bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of thermal modification of wood particles for wood-PLA composites on properties of filaments, 3D-printed parts and injection moulded parts
Authors: Krapež Tomec Daša , Schwarzkopf Matthew , Repič Rožle , Žigon Jure , Gospodarič Bojan , Kariž Mirko 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis paper describes the development and characterisation of wood-filled polylactic acid (PLA) composite filaments for application in fused filament fabrication three-dimensional (3D) printing. Four different wood-polymer composite filaments for 3D printing were prepared, and specimens were 3D-printed with the obtained materials. The composite filaments consisted of wood particles (10% or 20% mass ratio) and a PLA polymer matrix. Wood particles were prepared by grinding and sieving non-modified beech wood and thermally modified (TM) (at 200 °C) beech wood. Thermal modification of wood affected particle preparation and smaller particles with lower aspect ratios were obtained. Filaments with TM wood particles were extruded better than with non-modified wood particles, with lower surface roughness and lower porosity. With a higher wood ratio, the surface roughness and porosity of the filament increased. Non-homogenous filaments also affected extrusion in 3D printing and reduced the properties of 3D-printed parts. Parts 3D-printed from filaments with TM particles had better tensile strength than from filaments with non-modified particles, but were lower than from pure PLA filaments. The tensile strength of the injection-moulded specimens was 18–69% higher than that of the 3D-printed specimens, depending on the filament composition. The results indicate some positive effects of thermal modification of wood particles on the properties of filaments and 3D-printed parts. Nevertheless, further optimisation of particle preparation and extrusion parameters is needed to obtain quality filaments with this size of wood particles.
Microstructure and selected properties of the solution heat-treated MAR-M247 Ni-based superalloy fabricated via directional solidification
Authors: Rakoczy Łukasz , Grudzień-Rakoczy Małgorzata , Cygan Rafał , Kargul Tomasz , Zielińska-Lipiec Anna 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis work focuses on MAR-M247 Ni-based superalloy manufactured via directional solidification at various withdrawal rates (3.4 or 5.0 mm/min) and shell mold temperatures (1510 °C or 1566 °C) after solution heat-treatment (SHT). Observations and analyses of four casting variants were carried out using thermodynamic simulations, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and tensile tests at ambient temperature. The solidus and liquidus temperatures were very similar for all variants and were in the range of 1263–1264 °C and 1356–1359 °C, respectively. The presence of the γ, γ′, MC carbides, and M5B3 phases was confirmed. Microstructure differences were observed depending on the manufacturing parameters. The castings’ dendritic regions consisted of γ′ precipitates surrounded by the matrix, with a mean size ranging from 0.203 to 0.250 μm, depending on the casting parameters. The amount of the MC carbides in the interdendritic spaces was in the range of 1.87–1.92%. The tensile tests determined that castings produced with preheat temperature of 1566 °C were characterized by higher elongation and slightly lower yield strength in comparison to 1510 °C.
Altering Escherichia coli envelope integrity by mimicking the lipoprotein RcsF
Authors: TagElDein Moustafa A. , Mohamed Noha G. , Shahein Yasser E. , Ziko Laila , Hussein Nahla A. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractEscherichia coli cell envelope is crucial for stress sensing and signal transduction, mediated by numerous protein–protein interactions to enable adaptation and survival. Interfering with these interactions might affect envelope integrity leading to bacterial death. The outer membrane lipoprotein (RcsF) is the stress sensor of the regulator of capsule synthesis (Rcs) phosphorelay that senses envelope threats. RcsF interacts with two essential proteins, IgaA (repressing the Rcs system) and BamA (inserting β-barrel proteins in the outer membrane). Disturbing RcsF interactions may alter Rcs signaling and/or membrane integrity thus affecting bacterial survival. Here, we derived the sequence of a peptide mimicking RcsF (RcsFmim), based on the in silico docking of RcsF with IgaA. Expression of rcsFmim caused 3-to-4-fold activation of the Rcs system and perturbation of the outer membrane. Both effects result in decreased E. coli growth rate. We anticipate that RcsFmim present a candidate for future antibacterial peptide development.
Robust signal dimension estimation via SURE
Authors: Virta Joni , Lietzén Niko , Nyberg Henri 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe estimation of signal dimension under heavy-tailed latent variable models is studied. As a primary contribution, robust extensions of an earlier estimator based on Gaussian Stein’s unbiased risk estimation are proposed. These novel extensions are based on the framework of elliptical distributions and robust scatter matrices. Extensive simulation studies are conducted in order to compare the novel methods with several well-known competitors in both estimation accuracy and computational speed. The novel methods are applied to a financial asset return data set.
Ventral and dorsal aspects of the inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus support verbal semantic access and visually-guided behavioural control
Authors: Gonzalez Alam Tirso R. J. , Cruz Arias Juan , Jefferies Elizabeth , Smallwood Jonathan , Leemans Alexander , Marino Davolos Julian 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe Inferior Frontal Occipital Fasciculus (IFOF) is a major anterior-to-posterior white matter pathway in the ventral human brain that connects parietal, temporal and occipital regions to frontal cortex. It has been implicated in a range of functions, including language, semantics, inhibition and the control of action. The recent research shows that the IFOF can be sub-divided into a ventral and dorsal branch, but the functional relevance of this distinction, as well as any potential hemispheric differences, are poorly understood. Using DTI tractography, we investigated the involvement of dorsal and ventral subdivisions of the IFOF in the left and right hemisphere in a response inhibition task (Go/No-Go), where the decision to respond or to withhold a prepotent response was made on the basis of semantic or non-semantic aspects of visual inputs. The task also varied the presentation modality (whether concepts were presented as written words or images). The results showed that the integrity of both dorsal and ventral IFOF in the left hemisphere were associated with participants’ inhibition performance when the signal to stop was meaningful and presented in the verbal modality. This effect was absent in the right hemisphere. The integrity of dorsal IFOF was also associated with participants’ inhibition efficiency in difficult perceptually guided decisions. This pattern of results indicates that left dorsal IFOF is implicated in the domain-general control of visually-guided behaviour, while the left ventral branch might interface with the semantic system to support the control of action when the inhibitory signal is based on meaning.
Twelve weeks of physical exercise breaks with coordinative exercises at the workplace increase the sulcal depth and decrease gray matter volume in brain structures related to visuomotor processes
Authors: Scharf Carina , Koschutnig Karl , Zussner Thomas , Fink Andreas , Tilp Markus 
Published: December 2023

