bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Platinum nanosheets synthesized via topotactic reduction of single-layer platinum oxide nanosheets for electrocatalysis
Authors: Takimoto Daisuke , Toma Shino , Suda Yuya , Shirokura Tomoki , Tokura Yuki , Fukuda Katsutoshi , Matsumoto Masashi , Imai Hideto , Sugimoto Wataru 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIncreasing the performance of Pt-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential for the widespread commercialization of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Here we show the synthesis of double-layer Pt nanosheets with a thickness of 0.5 nm via the topotactic reduction of 0.9 nm-thick single-layer PtOx nanosheets, which are exfoliated from a layered platinic acid (HyPtOx). The ORR activity of the Pt nanosheets is two times greater than that of conventionally used state-of-the-art 3 nm-sized Pt nanoparticles, which is attributed to their large electrochemically active surface area (124 m2 g−1). These Pt nanosheets show excellent potential in reducing the amount of Pt used by enhancing its ORR activity. Our results unveil strategies for designing advanced catalysts that are considerably superior to traditional nanoparticle systems, allowing Pt catalysts to operate at their full potential in areas such as fuel cells, rechargeable metal–air batteries, and fine chemical production.
Structure sensitivity in gas sorption and conversion on metal-organic frameworks
Authors: Delen Guusje , Monai Matteo , Stančiaková Katarina , Baumgartner Bettina , Meirer Florian , Weckhuysen Bert M. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMany catalytic processes depend on the sorption and conversion of gaseous molecules on the surface of (porous) functional materials. These events often preferentially occur on specific, undercoordinated, external surface sites. Here we show the combination of in situ Photo-induced Force Microscopy (PiFM) with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to study the site-specific sorption and conversion of formaldehyde on the external surfaces of well-defined faceted ZIF-8 microcrystals with nanoscale resolution. We observed preferential adsorption of formaldehyde on high index planes. Moreover, in situ PiFM allowed us to visualize unsaturated nanodomains within extended external crystal planes, showing enhanced sorption behavior on the nanoscale. Additionally, on defective ZIF-8 crystals, structure sensitive conversion of formaldehyde through a methoxy- and a formate mechanism mediated by Lewis acidity was found. Strikingly, sorption and conversion were influenced more by the external surface termination than by the concentration of defects. DFT calculations showed that this is due to the presence of specific atomic arrangements on high-index crystal surfaces. With this research, we showcase the high potential of in situ PiFM for structure sensitivity studies on porous functional materials.
Site- and enantioselective cross-coupling of saturated N-heterocycles with carboxylic acids by cooperative Ni/photoredox catalysis
Authors: Shu Xiaomin , Zhong De , Huang Qian , Huan Leitao , Huo Haohua 
Published: January 2023

AbstractSite- and enantioselective cross-coupling of saturated N-heterocycles and carboxylic acids—two of the most abundant and versatile functionalities—to form pharmaceutically relevant α-acylated amine derivatives remains a major challenge in organic synthesis. Here, we report a general strategy for the highly site- and enantioselective α-acylation of saturated N-heterocycles with in situ-activated carboxylic acids. This modular approach exploits the hydrogen-atom-transfer reactivity of photocatalytically generated chlorine radicals in combination with asymmetric nickel catalysis to selectively functionalize cyclic α-amino C−H bonds in the presence of benzylic, allylic, acyclic α-amino, and α-oxy methylene groups. The mild and scalable protocol requires no organometallic reagents, displays excellent chemo-, site- and enantioselectivity, and is amenable to late-stage diversification, including a modular synthesis of previously inaccessible Taxol derivatives. Mechanistic studies highlight the exceptional versatility of the chiral nickel catalyst in orchestrating (i) catalytic chlorine elimination, (ii) alkyl radical capture, (iii) cross-coupling, and (iv) asymmetric induction.
Gastric functional monitoring by gastric electrical impedance tomography (gEIT) suit with dual-step fuzzy clustering
Authors: Sakai K. , Darma P. N. , Sejati P. A. , Wicaksono R. , Hayashi H. , Takei M. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractGastric Function has been successfully estimated by gastric electrical impedance tomography (gEIT) Suit with dual-step fuzzy clustering. The gEIT Suit which are made of elastic cloth with dual-planar electrodes and compact data acquisition (DAQ) system measures gastric impedance Z to visualize the gastric conductivity distribution σ. The dual-step fuzzy clustering extracts the clustered gastric conductivity distribution kσ, which accurately estimates the gastric function. The gEIT Suit with dual-step fuzzy clustering are applied to eight healthy persons during liquid meal consumption to estimate the gastric function under gastric accommodation phase of 200, 400 and 600 mL based on the gastric emptying phase. As the results, the gEIT Suit successfully estimate the gastric function. By the measured impedance Z, the subjects have a mean temporal impedance $$\overline{\Delta \mathbf{Z} }$$

