bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Equity in Municipally Owned Corporations: Do Women in the Boardroom Make a Difference to the Gender Pay Gap?
Authors: Andrews Rhys
Published: October 2024

Representative bureaucracy theory posits that the presence of less‐advantaged social groups in public leadership positions is an important driver of social equity among the recipients of public services and the public servants who provide them. To evaluate whether active representation can lead to improvements in social equity within arms‐length public service organizations, this article presents an analysis of the relationship between women in the boardroom and the gender pay gap in 102 large municipally owned corporations (MOCs) in England for a 6‐year period (2017–2022). The findings suggest that MOCs led by female chief executive officers (CEOs) have a lower pay gap between male and female employees. The presence of more women directors on MOC boards is also negatively related to the pay gap, especially in MOCs led by male CEOs. The findings highlight the importance of board gender representation to address social equity in arms‐length public service organizations.
Why not to blow up a pipeline: Intersectional reflections on environmental (non)violence
Authors: FitzGerald Garrett
Published: October 2024

Andreas Malm's “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” (2021) reinvigorated contemporary debates around property destruction and sabotage as strategies to force decarbonization and mitigate the worst consequences of human‐induced climate change. Responses from Peace Studies scholars largely adhere to established arguments around the moral and strategic benefits of (non)violent resistance. This article brackets debates over ethics and efficacy within this established violence/nonviolence binary to trouble Malm's analysis and recommendations in new ways. By focusing on the intersectional aspects of environmental violence, this article illustrates how Malm's argument for property and infrastructure damage risks exacerbating interlinked forms of direct, structural, and cultural violence that effect already‐marginalized communities along cross‐cutting axes of race, gender, class, and other valences of domination. This novel application of intersectional analysis within the emerging environmental violence framework offers scholars and practitioners of peacebuilding important new tools with which to critically analyze emerging strategies to confront environmental degradation.
DNA‐based detection and quantification of Ascochyta rabiei in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) using droplet digital PCR
Authors: Zakeel Mohamed Cassim Mohamed , Hoque Mohammad , Thammavongsa Bounnaliam , Bullock Melanie , Raina Dikshpreet , Barrett Luke G. , Sprague Susan
Published: October 2024

Ascochyta blight (AB) disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Ascochyta rabiei, is a major production constraint in many chickpea‐growing regions worldwide, causing substantial reductions in grain yield and seed quality. The management of AB is challenging due to limited genetic resistance and the evolving aggressiveness of A. rabiei. Currently, there is a heavy reliance on visual assessment by expert pathologists for the detection and quantification of disease severity, and limited ability to impartially quantify pathogen growth and inoculum potential in the field. In this study, we address these gaps by developing a single‐copy genetic marker for the sensitive detection and quantification of A. rabiei mycelium and conidiospores. Using a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay, our method provides a sensitive (≤5 × 10−2 pg DNA, 1 gene copy) approach to assess A. rabiei biomass throughout its lifecycle on living and dead plant tissues. The method (i) has specificity to A. rabiei in diseased plant samples; (ii) discriminates among chickpea cultivars with varying AB resistance prior to the onset of visible symptoms; (iii) detects differences in primary A. rabiei conidiospore inoculum load from field‐grown chickpea stubble; and (iv) has potential application to disease management, breeding and epidemiology.
Low frequency‐repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture improves post‐stroke cognitive impairment and has better clinical efficacy
Authors: Xun Xiao , Liu Yanhong , Pan Weimin , Tang Lang , Hu Changling , Ouyang Hua , Liu Qiu , Zeng Hongliang , Li Dan
Published: October 2024

Background

Enhancing post‐stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a key aspect of prognosis for stroke patients. Low‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF‐rTMS) is currently a widely utilised method for treating PSCI. With the increasing promotion of traditional Chinese medicine, Xingnao Kaiqiao (XNKQ) acupuncture has been progressively incorporated into clinical treatment. This paper observes the effect of LF‐rTMS with XNKQ acupuncture on patients with PSCI.

Methods

Totally, 192 patients with PSCI were consecutively recruited and treated either with LF‐rTMS and XNKQ acupuncture (observation group) or LF‐rTMS only (control group) for 4 weeks. The pre‐ and post‐treatment Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, P300 latency and amplitude, inflammatory factor levels were compared and clinical efficacy was assessed.

Results

Both groups exhibited increased MMSE/MoCA scores, and P300 amplitude, and shortened P300 latency, and the observation group had higher scores and P300 amplitude, and shorter P300 latency than the control group. Both groups displayed decreased inflammatory factor levels (Tumour necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐10, IL‐1β) after treatment, which were lower in the observation group than the control group. Inflammatory factor levels in PSCI patients were negatively interrelated with MMSE, MoCA score and P300 amplitude, and positively with P300 latency. The observation group showed an increased number of patients showing cured and significantly effective results, a decreased number of patients showing effective and invalid results, and an observably elevated total effective rate.

