bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An atmospheric pressure plasma device with multiple ring electrodes for decontamination of flexible tubing with variable scales
Authors: Jin Shanshan , Jiang Yunfeng , Zhao Kaixiang , Zou Caiyong , Zhao Yajun , Zhang Li , Fang Zhi
Published: July 2023

Plasma bacteria decontamination devices for the inner surface of medical tubes have to consider more practical application problems, such as the processing compatibility for medical tubes of variable scales, a reasonable and effective design model for plasma electrode parameters, and so on. This paper proposes a novel multisegment‐casing ring‐ring jet (MSC‐RRJ) without embedding the electrode into the target tube, obtaining the variable tube length processing capability. And through establishing an effective design model based on electric field distribution properties, ensuring the electric field strength margin in each segment of MSC‐RRJ to achieve the processing capability of variable tube diameters. A prototype device is developed based on the proposed MSC‐RRJ electrode and design method being verified by killing Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Harmonic Mode‐Locked Er‐Doped Fiber Laser Based on a Microfiber‐Based PbS Nanoparticle Saturable Absorber
Authors: Nie Liang , Wang Lu , Liu Xiaoyu , Luo Wenfeng , Wang Chong , Wang Wei , Feng Jiangjiang , Gao Ge , Li Xiaohui , Zhang Kai
Published: July 2023

Lead sulfide (PbS) is a nanomaterial with excellent optical and chemical properties, such as a narrow bandgap (0.37 eV), high thermal damage threshold, and high stability. Obviously, it is appropriate as a saturable absorber (SA) device for ultrafast photonics. However, PbS nanoparticles (NPs) as the SA of ultrashort harmonic mode‐locked pulse still haven't been demonstrated at present. In this paper, the PbS NPs are made into an SA‐device‐based microfiber by optical deposition method and connected in an integrated Erbium‐doped fiber laser. And both characteristics and nonlinear optical properties of PbS NPs have been systemically investigated. A fundamental frequency mode‐locked pulsed laser is proposed, whose central wavelength is 1560 nm, and the pulse width is 1 ps. In addition, high repetition rate operations are achieved, with a maximum repetition rate of 833 MHz. This is the first time that PbS NPs are used to generate 96th‐order harmonic mode‐locking, and the corresponding pulse duration is 987 fs. It is demonstrated that PbS NPs are a kind of SA photonic material with excellent performance. It can improve the communication capacity by applying fiber communication, and it has potential application value even in material processing and optical comb.
An analysis of patterns of distribution of buprenorphine in the United States using ARCOS, Medicaid, and Medicare databases
Authors: Hsu Zhi‐Shan , Warnick Justina A. , Harkins Tice R. , Sylvester Briana E. , Bharati Neal K. , Eley leTausjua B. , Nichols Stephanie D. , McCall Kenneth , Piper Brian J.
Published: July 2023

Opioid overdose remains a problem in the United States despite pharmacotherapies, such as buprenorphine, in the treatment of opioid use disorder. This study characterized changes in buprenorphine use. Using the Drug Enforcement Administration's ARCOS, Medicaid, and Medicare claims databases, patterns in buprenorphine usage in the United States from 2018 to 2020 were analyzed by examining percentage changes in total grams distributed and changes in grams per 100 K people in year‐to‐year usage based on ZIP code and state levels. For ARCOS from 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020, total buprenorphine distribution in grams increased by 16.2% and 12.6%, respectively. South Dakota showed the largest statewide percentage increase in both 2018–2019 (66.1%) and 2019–2020 (36.7%). From 2018 to 2019, the ZIP codes ND‐577 (156.4%) and VA‐222 (−82.1%) had the largest and smallest percentage changes, respectively. From 2019 to 2020, CA‐932 (250.2%) and IL‐603 (−36.8%) were the largest and smallest, respectively. In both 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, PA‐191 had the second highest increase in grams per 100K while OH‐452 was the only ZIP code to remain in the top three largest decreases in grams per 100K in both periods. Among Medicaid patients in 2018, there was a nearly 2000‐fold difference in prescriptions per 100k Medicaid enrollees between Kentucky (12 075) and Nebraska (6). Among Medicare enrollees in 2018, family medicine physicians and other primary care providers were the top buprenorphine prescribers. This study not only identified overall increases in buprenorphine availability but also pronounced state‐level differences. Such geographic analysis can be used to discern which public policies and regional factors impact buprenorphine access.
Nano‐curcumin supplementation in patients with mild and moderate acute pancreatitis: A randomized, placebo‐controlled trial
Authors: Chegini Maedeh , Sadeghi Amir , Zaeri Farid , Zamani Majid , Hekmatdoost Azita
Published: July 2023

