bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydroxyapatite Deposition Disease: A Comprehensive Review of Pathogenesis, Radiological Findings, and Treatment Strategies
Authors: Hegazi Tarek
Published: August 2023

Hydroxyapatite deposition disease (HADD) represents a multifaceted condition characterized by the accumulation of hydroxyapatite crystals in soft tissues, leading to subsequent inflammation and discomfort. The intricate etiology of HADD is the subject of this comprehensive review, which encompasses an in-depth analysis of the four proposed pathogenic mechanisms and a deliberation on the predisposing factors that instigate the development of this disease. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the disease’s progression, this manuscript delineates the stages of HADD—those preceding calcification, occurring during calcification, and following calcification—in meticulous detail. This chronology forms the basis of a complete portrayal of the evolution of HADD. Moreover, this review encompasses an examination of the radiological findings associated with HADD, furnishing an extensive discourse on imaging characteristics. The potential of HADD to mimic other diseases, thereby posing diagnostic challenges, is also articulated. The discourse continues with an investigation of HADD’s differential diagnosis. This section furnishes a robust framework for distinguishing HADD from other conditions based on imaging results. To enrich the understanding of this diagnostic process, case studies illustrating real-world applications are provided. An overview of treatment modalities for HADD, including both conservative and interventional approaches, forms the concluding discussion. The pivotal role of imaging specialists in the diagnosis and management of HADD is emphasized, highlighting their vital contribution to image-guided procedures and disease monitoring.
An Easy-to-Use Prehospital Indicator to Determine the Severity of Suspected Heat-Related Illness: An Observational Study in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Authors: Yamaguchi Junko , Kinoshita Kosaku , Takeyama Minami
Published: August 2023

Rapid hospital arrival decreases mortality risk in heat-related illnesses. We investigated an easy-to-use indicator of life-threatening severity of heat-related illnesses in a community setting to enable quick hospitalization by using data extracted from prehospital transportation records of a database from 2016 that included information on the clinical severity of suspected heat-related illnesses in patients (n = 2528) upon hospital arrival. Patient-related risk factors (adjusted odds ratio, aOR [95% confidence interval, CI]) included age, vital signs, location of the patient, and illness severity, and respiratory rate (3.34 [1.80–6.22]), heart rate (2.88 [1.57–5.29]), axillary body temperature (7.79 [4.02–15.1]), and consciousness level (38.3 [5.22–281.1]) were independent risk factors for heat-related illness severity. On-site blood pressure was not an independent factor for illness severity. Heart rate > 120 beats/min, respiratory rate > 24 breaths/min, and temperature > 38.6 °C (highest areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves [95% CI]: 0.80 [0.75–0.87]; 0.73 [0.67–0.81]; and 0.83 [0.77–0.91], respectively) predicted life-threatening illness severity. Changes in the vital signs of patients with heat-related illnesses, particularly tachycardia and tachypnea, constitute sensitive, easy-to-use indicators that facilitate rapid identification of severity by laypersons and transport of patients before aggravation to a life-threatening situation.
In Situ VTOL Drone-Borne Observations of Temperature and Relative Humidity over Dome C, Antarctica
Authors: Ricaud Philippe , Medina Patrice , Durand Pierre , Attié Jean-Luc , Bazile Eric , Grigioni Paolo , Guasta Massimo Del , Pauly Benji
Published: August 2023

The Antarctic atmosphere is rapidly changing, but there are few observations available in the interior of the continent to quantify this change due to few ground stations and satellite measurements. The Concordia station is located on the East Antarctic Plateau (75° S, 123° E, 3233 m above mean sea level), one of the driest and coldest places on Earth. Several remote sensing instruments are available at the station to probe the atmosphere, together with operational meteorological sensors. In order to observe in situ clouds, temperature, relative humidity and supercooled liquid water (SLW) at a high vertical resolution, a new project based on the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) vertical take-off and landing from the DeltaQuad Company has been set up at Concordia. A standard Vaisala pressure, temperature and relative humidity sensor was installed aboard the drone coupled to an Anasphere SLW sensor. A total of thirteen flights were conducted from 24 December 2022 to 17 January 2023: nine technology flights and four science flights (on 2, 10, 11 and 13 January 2023). Drone-based temperature and relative humidity profiles were compared to (1) the balloon-borne meteorological observations at 12:00 UTC, (2) the ground-based microwave radiometer HAMSTRAD and (3) the outputs from the numerical weather prediction models ARPEGE and AROME. No SLW clouds were present during the period of observations. Despite technical issues with drone operation due to the harsh environments encountered (altitude, temperature and geomagnetic field), the drone-based observations were consistent with the balloon-borne observations of temperature and relative humidity. The radiometer showed a systematic negative bias in temperature of 2 °C, and the two models were, in the lowermost troposphere, systematically warmer (by 2–4 °C) and moister (by 10–30%) than the drone-based observations. Our study shows the great potential of a drone to probe the Antarctic atmosphere in situ at very high vertical resolution (a few meters).
Quality of the Opportunities for Preschoolers’ Physical Activity in Portuguese Kindergartens
Authors: Moreira Mariana , Veiga Guida , Lopes Frederico , Hales Derek , Cordovil Rita
Published: August 2023

