bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Digital breast tomosynthesis in the diagnostic settings of breast cancer patients treated by conservation therapy
Authors: Ahmed Shimaa Abdalla , Hassan Ramy A. , Makboul Marwa , Farghaly Shimaa , Khalaf Lamiaa M. R.
Published: March 2024

Background

Breast cancer survivors who underwent breast conserving therapy (BCT) are still 10% more likely to develop a second breast cancer at follow-up, Digital mammography (DM) was advised in every practical guideline for follow-up after BCT; however, it was difficult to distinguish between actual recurrence and scar development at DM.

Our research objective is to assess the value of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) on the final Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon (BI-RADS) assessment categories compared to diagnostic digital mammography (DM) of breast cancer patients treated with breast conservation therapy (BCT), and to determine the additive value of DBT to DM or the use of DBT with synthetic 2D images in the diagnostic workup following BCT.

Results

Four hundred and seventeen breast cancer patients who underwent breast-conserving therapy (BCT) and received diagnostic assessments, including digital mammography (DM), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), and reconstructed synthetic 2D images, were enrolled in the study.

There is a significant reduction in the proportion of studies classified as probably benign BI-RADS 3 in synthetic 2D + DBT and DM + DBT compared with those in DM alone, and this was demonstrated by the two readers and at double reading (all P = 0.01). There is a significant increase in the PPV of malignancy in synthetic 2D + DBT and DM + DBT compared with those in DM alone for reader 2 (P = 0.01) and at double reading (P < 0.04) without a significant difference in the proportion of studies classified as BI-RADS category 4 or 5 for both readers and at double reading (p > 0.3).

Regarding the mammographic abnormalities, we noted a significant reduction in asymmetry and a significant increase in architectural distortion in synthetic 2D + DBT and DM + DBT compared with those in DM alone, and this was demonstrated by the two readers and at double reading (all P = 0.01).

Conclusions

The addition of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) into the diagnostic process after breast-conserving therapy (BCT), either in conjunction with digital mammography (DM) or with synthetic 2D images in the diagnostic workup following BCT, significantly decreases the proportion of studies classified as probably benign, significantly increases the rate of studies classified as normal or benign, and significantly increase in the positive predictive value (PPV) of malignancy without significant difference in the patients classified as BI-RADS category 4 or 5. Moreover it improved diagnostic confidence in biopsy recommendations, regardless of mammographic density.
Computerized constructed wetlands allocation model (based on ecosystem services demand)
Authors: Mohamed Nouran Moustafa , Al-Attar Abdullah Farouk , Lotfi Yomna Amr , El-Barmelgy Hesham Mohamed
Published: March 2024

Egypt’s urban communities face many threats, including, pluvial floods, heat waves, and lack of publicly accessible urban green spaces. Nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands (CWs) present a promising solution that could offer a wide range of ecosystem services (ES). However, the adoption of CWs is challenged by the lack of local planning guides and uncertainty about potential benefits. There are various models and tools available for quantifying and valuing ES, however, many of them are either highly complex or require extensive data and expertise. The aim of this paper is to develop a GIS-based multi-criteria decision model to select CW sites based on the supply and demand of ES. The model is to operate on three main stages: (i) demand: based on the need for risk reduction or benefit provisioning, (ii) potential sites (PSs): identify and score suitable sites for establishing a CW, and (iii) supply: define the service benefiting areas (SBA). An experimental approach is used, where the model is tested on New Damietta, an Egyptian Mediterranean city, proving the model is a reliable decision-making tool during preliminary urban planning stages due to its practicality, flexibility, and reasonable data requirements.
Transwar Japanese Thought at “the End of Ideology”
Authors: Hurley Brian
Published: March 2024

In 1957, the Japanese affiliate of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an international anticommunist organization dedicated to the liberal ideals of the “free world,” convened a symposium under the title “Tradition and Transition in Japanese Culture” (“Nihon bunka no dentō to hensen”). The event put noted Kyoto School intellectuals who had earlier conceptualized Japan's unique mission within world history during the war years—including Kōsaka Masaaki, Suzuki Shigetaka, and Nishitani Keiji—into dialogue with postwar thinkers who advocated for freedom of thought in opposition to what they viewed as the closed-mindedness of ideology. Drawing on rarely cited archival documents, this article explores how the symposium raised key questions about the fate of world historical thinking in transwar Japan at the same time that it tested the putative universality of postwar liberal ideals against what the symposium participants called the particularity of Japanese culture.
Chinese Religious Practice as Protest
Authors: Sum Cheuk Shing H. S.
Published: March 2024

