bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determination and quantification of sedimentary processes in salt marshes using end‐member modelling of grain‐size data
Authors: Lenz Nina , Lindhorst Sebastian , Arz Helge W.
Published: November 2022

End‐member modelling of bulk grain‐size distributions allows the unravelling of natural and anthropogenic depositional processes in salt marshes and quantification of their respective contribution to marsh accretion. The sedimentology of two marshes is presented: (1) a sheltered back‐barrier marsh; and (2) an exposed, reinstated foreland marsh. Sedimentological data are supplemented by an age model based on lead‐210 decay and caesium‐137, as well as geochemical data. End‐member modelling of grain‐size data shows that marsh growth in back‐barrier settings is primarily controlled by the settling of fines from suspension during marsh inundation. In addition, nearby active dunes deliver aeolian sediment (up to 77% of the total sediment accretion), potentially enhancing the capability of salt marshes to adapt to sea‐level rise. Growth of exposed marshes, by contrast, primarily results from high‐energy inundation and is attributed to two sediment‐transport processes. On the seaward edge of the marsh, sedimentation is dominated by coarser‐grained traction load, whereas further inland, settling of fine‐grained suspension load prevails. In addition, a third, coarse‐grained sediment sub‐population is interpreted to derive from anthropogenic land‐reclamation measures, that is material from drainage channels relocated onto the marsh surface. This process contributed up to 34% to the total marsh accretion and terminated synchronously with the end of land reclamation measures. Data suggest that natural sediment supply to marshes alone is sufficient to outpace contemporary sea‐level rise in the study area. This underlines the resilience potential of salt marshes in times of rising sea levels. The comparison of grain‐size sub‐populations with observed climate variability implies that even managed marshes allow for the extraction of environmental signals if natural and anthropogenic sedimentary processes are determined and their relative contribution to bulk sediment composition is quantified. Data series based solely on bulk sediments, however, seem to be of limited use because it is difficult to exclude bias of natural signals by anthropogenic measures.
Anti‐swelling polyethyleneimine‐modified MXene nanofiltration membranes for efficient and selective molecular separation
Authors: Xing Chao , Zhang Yuting , Huang Rong , Li Suhong , He Jing , Fu Rong , Lai Chao , Liu Changyu , Shen Lingdi , Zhang Shanqing
Published: November 2022

Two‐dimensional (2D) MXene‐based nanofiltration membranes could sustainably and rapidly produce clean water. However, the challenges related to the severe swelling of the MXene membranes in water should be overcome before the practical application. In this work, the negatively charged MXene‐based membrane is modified by positively charged polyethyleneimine (PEI) with various PEI:MXene ratios. The PEI‐MXene is deposited on a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) substrate as a top membrane to prepare an anti‐swelling composite PEI‐MXene/PAN membranes with outstanding mechanical strength and stability. Interestingly, when the interlayer spacing of the top Mxene layers are tuned between ca. 14.15 and ca. 14.52 Å, the resultant PEI‐MXene/PAN membranes exhibit the excellent ability of size sieving. For instance, PEI‐MXene(1:1)/PAN membrane presents high flux performance to Acid Blue 90 (AB90), Congo Red (CR), and Direct Red 80 (DR80) (i.e., 563.9, 882.6, and 633.6 L m−2 h−1, respectively) at 0.2 MPa, and remarkable rejection rates, that is, 99.3%, 99.82%, and 99.9%, respectively. Besides, the PEI‐MXene(0.5:1)/PAN possesses the highest flux of 1528.1 L m−2 h−1 and outstanding rejection rate of 99.9% to dye of AB8GX. Moreover, the proposed strategy can be extended to the modification of other 2D material nanofiltration membranes.

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Monitoring of the hydraulic units operation of the Sayano‐Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant using remote seismic observations
Authors: Gromyko Pavel Vladimirovich , Fedin Konstantin Vladimirovich , Seleznev Victor Sergeevich , Kolesnikov Yury Ivanovich , Ngomayezwe Luckymore
Published: November 2022

After a major accident in August 2009 at the Sayano‐Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant (SS HPP), all 10 hydroelectric units (HU) with a total capacity of 6400 MW failed. After investigating the causes of the accident and the reconstruction of the hydroelectric power plant, there was to develop a methodology for monitoring the operation of the newly commissioned HU. For inspection, a method was developed based on monitoring the natural frequencies of the dam structures and forced vibrations caused by the operation of the equipment. The article presents the main results of this study. Within the framework of the proposed approach, monitoring was carried out at various observation points of the dam structures and the turbine hall, as well as on a network of remote seismic stations. Based on the data recorded since 2009, an assessment of the parameters of dynamic impacts arising from the operation of hydraulic units of various types in different load modes on the elements of the HPP structure was carried out, and cause‐and‐effect relationships between changes in the operating modes of equipment and recorded vibrations in dam structures were investigated. An estimate of the general level of vibrations during the operation of various types of hydraulic units is given. As a result, the operating modes of hydraulic units are determined, in which there is a multiple increase in the amplitude of natural vibrations of the dam, an assessment of the operational characteristics of hydraulic units is given, taking into account the impact of seasonal conditions and changes in the water level in the reservoir.
A benchmark shaking table test on the seismic responses of an extra‐large LNG storage tank
Authors: Zhang Ding‐Yuan , Wu Jian‐Ying , Zhou Hao , Gong Mo‐Song
Published: November 2022