We aimed to investigate whether nano‐curcumin as an anti‐inflammatory agent is effective in patients with mild and moderate AP. This study was a double‐blind, parallel‐arm randomized controlled trial conducted at Taleghani hospital, Tehran, Iran. Eligible subjects with a diagnosis of mild and moderate AP were randomly assigned to receive either two doses of nano‐curcumin (40 mg) or placebo (control) daily for 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was gastrointestinal (GI) ward length of stay (LOS). A total of 42 patients were randomly assigned to receive either nano‐curcumin (n = 21) or placebo (n = 21). Compared with placebo, nano‐curcumin supplementation decreased hospital LOS (RR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.502–0.894; p = 0.006), reduced the need for analgesics over time (OR = 0.576, 95% CI: 0.421–0.790; p = 0.001), and increased overall appetite score over the study period (β = 0.104, SE: 0.053; p = 0.049). No adverse effects or mortality were reported and there was no withdrawal during the study period. The results indicate that nano‐curcumin as an adjuvant therapy is safe and may reduce GI ward LOS, analgesics requirement, and improve the overall appetite in patients with mild and moderate AP. Future multi‐center trials with larger sample sizes are required to verify these findings. Clinical trial registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04989166.
GNSS‐stereo‐inertial SLAM for arable farming
Authors: Cremona Javier , Civera Javier , Kofman Ernesto , Pire Taihú
Published: July 2023

The accelerating pace in the automation of agricultural tasks demands highly accurate and robust localization systems for field robots. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) methods inevitably accumulate drift on exploratory trajectories and primarily rely on place revisiting and loop closing to keep a bounded global localization error. Loop closure techniques are significantly challenging in agricultural fields, as the local visual appearance of different views is very similar and might change easily due to weather effects. A suitable alternative in practice is to employ global sensor positioning systems jointly with the rest of the robot sensors. In this paper we propose and implement the fusion of global navigation satellite system (GNSS), stereo views, and inertial measurements for localization purposes. Specifically, we incorporate, in a tightly coupled manner, GNSS measurements into the stereo‐inertial ORB‐SLAM3 pipeline. We thoroughly evaluate our implementation in the sequences of the Rosario data set, recorded by an autonomous robot in soybean fields, and our own in‐house data. Our data includes measurements from a conventional GNSS, rarely included in evaluations of state‐of‐the‐art approaches. We characterize the performance of GNSS‐stereo‐inertial SLAM in this application case, reporting pose error reductions between 10% and 30% compared to visual–inertial and loosely coupled GNSS‐stereo‐inertial baselines. In addition to such analysis, we also release the code of our implementation as open source.
(NH4)2(I5O12)(IO3) and K1.03(NH4)0.97(I5O12)(IO3): Mixed‐Valent Polyiodates with Unprecedented I5O12− Unit Exhibiting Strong Second‐Harmonic Generation Responses and Giant Birefringence
Authors: Ma Nan , Chen Jin , Li Bing‐Xuan , Hu Chun‐Li , Mao Jiang‐Gao
Published: July 2023

Second‐harmonic generation (SHG) response and birefringence are crucial properties for linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, while it is difficult to further optimize these two key properties by using a single traditional functional building block (FBB) in one compound. Herein, a novel IO45− unit is identified, which possesses a square‐planar configuration and two stereochemically active lone‐pairs (SCALPs). By combining IO45− and IO3− units, the first examples of mixed‐valent polyiodates featuring an unprecedented bowl‐shaped I5O12− polymerized unit, namely (NH4)2(I5O12)(IO3) and K1.03(NH4)0.97(I5O12)(IO3), are successfully synthesized. Excitingly, both crystals exhibit strong SHG responses (16 × KDP and 19.5 × KDP @1064 nm) as well as giant birefringence (∆nexp = 0.431 and 0.405 @546 nm). Detailed structure‐property analyses reveal that the parallel aligned planar IO45− units induce the properly aligned high‐density SCALPs, leading to strong SHG response and giant birefringence for both materials. This work not only provides two new potential NLO and birefringent crystals, but also discovers a novel promising FBB (IO45−) for developing high‐performance linear and nonlinear optical materials.
A multi‐faceted analysis of the performance variability of virtual machines
Authors: Baresi Luciano , Dolci Tommaso , Quattrocchi Giovanni , Rasi Nicholas
Published: July 2023

Cloud computing and virtualization solutions allow one to rent the virtual machines (VMs) needed to run applications on a pay‐per‐use basis, but rented VMs do not offer any guarantee on their performance. Cloud platforms are known to be affected by performance variability, but a better understanding is still required. This article moves in that direction and presents an in‐depth, multi‐faceted study on the performance variability of VMs. Unlike previous studies, our assessment covers a wide range of factors: 16 VM types from 4 well‐known cloud providers, 10 benchmarks, and 28 different metrics. We present four new contributions. First, we introduce a new benchmark suite (VMBS) that let researchers and practitioners systematically collect a diverse set of performance data. Second, we present a new indicator, called VI, that allows for measuring variability in the performance of VMs. Third, we illustrate an analysis of the collected data across four different dimensions: resources, isolation, time, and cost. Fourth, we present multiple predictive models based on machine learning (ML) that aim to forecast future performance and detect time patterns. Our experiments provide important insights on the resource variability of VMs, highlighting differences and similarities between various cloud providers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the widest analysis ever conducted on the topic.
Green high‐performance thin layer chromatography‐densitometric approach for tablet formulation containing remogliflozin etabonate and vildagliptin
Authors: Patel Khushbu , Kotadiya Rajendra
Published: July 2023

