bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of sulfadiazine in manure on accumulation of sulfonamide resistance genes in freshly consumable plants
Authors: van Overbeek Leo , Berendsen Björn , Aanstoot Stefan , Bossers Alex , Nijhuis Els , Russ Lina , Andreo Jimenez Beatriz
Published: September 2023

Background

Antibiotic resistance genes will spread via soil fertilized with animal manure to food products. Especially plants whose harvested products can be consumed freshly are of concern. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of sulfadiazine (SDZ)-manured soil on the occurrence of sulfonamide (SA) resistance genes in freshly consumable plants.

Methods

Sulfadiazine-containing manure was administered via soil to lettuce and leek plants. At harvest, the rhizosphere soil, roots and leaves were investigated on the presence of SDZ-resistant bacteria and sul1 and sul2 genes via qPCR. Further, the impact of SDZ in manure on bacterial community and antibiotic resistance gene composition via amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomics was investigated in rhizosphere soils.

Results

Amendment of SDZ to manure resulted in an increase in sul2 genes in manure. However, abundances of sul genes in rhizosphere soils was strongly determined by plant growth and not by soil treatments with SDZ-manure, which was also the case for the bacterial community composition. Effects of SDZ at low or undetectable levels in leek rhizosphere soil became evident by bacterial association network and resistome analyses, and also in roots and leaves by SDZ-selective bacterial cultivation.

Conclusions

Antibiotic residues present in animal manure can lead to an increase in antibiotic resistances in food products. Plants play an important role in selection of antibiotic resistance genes present in manured soil. Transmission of antibiotic resistances via manure to the soil–plant ecosystem must be placed into the context of soils as vast reservoirs of ARGs.
A yield curvature model considering axial compression ratio
Authors: Zhu Yanyan , Zhong Jian
Published: September 2023

This study proposed a yield curvature prediction model considering axial compression ratio with exponential function which is improved on the basis of the specification effective yield curvature prediction model. Parametric moment–curvature curves approach was used to verify that the yield curvature is greatly affected by the section size, the yield strength of longitudinal steel bar and the axial compression ratio. On the basis, the yield curvature under different levels was obtained by Xtract and parametric moment–curvature curves approach, the result shows that with the increase of axial compression ratio, the yield curvature also increases, which is roughly a linear relationship. Subsequently, combined with the specification and considering the influence of axial compression ratio, a new yield curvature prediction model is proposed based on a massive sample space obtained by parametric moment–curvature curves approach. Moreover, by comparing with the experimental database of PEER, the accuracy of new prediction model is verified, and the result shows that the new prediction model is suitable for estimating yield curvature of square section columns.
Silent subepicardial hematoma due to spontaneous coronary artery rupture in a patient with Graves’ disease
Authors: Matsuzaki Kanji , Mitomi Kisato , Imai Akito , Watanabe Yasunori
Published: September 2023

Background

Subepicardial hematoma due to spontaneous coronary artery rupture (SCAR) is exceedingly rare.

Case presentation

An asymptomatic 68-year-old woman with Graves’ disease was introduced to us because of an abnormal right hilar shadow. Graves’ disease had been treated effectively with thiamazole. Without any chest trauma or disease related to coronary artery rupture, computed tomography revealed a 44-mm mass lesion that occupied the front of the right atrium. Two branches arising from the proximal right coronary artery surrounded the lesion and appeared to be the feeding vessels. We suspected a tumor and performed radical surgery. The lesion was completely removed using an ultrasonic scalpel and revealed as organized subepicardial hematoma.

Conclusion

This is the rare surgical case of organized subepicardial hematoma due to SCAR. A high grade of suspicion is necessary for the correct diagnosis. Graves’ disease is not considered as an underlying disease of SCAR.
Carbon-Assisted Minimally Invasive Transtubular Approach for Intercostal Nerve Schwannoma
Authors: Landriel Federico , Padilla Lichtenberg Fernando , Ulloque-Caamaño Liezel , Guerra Emily , Casto Florencia , Hem Santiago
Published: September 2023

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

The intraoperative localization of an intercostal nerve schwannoma (INS) is extremely difficult because the lesion is generally not palpable, and the fluoroscopic visualization of anatomic landmarks in the ribs is unsatisfactory. Using activated carbon suspension to mark the soft-tissue approach could improve INS localization. We present a novel, simple, reproducible carbon-assisted minimally invasive transtubular approach for an INS.

METHODS:

The patient was a 57-year-old man with a painful 12th left INS arising below the floating rib. A computed tomography image–guided, tumor-to-skin marking with aqueous carbon suspension was performed 48 hours before surgery. A minimally invasive transtubular approach following the carbon path allowed a precise tumor location.

RESULTS:

The INS was completely removed. The patient's thoracic radicular pain was immediately relieved after surgery. He was discharged the following day with residual numbness on the left thoracic side. At the 5-year follow-up, no tumor recurrence was noted in the control MRI.

