bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Invasion in the Niger Delta: remote sensing of mangrove conversion to invasive Nypa fruticans from 2015 to 2020
Authors: Barenblitt Abigail , Fatoyinbo Lola , Thomas Nathan , Stovall Atticus , de Sousa Celio , Nwobi Chukwuebuka , Duncanson Laura
Published: July 2023

Invasive species are a leading threat to biodiversity worldwide. Nypa palm (Nypa fruticans) has emerged as the predominant invasive species in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. While endemic mangroves have high rates of carbon sequestration, stabilize coastlines and protect biodiversity, Nypa does not provide these services outside its native region of Southeast Asia. Oil exploration and urbanization in this region also exacerbate mangrove loss and Nypa spread. As Nypa is difficult to distinguish from endemic mangrove species in remotely sensed data, estimates of mangrove and ecosystem services losses in Nigeria are highly uncertain. Here, we analyse multisensor satellite data with machine learning to quantify the rapid expansion of Nypa from 2015 to 2020 in Nigeria. Using Landsat imagery and random forest classification, we quantify total potential Nypa extent in Nigeria in 2019. We then produced a Nypa extent map using iterative combinations of Sentinel‐1 SAR, Sentinel‐2 MSI and ALOS PALSAR. Random forest classifications using SAR data from ALOS and Sentinel‐1 were best suited for mapping Nypa extent with similar accuracies (78% and 75%, respectively). Based on data availability and accuracy, we focussed our change analysis on Sentinel‐1 SAR. Our results show ~28 000 ha of mangroves were converted to Nypa in Nigeria by 2020 and covered a larger extent than endemic mangroves, compounding the effect of the existing degradation and deforestation in the region. We also compared forest height and complexity estimates from Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation LiDAR to further distinguish between endemic mangroves and Nypa in three dimensions. Nypa structural variability, measured by top‐of‐canopy height, vegetation cover, plant area index, and foliage height diversity, was lower than that of mangroves. At current rates of Nypa expansion, the entire area of study would be invaded by Nypa by 2028, with potentially detrimental consequences to the ecosystem services provided by mangroves.
Removal of Molybdate Ions in Water on a Newly Synthesized Imidazolium‐based Poly (ionic liquid)
Authors: Zhao Yangui , Zhang Yao , Ji Jianming , Yang Ying
Published: July 2023

The natural biological water system has been seriously damaged due to the discharge of wastewater containing too much molybdenum, endangering the life and health of animals and plants. Imidazolium‐based poly (ionic liquid) was synthesized by grafting copolymers of styrene and 1‐(chloromethyl)‐4‐vinylbenzene into N‐methylimidazole, N‐ethylimidazole and N‐propyl imidazole, followed by characterization with the use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. How the Imidazolium‐based poly (ionic liquid) could recover MoO42− from sewage was investigated. The pH, reaction temperature, reaction duration, adsorbent dose, and interfering ions were all tuned for MoO42− adsorption conditions. Nitric acid can regenerate the Imidazolium‐based poly (ionic liquid) loaded with MoO42−. Both the adsorption kinetics and the adsorption isotherm exhibit good agreement with the quasi second‐order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model, respectively.Imidazolium‐based poly (ionic liquid) have a special reusability when compared to polyaniline‐modified bentonite, iron‐based nanomaterials, and γ‐Fe2O3 nanomaterials. The results reveal that Imidazolium‐based poly (ionic liquid) has a strong recovery effect on trace molybdenum from wastewater, which makes it an effective adsorbent with industrial application value.
Molecular Architecture Effects on Bulk Nanostructure in Bis(Orthoborate) Ionic Liquids
Authors: Hammond Oliver S. , Bousrez Guillaume , Mehler Filip , Li Sichao , Shimpi Manishkumar R. , Doutch James , Cavalcanti Leide , Glavatskih Sergei , Antzutkin Oleg N. , Rutland Mark W. , Mudring Anja‐Verena
Published: July 2023

A series of 19 ionic liquids (ILs) based on phosphonium and imidazolium cations of varying alkyl‐chain lengths with the orthoborate anions bis(oxalato)borate [BOB]−, bis(mandelato)borate, [BMB]− and bis(salicylato)borate, [BScB]−, are synthesized and studied using small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS). All measured systems display nanostructuring, with 1‐methyl‐3‐n‐alkyl imidazolium‐orthoborates forming clearly bicontinuous L3 spongelike phases when the alkyl chains are longer than C6 (hexyl). L3 phases are fitted using the Teubner and Strey model, and diffusely‐nanostructured systems are primarily fitted using the Ornstein‐Zernicke correlation length model. Strongly‐nanostructured systems have a strong dependence on the cation, with molecular architecture variation explored to determine the driving forces for self‐assembly. The ability to form well‐defined complex phases is effectively extinguished in several ways: methylation of the most acidic imidazolium ring proton, replacing the imidazolium 3‐methyl group with a longer hydrocarbon chain, substitution of [BOB]− by [BMB]−, or exchanging the imidazolium for phosphonium systems, irrespective of phosphonium architecture. The results suggest there is only a small window of opportunity, in terms of molecular amphiphilicity and cation:anion volume matching, for the formation of stable extensive bicontinuous domains in pure bulk orthoborate‐based ILs. Particularly important for self‐assembly processes appear to be the ability to form H‐bonding networks, which offer additional versatility in imidazolium systems.
Aligned Dipoles Induced Electric‐Field Promoting Zinc‐Ion De‐Solvation toward Highly Stable Dendrite‐Free Zinc‐Metal Batteries
Authors: Zhou Shuang , Meng Xinyu , Fu Chunyan , Xu Dongming , Li Jianwen , He Qiong , Lin Shangyong , Liang Shuquan , Chang Zhi , Pan Anqiang
Published: July 2023