Δ
Z

¯

= − 9.27 [Ohm] and p-value of that $$\overline{\mathbf{Z} }$$

Z
¯

p(Z) = 0.0013[–]as the t-test result. In the case of gastric conductivity distribution σ, the subjects have a value of spatial mean conductivity distribution ⟨σ⟩ = 0.23[–] and p-value of that ⟨σ⟩ p(σ) = 0.0140[–]. Lastly, in the case gastric volume V, subjects have a gastric volume V = 12.44 [%] and p-value p(V) = 0.0664[–].
Rectal swabs as a viable alternative to faecal sampling for the analysis of gut microbiota functionality and composition
Authors: Radhakrishnan Shiva T. , Gallagher Kate I. , Mullish Benjamin H. , Serrano-Contreras Jose I. , Alexander James L. , Miguens Blanco Jesus , Danckert Nathan P. , Valdivia-Garcia Maria , Hopkins Billy J. , Ghai Anik , Ayub Azad , Li Jia V. , Marchesi Julian R. , Williams Horace R. T. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractFaecal or biopsy samples are frequently used to analyse the gut microbiota, but issues remain with the provision and collection of such samples. Rectal swabs are widely-utilised in clinical practice and previous data demonstrate their potential role in microbiota analyses; however, studies to date have been heterogenous, and there are a particular lack of data concerning the utility of swabs for the analysis of the microbiota’s functionality and metabolome. We compared paired stool and rectal swab samples from healthy individuals to investigate whether rectal swabs are a reliable proxy for faecal sampling. There were no significant differences in key alpha and beta diversity measures between swab and faecal samples, and inter-subject variability was preserved. Additionally, no significant differences were demonstrated in abundance of major annotated phyla. Inferred gut functionality using Tax4Fun2 showed excellent correlation between the two sampling techniques (Pearson’s coefficient r = 0.9217, P < 0.0001). Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy enabled the detection of 20 metabolites, with overall excellent correlation identified between rectal swab and faecal samples for levels all metabolites collectively, although more variable degrees of association between swab and stool for levels of individual metabolites. These data support the utility of rectal swabs in both compositional and functional analyses of the gut microbiota.
A fully fiber-integrated ion trap for portable quantum technologies
Authors: Fernandez-Gonzalvo Xavier , Keller Matthias 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTrapped ions are a promising platform for the deployment of quantum technologies. However, traditional ion trap experiments tend to be bulky and environment-sensitive due to the use of free-space optics. Here we present a single-ion trap with integrated optical fibers directly embedded within the trap structure, to deliver laser light as well as to collect the ion’s fluorescence. This eliminates the need for optical windows. We characterise the system’s performance and measure the ion’s fluorescence with signal-to-background ratios on the order of 50, which allows us to perform internal state readout measurements with a fidelity over 99% in 600 $$\upmu$$
μ
s. We test the system’s resilience to thermal variations in the range between 22 and 53 $$^{\circ }$$

