bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carcara: An Efficient Proof Checker and Elaborator for SMT Proofs in the Alethe Format
Authors: Andreotti Bruno , Lachnitt Hanna , Barbosa Haniel
Published: April 2023

Proofs from SMT solvers ensure correctness independently from implementation, which is often a requirement when solvers are used in safety-critical applications or proof assistants. Alethe is an established SMT proof format generated by the solvers veriT and cvc5, with reconstruction support in the proof assistants Isabelle/HOL and Coq. The format is close to SMT-LIB and allows both coarse- and fine-grained steps, facilitating proof production. However, it lacks a stand-alone checker, which harms its usability and hinders its adoption. Moreover, the coarse-grained steps can be too expensive to check and lead to verification failures. We presentCarcara, an independent proof checker and elaborator for Alethe, implemented in Rust. It aims to increase the adoption of the format by providing push-button proof-checking for Alethe proofs, focusing on efficiency and usability; and by providing elaboration for coarse-grained steps into fine-grained ones, increasing the potential success rate of checking Alethe proofs in performance-critical validators, such as proof assistants. We evaluateCarcaraover a large set of Alethe proofs generated from SMT-LIB problems and show that it has good performance and its elaboration techniques can make proofs easier to check.
The Packing Chromatic Number of the Infinite Square Grid is 15
Authors: Subercaseaux Bernardo , Heule Marijn J. H.
Published: April 2023

A packing k-coloring is a natural variation on the standard notion of graph k-coloring, where vertices are assigned numbers from $$\{1, \ldots , k\}$$

{
1
,
…
,
k
}

, and any two vertices assigned a common color $$c \in \{1, \ldots , k\}$$

c
∈
{
1
,
…
,
k
}

need to be at a distance greater than c (as opposed to 1, in standard graph colorings). Despite a sequence of incremental work, determining the packing chromatic number of the infinite square grid has remained an open problem since its introduction in 2002. We culminate the search by proving this number to be 15. We achieve this result by improving the best-known method for this problem by roughly two orders of magnitude. The most important technique to boost performance is a novel, surprisingly effective propositional encoding for packing colorings. Additionally, we developed an alternative symmetry breaking method. Since both new techniques are more complex than existing techniques for this problem, a verified approach is required to trust them. We include both techniques in a proof of unsatisfiability, reducing the trusted core to the correctness of the direct encoding.
Inferring Needless Write Memory Accesses on Ethereum Bytecode
Authors: Albert Elvira , Correas Jesús , Gordillo Pablo , Román-Díez Guillermo , Rubio Albert
Published: April 2023

Efficiency is a fundamental property of any type of program, but it is even more so in the context of the programs executing on the blockchain (known assmart contracts). This is because optimizing smart contracts has direct consequences on reducing the costs of deploying and executing the contracts, as there are fees to pay related to their bytes-size and to their resource consumption (calledgas). Optimizing memory usage is considered a challenging problem that, among other things, requires a precise inference of the memory locations being accessed. This is also the case for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode generated by the most-widely used compiler, , whose rather unconventional and low-level memory usage challenges automated reasoning. This paper presents a static analysis, developed at the level of the EVM bytecode generated by , that infers write memory accesses that are needless and thus can be safely removed. The application of our implementation on more than 19,000 real smart contracts has detected about 6,200 needless write accesses in less than 4 hours. Interestingly, many of these writes were involved in memory usage patterns generated by that can be greatly optimized by removing entire blocks of bytecodes. To the best of our knowledge, existing optimization tools cannot infer such needless write accesses, and hence cannot detect these inefficiencies that affect both the deployment and the execution costs of Ethereum smart contracts.
Non-invertible symmetries from discrete gauging and completeness of the spectrum
Authors: Arias-Tamargo Guillermo , Rodríguez-Gómez Diego
Published: April 2023

Abstract

We study global 1- and (d − 2)-form symmetries for gauge theories based on disconnected gauge groups which include charge conjugation. For pure gauge theories, the 1-form symmetries are shown to be non-invertible. In addition, being the gauge groups disconnected, the theories automatically have a ℤ2 global (d − 2)-form symmetry. We propose String Theory embeddings for gauge theories based on these groups. Remarkably, they all automatically come with twist vortices which break the (d − 2)-form global symmetry. This is consistent with the conjectured absence of global symmetries in Quantum Gravity.
Tunable lipid-coated nanoporous silver sheet for characterization of protein-membrane interactions by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)
Authors: Zhu Hongni , Zhang Jianing , Dai Xin , Mesias Vince St. Dollente , Chi Huanyu , Wang Congcheng , Yeung Chi Shun , Chen Qing , Liu Wei , Huang Jinqing
Published: April 2023

