bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of skin cancers in pediatric solid organ transplant patients: A systematic review
Authors: Sachdeva Muskaan , Lara‐Corrales Irene , Pope Elena , Chan An‐Wen , Parekh Rulan S. , Kitchlu Abhijat , Sibbald Cathryn
Published: September 2021

Background

The most frequently reported malignancies after solid organ transplant are cutaneous, but data on the risk in pediatric populations varies across studies.

Objectives

To perform a systematic review including reported features and outcomes of skin cancers in pediatric solid organ transplant recipients.

Methods

EMBASE and MEDLINE were systematically searched (Prospero CRD42020201659).

Results

The review summarizes data from 20 studies on 337 patients, with a median age ranging from 15.0 to 19.5 years as reported in 4 studies, who developed skin malignancies after pediatric solid organ transplantation. Median ages at transplant and skin cancer diagnosis ranged from 1.5 to 17.0 years and 15.3 to 33.5 years, respectively. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was most commonly reported (218 cases), followed by basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (91 cases), melanoma (18 cases), and unspecified keratinocyte carcinomas (2 cases). The median latency period between transplantation and cancer diagnosis ranged from 2.2 to 21.0 years. Overall, 4 studies reported 17 cases of metastasis in total, and recurrence was reported in one case. Six deaths were reported in one study related to SCC and melanoma metastases. The incidence rate of skin cancer after pediatric transplantation per 100 person‐years of follow‐up was 2.1 based on 5 studies.

Conclusion

The most frequent post‐transplant malignancy in pediatric organ transplant recipients was SCC.
Moral Leadership in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
Authors: Kidd William , Vitriol Joseph A.
Published: September 2021

Voters commonly revise their political beliefs to align with the political leaders with whom they strongly identify, suggesting voters lack a coherent ideological structure causally prior to their political loyalties. Alternatively, voters may organize their preferences around nonideological concepts or values, such as moral belief. Using a four‐wave panel study during the 2016 election, we examine the relationship between voters' own moral foundations and their perceptions of the candidates' moral beliefs. We observed a bidirectional relationship among Republicans, who revised both their own moral beliefs and their perceptions of Donald Trump to reduce incongruities. In contrast, Democrats revised their perceptions of Hillary Clinton to align with their own moral beliefs. Importantly, consistency between voters' and political candidates' moral beliefs was more common among partisans and led to polarized evaluations of the two candidates on Election Day.
In Defense of the Standard Picture: The Basic Challenge
Authors: Alexander Larry
Published: September 2021

In this article I defend what Mark Greenberg has labeled the standard picture of law against the attack on it by Greenberg and Scott Hershovitz. I point out that law on the standard picture’s conception of it has moral virtues that Greenberg's own moral impact theory and Hershovitz’s similar theory lack. Moreover, it avoids a vicious circularity that bedevils Greenberg’s theory.
Constitutive Rules: The Symbolization Account
Authors: Brigaglia Marco , Celano Bruno
Published: September 2021

Our aim is to provide an account of constitutive rules in terms of (1) the acceptance of regulative norms, and (2) a cognitive process we call “symbolization” (in an altogether different sense from what J. R. Searle means by this word). We claim, first, that institutional facts à la Searle boil down to facts concerning the collective acceptance of regulative norms in a given community. This, however, does not exhaust what institutional facts are. There is a residue, symbolization. Symbolization, as we understand it, involves a transfer of cognitive models from one domain to another. We introduce this notion by exploring different sorts of games, taking our cue from games of pretend play. In the context of this exploration, we introduce the idea of the significance—a matter of degree—of symbolization for a given institutional concept. In particular, we claim, symbolization may play, vis‐à‐vis a given institutional concept, a properly constitutive or a merely auxiliary role. We further argue that, in most legal concepts as conceived in our legal culture, symbolization plays a merely auxiliary role. A possible exception is the concept of political representation, at least on some understandings of it.
Translation and preliminary validation of the Serbian version of an ageism scale for dental students (ASDS‐Serb)
Authors: Popovac Aleksandra , Pficer Jovana Kuzmanovic , Stančić Ivica , Vuković Ana , Marchini Leonardo , Kossioni Anastassia
Published: September 2021

Aims

The ageist attitudes among dental clinicians may result in inadequate treatment planning and reduce quality of life for older adults. This study aimed at performing a preliminary validation of an ageism scale for dental students (ASDS) in Serbia (ASDS‐Serb).

Methods and Results

The 27‐item ASDS was translated from English into Serbian and completed by 129 dental students. Principal component analysis (PCA), Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity were estimated. PCA produced a 17‐item scale distributed into five factors that explain 64.24% of the total variance. All items showed high to moderate reliability (0.50–0.83). CFA indicates an acceptable model fit with significant standardized factor loadings ranging from 0.14–0.99. The first factor dealt with negative views of older adults’ life and dental treatment, the second factor related to ethical values about older people, the third factor compared younger and older adults in dental care and the fourth factor related to difficulties in medical history taking. The fifth factor related to perceptions of oral health and treatment of older adults. Discriminant validity revealed significant differences related to the semester of studies, gender and having older people in the family.

