bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genetic Predisposition to a Higher Whole Body Water Mass May Increase the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Zhu Qi , Chen Qiyu , Tian Ying , Zhang Jing , Ran Rui , Shu Shiyu
Published: February 2023

Background: Observational studies have found an association between increased whole body water mass (BWM) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the causality has yet to be confirmed. To provide feasible protective measures on disease development, we performed Mendelian randomization (MR) design to estimate the potential causal relationship between increased BWM and AF. Methods: We implemented a two-sample MR study to assess whether increased BWM causally influences AF incidence. For exposure, 61 well-powered genetic instruments extracted from UK Biobank (N = 331,315) were used as the proxies of BWM. Summary genetic data of AF were obtained from FinnGen (Ncase = 22,068; Ncontrol = 116,926). Inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger and weighted median methods were selected to infer causality, complemented with a series of sensitivity analyses. MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) and Radial MR were employed to identify outliers. Furthermore, risk factor analyses were performed to investigate the potential mechanisms between increased BWM and AF. Results: Genetic predisposition to increased BWM was demonstrated to be significantly associated with AF in the IVW model (OR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.47–3.09; p = 1.60 × 10−7), and the result was consistent in other MR approaches. There was no heterogeneity or pleiotropy detected in sensitivity analysis. MR-PRESSO identified no outliers with potential pleiotropy after excluding outliers by Radial MR. Furthermore, our risk factor analyses supported a positive causal effect of genetic predicted increased BWM on edematous diseases. Conclusions: MR estimates showed that a higher BWM could increase the risk of AF. Pathological edema is an important intermediate link mediating this causal relationship.
Does an eHealth Intervention Reduce Complications and Healthcare Resources? A mHeart Single-Center Randomized-Controlled Trial
Authors: Gomis-Pastor Mar , Mirabet Perez Sonia , De Dios Lopez Anna , Brossa Loidi Vicenç , Lopez Lopez Laura , Pelegrin Cruz Rebeca , Mangues Bafalluy Mª Antonia
Published: February 2023

(1) Background: In the mHeart trial, we showed that an eHealth intervention, mHeart, improved heart transplant (HTx) recipients’ adherence to immunosuppressive therapy compared with the standard of care. Herein, we present the analysis assessing whether mHeart reduces complication frequency and healthcare resource use, and whether this reduction depends on patients’ adherence. (2) Methods: The mHeart was a single-center randomized-controlled trial (IIBSP-MHE-2014-55) in 134 adult HTx recipients (n = 71 intervention; n = 63 controls). The endpoints were mortality, complications, and resource use during follow-up (mean 1.6 ± 0.6 years). (3) Results: A significantly lower proportion of HTx recipients in mHeart had echocardiographic alteration (2.8% vs. 13.8%; p = 0.02), cardiovascular events (0.35% vs. 2.4%; p = 0.006), infections (17.2% vs. 56%; p = 0.03), and uncontrolled Hba1c (40.8% vs. 59.6%; p = 0.03) than controls. In addition, a significantly lower proportion of patients in the intervention needed hospital (32.4% vs. 56.9%; p = 0.004) or urgent admissions (16.9% vs. 41.4%; p = 0.002) and emergency room visits (50.7% vs. 69.0%; p = 0.03). Adherence status (measured by the self-reported SMAQ) influenced only controls regarding hospitalizations and emergency room visits. Differences were not significant on deaths (intervention 4.2% vs. control 9.5%; p = 0.4) (4) Conclusions: the mHeart strategy significantly reduced the occurrence of the studied post-transplant complications and the need for medical attention in HTx recipients. Adherence status influenced controls in their need for medical care.
Effects of Organic Elicitors on the Recycled Production of Ginkgolide B in Immobilized Cell Cultures of Ginkgo biloba
Authors: Lin Chuang-Yu , Huang Te-Yang , Fu Wei-Chang , Su Wen-Ta
Published: February 2023

Ginkgo biloba is a medicinal plant used in complementary and alternative medicines. Ginkgo biloba extracts contain many compounds with medical functions, of which the most critical is ginkgolide B (GB). The major role that GB plays is to function as an antagonist to the platelet-activating factor, which is one of the causes of thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases. Currently, GB is obtained mainly through extraction and purification from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba; however, the yield of GB is low. Alternatively, the immobilized cultivation of ginkgo calluses with biomaterial scaffolds and the addition of organic elicitors to activate the cell defense mechanisms were found to stimulate increases in GB production. The aim of this study was to use Ginkgo biloba calluses for immobilized cultures with different elicitors to find a more suitable method of ginkgolide B production via a recycling process.
Metal Additive Manufacturing and Its Post-Processing Techniques
Authors: Wang Hao , Fuh Jerry Ying Hsi
Published: February 2023

Metal additive manufacturing has made substantial progress in the advanced manufacturing sector with competitive advantages for the efficient production of high-quality products [...]
MET Exon 14 Variants in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma: Prevalence, Clinicopathologic and Molecular Features
Authors: Yuan Lisi , Mehrotra Harshita , He Xin , Bosler David
Published: February 2023

