bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dysphagia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Quantification of bulbar motor dysfunction
Authors: Adamske Deike , Heyduck Adrienne , Weidenmüller Matthias , Göricke Bettina , Frank Tobias , Olthoff Arno
Published: June 2021

Background

Dysphagia as a sequel and possible early sign of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is caused by progressive impaired bulbar motor function.

Objective

To evaluate bulbar motor dysfunction in patients suffering from ALS compared to a healthy reference group.

Methods

A clinical study and prospective group comparison was designed. Patients and healthy volunteers were examined in the outpatient clinic of our university medical center. Ten patients with ALS and 20 healthy volunteers were included. All participants underwent a flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and a manometric measurement of the maximal sub‐palatal atmospheric pressure generated by suction as well as of the prevalent pressure during swallowing. Additionally, the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) was completed by all participants to score the self‐rated extent of dysphagia.

Results

Comparing maximal suction pressures, the group of patients showed significantly lower values (p < .001). There was a significant correlation between reduced pressures and the degree of dysphagia (SSQ score) (r = −0.73).

Conclusions

As the oral cavity is an easily accessible compartment of the upper digestive tract, manometric measurements might serve as a simple instrument in order to detect or to monitor bulbar motor dysfunction. Oral manometry may facilitate early detection and monitoring of dysphagia in ALS. Larger studies are required to confirm our findings.
Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonization of Fiji rather than climate change
Authors: Dorey James B. , Groom Scott V. C. , Velasco‐Castrillón Alejandro , Stevens Mark I. , Lee Michael S. Y. , Schwarz Michael P.
Published: June 2021

There is substantial debate about the relative roles of climate change and human activities on biodiversity and species demographies over the Holocene. In some cases, these two factors can be resolved using fossil data, but for many taxa such data are not available. Inferring historical demographies of taxa has become common, but the methodologies are mostly recent and their shortcomings often unexplored. The bee genus Homalictus is developing into a tractable model system for understanding how native bee populations in tropical islands have responded to past climate change. We greatly expand on previous studies using sequences of the mitochondrial gene COI from 474 specimens and between 171 and 3928 autosomal (DArTSeq) single nucleotide polymorphism loci from 19 specimens of the native Fijian bee, Homalictus fijiensis, to explore its historical demography using coalescent and mismatch analyses. We ask whether past changes in demography were human‐ or climate‐driven, while considering analytical assumptions. We show that inferred changes in population sizes are too recent to be explained by past climate change. Instead we find that a dramatic increase in population size for the main island of Viti Levu coincides with increasing occupation by humans and their modification of the environment. We found no corresponding change in bee population size for another major island, Kadavu, where human populations and agricultural activities have been historically very low. Our analyses indicate that molecular approaches can be used to disentangle the impacts of humans and climate change on a major tropical pollinator and that stringent analytical approaches are required for reliable interpretation of results.
Stochastic community assembly decreases soil fungal richness in arid ecosystems
Authors: Jiao Shuo , Zhang Baogang , Zhang Guozhuang , Chen Weimin , Wei Gehong
Published: June 2021

Uncovering the linkages between community assembly and species diversity is a fundamental issue in microbial ecology. In this study, a large‐scale (transect intervals of 1257.6 km) cross‐biome soil survey was conducted, which ranged over agricultural fields, forests, wetlands, grasslands and desert, in the arid regions of northwest China. The aim was to investigate the biogeographic distribution, community assembly and species co‐occurrence of soil fungi. The fungal communities in agricultural soils exhibited a steeper distance–decay slope and wider niche breadths, and were more strongly affected by stochastic assembly processes, than fungi in other natural habitats. A strong relationship was revealed between soil fungal richness and community assembly in arid ecosystems, with the influence of stochastic assembly processes decreasing with increasing fungal richness. Moreover, aridity was the most important environmental factor influencing fungal richness, β‐diversity and species co‐occurrence patterns. Specifically, the predicted increase in arid conditions will probably reduce fungal richness and network complexity. These findings represent a considerable advance in linking fungal richness to mechanisms underlying the biogeographic patterns and assembly processes of fungal communities in arid ecosystems. These results can thus be used to forecast species co‐occurrence and diversities pattern of soil fungi under climate aridity and land‐use change scenarios.
A discussion of the relationship between Ophiorrhiza exigua and O. michelloides (Rubiaceae) with the description of a new species
Authors: Hu Yan‐Hua , Liu Wen‐Jian , Song Xiao‐Fei , Deng Guo‐Xing , Nakamura Koh , Wu Lei , Liu Quan‐Ru
Published: June 2021

Through field observations, studies of herbarium specimens and relevant literature, Ophiorrhiza exigua and O. michelloides, two long‐controversial species are shown to be two different species. Meanwhile, our results supported O. nanlingensis L. Wu & Q. R. Liu as a new species, previously confused with O. exigua. Ophiorrhiza nanlingensis is morphologically similar to O. exigua and O. michelloides, but differs from the former in its monostylous flowers and corolla tube without a ring of hairs inside, and from the latter in pubescence of most vegetative organs with unicellular trichomes which are generally shorter than 0.3 mm and inflorescence nutant when young and then erect. We provide a detailed morphological and habitat description, as well as colour photographs and illustrations of the new species.
A new species of Emilia (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) from Lower Juba region, Somalia
Authors: Baldesi Giacomo , Baldini Riccardo M.
Published: June 2021

