bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Degradation in photovoltaic encapsulant transmittance: Results of the second PVQAT TG5 artificial weathering study
Authors: Morse Joshua , Thuis Michael , Holsapple Derek , Willis Ryan , Kempe Michael D. , Miller David C. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe optical degradation of encapsulants from ultraviolet (UV) radiation has historically resulted in a significant loss in performance throughout the life of a photovoltaic (PV) module. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) test methods have recently been developed to screen for PV encapsulants prone to loss in optical performance. The present study was performed to benchmark polymeric packaging materials relative to IEC 62788‐1‐4 (covering the measurement of optical transmittance) and IEC 62788‐1‐7 (on the durability of transmittance), provide feedback toward improvement of the methods, and develop insight regarding optical degradation. Contemporary materials were examined, including poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate) (EVA), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), polyolefin elastomer (POE), and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) encapsulants; a poly(ethene‐co‐tetrafluoroethene)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (ETFE/PET) transparent backsheet; and a polystyrene (PS) working reference material. The use of silica‐, specialty‐, and rolled‐glass was also compared in laminated coupons. Specimen size was separately examined from 2.5 to 12.5 cm. Weathering was performed with a xenon source, using IEC TS 62788‐7‐2 methods A2, A3, A4, and A5 (chamber temperature of 55°C, 65°C, 75°C, or 85°C), respectively. Characterizations were made using a UV–visible–near‐infrared (UV–VIS–NIR) spectrophotometer (transmittance and reflectance, with and without an integrating sphere), a UV–VIS fluorescence spectrophotometer, a camera, and an optical microscope. Performance was analyzed, including solar weighted transmittance, yellowness index, UV cut‐off wavelength, and haze (scattering). Separate Arrhenius analyses were performed to assess retention of transmittance and changes in yellowness index. The activation energy for both characteristics was found to range from 15–80 kJ·mol−1, with an average of 48 kJ·mol−1, similar to the average of 45 kJ·mol−1 identified in the previous international PV Quality Assurance Task Force (PVQAT) Task Group 5 (TG5) study of more traditional encapsulants. The separate degradation modes of discoloration and scattering were distinguished in the encapsulants using a comprehensive spectral characterization. Based on these results, the IEC 62788‐1‐7 pass/fail criteria of 5% change in transmittance was confirmed to identify a known bad encapsulant.
Placental and plasma early predictive biomarkers for gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Wei Yiling , He Andong , Huang Zhengrui , Liu Jia , Li Ruiman 
Published: April 2022

AbstractPurposeGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common disease that can give rise to adverse obstetric outcomes. For successful early intervention, more studies on novel predictive biomarkers for GDM are required.Experimental DesignThe protein expression profiles of placental tissue from patients with GDM and normal pregnant women were investigated using data‐independent acquisition proteomics with five biological replicates. Early pregnancy maternal plasma samples from the GDM (n = 79) and control (n = 81) groups were used for further validation of candidate biomarkers.ResultsWe identified 37 differentially expressed proteins between the two groups. CD109 antigen (CD109) and endosialin (CD248) were identified as hub proteins. In the validation experiments, CD109 expression was lower in the early pregnancy maternal plasma of patients with GDM compared with that in normal pregnant women, and CD248 expression was higher in the GDM group. The area under the curve of CD109, CD248, and their combination as indicators in early pregnancy maternal plasma was 0.681, 0.609, and 0.695, respectively.Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceThe present study is the first to obtain preliminary evidence that CD109 and CD248 can predict GDM during early pregnancy, as well as providing proteome‐level insights into this disease's pathological mechanisms.
Bed‐mounted laparoscopic surgical robot system with novel positioning arm mechanism
Authors: Chung Deok Gyoon , Hwang Minho , Cheon Byungsik , Kong Dukyoo , Kang DongHoon , Lee Dong‐Ho , Kim Chang‐Kyun , Kim Duksang , Han Jung Min , Kim Young‐Geun , Kwon Dong‐Soo 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBackgroundCommercialised laparoscopic surgical robotic systems require a large operating room and can only be used in large hospitals. If the robotic system is to be used in a small‐ or medium‐sized hospital, the occupied volume must be reduced further.MethodsIn this paper, we propose a bed‐mounted system that can be installed in a general operating room. Furthermore, we proposed a novel positioning arm suitable for a bed‐mounted surgical robot system.ResultsThe surgical possibility of the proposed bed‐mounted system has been verified. Furthermore, the surgical possibility of the proposed system was confirmed using in vivo animal experiments.ConclusionsA bed‐mounted laparoscopic robotic system and a novel positioning arm was proposed. The study's ultimate goal is to enable robotic surgery in small and medium‐sized hospitals by introducing the proposed bed‐mounted laparoscopic robot system, allowing many people to receive high‐quality medical services.
Epistemic agency for costructuring expansive knowledge‐building practices
Authors: Zhang Jianwei , Tian Yan , Yuan Guangji , Tao Dan 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAs a hallmark of authentic science practices, students need to enact epistemic agency to shape/reshape the key aspects of their inquiry work as a collaborative community. This study elaborates an emergent temporal mechanism for engaging students' epistemic agency: “reflective structuration” by which members of a classroom community coconstruct ever‐evolving inquiry directions and group structures as their collective inquiry work proceeds. Using an interactional ethnography method, we examined how students (n = 22) in a Grade 5 classroom coconstructed shared inquiry directions and flexible group structures to guide their sustained inquiry about human body systems over 7 months supported by a collaborative online environment. Rich data were collected to trace the work of the eye inquiry group as a telling case. With their teacher's support, students took agentic moves to construct an evolving set of wondering areas as a way to frame what their whole class needed to investigate. Flexible groups, such as the eye inquiry group, emerged and evolved in the various areas, leading to progressively deepening inquiry and extensive idea exchanges among students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Hierarchical multivariate directed acyclic graph autoregressive models for spatial diseases mapping
Authors: Gao Leiwen , Datta Abhirup , Banerjee Sudipto 
Published: April 2022

