bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Study and implementation of a novel high‐efficiency piezoelectric energy harvesting circuit
Authors: Jiang Hong , Li Bo , Zhang Qi , Li Xuewei , Fan Jiaming 
Published: November 2023

SummaryThis paper proposes a self‐powered SSHI piezoelectric energy extraction circuit combined with Modified FOCV‐MPPT technology, which analyzes the electrical characteristics of S‐SSHI operation. The paper demonstrates that the determination of the optimal operating state of S‐SSHI can be determined independently of the open‐circuit voltage. Based on the key parameters obtained from the theoretical analysis, the FOCV‐MPPT strategy is modified, and the corresponding functional circuit is designed. This strategy serves as an intermediate stage between S‐SSHI and the load, addressing the dependence of S‐SSHI output power on the load while avoiding the power supply interruption issue of the traditional FOCV‐MPPT strategy. In addition, the higher output power provided by S‐SSHI improves the utilization of MPPT technology. The correctness of the investigations is verified through the simulation and experiments. By using self‐powered S‐SSHI, the proposed circuit increases the output power of PEH by a factor of 2.46. In the open‐circuit voltage range of 2–7 V, the average maximum power tracking efficiency achieved 90.1%. The maximum tracking efficiency can reach 98%.
Optimal deployment strategy of airships for near‐space communication system using multiobjective advanced evolutionary algorithm
Authors: Alam Md. Sarfraz , Mondal Abhishek 
Published: November 2023

SummaryThis paper presents a near‐space communication system (NSCS) using advanced deployment strategies to gain high throughput. The airships are deployed according to the user's location, assuming robust backbone network characteristics such as signal path loss, fading factor, routing efficiency, and safety issues among bi‐connected airships. Due to the independent flying nature of airships, it is very attractive to deploy them as aerial base stations and construct airborne networks to provide service for on‐ground users. However, it is quite challenging to optimally deploy multiple airships for on‐demand coverage while maintaining the connectivity among airships. A balance between the network parameters, i.e., capacity and coverage area, should be maintained for optimal deployment of the airships. We have derived the maximum throughput of NSCS, including system parameters, as a multiobjective optimization problem subjected to efficient routing protocol and safety constraints. A decomposition‐based advanced multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (AMOEA/D) is adopted to solve the deployment optimization problem. The proposed algorithm is motivated by the non‐dominated solutions that maintain population diversity over the variable space. Two designed test problems, that is, the L‐shaped hotspot problem and nine hotspot problems, are also investigated. Numerical results show that the proposed method improves the system performance compared with benchmark external archive‐guided MOEA/D (EGA‐MOEA/D) and non‐dominated sorted genetic algorithms (NSGA‐II) by 10.46% and 3.84%, respectively.
“I knew I needed to live what I realised was faith in me”: Enacting and transcending religious identity through food aid volunteering
Authors: Wakefield Juliet R. H. , Bowe Mhairi , Kёllezi Blerina , Harkin Lydia J. , Baker Charles W. , Shala Ardiana 
Published: November 2023

AbstractVolunteering can enhance both help‐recipients’ and volunteers’ lives, so it is important to explore what motivates people to begin and continue volunteering. For instance, research underpinned by the social identity approach recognises that group‐related processes are consequential. Recent quantitative research within this tradition highlighted the potential importance of volunteering as a means of religious identity enactment, but no work has yet explored this idea qualitatively, which means that the richness and complexity of identity enactment as a motive for volunteering remains unexamined. Addressing this, we conducted interviews with volunteers (N = 26) within English religiously motivated voluntary organisations that are responding to an important real‐world issue: growing levels of food insecurity. Theoretically guided reflexive thematic analysis developed four themes showing that volunteering can facilitate enactment of different identities (i.e., religious, volunteer and human), thus illustrating the nuanced and complex nature of identity enactment through volunteering. Theoretical and practical implications are explored.
