bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implication of abandoned post‐quarry sites on avifauna composition for strategic landscape restoration in Ndarugu, Kiambu, Kenya
Authors: Mukundi John Bosco , Waweru Stephen Waringo , Ndang'ang'a Paul Kariuki 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAbandoned post‐quarry sites have potentiality to be remodeled into natural‐wilderness areas, a desire especially in rapidly urbanizing and transforming landscapes. However, paucity of ecological information on post‐quarry sites limits nature‐based restoration, especially in the sub‐Saharan tropical landscape. This study investigated avifauna composition of post‐quarry sites in Ndarugu, Kenya, relative to non‐quarried sites for conservation role prioritization. Birds were censused in 166 point count stations using the fixed‐radius distance method. Land use land cover types within each point provided the variables for explaining bird occurrence. Observed bird species were classified into functional guilds, avifaunal composition assessed, and bird data subjected to multivariate analysis. In total 158 species, 128 in post‐quarry and 123 in non‐quarried sites, were recorded. Bush‐ and forest‐related species were dominant, constituting over 55% of total observed birds, in both site categories. Six wetland‐related species were detected only in quarried sampling sites. Mann–Whitney statistical tests returned a significant effect of land use category on bird species richness, abundance, and diversity, all higher in post‐quarried than in non‐quarried sites (p < 0.05). Emergent natural shrubs, quarry cliffs, and cultivated farms were most influential to bird community structuring. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis revealed four functional groups of birds whose species richness increased with number of post‐quarried sampling sites in a cluster. Unique physical features of post‐quarry sites and emergent vegetation types, can be partially mimicked in nature‐oriented rehabilitation planning for long‐term social and ecological benefits.
Enhanced stream greenhouse gas emissions at night and during flood events
Authors: Woodrow Rebecca L. , White Shane A. , Conrad Stephen R. , Wadnerkar Praktan D. , Rocher‐Ros Gerard , Sanders Christian J. , Holloway Ceylena J. , Santos Isaac R. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractHeadwater streams play a large role in aquatic greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and dissolved oxygen in streams often undergo changes through diel cycles. However, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have unknown diel dynamics. Here, we reveal consistent patterns in CO2, CH4, and N2O over diel cycles and during flood events using high‐frequency continuous observations in a subtropical headwater stream. Diel cycles were most pronounced during baseflow. Increased nighttime discharge due to higher groundwater inputs enhanced gas transfer velocities and concentrations. Overall nocturnal emissions were 31%, 68%, and 32% greater than daytime for CO2, CH4, and N2O, respectively. Floods dampened diel signals. If both flood events and diel patterns are neglected, estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from headwaters may be greatly underestimated. Overall, CH4 and N2O emissions from headwater streams may be underestimated by ~ 20–40% due to a lack of observations during nighttime, floods, and in warmer climates.
Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy‐Based Optical Biosensor for Liquid Biopsy: Toward Precision Medicine
Authors: Fan Min , Weng Youliang , Liu Yi , Lu Yudong , Xu Luyun , Ye Jianqing , Lin Duo , Qiu Sufang , Feng Shangyuan 
Published: January 2024

AbstractLiquid biopsy is regarded as a promising strategy for assisting precision medicine because of its convenience, noninvasiveness, and ability to overcome tumor heterogeneity and achieve early detection. Recently, impressive advancements in plasmonic biosensors, artificial intelligence, and portable Raman equipment have yielded unprecedented progress in surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)–based point‐of‐care testing (POCT) systems for liquid biopsy. The development of these systems presents a paradigm shift in on‐site liquid biopsy applications by leveraging the unique benefits of efficiency, fast analysis, portability, affordability, and user‐friendliness. Herein, these advances are introduced over the last 3 years in the field of SERS‐based POCT systems for labeled and label‐free biomarker analysis in body fluids, including tumor circulating proteins and cells, exosomes, micro‐RNA, and circulating tumor DNA. Additionally, powerful machine learning algorithms (including deep learning algorithms) are integrated with SERS to effectively extract potential data features and generate precise diagnostic models. The review highlights the use of handheld and portable Raman devices in significantly promoting the application of SERS‐based POCT in clinical scenarios. Finally, the review outlines the challenges and future perspectives of this technology.
