bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reduction of stress responses in honey bees by synthetic ligands targeting an allatostatin receptor
Authors: Sánchez-Morales Adrià , Gigoux Véronique , Matsoukas Minos-Timotheos , Perez-Benito Laura , Fourmy Daniel , Alibes Ramón , Busqué Félix , Cordomí Arnau , Devaud Jean-Marc
Published: October 2022

Honey bees are of great economic and ecological importance, but are facing multiple stressors that can jeopardize their pollination efficiency and survival. Therefore, understanding the physiological bases of their stress response may help defining treatments to improve their resilience. We took an original approach to design molecules with this objective. We took advantage of the previous identified neuropeptide allatostatin A (ASTA) and its receptor (ASTA-R) as likely mediators of the honey bee response to a biologically relevant stressor, exposure to an alarm pheromone compound. A first series of ASTA-R ligands were identified through in silico screening using a homology 3D model of the receptor and in vitro binding experiments. One of these (A8) proved also efficient in vivo, as it could counteract two behavioral effects of pheromone exposure, albeit only in the millimolar range. This putative antagonist was used as a template for the chemical synthesis of a second generation of potential ligands. Among these, two compounds showed improved efficiency in vivo (in the micromolar range) as compared to A8 despite no major improvement in their affinity for the receptor in vitro. These new ligands are thus promising candidates for alleviating stress in honey bees.
Performance of a solar photocatalysis reactor as pretreatment for wastewater via UV, UV/TiO2, and UV/H2O2 to control membrane fouling
Authors: Ali Nisreen S. , Kalash Khairi R. , Ahmed Amer N. , Albayati Talib M.
Published: October 2022

The performance of a solar photocatalysis reactor as pretreatment for the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) and turbidity from municipal wastewater was achieved by implementing an integrated system as tertiary treatment. The process consisted of ultraviolet (UV) sunlight, UV sunlight/H2O2, and UV sunlight/TiO2 nanocatalysts as pretreatment steps to prevent ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling. The characterization of TiO2 was conducted with X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy , and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. This study investigated the effect of time and solar radiation using UV, UV/H2O2, and UV/TiO2 to remove TOC and turbidity. The transmembrane pressure improvement was studied using a UF membrane system to pretreat wastewater with different UV doses of sunlight for 5 h and UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2. The results showed that the highest removal efficiency of the turbidity and TOC reached 95% and 31%, respectively. The highest removal efficiency of the turbidity reached 40, 75, and 95% using UV, UV/H2O2, and UV/TiO2, respectively, while the optimal removal efficiency of TOC reached 20%, 30%, and 50%, respectively.
Compression-induced improvements in post-exercise recovery are associated with enhanced blood flow, and are not due to the placebo effect
Authors: O’Riordan Shane F. , Bishop David J. , Halson Shona L. , Broatch James R.
Published: October 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological effects of compression tights on blood flow following exercise and to assess if the placebo effect is responsible for any acute performance or psychological benefits. Twenty-two resistance-trained participants completed a lower-body resistance exercise session followed by a 4 h recovery period. Participants were assigned a post-exercise recovery intervention of either compression tights applied for 4 h (COMP), placebo tablet consumed every hour for 4 h (PLA) or control (CON). Physiological (markers of venous return, muscle blood flow, blood metabolites, thigh girth), performance (countermovement jump, isometric mid-thigh pull), and psychological measures (perceived muscle soreness, total quality of recovery) were collected pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, at 30 (markers of venous return and muscle blood flow) and 60 min (blood metabolites, thigh girth and psychological measures) intervals during 4 h of recovery, and at 4 h, 24 h and 48 h post-exercise. No significant (P > 0.05) differences were observed between interventions. However, effect size analysis revealed COMP enhanced markers of venous return, muscle blood flow, recovery of performance measures, psychological measures and reduced thigh girth compared to PLA and CON. There were no group differences in blood metabolites. These findings suggest compression tights worn after resistance exercise enhance blood flow and indices of exercise recovery, and that these benefits were not due to a placebo effect.
Knockout of ABC transporter gene ABCA2 confers resistance to Bt toxin Cry2Ab in Helicoverpa zea
Authors: Fabrick Jeffrey A. , Heu Chan C. , LeRoy Dannialle M. , DeGain Ben A. , Yelich Alex J. , Unnithan Gopalan C. , Wu Yidong , Li Xianchun , Carrière Yves , Tabashnik Bruce E.
Published: October 2022

Evolution of pest resistance reduces the benefits of widely cultivated genetically engineered crops that produce insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Better understanding of the genetic basis of pest resistance to Bt crops is needed to monitor, manage, and counter resistance. Previous work shows that in several lepidopterans, resistance to Bt toxin Cry2Ab is associated with mutations in the gene encoding the ATP-binding cassette protein ABCA2. The results here show that mutations introduced by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in the Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm or bollworm) gene encoding ABCA2 (HzABCA2) can cause resistance to Cry2Ab. Disruptive mutations in HzABCA2 facilitated the creation of two Cry2Ab-resistant strains. A multiple concentration bioassay with one of these strains revealed it had > 200-fold resistance to Cry2Ab relative to its parental susceptible strain. All Cry2Ab-resistant individuals tested had disruptive mutations in HzABCA2. We identified five disruptive mutations in HzABCA2 gDNA. The most common mutation was a 4-bp deletion in the expected Cas9 guide RNA target site. The results here indicate that HzABCA2 is a leading candidate for monitoring Cry2Ab resistance in field populations of H. zea.
Scaling behavior of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on silicon for RF applications
Authors: Cui Peng , Zeng Yuping
Published: October 2022

