bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of a Combined Geothermal and Solar Heating System as a Renewable Energy Source in a Pig House and Estimation of Energy Consumption Using Artificial Intelligence-Based Prediction Model
Authors: Mun Hong-Seok , Dilawar Muhammad Ammar , Mahfuz Shad , Ampode Keiven Mark B. , Chem Veasna , Kim Young-Hwa , Moon Jong-Pil , Yang Chul-Ju
Published: October 2022

This experiment evaluated the performance of a combined geothermal heat pump and solar system (GHPS). A GHPS heating system was installed at a pig house and a comparative study was carried out between the environmentally friendly renewable energy source (GHPS) and the traditional heating method using fossil fuels. The impact of both heating systems on production performance, housing environment, noxious gas emission, and energy efficiency were evaluated along with the GHPS system performance parameters such as the coefficient of performance (COP), inlet and outlet water temperature and efficiency of solar collector. The average temperature inside the pig house was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the GHPS heating system. Similarly, the outflow temperature was increased significantly (p < 0.05) than the inflow temperature. The results of COP and efficiency of the solar system also indicated that the GHPS is an efficient heating system. The electricity consumption and carbon dioxide gas concentration were also reduced (p < 0.05) in the GHPS system. This study also predicts electricity consumption using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based model. The results showed that the proposed model justifies all the acceptance criteria in terms of the correlation coefficient, root mean square value and mean absolute error. The results of our experiment show that the GHPS system can be installed at a pig house for sustainable swine production as a renewable energy source.
The Effects of Preslaughter Electrical Stunning on Serum Cortisol and Meat Quality Parameters of a Slow-Growing Chinese Chicken Breed
Authors: Li Wenpeng , Yan Chao , Descovich Kris , Phillips Clive J. C. , Chen Yongyou , Huang Huijing , Wu Xuan , Liu Jian , Chen Siyu , Zhao Xingbo
Published: October 2022

Electrical stunning is widely utilized prior to a neck cut to induce unconsciousness in order to improve animal welfare and slaughter efficiency in the broiler production industry. However, slaughter without stunning is still very commonly used in China, in part because there is a belief that stunning reduces meat quality. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the physical (hemorrhages, pH, drip loss, and shear force) and chemical (inosinic monophosphate concentration and reducing sugar content) properties of broiler meat differed between chickens in preslaughter stunning and nonstunned slaughter groups, and whether the groups differed in their levels of cortisol as an indicator of stress. Serum cortisol levels of the nonstunned group were nearly twice as high as those in the stunned group (p < 0.05). Several meat quality indicators were better in the stunned group than in the nonstunned group. We concluded that electrical stunning prior to slaughter significantly decreases the stress caused by slaughter, resulting in both improved animal welfare and meat quality traits.
Effects of Feeding 5-Aminolevulinic Acid on Iron Status in Weaned Rats from the Female Rats during Gestation and Lactation
Authors: Li Junhui , Xie Yuhuai , Li Min , Zhang Shaotao , Cheng Qun , Yang Weiren
Published: October 2022

Using female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats as a model, the current study aimed to investigate whether feeding 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) to female SD rats during gestation and lactation can affect the iron status of weaned rats and provide new ideas for the iron supplementation of piglets. A total of 27 pregnant SD rats were randomly assigned to three treatments in nine replicates, with one rat per litter. Dietary treatments were basal diet (CON), CON + 50 mg/kg 5-ALA (5-ALA50), and CON + 100 mg/kg 5-ALA (5-ALA100). After parturition, ten pups in each litter (a total of 270) were selected for continued feeding by their corresponding mother, and the pregnant rats were fed diets containing 5-ALA (0, 50 and 100 mg/kg diet) until the newborn pups were weaned at 21 days. The results showed that the number of red blood cells (RBCs) in weaned rats in the 5-ALA100 group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the CON or 5-ALA50 group. The diet with 5-ALA significantly increased (p < 0.05) the hemoglobin (HGB) concentration, hematocrit (HCT) level, serum iron (SI) content, and transferrin saturation (TSAT) level in the blood of weaned rats, as well as the concentration of Hepcidin in the liver and serum of weaned rats and the expression of Hepcidin mRNA in the liver of weaned rats, with the 5-ALA100 group having the highest (p < 0.05) HGB concentration in the weaned rats, and the 5-ALA50 group having the highest (p < 0.05) Hepcidin concentration in serum and in the expression of Hepcidin mRNA in the liver of weaned rats. The other indicators between the 5-ALA groups had no effects. However, the level of total iron binding capacity (TIBC) was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the 5-ALA50 group. Moreover, the iron content in the liver of weaned rats fed with 5-ALA showed an upward trend (p = 0.085). In addition, feeding a 5-ALA-supplemented diet could also significantly reduce (p < 0.05) the expression of TfR1 mRNA in the liver of weaning rats (p < 0.05), and the expression of Tfr1 was not affected between 5-ALA groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 5-ALA could improve the blood parameters, increase the concentration of Hepcidin in the liver and serum, and affect the expression of iron-related genes in the liver of weaned rats. Moreover, it is appropriate to add 50 mg/kg 5-ALA to the diet under this condition.
Human–Wildlife Conflicts: Does Origin Matter?
Authors: Cassini Marcelo Hernán
Published: October 2022