This essay explores how and why protestors from the 2019 anti-ELAB (Extradition Law Amendment Bill) movement turned to popular Chinese religious practice for political dissent, and simultaneously tracks the negotiation of emerging sociocultural identities of Hong Kongers in the face of political upheaval. Attempting to pressure the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government into meeting their demands, protestors adopted a wide range of tactics that brought protest activities to previously unaffected residential districts. Although no less hectic than other months during the movement, August 2019 also produced indelible moments of nonviolent innovation that attracted international media coverage. One of the protest events from this fertile period, the Hong Kong–wide Night Assemblies for Freeing Spirits, Almsgiving, Prayers for Merit, and Removal of Evil 全港超幽佈施祈褔除惡晚會, was held on August 9, 2019, in the districts of Wong Tai Sin and Shatin and specifically centered religious practice as a creative and potent source of political expression. To better understand this intersection of religion, politics, and identity in Hong Kong, this article analyzes protestors’ ritual utterances and interview responses from the protest event's proceedings.
Warriors of the City-State
Authors: Palmer David A.
Published: March 2024

This essay outlines how religious ideas and practices shaped the activism of Chin Wan, known as the “godfather of localism” in Hong Kong. While Chin's role in the rise of the localist wave of the 2010s is well known, his role as a religious figure has been completely ignored. As the earliest exponent of “valiant warrior” (yung mou 勇武) and “be water” militant tactics based on Confucian and Daoist narratives, he had a deep influence on Hong Kong protest culture during and after the Umbrella movement of 2014. This case undermines conventional secularist narratives of Hong Kong social movements and offers new insights into the politics of identity in Hong Kong.
Religious Minorities in the 2019 Hong Kong Protests
Authors: Khalikova Venera , Yusupov Ruslan
Published: March 2024

Based on a broader ethnographic study with Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh residents of Hong Kong, this article examines the role of minority religions, specifically Islam, in the 2019 Hong Kong protests. While the protests were dominated by the debates over the identities of Hong Kongers versus mainland Chinese, they also produced discussions over the positions and experiences of Hong Kong's “ethnic minorities,” many of whom are religious minorities. Often racialized and seen as outsiders by Han Hong Kongers, ethnoreligious minorities were reluctant to take sides out of worry for their livelihoods and fear of further marginalization. This sharply contrasts with the visibility of Christian communities in the protests. Christian leaders were publicly involved in prayer meetings and other forms of support for the protests, while the followers of minority religions either stayed away or organized prayer sessions in small, private settings. However, around October 2019, after a series of events described in this article, minorities either found themselves drawn into the protests or took the opportunity to participate to claim their Hong Konger identity. This held the potential to expand the political discourse and create a unified multicultural, multiracial identity of Hong Kongers. However, such aspirations were crushed against the walls of cultural-religious representation, and minorities felt that they remained misunderstood and unacknowledged as fellow citizens.
Τέχνες, διαδίκτυο και δημιουργικότητα
Authors: Λενακάκης Αντώνης
Published: March 2024

Σκοπός του τόμου είναι να δρομολογήσει μέσα από συγκεκριμένες διδακτικές προτάσεις που αξιοποιούν τα ψηφιακά μέσα τη σύνδεση του εκπαιδευτικού και του μαθητή με την τέχνη και την καλλιτεχνική δημιουργία. Σε μια εποχή, μάλιστα, όπου οι εξ αποστάσεως και υβριδικές μορφές μάθησης είναι ζητούμενα, ο ρόλος του εκπαιδευτικού είναι καταλυτικός στη δημιουργία κοινωνικά εμπλεκόμενων αισθητικών και μαθησιακών περιβαλλόντων και, εν τέλει, στην καλλιέργεια πολιτισμικά ενήμερων και ευ-αίσθητων πολιτών. Οι θεωρήσεις και οι καλές πρακτικές που αναπτύσσονται στον τόμο εμπλουτίζουν τις σχετικές με την τέχνη παιδαγωγικές πρακτικές και δημιουργούν γέφυρες ανάμεσα στην τέχνη, τα νέα μέσα και την εκπαίδευση για καθολικές αξίες και θέματα που αφορούν όλους τους ανθρώπους διαχρονικά.
Retracted: Case Report: A newborn in western Nepal with Harlequin ichthyosis
Authors: Rajput Prabhat Singh , Basnet Santosh , Paudel Pradip kumar , Devkota Bibek , Prasad Ram Jiban , Amgain Kapil
Published: March 2024

RETRACTION NOTICE (26th March 2024): The article by Rajput PS, Basnet S, Paudel Pk et al. Case Report: A newborn in western Nepal with Harlequin ichthyosis [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. F1000Research 2023, 12:1609 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.55349.1) has been retracted from F1000Research by the F1000 Editorial Team. This article was submitted to F1000Research on 21st July 2021 and was published on 29th December 2023. During post-publication peer review, a peer reviewer noted that this article was also published in Med Phoenix (Nepal Journals Online) PS Rajput: A Newborn in Western Nepal with Harlequin Ichthyosis: A Case Report (https://doi.org/10.3126/medphoenix.v7i1.43941). This article was published on 19th August 2022. As per our policies on retraction, the corresponding author was contacted by the F1000 Editorial Team for an explanation. The corresponding author confirmed that the same article had been published on Med Phoenix and acknowledged that they should have withdrawn their article from F1000Research prior to submitting to Med Phoenix. The decision was made by the F1000 Editorial Team to retract this article, due to the duplicate publication and the need to correct the scientific record. Med Phoenix was contacted by the F1000 Editorial Team to make them aware of this retraction. All authors have seen a copy of this retraction notice. We are aware concerns have been raised by some co-authors about the listing of their names in the authorship list.
Educational migration to the Russian Federation: the role in the development of the higher education system
Authors: Lebedeva Tamara
Published: March 2024

