bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An encoded reconfigurable RFID strain sensor and its information fusion method
Authors: Chen Lan , Kang Lei , Liu Luyi , Hu Jingwen , Wan Guochun , Xie Liyu
Published: August 2022

Chip-based radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor systems have been investigated for structural health monitoring applications. However, the use of chips in sensor tags has drawbacks in terms of cost, durability, and detection capability. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable RFID-based chipless tag sensor for strain detection, which detects structural strain by observing the offset of the resonant frequency of the antenna and incorporates an encoding unit for tag identification. To realize the reconfigurability of the antenna, a PIN diode is added to control the antenna, and the frequency reconfigurability of the antenna is realized by controlling the turn on/off of the PIN diodes. The Kalman filter algorithm is used to realize the information fusion of multiple sensors to improve the sensor detection accuracy, and the background noise data enhancement is used to expand the original data samples to fuse the information of the three sensors’ data, and the relative error after fusion is reduced by about 36% compared with the relative error before fusion compared with separate measurements. The antenna was fabricated by an etching process and measured using vector network analyzer to verify the accuracy of the antenna simulation results.
A chaos-based image compression and encryption scheme using fractal coding and adaptive-thresholding sparsification
Authors: Wang Jiaqi , Zhang Miao , Tong Xiaojun , Wang Zhu
Published: August 2022

With the wide application of digital images in the network, the problems of information security and transmission efficiency need to be solved urgently. Fractal encoding as an efficient compression method, its security is not guaranteed. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a new image compression and encryption scheme based on chaotic map and frequency division joint compression coding, which uses the combination of fractal encoding and adaptive-thresholding sparsification to compress images. Arnold scrambling and chaos-based plane scrambling diffusion are embedded in two compression processes respectively. In addition, an efficient encryption algorithm is designed based on the coupling-enhanced chaotic map, which encrypt the compressed data as a whole through simultaneous scrambling of parent blocks and sub-blocks and zigzag round-trip diffusion. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed image compression and encryption scheme is suitable for gray and color images, and can achieve higher compression ratio and improve the efficiency of fractal compression. The designed encryption algorithm is reliable, and more efficient than several advanced image encryption schemes.
Effect of clustering on primordial black hole microlensing constraints
Authors: Gorton Matthew , Green Anne M.
Published: August 2022

Stellar microlensing observations tightly constrain compact object dark matter in the mass range (10-11–103)M
⊙. Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) form clusters, and it has been argued that these microlensing constraints are consequently weakened or evaded. For the most commonly studied PBH formation mechanism, the collapse of large gaussian curvature perturbations generated by inflation, the clusters are sufficiently extended that the PBHs within them act as individual lenses. We find that if the typical mass of the clusters is sufficiently large, ≳ 106
M
⊙, then the event duration distribution can deviate significantly from that produced by a smooth dark matter distribution, in particular at the shortest durations. As a consequence of this, the probability distribution of the number of observed events is non-Poissonian, peaking at a lower value, with an extended tail to large numbers of events. However, for PBHs formed from the collapse of large inflationary perturbations, the typical cluster is expected to contain ∼ 103 PBHs. In this case the effect of clustering is negligibly small, apart from for the most massive PBHs probed by decade-long stellar microlensing surveys (M
PBH ∼ 103
M
⊙).
Design of new infrared nano sensor based on surface plasmon resonance photonic crystal fibers
Authors: Moayed Seyed Hossein , Sadeghi Mojtaba , Adelpour Zahra
Published: August 2022

In this paper, five different surface plasmon resonance photonic crystal fiber (SPR-PCF) structures are proposed and evaluated by numerical modeling. The structures are based on photonic crystal fibers with defects rods of air, Au, and TiN in the background of silica. In the fourth and fifth designs, two grooves coated with gold layers are considered to improve the functionality of the structures and help the analyte to become closer to the fiber core. The effects of geometrical parameters like radius, thickness, and width on the loss spectrum are also investigated, and the results are presented. Finally, a double D-shaped SPR-PCF sensor with ITO belts and U-shaped grooves covered with gold is proposed. The proposed sensor can detect a low RI change from 1.4 to 1.6 with a maximal sensitivity factor around 6000 (nm/RIU). The proposed SPR-PCF sensor can be an appropriate candidate in nano-optical integrated circuits (for different applications) due to its compact size and high sensitivity factor.
Multi-soliton solutions for the three types of nonlocal Hirota equations via Riemann–Hilbert approach
Authors: Zhuang Yindong , Zhang Yi , Zhang Heyan , Xia Pei
Published: August 2022

The purpose of the paper is to formulate multi-soliton solutions for the nonlocal Hirota equations via the Riemann–Hilbert (RH) approach. The RH problems are constructed and the zero structures are studied via performing spectral analysis of the Lax pair. Then we consider three types of nonlocal Hirota equations by discussing different symmetry reductions of the potential matrix. On the basis of the resulting matrix RH problem under the restriction of the reflectionless case, we successfully obtain the multi-soliton solutions of the nonlocal Hirota equations.
A Study on Non-coplanar Baseline Effects for Mingantu Spectral Radioheliograph
Authors: Yang Qiu-Ping , Wang Feng , Deng Hui , Mei Ying , Wang Wei
Published: August 2022

