Search Results (21)

A novel piezoresistive cantilever microprobe (PCM) with an integrated electrothermal or piezoelectric actuator has been designed to replace current commercial PCMs, which require external actuators to perform contact-resonance imaging (CRI) of workpieces and avoid unwanted “forest of peaks” observed at large travel speed in the millimeter-per-second range. Initially, a PCM with integrated resistors for electrothermal actuation (ETA) was designed, built, and tested. Here, the ETA can be performed with a piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge, which converts mechanical strain into electrical signals by boron diffusion in order to simplify the production process. Moreover, a new substrate contact has been added in the new design for an AC voltage supply for the Wheatstone bridge to reduce parasitic signal influence via the EAM (Electromechanical Amplitude Modulation) in our homemade CRI system. Measurements on a bulk Al sample show the expected force dependence of the CR frequency. Meanwhile, fitting of the measured contact-resonance spectra was applied based on a Fano-type line shape to reveal the material-specific signature of a single harmonic resonator. However, noise is greatly increased with the bending mode and contact force increasing on viscoelastic samples. Then, to avoid unspecific peaks remaining in the spectra of soft samples, cantilevers with integrated piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) were designed. The numbers and positions of the actuators were optimized for specific CR vibration modes using analytical modeling of the cantilever bending based on the transfer-matrix method and Hertzian contact mechanics. To confirm the design of the PCM with a PEA, finite element analysis (FEA) of CR probing of a sample with a Young’s modulus of 10 GPa was performed. Close agreement was achieved by Fano-type line shape fitting of amplitude and phase of the first four vertical bending modes of the cantilever. As an important structure of the PCM with a PEA, the piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge had to have suitable doping parameters adapted to the boundary conditions of the manufacturing process of the newly designed PCM. Full article

Salivary gland pleomorphic adenoma (SGPA) is the most common type of benign epithelial tumor; it is observed more commonly in females (with a female-to-male ratio of 1.43:1), and the age at diagnosis ranges between 40 and 59 years, with only 2% of cases diagnosed before age 18. Cri du Chat (CdC) is a rare syndrome caused by deletions of various sizes in the short arm of chromosome 5. Tumors in CdC patients are extremely rare: in Danish, Spanish, Australian, and Japanese groups of cases, no tumors have been reported, while a few cases have been described among 321 CdC patients collected in Italy and Germany. These cases all involve tumors that appear at a young age. We here report the case of a parotid pleomorphic adenoma in an 8-year-old boy with CdC. Exome analysis did not identify variants certainly significant for the development of SGPA. A CGH array, analyzed both in peripheral blood and tumor samples, failed to recognize anomalies previously associated with SGPA but identified a de novo duplication in 7p15.2, which contains part of a gene, SKAP2, in which the increased copy number is associated with the development of a different type of tumor such as pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma. The assumption that the duplication in 7p15.2 is relevant for the development of SGPA in our patient implies that CGH array studies must be included early in life in routine work-ups of CdC to identify CNVs with possible pathogenic roles for tumor development. This is particularly also relevant in relation to the severely impaired possibility for patients with CdC to report discomfort or pain related to tumor development. Constitutional CNVs in addition to the deletion in 5p should also be extensively studied to verify if their presence in some patients could explain why, in these cases, tumors develop at an age younger than expected. Full article

Background: For hip fracture patients with a limited life expectancy, operative and palliative non-operative management (P-NOM) can yield similar quality of life outcomes. However, evidence on when to abstain from surgery is lacking. The aim of this study was to quantify the influence of patient characteristics on surgeons’ decisions to recommend P-NOM. Methods: Dutch surgical residents and orthopaedic trauma surgeons were enrolled in a conjoint analysis and structured expert judgement (SEJ). The participants assessed 16 patient cases comprising 10 clinically relevant characteristics. For each case, they recommended either surgery or P-NOM and estimated the 30-day postoperative mortality risk. Treatment recommendations were analysed using Bayesian logistic regression, and perceived risks were pooled with equal and performance-based weights using Cooke’s Classical Model. Results: The conjoint analysis and SEJ were completed by 14 and 9 participants, respectively. Participants were more likely to recommend P-NOM to patients with metastatic carcinomas (OR: 4.42, CrI: 2.14–8.95), severe heart failure (OR: 4.05, CrI: 1.89–8.29), end-stage renal failure (OR: 3.54, CrI: 1.76–7.35) and dementia (OR: 3.35, CrI: 1.70–7.06). The patient receiving the most P-NOM recommendations (12/14) had a pooled perceived risk of 30-day mortality between 50.8 and 62.7%. Conclusions: Overall, comorbidities had the strongest influence on participants’ decisions to recommend P-NOM. Nevertheless, practice variation and heterogeneity in risk perceptions were substantial. Hence, more decision support for considering P-NOM is needed. Full article