The monograph assesses the role of educational migration in the development of the higher education system in the Russian Federation. The characteristics of the modern system of Russian higher education, functioning in the conditions of internationalization of the educational environment, are presented. The modern features of the export of Russian educational services are described in detail. It is noted that international educational migration contributes to the preservation and expansion of the contingent of students in Russian universities, maintaining and expanding the employment of teaching staff, obtaining direct cash income from tuition fees and social services for foreign students. Particular attention is paid to the characterization of negative manifestations from the point of view of Russia's national security. On the basis of the research, the problems of the development of the higher education system of the Russian Federation in the context of an increase in the volume of international educational migration were identified, and measures were proposed, the implementation of which will contribute to the formation of a positive image of Russian universities in the global educational services market and attract new groups of foreign citizens to study.
The materials of the monograph may be of interest to a wide range of readers: sociologists, demographers, economists, representatives of state authorities whose interests include the management of educational migration and the development of the Russian higher education system, as well as students, graduate students, young scientists and university professors.
Photometrical observations and shape modeling of space debris in medium Earth orbits
Authors: Korobtsev Ivan , Mishina Marina , Karavaev Yurii , Eselevich Maxim , Goryashin Vladimir
Published: March 2024

The circular medium Earth orbits with a period of about half a day in the inclination range from 50° to 70° are used by various global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as GLONASS, GPS, Beidou, Galileo. GNSS operating orbits are one of the important areas in near-Earth space. The information about the space debris (SD) existing in this region and its characteristics is important for risk assessments and mitigation. We report the results of photometrical observations of SD objects in the vicinity of GNSS orbits obtained with the 1.6-meter AZT-33IK telescope of ISTP SB RAS Sayan Solar Observatory in 2018–2023. We show how SD objects existing in this region are distributed relative to GNSS objects. We derive time and phase dependences of the apparent brightness of all measured SD objects. Folded light curves are constructed, rotation periods and their dynamics are determined. The results of modeling the light curve inherent for several SD objects from the GNSS orbital are presented. We suggest a possible space object shape and parameters of proper rotation, which correspond to the observed light curve.
Ergodic Control of Bipartite Matching Queues with Class Change and Matching Failure
Authors: Khademi Amin , Liu Xin
Published: March 2024

Motivated by transplant applications, we study a bipartite matching queue with multiclass customers and multitype resources. Customers may change their classes or abandon the system while waiting in queue, and they may decline the offered resource units which results in matching failure. We are interested in designing efficient instantaneous matching policies that allocate resources upon arrival to waiting customers. Our objective is bicriteria and formulated as a cost functional that linearly combines the long-run average expected reward due to successful matches and the long-run average expected cost from customer waiting and abandonment. We first develop a stability condition on the class change and abandonment rates, which requires at least one customer queue with abandonment and that any queue without abandonment have a class transition path to a queue with abandonment. Under this condition, we construct a simple linear program, referred to as the fluid control problem (FCP), which serves as a lower bound for the original stochastic control problem under any admissible policy. We then propose a randomized matching policy based on the solution of the FCP and show that the proposed policy is asymptotically optimal under both the long-run average and ergodic cost criteria. In addition, we apply our method to study two X matching models with two customer classes and two resource types to provide insights on how the class change and matching failure impact the optimal policies.
Elastomeric, fillable infusion pumps: an overview for clinical practice
Authors: Barton Andrew , Fisher Ed , Rees-Milton Martin
Published: March 2024

Due to advances in elastomeric pump technology, there are now devices available that can be filled with intravenous (IV) therapy at the bed or chair side. These devices are safe, reliable and enable the patient to be mobile when having their infusion. The Surefuser™+ elastomeric infusion pump is available in multiple configurations and allows patients to remain independent and receive IV therapy infusions in their own homes. The pump can also be used in the acute healthcare setting where traditional electronic infusion pumps may not be available. This article provides an overview of the Surefuser+ elastomeric infusion pump, its features and mode of action and how it can be used in clinical practice.
Continual risk management – getting the basics right
Authors: Guegan Robert
Published: March 2024

The threats to organisations are now so many and so complex that it's no longer adequate simply to react to them. And achieving a level of cyber security isn't enough either – you have to maintain that standard, and constantly revise and improve it. This is where continual risk management comes into play – providing a process by which you can ensure your defences are current and up to the task.
Cloud security: sharing is caring
Authors: Walsham Martin
Published: March 2024