As a dedicated solar radioheliograph, the MingantU SpEctral RadioHeliograph (MUSER) has a maximum baseline of more than 3000 m and a frequency range of 400 MHz–15 GHz. According to the classical radio interferometry theory, the non-coplanar baseline effect (i.e., w-term effect) would be considered and calibrated for such a radio instrument. However, little previous literature made the qualitative or quantitative analyses on w-term effects of solar radioheliograph in-depth. This study proposes a complete quantitative analysis of w-term effects for the MUSER. After a brief introduction of the MUSER, we systematically investigate the baseline variations over a year and analyze the corresponding variations of w-term. We further studied the effects of the w-term in the imaging for the specified extended source, i.e., the Sun. We discussed the possible effects of the w-term, such as image distortion and so on. The simulated results show that the w-term is an essential and unavoidable issue for solar radio imaging with high spatial resolution.
Precise Evolutionary Asteroseismology of High-Amplitude δ Scuti Star AE Ursae Majoris
Authors: Xue Hui-Fang , Niu Jia-Shu , Fu Jian-Ning
Published: August 2022

Stellar structure and evolution theory is one of the bases in modern astronomy. Stellar inner structures and their evolutionary states can be precisely tested by asteroseismology, since the inner information is brought to the stellar surface by the global oscillating waves and becomes observable. For stellar evolutionary speed (i.e., how long timescale does a star stay at a special evolution phase?), because of the insurmountable gap between the timescales of the evolutionary history of human civilization and a star, it can only be roughly tested by ensemble of stars in different evolutionary stages in most cases, and all the snapshots of these stars make up our global view of stellar evolution. The effect of stellar evolution on the structure and the corresponding global size of a pulsating star will lead to tiny period variations of its pulsation modes, which are the most valuable indicators of its evolutionary state and can be used to test the stellar evolution theory by a single star rather than ensemble of stars. Here, we report a High-Amplitude δ Scuti star AE Ursae Majoris, which is located in the post main-sequence (MS) evolutionary stage and its observed linear period variation rate can be practically ascribed to its evolutionary effect. The result tests the stellar evolution theory from the pre-MS to post-MS with an unprecedented precision by a single star, and the framework can be extended to other type of pulsating stars to perform precise evolutionary asteroseismology, which aims to test the current stellar evolution theory in different evolutionary stages, discover the discrepancies between the theory and observations, and ultimately build a complete and precise stellar evolution theory to backtrack the history of each of these stars.
Three-dimensional modeling of sputtered materials transport in diagnostic ducts of fusion devices
Authors: Babinov N.A. , Razdobarin A.G. , Bukreev I.M. , Kirilenko D.A. , Lyullin Z.G. , Mukhin E.E. , Sitnikova A.A. , Varshavchik L.A. , Zatylkin P.A. , Putrik A. , Klimov N.S. , Kovalenko D.V. , Zhitlukhin A.M. , Morgan T. , Brons S. , De Temmerman G. , Serenkov I.T. , Sakharov V.I. , Bulovich S.V. , Gorodetsky A.E. , Zalavutdinov R.Kh.
Published: August 2022

Migration of plasma erosion products in plasma facilities is studied experimentally and numerically within the framework of modeling transport of plasma-facing materials in the diagnostic ducts of fusion devices. Material transport simulation is discussed for two cases of low and high background neutral gas pressures. Monte Carlo software KITe was used to simulate transport at a neutral gas background pressure 0.1–0.5 Pa—typical during steady-state tokamak operation and during pressure pulses caused by edge localized modes (ELMs). The simulation approach was implemented to describe experiments at the MAGNUM-PSI facility. Fluid dynamic code FLUENT is used to simulate transport during pressure surges as high as 1000 Pa, which can occur in the case of severe disruptions in tokamak plasma discharges, such as vertical displacement events (VDE) or accidental events. The hydrodynamic approach was verified in simulation of target sputtering in the QSPA plasma gun facility.
Visible radiophotoluminescence of colour centres in lithium fluoride: from lasers to versatile radiation sensors
Authors: Montereali R.M. , Bonfigli F. , Nichelatti E. , Nigro V. , Piccinini M. , Vincenti M.A.
Published: August 2022

