bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Productivity amelioration of stepped solar still using phase change material and evacuated tube collector
Authors: Grewal Rahul , Manchanda Himanshu , Kumar Mahesh
Published: November 2023

This study investigates the individual and cumulative effects of phase change material (PCM) and evacuated tube collector (ETC) on the performance of a stepped solar still (SSS). Experiments have been performed on SSS, SSS loaded with PCM (SSS‐PCM), SSS coupled with ETC (SSS‐ETC), and SSS loaded with PCM and coupled with ETC (SSS‐PCM‐ETC). An innovative way of loading paraffin wax as PCM is introduced to utilize solar energy efficiently for the distillation process during off‐sunshine hours. ETC is used to provide pre‐heated RO wastewater to the distillation unit. The distillate output was observed maximum for SSS‐PCM‐ETC (4.97 kg/m2 day) which is 99% more than that of the SSS unit. The PCM and ETC individually with SSS unit increases the distillate output by 31% and 24%, respectively. The working time of the distillation unit was observed to be increased by 3 h by the use of PCM. The total heat transfer coefficient was evaluated at the maximum for SSS‐PCM‐ETC and was observed in the range of 16.94–167.04 W/m2 °C. The thermal energy efficiencies of SSS, SSS‐ETC, SSS‐PCM, and SSS‐PCM‐ETC were evaluated as 28.65%, 35.59%, 43.88%, and 44.04%, respectively. SSS‐PCM‐ETC is found to be the most economic with the best environmental conservation having maximum values of daily productive cost ($0.69) and carbon credits earned ($184.8).
Contacting of inserts with the integrated metal/plastic injection moulding
Authors: Sturm I. , Koyuncu C. , Hopmann C. , Zimmermann C.
Published: November 2023

The integrated metal/plastic injection moulding enables the production of plastics components with integrated conductor tracks and contacted inserts using an injection moulding machine. For this purpose, first a plastics carrier, which contains a groove for the later conductor track, is injection moulded and following electrical inserts are placed along the groove. The conductor track is then die‐casted from metallic solder. By using thermally conductive plastics, heat generated along the conductive paths and at the electrical inserts can be dissipated. A mechanical, electrical and optical characterisation of the material composite consisting of plastics carrier, metallic conductor track and electrical insert is carried out. In addition, process and material parameters that have an influence on the contacting of electrical inserts in connection with thermally conductive plastics in the integrated metal/plastic injection moulding are analysed. The results show that through the use of thermally conductive plastics, significant advantages in terms of heat dissipation and contact quality between the insert and the conductor track can be achieved.
A comparative study on the cucurbit[7]uril‐based indicator displacement assay for methyl Viologen. A theoretical and experimental perspective
Authors: Pavez Paulina , Fierro Angélica , Rojas Mabel , García‐Rio Luis , Dinamarca‐Villarroel Luis , Fuentealba Denis , Droguett Kevin , Santos José G. , Aliaga Margarita E.
Published: November 2023

One colorimetric and one fluorescent‐indicator displacement assay (IDA) were studied to assess their interaction with methyl viologen (MV), an herbicide commercially known as paraquat. The host–guest complexes formed by cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and the 4‐nitroaniline (NA) or Berberine (Be) dyes function as colorimetric‐ and fluorescent‐IDA for MV, respectively. The CB[7]@NA and CB[7]@Be complexes were characterized by UV–vis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and dynamic simulations. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments and dynamic simulations were employed to obtain thermodynamic data for the formation of the 1:1 inclusion complexes. Finally, NA is proposed as a reference colorimetric dye for determining CB[7]‐binding affinities using competitive host–guest titrations, and the fluorescent‐IDA as the best assay proposed, as it exhibits a high binding constant, a good detection limit of 2.7 × 10−6 mol L‐1, good linearity in the range from 4 × 10−6 mol L‐1 to 3.5 × 10−5 mol L‐1, in aqueous solution.
Enhanced fungicidal efficacy and improved interfacial properties with the co‐delivery of prothioconazole and tebuconazole using polylactic acid microspheres
Authors: Li Shujing , Sun Jing , Gao Yue , Zou Aihua , Cheng Jiagao
Published: November 2023

BACKGROUND

Prothioconazole (PTC) is one of the leading fungicide products worldwide. However, excessive use of PTC facilitates the development of resistance. Pesticide compounding technology plays an important role in reducing pesticide resistance. Microspherization technology for the construction of pesticide dual‐loaded systems has recently provided a new direction for researching novel and efficient pesticide formulations. In this study, prothioconazole‐tebuconazole@polylactic acid microspheres (PTC‐TBA@PLA MS) were constructed by combining these two technologies.

RESULTS

The final PTC‐TBA@PLA MS were selected by an orthogonal method, which were uniformly spherical with smooth surface. The resultant drug loading (DL) and average particle size of PTC‐TBA@PLA MS were 31.34% and 22.3 μm, respectively. A PTC‐TBA@PLA MS suspending agent (SC) with a high suspension rate of 94.3% was prepared according to the suspension rate, dumping ability and stability. Compared with a commercial SC, the PTC‐TBA@PLA MS SC had a larger cumulative release and better interfacial properties. Biological experiments showed that PTC‐TBA@PLA MS SC had an obviously improved bactericidal effect than the commercial SC.

