bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Zwischen Vision und Wirklichkeit: Untersuchung zur Machbarkeit der Weiterleitung von weniger dringlichen Hilfesuchenden in die ambulante Versorgung
Authors: Oslislo Sarah , Witt Kalina , von Stillfried Dominik , Steiger Edgar , Thoß Reno , Thoß Sonja , Carnarius Sebastian , Bayeff-Filloff Michael
Published: June 2024

Hintergrund und Ziel der Arbeit

Untersucht wurden Machbarkeit und Akzeptanz einer Weiterleitung von Hilfesuchenden mit weniger dringlichem Behandlungsbedarf aus einer zentralen Notaufnahme (ZNA) in kooperierende Praxen.

Material und Methoden

Zu allgemeinen Praxisöffnungszeiten erhielten Hilfesuchende, die in der ZNA des RoMed Klinikums Rosenheim auf Basis des Manchester Triage System (MTS) als weniger dringlich (grün, blau) eingeschätzt wurden, eine erweiterte Einschätzung mittels Strukturierter medizinischer Ersteinschätzung (SmED). Patienten mit einer Empfehlung für die vertragsärztliche Versorgung wurden via IVENA eHealth an eine Kooperationspraxis (KP) vermittelt. Anwender in Klinik und Praxen wurden per Fragebogen zur Machbarkeit und Akzeptanz befragt. Es erfolgte eine deskriptive Datenauswertung.

Ergebnisse

Zwischen April und Juli 2023 erhielten 193 Patienten eine erweiterte Einschätzung. Das mediane Alter betrug 43,5 Jahre, 45,1 % der Patienten waren männlich. 88,6 % (95 %-KI (Konfidenzintervall) 84,1–93,1) der Hilfesuchenden erhielten eine Empfehlung zur vertragsärztlichen Behandlung und das Angebot zur Weiterleitung in eine von acht KP. Davon wollten 15,2 % (95 %-KI 9,8–20,6) in der ZNA verbleiben und für 17 % (95 %-KI 11,4–22,6) war keine KP verfügbar. Insgesamt wurden 60,1 % (95 %-KI 53,2–67,0) der Studienteilnehmer in eine KP weitergeleitet und 56 % (95 %-KI 49,0–63,0) abschließend versorgt. 6,9 % (95 %-KI 2,3–11,5) der weitergeleiteten Patienten stellten sich erneut in der ZNA vor. Die Anwender waren mit dem Einsatz von IVENA eHealth zufrieden und berichteten von einer hohen Akzeptanz der Patienten.

Schlussfolgerung

Eine Weiterleitung Hilfesuchender mit weniger dringlichen Beschwerden ist unter Alltagsbedingungen umsetzbar und sicher. Die Machbarkeitsstudie stellt damit eine potenzielle Anwendung gemäß § 120 Abs. 3b SGB V dar.
Bringing the field into the lab: a novel virtual reality outdoor march simulator for evaluating cognitive and physical performance
Authors: Kimel Naor Shani , Ketko Itay , Yanovich Ran , Gottlieb Amihai , Bahat Yotam , Ben-Gal Oran , Heled Yuval , Plotnik Meir
Published: June 2024

Soldiers, athletes, and rescue personnel must often maintain cognitive focus while performing intense, prolonged, and physically demanding activities. The simultaneous activation of cognitive and physical functions can disrupt their performance reciprocally. In the current study, we developed and demonstrated the feasibility of a virtual reality (VR)-based experimental protocol that enables rigorous exploration of the effects of prolonged physical and cognitive efforts. A battery of established neurocognitive tests was used to compare novel cognitive tasks to simulated loaded marches. We simulated a 10-km loaded march in our virtual reality environment, with or without integrated cognitive tasks (VR-COG). During three experimental visits, participants were evaluated pre- and post-activity, including the Color Trail Test (CTT), the Synthetic Work Environment (SYNWIN) battery for assessing multitasking, and physical tests (i.e., time to exhaustion). Results show that Strong or moderate correlations (r ≥ 0.58, p ≤ 0.05) were found between VR-COG scores and scores on the cognitive tests. Both the SYNWIN and CTT showed no condition effects but significant time effects, indicating better performance in the post-activity assessment than in the pre-activity assessment. This novel protocol can contribute to our understanding of physical-cognitive interactions, since virtual environments are ideal for studying high performance professional activity in realistic but controlled settings.
Optimization and development of a new rotary magnetic refrigerator
Authors: Bocanegra Johan Augusto , Scarpa Federico , Fanghella Pietro , Marchitto Annalisa , Tagliafico Luca Antonio
Published: June 2024

Magnetic refrigeration is becoming increasingly relevant as a means to achieve sustainability in refrigeration, thanks to its durability, efficiency, and low environmental impact. This paper regards the design of a new rotary magnetic refrigerator feasible for domestic use at room temperature. An interdisciplinary approach was necessary to perform the design, construction, and optimization of the device through mechanical design, thermo-hydraulic design, and integration into a proper test rig. Optimization of critical parts, such as the regenerator, the magnet structure, and the external heat exchangers, was performed using numerical models. The optimal values of control parameters were determined using a parametric sweep study. The results of all these steps of the study resulted in significant progress in designing and constructing an efficient rotary magnetic refrigerator. This work presents the insights obtained from the project implementation, including the design and construction aspects, presented in a practical way that can guide future projects in the field of magnetic refrigeration.