CONCLUSION:

This article presents an alternative novel technique for resecting an intercostal schwannoma. Using a transtubular approach with carbon-marking assistance allowed a tumor gross total resection with immediate pain relief and a successful outcome.
Case Report: Mepolizumab in the treatment of idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia
Authors: Daboussi Selsabil , Essebaa Samia , Mhamdi Samira , Aichaouia Chiraz , Hela Ghedira , Ayadi Aida , Zied Moetemri
Published: September 2023

Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (ICEP) is a rare interstitial lung disease of unknown cause. It usually responds well to systemic corticosteroid therapy, but relapses are frequent. We describe two cases of 21- and 27-year-old patients, presenting with dyspnea. The diagnosis of steroid-relapsing and steroid-dependent ICEP was made respectively. Mepolizumab was prescribed to both patients. This treatment resulted in successful long-term disease management with much fewer side effects than a traditional corticosteroid therapy.
P2P Lending platforms in Malaysia: the awareness among Malaysian adults
Authors: Nguyen Lan Thi Phuong , Muthaiyah Saravanan , Sy Malick Ousmane , Kalabeke Wisdom
Published: September 2023

Background: Since 2016, the Securities Commission (SC) in Malaysia has given licenses to only eleven P2P lending platforms. Such lending platforms are expected to disrupt the lending services of traditional lenders in the coming years. However, being still in their infant stages, it is essential to know the extent to which such platforms are made known to potential investors out there. This study aims to examine the awareness level of the eleven P2P lending platforms among Malaysian adults. The study also explores if past investment experience and financial knowledge would influence such awareness from Malaysian adults.

Methods: A sample of 335 Malaysian individuals was used for this study. An online questionnaire was designed with three main parts: demographic, financial literacy, and P2P lending awareness. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 26, frequency, descriptive, normality, Pearson coefficients and multiple regression analyses were carried out. 

Results: Although seven out of ten respondents have good knowledge in three areas of finance: compounding rate, inflation and diversification, only 14.33% had a good and excellent awareness level of P2P lending. Thus, one would expect lesser awareness about P2P lending among Malaysian adults whose financial literacy is poor or zero. Test results from multiple regression analysis suggest that past lending experiences positively affect the awareness of P2P lending in Malaysia, but not the financial literacy.

Conclusions: The awareness about P2P lending among Malaysian adults is too low, despite their high level of education and financial literacy. No investing experience and not knowing any existing P2P lending in the country may be the reason for this low awareness. Therefore, for P2P lending to thrive in Malaysia, the eleven P2P lending platforms need to be promoted aggressively in various social media outlets.
Protocol and statistical analysis plan for a randomized controlled trial of the effect of intravenous iron on anemia in Malawian pregnant women in their third trimester (REVAMP – TT)
Authors: Harding Rebecca , Moya Ernest , Ataíde Ricardo , Truwah Zinenani , Mzembe Glory , Mhango Gomezgani , Demir Ayşe V. , Stones William , Randall Louise , Seal Marc , Johnson Katherine , Bode Stefan , Mwangi Martin N. , Pasricha Sant-Rayn , Braat Sabine , Phiri Kamija S.
Published: September 2023

Background:

Anemia affects 40% of pregnant women globally, leading to maternal mortality, premature birth, low birth weight, and poor baby development. Iron deficiency causes over 40% of anemia cases in Africa. Oral iron supplementation is insufficient for Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs) to meet current WHO targets. We hypothesized that a single intravenous dose of Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM) may be more effective than oral iron treatment for anemia recovery, particularly in these settings where women present late for antenatal care.

Methods:

This is a two-arm parallel open-label individual-randomized controlled trial in third trimester, in malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test-negative pregnant women with moderate or severe anemia - capillary hemoglobin <10 g/dL – who are randomized to receive either parenteral iron – with FCM – or standard-of-care oral iron for the remainder of pregnancy. This is the sister trial to the second-trimester REVAMP trial, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (trial registration ACTRN12618001268235, Gates Grant number INV-010612). In REVAMP-TT, recruitment and treatment are performed within primary health centers. The trial will recruit 590 women across Zomba district, Malawi. The primary outcome is the proportion of anemic women - venous hemoglobin <11 g/dL - at 36 weeks’ gestation or delivery (whichever occurs first). Other pre-specified key secondary clinical and safety outcomes include maternal iron-status and hypophosphatemia, neonate birth weight, infant growth and infant iron and hematological parameters.

Discussion:

This study will determine whether FCM, delivered within primary health centers, is effective, safe and feasible for treating moderate to severe anemia in third-trimester pregnant Malawian women. This intervention could have long-term benefits for maternal and child health, resulting in improved survival and child development.
How patient/public involvement impacts the research journey – an overview of the visual impairment research field
Authors: Ames Tess , Matthews Evan , Reynolds Alison , Fitzhenry Laurence , Logan Ann , Gooney Martina , Prior Filipe Helena
Published: September 2023

Importance – Optimized communication between patients and public, specifically the visually impaired (VI) and VI researchers, is vital for effective patient/public involvement (PPI) in health research.