Conclusion

The preliminary validation of the ASDS‐Serb resulted in a 17‐item scale distributed into the five factors with acceptable validity and reliability.
On Wyatt's Absolutist Account of Faultless Disagreement in Matters of Personal Taste
Authors: Hîncu Mihai , Zeman Dan
Published: September 2021

Abstract

In this critical paper, we engage with a recent absolutist proposal to account for faultless disagreement — that of Jeremy Wyatt. We first introduce the phenomenon to be explained and briefly present Wyatt's account. The bulk of the paper is dedicated to spelling out objections to various aspects of the view, which are related to his adherence to semantic minimalism, the interpretation of the empirical data he relies on, and his construal of both faultlessness and disagreement. We end with a comparison of the proposal with other views on the market from the point of view of theoretical economy.
A pilot randomized clinical trial of cryopreserved versus liquid‐stored platelet transfusion for bleeding in cardiac surgery: The cryopreserved versus liquid platelet‐New Zealand pilot trial
Authors: McGuinness Shay , Charlewood Richard , Gilder Eileen , Parke Rachael , Hayes Katia , Morley Sarah , Al‐Ibousi Aous , Deans Renae , Howe Belinda , Johnson Lacey , Marks Denese C. , Reade Michael C. ,   Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Clinical Trials Network,   Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group
Published: September 2021

Background and Objectives

Platelets for transfusion have a shelf‐life of 7 days, limiting availability and leading to wastage. Cryopreservation at −80°C extends shelf‐life to at least 1 year, but safety and effectiveness are uncertain.

Materials and Methods

This single centre blinded pilot trial enrolled adult cardiac surgery patients who were at high risk of platelet transfusion. If treating clinicians determined platelet transfusion was required, up to three units of either cryopreserved or liquid‐stored platelets intraoperatively or during intensive care unit admission were administered. The primary outcome was protocol safety and feasibility.

Results

Over 13 months, 89 patients were randomized, 23 (25.8%) of whom received a platelet transfusion. There were no differences in median blood loss up to 48 h between study groups, or in the quantities of study platelets or other blood components transfused. The median platelet concentration on the day after surgery was lower in the cryopreserved platelet group (122 × 103/μl vs. 157 × 103/μl, median difference 39.5 ×103/μl, p = 0.03). There were no differences in any of the recorded safety outcomes, and no adverse events were reported on any patient. Multivariable adjustment for imbalances in baseline patient characteristics did not find study group to be a predictor of 24‐h blood loss, red cell transfusion or a composite bleeding outcome.

Conclusion

This pilot randomized controlled trial demonstrated the feasibility of the protocol and adds to accumulating data supporting the safety of this intervention. Given the clear advantage of prolonged shelf‐life, particularly for regional hospitals in New Zealand, a definitive non‐inferiority phase III trial is warranted.
Recuperando la clase social en el estudio de la acción colectiva. El caso de un movimiento socioambiental chileno
Authors: Muñoz Nicolás , Asún Rodrigo , Zúñiga Claudia
Published: September 2021

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo identificar el rol de la clase social en la participación o no participación de las personas en acciones de protesta, en el marco de las movilizaciones socioambientalistas, llevadas a cabo el año 2016 en la Isla de Chiloé, en el sur de Chile. Para esto, se realizó un estudio cuantitativo transversal, aplicándose una encuesta a una muestra aleatoria de 400 personas mayores de 18 años, de las dos principales ciudades de la isla. Se puso a prueba un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales que incluye variables identificadas por la psicología social como predictores de la participación en acciones colectivas, además de la posición de clase de los individuos, la que tradicionalmente no es considerada por la psicología social en la investigación en este campo. Los resultados muestran que el modelo propuesto ajusta adecuadamente a los datos, y que la clase social es un importante predictor de la participación en la acción colectiva, pero en la dirección opuesta a la hipotetizada. Es decir, fueron las personas de clases más altas y de sectores medios quienes tendieron a participar más en las protestas. Se discuten las implicancias de estos resultados en el marco de los movimientos socioambientales.
Estimation of Gear Friction Coefficient Using Directional Parameter of Tooth Surface
Authors: Hongu Junichi , Horita Ryohei , Koide Takao
Published: September 2021

This study proposes a modification of the Matsumoto equation using a directional parameter of tooth surfaces to adapt various gear finishing processes. The directional parameters of a contact surface, which affect oil film formations, have been discussed in the field of tribology; but this effect has been undetermined on the meshing gear tooth surfaces having directional machining marks. Thus, this paper investigates the relationship between the gear frictional coefficients and the directional parameters (based on ISO25178) of their tooth surfaces with the various finishing processes and modifies the Matsumoto equation by introducing a new directional parameter to augment the various gear finishing processes. Our findings indicate that through optimizing the coefficient of the correction term that include the new directional parameter, the calculated friction values using the modified Matsumoto equation correlate more highly to the experimental friction values than that using the unmodified Matsumoto equation.
Virtual Gas Turbines Part II: An Automated Whole-Engine Secondary Air System Model Generation
Authors: Kulkarni Davendu , di Mare Luca
Published: September 2021