Somatic MET exon 14 skipping mutations (MET ex14) are targetable driver mutations for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), responsive to MET inhibitors. Objective: This study seeks to further characterize the clinicopathologic features and mutational profile of MET ex14 variant NSCLC. Design: Retrospective review of all MET ex14 tested NSCLC. Testing for selected BRAF, EGFR, HER2, KRAS, and MET mutations was performed using a clinically validated NGS assay, followed by MiSeq sequencing. Variants were classified as significant (Tier1/2) or variants of uncertain significance (VUS) per 2017 AMP/ASCO/CAP Joint Consensus Guidelines. PD-L1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Of 2296 NSCLCs tested between 2017-7/2019, MET ex14 variants were present in 44 (1.9%). A total of 32 of 44 variants were MET exon 14 skipping, while the other 12 mutations were significant missense (3) or VUS (9). Of nine VUS, five were adjacent to the canonical splice site and likely to impact splicing. Four cases had concomitant mutations. Of 35 cases with known clinical staging, stage 1–2 = 20 (57%), stage 3 = 3 (9%), and stage 4 = 12 (34%). Of 19 resected NSCLSs, histological types and growth pattern included 7 lepidic pattern-predominant. A high percentage of tumors with MET ex14 mutations are positive for PD-L1, and the percentage of cases with PD-L1 expression >50% trends higher in more advanced disease. Conclusions: Most MET variants identified in our cohort (73%) are MET ex14 skipping. The prevalence of MET ex14 variants is 1.9%, and a large percentage of tumors has lower clinical stage and less aggressive pathologic features.
A Survey of Underwater Acoustic Target Recognition Methods Based on Machine Learning
Authors: Luo Xinwei , Chen Lu , Zhou Hanlu , Cao Hongli
Published: February 2023

Underwater acoustic target recognition (UATR) technology has been implemented widely in the fields of marine biodiversity detection, marine search and rescue, and seabed mapping, providing an essential basis for human marine economic and military activities. With the rapid development of machine-learning-based technology in the acoustics field, these methods receive wide attention and display a potential impact on UATR problems. This paper reviews current UATR methods based on machine learning. We focus mostly, but not solely, on the recognition of target-radiated noise from passive sonar. First, we provide an overview of the underwater acoustic acquisition and recognition process and briefly introduce the classical acoustic signal feature extraction methods. In this paper, recognition methods for UATR are classified based on the machine learning algorithms used as UATR technologies using statistical learning methods, UATR methods based on deep learning models, and transfer learning and data augmentation technologies for UATR. Finally, the challenges of UATR based on the machine learning method are summarized and directions for UATR development in the future are put forward.
Fixed-Time Average Consensus of a Dynamic Event-Triggered Mechanism in a System of Multiple Underactuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Based on a Body Frame Spherical Coordinate System
Authors: Wang Zhuo , Zhang Ao , Qin Hongde , Jiang Shukai
Published: February 2023

This paper is concerned with the consensus of a system involving multiple underactuated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Combined with a dynamic event-triggered mechanism and a fixed-time stability theorem, the backstepping average consensus controllers are designed. Firstly, the new consensus control objective on the system for multiple underactuated AUVs in a body frame (BF) spherical coordinate system is proposed, and the tracking error kinematic equations are established based on the kinematic characteristics of the underactuated AUV. The fixed-time consensus controller is designed by the backstepping method, and the average consensus theorem is proposed to improve the Lyapunov function. Furthermore, the dynamic event-triggered mechanism is adopted to reduce the communication requirements and energy consumption. This is the first solution to the problem of a consensus controller design for a system of multiple underactuated AUVs. Finally, numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method has superior effectiveness over alternatives.
A Statistical Analysis for Optimisation of a Hybrid BBDB-PA in Mantanani Island, Sabah
Authors: Jalani Muhamad Aiman , Saad Mohd Rashdan , Abdullah Mohamad Faizal , Md Naiem Mohd Azzeri , Razali Mohd Norsyarizad , Zainal Abidin Noh , Abdul Rahman Mohd Rosdzimin
Published: February 2023

The hybrid form of wave energy converter (WEC) is a recent advancement in research concerning harvesting energy from the ocean. This study investigates the effect of size and position of the point absorber integrated with a backward bent duct buoy. The aim of this optimisation is to maximise the WEC-absorbed power and heave response amplitude operators (RAO) at a specific sea site. The optimisation process was applied based on the data collected over a one-year period about sea characteristics for a nearshore region of the Mantanani Island. We present a methodology for optimising the Hybrid BBDB-PA based on a statistical analysis and the hydrodynamics of the system in the frequency and time domain. We used the ANSYS/AQWA software for the hydrodynamic diffraction analysis, and the design of experiments method was applied through the statistical software to determine the optimised parameters. We found that the diameter and gap length between PA and BBDB were found to significantly influence two characteristics, namely, heave RAO and maximum power absorption of PA. This observation shows that the PA size was directly proportional to the performance because a higher diameter has more contact with the ocean’s wet surface area with the ocean and absorbed higher wave energy. Moreover, the gap length between the PA and BBDB was directly correlated with a wavelength, which followed the theoretical value for peak-to-trough length, where the maximum wave height occurs. Despite the condition parameter, we discovered that the WEC position and arrangement were responsible for the highest value of the power, regardless of the PA position used in the experiment. The results of this research provide recommendations for optimising the ocean energy harvesting in order to fully utilise ocean space for energy.
Transcriptome Analysis of Multiple Tissues in the Shrimp Penaeus vannamei Reveals the Typical Physiological Response to Three Pathogens
Authors: Wu Ziwei , Chu Ka Hou , Ma Ka Yan
Published: February 2023