When it comes to the security of data in the cloud, everyone has a part to play. Cloud service providers can only do so much, and it is the responsibility of the data owners to secure the parts that the service providers can't reach. This has led to the development of the shared responsibility model (SRM).
The Relationship Between Leaders' Psychological Capital and Organizational Outcomes: A Crossover Model
Authors: Birani-Nasraldin Dalia , Somech Anit , Bogler Ronit
Published: March 2024

The study investigated the potential role of human resources exemplified by leaders' psychological capital (PsyCap) as a resource that may cross over to team-member exchange (TMX), and bring about desired organizational outcomes. We suggest a model where TMX of senior management teams serves as a team resource mediating the relationship between leaders’ PsyCap and organizational outcomes, as represented by team innovation, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and employees’ job satisfaction. The study, carried out among 86 elementary and junior high schools, indicated a positive relationship between leaders’ PsyCap and TMX. In addition, we found a significant relationship between TMX and the three measures of organizational outcomes. Furthermore, TMX partially mediated the relationship between leaders’ PsyCap and the desired outcomes, excepting innovation. The findings provide support for the importance of the leaders’ personal resource of psychological capital as a complementary perspective that may enhance our understanding of leadership’s impact on organizational success. In addition, the study provides significant support for the expanded model, broadening the definition of the crossover model by examining the translation of positive resources from leaders' PsyCap to organizational outcomes via teams' positive resources. From a practical perspective, the findings bring to the forefront the importance of psychological capital as a state-like construct that can be developed through leader preparation and professional development programs.
Inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Perceptions of Teachers
Authors: Aseery Fahad , Alasmari Ali
Published: March 2024

Abstract: The researchers investigated how teachers perceive the inclusion of deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) students in mainstream classrooms in Saudi Arabia. They also examined how teachers' perception of this inclusion is influenced by their position (as a teacher in special or mainstream education). The researchers collected 196 teacher responses using an existing online survey (partly open-ended). They found that, overall, teachers in Saudi Arabia had slightly negative perceptions of teaching D/hh students in mainstream classrooms. But their teaching position did not seem to influence their perceptions. The researchers recommend that efforts be made to reduce negative perceptions of inclusion as a teaching practice in Saudi Arabia. Teachers working with D/hh children in mainstream schools should receive enough training to work successfully with these students. Awareness should be raised of inclusion's benefits and how inclusion differs from mainstream education.
What Comes after #StopAsianHate? Asian American Feminist Speculation
Authors: Lee Abigail Jinju
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Growing Asian American abolition feminisms is a practice not only of politics, organizing, and struggle, but of imagination, and speculative fiction and poetry can work to inspire and sustain such imaginations. Speculative and experimental works also challenge conventions of literary realism in Asian American literature, opening generic and imaginative possibilities for Asian American feminist politics. Responding to the threats of police violence and of racialized violence against Asian North American women, Franny Choi’s queer feminist cyborg poetics open space beyond the violences of the human, and Kai Cheng Thom’s Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir bends space and time to join trans women’s community together in ease and safety. Vandana Singh’s utopias of the third kind locate utopic thinking in the struggles of oppressed and racialized people to build and sustain community through slowness and connection. Together, these speculations consider Asian American feminist futurities and what ways of being-otherwise we can share in the present and future, shaped by connection, community, and care, rather than urgency, scarcity, and fear. Analyzing how these works respond to violence and crisis, this article describes abolitionist possibilities for Asian American feminisms that respond to anti-Asian and state violence by seeking other genres of human life and rejecting linear notions of progress. Instead, these texts cultivate connection and community in the present as a project of shaping Asian American utopic visions, rethinking utopia not as a vision of future perfection, but an ethic of embracing and negotiating change, difference, and multiplicity.
We Want Cop-Free Communities: Against the Creation of an Asian Hate Crime Task Force by the NYPD
Authors: Feminist Asian
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This is a statement published by the Asian American Feminist Collective in August 2020 against the creation of an Asian hate crime task force in the New York City Police Department. Signed by other local New York City and national organizations, this statement highlights ways that the task force will not make communities safer, but instead put communities (especially the most vulnerable) at greater risk.
Polish politeness markers as a window into person-feature valuation
Authors: Kučerová Ivona , Szczegielniak Adam
Published: March 2024

abstract: This paper presents novel evidence for Polish nominals being phases. The core of the argument comes from the interaction between the size of a nominal domain and the corresponding person-feature valuation. While an n P-size nominal structure only exhibits feature valuation within the narrow-syntax module, the DP-size nominal structure exhibits interface feature interactions. Since interface interactions can only arise during spell-out, the corresponding nominal domain, i.e., DP, must be a phase and D must be a phase head that triggers spell-out. The empirical focus of this paper is on a syntactic variation in the domain of politeness markers in Polish ( pan .m/ pani .f).
Inferring stress placement variability from a poetic corpus
Authors: Piperski Alexander , Kukhto Anton
Published: March 2024

