bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The association between smoking, changes in smoking behavior, and acute pancreatitis: A population‐based cohort study in Korea
Authors: Lee Jae Min , Han Kyung Do , Lee Sang Hyub , Park Jin Myung , Park Namyoung , Jeon Hankyu , Kim Hyun Jin , Ryu Ji Kon , Kim Yong‐Tae
Published: November 2022

Background and Aims

In the Asian population, existing studies regarding the association between smoking and acute pancreatitis are few in number. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of acute pancreatitis according to smoking habits and smoking habit changes of the Korean population.

Methods

We used clinical data from individuals (aged 20 years or older) who received health examinations arranged by the Korean National Health Insurance Service in 2009 (n = 4 238 822) or in 2009 and 2011 (n = 2 617 306). The incidence of acute pancreatitis was analyzed according to smoking status or smoking habit change reported by individuals during their health examination. Newly diagnosed acute pancreatitis was identified using claims data from baseline to the date of diagnosis or until December 31, 2018.

Results

The risk of acute pancreatitis was significantly higher in current smokers compared with never‐smokers regardless of age or sex. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of acute pancreatitis in current smokers increased according to the amount of smoking (HR 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.45 in <10 cigarettes/day, HR 1.4; CI, 1.3–1.52 in 10–19 cigarettes/day, HR 1.66; CI, 1.55–1.78 in ≥20 cigarettes/day). The adjusted HR of acute pancreatitis in continuous smokers was 1.66 (CI, 1.53–1.8) compared with never‐smokers and was higher than smokers who quit smoking (HR 1.34; CI, 1.17–1.54).

Conclusions

In this Korean population‐based cohort study, smoking increased the incidence of acute pancreatitis in a dose‐dependent manner, and smoking cessation helped decrease the incidence of acute pancreatitis.
Cosmetic gynecology—An emerging field for the dermatologist
Authors: Jindal Anuradha , Mysore Venkataram , Mysore Jayashree Venkataram
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Cosmetic gynecology is an expanding field with a steep rise in awareness and demand for procedures to enhance the aesthetic appearance of female genitalia.

Aim

This article aims to provide an overview of aesthetic gynecology for a practicing dermatologist.

Methods

A study conducted in India showed a rising trend in the demand of aesthetic vaginal procedures from 3.9% in 2012 to 28.97% in 2015.

Conclusion

Several aesthetic modalities such as peels, platelet rich plasma, and energy‐based devices and surgical modalities have been in use, though serious evidence for efficacy of many of these procedures is lacking.
Regression of venous thrombus after trans‐sphenoidal hypophysectomy for pituitary‐dependent hyperadrenocorticism in a dog
Authors: Tanaka S. , Suzuki S. , Teshima T. , Yamashita R. , Hamamoto Y. , Hara Y.
Published: November 2022

An 8.0‐kg 8‐year‐old male dachshund was presented for surgical treatment of suspected pituitary‐dependent hyperadrenocorticism with portal vein thrombosis. Advanced diagnostic imaging revealed a thrombus in the splenic and portal veins. For the portal vein thrombus, CT angiography showed an enhanced timing delay in the lateral right and caudate liver lobes. Blood tests showed a marked increase in the liver panel, including total bile acid. Brain MRI revealed a pituitary mass, suggesting pituitary‐dependent hyperadrenocorticism. The mass was completely resected. The preoperative antithrombotic therapy of rivaroxaban (0.66 mg/kg, PO, once per day) and clopidogrel sulphate (1.66 mg/kg, PO, once per day) was continued postoperatively. Six months after resection of the pituitary mass, the thrombus had disappeared. Further studies are required to prove a causal association between the disappearance of the thrombus and the treatments provided.
Canine gastrointestinal stromal tumours treated with surgery and imatinib mesylate: three cases (2018‐2020)
Authors: Treggiari E. , Giantin M. , Ferro S. , Romanelli G.
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are described in dogs and are histologically diagnosed with the aid of immunohistochemistry to allow differentiation from leiomyomas/leiomyosarcomas. These tumours express c‐kit and in some cases could harbour mutations in KIT coding gene.

Materials and Methods

Dogs with a diagnosis of GIST previously confirmed with histopathology and immunohistochemistry were considered for inclusion. Medical records were reviewed for clinical signs at presentation, results of diagnostic tests, tumour location and treatment. To be included, patients had to undergo staging procedures and treatment with imatinib alone or in combination with surgery. Immunohistochemistry and KIT mutational analysis were performed assessing all included cases.

Results

Three cases were included. All cases underwent staging procedures and surgical excision. Tumours were located in the stomach (two cases) or caecum (one case). KIT mutational status was assessed and the presence of a 54‐base pair deletion in exon 11 was identified in one case. Following surgery, imatinib was used to treat recurrent, metastatic or residual disease and resulted in complete response and stable disease in the macroscopic setting and no evidence of recurrence in the microscopic setting. Follow‐up time was 890, 120 and 352 days, respectively.

