bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical and experimental study on mechanical properties of glass fiber‐reinforced polymer sandwich structure with polyurethane foam‐filled M‐shaped core
Authors: Ziaie Milad , Zamani Farshad , Homayouni Saina , Khaledi Himan , Qareqani Alireza , Ziaie Mehrad
Published: November 2022

Truss‐like core sandwich panels made of glass fiber‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite are extensively exploited in numerous industrial and non‐industrial applications. Most of the time, these structures are exposed to extreme and heavy loads and damaged. Therefore, the mechanical properties of composite sandwich structures are important issue that should be addressed by engineers. For this purpose, the mechanical properties of a GFRP composite sandwich structures with polyurethane foam‐filled M‐shaped core are numerically and experimentally determined in this research. The sandwich panels manufactured for this study are composed of GFRP as fibers and resin epoxy as matrix material. In order to determine the bending and compressive response of the GFRP composite structures, three‐point bending and compression tests are performed using a SANTM ATM‐140 universal testing machine. A finite element method is developed to validate the precision of the experimental results. It is recognized that the finite element data are in remarkably great agreement with those obtained by experimental tests. Hence, the finite element analysis and experiment method could be utilized to predict the mechanical properties of the GFRP composite sandwich panels.
Effect of different chemical surface treatments on interfacial compatibility and properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates/coffee grounds composites
Authors: Tang Lei , Hou Xue , Wang Jun , Pan Liao
Published: November 2022

The aim of this study was to improve the interfacial compatibility of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) with coffee grounds (CGs) in order to enhance the properties of the composites. Three different methods including alkali, silane, and alkali/silane treatments were used for the surface modification of CGs to construct compatible interfaces and were compared to obtain the most effective modification method. The results showed that the alkali treatment increased the tensile strength, flexural strength, and elongation at break of the composites by 12.61%, 9.81%, and 3.81%, respectively. The silane coupling agent treatment increased the tensile strength, flexural strength, and elongation at break of the composites by 15.51%, 17.78%, and 14.00%, respectively. The mechanical properties of the composites were further improved by the alkali/silane treatment. The three surface treatments improved the compatibility of CGs with the PHA matrix to different degrees, with the alkali/silane treatment being more effective than treatment with alkali or silane coupling agent alone. In addition, the different surface treatments also improved the thermal properties and water resistance of the composites to different degrees. Mechanisms have been proposed to interpret the observed changes in mechanical and thermal properties as a result of fiber treatments by performing SEM, XRD, and FTIR tests on CGs. It is expected that alkali/silane treatment surface modification methods have broad application prospects in the preparation of modified CGs reinforced polymer composites.
Probabilistic prediction of the time to hard freeze using seasonal weather forecasts and survival time methods
Authors: Roksvåg Thea , Lenkoski Alex , Scheuerer Michael , Heinrich‐Mertsching Claudio , Thorarinsdottir Thordis L.
Published: November 2022

Agricultural food production and natural ecological systems depend on a range of seasonal climate indicators that describe seasonal patterns in climatological conditions. This article proposes a probabilistic forecasting framework for predicting the end of the freeze‐free season, or the time to a mean daily near‐surface air temperature below 0°C (referred to here as hard freeze). The forecasting framework is based on the multimodel seasonal forecast ensemble provided by the Copernicus Climate Data Store and uses techniques from survival analysis for time‐to‐event data. The original mean daily temperature forecasts are statistically postprocessed and downscaled with a mean and variance correction of each model system before the time‐to‐event forecast is constructed. In a case study for a region in Fennoscandia covering Norway for the period 1993–2020, the proposed forecasts are found to outperform a climatology forecast from an observation‐based data product at locations where the average predicted time to hard freeze is less than 40 days after the initialization date of the forecast on October 1.
Kinematic coupling‐based trajectory planning for rotary crane system with double‐pendulum effects and output constraints
Authors: Li Gang , Ma Xin , Li Zhi , Guo Peijun , Li Yibin
Published: November 2022

When the payload is too large or the hook mass cannot be ignored, the double‐pendulum phenomenon may happen in rotary cranes practical applications. The increase in dynamic complexity makes it more difficult to fast and accurate positioning while suppressing swing during cargo transportation. Moreover, output constraints should be considered in actual crane systems. In this paper, a novel kinematic coupling‐based trajectory planning method is proposed for double‐pendulum rotary cranes with the constraints on angular acceleration and velocity of the boom. The proposed trajectory consists of two parts: a positioning reference component and a swing‐eliminating component. The positioning reference trajectory takes into account the physical constraints of the actuator. The swing‐eliminating trajectory is designed based on the kinematic coupling relationship among the boom luffing, the hook swing and the payload swing. Lyapunov techniques and Barbalat lemma are used for stability analysis. Numerical simulation and real experiments verify the superior control performance and robustness of the proposed control method.
Remodeling Microenvironment for Endogenous Repair through Precise Modulation of Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans Following Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Sun Xiumin , Liu Haiqian , Tan Zan , Hou Yuhui , Pang Mao , Chen Shengfeng , Xiao Longyou , Yuan Qiuju , Liu Bin , Rong Limin , He Liumin
Published: November 2022

