bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Variability in metabolites produced by Talaromyces pinophilus SPJ22 cultured on different substrates
Authors: Adelusi Oluwasola Abayomi , Gbashi Sefater , Adebiyi Janet Adeyinka , Makhuvele Rhulani , Adebo Oluwafemi Ayodeji , Aasa Adeola Oluwakemi , Targuma Sarem , Kah Glory , Njobeh Patrick Berka
Published: October 2022

Background

Several metabolites released by fungal species are an essential source of biologically active natural substances. Gas chromatography high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-HRTOF-MS) is one of the techniques used in profiling the metabolites produced by microorganisms, including Talaromyces pinophilus. However, there is limited information regarding differential substrates’ impacts on this fungal strain’s metabolite profiling. This study examined the metabolite profile of T. pinophilus strain SPJ22 cultured on three different media, including solid czapek yeast extract agar (CYA), malt extract agar (MEA) and potato dextrose agar (PDA) using GC-HRTOF-MS. The mycelia including the media were plugged and dissolved in 5 different organic solvents with varying polarities viz.: acetonitrile, dichloromethane, hexane, 80% methanol and water, and extracts analysed on GC-HRTOF-MS.

Results

The study revealed the presence of different classes of metabolites, such as fatty acids (2.13%), amides (4.26%), alkanes (34.04%), furan (2.13%), ketones (4.26%), alcohols (14.89%), aromatic compounds (6.38%), and other miscellaneous compounds (17.02%). Significant metabolites such as acetic acid, 9-octadecenamide, undecanoic acid methyl ester, hydrazine, hexadecane, nonadecane, eicosane, and other compounds reported in this study have been widely documented to have plant growth promoting, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and biofuel properties. Furthermore, T. pinophilus grown on PDA and MEA produced more than twice as many compounds as that grown on CYA.

Conclusion

Thus, our result showed that the production of essential metabolites from T. pinophilus is substrate dependent, with many of these metabolites known to have beneficial characteristics, and as such, this organism can be utilised as a sustainable and natural source for these useful organic molecules.
Strengthening surveillance in Ghana against public health emergencies of international concern
Authors: Adachi Motoi , Taniguchi Kiyosu , Hori Hiroki , Mizutani Taketoshi , Ishizaka Aya , Ishikawa Koichi , Matano Tetsuro , Opare David , Arhin Doris , Asiedu Franklin Bekoe , Ampofo William Kwabena , Yeboah Dorothy Manu , Koram Kwadwo Ansah , Anang Abraham Kwabena , Kiyono Hiroshi
Published: October 2022

Among western African countries, the Republic of Ghana has maintained an economic growth rate of 5% since the 1980s and is now categorized as a middle-income country. However, as with other developing countries, Ghana still has challenges in the effective implementation of surveillance for infectious diseases. Facing public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), it is crucial to establish a reliable sample transportation system to the referral laboratory. Previously, surveillance capacity in Ghana was limited based on Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, and therefore the “Surveillance and Laboratory Support for Emerging Pathogens of Public Health Importance in Ghana (SLEP)” was introduced to strengthen diarrhea surveillance. The SLEP project started with a sentinel diarrhea survey supported by SATREPS/JICA in collaboration with National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NHPRL) and Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medicine (NMIMR). The base-line survey revealed the limited capacity to detect diarrhea pathogens and to transfer samples from health centers to NHPRL. The involvement of private clinic/hospital facilities into the surveillance network is also crucial to strengthen surveillance in Ghana. The strong and interactive relationship between the two top referral laboratories, NHPRL under the Ministry of Health NMIMR and under the Ministry of Education, enables Ghana Health Services and is critical for the rapid response against PHEIC. In future, we hope that the outcome of the SLEP surveillance project could contribute to building a surveillance network with more timely investigation and transfer of samples to referral labs.
Molecular characterization of an Isaria fumosorosea (Wize) native strain, and its pathogenicity on Eublemma amabilis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Das Purnima , Borah Binita , Saikia Priyanka , Hazarika Lakshmi Kanta , Sharma K. K. , Mohanasundaram A. , Boro Robin Chandra , Kalita Ratna , Gautom Trishnamoni
Published: October 2022

Background

Eublemma amabilis Moore (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest of lac insect, Kerria spp. (Hemiptera: Tachardiidae: Coccoidea) causing up to 20–25% damage of lac and its encrustation, which has immense industrial utilities. Extensive field monitoring in Regional Lac Insect Field Gene Bank (RLIFGB) resulted in collection of a large number of naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) infected insect cadavers on the lac encrustation of host plant, Flemingia semialata. Pathogenicity test under laboratory conditions showed its efficacy on E. amabilis larvae. Molecular characterization of this EPF by 18S rDNA identified it as Isaria fumosorosea (Wize) (accession number, MH414514.1).

