bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Clinical, Biochemical, and Sonological Parameters in Adolescents with and without Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Authors: Dutt Sampada , Chadha Shikha , Gupta Vinita
Published: December 2022

Objectives

The Pediatric Endocrine Society consensus criteria was developed in 2015 to diagnose adolescent PCOS. There are no Indian studies that use these criteria for diagnosis and then compare the clinical characteristics with those of normal controls. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical and biochemical profile in adolescents with and without PCOS and to study the ovarian morphology in adolescents with and without PCOS.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a prospective case–control study on 60 adolescents who attended the outpatient department/adolescent immunization clinic. Group A included 30 adolescent girls with PCOS diagnosed as per the consensus criteria and Group B included 30 adolescents without PCOS. All participants were clinically evaluated and called empty stomach in the follicular phase for metabolic (Serum TSH, prolactin, FSH, LH, and testosterone) and endocrinal workup (2-hour OGTT, lipid profile) followed by ultrasonic examination.

Results

In group A, 40% were overweight and 36.7% were obese and in group B, 20% were overweight and 20% were obese. There were no significant differences noted in gonadotropin levels in two groups. Mean testosterone levels were higher in PCO adolescents. The mean ovarian volume and ovarian follicle number were significantly higher in adolescents with PCOS. We found that if ultrasound criteria were added to the diagnosis, there would be about 7% lesser PCOS diagnosis.

Conclusion

PCOS alters the fat distribution and lipid distribution in the body. These are features that lead to long-term metabolic alterations and life-threatening diseases. All PCOS adolescents thus be screened for these abnormalities and advised lifestyle modifications to keep these parameters under control.
Optimizing Internet Use during Adolescence: eHealth Solutions
Authors: Singhal Paridhi , Dhaliwal Noor , Dabas Aashima , Yadav Sangeeta
Published: December 2022

Internet offers an immense opportunity as a resource for education, training, and health promotion. This narrative review summarizes the opportunities for health promotion among adolescents through use of the Internet and technology (defined as eHealth). The details of technology and use of Internet for adolescent-health related topics such as nutrition, fitness, sexual health, adventure, and violence were searched through PubMed. The review reports few digital solutions to address key challenges during adolescence like promotion of nutrition and sexual reproductive health, prevention of noncommunicable diseases, substance abuse, and mental health issues. eHealth was concluded as a potential solution for preventive and promotional health practices during adolescence. However, concerns of Internet addiction, safety, privacy, mental health disorders, and misinformation need to be addressed and monitored during adolescence.
Comparison of MRI Findings in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Patients with Rhino-Orbito-Cerebral Mucormycosis
Authors: Agrawal Alka , Kori Neetu , Madhpuriya Gulshan , Nigam Prakhar , Agrawal Simran
Published: December 2022

Objective

Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) has emerged as a key concern during the period of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Diabetes mellitus is a known risk factor for invasive fungal infection. The aim of this article was to study and compare the radiological features of COVID-19-associated ROCM between diabetic and nondiabetic patients using magnetic resonance imaging.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective observational study comprising 78 diabetics and 40 nondiabetics who developed ROCM after COVID-19 was conducted. The imaging data of both groups were analyzed, findings tabulated and compared using statistical methods.

Results

Maxillary and ethmoid sinuses were commonly involved in both groups. Periantral fat and orbits were the most common sites of disease extension. The spread of infection to periantral soft tissue was significantly higher in diabetics (p = 0.049). Diabetics were more likely to have bone, orbit, and brain involvement than nondiabetics, although the difference was not statistically significant. Diabetic patients were the only ones to experience complications such as fungal abscess and cavernous sinus and internal carotid artery involvement. However, a considerable number of nondiabetic patients (22.5%) also had an intracranial extension of disease.

Conclusion

The radiological appearances and common sites of invasion in ROCM are similar in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. The extensive spread of infection to extra-sinus regions can occur in nondiabetic patients with COVID-19 but is less frequent compared with diabetics.
Primary Intramedullary Spinal High-Grade Glioma: A Case Series with Review of Literature
Authors: Aashita Aashita , Sharma Rajiv , Yadav Vikas , Manikandan Muthu , Dhameliya Ankit , Mishra Hemendra , Thakur Pragyat , Malik Abhidha
Published: December 2022

Background Primary intramedullary high-grade glioma (HGG) and glioblastoma of spinal cord are uncommon tumors of central nervous system. Treatment recommendations are based on current guidelines of intracranial HGG and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Methods We retrospectively analyzed records of 9,686 patients who reported to our center over past 7 years. Only three cases of primary intramedullary HGG of spinal cord were found.

Results In this article, we have reported three cases of primary intramedullary HGG of spinal cord. A comparison of intracranial and intramedullary spinal HGG and review of literature is presented.

