bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unmet need for patient involvement in rheumatology registries and observational studies: a mixed methods study
Authors: Studenic Paul , Sekhon Mandeep , Carmona Loreto , de Wit Maarten , Nikiphorou Elena
Published: August 2022

Objective

The contribution of patient research partners (PRPs) is well established in EULAR recommendation development. However, in observational and registry studies, PRP involvement is not well-defined and remains limited.

Methods

Based on a round table discussion during the EULAR Registries and Observational Drug Studies (RODS) meeting in 2019, a mixed methods study was undertaken, including a survey to RODS participants and EULAR PRPs and focus groups with volunteers from the survey. An inductive thematic analysis approach was applied to qualitative data and descriptive statistics to survey data.

Results

We retrieved 45 survey responses and ran 3 focus groups with a total of 17 participants. The notion of PRP involvement in research was positively perceived by PRPs and the wider academic rheumatology community. There is universal agreement that PRP involvement in registry research is low and inclusion in different parts of the research cycle is limited. Potential benefits of PRP involvement include: input on the research objectives based on patients’ needs, advice and support regarding recruitment and retention strategies, obtaining patient views on analysis and interpretation, and assistance in disseminating results. Researchers and PRPs highlighted that education, inclusion of PRPs with diverse backgrounds and a welcoming environment as important facilitators for PRP involvement. On the other hand, preconceptions of researchers and insufficient budget allocation have been identified as barriers.

Conclusion

There is an unmet need to involve PRPs in registries and observational studies and to better define their required input during all research stages. This study provides suggestions for successful PRP integration.
Low energy neutrino detection with a compact water-based liquid scintillator detector
Authors: Bat Ayse , Tiras Emrah , Fischer Vincent , Kamislioglu Mirac
Published: August 2022

In this study, the conceptual design and physics simulations of a near-field Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS) detector placed 100 m from the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP), currently under construction and aiming at being Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, is presented. The ANPP is an excellent opportunity for neutrino studies and the development of an R &D program for neutrino detectors in Turkey. The Reactor Neutrino Experiments of Turkey (RNET) program includes a compact detector with a 2.5-ton volume of WbLS and a $$\sim $$
∼
30% photo-coverage, and the program is planned to be expanded with a medium-size 30-ton detector that will be an international testbed for WbLS and new detector technologies through low energy neutrino studies. In the following, the focus will be on the smaller $$\sim $$
∼
2.5 ton detector, instrumented with 8-in. high quantum efficiency PMTs and two layers of cosmic veto paddles, covering all sides of the detector, to track and veto cosmic particles. Inverse Beta Decay (IBD) events from electron anti-neutrinos generated in the reactor core are simulated using the RAT-PAC simulation package and several liquids with different percentages of Liquid Scintillator (LS) and Gadolinium (Gd) are investigated.
A proposal for the Yang–Mills vacuum and mass gap
Authors: Metaxas Dimitrios
Published: August 2022

I examine a set of Feynman rules, and the resulting effective action, that were proposed in order to incorporate the constraint of Gauss’s law in the perturbation expansion of gauge field theories. A set of solutions for the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian equations of motion in Minkowski space-time, as well as their stability, are investigated. A discussion of the Euclidean action, confinement, and the strong-CP problem is also included. The properties and symmetries of the perturbative and the confining vacuum are explored, as well as the possible transitions between them, and the relations with phenomenological models of the strong interactions.
Coherent states and particle scattering in loop quantum gravity
Authors: Vaid Deepak , Suresh Devadharsini
Published: August 2022

Quantum field theory provides us with the means to calculate scattering amplitudes. In recent years a dramatic new development has lead to great simplification of such calculations. This is based on the discovery of the “amplituhedron” in the context of scattering of massless gauge bosons in Yang–Mills theory. One of the main challenges facing Loop Quantum Gravity is the lack of a clear description of particle scattering processes and a connection to flat space QFT. Here we show a correspondence between the space of kinematic data of the scattering N massless particles and U(N) coherent states in LQG. This correspondence allows us to provide the outlines of a theory of quantum gravity based upon the dynamics of excitations living on the the positive Grassmannian.
Recomputation of Public Capital Based on PIM and the Effect on China Regional Economic Growth
Authors: Ni Zeqiang , Zhang Lei , He Junqing
Published: August 2022

This paper first reestimates the public capital stock of each China province from 1994 to 2019 by improving the computing method of the components of the perpetual inventory method (PIM). Then, it brings the public investment and public capital into the extended Cobb-Douglas production function and explores the mechanism of public investment affecting economic growth from the regional perspective. Furthermore, through the analysis of the Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVs) as the major investor of local public investment during the last two decades, This paper confirms the importance of complementary factors such as institutional innovation and effective management of the public infrastructure in making public investment an “effective catalyst for growth” (Kessides, 1993).
Identifying the Configurations to Operating Efficiency in China’s Life Insurance Industry Using Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Authors: Zhang Wei , Li Zhiguang
Published: August 2022

