bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patterned OLEDs: effect of substrate corrugation pitch and height
Authors: Dykstra Erik , Kaudal Rajiv , Fralaide Michael , Zhang Yu , Biswas Rana , Slafer W Dennis , Shinar Joseph , Shinar Ruth
Published: October 2023

An ongoing OLED challenge is cost-effective enhancement of light extraction, i.e., increasing the external quantum efficiency (EQE ∼20% in conventional devices). OLEDs on corrugated substrates often show enhanced EQEs providing insight into light emission processes. In particular, patterned plastic substrates directly imprinted easily at room temperature and amenable to low-cost R2R production are ideal for studying/optimizing various structures, further elucidating the extraction process. We show new semi-quantitative data of the effect of the pitch (a) and height/depth (h) of plastic substrate patterns on the OLEDs’ stack and EQE, focusing on new designs, interestingly, some showing surprisingly enhanced EQEs that were neither reported nor discussed before. These include: (i) shallow (h < 200 nm) convex polycarbonate with a ∼ 750 versus∼400 nm, where the h gradually decreases as the OLED stack is built and (ii) concave PET/CAB with large a (∼2.8 and ∼7.8 μm), where the EQE enhancement of conformal OLEDs may be due largely to scattering. EQEs of green, blue, and white phosphorescent OLEDs were measured. OLEDs on substrates with narrow a ∼ 400 nm and low h < 200 nm showed no enhancement, resembling flat devices. In contrast, OLEDs on substrates with comparable or smaller h, but larger a ∼ 750 nm show significant EQE enhancement despite h reduction across the stack. Green OLEDs with a ∼ 750 nm and h ∼ 160 to ∼180 nm, showed EQEs ∼30%, reaching ∼58% with substrate mode extraction. Surprisingly, fully conformal OLEDs on a PET/CAB substrate with a ∼ 7.8 μm showed blue and white EQEs reaching ∼33%, without substrate mode extraction. The enhancing patterns increase the OLEDs’ EQE by reducing surface plasmon excitation and internal waveguiding.

The experimental results for OLEDs on substrates with a < 2 μm are supported by scattering matrix simulations that assume conformal stacks, incorporating diffraction for internal losses reduction. EQE enhancement not predicted by simulations may be due additionally to scattering mostly for substrates with a significantly larger than the emitting wavelength.
Red and green dual-wavelength Pr:LiGdF4 laser with a single birefringent filter
Authors: Bai Junwen , Fu Xinhua
Published: October 2023

A simultaneous continuous-wave (CW) dual-wavelength Pr:LiGdF4 laser using a single birefringent filter (BF) plate under excitation with a frequency doubled optically pumped semiconductor laser (2 ω-OPSL) was experimentally demonstrated. We calculate the wavelength-dependent loss property of the BF. By adjusting the BF plate, the spectral intensity ratio of the generated wavelengths can be maintained to be 1:1. A simultaneous CW dual-wavelength Pr:LiGdF4 laser at 604 and 523 nm is experimentally realized. For a pump power of 7.2 W, red and green dual-wavelength laser radiation at 604 and 523 nm and 1.25 W of output power using a 4% output coupler could be generated. A slope efficiency of 19.8% with respect to the absorbed pump power and optical-to-optical efficiency of 17.4% for the highest-incident pump power were obtained. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has realized a dual-wavelength in Pr:LiGdF4 laser.
Thermodynamics under the impact of thermal fluctuations and quasi-normal modes of Euler-Heisenberg AdS BH in the framework of NLED
Authors: Ali R. H. , Abbas G.
Published: October 2023

We study the impact of thermal fluctuations on the thermodynamics, quasi-normal modes, and phase transitions of an anti-de Sitter Euler-Heisenberg black hole (BH) with a nonlinear electrodynamic field. An anti-de Sitter Euler-Heisenberg BH with a nonlinear electrodynamic field is composed of four parameters: the mass, electric charge, cosmological constant, and Euler-Heisenberg parameter. We calculate thermodynamic variables such as Hawking temperature, entropy, volume, and specific heat, which comply with the first law of thermodynamics. First, we use this BH to determine the thermodynamics and thermal fluctuations with the Euler-Heisenberg parameter to distinguish their effect on uncorrected and corrected thermodynamical quantities. We derive the expression for corrected entropy to study the impact of thermal fluctuation with simple logarithmic corrections on unmodified thermodynamical potentials, including Helmholtz energy, pressure, Gibbs free energy, and enthalpy. The Euler-Heisenberg parameter improves BH stability at large radii. Second, we analyze the local stability of the proposed BH, and the phase shifts of the BH are also investigated using temperature and specific heat. When there is a decrease in charge and an increase in

and α, the temperature shifts from an unstable region to a stable one. Similarly, increases in local stability are observed with each of these parameters. Third, we use null geodesics to deal with the effects of nonlinear electrodynamics on the quasi-normal modes of the Euler-Heisenberg anti-de Sitter BH. The null geodesics provide the angular velocity and Lyapunov exponent of the photon sphere, which are the same as the real and imaginary parts of the quasi-normal modes in the eikonal limit.
Development of correlation ECE system for electron temperature fluctuation measurement in LHD
Authors: Gong M. , Nishiura M. , Yanai R. , Takemura Y.
Published: October 2023

