bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prediction of the hot asphalt mix properties using deep neural networks
Authors: Othman Kareem 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Background
Marshall design process is the most common method used for estimating the Optimum asphalt content (OAC) and this process is called the asphalt mix design. However, this method is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and its results are subjected to variations.

Results
This paper employs artificial neural network (ANN) for the estimation of Marshall test parameters (OAC, Stability, Flow, Air voids, Voids in mineral aggregate) using the aggregate gradation as the input of the prediction process. Multiple ANNs are tested in order to optimize the NN hyperparameters and produce accurate predictions. Different activation functions, number of hidden layers, and number of neurons per hidden layer are tested and heatmaps are generated to compare the performance of every ANN. Results show that the optimum ANN hyperparameters change depending on the predicted parameter. Finally, the deep NN can predict the OAC, stability, flow, density, air voids, and voids in mineral aggregate with R values of 0.91, 0.8, 0.53, 0.65, 0.77, and 0.66.

Conclusion
The linear activation function is the most efficient activation function and generates more accurate results than the logistic and the hyperbolic tangent functions. Additionally, it is shown that the deep neural network approach represents a major innovative tool for the prediction of the asphalt mix properties as results of this approach outperforms results of the shallow ANN that consists of a single hidden layer which is the only approach used in the literature. Thus, the use of the deep ANN can be useful during the phase of the design of the asphalt mix process because of its ability to predict variables with high accuracy. For example, the ANN with 3 hidden layers and 16 neurons per layer with the linear activation function can predict the OAC with high accuracy (R = 0.91), which can be helpful in the design process as the ANN can be employed for the prediction of the OAC of the asphalt mix.
The burden of COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis detection: a single-center study
Authors: Hashem Maiada K. , Hussein Aliae A. R. Mohamed , Amin Mariam Taher , Mahmoud Abdelmalek , Shaddad Ahmad M. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Background
Since being declared a global pandemic, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) took over healthcare providers and researchers’ interest. However, other epidemic diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), are still a health issue that aggravate under the umbrella of health facilities exhaustion. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis management.

Methods
A retrospective analysis of the quarterly reports issued by a tuberculosis management unit from 2017 to June 2021, including data of 12 subunits. The changes in pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis incidence trends (new + relapsed cases) throughout the 4 years were reported. The quarterly changed percentages in cases numbers along 2020 and first half of 2021 was compared with that of the same periods in 2019.

Results
Incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis was higher than pulmonary tuberculosis throughout the 4 year study periods (7.69 vs. 4.49, 9.44 vs. 4.33, 7.75 vs. 3.58, and 7.82 vs. 2.94/100.000 population, respectively) with a noticeable decline in the incidence of pulmonary TB during 2020. The second quarter of 2020 showed the lowest tuberculosis incidence rate with a 41.6% decline in the total number of diagnosed cases while 2nd quarter of 2021 showed 21.2% decline. During 2020, only 4 cases of multidrug-resistant TB were reported (compared to an average of 8 cases of MDR-TB yearly before the COVID-19 era).

