bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Uniformity and Efficacy of Dry Powders Delivered to the Lungs of a Mycobacterial-Surrogate Rat Model of Tuberculosis
Authors: Hirota Keiji , Hirai Yutaka , Nakajima Takehisa , Goto Satoru , Makino Kimiko , Terada Hiroshi 
Published: December 2021

AbstractPurposePulmonary administration of dry drug powder is a considered promising strategy in the treatment of various lung diseases such as tuberculosis and is more effective than systemic medication. However, in the pre-clinical study phase, there is a lack of devices for effective delivery of dry powders to the lungs of small rodents. In this study, an administration device which utilizes Venturi effect to deliver dry powders to the lungs homogeneously was developed.MethodsA Venturi-effect administration device which synchronizes with breathes by use of a ventilator and aerosolizes the dry powders was created. Pulmonary distribution of inhalable dry powders prepared by spray-drying poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid and an antituberculosis agent rifampicin and anti-tuberculosis effect of the powders on mycobacteria infected rats by administration with the Venturi-effect administration device and a conventional insufflation device were evaluated.ResultsHomogeneous distribution of the dry powders in the lung was achieved by the Venturi-effect administration device due to efficient and recurring aerosolization of loaded dry powders while synchronizing with breathes. Amount of rifampicin delivered to the lungs by the Venturi-effect administration device was three times higher than that by a conventional insufflation device, demonstrating three times greater antimycobacterial activity.ConclusionsThe Venturi-effect administration device aerosolized inhalable antituberculosis dry powders efficiently, achieved uniform pulmonary distribution, and aided the dry powders to exert antituberculosis activity on lung-residing mycobacteria.
Joining of CFRT-steel hybrid parts via hole-forming and subsequent pin caulking
Authors: Römisch David , Popp Julian , Drummer Dietmar , Merklein Marion 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn times of increasing global warming, the awareness of the necessity for significant CO2 reduction is growing. Especially in the transport and aerospace sector, lightweight construction has potential to achieve emission reduction goals by reducing the overall vehicle weight. Thereby, adding lightweight fibre-reinforced composites to materials such as steel and aluminium is used to achieve weight savings. Furthermore, continuous-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTs) begin to replace more traditional thermoset thermoplastics due to their easier bulk production and uncomplicated storage. Hybrid parts often consist of a CFRT and a higher strength metal component. Here, the joining process poses the main challenge, due to different chemical and physical properties of the components. In the current state of the art, riveted and bolted joints are commonly used, leading to increased weight due to auxiliary elements and requiring precise bolt holes often destroying load-bearing fibres. Joining with cold formed pin structures is an innovative and versatile joining process, which avoids the need for auxiliary elements. These pins are subsequently inserted in warm formed holes in the CFRT component and then caulked to create a form-fitting hybrid joint. To obtain a fundamental understanding of this joining process, hole-forming and pin-caulking, are investigated in this study. First, the hole-forming with IR-radiation is investigated with regard to suitable process parameters and resulting fibre morphology. The formed holes are consequently mechanically characterized. Second, the caulking-process is investigated by iteratively upsetting a pin and subsequently measuring the geometry. Based on these findings two different suitable caulking degrees are defined and samples for mechanical as well as microscopic investigations are manufactured. The created joints are first investigated via micro-sections and reflected light microscopy to identify possible damage in the CFRT component, which can result from the pin caulking process. Second, a mechanical characterisation under shear load as well as pin extraction loads normal to the sample surface is conducted and the normal load tests are compared with the bearing strength of CFRT samples.