Conclusion Despite aggressive treatment using surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the survival rates are dismal. Emerging evidence has shown difference in biological behavior of intracranial and spinal HGG. Genetic studies to understand the biology and prospective studies are needed.
Idiopathic Left Posterior Fascicular Ventricular Tachycardia in Children: A Case Report
Authors: Ari Abhijit , Singh Manjeet
Published: December 2022

The incidence of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia is scarce; however, it is the most common type of ventricular tachycardia in previously normal children. Left posterior fascicular ventricular tachycardia is one of them, and many times it is mismanaged as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The characteristic features of this arrhythmia are a monomorphic tachycardia, right bundle branch block, and superior axis. This type of arrhythmia is highly sensitive to verapamil, even in infancy, but refractory to adenosine or amiodarone. As nonrecognition of this condition can be fatal, it should be identified early.
Inhaled Milrinone via HFNC as a Postextubation Cardiopulmonary Elixir: Case Series and Review of Literature
Authors: Bansal Noopur , Magoon Rohan , Kalaiselvan Jaffrey , ItiShri ItiShri , Kohli Jasvinder Kaur , Kashav Ramesh Chand
Published: December 2022

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) often complicates perioperative course following pediatric cardiac surgery, often presenting unique challenges to the attending cardiac anesthesiologist. Apart from difficult weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass, PH can often compound weaning from mechanical ventilation in this postoperative subset. From pathophysiological standpoint, the former can be attributed to concurrent detrimental cardiopulmonary consequences of PH as a multisystemic syndrome. Therefore, with an objective to address the affected systems, that is, cardiac and pulmonary simultaneously, we report combined use of inhaled milrinone (a pulmonary vasodilator) through high-frequency nasal cannula (oxygen reservoir and continuous positive airway pressure delivery device), purported to complement each other's mechanism of action in the management of PH, thereby hastening postoperative recovery. The article additionally presents a nuanced perspective on the advantages of combining the aforementioned therapies and hence proposing the same as a possible “postoperative cardiopulmonary elixir.”
COVID 19: Airway Management and Pharmacological Strategies
Authors: Chandra Sonal , Narang Aditi , Choudhuri Pratiti , Gupta Kapil
Published: December 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has since resulted in more than 250 million cases worldwide and over 50 million deaths. Although treatment is mainly supportive, with oxygen therapy being the mainstay, various pharmacological treatment modalities have also been explored. In this review, we have evaluated the available evidence on airway management as well as medical management and highlighted the possible interventions that may be effective in care of critically ill patients.
The development of independent colleges and their separation from their parent public universities in China
Authors: Liu Xu , Zhang Yanli , Zhao Xiantong , Hunt Stephen , Yan Wuyin , Wang Yitao
Published: December 2022

With the highest number of students in private higher education in the world, China is updating the governance system for this sector. This process involves independent colleges, which were founded by and remain associated with public universities, but which are privately funded. As one of the strategies to improve the development of independent colleges, in 2008 the Ministry of Education asked these colleges to separate from their parent public universities. However, by the end of 2020, over half of the 2008 colleges had still not separated but, over the next year, the outstanding figure suddenly dropped by one-third. This paper analyses the factors affecting the separation from the viewpoints of different stakeholders. Private funders have an interest in making use of the parent universities’ resources and controlling and gaining financial returns from the colleges; for the parent universities, the management fees paid by the colleges are an important priority, while, for local government, more and better higher education places with less public finance is a key goal. Currently, there are few studies in the English language literature on independent colleges. By disseminating experiences of higher education reform in China, our findings could have important implications for government policymakers and for senior and practicing managers in universities.
On the new universality class in structurally disordered n-vector model with long-range interactions
Authors: Shapoval Dmytro , Dudka Maxym , Holovatch Yurij
Published: December 2022

We study a stability boundary of a region where nontrivial critical behavior of an n-vector model with long-range power-law decaying interactions is induced by the presence of a structural disorder (e.g., weak quenched dilution). This boundary is given by the marginal dimension of the order parameter nc dependent on space dimension, d, and a control parameter of the interaction decay, σ, below which the model belongs to the new dilution-induced universality class. Exploiting the Harris criterion and recent field theoretical renormalization group results for the pure model with long-range interactions, we get nc as a three loop ɛ = 2σ – d-expansion. We provide numerical values for nc applying series resummation methods. Our results show that not only the Ising systems (n = 1) can belong to the new disorder-induced long-range universality class at d = 2 and 3.
High-performance direct terahertz modulator based on resonance mode transformation for high-speed wireless communication
Authors: Gong Sen , Ping Dianyuan , Bi Chunyang , Zhang Zhenpeng , Liang Shixiong , Wang Lan , Zeng Hongxin , Ding Kesen , Dong Yazhou , Zhou Hongji , Yang Ziqiang , Wu Jian , Zhang Yaxin
Published: December 2022

