bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is a History of Seizures an Important Risk Factor for Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes?
Authors: Paratz Elizabeth D. , Scheffer Ingrid E. , Semsarian Christopher
Published: April 2023

Purpose of Review

This review examines the significance of seizures in young athletes and the complex inter-relationship between seizures, epilepsy, and sudden cardiac death.

Recent Findings

A history of seizures may reflect a diagnosis of epilepsy, which should be medically optimized for athletic participation. Epilepsy is associated with sudden unexplained cardiac death (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, SUDEP), with multiple genetic links identified to define some patients as experiencing a “cardiocerebral channelopathy.” It is also important to consider that a history of seizures may reflect a misdiagnosis of cardiac syncope, requiring careful cardiac evaluation and risk stratification.

A history of seizures in a young athlete is important to characterize fully and investigate as required. The association of seizures with young sudden cardiac death is still under investigation.
Using semantic Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD &T) information from STEP AP242 neutral exchange files for robotic applications
Authors: Mohammed Shafi Khurieshi , Arbo Mathias Hauan , Tingelstad Lars
Published: April 2023

This article proposes the use of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD &T) information from STEP AP242 for robotic manufacturing applications. This information can be directly added to the relevant features of the 3D model as per Model Based Definition methodology during the design phase of the product life cycle. STEP AP242 neutral exchange files enable the availability of product definition at the downstream operations, thus completing the Digital Thread as part of Industry 4.0 practices. This article discusses two methods; using custom Unicode strings and the standard entities; for including GD &T using the STEP AP242 Edition 2 neutral file exchange format. A method to form a single Unicode string to add all the GD &T information to the STEP files is described in this paper. The GD &T information in the Unicode string is fully semantic and can easily be parsed to extract the relevant PMI for tolerance analysis. A novel process of extracting and interpreting the relevant PMI for robotic manufacturing applications is described in detail. This article discusses various applications of this information for robotic manufacturing through two use-cases using the second edition of the STEP AP242 standard.
Researchers’ strategies to cope with the covid-19 impact on their activity
Authors: Sala-Bubaré Anna , Castelló Montserrat , Corcelles Mariona , Suñé-Soler Núria
Published: April 2023

This study aims to characterize the strategies researchers used to cope with Covid-19 impact and to explore the relationship between those strategies, researchers’ characteristics and the pandemic impact in their lives. 721 researchers, proportionally distributed among three Spanish regions, answered an online survey on the pandemic impact on their activity. Scales referred to social support, productivity, research tasks, working conditions, and work and personal life balance. An open-ended section was included to collect the strategies they used to cope with the pandemic consequences. 1528 strategies were content analysed and categorised based on their purposes and related to the rest of the impact variables. Results show the predominance of some strategies for the whole sample both at the work level, such as organizing work duties and plans, and at the personal level, such as maintaining life-work balance and improving personal well-being. Results stress to what extent a strategic approach contributed to minimize contextual issues or constraints even in an extreme situation as the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. A non-strategic approach, consisting of just reacting emotionally or dropping research, was the less effective way to maintain interest in research, sustained work and productivity and to warrant work-life balance. Developing a strategic approach was easier for those without caring responsibilities and for men. Women in our study, especially with caring responsibilities, had reduced opportunities to continue with their careers during the pandemic. No evidence of institutional strategies supporting researchers to cope with the situation was found.
Orthogonal projection for anomaly detection in networking datasets
Authors: Cortes-Polo David , Jimenez Luis I. , Paoletti Mercedes E. , Calle-Cancho Jesus , Rico-Gallego Juan A.
Published: April 2023

In recent years, the impressive growth of new wireless technologies, together with the appearance of new requirements in applications and services, is progressively changing the use of networks. Due to the high mobility required, the network must adapt to the infrastructure to meet the demands of the users. As a result, service providers currently have to over-provision network capacity, which is costly. In addition, considering efficient resource planning in advance involves a lot of labor-intensive efforts. Consequently, network usage analysis is a very useful tool that allows network administrators to find patterns and anomalies. Whilst pattern detection provides administrators the ability to define the infrastructure, anomaly detection provides rich and valuable information for certain applications, for example, to avoid network saturation in urban areas during peak hours. This article proposes a new methodology based on orthogonal projections over Call Detail Records (CDR) for anomaly detection to help in the dynamic management of the network in an urban area. The method is evaluated in a real scenario provided by an Italian telecommunications operator, considering different locations in the Milan metropolitan area, differentiated by the geographic resolution of the data, reaching F1 scores above 0.8. In addition, a new ground truth is presented, hoping it will become a reference data set for the community, in the form of a set of locations that have been corroborated for use in evaluating anomaly detection techniques.
Indicator of suitability for evaluating the aquifer thermal energy storage using the GIS-based MCDA technique in the Halabja-Khurmal sub-basin
Authors: Rauf Lanja F. , Ali Salahalddin S. , Al-Ansari Nadhir
Published: April 2023