Conservation biologists have divided wildlife in two antagonist categories—native and introduced populations—because they defend the hypothesis that the latter acquires or expresses harmful qualities that a population that remains in its original environment does not possess. Invasion biology has emerged as a branch of conservation biology dedicated exclusively to conflicts between introduced wildlife and human interest, including the protection of biodiversity. For invasion biology, the damage caused by native species is different and must be managed differently. However, the consensus around this native–introduced dichotomy is not universal, and a debate has intensified in recent years. The objective of this work was to compare the impacts of native and introduced species of terrestrial vertebrates of the United States using the dataset provided by Wildlife Services (WS), which depend upon the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture. Annually, they receive thousands of reports and complaints of human–wildlife conflicts. I analyzed the WS databases and found, against expectations, that native species produce significantly more damage than nonnative ones, especially regarding damage to agriculture, property and health and safety. In the category of impacts on biodiversity and natural ecosystems, the differences were minor. I discuss several potential explanations of these patterns in the results. I also discuss the ecological foundations of the native–introduced dichotomy hypothesis.
Occurrence of Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Central Italy
Authors: Ebani Valentina Virginia , Trebino Chiara , Guardone Lisa , Bertelloni Fabrizio , Cagnoli Giulia , Nardoni Simona , Sel Emily , Wilde Emily , Poli Alessandro , Mancianti Francesca
Published: October 2022

Most surveys of pathogens in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have focused on particular agents. The aim of this study was to verify, with bacteriological and molecular analyses, the occurrence of the main bacterial and protozoan pathogens that are able to infect canids, in red foxes regularly hunted in Central Italy. Spleen, brain, kidney and fecal samples from red foxes were submitted to bacteriological and/or molecular analyses to detect Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Brucella spp., Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Coxiella burnetii, Leptospira spp., Neospora caninum, Hepatozoon canis, Babesia spp. and microsporidia. Two (9.1%) strains of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1 and 2 (9.1%) of Yersinia frederiksenii were isolated from 22 fecal samples. Among the 22 spleen samples, seven (31.8%) were PCR-positive for H. canis and 3 (13.6%) for Babesia vulpes. Kidneys from two (2.9%) foxes, among 71 tested, were PCR-positive for L. interrogans. Even though the analyses were carried out on a small number of animals, the results suggested that red foxes from the selected geographic area may act as reservoirs of some investigated pathogens.
Salmonella Behavior in Meat during Cool Storage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Silva Jorge Luiz da , Vieira Bruno Serpa , Carvalho Fernanda Tavares , Carvalho Ricardo César Tavares , Figueiredo Eduardo Eustáquio de Souza
Published: October 2022

The aim of the present study was to investigate Salmonella behavior in meat stored in cool conditions (between 0 °C and 7.5 °C), by employing a systematic review and meta-analysis. The data were obtained from research articles published in SciELO, PubMed, the Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The results of the retrieved studies were obtained from meat (beef, chicken, pork, poultry, and turkey), fish, shellfish, and broth media samples The data were extracted as sample size (n), initial concentration (Xi), final concentration (Xf), standard deviation (SD), standard error (SE), and microbial behavior effects (reduction or growth). A meta-analysis was carried out using the metaphor package from R software. A total of 654 articles were initially retrieved. After applying the exclusion criteria, 83 articles were selected for the systematic review, and 61 of these were used for the meta-analysis. Most studies were conducted at 0 °C to 4.4 °C storage temperatures under normal atmosphere package conditions. Salmonella Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, and a cocktail (strain mixture) were inoculated at 5.0 and 6.0 log CFU mL−1. Articles both with and without the addition of antimicrobial compounds were found. Salmonella concentration decreases were observed in most studies, estimated for all study combinations as −0.8429 ± 0.0931 log CFU g−1 (95% CI; −1.0254, −0.6604) (p < 0.001), varying for each subgroup analysis. According to this survey, Salmonella concentration decreases are frequent during cool storage, although concentration increases and no bacterial inactivation were observed in some studies.
Rethinking Learnable Proposals for Graphical Object Detection in Scanned Document Images
Authors: Sinha Sankalp , Hashmi Khurram Azeem , Pagani Alain , Liwicki Marcus , Stricker Didier , Afzal Muhammad Zeshan
Published: October 2022

