bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biopolymer and Gypsum Added Na Bentonite for a More Effective Clay Liner
Authors: Garoushi Ali Hossien Basheer , Uygar Eris 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBentonite soil is frequently utilized as a compacted clay liner, which is a critical component of municipal waste landfill systems. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of treating sodium bentonite (NAB) with natural biopolymers to obtain an effective clay liner. The NAB was treated with three biopolymers: sodium alginate (SA), agar gum (A), and xanthan gum (X), at different replacement percentages (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%). Additionally, an investigation was conducted to determine the extent to which replacing 50% of these additives with gypsum (G) would improve the biopolymer treatments. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pH, one-dimensional swelling, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) were carried out in this study. The FTIR results indicated the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding when NAB was treated with biopolymers and gypsum, which is crucial for enhancing the UCS. Furthermore, the thermal treatment of biopolymers significantly contributes to improving the UCS. Among the various biopolymers tested, agar gum demonstrated the most significant improvement, specifically, replacing 8% of the NAB with agar gum resulted in a 55% increase in UCS. Volume change behavior was most influenced by replacement of NAB with gypsum by 8%, which reduced the vertical swelling to 21% as opposed to 79% for the untreated NAB. The use of SA conversely resulted in an increased vertical swelling of 91%.
Extremity fractures, attempted suicide, blood transfusion and thromboembolic events are independent risk factors for a prolonged hospital stay in severely injured elderly
Authors: Störmann Philipp , Hörauf Jason A. , Sturm Ramona , Zankena Lara , Zumsteg Jonin Serafin , Lefering Rolf , Marzi Ingo , Pape Hans-Christoph , Jensen Kai Oliver ,   TraumaRegister DGU
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Methods
Due to demographic change, the number of polytraumatized geriatric patients (> 64 years) is expected to further increase in the coming years. In addition to the particularities of the accident and the associated injury patterns, prolonged inpatient stays are regularly observed in this group. The aim of the evaluation is to identify further factors that cause prolonged inpatient stays.
A study of the data from the TraumaRegister DGU® from 2016–2020 was performed. Inclusion criteria were an age of over 64 years, intensive care treatment in the GAS-region, and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of at least 16 points. All patients who were above the 80th percentile for the average length of stay or average intensive care stay of the study population were defined as so-called long-stay patients. This resulted in a prolonged inpatient stay of > 25 days and an intensive care stay of > 13 days. Among other, the influence of the cause of the accident, injury patterns according to body regions, the occurrence of complications, and the influence of numerous clinical parameters were examined.

Results
A total of 23,026 patients with a mean age of 76.6 years and a mean ISS of 24 points were included. Mean ICU length of stay was 11 ± 12.9 days (regular length of stay: 3.9 ± 3.1d vs. prolonged length of stay: 12.8 ± 5.7d) and mean inpatient stay was 22.5 ± 18.9 days (regular length of stay: 20.7 ± 15d vs. 35.7 ± 22.3d). A total of n = 6,447 patients met the criteria for a prolonged length of stay. Among these, patients had one more diagnosis on average (4.6 vs. 5.8 diagnoses) and had a higher ISS (21.8 ± 6 pts. vs. 26.9 ± 9.5 pts.)
Independent risk factors for prolonged length of stay were intubation duration greater than 6 days (30-fold increased risk), occurrence of sepsis (4x), attempted suicide (3x), presence of extremity injury (2.3x), occurrence of a thromboembolic event (2.7x), and administration of red blood cell concentrates in the resuscitation room (1.9x).

