bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis of Human Hepatic Lesions in Dengue, Yellow Fever, and Chikungunya: Revisiting Histopathological Changes in the Light of Modern Knowledge of Cell Pathology
Authors: Ribeiro Yasmin Pacheco , Falcão Luiz Fabio Magno , Smith Vanessa Cavaleiro , de Sousa Jorge Rodrigues , Pagliari Carla , Franco Edna Cristina Santos , Cruz Ana Cecília Ribeiro , Chiang Janniffer Oliveira , Martins Livia Carício , Nunes Juliana Abreu Lima , Vilacoert Fellipe Souza da Silva , Santos Lais Carneiro dos , Furlaneto Matheus Perini , Fuzii Hellen Thais , Bertonsin Filho Marcos Virgilio , da Costa Luccas Delgado , Duarte Maria Irma Seixas , Furlaneto Ismari Perini , Martins Filho Arnaldo Jorge , Aarão Tinara Leila de Souza , Vasconcelos Pedro Fernando da Costa , Quaresma Juarez Antônio Simões
Published: May 2023

Arboviruses, such as yellow fever virus (YFV), dengue virus (DENV), and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), present wide global dissemination and a pathogenic profile developed in infected individuals, from non-specific clinical conditions to severe forms, characterised by the promotion of significant lesions in different organs of the harbourer, culminating in multiple organ dysfunction. An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out via the histopathological analysis of 70 samples of liver patients, collected between 2000 and 2017, with confirmed laboratory diagnoses, who died due to infection and complications due to yellow fever (YF), dengue fever (DF), and chikungunya fever (CF), to characterise, quantify, and compare the patterns of histopathological alterations in the liver between the samples. Of the histopathological findings in the human liver samples, there was a significant difference between the control and infection groups, with a predominance of alterations in the midzonal area of the three cases analysed. Hepatic involvement in cases of YF showed a greater intensity of histopathological changes. Among the alterations evaluated, cell swelling, microvesicular steatosis, and apoptosis were classified according to the degree of tissue damage from severe to very severe. Pathological abnormalities associated with YFV, DENV, and CHIKV infections showed a predominance of changes in the midzonal area. We also noted that, among the arboviruses studied, liver involvement in cases of YFV infection was more intense.
Central Nervous System Histoplasmosis: An Updated Insight
Authors: Ramírez José Antonio , Reyes-Montes María del Rocío , Rodríguez-Arellanes Gabriela , Pérez-Torres Armando , Taylor Maria Lucia
Published: May 2023

Histoplasmosis is one of the systemic mycoses that can involve the Central Nervous System (CNS), and it is caused by the dimorphic ascomycete species of the Histoplasma capsulatum complex. Once in the CNS, this pathogen causes life-threatening injuries that are associated with clinical manifestations of meningitis, focal lesions (abscesses, histoplasmomas), and spinal cord injuries. The present review provides updated data and highlights a particular vision regarding this mycosis and its causative agent, as well as its epidemiology, clinical forms, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy, focusing on the CNS.
Assessment of the Human Retinal Neural Selectivity to Square Gratings’ Orientation with the Multifocal and Pattern Electroretinograms
Authors: Amorim-de-Sousa Ana , Fernandes Paulo , López-Gil Noberto , Queirós António , González-Méijome José M.
Published: May 2023

The retinal response to particular orientations might start a signaling cascade of events that help to modulate eye growth and respond to myopia control treatments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the retinal electrical activity in response to grids of different spatial orientations. The multifocal (mfERG) and pattern (PERG) ERG responses of nine eyes (spherical equivalent of −0.45 ± 1.15 D; mean age of 32.9 ± 7.7 years) were recorded with four grids (1.2 cpd) oriented at 60°, 90°, 120° and 180° under pupils’ dilation. The mfERG was analyzed by retinal eccentricity, quadrants and meridians with the same orientation of the grids. The response density of mfERG, the amplitudes of PERG and the implicit times of each peak from both tests were analyzed. The grid’s orientation did not evoke different implicit times in both tests. All retinal meridians showed higher response density with grids of parallel orientation to the meridian and lower response density with perpendicularly oriented grids. These differences were statistically significant in the horizontal and 60° meridians (p < 0.050). PERG response did not change with the grids’ orientations. The mfERG was sensitive to detect changes in the outer retinal activity with variations in stimulus orientation. The paradigm of meridional analysis of mfERG results might be more sensitive to orientation changes than the traditional analysis by rings, quadrants or hemifields.
Quantitative Analysis of φ-OTDR Spatial Resolution Influenced by NLM Parameters
Authors: Chen Yunfei , Zhu Shuhan , Yu Kaimin , Wu Minfeng , Feng Lei , Zhu Peibin , Chen Wen
Published: May 2023

