bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Zinc and silicon biogeochemical decoupling in the North Pacific Ocean
Authors: Sugino Kiminori , Oka Akira
Published: September 2022

In the ocean, zinc (Zn) is an important element for biological activity and biogeochemistry. The distribution of dissolved Zn in the global ocean is similar to that of silica (Si). Previous model-based experiments proposed the Southern Ocean hypothesis: high Zn/P uptake ratio by phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean leads to Zn-depleted surface water and this anomaly is transported into the interior ocean associated with mode water formation, resulting in a distribution similar to Si. However, recent observational data from the North Pacific showed that there is decoupling of Zn and Si: the correlation between Zn and Si breaks down in the North Pacific. This study investigates the process of the Zn cycle that causes the decoupling of Zn and Si in the North Pacific using a model. We conducted the model experiment with various Zn uptake speeds in the surface ocean, but it was not easy to reproduce Zn concentrations in the North Pacific, indicating that additional mechanisms are required to produce the decoupling of Zn and Si in the North Pacific. By considering additional Zn sources from the continental shelves of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, we found that high Zn concentration and the Zn–Si decoupling in the North Pacific were reproduced, consistent with observational data. Our result suggests that the Zn supply from the coastal regions in the North Pacific has an important role in causing the Zn–Si decoupling.
Identifying meaningful change on PROMIS short forms in cancer patients: a comparison of item response theory and classic test theory frameworks
Authors: Lee Minji K. , Peipert John D. , Cella David , Yost Kathleen J. , Eton David T. , Novotny Paul J. , Sloan Jeff A. , Dueck Amylou C.
Published: September 2022

Background

This study compares classical test theory and item response theory frameworks to determine reliable change. Reliable change followed by anchoring to the change in categorically distinct responses on a criterion measure is a useful method to detect meaningful change on a target measure.

Methods

Adult cancer patients were recruited from five cancer centers. Baseline and follow-up assessments at 6 weeks were administered. We investigated short forms derived from PROMIS® item banks on anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain intensity, pain interference, and sleep disturbance. We detected reliable change using reliable change index (RCI). We derived the T-scores corresponding to the RCI calculated under IRT and CTT frameworks using PROMIS® short forms. For changes that were reliable, meaningful change was identified using patient-reported change in PRO-CTCAE by at least one level. For both CTT and IRT approaches, we applied one-sided tests to detect reliable improvement or worsening using RCI. We compared the percentages of patients with reliable change and reliable/meaningful change.

Results

The amount of change in T score corresponding to RCICTT of 1.65 ranged from 5.1 to 9.2 depending on domains. The amount of change corresponding to RCIIRT of 1.65 varied across the score range, and the minimum change ranged from 3.0 to 8.2 depending on domains. Across domains, the RCICTT and RCIIRT classified 80% to 98% of the patients consistently. When there was disagreement, the RCIIRT tended to identify more patients as having reliably changed compared to RCICTT if scores at both timepoints were in the range of 43 to 78 in anxiety, 45 to 70 in depression, 38 to 80 in fatigue, 35 to 78 in sleep disturbance, and 48 to 74 in pain interference, due to smaller standard errors in these ranges using the IRT method. The CTT method found more changes compared to IRT for the pain intensity domain that was shorter in length. Using RCICTT, 22% to 66% had reliable change in either direction depending on domains, and among these patients, 62% to 83% had meaningful change. Using RCIIRT, 37% to 68% had reliable change in either direction, and among these patients, 62% to 81% had meaningful change.

Conclusion

Applying the two-step criteria demonstrated in this study, we determined how much change is needed to declare reliable change at different levels of baseline scores. We offer reference values for percentage of patients who meaningfully change for investigators using the PROMIS instruments in oncology.
Sleep, testosterone and cortisol balance, and ageing men
Authors: Liu Peter Y. , Reddy Radha T.
Published: September 2022

Sleep serves important biological functions, and influences health and longevity through endocrine and metabolic related systems. Sleep debt, circadian misalignment and sleep disruption from obstructive sleep apnea is widespread in modern society and accumulates with life because recovery sleep is not completely restorative. Accumulated disordered sleep throughout life impacts the ageing process and the development of age-related diseases. When epidemiological and interventional studies are considered collectively, sleep loss and lower sleep duration are associated with lower morning, afternoon and 24-h testosterone; as well as higher afternoon, but not morning or 24-h cortisol. These reciprocal changes imbalances anabolic-catabolic signaling because testosterone and cortisol are respectively the main anabolic and catabolic signals in man. Fixing testosterone-cortisol balance by means of a novel dual-hormone clamp mitigates the induction of insulin resistance by sleep restriction and provided the first proof-of-concept that the metabolic harm from sleep loss can be ameliorated by approaches that do not require sleeping more. Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with lower testosterone, even after controlling for age and obesity whereas the conclusion that continuous positive airway pressure therapy has no effect on testosterone is premature because available studies are underpowered and better-quality studies suggest otherwise. High dose testosterone therapy induces OSA, but more physiological dosing may not; and this effect may be transient or may dissipate with longer term therapy. Studies investigating the origin of the diurnal testosterone rhythm, the effect of circadian misalignment on testosterone-cortisol balance, and methods to mitigate metabolic harm, are required.
Divisive Concepts in Classrooms: A Call to Inquiry
Authors: Stitzlein Sarah M.
Published: September 2022

