bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overcoming Data Fabrication in Scientific Research
Authors: Osman Razis , Mohamed Saleh Ba Qutayan Shadiya
Published: June 2023

The goal of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to the occurrence of data fabrication in scientific research and to propose prevention methods that can be implemented by research agencies or research institutions. The study is a full literature review; it analyzes previous studies related to the contributing factors of researchers fabricating data and its effects such as the impact on the world of scientific research in addition to damaging the researcher's credibility and causing a loss of public trust in the findings of scientific research. Furthermore, another effect of data fabrication is the retraction of the publication, which will result in the researchers' lifetime ban from conducting scientific research. It is proven that data fabrication is a significant contributor to the retraction of papers, with a percentage of 49.4%. The finding of this study is to come out with several suggestions for prevention strategies for data fabrication, such as empowering training in research integrity and enforcement of academic research policy. It also concludes with recommendations for improving research ethics with a well-designed plan for fostering research integrity in various platforms for a better future.
Roasting A Piece of Beef Which Has a Short Cylindrical Shape
Authors: Atesmen M. Kemal
Published: June 2023

In this chapter, we will investigate roasting a piece of lean beef which has a short cylindrical shape. Roasting is done in a convection oven at a temperature of 200 C. The chef wants to know the time it takes to roast one piece beef as rare and another same size piece of beef as well done. Dimensions of the short cylindrical beef piece in brown color is shown in Figure 12-1.
Seasonally Averaged Temperature Fluctuation Penetrations into The Ground
Authors: Atesmen M. Kemal
Published: June 2023

It can be very complicated to determine soil temperatures with changing depth and time. Many factors such as soil composition and porosity, running, seeping or stationary water, ice, vegetation, trees, rain, snow, day and night temperature variations, global warming and human intervention, etc., affect soil temperature penetration. In this chapter, we will investigate seasonally averaged varying temperature effects on a specific type of soil. We will assume an average and constant surface temperature over a specific type of soil over 90 days. The average and constant surface temperature of soil in Winter months of December, January and February will be -4.44 C. The average and constant surface temperature of soil in Spring months of March, April and May will be +3.33 C. The average and constant surface temperature of soil in the Summer months of June, July and August will be +15.0 C. The average and constant surface temperature of soil in Fall months of September, October and November will be +5.55 C.
Stress Relieving a Copper Alloy Rod by Radiant Heating When Temperature Gradients Within The Rod are Negligible
Authors: Atesmen M. Kemal
Published: June 2023

In an electrical motors factory, after machining, copper alloy rods are stress relieved at a temperature of 260 C for 1 hour. Stress relieving is done in a vacuum oven to avoid surface oxidation and the vacuum oven’s inner surfaces have radiant heating elements. A copper alloy cylindrical rod which has a characteristic length, Lcu=VcuAcu=0.5Rcu, or 0.005 m, has to be stress relieved by placing it in the middle of a vacuum oven with radiation heaters at its inner surfaces as shown in Figure 5-1.
Front Matter
Authors: Atesmen M. Kemal
Published: June 2023

This frontmatter contains the Contents, Preface, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Introduction. It is available for access by clicking on the PDF icon below.

eBook keywords: heat transfer, thermodynamics, transient heat transfer, time dependent heat transfer, multi-dimensional heat transfer, electromagnetic waves, ablating materials, heat loads, semi-infinite solids, lumped capacitance method.
UMBRELAA: DESIGN OF A VARIABLE-SIZED LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE OCCLUSION DEVICE FOR STROKE PREVENTION
Authors: Reddie Madison , Eberly Gari , Jesse Levi Aviva , Quevedo-Moreno Diego , Mendez Keegan , Roche Ellen T.
Published: June 2023

Blood clots originating in the left atrial appendage (LAA) are the leading cause of ischemic stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Complications from and contraindications to oral anticoagulants (OACs), in addition to the recent successes of endocardial LAA closure devices, have driven increased interest in mechanical LAA occlusion. However, current devices are limited in their abilities to accommodate diverse LAA anatomies, motivating the development of a novel endocardial LAA occluder that supports more anatomical variability. We present the design of an in-situ expandable plug as well as an accompanying pacifier module for LAA occlusion. The final design accommodates LAA diameter ranges of 14 millimeters for each device size (10-24mm and 24-38mm), double that of any approved device. This adaptability can help to overcome imperfect pre-procedural imaging and suboptimal device fit. Benchtop tug and leak tests demonstrate the stability and sealing capacities of the design.
ARRHYTHMIC SUDDEN DEATH SURVIVAL PREDICTION MODEL FOR HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY PATIENTS: AN INTERPRETABLE MACHINE LEARNING ANALYSIS
Authors: Farahani Nasibeh Zanjirani , Enayati Moein , Pumarejo Andredi , Aguirre Mateo Alzate , Scott Christopher , Siontis Konstantinos , Bos Martijn , Geske Jeffrey B. , Ackerman Michael J. , Arruda-Olson Adelaide M.
Published: June 2023