Kindergarten’s physical and social environment influences preschoolers’ physical activity (PA) and impacts their development. This study aimed first to describe the quality of the opportunities provided by the physical attributes and social guidelines to promote PA and, second, to investigate the relationship between design attributes and daily practices to support PA in sixteen Portuguese kindergartens (15 public). The Children’s Physical Environment Rating Scale was used to rate the quality of the design attributes. Sixteen directors and teachers filled out surveys to quantify the equipment available and assess the quality of the written policies and daily practices to promote PA. Correlations between design attributes and daily practices to support PA were analyzed. The results emphasize the need for improvements in indoor settings that facilitate a wide range of gross motor activities for children. Similarly, outdoor environments should be designed to enable play opportunities regardless of weather conditions, encouraging children to engage in diverse and challenging physical activities. Providing more times per year for teachers’ PA training is also necessary. The design attributes and daily practices to support children’s PA were related. In kindergartens with a room only for PA, children spent less time sitting and more time in teacher-led PA. In kindergartens with large and challenging outdoor areas, children engaged in more intense PA. However, having a roofed protection area outdoors was not sufficient to decrease indoor sitting time. These findings highlight the need for ongoing review and assessment of the physical and social environment in kindergartens to ensure preschoolers have the best opportunities for PA.
“FLIPPED ASSESSMENT”: Proposal for a Self-Assessment Method to Improve Learning in the Field of Manufacturing Technologies
Authors: Díaz-Álvarez José , Díaz-Álvarez Antonio , Mantecón Ramiro , Miguélez María Henar
Published: August 2023

Striving toward goal completion and achieving objectives is one of the motors of personal advancement. The path to goal completion is fueled by many reasons, among which motivation stands out as one of the core impulses. Motivation acquires a particularly high relevance in learning, prompting educators to mind its substance when designing not only the material to be imparted but also the approach and the mechanisms to assess knowledge acquisition. The intrinsic nature of motivation might stem from self-realization, thriving in specific goals, or even exploring unknown ground. One of the main teacher–student interactions is the provision of adequate tools to achieve learning outcomes. One of the tools available to teachers is the exercise of extrinsic motivation. This paper proposes and assesses the initial implementation of a student-involved extrinsic motivation method. A pilot group in the Junior year of a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering program was selected, in which the evaluation system was slightly modified with respect to the system that is normally used. The course selected for the study was a compulsory six European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) course covering production and manufacturing technology. Students were asked to partake in the drafting of questions to assess their own knowledge, hence indirectly increasing their motivation to learn the content. The tentative results obtained with the pilot group appear to be positive and relevant. Students showed a higher engagement during class and reported needing fewer hours of preparation at home (32% reduction). In addition, global satisfaction with the course was improved.
Robust Zero Watermarking Algorithm for Medical Images Based on Improved NasNet-Mobile and DCT
Authors: Dong Fangchun , Li Jingbing , Bhatti Uzair Aslam , Liu Jing , Chen Yen-Wei , Li Dekai
Published: August 2023

In the continuous progress of mobile internet technology, medical image processing technology is also always being upgraded and improved. In this field, digital watermarking technology is significant and provides a strong guarantee for medical image information security. This paper offers a robustness zero watermarking strategy for medical pictures based on an Improved NasNet-Mobile convolutional neural network and the discrete cosine transform (DCT) to address the lack of robustness of existing medical image watermarking algorithms. First, the structure of the pre-training network NasNet-Mobile is adjusted by using a fully connected layer with 128 output and a regression layer instead of the original Softmax layer and classification layer, thus generating a regression network with 128 output, whereby the 128 features are extracted from the medical images using the NasNet-Mobile network with migration learning. Migration learning is then performed on the modified NasNet-Mobile network to obtain the trained network, which is then used to extract medical image features, and finally the extracted image features are subjected to DCT transform to extract low frequency data, and the perceptual hashing algorithm processes the extracted data to obtain a 32-bit binary feature vector. Before performing the watermark embedding, the watermark data is encrypted using the chaos mapping algorithm to increase data security. Next, the zero watermarking technique is used to allow the algorithm to embed and extract the watermark without changing the information contained in the medical image. The experimental findings demonstrate the algorithm’s strong resistance to both conventional and geometric assaults. The algorithm offers some practical application value in the realm of medicine when compared to other approaches.
Preparation and Optical Property of Far-Red LED Encapsulated with the Graded-Index Fluorescent Glass Film
Authors: Liang Shihong , Wang Bin , Wang Xiangfu , Yan Xiaohong
Published: August 2023