Correlation-ECE (C-ECE) is a standard method for investigating turbulence driven transport. This method allows electron temperature fluctuations that contain information on turbulent transport and independent thermal noise. The turbulence feature is extracted from a correlation analysis from two close locations. The A C-ECE system is utilized on the large helical device (LHD) to measure emission within the frequency range of 74–79.6 GHz. This system employs the spectral decorrelation method and serves as a collective Thomson scattering diagnostic receiver in the LHD. The C-ECE receiver system is comprised of a filter bank system with 32 band-pass filters and a fast digitizer system operating at a sampling rate of 12.5 GHz in the intermediate frequency (IF) stage. This study presents initial experimental results on temperature fluctuation spectra in the LHD, obtained through the C-ECE system using a coherency-based analysis method. An MHD mode at 5 kHz is excited from the onset of neutral beam injection in a magnetic probe, and coherence spectra are obtained from two C-ECE receiver systems. The temperature fluctuation results are derived from the coherence spectrum after bias removal and indicate a level of approximately 3% in the frequency range of 0 to 400 kHz. Further investigations will be conducted to explore drift wave turbulence activities and reconstruct the radial profile of temperature fluctuation in the LHD using the C-ECE receiver systems.
Clustering fusion algorithm for selection of historical beam steady-state transmission data in CAFe facility
Authors: Cao Z.G. , Guo Y.H. , Yang X.H , Yan C.M. , Hou M.Y.
Published: October 2023

Accelerator-driven systems (ADS) are promising technologies
for nuclear waste transmutation and energy production. The China ADS
Front-end Superconducting Demo Linac (CAFe) is a prototype of the
China Initiative Accelerator Driven System (CiADS), which aims to
verify the feasibility of key technologies of CiADS. In this
article, a novel method for historical data screening of the beam
transport in the medium energy beam transport (MEBT) section of CAFe
is presented. A clustering fusion algorithm based on unsupervised
learning and beam transmission characteristics is designed to
extract a large number of samples with the beam in steady-state
transmission from historical beam data. A deep neural network model
was constructed to fit the beam transport characteristics and verify
the reliability of the screened data samples. The method can improve
the efficiency and accuracy of data analysis and provide valuable
insights for the optimization and control of beam transport in
CAFe.
An integrative methodology framework for assessing regional ecological risk by land degradation using the case of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Authors: Wang Yi , Lü Yihe , Lü Da , Yin Lichang , Wang Xiaofeng
Published: October 2023

Land degradation poses significant threats to the sustainability of ecosystem structures, functions, and services, leading to increasing ecological risks. However, integrative assessment of the ecological risk driven by land degradation remains a challenge. In this study, we established a methodological framework for assessing regional ecological risk by integrating degenerative land use transitions with multiple ecological indicators. Specifically, 11 degradation modes of land use transitions and 7 indicators on ecosystem structures, functions, and services are quantitatively integrated using remote sensing data from 2000 to 2020 in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. Results revealed that the comprehensive ecological risk of the plateau is higher in the southern and northern regions. Furthermore, we found that land development from forests towards cropland and degradation towards grasslands lead to higher ecological risks than grassland development and degradation. The ecological risk tends to show a significant distance decay pattern around the patches with land degradation. Our research framework provides an efficient, explicit, and transferable means of exploring spatiotemporal changes in ecological risk caused by degenerative land use transitions at the regional scale. It presents a constructive tool for facilitating regional-scale land use and ecosystem management planning and assessment.
Closed form expressions for the Green’s function of a quantum graph—a scattering approach
Authors: Lawrie Tristan , Gnutzmann Sven , Tanner Gregor
Published: October 2023

In this work we present a three step procedure for generating a closed form expression of the Green’s function on both closed and open finite quantum graphs with general self-adjoint matching conditions. We first generalize and simplify the approach by Barra and Gaspard (2001 Phys. Rev. E 65 016205) and then discuss the validity of the explicit expressions. For compact graphs, we show that the explicit expression is equivalent to the spectral decomposition as a sum over poles at the discrete energy eigenvalues with residues that contain projector kernel onto the corresponding eigenstate. The derivation of the Green’s function is based on the scattering approach, in which stationary solutions are constructed by treating each vertex or subgraph as a scattering site described by a scattering matrix. The latter can then be given in a simple closed form from which the Green’s function is derived. The relevant scattering matrices contain inverse operators which are not well defined for wave numbers at which bound states in the continuum exists. It is shown that the singularities in the scattering matrix related to these bound states or perfect scars can be regularised. Green’s functions or scattering matrices can then be expressed as a sum of a regular and a singular part where the singular part contains the projection kernel onto the perfect scar.
Ultrasound standing wave spatial patterning of human umbilical vein endothelial cells for 3D micro-vascular networks formation
Authors: Le Huong Thi , Phan Huu Lam , Lenshof Andreas , Duong Van Thuy , Choi Cholong , Cha Chaenyung , Laurell Thomas , Koo Kyo-in
Published: October 2023