Water‐induced parasitic reactions and uncontrolled dendritic Zn growth are long‐lasting tricky problems that severely hinder the development of aqueous zinc‐metal batteries. Those notorious issues are closely related to electrolyte configuration and zinc‐ion transport behavior. Herein, through constructing aligned dipoles induced electric‐field on Zn surface, both the solvation structure and transport behavior of zinc‐ions are fundamentally changed. The vertically ordered zinc‐ion migration trajectory and gradually concentrated zinc‐ion achieved inside the polarized electric‐field remarkably eliminate water related side‐reactions and Zn dendrites. Zn‐metal under the polarized electric‐field demonstrated significantly improve reversibility and a dendrite‐free surface with strong (002) Zn deposition texturing. Zn||Zn symmetric cell delivers greatly prolonged lifespan up to 1400 h (17 times longer than that of the cell based on bare Zn) while the Zn||Cu half‐cell demonstrate ultrahigh 99.9% coulombic efficiency. NH4V4O10||Zn half‐cell delivered exceptional‐high 132 mAh g−1 capacity after ultralong 2000 cycles (≈100% capacity retention). In addition, MnO2||Zn pouch‐cell under aligned dipoles induced electric‐field maintains 87.9% capacity retention after 150 cycles under practical condition of high MnO2 mass loading (≈10 mg cm−2) and limited N/P ratio. It is considered that this new strategy can also be implemented to other metallic batteries and spur the development of batteries with long‐lifespan and high‐energy‐density.
Novel PdPtCu Nanozymes for Reprogramming Tumor Microenvironment to Boost Immunotherapy Through Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Blocking IDO‐Mediated Immune Escape
Authors: Xie Yulin , Wang Man , Qian Yanrong , Li Lei , Sun Qianqian , Gao Minghong , Li Chunxia
Published: July 2023

Breaking immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) has unique effects on inhibiting tumor growth and recurrence. Here, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) targeted PdPtCu nanozyme (PNBCTER) is prepared to boost immunotherapy. First, PNBCTER has three kinds of enzyme activities, including catalase (CAT), glutathione oxidase (GSHOx), and peroxidase (POD)‐like activities, which can reshape the TME. Second, PNBCTER kills tumor cells by photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). Third, guided by TER, PNBCTER not only realizes the combination therapy of PDT, PTT and chemodynamic therapy (CDT), but also damages the ER of tumor cells and actives antitumor immune response, which breaks through the immune blockade of TME. Finally, the NLG919 blocks the tryptophan/kynurenine immune escape pathway and reverses the immunosuppressive TME. The strategy that reshaping the TME by enzyme catalysis and breaking immunosuppression provides a novel way for the application of combination therapy in tumor.
Electrochemical Investigation of Calcium Substituted Monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 Negative Electrode Materials for Sodium‐ and Potassium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Fu Qiang , Guo Bingrui , Hua Weibo , Sarapulova Angelina , Zhu Lihua , Weidler Peter G. , Missyul Alexander , Knapp Michael , Ehrenberg Helmut , Dsoke Sonia
Published: July 2023

Herein, the electrochemical properties and reaction mechanism of Li3‒2xCaxV2(PO4)3/C (x = 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5) as negative electrode materials for sodium‐ion/potassium‐ion batteries (SIBs/PIBs) are investigated. All samples undergo a mixed contribution of diffusion‐controlled and pseudocapacitive‐type processes in SIBs and PIBs via Trasatti Differentiation Method, while the latter increases with Ca content increase. Among them, Li3V2(PO4)3/C exhibits the highest reversible capacity in SIBs and PIBs, while Ca1.5V2(PO4)3/C shows the best rate performance with a capacity retention of 46% at 20 C in SIBs and 47% at 10 C in PIBs. This study demonstrates that the specific capacity of this type of material in SIBs and PIBs does not increase with the Ca‐content as previously observed in lithium‐ion system, but the stability and performance at a high C‐rate can be improved by replacing Li+ with Ca2+. This indicates that the insertion of different monovalent cations (Na+/K+) can strongly influence the redox reaction and structure evolution of the host materials, due to the larger ion size of Na+ and K+ and their different kinetic properties with respect to Li+. Furthermore, the working mechanism of both LVP/C and Ca1.5V2(PO4)3/C in SIBs are elucidated via in operando synchrotron diffraction and in operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy.
Magnetotelluric Power Line Noise Removal Using Temporally Varying Sinusoidal Subtraction of the Grid Utility Frequency
Authors: Klanica Radek , Pek Josef , Hill Graham
Published: July 2023

