sodium has a negative, and bound sodium has a positive correlation score trend. As an additional discussion, the different time-dependent effects, the different water content, and different agar content analyses have been provided in this study. As a robust analysis method, the spa-BIS has a prominent performance to replace a 23Na-MRI in terms of free and bound sodium identification.
Elastocaloric effect of shape memory polymers in elastic response regime
Authors: Hirai Takamasa , Uto Koichiro , Ebara Mitsuhiro , Uchida Ken-ichi
Published: July 2023

Solid-state cooling/heating technology based on the elastocaloric effect is one of the promising alternatives to vapor compression systems. Large elastocaloric temperature modulation is often generated through the non-linear strain-induced structural transition by applying large strain and/or stress to ferroelastic materials. Recently, an unconventional approach to expand the application possibilities of the elastocaloric effect was demonstrated by processing elastocaloric materials into kirigami structures, which was inspired by the art of paper cutting. Using this approach, only a small stretch of processed conventional plastics can locally provide more efficient performance of elastocaloric temperature modulation than that of ferroelastic materials. To further improve such a unique functionality, it is necessary to find plastic or polymeric materials showing large elastocaloric effects in the linear elastic response regime that can be driven by a MPa-order weak stress application, where the non-linear structural transition is irrelevant. In this work, by means of a recently developed measurement technique for the elastocaloric effect based on the lock-in thermography, we found that shape memory polymers (SMPs) show prominent performance for elastocaloric temperature modulation that is larger than conventional plastics. SMPs enable the control of crystallinity by changing the cross-linking agents, melting temperature by changing the degree of polymerization, and orientation of the polymer chain segment by the shape memory effect. By utilizing the unique properties of SMPs, we manipulated their elastocaloric performance. The experimental results reported here will highlight the potential of smart polymers for flexible and durable elastocaloric applications.
On the efficiency of caloric materials in direct comparison with exergetic grades of compressors
Authors: Schipper Jan , Bach David , Mönch Stefan , Molin Christian , Gebhardt Sylvia , Wöllenstein Jürgen , Schäfer-Welsen Olaf , Vogel Christian , Langebach Robin , Bartholomé Kilian
Published: July 2023

Efficiency improvements in heat pump can drastically reduce global energy demand. Caloric heat pumps are currently being investigated as a potentially more efficient alternative to vapor compression systems. Caloric heat pumps are driven by solid-state materials that exhibit a significant change in temperature when a field is applied, such as a magnetic or an electric field as well as mechanical stress. For most caloric materials, the phase transition results in a certain amount of power dissipation, which drastically impacts the efficiency of a caloric cooling system. The impact on the efficiency can be expressed by a figure of merit (FOM), which can directly be deduced from material properties. This FOM has been derived for 36 different magneto-, elasto-, electro and barocaloric material classes based on literature data. It is found that the best materials can theoretically attain second law efficiencies of over 90%. The FOM is analogous to the isentropic efficiency of idealized compressors of vapor compression systems. The isentropic efficiency can thus be directly linked to the theoretically achievable efficiency of a compressor-based refrigeration system for a given refrigerant. In this work a theoretical comparison is made between efficiency of caloric heat pumps and vapor compression systems based on the material losses for the caloric heat pump and the efficiency of the compressor for vapor compression systems. The effect of heat regeneration is considered in both cases. In vapor compression systems, the effect of the working fluid on the efficiency is also studied.
VIII—The Best City in Plato’sRepublic: Is It possible?
Authors: Beere Jonathan
Published: July 2023