Results

Being a potent EPF, biological parameters viz., conidial density and sporulation were determined and its pathogenicity were evaluated against eggs, larvae and pupae of E. amabilis at different spore dilution under laboratory conditions. The highest mortality rates of larvae and pupae (96 & 72%) and (88 & 72%) were recorded at 107spore/ml both in dipping and spraying methods, respectively. The egg mortality, however, was recorded as 40 and 35% for both methods, respectively, at 107spore/ml, which was significantly lower than other stages of E. amabilis. Field study at (107 spore/ml) recorded 81.18, 59.41 and 76.36% mean population reductions over control during monsoon 2019, winter 2019–2020 and summer 2020, respectively. Biosafety analysis of the native EPF on productivity linked parameters of lac insect was found to be safe suggesting that the native Isaria fumosorosea (MH414514.1) strain, reported first from Assam.

Conclusions

In this study, it was confirmed that the EPF I. fumosorosea can be offered as an effective microbial agent, alternate to insecticide against E. amabilis, either as a stand-alone strategy or in an integrated approach.
Neurodevelopmental disorders including intellectual disability: a clinical tool kit for mental health professionals
Authors: Biswas Asit B. , Casey Patricia
Published: October 2022

This editorial introduces the first of two special issues of BJPsych Advances on neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and epilepsy. This issue is intended to offer a clinical tool kit for mental health professionals giving guidance on assessment and management of these disorders and associated conditions, such as behaviours that challenge.
Rapid Response Team Activations in Oncologic Ambulatory Sites: Characteristics, Interventions, and Outcomes
Authors: Majeed Jibran , Chawla Sanjay , Bondar Ellen , Chimonas Susan , Martin Steven C. , O'Sullivan Maryellen , Jones Daryl
Published: October 2022

PURPOSE:

Patients with cancer are vulnerable to clinical deterioration. Rapid response teams (RRTs) identify and manage patients with acute changes in clinical status. Although RRTs have been well studied in the hospital setting, there are limited data on patients who require support in the ambulatory or outpatient oncologic settings. Describe baseline characteristics, reasons for activations, interventions, and outcomes of ambulatory oncologic patients receiving RRT activation in a tertiary cancer center.

METHODS:

We conducted a retrospective review of adult (age ≥ 18 years) patients requiring RRT activation at multiple ambulatory sites between July 2020 and June 2021. Demographic and clinical data captured include age, sex, race, ethnicity, do not resuscitate status, vital signs, receipt of active cancer treatment within 30 days, and cancer type. Using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportion hazard ratio regression models, outcomes of 90-day mortality and hospitalization were assessed.

RESULTS:

There were 322 RRT activations among 427,734 visits to 10 ambulatory sites (0.75 RRTs/1,000 visits). The most frequent reasons were syncope (25.2%), fall (24.5%), and adverse reaction to cancer therapy or intravenous contrast (16.5%). One hundred thirty-seven (42.5%) required transfer to an emergency department, of which 81 (59.1%) required hospital admission. At 90 days, 51 (15.8%) had died, with 44 (86.3%) receiving comfort measures. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazard ratio regression showed that heart rate > 100 at RRT presentation and hospitalization after a RRT event were significantly associated with 90-day mortality.

CONCLUSION:

Although uncommon, patients with cancer undergoing care at ambulatory sites can suffer acute clinical deterioration needing RRT review. The rates of hospitalization and mortality among such patients are high, suggesting the need for improved end-of-life care.
Approach to the Patient With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Belfort-DeAguiar Renata , Lomonaco Romina , Cusi Kenneth
Published: October 2022

Context

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), causing substantial burden from hepatic and extrahepatic complications. However, endocrinologists often follow people who are at the highest risk of its more severe form with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH (i.e., T2D or obesity with cardiometabolic risk factors). Endocrinologists are in a unique position to prevent cirrhosis in this population with early diagnosis and treatment.

Objective

This work aims to offer endocrinologists a practical approach for the management of patients with NAFLD, including diagnosis, fibrosis risk stratification, and referral to hepatologists.

Patients

(1) An asymptomatic patient with obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors, found to have hepatic steatosis; (2) a patient with T2D and NASH with clinically significant liver fibrosis; and (3) a liver transplant recipient with a history of NASH cirrhosis, with significant weight regain and with recurrent NAFLD on the transplanted organ.

Conclusion

NASH can be reversed with proper management of obesity and of T2D. While no agents are currently approved for the treatment of NASH, treatment should include lifestyle changes and a broader use of structured weight-loss programs, obesity pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. Diabetes medications such as pioglitazone and some glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists may also improve liver histology and cardiometabolic health. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and insulin may ameliorate steatosis, but their effect on steatohepatitis remains unclear. Awareness by endocrinologists about, establishing an early diagnosis of fibrosis (ie, FIB-4, liver elastography) in patients at high-risk of cirrhosis, long-term monitoring, and timely referral to the hepatologist are all critical to curve the looming epidemic of cirrhosis from NAFLD.
Aging Is Associated With Lower Neuroactive Steroids and Worsened Outcomes Following Cerebral Ischemia in Male Mice
Authors: Fernandez Neïké , Petit Anthony , Pianos Antoine , Haddad Léna , Schumacher Michael , Liere Philippe , Guennoun Rachida
Published: October 2022