The magnetotelluric method relies on variations of natural electromagnetic fields, which in the vicinity of human settlements are persistently distorted by anthropogenic electromagnetic noise. A large source of noise to the magnetotelluric response is caused by the harmonic oscillations of the power network utility frequency centered on 50/60 Hz along with the associated higher harmonics. Removing this type of noise is essential for high frequency magnetotelluric measurements used for shallow surveys. There are a large number of approaches for how to treat power line noise in magnetotelluric signals, however, commonly used methods do not take into account time variations/instabilities of the utility frequency. That is not serious problem in vicinity of well balanced grid networks, but can cause issues in regions with larger utility frequency variations. Under such conditions, commonly used methods loose more of the natural signal, which is undesirable especially in case of very noisy datasets. Hence, we adopted approach for removing of power line noise with respect to time variations of the utility frequency and applied it to magnetotelluric signals to preserve more of natural signal. The method is based on modelling of the grid network harmonic oscillations by the optimum utility frequency and its integer multiples. The resulting sum of sinusoidal signals is subsequently subtracted from recorded data and only particular noise frequencies are removed from the original signal with high precision, while frequency ranges around power line harmonics are cleaned.
Validation of a mathematical–geometrical model to calculate the length of an individual anterior arch
Authors: Paddenberg Eva , Heiß Raphael , Grünbaum Tobias , Proff Peter , Kirschneck Christian
Published: July 2023

Purpose

For resolving anterior dental crowding or spacing, it is of key interest in personalised orthodontic diagnostics and treatment planning to predict the extent of space gained or lost in the anterior dental arch by changing incisor inclination or position. To facilitate the determination of anterior arch length (AL) and to predict its alterations following tooth movements, a mathematical–geometrical model, based on a third-degree parabola, was established. The aim of this study was to validate this model and assess its diagnostic precision.

Methods

This retrospective diagnostic study evaluated 50 randomly chosen dental casts taken before (T0) and after (T1) orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances. Plaster models were digitally photographed, allowing two-dimensional digital measurements of arch width, depth and length. A computer programme based on the mathematical–geometrical model to be validated was created to calculate AL for any given arch width and depth. Mean differences and correlation coefficients as well as Bland–Altman plots were used to compare the measured and the calculated (predicted) AL, evaluating the precision of the model.

Results

Inter- and intrarater reliability tests showed reliable measurements of arch width, depth and length. Measured and calculated (predicted) AL revealed high concordance according to concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland–Altman analyses and negligible differences between the mean values.

Conclusions

The mathematical–geometrical model calculated anterior AL without significant difference to the measured AL, indicating its validity. The model can thus be used clinically for predicting alterations of AL following therapeutic changes of incisor inclination/position.
Sprachverstehen im modulierten Störgeräusch bei bimodal versorgten CI-Tragenden
Authors: Weißgerber Tobias , Stöver Timo , Baumann Uwe
Published: July 2023

Hintergrund

Obwohl bei einer Versorgung mit Cochleaimplantaten (CI) ein gutes Sprachverstehen in Ruhe erreichbar ist, ist das Sprachverstehen im Störgeräusch gegenüber Normalhörenden (NH) stark beeinträchtigt. Bei einer bimodalen CI-Versorgung mit Hörgerät (HG) im Gegenohr beeinflusst das akustische Restgehör das Sprachverstehen im Störgeräusch.

Fragestellung

Ziel der Arbeit war es, das Sprachverstehen im Störgeräusch bei bimodaler CI-Nutzung zu untersuchen und mit gleichaltrigen HG-Tragenden und Menschen ohne subjektive Hörminderung sowie einer jungen NH-Gruppe zu vergleichen.

Material und Methoden

Es nahmen 19 bimodale CI-Tragende, 39 HG-Tragende und 40 subjektive Normalhörende der Altersklasse 60–90 Jahre und 14 junge NH teil. Die Sprachverständlichkeitsschwelle (SVS) im Störgeräusch wurde mit dem Oldenburger Satztest adaptiv für die 2 räumlichen Testkonditionen S0N0 (Sprache und Störgeräusch von vorne) und „multisource-noise field“ (MSNF, Sprache von vorne, 4 räumlich verteilte Störgeräuschquellen) jeweils im zeitlich kontinuierlichen Oldenburger Rauschen (Olnoise) und im zeitlich modulierten Fastl-Noise (amplitudenmoduliertes, sprachsimulierendes, fluktuierendes Störgeräusch nach Fastl) bestimmt.

Ergebnisse

Mit zunehmender Hörminderung wurde die mediane SVS in allen Bedingungen signifikant schlechter. In der Testbedingung S0N0 war die SVS der CI-Gruppe im Olnoise um 5,6 dB und im Fastl-Noise um 22,5 dB schlechter als die der jungen NH-Gruppe (mittleres Alter: 26,4 Jahre) im MSNF betrugen die Unterschiede 6,6 dB (Olnoise) bzw. 17,3 dB (Fastl-Noise). In der jungen NH-Gruppe verbesserte sich die mediane SVS in der Bedingung S0N0 durch Lückenhören um 11 dB, in der älteren NH-Gruppe um nur noch 3,1 dB. In der HG-Gruppe und der bimodal versorgten CI-Gruppe gab es kein Lückenhören, und die SVS war im Fastl-Noise schlechter als im Olnoise.