Graphical abstract
Urine Proteomic Signatures of Mild Hypothermia Treatment in Cerebral Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury in Rats
Authors: Zhang Dandan , Li Dapeng , Wang Xueting , Sui Yanyan , Ma Fuguo , Dai Yuting , Wang Mingshan , Qin Weiwei
Published: June 2024

Mild hypothermia (MH) is an effective measure to alleviate cerebral ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. This study set out to investigate dynamic changes in urinary proteome due to MH in rats with cerebral I/R injury and explore the neuroprotective mechanisms of MH. A Pulsinelli’s four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) rat model was used to mimic global cerebral I/R injury. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was employed to profile the urinary proteome of rats with/without MH (32 °C) treatment after I/R injury. Representative differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) associated with MH were validated by western blotting in hippocampus. A total of 597 urinary proteins were identified, among which 119 demonstrated significant changes associated with MH. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation of the DEPs revealed that MH significantly enriched in endopeptidase activity, inflammatory response, aging, response to oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species, blood coagulation, and cell adhesion. Notably, changes in 12 DEPs were significantly reversed by MH treatment. Among them, 8 differential urinary proteins were previously reported to be closely associated with brain disease, including NP, FZD1, B2M, EPCR, ATRN, MB, CA1and VPS4A. Two representative proteins (FZD1, B2M) were further validated by western blotting in the hippocampus and the results were shown to be consistent with urinary proteomic analysis. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that urinary proteome can sensitively reflect pathophysiological changes in the brain, and appears to be the first study to explore the neuroprotective effects of MH by urinary proteomic analysis. FZD1 and B2M may be involved in the most fundamental molecular biological mechanisms of MH neuroprotection.

Graphical Abstract

In a 4-VO rat model, 119 urinary proteins demonstrated significant changes associated with MH. MH is enriched in endopeptidase activity, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, etc, and significantly reversed changes in 12 DEPs. FZD1 and B2M are thought to be involved in the most fundamental molecular biological mechanisms of MH neuroprotection.
177Lu−SN201 nanoparticle shows superior anti−tumor efficacy over conventional cancer drugs in 4T1 orthotopic model
Authors: Lekmeechai Sujinna , Pietras Kristian , Axelsson Oskar
Published: June 2024

In the current in-vivo study we demonstrate the potential of the radiolabeled nanoparticle 177Lu-SN201 as an effective anticancer treatment, as evidenced by significantly prolonged survival and reduced tumor burden in the aggressive, triple negative 4T1 murine breast cancer model. We show with high statistical significance that 177Lu-SN201 is superior at suppressing the tumor growth not only compared to vehicle but also to the commonly used cancer drugs paclitaxel, niraparib, carboplatin, and the combination of the immune checkpoint inhibitors anti PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4. The dosing of the standard drugs were based on examples in the literature where good effects have been seen in various mouse models. The treatment is reasonably well-tolerated, as indicated by clinical chemistry of liver and renal function through the measurement of glutamate pyruvate alanine aminotransferase, alanine amino transferase, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine levels in plasma samples, despite some weight loss. Overall, 177Lu-SN201 presents as a promising therapeutic candidate for cancer treatment.
Server-side rescoring of spoken entity-centric knowledge queries for virtual assistants
Authors: Zhang Youyuan , Gondala Sashank , Fraga-Silva Thiago , Gysel Christophe Van
Published: June 2024

On-device virtual assistants (VAs) powered by automatic speech recognition (ASR) require effective knowledge integration for the challenging entity-rich query recognition. In this paper, we conduct an empirical study of modeling strategies for server-side rescoring of spoken information domain queries using various categories of language models (LMs) (N-gram word LMs, sub-word neural LMs). We investigate the combination of on-device and server-side signals, and demonstrate significant word error rate improvements of 23%-35% relative on various entity-centric query subpopulations by integrating various server-side LMs compared to performing ASR on-device only. We also perform a comparison between LMs trained on domain data and a generative pre-trained (GPT) (a variant GPT-3) offered by OpenAI as a baseline. Furthermore, we also show that model fusion of multiple server-side LMs trained from scratch most effectively combines complementary strengths of each model and integrates knowledge learned from domain-specific data to a VA ASR system.
Improving search and rescue planning and resource allocation through case-based and concept-based retrieval
Authors: Nasar Wajeeha , Torres Ricardo da Silva , Gundersen Odd Erik , Karlsen Anniken Susanne Thoresen
Published: June 2024