Objectives - We reviewed evidence outlining effective bidirectional communication strategies in research that improve connectivity between researchers and the public, with specific reference to visual impairment perspectives.

Evidence review - In health research, a disconnect exists between research outcomes and informing patients and public about research advances and novel pre-clinical research, an interaction that is fundamental for mutual benefit. This creates barriers between patients or service-users and the researcher, as researchers are perceived to have higher level technical knowledge but limited know-how of the real-world experience of service users that might impact on the translation of their research.

Findings - Active PPI is endorsed by funding bodies/agencies to facilitate proactive and productive engagement between service users and researchers. Effective communication strategies/tools can help researchers facilitate this engagement.

Conclusions and relevance - PPI inception into mainstream research is protracted but contemporary communication strategies can effectively overcome these issues. We strongly advocate that pre-doctoral students receive PPI training at early career stages, and that patients and public have access to similar training, while Principal Investigators (PIs) are key actors ensuring PPI becomes mainstream in health research.
Current practices in marine systematic conservation planning: protocol for a global scoping review
Authors: Fabbrizzi Erika , Giakoumi Sylvaine , Petza Dimitra , Katsanevakis Stelios , Domínguez Crisóstomo Esther , Colloca Francesco , Elliot Michael , Flannery Wesley , Galparsoro Ibon , Kruse Maren , Ben Lamine Emna , McAteer Ben , Stelzenmüller Vanessa , Fraschetti Simonetta
Published: September 2023

Background: Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) involves a series of steps to identify conservation areas and develop management strategies, incorporating feedbacks, revisions, and iterations at any stage. It is a valuable tool in facilitating the effective implementation of Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP). However, few efforts have been carried out to summarize information on methods, trends, and progress in SCP in the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The present work aims at providing the protocol to perform a scoping review (ScR) to assess the contribution of SCP to the design of effective MPA networks, identifying both the development of good practices and the presence of gaps of knowledge in terms of criteria for their implementation.

Protocol: The ScR will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for ScRs supported the definition of this protocol. The three databases Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar will be used for the bibliographic search. Inclusion criteria will be as follows: studies applying SCP in the marine realms worldwide, assessing its contribution to the design of MPA networks. Both peer-reviewed and grey literature will be considered for eligibility. No search limitations will be applied regarding publications’ year, stage, subject area and source type. Studies in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Spanish will be reviewed. Grey literature will be sourced from pre-print archives, institutional websites and other web-based search engines. The Covidence software will be used for the process of documents selection and data extraction. The findings of the ScR will be presented through tables, graphs, and maps, accompanied by a narrative summary of the outcomes.

Conclusions: This comprehensive approach will provide a visual representation of the data, enhancing the understanding and interpretation of the results.
Playing on Grassroots: The Anti-Apartheid Movement, Arthur Ashe, and the Sport Boycott
Authors: Brown Evan DiPrete
Published: September 2023

Abstract: The history of campaigns against apartheid through sport reveals messy relationships between athletes and social movements, advancing recent debates over the possibilities and constraints of sport politics. The anti-apartheid movement coalesced around a transnational sporting boycott to isolate South Africa, but the American tennis icon Arthur Ashe made a series of visits to compete there in the 1970s. Ashe believed in participation as the primary mechanism for change through sport, only later embracing the boycott. When tennis tournaments and rugby tours brought South Africans to the United States, anti-apartheid organizations mobilized their own confrontational protests to interrupt play. As the growing movement won over athletes and South African propaganda turned toward commercial sport spectacle, the special position that athletes occupied provided leverage. However, their magnified legacy also obscured how resistance to apartheid through sport found success in the first place. Despite the appeal of participation as the natural path of progress, strategies of confrontation often proved more effective in the struggle against apartheid. Questioning the politics of participation and widening the frame to consider confrontation changes our understanding of sport politics, looking beyond individual athletes and bringing everyday people off the sidelines.
La reescritura de cuentos clásicos a partir del filme Blancanieves de Pablo Berger como recurso didáctico para clases de español como lengua extranjera
Authors: Badenas Roig Sonia R.
Published: September 2023

Resumen: Las tesis de Vladimir Propp demostraron ya que la subversión de la esencia de los cuentos populares podía darles, inagotablemente, nuevos y sorprendentes desenlaces y significados. En esa línea, la película Blancanieves de Pablo Berger, basada en una reformulación españolizada del cuento clásico, ofrece un interesante paradigma de creación literaria para el profesor de idiomas. Esta versión en blanco y negro del cuento tradicional, al servicio de una sátira social de la España de los años veinte, de la tauromaquia, de una redefinición del papel de la mujer, y a la luz de la tan discutida memoria histórica, ofrece una rica fuente de innumerables ejercicios para la reescritura de cuentos en las clases de idiomas y especialmente en clases de cultura española.
Shared Unshareability, Suicidality, and the Melodrama of Living on after Failure in Yiyun Li
Authors: Goh Irving
Published: September 2023