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of disability and death, and aging is the main nonmodifiable risk factor. Following ischemia, neuroactive steroids have been shown to play a key role in cerebroprotection. Thus, brain steroid concentrations at the time of injury as well as their regulation after stroke are key factors to consider. Here, we investigated the effects of age and cerebral ischemia on steroid levels, behavioral outcomes, and neuronal degeneration in 3- and 18-month-old C57BL/6JRj male mice. Ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion for 1 hour followed by reperfusion (MCAO/R) and analyses were performed at 6 hours after MCAO. Extended steroid profiles established by gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry revealed that (1) brain and plasma concentrations of the main 5α-reduced metabolites of progesterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, and corticosterone were lower in old than in young mice; (2) after MCAO/R, brain concentrations of progesterone, 5α-dihydroprogesterone, and corticosterone increased in young mice; and (3) after MCAO/R, brain concentrations of 5α-reduced metabolites of progesterone, 3α5α-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, and 3β5α-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone were lower in old than in young mice. After ischemia, old mice showed increased sensori-motor deficits and more degenerating neurons in the striatum than young mice. Altogether, these findings strongly suggest that the decreased capacity of old mice to metabolize steroids toward the 5α-reduction pathway comparatively to young mice may contribute to the worsening of their stroke outcomes.
Assessment of Spinal Metastases Surgery Risk Stratification Tools in Breast Cancer by Molecular Subtype
Authors: Duvall Julia B. , Massaad Elie , Siraj Layla , Kiapour Ali , Connolly Ian , Hadzipasic Muhamed , Elsamadicy Aladine A. , Williamson Theresa , Shankar Ganesh M. , Schoenfeld Andrew J. , Fourman Mitchell S. , Shin John H.
Published: October 2022

BACKGROUND:

Breast cancer molecular features and modern therapies are not included in spine metastasis prediction algorithms.

OBJECTIVE:

To examine molecular differences and the impact of postoperative systemic therapy to improve prognosis prediction for spinal metastases surgery and aid surgical decision making.

METHODS:

This is a retrospective multi-institutional study of patients who underwent spine surgery for symptomatic breast cancer spine metastases from 2008 to 2021 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. We studied overall survival, stratified by breast cancer molecular subtype, and calculated hazard ratios (HRs) adjusting for demographics, tumor characteristics, treatments, and laboratory values. We tested the performance of established models (Tokuhashi, Bauer, Skeletal Oncology Research Group, New England Spinal Metastases Score) to predict and compare all-cause.

RESULTS:

A total of 98 patients surgically treated for breast cancer spine metastases were identified (100% female sex; median age, 56 years [IQR, 36-84 years]). The 1-year probabilities of survival for hormone receptor positive, hormone receptor positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+, and triple-negative breast cancer were 63% (45 of 71), 83% (10 of 12), 0% (0 of 3), and 12% (1 of 8), respectively (P < .001). Patients with triple-negative breast cancer had a higher proportion of visceral metastases, brain metastases, and poor physical activity at baseline. Postoperative chemotherapy and endocrine therapy were associated with prolonged survival. The Skeletal Oncology Research Group prognostic model had the highest discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.73-0.81]). The performance of all prognostic scores improved when preoperative molecular data and postoperative systemic treatment plans was considered.

CONCLUSION:

Spine metastases risk tools were able to predict prognosis at a significantly higher degree after accounting for molecular features which guide treatment response.
Cdk8 attenuates lipogenesis by inhibiting SREBP-dependent transcription in Drosophila
Authors: Li Xiao , Zhang Meng , Liu Mengmeng , Liu Tzu-Hao , Hemba-Waduge Rajitha-Udakara-Sampath , Ji Jun-Yuan
Published: October 2022

Fine-tuning of lipogenic gene expression is important for the maintenance of long-term homeostasis of intracellular lipids. The SREBP family of transcription factors are master regulators that control the transcription of lipogenic and cholesterogenic genes, but the mechanisms modulating SREBP-dependent transcription are still not fully understood. We previously reported that CDK8, a subunit of the transcription co-factor Mediator complex, phosphorylates SREBP at a conserved threonine residue. Here, using Drosophila as a model system, we observed that the phosphodeficient SREBP proteins (SREBP-Thr390Ala) were more stable and more potent in stimulating the expression of lipogenic genes and promoting lipogenesis in vivo than wild-type SREBP. In addition, starvation blocked the effects of wild-type SREBP-induced lipogenic gene transcription, whereas phosphodeficient SREBP was resistant to this effect. Furthermore, our biochemical analyses identified six highly conserved amino acid residues in the N-terminus disordered region of SREBP that are required for its interactions with both Cdk8 and the MED15 subunit of the small Mediator complex. These results support that the concerted actions of Cdk8 and MED15 are essential for the tight regulation of SREBP-dependent transcription.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Functional Outcomes Following Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Makker Preet G. S. , Koh Cherry E. , Ansari Nabila , Gonzaga Nicole , Bartyn Jenna , Solomon Michael , Steffens Daniel
Published: October 2022

Background

Pre-operative physical status and its association with post-operative surgical outcomes is poorly understood in patients with peritoneal malignancy who undergo cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The aims of this study were to determine the pre-operative physical function in patients having CRS-HIPEC and investigate the association between physical function and post-operative outcomes.

