bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Innovative reference materials for method validation in microplastic analysis including interlaboratory comparison exercises
Authors: Martínez-Francés Elena , van Bavel Bert , Hurley Rachel , Nizzetto Luca , Pakhomova Svetlana , Buenaventura Nina T. , Singdahl-Larsen Cecilie , Magni Marie-Louise Tambo , Johansen Jon Eigill , Lusher Amy 
Published: March 2023

AbstractReference materials (RMs) are vital tools in the validation of methods used to detect environmental pollutants. Microplastics, a relatively new environmental pollutant, require a variety of complex approaches to address their presence in environmental samples. Both interlaboratory comparison (ILC) studies and RMs are essential to support the validation of methods used in microplastic analysis. Presented here are results of quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) performed on two types of candidate microplastic RMs: dissolvable gelatin capsules and soda tablets. These RMs have been used to support numerous international ILC studies in recent years (2019–2022). Dissolvable capsules containing polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene (PS), in different size fractions from 50 to 1000 µm, were produced for one ILC study, obtaining relative standard deviation (RSD) from 0 to 24%. The larger size fraction allowed for manual addition of particles to the capsules, yielding 0% error and 100% recovery during QA/QC. Dissolvable capsules were replaced by soda tablets in subsequent ILC studies and recovery test exercises because they were found to be a more reliable carrier for microplastic RMs. Batches of soda tablets were produced containing different single and multiple polymer mixtures, i.e., PE, PET, PS, PVC, polypropylene (PP), and polycarbonate (PC), with RSD ranging from 8 to 21%. Lastly, soda tablets consisting of a mixture of PE, PVC, and PS (125–355 µm) were produced and used for recovery testing during pretreatment of environmental samples. These had an RSD of 9%. Results showed that soda tablets and capsules containing microplastics >50 µm could be produced with sufficient precision for internal recovery tests and external ILC studies. Further work is required to optimize this method for smaller microplastics (< 50 µm) because variation was found to be too large during QA/QC. Nevertheless, this approach represents a valuable solution addressing many of the challenges associated with validating microplastic analytical methods.
Venous Leak Embolization in Patients with Venogenic Erectile Dysfunction via Deep Dorsal Penile Vein Access: Safety and Early Efficacy
Authors: Diehm N. , Pelz S. , Kalka C. , Keo H. H. , Mohan V. , Schumacher M. C. , Do D. D. , Hoppe H. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Purpose
This all-comers registry aimed to assess safety and early efficacy of venous embolization in patients with venogenic erectile dysfunction due to venous leak in an unselected cohort.

Methods
Between October 2019 and September 2022, patients with venogenic erectile dysfunction resistant to phosphodiesterase-5-inhibitors were treated with venous embolization using ultrasound-guided anterograde access via a deep dorsal penile vein in a single center. A mix of ethiodized oil and modified cyanoacrylate-based glue n-butyl 2 cyanoacrylate (NBCA) monomer plus methacryloxy-sulpholane monomer (Glubran-2, GEM, Italy) was used as liquid embolic agent. Prior to embolization, venous leak had been verified based on penile duplex sonography and computed tomography cavernosography. Procedural success was defined as technically successful and complete target vein embolization. The primary safety outcome measure was any major adverse event 6 weeks after the procedure. The primary feasibility outcome measure was IIEF-15 (International Index of Erectile Function-15) score improvement ≥ 4 points in ≥ 50% of subjects on 6 weeks follow-up post intervention.

Results
Fifty consecutive patients (mean age 61.8 ± 10.0 years) with severe erectile dysfunction due to venous leak underwent venous embolization. Procedural success was achieved in 49/50 (98%) of patients with no major adverse events on follow-up. The primary feasibility outcome measure at 6 weeks was reached by 34/50 (68%) of patients.