In recent years, many large‐scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks have been built all over the world. Due to their high constructional cost and important functions to the public, the academic and engineering communities are very concerned with the operational safety of these important infrastructures once subjected to potentially disastrous actions, that is, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, and so forth. This work presented a benchmark test in evaluating the aseismic performance of extra‐large prestressed reinforced concrete (RC) LNG storage tanks. A 1:14 scaled model of the prototype LNG tank was designed and constructed for shaking table tests. Two recorded and two artificial earthquake ground motions with peak ground acceleration (PGA) up to 1.2g were selected successively as seismic inputs to the tank. The acceleration, displacement, shear force, and strain responses of the model structure were presented, analyzed, and discussed in detail. It was found that due to the differences in the frequency spectra, the seismic excitations have distinct influences on the responses of the tank model. In particular, the wall‐roof junction was detected as the weakest part of the outer tank, and the filling water had non‐negligible effects on the overall seismic responses of the tank. Verified finite element simulations were also presented as supplements to the experimental study. Some suggestions were made with the aim to improve the designs of LNG storage tanks.
Glial progenitor cells of the adult human white and grey matter are contextually distinct
Authors: Osorio Maria Joana , Mariani John N. , Zou Lisa , Schanz Steven J. , Heffernan Kate , Cornwell Adam , Goldman Steven A.
Published: November 2022

Genomic analyses have revealed heterogeneity among glial progenitor cells (GPCs), but the compartment selectivity of human GPCs (hGPCs) is unclear. Here, we asked if GPCs of human grey and white brain matter are distinct in their architecture and associated gene expression. RNA profiling of NG2‐defined hGPCs derived from adult human neocortex and white matter differed in their expression of genes involved in Wnt, NOTCH, BMP and TGFβ signaling, suggesting compartment‐selective biases in fate and self‐renewal. White matter hGPCs over‐expressed the BMP antagonists BAMBI and CHRDL1, suggesting their tonic suppression of astrocytic fate relative to cortical hGPCs, whose relative enrichment of cytoskeletal genes presaged their greater morphological complexity. In human glial chimeric mice, cortical hGPCs assumed larger and more complex morphologies than white matter hGPCs, and both were more complex than their mouse counterparts. These findings suggest that human grey and white matter GPCs comprise context‐specific pools with distinct functional biases.
Disease specific and nonspecific metabolic brain networks in behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia
Authors: Rus Tomaž , Perovnik Matej , Vo An , Nguyen Nha , Tang Chris , Jamšek Jan , Šurlan Popović Katarina , Grimmer Timo , Yakushev Igor , Diehl‐Schmid Janine , Eidelberg David , Trošt Maja
Published: November 2022

Behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is common among young‐onset dementia patients. While bvFTD‐specific multivariate metabolic brain pattern (bFDRP) has been identified previously, little is known about its temporal evolution, internal structure, effect of atrophy, and its relationship with nonspecific resting‐state networks such as default mode network (DMN). In this multicenter study, we explored FDG‐PET brain scans of 111 bvFTD, 26 Alzheimer's disease, 16 Creutzfeldt‐Jakob's disease, 24 semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (PPA), 18 nonfluent variant PPA and 77 healthy control subjects (HC) from Slovenia, USA, and Germany. bFDRP was identified in a cohort of 20 bvFTD patients and age‐matched HC using scaled subprofile model/principle component analysis and validated in three independent cohorts. It was characterized by hypometabolism in frontal cortex, insula, anterior/middle cingulate, caudate, thalamus, and temporal poles. Its expression in bvFTD patients was significantly higher compared to HC and other dementia syndromes (p < .0004), correlated with cognitive decline (p = .0001), and increased over time in longitudinal cohort (p = .0007). Analysis of internal network organization by graph‐theory methods revealed prominent network disruption in bvFTD patients. We have further found a specific atrophy‐related pattern grossly corresponding to bFDRP; however, its contribution to the metabolic pattern was minimal. Finally, despite the overlap between bFDRP and FDG‐PET‐derived DMN, we demonstrated a predominant role of the specific bFDRP. Taken together, we validated the bFDRP network as a diagnostic/prognostic biomarker specific for bvFTD, provided a unique insight into its highly reproducible internal structure, and proved that bFDRP is unaffected by structural atrophy and independent of normal resting state networks loss.
Detection of increased intracranial pressure in trans‐oral robotic thyroidectomy using optic nerve sheath diameter measurement
Authors: Lim Hyunyoung , Kim Eugene , Kim Soo Yeon , Kim Ji‐Yoon , Jung Yundo , Lee Tagkeun , Kim Nayeon , Tae Kyung
Published: November 2022

Background

During transoral robot‐assisted thyroidectomy, there is a risk of increasing intracranial pressure because the site of CO2 insufflation is narrow and close to the brain.

Methods

We analyzed the pre‐ to post‐CO2 neck insufflation change in the optic nerve sheath diameter during transoral robot‐assisted thyroidectomy. Changes in vital‐signs, airway pressure, and arterial carbon dioxide pressure were analyzed along with postoperative complications.