This paper aims to measure the operating efficiency of 22 Chinese domestic and foreign-funded life insurance companies from 2013 to 2017 and outline the path to achieve high-quality development. The DEA-Malmquist was used to evaluate the total factor productivity on the sample of 22 Chinese domestic and foreign-funded life insurance companies. A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was also used to analyze the configuration of determinants affecting technical efficiency. The results show that the overall operating efficiency of life insurance companies in China is relatively satisfying. The changes in total factor productivity are mainly caused by changes in technical efficiency and changes in efficiency. However, changes in scale efficiency have little effect on Chinese domestic and foreign-funded life insurance companies. There is a significant difference in the operating efficiency between Chinese domestic and foreign-funded life insurance companies. In contrast, the operating efficiency is slightly higher than that of foreign-funded life insurance companies, which is mainly reflected in the difference in pure technical efficiency. The realization path of a life insurance company’s operating efficiency is primarily composed of high employee education and low overclosing ratio, high employee education and low reinsurance ratio, and all-factor positive investment. The weak employee quality and excessive overclosing are the main reasons for the low operating efficiency of some enterprises. This paper systematically analyzes the impact of the organization’s internal structure on the operating efficiency of life insurance companies. Finally, based on the configuration perspective, we explain the internal logic and path of achieving better operating efficiency. In the end, we also provide decision-making references for further improving the efficient operation of life insurance companies in China.
Approximating system of ordinary differential-algebraic equations via derivative of Legendre polynomials operational matrices
Authors: Abdelhakem M. , Baleanu D. , Agarwal P. , Moussa Hanaa
Published: August 2022

Legendre polynomials’ first derivatives have been used as the basis function via the pseudo-Galerkin spectral method. Operational matrices for derivatives have been used and extended to deal with the system of ordinary differential-algebraic equations. An algorithm via those matrices has been designed. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm had been shown by two techniques, theoretically, via the boundedness of the approximated expansion and numerically through numerical examples.
Inventory Management with Advance Supply Contracts Across Multiple Replenishment Periods
Authors: Arikan Mazhar , Demir Sercan , Erkoc Murat
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we study optimal procurement policies with advance contracting option over a finite multi-period horizon for a seasonal product. In this setting, each period is defined by the time between two consecutive inventory replenishment stages where demand is not stationary across periods. Demand for the product in each period is stochastic whose probabilistic distribution is a function of the market signal received right before the beginning of the selling season. The firm receives price discounts by making quantity contracts in advance of the selling season and thus, before the realization of the market signal. Replenishment costs vary across periods during the selling season. We investigate optimal combination of advance contracting and expedited replenishment policies using stochastic dynamic programming. Our research is primarily motivated by applications in the cruise line industry where contracts are made before the final number of bookings is realized and additional purchases can be made at ports of call with varying local prices. Our results show that optimal replenishment policies follow order-up-to policies and there is a unique advance contract amount that minimizes the expected costs over the planning horizon. We provide a numerical sensitivity analysis to investigate the effects of replenishment prices, demand volatility, and disparity between periods in terms of demand on the advance contract amount, replenishments from the spot markets, service levels, and the overall expected cost.
Several new analytical solutions for Davydov solitons in α-helix proteins
Authors: Rizvi Syed T. R. , Seadawy Aly R. , Batool Tahira , Ali Kashif
Published: August 2022

Various forms of rational solitons, breathers, rogue wave, periodic wave and multiwave for Davydov solitons in [Formula: see text]-helix proteins are described in this paper. We will figure out periodic wave, rogue wave, multiwave, [Formula: see text]-shaped solutions, homoclinic breathers, kink cross rational solutions, periodic cross kink, periodic cross rational solitons, generalized breather, Akhmediev breather and Kuznetsov–Ma breather. We will also discuss some interactions between them. At the end, we will provide the graphical representation of our newly discovered solutions.
Finite-time flocking control of multiple nonholonomic mobile agents
Authors: Liu Jiangpeng , Zhao Xiao-Wen , Lai Qiang
Published: August 2022

This paper focuses on the problem of finite-time flocking in the multi-agent nonholonomic system with proximity graph. With the aid of singular communication function and results from graph theory, a novel distributed control protocol is proposed, where each agent merely obtains state information of its neighbors. Based on the theory of finite-time stability, the proposed protocol can achieve flocking within a finite-time and an upper bound on the setting time can be derived. Furthermore, we can deduce several sufficient conditions to the problem under the assumption that the positions and relative distances of agents are unknown. These sufficient conditions show that there are always suitable gains that enable our proposed protocol to perform finite-time flocking control and maintain the connectivity of the graph for any given initial connected graphs. Finally, the theoretical results are validated by numerical simulations.
A High-Performance Low Complex Design and Implementation of QRS Detector Using Modified MaMeMi Filter Optimized with Mayfly Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Malathi S. R. , Vijay Kumar P.
Published: August 2022