Generating functional and perfusable micro-vascular networks is an important goal for the fabrication of large and three-dimensional tissues. Up to now, the fabrication of micro-vascular networks is a complicated multitask involving several different factors such as time consuming, cells survival, micro-diameter vasculature and strict alignment. Here, we propose a technique combining multi-material extrusion and ultrasound standing wave forces to create a network structure of human umbilical vein endothelial cells within a mixture of calcium alginate and decellularized extracellular matrix. The functionality of the matured microvasculature networks was demonstrated through the enhancement of cell–cell adhesion, angiogenesis process, and perfusion tests with microparticles, FITC-dextran, and whole mouse blood. Moreover, animal experiments exhibited the implantability including that the pre-existing blood vessels of the host sprout towards the preformed vessels of the scaffold over time and the microvessels inside the implanted scaffold matured from empty tubular structures to functional blood-carrying microvessels in two weeks.
Exploring farmers’ support needs for the adoption of agri-environmental practices: an application of the theoretical domains framework
Authors: Baaken Marieke Cornelia , Bartkowski Bartosz , Rode Julian
Published: October 2023

Shifting agriculture onto a more sustainable trajectory requires significant changes in farmer behaviour in terms of implementing agri-environmental practices. Understanding the underlying factors influencing farmers’ behaviour can provide guidance when it comes to targeting agricultural policies and ensuring that they are effective. This study builds on the 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to explore farmers’ support needs for adopting agri-environmental practices. TDF ratings from 29 interviews with German farmers reveal the importance of the TDF domains for three agri-environmental practices, namely agroforestry, biological pest control and controlled release fertilization. Farmers state support needs for all TDF domains, but the ratings reveal significant differences in support needs across the TDF domains as well as among the practices. Higher overall support needs for agroforestry and biological pest control compared to those for sustainable fertilization practices may reflect the additional challenges associated with more systemic shifts in farming practices. Applying the TDF to the agricultural context can be helpful for developing targeted and theoretically informed policy interventions.
Highly efficient and reliable numerical approach for predicting automotive hood displacement: consideration of composite materials and weatherstrip structures
Authors: Ryu Gyeongsik , Yoon Bumyong , Shin Jinsoo , Rhie Chul Hong , Suhr Jonghwan
Published: October 2023

The automotive hood, a closure system for the engine compartment, must be mounted in a suitable position to avoid irregular gaps and flushes when it is initially assembled. The hood panel is mounted with an elastomer part called weatherstrip that is generally made of ethylene propylene diene monomer foam material to seal and reduce vehicle vibration and whistling noise. Because the elastomer material exhibits non-linear mechanical properties and viscoelasticity, which result in unpredictable reaction forces and compression set, the finite element analysis (FEA) of the automotive hood panel displacement with weatherstrip model shows low precision and long computing time. To resolve this issue, in this study, a cost-effective methodology for FEA is introduced by applying compressive stress of a weatherstrip to the distributed surface load in the finite element model without weatherstrip modeling. In addition, a 2D FEA of the weatherstrip is performed to investigate the effects of structural parameters on the reaction force. This work demonstrates a numerical approach for predicting automotive hood displacement by considering the material properties and the structural design variables of the weatherstrip. Therefore, this approach can be applied to other closer parts where it requires highly efficient yet reliable predictive results for mounting position.
Design and demonstration of composite mufflers based on dissipative and reactive units
Authors: Shi Quanquan , Yang Yuzhen , Mei Zhongjian , Lin Yuanyan , Li Xingyun , Tian Pengyi , Kong Peng , Jia Han , Yang Jun , Deng Ke
Published: October 2023

We have proposed and validated a design of a composite muffler. By a combination of dissipative and reactive units with different operating mechanisms, the advantages of both structures are utilized to achieve high transmission loss (TL) from low to high frequency in the ventilation duct system. A dissipative muffler composed of porous sound absorbing materials (PSAM) is chosen for noise attenuation above 1000 Hz, and a reactive muffler composed of Helmholtz resonators is used to reduce the noise below 1000 Hz. The combination of the two can achieve a TL above 20 dB in the broadband range of 244–1600 Hz and up to 30 dB in the vast majority of the frequency band, demonstrating excellent noise reduction effect. The proposed composite muffler has great advantages in broadband noise reduction for ventilation systems.
Assessing the impact of Byzantine attacks on coupled phase oscillators
Authors: Tyloo Melvyn
Published: October 2023

