bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multi-view unsupervised feature selection based on consensus indicator graph learning with adaptive similarity
Authors: Ma Yingcang , Zou Jinlin , Yang Xiaofei , Xing Zhiwei , Deng Yongmei 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Abstract: How to obtain discriminate features with consensus and complementary information between different views is crucial for multi-view feature selection. However, most of the existing methods often emphasize the consistency of multi-view structures and ignore their heterogeneous information. To tackle this issue, this study proposes multi-view unsupervised feature selection of consensus indicator graph learning with adaptive similarity(CIAS). Adaptive similarity learning of multiple views plays an important role in maintaining heterogeneous information in the selected features. Concretely, structural graphs with only 0-1 values, can be learned from the dissimilarity between the samples. Then, a shared indicator graph with consistent information is fused with the above indicator graphs of different views. Finally, the feature selection matrices of different views are guided by the shared indicator graph. It can solve the proposed model efficiently using an alternating iterative approach. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate our algorithm's superiority when compared to six new related algorithms.
Effect of Cementation Ratio and Molarity on Mechanical Properties of MICP-Treated Sand Subjected to Freeze-Thaw Cycles
Authors: Abbasi Mehdi , Hosseinpour Iman , Barari Amin , Mirmoradi Seyed Hamed 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

This study investigates the efficacy of microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) on the mechanical properties of poorly graded sand through a set of laboratory experiments. Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and calcium carbonate assessments were conducted to evaluate the influence of MICP under varying cementation concentrations, cementation ratios, and injection cycles. To this end, treated samples underwent 3, 14, and 21 injection cycles with cementation ratios ranging from 10–90% and molarities of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mol/L. Optimally stabilized samples were then subjected to 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 freeze-thaw cycles to evaluate their thermal durability. Correlation relationships were also developed to predict the compressive strength and stiffness of MICP-treated sand. Results demonstrated that MICP treatment effectively enhanced the UCS and stiffness by forming interlocking zones between the sand particles. Accordingly, the maximum UCS, secant stiffness, and constrained modulus were achieved at 14.98% calcite content using Sporosarcina pasteurii bacteria accompanied by a 50% cementation ratio and molarity of 0.75 mol/L over 21 injection cycles. Also, the optimally stabilized specimens exhibited 70% and 90% retention in USC and stiffness after 12 freeze-thaw cycles, confirming their sustainability under harsh thermal conditions.
Effect of Medial Stabilizer Chest Position on Pectus Bar Dislocation
Authors: Melhado Caroline , Highet Alexandra , Mukherjee Neal , Ozgediz Doruk , Idowu Olajire , Kim Sunghoon 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose:The current standard method for pectus excavatum (PE) repair is the Nuss procedure. One major postoperative complication is the displacement of the implanted metal bar, which is used to remodel the chest wall. Blocking the possible ways that the bar can be displaced with the use of stabilizers and peri/intracostal sutures has reduced the incidence of bar displacement. Despite the modifications, bar dislocation is often reported. We adopted the medial position stabilizer placement method and imposed no postoperative restrictions. In this study, we analyzed the bar dislocation rate with this modification and concurrent postoperative full activity.
Methods:Nuss procedure modification where stabilizers are placed bilaterally in the medial location was done on patients irrespective of age and Haller index greater than 3.25. A single bar was used for all patients. Cryoanalgesia was performed on every patient. No postoperative restrictions were imposed on the patients. Full immediate activities including sports were allowed.
Results: 114 patients (103 male, 11 female) were analyzed from 2016 to 2023. The median age was 15 years old. There was zero incidence of bar displacement. The combined incidence of other postoperative complications was 4%: 2 wound infection and 2 hematoma formation both needing incision and drainage.
Conclusion: Bilateral medial stabilizer placement resulted in no incidence of bar dislocation. Return to immediate full activities after Nuss procedure did not appear to increase the incidence of bar displacement if stabilizers are placed medially.
Enhancing Si-Nanowire Solar Cell Performance through Fabrication and Annealing Optimization
Authors: Muduli Sakti Prasanna , Kale Paresh 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

The notable optical and electrical features of Si nanowires (SiNWs) outperform conventional bulk silicon, including a large surface area, antireflective properties, and shorter carrier transportation paths for photovoltaics. However, the key challenge lies in the fabrication and doping of SiNWs for p-n junction. The cost-effective metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) lets the electrolyte etch the rear surface of the substrate. The dot electrode pattern on the front side and the close-periphery electrode on the rear side reduce the photocurrent collection. The spin-on-doping (SOD) leaves phosphorus clusters on the surface during diffusion, which needs dissolution and activation for doping uniformity. The work employs a modified MACE setup to prevent the electrolyte influence on the rear side and increase the photocurrent collection by modifying the front and rear electrode patterns. The increment in the annealing temperature up to 900 ºC dissolves the surface phosphorus clusters and activates the interstitial phosphorus atoms. The optical measurements and Hall mobility confirm the increased active phosphorus atoms. However, the surface oxidation, tip dissolution, and surface defects reduce the power conversion efficiency above the annealing temperature of 900 ºC. Due to increased shunt resistance, the fabrication modification and the annealing temperature optimization improve the power conversion efficiency and FF by 33.7% and 37.6%, respectively.