Emilia corallina is described as a new species endemic to the coastal area of southern Somalia close to the Kenyan border. It is closely related to E. bellioides, the only other species of the genus given for the Flora of Somalia. This narrow endemic grows in coastal dunes and madreporic limestone outcrops along the lower Juba coast and is reported at present only around the area south of Chisimaio.
Early maternal separation enhances melanoma progression in adult female mice by immune mechanisms
Authors: Barreto Francisco Stefânio , Ribeiro Wesley Lyeverton Correia , Cavalcanti Bruno Coêlho , Silva Paulo Goberlânio de Barros , Soares de Sousa Caren Nádia , Vasconcelos Germana Silva , Nunes Ana Paula Negreiros , Moraes Filho Manoel Odorico de , Macedo Danielle S.
Published: June 2021

Maternal separation (MS) is a risk factor for major depressive disorder. Both cancer and depression seem to share a common biological link. Here, we evaluated the progression of melanoma and the underlying mechanisms related to this progression, namely cell proliferation and apoptosis, in adult female mice exposed to MS. Female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to MS for 60 min/day during the first 2 postnatal weeks (here called MS mice) or left undisturbed (here called non‐MS mice). Melanoma cells were inoculated subcutaneously into the axillary region of adult animals, and tumor progression was evaluated for 25 days. Adult MS mice presented depressive‐like behavior and working memory deficits. MS accelerated murine melanoma growth by mechanisms related to decreased apoptosis and increased cell proliferation rate, such as increased expression of IL‐6 and mTOR. MS stimulated eukaryotic elongation factor 2 expression and increased the number of circulating monocytes and DNA damage in peripheral blood leukocytes, an effect associated with oxidative DNA damage. In conclusion, MS accelerated the progression of murine melanoma by mechanisms related to tumor proliferation and apoptosis, revealing a relationship between adverse childhood experiences and cancer progression, particularly melanoma.
Rising to the challenge: Introducing protocols to monitor food marketing to children from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Authors: Tatlow‐Golden Mimi , Jewell Jo , Zhiteneva Olga , Wickramasinghe Kremlin , Breda João , Boyland Emma
Published: June 2021

Unhealthy marketing has been unequivocally linked to children's food preferences, requests, purchases and eating behaviors and hence to childhood obesity. Regulating children's exposure to such marketing has been identified as a key challenge to which States must rise. Regulation mandates the need for monitoring and hence for credible data that are comparable between countries, regions and across time. However, there are major challenges presented by the complexity of the digital marketing ecosystem including the personalized targeting with persuasive, exploitative advertising to which children are subject. This narrative review identifies challenges faced by researchers in the digital ecosystem; reviews recent papers attempting to address these and specifies benefits and limitations; and introduces a set of WHO protocols with templates and guidance for studies of food marketing to children.
Comments on “Network Structure and Its Impact on Commodity Markets”
Authors: Tompaidis Stathis
Published: June 2021

I discuss the framework proposed by John Birge in “Network Structure and Its Impact on Commodity Markets”.
Do Emotions Sell? The Impact of Emotional Expressions on Sales in the Space‐Sharing Economy
Authors: Wang Xunyi , Jiang Meiling , Han Wencui , Qiu Liangfei
Published: June 2021

The digital technology underlying the concept of Industry 4.0 has brought new disruptive changes to the economy. As an innovative service model, the unique characteristics of the space‐sharing economy require the understanding of emotional and psychological aspects in managing such a disruptive service model. We empirically examine the impact of unstructured emotional information that service providers offer (i.e., marketer‐generated content) on the popularity and sales of services in space‐sharing platforms (e.g., Airbnb) above and beyond objective qualities such as guest ratings or the size and amenities of the properties. For this, we leverage a unique dataset of a large‐scale sample of Airbnb listings from New York City (NYC). The results of a panel analysis and a series of robustness checks reveal a curvilinear association between the affective expression of service providers and the sales of their services, that is, the effect of emotional expressions is positive at low levels, but it diminishes at high levels. To address the potential endogeneity, we use a 2SLS‐IV approach, and the results validate our findings. Moreover, we conduct a randomized experiment to further establish causal inference. This study makes valuable contributions to the literature on service operation management and the sharing economy. Our findings shed light on how operations managers and service providers can use emotional information in space‐sharing platforms. We provide practical examples to guide their actions. These insights also have implications for other platform owners and users to leverage emotional information and improve outcomes.
Customizing Primary Care Delivery Using E‐Visits
Authors: Bavafa Hessam , Savin Sergei , Terwiesch Christian
Published: June 2021

