bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Deep learning‐enabled EPID‐based 3D dosimetry for dose verification of step‐and‐shoot radiotherapy
Authors: Jia Mengyu , Wu Yan , Yang Yong , Wang Lei , Chuang Cynthia , Han Bin , Xing Lei 
Published: September 2021

AbstractPurposeThe study aims at a novel dosimetry methodology to reconstruct a 3D dose distribution as imparted to a virtual cylindrical phantom using an electronic portal imaging device (EPID).MethodsA deep learning‐based signal processing strategy, referred to as 3DosiNet, is utilized to learn a mapping from an EPID image to planar dose distributions at given depths. The network was trained with the volumetric dose exported from the clinical treatment planning system (TPS). Given the latent inconsistency between measurements and corresponding TPS calculations, unsupervised learning is formulated in 3DosiNet to capture abstractive image features that are less sensitive to the potential variations.ResultsValidation experiments were performed using five regular fields and three clinical intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) cases. The measured dose profiles and percentage depth dose (PDD) curves were compared with those measured using standard tools in terms of the 1D gamma index. The mean gamma pass rates (2%/2 mm) over the regular fields are 100% and 97.3% for the dose profile and PDD measurements, respectively. The measured volumetric dose was compared to the corresponding TPS calculation in terms of the 3D gamma index. The mean 2%/2 mm gamma pass rates are 97.9% for square fields and 94.9% for the IMRT fields.ConclusionsThe system promises to be a practical 3D dosimetric tool for pre‐treatment patient‐specific quality assurance and further developed for in‐treatment patient dose monitoring.
Intraoperative cone‐beam and slot‐beam CT: 3D image quality and dose with a slot collimator on the O‐arm imaging system
Authors: Zhang Xiaoxuan , Zbijewski Wojciech , Huang Yixuan , Uneri Ali , Jones Craig K. , Lo Sheng‐Fu L. , Witham Timothy F. , Luciano Mark , Anderson William Stanley , Helm Patrick A. , Siewerdsen Jeffrey H. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractPurposeTo characterize the 3D imaging performance and radiation dose for a prototype slot‐beam configuration on an intraoperative O‐arm™ Surgical Imaging System (Medtronic Inc., Littleton, MA) and identify potential improvements in soft‐tissue image quality for surgical interventions.MethodsA slot collimator was integrated with the O‐arm™ system for slot‐beam axial CT. The collimator can be automatically actuated to provide 1.2° slot‐beam longitudinal collimation. Cone‐beam and slot‐beam configurations were investigated with and without an antiscatter grid (12:1 grid ratio, 60 lines/cm). Dose, scatter, image noise, and soft‐tissue contrast resolution were evaluated in quantitative phantoms for head and body configurations over a range of exposure levels (beam energy and mAs), with reconstruction performed via filtered‐backprojection. Qualitative imaging performance across various anatomical sites and imaging tasks was assessed with anthropomorphic head, abdomen, and pelvis phantoms.ResultsThe dose for a slot‐beam scan varied from 0.02–0.06 mGy/mAs for head protocols to 0.01–0.03 mGy/mAs for body protocols, yielding dose reduction by ∼1/5 to 1/3 compared to cone‐beam, owing to beam collimation and reduced x‐ray scatter. The slot‐beam provided an ∼6–7× reduction in scatter‐to‐primary ratio (SPR) compared to the cone‐beam, yielding SPR ∼20–80% for head and body without the grid and ∼7–30% with the grid. Compared to cone‐beam scans at equivalent dose, slot‐beam images exhibited an ∼2.5× increase in soft‐tissue contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) for both grid and gridless configurations. For slot‐beam scans, a further ∼10–30% improvement in CNR was achieved when the grid was removed. Slot‐beam imaging could benefit certain interventional scenarios in which improved visualization of soft tissues is required within a fairly narrow longitudinal region of interest (7 mm in )––for example, checking the completeness of tumor resection, preservation of adjacent anatomy, or detection of complications (e.g., hemorrhage). While preserving existing capabilities for fluoroscopy and cone‐beam CT, slot‐beam scanning could enhance the utility of intraoperative imaging and provide a useful mode for safety and validation checks in image‐guided surgery.ConclusionsThe 3D imaging performance and dose of a prototype slot‐beam CT configuration on the O‐arm™ system was investigated. Substantial improvements in soft‐tissue image quality and reduction in radiation dose are evident with the slot‐beam configuration due to reduced x‐ray scatter.
