bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Why-UD? Assessing the requirement to trial an intrauterine device as a condition for elective sterilisation in female patients
Authors: Baron Teresa
Published: December 2023

Some National Health Service healthcare boards in the UK will approve a request for female sterilisation only if the patient first accepts a trial period of 1 year with an intrauterine device (IUD), a form of long-acting reversible contraception. In this article, I argue that this requirement is not justified by appeal to any of (or any combination of) promotion of informed consent, paternalistic concerns regarding patient regret in later life and health service budgetary considerations. Informed consent and patient autonomy may be promoted by a mandatory waiting period, but the concomitant imposition of an IUD trial during this period cannot be justified on these grounds. As long as elective vasectomy is offered by the healthcare system, elective female sterilisation should be accessible under reasonably similar—even if not identical—conditions.
Relativistic constraints on 3N contact interactions
Authors: Nasoni Alessia , Filandri Elena , Girlanda Luca
Published: December 2023

In this paper we analyze the relativistic corrections to the leading order three-nucleon (3N) contact interactions. These boost corrections are derived first from the nonrelativistic reduction of covariant Lagrangians and later from the Poincaré algebra constraints on nonrelativistic theories. We show that in order to describe the 3N potential in reference frames other than the center-of-mass frame, the inclusion of five additional terms with fixed coefficients is required. These terms will be relevant in systems with mass number $$A>3$$

A
>
3

. How they will affect EFT calculations of binding energies and scattering observables in these systems should be investigated.
Analysis of nonlinear convection and diffusion in viscoelastic fluid flow with variable thermal conductivity and thermal radiations
Authors: Anwar Muhammad Shoaib , Alghamdi Metib , Muhammad Taseer , Hussain M. , Puneeth V.
Published: December 2023

The study offers a thorough evaluation of the complex fluid dynamics and heat transfer phenomena in Williamson viscoelastic fluid flow, taking into account thermal radiations and variable thermal conductivity. The paper extends its analysis to include heat transfer effects, which are critical in several engineering and industrial applications, and digs into the complexity of non-Newtonian fluid behavior, with a special focus on thermal radiation, heat production, diffusion and viscous dissipation. The study makes use of mathematical models and numerical method RK4 to clarify the nonlinear interactions between convection and diffusion processes in this viscoelastic fluid. The energy and concentration equations are simulated in the presence of the modified Fourier and Fick laws. Moreover, the predicted heat flow is based on the Cattaneo–Christov theory. This research also sheds light on the interaction between rheological properties and thermal characteristics, providing important new knowledge to the broader field of fluid dynamics and heat transfer.
The binomial option pricing model: The trouble with dividends
Authors: Tian Yisong S.
Published: December 2023

We identify a problem in the widely used binomial option pricing model when it is used to value options on an asset paying continuous dividends. It does not value pairs of European spot and futures options consistently even though they are theoretically equivalent. The inconsistency arises from the way dividend yield is incorporated into the jumps and probabilities. In addition, the model also has the tendency to undervalue American options due to suboptimal early exercise decisions. While the lingering effect of this problem diminishes asymptotically, it is nonetheless a concern for someone just beginning to learn the model or in applications where the use of a sufficiently large binomial tree is not practical or economical. We propose a simple modification to solve the problem and demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution.
Enhancing Item-level Bundle Representation for Bundle Recommendation
Authors: Du Xiaoyu , Qian Kun , Ma Yunshan , Xiang Xinguang
Published: December 2023

Bundle recommendation approaches offer users a set of related items on a particular topic. The current state-of-the-art (SOTA) method utilizes contrastive learning to learn representations at both the bundle and item levels. However, due to the inherent difference between the bundle-level and item-level preferences, the item-level representations may not receive sufficient information from the bundle affiliations to make accurate predictions. In this paper, we propose a novel approachEBRec, short ofEnhancedBundleRecommendation, which incorporates two enhanced modules to explore inherent item-level bundle representations. First, we propose to incorporate the bundle-user-item (B-U-I) high-order correlations to explore more collaborative information, thus to enhance the previous bundle representation that solely relies on the bundle-item affiliation information. Second, we further enhance the B-U-I correlations by augmenting the observed user-item interactions with interactions generated from pre-trained models, thus improving the item-level bundle representations. We conduct extensive experiments on three public datasets, and the results justify the effectiveness of our approach as well as the two core modules. Codes and datasets are available at https://github.com/answermycode/EBRec.
Role of Divalent Co-Dopant as Structure Stabilizer in Scandia-Stabilized Zirconia Electrolyte for SOFC
Authors: Mathur Lakshya , Shin Donghwi , Hanantyo Muhammad Pramaditya Garry , Namgung Yeon , Singh Bhupendra , Sengodan Sivaprakash , Song Sun-Ju
Published: December 2023

