bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on the impact of hydrodynamic parameter design deviation on the motion performance of fully actuated AUV
Authors: Zhao Jian , Guo Jian
Published: October 2024

This study, based on the Simulink simulation platform, investigates the influence of hydrodynamic parameters on the navigation speed of fully actuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and conducts a sensitivity analysis of AUV motion performance to different design deviations in hydrodynamic parameters. The results show that the velocity of underwater motion in each direction exponentially decreases as the corresponding viscous drag coefficient increases while being less influenced by viscous drag coefficients in other directions. Additionally, the sensitivity of the viscous drag coefficient to the underwater motion of AUVs is much greater than that of the inertial drag coefficient.
Ultra-short term wind power prediction method based on LightGBM and transformer
Authors: Ma Yuzhi , Ji Yaowei , He Shan , Liu Xu , Huang Jiannan , Li Meixuan
Published: October 2024

Accurate ultra-short-term wind power prediction is very important for the safe and stable operation of the power system. At present, most wind power forecasting systems use numerical weather forecast data and the data collected by the Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. However, these data have the characteristics of high data dimension, feature redundancy, and feature correlation. Therefore, in the process of ultra-short power prediction, it is necessary to select features with high power correlation and low cross-correlation between features. In this paper, a feature selection method for wind power prediction based on LightGBM is proposed to calculate the importance of all features and determine the preliminary selected features. Then, the maximum information coefficient is used to construct the correlation discriminant matrix, according to which the features with similar importance in a single screening are evaluated, and the input features with high similarity are discarded. In addition, in order to improve the accuracy of the system’s wind power prediction, this paper uses the effective features extracted by LightGBM to design an ultra-short-term power prediction method based on Transformer. The results show that the RMSE of ultra-short-term wind power prediction is 7.3%.
Performance-based surveillance time delay parameters calculation methods and evaluation practice
Authors: Jin Kaiyan , Liu Wei , Xu Xia , Huo Haitao , Zeng Lingjun
Published: October 2024

ICAO introduced the Performance-Based Surveillance (PBS) framework in 2020 to define performance requirements for surveillance systems in various operational environments. PBS allows flexibility in considering different surveillance system designs or technologies, facilitating system improvement and deployment. Implementation of PBS technology can significantly enhance aviation safety, increase airspace capacity, optimize resource allocation, improve energy efficiency, and reduce emissions, aligning with global aviation goals. However, the evaluation of time-related parameters within the PBS framework poses challenges, as methods for evaluation are not included in the ICAO PBS manual. This paper explores theoretical methods, practical implementations, and data analysis regarding critical time-related parameters in China’s Air Traffic Management (ATM) system, namely HPMDA, PAMDA, IDMUD, and FSMUD. These methods have been accepted and included in the ICAO PBS manual.
A novel locally statistical active contour model for SAR image segmentation and faster algorithm
Authors: Liu Guangming , Liu Kai , Liu Qi , Liang Jing
Published: October 2024

In this paper, a novel locally statistical active contour model (LACM) based on the Aubert-Aujol (AA) denoising model and variational level set method is proposed, which can be used for SAR image segmentation with intensity inhomogeneity. By simple transformation, a fast segmentation algorithm with a global optimization solver can be obtained. Experiments using some challenging synthetic images and Envisat SAR images demonstrate the superiority of our proposed models with respect to classic models. Further, we can find that the structure of the proposed algorithm is the same as that of the Transformer or RNN. We will study the nature of the above two types of algorithms to propose a more effective segmentation algorithm based on the energy model.
Hysteresis in seasonal land-atmospheric interactions over India and its characteristics across croplands and forests
Authors: Khandare Ajinkya , Murtugudde Raghu , Karthikeyan L , Ghosh Subimal
Published: October 2024

Satellite-derived vegetation optical depth and soil moisture (SM) data reveal the critical role of the soil-vegetation continuum in storing rainwater during the Indian Summer Monsoon and supporting evapotranspiration (ET) during the dry non-monsoon season. During the non-monsoon drier period, the climatologically estimated spatial mean of ET exceeds precipitation input, a phenomenon known as the soil–vegetation capacitor effect, which is pivotal in maintaining ecosystem productivity. Notably, our analysis reveals significant variations in the capacitor period between croplands and forests, with croplands exhibiting a ∼77 d longer due to dual crop seasons influenced by regional precipitation. The well-recognized hysteresis curves, observed in magnetization and soil–water characteristic curves, highlight phenomena where a system’s state is influenced by its historical inputs or states and are integral to our findings. We report a previously undocumented seasonal hysteresis in the relationship between the evaporative fraction (EVF) and SM for Indian croplands and forests. We further found that the croplands SM-EVF relation exhibits a reversal in hysteresis in the case of root-zone SM. The surface SM-EVF hysteresis is not present in forests with large root depths and reduced soil evaporation due to high canopy shading, and yet it is present for the root-zone SM. With its reversal for croplands, the newly found hysteresis must be addressed in redefining the critical SM threshold to demarcate the energy and water-limiting regimes. It should be incorporated in the land surface modeling parameterization. Additionally, we observed hysteresis in the SM-gross primary productivity relationship across both land covers and soil profiles (surface and root-zone), underscoring the need to investigate such processes to consider their dynamics in future ecological and hydrological models.
Real-Time Object Detection and Tracking for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in Mining Operations Using Streamed CCTV Data
Authors: Azhari RS , Riza LS , Megasari R , Rizky BA , Murdowati CR
Published: October 2024