∘

C, and the system’s vibration resilience at 34 Hz and 300 Hz and find no effect on its performance. The combination of compactness and robustness of our fiber-coupled trap makes it well suited for applications in, as well as outside, research laboratory environments, and in particular for highly compact portable quantum technologies, such as portable optical atomic clocks. While our system is designed for trapping 40Ca+ ions the fundamental design principles can be applied to other ion species.
A vision transformer architecture for the automated segmentation of retinal lesions in spectral domain optical coherence tomography images
Authors: Philippi Daniel , Rothaus Kai , Castelli Mauro 
Published: January 2023

AbstractNeovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is one of the major causes of irreversible blindness and is characterized by accumulations of different lesions inside the retina. AMD biomarkers enable experts to grade the AMD and could be used for therapy prognosis and individualized treatment decisions. In particular, intra-retinal fluid (IRF), sub-retinal fluid (SRF), and pigment epithelium detachment (PED) are prominent biomarkers for grading neovascular AMD. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) revolutionized nAMD early diagnosis by providing cross-sectional images of the retina. Automatic segmentation and quantification of IRF, SRF, and PED in SD-OCT images can be extremely useful for clinical decision-making. Despite the excellent performance of convolutional neural network (CNN)-based methods, the task still presents some challenges due to relevant variations in the location, size, shape, and texture of the lesions. This work adopts a transformer-based method to automatically segment retinal lesion from SD-OCT images and qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate its performance against CNN-based methods. The method combines the efficient long-range feature extraction and aggregation capabilities of Vision Transformers with data-efficient training of CNNs. The proposed method was tested on a private dataset containing 3842 2-dimensional SD-OCT retina images, manually labeled by experts of the Franziskus Eye-Center, Muenster. While one of the competitors presents a better performance in terms of Dice score, the proposed method is significantly less computationally expensive. Thus, future research will focus on the proposed network’s architecture to increase its segmentation performance while maintaining its computational efficiency.
Impact of the immobilized Bacillus cereus MG708176 on the characteristics of the bio-based self-healing concrete
Authors: Reyad Amany M. , Mokhtar Gehad 
Published: January 2023

