bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between geographic accessibility to emergency services and infant mortality: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Brito Patrícia Meireles , Ribeiro Katia Suely Queiroz Silva , Melo Renato S , Tavares Netto Afonso Rodrigues , Sarinho Silvia Wanick
Published: August 2024

Aim

To evaluate the methodological quality of studies that analysed the relationship between accessibility to emergency services and infant mortality.

Methods

A systematic review with meta‐analysis, registered on the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) platform under code CRD42021279854. Medline/Pubmed, Embase, SciElo, Lilacs, Scopus and web of science electronic databases were searched between November 2021 and May 2024, without language or publication time restriction. We included observational studies that compared the infant mortality outcome with the different distances travelled or travel time to health services in a paediatric emergency. Thus, we excluded studies with primary outcomes present in the pre‐ and perinatal periods, as well as distances or travel time to obstetric emergency units. We used the grade to assess the methodological quality of the studies and the Newcastle‐Ottawa scale for the risk of bias, in addition to performing a meta‐analysis.

Results

The evidence quality on infant mortality was moderate for four studies and low for three studies. The meta‐analysis showed that children who travelled more than 5 km to the emergency service had a 28% increase in the chance of dying (P = 0.002), as well as those travelling for more than 40 min increased by 45% (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

There was a relationship between the increase in geographic accessibility distance and travel time with the increase in infant mortality. However, the studies still showed moderate to low methodological quality.
Embarking on the online reading challenge: adolescents' participation motives, gains and impacts on reading routines
Authors: Dera Jeroen
Published: August 2024

Despite the widespread popularity of online reading challenges on platforms like Goodreads and The StoryGraph, research on this phenomenon has been mostly absent. This article addresses this gap by examining the motivations of adolescent participants in reading challenges, the outcomes of their participation and the implications for their reading routines. Drawing upon semi‐structured interviews with 20 participants aged 15–20 years, the article shows that motivations range from a desire for social engagement within a book‐loving peer group to self‐challenge. A common thread is that reading challenges serve as a catalyst for increased volitional reading by adolescents, accompanied by changes in their reading habits. Furthermore, analysis of the responses reveals that these evolving reading practices are perceived by participants as both stimulating and self‐directed. However, the research also underscores the significant role played by algorithms on platforms like Goodreads in influencing reading routines. The study also shows that some participants in online reading challenges are guided by social motivation, although most of them experience social motives as secondary to their individual and intrinsic desire to read more. At the same time, some individuals partaking in online reading challenges prove susceptible to negative perceptions from others. Hence, this research foregrounds crucial tensions in online reading cultures adolescents engage in, specifically those between autonomy and algorithm and sociocentrism and egocentrism.
Estimated timing of the first menstrual period and dietary and nutritional correlates of menarche among urban school‐going adolescents in four sub‐Saharan African sites
Authors: Costa Janaína Calu , Darling Anne Marie , Shinde Sachin , Tadesse Amare W. , Sherfi Huda , Mwanyika‐Sando Mary , Tinkasimile Amani , Sharma Deepika , Baernighausen Till , Fawzi Wafaie W.
Published: August 2024

Characterizing the timing of menarche and the factors that are associated with it is important for understanding a population's reproductive health needs and long‐term health trajectories. We estimated the age at the menstrual onset among adolescent girls and the association between dietary and nutritional factors and menarche in four sub‐Saharan African urban sites. We used cross‐sectional school‐based data from 2307 female adolescents aged 10–14 years collected by the Africa Research, Implementation Science, and Education (ARISE) Network in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Khartoum, Sudan; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Logit models were used to estimate the median age at menarche at each site. Associations between menarche and BMI‐for‐age, stunting, dietary quality and food insecurity across settings were assessed using Poisson regression models adjusted for country and school levels. The estimated median age at menarche was 13.1 years (95% confidence interval: 12.7, 13.5) in Ouagadougou; 12.9 (12.6, 13.2) in Addis Ababa; 13.3 (12.7, 13.6) in Khartoum; and 13.2 (12.3, 14.0) in Dar es Salaam. Between 18% and 49% of the girls in each setting had already menstruated. Based on the pooled multivariable models, underweight participants were 42% less likely (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] 0.58 [0.44, 0.77]) to have experienced menarche in comparison to normal‐weight individuals. The likelihood of experiencing menarche increased for overweight [PR 1.47 (1.30,1.66)] and obese [PR 1.57 (1.35,1.82)] in comparison to normal‐weight girls. Those stunted were 47% less likely to have experienced menarche [PR 0.53 (0.41, 0.69)] than their nonstunted counterparts. A lower likelihood of menarche among those experiencing moderate/severe hunger when compared to those with no/little hunger was also observed (PR 0.78 [0.63,0.96]). No evidence of association with dietary quality was found. Further research is needed to strengthen the body of evidence and inform evidence‐based initiatives in low‐ and middle‐income settings.
School health and nutrition environments: A multicountry survey in five countries of sub‐Saharan Africa region—Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania
Authors: A. Noor Ramadhani , Paulo Heavenlight A. , Shinde Sachin , Tadesse Amare W. , Tinkasimile Amani , Hussen Yemisrach , Ngeba Joyce , Sherfi Huda , Drysdale Roisin , Mwanyika‐Sando Mary , Codjia Patrick , Chitekwe Stanley , Bärnighausen Till , Sharma Deepika , Fawzi Wafaie W.
Published: August 2024