The fluid‐filled cystic cavity sealed by a dense scar developed following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has been a major obstacle to neural regeneration and functional recovery. Here the transected lesion is bridged using a functional self‐assembling peptide (F‐SAP) hydrogel loaded with membrane‐permeable intracellular sigma peptide (ISP) and intracellular LAR peptide (ILP), targeted at perturbing chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) inhibitory signaling. As compared to F‐SAP hydrogel loaded with chondroitinase ABC, the F‐SAP+ISP/ILP promotes a beneficial anti‐inflammatory response via manipulation of microglia/macrophages infiltration and assembly of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules into fibrotic matrix rather than scarring tissues. The remodeled ECM creates a permissive environment that supports axon regrowth and the formation of synaptic connections with neurons derived from endogenous neural stem cells. The remodeled networks contribute to functional recovery, as demonstrated by improved hind limb movements and electrophysiological properties. This work proposes a unique mechanism that ECM remodeling induced by CSPG‐manipulation‐based anti‐inflammation can construct a permissive environment for neural regeneration, and shed light on the advancement of manipulation of cascading cellular and molecular events potential for endogenous repair of SCI.
20.67%‐Efficiency Inorganic CsPbI3 Solar Cells Enabled by Zwitterion Ion Interface Treatment
Authors: Zou Hong , Duan Yuwei , Yang Shaomin , Xu Dongfang , Yang Lu , Cui Jian , Zhou Hui , Wu Meizi , Wang Jungang , Lei Xuruo , Zhang Na , Liu Zhike
Published: November 2022

All‐inorganic CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been extensively studied due to their high thermal stability and unprecedented rise in power conversion efficiency (PCE). Recently, the champion PCE of CsPbI3 PSCs has reached up to 21%; however, it is still much lower than that of organic–inorganic hybrid PSCs. Interface modification to passivate surface defects and minimize charge recombination and trapping is important to further improve the efficiency of CsPbI3 PSCs. Herein, a new zwitterion ion is deposited at the interface between electron transporting layer (ETL) and perovskite layer to passivate the defects therein. The zwitterion ions can not only passivate oxygen vacancy (VO) and iodine vacancy (VI) defects, but also improve the band alignment at the ETL‐perovskite interface. After the interface treatment, the PCE of CsPbI3 device reaches up to 20.67%, which is among the highest values of CsPbI3 PSCs so far. Due to the defect passivation and hydrophobicity improvement, the PCE of optimized device remains 94% of its original value after 800 h storing under ambient condition. These results provide an efficient way to improve the quality of ETL‐perovskite interface by zwitterion ions for achieving high performance inorganic CsPbI3 PSCs.
Systematics, ontogeny and palaeobiogeography of the genus Orthacanthus (Diplodoselachidae, Xenacanthiformes) from the lower Permian of France
Authors: Luccisano Vincent , Pradel Alan , Amiot Romain , Pouillon Jean‐Marc , Kindlimann René , Steyer Jean‐Sébastien , Cuny Gilles
Published: November 2022

The erection of Orthacanthus buxieri Heyler & Poplin from the lower Permian locality of Buxières‐les‐Mines (Allier, France) was based on a poorly prepared specimen with only a few parts of its anatomy visible. The supposedly related teeth have been regarded as possibly belonging to O. kounoviensis, a species already known from the Carboniferous–Permian of Germany and Czech Republic. The holotype of O. buxieri requires extensive preparation before it can be revised, but the description of Orthacanthus isolated teeth and dorsal spines from Buxières‐les‐Mines nevertheless provides useful information, especially given that no precise description of this material has been provided so far. The aim of this description is to better understand the evolutionary history of the French Orthacanthus and its relationships with the other European species. The studied material is assigned to O. kounoviensis. This is the latest occurrence of this genus in Europe and the presence of both juvenile and adult teeth indicate that Buxières‐les‐Mines was probably one of the last suitable environments for its reproduction. We also identify Orthacanthus cf. kounoviensis from the Muse oil‐shale bed, the first record of this genus in the Autun Basin. This brings into question the relationships between the different Carboniferous–Permian basins of the Northern Massif Central and suggests that they could still have been in connection during the lower Permian, in contrast to the central European basins, which seem to be more isolated from each other.
Thermodynamic, Thermal, Structural Properties and In Vitro Digestibility of Basmati Rice Starch Subjected to α‐Amylase
Authors: Almeida Raphael Lucas Jacinto , Santos Newton Carlos , Feitoza João Vítor Fonseca , Eduardo Raphael da Silva , Albuquerque Juliana Cruz , Silva Rebeca de Almeida , Pereira Tamires dos Santos , Monteiro Shênia Santos , Ribeiro Victor Herbert de Alcântara , Silva Virgínia Mirtes de Alcântara , Mota Mércia Mélo de Almeida , Galdino Pablícia Oliveira
Published: November 2022