In this article, I will begin by describing recent divisive concepts legislation, which bans teaching about aspects of racism, sexism, and equity, speculating briefly on the motivations behind it and the implications resulting from it. I will then describe how discussing divisive concepts in classrooms may be a helpful way for students to better understand the particular concepts and for students to take a stand on them. While I will briefly argue for the importance of classroom discussion of divisive concepts, my central claim will be that we must do more than merely discuss these concepts. Instead, we should engage in classroom inquiry about them. Inquiry positions students to not be silent regarding divisive concepts, as some legislation may cause, and inquiry positions students to not just talk about divisive concepts, but to solve social problems related to them in our world today. In other words, inquiry enables us to do something about divisive concepts, rather than just learning about them, as some educators currently advocate in calls for discussion. And inquiry is certainly more effective than banning divisive concepts or pushing them to the background, as recent legislation attempts to do. I argue that rather than excluding divisive concepts or the divisions they may provoke from our classrooms, we need educative spaces where we inquire into what divides us, why we are divided, and how we might respond to such division. Within that inquiry, we can better attend to our divisions while also taking up the specific concepts prohibited in recent legislation.
A deep learning approach to median nerve evaluation in ultrasound images of carpal tunnel inlet
Authors: Di Cosmo Mariachiara , Fiorentino Maria Chiara , Villani Francesca Pia , Frontoni Emanuele , Smerilli Gianluca , Filippucci Emilio , Moccia Sara
Published: September 2022

Ultrasound (US) imaging is recognized as a useful support for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) assessment through the evaluation of median nerve morphology. However, US is still far to be systematically adopted to evaluate this common entrapment neuropathy, due to US intrinsic challenges, such as its operator dependency and the lack of standard protocols. To support sonographers, the present study proposes a fully-automatic deep learning approach to median nerve segmentation from US images. We collected and annotated a dataset of 246 images acquired in clinical practice involving 103 rheumatic patients, regardless of anatomical variants (bifid nerve, closed vessels). We developed a Mask R-CNN with two additional transposed layers at segmentation head to accurately segment the median nerve directly on transverse US images. We calculated the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the predicted median nerve. Proposed model achieved good performances both in median nerve detection and segmentation: Precision (Prec), Recall (Rec), Mean Average Precision (mAP) and Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) values are 0.916 ± 0.245, 0.938 ± 0.233, 0.936 ± 0.235 and 0.868 ± 0.201, respectively. The CSA values measured on true positive predictions were comparable with the sonographer manual measurements with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.918 mm2. Experimental results showed the potential of proposed model, which identified and segmented the median nerve section in normal anatomy images, while still struggling when dealing with infrequent anatomical variants. Future research will expand the dataset including a wider spectrum of normal anatomy and pathology to support sonographers in daily practice.

Graphical abstract
Experimental investigation of flow pattern over a fully developed bed at a 60° river confluence in large floods
Authors: Balouchi Behnam , Shafai-Bejestan Mahmood , Ruther Nils , Rahmanshahi Mostafa
Published: September 2022

River confluences have a complex flow and sedimentation pattern that have vital influences on the hydraulic and bed morphology of river reach and the surrounding area. Confluences can be observed in waterways with various situations such as live bed conditions. This condition is a hydro-morphological situation with a high densimetric Froude number, i.e., bed load transport is supplied from upstream. According to the literature review, most of the experimental studies investigate the flow pattern on the flatbed and not on the developed riverbed, or/and in the low densimetric Froude number, or/and without supplying the sediment from upstream. Therefore, in the present study for the quantification of the flow pattern under these conditions, each developed bed was fixed with the cement blanket method in the laboratory. Then, the 3D velocity was measured at specific points at the confluence. The current study was designed to understand the flow pattern corresponding to the river bed behavior in the case of large floods. It is expected that the morphological features downstream of the confluence have a different pattern than the ones in the condition described in other literature. Thus, this paper describes briefly what are the different bed features and investigates the corresponding flow pattern. The results of the flow pattern on the developed bed show that all zones at the river confluence can be observed except the point bar due to the approximate equality of the mean longitudinal velocity of the separation zone and the main channel upstream of the confluence. Moreover, results show that by increasing the bedload ratio (sediment discharge to water discharge of the main channel of upstream of the confluence) from 0 to 3 × 10−4, flow deflection to the outer bank of the channel decreased down to 45%, the stagnation equivalent area decreased down to 2.5 times, and bed shear stress decreased down to 40%. Hence, the momentum of lateral flow decreased with increasing bedload. Besides, the recovery zone occurred at a longer distance after the confluence compared to the case without bedload. Hence, the location of the maximum velocity zone, vortices, and secondary flows changed downstream of the confluence, by changing the bed load value.
Machine learning model for snow depth estimation using a multisensory ubiquitous platform
Authors: Nasim Sofeem , Oussalah Mourad , Klöve Björn , Haghighi Ali Torabi
Published: September 2022