Correcting CT misregistration in data‐driven gated (DDG) PET with PET self‐gating and deformable image registration
Authors: Sun Peng , Thomas M. Allan , Luo Dershan , Pan Tinsu 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundMisregistration between CT and PET data can result in mis‐localization and inaccurate quantification of functional uptake in whole body PET/CT imaging. This problem is exacerbated when an abnormal inspiration occurs during the free‐breathing helical CT (FB CT) used for attenuation correction of PET data. In data‐driven gated (DDG) PET, the data selected for reconstruction is typically derived from the end‐expiration (EE) phase of the breathing cycle, making this potential issue worse.PurposeThe objective of this study is to develop a deformable image registration (DIR)‐based respiratory motion model to improve the registration and quantification between misregistered FB CT and PET.MethodsTwenty‐two whole‐body 18F‐FDG PET/CT scans encompassing 48 lesions in misregistered regions were analyzed in this study. End‐inspiration (EI) and EE PET data were derived from −10% to 15% and 30% to 80% of the breathing cycle, respectively. DIR was used to estimate a motion model from the EE to EI phase of the PET data. The model was then used to generate PET images at any phase of up to four times the amplitude of motion between EE and EI for correlation with the misregistered FB CT. Once a matched phase of the FB CT was determined, FB CT was deformed to a pseudo CT at the EE phase (DIR CT). DIR CT was compared with the ground truth DDG CT for AC and localization of the DDG PET.ResultsBetween DDG PET/FB CT and DDG PET/DIR CT, a significant increase in ∆%SUV was observed (p < 0.01), with median values elevating from 26.7% to 42.4%. This new method was most effective for lesions ≤3 cm proximal to the diaphragm (p < 0.001) but showed decreasing efficacy as the distance increased. When FB CT was severely misregistered with DDG PET (>3 cm), DDG PET/DIR CT outperformed DDG PET/FB CT alone (p < 0.05). Even when patients showed varied breathing patterns during the PET/CT scan, DDG PET/DIR CT still surpassed the efficiency of DDG PET/FB CT (p < 0.01). Though DDG PET/DIR CT couldn't match the performance of the DDG PET/CT ground truth (42.4% vs. 53.6%, p < 0.01), it reached 84% of its quantification, demonstrating good agreement and a strong overall correlation (regression coefficient of 0.94, p < 0.0001). In some cases, anatomical distortion and blurring, and misregistration error were observed in DIR CT, rendering it still unable to correct inaccurate localization near the boundaries of two organs.ConclusionsBased on the motion model derived from gated PET data, DIR CT can significantly improve the quantification and localization of DDG PET. This approach can achieve a performance level of about 84% of the ground truth established by DDG PET/CT. These results show that self‐gated PET and DIR CT may offer an alternative clinical solution to DDG PET and FB CT for quantification without the need for additional cine‐CT imaging. DIR CT was at times inferior to DDG CT due to some distortion and blurring of anatomy and misregistration error.