The need for effective and efficient search and rescue operations is more important than ever as the frequency and severity of disasters increase due to the escalating effects of climate change. Recognizing the value of personal knowledge and past experiences of experts, in this paper, we present findings of an investigation of how past knowledge and experts’ experiences can be effectively integrated with current search and rescue practices to improve rescue planning and resource allocation. A special focus is on investigating and demonstrating the potential associated with integrating knowledge graphs and case-based reasoning as a viable approach for search and rescue decision support. As part of our investigation, we have implemented a demonstrator system using a Norwegian search and rescue dataset and case-based and concept-based similarity retrieval. The main contribution of the paper is insight into how case-based and concept-based retrieval services can be designed to improve the effectiveness of search and rescue planning. To evaluate the validity of ranked cases in terms of how they align with the existing knowledge and insights of search and rescue experts, we use evaluation measures such as precision and recall. In our evaluation, we observed that attributes, such as the rescue operation type, have high precision, while the precision associated with the objects involved is relatively low. Central findings from our evaluation process are that knowledge-based creation, as well as case- and concept-based similarity retrieval services, can be beneficial in optimizing search and rescue planning time and allocating appropriate resources according to search and rescue incident descriptions.
Biopolymer patches for the simultaneous incorporation of local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory drugs
Authors: Okolišan Dorinel , Vlase Titus , Vlase Gabriela , Bradu Ionela-Amalia , Pahomi Alexandru , Matichescu Anamaria
Published: June 2024

This study presents a novel type of biopolymer patches in which anti-inflammatory drugs and amide-type anesthetics were simultaneously incorporated. Since the biopolymer matrix is composed of k-carrageenan, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and glycerol, as a plasticizer, the resulting patches have an elasticity and a “stickiness” that can be exploited in the field of transdermal delivery of drugs. Combinations of anesthetic and anti-inflammatory drugs resulted in twenty patches with a unique and distinct physical appearance. Furthermore, as indicated by FTIR, TG/DTG, and DSC analysis data, none of the active substances affects the integrity of the biopolymer matrix; instead, they influence the Tmelting of the patch matrix, either in its value increase or decrease.
A framework for training larger networks for deep Reinforcement learning
Authors: Ota Kei , Jha Devesh K. , Kanezaki Asako
Published: June 2024

The success of deep learning in computer vision and natural language processing communities can be attributed to the training of very deep neural networks with millions or billions of parameters, which can then be trained with massive amounts of data. However, a similar trend has largely eluded the training of deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms where larger networks do not lead to performance improvement. Previous work has shown that this is mostly due to instability during the training of deep RL agents when using larger networks. In this paper, we make an attempt to understand and address the training of larger networks for deep RL. We first show that naively increasing network capacity does not improve performance. Then, we propose a novel method that consists of (1) wider networks with DenseNet connection, (2) decoupling representation learning from the training of RL, and (3) a distributed training method to mitigate overfitting problems. Using this three-fold technique, we show that we can train very large networks that result in significant performance gains. We present several ablation studies to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method and some intuitive understanding of the reasons for performance gain. We show that our proposed method outperforms other baseline algorithms on several challenging locomotion tasks.
Find the Gap: AI, Responsible Agency and Vulnerability
Authors: Vallor Shannon , Vierkant Tillmann
Published: June 2024

The responsibility gap, commonly described as a core challenge for the effective governance of, and trust in, AI and autonomous systems (AI/AS), is traditionally associated with a failure of the epistemic and/or the control condition of moral responsibility: the ability to know what we are doing and exercise competent control over this doing. Yet these two conditions are a red herring when it comes to understanding the responsibility challenges presented by AI/AS, since evidence from the cognitive sciences shows that individual humans face very similar responsibility challenges with regard to these two conditions. While the problems of epistemic opacity and attenuated behaviour control are not unique to AI/AS technologies (though they can be exacerbated by them), we show that we can learn important lessons for AI/AS development and governance from how philosophers have recently revised the traditional concept of moral responsibility in response to these challenges to responsible human agency from the cognitive sciences. The resulting instrumentalist views of responsibility, which emphasize the forward-looking and flexible role of agency cultivation, hold considerable promise for integrating AI/AS into a healthy moral ecology. We note that there nevertheless is a gap in AI/AS responsibility that has yet to be extensively studied and addressed, one grounded in a relational asymmetry of vulnerability between human agents and sociotechnical systems like AI/AS. In the conclusion of this paper we note that attention to this vulnerability gap must inform and enable future attempts to construct trustworthy AI/AS systems and preserve the conditions for responsible human agency.
Revolutionizing online education: Advanced facial expression recognition for real-time student progress tracking via deep learning model
Authors: Aly Mohammed
Published: June 2024