Clinical Significance

Surgical and medical treatment resulted in a positive outcome in these cases of canine GIST. Imatinib treatment was well tolerated and resulted in a measurable response and a low spectrum of toxicities. Further studies on the tolerability and efficacy of imatinib in solid tumours and GIST are warranted to define its effectiveness and safety.
Keurusselkä impact structure, Finland—Overview, new observations, and renewed interpretation of the size
Authors: Hietala Satu , Moilanen Jarmo , Plado Jüri
Published: November 2022

The Keurusselkä structure is one of Finland's 12 meteorite impact structures—one of the world's oldest (1150 ± 10 Ma) and the largest of its kind in Finland. Findings of numerous well‐formed shatter cones in a wide area have helped define and prove Keurusselkä's impact origin. Keurusselkä is deeply eroded, making estimating its size challenging. Thus, various size ranges are based on the distribution of shatter cones. This study provides an overview of the earlier published studies in light of the unpublished data resulting from 2003 to 2019 field surveys. Two shatter cone outcrops 15 km from each other were sampled during a field survey in 2019. Thin section samples from these sites were studied with a polarizing microscope, and shock metamorphic features were identified and measured with the universal stage. We also compared topographic and bathymetric Lidar (light detection and ranging) data with the existing geophysical data and shatter cone occurrences. In situ outcrops—Metsomäki 9.6 km toward the W and Martinniemi 5.7 km toward SE from the crater's center—delimit the maximum radius of shatter cones found so far. Studies resulted in planar fractures parallel to (0001) in Metsomäki shatter cones. We determine the size of 37.5 km as the apparent diameter of the Keurusselkä impact structure, whereas the 25 km in diameter semicircular feature represents faulted rim structures.
Food, Taste, and the Body: Ingestion and Embodiment in Santiago de Cuba
Authors: Garth Hanna
Published: November 2022

Using a Black feminist embodied approach, this article analyzes the ways in which people in Santiago de Cuba draw on their own embodied practices, sensory experiences, and popular knowledge to determine what forms of ingestion (food, drink, etc.) are good for the body. Influenced by historical ideals of food consumption and colonial entanglements, Cubans use a combination of knowledge gleaned from biomedicine, official nutrition guidelines, and humoral medicine, which are not always in agreement, to ensure that they are taking care of their bodies appropriately. In addition to these external sources, they also continuously assess their own embodied responses to ingestion (e.g., pain, illness, headaches, or other bodily sensations) to determine which foods and drinks should be consumed. Practices of healthy ingestion may also vary between people and circumstance, which people learn over time and from one another, layering on another interpersonal dimension of embodied knowledge. [Cuba, food, embodiment, health, ingestion]
Re‐centering Relationships: Obstetric Violence, Health Care Rationalities, and Pandemic Childbirth in Canada
Authors: Rice Kathleen
Published: November 2022

Emerging evidence suggests that the COVD‐19 pandemic is eroding childbirth rights. Drawing on narratives of women who gave birth in Canada during the pandemic, this article exposes a paradox in that policies aimed at limiting interpersonal contact implicitly acknowledge the connection between health, well‐being, and the social context of people's lives, yet they frame this relationality as a liability to be eliminated. They do this despite the many benefits that social support is known to confer for pregnancy and childbirth. I suggest that obstetric violence theory could be expanded to include the perinatal health care system's failure to consider the well‐being of pregnant and birthing persons as necessarily interdependent with that of close others. Conscientiously and routinely making the safeguarding of these relationships a priority in perinatal health care planning may strengthen existing health care systems against certain forms of obstetric violence. [childbirth, COVID‐19, obstetric violence, relational personhood, Canada]
Seasonal dynamics of the wild rodent faecal virome
Authors: Raghwani Jayna , Faust Christina L. , François Sarah , Nguyen Dung , Marsh Kirsty , Raulo Aura , Hill Sarah C. , Parag Kris V. , Simmonds Peter , Knowles Sarah C. L. , Pybus Oliver G.
Published: November 2022

Viral discovery studies in wild animals often rely on cross‐sectional surveys at a single time point. As a result, our understanding of the temporal stability of wild animal viromes remains poorly resolved. While studies of single host–virus systems indicate that host and environmental factors influence seasonal virus transmission dynamics, comparable insights for whole viral communities in multiple hosts are lacking. Utilizing noninvasive faecal samples from a long‐term wild rodent study, we characterized viral communities of three common European rodent species (Apodemus sylvaticus, A. flavicollis and Myodes glareolus) living in temperate woodland over a single year. Our findings indicate that a substantial fraction of the rodent virome is seasonally transient and associated with vertebrate or bacteria hosts. Further analyses of one of the most common virus families, Picornaviridae, show pronounced temporal changes in viral richness and evenness, which were associated with concurrent and up to ~3‐month lags in host density, ambient temperature, rainfall and humidity, suggesting complex feedbacks from the host and environmental factors on virus transmission and shedding in seasonal habitats. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of understanding the seasonal dynamics of wild animal viromes in order to better predict and mitigate zoonotic risks.
Kidney xenotransplantation: Future clinical reality or science fiction?
Authors: Rodger Daniel , Cooper David K. C.
Published: November 2022