Electrical energy input efficiency limitations in CO2‐to‐CO electrolysis and attempts for improvement
Authors: Reichbauer Thomas , Schmid Bernhard , Vetter Kim‐Marie , Reinisch David , Martić Nemanja , Reller Christian , Grasruck Alexander , Dorta Romano , Schmid Günter 
Published: November 2023

AbstractElectrochemical CO2 reduction is a potentially up‐coming technology to convert anthropogenic emitted CO2 into chemical feedstock. Due to alkaline operating conditions of CO2‐electrolyis in gas diffusion electrodes, exothermal hydroxide ion neutralization with the excess of supplied CO2 leads to unavoidable electricity‐to‐heat conversion at the cathode, therefore limiting electrical energy input efficiency. The decomposition reaction of carbonates by protons from water oxidation completes the inherent CO2 transport at the anode. In this work, different production routes to CO are thermodynamically examined and experimentally validated. Using formic acid as an intermediate towards CO the electrical energy input efficiency can rise to 71% on a thermodynamical basis. Additionally, the possibility of altering the mechanism of CO2 reduction under acidic conditions is investigated, which would lead to even larger electrical energy input efficiencies. The concept was investigated by pH series measurements (pH = 0–6) at 50 mA/cm2 where Pb derived from Pb3O4 was used as a CO2 reduction catalyst. The reduction to formic acid under acidic bulk electrolyte pH is stable at FEHCOOH = 70% down to pH 1, while HER is becoming dominant below. Even under such acidic bulk electrolyte conditions no change in reduction mechanism could be forced, which is reflected in invariant cell voltages in the model experiment.
Can I Hold That Thought for You? Dementia and Shared Relational Agency
Authors: Klein Eran , Goering Sara 
Published: November 2023

AbstractAgency is talked about by many as something that people living with dementia lose, once they've lost much else—autonomy, identity, and privacy, among other things. While the language of loss may capture some of what transpires in dementia, it can obscure how people living with dementia and their loved ones share agency through sharing capacities for memory, language, and decision‐making. We suggest that one consequence of adopting a framework of loss is that it makes the default response to changes in agency the substitution of a family member's agency for the purported lost agency of someone living with dementia. We argue for an alternative framework in which sharing agency is recognized as a central feature of living with dementia. Building on the work of relational theorists, we argue for the value of thinking about agency in dementia as fundamentally shared, and explore potential implications for treatment, caregiver support, and building dementia‐friendly environments.
A Path Forward—and Outward: Repositioning Bioethics to Face Future Challenges
Authors: Ravitsky Vardit 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThis essay explores what the future may hold for bioethics if it continues its evolution toward a field that embraces systemic, collective‐level challenges; has a global scale and focus; emphasizes human flourishing; and seeks to have increased societal impact. As The Hastings Center considers strategic priorities for its research, public engagement, and impact, this essay reflects on where we have been and where we are going. It offers an expansive and inclusive vision for the future of bioethics, in order to invite an open and wide‐ranging conversation about the future of our field and the role that The Hastings Center can and should play within it.
The Pitfalls of Genomic Data Diversity
Authors: Jabloner Anna , Walker Alexis 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBiomedical research recruitment today focuses on including participants representative of global genetic variation—rightfully so. But ethnographic attention to practices of inclusion highlights how this agenda often transforms into “predatory inclusion,” simplistic pushes to get Black and brown people into genomic databases. As anthropologists of medicine, we argue that the question of how to get from diverse data to concrete benefit for people who are marginalized cannot be presumed to work itself out as a byproduct of diverse datasets. To actualize the equitable translation of genomics, practitioners need to place the impacts of ancestral genetic difference in the scope of much more impactful social determinants. For this to happen, multidisciplinary expertise needs to be leveraged, and current, structurally unequal health care systems ultimately need to transform. As modest steps toward this goal, new models for benefit‐sharing must be developed and implemented to mitigate existing inequality between data donors and the entities profiting from that data.