In the age of deep learning, researchers have looked at domain adaptation under the pre-training and fine-tuning paradigm to leverage the gains in the natural image domain. These backbones and subsequent networks are designed for object detection in the natural image domain. They do not consider some of the critical characteristics of document images. Document images are sparse in contextual information, and the graphical page objects are logically clustered. This paper investigates the effectiveness of deep and robust backbones in the document image domain. Further, it explores the idea of learnable object proposals through Sparse R-CNN. This paper shows that simple domain adaptation of top-performing object detectors to the document image domain does not lead to better results. Furthermore, empirically showing that detectors based on dense object priors like Faster R-CNN, Mask R-CNN, and Cascade Mask R-CNN are perhaps not best suited for graphical page object detection. Detectors that reduce the number of object candidates while making them learnable are a step towards a better approach. We formulate and evaluate the Sparse R-CNN (SR-CNN) model on the IIIT-AR-13k, PubLayNet, and DocBank datasets and hope to inspire a rethinking of object proposals in the domain of graphical page object detection.
Investigation of Adenosine Precursors and Biologically Active Peptides in Cultured Fresh Mycelium of Wild Medicinal Mushrooms
Authors: Solakov Nikolay , Kostova Milena , Loginovska Kamelia , Markov Zlati , de Oliveira Ana Caroline , Muhovski Yordan
Published: October 2022

Adenosine, known as an endogenous neuroprotective agent and acting as a cytoprotective modulator in organisms, is the subject of considerable scientific interest. Medicinal mushrooms represent a good source of bioactive compounds due to their composition and potent adaptogenic action, affecting more than 300 biochemical processes and functions in organisms. The aim of the present study was to investigate adenosine precursors and biologically active peptides in cultured fresh mycelium with focus on Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) and Cordyceps sinensis as best studied species. Biologically active extracts are derived by fermentation with Bacillus subtilis NBIMCC 2353 strain. Enhancement of the total proteolytic activity of Bacillus subtilis culture medium enriched with native bovine collagen protein and mycelium was recorded. The results demonstrate a clear trend of increasing cordycepin and adenosine content in the Cordyceps militaris sample grown in culture medium with optimized composition, with the presence of cordycepin being 2.22% and adenosine being 0.64%. The obtained increase was 1.9% for cordycepin and 0.24% for adenosine, respectively. The application of combined biotechnological approaches in the use of biologically active components from natural organic sources and the resulting final product with high biological activity determine the present study as relevant and significant for its practical application.
Non-Contact Crack Visual Measurement System Combining Improved U-Net Algorithm and Canny Edge Detection Method with Laser Rangefinder and Camera
Authors: Zhao Sizeng , Kang Fei , Li Junjie
Published: October 2022

Cracks are the main damages of concrete structures. Since cracks may occur in areas that are difficult to reach, non-contact measurement technology is required to accurately measure the width of cracks. This study presents an innovative computer vision system combining a camera and laser rangefinder to measure crack width from any angle and at a long distance. To solve the problem of pixel distortion caused by non-vertical photographing, geometric transformation formulas that can calculate the unit pixel length of the image captured at any angle are proposed. The complexity of crack edge calculation and the imbalance of data in the image are other problems that affect measurement accuracy, and a combination of the improved U-net convolutional networks algorithm and Canny edge detection method is adopted to accurately extract the cracks. The measurement results on the different concrete wall indicate that the proposed system can measure the crack in a non-vertical position, and the proposed algorithm can extract the crack from different background images. Although the proposed system cannot achieve fully automated measurement, the results also confirm the ability to obtain the crack width accurately and conveniently.
Pre-Inpainting Convolutional Skip Triple Attention Segmentation Network for AGV Lane Detection in Overexposure Environment
Authors: Yang Zongxin , Yang Xu , Wu Long , Hu Jiemin , Zou Bo , Zhang Yong , Zhang Jianlong
Published: October 2022

Visual navigation is an important guidance method for industrial automated guided vehicles (AGVs). In the actual guidance, the overexposure environment may be encountered by the AGV lane image, which seriously reduces the accuracy of lane detection. Although the image segmentation method based on deep learning is widely used in lane detection, it cannot solve the problem of overexposure of lane images. At the same time, the requirements of segmentation accuracy and inference speed cannot be met simultaneously by existing segmentation networks. Aiming at the problem of incomplete lane segmentation in an overexposure environment, a lane detection method combining image inpainting and image segmentation is proposed. In this method, the overexposed lane image is repaired and reconstructed by the MAE network, and then the image is input into the image segmentation network for lane segmentation. In addition, a convolutional skip triple attention (CSTA) image segmentation network is proposed. CSTA improves the inference speed of the model under the premise of ensuring high segmentation accuracy. Finally, the lane segmentation performance of the proposed method is evaluated in three image segmentation evaluation metrics (IoU, F1-score, and PA) and inference time. Experimental results show that the proposed CSTA network has higher segmentation accuracy and faster inference speed.
A New Multi-Objective Optimization Design Method for Directional Well Trajectory Based on Multi-Factor Constraints
Authors: Qin Jianyu , Liu Luo , Xue Liang , Chen Xuyue , Weng Chengkai
Published: October 2022