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is considered as the important diagnostic tests in medical field for detecting the cardiac anomalies. But, the ECG signals are polluted with numerous noise from power line intrusion, muscle noise, baseline wander, motion artifacts, low frequency noise signals, high frequency noise signals and T-wave, which automatically affects the QRS profile. The existing method provides the result in lesser accuracy with higher rate of error detection. To overcome these issues, QRS detector using modified maximum mean minimum (MoMaMeMi) filter optimized with mayfly optimization algorithm (QRS-MoMaMeMi-MOA) is proposed in this paper for less computational cost along with resource requirements. The proposed filter design consists of two phases for detecting QRS detector, such as filtering process associated to the enhancement and detection phase. Initially, the ECG data are taken from MIT/BIH arrhythmia dataset (MIT-AD). For eradicating the baseline wander in ECG data, MaMeMi filter is used. For expanding the performance of the modified MaMeMi filter, filter parameters, such as [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are optimized by MOA to accomplish the best values and measure the performance of the whole QRS detector. For high frequency noise suppression in ECG data, the range function, noise subtractors, modified triangular detector are used. Then, heart beat detection can be done with the help of adaptive thresholding technique. The proposed filter design is carried out in MATLAB and implemented on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The proposed QRS-MoMaMeMi-MOA filter design had 0.93%, 0.12% and 0.19% higher accuracy and 89.32%, 50% and 62% low detection error rate, compared to the existing filters, like Kalman filtering based adaptive threshold algorithm for QRS complex detection (QRS-KF-ATA), QRS detection of ECG signal utilizing hybrid derivative with MaMeMi filter by efficiently removing the baseline wander (QRS-HD-MaMeMi), and knowledge-based QRS detection operated by cascade of moving average filters (QRS-CAF). Then, the device utilization of the proposed FPGA implementation of the QRS-MoMaMeMi-MOA filter provides 95.556% and 71.428% lower power usage compared with the existing algorithms, like Kalman filtering based adaptive threshold algorithm for QRS complex detection in FPGA (FPGA-QRS-KF-ATA), and efficient architecture for QRS detection in FPGA utilizing integer Haar wavelet transform (FPGA-QRS-IHWT).
ELECTRODEPOSITION BASED DEVELOPMENT OF Ni–TiN–AlN AND Ni–SiC–Cr COMPOSITE COATINGS FOR TUNGSTEN CARBIDE CUTTING TOOLS
Authors: SAINI ABHINEET , PABLA B. S. , DHAMI S. S.
Published: August 2022

Metal-based functionally graded coatings have proven effectiveness in improving anti-wear properties and surface integrity of the substrates. The use of electrodeposition coating technique, considering the economics and versatility associated with this method, is a preferred technique of depositing metal-based composite coatings. Further, Ni-based composite coatings are proven for anti-wear applications, and addition of various reinforcement for developing functional coatings need to be evaluated for different applications. This study describes the development, analysis, and performance evaluation of Ni–TiN–AlN and Ni–SiC–Cr electrodeposited composite coatings on tungsten carbide (WC) tool substrates, to impart improved anti-wear properties during machining. The composite coatings were deposited and optimized for current density values of the electrodeposition process, which was identified as the most significant parameter in both the cases. The coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for microstructural analysis. The results were further analyzed for tribological behavior through microhardness and adhesion strength tests of the deposited coatings, which are significant properties imitating anti-wear characteristics of the substrate. A significant increase of 47% and 36% in microhardness was obtained for Ni–SiC–Cr coated specimen and Ni–TiN–AlN coated specimen, respectively, compared to the uncoated WC substrates, accompanied with a good adhesion strength in both the cases. The microstructural analysis in both the cases revealed an increase in the deposited coating constituents with increasing current density, leading to a denser coating deposition up to the saturation point, and then beginning of coating delamination due to over-saturation with further increase in current density.
Some differential identities on prime Banach algebras
Authors: Moumen Mohamed , Taoufiq Lahcen , Oukhtite Lahcen
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we investigate the commutativity of a Banach algebra [Formula: see text] provided with a continuous derivation satisfying algebraic identities involving nonvoid open subsets of [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, we provide examples to show that various restrictions in the hypothesis of our theorems are not superfluous.
Fluorescence emission difference microscopy based on polarization modulation
Authors: Dong Wanjie , Huang Yuran , Zhang Zhimin , Xu Liang , kuang Cuifang , Hao Xiang , Cao Liangcai , Liu Xu
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we propose a new fluorescence emission difference microscopy (FED) technique based on polarization modulation. An electro-optical modulator (EOM) is used to switch the excitation beam between the horizontal and vertical polarization states at a high frequency, which leads to solid- and donut-shaped beams after spatial light modulation. Experiment on the fluorescent nanoparticles demonstrates that the proposed method can achieve [Formula: see text] spatial resolution. Using the proposed system, the dynamic imaging of subcellular structures in living cells over time is achieved.
Multi-Model Fusion of Encoding Methods-Based Visual Words for Target Recognition in Infrared Images
Authors: Nebili Billel , Khellal Atmane , Nemra Abdelkrim , Mascarilla Laurent
Published: August 2022

