bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How Challenging is a Challenge? CEMS: a Challenge Evaluation Module for SLAM Visual Perception
Authors: Zhao Xuhui , Gao Zhi , Li Hao , Ji Hong , Yang Hong , Li Chenyang , Fang Hao , M. Chen Ben 
Published: March 2024

AbstractDespite promising SLAM research in both vision and robotics communities, which fundamentally sustains the autonomy of intelligent unmanned systems, visual challenges still threaten its robust operation severely. Existing SLAM methods usually focus on specific challenges and solve the problem with sophisticated enhancement or multi-modal fusion. However, they are basically limited to particular scenes with a non-quantitative understanding and awareness of challenges, resulting in a significant performance decline with poor generalization and(or) redundant computation with inflexible mechanisms. To push the frontier of visual SLAM, we propose a fully computational reliable evaluation module called CEMS (Challenge Evaluation Module for SLAM) for general visual perception based on a clear definition and systematic analysis. It decomposes various challenges into several common aspects and evaluates degradation with corresponding indicators. Extensive experiments demonstrate our feasibility and outperformance. The proposed module has a high consistency of 88.298% compared with annotation ground truth, and a strong correlation of 0.879 compared with SLAM tracking performance. Moreover, we show the prototype SLAM based on CEMS with better performance and the first comprehensive CET (Challenge Evaluation Table) for common SLAM datasets (EuRoC, KITTI, etc.) with objective and fair evaluations of various challenges. We make it available online to benefit the community on our website.
Visual lung ultrasound protocol (VLUP) in acute respiratory failure: description and application in clinical cases
Authors: Bianchini A. , Zernini Irene Sbaraini , Notini G. , Zangheri E. , Felicani C. , Vitale G. , Siniscalchi A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractLung ultrasound (LUS) is widely used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool in critically ill patients. Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) based on the examination of twelve thoracic regions has been extensively validated for pulmonary assessment. However, it has revealed significant limitations: when applied to heterogeneous lung diseases with intermediate LUSS pattern (LUSS 1 and 2), for instance, intra-observer consistency is relatively low. In addition, LUSS is time-consuming and a more rapid overview of the extent of lung pathology and residual lung aeration is often required, especially in emergency setting. We propose a Visual Lung Ultrasound Protocol (VLUP) as a rapid monitoring tool for patients with acute respiratory failure. It consists of a probe sliding along the mid-clavicular, mid-axillary and scapular lines in transversal scan. VLUP allows a visualization of a large portion of the antero-lateral and/or posterior pleural surface. Serial assessments of two clinical cases are recorded and visually compared, enabling rapid understanding of lung damage and its evolution over time. VLUP allows a semi-quantitative and qualitative point-of-care assessment of lung injury. Through this standardized approach it is possible to accurately compare subsequent scans and to monitor the evolution of regional parenchymal damage. VLUP enables a quick estimation of the quantitative-LUSS (qLUSS) as the percentage of pleura occupied by artifacts, more suitable than LUSS in inhomogeneous diseases. VLUP is designed as a standardized, point-of-care lung aeration assessment and monitoring tool. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate this new technique and to describe its applications.
Nachleben der Antike, Time, and Restitution: Notes for a Nocturnal Jurisprudence of the Image
Authors: Stramignoni Igor 
Published: March 2024