The design and analysis of the secondary air system (SAS) of gas turbine engine is a complex and time-consuming process because of the complicated topology and iterative nature of SAS design. The conventional SAS design-analysis model generation process is quite tedious and inefficient. It is still largely dependent on human expertise and thus incurs high time-cost. This paper presents an automated, whole-engine SAS flow network model generation methodology. This method accesses a prebuilt feature-based whole-engine geometry model and transforms the geometry features into the features suitable for SAS flow network analysis. The proposed method extracts both the geometric and non-geometric information from the engine geometry model such as rotational frames, materials, and boundary conditions. Apart from ensuring geometric consistency, this methodology also establishes a bidirectional information exchange protocol between the engine geometry model and the SAS flow network model, which enables to make engine geometry modifications based on SAS analysis results. The application of this feature mapping methodology is demonstrated by generating the SAS flow network model of a modern three-shaft gas turbine engine. This flow network model is generated within a few minutes, without any human intervention, which significantly reduces the SAS design-analysis time cost. The proposed methodology seamlessly links the geometry and the air system modelers of Virtual Gas Turbines simulation framework and thus allows performing a large number of whole-engine SAS simulations, design optimizations and fast redesign activities.
Description of the first acoustic recording of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) from the northern straits of Malacca, Malaysia (L)
Authors: Bono Saliza , Kimura Satoko S. , Kuit Sui Hyang , Ng Jol Ern , Tanaka Kotaro , Ichikawa Kotaro , Ponnampalam Louisa S.
Published: September 2021

Relatively little is known about spinner dolphins in Malaysian waters and the wider Southeast Asian region. This note represents the first known acoustic recording of the species sighted opportunistically in the northern Straits of Malacca. Over a brief 20 min sighting, 46 whistles were recorded and four tonal types were detected, with 54.4% being upsweep whistles. The whistle duration ranged from 36 to 977 ms and the frequency ranged from 6.6 to 23.8 kHz. Fifty-seven click trains with a mean interclick interval of 41.5 ± 19.3 ms were detected. These findings provide a baseline for future regional acoustic research on this species.
Comparison of Telomere Length in Young and Master Endurance Runners and Sprinters
Authors: Nickels Matt , Mastana Sarabjit , Codd Veryan , Denniff Matthew , Akam Elizabeth
Published: September 2021

It is unclear how running modality influences telomere length (TL). This single laboratory visit study compared the TL of master sprinters and endurance runners with their young counterparts. The correlation between leukocyte and buccal cell TL in athletes was also explored. Participants consisted of 11 young controls, 11 young sprinters, 12 young endurance runners, 12 middle-aged controls, 11 master sprinters, and 12 master endurance runners. Blood and buccal samples were collected and randomized for analysis of TL by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Young endurance runners displayed longer telomeres than master athletes (p < .05); however, these differences were not significant when controlled for covariates (p > .05). A positive correlation existed between leukocyte and buccal cell TL in athletes (r = .567, p < .001). In conclusion, young endurance runners possess longer telomeres than master endurance runners and sprinters, a consequence of lower body mass index and visceral fat.
Changing Universities on the Tenure Track: Integrating Into a New Workplace Culture
Authors: Richards K. Andrew R. , Ressler James D.
Published: September 2021

Purpose: Scholars, including those in physical education, have investigated the socialization of higher education faculty members. Informed by self-study of teacher education practices and occupational socialization theory, we aimed to understand Kevin’s experiences during a transition from one institution to another with the help of his critical friend, Jim. Methodology/Methods: Data were collected through prolonged journaling and critical friend discussions. Resulting text files were analyzed thematically with a focus on identifying turning points. Findings: Themes developed through qualitative analysis included: (a) readjusting scholarly targets and embracing grantspersonship, (b) giving up control and facilitating research, and (c) balancing being a team player with self-advocacy. Discussion/Conclusions: Kevin’s transition was supported by recognizing shifting norms of his new faculty role and influence of self-study of teacher education practices for ongoing, career professional development. Prior and current socialization influences framed this development.
Antibody-Dependent Enhancement of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is Mediated by the IgG Receptors FcγRIIA and FcγRIIIA but Does Not Contribute to Aberrant Cytokine Production by Macrophages
Authors: Maemura Tadashi , Kuroda Makoto , Armbrust Tammy , Yamayoshi Seiya , Halfmann Peter J. , Kawaoka Yoshihiro
Published: September 2021

Viruses infect cells mainly via specific receptors at the cell surface. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection is an alternative mechanism of infection for viruses to infect immune cells that is mediated by antibodies and IgG receptors (FcγRs).
Polyketide Starter and Extender Units Serve as Regulatory Ligands to Coordinate the Biosynthesis of Antibiotics in Actinomycetes
Authors: Wu Panpan , Chen Ketao , Li Bowen , Zhang Yanni , Wu Hang , Chen Yuhong , Ren Shaohua , Khan Sabir , Zhang Lixin , Zhang Buchang
Published: September 2021

