bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Land Surface Temperature Dynamics during COVID‐19 Lockdown in Diverse Climatic and Physiographic Zones—A Study of Indian Mega Cities
Authors: Mishra Ashish , Arya Dhyan S. 
Published: August 2024

ABSTRACTThe COVID‐19 pandemic, which originated in China at the end of 2019, escalated into a global crisis by March 2020. To mitigate its spread, governments worldwide implemented strict lockdown measures. While these lockdowns had adverse social, economic, and health impacts, they also led to significant environmental improvements in many regions. India's urban environment also significantly improved during lockdown. This study investigates the changes in Land Surface Temperature (LST) across eight major Indian cities, each representing diverse climatic and physiographic zones: Delhi, Dehradun, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. It aims to enhance the understanding of how sudden reductions in anthropogenic activities influence urban temperatures. The LST was computed for the lockdown period of April to May 2020 and was compared with the pre‐lockdown years of 2018 and 2019 and the post‐lockdown year of 2021, utilizing Landsat thermal data processed through the mono‐window algorithm. The results exhibit significant reductions in LST during the lockdown period. Cities like Delhi, Dehradun, and Lucknow experienced a reduction of 6°C, 5°C, and 4°C, respectively, in LST from pre‐lockdown to lockdown periods. In contrast, cities like Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, and Hyderabad experienced a reduction of around 2°C–3°C. However, the city of Kolkata showed an increase of 3°C from 2019 to 2020. These results highlight the substantial influence of human activities on urban thermal environments and underline the potential benefits of reducing anthropogenic impacts to improve urban thermal well‐being.
Using AlphaFold Multimer to discover interkingdom protein–protein interactions
Authors: Homma Felix , Lyu Joy , van der Hoorn Renier A. L. 
Published: August 2024

SUMMARYStructural prediction by artificial intelligence can be powerful new instruments to discover novel protein–protein interactions, but the community still grapples with the implementation, opportunities and limitations. Here, we discuss and re‐analyse our in silico screen for novel pathogen‐secreted inhibitors of immune hydrolases to illustrate the power and limitations of structural predictions. We discuss strategies of curating sequences, including controls, and reusing sequence alignments and highlight important limitations caused by different platforms, sequence depth and computing times. We hope these experiences will support similar interactomic screens by the research community.
Prediction of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells in healthy allogeneic stem cell donors on the Optia cell separator based on CE2: Which formula is more correlated with actual CD34+?
Authors: Özkan Sıdıka Gülkan , Kimiaei Ali , Safaei Seyedehtina , Ercan Tarık , Sönmezoğlu Meral , Demirel Gülderen Yanıkkaya , Aktaş Sema , Özdemir Sinem , Özalp Helin Serda , Özkan Hasan Atilla 
Published: August 2024