abstract: In this paper, we analyse stress placement variation in the Poetic subcorpus of the Russian National Corpus. We measure the extent of variation observed in the data and show that the rate of stress variation in poetry written in Modern Russian has been declining since the middle of the 19th century. We suggest that variation observed in poetry reflects variation in the language overall, although this link requires much further investigation. Nevertheless, we maintain that poetry is a useful resource in the investigation of stress placement, especially when other resources are not available.
A low applicative analysis of External Possession in Russian
Authors: Shushurin Philip
Published: March 2024

abstract: The paper proposes a low applicative analysis of two constructions with external possessors: namely, dative and PP external possessors headed by the preposition u . I argue that external possessors are merged by a low applicative head immediately above the DP containing the possessee. External possessors may either remain in situ or move to a subject position if there is no higher argument in the clause. I show that dative external possessors can only be licensed in the presence of an Accusative phrase; PP possessors need not be licensed and have a freer distribution. Furthermore, I argue against movement and high applicative analyses of Russian external possessors.
Genitive-accusative case alternation in Russian: Exploring the role of definiteness and existential commitment
Authors: Vaikšnoraitė Elena
Published: March 2024

abstract: In Russian, the direct object of a transitive verb is canonically accusative case-marked. Under sentential negation, the direct object can be accusative or genitive case-marked. There is a long standing debate about whether this case alternation is semantically conditioned. This paper reports on an experiment designed to test whether this case alternation is influenced by definiteness and/or existential commitment. While these predictions were not borne out, this experiment identified three sources of variability in the acceptability of genitive case: i) participant effect; ii) age effect, iii) verb’s effect. These findings provide empirical support for an ongoing language change in Russian, whereby the accusative is becoming the default case under negation. These findings also have implications for further investigations and empirically adequate analyses of Genitive of Negation.
Narrow-bandwidth tunable optical filter stabilized by Newton’s rings fringe analysis
Authors: KC Raju Bhai , Flagg Edward B.
Published: March 2024

The resolution of grating spectrometers is insufficient to resolve many
features present in the emission spectra of solid-state quantum
emitters. Spectral resolution may be improved by inserting a
Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) whose length is tuned by a
piezoelectric actuator. Yet piezo creep and thermal fluctuations cause
instability that makes this solution unsuitable for measurement times
longer than tens of seconds. To overcome this challenge, we employ
active feedback derived from the Newton’s rings interference pattern
formed by the reflection of a single-frequency laser from the FPI
cavity. The resulting FPI transmission frequency is stable to within
50 MHz over several hours.
Reflective microring-resonator-based microwave photonic sensor incorporating a self-attention assisted convolutional neural network
Authors: Chen Yeming , Tian Xiaoyi , Sved Joel , Li Liwei , Zhou Luping , Nguyen Linh , Yi Xiaoke
Published: March 2024

In this paper, a reflective microring resonator (MRR)-based microwave photonic (MWP) sensor incorporating a self-attention convolutional neural network (CNN) is presented. An MRR cascaded with an inverse-designed optical reflector is adopted as the sensor probe to allow for utilizing the responses generated from both the clockwise and counterclockwise resonant modes. Through the MWP interrogation, the cascaded resonant modes can be transformed into distinctive deep radio-frequency (RF) spectral notches under different modulator bias conditions. By using a self-attention assisted CNN processing to leverage both the local and global features of the RF spectra, a sensing model with improved accuracy can be established. As a proof of concept, the proposed scheme is experimentally demonstrated in temperature sensing. Even with a small dataset, the root-mean-square error of the sensing model established after training is achieved at 0.026°C, which shows a 10-fold improvement in sensing accuracy compared to that of the traditional linear fitting model.
Enhanced properties of the mid-infrared superluminescent emitter with a composite waveguide
Authors: Liu Ying , Jiang Tao , Zhan Zhiqiang , Wang Xuemin , Luo Jiawen , Liu Chengxu , Li Jia , Chen Fengwei , Peng Liping , Wu Weidong
Published: March 2024

This study reports on a composite structure composing tilted taper, and tilted and curved waveguides with the aim of enhancing the spectral width and output power of mid-infrared quantum cascade superluminescent emitters (QC-SLEs). The computational results indicate that a tilt angle of 10° and a curved angle of 20° can avoid the selectivity of a certain wavelength due to interference effects at tilt angles of 6° and 8°, resulting in the minimum reflectivity of 1.3×10−4 and 4.4×10−4 for each wide and narrow cavity surface. Simultaneously, the modes propagating perpendicular to the cavity surface exist the least. The corresponding experimental results show a significant enhancement in the spectral width to 168.5cm−1 and a high power output of 5.1 mW for the device. This study presents what we believe to be a novel concept for the designing of superluminescent emitters with both a broadband and high power output.
Improving ranging performance of SiPM LiDAR in low SNR conditions through an echo processing method and laser pulse modulation
Authors: Li Chong , Zeng Yinong , Zhu Caihui , Yi Zihan , Zhao Hui , Qiu Jian , Tang Yu Mei , Liu Kefu
Published: March 2024

