bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intraoperative Triggered Electromyography for Pedicle Screw Placement Under Spinal Anesthesia: A Preliminary Report
Authors: Kanter Matthew , Hernandez Nicholas S. , Olmos Michelle , Karimi Helen , Riesenburger Ron I. , Kryzanski James T.
Published: February 2023

BACKGROUND:

Triggered electromyography (tEMG) is an intraoperative neuromonitoring technique used to assess pedicle screw placement during instrumented fusion procedures. Although spinal anesthesia is a safe alternative to general anesthesia in patients undergoing lumbar fusion, its use may potentially block conduction of triggered action potentials or may require higher threshold currents to elicit myotomal responses when using tEMG. Given the broad utilization of tEMG for confirmation of pedicle screw placement, adoption of spinal anesthesia may be hindered by limited studies of its use alongside tEMG.

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate whether spinal anesthesia affects the efficacy of tEMG, we compare the baseline spinal nerve thresholds during lumbar fusion procedures under general vs spinal anesthesia.

METHODS:

Twenty-three consecutive patients (12 general and 11 spinal) undergoing single-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion were included in the study. Baseline nerve threshold was determined through direct stimulation of the spinal nerve using tEMG.

RESULTS:

Baseline spinal nerve threshold did not differ between the general and spinal anesthesia cohorts (3.25 ± 1.14 vs 3.64 ± 2.16 mA, respectively; P = .949). General and spinal anesthesia cohorts did not differ by age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score status, or surgical indication.

CONCLUSION:

We report that tEMG for pedicle screw placement can be safely and effectively used in procedures under spinal anesthesia. The baseline nerve threshold required to illicit a myotomal response did not differ between patients under general or spinal anesthesia. This preliminary finding suggests that spinal anesthetic blockade does not contraindicate the use of tEMG for neuromonitoring during pedicle screw placement.
Geographic variation in bacterial assemblages on cane toad skin is influenced more by local environments than by evolved changes in host traits
Authors: Weitzman Chava L. , Kaestli Mirjam , Rose Alea , Hudson Cameron M. , Gibb Karen , Brown Gregory P. , Shine Richard , Christian Keith
Published: February 2023

Bacterial assemblages on amphibian skin may play an important role in protecting hosts against infection. In hosts that occur over a range of environments, geographic variation in composition of bacterial assemblages might be due to direct effects of local factors and/or to evolved characteristics of the host. Invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) are an ideal candidate to evaluate environmental and genetic mechanisms, because toads have evolved major shifts in physiology, morphology, and behavior during their brief history in Australia. We used samples from free-ranging toads to quantify site-level differences in bacterial assemblages and a common-garden experiment to see if those differences disappeared when toads were raised under standardised conditions at one site. The large differences in bacterial communities on toads from different regions were not seen in offspring raised in a common environment. Relaxing bacterial clustering to operational taxonomic units in place of amplicon sequence variants likewise revealed high similarity among bacterial assemblages on toads in the common-garden study, and with free-ranging toads captured nearby. Thus, the marked geographic divergence in bacterial assemblages on wild-caught cane toads across their Australian invasion appears to result primarily from local environmental effects rather than evolved shifts in the host.
Myo19 tethers mitochondria to endoplasmic reticulum-associated actin to promote mitochondrial fission
Authors: Coscia Stephen M. , Thompson Cameron P. , Tang Qing , Baltrusaitis Elana E. , Rhodenhiser Joseph A. , Quintero-Carmona Omar A. , Ostap E. Michael , Lakadamyali Melike , Holzbaur Erika L. F.
Published: February 2023

Mitochondrial homeostasis requires a dynamic balance of fission and fusion. The actin cytoskeleton promotes fission, and we found that the mitochondrially localized myosin, myosin 19 (Myo19), is integral to this process. Myo19 knockdown induced mitochondrial elongation, whereas Myo19 overexpression induced fragmentation. This mitochondrial fragmentation was blocked by a Myo19 mutation predicted to inhibit ATPase activity and strong actin binding but not by mutations predicted to affect the working stroke of the motor that preserve ATPase activity. Super-resolution imaging indicated a dispersed localization of Myo19 on mitochondria, which we found to be dependent on metaxins. These observations suggest that Myo19 acts as a dynamic actin-binding tether that facilitates mitochondrial fragmentation. Myo19-driven fragmentation was blocked by depletion of either the CAAX splice variant of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-anchored formin INF2 or the mitochondrially localized F-actin nucleator Spire1C (a splice variant of Spire1), which together polymerize actin at sites of mitochondria–ER contact for fission. These observations imply that Myo19 promotes fission by stabilizing mitochondria–ER contacts; we used a split-luciferase system to demonstrate a reduction in these contacts following Myo19 depletion. Our data support a model in which Myo19 tethers mitochondria to ER-associated actin to promote mitochondrial fission.
Landings, Soft and Hard: The Federal Reserve, 1965–2022
Authors: Blinder Alan S.
Published: February 2023