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inheritable heart disease with the highest rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young adults. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) therapy is recommended for HCM patients at high risk for SCD. Reviewing the recent clinical literature revealed the potential to improve the selection of candidates for ICD implantation. The current study uses information extracted from echocardiography reports to evaluate HCM patients with ICD and aims to provide a comparative insight into patients who benefited the most from the device therapy, including shock and anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP). The proposed interpretable machine learning approach has used the XGboost algorithm. The model’s performance was considered satisfactory, as evidenced by an accuracy score of 81% and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value of 69% and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) identified common properties of HCM patients in each category and provided high-level reasoning and foundation for a clinical decision support tool.
ZAMENIX™ R, ROBOTIC-ASSISTED RETROGRADE INTRARENAL SURGERY SYSTEM FOR RENAL STONE REMOVAL AND ITS EFFICACY AND SAFETY EVALUATION
Authors: Lee Dong-Ho , Kim Joonhwan , Han Jungmin , Seo Hyeonse , Lee Joo Yong , Cho Sung Yong , Park Hyung Keun , Kwon Dong-Soo
Published: June 2023

We introduce Zamenix™ R, a novel robotic retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) system that can remotely control a ureteroscope, laser, and stone basket. The efficacy and safety of the system were explored in an in vivo comparative pilot study using a porcine model and a multicenter, prospective, single-arm, pivotal human clinical trial. In the in-vivo test, 10 pigs were randomly divided into two groups: conventional RIRS and robotic RIRS. Three surgeons with different RIRS proficiency participated and they performed two tasks: 1) Stone retrieval test, then followed by 2) Stone fragmentation and retrieval test. In the clinical study, forty-seven adult patients who have one or more stones with a maximum size of 5-30 mm were recruited. The stone-free rate was 93.5%. The postoperative complication rate was 6.5% with three cases of Grade II urinary tract infection (Clavien-Dindo Classification). The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility and comparable safety to conventional RIRS with improved operator’s fatigue and radiation exposure.
DESIGN OF A WEARABLE ULTRASOUND PATCH WITH SOFT AND CONFORMAL MATCHING LAYER
Authors: Krings Ethan J. , Truong Sequoia L. , Reeser Kiersten A. , Hage Benjamin D. , Bashford Gregory R. , Markvicka Eric J.
Published: June 2023

Ultrasound is a safe, noninvasive diagnostic technique used to measure internal structures such as blood vessels and the velocity of blood flow in the human body. The ability to continuously measure blood flow in major cerebral arteries would enable the early detection of medical problems such as stroke. However, current ultrasound technology consists of rigid, hand-held probes that are arduous to use, sensitive to movement, and are primarily designed for intermittent, instead of continuous use. Here, we describe the design of a wearable ultrasound patch for continuously measuring blood flow velocity through the middle cerebral artery (MCA) that can be assessed from the temple region of the head. The wearable ultrasound patch is composed of an array of piezoelectric elements that are wired together using flexible electrical conductors and encapsulated in an elastic substrate. To improve ultrasound energy transfer, a soft and conformal composite matching layer is introduced. The matching layer consists of gallium-based liquid metal (LM) microdroplets dispersed in a silicone elastomer. The acoustic impedance of the matching layer can be tuned by varying the volume loading of LM. The wearable ultrasound patch will provide new opportunities to continuously measure blood flow velocity and ultimately enable early detection of medical problems such as stroke.
Genetic Analysis Reveals a Requirement for the Hybrid Sensor Kinase RscS in
para
-Aminobenzoic Acid/Calcium-Induced Biofilm Formation by
Vibrio fischeri
Authors: Dial Courtney N. , Fung Brittany L. , Visick Karen L.
Published: June 2023

Bacterial biofilms are common in a variety of environments. Infectious biofilms formed in the human body are notoriously hard to treat due to a biofilm’s intrinsic resistance to antibiotics.
A Novel Conserved Linear Neutralizing Epitope on the Receptor-Binding Domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein
Authors: Hua Rong-Hong , Zhang Shu-Jian , Niu Bei , Ge Jin-Ying , Lan Ting , Bu Zhi-Gao
Published: June 2023

The continuous emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 has caused great challenge in vaccine design and therapeutic antibody development. In this study, we selected a broad-spectrum neutralizing mouse monoclonal antibody which recognized a conserved linear B-cell epitope located on the internal surface of RBD.
Patiromer utility as an adjunct treatment in patients needing urgent hyperkalaemia management (PLATINUM): design of a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study
Authors: Rafique Zubaid , Budden Jeffrey , Quinn Carol Moreno , Duanmu Youyou , Safdar Basmah , Bischof Jason J , Driver Brian E , Herzog Charles A , Weir Matthew R , Singer Adam J , Boone Stephen , Soto-Ruiz Karina M , Peacock W Frank
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Hyperkalaemia is common, life-threatening and often requires emergency department (ED) management; however, no standardised ED treatment protocol exists. Common treatments transiently reducing serum potassium (K+) (including albuterol, glucose and insulin) may cause hypoglycaemia. We outline the design and rationale of the Patiromer Utility as an Adjunct Treatment in Patients Needing Urgent Hyperkalaemia Management (PLATINUM) study, which will be the largest ED randomised controlled hyperkalaemia trial ever performed, enabling assessment of a standardised approach to hyperkalaemia management, as well as establishing a new evaluation parameter (net clinical benefit) for acute hyperkalaemia treatment investigations.

