bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Residues of pesticide co‐formulants in lettuce and parsley: Identification of decline processes using field trials in different cropping systems
Authors: Balmer Marianne E. , Janser Daniel , Schaller Ulrich , Krauss Jürgen , Geiser H. Christoph , Poiger Thomas
Published: March 2023

BACKGROUND

Although co‐formulants constitute a substantial portion of the total plant protection product (PPP) mass applied to crops, data on residue formation and the behaviour of these substances on plants are scarce. In an earlier study we demonstrated that co‐formulants commonly used in PPPs can form considerable residues, i.e., in the low to medium mg/kg range, but normally decline rapidly within few days. In the field trial reported here, we aimed to identify the major decline processes of co‐formulants. Residues of co‐formulants were therefore monitored in parsley and lettuce grown in an open field as well as under foil tunnels equipped with either an overhead or a drip irrigation system.

RESULTS

Dissipation of three anionic surfactants was markedly faster when crops (parsley and lettuce) were exposed to natural rainfall or irrigation from above compared to drip irrigation. In contrast, the decline of three volatile organic solvents was not affected by rain or irrigation, but was dependent on the crop, with much shorter half‐lives in lettuce than in parsley. Furthermore, dilution through plant growth contributed significantly to the reduction of residues over time.

CONCLUSION

In this work we substantiate earlier findings on the magnitude and dissipation of residues of anionic surfactants and solvents representing the most important co‐formulant classes. The chosen experimental setup allowed differentiation between decline processes and we confirm that foliar wash‐off is a major dissipation process for anionic surfactants. For volatile organic solvents, dissipation appears to depend on the properties not only of the substance but also of the plant (surface). © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Tunable Electronic Properties of Substitutionally Doped CSb Monolayer
Authors: Li Shenghao , Li Xiaodan , Ruan Shihao , He Wenhai , Xu Lihua , Hu Taotao
Published: March 2023

Atomic alternate doping is the experimentally implementable and most effective method to change the electronic properties and modulate bandgaps of 2D materials. Herein, fundamental electronic properties of single‐atom‐doped monolayer CSb are investigated using a density generalization based on the first‐principles approach. The dopant atoms cover main families from group III to group VI due to the one more or one less electron than the C (or Sb atoms). The calculations show that through substitutional doping (Si/Ge/O/S atom replaces one C atom or Al/Ga/P atom replaces one Sb atom), the monolayer CSb‐doped system can be transformed from indirect bandgap semiconductor into direct bandgap semiconductor. More interestingly, the localized short‐range magnetic properties are found in monolayer CSb when one C atom is substitutionally doped with N or As atoms, while the long‐range magnetic properties are found in monolayer CSb when one Sb atom is substitutionally doped with O or S atoms. The introduced magnetic moment ranges from −0.150 to 0.314 μB. A valuable basis and reference data for the application of CSb‐doped systems in next‐generation electronics and spintronics devices will be provided.
Dendrimer Based Binders Enable Stable Operation of Silicon Microparticle Anodes in Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Dong Yanling , Zhang Biao , Zhao Fugui , Gao Feng , Liu Dong
Published: March 2023

High‐capacity anode materials (e.g., Si) are highly needed for high energy density battery systems, but they usually suffer from low initial coulombic efficiency (CE), short cycle life, and low‐rate capability caused by large volume changes during the charge and discharge process. Here, a novel dendrimer‐based binder for boosting the electrochemical performance of Si anodes is developed. The polyamidoamine (PMM) dendrimer not only can be used as binder, but also can be utilized as a crosslinker to construct 3D polyacrylic acid (PAA)‐PMM composite binder for high‐performance Si microparticles anodes. Benefiting from maximum interface interaction, strong average peeling force, and high elastic recovery rate of PAA‐PMM composite, the Si electrode based on PAA‐PMM achieves a high specific capacity of 3590 mAh g−1 with an initial CE of 91.12%, long‐term cycle stability with 69.80% retention over 200 cycles, and outstanding rate capability (1534.8 mAh g−1 at 3000 mA g−1). This work opens a new avenue to use dendrimer chemistry for the development of high‐performance binders for high‐capacity anode materials.
Substituent‐Induced Supramolecular Aggregates of Edge Functionalized Nanographenes
Authors: Moriguchi Haruka , Sekiya Ryo , Haino Takeharu
Published: March 2023

Precisely controlled molecular assemblies often display intriguing morphologies and/or functions arising from their structures. The application of the concept of the self‐assembly for controlling the aggregation of nanographenes (NGs) is challenging. The title NGs are those carrying both long alkyl chains and tris(phenylisoxazolyl)benzene (TPIB) on the edge. The former group secures the affinity of NGs for organic solvents, and the latter group drives the 1D arrangement of NGs through the interactions between the TPIB units. The concentration‐dependent and temperature variable 1H NMR, UV–vis, and PL spectra demonstrate the aggregation of NGs in 1,2‐dichloroethane, and the aggregation is controllable by the regulation of the solvent polarity. AFM images give the stacked structures of the NGs, and these aggregates turn out to be network polymeric structures at a high concentration. These observations demonstrate that the synergy of the face‐to‐face interactions between the surfaces and the interactions between the TPIB units are effective for controlling the self‐assembly of the NGs.
A research landscape on software defect prediction
Authors: Taskeen Anam , Khan Saif Ur Rehman , Felix Ebubeogu Amarachukwu
Published: March 2023