AbstractPhysical exercise can evoke changes in the brain structure. Consequently, these can lead to positive impacts on brain health. However, physical exercise studies including coordinative exercises are rare. Therefore, in this study, we investigated how 12 weeks of physical exercise breaks (PEBs) with coordinative exercises, focusing mainly on juggling tasks, affected the brain structure. The participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IG, n = 16; 42.8 ± 10.2 years) and a control group (CG, n = 9; 44.2 ± 12.3 years). The IG performed the PEBs with coordinative exercises twice per week for 15–20 min per session. Before the intervention, after 6 weeks of the intervention, and after 12 weeks of the intervention, participants underwent a high-resolution 3T T1-weighted magnetic resonance imagining scan. Juggling performance was assessed by measuring the time taken to perform a three-ball cascade. A surface-based analysis revealed an increase in vertex-wise cortical depth in a cluster including the inferior parietal lobe after 6 and 12 weeks of training in the IG. After 12 weeks, the IG showed a decrease in gray matter (GM) volume in a cluster primarily involving the right insula and the right operculum. The changes in the GM volume were related to improvements in juggling performance. No significant changes were found for the CG. To conclude, the present study showed that regular engagement in PEBs with coordinative exercises led to changes in brain structures strongly implicated in visuomotor processes involving hand and arm movements.
Simulation of fracture in vascular tissue: coupling a continuum damage formulation with an embedded representation of fracture
Authors: Miller Christopher , Gasser T. Christian 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe fracture of vascular tissue, and load-bearing soft tissue in general, is relevant to various biomechanical and clinical applications, from the study of traumatic injury and disease to the design of medical devices and the optimisation of patient treatment outcomes. The fundamental mechanisms associated with the inception and development of damage, leading to tissue failure, have yet to be wholly understood. We present the novel coupling of a microstructurally motivated continuum damage model that incorporates the time-dependent interfibrillar failure of the collagenous matrix with an embedded phenomenological representation of the fracture surface. Tissue separation is therefore accounted for through the integration of the cohesive crack concept within the partition of unity finite element method. A transversely isotropic cohesive potential per unit undeformed area is introduced that comprises a rate-dependent evolution of damage and accounts for mixed-mode failure. Importantly, a novel crack initialisation procedure is detailed that identifies the occurrence of localised deformation in the continuum material and the orientation of the inserted discontinuity. Proof of principle is demonstrated by the application of the computational framework to two representative numerical simulations, illustrating the robustness and versatility of the formulation.
Effects of communication delay in the dual cockpit remote robotic surgery system
Authors: Takahashi Yoshiya , Hakamada Kenichi , Morohashi Hajime , Wakasa Yusuke , Fujita Hiroaki , Ebihara Yuma , Oki Eiji , Hirano Satoshi , Mori Masaki 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the impact of dual cockpit telesurgery on proctors and operators, and acceptable levels of processing delay for video compression and restoration.

