bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SDMA as a marker and mediator in cerebrovascular disease
Authors: Riddell Alexandra , Flynn Arun , Bergugnat Hugo , Dowsett Laura B. , Miller Alyson A. 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is a methylated derivative of arginine, generated by all cells as a by-product of cellular metabolism and eliminated via the kidney. For many years SDMA has been considered inert and of little biological significance. However, a growing body of evidence now suggests this view is outdated and that circulating SDMA levels may, in fact, be intricately linked to endothelial dysfunction and vascular risk. In this review, we specifically examine SDMA within the context of cerebrovascular disease, with a particular focus on ischaemic stroke. We first discuss pre-clinical evidence supporting the notion that SDMA has effects on nitric oxide signalling, inflammation, oxidative stress, and HDL function. We then appraise the most recent clinical studies that explore the relationship between circulating SDMA and cerebrovascular risk factors, such as chronic kidney disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and atherosclerosis, exploring whether any associations may arise due to the existence of shared risk factors. Finally, we consider the evidence that elevated circulating SDMA is linked to poor outcomes following ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. We draw upon pre-clinical insights into SDMA function to speculate how SDMA may not only be a marker of cerebrovascular disease but could also directly influence cerebrovascular pathology, and we highlight the pressing need for more mechanistic pre-clinical studies alongside adequately powered, longitudinal clinical studies to fully evaluate SDMA as a marker/mediator of disease.
Benefit–Cost Analyses of Hearing Aids, Over-the-Counter Hearing Devices, and Hearing Care Services
Authors: Jilla Anna Marie , Johnson Carole E. , Baldwin Jonathan D. , Huntington-Klein Nick 
Published: October 2024

Purpose:
Limited accessibility to hearing health care threatens healthy aging in place for older adults with hearing loss. A willingness-to-pay (WTP) approach was used to determine benefits and value of prescription advanced digital technology (ADT) hearing aids, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing devices, and rehabilitative services using benefit–cost analyses.

Method:

This study was a cross-sectional survey with chart review of hearing aid users at two independent audiology practices. Seventy hearing aid users (response rate: 15.6%) provided their WTP for ADT prescription hearing aids, OTC hearing devices, and hearing rehabilitative services. Benefit–cost ratios and net social benefit were calculated using deterministic and exploratory approaches. Point estimates for benefit–cost ratios and net social benefit were derived using bootstrap sampling with replacement (
N
= 5,000).

Results:

Median WTP for ADT prescription hearing aids and rehabilitative services were $2,000 and $250, respectively. WTP was lowest for OTC devices (
Mdn
= $0; maximum = $500). Benefit–cost ratios and net social benefit for ADT prescription hearing aids, OTC devices, and hearing rehabilitative services favored these interventions when out-of-pocket costs remained low. Benefit–cost analyses also produced results favoring prescription ADT hearing aid intervention with costs as high as $1,530 per device.

Conclusions:
WTP results indicated that all interventions under study have a measurable consumer-perceived benefit. Results of benefit–cost analyses favored the interventions but only when costs were lower than market prices. The benefit–cost analysis results for hearing care services underscore their value when provided as part of a comprehensive rehabilitative plan that may inform future health policy changes.
A Multimodal Investigation of Listening Effort in Single-Sided Deafness
Authors: Nguyen Don Luong , Valentin Olivier , Lehmann Alexandre , Prévost François 
Published: October 2024

Purpose:
For patients with single-sided deafness (SSD), choosing between bone conduction devices (BCDs) and contralateral routing of signal hearing aids (CROS) is challenging due to mixed evidence on their benefits. The lack of clear guidelines complicates clinical decision making. This study explores whether realistic spatial listening measures can reveal a clinically valid benefit and if the optimal choice varies among patients. By assessing listening effort through objective and subjective measures, this research evaluates the efficacy of BCD and CROS, seeking to provide evidence-based recommendation anchored in the effectiveness of these devices in real-world scenarios.

Method:
Thirteen participants with SSD performed the Hearing-in-Noise Test while using a BCD, CROS hearing aids, and no hearing device (unaided). Subjective listening effort was assessed using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire after each testing block. An objective measurement of listening effort was obtained by measuring the peak pupil dilation (PPD) during the task using eye tracking glasses.

Results:
No significant difference of either PPD or NASA-TLX scores was observed between the three device conditions (BCD, CROS, and unaided). However, a trend is noted toward reduced PPD in the BCD and CROS conditions. The lack of significance in pupillometry results does not stem from technical issues, as the study's findings confirm its effectiveness in measuring task difficulty, and validate its use for assessing listening effort.