In vivo T1 and T2 relaxation time maps of brain tissue, skeletal muscle, and lipid measured in healthy volunteers at 50 mT
Authors: O’Reilly Thomas , Webb Andrew G. 
Published: September 2021

PurposeLow‐field (B0 < 0.1 T) MRI has generated much interest as a means of increased accessibility via reduced cost and improved portability compared to conventional clinical systems (B0 ≥ 1.5 Tesla). Here we measure MR relaxation times at 50 mT and compare results with commonly used models based on both in vivo and ex vivo measurements.MethodsUsing 3D turbo spin echo readouts, T1 and T2 maps of the human brain and lower leg were acquired on a custom‐built 50 mT MRI scanner using inversion‐recovery and multi‐echo–based sequences, respectively. Image segmentation was performed based on a histogram analysis of the relaxation times.ResultsThe average T1 times of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were 327 ± 10 ms, 275 ± 5 ms, and 3695 ± 287 ms, respectively. Corresponding values of T2 were 102 ± 6 ms, 102 ± 6 ms, and 1584 ± 124 ms. T1 times in the calf muscle were measured to be 171 ± 11 ms and were 130 ± 5 ms in subcutaneous and bone marrow lipid. Corresponding T2 times were 39 ± 2 ms in muscle and 90 ± 13 ms in lipid.ConclusionsFor tissues except for CSF, the measured T1 times are much shorter than reported at higher fields and generally lie within the range of different models in the literature. As expected, T2 times are similar to those seen at typical clinical field strengths. Analysis of the relaxation maps indicates that segmentation of white and gray matter based purely on T1 or T2 will be quite challenging at low field given the relatively small difference in relaxation times.
Staying at work with musculoskeletal pain: What supporting resources do people need?
Authors: Oakman Jodi , Kinsman Natasha , Briggs Andrew M. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIntroductionMaintaining productive employment can be challenging for people with ongoing low back pain (LBP) or neck pain (NP) due to pain, function and participation sequelae. Resources and information to support them staying at work may be beneficial, although preferences for the nature and accessibility of resources remain uncertain. The current study aimed to explore the work experiences and information‐seeking behaviours of employed individuals with ongoing LBP or NP, to support them in staying at work.MethodSemi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 40 participants currently employed with ongoing LBP or NP. The interview schedule covered participants' experience of managing their LBP or NP at work, resources sought to assist with finding or maintaining employment, and where they accessed these resources. Interviews were recorded and analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants were employed in a wide range of job types and most reported a decrease in productivity. Five key themes were identified: (1) the meaning of work, (2) to disclose or not, (3) information seeking, (4) gaps in resources, (5) trusted sources. Work was highly valued by participants, despite the challenges in maintaining employment with ongoing LBP or NP. To support staying at work a range of information was sought by participants, but challenges in accessing reputable resources and trusting the sources were identified as key issues.ConclusionOpportunities exist for easily accessible, multi‐level information from trustworthy sources targeted at the employer organisations, individuals and clinicians to support people in staying at work with ongoing LBP or NP.