Membrane environments affect protein structures and functions through protein-membrane interactions in a wide range of important biological processes. To better study the effects from the lipid’s hydrophilic and hydrophobic interaction with protein on different membrane regions, we developed the lipid-coated nanoporous silver sheets to provide tunable supported lipid monolayer/bilayer environments for in situ surface-enhanced Raman vibrational spectroscopy (SERS) characterizations. Under the controllable surface pressure, lipid monolayer/bilayer was coated along the microscopic curved surface of nanoporous silver sheets to serve as a cell membrane mimic as well as a barrier to avoid protein denaturation while empowering the high SERS enhancements from the underlying metallic bases allowing detection sensitivity at low physiological concentrations. Moreover, we fine-tuned the lipid packing density and controlled the orientation of the deposited lipid bilayers and monolayers to directly monitor the protein structures upon interactions with various membrane parts/positions. Our results indicate that lysozyme adopted the α-helical structure in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interaction with lipid membrane. Interestingly, alpha-synuclein folded into the α-helical structure on the negatively charged lipid heads, whereas the hydrophobic lipid tails induced the β-sheet structural conversion of alpha-synuclein originated from its unstructured monomers. These direct observations on protein hydrophilic and hydrophobic interaction with lipid membrane might provide profound insights into the formation of the β-sheet-containing alpha-synuclein oligomers for further membrane disruptions and amyloid genesis associated with Parkinson’s disease. Hence, with the controllability and tunability of lipid environments, our platform holds great promise for more general applications in investigating the influences from membranes and the correlative structures of proteins under both hydrophilic and hydrophobic effects.

Graphical Abstract
Safety and Efficacy of Mitoxantrone Hydrochloride Injection for Identification of Axillary Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Patients with Primary Breast Cancer
Authors: Elzayat Ibrahim , Abdelaal Mohamed , Monib Sherif
Published: April 2023

Background

The dual technique using blue dye in combination with a radioisotope is considered the gold standard for identifying sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in patients with breast cancer. Unfortunately, not all cancer centres have access to radioactive material, which jeopardizes the SLN identification rate and patient safety.

Aim

We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection (MHI) for identifying axillary SLNs in patients with primary breast cancer.

Patients and methods

We have conducted a prospective non‐randomized analysis of patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who agreed to participate in the study between December 2019 and December 2022. We have used the patient's medical records to collect the data. We have used the SLN intraoperative identification rate as a marker for the efficacy of the technique and both the immediate and delayed complication rates and routine blood tests as markers for the safety of the technique.

Results

Out of the 296 patients, 289 (97.6%) had their SLNs identified using MHI, while seven patients (2.3%) had four‐node sampling carried out because the SLNs were not identified. Liver functions were not significantly affected by MHI, and there was no technique‐related readmission or reported morbidity or mortality.

Conclusion

We have found that the MHI technique is still inferior to the combined radioactive directed technique and patent blue V dye in SLN identification. Yet, it may serve as a safe and reliable alternative in cases where the radioactive technique is unavailable.
Conservation and variation in the region of the Theileria parva p104 antigen coding gene used for PCR surveillance of the parasite
Authors: Obara Isaiah , Makori Peris , Sibeko Kgomotso P. , Bishop Richard P. , Nijhof Ard M. , Mwamuye Micky
Published: April 2023

The range of the protozoan parasite Theileria parva, which causes East Coast fever in cattle, has been expanding to countries where it has not previously been detected, as a result of cross-border domestic cattle movement. Countries where T. parva has not previously been observed until recently include Cameroon and South Sudan. This raises the issue of the conservation of the p104 antigen gene, on which the nested PCR assay that is widely used for T. parva surveillance in the blood of infected cattle is based. We sampled 40 isolates from six countries widely distributed across the geographical range of the parasite, including eastern, central and southern Africa, for p104 sequence polymorphism. These included parasites from both domestic cattle and the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) wildlife reservoir. The most frequent allelic variants were present in cattle transmissible isolates from multiple widely separated geographical regions in Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Africa. These frequent p104 variants were also present in the three component stocks of the Muguga cocktail used for the infection and treatment live immunisation procedure to control T. parva in the field. Other isolates exhibited unique alleles. This includes some of the p104 sequences from Cameroon, which is outside the known range of the Rhipicephalus tick vector and whose origin is therefore unclear. The nested primer oligonucleotides used to generate the amplicons were universally conserved in cattle-derived parasites and a majority of buffalo-derived isolates across the geographical range of the parasite. However, some rare South African buffalo–derived isolates exhibited one or two mismatches with the primer sequences. It therefore remains possible that some p104 alleles may be so divergent that they do not amplify with the current diagnostic primers and are not detectable in surveys, hence the need for increasing knowledge of genetic heterogeneity of diagnostic targets. There was no evidence for positive selection among those p104 mutations that resulted in residue changes. Importantly, the data indicate that the p104-based PCR detection assay should be effective across the majority of the range of T. parva, and if the one or two mismatches are shown in future to result in the primers annealing less efficiently, then the assay can be further improved by introduction of degenerate bases to enable amplification of the less frequent South African buffalo–derived variant p104 genes.
Parametric study of the oleophilic skimming process: CFD simulation using VOF model
Authors: Lotfy Eslam Reda
Published: April 2023