Software defect prediction is the process of identifying defective files and modules that need rigorous testing. In the literature, several secondary studies including systematic reviews, mapping studies, and review studies have been reported. However, no research work such as a tertiary study that combines secondary studies has focused on providing a landscape of software defect prediction useful to understand the body of knowledge. Motivated by this, we intend to perform a tertiary study by following a systematic literature review protocol to provide a research landscape of the targeted domain. We synthesize the quality of the secondary studies and investigate the employed techniques and the performance evaluation measures for evaluating the software defect prediction model. Furthermore, this study aims at exploring different datasets employed in the reported experimentation. Moreover, the current study intends at highlighting the research trends, gaps, and opportunities in the targeted research domain. The results indicate that none of the reported defect prediction techniques can be regarded as the best; however, the reported techniques performed better in different testing situations. In addition, machine learning (ML)‐based techniques perform better than traditional statistical techniques mainly due to the potential of discovering the defects and generating generalized results. Moreover, the obtained results highlight the need for further work in the domain of ML‐based techniques. Furthermore, publicly available datasets should be considered for experimentation or replication purposes. The potential future work can focus on data quality, ethical ML, cross‐project defect prediction, early defect prediction process, class imbalance problem, and model overfitting.
Numerical Simulation on the Fluid Flow, Air Entrainment, Heat Transfer, and Solidification during Top Pouring and Cooling of a 303 Ton Heavy Ingot
Authors: Hu Wei , Zhou Qiuyue , Chen Wei , Zhang Lifeng
Published: March 2023

Herein, a mathematical model combined with the k–ε turbulence model, volume of fluid multiphase model, and heat transfer and solidification model is established to investigate the steel–air two‐phase flow and solidification during the filling process of a 303 ton heavy steel ingot. The measured temperatures at different times are employed to validate the current mathematical model. The results show that the predicted results are in good agreement with the measured results. At the initial stage of the filling process, a double‐roll flow pattern is formed near the junction between the liquid surfaces due to the high speed of the jet flow. The maximum impinging depth of the jet flow is 1.8 m and the maximum splash height of the molten steel is 0.3 m. An empirical formula for the variation of the entrained air volume with time is proposed. The maximum growth rate in the horizontal direction is 0.08 mm s−1. In the vertical direction, the maximum growth rate of the solidified shell on the central axis is 0.12 mm s−1. The distribution of primary dendrite arm spacing and secondary dendrite arm spacing is obtained by combining the predicted cooling rate.
Structure Analysis, Antioxidant Activity, Anti‐Aging, and Organ Protective Effects of Pholiota adiposa Residue Polysaccharides
Authors: Hou Minjie , Li Xiaoxu , Li Xueping , Zhang Jianjun , Jia Le
Published: March 2023

The structure analysis, antioxidant activity in vitro, and organ repair evaluation of Pholiota adiposa residue polysaccharides (PRP) on d‐galactose‐induced aging mice in this work are carried out. The structural results show that PRP contains β glycoside bonded pyranose and is mainly composed of mannose glucose and galactose. The in vitro antioxidant assay demonstrates that PRP has superior reducing power and scavenging activities on hydroxyl, superoxide anion and DPPH radicals. The in vivo animal experiments confirmed that PRP can effectively increase organ index, reduce the levels of IL‐6 and TNF‐α and the contents of ALT, AST, ALP, CREA, and UA in serum induced by d‐galactose. It can significantly increase the content of HYP in skin. Meanwhile, the activities of SOD, GSH‐PX, and CAT are improved and the accumulation of MDA is reduced by repairing the structure and function of the damaged liver, kidney, and brain. These results demonstrate that PRP have certain organ protection effects on d‐galactose‐induced aging mice, indicating that it has potential application values in functional anti‐aging food and natural medicine.
Toxic effects of bisphenol AF on the embryonic development of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)
Authors: Huang Zeyin , Gao Jiahao , Chen Yuebi , Huan Zhang , Liu Yue , Zhou Tianyang , Dong Zhongdian
Published: March 2023

Bisphenol AF (BPAF), an emerging environmental endocrine disruptor, has been detected in surface waters worldwide and has adverse effects on aquatic organisms. The accumulation of BPAF in oceans and its potential toxic effect on marine organisms are important concerns. In this study, the effects of BPAF (10, 100, 1, and 5 mg/L) on marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) were evaluated, including effects on the survival rate, heart rate, hatchability, morphology, and gene expression in embryos. The survival rate of marine medaka embryos was significantly lower after treatment with 5 mg/L BPAF than in the solvent control group. Exposure to 1 mg/L and 5 mg/L BPAF significantly reduced hatchability. Low‐dose BPAF (10 μg/L) significantly accelerated the heart rate of embryos, while high‐dose BPAF (5 mg/L) significantly decreased the heart rate. BPAF exposure also resulted in notochord curvature, pericardial edema, yolk sac cysts, cardiovascular bleeding, and caudal curvature in marine medaka. At the molecular level, BPAF exposure affected the transcript levels of genes involved in the thyroid system (dio1, dio3a, trhr2, tg, and thra), cardiovascular system (gata4, atp2a1, and cacna1da), nervous system (elavl3 and gap43), and antioxidant and inflammatory systems (sod, pparβ, and il‐8) in embryos. These results indicate that BPAF exposure can alter the expression of functional genes, induce abnormal development, and reduce the hatching and survival rates in marine medaka embryos. Overall, BPAF can adversely affect the survival and development of marine medaka embryos, and BPAF may not be an ideal substitute for BPA.
Helping the equestrian community prevent and manage disease outbreaks
Authors: Termine Caterina , Rydborn Victoria
Published: March 2023