There is a global shortage of organs for transplantation and despite many governments making significant changes to their organ donation systems, there are not enough kidneys available to meet the demand. This has led scientists and clinicians to explore alternative means of meeting this organ shortfall. One of the alternatives to human organ transplantation is xenotransplantation, which is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or cells between different species. The resurgence of interest in xenotransplantation and recent scientific breakthroughs suggest that genetically engineered pigs may soon present a realistic alternative as sources of kidneys for clinical transplantation. It is therefore important for healthcare professionals to understand what is involved in xenotransplantation and its future implications for their clinical practices. First, we explore the insufficiency of different organ donation systems to meet the kidney shortage. Second, we provide a background and a summary of the progress made so far in xenotransplantation research. Third, we discuss some of the scientific, technological, ethical, and public health issues associated with xenotransplantation. Finally, we summarize the literature on the attitudes of healthcare professionals toward xenotransplantation.
Clinical cross‐reactivity of wheat and barley in children with wheat allergy
Authors: Yanagida Noriyuki , Takei Mari , Saito Akemi , Sato Sakura , Ebisawa Motohiro
Published: November 2022

Background

Several studies have reported in vitro cross‐reactivity between wheat and barley. However, evidence regarding the clinical cross‐reactivity of wheat and barley is limited. This study examined the clinical cross‐reactivity of barley and wheat among children with immediate‐type wheat allergies.

Methods

We examined the threshold dose of a wheat oral food challenge for wheat‐allergic children. We examined the reactivity of barley, and the oral food challenges of barley tea and barley rice were implemented as needed. We measured the specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels in wheat, ω‐5 gliadin, and barley.

Results

We evaluated 53 children (39 [74%] boys) with a median age of 6.6 years. Among them, 39 (74%) patients had a history of anaphylaxis to wheat. The median wheat‐, barley‐, and ω‐5 gliadin‐sIgE levels were 57.3, 12.1, and 3.2 kUA/L, respectively. Twelve patients reacted to barley tea (1.8 mg), 14 reacted to barley rice (220–440 mg), and 27 were tolerant to barley tea and barley rice. Barley‐allergic patients had significantly higher wheat‐ and ω‐5 gliadin‐ and barley‐sIgE levels and significantly lower threshold doses of wheat than barley‐tolerant patients. Omega‐5 gliadin‐sIgE was the most useful predictor of barley allergy among wheat‐allergic patients; the ω‐5 gliadin‐sIgE 95% positive predictive value for barley allergy was 4.6 kUA/L.

Conclusions

Half of wheat‐allergic children reacted to barley. A lower threshold dose of wheat is related to cross‐reactive barley allergies. Omega‐5 gliadin‐sIgE predicts cross‐reactive barley allergy in children allergic to wheat. Clinical cross‐reactivity to barley should be considered in the management of wheat‐allergic children.
An ethylene‐responsive transcription factor and a B‐box protein coordinate vegetative growth and photoperiodic flowering in chrysanthemum
Authors: Cheng Hua , Yu Yao , Zhai Yiwen , Wang Lijun , Wang Likai , Chen Sumei , Chen Fadi , Jiang Jiafu
Published: November 2022

Plants employ several endogenous and exogenous signals to guarantee timely floral transitions with floral integrators. To avoid premature flowering, flowering plants must control the balance between vegetative and floral development. As a Group II member of BBX family, CmBBX8 promotes flowering by directly activating CmFTL1 in summer‐flowering chrysanthemum. However, the mechanisms underlying this floral transition is yet to be elucidated. Here, we report that the chrysanthemum ERF3 homologue, CmERF3, physically interacts with CmBBX8 through yeast two‐hybrid (Y2H), bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), pull‐down, and luciferase complementation (LCI) assays. We found that CmERF3 was highly expressed at the vegetative stage and rarely expressed in the reproductive phase, indicating that CmERF3 may play a critical role in maintaining vegetative growth to prevent premature flowering. Rhythm analysis revealed that CmERF3 had a different response to rhythm compared to CmBBX8. Knockdown of CmERF3 facilitated floral initiation, whereas overexpression of CmERF3 delayed floral transition. We further found that CmERF3 repressed the transactivation activity of CmBBX8 on the downstream CmFTL1 gene. Collectively, our results indicate that the CmERF3‐CmBBX8 transcriptional complex is a crucial module that balances the vegetative growth and reproductive development of chrysanthemum.
Endogenous antioxidants predicted outcome and increased after treatment: A benzoate dose‐finding, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial for Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Lane Hsien‐Yuan , Wang Shi‐Heng , Lin Chieh‐Hsin
Published: November 2022

Aim

Previous pilot studies suggest that sodium benzoate may be a potential cognitive enhancer for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), schizophrenia, or late‐life depression. Especially for AD treatment, a confirmatory trial with predictive biomarkers is urgently needed. This study aimed to confirm benzoate as a novel treatment for AD and to discover its optimal dose and biomarkers.