Schlussfolgerung

Bei fortschreitender Hörminderung wird das Sprachverstehen im modulierten Störgeräusch sogar stärker beeinträchtigt als im kontinuierlichen Störgeräusch.
A mean field game model for COVID-19 with human capital accumulation
Authors: Ghilli Daria , Ricci Cristiano , Zanco Giovanni
Published: July 2023

In this manuscript, we study a model of human capital accumulation during the spread of disease following an agent-based approach, where agents behave maximising their intertemporal utility. We assume that the agent interaction is of mean field type, yielding a mean field game description of the problem. We discuss how the analysis of a model including both the mechanism of change of species from one epidemiological state to the other and an optimisation problem for each agent leads to an aggregate behaviour that is not easy to describe, and that sometimes exhibits structural issues. Therefore we eventually propose and study numerically a SEIRD model in which the rate of infection depends on the distribution of the population, given exogenously as the solution to the mean field game system arising as the macroscopic description of the discrete multi-agent economic model for the accumulation of human capital. Such a model arises in fact as a simplified but tractable version of the initial one.
Spectral Analysis of Discrete Metastable Diffusions
Authors: Di Gesù Giacomo
Published: July 2023

We consider a discrete Schrödinger operator $$ H_\varepsilon = -\varepsilon ^2\Delta _\varepsilon + V_\varepsilon $$

H
ε

=
-

ε
2

Δ
ε

+

V
ε

on $$\ell ^2(\varepsilon \mathbb {Z}^d)$$

ℓ
2

(
ε

Z

d

)

, where $$\varepsilon >0$$

ε
>
0

is a small parameter and the potential $$V_\varepsilon $$

V
ε

is defined in terms of a multiwell energy landscape f on $$\mathbb {R}^d$$

R

d

. This operator can be seen as a discrete analog of the semiclassical Witten Laplacian of $$\mathbb {R}^d$$

R

d

. It is unitarily equivalent to the generator of a diffusion on $$\varepsilon \mathbb {Z}^d$$

ε

Z

d

, satisfying the detailed balance condition with respect to the Boltzmann weight $$\exp {(-f/\varepsilon )}$$

exp

(
-
f
/
ε
)

. These type of diffusions exhibit metastable behavior and arise in the context of disordered mean field models in Statistical Mechanics. We analyze the bottom of the spectrum of $$H_\varepsilon $$

H
ε

in the semiclassical regime $$\varepsilon \ll 1$$

ε
≪
1

and show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between exponentially small eigenvalues and local minima of f. Then we analyze in more detail the bistable case and compute the precise asymptotic splitting between the two exponentially small eigenvalues. Through this purely spectral-theoretical analysis of the discrete Witten Laplacian we recover in a self-contained way the Eyring–Kramers formula for the metastable tunneling time of the underlying stochastic process.
Diagnostic performance and interreader agreement of individual and combined non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced MR imaging parameters in adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder
Authors: Erber Bernd , Hesse Nina , Goller Sophia , Gilbert Fabian , Ricke Jens , Glaser Christian , Heuck Andreas
Published: July 2023

Objective

The aims of our study were to analyze agreement among readers with different levels of expertise and diagnostic performance of individual and combined imaging signs for the diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder.

Methods

In a retrospective study, contrast-enhanced shoulder MRIs of 60 patients with and 120 without clinically diagnosed adhesive capsulitis were evaluated by three readers independently. As non-enhanced imaging signs, readers evaluated signal intensity and thickness of the axillary recess capsule, thickness of the rotator interval capsule and the coracohumeral ligament as well as obliteration of subcoracoid fat. Furthermore, contrast enhancement of axillary recess and rotator interval capsule were evaluated. Data analysis included interreader reliability, ROC analysis, and logistic regression (p < 0.05).

Results

Contrast-enhanced parameters showed substantially higher agreement among readers (ICC 0.79–0.80) than non-enhanced parameters (0.37–0.45). AUCs of contrast-enhanced signs (95.1–96.6%) were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than of non-enhanced imaging signs (61.5–85.9%) when considered individually. Combined evaluation of axillary recess signal intensity and thicknesses of axillary recess or rotator interval—when at least one of two signs was rated positive—increased accuracy compared to individual imaging signs, however not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Contrast-enhanced imaging signs show both distinctly higher agreement among readers and distinctly higher diagnostic performance compared to non-enhanced imaging signs based on the imaging protocol used in this study. Combined evaluation of parameters showed a tendency to increase discrimination; however, the effect on diagnosis of ACS was not statistically significant.
Deep learning-based diagnosis of disease activity in patients with Graves’ orbitopathy using orbital SPECT/CT
Authors: Yao Ni , Li Longxi , Gao Zhengyuan , Zhao Chen , Li Yanting , Han Chuang , Nan Jiaofen , Zhu Zelin , Xiao Yi , Zhu Fubao , Zhao Min , Zhou Weihua
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Orbital [99mTc]TcDTPA orbital single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT is an important method for assessing inflammatory activity in patients with Graves’ orbitopathy (GO). However, interpreting the results requires substantial physician workload. We aim to propose an automated method called GO-Net to detect inflammatory activity in patients with GO.

Materials and methods

GO-Net had two stages: (1) a semantic V-Net segmentation network (SV-Net) that extracts extraocular muscles (EOMs) in orbital CT images and (2) a convolutional neural network (CNN) that uses SPECT/CT images and the segmentation results to classify inflammatory activity. A total of 956 eyes from 478 patients with GO (active: 475; inactive: 481) at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were investigated. For the segmentation task, five-fold cross-validation with 194 eyes was used for training and internal validation. For the classification task, 80% of the eye data were used for training and internal fivefold cross-validation, and the remaining 20% of the eye data were used for testing. The EOM regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn by two readers and reviewed by an experienced physician as ground truth for segmentation GO activity was diagnosed according to clinical activity scores (CASs) and the SPECT/CT images. Furthermore, results are interpreted and visualized using gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM).