The present investigation reports the role of divalent binary co-dopant (Ca2+) in 11 mol% scandia stabilized zirconia (11SSZ) electrolytes to resolve its severe long-term aging issue for application in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Dense electrolytes were formulated via the solid-state reaction method and their crystal structure was identified by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). To examine total electrical conductivity and its stability in oxidizing and reducing atmosphere DC four-point probe measurement was used. Among all the compositions, 0.2Ca11SSZ demonstrates the highest conductivity of 0.075 S cm−1 at 800 °C, with excellent stability of 6.7%/100 h in a reducing (97 vol% H2/3 vol% H2O) atmosphere. However, the presence of 0.5 mol% calcium in 11SSZ results in more than threefold suppression of aging rate compared to undoped11SSZ i.e. 2.19%/200 h in air atmosphere at 800 °C. Additionally, the doping of divalent Ca2+ widens the electrolytic domain up to pO2 ∼ 10−26 atm at 1000 °C compared to state-of-art 8YSZ (pO2 ∼ 10−22 atm), with 0.024% linear expansion on phase transition and 172 MPa flexural strength. Convincingly, the excellent structure stability and ionic conductivity of calcium co-doped 11SSZ compared to state-of-the-art electrolytes make them potential candidates to be used as an electrolyte for SOFC application.
Hindered Aluminum Plating and Stripping in Urea/NMA/Al(OTF)3 as a Cl-Free Electrolyte for Aluminum Batteries
Authors: Rahide Fatemehsadat , Flowers Jackson K. , Hao Junjie , Stein Helge S. , Ehrenberg Helmut , Dsoke Sonia
Published: December 2023

Conventional electrolytes for aluminum metal batteries are highly corrosive because they must remove the Al2O3 layer to enable plating and stripping. However, such corrosiveness impacts the stability of all cell parts, thus hampering the real application of aluminum-metal batteries. The urea/NMA/Al(OTF)3 electrolyte is a non-corrosive alternative to the conventional [EMImCl]: AlCl3 ionic liquid electrolyte (ILE). Unfortunately, this electrolyte demonstrates poor Al plating/stripping, probably because (being not corrosive) it cannot remove the Al2O3 passivation layer. This work proves that no plating/stripping occurs on the Al electrode despite modifying the Al surface. We highlight how urea/NMA/Al(OTF)3 electrolyte and the state of the Al electrode surface impact the interphase layer formation and, consequently, the likelihood and reversibility of Al plating/stripping. We point up the requirement for carefully drying electrolyte mixture and components, as water results in hydrogen evolution reaction and creation of an insulating interphase layer containing Al(OH)3, AlF3, and re-passivated Al oxide, which finally blocks the path for the possible Al plating/stripping.
Laser Scanning Method for High-Resolution Thickness Mapping of Lithium-Ion Pouch Cells
Authors: Simunovic Zachary , Dressler Reid , Alter Ethan D. , Trussler Simon , Harlow Jessie , Johnson Mike , McMonigle Chris , Fisher Michael , Metzger Michael
Published: December 2023

A precise understanding of the physical properties of lithium-ion cells including the cell thickness distribution during cycling and its connection with lifetime is important for cell improvement. A laser scanning instrument has been developed to perform contact-free thickness measurements in operando for small 250 mAh lithium-ion pouch cells and a large 60 Ah automotive format pouch cell. LiNi0.83Mn0.07Co0.10O2/silicon-graphite cells with 20 and 10 wt% micron-sized silicon particles, a LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2/natural graphite cell, and a medium-Ni/graphite automotive cell were either cycled in the laser scanning setup with continuous operando thickness mapping or aged at elevated temperature on separate battery cyclers with intermittent operando thickness mapping using the new laser scanning instrument. During the operando cycles, the cell thickness was measured periodically every 1 h and a graphical quantification method was developed to determine reversible and irreversible swelling of the silicon-containing and silicon-free cells. Using the high-resolution laser scanning technique, irreversible cell swelling could be correlated with capacity loss, especially in cells with high silicon content. Graphite-based cells with mature interface like the large automotive pouch cell showed a fully reversible swelling profile indicative of a long-lived cell.
Nickel Species-Modified Mesoporous SnO2 as a Non-Platinum Electrocatalyst for Bioethanol Anodic Oxidation
Authors: Spătaru Tanţa , Somacescu Simona , Osiceanu Petre , Culita Daniela C. , Mihai Marius Alexandru , Florea Mihaela , Kuncser Andrei , Spătaru Nicolae
Published: December 2023

The effectiveness of mesoporous SnO2 nickel-decoration as a method for obtaining active electrode materials for bioethanol electrochemical oxidation and the way in which the embedment of a small amount of Black Pearls (BP) affects the electrocatalytic performances of Ni/SnO2 systems were investigated. XPS analysis reveals the presence of NiO, Ni(OH)2 and Ni2O3 chemical species which favors the oxidation of bioethanol and improves the COx tolerance. Nickel deposition in a reducing environment does not affect the Sn chemistry and the mesoporosity but significantly increases SBET. A slight amount of BP enhances the SBET value and a induces a small contribution of larger pores appears. Tafel slopes of 80 mV decade−1 were estimated for bioethanol oxidation at Ni/SnO2, which favorably compare to those reported in the literature. It was also found that BP incorporation leads to a decrease of the Tafel slope to 70 mV decade−1, without deleteriously affecting the stability of the electrocatalyst during long-term polarization. EIS results suggested that this improvement might be the combined effect of a lower electrical resistance, a higher specific surface area and a certain contribution from larger pores, which could lead to a better access of the bioethanol species to the electrocatalyst surface.
Microwave Structural Health Monitoring of the Grouted Connection of a Monopile-Based Offshore Wind Turbine: Fatigue Testing Using a Scaled Laboratory Demonstrator
Authors: Maetz Thomas , Kappel Jonas , Wiemann Marcel , Bergmannshoff Dirk , Hägelen Manfred , Jetten Rainer , Schmidt Matthias , Käsgen Johannes , Jackel Marco , Moll Jochen , Kraemer Peter , Krozer Viktor
Published: December 2023