Schools are increasingly regarded as a key setting for promoting the health, well‐being, and development of children and adolescents. In this multicountry cross‐sectional survey, we describe the health, nutrition, and food environments of public primary schools in five urban settings in Africa region: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Durban; South Africa, Khartoum, Sudan; and, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We evaluated the school health and nutrition (SHN) environments in three main areas: (1) the availability of health‐related policies, guidelines, and school curricula, (2) the provision of health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in schools, and (3) the school food environments and eating habits of adolescents. We used stratified random sampling to recruit 79 schools from five countries. Trained fieldworkers collected standardized questionnaire data from 79 school administrators, 765 food vendors, and 4999 in‐school adolescents aged 10–15 years. In our study, 24 out of 79 school administrators were aware of their school's health‐related policies and guidelines while 30 schools had a specific SHN curriculum. In general, health, nutrition, and WASH services were inadequate. Possibly due to a lack of school kitchens, 14.4% of students bought snacks and unhealthy foods from food vendors. Our study indicates that schools' food and nutrition environments are insufficient to improve adolescent health and nutrition in the African region, including limited coverage of SHN policies, suboptimal facilities and nutrition services, and unregulated food environments. Schools in sub‐Saharan Africa need to improve their health and nutrition environments.
In utero nicotine exposure affects murine palate development
Authors: Vyas Heema , Mohi Amr , Boyce Mark , Durham Emily L. , Cray James J.
Published: August 2024

Objectives

Despite data linking smoking to increased risk of fetal morbidity and mortality, 11% of pregnant women continue to smoke or use alternative nicotine products. Studies confirm that nicotine exposure during pregnancy increases the incidence of birth defects; however, little research has focused on specific anatomic areas based on timing of exposure. We aim to determine critical in utero and postnatal periods of nicotine exposure that affect craniofacial development, specifically palate growth. Malformation of the palatal structures can result in numerous complications including facial growth disturbance, or impeding airway function. We hypothesized that both in utero and postnatal nicotine exposure will alter palate development.

Materials and Methods

We administered pregnant C57BL6 mice water supplemented with 100 μg/mL nicotine during early pregnancy, throughout pregnancy, during pregnancy and lactation, or lactation only. Postnatal day 15 pups underwent micro‐computed tomography (μCT) analyses specific to the palate.

Results

Resultant pups revealed significant differences in body weight from lactation‐only nicotine exposure, and μCT investigation revealed several dimensions affected by lactation‐only nicotine exposure, including palate width, palate and cranial base lengths, and mid‐palatal suture width.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate the direct effects of nicotine on the developing palate beyond simple tobacco use. Nicotine exposure through tobacco alternatives, cessation methods, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) may disrupt normal growth and development of the palate during development and the postnatal periods of breastfeeding. Due to the recent dramatic increase in the use of ENDS, future research will focus specifically on this nicotine delivery method.
Survey on caregiver competency and retraining needs
Authors: Lee Dong Yeop , Lee Sang‐Bong , Lim Kyoung‐Min , Choi Yun‐Jung , Kang Dong Yoon
Published: August 2024

Objectives

This study investigated caregivers’ job image, abilities, and educational needs, which are rapidly increasing owing to an aging society.

Design

A self‐administered written survey was conducted at 12 general hospitals in Korea from February 1, 2022 to March 15, 2023.

Sample

A total of 451 caregivers participated in the survey as subjects of analysis, and 560 nurses participated as external observers.

Measurements

The caregivers’ self‐assessment results regarding job performance, educational needs, and retraining needs were compared with those of external observers.

Results

Caregivers evaluated themselves significantly higher in all areas of job performance compared to the evaluations of external observers. In particular, the caregivers’ self‐evaluation of their abilities in “Recording and Reporting,” “Basic Resuscitation,” “Safety and Infection Control,” and “Understanding Major Illnesses” was different from the evaluation of nurses. Both the caregivers and external observers agreed on the need for caregiver retraining, with 1–2 hours of supplementary training every 12 months being the most preferred amount of retraining.