Thermal energy is one of the eco-friendly sources of energy used worldwide for storing heat and cold between seasons. The aquifer thermal energy storage system effectively reduces carbon dioxide emission gas in the Halabja governorate. It is an economical way to be used in cooling and heating applications. This study evaluates the suitability of aquifer thermal energy storage in the Halabja-Khurmal sub-basin. Six critical criteria were selected: the type of aquifers, groundwater recharge, fresh/saline groundwater, groundwater quality, seepage velocity, and mean annual temperature by applying decision-maker judgment. The hydrogeological and climate criteria analysis combination has a consistency ratio of 0.008 in AHP. As a result, the Aquifer thermal energy storage suitability map in the Halabja-Khurmal sub-basin displays a surface area of 62.1% as strongly suitable, 7.7% as suitable in northern and southern parts, 29.2% as weakly suitable in southwestern, east, southeast, and northeast, and 1% as not suitable for aquifer thermal energy storage system.
On two classes of generalised finite T-groups
Authors: Ballester-Bolinches Adolfo , Pedraza-Aguilera M. Carmen , Pérez-Calabuig Vicent
Published: April 2023

Let $$\sigma = \{ {\sigma }_{i}: i \in I \}$$

σ
=
{

σ
i

:
i
∈
I
}

be a partition of the set $${\mathbb {P}}$$
P
of all prime numbers. A subgroup X of a finite group G is called $$\sigma $$
σ
-subnormal in G if there is a chain of subgroups $$\begin{aligned}X=X_{0} \le X_{1} \le \cdots \le X_{n}=G\end{aligned}$$

X
=

X
0

≤

X
1

≤
⋯
≤

X
n

=
G

where for every $$j=1, \dots , n$$

j
=
1
,
⋯
,
n

the subgroup $$X_{j-1}$$

X

j
-
1

is normal in $$X_{j}$$

X
j

or $$X_{j}/{{\,\textrm{Core}\,}}_{X_{j}}(X_{j-1})$$

X
j

/

Core

X
j

(

X

j
-
1

)

is a $${\sigma }_{i}$$

σ
i

-group for some $$i \in I$$

i
∈
I

. A group G is said to be $$\sigma $$
σ
-soluble if every chief factor of G is a $${\sigma }_{i}$$

σ
i

-group for some $$i \in I$$

i
∈
I

. The aim of this paper is to study two classes of finite groups based on the transitivity of the $$\sigma $$
σ
-subnormality. Some classical and known results are direct consequences of our study.
Weapon–Target Assignment Using a Whale Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Zhang Jinzhong , Kong Min , Zhang Gang , Huang Yourui
Published: April 2023

The weapon-target assignment (WTA) is a well-known task distribution issue in complicated combinational optimization, which is essential to management and decision-making in marine coordinated combat. This paper proposes a whale optimization algorithm (WOA) to address the WTA and the purpose was to maximize the combat effectiveness and determine the greatest decision matrix while equitably distributing the weapon unit resources of the weapon systems to the threat targets. The WOA is based on the whales’ bubble-net assaulting behavior that mimics encompassing contraction strategy, bubble-net assaulting strategy and random hunting strategy to successfully resolve the optimization issue. The WOA not only has excellent stability and robustness to determine a quicker convergence speed and greater calculation accuracy but also utilizes exploration or exploitation to avoid search stagnation and accomplish the most effective solution. Four sets of experiments are utilized to confirm the superiority and productivity of the WOA, the results are compared with those of AOA, BA, GWO, MVO, SCA, SOA, SSA and TSA by maximizing the fitness value. The experimental results demonstrate that WOA has a greater convergence precision and stronger optimization efficiency, which is a practical and feasible method to satisfy the fundamental requirements of real-time decision-making.
Observations of dust fragmentations in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak
Authors: Miao Yang , Hu Jian-Sheng , Fu Chao , Wang Yang , Khrapak Sergey A. , Zhong Fang-Chuan , Du Cheng-Ran
Published: April 2023

The transport phenomena of dust particles have been widely observed in fusion plasmas. In this article, we report the observations of dust fragmentations in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). A dust particle splits into two daughter particles and their motions are recorded before and after the breakup with a fast video camera. The trajectories of the daughter particles in the experiment are consistent with equation-of-motion simulations. The stability of a rotating charged particle in the plasma is briefly discussed.
Automotive SAR imaging: potentials, challenges, and performances
Authors: Manzoni Marco , Tebaldini Stefano , Monti-Guarnieri Andrea Virgilio , Prati Claudio Maria , Tagliaferri Dario , Nicoli Monica , Spagnolini Umberto , Russo Ivan , Mazzucco Christian
Published: April 2023

The main interest in using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology in automotive scenarios is that arbitrarily long arrays can be synthesized by exploiting the natural motion of the ego vehicle, enabling finer azimuth resolution and improved detection. All of this is achieved without increasing the hardware complexity in terms of the number of physical antennas. In this paper, we start by discussing the application of SAR imaging in the automotive environment from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. We proceed by describing an efficient processing workflow and we derive the rough number of operations required to focus an image proving the real-time imaging capability of the system. The experimental results are based on open road data acquired using an eight-channel radar at 77 GHz, considering side-looking SAR and forward SAR. The results confirm the idea that SAR imaging can be successfully and routinely used for high-resolution mapping of urban environments in the near future.
Flexible SIW humidity sensors based on nanodiamond sensing films
Authors: Chen Chang-ming , Chen Lu , Yao Yao , Peng Ye
Published: April 2023