Snow depth estimation is an important parameter that guides several hydrological applications and climate change prediction. Despite advances in remote sensing technology and enhanced satellite observations, the estimation of snow depth at local scale still requires improved accuracy and flexibility. The advances in ubiquitous and wearable technology promote new prospects in tackling this challenge. In this paper, a wearable IoT platform that exploits pressure and acoustic sensor readings to estimate and classify snow depth classes using some machine-learning models have been put forward. Significantly, the results of Random Forest classifier showed an accuracy of 94%, indicating a promising alternative in snow depth measurement compared to in situ, LiDAR, or expensive large-scale wireless sensor network, which may foster the development of further affordable ecological monitoring systems based on cheap ubiquitous sensors.
Characterization of Ruby Color in Some Special Glass Compositions and Their Corresponding Glass–Ceramic Derivatives
Authors: Marzouk M. A. , Kazazz Hanaa El , Ali Rasha Mohamed , Ahmed Walaa
Published: September 2022

Glasses of the system B2O3 – PbO – MgF2 – P2O5 – SiO2 containing different dopants from Cr2O3, MnO2, and SeO2 were prepared by the conventional melt quenching method. The prepared glasses were characterized by their ruby color caused by the effect of dopants. The amorphous nature of the prepared glasses was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was used to design a heat treatment program to obtain their corresponding transparent glass–ceramic derivatives from parent glasses. Collective spectroscopic measurements were applied to evaluate the optical properties of glasses and their corresponding glass–ceramics. XRD and morphological analysis of glass–ceramics indicated the formation of two crystalline phases (PbO(B2O3)2) and (Mg2BO3F). Optical analysis confirmed the stability of the color even after heat treatment. The chromaticity coordinates indicated a deep red color related to the chromium dopant and red wine color for selenium and manganese dopants.
Spatial Analysis of Neural Cell Proteomic Profiles Following Ischemic Stroke in Mice Using High-Plex Digital Spatial Profiling
Authors: Noll Jessica M. , Augello Catherine J. , Kürüm Esra , Pan Liuliu , Pavenko Anna , Nam Andy , Ford Byron D.
Published: September 2022

Stroke is ranked as the fifth leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the USA. The progression of neuronal damage after stroke is recognized to be a complex integration of glia, neurons, and the surrounding extracellular matrix, therefore potential treatments must target the detrimental effects created by these interactions. In this study, we examined the spatial cellular and neuroinflammatory mechanisms occurring early after ischemic stroke utilizing Nanostring Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology. Male C57bl/6 mice were subjected to photothrombotic middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and sacrificed at 3 days post-ischemia. Spatial distinction of the ipsilateral hemisphere was studied according to the regions of interest: the ischemic core, peri-infarct tissues, and peri-infarct normal tissue (PiNT) in comparison to the contralateral hemisphere. We demonstrated that the ipsilateral hemisphere initiates distinct spatial regulatory proteomic profiles with DSP technology that can be identified consistently with the immunohistochemical markers, FJB, GFAP, and Iba-1. The core border profile demonstrated an induction of neuronal death, apoptosis, autophagy, immunoreactivity, and early degenerative proteins. Most notably, the core border resulted in a decrease of the neuronal proteins Map2 and NeuN; an increase in the autophagy proteins BAG3 and CTSD; an increase in the microglial and peripheral immune invasion proteins Iba1, CD45, CD11b, and CD39; and an increase in the neurodegenerative proteins BACE1, APP, amyloid β 1–42, ApoE, and hyperphosphorylated tau protein S-199. The peri-infarct region demonstrated increased astrocytic, immunoreactivity, apoptotic, and neurodegenerative proteomic profiles, with an increase in BAG3, GFAP, and hyperphosphorylated tau protein S-199. The PiNT region displayed minimal changes compared to the contralateral cortex with only an increase in GFAP. In this study, we showed that mechanisms known to be associated with stroke, such as apoptosis and inflammation, occur in distinct spatial domains of the injured brain following ischemia. We also demonstrated the dysregulation of specific autophagic pathways that may lead to neurodegeneration in peri-infarct brain tissues. Taken together, these data suggest that identifying post-ischemic mechanisms occurring in a spatiotemporal manner may lead to more precise targets for successful therapeutic interventions to treat stroke.
Polar coding for Ring-LWE-based public key encryption
Authors: Wang Jiabo , Ling Cong
Published: September 2022