AbstractBackgroundPeripheral blood‐derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are widely used for various adult stem cell transplants. To obtain sufficient HSCs from healthy volunteer donors during the apheresis process and ensure that the donors are exposed to fewer apheresis‐related side effects, calculation methods have been developed for the prediction of processed blood volume or CD34+ count. However, there is no consensus on a formula to predict the volume of blood to be processed or the number of stem cells to be obtained.ObjectiveThis study aimed to estimate the predicted blood volume and CD34+ cell counts using collection efficiency (CE)‐based formulas and evaluate their accuracy compared to the actual CD34+ cell counts. It also seeks to identify the factors that affect CE.MethodsData from 397 healthy, unrelated stem cell donors were retrospectively analyzed. An algorithm using four different CE2 metrics (1st quartile, mean, 3rd quartile, and median) was developed to predict the volume of blood to be processed using the Spectra Optia continuous mononuclear cell collection procedure.ResultsWhen employing the mean CE2 algorithm, the results revealed a strong correlation (r = .894, p < .001) between predicted and actual CD34+ values. The study also identified strong associations between pre‐apheresis CD34+, pre‐apheresis leukocyte count, the use of two doses of G‐CSF, and low CE2.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the mean CE2 algorithm could be a potent, straightforward, and accurate tool for predicting CD34+ stem cell counts in healthy allogeneic stem cell donors and potentially optimizing stem cell collection procedures.
Improvement in Active Cell Proliferation Area at Higher Permeability With Novel TPMS Lattice Structure
Authors: Nhaichaniya Gajendra Kumar , Kumar Manish , Dayal Ram 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The utilization of lattice-based scaffolds emerging as an advance technique over conventional bio-implants in Bone Tissue Engineering. In this study, totally six lattice structures are considered for permeability and wall shear stress (WSS) investigation. Namely triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS)-based Gyroid, Schwarz-P, Schwarz-D, and two beam-based structure—Cubic and Fluorite are compared with the proposed new lattice structure at porosity level of 80%, 75%, and 70%. The proposed new lattice has combine characteristic of Gyroid and Schwarz-D TPMS lattice. The permeability is determined through Darcy's law, where the pressure drop across the lattice structure is calculated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool at flowrate between 0.2 and 10 ml/min. The Cubic and Schwarz-P lattice structures exhibited the highest permeability but at the cost of a lower active surface area for WSS, measuring below 155 mm2, means least cell proliferation occurs while the permeability value in New Lattice structure is in the ideal range with the enhanced active surface area for WSS (514 mm2). The complex internal curvatures of New Lattice promote the cell proliferation while the through-pore holes allow the efficient cell seeding.
Management of Vesicovaginal Fistula in Lower-Resource Settings: A Novel Device for Collection and Drainage of Urine
Authors: Pallinti Pranavi , Chang Emily A. , Gorman Kevin T. , Bhadra Erika , Lanzaro Jacqueline F. , Arun Siddharth , Zawicki Valerie , Rossmiller Helen R. , Jiang Ann Chenyu , Swaminathan Rahul , Chen Chi Chiung Grace 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Treatment of vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is currently limited to surgical repair that is costly and sparsely available and requires intervention from trained specialists, preventing patients in lower-resource settings from receiving effective care. As those who remain untreated continue to experience severe vaginal urinary leakage, an affordable, easy-to-use device that discreetly contains and redirects unwanted leakage of fluids would temporarily alleviate the social distress associated with VVF until patients can afford to present for treatment. We present a novel device to mitigate urinary leakage caused by VVF using a vaginal cup, which allows for the funneling and rerouting of urine into an external drainage bag, to be released at a user's convenience. For patients who cannot afford surgery, our device helps manage their symptoms so that they can reintegrate into society and no longer face the harrowing stigma of their family and society. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our device through preliminary benchtop testing, using a nonliving vaginal model to verify leak-free retainment of the device under varying pressure conditions. Preliminary results indicate that the device displayed no circumferential leakage, and the internal displacement of the cup was within the allotted range of 5 mm for applied hydrostatic pressures up to 150 cm H2O.
Characterization of Conventional Endovascular Devices in Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Authors: Alawneh Yara , Zhou James J. , Sewani Alykhan , Dueck Andrew , Tavallaei M. Ali 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are often repaired through an endovascular approach known as endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). The success and duration of these challenging procedures are primarily attributable to the accuracy and reliability of navigating corresponding interventional devices. This study investigates the performance of conventional nonsteerable and steerable catheters in EVAR procedures, focusing on two primary metrics: reachable workspace and gate cannulation success. We developed two abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) phantoms using patient CT images for our experiments. Under X-ray fluoroscopy guidance, the reachable workspace was quantified, and gate cannulation success rates, cannulation time, and fluoroscopy times were recorded for both nonsteerable and steerable catheters and were compared. We were unable to observe statistically significant differences between the two catheter types in overall cannulation success rates or fluoroscopy time. However, in challenging anatomical scenarios (particularly a more challenging gate location), the steerable catheter showed statistically significant advantages in success rates and cannulation times. While there were no statistical differences in reachable workspace between nonsteerable and steerable catheters when considering the whole aneurysm, segmented analysis showed that the steerable catheter performed better in the central region, and nonsteerable catheters performed better in the peripheral region. This study provides a systematic method for quantifying the performance of endovascular devices. The findings suggest that while steerable catheters may offer advantages in complex anatomical conditions, nonsteerable catheters are preferable in peripheral areas of the aneurysm. These insights can inform catheter selection in EVAR, potentially influencing device design and clinical practice.
Numerical Study on the Potential of Stratified Mixture to Improve Thermal Efficiency and Reduce Carbon Emissions in High-Speed Gasoline Direct Injection Engine
Authors: Wang Yi , Zhang Lina , Zhou Chengzhong , Guo Xiaoyu , Xing Kongzhao , Huang Haozhong 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Stratified combustion improves the indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, but the mechanism of its impact on unregulated emissions remains unclear. In this simulation-based study, double injection strategies were used to create stratified mixtures in the cylinder. The results indicated that as the second fuel injection quantity (FIQ) was increased or as the second fuel injection timing (FIT) was delayed, the oil-film mass increased, leading to an increase in soot emissions. The formation of a large area of stoichiometry (STO) region at the spark plug and at its right side increases the laminar flame velocity and improves the ITE. At 4000 rpm, the ITE of case2-2 (with a second FIT of −220 °CA after top dead center (ATDC) and a second FIQ of 65.5 mg) increased by 1.6% compared to the original scheme. With the increase in STO area, NOx emissions and the content of CH3OH and CH2O increased, while carbon monoxide (CO) and greenhouse gas emissions showed a decreasing trend. Compared to the original scheme, CO and greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 1.97% and 6.7%, respectively, in case2-2. This study provides guidance for the development of GDI engines with high ITE and low carbon emissions.
Uncertainty Quantification of Compressor Performance Affected by Data-Driven Blade Geometric Deviations
Authors: Ji Tianyuan , Chu Wuli 
Published: August 2024