The peculiar photoluminescence characteristics of radiation-induced colour centres in lithium fluoride (LiF), well known for applications in optically-pumped tuneable lasers and broad-band miniaturised light-emitting photonic devices operating at room-temperature, are under exploitation in passive imaging detectors and dosimeters based on visible radiophotoluminescence in LiF crystals and polycrystalline thin films. Their high intrinsic spatial resolution, wide dynamic range and large field of view, combined with easy handling, ambient-light operation and no development need, allow to successfully extend their use from X-ray imaging to proton-beam advanced diagnostics and dosimetry, even at those low dose values that are typical of hadrontherapy. After exposure, the latent images stored in LiF as local formations of F2 and F3
+ aggregate defects are read with an optical fluorescence microscope under illumination in the blue spectral range. Their visible emission intensity was found to be linearly proportional to the dose over at least three orders of magnitude, so that bi-dimensional LiF solid-state dosimeters based on spectrally-integrated radiophotoluminescence reading can be envisaged. Taking advantage of the low thickness of LiF thin films, transversal proton beam dose mapping was demonstrated at low proton energies, even at high doses. Recent results and advances concerning LiF crystals and polycrystalline thin film characterisation in the linearity range are presented and discussed with the aim of highlighting challenges related to increasing the LiF film detector radiation sensitivity to both particles (protons) and photons (X-rays), although therapeutic dose values typical of clinical radiotherapy are still a big challenge.
Estimation of yield and decay kinetics of intraband luminescence in multiple-parabolic-branch-band model with account of phonons
Authors: Tishchenko E V , Vasil’ev A N
Published: August 2022

The emission spectrum of electron intraband luminescence was calculated for a dielectric crystal with conduction band consists of multiple parabolic branches. This shape of this spectrum adequately correspond to the CsI experimental spectra in the photon energy region ≥ 1.2 eV. The calculated total quantum yield of intraband luminescence of CsI is about 78 photons collected by the silicon photomultiplier per 1 MeV of deposited energy of ionizing radiation. This value is about two times higher than the experimental one, the difference is due to the simplification of the model. It was shown that characteristic times of intraband luminescence are about 1 ps.
Study of thermally and optically stimulated luminescence in LiF:Mg,Ti following neutron and beta irradiation
Authors: Eliyahu I , Horowitz Y S , Reshes G , Shapiro A , Biderman S , Assor Y , Ginsburg D , Herman B , Oster L
Published: August 2022

The results reported herein were motivated by the potential application of combined optically stimulated (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements for separation between the beta and neutron dose components in mixed neutron-beta radiation fields. The advantages of OSL/TL are two-fold: (i) The OSL and TL readout can be carried out on the same sample and (ii) the greater efficiency of OSL to high ionization density (HID) radiation due to the excitation of F2 and F3
+ centers. The beta calibration coefficients for LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-700) were measured using a 90Sr/90Y source calibrated at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center nuclear facility. The estimation of the neutron calibration coefficients was carried out by irradiation with broad beam fast neutrons of median energy 5 MeV and a quasi-monoenergetic neutron field of mean energy 14.8 MeV at the Physikalisch Technische Bundenanstalt. The preferential excitation of OSL following HID irradiation has been demonstrated.
Structural Behavior Of Garnet-Type Li7La3Zr2O12 Solid Electrolyte Material: A Classical Molecular Dynamics Study
Authors: Ledwaba R S , Ngoepe P E
Published: August 2022

The cubic garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 is an eminent candidate for next-generation solid state battery technology due to its thermal stability and high ionic conductivity. As such, its operation mechanisms need to be thoroughly understood, particularly focusing on the structural instability challenge reported to occur at lower temperatures. Herein, the statistical sampling capability of molecular dynamics simulations is employed during the investigation of fundamental structural, kinetic and thermodynamic properties emanating its subjection to pressure and temperature. Systematic induction of pressure yielded transition of the tetragonal phase to the cubic phase at 2 GPa pressure. The lattice parameters for the cubic and tetragonal phases, acquired in the current study are within 0.38 % agreement with literature. Furthermore, the XRD graphs confirm varying phases under different pressure conditions. The temperature phase diagram for 0 GPa structure agrees well with the literature trends and interestingly, the 2 GPa structure retained the cubic phase at various temperatures and confirmed in the XRDs and temperature phase diagram. Interrogatio of LaO8 dodecahedral and ZrO6 octahedra demonstrated no significant variations in bond lengths and bond angles giving a good indication for the regulation of Li+-transport channel size in the 2 GPa structure. Efforts in this study are a preliminary stage to fully understanding the thermodynamic impact as a structural modification avenue pending further investigations.
Computational modelling on the stability of solid electrolytes in magnesium-ion batteries
Authors: Tibane K , Masedi M C , Ngoepe P E
Published: August 2022

Developing new battery technologies to sustain the ever-growing demand for energy storage constitutes one of the greatest scientific and societal challenges of the century. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are frequently used at the moment as energy storage, and they are used to power millions of portables electronics, electric vehicles, and are even seeing introduction into the electric grid. But LIBs are facing some challenges such as safety, durability, uniformity and cost. A technology that has the potential to alleviate resource issues with Li-ion systems and further increase the energy density is Mg2+ intercalation systems. Replacing Li with safer and earth-abundant Mg has the advantage of doubling the total charge per ion, which result in larger theoretical volumetric capacity compared with LIB. First principle based calculations were used to investigate the stability of discharge products of solid electrolytes in the magnesium-ion battery. We found that MgSc2S4 and MgSc2Se4 structures are stable semi-conductors due to the band gap observed in the density of states. No negative vibrational frequencies are observed along all direction in the phonon dispersion curves which indicate stability. The calculated elastic constants indicate that the structures are mechanically stable. The results of this paper aimed to give an insight into the stability of solid electrolytes and to provide inspiration for future research in magnesium-ion batteries.
A miniatured built-in surface ionization oven for the compact microwave ion source
Authors: Ma Tenghao , Peng Shixiang , Jiang Yaoxiang , Wu Wenbin , Li Kai , Cui Bujian , Zhang Ailin , Guo Zhiyu , Chen Jiaer
Published: August 2022