Results

Among the 30 participants, the post‐CO2 inflation mean optic nerve sheath diameter (5.64 ± 0.54 mm) was higher than the pre‐induction diameter (4.81 ± 0.37 mm) with a mean difference of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.69–0.97; p < 0.001), but returned to baseline after CO2 deflation in most cases. One participant had sustained increased optic nerve sheath diameter (6.35 mm) associated with severe new‐onset postoperative headache.

Conclusion

Transient elevation in the intracranial pressure during low‐pressure CO2 neck insufflation in the transoral robot‐assisted thyroidectomy did not appear to adversely affect patients.
Advancing remote sensing and machine learning‐driven frameworks for groundwater withdrawal estimation in Arizona: Linking land subsidence to groundwater withdrawals
Authors: Majumdar Sayantan , Smith Ryan , Conway Brian D. , Lakshmi Venkataraman
Published: November 2022

Groundwater plays a crucial role in sustaining global food security but is being over‐exploited in many basins of the world. Despite its importance and finite availability, local‐scale monitoring of groundwater withdrawals required for sustainable water management practices is not carried out in most countries, including the United States. In this study, we combine publicly available datasets into a machine learning framework for estimating groundwater withdrawals over the state of Arizona. Here we include evapotranspiration, precipitation, crop coefficients, land use, annual discharge, well density, and watershed stress metrics for our predictions. We employ random forests to predict groundwater withdrawals from 2002 to 2020 at a 2 km spatial resolution using in situ groundwater withdrawal data available for Arizona Active Management Areas (AMA) and Irrigation Non‐Expansion Areas (INA) from 2002 to 2009 for training and 2010–2020 for validating the model respectively. The results show high training () and good testing () scores with normalized mean absolute error (NMAE) ≈ 0.62 and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) ≈ 2.34 for the AMA/INA region. Using this method, we spatially extrapolate the existing groundwater withdrawal estimates to the entire state and observe the co‐occurrence of both groundwater withdrawals and land subsidence in South‐Central and Southern Arizona. Our model predicts groundwater withdrawals in regions where production wells are present on agricultural lands and subsidence is observed from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), but withdrawals are not monitored. By performing a comparative analysis over these regions using the predicted groundwater withdrawals and InSAR‐based land subsidence estimates, we observe a varying degree of subsidence for similar volumes of withdrawals in different basins. The performance of our model on validation datasets and its favourable comparison with independent water use proxies such as InSAR demonstrate the effectiveness and extensibility of our combined remote sensing and machine learning‐based approach.
Long term monitoring of rainwater harvesting tanks: Is multi‐years management possible in crystalline South Indian aquifers?
Authors: Boisson Alexandre , Villesseche David , Selles Adrien , Alazard Marina , Chandra Subash , Ferrant Sylvain , Maréchal Jean‐Christophe
Published: November 2022

In semi‐arid regions as in India, where agriculture relies on groundwater abstraction, increase of water resources availability through managed aquifer recharge (MAR) or rainwater harvesting (RWH) is often perceived as a major solution. Studies on these structures’ efficiency exists but despite the interest, limited information is available on the temporal variation of their replenishment. In a monsoon driven climate, the inter‐annual variations are crucial to assess the potential of water storage and multi‐year management especially for these structures. Here, we aim at developing a methodology to reconstruct water storage of RWH tanks to further improve our understanding on long term efficiency and multi‐years drought management. To tackle this issue, long‐term monitoring of a RWH tank located in Telangana in Southern India is achieved by a combination of field monitoring over 2 years (tanks surface and water levels) and a daily water balance compared to LANDSAT measurements of the tank area. The procedure allows reconstructing the tank filling dynamic over a 14‐years period at a daily time step and show the extreme variability of the tank filling level. During this period, the yearly maximum tank volume ranges from 8650 to ~200 000 m3. On the 14‐years period, the tank reach its maximum capacity only once and, for 1/3 of the time, yearly maximum replenishment is below 15% of its capacity. The surface water availability remains limited in time since the tank dries‐up annually, except for 2 years. However, water percolation to the aquifer is slightly enhanced for some years. During this monitoring period, very few extreme raining events (6) contribute for more than 50% of the collected volume. This observation highlights (1) the dependency of the structure to extreme storm events, (2) the limited capacity for a multi‐year's management and (3) the farmers vulnerability to successive droughts.
Risk factors and outcomes in people with stroke associated with pregnancy: A retrospective single‐center cohort
Authors: Fishel Bartal Michal , Clifford Corey C. , Bentum Nana Ama A. , Ogunye Ayokunle A. , Chen Han‐Yang , Chauhan Suneet P. , Sibai Baha M.
Published: November 2022

Objective

To describe timing, antecedent events, and outcomes in pregnancy‐related stroke (PAS).

Methods

Retrospective single‐center cohort of all PAS within 42 days of delivery from September 2010 to May 2021. Data were abstracted from medical records.