Trust in Crises and Crises of Trust
Authors: Marks Jonathan H. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractDuring times of crisis, institutions tend to focus on maintaining or restoring public trust, as well as on measures to insulate themselves (and their leadership) from potential legal liability. This is because institutions reflexively turn to lawyers, risk managers, crisis consultants, and public relations firms that focus on what they euphemistically call the “optics.” In this essay, I highlight the vital importance of addressing underlying reasons for an institution's loss of public trust—in particular, the loss (or erosion) of its integrity and trustworthiness. Loss of public trust generates one kind of crisis—which I term “opsis.” But there is another kind of institutional crisis that so often remains unrecognized. Just as medical sepsis in the human body is a critical condition that endangers life, the loss of an institution's integrity and trustworthiness constitutes a type of sepsis—ethical sepsis—that poses an existential threat to the institution if unaddressed.
Betraying, Earning, or Justifying Trust in Health Organizations
Authors: Platt Jodyn , Goold Susan Dorr 
Published: November 2023

AbstractHealth care and public health programs increasingly rely on, and often even require, organizational action, which is facilitated, if not dependent on, trust. Case examples in this essay highlight trust, trustworthiness, and distrust in public and private organizations, providing insights into how trust in health‐related organizations can be betrayed, earned, and justified and into the consequences of organizational trust and trustworthiness for the health of individuals and communities. These examples demonstrate the need for holistic assessments of trust in clinicians and trust in organizations and for organizations, public health, and the medical profession to address questions concerning their own trustworthiness. Normative and empirical assessments of trust and trustworthiness that capture the experiences of those treated within the walls of a health care organization, as well as the care of those outside, will contribute to more trustworthy systems of care.
Securing the Trustworthiness of the FDA to Build Public Trust in Vaccines
Authors: Rand Leah Z. , Carpenter Daniel P. , Kesselheim Aaron S. , Bhaskar Anushka , Darrow Jonathan J. , Feldman William B. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThe Covid‐19 pandemic highlighted the need to examine public trust in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine approval process and the role of political influence in the FDA's decisions. Ensuring that the FDA is itself trustworthy is important for justifying public trust in its actions, like vaccine approvals, thereby promoting public health. We propose five conditions of trustworthiness that the FDA should meet when it reviews vaccines, even during emergencies: consistency with rules, proper expert or political decision‐makers, proper decision‐making and noninterference, connection to public preference, and transparency of both reasons and procedures. The five conditions provide a road map of procedural and substantive requirements, which the FDA has variably implemented, focused on ensuring appropriate influence of political interests. While being a trustworthy agency cannot guarantee the public's trust, implementing these conditions builds a groundwork for public trust.
The Public Performativity of Trust
Authors: Creary Melissa , Gerido Lynette Hammond 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBuilding trust between academic medical centers and certain communities they depend on in the research process is hard, particularly when those communities consist of minoritized or historically marginalized populations. Some believe that engagement activities like the creation of advisory boards, town halls, or a research workforce that looks more like community members will establish or reestablish trust between academic medical centers and racialized communities. However, without systematic approaches to dismantle racism, those well‐intended actions become public performativity, and trust building will fail. In this essay, we draw upon foundational ethical principles of trust, distrust, and trust building; apply the concept of bounded justice to performative trust acts; and center the works of Black and Indigenous feminist bioethicists to revisit some of the wisdom and valuable lessons they have contributed. Rebuilding trust is hard to do because people and institutions are often not honest about how hard it is and there is no simple box‐checking task that can disentangle our society's injustices, but there are steps to take in this direction. Individuals and institutions can recognize valuable relevant work that has already been written, partake in critical reflection, and then apply insights gained to take both small and sustainable steps toward transformational change and deeper trust.