The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of drying temperature combined with enzymatic modification with α‐amylase on the in vitro digestibility, thermodynamic, thermal and structural properties of Basmati rice starch. The basmati rice starch is dried at drying temperatures (40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 °C), during the process thermodynamic properties such as enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy are analyzed. After drying, the raw starches are treated with α‐amylase (3 U mg−1) and analyzed by X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimeter. The process is considered as endothermic and endergonic, where the temperature of 60 °C promotes a 22% reduction in the drying time and a higher hydrolysis yield (4.02%). The crystallinity index and the enthalpy of gelatinization are reduced according to the drying temperature and the type A crystallinity is not modified. This study shows that the drying temperature influences enzymatic susceptibility, with 60 °C being the most suitable temperature.
Effect of combined Japanese traditional medicines, keishibukuryogan and jidabokuippo, on postoperative soft tissue swelling in adult patients undergoing revascularization surgery for ischemic moyamoya disease: A comparison of two prospective cohort studies
Authors: Ogasawara Kuniaki , Kawamura Tsuyoshi , Kobayashi Masakazu , Akamatsu Yosuke , Chida Kohei , Fujiwara Shunrou , Yoshida Kenji , Koji Takahiro , Kubo Yoshitaka
Published: November 2022

Aim

Indirect revascularization surgery for moyamoya disease (MMD) sometimes results in swelling of the soft tissues (including the temporalis muscle) compressing the cerebral hemispheres postoperatively. The present supplementary analysis of two prospective cohorts aimed to elucidate the effects of Japanese traditional medicines, keishibukuryogan and jidabokuippo, on postoperative soft tissue swelling in adult patients undergoing revascularization surgery for ischemic MMD.

Methods

Thirty‐two patients treated using direct revascularization surgery alone without Japanese traditional medicine (the first original study) and another 22 patients treated using indirect revascularization surgery alone with perioperative administration of keishibukuryogan and jidabokuippo (the second original study) underwent computed tomography of the head before and 3 days after surgery. The postoperative swelling rate of soft tissues in the head ipsilateral to the surgery was calculated.

Results

The postoperative swelling rate of the soft tissues was significantly lower in patients participating in the second original study (88.8 ± 31.6%) than in those participating in the first original study (127.1 ± 31.1%) (p = 0.0002). When postoperative swelling rates of soft tissues in all 54 patients were arranged in descending order and divided into tertiles (186.7–132.0%, 130.0–92.4%, 92.3–44.3%), logistic regression analysis revealed that participation in the second original study was significantly associated with the bottom tertile of postoperative swelling rate of soft tissues (95% confidence interval, 4.90–100.12; p = 0.0098).

Conclusion

Combined administration of Japanese traditional medicines, keishibukuryogan and jidabokuippo, can reduce postoperative soft tissue swelling in adult patients undergoing revascularization surgery for ischemic MMD.
KCNQ1OT1 sponges miR‐34a to promote malignant progression of malignant melanoma via upregulation of the STAT3/PD‐L1 axis
Authors: Wang Xin , Ren Zhiyao , Xu Yunfeng , Gao Xiang , Huang Hainian , Zhu Fei
Published: November 2022

Background

Malignant melanoma is a leading cause of skin cancer‐related death. In over 30% of cases, the melanoma is invasive and has a metastatic phenotype. KCNQ1 overlapping transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) was previously identified as an oncogenic long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Our study intends to uncover the mechanism of KCNQ1OT1 functioning in melanoma.

Methods

qRT‐PCR, immunohistochemical analysis, and Western blotting were used to investigate mechanisms of the lncRNA KCNQ1OT1, on its downstream genes in melanoma tissues, cells as well as the impact on CD8+ T cells. Proliferation, apoptosis, and migration/invasion were assessed in melanoma cells to evaluate the effects of KCNQ1OT1, miR‐34a, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). The RNA interactions were determined by dual‐luciferase reporter, and melanoma cells were co‐cultured with CD8+ T cells to study immune evasion. A lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assay was used to investigate the cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells toward melanoma cells. The in vivo tumorigenic potential of KCNQ1OT1 was defined using xenograft models.

Results

KCNQ1OT1 was upregulated in melanoma tissues leading to a poor prognosis, and knocking down it inhibited melanoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. KCNQ1OT1 regulated the progression of the melanoma via its action as a miR‐34a sponge. STAT3 was found to be a downstream target of miR‐34a, resulting in transcriptional regulation of Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD‐L1). KCNQ1OT1 regulated STAT3 by targeting miR‐34a. Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 reduced PD‐L1 level, enhanced CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity, and proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of CD8+ T cells.

