bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Loaded Alkali Metals on the Structural, Basicity and Catalytic Activity of Zeolite Beta
Authors: Wong Kah Man , Ramli Zainab , Nur Hadi
Published: March 2024

Zeolit beta diubahsuai dengan memasukkan logam alkali (Na,K,Cs) kepada zeolit melalui kaedah pengisitepuan basah. Kehadiran logam alkali ini telah menurunkan kehabluran dan luas permukaan BET zeolit beta menurut keputusan pencirian sampel melalui XRD, IR dan penjerapan nitrogen. Bingkaian zeolit musnah pada muatan Na dan K, > 8%w/w. Sebaliknya kepekatan tapak bes meningkat seperti yang dibuktikan daripada peningkatan penjerapan CO2 dengan kaedah TPDâ€“CO2 dengan peningkatan amaun muatan logam. Aktiviti mangkin sampel yang diubahsuai diuji dalam tindak balas nyahhidratanâ€“nyahhidrogenan sikloheksanol. Kepilihan sikloheksanon yang terhasil pada tapak bes zeolit beta meningkat dengan peningkatan kebesan, yang seterusnya menahan kepilihan terhadap sikloheksena terhasil di tapak asid zeolit. Namun, sikloheksena masih lagi merupakan hasil utama disebabkan sifat asid zeolit beta yang lebih dominan. Nisbah sikloheksena kepada sikloheksanon berubahâ€“ubah dengan peningkatan muatan logam alkali.

Kata kunci: zeolit Beta berbes, logam alkali, kebesan, nyahhidratan-nyahhidrogenan sikloheksano

Zeolite Beta was modified by incorporation of an alkali metal (Na, K, Cs) through wet impregnation method. The incorporation of the base guests has reduced the crystallinity and BET surface area of zeolite Beta, as evidence by XRD, IR and nitrogen adsorption characterizations. The framework structure was totally collapsed at > 8%w/w loading of Na and K. Nevertheless, the concentration of base sites (basicity) was enhanced as evidence by the increase in the amount of desorbed CO2 in TPDâ€“CO2 as the amount of metal loading increases. The catalytic activity of the modified samples was tested in dehydrationâ€“dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol. Selectivity of cyclohexanone that is produced on base sites of zeolite Beta increased with the increase in the basicity, consequently suppressed the selectivity of cyclohexene produced at acidic sites. Cyclohexene was obtained as the dominant product due to the dominant acidic properties of zeolite Beta. The ratio of cyclohexene to cyclohexanone varies with the increase in the metal loading.

Key words: Base zeolite Beta, alkali metal, basicity, dehydration-dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol
Wideband Lâ€“Probe fed Inverted Hybrid Eâ€“H Microstrip Patch Antennas for IMTâ€“2000 Band
Authors: Abdul Rashid Zainol Abidin , Ng Kok Jiunn , Tariqul Islam Mohammad
Published: March 2024

Kertas kerja ini menyampaikan antena mikrostrip tampal baru berjalur lebar bentuk hibrid Eâ€“H tersongsang tersuap probâ€“L (LIEH) yang merangkumi jalur International Mobile Telecommunications â€“ 2000 (IMIâ€“2000). Reka bentuk ini menggunakan teknik terkini; penyuapan probâ€“L struktur tampal tersongsang dengan substratum udara, dan tampal penyinar beralur. Kesan komposit dengan mengintegrasi teknik ini dengan penggunaan bentuk tampal hibrid Eâ€“H, menawarkan ciriâ€“ciri berprofil rendah, berjalur lebar luas, gandaan tinggi, pengutuban silang rendah, dan elemen antena yang padat. Keputusan pengukuran adalah memuaskan dengan pencapaian lebar jalur 17.20% pada kehilangan kembali 14 dB (SWR = 1.5), gandaan maksimum 8 dBi dengan variasi gandaan 1 dB, dan pengkutuban silang 23 dB di bawah aras cuping utama. Tampal LIEH mempunyai dimensi yang padat iaitu 79 Ã— 41 mm2. Reka bentuk ini sesuai bagi aplikasi tatasusun terutamanya bagi antena stesen tapak IMTâ€“2000.

Kata kunci: IMT-2000, antena jalurlebar luas, antena tampal mikrostrip, antena tampal bentuk E-H, suapan prob-L

This paper presents a novel wideband Lâ€“probe fed inverted hybrid Eâ€“H shaped microstrip patch antenna (LIEH) covering the International Mobile Telecommunications â€“ 2000 (IMTâ€“2000) band. The design adopts contemporary techniques; Lâ€“probe feeding, inverted patch structure with airâ€“filled dielectric, and slotted patch. The composite effect of integrating these techniques and introducing the novel Eâ€“H patch shaped offers a low profile, broadband, high gain, low crosspolarization, and compact antenna element. Measurement result showed satisfactory performance with an achievable bandwidth of 17.20% at 14 dB return loss (SWR = 1.5), maximum achievable gain of 8 dBi with 1 dB gain variations, and crosspolarization level of 23 dB below the main lobe level. The LIEH patch has a compact dimension of 79 Ã— 41 mm2. The design is suitable for array applications especially for IMTâ€“2000 base station antenna.