Abstract: This essay addresses an aspect of failure that I call "shared unshareability," which brings us to a reckoning that—despite failure being an experience that can be commonly shared—there is always something of failure that never leaves the personal. Articulating failure's shared unshareability can thus help us understand why some of us cannot dissociate ourselves from our sense of failure. I elucidate failure's shared unshareability through a selection of Yiyun Li's texts that deal with the failure to want to live, and further show how melodrama and writing are implicated.
“The Devil Was with Her”: Othered Social Identity of a Finland-Swedish Ostrobothnian Cunning-Woman
Authors: Kouvola Karolina
Published: September 2023

Abstract: There was a strong Lutheran and revival movement presence in rural Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia in Finland at the turn of the 20th century. Gendered roles affected how members of the community were expected to act and work. People with a reputation for witchcraft transgressed these communal norms and were exceptional informants for the folklore collectors. This article studies how an othered social identity was constructed and maintained in a premodern rural community by taking narratives collected and published between 1912–2012 about a certain cunning woman as a case study. This article analyses with close reading the othering themes contained by these narratives and how they reflect various expectations regarding normative life in a rural village community. The results show that the othering of a person with a reputation of being a witch was not only harmful for social identity but could also be a social coping mechanism.
The Politics of Genre Migration in Gary Shteyngart's Our Country Friends
Authors: Naydan Liliana M.
Published: September 2023

Abstract: This article considers the hybrid form and content of Our Country Friends through the lens of Gary Shteyngart's Russian-Jewish immigrant experience, arguing that through references to Chekhov's plays and reality television Shteyngart portrays the migratory movement of performance as a genre amid the viral spread of Covid-19 in the US. The genre migration that Shteyngart generates in his novel confounds the borders of literary forms, nations, and reality. It also critiques the performance of features of Russia's past in the xenophobic American present and sets the stage for an innovative performance of an American future that subverts conventional American bigotry.
High-precision rotation angle measurement method based on polarization self-mixing interference
Authors: Zhao Yan , Zha Chuanwu , Liu Bin , Han Fangfang
Published: September 2023

In this study, a high-precision rotation angle measurement method based on polarization self-mixing interference (SMI) is proposed. The higher signal-to-noise ratio SMI signal can be obtained by the differential processing of two polarized SMI signals with opposite phases. In order to reduce the influence of the speckle effect, the envelope signal is used to normalize the SMI signal. The fringe subdivision method is used to improve the accuracy of the rotation angle measurement. The experimental results show that the error of the rotation angle measurement is within ±0.5%, and the measurement range can reach up to 20°.
Fast registration method for sequential star images
Authors: Han Yong , Wen Desheng , Li Jie
Published: September 2023

Registration of sequential star images is an important component of space observation. Especially for onboard devices, the efficiency and robustness of registration algorithms are particularly important. The typical star image registration approach based on star matching has a low tolerance for incorrect matching, and the time cost will increase rapidly as the number of stars increases. Due to the high overlap and rigid transformation of adjacent star images, a proposed method based on star angular distance (SAD) is presented. Stars are easy to locate and extract as natural feature points, and there are a large number of identical stars in adjacent star images. The rotation and translation of the SAD, composed of identical stars in adjacent star images, are the same. Therefore, maximum intersection clustering (MIC) was proposed to cluster rotation and translation, and Gaussian weight iteration (GWI) was proposed to estimate rigid transformation parameters. The use of SAD as a star image feature reduces the complexity of star image features, which can improve the efficiency of the algorithm. MIC can tolerate errors within a certain range, and GWI can lessen their impact on the results, increasing the algorithm’s robustness. Experimental results show that the proposed method can improve the trend of rapidly increasing computation as the number of stars increases and avoid the restriction that transformation parameters must be obtained with correctly matching stars. Compared to the typical triangle method and SAD similarity method, the proposed method has higher efficiency under different numbers of stars, and translation, rotation, and location errors.
Polarizing white light interferometry for phase measurements using two simultaneous interferograms
Authors: Sánchez-Aguilar Jose-Rubén , Reyes Ana Karen , García-Lechuga Luis , Montes-Perez Areli , Toto-Arellano Noel-Ivan
Published: September 2023

Our research introduces a design for a polarization phase-shifting white light interferometric system (PPS-WLIS) that operates in a transmissive mode for measuring the slope phase of transparent objects. It comprises a cyclic path interferometer (lateral shear interferometer) coupled with a multiplexing Michelson interferometer. The system uses polarization to produce two parallel interferograms with polarization modulated with relative shifts simultaneously. To determine the optical phase, we used a two-step algorithm for phase demodulation that does not necessitate precise phase shifts, making the system more straightforward to operate. As a result, we could observe variations in the object associated with optical phase changes. Furthermore, our method simplifies the phase-shift interferometry process by requiring only one capture, making it an effective way to examine objects at dynamic events. As an illustration, we demonstrated the temperature measurement generated by a section of a candle flame.
Quantum Decay of the Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation Soliton
Authors: Ward Stuart , Allahverdi Rouzbeh , Mafi Arash
Published: September 2023