Due to its numerous advantages such as high gain and low operating bias, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) holds great potential in LiDAR applications. However, it is more jittery at weak echoes and more sensitive to ambient light, making its ranging performance at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) severely deteriorated. To enhance the ranging performance of SiPM LiDAR under low SNR, a novel echo processing method, to the best of our knowledge, was proposed based on the statistical property of SiPM responses and validated under relatively intensive sunlight (>50klx) using a self-developed LiDAR system. At the same time, laser pulse width modulation and multi-pulse laser emission are used in ranging experiments to maximize the advantages of this method. It has shown that increasing the laser pulse width within a certain range can improve ranging performance, and that emitting multiple laser pulses improves ranging performance more significantly. Utilizing a three-pulse laser with a peak power of only 3.2 W, a target 122 m away was ranged with a precision of 6.53 cm with only five accumulations.
Multi-laser source interference suppression using the time-coding method for SPAD-based flash DToF systems
Authors: Sun Minghao , Wang Huazhen , Xu Jiangtao , Nie Kaiming
Published: March 2024

Flash-type direct time-of-flight (DToF) image sensors use an in-pixel successive approximation register time-to-digital converter (SAR TDC) for time quantization. However, in a scene where multiple DToF systems exist simultaneously, different laser signals from multiple sources will produce mutual signal interference between DToF systems, causing the DToF system’s incorrect measurement. In this paper, we present a method called time coding, which inserts delay time bins between different working periods to suppress the interference laser together with the SAR TDC. The time-coding method is designed using a 110 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and verified by behavioral model and circuit simulation. Regardless of traditional systems or systems equipped with time coding, DToF systems with certain patterns of time coding can reduce interference noise by at least 95%, maintaining a measurement accuracy of 99% or higher at long distances.
Time-Varying Artificial Photonic Metastructures: introduction to the special issue
Authors: Ramaccia Davide , Silveirinha Mário , Hadad Yakir , Asadchy Viktar , Prudêncio Filipa R.
Published: March 2024

Time-varying metamaterials are currently at the forefront of research, offering immense possibilities for intriguing wave manipulation. In this Feature Issue, we provide a collection of the most recent results on time-varying artificial photonic metastructures, together with the review paper on the general properties of time-varying dispersive materials and an opinion paper on the topic from A. Boltasseva, V.M. Shalaev and M. Segev.
Multi-scale tissue fluorescence mapping with fiber optic ultraviolet excitation and generative modeling
Authors: Ang Joel Lang Yi , Tan Ko Hui , Yong Alexander Si Kai , Tan Chiyo Wan Xuan , Kng Jessica Sze Jia , Tan Cyrus Jia Jun , Soh Rachael Hui Kie , Tan Julian Yi Hong , Liang Kaicheng
Published: March 2024

Cellular imaging of thick samples requires physical sectioning or laser scanning microscopy, which can be restrictive, involved, and generally incompatible with high-throughput requirements. We developed fiber optic microscopy with ultraviolet (UV) surface excitation (FUSE), a portable and quantitative fluorescence imaging platform for thick tissue that enabled quick sub-cellular imaging without thin sections. We substantially advanced prior UV excitation approaches with illumination engineering and computational methods. Optical fibers delivered <300nm light with directional control, enabling unprecedented 50× widefield imaging on thick tissue with sub-nuclear clarity, and 3D topography of surface microstructure. Probabilistic modeling of high-magnification images using our normalizing flow architecture FUSE-Flow (made freely available as open-source software) enhanced low-magnification imaging with measurable localized uncertainty via variational inference. Comprehensive validation comprised multi-scale fluorescence histology compared with standard H&E histology, and quantitative analyses of senescence, antibiotic toxicity, and nuclear DNA content in tissue models via efficient sampling of thick slices from entire murine organs up to 0.4×8×12mm and 1.3 million cells per surface. This technology addresses long-standing laboratory gaps in high-throughput studies for rapid cellular insights.
Experimental demonstration of an all-optical NOT logic gate based on combined Brillouin gain and loss in an optical fiber
Authors: Williams Daisy
Published: March 2024

An all-optical NOT logic gate, based on combined Brillouin gain and loss in an optical fiber, has been experimentally demonstrated. An input (IN) to the NOT gate is a probe wave, which is a combination of a Stokes and anti-Stokes waves, and the output (OUT) is a pump wave. The probe and pump waves undergo a combined Brillouin gain and loss interaction in an optical fiber of 20.56 km length, which enables the switching mechanism of the NOT gate. A switching contrast of 43-45% has been achieved when the power of the input probe wave was decreased from 1.4 mW to 30 µW, yielding an increasing power of the output pump wave from 0.75 mW to 1.4 mW. The experimental results are in line with previously published theoretical simulations of the all-optical NOT logic gate.
Students’ experience of interpersonal interactions quality in e-Learning: A qualitative research
Authors: Mojtahedzadeh Rita , Hasanvand Shirin , Mohammadi Aeen , Malmir Sahar , Vatankhah Mehdi
Published: March 2024

Background

Online Interaction is a critical characteristic of distance learning, and effective online communication models empower students.