Key words: IMT-2000, broadband antenna, microstrip patch antenna, E-H shaped patch antenna, L-probe fed
Optical Waveguide Modelling Based on Scalar Finite Difference Scheme
Authors: Mohd. Kassim Norazan , Mohammad Abu Bakar , Ibrahim Mohd. Haniff
Published: March 2024

Pemodelan pandu gelombang optik telah dilakukan dengan kaedah berangka berasaskan pembezaan skalar terhingga menggunakan peraturcaraan MATLABÂ®. Perbandingan dengan kaedah-kaedah lain telah dijalankan bagi menilai kebolehupayaannya dalam pemodelan tersebut. Keputusan perbandingan menunjukkan ciri-ciri kualitatif yang sama antara kaedah-kaedah tersebut. Prestasi kaedah ini juga telah dinilai berdasarkan kepada kerumitan pengiraan, saiz jaring dan kesan faktor cepatan. Kerumitan pengiraan boleh dikurangkan dengan menambahkan saiz jaring tetapi ini akan menambahkan ralat pengiraan. Masalah ini boleh diatasi dengan memperkenalkan faktor cepatan iaitu parameter SOR. Ditunjukkan bahawa julat SOR di antara 1.3 dan 1.7 akan menghasilkan masa pengiraan yang lebih singkat dan keputusan simulasi yang lebih konsisten.

Kata kunci: Gelombang optik, pemodelan pandu gelombang, kaedah berangka berasaskan pembezaan skalar

A numerical method based on scalar finite difference scheme was adopted and programmed on MATLABÂ® platform for optical waveguide modeling purpose. Comparisons with other established methods in terms of normalized propagation constant were included to verify its applicability. The comparison results obtained were proven to have the same qualitative behaviour. Furthermore, the performances were evaluated in terms of computation complexity, mesh size, and effect of acceleration factor. Computation complexity can be reduced by increasing the mesh size which will then produce more error. The problem can be rectified by introducing the acceleration factor, Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) parameter. It shows that SOR range between 1.3 and 1.7 can give shorter computation time, while producing constant value of simulation results.

Key words: Optical waveguide, waveguide modelling, finite difference technique, successive over relaxation
CMDQ, A TOOL FOR PAIN SENSATION SOLUTION FOR ERGONOMIC POSTURAL ASSESSMENT DURING PRACTICAL LABORATORY WORK
Authors: Salleh Khairul Fahzan , Mohd Fadzil Syazwani , Md Daud Mohd Yusof
Published: March 2024

Human activity in the technical education sector, particularly practical activities such as workshop work, is stressful and tiring, with existence of risk and hazard. Previous studies have been conducted to assess postural risk factor using score decision during their practical work in workshop. Hence, this study adopts a Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires (CMDQ) as a solution tool aims for students involve in practical activity. Respondent (n = 5) are consisting of students attend welding practice throughout the semester. The respondent was given a detailed CMDQ questionnaire for student to measure the level of discomfort while doing their practical task. Frequency of occurrence, discomfort, and working capability, will be combined to create total CMDQ scores. Additional of individual interviews were utilized to quantify pain emotions and explore the frequency of discomfort. The finding shows that respondents are having the pain sensation after their practical work. This indicates that the student version of CMDQ is a feasible tool to assess ergonomic postural risk during practical laboratory work.
Rotor design optimization of a 4000 rpm permanent magnet synchronous generator using moth flame optimization algorithm
Authors: Perin Deniz , Karaoglan Aslan Deniz , Yilmaz Kemal
Published: March 2024

The goal of this paper is to optimize the rotor design parameters of 4000 rpm permanent magnet synchronous generator. The factors namely embrace, offset, outer diameter, and magnet thickness are selected as the design parameters those will be optimized in order to hold the magnetic flux density (MFD) distribution and the flux density on stator teeth and stator yoke within a desirable range while maximizing efficiency. The numerical simulations are carried out in the Maxwell environment for this purpose. The mathematical relationships between the responses and the factors are then derived using regression modeling over the simulation data. Following the modeling phase, the moth flame optimization is applied to these regression models to optimize the rotor design parameters. The motivation is determining mathematical relation between the important design parameters of the high speed generator and the measured responses, when standard M530-50A lamination material is used and then to demonstrate the utility of MFO to the readers on this design problem. The optimum factor levels for embrace, offset, outer diameter, and magnet thickness are calculated as 0.68, 30, 161.56, and 8.92 respectively. Additionally, confirmations are done by using Maxwell and the efficiency is calculated as 94.85%, and magnetic distributions are calculated as 1.64, 0.26, and 0.93 Tesla for stator teeth flux density, stator yoke flux density, and MFD; respectively. The results show that the efficiency is maximized and the magnetic distributions are kept within an appropriate range.
Ambientes clínicos de aprendizaje en residencias de especialidades médicas en una institución de tercer nivel de atención
Authors: Lugo Machado Juan Antonio , García Ramírez Patricia Emiliana , Medina Valentón Elizabeth , Méndez Cázares José Aurelio , Pacheco Sánchez Abril Alejandra
Published: March 2024