Conclusions
The present analysis identified numerous independent risk factors for significantly prolonged hospitalization of the geriatric polytraumatized patient, which should be given increased attention during treatment. In particular, the need for a smooth transition to psychiatric follow-up treatment or patient-adapted rehabilitative care for geriatric patients with prolonged immobility after extremity injuries is emphasized by these results.
An overview of potential excavation compensation method for tunnelling in deep rock engineering
Authors: Hu Jie , He Manchao , Tao Zhigang , Cheng Tai , Xiao Yingming , Li Hongru , Li Limin 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe complicated geological environment of deep rocks poses new challenges to tunnel and mining engineering. Some thorny disasters such as large deformation of soft rock and rockburst are becoming more and more prominent. However, the classic tunnelling methods represented by the mine tunnelling method and the new Austrian tunnelling method are generally unsatisfactory in addressing these issues due to the limited self-stability of surrounding rock mass. Therefore, the excavation compensation method (ECM) with the core of active stress compensation has been proposed and applied in practical engineering construction to solve the above problems. After extensive engineering practice, the theoretical foundation, key technologies, and construction system of ECM have been established and improved. This article provides a comprehensive overview of this novel tunnelling method. In addition, its controlling effects on surrounding rock are demonstrated by two typical engineering examples. It could provide some new ideas and references for the development of future tunnelling technology.
Opinion dynamics models describing the emergence of polarization phenomena
Authors: Bertotti Maria Letizia , Menale Marco 
Published: August 2024

AbstractSome novel models of opinion dynamics are here formulated in terms of ordinary and of stochastic differential equations. The focus is on the possible emergence of polarization phenomena. Alongside attitudes and mechanisms related to individual-individual interactions, issues such as the influence of persuaders, acting perhaps on different time-scales, and uncertainty are taken into account. The existence of stationary solutions corresponding to polarized opinion distributions, together with their stability or instability properties, is established in correspondence to different parameter values.
Applications of Population Sampling to Insurance Ratemaking and Reserving
Authors: Calcetero Vanegas Sebastián , Lin X. Sheldon 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThis paper explores the underutilized application of population sampling in the realm of actuarial science, a field where these statistical methodologies have been traditionally overlooked. Focusing on two distinct applications within insurance ratemaking and reserving, we unveil innovative approaches to address challenges in actuarial contexts and provide valuable insights into advancing methodologies in the field. The first application introduces population sampling as a solution to the computational complexities inherent in credibility premium calculation, particularly under Bayesian regression models. By combining population sampling with surrogate modeling, we present a method to manage computation challenges effectively. The second application delves into incurred but not reported reserves, challenging the conventional Chain–Ladder method and individual reserving models by incorporating population sampling. Proposing a reserve estimator based on inverse probability weighting techniques, we demonstrate a statistically robust, distribution-free method for IBNR reserving, emphasizing the integration of granular policyholder information
Within-Person Dynamics of Job Boredom and Counterproductive Work Behavior: A Latent Change Score Modeling Approach
Authors: Kim JeongJin , Kaplan Seth A. , Aitken John A. , Ponce Lida P. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractJob boredom is one of the most common negative affective states experienced in the workplace, yet also among the least well-understood. One stream of research suggests that employees frequently react to job boredom by engaging in counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). However, recent studies show the converse—that engaging in CWB relates to job boredom. As studies on the job boredom-CWB relationship primarily have been cross-sectional and at the between-person level of analysis, the directionality between these constructs remains in question. Therefore, research examining the within-person dynamics of job boredom and CWB within a short timeframe is needed. In the current study, we explore whether job boredom influences subsequent changes in CWB and vice versa. We examined these relationships using latent change score (LCS) modeling with 10-day experience sampling data (N = 120 individuals providing 1,161 observations). Findings supported a reciprocal relationship. Employees’ level of job boredom on a given day was associated with a subsequent increase in CWB on the next day, and the level of CWB on a given day was associated with a subsequent increase in job boredom on the next day. We discuss the implications of our findings, study limitations, and future research directions.
DialogueNeRF: towards realistic avatar face-to-face conversation video generation
Authors: Yan Yichao , Zhou Zanwei , Wang Zi , Gao Jingnan , Yang Xiaokang 
Published: August 2024

