bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Metaheuristic Methodologies for Leakage Reduction and Energy Saving in Water Distribution Networks
Authors: Ferrarese G. , Medoukali D. , Mirauda D. , Malavasi S.
Published: May 2024

Metaheuristic methods have emerged as powerful tools for solving complex optimization problems in various domains, including the sustainability of water distribution systems. They provide efficient and effective solutions by mimicking natural processes and searching for the optimal option within a large solution space. Despite the existence of these methods in the water distribution field for several years, a direct comparison between the various proposed solutions often proves challenging, due to the different parameter definitions used by the authors. The present review presents the solutions proposed by a total of 36 research papers taken from the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases focusing on the application of metaheuristic methods for leakage reduction and energy saving in water distribution networks. The review is intended to facilitate comparative analysis among the solutions proposed by authors concerning key aspects of the optimization process. These aspects include the definition of the algorithm, the specification of the objective function, and the strategies employed for reducing the search space. The characteristics of the networks used as case studies by the reviewed papers are also presented to allow the reader to evaluate the applicability of the solutions to specific networks.
Impact of thermodynamics and kinetics on the carbon capture performance of the amine-based CO2 capture system
Authors: Kopac Turkan , Demirel Yaşar
Published: May 2024

Solvent-based CO2 capture is a commonly employed post-combustion technique in processes involving absorber-stripper columns. This study focused on computer simulations with equilibrium- and rate-based modeling of CO2 capture using the amine solvents 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), diethanolamine (DEA), and methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) and thermodynamic methods involving electrolyte NRTL models. The objective of this study was to understand the impacts of rate-based modeling, the type of amine, and thermodynamic methods on carbon capture. Within this study, the amine-based CO2 capture process from coal-power plant flue gas was studied using Aspen Plus modeling. Simulations were also conducted to determine the impact of thermodynamics and kinetics on the CO2 capture performance of the system. The results were analyzed on the basis of captured CO2 according to the solvents and models. The equilibrium approach was mostly invalid because of the oversimplified ideal stage assumptions through the column. The lowest carbon capture capacity was obtained with MDEA, while DEA yielded the best results. A sensitivity analysis with rate-based modeling showed the significant impact of the inlet CO2 composition. The amine-based CO2 capture process simulation included solution chemistry, electrolyte thermodynamics, rigorous transport property modeling, reaction kinetics, and rate-based multistage simulation, which could be applicable to different solvent systems.
Simhypo-sand: a simple hypoplastic model for granular materials and SPH implementation
Authors: Wang Shun , Fang Hong-jie , Kang Xuan , Li Dian-qing , Wu Wei
Published: May 2024

This paper introduces a new hypoplastic model characterized by a simple and elegant formulation. It requires only 7 material parameters to depict salient mechanical behaviors of granular materials. The numerical implementation employs an explicit integration method, enhanced by a best-fit stress correction algorithm in a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code. The performance of this model in capturing soil behavior across a range of scenarios is demonstrated by conducting various numerical tests, including triaxial and simple shear at low strain rates, as well as granular collapse, rigid penetration and landslide process at high strain rates.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health Care Experiences for Veterans Receiving VA Community Care from 2016 to 2021
Authors: Krishnamurthy Sudarshan , Li Yaming , Sileanu Florentina , Essien Utibe R. , Vanneman Megan E. , Mor Maria , Fine Michael J. , Thorpe Carolyn T. , Radomski Thomas , Suda Katie , Gellad Walid F. , Roberts Eric T.
Published: May 2024

Background

Prior research documented racial and ethnic disparities in health care experiences within the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Little is known about such differences in VA-funded community care programs, through which a growing number of Veterans receive health care. Community care is available to Veterans when care is not available through the VA, nearby, or in a timely manner.

Objective

To examine differences in Veterans’ experiences with VA-funded community care by race and ethnicity and assess changes in these experiences from 2016 to 2021.

Design

Observational analyses of Veterans’ ratings of community care experiences by self-reported race and ethnicity. We used linear and logistic regressions to estimate racial and ethnic differences in community care experiences, sequentially adjusting for demographic, health, insurance, and socioeconomic factors.

Participants

Respondents to the 2016–2021 VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients-Community Care Survey.

Measures

Care ratings in nine domains.

Key Results

The sample of 231,869 respondents included 24,306 Black Veterans (mean [SD] age 56.5 [12.9] years, 77.5% male) and 16,490 Hispanic Veterans (mean [SD] age 54.6 [15.9] years, 85.3% male). In adjusted analyses pooled across study years, Black and Hispanic Veterans reported significantly lower ratings than their White and non-Hispanic counterparts in five of nine domains (overall rating of community providers, scheduling a recent appointment, provider communication, non-appointment access, and billing), with adjusted differences ranging from − 0.04 to − 0.13 standard deviations (SDs) of domain scores. Black and Hispanic Veterans reported higher ratings with eligibility determination and scheduling initial appointments than their White and non-Hispanic counterparts, and Black Veterans reported higher ratings of care coordination, with adjusted differences of 0.05 to 0.21 SDs. Care ratings improved from 2016 to 2021, but differences between racial and ethnic groups persisted.