“Soft landings,” that is, cases in which the central bank tightens monetary policy to fight inflation but does not cause a recession (which would be a “hard landing”, are thought to be difficult to achieve and extremely rare. According to the conventional wisdom, the Federal Reserve has managed to achieve only one soft landing in the past 60 years—in 1994–1995. This paper studies the eleven episodes of monetary policy tightening by the Fed since 1965, and concludes that the central bank has a better record than that—that as long as the criteria for softness are not too stringent, and Fed was actually trying to land the economy softly, the Fed has succeeded several times. Achieving a soft landing, however, requires both skill in managing monetary policy and the absence of adverse external shocks.
US Immigration from Latin America in Historical Perspective
Authors: Hanson Gordon , Orrenius Pia , Zavodny Madeline
Published: February 2023

The share of US residents who were born in Latin America and the Caribbean plateaued recently, after a half century of rapid growth. Our review of the evidence on the US immigration wave from the region suggests that it bears many similarities to the major immigration waves of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that the demographic and economic forces behind Latin American migrant inflows appear to have weakened across most sending countries, and that a continued slowdown of immigration from Latin America post-pandemic has the potential to disrupt labor-intensive sectors in many US regional labor markets.
Retrograde sclerotherapy of male varicocele with veno-venous shunts – incidence and management: a single-centre experience
Authors: Pitrone Pietro , Silipigni Salvatore , Stagno Alberto , Cinquegrani Antonella , Cattafi Antonino , Bottari Antonino
Published: February 2023

Objectives:

The aim of our study is to compare the incidence of veno-venous shunts in male varicocele and evaluate the possibility to exclude them with manual compression or/and scrotal ligation in order to carry out the procedure of retrograde sclero-embolization.

Methods:

In our retrospective study, all patients undergone retrograde sclerotherapy for varicocele in our Interventional Radiology Unit in the last four years were evaluated. Collaterals toward other venous shunts were identified and how many and which patients would be able to complete the procedure safely were considered.

Results:

Of the 91 patients, as many as 22 (i.e., 24.17%) patients presented anatomical variants, consisting on shunting into left iliac vein (9 [9.89%]), lumbar left veins (3 [3.29%]), right iliac vein (1 [1.09%]), both iliac veins (1 [1.09%]), left femoral vein (1 [1.09%]) or a more proximal portion of the ISV itself without shunting (3 [3.29%]). Patients with duplication could benefit from a more distal injection in order to prevent back-flow; of the 19 left, nine successfully underwent sclerotherapy with manual compression or/and scrotal ligation, whereas in 10 flow through the collaterals could not be interrupted and patients were demanded for surgery.

Conclusions:

Many patients with abnormal communications between the internal spermatic vein and the iliac veins (that is, shunts towards the iliac veins) may as well undergo retrograde sclerotherapy safely if compression/ligation is applied.

Advances in knowledge:

No large previous study highlighted the impact of veno-venous shunts in technical feasibility of retrograde sclerotherapy of varicocele.
Transcatheter arterial embolization of the subclavian and axillary artery branches for hemorrhage control
Authors: Onishi Yasuyuki , Shimizu Hironori , Ando Saya , Kawamura Hitomi , Onishi Motofumi , Taniguchi Takanori , Isoda Hiroyoshi , Nakamoto Yuji
Published: February 2023

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) of the branches of the subclavian and axillary arteries for hemorrhage control.

Methods:

Between January 2015 and June 2022, 35 TAE procedures were performed for hemorrhage from the branches of the subclavian and axillary arteries in 34 patients (22 men, 12 women; 1 male underwent TAE twice; mean age = 76 years). Pre-TAE CT showed hematomas in the chest (n = 25) and abdominal walls (n = 3), shoulder (n = 2), and lower neck (n = 2). CT showed hemothorax in eight cases. Angiographic findings, embolization technique, and technical and clinical success of TAE were retrospectively assessed in all cases.

Results:

TAE was performed by transfemoral (n = 16), transradial (n = 12), and transbrachial (n = 7) approaches. Angiography revealed contrast media extravasation or pseudoaneurysms in 32 cases (91.4%). The most commonly embolized arteries were the internal thoracic (n = 12), lateral thoracic (n = 6), and thoracoacromial (n = 6) arteries. Technical and clinical success rates were 100 and 85.7%, respectively. A complication (skin necrosis after injection of the liquid embolic agent) developed in only one patient (2.9%) and was conservatively managed.

Conclusion:

TAE is an effective and safe treatment for hemorrhage from the branches of the subclavian and axillary arteries.