Patients and Methods

Patients undergoing CRS-HIPEC between 2017 and 2021 were recruited at a single quaternary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. The primary physical function measures were the 6-min walk test (6MWT) and the five-times sit to stand test (5STS). Data were collected pre-operatively and at post-operative day 10, and were analysed according to pre-operative patient characteristics and post-operative outcomes such as length of hospital stay (LOS) and complications.

Results

The cohort of patients that participated in functional assessments consisted of 234 patients, with a median age of 56 years. Patients having CRS-HIPEC performed worse on the 6MWT pre-operatively compared with the general Australian population (p < 0.001). Post-operatively, these patients experienced a further deterioration in 6MWT and 5STS performance and the degree of the post-operative decline in function was associated with post-operative morbidity. A higher level of pre-operative physical function was associated with shorter LOS and minor post-operative complications.

Conclusions

Patients who have undergone CRS-HIPEC were functionally impaired pre-operatively compared with the general population and experience a further deterioration of physical function post-operatively. A higher level of pre-operative physical function is associated with minor post-operative morbidity, which is highly relevant for pre-operative optimisation of patients with cancer.
Phase III Prospectively Randomized Trial of Perioperative 5-FU After Curative Resection for Colon Cancer: An Intergroup Trial of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (E1292)
Authors: Kemeny M. Margaret , Zhao Fengmin , Forastiere Arlene A. , Catalano Paul , Hamilton Stanley R. , Miedema Brent W. , Dawson Nancy A. , Weiner Louis M. , Smith Brian D. , Mason Bernard A. , Graziano Stephen L. , Gilman Paul B. , Venook Alan P. , Pinto Harlan A. , Whitehead Robert P. , O’Dwyer Peter J. , Benson Al B.
Published: October 2022

Background

Studies suggest that adjuvant chemotherapy should be initiated at the earliest possible time. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and Intergroup evaluated the effect of perioperative fluorouracil (5-FU) on overall survival (OS) for colon cancer.

Patients and Methods

This phase III trial randomized patients to receive continuous infusional 5-FU for 7 days starting within 24 h after curative resection (arm A) or no perioperative 5-FU (arm B). Patients with Dukes’ B3 and C disease received adjuvant chemotherapy per standard of care. The primary endpoint of the trial was overall survival in patients with Dukes’ B3 and C disease. The secondary objective was to determine whether a week of perioperative infusion would affect survival in patients with Dukes’ B2 colon cancer with no additional chemotherapy.

Results

From August 1993 to May 2000, 859 patients were enrolled and 855 randomized (arm A: 427; arm B: 428). The trial was terminated early due to slow accrual. The median follow-up is 15.4 years (0.03–20.3 years). Among patients with Dukes’ B3 and C disease, there was no statistically significant difference in OS [median 10.3 years (95% CI 8.4, 13.2) for perioperative chemotherapy and 9.3 years (95% CI 5.7, 12.3) for no perioperative therapy, one-sided log-rank p = 0.178, HR = 0.88 (95% CI 0.66, 1.16)] or disease-free survival (DFS). For patients with Dukes’ B2 disease, there was also no significant difference in OS (median 16.1 versus 12.9 years) or DFS. There was no difference between treatment arms in operative complications. One week of continuous infusion of 5-FU was tolerable; 18% of arm A patients experienced grade 3 or greater toxicity.
Your Place in the World: Relative Income and Global Inequality
Authors: Fehr Dietmar , Mollerstrom Johanna , Perez-Truglia Ricardo
Published: October 2022

Although there is abundant evidence on individual preferences for policies that reduce national inequality, there is very little evidence on preferences for policies addressing global inequality. To investigate the latter, we conducted a two-year, face-to-face survey experiment on a representative sample of Germans. We measure how individuals form perceptions of their ranks in the national and global income distributions and how these perceptions relate to their national and global policy preferences. We find that Germans systematically underestimate their true place in the world’s income distribution but that correcting those misperceptions does not affect their support for policies related to global inequality. (JEL D12, D31, D63, H23)
Reminders Work, but for Whom? Evidence from New York City Parking Ticket Recipients
Authors: Heffetz Ori , O’Donoghue Ted , Schneider Henry S.
Published: October 2022

We investigate heterogeneity in responsiveness to reminder letters among New York City parking ticket recipients. Using variation in the timing of letters, we find a strong aggregate response. But we find large differences across individuals: those with a low baseline propensity to respond to tickets—a natural nudge target—react least to letters. These low-response types, who incur significant late penalties, disproportionately come from already disadvantaged groups. They do react strongly to traditional, incentive-based interventions. We discuss how accounting for response heterogeneity might change one’s approach to policy and how one might use our analysis to target interventions at low-response types. (JEL D04, D12, D91, H71)
Mandatory Energy Efficiency Disclosure in Housing Markets
Authors: Myers Erica , Puller Steven L. , West Jeremy
Published: October 2022