Numerous antibiotics are derived from polyketides, whose biosynthesis is accurately controlled by transcriptional regulators that respond to diverse physiological or environmental signals. It is generally accepted that antibiotics or biosynthetic intermediates serve as effectors to modulate their production in actinomycetes.
Betacoronavirus Assembly: Clues and Perspectives for Elucidating SARS-CoV-2 Particle Formation and Egress
Authors: Bracquemond David , Muriaux Delphine
Published: September 2021

In 2019, a new pandemic virus belonging to the betacoronavirus family emerged, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This new coronavirus appeared in Wuhan, China, and is responsible for severe respiratory pneumonia in humans, namely, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Composition, Succession, and Source Tracking of Microbial Communities throughout the Traditional Production of a Farmstead Cheese
Authors: Sun Lang , D’Amico Dennis J.
Published: September 2021

Throughout the 20th century, especially in the United States, sanitation practices, pasteurization of milk, and the use of commercial defined-strain starter cultures have enhanced the safety and consistency of cheese. However, these practices can reduce cheese microbial diversity.
Lineage-Specific Growth Curves Document Large Differences in Response of Individual Groups of Marine Bacteria to the Top-Down and Bottom-Up Controls
Authors: Fecskeová Lívia K. , Piwosz Kasia , Šantić Danijela , Šestanović Stefanija , Tomaš Ana Vrdoljak , Hanusová Martina , Šolić Mladen , Koblížek Michal
Published: September 2021

Growth is one of the main manifestations of life. It is assumed generally that bacterial growth is constrained mostly by nutrient availability (bottom-up control) and grazing (top-down control).
The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Cu–14Al–3Ni Alloy Subjected to High-Pressure Torsion
Authors: Svirid A. E. , Pushin V. G. , Kuranova N. N. , Makarov V. V. , Uksusnikov A. N.
Published: September 2021

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, phase composition, mechanical properties, and microhardness of the shape-memory Сu–14 wt % Al–3 wt % Ni alloy prepared in the nanocrystalline state, which results from the severe plastic high-pressure torsion (HPT), is studied. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis are used in combination with electrical resistivity measurements in order to obtain data on the peculiarities of thermoelastic martensitic transformations and decomposition in the HPT-processed alloy subjected to thermal actions.
Role of hypertension as a risk factor for open-angle glaucoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Nislawati Ririn , Taufik Fadillah Zainal Ahmad , Ismail Abrar , Waspodo Noro , Kasim Firdaus , Gunawan Andi Muh Aunul Khaliq
Published: September 2021

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. It is estimated that as many as 3.2 million people worldwide experience blindness due to glaucoma, including open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Until now, there is no definite mechanism related to the incidence of OAG. However, increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered to be the most important risk factor. Several current studies show that there is a significant relationship between hypertension (HTN) and IOP. In particular, several epidemiological studies have shown that an increase in systemic blood pressure (BP) is associated with an increase in IOP. However, several studies report that high BP provides a protective effect at a young age against the incidence of OAG. Therefore, this literature aims to explore the effect of HTN on the incidence of OAG. In this review, search for the literature using keywords that match the topic, then a gradual screening was carried out with the predetermined eligibility criteria. From 3711 studies, 16 studies matched the criteria having a total sample size of 72 212 and then a quantitative meta-analysis was conducted. The results showed a risk ratio of 1.69 (95% CI 1.50 to 1.90) in the HTN group. However, from our qualitative synthesis, we found that people who have an unstable diastolic blood pressure (DBP), either high or low, are both able to increase the risk of OAG events. In conclusion, we found that HTN was able to increase the risk of OAG and DBP instability, whether high or low, can also increase the risk of OAG incidence.
Impact of COVID-19 on telepsychiatry at the service and individual patient level across two UK NHS mental health Trusts
Authors: Hong James SW , Sheriff Rebecca , Smith Katharine , Tomlinson Anneka , Saad Fathi , Smith Tanya , Engelthaler Tomas , Phiri Peter , Henshall Catherine , Ede Roger , Denis Mike , Mitter Pamina , D'Agostino Armando , Cerveri Giancarlo , Tomassi Simona , Rathod Shanaya , Broughton Nick , Marlowe Karl , Geddes John , Cipriani Andrea
Published: September 2021

Background

The effects of COVID-19 on the shift to remote consultations remain to be properly investigated.

Objective

To quantify the extent, nature and clinical impact of the use of telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with the data in the same period of the 2 years before the outbreak.

Methods

We used deidentified electronic health records routinely collected from two UK mental health Foundation Trusts (Oxford Health (OHFT) and Southern Health (SHFT)) between January and September in 2018, 2019 and 2020. We considered three outcomes: (1) service activity, (2) in-person versus remote modalities of consultation and (3) clinical outcomes using Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) data. HoNOS data were collected from two cohorts of patients (cohort 1: patients with ≥1 HoNOS assessment each year in 2018, 2019 and 2020; cohort 2: patients with ≥1 HoNOS assessment each year in 2019 and 2020), and analysed in clusters using superclasses (namely, psychotic, non-psychotic and organic), which are used to assess overall healthcare complexity in the National Health Service. All statistical analyses were done in Python.