Fabricating far-red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with high emission efficiency is a change for the application in plant growth. In this work, a new type of far-red LED was fabricated for plant growth by encapsulating the Sr3LiSbO6:Mn4+, Mg2+ (SLSO:Mn4+, Mg2+) far-red phosphors with the gradient-refractive glass films. Under 365 nm excitation, the phosphors emitted the wide band in the 550–800 nm range, which overlapped with the absorption band of plants that absorb far-red light (PFR). The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the LED was 93.6%. Compared with the luminous efficacy of traditional (fluorescent silicone) LEDs (59 lm/W), the luminous efficacy of the new LED is increased by 62.7%, and reaches 96.74 lm/W. Thus, this far-red LED with high IQE has a long-term application prospect in plant growth.
Internet of Things Gateway Edge for Movement Monitoring in a Smart Healthcare System
Authors: Al-Naime Khalid , Al-Anbuky Adnan , Mawston Grant
Published: August 2023

Over the past two decades, there has been a notable and swift advancement in the field of healthcare with regards to the Internet of Things (IoT). This progress has brought forth a substantial prospect for healthcare services to enhance performance, transparency, and cost effectiveness. Internet of Things gateways, such as local computational facilities, mobile devices, or custom miniature computational embedded electronics like the Raspberry Pi (RPi), are crucial in facilitating the required processing and data compression tasks as well as serving as front-end event detectors. Numerous home-based healthcare monitoring systems are currently accessible; however, they have several limitations. This paper examines the role of the Raspberry Pi gateway in the healthcare system, specifically in the context of pre-operative prehabilitation programs (PoPPs). The IoT remote monitoring system employed a Microduino integrated with various supporting boards as a wearable device. Additionally, a Raspberry Pi was utilised as a base station or mobile gateway, while ThingSpeak served as the cloud platform. The monitoring system was developed with the purpose of assisting healthcare personnel in real time, remotely monitoring patients while engaging in one or more of the nine typical physical activities that are often prescribed to individuals participating in a prehabilitation program. Furthermore, an alert notification system was designed to notify the clinician and patient if the values were abnormal (i.e., the patient had not been active for many days). The integration of IOT and Raspberry Pi technology into a pre-operative prehabilitation program yielded a promising outcome with a success rate of 78%. Consequently, this intervention is expected to facilitate the resolution of challenges encountered by healthcare providers and patients, including extended waiting periods and constraints related to staffing and infrastructure.
An Efficient Combination of Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization for Scheduling Data-Intensive Tasks in Heterogeneous Cloud Computing
Authors: Shao Kaili , Fu Hui , Wang Bo
Published: August 2023

Task scheduling is still an open issue for improving the performance of cloud services. Focusing on addressing the issue, we first formulate the task-scheduling problem of heterogeneous cloud computing into a binary non-linear programming. There are two optimization objectives including the number of accepted tasks and the overall resource utilizations. To solve the problem in polynomial time complexity, we provide a hybrid heuristic algorithm by combing both benefits of genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), named PGSAO. Specifically, PGSAO integrates the evolution strategy of GA into PSO to overcome the shortcoming of easily trapping into local optimization of PSO, and applies the self-cognition and social cognition of PSO to ensure the exploitation power. Extensive simulated experiments are conducted for evaluating the performance of PGSAO, and the results show that PGSAO has 23.0–33.2% more accepted tasks and 27.9–43.7% higher resource utilization than eight other meta-heuristic and hybrid heuristic algorithms, on average.
A Comparison of Summarization Methods for Duplicate Software Bug Reports
Authors: Mukhtar Samal , Primadani Claudia Cahya , Lee Seonah , Jung Pilsu
Published: August 2023

Bug reports vary in length, while some bug reports are lengthy, others are too brief to describe bugs in detail. In such a case, duplicate bug reports can serve as valuable resources for enriching bug descriptions. However, existing bug summarization methods mainly focused on summarizing a single bug report. In this paper, we focus on summarizing duplicate bug reports. By doing so, we aim to obtain an informative summary of bug reports while reducing redundant sentences in the summary. We apply several text summarization methods to duplicate bug reports. We then compare summarization results generated by different summarization methods and identify the most effective method for summarizing duplicate bug reports. Our comparative experiment reveals that the extractive multi-document method based on TF-IDF is the most effective in the summarization. This method successfully captures the relevant information from duplicate bug reports, resulting in comprehensive summaries. These results contribute to the advancement of bug summarization techniques, especially in summarizing duplicate bug reports.
Adaptive Spatial–Temporal and Knowledge Fusing for Social Media Rumor Detection
Authors: Li Hui , Huang Guimin , Li Cheng , Li Jun , Wang Yabing
Published: August 2023

With the growth of the internet and popularity of mobile devices, propagating rumors on social media has become increasingly easy. Widespread rumors may cause public panic and have adverse effects on individuals. Recently, researchers have found that external knowledge is useful for detecting rumors. They usually use statistical approaches to calculate the importance of different knowledge for the post. However, these methods cannot aggregate the knowledge information most beneficial for detecting rumors. Second, the importance of propagation and knowledge information for discriminating rumors differs among temporal stages. Existing methods usually use a simple concatenation of two kinds of information as feature representation. However, this approach lacks effective integration of propagation information and knowledge information. In this paper, we propose a rumor detection model, Adaptive Spatial-Temporal and Knowledge fusing Network (ASTKN). In order to adaptively aggregate knowledge information, ASTKN employs dynamic graph attention networks encoding the temporal knowledge structure. To better fuse propagation structure information and knowledge structure information, we introduce a new attention mechanism to fuse the two types of information dynamically. Extensive experiments on two public real-world datasets show that our proposal yields significant improvements compared to strong baselines and that it can detect rumors at early stages.
Proof of Concept of the Use of the Parametric Effect in Two Media with Application to Underwater Acoustic Communications
Authors: Campo-Valera María , Rodríguez-Rodríguez Ignacio , Rodríguez José-Víctor , Herrera-Fernández Luis-Jorge
Published: August 2023