Occupational Safety and Health (OHS) is very important in the mining industry which is prone to accident risks. Automatic detection of violations through CCTV streaming with the concept of a perimeter area is needed to prevent accidents. The purpose of this research is to create a violation detection system without re-modeling training that can adapt to different objects and regions. The proposed violation detection model includes four computational steps, namely (i) data reading, (ii) data pre-processing, (iii) object detection, and (iv) object tracking and violation detection. The computer vision technique uses the SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) algorithm and heuristics implemented with OpenCV. We used five CCTV video recordings of mining operations as examples. The results showed an average precision of 61.14%, a precision of 80.41%, and a recall of 69.38%. The average computation time of the model is 0.3 seconds per frame with heuristics that allow the model to be used in real-time. The model can be widely used in various fields and locations without having to retrain the model to improve OHS in the mining industry and other sectors with similar risks. This study will contribute to the development of a flexible, fast, and real-time automatic detection system.
Energy Efficiency of Educational Buildings Through Envelope Design Based on Field Observations and Sefaira Simulation (Case Study: FIP B Building)
Authors: Arif Rafa Qinthara , Ramadhan Try
Published: October 2024

The dense activity in the FIP B Building makes energy optimization in the building very important because it will impact faculty operations. This research shows deficiencies in the design of the existing FIP B building, which can be corrected through a number of aspects of change based on field observation and Sefaira Simulation that can increase the building’s energy efficiency in the form of adding skylights, creating an atrium, and increasing the window-to-wall ratio. The value of increasing the efficiency of the new model compared to the existing one is known by the Sefaira energy performance simulation for both model envelopes. The results of the simulation show that the greatest increase in efficiency is in the use of AHU fans, the second is in AHU cooling, and the lowest is in interior lighting and equipment. However, lighting usage has the potential to be more efficient with the relatively improved daylight accessibility in the new design model. The overall annual energy use and EUI level in the new model are slightly more efficient than the existing model. The result of this study provides aspects of consideration in the architectural design of campus buildings with large masses.
Sustainable Architecture Implementation of Mosque in Indonesia (Case Study: Mosque Istiqlal, Jakarta)
Authors: Satriabhawana M T
Published: October 2024

In the context of global dynamics influenced by climate change and environmental sustainability awareness, the implementation of sustainable architecture becomes an urgent necessity in infrastructure development. Mosques, as centers of spiritual and social activities, play an undeniable role in responding to and facing these challenges. This research focuses on Mosque Istiqlal in Jakarta, a symbol of religious and national significance in Indonesia. Mosque Istiqlal, as a case study, becomes a crucial representation of efforts to integrate principles of sustainable architecture into religious buildings. To comprehensively analyze and understand the implementation of these principles, this research aims to detail how Istiqlal Mosque creates a functional and environmentally friendly built environment. By delving into the design and construction of Istiqlal Mosque, this study employs a qualitative descriptive method, involving document analysis, field observations, and interviews with architects and stakeholders. The research results are expected to provide profound insights into the positive contributions made by the implementation of sustainable architecture in the context of mosques and serve as a foundation for the development of more sustainable mosques in Indonesia in the future. With a focus on Mosque Istiqlal, this research is anticipated to offer valuable guidance for understanding and promoting sustainability in the spiritual and architectural aspects of religious buildings.
Community centre for sustainable communities in kampung kota: a literature review
Authors: Zahrah W , Nasution A D , Sembiring D A , Andalucia
Published: October 2024

Sustainable development’s basic principle requires a balance between Three Es: to meet economic, environmental, and social equity needs. This paper intends to outline how sustainable communities are supported, among other things, by community engagement, which is facilitated by community centres. Kampung kota (urban villages) are in the spotlight of discussion, considering that these spatial units are real and contribute to the urban community’s network, especially in Indonesia, but are often ignored in terms of priorities for physical and social development. The first part of this paper will explain the importance of community centres in forming community social capital. The second part describes the character of kampung kota community life. The third section analyses the potential and problems of community centres as a basis for sustainable community development in kampung kota.
Gender Dynamics in the Built Environment: A Study of Madurese Taneyan Lanjhang Houses
Authors: Bhanuwati S A D , Subroto R B G
Published: October 2024