Due to the low cost and the scaling capability of Si substrate, InAlN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon substrate have attracted more and more attentions. In this paper, a high-performance 50-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT on Si with a high on/off current (Ion/Ioff) ratio of 7.28 × 106, an average subthreshold swing (SS) of 72 mV/dec, a low drain-induced barrier lowing (DIBL) of 88 mV, an off-state three-terminal breakdown voltage (BVds) of 36 V, a current/power gain cutoff frequency (fT/fmax) of 140/215 GHz, and a Johnson’s figure-of-merit (JFOM) of 5.04 THz V is simultaneously demonstrated. The device extrinsic and intrinsic parameters are extracted using equivalent circuit model, which is verified by the good agreement between simulated and measuredS-parameter values. Then the scaling behavior of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si is predicted using the extracted extrinsic and intrinsic parameters of devices with different gate lengths (Lg). It presents that afT/fmaxof 230/327 GHz can be achieved whenLgscales down to 20 nm with the technology developed in the study, and an improvedfT/fmaxof 320/535 GHz can be achieved on a 20-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT with regrown ohmic contact technology and 30% decreased parasitic capacitance. This study confirms the feasibility of further improvement of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si for RF applications.
The pulsating soft coral Xenia umbellata shows high resistance to warming when nitrate concentrations are low
Authors: Thobor Bianca , Tilstra Arjen , Bourne David G. , Springer Karin , Mezger Selma Deborah , Struck Ulrich , Bockelmann Franziska , Zimmermann Lisa , Yánez Suárez Ana Belén , Klinke Annabell , Wild Christian
Published: October 2022

The resistance of hard corals to warming can be negatively affected by nitrate eutrophication, but related knowledge for soft corals is scarce. We thus investigated the ecophysiological response of the pulsating soft coral Xenia umbellata to different levels of nitrate eutrophication (control = 0.6, medium = 6, high = 37 μM nitrate) in a laboratory experiment, with additional warming (27.7 to 32.8 °C) from days 17 to 37. High nitrate eutrophication enhanced cellular chlorophyll a content of Symbiodiniaceae by 168%, while it reduced gross photosynthesis by 56%. After additional warming, polyp pulsation rate was reduced by 100% in both nitrate eutrophication treatments, and additional polyp loss of 7% d−1 and total fragment mortality of 26% was observed in the high nitrate eutrophication treatment. Warming alone did not affect any of the investigated response parameters. These results suggest that X. umbellata exhibits resistance to warming, which may facilitate ecological dominance over some hard corals as ocean temperatures warm, though a clear negative physiological response occurs when combined with nitrate eutrophication. This study thus confirms the importance of investigating combinations of global and local factors to understand and manage changing coral reefs.
Research on visual question answering based on dynamic memory network model of multiple attention mechanisms
Authors: Miao Yalin , He Shuyun , Cheng WenFang , Li Guodong , Tong Meng
Published: October 2022

Since the existing visual question answering model lacks long-term memory modules for answering complex questions, it is easy to cause the loss of effective information. In order to further improve the accuracy of the visual question answering model, this paper applies the multiple attention mechanism combining channel attention and spatial attention to memory networks for the first time and proposes a dynamic memory network model (DMN-MA) based on the multiple attention mechanism. The model uses the multiple attention mechanism in the situational memory module to obtain the most relevant visual vectors for answering questions based on continuous memory updating, storage and iterative inference of the questions, and effectively uses contextual information for answer inference. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the model in this paper reaches 64.57% and 67.18% on the large-scale public datasets COCO-QA and VQA2.0, respectively.
Resolving the paradox of unipolar induction: new experimental evidence on the influence of the test circuit
Authors: Baumgärtel Christof , Maher Simon
Published: October 2022

A novel experiment has been devised shedding new light on the phenomenon of unipolar induction, also known as “Faraday’s Paradox”. This is a topic which continues to fascinate scientists and engineers with much debate continuing to this day. In particular, the question of the field co-rotating with the magnet or remaining stationary remains unsettled and supporting evidence exists for both positions. In this study, we present a novel experimental apparatus that includes, for the first time, the relative motion of the measurement circuit including the closing wires, as well as the magnet and disc respectively. The results show that the closing wire needs to be considered as part of the problem, which enables the apparent paradox associated with this phenomenon to be resolved. However, it remains impossible to tell if the field co-rotates with the magnet or if it remains stationary. Instead, direct electron interaction is considered as a viable alternative to resolve remaining paradoxes.
Integrated radiogenomics analyses allow for subtype classification and improved outcome prognosis of patients with locally advanced HNSCC
Authors: Rabasco Meneghetti Asier , Zwanenburg Alex , Linge Annett , Lohaus Fabian , Grosser Marianne , Baretton Gustavo B. , Kalinauskaite Goda , Tinhofer Ingeborg , Guberina Maja , Stuschke Martin , Balermpas Panagiotis , von der Grün Jens , Ganswindt Ute , Belka Claus , Peeken Jan C. , Combs Stephanie E. , Böke Simon , Zips Daniel , Troost Esther G. C. , Krause Mechthild , Baumann Michael , Löck Steffen
Published: October 2022

Patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) may benefit from personalised treatment, requiring biomarkers that characterize the tumour and predict treatment response. We integrate pre-treatment CT radiomics and whole-transcriptome data from a multicentre retrospective cohort of 206 patients with locally advanced HNSCC treated with primary radiochemotherapy to classify tumour molecular subtypes based on radiomics, develop surrogate radiomics signatures for gene-based signatures related to different biological tumour characteristics and evaluate the potential of combining radiomics features with full-transcriptome data for the prediction of loco-regional control (LRC). Using end-to-end machine-learning, we developed and validated a model to classify tumours of the atypical subtype (AUC [95% confidence interval] 0.69 [0.53–0.83]) based on CT imaging, observed that CT-based radiomics models have limited value as surrogates for six selected gene signatures (AUC < 0.60), and showed that combining a radiomics signature with a transcriptomics signature consisting of two metagenes representing the hedgehog pathway and E2F transcriptional targets improves the prognostic value for LRC compared to both individual sources (validation C-index [95% confidence interval], combined: 0.63 [0.55–0.73] vs radiomics: 0.60 [0.50–0.71] and transcriptomics: 0.59 [0.49–0.69]). These results underline the potential of multi-omics analyses to generate reliable biomarkers for future application in personalized oncology.
Expanded endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach to determine morphological characteristics and clinical considerations of the cavernous sinus venous spaces
Authors: Zhan Guowen , Guo Shanshan , Hu Honglei , Liao Jianchun , Dang Ruishan , Yang Youxiong
Published: October 2022

The study aimed at investigating the morphological characteristics and interconnected regularities of the cavernous sinus (CS) venous spaces using an expanded endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. Surgical dissections were performed for 15-colored silicon-injected human head specimens. The CS venous spaces were examined for their morphological and clinical characteristics using an expanded endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. The intracavernous course of the internal carotid artery (ICA) divided the CS venous spaces into four interconnected virtual compartments: medial, anteroinferior, posterosuperior, and lateral. The CS venous spaces had peculiar morphological characteristics; the medial compartment was C-shaped while the anteroinferior compartment resembled a boat's bow. The mean distances from the medial border of the inferior horizontal segment of cavernous ICA to the mid-line of the pituitary gland (PG) were 6.07 ± 1.61 mm (left) and 5.97 ± 1.89 mm (right); the mean distances from the medial border of the subarachnoid segment of cavernous ICA to the mid-line of the PG were 5.77 ± 1.16 mm (left) and 5.63 ± 1.17 mm (right); the mean distances from the medial border of the anterior vertical segment of cavernous ICA to the mid-line of the PG were 10.27 ± 1.74 mm (left) and 10.47 ± 1.90 mm (right). Morphological characteristics and the knowledge of the interconnected regularities of the CS venous spaces may help surgeons accurately locate the neurovascular structure, and thus may contribute to the effective prediction of tumor invasion and extension during endoscopic CS surgery.
Association between albumin or prealbumin levels at different stages and prognosis in severe acute pancreatitis: a 5-year retrospective study
Authors: Ni Tongtian , Wen Yi , Wang Yihui , Jiang Weisong , Sheng Huiqiu , Chen Erzhen , Mao Enqiang , Lan Zhixin , Huang Yaguo , Zhou Yuhua
Published: October 2022

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a common abdominal disorder contributing to high mortality and open laparotomy rates. The role of exogenous infused albumin in fluid resuscitation or continuous therapy has always been an unanswered question. In early stage after onset, SAP patients with higher serum albumin or prealbumin show a better prognosis. In this study, we tried to disclose the linkage between albumin/prealbumin and SAP prognosis and establish a new goal-directed therapy involving albumin and prealbumin. Pearson’s chi-squared test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare the descriptive data between surviving and non-surviving patients. Three days, 4–7 days, 8–14 days and 15–28 days after SAP onset were defined as stages 1–4. The average concentrations of albumin and prealbumin were calculated, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to screen out the best cutoff values associated with poor prognostic outcomes, including laparotomy and failure to survive. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and log-rank tests were used to validate the effect of the cut-off values. A total of 199 admitted patients were enrolled in this study. According to the analysis of the ROC curve, the serum albumin value should be raised to 35, 37, 40 and 42 g/L in the 1–4 stage after onset. Serum prealbumin values should be raised to 108, 180, and 181 g/L in stages 2–4 after onset. The validity of the above data was confirmed by Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Serum albumin and prealbumin levels in the early stage of SAP are significantly relevant to prognosis. Albumin should be infused from the fluid resuscitation stage to continuous therapy in order to reach the targets mentioned above. The increase in prealbumin depends on the early initiation of enteral nutrition and this also helps to ameliorate the prognosis.
Altered functional responses by PAR1 agonist in murine dextran sodium sulphate-treated colon
Authors: Sung Tae Sik , Moon Suk Bae , Perrino Brian A. , Sanders Kenton M. , Koh Sang Don
Published: October 2022

Protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) is highly expressed in murine colonic smooth muscles. Responses to PAR1 activation are complex and result from responses in multiple cell types. We investigated whether PAR1 responses are altered in inflamed colon induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-treatment. Colitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice by administration of 3% DSS in drinking water for 7 days. Measurements of isometric force, transmembrane potentials from impaled smooth muscle cells, quantitative PCR and Western blots were performed. Thrombin, an activator of PAR1, caused transient hyperpolarization and relaxation of untreated colons, but these responses decreased in DSS-treated colons. Apamin caused depolarization and increased contractions of muscles from untreated mice. This response was decreased in DSS-treated colons. Expression of Kcnn3 and Pdgfra also decreased in DSS-treated muscles. A second phase of thrombin responses is depolarization and increased contractions in untreated muscles. However, thrombin did cause depolarization in DSS-treated colon, yet it increased colonic contractions. The latter effect was associated with enhanced expression of MYPT1 and CPI-17. The propagation velocity and frequency of colonic migrating motor complexes in DSS-treated colon was significantly higher compared to control colons. In summary, DSS treatment causes loss of transient relaxations due to downregulation of SK3 channels in PDGFRα+ cells and may increase contractile responses due to increased Ca2+ sensitization of smooth muscle cells via PAR1 activation.
MatchMiner: an open-source platform for cancer precision medicine
Authors: Klein Harry , Mazor Tali , Siegel Ethan , Trukhanov Pavel , Ovalle Andrea , Vecchio Fitz Catherine Del , Zwiesler Zachary , Kumari Priti , Van Der Veen Bernd , Marriott Eric , Hansel Jason , Yu Joyce , Albayrak Adem , Barry Susan , Keller Rachel B. , MacConaill Laura E. , Lindeman Neal , Johnson Bruce E. , Rollins Barrett J. , Do Khanh T. , Beardslee Brian , Shapiro Geoffrey , Hector-Barry Suzanne , Methot John , Sholl Lynette , Lindsay James , Hassett Michael J. , Cerami Ethan
Published: October 2022

Widespread, comprehensive sequencing of patient tumors has facilitated the usage of precision medicine (PM) drugs to target specific genomic alterations. Therapeutic clinical trials are necessary to test new PM drugs to advance precision medicine, however, the abundance of patient sequencing data coupled with complex clinical trial eligibility has made it challenging to match patients to PM trials. To facilitate enrollment onto PM trials, we developed MatchMiner, an open-source platform to computationally match genomically profiled cancer patients to PM trials. Here, we describe MatchMiner’s capabilities, outline its deployment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and characterize its impact on PM trial enrollment. MatchMiner’s primary goals are to facilitate PM trial options for all patients and accelerate trial enrollment onto PM trials. MatchMiner can help clinicians find trial options for an individual patient or provide trial teams with candidate patients matching their trial’s eligibility criteria. From March 2016 through March 2021, we curated 354 PM trials containing a broad range of genomic and clinical eligibility criteria and MatchMiner facilitated 166 trial consents (MatchMiner consents, MMC) for 159 patients. To quantify MatchMiner’s impact on trial consent, we measured time from genomic sequencing report date to trial consent date for the 166 MMC compared to trial consents not facilitated by MatchMiner (non-MMC). We found MMC consented to trials 55 days (22%) earlier than non-MMC. MatchMiner has enabled our clinicians to match patients to PM trials and accelerated the trial enrollment process.
Fat infiltration in the infarcted heart as a paradigm for ventricular arrhythmias
Authors: Sung Eric , Prakosa Adityo , Zhou Shijie , Berger Ronald D. , Chrispin Jonathan , Nazarian Saman , Trayanova Natalia A.
Published: October 2022

Infiltrating adipose tissue (inFAT) has been recently found to co-localize with scar in infarcted hearts and may contribute to ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), a life-threatening heart rhythm disorder. However, the contribution of inFAT to VA has not been well-established. We investigated the role of inFAT versus scar in VA through a combined prospective clinical and mechanistic computational study. Using personalized computational heart models and comparing the results from simulations of VA dynamics with measured electrophysiological abnormalities during the clinical procedure, we demonstrate that inFAT, rather than scar, is a primary driver of arrhythmogenic propensity and is frequently present in critical regions of the VA circuit. We determined that, within the VA circuitry, inFAT, as opposed to scar, is primarily responsible for conduction slowing in critical sites, mechanistically promoting VA. Our findings implicate inFAT as a dominant player in infarct-related VA, challenging existing paradigms and opening the door for unexplored anti-arrhythmic strategies.
Recent progress in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based biosensors for the detection of extracellular vesicles
Authors: Zheng Hong , Ding Qin , Li Chen , Chen Wei , Chen Xiaoqiang , Lin Qin , Wang Desheng , Weng Youliang , Lin Duo
Published: October 2022