For many coupled dynamical systems, the interaction is the outcome of the measurement that each unit has of the others as e.g. in modern inverter-based power grids, autonomous vehicular platoons or swarms of drones, or it is the result of physical flows. Synchronization among all the components of these systems is of primal importance to avoid failures. The overall operational state of these systems therefore crucially depends on the correct and reliable functioning of the individual elements as well as the information they transmit through the network. Here, we investigate the effect of Byzantine attacks where one unit does not behave as expected, but is controlled by an external attacker. For such attacks, we assess the impact on the global collective behavior of nonlinearly coupled phase oscillators. We relate the synchronization error induced by the input signal to the properties of the attacked node. This allows to anticipate the potential of an attacker and identify which network components to secure.
Perceptions of PGY1 pharmacy resident research, final projects, and associated publication outcomes
Authors: Crosley Margaret L , Dumkow Lisa E , Belfer Julie J , VanLangen Kali M
Published: October 2023

Purpose

To describe the publication rate and the research landscape of postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency programs within the Great Lakes Pharmacy Resident Conference (GLPRC) region.

Methods

This study was comprised of two elements. The first was a retrospective cohort evaluation of previously presented GLPRC research abstracts and publication rates. The second was a 45-question survey of current GLPRC PGY1 residency program directors (RPDs). The primary objective of this study was to evaluate publication rates of PGY1 abstracts submitted to the GLPRC. Secondary objectives included describing RPD perceptions of the value of research, identifying perceived barriers to research completion, and characterizing current and ideal components of residency research programs.

Results

A total of 447 PGY1 abstracts were reviewed; 47 (10.5%) resulted in manuscript publication within a peer-reviewed journal. There was no significant difference in publication rates between years (9.5% in 2013 vs 13.8% in 2016 vs 7.4% in 2019, P = 0.166). One hundred ten PGY1 RPDs in the GLPRC region were invited to participate in the survey, with 33 (30%) responses received. The majority of programs (94%) required manuscript submission to the RPD prior to graduation; however, only 12% required submission for peer-reviewed publication. Major barriers to research completion included lack of preceptor time and knowledge regarding the research and publication process, as well as lack of resident interest and knowledge of the process.

Conclusion

The current publication rate of PGY1 research abstracts presented at the GLPRC remains at approximately 10%, which is unchanged from a previous investigation. RPD perceptions of the research process and barriers also remain largely unchanged or less favorable.
Interpreting Swearwords in Police Interviews and Perceived Offensiveness of Insults in the UK and Spain
Authors: Hijazo-Gascón Alberto , Gómez-Bedoya María , Filipović Luna
Published: October 2023

Despite how damaging the consequences of an inadequate translation of swearwords might be, little attention has been paid to insults, in both academic research and interpreting training. The mistranslation of an insult can affect how the police officer perceives the severity of the punishable offence and makes a judgment about what kind of action is appropriate. This study includes two experiments. First, an interpreting experiment was carried out with English–Spanish interpreting students (N = 36), including the translation of 30 insults in three different contexts. The second task aimed to find how each of the insults was comparable across both languages, according to native speakers’ perceptions. We elicited native speakers’ ratings for offensiveness of each of these lexical items (British N = 204 and Spanish N = 178). The results show variation in the degree of offensiveness by Spanish and British English speakers. We argue that learning insults needs to become part of interpreting training in legal contexts. This study aims to contribute to this interdisciplinary area, with one of the practical goals being the application of our results in professional training.
Searching similar local 3D micro-environments in protein structure databases with MicroMiner
Authors: Sieg Jochen , Rarey Matthias
Published: October 2023

The available protein structure data are rapidly increasing. Within these structures, numerous local structural sites depict the details characterizing structure and function. However, searching and analyzing these sites extensively and at scale poses a challenge. We present a new method to search local sites in protein structure databases using residue-defined local 3D micro-environments. We implemented the method in a new tool called MicroMiner and demonstrate the capabilities of residue micro-environment search on the example of structural mutation analysis. Usually, experimental structures for both the wild-type and the mutant are unavailable for comparison. With MicroMiner, we extracted $>255 \times 10^{6}$ amino acid pairs in protein structures from the PDB, exemplifying single mutations’ local structural changes for single chains and $>45 \times 10^{6}$ pairs for protein–protein interfaces. We further annotate existing data sets of experimentally measured mutation effects, like $\Delta \Delta G$ measurements, with the extracted structure pairs to combine the mutation effect measurement with the structural change upon mutation. In addition, we show how MicroMiner can bridge the gap between mutation analysis and structure-based drug design tools. MicroMiner is available as a command line tool and interactively on the https://proteins.plus/ webserver.
Guiding the design of well-powered Hi-C experiments to detect differential loops
Authors: Parker Sarah M , Davis Eric S , Phanstiel Douglas H
Published: October 2023

Motivation

Three-dimensional chromatin structure plays an important role in gene regulation by connecting regulatory regions and gene promoters. The ability to detect the formation and loss of these loops in various cell types and conditions provides valuable information on the mechanisms driving these cell states and is critical for understanding long-range gene regulation. Hi-C is a powerful technique for characterizing 3D chromatin structure; however, Hi-C can quickly become costly and labor-intensive, and proper planning is required to ensure efficient use of time and resources while maintaining experimental rigor and well-powered results.