Durante mucho tiempo, el ambiente clínico de aprendizaje (ACA) ha sido un foco de investigación y esfuerzos de mejora en la educación médica. Objetivo: Evaluar los ACA de una sede hospitalaria. Materiales y métodos: Estudio observacional, transversal, analítico, prospectivo con el instrumento ACA-UNAM-MEX. Se incluyeron variables de edad, sexo, año de residencia, estado civil y especialidad. Se aplicaron medidas de tendencia central y medidas de dispersión, prueba exacta de Fisher para diferencias, tau b de Kendall para correlación y regresión logística bivariada para aclarar variables predictoras. Resultados: Se obtuvieron 135 respuestas, con una edad promedio de 28,72 años. Para el 79,3% las relaciones interpersonales (RI) eran muy restrictivas, para el 78,5% los programas educativos y su implementación (PEyI) eran muy restrictivos, para el 95,6% la cultura institucional (CI) era muy restrictiva y para el 91,1% la dinámica de servicio (DS) era muy restrictiva. Hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre DS y sexo (p = 0,02), DS y especialidad (p = 0,002), CI y especialidad (p = 0,013), PE y año académico (p = 0,202). Al aplicar tau b de Kendall se encontraron correlaciones bajas negativas en la mayoría de las variables. La regresión logística bivariada encontró que estado civil (p = 0,010 y año de residencia (p = 0,000) predecían la percepción de un ambiente más restrictivo (p ≤ 0,05). Conclusión: Aparentemente, los ACA evaluados se encuentran en rangos restrictivos. Hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en DS y sexo, DS y especialidad, CI y especialidad, así como PE y año académico.
A Synergistic Approach Combining Surface Enhancement and Buckling Modes for Improved Axial Crushing Performance of Thin-Walled Tubes
Authors: Alam Shahrukh , Uddin Mohammad , Hall Colin
Published: March 2024

In this study, thin-walled tubes were circumferentially strengthened by plasticity ball burnishing of critical locations determined from buckling mode analysis. Axial crush test results revealed that the surface-treated (ST) tubes increased localized yield strength, attained superior crashworthiness performance, and triggered predictable deformation modes according to the buckling modes of the tubes. Numerical analysis was performed and successfully validated with the experiment at 90% prediction accuracy. The treated tube ST-4 with the 12th buckling mode outperformed a conventional tube with an increase in specific energy absorption (SEA) and crush force efficiency (CFE) by up to 70% while sustaining a low increase in initial peak force (IPF). Furthermore, the tube demonstrated a greater rate of energy dissipation compared to tubes with conventional surface-treated patterns at the same level of surface-treated area. The crashworthiness performance improved as the surface-treated area ratio increased. A theoretical model was developed for the surface-treated tube based on fundamental deformation kinematics, predicting mean crushing force and total energy absorption with acceptable accuracy. The findings strongly suggest that the proposed surface-enhanced tubes have great potential to be used as energy-absorbing structures in crashworthiness applications.
Controlled Stiffness of Direct-Write, Near-Field Electrospun Gelatin Fibers Generates Differences in Tenocyte Morphology and Gene Expression
Authors: Davis Zachary G. , Koch Drew W. , Watson Samantha L. , Scull Grant M. , Brown Ashley C. , Schnabel Lauren V. , Fisher Matthew B.
Published: March 2024

Tendinopathy is a leading cause of mobility issues. Currently, the cell–matrix interactions involved in the development of tendinopathy are not fully understood. In vitro tendon models provide a unique tool for addressing this knowledge gap as they permit fine control over biochemical, micromechanical, and structural aspects of the local environment to explore cell–matrix interactions. In this study, direct-write, near-field electrospinning of gelatin solution was implemented to fabricate micron-scale fibrous scaffolds that mimic native collagen fiber size and orientation. The stiffness of these fibrous scaffolds was found to be controllable between 1 MPa and 8 MPa using different crosslinking methods (EDC, DHT, DHT+EDC) or through altering the duration of crosslinking with EDC (1 h to 24 h). EDC crosslinking provided the greatest fiber stability, surviving up to 3 weeks in vitro. Differences in stiffness resulted in phenotypic changes for equine tenocytes with low stiffness fibers (∼1 MPa) promoting an elongated nuclear aspect ratio while those on high stiffness fibers (∼8 MPa) were rounded. High stiffness fibers resulted in the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) and proteoglycans (possible indicators for tendinopathy) relative to low stiffness fibers. These results demonstrate the feasibility of direct-written gelatin scaffolds as tendon in vitro models and provide evidence that matrix mechanical properties may be crucial factors in cell–matrix interactions during tendinopathy formation.
Analysis of In-Cylinder Flow in a Small-Bore Spark-Ignition Engine Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Zero-Dimensional-Based Modeling
Authors: Chandrakar Chandra Kumar , Ayyanar Kartheeswaran , S Varunkumar , Anand TNC , Mittal Mayank
Published: March 2024

The evolution of in-cylinder flow involves large- and small-scale structures during the intake and compression strokes, significantly influencing the fuel–air mixing and combustion processes. Extensive research has been conducted to investigate the flow evolution in medium- to large-sized engines using laser-based diagnostic methods, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, and zero-dimensional (0D) based modeling. In the present study, we provide a detailed analysis of the evolution of flow fields in a small-bore spark ignition (SI) engine with a displacement volume of 110 cm3. This analysis employs a unique methodology, where CFD simulation is performed and validated using measured particle image velocimetry (PIV) data. Subsequently, the validated CFD results are utilized to develop and validate a 0D-based model as it is computationally more efficient. The validated CFD simulation and 0D-based model are then used to evaluate the quantified strength of the flow by calculating the tumble ratio and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The streamlines and velocity vectors of the flow fields obtained from CFD simulations are utilized to explain the evolution of these parameters during intake and compression strokes. The study is further extended to analyze the effect of engine speed on the evolution of flow fields. With an increase in engine speed, relatively higher values of tumble ratio and TKE at the end of the compression stroke are observed, which is expected to improve the fuel–air mixing and combustion efficiency.
Development of an Anatomically Accurate Three-Dimensional Simulation Model for Pediatric Central Line Placement
Authors: Carver Ashley , Bjorklund Ashley , Broomhead Joseph , Graba Emily , Prabhu Sadhika , Fischer Gwenyth
Published: March 2024