This review mainly presents the recent progress in detecting extracellular vesicles using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based technology.
Assessment of water quality under real-world conditions: effects of steel slag backfills on ground and surface water
Authors: Le Song Thi , Le Anh Tuan , Cao Mai Thi Tu , Pham Hai Bang , Nguyen Tam Thi , Le Thanh Trung , Nishiwaki Nagatoshi
Published: October 2022

Large-scale (400 m × 400 m) and long-term (1.5 years) experiments were conducted at a construction site under actual conditions to assess the effects of steel slag backfills on surface water and groundwater.
Ultrafast insights into full-colour light-emitting C-Dots
Authors: Ghorai Nandan , Bhunia Soumyadip , Burai Subham , Ghosh Hirendra N. , Purkayastha Pradipta , Mondal Somen
Published: October 2022

We have explored the ultrafast carrier dynamics of core state and surface state in C-Dots with myriad use of steady-state, time-resolved spectroscopy and tried to establish a well-defined answer of the puzzling optical properties of C-Dots.
Electronic, magnetic, optical and thermoelectric properties of co-doped Sn1−2xMnxAxO2(A = Mo, Tc): a first principles insight
Authors: Laghzaoui S. , Lamrani A. Fakhim , Laamara R. Ahl , Maskar E. , Tuxtamishev Botir Qonishevich , Laref Amel , Rai D. P.
Published: October 2022

The electronic, magnetic, optical and thermoelectric properties of Sn1−2xMnxAxO2(A = Mo/Tc) have been examined using density functional theory (DFT) based on the FP-LAPW approach.
Morphological signatures of actin organization in single cells accurately classify genetic perturbations using CNNs with transfer learning
Authors: Alderfer Sydney , Sun Jiangyu , Tahtamouni Lubna , Prasad Ashok
Published: October 2022

Convolutional neural networks accurately classify closely related cellular phenotypes based on actin organization and cell shape. Interpretable machine learning reveals features of the global actin structure relevant for classification tasks.
Attentional Demand of Motor Speech Encoding: Evidence From Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Fournet Maryll , Catalano Chiuvé Sabina , Laganaro Marina
Published: October 2022

Purpose:

While the involvement of attention in utterance planning is well established at the conceptual and lexical levels, the attentional demands of postlexical processes are still debated. This study investigates the involvement of attentional resources on motor speech encoding during utterance production in the context of Parkinson's disease (PD), a population allowing to assess if the attentional demands observed in a dual-task paradigm (the dual-task costs [DTCs]) are explained by postlexical difficulties and not solely by executive impairment.

Method:

Speech production was analyzed in a dual-task paradigm with 30 participants presenting with motor speech disorders due to hypokinetic dysarthria in the context of PD. The dual-task comprised an automatic speech task in which participants recited the days of the week and two nonverbal tasks evaluating processing speed and inhibition. The severity of dysarthria and performance in several executive tests (inhibition, verbal fluency, and cognitive shifting) were used as potential predictors of the DTCs.

Results:

Individuals with PD exhibited a DTC on the nonverbal tasks and on the speech task when the secondary task was inhibition (the most difficult one). Additionally, the severity of dysarthria and a poorer performance in cognitive shifting predicted a more severe DTC on speech rate. Finally, modulation of the magnitude of the DTCs was observed, depending on the difficulty of the nonverbal secondary task.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that, in PD, postlexical processes require attentional resources and cognitive shifting is related to dual-task performance in speech.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21265893
Reflecting on the Role of Gender and Race in Speech-Language Pathology
Authors: Holt Yolanda
Published: October 2022

Purpose:

The presented work was invited following the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association SIG 19 Virtual Talk “Speech Science in Diverse Populations” that occurred on September 2, 2021. The purpose of this article was to introduce the historical and theoretical frameworks of gender and race from a decidedly North American (United States) perspective to an audience that may be less familiar with those topics as they relate to the practice of communication sciences and disorders. Race and gender are huge topics. Entire fields of study and lifetimes of work are dedicated to understanding these constructs. Therefore, it is hoped that this brief review of race and gender will prompt the reader to evaluate how the two constructs are used to categorize people and whether being a member of a marginalized or a minoritized group affects the person's access to or use of intervention services. A critical theoretical discussion of race and gender is beyond the scope of this text. In this limited space, this work presents an overview of current and historical discussions of gender and race and a challenge to the reader to accept that their perspective is indebted to a specific belief system. In the United States, that belief system often evaluates human differences into binary categories on a weighted continuum. Speech-language professionals often use that continuum to identify and measure difference into either acceptable variation or disorder.

Conclusions:

The profession of speech-language pathology was established during a time when variation from middle-class White American communication norms was frequently defined as undesirable and sometimes as disordered. The communities and individuals we encounter deserve to be accepted as they are. We must resolve to expect and accept wide variation in human communication without pathologizing its existence, to expand our thinking about disorder in speech and hearing science, and to accept culturally competent communicators as competent communicators.
Application of Meta-Therapy to Dysphagia Rehabilitation
Authors: Donohue Cara , Coyle James L.
Published: October 2022

Purpose:

Metatherapy is an important tool for practicing clinicians to implement when conducting dysphagia rehabilitation. Yet, few clinicians receive explicit training regarding how to implement metatherapy effectively with patients. As such, metatherapy skills are typically developed implicitly over time with experience. This tutorial will provide an overview of what metatherapy is and will provide instructions regarding how to implement metatherapeutic techniques for dysphagia rehabilitation by providing readers with a rehabilitation framework, case study examples, and techniques for conducting effective metatherapy.