A diffusion‐leakage model coupled with dose point kernels (DPK) for dosimetry of diffusing alpha‐emitters radiation therapy (DaRT)
Authors: Khan Ahtesham Ullah , Jollota Sean , DeWerd Larry A. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundDiffusing alpha‐emitters radiation therapy (DaRT) is a novel brachytherapy technique that leverages the diffusive flow of 224Ra progeny within the tumor volume over the course of the treatment. Cell killing is achieved by the emitted alpha particles that have a short range in tissue and high linear energy transfer. The current proposed absorbed dose calculation method for DaRT is based on a diffusion‐leakage (DL) model that neglects absorbed dose from beta particles.PurposeThis work aimed to couple the DL model with dose point kernels (DPKs) to account for dose from beta particles as well as to consider the non‐local deposition of energy.MethodsThe DaRT seed was modeled using COMSOL multiphysics and the DL model was implemented to extract the spatial information of the diffusing daughters. Using Monte–Carlo (MC) methods, DPKs were generated for 212Pb, 212Bi, and their progenies since they were considered to be the dominant beta emitters in the 224Ra radioactive decay chain. A convolution operation was performed between the integrated number densities of the diffusing daughters and DPKs to calculate the total absorbed dose over a 30‐day treatment period. Both high‐diffusion and low‐diffusion cases were considered.ResultsThe calculated DPKs showed non‐negligible energy deposition over several millimeters from the source location. An absorbed dose >10 Gy was deposited within a 1.8 mm radial distance for the low diffusion case and a 2.2 mm radial distance for the high diffusion case. When the DPK method was compared with the local energy deposition method that solely considered dose from alpha particles, differences above 1 Gy were found within 1.3 and 1.8 mm radial distances from the surface of the source for the low diffusion and high diffusion cases, respectively.ConclusionsThe proposed method enhances the accuracy of the dose calculation method used for the DaRT technique.
Unsupervised motion artifact correction of turbo spin‐echo MRI using deep image prior
Authors: Lee Jongyeon , Seo Hyunseok , Lee Wonil , Park HyunWook 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPurposeIn MRI, motion artifacts can significantly degrade image quality. Motion artifact correction methods using deep neural networks usually required extensive training on large datasets, making them time‐consuming and resource‐intensive. In this paper, an unsupervised deep learning‐based motion artifact correction method for turbo‐spin echo MRI is proposed using the deep image prior framework.Theory and MethodsThe proposed approach takes advantage of the high impedance to motion artifacts offered by the neural network parameterization to remove motion artifacts in MR images. The framework consists of parameterization of MR image, automatic spatial transformation, and motion simulation model. The proposed method synthesizes motion‐corrupted images from the motion‐corrected images generated by the convolutional neural network, where an optimization process minimizes the objective function between the synthesized images and the acquired images.ResultsIn the simulation study of 280 slices from 14 subjects, the proposed method showed a significant increase in the averaged structural similarity index measure by 0.2737 in individual coil images and by 0.4550 in the root‐sum‐of‐square images. In addition, the ablation study demonstrated the effectiveness of each proposed component in correcting motion artifacts compared to the corrected images produced by the baseline method. The experiments on real motion dataset has shown its clinical potential.ConclusionThe proposed method exhibited significant quantitative and qualitative improvements in correcting rigid and in‐plane motion artifacts in MR images acquired using turbo spin‐echo sequence.
Frequency shifts of free water signals from compact bone: Simulations and measurements using a UTE‐FID sequence
Authors: Fischer Anja , Martirosian Petros , Machann Jürgen , Fränkle Bernd , Schick Fritz 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPurposeFree water in cortical bone is either contained in nearly cylindrical structures (mainly Haversian canals oriented parallel to the bone axis) or in more spherically shaped pores (lacunae). Those cavities have been reported to crucially influence bone quality and mechanical stability. Susceptibility differences between bone and water can lead to water frequency shifts dependent on the geometric characteristics. The purpose of this study is to calculate and measure the frequency distribution of the water signal in MRI in dependence of the microscopic bone geometry.MethodsFinite element modeling and analytical approaches were performed to characterize the free water components of bone. The previously introduced UTE‐FID technique providing spatially resolved FID‐spectra was used to measure the frequency distribution pixel‐wise for different orientations of the bone axis.ResultsThe frequency difference between free water in spherical pores and in canals parallel to B0 amounts up to approximately 100 Hz at 3T. Simulated resonance frequencies showed good agreement with the findings in UTE‐FID spectra. The intensity ratio of the two signal components (parallel canals and spherical pores) was found to vary between periosteal and endosteal regions.ConclusionSpatially resolved UTE‐FID examinations allow the determination of the frequency distribution of signals from free water in cortical bone. This frequency distribution indicates the composition of the signal contributions from nearly spherical cavities and cylindrical canals which allows for further characterization of bone structure and status.