Results

Among 51 500 births, we identified 91 cases of PAS, with a stroke rate of 177 per 100 000 births. Of all PAS, 62% (n = 56) were hemorrhagic, 56% (n = 51) occurred postpartum, 49% (n = 45) occurred in patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and 36% (n = 33) had surgical interventions. There were nine deaths, with a case fatality rate of 9.9%. Of the survivors (n = 82), 37 (45.1%) had residual deficits. Patients with HDP were more likely to have a postpartum stroke than those without HDP (crude relative risk 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.16–2.55). Among patients with HDP, 89% had at least one severe range blood pressure (BP), with a peak systolic BP of 187.8 ± 27.9 mm Hg and a peak diastolic BP of 109.4 ± 18.4 mm Hg. There was no difference in presenting symptoms (P = 0.120), residual deficits (P = 0.609), or mortality (P = 0.739) between those with or without HDP.

Conclusions

At a referral hospital, PAS was uncommon but was associated with a high mortality rate. An improved understanding of the modifiable risk factors is warranted to avert the sequelae of PAS.
The correlation between total deceleration and acceleration surface areas on electronic fetal monitoring and neonatal cord blood pH in postdate pregnancies
Authors: Talmor Meital , Rotem Reut , Wientraub Adi Y. , Yaniv Salem Shimrit
Published: November 2022

Objective

To assess the correlation between the total decelerations area in the final 120 min before delivery and neonatal cord blood pH in postdate pregnancies.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study included women with gestational age greater than 41 weeks, singleton pregnancy, and a category II electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) of at least 30 min during the final 120 min before delivery. We included postdate deliveries of an otherwise low‐risk parturient population. Each area was calculated as duration × depth × 1/2. Correlations were tested using the Spearman correlation coefficient.

Results

A total of 100 EFMs were included in the analysis. Median pH was significantly lower in neonates above the median total deceleration area under the curve (AUC; 7.26 vs. 7.32, P = 0.002). Gestational age at delivery was independently associated with total deceleration AUC above median (adjusted odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.09–1.37) controlling for history of previous cesarean delivery and duration of second stage of labor. A significant correlation was found between cord blood pH and total deceleration area (P < 0.001, Spearman correlation coefficient −0.37).

Conclusion

Among women with postdate pregnancies, the total deceleration area and the mean maximum duration of decelerations were negatively correlated with cord blood pH. Further studies are needed to incorporate deceleration area as a method in predicting fetal acidemia.
Labor induction in term gravidas with prelabor rupture of membranes and unfavorable cervixes: Oxytocin versus vaginal misoprostol
Authors: Zhang Chengyan , Jiang Haili , Kong Lijun , Feng Yi , Zhou Li
Published: November 2022

Objective

To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between oxytocin and vaginal misoprostol induction in women with term prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) and unfavorable cervixes.

Methods

In this retrospective study, 589 pregnant women with term singleton fetuses in cephalic presentation, reactive nonstress tests, PROM of 2–24 h duration, Bishop score <6, and no previous uterine surgery were reviewed and divided into oxytocin (n = 301) and misoprostol (n = 288) groups. The primary outcomes were the rate of vaginal delivery and delivery within 24 h.

Results

After 24 h of induction, the misoprostol group showed a significantly higher proportion of vaginal delivery (64.6% vs. 49.5%, P < 0.001) and a lower cesarean section delivery rate (11.5% vs. 25.2%, P < 0.001) than the oxytocin group. More primiparas in the misoprostol group achieved vaginal delivery within 24 h than in the oxytocin group (60.5% vs. 45.4%, P = 0.001). Among primiparas, the misoprostol group had a significantly lower cesarean delivery rate (12.6% vs. 27.5%, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Vaginal misoprostol induction in term PROM gravidas with unfavorable cervixes was associated with lower cesarean section and higher vaginal delivery rates within 24 h than oxytocin infusion. Vaginal misoprostol and oxytocin infusion had similar maternal and neonatal outcomes.
A novel approach for MR brain tumor classification and detection using optimal CNN‐SVM model
Authors: Ragupathy Balakumaresan , Subramani Bharath , Arumugam Selvapandian
Published: November 2022

The segmentation of brain tumors in magnetic resonance imaging plays a significant role in the field of image processing. This process has high computational complexity when handled manually by clinical experts. The accuracy in classifying and segmenting the brain tumor depends on the radiologists' experience. The computer‐aided diagnosis‐based brain tumor segmentation approach is proposed to overcome the existing limitations. The proposed convolutional neural network and support vector machine approach consists of the following stages. In the preprocessing stage, unwanted noise and intensity inhomogeneity are suppressed using an anisotropic diffusion filter. Then, the features are extracted using the deep convolutional neural network, and based on the features; the input brain image is classified into normal or abnormal using a support vector machine classifier. The proposed method gives a more successful accuracy rate of 2.11%. Compared with the other methods, the sensitivity and specificity values are also improved to 4.79% and 1.19%.
3D‐printed MgO nanoparticle loaded polycaprolactone β‐tricalcium phosphate composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications: In‐vitro and in‐vivo evaluation
Authors: Safiaghdam Hannaneh , Nokhbatolfoghahaei Hanieh , Farzad‐Mohajeri Saeed , Dehghan Mohammad Mehdi , Farajpour Hekmat , Aminianfar Hossein , Bakhtiari Zeinab , Jabbari Fakhr Massoumeh , Hosseinzadeh Simzar , Khojasteh Arash
Published: November 2022