AbstractDisease mapping is an important statistical tool used by epidemiologists to assess geographic variation in disease rates and identify lurking environmental risk factors from spatial patterns. Such maps rely upon spatial models for regionally aggregated data, where neighboring regions tend to exhibit similar outcomes than those farther apart. We contribute to the literature on multivariate disease mapping, which deals with measurements on multiple (two or more) diseases in each region. We aim to disentangle associations among the multiple diseases from spatial autocorrelation in each disease. We develop multivariate directed acyclic graphical autoregression models to accommodate spatial and inter‐disease dependence. The hierarchical construction imparts flexibility and richness, interpretability of spatial autocorrelation and inter‐disease relationships, and computational ease, but depends upon the order in which the cancers are modeled. To obviate this, we demonstrate how Bayesian model selection and averaging across orders are easily achieved using bridge sampling. We compare our method with a competitor using simulation studies and present an application to multiple cancer mapping using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.
Seismic force demand on RC shear walls for direct displacement‐based design
Authors: Abdi Saeid , Khosravi Horr , Jafarieh Amir Hossein 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThis article aims to investigate seismic force demand on RC shear walls which are designed using direct displacement‐based design (DDBD) method. For this purpose, first 12 shear walls were designed using DDBD approach and then were modeled nonlinearly in OpenSees using fiber section elements. Each wall was subjected to 45 artificial ground motions and the seismic force demand, including the shear force and the bending moment, were determined along the wall height. The nonlinear dynamic analysis results indicated that the seismic force demand was significantly amplified relative to the design forces. This amplification, which was due to the higher mode effects, is mainly a function of structural period and ductility demand. To find new shear and moment envelopes for capacity design, two envelop shapes compatible with internal force pattern along the wall height were selected. Then, the required equations were presented for envelope parameters based on the regression analysis of the results. The comparison of seismic force demand with proposed and previous envelopes indicates the superiority of new proposed envelopes for DDBD approach.
Amlodipine decreases mitral regurgitation volume in dogs over 7 days: A study of 24 dogs with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration
Authors: Park Sool Yi , Oh Won‐Seok , Lee Seunggon 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBackgroundAmlodipine, a dihydropyridine calcium‐channel blocker, is currently being investigated as a treatment for myxomatous mitral valvular degeneration (MMVD). However, the effects of amlodipine on moderate or severe spontaneous MMVD, based on changes in echocardiographic indices, remain unclear.AnimalsClient‐owned small‐breed dogs (n = 24) with naturally occurring MMVD of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) stage B2 or higher.MethodsBasic dog information including previous medication treatments were recorded. All subjects received amlodipine 0.1 mg/kg, administered per os, twice daily for 7 days, in addition to their existing medication. We measured systolic blood pressure, obtained x‐ray, echocardiography, blood test data before and after 1 week of amlodipine administration.ResultsLeft ventricular end‐diastolic internal diameter, left atrial diameter and E wave reduced statistically after 1 week of amlodipine treatment (all p < 0.001). No adverse effects were reported.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that low‐dose amlodipine should be considered as treatment for dogs with ACVIM stage B2‒C MMVD.
Emergent time, cosmological constant and boundary dimension at infinity in combinatorial quantum gravity
Authors: Trugenberger C. A. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Combinatorial quantum gravity is governed by a discrete Einstein-Hilbert action formulated on an ensemble of random graphs. There is strong evidence for a second-order quantum phase transition separating a random phase at strong coupling from an ordered, geometric phase at weak coupling. Here we derive the picture of space-time that emerges in the geometric phase, given such a continuous phase transition. In the geometric phase, ground-state graphs are discretizations of Riemannian, negative-curvature Cartan-Hadamard manifolds. On such manifolds, diffusion is ballistic. Asymptotically, diffusion time is soldered with a manifold coordinate and, consequently, the probability distribution is governed by the wave equation on the corresponding Lorentzian manifold of positive curvature, de Sitter space-time. With this asymptotic Lorentzian picture, the original negative curvature of the Riemannian manifold turns into a positive cosmological constant. The Lorentzian picture, however, is valid only asymptotically and cannot be extrapolated back in coordinate time. Before a certain epoch, coordinate time looses its meaning and the universe is a negative-curvature Riemannian “shuttlecock” with ballistic diffusion, thereby avoiding a big bang singularity. The emerging coordinate time leads to a de Sitter version of the holographic principle relating the bulk isometries with boundary conformal transformations. While the topological boundary dimension is (D − 1), the so-called “dimension at infinity” of negative curvature manifolds, i.e. the large-scale spectral dimension seen by diffusion processes with no spectral gap, those that can probe the geometry at infinity, is always three.
Skeletal maturation in different anteroposterior and vertical skeletal growth patterns in female subjects
Authors: El-Dawlatly Mostafa M. , Abdelghaffar Ahmed Y. , Palomo Juan Martin , Mostafa Yehya A. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the present work was to study the sequence of skeletal maturation in the various anteroposterior and vertical skeletal growth patterns and to detect whether differences existed between them.

Methods
Cephalograms of 861 growing and adolescent female patients were traced to categorize the subjects into 9 skeletal patterns. Each subject was assigned a skeletal maturational stage. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Bonferroni test were used to detect differences in the onset of the three growth stages (prepubertal, pubertal and postpubertal) between the 9 groups. The same statistical methods were used to detect differences between the mean ages at the three growth stages within each group.

Results
No statistically significant differences were found between the mean ages of pubertal and postpubertal growth stages between the 9 skeletal patterns. However, class III growers had a significantly earlier onset of prepubertal growth (10.25 ± 1.56 years) when compared to that of class II high angle cases (11.11 ± 1.67 years; P < 0.01). Also, significant differences were found between the mean ages at the three growth stages within the groups.