The developing terahertz wireless communication demands higher performance modulators. In this Letter, a mechanism of resonance mode transformation for a high-speed terahertz direct amplitude modulator with rather low insertion loss and high modulation depth is presented. By embedding an H-shaped resonance structure, which consists of a fin-line and two flip-flopped GaAs Schottky diodes, into the E-wall of a waveguide, the fed terahertz waves are modulated by the inductive-capacitive (LC) resonance transformation of the structure. Based on this mechanism, a modulator working in the frequency band around 140 GHz is fabricated and packaged. Thanks to the LC resonance transformation, the presented modulator exhibits a low insertion loss of 1.8 dB at 138 GHz, a large modulation depth higher than 99% at 148 GHz, and high modulation speeds up to 30 Gbps at 146 GHz. Accordingly, the presented mechanism paves a promising route to develop high performance terahertz direct modulators, which is of great significance for terahertz high-speed wireless communication.
Electric field enhancement of pool boiling of dielectric fluids on pillar-structured surfaces: A lattice Boltzmann study
Authors: Li Wanxin , Li Qing , Chang Huaizheng , Yu Yue , Tang Shi
Published: December 2022

In this paper, by using a phase-change lattice Boltzmann (LB) model coupled with an electric field model, we numerically investigate the performance and enhancement mechanism of pool boiling of dielectric fluids on pillar-structured surfaces under an electric field. The numerical investigation reveals that applying an electric field causes both positive and negative influences on the pool boiling of dielectric fluids on pillar-structured surfaces. It is found that under the action of an electric field, the electric force prevents the bubbles nucleated in the channels from crossing the edges of the pillar tops. On the one hand, such an effect results in the bubble coalescence in the channels and blocks the paths of liquid supply for the channels, which leads to the deterioration of pool boiling in the medium-superheat regime. On the other hand, it prevents the coalescence between the bubbles in the channels and those on the pillar tops, which suppresses the formation of a continuous vapor film and, therefore, delays the occurrence of a boiling crisis. Meanwhile, the electric force can promote the departure of the bubbles on the pillar tops. Accordingly, the critical heat flux (CHF) can be improved. Based on the revealed mechanism, wettability-modified regions are applied to the pillar tops for further enhancing the boiling heat transfer. It is shown that the boiling performance on pillar-structured surfaces can be enhanced synergistically with the CHF being increased by imposing an electric field and the maximum heat transfer coefficient being improved by applying mixed wettability to the pillar-structured surfaces.
Annealing induced cation diffusion in TaOx-based memristor and its compatibility for back-end-of-line post-processing
Authors: Prasad Om Kumar , Chandrasekaran Sridhar , Chung Chin-Han , Chang Kow-Ming , Simanjuntak Firman Mangasa
Published: December 2022

The effect of annealing on the switching characteristics of memristor devices cannot be overlooked because the thermal process can exhibit both positive and negative effects on the performance of the devices. We investigated the switching behavior of TaOx-based memristors (electrochemical metallization cell type, ECM) that were Ar-ambient annealed under two conditions, with and without the active electrode. We found a high concentration of metal species in the TaOx films, even in the device where the TaOx was annealed without the active top electrode. This indicates that the properties of the annealed films encourage the diffusion of metal species in the oxide. We suggest that the increase in non-lattice oxygen (by 4.1%, indicating a higher concentration of Vo defects) after the annealing process plays a role in this phenomenon. In addition, the concentration of metal species that exist prior to the switching activation as well as the structure of the conducting bridge determines the switching stability of the devices. The device that annealed before top electrode deposition shows the worst stability; conversely, the device that annealed after top electrode deposition has the best coefficient of variation of the LRS and HRS which is 4.69% and 78.8%, respectively. Electrical and materials analyses were conducted to understand this phenomenon. This study provides insight into the compatibility of ECM in CMOS post-processing.
Incoherent-to-coherent crossover in thermal transport through III–V alloy superlattices
Authors: Perez C. , Avazpour L. , Eryilmaz M. K. , Earles T. , Ruder S. , Gopalan V. , Botez D. , Knezevic I. , Ramos-Alvarado B. , Foley B. M. , Mawst L. J.
Published: December 2022

We report on time-domain thermoreflectance measurements of cross-plane thermal conductivity of In0.63Ga0.37As/In0.37Al0.63As superlattices with interface densities ranging from 0.0374 to 2.19 nm−1 in the temperature range 80–295 K. The measurements are complemented by a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain solution to the elastic wave equation, in which the rms roughness and correlation length at heterointerfaces are varied, and the parameters yielding best agreement with experiment are determined using machine learning. Both experimental measurements and simulations demonstrate the existence of a minimum in the cross-plane thermal conductivity as a function of interface density, which is evidence of a crossover from incoherent to coherent phonon transport as the interface density increases. This minimum persists with increasing temperature, indicating the continued dominance of the temperature-independent interface and alloy-disorder scattering over the temperature-dependent three-phonon scattering in thermal transport through III–V alloy superlattices.
How to evaluate neoclassical transport coefficients by a single δf simulation
Authors: Fujita K. , Satake S.
Published: December 2022

The δf method is extended to calculate all possible components of neoclassical transport matrices, including non-diagonal components and interspecies components of any species combinations in an arbitrary magnetic field configuration, by a single simulation. The method is implemented in a global neoclassical code FORTEC-3D and applied to cases of multi-ion species plasmas in a tokamak and a helical configuration, respectively. The results are benchmarked against analytic solutions and local simulation results. It is found that the results obtained with the newly developed method provide reliable solutions that satisfy the Onsager symmetry relation as well as the intrinsic ambipolarity in a tokamak configuration.
Electric torsion effect in a ferroelectric nanodot
Authors: Xie Qian , Yuan Shuai , Ji Ye , Feng Shilong , Liu Yulan , Wang Biao
Published: December 2022