Technologies that enable “e‐visits”—remote interactions between patients and physicians—are touted as a way to improve and expand primary care. We study a setting in which a physician can divert some of the patient demand away from the office visits and into the e‐visits, which utilize less of the physician's service capacity while maintaining an appropriate quality of care. We explicitly model a distinguishing feature of primary care settings: patient office revisit intervals are determined jointly by the physician and her patients. Using our model, we identify settings where patients and physicians adopt e‐visits. We analytically characterize the impact of e‐visits on key system outcomes: panel size, patient health, and physician compensation. Notably, we identify settings—defined in terms of patient panel features, parameters of primary care delivery, and physician compensation scheme—in which at least one of the system outcomes suffers under e‐visits. Our modeling approach highlights the importance of considering patient and physician responses to primary care interventions to understand their full impact.
How Do On‐demand Ridesharing Services Affect Traffic Congestion? The Moderating Role of Urban Compactness
Authors: Li Ziru , Liang Chen , Hong Yili , Zhang Zhongju
Published: June 2021

The role of information technology (IT) in managing operations that support environmentally sustainable growth has been emphasized a lot in operations management and information systems research. In this paper, we study the impact of the IT‐based on‐demand ridesharing platforms on an important aspect of sustainability—traffic congestion. Our theoretical prediction suggests two countervailing effects from the entry of ridesharing platforms to urban areas: the efficiency‐enhancing effect that reduces traffic congestion and the demand‐inducing effect that increases traffic congestion. We propose that the impacts of ridesharing services on traffic congestion should vary with urban spatial features. Given the theoretical tension, we investigate the impact of Uber entry on traffic congestion in urban areas of the United States with a focus on the moderating role of urban compactness. Based on a unique dataset that combines multiple archival sources, we empirically examine whether the entry of Uber's on‐demand ridesharing service affects traffic congestion by using a difference‐in‐differences framework. Our empirical evidence indicates that ridesharing services significantly increase traffic congestion in compact areas. Meanwhile, we find some marginal evidence that ridesharing services decrease traffic congestion in sprawling urban areas. The results are robust to a series of additional analyses, including the use of alternative measures, relative time model, entry exogeneity test, and placebo tests. We conclude that the efficiency‐enhancing and demand‐inducing effects shape traffic congestion and that the net effect varies according to different levels of urban compactness. We provide circumstantial evidence for the underlying mechanisms by analyzing public transit and commuting characteristic data.
Due diligence in global value chains: Conceptualizing ‘adverse environmental impact’
Authors: Mackie Colin
Published: June 2021

Due diligence norms often require enterprises to address ‘adverse environmental impacts’ in their value chains. It is, however, rare for that phrase to be defined. Thus, it is not known precisely what effects are to be prevented or remedied or, where relevant, when sanctions and/or liability can be imposed. This article seeks to determine how ‘adverse environmental impact’ should be conceptualized in these norms, a question largely unexplored in the literature. It is argued that the polluter‐pays principle, and theory of cost internalization that it is built upon, offers a stable normative base from which to sculpt a robust definition. With specificity garnered from exemplar legal frameworks, it is demonstrated that ‘traditional damage’ (e.g. damage to property or human health) and damage to the environment itself ought to be covered by the phrase. This will ensure that incentives for prevention can be harnessed and that the costs of an enterprise’s goods and services will reflect their true social cost more closely.
Predicting risk along the suicidality continuum: A longitudinal, nationally representative study of the Irish population during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Hyland Philip , Rochford Sarah , Munnelly Anita , Dodd Philip , Fox Robert , Vallières Frédérique , McBride Orla , Shevlin Mark , Bentall Richard P. , Butter Sarah , Karatzias Thanos , Murphy Jamie
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Little is known about the lifetime prevalence of different indicators of suicidality in the Irish general population; whether suicidality has increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic; and what factors associated with belonging to different points on a continuum of suicidality risk.

Methods

A nationally representative sample of Irish adults (N = 1,032) completed self‐report measures in May 2020 and a follow‐up in August 2020 (n = 715).

Results

Lifetime prevalence rates were 29.5% for suicidal ideation, 12.9% for non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI), and 11.2% for attempted suicide. There were no changes in past two‐week rates of NSSI and attempted suicide during the pandemic. Correlations between the indicators of suicidality supported a progression from ideation to NSSI to attempted suicide. Suicidal ideation alone was associated with being male, unemployed, higher loneliness, and lower religiosity. NSSI (with no co‐occurring attempted suicide) was associated with a history of mental health treatment. Attempted suicide was associated with ethnic minority status, lower education, lower income, PTSD, depression, and history of mental health treatment.

Conclusion

Suicidal ideation, NSSI, and attempted suicide are relatively common phenomena in the general adult Irish population, and each has unique psychosocial correlates. These findings highlight important targets for prevention and intervention efforts.
Paradoxical positivity: Suicide notes use less distressed language than blogs about depression, suicidal thoughts, and even cooking
Authors: Leavitt Jacob , Hong Judy H. , Walker Rheeda L.
Published: June 2021

Introduction

While suicide attempts and deaths increase, research and assessment methods have stagnated in terms of increasing predictive power. Lexical analysis has been a useful method in descriptive suicide research, but may have utility for assessment and prediction.