Conclusions

There was a significant difference between caregivers’ self‐evaluations of their capabilities and the external observers’ evaluations. Therefore, systematic professional caregiver retraining is necessary.
A taxonomy of cyber risk taxonomies
Authors: Rabitti Giovanni , Khorrami Chokami Amir , Coyle Patrick , Cohen Ruben D.
Published: August 2024

The field of cyber risks is rapidly expanding, yet significant research remains to be conducted. Numerous taxonomy‐based systems have been proposed in both the academic literature and industrial practice to classify cyber risk threats. However, the fragmentation of various approaches has resulted in a plethora of taxonomies, often incongruent with one another. In this study, we undertake a comprehensive review of these alternative taxonomies and offer a common framework for their classification based on their scope. Furthermore, we introduce desirable properties of a taxonomy, which enable comparisons of different taxonomies with the same scope. Finally, we discuss the managerial implications stemming from the utilization of each taxonomy class to support decision‐making processes.
Modeling spatial correlation between earthquake insured losses in New Zealand: A mixed‐effects analysis
Authors: Di Lascio F. Marta L. , Noy Ilan , Perazzini Selene
Published: August 2024

Earthquake insurance is a critical risk management strategy that contributes to improving recovery and thus greater resilience of individuals. Insurance companies construct premiums without taking into account spatial correlations between insured assets. This leads to potentially underestimating the risk, and therefore the exceedance probability curve. We here propose a mixed‐effects model to estimate losses per ward that is able to account for heteroskedasticity and spatial correlation between insured losses. Given the significant impact of earthquakes in New Zealand due to its particular geographical and demographic characteristics, the government has established a public insurance company that collects information about the insured buildings and any claims lodged. We thus develop a two‐level variance component model that is based on earthquake losses observed in New Zealand between 2000 and 2021. The proposed model aims at capturing the variability at both the ward and territorial authority levels and includes independent variables, such as seismic hazard indicators, the number of usual residents, and the average dwelling value in the ward. Our model is able to detect spatial correlation in the losses at the ward level thus increasing its predictive power and making it possible to assess the effect of spatially correlated claims that may be considerable on the tail of loss distribution.
Family alliance and infants’ vagal tone: The mediating role of infants’ reactions to unadjusted parental behaviors
Authors: Rattaz Valentine , Tissot Hervé , Puglisi Nilo , Epiney Manuella , Razurel Chantal , Favez Nicolas
Published: August 2024

We investigated the influence of family alliance on infants’ vagal tone. Physiological studies have shown that the quality of mother–infant interactions can influence infants’ vagal tone, which is an important indicator of emotion regulation. Although research has shown that family‐level relationships have a unique impact on child development, little is known about the association between the quality of mother–father–infant interactions and infants’ physiological regulation during a family interaction task. We hypothesized that infants in families with a greater family alliance, that is, degree of coordination reached by parents when completing a task, will have higher vagal tone than will infants in families with a lower family alliance. We also hypothesized that this association would be mediated by the amount of intrusive and withdrawn parental behaviors and by the impact of these behaviors on the infant during mother–father–infant interactions. This study included 82 parents with their 3‐month‐old infants. Results showed that family alliance was associated with infants’ vagal tone during triadic interactions and that the impact of intrusive/withdrawn parental behaviors on the interaction partially mediated this association.
Understanding the causes of skincare product pilling
Authors: LUA Bee Leng , RUAN Linda , LYU Ying , LIU Simon
Published: August 2024

Background

Skincare and makeup “pilling” is an unsightly and undesirable phenomenon whereby skincare such as moisturizers or foundation ball up to form flakes on the skin. To date, the causes of skincare product pilling have not been studied. This study aimed to examine the relationship between skin physiology and pilling potential of sunscreen and foundation (the two products most reported by consumers to cause pilling). This study also examined the effects of product application methods on pilling.

Materials and methods

528 female volunteers from Guangzhou, China, aged between 20 and 49 years, underwent various clinical skin assessments, followed by three steps of product layering. Pilling was assessed after each product application step.

Results

217 volunteers (41%) experienced pilling. The majority of pilling (n = 655 events) occurred following sunscreen application, while only a few pilling events (n = 35) occurred with foundation. Foundation improved pilling caused by sunscreen in 98.9% of cases. Volunteers experiencing pilling with both sunscreen and foundation had significantly lower facial skin hydration and oiliness, higher pH, and smoother skin texture (P < 0.05). Two application methods, rubbing of products in circular and linear motions, yielded the highest numbers of pilling events.

Conclusion

This study has provided the first insights into the causes of pilling. Sunscreen is a promoter of pilling, while foundation may resolve sunscreen‐induced pilling in many cases. Skin physiology, particularly drier, smoother skin with higher pH, and product application methods are likely contributing factors to this undesirable phenomenon.
Identification of the novel allele, HLA‐DQB1*03:517, in a Saudi individual
Authors: AlAbduladheem Dalal , AlZahrani Saber , Alnajjar Manal , AlAithan Mohammed , Awaji Mohammad
Published: August 2024

The novel allele, HLA‐DQB1*03:517, differs by a single nucleotide substitution in exon 3 to HLA‐DQB1*03:02:01:02.
Characterisation of the novel HLA‐DRB1*08:126 allele by sequencing‐based typing
Authors: Elsermans Vincent , Visentin Jonathan , Pajot Thibault , Top Isabelle , Labalette Myriam
Published: August 2024