Caterina Termine and Victoria Rydborn of the Fédération Equestre Internationale describe how the FEI HorseApp has become a crucial tool in helping to prevent and manage outbreaks of infectious diseases at equestrian events.
What the NHS, Uganda, Covid‐19 and a vet degree have in common: One Health
Authors: Hoferica Viliam
Published: March 2023

New graduate Viliam Hoferica reveals how lockdown pressures and a global perspective led him to rethink what a veterinary career really means.
Computation of swirling hydromagnetic nanofluid flow containing gyrotactic microorganisms from a spinning disk to a porous medium with hall current and anisotropic slip effects
Authors: Umavathi Jawali Channabasappa , Bég Osman Anwar , Khan Umar Farooq , Bég Tasveer A. , Kadir Ali
Published: March 2023

Prompted by the advancements in hybrid bio‐nano‐swirling magnetic bioreactors, a mathematical model for the swirling flow from a rotating disk bioreactor to a magnetic fluid saturating a porous matrix and containing nanoparticles and gyrotactic micro‐organisms has been developed. An axial magnetic field is administered which is perpendicular to the disk and Hall currents are included. The disk is assumed to be impervious and stretches in the radial direction with a power‐law velocity. The Buongiorno nanoscale, Kuznetsov bioconvection and Darcy porous media models are deployed. Anisotropic momentum, thermal, nanoparticle concentration and motile micro‐organism slip effects are incorporated. Stefan blowing is also simulated. The governing conservation equations are transformed with appropriate variables to ordinary nonlinear differential equations. MATLAB bvp4c shooting quadrature is used to solve the emerging nonlinear, coupled ordinary differential boundary value problem under transformed boundary conditions. Verification with earlier solutions for the non‐magnetic Von Karman bioconvection nanofluid case is conducted. Further validation of the general magnetic model is conducted with the Adomian decomposition method (ADM). Extensive visualization of velocity, temperature, nanoparticle concentration and motile microorganism density number profiles is presented for the impact of various parameters including magnetic interaction parameter, Hall current parameter, Darcy number, momentum slip, thermal slip, nanoparticle slip and microorganism slip. Computations are also performed for skin friction, Nusselt number, Sherwood number and motile micro‐organism density number gradient. The simulations provide a useful benchmark for further studies.
Computerized Adaptive Testing Without IRT for Flexible Measurement and Prediction
Authors: van der Ark L. Andries , Smits Niels
Published: March 2023

In education, testing procedures can be lengthy. The long duration takes up precious time and affects the quality of responses, possibly resulting in a biased diagnosis or wrong treatment. The problem can be reduced using computer adaptive testing (CAT). However, three issues prevent the use of traditional CAT: (1) the type of tests and questionnaires we focus on do not allow for the construction of large item banks, (2) the test data are usually not (approximately) unidimensional, and (3) the aim of the researchers may not only be measurement but also prediction. We propose a flexible generalization of CAT to accommodate these three issues, coined FlexCAT. First, FlexCAT estimates the (discrete) density of item-score vectors (denoted p) using any convenient model that provides a good description of p; this need not be an IRT model. Second, FlexCAT estimates test scores from
$$ \hat{\mathbf{p}} $$

p
̂

. In contrast to traditional CAT, the test score need not be a latent trait but can also be the total score, ordinal scores such as percentiles, or external criteria that the test aims to predict. We introduce FlexCAT for the case that a latent class model is used to estimate p, and the total score is used as a test score. Using a real-data example, we compare the accuracy of FlexCAT and traditional CAT. Finally, we discuss the challenges FlexCAT still faces.
Psychological and Educational Testing and Decision-Making: The Lack of Knowledge Dissemination in Textbooks and Test Guidelines
Authors: Meijer Rob R. , Niessen A. Susan M. , Neumann Marvin
Published: March 2023

When it comes to decision-making based on psychological and educational assessments, there is compelling evidence that statistical judgment is superior to holistic judgment. Yet, implementing this finding in practice has proven to be difficult for both academic and professional psychologists. Knowledge transfer from research findings to practitioners and other stakeholders in psychological assessment is a necessary condition to close this gap. To obtain insight into how academic specialists in psychological testing disseminate knowledge about research findings in this area, we investigated how textbooks on testing and guidelines on test use report on, or do not to report on, decision-making in psychological and educational assessment. Second, we discuss some commonly encountered misunderstandings, and third we argue for a broader and more in-depth dissemination of research findings on this topic in textbooks and test standards; to this end we provide some suggestions.
Evaluation des Projekts „TeleCOVID Hessen“ nach einjährigem Betrieb
Authors: Brandt Jenny , Albert Michael , Gramminger Steffen , Greim Clemens A , Khaladj Nawid , Kolb Cornelia , Risch Ben Michael , Sander Michael , von Wagner Michael , Zacharowski Kai , Muellenbach Ralf M. , Hoffmann Felix
Published: March 2023

Hintergrund

Die hohe Fallzahl von intensivpflichtigen COVID-19-Patienten konfrontierte Krankenhäuser weltweit mit unerwarteten Herausforderungen. Dadurch gewann die strukturierte Vernetzung von Krankenhäusern eine besondere Bedeutung. Die teleintensivmedizinische Konsil- und Austauschplattform TeleCOVID wurde entwickelt, um die intensivmedizinische Versorgungsqualität zu verbessern.