Findings

Mental health service activity in 2020 increased in all scheduled community appointments (by 15.4% and 5.6% in OHFT and SHFT, respectively). Remote consultations registered a 3.5-fold to 6-fold increase from February to June 2020 (from 4685 to a peak of 26 245 appointments in OHFT and from 7117 to 24 987 appointments in SHFT), with post-lockdown monthly averages of 23 030 and 22 977 remote appointments/month in OHFT and SHFT, respectively. Video consultations comprised up to one-third of total telepsychiatric services per month from April to September 2020. For patients with dementia, non-attendance rates at in-person appointments were higher than remote appointments (17.2% vs 3.9%). The overall HoNOS cluster value increased only in the organic superclass (clusters 18–21, n=174; p<0.001) from 2019 to 2020, suggesting a specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population of patients.

Conclusions and clinical implications

The rapid shift to remote service delivery has not reached some groups of patients who may require more tailored management with telepsychiatry.
Accuracy of the Veterans Health Administration COVID-19 (VACO) Index for predicting short-term mortality among 1307 US academic medical centre inpatients and 427 224 US Medicare patients
Authors: King, Jr. Joseph T , Yoon James S , Bredl Zachary M , Habboushe Joseph P , Walker Graham A , Rentsch Christopher T , Tate Janet P , Kashyap Nitu M , Hintz Richard C , Chopra Aneesh P , Justice Amy C
Published: September 2021

Background

The Veterans Health Administration COVID-19 (VACO) Index predicts 30-day all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19 using age, sex and pre-existing comorbidity diagnoses. The VACO Index was initially developed and validated in a nationwide cohort of US veterans—we now assess its accuracy in an academic medical centre and a nationwide US Medicare cohort.

Methods

With measures and weights previously derived and validated in US national Veterans Health Administration (VA) inpatients and outpatients (n=13 323), we evaluated the accuracy of the VACO Index for estimating 30-day all-cause mortality using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots of predicted versus observed mortality in inpatients at a single US academic medical centre (n=1307) and in Medicare inpatients and outpatients aged 65+ (n=427 224).

Results

30-day mortality varied by data source: VA 8.5%, academic medical centre 17.5%, Medicare 16.0%. The VACO Index demonstrated similar discrimination in VA (AUC=0.82) and academic medical centre inpatient population (AUC=0.80), and when restricted to patients aged 65+ in VA (AUC=0.69) and Medicare inpatient and outpatient data (AUC=0.67). The Index modestly overestimated risk in VA and Medicare data and underestimated risk in Yale New Haven Hospital data.

Conclusions

The VACO Index estimates risk of short-term mortality across a wide variety of patients with COVID-19 using data available prior to or at the time of diagnosis. The VACO Index could help inform primary and booster vaccination prioritisation, and indicate who among outpatients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 should receive greater clinical attention or scarce treatments.
Threshold effects as the origin of $$Z_{cs}(4000)$$, $$Z_{cs}(4220)$$ and X(4700) observed in $$B^+\rightarrow J/\psi \phi K^+$$
Authors: Ge Ying-Hui , Liu Xiao-Hai , Ke Hong-Wei
Published: September 2021

We investigate the $$B^+\rightarrow J/\psi \phi K^+$$

B
+

→
J
/
ψ
ϕ

K
+

decay via various rescattering diagrams. Without introducing genuine exotic resonances, it is shown that the $$Z_{cs}(4000)$$

Z

cs

(
4000
)

, $$Z_{cs}(4220)$$

Z

cs

(
4220
)

and X(4700) reported by the LHCb collaboration can be simulated by the $$J/\psi K^{*+}$$

J
/
ψ

K

∗
+

, $$\psi ^\prime K^+$$

ψ
′

K
+

and $$\psi ^\prime \phi $$

ψ
′

ϕ

threshold cusps, respectively. These cusps are enhanced by some nearby triangle singularities. The X(4685) with $$J^P=1^+$$

J
P

=

1
+

cannot be well simulated by the threshold effects in our model, which implies that it may be a genuine resonance.
Debonding Analysis and Identification of the Interface Between Sleeper and Track Slab for Twin-Block Slab Tracks
Authors: Du Wei , Deng Shi-Jie , Ren Juan-Juan , Zhao Ze-Ming , Wei Zhen , Zhang Kai-Yao , Ye Wen-Long
Published: September 2021