Advances in knowledge:

Transfemoral approach has been used for TAE of the branches of the subclavian and axillary artery. Transradial and transbrachial approaches can also be considered.
The effect of the scale of grant scoring on ranking accuracy
Authors: Visscher Peter M. , Yengo Loic
Published: February 2023

In this study we quantify the accuracy of scoring the quality of research grants using a finite set of distinct categories (1, 2, …., k), when the unobserved grant score is a continuous random variable comprising a true quality score and measurement error, both normally distributed. We vary the number of categories, the number of assessors that score the same grant and a signal-to-noise ratio parameter. We show that the loss of information of scoring a small number of categories (k > 5) compared to scoring on a continuous scale is very small, so that increasing the number of scoring categories is unlikely to lead to an improvement in the outcomes of scoring systems. In addition, we model the effect of grant assessors scoring too close to the mean and show that this results in only a very small reduction in the accuracy of scoring.
Gene expression data visualization tool on the o²S²PARC platform
Authors: Ben Aribi Hiba , Ding Mengyuan , Kiran Anmol
Published: February 2023

Background: The identification of differentially expressed genes and their associated biological processes, molecular function, and cellular components are essential for genetic disease studies because they present potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Methods: In this study, we developed an o²S²PARC template to instantiate an interactive pipeline for gene expression data visualization, ontological mapping, and statistical evaluation. To demonstrate the tool's usefulness, we performed a case study on a publicly available dataset.

Results: The tool enables users to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and visualize them in a volcano plot format. Ontologies associated with the DEGs are assigned and visualized in barplots.

Conclusions: The “Expression data visualization” template is publicly available on the o²S²PARC platform.
ROOSTER: An image labeler and classifier through interactive recurrent annotation
Authors: Tang Zhou , Hu Yang , Zhang Zhiwu
Published: February 2023

A large amount of training data is usually lacking at the beginning of system development and labeling such a large number of RGB (red, green, blue) images is laborious. Interactive recurrent annotation is beneficial to incrementally gain training images in the stream of the system development and provides an opportunity to reduce human workload. We developed a software package, ROOSTER, to integrate both labeling and prediction in a single user-friendly graphic user interface with interactive deep learning to reduce the laborious human labeling for fast development of machine vision systems. Predictions can be performed under both single-image mode and batch mode for multiple images. The prediction results can be used as the initial image labeling and manually adjusted under a single image mode. Human labeling and machine predictions are visualized on the same image. ROOSTER provides fully automatic labeling for abundantly available initial images of wheat stripe rust to gain essential predictability. The navigation of integrating prediction with labeling benefits human adjustment to iteratively improve predictability. The development of a detection system for wheat stripe rust was presented as a use case to demonstrate the efficiency of using interactive deep learning to develop machine vision systems.
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the doublesex (dsx) gene splice sites and relevance for its alternative splicing in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Djihinto Oswald , Saizonou Helga D.M. , Djogbenou Luc S.
Published: February 2023

Background: Malaria burden continues to be significant in tropical regions, and conventional vector control methods are faced with challenges such as insecticide resistance. To overcome these challenges, additional vector control interventions are vital and include modern genetic approaches as well as classical methods like the sterile insect technique (SIT). In the major human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, a candidate gene favourable for sterility induction is the doublesex (dsx) gene, involved in mosquitos’ somatic sexually dimorphic traits determination. However, the pathways that trigger the signal of dsx gene exon skipping alternative splicing mechanism in anopheline mosquitoes are not well characterized. This study aims to screen the An. gambiae dsx gene splice site sequences for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could be critical to its alternative splicing.

Methods: Variant annotation data from Ag1000G project phase 2 was analysed, in order to identify splice-relevant SNPs within acceptor and donor splice sites of the An. gambiae dsx gene (Agdsx).

Results: SNPs were found in both donor and acceptor sites of the Agdsx. No splice-relevant SNPs were identified in the female-specific intron 4 acceptor site and the corresponding region in males. Two SNPs (rs48712947, rs48712962) were found in the female-specific donor site of exon 5. They were not specific to either males or females as the rs48712947 was found in female mosquitoes from Cameroon, and in both males and females from Burkina Faso. In the other splice sites, the intron 3 acceptor site carried the greatest abundance of SNPs.  

Conclusions: There were no gender association between the identified SNPs and the random distribution of these SNPs in mosquito populations. The SNPs in Agdsx splice sites are not critical for the alternative splicing. Other molecular mechanisms should be considered and investigated.
Quality of relationships in mothers and their partners in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
Authors: Tohidinik Hamid Reza , Ben-Shlomo Yoav , Major-Smith Daniel , Goulding Neil , Iles-Caven Yasmin , Golding Jean , Northstone Kate , Fraser Abigail
Published: February 2023

Quality of relationship between partners is associated with a wide range of physical and psychological outcomes like anxiety and depression. There are relatively few longitudinal studies with detailed and repeated measures for quality of relationship, particularly in both partners. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a large birth cohort study in the UK with five post-partum repeated measures of quality of relationship between mothers and their partners assessed using the Intimate Bond Measure (IBM). The Measure includes two subscales named “Care” and “Control”. These were measured at 2.75, 6, 9, 12, and 18 years post-partum (baseline N for mothers: 8675; baseline N for partners: 5499). The aims of this data note are to provide a comprehensive overview on the existing IBM data in ALSPAC and to describe both its strengths and limitations for future users. The internal consistency of the subscales were high (Cronbach's alpha 0.95 and 0.88 for the Care and Control subscales) in both mothers and their partners at the baseline. In the Care subscale, all 12 items were highly correlated with the overall score (r>0.62) at the baseline, but in the Control subscale there were three items that had relatively low correlations with the total subscale (r<0.46). This should be taken into account in future research. The longitudinal nature of this data on both mothers and partners will enable detailed explorations of the causes and consequences of differences in quality of relationship.
Four Types of Business Entities from an Audit Perspective
Authors: Guttsayt E.
Published: February 2023