Conclusion
Venous leak embolization via deep dorsal penile vein access using a liquid embolic agent was safe for all and efficacious in the majority of patients with severe venogenic erectile dysfunction on 6 weeks follow-up.
Two-dimensional glass transition–like behavior of Janus particle–laden interface
Authors: Correia Elton L. , Winter H. Henning , Razavi Sepideh 
Published: March 2023

AbstractUnderstanding the interactive behavior of Janus particles (JPs) is a growing field of research. The enhancement in binding energy, in comparison to homogenous particles, and the dual characteristic of JPs open up new possibilities for novel applications. In many such applications, interfacial materials become subjected to flows that produce dilational and shear stresses. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact that the Janus character brings to interfaces. In this work, we study the microstructure of two-dimensional (2D) JP monolayers formed at the air–water interface and examine the shear viscoelasticity with an interface rheometer that was adapted for in situ surface pressure control via a Langmuir trough. We extend concepts from bulk rheology to data obtained from interfacial rheology as a tool to understand and predict the monolayer’s viscoelastic behavior. Finally, by calculating the time relaxation spectrum from the measured 2D dynamic moduli, we conclude that a phenomenon similar to glass transition is taking place by analogy.
Assessment of aging of anaerobic digester paddle-mixer material: experimental studies and long-term numerical simulation
Authors: Psarras Spyridon , Zaragkas Thomas , Pegkos Dimitris , Dimoka Polyxeni , Eftaxias Alexandros , Charitidis Panagiotis , Diamantis Vasileios , Aivasidis Alexandros , Kostopoulos Vasileios 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn this study, experimental tests and numerical simulations (Abaqus) were performed to examine the durability of four impeller materials [steel, polyethylene, polypropylene and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)] in an anaerobic digester environment. Specimens of these materials were prepared and immersed in a bath containing anaerobic digester liquor while operated at 40 °C for a period of 8 months. Periodically (2, 4, 6 and 8 months) sample specimens were removed from the bath and the tensile strength and elastic modulus were determined. As expected, thermoplastic materials and especially GFRP exceeded higher absorption of moisture than steel, although aging effect on steel was more pronounced due to corrosion, as evidenced by SEM imaging. The results demonstrate that polyethylene was not acceptable as construction material for anaerobic digester paddle mixer. On the contrary steel, GFRP and PP remained highly unaffected with a negligible increase of the maximum stress, 1.6%, 0.9% and 3.0%, respectively.
Influence of stent-induced vessel deformation on hemodynamic feature of bloodstream inside ICA aneurysms
Authors: Sabernaeemi Amir , Barzegar Gerdroodbary M. , Salavatidezfouli Sajad , Valipour Peiman 
Published: March 2023

AbstractOne of the effective treatment options for intracranial aneurysms is stent-assisted coiling. Though, previous works have demonstrated that stent usage would result in the deformation of the local vasculature. The effect of simple stent on the blood hemodynamics is still uncertain. In this work, hemodynamic features of the blood stream on four different ICA aneurysm with/without interventional are investigated. To estimate the relative impacts of vessel deformation, four distinctive ICA aneurysm is simulated by the one-way FSI technique. Four hemodynamic factors of aneurysm blood velocity, wall pressure and WSS are compared in the peak systolic stage to disclose the impact of defamation by the stent in two conditions. The stent usage would decrease almost all of the mentioned parameters, except for OSI. Stenting reduces neck inflow rate, while the effect of interventional was not consistent among the aneurysms. The deformation of an aneurysm has a strong influence on the hemodynamics of an aneurysm. This outcome is ignored by most of the preceding investigations, which focused on the pre-interventional state for studying the relationship between hemodynamics and stents. Present results show that the application of stent without coiling would improve most hemodynamic factors, especially when the deformation of the aneurysm is high enough.