In this paper, flexible substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) resonators have been designed and fabricated on polyimide substrates for humidity sensing applications. The proposed SIW resonant cavity allows the resonator to obtain the maximum humidity sensitivity and meet the demand for flexible microwave sensing detection. Meanwhile, the humidity response performance can be further significantly enhanced by introducing nanodiamond (ND) sensing material. Three prototypes of ND-coated SIW sensors with different bending radii are measured to analyze their humidity sensing performance. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed ND-coated SIW sensor with the minimum bending radius can achieve a maximum humidity sensitivity of 1.09 MHz/% relative humidity (RH) in the high RH region (>75.3% RH) and a low humidity hysteresis of 1.8% in the range of 11.3–97.3% RH. This study provides a promising candidate to realize flexible microwave sensors with excellent sensing performance.
The Dyadic Asthma Management Questionnaire for Adolescents and Their	Caregivers
Authors: Heyduck-Weides Katja , Bengel Jürgen , Farin Erik , Glattacker Manuela
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Background: Validated English language measures for dyadic assessment and analyses of family asthma management are still rare and no such measure is available in the German Language so far. Aim: The aim of our study was the development and psychometric evaluation of a dyadic questionnaire allowing consideration of both adolescent and caregiver perceptions about responsibility sharing and collaboration in family asthma management. Method: The Dyadic Asthma Management Questionnaire (DAMQ) was developed with a combined theory-driven and empirical approach. For psychometric evaluation, structural validity, internal consistency, construct validity, and readability was tested in a sample of N = 150 adolescents with asthma and their primary caregivers ( N = 125). Analyses included a dyadic methodology and examination of measurement invariance across different age groups. Results: The DAMQ was generated as a two-part measure assessing (1) responsibility sharing and (2) collaboration in adolescent-caregiver asthma management. For both parts of the DAMQ and both adolescent and caregiver versions, a coherent factor structure with interpretable subscales and good psychometric properties (e.g., Cronbach’s α, ω, and glb > 70 for all scales) could be confirmed. Indices for older adolescents (≥ 14 years) proved to be better than those for younger adolescents (< 14 years). Limitations: Limitations concerning sampling, chosen factor analytic procedures, and the need for further research are discussed. Conclusion: The DAMQ has the potential to serve as a useful clinical tool to identify and compare adolescents’ and caregivers’ perspectives on asthma management, providing a potential starting point for targeted clinical interventions.
Increasing Cloud Coverage Deteriorates Evapotranspiration Estimating Accuracy From Satellite, Reanalysis and Land Surface Models Over East Asia
Authors: Wang Yipu , Hu Jiheng , Li Rui , Song Binbin , Hailemariam Mengsteab , Fu Yuyun , Duan Jiawei
Published: April 2023

Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) can be affected by cloud change, while cloud‐induced bias errors in ET change remain poorly understood. Here we evaluated seven ET data sets from satellite microwave and optical models, atmospheric reanalysis and land surface models over East Asia. Results showed that although the data sets estimated ET changes overall well under mild cloud increase, all of them had a systematic overestimation (by 73.8%–159.8%) and deteriorated capability of capturing ET change under heavy cloud increase, especially over dense vegetation with large cloud cover. Overestimated incident solar radiation under clouds contributed to the deteriorated performances of ET. Cloud‐induced change in radiation and its errors played larger role in summer ET change over densely vegetated lands, while those in air temperature and relative humidity were dominant jointly over grass and barren lands. These results can serve as a reference for improving ET models and their forcing inputs under clouds.
A Comparison of the Impacts of CMEs and CIRs on the Martian Dayside and Nightside Ionospheric Species
Authors: Ram L. , Rout D. , Rathi R. , Mondal S. , Sarkhel S. , Halekas J.
Published: April 2023

Measurements from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft orbiting Mars are used for investigating the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs) on Martian ionospheric species. We have chosen 15 CME and 15 CIR events (2015–2020) at Mars from the existing catalogs. We have extensively analyzed the Martian dayside and nightside profiles of ionospheric species during each of the CME and CIR events. We have selected those orbit plasma density profiles which showed significant differences from the mean quiet‐time profile during each event. The primary focus of this paper is to provide a comparative average scenario of the variation of Martian ionospheric species during CME and CIR events. A significant difference can be observed in the profiles of the Martian dayside and nightside ionospheric species (O+, O2+, CO2+, NO+, C+, N+, & OH+) during CMEs and CIRs in comparison to mean quiet‐time profile. The difference is more prominent on the nightside compared to the dayside ionosphere. During CIRs, the nightside ion density is nearly one order of magnitude less (above 250 km) in comparison to CMEs. The mean peak altitude and density of the lighter ions (O+, C+, N+, & OH+) were at lower altitudes during the CIRs compared to CMEs. Therefore, this study suggests that during the declining phase of solar cycle (SC 24), the impact of CIRs on the Martian ionospheric species is more prominent compared to CMEs.
EPA Air Pollution Proposal Stirs Debate
Authors: Duncombe Jenessa
Published: April 2023