Conclusion

Melanoma cells overexpressed KCNQ1OT1, which influenced the miR‐34a/STAT3 axis, to promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of melanoma cells. In addition, KCNQ1OT1 inhibited CD8+ T cell function, also via the miR‐34a/STAT3/PD‐L1 axis, thus promoting immune evasion of melanoma cells. The current findings expose a potential therapeutic target of melanoma.
Making the case for more and better trained clinician‐leaders
Authors: Kirby Roger
Published: November 2022

As we gradually emerge from the COVID‐19 pandemic, morale among healthcare staff is sagging as the extent of the clinical backlog becomes clear. This is resulting in a workforce crisis as many clinicians elect to reduce their sessions, retire early or leave to work elsewhere. To rectify this we need to improve pay and conditions and to radically change working practices. One approach to the problem is to deploy more clinician‐leaders. Their collaborative leadership skills could bolster morale and enhance the quality and safety of care as well as accelerate the adoption of much needed innovative healthcare technology.
Characteristics of Holstein cows predisposed to ketosis during the post‐partum transition period
Authors: Ha Seungmin , Kang Seogjin , Jeong Mooyoung , Han Manhye , Lee Jihwan , Chung Hakjae , Park Jinho
Published: November 2022

Background

Ketosis is a common metabolic disorder during the post‐partum transition period of dairy cattle. How the method of reproduction, parturition time, and calf birth weight affect the occurrence of ketosis on dairy herds remains elusive.

Objectives

This study investigated factors associated with the severity of ketosis.

Methods

We divided 186 Holstein cows into three classifications based on the highest β‐hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentration during the post‐partum transition period, namely non‐ketosis (<1.2 mmol/L, n = 94), subclinical ketosis (1.2–2.9 mmol/L, n = 58), and clinical ketosis (≥3.0 mmol/L, n = 34). We evaluated characteristics of cows associated with the severity of ketosis.

Results

Ketosis was not associated with the method of reproduction, parturition time, pregnancy wastage, premature delivery, retained placenta, and type of calf. Cows calving in spring and especially summer were at higher risk of severe ketosis (p < 0.01). Cows with increased body condition score (BCS) at parturition, age, lactation number, and calving interval were more likely to develop severe ketosis (p < 0.05). Cows with clinical ketosis produced most milk (29.9 ± 1.0 kg) from days four to six, whereas cows without ketosis produced the least (21.3 ± 0.8 kg) (p < 0.001). Heavier calf birth weight resulted in high risk of severe ketosis (p < 0.01), due to increased milk yield during the early lactation.

Conclusions

The severity of ketosis is associated with the calving season, BCS at parturition, age, lactation number, calving interval, milk yield in the early lactation period, and calf birth weight. Nonetheless, it was not associated with the method of reproduction, parturition time, pregnancy wastage, premature delivery, retained placenta, and type of calf. This study is the first to investigate the associations between ketosis and calf birth weight. Our findings could help predict cows at risk of ketosis and take precautions.
Deep learning based image steganography: A review
Authors: Wani Mohd Arif , Sultan Bisma
Published: November 2022

A review of the deep learning based image steganography techniques is presented in this paper. For completeness, the recent traditional steganography techniques are also discussed briefly. The three key parameters (security, embedding capacity, and invisibility) for measuring the quality of an image steganographic technique are described. Various steganography techniques, with emphasis on the above three key parameters, are reviewed. The steganography techniques are classified here into three main categories: Traditional, Hybrid, and fully Deep Learning. The hybrid techniques are further divided into three sub‐categories: Cover Generation, Distortion Learning, and Adversarial Embedding. The fully Deep Learning techniques, based on the nature of the input, are further divided into three sub‐categories: GAN Embedding, Embedding Less, and Category Label. The main ideas of the important deep learning based steganography techniques are described. The strong and weak features of these techniques are outlined. The results reported by researchers on benchmark data sets CelebA, Bossbase, PASCAL‐VOC12, CIFAR‐100, ImageNet, and USC‐SIPI are used to evaluate the performance of various steganography techniques. Analysis of the results shows that there is scope for new suitable deep learning architectures that can improve the capacity and invisibility of image steganography.

This article is categorized under:

Technologies > Computational Intelligence

Technologies > Machine Learning

Technologies > Artificial Intelligence
Blurring the Boundaries of Intimate Relationships: Friendship and Networks of Care in Times of Precarity
Authors: Gusmano Beatrice
Published: November 2022

Friendship can release intimacy from the normativity imposed by heteronormativity, monomaternalism and mononormativity. In the Mediterranean welfare regime, care is supposed to be granted by the family, and LGBTQ partners, mothers and friends are not legitimized in their desire to have more than one intimate relationship at a time, to parent and to live a satisfactory life beyond the couple. Therefore, through the subversive and transformative power of friendship, LGBTQ people question relational normativity, blur the boundaries of intimate relationships and redefine care. Taking into account the language used to make friendship intelligible in the neoliberalism, I describe these networks as “complicit”: they entail a multidimensionality of intimacy rooted in emotional and psychological assistance, companionship, pleasure, economic and material support, beauty and imagination.
Labour Market Integration as an Interactive Process
Authors: Triandafyllidou Anna , Isaakyan Irina , Baglioni Simone
Published: November 2022