Intensive care unit patients can require a central venous catheter (CVC) which medical trainees often place. The purpose of this study was to create a novel three-dimensional (3D) printed model, based on actual patient anatomy from a de-identified computed tomography (CT) scan, with improved anatomy, tactile properties, and realism beyond current task trainers for pediatric CVC placement simulation. Bakken Center researchers converted CT DICOM slices into a 3D model using multiple computer programs and multiple 3D printers. Faculty of various subspecialties at our institution attempted to place a CVC line into the model and then evaluated the model in 5 categories using an anonymous REDCap survey. Fifteen faculty participated and fourteen completed their survey. Feedback, based on a 0–10 scale with 10 being highest, was as follows: the model's size scored an average of 8.4, the model's tactile properties scored a 6.1, the model's anatomy received a 7.1, the model's perceived usefulness for practicing central line placement received a 7.6, and the model received a 7.6 in regard to whether it should be utilized in procedural training curriculums. Additional comments were collected in the survey and participants requested that the model's blood vessels be fully visible on ultrasound and that the model be firmer. In conclusion, creating a 3D simulation model for pediatric CVC placement is possible.
A New Design Method for Obround Shells
Authors: Jin Yao
Published: March 2024

The design of obround components has been difficult and complex due to the absence of a suitable theoretical solution. Current design codes use empirical formulas based on assumptions to determine the minimum required thickness for obround components. The design process involves iteration. The results obtained are far from accurate. Based on a recently proposed closed-form solution, a new design method for obround components is developed. In the new method, an obround shell is imagined as being stretched laterally from a cylindrical shell or parent cylinder. With the flattened shell increasing, the thickness of the obround shell should increase accordingly, to keep the maximum hoop stress of obround shell consistent with the maximum hoop stress of the parent cylinder. The minimum requested thickness (MRT), of the obround shell is related to the MRT of the parent cylinder and the flattened shell length of the obround shell. Through parametric studies, those relationships are investigated. Empirical expressions are used to describe those relationships. Using the proposed design method, the determination of the MRT of obround members becomes the determination of the MRT of the parent cylinders and additional parameters. The MRT of obround members is determined directly. The case study demonstrates that the proposed method is an efficient and accurate design process for obround members. The use of new method for fitness-for-service was explored. The new method can be used to reassess operational safety in the event of vessel materials' deterioration.
Combustion of Raw Biogas/Hot Air in a Porous Radiant Burner and Performance Prediction Using a Machine Learning Algorithm
Authors: Dash Kishan , Acharya Saroj Kumar , Samantaray Sikata
Published: March 2024

Combustion of raw biogas/hot air was performed in a porous radiant burner associated with a solar heater, and performance was predicted by a linear regression model using a machine learning algorithm. The test was conducted for the combustion of three different compositions of raw biogas mixtures having CO2 percentages of 25%, 30%, and 35% at the thermal load of 200–400 kW/m2. The hot air was supplied at an average temperature of 50 °C from the solar heater air supply system for proper combustion in lean mixture conditions. The porous radiant burner associated with a solar heater has offered radiation efficiency of 15.34–47.93%, NOX of 1–3.1 ppm, and CO of 25–87 ppm for three different compositions of raw biogas mixtures at the thermal load of 200–400 kW/m2 and equivalence ratio of 0.70–0.91. The increased radiation efficiency has indicated that the porous radiant burner can be an alternative for low-calorie fuel like raw biogas. Data analysis and processing have been performed using the machine learning algorithm, and the linear regression model has been developed using the python programming language. The error between predicted and experimentally calculated radiation efficiency is 1.67%.
A Multistage Nonlinear Method for Aeroengine Health Parameter Estimation Based on Adjacent Operating Points
Authors: Liu Kai , Xu Quanyong , Zhu Jihong
Published: March 2024

Health parameter estimation is the core of engine gas path analysis (GPA), which is widely adopted for engine safety improvement, as well as for operation and maintenance cost reduction. The major challenge of GPA lies in the contradiction between the high dimensions of parameters under estimation, e.g., health parameters, and the limited measurements obtainable from a small number of sensors. Existent GPA methods for health parameters commonly apply dimension reduction before estimation, leading to information loss and hence inaccurate estimation. To tackle the challenge of limited sensor measurements and to have more system outputs than parameters under estimation, we proposed to augment the output vector of the system model by combining the measurements from multiple adjacent operating points. But the engine model can face the problem of homogenization if using data from adjacent operating points. This can, in turn, lead to a low identifiability of parameters. We analyze the internal mechanism of such large deviation of the parameter estimation results based on linear models and argue for the need of nonlinear method. Hence, we propose a multistage nonlinear parameter estimation method for health parameters, combining biased and unbiased estimation. In our extensive simulations based on 10 output measurements of a JT9D engine, our method can estimate 130% more parameters than the widely used GPA method, while reducing the maximum estimation error of health parameters from 2.2% to 0.1%.
Experimental study of Ni/TiO2/β-Ga2O3 metal–dielectric–semiconductor diodes using p-NiO junction termination extension
Authors: Williams Jeremiah , Wang Weisong , Hendricks Nolan S. , Adams Aaron , Piel Joshua , Dryden Daniel M. , Liddy Kyle , Sepelak Nicholas , Morell Bradley , Islam Ahmad , Green Andrew
Published: March 2024