Conclusions

This study identified small but persistent racial and ethnic differences in Veterans’ experiences with VA-funded community care, with Black and Hispanic Veterans reporting lower ratings in five domains and, respectively, higher ratings in three and two domains. Interventions to improve Black and Hispanic Veterans’ patient experience could advance equity in VA community care.
Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) for Chinese populations in Australia
Authors: Bronio John Brianna , Si Lei , Lim David , Tang Clarice
Published: May 2024

Summary

The increased prevalence of osteoporosis among Chinese-speaking communities in Australia deemed it necessary to have a culturally appropriate tool for assessing knowledge. This study describes the cultural adaption of the validated Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT). The adapted tool is readable and understandable for diverse Chinese-speaking communities.

Purpose

With an expected increasing prevalence of osteoporosis among Chinese-speaking communities in Australia, a cross-culturally adapted questionnaire is necessary to assess knowledge levels among the group. We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) questionnaire for Chinese-speaking populations in Australia.

Methods

Cross-cultural adaptation guidelines were employed to culturally adapt the OKAT to simplified Chinese. This involved translation, revision, retroversion, and expert discussion before finalizing the Chinese version of OKAT. The participants were recruited through convenience sampling from a cohort of Chinese-speaking populations who attended a bone health promotion program. The adapted questionnaire was piloted with Chinese-speaking communities in the Greater Western Sydney area for face and content validity. The adapted questionnaire was compared with the original version for response agreement using Cohen’s kappa goodness of fit. The face validity of the adapted tool was analysed through a binary scale rating for readability and understandability.

Results

The cross-culturally adapted version of OKAT has a 71.8% total response agreement with the original version of OKAT. The cross-culturally adapted OKAT yielded higher total scores than the translated version. The cross-culturally adapted tool had a good face and content validity.

Conclusion

The cross-culturally adapted version of OKAT improves the overall readability and understandability of the questionnaire among Chinese-speaking populations in Australia.
Test-based behaviour model derivation and adaption to enable automated test case scheduling for automated production systems
Authors: Land Kathrin , Vogel-Heuser Birgit , Off Richard
Published: May 2024

Automated production systems require continuous maintenance and validation through regression tests after on-site changes. However, identifying change-affected system parts, selecting relevant test steps, and scheduling them time-efficiently are time-consuming for on-site test engineers, especially in legacy systems lacking updated documentation. This paper proposes an approach to record a system behaviour model during system testing based on the system’s sensor, actuator and internal variable values. The resulting behaviour model is expandable, covers non-deterministic behaviour, includes timing information, more precisely, timestamps, and is usable for test planning. The resulting model is subsequently used for test step derivation based on the system states to be tested and automated test case scheduling.
Adaptive data-driven subsampling for efficient neural network inference
Authors: Machidon Alina L. , Pejović Veljko
Published: May 2024

In this paper we present a novel data-driven subsampling method that can be seamlessly integrated into any neural network architecture to identify the most informative subset of samples within the original acquisition domain for a variety of tasks that rely on deep learning inference from sampled signals. In contrast to existing methods that require signal transformation into a sparse basis, expensive signal reconstruction as an intermediate step, and that can support a single predefined sampling rate only, our approach allows the sampling inference pipeline to adapt to multiple sampling rates directly in the original signal domain. The key innovations enabling such operation are a custom subsampling layer and a novel training mechanism. Through extensive experiments with four data sets and four different network architectures, our method demonstrates a simple yet powerful sampling strategy that allows the given network to be efficiently utilized at any given sampling rate, while the inference accuracy degrades smoothly and gradually as the sampling rate is reduced. Experimental comparison with state-of-the-art sparse sensing and learning techniques demonstrates competitive inference accuracy at different sampling rates, coupled with a significant improvement in computational efficiency, and the crucial ability to operate at arbitrary sampling rates without the need for retraining.
Evolution of Private Forest Owner’s Cooperation: A Bibliometric Network Analysis
Authors: Pezdevšek Malovrh Špela , Avdibegović Mersudin , Morelli Stefano , Paletto Alessandro
Published: May 2024