AbstractConversation is an essential component of virtual avatar activities in the metaverse. With the development of natural language processing, significant breakthroughs have been made in text and voice conversation generation. However, face-to-face conversations account for the vast majority of daily conversations, while most existing methods focused on single-person talking head generation. In this work, we take a step further and consider generating realistic face-to-face conversation videos. Conversation generation is more challenging than single-person talking head generation, because it requires not only the generation of photo-realistic individual talking heads, but also the listener’s response to the speaker. In this paper, we propose a novel unified framework based on the neural radiance field (NeRF) to address these challenges. Specifically, we model both the speaker and the listener with a NeRF framework under different conditions to control individual expressions. The speaker is driven by the audio signal, while the response of the listener depends on both visual and acoustic information. In this way, face-to-face conversation videos are generated between human avatars, with all the interlocutors modeled within the same network. Moreover, to facilitate future research on this task, we also collected a new human conversation dataset containing 34 video clips. Quantitative and qualitative experiments evaluate our method in different aspects, e.g., image quality, pose sequence trend, and natural rendering of the scene in the generated videos. Experimental results demonstrate that the avatars in the resulting videos are able to carry on a realistic conversation, and maintain individual styles.
Strongly Negative Low‐Field Variation of Magnetic Susceptibility: Rock Magnetic Character of the Basement‐Cover Interface of Northeastern Oklahoma
Authors: Hamilton Matt , Jackson Mike , Chadima Martin , Egli Ramon , Elmore R. Douglas 
Published: August 2024

AbstractSome rock and soil samples exhibit significant loss of magnetic susceptibility (χ) with increasing applied field amplitude even at relatively low (10–100s of A/m) fields, a behavior which remains unexplained. Exceptionally strong negative field‐dependence of susceptibility (χHD) is present in sandstones and altered intermediate‐felsic igneous rocks in several cores from the northeastern Oklahoma subsurface. These same rocks also show elevated frequency‐dependence of susceptibility (χFD), with reasonable correlation of χHD to χFD, and frequency‐dependent χHD. Results from multiple characterization methods indicate that strongly negative χHD in these rocks is linked to a yet‐unidentified phase which begins the approach to magnetic saturation in low fields (<1 mT/800 A/m), shows elevated χFD to low temperatures, is unstable at high temperatures, possesses significant anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, and becomes paramagnetic above ∼83°C. Clear associations with fluid alteration features indicate that this material may be highly relevant to rock alteration, diagenetic, and environmental studies.
A Probabilistic Approach to Characterizing Drought Using Satellite Gravimetry
Authors: Saemian Peyman , Tourian Mohammad J. , Elmi Omid , Sneeuw Nico , AghaKouchak Amir 
Published: August 2024