AbstractNovel carrier units were evaluated for their bio-healing benefits in our study to increase the efficacy of concrete healing. Bacillus cereus MG708176, an alkali-tolerant, calcite precipitating, endospore-forming strain was added as a bio-healing agent after its immobilization on wood ash units. A spore concentration of [1.3 × 107 spore/cm3] combined with 2.5% w/w urea was added to cement. Beams of 40 × 40 × 160 mm were used and tested for completely damaged mortar specimens after 7, 14, and 28 days of water treatment. Using wood ash bacterial mortars, totally destructed specimens were fully healed in all time intervals. Positive changes in concrete mechanical properties in bacterial wood ash treatment that were 24.7, 18.9, and 28.6% force for compressive, flexural, and tensile strengths more than control. The micro-images of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed the dense concrete structure via calcite, Bacillafilla, and ettringite formation. Our results have shown improvements in the concrete healing efficiency and the mechanical concrete properties by filling the concrete cracks using a calcite-producing bacterium that is immobilized on wood ash units.
A sustainable and secure load management model for green cloud data centres
Authors: Saxena Deepika , Singh Ashutosh Kumar , Lee Chung-Nan , Buyya Rajkumar 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe massive upsurge in cloud resource demand and inefficient load management stave off the sustainability of Cloud Data Centres (CDCs) resulting in high energy consumption, resource contention, excessive carbon emission, and security threats. In this context, a novel Sustainable and Secure Load Management (SaS-LM) Model is proposed to enhance the security for users with sustainability for CDCs. The model estimates and reserves the required resources viz., compute, network, and storage and dynamically adjust the load subject to maximum security and sustainability. An evolutionary optimization algorithm named Dual-Phase Black Hole Optimization (DPBHO) is proposed for optimizing a multi-layered feed-forward neural network and allowing the model to estimate resource usage and detect probable congestion. Further, DPBHO is extended to a Multi-objective DPBHO algorithm for a secure and sustainable VM allocation and management to minimize the number of active server machines, carbon emission, and resource wastage for greener CDCs. SaS-LM is implemented and evaluated using benchmark real-world Google Cluster VM traces. The proposed model is compared with state-of-the-arts which reveals its efficacy in terms of reduced carbon emission and energy consumption up to 46.9% and 43.9%, respectively with improved resource utilization up to 16.5%.
Illustrating papyrus in Ancient Egypt
Authors: Autran Pierre-Olivier , Dejoie Catherine , Dugand Caroline , Gervason Maeva , Bordet Pierre , Hodeau Jean-Louis , Anne Michel , Martinetto Pauline 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIllustrated papyruses from Ancient Egypt have survived across millennia, depicting with vivid colors numerous stories and practices from a distant past. We have investigated a series of illustrated papyruses from Champollion’s private collection showing scenes from the Book of the Dead, a document essential to prepare for the afterlife. The nature of the different pigments and their distribution are revealed by combining optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and fluorescence. The standardized three-step process from the New Kingdom period was used, comprising a preparatory drawing made of red hematite, a coloring step using pigments from the Egyptian palette, and a final black contour drawn with a carbon-based ink. Interestingly, specific pigment mixes were deliberately chosen to obtain different shades. In some parts, the final contour significantly differs from the preliminary drawing, revealing the artist’s creativity. These results enhance our knowledge of illustrative practices in Ancient Egypt.
A framework and prototype system in support of workflow collaboration and knowledge mining for manufacturing value chains
Authors: Qin Bo , Peng Peng , Zhang Jian , Wang Hongwei , Ma Ke 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the field of industrial design and manufacture, computer‐supported collaborative work (CSCW) systems have been widely deployed for better teamwork. However, the traditional CSCW systems have a main drawback in effectively processing and utilising knowledge across different industrial workflows. To bridge this gap, we propose a framework for collaboration between members across the manufacturing value chains to increase efficiency and reduce duplication in team cooperation. The framework contains three parts, namely workflow, knowledge mining, and services. Specifically, the workflow part provides a collaborative environment for multiple users. The knowledge mining part, as the core of the framework, extracts in‐context knowledge from workflows. The part of services can interact with users with different users in each workflow, including information recommendation they need in the future or information retrieval they want to know from other workflows. Furthermore, we develop a prototype system for supporting multiple value chains collaboration to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the framework.
Asymmetric modulation of bridgeless single‐stage full‐bridge AC–DC converter for active power factor correction and zero voltage switching
Authors: Liu Junwei , Loo K. H. , Wang Guibin , Zhang Xian , Wu Ting 
Published: January 2023