CONCLUSION

The constructed PTC‐TBA@PLA MS system detailed here is expected to reduce the risk of resistance and the frequency of pesticide use while enhancing fungal control. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Does digital inclusive finance matter in sustainable tourism development at the county level? Evidence from the Wuling Mountain area in China
Authors: Wang Menghan , Su Ming Ming , Gan Chang , Peng Xin , Wu Zhaoliang , Voda Mihai
Published: November 2023

As a new financial instrument under the strategy of digital economic development, digital inclusive finance has become an effective way to fill the market gap that exists in traditional finance. Inclusive financial resources are needed for tourism development and recovery in less‐developed regions, especially in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Understanding the impact of DIF on tourism development is the key to promoting high‐quality economic growth in China. Although previous studies have explored the factors influencing tourism development, the effect of DIF on sustainable tourism development is still at its earlier stage and is not well researched. Therefore, this study aims to explore the direct impact of DIF on tourism development and examines whether there is threshold effect. Based on panel data from 63 counties in the Wuling Mountain Area, China, from 2014 to 2019, this research applied a series of panel regression models to explore whether the DIF can promote sustainable tourism development. The results indicate that the DIF plays a positive role in improving sustainable tourism development. Considering regions, types of counties, and different dimensions of the DIF, there are differences in positive effects of DIF on sustainable tourism development. The impact of DIF on tourism development is dynamic and non‐linear. Finally, practical implications for enhancing the promotion and development of DIF and achieving sustainable tourism development are discussed, particularly for less‐developed regions.
Spectrometric Characterization for Triple‐Junction Solar Cells
Authors: Aulich Johanna , Chojniak David , Bett Alexander J. , Steiner Marc , Schindler Florian , Siefer Gerald , Schubert Martin C. , Goldschmidt Jan Christoph , Glunz Stefan W.
Published: November 2023

Spectrometric characterization allows for accurate determination of the current matching point and investigation of sub‐cell properties of multi‐junction solar cells. It is widely used for dual‐junction solar cells. Although the concept is suggested for triple‐junction solar cells, it is only applied for the variation of two sub‐cells. In this work, the applicability and evaluation procedure for a systematic variation of all three sub‐cells of a triple‐junction solar cell are presented. Clearly defined measurement conditions are derived which allow for meaningful characterization and comparisons of different triple‐junction devices. The presented procedure is exemplarily tested on a III–V on silicon triple‐junction solar cell using an light‐emitting diode‐based solar simulator where all needed spectral conditions can be calculated in advance and accordingly adjusted. Spectral conditions around the air mass 1.5 global spectrum are chosen and a fit routine to determine the current matching point from the discrete measurement points is proposed and validated by a measurement with a higher resolution around the current matching point. Finally, it is shown that the spectral conditions applied during the measurement also reflect outdoor conditions. This highlights the relevance of the presented procedure beyond the determination of the current‐matching conditions.
An edge‐assisted federated contrastive learning method with local intrinsic dimensionality in noisy label environment
Authors: Wu Siyuan , Zhang Guoming , Dai Fei , Liu Bowen , Dou Wanchun
Published: November 2023

The advent of federated learning (FL) has presented a viable solution for distributed training in edge environment, while simultaneously ensuring the preservation of privacy. In real‐world scenarios, edge devices may be subject to label noise caused by environmental differences, automated weakly supervised annotation, malicious tampering, or even human error. However, the potential of the noisy samples have not been fully leveraged by prior studies on FL aimed at addressing label noise. Rather, they have primarily focused on conventional filtering or correction techniques to alleviate the impact of noisy labels. To tackle this challenge, a method, named DETECTION, is proposed in this article. It aims at effectively detecting noisy clients and mitigating the adverse impact of label noise while preserving data privacy. Specially, a confidence scoring mechanism based on local intrinsic dimensionality (LID) is investigated for distinguishing noisy clients from clean clients. Then, a loss function based on prototype contrastive learning is designed to optimize the local model. To address the varying levels of noise across clients, a LID weighted aggregation strategy (LA) is introduced. Experimental results on three datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of DETECTION in addressing the issue of label noise in FL while maintaining data privacy.
Unbounded expansion of polynomials and products
Authors: Mudgal Akshat
Published: November 2023

Given $$d,s \in {\mathbb {N}}$$

d
,
s
∈
N

, a finite set $$A \subseteq {\mathbb {Z}}$$

A
⊆
Z

and polynomials $$\varphi _1, \dots , \varphi _{s} \in {\mathbb {Z}}[x]$$

φ
1

,
⋯
,

φ
s

∈
Z

[
x
]

such that $$1 \le \deg \varphi _i \le d$$

1
≤
deg

φ
i

≤
d

for every $$1 \le i \le s$$

1
≤
i
≤
s

, we prove that $$\begin{aligned} |A^{(s)}| + |\varphi _1(A) + \cdots + \varphi _s(A) | \gg _{s,d} |A|^{\eta _s}, \end{aligned}$$

|

A

(
s
)

|
+
|

φ
1

(
A
)