Results

To facilitate better planning and interpretation of human Hi-C experiments, we conducted a detailed evaluation of statistical power using publicly available Hi-C datasets, paying particular attention to the impact of loop size on Hi-C contacts and fold change compression. In addition, we have developed Hi-C Poweraid, a publicly hosted web application to investigate these findings. For experiments involving well-replicated cell lines, we recommend a total sequencing depth of at least 6 billion contacts per condition, split between at least two replicates to achieve the power to detect differences in the majority of loops. For experiments with higher variation, more replicates and deeper sequencing depths are required. Values for specific cases can be determined by using Hi-C Poweraid. This tool simplifies Hi-C power calculations, allowing for more efficient use of time and resources and more accurate interpretation of experimental results.

Availability and implementation

Hi-C Poweraid is available as an R Shiny application deployed at http://phanstiel-lab.med.unc.edu/poweraid/, with code available at https://github.com/sarmapar/poweraid.
Phylogeography of two codistributed terrestrial snails in the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany biodiversity hotspot, South Africa
Authors: Raphalo Evelyn M , Cole Mary L , Daniels Savel R
Published: October 2023

We investigated the evolutionary patterns of two forest-dwelling endemic terrestrial snails (Gittenedouardia spadicea and Maizania wahlbergi) in the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany biodiversity hotspot in South Africa to examine the degree of phylogeographical congruence between the two species. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence time estimations within each species were inferred using the combined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence dataset for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and large subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA). In addition, the rapidly evolving COI datasets were used to infer intraspecific genetic structure and population differentiation within both species. Phylogeographical concordance factor (PCF) analysis was used to statistically estimate the degree of congruence between the two species at localities where both species were sampled. Phylogenetically, G. spadicea exhibited two clades that diverged during the Plio/Pleistocene, while M. wahlbergi formed a single shallow clade that showed Pleistocene divergence. The haplotype networks for the COI locus demonstrated evidence of geographical and genetic isolation within both species. PCF analysis demonstrated partial phylogeographical concordance, suggesting that the two species may have been affected by similar ancient climatic events. Traits other than poor dispersal capabilities and limited gene flow may also influence how a species responds to fluctuating climate change.
Statistical structural inference from edge weights using a mixture of gamma distributions
Authors: Wang Jianjia , Hancock Edwin R
Published: October 2023

The inference of reliable and meaningful connectivity information from weights representing the affinity between nodes in a graph is an outstanding problem in network science. Usually, this is achieved by simply thresholding the edge weights to distinguish true links from false ones and to obtain a sparse set of connections. Tools developed in statistical mechanics have provided particularly effective ways to locate the optimal threshold so as to preserve the statistical properties of the network structure. Thermodynamic analogies together with statistical mechanical ensembles have been proven to be useful in analysing edge-weighted networks. To extend this work, in this article, we use a statistical mechanical model to describe the probability distribution for edge weights. This models the distribution of edge weights using a mixture of Gamma distributions. Using a two-component Gamma mixture model with components describing the edge and non-edge weight distributions, we use the Expectation–Maximization algorithm to estimate the corresponding Gamma distribution parameters and mixing proportions. This gives the optimal threshold to convert weighted networks to sets of binary-valued connections. Numerical analysis shows that it provides a new way to describe the edge weight probability. Furthermore, using a physical analogy in which the weights are the energies of molecules in a solid, the probability density function for nodes is identical to the degree distribution resulting from a uniform weight on edges. This provides an alternative way to study the degree distribution with the nodal probability function in unweighted networks. We observe a phase transition in the low-temperature region, corresponding to a structural transition caused by applying the threshold. Experimental results on real-world weighted and unweighted networks reveal an improved performance for inferring binary edge connections from edge weights.
Spatial distribution and factors associated with health insurance subscription among women in Ghana
Authors: Aboagye Richard Gyan , Boateng Ebenezer N K , Okyere Yaw Marfo , Okyere Joshua , Dickson Kwamena Sekyi , Seidu Abdul-Aziz , Ahinkorah Bright Opoku
Published: October 2023

Background

This study examined the spatial distribution and factors associated with health insurance subscription among women in Ghana.

Methods

We analysed a representative sample of 9380 women aged 15–49 y from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive and multilevel regression analyses were performed. The study also employed spatial analysis techniques, including spatial autocorrelation, hotspot analysis, cluster and outlier analysis, as well as geographically weighted regression to explore the geographic distribution and predictors of non-subscription to health insurance.