Conclusions:
Although the results from the present study cannot significantly differentiate the hearing devices, we observe a trend that points toward reduced listening effort when using hearing devices. Future investigations should aim to optimize metrics of listening effort, perhaps making them clinically useful on an individual level.
Early Oral Language and Cognitive Predictors of Emergent Literacy Skills in Arabic-Speaking Children: Evidence From Saudi Children With Developmental Language Disorder
Authors: Alsiddiqi Zakiyah A. , Stojanovik Vesna , Pagnamenta Emma 
Published: October 2024

Purpose:
Although children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are known to have difficulties with emergent literacy skills, few available studies have examined emergent literacy skills in Arabic-speaking children with DLD. Even though Arabic language characteristics, such as diglossia and orthographic structure, influence the acquisition of literacy in Arabic-speaking children, research shows that oral language skills, such as vocabulary, and cognitive skills, such as verbal short-term memory (VSTM), predict literacy in Arabic-speaking children. Moreover, linguistic and memory abilities are impaired in children with DLD, including Arabic-speaking children. The current study examines the relationships between oral language, VSTM, and emergent literacy skills in Arabic-speaking typically developing (TD) children and children with DLD.

Method:
Participants were 40 TD children (20 girls; aged 4;0–6;11 [years;months]) and 26 children with DLD (nine girls, aged 4;0–6;11). All participants were monolingual Arabic speakers and matched on age and socioeconomic status. A set of comprehensive Arabic language (vocabulary knowledge, morphosyntactic, and listening comprehension skills), VSTM, and emergent literacy (phonological awareness and letter knowledge skills) tests were administered.

Results:
The DLD group scored significantly lower than the TD group on language, VSTM, and emergent literacy measures. Results revealed that the contributions of oral language and VSTM to emergent literacy skills across TD and DLD groups were different. In the TD group, VSTM predicted emergent literacy skills, whereas in the DLD groups, both vocabulary knowledge and VSTM predicted emergent literacy skills.

Conclusions:
This study represents an important first step in understanding emergent literacy skills and their relationships to language and memory in Arabic-speaking children with and without DLD. The implications of these findings for clinical and education provision are discussed.
The Role of Hearing Difficulty: Cognitive-Communication and Speech-in-Noise Deficits in Adults Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Lander Devan M. , Roup Christina M. 
Published: October 2024

Purpose:
Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a high rate of occurrence across the lifespan. Following mild TBI (mTBI), perceived deficits in cognitive communication and hearing may be noted. This study aimed to determine if adults with a history of mTBI and hearing difficulty perceived greater degrees of cognitive-communication difficulty and performed poorer on a speech-in-noise task when compared to participants with mTBI and controls without reported hearing difficulty.

Method:

Adults aged 19–77 years with and without a history of mTBI were analyzed. Participants were divided into three groups: control (
n
= 49), mTBI (
n
= 22), and mTBI with hearing difficulty (mTBI-HD,
n
= 26). Perception of hearing difficulty was based on a score of ≥ 20 on the Hearing Handicap Inventory or a score ≥ 2 on the Adult Auditory Performance Scale. Self-perceived cognitive communication was measured using the Cognitive Difficulties Scale (CDS) and the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ). Speech-in-noise performance was measured using the low-cue speech recognition threshold (SRT) from the Listening in Spatialized Noise–Sentences (LiSN-S) test.

Results:
Adults in the mTBI-HD group reported significantly greater degrees of cognitive-communication difficulties (higher CDS and LCQ scores) and exhibited significantly poorer speech-in-noise performance on the low-cue LiSN-S condition when compared to the control and mTBI groups. Results also revealed significant correlations between the LiSN-S low-cue SRT and perceived cognitive communication on the CDS.

Conclusions:
Results of the current study indicate that adults with a history of mTBI and hearing difficulty experience greater subjective cognitive-communication difficulties and perform more poorly on difficult speech-in-noise tasks than adults who do not experience self-perceived hearing difficulties. The results of this study support the consideration of hearing and cognitive-communication difficulties when determining appropriate speech, language, and hearing assessment, treatment, and intervention strategies for individuals following mTBI.
Optimal design of hollow conductor for high‐speed synchronous motor exploiting adaptive‐sampling radial basis function algorithm
Authors: Li Ruiye , Cheng Peng , Lan Hai 
Published: October 2024