This paper presents a groundbreaking online educational platform that utilizes facial expression recognition technology to track the progress of students within the classroom environment. Through periodic image capture and facial data extraction, the platform employs ResNet50, CBAM, and TCNs for enhanced facial expression recognition. Achieving accuracies of 91.86%, 91.71%, 95.85%, and 97.08% on the RAF-DB, FER2013, CK + , and KDEF expression datasets, respectively, the proposed model surpasses the initial ResNet50 model in accuracy and detection of students' learning states. Comparative evaluations against state-of-the-art models using the RAF-DB, FER2013, CK + , and KDEF datasets underscore the significance of the results for educational institutions. By enhancing emotion recognition accuracy, improving feature relevance, capturing temporal dynamics, enabling real-time monitoring, and ensuring robustness and adaptability in online classroom environments, this approach offers valuable insights for educators to enhance teaching strategies and student outcomes. The combined capabilities of ResNet50, CBAM, and TCNs contribute uniquely to capturing dynamic changes in facial expressions over time, thereby facilitating accurate interpretation of students' emotions and engagement levels for more effective monitoring of learning behaviors in real-time.
Benchmark and validation of state-of-the-art muscle recruitment strategies in shoulder modelling
Authors: Lavaill Maxence , Pizzolato Claudio , Bolsterlee Bart , Martelli Saulo , Pivonka Peter
Published: June 2024

Shoulder muscle forces estimated via modelling are typically indirectly validated against measurements of glenohumeral joint reaction forces (GHJ-RF). This validation study benchmarks the outcomes of several muscle recruitment strategies against public GHJ-RF measurements. Public kinematics, electromyography, and GHJ-RF data from a selected male participant executing a 2.4 kg weight shoulder abduction task up to 92° GHJ elevation were obtained. The Delft Shoulder and Elbow Model was scaled to the participant. Muscle recruitment was solved by 1) minimising muscle activations squared (SO), 2) accounting for dynamic muscle properties (CMC) and 3) constraining muscle excitations to corresponding surface electromyography measurements (CEINMS). Moreover, the spectrum of admissible GHJ-RF in the model was determined via Markov-chain Monte Carlo stochastic sampling. The experimental GHJ-RF was compared to the resultant GHJ-RF of the different muscle recruitment strategies as well as the admissible stochastic range. From 21 to 40 degrees of humeral elevation, the experimental measurement of the GHJ-RF was outside the admissible range of the model (21 to 659% of body weight (%BW)). Joint force RMSE was between 21 (SO) and 24%BW (CEINMS). At high elevation angles, CMC (11%BW) and CEINMS (14%BW) performed better than SO (25%BW). A guide has been proposed to best select muscle recruitment strategies. At high elevation angles, CMC and CEINMS were the two most accurate methods in terms of predicted GHJ-RF. SO performed best at low elevation angles. In addition, stochastic muscle sampling highlighted the lack of consistency between the model and experimental data at low elevation angles.
On an objective, geometrically exact coupling element for a director-based multi-body finite element framework
Authors: Märtins David , Schuster Daniel , Hente Christian , Gebhardt Cristian Guillermo , Rolfes Raimund
Published: June 2024

In multi-body systems, flexible components and couplings between them can be subject to large displacements and rotations. This contribution presents a general objective and geometrically exact node-to-node coupling element that pursues two innovations. Firstly, the coupling element represents a consistent extension to an existing nonlinear mechanical framework. The coupling element is intended to preserve its attributes of objectivity, path independence and adherence to the energy-conserving or energy-dissipative time integration method. Secondly, beside elasticity, inertia and damping properties are also considered. For this purpose, a director-based formulation is employed within a total Lagrangian description. The avoidance of an angle-based representation, along with the additive updating of state variables, results not only in path independence but also in the avoidance of cumulative errors during extended simulations. An objective deformation measure is chosen based on the Green–Lagrange strain tensor. The inertia forces are considered by an arbitrarily shaped continuum located at the centre of the coupled nodes. Damping is considered by using two different objective first-order dissipation functions, which further ensure energy conservation or dissipation. We successfully demonstrate the coupling element within the mechanical framework on using example applications. Firstly, the geometrically exact behaviour is shown compared to a linear deformation measure. Secondly, we numerically show the path independence of the formulation. The dynamic behaviour is demonstrated in a transient analysis of a damped structure. Finally, the modal analysis of a wind turbine shows the application of the coupling element to model the soil–structure interaction.
A Perspective on the Characterization of Early Neural Progenitor Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Targeted Delivery to Neuroblastoma Cells
Authors: Kırbaş Oğuz Kaan , Bozkurt Batuhan Turhan , Yıldırım Melis Rahime , Taşlı Pakize Neslihan , Abdik Hüseyin , Şahin Fikrettin , Avşar Abdik Ezgi
Published: June 2024

As an element of the cellular signaling systems, extracellular vesicles (EVs) exhibit many desirable traits for usage as targeted delivery vehicles. When administered, EVs cause little to no toxic or immune response, stay in circulation for longer periods compared to synthetic carriers, preferentially accumulate in tissues that are the same or similar to their cell-of-origin and can pass through the blood-brain barrier. Combined, these traits make neural EVs a particularly promising tool for delivering drugs to the brain. This study aims to combine tissue and EVs engineering to prepare neural differentiated cells derived EVs that exhibit neural properties, to develop an effective, tissue-homing drug and gene delivery platform for the brain. Early neural differentiated cell-derived EVs were produced with neural characteristics from neural differentiated human neonatal dermal fibroblasts. The EVs carried key neural proteins such as Nestin, Sox2 and Doublecortin. The cellular uptake of early neural differentiated cell-derived EVs was higher compared to non-neural EVs during in vitro uptake assays on neuroblastoma cells. Moreover, eND-EVs were significantly decreased the viability of neuroblastoma cells. In conclusion, this study revealed that early neural differentiated cell-derived EVs have potential as a promising drug carrier for the treatment of various neural disorders.