For China Railway Track System (CRTS) I twin-block slab tracks, the interface between the sleeper and track slab is susceptible to damage under the coupled effect of long-term train load and external environment factors. In order to analyze the damage behavior and identify the type of debonding at the interface, this paper established a three-dimensional finite element model and introduced the cohesion zone model and concrete damaged plasticity model to simulate the interface damage and the inner-layer damage of the track slab, respectively. The interface debonding induced by the temperature effect was analyzed, and the debonding types were identified based on the obtained vertical vibration responses of the sleeper surface under the train load. The results reveal that the damage mainly occurs on the bottom and lateral sides at the interface under the temperature load. The track model can be refined further to obtain higher analysis accuracy with acceptable calculation time using the sequential loading method. The 26 damage features derived from the time domain, frequency domain, and time–frequency domain are in good representativeness in reflecting the damage information hidden in the vibration signals. Among them, the peak values (maximum vertical acceleration of the sleeper) are 55.0, 56.7, 60.3, and 61.6[Formula: see text]m/s2 for no debonding, debonding on the lateral side, debonding at the bottom, and debonding on the longitudinal side of the interface under train load, respectively. Moreover, the identification accuracy of the debonding type can reach 93.75% combining the particle swarm algorithm and support vector machine. It indicates that the proposed identification method is effective and reliable to provide theoretical guidance for developing scientific maintenance and repair strategies for twin-block slab tracks.
Empirical Investigation to Assess the Impact of ICT Deployment in Supply Chain Management
Authors: Yang Shuhui , Yu Zhang , Umar Muhammad , Shah Adeel
Published: September 2021

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of ICT deployment on agility, responsiveness, asset management efficiency and reliability to increase the performance of supply chain. This study used questionnaire survey to collect the data from Chinese manufacturing firms and employed structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that ICT deployment positively and significantly improved the reliability, agility, responsiveness and asset management efficiency, which further translated into supply chain performance. This study will provide help to the managerial staff in Chinese firms and practitioners to understand the importance of ICT. Further, this study also motivates the governmental bodies to build smart and digital infrastructure, which will not only support the firms at the micro level but will spur the economic growth at the macro level.
Theoretical Approaches, Supporting Actors and their Roles in the Innovation Literature: A Systematic Review
Authors: de Sousa Pedro Henrique Rodrigues , Junior Edgar Reyes , Lora Victor del Corte , da Costa Caroline Cordova Bicudo
Published: September 2021

This study aimed to identify how innovation support organizations are studied, as well as the influence of these organizations on the development of innovation. Academic productions were analyzed using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Correspondence Analysis techniques. Results indicate that studies on support organizations and innovative capacity are mainly based on the approaches of Innovation Systems, Networks, Cluster Theory, and Institutional Theory, with emphasis on the interactions between different actors. The analysis revealed the importance of public organizations for the institutional security necessary for the development of innovation. Thus, such organizations contribute mainly by providing a favorable institutional environment for achieving inter-firm relationships, enabling companies to expand external sources of resources and knowledge by themselves. Business associations play an important role in the intermediation of these relationships. In addition, other support organizations contribute to the provision of resources, mainly knowledge, which are important for the development of innovation and favor obtaining and sustaining a competitive advantage if combined with those already held by the firm.
Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: Benefits, Barriers and Organizational Factors that Influence its Adoption
Authors: Reis Felipe Bastos dos , Camargo Júnior Alceu Salles
Published: September 2021

Industry 4.0 allows the integration of intelligent technologies into manufacturing processes to promote operational benefits, but it is influenced by some barriers. The purpose of this study is to identify the benefits, barriers, and organizational factors that can influence the adoption of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing through a systematic literature review. We found and analyzed 10 benefits, 9 barriers, and 8 organizational factors and we also propose a conceptual framework. The factors analyzed can help create more consistent theoretical models for the adoption of Industry 4.0 in manufacturers and highlight the opportunities and challenges of the implementation.
Core-Shell Structured Theranostics
Authors: Guan Qingwen , Wang Min
Published: September 2021

Cancer threatens the life and well-being of human beings. Millions of newly diagnosed cancer cases and a large number of deaths caused by cancer are reported each year in the world. Early detection and effective treatment are key to reduce cancer mortality, which can be potentially realized by using “theranostics”. Theranostics are a group of hybrid nanoparticles that perform in cancer patients to provide both diagnostic and therapeutic functions through a single nano-sized structure. In particular, core-shell structured theranostics have shown unique physicochemical properties, allowing them to facilitate molecular/cell targeting, bio-imaging, and drug delivery functions. This review, therefore, aims to present and discuss the recent development of research on core-shell structured theranostics. Specifically, it focuses on core-shell structured theranostics made of metals, silica and polymers. Different aspects, such as synthesis and structure, of core-shell structured theranostics are discussed in this review. This review helps readers to have a good understanding of the design and fabrication of core-shell structured theranostics.
Antarctic upper mantle rheology
Authors: Ivins E. R. , van der Wal W. , Wiens D. A. , Lloyd A. J. , Caron L.
Published: September 2021

The Antarctic mantle and lithosphere are known to have large lateral contrasts in seismic velocity and tectonic history. These contrasts suggest differences in the response timescale of mantle flow across the continent, similar to those documented between the northeastern and southwestern upper mantle of North America. Glacial isostatic adjustment and geodynamical modelling rely on independent estimates of lateral variability in effective viscosity. Recent improvements in imaging techniques and the distribution of seismic stations now allow resolution of both lateral and vertical variability of seismic velocity, making detailed inferences about lateral viscosity variations possible. Geodetic and palaeosea-level investigations of Antarctica provide quantitative ways of independently assessing the 3D mantle viscosity structure. While observational and causal connections between inferred lateral viscosity variability and seismic velocity changes are qualitatively reconciled, significant improvements in the quantitative relations between effective viscosity anomalies and those imaged by P- and S-wave tomography have remained elusive. Here we describe several methods for estimating effective viscosity from S-wave velocity. We then present and compare maps of the viscosity variability beneath Antarctica based on the recent S-wave velocity model ANT-20 using three different approaches.
A Novel Real-time Anti-spam Framework
Authors: Wu Di , Shi Wei , Ma Xiangyu
Published: September 2021