Oleophilic skimming is a primary alternative when addressing oil spill accidents. However, the existing literature does not define accurately the optimum design and operating conditions of the oleophilic skimmer. In this research, an extensive CFD investigation was conducted on the performance of the drum skimmer. Seven parameters were tested, namely drum diameter, drum centre height, oil slick thickness, rotational speed, oil density, oil viscosity and oil surface tension. The simulations were performed by applying the volume of fluid technique using the OpenFOAM package. The two-dimensional numerical setup was tested for grid size, domain extension and time-step convergence, and the results were validated with experimental data from the literature. The skimmer performance was evaluated through the oil recovery rate and water ingestion rate. The study illustrated that the oleophilic drum skimmer best functions at rotational speed within 30–60 rpm, drum diameter within 200–300 mm, drum centre-height-to-diameter ratio within 0.3–0.4, oil slick thickness $$\ge$$
≥
15 mm and oil viscosity within 10–100 cSt.
A learning curve in 3D virtual surgical planned orthognathic surgery
Authors: Beek Dirk-Melle , Baan Frank , Liebregts Jeroen , Nienhuijs Marloes , Bergé Stefaan , Maal Thomas , Xi Tong
Published: April 2023

Objectives

To assess the surgical accuracy of 3D virtual surgical planned orthognathic surgery and the influence of posterior impaction and magnitude of the planned movements on a possible learning curve.

Materials and methods

This prospective cohort study included subjects who underwent bimaxillary surgery between 2016 and 2020 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen. 3D virtual surgical planning (VSP) was performed with CBCT data and digitalized dentition data. By using voxel-based matching with pre- and postoperative CBCT data the maxillary movements were quantified in six degrees of freedom. The primary outcome variable, surgical accuracy, was defined as the difference between the planned and achieved maxillary movement.

Results

Based on 124 subjects, the surgical accuracy increased annually from 2016 to 2020 in terms of vertical translations (0.82 ± 0.28 mm; p = 0.038) and yaw rotations (0.68 ± 0.22°; p = 0.028). An increase in surgical accuracy was observed when combining all six degrees of freedom (p = 0.021) and specifically between 2016 and 2020 (p = 0.004). An unfavorable learning curve was seen with posterior impaction and with a greater magnitude of movements.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated a significant increase in surgical accuracy annually and therefore supports the presence of a learning curve.

Clinical relevance

Cases with planned maxillary posterior impaction and/or a great magnitude of jaw movements should be transferred from the 3D VSP with extra care to obtain a satisfactory surgical accuracy.
Full body video-based self-avatars for mixed reality: from E2E system to user study
Authors: Gonzalez Morin Diego , Gonzalez-Sosa Ester , Perez Pablo , Villegas Alvaro
Published: April 2023

In this work, we explore the creation of self-avatars through video pass-through in mixed reality (MR) applications. We present our end-to-end system, including custom MR video pass-through implementation on a commercial head-mounted display (HMD), our deep learning-based real-time egocentric body segmentation algorithm, and our optimized offloading architecture, to communicate the segmentation server with the HMD. To validate this technology, we designed an immersive VR experience where the user has to walk through a narrow tile path over an active volcano crater. The study was performed under three-body representation conditions: virtual hands, video pass-through with color-based full-body segmentation, and video pass-through with deep learning full-body segmentation. This immersive experience was carried out by 30 women and 28 men. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first user study focused on evaluating video-based self-avatars to represent the user in a MR scene. Results showed no significant differences between the different body representations in terms of presence, with moderate improvements in some Embodiment components between the virtual hands and full-body representations. Visual Quality results showed better results from the deep-learning algorithms in terms of the whole body perception and overall segmentation quality. In this study, we provide some discussion regarding the use of video-based self-avatars and some reflections on the evaluation methodology. The proposed E2E solution is in the boundary of the state-of-the-art, so there is still room for improvement before it reaches maturity. However, this solution serves as a crucial starting point for MR applications where users can feel immersed and interact with their own bodies.
Development of subfamily-based consensus PCR assays for the detection of human and animal herpesviruses
Authors: Okoh God’spower Richard , Lockhart Michelle , Grimsey Joanne , Whitmore David , Ariel Ellen , Butler Jeff , Horwood Paul F.
Published: April 2023

Consensus PCR assays that can be used to sensitively detect several herpesvirus (HV) species across the different subfamilies were developed in this study. Primers containing degenerate bases were designed to amplify regions of the DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene of alpha- and gamma-HVs, and the glycoprotein B (gB) gene of beta-HVs in a singleplex, non-nested touchdown PCR format. The singleplex touchdown consensus PCR (STC-PCR) was used to amplify the DNA of eight human and 24 animal HVs. The assay was able to detect the lowest DNA dilution of 10−5 for alpha-HVs and 10−3 for beta- and gamma-HVs. In comparison, lowest detection limits of 10−5, 10−3, and 10−2 were obtained for alpha-, beta-, and gamma-HVs respectively when a nested PCR was used. The findings in this study suggest that the STC-PCR assays can be employed for the molecular surveys and clinical detection of novel and known HVs.
A cross-sectional study of optimal exercise combinations for type 2 diabetes
Authors: Lin Yanhui , Sun Yuxin , Zhang Ziran , Wang Zijin , Wu Tong , Wu Fanye , Li Zhengran , Meng Fanke , Fu Min
Published: April 2023

Aim

The currently recommended exercise methods for patients with diabetes require strict physical fitness and are not suitable for all diabetic patients. This study aims to explore the best exercise combination for diabetic patients and to provide scientific and practical personalized exercise guidance for diabetic patients.