Modelling and simulation of atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion intakes via direct simulation Monte Carlo
Authors: Rapisarda Claudio 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe Air-Breathing Ion Engine (ABIE) is an electric propulsion system capable of compensating for drag at low altitudes by ingesting the surrounding atmospheric particles to be utilized as propellant. The current state of the art of the ABIE performance is evaluated via Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), due to the rarefied nature of the atmosphere in Very-Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). Nevertheless, the scarce availability of relevant simulation methodologies in the literature limits the repeatability of such numerical studies. Therefore, this paper proposes an independent methodology applicable to the modelling and simulation of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) intakes that aims to validate the ABIE DSMC results retrieved from the literature. This is achieved by investigating the ABIE intake collection efficiency and compression ratio through the open-source solver dsmcFoam+ and by assessing the results against the available RARAC-3D DSMC data. First, the variation of grid transparency is discussed and compared between both solvers, yielding a mean percentage error of$$2.97\%$$2.97%for the compression ratio and$$2.06\%$$2.06%for the collection efficiency. Second, the absence of intermolecular collisions is verified for which errors of$$1.61\%$$1.61%for collection efficiency and$$3.49\%$$3.49%for compression ratio are observed. Then, the variation of flow incidence angle is simulated between$$0^{\circ }$$0∘and$$15^{\circ }$$15∘, yielding differences lower than$$1.80\%$$1.80%. Consecutively, the intake aspect ratio is varied between 10 and 40, for which a maximum discrepancy of$$1.83\%$$1.83%is measured and, finally, the drag coefficient of the intake is obtained in dsmcFoam+ to define the power density requirements.
Efficient structural pseudoinverse learning-based hierarchical representation learning for skin lesion classification
Authors: Deng Xiaodan , Yin Qian , Guo Ping 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe success of deep learning in skin lesion classification mainly depends on the ultra-deep neural network and the significantly large training data set. Deep learning training is usually time-consuming, and large datasets with labels are hard to obtain, especially skin lesion images. Although pre-training and data augmentation can alleviate these issues, there are still some problems: (1) the data domain is not consistent, resulting in the slow convergence; and (2) low robustness to confusing skin lesions. To solve these problems, we propose an efficient structural pseudoinverse learning-based hierarchical representation learning method. Preliminary feature extraction, shallow network feature extraction and deep learning feature extraction are carried out respectively before the classification of skin lesion images. Gabor filter and pre-trained deep convolutional neural network are used for preliminary feature extraction. The structural pseudoinverse learning (S-PIL) algorithm is used to extract the shallow features. Then, S-PIL preliminarily identifies the skin lesion images that are difficult to be classified to form a new training set for deep learning feature extraction. Through the hierarchical representation learning, we analyze the features of skin lesion images layer by layer to improve the final classification. Our method not only avoid the slow convergence caused by inconsistency of data domain but also enhances the training of confusing examples. Without using additional data, our approach outperforms existing methods in the ISIC 2017 and ISIC 2018 datasets.
High-Index Faceted Nanocrystals as Highly Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Jiang Bo , Tian Da , Qiu Yue , Song Xueqin , Zhang Yu , Sun Xun , Huang Huihuang , Zhao Chenghao , Guo Zhikun , Fan Lishuang , Zhang Naiqing 
Published: December 2021

AbstractPrecisely regulating of the surface structure of crystalline materials to improve their catalytic activity for lithium polysulfides is urgently needed for high-performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, high-index faceted iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanocrystals anchored on reduced graphene oxide are developed as highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts, effectively improving the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries. The theoretical and experimental results all indicate that high-index Fe2O3 crystal facets with abundant unsaturated coordinated Fe sites not only have strong adsorption capacity to anchor polysulfides but also have high catalytic activity to facilitate the redox transformation of polysulfides and reduce the decomposition energy barrier of Li2S. The Li–S batteries with these bifunctional electrocatalysts exhibit high initial capacity of 1521 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and excellent cycling performance with a low capacity fading of 0.025% per cycle during 1600 cycles at 2 C. Even with a high sulfur loading of 9.41 mg cm−2, a remarkable areal capacity of 7.61 mAh cm−2 was maintained after 85 cycles. This work provides a new strategy to improve the catalytic activity of nanocrystals through the crystal facet engineering, deepening the comprehending of facet-dependent activity of catalysts in Li–S chemistry, affording a novel perspective for the design of advanced sulfur electrodes.