Forests play an important role in adapting to and mitigating the negative effects of climate change and environmental degradation through sustainable forest management. In Europe and North America, where private forest ownership dominates, private forest owners play a crucial role in achieving diverse policy objectives. Given the importance of private forest owner cooperation to support the sustainable management and the achievement of policy goals, this paper systematically reviewed the international scientific publication on private forest owners (PFOs) cooperation using bibliometric network analysis complemented with a literature review to examine the development over the last two decades (2000–2021) and to determine where the trend of the research has been heading. The analysis provided a general overview of PFOs cooperation and focus more specifically on two main aspects of PFOs cooperation: “Reasons for joining forest owners’ organizations” and “Factors influencing PFOs cooperation”. The data was retrieved from the Scopus database and analysed using the VOSviewer software. The results showed that the number of publications on PFOs’ cooperation is more or less constant and that the most prolific authors’ institutions in this topic area come from the United States, Finland, Sweden and Germany. The keyword cluster analysis showed that there are three topic oriented clusters for both aspects of PFOs’ cooperation – “Reasons for joining forest owners’ organizations” and “Factors influencing PFOs cooperation”, while the trend of keywords showed a change in the perspective of PFOs’ cooperation over time: from cooperation for “timber production and supplying to the market” to cooperation for “multifunctional and sustainable forest management”, “biodiversity conservation” and “climate change mitigation”. The results also showed the influence of forest policy on PFOs cooperation.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HRQoL and Associated Risk Factors in Colorectal Cancer Survivors: With a Focus on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Authors: Han Claire J. , Tounkara Fode , Kalady Matthew F. , Noonan Anne M. , Paskett Electra D. , Von Ah Diane
Published: May 2024

Purpose

This study aimed to understand how health-related quality of life (HRQoL) differs by race/ethnicity in colorectal (CRC) survivors. We aimed to 1) examine racial/ethnic disparities in HRQoL, and 2) explore the roles of social determinants of health (SDOH) risk factors for HRQoL differ by racial/ethnic groups.

Methods

In 2,492 adult CRC survivors using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data (from 2014 to 2021, excluding 2015 due to the absence of CRC data), we used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HRQoL measure, categorized into “better” and “poor.” Multivariate logistic regressions with prevalence risk (PR) were employed for our primary analyses.

Results

Compared with non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) (PR = 0.61, p = .045) and Hispanics (PR = 0.32, p < .001) reported worse HRQoL in adjusted models. In adjusted models, unemployed/retired and low-income levels were common risk factors for worse HRQoL across all comparison groups (NHW, NHB, non-Hispanic other races, and Hispanics). Other SDOH associated with worse HRQoL include divorced/widowed/never married marital status (non-Hispanic other races and Hispanics), living in rural areas (NHW and NHB), and low education levels (NHB and Hispanics). Marital status, education, and employment status significantly interacted with race/ethnicity, with the strongest interaction between Hispanics and education (PR = 2.45, p = .045) in adjusted models.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the need for culturally tailored interventions targeting modifiable factors (e.g., social and financial supports, health literacy), specifically for socially vulnerable CRC survivors, to address the disparities in HRQoL among different racial/ethnic groups.
The Cultural Evolution of Games of Chance
Authors: Hong Ze
Published: May 2024

Chance-based gambling has been a recurrent cultural activity throughout history and across many diverse human societies. In this paper, I combine quantitative and qualitative data and present a cultural evolutionary framework to explain why the odds in games of chance in premodern China appeared “designed” to ensure a moderate yet favorable house advantage. This is especially intriguing since extensive research in the history of probability has shown that, prior to the development of probability theory, people had very limited understanding of the nature of random events and were generally disinclined to think mathematically about the frequency of their occurrence. I argue that games of chance in the context of gambling may have culturally evolved into their documented forms via a process of selective imitation and retention, and neither the customers nor the gambling houses understood the probability calculus involved in these games.
Link Brain-Wide Projectome to Neuronal Dynamics in the Mouse Brain
Authors: Li Xiang , Du Yun , Huang Jiang-Feng , Li Wen-Wei , Song Wei , Fan Ruo-Nan , Zhou Hua , Jiang Tao , Lu Chang-Geng , Guan Zhuang , Wang Xiao-Fei , Gong Hui , Li Xiang-Ning , Li Anan , Fu Ling , Sun Yan-Gang
Published: May 2024

Knowledge about the neuronal dynamics and the projectome are both essential for understanding how the neuronal network functions in concert. However, it remains challenging to obtain the neural activity and the brain-wide projectome for the same neurons, especially for neurons in subcortical brain regions. Here, by combining in vivo microscopy and high-definition fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography, we have developed strategies for mapping the brain-wide projectome of functionally relevant neurons in the somatosensory cortex, the dorsal hippocampus, and the substantia nigra pars compacta. More importantly, we also developed a strategy to achieve acquiring the neural dynamic and brain-wide projectome of the molecularly defined neuronal subtype. The strategies developed in this study solved the essential problem of linking brain-wide projectome to neuronal dynamics for neurons in subcortical structures and provided valuable approaches for understanding how the brain is functionally organized via intricate connectivity patterns.
Kulturen der Lebendigkeit in Kitas
Authors: Bilgi Oktay
Published: May 2024