A new cube movement test for verification of simulations of contact processes of blocks of different size in geological hazards
Authors: Wang Xinquan , Feng Chun , Lahayne Olaf , Zhang Yiming , Mang Herbert A. , Pichler Bernhard L. A. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIn many geological hazards, such as landslides, a large number of irregular blocks start moving. Their interaction on the way down renders prediction of disaster scopes difficult. To study this process and to provide a novel method for validation and calibration of numerical tools for its simulation, a cube movement test is designed. The goal of this research is to obtain patterns of movement of cubes, starting from different initial stacking arrangements. Cubes of four sizes are inserted into a hollow cylinder. Their distribution after lifting the cylinder is determined. Three categories of tests refer to three different strategies of filling the cubes into the cylinder. In order to simulate cube movement tests, a numerical tool is developed in the framework of the continuum–discontinuum element method (CDEM). The contact between the individual cubes is modeled by the contact‐pairs‐based algorithm. Both the contact state and type are detected by determining the half‐space relation between contact pairs. The final positions of the cubes are strongly related to their initial arrangement. The latter is different in every test, even if the same strategy is used to fill the cubes into the cylinder. It is found that at least 20 experiments/simulations are required to obtain statistically representative results. The new test provides valuable data for validation of numerical tools used for the simulation of mass movement processes. The proposed numerical method captures the complicated movements of blocks.
A longitudinal study to determine if all critically ill patients should be considered at nutrition risk or is there a highly accurate screening tool to be adopted?
Authors: Razzera Elisa L. , Milanez Danielle S. J. , Silva Flávia M. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundNutrition risk is prevalent in intensive care unit (ICU) settings and related to poor prognoses. We aimed to evaluate the concurrent and predictive validity of different nutrition risk screening tools in the ICU.MethodsData were collected between 2019 and 2022 in six ICUs (n = 450). Nutrition risk was evaluated by modified Nutrition Risk in Critically ill (mNUTRIC), Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS‐2002), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and Nutritional Risk in Emergency (NRE‐2017). Accuracy and agreement of the tools were assessed; logistic regression was used to verify the association between nutrition risk and prolonged ICU stay; Cox regression was used for mortality in the ICU, both with adjustment for confounders.ResultsNRS‐2002 ≥5 showed the best accuracy (0.63 [95% CI, 0.58–0.69]) with mNUTRIC, and MST with NRS‐2002 ≥5 (0.76 [95% CI, 0.71–0.80]). All tools had a poor/fair agreement with mNUTRIC (k = 0.019–0.268) and moderate agreement with NRS‐2002 ≥5 (k = 0.474–0.503). MUST (2.26 [95% CI 1.40–3.63]) and MST (1.69 [95% CI, 1.09–2.60]) predicted death in the ICU, and the NRS‐2002 ≥5 (1.56 [95% CI 1.02–2.40]) and mNUTRIC (1.86 [95% CI, 1.26–2.76]) predicted prolonged ICU stay.ConclusionNo nutrition risk screening tool demonstrated a satisfactory concurrent validity; only the MUST and MST predicted ICU mortality and the NRS‐2002 ≥5 and mNUTRIC predicted prolonged ICU stay, suggesting that it could be appropriate to adopt the ESPEN recommendation to assess nutrition status in patients with ≥48 h in the ICU.