This paper argues that there are three distinct senses of possibility at play in the Republic’s discussion of whether the best city is possible: natural possibility, possibility for existing cities, and ideal possibility. It is argued that Socrates makes different claims about each of the three political proposals in Book v. (1) Women guardians are argued to be naturally possible. (2) Socrates considers it an open question whether the common family of guardians (the so-called ‘community of women and children’) is naturally possible. He argues, however, that it is ideally possible. (3) The philosopher-king is claimed to be possible in the strongest sense: it is not only naturally possible, it is also possible for existing cities. It is for this reason that the common family of guardians is ideally possible. This clarifies the sense in which the best city is best.
Improving taxonomic classification with feature space balancing
Authors: Fuhl Wolfgang , Zabel Susanne , Nieselt Kay
Published: July 2023

Modern high-throughput sequencing technologies, such as metagenomic sequencing, generate millions of sequences that need to be assigned to their taxonomic rank. Modern approaches either apply local alignment to existing databases, such as MMseqs2, or use deep neural networks, as in DeepMicrobes and BERTax. Due to the increasing size of datasets and databases, alignment-based approaches are expensive in terms of runtime. Deep learning-based approaches can require specialized hardware and consume large amounts of energy. In this article, we propose to use k-mer profiles of DNA sequences as features for taxonomic classification. Although k-mer profiles have been used before, we were able to significantly increase their predictive power significantly by applying a feature space balancing approach to the training data. This greatly improved the generalization quality of the classifiers. We have implemented different pipelines using our proposed feature extraction and dataset balancing in combination with different simple classifiers, such as bagged decision trees or feature subspace KNNs. By comparing the performance of our pipelines with state-of-the-art algorithms, such as BERTax and MMseqs2 on two different datasets, we show that our pipelines outperform these in almost all classification tasks. In particular, sequences from organisms that were not part of the training were classified with high precision.

Availability and implementation

The open-source code and the code to reproduce the results is available in Seafile, at https://tinyurl.com/ysk47fmr.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Advances online.
Role of duct excision surgery in the treatment of pathological nipple discharge and detection of breast carcinoma: systematic review
Authors: Makineli Seher , van Wijnbergen Jan Willem M , Vriens Menno R , van Diest Paul J , Witkamp Arjen J
Published: July 2023

Background

The role of duct excision surgery is not clearly defined in patients with pathological nipple discharge without other clinical and radiological abnormalities. The primary aim of this systematic review was to determine the malignancy rate in patients with pathological nipple discharge after duct excision surgery (microdochectomy/major duct excision). The secondary aims were to determine the recurrence rate of pathological nipple discharge after surgery and to assess breast cancer development after surgery.

Methods

MEDLINE and Embase were searched from inception to March 2023, using search terms related to ‘nipple discharge’, ‘nipple fluid’, ‘microdochectomy’, ‘duct excision’, and ‘minimally invasive surgical procedure’. Studies reporting data about women who underwent duct excision surgery for pathological nipple discharge without clinical and radiological suspicion of breast cancer, as well as reporting data on women diagnosed with breast cancer after duct excision surgery, were included.

Results

A total of 318 titles were identified, of which nine publications were included in the analysis. This resulted in 1108 patients with pathological nipple discharge who underwent a duct excision. The weighted mean rate of malignancy after duct excision surgery was 8.1 per cent (ranging from 2.3 to 13.5 per cent). Three studies described the recurrence rate of pathological nipple discharge (ranging from 0 to 12 per cent) and two studies reported breast cancer development in the follow-up in a total of three patients (less than 1 per cent).

Conclusion

The malignancy rate after duct excision surgery for pathological nipple discharge was low in patients with pathological nipple discharge without radiological and clinical abnormalities and approximately 9 of 10 patients undergo surgery for a benign cause. Improvement of the diagnostic and therapeutic workup is needed to prevent patients from undergoing (unnecessary) exploratory surgery.
Targeted immunotherapy for HTLV-1-associated myelopathy: a step in the right direction
Authors: Davies Nicholas W S , Taylor Graham P
Published: July 2023

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Long-term safety and efficacy of mogamulizumab (anti-CCR4) for treating virus-associated myelopathy’ by Sato et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad139).
Girl, Interrupted: Queering the Campus Novel
Authors: De Vido Angelica
Published: July 2023