The design of the wellbore trajectory directly affects the construction quality and efficiency of drilling. A good wellbore trajectory is conducive to guiding on-site construction, which can effectively reduce costs and increase productivity. Therefore, further optimization of the wellbore trajectory is inevitable and necessary. Based on this, aiming at the three-segment, five-segment, double-increase-profile extended reach wells, this paper considered the constraints of formation wellbore stability; formation strength; and the determination of the deviation angle, deviation point position, and target range by the work of deflecting tools. In addition, the optimization objective function of the shortest total length of the wellbore, minimum error of the second target, lowest cost, minimum friction of the lifting and lowering string, and minimum torque of rotary drilling were proposed and established. The objective function of the longest extension limit of the horizontal section of the extended reach well is established. Taking the 14-8 block of the Lufeng Oilfield in the eastern South China Sea as an example, the actual data of the field were modeled, and the independence of the objective function was verified by comparing the number of non-inferior solutions of the two objective functions. By normalizing simplified to double-, three-, and four-objective functions, using a genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization results, it can be found that the new method of optimization design established in this paper has an obvious optimization effect compared with the original design.
Spatially Resolved Source Apportionment of Industrial VOCs Using a Mobile Monitoring Platform
Authors: Healy Robert M. , Sofowote Uwayemi M. , Wang Jonathan M. , Chen Qingfeng , Todd Aaron
Published: October 2022

Industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) directly impact air quality downwind of facilities and contribute to regional ozone and secondary organic aerosol production. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) is often used to apportion VOCs to their respective sources using measurement data collected at fixed sites, for example air quality monitoring stations. Here, we apply PMF analysis to high time-resolution VOC measurement data collected both while stationary and while moving using a mobile monitoring platform. The stationary monitoring periods facilitated the extraction of representative industrial VOC source profiles while the mobile monitoring periods were critical for the spatial identification of VOC hotspots. Data were collected over five days in a heavily industrialized region of southwestern Ontario containing several refineries, petrochemical production facilities and a chemical waste disposal facility. Factors associated with petroleum, chemical waste and rubber production were identified and ambient mixing ratios of selected aromatic, unsaturated and oxygenated VOCs were apportioned to local and background sources. Fugitive emissions of benzene, highly localized and predominantly associated with storage, were found to be the dominant local contributor to ambient benzene mixing ratios measured while mobile. Toluene and substituted aromatics were predominantly associated with refining and traffic, while methyl ethyl ketone was linked to chemical waste handling. The approach described here facilitates the apportionment of VOCs to their respective local industrial sources at high spatial and temporal resolution. This information can be used to identify problematic source locations and to inform VOC emission abatement strategies.
Radial Growth Responses of Four Southeastern USA Pine Species to Summertime Precipitation Event Types and Intense Rainfall Events
Authors: Mitchell Tyler J. , Knapp Paul A.
Published: October 2022

Previous dendroclimatic studies have examined the relationship between total precipitation amounts and tree radial growth in the southeastern USA, yet recent studies indicate that specific precipitation event types and rainfall intensities influence longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) radial growth unequally. It remains unknown if other pine species respond similarly regarding specific precipitation types and intensities as most dendroclimatic studies have focused on precipitation amounts on monthly-to-annual scales without examining either the event type or intensity nor focusing on daily data. Here, we examine summertime climate–radial growth relationships in the southeastern USA for four native pine species (longleaf, shortleaf, Virginia, pitch) during 1940–2020. We examine and compare each species’ response to precipitation event types and intense rainfall events (IREs) and address if the temporal sensitivity to these events is species specific. Distinct temporal sensitivities exist among species, and there is a consistent association between convective, stationary front, and quasi-stationary precipitation and radial growth. All species except Virginia pine have significant (p < 0.001) associations between IREs and radial growth, even though IREs account for ~49% of summertime rainfall. These results suggest precipitation-type sensitivity to radial growth may have dendroclimatic implications.
Using Long-Term Historical Meteorological Data for Climate Change Analysis in the Carpathian Region
Authors: Ilona Judit , Bartók Blanka , Dumitrescu Alexandru , Cheval Sorin , Gandhi Arun , Tordai Ágoston Vilmos , Weidinger Tamás
Published: October 2022

In this study, we consider the historical climatological time series available in the meteorological yearbooks of the Royal Hungarian Central Institute of Meteorology and Earth Magnetism, first published in 1871. Data quality improvement of historical data includes the homogenization process with outlier checks and data gap filling by applying the MASH software. We investigated 13 stations from the Carpathian Region having the most complete monthly temperature and precipitation time series for the period of 1871–1918 and 8 stations with fog observations (1886–1916). First, statistical tests were conducted to compare the main statistics of the historical datasets (1871–1918) with current data (1971–2020). The sources of the current data are the National Meteorological Administration of Romania and the European Climate Assessment & Dataset. The results show significant changes between the two periods. In the whole region, the mean temperature in the last five decades (1971–2020) was 0.77 °C higher than in 1871–1918. Changes in the frequency of foggy situations were also detected. On an annual scale, in the last 31-year period (1990–2020), the number of foggy days increased by 16.2 compared with 1886–1916. Even if some local trends can be detected in the historical periods (e.g., Cluj-Napoca), significant changes are much more characteristic in the recent period.
Predictive Risk Factors Associated with Severe Radiation-Induced Mucositis in Nasopharyngeal or Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Kawashita Yumiko , Soutome Sakiko , Umeda Masahiro , Saito Toshiyuki
Published: October 2022

Radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients generates difficulties in eating and swallowing, and may influence treatment tolerance, compliance, and quality of life. However, predictive factors have not been studied in detail. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe the association between pre-radiotherapy clinical factors and the incidence of severe radiation-induced mucositis in nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal cancer patients. This retrospective study included all patients with definitive radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal cancer between July 2011 and June 2021 in a single center. The eligibility criteria included patients who received oral management during radiotherapy. Exclusion criteria was patients who received postoperative radiotherapy. The data were acquired from the medical records of patients. One hundred patients were included in this retrospective study. Grade 3 radiation-induced mucositis occurred in 47 patients (47%). Lymphocyte count was significantly associated with grade 3 mucositis (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.19–0.86; p = 0.018). It is suggested that pre-radiation lower lymphocyte counts are a predictive risk factor for severe mucositis in patients who undergo definitive radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal cancer
Advances in Biosensing Technologies for Diagnosis of COVID-19
Authors: Alsalameh Sulaiman , Alnajjar Khalid , Makhzoum Tariq , Al Eman Noor , Shakir Ismail , Mir Tanveer Ahmad , Alkattan Khaled , Chinnappan Raja , Yaqinuddin Ahmed
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted normal human life worldwide. Due to its rapid community spread and high mortality statistics, the development of prompt diagnostic tests for a massive number of samples is essential. Currently used traditional methods are often expensive, time-consuming, laboratory-based, and unable to handle a large number of specimens in resource-limited settings. Because of its high contagiousness, efficient identification of SARS-CoV-2 carriers is crucial. As the advantages of adopting biosensors for efficient diagnosis of COVID-19 increase, this narrative review summarizes the recent advances and the respective reasons to consider applying biosensors. Biosensors are the most sensitive, specific, rapid, user-friendly tools having the potential to deliver point-of-care diagnostics beyond traditional standards. This review provides a brief introduction to conventional methods used for COVID-19 diagnosis and summarizes their advantages and disadvantages. It also discusses the pathogenesis of COVID-19, potential diagnostic biomarkers, and rapid diagnosis using biosensor technology. The current advancements in biosensing technologies, from academic research to commercial achievements, have been emphasized in recent publications. We covered a wide range of topics, including biomarker detection, viral genomes, viral proteins, immune responses to infection, and other potential proinflammatory biomolecules. Major challenges and prospects for future application in point-of-care settings are also highlighted.
Resting-State Functional MRI Adaptation with Attention Graph Convolution Network for Brain Disorder Identification
Authors: Chu Ying , Ren Haonan , Qiao Lishan , Liu Mingxia
Published: October 2022

Multi-site resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data can facilitate learning-based approaches to train reliable models on more data. However, significant data heterogeneity between imaging sites, caused by different scanners or protocols, can negatively impact the generalization ability of learned models. In addition, previous studies have shown that graph convolution neural networks (GCNs) are effective in mining fMRI biomarkers. However, they generally ignore the potentially different contributions of brain regions- of-interest (ROIs) to automated disease diagnosis/prognosis. In this work, we propose a multi-site rs-fMRI adaptation framework with attention GCN (A2GCN) for brain disorder identification. Specifically, the proposed A2GCN consists of three major components: (1) a node representation learning module based on GCN to extract rs-fMRI features from functional connectivity networks, (2) a node attention mechanism module to capture the contributions of ROIs, and (3) a domain adaptation module to alleviate the differences in data distribution between sites through the constraint of mean absolute error and covariance. The A2GCN not only reduces data heterogeneity across sites, but also improves the interpretability of the learning algorithm by exploring important ROIs. Experimental results on the public ABIDE database demonstrate that our method achieves remarkable performance in fMRI-based recognition of autism spectrum disorders.
The Effects of Temperature Management on Brain Microcirculation, Oxygenation and Metabolism
Authors: Donadello Katia , Su Fuhong , Annoni Filippo , Scolletta Sabino , He Xinrong , Peluso Lorenzo , Gottin Leonardo , Polati Enrico , Creteur Jacques , De Witte Olivier , Vincent Jean-Louis , De Backer Daniel , Taccone Fabio
Published: October 2022