Conclusion

LF‐rTMS with XNKQ acupuncture can improve cognitive function and reduce inflammatory immune response, and has better clinical efficacy in PSCI patients.
Rights of nature in the Inter‐American Court of Human Rights: Understanding the ecocentric approach to the right to a healthy environment
Authors: Trincado Vera Patricio
Published: October 2024

The recognition of the right to a healthy environment as an autonomous and justiciable right in Advisory Opinion OC‐23/17 represents the turning point of the Inter‐American Court of Human Rights towards the adoption of an ecocentric approach. This article examines how the interpretation of the right to a healthy environment suggests the acknowledgement of Nature as a holder of rights under the American Convention on Human Rights. First, it analyses how the Inter‐American Court has addressed environmental protection in its jurisprudence, through procedural and substantive rights. Second, it studies the ecocentric interpretation of the right to a healthy environment in the Advisory Opinion OC‐23/17 and in the case La Oroya v Peru. Lastly, it explores what are the consequences of understanding Nature as a holder of rights for the complaint procedure before the Inter‐American Court.
Household decisions and the gender gap in job satisfaction
Authors: Bredemeier Christian , Ndlovu Patrick , Vujić Sunčica , Winkler Roland
Published: October 2024

This paper offers a novel theoretical explanation for the gender gap in job satisfaction, where women typically report higher job satisfaction than men. We argue that rational family decisions can result in divergent job choices for women and men, leading to increased job satisfaction but lower earnings for women, even when their preferences and expectations align with those of men. We develop this explanation within a theoretical model of family household decision‐making that considers relative earnings disparities within households. We provide empirical evidence supporting our model's predictions utilizing survey and administrative data from Canada.
Interactions among gender norms: Evidence from US couples
Authors: Galván Estefanía , García‐Peñalosa Cecilia
Published: October 2024

A considerable body of work has shown that motherhood is accompanied by a reduction in labor market participation and hours of market work, while more recent findings indicate that women who earn more than their husbands tend to subsequently take actions that reduce their market income. Both patterns of behavior have been interpreted as women trying to conform to child‐rearing norms and to the prescription that the husband should be the main breadwinner. In this paper, we use panel data for US couples to re‐examine women's behavior when they become mothers and when they are the main breadwinner. We start by asking whether the arrival of a child affects women who are the main breadwinner and those who are not in the same way, and then turn to how mothers and childless women react when they are the main breadwinner. Our results are consistent with the breadwinner norm only affecting mothers, suggesting that the salience of gender norms may depend on the household's context, notably on whether or not children are present. Concerning the arrival of a child, we find that although the labor supply of women who earn more than their husbands initially responds to motherhood less than that of secondary earners, the two groups converge after 10 years. Moreover, women in the former category exhibit a disproportionately large increase in the share of housework they perform after becoming mothers. The latter results suggest that the presence of children pushes women to seek to compensate breaking a norm by adhering to another one.
The Effect of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise Prior to Total Knee Arthroplasty on Postoperative Physical Function, Lower Limb Strength and Patient‐Reported Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Jørgensen Stian Langgård , Aagaard Per , Bohn Marie Bagger , Hansen Peter , Hansen Per Møller , Holm Carsten , Mortensen Louise , Garval Mette , Tønning Lisa Urup , Mechlenburg Inger
Published: October 2024

The trial aimed to examine the effect of eight weeks preoperative low‐load blood flow restricted resistance training (BFR‐RT) on physical function, lower limb strength, and patient‐reported outcomes in knee OA patients 3 and 12 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared with preoperative usual care. An assessor blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted. Eighty‐six patients scheduled for TKA who were allocated to 8 weeks BFR‐RT on the affected leg 3x/week or preoperative usual care involving no exercise (CON). Primary outcome: 30‐s sit to stand (30STS). Secondary outcomes: Timed Up&Go, 40‐m walk test (40mWT), knee range of motion (ROM) 1‐repetition maximum (1RM) leg press and knee extensor strength, maximal isometric contraction (MVIC) for the knee extensors and flexors, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Euroqol 5‐dimensions (EQ‐5D‐L5) questionnaire. Data were collected at baseline (12 weeks pre‐surgery), ~3 days pre‐surgery, 3 and 12 months postoperatively. Intention‐to‐treat analysis revealed no significant between‐group differences in the change from baseline to 3 and 12 months postoperatively on 30STS, TUG, or 40mFWT. Significant between‐group differences were observed at 3 but not 12 months postoperatively for the corresponding changes in 1RM leg press strength, 1RM knee extensor strength, and MVIC knee extensor favoring BFR‐RT. No between‐group differences were observed for the delta changes from baseline in knee ROM, KOOS subscales or EQ‐5D‐L5 at any postoperative time points. These findings suggest that preoperative BFR‐RT offered no superior effects compared with usual preoperative care on postoperative physical function or patient‐reported outcomes. Preoperative BFR‐RT produced amplified gains in lower limb muscle strength at 3 months postoperatively.