Optical solitons are known to be classically stable. However, we show that these solitons shed photons into the continuum and decay due to quantum effects. We show the soliton photon number decreases quartically with time.
Self-absorption correction method based on intensity self-calibration of doublet lines
Authors: Hou Jiajia , Zhang Dacheng , Feng Zhongqi , Zhu Jiangfeng , Zhang Lei
Published: September 2023

The self-absorption effect in an optically thick plasma seriously affects the spectral line intensity and the measurement accuracy of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). In this work, a self-absorption correction method based on intensity self-calibration of doublet lines belonging to the same multiplet is proposed. The K/Δλ0 parameter and self-absorption coefficient (SA) of the doublet lines of the analytical element can be calculated based on the measured actual lines intensity ratio and the K parameters ratio. Compared with the generally applied self-absorption correction methods, this method can effectively reduce the influence of laser energy and plasma plume fluctuations and the non-uniformity distribution of the element in the plasma, and is independent of the availability of Stark broadening coefficients. So it has obvious advantages of high computation efficiency, high analysis accuracy and good applicability. Univariate quantitative analysis results of aluminum (Al) show that the correlation coefficient of calibration curves and the measurement accuracy of elemental content have been significantly improved with the self-absorption correction.
Origin of plasmonic Fano resonance in metal-hole/split-ring-resonator metamaterials disclosed by temporal coupled-mode theory
Authors: Deng Qiurong , Lin Hao , Li Zhi-Yuan
Published: September 2023

In plasmonic Fano resonance, the interaction between a discrete plasmonic mode and a continuum of plasmonic mode gives rise to an asymmetric line shape in the scattering or absorption spectrum, enabling a wide range of applications such as sensing, switching, and slow light devices. Here, we establish a theoretical solution in the framework of temporal coupled-mode theory (TCMT) to study the three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) Fano resonances induced by strong coupling between metal hole (MH) and split ring resonator (SRR) array. We first separately analyze the transmission spectra of the MH array and SRR array under different polarized light excitation. We further investigate the electromagnetic field and charge density distribution corresponding to the resonant modes at the peak or valley wavelength of the transmission spectrum and figure out the electric/magnetic dipole feature of these resonance modes. We then establish a theoretical solution by TCMT for Fano resonances arising from the coupling of these modes. The calculated transmission spectrum is closely matching with the numerically simulated transmission spectrum for these Fano resonances in the MH-SRR array, which effectively elucidates that the asymmetry of the Fano resonances is caused by the coupling between bright and dark plasmonic modes involved in the two structures. Our results can help to understand the profound physics in such coupled plasmonic systems.
2-bit coding metasurface with a double layer random flip structure for wide band diffuse reflection and reciprocity protected transmission
Authors: Zhang Zhixiao , Gao Li
Published: September 2023

Coding metasurfaces based on random-flip structures have attracted great attention due to their ability to achieve distortion-free transmission and diffuse reflection simultaneously. However, previous implementation based on 1-bit coding metasurface has a narrow bandwidth and insufficient bandwidth coverage in the near infrared region. Here, we propose a novel vertical 2-bit coding metasurface composed of double-layer random-flip meta-atoms (DLRFM). while the main transmission lobe is unchanged, the zero-order diffraction intensity of DLRFM's reflection direction is less than 10% of the total reflection in the range of 0°∼ 30° incidence angle, which proves its excellent diffuse reflection and distortion-free transmission effect. Such design strategy can be extended to multiple wide band coverage in near-infrared regime by tailoring the geometric parameters, which indicates good application potential in advanced display and lens designs.
Scalable angular spectrum propagation
Authors: Heintzmann Rainer , Loetgering Lars , Wechsler Felix
Published: September 2023

Coherent field propagation is an essential computational tool in optics with applications ranging from computational optics and optical design to iterative field reconstructions. An improvement in the computational speed of current propagation methods is therefore highly desired. We describe a scalable angular spectrum (SAS) algorithm with zoom capability for numerical propagation of scalar wave fields in homogeneous media. It allows for propagation models where the destination pixel pitch is larger than the source pixel pitch, requires a computational complexity proportional to the cost of three successive fast Fourier transform operations of the input field, and it is valid for high numerical aperture (NA) propagation geometries. We find that SAS propagation approaches the precision of the computationally far more expensive angular spectrum method in conjunction with zero-padding. This was computationally confirmed by propagation examples. Finally, we discuss the validity of the proposed SAS method, derive practical bandlimit criteria, and state a limit for the propagation distance. The scalability, efficiency, and accuracy at high NA of our proposed wave propagation algorithm yield benefits for a large variety of forward and inverse modeling problems with the ability to apply automatic differentiation.
Referenceless characterisation of complex media using physics-informed neural networks
Authors: Goel Suraj , Conti Claudio , Leedumrongwatthanakun Saroch , Malik Mehul
Published: September 2023