The rise and fall of biodiversity in literature: A comprehensive quantification of historical changes in the use of vernacular labels for biological taxa in Western creative literature
Authors: Langer Lars , Burghardt Manuel , Borgards Roland , Böhning‐Gaese Katrin , Seppelt Ralf , Wirth Christian 
Published: September 2021

AbstractNature's non‐material contributions to people are difficult to quantify and one aspect in particular, nature's contributions to communication (NCC), has so far been neglected. Recent advances in automated language processing tools enable us to quantify diversity patterns underlying the distribution of plant and animal taxon labels in creative literature, which we term BiL (biodiversity in literature). We assume BiL to provide a proxy for people's openness to nature's non‐material contributions enhancing our understanding of NCC.We assembled a comprehensive list of 240,000 English biological taxon labels. We pre‐processed and searched a subcorpus of digitised literature on Project Gutenberg for these labels. We quantified changes in biodiversity indices commonly used in ecological studies for 16,000 books, encompassing 4,000 authors, as proxies for BiL between 1705 and 1969.We observed hump‐shape patterns for taxon label richness, abundance and Shannon diversity indicating a peak of BiL in the middle of the 19th century. This is also true for the ratio of biological to general lexical richness. The variation in label use between different sections within books, quantified as β‐diversity, declined until the 1830s and recovered little, indicating a less specialised use of taxon labels over time.This pattern corroborates our hypothesis that before the onset of industrialisation BiL may have increased, reflecting several concomitant influences such as the general broadening of literary content, improved education and possibly an intensified awareness of the starting loss of biodiversity during the period of romanticism. Given that these positive trends continued and that we do not find support for alternative processes reducing BiL, such as language streamlining, we suggest that this pronounced trend reversal and subsequent decline of BiL over more than 100 years may be the consequence of humans’ increasing alienation from nature owing to major societal changes in the wake of industrialisation.We conclude that our computational approach of analysing literary communication using biodiversity indices has a high potential for understanding aspects of non‐material contributions of biodiversity to people. Our approach can be applied to other corpora and would benefit from additional metadata on taxa, works and authors.A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Influence of diazonium‐induced surface grafting on PES NF membrane fouling reduction in algal‐rich water treatment
Authors: Oulad Fariba , Zinadini Sirus , Zinatizadeh Ali Akbar , Derakhshan Ali Ashraf 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe algae bloom phenomenon incurs a major challenge to conventional drinking water treatment processes due to the discharges of a large amount of intracellular pollutant and odor compounds in the water sources. Membrane processes have been considered as promising technologies to treatment of algal‐rich water due to complete algal cell rejection however, its application has been limited by membrane fouling. In this work, the high‐performance loose antifouling PES NF membranes were fabricated using diazonium‐induced grafting and applied for treating real algal effluent. The modified membranes exhibited complete algal dye removal and turbidity removal throughout the long‐term filtration. Also, the coupling and radically modified membranes can be able to removed COD by up to 90% and 88%, respectively, while a removal efficiency of 24% was observed for bare membrane. It is worth noting that, a relative smooth behavior in permeate flux by loose modified membranes during prolonged algal dye filtration, demonstrating exceptional anti‐fouling property of membranes. In addition, the fouled modified membranes were effectively recovered by water flushing. Both loose modified membranes exhibited excellent resistance in the strongly acidic environment. These high performance antifouling NF membranes affords an innovative methodology toward the treatment of algal‐rich water.