The limited information contained in infrared images present a serious problem, therefore it is necessary to form a powerful feature descriptor that allows extracting the maximum information and describing the image efficiently. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach named multi-model fusion of encoding methods (MMFEM). First, several encoding methods for Bag Of Visual Words (BOVW) model were evaluated. Then, we fuse the best encoding methods obtained using three levels of fusion: feature-level fusion, decision-level fusion and hybrid-level fusion. Finally, the outputs of the fusion process were used to form a final decision for target recognition in infrared images. Two infrared datasets were employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The first one is Visible and Infrared Spectrum (VAIS) dataset comprising six categories of ships and the second dataset is a subset of Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) thermal dataset comprising two object categories, vehicles and pedestrians. The proposed approach has exceed the state of the art for both datasets and we have reached 96.96% for FLIR and 71.26% for VAIS in overall classification accuracy.
Natural hydrogen seeps as analogues to inform monitoring of engineered geological hydrogen storage
Authors: McMahon Christopher J. , Roberts Jennifer J. , Johnson Gareth , Edlmann Katriona , Flude Stephanie , Shipton Zoe K.
Published: August 2022

Engineered geological porous media hydrogen storage must be designed to ensure secure storage, and use appropriate monitoring, measurement and verification tools. Here, we identify and characterize 60 natural hydrogen seeps as analogues for potential leakage from engineered storage reservoirs to consider implications for monitoring. We report and compare the geological and environmental setting; seepage mode (dry gas/associated with water); co-released gases; seep rates and areal fluxes; temporal variation; seep structure; gas source; and composition. Seep characteristics are determined by local geological and hydrological conditions, specifically whether hydrogen gas is seeping through soils and unconsolidated sediments, fractured bedrock or into water. Hydrogen is typically co-emitted with other gases (CO
2
, CH
4
, N
2
) with CH
4
, the most common co-emitted gas. The structural controls on seep location and characteristics are similar between hydrogen and CO
2
seeps. However, compared to CO
2
, hydrogen is more readily dispersed when mixing with air and hydrogen is more prone to being consumed or transformed via biotic or abiotic reactions, and so the quantity of leaked hydrogen can be greatly attenuated before seeping. Monitoring approaches should therefore be tailored to the local geology and hydrological conditions, and monitoring approaches to detect hydrogen and associated gases would be appropriate.
Effects of CO
2
phase state on the seismological properties of porous materials: implications for seismic monitoring of volcanic hazards and sequestered carbon
Authors: Schmitt Douglas R. , Dávila Gabriela , Yam Helen , Njiekak Gautier , Kofman Randolf
Published: August 2022

Time-lapse seismic monitoring is a key component in the geological sequestration of greenhouse gases. Currently, a lack of understanding of the influence of injected CO
2
on rocks’ geophysical signatures is reported. Using a novel ultrasonic experimental system, we measured the variations in the longitudinal (P) and transverse (S) elastic wave speeds of a CO
2
-saturated porous medium at different pressure and temperature conditions around the CO
2
critical point. The results show that both P- and S-wave speeds, corrected to seismic frequencies, decreased by more than 4.5% across the CO
2
gas to liquid and gas to supercritical states, primarily as a consequence of CO
2
density increase. This study provides a-20 firm basis for the use of seismological methods in monitoring sequestered CO
2
; although the abruptness, and hence remote seismic detectability, depends on which phase boundary is crossed. Further, these measurements also allow us to compare observations to frequency-dependent wave propagation theory. The observed wave speeds mostly align with those calculated at 1 MHz using the Biot theory for both CO
2
and H
2
O saturated states. However, the observed and calculated wave speeds diverge above the phase transition in some of the tests, possibly due to the kinetics of the phase transition within a porous medium. As such, aside from the direct utility in providing information on the expected seismic responses, the CO
2
provides a highly tunable fluid that can be advantageous for experimental studies.
Exploring Multi-lingual, Multi-task, and Adversarial Learning for Low-resource Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Mamta  , Ekbal Asif , Bhattacharyya Pushpak
Published: August 2022