HLA‐DRB1*08:126 differs from HLA‐DRB1*08:04:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 152 in exon 3.
Transient asymptotics of the modified Camassa–Holm equation
Authors: Xu Taiyang , Yang Yiling , Zhang Lun
Published: August 2024

We investigate long time asymptotics of the modified Camassa–Holm equation in three transition zones under a nonzero background. The first transition zone lies between the soliton region and the first oscillatory region, the second one lies between the second oscillatory region and the fast decay region, and possibly, the third one, namely, the collisionless shock region, that bridges the first transition region and the first oscillatory region. Under a low regularity condition on the initial data, we obtain Painlevé‐type asymptotic formulae in the first two transition regions, while the transient asymptotics in the third region involves the Jacobi theta function. We establish our results by performing a nonlinear steepest descent analysis to the associated Riemann–Hilbert problem.
Reduced and All-at-Once Approaches for Model Calibration and Discovery in Computational Solid Mechanics
Authors: Römer Ulrich , Hartmann Stefan , Tröger Jendrik-Alexander , Anton David , Wessels Henning , Flaschel Moritz , De Lorenzis Laura
Published: August 2024

In the framework of solid mechanics, the task of deriving material parameters from experimental data has recently re-emerged with the progress in full-field measurement capabilities and the renewed advances of machine learning. In this context, new methods such as the virtual fields method and physics-informed neural networks have been developed as alternatives to the already established least-squares and finite element-based approaches. Moreover, model discovery problems are emerging and can also be addressed in a parameter estimation framework.

These developments call for a new unified perspective, which is able to cover both traditional parameter estimation methods and novel approaches in which the state variables or the model structure itself are inferred as well.

Adopting concepts discussed in the inverse problems community, we distinguish between all-at-once and reduced approaches. With this general framework, we are able to structure a large portion of the literature on parameter estimation in computational mechanics -- and we can identify combinations that have not yet been addressed, two of which are proposed in this paper.

We also discuss statistical approaches to quantify the uncertainty related to the estimated parameters, and we propose a novel two-step procedure for identification of complex material models based on both frequentist and Bayesian principles.

Finally, we illustrate and compare several of the aforementioned methods with mechanical benchmarks based on synthetic and experimental data.
Investigation on a Class of 2D Profile Amplified Stroke Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Authors: Wang Xi , Raimondi Luca , Axinte Dragos , Dong Xin
Published: August 2024

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have been widely studied in soft robotics due to their muscle-like movements. Linear DEAs are typically tensioned using compression springs with positive stiffness or weights directly attached to the flexible film of the DEA. In this paper, a novel class of 2D profile linear DEAs (butterfly- and X-shaped linear DEAs) with compact structure is introduced, which, employing negative-stiffness mechanisms, can largely increase the stroke of the actuators. Then, a dynamic model of the proposed amplified-stroke linear DEAs (ASL-DEAs) is developed and used to predict the actuator stroke. The fabrication process of linear DEAs is presented. This, using compliant joints, 3D-printed links, and dielectric elastomer, allows for rapid and affordable production. The experimental validation of the butterfly- and X-shaped linear DEAs proved capable of increasing the stroke up to 32.7% and 24.0%, respectively, compared with the conventional design employing springs and constant weights. Finally, the dynamic model is validated against the experimental data of stroke amplitude and output force; errors smaller than 10.5% for a large stroke amplitude (60% of maximum stroke) and 10.5% on the output force are observed.
Development of a Jumping Mechanism Inspired by Leg Synchronization of Planthopper
Authors: Onozawa Yoshinobu , Yagi Keisuke , Mori Yoshikazu
Published: August 2024

We developed a small jumping mechanism inspired by planthopper. The planthopper jump is characterized by two functions of the hind legs; the leg synchronization using physical contact of the trochanter head and the power amplification using a torque reversal latch. The proposed jump mechanism adopts the unique leg synchronization strategy of the planthopper, and the nymphal and adult models of the hind legs are designed. However, the power amplification is modified to incorporate two torque reversal structures in a single-motion axis. The mechanisms were fabricated by 3D printer with polylactic acid (PLA) material and equipped with extension springs. They weighed 26 g and performed 260 cm vertical jump within one rotation in the frontal plane. The jump height is over 40 times greater than the body length. The experimental findings indicate that the precise synchronization of the rapid leg movement is an effective approach for the design of a jumping mechanism.
HyperMATE: A Novel Aerothermal Testing Facility at the University of Tennessee
Authors: Trotsky Mitchell , Isaacs Christian T. , Samuels Killian , Baccarella Damiano
Published: August 2024