MicroRNA-718 inhibits mitochondrial fusion and ameliorates IMQ-induced psoriasis inflammation mediated by PHB and STAT1
Authors: Rani Himani , Saini Neeru 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Multiple inflammatory pathways contribute to the development of psoriasis, leading to the hyperproliferation and dedifferentiation of keratinocytes at the affected site. The precise etiology of psoriasis pathogenesis remains unclear. Given that a single miRNA can regulate a cellular process involving multiple genes, there has been a rise in miRNA-based therapy studies over the past few decades. The current study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of miR-718 overexpression in treating psoriasis and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms using an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced mouse model and human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Additionally, the drug tofacitinib was incorporated in the in-vivo study to provide further insights. We observed that miR-718 overexpression leads to the inhibition of JAK/STAT signaling, as evidenced by the reduced expression of STAT1, JAK1, JAK2, and JAK3, directly inhibiting STAT1, both in-vitro and in-vivo. Moreover, the expression of STAT2 and STAT3 was also found to be downregulated in in-vitrostudies. In-vivo studies further show that miR-718 decreases the NF-kB, critical mediators of inflammation, upon ectopic expression in psoriatic mice. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) results indicate reduced acanthosis and parakeratosis in IMQ-induced psoriatic mice, potentially resulting from halted JAK/STAT signaling. In the miR-718 transfected mice skin, there was decreased expression of VEGF and matrix metalloproteases (MMP7 and MMP9), as shown by IHC and western blotting, respectively. The study also demonstrated that miR-718 represses mitochondrial fusion by inhibiting MFN1, MFN2, PHB, and OPA1 in HaCaT cells, while increasing DRP1 expression. Understanding the mechanism by which miR-718 ameliorates psoriasis not only provides new insight but also raises hopes for translating miR-718 as potential therapeutic agent for psoriasis.
Nurse Adherence to the Use of Personal Protective Equipment While Handling Chemotherapy: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in Palestine
Authors: LAMA NADER , SACA-HAZBOUN HANAN 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess the level of compliance among oncology nurses with personal protective equipment while handling chemotherapy and determine factors hindering its use.
Method
In this cross-sectional study, 100 nurses from six Palestinian hospitals completed a paper-based questionnaire measuring compliance with personal protective equipment use, knowledge of exposure, self-efficacy, barriers, perceived risk, conflict of interest, interpersonal influences, and workplace safety climate. A bivariate correlation analysis was used.
Results
Nurses were experienced in oncology, well-educated, received training on the use of personal protective equipment, and, on average, treated 1–5 patients per day. Knowledge on chemotherapy exposure was low (Mean = 6.77, Standard Deviation ± 1.87); as was self-efficacy (13.22 ± 3.32). Perceived barriers to using personal protective equipment were moderate (29.93 ± 9.00); as was workplace safety climate (54.11 ± 11.43). Total precaution use during chemotherapy administration was moderate (2.3 ± 0.67). Nurse characteristics did not predict personal protective equipment use. Bivariate correlation showed fewer barriers and better interpersonal influences were independent predictors of higher personal protective equipment use.
Conclusions
This study demonstrated that Palestinian oncology nurses exhibited a moderate level of adherence to the use of personal protective equipment. Compliance with personal protective equipment was highest during chemotherapy administration and lowest during disposal activities. Further research is necessary to comprehend the impact of nurses' beliefs and attitudes on compliance levels. Additionally, future studies should consider other healthcare providers inadvertently exposed to chemotherapy.