Purpose: Target temperature management (TTM) is often used in patients after cardiac arrest, but the effects of cooling on cerebral microcirculation, oxygenation and metabolism are poorly understood. We studied the time course of these variables in a healthy swine model.Methods: Fifteen invasively monitored, mechanically ventilated pigs were allocated to sham procedure (normothermia, NT; n = 5), cooling (hypothermia, HT, n = 5) or cooling with controlled oxygenation (HT-Oxy, n = 5). Cooling was induced by cold intravenous saline infusion, ice packs and nasal cooling to achieve a body temperature of 33–35 °C. After 6 h, animals were rewarmed to baseline temperature (within 5 h). The cerebral microvascular network was evaluated (at baseline and 2, 7 and 12 h thereafter) using sidestream dark-field (SDF) video-microscopy. Cerebral blood flow (laser Doppler MNP100XP, Oxyflow, Oxford Optronix, Oxford, UK), oxygenation (PbtO2, Licox catheter, Integra Lifesciences, USA) and lactate/pyruvate ratio (LPR) using brain microdialysis (CMA, Stockholm, Sweden) were measured hourly. Results: In HT animals, cerebral functional capillary density (FCD) and proportion of small-perfused vessels (PSPV) significantly decreased over time during the cooling phase; concomitantly, PbtO2 increased and LPR decreased. After rewarming, all microcirculatory variables returned to normal values, except LPR, which increased during the rewarming phase in the two groups subjected to HT when compared to the group maintained at normothermia. Conclusions: In healthy animals, TTM can be associated with alterations in cerebral microcirculation during cooling and altered metabolism at rewarming.
Exploring Stroke Patients’ Needs after Discharge from Rehabilitation Centres: Meta-Ethnography
Authors: Temehy Basema , Rosewilliam Sheeba , Alvey George , Soundy Andrew
Published: October 2022

Healthcare providers must consider stroke survivors needs in order to enable a good quality of life after stroke. This review aimed to investigate the perceived needs of the stroke survivors across various domains of care following their discharge from hospital. A meta-ethnographic review of qualitative studies that reported needs of stroke patients after discharge from rehabilitation services was conducted. Main searches were conducted on the following electronic databases: Ovid Medline (1946 to 2021), CINAHL plus (EBSCO), AMED (EBSCO), PsycINFO (1967 to 2021), the Cochrane Library, and PubMed in June 2022. Main outcomes were related to stroke survivors’ views, experiences, and preferences on physical, psychological, social, rehabilitation needs, and other identified needs. Twenty-seven studies were included in the final analysis. The findings show that existing rehabilitation provision for stroke survivors does not address the long-term needs of stroke survivors. Two main issues were revealed concerning the unmet needs of stroke survivors: (1) a lack of information availability and suitability and (2) inadequacy of care and services. It is crucial to further investigate the needs of patients in Asian countries and the Middle East as there is very limited understanding of patients’ needs in the community in these regions.
A Study on Embodied Experience of Surfing Tourism Based on Grounded Theory—Take China’s Hainan Province as an Example
Authors: Zhang Shenyang , Chen Yangle
Published: October 2022

In the context of the rapid development of surfing tourism in China, the behavior explanation of surfing tourists has not attracted attention from the academic circle. Based on the theory of embodiment, this study takes surfing tourism in Hainan Province as the first case to explain the process and results of body experience in surfing tourism behavior. Based on the grounded theory analysis of the collected online travel notes and on-site interview text materials related to tourism experience, 21 categories and 6 main categories were extracted, and the story line of the surfing tourism experience was constructed based on embodied experience. The results show that the embodied phenomena and processes of the surfing tourism experience affect the quality of tourists’ experience. Surfing tourists experience four typical processes, namely embodied perception, embodied awakening, embodied emotion and embodied extension, and represent the body’s meaning, self-identity and social value through surfing behavior. The research theoretically proposes the embodied experience model and a new category of surfing tourism and provides a reference value for the practice of the surfing tourism industry.
The Early Age Hydration Products and Mechanical Properties of Cement Paste Containing GBFS under Steam Curing Condition
Authors: Li Baoliang , Tang Zhouyang , Huo Binbin , Liu Zejun , Cheng Yongzhen , Ding Baizhan , Zhang Peng
Published: October 2022

The hydration products and strength of cement pastes incorporated with ground blast furnace slag (GBFS) (0% and 20% replacement) have been investigated under steam curing condition (80 °C for 7 h and 7 d) in comparison with normal curing condition (moist curing for 28 d). The results show that, during the initial 80 °C steam curing for 7 h, in addition to the filler effect, GBFS is still involved in cement hydration. The abundant available Al phase and Mg phase in GBFS promote the formation of flake-like hydrotalcite, foil-like C-(A)-S-H gels, as well as equant grain-shaped C-(A)-S-H gels. Prolonging the steam curing time to 7 d further improves the formation of hydrogarnet. Since the formation of both hydrogarnet and hydrotalcite can consume the available Al, steam curing for 7 d seems to favor the formation of low Al C-(A)-S-H gels. In addition, due to the formation of a large amount of hydration products, the influence of 20% GBFS addition on the demolding strength of initial steam-cured cement mortar (80 °C for 7 h) is almost negligible. However, further extending the steam curing time to 7 d increases the strength gap between 20% GBFS blended cement mortar and pure cement mortar, and the related mechanism is discussed.
Analysis of Urban Spatial Accessibility of Museums within the Scope of Seoul
Authors: Zhao Xiaolong , Moon Jungmook
Published: October 2022