A new high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography (HPTLC) method has been developed to analyze Vildagliptin (VLD) and Remogliflozin etabonate (RE) tablets. The procedure uses a mobile phase of methanol, ethyl acetate, toluene, and ammonia (1.5:7:1:0.5, by volume), a stationary phase of silica gel 60 F254 precoated TLC plates, and densitometry to gauge the amount of drug present. The method's linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness were carefully evaluated. VLD and RE had Rf values of 0.46 and 0.64, respectively, with R2 values of 0.997, indicating good linearity over 10,000–50,000 ng/band for RE and 5000–25,000 ng/band for vildagliptin. Studies on forced deterioration were carried out to assess the probable degradation process. The resolution in the Rf values between the degradant and drug peaks was good. The study revealed that the drug was sensitive to hydrolysis and oxidative stress degradation and was transformed into the active Remogliflozin after the forced degradation tests. The Remogliflozin and RE bands were easily distinguishable. This method can be utilized for analyzing not only the tablet formulation of the drug but also stability samples and standard quality control samples. The Analytical Greenness Calculator methodology aided the greenness evaluation of the method.
Seismic responses of high‐rise structure under multiple‐component ground motions
Authors: Wei Wenhui , Hu Ying , Pi Yong‐Lin
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we studied the responses of high‐rise structures under the multiple‐component ground motions, such as horizontal; coupled horizontal and rocking; and coupled horizontal, vertical, and rocking ground motion. First, the principle and process of obtaining the rotation component by using wavelet analysis are explained, and the rocking ground motion was obtained by wavelet analysis from translational ground motions. The correctness of this method was verified by shaking table tests. Next, the shaking table tests were performed on the scale model of a high‐rise TV tower under the horizontal, multiple ground motions. Under multiple ground motions, the amplitudes of the displacement and the acceleration increased to a certain extent, and the increased range of the acceleration was relatively larger. In addition, the displacement time‐history curve with the rocking ground motion showed an asymmetric offset. Subsequently, the dynamic equation of a high‐rise structure under the multiple ground motions was established, and the additional second‐order effect of the rocking ground motion was also considered. The results of the dynamic equation were well consistent with the shaking table test results, which verified the rationality and the accuracy of the dynamic equation. Besides, the result from the theoretical calculation and test indicated that the additional second‐order effect with the rocking ground motion that led to the ground tilting should not be ignored. In the last part, the elastic–plastic properties of the structure under the horizontal and rocking ground motion in the rare earthquake were analyzed. The displacement of the structure with the rocking ground motion increased significantly at the elastic–plastic stage, and the asymmetry deviation degree of the displacement and restoring force–displacement trend of the structure were more significant, which would impact the dynamic stability of the structure and even increase the possibility of structural collapse.
Research on Personalized Video Matching Algorithm Based on Implicit Feature Transfer and PTransE
Authors: Zhang Jiating , Wang Lei , Ma Yongjuan , Jiang Qiaoyong , Wang Bin
Published: July 2023

With the rapid development of internet plus education, it is increasingly important to quickly and accurately match personalized videos for learners from massive learning videos. However, the existing resource recommendation methods have two problems. On the one hand, they do not make full use of the implicit interaction data of learners in the learning process, i.e., they rarely reflect the comprehensive consideration of learners' interest preferences and cognitive level when describing learners. On the other hand, they are mostly based on collaborative filtering algorithms, using the similarity between learners or videos to recommend, ignoring the impact of semantic relations between videos on the recommendation results. In view of this, we proposed a personalized learning video matching method (IFT‐PTransE) based on heterogeneous feature data transfer and knowledge reasoning from two aspects of learning behavior data mining and knowledge graph representation learning. In this method, firstly, a learner model is constructed. By analyzing and quantifying various implicit interaction behavior data of learners, the sparse video scoring matrix is filled as auxiliary data to complete the transfer of target scoring data. Secondly, the semantic close relationship between videos is introduced. PTransE algorithm is used to mine the multi‐path relationship between entities. All entity relationships are embedded into the low dimensional vector space, so that the semantic similarity between videos can be calculated using the distance between vectors. Finally, video score similarity and semantic similarity between frequencies are fused. video sorting is performed based on the improved collaborative filtering algorithm and then recommend the top N videos to the students. Through simulation and analysis, the effectiveness of this method in personalized video matching is proved. This method makes up for the shortcomings of collaborative filtering algorithm in using implicit information, enhances the recommendation effect at the semantic level, and solves the data sparse and cold start problems to a certain extent. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
The curative effect of ozonated bidistilled water on Escherichia coli‐induced endometritis in rats
Authors: Kocamüftüoğlu Mesih , Bozkurt Gökhan , Ağaoğlu Ali Reha , Özmen Özlem , Öztürk Dilek
Published: July 2023

Background

Endometritis is a prevalent and challenging condition that affects livestock, and its effective treatment is the use of intrauterine antibiotics. Antibiotic use may lead to negative consequences, including residue in tissues and the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic potential of ozonated bidistilled water in the treatment of Escherichia coli‐induced endometritis in rat models, comparing it to conventional antibiotic treatment.