Polar topologies with exotic textures and functionalities in low-dimensional ferroelectrics are recently drawing extensive attention. Elucidating the mechanical responses caused by the phase transitions under external excitation, especially the torsional response still unclear, is quite significant for the development of ferroelectric actuators. Here, using phase-field simulation, we propose a scheme to produce local torsional force via electric field excitation, namely, the electric torsion effect in a ferroelectric nanodot. The results indicate that the twisting response originating from the structural phase transitions between vortex and helical states is tunable in magnitude and orientation by manipulating the external electric fields. This work provides further insight into the electromechanical response of polar topologies and could be conducive to facilitating the development of torsion-based device applications in ferroelectric nanoelectronics.
Painted radioluminescence imaging with radioluminescent nanophosphors
Authors: Bai Tingting , Kang Fei , Zhu Shouping , Chen Xueli , Wang Yihan , Cao Xu
Published: December 2022

Optical strategies like Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) or radioluminescence imaging (RLI) to image clinically available positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography probes still suffer from low sensitivity or resolution. This study investigated a painted radioluminescence imaging (PRLI) approach that employed a painted scintillator to improve signal and resolution for imaging clinical used 18F-fluorinated deoxyribose (18F-FDG). Results of phantom and in vivo experiments revealed that PRLI could achieve ∼100 times higher signal intensity than CLI and higher resolution compared to Flexible radioluminescence imaging (FRLI), a flexible scintillation-based RLI. PRLI increased signal-to-background ratio in the pseudotumor model by 81.8% (compared to CLI) and 73.9% (compared to FRLI) as well as in the tumor model by 60.0% (compared to CLI) and 33.3% (compared to FRLI). As a conclusion, PRLI is a more effective optical approach for detecting tumors using 18F-FDG.
Fatigue life evaluation of gold wire bonding solder joints in MEMS pressure sensors
Authors: Zhang Yunfan , Wu Kangkang , Shen Shengnan , Zhang Quanyong , Cao Wan , Liu Sheng
Published: December 2022

The failure of the gold wire bonding solder joint of a MEMS pressure sensor caused by the thermal cycling test was investigated with thermal cycling experiments and fatigue simulations. The results show that the maximum stress and strain occurred at the root of the solder joint on the substrate. With the accumulation of strain caused by thermal cycles, the bonding area of solder joint became smaller and the shear force of solder joints reduced to 22.3% after 1600 thermal cycles. The solder joints on the substrate failed after 1940 thermal cycles in plastic fatigue simulations and 3.16 × 108 thermal cycles in creep fatigue simulations. Plastic fatigue is the major factor for thermal failure of gold wire bonding.
Tunable presynaptic weighting in optoelectronic spiking neurons built with laser-coupled resonant tunneling diodes
Authors: Zhang Weikang , Hejda Matěj , Malysheva Ekaterina , Raghib Ali Al-Taai Qusay , Javaloyes Julien , Wasige Edward , Figueiredo José M L , Dolores-Calzadilla Victor , Romeira Bruno , Hurtado Antonio
Published: December 2022

Optoelectronic artificial spiking neurons are regarded as promising core elements for novel photonic neuromorphic computing hardware. In this work, we investigate a modular optoelectronic spiking neuron built with an excitable resonant tunneling diode (RTD) coupled to a photodetector and a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). This work provides the first experimental demonstration of amplitude control of the fired optical spikes in the electrical-to-optical part of the artificial neuron, therefore introducing a simple way of weighting of the presynaptic spikes. This is achieved by tuning the VCSEL bias current, hence providing a straightforward, high-speed, hardware-friendly option for the weighting of optical spiking signals. Furthermore, we validate the feasibility of this layout using a simulation of a monolithically integrated, RTD-based nanoscale optoelectronic spiking neuron model, which confirms the system’s capability to deliver weighted optical spiking signals at GHz firing rates. These results demonstrate a high degree of flexibility of RTD-based artificial optoelectronic spiking neurons and highlight their potential towards compact, high-speed photonic spiking neural networks and light-enabled neuromorphic hardware.
Electromechanical behaviour of REBCO coated conductor toroidal field coils for ultra-high-field magnetic-confinement plasma devices
Authors: Li Xiaodong , Große Veit , Song Dongbin , Yang Wenjiang , Macián-Juan Rafael
Published: December 2022