Methods

A 24‐week, dose‐finding, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial, with clinical measurements at weeks 0, 8, 16, and 24, was conducted in three major medical centers in Taiwan. Among 154 patients screened for AD, 149 were eligible and randomized to one of the four treatments: (i) benzoate 500 group (fixed 500 mg/day); (ii) benzoate 750 (500 mg/day for the first 4 weeks, 750 mg/day from the 5th week); (iii) benzoate 1000 (500 mg/day for the first 4 weeks, 1000 mg/day from the 5th week); and (iv) placebo. The primary outcome measure was AD assessment scale‐cognitive subscale (ADAS‐cog).

Results

The benzoate 1000 group performed best in improving ADAS‐cog (P = 0.026 at week 24), with female advantage. Higher plasma catalase at baseline predicted better outcome. Benzoate receivers tended to have higher catalase and glutathione than placebo recipients after treatment. The four intervention groups showed similar safety profiles.

Conclusions

By enhancing two vital endogenous antioxidants, catalase and glutathione, sodium benzoate therapy improved cognition of patients with AD, with higher baseline catalase predicting better response. Supporting the oxidative stress theory, the results show promise for benzoate as a novel treatment for AD.
What you say matters: Moving beyond gossiping extent to explore the positive effects of gossip truthfulness and gossip interestingness
Authors: Outlaw Ryan , Baer Michael D.
Published: November 2022

Whereas substantial research portrays gossip as a detrimental behavior, other work observes that gossip performs essential social functions, such as distributing valuable information. Collectively, the literature indicates that gossip has the potential to harm and benefit the relationship between the gossip sender and receiver. Our study brings consensus to this conversation by drawing a distinction between how much gossiping occurs—gossiping extent—and characteristics of that gossip—gossip truthfulness and gossip interestingness. Drawing on social exchange theory and cognitive‐motivational‐relational theory, we build a within‐person theoretical model that proposes gossip truthfulness will strengthen the receiver's perception of the social exchange relationship, whereas gossip interestingness will increase the receiver's state happiness. Ultimately, these proximal reactions will increase the receiver's helping behavior toward the sender. We tested our model with a 15‐day experience sampling study (Study 1) and an experiment (Study 2). Results showed that gossip truthfulness had a positive effect on the receiver's perception of the social exchange relationship, leading the receiver to provide more helping behavior to the sender. Gossip interestingness had a positive effect on the receiver's state happiness, leading to increased helping behavior toward the sender. Gossip interestingness also had a serial indirect effect on helping behavior, via increased state happiness that increased receiver social exchange perceptions. In contrast, gossiping extent had a negative indirect effect on helping behavior via decreased receiver happiness, as well as a negative serial indirect effect via decreased receiver happiness and social exchange perceptions. Our model provides employees with insights into how gossip impacts the sender–receiver relationship.
Characterization of anatomical features, developmental roadmaps, and key genes of bamboo leaf epidermis
Authors: Jiang Jiawen , Gao Zhipeng , Xiang Yu , Guo Lin , Zhang Chuzheng , Que Feng , Yu Fen , Wei Qiang
Published: November 2022

The exact developmental roadmaps of bamboo leaf epidermis and the regulating genes are largely unknown. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the morphological features of the leaf epidermis of bamboo, Pseudosasa japonica. We also established the developmental roadmaps of the abaxial epidermis along the linearly growing leaf. A variant of P. japonica, P. japonica var. tsutsumiana, with smaller stomata and higher stomata density, was identified. Further analysis revealed that the higher stomata density of the variant was due to the abnormal increase in stomata columns within the single stomata band. This abnormal development of stomata bands was observed as early as the guard mother cell stage in the leaf division zone (DZ). Interestingly, the developmental pattern of the single stomata was similar in P. japonica and the variant. Molecular data showed that PjDLT (Dwarf and Low Tillering) was significantly downregulated in leaves DZ of the variant. Overexpression of PjDLT in Arabidopsis and rice results in smaller plants with lower stomata density, whereas downregulation or mutation of OsDLT results in increased stomata density. Our results highlight the morphological features and developmental schedule of the leaf epidermis of bamboo and provide evidence that DLT plays an important role in regulating stomata in bamboo and rice.
Fertility, Economic Incentives and Individual Heterogeneity: Register Data-Based Evidence from France and Germany
Authors: Lipowski Cäcilia , Wilke Ralf A. , Koebel Bertrand
Published: November 2022

This study demonstrates the importance of accounting for correlated unobserved heterogeneity to correctly identify the relevance of career and education for fertility decisions. By exploiting individual-level life-cycle information on fertility, career and education from large administrative longitudinal datasets, this paper shows that non-linear panel models produce substantially different results than the cross-sectional approaches widely used in previous studies. Higher opportunity costs of having children are found to be associated with lower fertility within a country, while the magnitude of the adjustment differs strongly across countries. In Germany, fertility decisions are found to depend more on individual circumstances than in France, where better public childcare support enhances the compatibility between family and professional life.
Educational roles impact burnout in paediatric undergraduate medical educators
Authors: Fealy Jessica L. , Punnett Angela , Burrows Heather L. , Fenick Ada M.
Published: November 2022

Background

Physician burnout impacts all levels of medical education and has a relatively unknown impact on those responsible for medical student education, particularly in paediatrics. This study examines the prevalence of burnout among paediatric undergraduate medical educators and explores the impact of roles in medical education on medical educator burnout.