Trial Registration: NCT04081493
Cultivating Choice: Determinants of Home Cannabis Growing Among Legal Users in the United States
Authors: Athey Nicholas , Newhart Michelle
Published: October 2024

As cannabis legalization evolves in the United States, policies regarding home cultivation vary significantly across states. This study examines factors influencing the decision to grow cannabis at home by cannabis‐consuming residents in legal states. Using data from a large online survey (n = 4,823) of recent cannabis users in cannabis‐legal states, we explore four potential explanations for home cultivation: legal access, needs‐based motivations, resource‐based factors, and identity‐based reasons. Our analysis reveals that home growers differ significantly from non‐growers across multiple dimensions. The stance of state policies on home cultivation plays a role in determining who will grow their own. Notably, a strong sense of cannabis identity is the most powerful predictor for home cultivation. While some aspects of needs‐based and resource‐based motivations play a role, multivariate analyses demonstrate that the most compelling explanation includes a mix of variables, demonstrating the complexity of cannabis consumption and choices to cultivate.
Characterisation of Two New HLA Alleles: HLA‐C*04:524 and ‐DQB1*03:524
Authors: Loginova Maria , Paramonov Igor
Published: October 2024

Two new alleles were identified during routine next generation sequencing.
Discovery of the Novel HLA‐A*11:479N Allele in a Taiwanese Individual
Authors: Yang Kuo‐Liang , Lin Py‐Yu
Published: October 2024

A nucleotide mutation in codon 113 of HLA‐A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA‐A*11:479N.
Identification of the Novel Non‐classical HLA‐G*01:24:02 Allele by Next‐Generation Sequencing
Authors: Mujumdar Yogini , Thakur Shramika Vasant , Talge Deepika Baban , Bhor Vikrant M. , Chaaithanya Itta Krishna
Published: October 2024

HLA‐G*01:24:02 differs from HLA‐G*01:01:03:03 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 304 in exon 5.
Next‐Generation Sequencing Reveals the Novel HLA‐DQA1*06:01:04 Allele in a Bone Marrow Donor
Authors: Gaballa Ahmed , Söderström Anna , Lundin Nina , Eich Torsten
Published: October 2024

A single nucleotide mismatch within exon 2 of HLA‐DQA1 differentiates the novel DQA1*06:01:04 allele from DQA1*06:01:01:01.
Detection of the Novel HLA‐B*15:358 Allele by Sanger Dideoxy Nucleotide Sequencing
Authors: Li Jian‐Ping , Zhang Xu , Lin Feng‐Qiu , Li Xiao‐Feng
Published: October 2024

HLA‐B*15:358 differs from HLA‐B*15:02:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution at position 685 in exon 4.
Using Narrative Structure to Create Engaging and Vicarious Transformative Experiences
Authors: Taeger Stephan D.
Published: October 2024

Narratives have a unique capacity to hold attention, challenge assumptions, and create transformative experiences. In this paper, I will draw upon narrative homiletics to show how educators who teach theology or scriptural texts can create learning experiences that follow narrative structure. First, I will discuss the advantages of teaching in a way that mimics story structure. These benefits include increasing learner engagement and inviting transformative experiences. Second, I will offer a narrative teaching model that instructors can use when planning lessons. This model contains five basic elements: conflict, complication, clue, climax, and implications. Finally, I will briefly illustrate this model and provide practical suggestions for creating instruction that uses narrative structure.
Temporally resolved growth patterns reveal novel information about the polygenic nature of complex quantitative traits
Authors: Sweet Dorothy D. , Tirado Sara B. , Cooper Julian , Springer Nathan M. , Hirsch Cory D. , Hirsch Candice N.
Published: October 2024

Plant height can be an indicator of plant health across environments and used to identify superior genotypes. Typically plant height is measured at a single timepoint when plants reach terminal height. Evaluating plant height using unoccupied aerial vehicles allows for measurements throughout the growing season, facilitating a better understanding of plant‐environment interactions and the genetic basis of this complex trait. To assess variation throughout development, plant height data was collected from planting until terminal height at anthesis (14 flights 2018, 27 in 2019, 12 in 2020, and 11 in 2021) for a panel of ~500 diverse maize inbred lines. The percent variance explained in plant height throughout the season was significantly explained by genotype (9–48%), year (4–52%), and genotype‐by‐year interactions (14–36%) to varying extents throughout development. Genome‐wide association studies revealed 717 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with plant height and growth rate at different parts of the growing season specific to certain phases of vegetative growth. When plant height growth curves were compared to growth curves estimated from canopy cover, greater Fréchet distance stability was observed in plant height growth curves than for canopy cover. This indicated canopy cover may be more useful for understanding environmental modulation of overall plant growth and plant height better for understanding genotypic modulation of overall plant growth. This study demonstrated that substantial information can be gained from high temporal resolution data to understand how plants differentially interact with the environment and can enhance our understanding of the genetic basis of complex polygenic traits.
ZmSCE1a positively regulates drought tolerance by enhancing the stability of ZmGCN5
Authors: Feng Tianyu , Wang Yuxian , Zhang Mingcai , Zhuang Junhong , Zhou Yuyi , Duan Liusheng
Published: October 2024