This chapter presents the analytical framework of this volume, arguing that an interpretive-biographical methodology for analysing labour market integration can highlight the many ways in which migrants exercise agency both materially in shaping their lives but also cognitively and emotionally in making sense of what is happening to them, taking decisions and following specific courses of action. The chapter introduces the notion of turning points and epiphanies as a new approach to labour market integration that goes beyond ticking boxes of who has a job. It also looks into the employment trajectories of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. After elaborating on the interpretive biographical methodology and its tools, this chapter briefly outlines the contents of this volume.
Examining Non-EU Migrants and Refugees’ Agency When Navigating the British Labour Markets
Authors: Calo Francesca , Baglioni Simone
Published: November 2022

Migrants’ agency is a promising analytical tool and approach in migration and refugee studies as it shifts the focus of analysis (and attention) from the weaknesses or ‘faults’ of the migration experience to the opportunities and capacities it can generate for migrants and the community where they settle. Still, political, institutional, cultural, and economic contexts do keep exerting influence on migrants’ capacities to operate agency. This is particularly the case for migrants seeking humanitarian protection as they experience not only personal challenges and vulnerabilities, but also constraining legal and administrative barriers, preventing them, for example, to have their capacities duly recognised and valued. This chapter discusses how migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers’ agency helps them cope with adverse circumstances such as those promoted by obstructive policies and narratives in the United Kingdom. Eleven biographical interviews explore the life paths of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. The UK context presents a very challenging environment for their integration as legislation so far has been mainly based on increasing border control and decreasing entitlements, with scant attention to strategies of integration and inclusion. This chapter discusses how the political-institutional context influences the unfolding of such agency and how, in turn, agency provokes responses and adaptations from those contexts.
Resistance Is Useless! (And So Are Resilience and Reworking): Migrants in the Finnish Labour Market
Authors: Ndomo Quivine , Lillie Nathan
Published: November 2022

In Finland, integration is discussed in terms of labour market success. Finding work tends to occur in the ‘secondary’ labour market as migrants have difficulty accessing the more secure jobs of the ‘primary’ labour market. This chapter draws on 11 qualitative biographical narratives of migrants and refugees, looking for turning points and epiphanies about their job-seeking experiences. We classify these as agentic acts of resilience, reworking, and resistance, borrowing from Cindi Katz’s framework. Interviewees exhibited resilience in revising downward their expectations of what sort of job they would accept and how their career would develop. ‘Reworking’ was also often attempted, usually at a later stage and with limited success, through reskilling, or repackaging of existing skills to appear more desirable to employers. Resistance was rare and limited to exit from the Finnish labour market, rather than voice within it. We found that despite significant investment in their own human capital, macro structures such as segmented labour markets and unequal power relations limited the scope for their individual acts of resilience and reworking. Thus, while agency is useful for understanding migrant actions, overemphasising it obscures the role of labour market structures and employer recruitment practices – important bottlenecks to migrants moving from the secondary to primary labour market.
Migration to the Czech Republic: Personal Stories About Running from and Running Towards
Authors: Gheorghiev Olga , Numerato Dino
Published: November 2022

The chapter focuses on micro perspectives expressed in individual trajectories of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (MRAs) in the Czech Republic. Drawing on 14 in-depth biographic interviews with MRAs, this chapter analyses biographies of labour market integration. Particular attention is given to critical moments or those critical life junctures we name turning points that generate epiphanic, life-changing experiences. This approach is inspired by Denzin’s conceptualisation of epiphanies. The chapter is structured as follows. We first provide background information on barriers to labour market integration at macro-, meso-, and micro- levels. Next, the chapter introduces the methodological approach and elaborates on the process of recruitment and interviewing. We then discuss the various contexts in which turning points and epiphanic experiences were described by the interviewed migrants. More specifically, we explore the critical junctures that led our participants to the decision of migrating. Next, we focus on epiphanies related to positioning in terms of social status and professional aspirations and, finally, we look at the transformative impacts of social interactions structured by discrimination.
Secure Human Identification Protocol with Human-Computable Passwords
Authors: Matelski Sławomir
Published: November 2022

In this paper we present a new method of secure human-computer identification, which remains safe also in untrusted systems and environments. This method allows the elimination of any supplementary gadgets/devices or theft-sensitive biometric data used by the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and using only one secret as a universal private key for all obtainable online accounts. However, the features of this solution make it best suited for use by an mobile authenticator or by Authentication Authority with the Single-Sign-On (SSO) method of identity and access management, rather than for individual services. Such a key is used by our innovative challenge-response protocol to generate One-Time-Password, e.g., 6-digit OTP, could be calculated by a human in only 15 s, also offline on paper documents with an acceptable level of security required for post-quantum symmetric cyphers, thanks to the hard lattice problem with noise introduced by our new method, which we call Learning with Options (LWO). The secret has the form of an outline like a kind of handwritten autograph, designed in invisible ink on the mapping grid. The password generation process requires following such an invisible contour on the challenge matrix created randomly by the verifier and reading values from secret fields to calculate the OTP.
Local Maxima of White Noise Spectrograms and Gaussian Entire Functions
Authors: Abreu Luís Daniel
Published: November 2022