+
⋯
+

φ
s

(
A
)

|

≫

s
,
d

|
A
|

η
s

,

for some $$\eta _s \gg _{d} \log s / \log \log s$$

η
s

≫
d

log
s
/
log
log
s

. Moreover if $$\varphi _i(0) \ne 0$$

φ
i

(
0
)

≠
0

for every $$1 \le i \le s$$

1
≤
i
≤
s

, then $$\begin{aligned} |A^{(s)}| + |\varphi _1(A) \dots \varphi _s(A) | \gg _{s,d} |A|^{\eta _s}. \end{aligned}$$

|

A

(
s
)

|
+
|

φ
1

(
A
)

⋯

φ
s

(
A
)

|

≫

s
,
d

|
A
|

η
s

.

These generalise and strengthen previous results of Bourgain–Chang, Pálvölgyi–Zhelezov and Hanson–Roche-Newton–Zhelezov. We derive these estimates by proving the corresponding low-energy decompositions. The latter furnish further applications to various problems of a sum-product flavour, including questions concerning large additive and multiplicative Sidon sets in arbitrary sets of integers.
Stomach engineering: region-specific characterization of the decellularized porcine stomach
Authors: Shigeta Yusuke , Saleh Tarek , Benedetti Giada , Caciolli Lorenzo , Chang Jinke , Zambaiti Elisa , Wu Lei , Khalaf Sahira , Song Wulei , Pellegata Alessandro Filippo , Giobbe Giovanni Giuseppe , De Coppi Paolo
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Patients affected by microgastria, severe gastroesophageal reflux, or those who have undergone subtotal gastrectomy, have commonly described reporting dumping syndromes or other symptoms that seriously impair the quality of their life. Gastric tissue engineering may offer an alternative approach to treating these pathologies. Decellularization protocols have great potential to generate novel biomaterials for large gastric defect repair. There is an urgency to define more reliable protocols to foster clinical applications of tissue-engineered decellularized gastric grafts.

Methods

In this work, we investigated the biochemical and mechanical properties of decellularized porcine stomach tissue compared to its native counterpart. Histological and immunofluorescence analyses were performed to screen the quality of decellularized samples. Quantitative analysis was also performed to assess extracellular matrix composition. At last, we investigated the mechanical properties and cytocompatibility of the decellularized tissue compared to the native.

Results

The optimized decellularization protocol produced efficient cell removal, highlighted in the absence of native cellular nuclei. Decellularized scaffolds preserved collagen and elastin contents, with partial loss of sulfated glycosaminoglycans. Decellularized gastric tissue revealed increased elastic modulus and strain at break during mechanical tensile tests, while ultimate tensile strength was significantly reduced. HepG2 cells were seeded on the ECM, revealing matrix cytocompatibility and the ability to support cell proliferation.

Conclusion

Our work reports the successful generation of acellular porcine gastric tissue able to support cell viability and proliferation of human cells.
Prediction of disease recurrence or residual disease after primary endoscopic resection of pT1 colorectal cancer—results from a large nationwide Danish study
Authors: Ose Ilze , Levic Katarina , Thygesen Lau Caspar , Bulut Orhan , Bisgaard Thue , Gögenur Ismail , Kuhlmann Tine Plato
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Risk assessment of disease recurrence in pT1 colorectal cancer is crucial in order to select the appropriate treatment strategy. The study aimed to develop a prediction model, based on histopathological data, for the probability of disease recurrence and residual disease in patients with pT1 colorectal cancer.

Methods

The model dataset consisted of 558 patients with pT1 CRC who had undergone endoscopic resection only (n = 339) or endoscopic resection followed by subsequent bowel resection (n = 219). Tissue blocks and slides were retrieved from Pathology Departments from all regions in Denmark. All original slides were evaluated by one experienced gastrointestinal pathologist (TPK). New sections were cut and stained for haematoxylin and eosin (HE) and immunohistochemical markers. Missing values were multiple imputed. A logistic regression model with backward elimination was used to construct the prediction model.

Results

The final prediction model for disease recurrence demonstrated good performance with AUC of 0.75 [95% CI 0.72–0.78], HL chi-squared test of 0.59 and scaled Brier score of 10%. The final prediction model for residual disease demonstrated medium performance with an AUC of 0.68 [0.63–0.72].

Conclusion

We developed a prediction model for the probability of disease recurrence in pT1 CRC with good performance and calibration based on histopathological data. Together with lymphatic and venous invasion, an involved resection margin (0 mm) as opposed to a margin of ≤ 1 mm was an independent risk factor for both disease recurrence and residual disease.
Prediction of hematocrit decline and the impact of peri-operative fluid use in lumbar spinal fusion surgery
Authors: Walker I. S. , Vlok A. J. , Esterhuizen T. M. , van der Horst A.
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Peri-operative blood loss unaccounted for and post-operative hematocrit decline could have a significant impact on the outcome of elective spinal surgery patients. The study assesses the accuracy of predictive models of hematocrit decline and blood loss in spinal surgery and determines the impact of peri-operative fluid administration on hematocrit levels of patients undergoing first-time single level lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spine disease and the trend thereof in the first 24 h post-operatively.