At Peking University (PKU), a compact 2.45 GHz microwave ion source was developed to obtain high-intensity Li+ beam. To improve the generation efficiency of Li+ ions, we developed a built-in lithium oven named surface ionization oven (SIO), which consists of a heating oven for lithium vapor production and a surface ionizer for the ionization of lithium neutrals. Consequently, the surface ionization and electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) principles are combined within the compact microwave ion source. In this work, the structure and materials of the SIO are investigated systemically to lower thermal risk and increase ionization efficiency. The oven is heated by resistance heating. To minimize the heat loss, polished stainless steel shields are used to surround the oven. The surface ionizer is installed at the exit of the nozzle of the heating oven. It consists of six rhenium wires with the diameter of 0.25 mm inside the ionizer tube. Limited space near the microwave window, the dimension of SIO
is ⊘ 13.5 mm × 40 mm. This source has been tested with only heating oven and SIO. With only heating oven, which means the absence of surface ionization, and a 200 eμA pulsed Li+ ion beam was stably extracted from this ion source. When the surface ionizer and the heating oven work together, a pulsed Li+ ion beam of 800 eμA is obtained, which increased by about 300%. The experiment proved that surface ionization could dramatically increase the discharge efficiency of lithium plasma in ECRIS.
Characterizing land use with night-time imagery: the war in Eastern Ukraine (2012–2016)
Authors: Eun Jaemin , Skakun Sergii
Published: August 2022

The ongoing military conflict in Eastern Ukraine has resulted in significant land use changes as well as economic shifts particularly in agricultural and industrial activities. The day/night band detectors on-board the Suomi-NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite provides an opportunity to assess socio-economic impacts of human conflicts based on physical radiometric measurements. In this study, we show a near 50% decrease in night-time light activity in Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbass Region) from 2012 to 2016. Furthermore, by separating night-time light losses between areas inside official city boundaries and those outside, we illustrate the sensitivity to residential land-use types. A 43.5% of night-time light loss inside cities was attributed to residential areas and 17.5% registered outside of cities. Additionally, this separation showed considerable differences for night-time light losses attributed to industrial land-use types with higher losses occurring in regions outside of cities (36.5%) than regions inside cities (24%). The separation of night-time light losses inside and outside cities reveal considerable discrepancies in night-time light losses showing that considerable activity occurs outside of traditionally targeted urban activities. The results demonstrate night-time light losses are sensitive to proximity to civilian-residential populations, and highlight discrepancies between urban cores and their attached peripheries.
First stability eigenvalue of singular hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature in the unit sphere
Authors: Dung Nguyen , Pyo Juncheol , Tran Hung
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we study the first eigenvalue of the stability operator on an integral

n
n

-varifold with constant mean curvature in the unit sphere

S

n
+
1

\mathbb {S}^{n+1}

. We find the optimal upper bound and prove a rigidity result characterizing the case when it is attained. This gives a new characterization for certain singular Clifford tori.
Vocal Labor in Edwidge Danticat and Wyclef Jean’s Refugee Narratives
Authors: Fecu Yanie
Published: August 2022

This article examines how Edwidge Danticat’s memoir Brother, I’m Dying (2007) and Wyclef Jean’s musical album The Carnival (1997) stage Haitian refugees’ encounters with US law. Both artists experiment with what I term “vocal labor,” a set of aesthetic strategies that denaturalize the human voice in order to decouple its facile elision with individuality and intelligibility. I argue that Danticat and Wyclef destabilize their own positions as articulate spokespeople to expose the legal and extralegal mechanisms that solicit refugees’ voices only to disarticulate and disavow them. In doing so, I demonstrate how Black performance reveals and responds to the sensorial dimensions of state-sanctioned violence.
A multiplicative structural nested mean model for zero-inflated outcomes
Authors: Yu Miao , Lu Wenbin , Yang Shu , Ghosh Pulak
Published: August 2022