Subject and methods

Basic information about participants was obtained through questionnaires, physical measurements were performed, and fasting blood samples were collected. Polar area diagrams were used to analyze the relationship between different exercise habits and each index. The polar area graph showed the exercise duration with the best expected effect under a particular frequency and intensity. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to test whether there was a direct causal relationship between exercise and diabetes.

Results

Polar area diagrams showed that diabetes patients who engaged in moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise > 60 minutes five times per week had better health indicators. The polar area graph showed that low-intensity exercise once or twice a week required more than 30 minutes to achieve the desired effect. There was no significant difference in any indicators among elderly diabetic patients with different exercise intensities.

Conclusion

Moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise for more than 30 minutes five times a week was the most beneficial combination of exercise for diabetes. Low frequency needs to be matched with longer exercise time to achieve the desired effect at low intensity. The relationship between low frequency and long duration weakened when the exercise intensity increased. The levels of all indicators in elderly diabetic patients were unrelated to exercise intensity.
Ag-tech, agroecology, and the politics of alternative farming futures: The challenges of bringing together diverse agricultural epistemologies
Authors: Sullivan Summer
Published: April 2023

Agricultural-technology (ag-tech) and agroecology both promise a better farming future. Ag-tech seeks to improve the food system through the development of high-tech tools such as sensors, digital platforms, and robotic harvesters, with many ag-tech start-ups promising to deliver increased agricultural productivity while also enhancing food system sustainability. Agroecology incorporates diverse cropping systems, low external resource inputs, indigenous and farmer knowledge, and is increasingly associated with political calls for a more just food system. Recently, demand has grown for the potentially groundbreaking benefits of their convergence, with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) attempting just such a union. Building on its combined expertise in engineering and agroecology, as well as a longstanding reputation as a socially progressive institution, university administrators believe that UCSC could produce a unique, socially just form of ag-tech designed for small, low-resource farmers—a rare contribution given ag-tech’s tendency to cater primarily to large-scale agribusiness. This paper examines the complexities of uniting agroecology and ag-tech through interviews with agroecologists, engineers, and social scientists involved in UCSC’s ag-tech initiative. Within the setting of a historically radical yet neoliberalizing university, I find that significant epistemic and structural barriers exist for agroecology and ag-tech to come together on an even playing field. This case study contributes to broader discussions of the future of food and farming by focusing on the contours and challenges of a widely called-for agricultural collaboration, highlighting its difficulty but also areas of possibility in a particularly rich, contested context.
De Vries Powers and Proximity Specker Algebras
Authors: Bezhanishvili G. , Carai L. , Morandi P. J. , Olberding B.
Published: April 2023

By de Vries duality, the category $$\textsf {KHaus}$$
KHaus
of compact Hausdorff spaces is dually equivalent to the category $$\textsf {DeV}$$
DeV
of de Vries algebras. There is a similar duality for $$\textsf {KHaus}$$
KHaus
, where de Vries algebras are replaced by proximity Baer-Specker algebras. The functor associating with each compact Hausdorff space a proximity Baer-Specker algebra is described by generalizing the notion of a boolean power of a totally ordered domain to that of a de Vries power. It follows that $$\textsf {DeV}$$
DeV
is equivalent to the category $$\text {\textsf{PBSp}}$$
PBSp
of proximity Baer-Specker algebras. The equivalence is obtained by passing through $$\textsf {KHaus}$$
KHaus
, and hence is not choice-free. In this paper we give a direct algebraic proof of this equivalence, which is choice-independent. To do so, we give an alternate choice-free description of de Vries powers of a totally ordered domain.
The catalytic role of “responsible investments” in innovation and firm performance link: in the context of manufacturing in Asia-Pacific
Authors: Dhaigude Prof. Amol S. , Gupta Narain , Sardana Deepak , Kumar Vikas , Terziovski Milé
Published: April 2023

Technological innovations while economically prudent may have harmful consequences to the planet and/or people. This paper empirically investigates the moderating effect of responsible investment on the influence of innovation on firm performance in manufacturing industry. The hypothesized relationships are justified using signalling theory. Relationships are tested using data from six countries in Asia-pacific region, namely Australia, Korea, Taiwan, China, India, and Vietnam. The established measures are drawn from well-established GMRG fifth version survey instrument. The empirical analysis on 297 data points was done using SmartPLS3. The result strongly suggests that the responsible investments have significant positive moderating effect on the innovation, product and process, and firm performance relationships. Managers are, therefore, encouraged to not only consider responsible consequences of technological innovation, but also pay attention to the responsible investment aspects that influence innovation-performance relationship.
The association between age at breast cancer diagnosis and prevalence of pathogenic variants
Authors: Daly Mary B. , Rosenthal Eric , Cummings Shelly , Bernhisel Ryan , Kidd John , Hughes Elisha , Gutin Alexander , Meek Stephanie , Slavin Thomas P. , Kurian Allison W.
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Young age at breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and family history of BC are strongly associated with high prevalence of pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. There is limited evidence for such associations with moderate/high penetrance BC-risk genes such as ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2.