Methods and analysis

PLATINUM is a Phase 4, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in participants who present to the ED at approximately 30 US sites. Approximately 300 adult participants with hyperkalaemia (K+≥5.8 mEq/L) will be enrolled. Participants will be randomised 1:1 to receive glucose (25 g intravenously <15 min before insulin), insulin (5 units intravenous bolus) and aerosolised albuterol (10 mg over 30 min), followed by a single oral dose of either 25.2 g patiromer or placebo, with a second dose of patiromer (8.4 g) or placebo after 24 hours. The primary endpoint is net clinical benefit, defined as the mean change in the number of additional interventions less the mean change in serum K+, at hour 6. Secondary endpoints are net clinical benefit at hour 4, proportion of participants without additional K+-related medical interventions, number of additional K+-related interventions and proportion of participants with sustained K+reduction (K+≤5.5 mEq/L). Safety endpoints are the incidence of adverse events, and severity of changes in serum K+and magnesium.

Ethics and dissemination

A central Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Ethics Committee provided protocol approval (#20201569), with subsequent approval by local IRBs at each site, and participants will provide written consent. Primary results will be published in peer-reviewed manuscripts promptly following study completion.

Trial registration number

NCT04443608.
Conducting a systematic review and evaluation of commercially available mobile applications (apps) on a health-related topic: the TECH approach and a step-by-step methodological guide
Authors: Gasteiger Norina , Dowding Dawn , Norman Gill , McGarrigle Lisa , Eost-Telling Charlotte , Jones Debra , Vercell Amy , Ali Syed Mustafa , O'Connor Siobhan
Published: June 2023

Objectives

To provide an overview of the methodological considerations for conducting commercial smartphone health app reviews (mHealth reviews), with the aim of systematising the process and supporting high-quality evaluations of mHealth apps.

Design

Synthesis of our research team’s experiences of conducting and publishing various reviews of mHealth apps available on app stores and hand-searching the top medical informatics journals (eg, The Lancet Digital Health, npj Digital Medicine, Journal of Biomedical Informatics and the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association) over the last five years (2018–2022) to identify other app reviews to contribute to the discussion of this method and supporting framework for developing a research (review) question and determining the eligibility criteria.

Results

We present seven steps to support rigour in conducting reviews of health apps available on the app market: (1) writing a research question or aims, (2) conducting scoping searches and developing the protocol, (3) determining the eligibility criteria using the TECH framework, (4) conducting the final search and screening of health apps, (5) data extraction, (6) quality, functionality and other assessments and (7) analysis and synthesis of findings. We introduce the novel TECH approach to developing review questions and the eligibility criteria, which considers the Target user, Evaluation focus, Connectedness and the Health domain. Patient and public involvement and engagement opportunities are acknowledged, including co-developing the protocol and undertaking quality or usability assessments.

Conclusion

Commercial mHealth app reviews can provide important insights into the health app market, including the availability of apps and their quality and functionality. We have outlined seven key steps for conducting rigorous health app reviews in addition to the TECH acronym, which can support researchers in writing research questions and determining the eligibility criteria. Future work will include a collaborative effort to develop reporting guidelines and a quality appraisal tool to ensure transparency and quality in systematic app reviews.
Implementation of medication reconciliation at admission and discharge in Ministry of Defense Health Services hospitals: a multicentre study
Authors: Alghamdi Dalia S , Alhrasen Mohammed , Kassem Ahmed , Alwagdani Alaa , Tourkmani Ayla Mohammad , Alnowaiser Noura , Al Barakah Yasser , Alotaibi Yasser K
Published: June 2023

There is potential for many medication errors to occur due to the complex medication use process. The medication reconciliation process can significantly lower the incidence of medication errors that may arise from an incomplete or inaccurate medication history as well as reductions in length of hospital stay, patients’ readmissions and lower healthcare costs.

The quality improvement collaborative project was conducted as a pilot study in two hospitals, then implemented on a broader scale in 18 hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The goal of the project was to reduce the percentage of patients with at least one outstanding unintentional discrepancy at admission by 50%, over 16-month period (July 2020–November 2021). Our interventions were based on the High 5’s project medication reconciliation WHO, and Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs toolkit for medication reconciliation by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Improvement teams used the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI’s) Model for improvement as a tool for testing and implementing changes. Collaboration and learning between hospitals were facilitated by conducting learning sessions using the IHI’s Collaborative Model for Achieving Breakthrough Improvement. The improvement teams underwent three cycles.

By the end of the project significant improvements were observed. The percentage of patients with at least one outstanding unintentional discrepancy at admission showed a 20% reduction (27% before, 7% after; p value <0.05) (Relative Risk (RR) 0.74) with a mean reduction in the number of discrepancies per patient by 0.74. The percentage of patients with at least one outstanding unintentional discrepancy at discharge showed 12% reduction (17% before, 5% after; p value <0.05) (RR 0.71) with a mean reduction in the number of discrepancies per patient by 0.34.

Compliance to medication reconciliation documentation within 24 hours of admission and discharge showed significant improvement by an average of 17% and 24%, respectively. Additionally, the implementation of medication reconciliation had a negative correlation with the percentage of patients with at least one outstanding unintentional discrepancy at admission and discharge.
Accuracy and validity of determined cause of death and manner of death following forensic autopsy prosection
Authors: Shergill Armaan , Conner Peter , Wilson Machelle , Omalu Bennet
Published: June 2023

Aims

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and validity of the determination of cause of death (COD) and manner of death (MOD) at the completion of the forensic autopsy prosection.