Methods

This cross‐sectional mixed‐methods study utilised a binational survey of paediatricians involved in undergraduate medical education. Respondents answered demographics, standardised questions about burnout and attitudes towards students, and an open‐ended probe about interactions between medical student education and wellness.

Findings

Of 445 possible, 120 (26.9%) responded to demographic and burnout questions. Of these, 23.3% endorsed burnout, 21.7% high emotional exhaustion (EE) and 10.8% high depersonalisation (DP). High levels of student‐related burnout symptoms were reported by fewer than 5% of respondents and were correlated with overall EE and DP. Content analysis revealed four emergent themes: positive effect of student‐related role, need to balance medical education and clinical roles, impact of protected time and medical education‐related autonomy on educator well‐being, and the burden of the administrative portion of educational roles.

Discussion

Participating paediatric educators had low rates of burnout compared with paediatricians as a whole in prior studies. The vast majority found working with students rewarding and described the overall positive impact of their medical education role on wellness.

Conclusion

Physician involvement in rewarding non‐clinical activities may improve their overall well‐being. Providing dedicated time for these activities may ameliorate the difficulty that many medical educators described in balancing their clinical and educational roles. Future studies should continue to explore how we can better support medical educators and the impact of this support on burnout.
Mitogenomes provide insights into the phylogeny and evolution of brittle stars (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea)
Authors: Sun Shao'e , Xiao Ning , Sha Zhongli
Published: November 2022

Ophiuroidea is the most speciose of all classes of Echinoderma. It is an important component in benthic ecosystems, occurring in almost all ecological niches of modern seas. To date, the phylogeny and complete evolutionary history of the ophiuroids have not yet been fully resolved. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) exigua and two deep‐sea species Histampica sp. CS049 and Ophioplinthaca sp. M5261. These two deep‐sea ophiuroids displayed reversed strand‐compositional bias and rearranged gene orders. Thirteen distinct patterns of mitochondrial gene order among ophiuroid mitogenomes were detected, with two gene order newly found in Ophiuroidea. Our data supported the gene order found in all sampled Ophiuridae as the most likely ancestral order of all Ophiuroidea. To improve phylogenetic accuracy based on nucleotide differences, two different criteria were used for the analyses: (i) nucleotide sequence from all codon positions (PCG123); (ii) the NTE method (“Neutral Transitions Excluded”) for ameliorating the misleading effects of a reverse strand bias in the data. The two methods confirmed the polyphyly of the orders Ophiacanthida and Amphilepidia. At family and genus level, Ophiuridae, Ophionotus and Ophioplinthus were not monophyletic. The most notable exception was that the NTE phylogeny showed low variation of branch length. NTE dataset generated younger age for most lower‐level nodes than that from PCG123 dataset. All analyses suggested that the ophiuroids radiation occurred around the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event, and the divergence time of the deep‐sea lineages was during the Cretaceous.
Concavity of solutions to semilinear equations in dimension two
Authors: Chau Albert , Weinkove Ben
Published: November 2022

We consider the Dirichlet problem for a class of semilinear equations on two‐ dimensional convex domains. We give a sufficient condition for the solution to be concave. Our condition uses comparison with ellipses, and is motivated by an idea of Kosmodem'yanskii. We also prove a result on propagation of concavity of solutions from the boundary, which holds in all dimensions.
Collaborative Design Decision-Making With Artificial Intelligence: Exploring the Evolution and Impact of Human Confidence in AI and in Themselves
Authors: Chong Leah , Raina Ayush , Goucher-Lambert Kosa , Kotovsky Kenneth , Cagan Jonathan
Published: November 2022

Decision-making assistance by artificial intelligence (AI) during design is only effective when human designers properly utilize AI input. However, designers often misjudge the AI’s and/or their own ability, leading to erroneous reliance on AI and therefore bad designs. To avoid such outcomes, it is critical to understand the evolution of designers’ confidence in both their AI teammate(s) and themselves during human-AI collaboration. Therefore, this work conducts a cognitive study to explore how experiencing various and changing (without notice) AI performance levels and feedback affects these confidences and consequently the decisions to accept or reject AI suggestions. The results first reveal that designers’ confidence in an AI agent changes with poor, but not with good, AI performance. Interestingly, designers’ self-confidence initially remains unaffected by AI accuracy; however, when the accuracy changes, self-confidence decreases regardless of the direction of the change. Moreover, this work finds that designers tend to infer flawed information from feedback, resulting in inappropriate levels of confidence in both the AI and themselves. Confidence in the AI and in themselves is also shown to affect designers’ probability of accepting AI input in opposite directions. Finally, results that are uniquely applicable to design are identified by comparing the findings from this work to those from a similar study conducted with a non-design task. Overall, this work offers valuable insights that may enable prevention and detection of designers’ inappropriate confidence and their consequent misuse of AI in design.
Dual-Purpose Lenticular Locking Hinges for Actuation and Stiffening of Deployable Origami Arrays
Authors: Brown Nathan , Varela Katie , Ynchausti Collin , Howell Larry L. , Magleby Spencer P.
Published: November 2022

Deployable origami arrays have been used to increase the aperture areas of spacecraft instruments. Folds within these patterns allow the arrays to fold compactly, but can also cause un-desired folding when in the deployed state. In addition, there is a need to deploy them with mechanisms that are light and small.