AbstractAs aircraft electrification advances, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) require higher power density and efficiency, but optimisation is hindered by high computational costs and resource consumption. To address this, the paper proposes a multi‐objective optimisation method based on adaptive sampling radial basis function (ASRBF). The ASRBF algorithm adaptively adds sample points by estimating expected improvements at prediction points, enabling the surrogate model to rapidly approximate the global optimum while significantly reducing function evaluations. It integrates optimisation objectives and constraints using probabilistic improvement techniques, enhancing robustness and convergence speed by avoiding excessive exploration of invalid regions. Mathematical test functions validate ASRBF's excellent performance in handling complex objective domains. Applied to high‐speed PMSM with hollow conductors, it aims to minimise AC losses while maximising slot fill factor and heat dissipation, resulting in a 15% reduction in losses and an increase in conductor heat dissipation area and slot fill factor, at one‐thousandth of the cost of the full factorial optimisation method. The ASRBF algorithm efficiently constructs surrogate models for multi‐dimensional, multi‐objective, non‐linear, and constrained problems, providing a powerful tool for comprehensive performance optimisation of complex systems such as motors.
A fault detection and location algorithm for the LVDC interconnection network in rural area
Authors: Liu Chengwei , Rodriguez‐Bernuz Joan Marc , Liu Di , Yang Saizhao , Li Yitong , Hong Qiteng , Junyent‐Ferré Adrià 
Published: October 2024

AbstractLow voltage DC (LVDC) microgrids (MGs) can be linked together through an interconnection network to enhance the utilization of their energy resources in remote locations, particularly in rural low‐income areas. However, the identification of the fault is challenging due to the fast fault transients and equipment limitations, where there are no sensors and DC circuit breakers (DCCBs) in the lines. To solve this problem, this article proposes a fault detection and location algorithm without requiring extra sensors and DCCBs in lines. The proposed algorithm uses the sensors of the interface converters to detect the fault. Following this, a coordinated current injection method is used to identify the faulty element by coordinating converters with disconnectors. This process employs two strategies “weight check” and “scope check” to minimize the time and the number of actions. The algorithm is robust to various fault impedance, fault types and network topology modifications. The effectiveness of the algorithm is validated through a series of simulation case studies.
Two‐stage low‐carbon scheduling of integrated energy system based on carbon emission flow model
Authors: Xia Jia‐Wei , Hu Dandan , Xiao Chu‐Peng , Wang Zhen‐Yu , Liu Zhi‐Wei 
Published: October 2024

AbstractUnder the influence of environmental pollution and energy scarcity, integrated energy systems (IES) have received extensive attention in the field of energy supply due to their ability to consume renewable energy and enhance energy utilization. In the context of low‐carbon scheduling for IES, numerous studies calculate the system's carbon emissions based on the carbon emission coefficients of energy devices. However, IES is a multi‐energy coupling system in which a device's energy input can originate from multiple sources with varying degrees of carbon emissions, making it difficult to accurately calculate the resulting carbon emissions using fixed coefficients. Consequently, a carbon emission flow (CEF) model is constructed for the system to calculate carbon emissions. In addition to the basic input–output CEF model, the CEF model for energy storage devices is considered, and carbon emission constraints during system operation are formulated based on the CEF model. Furthermore, many studies on low‐carbon scheduling of IES overlook the uncertainties associated with load and renewable energy. Therefore, a two‐stage scheduling model consisting of day‐ahead stage and intra‐day stage is developed to achieve reliable energy supply. Finally, through experiments, the low‐carbon performance and reliability of the model are validated.
ELEPHANT: ExtragaLactic alErt Pipeline for Hostless AstroNomical Transients
Authors: Pessi P. J. , Durgesh R. , Nakazono L. , Hayes E. E. , Oliveira R. A. P. , Ishida E. E. O. , Moitinho A. , Krone-Martins A. , Moews B. , de Souza R. S. , Beck R. , Kuhn M. A. , Nowak K. , Vaughan S. 
Published: October 2024

Context. Transient astronomical events that exhibit no discernible association with a host galaxy are commonly referred to as hostless. These rare phenomena can offer unique insights into the properties and evolution of stars and galaxies. However, the sheer number of transients captured by contemporary high-cadence astronomical surveys renders the manual identification of all potential hostless transients impractical. Therefore, creating a systematic identification tool is crucial for studying these elusive events.
Aims. We present the ExtragaLactic alErt Pipeline for Hostless AstroNomical Transients (ELEPHANT), a framework for filtering hostless transients in astronomical data streams. It was designed to process alerts from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) presented in the Fink broker; however, its underlying concept can be applied to other data sources.
Methods. We used Fink to access all the ZTF alerts produced between January 2022 and December 2023, selecting alerts associated with extragalactic transients reported in SIMBAD or TNS, as well as those classified as supernovae (SNe) or kilonovae (KNe) by the machine learning (ML) classifiers within the broker. We then processed the associated stamps using a sequence of image analysis techniques to retrieve hostless candidates.
Results. We find that ≲2% of all analyzed transients are potentially hostless. Among them, only ~10% have a spectroscopic class reported on TNS, with type Ia SNe being the most common class, followed by superluminous SNe. In particular, among the host-less candidates retrieved by our pipeline, there is SN 2018ibb, which has been proposed to be a pair instability SN candidate, and SN 2022ann, one of only five known SNe Icn. When no class is reported on TNS, the dominant classes are quasi-stellar object (QSO) and SN candidates, with the former obtained from SIMBAD and the latter inferred using the Fink ML classifier.
Conclusions. ELEPHANT represents an effective strategy to filter extragalactic events within large and complex astronomical alert streams. There are many applications for which this pipeline will be useful, ranging from transient selection for follow-up to studies of transient environments. The results presented here demonstrate the feasibility of developing specially crafted pipelines that enable a variety of scientific studies based on large-scale surveys.
Anisotropy of coherent phonon in Bismuth crystal
Authors: Boschetto Davide 
Published: October 2024