Conclusion
A map was created defining the sequence of skeletal maturation for each skeletal growth pattern. This map defines clinically relevant differences in the starting time points and the optimum intervals of growth modification for each skeletal growth pattern.
The biharmonic Alt–Caffarelli problem in 2D
Authors: Müller Marius 
Published: April 2022

AbstractWe examine a variational free boundary problem of Alt–Caffarelli type for the biharmonic operator with Navier boundary conditions in two dimensions. We show interior$$C^2$$C2-regularity of minimizers and that the free boundary consists of finitely many$$C^2$$C2-hypersurfaces. With the aid of these results, we can prove that minimizers are in general not unique. We investigate radial symmetry of minimizers and compute radial solutions explicitly.
An efficient implementation of a phase field model for fatigue crack growth
Authors: Yan Sikang , Schreiber Christoph , Müller Ralf 
Published: April 2022

AbstractRecently, phase field modeling of fatigue fracture has gained a lot of attention from many researches and studies, since the fatigue damage of structures is a crucial issue in mechanical design. Differing from traditional phase field fracture models, our approach considers not only the elastic strain energy and crack surface energy, additionally, we introduce a fatigue energy contribution into the regularized energy density function caused by cyclic load. Comparing to other type of fracture phenomenon, fatigue damage occurs only after a large number of load cycles. It requires a large computing effort in a computer simulation. Furthermore, the choice of the cycle number increment is usually determined by a compromise between simulation time and accuracy. In this work, we propose an efficient phase field method for cyclic fatigue propagation that only requires moderate computational cost without sacrificing accuracy. We divide the entire fatigue fracture simulation into three stages and apply different cycle number increments in each damage stage. The basic concept of the algorithm is to associate the cycle number increment with the damage increment of each simulation iteration. Numerical examples show that our method can effectively predict the phenomenon of fatigue crack growth and reproduce fracture patterns.
Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Mercaptophenol Functionalized-Gold Nanorods Against a Clinical Isolate of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Eltai Nahla O. , Mahmoud Nouf N. , Zakaria Zain Z. , Abdelrahman Hana , Moustafa Ala-Eddin Al , Al-Asmakh Maha 
Published: April 2022

AbstractGold nanorods (AuNRs) were synthesized by the seed-mediated wet chemical method using a binary surfactant system. AuNRs were stabilized with polyethylene glycol, then functionalized with 4-mercaptophenol (4-MPH) ligand by surface ligand exchange. The surface-functionalized AuNRs (4-MPH-AuNRs) exhibited a typical UV–vis spectrum of AuNRs with a slightly shifted longitudinal peak. Furthermore, 4-MPH-AuNRs demonstrated a similar Fourier-Transformed Infrared spectrum to 4-MPH and a fading of the thiol band, which suggests a successful functionalization through thiol-gold binding. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of 4-MPH-AuNRs were evaluated against a clinical isolate of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The results indicate that 4-MPH-AuNRs exhibit a bactericidal activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ~ 6.25 $$\upmu$$
μ
g/mL against a planktonic suspension of MRSA. Furthermore, 4-MPH-AuNRs resulted in a 1.8–2.9 log-cycle reduction of MRSA biofilm viable count over a concentration range of 100–6.0 $$\upmu$$
μ
g/mL. The bacterial uptake of the surface-modified nanorods was investigated by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging; the results reveal that the nanorods were internalized into the bacterial cells after 6 h (h) of exposure. SEM imaging revealed a significant accumulation of the nanorods at the bacterial cell wall and a possible cellular internalization. Thus, 4-MPH-AuNRs can be considered a potential antibacterial agent, particularly against MRSA strain biofilms.
A review of plant-based coagulants for turbidity and cyanobacteria blooms removal
Authors: El Bouaidi Widad , Libralato Giovanni , Douma Mountasser , Ounas Abdelaziz , Yaacoubi Abdelrani , Lofrano Giusy , Albarano Luisa , Guida Marco , Loudiki Mohammed 
Published: April 2022