Objective

The present study used lexical analysis to examine language differences across a spectrum of psychological distress, with death by suicide as the most extreme indicator.

Methods

Suicide writings were collected for 38 persons who died by suicide in two southern U.S. cities. Blog writings were collected from the “Depression” and “Suicide” categories of an online mental health discussion community and from food blogging communities (n = 38 each). Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count was used to calculate proportions of words that fell into lexical categories indicative of distress.

Results

One‐way ANOVA revealed significant differences in first‐person singular pronouns and words related to positive emotions, negative emotions, religion, and death. Suicide notes were found to use less frequent lexical markers of distress than depression and suicide ideation blogs, and more frequent positive emotion language than all comparison groups.

Conclusion

The present findings suggest that deciding to take one's life may be associated with a decrease in distress, and possibly an increase in positive emotion, when compared to those experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts.
Identifying crime generators and spatially overlapping high‐risk areas through a nonlinear model: A comparison between three cities of the Valencian region (Spain)
Authors: Briz‐Redón Álvaro , Mateu Jorge , Montes Francisco
Published: June 2021

The behavior and spatial distribution of crime events can be explained through the characterization of an area in terms of its demography, socioeconomy, and built environment. In particular, recent studies on the incidence of crime in a city have focused on the identification of features of the built environment (specific places or facilities) that may increase crime risk within a certain radius. However, it is hard to identify environmental characteristics that consistently explain crime occurrence across cities and crime types. This article focuses on the assessment of the effect that certain types of places have on the incidence of property crime, robbery, and vandalism in three cities of the Valencian region (Spain): Alicante, Castellon, and Valencia. A nonlinear effects model is used to identify such places and to construct a risk map over the three cities considering the three crime types under research. The results obtained suggest that there are remarkable differences across cities and crime types in terms of the types of places associated with crime outcomes. The identification of high‐risk areas allows verifying that crime is highly concentrated, and also that there is a high level of spatial overlap between the high‐risk areas corresponding to different crime types.
Development And Achievements Of Science, Technology & Innovation Policy In ASEAN Countries: A Comparative Analysis Of Malaysia In Transition Stage With Myanmar, Cambodia And Laos In Developing Stage
Authors: Ariffin Aini	Suzana , Mohd Mahdzir Akbariah
Published: June 2021

ASEAN formally came into being in 1967 and sole purpose of developing this association was to accelerate economic growth, cultural development and social progress. To achieve the vision, ASEAN member nations kept their focus on development and implementing science technology and innovation policy. For this study desktop research was conducted to analyze and compare current scenario of Science technology and innovation policy in Malaysia with Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. Comparison was done on the basis of structure, framework, barriers and breakthrough in the field of STI policy. It was deduced that Malaysia is currently in its transition phase as compared to Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, where formulation of an official STI policy documents are still in progress. Some recommendations are proposed so the gap between STI development and implementation is reduced.
The Effect of a Segmented Wall Filled With Phase Change Material on Heat Transfer and Airflow in a Closed Cavity
Authors: Orozco D. A. , Hinojosa J. F. , Amaya K.
Published: June 2021

The heat transfer effect of a sectioned wall made of five volumes filled with a phase change material (PCM) coupled to an air cavity is presented. The analysis system was equipped with a heat source next to the sectioned wall and an opposite isothermal wall. The experimental study was carried out by measuring the temperature of the five PCM volumes, likewise in four profiles along the air cavity. For the numerical formulation of the phase change of the PCM wall, the enthalpy method was used. With the validated model, the temperature fields, velocity contours, liquid fraction contours, and heat transfer coefficients are presented and discussed. The comparison between the numerical model and the experimental data presented a general average percentage difference in the range of 3.8–7% for the temperature of the air profiles, while for the PCM was 0.9–3.2%. The numerical results showed that the amount of liquid PCM in the enclosure can be reduced by dividing the wall into segments. Additionally, the heat transfer mechanism of conduction was noted between PCM volumes due to the union of these.
Numerical Study of the Deposition of Radioactive Nuclide (Aerosol) in Pressurized Water Reactor Steam Generator
Authors: Aadil Muhammad , Nawaz Rab , Shah Ajmal , Qureshi Kamran Rasheed
Published: June 2021

This research presents a numerical study of deposition efficiency and decontamination factor of the radioactive nuclide in steam generator tubes of a typical 325 MWel pressurized water reactor (PWR). To find out the deposition of aerosol, the discrete phase model (DPM) has been used. The flow has been characterized as compressible, adiabatic, turbulent and wall-bounded. When steam generator tube gets ruptured, the radioactive nuclides can escape from primary side and create a radioactive field on the secondary side. This can be harmful at the personnel working at the plant. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the plant and personnel, it is important to study the particles deposition on the wall of steam generator tubes. In the present study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology has been first developed and validated with the published results. After methodology validation, it has been applied to the U-tube of a typical PWR steam generator. It has been observed that due to the action of centrifugal force near the bent, the velocity magnitude is high toward the inner wall and the flow separates at the bent entrance. Furthermore, the flow inside the tube is rotational with vortices throughout the domain due to the presence of the bent. Finally, the deposition efficiency and decontamination factor have been calculated and it has been observed that both increase with the increase in particle size due to inertial effects.
Optimization of Thermophotovoltaic Power System With a Spectrally Controlled Multi-Concentric Emitter
Authors: Kazim Ali Hussain , Salman Ali , Khan Abu Bakar , Shaukat Umer , Shabbir Aqsa
Published: June 2021