Nonlinear acoustics offers a new range of acoustic applications that are currently being exploited. The parametric nonlinear effect—the occurrence of low frequencies with modulated high-frequency emission—is of particular interest. This work provides a systematic exposition of the theoretical framework on which the so-called parametric nonlinear effect is based. In relation to this behavior is an analytical discussion of how to solve the problem for two cases: (i) nonlinear behavior with modulation, and (ii) parametric emission of two monochromatic waves (bi-frequency). Subsequently, parametric emission experiments were carried out in air and water using the same transducer to compare the results with those obtained theoretically. In this sense, directivity and attenuation measurements are obtained. Conclusively, this research offers a proof of concept for underwater acoustic communications. It is characterized by the transmission of a binary sequence through Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) modulation, and the subsequent decoding of each received bit (either 1 or 0) utilizing advanced signal processing with the cross-correlation technique. This paper accentuates the significant potential of employing the parametric effect for specialized communication applications.
A Survey of Side-Channel Leakage Assessment
Authors: Wang Yaru , Tang Ming
Published: August 2023

As more threatening side-channel attacks (SCAs) are being proposed, the security of cryptographic products is seriously challenged. This has prompted both academia and industry to evaluate the security of these products. The security assessment is divided into two styles: attacking-style assessment and leakage detection-style assessment. In this paper, we will focus specifically on the leakage detection-style assessment. Firstly, we divide the assessment methods into Test Vector Leakage Assessment (TVLA) and its optimizations and summarize the shortcomings of TVLA. Secondly, we categorize the various optimization schemes for overcoming these shortcomings into three groups: statistical tool optimizations, detection process optimizations, and decision strategy optimizations. We provide concise explanations of the motivations and processes behind each scheme, as well as compare their detection efficiency. Through our work, we conclude that there is no single optimal assessment scheme that can address all shortcomings of TVLA. Finally, we summarize the purposes and conditions of all leakage detection methods and provide a detection strategy for actual leakage detection. Additionally, we discuss the current development trends in leakage detection.
On Unsupervised Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Design of Antennas for High-Performance Planar Devices
Authors: Koziel Slawomir , Dou Weiping , Renner Peter , Cohen Andrew , Tian Yuandong , Zhu Jiang , Pietrenko-Dabrowska Anna
Published: August 2023

Designing modern antenna structures is a challenging endeavor. It is laborious and heavily reliant on engineering insight and experience, especially at the initial stages oriented towards the development of a suitable antenna architecture. Due to its interactive nature and hands-on procedures (mainly parametric studies) for validating the suitability of particular geometric setups, typical antenna development requires many weeks and significant involvement of a human expert. The same reasons only allow the designer to try out a very limited number of options in terms of antenna geometry arrangements. Automated topology development and dimension sizing is therefore of high interest, especially from an industry perspective where time-to-market and expert-related expenses are of paramount importance. This paper discusses a novel approach to unsupervised specification-driven design of planar antennas. The presented methodology capitalizes on a flexible and scalable antenna parameterization, which enables the realization of complex geometries while maintaining reasonably small parameter space dimensionality. A customized nature-inspired algorithm is employed to carry out space exploration and identification of a quasi-optimum antenna topology in a global sense. A fast gradient-based procedure is then incorporated to fine-tune antenna dimensions. The design framework works entirely in a black-box fashion with the only input being design specifications, and optional constraints, e.g., concerning the structure size. Numerous illustration case studies demonstrate the capability of the presented technique to generate unconventional antenna topologies of satisfactory performance using reasonable computational budgets, and with no human expert interaction necessary whatsoever.
Conventional and Advanced Exergy Analyses of Industrial Pneumatic Systems
Authors: Zhao Zecheng , Wang Zhiwen , Wang Hu , Zhu Hongwei , Xiong Wei
Published: August 2023

Pneumatic systems are widely used in industrial manufacturing sectors. However, the energy efficiency of pneumatic systems is generally much lower than their hydraulic and electric counterparts. It is necessary to explore more elaborate theories and methods for achieving better energy performance in pneumatic systems. In this study, for investigating the interaction effects between pneumatic components and the accessible improvement potential of energy efficiency in a pre-existing pneumatic system, the advanced exergy analysis is conducted with a better understanding of exergy destruction. The conventional exergy analysis is also carried out for comparison. The results show that an exergy efficiency of 17.3% could be achieved under the real condition in the case of the investigated pneumatic system. However, under unavoidable conditions, the theoretical maximum exergy efficiency could reach 70.5%. This means there is a significant potential for improving the energy performance of the investigated system. Furthermore, both conventional and advanced exergy analyses indicate that the pneumatic cylinder has the greatest potential for improvement. The advanced exergy analysis reveals the complex and variable interactions between pneumatic components. It highlights that the exergy destruction of some components is caused by other components in the system, and thus, improving energy efficiency at the system level rather than at the component level is of great significance. Besides, a priority order of all pneumatic components is determined, thereby guiding the improvement of the energy efficiency of the pneumatic system.
Adaptive Strategies Employed by Clonal Plants in Heterogeneous Patches
Authors: Yang Pan , Huang Li , He Suni , Zeng Xianghua , Chen Yinyi , Wang Haimiao
Published: August 2023