The role of negative pressure wound therapy in the treatment of poststernotomy mediastinitis in Asians: A single‐center, retrospective cohort study
Authors: Wang Wei‐Ting , Lee Jui‐Min , Chiang Kuan‐Ju , Chiou Shih‐Hwa , Wang Chin‐Tien , Wu Szu‐Hsien 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIntroductionPoststernotomy mediastinitis (PSM) is a critical and life‐threatening complication that can arise after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the outcomes of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and conventional methods in the management of mediastinitis following heart surgery with a focus on Asian populations.MethodsFor this retrospective study, we included and evaluated a total of 34 patients who had undergone cardiac operations between January 2011 and September 2021 and developed PSM. The patients were divided into two groups, the NPWT group (n = 16, 47.1%) and the conventional treatment group (n = 18, 52.9%), and compared.ResultsThe two groups showed no significant differences in terms of patient characteristics, PSM wound classification based on the El Oakley classification, and wound closure methods, but there was a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus in the NPWT group. With regard to mediastinal cultures, a higher prevalence of Staphylococcus epidermidis was observed in the NPWT group. However, we found no significant differences between the two groups regarding the time interval from diagnosis to wound closure, hospitalization duration, and re‐exploration rate. Notably, the NPWT group exhibited a significantly higher in‐hospital mortality rate than the conventional treatment group (p = 0.024).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the use of NPWT might not lead to improved medical outcomes for patients with PSM when compared to conventional treatment methods. As a result, it becomes imperative to exercise great care when choosing patients for NPWT. To obtain more definitive and conclusive results and identify the most appropriate cases for NPWT, conducting larger randomized clinical trials is necessary.
Anticoagulant treatment and COVID‐19 mortality among older adults living in nursing homes in Sweden
Authors: Kananen Laura , Molnár Christian , Ansker Fredrik , Kozlowska Daria Julianna , Hägg Sara , Jylhävä Juulia , Religa Dorota , Raaschou Pauline 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBackgroundAnticoagulants (AC) were introduced in March 2020 as standard of care in nursing home (NH) residents affected with COVID‐19 in the Stockholm region, Sweden. ACs are proven to reduce the risk of complications and mortality from COVID‐19 among patients of other ages and settings, but there is limited scientific evidence underpinning this practice in the NH setting.MethodsThis matched cohort study included 182 NH residents in the Stockholm Region diagnosed with COVID‐19 in March–May 2020. The main exposure was any AC treatment. Exposed (n = 91), 49% prevalent (pre‐COVID‐19 diagnosis) AC and 51% incident AC were compared with unexposed controls (n = 91). The outcome was 28‐days all‐cause mortality after COVID‐19 infection. The mortality odds ratios (OR) were assessed using logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex, multimorbidity, and mobility, also stratified by incident or prevalent AC‐type, age group, and sex.ResultsOf the 182 individuals diagnosed with COVID‐19 (median age 88 years, 68% women), 39% died within 28 days after diagnosis. Use of either incident or prevalent AC was associated with a reduced, adjusted 28‐day mortality (OR[95% CI]: 0.31[0.16–0.62]). In stratified analyses, the association was significant in both age groups: 70–89 (OR: 0.37 [0.15–0.89]) and 90–99 years of age (OR: 0.22 [0.07–0.65]. In sex‐stratified analysis, the AC‐lowering effect was significant in women only (OR: 0.28[0.11–0.67]). In the analyses stratified by AC type, the mortality‐lowering effect was observed for both prevalent AC (OR: 0.35[0.12–0.99]) and incident AC (OR: 0.29[0.11–0.76]).ConclusionsBoth prevalent and incident use of ACs in prophylactic dosing was associated with reduced 28‐day mortality among older individuals with COVID‐19 in a NH setting. The effect was seen across age‐strata and in women. The findings present new insight in best practice for individuals diagnosed with COVID‐19 in the NH setting.