This paper introduces a strain-energy storing joint that can be used to deploy and stiffen foldable origami arrays, called the Lenticular Lock (LentLock). The LentLock hinge design includes compliant flexures with geometry based on the Euler spiral. When panels are folded, the flexures are deflected flat and lie in-plane with the panels, storing strain energy. During deployment, the panels are released and the stored strain energy in the flexures opens the folded hinge. Simultaneously, the out-of-plane displacement of the deployed flexures is used to create beneficial interference to stabilize the array and prevent undesired refolding of the mechanism. In this paper, the geometry of the LentLock is introduced and performance of the joint is shown. The Lent-Lock is integrated into several folding mechanisms including a single fold, a single origami vertex, a Z-fold, and a multi-vertex origami array. Proof-of-concept prototypes of each folding pattern are shown.
Generative Design for Resilience of Interdependent Network Systems
Authors: Wu Jiaxin , Wang Pingfeng
Published: November 2022

Interconnected complex systems usually undergo disruptions due to internal uncertainties and external negative impacts such as those caused by harsh operating environments or regional natural disaster events. To maintain the operation of interconnected network systems under both internal and external challenges, design for resilience research has been conducted from both enhancing the reliability of the system through better designs and improving the failure recovery capabilities. As for enhancing the designs, challenges have arisen for designing a robust system due to the increasing scale of modern systems and the complicated underlying physical constraints. To tackle these challenges and design a resilient system efficiently, this study presents a generative design method that utilizes graph learning algorithms. The generative design framework contains a performance estimator and a candidate design generator. The generator can intelligently mine good properties from existing systems and output new designs that meet predefined performance criteria. While the estimator can efficiently predict the performance of the generated design for a fast iterative learning process. Case studies results based on power systems from the IEEE dataset have illustrated the applicability of the proposed method for designing resilient interconnected systems.
Efficient Design of Acoustic Metamaterials With Design Domains of Variable Size Using Graph Neural Networks
Authors: Wiest Tyler , Seepersad Carolyn Conner , Haberman Michael
Published: November 2022

Most metamaterial systems are designed with periodic unit cells to make the underlying design problem more tractable. Shifting to nonperiodic unit cells enables a broader range of physical properties at the expense of higher dimensional design spaces of variable size associated with the adjustable quantity and size of physical features. Representing the physical behavior of these systems with metamodels can enhance the efficiency of the design process, but several challenges must be overcome. Training metamodels for high-dimensional systems requires large volumes of data, and in nonperiodic systems where the quantity and arrangement of structural features is variable, the metamodels must be valid for systems with a broad range of dimensionalities. Furthermore, in acoustic and dynamic applications, responses that are sensitive with respect to frequency compound the issue by requiring dense sampling throughout the spectrum. This paper presents a method to address these challenges by representing these systems as graphs and training purpose-built neural network architectures to update the graphs from state to state. Encoding graph states before — and decoding after — calling the state update functions enables the update functions to maintain generality with respect to dimensionality. The trained update functions are then applicable to systems with dimensionalities beyond those frequently observed in training. By skewing training samples toward lower-dimensional systems that are less computationally expensive to simulate, the computational expense of gathering training data can be reduced with minimal loss of accuracy in predicting the dynamic behavior of higher-dimensional systems. The method is demonstrated by designing an asymmetric acoustic absorber.
Control Co-Design Optimization of Natural Gas Power Plants With Carbon Capture and Thermal Storage
Authors: Vercellino Roberto , Markey Ethan , Limb Braden J. , Pisciotta Maxwell , Huyett Joseph , Garland Shane , Bandhauer Todd , Quinn Jason C. , Psarras Peter , Herber Daniel R.
Published: November 2022

In this work, an optimization model was constructed to help address important design and operation questions for a novel system combining natural gas power plants with carbon capture and thermal storage. A control co-design (CCD) approach is taken where key plant sizing decisions (including storage capacities and energy transfer rates) and operational control (e.g., when to store and use thermal energy and operate the plant) are considered in an integrated manner using a simultaneous CCD strategy. The optimal design, as well as the operation of the system, are determined for an entire year (either all-at-once or through a moving prediction horizons strategy) in a large, sparse linear optimization problem. The results demonstrate both the need for optimal operation to enable a fair economic assessment of the proposed system as well as optimal sizing decisions due to sensitivity to a variety of scenarios, including different market conditions, site locations, and technology options.
A Soft Wearable Elbow Skeleton for Safe Motion Assistance by Variable Stiffness
Authors: Yi Juan , Chen Xiaojiao , Fang Zhonggui , Liu Yujia , Duanmu Dehao , Su Yinyin , Song Chaoyang , Liu Sicong , Wang Zheng
Published: November 2022