Methods

Clinical and biochemical parameters were prospectively collected in patients undergoing single level lumbar spinal surgery. Predictive models were applied to assess their accuracy in intra-operative blood loss and post-operative hematocrit decline.

Results

High correlation (0.98 Pearson correlation coefficient) occurred between calculated (predicted) and recorded hematocrit from hours 2 to 6 post-operatively. Predictive accuracy declined thereafter yet remained moderate. Patients received an average intra-operative fluid volume of 545.45 ml per hour (47% of estimated total blood volume). A significant hematocrit decline occurred post-induction (43.47–39.78%, p < 0.001) with total fluid volume received being the significant contributing variable (p < 0.001). Hypertensive patients were the only subgroup to drop below the safe hematocrit threshold of 30%.

Conclusion

Iatrogenic hemodilution can accurately be predicted for the first six hours post-operatively, with high risk patients identifiable. Fluid therapy should be goal directed rather than generic, and good communication between the surgeon and anesthesiologist remains the cornerstone to manage physiological changes secondary to blood loss. Although helpful, predictive formulas are not universally applicable to all phenotypes.
Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Modeling of Brine Migration in a Heated Borehole Test in Bedded Salt
Authors: Tounsi Hafssa , Rutqvist Jonny , Hu Mengsu , Kuhlman Kristopher
Published: November 2023

This research paper focuses on the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) modeling of brine migration in a heated borehole test conducted as part of the ongoing Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. It is a component of the international collaboration project DECOVALEX-2023 (DEvelopment of COupled models and their VALidation against EXperiments), which aims to understand the THM processes governing brine flow in heated rock salt repositories through collaborative analysis by multiple research teams. Using the TOUGH–FLAC simulator, THM simulations were performed and compared with data from the BATS phase 1a. This experiment involved two identical horizontal-borehole arrays, one heated and one serving as a control, both equipped with sensor arrays. Analysis of measurements revealed water flow rate surges during heater power transitions, with the highest jump observed during cooling. Acoustic emission activity exhibited distinct patterns in response to heater power changes, suggesting that damage to rock salt is particularly pronounced during the cooling phase. The THM simulations successfully captured these phenomena, highlighting the significance of thermal effects, brine migration, and mechanical behavior in predicting brine availability in heated and damaged rock salt. Our modeling also revealed the critical interplay between heating and cooling-induced damage and its influence on flow properties, particularly affecting brine inflow estimation. Notably, we found that cooling-induced brine inflow spikes result from increased permeability due to tensile dilatancy. These findings have important implications for the development of robust containment strategies and enhance our understanding of the complex processes involved in repository performance.
Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in Parkinson’s disease: is there a role for locus coeruleus magnetic resonance imaging?
Authors: Palermo Giovanni , Galgani Alessandro , Bellini Gabriele , Lombardo Francesco , Martini Nicola , Morganti Riccardo , Paoli Davide , De Cori Sara , Frijia Francesca , Siciliano Gabriele , Ceravolo Roberto , Giorgi Filippo Sean
Published: November 2023

Locus coeruleus (LC) is the main noradrenergic nucleus of the brain, and degenerates early in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The objective of this study is to test whether degeneration of the LC is associated with orthostatic hypotension (OH) in PD. A total of 22 cognitively intact PD patients and 52 age-matched healthy volunteers underwent 3 T magnetic resonance (MRI) with neuromelanin-sensitive T1-weighted sequences (LC-MRI). For each subject, a template space-based LC-MRI was used to calculate LC signal intensity (LC contrast ratio—LCCR) and the estimated number of voxels (LCVOX) belonging to LC. Then, we compared the LC-MRI parameters in PD patients with OH (PDOH+) versus without OH (PDOH−) (matched for sex, age, and disease duration) using one-way analysis of variance followed by multiple comparison tests. We also tested for correlations between subject’s LC-MRI features and orthostatic drop in systolic blood pressure (SBP). PDOH− and PDOH+ did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) based on demographics and clinical characteristics, except for blood pressure measurements and SCOPA-AUT cardiovascular domain (p < 0.05). LCCR and LCVOX measures were significantly lower in PD compared to HC, while no differences were observed between PDOH− and PDOH+. Additionally, no correlation was found between the LC-MRI parameters and the orthostatic drop in SBP or the clinical severity of autonomic symptoms (p > 0.05). Conversely, RBD symptom severity negatively correlated with several LC-MRI parameters. Our results failed to indicate a link between the LC-MRI features and the presence of OH in PD but confirmed a marked alteration of LC signal in PD patients.
Benchmarking of bioinformatics tools for NGS-based microRNA profiling with RT-qPCR method
Authors: Pawlina-Tyszko Klaudia , Szmatoła Tomasz
Published: November 2023