In this work, we present a method to characterise the transmission matrices of complex scattering media using a physics-informed, multi-plane neural network (MPNN) without the requirement of a known optical reference field. We use this method to accurately measure the transmission matrix of a commercial multi-mode fiber without the problems of output-phase ambiguity and dark spots, leading to upto 58\% improvement in focusing efficiency compared with phase-stepping holography. We demonstrate how our method is significantly more noise-robust than phase-stepping holography and show how it can be generalised to characterise a cascade of transmission matrices, allowing one to control the propagation of light between independent scattering media. This work presents an essential tool for accurate light control through complex media, with applications ranging from classical optical networks, biomedical imaging, to quantum information processing.
Significant enhancement of multiple resonant sidebands in a soliton fiber laser
Authors: Zhang Tianqi , Meng Fanchao , Yan Qi , Zhang Chuanze , Jia Zhixu , Qin Weiping , Qin Guanshi , Xu Huailiang
Published: September 2023

Resonant sidebands in soliton fiber lasers have garnered substantial interest in recent years due to their crucial role in understanding soliton propagation and interaction dynamics. However, most previous studies and applications were restricted to focusing on only the first few low-order resonant sidebands because higher-order sidebands usually decay exponentially as their wavelengths shift far away from the soliton center and are negligibly weak. Here we report numerically and experimentally significant enhancement of multiple resonant sidebands in a soliton fiber laser mode-locked by a nonlinear polarization evolution mechanism. The birefringence and the gain profile of the laser cavity were shown to be critical for this phenomenon. Multiple intense resonant sidebands were generated whose maximum intensity was more than 30 dB higher than that of the soliton, which is the highest yet reported, to our knowledge. To accurately predict the wavelengths of all high-order resonant sidebands, an explicit formula was derived by taking the third-order dispersion effect into account. The temporal features of multiple orders of resonant sidebands were characterized, which all exhibit exponentially decaying leading edges. This study provides insight into understanding the properties of high-order resonant sidebands in a soliton laser and opens possibilities for constructing multi-wavelength laser sources.
Design strategy of a high-performance multispectral stealth material based on the 3D meta-atom
Authors: Min Pingping , Song Zicheng , Wang Tianyu , Ralchenko Victor G. , He Yurong , Zhu Jiaqi
Published: September 2023

In this paper, a 3D meta-atom-based structure is constructed for the multifunctional compatible design of visible, infrared, and microwave. To achieve high performance, a novel dispersion tailoring strategy is proposed. Through the incorporation of multiple controllable losses within the 3D meta-atom, the dispersion characteristics are tailored to the desired target region. The effectiveness of the strategy is verified with an error rate of less than 5%. A proof-of-concept prototype is designed and fabricated, exhibiting high visible transparency, low infrared emission of 0.28, and microwave ultra-broadband absorption with a fractional bandwidth of 150% under 2.7 to 18.7 GHz. This work contributes a novel design strategy for the development of high-performance multispectral stealth materials with wide applications.
‘The luxury runs deep’: Which were the most luxurious cars of the 1970s?
Authors: Bradbury Oliver
Published: September 2023

I come to this topic for two reasons. I am possibly the world’s first automobile colour and trim historian. I am also the author of a book-length paper concerning design in the 1970s (interior design, product design, automobile design, architecture, etc.). It is these two research areas that have led me to write this article about the most luxurious cars of the 1970s, the decade that rediscovered luxury. 1970s car design was very much about investigating the car interior after so much previous emphasis on exterior design, and in this decade, car interiors became much more luxurious and generally comfortable across industry, not for just the top marques. The four cars under investigation here are Rolls-Royce Camargue, which was the most expensive car in the world when launched in 1975; Aston Martin Lagonda (four doors); Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas; and Stutz Blackhawk. It is stating the obvious to say that automobile literature in the form of books and journals is a vast subject matter, and yet there was until recently not a single standalone study of a fundamental aspect of car design – colour and trim, one with universal application. This study being this author’s ‘Colour and trim design for automobiles, 1960–95, and that of recognising an uncharted genre in design history’ published in Aspects of Motoring History (2021, issue 17), the Journal of the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain. Literature invariably tends to be about styling or engineering concerns. Here is an opportunity to move beyond these old concerns into an uncharted territory.
Craftsmanship: Interview with Kathryn Sargent, master cutter and tailor
Authors: Borstrock Shaun
Published: September 2023

As part of the In Pursuit of Luxury podcast series, I have interviewed a number of people in a variety of areas in the luxury sector whose work involves areas ranging from design to business, manufacturing, publishing, sustainability and PR. I have interviewed designers and craftspersons and those who are involved in leadership roles in major corporations. In our pursuit of luxury and now in the eighth season of the In Pursuit of Luxury podcast we continue the debate around luxury. What is luxury? How is it defined? Who defines it? And why define it at all? These questions and more are at the forefront of our mind as we discuss current and emergent definitions of luxury and that they mean to each of our interviewees. I have interviewed master craftsmen like, for example, the watchmaker, Roger W. Smith, the jeweller Theo Fennell, the designer Ron Arad and the Michelin star chef Ollie Dabbous. I thought Master Cutter and Tailor Kathryn Sargent’s interview would be particularly suited for this issue as she optimizes notions of craftsmanship in the world of bespoke tailoring.
Curative handcrafted textiles: Healing generations
Authors: Manocha Rishab
Published: September 2023