Stable Zinc Anodes Enabled by Zincophilic Cu Nanowire Networks
Authors: Xie Shiyin , Li Yang , Li Xu , Zhou Yujun , Dang Ziqi , Rong Jianhua , Dong Liubing 
Published: December 2021

AbstractZn-based electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems have received tremendous attention in recent years, but their zinc anodes are seriously plagued by the issues of zinc dendrite and side reactions (e.g., corrosion and hydrogen evolution). Herein, we report a novel strategy of employing zincophilic Cu nanowire networks to stabilize zinc anodes from multiple aspects. According to experimental results, COMSOL simulation and density functional theory calculations, the Cu nanowire networks covering on zinc anode surface not only homogenize the surface electric field and Zn2+ concentration field, but also inhibit side reactions through their hydrophobic feature. Meanwhile, facets and edge sites of the Cu nanowires, especially the latter ones, are revealed to be highly zincophilic to induce uniform zinc nucleation/deposition. Consequently, the Cu nanowire networks-protected zinc anodes exhibit an ultralong cycle life of over 2800 h and also can continuously operate for hundreds of hours even at very large charge/discharge currents and areal capacities (e.g., 10 mA cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2), remarkably superior to bare zinc anodes and most of currently reported zinc anodes, thereby enabling Zn-based EES devices to possess high capacity, 16,000-cycle lifespan and rapid charge/discharge ability. This work provides new thoughts to realize long-life and high-rate zinc anodes.
A system-wide health sciences faculty mentor training program is associated with improved effective mentoring and institutional climate
Authors: Trejo JoAnn , Wingard Deborah , Hazen Virginia , Bortnick Alexandra , Van Hoesen Karen , Byars-Winston Angela , Pfund Christine , Reznik Vivian 
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Introduction:
Mentorship is critical for faculty success, satisfaction, and engagement. However, many faculty, particularly underrepresented racial/ethnic (UR) faculty, lack access to high-quality mentoring. In an effort to improve mentoring for all faculty, we developed and implemented a formally structured faculty mentor training program (FMTP) across UC San Diego Health Sciences, which included institutional support, mentorship training, and department/division mentorship programs.

Methods:
FMTP impact was evaluated using three primary outcome variables: mentoring quality, mentoring behaviors, and institutional climate. Participants’ self-assessed mentoring competencies were measured using validated instruments.

Results:
A total of 391 (23%) of Health Sciences faculty participated in FMTP. Participation rate was higher for women than men (30% versus 17%) and highest for UR faculty (39%). FMTP was implemented in 16 of 19 departments. Self-reported mentoring improved for FMTP participants with mentoring quality (p = 0.009) and meeting mentees’ expectations (p = 0.01) continuing to improve for up to 2 years after training. However, participants were unsure if they were meeting UR mentees’ expectations. FMTP participants were significantly more satisfied with mentoring quality (p < 0.001) compared to non-participants, with the greatest increase in satisfaction reported by UR faculty (38–61%). UR faculty reported improved overall morale (51–61%) and a perception that the environment was supportive for UR faculty (48–70%).

Conclusion:
The implementation of a system-wide formal structured FMTP was associated with improved faculty satisfaction, quality of mentoring, and institutional climate, especially for UR faculty.
Management Measures Implemented at the West China Hospital may help Prevent and Contain COVID-19 and Similar Outbreaks
Authors: Liu Sijia , He Chengqi 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
This article presents management processes for dealing with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. From January to March 2020, the West China Hospital of Sichuan University established response structures and protocols, as well as integrated out-of-hospital resources, to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 8066 patients were screened, and 345 COVID-19 patients were isolated for treatment. Hospital command systems, emergency management protocols, as well as process, space, and personnel management, strengthening material reserves, and social responsibility strategies were implemented. Outbreak management aspects that required improvement included estimates of the anticipated number of cases, timely collection of patient information and feedback on the effect of outreach and online consultation methods.