We confirm Flandrin’s prediction for the expected average of local maxima of spectrograms of complex white noise with Gaussian windows (Gaussian spectrograms or, equivalently, modulus of weighted Gaussian Entire Functions), a consequence of the conjectured double honeycomb mean model for the network of zeros and local maxima, where the area of local maxima centered hexagons is three times larger than the area of zero centered hexagons. More precisely, we show that Gaussian spectrograms, normalized such that their expected density of zeros is 1, have an expected density of 5/3 critical points, among those 1/3 are local maxima, and 4/3 saddle points, and compute the distributions of ordinate values (heights) for spectrogram local extrema. This is done by first writing the spectrograms in terms of Gaussian Entire Functions (GEFs). The extrema are considered under the translation invariant derivative of the Fock space (which in this case coincides with the Chern connection from complex differential geometry). We also observe that the critical points of a GEF are precisely the zeros of a Gaussian random function in the first higher Landau level. We discuss natural extensions of these Gaussian random functions: Gaussian Weyl–Heisenberg functions and Gaussian bi-entire functions. The paper also reviews recent results on the applications of white noise spectrograms, connections between several developments, and is partially intended as a pedestrian introduction to the topic.
Glass-box modeling for quality assessment of resistance spot welding joints in industrial applications
Authors: Santos José Ignacio , Martín Óscar , Ahedo Virginia , de Tiedra Pilar , Galán José Manuel
Published: November 2022

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is one of the most relevant industrial processes in different sectors. Key issues in RSW are process control and ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of the quality level of RSW joints. Multiple-input–single-output methods are commonly used to create predictive models of the process from the welding parameters. However, until now, the choice of a particular model has typically involved a tradeoff between accuracy and interpretability. In this work, such dichotomy is overcome by using the explainable boosting machine algorithm, which obtains accuracy levels in both classification and prediction of the welded joint tensile shear load bearing capacity statistically as good or even better than the best algorithms in the literature, while maintaining high levels of interpretability. These characteristics allow (i) a simple diagnosis of the overall behavior of the process, and, for each individual prediction, (ii) the attribution to each of the control variables—and/or to their potential interactions—of the result obtained. These distinctive characteristics have important implications for the optimization and control of welding processes, establishing the explainable boosting machine as one of the reference algorithms for their modeling.
Variational and phase response analysis for limit cycles with hard boundaries, with applications to neuromechanical control problems
Authors: Wang Yangyang , Gill Jeffrey P. , Chiel Hillel J. , Thomas Peter J.
Published: November 2022

Motor systems show an overall robustness, but because they are highly nonlinear, understanding how they achieve robustness is difficult. In many rhythmic systems, robustness against perturbations involves response of both the shape and the timing of the trajectory. This makes the study of robustness even more challenging. To understand how a motor system produces robust behaviors in a variable environment, we consider a neuromechanical model of motor patterns in the feeding apparatus of the marine molluskAplysia californica(Shaw et al. in J Comput Neurosci 38(1):25–51, 2015; Lyttle et al. in Biol Cybern 111(1):25–47, 2017). We established in (Wang et al. in SIAM J Appl Dyn Syst 20(2):701–744, 2021.https://doi.org/10.1137/20M1344974) the tools for studying combined shape and timing responses of limit cycle systems under sustained perturbations and here apply them to study robustness of the neuromechanical model against increased mechanical load during swallowing. Interestingly, we discover that nonlinear biomechanical properties confer resilience by immediately increasing resistance to applied loads. In contrast, the effect of changed sensory feedback signal is significantly delayed by the firing rates’ hard boundary properties. Our analysis suggests that sensory feedback contributes to robustness in swallowing primarily by shifting the timing of neural activation involved in the power stroke of the motor cycle (retraction). This effect enables the system to generate stronger retractor muscle forces to compensate for the increased load, and hence achieve strong robustness. The approaches that we are applying to understanding a neuromechanical model inAplysia, and the results that we have obtained, are likely to provide insights into the function of other motor systems that encounter changing mechanical loads and hard boundaries, both due to mechanical and neuronal firing properties.
Importance and implications of exosomes in nephrology and urology
Authors: Mahl Lina , Ollig Johanna , Schweihofer Verena , Wiegand Lara , Torkler Phillipp , Haerteis Silke , Aung Thiha
Published: November 2022

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that are formed by two invaginations of the plasma membrane and can be released by all eukaryotic cells. Because of their bioactive contents, including nucleic acids and proteins, exosomes can activate a variety of functions in their recipient cells. Due to the plethora of physiological and pathophysiological functions, exosomes have received a lot of attention from researchers over the past few years. However, there is still no consensus regarding isolation and characterization protocols of exosomes and their subtypes. This heterogeneity poses a lot of methodical challenges but also offers new clinical opportunities simultaneously. So far, exosome-based research is still mostly limited to preclinical experiments and early-stage clinical trials since the translation of experimental findings remains difficult. Exosomes could potentially play an important role as future diagnostic and prognostic agents and might also be part of the development of new treatment strategies. Therefore, they have previously been investigated in a variety of nephrological and urological conditions such as acute kidney injury or prostate cancer.
First steps in the development of a support application for easy-to-read adaptation
Authors: Suárez-Figueroa Mari Carmen , Diab Isam , Ruckhaus Edna , Cano Isabel
Published: November 2022