Graphical Abstract
Impacts of three severe storms on Aegean Sea oceanography (2018–2020)
Authors: Babagolimatikolaei Javad
Published: June 2024

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of severe storms on the oceanography of the Aegean Sea, with specific focus on storms occurring on 15 November 2018, 14 September 2019, and 7 January 2020. Notable changes in oceanographic variables are observed on the storm day and in the subsequent days, gradually returning to pre-storm conditions. During storms, Aegean Sea surface temperatures were 2–3 °C below average, with cooling particularly evident along the west coast and northern part. Salinity increases of 0.5–1 PSU are observed during storms, with the most significant effects noted on 7 January. Storms consistently led to a decrease in sea level in our study area, with the western coast and north Aegean Sea experiencing levels 6–10 cm lower than the monthly average. Surface currents along the west coast and within latitudes 36–40° are 0.3 to 0.4 m/s stronger than average during storms. Storm-induced changes in the Thracian Sea’s anticyclonic gyre on 5 January reveal a speed increase of 0.3–0.4 m/s. Notably, both temperature and salinity fluxes exhibit significant changes during storms, characterized by a shift from east-to-west transport, contrasting with the west-to-east pattern observed before the storms. This shift is mainly influenced by Ekman transport, which predominantly directs water westward and north-westward when the wind comes from the northeast to southwest. Storms contribute to heightened salinity, increased kinetic energy, and enhanced transport, accompanied by a decrease in temperature, with the most pronounced effects near the surface along vertical layers.
Noether symmetries, group analysis and soliton solutions of a (3+1)-dimensional generalized fifth-order Zakharov–Kuznetsov model with power, dual power laws and dispersed perturbation terms with real-world applications
Authors: Adeyemo Oke Davies , Khalique Chaudry Masood , Migranov Nail G.
Published: June 2024

Highly important is a three-dimensional nonlinear partial differential equation because for many physical systems, one can, subject to suitable idealizations, formulate a differential equation that describes how the system changes in time. Thus, this article comprehensively reveals the investigation carried out on a (3+1)-dimensional generalized fifth-order Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation with power-law as well as dual power-law nonlinearities analytically, where the fifth-order term involved is regarded as a dispersion perturbation term. We utilize the well-celebrated Noether’s theorem to comprehensively construct conserved currents of the underlying equation. A detailed Lie group analysis of the understudied model consisting of power-law nonlinearities is further performed. This involves performing reductions of the underlying models using their Lie point symmetries. In consequence, various invariants are found. In addition, the equation reduces to diverse ordinary differential equations using its point symmetries and consequently diverse solutions of interest were achieved. Moreover, we derive some solitary wave solutions by invoking the newly introduced logistic function technique for some particular cases of the equation under consideration. In consequence, we achieve some exponential function solutions. In addition, the physical meaning of the results is put on the front burner by revealing the wave dynamics of these solutions via graphical depictions. Finally, the significance of the robust and detailed findings in the work are further corroborated with various real-world applications.
Invalid Votes as Protest: Compulsory Voting and the Democratic Context in Ecuador
Authors: Carrión-Yaguana Vanessa D. , Carroll Royce
Published: June 2024

Invalid votes are pervasive in many democracies and can threaten the legitimacy of elections. While often associated with factors such as choice complexity and disengagement, especially under compulsory voting rules, intentional ballot spoiling can also signal a political protest. We examine the argument that spoiling ballots as protest should occur under compulsory voting where voters perceive limited legitimacy to the electoral process and a lack of viable options. Using municipal elections in Ecuador, a context featuring both compulsory voting and a period of democratic erosion, we examine subnational variation in both spoiled and blank ballots. While factors related to sophistication and choice complexity explain variation in both forms of invalid voting, our results also reveal patterns consistent with the expectation that spoiled ballots reflect a protest of a lack of competition in the political system. Specifically, we find that areas opposed to Rafael Correa’s dominant party had a higher rate of spoiled ballots in the 2014 mayoral elections, a period when party dominance was consolidated and competition weak. This pattern declined in 2019 when the system’s competitiveness increased. A separate analysis of the 2019 elections for the Correa-era participatory governance body suggests continued use of spoiled ballots as protest by opposition voters, but primarily in higher connectivity areas where the online coordination on use of this tactic may have had greater influence. Overall, our study sheds light on factors shaping invalid vote patterns in compulsory systems and highlights spoiled ballots’ potential as a means to signal protest under conditions where some voters would perceive a decline in the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
Population-level norm values by EQ-5D-3L in Hungary - a comparison of survey results from 2022 with those from 2000
Authors: Inotai András , Nagy Dávid , Kaló Zoltán , Vokó Zoltán
Published: June 2024

Purpose

Although population norms of the EQ-5D-3L instrument had been available in Hungary since 2000, their evaluation was based on a United Kingdom (UK) value set. Our objective was to estimate the population norms for EQ-5D-3L by using the new Hungarian value set available since 2020, to extend the scope to adolescents, and to compare with norms from 2000.