This work demonstrates TiO2/β-Ga2O3 metal–dielectric–semiconductor (MDS) diodes with an average breakdown field beyond the material limits of SiC and GaN. These MDS diodes have lower conduction losses and higher breakdown voltage (Vbk) than the cofabricated Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs), simultaneously improving both on- and off-state parameters that are typically in competition with each other. With further optimized field management using p-NiO guard rings (GRs), the Ni/TiO2/β-Ga2O3 MDS diodes present a path to realistically utilize the high critical field of Ga2O3 without large forward conduction losses from a high-barrier junction. MDS diodes showed a lower Von (0.8 V) than the SBDs (1.1 V) from linear extrapolation of the current density-voltage (J-V) curve. The MDS diode had higher Vbk of 1190 V (3.0 MV/cm) compared to 685 V (2.3 MV/cm) for the SBD, and the MDS diode with the p-NiO guard ring saw further improvement with Vbk of 1776 V (3.7 MV/cm) compared to 826 V (2.5 MV/cm) for GR SBD. The BFOM (Vbk2/Ron,sp) of 518 MW/cm2 for the GR HJD is competitive with other literature results. A new figure of merit that includes the impact of turn on voltage is also proposed and demonstrated in this paper, which highlights how diodes perform in a practical high-power operation. This full paper is derived from the proceeding abstract of Willams et al. [IEEE Device Research Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, 25-28 June 2023 (IEEE, New York, 2023)].
ChildAugment: Data augmentation methods for zero-resource children's speaker verification
Authors: Singh Vishwanath Pratap , Sahidullah Md , Kinnunen Tomi
Published: March 2024

The accuracy of modern automatic speaker verification (ASV) systems, when trained exclusively on adult data, drops substantially when applied to children's speech. The scarcity of children's speech corpora hinders fine-tuning ASV systems for children's speech. Hence, there is a timely need to explore more effective ways of reusing adults' speech data. One promising approach is to align vocal-tract parameters between adults and children through children-specific data augmentation, referred here to as ChildAugment. Specifically, we modify the formant frequencies and formant bandwidths of adult speech to emulate children's speech. The modified spectra are used to train emphasized channel attention, propagation, and aggregation in time-delay neural network recognizer for children. We compare ChildAugment against various state-of-the-art data augmentation techniques for children's ASV. We also extensively compare different scoring methods, including cosine scoring, probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA), and neural PLDA. We also propose a low-complexity weighted cosine score for extremely low-resource children ASV. Our findings on the CSLU kids corpus indicate that ChildAugment holds promise as a simple, acoustics-motivated approach, for improving state-of-the-art deep learning based ASV for children. We achieve up to 12.45% (boys) and 11.96% (girls) relative improvement over the baseline. For reproducibility, we provide the evaluation protocols and codes here.
The Sleep, Anxiety, Mood, and Cognitive Performance of Oceanic Rocket League Esports Athletes Competing in a Multiday Regional Event
Authors: Bonnar Daniel , Gradisar Michael , Kahn Michal , Richardson Cele
Published: March 2024

The overall aim of the present study was to examine the daily patterns and relationships between sleep behavior, anxiety, mood (i.e., depression symptoms), and cognitive performance (i.e., reaction time) in esports athletes competing in an Oceanic Rocket League Championship Series regional event. Sixteen participants completed a daily sleep diary, an evening anxiety measure, and an afternoon mood measure and cognitive performance task. Measures were taken (a) precompetition, (b) across the competition days, and (c) postcompetition. We found that participants’ lights-out time was earliest across the competition nights. Sleep-onset latency gradually lengthened precompetition and across the competition nights, eventually exceeding normal limits. Wake after sleep onset was longest across the competition nights but remained within normal limits. Wake-up time was earliest at the start of the competition period but consistently late on most other days. Total sleep time was generally adequate but mildly reduced the night before the first day of competition. There was no significant relationship between anxiety and subsequent sleep nor a relationship between total sleep time and next day mood or cognitive performance. Future research should investigate whether these findings generalize to esports athletes from other games, at higher levels of competition, and to different start times.
Quantitative Hormone Analysis Reveals Sources of Variability in the Menstrual Cycle
Authors: Francis Gavin , Keay Nicola
Published: March 2024