Gender norms as a subset of societal norms are manifested in vernacular households. In some aspects, Madurese traditional houses (Taneyan Lanjhang) define spaces according to the domains of men and women. This division implies that roles assigned to men and women are closely tied to whether those activities take place in the public or private domain. The actual experience of women and men nowadays, however, is more complex. The aim of this study is to investigate the roles of men’s and women’s familial roles in shaping their dwellings as well as inhibition of domestic space within contemporary Taneyan Lanjhang homes. This study adopts a qualitative approach with empirical and descriptive methodology. The findings are derived from Taneyan Lanjhang houses in Alang-Alang Village, Bangkalan Regency, Madura through in-depth interviews to homeowners’ activities and alterations made to the house as well as visual observation. The results suggest that there are variations in how households implement gender structural roles. The community is more inclined to egalitarian distribution of roles and spaces. In certain areas traditionally expected to be occupied by either men or women, instances of overlap and blending are evident, suggesting that some gender roles are subject to interpretation, negotiation, and changes. A strict adherence to dichotomy of gender roles is proven to be not sustainable. This study contributes to the theoretical discussion of infrastructure and sustainability by examining how gender dynamics influence the design, utilisation, and sustainability of the built environment within Taneyan Lanjang community.
Innovative Approaches to Architectural Education: Metaverse Technology and Learning Resilience
Authors: Cininta Mutiara , Santy Delvita , Irmayasari Efy Tri
Published: October 2024

Amid the pandemic, learning architecture online has led to heightened stress and anxiety. To mitigate these challenges, a resilient learning model is imperative. Taking Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta (UAJY) as a case study, the paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on architecture learning, highlighting the challenge present in online architecture education. Recognising the need for resilience, the study suggests integrating virtual reality (VR) and metaverse technologies to enhance educational quality. It identifies substantial differences between online and virtual space learning, emphasising the necessity for specific design criteria in long-distance studio education. The research presents a mixed-method approach, utilising VR headsets for a prototype evaluation with five experts/lecturers and 20 architecture students. Quantitative data collected through the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and qualitative insights from structured interviews reveal positive effects of metaverse adoption on learning experiences, notably reducing stress and anxiety. The study concludes by proposing virtual space design criteria, serving as guidelines for creating more engaging, stimulating, and creative learning environments. These criteria align with Sustainable Development Goal 4, promoting increased ICT skills among youth and adults and showcasing the potential of technology in transforming architectural education amidst global challenges.
Giant piezoelectricity in antiferromagnetic CrS2 and CrSe2 monolayers
Authors: Liu Yang , Wang Wei , Liu Zexuan , Zhao Bingbing , Si Chen
Published: October 2024

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, particularly transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have garnered significant attention in the nanoscale piezoelectric field due to their high crystallinity and ability to withstand large strains. Through density-functional theory calculations, we have discovered that monolayer H-phase CrS2 and CrSe2 exhibit antiferromagnetic semiconducting properties, in contrast to the previously held belief that they were nonmagnetic (NM) semiconductors. While the piezoelectric coefficients of NM CrS2 and CrSe2 are comparable to those of MoS2, their antiferromagnetic ground states demonstrate significantly enhanced piezoelectric coefficients (

d

11

) of 27.66 pm V−1 and 52.36 pm V−1, respectively. These values exceed that of MoS2 by an order of magnitude, marking the highest recorded for TMD materials and the highest in 2D magnetic materials to date. The greatly enhanced piezoelectric responses in the antiferromagnetic states of CrS2 and CrSe2 compared to their NM states arise from three primary factors. Firstly, the displacement of the Wannier center under strain is more pronounced in the antiferromagnetic state, leading to a greater change in dipole moment (enhanced clamped-ion contribution). Secondly, there is a heightened polarization change due to internal atomic distortions (internal-strain term) in response to macroscopic strain in the antiferromagnetic state. Thirdly, the material undergoes a softening of the elastic coefficient in its antiferromagnetic state. These findings open new avenues for designing high-performance piezoelectric and magnetic multifunctional materials.
Significance of organic and inorganic fertilizers in maintaining soil fertility and increasing crop productivity in Ethiopia: a review
Authors: Wato Tamirat , Negash Tilahun , Andualem Alemu , Bitew Amare
Published: October 2024