As one of the most pervasive current modes of communication, email needs to be fast and reliable. However, spammers and attackers use it as a primary channel to conduct illegal activities. Although many approaches have been developed and evaluated for spam detection, they do not provide sufficient accuracy. This deficiency results in significant economic losses for organizations. In this article, we first propose a framework for creating novel spam filters using Keras to combine a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) classification models. We then use this framework to introduce a specific solution applicable to realistic scenarios involving dynamic incoming email data in real-time. This solution takes the form of a real-time content-based spam classifier. We evaluate its performance concerning accuracy, precision, recall, false-positive, and false-negative rates. Our experimental results show that our approach can significantly outperform existing solutions for real-time spam detection.
Memory-Safety Challenge Considered Solved? An In-Depth Study with All Rust CVEs
Authors: Xu Hui , Chen Zhuangbin , Sun Mingshen , Zhou Yangfan , Lyu Michael R.
Published: September 2021

Rust is an emerging programming language that aims at preventing memory-safety bugs without sacrificing much efficiency. The claimed property is very attractive to developers, and many projects start using the language. However, can Rust achieve the memory-safety promise? This article studies the question by surveying 186 real-world bug reports collected from several origins, which contain all existing Rust common vulnerability and exposures (CVEs) of memory-safety issues by 2020-12-31. We manually analyze each bug and extract their culprit patterns. Our analysis result shows that Rust can keep its promise that all memory-safety bugs require unsafe code, and many memory-safety bugs in our dataset are mild soundness issues that only leave a possibility to write memory-safety bugs without unsafe code. Furthermore, we summarize three typical categories of memory-safety bugs, including automatic memory reclaim, unsound function, and unsound generic or trait. While automatic memory claim bugs are related to the side effect of Rust newly-adopted ownership-based resource management scheme, unsound function reveals the essential challenge of Rust development for avoiding unsound code, and unsound generic or trait intensifies the risk of introducing unsoundness. Based on these findings, we propose two promising directions toward improving the security of Rust development, including several best practices of using specific APIs and methods to detect particular bugs involving unsafe code. Our work intends to raise more discussions regarding the memory-safety issues of Rust and facilitate the maturity of the language.
Factorizing Historical User Actions for Next-Day Purchase Prediction
Authors: Liu Bang , Zhang Hanlin , Kong Linglong , Niu Di
Published: September 2021

It is common practice for many large e-commerce operators to analyze daily logged transaction data to predict customer purchase behavior, which may potentially lead to more effective recommendations and increased sales. Traditional recommendation techniques based on collaborative filtering, although having gained success in video and music recommendation, are not sufficient to fully leverage the diverse information contained in the implicit user behavior on e-commerce platforms. In this article, we analyze user action records in the Alibaba Mobile Recommendation dataset from the Alibaba Tianchi Data Lab, as well as the Retailrocket recommender system dataset from the Retail Rocket website. To estimate the probability that a user will purchase a certain item tomorrow, we propose a new model called Time-decayed Multifaceted Factorizing Personalized Markov Chains (Time-decayed Multifaceted-FPMC), taking into account multiple types of user historical actions not only limited to past purchases but also including various behaviors such as clicks, collects and add-to-carts. Our model also considers the time-decay effect of the influence of past actions. To learn the parameters in the proposed model, we further propose a unified framework named Bayesian Sparse Factorization Machines. It generalizes the theory of traditional Factorization Machines to a more flexible learning structure and trains the Time-decayed Multifaceted-FPMC with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. Extensive evaluations based on multiple real-world datasets demonstrate that our proposed approaches significantly outperform various existing purchase recommendation algorithms.
Abstractions and Automated Algorithms for Mixed Domain Finite Element Methods
Authors: Daversin-Catty Cécile , Richardson Chris N. , Ellingsrud Ada J. , Rognes Marie E.
Published: September 2021

Mixed dimensional partial differential equations (PDEs) are equations coupling unknown fields defined over domains of differing topological dimension. Such equations naturally arise in a wide range of scientific fields including geology, physiology, biology, and fracture mechanics. Mixed dimensional PDEs are also commonly encountered when imposing non-standard conditions over a subspace of lower dimension, e.g., through a Lagrange multiplier. In this article, we present general abstractions and algorithms for finite element discretizations of mixed domain and mixed dimensional PDEs of codimension up to one (i.e.,
n
D-
m
D with |n-m| ≤ 1). We introduce high-level mathematical software abstractions together with lower-level algorithms for expressing and efficiently solving such coupled systems. The concepts introduced here have also been implemented in the context of the FEniCS finite element software. We illustrate the new features through a range of examples, including a constrained Poisson problem, a set of Stokes-type flow models, and a model for ionic electrodiffusion.
Ratatoskr: An Open-Source Framework for In-Depth Power, Performance, and Area Analysis and Optimization in 3D NoCs
Authors: Joseph Jan Moritz , Bamberg Lennart , Hajjar Imad , Perjikolaei Behnam Razi , García-Ortiz Alberto , Pionteck Thilo
Published: September 2021