Thermophotovoltaic energy conversion is a solid-state thermal-to-electric energy conversion technique which uses only infrared light i.e., heat. Its maximum achieved efficiency by proper bandgap energy selection and utilizing spectral control strategies is merely 30% which is currently still low to be used as a standalone device for energy harvesting. Recently, researchers used molten metal storage and concentrated solar power (CSP) as an input to derive these thermophotovoltaic blocks. Such blocks usually consist of an emitter and a photovoltaic power converter which boosted the system efficiency by adding a silver-based reflector to bounce unused photons back to the emitter. In this work, we have demonstrated another means of photon recycling on the conversion efficiency by passing the radiations through spectral filters before incident on these cells. The spectral filters were selected by aiming at gaining maximum conversion efficiency and a cylindrical power block was used in order to reduce the conversion losses due to edge effects. The modified model in terms of geometrical shape and spectrally controlled filters was able to achieve a conversion efficiency up to 50% even without using the back surface reflectors (BSRs). This work provides the framework for a cheap and efficient alternative to the combined-cycle electric turbines currently used to convert heat into energy inside utility-scale concentrated solar power facilities. This work enables widespread use wherever solar energy is available in abundance.
A Novel Method to Enhance Oil Recovery by Inter-Fracture Injection and Production Through the Same Multi-Fractured Horizontal Well
Authors: He Youwei , Qiao Yu , Qin Jiazheng , Tang Yong , Wang Yong , Chai Zhi
Published: June 2021

Conventional enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approaches are inefficient in unconventional reservoirs. This paper provides a novel approach to enhance oil recovery from unconventional oil reservoirs through synchronous inter-fracture injection and production (SiFIP) and asynchronous inter-fracture injection and production (AiFIP). The compartmental embedded discrete fracture model (cEDFM) is introduced to simulate complex fracture geometries to quantitatively evaluate the performance of SiFIP and AiFIP. EOR performances using multiple producing methods are investigated (i.e., depletion, fluid flood, fluid Huff and Puff, SiFIP, and AiFIP). Higher cumulative oil production rates can be achieved by AiFIP and SiFIP. AiFIP yields the highest oil recovery factor, two times higher than depletion. Compared with SiFIP, AiFIP may be a preferred method when CO2/water resources are short. The impacts of fracture and injection parameters on oil production are discussed. The feasible well completions for AiFIP and SiFIP are provided. AiFIP (CO2) achieves the best EOR performance among different producing methods. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of SiFIP and AiFIP to improve oil recovery. The proposed methods improve flooding performance by transforming fluid injection among wells to among hydraulic fractures from the same multi-fractured horizontal well (MFHW), which is a promising EOR approach in unconventional oil reservoirs. The proposed EOR method (AiFIP-CO2) can improve oil recovery and mitigate the emission of CO2 as well as reduce the waste of water resources.
Thermodynamic and Comparative Analysis of Ejector Refrigeration Cycle and Absorption Refrigeration Cycle Integrated Wet Ethanol-Fueled HCCI Engine for Cogeneration of Power and Cooling
Authors: Siddiqui Mohd Asjad , Khaliq Abdul , Kumar Rajesh
Published: June 2021

This study attempted for the proposal and analysis of a combined cycle that consists of a wet ethanol-fueled and turbocharged homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine coupled to ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC) and absorption refrigeration cycle (ARC) for the simultaneous generation of two distinct outputs, namely, power and refrigeration. Both first and second laws of thermodynamics were employed to develop a thermodynamic model, which has been applied to investigate the performance of combined cycle. Furthermore, performance of the combined cycle for ERC versus ARC was compared and assessed after altering operating parameters (turbocharger pressure ratio, turbocharger compressor efficiency, ambient temperature, and the entrainment ratio of ERC and generator temperature of ARC) to study their effect on engine power output, refrigeration load, exergy of refrigeration, and energy and exergy efficiencies of the cooling-power cogeneration cycle. Results show that the elevated pressure of turbocharger results in the enhancement of HCCI engine power and increase of the refrigeration of thermal load, simultaneously. However, the increasing ambient temperature shows the decline of HCCI engine efficiencies and energy efficiency of cogeneration, while the cogeneration cycle exergy efficiency is found increasing. Furthermore, the results are reported for the refrigeration performed by lithium bromide–water (LiBr–H2O)-operated ARC, and R134a- and R290-operated ERC, respectively. Mapping of exergy destruction for the presented cogeneration cycle discovered HCCI engine, boiler of ERC, generator of ARC, and catalytic convertor as the components of significant exergy destruction. Entrainment ratio and type of refrigerant employed in ERC and the generator temperature of ARC show a marginal impact on the COPs of these cycles.
A New Correlation of Heat Transfer Coefficients for Flow Boiling in Serrated Channels
Authors: Li Xiaohuan , Fang Xiande , Luo Zufen , Xu Lu , Shang Hongfeng
Published: June 2021