Non-local mean (NLM) can significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), but it inevitably reduces the spatial resolution of distributed optical fiber sensors (DFOS), which hinders its practical application and the improvement of DFOS performance. In this paper, the quantitative relationship between the signal broadening of a phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometer (φ-OTDR) and the NLM parameters is analyzed to identify the cause and extent of the spatial resolution degradation. The denoising results for the mimic periodic and φ-OTDR vibration signals indicate that the signal broadening is mainly due to the similarity window size of NLM, and the signal amplitude reduction is caused by the Gaussian smoothing parameter. Compared with the reference signals, the signal broadening of the mimic and φ-OTDR signals after denoising are 2.56% and 2.74%, respectively, which is much less than the previous results. The signal amplitude is reduced by 9.25% and 13.62%, respectively. This work promotes the application of NLM and improves the performance of DFOS.
Performance Analysis and Power Tilt Mitigation of Ultra-Wideband WDM Transmission Systems
Authors: Wu Tianze , Tian Feng , Wu Yuyan , Yue Xiru , Gu Yu , Cui Yi , Zhang Qi , Ullah Rahat
Published: May 2023

Ultra-wideband (UWB) wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission, which utilizes low-loss spectral windows of single-mode fiber for data transmission, is a highly promising method for increasing the capacity of optical communication. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a UWB WDM transmission system that covers the widely used C+L band as well as the additional O-, E-, and S-bands. We establish the transmission system for UWB and discuss the effects of the channel, including Kerr nonlinearity and inter-channel interference from inter-channel stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) between O-, E-, S-, C-, and L-bands. Moreover, we demonstrate an optimization scheme for compensating the spectral power tilt caused by SRS in the S+C+L band system, which utilizes the Raman amplifier and the partition particle swarm optimization (PPSO) algorithm. The results show that the power tilt value of the algorithm is reduced from 18 to 2.93 dB, and the iteration speed is improved by 10% compared with the normal particle swarm algorithm. The scheme provides an efficient way to improve the generalized mutual information (GMI) performance of UWB WDM systems.
Abscisic Acid Synthesis and Signaling during the Ripening of Raspberry (Rubus idaeus ‘Heritage’) Fruit
Authors: Álvarez Fernanda , Moya Mario , Rivera-Mora Claudia , Zúñiga Paz E. , Jara-Cornejo Karla , Muñoz Paula , Ayala-Raso Aníbal , Munné-Bosch Sergi , Figueroa Carlos R. , Figueroa Nicolás E. , Valdenegro Mónika , Alvaro Juan E. , Schwab Wilfried , Defilippi Bruno G. , Fuentes Lida
Published: May 2023

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruit is characterized by its richness in functional molecules and high nutritional value, but the high rate of fruit softening limits its quality during postharvest. Raspberry drupelets have a particular ripening regulation, depending partially on the effect of ethylene produced from the receptacle. However, the possible role of abscisic acid (ABA) in the modulation of quality parameters during the ripening of raspberry is unclear. This study characterized the fruit quality-associated parameters and hormonal contents during fruit development in two seasons. The quality parameters showed typical changes during ripening: a drastic loss of firmness, increase in soluble solids content, loss of acidity, and turning to a red color from the large green stage to fully ripe fruit in both seasons. A significant increase in the ABA content was observed during the ripening of drupelets and receptacles, with the higher content in the receptacle of ripe and overripe stages compared to the large green stage. Moreover, identification of ABA biosynthesis-(9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase/NCED) and ABA receptor-related genes (PYRs-like receptors) showed three genes encoding RiNCEDs and nine genes for RiPYLs. The expression level of these genes increased from the large green stage to the full-ripe stage, specifically characterized by a higher expression of RiNCED1 in the receptacle tissue. This study reports a consistent concomitant increase in the ABA content and the expression of RiNCED1, RiPYL1, and RiPYL8 during the ripening of the raspberry fruit, thus supporting the role for ABA signaling in drupelets.
Phenolic Profile, Inhibition of α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase Enzymes, and Antioxidant Properties of Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. (Solanaceae): In Vitro and In Silico Investigations
Authors: Bouslamti Mohammed , Loukili El Hassania , Elrherabi Amal , El Moussaoui Abdelfattah , Chebaibi Mohamed , Bencheikh Noureddine , Nafidi Hiba-Allah , Bin Jardan Yousef A. , Bourhia Mohammed , Bnouham Mohamed , Lyoussi Badiaa , Benjelloun Ahmed Samir
Published: May 2023