Ethiopia’s economy has been significantly influenced by agriculture. However, it is unable to feed the nation’s expanding population. One of the most significant obstacles to improving food production in Ethiopia is the declining soil fertility. Various development measures, including the intensification of agriculture using contemporary agricultural technologies, have been implemented to enhance the underwhelming performance of agriculture. One of the contemporary agricultural technologies introduced into Ethiopian agriculture is fertilizer, which helps smallholder farmers produce more effectively. Although there was a focus on promoting the use of these newly introduced technologies, exploratory findings showed that many farmers did not do so. Hence, this study aimed to review the different effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil fertility and crop production, as well as their economic role in the country, specifically, the importance and value of organic and inorganic fertilizers, the significance of organic fertilizer application to enhance crop production, and the constraints of organic and inorganic fertilizers that affect farmers or users. Regarding soil health, balancing the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers can be beneficial for soil health and sustainable agriculture. Incorporating organic matter through composting and manure application improves soil structure and fertility over time, while judicious use of synthetic fertilizers can provide targeted nutrient supplementation when needed. Additionally, employing practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and soil conservation measures can further enhance soil health and minimize environmental impacts and as a result, it can optimize yields of crops.
Manufacturing strategies for highly sensitive and self-powered piezoelectric and triboelectric tactile sensors
Authors: Park Hyosik , Gbadam Gerald Selasie , Niu Simiao , Ryu Hanjun , Lee Ju-Hyuck
Published: October 2024

Piezoelectric and triboelectric effects are of growing interest for facilitating high-sensitivity and self-powered tactile sensor applications. The working principles of piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators provide strategies for enhancing output voltage signals to achieve high sensitivity. Increasing the piezoelectric constant and surface triboelectric charge density are key factors in this enhancement. Methods such as annealing processes, doping techniques, grain orientation controls, crystallinity controls, and composite structures can effectively enhance the piezoelectric constant. For increasing triboelectric output, surface plasma treatment, charge injection, microstructuring, control of dielectric constant, and structural modification are effective methods. The fabrication methods present significant opportunities in tactile sensor applications. This review article summarizes the overall piezoelectric and triboelectric fabrication processes from materials to device aspects. It highlights applications in pressure, touch, bending, texture, distance, and material recognition sensors. The conclusion section addresses challenges and research opportunities, such as limited flexibility, stretchability, decoupling from multi-stimuli, multifunctional sensors, and data processing.
Enhancing surface integrity of additively manufactured Inconel 718 through numerical modeling of hydrostatic ball burnishing parameters using TOPSIS and ANOVA
Authors: Vignesh Gopal , Oyyaravelu Ramachandran
Published: October 2024

Surface enhancement of laser powder bed fusion components is pivotal for their suitability in end-use applications. Hydrostatic ball burnishing, a mechanical surface hardening technique, induces compressive residual stress on the surface by the application of hydraulic force resulting in improved fatigue life of the material. This present study focuses on determining the optimum burnishing parameter combinations for better surface integrity (roughness, hardness, and residual stress) utilizing ANOVA and TOPSIS analysis. The cumulative performance score of the TOPSIS analysis states that the best parameter combination for Inconel 718 is found to be 300 bar pressure, 0.2 mm burnishing width, and feed 800 mm min−1. The adjusted R2 values of the ANOVA model for all three responses are 0.96, 0.93, and 0.94, confirming their close agreement with experimental results. With optimum parameters, the roughness decreased from 2.217 μm to 0.305 μm, Microhardness increased from 318 9HV to 475 9HV and residual stress was converted from tensile 216 MPa to Compressive −54 MPa demonstrating the significance of this process on surface enhancement.
Piezoelectric energy harvests by the usage of a laminar pulsating flow circulating in a rectangular channel
Authors: García-Mora L Alejandro , Méndez Federico
Published: October 2024

This work develops a theoretical study of a piezoelectric energy harvester, perturbed through a fully developed laminar flow with an oscillating pressure gradient. Considering a fully developed hydrodynamic flow, the electric energy generated in the piezoelectric element is due only to shear stresses yielded at the inner surfaces of the channel. In this manner, a fraction of the viscous forces is converted into unitary deformations at the piezoelectric, and the other fraction is transformed to induced electric piezoelectric energy. Using dimensionless analysis, the formulation of resulting dimensionless governing equations for the fluid and the corresponding deformation and electric potential fields for the piezoelectric material constitute a conjugate problem, solved by considering harmonic solutions. Although the dimensionless power output is a multi-parametric function, due to the large number of dimensionless parameters involved, we find that the main behavior of the electrical power depends very sensitively on two fundamental dimensionless parameters: the Womersley number, α, associated with the oscillating flow and a parameter that measures the physical importance of the electrical energy produced by the action of the velocity field. For the first case, it is seen that the power increases if the Womersley number is decreased while for the second case, the inverse behavior is predicted. Therefore, there is a clear operation of the physical system for which better conditions can be reached by selecting and varying appropriately the assumed values of different dimensionless parameters.
Enhanced deep learning-based water area segmentation for flood detection and monitoring
Authors: Pham Thang M , Do Nam , Bui Hanh T , Hoang Manh V
Published: October 2024