AbstractJustice is usually represented as a feminine figure holding a pair of scales and a sword. The history of that image is relatively recent and has attracted a great deal of attention. However, a different appreciation of it may come from a “nocturnal” jurisprudence seeking to foreground its presence and effects in the transmission of modern culture and so also of law. In this essay, I take my cue from Aby Warburg and the Pathosformeln that, he suggested, can be glimpsed through certain material objects inherited from the past—specifically, Dürer’s The Death of Orpheus and other related visual art. I then consider what Giorgio Agamben calls ‘the image of the image’ emphasising the timely quality of those images and I ask, with Georges Didi-Huberman, whether it might not be high time to “return” that which those images ostensibly show. The associations established in this essay between those different insights may help to recognise the extent to which the innumerable images to do with justice found at the four corners of the world can make the cognitive and emotional experience of those encountering them a rather more complex and potentially problematic affair than it may be at first supposed. What, on closer inspection, can those images give us to see? Are the ancient configurations they sometimes transmit not made up of crystals of historical memory carrying dormant energies that could be suddenly reignited in unpredictable ways? Should the task ahead not be, in some cases, one of restitution—the inapparent gift that turns the “blotted-out” into something striking that can be then handed over and known? These, I argue, are some of the questions a “nocturnal” jurisprudence of the image can be about.
Living ethics: a stance and its implications in health ethics
Authors: Racine Eric , Ji Sophie , Badro Valérie , Bogossian Aline , Bourque Claude Julie , Bouthillier Marie-Ève , Chenel Vanessa , Dallaire Clara , Doucet Hubert , Favron-Godbout Caroline , Fortin Marie-Chantal , Ganache Isabelle , Guernon Anne-Sophie , Montreuil Marjorie , Olivier Catherine , Quintal Ariane , Senghor Abdou Simon , Stanton-Jean Michèle , Martineau Joé T. , Talbot Andréanne , Tremblay Nathalie 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMoral or ethical questions are vital because they affect our daily lives: what is the best choice we can make, the best action to take in a given situation, and ultimately, the best way to live our lives? Health ethics has contributed to moving ethics toward a more experience-based and user-oriented theoretical and methodological stance but remains in our practice an incomplete lever for human development and flourishing. This context led us to envision and develop the stance of a “living ethics”, described in this inaugural collective and programmatic paper as an effort to consolidate creative collaboration between a wide array of stakeholders. We engaged in a participatory discussion and collective writing process known as instrumentalist concept analysis. This process included initial local consultations, an exploratory literature review, the constitution of a working group of 21 co-authors, and 8 workshops supporting a collaborative thinking and writing process. First, a living ethics designates a stance attentive to human experience and the role played by morality in human existence. Second, a living ethics represents an ongoing effort to interrogate and scrutinize our moral experiences to facilitate adaptation of people and contexts. It promotes the active and inclusive engagement of both individuals and communities in envisioning and enacting scenarios which correspond to their flourishing as authentic ethical agents. Living ethics encourages meaningful participation of stakeholders because moral questions touch deeply upon who we are and who we want to be. We explain various aspects of a living ethics stance, including its theoretical, methodological, and practical implications as well as some barriers to its enactment based on the reflections resulting from the collaborative thinking and writing process.
CFGPFSR: A Generative Method Combining Facial and GAN Priors for Face Super-Resolution
Authors: Liu Jinbo , Liu Zhonghua , Ou Weihua , Zhang Kaibing , Liu Yong 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn recent years, facial prior has been widely applied to enhance the quality of super-resolution (SR) facial images in face super-resolution (FSR) methods based on deep learning. However, most of the existing facial prior-based FSR methods have insufficient attention to local texture details, which can cause the generated SR facial images with overly smooth and unrealistic texture details, and show obvious artifacts under large magnification. With the help of GAN prior, recent advances can produce excellent results in terms of fidelity and realness. A generative framework for FSR is proposed in this work, which combines GAN and facial prior, termed CFGPFSR. Firstly, we pre-train a face StyleGAN2 and a face parsing network (FPN) that can generate decent parsing maps, in which the proposed CFGPFSR exploits rich and varied priors encapsulated in the face StyleGAN2 (GAN prior) and face parsing maps extracted from the FPN (facial prior) for FSR. Moreover, we introduce the Channel-Split Spatial Feature Transform (CS-SFT) method to further improve FSR performance. GAN and facial priors are introduced into the FSR process through the designed CS-SFT layers so that SR facial images obtain a promising balance between fidelity and realness. Unlike GAN inversion methods which necessitate costly image optimization at runtime, the proposed CFGPFSR can jointly recover facial details by only utilizing one forward pass. Experimental results on synthetic and real images indicate that the proposed CFGPFSR obtains remarkable performance in 16 × SR task, and some of its metrics such as peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) are higher than that of the comparison methods. Meanwhile, it shows impressive results in reconstructing high-quality facial images.