Offshore wind turbines play a significant role in the expansion of clean and renewable energy. However, their exposure to harsh marine environments and dynamic loading conditions poses significant challenges to their structural integrity. In particular, the grouted connection, serving as the crucial interface between the monopile and the transition piece, is susceptible to cracking and particle washout that can lead to destabilizing grout erosion over time. In this paper, we propose a microwave structural health monitoring (SHM) approach for damage detection in grouted connections based on a stepped-frequency continuous wave radar. The methodology exploits ultra-wideband (UWB) electromagnetic wave propagation in the frequency range from 100 MHz to 2 GHz, where the microwaves propagate along the concrete-type dielectric material guided by the surrounding steel cylinders. For the proof of concept, a scaled laboratory demonstrator was built that realistically models the dynamic loading experienced by a full-scale monopile. The structure was equipped with an UWB radar system using two transmitting and three receiving antennas directly coupled to the grout. For validation, a large number of other sensors, i.e., accelerometers, strain gauges, and acoustic emission sensors have also been installed and measured synchronously during the fatigue test. It is demonstrated here that the proposed SHM methodology offers a nondestructive and real-time method for assessing the structural integrity of the grouted connection directly, actively, and automatically. This has the potential to support predictive maintenance activities in the future.
Comparative Diagnostic Performance of Microscopy, SD-Bioline Rapid Diagnostic Test, and Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Detection of Malaria Infection among Pregnant Women at Delivery in Kumba Health District Area in the Southwest Region of Cameroon
Authors: Ngemani Obase Bekindaka , Livo Forgu Esemu , Honore Awanakam Awanakam , Francis Zeukeng , Balonga Annie Agnenga , Loic Nchankou , Daiga Bigoga Jude , Leke Rose , Nsagha Dickson Shey
Published: December 2023

Introduction. Malaria during pregnancy is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Microcopy and rapid diagnostic test (RDT) recommended by the World Health Organization for clinical diagnosis have poor sensitivity to detect individuals with very low levels of parasitemia. Previous studies have shown that malaria in pregnancy is associated with mastitis and excessive uterine blood loss during delivery. However, information evaluating the performance of these tools in detecting malaria in pregnancy at the national level is limited. This study therefore evaluates the performance of microscopy, RDT, and nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) in the detection of pregnancy-associated malaria at delivery. Methods. A total of 227 participants constituting of 201 pregnant women without and 26 with HIV were recruited from five health facilities within the Kumba health district area. Mother venous and cord blood were collected at delivery to test for malaria using the thick-film microscopy, SD-bioline RDT, and 18SrRNA-nested PCR. Results. The percentage of malaria-positive cases detected by thick-film microcopy (TFM), RDT, and PCR in pregnant women with and without HIV was 7.69%, 53.85%, and 50% and 3.48%, 23.38%, and 49.25%, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum was detected in 1.99% cord blood samples of women without HIV by PCR. The positivity rate in at least two of the test methods (composite positive) was 42.31% for women with and 19.90% for women without HIV. The sensitivity of TFM and RDT when using PCR as a reference was 7.21% and 49.00%, respectively, in all samples. The specificity was 99.14% and 90.55% with kappa values of 0.064 and 0.461, respectively. When using the composite test as a reference, the sensitivity of TFM, RDT, and nPCR was 15.69%, 94.12%, and 100%, respectively. Specificity was 99.43%, 93.18%, and 65.34% with kappa values of 0.213, 0.821, and 0.458, respectively. Conclusion. This study shows that PCR is more sensitive in the detection of malaria parasite followed by SD-bioline RDT kit. However, in resource-limited settings where access to molecular diagnosis of malaria is a problem, RDT should be considered as the first option to microscopy in the diagnosis of malaria.
DJ-1: A Potential Biomarker Related to Prognosis, Chemoresistance, and Expression of Microenvironmental Chemokine in HR-Positive Breast Cancer
Authors: Xie Yinghong , Li Yuancheng , Yang Mengzhu
Published: December 2023

DJ-1 is significantly elevated in various malignancies. However, the clinical significance of DJ-1 in hormone receptor (HR)-positive (HR+) breast cancer remains unclear. We evaluated DJ-1 expression in different databases and validated in vitro assay by RT-PCR and western blot among HR+ breast cancer. The correlations between DJ-1 level and tumor-immune were calculated. Mutational landscape, enriched signaling pathways, and drug sensitivity analyses were also assessed between DJ-1 high and low-expression groups. DJ-1 was upregulated in HR+ breast cancer, and high DJ-1 expression was significantly linked with poor prognosis. DJ-1 was correlated with the expression and function of different immune cells. The low DJ-1 group showed sensitivity to paclitaxel and docetaxel, while the high-expression group showed sensitivity to doxorubicin. CTLA4 and PD-L1 were more sensitive in high-DJ-1 group. It is involved in a range of pathways and might behave as a novel biomarker of prognostic value for the immune environment and drug sensitivity in HR+ breast cancer.
Determination of Optimum Level of Seeding Rate of Silver Leaf Desmodim Intercropping with Desho Grass for Dry Matter Yield and Yield-Related Components in Western Ethiopia
Authors: Keba Wakgari
Published: December 2023