This study presents a hybrid architecture tailored for semantic segmentation challenges, mainly targeting the water area extraction for flood detection and monitoring. The model integrates an efficient transformer-based encoder, utilizing an efficient multi-head self-attention module for capturing hierarchical feature maps through a ‘downsample-upsample’ strategy. The proposed decoder architecture comprises one feature refinement head block and three CNN-based dual-branch context blocks. The convolutional block attention module is employed within the feature refinement head block to refine feature representation. The depth-wise separable atrous spatial pyramid pooling module is central to this architecture, facilitating efficient multi-scale contextual information capture. Compared to the state-of-the-art models, our model and the PSPNet model obtained the highest precision, recall, and F1-scores of above 80%, and mIoU surpassing 70%. The proposed method outperformed PSPNet in recall, F1-score, mIoU, and pixel accuracy, albeit with a slight deficit in precision. In terms of scale and efficiency, compared to the PSPNet model, our model has lower complexity and slightly higher inference speed, highlighting its effectiveness and efficiency in the water area segmentation for flood detection. The source code is available at https://github.com/manhhv87/mmsegmentation.git.
Optimal replacement of coal with wind and battery energy storage
Authors: Peng Jing , King Jennifer , Mathieu Johanna L
Published: October 2024

Electric utilities are considering replacing their coal power plants with renewables and energy storage to reduce emissions. However, they have also expressed concerns about operational changes and system reliability brought by these replacements. Utilities in remote rural areas face more challenges as they also face energy insecurity while having limited interconnections to wider systems and reliance on imported fuels. Therefore, it is critical for remote utilities to understand different coal replacement approaches and their impacts on system expansion, operation and energy security. In this paper, we define and investigate three approaches to replace coal using wind and batteries: (1) replacing exact coal generation, (2) replacing at least coal generation, and (3) replacing total energy provided by coal. We develop a case study inspired by the small remote grid in Fairbanks, Alaska, which has a single limited interconnection with the grid south of it. We utilize a power system expansion and economic dispatch model that co-optimizes the capacities of wind and batteries required for each approach and the hourly dispatch of energy and reserves for one year. We further analyze the operational cost variability under fixed and fluctuating fuel prices. We find that replacing the exact coal generation requires minimal operational changes, but also significantly more wind and battery capacities. In contrast, replacing total energy provided by coal induces more cycling in other resources, challenging grids with limited flexibility-providing resources. However, replacing total energy provided by coal allows more generation variability in response to fuel price fluctuations, enhancing energy security.
Introduction
Authors: Newbery Samantha
Published: October 2024

The Introduction highlights the issues that are central to the book. First and foremost is the apparent tension between using informers to collect intelligence for counter-terrorism and the need to uphold the law by arresting, charging, and prosecuting such individuals for the offences they commit in order to access that intelligence. ‘Terrorist informers’—a term adopted by this book—and ‘intelligence’ are defined in this Introduction. Next, the security and intelligence agencies involved in ‘the troubles’ are introduced, comprising the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, a number of units within the British armed forces, and the Security Service (MI5). The wide variety of sources used for the book are also evaluated here. Finally, an outline of the structure of the book is provided along with a summary of its findings.
Agent Stakeknife
Authors: Newbery Samantha
Published: October 2024

Agent Stakeknife was a terrorist informer active within the IRA for over a decade, a remarkably long period of time. His role within the IRA was to root out fellow informers. Agent Stakeknife is the subject of the first chapter because his is a case that raises many of the key issues seen throughout the rest of this book. These issues are: handlers’ knowledge of terrorist informers committing offences; the value assigned to protecting informers’ identities; the value placed on protecting informers’ lives by reducing the chances of them being exposed as informers; protecting informers from prosecution for offences allegedly committed either in the course of their role as informers or outside of that; and retrospective investigations into these informers’ activities and therefore into the security and intelligence agencies that handled them.
Heated Debates
Authors: Newbery Samantha
Published: October 2024

The enactment of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 is the focus of this chapter. This Act put existing practices for authorising informers to commit offences onto a statutory footing. Parliamentary debates on the Bill were intense, hard-fought, and covered such pressing matters as human rights, justice, protecting the vulnerable, and equal application of the law. The implications for the principle of the rule of law—a key feature of a democratic state—may be large: this Act means that not only can informers be given permission to engage in criminal activity, but provided specified procedures are followed and the informer abides by the instructions given, there will be no repercussions for them. The Scottish Parliament voted not to pass the Bill at all, leaving it to come into force in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland only.
Obstructing and Accepting Criminal Investigations
Authors: Newbery Samantha
Published: October 2024