MicroRNAs are vital gene expression regulators, extensively studied worldwide. The large-scale characterization of miRNAomes is possible using next-generation sequencing (NGS). This technology offers great opportunities, but these cannot be fully exploited without proper and comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. This may be achieved by the use of reliable dedicated software; however, different programs may generate divergent results, leading to additional discrepancies. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare three bioinformatic algorithms dedicated to NGS-based microRNA profiling and validate them using an alternative method, namely RT-qPCR. The comparison analysis revealed differences in the number and sets of identified miRNAs. The qPCR confirmed the expression of the investigated microRNAs. The correlation analysis of NGS and qPCR measurements showed strong and significant coefficients for a subset of the tested miRNAs, including those detected by all three algorithms. Single miRNA variants (isomiRs) showed different levels of correlation with the qPCR data. The obtained results revealed the good performance of all tested programs, despite the observed differences. Moreover, they implied that some specific miRNAs may be differentially estimated using NGS technology and the qPCR method, regardless of the used bioinformatics software. These discrepancies may stem from many factors, including the composition of the isomiR profile, their abundance, length, and investigated species. In conclusion, in this study, we shed light on the bioinformatics aspects of miRNAome profiling, elucidating its complexity and pinpointing potential features influencing validation. Thus, qPCR validation results should be open to interpretation when not fully concordant with NGS results until further, additional analyses are conducted.
Approximation of curve-based sleeve functions in high dimensions
Authors: Beinert Robert
Published: November 2023

Sleeve functions are generalizations of the well-established ridge functions that play a major role in the theory of partial differential equation, medical imaging, statistics, and neural networks. Where ridge functions are non-linear, univariate functions of the distance to hyperplanes, sleeve functions are based on the squared distance to lower-dimensional manifolds. The present work is a first step to study general sleeve functions by starting with sleeve functions based on finite-length curves. To capture these curve-based sleeve functions, we propose and study a two-step method, where first the outer univariate function—the profile—is recovered, and second, the underlying curve is represented by a polygonal chain. Introducing a concept of well-separation, we ensure that the proposed method always terminates and approximates the true sleeve function with a certain quality. Investigating the local geometry, we study an inexact version of our method and show its success under certain conditions.
Introduction to Special Issue on Advancing Health Equity Among Black Communities
Authors: Debnam Katrina J. , Rodgers Caryn R. R. , Smith Paula
Published: November 2023

The current paper serves as an introduction to this special issue, Advancing Health Equity among Black Communities, in which we provide an overview of the papers included. Specifically, we summarize the papers covered in the special issue and highlight some of the common themes. The impetus for this special issue originated from a culmination of the COVID-19 pandemic, continued murders of Black people by police officers, and an unsettling political climate (e.g., Galea & Abdalla, 2020). While the impact of individual racism has been studied extensively, the insidious and pervasive impact of structural racism is less understood. Structural racism is a system in which embedded values, practices and policies facilitate and perpetrate the continued differential treatment of people based on race and becomes an almost hidden influence on the way an institution functions. For this special issue, prevention scientists were invited to submit conceptual and empirical research reflecting their understandings of structural racism as it operates in U.S. systems (e.g., education, justice, housing, workforce) and contributes to health inequities in the lives of Black Americans. The submissions also demonstrate how prevention scientists can leverage translational science to impact policies, practices, and procedures to promote equitable and sustainable change for Black communities.
Building Long-Term Human–Robot Relationships:
Examining Disclosure, Perception and Well-Being Across Time
Authors: Laban Guy , Kappas Arvid , Morrison Val , Cross Emily S.
Published: November 2023

While interactions with social robots are novel and exciting for many
people, one concern is the extent to which people’s behavioural and emotional engagement
might be sustained across time, since during initial interactions with a robot, its
novelty is especially salient. This challenge is particularly noteworthy when
considering interactions designed to support people’s well-being, with limited evidence
(or empirical exploration) of social robots’ capacity to support people’s emotional
health over time. Accordingly, our aim here was to examine how long-term repeated
interactions with a social robot affect people’s self-disclosure behaviour toward the
robot, their perceptions of the robot, and how such sustained interactions influence
factors related to well-being. We conducted a mediated long-term online experiment with
participants conversing with the social robot Pepper 10 times over 5 weeks. We found
that people self-disclose increasingly more to a social robot over time, and report the
robot to be more social and competent over time. Participants’ moods also improved after
talking to the robot, and across sessions, they found the robot’s responses increasingly
comforting as well as reported feeling less lonely. Finally, our results emphasize that
when the discussion frame was supposedly more emotional (in this case, framing questions
in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic), participants reported feeling lonelier and
more stressed. These results set the stage for situating social robots as conversational
partners and provide crucial evidence for their potential inclusion in interventions
supporting people’s emotional health through encouraging self-disclosure.
Management of patients with extensive locally advanced thyroid cancer: results of multimodal treatments
Authors: Prete A. , Pieroni E. , Marrama E. , Bruschini L. , Ferrari M. , Scioti G. , Aprile V. , Guarracino F. , Ambrosini C. E. , Molinaro E. , Elisei R. , Lucchi M. , Materazzi G.
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Surgery plays a key role in the treatment of thyroid cancer (TC) patients. Locally advanced cases, however, can require an extensive surgical approach with technical issues and a high risk of complications. In these cases, a multidisciplinary evaluation should be carried out to evaluate pros and cons. The aim of this study was to share our experience, as a multidisciplinary team, in the management of patients with locally advanced TC with a particularly extensive local disease, whose surgical approach could be challenging and part of a multimodal treatment.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated clinical, surgical, and oncologic features of all patients with locally advanced TC who had undergone multidisciplinary surgery from January 2019 to June 2020.