Wearable robots could provide external physical assist, contributing to the well-being of elderly or disabled users in accomplishing tasks or therapeutic procedures. However, closely integrating robot dynamics into human activity demands for safety, pleasance and effectiveness simultaneously, requiring both strength and compliance. Soft robotics is generally regarded as a suitable alternative to rigid motor-based actuators for their light weight and passive compliance. However, existing approaches either have predetermined and/or limited passive compliance, or have moderate payload or motion range. While proven very successful in hand actuation in terms of various robotic gloves, their fundamental limitations restrict further expansion to driving other human body parts with higher demands in payload and speed. Previously we have developed an origami soft robotic joint with high torque, customizable dimensions and motion range. In this paper, we report the most recent results on controller development and wearable system integration of the proposed soft actuator in achieving excellent variable-stiffness compliant performance with inherent safety. Using the newly proposed controller, we demonstrate that a higher stiffness leads to quicker passive recovery than human’s normal reaction, suitable in stabilizing common object; while a more submissive configuration, represented by a lower stiffness, could delay the submissive interaction time allowing for a more delicate control of the dynamics of the interaction port with further involvement of human commands, suitable for objects requiring smoother dynamics like preventing a cup of coffee from sloshing. The proposed control strategy and framework has been implemented in a 3D-scanned, 3D-printed wearable robot with elbow actuation, to demonstrate the advantages and new features through experimental results.
Investigating the Roles of Expertise and Modality in Designers’ Search for Inspirational Stimuli
Authors: Kwon Elisa , Rao Vivek , Goucher-Lambert Kosa
Published: November 2022

Designers can benefit from inspirational stimuli when presented during the design process. Encountering external stimuli can also lead designers to negative design outcomes by limiting exploration of the design space and idea generation. Prior work has investigated how specific features of inspirational stimuli can be beneficial or harmful to designers. However, the processes designers use to search for and discover inspirational stimuli leading to these outcomes are less known. The objective of this work is thus to better understand how designers search for inspirational design stimuli. Specifically, we investigate how factors such as designer expertise and search modality (e.g., text vs. visual-based) impact both explicit and implicit features during the search for design stimuli. A cognitive study was completed by novice and expert designers (seven students and eight professionals), who searched for design stimuli using a novel multi-modal search platform while following a think-aloud protocol. The multi-modal search platform enabled search using text and nontext inputs, and provided design stimuli in the form of 3D-model parts. This work presents methods to describe search processes in terms of three levels: activities, behaviors, and pathways, as defined in this paper. Our findings determine that design expertise and search modality influence search behavior. Illustrative examples are presented and discussed of search processes leading designers to both negative and beneficial outcomes, such as designers fixating on specific results or benefiting unexpectedly from unintentional inspirational stimuli. Overall, this work contributes to an improved understanding of how designers search for inspiration, and key factors influencing these behaviors.
Memetic Optimizer for Structural Damage Identification Using Electromechanical Admittance
Authors: Zhang Yang , Zhou Kai , Tang Jiong
Published: November 2022

Electromechanical impedance-based (EMI) techniques using piezoelectric transducers are promising for structural damage identification. They can be implemented in high frequency range with small characteristic wavelengths, leading to high detection sensitivity. The impedance measured is the outcome of harmonic and stationary excitation, which makes it easier to conduct inverse analysis for damage localization and quantification. Nevertheless, the EMI data measurement points are usually limited, thus oftentimes resulting in an under-determined problem. To address this issue, damage identification process can be converted into a multi-objective optimization formulation which naturally yields multiple solutions. While this setup fits the nature of damage identification that a number of possibilities may exist under given observations/measurements, existing algorithms may suffer from premature convergence and entrapment in local extremes. Consequently, the solutions found may not cover the true damage scenario. To tackle these challenges, in this research, a series of local search strategies are tailored to enhance the global searching ability and incorporated into particle swarm-based optimization. The Q-table is utilized to help the algorithm select proper local search strategy based on the maximum Q-table values. Case studies are carried out for verification, and the results show that the proposed memetic algorithm achieves good performance in damage identification.
Neither Too Easy Nor Too Difficult: Effects of Different Success Criteria on Motor Skill Acquisition in Children
Authors: Mousavi Seyyed Mohammadreza , Dehghanizade Jalal , Iwatsuki Takehiro
Published: November 2022

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different success criteria on motor learning in children. Forty-eight children threw soft-golf balls toward a circular target using their nondominant arm. On Day 1, they performed six blocks of 12 trials from 5.5 m. On Day 3, they performed a 12-trial retention test followed by a 12-trial transfer test. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: difficult criteria for success, relatively easy criteria for success (RES), easy criteria for success, and control. Results demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the RES and control groups in their throwing accuracy on the retention and transfer tests, and the RES group had the highest score compared with the other two groups. This research suggests that providing relatively easy criteria facilitates motor skill acquisition in children.
Stress-induced reduction of Na
+
/H
+
exchanger isoform 1 promotes maladaptation of neuroplasticity and exacerbates depressive behaviors
Authors: Li Ye , Fan Cuiqin , Wang Changmin , Wang Liyan , Yi Yuhang , Mao Xueqin , Chen Xiao , Lan Tian , Wang Wenjing , Yu Shu Yan
Published: November 2022