Methods

We analysed 952 autopsy cases conducted from 2019 to 2020 and compared every patient’s COD, other significant contributing factors to death (OSC), and MOD after prosection to their COD, OSC and MOD after completion of the final autopsy report.

Results

We found that 83% of cases (790 patients) did not have an unexpected change and 17% of cases (162 patients) exhibited a true change in their final diagnosis; the relationship between age and changes in COD and MOD was significant.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that in the majority of forensic autopsy cases, medical professionals can reasonably complete death certification after the autopsy prosection. In addition to improving the accuracy of COD and MOD, advances in this field will enhance timely decedent affairs management, timely investigations of crimes and timely closure to families who have lost loved ones. We recommend implementing combined interventional education and consultation with expert pathologists, and a well-followed structured method of death classification as the best course of practice.
Disclosure and consent: ensuring the ethical provision of information regarding childbirth
Authors: Irvine Kelly , Brown Rebecca CH , Savulescu Julian
Published: June 2023

Ethical medical care of pregnant women in Australia should include the real provision of information regarding the risks and benefits of vaginal birth. Routinely obtaining consent for the different ways in which childbirth is commonly intervened on and the assistance involved (such as midwife-led care or a planned caesarean section) and providing sufficient information for women to evaluate the harms and benefits of the care on offer, would not only enable the empowerment of women but would align with the current standard of care as established by Rogers v Whittaker.
The effects of feeding hempseed cake on pancreatic and jejunal digestive enzymatic activity in finishing heifers
Authors: Mia Md G.K. , Winders Thomas M. , Serum Eric M. , Amat Samat , Neville Bryan W. , Dahlen Carl R. , Smith David J. , Swanson Kendall C.
Published: June 2023

To evaluate the effects of feeding hempseed cake on digestive enzymes, crossbred heifers ( n = 32; 494 ± 10 kg body weight) were fed diets containing 20% (dry matter basis) dried corn distillers grains plus solubles or hempseed cake for 111 days. There was greater ( P = 0.05) pancreatic mass relative to body weight in heifers fed hempseed cake. No differences ( P ≥ 0.19) in digestive enzyme activity in the pancreas (α-amylase, trypsin, and lipase) and jejunum (maltase, glucoamylase, and isomaltase) were observed between treatments. Our results suggest that feeding hempseed cake did not influence digestive enzyme activity.
Preparation of HMX@NPBAs microparticles by coating process with improved mechanical properties, thermal stability, and safety performance
Authors: Jia Kang-Hui , Wu Peng-Fei , Qin Wu-Li , Yu Yan-Wu , Jing Su-ming , Cheng Gui-Min , Liu Yu-Cun
Published: June 2023

Polymer-bonded explosives (PBXs) played a critical role in lethality and destruction as a vital military explosive in the world. Unfortunately, the current PBXs exhibit poor properties in safety performance and reliability for the weak interfacial surface, which cannot meet requirements of the high security and high reliability of weapons and ammunition in the harsh environment of modern battlefields. Herein, the neutral polymeric bonding agents (NPBAs) were successfully coated on the surface of 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane (HMX) and proved to enhance the mechanical performance and reliability of PBXs. The scanning electron microscopy images indicated a slight aggregation of NPBAs coated in the HMX surface, the XRD spectra of HMX@NPBAs had an analogous spectrum of HMX, and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrum confirmed that the NPBAs played a role on the surface of HMX by coating. Furthermore, the HMX coated with NPBAs had more excellent safety performance, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. The strategy is helpful to strengthen the interaction between HMX and binder matrix, which provides a brilliant idea in modifying for the weak interfacial surface of energetic crystals.
SkinLink
Authors: Ku Pin-Sung , Huang Kunpeng , Wang Nancy , Ng Boaz , Chu Alicia , Kao Hsin-Liu Cindy
Published: June 2023

Applying customized epidermal electronics closely onto the human skin offers the potential for biometric sensing and unique, always-available on-skin interactions. However, iterating designs of an on-skin interface from schematics to physical circuit wiring can be time-consuming, even with tiny modifications; it is also challenging to preserve skin wearability after repeated alteration. We present SkinLink, a reconfigurable on-skin fabrication approach that allows users to intuitively explore and experiment with the circuitry adjustment on the body. We demonstrate SkinLink with a customized on-skin prototyping toolkit comprising tiny distributed circuit modules and a variety of streamlined trace modules that adapt to diverse body surfaces. To evaluate SkinLink's performance, we conducted a 14-participant usability study to compare and contrast the workflows with a benchmark on-skin construction toolkit. Four case studies targeting a film makeup artist, two beauty makeup artists, and a wearable computing designer further demonstrate different application scenarios and usages.
EarAcE
Authors: Cao Yetong , Cai Chao , Yu Anbo , Li Fan , Luo Jun
Published: June 2023