Results

The GO-Net model combining CT, SPECT, and EOM masks achieved a sensitivity of 84.63%, a specificity of 83.87%, and an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.89 (p < 0.01) on the test set for distinguishing active and inactive GO. Compared with the CT-only model, the GO-Net model showed superior diagnostic performance. Moreover, Grad-CAM demonstrated that the GO-Net model placed focus on the GO-active regions. For EOM segmentation, our segmentation model achieved a mean intersection over union (IOU) of 0.82.

Conclusion

The proposed Go-Net model accurately detected GO activity and has great potential in the diagnosis of GO.
Anti-Xa level monitoring of low-molecular-weight heparin during intermittent venovenous hemofiltration
Authors: Xu Lengnan , Sun Ying , Wang Songlan , Li Chuanbao , Mao Yonghui
Published: July 2023

Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is an anticoagulant used to prevent clotting during blood purification treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical use of the anti-factor Xa level (anti-Xa) for monitoring LMWH anticoagulant levels during intermittent venovenous hemofiltration (IVVHF). This prospective observational study enrolled patients who required IVVHF for renal failure in Beijing Hospital between May 2019 and February 2021. The LMWH anticoagulation was assessed by the coagulation grade of the filter and line. One hundred and ten participants were included. There were 90 patients with a filter and line coagulation grade of ≤ 1 and 20 patients with grade > 1. The anti-Xa level of 0.2 IU/mL was a critical value. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that anti-Xa level > 0.2 IU/mL (odd ratio [OR] = 2.263; 95% CI: 1.290–4.871, P = 0.034) and cardiovascular disease (OR = 10.028; 95% CI: 1.204–83.488; P = 0.033) were independently associated with the coagulation grade of the filter and line. Anti-Xa level could monitor LMWH anticoagulation during IVVHF.
Preventive health care in blood cancer survivors: results from the ABC study
Authors: Baum Julia , Lax Hildegard , Lehmann Nils , Merkel-Jens Anja , Beelen Dietrich W. , Jöckel Karl-Heinz , Dührsen Ulrich
Published: July 2023

Background

Blood cancer survivors are at increased risk for second primary malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, and infections. Little is known about preventive care in blood cancer survivors.

Methods

Our questionnaire-based study included blood cancer patients diagnosed at the University Hospital of Essen before 2010, with a ≥ 3-year interval from the last intense treatment. One section of the retrospective study covered preventive care (cancer screening, cardiovascular screening, vaccination).

Results

Preventive care was delivered by a general practitioner for 1100 of 1504 responding survivors (73.1%), by an oncologist for 125 (8.3%), by a general practitioner together with an oncologist for 156 (10.4%), and by other disciplines for 123 (8.2%). Cancer screening was more consistently performed by general practitioners than by oncologists. The converse was true for vaccination, with particularly high vaccination rates in allogeneic transplant recipients. Cardiovascular screening did not differ between care providers. Cancer and cardiovascular screening rates in survivors eligible for statutory prevention programs were higher than in the general population (skin cancer screening 71.1%; fecal occult blood testing 70.4%; colonoscopy 64.6%; clinical breast examination 92.1%; mammography 86.8%; cervical smear 86.0%; digital rectal examination 61.9%; blood pressure test 69.4%; urine glucose test 54.4%; blood lipid test 76.7%; information about overweight 71.0%). The Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccination rate was higher (37.0%) and the influenza vaccination rate was lower (57.0%) than in the general population.

Conclusions

Utilization of preventive care is high among German blood cancer survivors. To ensure widespread delivery and avoid redundancy, communication between oncologists and preventive care providers is essential.
‘It’s communication between people who are going through the same thing’: experiences of informal interactions in hospital cancer treatment settings
Authors: P. Grant Matthew , A. M. Philip Jennifer , Deliens Luc , Komesaroff Paul A.
Published: July 2023

Purpose

In hospital settings, patients, visitors, and staff engage in many interactions outside formal clinical encounters. Whilst many of these may be inconsequential, others contribute significantly to how patients and their carers experience cancer and its treatment. This article aims to explore the experiences and significance of interactions that occur outside formal clinical encounters in hospital cancer treatment settings.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with cancer patients, carers, and staff recruited from two hospital sites and cancer support groups. Hermeneutic phenomenology informed lines of questioning and data analysis.

Results

Thirty-one people participated in the study: 18 cancer patients, four carers, and nine staff members. The experiences of informal interactions were grouped into three themes: connecting, making sense, and enacting care. The participants described how these encounters allowed connection with others in the hospital spaces, facilitating a sense of belonging, normality, and self-worth. Through these interactions, individuals participated in making sense of their experiences, to better anticipate the decisions and challenges that might lie ahead. By connecting with other individuals, they cared for others and felt cared for themselves, and were able to learn from, teach, and support each other.