The ring learning with errors (RLWE) problem can be used to construct efficient post-quantum public key encryption schemes. An error distribution, normally a Gaussian-like distribution, is involved in the RLWE problem. In this work we focus on using polar codes to alleviate a natural trade-off present in RLWE public key encryption schemes; namely, we would like a wider error distribution to increase security, but a wider error distribution comes at the cost of an increased probability of decryption error. The motivation of this work is to improve the bit-security level by using wider error distribution while keeping the target decryption failure rate achievable. The approach we proposed in this work is twofold. Firstly, we formulate RLWE public key encryption as a channel model with some noise terms known by the decoder. This makes our approach distinguished from existing research of this kind in the literature which ignores these known terms. Secondly, we design polar codes for the derived channel model. Theoretically and numerically, we show the proposed modeling and polar coding scheme contributes to a considerable bit-security level improvement compared with NewHope, a submission to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with almost the same parameters. Moreover, polar encoding and decoding support isochronous implementations in the sense that the timings of associated operations are irrelevant to the sensitive information.
Detecting anomalies within smart buildings using do-it-yourself internet of things
Authors: Majib Yasar , Barhamgi Mahmoud , Heravi Behzad Momahed , Kariyawasam Sharadha , Perera Charith
Published: September 2022

Detecting anomalies at the time of happening is vital in environments like buildings and homes to identify potential cyber-attacks. This paper discussed the various mechanisms to detect anomalies as soon as they occur. We shed light on crucial considerations when building machine learning models. We constructed and gathered data from multiple self-build (DIY) IoT devices with different in-situ sensors and found effective ways to find the point, contextual and combine anomalies. We also discussed several challenges and potential solutions when dealing with sensing devices that produce data at different sampling rates and how we need to pre-process them in machine learning models. This paper also looks at the pros and cons of extracting sub-datasets based on environmental conditions.
Tumor-derived exosomal HOTAIRM1 regulates SPON2 in CAFs to promote progression of lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Chen Zhipeng , Bian Chengyu , Huang Jingjing , Li Xiang , Chen Liang , Xie Xueying , Xia Yang , Yin Rong , Wang Jun
Published: September 2022

Objective

SPON2 is one of the extracellular matrix proteins, which is closely related to the progression of a variety of tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its upstream regulation mechanism remains unclear. Our research aims to find the specific regulatory pathway of SPON2 by exploring the potential crosstalk between tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in tumor microenvironment (TME) of NSCLC.

Methods

We analyzed T1 lung adenocarcinoma samples from TCGA and screened extracellular matrix proteins that indicate poor prognosis. Expression level of SPON2 was verified by qPCR in clinical samples. The exosomes of NSCLC cell supernatant were extracted and identified by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscope, western blots. The exosomes and CAFs were co-cultured, and cell migration and Matrigel invasion assay were used to evaluate the effect of CAFs on the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. The interaction between LncRNA and miRNA was verified by Targetscan prediction, luciferase reporter assay, and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP).

Results

We found that the expression of SPON2 was up-regulated in clinical T1a stage NSCLC patients. The expression of lnc HOTAIRM1 (HOTAIRM1) in exosomes secreted by NSCLC tissues increased. After exosomal HOTAIRM1 entered CAFs, HOTAIRM1 can adsorb miR-328-5p to up-regulate the expression of SPON2 in CAFs. Up-regulation of SPON2 in CAFs could promote the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells.

Conclusion

Tumor-derived exosomal HOTAIRM1 can transfer into CAFs and competitively adsorb miR-328-5p, and regulate the SPON2 expression of CAFs cells, ultimately promote the progression of NSCLC. The discovery of this regulatory pathway can provide a new potential therapeutic target for the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC.
Dye removal using novel adsorbents synthesized from plastic waste and eggshell: mechanism, isotherms, kinetics, thermodynamics, regeneration, and water matrices
Authors: Mensah Kenneth , Mahmoud Hatem , Fujii Manabu , Samy Mahmoud , Shokry Hassan
Published: September 2022

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) waste and chicken eggshell were used to synthesize three novel adsorbents, namely mesoporous graphene (MG), nano-eggshell modified graphene (nEMG), and nano-magnetic eggshell modified graphene (nM-EMG) for methyl red (MR) adsorption from simulated wastewater. The effects of adsorption conditions (pH, contact time, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature) were investigated. MG, nEMG, and nM-EMG were characterized using SEM, TEM, BET, EDX, XRD, and FTIR analyses. MG, nEMG, and nM-EMG had specific surface areas of 15, 31, and 179 m2/g and mean pore diameters of 27, 29, and 5 nm respectively. The equilibrium adsorption capacities of MG, nEMG, and nM-EMG were 5.6, 8.1, and 6.5 mg/g respectively at MR concentration of 100 mg/L, pH 4, adsorbent dose of 1.0 g/100 mL, and temperature of 25 °C. All MR sorption processes followed the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir–Freundlich model. The adsorption rates were controlled by intra-particle and film diffusion. MR uptake on the synthesized adsorbents was spontaneous, endothermic, and chemisorption. The adsorption occurred via electrostatic interactions, π electron interactions, and hydrogen bonding. The performance of the prepared adsorbents was examined in different water matrices and compared with other MR adsorbents. After five regeneration cycles, the adsorbent reusability study showed that nM-EMG is the most stable and reusable adsorbent.
Insight into rare-earth-incorporated catalysts: The chance for a more efficient ammonia synthesis
Authors: Gong Yutong , Li Hongchen , Li Can , Bao Xiaobing , Hosono Hideo , Wang Junjie
Published: September 2022