Heterogeneity is widespread in natural environments; as a result, connected clonal ramets often live in areas characterized by patches of different resources. Specifically, clonal plants are frequently affected by conditions of heterogeneous water stress. This raises the question of how clonal plants grow and reproduce in areas with patches of different resources. In this study, we investigated the adaptation mechanisms of clonal plants under heterogeneous environmental conditions. On the one hand, we bore in mind that phenotypic plasticity is abundantly exhibited in clonal plants. Clonal plants respond to water stress mainly through regulation of the size of individuals, the allocation of population biomass, and the number of daughter plants, as well as the extension ability and branching intensity of clonal organs, which directly affect reproduction and population stability in clonal plants. On the other hand, we also considered the physiological integration in clonal plants which has been shown in many studies. Ramets of clonal plants normally stay connected to each other through horizontal connectors (stolons or rhizomes). Communicated substances and resources such as water, mineral nutrition, photosynthetic products, and secondary metabolites are translocated between ramets; by such means, the plant relieves stress caused by heterogeneous patches. In this study, we sought to obtain scientific references to improve our understanding of how clonal plants in natural environments acclimate to stresses caused by soil heterogeneity.
Salt-Stress-Induced Ion Transport Contributes to K+/Na+ Homeostasis in Roots of Ping’ou Hybrid Hazelnut
Authors: Luo Da , Song Fenghui , Lu Mingyan , Shi Yanjiang , Ma Qinghua
Published: August 2023

Soil salinity is a worldwide problem that adversely affects plant growth and development. Soil salinization in Xinjiang of China is very serious. Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut, as an important ecological and economic tree species, as well as a salt-tolerant plant, has been grown in Xinjiang for over 20 years. Understanding the salt-tolerance mechanism of Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut is of great significance for the breeding of salt-tolerant varieties and the rational utilization of salinized land. In this study, ‘Liaozhen 7’, a fine variety of Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut, was selected as test material, and seedlings were treated with 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 mM NaCl. Subsequently, the pattern of NaCl-induced fluxes of Na+, K+ and H+ in the root meristematic zone and their response to ion transport inhibitors were studied using non-invasive micro-test technology (NMT). Different concentrations of NaCl stress significantly increased the Na+ concentration in roots, while K+ concentration decreased first and then increased with the increase of NaCl concentration. Meanwhile, NaCl stress induced a significant decline in K+/Na+ ratio. Control and 200 mM NaCl-induced Na+ and K+ fluxes in roots exhibited an outward efflux, whereas an inward flux was observed for H+. Under 200 mM NaCl stress, the average rates of net Na+ and K+ efflux, as well as H+ influx in roots were significantly increased, which were 11.6, 6.7 and 2.3 times higher than that of control, respectively. Furthermore, pharmacological experiments showed that 200 mM NaCl-induced Na+ efflux; H+ influx was significantly suppressed by amiloride, an inhibitor of plasma membrane (PM) Na+/H+ antiporter, and sodium vanadate, an inhibitor of PM H+-ATPase. Net Na+ efflux and H+ influx induced by NaCl decreased by 89.9% and 135.0%, respectively. The NaCl-induced Na+ efflux was mediated by a Na+/H+ antiporter using energy provided by PM H+-ATPase. The NaCl-induced K+ efflux was significantly restricted by tetraethylamine chloride, a K+ channel inhibitor, and promoted by sodium vanadate, which decreased by 111.2% and increased by 80.8%, respectively, indicating that K+ efflux was regulated by depolarization-activated outward-rectifying K+ channels and non-selective cation channels (NSCCs). In conclusion, NMT data revealed that NaCl stress up regulated the root Na+/H+ antiporter and H+ pump (an activity of PM Na+/H+ antiport system) of ‘Liaozhen 7’, which compelled the Na+/H+ exchange across the PM and restricted K+ loss via depolarization-activated K+ channels and NSCCs simultaneously, thereby maintaining the K+/Na+ homeostasis and higher salt tolerance.
Multifactorial Assessment of the Bioenergetic Potential of Residual Biomass of Pinus spp. in a Rural Community: From Functional Characterization to Mapping of the Available Energy Resource
Authors: Morales-Máximo Mario , López-Sosa Luis Bernardo , Alvarado-Flores José Juan , Alcaraz-Vera Jorge Víctor , García Carlos A. , Álvarez-Jara Margarito , Rutiaga-Quiñones José Guadalupe
Published: August 2023