Mandatory disclosure policies are implemented broadly despite sparse evidence that they improve market outcomes. We study the effects of requiring home sellers to provide buyers with certified audits of residential energy efficiency. Using similar nearby homes as a comparison group, we find that this requirement increases price premiums for energy efficiency and encourages energy-saving investments. We additionally present evidence highlighting the market failure—incomplete information by both buyers and sellers—that prevents widespread voluntary disclosure of energy efficiency in housing transactions. Our findings support that disclosure policies can improve market outcomes in settings with symmetrically incomplete information. (JEL D83, K32, L98, Q41, Q48, R31)
Can Nudges Increase Take-Up of the EITC? Evidence from Multiple Field Experiments
Authors: Linos Elizabeth , Prohofsky Allen , Ramesh Aparna , Rothstein Jesse , Unrath Matthew
Published: October 2022

The Earned Income Tax Credit distributes more than $60 billion to over 20 million low-income families annually. Nevertheless, an estimated one-fifth of eligible households do not claim it. We ran six preregistered, large-scale field experiments with 1 million observations to test whether “nudges” could increase EITC take-up. Despite varying the content, design, messenger, and mode of our messages, we find no evidence that they affected households’ likelihood of filing a tax return or claiming the credit. We conclude that even the most behaviorally informed low-touch outreach efforts cannot overcome the barriers faced by low-income households who do not file returns. (JEL C93, D91, H24, I38)
Case Report: A pericardial effusion secondary to cardiac desmoplastic small round cell tumor
Authors: Guevara Nehemias , Atallah Jane , Flores Chang Mailing , Epstein Steven , Lafaro Rocco , Fulger Ilmana
Published: October 2022

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive malignancy usually described in the abdomen and pelvis of adolescent males but rarely in the chest. A 71-year-old male presented with chest pain and was found to have pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade. He underwent pericardiocentesis and pericardial window. Pericardial fluid and cardiac biopsy results confirmed DSRCT. The patient received the P6 protocol with a good but brief response. He had multiple hospitalizations in the following months for pericardial fluid recollection. Repeat imaging showed mediastinal metastasis. He is currently undergoing second-line chemotherapy treatment. We describe a unique case of primary DSRCT invading the pericardium and myocardium and exhibiting extensive mediastinal metastasis. This is the fourth report of cardiac DSRCT in the literature.
Stationary Discounted and Ergodic Mean Field Games with Singular Controls
Authors: Cao Haoyang , Dianetti Jodi , Ferrari Giorgio
Published: October 2022

We study stationary mean field games with singular controls in which the representative player interacts with a long-time weighted average of the population through a discounted and ergodic performance criteria. This class of games finds natural applications in the context of optimal productivity expansion in dynamic oligopolies. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the mean field equilibria, which are completely characterized through nonlinear equations. Furthermore, we relate the mean field equilibria for the discounted and ergodic games by showing the validity of an Abelian limit. The latter also allows us to approximate Nash equilibria of—so far unexplored—symmetric N-player ergodic singular control games through the mean field equilibrium of the discounted game. Numerical examples finally illustrate in a case study the dependency of the mean field equilibria with respect to the parameters of the games.

Funding: The authors acknowledge financial support from the Alan Turing Institute and CMAP, École Polytechnique during this project. Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project-ID 317210226 – SFB 1283.
Exponential-Size Neighborhoods for the Pickup-and-Delivery Traveling Salesman Problem
Authors: Pacheco Toni , Martinelli Rafael , Subramanian Anand , Toffolo Túlio A. M. , Vidal Thibaut
Published: October 2022

Neighborhood search is a cornerstone of state-of-the-art traveling salesman and vehicle routing metaheuristics. Whereas neighborhood exploration procedures are well-developed for problems with individual services, their counterparts for one-to-one pickup-and-delivery problems are more scarcely studied. A direct extension of classic neighborhoods is often inefficient or complex because of the necessity of jointly considering service pairs. To circumvent these issues, we introduce major improvements to existing neighborhood searches for the pickup-and-delivery traveling salesman problem and new large neighborhoods. We show that the classic Relocate Pair neighborhood can be fully explored in [Formula: see text] instead of [Formula: see text] time. We adapt the 4-Opt and Balas–Simonetti neighborhoods to consider precedence constraints. Moreover, we introduce an exponential-size neighborhood called 2k-Opt, which includes all solutions generated by multiple nested 2-Opts and can be searched in [Formula: see text] time using dynamic programming. We conduct extensive computational experiments, highlighting the significant contribution of these new neighborhoods and speedup strategies within two classical metaheuristics. Notably, our approach permits us to repeatedly solve small pickup-and-delivery problem instances to optimality or near-optimality within milliseconds, and therefore, it represents a valuable tool for time-critical applications, such as meal delivery or mobility on demand.

Funding: This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [Grants 308528/2018-2, 315361/2020-4, 422470/2021-0], and Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro [Grants E-26/202.790/2019, E-26/201.417/2022, E-26/010.002232/2019].