Fragestellung

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Erhebung des Nutzungsverhaltens und der Nutzererfahrung der Anwender von TeleCOVID. Zusätzlich wurde untersucht, welche Implikationen sich für die Weiterentwicklung der telemedizinischen Anwendung ergeben.

Material und Methoden

Im Mai 2022 wurde eine Anwenderbefragung mittels eines Online-Fragebogens durchgeführt. Die Distribution erfolgte über das Hessische Ministerium für Soziales und Integration (HMSI). Dabei wurden alle 135 Krankenhäuser Hessens per E‑Mail angeschrieben und zur Teilnahme an der Studie eingeladen.

Ergebnisse

Die Studie hat gezeigt, dass TeleCOVID hauptsächlich für Verlegungsanfragen genutzt wurde, gefolgt vom Bedarf einer Therapiebesprechung ohne Verlegungsanfrage. Zudem zeigte sich, dass die Anwender besonders die Möglichkeit einer datenschutzkonformen und strukturierten Übermittlung von Patientendaten als vorteilhaft bewerten. Die fehlende Anbindung an das Krankenhausinformationssystem (KIS), der erhöhte Zeitaufwand durch den Log-in-Prozess sowie die eingeschränkte Primärerreichbarkeit der Ansprechpartner wurden kritisiert.

Diskussion

Bei einer Weiterentwicklung der App sollten die Anbindung an das Krankenhausinformationssystem sowie eine Reduktion des Zeitaufwands bei der Anwendung erfolgen. Weiterhin sollten eine interoperable Dateninfrastruktur und die Einführung eines Webclient angestrebt werden. Eine Weiterführung und Ausweitung der App auf andere Indikationsbereiche ist empfehlenswert.
Fifty percent of patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy for hip dysplasia showed normal findings upon neonatal ultrasound screening
Authors: Haertlé Marco , Hawi Harun , Windhagen Henning , Becker Nils , Ahmad Sufian S.
Published: March 2023

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is characterized by the pathomorphology of inadequate acetabular coverage of the femoral head leading to increased loading of the articular surface and acetabular rim. If left untreated, this ultimately leads to osteoarthritis. Germany introduced a nationwide universal ultrasound screening program for all newborn infants in 1996. Subsequently, the incidence of undiagnosed hip dislocation was significantly reduced. In this consecutive series of patients who underwent periacetabular osteotomy for the treatment of symptomatic dysplasia of the hip between October 2014 and October 2022 data regarding the U3 screening examination were analyzed. The data included whether the examination was performed, whether the findings were positive or negative, whether the patients underwent any form of treatment in the case of a positive finding and whether a control X‑ray was performed. This study provides evidence that acetabular undercoverage cannot be ruled out based on a normal finding in ultrasonography screening. Furthermore, the study also shows that residual dysplasia may persist despite attempts of conservative treatment.

Graphic abstract
Comparison of two hybrid sentinel node tracers: indocyanine green (ICG)-99mTc-nanocolloid vs. ICG-99mTc-nanoscan from a nuclear medicine and surgical perspective
Authors: Vreeburg Manon T. A. , Azargoshasb Samaneh , van Willigen Danny , Molenaar Tom , van Oosterom Matthias N. , Buckle Tessa , Slof Leon J. , Klop Martin , Karakullukcu Baris , Donswijk Maarten , van der Poel Henk G. , van Leeuwen Fijs W. B. , Brouwer Oscar R. , Rietbergen Daphne D. D.
Published: March 2023

Background

Lymph node (LN) metastasis is a relevant predictor for survival in patients with a.o. penile cancer (PeCa), malignant melanoma. The sentinel node (SN) procedure comprises targeted resection of the first tumour-draining SNs. Here, the hybrid tracer indocyanine green (ICG)-99mTc-nanocolloid has been used for several years to combine optical and nuclear detection. Recently, the resource of the nanocolloid precursor stopped production and the precursor was replaced by a different but chemically comparable colloid, nanoscan. Our aim was to study the performance of ICG-99mTc-nanoscan compared to ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid from a nuclear and surgical perspective.

Methods

Twenty-four patients with either PeCa or head-and-neck (H&N) melanoma and scheduled for a SN procedure were included. The initial group (n = 11) received ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid until no longer available; the second group (n = 13) received ICG-99mTc-nanoscan. Tracer uptake was assessed on lymphoscintigraphy and single-photon emission (SPECT). Intraoperatively, SNs were identified using gamma tracing and fluorescence imaging. Ex vivo (back-table) measurements were conducted to quantify the fluorescence emissions. Chemical analysis was performed to compare the ICG assembly on both precursors.