The development of rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) coated conductors with an extremely high critical current density under ultra-high fields opens up a high-field path towards large-scale fusion. The latest technology has inspired cable-in-conduit conductors such as conductor on round core wires, twisted stacked tape conductor cables and Rutherford cables with outstanding current-carrying capacities. In order to realise an inductance balance and decrease magnetic diffusion, these cables have been twisted or folded to a certain extent, thus breaking the mechanical behaviour of the ceramic superconductor and limiting their potential for ultra-high-field applications. One possible solution is to employ a non-twisted cable, which offers maximum protection of its mechanical properties and enables a parallel orientation of the toroidal field vector to the surface of REBCO coated conductors, and at the same time decreases the influence of perpendicular fields on the critical current of REBCO cables. However, the applied physics community’s attitude towards using non-twisted, parallel REBCO stacked-tape cables is one of scepticism, the main argument being that the nonlinear E–J behaviour associated with screening current in the parallel stack might lead to a field distortion and reduce the performance of superconductivity. Recent analyses have demonstrated that the effect of screening current decreases significantly owing to a wavelike magnetic field distribution along the cable. The authors obtained similar results using H-formulation and T–A formulation based finite element methods and demonstrated that the non-twisted cable may be feasible for DC current transmission toroidal field coils in magnetic-confinement devices. Furthermore, the electromechanical behaviour of toroidal field coils has been evaluated via the Maxwell stress, solved by using an A–V formulation. It was discovered that the stress generated by the toroidal field coils is within the stress tolerance of the REBCO coated conductor, something which is of great significance in promoting the application of REBCO coated conductors for ultra-high-field magnetic-confinement plasma devices.
Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue at nanostructured ZnO thin films
Authors: Kulis-Kapuscinska Anna , Kwoka Monika , Borysiewicz Michal Adam , Wojciechowski Tomasz , Licciardello Nadia , Sgarzi Massimo , Cuniberti Gianaurelio
Published: December 2022

The photocatalytic degradation of the wastewater dye pollutant methylene blue (MB) at ZnO nanostructured porous thin films, deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering on Si substrates, was studied. It was observed that over 4 photocatalytic cycles (0.3 mg · l−1 MB solution, 540 minUV irradiation), the rate constant k of MB degradation decreased by ∼50%, varying in the range (1.54 ÷ 0.78) · 10–9 (mol·l−1·min−1). For a deeper analysis of the photodegradation mechanism, detailed information on the nanostructured ZnO surface morphology and local surface and subsurface chemistry (nonstoichiometry) were obtained by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as complementary analytical methods. The SEM studies revealed that at the surface of the nanostructured ZnO thin films a coral reef structure containing polycrystalline coral dendrites is present, and that, after the photocatalytic experiments, the sizes of individual crystallites increased, varying in the range 43 ÷ 76 nm for the longer axis, and in the range 28 ÷ 58 nm for the shorter axis. In turn, the XPS studies showed a slight non-stoichiometry, mainly defined by the relative [O]/[Zn] concentration of ca. 1.4, whereas [C]/[Zn] was ca. 1.2, both before and after the photocatalytic experiments. This phenomenon was directly related to the presence of superficial ZnO lattice oxygen atoms that can participate in the oxidation of the adsorbed MB molecules, as well as to the presence of surface hydroxyl groups acting as hole-acceptors to produce OH· radicals, which can be responsible for the generation of superoxide ions. In addition, after experiments, the XPS measurements revealed the presence of carboxyl and carbonyl functional groups, ascribable to the oxidation by-products formed during the photodegradation of MB.
High intensity focused ultrasound atomization and erosion in healthy and tendinopathic tendons
Authors: Smallcomb Molly , Simon Julianna C
Published: December 2022

Objective. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can induce thermal and mechanical mechanisms in a well-defined focal volume of tissues. Histotripsy is a form of mechanical HIFU that can initiate and interact with bubble(s) to cause shock scattering and perhaps atomization within the bubble(s) to fractionate most soft tissues. Ultrasonic atomization, or the ejection of fine droplets from an acoustically-excited liquid exposed to air, has been shown to erode planar soft tissue surfaces, which has led to theories that atomization is a mechanism in histotripsy. However, healthy tendons show resistance to conventional histotripsy; pre-treatment of tendons with heat increases susceptibility to histotripsy fractionation. This study investigates ultrasonic atomization and erosion from planar healthy and tendinopathic tendon surfaces as we evaluate HIFU parameters for histotripsy in tendons. Approach. Forty-six ex vivo bovine tendon-air interfaces were pre-conditioned to surface wetting, heat baths of 20 °C (unaltered), 37 °C (body temperature), and 58 °C (collagen degradation), collagenase soaks for 1, 3, 5, and 24 h (mimicking tendinopathic tendons), and phosphate buffered saline soaks for 24 h. Ejected fragments, histology, and gross analysis determined erosion success. Tissue displacement from the HIFU radiation force was monitored with high-speed photography, and tissue relaxation was pixel-tracked and fit to a Kelvin–Voigt model to evaluate changes in viscoelastic properties. Main results. Results showed that atomization produced holes in 24 h collagenase tendons and surface pitting in 58 °C, 3 h, and 5 h collagenase tendons. Increased mound heights and viscoelastic constants in pre-heated (to 58 °C) and collagenase-soaking (3+ hours) tendinopathic models caused a decrease in elasticity and/or increase in viscosity, increasing susceptibility to erosion by HIFU atomization. Significance. Therefore, tendons with chronic tendinopathies may be more susceptible than healthy tendons to histotripsy fractionation.
Super-radiance from a relativistic source
Authors: Wyenberg C M , Rajabi F , Houde M
Published: December 2022