The design and implementation of new thermal protection systems for hypersonic flight requires extensive knowledge of how the high-temperature, chemically reacting flow interacts with the material surface. Analysis of these gas–surface interactions is commonly performed in high-enthalpy ground testing facilities, however the demand and cost of large-scale plasma wind tunnels reduces their viability for supporting the material development process. To this end, the University of Tennessee has constructed a continuous 60-kW plasma torch facility known as Hypersonic MAterial TEsting (HyperMATE). This torch utilizes three commercial plasma cutters as plasma sources that discharge to a common copper anode. The plumes mix in a plenum chamber past the anode and evacuate from a converging nozzle, producing a subsonic flow that mimics the stagnation point heating conditions encountered in hypersonic flight. This paper focuses on the design and characterization of this facility, describing the electric arc generation process and detailing the experimental techniques used for characterizing the flow temperature, pressure, and heat flux. A testing campaign on graphite disks will be discussed, displaying the capabilities of the facility and the optical instrumentation used to measure in situ surface temperature and emissivity.
Effects of Ribbed Crossflow Channel in a Turbine Blade on Film Cooling Performance of Diffusion Slot Holes with Various Cross Section Orientations
Authors: Hu Jia-Jun , An Bai-Tao
Published: August 2024

This paper investigates the influence of ribbed crossflow on the film cooling performance of a turbine rotor blade. A pressure-sensitive paint measurement technique was employed to measure the effectiveness of film cooling. The discharge coefficients were also measured to determine the flow resistance. A row of film holes was positioned at the pressure surface or suction surface with a spanwise hole spacing of 7.5D, which is half of the rib spacing. The experiments were carried out at a mainstream Reynolds number of 520,000, a turbulence intensity of 3.6%, and a density ratio of 0.97. The crossflow inlet velocity was 45% of the cascade inlet velocity. A fan-shaped hole with a 14 deg expansion angle (Fans-14), a horizontally oriented slot cross section diffusion hole with a 14 deg expansion angle (H1.7-14), and two vertically oriented slot cross section diffusion holes with 14 deg (V1.7-14) and 20 deg (V1.7-20) expansion angles were tested with/without crossflow. The results indicated that the slot cross-sectional orientation significantly changes the flow patterns inside the holes. H1.7-14 has stronger lateral expansion and better surface adhesion, while V1.7-14 and V1.7-20 yield more uniform lateral velocity distributions. Regardless of crossflow, H1.7-14 produces the highest film effectiveness and discharge coefficient on the pressure surface, while it changes to V1.7-20 on the suction surface. The ribbed crossflow increases the film effectiveness on both the pressure surface and suction surface, except for V1.7-20, as it is almost unaffected by the crossflow.
Effects of Aluminum Plate Initial Residual Stress on Machined-Part Distortion
Authors: Seger Michael , Mathews Ritin , Marais Deon , Venter Andrew M. , Halley Jeremiah , Wang Jyhwen , Malik Arif
Published: August 2024

Dimensional tolerances for high-speed-machined aluminum products continue to tighten due to the demand for automated assembly of complex monolithic parts in aerospace and other industries. Understanding the contribution of inherent residual stress in wrought Al 7050-T7451 plate, common in aircraft manufacture, to distortion of high-aspect-ratio machined parts is critical but remains problematic due to the alloy's low residual stress magnitude over large geometries. Prior investigations into residual stress effects on machined part distortion suffer inadequate characterizations of the wrought material stress field, either because of low fidelity due to “slitting” methods, confounding effects in machined-layer removal methods, or small sample size when using neutron diffraction (ND). In this work, inherent residual stress is measured via ND at 860 locations in a 90.5 mm thick Al 7050-T7451 plate having dimensions 399 mm in the rolling direction and 335 mm in the transverse direction. Unlike prior studies, the ND residual stress is reconstructed using an iterative algorithm to ensure fully compatible, equilibrated 3D field prior to examining its effect on distortion. The findings from simulations and experiments show that inherent residual stress alone could distort a high-aspect-ratio part beyond aerospace industry requirements, that slitting measurements may not sufficiently characterize residual stress for predicted distortion, and that parts machined from different plate thickness locations could exhibit reversed distortion patterns. Thus, research into distortion prediction that considers machining should carefully characterize and reconstruct inherent residual stress so that the coupled machining effects are accurately modeled.
Synthesis and characterization of CaSi2 films for hydrogenated 2D Si nanosheets
Authors: Takagaki Ryota , Yamamoto Chiaya , Yamanaka Junji , Arimoto Keisuke , Kurosawa Masashi , Hara Kosuke O.
Published: August 2024

Hydrogenated two-dimensional (2D) Si nanosheet is a layered semiconductor synthesized by topotactic conversion of CaSi2 in HCl solution at low temperatures. The unavailability of scalable thin film deposition techniques has hindered the experimental analysis of physical properties. This study has investigated the synthesis of CaSi2 films by close-spaced evaporation and their topotactic conversion to 2D Si nanosheet films. A single-phase CaSi2 (6R) formation window was identified in the growth temperature range of 800–950 °C. Secondary phases (CaSi and Si polycrystals) formed outside the optimal window have also been identified. The x-ray pole figure of the representative CaSi2 film has shown that the film grows epitaxially with two epitaxial variants on the Si(111) surface with (0001) orientation. The CaSi2 films with and without the Si polycrystals have been subjected to low-temperature HCl solution treatment. Mostly hydrogenated 2D Si nanosheet films were synthesized without the Si polycrystals, while CaSi2 remained with the Si polycrystals, highlighting the importance of single-phase CaSi2 films.
Study on geometry-dependent n+-InGaN regrowth via MOCVD for AlN/GaN ohmic contact application
Authors: Zhou Yu-Xi , Zhu Jie-Jie , Guo Jing-Shu , Qin Ling-Jie , Zhang Bo-Wen , Li Meng-Di , Zhang Ming-Chen , Ma Xiao-Hua
Published: August 2024