In recent years, particular attention has been devoted to earable acoustic sensing due to its numerous applications. However, the lack of a common platform for accessing raw audio samples has forced researchers/developers to pay great efforts to the trifles of prototyping often irrelevant to the core sensing functions. Meanwhile, the growing popularity of active noise cancellation (ANC) has endowed common earphones with high standard acoustic capability yet to be explored by sensing. To this end, we propose EarACE to be the first acoustic sensing platform exploiting the native acoustics of commercial ANC earphones, significantly improving upon self-crafted earphone sensing devices. EarACE takes a compact design to handle hardware heterogeneity and to deliver flexible control on audio facilities. Leveraging a systematic study on in-ear acoustic signals, EarACE gains abilities to combat performance sensitivity to device wearing states and to eliminate body motion interference. We further implement three major acoustic sensing applications to showcase the efficacy and adaptability of EarACE; the results evidently demonstrate EarACE's promising future in facilitating earable acoustic sensing research.
Semi-Supervised Learning for Wearable-based Momentary Stress Detection in the Wild
Authors: Yu Han , Sano Akane
Published: June 2023

Physiological and behavioral data collected from wearable or mobile sensors have been used to estimate self-reported stress levels. Since stress annotation usually relies on self-reports during the study, a limited amount of labeled data can be an obstacle to developing accurate and generalized stress-predicting models. On the other hand, the sensors can continuously capture signals without annotations. This work investigates leveraging unlabeled wearable sensor data for stress detection in the wild. We propose a two-stage semi-supervised learning framework that leverages wearable sensor data to help with stress detection. The proposed structure consists of an auto-encoder pre-training method for learning information from unlabeled data and the consistency regularization approach to enhance the robustness of the model. Besides, we propose a novel active sampling method for selecting unlabeled samples to avoid introducing redundant information to the model. We validate these methods using two datasets with physiological signals and stress labels collected in the wild, as well as four human activity recognition (HAR) datasets to evaluate the generality of the proposed method. Our approach demonstrated competitive results for stress detection, improving stress classification performance by approximately 7% to 10% on the stress detection datasets compared to the baseline supervised learning models. Furthermore, the ablation study we conducted for the HAR tasks supported the effectiveness of our methods. Our approach showed comparable performance to state-of-the-art semi-supervised learning methods for both stress detection and HAR tasks.
PrintShear
Authors: Yu Jinyang , Feng Jianjiang , Zhou Jie
Published: June 2023

Most touch-based input devices, such as touchscreens and touchpads, capture low-resolution capacitive images when a finger touches the device's surface. These devices only output the two-dimensional (2D) positions of contacting points, which are insufficient for complex control tasks, such as the manipulation of 3D objects. To expand the modalities of touch inputs, researchers have proposed a variety of techniques, including finger poses, chording gestures, touch pressure, etc. With the rapid development of fingerprint sensing technology, especially under-screen fingerprint sensors, it has become possible to generate input commands to control multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) at a time using fingerprint images. In this paper, we propose PrintShear, a shear input technique based on fingerprint deformation. Lateral, longitudinal and rotational deformations are extracted from fingerprint images and mapped to 3DOF control commands. Further DOF expansion can be achieved through recognition of the contact region of the touching finger. We conducted a 12-person user study to evaluate the performance of PrintShear on 3D docking tasks. Comparisons with other input methods demonstrated the superiority of our approach. Specifically, a 19.79% reduction in completion time was achieved compared with conventional touch input in a full 6DOF 3D object manipulation task.
RF-Mic
Authors: Chen Yunzhong , Yu Jiadi , Kong Linghe , Kong Hao , Zhu Yanmin , Chen Yi-Chao
Published: June 2023

Eavesdropping on human voice is one of the most common but harmful threats to personal privacy. Glasses are in direct contact with human face, which could sense facial motions when users speak, so human speech contents could be inferred by sensing the movements of glasses. In this paper, we present a live voice eavesdropping method, RF-Mic, which utilizes common glasses attached with a low-cost RFID tag to sense subtle facial speech dynamics for inferring possible voice contents. When a user with a glasses, which is attached an RFID tag on the glass bridge, is speaking, RF-Mic first collects RF signals through forward propagation and backscattering. Then, body motion interference is eliminated from the collected RF signals through a proposed Conditional Denoising AutoEncoder (CDAE) network. Next, RF-Mic extracts three kinds of facial speech dynamic features (i.e., facial movements, bone-borne vibrations, and airborne vibrations) by designing three different deep-learning models. Based on the extracted features, a facial speech dynamics model is constructed for live voice eavesdropping. Extensive experiments in different real environments demonstrate that RF-Mic can achieve robust and accurate human live voice eavesdropping.
Extractive Summarization of Telugu Text Using Modified Text Rank and Maximum Marginal Relevance
Authors: Babu G. L. Anand , Badugu Srinivasu
Published: June 2023

With the rapid growth of digital content, there is a need for an automatic text summarizer to provide short text from a long text document. Many research works have been presented for extractive text summarization (ETS). This article mainly focuses on the graph-based ETS approach for multiple Telugu text documents. A modified Text-Rank algorithm is employed with the noun and verb count of each sentence in the text as the initial score of each node. To get the optimal features, a novel feature selection algorithm called improved Flamingo Search Algorithm is proposed in this article. Though graph-based ETS is an important approach, the generated summaries are redundant. To reduce the redundancy in the generated summary, maximum marginal relevance is combined with the modified Text-Rank. Different word-embedding techniques such as Fast-Text, Word2vec, TF-IDF, and one-hot encoding are utilized to experiment with the proposed approach. The performance of the proposed text summarization approach is evaluated with BLEU and ROUGE in terms of F-measure, precision, and recall.
Games That Let Go: Thriving in a Decentralized Future
Authors: Drake Kajioka E.
Published: June 2023