Deep learning has become most prominent in solving various Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks including sentiment analysis. However, these techniques require a considerably large amount of annotated corpus, which is not easy to obtain for most of the languages, especially under the scenario of low-resource settings. In this article, we propose a deep multi-task multi-lingual adversarial framework to solve the resource-scarcity problem of sentiment analysis by leveraging the useful and relevant knowledge from a high-resource language. To transfer the knowledge between the different languages, both the languages are mapped to the shared semantic space using cross-lingual word embeddings. We evaluate our proposed architecture on a low-resource language, Hindi, using English as the high-resource language. Experiments show that our proposed model achieves an accuracy of 60.09% for the movie review dataset and 72.14% for the product review dataset. The effectiveness of our proposed approach is demonstrated with significant performance gains over the state-of-the-art systems and translation-based baselines.
Persistence programming
Authors: Cobbs Archie L.
Published: August 2022

Are we doing this right?
Improving Readability for Automatic Speech Recognition Transcription
Authors: Liao Junwei , Eskimez Sefik , Lu Liyang , Shi Yu , Gong Ming , Shou Linjun , Qu Hong , Zeng Michael
Published: August 2022

Modern Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems can achieve high performance in terms of recognition accuracy. However, a perfectly accurate transcript still can be challenging to read due to grammatical errors, disfluency, and other noises common in spoken communication. These readable issues introduced by speakers and ASR systems will impair the performance of downstream tasks and the understanding of human readers. In this work, we present a task called ASR post-processing for readability (APR) and formulate it as a sequence-to-sequence text generation problem. The APR task aims to transform the noisy ASR output into a readable text for humans and downstream tasks while maintaining the semantic meaning of speakers. We further study the APR task from the benchmark dataset, evaluation metrics, and baseline models: First, to address the lack of task-specific data, we propose a method to construct a dataset for the APR task by using the data collected for grammatical error correction. Second, we utilize metrics adapted or borrowed from similar tasks to evaluate model performance on the APR task. Lastly, we use several typical or adapted pre-trained models as the baseline models for the APR task. Furthermore, we fine-tune the baseline models on the constructed dataset and compare their performance with a traditional pipeline method in terms of proposed evaluation metrics. Experimental results show that all the fine-tuned baseline models perform better than the traditional pipeline method, and our adapted RoBERTa model outperforms the pipeline method by 4.95 and 6.63 BLEU points on two test sets, respectively. The human evaluation and case study further reveal the ability of the proposed model to improve the readability of ASR transcripts.
Pulsar Magnetospheres and Their Radiation
Authors: Philippov A. , Kramer M.
Published: August 2022

The discovery of pulsars opened a new research field that allows studying a wide range of physics under extreme conditions. More than 3,000 pulsars are currently known, including especially more than 200 of them studied at gamma-ray frequencies. By putting recent insights into the pulsar magnetosphere in a historical context and by comparing them to key observational features at radio and high-energy frequencies, we show the following: ▪ Magnetospheric structure of young energetic pulsars is now understood. Limitations still exist for old nonrecycled and millisecond pulsars. ▪ The observed high-energy radiation is likely produced in the magnetospheric current sheet beyond the light cylinder. ▪ There are at least two different radio emission mechanisms. One operates in the inner magnetosphere, whereas the other one works near the light cylinder and is specific to pulsars with the high magnetic field strength in that region. ▪ Radio emission from the inner magnetosphere is intrinsically connected to the process of pair production, and its observed properties contain the imprint of both the geometry and propagation effects through the magnetospheric plasma.

We discuss the limitations of our understanding and identify a range of observed phenomena and physical processes that still await explanation in thefuture. This includes connecting the magnetospheric processes to spin-down properties to explain braking and possible evolution of spin orientation, building a first-principles model of radio emission and quantitative connections with observations.
Folic Acid and the Prevention of Birth Defects: 30 Years of Opportunity and Controversies
Authors: Crider Krista S. , Qi Yan Ping , Yeung Lorraine F. , Mai Cara T. , Head Zauche Lauren , Wang Arick , Daniels Kelicia , Williams Jennifer L.
Published: August 2022

For three decades, the US Public Health Service has recommended that all persons capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 μg/day of folic acid (FA) to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs). The neural tube forms by 28 days after conception. Fortification can be an effective NTD prevention strategy in populations with limited access to folic acid foods and/or supplements. This review describes the status of mandatory FA fortification among countries that fortify ( n = 71) and the research describing the impact of those programs on NTD rates (up to 78% reduction), blood folate concentrations [red blood cell folate concentrations increased ∼1.47-fold (95% CI, 1.27, 1.70) following fortification], and other health outcomes. Across settings, high-quality studies such as those with randomized exposures (e.g., randomized controlled trials, Mendelian randomization studies) are needed to elucidate interactions of FA with vitamin B12as well as expanded biomarker testing.
Dietary Fructose and Fructose-Induced Pathologies
Authors: Jung Sunhee , Bae Hosung , Song Won-Suk , Jang Cholsoon
Published: August 2022