Methods

A cross sectional EQ-5D-3L survey representative of the Hungarian population was conducted in 2022. The EQ-5D-3L dimensional responses were analyzed by age and sex and compared with the survey from 2000, by estimating population frequencies with their 95% confidence intervals; index values were evaluated by both value sets.

Results

Altogether, 11,910 respondents, aged 12 or more (578 between 12 and 17), completed the EQ-5D-3L. There was a notable improvement in reporting problems for both sexes (age 35–64) regarding the pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression compared to 2000. Below the age 44, both sexes had an EQ-5D-3L index plateau of 0.98, while above the age 55, men tended to have numerically higher index values compared to women, with the difference increasing with older age. Improvement in dimensional responses were also translated to numerically higher index values for both sexes between ages 18 and 74 compared to 2000. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher educational attainment, lower age, larger household size, and active occupational status were associated with higher index values.

Conclusion

Over the past 22 years, there was a large improvement in HRQoL of the middle-aged to elderly men and women in Hungary.
Rethinking Vision Transformer and Masked Autoencoder in Multimodal Face Anti-Spoofing
Authors: Yu Zitong , Cai Rizhao , Cui Yawen , Liu Xin , Hu Yongjian , Kot Alex C.
Published: June 2024

Recently, vision transformer (ViT) based multimodal learning methods have been proposed to improve the robustness of face anti-spoofing (FAS) systems. However, there are still no works to explore the fundamental natures (e.g., modality-aware inputs, suitable multimodal pre-training, and efficient finetuning) in vanilla ViT for multimodal FAS. In this paper, we investigate three key factors (i.e., inputs, pre-training, and finetuning) in ViT for multimodal FAS with RGB, Infrared (IR), and Depth. First, in terms of the ViT inputs, we find that leveraging local feature descriptors (such as histograms of oriented gradients) benefits the ViT on IR modality but not RGB or Depth modalities. Second, in consideration of the task (FAS vs. generic object classification) and modality (multimodal vs. unimodal) gaps, ImageNet pre-trained models might be sub-optimal for the multimodal FAS task. Finally, in observation of the inefficiency on direct finetuning the whole or partial ViT, we design an adaptive multimodal adapter (AMA), which can efficiently aggregate local multimodal features while freezing majority of ViT parameters. To bridge these gaps, we propose the modality-asymmetric masked autoencoder (M$$^{2}$$

2

A$$^{2}$$

2

E) for multimodal FAS self-supervised pre-training without costly annotated labels. Compared with the previous modality-symmetric autoencoder, the proposed M$$^{2}$$

2

A$$^{2}$$

2

E is able to learn more intrinsic task-aware representation and compatible with modality-agnostic (e.g., unimodal, bimodal, and trimodal) downstream settings. Extensive experiments with both unimodal (RGB, Depth, IR) and multimodal (RGB+Depth, RGB+IR, Depth+IR, RGB+Depth+IR) settings conducted on multimodal FAS benchmarks demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed methods. One highlight is that the proposed method is robust under various missing-modality cases where previous multimodal FAS models suffer serious performance drops. We hope these findings and solutions can facilitate the future research for ViT-based multimodal FAS.
Automorphisms of Fano threefolds of rank 2 and degree 28
Authors: Malbon Joseph
Published: June 2024

We describe the automorphism groups of smooth Fano threefolds of rank 2 and degree 28 in the cases where they are finite.
Enhancing Microwave Freeze Drying: Exploring Maximum Drying Temperature and Power Input for Improved Energy Efficiency and Uniformity
Authors: Kalinke Isabel , Kulozik Ulrich
Published: June 2024

The pursuit of energy-efficient and uniform processing drives ongoing research in microwave-assisted freeze drying (MWFD). While microwave application is acknowledged for its potential to reduce energy consumption of freeze drying applications, it introduces new challenges to gentle processing, particularly in achieving uniformity of processing due to the inherent uneven microwave field distribution in the drying chamber. This study investigates the impact of maximum drying temperature (Tmax) and microwave power input on energy consumption and uniformity in temperature-controlled MWFD. Experimental results reveal that shorter equilibration times associated with higher Tmax significantly amplify the inhomogeneity of temperature distribution. Further, higher Tmax was associated with a significant reduction in total energy demand of MWFD. Despite noticeable trends, microwave power input did not yield statistically significant differences in energy consumption or uniformity. The limited range of explored values, combined with the temperature-controlled nature of the process, may have rendered a potential influence of microwave power input negligible. This research elucidates the extent of inhomogeneity in MWFD, with implications for achieving uniform, gentle drying. It highlights the critical role of temperature control in MWFD. The study contributes to advancing the understanding of optimal processing in temperature-controlled MWFD.
Compensation or Preservation? Different Roles of Functional Lateralization in Speech Perception of Older Non-musicians and Musicians
Authors: Jin Xinhu , Zhang Lei , Wu Guowei , Wang Xiuyi , Du Yi
Published: June 2024