In the early years of video games – arcade and home console – a given player could reasonably play every video game of note released in year and still have time for other hobbies. In 2022,10,963 games were released on the Steam platform alone. The scale of video games that enter the market in a given year now radically outstrip the ability of organized, monolithic gaming media to keep up with them. This “viewpoint” essay addresses how content creators can approach the decentralization of gaming culture through the lens of identity and authenticity, while reviewing incoming technologies that support this transition. Communication protocols for trustworthy digital certification, AI-assisted content creation tools, cloud technologies, and a transition from content moderation to user-centered governance – all will play a part in the coming transition to collective sense-making of these now highly complex game markets. Finally, the essay considers new audiences that will support a greater diversity of perspectives in independent game companies who can directly reach and engage players who share their specific experiences and interests.
Sources and Sinks of Serine in Nutrition, Health, and Disease
Authors: Handzlik Michal K. , Metallo Christian M.
Published: June 2023

Amino acid dysregulation has emerged as an important driver of disease progression in various contexts. l-Serine lies at a central node of metabolism, linking carbohydrate metabolism, transamination, glycine, and folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism to protein synthesis and various downstream bioenergetic and biosynthetic pathways. l-Serine is produced locally in the brain but is sourced predominantly from glycine and one-carbon metabolism in peripheral tissues via liver and kidney metabolism. Compromised regulation or activity of l-serine synthesis and disposal occurs in the context of genetic diseases as well as chronic disease states, leading to low circulating l-serine levels and pathogenesis in the nervous system, retina, heart, and aging muscle. Dietary interventions in preclinical models modulate sensory neuropathy, retinopathy, tumor growth, and muscle regeneration. A serine tolerance test may provide a quantitative readout of l-serine homeostasis that identifies patients who may be susceptible to neuropathy or responsive to therapy.
Data from A phase Ib/II study of ivosidenib with venetoclax +/- azacitidine in IDH1-mutated myeloid malignancies
Authors: Lachowiez Curtis A. , Loghavi Sanam , Zeng Zhihong , Tanaka Tomoyuki , Kim Yi June , Uryu Hidetaka , Turkalj Sven , Jakobsen Niels Asger , Luskin Marlise R. , Duose Dzifa Y. , Tidwell Rebecca S S. , Short Nicholas J. , Borthakur Gautam , Kadia Tapan M. , Masarova Lucia , Tippett George D. , Bose Prithviraj , Jabbour Elias J. , Ravandi Farhad , Daver Naval G. , Garcia-Manero Guillermo , Kantarjian Hagop , Garcia Jacqueline S. , Vyas Paresh , Takahashi Koichi , Konopleva Marina , DiNardo Courtney D.
Published: June 2023

Abstract
The safety and efficacy of combining the IDH1 inhibitor ivosidenib (IVO) with the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (VEN; IVO+VEN) +/- azacitidine (AZA; IVO+VEN+AZA) was evaluated in four cohorts of patients with IDH1-mutated myeloid malignancies (n=31). Most (91%) adverse events were grade 1 or 2. The maximal tolerated dose was not reached. Composite complete remission with IVO+VEN+AZA vs. IVO+VEN was 90% vs. 83%. Among MRD-evaluable patients (N=16) 63% attained MRD-negative remissions; IDH1 mutation clearance occurred in 64% of patients receiving ≥5 treatment cycles (N=14). Median EFS and OS were 36 (95% CI: 23-NR) and 42 (95% CI: 42-NR) months. Patients with signaling gene mutations appeared to particularly benefit from the triplet regimen. Longitudinal single-cell proteogenomic analyses linked co-occurring mutations, anti-apoptotic protein expression, and cell maturation to therapeutic sensitivity of IDH1-mutated clones. No IDH isoform switching or second-site IDH1 mutations were observed, indicating combination therapy may overcome established resistance pathways to single-agent IVO.
Data from A Phase Ib/II Study of Ivosidenib with Venetoclax ± Azacitidine in IDH1-Mutated Myeloid Malignancies
Authors: Lachowiez Curtis A. , Loghavi Sanam , Zeng Zhihong , Tanaka Tomoyuki , Kim Yi June , Uryu Hidetaka , Turkalj Sven , Jakobsen Niels Asger , Luskin Marlise R. , Duose Dzifa Y. , Tidwell Rebecca S.S. , Short Nicholas J. , Borthakur Gautam , Kadia Tapan M. , Masarova Lucia , Tippett George D. , Bose Prithviraj , Jabbour Elias J. , Ravandi Farhad , Daver Naval G. , Garcia-Manero Guillermo , Kantarjian Hagop , Garcia Jacqueline S. , Vyas Paresh , Takahashi Koichi , Konopleva Marina , DiNardo Courtney D.
Published: June 2023