Folgt man einschlägigen Diagnosen, ist das Aufwachsen junger Kinder vermehrt sozial-ökologischen Folgen der Klimakrise unterworfen. Die Erforschung der mit dieser Diagnose einhergehenden Transformationsbestrebungen in Handlungsfeldern der frühen Kindheit hat bislang den Schwerpunkt auf programmatische Aspekte der Wirksamkeit von Maßnahmen zur Umsetzung von Nachhaltigkeitszielen orientiert an den 17 SDGs gelegt. Für eine kindheitstheoretische Auseinandersetzung mit diesen sozialen, kulturellen, ethischen und ökologischen Herausforderungen der Klimakrise bieten internationale Forschungsarbeiten im Kontext des Posthumanismus bzw. Neomaterialismus und der Critical Phenomenology erste Anhaltspunkte. Anhand ausgewählter ethnografischer Forschungsergebnisse geht der Beitrag der Frage nach, welche Wahrnehmungen, welches Wissen und welche ethischen Relationen sich durch vielfältige Mensch-Tier-Beziehungen in der Kita herausbilden. Am Beispiel einer Geschichte der Kind-Huhn-Begegnungen wird untersucht, wie durch die Erfahrung von Tod und Trauer sowie von Freude, Genuss und Verbundenheit Kulturen der Lebendigkeit entstehen, die Möglichkeiten eines Lernens miteinander zu leben eröffnen.
Stepping Up Summer Fun: the Cancer Research – Scholarship and Training Experience in Population Sciences (C-STEPS) Program
Authors: Lynch Paige A. , Gillette Jennifer M. , Sheche Judith N. , Jaffe Shoshana Adler , Rodman Joseph , Cartwright Kate , Kano Miria , Mishra Shiraz I.
Published: May 2024

Over the last two decades, strides in cancer prevention, earlier detection, and novel treatments have reduced overall cancer mortality; however, cancer health disparities (CHD) persist among demographically diverse and intersecting populations. The development of a culturally responsive workforce trained in interdisciplinary, team-based science is a key strategy for addressing these cancer disparities. The Cancer Research – Scholarship and Training Experience in Population Sciences (C-STEPS) program at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is designed to increase and diversify the biomedical and behavioral research workforce by providing specialized and experiential curricula that highlight team-oriented cancer control and population science. Undergraduate students interested in CHD and in pursuing STEM-H (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health) graduate or professional degrees are eligible for the program. C-STEPS students are paired with a UNM faculty mentor, who guides the student’s 10-week summer research experience. They receive mentorship and support from three layers—faculty, near-peers (graduate students), and peers (undergraduates who have completed the C-STEPS program previously). Students generate five products, including a capstone presentation, grounded in the research they conduct with their faculty mentors. Since its founding in 2021, C-STEPS has trained three cohorts with a total of 32 students. The C-STEPS program provides a unique team-science approach with multilayer mentoring to create a sustainable pipeline for the development of students interested in STEM-H fields and CHD research. The capstone project led to 47% of students presenting their work at conferences, and two publishing their manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Overall, 89% of students were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the program and the same percentage recommended the program to other undergraduates.
Overdetermination, underdetermination, and epistemic granularity in the historical sciences
Authors: Malaterre Christophe
Published: May 2024

The optimism vs. pessimism debate about the historical sciences is often framed in terms of arguments about the relative importance of overdetermination vs. underdetermination of historical claims by available evidence. While the interplay between natural processes that create multiple traces of past events (thereby conducive of overdetermination) and processes that erase past information (whence underdetermination) cannot be ignored, I locate the root of the debate in the epistemic granularity, or intuitively the level of detail, that pervades any historical claim justification network. To reveal the role played by granularity, I elaborate a model of historical claim justification. This model maps out the different elements that enter the justification of historical claims (incl., actual and inferred states of affairs, dating and information reconstructing theories). It also incorporates the different types of processes that affect traces of past events (information creating, preserving, modifying, and destroying processes). Granularity is shown to play a pivotal role in all elements of this model, and thereby in the inferred justification of any historical claim. As a result, while upward or downward shifts in granularity may explain changes about claims being considered as overdetermined or underdetermined, epistemic granularity constitutes an integral part of evidential reasoning in the historical sciences (and possibly elsewhere).
Porous silicon and silica carriers for delivery of peptide therapeutics
Authors: Yan Jiachen , Siwakoti Prakriti , Shaw Siuli , Bose Sudeep , Kokil Ganesh , Kumeria Tushar
Published: May 2024