Performance investigation of a novel design of vertical micro-screen drum filter for a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS)
Authors: Tawfik M. A. , Salem M. A. , Zaki R. I. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe present study proposes a new design of mechanical filter to suit the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) as a high-efficiency alternative filter to the conventional swirl separator (CSS). The new filter is considered the developed version of CSS; thus, it is called thereafter as the swirl-vertical drum filter (SVDF) which is provided with a rotating vertical micro-screen drum equipped with a fixed vertical brush as a self-cleaning tool instead of the conventional backwash system. The performance of SVDF was evaluated under different drum rotational speeds, and drum rotation times using sinking and floating fish feed pellets and magnetic field device, and then, it was compared to CSS in terms of water quality and filtration efficiency under the same operational conditions. Experimental results showed better values of water quality including Dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and unionized ammonia (NH3). Also, the lowest value of COD was found to be 18.33 mg/L by using SVDF with floating feed pellets, whilst the highest value of 100.73 mg/L was found in the case of using the CSS with sinking pellets. Meanwhile, the magnetic field device had no effect on the filtration process. The lowest surface area of the vertical micro-screen drum of 0.217 ± 0.013 m2 was obtained at the drum’s rotational speed of 20 rpm (0.39 m/s), rotation time of 150 min with floating feed pellets. Experimentally, it is found that the new SVDF has higher filtration efficiency than the CSS by about 57.57% under the same operational conditions.
Seismic analysis of failure mechanisms in adjacent interacting stone masonry buildings via rigid block modeling
Authors: Gagliardo Raffaele , Godio Michele , Portioli Francesco P. A. , Landolfo Raffaele 
Published: March 2023

AbstractGroups of contiguous unreinforced stone masonry buildings are a common type of housing seen in old European downtowns. However, assessing their response to earthquakes poses several challenges to the analysts, especially when the housing units are laid out in compact configurations. In fact, in those circumstances a modeling technique that allows for the dynamic interaction of the units is required. The numerical study carried out in this paper makes use of a rigid block modeling approach implemented into in-house software tools to simulate the static behavior and dynamic response of an aggregate stone masonry building. Said approach is used to reproduce the results of bi-axial shake-table tests that were performed on a building prototype as part of the activities organized within the Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures project, sponsored by the Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe. The experimental mock-up consisted of two adjacent interacting units with matching layout but different height. Two rigid block models are used to investigate the seismic response of the mock-up: a 3D model allowing for the limit analysis of the building on one hand, and a 2D model allowing for the non-linear static pushover and time-history analysis on the other. The 3D model was built for the blind prediction of the test results, as part of a competition organized to test different modeling approaches that are nowadays available to the analysts. The 2D model was implemented once the experimental data were made available, to deepen the investigation by non-linear static pushover and time-history analysis. In both models, the stonework is idealized into an assemblage of rigid blocks interacting via no-tension frictional interfaces, and mathematical programming is utilized to solve the optimization problems associated to the different types of analysis. Differences between numerical and experimental failure mechanisms, base shears, peak ground accelerations, and displacement histories are discussed. Potentialities and limitations of the adopted rigid block models for limit, pushover and time-history analyses are pointed out on the basis of their comparisons with the experimental results.