Compatible production of forage grasses and legumes through intercropping is one of the best options to achieve higher biomass yield and forage quality for animal production in areas where land and other resources are scarce. This study was conducted in 2017 and 2018 with the aim of evaluating the best-match level of seeding rate of silverleaf desmodium (SLD) intercropped with desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment consists of three levels of seeding rate of SLD (2, 4, and 6 kg ha−1) and one pure plot of each species. The result of this study showed that the intercropping of 6 kg ha−1 SLD with 100% of desho’s recommended plant population (50,000 plants ha−1) produced the highest forage dry matter yield and maximum plant height. The total dry matter yield (TDMY) of the intercrops was also significantly varied for the tested treatments. Accordingly, 6 kg ha−1 of SLD intercropped with 100% recommended seed rate of desho ha−1 gave the highest forage TDMY, which surpasses both the grass and legume yields in monoculture. The total land equivalent ratio (LER), which shows system productivity, was also different among the treatments. About 6 kg ha−1 of SLD intercropped with 100% recommended seed rate of desho also produced the highest LER (1.51). Thus, in Bako and similar agro-climatic conditions, where arable land is heavily covered with food crops, desho grass intercropping with SLD can be used as one of the best strategic options for producing feeds of energy and protein sources simultaneously on the same area of land.
Valsartan Attenuated Homocysteine-Induced Impaired Autophagy and ER Stress in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
Authors: Wu Xinyan , Wang Ani , Xu Long , Li Meng , Zhai Qingxian , Wang Weidong , Li Chunling , Jin Lizi
Published: December 2023

Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism underlying homocysteine- (Hcy-) induced vascular injury remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine a potential mechanism by which Hcy induced injury in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC). The protein abundance of autophagy-related markers was markedly decreased after Hcy treatment, which was associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis in HUVECs. Protein expression level of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1 receptor) was dramatically increased in response to Hcy. Valsartan, an AT1 receptor blocker, improved autophagy and prevented ER stress and apoptosis in HUVECs treated with Hcy. Consistent with this, silence of AT1 receptor with siRNA decreased the protein abundance of ER stress markers, prevented apoptosis, and promoted autophagy in HUVECs. Inhibition or knockdown of AT1 receptor was shown to be associated with suppression of p-GSK3β/GSK3β-p-mTOR/mTOR signaling pathway. Additionally, inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA aggravated Hcy-induced apoptosis, while amelioration of ER stress by 4-PBA prevented Hcy-induced injury in HUVECs. Hcy-induced HUVEC injury was likely attributed to AT1 receptor activation, leading to impaired autophagy, ER stress, and apoptosis.
Particle Swarm Optimization of Support Vector Machine Inversion Model for Overhead Upright Piers Damage-Inducing Factor
Authors: Zhou Shiliang , Tang Menghan , Wu Jun , Ke Chunru
Published: December 2023

In the Three Gorges reservoir area, the overhead upright pier is the primary structural form. For intelligent monitoring of existing terminals, this research chooses Chongqing Xintian Port as the study object and proposes a support vector machine (SVM) damage-inducing factor (DIF) inversion model based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). To apply the finite element method to analyze the stress distribution characteristics of quay pile groups under three main DIFs, including the stacking effect, ship impact load effect, and bank slope effect. After characterizing the stress data, it becomes evident that there exists a correlation between stress and each DIF parameter. Before generating the training sample set, principal component analysis is employed to reduce dimensionality and eliminate a substantial amount of redundant data. The model has an accuracy of 0.999 for the identification of the type of DIF and 0.975 for the identification of the location of the action of the DIF with F1 coefficients of 0.999 and 0.978, respectively. For the strength of DIF predictions, MAE and MSE were 4.871 and 1.202, respectively, R2 was 0.986, NSE was 0.986, WI was 0.996, and PBIAS was 0.095. After extracting every sample, the relative error for the ship impact load effect is 0.05, and the highest relative error for the bank slope effect is 0.02; the error for the stacking effect is limited to 0.08. The results suggest that the damage inducement inversion model of the SVM optimized by the PSO algorithm can effectively identify the DIF of the overhead upright pier.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentration of the RET Inhibitor Pralsetinib: A Case Report
Authors: De Jong Loek A.W. , Sparidans Rolf W. , van den Heuvel Michel M.
Published: December 2023

Introduction: Pralsetinib is used to treat metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Preclinical studies of pralsetinib have shown blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and intracranial activity. The intracranial efficacy of pralsetinib in patients with brain metastasis is considered to be greater compared to older multikinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors. However, CSF concentrations of pralsetinib in patients are not well described in the literature. Case Presentation: We report a case of a patient with RET fusion-positive NSCLC treated with pralsetinib. Despite extracranial clinical and radiological remission, the patient developed progressive brain metastasis during treatment with pralsetinib. We measured the pralsetinib concentration in plasma and in CSF to determine the CSF-to-unbound plasma ratio. The measured pralsetinib concentrations in plasma and CSF were 1,951 ng/mL (∼57 unbound) and 14 ng/mL, respectively, reflecting a CSF-to-unbound plasma concentration ratio of 0.25. Our findings were compared with data from the literature. Conclusion: We showed that pralsetinib penetrates the CSF well and is expected to be an effective treatment for brain metastasis of RET fusion-positive NSCLC. Lack of intracranial efficacy is more likely to be caused by intrinsic or acquired tumor resistance instead of suboptimal exposure of pralsetinib in the brain.
Diplopie bei einer Patientin mit «verschwommenem Sehen»: ein Fallbericht
Authors: Harrison Anil , Mudhar Onkar , Yoo Jun , Rampal Mayank
Published: December 2023