In this study, the chemical composition and the antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of S. elaeagnifolium flower (SEFl), fruit (SEFr), and leaf (SEFe) extracts were investigated in vitro and in silico. HPLC-DAD analysis was used to determine the chemical components. Colorimetric techniques were used to identify polyphenols and flavonoids. The antioxidant capacity was determined using DPPH and TAC assays. The antidiabetic activity was examined using the enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Molecular docking methods were used to assess the anti-dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) activity. According to HPLC findings, extracts of S. elaeagnifolium flowers, leaves, and fruits are rich in salicylic acid, sinapic acid, chlorogenic acid, naringin, quercetin, quercetin-3-O-beta-glucoside, kaempferol, and chalcone. The IC50 for flower, leaf, and fruit extracts were 132 ± 5.59 μg/mL, 43.19 ± 1.46 μg/mL, and 132 ± 5.59 μg/mL, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity of SEFr, SEFe, and SEFl were determined to be 900.06 ± 4.01 μg AAE/mg, 792.10 ± 6.72 μg AAE/mg, and 681.10 ± 3.02 μg AAE/mg, respectively. Importantly, SEFe, SEFl, and SEFr displayed significant anti-α-amylase activity, with IC50 values of 79.16 ± 2.35 µg/mL, 99.16 ± 1.17 µg/mL, and 40.31 ± 2.04 µg/mL, respectively. The results also showed that SEFr, SEFe, and SEFl all exhibited potent anti-α-glucosidase activity, whose IC50 values were determined to be 20.53 ± 0.37 µg/mL (SEFr), 20.05 ± 0.12 µg/mL (SEFe), and 41.1 ± 1.55 µg/mL (SEFl). Molecular docking of S. elaeagnifolium phenolic compounds in the active site of DPP-IV revealed a strong inhibitory effect, with a glide score ranging from −2.63 to −8.10 Kcal/mol. Notably—with glide scores of −8.10, −6.23, −5.73, and −5.37 Kcal/mol—rutin, quercetin-3-O-beta-glucoside, chalcone, and naringin were the most active molecules against DPP-IV.
Applying a Combination of Cutting-Edge Industry 4.0 Processes towards Fabricating a Customized Component
Authors: Kantaros Antreas , Soulis Evangelos , Ganetsos Theodore , Petrescu Florian Ion Tiberiu
Published: May 2023

3D scanning, 3D printing, and CAD design software are considered important tools in Industry 4.0 product development processes. Each one of them has seen widespread use in a variety of scientific and commercial fields. This work aims to depict the added value of their combined use in a proposed workflow where a customized product needs to be developed. More specifically, the geometry of an existing physical item’s geometry needs to be defined in order to fabricate and seamlessly integrate an additional component. In this instance, a 3D scanning technique was used to digitize an e-bike’s frame geometry. This was essential for creating a peripheral component (in this case, a rear rack) that would be integrated into the frame of the bicycle. In lieu of just developing a tail rack from scratch, a CAD generative design process was chosen in order to produce a design that favored both light weight and optimal mechanical behaviors. FDM 3D printing was utilized to build the final design using ABS-CF10 materials, which, although being a thermoplastic ABS-based material, was introduced as a metal replacement for lighter and more ergonomic component production. Consequently, the component was manufactured in this manner and successfully mounted onto the frame of the e-bike. The proposed process is not limited to the manufacturing of this component, but may be used in the future for the fabrication of additional peripheral components and tooling.
Adaptive Modification of TBM Tunneling in Coal Mine Roadway and Disaster Control Technology for Complex Geological Conditions
Authors: Wang Hongtao , Zhou Changkuan , Bi Qingquan , Zhu Hao , Ding Ziwei , Zhang Chenchen
Published: May 2023

Many mines have introduced the tunnel boring machine (TBM) to improve the efficiency of rock tunneling because of its high propulsion capacity, safe working space, and intelligent equipment. In contrast, the operating environment of coal mines is often under complex geological conditions such as high ground stress, large depth of burial, high temperature, water damage, and large construction angles, making it difficult to apply traditional TBMs in coal mines. Taking the TBM of Gaojiapu Coal Mine of Zhengtong Coal Industry as an example, this paper introduces the coal mine adaptability transformation and construction technology optimization of the equipment, optimizes the design of the roadheader department of the equipment, increases the support operation space and reduces the empty roof distance, shortens the length of the whole machine and transforms the walking structure to enhance its maneuverability and convenience, and applies the monorail crane to the auxiliary transportation system of TBM. This paper proposes the theory of TBM tunneling disaster control in complex geology, research and discussion on TBM jamming, impact pressure, cooling prevention and control, and water damage in complex geological conditions. The results obtained were applied at the Zhengtong Coal Industry in engineering practice, resulting in an average monthly progress of more than 200 m, which is more than three times more efficient than full rock heaving, and also reduces the work intensity of tunneling personnel and promotes the development of coal mining. The final part of the article looks at the future application of TBMs in coal mining.
Life Cycle Assessment of Pilot-Scale Bio-Refining of Invasive Japanese Knotweed Alien Plant towards Bio-Based Bioactive Compounds
Authors: Hren Robert , Naumoska Katerina , Jug Urška , Čuček Lidija , Likozar Blaž , Novak Uroš , Vujanović Annamaria
Published: May 2023

Japanese knotweed is an invasive alien plant species with characteristic rapid expansion in Europe and North America and resistance to extermination. It displaces autochthonous biodiversity and causes major damage to infrastructure, thus causing global ecological and economic damage. The Japanese knotweed plant is usually eradicated using various chemical, biological, or mechanical techniques, which at a large scale include heavy equipment, usually followed by incineration. Therefore, excavation is preferred to eradication techniques, and as a biomass waste recovery method due to the extraction of high-value biocompounds. This is supported by the fact that the Japanese knotweed possesses various bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on human health. Its rhizome bark extract produces strong and stable antioxidant activity over time, as well as apoptotic, antibacterial, and other beneficial activities. In this work, an environmental impact assessment, including greenhouse gas footprint, acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity for extraction route of the Japanese knotweed rhizome bark, is performed. A comparative case study between the lab-based and proposed pilot-scale production of active added-value extract was evaluated. The results show the pilot-scale production exhibits lower environmental burdens, mainly due to greater electricity requirements for the lab-scale alternative.
Evaluation of XD 10 Polyamide Electrospun Nanofibers to Improve Mode I Fracture Toughness for Epoxy Adhesive Film Bonded Joints
Authors: Minosi Stefania , Moroni Fabrizio , Pirondi Alessandro
Published: May 2023