Although the fluctuations of hormones over the menstrual cycle are well recognized, this study investigated the variability in these patterns for individual women. This study examined a set of daily blood hormone results from an underlying data set of previous research. Hormones included follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and estradiol taken over one menstrual cycle in 20 women of reproductive age (age 20–36 years), with ultrasound-confirmed ovulation. Although every woman’s profile of hormone changes was consistent with the expected physiological sequence of events, there was notable variability in the timing and peak levels. Variability in the length of the follicular phase was greater than in the length of the luteal phase, with the greater part of the variability in the cycle length being explained by variability in the follicular phase. Lower levels of FSH at the beginning of the cycle were associated with a longer follicular phase. Variability in the timing of events around ovulation was relatively consistent across all women. Variability in the length of the luteal phase was associated with the duration of elevated levels of progesterone. Differences were seen in the extent to which FSH increased at the end of the cycle. This study suggests the variability of the first part of the follicular phase may be due to initial FSH changes. Understanding the variability of menstrual cycle hormones is relevant for all women. Identifying subclinical ovulatory disturbances and variability is important to understand female health, across different populations including menstruating women and female athletes.
Characterization of the skin microbiome in normal and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma affected cats and dogs
Authors: Bromfield Jacoba I. , Zaugg Julian , Straw Rodney C. , Cathie Julia , Krueger Annika , Sinha Debottam , Chandra Janin , Hugenholtz Philip , Frazer Ian H.
Published: March 2024

Human cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and actinic keratoses (AK) display microbial dysbiosis with an enrichment of staphylococcal species, which have been implicated in AK and SCC progression. SCCs are common in both felines and canines and are often diagnosed at late stages leading to high disease morbidity and mortality rates. Although recent studies support the involvement of the skin microbiome in AK and SCC progression in humans, there is no knowledge of this in companion animals. Here, we provide microbiome data for SCC in cats and dogs using culture-independent molecular profiling and show a significant decrease in microbial alpha diversity on SCC lesions compared to normal skin (
P ≤
0.05). Similar to human skin cancer, SCC samples had an elevated abundance of staphylococci relative to normal skin—50% (6/12) had >50% staphylococci, as did 16% (4/25) of perilesional samples. Analysis of
Staphylococcus
at the species level revealed an enrichment of the pathogenic species
Staphylococcus felis
in cat SCC samples, a higher prevalence of
Staphylococcus pseudintermedius
in dogs, and a higher abundance of
Staphylococcus aureus
compared to normal skin in both companion animals. Additionally, a comparison of previously published human SCC and perilesional samples against the present pet samples revealed that
Staphylococcus
was the most prevalent genera across human and companion animals for both sample types. Similarities between the microbial profile of human and cat/dog SCC lesions should facilitate future skin cancer research.

IMPORTANCE

The progression of precancerous actinic keratosis lesions (AK) to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is poorly understood in humans and companion animals, despite causing a significant burden of disease. Recent studies have revealed that the microbiota may play a significant role in disease progression.
Staphylococcus aureus
has been found in high abundance on AK and SCC lesions, where it secretes DNA-damaging toxins, which could potentiate tumorigenesis. Currently, a suitable animal model to investigate this relationship is lacking. Thus, we examined the microbiome of cutaneous SCC in pets, revealing similarities to humans, with increased staphylococci and reduced commensals on SCC lesions and peri-lesional skin compared to normal skin. Two genera that were in abundance in SCC samples have also been found in human oral SCC lesions. These findings suggest the potential suitability of pets as a model for studying microbiome-related skin cancer progression.
Landscapes on the edge: River intermittency in a warming world
Authors: McLeod Jonah S. , Whittaker Alexander C. , Bell Rebecca E. , Hampson Gary J. , Watkins Stephen E. , Brooke Sam A.S. , Rezwan Nahin , Hook Joel , Zondervan Jesse R. , Ganti Vamsi , Lyster Sinéad J.
Published: March 2024

Sediment transport in rivers is not steady through time. Highly intermittent river systems, which only transport bedload during the most significant flow events, are particularly sensitive to changes in climate and precipitation patterns. People and landscapes can be vulnerable to fluvial processes, and quantifying river intermittency is critical for assessing landscape response to projected changes in precipitation extremes due to climate change. We generated new constraints on recent to modern fluvial intermittency factors—the frequency at which bedload is mobilized in a river—based on field measurements in the Corinth Rift, Greece, and Holocene sediment accumulation rates. Results reveal some of the lowest documented intermittency factors to date, showing Mediterranean rivers can transport an entire annual sediment load in a rare storm event. Coupling intermittency calculations with historical flood and precipitation data indicates these rivers transport bedload during one storm every ~4 yr, associated with rainfall >50 mm/d, and subsequent floods; this hydroclimate is typical across the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, climate models predict precipitation extremes will increase across Europe, and the frequency of events that surpass thresholds of sediment transport will increase significantly, potentially causing sediment loads to double by 2100 CE. As the area of arid land likely to host intermittent rivers also increases, sensitive landscapes are on the edge of significant geomorphic change, driven by global warming.
First intrauterine transfusion in Rh isoimmunised triplet pregnancy
Authors: Bansal Vandana , Gangurde Akshaykumar Babanrao , Pawar Amol , Shah Forum
Published: March 2024