Methods

A total of 21 female Wistar Albino rats were used for this study. E. coli from the uterus of cows with endometritis at a concentration of 1.0 × 109 cfu/mL inoculated into rat uteruses. After inoculation, it was confirmed macroscopically that experimental endometritis was induced in all individuals. And, the rats with endometritis were randomly divided into three groups treated with intrauterine bidistilled water enriched with ozone, antibiotics and 0.9% NaCl. The uterine tissues were examined histopathologically.

Results

In the semiquantitative analyses, significantly lower histopathological scores were observed for both the bidistilled water enriched with ozone and antibiotic‐treated endometritis groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Ozone‐enriched bidistilled water can be used in the treatment of experimentally induced endometritis in rats, and can provide effective microbiological and histopathological improvement. Further studies involving larger populations of different species are needed to determine the medical suitability of this new treatment.
A modified tenectomy approach to a case of spastic paresis in a 10‐month‐old bullock
Authors: McFarland David Samuel , Woods Tom Samuel , Macrae Alastair Ian , Kelly Rob Francis
Published: July 2023

Although treatment of bovine spastic paresis cases is often performed using a tibial neurectomy, the potential for substantial economic loss in an older animal, cost of anaesthesia and heightened difficulty of the procedure can preclude its use in veterinary practice. This report describes a tenectomy performed on a 450 kg bullock that presented with spastic paresis of the left hindlimb. Tenectomy of the medial and lateral tendons of the gastrocnemius muscle provided a good surgical treatment option through a modified incision site in a cranio‐lateral approach. Tenectomy has the advantages of being less invasive than neurectomy, with clearly identifiable landmarks. A key aspect in achieving a successful outcome is to preserve the superficial digital flexor tendon. In the experience of the authors, when compared to tibial neurectomy in similar sized animals, tenectomy had a reduced surgical time and minimised potential complications such as dropping of the hock.
Computer-Aided Diagnosis and Prediction in Brain Disorders
Authors: Venkatraghavan Vikram , Voort Sebastian R. van der , Bos Daniel , Smits Marion , Barkhof Frederik , Niessen Wiro J. , Klein Stefan , Bron Esther E.
Published: July 2023

Computer-aided methods have shown added value for diagnosing and predicting brain disorders and can thus support decision making in clinical care and treatment planning. This chapter will provide insight into the type of methods, their working, their input data –such as cognitive tests, imaging, and genetic data– and the types of output they provide. We will focus on specific use cases for diagnosis, i.e., estimating the current “condition” of the patient, such as early detection and diagnosis of dementia, differential diagnosis of brain tumors, and decision making in stroke. Regarding prediction, i.e., estimation of the future “condition” of the patient, we will zoom in on use cases such as predicting the disease course in multiple sclerosis and predicting patient outcomes after treatment in brain cancer. Furthermore, based on these use cases, we will assess the current state-of-the-art methodology and highlight current efforts on benchmarking of these methods and the importance of open science therein. Finally, we assess the current clinical impact of computer-aided methods and discuss the required next steps to increase clinical impact.
Integration of Multimodal Data
Authors: Lorenzi Marco , Deprez Marie , Balelli Irene , Aguila Ana L. , Altmann Andre
Published: July 2023

This chapter focuses on the joint modeling of heterogeneous information, such as imaging, clinical, and biological data. This kind of problem requires to generalize classical uni- and multivariate association models to account for complex data structure and interactions, as well as high data dimensionality.

Typical approaches are essentially based on the identification of latent modes of maximal statistical association between different sets of features and ultimately allow to identify joint patterns of variations between different data modalities, as well as to predict a target modality conditioned on the available ones. This rationale can be extended to account for several data modalities jointly, to define multi-view, or multi-channel, representation of multiple modalities. This chapter covers both classical approaches such as partial least squares (PLS) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA), along with most recent advances based on multi-channel variational autoencoders. Specific attention is here devoted to the problem of interpretability and generalization of such high-dimensional models. These methods are illustrated in different medical imaging applications, and in the joint analysis of imaging and non-imaging information, such as -omics or clinical data.
Resümee
Authors: Künnemann Andreas
Published: July 2023

Dieses Kapitel fasst die wesentlichen Ergebnisse und Methoden der vorliegenden Arbeit zusammen und ordnet diese ein. So bleibt festzuhalten, dass eine umfassende, in sich geschlossene und gut nachvollziehbare Darstellung der Existenz- und Regularitätstheorie zweidimensionaler Variationsprobleme erreicht wird, die auf Randwertprobleme partieller Differentialgleichungssysteme, insbesondere auf das Plateausche Problem für Flächen vorgeschriebener mittlerer Krümmung, angewendet werden kann.
Impact of Innovative Practices Adopted in the Dental Preclinical Labs Post COVID-19 on Student Performance Based on Skills and Knowledge
Authors: Narasimhan Sangeetha , Al-Daghestani Hiba Saad , Al Kawas Sausan
Published: July 2023