The application of the easy-to-read (E2R) methodology is one of the ways to achieve cognitive accessibility and specifically, it is a path that guarantees the right of access to information of people with reading comprehension difficulties and thus improves their daily life. This methodology includes a set of guidelines and recommendations whose goal is to present clear and easily understood documents. Such guidelines are used in the manual processes of (a) adapting existing documents and (b) producing new materials. These processes are very time and human-resource consuming, due to the need of involving E2R experts as well as people with cognitive disabilities. In order to alleviate such manual processes, we are currently investigating the development of methods, based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, to support the E2R adaptation of documents in a (semi)-automatic fashion. The main goal of this research is to help E2R experts in their daily tasks of (a) assessing a particular document with respect to the E2R guidelines and (b) transforming such a document according to the E2R methodology. In this paper we present our initial efforts toward the development of an AI-based application for supporting the E2R adaptation of documents. These efforts are the elicitation of E2R needs and informal requirements and the design of an application called FACILE.
Use of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris L.) in Paddy-Scale Bioassays for Assessing Potential Use of Mining-Influenced Water for Irrigation
Authors: Tedrow O’Niell R. , Lee Peter F.
Published: November 2022

As surface water resources become more intensely used, and occasionally non-useable, consideration of non-conventional water resources for anthropogenic use has become more prevalent. Potentially critical non-conventional water sources include flooded mine-pit lakes. However, water in these lakes can contain potentially problematic concentrations of contaminants of concern. We evaluated the potential use of elevated sulphate (SO4) mining-influenced waters with low to non-detect metals concentrations for irrigation of wild rice (Zizania palustris L.; WR), a culturally and economically important species. Two flow-through in-situ paddies were developed adjacent to two mine-pit lakes with differing chemical water characteristics; specifically, Pit A contained ≈350 mg SO4 L−1 and Pit C contained ≈1350 mg SO4 L−1. Throughout the course of multiple consecutive growing seasons, no adverse WR responses to these mining-influenced water exposures were observed. Based on data and observations from this study, potential use of mining-influenced waters containing elevated SO4 as the primary contaminant for appropriate irrigation purposes is supported. However, site-specific conditions and potential environmental risks must be considered prior to use of mining-influenced waters for anthropogenic applications.
Acute and chronic histopathological findings in renal biopsies in COVID-19
Authors: Volbeda Meint , Jou-Valencia Daniela , van den Heuvel Marius C. , Zijlstra Jan G. , Franssen Casper F. M. , van der Voort Peter H. J. , Moser Jill , van Meurs Matijs
Published: November 2022

The dominant ICU admission diagnosis of COVID-19 patients is respiratory insufficiency, but 32–57% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients develop acute kidney injury (COVID-AKI). The renal histopathological changes accompanying COVID-AKI are not yet fully described. To obtain a detailed insight into renal histopathological features of COVID-19, we conducted a review including all studies reporting histopathological findings of diagnostic and postmortem kidney biopsies from patients with COVID-19 published between January 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021. A total of 89 diagnostic and 194 postmortem renal biopsies from individual patients in 39 published studies were investigated and were included in the analysis. In the diagnostic biopsy group, mean age was 56 years and AKI incidence was 96%. In the postmortem biopsy group, mean age was 69 years and AKI incidence was 80%. In the diagnostic biopsy group, the prevalence of acute glomerular diseases was 74%. The most common glomerular lesions were collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (c-FSGS) in 54% and thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in 9% of patients. TMA was also found in 10% of patients in the postmortem biopsy group. The most common acute tubular lesions was acute tubular necrosis (ATN) which was present in 87% of patients in the diagnostic and in 77% of patients in the postmortem biopsy group. Additionally, we observed a high prevalence of preexisting chronic lesions in both groups such as atherosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis. Histopathological changes in renal biopsies of COVID-19 patients show a heterogeneous picture with acute glomerular lesions, predominantly c-FSGS and TMA, and acute tubular lesions, predominantly ATN. In many patients, these lesions were present on a background of chronic renal injury.