Compact plate-fin heat exchangers with serrated channels have been widely used in a variety of industrial systems. However, few correlations for flow boiling heat transfer in serrated channels are available in the literature, and their prediction accuracy needs to be improved. This paper presents a database containing 1184 experimental data points of saturated flow boiling heat transfer in serrated channels, which is compiled from six sources covered by eight published articles involving four fluids. The parameter range it covers is the hydraulic diameters from 1.19 to 5.15 mm, mass fluxes from 12.5 to 210 kg/(m2 s), heat fluxes from 6 to 83.4 kWm2, saturation pressures from 101.3 to 800 kPa, and vapor qualities from 0 to 0.96. Based on the database, nine existing correlations of flow boiling heat transfer coefficient (HTC) developed for serrated channels were evaluated. There are only three having the mean absolute deviation (MAD) less than 100% against the database, among which the best one has an MAD of 26.0%. A new HTC correlation for flow boiling in serrated channels is developed, which has an MAD of 13.7% and predicts 78.7% of the database within ± 20%, far better than the best existing one.
Material Transfer From Media to Head in Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR)
Authors: Xiong Shaomin , Smith Robert , Dai Qing , Schreck Erhard
Published: June 2021

Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is one of the leading technologies for next generation magnetic recording. Laser heating is utilized in HAMR to achieve magnetic writing of the very high coercivity media. However, the high temperature environment creates several reliability challenges for the head disk interface (HDI). Material transfer within the HDI under HAMR conditions or emulated HAMR conditions has been studied by experiments and simulations. It is found that the material transfer is mainly driven by thermal gradient and mechanical interaction such as head disk contact. In this paper, we designed an experiment to investigate the material transfer from HAMR media to a flying magnetic head. It shows that thermal gradient, more specifically a hotter media and cooler head, is the driving force for the material accumulation on the head. Furthermore, we calibrated the media temperature by a phase change material to identify the critical temperature that triggers the material transfer process. This study is important to understand the smear formation mechanism in HAMR drives.
TCN Units, Solution in Recognition of Human Activities
Authors: Radulescu Bogdan Alexandru , Florea Adina Magda , Radulescu Victorita
Published: June 2021

Activities and human faces recognition infrastructure are used everywhere behavior analysis is required. Since a video approach is built over an already existing infrastructure comprised of CCTV-Closed Circuit Television and a central computer, it can be used in any space where actions’ monitoring is necessary. Main objective of this paper consists of building a reliable and lightweight human faces and actions’ recognition classifier, able to classify a large number of actions, lightweight enough that it can work in real time. It processes at least 30 frames per second, using of-the-shelf computer hardware, connected to a normal CCTV infrastructure. The temporal convolutional network - TCN represents a viable solution for a proposed problem. It classifies a large number of actions - 60, using only RGB (red-green-blue) images of fairly low resolution, in real time. Deciding which class of action belongs to should not be connected to environment, background, person, view angle, or other specific identifiers. This selection should be associated only with the person executing it and the spatial-temporal context of the person. As technology and processing power improve, the problem slightly shifts. When more processing power to a system is added, in this model is possible either to increase the number of frames per second or the number of cameras in the infrastructure, or to increase the quality of the images, resulting most likely higher accuracy of the predictions. This model can be extended to a larger number of classes, with a minimal impact on performance. The proposed model has a tested accuracy of 82% which can be attributed to the recurrent property of the network. The model performs close to the most performing existing solutions. The present TCN + 3D Convolution Model is built with the smaller TCN units. Its architecture uses an alternation of a Simple Unit and a Complex Unit, in order to maximize the diversity of features the model learns. This paper illustrates a deep learning classifier based on TCNs for human actions recognition. Is relatively lightweight compared to other methods, and performs very well, competing with the best architectures. Ideally, it is able to classify an action irrespective of the person executing it or the environment where it was executed. This is achieved as much as possible through a diverse dataset on which the model is trained and tested, namely NTU RGB+D. After a simple and a complex unit, an Average Pool 3D layer reduces at least one dimension to half.
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer Through Porcine Heart and Esophageal Tissue
Authors: Morris Karcher , Hu Shengfan , Kohanfars Matthew , Talke Frank E.
Published: June 2021

Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition commonly treated by cardiac ablation procedures. Since the esophagus is positioned in close proximity to the heart, esophageal thermal damage can occur during ablation. In this study, we investigate the temperature rise on the inner esophagus surface using a 2D temperature sensor array. An experimental study was performed to measure temperature by the sensor array placed on inner porcine esophagus tissue as a constant temperature heat source is applied to the inner porcine atrial tissue. A numerical model was developed to complement the experimental study.
A High-Resolution and Low Offset Delta-Sigma Analog to Digital Converter for Detecting Photoplethysmography Signal
Authors: Pribadi Eka Fitrah , Pandey Rajeev Kumar , Chao Paul C.-P.
Published: June 2021