Results

The mean tracer uptake in the SNs was similar for ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid (2.2 ± 4.3%ID) and ICG-99mTc-nanoscan (1.8 ± 2.6%ID; p = 0.68). 3 SNs (interquartile range (IQR) 3–4) were detected on lymphoscintigraphy in PeCa patients receiving ICG-99mTc-nanoscan compared to 2 SNs (IQR 2–3) in PeCa patients receiving ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid (p = 0.045), no differences were observed in H&N patients. Back-table measurements of resected SNs revealed a lower total fluorescence intensity in the ICG-99mTc-nanoscan group (24*109 arbitrary units (A.U) IQR 1.6*109–14*109 in the ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid group versus 4.6*109 A.U. IQR 2.4*109–42*109 in the ICG-99mTc-nanoscan group, p = 0.0054). This was consistent with a larger degree of “stacked” ICG observed in the nanoscan formulation. No tracer-related adverse events were reported.

Conclusions

Based on this retrospective analysis, we can conclude that ICG-99mTc-nanoscan has similar capacity for SN identification as ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid and can safely be implemented in SN procedures.
A disposable electrochemical sensor based on single-walled carbon nanotubes for the determination of anticancer drug dasatinib
Authors: Hassanpour Soodabeh , Petr Jan
Published: March 2023

Dasatinib is an anticancer drug that treats acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, and prostate cancer with several side effects. In this research, we suggest nanoparticle-modified screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs) as disposable electrochemical sensors for fast quantification of dasatinib in pharmaceutical formulations. Carbon nanotubes, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), graphene, and graphene oxide-modified SPCEs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The study also recommends SWCNT-modified SPCEs as the best-performing electrode for determining dasatinib, demonstrating an excellent boosting effect on the oxidation response of dasatinib. This was accomplished using the square-wave voltammetry method. After optimization of the pH condition, pH 5.0 Britton–Robinson buffer, SWCNT-modified SPCEs demonstrated 94% recovery with optimum electro-oxidation activity. The oxidation currents exhibited linear relation with dasatinib concentration in the 0.1–100 µM. Based on the results, a limit of detection of 0.06 µM was obtained in the standard solution. The SWCNT-modified SPCEs have been applied to analyze dasatinib in pharmaceutical tablet samples. The demonstrated performance beats all comparable standard analytical tools and presumably may be used for general drug quantitation in pharmaceutical tablets.

Graphical abstract
An experimental study of fault slips under unloading condition in coal mines
Authors: Zhang Ningbo , Zhang Zong-Xian , Shan Renliang , Qi Qingxin , Zhao Shankun , Sun Zhongxue , Guo Yanshuang
Published: March 2023

To investigate the mechanism of fault slips in coal mines, a biaxial shear experiment was carried out under unloading condition based on the fault F16 in Yima city, China. Two rock samples were used in the experiment and each sample was composed of two triangular sandstone blocks which were put together to simulate the fault. One rock sample was used to do fault slip tests and it was called slip-test sample. The other sample for comparison with the slip-test one was untested, and it was named non-slip-test sample. During the biaxial shear experiment of the slip-test sample, normal and shear strains near the fault, acoustic emission (AE) signals, and the sliding displacement were measured. After the experiment, microscopic profiles of fault surfaces of both rock samples were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, a numerical simulation was conducted to model the slip of the fault F16. The results indicate that: (1) three fault slips occurred during the biaxial shear experiment, and the shear stress, normal and shear strains in the first slip showed the maximum variation among three slips; (2) Shear strains near the two ends of the fault had a more significate variation than that in the middle part, and the typical trend of shear strains was first dropping, then increasing rapidly, and then falling slowly to a specific value during the first slip; (3) The first slip had the largest sliding displacement of 29.89 $$\mu m$$

μ
m

, and in the first slip three phases including slow slip, main shock and aftershock occurred based on AE monitoring results. (4) On the fault surface of non-slip-test sample, microstructures such as bulges, voids and veins were ubiquitous and notable, making the fault surface much rough, while similar microstructures were few and the fault surface of the slip-test sample was flattened after fault slips; (5) The slipping direction in the shallow part and deep part of the fault F16 were opposite during mining.
Effect of Dataset Size and Medical Image Modality on Convolutional Neural Network Model Performance for Automated Segmentation: A CT and MR Renal Tumor Imaging Study
Authors: Gottlich Harrison C. , Gregory Adriana V. , Sharma Vidit , Khanna Abhinav , Moustafa Amr U. , Lohse Christine M. , Potretzke Theodora A. , Korfiatis Panagiotis , Potretzke Aaron M. , Denic Aleksandar , Rule Andrew D. , Takahashi Naoki , Erickson Bradley J. , Leibovich Bradley C. , Kline Timothy L.
Published: March 2023

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of an exponential-plateau model to determine the required training dataset size that yields the maximum medical image segmentation performance. CT and MR images of patients with renal tumors acquired between 1997 and 2017 were retrospectively collected from our nephrectomy registry. Modality-based datasets of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 images were assembled to train models with an 80–20 training-validation split evaluated against 50 randomly held out test set images. A third experiment using the KiTS21 dataset was also used to explore the effects of different model architectures. Exponential-plateau models were used to establish the relationship of dataset size to model generalizability performance. For segmenting non-neoplastic kidney regions on CT and MR imaging, our model yielded test Dice score plateaus of $$0.93\pm 0.02$$

0.93
±
0.02

and $$0.92\pm 0.04$$

0.92
±
0.04

with the number of training-validation images needed to reach the plateaus of 54 and 122, respectively. For segmenting CT and MR tumor regions, we modeled a test Dice score plateau of $$0.85\pm 0.20$$