Zero-inflated nonnegative outcomes are common in many applications. In this work, motivated by freemium mobile game data, we propose a class of multiplicative structural nested mean models for zero-inflated nonnegative outcomes which flexibly describes the joint effect of a sequence of treatments in the presence of time-varying confounders. The proposed estimator solves a doubly robust estimating equation, where the nuisance functions, namely the propensity score and conditional outcome means given confounders, are estimated parametrically or nonparametrically. To improve the accuracy, we leverage the characteristic of zero-inflated outcomes by estimating the conditional means in two parts, that is, separately modelling the probability of having positive outcomes given confounders, and the mean outcome conditional on its being positive and given the confounders. We show that the proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal as either the sample size or the follow-up time goes to infinity. Moreover, the typical sandwich formula can be used to estimate the variance of treatment effect estimators consistently, without accounting for the variation due to estimating nuisance functions. Simulation studies and an application to a freemium mobile game dataset are presented to demonstrate the empirical performance of the proposed method and support our theoretical findings.
Social Work in Brazil in the Vortex of Three crises: Pandemic, Social and Political
Authors: Garcia Maria Lúcia Teixeira , Spolander Gary , da Silva Barbosa Rafael
Published: August 2022

Social work in Brazil advocates a radical and critical model of social work theorisation and practice. This article explores the Brazilian theoretical and practice model, identifying the profession as being in the vortex of Covid-19, increasing state economic austerity, attacks on previously hard-won progressive social policy and increasing inequality and precarity. This provides a challenging practice environment. The professional re-conceptualisation model proposes that social work needs to fully theorise social difficulties to ensure that the profession intervenes to address the causes of the problems, rather than manifestations underlying them. This is undertaken through aligning itself with working-class conflicts, promoting rights and refusing to accept the rolling back of support already won. The Brazilian framework, located within its social realities, offers an opportunity for social work globally to consider what lessons can be learnt, to recognise the uniqueness of its perspectives and provide solidarity through its recognition.
Lateralized subgenual ACC metabolic connectivity patterns in refractory melancholic depression: does it matter?
Authors: Wu Guo-Rong , Baeken Chris
Published: August 2022

Although treatment resistance to antidepressant pharmacotherapy is quite common, the phenomenon of refractory major depressive disorder (rMDD) is not well understood. Nevertheless, the metabolic activity of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) has been put forward as a possible metabolic biomarker of clinical prediction and response, albeit sgACC lateralization differences in functional connectivity have not yet been extensively examined. Also not in the refractory depressed state. To examine sgACC lateralization differences in metabolic connectivity, we recruited 43 right-handed antidepressant-free unipolar melancholic rMDD patients and 32 right-handed healthy controls to participate in this 18FDG PET study and developed a searchlight-based interregional covariance connectivity approach. Compared to non-depressed individuals, sgACC covariance analysis showed stronger metabolic connections with frontolimbic brain regions known to be affected in the depressed state. Furthermore, whereas the left sgACC showed stronger metabolic connections with ventromedial prefrontal cortical regions, implicated in anhedonia, suicidal ideation, and self-referential processes, the right sgACC showed significantly stronger metabolic connections with posterior hippocampal and cerebellar regions, respectively specialized in memory and social processing. Overall, our results substantiate earlier research that the sgACC is a metabolic key player when clinically depressed and that distinct lateralized sgACC metabolic connectivity patterns are present.
Adaptation of International Law in the Chinese Constitution and Legal System: New Developments
Authors: Wang Chao , Shen Taixia
Published: August 2022

The relationship between a national constitution and international law reflects a nation’s self-positioning in the international legal regime and its reception of international law in the local context. The adaptation of international law in the Chinese Constitution and legal system determines China’s engagement and participation in the international law regime and indicates the country’s treaty performance. This paper provides an overview of the position and status of international law, including both treaties and customary international law, in China’s current 1982 Constitution and domestic legal system. It also analyzes current practice of international law in China’s judicial practice. By reference to recent developments in the PRC Constitution and domestic laws, especially the 2018 Constitutional Amendment, this article attempts to provide a contextual analysis on the standing of international law in the Chinese Constitution and legal system, in the hope that the understanding of the interplay between international law and the Chinese constitutional and legal system will help scholars and policymakers to pursue opportunities for cultural communication and reconciliation to seek normative consensus in the formation of international law.
Cardiac Complications of Human Babesiosis
Authors: Spichler-Moffarah Anne , Ong Emily , O’Bryan Jane , Krause Peter J
Published: August 2022

Background

Human babesiosis is a worldwide emerging tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa. Most patients experience mild to moderate illness, but life-threatening complications can occur. Although cardiac complications are common, the full spectrum of cardiac disease and the frequency, risk factors, and outcomes in patients experiencing cardiac complications are unclear. Accordingly, we carried out a record review of cardiac complications among patients with babesiosis admitted to Yale–New Haven Hospital over the last decade to better characterize cardiac complications of babesiosis.

Methods

We reviewed the medical records of all adult patients with babesiosis admitted to Yale–New Haven Hospital from January 2011 to October 2021, confirmed by identification of Babesia parasites on thin blood smear and/or by polymerase chain reaction. The presence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne disease coinfections were recorded.