Abstract
The safety and efficacy of combining the isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) inhibitor ivosidenib (IVO) with the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (VEN; IVO + VEN) ± azacitidine (AZA; IVO + VEN + AZA) were evaluated in four cohorts of patients with IDH1-mutated myeloid malignancies (n = 31). Most (91%) adverse events were grade 1 or 2. The maximal tolerated dose was not reached. Composite complete remission with IVO + VEN + AZA versus IVO + VEN was 90% versus 83%. Among measurable residual disease (MRD)–evaluable patients (N = 16), 63% attained MRD-­negative remissions; IDH1 mutation clearance occurred in 64% of patients receiving ≥5 treatment cycles (N = 14). Median event-free survival and overall survival were 36 [94% CI, 23–not reached (NR)] and 42 (95% CI, 42-NR) months. Patients with signaling gene mutations appeared to particularly benefit from the triplet regimen. Longitudinal single-cell proteogenomic analyses linked cooccurring mutations, antiapoptotic protein expression, and cell maturation to therapeutic sensitivity of IDH1-mutated clones. No IDH isoform switching or second-site IDH1 mutations were observed, indicating combination therapy may overcome established resistance pathways to single-agent IVO.
Significance:
IVO + VEN + AZA is safe and active in patients with IDH1-mutated myeloid malignancies. Combination therapy appears to overcome resistance mechanisms observed with single-agent IDH-inhibitor use, with high MRD-negative remission rates. Single-cell DNA ± protein and time-of-flight mass-cytometry analysis revealed complex resistance mechanisms at relapse, highlighting key pathways for future therapeutic intervention.
Private Schools and Student Achievement
Authors: Azimi Ebrahim , Friesen Jane , Woodcock Simon
Published: June 2023

We investigate the effects of private schools on reading and numeracy scores using rich population data. Conditional on lagged test scores and narrowly defined neighborhood indicators, Catholic and non-Christian faith private schools on average raise test scores by 0.18 standard deviation or more relative to the average public school, while non-Catholic Christian private schools have negligible effects. The effects of secular private “prep” schools are similar to those of Catholic schools, but selection bias is a greater concern in this case. We use school-specific estimates of effectiveness to investigate private school choice decisions and the determinants of private school effectiveness.
Palaeoentomology (2018–2022): A newcomer on the rise to high impact
Authors: ZHANG ZHI-QIANG
Published: June 2023

The journal Palaeoentomology was founded in late 2018 through a collaboration between the International Palaeoentomological Society (IPS) and Magnolia Press (the publisher of Zootaxa) in response to an exponential growth in the number of papers in this field (Azar et al., 2018). This specialized journal aims to be a high-quality platform for bringing together recent research and discoveries in fossil insects and other terrestrial arthropods, as well as other amber inclusions (Azar et al., 2018). The new journal has been warmly welcomed by the palaeoentomological community and sustained stable development in the first five years (2018–2022). In November 2022, Palaeoentomology was accepted by Clarivate for coverage in the Emerging Sources Citation Index™ (ESCI) in the Web of Science Core Collection™, and is expected to have its first journal impact factor in mid-June 2023. All papers published during 2018–2022 in Palaeoentomology were indexed in ESCI in January 2023. Here, I provide a summary of the first five volumes of this journal, with focus on citation patterns as well as an estimate of its first Journal Impact Factor™.
The oldest Bibio Geoffroy, 1762 (Diptera: Bibionidae) from the Paleocene of Menat (France)
Authors: NEL ANDRÉ , KUNDURA JEAN-PAUL
Published: June 2023

The lacustrine Konservat-Lagerstätte of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France) is a unique window in the terrestrial Paleocene environments of Western Europe (Wedmann et al., 2018). It has yielded an exceptional diversity of plants (leaves, flowers, seeds, pollen), and animals (vertebrates and arthropods, especially insects) (e.g., Piton, 1940). Nevertheless, flies are quite rare in this outcrop in which the paleo-entomofauna is dominated by beetles (69% of a collection of 3938 specimens). To date, this paleo-maar has given only one specimen of the family Bibionidae, a Plecia sp. (Nel, 2007). Piton (1940) also described a ‘Bibio sp.’, but Nel (2007) reexamined the two specimens of Piton, concluding that they are not bibionids. Thus, this family is clearly very rare in this outcrop. The Bibionidae seem to be quite rare in the Paleocene and early to middle Eocene outcrops of Western Europe (Oise amber, Baltic amber, Messel) (Gee et al., 2001; Nel, 2007; Skartveit & Wedmann, 2015; Skartveit, 2021). They are also rather rare in the late Eocene of the Isle of Wight (Krzemiński et al., 2019), while they are much more frequent in the younger, late Eocene, Oligocene, or Miocene paleolakes of France, Germany, and Spain (e.g., Monteils, Rott, Cereste, Dauphin, Aix-en-Provence, Rubielos de Mora, Ribesalbes, Montagne d’Andance, Sainte-Reine) (Peñalver-Molla, 1998, 2002; Skartveit & Nel, 2017; Skartveit & Wedmann, 2021). They are the most frequent insects in these outcrops.
New species and records of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae) from Papua New Guinea, and notes on some species from India, Indonesia and Philippines
Authors: SHAVRIN ALEXEY V.
Published: June 2023