While natural disasters in the past, along with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, have disrupted livelihoods, they have also activated the structuring of handicraft as an age-old remedial practice with curative properties. Further, the need for communicating textile processes, in support of slow fashion, has allowed educational institutions to contextualize this teaching with the help of pedagogical models that define the role of both craft education and craft-based research. As an educator at Pearl Academy, India, what I can observe in the modern world today is that there is always a cross-cultural contact between the ‘local’ and the ‘global’ and that, the much-discussed ‘global village’ is no longer a fantasy but a fact, despite numerous paradoxes. This article aims at giving an insight into my perspectives and experiences that shed light on the plight of handicraft in the most hand-skilled country in the world. It also lends a bird’s-eye point of view on the need to break barriers between modern and traditional, between urban and rural, etc., and look at the many avatars of handicraft and techniques being repurposed for modern applications such as luxury fashion, interior design and jewellery. This can result in the creation of works that are not only aesthetically pleasing but are also functional, sustainable and culturally sensitive and can help designers and artists navigate complex ethical issues that resonate with diverse communities. The article takes into consideration handcrafted textile samples developed by three postgraduate fashion design students at Pearl Academy, India, who have developed textile samples as part of their project called ‘Hybrid Textiles’. The samples create an epilogue to the context of this study through an ‘end of life’ narrative and craft practices in India.
Analysis of Japan's CPTPP Trade Effect Using Gravity Model and Machine Learning Approach
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Kim Jongin , Hwang Seong-hyuk
Published: September 2023

In 2022, the Korean government announced its intention to join the CPTPP, led by Japan and launched in 2018, which aims to achieve comprehensive tariff abolition and establish new trade norms. According to our analysis, as with traditional gravity model outcomes, it appears that the greater the per capita GDP and the shorter the distance between countries, the greater the effect on promoting trade. However, the trade-enhancing effect after the enforcement of the CPTPP has not yet been clearly confirmed. Nevertheless, if tariff abolition and reduction proceed as planned, the trade-enhancing effect of the CPTPP is expected to gradually expand. On the other hand, an increase in trade between Japan and CPTPP member countries may suggest a potential contraction in trade with non-member countries. This could pose a threat to Korean industries that need to establish a stable supply chain within the Asia-Pacific region. As Japan is South Korea's fourth largest trading partner, a detailed review of the impact of the CPTPP on future trade between Japan and its member countries should form the basis for discussions on Korea's possible participation in the CPTPP and the content of negotiations.
The Role of BSBA Teachers on Students' Entrepreneurial Mindset and Skills at the College of Management and Accountancy
Authors: Castillo Manuel P. , Estremera Jann Mark M.
Published: September 2023

This study investigates the pivotal role of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) teachers in shaping students' entrepreneurial mindset and developing their entrepreneurial skills. The entrepreneurial mindset encompasses attitudes and characteristics conducive to creative thinking, calculated risk-taking, perseverance, and adaptability. Meanwhile, entrepreneurial skills encompass practical abilities such as problem-solving, communication, leadership, and innovation. The study explores the influence of BSBA teachers on creativity, problem-solving, risk assessment, decision-making, teaching methods, and instructional approaches. The research draws upon a diverse range of theoretical perspectives, with an emphasis on experiential learning as a dynamic teaching approach that actively engages students in problem-solving, risk assessment, and decision-making. Employing a descriptive and correlational research design, the study collected data from BSBA students enrolled in a college of management and accountancy. The research utilized both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the collected data from a sample of 200 BSBA students. The results reveal a strong consensus among students on the significant impact of BSBA teachers on their entrepreneurial mindset and skills. Teaching methods that incorporate visual aids and interactive approaches received particularly high agreement, as did instructional methods focusing on experiential learning. The data also suggests a link between students' demographic profiles, college year level, and their perceptions of the impact of BSBA teachers on their entrepreneurial skills. The findings reject the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between student profiles and the role of BSBA teachers in entrepreneurial skills development. It is evident that BSBA educators hold a crucial position in nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset and refining entrepreneurial proficiencies in students. Their involvement with inventive pedagogical techniques, experiential methodologies, and practical illustrations profoundly shapes students' capacity for innovative thinking, proficient problem-solving, prudent risk assessment, and well-informed decision-making. This research serves to enhance comprehension regarding efficacious educational strategies in advancing entrepreneurship within the framework of the BSBA curriculum.
Exercise intensities modulate ACE2/MasR/eNOS pathway in male Wistar rat's lung
Authors: Lestari Yani Medina , Tarawan Vita Murniati , Achadiyani Achadiyani , Radhiyanti Putri Teesa , Ray Hamidie Ronald Daniel , Lesmana Ronny , Goenawan Hanna
Published: September 2023