This work investigates the impact of various geometries, suitable for ohmic regrowth applications, on the growth rate of n+-InGaN for AlN/GaN heterojunctions. In the various regrowth regions, we modelled the n+-InGaN growth rate by taking into account the diffusion effect of the growth source on the surrounding mask, using a surface migration-induced model. Additionally, we find that the peaks of n+-InGaN at the edge of the regrowth region, when higher than the surface of the SiO2 mask, will significantly affect the diffusion of the growth source on the mask. The findings provide theoretical support for designing the growth thickness of n+-InGaN on different device structures with nonalloyed ohmic contacts via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Therefore, it can assist in determining the appropriate size of test structures, such as transmission line model and enhance the precision of n+ materials assessment on devices.
Numerical ellipsometry: AI for real-time, in situ process control for absorbing films growing on unknown transparent substrates
Authors: Urban F. K. , Barton D.
Published: August 2024

Ellipsometry is an optical analytical method in which desired reflecting or transmitting surface parameters are related to measurements by mathematical models. Recent work has shown that using artificial intelligence (AI), methods can result in predicting reflecting surface parameters faster and more easily than by using iterative methods. This prior AI work used artificial neural networks applied to a growing absorbing film on a known substrate. Each different substrate required a set of separately trained networks across the wavelength spectrum, thus necessitating training a new set of networks for each new substrate. The work presented here does not require substrate optical property data. Thus, one set of spectroscopic networks can serve a large number of different substrates. This becomes possible by increasing the number of measurements per wavelength from two to three. For now, we consider transparent substrates for which the extinction coefficient of the substrate (k2) is zero or near zero. As before, the noniterative, stable, and fast performance lends itself to real-time, in situ monitoring of thin film growth. Examples for such growth of an absorbing metal film, chromium, will be given using two different substrates. The multilayer perceptron configuration consists of six input and six output neurons with two hidden layers of 80 neurons each. Solutions are performed at each wavelength independently and do not rely on fitting functions for optical properties.
Low humidity enhances Zika virus infection and dissemination in
Aedes aegypti
mosquitoes
Authors: Abu Angel Elma I. , Becker Margaret , Accoti Anastasia , Sylla Massamba , Dickson Laura B.
Published: August 2024

As climate change alters Earth’s biomes, it is expected the transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne viruses will change. While the effects of temperature changes on mosquito-virus interactions and the spread of the pathogens have been elucidated over the last decade, the impact of relative humidity changes is still relatively unknown. To overcome this knowledge gap, we exposed
Aedes aegypti
females to various humidity conditions. We measured different components of vectorial capacity such as survival, blood-feeding rates, and changes in infection and dissemination of Zika virus. Survival decreased as the humidity level decreased, while infection rates increased as the humidity level decreased. Alternatively, blood feeding rates and disseminated infection rates peaked at the intermediate 50% relative humidity treatment but were the same in the 30% and 80% relative humidity treatments. These results provide empirical evidence that
Ae. aegypti
exposure to low humidity can enhance Zika virus infection in the mosquito, which has important implications in predicting how climate change will impact mosquito-borne viruses.

IMPORTANCE

Viruses transmitted by mosquitoes to humans are a major public health burden and are expected to increase under climate change. While we know that temperature is an important driver of variation in arbovirus replication in the mosquito, very little is known about how other relevant climate variables such as humidity will influence the interaction between mosquitoes and the viruses they transmit. Given the variability in humidity across environments, and the predicted changes in humidity under climate change, it is imperative that we also study the impact that it has on mosquito infection and transmission of arboviruses.
Evaluating local open-source large language models for data extraction from unstructured reports on mechanical thrombectomy in patients with ischemic stroke
Authors: Meddeb Aymen , Ebert Philipe , Bressem Keno Kyrill , Desser Dmitriy , Dell'Orco Andrea , Bohner Georg , Kleine Justus F , Siebert Eberhard , Grauhan Nils , Brockmann Marc A , Othman Ahmed , Scheel Michael , Nawabi Jawed
Published: August 2024

Background

A study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of open-source large language models (LLMs) in extracting clinical data from unstructured mechanical thrombectomy reports in patients with ischemic stroke caused by a vessel occlusion.