Results

The analysis revealed a moderately high prevalence of health insurance subscription among women in Ghana (62.4%). The spatial analyses indicated substantial variations in health insurance subscription across different regions in Ghana. The coastal and middle zones reported higher rates of non-subscription compared with the northern zone. We observed that young women (aged 20–24 y) had a lower likelihood of subscribing compared with adolescent girls (aged 15–19 y). Also, higher educational attainment, listening to the radio, being in a marital union and higher wealth status were positively associated with health insurance subscription.

Conclusions

The study calls for targeted interventions and policies to promote equitable access to healthcare services, focusing on improving health infrastructure in coastal and middle zones, educational campaigns for individuals with lower education levels, leveraging media platforms for health insurance awareness and implementing equitable and affordable processes for individuals in poorer households.
Sovereignty Intrusion: Populism and Attitudes toward the International Monetary Fund
Authors: Handlin Sam , Kaya Ayse , Gunaydin Hakan
Published: October 2023

The global populist backlash is considered threatening to the multilateral order, but its impact on individual attitudes toward international organizations, like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is understudied. We bridge insights from research on the IMF and populism to develop a theoretical framework centered on three propositions. We argue that populist individuals should be more prone to blame the IMF for economic problems than non-populists, but that this effect is highly conditional on sovereignty intrusion, escalating when an IMF program exists and as the program becomes more onerous. In contrast, IMF scapegoating by populist politicians should be largely ineffective. Analyzing survey data from across the European Union and an original survey experiment in Greece, we find support for each contention. The paper advances understanding of the partisan politics of the IMF and shows that the implications of the populist wave for international order are more complex than often assumed.
Compensation in the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice: towards an equitable approach
Authors: Liu Yang
Published: October 2023

Article 36(2) of the International Law Commission’s Article on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA) provides that the responsible state shall compensate for all financially assessable damage. However, ARSIWA provides no guidance as to how such a broad rule should be applied in practice, which creates significant ambiguities for adjudicators in charge of adjudicating compensation claims in international law. In the past decade, the International Court of Justice has adjudicated three important compensation cases wherein it has exhibited a visible turn to equitable considerations in compensation determination. This article conducts an analysis of such an emerging equitable approach to compensation and argues that it is a welcome development, given the flexibility it provides to the Court for balancing different factors, with the aim of achieving an equitable determination of compensation. This article also addresses the justifications and predictability concerns of this approach.
Implementation of an International Severe Infection Point-of-Care Ultrasound Research Network
Authors: Herrera Phabiola M , Blair Paul W , Siddharthan Trishul , Fong Tiffany , Pollett Simon , Clark Danielle V
Published: October 2023

Introduction

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a rapid, readily available, and cost-effective diagnostic and prognostic modality in a range of clinical settings. However, data to support its clinical application are limited. This project’s main goal was to assess the effectiveness of standardizing lung ultrasound (LUS) training for sonographers to determine if universal LUS adoption is justified.

Materials and Methods

We describe the effectiveness of an implementation of a LUS research training program across eight international study sites in Asia, Africa, and North America as part of prospective Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and sepsis study cohorts (Rapid Assessment of Infection with SONography research network). Within our network, point-of-care LUS was used to longitudinally evaluate radiographic markers of lung injury. POCUS operators were personnel from a variety of backgrounds ranging from research coordinators with no medical background to experienced clinicians.

Results

Following a standardized protocol, 49 study sonographers were trained and LUS images from 486 study participants were collected. After training was completed, we compared before and after image qualities for interpretation. The proportion of acceptable images improved at each site between the first 25 scans and the second 25 scans, resulting in 80% or greater acceptance at each study site.

Conclusions

POCUS training and implementation proved feasible in diverse research settings among a range of providers. Standardization across ongoing cohort protocols affords opportunities for increased statistical power and generalizability of results. These results potentially support care delivery by enabling military medics to provide care at the point of injury, as well as aiding frontline clinicians in both austere and highly resourced critical care settings.
GraphPart: homology partitioning for biological sequence analysis
Authors: Teufel Felix , Gíslason Magnús Halldór , Almagro Armenteros José Juan , Johansen Alexander Rosenberg , Winther Ole , Nielsen Henrik
Published: October 2023

When splitting biological sequence data for the development and testing of predictive models, it is necessary to avoid too-closely related pairs of sequences ending up in different partitions. If this is ignored, performance of prediction methods will tend to be overestimated. Several algorithms have been proposed for homology reduction, where sequences are removed until no too-closely related pairs remain. We present GraphPart, an algorithm for homology partitioning that divides the data such that closely related sequences always end up in the same partition, while keeping as many sequences as possible in the dataset. Evaluation of GraphPart on Protein, DNA and RNA datasets shows that it is capable of retaining a larger number of sequences per dataset, while providing homology separation on a par with reduction approaches.
Global gradients in species richness of marine plankton functional groups
Authors: Benedetti Fabio , Gruber Nicolas , Vogt Meike
Published: October 2023