Peptides have gained tremendous popularity as biological therapeutic agents in recent years due to their favourable specificity, diversity of targets, well-established screening methods, ease of production, and lower cost. However, their poor physiological and storage stability, pharmacokinetics, and fast clearance have limited their clinical translation. Novel nanocarrier-based strategies have shown promise in overcoming these issues. In this direction, porous silicon (pSi) and mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been widely explored as potential carriers for the delivery of peptide therapeutics. These materials possess several advantages, including large surface areas, tunable pore sizes, and adjustable pore architectures, which make them attractive carriers for peptide delivery systems. In this review, we cover pSi and MSNs as drug carriers focusing on their use in peptide delivery. The review provides a brief overview of their fabrication, surface modification, and interesting properties that make them ideal peptide drug carriers. The review provides a systematic account of various studies that have utilised these unique porous carriers for peptide delivery describing significant in vitro and in vivo results. We have also provided a critical comparison of the two carriers in terms of their physicochemical properties and short-term and long-term biocompatibility. Lastly, we have concluded the review with our opinion of this field and identified key areas for future research for clinical translation of pSi and MSN-based peptide therapeutic formulations.

Graphical abstract
Brain targeted lactoferrin coated lipid nanocapsules for the combined effects of apocynin and lavender essential oil in PTZ induced seizures
Authors: Youssef Julie R. , Boraie Nabila A. , Ismail Fatma A. , Bakr Basant A. , Allam Eman A. , El-Moslemany Riham M.
Published: May 2024

Apocynin (APO) is a plant derived antioxidant exerting specific NADPH oxidase inhibitory action substantiating its neuroprotective effects in various CNS disorders, including epilepsy. Due to rapid elimination and poor bioavailability, treatment with APO is challenging. Correspondingly, novel APO-loaded lipid nanocapsules (APO-LNC) were formulated and coated with lactoferrin (LF-APO-LNC) to improve br ain targetability and prolong residence time. Lavender oil (LAV) was incorporated into LNC as a bioactive ingredient to act synergistically with APO in alleviating pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures. The optimized LF-APO-LAV/LNC showed a particle size 59.7 ± 4.5 nm with narrow distribution and 6.07 ± 1.6mV zeta potential) with high entrapment efficiency 92 ± 2.4% and sustained release (35% in 72 h). Following subcutaneous administration, LF-APO-LAV/LNC brought about ⁓twofold increase in plasma AUC and MRT compared to APO. A Log BB value of 0.2 ± 0.14 at 90 min reflects increased brain accumulation. In a PTZ-induced seizures rat model, LF-APO-LAV/LNC showed a Modified Racine score of 0.67 ± 0.47 with a significant increase in seizures latency and decrease in duration. Moreover, oxidant/antioxidant capacity and inflammatory markers levels in brain tissue were significantly improved. Histopathological and immunohistochemical assessment of brain tissue sections further supported these findings. The results suggest APO/LAV combination in LF-coated LNC as a promising approach to counteract seizures.

Graphical Abstract
Site-specific traffic modelling and simulation for a major Italian highway based on weigh-in-motion systems accounting for gross vehicle weight limitations
Authors: Ravichandran Nagavinothini , Losanno Daniele , Pecce Maria Rosaria , Parisi Fulvio
Published: May 2024

The present-day road traffic with the persistent change in the type and volume of vehicles needs to be specifically investigated for effective safety management of aging highway infrastructures. Actual traffic data can be implemented in refined procedures for stochastic simulation of road infrastructure performance, structural health monitoring (SHM), definition of weight limits on highways, and traffic-informed structural safety checks. While weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems had been widely used in many countries, their installation on Italian highways was mostly discussed and carried out only after the catastrophic collapse of the Polcevera bridge in 2018. This study presents a statistical data analysis, probabilistic models, and a simulation procedure for highway traffic, based on measurements of two WIM systems located along European route E45 close to Naples, Italy. Different limitations to maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) were enforced at the locations of the two WIM systems, according to the Italian road code and the Italian guidelines for risk classification, safety assessment and monitoring of existing bridges, respectively. WIM data sets were filtered to exclude erroneous traffic data and vehicle classes defined according to the number of axles and axle distance were statistically characterised, allowing the derivation of probabilistic models for all traffic parameters of interest. A simulation methodology to generate random traffic load from the WIM data is also presented for its possible use in probabilistic performance assessment and traffic informed SHM of road infrastructures such as bridges.
Logarithmically sparse symmetric matrices
Authors: Pavlov Dmitrii
Published: May 2024

A positive definite matrix is called logarithmically sparse if its matrix logarithm has many zero entries. Such matrices play a significant role in high-dimensional statistics and semidefinite optimization. In this paper, logarithmically sparse matrices are studied from the point of view of computational algebraic geometry: we present a formula for the dimension of the Zariski closure of a set of matrices with a given logarithmic sparsity pattern, give a degree bound for this variety and develop implicitization algorithms that allow to find its defining equations. We illustrate our approach with numerous examples.
ONECUT2 is a druggable driver of luminal to basal breast cancer plasticity
Authors: Zamora Irene , Gutiérrez Mirian , Pascual Alex , Pajares María J. , Barajas Miguel , Perez Lillian M. , You Sungyong , Knudsen Beatrice S. , Freeman Michael R. , Encío Ignacio J. , Rotinen Mirja
Published: May 2024