Drought stress impairs plant growth and poses a serious threat to maize (Zea mays) production and yield. Nevertheless, the elucidation of the molecular basis of drought resistance in maize is still uncertain. In this study, we identified ZmSCE1a, a SUMO E2‐conjugating enzyme, as a positive regulator of drought tolerance in maize. Molecular and biochemical assays indicated that E3 SUMO ligase ZmMMS21 acts together with ZmSCE1a to SUMOylate histone acetyltransferase complexes (ZmGCN5‐ZmADA2b). SUMOylation of ZmGCN5 enhances its stability through the 26S proteasome pathway. Furthermore, ZmGCN5‐overexpressing plants showed drought tolerance performance. It alleviated accumulation, malondialdehyde content, and ion permeability. What's more, the transcripts of stress‐responsive genes and abscisic acid (ABA)‐dependent genes were also significantly upregulated in ZmGCN5‐overexpressing plants under drought stress. Overexpression of ZmGCN5 enhanced drought‐induced ABA production in seedlings. Taken together, our results indicate that ZmSCE1a enhances the stability of ZmGCN5, thereby alleviating drought‐induced oxidative damage and enhancing drought stress response in maize.
First support for phylogenetically segregated ecotypes and delineating thresholds for inter‐ and intraspecific ranks in phytophagous Central Asian beetles (Coleoptera)
Authors: Karpiński Lech , Gorring Patrick , Enkhnasan Davaadorj , Cognato Anthony I.
Published: October 2024

As defining various taxonomic ranks, especially at and within a specific level, can often be difficult, we used an evolutionarily young group of Central Asian beetles, the genus Anoplistes, to examine the limits between species, subspecies and ecotype. The molecular data (COI genetic distance, haplotype network and species delimitation) and detailed morphology (using SEM) of taxa assigned to the rank of species, subspecies and ecotype were used to verify their taxonomic status and attempt to more precisely establish the boundaries between these concepts. The minimum threshold for the COI genetic distance between species was found to be approximately 3%, while at the threshold of 4%–5% the morphology left no doubt as to the species distinctiveness. The threshold of approximately 2% was accepted as adequate for a subspecies rank, whereas intraspecific variability among individuals of the same subspecies (including its ecotypes) ranged from 0% to 2%. A newly presented colour/elytral pattern form, possibly another ecotype of A. halodendri distributed in western Mongolia, exemplifies adaptation to different environmental conditions via ecological speciation. Our results provide support that ecotypes can form phylogenetically distinct clades. Based on the results of the haplotype network, it can be tentatively concluded that the sand ecotype was the incipient form from which further ecotypes and subspecies developed.
Changes in motor unit firing pattern are associated with post‐exercise blood pressure response in older untreated but not treated hypertensive adults
Authors: Takeda Ryosuke , Hirono Tetsuya , Yoshiko Akito , Kunugi Shun , Okudaira Masamichi , Ueda Saeko , Nishikawa Taichi , Watanabe Kohei
Published: October 2024

This study aimed to determine the difference in motor unit (MU) firing pattern between hypertensive and normotensive individuals, and the relationship between MU firing pattern and post‐exercise blood pressure (BP) response in older individuals. Fourteen older untreated (systolic/diastolic BP (SBP/DBP) ≥ 130/80 mmHg, 76 (5) years), 11 treated hypertensive (78 (4) years) and 14 normotensive (SBP/DBP < 130/80 mmHg, 71 (4) years) individuals were studied. Participants performed ramp‐up exercises until 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of knee extension and five MVCs. During the ramp‐up exercise, high‐density surface electromyography signals were recorded and each MU firing rate (FR) and recruitment threshold was assessed. The slope of the linear regression between MUFRs and recruitment thresholds was calculated to assess the MU firing pattern. Pre‐ and post‐exercise blood pressure was measured. Change in (∆)SBP from pre‐ to post‐exercise was greater in treated hypertensive than untreated hypertensive individuals (P = 0.026). MUFR was lower in treated hypertensive than untreated hypertensive and normotensive individuals (P < 0.001). Although the slope was not significantly different between groups (P = 0.294), FRs of larger MUs were lower than those of smaller MUs in treated hypertensive and normotensive individuals (P < 0.05) but sustained in untreated hypertensive individuals. The FRs of larger MUs and slope were positively correlated with the ∆SBP only in hypertensive individuals (r = 0.768 and 0.715; P = 0.044 and 0.020). MUFR was lower in treated hypertensive than untreated hypertensive and normotensive individuals. Furthermore, MU firing patterns were associated with the ∆SBP after exercise in older untreated hypertensive individuals, but this relationship was not observed in treated hypertensive and normotensive individuals.
Ultrasonic Interrogation Technique for Detecting Hatch Angle Variations in Additive Manufacturing by Phononic Lattice Structures
Authors: Rozin Enamul Hasan , Sultan Tipu , Taheri Hossein , Cetinkaya Cetin
Published: October 2024