The coronavirus-induced disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the March 11, 2020. This Pandemic has resulted in the largest disruption of the education sector across the globe. Alternatively, this crisis has also induced path-breaking reforms to the global education system in the recent past. With evolving technology, online teaching has become the most convenient mode for lectures and discussions. This acute transformation caused a challenging environment to conduct laboratory sessions for students by adhering to social distancing. Alternatively, delivering the preclinical dental laboratory exercises through online mode was the only available option globally. This paper enlightens a few of the innovative techniques employed in conducting online preclinical dental laboratory sessions for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students in the College of Dental Medicine at University of Sharjah. The study aimed at comparing the student performance in the dental preclinical labs evaluated based on skills and knowledge before and after the introduction of the innovative practices by online mode. The results of the study showed that the BDS1 students’ overall performance in the preclinical labs after adopting innovative practices was higher (p = 0.000) compared to the original practice of onsite delivery of labs. Students displayed enhanced tooth-carving skills (p = 0.000) with the introduction of online monitoring of tooth morphology labs. Moreover, BDS2 student performance in dental histology and anatomy labs did not show any significant improvement through the online mode of teaching (p = 0.01). Although COVID-19 hit the world abruptly, it helped in creating digital innovative solutions, thereby easing the teaching and learning process in dental education.
Graduation Project as an Application of COVID-19 Impact on Students’ Experience—Case Study Medical Center Al Ain, UAE
Authors: Bande Lindita , Alblooshi Asma Mohamed Abdulla , Alnehayan Alyazeia Tahanoon Mohammed , Alsereidi Fatmah Saeed Rashed , Haidar Salma Salem , Gomez Ariel , Albattah Mohammed , Young Kim
Published: July 2023

The pandemic had a significant impact on the medical environment. With a surge of patients and limited facilities, managing the patients was challenging. This pandemic taught us how to redesign medical facilities in our cities for future events of such magnitude. In the academic environment, especially in the architectural engineering field, designing facilities that can operate as per the needs of the population is crucial. Based on the students’ individual experiences during the challenging time of COVID-19, Medical Center as a graduation project came to life. There are several Medical Center facilities in the UAE. Unfortunately, some of those facilities cannot provide enough treatment spaces, basic needs, and facilities that they would need. The project discussed in this report is COVID Ready Medical Facilities Construction Design and Management. The methodology follows the below main points:

Define the project's objectives: This project's purpose is to provide medical facilities in UAE and build temporary Center that can be assembled on site and dismantled when required. The building must be assembled, dismantled, and removed easily and as fast as possible.

Define the main points of sustainability and innovation: Innovative building technologies methods are intended to be used, as well as renewable sources of energy are applied. The building should be able to respond to various public health issues and future challenges.

Based on the pandemic experience and the standards: Some suggested services are discussed as well to provide private, mediative, and natural light for patients and workers that intend to spend their time in the medical facility.

Define construction systems for a sustainable building: Appropriate construction methods Analysis, risk management, and estimations for cost studies will be applied.

Lessons learned and future applications in graduate project.

The aim of this research is to show how the pandemic situation and the personal experience of students can have an impact on designing a Medical Center that can be moved and assembled in any site as required, also that can be dismantled later leaving the same condition of the site before assembly, the construction method should be easy and fast as the pandemic can occur at any time. The lessons learned and applied are an example of how experience can improve the academic environment.
An Exploration of Direct Instruction: Why Teaching Matters
Authors: Shammas Nicole
Published: July 2023

Why Teaching Matters is a question at the heart of all instruction. While the answer seems obvious, actual teacher-led teaching, or direct instruction, has taken backstage in the last decade to a more constructivist approach where student-centered; project-based learning, and inquiry inform students learning. This paper argues that alongside this student-centered approach, there is a need, depending on the context, for a teacher-led, direct instruction approach. Studies show that direct instruction is indeed a robust pedagogy leading to student attainment in both short-term retention and long-term proficiency. The author invites readers to consider direct instruction as a potent teaching and learning model, replacing the dichotomy of teacher-centered versus student-centered with a collaboration between the two. This paper presents findings from a study by the researcher illustrating teachers and learners’ perspectives on Direct Instruction. Findings indicate a preference from the learners for this approach and a flexibility among teachers to adopt the methodology most appropriate for their context. This paper contributes to knowledge by filling a gap in the field on the perspectives of learners and teachers on Direct Instruction and by bringing to the forefront an alternative discussion around teaching pedagogy.
Effect of Blending Alum Sludge and Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag as Cement Replacement to Mitigate Alkali-Silica Reaction
Authors: Duan W. , Zhuge Y. , Liu Y.
Published: July 2023