Magnesium (Mg) plays an important role in controlling bone apatite structure and density and is a potential bioactive material in repairing critical‐sized bone defects. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of adding NanoMgO to polycaprolactone/beta‐tricalcium phosphate (PCL/β‐TCP) scaffolds on bone regeneration. Novel 3D‐printed porous PCL/β‐TCP composite scaffolds containing 10% nanoMgO were fabricated by fused deposition modeling (FDM) and compared with PCL/β‐TCP (1:1) scaffolds (control). The morphology and physicochemical properties of the scaffolds were characterized by ATR‐FTIR, XRD, scanning electron microscope‐energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (SEM–EDX), transmission‐electron‐microscopy (TEM), water contact angle, and compressive strength tests and correlated to its cytocompatibility and osteogenic capacity in‐vitro. To evaluate in‐vivo osteogenic capacity, bone‐marrow‐derived stem cell (BMSC)‐loaded scaffolds were implanted into 8 mm rat critical‐sized calvarial defects for 12 weeks. The hydrophilic scaffolds showed 50% porosity (pore size = 504 μm). MgO nanoparticles (91.5 ± 27.6 nm) were homogenously dispersed and did not adversely affect BMSCs' viability and differentiation. Magnesium significantly increased elastic modulus, pH, and degradation. New bone formation (NBF) in Micro‐CT was 30.16 ± 0.31% and 23.56 ± 1.76% in PCL/β‐TCP/nanoMgO scaffolds with and without BMSCs respectively, and 19.38 ± 2.15% and 15.75 ± 2.24% in PCL/β‐TCP scaffolds with and without BMSCs respectively. Angiogenesis was least remarkable in PCL/β‐TCP compared with other groups (p < .05). Our results suggest that the PCL/β‐TCP/nanoMgO scaffold is a more suitable bone substitute compared to PCL/β‐TCP in critical‐sized calvarial defects.
Neuronal cell response on aligned fibroporous electrospun mat generated from silver ion complexed ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer
Authors: Sumam Prima , Parameswaran Ramesh
Published: November 2022

Generating electrospun mats with aligned fibers and obtaining neurite extension in the aligned fiber direction could provide hope for fabricating nerve guidance conduits or wraps through an easy method. The growing interest in generating electrospun mats with aligned fibers for tissue engineering is looking for simple methods to generate the same. Here, in this study, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVAL) chains were complexed with silver ions (Ag+) to generate aligned fibers during the electrospinning process. The fibers thus produced were subjected to physico‐chemical characterization and biological studies to ensure their properties and to examine whether suitable for neuronal cell attachment and neurite extension that may be useful in making nerve guidance conduits or wraps. The presence of silver ions and its complex formation with –OH of EVAL has been confirmed with EDX and XPS analysis respectively. The alignment of fibers was visualized from SEM analysis and confirmed using directionality analysis using Fiji‐ImageJ software. Mechanical properties done with dumbbells punched out in longitudinal and transverse directions also substantiated the alignment of fibers. The results obtained from direct contact, MTT, and live/dead assay showed the cells are viable on the material. From the actin staining and immunostaining assays, it was evident that the PC12 cells could attach and extend their neurites in an aligned manner on the fibers. The maximum neurite extension was up to 200 μm in length. These properties of electrospun EVAL‐Ag mat with aligned fibers indicated that it could be developed as a biocompatible nerve guidance conduit or wrap.
Bowel cleansing efficacy of 1 L NER1006versus macrogol and 3 L polyethylene glycol using split‐dose administration
Authors: Sinh Priya , Dunn Katherine , John Sneha
Published: November 2022

Background and Aim

Colonoscopies are an important diagnostic technique in the detection of colorectal cancer and colonic disease. Adequate examination is dependent on the degree of mucosal visibility, with poor cleansing impeding the detection of neoplasms. These patients require shorter colonoscopy surveillance intervals, longer hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs—rendering a screening colonoscopy cost‐ineffective. In Australia and the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS), macrogol and 3 L of polyethylene glycol are the preferred regimen given its safety profile and efficacy. Yet, little is known locally about the use of the new low‐volume bowel preparation NER1006 (Plenvu) given its recent registration with the Therapeutic Goods of Australia (TGA). The primary outcome assessed the bowel cleansing efficacy of NER1006 compared with 7 days of macrogol and 3 L of polyethylene glycol using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS), while also assessing the influence of notable patient characteristics such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and the patients Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Secondary outcomes assessed the polyp detection rate and procedural factors including cecal intubation, scope withdrawal time, and rebooking rates.

Methods

Data from all patients who underwent an outpatient colonoscopy procedure at GCHHS between 1 July 2020 and 30 September 2020 were analyzed. Patients were aged 50–74 years of age and were referred for a screening colonoscopy due to a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) result from the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

