bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Data-Driven Car Drag Prediction With Depth and Normal Renderings
Authors: Song Binyang , Yuan Chenyang , Permenter Frank , Arechiga Nikos , Ahmed Faez 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models have made significant progress in automating the creation of 3D shapes, which has the potential to transform car design. In engineering design and optimization, evaluating engineering metrics is crucial. To make generative models performance-aware and enable them to create high-performing designs, surrogate modeling of these metrics is necessary. However, the currently used representations of 3D shapes either require extensive computational resources to learn or suffer from significant information loss, which impairs their effectiveness in surrogate modeling. To address this issue, we propose a new 2D representation of 3D shapes. We develop a surrogate drag model based on this representation to verify its effectiveness in predicting 3D car drag. We construct a diverse dataset of 4535 high-quality 3D car meshes labeled by drag coefficients computed from computational fluid dynamics simulations to train our model. Our experiments demonstrate that our model can accurately and efficiently evaluate drag coefficients with an R2 value above 0.84 for various car categories. Our model is implemented using deep neural networks, making it compatible with recent AI image generation tools (such as stable diffusion) and a significant step toward the automatic generation of drag-optimized car designs. Moreover, we demonstrate a case study using the proposed surrogate model to guide a diffusion-based deep generative model for drag-optimized car body synthesis.
Calculation of Equivalent Thermal Conductivity of Motor Winding Based on Conductor Distribution
Authors: Yuan Ye , Li Bin , Zhang Zhongyi , Gao Peng , Li Guidan 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
To improve the calculation accuracy of motor thermal field, this paper proposes a method for calculating the equivalent thermal conductivity of winding based on conductor distribution, and a 24-slot 26-pole outer-rotor permanent magnet synchronous motor is taken as an example to verify the method. First, the equivalent thermal conductivity of winding is calculated by traditional equivalent methods, namely the equivalent insulation layer method and the area weighting method. Second, the equivalent thermal conductivity of the slot winding and end winding in the three-dimensional (3D) direction is derived using the conductor distribution method. Third, the 3D finite element models corresponding to three equivalent methods are established, and the temperature of the motor under different operating conditions is simulated and compared. Finally, an experimental platform is built to verify the accuracy of the proposed conductor distribution method.
Targeted Sampling Dynamic Window Approach: A Path-Aware Dynamic Window Approach Sampling Strategy for Omni-Directional Robots
Authors: Shen Chen , Song Soh Gim 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
This paper describes a sampling strategy for the dynamic window approach (DWA), a local path planner, for omni-directional robot motion planning. An efficient local planner allows the robot to quickly respond to dynamic obstacles and ensures that commanded velocities meet the dynamic constraints of the robot. While typical DWA implementations sample the velocity space evenly, we propose that targeted sampling (TS) will result in a more fine-grained search of the relevant velocity space, leading to better control and performance in space-constrained environments. Our TS-DWA strategy is informed by the global planned path, allowing us to sample more velocities in the general path direction. We employ a polar velocity generator to selectively sample velocities and couple angular velocity samples to the path curvature. A bias for angular velocity is added for robots with a preferred heading, such as robots with forward-mounted sensors, to quickly turn toward the desired direction for better sensing. The strategy is implemented as a robot operating system (ROS) navigation stack local_planner plugin and tested in simulation with Gazebo using an omni-directional robot platform. Experiments show that as the space around the simulated robot gets smaller, our proposed sampling strategy results in more successful navigation trials to the goal in space-constrained environments compared to other commonly used methods like DWA and timed-elastic-band, where planning fails or oscillates. TS-DWA was also deployed on the Vision60 quadrupedal robot to demonstrate navigation through narrow corridors in the real world.
Combined Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle and Organic Rankine Cycle for Exhaust Heat Recovery
Authors: Carapellucci Roberto , Di Battista Davide 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
In order to reduce energy consumption and related CO2 emissions, waste heat recovery is considered a viable opportunity in several economic sectors, with a focus on industry and transportation. Among different proposed technologies, thermodynamic cycles using suitable organic working fluids seem to be promising options, and the possibility of combining two different cycles improves the final recovered energy. In this paper, a combination of Brayton and Rankine cycles is proposed: the upper cycle has supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as its working fluid, while the bottomed Rankine section is realized by an organic fluid (organic Rankine cycle (ORC)). This combined unit is applied to recover the exhaust energy from the flue gases of an internal combustion engine (ICE) for the transportation sector. The sCO2 Brayton cycle is directly facing the exhaust gases, and it should dispose of a certain amount of energy at lower pressure, which can be further recovered by the ORC unit. A specific mathematical model has been developed, which uses experimental engine data to estimate a realistic final recoverable energy. The model is able to evaluate the performance of each recovery subsection, highlighting interactions and possible trade-offs between them. Hence, the combined system can be optimized from a global point of view, identifying the most influential operating parameters and also considering a regeneration stage in the ORC unit.