Cooperative super-radiant emission from a highly relativistic multi-particle source is modeled and solved for the simple case of two particles. An existing model of a single relativistic two-level particle is used to construct a Hamiltonian describing relativistic velocity dependent multi-particle super-radiance. The standard diagrammatic framework is applied to the calculation of time evolution and density operators from this Hamiltonian, demonstrating during the process a departure from standard results and calculation methods. In particular, the so-called vertical photon result of the literature is shown to be modified by the relativistic Lorentz factor of the sample; additionally, a set of coupled differential equations describing certain propagators in the velocity-dependent small sample framework are introduced and solved numerically via a hybrid fourth order Runge–Kutta and convolution approach. The model is applied to the simple case of two highly relativistic particles travelling with slightly differing velocities simulated at varying relativistic mean sample β factors, and velocity coherence requirements for a sample to demonstrate enhanced super-radiant emission in the observer frame are evaluated. These coherence requirements are found to become increasingly restrictive at higher β factors, even in the context of standard results of relativistic velocity differential transformations.
Phase-retrieval algorithm based on Kramers–Kronig relations in coherent diffraction imaging
Authors: Wang Ying , Zhou Jianhui , Ou Jiyang , Guo Jie , Yang Cailian , Zhang Xiaoqiang , Xu Peng , Ying Make , Xu Yanxia , Zhou Qinghong , Liu Tao
Published: December 2022

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) is a high-resolution technique that does not require x-ray lenses. With advances in scientific technology, such as synchrotron radiation, x-ray free-electron lasers, and coherent electron sources, CDI has been applied to diverse fields, such as biology, medicine, and semiconductors, as a high-resolution, nondestructive measure. With the rapid increase in demand for these applications, enhancing the efficiency of processing high-volume data has become a significant challenge for promotion. In this study, we proposed an algorithm that combines Kramers–Kronig (KK) relations with oversampling smoothness (OSS). The results were evaluated by introducing an error coefficient. We found that the error of the KK-OSS algorithm is always reduced by approximately 50% compared with the error reduction (ER) algorithm, hybrid input–output (HIO) algorithm, and OSS in real space. In the diffraction space, the error in the KK-OSS can be decreased to 0.11. With 100 iterations, KK-OSS spent 218.3 s on reconstructing most of the sample information, while ER was 258.1 s, HIO algorithm took 296.7 s and the reconstruction was still a random value. In Fraunhofer diffraction, it cost KK-OSS 58.8 s to reconstruct, while OSS took 61.9 s. Therefore, this method can reduce the reconstruction error, shorten the reconstruction time, and improve the efficiency compared with the ER, HIO, and OSS algorithms using a random phase as the initial value.
Improvement of activity level detection in dynamic speckle patterns with fuzzy logic operators
Authors: Echeverría Noelia I , Cujano Ayala Estefany G , Guzmán Marcelo N , Meschino Gustavo J , Passoni Lucía I
Published: December 2022

In this work, the design of a multi-descriptor model is proposed to improve the identification of activity levels in dynamic laser speckle (DLS) image sequences. Fuzzy predicates evaluated with operators of different logic systems were used. The model considers both temporal and spatial effects of the DLS phenomenon. Experiments were carried out to characterize the drying times of a sample painted with water-based paint, illuminated with a coherent light, whose image sequences were captured with a CCD camera. To assess the improvement of the proposed model with respect to single descriptors, the Kruskal–Wallis test and the silhouette index were used. The compensatory logic operators achieved the best results to improve the discrimination of the activity levels, according to the different drying times in the dynamic laser speckle sequences.
Color mixing in targets seen through turbulence
Authors: Núñez Leandro , Barillé Regis , Pérez Darío
Published: December 2022

We propose a novel imaging technique for assessing turbulence strength based on the color fluctuations of remote targets. Their chromatic changes, due to color mixing produced by the atmospheric optical turbulence, is characterized. We take advantage of a RGB Fourier transform-based color space to analyze the chromatic information on target images; then, through a model of primary color overlays, a chromatic shift measure is defined by the statistical dispersion of pixel colors. It is shown that such color changes can be related to the strength of refractive index fluctuations defined by the structure constant,

C
n
2

.
Modelling of the backside pattern transfer in magic mirror (Makyoh) imaging
Authors: Riesz Ferenc
Published: December 2022

A model of magic-mirror (Makyoh) imaging with the mirror backside relief as the input is described. The mechanical pattern transfer is modelled by a convolution approach while the optical imaging using a nonlinear geometrical optical model, more general than previous approaches. Characteristic features of the imaging is analysed and the linear approximation is examined. Diffraction effects are also treated. Characteristic features for the ancient mirror and applications in semiconductor wafer inspection are discussed.
Transcriptome analysis of the binucleate ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila with asynchronous nuclear cell cycles
Authors: Zhang L. , Cervantes M. D. , Pan S. , Lindsley J. , Dabney A. , Kapler G. M.
Published: December 2022