The agency’s proposal to tighten standards for small-particulate pollution has prompted opposing calls for tighter and looser regulations.
Centennial Channel Response to Climate Change in an Engineered River
Authors: Ylla Arbós C. , Blom A. , Sloff C. J. , Schielen R. M. J.
Published: April 2023

Human intervention makes river channels adjust their slope and bed surface grain size as they transition to a new equilibrium state in response to engineering measures. Climate change alters the river controls through hydrograph changes and sea level rise. We assess how channel response to climate change compares to channel response to human intervention over this century (2000–2100), focusing on a 300‐km reach of the Rhine River. We set up a schematized numerical model representative of the current (1990–2020), non‐graded state of the river, and subject it to scenarios for the hydrograph, sediment flux, and sea level rise. We conclude that the lower Rhine River will continue to adjust to past channelization measures in 2100 through channel bed incision. This response slows down as the river approaches its new equilibrium state. Channel response to climate change is dominated by hydrograph changes, which increasingly enhance incision, rather than sea level rise.
Thank You to Our 2022 Peer Reviewers
Authors: Huber Matthew , Röhl Ursula (Ulla)
Published: April 2023

Key Points

The editors thank the 2022 peer reviewers

2022 was also not easy but improving

Optimistically 2023 will be even better. Fingers Crossed
A multi-mode super-fano mechanism for enhanced third harmonic generation in silicon metasurfaces
Authors: Hähnel David , Golla Christian , Albert Maximilian , Zentgraf Thomas , Myroshnychenko Viktor , Förstner Jens , Meier Cedrik
Published: April 2023

We present strong enhancement of third harmonic generation in an amorphous silicon metasurface consisting of elliptical nano resonators. We show that this enhancement originates from a new type of multi-mode Fano mechanism. These ‘Super-Fano’ resonances are investigated numerically in great detail using full-wave simulations. The theoretically predicted behavior of the metasurface is experimentally verified by linear and nonlinear transmission spectroscopy. Moreover, quantitative nonlinear measurements are performed, in which an absolute conversion efficiency as high as ηmax ≈ 2.8 × 10−7 a peak power intensity of 1.2 GW cm−2 is found. Compared to an unpatterned silicon film of the same thickness amplification factors of up to ~900 are demonstrated. Our results pave the way to exploiting a strong Fano-type multi-mode coupling in metasurfaces for high THG in potential applications.
Association of plasma cytokines and antidepressant response following mild-intensity whole-body hyperthermia in major depressive disorder
Authors: Flux Michael C. , Smith David G. , Allen John J. B. , Mehl Matthias R. , Medrano Andi , Begay Tommy K. , Middlemist Brandon H. , Marquart Brandon M. , Cole Steven P. , Sauder Christina J. , Lowry Christopher A. , Raison Charles L.
Published: April 2023

Whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) shows promise for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Because MDD is associated with increased inflammation, and anti-inflammatory agents show some promise as antidepressants, the current study sought to identify the acute and longer-term immune effects of WBH in participants with MDD and to explore whether these effects associate with the procedure’s antidepressant properties. Thirty participants who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for MDD were randomized to receive a single session of WBH (n = 16) or sham treatment (n = 14). Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores were assessed at baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks post-treatment (WBH vs. sham), and plasma cytokine concentrations were assessed at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and 1 and 4 weeks post-treatment. As previously reported, WBH produced a rapid and sustained antidepressant effect. When compared to sham, WBH increased plasma interleukin (IL)-6 immediately post-treatment (time by treatment: χ2(3, N=108) = 47.33, p < 0.001), while having no effect on other cytokines acutely and no impact on IL-6, or any other cytokine, at 1 or 4 weeks post treatment. In the study sample as a whole, increased IL-6 post-treatment was associated with reduced HDRS depression scores over the 6 weeks of follow-up (F(1, 102.3) = 6.74, p = 0.01). These results suggest a hitherto unrecognized relationship between hyperthermia, the immune system, and depression, and may point to WBH as a novel modality for exploring behavioral effects of IL-6 when the cytokine is activated in isolation from the inflammatory mediators with which it frequently travels.
Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the developmental program underlying proximal–distal patterning of the human lung at the embryonic stage
Authors: Cao Shangtao , Feng Huijian , Yi Hongyan , Pan Mengjie , Lin Lihui , Zhang Yao Santo , Feng Ziyu , Liang Weifang , Cai Baomei , Li Qi , Xiong Zhi , Shen Qingmei , Ke Minjing , Zhao Xing , Chen Huilin , He Qina , Min Mingwei , Cai Quanyou , Liu He , Wang Jie , Pei Duanqing , Chen Jiekai , Ma Yanlin
Published: April 2023