0.85
±
0.20

and $$0.76\pm 0.27$$

0.76
±
0.27

, with 125 and 389 training-validation images needed to reach the plateaus. For the KiTS21 dataset, the best Dice score plateaus for nn-UNet 2D and 3D architectures were $$0.67\pm 0.29$$

0.67
±
0.29

and $$0.84\pm 0.18$$

0.84
±
0.18

with number to reach performance plateau of 177 and 440. Our research validates that differing imaging modalities, target structures, and model architectures all affect the amount of training images required to reach a performance plateau. The modeling approach we developed will help future researchers determine for their experiments when additional training-validation images will likely not further improve model performance.
Midday Boundary-Layer Collapse in the Altiplano Desert: The Combined Effect of Advection and Subsidence
Authors: Aguirre-Correa Francisca , de Arellano Jordi Vilà-Guerau , Ronda Reinder , Lobos-Roco Felipe , Suárez Francisco , Hartogensis Oscar
Published: March 2023

Observations in the Altiplano region of the Atacama Desert show that the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) suddenly collapses at noon. This rapid decrease occurs simultaneously to the entrance of a thermally driven, regional flow that causes a rise in wind speed and a marked temperature decrease. We identify the main drivers that cause the observed ABL collapse by using a land–atmosphere model. The free atmosphere lapse rate and regional forcings, such as advection of mass and cold air as well as subsidence, are first estimated by combining observations from a comprehensive field campaign and a regional model. Then, to disentangle the ABL collapse, we perform a suite of numerical experiments with increasing level of complexity: from only considering local land–atmosphere interactions, to systematically including the regional contributions of mass advection, cold air advection, and subsidence. Our results show that non-local processes related to the arrival of the regional flow are the main factors explaining the boundary-layer collapse. The advection of a shallower boundary layer ($$\approx -250$$

≈
-
250

 m h$$^{-1}$$

-
1

at noon) causes an immediate decrease in the ABL height (h) at midday. This occurs simultaneously with the arrival of a cold air mass, which reaches a strength of $$\approx -4$$

≈
-
4

 K h$$^{-1}$$

-
1

at 1400 LT. These two external forcings become dominant over entrainment and surface processes that warm the atmosphere and increase h. As a consequence, the ABL growth is capped during the afternoon. Finally, a wind divergence of $$\approx 8 \times 10^{-5}$$

≈
8
×

10

-
5

 s$$^{-1}$$

-
1

contributes to the collapse by causing subsidence motions over the ABL from 1200 LT onward. Our findings show the relevance of treating large and small-scale processes as a continuum to be able to understand the ABL dynamics.
Phytoaccumulation of trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Zn) by Nicotiana glauca and Euphorbia segetalis growing in a Technosol developed on legacy mine wastes (Domingo Rubio wetland, SW Spain)
Authors: Barba-Brioso C. , Hidalgo P. J. , Fernández-Landero S. , Giráldez I. , Fernández-Caliani J. C.
Published: March 2023

Sulfidic mine wastes have the potential to generate acid mine drainage (AMD) and release acid leachates containing high levels of iron, sulfate and potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Soils receiving AMD discharges are generally devoid of vegetation. Only a few metal-tolerant plant species can survive under such adverse soil conditions. This work investigates two plant species, Nicotiana glauca and Euphorbia segetalis, that have successfully colonized an AMD-impacted wetland area in south-western Spain. The uptake of PTEs from the soil by roots and their transfer and accumulation in the above-ground biomass were quantified. Results showed that these pioneer plants grew in patches of neutral soil within the wasteland despite the high concentrations of PTEs in the rhizosphere soil (up to: 613 mg kg−1 As, 18.7 mg kg−1 Cd, 6370 mg kg−1 Cu, 2210 mg kg−1 Pb and 5250 mg kg−1 Zn). The target organs of As, Cu and Pb accumulation were: root > leaf > stem in N. glauca, and root > stem > leaf in E. segetalis. Zinc and Cd showed a significant decrease in roots relative to aerial parts of N. glauca, and Co was preferentially partitioned in stems of N. glauca and leaves of E. segetalis. The soil–plant transfer coefficient values of PTEs in all parts of both plants were well below unity with the only exception of Cd in leaves of N. glauca (1.254), suggesting that roots acted as a barrier limiting the uptake of PTEs by plants. Interestingly, under the same soil conditions, N. glauca absorbed Cd in considerable proportions from soil and accumulated it in its leaves, while E. segetalis was not effective in transferring PTEs from roots shoots except for Co. In conclusion, soil pH and plant-related factors greatly influence the stabilization of PTE in the rhizospheric soil and produce inconsistencies in PTE phytoavailability. The findings of this study provide criteria to assist in natural remediation in other legacy contaminated sites worldwide.
Review of phenotypic response of diatoms to salinization with biotechnological relevance
Authors: Stenger-Kovács C. , Béres V. B. , Buczkó K. , Al-Imari J. T. , Lázár D. , Padisák J. , Lengyel E.
Published: March 2023