Supplemental Material: The electronic companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.1176 .
The Place Of War In Marxist Analyses Of Primitive Accumulation
Authors: Egan Daniel
Published: October 2022

It has long been understood by Marxists, including Marx himself, that primitive accumulation was not limited to the historical origins of capitalism. Instead, extra-economic processes of capital accumulation continue to be relevant throughout the subsequent development of capitalism. An examination of the classic analyses of primitive accumulation made by Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg suggests that the most significant contemporary interpretation of the concept—David Harvey’s accumulation by dispossession—fails to properly account for the role played by war and military power in capital accumulation today. This is the product of both a problematic interpretation of Marx’s and Luxemburg’s analyses of primitive accumulation as well as a problematic interpretation of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. I argue that Marx and Luxemburg continue to offer a more fruitful foundation from which to address this question.
Socialist Political Economy With Chinese Characteristics And Research On The Chinese And Foreign Economies
Authors: Lu Xia , Ding Xiaoqin
Published: October 2022

In 2021, responding to changes in the world political and economic situation and basing itself on Marxist political economy, the New Marxian Economics Synthesis School led by Professor Enfu Cheng carried forward its traditions and forged ahead into the future. The school conducted active, in-depth research on how to uphold the integrity of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics and enrich it with new elements, putting forward a series of theoretical innovations in areas that include the ten essentials of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, its sources of innovation and logical starting point, the orientation of its practice, and so forth. Based on these theoretical innovations, many of the scholars who make up the school engaged in lively discussion on a range of focal issues of today’s Chinese economy, including common prosperity, the new “dual circulation” development pattern, artificial intelligence and the digital economy, the modernization of national governance and so on. In addition, they made searching criticisms of the financialization of the contemporary capitalist economy and of the new developments seen in liberalism and hegemonism since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. In sum, they recorded a long series of fruitful theoretical achievements.
A narrative review of teen mothers’ long-term outcomes: what birth cohort studies tell us
Authors: SmithBattle Lee , Flick Louise H.
Published: October 2022

Studies examining the relationship between young maternal age and maternal outcomes are often cross-sectional or short term. We review birth cohort studies that investigate life course outcomes of teen mothers past age 25. Strengths of birth cohort studies include a focus on a complete cohort, rather than a sample, and prospective data collection beginning before or at birth. Limitations are high cost, attrition and unmeasured background factors. Some 20 studies from six countries met study criteria. This narrative review describes how teenage mothers fare as adults, identifies factors that modify outcomes and examines whether outcomes reflect specific time periods or cohorts.

Childhood disadvantage was a greater marker of teen mothering in more recent cohorts, even in countries with strong social welfare programmes. The effects of young maternal age on all outcomes diminished when strong controls adjusted for selectivity into teen mothering.
Holographic reconstruction enhancement via unpaired image-to-image translation
Authors: Scherrer Romane , Quiniou Thomas , Jauffrais Thierry , Lemonnier Hugues , Bonnet Sophie , Selmaoui-Folcher Nazha
Published: October 2022

Digital holographic microscopy is an imaging process that encodes the
3D information of a sample into a single 2D hologram. The holographic
reconstruction that decodes the hologram is conventionally based on
the diffraction formula and involves various iterative steps in order
to recover the lost phase information of the hologram. In the past few
years, the deep-learning-based model has shown great potential to
perform holographic reconstruction directly on a single hologram.
However, preparing a large and high-quality dataset to train the
models remains a challenge, especially when the holographic
reconstruction images that serve as ground truth are difficult to
obtain and can have a deteriorated quality due to various
interferences of the imaging device. A cycle generative adversarial
network is first trained with unpaired brightfield microscope images
to restore the visual quality of the holographic reconstructions. The
enhanced holographic reconstructions then serve as ground truth for
the supervised learning of a U-Net that performs the holographic
reconstruction on a single hologram. The proposed method was evaluated
on plankton images and could also be applied to achieve
super-resolution or colorization of the holographic
reconstructions.
Distributed pH sensing based on hydrogel coated single mode fibers and optical frequency domain reflectometry
Authors: Yin Guolu , Xiao Hu , Zhou Hang , Zhu Tao
Published: October 2022

We propose a distributed pH sensor based on an optical frequency domain reflectometry using a PEGDA-based pH-sensitive hydrogel coated on a single mode fiber. The volume of hydrogel increased as pH value of the surrounding fluid decreased, which converts the pH value to the axial strain in the fiber. Taking capacity of distributed strain measurement with high spatial resolution in optical frequency domain reflectometry, the pH value of the external medium is distributed measured by the wavelength shifts of the local Rayleigh backscattering spectra. The basic hydrogel with different molecular weight was optimized to balance the sensitivity, the response time and also the stability. In the experiment, the range of the pH value from 2 to 6 was measured with a sampling resolution of 1.7 mm, a sensitivity of -199 pm/pH and a response time of 14 min when the hydrogel coating diameter is 2 mm. Such a distributed pH sensing system has a potential to detect and locate some chemical or biological substances in a large-scale environment.
Symbol-interleaved precoding technique for DDO-OFDM systems with the KK receiver
Authors: Liu Yi , Chen Ming , Gao Xu , Cheng Yun
Published: October 2022