Penaeid shrimp aquaculture is impacted by various diseases. However, most published studies on physiological responses to pathogens have focused on the changes in one or two tissues of shrimp infected by a single pathogen, or the effects of two pathogens infecting the shrimp in a single tissue. There has been limited systematic examination on the similarities and differences of immune responses in multiple tissues under various pathogen infection. Here, the transcriptomic changes of three immune tissues (gill, hepatopancreas and hemocytes) under the infection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), Vibrio parahaemolyticus acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (VPAHPND), and decapod iridovirus 1 (DIV1) were examined to provide new insights regarding the immune responses of the most important cultured shrimp, Penaeus vannamei. The results showed tissue-specific differences in the immune responses of shrimp tissues. The significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in gill are mainly related to environmental information processing and cellular processes. The DEGs in hemocytes are mostly involved in cellular processes, while those in hepatopancreas are primarily associated with metabolism. In addition, cytoskeleton-related proteins, MAPK signaling pathway, complement and coagulation level pathway, and thermogenesis may play key roles in the shrimp–pathogen interactions across tissues. These findings shed light on the typical immune responses of Penaeus vannamei under the infection of pathogens and contribute to the sustainable development of penaeid shrimp farming.
Long-Distance Sea Wave Sparse Matching Algorithm for Sea Level Monitoring System
Authors: Yang Ying , Lu Cunwei , Li Zhenhua
Published: February 2023

Benefiting from rich agricultural land, easy transport and fishing, etc., more and more people are moving to live in coastal areas, with more than 200 million people now living in coastal areas that are vulnerable to extreme sea level events. Sea level information is useful for coastal societies. Image measurement is rapidly developing as a new type of measurement tool. A multicamera-based sea level monitoring system along Japan’s coast near the Pacific is proposed in this paper, and a long-distance sea wave matching method for this system is described. The whole system employs multiple binocular vision systems to take sea surface images and obtain the sea level height based on the disparity between the field of views of the left and right cameras, forming a local measurement and overall analysis monitoring system. Sea level monitoring requires a high processing accuracy and speed to realize a timely response to extreme events. Thus, the paper extracts sea waves and integrates a sea wave’s appearance features as feature points and descriptors and pioneers the idea of searching deterministic features for fast image processing. The average stereo matching precision of the proposed method is up to 89.9% with a running time smaller than 40 ms for most pairs of images. Experiments on various real sea surface image pairs are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Molecular Regulatory Mechanism of the Iron-Ion-Promoted Asexual Sporulation of Antrodia cinnamomea in Submerged Fermentation Revealed by Comparative Transcriptomics
Authors: Li Huaxiang , Dai Jianing , Shi Yu , Zhu Xiaoyan , Jia Luqiang , Yang Zhenquan
Published: February 2023

Antrodia cinnamomea is a precious edible and medicinal fungus with activities of antitumor, antivirus, and immunoregulation. Fe2+ was found to promote the asexual sporulation of A. cinnamomea markedly, but the molecular regulatory mechanism of the effect is unclear. In the present study, comparative transcriptomics analysis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were conducted on A. cinnamomea mycelia cultured in the presence or absence of Fe2+ to reveal the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying iron-ion-promoted asexual sporulation. The obtained mechanism is as follows: A. cinnamomea acquires iron ions through reductive iron assimilation (RIA) and siderophore-mediated iron assimilation (SIA). In RIA, ferrous iron ions are directly transported into cells by the high-affinity protein complex formed by a ferroxidase (FetC) and an Fe transporter permease (FtrA). In SIA, siderophores are secreted externally to chelate the iron in the extracellular environment. Then, the chelates are transported into cells through the siderophore channels (Sit1/MirB) on the cell membrane and hydrolyzed by a hydrolase (EstB) in the cell to release iron ions. The O-methyltransferase TpcA and the regulatory protein URBS1 promote the synthesis of siderophores. HapX and SreA respond to and maintain the balance of the intercellular concentration of iron ions. Furthermore, HapX and SreA promote the expression of flbD and abaA, respectively. In addition, iron ions promote the expression of relevant genes in the cell wall integrity signaling pathway, thereby accelerating the cell wall synthesis and maturation of spores. This study contributes to the rational adjustment and control of the sporulation of A. cinnamomea and thereby improves the efficiency of the preparation of inoculum for submerged fermentation.
Lignin Promotes Mycelial Growth and Accumulation of Polyphenols and Ergosterol in Lentinula edodes
Authors: Wu Feifei , Wang Heqin , Chen Qiufeng , Pang Xiao , Jing Hao , Yin Lijun , Zhang Xiuqing
Published: February 2023