Salinization is one of the main global environmental issues of the Anthropocene with various consequences for aquatic ecosystems. To understand diatom ecology and evolution from this perspective without knowing the impact of salinity on their physiological and molecular mechanisms is unimaginable. For this reason, we collected the existing knowledge about the intracellular and morphological changes of diatoms induced by salinity. The available studies revealed that salt stress can significantly affect, among others, their photosynthetic activities, pigment contents, growth rate, metabolism, and toxin synthesis. Acclimation capability of diatoms is apparent: they can adjust turgor pressure and ion homeostasis and produce compatible solutes for osmoprotection applying a number of biochemical pathways and complementary mechanisms. Morphological changes like shape resistance, post-auxospore formation, and several micro- and nano-sized sometimes species-specific variations can also be explained by the increasing salinity. Furthermore, abnormal forms indicate the extreme and complex effect of salinity and collateral stress factors. Their salinity tolerance threshold is species specific, which can be exploited by biotechnology. According to studies collected for this review, it is obvious that diatoms have various phenotypic responses to salinity; however, knowledge about their molecular background and long-term adaptation of the species are completely missing.
Ulva as potential stimulant and attractant for a valuable sea urchin species: a chemosensory study
Authors: Addis Pierantonio , Pasquini Viviana , Angioni Alberto , Malavasi Veronica , Moccia Davide , Solari Paolo
Published: March 2023

The green seaweed Ulva is close to becoming popular due to its suitability as potential feedstock production and for food items. However, there is a general lack of studies on the aversion or acceptability of this alga by marine organisms, particularly on its role as a chemoattractant and/or phagostimulant activity. Here we tested the effect of Ulva compressa and other biochemicals as potential chemostimulating compounds for a valuable sea urchin species, Paracentrotus lividus, selected as model species for our tests. Sea urchins’ chemical sensitivity was estimated by analysing movements of spines, pedicellariae, tube feet, and individual locomotion using an innovative bioassay. Our results showed that all forms of Ulva (fresh, defrosted, and fragmented) resulted in an effective stimulus, evoking in sea urchins strong responses with robust activation of spines and tube feet, where the defrosted one was the most stimulating. Among the amino acids tested, glycine, alanine, and glutamine produced a significant response, highlighting for the latter a concentration–response relationship. Sea urchins responded to glucose, not to fructose and sucrose. Spirulina resulted as the most effective stimulus, acting in a dose-dependent manner. Major results indicate the role of Ulva as a chemostimulant and strongly attractant for such herbivore species. From an applied point of view, the presence of potential Ulva’s feed-related compounds, acting as chemoattractants (to reduce food searching time) and/or feeding stimulants (to stimulate ingestion), would improve the several applications of Ulva in the formulation of the feeds for sustainable aquaculture.
Establishment of a novel glycolysis-immune-related diagnosis gene signature for endometriosis by machine learning
Authors: Chen Qizhen , Jiao Yufan , Yin Zhe , Fu Xiayan , Guo Shana , Zhou Yuhua , Wang Yanqiu
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The objective of this study was to investigate the key glycolysis-related genes linked to immune cell infiltration in endometriosis and to develop a new endometriosis (EMS) predictive model.

Methods

A training set and a test set were created from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public database. We identified five glycolysis-related genes using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and the random forest method. Then, we developed and tested a prediction model for EMS diagnosis. The CIBERSORT method was used to compare the infiltration of 22 different immune cells. We examined the relationship between key glycolysis-related genes and immune factors in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO)-based semantic similarity and logistic regression model analyses were used to investigate core genes. Reverse real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) of 5 target genes was analysed.

Results

The five glycolysis-related hub genes (CHPF, CITED2, GPC3, PDK3, ADH6) were used to establish a predictive model for EMS. In the training and test sets, the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) prediction model was 0.777, 0.824, and 0.774. Additionally, there was a remarkable difference in the immune environment between the EMS and control groups. Eventually, the five target genes were verified by RT-qPCR.

Conclusion

The glycolysis-immune-based predictive model was established to forecast EMS patients’ diagnosis, and a detailed comprehension of the interactions between endometriosis, glycolysis, and the immune system may be vital for the recognition of potential novel therapeutic approaches and targets for EMS patients.
MM/GBSA prediction of relative binding affinities of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: effect of atomic charges and comparison with Autodock4Zn
Authors: Taylor Mackenzie , Ho Junming
Published: March 2023

Carbonic anhydrase is an attractive drug target for the treatment of many diseases. This paper examines the ability of end-state MM/GBSA methods to rank inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase in terms of their binding affinities. The MM/GBSA binding energies were evaluated using different atomic charge schemes (Mulliken, ESP and NPA) at different levels of theories, including Hartree–Fock, B3LYP-D3(BJ), and M06-2X with the 6–31G(d,p) basis set. For a large test set of 32 diverse inhibitors, the use of B3LYP-D3(BJ) ESP atomic charges yielded the strongest correlation with experiment (R2 = 0.77). The use of the recently enhanced Autodock Vina and zinc optimised AD4Zn force field also predicted ligand binding affinities with moderately strong correlation (R2 = 0.64) at significantly lower computational cost. However, the docked poses deviate significantly from crystal structures. Overall, this study demonstrates the applicability of docking to estimate ligand binding affinities for a diverse range of CA inhibitors, and indicates that more theoretically robust MM/GBSA simulations show promise for improving the accuracy of predicted binding affinities, as long as a validated set of parameters is used.