AbstractAccurate uncertainty quantification of compressor performance arising from blade geometric deviations is conducive to blade optimization design, blade error verification, etc. In order to investigate the impact of actual blade geometric deviations on compressor performance, this study initially conducted measurements of geometric deviations on three sections of 100 blades. Then, the probability density distributions of various geometric deviations were obtained through kernel density estimation. Subsequently, combining data-driven nonintrusive polynomial chaos with Halton sequence, the distribution of sampling points and the construction approach of the response model were determined. Based on the parameterization of a subsonic rotor geometric model, blade samples with different geometric features were generated. Utilizing numerical simulation results of the aerodynamic performance of each sample, the impact of blade geometric deviations on compressor performance was quantified, and sensitivity analysis was conducted using Sobol' index. It was observed that the total pressure ratio was most sensitive to the stagger angle deviation at 50% blade height, while the sensitivity of the isentropic efficiency to each geometric deviation varied with operating conditions. Then, the flow field was divided into five regions based on different flow loss mechanisms, and a viscous loss coefficient was introduced to quantify the flow losses in each region. It was found that various geometric deviations at 50% span section, as well as leading edge radius deviation and stagger angle deviation at 95% span section, have a significant impact on the flow field losses.
Predicting NOx Emissions of a Lean Hydrogen Flame Using High and Low Order Computational Fluid Dynamics Models
Authors: Amerighi M. , Andreini A. , Orsino Stefano , Verma Ishan , Yadav Rakesh , Reichel T. , Tanneberger T. , Paschereit C. O. 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Recent efforts in numerical methods to study hydrogen combustion have allowed the development of affordable and reliable strategies that can reproduce the main structure of the flame. Although this objective represents a vital goal of the design process of a new combustor, properly estimating the emission remains an aspect that must be further investigated. In fact, due to the lack of experimental data, few numerical works addressed the evaluation of NOx emissions in hydrogen-fueled rigs. The present work aims to study turbulent combustion and NOx emission formation through different numerical approaches on a laboratory-scale atmospheric rig. The burner consists of a swirl-stabilized, technically premixed hydrogen-air flame, with detailed NOx emissions estimated via an experimental campaign at the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB). A first estimation is obtained through a high-fidelity simulation performed in order to assess the capability of a computationally expensive strategy to estimate NOx emissions. A species transport simulation adopting a thickened flame model in which NOx chemistry is included in the chemical mechanism is carried out. After that, a cost-efficient method is explored, allowing a quick assessment of the NOx. With this approach, named LES-to-RANS (L2R), time average fields are evaluated from an large eddy simulation (LES) species transport simulation with simplified chemistry. In particular, the NOx equations are performed on a frozen Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) framework as a postprocessed stage. The capabilities of the model are then tested under two different scenarios: adiabatic and non-adiabatic wall temperature. The computational accuracy of each approach is compared and discussed, with emphasis on computational cost.
Experimental Evaluation of Combustor Configuration's Impact on a Swirl-Assisted Jet-Stabilized Combustor Performance
Authors: Izadi Saeed , Zanger Jan , Seliger-Ost Hannah , Kutne Peter , Aigner Manfred 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
A major challenge for gas turbine combustor technology is the emission of NOx and carbon monoxide (CO). Achieving an optimal premixed, prevaporized, dry low-NOx condition is a critical issue for liquid fuel combustors. To accomplish this, the relationship between combustor configuration and the performance of a newly developed swirl-assisted jet-stabilized combustor is investigated in an atmospheric combustion facility. The combustor consists of a pressure-swirl fuel atomizer, a prefilmer/mixing channel, an axial moderate swirler (swirl number = 0.6), and a jet nozzle. The jet nozzle allowed for bulk velocities of 50–130 m/s. The influence of each combustor component on combustion performance and fuel evaporation behavior is evaluated independently using optical combustion diagnostics. In addition, the effect of air and liquid fuel temperature on fuel evaporation is characterized. Jet A-1 was injected coaxially into the air stream under both spray and superheated conditions. During the experiments, five critical combustor components were varied to understand their individual effect on fuel vaporization and thus combustion performance. Exhaust gas emissions of NOx, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) as well as OH* chemiluminescence images were used to evaluate combustor performance. Mie scattering technique was used to analyze the degree of liquid fuel evaporation for different test cases. It was found that the combustion performance indicator CO, height above burner, and flame length were well controlled by the degree of fuel evaporation, while NOx emissions showed little change with different combustor configurations. While the main factor influencing the level of NOx emissions was the adiabatic flame temperature, the quality of fuel evaporation played a minor role. It was found that the operating range of the combustor and the geometric shape of the flame are significantly influenced by the components of the combustor.
Predicting visual outcomes in keratoprosthesis surgery with critical flicker fusion frequency, B-scan, visual electrophysiology and endoscopy
Authors: Xu Guangcan , Qi Haolan , He Qianwei , Chen Mingxiong , Fu Junxia , Wang Qun , Chen Biyue , Yang Qing Hua , Huang Yifei , Wei Shihui , Wang Liqiang 
Published: August 2024