We report on the far-infrared, temperature-dependent optical properties of a CrI3 transition metal halide single crystal, a van der Waals ferromagnet (FM) with a Curie temperature of 61 K. In addition to the expected phonon modes determined by the crystalline symmetry, the optical reflectance and transmittance spectra of CrI3 single crystals show many other excitations as a function of temperature as a consequence of the combination of a strong lattice anharmonicity and spin–phonon coupling. This complex vibrational spectrum highlights the presence of entangled interactions among the different degrees of freedom in CrI3. Full article

Presented is a methodology to explicitly identify and account for cloud-free satellite measurements below a sensor’s measurement detection level. These low signals can often be found in satellite observations of minor atmospheric species with weak spectral signals (e.g., ammonia (NH₃)). Not accounting for these non-detects can high-bias averaged measurements in locations that exhibit conditions below the detection limit of the sensor. The approach taken here is to utilize the information content from the satellite signal to explicitly identify non-detects and then account for them with a consistent approach. The methodology is applied to the CrIS Fast Physical Retrieval (CFPR) ammonia product and results in a more realistic averaged dataset under conditions where there are a significant number of non-detects. These results show that in larger emission source regions (i.e., surface values > 7.5 ppbv) the non-detects occur less than 5% of the time and have a relatively small impact (decreases by less than 5%) on the gridded averaged values (e.g., annual ammonia source regions). However, in regions that have low ammonia concentration amounts (i.e., surface values < 1 ppbv) the fraction of non-detects can be greater than 70%, and accounting for these values can decrease annual gridded averaged values by over 50% and make the distributions closer to what is expected based on surface station observations. Full article

The International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9 relates to the recognition of an entity’s financial asset/liability in its financial statement, and includes an expected credit loss (ECL) framework for recognising impairment. The quantification of ECL is often broken down into its three components, namely, the probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and exposure at default (EAD). The IFRS 9 standard requires that the ECL model accommodates the influence of the current and the forecasted macroeconomic conditions on credit loss. This enables a determination of forward-looking estimates on impairments. This paper proposes a methodology based on principal component regression (PCR) to adjust IFRS 9 PD term structures for macroeconomic forecasts. We propose that a credit risk index (CRI) is derived from historic defaults to approximate the default behaviour of the portfolio. PCR is used to model the CRI with the macroeconomic variables as the set of explanatory variables. A novice all-subset variable selection is proposed, incorporating business decisions. We demonstrate the method’s advantages on a real-world banking data set, and compare it to several other techniques. The proposed methodology is on portfolio-level with the recommendation to derive a macroeconomic scalar for each different risk segment of the portfolio. The proposed scalar is intended to adjust loan-level PDs for forward-looking information. Full article

Abrocitinib is a JAK1 selective inhibitor recently approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults. It has demonstrated efficacy and safety in several clinical trials, both in children and adults, in monotherapy, and compared with dupilumab. The expected EASI-75 response rate estimates at week 12 are 62.9% (95% CrI 42.5–79.9%) for abrocitinib 200 mg and 43.0% (95% CrI 24.8–64.0%) for abrocitinib 100 mg. Abrocitinib has shown a faster effect than dupilumab as regards early alleviation of itch. Because of the incomplete target selectivity of JAK inhibitors, when abrocitinib treatment is considered, laboratory screening is necessary, latent tuberculosis must be screened for, active infections are a contraindication, and special caution must be exerted in treating elderly patients and those predisposed to thromboembolic events. Even though recent meta-analyses of clinical trials have not shown that atopic dermatitis, or its treatment with JAK inhibitors or dupilumab, modify the risk of deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, long-term follow-up studies will better define the safety profile of abrocitinib. Full article