The alkali–silica reaction (ASR) is a severe durability issue in cement-based materials. Although using calcium-rich supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) is beneficial for improving mechanical performance, it can lead to critical ASR-induced damage, primarily when high-reactive aggregates are used. We used alum sludge, a byproduct of drinking water treatment processes, and found it to have high efficiency in mitigating ASR in mortars containing GGBS as cement replacement and waste glass as high-reactive aggregate. The raw alum sludge was calcined for 2 h at 800 ℃ and ground to pass a 75-µm sieve. Ternary blended binders were made by replacing 10, 20 and 30% of cement with the mixture of alum sludge and GGBS (ratio 1:1). The mortar samples exhibited a considerable compressive strength and significant ASR resistance when 30% of cement was replaced with the mixture of alum sludge and GGBS compared with the reference samples. Microstructural characterization using X-ray diffraction, backscattered electron images and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that increasing the aluminum content of the alum sludge could prevent the formation of detrimental Ca-rich and low-flowable ASR gels. The hindering effect was attributed to the alkaline binding ability and the extra precipitation of calcium aluminum silicate hydrate phases due to the abundant Al in the binder.
Chloride Penetration in Low-Carbon Concrete with High Volume of SCM: A Review Study
Authors: Xue C. , Sirivivatnanon V.
Published: July 2023

Low-carbon concrete (LCC) uses supplementary cementitious material (SCM) to partially replace cement as a method for reducing its carbon footprint. Previous laboratory and field studies had provided substantial support and experience for using LCC in marine structures, which are the most susceptible to chloride-induced corrosion. Some short-term test methods have provided reliable assessment of the ability of LCC to resist chloride penetration, but the long-term chloride penetration depends on a great many factors and thus could differ from the results obtained from laboratory tests. However, the lack of a correlation between the data from short-term and long-term tests has limited the use of abundant laboratory results for service life design of LCC. This study presents an overview of results obtained when LCCs were exposed to chlorides. The key outcome of this study is a broader synthesis of the available data regarding the relationship between the mix design and the performance of LCCs in various chloride environments, which helps find the possible correlation and fully appreciate the value of the short-term tests.
Effect of Different Additives on the Compressive Strength of Very High-Volume Fly Ash Cement Composites
Authors: Roychand R. , Li J. , Saberian M. , Kilmartin-Lynch S. , Islam M. M. Ul , Maghfouri M. , Chen F.
Published: July 2023

The cement industry is responsible for about 5–7% of global greenhouse gas emissions and with the rapid rise in global warming, it is imperative to produce an ecofriendly alternative to Portland cement. Fly ash (FA) is an abundantly available and least utilized industrial byproduct with good pozzolanic properties that can help reduce the carbon footprint of cement composites. We investigated replacing 80% of the cement content with different blends of FA, nanosilica (NS) and silica fume (SF). Hydrated lime and a set accelerator were used to increase the pozzolanic reactivity of the blended cement composites. The portlandite released with 20% cement content was insufficient for the pozzolanic reaction of the blended cement composites containing FA and SF, requiring externally added hydrated lime. The addition of a set accelerator significantly increased the pozzolanic reaction and the resultant compressive strength, and these increased with the increasing content of the set accelerator. The replacement of SF with NS led to a remarkable increase in the pozzolanic reaction. The corresponding compressive strength of FA mixed with cement composites increased with increasing percentage composition of NS.
Insights into the Size Effect of the Dynamic Characteristics of the Perovskite Solar Cell
Authors: Li Q. , Wu D. , Gao W.
Published: July 2023

Driven by government policy and incentives, solar power production has soared in the past decade and become a mainstay during the worldwide clean-power transition process. Among the various next-generation photovoltaic technologies, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are the most important emerging area of research due to their outstanding power conversion efficiency and affordable scale-up operation. We adopted the nonlocal strain gradient theory and the first-order shear deformation plate theory to investigate the size-dependent free vibration behavior of PSCs. The size-dependency in the nanostructure of the PSCs was captured by coupling the nonlocal and strain gradient parameters. In accordance with the Hamilton principle, the governing equations set was derived. Subsequently, the Galerkin procedure was applied to address the dynamic characteristics analysis of PSCs with simply supported and clamped edges. Compared with the size-insensitive traditional continuum plate model, the current multiscale framework revealed a size effect on the free vibration of the PSC. Moreover, some parametric experiments were conducted to explore the impacts of scale length parameter, nonlocal parameter, and boundary conditions on the natural frequency of the PSC.
Submicroscopic Evaluation Studies to Minimize Delayed Ettringite Formation in Concrete for a Sustainable Industry and Circular Economy
Authors: Ramu Yogesh Kumar , Thomas Paul Stephen , Vessalas Kirk , Sirivivatnanon Vute
Published: July 2023

The high cost of maintenance, repair and retrofitting of concrete infrastructure to keep these structures durable and serviceable is not sustainable, so the design process needs to consider all aspects of deterioration mechanism/s that can potentially occur in a concrete structure. The ideal solution should contribute to sustainability by enhancing the durability of concrete elements and supporting a circular economy. We studied delayed ettringite formation (DEF), a potential deterioration mechanism, including mitigation measures, in various heat-cured cementitious systems. The results showed that continuously connected pore/crack paths at the submicroscopic level favor the transportation of DEF-causing ions in heat-cured systems. DEF increases the chance of developing cracks, which is a durability concern. To mitigate DEF, fly ash produced from an Australian bituminous coal-burning power station was incorporated in the binder to support the circular economy concept. Changes in heat-cured cementitious systems were evaluated using expansion, electrical resistivity, dynamic modulus, and microstructural studies. The pozzolanicity of fly ash was found to greatly enhance the formation of denser calcium-silica-hydrate, which in turn restricted the transportation of DEF-causing ions at the submicron level, leading to less DEF occurrence and enhancement of the durability and sustainability of concrete in field structures.
Life Cycle Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Virgin Concrete Replacement by CO2 Concrete in a Residential Building
Authors: Ma M. , Zhou Y. , Tam V. W. Y. , Le K. N.
Published: July 2023