AbstractSinge‐phase single‐stage AC–DC converters exhibit the advantages of lower cost, higher efficiency, and lower power semiconductor device count compared with traditional two‐stage topologies. However, most existing single‐stage AC–DC topologies encounter some or all the following drawbacks: hard‐switching operation, bulky bus or output capacitor, uncontrolled bus voltage, not actively shaped input current, a large amount of power semiconductor devices, etc. The bridgeless single‐stage full‐bridge AC–DC converter can be considered a promising solution for high power capacity and efficiency. However, this topology still suffers from most of the drawbacks. In this paper, a new asymmetric modulation method of bridgeless single‐stage full‐bridge AC–DC converter is proposed to achieve active power factor (PF) correction and zero‐voltage switching. Topology description, the proposed modulation and control methods, theoretical analysis progress, and reference design procedure are presented in detail. Finally, a 2‐kW laboratory prototype is implemented with experimental results presented to validate the principle and design.
Unmanned ground vehicle‐unmanned aerial vehicle relative navigation robust adaptive localization algorithm
Authors: Dai Jun , Liu Songlin , Xiangyang Hao , Ren Zongbin , Yang Xiao , Lv Yunzhu 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) can complete complex tasks through information sharing and ensure the mission execution capability of multiple unmanned carrier platforms. At the same time, cooperative navigation can use the information interaction between multi‐platform sensors to improve the relative navigation and positioning accuracy of the entire system. Aiming at the problem of deviation of the system model due to gross errors in sensor measurement data or strong manoeuvrability in complex environments, a robust and adaptive UGV‐UAV relative navigation and positioning algorithm is proposed. In this paper, the relative navigation and positioning of UGV‐UAV is studied based on inertial measurement unit (IMU)/Vision. Based on analyzing the relative kinematics model and sensor measurement model, a leader (UGV)‐follow (UAV) relative navigation model is established. In the implementation of the relative navigation and positioning algorithm, the robust adaptive algorithm and the non‐linear Kalman filter (extended Kalman filter [EKF]) algorithm are combined to dynamically adjust the system state parameters. Finally, a mathematical simulation of the accompanying and landing process in the UGV‐UAV cooperative scene is carried out. The relative position, velocity and attitude errors calculated by EKF, Robust‐EKF and Robust‐Adaptive‐EKF algorithms are compared and analyzed by simulating two cases where the noise obeys the Gaussian distribution and the non‐Gaussian distribution. The results show that under the non‐Gaussian distribution conditions, the accuracy of the Robust‐Adaptive‐EKF algorithm is improved by about two to three times compared with the EKF and Robust‐EKF and can almost reach the relative navigation accuracy under the Gaussian distribution conditions. The robust self‐adaptive relative navigation and positioning algorithm proposed in this paper has strong adaptability to the uncertainty and deviation of system modelling in complex environments, with higher accuracy and stronger robustness.
Medical Abortion before Confirmed Intrauterine Pregnancy: A Systematic Review
Authors: Brandell Karin , Reynolds-Wright John J. , Boerma Clare , Gibson Gillian , Hognert Helena , Tuladhar Heera , Heikinheimo Oskari , Cameron Sharon , Gemzell-Danielsson Kristina ,   On Behalf of the VEMA Study Group
Published: January 2023

Abstract“Very early medical abortion” (VEMA) refers to medical abortion (with mifepristone and misoprostol) before intrauterine pregnancy is visualized on ultrasound. Our aim is to present the current evidence on efficacy, safety (focused on ectopic pregnancies), and how to assess treatment success of VEMA. We conducted a systematic review of studies reporting outcomes of VEMA. The field is small and so our objective was to map all relevant literature, without conducting meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Medline, and Embase on April 19, 2022. We conducted a narrative synthesis of the evidence. A total of 373 articles were identified. Six articles (representing four observational and one pilot trial) were included in the final review. Across all included studies, treatment efficacy ranged between 91 and 100%. Prevalence of ectopic pregnancy was low and very few cases (n = 2) of ruptures were reported. Most studies used serial serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (s-hCG) levels to determine success of abortion; one study used low sensitivity urine hCG. From the available evidence, VEMA appears to be efficacious and does not appear to cause harm to ectopic pregnancies. Treatment can be assessed with pre- and postabortion s-hCG. Good quality, randomized controlled trial evidence is needed to best inform practice.
Long-acting PEGylated growth hormone in children with idiopathic short stature: time to reconsider our diagnostic and treatment policy?
Authors: Wit Jan M , Joustra Sjoerd D 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Idiopathic short stature (ISS) is a diagnosis of exclusion, and therefore each child with short stature or slow growth referred to a paediatrician deserves a full medical history and physical examination, as well as radiological and laboratory screening tests. In patients with an increased likelihood of a genetic cause, genetic testing is indicated. Idiopathic short stature is an approved indication for recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in the USA but not in most other parts of the world. In a recent article published in this journal, Luo et al reported on the 1-year’s results of a multicentre randomized controlled trial (n = 360) on the efficacy and safety of two dosages of long-acting PEGylated rhGH (PEG-rhGH, Jintrolong®) (0.1 or 0.2 mg/kg body weight per week, respectively) in children with ISS compared with an untreated control group. The growth response to the higher dosage was similar to reported data on daily rhGH. In this commentary, we discuss whether the recent data on genetic causes of short stature in children who initially were labelled ISS, and data on the long-term safety of daily rhGH, may influence the balance between risks and benefits of rhGH treatment in children with ISS. We further discuss the pharmacokinetic and -dynamic profile of PEG-rhGH and its potential consequences for long-term safety.