Additive manufacturing/3D printing (AM/3DP) has revolutionized part production by enabling the creation of intricate internal structures and complex geometries from diverse materials directly from digital design files. Among powder-based metal AM/3DP methods, selective laser melting (SLM) is widely used in advanced applications such as biomedical devices and aerospace parts. Despite considerable progress in AM/3DP and SLM, at present, challenges in print quality persist, and vast resources for post-production quality assessment are allocated. The quality of SLM prints is influenced by various process and design parameters, such as the accuracy of hatch angle deposition, laser intensity/power, scanning speed of the laser beam, print line spacing, layer depth, printing chamber conditions, and the material's physical and chemical properties. Direct ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) offers comprehensive internal inspection and real-time data acquisition ability; however, in AM/3DP, it faces severe limitations due to a build's intricate internal and external geometric features. In the current study, we present a phononic crystal artifact (PCA)-based real-time ultrasonic NDE quality monitoring framework and show offline its utility in detecting and evaluating hatch angle variations, a critical process parameter. A PCA is substantially simpler and smaller than the actual build but represents its critical geometric and structural intricacies and mechanical properties. The current offline study demonstrates that hatch angle variations can be monitored from ultrasonic responses' spectral modal frequency peaks and wave dispersion relations.
AI-driven aerial robots advance whale research
Authors: Bayram Haluk
Published: October 2024

Aerial robots assisted with artificial intelligence improve real-time wildlife monitoring of sperm whales.
Giant polygonal anhydrite ridges in the Southern Permian Basin
Authors: Głuszyński Andrzej , Jarosiński Marek , Dąbrowski Marcin , Peryt Tadeusz
Published: October 2024

Giant polygonal anhydrite ridges with diameters of 2–4 km have been identified in the NE margin of the Southern Permian Basin in Poland. The primary ridges reach heights of 80–120 m, and secondary ridges, <40 m in height, subdivide them into smaller cells ~1 km in diameter. The ridges were up to ~40% higher before the alteration of gypsum to anhydrite. Both seismic and gravity surveys indicate the presence of similar structures over an area of thousands of square kilometers. Two alternative hypotheses, gypsum diapirism and free water convection, are proposed to explain their formation.
rmacrostrat: An R package for accessing and retrieving data from the Macrostrat geological database
Authors: Jones Lewis A. , Dean Christopher D. , Gearty William , Allen Bethany J.
Published: October 2024

The geological record is a vast archive of information that provides the only empirical data about the evolution of the Earth. In recent years, concentrated efforts have been made to compile macrostratigraphic data into the online centralized database Macrostrat. Macrostrat is a global stratigraphic database containing information regarding surface and subsurface rock units and their respective ages, lithologies, geographic extents, and various other associated metadata. However, these raw data are currently directly accessible only through the Macrostrat application programming interface, which is a barrier to potential users that are less familiar with such services. This data accessibility hurdle currently prevents full capitalization of the value offered by Macrostrat, particularly its potential to improve understanding of the geological and biological evolution of the Earth. Here, we introduce rmacrostrat, an R package that interfaces with the Macrostrat database to access and retrieve a variety of geological, paleontological, and economic data directly into the R programming environment. In this article, we provide details about how the package can be installed, its implementation, and potential use cases. For the latter, we showcase how rmacrostrat can be used to visualize regional stratigraphic columns, produce regional geologic outcrop maps, and investigate temporal trends in macrostratigraphic units. We hope that this package will make geological data more readily accessible and in turn will facilitate new research utilizing Earth system data.
Supplemental Material: Generation of Cu-Au skarn mineralization by mafic magma recharge: Insights from the Bozymchak deposit in the Chatkal-Kurama region, Kyrgyzstan, West Tianshan
Authors: Zu Bo , al. et
Published: October 2024

Tables S1–S4.
Mitral-specific cardiac damage score (m-CDS) predicts risk of death in functional mitral regurgitation: a study from the National Echo Database of Australia
Authors: Moonen Avalon , Celermajer David S , Ng Martin KC , Strange Geoff , Playford David , Stewart Simon
Published: October 2024

Aims

We set out to explore associations between a ‘mitral-specific’ cardiac damage score (m-CDS) and survival outcomes in mitral regurgitation (MR) and compare the performance of the m-CDS and an ‘aortic-specific’ CDS (a-CDS) in patients with MR within the large National Echo Database of Australia.

Methods

Among 620 831 unique adults investigated with echocardiography, there were 17 658 individuals (3.1%) with moderate or greater functional MR (aged 76±13 years, 51% female) who met inclusion criteria. A randomly selected cohort of 5000 of these patients was used to test seven different CDS models for prediction of subsequent all-cause mortality during an average 3.8-year follow-up. The best-performing CDS model in thederivation cohortwas then applied to avalidation cohortof the remaining 12 658 individuals (aged 76±13 years, 51% female).

Results

The best-performing m-CDS model stratified the full cohort into Stage 0: control (1046 patients, 8%); Stage 1: left atrial damage (3416 patients, 27%); Stage 2: left ventricular damage (3352 patients, 26%); Stage 3: right ventricular damage (1551 patients, 12%) and Stage 4: pulmonary hypertension (3293 patients, 26%). Increasing m-CDS stage was consistently and incrementally associated with both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality at 1 year, 5 years and all-time and remained so after adjustment for increasing age and severity of MR, with a ~35% increase in mortality for each increase in CDS stage (p<0.001).