The article proposes and substantiates the allocation of four types of business entities from the standpoint of the audit: those that are not required to undergo annual audits, subjects of mandatory audit, socially significant organizations and the most important economic entities in socio-economic terms. An estimate of the number of each of these four types is given. The situation with mandatory audit in a number of countries with developed market economies is described. Motivated the introduction in the future of small businesses in the number of subjects of mandatory audit. The expediency of legislative allocation among socially significant organizations of such economic entities, which should also conduct a mandatory analysis of the quality of management, is argued. It is proposed to allocate 50 — 100 organizations (banks, enterprises, etc.) that make up the socio-economic skeleton of the national economy. Argued and illustrated more careful regulation of their activities than other business entities.
LET EVALUATE HUMAN CAPITAL AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTMENTS INVESTED IN IT. PROACTIVE LEADERSHIP
Authors: Tverdola N.
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this article is to form a methodology for assessing the human capital of organization and the effectiveness of investments in it based on proactive leadership and a meta-program approach. Achieving the goal is based on solving two problems: firstly, the essence of the concepts of leadership, proactive leadership, and related concepts of human capital, human asset is analyzed, and secondly, the relationship between the concepts of human capital, proactive leadership and the effectiveness of organizations. The methodological basis of the study was the concepts of modern leadership developed by D. Goldman, R. Boyatzis and E. Mackey et al., the metaprogram approach of Patrick Merlevede, Michael Hall, the ideas of Jim Collins, the investment assessment model of Andre Mayo (Andrew Mayo ) — “The Human Capital Monitor®”, the theory of spiral dynamics. Considered the essence of the proactive leadership’s concept and highlighted the quality characteristics of proactive leadership. Analyzed the approach to personnel assessment based on meta-programs and behavioral models. Proposed for discussion the author’s view on  the structure of  human capital and methods for assessing the effectiveness of  investments in  its development.
Rejoinder: Spilling More Beans on Political Consumerism: It’s More of the Same Tune
Authors: Liaukonytė Jūra , Tuchman Anna , Zhu Xinrong
Published: February 2023

In this rejoinder, we expand on the generalizability of our findings, identification challenges, and consumers’ motivation to engage in political consumerism.
Psychological Effect of Distance Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Accounting Practicum Lesson
Authors: Hasan Imam
Published: February 2023

This study aims to scrutinize the psychological effects of students participating in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in accounting practicum lessons. The research employed a qualitative approach, with a type of single instrumental case study. Data collected were validated using data (sources) triangulation techniques. Data were then analyzed by the qualitative method of Miles and Huberman models (interactive models). The results revealed that distance learning affected students psychology. The psychological effects felt by students, among others, were that distance learning felt less than maximal, less fun, boring, making academic stress, and disappointing. In addition, because distance learning was done at home, students focus and concentration were easily distracted with other things, and student learning motivation fluctuated. Regarding time management, some students could do it, and some others encountered difficulties. A feeling of anxiety and depression was experienced by some students, while others could control them. However, apart from those, distance learning made learning not tense and provided sufficient time for students to relax and refresh.
Patient characteristics and the use of seclusion in an adult forensic inpatient mental health service in Australia: a quantitative analysis and examination of clinical interventions
Authors: Barr Lesley , Wynaden Dianne , Heslop Karen
Published: February 2023

Background/Aims

In Australia, national data indicate that the rate of seclusion use in public forensic mental health inpatient settings has almost tripled since 2008, with the number of patients being admitted to these settings being secluded more often but for shorter durations. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the use of seclusion within an adult forensic mental health inpatient setting in Australia. The study also sought to compare and examine the characteristics of patients who experienced seclusion and those who did not.

Methods

This quantitative study was achieved by completing a retrospective case file audit. Data were collected on all patients admitted to the adult forensic mental health inpatient unit during a 6-month period (January to June 2016). Data were obtained from medical records including age, sex, ethnicity, primary and secondary diagnosis, referral source and previous admissions to acute and forensic mental health inpatient settings.

Results

During the 6-month study period, 117 admissions to the service occurred involving 109 patients. There were 61 seclusion events involving 20 (18%) patients. Data indicated that patient gender and diagnosis increased the likelihood of a seclusion event occurring.