The demand for ever-lighter structures raises the interest in bonding as a joining method, especially for materials that are difficult to join with traditional welding and bolting techniques. Structural adhesives, however, are susceptible to defects, but can be toughened in several ways: by changing their chemical composition or by adding fillers, even of nanometric size. Nanomaterials have a high surface area and limited structural defects, which can enhance the mechanical properties of adhesives depending on their nature, quantity, size, and interfacial adhesion. This work analyzes the Mode I fracture toughness of joints bonded with METLBOND® 1515-4M epoxy film and XantuLayr electrospun XD 10 polyamide nanofibers. Two joint configurations were studied, which differed according to the position of the nanomat within the adhesive layer: one had the nanofibers at the substrate/adhesive interfaces, and the other had the nanofibers in the center of the adhesive layer. Double cantilever beam joints were manufactured to evaluate the Mode I fracture toughness of the bonding with and without nano-reinforcement. The nanofibers applied at the substrate/adhesive interface improved the Mode-I fracture toughness by 32%, reaching the value of 0.55 N/mm. SEM images confirm the positive contribution of the nanofibers, which appear stretched and pulled out from the matrix. No fracture toughness variation was detected in the joints with the nanofibers placed in the middle of the adhesive layer.
Research on Valve Life Prediction Based on PCA-PSO-LSSVM
Authors: Shi Mingjiang , Tan Peipei , Qin Liansheng , Huang Zhiqiang
Published: May 2023

The valve is a key control component in the oil and gas transportation system, which, due to the environment, transmission medium, and other factors, is susceptible to internal leakage, resulting in valve failure. Conventional testing methods cannot judge the service life of valves. Therefore, it is important to carry out valve life prediction research for oil and gas transmission safety. In this work, a valve service life prediction method based on the PCA-PSO-LSSVM algorithm is proposed. The main factors affecting valve service life are obtained by principal component analysis (PCA), the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is used to predict the valve service life, the parameters are optimized by using particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the valve service life prediction model is established. The results show that the predicted valve service life based on the PCA-PSO-LSSVM algorithm is closer to the actual value, with an average relative error (MRE) of 16.57% and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.2636. Valve life prediction accuracy is improved, which provides scientific and technical support for the maintenance and replacement of valves.
Antioxidant Activity, Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents in Floral Saffron Bio-Residues
Authors: Maestre-Hernández Ana-Belén , Vicente-López Juan-José , Pérez-Llamas Francisca , Candela-Castillo María-Emilia , García-Conesa María-Teresa , Frutos María-José , Cano Antonio , Hernández-Ruiz Josefa , Arnao Marino B.
Published: May 2023

Saffron spices are composed of dehydrated stigmas of Crocus sativus L. A large amount of bio-residues (stamens, tepals, and stigmas) is generated during the production of this spice (~92 g of bio-residues per 100 g of flowers). These bio-residues are usually discarded losing the chance to obtain interesting bioactive compounds from them. In this work, we use the saffron bio-residues as possible source of natural bioactive compounds. Different extraction conditions were applied obtaining hydrophilic and lipophilic components. The antioxidant activity of the bioactive compounds in the different conditions were analysed using the ABTS method developed by our team. Furthermore, the total content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids present in the bio-residues were estimated. We demonstrated that bio-residues contain a high amount of both phenolic and flavonoid compounds with a strong antioxidant potential effect. Moreover, we compared the antioxidant activities of saffron bio-residues (obtained from stamens, tepals, and stigmas). The extraction was made at two different pH (4.5 and 7.5) and measured (antioxidant activity, flavonoid and phenol content) at pH 7.5. Another extraction done at pH 7.5 measured antioxidant activity, flavonoid and phenol content at time 0 (t = 0 h) and after 24 h (t = 24 h) at pH 4.5 and 7.5. We point out that bioresidues contain antioxidant activity (up to 8.42 µmoles Trolox/100 g DW), total phenols (up to 111.91 µmoles EG/100 g DW) and total flavonoids (up to 109.25 µmoles QE/100 g DW) as bioactive compounds. The applicability of bio-residues as additives is promising, both in the pharmaceutical and in the food industry as nutraceuticals and phytogenics. The variability in pH and the colour originating from it must be taken into account.
Study on the Influence of Electron Beam Radiation Sterilization Method on Chinese Mural Pigment
Authors: Luo Min , Bo Peng , Shao Yang , Liu Zhiming , Xu Diandou , Ma Lingling
Published: May 2023