Purpose

This research aimed to explain students’ experiences on the quality of interpersonal interactions in e-learning.

Method

This study was conducted from November 2021 to October 2022. The qualitative descriptive design via conventional content analysis was utilized. Purposeful and maximum variation methods recruited sixteen participants from three medical science universities in Iran. The data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth, face-to-face, or online interviews. Interviews were recorded through a digital recorder, and analysis was achieved simultaneously with data collection using Graneheim and Lundman (2004). The Lincoln and Guba criteria, including credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability, were used to improve the trustworthiness of the findings.

Results

The results indicated the importance of different dimensions related to teaching-learning. It seems crucial to develop a comfortable and safe environment to improve interpersonal interactions. Educators should be provided with pedagogical skills to support interactions. In addition, focusing on some learners’ soft skills is also vital. In addition to the significance of the teacher’s inclusive role, the educational content must have critical standards. Constructive feedback and the proper use of simultaneous and non-simultaneous communication tools and social networks are other important issues in strengthening interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, comprehensive and ongoing support of learners improves the quality of interpersonal interactions.

Conclusions

The results indicated the significance of different dimensions of teaching-learning as facilitating factors of interpersonal interactions. The proper use of simultaneous and non-simultaneous communication tools and social networks are other important issues in strengthening interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, comprehensive and ongoing support of learners improves the quality of interpersonal interactions.

Implications

The results of this study give teachers the insight to keep essential issues in mind when developing their online courses and students to be aware of their roles in the online learning process. Also, the characteristics of simultaneous and non-synchronous platforms, social messaging networks, and learner support are crucial.
Can biased search results change people’s opinions about anything at all? a close replication of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME)
Authors: Epstein Robert , Li Ji
Published: March 2024

In previous experiments we have conducted on the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME), we have focused on the ability of biased search results to shift voting preferences. In three new experiments with a total of 1,137 US residents (mean age = 33.2), we sought to determine whether biased search rankings could shift people’s opinions on topics that do not involve candidates or elections. Each of the new experiments looked at a different topic, and participants were pre-screened to make sure they didn’t have strong opinions about these topics. The topics were: Is artificial intelligence useful or dangerous? Is fracking helpful or dangerous? And: Are people born gay or do they choose to be gay? All participants were first asked various demographic questions, then shown brief summaries of the “pro” and “anti” views on each topic, and then asked their opinions about each topic. Next, participants were allowed to conduct an online search using our mock search engine (Kadoodle) lasting up to 15 minutes. In each experiment, one-third of the participants saw biased search results favoring one perspective; one-third saw biased search results favoring the opposing perspective; and one-third (the control group) saw mixed search results. After completing their search, participants were again asked for their opinions about the topic. Our primary dependent variable was Manipulation Power (MP), the percentage increase in the number of participants favoring one viewpoint after having viewed search rankings favoring that viewpoint. The MPs in the three experiments were 25.0%, 30.9%, and 17.8%, respectively. Corresponding shifts were also found for how persuasive participants found each viewpoint to be and for how much they trusted each viewpoint. We conclude that search rankings favoring one viewpoint on a wide range of topics might be able to cause people who have not yet formulated a strong opinion on such topics to adopt the favored perspective. If our findings prove to be robust, we are exposing what might be considered an unforeseen consequence of the creation of search engines, namely that even without human interference, search algorithms will inevitably alter the thinking and behavior of billions of people worldwide on perhaps any topic for which they have not yet formed strong opinions.
The impact of food insecurity on mental health among older adults residing in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
Authors: Osei-Owusu Cornelius , Dhillon Satveer , Luginaah Isaac
Published: March 2024

Over the past few years, food insecurity has been increasing globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, economic downturns and conflict and a number of other intersecting factors. Older adults residing in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to food insecurity. While the impacts of food insecurity on physical health outcomes have been thoroughly researched, the effect on mental health outcomes remains under-researched, especially among older adults. Hence, this systematic review aims to investigate existing literature to assess how food insecurity impacts the mental health of older persons residing in LMICs. A systematic search of six databases and Google for studies was conducted. The search was limited to studies written in English and published between 2000 to the present. We identified 725 studies, out of which 40 studies were selected for a full-text review and 12 studies were included for a final analysis. The significant finding in all the included studies was that food insecurity is associated with the worsening mental health of older adults. We also found a complex interplay of factors such as gender, age, rural/urban and health conditions associated with the aggravation of several mental health outcomes. The findings of this study illuminate the need for improved food programs to improve food security and, consequently, mental health among older adults.
The curation of artists’ film and video and distinction-making processes: Tate as a case study
Authors: Fabrizi Elisabetta
Published: March 2024