Conclusions

Seclusion was used on a small number of patients who presented a high risk, specifically young, white men with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder and drug-related symptoms. Identifying patient characteristics that increase the risk of seclusion is important so that services can design early intervention strategies to enhance patient safety.
The erosion of mental health nursing: the implications of the move towards genericism
Authors: Haslam Michael B
Published: February 2023

This article casts a critical lens on the current Nursing and Midwifery Council standards for nurse education and their potential impact on mental health nursing in the UK. It discusses how the standards appear to be transitioning mental health nursing towards a generic, task-orientated nursing role and in doing so, are undervaluing the unique contributions of the profession to contemporary mental health care. It also argues that this descent towards genericism not only risks the erosion of the specialist skill set required of mental health nurses by service users, but also aligns mental health nursing care closer with neoliberal policy and with biomedicine to the further detriment of patient care. This article warns that this current period marks a critical time for the profession and that collective, assertive action is needed now to safeguard the profession's distinct presence on the UK's nursing register.
Crush injury with significant soft tissue loss managed utilising biological and dynamic tissue systems: a case study
Authors: Collins Reagan A , Zhu Christina , Daniel Hannah , Puckett Yana , Ronaghan Catherine A
Published: February 2023

Major traumatic crush injuries are difficult to manage, with high morbidity, requiring prolonged, complex treatment with many procedures. Free-flap reconstruction is often used yet full functionality still may not be regained. In this case study of a traumatic crush injury of the anterior distal tibia, ankle and foot of a 48-year-old male patient, we opted for an alternative management strategy using a combination of a dynamic tissue system (DTS) and biological xenografts (porcine urinary bladder matrix and a multi-tissue platform). The DTS was kept in place in an outpatient setting for four weeks postoperatively and removed after that time. At the 3-month follow-up, the wound was significantly smaller at about 15% of the original size. The wound healed completely before 6-month follow-up. Our patient's traumatic crush injury was successfully healed using an alternative management strategy, DTS and biologic xenografts.
Use of autologous whole blood clot in the treatment of complex surgical wounds: a case series
Authors: Gurevich Maxim , Heinz Stephen M , Fridman Ruhama , Hawkins Jessie , Wachuku Chinenye D
Published: February 2023

Objective:

Dehiscence and infection of hard-to-heal surgical wounds results in an increased risk of complications and mortality. A hard-to-heal surgical wound will present decreased levels of growth factors along with increased levels of debris and matrix metalloproteinases, resulting in the destruction of the extracellular matrix (ECM). ActiGraft (RedDress Ltd., Israel) is an autologous whole blood clot treatment, created at a point of care, to promote wound healing. We hereby present the efficacy of ActiGraft in a case series of hard-to-heal surgical wounds.

Method:

A registry study of patients with surgical wounds was conducted in private clinics and hospitals across the US and Israel (NCT04699305). Autologous whole blood clot was created at point of care using the patient's own blood.

Results:

A total of 14 patients took part in the study. Autologous whole blood clot treatment resulted in a mean percent wound area reduction of 72.33% at four weeks, with 33.33% of wounds achieving complete closure by week 4. At week 12, 78.54% of the wounds achieved complete closure.

Conclusion:

Surgical wounds in patients with comorbidities may fail to initiate the natural wound healing mechanism which in turn may cause deterioration of the wound into a hard-to-heal stage. In this case series, autologous whole blood clot treatment was able to restore wound healing, avoiding the risk of infection and amputation of an affected limb. The properties of autologous whole blood clot as an ECM reduce the risk of infection, causing the wound to progress from the inflammatory phase to the proliferative phase. Autologous whole blood clot treatment in hard-to-heal surgical wounds was found to be an effective approach, reducing the risk of infection and promoting cell granulation, resulting in wound closure.
The Effectiveness of an Interdisciplinary Approach in Biology Teaching in Primary School: A Comparison With Monodisciplinary Approach
Authors: Županec Vera , Lazarević Tihomir , Sekulić Vanja , Pribićević Tijana
Published: February 2023

Interdisciplinary teaching and learning is an approach that synthesizes the curricular objectives and methods of two or more disciplines or subjects focusing on a specific topic or issue. While it is being increasingly implemented in universities, at lower levels of education there are still countries where science subjects are taught and learned fragmentarily. To assess the significance of the interdisciplinary approach in primary school biology teaching, the paper aims at an experimental verification of the effectiveness of this method in relation to the quality and retention of student knowledge, compared to the monodisciplinary approach to teaching and learning biology. The paper also describes a scenario for teaching a topic in which biological and geographical contents correlate. The study applied a pedagogical experiment with parallel groups. In total, 180 students attending two primary schools in the city of Novi Sad participated in the experiment and were divided into an experimental and a control group. The findings suggest that the interdisciplinary approach improved the quality and retention of student knowledge. The experimental group was more successful in completing tasks that required comprehension and practical application of knowledge. The study thus emphasizes the need for a professional curriculum development that would enhance the interdisciplinary correlation of various disciplines.
An Evolving Disabled Professor Training Highly Qualified Teachers Committed to Disability Rights and Social Justice
Authors: Ressa Theodoto
Published: February 2023