Murals are one of the important cultural heritages of mankind. The microbial control of murals is an important subject in mural painting conservation. In recent years, electron beam radiation sterilization has attracted more and more attention in the field of cultural relic protection. Murals are immovable cultural relics, so conventional electron beam irradiation equipment can not be used. However, the development of small mobile electron beam irradiation equipment shows the potential of radiation’s application in the sterilization protection of immovable cultural relics such as murals. A feasibility study of radiation sterilization in mural paintings is needed to investigate the effect of sterilization and the influence of sterilization dose on the stability of mural painting pigments and bonding materials. In this paper, the radiation effects of typical bacteria in tomb murals and mineral pigment powder in ancient Chinese paintings were studied in a laboratory. Firstly, aeromonas hydrophila (Aer.h) and penicillium flavigenum (PNC) were selected as representative strains to determine the appropriate sterilization dose for murals. Then, the effects of radiation on seven kinds of ancient Chinese mineral pigments and white calcium carbonate in the ground layer were verified. The results are as follows: the radiation dose of 10 kGy can effectively remove the two typical strains. This sterilization dose will cause a color difference in calcium carbonate and lead white, while other color pigments are essentially stable. Based on the color difference and UV-vis intensities of the four white carbonate samples, the color change in two of them increased with increasing the dose up to 30 kGy, after which signs of saturation began to appear. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra showed that the chemical structure of the samples did not change after irradiation. The formation of free radicals in treated samples was confirmed using an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum test. According to all characterization results, the color difference between the four white carbonate samples may be due to the combination of unpaired electrons and defects in the process of electron beam irradiation to form color centers. After forming the color center, the light absorption of the four samples changed. This is a reversible change, but the samples will take a long time to return to their original state. This study focuses on the influence of electron beam radiation on pigment composition, which is a preliminary exploration of whether radiation sterilization can be applied to the protection of ancient Chinese mural paintings, and the experimental results can provide basic data for later application.
Methodology for Environmental Risk Analysis Based on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Values
Authors: Uzhga-Rebrov Oleg , Grabusts Peter
Published: May 2023

Ecological risks are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty about the chances of unfavorable event outcomes and the losses associated with those outcomes. Subjective expert judgment is widely used when baseline data are insufficient. This introduces additional uncertainties in the results of risk analyses. In order to successfully model the existing uncertainties, this paper presents a methodology for ecological risk analysis that is based on input evaluations in the form of intuitionistic fuzzy values (IFVs). The advantage of this approach is the ability to model a wide range of uncertainties in ecological risk analysis tasks.
Review of IoT Sensor Systems Used for Monitoring the Road Infrastructure
Authors: Micko Kristian , Papcun Peter , Zolotova Iveta
Published: May 2023

An intelligent transportation system is one of the fundamental goals of the smart city concept. The Internet of Things (IoT) concept is a basic instrument to digitalize and automatize the process in the intelligent transportation system. Digitalization via the IoT concept enables the automatic collection of data usable for management in the transportation system. The IoT concept includes a system of sensors, actuators, control units and computational distribution among the edge, fog and cloud layers. The study proposes a taxonomy of sensors used for monitoring tasks based on motion detection and object tracking in intelligent transportation system tasks. The sensor’s taxonomy helps to categorize the sensors based on working principles, installation or maintenance methods and other categories. The sensor’s categorization enables us to compare the effectiveness of each sensor’s system. Monitoring tasks are analyzed, categorized, and solved in intelligent transportation systems based on a literature review and focusing on motion detection and object tracking methods. A literature survey of sensor systems used for monitoring tasks in the intelligent transportation system was performed according to sensor and monitoring task categorization. In this review, we analyzed the achieved results to measure, sense, or classify events in intelligent transportation system monitoring tasks. The review conclusions were used to propose an architecture of the universal sensor system for common monitoring tasks based on motion detection and object tracking methods in intelligent transportation tasks. The proposed architecture was built and tested for the first experimental results in the case study scenario. Finally, we propose methods that could significantly improve the results in the following research.
Surface-Mount Zero-Ohm Jumper Resistor Characterization in High-Speed Controlled Impedance Transmission Lines
Authors: Vasjanov Aleksandr , Barzdenas Vaidotas
Published: May 2023

Zero-ohm resistors, also known as jumpers, are commonly used in early radio frequency (RF) prototypes as they can help engineers identify the most optimal engineering solution for their system or create application-specific hardware configurations in products. One of the key considerations when using zero-ohm jumpers in RF circuits is the potential for signal loss and interference. Every circuit connection creates a small amount of resistance and impedance, eventually adding up over long distances or in complex circuits. This paper proposes a quantitative characterization summary of standard 0201-, 0402-, 0603-, and 0805-size surface-mount package jumpers, as well as lead-free and lead solder wires, in high-frequency applications by means of time domain reflectometry (TDR) and S-parameter measurements. The typical offset from the target 50 Ω impedance was measured to be around 3 Ω, or 5.8% relative to the measured reference value. According to S-parameter measurement results, no visible impact on attenuation was spotted up to 5 GHz compared to the reference S21 curve.
Triple-Band Notched Ultra-Wideband Microstrip MIMO Antenna with Bluetooth Band
Authors: El-Gendy Mohamed S. , Ali Mohamed Mamdouh M. , Thompson Ernesto Bautista , Ashraf Imran
Published: May 2023