Receiver sensitivity of direct-detection optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (DDO-OFDM) systems can be significantly improved by using the Kramers-Kronig (KK) receiver. However, the KK algorithm is sensitive to the high signal-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the OFDM signal, which may violate the minimum phase condition (MPC) and lead to severe signal distortions during the optical field reconstruction. Channel-independent discrete Fourier transform (DFT) precoding technique can efficiently reduce the PAPR and realize subcarrier signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) equalization, but the PAPR of the precoded signal will increase due to chromatic dispersion. Besides, the relevant researches exhibit that it is hard to accurately reconstruct the complex field from the sampled signals based on KK relation at the low carrier-to-signal power ratio (CSPR) even if the MPC is satisfied. To combat the signal distortions induced by the KK algorithm and improve the bit error rate (BER) performance, we propose and verify DFT/Walsh-Hadamard transform (WHT)-based precoding with a simple symbol-interleaving technique for DDO-OFDM transmission systems. In addition to PAPR reduction, the proposed technique can equalize both subcarrier and inter-symbol SNRs efficiently. The simulated results show that the BER performance can be improved by up to one order of magnitude at a CSPR of 6 dB after up to 1000km single-mode fiber transmission, compared to the conventional DFT precoding technique. It is expected that the proposed technique can be employed to improve the receiver sensitivity of medium-reach DDO-OFDM transmission systems with the KK receiver.
Expansion of a vertical effective viewing zone for an optical 360° holographic display
Authors: Wang Jun , Zhou Jie , Wu Yang , Lei Xiangli , Zhang Yuqi
Published: October 2022

Cylindrical holography, as a promising 360° display technology, has already attracted a lot of attention. In a previous study, an optical 360° cylindrical holography has been achieved in the visible spectrum using a planar spatial light modulator (SLM) and a 45° conical mirror. Although the 360° viewing zone is successfully achieved in the horizontal direction, in the previous study, the vertical viewing zone remains as narrow as the planar holography, and its expansion is not only necessary but also potential due to the waste of vertical viewing zone in application scenarios such as tabletop and ceiling. In this paper, we propose a method of expanding the vertical effective viewing zone for optical 360° holographic display by using a conical mirror with a base angle of less than 45°. The proposed method can expand the vertical effective viewing zone by shifting the wasted vertical viewing zone into an effective vertical viewing zone from the base to the top angle direction of the conical mirror, which is up to two times theoretically. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated by optical experiments. We believe that it would be promising in the field of augmented reality.
Fast virtual view synthesis for an 8K 3D light-field display based on cutoff-NeRF and 3D voxel rendering
Authors: Chen Shuo , Yan Binbin , Sang Xinzhu , Chen Duo , Wang Peng , Yang Zeyuan , Guo Xiao , Zhong Chongli
Published: October 2022

Three-dimensional (3D) light-field displays can provide an immersive visual experience, which has attracted significant attention. However, the generating of high-quality 3D light-field content in the real world is still a challenge because it is difficult to capture dense high-resolution viewpoints of the real world with the camera array. Novel view synthesis based on CNN can generate dense high-resolution viewpoints from sparse inputs but suffer from high-computational resource consumption, low rendering speed, and limited camera baseline. Here, a two-stage virtual view synthesis method based on cutoff-NeRF and 3D voxel rendering is presented, which can fast synthesize dense novel views with smooth parallax and 3D images with a resolution of 7680 × 4320 for the 3D light-field display. In the first stage, an image-based cutoff-NeRF is proposed to implicitly represent the distribution of scene content and improve the quality of the virtual view. In the second stage, a 3D voxel-based image rendering and coding algorithm is presented, which quantify the scene content distribution learned by cutoff-NeRF to render high-resolution virtual views fast and output high-resolution 3D images. Among them, a coarse-to-fine 3D voxel rendering method is proposed to improve the accuracy of voxel representation effectively. Furthermore, a 3D voxel-based off-axis pixel encoding method is proposed to speed up 3D image generation. Finally, a sparse views dataset is built by ourselves to analyze the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results demonstrate the method’s effectiveness, which can fast synthesize novel views and 3D images with high resolution in real 3D scenes and physical simulation environments. PSNR of the virtual view is about 29.75 dB, SSIM is about 0.88, and the synthetic 8K 3D image time is about 14.41s. We believe that our fast high-resolution virtual viewpoint synthesis method can effectively improve the application of 3D light field display.
E-, S-, C- and L-band coherent transmission with a multistage discrete Raman amplifier
Authors: Hazarika Pratim , Tan Mingming , Donodin Aleksandr , Noor Shabnam , Phillips Ian , Harper Paul , Stone Jeffery S. , Li Ming Jun , Forysiak Wladek
Published: October 2022

We report for the first time an ultra-wideband coherent (UWB) WDM transmission over a 70 km standard single mode fibre (SSMF) solely using a multistage discrete Raman amplifier (DRA) over the E-, S-, C- and L-bands of the optical window. The amplifier is based on a split-combine approach of spectral bands enabling signal amplification from 1410-1605 nm over an optical bandwidth of 195 nm (25.8 THz). The proposed amplifier was characterized with 143 channelized amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) dummy channels in the S-, C- and L-bands and 4 laser sources in the E-band (1410–1605 nm). The amplification results show an average gain of 14 dB and a maximum noise figure (NF) of 7.5 dB over the entire bandwidth. Coherent transmission with the proposed amplifier was performed using a 30 Gbaud PM-16-QAM channel coupled with the ASE channels over a 70 km SMF. The ultra-wideband transmission using the tailored multistage DRA shows transmission bandwidth of 195 nm with a maximum Q2 penalty of ∼4 dB in E- and S-band, and ∼2 dB in C- and L-band.
Photothermal effect in macroscopic optomechanical systems with an intracavity nonlinear optical crystal
Authors: Otabe Sotatsu , Komori Kentaro , Harada Ken-ichi , Suzuki Kaido , Michimura Yuta , Somiya Kentaro
Published: October 2022