Hintergrund: Myasthenia gravis ist eine Autoimmunerkrankung, die die neuromuskuläre Verbindung beeinträchtigt und zu Muskelschwäche mit Müdigkeit (Myasthenie) führt. Wenn die klinischen Manifestationen der Myasthenia gravis auf die Augenmuskeln beschränkt sind und nur schwache Augenbewegungen verursachen, spricht man von einer okulären Myasthenia gravis, die ein Eineinhalb-Syndrom imitieren kann. Fallvorstellung: Eine afroamerikanische Frau in den Fünfzigern mit einer Vorgeschichte von Bluthochdruck stellte sich mit Beschwerden über verschwommenes Sehen in den letzten 2 Wochen in unserer Ambulanz vor. Ihre Symptome wurden von Gesichtsschmerzen und generalisierten Kopfschmerzen begleitet. Die körperliche Untersuchung bei der Erstvorstellung ergab eine Schwellung des linken Oberlides mit Ptosis. Ihre extraokulären Bewegungen zeigten Defekte in der Abduktion und Adduktion des rechten Auges. Das linke Auge konnte nicht adduziert werden, obwohl die Auswärtsbewegung normal war. Das linke Auge konnte beim Blick nach oben nicht vollständig gehoben werden, ein Pseudo-Eineinhalb-Syndrom. Außerdem wurde ein positives Cogan-Lidschlagzeichen festgestellt. Die Bildgebung des Gehirns und der Orbita schloss zentrale Ursachen aus. In Übereinstimmung mit positiven Anti-Acetylcholinrezeptor-Antikörpern wurde die Diagnose einer okulären Myasthenia gravis gestellt. Mit einer oralen Dosis von 120 mg Pyridostigmin trat eine subjektive und objektive Besserung ein, und die Patientin wurde mit oralem Pyridostigmin und Prednison entlassen. 6 Monate später, nach Reduktion der Prednison-Dosis, hatte die Patientin eine myasthene Krise und wurde mit Plasmapherese und intravenösen Immunglobulinen behandelt. Nach Überwindung der myasthenen Krise wurden Infusionen mit Efgartigimod verabreicht, die unserer Patientin halfen, ein normales Leben zu führen.
Serum Phosphorus Management with Sucroferric Oxyhydroxide as a First-Line Phosphate Binder within the First Year of Hemodialysis
Authors: Medaura Juan A. , Zhou Meijiao , Ficociello Linda H. , Anger Michael S. , Sprague Stuart M.
Published: December 2023

Introduction: Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (SO), a non-calcium, chewable, iron-based phosphate binder (PB), effectively lowers serum phosphorus (sP) concentrations while reducing pill burden relative to other PBs. To date, SO studies have largely examined treatment-experienced, prevalent hemodialysis populations. We aimed to explore the role of first-line SO initiated during the first year of dialysis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed deidentified data from adults receiving in-center hemodialysis who were prescribed SO monotherapy within the first year of hemodialysis as part of routine clinical care. All patients continuing SO monotherapy for 12 months were included. Changes from baseline in sP, achievement of sP ≤5.5 and ≤4.5 mg/dL, and other laboratory parameters were analyzed quarterly for 1 year. Results: The overall cohort included 596 patients, 286 of whom had a dialysis vintage ≤3 months. In the 3 months preceding SO initiation, sP rapidly increased (mean increases of 1.02 and 1.65 mg/dL in the overall cohort and incident cohort, respectively). SO treatment was associated with significant decreases in quarterly sP (mean decreases of 0.26–0.36; p < 0.0001 for each quarter and overall). While receiving SO, 55–60% of patients achieved sP ≤5.5 mg/dL and 21–24% achieved sP ≤4.5 mg/dL (p < 0.0001 for each quarter and overall vs. baseline). Daily PB pill burden was approximately 4 pills. Serum calcium concentrations increased and intact parathyroid hormone concentrations decreased during SO treatment (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline). Conclusions: Among patients on hemodialysis, initiating SO as a first-line PB resulted in significant reductions in sP while maintaining a relatively low PB pill burden.
Prognostic Value of Inflammation and Nutrition-Based Scores in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Erciyestepe Mert , Selvi Oğuzhan , Dinç Sonuşen Şermin , Öztürk Ahmet Emin , Dinç Gülhan , Güneş Tuğçe Kübra , Aydın Okan , Yaşar Nurgül , Balkaya Aykut Gözde , Vatansever Sezai
Published: December 2023