Methods

We analyzed multi-gene panel testing results (09/2013–12/2019) for women unaffected by any cancer (N = 371,594) and those affected with BC (N = 130,151) ascertained for suspicion of hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test association between PV status and age at BC diagnosis (≤ 45 vs. > 45 years) or family history of BC after controlling for personal/family non-BC histories and self-reported ancestry.

Results

An association between young age (≤ 45 years) at diagnosis and presence of PVs was strong for BRCA1 (OR 3.95, 95% CI 3.64–4.29) and moderate for BRCA2 (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.84–2.14). Modest associations were observed between PVs and young age at diagnosis for ATM (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.08–1.37) and CHEK2 (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.21–1.47) genes, but not for PALB2 (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.98–1.27). For women with BC, earliest age of familial BC diagnosis followed a similar pattern. For unaffected women, earliest age of family cancer diagnosis was significantly associated with PV status only for BRCA1 (OR 2.34, 95% CI 2.13–2.56) and BRCA2 (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.16–1.35).

Conclusions

Young age at BC diagnosis is not a strong risk factor for carrying PVs in BC-associated genes ATM, CHEK2, or PALB2.
Evaluating changes to home bowel cancer screening kits: an end-user perspective study
Authors: Myers L. , Ireland M. J. , Viljoen B. , Goodwin B.
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Many people do not participate in mail-out bowel cancer screening programs due to difficulties using the screening kit. The current study investigated the ways the screening kit could be modified to improve usability.

Methods

1,109 people evaluated 15 different screening kit modifications. Participants reported on how these kit modifications would affect their screening barriers, their future screening intentions, and how much they would recommend that the modification is made to the current screening kit used the program. All responses were given via an online survey conducted between April and December of 2021.

Results

Seventeen percent of previous NBCSP non-participators indicated that a one-sample test would increase their intention to participate. Recommendation ratings demonstrated higher levels of support for modifications that included providing a barcode naming label (M = 9.06, 95% CI [8.81, 9.31]), having a larger diameter opening of the collection tube (M = 8.42, 95% CI [8.10, 8.74]), and highlighting the expiry date on the kit packaging (M = 8.59, 95% CI [8.29, 8.89]). There were lower levels of support for modifications that reduced the size of the packaging the kit is sent in (M = 6.47, 95% CI [6.09, 6.85]), removed branding from kit packaging (M = 5.98, 95% CI [5.57, 6.39]), and removed the information booklet that comes with the screening kit (M = 5.25, 95% CI [4.78, 5.72]).

Conclusion

These findings highlight multiple ways in which bowel cancer screening kits can be changed to increase usability for invitees of national bowel cancer screening programs. Findings have implications for all screening programs that use immunochemical-based bowel cancer screening kits.
Clinical experience of reoperative right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with valved conduits: risk factors for conduit failure in long-term follow-up
Authors: Havova Mariia , Gebauer Roman , Antonova Petra , Spatenka Jaroslav , Burkert Jan , Fabian Ondrej , Modrak Martin , Rohn Vilem
Published: April 2023

Reconstruction of right ventricular outflow tract in patients with congenital heart disease in various age groups remains a controversial issue. Currently, a little is known about the fate of secondary and subsequent conduit. The aim of the study was to determine risk factors of conduit failure, evaluate long-term conduit survival, find out which type of conduit should be preferred in case of reoperations. We performed a retrospective analysis of a total of 249 records of valved conduit secondary and subsequent replacement in right ventricular outflow tract in 197 patients. Median follow-up was 5.7 years. The study endpoints were defined as conduit explants; balloon dilatation of the graft (excluding balloon dilatation of left/right pulmonary artery), transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation; heart transplantation or death of the patient. There were total of 21 deaths (11% mortality) among 197 patients during the follow-up, 2 patients underwent heart transplant, in 23 implanted conduits pulmonary angioplasty or/including transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation was afterwards performed due to graft failure, conduit had to be explanted in 46 cases. After 28 years follow-up, freedom from graft failure after 5 years was 77%, 48% after 10 years and 21% after 15 years. Reoperative right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction demonstrates good mid-term and acceptable long-term outcomes regardless of the type of conduit implanted. Worse long-term graft survival of secondary and further conduits is associated with younger age of the recipient at implantation, small size of the conduit, younger age of donor and male donor in case of allograft implantation.
Topical bromfenac as adjunctive treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema
Authors: Gabr Ahmed F. , Kamel Marian F. , Elbarawy Ahmed A.
Published: April 2023

Purpose

To determine the safety and efficacy of adding topical bromfenac 0.09% in the treatment of diabetic macular edema.