Concrete is one of the most consumed materials in construction, with 25 billion tons produced globally per year.
Graphene-Induced Nano- and Microscale Modification of Polymer Structures in Cement Composite Systems
Authors: Naseem Z. , Sagoe-Crentsil K. , Duan W.
Published: July 2023

Redispersible polymers such as ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) have attracted attention in construction due to their enhanced flexural strength, adhesion, flexibility and resistance against water penetration. However, EVA particles cluster in a highly alkaline cementitious matrix and exhibit poor interaction with the cement matrix. The underlying mechanism of poor dispersibility of EVA is attributed to hydrophobic groups of polymers, a variation in the adsorption rate and molecular diffusion to the interface where they cluster together. This phenomenon can negatively affect the fresh properties of cement and produce a weak microstructure, adversely affecting the resulting composites’ performance. This study highlights how graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterial alters the nano- and microscale structural characteristics of EVA to minimize the negative effects. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the GO sheets modify EVA’s clustered nanostructure and disperse it through electrostatic and steric interactions. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed altered microscale structural characteristics (viz. surface features) by GO. The altered and enhanced material scale engineering performance, such as the compressive strength of the resulting cement composite, was notable.
Nanosilica-Modified Hydrogels Encapsulating Bacterial Spores for Self-healing Concrete
Authors: Feng J. , Qian S.
Published: July 2023

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation is effective in achieving self-healing of concrete cracks when the bacteria are well protected in concrete with a high pH and dense microstructure. Calcium alginate hydrogels are appropriate for encapsulating bacteria in concrete due to the mild environment with rich moisture in the hydrogels. Nevertheless, the low alkaline tolerance and breakage ratios of the hydrogels after concrete cracking restrict their applications in concrete. To address these problems, nanosilica was doped into calcium alginate hydrogels with encapsulated bacterial spores to react with the Ca(OH)2 surrounding hydrogels in concrete. Due to the modification by nanosilica, the bond of the hydrogels with cement matrix was enhanced as needle-like C–S–H was generated at the interface after hydration for 7 days. Moreover, the urease activity of the encapsulated spores in the modified hydrogels was higher than that in plain hydrogels after submersion in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution or simulated concrete solution for 7 days. Therefore, it can be concluded that nanosilica holds promise for modifying hydrogels to improve the effectiveness of encapsulated bacterial spores for self-healing of concrete.
Erratum to: Higher-order relativistic corrections to gluon fragmentation into spin-triplet S-wave quarkonium
Authors: Bodwin Geoffrey T. , Kim U-Rae , Lee Jungil
Published: July 2023

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP11(2012)020
Bosonization, duality, and the C-theorem in the non-abelian Thirring model
Authors: Santos Rodrigo Corso B. , Hernaski Carlos A. , Gomes Pedro R. S.
Published: July 2023

Abstract

We revisit the two dimensional non-Abelian Thirring model in order to investigate its fixed point structure and the corresponding renormalization group (RG) flow. For this purpose we discuss the bosonization of the model, and we present different, but of course equivalent, bosonic versions of the theory. The bosonic theories are illuminating in that they exhibit the fixed points in a manifest way, and also possess a remarkable strong/weak duality that sheds light on the fixed point structure of the theory. We study the RG flow through the computation of the Zamolodchikov C-function and of the β-function in the large-level limit. Within this framework, we discuss how close to the infrared fixed point the RG flow can reach, since this point is strictly unachievable due to an emergent gauge invariance.
The LBK theorem to all orders
Authors: Engel Tim
Published: July 2023

Abstract

We study the soft limit of one-photon radiation at next-to-leading power (NLP) in the framework of heavy-quark effective theory (HQET) to all orders in perturbation theory. We establish the soft theorem that for unpolarised scattering the radiative contribution up to NLP is entirely determined by the non-radiative amplitude. This generalises the Low-Burnett-Kroll (LBK) theorem for QED to all orders. All hard matching corrections can be calculated by applying the LBK differential operator to the non-radiative amplitude. The virtual corrections in the effective theory vanish beyond one loop, resulting in a one-loop exact soft function. As a first, non-trivial application we calculate the real-virtual-virtual electron-line corrections to muon-electron scattering at NLP in the soft limit.
Leaf surface traits may influence host specificity in psyllids of Eucalyptus, Spondyliaspis cf. plicatuloides (Froggatt) and Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae)
Authors: Makunde Privilege T. , Joubert Johannes C. , Slippers Bernard , Hurley Brett P. , Hammerbacher Almuth
Published: July 2023