The consumption of fructose as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup has markedly increased during the past several decades. This trend coincides with the exponential rise of metabolic diseases, including obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. While the biochemical pathways of fructose metabolism were elucidated in the early 1990s, organismal-level fructose metabolism and its whole-body pathophysiological impacts have been only recently investigated. In this review, we discuss the history of fructose consumption, biochemical and molecular pathways involved in fructose metabolism in different organs and gut microbiota, the role of fructose in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, and the remaining questions to treat such diseases.
National Food Intake Assessment: Technologies to Advance Traditional Methods
Authors: Moshfegh Alanna J. , Rhodes Donna G. , Martin Carrie L.
Published: August 2022

National dietary surveillance produces dietary intake data used for various purposes including development and evaluation of national policies in food and nutrition. Since 2000, What We Eat in America, the dietary component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, has collected dietary data and reported on the dietary intake of the US population. Continual innovations are required to improve methods of data collection, quality, and relevance. This review article evaluates the strengths and limitations of current and newer methods in national dietary data collection, underscoring the use of technology and emerging technology applications. We offer four objectives for national dietary surveillance that serve as guiding principles in the evaluation. Moving forward, national dietary surveillance must take advantage of new technologies for their potential in enhanced efficiency and objectivity in data operations while continuing to collect accurate dietary information that is standardized, validated, and publicly transparent.
Fiber Optic Based Thermal Sensing of Lithium-Ion Cells at the Module Level
Authors: Atchison Hayden , Bailey Zachary , Wetz David , Davis Matthew , Heinzel John
Published: August 2022

Battery modules are made up of many individual cells connected in series/parallel to meet an application’s voltage, power, and energy requirements. Regardless of how big the battery is, its users assume it will always work safely. Wide scale deployment and the high cell count in modules bring about demand for new techniques to monitor individual cells and reduce the probability of an undetected catastrophic failure. A primary indication of a problem within a module is a significant rise in temperature and/or strain of one or more cells. Battery management systems (BMSs) monitor individual cell voltages and typically no more than a few temperatures. This introduces the possibility that cells may heat up without detection. This study demonstrates how a high-definition fiber optic sensor (HD-FOS) can be easily applied on each cell within a module consisting of multiple 18650 cells used to measure temperature deviations while it is being cycled. Controlled over-charge and short-circuit testing of cells within the module have been performed and compared to results from thermocouples and an IR camera to show how the sensing system can detect anomalies and report them back to a host controller.
Optimization of the Electrode Formation Mechanism for Crystalline Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells
Authors: Oh Donghyun , Yousuf Hasnain , Dhungel Suresh Kumar , Khokhar Muhammad Quddamah , Zahid Muhammad Aleem , Rabelo Matheus , Park Jinju , Kim Youngkuk , Yi Junsin
Published: August 2022

The screen-printing process for making good contact of electrodes with the top layer of solar cells is crucial for enhancing the electrical properties of a solar cell. This paper reports the experimental approach adopted for the process of electrode formation and the resulting shape of electrodes in silicon-based heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. It was observed that good contact between electrodes and the top transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer strongly depends on the squeegee pressure, curing temperature, and curing time. By optimizing the squeegee pressure at 0.350 MPa, snap-off distance of 1.4 mm, squeegee speed of 80 mm sec−1, curing temperature of 180 °C, and curing time of 30 min, respectively for which the height to width ratio (aspect ratio) of the fabricated electrodes was achieved around 0.66. The results have been verified through 3D laser profiler, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transfer length method (TLM), and Light current-voltage (LIV) measurements. The SHJ solar cells were fabricated using an optimized condition and successfully achieved splendid properties of short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and efficiency (η) up to 40.57 mA cm−2, 723 mV, 81.03%, and 23.79%, respectively.
The family of kallikrein-related peptidases and kinin peptides as modulators of epidermal homeostasis
Authors: Matus Carola E. , Ehrenfeld Pamela , Figueroa Carlos D.
Published: August 2022

The epidermis is the outermost skin layer and is part of one of the largest organs in the body; it is supported by the dermis, a network of fibrils, blood vessels, pilosebaceous units, sweat glands, nerves, and cells. The skin as a whole is a protective shield against numerous noxious agents, including microorganisms and chemical and physical factors. These functions rely on the activity of multiple growth factors, peptide hormones, proteases, and specific signaling pathways that are triggered by the activation of distinct types of receptors sited in the cell membranes of the various cell types present in the skin. The human kallikrein family comprises a large group of 15 serine proteases synthesized and secreted by different types of epithelial cells throughout the body, including the skin. At this site, they initiate a proteolytic cascade that generates the active forms of the proteases, some of which regulate skin desquamation, activation of cytokines, and antimicrobial peptides. Kinin peptides are formed by the action of plasma and tissue kallikreins on kininogens, two plasma proteins produced in the liver and other organs. Although kinins are well known for their proinflammatory abilities, in the skin they are also considered important modulators of keratinocyte differentiation. In this review, we summarize the contributions of the kallikreins and kallikrein-related peptidases family and those of kinins and their receptors in skin homeostasis, with special emphasis on their pathophysiological role.
Alterations in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis associated with the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes
Authors: Syx Delfien , Delbaere Sarah , Bui Catherine , De Clercq Adelbert , Larson Göran , Mizumoto Shuji , Kosho Tomoki , Fournel-Gigleux Sylvie , Malfait Fransiska
Published: August 2022