Recent studies have suggested that rare earth (RE) elements in catalysts significantly influence the performance of the ammonia synthesis. The REs appear in various forms in the ammonia synthesis catalysts including supports (oxides, hydrides, and nitrides), promotors, and intermetallic. Besides the conventional RE oxide-supporting catalysts (mainly Ru/REO), some new RE-containing catalyst systems, such as electrode and nitride systems, could drive the ammonia synthesis via a benign Mars—van Krevelen mechanism or multi-active-site mode, affording high ammonia synthesis performance under mild conditions. These works demonstrate the great potential of RE-containing catalysts for more efficient ammonia synthesis. This review summarizes the contributions of different kinds of RE-based catalysts and highlights the function mechanism of incorporated REs. Finally, an overview of this area and the challenges for further investigation are provided.
Sol—gel approach to low-temperature synthesis of single-phase metastable La2Ga3O7.5 melilite with enhanced grain-boundary oxide ionic conductivity via a kinetically favorable mechanism
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Zhao Longfei , Ye Zhupeng , Zeng Yanwei
Published: September 2022

Starting with the stoichiometric and highly homogeneous gel-precursor, single-phase metastable melilite La2Ga3O7.5, as the end-member of solid solution La1+xSr1−xGa3O7+x/2 (0≼x≼1), has been synthesized by solid-state reaction at 700 °C for 2 h via a kinetically favorable mechanism and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), AC impedance spectroscopy, etc. It has been revealed that the as-synthesized melilite La2Ga3O7.5 shows an orthorhombic symmetry with crystal cell parameters a = 11.4690(1) Å, b = 11.2825(4) Å, and c = 10.3735(4) Å, while has more Raman active modes than LaSrGa3O7 with a tetragonal structure, which was also synthesized under the same conditions for comparison, but tends to slowly decompose into perovskite LaGaO3 and Ga2O3 when annealed at 700 °C for over 20 h driven by its meta-stability. Moreover, the metastable La2Ga3O7.5 shows a higher XPS binding energy for the excess oxide ions in the crystal structure than those at normal lattice sites. Its intrinsic grain oxide ion conductivity can reach as high as 0.04 and 0.51 mS·cm−1 at 550 and 700 °C, respectively, characterized by a simple Arrhenius relationship ln(σT)—1/T with invariable activation energy, Ea = 1.22 eV, over the temperature range from 300 to 700 °C, along with an apparent grain boundary conductivity that is about double that from the grains thanks to the clean grain boundaries. This paper provides a new strategic approach to the synthesis of complex oxides that may be of high performance but are difficultly achieved by the conventional ceramic method at high temperatures.
A roadmap for selection of metal welding process: a review and proposals
Authors: Soltan Hassan , Omar Mohamed
Published: September 2022

This study aims to report the progress and latest status of the “selection of welding process” problem in terms of research, developments, and applications. In addition, it introduces guidelines to serve constructing future expert systems for the problem. Therefore, it presents an extensive literature review on the approaches used to model and solve the problem over 36 years. Hence, several findings and proposed insights are reported. The paper recommends some existing approaches based on their performance in general and literature reporting in addition to simple statistics. A structure for prospected expert systems is proposed. The paper collected and rearranged decision criteria/sub-criteria of the problem, in a manageable form, to construct a modifiable hierarchical scheme. Additional criteria were merged based on recent trends in manufacturing system evaluation such as sustainability and performability. Finally, an agenda is introduced to recognize research opportunities in this area based on prospected industrial and business revolutions.
Biomarkers in Systemic Sclerosis Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD)
Authors: Cole Alice , Denton Christopher P.
Published: September 2022

Purpose of Review

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis, a rare autoimmune disease characterised by fibrosis and vasculopathy. The variety of phenotypes in SSc-ILD have inspired multiple studies aimed at the identification of biomarkers which can provide disease-specific information but due to the complex pathogenesis of SSc-ILD, it has been challenging to validate such markers. We provide a comprehensive update on those most studied along with emerging biomarkers.

Recent Findings

We review the up-to-date findings with regard to the use of well-studied molecular biomarkers in SSc-ILD along with novel biomarkers offering promise as prognostic markers such as IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-7, the adipokine CTRP9, endothelial progenitor cells, and cellular markers such as CD21lo/neg B cells. Expression profiling data is being used in SSc patients to determine genetic and epigenetic clusters which shed further light on mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of SSc-ILD and are likely to uncover novel biomarkers.