In this paper, a novel ultra-wideband UWB antenna element with triple-band notches is proposed. The proposed UWB radiator element operates from 2.03 GHz up to 15.04 GHz with triple rejected bands at the WiMAX band (3.28–3.8 GHz), WLAN band (5.05–5.9 GHz), and X-band (7.78–8.51 GHz). In addition, the radiator supports the Bluetooth band (2.4–2.483 GHz). Three different techniques were utilized to obtain the triple-band notches. An alpha-shaped coupled line with a stub-loaded resonator (SLR) band stop filter was inserted along the main feeding line before the radiator to obtain a WiMAX band notch characteristic. Two identical U-shaped slots were etched on the proposed UWB radiator to achieve WLAN band notch characteristics with a very high degree of selectivity. Two identical metallic frames of an octagon-shaped electromagnetic band gap structure (EBG) were placed along the main feeding line to achieve the notch characteristic with X-band satellite communication with high sharpness edges. A novel UWB multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radiator is proposed. The proposed UWB-MIMO radiator was fabricated on FR-4 substrate material and measured. The isolation between every two adjacent ports was below −20 dB over the FCC-UWB spectrum and the Bluetooth band for the four MIMO antennas. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) between the proposed antennas in MIMO does not exceed 0.05. The diversity gains (DG) for all the radiators are greater than 9.98 dB.
Defect Inspection Using Modified YoloV4 on a Stitched Image of a Spinning Tool
Authors: Lin Bor-Haur , Chen Ju-Chin , Lien Jenn-Jier James
Published: May 2023

In Industry 4.0, automation is a critical requirement for mechanical production. This study proposes a computer vision-based method to capture images of rotating tools and detect defects without the need to stop the machine in question. The study uses frontal lighting to capture images of the rotating tools and employs scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) to identify features of the tool images. Random sample consensus (RANSAC) is then used to obtain homography information, allowing us to stitch the images together. The modified YOLOv4 algorithm is then applied to the stitched image to detect any surface defects on the tool. The entire tool image is divided into multiple patch images, and each patch image is detected separately. The results show that the modified YOLOv4 algorithm has a recall rate of 98.7% and a precision rate of 97.3%, and the defect detection process takes approximately 7.6 s to complete for each stitched image.
Designing Highly Precise Overlay Targets for Asymmetric Sidewall Structures Using Quasi-Periodic Line Widths and Finite-Difference Time-Domain Simulation
Authors: Hsieh Hung-Chih , Wu Meng-Rong , Huang Xiang-Ting
Published: May 2023

The present study introduces an optimized overlay target design to minimize the overlay error caused by asymmetric sidewall structures in semiconductor manufacturing. To achieve this goal, the overlay error formula was derived by separating the asymmetric bottom grating structure into symmetric and asymmetric parts. Based on this formula, it was found that the overlay target design with the linewidth of the bottom grating closed to the grating period could effectively reduce the overlay error caused by the sidewall asymmetry structure. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed design can effectively control the measurement error of different wavelengths within ±0.3 nm, even under varying sidewall angles and film thicknesses. Overall, the proposed overlay target design can significantly improve the overlay accuracy in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Decision-Making Time and Neuromuscular Coordination in Youth and Senior Soccer Goalkeepers
Authors: Piechota Katarzyna , Majorczyk Edyta
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to compare soccer goalkeepers’ decision-making times following a shot on goal and to determine goalkeepers’ movement pattern structures using EMG in a typical game situation (two-on-one). Two groups of goalkeepers (n = 60) took part in the study: Group A, the senior group (22.00 ± 2.35 years of age), and Group B, the youth group (15.38 ± 1.32 years of age). The goalkeepers’ decision-making times were measured by using EMG from the moment the attacker struck the ball until the completion of the saving action by the goalkeeper. Subsequently, the goalkeepers’ movement pattern structure was determined (for both Groups A and B), and the values of muscle bioelectrical tension during a typical defensive situation in training conditions were revealed. The findings clearly indicate a significantly (p = 0.001) shorter decision-making time in experienced goalkeepers (250–260 ms) than in novices (300–320 ms). In addition, the movement pattern structure confirmed the hypotheses on the economization of effort and the visual-muscular coordination of the postural muscles (calf muscles) that affect soccer goalkeepers. The study also demonstrated a lower bioelectric tension of the gastrocnemius muscle (GAS.MED. RT—p = 0.008; GAS.LAT. RT—p = 0.030) in the expert goalkeepers.
Towards Preventing Gaps in Health Care Systems through Smartphone Use: Analysis of ARKit for Accurate Measurement of Facial Distances in Different Angles
Authors: Nissen Leon , Hübner Julia , Klinker Jens , Kapsecker Maximilian , Leube Alexander , Schneckenburger Max , Jonas Stephan M.
Published: May 2023