Conclusions

Outside the confines of the clinical discourses participants negotiate terms of engagement, sharing of information, expertise, and their own personal stories that they may employ to contribute to the individuals around them. These interactions occur within a loose and evolving framework of social interactions, an ‘informal community’, in which cancer patients, carers, and staff members play active and meaningful roles.
Compact anisotropic stable hypersurfaces with free boundary in convex solid cones
Authors: Rosales César
Published: July 2023

We consider a convex solid cone $$\mathcal {C}\subset \mathbb {R}^{n+1}$$

C
⊂

R

n
+
1

with vertex at the origin and boundary $$\partial \mathcal {C}$$

∂
C

smooth away from 0. Our main result shows that a compact two-sided hypersurface $$\Sigma $$
Σ
immersed in $$\mathcal {C}$$
C
with free boundary in $$\partial \mathcal {C}\setminus \{0\}$$

∂
C
\
{
0
}

and minimizing, up to second order, an anisotropic area functional under a volume constraint is contained in a Wulff-shape. The technique of proof also works for a non-smooth convex cone $$\mathcal {C}$$
C
provided the boundary of $$\Sigma $$
Σ
is away from the singular set of $$\partial \mathcal {C}$$

∂
C

.
Mathematical problems in and out of school: The impact of considering mathematical operations and reality on real-life solutions
Authors: Wisenöcker Andrea S. , Binder Sarah , Holzer Manuel , Valentic Anna , Wally Celina , Große Cornelia S.
Published: July 2023

In this study, effects of asking participants to make different types of considerations when solving a realistic word problem were investigated. A two-factorial experiment with the factors “addressing realistic considerations” (with vs. without) and “addressing mathematical operations” (with vs. without) was conducted. It was assumed that reality-based considerations would lead to reality-based problem-solving strategies, thus fostering real-life solutions, while considering mathematical operations would lead to problem-solving strategies usually promoted in school, which were expected to impair realistic solutions. Analyses are based on N = 165 participants. The results showed that being asked to make reality-based considerations did not significantly affect realistic solutions (F(1, 161) = 2.43, p = 0.121, ηp2 = 0.015), while being asked to consider appropriate mathematical operations significantly impaired realistic solutions (F(1, 161) = 8.54, p = 0.004, ηp2 = 0.050). These findings suggest that inducing typical school problem-solving strategies may be detrimental when it comes to solving mathematical problems in a realistic way.
Association of serum cortisol and cortisone levels and risk of recurrence after endocrine treatment in breast cancer
Authors: Wang Feng , Giskeødegård Guro F. , Skarra Sissel , Engstrøm Monica J. , Hagen Lars , Geisler Jürgen , Mikkola Tomi S. , Tikkanen Matti J. , Debik Julia , Reidunsdatter Randi J. , Bathen Tone F.
Published: July 2023

Metabolic reprogramming in breast cancer involves changes in steroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. Alterations in estrogen levels in both breast tissue and blood may influence carcinogenesis, breast cancer growth, and response to therapy. Our aim was to examine whether serum steroid hormone concentrations could predict the risk of recurrence and treatment-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer. This study included 66 postmenopausal patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer who underwent surgery, radiotherapy, and adjuvant endocrine treatment. Serum samples were collected at six different time points [before the start of radiotherapy (as baseline), immediately after radiotherapy, and then 3, 6, 12 months, and 7–12 years after radiotherapy]. Serum concentrations of eight steroid hormones (cortisol, cortisone, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, 17β-estradiol, estrone, androstenedione, testosterone, and progesterone) were measured using a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry-based method. Breast cancer recurrence was defined as clinically proven relapse/metastatic breast cancer or breast cancer-related death. Fatigue was assessed with the QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Serum steroid hormone concentrations measured before and immediately after radiotherapy differed between relapse and relapse-free patients [(accuracy 68.1%, p  = 0.02, and 63.2%, p  = 0.03, respectively, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)]. Baseline cortisol levels were lower in patients who relapsed than in those who did not (p < 0.05). The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with high baseline concentrations of cortisol (≥ median) had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer recurrence than patients with low cortisol levels (<median) (p  = 0.02). During follow-up, there was a decrease in cortisol and cortisone concentrations in relapse-free patients, whereas these steroid hormones increased in patients who relapsed. In addition, steroid hormone concentrations immediately after radiotherapy were associated with treatment-related fatigue (accuracy of 62.7%, p  = 0.03, PLS-DA). However, baseline steroid hormone levels did not predict fatigue at 1 year or at 7–12 years. In conclusion, breast cancer patients with low baseline cortisol levels were more likely to experience recurrence. During follow-up, cortisol and cortisone levels decreased in relapse-free patients but increased in patients with recurrence. Thus, cortisol and cortisone may act as potential biomarkers indicating individual risk of recurrence.
Physics-informed neural networks with residual/gradient-based adaptive sampling methods for solving partial differential equations with sharp solutions
Authors: Mao Zhiping , Meng Xuhui
Published: July 2023