Chapter 12 addresses the three large-scale criminal investigations concerning terrorist informers. All three were led by senior police officers from English police forces. Appointing people from outside of Northern Ireland aimed to bring credibility to these investigations by lending them a degree of independence. It does, however, open the door for allegations that they did not understand the Northern Ireland context. The Stalker investigation, Stevens Inquiries, and the Operation Kenova investigation into Agent Stakeknife faced varying levels of cooperation in obtaining information from the security and intelligence agencies. Some successes were achieved in this respect, but all three suffered from the negative effects of secrecy surrounding intelligence.
Victorian Alphabet Books and the Education of the Eye
Authors: Hoffman A Robin
Published: October 2024

Victorian Alphabet Books and the Education of the Eye shows how the familiar genre went beyond mere reading instruction to offer nineteenth-century British writers, illustrators, and publishers a site for reflecting on literacy itself. This interdisciplinary study traces the ways that individuals throughout the Victorian era deployed alphabet books to promote visual literacy or oral culture as a vital complement to textual literacy. Their strategies ranged from puns and political allusions to elaborate designs that addressed adult audiences alongside or even instead of children. George Cruikshank, William Makepeace Thackeray, Henry Cole, and Edward Lear were key figures in the process of codifying and popularizing as well as reimagining the enduring format and its associations with childhood. This critical history pivots around the mid-1860s and 1870s, when the production of illustrated alphabet books exploded thanks to evolving printing technology and national education reform. A revolution in picture books, undergirded by laws assuring children’s access to schooling, enabled Walter Crane to develop alphabetical illustration from a utilitarian mid-century product into an aesthetically rich, yet accessibly priced, “education of the eye.” By contrast, Kate Greenaway, Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), and their publishers tended to leverage commercialized nostalgia against pedagogy. The latter trend culminated in satirical interpretations of the alphabet at the fin de siècle, including works by Rudyard Kipling and Hilaire Belloc that reflected growing ambivalence about industrialized print culture.
Mid-Century Alphabets and Waiting for the Revolution
Authors: Hoffman A Robin
Published: October 2024

“Chapter 2: Mid-Century Alphabets and Waiting for the Revolution” follows the illustrated alphabet into Victorian print culture of the 1840s by focusing on the earliest issues of Punch and Henry Cole’s An Alphabet of Quadrupeds (1844). The periodical’s parodic nursery rhymes reinscribed textual literacy as a middle-class privilege while its “pictorial capitals” reflected a growing adult interest in elaborate alphabets and other neo-medieval visual forms, such as manuscript illumination. Design history shows complementary trends in print media marketed to children, and Henry Cole’s Home Treasury series of the 1840s and 1850s (which he published as “Felix Summerly”) reflects his instrumental role in reforming English art education. His Alphabet of Quadrupeds was, like the Great Exhibition that Cole helped organize, a vehicle for public instruction in the principles of good design. Through mid-century, the publishers of cheap toy books raced to develop color printing techniques to suit those evolving tastes.
Exposure to cooking fumes in cafeteria workers in Korean schools: a pilot study
Authors: Lim Daesung , Cho Yong Min
Published: October 2024

Objectives

This study measured cooking fumes to which workers in school cafeterias may be exposed.

Methods

The measurement items were respirable dust, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. A total of 111 samples were obtained from 55 schools. Data on variables such as school size and daily cooking oil usage were collected. Correlation and association analysis were performed.

Results

The median of concentrations of respirable dust was 38.37 µg/m3 (min–max: 20.73–49.71 µg/m3). The concentrations of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide also showed levels that did not exceed 20% for occupational exposure limits. The increase in school size was significantly correlated with the increase in daily cooking oil usage and had a significant correlation with respirable dust concentration (Spearman’s correlation coefficient, 0.36; P <0.05). The linear regression test results adjusting for other variables were also similar.

Conclusions

Cooking food by frying at high heat using cooking oil can increase the exposure of kitchen workers to respirable dust.
Two subtle problems with overrepresentation analysis
Authors: Ziemann Mark , Schroeter Barry , Bora Anusuiya
Published: October 2024

Motivation

Overrepresentation analysis (ORA) is used widely to assess the enrichment of functional categories in a gene list compared to a background list. ORA is therefore a critical method in the interpretation of ’omics data, relating gene lists to biological functions and themes. Although ORA is hugely popular, we and others have noticed two potentially undesired behaviours of some ORA tools. The first one we call the ‘background problem’, because it involves the software eliminating large numbers of genes from the background list if they are not annotated as belonging to any category. The second one we call the ‘false discovery rate problem’, because some tools underestimate the true number of parallel tests conducted.