A complete methodology to assess hydraulic risk in small ungauged catchments based on HEC-RAS 2D Rain-On-Grid simulations
Authors: Ennouini Wafae , Fenocchi Andrea , Petaccia Gabriella , Persi Elisabetta , Sibilla Stefano 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis paper explores the use of the rain-on-grid (or direct rainfall) method for flood risk assessment at a basin scale. The method is particularly useful for rural catchments with small vertical variations and complex interactions with man-made obstacles and structures, which may be oversimplified by traditional hydrologically based estimations. The use of a hydrodynamic model solving mass and momentum conservation equations allows the simulation of runoff over the watershed at a basin scale. As a drawback, more detailed and spatially distributed data are needed, and the computational time is extended. On the other hand, a smaller number of parameters is needed compared to a hydrological model. Roughness and rainfall loss coefficients need to be calibrated only. The direct rainfall methodology was here implemented within the two-dimensional HEC-RAS model for the low-land rural, and ungauged, watershed of the Terdoppio River, Northern Italy. The resulting hydrographs at the closing section of the watershed were compared to synthetic design hydrographs evaluated through pure hydrological modelling, showing agreement on the peak discharge values for the low-probability scenarios, but not on the total volumes. The results in terms of water depth and flow velocity maps were used to create flood hazard maps using the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience methodology. The Index of Proportional Risk model was then adopted to generate a basin-scale flood risk map, by combining flood hazard maps, damage functions for different building-use classes, and the value of reconstruction and content per unit area.
Robust score matching for compositional data
Authors: Scealy Janice L. , Hingee Kassel L. , Kent John T. , Wood Andrew T. A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe restricted polynomially-tilted pairwise interaction (RPPI) distribution gives a flexible model for compositional data. It is particularly well-suited to situations where some of the marginal distributions of the components of a composition are concentrated near zero, possibly with right skewness. This article develops a method of tractable robust estimation for the model by combining two ideas. The first idea is to use score matching estimation after an additive log-ratio transformation. The resulting estimator is automatically insensitive to zeros in the data compositions. The second idea is to incorporate suitable weights in the estimating equations. The resulting estimator is additionally resistant to outliers. These properties are confirmed in simulation studies where we further also demonstrate that our new outlier-robust estimator is efficient in high concentration settings, even in the case when there is no model contamination. An example is given using microbiome data. A user-friendly R package accompanies the article.
A new species of branchial fish parasitic deep-sea isopod, Brucethoa Aneesh, Hadfield, Smit & Kumar, 2020 (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from the Indian Ocean, with the transfer of two Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 species
Authors: Aneesh Panakkool Thamban , Helna Ameri Kottarathil , Kumar Appukuttannair Biju 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBrucethoa isron. sp., a new species of deep-sea cymothoid is described and illustrated from the host fish Spinyjaw greeneye, Chlorophthalmus corniger Alcock, 1894, at depths of 265 to 458 metres from the southwest coast of India. Brucethoa isron. sp. is recovered from the base of the gill cavity, facing the head towards the anterior, and the dorsal body closely adpressed against the gill, while the ventral brood presses against the inner wall of the operculum. Brucethoa isron. sp., the second species of the genus, is characterized by: head weakly immersed in pereonite 1, very elongated body (3.15 times as long as wide); body dorsum not vaulted, almost flat; all coxae short, 0.5 times as the length of corresponding pereonites; sternite 7 with prominent posterior lobes. All adult life stages of the new species are described [including females (ovigerous and non-ovigerous), males, transitional, and juvenile. The species is currently known from the southwest coast of India and is the type locality. Additionally, this research provides valuable ecological insights into Brucethoa isron. sp. and its habitat. As part of the taxonomic contributions, two species, Brucethoa alvaradoensis (Rocha-Ramírez, Chávez-López & Bruce, 2005) comb. n. and Brucethoa epinepheli (Trilles & Justine, 2010) comb. n., are transferred from the Elthusa genus to the Brucethoa genus.