Results

Six patients (two cases each of poorly differentiated, papillary, and medullary TC) were included. Four out of six were suffering from symptoms related to the advanced disease. At pre-surgical evaluation, a multidisciplinary team proposed extended surgery with radical intent via cervicotomy and sternotomy, considering other therapies not feasible or probably ineffective without it. No one passed away in intra- or perioperative time. At the end of follow-up (median 2.6 years), all patients presented a remission of symptoms due to the advanced disease, four patients were submitted to adjuvant therapies and only one patient died for a cause unrelated to the disease.

Conclusion

This series of very advanced TCs shows the effectiveness of a surgery performed by a multidisciplinary team in controlling symptoms, allowing adjuvant therapies, and improving the survival of patients whose cases would otherwise be very difficult to manage.
Recent Developments in Metallic Degradable Micromotors for Biomedical and Environmental Remediation Applications
Authors: Dutta Sourav , Noh Seungmin , Gual Roger Sanchis , Chen Xiangzhong , Pané Salvador , Nelson Bradley J. , Choi Hongsoo
Published: November 2023

Synthetic micromotor has gained substantial attention in biomedicine and environmental remediation. Metal-based degradable micromotor composed of magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) have promise due to their nontoxic fuel-free propulsion, favorable biocompatibility, and safe excretion of degradation products Recent advances in degradable metallic micromotor have shown their fast movement in complex biological media, efficient cargo delivery and favorable biocompatibility. A noteworthy number of degradable metal-based micromotors employ bubble propulsion, utilizing water as fuel to generate hydrogen bubbles. This novel feature has projected degradable metallic micromotors for active in vivo drug delivery applications. In addition, understanding the degradation mechanism of these micromotors is also a key parameter for their design and performance. Its propulsion efficiency and life span govern the overall performance of a degradable metallic micromotor. Here we review the design and recent advancements of metallic degradable micromotors. Furthermore, we describe the controlled degradation, efficient in vivo drug delivery, and built-in acid neutralization capabilities of degradable micromotors with versatile biomedical applications. Moreover, we discuss micromotors’ efficacy in detecting and destroying environmental pollutants. Finally, we address the limitations and future research directions of degradable metallic micromotors.
Development of a passive strategy for buildings’ sustainability using green roofs techniques in Taif City, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Balabel Ashraf , El-Askary Wageeh , Alahmadi Ahmad , Alzaed Ali
Published: November 2023

Buildings’ sustainability can strongly contribute towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals which set forth a challenge for humanity in existing and modern Saudi societies. Recently, large numbers of initiatives and strategies have been recently developed and adopted with a focus on the green architecture which relates the real estate and clean energy industries in Saudi Arabia. This is considered as an important step to the diversity in the Saudi economy, which is not built on oil revenues and towards the achievement of Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030. Consequently, the application of different passive sustainability strategies in residential building projects, e.g., green roofs technology, can boost sustainable building ratings. In the present paper, the feasibility and probable health and environmental benefits associated with green roofs technology in Saudi residential buildings have been described. Moreover, different perspectives have been presented related to the green roofs industry, such as: types, recent technology, and the current challenges. In addition, the contributions of green roofs to the sustainable building’s certification via Saudi rating system, MOSTADAM, has been explored. The method adopted in the present research is based on relating the characteristics of the green roof technology and its environmental effects to the different categories of the “Mostadam” rating system. It is found that the green roofs technology can boost the sustainable building ratings through contribution to the major categories of MOSTADAM rating system a potential of 32% credits total. This encourages stakeholders to apply green roofs in Saudi residential buildings supporting the sustainable development goals of the Saudi government’s ongoing initiatives that advocates for more sustainable and resilient cities considering vision 2030. Moreover, the present study would assist the “Mostadam” responsible in evaluating the sustainable buildings projects and making the right decisions on such projects.
Developing a Novel Long Short-Term Memory Networks with Seasonal Wavelet Transform for Long-Term Wind Power Output Forecasting
Authors: Chen Kuen-Suan , Lin Ting-Yu , Lin Kuo-Ping , Chang Ping-Teng , Wang Yu-Chen
Published: November 2023