The generation of biomass residues in different productive activities of rural communities in Mexico represents an area of opportunity for the generation of bioenergy for various purposes. Solid biofuels (SBF), for example, are an alternative for the exploitation of these residues. The present study shows a comprehensive proposal for the analysis of residues of Pinus spp. generated by the artisanal sector of a rural community in Mexico. The proposal is based on four stages: a) characterization of the physico-chemical and functional properties of the residues, by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Infrared (FTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetry (TGA-DTG), determining the calorific coefficient and polymeric compounds present by fiber analysis; (b) spatial, temporal and dimensional analysis of the waste generated in the town studied; (c) assessment of the energy potential available in space and time; (d) definition of guidelines for the management of solid biofuels for the community through collection, processing and final disposal centers. The results of the assessment of timber residue from 50 artisan workshops that represent 25% of the total in the community show that the identified heating value of the dry residue ranges from 17.6 MJ/kg to 18.1 MJ/kg, attributed to the presence of polymeric compounds such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, the latter in the order of 28%, which contributes to a high energy potential, and whose compounds were identified by TGA-DTG analysis, FTIR, SEM and fiber analysis. The energy potential was estimated at approximately 7 TJ/year for the analyzed workshops. In which case, the economic savings obtained from unburned firewood would amount to about $20,000 USD/year. As regards the reduction in firewood consumption due to the use of residues for energy purposes, about 350 Tn/year would be mitigated, which would reduce the community’s emissions by more than 76 TnCO2/year. A strategic management proposal was also established, aimed at providing spaces for the collection, processing and final disposal of solid biofuels from wood residues, which in sum represent an energy alternative that is sustainable in environmental, economic and social terms, for the same community.
Assessment of Maturity of Plum Samples Using Fourier Transform Near-Infrared Technique Combined with Chemometric Methods
Authors: Fodor Marietta , Jókai Zsuzsa , Matkovits Anna , Benes Eszter
Published: August 2023

The FT-NIR technique was used for rapid and non-destructive determination of plum ripeness. The dry matter (DM), titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and calculated maturity index (MI: TSS/TA) were used as reference values. The PLS correlations were validated via five-fold cross-validation (RMSECV for different parameters: DM: 0.66%, w/w; TA = 0.07%, w/w; TSS = 0.72%, w/w; MI = 1.39) and test set validation (RMSEP for different parameters: DM: 0.65%, w/w TA = 0.07%, w/w; TSS = 0.61%, w/w; MI = 1.50). Different classification algorithms were performed for TA, TSS and MI. Linear, quadratic and Mahalanobis discriminant analysis (LDA, QDA, MDA) were found to be the best sample detection methods. The accuracy of the classification methods was 100% for all investigated parameters and cultivars.
Non-Targeted Detection and Quantification of Food Adulteration of High-Quality Stingless Bee Honey (SBH) via a Portable LED-Based Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Authors: Suhandy Diding , Al Riza Dimas Firmanda , Yulia Meinilwita , Kusumiyati Kusumiyati
Published: August 2023

Stingless bee honey (SBH) is rich in phenolic compounds and available in limited quantities. Authentication of SBH is important to protect SBH from adulteration and retain the reputation and sustainability of SBH production. In this research, we use portable LED-based fluorescence spectroscopy to generate and measure the fluorescence intensity of pure SBH and adulterated samples. The spectrometer is equipped with four UV-LED lamps (peaking at 365 nm) as an excitation source. Heterotrigona itama, a popular SBH, was used as a sample. 100 samples of pure SBH and 240 samples of adulterated SBH (levels of adulteration ranging from 10 to 60%) were prepared. Fluorescence spectral acquisition was measured for both the pure and adulterated SBH samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that a clear separation between the pure and adulterated SBH samples could be established from the first two principal components (PCs). A supervised classification based on soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) achieved an excellent classification result with 100% accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision. Principal component regression (PCR) was superior to partial least squares regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression (MLR) methods, with a coefficient of determination in prediction (R2p) = 0.9627, root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) = 4.1579%, ratio prediction to deviation (RPD) = 5.36, and range error ratio (RER) = 14.81. The LOD and LOQ obtained were higher compared to several previous studies. However, most predicted samples were very close to the regression line, which indicates that the developed PLSR, PCR, and MLR models could be used to detect HFCS adulteration of pure SBH samples. These results showed the proposed portable LED-based fluorescence spectroscopy has a high potential to detect and quantify food adulteration in SBH, with the additional advantages of being an accurate, affordable, and fast measurement with minimum sample preparation.
Fractional-Order Models of Damping Phenomena in a Flexible Sensing Antenna Used for Haptic Robot Navigation
Authors: Haro-Olmo María Isabel , Tejado Inés , Vinagre Blas M. , Feliu-Batlle Vicente
Published: August 2023