Musical training can counteract age-related decline in speech perception in noisy environments. However, it remains unclear whether older non-musicians and musicians rely on functional compensation or functional preservation to counteract the adverse effects of aging. This study utilized resting-state functional connectivity (FC) to investigate functional lateralization, a fundamental organization feature, in older musicians (OM), older non-musicians (ONM), and young non-musicians (YNM). Results showed that OM outperformed ONM and achieved comparable performance to YNM in speech-in-noise and speech-in-speech tasks. ONM exhibited reduced lateralization than YNM in lateralization index (LI) of intrahemispheric FC (LI_intra) in the cingulo-opercular network (CON) and LI of interhemispheric heterotopic FC (LI_he) in the language network (LAN). Conversely, OM showed higher neural alignment to YNM (i.e., a more similar lateralization pattern) compared to ONM in CON, LAN, frontoparietal network (FPN), dorsal attention network (DAN), and default mode network (DMN), indicating preservation of youth-like lateralization patterns due to musical experience. Furthermore, in ONM, stronger left-lateralized and lower alignment-to-young of LI_intra in the somatomotor network (SMN) and DAN and LI_he in DMN correlated with better speech performance, indicating a functional compensation mechanism. In contrast, stronger right-lateralized LI_intra in FPN and DAN and higher alignment-to-young of LI_he in LAN correlated with better performance in OM, suggesting a functional preservation mechanism. These findings highlight the differential roles of functional preservation and compensation of lateralization in speech perception in noise among elderly individuals with and without musical expertise, offering insights into successful aging theories from the lens of functional lateralization and speech perception.
Pollen-feeding in a giant pelobatid tadpole from the late Oligocene of Enspel, Germany
Authors: Wuttke Michael , Poschmann Markus J. , Wappler Torsten , Bouchal Johannes M. , Geier Christian , Ulrich Silvia , Grímsson Friðgeir
Published: June 2024

We examined the gut contents of a fossil giant pelobatid tadpole from the late Oligocene of Enspel, Germany, and discovered that it contains mainly pollen from spruce (Picea) but also pollen from pine (Pinus), beech (Fagus), and elm (Ulmus). Pollen in the gut of the fossil tadpole and other plant fossil records from this locality suggest that the regional vegetation around Enspel was characterised by mixed conifer and broadleaved forests with a prominent deciduous angiosperm component. Palaeoclimatic estimations indicate that the area endured a fully humid warm temperate climate with a hot to warm summer and a distinct temperature difference between seasons. The pollination period of potential modern analogues of the plant taxa discovered in the gut of the fossil tadpole hints that it was feeding on pollen floating on the water surface of the ancient Enspel Lake during late spring or earliest summer. Comparable analyses from the guts of extant pelobatid tadpoles have shown a broad spectrum of food remains, including whole/or parts of algae, protists, protozoans, macrophytes, rotifers, crustaceans, and pollen. It seems that living pelobatid tadpoles are indiscriminate and opportunistic feeders able to adapt and change their feeding behaviour according to the available food source. The time of origin and evolution of pollen feeding in tadpoles is obscure. Our discovery indicates that pelobatid tadpoles were already feeding on pollen in the late Oligocene, and the amount and purity of pollen filling the gut suggests intentional surface feeding.
Investigating Innovation Diffusion in Gender-Specific Medicine: Insights from Social Network Analysis
Authors: Baum Katharina , Baumann Annika , Batzel Katharina
Published: June 2024

The field of healthcare is characterized by constant innovation, with gender-specific medicine emerging as a new subfield that addresses sex and gender disparities in clinical manifestations, outcomes, treatment, and prevention of disease. Despite its importance, the adoption of gender-specific medicine remains understudied, posing potential risks to patient outcomes due to a lack of awareness of the topic. Building on the Innovation Decision Process Theory, this study examines the spread of information about gender-specific medicine in online networks. The study applies social network analysis to a Twitter dataset reflecting online discussions about the topic to gain insights into its adoption by health professionals and patients online. Results show that the network has a community structure with limited information exchange between sub-communities and that mainly medical experts dominate the discussion. The findings suggest that the adoption of gender-specific medicine might be in its early stages, focused on knowledge exchange. Understanding the diffusion of gender-specific medicine among medical professionals and patients may facilitate its adoption and ultimately improve health outcomes.
The Impact of VEGF-C-Induced Dural Lymphatic Vessel Growth on Ischemic Stroke Pathology
Authors: Keuters Meike Hedwig , Antila Salli , Immonen Riikka , Plotnikova Lidiia , Wojciechowski Sara , Lehtonen Sarka , Alitalo Kari , Koistinaho Jari , Dhungana Hiramani
Published: June 2024