It has been demonstrated that lignin was efficiently degraded by Lentinula edodes (L. edodes). However, the process of lignin degradation and utilization by L. edodes has not been discussed in detail. Therefore, the effects of lignin on L. edodes mycelium growth, chemical compositions, and phenolic profiles were investigated herein. It has been revealed that 0.10% lignin acted as the most effective concentration to accelerate mycelia growth, which yielded the highest biomass of 5.32 ± 0.07 g/L. Furthermore, a 0.10% concentration of lignin promoted the accumulation of phenolic compounds, especially protocatechuic acid, with peak value of 48.5 ± 1.2 μg/g. In contrast, the higher concentration of lignin (0.20%) exerted an inhibitory effect on the growth of L. edodes. Overall, the application of lignin at the optimal concentration of 0.10% could not only enhance the mycelial growth but also accumulate the phenolic acids and raise the nutritional and medical values of L. edodes.
Impact of Financial Distress on the Dividend Policy of Banks in India
Authors: Sidhu Anureet Virk , Jain Pooja , Singh Satyendra Pratap , Kanoujiya Jagjeevan , Rawal Aashi , Rastogi Shailesh , Bhimavarapu Venkata Mrudula
Published: February 2023

The present study primarily examines the impact of financial distress (FD) on the dividend policy of 33 banks working in the Indian economy from 2010 to 2019. In addition, we further explore the association between financial distress and dividend policy under the influence of shareholder activism (SHA). Using the static panel data regression technique, it is revealed that financial distress is non-linearly associated with the dividend policy of banks in an inverted U-shape. In the initial phase of a distressing situation, banks tend to have a liberal dividend policy. However, after reaching the pressure point, the banks start to squeeze dividend distribution to the stakeholders. Furthermore, the significant impact of shareholder activism has been found in the association between financial distress and the dividend payout policy of banks. From the policy perspective, the study will provide the policymakers with a clear all-round perspective of distressing situations, as the current research involves exploring the impact of distress on the dividend policy that will help the experts in basically understanding the adverse effect of financial distress and the repercussions, respectively, on the earning of the shareholders.
Emerging Research Trends in Green Finance: A Bibliometric Overview
Authors: Mohanty Sagarika , Nanda Sudhansu Sekhar , Soubhari Tushar , S Vishnu N , Biswal Sthitipragyan , Patnaik Shalini
Published: February 2023

Green finance is significant since it is the first organized effort by the financial industry to link financial performance with a positive environmental impact. Green finance products are being developed appropriately to achieve sustainability. The present study employs a fundamental bibliometric methodology to assess the current state and progress of academic research on green finance. 1748 papers are taken for this study. Data are extracted from a scholarly database i.e., SCOPUS and for network analysis, VOSviewer software is used. The present paper is focused on six research questions. Information is gathered to examine the above research questions and network maps are applied. We examined year-wise document publications, types of documents, subject areas, most influential articles, different journal sources, co-authorship of countries, and co-occurrence of keywords of green finance. We categorized keywords into clusters and discovered new trends in green finance. The paper also highlighted the recent issues and challenges. The study has also certain limitations and it is concluded by providing implications and suggestions for future studies. At last, this paper will give more insights to researchers, academicians, and others to discover the research gaps in this field of green finance.
Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Activities on the Financial Performance of Indian Health Care Sector Firms: Using Competition as a Moderator
Authors: Agarwal Bhakti , Gautam Rahul Singh , Jain Pooja , Rastogi Shailesh , Bhimavarapu Venkata Mrudula , Singh Saumya
Published: February 2023

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities have become essential and viable activities of corporations because of the increase in concern for environmental, social, and governance issues. The motive of this research is to measure the effect of ESG on the financial performance (FP) of healthcare corporations using the market-to-book value (MTB) ratio as a proxy of FP. A sample of 33 pharma companies in India from 2011 to 2020 has been considered. The study relies on the panel data method to assess the association between ESG and FP. The potential moderating role of competition has also been studied to simplify their relationship in this framework. The finding of this study is that there is a significant negative association between ESG and FP, and it is also found that when competition is used as a moderator, it results in a significantly positive impact on the ESG and FP of healthcare companies. This study increases the understanding of the association between ESG and FP and helps corporations to formulate corporate strategies and stakeholders to make investment decisions. The originality of this study is that it addresses the impact of competition on ESG and FP of the healthcare industry and will become foundational literature for future studies.
Recent Advances in C-S-H Nucleation Seeding for Improving Cement Performances
Authors: Cuesta Ana , Morales-Cantero Alejandro , De la Torre Angeles G. , Aranda Miguel A. G.
Published: February 2023

Reducing cement CO2 footprint is a societal need. This is being achieved mainly by replacing an increasing amount of Portland clinker by supplementary cementitious materials. However, this comes at a price: lower mechanical strengths at early ages due to slow pozzolanic reaction(s). This is being addressed by using accelerator admixtures. In this context, calcium silicate hydrate nucleation seeding seems to have a promising future, as it can accelerate cement and pozzolanic reactions at early ages, optimising their microstructures, without compromising late strength and durability performances. In fact, these features could even be improved. Moreover, other uses are low temperature concreting, precasting, shotconcrete, etc. Here, we focus on reviewing recent reports on calcium silicate hydrate seeding using commercially available admixtures. Current knowledge on the consequences of nucleation seeding on hydration reactions and on early and late mechanical strengths is discussed. It is noted that other features, in addition to the classic alite hydration acceleration, are covered here including the enhanced ettringite precipitation and the very efficient porosity refinement, which take place in the seeded binders. Finally, because the seeded binders seem to be denser, durability properties could also be enhanced although this remains to be properly established.
Design and Performance Evaluation of a Novel Spiral Head-Stem Trunnion for Hip Implants Using Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Soliman Md Mohiuddin , Chowdhury Muhammad E. H. , Islam Mohammad Tariqul , Musharavati Farayi , Mahmud Sakib , Hafizh Muhammad , Ayari Mohamed Arselene , Khandakar Amith , Alam Mohammad Kaosar , Nezhad Erfan Zal
Published: February 2023