The patterns of species diversity of plankton functional groups (PFGs) remain poorly understood although they matter greatly for marine ecosystem functioning. Here, we use an ensemble of empirical species distribution models for 845 plankton species to estimate the global species richness of three phytoplankton and 11 zooplankton functional groups as a function of objectively selected environmental predictors. The annual mean species richness of all PFGs decreases from the low to the high latitudes, but the steepness and the shape of this decrease vary significantly across PFGs. Pteropods, small copepods (Oithonids and Poecilostomatoids) and Salps have the steepest latitudinal gradients, whereas Amphipods and the three phytoplankton groups have the weakest ones. Temperature, irradiance and nutrient concentration are the first-order control on the latitudinal richness patterns, whilst the environmental conditions associated to upwelling systems, boundary currents and oxygen minimum zones modulate the position of the peaks and troughs in richness. The species richness of all PFGs increases with net primary production but decreases with particles size and the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. Our study puts forward emergent biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships and hypotheses about their underlying drivers for future field-based and modelling research.
Recursive neural programs: A differentiable framework for learning compositional part-whole hierarchies and image grammars
Authors: Fisher Ares , Rao Rajesh P N
Published: October 2023

Human vision, thought, and planning involve parsing and representing objects and scenes using structured representations based on part-whole hierarchies. Computer vision and machine learning researchers have recently sought to emulate this capability using neural networks, but a generative model formulation has been lacking. Generative models that leverage compositionality, recursion, and part-whole hierarchies are thought to underlie human concept learning and the ability to construct and represent flexible mental concepts. We introduce Recursive Neural Programs (RNPs), a neural generative model that addresses the part-whole hierarchy learning problem by modeling images as hierarchical trees of probabilistic sensory-motor programs. These programs recursively reuse learned sensory-motor primitives to model an image within different spatial reference frames, enabling hierarchical composition of objects from parts and implementing a grammar for images. We show that RNPs can learn part-whole hierarchies for a variety of image datasets, allowing rich compositionality and intuitive parts-based explanations of objects. Our model also suggests a cognitive framework for understanding how human brains can potentially learn and represent concepts in terms of recursively defined primitives and their relations with each other.
A Novel Role for Physical Therapists in Infection Prevention and Control in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Administrative Case Report
Authors: Reid Abigail , Karsten Julia , Barker Kristin , Zervas Michael , Gissen Amy , Palazzo Mia
Published: October 2023

Objective

The purpose of this case report is to describe the development, implementation, and sustained use of a Rehabilitation Infection Prevention and Control Team (RIPCT) comprised of physical therapists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlights how physical therapists are equipped to serve not only in typical clinical positions but also in nontraditional roles in healthcare.

Methods

The RIPCT served as an extension of the infection prevention and control (IPC) department. The team engaged in self-directed learning and worked alongside a physician mentor to acquire the knowledge and visibility needed to identify, triage, and address pandemic-related questions. Through rounding on units, on-site environmental assessments, and electronic communication, the RIPCT aided in navigating uncertainty, solving problems, and implementing changes for staff and patient safety.

Results

The RIPCT addressed safety concerns of 532 rehabilitation professionals, developed rehabilitation IPC policy, facilitated the reopening of 11 ambulatory sites, and created a new pathway to address future rehabilitation IPC needs. A survey of rehabilitation professionals indicated perceived effectiveness of physical therapists filling this role.

Conclusion

The RIPCT successfully provided clear and consistent education as well as safe practice recommendations to staff and patients across a variety of disciplines and settings. The team quickly incorporated new knowledge and collaborated effectively in a nontraditional role within the healthcare system. The use of a semi-formal learning model with staff level clinicians as champions facilitated translation of IPC-related knowledge in a time of uncertainty throughout the healthcare community.

Impact

The educational background, professional values, and communication skills of physical therapists allowed for successful integration into the IPC department to ensure staff and patient safety. Healthcare systems should consider utilization of physical therapists in nontraditional multidisciplinary clinical roles.
Dirichlet is not just bad and singular in many rational IFS fractals
Authors: Schleischitz Johannes
Published: October 2023

For $m\ge 2$, consider K the m-fold Cartesian product of the limit set of an iterated function system (IFS) of two affine maps with rational coefficients. If the contraction rates of the IFS are reciprocals of integers, and K does not degenerate to singleton, we construct vectors in K that lie within the ‘folklore set’ as defined by Beresnevich et al., meaning that they are Dirichlet improvable but not singular or badly approximable (in fact our examples are Liouville vectors). We further address the topic of lower bounds for the Hausdorff and packing dimension of these folklore sets within K; however, we do not compute bounds explicitly. Our class of fractals extends (Cartesian products of) classical missing digit fractals, for which analogous results had recently been obtained.
The influence of tag sequence on recombinant humanized collagen (rhCol) and the evaluation of rhCol on Schwann cell behaviors
Authors: Bai Mingxuan , Kang Ning , Xu Yang , Wang Jing , Shuai Xinxing , Liu Caojie , Jiang Yixuan , Du Yu , Gong Ping , Lin Hai , Zhang Xingdong
Published: October 2023