Purpose

Tumor heterogeneity complicates patient treatment and can be due to transitioning of cancer cells across phenotypic cell states. This process is associated with the acquisition of independence from an oncogenic driver, such as the estrogen receptor (ER) in breast cancer (BC), resulting in tumor progression, therapeutic failure and metastatic spread. The transcription factor ONECUT2 (OC2) has been shown to be a master regulator protein of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) tumors that promotes lineage plasticity to a drug-resistant neuroendocrine (NEPC) phenotype. Here, we investigate the role of OC2 in the dynamic conversion between different molecular subtypes in BC.

Methods

We analyze OC2 expression and clinical significance in BC using public databases and immunohistochemical staining. In vitro, we perform RNA-Seq, RT-qPCR and western-blot after OC2 enforced expression. We also assess cellular effects of OC2 silencing and inhibition with a drug-like small molecule in vitro and in vivo.

Results

OC2 is highly expressed in a substantial subset of hormone receptor negative human BC tumors and tamoxifen-resistant models, and is associated with poor clinical outcome, lymph node metastasis and heightened clinical stage. OC2 inhibits ER expression and activity, suppresses a gene expression program associated with luminal differentiation and activates a basal-like state at the gene expression level. We also show that OC2 is required for cell growth and survival in metastatic BC models and that it can be targeted with a small molecule inhibitor providing a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with OC2 active tumors.

Conclusions

The transcription factor OC2 is a driver of BC heterogeneity and a potential drug target in distinct cell states within the breast tumors.

Graphical Abstract
Development of a predictive model for the risk of microalbuminuria: comparison of 2 machine learning algorithms
Authors: Long Wenyan , Wang Xiaohua , Lu Liqin , Wei Zhengang , Yang Jijin
Published: May 2024

Purpose

To identify the independent risk variables that contribute to the emergence of microalbuminuria(MAU) in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), to develop two different prediction models, and to show the order of importance of the factors in the better prediction model combined with a SHAP(Shapley Additive exPlanations) plot.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of data from 981 patients with T2DM from March 2021 to March 2023. This dataset included socio-demographic characteristics, disease attributes, and clinical biochemical indicators. After preprocessing and variable screening, the dataset was randomly divided into training and testing sets at a 7:3 ratio. To address class imbalance, the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) was applied to balance the training set. Subsequently, prediction models for MAU were constructed using two algorithms: Random Forest and BP neural network. The performance of these models was evaluated using k-fold cross-validation (k = 5), and metrics such as the area under the ROC curve (AUC), accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F1 score were utilized for assessment.

Results

The final variables selected through multifactorial logistic regression analysis were age, BMI, stroke, diabetic retinopathy(DR), diabetic peripheral vascular disease (DPVD), 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), LDL cholesterol, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were used to construct the risk prediction models of Random Forest and BP neural network, respectively, and the Random Forest model demonstrated superior overall performance (AUC = 0.87, Accuracy = 0.80, Precision = 0.79, Recall = 0.84, Specificity = 0.76, F1 Score = 0.81). The SHAP feature matrix plot revealed that HbA1c, NLR, and 25(OH)D were the three most significant factors in predicting the development of MAU in T2DM, with 25(OH)D acting as an independent protective factor.

Conclusion

Effective identification of MAU in T2DM, therapeutic strategies for controllable high-risk factors, and prevention or delay of diabetic kidney disease(DKD) can all be achieved with the help of the risk prediction model developed in this study.
Teaching Reading Skills to Individuals with Autism and/or Intellectual Disabilities Using Computer-Assisted Instruction: a Systematic Review
Authors: Kurzeja Olivia , Flynn Samantha , Grindle Corinna F. , Sutherland Daniel , Hastings Richard P.
Published: May 2024

Reading is an essential life skill that can lead to independence. However, many individuals with autism and/or intellectual disabilities find this skill difficult to acquire. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is one approach that combines recommended reading elements (e.g., phonics, fluency, and comprehension) with evidence-based teaching strategies to support the development of reading skills. The first aim of this systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42021253686) was to identify CAI reading programs and their effectiveness for individuals with autism and/or intellectual disability. A second aim was to evaluate the views and experiences of those with autism and/or intellectual disability, their teachers, and other stakeholders about CAI reading programs. Electronic searches of 7 databases identified a total of 3539 records for review, with 262 full-text articles evaluated, and 47 papers included in the review for data extraction and quality appraisal. The review identified both single-component and multicomponent CAI reading programs that were commercially available interventions (e.g., Headsprout©, ABRACADABRA) and bespoke interventions (e.g., personalized e-books). Thirty-four of the 47 studies reported positive outcomes in terms of effectiveness. However, the quality of these studies was often poor, and the description of the interventions was often limited (e.g., rationale for the intervention, who delivered it and how), leading to concerns about the rigor of the evidence base. Stakeholders’ views and experiences were reported in half of the evaluated studies. CAI reading programs were reported as enjoyable and easy to use. They were considered effective by the stakeholders. Further research is needed to develop and explore the effectiveness of CAI reading interventions using rigorous study designs, so that individuals with autism and/or intellectual disability can be provided with access to a wider range of evidence-based reading programs.
A blockchain-based hybrid encryption technique with anti-quantum signature for securing electronic health records
Authors: Alsubai Shtwai , Alqahtani Abdullah , Garg Harish , Sha Mohemmed , Gumaei Abdu
Published: May 2024