G3P2L1, 28+4 weeks of gestation rhesus (Rh) isoimmunised pregnant women, was referred with trichorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancy with Rh antibody titres of 1:32. Nuchal translucency and anomaly scan were within normal limits with no major malformation for any of the fetuses. Obstetric colour Doppler with middle cerebral artery peak systolic volume revealed foetal anaemia in all three fetuses having velocities corresponding to around 1.5 times the median. Decision of intrauterine transfusion of blood to all three fetuses was taken. Access to fetuses was challenging and expertise in interventional ultrasound was required for transfusion. The patient tolerated the procedure well and eventually went on to deliver uneventfully at 34 weeks of gestation for worsening pre-eclampsia. After birth, all three triplets received triple-surface intensive phototherapy and intravenous immunoglobulin at a dosage of 1 g/kg. Phototherapy was gradually reduced and discontinued within 72 hours, and the infants were discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit at 96 hours of age.
Challenges and lessons learned from a long-term postauthorisation safety study programme of rivaroxaban in Europe
Authors: Brobert Gunnar , Ruigomez Ana , Schink Tania , Voss Annemarie , Herings Ron , Smits Elisabeth , Swart Karin M A , Friberg Leif , Balabanova Yanina , Tarenz Christine , Suzart-Woischnik Kiliana , Soriano-Gabarró Montse , Vora Pareen , Homering Martin , Dyszynski Tomasz , Nagel Gerd , Amaya Pablo , García Rodríguez Luis Alberto
Published: March 2024

Objectives

To describe opportunities and challenges experienced from the four pharmacoepidemiological database studies included in the rivaroxaban post authorisation safety study (PASS) programme and propose ways to maximise the value of population-based observational research when addressing regulatory requirements.

Design

PASS programme of rivaroxaban carried out as part of the regulatory postapproval commitment to the European Medicines Agency.

Setting

Clinical practice in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK (electronic health records)—undertaken by pharmacoepidemiology research teams using country-specific databases with different coding structures.

Participants

355 152 patients prescribed rivaroxaban and 338 199 patients prescribed vitamin K antagonists.

Results

Two major challenges that were encountered throughout the lengthy PASS programme were related to: (1) finalising country-tailored study designs before the extent of rivaroxaban uptake was known, and (2) new research questions that arose during the programme (eg, those relating to an evolving prescribing landscape).

Recommendations

We advocate the following strategies to help address these major challenges (should they arise in any future PASS): conducting studies based on a common data model that enable the same analytical tools to be applied when using different databases; maintaining early, clear, continuous communication with the regulator (including discussing the potential benefit of studying drug use as a precursor to planning a safety study); consideration of adaptive designs whenever uncertainty exists and following an initial period of data collection; and setting milestones for the review of study objectives.
Exposure to famine during early life and the risk of MAFLD during adulthood: evidence from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study
Authors: Yin Jianzhong , Zhang Nichang , Feng Yuemei , Meng Qiong , Zhang Teng , Hong Rudan , Zhang Xuehui
Published: March 2024

Background

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting nearly one-third of the global population. The relationship between early-life famine exposure and MAFLD remains unclear in the multiethnic region of less-developed southwest China.

Methods

A total of 18 558 participants who came from the baseline survey of the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study in Yunnan were included. Participants were divided into four groups according to birth year, including non-exposed (1962–1978 and 1939–1943), fetal exposed (1959–1961), childhood exposed (1949–1958) and adolescence exposed (1943–1949). Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between famine exposure in early life and the risk of MAFLD in adulthood.

Results

Experiencing the shock of early-life exposure to famine would affect adulthood MAFLD. Exposure to famine during fetal life and childhood increased the risk of MAFLD in adulthood, with this association being particularly pronounced in Bai populations. Moreover, famine exposure in males during fetal life raised the risk of MAFLD in adulthood.

Conclusion

We suggest that adequate nutrition in early life may be beneficial in preventing MAFLD in adulthood. The prevention of chronic liver disease should adopt a whole-life strategy by extending the prevention window beginning from fetal life.
Evaluating the implementation of the Primary Health Integrated Care Project for Chronic Conditions: a cohort study from Kenya
Authors: Mugo Richard , Pliakas Triantafyllos , Kamano Jemima , Sanga Leah Anku , Nolte Ellen , Gasparrini Antonio , Barasa Edwine , Etyang Anthony , Perel Pablo
Published: March 2024

Introduction

In Kenya, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are estimated to account for almost one-third of all deaths and this is likely to rise by over 50% in the next 10 years. The Primary Health Integrated Care for Chronic Conditions (PIC4C) project aims to strengthen primary care by integrating comprehensive NCD care into existing HIV primary care platform. This paper evaluates the association of PIC4C implementation on clinical outcomes.

Methods

Outcomes included proportion of new patients, systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), diastolic blood pressure, hypertension control, random plasma glucose, diabetes control, viral load and HIV viral suppression. We used interrupted time series and binomial regression with random effects for facility-level data and generalised mixed-effects regression for visit-level data to examine the association between PIC4C and outcomes between January 2017 and December 2021. We conducted sensitivity analysis with restrictions on sites and the number of visits.