Results

Here, we demonstrate the impact of these issues on several real RNA-seq datasets and use simulated RNA-seq data to quantify the impact of these problems. We show that the severity of these problems depends on the gene set library, the number of genes in the list, and the degree of noise in the dataset. These problems can be mitigated by changing packages/websites for ORA or by changing to another approach such as functional class scoring.

Availability and implementation

An R/Shiny tool has been provided at https://oratool.ziemann-lab.net/ and the supporting materials are available from Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/13823301).
k-nonical space: sketching with reverse complements
Authors: Marçais Guillaume , Elder C S , Kingsford Carl
Published: October 2024

Motivation

Sequences equivalent to their reverse complements (i.e. double-stranded DNA) have no analogue in text analysis and non-biological string algorithms. Despite this striking difference, algorithms designed for computational biology (e.g. sketching algorithms) are designed and tested in the same way as classical string algorithms. Then, as a post-processing step, these algorithms are adapted to work with genomic sequences by folding a k-mer and its reverse complement into a single sequence: The canonical representation (k-nonical space).

Results

The effect of using the canonical representation with sketching methods is understudied and not understood. As a first step, we use context-free sketching methods to illustrate the potentially detrimental effects of using canonical k-mers with string algorithms not designed to accommodate for them. In particular, we show that large stretches of the genome (“sketching deserts”) are undersampled or entirely skipped by context-free sketching methods, effectively making these genomic regions invisible to subsequent algorithms using these sketches. We provide empirical data showing these effects and develop a theoretical framework explaining the appearance of sketching deserts. Finally, we propose two schemes to accommodate for these effects: (i) a new procedure that adapts existing sketching methods to k-nonical space and (ii) an optimization procedure to directly design new sketching methods for k-nonical space.

Availability and implementation

The code used in this analysis is available under a permissive license at https://github.com/Kingsford-Group/mdsscope.
Feasibility of ultra-low-activity 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in children
Authors: Wu Ha , Liu Guobing , Yu Haojun , Zheng Zhe , He Yibo , Shi Hongcheng
Published: October 2024

Objectives

To investigate the feasibility of paediatric 18F-FDG total-body PET/CT imaging with an ultra-low activity and explore an optimized acquisition time range.

Methods

A total of 38 paediatric patients were prospectively enrolled and underwent dynamic total-body PET/CT imaging using ultra-low 18F-FDG activity (0.37 MBq/kg). The 60-minute list-mode raw data were acquired and then reconstructed as static PET images by using 50-51, 50-52, 50-53, 50-54, 50-55, 50-58, 50-60, and 45-60 minutes data, which were noted as G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G8, G10, and G15, respectively. Image qualities were subjectively evaluated using the Likert scale and were objectively evaluated by the quantitative metrics including standard uptake value (SUV), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), target-to-background ratio (TBR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).

Results

The injected activity of FDG was 13.38 ± 5.68 MBq (4.40–28.16 MBq) and produced 0.58 ± 0.19 mSv (0.29–1.04 mSv) of effective dose. The inter-reader agreement of subjective image quality was excellent (kappa = 0.878; 95% CI, 0.845–0.910). The average scores of image quality for G1–G15 were 1.10 ± 0.20, 2.03 ± 0.26, 2.66 ± 0.35, 3.00 ± 0.27, 3.32 ± 0.34, 4.25 ± 0.30, 4.49 ± 0.36, and 4.70 ± 0.37, respectively. All image scores are above 3, and all lesions are detectable starting from G8. SNRs of backgrounds, TBRs, and CNRs were significant differences from the control group before G8 (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The image quality of the 8 min acquisition for paediatric 18F-FDG total-body PET/CT with an ultra-low activity could meet the diagnostic requirements.

Advances in knowledge

This study confirms the feasibility of ultra-low dose PET imaging in children, and its methods and findings may guide clinical practice. Paediatric patients will benefit from reduced radiation doses.
Duodenal compressions from non-superior mesentery artery structures in the same patient causing superior mesentery artery-like syndrome: a rare case report
Authors: Andour Hajar , Naggar Amine , Khatibi Wafae , Zahi Hiba , Imrani Kaoutar , Moatassim Billah Nabil , Nassar Itimade
Published: October 2024

Superior mesentery artery (SMA)-like syndrome is an increasingly used term to describe vascular compression of the third duodenal portion between structures other than the superior mesenteric artery and aorta. Although rare, this clinical condition is as serious as true SMA syndrome and requires similar management. However, the diagnostic criteria are not well established yet and require a case-by-case analysis, including a review of various clinical symptoms, especially evolving ones, as well as radiological imaging and effectiveness of conservative therapeutic manoeuvres.