AbstractIn the recent past, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission and its successor GRACE Follow‐On (GRACE‐FO), have become invaluable tools for characterizing drought through measurements of Total Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA). However, the existing approaches have often overlooked the uncertainties in TWSA that stem from GRACE orbit configuration, background models, and intrinsic data errors. Here we introduce a fresh view on this problem which incorporates the uncertainties in the data: the Probabilistic Storage‐based Drought Index (PSDI). Our method leverages Monte Carlo simulations to yield realistic realizations for the stochastic process of the TWSA time series. These realizations depict a range of plausible drought scenarios that later on are used to characterize drought. This approach provides probability for each drought category instead of selecting a single final category at each epoch. We have compared PSDI with the deterministic approach (Storage‐based Drought Index, SDI) over major global basins. Our results show that the deterministic approach often leans toward an overestimation of storage‐based drought severity. Furthermore, we scrutinize the performance of PSDI across diverse hydrologic events, spanning continents from the United States to Europe, the Middle East, Southern Africa, South America, and Australia. In each case, PSDI emerges as a reliable indicator for characterizing drought conditions, providing a more comprehensive perspective than conventional deterministic indices. In contrast to the common deterministic view, our probabilistic approach provides a more realistic characterization of the TWS drought, making it more suited for adaptive strategies and realistic risk management.
A New View of Shear Wavespeed and the Lithosphere‐Asthenosphere Boundary in the Southwestern United States
Authors: Golos E. M. , Brunsvik B. , Eilon Z. , Fischer K. M. , Byrnes J. , Gaherty J. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractThe Southwestern United States experiences active deformation, seismicity, and magmatism, remarkable in an intraplate setting. The Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau (CP) are inferred to differ in lithospheric thickness, but modeling geophysical properties of the lithosphere, in particular the depth of the Lithosphere‐Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB), across the entirety of the region, has proved challenging. Here, we introduce a new model of 1‐D depth profiles in shear wavespeed, determined through a probabilistic joint inversion of information from Sp receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocity. From these profiles we quantify the locations and Vs contrast of wavespeed gradients that represent boundaries such as the Moho, the LAB, and intralithospheric discontinuities. We infer a lithosphere that is thinner and lower in Vs in the Basin and Range. In the CP and farther north, the LAB is more gradual, deeper, and intermittently observed. We also observe Mid‐Lithospheric Discontinuities (MLDs) near the boundaries between the CP, Wyoming Craton, and Northern Basin and Range, as well as within the Craton. When both an MLD and LAB are observed, the Vs gradient associated with the LAB is narrower than expected. Finally, we image Positive Velocity Gradients beneath areas of thinner lithosphere, which are consistent with recent global observations that have been attributed to the base of a partially molten zone below the lithosphere. Overall, the picture of the lithosphere‐asthenosphere system that emerges is one of considerable structural complexity with a strong dependency on tectonic regime and geological history.
Capillary effect-based selective sealing strategy for increasing piezoelectric MEMS speaker performance
Authors: Wang Yan , Lv Tunan , Zhang Junning , Yu Hongbin 
Published: August 2024

AbstractTo address the serious acoustic performance deterioration induced by air leakage in the low-frequency range and the asynchronous vibration in electroacoustic transduction structures near the resonant frequency, a novel sealing strategy is proposed that targets one of the most widely reported piezoelectric MEMS speaker designs. This design consists of multiple cantilever beams, in which the air gaps between cantilevers are automatically and selectively filled with liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via the capillary effect, followed by curing. In the proof-of-concept demonstration, the sound pressure level (SPL) within the frequency range lower than 100 Hz markedly increased after sealing in an experiment using an IEC ear simulator. Specifically, the SPL is increased by 4.9 dB at 20 Hz for a 40 Vpp driving voltage. Moreover, the deteriorated SPL response near the resonant frequencies of the cantilever beams (18 kHz–19 kHz) caused by their asynchronous vibration induced by the fabrication process nonuniformity also significantly improved, which successfully increased the SPL to approximately 17.5 dB. Moreover, sealed devices feature nearly the same SPL response as the initial counterpart in the frequency band from 100 Hz to 16 kHz and a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 0.728% at 1 kHz for a 40 Vpp driving voltage. Compared with existing sealing methods, the current approach offers easy operation, low damage risk, excellent repeatability/reliability and excellent robustness advantages and provides a promising technical solution for MEMS acoustic devices.
Systematic multi-trait AAV capsid engineering for efficient gene delivery
Authors: Eid Fatma-Elzahraa , Chen Albert T. , Chan Ken Y. , Huang Qin , Zheng Qingxia , Tobey Isabelle G. , Pacouret Simon , Brauer Pamela P. , Keyes Casey , Powell Megan , Johnston Jencilin , Zhao Binhui , Lage Kasper , Tarantal Alice F. , Chan Yujia A. , Deverman Benjamin E. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBroadening gene therapy applications requires manufacturable vectors that efficiently transduce target cells in humans and preclinical models. Conventional selections of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid libraries are inefficient at searching the vast sequence space for the small fraction of vectors possessing multiple traits essential for clinical translation. Here, we present Fit4Function, a generalizable machine learning (ML) approach for systematically engineering multi-trait AAV capsids. By leveraging a capsid library that uniformly samples the manufacturable sequence space, reproducible screening data are generated to train accurate sequence-to-function models. Combining six models, we designed a multi-trait (liver-targeted, manufacturable) capsid library and validated 88% of library variants on all six predetermined criteria. Furthermore, the models, trained only on mouse in vivo and human in vitro Fit4Function data, accurately predicted AAV capsid variant biodistribution in macaque. Top candidates exhibited production yields comparable to AAV9, efficient murine liver transduction, up to 1000-fold greater human hepatocyte transduction, and increased enrichment relative to AAV9 in a screen for liver transduction in macaques. The Fit4Function strategy ultimately makes it possible to predict cross-species traits of peptide-modified AAV capsids and is a critical step toward assembling an ML atlas that predicts AAV capsid performance across dozens of traits.
Exome-wide association study identifies KDELR3 mutations in extreme myopia
Authors: Yuan Jian , Zhuang You-Yuan , Liu Xiaoyu , Zhang Yue , Li Kai , Chen Zhen Ji , Li Dandan , Chen He , Liang Jiacheng , Yao Yinghao , Yu Xiangyi , Zhuo Ran , Zhao Fei , Zhou Xiangtian ,   Myopia Associated Genetics and Intervention Consortium, Xu Liangde , Qu Jia , Lyu Fan , Yang Jian , Wang Hong , Yuan Jian , Ma Yunlong , Xue Zhengbo , Liu Hui , Dai Wei , Zhang Riyan , Yu Xiaoguang , Qu Jia , Su Jianzhong 
Published: August 2024