New Design and Prototype of Two Degrees-of-Freedom Planar Parallel Manipulator for Use in Creating an Infinite 3D Printer
Authors: De La Melena Miguel , Duan Shawn 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
This paper presents a novel two degrees-of-freedom planar parallel manipulator (PPM) designed for infinite-axis 3D printing, alongside tools for facilitating future design iterations. Unlike traditional gantry-supported designs used in infinite-axis 3D printing, which impose significant mass movement requirements, the examined new design prioritizes reducing overall weight to enhance speed potential at the cost of a reduced work area. In this innovative approach, the PPM effectively reduces weight by decoupling the motion of the hot end from that of the motor. Motors are attached to the frame, controlling a system of pulleys, and connecting arms to drive the hot-end's motion. Due to the length of the arms, the hot end will be unable to fully explore the entire printing plane. Verification of the angled PPM for 3D printing involved developing kinematic and dynamic equations, conducting finite element analysis on critical components, and testing a completed prototype. A metaheuristic optimization method was employed to derive optimal design parameters, focusing on optimizing the arm length of the connectors while maximizing dynamic performance. Considerations included the usable workspace and the angle between the connecting arm and end-effector. The final prototype validated the stability and rigidity of the PPM during movement, indicating its viability for 3D printing. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the capabilities of using an angled PPM in infinite 3D printing, providing fundamental knowledge crucial for future designs involving this innovative mechanism.
African polyvalent antivenom can maintain pharmacological stability and ability to neutralise murine venom lethality for decades post-expiry: evidence for increasing antivenom shelf life to aid in alleviating chronic shortages
Authors: Solano Gabriela , Cunningham Sinead , Edge Rebecca J , Duran Gina , Sanchez Adriana , Villalta Mauren , Clare Rachel H , Wilkinson Mark C , Marriott Amy E , Abada Camille , Menzies Stefanie K , Keen Molly , Lalloo David G , Stienstra Ymkje , Abouyannis Michael , Casewell Nicholas R , León Guillermo , Ainsworth Stuart 
Published: March 2024

IntroductionAntivenom is a lifesaving medicine for treating snakebite envenoming, yet there has been a crisis in antivenom supply for many decades. Despite this, substantial quantities of antivenom stocks expire before use. This study has investigated whether expired antivenoms retain preclinical quality and efficacy, with the rationale that they could be used in emergency situations when in-date antivenom is unavailable.MethodsUsing WHO guidelines and industry test requirements, we examined the in vitro stability and murine in vivo efficacy of eight batches of the sub-Saharan African antivenom, South African Institute for Medical Research polyvalent, that had expired at various times over a period of 30 years.ResultsWe demonstrate modest declines in immunochemical stability, with antivenoms older than 25 years having high levels of turbidity. In vitro preclinical analysis demonstrated all expired antivenoms retained immunological recognition of venom antigens and the ability to inhibit key toxin families. All expired antivenoms retained comparable in vivo preclinical efficacy in preventing the lethal effects of envenoming in mice versus three regionally and medically important venoms.ConclusionsThis study provides strong rationale for stakeholders, including manufacturers, regulators and health authorities, to explore the use of expired antivenom more broadly, to aid in alleviating critical shortages in antivenom supply in the short term and the extension of antivenom shelf life in the longer term.
Saffron therapy for the ongoing treatment of age-related macular degeneration
Authors: Broadhead Geoffrey K , Grigg John , McCluskey Peter J , Hong Thomas , Schlub Timothy E , Chu Eugenia , Chang Andrew A 
Published: March 2024

ObjectiveTo assess the long-term efficacy and safety of oral saffron, a natural antioxidant, in treating mild/moderate age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods and analysisOpen-label, extension trial of 93 adults (>50 years) with mild/moderate AMD and vision >20/70 Snellen equivalent in at least 1 eye. Exclusion criteria included confounding visual lesions or significant gastrointestinal disease impairing absorption.Participants were given oral saffron supplementation (20 mg/day) for 12 months. Those already consuming Age-Related Eye Diseases Study (AREDS) supplements or equivalent maintained these.Primary outcomes included changes in multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) response density and latency, and changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Secondary outcomes included safety outcomes, changes in mfERG and BCVA among participants on AREDS supplements and changes in microperimetry.ResultsAt 12 months, mean mfERG response density was significantly higher in rings 1, 2 and overall (p<0.001 for all) but not in rings 3–6, and there was no difference in response between those taking AREDS supplements and those not (p>0.05). Mean mfERG latency was not significantly different in any of rings 1–6 or overall (p>0.05 for all), again with no difference between those taking AREDS supplements or not (p>0.05). Mean BCVA was 1.6 letters worse (p<0.05) with no difference between those on AREDS supplements or not, and this may have been related to cataract progression. No saffron-related serious adverse events were detected.ConclusionSaffron supplementation modestly improved mfERG responses in participants with AMD, including those using AREDS supplements. Given the chronic nature of AMD, longer-term supplementation may produce greater benefits.