Methods

Seventy patients (70 eyes) with center involved diabetic macular edema with macular thickness (300–500 μm) were included. Patients were divided randomly into two groups: 35 eyes in each group. Both groups were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab monthly for three consecutive months. Bromfenac 0.09% eye drops twice daily was added to the treatment of study group for six months from commencement of treatment. The efficacy of topical bromfenac was evaluated by comparing both groups through follow-up period as regards to visual acuity, central and average thickness and the need for re-injection.

Results

Patients treated with topical bromfenac in addition to intravitreal ranibizumab revealed significant improvement in visual acuity, more reduction in central and average macular thickness and less tendency to need reinjection compared to those treated with ranibizumab alone (p 0.013, p 0.010 and p 0.022, respectively). No side effects was encountered with the use of topical bromfenac.

Conclusion

Topical bromfenac 0.09% twice a day could enhance and sustain the efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab in the treatment of diabetic macular edema without increasing the incidence of corneal side effects.
Representation Theory Based Algorithm to Compute Boltzmann’s Bilinear Collision Operator in the Irreducible Spectral Burnett Ansatz Efficiently
Authors: Hanke Andrea , Torrilhon Manuel
Published: April 2023

Numerically solving the Boltzmann equation is computationally expensive in part due to the number of variables the distribution function depends upon. Another contributor to the complexity of the Boltzmann Equation is the quadratic collision operator describing changes in the distribution function due to colliding particle pairs. Solving it as efficiently as possible has been a topic of recent research, e.g. Cai and Torrilhon (Phys Fluids 31(12):126105, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5127114), Wang and Cai (J Comput Phys 397:108815, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2019.07.014), Cai et al. (Comput Fluids 200:104456, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compfluid.2020.104456). In this paper we exploit results from representation theory to find a very efficient algorithm both in terms of memory and computational time for the evaluation of the quadratic collision operator. With this novel approach we are also able to provide a meaningful interpretation of its structure.
On Non-Penalization SEMDOT Using Discrete Variable Sensitivities
Authors: Fu Yun-Fei , Long Kai , Rolfe Bernard
Published: April 2023

This work proposes a non-penalization Smooth-Edged Material Distribution for Optimizing Topology (SEMDOT) algorithm, which is a typical elemental volume fraction-based topology optimization method, by adopting discrete variable sensitivities for solid, void, and assumed boundary elements instead of the continuous variable sensitivities used in the penalization one. In the proposed non-penalized SEMDOT algorithm, the material penalization scheme is eliminated. The efficiency, effectiveness, and general applicability of the proposed non-penalized algorithm are demonstrated in three case studies containing compliance minimization, compliant mechanism design, and heat conduction problems, as well as thorough comparisons with the penalized algorithm. In addition, the length scale control approach is used to solve the discontinuous boundary issue observed in thin and long structural features. The numerical results show that the convergency of the newly proposed non-penalization algorithm is stronger than the penalization algorithm, and improved results can be obtained by the non-penalized algorithm.
Imagination, endogenous attention, and mental agency
Authors: Cochrane Tom
Published: April 2023

This paper develops a mechanistic account of basic mental agency by identifying similarities between two of its major exemplars: endogenous attention and imagination. Five key similarities are identified: (i) that both capacities are driven by currently prioritised goals that are either person-level or apt to become person-level. (ii) that both deliver their outputs to the working memory (iii) that both range across all and only conceptual contents; (iv) that both proceed under the guidance of norms and/or habits; and (v) that both directly activate rather than inhibit content. These five features are consolidated by proposing that basic mental agency is essentially the power to call for conceptual content and hold it within our working memories.
Do Asian Immigrants Have Better Mental Health? An Examination of Arrival Cohort and Gender in Australia
Authors: Lee Rennie , Bablani Laxman
Published: April 2023

This study examines how arrival cohort and duration of time in Australia affect the long-term mental health trajectories of Asian immigrants relative to native-born individuals in Australia. We also examine how these relationships differ by gender. Using nationally representative panel data from The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey for 2002–2018, we find limited evidence that Asian immigrants experience declining mental health over time in Australia. Rather, we find that arrival cohort is an important predictor of long-term mental health, specifically for Asian immigrant women and recent cohorts of immigrants. By tracking mental health trajectories over time in Australia, we find variation between Asian immigrants and native-born individuals and by gender. We find that the majority of Asian immigrants in Australia report increases in their mental health over time in Australia. We also find within- and between-gender differences in mental health trajectories. Our study illustrates the importance of longitudinal data and reference categories for understanding immigrants’ health in their host countries. The findings have implications for immigration policy and its role in shaping immigrant composition and immigrants’ mental health over time in the host country.
Developing a Tool for Monitoring and Evaluating a Network Approach to Innovation: Lessons from Year 1 of the SexEdVA Disability-Inclusive Sexual Health Network (DSHN)
Authors: Hartzler-Weakley Kim , Duer Emma , McKean Kayla
Published: April 2023