Methods

We deployed local open-source LLMs to extract data points from free-text procedural reports in patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy between September 2020 and June 2023 in our institution. The external dataset was obtained from a second university hospital and comprised consecutive cases treated between September 2023 and March 2024. Ground truth labeling was facilitated by a human-in-the-loop (HITL) approach, with time metrics recorded for both automated and manual data extractions. We tested three models—Mixtral, Qwen, and BioMistral—assessing their performance on precision, recall, and F1 score across 15 clinical categories such as National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, occluded vessels, and medication details.

Results

The study included 1000 consecutive reports from our primary institution and 50 reports from a secondary institution. Mixtral showed the highest precision, achieving 0.99 for first series time extraction and 0.69 for occluded vessel identification within the internal dataset. In the external dataset, precision ranged from 1.00 for NIHSS scores to 0.70 for occluded vessels. Qwen showed moderate precision with a high of 0.85 for NIHSS scores and a low of 0.28 for occluded vessels. BioMistral had the broadest range of precision, from 0.81 for first series times to 0.14 for medication details. The HITL approach yielded an average time savings of 65.6% per case, with variations from 45.95% to 79.56%.

Conclusion

This study highlights the potential of using LLMs for automated clinical data extraction from medical reports. Incorporating HITL annotations enhances precision and also ensures the reliability of the extracted data. This methodology presents a scalable privacy-preserving option that can significantly support clinical documentation and research endeavors.
Association of positive airway pressure termination with mortality and non-fatal cardiovascular events in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: Sabil AbdelKebir , Launois Claire , Trzepizur Wojchiech , Goupil François , Pigeanne Thierry , Launois Sandrine , Leclair-Visonneau Laurène , Masson Philippe , Bizieux-Thaminy Acya , Kerbat Sandrine , Bailly Sebastien , Gagnadoux Frédéric
Published: August 2024

Background and aims

The recurrence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) after positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy termination has physiological consequences that may increase cardiovascular (CV) risk. We aimed to determine whether PAP termination is associated with an increased incidence of major adverse CV events (MACE) compared with adherent PAP continuation.

Methods

Data from the Pays de la Loire Sleep Cohort were linked to the French national health insurance database to identify incident MACE (composite outcome of mortality, stroke and cardiac diseases), and CV active drug (lipid-lowering, antihypertensive and antiplatelet drugs, beta-blockers) adherence (medication possession ratio ≥80%). The association of PAP termination with MACE was evaluated using a time-dependent survival Cox model, with adjustment for confounders including CV active drug status.

Results

After a median follow-up of 8 years, 969 of 4188 included patients (median age 58 years, 69.6% men) experienced MACE, 1485 had terminated PAP while 2703 continued PAP with at least 4 hours/night use. 38% of patients were adherent to all CV drugs in the PAP continuation group versus 28% in the PAP termination group (p<0.0001). After adjustment for confounders, PAP termination was associated with an increased risk of MACE (HR (95% CI): 1.39 (1.20 to 1.62); p<0.0001). PAP termination was not associated with incident heart failure and coronary artery disease.

Conclusions

In this multicentre clinical-based cohort involving 4188 patients with OSA, PAP termination compared with adherent PAP continuation was associated with an increased risk of MACE. More research is needed to determine whether support programmes on PAP adherence could improve CV outcomes.
Enhancing robustness of community structure in networks against attacks with gray information
Authors: Yang Bo , Rao Xu , Pei Zhiyong , Li Nuohan
Published: August 2024

In recent years, network science has received significant attention and application. As an important mesoscale structure of networks, community structure reveals the inherent modular structure and potential functionality of networks. Therefore, maintaining the community structure during attacks is crucial. Existing studies on community robustness primarily focus on two attack behaviors: malicious attacks and random failures. However, little is known on the community robustness in the more practical situations where the attackers have limited ability to access precise network information, leading to gray information attack behaviors. Hence, in this paper, we investigate the robustness of network communities under gray information attacks and the enhancing algorithms. Following the community robustness measure for the sequential attacks, we establish a unified evaluation framework for attacks with gray information by introducing a gray attack coefficient, which treats the usual random failures and malicious attacks as the two special situations in the proposed framework. Several enhancing algorithms with local search strategy are exquisitely devised. The efficacy of our framework and algorithms which significantly improve the community robustness against gray attacks is demonstrated by the experimental results on a variety of real-world networks. Our findings have important implications not only in enhancing the community robustness of existing networks but also in designing robust ones from the scratch, which paves the way to further understand and seek strategies and solutions for network community robustness with gray information.
The effect of weight heterogeneity on the shortest path of weighted Cayley network
Authors: Han Yuxi , Wu Bo
Published: August 2024

In this paper, we introduce the weighted Cayley network parameterized by three weight parameters r,q,g. The average weighted shortest path (AWSP) is calculated and its expression is derived. The results show that the AWSP of the network forms 10 laws with the range of weights r, q and g, and two laws based on single weight factor are generalized. From these 10 laws, we can see more clearly: When the average value of the weight factors ([Formula: see text]) of the three branches is fixed, the larger the variance is, the larger the value of AWSP is; When the weight factor of any of the three branches is equal to [Formula: see text], its AWSP value growth law is the same as that of the weight factor of 0 to 1, there is no special change; When any weight factor of the three branches is equal to 1, the network mainly grows with the logarithm of the network size. Meanwhile, the growth of the network has no boundary, but AWSP maintains a bounded state, and the growth rate of AWSP will be faster when the number of branch weights equal to 1 is more.
Persuasion, betrayal and regret in election campaigns
Authors: Andrecut M.
Published: August 2024