A high-resolution, low offset delta-sigma analog to digital converter for detecting photoplethysmography (PPG) signal is presented in this study. The PPG signal is a bio-optical signal incorporated with heart functionality and located in the range of 0.1–10 Hz. The location to get PPG signal is on a pulsating artery. Thus the delta-sigma analog-to-digital (DS ADC) converter is designed specifically in that range. However, the DS ADC circuitry suffers from 1/f noise under 10 Hz frequency range. A chopper based operational amplifier is implemented in DS ADC to push the 1/f noise into high-frequency noise. The dc offset of the operational amplifier is also pushed to the high-frequency region. The DS ADC circuitry consists of a second-order continuous-time delta-sigma modulator. The delta-sigma modulator circuitry is designed and simulated using TSMC 180 nm technology. The continuous-time delta-sigma modulator active area layout is 746μm × 399 μm and fabricated using TSMC 180 nm technology. It operates in 100 Hz bandwidth and 4096 over-sampling ratios. The SFDR of the circuit is above 70 dB. The power consumption of the delta-sigma modulator is 35.61μW. The simulation is performed in three different kinds of corner, SS, TT, and FF corner, to guarantee the circuitry works in different conditions.
Multiple Point Loading on Thin Cantilever Rectangular Plate Subjected to Pure Bending
Authors: Hase Aniket Anil , Chang Jen-Yuan (James)
Published: June 2021

In the applications of pure bending of thin cantilever plates, unlike a beam, twisting arises with the bending unless it is accomplished to pure bending. This paper emphases the theoretical study of the integration of multiple point loadings (vertical and Inclined) over the thin plate to eliminate the twisting and predict the definite bending for the linearly elastic material. The cantilever plate is further studied through numerical simulations using finite element analysis (FEA) in ANSYS. This FEA helps to finalize the type of modelling approach that predicts large deflection’s behaviour agreeing closely with theoretical solutions. Also, in the experimental procedure, various artificial intelligence (A.I.) techniques can reduce complexity; minimize the dependence on humans, and improve design efficiency. The process presented in this paper is inspired by Euler’s classical beam theory (moment-curvature relationship) and ANN, which approximates the problem and compensates the errors.
Advance Monitoring of Blood Pressure and Respiratory Rate Using De-Noising Auto Encoder
Authors: Park Seung-Ho , Park Kyoung-Su
Published: June 2021

As the importance of continuous vital signs monitoring increases, the need for wearable devices to measure vital sign is increasing. In this study, the device is designed to measure blood pressure (BP), respiratory rate (RR), and heartrate (HR) with one sensor. The device is in earphone format and is manufactured as wireless type using Arduino-based bluetooth module. The device measures pulse signal in the Superficial temporal artery using Photoplethysmograghy (PPG) sensor. The device uses the Auto Encoder to remove noise caused by movement, etc., contained in the pulse signal. Extract the feature from the pulse signal and use them for the vital sign measurement. The device is measured using Slope transit time (STT) method for BP and Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) method for RR. Finally, the accuracy is determined by comparing the vital signs measured through the device with the reference vital signs measured simultaneously.
Reproducibility of the Rotor 2INpower Crankset for Monitoring Cycling Power Output: A Comprehensive Analysis in Different Real-Context Situations
Authors: Rodríguez-Rielves Víctor , Martínez-Cava Alejandro , Buendía-Romero Ángel , Lillo-Beviá José Ramón , Courel-Ibáñez Javier , Hernández-Belmonte Alejandro , Pallarés Jesús G.
Published: June 2021

Purpose: To examine the reproducibility (intradevice and interdevice agreement) of the Rotor 2INpower device under a wide range of cycling conditions. Methods: Twelve highly trained male cyclists and triathletes completed 5 cycling tests, including graded exercise tests at different cadences (70–100 rpm), workloads (100–650 W), pedaling positions (seated and standing), and vibration conditions (20–40 Hz) and an 8-second maximal sprint (>1000 W). An intradevice analysis included a comparison between the power output registered by 3 units of Rotor 2INpower, whereas the power output provided by each one of these units and the gold-standard SRM crankset were compared for the interdevice analysis. Among others, statistical calculations included the standard error of measurement, expressed in absolute (in watts) and relative terms as the coefficient of variation (CV). Results: Except for the graded exercise test seated at 100 rpm/100 W (CV = 10.2%), the intradevice analysis showed an acceptable magnitude of error (CV ≤ 6.9%, standard error of measurement ≤ 12.3 W) between the 3 Rotor 2INpower. Similarly, these 3 units showed an acceptable agreement with the gold standard in all graded exercise test situations (CV ≤ 4.0%, standard error of measurement ≤ 13.1 W). On the other hand, both the intradevice and interdevice agreements proved to be slightly reduced under high cadences (intradevice: CV ≤ 10.2%; interdevice: CV ≤ 4.0%) and vibration (intradevice: CV ≤ 4.0%; interdevice: CV ≤ 3.6%), as well as during standing pedaling (intradevice: CV ≤ 4.1%; interdevice: CV ≤ 2.5%). Although within the limits of an acceptable agreement, measurement errors increased during the sprint tests (CV ≤ 7.4%). Conclusions: Based on these results, the Rotor 2INpower could be considered a reproducible tool to monitor power output in most cycling situations.
Psychosocial Characteristics, Perceived Neighborhood Environment, and Physical Activity Among Chinese Adolescents
Authors: Zhang Xinge , Jee Sangho , Fu Jialin , Wang Bowen , Zhu Luyang , Tu Yiming , Cheng Lei , Liu Gaotian , Li Rui , Moore Justin B.
Published: June 2021