Behavior reallocations within 24‐h movement profiles and change in cardiometabolic biomarkers during pregnancy
Authors: Badon Sylvia E. , Ferrara Assiamira , Gabriel Kelley Pettee , Dooley Erin E. , Quesenberry Charles P. , Avalos Lyndsay A. , Hedderson Monique M. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractObjectiveThe goal of this study was to investigate associations of reallocations within 24‐h movement profiles and changes in cardiometabolic biomarkers from early to late pregnancy.MethodsIn 137 individuals with prepregnancy overweight/obesity, waking movement was measured using wrist‐worn accelerometers, sleep was self‐reported, and biomarkers were measured in fasting serum samples at 12 and 32 weeks’ gestation. We used compositional isotemporal substitution models.ResultsOn average, biomarkers increased 21%–83% across pregnancy. For those with guideline‐recommended moderate/vigorous‐intensity physical activity (MVPA) in early pregnancy, reallocating 30 min from MVPA to sleep, sedentary behavior, or light‐intensity physical activity (LPA) was associated with a 0.6 mmol/L greater increase in total cholesterol (95% CI: −0.1 to 1.2) and a 0.7 mmol/L greater increase in low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (95% CI: 0.1 to 1.3) from early to late pregnancy. For those with low MVPA in early pregnancy, reallocating 30 min from sleep, sedentary behavior, or LPA to MVPA was associated with a 0.6 mmol/L lower increase in total cholesterol (95% CI: −1.3 to 0.1) and a 0.8 mmol/L lower increase in LDL cholesterol (95% CI: −1.4 to −0.1) from early to late pregnancy. There were no associations with change in glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, very low‐density lipoprotein, or high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, or free fatty acids.ConclusionsMaintaining or achieving a 24‐h movement profile with guideline‐recommended amounts of MVPA may be beneficial for reducing pregnancy‐induced increases in total and LDL cholesterol.
A mechanical model for predicting the thermal expansion behavior of spherical particle reinforced epoxy composites
Authors: Peng Liang , Zhang Ruoyu , Fan Yixuan , Yang Yuanyuan , Fu Kexin , Li Gang , Sun Rong , Zhu Pengli 
Published: January 2024

AbstractModeling and theoretical prediction of thermal expansion property of particulate reinforced polymer composite are important hot issues in composite science and engineering. In this article, the thermomechanical interaction between spherical particle and polymer matrix and its contribution to the thermal expansion behavior of spherical particle reinforced polymer composite have been studied theoretically. A mechanical interphase resulted from the thermomechanical interaction is observed in radial distribution of effective coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) around the particle with an isotropic assumption of the particle and polymer matrix, and with necessary simplification of the thermomechanical interference among particles, an analytical equation for predicting the CTE of the composite has been proposed. Compared with other models, good fits by this model with finite element (FE) simulated CTE value of particle reinforced composite and previously reported CTE data of particulate reinforced epoxy composites with particle size from micron to nanometer scale are observed. This study would deepen the understanding of the interphase in particle reinforced composites and be favorable for mechanism analysis of other physical properties of polymer composites.Highlights
Thermomechanical interaction between spherical particle and matrix is studied
A new model for the CTE of particle reinforced polymer composite is proposed
FE simulation been carried out to examine the reasonability of the proposed model
Present model well fits the reported reinforced epoxy composites CTE data
A new perspective for analyzing other properties of reinforced composites
Numerical modeling on load bearing and bypass behavior of bolted single lap joints of laminates
Authors: Zhang Fa , Liu Tierang , Chen Jian , Liu Meina , Wan Yumin , Xu Jifeng 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBolted joints are widely used in aircraft structures. Proper design and accurate strength assessment of these joints are of great importance in aircraft design. In this paper, to investigate the mechanical behavior of single lap shear joints of carbon fiber reinforce plastic, four types of fastener of numerical model methods are developed. Based on the same principle of lap joint, different double bolt, and single‐lap joint structures with three distinct width‐diameter ratios (w/D) are designed and manufactured. Each specimen is loaded under tension until complete failure. The experimental results are used not only to verify the fastener models, but also to investigate the failure transformation induced from the composite load bypass and the bolt‐hole load bearing. It is found that the increase of w/D, the failure model could transfer from the net cross section damage caused by load bypass to the bolt hole failure caused by load bearing. By comparison, the numerical results show that the Cbush+RBE3 model has high adaptability and good fidelity in elastic stage without increasing the model scale in terms of the level of details. To improve the accuracy in nonlinear stage, hole geometry details need to be considered. Additionally, single bolt is created to reveal the nonlinear deformation affected by laminate thickness. Three/four/five row of bolt models are used to show the bolt load distribution characteristics. Finally, the influences of the element size and the bolt modeling methods on the bolt load distribution are analyzed, respectively.