Disparities in pediatric psychosocial oncology utilization
Authors: Zheng Daniel J. , Umaretiya Puja J. , Schwartz Emily R. , Al‐Sayegh Hasan , Raphael Jean L. , van Litsenburg Raphaële R. L. , Ma Clement , Muriel Anna C. , Bona Kira 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBackgroundIntegratedbehavioral health models have been proposed as care delivery approaches to mitigate mental health disparities in primary care settings. However, these models have not yet been widely adopted or evaluated in pediatric oncology medical homes.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of 394 children with newly diagnosed cancer at Dana‐Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (DF/BCH) from April 2013 to January 2017. Baseline sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatry utilization outcomes at 12 months following diagnosis were abstracted from the medical record. The severity of household material hardship (HMH), a concrete poverty exposure, at diagnosis and race/ethnicity were characterized by parent report using the Psychosocial Assessment Tool 2.0 (PAT). Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and receipt of psychiatry consultation were assessed with multivariable logistic regression models.ResultsAmong 394 children, 29% received a psychiatric consultation within 12 months postdiagnosis. Of these, 88% received a new psychiatric diagnosis, 76% received a psychopharmacologic recommendation, and 62% received a new behavioral intervention recommendation. In multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, cancer diagnosis, and PAT total score, there was no statistically significant association between HMH severity or household income and psychiatry utilization. Children who identified as racial/ethnic minorities were significantly less likely to receive a psychiatry consultation (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.27–0.84).ConclusionsIn a pediatric oncology medical home with an integrated behavioral health model, socioeconomic status was not associated with disparate psychiatry utilization. However, there remained a profound racial/ethnic disparity in psychiatry utilization, highlighting the need for additional research and care delivery intervention.
A comparative evaluation of chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of oil palm fiber/pineapple fiber reinforced phenolic hybrid composites
Authors: Jawaid Mohammad , Awad Sameer A. , Asim Mohammad , Fouad Hassan , Alothman Othman Y. , Santulli Carlo 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIn this paper, oil palm fiber (OPF) and pineapple fiber (PALF) reinforced biophenolic resin (BPHR) composites and hybrid composites were fabricated by hand lay‐up technique. Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of pure and hybrid composites analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), and universal testing machine. Achieved results indicated that OPF/PALF hybrid composites show better properties as compared with pure composites. It was observed that the tensile and flexural characterizations improved with incorporating OPF and PALF fibers into BPHR composites in comparison to the neat BPHR matrix. The results of the thermal stability obtained from TGA tests showed that the reinforcement of pure fiber composites (OPF and PALF) and hybrid composites (OPF/PALF) in BPHR matrix were improved in comparison to that of neat BPHR matrix. The final decomposition temperature of 50% OPF and 3OPF/7PALF was the highest among all other composites (415.80 and 415.42°C). On the other hand, the residual amount of hybrid composite (1OPF/1PALF) was (24.43%), while the lowest residual amount exhibited in pure composite (50% PALF), which was 20.08%. The reinforcement of pure composite and hybrid composites into BPHR also improved the storage and loss moduli; however, the pure composite sample (50% OPF) exhibited a more significant increase than other composites loadings. Furthermore, the damping factor was reduced significantly by the reinforcement of hybrid composites over pure composites. This study showed that obtained hybrid composites are suitable to apply in various structural and nonstructural applications.
Mussel‐inspired synthesis of silver nanoparticles as fillers for preparing waterborne polyurethane/Ag nanocomposites with excellent mechanical and antibacterial properties
Authors: Li Hui , Qu Jianbo 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by a facile, mild and green method using dopamine as a reducing and stabilizing agent and were introduced to waterborne polyurethane (WPU) via an in situ emulsification method to prepare antibacterial nanocomposite films. The formation of AgNPs was characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy and XRD. The dispersion of AgNPs was confirmed by TEM and the thermal stability of WPU/Ag nanocomposites was confirmed by TGA. The results showed that AgNPs were uniformly dispersed in the WPU matrix. The introduction of AgNPs significantly improved the thermal stability of WPU films. With incorporation of 0.1 wt% AgNPs, a five‐fold increase in the tensile strength was achieved without sacrificing the ultimate strain. The WPU/Ag nanocomposite films showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry.
Robust extreme learning machine neural approach for uncertain nonlinear hyper‐chaotic system identification
Authors: Anh Ho Pham Huy , Van Kien Cao 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis paper proposes a novel nonlinearly parameterized advanced single‐hidden layer neural extreme learning machine (ASHLN‐ELM) model in which the hidden and output weighting values are simultaneously updated using adaptively robust rules that are implemented based on Lyapunov stability principle. The proposed scheme guarantees the fast convergence speed of the state‐estimation residual errors bounded to null regarding to the influence of time‐varied disturbances. Additionally, proposed method needs no any knowledge related to desired weighting values or required approximating error. Typical uncertain hyper‐chaotic benchmark systems are used as to verify the new ASHLN‐ELM approach and to demonstrate the efficiency and the robustness of proposed method.