Spondyliaspiscf.plicatuloidesandGlycaspis brimblecombei(Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) are invasive insect pests ofEucalyptus, native to Australia. The insects feed on eucalypt sap, and both psyllid species exhibit clear preferences for different species and hybrids ofEucalyptus. The objective of this study was to identify the constitutive morphological and phytochemical characteristics underlying these host preferences. Four preferred and eight non-preferred eucalypt hosts were selected for evaluation. Thirteen leaf morphological features of the 12 eucalypts were analysed. The non-polar and polar metabolites in and on the surface of leaves of each eucalypt species were extracted, and their chemical composition was analysed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The leaf volatile profiles of hosts and non-hosts ofS. cf.plicatuloidesandG. brimblecombeidid not differ sufficiently to explain the host choices of the two eucalypt psyllids. The leaf polar metabolite profiles of the susceptible hosts of the two psyllids differed significantly but did not explain the host preferences of the two psyllid species. However, preferred hosts ofS. cf.plicatuloidesandG. brimblecombeihad some leaf morphological features and wax metabolites in common. Our results show that particular combinations of leaf morphological features and wax metabolites might influence the host choice of eucalypt-feeding lerp psyllids, but no traits explaining the differences in host-selection behaviour betweenS. cf.plicatuloidesandG. brimblecombeiwere identified.
Early surgery and number of injured ligaments are associated with postoperative stiffness following multi‐ligament knee injury surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Özbek Emre Anil , Dadoo Sahil , Grandberg Camila , Runer Armin , Cong Ting , Hughes Jonathan D. , Irrgang James J. , Musahl Volker
Published: July 2023

Purpose

To perform a systematic review and meta‐analysis to investigate the rate of stiffness after multi‐ligament knee injury (MLKI) surgery and identify potential risk factors associated with postoperative stiffness.

Methods

This study was conducted in accordance with the 2020 PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) statement. Registration was done on the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42022321849). A literature search of PubMed, Ovid, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted in October 2022 for clinical studies reporting postoperative stiffness after MLKI surgery. A quality assessment was performed using the Methodological Index of Non‐Randomized Studies (MINORS) grading system. The following variables were extracted from studies for correlation to postoperative stiffness: study characteristics, cohort demographics, Schenk classification, neurovascular injury, mechanism of injury, external fixator placement, timing of surgery, and concomitant knee injuries.

Results

Thirty‐six studies comprising 4,159 patients who underwent MLKI surgery met the inclusion criteria, including two Level‐II, fourteen Level‐III, and twenty Level‐IV studies. The average MINOR score of the studies was 14. The stiffness rate after MLKI was found to be 9.8% (95% CI 0.07–0.13; p < 0.01; I2 = 87%), and the risk of postoperative stiffness was significantly lower for patients with two ligaments injured compared to patients with ≥ 3 ligaments injured (OR = 0.45, 95% CI (0.26–0.79), p = 0.005; I2 = 0%). The results of the pooled analysis showed early surgery (< 3 weeks) resulted in significantly increased odds of postoperative stiffness compared with delayed surgery (≥ 3 weeks) (OR = 2.18; 95% CI 1.11–4.25; p = 0.02; I2 = 0%). However, age, gender, body mass index, energy of injury, and neurovascular injury were not associated with an increased risk of postoperative stiffness (n.s.).

Conclusion

Performing surgery within the first 3 weeks following MLKI, or concomitant injury of ≥ 3 ligaments, are significantly associated with increased risk of postoperative stiffness. These findings can be utilized by surgeons to decide the timing of surgery for MLKI surgeries especially in which ≥ 3 ligaments are injured.

Level of evidence

Level IV.
Effect of printing parameters on extrusion-based additive manufacturing using highly filled CuSn12 filament
Authors: Aruanno Beatrice , Paoli Alessandro , Razionale Armando Viviano , Tamburrino Francesco
Published: July 2023

Typical additive manufacturing (AM) processes for producing metal and ceramic parts are highly energy-consuming and expensive to install and maintain. On the other hand, material extrusion AM (MEAM) technologies are conventionally used to produce polymeric parts but only marginally to process metallic materials. A feasible alternative is to process polymeric filaments loaded with metal particles. Debinding and sintering processes are then required to join the metal particles and obtain the final parts. In recent years, highly filled metal filaments consisting of a polymer loaded with a high concentration of metal powder have been commercialized for this purpose. In this study, the printability of a commercial CuSn12 filament was investigated by evaluating the influence of the process parameters on the density, shrinkage, porosity, and mechanical properties of the additively manufactured samples using a low-cost desktop 3D printer. Parameters such as the flow rate and ironing had the greatest influence on the density of the green samples. The correct selection of these parameters may reduce shrinkage after sintering. Furthermore, the obtained bronze had a notable ultimate tensile strength (mean value of 107 MPa), high stiffness (E values range from 38 to 50 GPa), and a greater elongation at break (mean value of 13%) than that of cast bronze of the same CuSn12 type. In this case, the extrusion pattern and ironing had the most significant influence on the final mechanical performance. The study provides insights into the use of highly filled bronze filaments combined with MEAM to produce functional parts for engineering applications.