AU Introspection and Symmetry under non-trivial unawareness
Authors: Tada Yoshihiko 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis note discusses the relationship between AU Introspection (i.e., an agent is unaware of some event, then she is unaware of that she is unaware of the event) and Symmetry (i.e., an agent is unaware of some event if and only if she is unaware of the complement set) for non-trivial unawareness (i.e., there is an event an agent is unaware of). without Negative Introspection using a set-theoretical approach in standard state-space models. Previous studies have explored the equivalence between Negative Introspection and AU Introspection, or the equivalence between Negative Introspection and Symmetry, by assuming Necessitation of the knowledge operator. As a corollary, AU Introspection is equivalent to Symmetry. However, no studies have shown the relationship between AU Introspection and Symmetry without Necessitation. Therefore, we explore this issue. Our main result shows that if the knowledge operator satisfies Monotonicity, Truth, and Positive introspection, then Modica and Rustichini’s definition of unawareness leads to the equivalence of AU Introspection and Symmetry. In other words, we show that both AU Introspection and Symmetry hold without clashing with non-trivial unawareness.
Production of biodiesel from waste fish fat through ultrasound-assisted transesterification using petro-diesel as cosolvent and optimization of process parameters using response surface methodology
Authors: Parida Soumya , Pali Harveer Singh , Chaturvedi Anurag , Sharma Abhishek , Balasubramanian Dhinesh , Ramegouda Ravikumar , Tran Viet Dung , Nguyen Van Giao , Shobanabai Femilda Josephin Joseph , Varuvel Edwin Geo 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBiodiesel is a highly promising and viable alternative to fossil-based diesel that also addresses the urgent need for effective waste management. It can be synthesized by the chemical modification of triglycerides sourced from vegetable origin, animal fat, or algal oil. The transesterification reaction is the preferred method of producing biodiesel. However, the non-miscibility of alcohol and oil layer causes excessive utilization of alcohol, catalyst, and a substantial reacting time and temperature. In the current investigation, transesterification of waste fish oil was performed with petro-diesel as cosolvent, under the influence of ultrasound energy. The combination of both techniques is a unique and efficient way to minimize the mass transfer limitations considerably and hence reduces the parameters of the reaction. It is also a sincere effort to comply with the principles of green chemistry. The optimum reaction conditions were obtained using response surface methodology (RSM) that were as follows: molar ratio of methanol to oil 9.09:1, catalyst concentration of 0.97 wt%, cosolvent concentration of 29.1 wt%, temperature 60.1℃, and a reacting time 30 min. Under these listed conditions, 98.1% biodiesel was achievable, which was in close agreement with the expected result. In addition, the cosolvent removal step from the crude biodiesel was also eliminated as it could be employed as a blended fuel in CI engines.
Screening of variables affecting the selective leaching of valuable metals from waste motherboards’ PCBs
Authors: Rahimi Vahid , Inzulza-Moraga Emilio Antonio , Gómez-Díaz Diego , Freire María Sonia , González-Álvarez Julia 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe presence of valuable and hazardous metals in waste printed circuit boards, especially, motherboards, makes their recovery necessary as implies great economic and environmental advantages and develops urban mining processes. Hence, this research is focused on the selective leaching of Cu, Pb, and Sn as base metals using nitric acid and hydrochloric acid and Au, Ag, and Pd as precious metals using thiourea and sodium thiosulfate from waste motherboards’ PCBs in a sequential eco-friendly two-stage process. Previously, thiourea and sodium thiosulfate were used as leaching agents to investigate their applicability for the leaching of metals from PCBs in a single-stage process. Screening experimental design was applied to screen the variables affecting the leaching process in order to evaluate their impact on the recovery of metals and select the significant factors. The results demonstrated that base and precious metals can be leached appropriately in two consecutive stages compared to a single-stage process. Nitric acid was found to be a much more efficient agent to leach Cu and Pb in comparison with hydrochloric acid which was more suitable for the leaching of Sn. In the case of precious metals, higher amounts of Au were leached using thiourea, whereas sodium thiosulfate was able to leach more Pd. Roughly similar results were obtained for the leaching of Ag using these leaching agents. Nitric acid concentration, average particle size, temperature, and leaching time were found to be significant to maximize the leaching of Cu and Pb and minimize that for Au, Ag, and Pd in the first stage. Initial pH was the only variable influencing the second stage, in particular, Au leaching by thiourea.
The Hyperintensional Variant of Kaplan’s Paradox
Authors: Lenta Giorgio 
Published: March 2024