The lung is the primary respiratory organ in human, in which the proximal airway and the distal alveoli are responsible for air conduction and gas exchange, respectively. However, the regulation of proximal–distal patterning at the embryonic stage of human lung development is largely unknown. Here we investigated the early lung development of human embryos at weeks 4–8 post fertilization (Carnegie stages 12–21) using single-cell RNA sequencing, and obtained a transcriptomic atlas of 169,686 cells. We observed discernible gene expression patterns of proximal and distal epithelia at week 4, upon the initiation of lung organogenesis. Moreover, we identified novel transcriptional regulators of the patterning of proximal (e.g., THRB and EGR3) and distal (e.g., ETV1 and SOX6) epithelia. Further dissection revealed various stromal cell populations, including an early-embryonic BDNF+ population, providing a proximal–distal patterning niche with spatial specificity. In addition, we elucidated the cell fate bifurcation and maturation of airway and vascular smooth muscle progenitor cells at the early stage of lung development. Together, our study expands the scope of human lung developmental biology at early embryonic stages. The discovery of intrinsic transcriptional regulators and novel niche providers deepens the understanding of epithelial proximal–distal patterning in human lung development, opening up new avenues for regenerative medicine.
Immune cell dynamics deconvoluted by single-cell RNA sequencing in normothermic machine perfusion of the liver
Authors: Hautz T. , Salcher S. , Fodor M. , Sturm G. , Ebner S. , Mair A. , Trebo M. , Untergasser G. , Sopper S. , Cardini B. , Martowicz A. , Hofmann J. , Daum S. , Kalb M. , Resch T. , Krendl F. , Weissenbacher A. , Otarashvili G. , Obrist P. , Zelger B. , Öfner D. , Trajanoski Z. , Troppmair J. , Oberhuber R. , Pircher A. , Wolf D. , Schneeberger S.
Published: April 2023

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has emerged as an innovative organ preservation technique. Developing an understanding for the donor organ immune cell composition and its dynamic changes during NMP is essential. We aimed for a comprehensive characterization of immune cell (sub)populations, cell trafficking and cytokine release during liver NMP. Single-cell transcriptome profiling of human donor livers prior to, during NMP and after transplantation shows an abundance of CXC chemokine receptor 1+/2+ (CXCR1+/CXCR2+) neutrophils, which significantly decreased during NMP. This is paralleled by a large efflux of passenger leukocytes with neutrophil predominance in the perfusate. During NMP, neutrophils shift from a pro-inflammatory state towards an aged/chronically activated/exhausted phenotype, while anti-inflammatory/tolerogenic monocytes/macrophages are increased. We herein describe the dynamics of the immune cell repertoire, phenotypic immune cell shifts and a dominance of neutrophils during liver NMP, which potentially contribute to the inflammatory response. Our findings may serve as resource to initiate future immune-interventional studies.
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
Authors: Toth Lauren T. , Storlazzi Curt D. , Kuffner Ilsa B. , Quataert Ellen , Reyns Johan , McCall Robert , Stathakopoulos Anastasios , Hillis-Starr Zandy , Holloway Nathaniel Hanna , Ewen Kristen A. , Pollock Clayton G. , Code Tessa , Aronson Richard B.
Published: April 2023

The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion potential at Buck Island Reef, U.S. Virgin Islands, with hydrodynamic modeling to quantify future coastal flooding under various coral-restoration, sea-level rise, and storm scenarios. Our results provide guidance on how restoration of Acropora palmata, if successful, could mitigate the most extreme impacts of coastal flooding by reversing projected trajectories of reef erosion and allowing reefs to keep pace with the ~0.5 m of sea-level rise expected by 2100 with moderate carbon-emissions reductions. This highlights the potential long-term benefits of pursuing coral-reef restoration alongside climate-change mitigation to support the persistence of essential coral-reef ecosystem services.
Tuning the reactivity of carbon surfaces with oxygen-containing functional groups
Authors: Zhou Jiahua , Yang Piaoping , Kots Pavel A. , Cohen Maximilian , Chen Ying , Quinn Caitlin M. , de Mello Matheus Dorneles , Anibal Boscoboinik J. , Shaw Wendy J. , Caratzoulas Stavros , Zheng Weiqing , Vlachos Dionisios G.
Published: April 2023

Oxygen-containing carbons are promising supports and metal-free catalysts for many reactions. However, distinguishing the role of various oxygen functional groups and quantifying and tuning each functionality is still difficult. Here we investigate the role of Brønsted acidic oxygen-containing functional groups by synthesizing a diverse library of materials. By combining acid-catalyzed elimination probe chemistry, comprehensive surface characterizations, 15N isotopically labeled acetonitrile adsorption coupled with magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, machine learning, and density-functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that phenolic is the main acid site in gas-phase chemistries and unexpectedly carboxylic groups are much less acidic than phenolic groups in the graphitized mesoporous carbon due to electron density delocalization induced by the aromatic rings of graphitic carbon. The methodology can identify acidic sites in oxygenated carbon materials in solid acid catalyst-driven chemistry.
Igh and Igk loci use different folding principles for V gene recombination due to distinct chromosomal architectures of pro-B and pre-B cells
Authors: Hill Louisa , Wutz Gordana , Jaritz Markus , Tagoh Hiromi , Calderón Lesly , Peters Jan-Michael , Goloborodko Anton , Busslinger Meinrad
Published: April 2023