Graphical abstract
An efficient strategy for multi-GNSS real-time clock estimation based on the undifferenced method
Authors: Li Xingxing , Li Yuhao , Xiong Yun , Wu Jiaqi , Zheng Hongjie , Li Linyang
Published: November 2022

Precise satellite clock product is an indispensable prerequisite for the real-time precise positioning service. To meet the requirement of numerous time-critical applications, real-time satellite clock corrections need to be broadcast to users with an update rate of 5 s or higher. With the rapid development of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) over the past decades, abundant GNSS tracking stations and modern constellations have emerged, and the computation for multi-GNSS real-time clock estimation has become rather time-consuming. In this contribution, an efficient strategy is proposed to achieve high processing efficiency for multi-GNSS real-time clock estimation, wherein undifferenced method based on sequential least square is adopted. In the proposed strategy, parallel data processing and high-performance matrix operations are introduced to accelerate the processing of multi-GNSS clock estimation. The former is based on OpenMP (Open Multi-Processing), while the latter is achieved by the implementation of the Schur complement and the open-source library OpenBLAS. Multi-GNSS observations from 85 globally distributed tracking stations are employed for the generation of real-time precise clock products. The average elapsed time per epoch with the proposed strategy is 0.35, 0.68, and 2.30 s for GPS-only, dual-system, and quad-system solutions, respectively. Compared to the traditional serial strategy, the computation efficiency is significantly improved by 76.0%, 77.3%, and 77.7%, respectively. The accuracy of the estimated clocks is evaluated with respect to IGS final GPS clock products and GFZ final multi-GNSS clock products (GBM0MGXRAP), and multi-GNSS real-time precise point positioning (PPP) experiments are further carried out. All the results indicate that the proposed strategy is efficient, accurate, and can promise high-rate multi-GNSS real-time clock estimation.
The genetic structure and connectivity in two sympatric rodent species with different life histories are similarly affected by land use disturbances
Authors: Biello Roberto , Brunelli Andrea , Sozio Giulia , Havenstein Katja , Mortelliti Alessio , Ketmaier Valerio , Vilaça Sibelle Torres , Bertorelle Giorgio
Published: November 2022

The negative impact of habitat fragmentation due to human activities may be different in different species that co-exist in the same area, with consequences on the development of environmental protection plans. Here we aim at understanding the effects produced by different natural and anthropic landscape features on gene flow patterns in two sympatric species with different specializations, one generalist and one specialist, sampled in the same locations. We collected and genotyped 194 wood mice (generalist species) and 199 bank voles (specialist species) from 15 woodlands in a fragmented landscape characterized by different potential barriers to dispersal. Genetic variation and structure were analyzed in the two species, respectively. Effective migration surfaces, isolation-by-resistance (IBR) analysis, and regression with randomization were used to investigate isolation-by-distance (IBD) and the relative importance of land cover elements on gene flow. We observed similar patterns of heterozygosity and IBD for both species, but the bank vole showed higher genetic differences among geographic areas. The IBR analysis suggests that (i) connectivity is reduced in both species by urban areas but more strongly in the specialist bank vole; (ii) cultivated areas act as dispersal corridors in both species; (iii) woodlands appear to be an important factor in increasing connectivity in the bank vole, and less so in the wood mouse. The difference in dispersal abilities between a generalist and specialist species was reflected in the difference in genetic structure, despite extensive habitat changes due to human activities. The negative effects of fragmentation due to the process of urbanization were, at least partially, mitigated by another human product, i.e., cultivated terrains subdivided by hedgerows, and this was true for both species.
On strongly walk regular graphs, triple sum sets and their codes
Authors: Kiermaier Michael , Kurz Sascha , Solé Patrick , Stoll Michael , Wassermann Alfred
Published: November 2022

Strongly walk regular graphs (SWRGs or s-SWRGs) form a natural generalization of strongly regular graphs (SRGs) where paths of length 2 are replaced by paths of length s. They can be constructed as coset graphs of the duals of projective three-weight codes whose weights satisfy a certain equation. We provide classifications of the feasible parameters of these codes in the binary and ternary case for medium size code lengths. For the binary case, the divisibility of the weights of these codes is investigated and several general results are shown. It is known that an s-SWRG has at most 4 distinct eigenvalues $$k> \theta _1> \theta _2 > \theta _3$$

k
>

θ
1

>

θ
2

>

θ
3

, and that the triple $$(\theta _1, \theta _2, \theta _3)$$

(

θ
1

,

θ
2

,

θ
3

)

satisfies a certain homogeneous polynomial equation of degree $$s - 2$$

s
-
2

(Van Dam, Omidi, 2013). This equation defines a plane algebraic curve; we use methods from algorithmic arithmetic geometry to show that for $$s = 5$$

s
=
5

and $$s = 7$$

s
=
7

, there are only the obvious solutions, and we conjecture this to remain true for all (odd) $$s \ge 9$$

s
≥
9

.
Friendships in Children with Williams Syndrome: Parent and Child Perspectives
Authors: Gillooly Amanda E. , Riby Deborah M. , Durkin Kevin , Rhodes Sinéad M.
Published: November 2022

Although children with Williams syndrome (WS) are strongly socially motivated, many have friendship difficulties. The parents of 21 children with WS and 20 of the children themselves participated in a semi-structured interview about the children’s friendships. Parents reported that their child had difficulties sustaining friendships and low levels of interaction with peers. Barriers to friendships included difficulties with play and self-regulating behaviour. However, there was within-group variability, with a small number of children reported to have strong friendships. While parents reported friendship challenges, all of the children named at least one friend, and most said that they had never felt excluded by their peers. Future research is needed to determine optimal ways to support children with WS in their friendships.