Long-term wind power forecasting is a challenging endeavor that requires predictions that span years into the future. Accurate forecasting is crucial for optimizing energy production, grid integration, maintenance scheduling, and financial planning. This study attempts to first develop the long short-term memory networks (LSTM) with a seasonal wavelet transform forecasting model for practical long-term wind power forecasting problems with seasonal and regional influences on wind power and the instability of data signals. This model encapsulates wavelet transformation and seasonal decomposition, and employs LSTM for forecasting. The new prediction model adopted seasonal decompositions and two LSTMs to approach low- and high-frequency series datasets, as well as the wavelet synthesis prediction values. Furthermore, the parameters of the LSTM models are selected using stochastic optimization. For a comprehensive evaluation, the proposed LSTM with seasonal wavelet transform is compared with seven methods, including seasonal LSTM (SLSTM), wavelet LSTM (WLSTM), and the seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), back propagation neural network (BPNN), generalized regression neural network (GRNN), least square support vector regression (LSSVR), and support vector regression (SVR) were employed for long-term wind power output forecasting of wind farms. The empirical results underscore that the performance of the proposed forecasting model is better than other methods in terms of forecasting accuracy, which could efficiently provide reliable long-term predictions for long-term wind power output forecasting.
Queering Sexual Health Translation Pedagogy
Authors: Toto Piero
Published: November 2023

Sexual health campaigns to tackle the rise in sexually transmitted infections in England are at the core of sexual health charities' and grassroots organizations' work. Some of them collaborated with the author's translation students to produce inclusive translations of their sexual health content (website and multimedia content). The role of translation and localization within multicultural contexts can be seen as 'social activism' promoting sexual health and community engagement, with a view to providing wider healthcare access and information using inclusive language. This Element presents students' approaches to sexual health translation, using language as a vessel for change and striking a balance between clients' expectations, translation industry best practices, and socio-educational needs. The data analysis of the students' experiences will make the case for wider embedding of queer pedagogy approaches into the translation curriculum.
Red Secularism
Authors: Weir Todd H.
Published: November 2023

Red Secularism is the first substantive investigation into one of the key sources of radicalism in modern German, the subculture that arose at the intersection of secularism and socialism in the late nineteenth-century. It explores the organizations that promoted their humanistic-monistic worldview through popular science and asks how this worldview shaped the biographies of ambitious self-educated workers and early feminists. Todd H. Weir shows how generations of secularist intellectuals staked out leading positions in the Social Democratic Party, but often lost them due to their penchant for dissent. Moving between local and national developments, this book examines the crucial role of red secularism in the political struggles over religion that rocked Germany and fed into the National Socialist dictatorship of 1933. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
Flow-driven interfacial waves: an inviscid asymptotic study
Authors: Bonfils A.F. , Mitra Dhrubaditya , Moon W. , Wettlaufer J.S.
Published: November 2023

Motivated by wind blowing over water, we use asymptotic methods to study the evolution of short wavelength interfacial waves driven by the combined action of these flows. We solve the Rayleigh equation for the stability of the shear flow, and construct a uniformly valid approximation for the perturbed streamfunction, or eigenfunction. We then expand the real part of the eigenvalue, the phase speed, in a power series of the inverse wavenumber and show that the imaginary part is exponentially small. We give expressions for the growth rates of the Miles (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 3, 1957, pp. 185–204) and rippling (e.g. Young & Wolfe, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 739, 2014, pp. 276–307) instabilities that are valid for an arbitrary shear flow. The accuracy of the results is demonstrated by a comparison with the exact solution of the eigenvalue problem in the case when both the wind and the current have an exponential profile.
General procedure for free-surface recovery from bottom pressure measurements: application to rotational overhanging waves
Authors: Labarbe Joris , Clamond Didier
Published: November 2023

A novel boundary integral approach for the recovery of overhanging (or not) rotational water waves (with constant vorticity) from pressure measurements at the bottom is presented. The method is based on the Cauchy integral formula and on an Eulerian–Lagrangian formalism to accommodate overturning free surfaces. This approach eliminates the need to introduce a priori a special basis of functions, thus providing a general means of fitting the pressure data and, consequently, recovering the free surface. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method are demonstrated through numerical examples.
Observing glacier dynamics with low-cost, multi-GNSS positioning in Victoria Land, Antarctica
Authors: Still Holly , Odolinski Robert , Bowman M. Hamish , Hulbe Christina , Prior David J.
Published: November 2023

This study examines the performance of low-cost, low-power GNSS positioning systems for glacier monitoring in high-latitude environments. We compare the positioning performance of co-located low-cost u-blox ZED-F9P GNSS units (a few hundred USDs) and survey-grade Trimble R10 units (> $10,000 USD) under stationary (on land) and dynamic (on glacier) conditions near Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. Low-cost and survey-grade systems yield almost identical error magnitudes under short (3 m), medium (34 km) and long (390 km) baseline kinematic-positioning scenarios. We further examined the efficacy of low-cost GNSS for glaciological applications by installing four u-blox and two Trimble receivers on Priestley Glacier to observe tide-modulated ice flexure. All receivers successfully detected subtle tidal oscillations with amplitudes < 3 cm, consistent with the predicted phasing from a tide model. These experiments offer a strong rationale for the widespread use of low-cost receivers to expand and densify GNSS monitoring networks, both in Antarctica and in glaciated regions worldwide.
Integrative taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships between representatives of genera within Merliniinae (Nematoda: Merliniidae), with new data on fourteen known and one unknown species
Authors: Hosseinvand M. , Eskandari A. , Azizi K. , Palomares-Rius J.E. , Castillo P. , Abolafia J. , Ghaderi R. , Helder J. , Qing X.
Published: November 2023