Conclusion:

Dysphagia practitioners may use the framework and techniques provided in this tutorial to effectively implement metatherapy into dysphagia rehabilitation to enhance patient engagement in the therapy process and to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
Sphere‐decoding based equalization for reduced‐zero‐padding orthogonal time frequency space modulation
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Du Peng
Published: October 2022

This work studies the equalization methods for the reduced zero‐padding version of the orthogonal time frequency space modulation. Here, the focus is on applications in low data rate scenarios such as the Internet of Things, and the case where the number of subcarriers and time slots are small will be considered. First, the system equation is established to model the inter‐subcarrier and inter‐slot interference phenomena. Based on the system model, three sphere‐decoding based equalization methods are proposed. The first method is to directly apply the sphere‐decoding algorithm on the full‐scale system model; for the second method, the transmitter needs to perform the triangular precoding; and for the third method, the transmitter needs to perform the diagonal precoding. Simulation results show that the proposed sphere‐decoding based methods achieve better bit error rate performance than the state‐of‐the‐art methods like message passing, unitary approximate message passing, and variational approximate message passing, especially when the channel has severe inter‐slot interference.
Detection of minute-timescale γ-ray variability in BL Lacertae by Fermi-LAT
Authors: Pandey A. , Stalin C. S.
Published: October 2022

BL Lacertae, the prototype of the BL Lacertae (BL Lac) category of blazars, underwent a giant γ-ray flare in April 2021. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (hereafter Fermi-LAT) observed a peak γ-ray (0.1−500 GeV) flux of ∼2 × 10−5 ph cm−2 s−1 within a single orbit on 2021 April 27, which is historically the brightest γ-ray flux ever detected from the source. Here, we report, for the first time, the detection of significant minute-timescale GeV γ-ray flux variability in the BL Lac subclass of blazars by the Fermi-LAT. We resolved the source variability down to two-minute binned timescales with a flux halving time of ∼1 min, which is the shortest GeV variability timescale ever observed from blazars. The detected variability timescale is much shorter than the light-crossing time (∼14 min) across the central black hole of BL Lac, indicating a very compact γ-ray emission site within the outflowing jet. Such a compact emitting region requires the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet to be larger than 16 so that the jet power is not super Eddington. We found a minimum Doppler factor δmin of 15 using the δ function approximation for the γγ opacity constraint. For a conical jet geometry, considering Γ = δmin, the observed short variability timescale for BL Lac suggests that the very compact emission region lies at a distance of about 8.62 × 1014 cm from its central engine.
Usage des pesticides et impacts sur la santé des applicateurs en zone cotonnière du Mali
Authors: Le Bars Marjorie , Sissako Aliou , de Montgolfier Alban , Sidibe Yaya , Diarra Abdourahamane , Sagara Augustin , Koita Ousmane
Published: October 2022

Au Mali, le répertoire des pesticides utilisés en agriculture est vaste et les études de leurs impacts sur la santé sont rares. Des travaux de recherche sur les impacts des pesticides utilisés en productions cotonnière, céréalière et maraîchère sur la santé des populations méritaient d’être conduits. Cette étude a été menée dans trois villages du cercle de Kita (Madina Malinké, Banfara et Toufinko). Soixante pesticides, dont 17 herbicides et 1 insecticide non homologués par le Comité ouest-africain d’homologation des pesticides (COAHP), ont été identifiés. Les pesticides utilisés sur le coton sont formulés à partir de 20 matières actives, dont 5 (soit 25,5 %) interdites en Europe. Les pesticides destinés au maraîchage sont formulés à partir de 16 matières actives, dont 5 sont aussi interdites en Europe (soit 31,25 %), comme par exemple le profenofos, la bifenthrine et la flubendiamide. Au cours du suivi médical d’une cohorte de 244 applicateurs, plusieurs signes d’intoxications aigües (cutanée, orale, oculaire, gastrique) ont été observés sur nos trois sites d’étude pendant la période de pulvérisation, essentiellement avec les herbicides. Les cas d’intoxication orale et par inhalation sont les plus nombreux, observés chez 21,5 % des applicateurs en juillet, coïncidant avec le pic d’utilisation des herbicides à Madina Malinké. Des cas de toxicité et d’irritation cutanée ont été relevés chez 18,5 % des applicateurs en juillet, correspondant à un pic de pulvérisation des herbicides à Banfara. Dans les trois villages, les quantités d’herbicides utilisées sont plus élevées que celles des insecticides. L’utilisation d’insecticides à base de matières actives interdites comme le profenofos, la bifenthrine et la flubendiamide induit à long terme des risques d’infertilité, de perturbations endocriniennes et de maladies neurodégénératives. Le suivi de cette cohorte et l’utilisation de biomarqueurs permettra d’étudier le lien entre l’utilisation de certains pesticides et le développement de maladies chroniques.
Feeding ecology, trophic interaction and resource partitioning among four omnivorous finfish species of a tropical Estuary
Authors: Dutta Snigdhodeb
Published: October 2022