Comorbidities associated with adult asthma: a population-based matched cohort study in Finland
Authors: Lemmetyinen Riikka Emilia , Toppila-Salmi Sanna Katriina , But Anna , Renkonen Risto , Pekkanen Juha , Haukka Jari , Karjalainen Jussi 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundAsthma is a common chronic disease characterised by variable respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation, affecting roughly 4%–10% of the adult population. Adult asthma is associated with higher all-cause mortality compared to individuals without asthma. In this study, we investigate the comorbidities that may affect the management of asthma.MethodsTotal of 1648 adults with asthma and 3310 individuals without asthma aged 30–93 were matched with age, gender and area of residency, and followed from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2013. Baseline information was collected with questionnaires 1997 and follow-up register data from the national discharge registry Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Data included diagnoses from outpatient care and day surgery of specialised health care, and data from inpatient care of specialised and primary health care. We included all main diagnoses that had at minimum 200 events and number of diagnoses based on their common appearance with adult asthma.ResultsThe mean follow-up time varied between 14.2 and 15.1 years, and age at the time of enrolment was 53.9 years for subjects without asthma and 54.4 years for patients with asthma. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was 10 times more common among asthmatics. Risk of acute rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, atopic dermatitis and vocal cord dysfunction was fourfold and risk of pneumonia was 2.5 times and chronic rhinosinusitis was 1.8 times more common among asthmatics. Sleep apnoea, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, diabetes, allergic rhinitis and dysfunctional breathing were twofold and cataract nearly twofold higher in the asthmatic group. Adult asthma was also significantly associated with musculoskeletal diseases, incontinence and bronchiectasis.ConclusionsThe most common and most severe comorbidity of adult asthma in this study was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Other common comorbidities of adult asthma include acute rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, dysfunctional breathing, diabetes, pneumonia, sleep apnoea and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.
Utility of peripheral protein biomarkers for the prediction of incident interstitial features: a multicentre retrospective cohort study
Authors: Ash Samuel , Doyle Tracy J , Choi Bina , San Jose Estepar Ruben , Castro Victor , Enzer Nicholas , Kalhan Ravi , Liu Gabrielle , Bowler Russell , Wilson David O , San Jose Estepar Raul , Rosas Ivan O , Washko George R 
Published: March 2024

Introduction/rationaleProtein biomarkers may help enable the prediction of incident interstitial features on chest CT.MethodsWe identified which protein biomarkers in a cohort of smokers (COPDGene) differed between those with and without objectively measured interstitial features at baseline using a univariate screen (t-test false discovery rate, FDR p<0.001), and which of those were associated with interstitial features longitudinally (multivariable mixed effects model FDR p<0.05). To predict incident interstitial features, we trained four random forest classifiers in a two-thirds random subset of COPDGene: (1) imaging and demographic information, (2) univariate screen biomarkers, (3) multivariable confirmation biomarkers and (4) multivariable confirmation biomarkers available in a separate testing cohort (Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study (PLuSS)). We evaluated classifier performance in the remaining one-third of COPDGene, and, for the final model, also in PLuSS.ResultsIn COPDGene, 1305 biomarkers were available and 20 differed between those with and without interstitial features at baseline. Of these, 11 were associated with feature progression over a mean of 5.5 years of follow-up, and of these 4 were available in PLuSS, (angiopoietin-2, matrix metalloproteinase 7, macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha) over a mean of 8.8 years of follow-up. The area under the curve (AUC) of classifiers using demographics and imaging features in COPDGene and PLuSS were 0.69 and 0.59, respectively. In COPDGene, the AUC of the univariate screen classifier was 0.78 and of the multivariable confirmation classifier was 0.76. The AUC of the final classifier in COPDGene was 0.75 and in PLuSS was 0.76. The outcome for all of the models was the development of incident interstitial features.ConclusionsMultiple novel and previously identified proteomic biomarkers are associated with interstitial features on chest CT and may enable the prediction of incident interstitial diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Cancer-oocyte SAS1B protein is expressed at the cell surface of multiple solid tumors and targeted with antibody-drug conjugates