Conclusion
There was a noticeable drop in tuberculosis case detection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown, started in Egypt by the end of March 2020, could contribute to the marked drop in the second quarter. However, a steady partial decline was continued during the first half of 2021, which foretells a growing problem.
Approach to the Patient With Glucocorticoid-induced Adrenal Insufficiency
Authors: Borresen Stina Willemoes , Klose Marianne , Glintborg Dorte , Watt Torquil , Andersen Marianne Skovsager , Feldt-Rasmussen Ulla 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency is caused by exogenous glucocorticoid suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and is the most prevalent form of adrenal insufficiency. The condition is important to diagnose given the risk of life-threatening adrenal crisis and impact on patients’ quality of life. The diagnosis is made with a stimulation test such as the ACTH test. Until now, testing for glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency has often been based on clinical suspicion rather than routinely but accumulating evidence indicates that a significant number of cases will remain unrecognized. During ongoing oral glucocorticoid treatment or initially after withdrawal, ~50% of patients have adrenal insufficiency, but, outside clinical studies, ≤ 1% of patients have adrenal testing recorded. More than 70% of cases are identified during acute hospital admission, where the diagnosis can easily be missed because symptoms of adrenal insufficiency are nonspecific and overlap those of the underlying and intercurrent conditions. Treatment of severe glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency should follow the principles for treatment of central adrenal insufficiency. The clinical implications and thus indication to treat mild-moderate adrenal deficiency after glucocorticoid withdrawal has not been established. Also, the indication of adding stress dosages of glucocorticoid during ongoing glucocorticoid treatment remains unclear. In patients with established glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency, high rates of poor confidence in self-management and delayed glucocorticoid administration in the acute setting with an imminent adrenal crisis call for improved awareness and education of clinicians and patients. This article reviews different facets of glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency and discusses approaches to the condition in common clinical situations.
Sites of Indeterminacy in Lisa Robertson
Authors: Miller Christopher Patrick 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIndeterminacy is a term that has been asked to do a lot of work for literary and cultural criticism. For strictly formalist critics, it might be the quality of a text or artwork that both preserves useful ambiguity and invites participation from respondents. For criticism that challenges the status quos of social and political life, it is often the interpretive condition that can unsettle existing patterns of recognition and judgment. What this essay finds in the work of Lisa Robertson is a more situated notion of indeterminacy, one that relates indeterminacies of speech, form, and affect to the destabilizing effects that postindustrial capitalism can have and has had on cities and their inhabitants. Following a brief overview of indeterminacy as a critical concept, from New Criticism to poststructuralist theory, the essay closely reads Robertson's Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture (2003) as a multi-genre study in Vancouver becoming “money” and the effects of this process on work characterized as temporary or feminine. Indeterminacy becomes a double bind for the speakers of her “Office,” in that freedoms of expression, feeling, or movement fold into occasions for speculation and displacement. Finally, the essay relates Robertson's indeterminacies to recent debates about the character of avant-garde writing, arguing for a more socially and historically contingent notion of aesthetic experimentation.
Denaturing and dNTPs reagents improve SARS-CoV-2 detection via single and multiplex RT-qPCR
Authors: Cadena-Caballero Cristian E. , Vera-Cala Lina M. , Barrios-Hernandez Carlos , Rueda-Plata Diego , Forero-Buitrago Lizeth J. , Torres-Jimenez Carolina S. , Lizarazo-Gutierrez Erika , Agudelo-Rodriguez Mayra , Martinez-Perez Francisco 
Published: March 2022

Background: Recent estimates indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, could be effectively controlled via the development and implementation of diagnostic tools such as quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). However, this reaction often generates false-negative results due to novel mutations and can also be affected by the secondary structure of the RNA transcripts that derive from the gene sequence used for diagnostic purposes. Methods: Using high-performance computing, we consolidated a global SARS-CoV-2 genome repository encompassing 19,317 genomes from the GenBank database and 107,259 from the GISAID database to generate monthly SARS-CoV-2 consensus sequences from January to December 2020. Results: These sequences were then used to create ORF8-specific primers and probes to validate single and multiplex RT-qPCR protocols both in silico and experimentally using genes E (Berlin protocol) and N (CDC protocol) as targets. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that RT-qPCR Ct values were improved by the inclusion of either a denaturing solution composed of tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and by adjusting nucleotide proportions based on the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
Design-of-experiments in vitro transcription yield optimization of self-amplifying RNA
Authors: Samnuan Karnyart , Blakney Anna K , McKay Paul F , Shattock Robin J 
Published: March 2022