A crucial aspect of sustainable resource management is understanding the trophic interactions amongst fish in the estuarine ecosystem. The goal of this study was to look into the food preferences, feeding strategies, trophic partitioning, as well as dietary overlap among four omnivorous species that live in the Cochin Estuary:Mugil cephalus(n = 73),Planiliza parsia(n = 35),Planiliza planiceps(n = 65) andChanos chanos(n = 55) through the analyses of gut-content. Index of relative importance demonstrated that prey items inMugil cephalusandPlaniliza planicepsguts were dominated by Bacillariophyceae whereas inPlaniliza parsiaandChanos chanosguts were dominated by Myxophyceae. The highest diet value (7.5) was recorded inChanos chanos, while the lowest was recorded inMugil cephalus(5.69). The highest niche breadth value (0.77) was recorded inPlaniliza planicepswhile the lowest value was recorded inPlaniliza parsia(0.52). Pianka's overlap, evaluated with the help of null models structured by Ecosim 7.0, showed remarkable niche overlap betweenMugil cephalusandPlaniliza planiceps(0–0.92,P< 0.001), betweenPlaniliza planicepsandPlaniliza parsia( 0–0.77,P< 0.05) and betweenMugil cephalusandPlaniliza parsia( 0–0.7,P< 0.05). The fish's trophic niche width, along with prey-specific abundance confirmed that they are generalist feeders. The present results differed from the general hypothesis related to the omnivorous species and concluded that these four omnivorous species live in the same niche zones of the Cochin Estuary with no interspecific conflict.
Developing and analyzing an explicit unconditionally stable finite element scheme for an equivalent Bérenger’s PML model
Authors: Huang Yunqing , Li Jichun , Liu Xin
Published: October 2022

The original Bérenger’s perfectly matched layer (PML) was quite effective in simulating wave propagation problem in unbounded domains. But its stability is very challenging to prove. Later, some equivalent PML models were developed by Bécache and Joly [ESAIM: M2AN 36 (2002) 87–119] and their stabilities were established. Hence studying and developing efficicent numerical methods for solving those equivalent PML models are needed and interesting. Here we propose a novel explicit unconditionally stable finite element scheme to solve an equivalent Bérenger’s PML model. Both the stability and convergence analysis are proved for the proposed scheme. Numerical results justifying the theoretical analysis are presented. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of this PML in simulating wave propagation in the free space. To our best knowledge, this is the first explicit unconditionally stable finite element scheme developed for this PML model.
Factors influencing actuator’s backdrivability in human-centered robotics
Authors: Lopez Garcia Pablo , Saerens Elias , Crispel Stein , Varadharajan Anand , Lefeber Dirk , Verstraten Tom
Published: October 2022

Human-Centered Robotics aims to use robotic devices to improve our life. In Europe alone, around 650.000 people live with limb amputations, 40 Mio. have jobs with high of lumbar injuries, and 40 Mio. are 80+ years. Worldwide, active prostheses, exoskeletons, and service robots could help improve these people’s lives. However, their adoption is unfortunately strongly hindered by technological limitations in the actuators powering these devices.

Backdrivability characterizes an actuator’s ability to be driven from the load side, and it is a crucial property to enabling capable human-centered robotic devices. In this paper, we describe the underlying factors that determine actuator backdrivability in robotics and investigate suitable scaling laws to understand how these factors are conditioned by the motor and gearbox selection and the specific operational cycle of a robotic device. This analysis unveils the complexity and challenges faced to accurately model and predict this complex phenomenon, contradicting an extended hypothesis in the robotics community that sees low-ratio transmissions as the best strategy to build backdrivable, lightweight actuators.
Development of a free-form tooth flank optimization method to improve pitting resistance of spur gears
Authors: Kalligeros Christos , Koronaios Panagiotis , Tzouganakis Panteleimon , Papalexis Christos , Tsolakis Antonios , Spitas Vasilios
Published: October 2022

Although steel involute gears are the standard solution for gear transmissions, they tend to suffer from poor pitting resistance. Pitting typically occurs when the gear tooth flanks have high equivalent curvature at the contact point and/or when the equivalent curvature is not constant across the contact path leading to high contact pressures and the development of surface fatigue. In this paper a new optimization method is presented to produce spur gear tooth flanks with improved pitting performance compared to involute ones. The tooth flanks are represented as B-spline curves, the control points of which are the variables for the optimization problem. The constraints were designed to ensure that all the examined profiles satisfy the law of gearing and do not contain any cusps or C1 discontinuities. Deterministic and stochastic algorithms were implemented and both closed and open path of contact gear sets were examined to determine the optimum tooth profile. The optimization results show that the maximum equivalent curvature of the optimum profiles is reduced by 83% compared to the corresponding standard profiles, while the deviation from the mean value is reduced by 98%. Both the standard and the optimized gears where examined comparatively also through finite element analysis. For the case selected the maximum contact pressure developed on the optimized gear set was 77% of the respective maximum contact pressure on the standard gear set whereas the corresponding deviation from the mean value was 5%. At the same time, the bending stresses developed in the optimized gear are slightly lower than those in the standard one.
Improving the load capacity of cylindrical gears and transmissions by parametric optimal design with CAD/CAM systems
Authors: Dahterova Dimitrinka , Nikolova Ina
Published: October 2022