Elections play a fundamental role in democratic societies, however, they are often characterized by unexpected results. Here, we discuss an election campaign model inspired by the compartmental epidemiology, and show that the model captures the main characteristics of an election campaign: persuasion, betrayal and regret. All of these three factors can be used together or independently to influence the campaign, and to determine the winner. We include results for both the deterministic and the stochastic versions of the model, and show that the decision to not vote significantly increases the fluctuations in the model, amplifying the chance of controversial results.
Nurl-Based Isogeometric Analysis for Free Vibration of Functionally Graded Sandwich Plates Using Higher Order Formulations
Authors: Rahmani Farshad , Kamgar Reza , Rahgozar Reza , Dimitri Rossana , Tornabene Francesco
Published: August 2024

The present research applies a 2D refined plate theory and isogeometric analysis (IGA) for free vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates, whose governing equations are treated based on a unified formulation (UF), and nonuniform rational Lagrange (NURL)-based IGA technique. The constitutive model of FG materials is approximated via a Voigt’s rule of mixture based on an equivalent single-layer (ESL) theory. The present framework offers several advantages, including high precision of vibration response by employing higher-order plate theory and the capability of NURL basis functions to capture the exact form of plate geometries. Moreover, higher-order theories postulated by the UF are exempt from the Poisson locking phenomenon and do not require a shear correction factor. Additionally, by employing UF, the effect of thickness stretching on vibration response is considered. Furthermore, higher-order NURL basis functions effectively mitigate shear locking. A large numerical investigation shows the accuracy of results and investigates the effects of several key parameters, such as gradient index, thickness-to-length ratios, layer-to-thickness ratios, and boundary conditions, on the vibration response of FG sandwich plates.
Experimental Investigation on the Cyclic Shape Memory Effect of Thermo-Induced Shape Memory Polyurethane Under Multiaxial Pre-Deformations
Authors: Liang Zhihong , Li Jian , Liu Junjie , Zhang Xuelian , Kan Qianhua
Published: August 2024

The shape memory effect (SME) under multiaxial pre-deformation has become a significant problem restricting the development of thermo-induced shape memory polyurethane (TSMPU) in complex service conditions. This study experimentally investigates the multiaxial SME of TSMPU under proportionally and non-proportionally multiaxial loadings. The effects of different loading directions and paths with combined tension/compression–torsion pre-deformations on the multiaxial SME are discussed. The results indicate that the SME exhibits significant anisotropic characteristics under different loading angles. Additionally, the multiaxial SME shows considerable dependence on the loading path and loading sequence. The conditions under compression and torsion loadings can promote more deformation recovery than that under tension loading. The functional degradation of the multiaxial SME under various loading paths is revealed through cyclic thermomechanical experiments. Based on these experimental results, the deformation mechanism for the multiaxial SME based on the motivation of molecular chains is proposed, which is crucial for constructing a thermomechanical constitutive model of TSMPU under proportionally and non-proportionally multiaxial pre-deformations.
EdgeStreaming: Secure Computation Intelligence in Distributed Edge Networks for Streaming Analytics
Authors: Ye Peigen , Wang Wenfeng , Mi Bing , Chen Kongyang
Published: August 2024

In modern information systems, real-time streaming data are generated in various vertical application scenarios, such as industrial security cameras, household intelligent devices, mobile robots and among others. However, these low-end devices can hardly provide real-time and accurate data analysis functionalities due to their limited on-board performances. Traditional centralized server computing also suffers from its prolonged transmission latency, resulting in huge response time. To deal with this problem, this paper presents a novel distributed computation intelligent system with nearby edge devices, abbreviated as EdgeStreaming, to facilitate rapid and accurate analysis of streaming data. Firstly, we thoroughly explore the available edge devices surrounding the terminal to generate an internally interconnected edge network. This edge network real-time perceives and updates the internal resource status of each edge device, such as computational and storage resources. Dynamic allocation of external computational or storage demands can be made based on the current load of individual edge devices. Consequently, the streaming data perceived by external terminal devices can be transmitted in real-time to any edge gateway. The edge network employs a well-designed task scheduling strategy to partition and allocate streaming data processing demands to one or multiple edge devices. Additionally, it customizes computational requirements judiciously, for instance, by utilizing model compression to expedite computation speed. We deployed an edge network comprising multiple Raspberry Pis, NVIDIA Jetson Nano, and Jetson NVIDIA TX2 devices, successfully achieving real-time analysis and detection of video streaming data. We believe our work provides new technological support for the real-time processing of streaming data.