AbstractDavid Kaplan famously argued that mainstream semantics for modal logic, which identifies propositions with sets of possible worlds, is affected by a cardinality paradox. Takashi Yagisawa showed that a variant of the same paradox arises when standard possible worlds semantics is extended with impossible worlds to deliver a hyperintensional account of propositions. After introducing the problem, we discuss two general approaches to a possible solution: giving up on sets and giving up on worlds, either in the background semantic framework or in the corresponding conception of propositions. As a result, we conclude that abandoning worlds by embracing a truthmaker-based approach offers a promising way to account for hyperintensional propositions without facing the paradoxical outcome.
Towards 24/7 MRI: the effect of routine weekend inpatient MRI scanning on patient waiting times
Authors: Garrahy Darragh , Doran Simon , O’Neill Hazel , Dennan Suzanne , Beddy Peter 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Background
Demand for inpatient MRI outstrips capacity which results in long waiting lists. The hospital commenced a routine weekend MRI service in January 2023.

Aim
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a limited routine weekend MRI service on MRI turnaround times.

Methods
Waiting times for inpatient MRI scans performed before and after the introduction of weekend MRI from January 1 to August 31, 2022, and January 1 to August 31, 2023, were obtained. The turnaround time (TAT) and request category for each study were calculated. Category 1 requests were required immediately, category 2 requests were urgent and category 3 requests were routine.

Results
There was a 6% (n = 128) increase in MRI inpatient scanning activity in 2023 (n = 2449) compared to 2022 (n = 2322). There was a significant improvement in overall mean TAT for inpatient MRIs (p < .001) in 2023 (mean 65.2 h, range 0–555 h) compared to 2022 (mean 98.3 h, range 0–816 h). There was no significant difference in the mean waiting time for category 1 MRIs between 2022 and 2023. There was a significant improvement (p < .001) in mean waiting time in 2023 (mean 37.2 h, range 0–555) compared to 2022 (mean 55.4 h, range 0–816) for category 2 MRI. The mean waiting time for category 3 studies also significantly improved (p < .001) in 2023 (mean 93.4 h, range 1–2663) when compared to 2022 (mean 154.8, range 1–1706).

Conclusion
Routine weekend inpatient MRI significantly shortens inpatient waiting times.
Examining the approach to medical remediation programmes—an observational study
Authors: Maher Sean , Ryan Stephanie , O’Brien Conor , Fraughen Daniel , Spooner Muirne , McElvaney Noel G. 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Background
Remediation of underperforming students is recognised as an important tool in medical education; however, there is no universally agreed approach.

Aims
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a remediation program for final year medical students who failed their first long case assessment (LCA1) and to compare their academic performance with their peers who passed their first long case assessment.

Methods
The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 analysed the demographics and academic performance data for the 9% of the class in the remediation group. Phase 2 focused on collecting similar data for the remaining 91% of students in the non-remediation group. Statistical analyses including the Wilcoxon rank sum test and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to compare the groups.

Results
Phase 1 showed 88% of students who participated in remediation successfully passed the second long case assessment (LCA2); however, 25% of this cohort ultimately failed the academic year due to poor results in other assessments. Phase 2 results revealed that non-remediation group students scored significantly higher in LCA2 (59.71% vs 52.07%, p < 0.001) compared to their remediation counterparts, despite 19% of them failing this assessment. Non-remediation group students consistently outperformed their remediation group counterparts in formative and summative assessments. Overall, 6.25% of the entire class failed the academic year.

Conclusion
This study demonstrates the need to focus on overall academic performance to identify struggling students rather than one high stakes exam. Most of the students in the remediation programme ultimately passed LCA2.