Undiagnosed hypertension and its associated factors in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Solbana Lencho Kajela , Chaka Eshetu Ejeta , Tola Diriba Etana 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBackground and AimsEarly identification and treatment of hypertension could lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases; which share the largest proportion of death. The findings of previous studies done in Ethiopia on undiagnosed hypertension were inconsistent. Therefore, this systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of undiagnosed hypertension among adults in Ethiopia.MethodsA protocol with registration number CRD42023395445 was registered to Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). A comprehensive search of observational studies done on undiagnosed hypertension was identified in PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Hinari databases, and other sources available until January 10, 2023. The quality of the identified studies using the set criteria and necessary data was extracted and exported to R version 4.2.3 and STATA version 15.0 for analysis. The pooled prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and its associated factors were identified. The risk of bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger's test. The findings were presented using tables, figures, and statements. This study was not funded by any organization.ResultsEleven studies having 6132 participants were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension was 21% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16–27). In subanalysis, according to the American Heart Association ( ≥ 130/80 mmHg), the pooled prevalence was 29% (95% CI: 18–40). However, according to the International Society of Hypertension ( ≥ 140/90), the pooled prevalence was 16% (95% CI: 13–20).Sex (AOR = 2.49, 1.48–3.49), age ≥55 years (AOR = 2.68, 1.16–4.21), alcohol drinking (AOR = 2.68, 1.68–3.69), body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 (AOR = 2.62, 1.77–3.48), and high triglyceride levels (AOR = 1.87, 1.22–2.51) were significantly associated with it.ConclusionIn Ethiopia, about one in five adults ≥ 18 years has undiagnosed hypertension; therefore raising public awareness for medical checkups, early hypertension detection, and treatment is suggested. However, these findings cannot be generalized to pediatrics.
Prostatic schwannoma discovered after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: A case report with literature review
Authors: Bejrananda Tanan , Jakjaroenrit Nattawit 
Published: November 2023

BackgroundSchwannomas originating in the prostate are extremely rare. We present a case of prostatic schwannoma in a 66‐year‐old male with lower urinary tract symptoms. Preoperative evaluation revealed a prostatic mass, and the definitive diagnosis was made through laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.Case presentationA 66‐year‐old male presented with persistent lower urinary tract symptoms for 5 years and a prostate‐specific antigen level of 0.63 ng/mL. MRI showed a well‐defined solid cystic mass in the posterolateral basal right peripheral zone, causing superior displacement of the right seminal vesicle. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was performed, confirming a periprostatic schwannoma.ConclusionThis case highlights the rarity of prostatic schwannomas and their association with lower urinary tract symptoms. MRI plays a crucial role in identifying prostatic masses, while laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic approach for prostatic schwannomas. Increased awareness of this rare entity is essential for accurate diagnosis and optimal management.
MAEU‐NET: A novel supervised architecture for brain tumor segmentation
Authors: Kumar Sangeet , Biswal B. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractA brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells that damages the neural system and may lead to severe conditions. These cells are irregular in shape and size, and as a result, the manual analysis of these cells from magnetic resonance (MR) images is a cumbersome and time‐consuming task. To alleviate these issues, a novel U‐Net inspired MAEU‐Net (Multiscale context Aggregation and Edge activation U‐Net) is implemented to detect the brain tumor pixels from MR images more precisely. The encoder block of the proposed model is improved by integrating with multiscale feature aggregation and convolution block attention modules (CBAM) enabling the model to extract both pertinent low‐level and high‐level features. Further, the extracted features are subjected to a parallel pooling module to elevate the features that extract the tumor pixels. In addition to this, the output features of the last encoder are fed to a parallel dilated context aggregation module to mitigate the hyper‐parameter size and further elevate the receptive field strength of the proposed model. Apart from this, edge‐enhanced modules are incorporated with skip connections which concatenate the feature maps of the decoder with respective edge‐enhanced encoder feature maps. As a result, this module increases the aspect ratio and reduces blurry edge problems. To illustrate the performance of the proposed MAEU‐Net, it is trained and tested using Kaggle LGG, BraTS 2018, and BraTS 2021 publicly available datasets. The proposed model outperformed the previously existing models by achieving the test loss, dice coefficient, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.0590, 0.901, 0.942, and 0.998, respectively. Simultaneously, the proposed model is quantitatively analyzed by performing ablation and comparative studies and presented that the proposed MAEU‐Net is superior to other previous existing models like U‐Net++, SegNet, etc.