Background: Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines are able to induce a higher antigen-specific immune response with a more cost-effective and rapid production process compared to plasmid DNA vaccines. saRNAs are synthesized through in vitro transcription (IVT); however, this process has mainly been optimized for relatively short mRNAs. Methods: Here, we optimized the IVT process for long saRNAs, approximately 9.4 kb, through a design of experiment (DoE) approach to produce a maximal RNA yield and validated the optimal IVT method on various sizes of RNA. Results: We found that magnesium has the highest impact on RNA yield with acetate ions enabling a higher yield than chloride ions. In addition, the interaction between magnesium and nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) is highly essential for IVT. Further addition of sodium acetate (NaOAc) during IVT provided no added benefit in RNA yield. Moreover, pyrophosphatase was not essential for productive IVT. The optimal IVT method can be used to synthesize different lengths of RNA. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the ability to synthesize high quality and quantity of saRNA through IVT and that the optimal amount of each component is essential for their interactions to produce a high RNA yield.
Theoretical spectroscopic study of acetyl (CH3CO), vinoxy (CH2CHO), and 1-methylvinoxy (CH3COCH2) radicals. Barrierless formation processes of acetone in the gas phase
Authors: El Hadki Hamza , Gámez Victoria Guadalupe , Dalbouha Samira , Marakchi Khadija , Kabbaj Oum Keltoum , Komiha Najia , Carvajal Miguel , Senent Diez Maria Luisa 
Published: March 2022

Background: Acetone is present in the earth´s atmosphere and extra-terrestrially. The knowledge of its chemical history in these environments represents a challenge with important implications for global tropospheric chemistry and astrochemistry. The results of a search for efficient barrierless pathways producing acetone from radicals in the gas phase are described in this paper. The spectroscopic properties of radicals needed for their experimental detection are provided. Methods: The reactants were acetone fragments of low stability and small species containing C, O and H atoms. Two exergonic bimolecular addition reactions involving the radicals CH3, CH3CO, and CH3COCH2, were found to be competitive according to the kinetic rates calculated at different temperatures. An extensive spectroscopic study of the radicals CH3COCH2 and CH3CO, as well as the CH2CHO isomer, was performed. Rovibrational parameters, anharmonic vibrational transitions, and excitations to the low-lying excited states are provided. For this purpose, RCCSD(T)-F12 and MRCI/CASSCF calculations were performed. In addition, since all the species presented non-rigid properties, a variational procedure of reduced dimensionality was employed to explore the far infrared region. Results: The internal rotation barriers were determined to be V3=143.7 cm-1 (CH3CO), V2=3838.7 cm-1 (CH2CHO) and V3=161.4 cm-1 and V2=2727.5 cm-1 (CH3COCH2).The splitting of the ground vibrational state due to the torsional barrier have been computed to be 2.997 cm-1, 0.0 cm-1, and 0.320 cm-1, for CH3CO, CH2CHO, and CH3COCH2, respectively. Conclusions: Two addition reactions, H+CH3COCH2 and CH3+CH3CO, could be considered barrierless formation processes of acetone after considering all the possible formation routes, starting from 58 selected reactants, which are fragments of the molecule. The spectroscopic study of the radicals involved in the formation processes present non-rigidity. The interconversion of their equilibrium geometries has important spectroscopic effects on CH3CO and CH3COCH2, but is negligible for CH2CHO.
Plamy na honorze
Authors: Kasprzycki Remigiusz 
Published: March 2022

HONOR DISGRACED: PRE-WORLD WAR II DESERTIONS OF POLISH ARMY OFFICERS
During the Interwar period, desertions plagued the Polish Army. Many officers were counted among the thousands of rank-and-file soldiers who deserted prior to 1939. The desertion of officers was the most shocking of all peacetime abandonments, as they were supposed to be patriotic leaders of the men under their command. Officers deserted for myriad reasons, including fear of prosecution for illicit behavior, such as theft, and the discovery of cooperation or collusion with foreign agents. Of all the officer desertions during this period, the most spectacular took place in 1930 when Major Stanisław Krauss defected to Belgium and France. In 1934, a French court sentenced him to 5 years in prison for spying on French forces for Germany. The trial hit press headlines worldwide.
A Compact and High-Performance Shielding Enclosure by Using Metamaterial Design
Authors: Cui Keyi , Shi Dan , Sun Chi , Liu Xiaoyong 
Published: March 2022