New taxonomic and faunistic data for six species of Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 (Omaliini) from Papua New Guinea are provided. Five species are described or redescribed and illustrated: P. conjuncta sp.n., P. coriacea (Cameron, 1952), P. flaveola sp.n., P. papuana (Cameron, 1931), and P. ullrichi sp.n. (all from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea). The key for the species of Papua New Guinea is provided. The spermatheca of P. papuana is figured for the first time. New diagnostic and faunistic notes for four species from India, Indonesia and Philippines are presented. Several members of Paraphloeostiba are newly recorded: P. apicalis (Cameron, 1925) from India, P. subopaca (Cameron, 1924) from Tamil Nadu (India), and P. tonkinensis (Cameron, 1940) from Philippines (Leyte).
Indonesian Throughflow Partitioning between Leeuwin and South Equatorial Currents
Authors: Gruenburg Laura K. , Gordon Arnold L. , Thurnherr Andreas M.
Published: June 2023

Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) waters move along multiple pathways within the Indian Ocean. The western route is within the thermocline of the South Equatorial Current (SEC), and the southern route is via injection into the Leeuwin Current (LC) along western Australia. We use gridded Argo data to examine heat content anomaly (HCa) within three boxes in the eastern Indian Ocean, one adjacent to the ITF outflow from the Indonesian Seas (ITF box), the second in the eastern portion of the SEC (SEC box), and the third in the LC (LC box). Although interannual HCa variability in the SEC and ITF boxes is well correlated, a large increase in HCa within the ITF box does not appear in the SEC box in 2011 but is evident in the LC box. The 2011 change in the SEC–LC partitioning is investigated using GODAS reanalysis by examining the strength of the SEC and LC during a 2009 HCa increase within the ITF box and the subsequent increase in 2011. During 2009, a strong SEC and weakened LC spread the increased ITF HCa into the central Indian Ocean, whereas a weak SEC and strengthened LC during 2011 transmit the HCa signal to the south. Near-surface winds and mean sea level pressure from NCEP–NCAR reanalysis reveal that Ningaloo Niño events led to shifts in ocean circulation during 2000 and 2011. LC and SEC exports show a high negative correlation at interannual time scales, indicating that a reduction of outflow from one pathway is partially compensated by an increase from the other.
Using Existing Argo Trajectories to Statistically Predict Future Float Positions with a Transition Matrix
Authors: Chamberlain Paul , Talley Lynne D. , Mazloff Matthew , van Sebille Erik , Gille Sarah T. , Tucker Tyler , Scanderbeg Megan , Robbins Pelle
Published: June 2023

The Argo array provides nearly 4000 temperature and salinity profiles of the top 2000 m of the ocean every 10 days. Still, Argo floats will never be able to measure the ocean at all times, everywhere. Optimized Argo float distributions should match the spatial and temporal variability of the many societally important ocean features that they observe. Determining these distributions is challenging because float advection is difficult to predict. Using no external models, transition matrices based on existing Argo trajectories provide statistical inferences about Argo float motion. We use the 24 years of Argo locations to construct an optimal transition matrix that minimizes estimation bias and uncertainty. The optimal array is determined to have a 2° × 2° spatial resolution with a 90-day time step. We then use the transition matrix to predict the probability of future float locations of the core Argo array, the Global Biogeochemical Array, and the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) array. A comparison of transition matrices derived from floats using Argos system and Iridium communication methods shows the impact of surface displacements, which is most apparent near the equator. Additionally, we demonstrate the utility of transition matrices for validating models by comparing the matrix derived from Argo floats with that derived from a particle release experiment in the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE).
New Traditional Chinese Medicine Supplement Reduces Pain Faster than Conventional Pain Pills Alone: A Phase I/II Prospective, Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial
Authors: Hart Kristel , Huynh Desmond , Oh Cherin , Herndon Charles , Fadaee Negin , Capati Isabel , Turek Paul J. , Towfigh Shirin
Published: June 2023

Background

The opioid crisis demands novel solutions for postoperative pain control. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used herbs for the treatment of pain for thousands of years. We studied whether a synergistic multimodal TCM supplement could reduce the need for conventional pain pills for low risk surgical procedures.

Methods

In a Phase I/II, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial (PRCT), 93 patients were randomized to either TCM supplement or placebo oral medication for low-risk outpatient surgical procedures. Study medications began 3 days preoperatively and continued for 5 days postoperatively. Conventional pain pill use was not restricted. Patients were monitored postoperatively for all forms of pain pill use (Pain Pill Scoring Sheet) and subjective pain ratings (Brief Pain Inventory Short Form). Primary outcomes included type and number of pain pills used and subjective pain ratings. Secondary outcomes included an assessment of mood, general activity, sleep, and enjoyment of life.

Results

TCM use well tolerated. Conventional pain pill use was similar between groups. Linear regression analysis revealed that TCM reduced postoperative pain 3 times faster than placebo ( P < .0001) with a 4-fold greater magnitude of relief by postoperative day 5 ( P = .008). TCM also significantly improved sleep habits ( P = .049) during the postoperative period. TCM effect was independent of type of surgery or amount of preoperative pain.

Discussion

This PRCT is the first to show that a multimodal, synergistic TCM supplement is safe and can effectively reduce acute postoperative pain more rapidly, and to a lower level, than conventional pain pills alone.