Intracavity squeezing is a promising technique that may improve the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors and cool optomechanical oscillators to the ground state. However, the photothermal effect may modify the occurrence of optomechanical coupling due to the presence of a nonlinear optical crystal in an optical cavity. We propose a novel method to predict the influence of the photothermal effect by measuring the susceptibility of the optomechanical oscillator and identifying the net optical spring constant and photothermal absorption rate. Using this method, we succeeded in precisely estimating parameters related to even minor photothermal effects, which could not be measured using a previously developed method.
Multi-channel curvature sensor based on fiber bending loss wavelength and SPR
Authors: Wei Yong , Liu Chunbiao , Liu Chunlan , Shi Chen , Wang Rui , Wang Xingkai , Ren Zhuo , Ran Ze , Liu Zhihai , Zhang Yu
Published: October 2022

Fiber Bragg gratings and interferometric curvature sensors are easily disturbed by axial strain and temperature, and cascaded multi-channel curvature sensing is difficult. In this letter, a curvature sensor based on fiber bending loss wavelength and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) mechanism is proposed, which is insensitive to axial strain and temperature. In addition, fiber bending loss valley wavelength demodulation curvature improves the accuracy of bending loss intensity sensing. Experiments show that the bending loss valley of single-mode fiber with different cut-off wavelengths has different working bands which is combined with a plastic-clad multi-mode fiber SPR curvature sensor to realize a wavelength division multiplexing multi-channel curvature sensor. The bending loss valley wavelength sensitivity of single-mode fiber is 0.8474 nm/m-1, and the intensity sensitivity is 0.0036 a.u./m-1. The resonance valley wavelength sensitivity of the multi-mode fiber SPR curvature sensor is 0.3348 nm/m-1, and the intensity sensitivity is 0.0026 a.u./m-1. The proposed sensor is insensitive to temperature and strain, and the working band is controllable, which provides a new, to the best of our knowledge, solution for wavelength division multiplexing multi-channel fiber curvature sensing.
Multiscale and local engineering of speckle morphology through disordered media
Authors: Zhang Chunxu , Xin Yu , Zhu Xiaosheng
Published: October 2022

In this Letter, we prompt a novel, to the best of our knowledge, method based on transmission matrix decomposition with wavelets to engineer the speckle morphology behind disordered media. By analyzing the speckles in multiscale spaces, we experimentally realized multiscale and localized control on the speckle size, position-dependent spatial frequency, and global morphology by operating on the decomposition coefficients using different masks. Speckles with contrasting features in different parts of the fields can be generated in one step. Our experimental results demonstrate a high degree of flexibility in manipulating light in a customizable manner. This technique has stimulating prospects in correlation control and imaging under scattering conditions.
Ultra-short long-period fiber grating based on a micro air-channel structure
Authors: Chao Xiaowen , Wang D. N.
Published: October 2022

A new type of long-period fiber grating is proposed and demonstrated. The structure of the device consists of a few micro air-channels along a single-mode fiber, and is fabricated by using a femtosecond laser to inscribe a few groups of fiber inner waveguide arrays followed by hydrofluoric acid etching. The length of the long-period fiber grating is down to 600 µm, corresponding to only five grating periods. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest long-period fiber grating reported. The device has a good refractive index sensitivity of ∼587.08 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) in the refractive index range of 1.34–1.365 and a relatively small temperature sensitivity of ∼12.1 pm/°C, thus reducing the temperature cross-sensitivity. Such a device is expected to have promising photonic applications.
Tailoring the coherence–OAM matrices
Authors: Korotkova Olga , Pokharel Sushil , Gbur Greg
Published: October 2022

We establish a general framework for introducing novel, to the best of our knowledge, classes of beams possessing precisely tailored coherence–orbital angular momentum (COAM) matrices, with the help of Bochner’s theorem. The theory is illustrated by several examples relating to COAM matrices having a finite and infinite number of elements.
Experimental demonstration of a photonic convolutional accelerator based on a monolithically integrated multi-wavelength distributed feedback laser
Authors: Xu Zhenzhen , Tang Kaifei , Ji Xiang , Sun Zhenxing , Wang Yaguang , Hong Ziming , Dai Pan , Xiao Rulei , Shi Yuechun , Chen Xiangfei
Published: October 2022

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple and energy-efficient photonic convolutional accelerator based on a monolithically integrated multi-wavelength distributed feedback semiconductor laser using the superimposed sampled Bragg grating structure. The photonic convolutional accelerator operates at 44.48 GOPS for one 2 × 2 kernel with a convolutional window vertical sliding stride of 2 and generates 100 images of real-time recognition. Furthermore, a real-time recognition task on the MNIST database of handwritten digits with a prediction accuracy of 84% is achieved. This work provides a compact and low-cost way to realize photonic convolutional neural networks.