Assessing directional vulnerability to wildfire
Authors: Beverly Jennifer L. , Forbes Air M. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractWildfires spread along trajectories set by a coincident wind direction. Despite the highly directional nature of wildfire threats to public safety, landscape fire risk assessments are typically omnidirectional. We used a simple metric of landscape fire exposure to develop a systematic and standardized approach for assessing directional vulnerability to wildfire within a circular assessment area centered on locale of interest. First, we defined a viable wildfire trajectory by analyzing 573 sample trajectories delineated within the burned areas of historical fires in the province of Alberta, Canada. On average, sample trajectories intersected locations assessed as having high wildfire exposure for 79% of their length. We, therefore, defined a viable fire trajectory as one with at least 80% of its length traversing high exposure. Using this criterion, we assessed the viability of directional trajectories representing possible wildfire pathways from outlying landscape areas into a locale of interest centered within a roughly 70,000-ha circular assessment area. At each central assessment point (i.e., community centroid), we delineated 360 linear trajectories into the community at 1° directional intervals. Each 15-km trajectory was divided into three 5-km segments for analysis (inner, middle, and outer). The length of each directional trajectory segment that intersected high exposure was computed for all 1080 directional segments in each community assessment area. In total, we evaluated 986,040 directional segments for 913 communities in the province. Communities exhibited highly unique and varied patterns of directional vulnerabilities to wildfire encroachment. Of the communities analyzed, 136 had at least one continuous viable trajectory spanning the full 15-km distance from the community centroid, and 211 communities had at least one continuous viable trajectory spanning 5–15 km from the community centroid. We developed customized rose or polar diagrams for displaying spatially referenced directional vulnerabilities to wildfire for a given community and combined results for all 913 analyzed communities to assess regional vulnerabilities within administrative management areas (i.e., Forest Areas). Potential applications of our directional assessment method are discussed, including prepositioning and prioritizing limited fire suppression resources, planning fuel reduction treatments, proactively identifying candidate locations for operational activities, assessing transportation network vulnerabilities during evacuations, and scenario planning.
Nutritional and Health Benefits of the Brown Seaweed Himanthalia elongata
Authors: Ilyas Zahra , Ali Redha Ali , Wu Yuan Seng , Ozeer Fathima Zahraa , Aluko Rotimi E. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractHimanthalia elongata is a brown seaweed containing several nutritional compounds and bioactive substances including antioxidants, dietary fibre, vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, and macro- and trace- elements. A variety of bioactive compounds including phlorotannins, flavonoids, dietary fucoxanthin, hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid, polyphenols and carotenoids are also present in this seaweed. Multiple comparative studies were carried out between different seaweed species, wherein H. elongata was determined to exhibit high antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, fucose content and potassium concentrations compared to other species. H. elongata extracts have also shown promising anti-hyperglycaemic and neuroprotective activities. H. elongata is being studied for its potential industrial food applications. In new meat product formulations, it lowered sodium content, improved phytochemical and fiber content in beef patties, improved properties of meat gel/emulsion systems, firmer and tougher with improved water and fat binding properties. This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of the nutritional composition, bioactive properties, and food applications of H. elongata.
A self-sustainable opportunistic solution for emergency detection in ageing people living in rural areas
Authors: Jesús-Azabal Manuel , Berrocal Javier , Soares Vasco N. G. J. , García-Alonso José , Galán-Jiménez Jaime 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThere are contexts where communication with TCP/IP protocol is not possible due to the lack of infrastructure or a reliable and continuous data transmission. In this cases, alternatives such as Opportunistic Networks (OPPNets) are valid. Such challenging conditions are common in rural areas and are a significant obstacle for the deployment of eHealth technologies for older adults. Considering this context, the present work introduces Interest-based System for Communication in Isolated Areas (ISCA), an OPPNet architecture for remote monitoring and emergency detection in ageing people who live alone. For this, the energetic requirements are considered, providing efficient and sustainable operation. The proposal makes use of a routing algorithm based on interests which enables asynchronous communication among entities. ISCA is evaluated over a realistic scenario and compared with similar state-of-the-art solutions. Experimental results show that ISCA notably improves the delivery probability with an enhancement of 52.25% in comparison to the second best alternative and provides a suitable average latency. Moreover, it also achieves better performance in terms of overhead and hops number compared to the other studied protocols
TrkC Intracellular Signalling in the Brain Fear Network During the Formation of a Contextual Fear Memory
Authors: Silva Francisca , Masella Gianluca , Madeira Maria Francisca , Duarte Carlos B. , Santos Mónica 
Published: March 2023

AbstractLearned fear is orchestrated by a brain fear network that comprises the amygdala, hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex. Synaptic plasticity within this network is critical for the formation of proper fear memories. Known for their role in the promotion of synaptic plasticity, neurotrophins position as obvious candidates in the regulation of fear processes. Indeed, recent evidence from our laboratory and others associates dysregulated signalling through neurotrophin-3 and its receptor TrkC with the pathophysiology of anxiety and fear-related disorders. Here, we put wild-type C57Bl/6J mice through a contextual fear conditioning paradigm in order to characterize TrkC activation and expression in the main brain regions involved in (learned) fear – amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex – during the formation of a fear memory. We report an overall decreased activation of TrkC in the fear network during fear consolidation and reconsolidation. During reconsolidation, hippocampal TrkC downregulation was accompanied by a decrease in the expression and activation of Erk, a critical signalling pathway in fear conditioning. Moreover, we did not find evidence that the observed decrease of TrkC activation was caused by altered expression of dominant negative form of TrkC, neurotrophin-3, or the PTP1B phosphatase. Our results indicate hippocampal TrkC inactivation through Erk signalling as a potential mechanism in the regulation of contextual fear memory formation.