Results

Of the 238 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 108 patients received NER1006 and 130 patients received macrogol and 3 L polyethylene glycol. NER1006 achieved superior overall (P < 0.001) and right‐sided colon cleansing (P = 0.016). There was an even distribution of males and females (P = 0.118), the mean age of both cohorts was <65 years of age. The macrogol and 3 L polyethylene glycol group had a statistically higher BMI (P < 0.001) and CCI (P < 0.001). Cecal intubation success was achieved in both cohorts (≥95%) and scope withdrawal time was ≥6 min, polyp detection was non‐superior (P = 0.824), but superior in NER1006 when BBPS ≥6 (P = 0.002). Rebooking rates were significantly lower in the NER1006 group (P = 0.013).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that NER1006 was superior in terms of overall and right‐sided bowel cleansing as a primary endpoint. Patient factors demonstrated to be independent predictors of inadequate bowel preparation. Future studies should aim to explore the safety and tolerability of NER1006 while also assessing the bowel cleansing effectiveness in patients with a high BMI and comorbidity index.
Prediction of COVID‐19 patients in danger of death using radiomic features of portable chest radiographs
Authors: Nakashima Maoko , Uchiyama Yoshikazu , Minami Hirotake , Kasai Satoshi
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Computer‐aided diagnostic systems have been developed for the detection and differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pneumonia using imaging studies to characterise a patient's current condition. In this radiomic study, we propose a system for predicting COVID‐19 patients in danger of death using portable chest X‐ray images.

Methods

In this retrospective study, we selected 100 patients, including ten that died and 90 that recovered from the COVID‐19‐AR database of the Cancer Imaging Archive. Since it can be difficult to analyse portable chest X‐ray images of patients with COVID‐19 because bone components overlap with the abnormal patterns of this disease, we employed a bone‐suppression technique during pre‐processing. A total of 620 radiomic features were measured in the left and right lung regions, and four radiomic features were selected using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator technique. We distinguished death from recovery cases using a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and a support vector machine (SVM). The leave‐one‐out method was used to train and test the classifiers, and the area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate discriminative performance.

Results

The AUCs for LDA and SVM were 0.756 and 0.959, respectively. The discriminative performance was improved when the bone‐suppression technique was employed. When the SVM was used, the sensitivity for predicting disease severity was 90.9% (9/10), and the specificity was 95.6% (86/90).

Conclusions

We believe that the radiomic features of portable chest X‐ray images can predict COVID‐19 patients in danger of death.
Statistical analysis of radiofrequency energy harvester with bandpass filter for ultra‐low power applications
Authors: Inbaraj Divya , Kailasam Muthumeenakshi , Sankararajan Radha
Published: November 2022

Nowadays, radiofrequency (RF) is a vital component of harvesting RF energy from the ambient environment to power ultra‐low‐power applications in wireless communication. This article presents an RF energy harvesting system for a frequency range of (0.58–3 GHz) to harvest RF energy from the ambient source. The system's design consists of four major modules: a coplanar waveguide antenna (CPW), a bandpass filter (BF), an L‐type impedance matching network, and a four‐stage Villard voltage multiplier (VM) circuit. First, A CPW antenna is designed suitably to harvest RF energy from GSM 900/1800, 3G, and Wi‐Fi frequency bands. Next, a BF is designed and simulated in Agilent advanced design system software for the same frequency range to attenuate the RF signals that are not in this specific frequency range. Then, an RF power conditioning circuit prototype comprising an L‐type impedance matching network and a four‐stage Villard VM circuit was integrated and fabricated on an FR4 substrate. The four‐stage rectifier circuit is designed to convert the RF signal into DC output voltage and maximize the output voltage. The performance of the RF energy harvesting system is validated through simulation and measured results. All the RF energy harvesting system elements have been connected, and the prototype is tested at various indoor and outdoor locations of Sri Sivasubramaniya College of Engineering, Chennai, India. It is observed that the prototype system can harvest energy from input power levels as low as −30 dBm. The simulated results of the RF energy harvesting system achieve an output voltage of 2.5 V with a maximum efficiency of 62.5%. The harvested output voltage at a distance of 100 m from the RF cell tower at the indoor location is 59.5 mV and at the outdoor location 271.6 mV. The harvested output voltage is used to energies the ultra‐low‐power applications. Finally, the performance of the RF energy harvesting system is analyzed by statistical techniques. The two types of analysis are Taguchi's method and analysis of variance. The RF energy harvester impact factors are VM and BF. A statistical test (P) is used to determine the significant factors on the RF output voltage.
Integrative brain structural and molecular analyses of interaction between tobacco use disorder and overweight among male adults
Authors: Zhang Mengzhe , Gao Xinyu , Yang Zhengui , Niu Xiaoyu , Wang Weijian , Han Shaoqiang , Wei Yarui , Cheng Jingliang , Zhang Yong
Published: November 2022

Tobacco smoking and overweight lead to adverse health effects, which remain an important public health problem worldwide. Researches indicate overlapping pathophysiology may contribute to tobacco use disorder (TUD) and overweight, but the neurobiological interaction mechanism between the two factors is still unclear. This study used a mixed sample design, including the following four groups: (i) overweight long‐term smokers (n = 24, age = 31.80 ± 5.70, cigarettes/day = 20.50 ± 7.89); (ii) normal weight smokers (n = 28, age = 31.29 ± 5.56, cigarettes/day = 16.11 ± 8.35); (iii) overweight nonsmokers (n = 19, age = 33.05 ± 5.60), and (iv) normal weight nonsmokers (n = 28, age = 31.68 ± 6.57), a total of 99 male subjects. All subjects underwent T1‐weighted high‐resolution MRI. We used voxel‐based morphometry to compare gray matter volume (GMV) among the four groups. Then, JuSpace toolbox was used for cross‐modal correlations of MRI‐based modalities with nuclear imaging derived estimates, to examine specific neurotransmitter system changes underlying the two factors. Our results illustrate a significant antagonistic interaction between TUD and weight status in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and a quadratic effect of BMI on DLPFC GMV. For main effect of TUD, long‐term smokers were associated with greater GMV in bilateral OFC compared with nonsmokers irrespective of weight status, and such alteration is negatively associated with pack‐year and FTND scores. Furthermore, we also found GMV changes related to TUD and overweight are associated with μ‐opioid receptor system and TUD‐related GMV alterations are associated with noradrenaline transporter maps. This study sheds light on novel multimodal neuromechanistic about the relationship between TUD and overweight, which possibly provides hints into future treatment for the special population of comorbid TUD and overweight.
Customer injustice and service employees' customer‐oriented citizenship behavior: A social exchange perspective
Authors: Lavelle James J. , Rupp Deborah E. , Herda David N. , Lee Joohan
Published: November 2022