Objective: In studies conducted on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, many factors such as age, stage, weight loss, lymph node, and pleural involvement have been shown to affect survival. On the other hand, systemic inflammation plays a critical role in proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis. Inflammation and nutrition-based prognostic scores are reported to be associated with survival in patients with NSCLC. The aim of our study is to show the effects of these scores on survival and disease progression in NSCLC patients. Subjects and Methods: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) values in 102 patients with stages 1, 2, and 3A NSCLC were analyzed retrospectively. Results: NLR (p < 0.001), PLR (p = 0.001), PNI (p < 0.001), and mGPS (p = 0.001) variables showed a statistically significant difference according to mortality groups. NLR and PLR values were higher in exitus patients. However, PNI values were higher in surviving patients. NLR (p < 0.001), PLR (p = 0.004), PNI (p = 0.001), and mGPS (p = 0.015) variables showed a statistically significant difference in terms of locoregional recurrence. PNI (p = 0.001) and mGPS (p = 0.001) in terms of distant metastasis development during follow-up and treatment showed a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: NLR, PLR, PNI, and mGPS are easily accessible noninvasive parameters and provide predictive information about survival and disease course. We showed the effect of these parameters on the prognosis.
Performance improvement of fuel cell and photovoltaic system
Authors: Alagarsamy Manjunathan , Chaudhary Neera , Shanmugam Nithyadevi , Suriyan Kannadhasan , Loganathan Arulmurugan , Manikandan Raja
Published: December 2023

This article considers and studies a hybrid energy storage system as a potential replacement for a utility grid. It also examines its organisational structure. The hybrid energy storage technology is used to ensure a constant supply of convenient grid electricity that is sufficient to handle changing power spikes. Batteries are used to stabilise the surges with measurable variation, whereas a massive capacitor is utilised to stabilise the surges with fast variation. In isolated areas where connecting to the main utility grid is impractical, standalone renewable generation may provide the advantage of a reduced operational cost as well as a reduction in protection fees. In order to encourage non-conventional power production in the overall renewable energy system, advancements in solid oxide fuel-cell technology and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology have also been made. Grid-coupled solar PV energy producing systems are being extensively used worldwide, and solar PV modules are increasingly being used in residential applications linked to the electrical grid.
Utilizing SrSi2O2N2:Eu2+,Yb2+ phosphor to achieve high hue rendering index and high hue stability
Authors: Tung Ha Thanh , Nguyen Thi Dieu An
Published: December 2023

For white-light emitting diode (WLED) applications, a green-to-orange emission nitridosilicate-based phosphor is created. The observed wide-band radiation in the green-orange range is caused by Eu2+ and Yb2+ at the trap point of a doubly doped SrSi2O2N2:Eu2+,Yb2+ (SSON:Eu,Yb) nitridosilicate phosphor. The green-color radiation’s decay duration was measured to validate the energy transfer among activator ions. The co-doping various ratios’ influence of activator ions on luminescence features was investigated. The resulting phosphor’s radiation is a function of the activator ion concentrations and raising the Yb2+ concentration causes red-color radiation to dominate the green radiation. To generate white illumination, the resulting phosphor was coupled with an InGaN blue-LED chip having a pumping wavelength of 450 nm. Two stages were taken to achieve hue balance management. Initially, the green to orange proportion was tuned by varying the Eu2+ and Yb2+ ions’ concentrations. At the second stage, the Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage, International Commission on Illumination (CIE) coordinates were changed from [0.2805; 0.2014] to [0.4071; 03789] by raising the amount of phosphor powder used. White illumination produced under optimal conditions has a hue rendering indicator of 89. The designed single-stage dual-hue-releasing nitridosilicate phosphor and blue-LED chip displayed remarkable hue steadiness over a wideband of forward-bias currents (100 to 500 mA at 3 V).
Design and development of photovoltaic solar system based single phase seven level inverter
Authors: Govindaraj Vijayakumar , Mayakrishnan Sujith , Venkatarajan Shanmugasundaram , Raman Raja , Sundar Ramesh
Published: December 2023

For solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, an upgraded triple gain seven-level inverter that works both independently and while connected to the grid is proposed. The two-stage configuration of the system is boost cascaded. The first stage has a one switch improved gain converter (OSIGC) to increase and normalize the input direct current (DC) voltage, and the second stage includes a unique seven level alternating current (AC) is produced via a multilevel inverter (MLI) design with triple voltage gain. The proposed OSIGC is appropriate for a broad range of conversions. The voltage gain in MLI was achieved using switched capacitor techniques. The DC-DC converter can achieve a maximum voltage gain of twelve and the MLI can achieve a maximum voltage gain of three, resulting in a DC-DC-AC voltage that can reach 36. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique based on modified perturb and observe (PO) is used in OSIGC to maximise PV module power utilisation, and MLI control utilises sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) realistically. For the purpose of analysing the suggested system, a 200 Watt prototype statel is created. With a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 0.181%, up to 92.12% of the converter system’s overall efficiency is possible.
IndoPolicyStats: sentiment analyzer for public policy issues
Authors: Fakhruzzaman Muhammad Noor , Jannah Sa'idah Zahrotul , Gunawan Sie Wildan , Pratama Angga Iryanto , Ardanty Denise Arne
Published: December 2023