Tetrahymena thermophila harbors two functionally and physically distinct nuclei within a shared cytoplasm. During vegetative growth, the “cell cycles” of the diploid micronucleus and polyploid macronucleus are offset. Micronuclear S phase initiates just before cytokinesis and is completed in daughter cells before onset of macronuclear DNA replication. Mitotic micronuclear division occurs mid–cell cycle, while macronuclear amitosis is coupled to cell division. Here we report the first RNA-seq cell cycle analysis of a binucleated ciliated protozoan. RNA was isolated across 1.5 vegetative cell cycles, starting with a macronuclear G1 population synchronized by centrifugal elutriation. Using MetaCycle, 3244 of the 26,000+ predicted genes were shown to be cell cycle regulated. Proteins present in both nuclei exhibit a single mRNA peak that always precedes their macronuclear function. Nucleus-limited genes, including nucleoporins and importins, are expressed before their respective nucleus-specific role. Cyclin D and A/B gene family members exhibit different expression patterns that suggest nucleus-restricted roles. Periodically expressed genes cluster into seven cyclic patterns. Four clusters have known PANTHER gene ontology terms associated with G1/S and G2/M phase. We propose that these clusters encode known and novel factors that coordinate micro- and macronuclear-specific events such as mitosis, amitosis, DNA replication, and cell division.
Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Effective for Improving Sleep Duration in Individuals with Insomnia? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Chan Wai Sze , McCrae Christina S , Ng Albe Sin-Ying
Published: December 2022

Background

Accumulating evidence suggests that sleep duration is a critical determinant of physical and mental health. Half of the individuals with chronic insomnia report less than optimal sleep duration. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for reducing sleep difficulties in individuals with chronic insomnia. However, its effectiveness for increasing sleep duration is less well-established and a synthesis of these findings is lacking.

Purpose

To provide a synthesis of findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of CBT-I on subjective and objective total sleep time (TST).

Methods

A systematic search was performed on articles published from 2004 to 05/30/2021. A total of 43 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. Publication biases were examined. Meta-regressions were conducted to examine if any sample or treatment characteristics moderated the effect sizes across trials.

Results

We found a small average effect of CBT-I on diary-assessed TST at post-treatment, equivalent to an approximately 30-min increase. Age significantly moderated the effects of CBT-I on diary-measured and polysomnography-measured TST; older ages were associated with smaller effect sizes. Contrarily, a negative, medium effect size was found for actigraphy-assessed TST, equivalent to an approximately 30-min decrease. Publication biases were found for diary data at follow-up assessments suggesting that positive findings were favored.

Conclusions

CBT-I resulted in improvements in TST measured by sleep diaries and polysomnography (in adults). These improvements were not corroborated by actigraphy findings. Theoretical and clinical implications were discussed.
Does the association between smoking and mortality differ due to frailty status? A secondary analysis from the Mexican Health and Aging Study
Authors: Patiño-Hernández Daniela , Pérez-Bautista Óliver Guillermo , Pérez-Zepeda Mario Ulises , Cano-Gutiérrez Carlos
Published: December 2022

Background

despite the well-known adverse health effects of smoking, evidence of these effects on frail individuals is still scarce.

Aims

to assess whether frailty influences the association between smoking and mortality.

Methods

individuals ≥50 years from the Mexican Health and Aging Study were analysed. Mortality rates from a 17-year follow-up were compared between smoking status groups (never, previous and current) and other smoking behaviour-related characteristics (pack-years, age commenced and cessation). Baseline variables were included to adjust the Cox regression models. First, models were adjusted for the whole sample, including an interaction term between the frailty index (FI) and smoking variables. A second set of models were stratified by FI levels: 0.00–0.10, 0.11–0.20, 0.21–0.30 and ≥ 0.31.

Results

from a total 14,025 individuals, mean age was 62.4 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 62.1–62.8) and 53.9% were women (95% CI: 52.4–55.6). Main results from the survival analyses showed that when including FI interaction term with smoking status, comparing current to never smoking, the hazard ratio (HR) was 2.03 (95% CI: 1.07–3.85, P = 0.029), and comparing current to previous smoking, the HR was 2.13 (95% CI: 1.06–4.26, P = 0.032). Models stratified by FI levels showed a significant HR only for the two highest level groups. Similar results were found for the smoking behaviour-related characteristics.

Discussion

our results suggest that frailty could modify smoking mortality risk. Other smoking characteristics were impacted by frailty, in particular, cessation. It was noteworthy that having ≥10 years of tobacco cessation was beneficial for frail individuals.