In this paper, two types of fractional-order damping are proposed for a single flexible link: internal and external friction, related to the material of the link and the environment, respectively. Considering these dampings, the Laplace transform is used to obtain the exact model of a slewing flexible link by means of the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The model obtained is used in a sensing antenna with the aim of accurately describing its dynamic behavior, thanks to the incorporation of the mentioned damping models. Therefore, experimental data are used to identify the damping phenomena of this system in the frequency domain. Welch’s method is employed to estimate the experimental frequency responses. To determine the best damping model for the sensing antenna, a cost function with two weighting forms is minimized for different model structures (i.e., with internal and/or external dampings of integer- and/or fractional-order), and their robustness and fitting performance are analyzed.
Obesity Contributes to Transformation of Myometrial Stem-Cell Niche to Leiomyoma via Inducing Oxidative Stress, DNA Damage, Proliferation, and Extracellular Matrix Deposition
Authors: Afrin Sadia , Kirschen Gregory W. , Borahay Mostafa A.
Published: August 2023

Leiomyomas (fibroids) are monoclonal tumors in which myometrial stem cells (MSCs) turn tumorigenic after mutation, abnormal methylation, or aberrant signaling. Several factors contribute to metabolic dysfunction in obesity, including abnormal cellular proliferation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. The present study aims to determine how adipocytes and adipocyte-secreted factors affect changes in MSCs in a manner that promotes the growth of uterine leiomyomas. Myometrial stem cells were isolated from the uteri of patients by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) using CD44/Stro1 antibodies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, and immunocytochemistry assays were performed on human adipocytes (SW872) co-cultured with MSCs and treated with leptin or adiponectin to examine the effects of proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, oxidative damage, and DNA damage. Co-culture with SW872 increased MSC proliferation compared to MSC culture alone, according to 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) results. The expressions of PCNA and COL1A increased significantly with SW872 co-culture. In addition, the expression of these markers was increased after leptin treatment and decreased after adiponectin treatment in MSCs. The Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathways promote proliferation and ECM deposition in uterine leiomyomas. The expression of Wnt4, β-catenin, TGFβ3, and pSMAD2/3 of MSCs was increased when co-cultured with adipocytes. We found that the co-culture of MSCs with adipocytes resulted in increased NOX4 expression, reactive oxygen species production, and γ-H2AX expression. Leptin acts by binding to its receptor (LEP-R), leading to signal transduction, resulting in the transcription of genes involved in cellular proliferation, angiogenesis, and glycolysis. In MSCs, co-culture with adipocytes increased the expression of LEP-R, pSTAT3/STAT3, and pERK1/2/ERK/12. Based on the above results, we suggest that obesity may mediate MSC initiation of tumorigenesis, resulting in leiomyomas.
Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older People
Authors: Gobbens Robbert J.
Published: August 2023

With a growing aging population around the world [...]
Mast Cells and Basophils in IgE-Independent Anaphylaxis
Authors: Pałgan Krzysztof
Published: August 2023

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening or even fatal systemic hypersensitivity reaction. The incidence of anaphylaxis has risen at an alarming rate in the past decades in the majority of countries. Generally, the most common causes of severe or fatal anaphylaxis are medication, foods and Hymenoptera venoms. Anaphylactic reactions are characterized by the activation of mast cells and basophils and the release of mediators. These cells express a variety of receptors that enable them to respond to a wide range of stimulants. Most studies of anaphylaxis focus on IgE-dependent reactions. The mast cell has long been regarded as the main effector cell involved in IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. This paper reviews IgE-independent anaphylaxis, with special emphasis on mast cells, basophils, anaphylactic mediators, risk factors, triggers, and management.
How Rice Plants Response to Abiotic Stresses
Authors: Feng Baohua , Xiong Jie , Tao Longxing
Published: August 2023

With the combustion of fossil fuels, unequal and unsustainable energy and land use, and irrational human activities, greenhouse gas emissions remain high, which leads to global warming [...]
Use of Dichlorodimethylsilane to Produce Polydimethylsiloxane as a Substitute for Vitreous Humour: Characteristics and In Vitro Toxicity
Authors: Auliya Diba Grace , Fauziah Ulfa , Arini Vira Fuji , Setiadji Soni , Fitrilawati Fitrilawati , Kartasasmita Arief Sjamsulaksan , Risdiana Risdiana
Published: August 2023

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a substitute for vitreous humour in vitreoretinal surgery and is usually produced from octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4). In Indonesia, both commercial PDMS and D4 are limited and expensive. Dichlorodimethylsilane (DCMS) can be an alternative to produce PDMS. DCMS is cheaper and easier to obtain than D4. However, more extra effort is needed in order to produce PDMS from DCMS. Therefore, this study aimed to produce PDMS from DCMS by varying the ratio of DCMS precursor to dichloromethane (DCM) solvent at ratios of 1:1 and 1:4 through the hydrolysis–condensation method under neutral conditions. The PDMS produced had medium- (2.06 Pa·s) and high viscosity (3.59 Pa·s), with densities ranging from 0.96 to 0.99 g/mL. The refractive index was 1.4034–1.4036 and surface tension was 21 × 10−3 N/m, while they were able to transmit ~100% visible light, which were similar values to the commercial PDMS characteristics. PDMS samples were characterized using IR and NMR spectroscopy, which confirmed they were of PDMS type. The most optimum DCMS:DCM ratio was 1:1 due to the medium-viscosity PDMS type that could be produced. The in vitro HET–CAM toxicity test showed that samples were non-irritant, similar to PDMS produced from D4. PDMS from DCMS was non-toxic and ready to be used as a vitreous humuor substitution.
Vision Transformer Customized for Environment Detection and Collision Prediction to Assist the Visually Impaired
Authors: Bayat Nasrin , Kim Jong-Hwan , Choudhury Renoa , Kadhim Ibrahim F. , Al-Mashhadani Zubaidah , Aldritz Dela Virgen Mark , Latorre Reuben , De La Paz Ricardo , Park Joon-Hyuk
Published: August 2023