The presented case involves a double vascular compression in a 50-year-old woman with no medical history, one of which is between 2 venous structures. The patient had been experiencing recurrent abdominal pain, vomiting, and distension for a long time. Laboratory tests were normal, and gastroesophageal endoscopy revealed Barrett’s oesophagus. CT-enterography revealed 2 duodenal vascular compressions. Dietary measures were initiated with close follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in the world literature and adds to the existing body of SMA-like syndromes.
Coronary stent imaging in photon counting computed tomography: improved imaging of in-stent stenoses in a phantom with optimized reconstruction kernels
Authors: Michael Arwed Elias , Schoenbeck Denise , Becker-Assmann Jendrik , Haag Nina Pauline , Niehoff Julius Henning , Schmidt Bernhard , Panknin Christoph , Baer-Beck Matthias , Hickethier Tilman , Maintz David , Bunck Alexander C , Gertz Roman Johannes , Borggrefe Jan , Kroeger Jan Robert
Published: October 2024

Objectives

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is becoming increasingly important in the workup of coronary artery disease. Imaging of stents and in-stent stenoses remains a challenge. This work investigates the assessability of in-stent stenoses in photon counting CT (PCCT) using ultra-high-resolution (UHR) imaging and optimized reconstruction kernels.

Methods

In an established phantom, 6 stents with inserted hypodense stenoses were scanned in both standard resolution (SRM) and UHR in a clinical PCCT scanner (NAEOTOM Alpha, Siemens Healthineers, Germany). Reconstructions were made both with the clinically established and optimized kernels. The visible stent lumen and the extent of stenosis were quantitatively measured and compared with the angiographic reference standard. Also, region-of-interest (ROI)-based measurements and a qualitative assessment of image quality were performed.

Results

The visible stent lumen and the extent of stenosis were measured more precisely in UHR compared to SRM (0.11 ± 0.19 vs 0.41 ± 0.22 mm, P < .001). The optimized kernel further improved the accuracy of the measurements and image quality in UHR (0.35 ± 0.23 vs 0.47 ± 0.19 mm, P < .001). Compared to angiography, stenoses were overestimated in PCCT, on average with an absolute difference of 18.20% ± 4.11%.

Conclusions

Photon counting CCTA allows improved imaging of in-stent stenoses in a phantom using UHR imaging and optimized kernels. These results support the use of UHR and optimized kernels in clinical practice and further studies.

Advances in knowledge

UHR imaging and optimized reconstruction kernels should be used in CCTA in the presence of cardiac stents.
Methylphenidate differentially alters corticostriatal connectivity after traumatic brain injury
Authors: Mallas Emma-Jane , De Simoni Sara , Jenkins Peter O , David Michael C B , Bourke Niall J , Sharp David J
Published: October 2024

Traumatic brain injury commonly impairs attention and executive function and disrupts the large-scale brain networks that support these cognitive functions. Abnormalities of functional connectivity are seen in corticostriatal networks, which are associated with executive dysfunction and damage to neuromodulatory catecholaminergic systems caused by head injury. Methylphenidate, a stimulant medication that increases extracellular dopamine and noradrenaline, can improve cognitive function following traumatic brain injury. In this experimental medicine add-on study to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we test whether administration of methylphenidate alters corticostriatal network function and influences drug response.

Forty-three moderate–severe traumatic brain injury patients received 0.3 mg/kg of methylphenidate or placebo twice a day in 2-week blocks. Twenty-eight patients were included in the neuropsychological and functional imaging analysis (four females, mean age 40.9 ± 12.7 years, range 20–65 years) and underwent functional MRI and neuropsychological assessment after each block. 123I-Ioflupane single-photon emission computed tomography dopamine transporter scans were performed, and specific binding ratios were extracted from caudate subdivisions. Functional connectivity and the relationship to cognition were compared between drug and placebo conditions.

Methylphenidate increased caudate to anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity compared with placebo and decreased connectivity from the caudate to the default mode network. Connectivity within the default mode network was also decreased by methylphenidate administration, and there was a significant relationship between caudate functional connectivity and dopamine transporter binding during methylphenidate administration. Methylphenidate significantly improved executive function in traumatic brain injury patients, and this was associated with alterations in the relationship between executive function and right anterior caudate functional connectivity. Functional connectivity is strengthened to brain regions, including the anterior cingulate, that are activated when attention is focused externally. These results show that methylphenidate alters caudate interactions with cortical brain networks involved in executive control. In contrast, caudate functional connectivity reduces to default mode network regions involved in internally focused attention and that deactivate during tasks that require externally focused attention. These results suggest that the beneficial cognitive effects of methylphenidate might be mediated through its impact on the caudate.

Methylphenidate differentially influences how the caudate interacts with large-scale functional brain networks that exhibit co-ordinated but distinct patterns of activity required for attentionally demanding tasks.