3D Human Pose Estimation Based on Conditional Dual-Branch Diffusion Model
Authors: Li Jinghua , Bai Zhuowei , Kong Dehui , Chen Dongpan , Li Qianxing , Yin Baocai 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Thanks to the development of 2D keypoint detectors, monocular 3D human pose estimation (HPE) via 2D-to-3D lifting approaches have achieved remarkable improvements. However, monocular 3D HPE is still a challenging problem due to the inherent depth ambiguities and occlusions. Recently, diffusion models have achieved great success in the field of image generation. Inspired by this, we transform 3D human pose estimation problem into a reverse diffusion process, and propose a dual-branch diffusion model that could fully explore the global and local correlations between joints. Furthermore, we propose conditional dual-branch diffusion model to enhance the performance of 3D human pose estimation, in which the joint-level semantic information are regarded as the condition of the diffusion model, and integrated into the joint-level representations of 2D pose to enhance the expression of joints. The proposed method is verified on two widely used datasets and the experimental results have demonstrated the superiority.
Bayesian optimization-based XGBoost for performance Prediction of Carbon Nanotube Membranes
Authors: Wu Bin , chen Pengjie , Wei Mingjie 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Given the complex relationship between the structural features of carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes and their water permeability, predicting the performance of CNT membranes poses a significant challenge. The Bayesian optimization-based Extreme Gradient Boosting (Bayes-XGBoost) algorithm demonstrates considerable potential in capturing the intricate influences of various feature parameters on water permeability. An experimental dataset comprising 572 sets of data derived from molecular dynamics simulations serves as the characteristic dataset for machine learning, utilizing the Bayes-XGBoost algorithm to elucidate the connection between the structural features of CNT membranes and their filtration performance. The results indicate that, in predicting the permeability of CNT membranes, the Bayes-XGBoost algorithm achieves an impressive prediction accuracy of 97.82%, exhibiting faster convergence speed and higher predictive precision compared to traditional machine learning algorithms. Additionally, the optimal combination of CNT membrane feature parameters was identified through a genetic algorithm, providing robust support for the design and fabrication of high-performance CNT membranes. This highlights the significant potential of the Bayes-XGBoost in the field of material design.
Do children laugh like their parents? Conversational laughter mimicry occurrence and acoustic alignment in middle-childhood
Authors: Mazzocconi Chiara , O’Brien Benjamin , Bodur Kübra , Fourtassi Abdellah 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Laughter is ubiquitous and crucial in social interactions. In addition to conveying meaning, it is a valuable means for monitoring interlocutor mental states and mutual cognitive alignment. Laughter has been shown to be informative about the pragmatic development of pre-school children. The current paper investigates laughter mimicry and acoustic alignment in middle childhood in a corpus of parent-child and parent-adult computer-mediated conversations. We performed both distributional and acoustic analyses. While there was no significant differences in terms of laughter frequency between children and adults, laughter mimicry was significantly less frequent in parent-child than in parent-adult interactions, although balanced at an intra-dyad level. A spectro-temporal modulation analysis revealed that mimicking laughter exhibited an increase in low-frequency spectral modulations compared to non-mimicking laughter for all participants, partly explained by heightened arousal. To test whether this pattern was related to a local alignment to the partner’s preceding laughter, we compared distances from genuine and pseudo-random initiating-mimicry laughter pairs. In parent-adult interactions, confirming previous studies, laughs constituting genuine pairs were acoustically more similar than those constituting pseudo-random pairs. No such pattern was found in parent-child interactions. Our results suggest that although laughter production during middle-childhood resembles adult-like use in terms of frequency, arousal, and balance between interactants, it is still significantly different when considering laughter mimicry, both in terms of transitional probabilities and acoustic alignment between interlocutors. Our study forms a basis for discussion on current theoretical models of alignment, its interplay with interactional dynamics, and the entanglement of laughter use with pragmatic development.
A Noval Approach based on Dual-Branch Encoder and Attention Skip Connections Decoder for Hard Exudate Segmentation
Authors: Li Bo , Zou Beiji , Xiao Xiaoxia , Peng Qinghua , Yan Junfeng , Zhang Wensheng , Li Yang 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a chronic condition that can lead to significant vision loss and even blindness. Existing deep networks for hard exudate segmentation in fundus images face two primary challenges: (1) The receptive field of traditional convolution operations is limited, resulting in poor hard exudate extraction performance; (2) Due to the irregular distribution and different sizes of fine exudates, it is easy to lose information about tiny exudates during the feature extraction process. To address these challenges, we propose DBASNet, a novel lesion segmentation model. In order to solve the problem of insufficient segmentation caused by the limitations of the receptive field, we propose a new multi-scale attention feature extraction (MAT) module. Combined with the dual encoder structure, the features extracted by MAT and EfficientNet in the dual branches are fused to effectively expand the perceptual field and avoid information loss. We also propose an attentional skip connection (AS) module in the decoder to filter and retain channel and spatial information, enrich skip connections and carry feature information of tiny lesions. Experiments on publicly available datasets IDRiD and E-Ophtha-EX demonstrate effectiveness of our method. DBASNet achieves 79.48, 80.35, 79.81, and 66.64% of recall, precision, Dice, and IOU metrics on IDRiD and 52.73, 60.33, 56.16, and 39.82% on E-Ophtha-EX, respectively. DBASNet outperforms some state-of-the-art approaches. The quantitative and qualitative findings unequivocally establish the pre-eminence of DBASNet in the field of lesion segmentation relevant to diabetic retinopathy.