Purpose
This study evaluates the predictive power of the critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) test for visual outcomes in keratoprosthesis (KPro) candidates, comparing its accuracy with B-scan ultrasound, flash visual evoked potentials (fVEP) and endoscopy.

Methods
The study included 42 patients (42 eyes) scheduled for KPro surgery with a median follow-up period of 6 months. The receiver operating characteristic curve identified the cut-off threshold for CFF in the model development study (17 eyes). All patients in the comparison study (25 eyes) underwent preoperative assessments including trichromatic CFF (red, green and yellow), B-scan ultrasound, fVEP and perioperative endoscopy. Results were classified as either favourable or unfavourable predictors of visual outcomes based on predefined criteria. Sensitivity and specificity of each assessment were calculated based on postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA)≥20/200. The Bland-Altman test assessed the consistency between CFF-predicted BCVA and actual BCVA.

Results
Among the trichromatic CFF tests, the yellow-CFF (yCFF) exhibited the highest area under the curve value of 0.97 and a cut-off threshold at 10 Hz for predicting postoperative BCVA≥20/200 (p<0.05). yCFF achieved 90% sensitivity and 80% specificity in predicting satisfactory postoperative outcomes. Endoscopy had 80% sensitivity and 80% specificity, B-scan showed 70% sensitivity and 60% specificity, and fVEP had 75% sensitivity and 40% specificity. yCFF showed a mean bias of 0.091 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) in postoperative prediction.

Conclusions
The CFF test provides robust visual function evaluation in KPro candidates. It demonstrates superior predictive accuracy for visual prognosis compared with routine ophthalmologic examinations, such as B-scan ultrasonography, fVEP and endoscopy.
Sport PRactice and its Effects on aortic size and valve function in bicuspid Aortic valve Disease: a cross-sectional report from the SPREAD study
Authors: D'Ascenzi Flavio , Cavigli Luna , Cameli Matteo , Claessen Guido , van Craenenbroeck Emeline M , Cavarretta Elena , D'Andrea Antonello , Sanz De la Garza Maria , Eijsvogels Thijs M H , van Kimmenade Roland R J , Galian-Gay Laura , Halle Martin , Mandoli Giulia Elena , Mantegazza Valentina , Moreo Antonella , Schreurs Bibi , Stefani Laura , Zamorano Jose L , Pelliccia Antonio , Papadakis Michael 
Published: August 2024

Objective
Concerns exist about the possible detrimental effects of exercise training on aortic size and valve function in individuals with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). This multicentre international study aimed to determine the characteristics of aortic size and valve function in athletes versus non-athletes with BAV and athletes with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV).

Methods
We enrolled competitive athletes with BAV and age- and sex-matched athletes with TAV and non-athletes with BAV. We assessed valve function, aortic size and biventricular measures using echocardiography. Individuals with established moderate-severe AV stenosis, regurgitation or significant aortic dilation were excluded from the study.

Results
The study population comprised 504 participants: 186 competitive athletes with BAV (84% males; age 30±11 years), 193 competitive athletes with TAV and 125 non-athletes with BAV. The aortic annulus was greater in athletes with BAV than athletes with TAV and non-athletes with BAV (p<0.001). Both athletic and non-athletic individuals with BAV had greater sinuses of Valsalva, sino-tubular junction and ascending aorta diameters than athletes with TAV (p<0.001). However, no significant differences were found between athletes and non-athletes with BAV. Left ventricular index volumes and mass were greater in athletes with BAV than in the other two groups (p<0.001). Individuals with BAV (athletes and non-athletes) had greater mean gradients than TAV athletes.

Conclusion
This multicentre international study demonstrates no differences between athletes with BAV and non-athletes with BAV regarding aortic valve function or aortic dimensions. However, athletes with BAV have larger aortic diameters and a relatively worse valvular function than athletes with TAV.