With the exception of autoantibodies, there are no routinely measured biomarkers in SSc-ILD and reliable validation of the many potential biomarkers is lacking. Identifying biomarkers which can offer diagnostic and prognostic certainty may help patients to receive preventative treatment as part of a personalised medicine approach.
CFD code comparison, verification and validation for decay tests of a FOWT semi-submersible floater
Authors: Rentschler Manuel , Chandramouli Pranav , Vaz Guilherme , Viré Axelle , Gonçalves Rodolfo T.
Published: September 2022

With the advancement of high-performance computation capabilities in recent years, high-fidelity modelling tools such as computational fluid dynamics are becoming increasingly popular in the offshore renewable sector. To justify the credibility of the numerical simulations, thorough verification and validation is essential. In this work, preparatory heave decay tests for a freely floating single cylinder are modelled. Subsequently, the surge and sway decays of a linearly moored floating offshore wind turbine model of the OC4 (Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continuation) phase II semi-submersible platform are simulated. Two different viscous-flow CFD codes are used: OpenFOAM (open-source), and ReFRESCO (community-based open-usage). Their results are compared against each other and with water tank experiments. For the single-cylinder decay simulations, it is found that the natural period is accurately modelled compared to the experimental results. Regarding the damping, both CFD codes are overly dissipative. Differences and their potential explanations become apparent in the analysis of the flow field data. Meanwhile, large numerical uncertainties especially in later oscillations make a distinct conclusion difficult. For the OC4 semi-submersible decay simulations, a better agreement in damping can be achieved, however discrepancies in results are observed when restricting the degrees of freedom of the platform. Flow field data again reveals differences between the CFD codes. Meanwhile, through the effort to use similar numerical settings and quantify the numerical uncertainties of the CFD simulations, this work represents a stepping stone towards fairer and more accurate comparison between CFD and experimental results.
Stirling complexes
Authors: Kozlov Dmitry N.
Published: September 2022

In this paper we study natural reconfiguration spaces associated to the problem of distributing a fixed number of resources to labeled nodes of a tree network, so that no node is left empty. These spaces turn out to be cubical complexes, which can be thought of as higher-dimensional geometric extensions of the combinatorial Stirling problem of partitioning a set of named objects into non-empty labeled parts. As our main result, we prove that these Stirling complexes are always homotopy equivalent to wedges of spheres of the same dimension. Furthermore, we provide several combinatorial formulae to count these spheresSomewhat surprisingly, the homotopy type of the Stirling complexes turns out to depend only on the number of resources and the number of the labeled nodes, not on the actual structure of the tree network.
Controlled Synthesis of Carbon-Supported Pt-Based Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Authors: Liu Huiyuan , Zhao Jian , Li Xianguo
Published: September 2022

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are playing an increasing role in postpandemic economic recovery and climate action plans. However, their performance, cost, and durability are significantly related to Pt-based electrocatalysts, hampering their large-scale commercial application. Hence, considerable efforts have been devoted to improving the activity and durability of Pt-based electrocatalysts by controlled synthesis in recent years as an effective method for decreasing Pt use, and consequently, the cost. Therefore, this review article focuses on the synthesis processes of carbon-supported Pt-based electrocatalysts, which significantly affect the nanoparticle size, shape, and dispersion on supports and thus the activity and durability of the prepared electrocatalysts. The reviewed processes include (i) the functionalization of a commercial carbon support for enhanced catalyst–support interaction and additional catalytic effects, (ii) the methods for loading Pt-based electrocatalysts onto a carbon support that impact the manufacturing costs of electrocatalysts, (iii) the preparation of spherical and nonspherical Pt-based electrocatalysts (polyhedrons, nanocages, nanoframes, one- and two-dimensional nanostructures), and (iv) the postsynthesis treatments of supported electrocatalysts. The influences of the supports, key experimental parameters, and postsynthesis treatments on Pt-based electrocatalysts are scrutinized in detail. Future research directions are outlined, including (i) the full exploitation of the potential functionalization of commercial carbon supports, (ii) scaled-up one-pot synthesis of carbon-supported Pt-based electrocatalysts, and (iii) simplification of postsynthesis treatments. One-pot synthesis in aqueous instead of organic reaction systems and the minimal use of organic ligands are preferred to simplify the synthesis and postsynthesis treatment processes and to promote the mass production of commercial carbon-supported Pt-based electrocatalysts.