Although the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea (COLREGs) provide guidelines for determining the encounter relations between vessels and assessing collision risk, most collision accidents occur in crossing situations. Accordingly, prior studies have investigated methods to identify the relation between the give-way and stand-on vessels in crossing situations to allow the stand-on vessel to make the optimal collision-avoidance decision. However, these studies were hindered by several limitations. For example, the collision risk at the current time (t) was evaluated as an input variable obtained at the current time (t), and collision-avoidance decisions were made based on the evaluated collision risk. To address these limitations, a collision risk prediction system was developed for stand-on vessels using a fuzzy inference system based on near-collision (FIS-NC) and a sequence model to facilitate quicker collision avoidance decision making. This was achieved by predicting the future time point (t + i) collision risk index (CRI) of the stand-on vessel at the current time point (t) when the own-ship is determined to be the stand-on vessel in different encounter relations. According to the performance verification results, navigators who use the developed system to predict the CRI are expected to avoid collisions with greater clearance distance and time. Full article

Natural polymers, as extracted from biomass, may exhibit large macromolecular polydispersity. We investigated the impact of low molar mass chitosan (LMW, DP_w~115) on the properties of chitosan fibers obtained by wet spinning of chitosan solutions with bimodal distributions of molar masses. The fiber crystallinity index (CrI) was assessed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and the mechanical properties were obtained by uniaxial tensile tests. The LMW chitosan showed to slightly increase the crystallinity index in films which were initially processed from the bimodal molar mass chitosan solutions, as a result of increased molecular mobility and possible crystal nucleating effects. Nevertheless, the CrI remained almost constant or slightly decreased in stretched fibers at increasing content of LMW chitosan in the bidisperse chitosan collodion. The ultimate mechanical properties of fibers were altered by the addition of LMW chitosan as a result of a decrease of entanglement density and chain orientation in the solid state. An increase of crystallinity might not be expected from LMW chitosan with a still relatively high degree of polymerization (DPw ≥ 115). Instead, different nucleation agents—either smaller molecules or nanoparticles—should be used to improve the mechanical properties of chitosan fibers for textile applications. Full article

This article highlights the perceptions and expectations of knowledge that many people, including educators and policy makers, take for granted. Our focus of understanding is Indigenous studies and gender studies. Our aim is to show how modern education undermines these fields of studies. We use an autoethnographic method, reflecting more than 75 years as pupils/students and more than 90 years as educators. We have carefully chosen narratives of exposure to knowledge outside the educational system, as well as narratives of limitations posed upon us by the educational system. This narrative approach makes it possible for us to investigate and discuss our grief about areas of knowledge that society cries for, but the educational system continuously finds ways to resist. Our conclusion is that crucial knowledge is located outside the educational system, where individuals, groups, and communities cherish, protect, and guard knowledge that the educational system marginalises or excludes. As this knowledge is fundamental for life, our message is that the educational system needs to re-evaluate its strategies to stay relevant. Full article

The specificity and potency of venom components give them a unique advantage in developing various pharmaceutical drugs. Though venom is a cocktail of proteins, rarely are the synergy and association between various venom components studied. Understanding the relationship between various components of venom is critical in medical research. Using meta-analysis, we observed underlying patterns and associations in the appearance of the toxin families. For Crotalus, Dis has the most associations with the following toxins: PDE; BPP; CRL; CRiSP; LAAO; SVMP P-I and LAAO; SVMP P-III and LAAO. In Sistrurus venom, CTL and NGF have the most associations. These associations can predict the presence of proteins in novel venom and understand synergies between venom components for enhanced bioactivity. Using this approach, the need to revisit the classification of proteins as major components or minor components is highlighted. The revised classification of venom components is based on ubiquity, bioactivity, the number of associations, and synergies. The revised classification can be expected to trigger increased research on venom components, such as NGF, which have high biomedical significance. Using hierarchical clustering, we observed that the genera’s venom compositions were similar, based on functional characteristics rather than phylogenetic relationships. Full article

According to societal stereotypes, the female sex and people who are more feminine have been considered to be more empathic than males and people who are more masculine. Therefore, females and feminine individuals are expected to respond more empathically to an infant’s cries. While this hypothesis was tested using self-report scales, it has not been explored thoroughly in terms of prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, which may be a more objective means of measuring empathy. Specifically, the medial PFC (mPFC) is involved in social cognitive processing and thus a good proxy to measure the level of empathy. This study aims to (1) assess if the empathic response, in terms of medial PFC (mPFC) activity, to infant cries differ between sexes; (2) investigate if the empathic response is moderated by levels of masculinity and femininity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure nonparent participants’ (18 males, 20 females) mPFC response to infant cries of different pitches (high and low). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was used to measure trait empathy and Bem’s Sex Role Inventory was used to measure the level of masculinity and femininity. Results revealed that biological sex had no significant effect on the empathic response towards infant cries of varying pitch. Furthermore, masculinity, not femininity, was correlated with an increase in empathic response in the mPFC to high but not low-pitch infant cries. We reason that this is because of the higher aversiveness and inflicted pain associated with higher-pitched cries, which induces more emotional and physical pain that masculine individuals seek to avoid. Overall, the results suggest that greater masculinity would imply greater mentalizing and processing of empathy-related information. Full article