With an expectation of an increased number of revision surgeries and patients receiving orthopedic implants in the coming years, the focus of joint replacement research needs to be on improving the mechanical properties of implants. Head-stem trunnion fixation provides superior load support and implant stability. Fretting wear is formed at the trunnion because of the dynamic load activities of patients, and this eventually causes the total hip implant system to fail. To optimize the design, multiple experiments with various trunnion geometries have been performed by researchers to examine the wear rate and associated mechanical performance characteristics of the existing head-stem trunnion. The objective of this work is to quantify and evaluate the performance parameters of smooth and novel spiral head-stem trunnion types under dynamic loading situations. This study proposes a finite element method for estimating head-stem trunnion performance characteristics, namely contact pressure and sliding distance, for both trunnion types under walking and jogging dynamic loading conditions. The wear rate for both trunnion types was computed using the Archard wear model for a standard number of gait cycles. The experimental results indicated that the spiral trunnion with a uniform contact pressure distribution achieved more fixation than the smooth trunnion. However, the average contact pressure distribution was nearly the same for both trunnion types. The maximum and average sliding distances were both shorter for the spiral trunnion; hence, the summed sliding distance was approximately 10% shorter for spiral trunnions than that of the smooth trunnion over a complete gait cycle. Owing to a lower sliding ability, hip implants with spiral trunnions achieved more stability than those with smooth trunnions. The anticipated wear rate for spiral trunnions was 0.039 mm3, which was approximately 10% lower than the smooth trunnion wear rate of 0.048 mm3 per million loading cycles. The spiral trunnion achieved superior fixation stability with a shorter sliding distance and a lower wear rate than the smooth trunnion; therefore, the spiral trunnion can be recommended for future hip implant systems.
Enhanced Wettability, Hardness, and Tunable Optical Properties of SiCxNy Coatings Formed by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering
Authors: Sulyaeva Veronica S. , Kolodin Alexey N. , Khomyakov Maxim N. , Kozhevnikov Alexander K. , Kosinova Marina L.
Published: February 2023

Silicon carbonitride films were deposited on Si (100), Ge (111), and fused silica substrates through the reactive magnetron sputtering of a SiC target in an argon-nitrogen mixture. The deposition was carried out at room temperature and 300 °C and at an RF target power of 50–150 W. An increase in the nitrogen flow rate leads to the formation of bonds between silicon and carbon atoms and nitrogen atoms and to the formation of SiCxNy layers. The as-deposited films were analyzed with respect to their element composition, state of chemical bonding, mechanical and optical properties, and wetting behavior. It was found that all synthesized films were amorphous and represented a mixture of SiCxNy with free carbon. The films’ surfaces were smooth and uniform, with a roughness of about 0.2 nm. Depending on the deposition conditions, SiCxNy films within the composition range 24.1 < Si < 44.0 at.%, 22.4 < C < 56.1 at.%, and 1.6 < N < 51.9 at.% were prepared. The contact angle values vary from 37° to 67°, the hardness values range from 16.2 to 34.4 GPa, and the optical band gap energy changes from 1.81 to 2.53 eV depending on the synthesis conditions of the SiCxNy layers. Particular attention was paid to the study of the stability of the elemental composition of the samples over time, which showed the invariance of the composition of the SiCxNy films for five months.
Mammalian Oocyte Analysis by MALDI MSI with Wet-Interface Matrix Deposition Technique
Authors: Bodzon-Kulakowska Anna , Młodawska Wiesława , Mielczarek Przemyslaw , Lachowicz Dorota , Suder Piotr , Smoluch Marek
Published: February 2023

Oocytes are a special kind of biological material. Here, the individual variability of a single cell is important. It means that the opportunity to obtain information about the lipid content from the analysis of a single cell is significant. In our study, we present a method for lipid analysis based on the MALDI-based mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) approach. Our attention was paid to the sample preparation optimization with the aid of a wet-interface matrix deposition system (matrix spraying). Technical considerations of the sample preparation process, such as the number of matrix layers and the position of the spraying nozzle during the matrix deposition, are presented in the article. Additionally, we checked if changing the 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and 9-Aminoacridine (9AA) matrix concentration and their solvent composition may improve the analysis. Moreover, the comparison of paraformaldehyde-fixed versus nonfixed cell analysis was performed. We hope that our approach will be helpful for those working on lipid analyses in extraordinary material such as a single oocyte. Our study may also offer clues for anybody interested in single-cell analysis with the aid of MALDI mass spectrometry imaging and the wet-interface matrix deposition method.
Improvement of Corrosion and Wear Resistance of CoCrNiSi0.3 Medium-Entropy Alloy by Sputtering CrN Film
Authors: Chang Yi-Chun , Lin Kaifan , Ma Ju-Lung , Huang Han-Fu , Chang Shih-Hsien , Lin Hsin-Chih
Published: February 2023