Graphical Abstract

This review focuses on the synthesis process of Pt-based electrocatalysts/C to develop aqueous one-pot synthesis at large-scale production for PEMFC stack application.
“I’m Glad That I Was Given a Second Chance to Live”: the Buffering Impact of Turning Points in the Lives of Young People with Foster Care Experience
Authors: Taussig Heather N. , Roberts Louise , Scourfield Jonathan , Franz Colette
Published: September 2022

Young people with a history of out-of-home care placement are at risk for a host of adverse outcomes, yet many demonstrate resilience by young adulthood. One mechanism by which well-being may be achieved is through a turning point (TP). This study had two key questions: (1) What do TPs look like for care-experienced young adults? (2) Does having a TP buffer the impact of early adversity on young adult well-being? Participants (N = 166) were interviewed in pre-adolescence and again in young adulthood. Baseline measures of adversity (ACEs) and life satisfaction were associated with young adult life satisfaction. In young adulthood, participants were asked an open-ended question about having a TP and four fifths of participants stated that they had a TP. Although having a TP was unrelated to demographic factors, living situation histories, or type of maltreatment, a multiple regression predicting young adult life satisfaction found a significant interaction between having a TP and ACEs, over and above baseline control variables. In probing the interaction, there was no association between ACEs and life satisfaction for those with a TP; for those without a TP, however, there was a negative association between ACEs and life satisfaction. In conclusion, having a TP in adolescence seemed to buffer the impact of early adversity on later well-being among young adults with a history of out-of-home care. The nature of the TPs varied, but having any TP seemed to lead to maturation and realizations which may serve as protective factors while navigating the transition to adulthood.
Investigating the effects of electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) on the dimensional accuracy and surface integrity of the PDMS microchannel
Authors: Torabi Arsalan , Razfar Mohammad Reza
Published: September 2022

In this study, the electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) process was used to fabricate a microchannel on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is able to fabricate channels on the non-conductive materials at low cost and acceptable material removal rate (MRR). One of the main advantages of this method, in addition to much less time and cost, is the possibility of achieving high depths (up to 1000 μm). For this purpose, the effect of electrolyte concentration, rotational speed, feed rate, and machining voltage on the surface quality and surface roughness was investigated in the PDMS micromachining. It was found that the ECDM is capable of fabricating the channels with the surface quality similar to lithography. Also, with increasing the machining voltage and electrolyte concentration, the MRR increases and the possibility of mechanical contact between tool and workpiece decreases. Increasing the machining voltage and also the electrolyte concentration changes the machining regime from contact machining to electrochemical machining. Increasing the machining voltage from 38 to 42 V increases the channel cross-section by nearly 40%. Also, the surface roughness increases by 36% with increasing the voltage from 38 to 42 V. Changing the rotational speed from 0 to 10,000 rpm, due to the reduction in the thickness of gas film, reduces the side sparks and concentration of the sparks on the bottom of the tool, which reduces the surface roughness. The Response Surface Method was used to achieve a mathematical model between inputs and outputs. The model represented a Quadratic Equation to predict the outputs.
Characterization of low density polyethylene greenhouse films during the composting of rose residues
Authors: Alvarez-Vega C. , Streitwieser D. Almeida , Álvarez-Barreto J. , Leon-Reyes A.
Published: September 2022

This study presents an evaluation of a potential alternative to plastic degradation in the form of organic composting. It stems from the urgent need of finding solutions to the plastic residues and focuses on the compost-based degradation of greenhouse film covers in an important rose exporter company in Ecuador. Thus, this study analyzes the physical, chemical, and biological changes of rose wastes composting, and also evaluates the stability of new and aged agricultural plastic under these conditions. Interestingly, results of compost characterization show a slow degradation rate of organic matter and total organic carbon, along with a significant increase in pH and rise of bacterial populations. However, the results demonstrate that despite these findings, composting conditions had no significant influence on plastic degradation, and while deterioration of aged plastic samples was reported in some tests, it may be the result of environmental conditions and a prolonged exposure to solar radiation. Importantly, these factors could facilitate the adhesion of microorganisms and promote plastic biodegradation. Hence, it is encouraged for future studies to analyze the ecotoxicity of plastics in the compost, as well as isolate, identify, and evaluate the possible biodegradative potential of these microorganisms as an alternative to plastic waste management.
Over 60,000 km in a year: remotely collecting large-volume high-quality data from a logistics truck
Authors: Berger Christian , Karsolia Arpit , Giaimo Federico , Benderius Ola
Published: September 2022

After the first successful large-scale demonstration of eleven self-driving vehicles at the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007, research results from the competing teams found their way into advanced driver systems (ADAS) that support typical driving tasks like adaptive cruise control and semi-automated parking. However, as of today, SAE Level 4 vehicles are not commercially available yet, which would allow the driver to be inattentive for longer periods. Hence, SAE Level 3, which represents partial automation yet continuously monitored by a human operator, may provide a step towards a viable SAE Level 4 product especially for commercial freight logistics. However, large amounts of data from such freight operations is needed to study the unique challenges in such use cases. In this paper, we present the system and software architecture of an end-to-end data logging solution, which is capable of recording large volumes of high-quality data. The system is installed in a commercial truck that is in daily operation by a logistics company and hence, the recorded data is only accessible remotely (i.e., over-the-air). We report about the fail-safe system design, initial findings from over one year of operation, as well as our lessons learned. During its first year of operation, the truck was used for 210 days by the logistics company, out of which 193 days were logged resulting in more than 4.5 TB of data from five cameras, two GNSS–IMU sensors, and six on-board vehicle controller area networks (CAN) busses. We demonstrate the value of the proposed end-to-end approach for traffic and driver behavior research by analyzing the uploaded data in the cloud to spot critical events such as unexpected harsh braking maneuvers caused by lane merging operations.
A facile method for synthesis rGO/Ag nanocomposite and its uses for enhancing photocatalytic degradation of Congo red dye
Authors: Ali Mohamed H. H. , Goher Mohamed E. , Al-Afify Afify D. G. , El-Sayed Siliem M.
Published: September 2022