High-performance flexible all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors based on binder-free MXene/cellulose nanofiber anode and carbon cloth/polyaniline cathode
Authors: Bi Xiaoyu , Li Meichun , Zhou Guoqiang , Liu Chaozheng , Huang Runzhou , Shi Yang , Xu Ben Bin , Guo Zhanhu , Fan Wei , Algadi Hassan , Ge Shengbo 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe search for wearable electronics has been attracted great efforts, and there is an ever-growing demand for all-solid-state flexible energy storage devices. However, it is a challenge to obtain both positive and negative electrodes with excellent mechanical strength and match positive and negative charges to achieve high energy densities and operate voltages to satisfy practical application requirements. Here, flexible MXene (Ti3C2Tx)/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) composite film negative electrodes (MCNF) were fabricated with a vacuum filtration method, as well as positive electrodes (CP) by combining polyaniline (PANI) with carbon cloth (CC) using an in-situ polymerization method. Both positive and negative free-standing electrodes exhibited excellent electrochemical behavior and bendable/foldable flexibility. As a result, the all-pseudocapacitance asymmetric device of MCNF//CP assembled with charge-matched between anode and cathode achieves an extended voltage window of 1.5 V, high energy density of 30.6 Wh·kg−1 (1211 W·kg−1), and 86% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles, and the device maintains excellent bendability, simultaneously. This work will pave the way for the development of all-pseudocapacitive asymmetric supercapacitors (ASC) with simultaneously preeminent mechanical properties, high energy density, and wide operating voltage window.
Exploring deep residual network based features for automatic schizophrenia detection from EEG
Authors: Siuly Siuly , Guo Yanhui , Alcin Omer Faruk , Li Yan , Wen Peng , Wang Hua 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSchizophrenia is a severe mental illness which can cause lifelong disability. Most recent studies on the Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based diagnosis of schizophrenia rely on bespoke/hand-crafted feature extraction techniques. Traditional manual feature extraction methods are time-consuming, imprecise, and have a limited ability to balance accuracy and efficiency. Addressing this issue, this study introduces a deep residual network (deep ResNet) based feature extraction design that can automatically extract representative features from EEG signal data for identifying schizophrenia. This proposed method consists of three stages: signal pre-processing by average filtering method, extraction of hidden patterns of EEG signals by deep ResNet, and classification of schizophrenia by softmax layer. To assess the performance of the obtained deep features, ResNet softmax classifier and also several machine learning (ML) techniques are applied on the same feature set. The experimental results for a Kaggle schizophrenia EEG dataset show that the deep features with support vector machine classifier could achieve the highest performances (99.23% accuracy) compared to the ResNet classifier. Furthermore, the proposed model performs better than the existing approaches. The findings suggest that our proposed strategy has capability to discover important biomarkers for automatic diagnosis of schizophrenia from EEG, which will aid in the development of a computer assisted diagnostic system by specialists.