Recent research has uncovered the debilitating effects that customers' unfair treatment of service workers has for both employees and their employers. These studies have largely explained the effects of customer mistreatment through a conservation of resources (COR) theory lens, arguing that customer injustice depletes the regulatory resources of service employees, thereby impairing their well‐being and ability to perform their jobs effectively. In our paper, we contend that aspects of employee–customer social exchange should also be considered, and that such relational processes are critical above and beyond COR effects. After formulating our theoretical model, we offer time‐lagged data from a field study of service workers (N = 337) supporting our hypothesis that the negative relationship between customer injustice and employee citizenship behavior directed toward customers is sequentially mediated by perceived customer support and customer commitment, respectively, over and above COR effects. Incorporating insights from the customer service literature, we further demonstrate the role of display rule perceptions as a moderator of these sequential indirect effects.
Mucormycosis threats: A systemic review
Authors: Prakash Shaurya , Kumar Antresh
Published: November 2022

During the catastrophic wave of Coronavirus disease 2019, health agencies started to report an infrequent but lethal mucormycosis or black fungal infection. Primarily, it causes sinusitis by affecting nasal, oral, lung, brain, ocular, and other body tissues. It becomes more fatal, especially in diabetic, cancer, and immune‐compromised patients. Before 2020, the prevalence of mucormycosis was very rare but it has rapidly emerged globally from late 2020 to mid‐2021. Recently, the mucormycosis got worse and epidemic with more than 30,000 cases reported across India. The etiology of infection can be diagnosed by molecular, serological, microscopic, and clinical methods. However, early diagnosis of this ailment is still a challenging task due to no standalone diagnostic tool available along with clinical manifestations of the ailment resembling other fungal diseases. The treatment of mucormycosis is also challenging and frequently requires long‐term treatment. Amphotericin B was found to be an effective antifungal for preventing mucormycosis but it failed if infection disseminated to necrotizing tissues or adjacent organs. Removal of infected tissue/organ by surgery is an alternative treatment to control mucormycosis. In addition, reversal of underlying predisposing conditions based on therapy is also in practice for its prevention. This review highlights different aspects of mucormycosis such as pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and their challenges and so on. We also emphasized the epidemiological shift during the recent outbreak and its influence on the different regions of India.
Development of a new strategy for the synthesis of graphene oxide‐alumina nanocomposite as an efficient adsorbent for dispersive solid‐phase extraction of parabens
Authors: Tahmasebi Elham , Sattari Rasoul
Published: November 2022

The present study investigates the synthesis and application of the graphene oxide‐alumina nanocomposite as a new adsorbent for the dispersive solid‐phase extraction of three parabens and their determination using high‐performance liquid chromatography‐ultraviolet detection. The characterization of the synthesized material was accomplished and its size, morphology, chemical composition, porosity, and thermal stability were studied. Application of the proposed strategy for the synthesis of the nanocomposite resulted in the incorporation of Al2O3 nanoparticles into graphene oxide nanosheets, further resulting in the exfoliation of graphene oxide nanosheets increasing their surface area. An orthogonal rotatable central composite design was used to optimize the extraction. Under the optimum conditions, the analytical performance of the method showed a suitable linear dynamic range (0.2–100.0 μg/L), reasonable limits of detection (0.03–0.05 μg/L), and preconcentration factors ranging from 128 to 173. Finally, the new validated method was applied for the determination of parabens in some real samples including wastewater, cream, toothpaste, and juice samples with satisfactory recoveries (88%–109%), and relative standard deviations less than 8.7% (n = 3). Results demonstrated that inserting alumina nanoparticles into graphene oxide nanosheets improved the extraction efficiency of parabens, as polar acidic compounds, by providing additional efficient interactions including hydrogen bonding, dipole‐dipole, and Brønsted and Lewis acid‐base interactions.
UV‐Cured PDMS for Oil Removal from Wastewater
Authors: Sangermano Marco , Grieco Antonio , Noè Camilla , Rizza Giancarlo
Published: November 2022