There is a growing consensus in the global health community that the use of communication technologies will be an essential factor in ensuring universal health coverage of the world’s population. New technologies can only be used profitably if their accuracy is sufficient. Therefore, we explore the feasibility of using Apple’s ARKit technology to accurately measure the distance from the user’s eye to their smartphone screen. We developed an iOS application for measuring eyes-to-phone distances in various angles, using the built-in front-facing-camera and TrueDepth sensor. The actual position of the phone is precisely controlled and recorded, by fixing the head position and placing the phone in a robotic arm. Our results indicate that ARKit is capable of producing accurate measurements, with overall errors ranging between 0.88% and 9.07% from the actual distance, across various head positions. The accuracy of ARKit may be impacted by several factors such as head size, position, device model, and temperature. Our findings suggest that ARKit is a useful tool in the development of applications aimed at preventing eye damage caused by smartphone use.
FragTracer: Real-Time Fragmentation Monitoring Tool for F2FS File System
Authors: Cho Minseon , Kang Donghyun
Published: May 2023

Emerging hardware devices (e.g., NVMe SSD, RISC-V, etc.) open new opportunities for improving the overall performance of computer systems. In addition, the applications try to fully utilize hardware resources to keep up with those improvements. However, these trends can cause significant file system overheads (i.e., fragmentation issues). In this paper, we first study the reason for the fragmentation issues on an F2FS file system and present a new tool, called FragTracer, which helps to analyze the ratio of fragmentation in real-time. For user-friendly usage, we designed FragTracer with three main modules, monitoring, pre-processing, and visualization, which automatically runs without any user intervention. We also optimized FragTracer in terms of performance to hide its overhead in tracking and analyzing fragmentation issues on-the-fly. We evaluated FragTracer with three real-world databases on the F2FS file system, so as to study the fragmentation characteristics caused by databases, and we compared the overhead of FragTracer. Our evaluation results clearly show that the overhead of FragTracer is negligible when running on commodity computing environments.
SNOWED: Automatically Constructed Dataset of Satellite Imagery for Water Edge Measurements
Authors: Andria Gregorio , Scarpetta Marco , Spadavecchia Maurizio , Affuso Paolo , Giaquinto Nicola
Published: May 2023

Monitoring the shoreline over time is essential to quickly identify and mitigate environmental issues such as coastal erosion. Monitoring using satellite images has two great advantages, i.e., global coverage and frequent measurement updates; but adequate methods are needed to extract shoreline information from such images. To this purpose, there are valuable non-supervised methods, but more recent research has concentrated on deep learning because of its greater potential in terms of generality, flexibility, and measurement accuracy, which, in contrast, derive from the information contained in large datasets of labeled samples. The first problem to solve, therefore, lies in obtaining large datasets suitable for this specific measurement problem, and this is a difficult task, typically requiring human analysis of a large number of images. In this article, we propose a technique to automatically create a dataset of labeled satellite images suitable for training machine learning models for shoreline detection. The method is based on the integration of data from satellite photos and data from certified, publicly accessible shoreline data. It involves several automatic processing steps, aimed at building the best possible dataset, with images including both sea and land regions, and correct labeling also in the presence of complicated water edges (which can be open or closed curves). The use of independently certified measurements for labeling the satellite images avoids the great work required to manually annotate them by visual inspection, as is done in other works in the literature. This is especially true when convoluted shorelines are considered. In addition, possible errors due to the subjective interpretation of satellite images are also eliminated. The method is developed and used specifically to build a new dataset of Sentinel-2 images, denoted SNOWED; but is applicable to different satellite images with trivial modifications. The accuracy of labels in SNOWED is directly determined by the uncertainty of the shoreline data used, which leads to sub-pixel errors in most cases. Furthermore, the quality of the SNOWED dataset is assessed through the visual comparison of a random sample of images and their corresponding labels, and its functionality is shown by training a neural model for sea–land segmentation.
A Prototype for an Intelligent Water Management System for Household Use
Authors: Mamede Henrique , Neves João Cortez , Martins José , Gonçalves Ramiro , Branco Frederico
Published: May 2023

Water scarcity is becoming an issue of more significant concern with a major impact on global sustainability. For it, new measures and approaches are urgently needed. Digital technologies and tools can play an essential role in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of current water management approaches. Therefore, a solution is proposed and validated, given the limited presence of models or technological architectures in the literature to support intelligent water management systems for domestic use. It is based on a layered architecture, fully designed to meet the needs of households and to do so through the adoption of technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing. By developing a prototype and using it as a use case for testing purposes, we have concluded the positive impact of using such a solution. Considering this is a first contribution to overcome the problem, some issues will be addressed in a future work, namely, data and device security and energy and traffic optimisation issues, among several others.
Deep Learning Strategy for Sliding ECG Analysis during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Influence of the Hands-Off Time on Accuracy
Authors: Krasteva Vessela , Didon Jean-Philippe , Ménétré Sarah , Jekova Irena
Published: May 2023