AbstractExtreme myopia (EM), defined as a spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ −10.00 diopters (D), is one of the leading causes of sight impairment. Known EM-associated variants only explain limited risk and are inadequate for clinical decision-making. To discover risk genes, we performed a whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 449 EM individuals and 9606 controls. We find a significant excess of rare protein-truncating variants (PTVs) in EM cases, enriched in the retrograde vesicle-mediated transport pathway. Employing single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and a single-cell polygenic burden score (scPBS), we pinpointed PI16 + /SFRP4+ fibroblasts as the most relevant cell type. We observed that KDELR3 is highly expressed in scleral fibroblast and involved in scleral extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. The zebrafish model revealed that kdelr3 downregulation leads to elongated ocular axial length and increased lens diameter. Together, our study provides insight into the genetics of EM in humans and highlights KDELR3’s role in EM pathogenesis.
ILC2-derived LIF licences progress from tissue to systemic immunity
Authors: Gogoi Mayuri , Clark Paula A. , Ferreira Ana C. F. , Rodriguez Rodriguez Noe , Heycock Morgan , Ko Michelle , Murphy Jane E. , Chen Victor , Luan Shi-Lu , Jolin Helen E. , McKenzie Andrew N. J. 
Published: August 2024

AbstractMigration and homing of immune cells are critical for immune surveillance. Trafficking is mediated by combinations of adhesion and chemokine receptors that guide immune cells, in response to chemokine signals, to specific locations within tissues and the lymphatic system to support tissue-localized immune reactions and systemic immunity1,2. Here we show that disruption of leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) production from group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) prevents immune cells leaving the lungs to migrate to the lymph nodes (LNs). In the absence of LIF, viral infection leads to plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) becoming retained in the lungs where they improve tissue-localized, antiviral immunity, whereas chronic pulmonary allergen challenge leads to marked immune cell accumulation and the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures in the lung. In both cases immune cells fail to migrate to the lymphatics, leading to highly compromised LN reactions. Mechanistically, ILC2-derived LIF induces the production of the chemokine CCL21 from lymphatic endothelial cells lining the pulmonary lymphatic vessels, thus licensing the homing of CCR7+ immune cells (including dendritic cells) to LNs. Consequently, ILC2-derived LIF dictates the egress of immune cells from the lungs to regulate tissue-localized versus systemic immunity and the balance between allergen and viral responsiveness in the lungs.