The enhancing breakdown of dyes using facile, novel and eco-friendly photocatalyst without remaining any hazards secondary intermediates from the dye species regarded one of the most challenges to the healthy world. A novel facile method was used to synthesize reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with various doping ratios of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and applied as photocatalyst to enhancing removal of Congo red (CR) dye using UV light irradiation from aqueous solution. Some characterization features such as UV-diffuse reflectance spectra, TEM, SEM, FTIR, X-ray diffraction, and EDX were measured to demonstrate the energy gap, morphology, size distribution, crystalline nature, phase structure, and elemental compositions of as-synthesized nanoparticles. The effect of some important factors such as pH of solution, initial CR concertation (Co), amount of rGO@Ag (g) and contact time (t) were studied to detect the optimum adsorption condition. The results indicated that, the maximum CR dye photodegradation is obtained at pH 7, 120 min, 50 mg/L initial CR concentration and 0.4 g/L photocatalyst dosage. The photodegradation data declared that, the higher the Ag doping ratio, the higher the degrading efficiency. Isotherm and kinetic studies showed that Langmuir and Freundlich models and the pseudo-second-order model are well fitting the adsorption process with maximum CR adsorption values ranging between 86.95 and 98.04 mg/L with corresponding R2 > 0.99.
Stochastic Continuous Modeling for Pillar Stress Estimation and Comparison with 2D Numerical, and Analytical Solutions in an Underground Stone Mine
Authors: Monsalve Juan J. , Soni Aman , Karfakis Mario , Hazzard Jim , Ripepi Nino
Published: September 2022

Pillar collapses are events that due to their severe consequences can be classified as high risk. The design of pillars in underground room-and-pillar operations should migrate to risk-based design approaches. The authors of this work proposed a risk-based pillar design methodology that integrates stochastic discrete element modeling for pillar strength estimation, and stochastic finite volume modeling (FVM) for stress estimation. This paper focuses on the stochastic FVM component for stress estimation. The mining and geomechanical aspects of a case study mine (CSM) are described and pillar stresses are estimated by using three approaches: (1) analytical solutions, (2) 2D finite element modeling, and (3) 3D finite volume modeling. This operation extracts a 30° dipping deposit, which makes current underground stone mine design guidelines inapplicable for this CSM. This work compares results from each stress estimation approach and discusses uses the point estimate method as a simplified stochastic approach to evaluate the effect of rock mass elastic properties variability on pillar stress distribution. Results from this work show that the three estimation approaches lead to different estimations, possibly, due to the wide range of assumptions each estimation approach considers. It was also determined that the horizontal to vertical stress ratio has a significant impact on pillar stress magnitude. Therefore, it is recommended to perform in situ stress measurements, or assume worst-case-scenario values to account and reduce uncertainty due to this parameter. The stochastic stress estimation approach used in this paper provides results that can integrate a risk-based pillar design framework.
Mechanisms to Enhance Resilience and Post-traumatic Growth in Residential Care: a Narrative Review
Authors: Parry Sarah , Cox Nigel , Andriopoulou Panoraia , Oldfield Jeremy , Roscoe Shabana , Palumbo-Haswell Jasmin , Collins Scarlett
Published: September 2022

Residential care is primarily considered most appropriate for young people with complex needs, often due to multi-type traumas. Children in care are disproportionately disadvantaged, with children in residential care most vulnerable, which is why it is so important to understand mechanisms that support resilience and post-traumatic growth for this group of young people. This review aimed to advance our understanding of how interventions, reflections upon experience, and constructs of resilience can enhance developing resilience in children’s homes for young people in care. International quantitative and qualitative studies were sought to identify features and mechanisms of care that underpin developing resilience. Following a systematic search of six databases, 25 papers were selected for review, with a total sample of 3198 individuals up to the age of 30 years old who were either receiving residential care (N = 3037) or who were care leavers (N = 161). Themes from the quantitative studies and a narrative synthesis of qualitative studies were developed. Therapeutic mechanisms and processes to support the development of resilience included experiencing love and trust with staff in homes through therapeutic relationships, nurturing self-compassion, promoting self-value and self-belief, positive future thinking, problem-focused coping, school engagement, constructing a positive origin story, and positive visualisations of a stable future. Measures of resilience could more accurately reflect post-traumatic growth and potential for resilience development for this unique group of young people, which in turn could inform intervention design and evaluation. Measures appreciative of intrapersonal, relational, community and environmental factors could be particularly useful for intervention design.