Proteoglycans consist of a core protein substituted with one or more glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains and execute versatile functions during many physiological and pathological processes. The biosynthesis of GAG chains is a complex process that depends on the concerted action of a variety of enzymes. Central to the biosynthesis of heparan sulfate (HS) and chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) GAG chains is the formation of a tetrasaccharide linker region followed by biosynthesis of HS or CS/DS-specific repeating disaccharide units, which then undergo modifications and epimerization. The importance of these biosynthetic enzymes is illustrated by several severe pleiotropic disorders that arise upon their deficiency. The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) constitute a special group among these disorders. Although most EDS types are caused by defects in fibrillar types I, III, or V collagen, or their modifying enzymes, a few rare EDS types have recently been linked to defects in GAG biosynthesis. Spondylodysplastic EDS (spEDS) is caused by defective formation of the tetrasaccharide linker region, either due to β4GalT7 or β3GalT6 deficiency, whereas musculocontractural EDS (mcEDS) results from deficiency of D4ST1 or DS-epi1, impairing DS formation. This narrative review highlights the consequences of GAG deficiency in these specific EDS types, summarizes the associated phenotypic features and the molecular spectrum of reported pathogenic variants, and defines the current knowledge on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms based on studies in patient-derived material, in vitro analyses, and animal models.
Intranasal administration of neuropeptide Y significantly antagonized stress-induced colonic dysmotility via central GABAA receptors in male rats
Authors: Yang Yu , Zhang Shen , Babygirija Reji , Shi Bei , Sun Weinan , Zheng Xiaojiao , Zheng Jun
Published: August 2022

Stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Central neuropeptide Y (NPY) counteracts the biological actions of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and attenuates stress responses. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of NPY significantly antagonized the inhibitory effects of chronic complicated stress (CCS) on gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility in rats. However, ICV administration is an invasive technique. The effect of intranasal administration of NPY on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and GI motility in CCS conditions have not been studied, and the inhibitory mechanism of NPY on CRF through the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor needs to be further investigated. A CCS rat model was set up, and NPY was intranasally administered every day before the stress loading. Furthermore, ICV administration of a GABAA receptor antagonist was performed daily. Hypothalamic CRF and NPY expressions were evaluated, serum corticosterone and NPY levels were analyzed, and colonic motor functions were assessed. CCS rats showed significantly increased CRF expression and corticosterone levels, which resulted in enhanced colonic motor functions. Intranasal NPY significantly increased hypothalamic NPY mRNA expression and reduced CRF mRNA expression and plasma corticosterone levels, helping to restore colonic motor functions. However, ICV administration of the GABAA receptor antagonist significantly abolished these effects induced by NPY. In conclusion, intranasal administration of NPY upregulates the hypothalamic NPY system. NPY may, through the GABAA receptor, significantly antagonize overexpressed central CRF and attenuate HPA axis activity in CCS conditions, influencing and helping to restore colonic motor function.
Chemogenetic activation of noradrenergic A5 neurons increases blood pressure and visceral sympathetic activity in adult rats
Authors: Souza George M. P. R. , Stornetta Daniel S. , Vitali Alexander J. , Wildner Hendrik , Zeilhofer Hanns U. , Campbell John N. , Abbott Stephen B. G.
Published: August 2022