Disparities in sexual health outcomes for youth with disabilities require new and creative approaches to address the complex and often individualized barriers facing this diverse population. The Disability-inclusive Sexual Health Network (DSHN) establishes, funds, coordinates, and supports a multidisciplinary network of partners to explore, develop, test, refine, and evaluate innovative interventions that will improve optimal health, prevent teen pregnancy, and address sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for youth with disabilities in Virginia. DSHN developed the Monthly Reporting Instrument (MRI) to support communication, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of the project, and shares findings from data collected using this tool. A mixed method analysis was conducted on data collected in year 1 using the MRI. A total of 67 MRI submissions were collected across eight DSHN Partners between March 2021 and March 2022. Analysis of the year 1 MRI data gives a rich understanding of the common barriers faced, accomplishments and progress achieved in the face of those challenges, and Partners’ relationships to the Network and each other. This paper proposes solutions to common barriers in implementing Network support and coordination activities in year 2 and reflects on the utility of the MRI as a multi-purpose tool for communication and engagement as well as monitoring and evaluating DSHN as a systems-level intervention.
Co-Regulation as a Support for Older Youth in the Context of Foster Care: a Scoping Review of the Literature
Authors: Murray Desiree W. , Rackers Hannah , Meyer Aleta , McKenzie Kelly Jedd , Malm Karin , Sepulveda Kristin , Heath Catherine
Published: April 2023

Co-regulation is a relatively new theoretical framework for interventions that connects developmental science to adolescent needs and provides strategies that can be applied across contexts. It also has value in shifting the focus of interventions to the role of relationships and interactions with caring adults, as well as supportive environments. This framework may be particularly salient for older youth with foster care experience whose relationships with adults and availability of developmental supports are disrupted. To understand how co-regulation aligns with current understanding of needs and supports for this population, we conducted a scoping review that involved systematically searching four databases, coding and charting relevant information, and actively engaging expert consultants and other stakeholders. Across 46 primarily descriptive articles, co-regulation was discussed most often in relation to relationships, as expected (89% of articles). Despite theoretical and empirical evidence of the benefits of supportive environments and intentional day-to-day interactions in promoting developmental skills and competencies, these two domains of co-regulation were referenced much less (39% and 28%, respectively). Results highlight opportunities for co-regulation supports that can be provided to older youth with foster care experience by caring adults and near-aged peers in a wide range of roles. Notable limitations in the literature were identified in applying co-regulation within the context of employment and career readiness, healthy relationships, and teen parenting. Also under-researched is the role of adult self-regulation skills and co-regulation approaches for youth from diverse backgrounds, including those who identify as LGBTQ or have disabilities. Considerations for practice and future research are provided.
Variable selection using a smooth information criterion for distributional regression models
Authors: O’Neill Meadhbh , Burke Kevin
Published: April 2023

Modern variable selection procedures make use of penalization methods to execute simultaneous model selection and estimation. A popular method is the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, the use of which requires selecting the value of a tuning parameter. This parameter is typically tuned by minimizing the cross-validation error or Bayesian information criterion, but this can be computationally intensive as it involves fitting an array of different models and selecting the best one. In contrast with this standard approach, we have developed a procedure based on the so-called “smooth IC” (SIC) in which the tuning parameter is automatically selected in one step. We also extend this model selection procedure to the distributional regression framework, which is more flexible than classical regression modelling. Distributional regression, also known as multiparameter regression, introduces flexibility by taking account of the effect of covariates through multiple distributional parameters simultaneously, e.g., mean and variance. These models are useful in the context of normal linear regression when the process under study exhibits heteroscedastic behaviour. Reformulating the distributional regression estimation problem in terms of penalized likelihood enables us to take advantage of the close relationship between model selection criteria and penalization. Utilizing the SIC is computationally advantageous, as it obviates the issue of having to choose multiple tuning parameters.
Towards FIB-SEM Based Simulation of Pore-Scale Diffusion in SCR Catalyst Layers
Authors: Proff J. , Mail M. , Lindner A. , Scheuer A. , Bendrich M. , Quinet E. , Schuler A. , Scherer T. , Kübel C. , Votsmeier M.
Published: April 2023

The diffusivity in the upper Cu-Chabazite layer of a dual layer ammonia oxidation catalyst with a lower Pt layer was investigated. In a first step, the pore structure of the upper Cu-Chabazite catalyst layer was determined by Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) slice&view tomography. From the FIB-SEM data the 3D pore structure of the catalyst was reconstructed and diffusion simulations were performed on the reconstructed pore geometry, resulting in an estimated effective diffusivity of Deff/Dgas = 0.31. To validate the FIB-SEM derived estimates of the diffusivity, measurements of CO oxidation on the dual layer catalyst were performed, where the CO was oxidized in the lower Pt-layer while the upper SCR layer served as an inactive diffusion barrier. In this way, the effective diffusivity can be determined from the measured CO conversion. An effective diffusion coefficient of Deff/Dgas = 0.11 was obtained from the CO oxidation measurements, three times lower than the value obtained from the FIB-SEM data, but in line with previous literature data for the effective diffusivity in monolith washcoat layers. Additional NH3 oxidation experiments were performed on the dual layer catalyst. The results were well reproduced by a reactor model applying the effective diffusion coefficient obtained by the CO oxidation experiments. The origin of this apparent inconsistency is currently not understood and requires further investigation.
Organization not found: Ein organisationssoziologischer Blick auf die Digitalisierung als Verwaltungsreform
Authors: Baumgart Lene , Muster Judith
Published: April 2023