Improving Oxygen Capacity at ITBP Referral Hospital During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Infections in Greater Noida, India: An Operative Targeted Intervention
Authors: Stroffolini Giacomo , Cortellaro Francesca , Raviolo Mario , Tommasoni Nicola , Kumar Manoj Gupta , Marotta Claudia 
Published: December 2021

AbstractObjectives:Due to factors that still remain under debate, both social and virological, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continued to flare up in India, particularly in northern and western areas. This has led to an incidence of approximately 350,000 cases per day and a daily death toll of around 4000 in the weeks between May 1 and 14, 2021. The current pandemic is testing the adaptability of the oxygen distribution and consumption.Methods:Following India’s request for support, the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism coordinated the response agreed by EU Member States providing shipments of oxygen and equipment. In this scenario, our Emergency Medical Team (EMT)-2, based in Italy, organized a cargo and a 12-member team of technicians and medical professionals with the main objective of installing a novel source of oxygen.Results:The installation of a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant provided the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) hospital in Greater Noida, India, with a sustainable solution to combat oxygen shortage in less than 48 h.Conclusions:The supply of oxygen could not be deemed a successful intervention without a proper plan to guarantee the rational use of the source so additional training was carried out. Our EMT were among the first responders in mitigating this public health crisis.
Floods, landslides and COVID-19 in the Uttarakhand State, India: Impact of Ongoing Crises on Public Health
Authors: Corriero Anna Chiara , Khan Fatima Muhammad Asad , Bassey Esther Edet , Bouaddi Oumnia , dos Santos Costa Ana Carla , Outani Oumaima , Hasan Mohammad Mehedi , Ahmad Shoaib , Essar Mohammad Yasir 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe Uttarakhand State, known for its Himalayan Mountains, is a territory in Northern India that is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, and floods. Currently, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, India is facing the dual challenge of containing a pandemic and responding to natural disasters. This situation can have a negative impact on the health and the economic development of the region, leading to a long-lasting humanitarian crisis that can disrupt even more, the already overburdened health service. In addition, it can pose serious threats to the wellbeing of the population as it complicates physical distancing and other COVID-19 prevention measures. It is of utmost importance to analyse the impact of floods, landslides, and COVID-19 pandemic on the health system of the Uttarakhand State, and how these crises interact with each other.
INTERPRETING A FIELD IN ITS HEISENBERG GROUP
Authors: ALVIR RACHAEL , CALVERT WESLEY , GOODMAN GRANT , HARIZANOV VALENTINA , KNIGHT JULIA , MILLER RUSSELL , MOROZOV ANDREY , SOSKOVA ALEXANDRA , WEISSHAAR ROSE 
Published: December 2021

AbstractWe improve on and generalize a 1960 result of Maltsev. For a field F, we denote by
$H(F)$
the Heisenberg group with entries in F. Maltsev showed that there is a copy of F defined in
$H(F)$
, using existential formulas with an arbitrary non-commuting pair of elements as parameters. We show that F is interpreted in
$H(F)$
using computable
$\Sigma _1$
formulas with no parameters. We give two proofs. The first is an existence proof, relying on a result of Harrison-Trainor, Melnikov, R. Miller, and Montalbán. This proof allows the possibility that the elements of F are represented by tuples in
$H(F)$
of no fixed arity. The second proof is direct, giving explicit finitary existential formulas that define the interpretation, with elements of F represented by triples in
$H(F)$
. Looking at what was used to arrive at this parameter-free interpretation of F in
$H(F)$
, we give general conditions sufficient to eliminate parameters from interpretations.