Conclusion

A m-CDS was robustly and incrementally associated with short-, medium- and long-term risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with functional MR in this large registry study.
Prognostic value of multimodality imaging in the contemporary management of cardiac sarcoidosis
Authors: Okafor Joseph , Azzu Alessia , Ahmed Raheel , Ohri Shreya , Wechalekar Kshama , Wells Athol U , Baksi John , Sharma Rakesh , Pennell Dudley J , Senior Roxy , Collins Peter , Luescher Thomas , Kouranos Vasilis , Khattar Raj
Published: October 2024

Background

Echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac18fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging play key roles in the diagnosis and management of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), but the relative value of each modality in predicting outcomes has yet to be determined. This study sought to determine the prognostic importance of multimodality imaging data over and above demographic characteristics and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods

Consecutive patients newly diagnosed with CS were included. Parameters evaluated included echocardiographic regional wall motion abnormality (RWMA), myocardial strain, LVEF, right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF), late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) extent, SUVmax and RV FDG uptake. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality and serious ventricular arrhythmia.

Results

The study population consisted of 208 patients with mean age of 55±13 years and LVEF of 55±12%. During a median follow-up period of 46 (IQR: 18–55) months, 14 patients died and 28 suffered serious ventricular arrhythmias. On multivariable analysis, RWMA (HR for RWMA presence 2.55, 95% CI 1.27 to 5.28, p=0.008), LGE extent (HR per 1% increase 1.02, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.04, p=0.018), RVEF (HR per 1% decrease 0.97, 95% CI 0.94 to 0.99, p=0.008) and RV FDG uptake (HR for RV FDG presence 2.48, 95% CI 1.15 to 5.33, p=0.020) were independent predictors of the primary endpoint, while LVEF was not predictive. The risk of adverse events was significantly greater in those with LGE extent ≥15% (HR for ≥15% presence 3.96, 95% CI 2.17 to 7.23, p<0.001).

Conclusion

In our CS population, RWMA, LGE extent, RVEF and RV FDG uptake were strong independent predictors of an adverse outcome. These findings offer an important insight into the key multimodality imaging parameters that may be used in a future risk stratification model of patients with CS.
Comparing matching prescriptions between pre-equilibrium and hydrodynamic models in high-energy nuclear collisions
Authors: Borghini Nicolas , Krupczak Renata , Roch Hendrik
Published: October 2024

State-of-the-art simulations of high-energy nuclear collisions rely on hybrid setups, involving in particular a pre-equilibrium stage to let the system evolve from a far-from-equilibrium initial condition towards a near-equilibrated state after which fluid dynamics can be applied meaningfully. A known issue is the mismatch between the equation of state in the fluid-dynamical evolution and the effective one in the previous stage, which leads to discontinuities at the interface between the two models. Here we introduce a new matching prescription at this interface, based on the entropy, and we compare it with the standard one relying on local energy conservation. We study the behavior of various quantities at the switching time between the models and investigate a number of final-state hadronic observables. For the latter, we show that they are not modified significantly by the choice of matching prescription, provided an appropriate normalization is chosen for the initial state. In turn, our approach reduces sizeably the ratio of bulk over thermodynamic pressure at the beginning of the fluid-dynamical stage.
Source detection in social networks under independent cascade model
Authors: Li Pei , Shu Li , Chen Wuyi , Li Pei , Yang Qiang
Published: October 2024

With the popularization of social networks, the source detection problem has attracted a lot of attention since rumors can spread widely in social networks in a short time. Some existing heuristic methods tend to choose the most influential user as the source, which may result in inaccurate results. Besides, some solutions based on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) are also proposed, where the key issue is to quantify the probability of a source activating a nonadjacent user. Although Monte Carlo method can be used to estimate this probability, it is extremely time-consuming for large-scale networks. To address this problem, we adopt the duplicate forwarding model to analyze the diffusion process in social networks, which is close to the independent cascade model. Then we calculate the probability that a user receives at least one message after a source generates a message, and use it to detect the source by adopting MLE. Besides, to make research cases more reasonable, we consider snapshots where at least two active users are observed after the diffusion process terminates. Then we need to adjust the likelihood estimation to get better results. Experimental results demonstrate that our method not only achieves better accuracy but also consumes less time than referenced methods. We believe the method proposed here offers valuable insights to solve the source detection problem in large-scale networks.
A polynomial pair invariant of alternating knots and links
Authors: Jabłonowski Michał
Published: October 2024

In this paper, we introduce an invariant of alternating knots and links (called here WRP), namely, a pair of integer polynomials associated with their two checkerboard planar graphs from their minimal diagram. We prove that the invariant is well-defined and give its values obtained from calculations for some knots in the tables. This invariant is strong enough to distinguish all knots in the tables with up to 10 crossings (including their mirror images). We compare the strength of the new invariant with classical invariants, including the three-variable Kauffman bracket.
Investigation of 164Dy(n,γ)165Dy reaction using an Am-Be neutron source facility
Authors: Bhat Prajna , Sharma Sathi , Negi Dinesh , Gopinathan Gayathri , Shet Sachin , Prajapati P. M.
Published: October 2024