I use the disability studies framework and autoethnography method in this qualitative research to examine my lived experiences in education and their impact on the disability community. The qualitative research method focuses on obtaining data through open-ended and conversational communication. This method is about what people think and why they think so. Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary body of intellectual work that positions disability positively and complexly, interrogating rhetoric that disability is a deficit that experts should remedy. Autoethnography is a research method and methodology which uses the researcher’s personal experience as data to describe, analyze and understand cultural experience. I focus on my disability community membership, professional development, and ways I integrate social justice in teacher education to correct education systems into ones that value disabled people. Using the self-study technique, I review my education journey and identities and how they have shaped me into a teacher educator who believes education leverages us to question happenings and provide solutions. I, therefore, reflect on the entwinement of my scholarship and community outreach and how they are geared towards creating and advancing a local and global pluralistic society that values disabled people. My values of collaboration, innovation, integrity, excellence, access, diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion are best practices that dismantle educational barriers and empower educators and disabled people.  
Machine learning aided optimization for balanced resource allocations in SDM-EONs
Authors: Petale Shrinivas , Subramaniam Suresh
Published: February 2023

A fine-grained flexible frequency grid for elastic optical transmission
and space division multiplexing in conjunction with spectrally
efficient modulations is an excellent solution to the coming capacity
crunch. In space division multiplexed elastic optical networks
(SDM-EONs), the routing, modulation, core, and spectrum assignment
(RMCSA) problem is an important lightpath resource assignment problem.
Intercore cross talk (XT) reduces the quality of parallel
transmissions on separate cores, and the RMCSA algorithm must ensure
that XT requirements are satisfied while optimizing network
performance. There is an indirect trade-off between spectrum
utilization and XT tolerance; while higher modulations are more
spectrum efficient, they are also less tolerant of XT since they
permit fewer connections on neighboring cores on the overlapping
spectra. Numerous XT-aware RMCSA algorithms restrict the number of
litcores, cores on which overlapping spectra are occupied, to
guarantee XT constraints are met. In this paper, we present a machine
learning (ML) aided threshold optimization strategy that enhances the
performance of any RMCSA algorithm for
any network model. We show that our strategy applied to a few
algorithms from the literature improves the bandwidth blocking
probability by up to three orders of magnitude. We also present the
RMCSA algorithm called spectrum-wastage-avoidance-based resource
allocation (SWARM), which is based on the idea of spectrum wastage due
to spectrum requirements and XT constraints. We note that SWARM not
only outperforms other RMCSA algorithms, but also its ML-optimized
variant outperforms other ML-optimized RMCSA algorithms.
Perception of saturation in natural objects
Authors: Hedjar Laysa , Toscani Matteo , Gegenfurtner Karl R.
Published: February 2023

The distribution of colors across a surface depends on the interaction
between its surface properties, its shape, and the lighting
environment. Shading, chroma, and lightness are positively correlated:
points on the object that have high luminance also have high chroma.
Saturation, typically defined as the ratio of chroma to lightness, is
therefore relatively constant across an object. Here we explored to
what extent this relationship affects perceived saturation of an
object. Using images of hyperspectral fruit and rendered matte
objects, we manipulated the lightness–chroma correlation (positive or
negative) and asked observers which of two objects appeared more
saturated. Despite the negative-correlation stimulus having greater
mean and maximum chroma, lightness, and saturation than the
positive, observers overwhelmingly chose the positive
as more saturated. This suggests that simple colorimetric statistics
do not accurately represent perceived saturation of objects—observers
likely base their judgments on interpretations about the cause of the
color distribution.
Spatial and frequency dressed multimode of two spontaneous cascaded four-wave mixing processes
Authors: Li Yufeng , Zhang SiQiang , Wei Jiajia , Wei Jiaxuan , Ahmed Irfan , Luo Binshuo , Li Changbiao , Zhang Yanpeng
Published: February 2023

The frequency and spatial multimode of correlated fields are seen as essential resources for future multimode entanglement and quantum networks. Here, we present multimode properties from the process of parametric amplified cascaded four-wave mixing through a rubidium atomic ensemble under dressing and Kerr nonlinear effects. The experimental results complement the theoretical simulations. Three frequency modes and 34 spatial spots were experimentally observed due to the double-dressing and Kerr effect of the two pump fields. Further, it is verified that changing the pump field frequency has a larger line shift over pump field power and the angle between the two pump fields, which can be realized as a multicontact switch. Through a dressing effect, interestingly the number of coherent channels also increases by the order of dressing, indicating a large possibility of frequency and spatial multimode. These results will have important applications in quantum communications.
Random code shifting based ultra-wideband photonic compressive receiver with image-frequency distinction
Authors: Xu Yirong , Li Shangyuan , Zhu Zhengyuan , Xing Yunlu , Xue Xiaoxiao , Zheng Xiaoping , Zhou Bingkun
Published: February 2023