In this study, Co, Cr, and Ni were selected as the equal-atomic medium entropy alloy (MEA) systems, and Si was added to form CoCrNiSi0.3 MEA. In order to further improve its wear and corrosion properties, CrN film was sputtered on the surface. In addition, to enhance the adhesion between the soft CoCrNiSi0.3 substrate and the super-hard CrN film, a Cr buffer layer was pre-sputtered on the CoCrNiSi0.3 substrate. The experimental results show that the CrN film exhibits a columnar grain structure, and the film growth rate is about 2.022 μm/h. With the increase of sputtering time, the increase in CrN film thickness, and the refinement of columnar grains, the wear and corrosion resistance improves. Among all CoCrNiSi0.3 MEAs without and with CrN films prepared in this study, the CoCrNiSi0.3 MEA with 3 h-sputtered CrN film has the lowest wear rate of 2.249 × 10−5 mm3·m−1·N−1, and the best corrosion resistance of Icorr 19.37 μA·cm–2 and Rp 705.85 Ω·cm2.
Effect of Electro-Thermo-Mechanical Coupling Stress on Top-Cooled E-Mode AlGaN/GaN HEMT
Authors: Jiang Jie , Chen Qiuqi , Hu Shengdong , Shi Yijun , He Zhiyuan , Huang Yun , Hui Caixin , Chen Yiqiang , Wu Hao , Lu Guoguang
Published: February 2023

This work investigated the effects of single stress and electro-thermo-mechanical coupling stress on the electrical properties of top-cooled enhancement mode (E-mode) Aluminium Gallium Nitride/Gallium Nitride (AlGaN/GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) (GS66508T). Planar pressure, linear deformation, punctate deformation, environmental temperature, electro-thermal coupling, thermo-mechanical coupling, and electro-thermo-mechanical coupling stresses were applied to the device. It was found that different kinds of stress had different influence mechanisms on the device. Namely, excessive mechanical pressure/deformation stress caused serious, irrecoverable degradation of the device’s leakage current, with the gate leakage current (Ig) increasing by ~107 times and the drain-to-source leakage current (Idss) increasing by ~106 times after mechanical punctate deformation of 0.5 mm. The device characteristics were not restored after the mechanical stress was removed. Compared with three mechanical stresses, environmental thermal stress had a greater influence on the device’s transfer characteristic and on-resistance (Ron) but far less influence on Ig and Idss. As was expected, multiple stress coupled to the device promoted invalidation of the device. For more in-depth investigation, finite element simulation carried out with COMSOL was used to analyze the effect of electro-thermo-mechanical coupling stress on top-cooled E-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMT. The results of the experiments and simulation demonstrated that single and coupled stresses, especially mechanical stress coupled with other stresses, degraded the electrical properties or even caused irreversible damage to top-cooled E-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMT. Mechanical stress should be reduced as much as possible in the packaging design, transportation, storage, and application of top-cooled E-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMT.
Antimicrobial Properties of TiNbSn Alloys Anodized in a Sulfuric Acid Electrolyte
Authors: Mori Yu , Fujimori Satoko , Kurishima Hiroaki , Inoue Hiroyuki , Ishii Keiko , Kubota Maya , Kawakami Kazuyoshi , Mori Naoko , Aizawa Toshimi , Masahashi Naoya
Published: February 2023

TiNbSn alloy is a high-performance titanium alloy which is biosafe, strong, and has a low Young’s modulus. TiNbSn alloy has been clinically applied as a material for orthopedic prosthesis. Anodized TiNbSn alloys with acetic and sulfuric acid electrolytes have excellent biocompatibility for osseointegration. Herein, TiNbSn alloy was anodized in a sulfuric acid electrolyte to determine the antimicrobial activity. The photocatalytic activities of the anodic oxide alloys were investigated based on their electronic band structure and crystallinity. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the anodized TiNbSn alloy was evaluated using cell lines of the osteoblast and fibroblast lineages. The antimicrobial activity of the anodic oxide alloy was assessed according to the ISO 27447 using methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The anodic oxide comprised rutile and anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) and exhibited a porous microstructure. A well-crystallized rutile TiO2 phase was observed in the anodized TiNbSn alloy. The methylene blue degradation tests under ultraviolet illumination exhibited photocatalytic activity. In antimicrobial tests, the anodized TiNbSn alloy exhibited robust antimicrobial activities under ultraviolet illumination for all bacterial species, regardless of drug resistance. Therefore, the anodized TiNbSn alloy can be used as a functional biomaterial with low Young’s modulus and excellent antimicrobial activity.
Combustion Synthesis and Reactive Spark Plasma Sintering of Non-Equiatomic CoAl-Based High Entropy Intermetallics
Authors: Kuskov Kirill Vasilevich , Nepapushev Andrey A. , Aydinyan Sofiya , Shaysultanov Dmitry G. , Stepanov Nikita D. , Nazaretyan Khachik , Kharatyan Suren , Zakharova Elena V. , Belov Dmitry S. , Moskovskikh Dmitry O.
Published: February 2023