Graphical abstract
Fully Automatic Visual Servoing Control for Underwater Vehicle Manipulator Systems Based on a Heuristic Inverse Kinematics
Authors: Santos Phillipe C. , Freire Raimundo C. S. , Carvalho Elyson A. N. , Molina Lucas , Freire Eduardo O. , Santos Matheus C. , Weir Anthony , Trslic Petar , Omerdic Edin , Dooly Gerard , Toal Daniel
Published: March 2023

The use of underwater vehicle manipulator systems (UVMS) equipped with cameras has gained significant attention due to their capacity to perform underwater tasks autonomously. However, controlling both the manipulator and the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) based on the vision system information is not an easy task, especially in situations where the vehicle cannot be parked/held stationary. Most of the existing approaches work based on complex matrix calculations for the inverse kinematics (IK), which can lead to high computational costs and the need to deal with singularity problems. A problem arises when the amount of time needed to calculate the UVMS configuration can result in reduced frequency of target pose estimation, beyond the point where the target has moved out of the camera field of view. Therefore, this paper proposes an autonomous visual servoing approach for UVMS, including an extension of a heuristic technique named M-FABRIK (Mobile - Forward and Backward Reaching IK) to calculate the UVMS inverse kinematics in a simple and fast way. This approach aims to control both the configuration of the manipulator and ROV position in order to allow underwater intervention in situations where the ROV cannot be parked/held stationary. This solution allows the vehicle to be positioned according to additional criteria, besides avoiding matrix inversion and being robust to singularities. Trials have been performed with a manipulator mounted on a work-class ROV for an autonomous underwater monitoring task and results demonstrate a simple and fast approach, which is able to set the configuration of the manipulator as well as the ROV for visual servoing applications in real-time, such as for monitoring, tracking and intervention tasks underwater.
Discrimination between earthquakes and quarry blasts in the Aswan region, southern Egypt, using P-wave source spectra
Authors: Saadalla Hamada , Abdelhafiez H. E. , Hayashida Takumi
Published: March 2023

In order to distinguish between shallow earthquakes and quarrying activity, we evaluated 3069 seismic signals from 413 occurrences (112 explosions and 301 shallow earthquakes, depths 5 km), collected by the Aswan seismic sub-network in southern Egypt from 2010 to 2021. The spectral properties and related source parameters (e.g., seismic moment and corner frequency) using the estimated P-wave source spectra for both earthquakes and quarry blasts were investigated. The analysis showed that the P-wave source spectra of shallow earthquakes have higher corner frequencies (8.8–23 Hz) than quarry blasts (1.0–2.6 Hz) within the same magnitude range. The source spectra of quarry blasts exhibited significant misfits with the omega-square model and had steeper falloffs at high frequencies. The selected quarry blasts have a narrow seismic moment range, from 2.03 × 1011to 1.35 × 1012Nm. Our results demonstrate that the evaluation of misfit of P-wave spectra from the omega-square source model, based on spectral amplitude characteristics of high- and low-frequency bands, is the most reliable discriminant method in the routine data analysis of the target area.
A phenomenological model to simulate various aspects of nonlinearity in creep behavior and to predict long-term creep strain
Authors: Spathis Gerasimos , Kontou Evagelia
Published: March 2023

In the present work, a thorough description of the creep response of polymers in both linear and nonlinear viscoelastic domains is presented. According to the proposed model, the polymeric structure is considered as an ensemble of meso-regions linked with each other while they can cooperatively relax and change their positions. Each meso-region has its own energy barrier that needs to be overcome for a transition to occur. It was found that the distribution function, followed by the energy barriers, attains a decisive role, given that it is associated with the distribution of retardation times and with their particular effect on the materials’ time evolution. The crucial role of the imposed stress in a creep experiment by its influence on the retardation time spectrum of the polymeric structure was extensively analyzed. The proposed model has been successfully validated by a series of creep data in a variety of temperatures and stress levels for polymeric materials, studied experimentally elsewhere. Furthermore, the model’s capability to predict the long-term creep response was analytically shown.
The relationship between multiple hazards and deprivation using open geospatial data and machine learning
Authors: Kabiru Priscilla , Kuffer Monika , Sliuzas Richard , Vanhuysse Sabine
Published: March 2023

Deprived settlements, usually referred to as slums, are often located in hazardous areas. However, there have been very few studies to examine this notion. In this study, we leverage the advancements in open geospatial data, earth observation (EO), and machine learning to create a multi-hazard susceptibility index and a transferrable disaster risk approach to be adapted in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) cities, with low-cost methods. Specifically, we identify multi-hazards in Nairobi's selected case study area and construct a susceptibility index. Then, we test the predictability of deprived settlements using the multi-hazard susceptibility index in comparison with EO texture-based methods. Lastly, we survey 100 households in two deprived settlements (typical and atypical slums) in Nairobi and use the survey outcomes to validate the multi-hazard susceptibility index. To test the assumption that deprived areas are dominantly located in areas with higher susceptibility to multiple hazards, we contrast morphologically identified deprived settlements with non-deprived settlements. We find that deprived settlements are generally more exposed to hazards. However, there are variations between central and peripheral settlements. In testing the predictability of deprivation using multi-hazards, the multi-hazard-based model performs better for deprived settlements than for other classes. In contrast, the texture-based model is better at classifying all types of morphological settlements. Lastly, by contrasting the survey outcomes to the household interviews, we conclude that proxies used for the multi-hazard susceptibility index adequately capture the hazards. However, more localized proxies can be used to improve the index performance.