We propose an ultra-wideband photonic compressive receiver based on random codes shifting with image-frequency distinction. By shifting the center frequencies of two random codes in large frequency range, the receiving bandwidth is flexibly expanded. Simultaneously, the center frequencies of two random codes are slightly different. This difference is used to distinguish the “fixed” true RF signal from the differently located image-frequency signal. Based on this idea, our system solves the problem of limited receiving bandwidth of existing photonic compressive receivers. In the experiments, with two channels of only 780-MHz outputs, the sensing capability in the range of 11–41 GHz has been demonstrated. A multi-tone spectrum and a sparse radar-communication spectrum, composed of a linear frequency modulated (LFM) signal, a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signal and a single-tone signal, are both recovered.
High-sensitivity and high extinction ratio fiber strain sensor with temperature insensitivity by cascaded MZI and FPI
Authors: Wang Zenghui , Jiang Shaocui , Yang Peng , Wei Wenxi , Bao Wangge , Peng Baojin
Published: February 2023

Low extinction ratio (ER) and high temperature cross-sensitivity are serious but common problems for most strain sensors based on Vernier effect. In this study, a hybrid cascade strain sensor of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) with high sensitivity and high ER based on Vernier effect is proposed. The two interferometers are separated by a long single-mode fiber (SMF). The MZI is used as the reference arm, which can be flexibly embedded in the SMF. The FPI is used as the sensing arm and the hollow-core fiber (HCF) as the FP cavity to reduce optical loss. Simulation and experiments have proven that this method can significantly increase ER. At the same time, the second reflective face of the FP cavity is indirectly spliced to increase the active length to improve the strain sensitivity. Through the amplification of Vernier effect, the maximum strain sensitivity is –649.18

p
m

/

μ

ε

, and the temperature sensitivity is only 5.76

pm/

∘

C

. The magnetic field was measured by combining the sensor with a Terfenol–D (magneto–strictive material) slab to verify the strain performance, and the magnetic field sensitivity is –7.53

nm/mT

. The sensor has many advantages and has potential applications in the field of strain sensing.
Enhancing the optical path inside a capillary without sacrificing light intensity: application to a compact and highly sensitive photometer
Authors: Li Xuejing , Huang Hui , Cai Weicheng , Zhao Jian , Liu Pengbo , Sun Changkai , Jin Zengbin , Wu Yajun , Liu Mingchang
Published: February 2023

In order to increase the optical path and related sensitivity of photometers, multiple axial-reflection of parallel light-beam inside a capillary cavity is one of the most effective ways. However, there is a non-optimum trade-off between optical path and light intensity, e.g., smaller aperture on cavity mirror can increase multiple axial-reflection times (i.e., longer optical path) due to the lower cavity-loss, but it would also reduce coupling efficiency, light intensity, and related signal-to-noise ratio. Herein, an optical beam shaper, which is composed of two optical lenses with an apertured mirror, was proposed to focus the light beam (i.e., increasing coupling efficiency) without deteriorating beam parallelism and related multiple axial-reflection. Thus, by combining the optical beam shaper with a capillary cavity, large optical path enhancement (10-fold of capillary length) and high coupling efficiency (>65%) can be realized simultaneously, where the coupling efficiency was improved 50-fold. An optical beam shaper photometer (with a 7 cm long capillary) was fabricated and applied to detect water in ethanol with a detection limit of 12.5 ppm, which is 800-fold and 32∼80 fold lower than that of the commercial spectrometer (1 cm cuvette) and previous reports, respectively.
DH-GAN: a physics-driven untrained generative adversarial network for holographic imaging
Authors: Chen Xiwen , Wang Hao , Razi Abolfazl , Kozicki Michael , Mann Christopher
Published: February 2023

Digital holography is a 3D imaging technique by emitting a laser beam with a plane wavefront to an object and measuring the intensity of the diffracted waveform, called holograms. The object’s 3D shape can be obtained by numerical analysis of the captured holograms and recovering the incurred phase. Recently, deep learning (DL) methods have been used for more accurate holographic processing. However, most supervised methods require large datasets to train the model, which is rarely available in most DH applications due to the scarcity of samples or privacy concerns. A few one-shot DL-based recovery methods exist with no reliance on large datasets of paired images. Still, most of these methods often neglect the underlying physics law that governs wave propagation. These methods offer a black-box operation, which is not explainable, generalizable, and transferrable to other samples and applications. In this work, we propose a new DL architecture based on generative adversarial networks that uses a discriminative network for realizing a semantic measure for reconstruction quality while using a generative network as a function approximator to model the inverse of hologram formation. We impose smoothness on the background part of the recovered image using a progressive masking module powered by simulated annealing to enhance the reconstruction quality. The proposed method exhibits high transferability to similar samples, which facilitates its fast deployment in time-sensitive applications without the need for retraining the network from scratch. The results show a considerable improvement to competitor methods in reconstruction quality (about 5 dB PSNR gain) and robustness to noise (about 50% reduction in PSNR vs noise increase rate).
Enhanced sensing of optomechanically induced nonlinearity by linewidth suppression and optical bistability in cavity-waveguide systems
Authors: Liu Chun-Wang , Liu Ye , Du Lei , Su Wan-Jun , Wu Huaizhi , Li Yong
Published: February 2023