The thermal neutron capture cross-section of [Formula: see text]Dy(n,[Formula: see text])[Formula: see text]Dy and half-life of [Formula: see text]Dy was determined using Neutron Activation Analysis technique. The Dy target has been irradiated by neutron using Am-Be neutron source at MCNS, MAHE, Manipal, India. Using HPGe detector, the gamma ray spectrum of the irradiated sample has been measured. The half-life of [Formula: see text]Dy was calculated to be [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]min. The neutron flux distribution data from the most recent study in Ref. 12 , based on the same Am-Be neutron source facility, have been used to calculate the thermal neutron cross-section of [Formula: see text]Dy. The thermal neutron capture cross-section is determined to be [Formula: see text] barns which is in good agreement with the recent measurement in Ref. 10 using neutron diffraction facility.
Research on Government Dynamic Strategies for Mining Technology Investment of Mineral Resource Enterprises
Authors: Wang Ning , Tan Deqing
Published: October 2024

As a large mineral resource consuming country, it is of great strategic significance to effectively improve the efficiency of China’s mineral resource exploitation and reduce the waste of exploitation to achieve sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine how governments can incentivize enterprises to invest in mining technology to improve mineral resource recovery rates under both process subsidy policy and outcome incentive policy, and to comparatively analyze which policy is more effective in increasing mineral resource enterprises’ investment in mining technology. We construct a differential game model of the government’s incentive policy for mining technology investment in mineral resource enterprise. The results show the following. (1) For mineral resources with low marginal returns, both process subsidy and outcome incentive policies can encourage the enterprise to increase investment in mining technology. (2) For scarce strategic resources, the process subsidy policy has a better incentive effect when the marginal returns of mineral resources are high, and the outcome incentive policy has a better incentive effect when the marginal returns are low. (3) Mineral resource enterprise has higher recovery rates under the process subsidy policy.
Rotational Speed Stability of Ram Air Turbine Under Aerodynamic Loads
Authors: Guo Xinrui , Jiang Jinhui
Published: October 2024

The Ram Air Turbine (RAT), an emergency device installed within the aircraft, is designed to supply essential power after the failure of all other power systems. However, the design and development of RAT face significant dynamic challenges, particularly the instability of turbine speed in high wind speed environments. Assuming constant blade design parameters and fixed operating conditions with unchanged aerodynamic loads, a stability study of the centrifugal speed governing mechanism within the RAT is conducted. First, a dynamic model of the RAT is established, and numerical simulations are carried out to examine the variations in turbine speed and blade pitch angle. Subsequently, the process of the speed governing mechanism transitioning from an equilibrium state to being disturbed by load fluctuations is linearly approximated, enabling its control system to be modeled, and the aerodynamic load characteristics based on the speed regulation principle are integrated. Additionally, a stability criterion for speed is proposed using the Routh–Hurwitz criterion. Various factors affecting the stability of the speed regulation system are explored based on the dynamic and control models. By analyzing the stability domain of the RAT under different parameters, the influence of speed regulation system parameters on speed stability is assessed, revealing underlying principles and patterns. The results demonstrate that optimizing the design parameters of damping, springs, and centrifugal components in the mechanism significantly enhances the stability of the RAT speed governing mechanism, improving its adaptability to external aerodynamic load characteristics.
Breakthroughs in Seismic Isolation Technologies for Engineering Structures
Authors: Xu Gang , Guo Tong , Ni Xiang-Yong , Zhi Guo-Liang , Zhang Heng-Yuan , Dang Long-Ji
Published: October 2024

Seismic isolation technology has become a crucial element in enhancing the resilience of engineering structures against earthquake-induced forces. This paper provides a comprehensive review of current advancements in seismic isolation technologies, focusing on key categories: rubber isolation, friction isolation, rolling isolation, intelligent isolation, composite isolation, and other types of isolators. Each type is examined in detail, covering materials, device configurations, and structural performance under seismic loads. For example, Beijing Daxing International Airport, the world’s largest single isolated building, uses 1 152 bearings and 160 dampers to enhance seismic resilience. Bridges, such as the Benicia–Martinez Bridge in California, have adopted friction pendulum bearings to improve seismic performance while reducing construction costs. These case studies highlight the practical impact and effectiveness of seismic isolation across diverse engineering structures. The paper also delves into intelligent isolation systems, which incorporate adaptive control strategies to enhance seismic performance, and three-dimensional isolation systems, designed to address both horizontal and vertical seismic forces. The review concludes by discussing the challenges and future directions in the field, such as expanding 3D isolation applications. This review offers valuable insights into the evolution of seismic isolation technologies, advancing the current state of knowledge by providing a critical analysis of their performance, challenges, and future trends, ultimately guiding researchers and engineers toward more resilient structural solutions.
Large deviation for slow-fast McKean–Vlasov stochastic differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motions and Brownian motions
Authors: Wu Hao , Hu Junhao , Yuan Chenggui
Published: October 2024