Results

Of 163 enrolled patients, 32 (19.6%) had ≥1 cardiac complication during hospitalization. The most common cardiac complications were atrial fibrillation (9.4%), heart failure (8.6%), corrected QT interval prolongation (8.0%), and cardiac ischemia (6.8%). Neither cardiovascular disease risk factors nor preexisting cardiac conditions were significantly associated with the development of cardiac complications. The cardiac complication group had a greater prevalence of high-grade parasitemia (>10%) (P < .001), longer median length of both hospital (P < .001) and intensive care unit stay (P < .001), and a higher mortality rate (P = .02) than the group without cardiac complications.

Conclusions

Cardiac complications of acute babesiosis are common and occurred in approximately one-fifth of this inpatient sample. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the relationship between babesiosis severity and cardiac outcomes.
Enter a Future Driven by Games
Authors: Hughes Ian
Published: August 2022

Dr Ian Hughes, a.k.a. epredator, Chair or the BCS Animation and Games SG and Author of the Reconfigure sci-fi series introduces the autumn 2022 edition of ITNOW
Life’s Building Blocks: Is Minecraft Educational?
Authors: Cooper Martin
Published: August 2022

Exploring, building, and fighting mobs, Minecraft has it all. But, can it be used educationally? Ray Chambers, a computer science teacher, tells Martin Cooper MBCS about gaming’s educational potential.
The IT and Digital Apprenticeship Awards
Authors: Allmark Annette
Published: August 2022

If you’re an apprentice, an employer or an apprenticeship training provider, there’s never been a better opportunity to celebrate those individuals who are going the extra mile, says Annette Allmark, Head of Apprenticeships at BCS.
Mentoring
Authors: Yetim Adem
Published: August 2022

Adem Yetim FBCS discusses how web 3.0 is changing the gaming industry.
The Lovelace Colloquium 2022: Women in Tech
Authors: Dee Hannah
Published: August 2022

With a keynote by Rebecca George OBE, the Lovelace Colloquium is an inspirational gather with a real focus: celebrating and inspiring women in IT.
Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Smith Adam Leon
Published: August 2022

Adam Leon Smith FBCS explores the influence of AI on choice architecture.
Beware the Algorithm: Understanding AI Compliance
Authors: Hayes Kingsley
Published: August 2022

The relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is complex, writes Kingsley Hayes, Partner and Head of Data Breach at Keller Lenkner UK.
Can You Hear the Colour?
Authors: Hamilton Jo
Published: August 2022

The paper, ‘Can you hear the colour? Designing virtual worlds for synaesthetic and multimodal experiences’ by Victoria Wright and Genovefa Kefalidou published in Interacting with Computers (July 2022), explores the use of immersive technologies to explore the senses used in an ordinary world in multifaceted, extraordinary ways.
Blockchain-Based Internet-of-Things for Secure Transmission of Medical Data in Rural Areas
Authors: Munagala N V L M Krishna , Rani A Daisy , Reddy D V Rama Koti
Published: August 2022

Patients’ medical data are extremely sensitive information during storage and transfer, and it needs the highest security level. Furthermore, these records must frequently be linked to patient medical data, and then the linked medical data are securely transmitted to the healthcare center. In this study, a Blockchain-Based Traceable Data Sharing method is proposed to securely transfer the medical data. A Paillier homomorphic encryption method is used to prevent data theft or attacks from occurring in the cloud as a result of the transfer of medical data there. It prevents intravenous third parties, which executes arithmetic operations on the ciphertext. Then the encrypted data are stored in the cloud and to remove clone nodes in the gateway, a software-defined networking technology is introduced. Then a Blockchain-Based Traceable Data Sharing is proposed to ensure data privacy and authenticity while maintaining data privacy at the point of data transmission. Data are then encrypted using a new Enhanced Cipher Text-Policy Encryption Attribute-based Encryption (E-CP-ABE). Private blockchain transfers are carried out on the chain, supporting fine-grain access control with flexible access policies and creating a private key in E-CP-ABE. The presented technique is executed in Matlab software of version R2020a. The performance parameters are encryption, and decryption time, mean square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), sensitivity, respectively. The encryption process function is nearly 8% superior than the existing methods and the decryption time is 14% greater than other methods. As a result, this study shows that the research approach outperformed in terms of encryption time and decryption time, as well as PSNR, MSE, and sensitivity. This technique outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of imperceptibility and robustness against various attacks. Consequently, this approach is more reliable than previous methods for the transmission of medical data.
Precarity and the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Single Men Living Alone
Authors: Lewis Camilla , Phillipson Christopher , Lang Luciana , Yarker Sophie
Published: August 2022

Background and Objectives

Existing research reveals that single men living alone are at a heightened risk of isolation and precarity. This study traced the impact of the pandemic on the daily lives of a group of single men over three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Research Design and Methods

A qualitative longitudinal study with older people aged 50 and older (n = 102), interviewed by telephone in 2020–2021. This analysis focuses on a subsample comprising single men (n = 16) who lived alone and were interviewed three times (n = 48). The men were White British, Black, and Asian, aged 58–88 years, and were identified as facing difficulties in their lives arising from long-term health problems and or/social isolation. Participants were asked about the impact of, and response to, three lockdowns. Data were analyzed using themes identified in the secondary literature using thematic and longitudinal analysis.