The government requires some vaccination for public health. This has led to a debate in recent years, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aims to analyze the two sentiments of the public regarding the vaccination policy. This would be helpful to ensure the acceptance of the government campaign about vaccination. The data used was text data obtained from Twitter when Indonesia was facing the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data were pre-processed by removing noise data, case folding, stemming, and tokenizing. Then, the data were classified with random forest, Naïve Bayes, and XGBoost. The results showed that all classifiers exhibit satisfying performance but XGBoost performs slightly better in accuracy value. This method can be deployed to be an automatic sentiment analyzer to help the government understand public feedback about its policies. This would be given by proper pre-processing and enough datasets.
TBNet: learning from scratch and limited training data, a CNN based tuberculosis bacilli detection
Authors: Agoes Ali Suryaperdana , Winarno Winarno
Published: December 2023

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the micro-bacteria. Several studies that have been conducted previously aimed to reduce the burden of observing tuberculosis bacilli using the digital image processing method. In this study, we proposed a newly developed convolutional neural network (CNN) based deep learning model to detect tuberculosis bacilli in sputum smear images. Recent advances in deep learning apply large scale image dataset to achieve convergent weight model. However, medical image dataset commonly available in relatively small quantity. In contrary with common deep learning approach, our model is capable to learn from our small dataset which consist of highly diverse hue and contrast of sputum smear images. Furthermore, its performance is proven to be reliable to detect sputum smear image content, which are TB bacillus and debris.
Triangular fuzzy number for similarity measurement of Y chromosome DNA profile
Authors: Dewi Meira Parma , Arymurthy Aniati Murni , Setiawan Suryana , Soedarsono Nurtami
Published: December 2023

This study measures the similarity of the short tandem repeat (STR) profile of human DNA. The similarity measurement had been done to the STR value of the allele loci in DNA profile between the query’s DNA to the reference’s DNA profile. The measurements were conducted on 27 DNA profile loci including the Y chromosome loci (YSTR). The YSTR loci were used as the main comparison of similarity measurements to determine the biological kinship relationship between the query DNA profile and the alleged male biological family. To measure the similarity of two STR values that have shifted due to several factors in the DNA source extraction process, a fuzzy similarity measure was used. The STR values of the DNA profile loci are described as triangular fuzzy numbers. Similarity value of the STR is the intersection of two isosecle that been compared. To conclude that the query has a biological relationship with the male reference, the similarity of the YSTR locus is equal or more than 0.75 and the similarity value of the other 24 DNA profile loci is greater or equal to 0.5. From the trial that have been done, 90% give the right results.
An improvement for CAST-128 encryption based on magic square and matrix inversion
Authors: Kareem Suhad Muhajer , Al-Adhami Ayad , S. Rahma Abdul Monem
Published: December 2023

This paper presents two image encryption methods which aim to improve the CAST 128-bit algorithm by increasing the security level of encrypted images. The first improvement uses a magic square of order three, while the second improvement uses a 2×2 matrix over GF(P). Both modifications are used in each round of the CAST algorithm, in place of a standard algorithm which uses XOR to increase the correlation between the plaintext and ciphertext. Simulations are carried out in order to evaluate the image encryption system with regard to complexity, time consumption, histogram, information entropy, differential attacks, noise evaluation, adjacent pixels’ correlation index, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyses, mean absolute error, and average difference. The experimental results demonstrate that the encryption and decryption time when using the proposed CAST 128-bit algorithm with magic square is less than the time required for the CAST 128-bit algorithm with the matrix. Conversely, the proposed CAST with the matrix is higher than the CAST with the magic square. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results confirm that the two proposed enhancements to CAST perform effectively with sufficient security levels.
BER estimation for STBC-MC-DS-CDMA-4 antennas system by varied wavelet-carriers features via AWGN-flat channels
Authors: Khadam Nader Abdullah , Kadhim Jawad Alrubaie Ali Jawad , Jumah Al-Thahab Osama Qasim
Published: December 2023

This paper improves the bit error rate (BER) of the modern communication system by taking into account the effect of the wavelet shape and the number of carriers on the performance of the space time block code multi-carrier direct sequence code division multiple access (STBC-MC-DS-CDMA). Here the transmitter is moved with speeds 2 km/hr, 45 km/hr and 100 km/hr via Rayleigh flat fading channel. Here, 2 antennas are employed at the receiver to mitigate the multipath signal influence. The system’s orthogonal frequencies are generated using Haar, Daubechies 4, Symlets 4, Cohen-Daubechies-Feauveau 1.1 with 9.7 and B-spline 3. The number of used carriers is 128, 512, and 1,024. Quadrature phase shift key (QPSK) is used with cyclic prefix 1/16 and a bandwidth of 20 MHz. traditional fast fourier transform (FFT) system is compared to the proposed discrete wavelet packet transform (DWPT) to show the BER enhancements. The space-time block coding (STBC) is used to enhance system cabability in error corection. The proposed system shows significant improvement in BER, so that, it reaches to the same BER when using FFT but with less signal to noise ratio (SNR), which interns reduce the power consumed within the system and the cost.
Customizing the minimum number of replicas for achieving fault tolerance in a cloud/grid environment
Authors: S. Almhanna Mahdi , A. Murshedi Tariq , Al-Turaihi Firas Sabah , M. Almuttairi Rafah
Published: December 2023