Extended loop extrusion across the immunoglobulin heavy-chain (Igh) locus facilitates VH-DJH recombination following downregulation of the cohesin-release factor Wapl by Pax5, resulting in global changes in the chromosomal architecture of pro-B cells. Here, we demonstrate that chromatin looping and VK-JK recombination at the Igk locus were insensitive to Wapl upregulation in pre-B cells. Notably, the Wapl protein was expressed at a 2.2-fold higher level in pre-B cells compared with pro-B cells, which resulted in a distinct chromosomal architecture with normal loop sizes in pre-B cells. High-resolution chromosomal contact analysis of the Igk locus identified multiple internal loops, which likely juxtapose VK and JK elements to facilitate VK-JK recombination. The higher Wapl expression in Igμ-transgenic pre-B cells prevented extended loop extrusion at the Igh locus, leading to recombination of only the 6 most 3’ proximal VH genes and likely to allelic exclusion of all other VH genes in pre-B cells. These results suggest that pro-B and pre-B cells with their distinct chromosomal architectures use different chromatin folding principles for V gene recombination, thereby enabling allelic exclusion at the Igh locus, when the Igk locus is recombined.
Polyfluorinated crosslinker-based solid polymer electrolytes for long-cycling 4.5 V lithium metal batteries
Authors: Tang Lingfei , Chen Bowen , Zhang Zhonghan , Ma Changqi , Chen Junchao , Huang Yage , Zhang Fengrui , Dong Qingyu , Xue Guoyong , Chen Daiqian , Hu Chenji , Li Shuzhou , Liu Zheng , Shen Yanbin , Chen Qi , Chen Liwei
Published: April 2023

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs), which are favorable to form intimate interfacial contacts with electrodes, are promising electrolyte of choice for long-cycling lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, typical SPEs with easily oxidized oxygen-bearing polar groups exhibit narrow electrochemical stability window (ESW), making it impractical to increase specific capacity and energy density of SPE based LMBs with charging cut-off voltage of 4.5 V or higher. Here, we apply a polyfluorinated crosslinker to enhance oxidation resistance of SPEs. The crosslinked network facilitates transmission of the inductive electron-withdrawing effect of polyfluorinated segments. As a result, polyfluorinated crosslinked SPE exhibits a wide ESW, and the Li|SPE|LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cell with a cutoff voltage of 4.5 V delivers a high discharge specific capacity of ~164.19 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C and capacity retention of ~90% after 200 cycles. This work opens a direction in developing SPEs for long-cycling high-voltage LMBs by using polyfluorinated crosslinking strategy.
Transient and general synthesis of high-density and ultrasmall nanoparticles on two-dimensional porous carbon via coordinated carbothermal shock
Authors: Shi Wenhui , Li Zezhou , Gong Zhihao , Liang Zihui , Liu Hanwen , Han Ye-Chuang , Niu Huiting , Song Bo , Chi Xiaodong , Zhou Jihan , Wang Hua , Xia Bao Yu , Yao Yonggang , Tian Zhong-Qun
Published: April 2023

Carbon-supported nanoparticles are indispensable to enabling new energy technologies such as metal-air batteries and catalytic water splitting. However, achieving ultrasmall and high-density nanoparticles (optimal catalysts) faces fundamental challenges of their strong tendency toward coarsening and agglomeration. Herein, we report a general and efficient synthesis of high-density and ultrasmall nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on two-dimensional porous carbon. This is achieved through direct carbothermal shock pyrolysis of metal-ligand precursors in just ~100 ms, the fastest among reported syntheses. Our results show that the in situ metal-ligand coordination (e.g., N → Co2+) and local ordering during millisecond-scale pyrolysis play a crucial role in kinetically dominated fabrication and stabilization of high-density nanoparticles on two-dimensional porous carbon films. The as-obtained samples exhibit excellent activity and stability as bifunctional catalysts in oxygen redox reactions. Considering the huge flexibility in coordinated precursors design, diversified single and multielement nanoparticles (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ag, etc) were generally fabricated, even in systems well beyond traditional crystalline coordination chemistry. Our method allows for the transient and general synthesis of well-dispersed nanoparticles with great simplicity and versatility for various application schemes.
A Large-scale Synthetic Pathological Dataset for Deep Learning-enabled Segmentation of Breast Cancer
Authors: Ding Kexin , Zhou Mu , Wang He , Gevaert Olivier , Metaxas Dimitris , Zhang Shaoting
Published: April 2023

The success of training computer-vision models heavily relies on the support of large-scale, real-world images with annotations. Yet such an annotation-ready dataset is difficult to curate in pathology due to the privacy protection and excessive annotation burden. To aid in computational pathology, synthetic data generation, curation, and annotation present a cost-effective means to quickly enable data diversity that is required to boost model performance at different stages. In this study, we introduce a large-scale synthetic pathological image dataset paired with the annotation for nuclei semantic segmentation, termed as Synthetic Nuclei and annOtation Wizard (SNOW). The proposed SNOW is developed via a standardized workflow by applying the off-the-shelf image generator and nuclei annotator. The dataset contains overall 20k image tiles and 1,448,522 annotated nuclei with the CC-BY license. We show that SNOW can be used in both supervised and semi-supervised training scenarios. Extensive results suggest that synthetic-data-trained models are competitive under a variety of model training settings, expanding the scope of better using synthetic images for enhancing downstream data-driven clinical tasks.
Estimating social bias in data sharing behaviours: an open science experiment
Authors: Acciai Claudia , Schneider Jesper W. , Nielsen Mathias W.
Published: April 2023