Gears are an essential component of modern drives and systems. Cylindrical gears with involute profile have established themselves as one of the most widely used. Recent years have seen intensive research of both their profiling, as well as methodologies for improving their load carrying capacity. One way to increase productivity in the manufacture of cylindrical gears is the use of automated design systems. This paper presents an approach for optimal gear selection by applying the methods of parametric optimal design, modeling and study of gears with involute profile and study of their load carrying capacity.
Active carbons and their functional applications in water purification – an overview
Authors: Manoilova Liliya , Ruskova Kamelia
Published: October 2022

The activated carbons (ACs) represent the cost-effective approach to ecosystem remediation. They are one of the most used and popular adsorbents for most pollutants, due to its high absorption capacity and high surface area. The potential application of AC is determined by the source of material, the technology, and the production conditions. An advantage of ACs is that they could be obtained from any carbon-containing feedstock, so based on their nature and characteristics, various adsorbents are used for the purpose of water treatment. They can be used for different applications: removal of volatile organics, toxic agents, petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, heavy metals, pesticides etc.
Microwave absorbing materials based on hybrid filler
Authors: Ruskova Kamelia
Published: October 2022

Composite elastomer microwave absorbers were developed based on two-phase hybrid filler. Nanosized magnetite was synthesized for the first time in the porous texture of activated carbon. Combination of fillers with high dielectric losses such as active carbon, and magnetite with high magnetic losses into hybrid filler is considered as a new Hightech for generation of microwave absorbers with specific technical characteristics. The influence of the obtained filler on the microwave shielding effectiveness of composite rubber absorbers was examined. The fillers were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method for the surface area analysis and texture parameters. The influence of the concentration of the synthesized filler on the microwave characteristics and shielding effectiveness was investigated.
Die steel for hot deformation of copper and copper alloys
Authors: Sydorchuk Oleg , Bagliuk Gennadii , Myroniuk Denys , Myslyvchenko Oleksandr , Hongguang Ye
Published: October 2022

The possibility of using die steels (4Kh3N5М3F and 4Kh4N5М4F2) with adjustable austenitic transformation during operation for a wide range of operating temperatures (below the critical point A1 and above the critical point A3) is shown for hot deformation of M1 copper (up to 630 °С) and МNZh5-1 copper-nickel alloy (900-950 °C) with increased service life. During hot deformation of copper-nickel alloy МNZh5-1, the service life of matrices made of steel with adjustable austenitic transformation 4Kh3N5М3F was increased, compared to steel 3Kh3М3F. The studied forged steel 4Kh4N5М4F2 is characterized by an increase in hardness and strength threshold compared to H13 steel, after the use of extruder wheels (production of more than 60 tons of copper products). In order to facilitate mechanical processing by cutting the work piece during the manufacture of matrices from experimental steels, it was proposed to carry out partial recrystallization, namely, incomplete annealing at a temperature of 750±20 ºС, which made it possible to improve mechanical processing (cutting) for the manufacture of dies and large-sized parts such as wheels extruders.
Selection of factors and preparation of an experiment planning matrix for modeling a filter material with an orthotropic structure based on woven meshes
Authors: Ilyushchanka Aliaksandr , Charniak Iryna , Kusin Aliaksei , Dechko Mihail , Kusin Ruslan , Rutkovskaia Natalia
Published: October 2022

The advantages of a filtering material with an orthotropic structure (FMTS) consisting of a package of woven meshes are described. Information is given on the first stage of FMTS modeling, which includes the choice of parameters and factors of the experiment and the compilation of a planning matrix to establish the relationship between technological characteristics and properties of FMTS. When constructing a stochastic mathematical model at this stage, two factors were chosen to describe the properties of the material – qualitative (mesh type), specified by the sigma constraint method, and quantitative (package thickness). The constructed matrix of experiment planning is given. The natural and coded values of FMTS samples were determined.
The equity theory: a quantitative perspective using data envelopment analysis
Authors: Ahmadpour-Samani Parto , Arman Hosein , Foukerdi Amirali , Hadi-Vencheh Abdollah , Mavi Reza Kiani
Published: October 2022

Equity theory (ET) is an organizational theory investigating how fairly people feel they have been treated. The literature on ET does not address two essential questions: what is the magnitude of the equity that one may perceive compared to other members in an organization?, and how much should be the resources (outcomes) of an underpaid member reduced (increased) to feel equal? The group members may respond to these questions emotionally, and their answers could be biased based on their personalities. This paper proposes a novel method using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to quantify the ET and answer these questions more logically. DEA is a mathematical model that is conceptually similar to ET. We will show how DEA can estimate the degree of equity perceived by members of a group with different personalities, including optimistic, pessimistic, benevolent, and entitled characters.