A compact and high-performance shielding enclosure designed by metamaterial structure based on frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed. The enclosure has large holes for convenience of airflow and cable access. However, it can achieve great shielding performance by maintaining more than 40 dB attenuation. The shield is composed of n ×× n unit cells, and each unit cell is designed by knitting the 2.5-dimensional loop-type elements interconnected through vias. This design shows promising capability of size reduction, bandwidth expansion, and shielding effectiveness enhancement. Moreover, the enlarged holes on the FSS are helpful for the ventilation and heat dissipation. The size of the proposed 2.5-D FSS is only 0.097λ0λ0××0.097λ0λ0, where λ0λ0 corresponds to free space wavelength of resonance frequency. The proposed structure provides 3.38 GHz (3.21–6.59 GHz) wide shielding bandwidth. Furthermore, it has stable response to the wide-angle incident wave ranging from 0∘∘ to 85∘∘ with more than 40 dB attenuation at 4.83 GHz for both x-polarization and y-polarization. The proposed FSS is practically useful for the shielding of fifth generation (5G) wireless systems, WiMAX, and WLAN.
Surgical treatment for multifocal epilepsy
Authors: Kostiuk K. R. , Buniakin V. M. , Cheburakhin V. V. , Shevelov M. M. , Medvedev Y. M. , Popov A. O. , Tevzadze D. A. , Dichko S. M. , Musulievska V. V. , Kanaikin O. M. 
Published: March 2022