Timely relief of edema and clearance of waste products, as well as promotion of anti-inflammatory immune responses, reduce ischemic stroke pathology, and attenuate harmful long-term effects post-stroke. The discovery of an extensive and functional lymphatic vessel system in the outermost meningeal layer, dura mater, has opened up new possibilities to facilitate post-stroke recovery by inducing dural lymphatic vessel (dLV) growth via a single injection of a vector encoding vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C). In the present study, we aimed to improve post-stroke outcomes by inducing dLV growth in mice. We injected mice with a single intracerebroventricular dose of adeno-associated viral particles encoding VEGF-C before subjecting them to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo). Behavioral testing, Gadolinium (Gd) contrast agent-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and immunohistochemical analysis were performed to define the impact of VEGF-C on the post-stroke outcome. VEGF-C improved stroke-induced behavioral deficits, such as gait disturbances and neurological deficits, ameliorated post-stroke inflammation, and enhanced an alternative glial immune response. Importantly, VEGF-C treatment increased the drainage of brain interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), as shown by Gd-enhanced MRI. These outcomes were closely associated with an increase in the growth of dLVs around the region where we observed increased vefgc mRNA expression within the brain, including the olfactory bulb, cortex, and cerebellum. Strikingly, VEGF-C-treated ischemic mice exhibited a faster and stronger Gd-signal accumulation in ischemic core area and an enhanced fluid outflow via the cribriform plate. In conclusion, the VEGF-C-induced dLV growth improved the overall outcome post-stroke, indicating that VEGF-C has potential to be included in the treatment strategies of post-ischemic stroke. However, to maximize the therapeutic potential of VEGF-C treatment, further studies on the impact of an enhanced dural lymphatic system at clinically relevant time points are essential.
Russian dilemma for global arctic science
Authors: Rees Gareth , Büntgen Ulf
Published: June 2024

Polar regions are critically implicated in our understanding of global climate change. This is particularly the case for the Arctic, where positive feedback loops and climate tipping points enhance complexity and urgency. Half of the Arctic and much of the world’s permafrost zone lie within Russian territory. Heightened geopolitical tensions, however, have severely damaged scientific collaboration between Russia and previously well established academic partners in western countries. Isolation is now causing increasingly large data gaps in arctic research that affect our ability to make accurate predictions of the impact of climate change on natural and societal systems at all scales from local to global. Here, we argue that options to resume both practical knowledge of collaborative working and flows of research data from Russia for global arctic science must continue to be asserted, despite an increasing tendency for the Arctic to become disconnected. Time is short, as preparations for the fifth International Polar Year begin to gather momentum. While sanctions remain in place, efforts to foster peer to peer connections and re-activate effective institutional cooperation are vital to address the grand challenges of global climate change.
Effects of Exercise on DNA Methylation: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Etayo-Urtasun Paula , Sáez de Asteasu Mikel L. , Izquierdo Mikel
Published: June 2024

Background

Regular exercise reduces chronic disease risk and extends a healthy lifespan, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. DNA methylation is implicated in this process, potentially altering gene expression without changing DNA sequence. However, previous findings appear partly contradictory.

Objective

This review aimed to elucidate exercise effects on DNA methylation patterns.

Methods

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. All articles published up to November 2023 were considered for inclusion and assessed for eligibility using the PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study) framework. Randomized controlled trials that assessed the impact of exercise interventions on DNA methylation in previously inactive adults were included. We evaluated the methodological quality of trials using the PEDro scale.

Results

A total of 852 results were identified, of which 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. A total of 827 subjects were included in the studies. Intervention lengths varied from 6 weeks to 12 months. Most trials indicated that exercise interventions can significantly alter the DNA methylation of specific genes and global DNA methylation patterns.

Conclusions

The heterogeneity of results may arise from differences in participant demographics, intervention factors, measurement techniques, and the genomic contexts examined. Future research should analyze the influences of activity type, intensity, and duration, as well as the physical fitness outcomes on DNA methylation. Characterizing such dose–response relationships and identifying genes responsive to exercise are crucial for understanding the molecular mechanisms of exercise, unlocking its full potential for disease prevention and treatment.
A Practical Computer Aided Diagnosis System for Breast Ultrasound Classifying Lesions into the ACR BI-RADS Assessment
Authors: Su Hsin-Ya , Lien Chung-Yueh , Huang Pai-Jung , Chu Woei-Chyn
Published: June 2024

Purpose

In this paper, we propose an open-source deep learning-based computer-aided diagnosis system for breast ultrasound images based on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS).

Methods

Our dataset with 8,026 region-of-interest images preprocessed with ten times data augmentation. We compared the classification performance of VGG-16, ResNet-50, and DenseNet-121 and two ensemble methods integrated the single models.

Results

The ensemble model achieved the best performance, with 81.8% accuracy. Our results show that our model is performant enough to classify Category 2 and Category 4/5 lesions, and data augmentation can improve the classification performance of Category 3.

Conclusion

Our main contribution is to classify breast ultrasound lesions into BI-RADS assessment classes that place more emphasis on adhering to the BI-RADS medical suggestions including recommending routine follow-up tracing (Category 2), short-term follow-up tracing (Category 3) and biopsies (Category 4/5).