The campus novel has predominantly explored the development of adolescent boys. Where girls’ narratives have existed, intellectual development has typically been established as a secondary preoccupation, in favor of a central characterization of the campus as a space for heterosexual romance. I argue that this tradition is subverted in Sylvia Brownrigg’s Pages for You (2001) and Susan Choi’s My Education (2013), which reconfigure the campus novel by placing narrative concentration on girls’ intellectual development and queer sexual experiences. Consequently, these novels release girls from the limits by which their stories have conventionally been contained.
Pulling Apart and Piecing Together: Wholeness and Fragmentation in Early Christian Visions of the Afterlife
Authors: Henning Meghan R , Moss Candida R
Published: July 2023

Afterlife bodies in Christian thought have been successfully analyzed as expressions of cultural ideals, loci in which justice can be administered, and mirrors of societal structures and hierarchies. As hypothetical and constructive as they are, descriptions of heavenly and hellish bodies reinscribe or subvert norms about the gender, status, and appearance of their earthly counterparts. Building upon earlier work about eschatological bodies and drawing upon ancient bodily discourse about health and wholeness, this article places the heavenly and hellish under a single lens. It argues that early Christian thinking about afterlife spaces reproduced and intensified a broader cultural grammar of bodily wholeness and fragmentation in which the integrity of body and self was precarious but highly prized. The production of these afterlife bodies transformed the wholeness/fragmentation binary into eschatological standards and divine poetics.
Liquid Consumer Security
Authors: Atanasova Aleksandrina , Eckhardt Giana M , Husemann Katharina C
Published: July 2023

Systemic risks––pandemics, economic recessions, professional precarity, political volatility, and climate emergencies––increasingly erode previously taken-for-granted stabilities and consumers’ confidence in the future. How do consumers manage risk and uncertainty when economic and ontological security are on the decline? Traditionally, consumers have built a sense of security through solid consumption (e.g., home ownership, accumulating possessions). A four-year ethnography of digital nomadism, however, demonstrates that looming uncertainty can render solid consumption a source of vulnerability and an unwanted anchor in turbulent times that call for agility and adaptability. We outline the emergence of liquid consumer security, defined as a form of felt security that stems from avoidance of solid consumption and its risks and responsibilities. Liquid consumer security inheres in the absence of ownership, attachments, or rootedness, and is derived from circumventing the temporal demands, financial liabilities, and commitments that solid consumption requires, which emerge as sources of risk. It is achieved through a recursive process of engaging in three strategies: (1) solid risk minimization; (2) security reconstruction through the liquid marketplace; and (3) ideological legitimation. Contributions to consumer risk and security, liquid consumption, social theories of risk, and digital nomadism are discussed.
Working Towards Policy: A Theory of Organizational Implementation and Management
Authors: Patty John W
Published: July 2023

Much of policy-making involves prioritization—deciding not only what to do but also when—and uncertainty—not knowing exactly how the choices made will affect actual policy outcomes. I present a theory of dynamic prioritization within a hierarchical organization. The model illustrates how notions such as an agency’s performance, mission, and critical tasks are linked with details such as institutional structure and the preferences of both front-line bureaucrats and their overseers. The theory highlights some reasons why even sincere, representative policy-making decisions might appear irrational, inconsistent, or “captured” to outside observers. This is in contrast to classical “spatial models” of policy that abstract from the more quotidian details of how policy is actually made as opposed to simply being “chosen.” The theory also generates traditional comparative static-style predictions about the features of the policy-making tasks, the preferences of bureaucrats and political overseers, and agency structure that affect the substance and quality of policy-making. Finally, the theory offers a general explanation for why real-world agencies employ widely varying processes to organize and implement policy-making: optimal policy-making is—in a precise sense—“sufficiently complicated” to render a succinct and robust summary of optimal management impossible.