Der Beitrag in der Zeitschrift GIO beschäftigt sich mit der Frage nach den Schwierigkeiten von Digitalisierungsreformen in öffentlichen Verwaltungen. Der Blick wird dafür auf Verwaltungen als Organisationen gerichtet, deren formale Strukturen die Digitalisierungsreform erschweren, da steile Hierarchien und Dienstwegeregelungen mit netzwerkartigen Projektstrukturen konfligieren, agile Arbeitsweisen der Orientierung an rechtlich legitimierten Verfahren zuwiderlaufen und das Personal nicht mit den nötigen Kompetenzen ausgestattet wird. Der organisationssensible Fokus erlaubt es, nicht nur die Probleme der Strukturen zu betrachten, sondern auch deren Funktionen für den Systembestand von Verwaltungen zu berücksichtigen. So wird gezeigt, dass etwa Dienstwegeregelungen demokratische Prozesse gewährleisten und Verantwortungsdiffusion verhindern, ihre Rechtsorientierung den Verwaltungen Legitimation und Autonomie verschafft und das Personal durch seine Regeleinhaltung funktionierende Verfahren und Objektivität gewährleistet. Diese Spannungsfelder berücksichtigend, wird daher der Vorschlag gemacht, in Reformen nicht nur ihre Optimierungsfunktion zu sehen, sondern sie als Werkzeug für ein besseres Verständnis der vorherrschenden Strukturen zu nutzen. Der Beitrag gibt abschließend Fragen an die Hand, wie man sich diesem Verständnis nähern kann.
Application of distance standard deviation in functional data analysis
Authors: Krzyśko Mirosław , Smaga Łukasz
Published: April 2023

This paper concerns the measurement and testing of equality of variability of functional data. We apply the distance standard deviation constructed based on distance correlation, which was recently introduced as a measure of spread. For functional data, the distance standard deviation seems to measure different kinds of variability, not only scale differences. Moreover, the distance standard deviation is just one real number, and for this reason, it is of more practical value than the covariance function, which is a more difficult object to interpret. For testing equality of variability in two groups, we propose a permutation method based on centered observations, which controls the type I error level much better than the standard permutation method. We also consider the applicability of other correlations to measure the variability of functional data. The finite sample properties of two-sample tests are investigated in extensive simulation studies. We also illustrate their use in five real data examples based on various data sets.
Appendicitis-related acute referrals to Children’s Health Ireland from Non-Specialist Paediatric Surgical Centres
Authors: Penny Zakya , Elwahab Sami Abd , O’Connor Brendan , Sweeney Brian
Published: April 2023

Background

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in children. Eighty percent of paediatric appendicectomies are performed by adult general surgeons on an annual basis. The remaining 20% are performed at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) centres. Occasionally patients are transferred from Non-Specialist Paediatric Surgical Centres (NSPSC) for specialised pre-operative or post-operative care.

Aim

To assess the rates of and characterise appendicitis-related referrals to CHI at Crumlin from NSPSC.

Methods

A retrospective review of all appendicitis-related transfers to CHI at Crumlin between January 2020 and December 2021 was performed. Data relating to indications for transfer, referring hospital level, patient demographics, management, type of surgery, length of stay (LOS), and radiological studies were collected and analysed.

Results

Seventy-two patients were transferred to CHI at Crumlin over the 2-year period. A total of 60.9% were male, mean age 9 ± 4.3 years, mean LOS 6.0 ± 2.2 days (range 1–30 days). Nineteen percent were under 5 years of age. Seventy-three percent were transferred from level 4 centres. Ninety-seven percent were transferred pre-operatively, 25% of those transferred pre-operatively had imaging in CHI confirming appendicitis. Fifty-five percent (40/72) of patients had pre-operative imaging performed. A total of 37.5% (15/40) confirmed complicated appendicitis. Twenty percent (8/40) underwent both ultrasound and computerised tomography (CT) at the referring centre. A total of 2.7% (2/72) were transferred with known co-morbidities. Ninety-two percent (66/72) underwent appendicectomy. Eight percent (6/72) were managed non-operatively (NOM) — 2 failed NOM, 2 underwent interval appendicectomy. Of those managed operatively, 76% (50/66) underwent laparoscopic appendicectomy, and 24% (16/66) were performed open.

Conclusion

The majority of paediatric appendicectomies are performed at Non-Specialist Paediatric Surgical Centres. It is vital to maintain this working relationship so that specialist paediatric centres are available to provide care to complex paediatric patients.