Authors: Mandal Arabinda , Shetty Jagathpala , Tran Christine A , Olson Walter C , Mandal Mriganka , Ban Bhupal , Pires Eusebio S , Adair Sara J , Bauer Todd W , Slingluff Craig L , Herr John C 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundSpermacrosomalSLLP1 binding (SAS1B) protein is found in oocytes, which is necessary for sperm-oocyte interaction, and also in uterine and pancreatic cancers. Anti-SAS1B antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) arrested growth in these cancers. However, SAS1B expression in cancers and normal tissues has not been characterized. We hypothesized that SAS1B is expressed on the surface of other common solid cancer cells, but not on normal tissue cells, and might be selectively targeted therapeutically.MethodsSAS1B expression in human normal and cancer tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry, and complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were employed to PCR amplify human SAS1B and its transcripts. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to human SAS1B were generated using mouse hybridomas. SAS1B deletion constructs were developed to map SAS1B’s epitope, enabling the creation of a blocking peptide. Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) of human transfected normal and cancer cells was performed to assess SAS1B expression. SAS1B intracellular versus surface expression in normal and tumor tissues was evaluated by flow cytometry after staining with anti-SAS1B mAb, with specificity confirmed with the blocking peptide. Human cancer lines were treated with increasing mAb and ADC concentrations. ATP was quantitated as a measure of cell viability.ResultsSAS1B expression was identified in a subset of human cancers and the cytoplasm of pancreatic islet cells. Two new SAS1B splice variants were deduced. Monoclonal antibodies were generated to SAS1B splice variant A. The epitope for mAbs SB2 and SB5 is between SAS1B amino acids 32–39. IIF demonstrated intracellular SAS1B expression in transfected kidney cells and on the cell surface of squamous cell lung carcinoma. Flow cytometry demonstrated intracellular SAS1B expression in all tumors and some normal cells. However, surface expression of SAS1B was identified only on cancer cells. SB2 ADC mediated dose-dependent cytotoxic killing of multiple human cancer lines.ConclusionSAS1B is a novel cancer-oocyte antigen with cell surface expression restricted to cancer cells. In vitro, it is an effective target for antibody-mediated cancer cell lysis. These findings support further exploration of SAS1B as a potential therapeutic cancer target in multiple human cancers, either with ADC or as a chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell target.
Sandstones and red beds in the Lower Cretaceous Sidi Aich Formation, Chotts Basin (Southern Tunisia): facies, architecture and depositional environments
Authors: Boukhalfa Kamel , Soussi Mohamed , Reynaud Jean-Yves , Banerjee Santanu 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

The Lower Cretaceous deposits of North Africa represent a terrestrial to shallow-marine sandstone-dominated succession often referred to as the ‘Continental Intercalaire’ and Nubian Sandstone informal groups. The upper Barremian Sidi Aich Formation of the Continental Intercalaire is distinguished throughout the Chotts basin of southern Tunisia by sandstone-dominated sequences within conglomerate, calcareous siltstone and palaeosol red bed occurrences. This paper aims to highlight: (1) the facies distribution, internal architecture and depositional environment of the sandbodies; and (2) the origin, spatial distribution and architecture of the red beds that underlined and topped sandbodies. Strata in the Zimlet El Beida anticlinal structure, Chotts basin, offer a good opportunity for detailed field observations and bed-by-bed logging of three representative lithostratigraphic sections. Detailed sedimentological investigation allows the recognition of several lithofacies grouped into three facies associations indicating tidal flat, tidal channel and tidal bar depositional settings characterizing a transgressive tide-dominated estuarine system that developed during an episode of relative sea-level fluctuations in the Early Cretaceous. The high-resolution petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical analyses of the red beds allow the differentiation of three distinct lithofacies sets including: (1) intraformational conglomerates; (2) calcareous siltstones; and (3) palaeosol. Major red beds comprise detrital grains inherited from the host or parent sediment and authigenic minerals (dolomite, calcite and hematite) precipitated during the diagenetic processes. Grain components have been partially or completely cemented and/or replaced by terrestrial phreatic dolomite. The negative δ
13
C and δ
18
O signatures of the dolomite analyses indicate that the dolomitization processes have been influenced by fluctuations of the groundwater table or climate change from semi-arid to semi-humid conditions. This study, therefore, may provide useful data for the better understanding of the internal architecture of the red beds associated with sandbodies that represent the main and significant potential reservoir within the Lower Cretaceous Continental Intercalaire sandstone-dominated groundwater aquifers of the Chotts basin.