AbstractIn recent years, the proliferation of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (CyanoHABs) has increased with water eutrophication and climate change, impairing human health and the environment in relation to water supply. In drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), the bio-coagulation based on natural coagulants has been studied as an eco-friendly alternative technology to conventional coagulants for both turbidity and CyanoHABs removal. Plant-based coagulants have demonstrated their coagulation efficiency in turbidity removal, as reported in several papers but its ability in cyanobacterial removal is still limited. This paper mainly reviewed the application of plant-based coagulants in DWTPs, with focus on turbidity removal, including cyanobacterial cells. The future potential uses of these green coagulants to reduce noxious effects of cyanobacterial proliferation are presented. Green coagulants advantages and limitations in DWTPs are reviewed and discussed summarizing more than 10 years of knowledge.
Intuition in Mathematics: from Racism to Pluralism
Authors: Franchella Miriam 
Published: April 2022

AbstractIn the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many mathematicians referred to intuition as the indispensable research tool for obtaining new results. In this essay we will analyse a group of mathematicians (Felix Klein, Henri Poincaré, Ludwig Bieberbach, Arend Heyting) who interacted with Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (the father of the intuitionist foundational school) in order to compare their conceptions of intuition. We will see how to the same word “intuition” (in GermanAnschauung) very different meanings corresponded: they varied from geometrical vision, to a unitary view of a demonstration, to the perception of time, to the faculty (shared by everybody) of considering concepts that habitually occur in our thinking separately. Furthermore, we will discover that these different meanings had a philosophical, very relevant counterside: they passed from a racial characterization of mathematics to a pluralistic view of it.
Temporal evolution of backward erosion piping in small-scale experiments
Authors: Pol Johannes C. , Kanning Willem , van Beek Vera M. , Robbins Bryant A. , Jonkman Sebastiaan N. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBackward erosion piping (BEP) is a form of internal erosion which can lead to failure of levees and dams. Most research focused on the critical head difference at which piping failure occurs. Two aspects have received less attention, namely (1) the temporal evolution of piping and (2) the local hydraulic conditions in the pipe and at the pipe tip. We present small-scale experiments with local pressure measurements in the pipe during equilibrium and pipe progression for different sands and degrees of hydraulic loading. The experiments confirm a positive relation between progression rate and grain size as well as the degree of hydraulic overloading. Furthermore, the analysis of local hydraulic conditions shows that the rate of BEP progression can be better explained by the bed shear stress and sediment transport in the pipe than by the seepage velocity at the pipe tip. The experiments show how different processes contribute to the piping process and these insights provide a first empirical basis for modeling pipe development using coupled seepage-sediment transport equations.
MyD88 Deficiency, but Not Gut Microbiota Depletion, Is Sufficient to Modulate the Blood–Brain Barrier Function in the Mediobasal Hypothalamus
Authors: Heiss Christina N. , Gravert Ellinor , Hultén Matilda , Olofsson Louise E. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractCircumventricular organs (CVOs), including the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), have an incomplete blood–brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we determined if the BBB function in the MBH is modulated by the gut microbiota or by the Toll-like receptor (TLR) adapter proteins TRIF or MyD88 signaling. By injecting mice with Evans blue, a marker for BBB permeability, we show that germ-free (GF) and conventionally raised (CONV-R) mice did not differ in the number of Evans blue-positive cells in MBH. Acute modulation of the gut microbiota did not change the number of Evans blue-positive cells. In contrast, CONV-R Myd88−/− and Trif−/− mice had a reduced number of cells in direct contact to the circulation compared to wildtype (WT) mice. This was accompanied by increased tight junction proteins in the blood vessels in Myd88−/− mice. To further characterize the BBB function, we injected WT and Myd88 −/− CONV-R mice as well as WT GF mice with monosodium glutamate (MSG), a neurotoxin that does not cross the BBB. While MSG caused vast cell death in the MBH in CONV-R and GF WT mice, Myd88 −/− mice were protected from such cell death suggesting that fewer cells are exposed to the neurotoxin in the Myd88 −/− mice. Taken together, our results suggest that MyD88 deficiency, but not gut microbiota depletion, is sufficient to modulate the BBB function in the MBH.