Methods
Eight medical advisors and eight trainee surgeons, one highly skilled per group, performed gastrectomy, rectal resection, cholecystectomy, and bleeding tasks on pigs. Using the Medicaroid surgical robot hinotori™, simulated delay times (0 ms, 50 ms, 100 ms, 150 ms, and 200 ms) were inserted mid-surgery to evaluate the tolerance level. Operative times and dual cockpit switching times were measured subjectively using 5-point scale questionnaires (mSUS [modified System Usability Scale], and Robot Usability Score).

Results
No significant difference was observed in operative times between proctors and operators (proctor: p = 0.247, operator: p = 0.608) nor in switching times to the dual cockpit mode (p = 0.248). For each survey setting, proctors tended to give lower ratings to delays of ≥ 150 ms. No marked difference was observed in the operator evaluations. On the postoperative questionnaires, there were no marked differences in the mSUS or Robot Usability Score between the proctors and operators (mSUS: p = 0.779, Robot Usability Score: p = 0.261).

Conclusion
Telesurgery using a dual cockpit with hinotori™ is practical and has little impact on surgical procedures.
Ascending with ultrasound: telementored eFAST in flight—a feasibility study
Authors: Engelsen Peder Christian , Heyerdahl Fridtjof , Maddali Dharani Dhar , Akhavi Mehdi Sadat , Undseth Ragnhild Marie , Elle Ole Jakob , Brun Henrik 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Teleultrasound uses telecommunication technologies to transmit ultrasound images from a remote location to an expert who guides the acquisition of images and interprets them in real time. Multiple studies have demonstrated the feasibility of teleultrasound. However, its application during helicopter flight using long-term evolution (LTE) for streaming has not been studied. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the feasibility of teleultrasound in an Airbus H145 helicopter.

Methods
Four anesthesiologists and one military physician were recruited to perform telementored extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) during nine helicopter flights, each with a unique healthy volunteer. A radiologist was recruited as a remote expert, guiding the physicians in their examinations. The examining physicians reported the user experience of telementored eFAST on a questionnaire, while the remote expert rated the diagnostic quality of the images on a 1–5 Likert scale. In addition, we measured the duration of the examinations and key LTE network parameters including signal strength, quality, and continuity.

Results
The images were rated to an average of 4.9 by the remote expert, corresponding to good diagnostic quality. The average duration of telementored eFAST was 05:54 min. LTE coverage was negatively affected by proximity to urban areas and ceased above 2000 ft altitude. Occasional audio problems were addressed by using the Voice over LTE network for communication. The examining physicians unanimously reported on the questionnaire that they would use telementored eFAST on patients.

Conclusion
Telementored eFAST is feasible in ambulance helicopters and can produce images of good diagnostic quality. However, it relies on stable LTE coverage, which is influenced by many factors, including the helicopter’s altitude and flight path. Furthermore, its benefit on patient outcomes remains to be proven.

Graphical abstract
Patient-reported experience is associated with higher future revenue and lower costs of hospitals
Authors: Giese Alice , Khanam Rasheda , Nghiem Son , Rosemann Thomas , Havranek Michael M. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
Despite the established positive association between patient experience and patient volume, the relationship between patient experience and the financial performance of hospitals has not been studied thoroughly.

Methods
To investigate this relationship, we used longitudinal data from 132 Swiss acute-care hospitals from 2016 to 2019 to examine the associations between patient experience and the proportion of elective patients, revenue, costs, and profits of hospitals. To account for a potential time lag effect, we utilized annual patient experience data and employed multilevel mixed-effects regression modeling to investigate its association with the aforementioned financial performance indicators for the following year.

Results
Data for private and public hospitals were analyzed both separately and in combination, to account for the different proportions of elective patients in these types of hospitals. The resulting mixed models, revealed that for each year studied, the previous year’s patient experience was positively associated with the current year’s proportion of elective patients (β = 0.09, p = 0.004, all hospitals) and revenue (β = 1789.83, p = 0.037, private hospitals only), and negatively associated with costs (β =  − 1191.13, p = 0.017, all hospitals); but not significantly associated with future profits (β = 629.12, p = 0.240, all hospitals).