The present work reports the direct production of a high-entropy (HE) intermetallic CoNi0.3Fe0.3Cr0.15Al material with a B2 structure from mechanically activated elemental powder mixtures. Fast and efficient combustion synthesis (CS), spark plasma sintering (SPS), and reactive SPS (RSPS) methods were used to synthesize the HE powders and bulks. The formation of the main B2 phase along with some amounts of secondary BCC and FCC phases are reported, and L12 intermetallic (CS scheme) and BCC based on Cr (CS + SPS and RSPS schemes at 1000 °C) were observed in all samples. The interaction between the components during heating to 1600 °C of the mechanically activated mixtures and CS powders has been studied. It has been shown that the formation of the CoNi0.3Fe0.3Cr0.15Al phase occurs at 1370 °C through the formation of intermediate intermetallic phases (Al9Me2, AlCo, AlNi3) and their solid solutions, which coincidences well with thermodynamic calculations and solubility diagrams. Compression tests at room and elevated temperatures showed that the alloy obtained by the RSPS method has enhanced mechanical properties (σp = 2.79 GPa, σ0.2 = 1.82 GPa, ε = 11.5% at 400 °C) that surpass many known alloys in this system. High mechanical properties at elevated temperatures are provided by the B2 ordered phase due to the presence of impurity atoms and defects in the lattice.
Intelligent PIV Fuzzy Navigation and Attitude Controller for an Octorotor Mini-UAV
Authors: Tellez-Belkotosky Pablo A. , Cabriales-Ramirez Luis E. , Gutierrez-Martinez Manuel A. , Ollervides-Vazquez Edmundo Javier
Published: February 2023

In this research, a proportional plus integral plus velocity (PIV) fuzzy gain scheduling flight controller for an octorotor mini-unmanned aerial vehicle is developed. The designed flight controller scheme, with a PIV term, is combined with a fuzzy gain scheduling approach. The tracking controller PIV fuzzy gain scheduling is based on two controllers connected in cascade with a saturation approach. The Newton–Euler equations of motion are applied to obtain a mathematical model for the octorotor mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (mini-UAV). The flight controller approach is applied to obtain coupling moments and forces with interconnected attitude and navigation tracking trajectory. In the design of a flight navigation controller with two layers, the inner layer consists of a PIV fuzzy gain scheduling controller that is applied to the attitude dynamics, obtaining the references for the coupling outer layer PIV fuzzy gain scheduling controller, which manipulates the translational dynamics. The navigation PIV fuzzy gain scheduling controller is saturated for bounding in translational forces to avoid large deviations of commands to Euler angles pitch and roll, and another saturated controller is implemented for the bounded thrust rotor to avoid the excessive angular speed of these rotors. The octorotor mini-UAV flight navigation simulation is performed to validate the tracking control of a sequence of motions in each axis, which is presented as a validation for the proposed control scheme.
Magneto-Optical Faraday Effect in Quasicrystalline and Aperiodic Microresonator Structures
Authors: Ignatyeva Daria O. , Golovko Polina V. , Belotelov Vladimir I.
Published: February 2023

We theoretically and numerically investigate magnetophotonic microresonators formed by a magnetic layer sandwiched between two reflective multilayers with different layer arrangements. Quasicrystals with the Fibonacci layer sequence and aperiodic structures with the Thue–Morse sequence are all compared to the conventional photonic crystal Bragg microresonators. The magneto-optical spectral properties of such magnetophotonic structures are completely different from each other and from a uniform magnetic film. In multilayered structures of various order types, microresonator modes are excited. The feature of multilayered structures with arrangements different from a periodic one is that they support the excitation of the multiple microresonator modes in a limited visible and near-infrared spectral range. The wavelengths of the two microresonator modes in a regular photonic crystal differ by more than one octave. This feature of the quasi-crystalline and aperiodic microresonators is important for applications in devices based on the Faraday effect.
Significance of Tiny Particles of Dust and TiO2 Subject to Lorentz Force: The Case of Non-Newtonian Dusty Rotating Fluid
Authors: Ali Bagh , Ahammad N. Ameer , Windarto  , Oke Abayomi S. , Shah Nehad Ali , Chung Jae Dong
Published: February 2023

This work examined the thermodynamics of the MHD rotating dusty Maxwell water-based nanofluid with suspended dust particles. This study examines the importance of increasing the volume fraction of tiny particles of TiO2 and dust on fluid dynamics. With appropriate similarity transformations, the governing PDEs for both fluid and dusty-phase models are transformed into non-linear linked non-dimensional ODEs. To acquire graphical consequences, the bvp4c technique is implemented in MATLAB scripts. The primary and secondary velocities’ magnitude in both phases decreases with an increase in the dust particle volume concentration, Lorentz force, rotating, and Maxwell fluid parameters. The growing strength of tiny particles of dust and TiO2 is responsible for the upshot of temperature in both dust and nanofluid phases. A visual representation of the Nusselt number and skin friction coefficients are is provided.
The Shape Entropy of Small Bodies
Authors: Ni Yanshuo , Zhang He , Li Junfeng , Baoyin Hexi , Hu Jiaye
Published: February 2023