This paper presents a system that utilizes vision transformers and multimodal feedback modules to facilitate navigation and collision avoidance for the visually impaired. By implementing vision transformers, the system achieves accurate object detection, enabling the real-time identification of objects in front of the user. Semantic segmentation and the algorithms developed in this work provide a means to generate a trajectory vector of all identified objects from the vision transformer and to detect objects that are likely to intersect with the user’s walking path. Audio and vibrotactile feedback modules are integrated to convey collision warning through multimodal feedback. The dataset used to create the model was captured from both indoor and outdoor settings under different weather conditions at different times across multiple days, resulting in 27,867 photos consisting of 24 different classes. Classification results showed good performance (95% accuracy), supporting the efficacy and reliability of the proposed model. The design and control methods of the multimodal feedback modules for collision warning are also presented, while the experimental validation concerning their usability and efficiency stands as an upcoming endeavor. The demonstrated performance of the vision transformer and the presented algorithms in conjunction with the multimodal feedback modules show promising prospects of its feasibility and applicability for the navigation assistance of individuals with vision impairment.
Exploring the Role of Attentional Reorienting in the Reactive Effects of Judgments of Learning on Memory Performance
Authors: Rivers Michelle L. , Janes Jessica L. , Dunlosky John , Witherby Amber E. , Tauber Sarah K.
Published: August 2023

Making judgments of learning (JOLs) while studying related word pairs can enhance performance on tests that rely on cue-target associations (e.g., cued recall) compared to studying alone. One possible explanation for this positive JOL reactivity effect is that the prompt to make JOLs, which typically occurs halfway through the presentation of each pair, may encourage learners to devote more attention to the pair during the second half of the encoding episode, which may contribute to enhanced recall performance. To investigate this idea, an online sample of participants (Experiment 1) and undergraduate students (Experiment 2) studied a set of moderately related word pairs (e.g., dairy–cow) in preparation for a cued recall test. Some participants made JOLs for each pair halfway through the presentation, whereas other participants did not. Also, some participants were presented with a fixation point halfway through the presentation, whereas other participants were not. The goal of this fixation point was to simulate the possible “reorienting” effect of a JOL prompt halfway through each encoding episode. In both an unsupervised online context and a supervised laboratory context, cued recall performance was higher for participants who made JOLs compared to those who did not make JOLs. However, presenting a fixation point halfway through the presentation of each pair did not lead to reactive effects on memory. Thus, JOLs are more effective than a manipulation that reoriented participants to the word pairs in another way (i.e., via a fixation point), which provides some initial evidence that positive reactivity for related pairs is not solely driven by attentional reorienting during encoding.
Molecular Detection of Candida auris Using DiaSorin Molecular Simplexa® Detection Kit: A Diagnostic Performance Evaluation
Authors: Ramírez Juan David , Wang Chin Yi , Bolton Deandra , Liggayu Bernadette , Schaefer Sarah , Patel Gopi , Javaid Waleed , Cordon-Cardo Carlos , Firpo-Betancourt Adolfo , Sordillo Emilia Mia , Paniz-Mondolfi Alberto
Published: August 2023

Candida auris is a globally emerging fungal pathogen that is associated with healthcare-related infections. The accurate and rapid detection of C. auris is crucial for effective infection prevention, control, and patient management. This study aimed to validate the analytical and diagnostic performance of the DiaSorin Molecular C. auris Detection Kit. The analytical specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the assay were evaluated. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 266 CFU/µL using the ZeptoMetrix Candida auris Z485 strain and standard calibration curves. The assay demonstrated high analytical specificity and showed no amplification against a diverse panel of bacteria and fungi. Clinical validation was conducted using deidentified residual axillary/groin surveillance culture specimens from C. auris culture-positive and culture-negative patients. The DiaSorin Molecular Detection Kit exhibited 100% agreement in sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) when compared to cultures coupled with MALDI-TOF identification. Intra- and inter-reproducibility testing demonstrated consistent and reliable diagnostic performance. This validated assay offers rapid and accurate detection of C. auris, facilitating timely implementation of infection control measures and appropriate patient care. The DiaSorin Molecular C. auris Detection Kit has the potential to aid in controlling the outbreaks caused by this emerging fungal pathogen. Providing a reliable diagnostic tool can contribute to the effective management and containment of C. auris infections in healthcare settings and ultimately improve patient outcomes.