This study aims to present a novel deep learning algorithm for a sliding shock advisory decision during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and its performance evaluation as a function of the cumulative hands-off time. We retrospectively used 13,570 CPR episodes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) interventions reviewed in a period of interest from 30 s before to 10 s after regular analysis of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Three convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with raw ECG input (duration of 5, 10, and 15 s) were applied for the shock advisory decision during CPR in 26 sequential analyses shifted by 1 s. The start and stop of chest compressions (CC) can occur at arbitrary times in sequential slides; therefore, the sliding hands-off time (sHOT) quantifies the cumulative CC-free portion of the analyzed ECG. An independent test with CPR episodes in 393 ventricular fibrillations (VF), 177 normal sinus rhythms (NSR), 1848 other non-shockable rhythms (ONR), and 3979 asystoles (ASYS) showed a substantial improvement of VF sensitivity when increasing the analysis duration from 5 s to 10 s. Specificity was not dependent on the ECG analysis duration. The 10 s CNN model presented the best performance: 92–94.4% (VF), 92.2–94% (ASYS), 96–97% (ONR), and 98.2–99.5% (NSR) for sliding decision times during CPR; 98–99% (VF), 98.2–99.8% (ASYS), 98.8–99.1 (ONR), and 100% (NSR) for sliding decision times after end of CPR. We identified the importance of sHOT as a reliable predictor of performance, accounting for the minimal sHOT interval of 2–3 s that provides a reliable rhythm detection satisfying the American Heart Association (AHA) standards for AED rhythm analysis. The presented technology for sliding shock advisory decision during CPR achieved substantial performance improvement in short hands-off periods (>2 s), such as insufflations or pre-shock pauses. The performance was competitive despite 1–2.8% point lower ASYS detection during CPR than the standard requirement (95%) for non-noisy ECG signals. The presented deep learning strategy is a basis for improved CPR practices involving both continuous CC and CC with insufflations, associated with minimal CC interruptions for reconfirmation of non-shockable rhythms (minimum hands-off time) and early treatment of VF (minimal pre-shock pauses).
Modeling and Calibration of Pressure-Sensing Insoles via a New Plenum-Based Chamber
Authors: Belli Italo , Sorrentino Ines , Dussoni Simeone , Milani Gianluca , Rapetti Lorenzo , Tirupachuri Yeshasvi , Valli Enrico , Vanteddu Punith Reddy , Maggiali Marco , Pucci Daniele
Published: May 2023

This paper proposes a novel method to reliably calibrate a pair of sensorized insoles utilizing an array of capacitive tactile pixels (taxels). A new calibration setup is introduced that is scalable and suitable for multiple kinds of wearable sensors and a procedure for the simultaneous calibration of each of the sensors in the insoles is presented. The calibration relies on a two-step optimization algorithm that, firstly, enables determination of a relevant set of mathematical models based on the instantaneous measurement of the taxels alone, and, then, expands these models to include the relevant portion of the time history of the system. By comparing the resulting models with our previous work on the same hardware, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel method both in terms of increased ability to cope with the non-linear characteristics of the sensors and increased pressure ranges achieved during the experiments performed.
Microwave Diamond-Based HBAR as a Highly Sensitive Sensor for Multiple Applications: Acoustic Attenuation in the Mo Film
Authors: Sorokin Boris , Asafiev Nikita , Yashin Dmitry , Luparev Nikolay , Golovanov Anton , Kravchuk Konstantin
Published: May 2023

The application of microwave diamond-based HBAR as a sensor of microwave acoustic attenuation α was considered, using the Mo film as an object of research. A multilayered piezoelectric structure, as the Al/Al0.73Sc0.27N/Mo/(100) diamond/Mo, was produced using aluminum–scandium nitride composition, and was studied in detail for a number of the Mo films with different thicknesses obtained by magnetron deposition. The operational frequency band of 3.3 … 18 GHz was used. It was found that the dependence of the resonant frequency shift vs. the h(Mo) thickness for all the overtones to be investigated was linear. For a given sensor, it was found that the mass sensitivity per unit area rm was equal to −26 × 10−12 and −8.7 × 10−12 g/(cm2∙Hz) at 6.0 GHz and 18.3 GHz, respectively. The frequency dependencies of quality factor Q, which changed as a result of Mo film deposition, were considered as the basic experimental data. A method for extracting the α(Mo) values was proposed. The Q-factor under the complete deposition of Mo film was 936 nm, and dropped moderately to ~25%. Such values were enough for an aim of the given experiment. The α(f) in molybdenum was obtained, and demonstrated a dependence that was close to quadratic, corresponding to the Akhiezer attenuation law.
A Speedy Point Cloud Registration Method Based on Region Feature Extraction in Intelligent Driving Scene
Authors: Yan Deli , Wang Weiwang , Li Shaohua , Sun Pengyue , Duan Weiqi , Liu Sixuan
Published: May 2023

The challenges of point cloud registration in intelligent vehicle driving lie in the large scale, complex distribution, high noise, and strong sparsity of lidar point cloud data. This paper proposes an efficient registration algorithm for large-scale outdoor road scenes by selecting the continuous distribution of key area laser point clouds as the registration point cloud. The algorithm extracts feature descriptions of the key point cloud and introduces local geometric features of the point cloud to complete rough and fine registration under constraints of key point clouds and point cloud features. The algorithm is verified through extensive experiments under multiple scenarios, with an average registration time of 0.5831 s and an average accuracy of 0.06996 m, showing significant improvement compared to other algorithms. The algorithm is also validated through real-vehicle experiments, demonstrating strong versatility, reliability, and efficiency. This research has the potential to improve environment perception capabilities of autonomous vehicles by solving the point cloud registration problem in large outdoor scenes.