Major depression disorder (MDD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal neuronal activity in specific brain regions. A factor that is crucial in maintaining normal neuronal functioning is intracellular pH (pHi) homeostasis. In this study, we show that chronic stress, which induces depression-like behaviors in animal models, down-regulates the expression of the hippocampal Na
+
/H
+
exchanger isoform 1, NHE1, a major determinant of pHi in neurons. Knockdown of NHE1 in CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons leads to intracellular acidification, promotes dendritic spine loss, lowers excitatory synaptic transmission, and enhances the susceptibility to stress exposure in rats. Moreover, E3 ubiquitin ligase cullin4A may promote ubiquitination and degradation of NHE1 to induce these effects of an unbalanced pHi on synaptic processes. Electrophysiological data further suggest that the abnormal excitability of hippocampal neurons caused by maladaptation of neuroplasticity may be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. These findings elucidate a mechanism for pHi homeostasis alteration as related to MDD.
MycelioTronics: Fungal mycelium skin for sustainable electronics
Authors: Danninger Doris , Pruckner Roland , Holzinger Laura , Koeppe Robert , Kaltenbrunner Martin
Published: November 2022

Electronic devices are irrevocably integrated into our lives. Yet, their limited lifetime and often improvident disposal demands sustainable concepts to realize a green electronic future. Research must shift its focus on substituting nondegradable and difficult-to-recycle materials to allow either biodegradation or facile recycling of electronic devices. Here, we demonstrate a concept for growth and processing of fungal mycelium skins as biodegradable substrate material for sustainable electronics. The skins allow common electronic processing techniques including physical vapor deposition and laser patterning for electronic traces with conductivities as high as 9.75 ± 1.44 × 10
4
S cm
−1
. The conformal and flexible electronic mycelium skins withstand more than 2000 bending cycles and can be folded several times with only moderate resistance increase. We demonstrate mycelium batteries with capacities as high as ~3.8 mAh cm
−2
used to power autonomous sensing devices including a Bluetooth module and humidity and proximity sensor.
Cenozoic intraplate volcanism in central Asia: Mantle upwelling induced by India-Eurasia collision
Authors: Wang Jian , Su Yuping , Zheng Jianping , Dai Hongkun , Tang Gongjian , Ma Qiang , Zhao Junhong , Belousova Elena , Griffin William L. , O’Reilly Suzanne Y.
Published: November 2022

Most of Earth’s volcanism occurs at tectonic plate boundaries associated with subduction or rifting processes. The mantle plume hypothesis is an important supplement to plate tectonics for explaining some high-volume intraplate volcanic fields. However, many intraplate magmatic provinces occur as low-volume, monogenetic basaltic-suite fields that are neither associated with plate-boundary processes nor attributable to mantle plumes, and the origin of such magmatism has long been debated. Identification of their source characteristics and possible mechanisms that trigger mantle melting will provide essential insights into Earth’s mantle heterogeneity and also develop our knowledge of tectonic plate movement through time. Here, we report new geochronology, mineral chemistry (especially olivine), and whole-rock chemical and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions on Cenozoic intracontinental alkaline basalts from the northwestern Tarim craton (central Asia), aiming to better assess the origin of Earth’s low-volume effusive intraplate volcanic fields. The basalts (ca. 42 Ma) have olivine (e.g., mean Ni abundances of ∼2250 ppm, mean Mn/Zn ratios of 13.7) and whole-rock chemistry consistent with their derivation from a mixed peridotite-pyroxenite source. Moderately depleted Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopes (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7039−0.7053; εNd = +4.0 to +5.5; 206Pb/204Pb = 18.247−18.535; εHf = +8.1 to +8.7) require a young (ca. 500 Ma) oceanic crust recycled into the source, possibly related to subduction events during the assembly of Pangea. Estimated thermal-chemical conditions indicate that the original melting occurred in a relatively dry (H2O = 1.4 ± 0.9 wt%) and reduced (logfO2 ΔFMQ = −0.97 ± 0.21, where FMQ is fayalite-magnetite-quartz) asthenosphere under a mantle potential temperature of ∼1420 °C and a pressure of ∼3.7 GPa (corresponding to a depth of ∼120 km). Combining these data with regional tectonic history and geophysical data (high-resolution P-wave tomography), we propose that the long-lasting India-Eurasia collision triggered asthenospheric upwelling, focusing melts along translithospheric zones of weakness; this model provides a robust explanation for the observed Cenozoic intracontinental volcanism in central Asia. The integrated geochemical and geophysical evidence reveals that plate subduction−induced mantle upwelling represents a likely mechanism for the generation of many regions of plume-absent intraplate magmatism within continents.