In mammals, the pontine noradrenergic system influences nearly every aspect of central nervous system function. A subpopulation of pontine noradrenergic neurons, called A5, are thought to be important in the cardiovascular response to physical stressors, yet their function is poorly defined. We hypothesized that activation of A5 neurons drives a sympathetically mediated increase in blood pressure (BP). To test this hypothesis, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of the cardiovascular effects of chemogenetic stimulation of A5 neurons in male and female adult rats using intersectional genetic and anatomical targeting approaches. Chemogenetic stimulation of A5 neurons in freely behaving rats elevated BP by 15 mmHg and increased cardiac baroreflex sensitivity with a negligible effect on resting HR. Importantly, A5 stimulation had no detectable effect on locomotor activity, metabolic rate, or respiration. Under anesthesia, stimulation of A5 neurons produced a marked elevation in visceral sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and no change in skeletal muscle SNA, showing that A5 neurons preferentially stimulate visceral SNA. Interestingly, projection mapping indicates that A5 neurons target sympathetic preganglionic neurons throughout the spinal cord and parasympathetic preganglionic neurons throughout in the brainstem, as well as the nucleus of the solitary tract, and ventrolateral medulla. Moreover, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry indicate that a subpopulation of A5 neurons coreleases glutamate and monoamines. Collectively, this study suggests A5 neurons are a central modulator of autonomic function with a potentially important role in sympathetically driven redistribution of blood flow from the visceral circulation to critical organs and skeletal muscle.
Hepatoprotection of Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr. on Acetaminophen-Related Hepatic Injury Rats by 1H-NMR-Based Metabonomics Coupled with Network Pharmacology
Authors: Tang Chao-Ling , Ma Ning , Sun Wan-Ying , Wang Wei , Zhu Li-Peng , Wang Rui-Qi , Liu Jie-Yan , Zhang Xiao-Po
Published: August 2022

Background. Acetaminophen-related hepatic injury (ARHI) is a kind of acute hepatic injury caused by overdosing acetaminophen, which is mainly related to toxic metabolite production, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. The extract of Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr. (PSM) has the abilities of anti-inflammatory, antivirus, and antioxidation. Research studies showed that PSM could improve acute or chronic hepatic injury, while the mechanism of which is still indistinct. Methods. Here, the authors applied the approach based on serum metabonomics combined with network pharmacology to study the protection of PSM on ARHI rats. Results. 10 serum potential biomarkers were found to be closely related to ARHI by metabonomics, while 3 compounds (L-ascorbyl 2,6-dipalmitate, squalene, and tributyl O-acetylcitrate) and 3 targets (NOS2, MAOB, and PDE3A) were found that might be the potential active components and active site of PSM on treating ARHI by network pharmacology analysis. Furthermore, molecular biology strategy was performed to validate whether iNOS/NF-κB signaling pathway is the potential mechanism of PSM treating ARHI. Conclusions. This study indicated that PSM could ameliorate ARHI by iNOS/NF-κB signaling pathway. During ARHI treatment by PSM, L-ascorbyl 2, 6-dipalmitate, squalene, and tributyl O-acetylcitrate might be the potential active components, while the possible active site might be NOS2, MAOB, and PDE3A.
Efficacy and Safety of Yangyin Shuxin Decoction—a Chinese Herbal Medicine Formula For Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Li Qing , Su Lishuo , Zhou Ruijuan , Tang E. , Liu Yu , Cheng Tao , Wang Shuai , Zhao Zhiqiang , Wang Xianliang , Mao Jingyuan
Published: August 2022

Background. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a large subtype of heart failure (HF) characterized by exercise intolerance and reduced quality of life. Studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with conventional Western medicine has a good effect on improving exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with HFpEF, but the overall quality of evidence is low. This study aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of Yangyin Shuxin (YYSX) decoction in the treatment of HFpEF. Methods. A prospective, single-blind, single-center, randomized controlled clinical study was conducted. 64 patients with HFpEF were randomly assigned to receive oral YYSX decoction (150 ml, twice a day) combined with conventional Western treatment or conventional Western treatment alone at a ratio of 1 :  1. The course of treatment was 2 weeks, and the follow-up was 3 months. The primary outcome was peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2) measured by the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). Furthermore, the safety of YYSX decoction was assessed. Results. 63 patients (31 in the YYSX group and 32 in the control group) were included in the full analysis set. The peak VO2 of the YYSX group was significantly higher than that of the control group (12.04 ± 3.41 vs. 11.02 ± 3.33,

P
=
0.013

) after 2 weeks. The maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) was significantly higher in the YYSX group compared with the control group (

P
<
0.05

). The YYSX group had a higher EQ-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) score (71.13 ± 13.95 vs. 70.94 ± 13.70,

P
<
0.05

) and a lower TCM Four-Dimensional Diagnostic Information Scale (TCMFDIS) score (49.74 ± 24.73 vs. 64.16 ± 27.15,

P
<
0.05

) than the control group. There was no statistical difference between two groups (

P
=
0.160

), although 51.61% of patients in the YYSX group showed a decrease in brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels of at least 30%, compared with 37.50% of patients in the control group. No serious adverse events were reported in either group, but systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased and serum sodium levels increased slightly in the control group. Conclusion. The YYSX decoction combined with conventional Western treatment was superior to the conventional Western treatment alone in improving exercise tolerance, quality of life, and cardiopulmonary function of patients with HFpEF. YYSX decoction is safe and may prevent a drop in blood pressure and sodium retention. Trial Registration. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (www.chictr.org/cn/, No. ChiCTR-IOR-17014206)