We introduce
Ratatoskr
, an open-source framework for in-depth power, performance, and area (PPA) analysis in Networks-on-Chips (NoCs) for 3D-integrated and heterogeneous System-on-Chips (SoCs). It covers all layers of abstraction by providing an NoC hardware implementation on Register Transfer Level (RTL), an NoC simulator on cycle-accurate level and an application model on transaction level. By this comprehensive approach,
Ratatoskr
can provide the following specific PPA analyses: Dynamic power of links can be measured within 2.4% accuracy of bit-level simulations while maintaining cycle-accurate simulation speed. Router power is determined from RTL-to-gate-level synthesis combined with cycle-accurate simulations. The performance of the whole NoC can be measured both via cycle-accurate and RTL simulations. The performance (i.e., timing) of individual routers and the NoC area are obtained from RTL synthesis results. Despite these manifold features,
Ratatoskr
offers easy two-step user interaction: (1) A single point-of-entry allows setting design parameters. (2) PPA reports are generated automatically. For both the input and the output, different levels of abstraction can be chosen for high-level rapid network analysis or low-level improvement of architectural details. The synthesizable NoC-RTL model shows improved total router power and area in comparison to a conventional standard router. As a forward-thinking and unique feature not found in other NoC PPA-measurement tools,
Ratatoskr
supports heterogeneous 3D integration that is one of the most promising integration paradigms for upcoming SoCs. Thereby,
Ratatoskr
lays the groundwork to design their communication architectures. The framework is publicly available at

https://github.com/ratatoskr-project

.
Does More Context Help? Effects of Context Window and Application Source on Retrieval Performance
Authors: Vuong Tung , Andolina Salvatore , Jacucci Giulio , Ruotsalo Tuukka
Published: September 2021

We study the effect of contextual information obtained from a user’s digital trace on Web search performance. Contextual information is modeled using Dirichlet–Hawkes processes (DHP) and used in augmenting Web search queries. The context is captured by monitoring all naturally occurring user behavior using continuous 24/7 recordings of the screen and associating the context with the queries issued by the users. We report a field study in which 13 participants installed a screen recording and digital activity monitoring system on their laptops for 14 days, resulting in data on all Web search queries and the associated context data. A query augmentation (QAug) model was built to expand the original query with semantically related terms. The effects of context window and source were determined by training context models with temporally varying context windows and varying application sources. The context models were then utilized to re-rank the QAug model. We evaluate the context models by using the Web document rankings of the original query as a control condition compared against various experimental conditions: (1) a search context condition in which the context was sourced from search history; (2) a non-search context condition in which the context was sourced from all interactions excluding search history; (3) a comprehensive context condition in which the context was sourced from both search and non-search histories; and (4) an application-specific condition in which the context was sourced from interaction histories captured on a specific application type. Our results indicated that incorporating more contextual information significantly improved Web search rankings as measured by the positions of the documents on which users clicked in the search result pages. The effects and importance of different context windows and application sources, along with different query types are analyzed, and their impact on Web search performance is discussed.
A Large-scale Empirical Analysis of Browser Fingerprints Properties for Web Authentication
Authors: Andriamilanto Nampoina , Allard Tristan , Le Guelvouit Gaëtan , Garel Alexandre
Published: September 2021

Modern browsers give access to several attributes that can be collected to form a browser fingerprint. Although browser fingerprints have primarily been studied as a web tracking tool, they can contribute to improve the current state of web security by augmenting web authentication mechanisms. In this article, we investigate the adequacy of browser fingerprints for web authentication. We make the link between the digital fingerprints that distinguish browsers, and the biological fingerprints that distinguish Humans, to evaluate browser fingerprints according to properties inspired by biometric authentication factors. These properties include their distinctiveness, their stability through time, their collection time, their size, and the accuracy of a simple verification mechanism. We assess these properties on a large-scale dataset of 4,145,408 fingerprints composed of 216 attributes and collected from 1,989,365 browsers. We show that, by time-partitioning our dataset, more than 81.3% of our fingerprints are shared by a single browser. Although browser fingerprints are known to evolve, an average of 91% of the attributes of our fingerprints stay identical between two observations, even when separated by nearly six months. About their performance, we show that our fingerprints weigh a dozen of kilobytes and take a few seconds to collect. Finally, by processing a simple verification mechanism, we show that it achieves an equal error rate of 0.61%. We enrich our results with the analysis of the correlation between the attributes and their contribution to the evaluated properties. We conclude that our browser fingerprints carry the promise to strengthen web authentication mechanisms.