Electronic health records (EHRs) are important for the efficient management of healthcare data. However, Healthcare data travels across an open route, i.e., the Internet, making EHR security a difficult process to do. This puts healthcare data vulnerable to cyber assaults. A possible method for protecting EHRs is blockchain technology. In this work, we develop an EHR architecture based on blockchain, which ensures all stakeholder's safety and privacy. We analyze various security architectures used for EHRs and the standard encryption system is integrated with quantum computing (QC). To safeguard the conventional traditional encrypting system against quantum assaults, we provide a hybrid signature technique that combines the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and Dilithium within the anti-quantum lattice-based blind signature. Based on the difficulty of lattice problems over finite fields, Dilithium is a lattice-based signature method that is substantially safe against selected message assaults. The developed technique creates high entropy secret keys using the lattice basis delegation mechanism. The combination of ECDSA and Dilithium provides an efficient and secure signature system that is resilient to quantum attacks. The proposed scheme ensures that only authorized users with a defined role can use the database to access the data. We evaluate the efficiency of our scheme by comparing its performance to other state-of-the-art solutions in terms of transaction throughput, resource utilization, and communication cost. Results demonstrate that the developed technique outperforms the existing techniques in terms of efficiency and security.
Internationalization and individual firm performance: a resource-based view
Authors: Arbelo Antonio , Arbelo-Pérez Marta , Pérez-Gómez Pilar
Published: May 2024

This paper, through an analysis of the relationship between internationalization and a novel concept of performance at the firm level, sheds new light on this stream of literature, as our analysis presents a new approach by examining the internationalization-performance relationship at the firm level and arguing that this relationship is dependent on firm-specific assets. To test this argument, we use a sample of 267 manufacturing firms in Spain. We use a Bayesian stochastic frontier model with random coefficients to adequately capture the heterogeneity of resources across firms. The results reveal that the effect of internationalization on performance is heterogeneously distributed across firms. Finally, the strategic implications of these results for achieving a sustained competitive advantage by firms are discussed.
The Practicality of Using Generic Acoustical Equipment in Impedance Tube Design
Authors: Barzegar Mohammad , Davies Clive E.
Published: May 2024

The impedance tube method is commonly employed to measure the acoustical properties of materials, but commercial versions are prohibitively expensive for researchers lacking access to well-funded acoustical laboratories. A significant expense in traditional impedance tube setups is the pressure field microphones. This study explores the feasibility of using low-cost consumer-grade electret microphones, which are substantially cheaper than their pressure field counterparts. Our impedance tube design was validated and tested with high-cost pressure field microphones, contrasting it with electret microphones priced under one US dollar (USD). The findings reveal that the sound absorption coefficient can still be effectively and accurately measured using inexpensive microphones, subject to suitable signal conditioning and accurate microphone calibration. The trade-off is a slight loss of accuracy for the low-end frequency range of < 250 Hz.
Entropy-Conservative Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for the Shallow Water Equations with Uncertainty
Authors: Bender Janina , Öffner Philipp
Published: May 2024

In this paper, we develop an entropy-conservative discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for the shallow water (SW) equation with random inputs. One of the most popular methods for uncertainty quantification is the generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) approach which we consider in the following manuscript. We apply the stochastic Galerkin (SG) method to the stochastic SW equations. Using the SG approach in the stochastic hyperbolic SW system yields a purely deterministic system that is not necessarily hyperbolic anymore. The lack of the hyperbolicity leads to ill-posedness and stability issues in numerical simulations. By transforming the system using Roe variables, the hyperbolicity can be ensured and an entropy-entropy flux pair is known from a recent investigation by Gerster and Herty (Commun. Comput. Phys. 27(3): 639–671, 2020). We use this pair and determine a corresponding entropy flux potential. Then, we construct entropy conservative numerical two-point fluxes for this augmented system. By applying these new numerical fluxes in a nodal DG spectral element method (DGSEM) with flux differencing ansatz, we obtain a provable entropy conservative (dissipative) scheme. In numerical experiments, we validate our theoretical findings.
Mechanical and tribological properties of Ti1-xZrxB2 coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering on hot work steel
Authors: Cieniek Łukasz , Kopia Agnieszka , Kot Marcin , Cempura Grzegorz , Gruszczyński Adam , Kopyściański Mateusz , Smolik Jerzy , Kacprzyńska-Gołacka Joanna
Published: May 2024