Results

For single men living alone, precarity intensified during the pandemic due to worsening physical and/or mental health combined with restricted access to relationships and activities. Key moments in the life course influenced how these men experienced and viewed the impact of COVID-19.

Discussion and Implications

This analysis sheds light on the deepening precarity of older men living alone during the pandemic, highlighting the emergence of new vulnerabilities for some. The findings emphasize the need, given the likelihood of future waves of the pandemic, to target support at those living alone, particularly in relation to the provision of community health services, social infrastructure, and combating digital exclusion.
Distributional finite-difference modelling of seismic waves
Authors: Masson Yder
Published: August 2022

This study introduces a distributional finite-difference method (DFDM) for modelling the propagation of elastic waves in heterogeneous media in the time domain. DFDM decomposes the modelling domain into multiple elements that can have arbitrary sizes. When large elements are used, the proposed method closely resembles the finite-difference method because the wavefield is updated using operations involving band diagonal matrices only. Thus DFDM is computationally efficient. When smaller elements are used, DFDM looks closer to the finite-element or the spectral element methods and permits to mesh complicated structures. A complete multidomain algorithm for modelling elastic wave propagation in arbitrarily heterogeneous media is presented. The algorithm’s stability is discussed, and the usual Courant condition governs the stability of the proposed scheme. Numerical examples show that the proposed algorithm accurately accounts for free surfaces, solid–fluid interfaces and accommodates non-conformal meshes in their basic form. Seismograms obtained using the proposed method are compared to those computed using analytical solutions and the spectral element method. To achieve comparable accuracy, DFDM requires fewer points per wavelength than the spectral element method, for example.
Chemical heterogeneity, convection and asymmetry beneath mid-ocean ridges
Authors: Pusok Adina E , Katz Richard F , May Dave A , Li Yuan
Published: August 2022

Geophysical observations at some mid-ocean ridges document an across-axis asymmetry in indicators of magma production. Other observations are interpreted as showing non-monotonic variations in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. These patterns are inconsistent with the classical models of mantle corner flow and half-space cooling. To investigate this discrepancy, we use models of coupled magma/mantle dynamics beneath mid-ocean ridges in which phase densities are determined by melt–residue partitioning of iron and magnesium, and bulk density is affected by residual porosity. Our models predict that emergent gradients in density drive ridge-local convection. In particular, we show that convective upwelling is enhanced by porous buoyancy and suppressed by compositional buoyancy. Despite this suppression, models that include both compositional and porous buoyancy are more sensitive to long-wavelength mantle heterogeneity than models with porous buoyancy alone. This sensitivity enables models to readily form across-axis asymmetry of upwelling. In some cases, it leads to lithospheric delamination and time-dependent, small-scale convection. We conclude that melting-induced buoyancy effects may explain the magmatic asymmetry and variations in lithospheric thickness that are inferred from observations.
Effect of Vortioxetine on Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Huang I-Chen , Chang Tsui-San , Chen Chiehfeng , Sung Jia-Ying
Published: August 2022

Background

Dementia and depression are increasingly common worldwide, and their effective control could ease the burden on economies, public health systems, and support networks. Vortioxetine is a new antidepressant with multipharmacologic actions that elevate the concentration of serotonin and modulate multiple neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. We conducted a meta-analysis to explore whether the cognitive function of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) treated with vortioxetine would improve.

Methods

We systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases to assess the treatment effects of vortioxetine on the cognitive function of patients with MDD. The outcome measures included the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ), and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scores. Pooled results were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model according to the heterogeneity of the included trials.

Results

Six RCTs with a total of 1782 patients were included in the meta-analysis, which demonstrated that vortioxetine improved DSST, PDQ, and MADRS scores in patients with MDD. The results were consistent at the 10- and 20-mg doses. In the 20-mg group, the decrease in MADRS scores was more significant than that in the placebo group.

Conclusions

Both the 10- and 20-mg doses of vortioxetine can significantly increase DSST scores and decrease PDQ and MADRS scores in patients with MDD and cognitive dysfunction, but further studies with longer follow-up periods to assess mental function are required.
The Work of Nails: Religion, Mediterranean Antiquity, and Contemporary Black Art
Authors: Nasrallah Laura Salah
Published: August 2022

This article contributes to the study of religion by investigating the ritual significance of the ancient nail, focusing on its material power in piercing curse tablets (defixiones, sing. defixio) in Mediterranean antiquity. It thus brings a humble object and the gestures and labor associated with it more centrally into the study of religion in antiquity. The article also contributes to the study of religion more broadly by developing a theoretical framework derived from contemporary artistic, material practices. I interpret these ancient ritual objects—the materiality and aesthetics of defixiones and the function of the nail—by engaging contemporary artworks by Valerie Maynard, Renée Stout, and Titus Kaphar. In the racial condition of the United States, these artists materialize theory regarding aesthetics, history, and justice, drawing in part from Kongolese minkisi minkondi, which were nailed and pierced to mark rituals of justice.
An ethnographic study on the impact of a novel telemedicine-based support system in the operating room
Authors: Abraham Joanna , Meng Alicia , Montes de Oca Arianna , Politi Mary , Wildes Troy , Gregory Stephen , Henrichs Bernadette , Kannampallil Thomas , Avidan Michael S
Published: August 2022