Open data sharing is critical for scientific progress. Yet, many authors refrain from sharing scientific data, even when they have promised to do so. Through a preregistered, randomized audit experiment (N = 1,634), we tested possible ethnic, gender and status-related bias in scientists’ data-sharing willingness. 814 (54%) authors of papers where data were indicated to be ‘available upon request’ responded to our data requests, and 226 (14%) either shared or indicated willingness to share all or some data. While our preregistered hypotheses regarding bias in data-sharing willingness were not confirmed, we observed systematically lower response rates for data requests made by putatively Chinese treatments compared to putatively Anglo-Saxon treatments. Further analysis indicated a theoretically plausible heterogeneity in the causal effect of ethnicity on data-sharing. In interaction analyses, we found indications of lower responsiveness and data-sharing willingness towards male but not female data requestors with Chinese names. These disparities, which likely arise from stereotypic beliefs about male Chinese requestors’ trustworthiness and deservingness, impede scientific progress by preventing the free circulation of knowledge.
Clinical courses of 24,563 hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the first 12 months of the pandemic in the Central City of Iran
Authors: Namayandeh Seyedeh Mahideh , Dehghan HamidReza , Lotfi Mohammad Hassan , Khajehaminian Mohammad Reza , Hosseini Saeed , Bahrevar Vali , Jarrahi AliAkbar , Majidpour Fatemeh
Published: April 2023

This study was designed and implemented to analyze and establish documents related to the above cases in the first to third COVID-19 epidemic waves for the use of researchers and doctors during and after the epidemic. The current case series study was conducted on 24,563 thousand hospitalized COVID-19 patients by examining their clinical characteristics within a one-year period from the beginning of the pandemic on 02.22.2020 to 02.14.2021, which included the first to the third waves, based on gender and severity of COVID-19. The mean age of the participants was 56 ± 20.71, and 51.8% were male. Out of a total of 24,563 thousand hospitalized COVID-19 patients until February 2021, there were 2185 mortalities (9.8%) and 2559 cases of severe COVID-19 (13.1%). The median length of hospitalization from the time of admission to discharge or death in the hospital (IQR: 13–41) was estimated to be 21 days. The rate of hospital mortality was higher in severe (37.8%) than in non-severe (4.8%) cases of COVID-19, While the risk of severe cases increased significantly in the third (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.46–1.87, P < 0.001) and early fourth waves (HR = 2.145, 95% CI: 1.7–2.71, P < 0.001). Also, the risk of contracting severe COVID-19 increased significantly in patients aged ≥ 65 years old (HR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.1.93–2.72, P < 0.001). As shown by the results, the rates of hospital mortality (9.3% vs. 8.5%) and severe cases of COVID-19 (13.6% vs. 12.5%) were higher among men than women (P < 0.01). In our study, the mortality rate and severity of COVID-19 were within the scope of global studies. Men experienced higher severity and mortality than women. The was a significantly higher prevalence of old age and underlying diseases in individuals with severe COVID-19. Our data also showed that patients with a previous history of COVID-19 had a more severe experience of COVID-19, while most of these patients were also significantly older and had an underlying disease.
Post-intensive care syndrome and pulmonary fibrosis in patients surviving ARDS-pneumonia of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 etiologies
Authors: Sturgill Jamie L. , Mayer Kirby P. , Kalema Anna G. , Dave Kinjal , Mora Stephanie , Kalantar Alborz , Carter David J. , Montgomery-Yates Ashley A. , Morris Peter E.
Published: April 2023

The purpose was to examine patient-centered outcomes and the occurrence of lung fibrotic changes on Chest computed tomography (CT) imaging following pneumonia-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We sought to investigate outpatient clinic chest CT imaging in survivors of COVID19-related ARDS and non-COVID-related ARDS, to determine group differences and explore relationships between lung fibrotic changes and functional outcomes. A retrospective practice analysis of electronic health records at an ICU Recovery Clinic in a tertiary academic medical center was performed in adult patients surviving ARDS due to COVID-19 and non-COVID etiologies. Ninety-four patients with mean age 53 ± 13 and 51% male were included (n = 64 COVID-19 and n = 30 non-COVID groups). There were no differences for age, sex, hospital length of stay, ICU length of stay, mechanical ventilation duration, or sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores between the two groups. Fibrotic changes visualized on CT imaging occurred in a higher proportion of COVID-19 survivors (70%) compared to the non-COVID group (43%, p < 0.001). Across both groups, patients with fibrotic changes (n = 58) were older, had a lower BMI, longer hospital and ICU LOS, lower mean RASS scores, longer total duration of supplemental oxygen. While not statistically different, patients with fibrotic changes did have reduced respiratory function, worse performance on the six-minute walk test, and had high occurrences of anxiety, depression, emotional distress, and mild cognitive impairment regardless of initial presenting diagnosis. Patients surviving pneumonia-ARDS are at high risk of impairments in physical, emotional, and cognitive health related to Post-Intensive Care Syndrome. Of clinical importance, pulmonary fibrotic changes on chest CT occurred in a higher proportion in COVID-ARDS group; however, no functional differences were measured in spirometry or physical assessments at ICU follow-up. Whether COVID infection imparts a unique recovery is not evident from these data but suggest that long-term follow up is necessary for all survivors of ARDS.
Towards reducing chemical usage for weed control in agriculture using UAS imagery analysis and computer vision techniques
Authors: Sapkota Ranjan , Stenger John , Ostlie Michael , Flores Paulo
Published: April 2023