Conclusions
This analysis showed that better patient experience is associated with a higher proportion of elective patients, greater revenue, and lower costs. Our findings may assist hospital managers and regulators in identifying strategies to increase revenue and reduce costs.
Effects of formative assessment on intrinsic motivation in primary school mathematics instruction
Authors: Aust Larissa , Schütze Birgit , Hochweber Jan , Souvignier Elmar 
Published: December 2023

AbstractEmpirical studies on effects of formative assessment (FA) on motivational outcomes and underlying mechanisms are scarce. The core elements of FA, feedback and adaptive teaching behavior, might be helpful in promoting the experience of competence, which in turn is a prerequisite for promoting intrinsic motivation. However, instructional impact also depends on the students’ perception of teacher behavior. Therefore, this study (N = 27 teachers and 613 students) aimed to test whether FA has a positive effect on intrinsic motivation mediated by students’ perceived competence support (PCS). In a three-group design, two versions of FA were compared with a control group. In both versions of FA, teachers used a tool for learning progress assessment (LPA), while in one version, teachers received a combination of LPA and additional support consisting of materials for feedback and adaptive instruction (LPA+). A path model for half-longitudinal designs was estimated. Results support the motivational effect of FA. LPA and LPA+ both positively influence students’ PCS which is in turn associated with higher intrinsic motivation. A small indirect effect on intrinsic motivation mediated by PCS was shown for both intervention groups, which was only significant for LPA. For LPA+, higher-performing students particularly benefitted from the intervention. Teachers’ use of FA practices can foster students’ PCS which seems to be a promising way in motivation-enhancing teaching.
Seismic response of bridges employing knowledge-enhanced neural networks for the lumped plasticity modelling of RC piers
Authors: Liu Zhenliang , Guo Anxin , Zhao Cunbao , Sextos Anastasios 
Published: December 2023

AbstractTo facilitate seismic analysis of bridges, especially on a regional scale, this study established a parametric finite element model of bridges incorporating simplified component elements. It employs a knowledge-enhanced neural network (KENN) to calibrate the parameters of the lumped plasticity model of pier columns. Along with a database of historical experimental results, the influence of the key characteristics of reinforced concrete columns on model parameters are investigated and formulated as physical laws to supervise KENN training. The developed KENN model was then developed, yielding root mean square errors within the range of [0.027, 0.209]. These errors are slightly larger than those of the purely data-driven neural network, yet the KENN model aligns more consistently with the physical principles. Further, to demonstrate its accuracy and efficiency, the proposed methodology was applied for the rapid seismic response analysis of typical bridges.
When MIPVU goes to no man’s land: a new language resource for hybrid, morpheme-based metaphor identification in Hungarian
Authors: Simon Gábor , Bajzát Tímea , Ballagó Júlia , Havasi Zsuzsanna , Molnár Emese K. , Szlávich Eszter 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe aim of the article is to present a new language resource for metaphor analysis in corpora that is (i) a MIPVU-inspired, morpheme-based process for identifying metaphor in Hungarian and (ii) the refinement and innovative version of metaphor identification extending the scope of the process to multi-word expressions. The elaboration of language-specific protocols in metaphor identification has become one of the central endeavors in contemporary cross-linguistic research on metaphor, but there is a gap in the field regarding languages with rich morphology, especially in the case of Hungarian. To fill this gap, we developed a hybrid, morpheme-based version of the original method, which can handle morphologically complex metaphorical expressions. Additional innovations of our protocol are the measurement and tagging of idiomaticity in metaphors based on collocation analysis and the identification of semantic relationships between the components of metaphorical expressions. The present paper discusses both the theoretical motivation and the practical details of the adapted method for metaphor identification. As a conclusion, the presented protocol can provide new answers to the questions of metaphor identification in languages with rich morphology and shed new light on the internal semantic organization of linguistic metaphors.
Evaluating the quality of UNESCO World Heritage List: a comparison with the Baedeker’s guidebooks
Authors: Dattilo Martina , Padovano Fabio 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This study verifies whether the number of criteria of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) satisfied by a site in the UNESCO World Heritage List (WHL) can be considered as an ordinal measure of its quality against the alternative hypotheses that: a) quality can be measured just dichotomously, by inclusion in the WHL); b) the multiplicity of existing OUV is just meant to capture alternative aesthetic criteria expressed by different cultures. This issue is important for both scientific and policy reasons. To avoid problems of endogeneity and reverse causality, we examine the correlation between the number of satisfied criteria and the evaluation of the site’s quality made by an authoritative travel guidebook that pre-existed UNESCO, the Baedeker’s guide of the early twentieth century. Exploiting a newly assembled dataset on 234 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) in 10 European countries from 11 Baedeker’s guidebooks, from 1899 to 1911, we proxy the Baedeker’s evaluations of quality by four measures: (1) total number of citations of the site; (2) weighted number of citations; (3) average length of the paragraphs with at least one citation; and (4) sentiment expressed in the text. All these measures appear positively and significantly correlated with the number of UNESCO criteria that the site satisfies, using a variety of strategies and robustness checks, confirming that they are an informative ordinal proxy for the quality of UNESCO WHS. Moreover, this analysis brings evidence to bear on the debate about the formation and persistence of UNESCO experts’ evaluations over time.