This article examines the significant changes in the curation of artists’ film and video that occurred at Tate from the mid-1990s. The events taking place in this publicly funded museum, which holds the United Kingdom’s national collection of modern and contemporary art on behalf of the state, are weaved together with the development of the advocacy work in favour of artists’ film and video by US collectors Pamela and Richard Kramlich. The analysis aims to better define the role of private global economic capital in shaping curatorial approaches within state-funded national institutions and, in turn, within the distinction-making processes that lead to social reproduction. Attention is given to how artists’ film and videos, despite their often progressive content and ephemeral nature, in their passage from cinema/television to the gallery, have not escaped the distinction-making role fulfilled by other more traditional art forms, thus contributing to the persistence of class distinctions.
Appropriately eclectic: Music technology and popular music education
Authors: Bell Adam Patrick , Adu-Gilmore Leila
Published: March 2024

Editors of the Special Issue on music technology and popular music education, adam patrick bell and Leila Adu-Gilmore, discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd on global society to contextualize the period in which the articles in the issue were written. They suggest that popular music education can be a vehicle to examine inclusive musical practices. bell and Adu-Gilmore detail that in their original call for papers they wanted to avoid defining the term ‘music technology’ with the hope that authors would interpret and define music technology in diverse and/or new ways. They remark that the Special Issue is appropriately eclectic and reflective of how music technology is perceived and practised at present in popular music education contexts, and then provide a brief overview of the seven articles that comprise the Special Issue.
Impacts of sequencing existing music using a digital audio workstation on creating original music
Authors: Hughes Nick
Published: March 2024

The English A-level assessment system between 2000 and 2018 was a modular design split in two: the AS year and the A2 year. The music technology A-level had three coursework tasks, including a ‘sequenced realized performance’ (SRP) where students recreated songs in a digital audio workstation (DAW). The Department for Education (DfE) introduced more rigorous GCSE and A-level specifications throughout 2016–19 to raise standards, and there was a clearer emphasis on examined components and a move away from coursework-based assessments. As part of this, the SRP task was removed from the assessment. In response, the research question of this article is: what do students learn about composing and production when sequencing non-original music? Findings suggest recreating existing music embeds better critical listening skills, which then feed back into students’ own productions. It also teaches the technical aspect of learning how a DAW works and common contemporary techniques used within one.
Direct-to-trans: Aloma and proto-queer VCR technologies of gender in 1980s Greece
Authors: Kassaveti Ursula-Helen
Published: March 2024

This article seeks to reflect how a minority group takes advantage of new media, such as the videocassette recorder (VCR), to self-represent and identify. In particular, it follows the late Aloma (1948–2015), a middle-aged Greek transgender woman who, in the late 1980s, produced and directed three direct-to-video porn films. While foreign trans visibility at that same time was relatively small as well, this was the first time a transgender person and non-professional person in Greek media history was involved in the flowering local video circuit. Accordingly, this article argues that such an initiative broke older preconceptions of gender representation in the vernacular cultural industry of the time and that alternative pornography acted as an emancipative medium, providing positive trans images for various audiences.
La integración de los judeoconversos en la sociedad cristiana en la región soriana en los siglos XV y XVI
Authors: Diago Hernando Máximo
Published: March 2024

Los judeoconversos llegaron a alcanzar un elevado número en la Corona de Castilla durante los siglos XV y XVI como consecuencia de las muchas conversiones que se produjeron después de los disturbios antijudíos de 1391 y de la publicación del decreto de expulsión de los judíos en 1492. En el presente trabajo se presta atención al proceso de su integración en la sociedad cristiana para comprobar en qué medida sufrieron algún tipo de discriminación por su origen judío. Se centra para ello en un pequeño territorio, el del sector oriental de la Corona, fronterizo con los reinos de Aragón y Navarra, y más en particular en sus cuatro principales núcleos urbanos: Soria, Ágreda y Almazán. Diferencia entre los conversos de antes de 1492 y los que se convirtieron después de esta fecha, aportando información para su identificación, y conocer su política de concertación de matrimonios. Informa sobre sus trayectorias políticas tanto en la Corte como en el ámbito urbano, su acceso al regimiento y su papel en el Común de pecheros. Da cuenta de su incorporación a las instituciones eclesiásticas, su presencia en la Corte romana, y en los cabildos de catedrales y colegiata. Informa, por fin, sobre sus principales fundaciones piadosas (conventos y capillas). Utiliza una amplia gama de documentos, tanto publicados como inéditos, procedentes del Archivo General de Simancas, el de la Chancillería de Valladolid, el Histórico Nacional en su sección Inquisición, el Diocesano de Cuenca en su sección Inquisición, y los protocolos notariales del Archivo Histórico Provincial de Soria.