Sex Dependent Intergenerational Effects of Lead in Mouse Model
Authors: Banda Nelly , Soe Nyein , Yabe John , Doya Rio , Yohannes Yared , Ikenaka Yoshinori , Ishizuka Mayumi , Nakayama Shouta 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Lead contaminated soils remains one of the major sources of lead (Pb) exposure with high impact on fertility in both males and females, pregnancy outcomes and child brain development. We investigated inhalation and ingestion as medium of Pb exposure via soil in male and female mice. Exposure was then withdrawn prior to mating thus we investigated the lingering effects of Pb on fertility in F0 generation and neurological development in F1 generation. Lead exposure reduced conception rates with a cumulative decrement being recorded when both males and females are exposed. Male testicular gene expression revealed reduction in fertility was caused by oxidative stress. Cessation of exposure did not alleviate neurological deficits in F1 generation, as offspring of exposed individuals performed poorly in the water Morris test when compared to control. The severity of the effects was also parent dependent and sex dependent. Paternal Pb exposure also caused some neurological and motor deficits, with effects being more pronounced in female offspring. The female offspring of paternal Pb exposure showed gene expression of changes occurring more in prefrontal cortex than in hippocampus, a trend recorded in their sires. This trend suggests that Pb neurological effects may be X- chromosome linked.
Ceftazidime-Avibactam for the Treatment of Febrile Neutropenia in HSCT Recipients and Acute Leukemia Patients Post Induction Chemotherapy
Authors: Frem Jim Abi , Khazzeka Alicia , Allaw Fatima , Doueiry Caren , Ghoussaini Racha , Mohamad Rayan , Kanafani Zeina A. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Febrile neutropenia is a common and major complication in patients with acute leukemia or those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Understanding patient characteristics and patterns of susceptibility in febrile neutropenia is essential to provide the appropriate antimicrobial therapy. First-line agents should have Pseudomonas coverage, but with the increase in multi-drug resistant organisms, ceftazidime-avibactam has emerged as a new therapy in febrile neutropenia.
Methods
This is a retrospective case-control study of a total of 300 admissions (143 patients) between January 2009 and December 2017. Patients with hematologic neoplasms and patients that underwent HSCT who satisfied the definition of febrile neutropenia and treated with ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZAVI) were included in the study. A bivariate regression model to explore independent predictors of septic shock and mortality was constructed.
Results
Patients who received ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZAVI) were more likely to have a microbiologically documented infection (59.0% vs. 28.3%). Almost all complications were significantly more frequent in the CAZAVI group, with sepsis being the most common, occurring in 59.0% of patients in the CAZAVI arm. Our multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that receiving CAZAVI was an independent risk factor for both sepsis and mortality (aOR 6.33 [95% CI 2.81–14.30] and 7.82 [2.63–23.26], respectively).
Conclusion
Knowing the most common organisms isolated during a neutropenic fever episode as well as the patterns of resistance, compounded with an understanding of the risk factors for morbidity and mortality in such a vulnerable population, is key to providing them with appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic management. In addition, more studies should be done on the effectiveness of ceftazidime-avibactam in treating febrile neutropenia in the population at hand.
Deep Learning-Empowered Channel Estimation for 6G Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications
Authors: Chen Xin , Hou Zhiwei , Zhu Yaolin 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications play a vital role in intelligent transportation. Especially in the 6G environments, the accuracy and efficiency of channel estimation techniques for V2V communication are crucial for realizing reliable autonomous driving and traffic systems. Although the convolutional neural network (CNN) has exhibited notable effectiveness in channel estimation for wireless communication systems, there are still severe open challenges in achieving desirable performance and computation complexity. To fill the gap, a novel deep learning-based channel estimation network (CEN) for multi-scene V2V channel estimation is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a novel bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) framework is introduced for V2V channel estimation. Then, the fully connected neural network (FCNN) network is used for the output dimensionality reduction. Finally, the temporal averaging (TA) processing is designed for eliminating the noise. Simulation results show that the proposed channel estimation scheme is superior to traditional channel estimation algorithms with desirable performance and lower computational load in urban environments.