Networks consist of numerous resources; it is crucial not to overlook fault tolerance and consider it during planning. This is because errors during implementation can result in wasted time and effort, thereby squandering these resources. One solution to address this issue effectively is to implement the task on multiple resources to minimize the occurrence of failed tasks. However, employing an unspecified or fixed number of resources can lead to the depletion of network resources and the overall failure of the network. Replication plays a pivotal role in enhancing data availability in distributed systems. By storing data in multiple locations, users can still access it even if some copies are unavailable due to site failure. Many replication-based algorithms utilize a predetermined number of iterations per function, which may consume excessive network resources, even if the ongoing task does not require such abundant resources. This paper proposes task replication as a viable mechanism for an efficient and fault-tolerant scheduling system. We introduce an algorithm that dynamically selects the optimal and minimal number of replicas based on the network's failure history. This approach aims to minimize the failure rate during task execution.
Performance analysis of different methods for optimal sliding mode control of DC/DC buck converter
Authors: Chlaihawi Amer A. , Al-Modaffer Ameen M. , Alhadrawi Zaid
Published: December 2023

Performance is always need to be considered in designing DC/DC buck converter. Despite the drastic use of DC/DC buck converter in industry, limitations due to unregulated voltage and current still persist. The dynamic performance of three methods of sliding mode control (SMC) were investigated. The comparative assessment of integral sliding mode control (ISMC) method, showed that the ISMC has an outstanding performance over the other tested methods of two variables with conventional SMC. The excellent performance of ISMC, under diverse operating conditions that include varying input voltage and load resistance, is achievable and it can provide a considerable edge over other control techniques in various field of industries, include electrical vehicle. The ISMC is highly preferable to overcome the problem of varying switching frequency, as well as optimizing power on transient response. The performance characteristic of ISMC shows fast dynamic response of various applications. Detailed simulations of the three SMC methods were carried out to validate the control algorithms using MATLAB/Simulink software.
Evaluation of the performance of the vehicular ad hoc network protocols in the case of V2I and EV2I communications
Authors: Mohammed Dania , Mansor Muhamad , Hock Goh Chin
Published: December 2023

Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is an intelligent technology that enables efficient communication, secure data transmission, and traffic management. The purpose of routing protocols in the VANET network is to route data between vehicles (V2V) and vehicles-to-infrastructure (V2I). Recently, researchers have shown interest in designing effective routing protocols for the VANET network, as not all existing protocols are suitable for all traffic scenarios. Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly being adopted and integrated into intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Developed countries are actively promoting sustainable transportation solutions to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, this research presents an EV charging station (CS) management scheme based on communication between EVs and RSUs, with performance evaluation simulated using VANET network protocols. In this study, the G-MDORA, MDORA, and geographical routing protocol (GRP) protocols were modified to accommodate V2I communication, and RSUs were distributed along the roadmap. Additionally, a scheme for managing electric vehicle CS was presented, focusing on the communication between electric vehicles and RSUs in the EV2I context. Performance was evaluated using the G-MDORA, GRP, and MDORA protocols, considering factors such as throughput, communication overhead, packet delivery ratio, and end to end delay.
Pattern analysis on Aquilaria Malaccensis using machine learning
Authors: Hasnu Al-Hadi Anis Hazirah 'Izzati , Mohd Huzir Siti Mariatul Hazwa , Zaidi Amir Hussairi , Ismail Nurlaila , Mohd Yusoff Zakiah , Haron Mohamad Hushnie , Taib Mohd Nasir
Published: December 2023

Aquilaria Malaccensis was found to generate agarwood. Because of its multiple benefits, agarwood essential oil, sometimes known as “black gold” is highly regarded universally. There is currently no accepted method for classifying various grades of agarwood essential oil. Due to the fact that the agarwood essential oil is assessed using a human sensory panel, the existing grading method is ineffective. Since different people may have different viewpoints on how to grade agarwood essential oil, it is not practical to apply the method universally. Several innovative methods for determining the classification of agarwood essential oil have been proposed and put into practise as a result of advanced technology. The study has constructed a pattern analysis on different grades of agarwood essential oil using 2D scatter plot. The results successfully indicate the scatter plots are scattered groupedly.
Improving sentiment analysis using text network features within different machine learning algorithms
Authors: Alnasrawi Ali Mohamed , Alzubaidi Asia Mahdi Naser , Al-Moadhen Ahmed Abdulhadi
Published: December 2023

Sentiment analysis poses a significant challenge due to the inherent subjectivity of natural language and the prevalence of unstandardized dialects in social networks. Regrettably, existing literature lacks a dedicated focus on network representation learning for sentiment classification. This paper addresses this gap by investigating ten machine learning algorithms, including support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), logistic regression (LR), and Naive Bayes (NB). Our approach integrates text network analysis and sentiment analysis to propose a comprehensive solution. We begin by applying text preprocessing techniques and converting a text corpus into a text network using word co-occurrence. Subsequently, we employ network analysis techniques to extract features based on network topology and node attributes. These network-derived features serve as inputs for sentiment prediction on Yelp reviews. Through the incorporation of diverse text network features and various machine learning algorithms, we achieve significant enhancements in sentiment classification performance. Our evaluation demonstrates an improved area under curve (AUC) of 83% on the Yelp reviews corpus, underscoring the efficacy of integrating network features to enhance sentiment classifiers. This research underscores the critical role of network representation and its potential impact on sentiment analysis, highlighting the prospect of harnessing network features for sentiment classification tasks.