In this paper, we consider slow-fast McKean–Vlasov stochastic differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motions with Hurst parameter [Formula: see text] and Brownian motions. We give a definition of the large deviation principle (LDP) on the product space related to fractional Brownian motion and Brownian motion, which is different from the traditional definition for LDP. Under some proper assumptions on coefficients, LDP is investigated for this type of equations by using the weak convergence method.
Gene regulatory network inference based on modified adaptive lasso
Authors: Li Chao , Huang Xiaoran , Luo Xiao , Lin Xiaohui
Published: October 2024

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) reveal the regulatory interactions among genes and provide a visual tool to explain biological processes. However, how to identify direct relations among genes from gene expression data in the case of high-dimensional and small samples is a critical challenge. In this paper, we proposed a new GRN inference method based on a modified adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (MALasso). MALasso expands the number of samples based on the distance correlation and defines a new weighting manner for adaptive lasso to remove false positive edges of the networks in the iterative process. Simulated data and gene expression data from DREAM challenge were used to validate the performance of the proposed method MALasso. The comparison results among MALasso, adaptive lasso and other six state-of-the-art methods show that MALasso outperformed the competition methods in AUROCC and AUPRC in most cases and had a better ability to distinguish direct edges from indirect ones. Hence, by modifying the adaptive weighting manner of adaptive lasso, MALasso can detect linear and nonlinear relations, remove the false positive edges and identify direct relations among genes more accurately.
Survey on Adversarial Attack and Defense for Medical Image Analysis: Methods and Challenges
Authors: Dong Junhao , Chen Junxi , Xie Xiaohua , Lai Jianhuang , Chen Hao
Published: October 2024

Deep learning techniques have achieved superior performance in computer-aided medical image analysis, yet they are still vulnerable to imperceptible adversarial attacks, resulting in potential misdiagnosis in clinical practice. Oppositely, recent years have also witnessed remarkable progress in defense against these tailored adversarial examples in deep medical diagnosis systems. In this exposition, we present a comprehensive survey on recent advances in adversarial attacks and defenses for medical image analysis with a systematic taxonomy in terms of the application scenario. We also provide a unified framework for different types of adversarial attack and defense methods in the context of medical image analysis. For a fair comparison, we establish a new benchmark for adversarially robust medical diagnosis models obtained by adversarial training under various scenarios. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey article that provides a thorough evaluation of adversarially robust medical diagnosis models. By analyzing qualitative and quantitative results, we conclude this survey with a detailed discussion of current challenges for adversarial attack and defense in medical image analysis systems to shed light on future research directions. Code is available on
GitHub
.
Head rotations follow those of a truncated Fick gimbal during an auditory-guided visual search task
Authors: McLachlan Glen , Lladó Pedro , Peremans Herbert
Published: October 2024

Understanding how humans utilize head movements during sound localization is crucial for the advancement of auditory perception models and improvement of practical applications like hearing aids and virtual reality systems. By analyzing head motion data from an auditory-guided visual search task, we concluded that findings from earlier studies on head movement can be generalized to audiovisual localization and, from this, proposed a simple model for head rotation that reduced the number of degrees of freedom.
Recombinant human plasma gelsolin suppresses persistent neuroinflammation and restores hippocampal neurogenesis in murine model of decompression sickness
Authors: Bhat Abid R. , Arya Awadhesh K. , Bhopale Veena M. , Imtiyaz Zuha , Thom Stephen R.
Published: October 2024

A decrease in plasma gelsolin levels and the release of inflammatory microparticles (MPs) occur in response to high pressure followed by decompression, with expression of filamentous (F)-actin leading to persistent neuroinflammation and functional deficits lasting at least 12 days. The infusion of recombinant human plasma gelsolin lyses these MPs in decompressed mice, thereby alleviating particle-associated neuronal dysfunction. Rhu-gelsolin infusion may be beneficial as a prophylactic or treatment for decompression sickness.
Engine Start‐Up Torque Coordinated Control for Multimode Hybrid Electric Vehicle Equipped With a Two‐Speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission
Authors: Li Chongchong , Zhou Changyu , Xiong Jiangyong , Li Xinying , Zhou Yazhou
Published: October 2024

A multimode hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) equipped with a dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) can be generally divided into pure electric mode with engine shutdown and hybrid mode with engine operation. Engine start‐stop control is the key to achieving a transition between these two modes. To address the issues of engine start‐up torque coordination control and torque interference, first, the start‐up requirements of DHT‐HEV engines in different driving scenarios are summarized, a multistage dynamic model for DHT‐HEV engine start‐up is established, and the key issues of engine start‐up torque coordination control are analyzed. Second, an engine start‐up torque coordinated control strategy with torque interference and parameter uncertainty is proposed, a robust model predictive controller (RMPC) is designed to adjust clutch pressure, a finite time disturbance observer (FTDO) is designed to obtain torque interference during the engine start‐up process, and a sliding mode observer (SMO) is designed to obtain vehicle driving resistance torque. Finally, a simulation and hardware‐in‐the‐loop (HIL) test are conducted to verify the performance of the relevant observers, torque coordination control, and interference compensation control during the engine start‐up process.