Business Cycles and Alcohol Consumption: Evidence from a Nonlinear Panel ARDL Approach
Authors: Sadik-Zada Elkhan Richard , Niklas Britta 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis study revisits the relationship between economic variables and alcohol consumption from a macro perspective. Focusing explicitly on the asymmetries of the responsiveness of alcohol consumption during the expansion and contraction phases of the business cycle, asymmetric panel estimators are employed. We employ a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model for a panel of 24 countries for the period 1961 to 2014. Findings show that expansion leads to a long-term increase in average alcohol consumption, while during contraction, the level of average alcohol consumption persists. Expansion, together with a pronounced reduction in the unemployment rate could, however, lead to a net reduction of gross alcohol and wine consumption. Nonetheless, if the recession corresponds with a surge in unemployment, this leads to a long-run increase in the level of total gross alcohol consumption but a decrease in wine and beer consumption. Reduction in unemployment does not lead to a reduction in beer consumption, as pre-expansion levels of beer consumption persist. (JEL Classifications: E32, I19, L66)
Comparative study of the pencil-and-paper and digital formats of the Spanish DARS scale
Authors: Arrua-Duarte Elsa , Migoya-Borja Marta , Barahona Igor , Quilty Lena C. , Rizvi Sakina J. , Kennedy Sidney H. , Baca-García Enrique , Barrigon Maria L. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) is a novel questionnaire to assess anhedonia of recent validation. In this work, we aim to study the equivalence between the traditional paper-and-pencil and the digital format of DARS. Sixty-nine patients filled the DARS in a paper-based and digital versions. We assessed differences between formats (Wilcoxon test), validity of the scales [Kappa and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs)], and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and Guttman’s coefficient). We calculated the comparative fit index and the root mean squared error (RMSE) associated with the proposed one-factor structure. Total scores were higher for paper-based format. Significant differences between both formats were found for three items. The weighted Kappa coefficient was approximately 0.40 for most of the items. Internal consistency was greater than 0.94, and the ICC for the digital version was 0.95 and 0.94 for the paper-and-pencil version (F = 16.7, p < 0.001). Comparative Adjustment Index was 0.97 for the digital DARS and 0.97 for the paper-and-pencil DARS, and RMSE was 0.11 for the digital DARS and 0.10 for the paper-and-pencil DARS. We concluded that the digital DARS is consistent in many respects with the paper-and-pencil questionnaire, but equivalence with this format cannot be assumed without caution.
Predictors of successful discontinuation of antipsychotics and antidepressants
Authors: Lincoln Tania M. , Sommer Daniel , Quazzola Mariana , Witzgall Tatjana , Schlier Björn 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundTo offer support for patients who decide to discontinue antipsychotic and antidepressant medication, identifying which potentially modifiable factors correlate with discontinuation success is crucial. Here, we analyzed the predictive value of the professional support received, circumstances prior to discontinuation, a strategy of discontinuation, and use of functional and non-functional coping strategies during discontinuation on self-reported discontinuation success and on objective discontinuation.MethodsPatients who had attempted discontinuing antipsychotics (AP) and/or antidepressants (AD) during the past 5 years (n = 316) completed an online survey including questions on subjective and objective discontinuation success, sociodemographic, clinical and medication-related factors, and scales to assess the putative predictors.ResultsA regression model with all significant predictors explained 20–30% of the variance in discontinuation success for AD and 30–40% for AP. After controlling for baseline sociodemographic, clinical and medication-related factors, the most consistent predictor of subjective discontinuation success was self-care behavior, in particular mindfulness, relaxation and making use of supportive relationships. Other predictors depended on the type of medication: For AD, good alliance with the prescribing physician predicted higher subjective success whereas gradual tapering per se was associated with lower subjective success and a lower chance of full discontinuation. In those tapering off AP, leaving time to adjust between dose reductions was associated with higher subjective success and fewer negative effects.ConclusionsThe findings can inform evidence-based clinical guidelines and interventions aiming to support patients during discontinuation. Further studies powered to take interactions between variables into account are needed to improve the prediction of successful discontinuation.