We study the enhanced sensing of optomechanically induced nonlinearity (OMIN) in a cavity-waveguide coupled system. The Hamiltonian of the system is anti-PT symmetric, with the two involved cavities being dissipatively coupled via the waveguide. The anti-PT symmetry may break down when a weak waveguide-mediated coherent coupling is introduced. However, we find a strong bistable response of the cavity intensity to the OMIN near the cavity resonance, benefiting from linewidth suppression caused by the vacuum induced coherence. The joint effect of optical bistability and the linewidth suppression is inaccessible by the anti-PT symmetric system involving only dissipative coupling. Due to that, the sensitivity measured by an enhancement factor is greatly enhanced by two orders of magnitude compared to that for the anti-PT symmetric model. Moreover, the enhancement factor shows resistance to a reasonably large cavity decay and robustness to fluctuations in the cavity-waveguide detuning. Based on the integrated optomechanical cavity-waveguide systems, the scheme can be used for sensing different physical quantities related to the single-photon coupling strength and has potential applications in high-precision measurements with systems involving Kerr-type nonlinearity.
Wideband chaos induced by the optical injection of a frequency comb
Authors: Doumbia Yaya , Malica Tushar , Wolfersberger Delphine , Sciamanna Marc
Published: February 2023

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate a method to improve the bandwidth and flatness of chaos from a laser diode using the optical injection of a frequency comb. Our results show that the injection of an optical frequency comb into a laser diode extends the area of chaotic dynamics to much broader injection parameters (injected power and detuning frequency). The increased number of injected lines and the injected comb spacing are used to control and significantly improve the chaos properties. We report a chaotic signal with a bandwidth of 32.8 GHz and a spectral flatness of 0.83.
Frequency-tunable microwave generation with parity–time symmetry period-one laser dynamics
Authors: Yu Xiaoyue , Zhang Fangzheng , Wu Boyang , Dai Huihui , Li Xinyi , Pan Shilong
Published: February 2023

A novel frequency-tunable microwave signal generation method is proposed by incorporating parity–time (PT) symmetry in period-one (P1) laser dynamics in an optically injected semiconductor laser. In this method, P1 oscillation enables a large frequency tuning range and PT symmetry leads to excellent side-mode suppression and low phase noise. In an experimental demonstration, the side-mode suppression ratio reaches 58.4 dB and the phase noise is −126.2 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset when generating a 6.98 GHz signal, which are improved by 44.5 dB and 13.5 dB, respectively, compared with the previously reported optoelectronic oscillator-based P1 oscillation. By simply adjusting the optical injection strength, the frequency of the microwave signal generated by PT symmetry P1 dynamics is tuned from 5.07 GHz to 15.22 GHz, in which the phase noise is kept below 120 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset. The proposed method is expected to find applications in high-performance wireless communication and radar systems.
Study of a perfect solar absorber from the visible to the near-infrared band using particle swarm optimization
Authors: You Kewei , Lin Jianze , Meng Dan , Ma Wenzhaung , Cheng Yuyao , Liu Jing , Deng Xuchu , Chen Yushan
Published: February 2023

In this study, we simulate how much solar energy a proposed planar dielectric-metal (SiO2-Ti-SiO2-Ti-SiO2-Ti-SiO2-W) structure can absorb by employing FDTD solutions. The proposed structure is ultrathin (510.1 nm). It can absorb incident light within a wavelength range of 345 to at least 2500 nm with an average absorption of 97.8% for the incident light in the 345–2500 nm band while maintaining efficient absorption for a wide range of incident light when its angle changes and being insensitive to the polarization angle of the incident light. In addition, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm was used to optimize the proposed planar structure, and the optimality of the 8-layer structure was investigated. In addition, we compare the proposed structure to those of others, analyze the reasons for the structure's perfect absorption, and discuss the resonance mode that occurs during the absorption process, which demonstrates the rationale behind its perfect absorption. As a result, the proposed device can efficiently and sustainably collect solar energy.
Aperiodic optical phased array based on number theory
Authors: Shin Dong , shin changgyun , Lee Jisan , Hwang Inoh , Otsuka Tatsuhiro , byun hyunil , Lee Changbum , Shim Dongshik , Lee Eunkyung , Ha Kyoungho , Ryu Han-Youl , choi Byounglyong , Choo Hyuck
Published: February 2023

The optical phased array has been developed to realize solid-state optical beam steering following the advent of silicon photonics. Thus far, its feasibility has lacked either steering quality or optical efficiency, and its optimal design still remains unknown. Herein, we propose a scalable and wavelength-independent phased array design methodology that achieves steering quality and optical efficiency. This novel design methodology is based on a special aperiodicity from number theory of a complete residue system that is fundamentally suited for phasor cancellation for the desired array sparsity. A specific design derived based on this methodology was implemented in silicon with 128 phase-controlled antennas in the O band, and it was experimentally verified in a two-dimensional steering demonstration that featured a record-high beam-forming efficiency (>30%) and a high-grating-lobe suppression (>10 dB) over a field-of-view of 40 ⅹ 7.2°. This optical efficiency improved by at least 250% compared with prior art.