Specific exercise intensities could improve lung vascular function by increasing nitric oxide (NO). The ACE2/MasR/eNOS axis is one of the pathways facilitating NO synthesis. This study examines the effect of different intensities of aerobic training on the ACE2/MasR/eNOS axis and histology of lung muscular arteries. Male Wistar rats were used in this study and randomized into control and exercise groups receiving low‐, moderate‐, and high‐intensity training. The training was conducted for 30 min daily, five times a week, for 8 weeks. We observed that different exercise intensities affect the ACE2/MasR/eNOS pathway differently. Compared to control, high‐intensity aerobic exercise significantly increased ACE2, Mas receptor (MasR), and eNOS mRNA expressions (p < 0.01). Moderate‐intensity exercise significantly increased MasR and eNOS mRNA expressions compared to the control (p < 0.05), and this intensity also increased ACE2 mRNA but not significantly. Low‐intensity exercise increased ACE2, MasR, and eNOS mRNA expressions but not significantly. Low‐, moderate‐, or high‐intensity exercises reduced the medial wall thickness of the lung muscular arteries but not significantly. In conclusion, high‐intensity exercise may induce NO synthesis in the lung by increasing mRNA expression of ACE2, MasR, and eNOS without decreasing the medial wall thickness of the muscular artery. Thus, high‐intensity exercise may be the optimal intensity to improve NO synthesis and vascular function in the lung.
The Lorentzian Lichnerowicz conjecture for real-analytic, three-dimensional manifolds
Authors: Frances Charles , Melnick Karin
Published: September 2023

We prove that, for a compact, 3-dimensional, real-analytic, Lorentzian manifold, if the group of conformal transformations does not preserve any metric in the conformal class, then the metric is conformally flat.
Positive scalar curvature on manifolds with fibered singularities
Authors: Botvinnik Boris , Rosenberg Jonathan
Published: September 2023

A (compact) manifold with fibered 𝑃-singularities is a (possibly) singular pseudomanifold

M
Σ

M_{\Sigma}

with two strata: an open nonsingular stratum

M
̊

\mathring{M}

(a smooth open manifold) and a closed stratum

β
⁢
M

\beta M

(a closed manifold of positive codimension), such that a tubular neighborhood of

β
⁢
M

\beta M

is a fiber bundle with fibers each looking like the cone on a fixed closed manifold 𝑃.
We discuss what it means for such an

M
Σ

M_{\Sigma}

with fibered 𝑃-singularities to admit an appropriate Riemannian metric of positive scalar curvature, and we give necessary and sufficient conditions (the necessary conditions based on suitable versions of index theory, the sufficient conditions based on surgery methods and homotopy theory) for this to happen when the singularity type 𝑃 is either

Z
/
k

\mathbb{Z}/k

or

S
1

S^{1}

, and 𝑀 and the boundary of the tubular neighborhood of the singular stratum are simply connected and carry spin structures.
Along the way, we prove some results of perhaps independent interest, concerning metrics on spin𝑐 manifolds with positive “twisted scalar curvature,” where the twisting comes from the curvature of the spin𝑐 line bundle.
Congenital glioblastoma – prenatal diagnosis becoming a diagnostic challenge after birth: a case report
Authors: Maria Orzeł M. , Weronika Pruszek K. , Beata Borek-Dzięcioł , Ewa Głuszczak-Idziakowska , Bożena Kociszewska-Najman
Published: September 2023

Objectives

The incidence of congenital brain tumors is estimated at 1.1–3.6 per 100.000 live births, accounting for 0.5–2 % of all cancers in the pediatric population. Congenital gliomas account for 3.1–8.9 % of all congenital brain tumors and are cancers with a poor prognosis. The rate of stillbirth and death on the first day of life reaches 29 %; 38 % die within the first week, and 56 % die within the first two months. The average length of survival is two years.

Case presentation

In the 29th week of pregnancy, a female fetus was diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage complicated by hydrocephalus. Postnatal brain MRI imaging showed a solid proliferative lesion of the left hemisphere with dilatation of the ventricular system. Brown cerebrospinal fluid was collected during the puncture of the left lateral ventricle to reduce hydrocephalus. No tumor cells were detected by cytology. Due to increasing hydrocephalus, the patient was qualified for Rickham reservoir implantation. On day 27th, a craniotomy was performed to determine the etiology of recurrent prenatal intraventricular bleeding. During surgery, the bleeding mass raised the suspicion of neoplasm—histopathological examination of the retrieved tissue diagnosed WHO stage IV malignant glioma. The patient died at 8 months of age.

Conclusions

Prenatal diagnosis of an abnormal structure in the fetal brain remains a diagnostic challenge in neonates. Glioblastoma is a rare neoplasm with a poor prognosis.