The irregular shapes of small bodies usually lead to non-uniform distributions of mass, which makes dynamic behaviors in the vicinities of small bodies different to that of planets. This study proposes shape entropy (SE) as an index that compares the shapes of small bodies and spheres to describe the shape of a small body. The results of derivation and calculation of SE in two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases show that: SE is independent of the size of geometric figures but depends on the shape of the figures; the SE difference between a geometric figure and a circle or a sphere, which is the limit of SE value, reflects the difference between this figure and a circle or a sphere. Therefore, the description of shapes of small bodies, such as near-spherical, ellipsoid, and elongated, can be quantitatively described via a continuous index. Combining SE and the original inertia index, describing the shape of small bodies, can define the shapes of small bodies and provide a reasonably simple metric to describe a complex shape that is applicable to generalized discussion and analysis rather than highly detailed work on a specific, unique, polyhedral model.
Mathematical Analysis of a Bacterial Competition in a Continuous Reactor in the Presence of a Virus
Authors: Alsolami Abdulrahman Ali , El Hajji Miled
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we discuss the competition of two species for a single essential growth-limiting nutriment with viral infection that affects only the first species. Although the classical models without viral infection suggest competitive exclusion, this model exhibits the stable coexistence of both species. We reduce the fourth-dimension proposed model to a three-dimension one. Thus, the coexistence of the two competing species is demonstrated using the theory of uniform persistence applied to the three-variable reduced system. We prove that there is no coexistence of both species without the presence of the virus and the satisfaction of some assumptions on the growth rates of species. Finally, we give some numerical simulations to confirm the obtained theoretical findings.
Stability Analysis of a New Class of Series Type Additive Functional Equation in Banach Spaces: Direct and Fixed Point Techniques
Authors: Agilan P. , Julietraja K. , Almazah Mohammed M. A. , Alsinai Ammar
Published: February 2023

In this paper, the authors introduce two new classes of series type additive functional Equations (FEs). The first class of equations is derived from the sum of the squares of the alternative series and the second one is obtained from the sum of the cubes of the series. The solution of the FE is investigated using the principle of mathematical induction. The beauty of this method lies in the fact that it satisfies the property of the additive FE as well as the series. Banach spaces are one of the widely-used spaces that are very helpful to analyse the stability results of various FEs. The Banach space conditions have been applied and the stability results are established for both of the equations. Furthermore, the Banach Contraction principle and alternative of fixed point theorem are used to derive the stability results in a fixed point technique (FPT). The relationship between the FEs and both the series is established through the principle of mathematical induction in the Application section, which adds novelty to the derived results.
A New One-Parameter Distribution for Right Censored Bayesian and Non-Bayesian Distributional Validation under Various Estimation Methods
Authors: Emam Walid , Tashkandy Yusra , Goual Hafida , Hamida Talhi , Hiba Aiachi , Ali M. Masoom , Yousof Haitham M. , Ibrahim Mohamed
Published: February 2023

We propose a new extension of the exponential distribution for right censored Bayesian and non-Bayesian distributional validation. The parameter of the new distribution is estimated using several conventional methods, including the Bayesian method. The likelihood estimates and the Bayesian estimates are compared using Pitman’s closeness criteria. The Bayesian estimators are derived using three loss functions: the extended quadratic, the Linex, and the entropy functions. Through simulated experiments, all the estimating approaches offered have been assessed. The censored maximum likelihood method and the Bayesian approach are compared using the BB algorithm. The development of the Nikulin–Rao–Robson statistic for the new model in the uncensored situation is thoroughly discussed with the aid of two applications and a simulation exercise. For the novel model under the censored condition, two applications and the derivation of the Bagdonavičius and Nikulin statistic are also described.
On Model Identification Based Optimal Control and It’s Applications to Multi-Agent Learning and Control
Authors: Luo Rui , Peng Zhinan , Hu Jiangping
Published: February 2023

This paper reviews recent progress in model identification-based learning and optimal control and its applications to multi-agent systems (MASs). First, a class of learning-based optimal control method, namely adaptive dynamic programming (ADP), is introduced, and the existing results using ADP methods to solve optimal control problems are reviewed. Then, this paper investigates various kinds of model identification methods and analyzes the feasibility of combining the model identification method with the ADP method to solve optimal control of unknown systems. In addition, this paper expounds the current applications of model identification-based ADP methods in the fields of single-agent systems (SASs) and MASs. Finally, some conclusions and some future directions are presented.
An Improved Material Point Method with Aggregated and Smoothed Bernstein Functions
Authors: Zhu Zheng , Bao Tengfei , Zhu Xi , Gong Jian , Hu Yuhan , Zhang Jingying
Published: February 2023

Nodal shape functions and their gradients are vital in transferring physical information within the material point method (MPM). Their continuity is related to numerical stability and accuracy, and their support domain size affects computational efficiency. In this paper, a scheme of aggregated and smoothed Bernstein functions is proposed to improve the MPM. In detail, the Bernstein polynomials are smoothed with a convolution reformation to eliminate the cell crossing error, and an aggregation strategy is implemented to cut down the node amount required for field probing. Hierarchical MPM variants are obtained with choices of original Bernstein polynomials and degrees of smoothing. Numerical examples show that mass, momentum, and energy conservations are all well met, and no cell crossing noise exists. In addition, solution accuracy and numerical stability are significantly improved in large deformation problems.