While urban accessibility of museums plays a crucial role in the growth of a cultural city, in reality, an uneven distribution of museums exists in cities. In particular, museums are concentrated in certain regions or located in a place that is different from the cognitive experience of local residents. To solve this issue, this study quantified the urban space of Seoul, which has entered into the status of a cultural city since the 1990s, as its target city by using space syntax. Further, a suitability analysis was conducted by extracting the museums’ topological accessibility in the city structure as well as the accessibility by the travel angle and limit distance setting. The results showed that the physical locations of museums considering the minimum walking distance set in this study were somewhat separated or isolated from primary spaces where people travel. This indicates that determining museum locations by referring to the major travel routes throughout the city is a significant basis for securing physical accessibility. This study is meaningful as it establishes reference materials for determining museum locations in Seoul and will help form physical clusters of museums adjacent to each other.
Reliability Analysis of RC Slab-Column Joints under Punching Shear Load Using a Machine Learning-Based Surrogate Model
Authors: Shen Lulu , Shen Yuanxie , Liang Shixue
Published: October 2022

Reinforced concrete slab-column structures, despite their advantages such as architectural flexibility and easy construction, are susceptible to punching shear failure. In addition, punching shear failure is a typical brittle failure, which introduces difficulties in assessing the functionality and failure probability of slab-column structures. Therefore, the prediction of punching shear resistance and corresponding reliability analysis are critical issues in the design of reinforced RC slab-column structures. In order to enhance the computational efficiency of the reliability analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) slab-column joints, a database containing 610 experimental data is used for machine learning (ML) modelling. According to the nonlinear mapping between the selected seven input variables and the punching shear resistance of slab-column joints, four ML models, such as artificial neural network (ANN), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) are established. With the assistance of three performance measures, such as root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2), XGBoost is selected as the best prediction model; its RMSE, MAE, and R2 are 32.43, 19.51, and 0.99, respectively. Such advantages are also reflected in the comparison with the five empirical models introduced in this paper. The prediction process of XGBoost is visualized by SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP); the importance sorting and feature dependency plots of the input variables explain the prediction process globally. Furthermore, this paper adopts Monte Carlo simulation with a machine learning-based surrogate model (ML-MCS) to calibrate the reliability of slab-column joints in a real engineering example. A total of 1,000,000 samples were obtained through random sampling, and the reliability index β of this practical building was calculated by Monte Carlo simulation. Results demonstrate that the target reliability index requirements under design provisions can be achieved. The sensitivity analysis of stochastic variables was then conducted, and the impact of that analysis on structural reliability was deeply examined.
Comparison of Machine Learning Approaches for Medium-to-Long-Term Financial Distress Predictions in the Construction Industry
Authors: Jeong Jiseok , Kim Changwan
Published: October 2022

A method for predicting the financial status of construction companies after a medium-to-long-term period can help stakeholders in large construction projects make decisions to select an appropriate company for the project. This study compares the performances of various prediction models. It proposes an appropriate model for predicting the financial distress of construction companies considering three, five, and seven years ahead of the prediction point. To establish the prediction model, a financial ratio was selected, which was adopted in existing studies on medium-to-long-term predictions in other industries, as an additional input variable. To compare the performances of the prediction models, single-machine learning and ensemble models’ performances were compared. The comprehensive performance comparison of these models was based on the average value of the prediction performance and the results of the Friedman test. The comparison result determined that the random subspace (RS) model exhibited the best performance in predicting the financial status of construction companies after a medium-to-long-term period. The proposed model can be effectively employed to help large-scale project stakeholders avoid damage caused by the financial distress of construction companies during the project implementation process.
Sex-Related Differences in Metastatic Melanoma Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibition
Authors: Kudura Ken , Basler Lucas , Nussbaumer Lukas , Foerster Robert
Published: October 2022

Objectives: We aimed to investigate sex-related differences in patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICI by linking the assessment of inflammatory response in peripheral blood, onset of immune-related adverse events IRAEs during therapy and treatment response in short- and long-term. Methods: For the purpose of this single-center retrospective study metastatic melanoma patients treated with ICI were included. Baseline patient characteristics, blood sample tests and the onset of immune-related adverse events IRAEs were documented based on clinical records. The short-term treatment response was assessed with 18F-2-Fluor-2-desoxy-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography FDG-PET/CT scans performed six months after initiation of ICI. The overall survival OS and progression-free survival PFS were used as endpoints to assess the long-term response to immunotherapy. Results: In total, 103 patients with advanced melanoma (mean age 68 ± 13.83 years) were included, 29 women (mean age 60.41 ± 14.57 years) and 74 men (mean age 65.66 ± 13.34 years). The primary tumor was located on a lower extremity in one out of three women and on the head/neck in one out of three men (p < 0.001). While the superficial spreading (41%) and nodular (36%) melanoma subtypes represented together 77% of the cases in male population, women showed a more heterogenous distribution of melanoma subtypes with the superficial spreading (35%), nodular (23%), acral lentiginous (19%) and mucosal (12%) melanoma subtypes being most frequent in female population (p < 0.001). Most differences between women and men with regards to inflammatory parameters were observed six months after initiation of ICI with a higher median NLR (p = 0.038), lower counts of lymphocytes (p = 0.004) and thrombocytes (p = 0.089) in addition to lower counts of erythrocytes (p < 0.001) and monocytes (p < 0.001) in women towards men. IRAEs were more frequent in women towards men (p = 0.013). Women were more likely to display endocrinological IRAEs, such as thyroiditis being the most frequent adverse event in women. Interestingly IRAEs of the gastrointestinal tract were the most frequent ones in men. Finally, men with advanced melanoma showed a significantly better response to immunotherapy in short- (p = 0.015) and long-term (OS p = 0.015 and PFS p < 0.001) than women. In fact, every fourth man died during the course of the disease, while every second woman did not survive. (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Men with advanced melanoma showed a significantly better response to immunotherapy in short- and long-term than women. Higher immune activation in peripheral blood before and after initiation ICI might be linked to favorable treatment response during and after ICI in favor of men and decoupled from the onset of IRAEs. Given the significantly higher immunotoxicity and worse outcome experienced by women compared to men the use of ICI should be chosen carefully in women with advanced melanoma.
Ultrasound-Guided Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Superficial Metastasis of Lung Cancer with and without Rapid On-Site Evaluation: A Randomized Trial
Authors: Livi Vanina , Sotgiu Giovanni , Cancellieri Alessandra , Paioli Daniela , Leoncini Fausto , Magnini Daniele , Trisolini Rocco
Published: October 2022