We consider solving the forward and inverse partial differential equations (PDEs) which have sharp solutions with physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) in this work. In particular, to better capture the sharpness of the solution, we propose the adaptive sampling methods (ASMs) based on the residual and the gradient of the solution. We first present a residual only-based ASM denoted by ASM I. In this approach, we first train the neural network using a small number of residual points and divide the computational domain into a certain number of sub-domains, then we add new residual points in the sub-domain which has the largest mean absolute value of the residual, and those points which have the largest absolute values of the residual in this sub-domain as new residual points. We further develop a second type of ASM (denoted by ASM II) based on both the residual and the gradient of the solution due to the fact that only the residual may not be able to efficiently capture the sharpness of the solution. The procedure of ASM II is almost the same as that of ASM I, and we add new residual points which have not only large residuals but also large gradients. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the present methods, we use both ASM I and ASM II to solve a number of PDEs, including the Burger equation, the compressible Euler equation, the Poisson equation over an L-shape domain as well as the high-dimensional Poisson equation. It has been shown from the numerical results that the sharp solutions can be well approximated by using either ASM I or ASM II, and both methods deliver much more accurate solutions than the original PINNs with the same number of residual points. Moreover, the ASM II algorithm has better performance in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and stability compared with the ASM I algorithm. This means that the gradient of the solution improves the stability and efficiency of the adaptive sampling procedure as well as the accuracy of the solution. Furthermore, we also employ the similar adaptive sampling technique for the data points of boundary conditions (BCs) if the sharpness of the solution is near the boundary. The result of the L-shape Poisson problem indicates that the present method can significantly improve the efficiency, stability, and accuracy.
Towards a unified nonlocal, peridynamics framework for the coarse-graining of molecular dynamics data with fractures
Authors: You H. Q. , Xu X. , Yu Y. , Silling S. , D’Elia M. , Foster J.
Published: July 2023

Molecular dynamics (MD) has served as a powerful tool for designing materials with reduced reliance on laboratory testing. However, the use of MD directly to treat the deformation and failure of materials at the mesoscale is still largely beyond reach. In this work, we propose a learning framework to extract a peridynamics model as a mesoscale continuum surrogate from MD simulated material fracture data sets. Firstly, we develop a novel coarse-graining method, to automatically handle the material fracture and its corresponding discontinuities in the MD displacement data sets. Inspired by the weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme, the key idea lies at an adaptive procedure to automatically choose the locally smoothest stencil, then reconstruct the coarse-grained material displacement field as the piecewise smooth solutions containing discontinuities. Then, based on the coarse-grained MD data, a two-phase optimization-based learning approach is proposed to infer the optimal peridynamics model with damage criterion. In the first phase, we identify the optimal nonlocal kernel function from the data sets without material damage to capture the material stiffness properties. Then, in the second phase, the material damage criterion is learnt as a smoothed step function from the data with fractures. As a result, a peridynamics surrogate is obtained. As a continuum model, our peridynamics surrogate model can be employed in further prediction tasks with different grid resolutions from training, and hence allows for substantial reductions in computational cost compared with MD. We illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approach with several numerical tests for the dynamic crack propagation problem in a single-layer graphene. Our tests show that the proposed data-driven model is robust and generalizable, in the sense that it is capable of modeling the initialization and growth of fractures under discretization and loading settings that are different from the ones used during training.
Variational inference in neural functional prior using normalizing flows: application to differential equation and operator learning problems
Authors: Meng Xuhui
Published: July 2023

Physics-informed deep learning has recently emerged as an effective tool for leveraging both observational data and available physical laws. Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) and deep operator networks (DeepONets) are two such models. The former encodes the physical laws via the automatic differentiation, while the latter learns the hidden physics from data. Generally, the noisy and limited observational data as well as the over-parameterization in neural networks (NNs) result in uncertainty in predictions from deep learning models. In paper “MENG, X., YANG, L., MAO, Z., FERRANDIS, J. D., and KARNIADAKIS, G. E. Learning functional priors and posteriors from data and physics. Journal of Computational Physics, 457, 111073 (2022)”, a Bayesian framework based on the generative adversarial networks (GANs) has been proposed as a unified model to quantify uncertainties in predictions of PINNs as well as DeepONets. Specifically, the proposed approach in “MENG, X., YANG, L., MAO, Z., FERRANDIS, J. D., and KARNIADAKIS, G. E. Learning functional priors and posteriors from data and physics. Journal of Computational Physics, 457, 111073 (2022)” has two stages: (i) prior learning, and (ii) posterior estimation. At the first stage, the GANs are utilized to learn a functional prior either from a prescribed function distribution, e.g., the Gaussian process, or from historical data and available physics. At the second stage, the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) method is utilized to estimate the posterior in the latent space of GANs. However, the vanilla HMC does not support the mini-batch training, which limits its applications in problems with big data. In the present work, we propose to use the normalizing flow (NF) models in the context of variational inference (VI), which naturally enables the mini-batch training, as the alternative to HMC for posterior estimation in the latent space of GANs. A series of numerical experiments, including a nonlinear differential equation problem and a 100-dimensional (100D) Darcy problem, are conducted to demonstrate that the NFs with full-/mini-batch training are able to achieve similar accuracy as the “gold rule” HMC. Moreover, the mini-batch training of NF makes it a promising tool for quantifying uncertainty in solving the high-dimensional partial differential equation (PDE) problems with big data.
Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP): an update for histopathologists
Authors: Beauchamp Katie , Moran Bruce , O’Brien Timothy , Brennan Donal , Crown John , Sheahan Kieran , Cotter Maura Bríd
Published: July 2023

Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous group of metastatic cancers in which the site of origin is not identifiable. These carcinomas have a poor outcome due to their late presentation with metastatic disease, difficulty in identifying the origin and delay in treatment. The aim of the pathologist is to broadly classify and subtype the cancer and, where possible, to confirm the likely primary site as this information best predicts patient outcome and guides treatment. In this review, we provide histopathologists with diagnostic practice points which contribute to identifying the primary origin in such cases. We present the current clinical evaluation and management from the point of view of the oncologist. We discuss the role of the pathologist in the diagnostic pathway including the control of pre-analytical conditions, assessment of sample adequacy, diagnosis of cancer including diagnostic pitfalls, and evaluation of prognostic and predictive markers. An integrated diagnostic report is ideal in cases of CUP, with results discussed at a forum such as a molecular tumour board and matched with targeted treatment. This highly specialized evolving area ultimately leads to personalized oncology and potentially improved outcomes for patients.
Prediction Versus Explanation in Educational Psychology: a Cross-Theoretical Approach to Using Teacher Behaviour to Predict Student Engagement in Physical Education
Authors: Noetel Michael , Parker Philip , Dicke Theresa , Beauchamp Mark R. , Ntoumanis Nikos , Hulteen Ryan M. , Diezmann Carmel , Yeung Alexander , Ahmadi Asghar , Vasconcellos Diego , Mahoney John , Datta Poulomee , Doidge Scott , Lonsdale Chris
Published: July 2023

Educational psychology usually focuses on explaining phenomena. As a result, researchers seldom explore how well their models predict the outcomes they care about using best-practice approaches to predictive statistics. In this paper, we focus less on explanation and more on prediction, showing how both are important for advancing the field. We apply predictive models to the role of teachers on student engagement, i.e. the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours, that translate motivation into progress. We integrate the suggestions from four prominent motivational theories (self-determination theory, achievement goal theory, growth mindset theory, and transformational leadership theory), and aim to identify those most critical behaviours for predicting changes in students’ engagement in physical education. Students (N = 1324 all from year 7, 52% girls) from 17 low socio-economic status schools rated their teacher’s demonstration of 71 behaviours in the middle of the school year. We also assessed students’ engagement at the beginning and end of the year. We trained elastic-net regression models on 70% of the data and then assessed their predictive validity on the held-out data (30%). The models showed that teacher behaviours predicted 4.39% of the variance in students’ change in engagement. Some behaviours that were most consistently associated with a positive change in engagement were being good role models (β = 0.046), taking interest in students’ lives outside of class (β = 0.033), and allowing students to make choices (β = 0.029). The influential behaviours did not neatly fit within any single motivational theory. These findings support arguments for integrating different theoretical approaches, and suggest practitioners may want to consider multiple theories when designing interventions. More generally, we argue that researchers in educational psychology should more frequently test how well their models not just explain, but predict the outcomes they care about.
Quantum atmosphere effective radii for different spin fields from quantum gravity inspired black holes
Authors: Gingrich Douglas M.
Published: July 2023

Quantum atmosphere effective radii for the emission of spin-0, 1/2, 1, and 2 massless fields from Schwarzschild, Tangherlini, non-commutative geometry inspired, and polymeric black holes are calculated. The power observed from the black hole at spatial infinity taking greybody factors into account is compared to an equal-power black-body radiator of the same temperature but different effective radius. A large range of different radii are obtained for different spin fields and black holes. The equal-power black-body effective radius is not, in general, a good proxy for the location of the quantum atmosphere.
Synthesis and Structure of Polyhydrido Copper Nanocluster [Cu14H10(PPh3)8(SPhMe2)3]+: Symmetry-Breaking by Thiolate Ligands to form Racemic Pairs of Chiral Clusters in Solid-State
Authors: Zeng Shuhuan , Ge Xin , Deng Hongwen , Hao Shuwei , Zhang Zhiye , Teo Boon K. , Sun Cunfa
Published: July 2023

A polyhydrido copper nanocluster, [Cu14H10(PPh3)8(SR)3]+ (HSR = 2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol), adopting a distorted fcc structure, is reported. One cube-vertex copper atom, coordinated by the three thiolate ligands and a PPh3, protrudes outwards from the fcc metal framework. The twisting of the three thiolate ligands about the threefold axis lowers the symmetry from Oh (Cu14) to C3, forming racemic pairs of intrinsic chiral clusters in crystalline solid-state.

Graphical Abstract
Fragmentation and Relationality in Brexit Narratives: Linda Grant’s a Stranger City
Authors: Pellicer-Ortín Silvia
Published: July 2023

The main purpose of this article is to explore the ways in which Linda Grant’s A Stranger City can be defined as illustrative of BrexLit. Many literary critics have argued that the majority of works within the genre of BrexLit primarily address this phenomenon from the British perspective, thus portraying its consequences only for the UK (mostly England) and British characters. I contend that A Stranger City is quite different from these works as it is concerned with the manifold experiences of various European citizens set in London against a background of xenophobia, nationalism and political tensions. Drawing on the tools provided by close reading, I will show how A Stranger City shows some narrative devices that characterise those newest fictions defined as fragmented narratives and networked novels in an attempt to identify the tensions between fragmentation and relationality that have been visible at a political and social level in the wake of Brexit. Using recent research in the fields of diaspora and vulnerability studies, I also aim to demonstrate that Brexit acts as the vertebral axis (dis)connecting Grant’s diasporic characters. In the end, I will attempt to show that this aspect seems to evoke a hopeful future in which the fragmented identities of post-Brexit Europeans have the possibility to flow in a more connected way than ever before.