The removal of oil from water is a worldwide challenge that must be faced to avoid irreversible marine habitat destruction. A novel fast and simple technique to obtain polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes is developed using the photopolymerization technique. The high reactivity of the acrylated PDMS formulation toward photo‐induced free radical polymerization is assessed via the differential scanning photo‐calorimetry (photo‐DSC) technique. Two different membranes dense or porous are developed and investigated. Porous membranes, having 100–200 µm as pore size, are obtained using a low‐cost environmentally friendly sodium chloride template. Thanks to the hydrophobic/oleophilic intrinsic characteristic of PDMS, the UV‐cured membranes can selectively remove dodecane, selected as the target oil, from water. The dodecane sorption capability of both membranes is investigated and compared. Moreover, the membranes can be easily reused since the adsorbed oil can be recovered by simply compressing the membrane. Those PDMS sorbents show high mechanical stability after five adsorption/desorption cycles.
Shape Memory Thermoplastic Polyamide Elastomer Based on PA1212
Authors: Fu Peng , Zhang Jiahui , Zhang Yuancheng , Zhao Wei , Zhang Xiaomeng , Shi Ge , He Yanjie , Cui Zhe , Pang Xinchang , Liu Minying
Published: November 2022

Shape memory polyamide elastomers have attracted large attention owing to a variety of favorable properties (e.g., designable chemical structure, good thermal stability, flexibility, and elasticity, et al). However, the polyamide elastomer reported recently still lack good mechanical property. In the present work, a new type of shape memory thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (TPAE), composed of long carbon chain PA1212 and polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG), is synthesized through two‐step melt polycondensation, which is named as poly(ether‐b‐amide) (PEBA). The chemical structure of PEBA is confirmed by FTIR results and it also shows excellent mechanical properties. PEBA, possessing two melting temperatures, stay in microphase separation among PTMEG soft domains and PA1212 hard domains that are amorphous and α crystal, respectively. Furthermore, PEBA can fix a temporary shape after the heated strip is twisted and cooled down and then recover to the original shape after secondary heating, which is attributed to the fixing force provided by PTMEG domains and entropy elasticity of physically cross‐linked PA1212 domains, respectively. Besides, PEBA elastomer can be reshaped between ≈190 and ≈380 °C and it also has shape memory behavior. This new kind of TPAE proposes a new smart material for sensors and soft robotics.
A Novel Interface Agent for Preparation of High Gas Barrier Organic Montmorillonite/Brominated Butyl Rubber Nanocomposites
Authors: Huang Zhibo , Wu Xiaohui , Shi Yan , Zhang Liqun
Published: November 2022

Organic montmorillonite/brominated butyl rubber nanocomposites are prepared by improved solution blending, i.e., preparation of organic clay suspension and suspension blending with brominated butyl rubber solution by adding polytetramethylene ether glycol as interface agent. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy show that polytetramethylene ether glycol has good dispersing effect on organic clay. Transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that both intercalated and exfoliated structures are obtained in organic montmorillonite/brominated butyl rubber nanocomposites. The mechanical performances and the gas barrier properties of the organic montmorillonite/brominated butyl rubber nanocomposites are improved greatly, which proves that the high‐performance clay/rubber nanocomposites are prepared in nonpolar solvent.
Designing Approach of Fiber‐Reinforced Polymer Composite by Combination of Fibrillated Olive Pomace and Marble Powder
Authors: Kawano Tessei , Dinç Gamze , Yel Esra , Andou Yoshito
Published: November 2022

The development of effective methods to utilize industrial and agricultural wastes is crucial from the perspective of a circular economy. Marble powder and olive pomace (OP), byproducts of olive oil production and marble processing, are considered one of the major sources causing severe environmental pollution, especially in Mediterranean countries. Herein, marble powder and OP are aimed to use as fillers in polypropylene (PP)‐based polymer composite. In addition, fractionated OP is further fibrillated by a combination of mechanical grinding and ionic liquid treatment to enhance its performance as a reinforcement. After treatment for 24 h, the particle size decreases from about 2.1 to 1.1 µm, and the lignocellulosic composition also varies due to the partial removal of hemicellulose. Finally, the compounding ratio of polymer composites consisting of PP, marble powder, fibrillated OP, and compatibilizer is optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) to achieve both high mechanical properties and high filler contents. Mechanical properties of polymer composite fabricated with optimum ratio are in excellent agreement with those predicted by RSM. Furthermore, the yield strength and Young's modulus of polymer composite are 33.9 MPa and 1.89 GPa, accordingly, which are higher than those of PP.
To touch or not to touch: Examining the role of choice set size
Authors: Liu Steven , Kaikati Andrew M. , Arnold Mark J.
Published: November 2022

Touch is a powerful means to explore one's environment and a critical sensory modality for information gathering. Previous research has shown the positive effects of product touch on key outcomes such as perceived product ownership and choice confidence, yet only in the context of consumers examining a solitary product or a small choice set. The current research draws on the choice overload hypothesis to examine whether a large choice set size attenuates the positive effects of touch. Our findings suggest that product touch results in more positive outcomes when choice sets are small (vs. large), with perceived choice difficulty mediating this effect (Experiment 1). The interactive effect of choice set size and touch is diminished in situations where touch conveys limited additional product information (Experiment 2). Further, we find that touching a large choice set can be advantageous among certain consumers, as those with a maximizing mindset respond more favorably to a large choice set when they can touch the items versus not (Experiment 3). We discuss research implications for the literatures on product touch, choice overload, and consumer mindsets, and practical implications for marketers as pertaining to assortment management, message framing, and online retail shopping environments.