In this article, we investigate the coherent A1g phonon mode in bismuth crystal using transient reflectivity measurements, focusing on two distinct crystallographic orientations: one with the principal axis ((1 1 1)-direction in the trigonal cell representation) perpendicular to the sample surface, and the other with the principal axis parallel to the surface. Our results demonstrate significant variations in the amplitude, frequency, and lifetime of the coherent phonon mode between these two orientations, even when identical pumping and probing conditions are applied. We attribute these differences to the anisotropy of the electron effective mass, which influences electron mobility and, in turn, affects the phonon dynamics in bismuth.
Updates on Common Mononeuropathies
Authors: Cornejo Angelica , Vo Mary L. 
Published: October 2024

AbstractThis article provides an overview of the most common mononeuropathies. It includes a description of the neuroanatomy and function of each nerve which allows clinical localization of the lesion. It also describes the clinical presentation, findings in electrodiagnostic studies, updates in imaging including neuromuscular ultrasound and magnetic resonance neurography, and recommended treatment. While mononeuropathies may be part of polyneuropathy, this scenario is beyond the scope of this article. The most common mononeuropathy is carpal tunnel syndrome. Its prevalence in the United States is estimated at 50 per 1,000. The second most common entrapment neuropathy is ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. The incidence was calculated as 20.9% in a 2005 study. The most common compressive neuropathy of the lower extremity is peroneal neuropathy. Other common mononeuropathies included in this article are radial neuropathy, tibial neuropathy, and femoral neuropathy.
Effect of bedding application and air change rates on environmental ammonia concentrations for intensively housed beef cattle
Authors: Hanafi I. N. , Tait L. A. , Cowley F. C. , Morton J. M. , Creevey S. , Wilkes J. 
Published: October 2024

Context Manure deposition during livestock export voyages contributes to air ammonia levels, potentially affecting human and animal health if not managed. Mitigation strategies may include increased air change rates and application of bedding. Aim This study examined the effect of bedding application rate (BAR) and air change rate (ACH) on air ammonia (NH3) concentrations and pad properties, including pad surface condition, pH, moisture, and pad ammonium (NH4+) concentrations, for intensively housed beef cattle. Methods Six 7-day runs were conducted with 72 Bos indicus cross steers (mean liveweight ± s.d. = 338 ± 32 kg) housed in respiration chambers by using a 3 × 3 factorial design. The BARs were set to 0%, 50%, and 100% of the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL), and ACH were varied at 20, 35, and 52. Air NH3 was measured twice daily at three heights. Pad surface condition was collected with the first air NH3 measurement. Video footage captured standing and lying behaviours for each steer. Pad samples were collected on the final day for pad chemical analysis. Key results The ACH of 20 changes per hour resulted in higher air NH3 concentration than ACH of 35 and 52. Higher BAR led to lower pad pH and moisture, with slightly lower pad NH4+ concentration in 100% and 50% BAR than 0% BAR. Although air NH3 concentration on Day 7 was positively correlated with pad NH4+ concentration, BAR had no marked effect on air NH3 concentration (within the temperature range of this experiment). Drier and firmer pad surfaces were associated with each high BAR and high ACH. Moreover, high BAR increased the frequency of lying behaviour in steers. Conclusions These findings indicated that NH3 can be mitigated by optimising air changes to minimise air NH3 concentration and utilising bedding to minimise pad NH4+. This offers practical solutions for intensively housed beef cattle, such as livestock export voyages to improve human and animal welfare onboard. Implications The study results emphasised the importance of optimising ACH to maintain low air NH3 concentrations in livestock export conditions. Although there was no evidence that BAR affects air NH3 directly, it reduced pad NH4+ and improved pad conditions for overall animal comfort and environmental quality in confined housing with sufficient air changes.