Objective

The Anesthesiology Control Tower (ACT) for operating rooms (ORs) remotely assesses the progress of surgeries and provides real-time perioperative risk alerts, communicating risk mitigation recommendations to bedside clinicians. We aim to identify and map ACT-OR nonroutine events (NREs)—risk-inducing or risk-mitigating workflow deviations—and ascertain ACT’s impact on clinical workflow and patient safety.

Materials and Methods

We used ethnographic methods including shadowing ACT and OR clinicians during 83 surgeries, artifact collection, chart reviews for decision alerts sent to the OR, and 10 clinician interviews. We used hybrid thematic analysis informed by a human-factors systems-oriented approach to assess ACT’s role and impact on safety, conducting content analysis to assess NREs.

Results

Across 83 cases, 469 risk alerts were triggered, and the ACT sent 280 care recommendations to the OR. 135 NREs were observed. Critical factors facilitating ACT’s role in supporting patient safety included providing backup support and offering a fresh-eye perspective on OR decisions. Factors impeding ACT included message timing and ACT and OR clinician cognitive lapses. Suggestions for improvement included tailoring ACT message content (structure, timing, presentation) and incorporating predictive analytics for advanced planning.

Discussion

ACT served as a safety net with remote surveillance features and as a learning healthcare system with feedback/auditing features. Supporting strategies include adaptive coordination and harnessing clinician/patient support to improve ACT’s sustainability. Study insights inform future intraoperative telemedicine design considerations to mitigate safety risks.

Conclusion

Incorporating similar remote technology enhancement into routine perioperative care could markedly improve safety and quality for millions of surgical patients.
Poland’s challenge to Article 17 CDSM Directive fails before the CJEU, but Member States must implement fundamental rights safeguards
Authors: Jütte Bernd Justin
Published: August 2022

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed Poland’s action for annulment of the new copyright liability regime for specific online platforms but subjected its implementation to strict fundamental rights control. As a result, national implementations must ensure that the rights of users are given sufficient protection against preventive blocking and filtering of content uploads.
The spin of new black hole candidate: MAXI J1803−298 observed by NuSTAR and NICER
Authors: Feng Ye , Zhao Xueshan , Li Yufeng , Gou Lijun , Jia Nan , Liao Zhenxuan , Wang Yuan
Published: August 2022

MAXI J1803−298, a newly-discovered Galactic transient, and black hole candidate was first detected by MAXI/GSC on 2021 May 01. In this paper, we present a detailed spectral analysis of MAXI J1803−298. Utilizing the X-ray reflection fitting method, we perform a joint fit to the spectra of MAXI J1803−298, respectively, observed by NuSTAR and NICER/XTI on the same day over the energy range between 0.7–79.0 keV in SIMS state, and the observed inner radius of the accretion disc is demonstrated to have extended to the ISCO radius (Rin =1.08 RISCO). Implementing the relativistic reflection model relxillCp, we found its spin (and the inclination angle i) can be constrained to be close to an extreme value, 0.991 (i ∼ 70 °), at 68 per cent confidence interval. The results suggest that MAXI J1803−298 may be a fast-rotating black hole with a large inclination angle.
Close encounters of stars with stellar-mass black hole binaries
Authors: Ryu Taeho , Perna Rosalba , Wang Yi-Han
Published: August 2022

Many astrophysical environments, from star clusters and globular clusters to the discs of active galactic nuclei, are characterized by frequent interactions between stars and the compact objects that they leave behind. Here, using a suite of 3D hydrodynamics simulations, we explore the outcome of close interactions between $1\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ stars and binary black holes (BBHs) in the gravitational wave regime, resulting in a tidal disruption event (TDE) or a pure scattering, focusing on the accretion rates, the back reaction on the BH binary orbital parameters, and the increase in the binary BH effective spin. We find that TDEs can make a significant impact on the binary orbit, which is often different from that of a pure scattering. Binaries experiencing a prograde (retrograde) TDE tend to be widened (hardened) by up to $\simeq 20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Initially circular binaries become more eccentric by $\lesssim 10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ by a prograde or retrograde TDE, whereas the eccentricity of initially eccentric binaries increases (decreases) by a retrograde (prograde) TDE by $\lesssim 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Overall, a single TDE can generally result in changes of the gravitational-wave-driven merger time-scale by order unity. The accretion rates of both black holes are very highly super-Eddington, showing modulations (preferentially for retrograde TDEs) on a time-scale of the orbital period, which can be a characteristic feature of BBH-driven TDEs. Prograde TDEs result in the effective spin parameter χ to vary by ≲0.02, while χ ≳ −0.005 for retrograde TDEs.