Results

Data from 66 641 visits of 13 046 patients with hypertension, 24 005 visits of 7267 patients with diabetes and 84 855 visits of 21 186 people with HIV were analysed. We found evidence of association between PIC4C and increase in proportion of new patients per month with hypertension (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.57, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.78) and diabetes (aOR 1.31, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.45), small increase in SBP (adjusted beta (aB) 1.7, 95% CI 0.8 to 2.7) and FPG (aB 0.6, 95% CI 0.0 to 1.1). There was no strong evidence of association between PIC4C and viral suppression (aOR 1.20, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.47). In sensitivity analysis, there was no strong evidence of association between PIC4C and SBP (aB 1.74, 95% CI −0.70 to 4.17) or FPG (aB 0.52, 95% CI −0.64 to 1.67)

Conclusions

PIC4C implementation was associated with increase in proportion of new patients attending clinics and a slight increase in SBP and FPG. The immediate post-PIC4C implementation period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which is likely to explain some of our findings.
Just how transformative will AI/ML be for immuno-oncology?
Authors: Bottomly Daniel , McWeeney Shannon
Published: March 2024

Immuno-oncology involves the study of approaches which harness the patient’s immune system to fight malignancies. Immuno-oncology, as with every other biomedical and clinical research field as well as clinical operations, is in the midst of technological revolutions, which vastly increase the amount of available data. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) have received much attention in terms of their potential to harness available data to improve insights and outcomes in many areas including immuno-oncology. In this review, we discuss important aspects to consider when evaluating the potential impact of AI/ML applications in the clinic. We highlight four clinical/biomedical challenges relevant to immuno-oncology and how they may be able to be addressed by the latest advancements in AI/ML. These challenges include (1) efficiency in clinical workflows, (2) curation of high-quality image data, (3) finding, extracting and synthesizing text knowledge as well as addressing, and (4) small cohort size in immunotherapeutic evaluation cohorts. Finally, we outline how advancements in reinforcement and federated learning, as well as the development of best practices for ethical and unbiased data generation, are likely to drive future innovations.
HIV testing at visits to US emergency departments: 2021 update
Authors: Clay Carson , Kuglen Brian Christopher , Bennett Christopher Lee
Published: March 2024

In this updated cross-sectional analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, we found that among the 2.5 million more weighted emergency department (ED) visits in 2021 compared with 2020, there was an insignificant increase in HIV testing per ED visit in 2021 compared with 2020 (0.81% to 0.86%). This suggests HIV testing during ED visits did not increase in line with rebounding visit volumes after the pandemic nadir.
Application of bedside HINTS, ABCD2score and truncal ataxia to differentiate cerebellar–brainstem stroke from vestibular neuritis in the emergency room
Authors: Liu Xinmin , Li Zhaoxia , Ju Yi , Zhao Xingquan
Published: March 2024

Background and purpose

Acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) typically manifests as isolated dizziness or vertigo with no apparent neurological impairments. However, distinguishing life-threatening stroke from innocuous peripheral vestibular lesions in the emergency room (ER) remains challenging. This study aimed to explore the ability of the head impulse-nystagmus-test of skew (HINTS) combined with truncal ataxia or ABCD2score to differentiate stroke from peripheral vestibular disease in patients with AVS in the ER.

Methods

We prospectively recruited 121 patients with AVS from December 2022 to June 2023, 69 of whom presented with vestibular neuritis (VN) and the remaining with posterior circulation stroke (PCS). We analysed the HINTS results, truncal ataxia and ABCD2score and compared the sensitivity and specificity among HINTS, truncal ataxia, ABCD2score and their combinations using the McNemar test for paired samples.

Results

HINTS combined with grade 2-3 truncal ataxia achieved significantly higher sensitivity than that of isolated HINTS in differentiating PCS from VN (100% vs 88.5%, p=0.031). The specificity of HINTS plus grade 2-3 truncal ataxia did not significantly differ from that of isolated HINTS (p=0.125); however, the combination of ABCD2score and HINTS did not improve the diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity of ABCD2score ≥4 plus grade 2-3 truncal ataxia was significantly higher than those of isolated ABCD2score ≥4 or isolated grade 2-3 truncal ataxia (p=0.016 and p<0.001, respectively) and not significantly lower than that of isolated HINTS (p=0.508).

Conclusion

Compared with the ABCD2score, the truncal ataxia is of more valuable assistance to HINTS in differentiating PCS. Although the combination of ABCD2score and truncal ataxia has a significant implication, it is not a replacement for HINTS.
Unveiling public perception of AI ethics: an exploration on Wikipedia data
Authors: Wei Mengyi , Feng Yu , Chen Chuan , Luo Peng , Zuo Chenyu , Meng Liqiu
Published: March 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have exposed more and more ethical issues while providing services to people. It is challenging for people to realize the occurrence of AI ethical issues in most cases. The lower the public awareness, the more difficult it is to address AI ethical issues. Many previous studies have explored public reactions and opinions on AI ethical issues through questionnaires and social media platforms like Twitter. However, these approaches primarily focus on categorizing popular topics and sentiments, overlooking the public’s potential lack of knowledge underlying these issues. Few studies revealed the holistic knowledge structure of AI ethical topics and the relations among the subtopics. As the world’s largest online encyclopedia, Wikipedia encourages people to jointly contribute and share their knowledge by adding new topics and following a well-accepted hierarchical structure. Through public viewing and editing, Wikipedia serves as a proxy for knowledge transmission. This study aims to analyze how the public comprehend the body of knowledge of AI ethics. We adopted the community detection approach to identify the hierarchical community of the AI ethical topics, and further extracted the AI ethics-related entities, which are proper nouns, organizations, and persons. The findings reveal that the primary topics at the top-level community, most pertinent to AI ethics, predominantly revolve around knowledge-based and ethical issues. Examples include transitions from Information Theory to Internet Copyright Infringement. In summary, this study contributes to three points, (1) to present the holistic knowledge structure of AI ethics, (2) to evaluate and improve the existing body of knowledge of AI ethics, (3) to enhance public perception of AI ethics to mitigate the risks associated with AI technologies.