Currently, applying uniform distribution of chemical herbicide through a sprayer without considering the spatial distribution information of crops and weeds is the most common method of controlling weeds in commercial agricultural production system. This kind of weed management practice lead to excessive amounts of chemical herbicides being applied in a given field. The objective of this study was to perform site-specific weed control (SSWC) in a corn field by: (1) using a unmanned aerial system (UAS) to map the spatial distribution information of weeds in the field; (2) creating a prescription map based on the weed distribution map, and (3) spraying the field using the prescription map and a commercial size sprayer. In this study, we assumed that plants growing outside the corn rows are weeds and they need to be controlled. The first step in implementing such an approach is identifying the corn rows. For that, we are proposing a Crop Row Identification algorithm, a computer vision algorithm that identifies corn rows on UAS imagery. After being identified, the corn rows were then removed from the imagery and remaining vegetation fraction was classified as weeds. Based on that information, a grid-based weed prescription map was created and the weed control application was implemented through a commercial-size sprayer. The decision of spraying herbicides on a particular grid was based on the presence of weeds in that grid cell. All the grids that contained at least one weed were sprayed, while the grids free of weeds were not. Using our SSWC approach, we were able to save 26.2% of the acreage from being sprayed with herbicide compared to the current method. This study presents a full workflow from UAS image collection to field weed control implementation using a commercial size sprayer, and it shows that some level of savings can potentially be obtained even in a situation with high weed infestation, which might provide an opportunity to reduce chemical usage in corn production systems.
Discovery of novel CSF biomarkers to predict progression in dementia using machine learning
Authors: Gogishvili Dea , Vromen Eleonora M. , Koppes-den Hertog Sascha , Lemstra Afina W. , Pijnenburg Yolande A. L. , Visser Pieter Jelle , Tijms Betty M. , Del Campo Marta , Abeln Sanne , Teunissen Charlotte E. , Vermunt Lisa
Published: April 2023

Providing an accurate prognosis for individual dementia patients remains a challenge since they greatly differ in rates of cognitive decline. In this study, we used machine learning techniques with the aim to identify cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers that predict the rate of cognitive decline within dementia patients. First, longitudinal mini-mental state examination scores (MMSE) of 210 dementia patients were used to create fast and slow progression groups. Second, we trained random forest classifiers on CSF proteomic profiles and obtained a well-performing prediction model for the progression group (ROC–AUC = 0.82). As a third step, Shapley values and Gini feature importance measures were used to interpret the model performance and identify top biomarker candidates for predicting the rate of cognitive decline. Finally, we explored the potential for each of the 20 top candidates in internal sensitivity analyses. TNFRSF4 and TGF $$\upbeta $$
β
-1 emerged as the top markers, being lower in fast-progressing patients compared to slow-progressing patients. Proteins of which a low concentration was associated with fast progression were enriched for cell signalling and immune response pathways. None of our top markers stood out as strong individual predictors of subsequent cognitive decline. This could be explained by small effect sizes per protein and biological heterogeneity among dementia patients. Taken together, this study presents a novel progression biomarker identification framework and protein leads for personalised prediction of cognitive decline in dementia.
Optimization of production system of shale oil development in Ordos basin, China
Authors: Wan Xiaolong , Ma Shuwei , Fan Jianming , Zhang Yuanli , Zhang Chao
Published: April 2023

In this paper, production system (PS) of shale oil is optimized according to production data and indoor experiments, including core and fluid tests. Results showed that: ① Pressure drop rate at wellhead is a reasonable reference for the determination of post-fracture shut-in duration (PFSID). When pressure at a wellhead of horizontal well is relatively stable and the pressure drop less than 0.1 MPa per day for three consecutive days, PFSID ends; ② Flowback intensity of fracturing fluid affects the effectiveness of proppant underground, thus flowback intensity can be determined by the critical flow rate and safety factor of each proppant; ③ Flowback intensity should be varied during different development stages, which could be divided into four according to production gas and oil ratio(GOR) of a shale oil horizontal well: low, medium–high, high and high-low production GOR. During the stage of low production GOR, ratio of flow pressure and saturation pressure should be maintained greater than 1.0, and the initial daily liquid productivity for a hundred-meter oil-bearing lateral length in a horizontal well is 2.4 ~ 2.9 m3/d; and during the medium–high production GOR, high production GOR and high-low production GOR stages, the responding initial daily liquid productivity should be maintained between 0.8 ~ 1.0 or less than 0.8 respectively.