This study examined the independent associations between psychosocial factors, perceived neighborhood characteristics, and physical activity (PA) in Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study using a convenience sample was conducted in fall 2019 at a high school in Wuhan, China. Sociodemographic data, body weight, height, psychosocial factors, perceptions of neighborhood environment, and PA were collected using questionnaires. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed in 4 steps, where step 1 included demographic covariates, step 2 added psychosocial factors into the model, step 3 added perceived neighborhood environmental factors, and step 4 added interaction terms between significant psychosocial and environmental factors. A total of 4027 adolescents were included in analysis. The results of the third model indicated that friends’ support (b = 4.58), friends’ norms (b = 7.16), barriers to PA (b = −10.19), autonomous motivation (b = 4.75), self-efficacy (b = 8.86), the presence of shops/stores nearby (b = 5.79), and the availability of PA resources (b = 6.02) were significant predictors (P < .05) of moderate to vigorous PA. None of the interaction terms were significant in the fourth model. Our results suggest that interventions targeting the PA of Chinese adolescents should take into account the attitudes toward PA, perceived barriers to PA, controlled motivation, perceptions of neighborhood PA resource availability, and perceived neighborhood safety to maximize effectiveness.
Dietary Fiber Hierarchical Specificity: the Missing Link for Predictable and Strong Shifts in Gut Bacterial Communities
Authors: Cantu-Jungles Thaisa M. , Bulut Nuseybe , Chambry Eponine , Ruthes Andrea , Iacomini Marcello , Keshavarzian Ali , Johnson Timothy A. , Hamaker Bruce R.
Published: June 2021

In the face of interindividual variability and complexity of gut microbial communities, prediction of outcomes from a given fiber utilized by many microbes would require a sophisticated comprehension of all competitive interactions that occur in the gut. Results presented here suggest that high-specificity fibers potentially circumvent the competitive scope in the gut for fiber utilization, providing a promising path to targeted and predictable microbial shifts in different individuals.
Diverse Humoral Immune Responses in Younger and Older Adult COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Sasson Jennifer M. , Campo Joseph J. , Carpenter Rebecca M. , Young Mary K. , Randall Arlo Z. , Trappl-Kimmons Krista , Oberai Amit , Hung Christopher , Edgar Joshua , Teng Andy A. , Pablo Jozelyn V. , Liang Xiaowu , Yee Angela , Petri William A. , Camerini David
Published: June 2021

As numerous viral variants continue to emerge in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, determining antibody reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 epitopes becomes essential in discerning changes in the immune response to infection over time. This study enabled us to identify specific areas of antigenicity within the SARS-CoV-2 proteome, allowing us to detect correlations of epitopes with clinical metadata and immunological signals to gain holistic insight into SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Generation of a Microsporidia Species Attribute Database and Analysis of the Extensive Ecological and Phenotypic Diversity of Microsporidia
Authors: Murareanu Brandon M. , Sukhdeo Ronesh , Qu Rui , Jiang Jason , Reinke Aaron W.
Published: June 2021

Microsporidia are a large group of parasites that cause death and disease in humans and many agriculturally important animal species. To fully understand the diverse properties of these parasites, we curated species reports from the last 160 years.
Molecular Mechanisms of the Toll-Like Receptor, STING, MAVS, Inflammasome, and Interferon Pathways
Authors: Manes Nathan P. , Nita-Lazar Aleksandra
Published: June 2021

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) form the front line of defense against pathogens. Many of the molecular mechanisms that facilitate PRR signaling have been characterized in detail, which is critical for the development of accurate PRR pathway models at the molecular interaction level.
Icelandia
Authors: Foulger Gillian R. , Gernigon Laurent , Geoffroy Laurent
Published: June 2021

We propose a new, sunken continent beneath the North Atlantic Ocean that we name Icelandia. It may comprise blocks of full-thickness continental lithosphere or extended, magma-inflated continental layers that form hybrid continental-oceanic lithosphere. It underlies the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge and the Jan Mayen microplate complex, covering an area of ~600,000 km2. It is contiguous with the Faroe Plateau and known parts of the submarine continental rifted margin offshore Britain. If these are included in a “Greater Icelandia,” the entire area is ~1,000,000 km2 in size. The existence of Icelandia needs to be tested. Candidate approaches include magnetotelluric surveying in Iceland; ultralong, full-crust-penetrating reflection profiling along the length of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge; dating zircons collected in Iceland; deep drilling; and reappraisal of the geology of Iceland. Some of these methods could be applied to other candidate sunken continents that are common in the oceans.