Low fracture toughness is a common problem encountered by many researchers in the application of pure TiB2 coatings. To improve their properties, a convenient and useful method is the use of doping, so this study proposes the deposition of TiB2 enriched with Zr on a steel substrate. The objective of the research was to investigate the impact of Zr addition to TiB2 coatings on both their mechanical and tribological properties. Four coatings with varying compositions (pure TiB2; TiB2 doped with 3, 6, and 10 at.% Zr) were deposited using magnetron sputtering from TiB2 and Zr targets. The coating structures were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nanoindentation, scratch test, and ball-on-disk test were used to determine the mechanical and tribological properties. In most cases, only two factors have a significant impact on the mechanical and tribological properties of the Zr-doped coating. Firstly, a change in the preferred orientation of the coating from (102)(111) to (100) results in increased hardness and wear resistance. Secondly, a reduction in crystallite and column size enhances ductility and fracture toughness by impeding or altering the direction of crack propagation. Based on the study, one can conclude that the optimal Ti1-xZrxB2 properties were obtained for 6 at.% Zr content.
An optimal design method for magnetorheological fluid sealing structure for beam director using multi-objective optimizer
Authors: Shen Yurui , Li Weihua , Liu Xinhua , Deng Lei , Gołdasz Janusz , Kang Mingxia , Krolczyk Grzegorz , Li Zhixiong
Published: May 2024

For beam directors, tight optical path sealing and low rotational friction torque are critical aspects for the tracking and positioning performance. To maximize sealing pressure and minimize rotational friction torque, a magnetorheological fluid sealing (MRFS) structure design method based on multi-objective COOT (MOCOOT) algorithm optimizer was proposed in this work. The MOCOOT integrates archive, grid strategy, chaotic mapping strategy and COOT optimization algorithm. Firstly, the magnetic field strength of the sealing clearance was derived based on the equivalent magnetic circuit model, the sealing pressure formula of MRFS with pole teeth structures was established, and the friction torque model of MRFS based on Bingham equation was also developed. Then, according to the actual requirements of optical path sealing of beam directors, the constraint conditions of structure parameters were determined, and the optimization target model of sealing pressure and friction torque was constructed. As follows, a multi-objective version of COOT optimization algorithm, named MOCOOT, was proposed to optimize the structural parameters of MRFS structure. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified via pressure and rotating friction torque tests implemented on an established experimental platform.
Seedbed management, transplanting methods and irrigation regimes influence the growth, productivity and economics of summer rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Mondal Mousumi , Biswas Benukar , Garai Sourav , Jana Soujanya , Dey Saikat , Mandal Tanuj Kumar , Maitra Sagar , Skalicka Jitka , Skalicky Milan , Gaber Ahmed , Hossain Akbar
Published: May 2024

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi (winter) seasons of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 at the Central Research Farm under Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India, to study the effects of planting techniques, irrigation regimes, and nursery bed management on the growth, yield, nutrient dynamics, water productivity, and economics of summer rice (cv. Shatabdi) production. The experiment was performed in a strip-split plot design with twelve treatment combinations, which were replicated three times. The design consisted of two types of transplanted rice establishment methods (viz., puddled transplanted rice (PTR) and nonpuddled transplanted rice (NPTR)) allocated to the main plot, three irrigation regimes (three-day intervals; six-day intervals; nine-day intervals) allocated to the subplot, and two nursery bed management practices (conventional seedbed and improved seedbed) allocated to the subplot. Higher growth attributes, such as plant height, tiller count, biomass, and LAI, were found under nonpuddled conditions at the time of harvesting. Similarly, a three-day irrigation interval and improved seedlings led to better growth traits. The yield attributes and yield varied nonsignificantly among the crop establishment methods. However, the lowest irrigation intervals accounted for 53.78% and 43.02% greater grain yield than did the nine-day intervals in two consecutive years, respectively, and produced statistically similar yields with six-day intervals. The percentage of seedlings transplanted from improved seedbeds was 4.01 and 4.13% greater than that from conventional seedlings. A similar trend was observed for both input and irrigation water productivity, except that the nine-day irrigation interval resulted in significantly greater water productivity than did the other intervals. The treatment consisted of nonpuddled transplanted rice along with six six-day irrigation intervals and improved seedbed management, resulting in the highest net return and benefit:cost ratio due to the low production cost. Thus, it can be concluded that transplanting seedlings into nonpuddled soil from an improved seedbed with intermittent irrigation might be the most judicious and recommended in terms of productivity as well as profitability for summer rice production.