A statistical analysis of pores and microcracks in nuclear graphite
Authors: Huang Qing , Tang Hui 
Published: September 2021

Microstructure characterization is of great value to understanding nuclear graphite's properties and irradiation behavior. However, graphite is soft and could be easily damaged during sample preparation. A three‐step polishing method involving mechanical polishing, ion milling, and rapid oxidation is proposed for graphite. Ion milling is adopted to remove the broken graphite pieces produced by mechanical polishing. Rapid oxidation is then adopted to remove irradiation‐induced damage layer during ion milling. The Raman spectra show very small G peak width and very low ID/IG ratio after rapid oxidation. The microcracks that were conventionally observed via a transmission electron microscope can be observed on rapid‐oxidized surface in a scanning electron microscope. By digital image processing, the microcracks along with the gas‐escape pores in nuclear graphite IG‐110 are statistically analyzed. Porosity's distributions on crack (pore) size (spanning from 10 nm to 100 μm) are given, which could help to understand and simulate graphite's performances in reactors.
Joint analysis of longitudinal measurements and spatially clustered competing risksHIV/AIDSdata
Authors: Momenyan Somayeh 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe joint modeling of repeated measurements and time‐to‐event provides a general framework to describe better the link between the progression of disease through longitudinal measurements and time‐to‐event outcome. In the survival data, a sample of individuals is frequently grouped into clusters. In some applications, these clusters could be arranged spatially, for example, based on geographical regions. There are two benefits of considering spatial variation in these data, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the parameters estimations, and investigating the survivorship spatial pattern. On the other hand, in survival data, there is a situation that subjects are supposed to experience more than one type of event potentially, but the occurrence of one type of event prevents the occurrence of the others. In this article, we considered a Bayesian joint model of longitudinal and competing risks outcomes for spatially clustered HIV/AIDS data. The data were from a registry‐based study carried in Hamadan Province, Iran, from December 1997 to June 2020. In this joint model, a linear mixed effects model was used for the longitudinal submodel and a cause‐specific hazard model with spatial and spatial‐risk random effects was used for the survival submodel. Also, a latent structure was defined by random effects to link both event times and longitudinal processes. We used a univariate intrinsic conditional autoregressive (ICAR) distribution and a multivariate ICAR distribution for modeling the areal spatial and spatial‐risk random effects, respectively. The performance of our proposed model using simulation studies and analysis of HIV/AIDS data were assessed.
Queer is as Queer Does: Queer L2 Pedagogy in Teacher Education
Authors: Cahnmann‐Taylor Melisa , Coda James , Jiang Lei 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWhat does it mean to queer the L2 classroom and why does it matter? Building on inclusive pedagogical approaches, this paper considers what queering looks like/sounds like/feels like in the context of two case study classrooms where language teachers learned about Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) methods in a novice Mandarin language context. Data include recorded videos and transcriptions, focus groups, fieldnotes, and survey responses. We analyze practice from these two workshops for the ways gender and sexuality were addressed in the teacher education classroom. Through queer analysis, we discovered that the most fully embodied student engagement was related to disruptions in what might be expected in both form and content. As TPRS teacher educators widened critical agendas beyond queer characters in classroom stories, they included nonnormative L2 approaches that were humorous, surprising, and inclusive of translanguaging as well as pop up connections to languages and cultures in change. This study suggests that L2 teacher education from a queer perspective offers teachers and learners opportunities to deconstruct and question what is conceived to be normal and instead imagine languages and pedagogies for what is possible, equitable, and inclusive.