Conclusions

smoking has a higher toll on frail individuals, but ceasing is still beneficial for this group.
The Role of Maternal Preconception Adiposity in Human Offspring Sex and Sex Ratio
Authors: DeVilbiss Elizabeth A , Purdue-Smithe Alexandra C , Sjaarda Lindsey A , Taylor Brandie D , Freeman Joshua R , Perkins Neil J , Silver Robert M , Schisterman Enrique F , Mumford Sunni L
Published: December 2022

We evaluated relationships between preconception adiposity and human offspring sex and sex ratio. Using data from a prospective preconception cohort nested within a randomized controlled trial based at 4 US clinical sites (2006–2012), we used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for male:female sex ratio, and log-identity regression to estimate risk differences (RDs) and 95% CIs for male and female livebirth according to preconception adiposity measures. Inverse-probability weights accounted for potential selection bias. Among 603 women attempting pregnancy, there were meaningful reductions in sex ratio for the highest category of each adiposity measure. The lowest sex ratios were observed for obesity (body mass index of ≥30, calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)2, OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.88) relative to normal body mass index, and the top tertiles (tertile 3) of serum leptin (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.80) and skinfold measurements (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.79) relative to the lowest tertiles. Reductions were driven by 11–15 fewer male livebirths per 100 women (for obesity, RD = −15, 95% CI: −23, −6.7; for leptin tertile 3, RD = −11, 95% CI: −20, −3.2; and for skinfolds tertile 3, RD = −11, 95% CI: −19, −3.3). We found that relationships between preconception adiposity measures and reduced sex ratio were driven by a reduction in male births.
Unlike a virgin: a meta-analytical review of female mating status in studies of female mate choice
Authors: Richardson Jon , Zuk Marlene
Published: December 2022

Studies of female mate choice commonly use virgin females as test subjects, either to control for the effects of mating or because virgin females are presumed to be more responsive to mating cues. Theory predicts that virgin females will be less choosy because they risk dying without mating. Moreover, in many species, females spend more of their lives mated than as virgins. Thus, the exclusive use of virgin females in studies of female mate choice may underestimate the strength or direction of female choice and fail to reflect natural mating decisions. We conducted a systematic meta-analysis of female mate choice studies focusing on three scenarios in which female choice might differ in virgin and mated females: reproductive isolation, inbreeding avoidance, and sexually transmitted disease. Using only virgin females was common (53% of 303 studies). In addition, 38% of studies lacked information on female mating history. Contrary to predictions, we found no evidence that virgin females were less choosy than mated females. Nevertheless, excluding mated females from studies of female mate choice leaves an important gap in our understanding of the role of female preferences in evolution. We therefore encourage future studies of female mate choice to consider the natural context of mate choice and include mated females as test subjects when relevant.
Improved model quality assessment using sequence and structural information by enhanced deep neural networks
Authors: Liu Jun , Zhao Kailong , Zhang Guijun
Published: December 2022

Protein model quality assessment plays an important role in protein structure prediction, protein design and drug discovery. In this work, DeepUMQA2, a substantially improved version of DeepUMQA for protein model quality assessment, is proposed. First, sequence features containing protein co-evolution information and structural features reflecting family information are extracted to complement model-dependent features. Second, a novel backbone network based on triangular multiplication update and axial attention mechanism is designed to enhance information exchange between inter-residue pairs. On CASP13 and CASP14 datasets, the performance of DeepUMQA2 increases by 20.5 and 20.4% compared with DeepUMQA, respectively (measured by top 1 loss). Moreover, on the three-month CAMEO dataset (11 March to 04 June 2022), DeepUMQA2 outperforms DeepUMQA by 15.5% (measured by local AUC0,0.2) and ranks first among all competing server methods in CAMEO blind test. Experimental results show that DeepUMQA2 outperforms state-of-the-art model quality assessment methods, such as ProQ3D-LDDT, ModFOLD8, and DeepAccNet and DeepUMQA2 can select more suitable best models than state-of-the-art protein structure methods, such as AlphaFold2, RoseTTAFold and I-TASSER, provided themselves.
Succinylated lysine residue prediction revisited
Authors: Ahmed Shehab Sarar , Rifat Zaara Tasnim , Rahman M Saifur , Rahman M Sohel
Published: December 2022

Lysine succinylation is a kind of post-translational modification (PTM) that plays a crucial role in regulating the cellular processes. Aberrant succinylation may cause inflammation, cancers, metabolism diseases and nervous system diseases. The experimental methods to detect succinylation sites are time-consuming and costly. This thus calls for computational models with high efficacy, and attention has been given in the literature to develop such models, albeit with only moderate success in the context of different evaluation metrics. One crucial aspect in this context is the biochemical and physicochemical properties of amino acids, which appear to be useful as features for such computational predictors. However, some of the existing computational models did not use the biochemical and physicochemical properties of amino acids. In contrast, some others used them without considering the inter-dependency among the properties. The combinations of biochemical and physicochemical properties derived through our optimization process achieve better results than the results achieved by combining all the properties. We propose three deep learning architectures: CNN+Bi-LSTM (CBL), Bi-LSTM+CNN (BLC) and their combination (CBL_BLC). We find that CBL_BLC outperforms the other two. Ensembling of different models successfully improves the results. Notably, tuning the threshold of the ensemble classifiers further improves the results. Upon comparing our work with other existing works on two datasets, we successfully achieve better sensitivity and specificity by varying the threshold value.