Studying interactions of children with humanoid robots in familiar spaces in natural contexts has become a key issue for social robotics. To fill this need, we conducted several Child–Robot Interaction (CRI) events with the Pepper robot in Polish and Japanese kindergartens. In this paper, we explore the role of trust and expectations towards the robot in determining the success of CRI. We present several observations from the video recordings of our CRI events and the transcripts of free-format question-answering sessions with the robot using the Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) methodology. From these observations, we identify children’s behaviors that indicate trust (or lack thereof) towards the robot, e.g., challenging behavior of a robot or physical interactions with it. We also gather insights into children’s expectations, e.g., verifying expectations as a causal process and an agency or expectations concerning the robot’s relationships, preferences and physical and behavioral capabilities. Based on our experiences, we suggest some guidelines for designing more effective CRI scenarios. Finally, we argue for the effectiveness of in-the-wild methodologies for planning and executing qualitative CRI studies. Full article

Changes in the dimensions of lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) with different lignin contents from betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) by enzymatic hydrolysis using endoglucanase (EG) were investigated. Lignin contents were adjusted from 3% to 27% by NaClO₂/acetic acid treatment, and LCNFs were prepared using a wet disk-mill (WDM). The dimensions of the LCNFs significantly decreased with decreasing lignin content and increasing EG addition. With increasing EG content, the average diameter of the LCNFs significantly decreased, even though they contained parts of hemicellulose and lignin. The crystal structure showed the typical cellulose I structure in all samples, but the intensity of the diffraction peak slightly changed depending on the lignin and EG contents. The crystallinity index (CrI) values of the LCNFs increased a maximum of 23.8% (LCNF-L27) under increasing EG addition, regardless of the lignin content. With the EG addition of three times the LCNF amount, LCNF-L3 showed the highest CrI value (59.1%). By controlling the composition and structure of LCNFs, it is expected that the wide range of properties of these materials can extend the property range available for existing materials. Full article

The launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) and its follow-on NOAA Joint Polar Satellite Systems (JPSS) satellites marks the beginning of a new era of operational satellite observations of the Earth and atmosphere for environmental applications with high spatial resolution and sampling rate. The S-NPP and JPSS are equipped with five instruments, each with advanced design in Earth sampling, including the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES). Among them, the ATMS is the new generation of microwave sounder measuring temperature profiles from the surface to the upper stratosphere and moisture profiles from the surface to the upper troposphere, while CrIS is the first of a series of advanced operational hyperspectral sounders providing more accurate atmospheric and moisture sounding observations with higher vertical resolution for weather and climate applications. The OMPS instrument measures solar backscattered ultraviolet to provide information on the concentrations of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere, and VIIRS provides global observations of a variety of essential environmental variables over the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and ocean with visible and infrared imagery. The CERES instrument measures the solar energy reflected by the Earth, the longwave radiative emission from the Earth, and the role of cloud processes in the Earth’s energy balance. Presently, observations from several instruments on S-NPP and JPSS-1 (re-named NOAA-20 after launch) provide near real-time monitoring of the environmental changes and improve weather forecasting by assimilation into numerical weather prediction models. Envisioning the need for consistencies in satellite retrievals, improving climate reanalyses, development of climate data records, and improving numerical weather forecasting, the NOAA/Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) has been reprocessing the S-NPP observations for ATMS, CrIS, OMPS, and VIIRS through their life cycle. This article provides a summary of the instrument observing principles, data characteristics, reprocessing approaches, calibration algorithms, and validation results of the reprocessed sensor data records. The reprocessing generated consistent Level-1 sensor data records using unified and consistent calibration algorithms for each instrument that removed artificial jumps in data owing to operational changes, instrument anomalies, contaminations by anomaly views of the environment or spacecraft, and other causes. The reprocessed sensor data records were compared with and validated against other observations for a consistency check whenever such data were available. The reprocessed data will be archived in the NOAA data center with the same format as the operational data and technical support for data requests. Such a reprocessing is expected to improve the efficiency of the use of the S-NPP and JPSS satellite data and the accuracy of the observed essential environmental variables through either consistent satellite retrievals or use of the reprocessed data in numerical data assimilations. Full article