Recombinant humanized collagen (rhCol) was an extracellular matrix (ECM)-inspired biomimetic biomaterial prepared by biosynthesis technology, which was considered non-allergenic and could possibly activate tissue regeneration. The influence of tag sequence on both structures and performances of rhCol type III (rhCol III) was investigated, and the effect of rhCol III on cell behaviors was evaluated and discussed using Schwann cells (SCs) as in vitro model that was critical in the repair process after peripheral nerve injury. The results demonstrated that the introduction of tag sequence would influence both advanced structures and properties of rhCol III, while rhCol III regulated SCs adhesion, spreading, migration and proliferation. Also, both nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor increased when exposed to rhCol III. As the downstream proteins of integrin-mediated cell adhesions, phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and expression of vinculin was up-regulated along with the promotion of SCs adhesion and migration. The current findings contributed to a better knowledge of the interactions between rhCol III and SCs, and further offered a theoretical and experimental foundation for the development of rhCol III-based medical devices and clinical management of peripheral nerve injury.
Monitoring of outdoor natural gamma absorbed dose rate in air in Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Authors: Mitra Pratip , Reddy Gade Priyanka , Srivastava Saurabh , Salunkhe Sandip Shantaram , Kumari Anisha , Gavas Sanjay Ganpat , Ninawe Pruthviraj Ramkrishna , Thekkinkattil Mukundan , Garg Saurabh , Kumar Aerattukkara Vinod
Published: October 2023

The Indian Environmental Radiation Monitoring Network continuously monitors the outdoor natural gamma absorbed dose rate in air at different locations throughout India by employing Geiger–Mueller (GM) detector-based field-installed environmental radiation monitors (ERMs). Hyderabad, Telangana, India is known to have high natural background radiation levels due to the presence of high concentrations of primordial radionuclides in its granitic rocks. There are a total of 59 ERMs installed at various locations across Hyderabad. Long-term monitoring data of these locations are presented in this paper. The mean values of outdoor natural gamma absorbed dose rate in air at the monitoring locations were found to vary in the range of 104–258 nGy.h−1 with a mean of 193 ± 40 nGy.h−1. The mean annual effective dose due to outdoor natural gamma radiation was estimated to be 0.24 ± 0.05 mSv.y−1. Analysis of the long-term seasonal variation of outdoor natural gamma absorbed dose rate in air showed that the same was lowest during monsoons.
Gender differences in cognitive and affective interpersonal emotion regulation in couples: an fNIRS hyperscanning
Authors: Zhang Wenhai , Qiu Lanting , Tang Fanggui , Sun Hong-Jin
Published: October 2023

Emotion regulation is vital in maintaining romantic relationships in couples. Although gender differences exist in cognitive and affective strategies during ‘intrapersonal’ emotion regulation, it is unclear how gender differences through affective bonds work in ‘interpersonal’ emotion regulation (IER) in couples. Thirty couple dyads and 30 stranger dyads underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning recordings when targets complied with their partner’s cognitive engagement (CE) and affective engagement (AE) strategies after viewing sad and neutral videos. Behaviorally, for males, CE was less effective than AE in both groups, but little difference occurred for females between AE and CE. For couples, Granger causality analysis showed that male targets had less neural activity than female targets in CH06, CH13 and CH17 during CE. For inflow and outflow activities on CH06 and CH13 (frontopolar cortex), respectively, male targets had less activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition, while for outflow activities on CH 17 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), female targets had more activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition. However, these differences were not observed in strangers. These results suggest gender differences in CE but not in AE and dissociable flow patterns in male and female targets in couples during sadness regulation.
Distinct patterns of neural response to faces from different races in humans and deep networks
Authors: Wang Ao , Sliwinska Magdalena W , Watson David M , Smith Sam , Andrews Timothy J
Published: October 2023

Social categories such as the race or ethnicity of an individual are typically conveyed by the visual appearance of the face. The aim of this study was to explore how these differences in facial appearance are represented in human and artificial neural networks. First, we compared the similarity of faces from different races using a neural network trained to discriminate identity. We found that the differences between races were most evident in the fully connected layers of the network. Although these layers were also able to predict behavioural judgements of face identity from human participants, performance was biased toward White faces. Next, we measured the neural response in face-selective regions of the human brain to faces from different races in Asian and White participants. We found distinct patterns of response to faces from different races in face-selective regions. We also found that the spatial pattern of response was more consistent across participants for own-race compared to other-race faces. Together, these findings show that faces from different races elicit different patterns of response in human and artificial neural networks. These differences may underlie the ability to make categorical judgements and explain the behavioural advantage for the recognition of own-race faces.