The application of integrative taxonomic approaches is useful to species delineation based on a combination of distinct types of characters, here morphological features and ribosomal DNA sequences. In this study, we surveyed ectoparasitic nematodes of the subfamily Merliniinae in cultivated and natural environments in Iran. Results of morphological and morphometrical studies, light and scanning electron microscopic observations, and molecular analyses allowed us the identification of fourteen known and one unknown species including representatives of the genera Amplimerlinius (five species), Geocenamus (one species), Merlinius (three species), Nagelus (two species), Paramerlinius (one species), Scutylenchus (two species), and Telomerlinius (one species). The unknown species, Scutylenchus sp., characterized by having 35–50 incisures at mid-body; lateral field with 6 longitudinal incisures; lip region slightly offset by a constriction, flattened at front end; bearing 5–7 annuli; cephalic framework not refractive; stylet robust, 18.3–27 μm long; post anal intestinal sac absent; tail elongate conical, dorsally convex, with 24 (19–28) annuli in ventral side, ending to a smooth terminus and males common; spicules 24.5–31 μm long. The phylogenetic analyses were carried out using molecular data from nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) genes viz. D2–D3 expansion segments of the large ribosomal subunit (28S rRNA), partial small ribosomal subunit (18S rRNA), and internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The molecular variability of D2–D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA and partial 18S rRNA was low in this family in comparison to the ITS region, which could be a more helpful molecular marker in species and genus identification.
A prospective cohort study linking migration, climate, and malaria risk in the Peruvian Amazon
Authors: Gunderson Annika K. , Recalde-Coronel Cristina , Zaitchik Benjamin F. , Yori Pablo Peñataro , Rengifo Pinedo Silvia , Paredes Olortegui Maribel , Kosek Margaret , Vinetz Joseph M. , Pan William K.
Published: November 2023

Migration is an important risk factor for malaria transmission for malaria transmission, creating networks that connect Plasmodium between communities. This study aims to understand the timing of why people in the Peruvian Amazon migrated and how characteristics of these migrants are associated with malaria risk. A cohort of 2,202 participants was followed for three years (July 2006 - October 2009), with thrice-weekly active surveillance to record infection and recent travel, which included travel destination(s) and duration away. Migration occurred more frequently in the dry season, but the 7-day rolling mean (7DRM) streamflow was positively correlated with migration events (OR 1.25 (95% CI: 1.138, 1.368)). High-frequency and low-frequency migrant populations reported 9.7 (IRR 7.59 (95% CI:.381, 13.160)) and 4.1 (IRR 2.89 (95% CI: 1.636, 5.099)) times more P. vivax cases than those considered non-migrants and 30.7 (IRR 32.42 (95% CI: 7.977, 131.765)) and 7.4 (IRR 7.44 (95% CI: 1.783, 31.066)) times more P. falciparum cases, respectively. High-frequency migrants employed in manual labour within their community were at 2.45 (95% CI: 1.113, 5.416) times higher risk than non-employed low-frequency migrants. This study confirms the importance of migration for malaria risk as well as factors increasing risk among the migratory community, including, sex, occupation, and educational status.
Neurocognitive function and health-related quality of life in adolescents and young adults with CHD with pulmonary valve dysfunction
Authors: Zampi Jeffrey D. , Heinrich Kimberley P. , Bergersen Lisa , Goldstein Bryan H. , Batlivala Sarosh P. , Fuller Stephanie , Glatz Andrew C. , O’Byrne Michael L. , Marino Bradley , Afton Katherine , Lowery Ray , Yu Sunkyung , Goldberg Caren S.
Published: November 2023

Background:

Neurocognitive impairment and quality of life are two important long-term challenges for patients with complex CHD. The impact of re-interventions during adolescence and young adulthood on neurocognition and quality of life is not well understood.

Methods:

In this prospective longitudinal multi-institutional study, patients 13–30 years old with severe CHD referred for surgical or transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement were enrolled. Clinical characteristics were collected, and executive function and quality of life were assessed prior to the planned pulmonary re-intervention. These results were compared to normative data and were compared between treatment strategies.

Results:

Among 68 patients enrolled from 2016 to 2020, a nearly equal proportion were referred for surgical and transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (53% versus 47%). Tetralogy of Fallot was the most common diagnosis (59%) and pulmonary re-intervention indications included stenosis (25%), insufficiency (40%), and mixed disease (35%). There were no substantial differences between patients referred for surgical and transcatheter therapy. Executive functioning deficits were evident in 19–31% of patients and quality of life was universally lower compared to normative sample data. However, measures of executive function and quality of life did not differ between the surgical and transcatheter patients.

Conclusion:

In this patient group, impairments in neurocognitive function and quality of life are common and can be significant. Given similar baseline characteristics, comparing changes in neurocognitive outcomes and quality of life after surgical versus transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement will offer unique insights into how treatment approaches impact these important long-term patient outcomes.