Background and Objective: Studies which evaluated the role of an ultrasound-guided needle aspiration biopsy (US-NAB) of metastases from lung cancer located in “superficial” organs/tissues are scant, and none of them assessed the possible impact of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) on diagnostic accuracy and safety outcomes. Methods: Consecutive patients with suspected superficial metastases from lung cancer were randomized 1:1 to US-NAB without (US-NAB group) or with ROSE (ROSE group). The diagnostic yield for a tissue diagnosis was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the diagnostic yield for cancer genotyping, the diagnostic yield for PD-L1 testing, and safety. Results: During the study period, 136 patients were randomized to receive an US-NAB with (n = 68) or without ROSE (n = 68). We found no significant differences between the ROSE group and the US-NAB group in terms of the diagnostic yields for tissue diagnosis (94.1% vs. 97%, respectively; p = 0.68), cancer genotyping (88% vs. 91.8%, respectively; p = 0.56), and PD-L1 testing (93.5% vs. 90.6%, respectively; p = 0.60). Compared to the diagnostic US-NAB procedures, the non-diagnostic procedures were characterized by less common use of a cutting needle (66.6% vs. 96.9%, respectively; p = 0.0004) and less common retrieval of a tissue core (37.5% vs. 98.5%; p = 0.0001). Only one adverse event (vasovagal syncope) was recorded. Conclusion: US-NAB of superficial metastases is safe and has an excellent diagnostic success regardless of the availability of ROSE. These findings provide a strong rationale for using US-NAB as the first-step method for tissue acquisition whenever a suspected superficial metastatic lesion is identified in patients with suspected lung cancer.
NGS-Based Molecular Karyotyping of Multiple Myeloma: Results from the GEM12 Clinical Trial
Authors: Rosa-Rosa Juan Manuel , Cuenca Isabel , Medina Alejandro , Vázquez Iria , Sánchez-delaCruz Andrea , Buenache Natalia , Sánchez Ricardo , Jiménez Cristina , Rosiñol Laura , Gutiérrez Norma C. , Ruiz-Heredia Yanira , Barrio Santiago , Oriol Albert , Martin-Ramos Maria-Luisa , Blanchard María-Jesús , Ayala Rosa , Ríos-Tamayo Rafael , Sureda Anna , Hernández Miguel-Teodoro , de la Rubia Javier , Alkorta-Aranburu Gorka , Agirre Xabier , Bladé Joan , Mateos María-Victoria , Lahuerta Juan-José , San-Miguel Jesús F. , Calasanz María-José , Garcia-Sanz Ramón , Martínez-Lopez Joaquín
Published: October 2022

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has greatly improved our ability to detect the genomic aberrations occurring in multiple myeloma (MM); however, its transfer to routine clinical labs and its validation in clinical trials remains to be established. We designed a capture-based NGS targeted panel to identify, in a single assay, known genetic alterations for the prognostic stratification of MM. The NGS panel was designed for the simultaneous study of single nucleotide and copy number variations, insertions and deletions, chromosomal translocations and V(D)J rearrangements. The panel was validated using a cohort of 149 MM patients enrolled in the GEM2012MENOS65 clinical trial. The results showed great global accuracy, with positive and negative predictive values close to 90% when compared with available data from fluorescence in situ hybridization and whole-exome sequencing. While the treatments used in the clinical trial showed high efficacy, patients defined as high-risk by the panel had shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.0015). As expected, the mutational status of TP53 was significant in predicting patient outcomes (p = 0.021). The NGS panel also efficiently detected clonal IGH rearrangements in 81% of patients. In conclusion, molecular karyotyping using a targeted NGS panel can identify relevant prognostic chromosomal abnormalities and translocations for the clinical management of MM patients.