Aim. Assessment of the surgical treatment efficacy in multifocal epilepsy by a differentiated surgical approach depending on the clinical manifestations of the disease and structural and functional changes of the brain.
Materials and methods. 48 patients with multifocal epilepsy (MFE) were enrolled in the study including 37 (77 %) children and 11 (23 %) adults. Patient age ranged from 2 to 44 years (mean 12.7 years). Most patients (46 (95.8 %) cases) had daily seizures. Before the treatment, the patients used between 2 and 11 antiepileptic drugs (on average 5.1 ± 2.5) as mono- or polytherapy.
12 (25.0 %) patients underwent stereotactic callosotomy (SC), 18 (37.5 %) – microsurgical callosotomy (MC), 6 (12.5 %) – multifocal resections (MFR), 12 (25.0 %) – functional hemispherotomy (FH). Postoperative long-term follow-up ranged from 6 months to 11 years (mean 5.5 years).
Results. Multiple epileptiform focuses or diffuse structural and electric discharges within one hemisphere observed in 25 (52 %) cases; bilateral structural lesions revealed in 19 (40 %) cases; MRI-negative epilepsy with bilateral discharges – in 4 (8 %) patients.
After surgery, 23 (48 %) patients became seizures free (Engel Class IA), 8 (17 %) patients had rare short auras or focal seizures (Engel Class II), the seizure frequency reduced by less than 75 % or did not change significantly in 6 (13 %) cases. Best results were achieved after FH and MFR (90 % patients became seizures free), whereas seizures stopped only in 25 % cases after SC. 3 (6.3 %) patients developed operative complications, one of them died (postoperative mortality was 2.1 %).
Conclusions. Combination of resective and disconnection surgeries is effective and safe method of surgical treatment for MFE. Stopping seizures leads to the regression of psycho-emotional disorders in children with severe epilepsy and increases the quality of life.
Narrative Conflict and Implied Value Conflict: An Analysis of Aspects of the Implied Worldview of Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon (2002) and Hanif Kureishi’s The Body (2002)
Authors: Wally Johannes 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This essay examines the narrative conflicts in the cyberpunk novel Altered Carbon and the neo-gothic novella The Body. The theoretical assumption of the analyses is that narrative conflict can serve as an indicator of aspects of a text’s implied worldview: more specifically, narrative conflict is presumed to be indicative of an implied value conflict. Resorting to a spatial conflict model based on Jurij Lotman’s concept of border crossing, the essay argues that both texts differ substantially regarding the values they negotiate despite both deploying the transhumanist concept of body swapping. Whereas Altered Carbon places a socio-economic conflict at its core, The Body negotiates a metaphysical conflict. Accordingly, Altered Carbon discusses the construction of self-worth in view of an economically and socially overpowering opponent, whereas The Body emerges as a search for a value which can fill the void created by the dwindling relevance of religious notions of eternity in a secular world.
Biomedical evaluation of antioxidant properties of lamb meat enriched with iodine and selenium
Authors: Giro Tatiana M. , Kozlov Sergey V. , Gorlov Ivan F. , Kulikovskii Andrey V. , Giro Anna V. , Slozhenkina Marina I. , Nikolaev Dmiytiy V. , Seidavi Alireza , Mosolov Alexander A. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The article presents a study of the antioxidant properties of meat from lambs that received organic forms of iodine and selenium during growth. This meat was included in diets of laboratory animals using a model of acute toxic hepatitis. The experiments resulted in developing and testing a technique that was effective in enriching lamb with bioorganic elements of iodine and selenium and contributed to the activation metabolism in the bodies of animals consuming the meat. The purpose of the presented investigation was to compare the roles of bioorganic iodine and selenium and their combination as antioxidants in rat rations using a model of acute toxic hepatitis induced by carbon tetrachloride. The experimental studies have established a hepatoprotective effect of lamb meat enriched with selenium and iodine on rats suffering from toxic xenobiotic effects. This was confirmed by normalized hematological and biochemical measures in the blood of the experimental rats.
Classification of breast cancer with deep learning from noisy images using wavelet transform
Authors: Cengiz Enes , Kelek Muhammed Mustafa , Oğuz Yüksel , Yılmaz Cemal 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
In this study, breast cancer classification as benign or malignant was made using images obtained by histopathological procedures, one of the medical imaging techniques. First of all, different noise types and several intensities were added to the images in the used data set. Then, the noise in images was removed by applying the Wavelet Transform (WT) process to noisy images. The performance rates in the denoising process were found out by evaluating Peak Signal to Noise Rate (PSNR) values of the images. The Gaussian noise type gave better results than other noise types considering PSNR values. The best PSNR values were carried out with the Gaussian noise type. After that, the denoised images were classified by Convolution Neural Network (CNN), one of the deep learning techniques. In this classification process, the proposed CNN model and the VggNet-16 model were used. According to the classification result, better results were obtained with the proposed CNN model than VggNet-16. The best performance (86.9%) was obtained from the data set created Gaussian noise with 0.3 noise intensity.
A unique frequency reconfigurable monopole antenna for TV white space applications
Authors: Kumar Sanjeev , Rayavarapu Neela 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
TV White space has the potential to extend internet connection to remote areas worldwide. In this paper, a dual-band frequency reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna has been designed for TV white space applications. Switching between the frequencies (reconfiguration) has been achieved by introducing a switch between two radiating strips on the top surface of the substrate. The prototype has been designed and fabricated on a cost-effective FR-4 substrate (εr = 4.4, tanδ = 0.02) with an overall dimension of 30 × 261 × 0.8 mm3. ON and OFF condition of the switch provides two operating frequency bands namely 626.7–778.11 MHz and 461.5–549.7 MHz The proposed monopole TV white space antenna operates with a peak gain of 2 dB with an efficiency greater than 85% in both the bands. The simulated and measured parameters are well-matched in both the operating bands along with desired radiation patterns suitable for TV white space applications.
In situ microstructural evolution of spruce wood during soda pulping using synchrotron X-ray tomography
Authors: Wagih Ahmed , Hasani Merima , Hall Stephen A. , Novak Vladimir , Theliander Hans 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
A new laboratory reactor to perform in situ studies of structural changes in wood during soda pulping using synchrotron X-ray tomography is presented. The reactor is of recirculation type to provide stable reaction conditions and mimic the industrial situation. Experiments have been performed using this reactor in situ at a synchrotron microtomography beamline to provide sequences of 3D images from which measurement of wood cell wall thickness have been possible for the first time. The results showed that the cell wall thickness increased significantly in the early stage of pulping (<10 min), which is due to the transportation of cooking chemicals through the tracheids, resin channels and pits into the cell wall, which is swollen with the increased pH. Subsequently, the cell wall thickness reduces over the processing time up to 60 min with a high rate, which is inferred to be due to the dissolution and transport of lignin and hemicellulose from the secondary walls, allowing for better transportation of active chemicals deep through the cell wall layers. After 60 min processing, the cell wall thickness reduction rate reduced, as dissolution of lignin and hemicelluloses from the cell walls ceased, while the remaining dissolution occurs mainly at the middle lamella.