Application Profile Research Articles

Theoretical study of excitation profiles of coherent anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) and applications to carotenoids

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) spectroscopy is a nonlinear optical technique that is used to investigate many different chemical and biological systems. This tool is very efficient and essentially completely rejects fluorescence. As is well known, the excitation profiles of resonance CARS are mostly used to estimate the origin shift parameters with electronic excitation for vibrations with resonantly enhanced Raman components that give information about the molecular structure and its changes in an excited electronic state. Certainly, it is necessary to have an appropriate theoretical model for pragmatically representing these processes and considering the joint (simultaneous) impact of different broadening mechanisms. The theoretical model presented in the paper is the most general and is free from a priori assumptions. Also, the mathematical algorithm created on its basis is flexible and fast for quantitative calculations.

Investigation of radiation shielding and optical properties of neodymium doped Bismuth Boro tellurite glasses for solid state device applications

In this work, a variety of glass samples with different chemical profiles for optical applications were synthesized, and characterized. The thermal properties of the prepared glass are investigated through Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and we have observed the endothermic peak at 894.9 °C and exothermic peak at 1066 °C. The optical properties were investigated using a UV–Visible–NIR Spectrophotometer, and the radiation shielding properties were reported using the Phy-X/PDS software. The optical property results show that when the amount of Nd3+ ions in a glass structure grows, the oscillator strengths also increase. The high emission cross-section and excellent quantum efficiency indicate that glass has the potential for compact 1.06 μm laser applications. The Photoluminescence (PL) analysis of Nd3+ ions doped prepared glass samples are recorded at 808 nm laser diode. The emission spectra for every Nd3+ ion concentration exhibit three distinct emission peaks at wavelengths of 902 nm, 1064 nm, and 1339 nm. The investigation of luminescence kinetics revealed the development of neodymium ion clusters commencing at a neodymium concentration of 1.006 × 1020cm−3. Furthermore, we noticed that the addition of Nd2O3 increased the mass attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number of the glass samples. In terms of the glasses' ability to absorb charged particles, the Nd2O3 addition also made a difference in Half Value Layer, Mean Free Path, and Effective atomic number. The research shows that the glass samples are non-toxic, visible light transparent, and radiation-efficient.

From the Glovebox to the Benchtop: Air-Stable High Performance Molybdenum Alkylidyne Catalysts for Alkyne Metathesis.

Molybdenum alkylidynes endowed with tripodal silanolate ligands belong to the most active and selective catalysts for alkyne metathesis known to date. This paper describes a new generation that is distinguished by an unprecedented level of stability and practicality without sacrificing the chemical virtues of their predecessors. Specifically, pyridine adducts of type 16 are easy to make on gram scale, can be routinely weighed and handled in air, and stay intact for many months outside the glovebox. When dissolved in toluene, however, spontaneous dissociation of the stabilizing pyridine ligand releases an active species of excellent performance and functional group tolerance. Specifically, a host of polar and apolar groups, various protic sites, and numerous basic functionalities proved compatible. The catalysts are characterized by crystallographic and spectroscopic means, including 95Mo NMR; their activity and stability are benchmarked in detail, and the enabling properties are illustrated by advanced applications to natural product synthesis. For the favorable overall application profile and ease of handling, complexes of this new series are expected to replace earlier catalyst generations and help encourage a more regular use of alkyne metathesis in general.

Sediment thickness map of United States Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Strata, and their influence on earthquake ground motions

With the recent successful accounting of basin depth ground-motion adjustments in seismic hazard analyses for select areas of the western United States, we move toward implementing similar adjustments in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains by constructing a sediment thickness model and evaluating multiple relevant site amplification models for central and eastern United States seismic hazard analyses. We digitize and combine existing sediment thickness data sets into a composite surface that delineates the base of Cretaceous sediments under the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the base of Mesozoic sediments under the Gulf Coastal Plain. Amplification models dependent on sediment thickness, site natural period, and source-to-site path length are compared with data sets of observed ground motions to evaluate the ability of the new models to improve ground motion estimates. We find that the amplification models can account for observed trends in sediment-thickness and period-dependent residuals, but some tuning is required. For example, the model of Chapman and Guo requires a reference VS30, the time-averaged shear-wave velocity within 30 m of the Earth’s surface, for non-Coastal Plain sites, which we estimate to be between about 1 and 2 km/s. Along with our sediment thickness model, we estimate a velocity profile for application to the Harmon et al. site-natural-period-based model in order to best match the Chapman and Guo period dependence for a broad range of sediment thicknesses. The Next Generation of Attenuation models for the eastern United States Gulf Coast path-based adjustment models can also account for seismic attenuation in the Coastal Plain sediments and reduce the standard deviation of total residuals. If enacted in the U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model, these amplification models will reduce predicted short-period (<1 s) and increase predicted long-period (>1 s) ground motions in the Coastal Plains appreciably.

Integrating Data on Early Medieval Graves: Mapping the THANADOS database to the ARIADNE infrastructure with the Mortuary Data Application Profile

This article discusses the creation of an Application Profile (AP) for mortuary data and how it was used to integrate the THANADOS anthropological and archaeological database of sepultures in the ARIADNEplus infrastructure. Ontologies increase data interoperability and their potential for being reused. The CIDOC CRM is a formal ontology designed to facilitate the integration, mediation, and interchange of heterogeneous cultural heritage information. APs provide exemplary mappings that other researchers can use as an orientation. For creating and testing the ARIADNE mortuary data AP, data from early medieval cemeteries provided an ideal case study because of the high degree of similarity between sites. The mapping of early medieval cemetery data has shown that mapping to an ontology contributes to data interoperability in several ways. Firstly, it may reveal inconsistencies in the native dataset and improve data organisation for future projects. Secondly, it enables the querying of information concerning graves and cemeteries from different sources across the ARIADNE infrastructure. Finally, this article provides an example of how archaeological data can be aggregated across multiple providers.

QI Connect: Matching researchers to projects.

464 Background: At any given health system, there are often quality improvement (QI) projects without enough manpower to complete the work, and students and trainees who are looking for projects to work on but can’t find any. The question becomes how we connect these two groups in a win-win situation. Many job search websites use a “matching” function in which profiles of applicants are matched with requirements from employers to make connections. Our goal is to apply a similar software/data-basing solution to QI projects in healthcare systems to improve project completion rates, increase QI experience among medical students, residents, and fellows, and improve continuity of projects. Methods: We created a dual facing database, with one branch aimed at collecting projects, and the other side aimed at recruiting trainees/students. Faculty or QI departments approach the project side and are asked to provide the following types of data about their QI project: field, clinical vs basic, onsite vs virtual, role of the trainee, timing (business hours or flexible), IRB approval, description, and main point of contact. Trainees who are interested in matching a project, fill out a set of profile questions that mirror the project parameters. Trainees and projects are matched in an algorithmic order based on prioritization we have selected in discussion with faculty and student interests. One key is that the project point of contact is NOT made available until after a successful “match” to avoid “carpet bomb” emailing of faculty members. In order to fill the database we have networked with physicians, department chairs, interest group listservs, and chief residents across our hospital and medical school. Results: In our first year’s pilot run we collected 17 projects, and had profound student interest with 70 profiles filled. We limited the number of matched projects to just 5 that best fit, and received positive feedback from students and mentors. Since then we have grown the database to 47 projects and 153 students/trainee profiles. These initial promising results have also prompted the creation of a new elected position in the medical school for two Research VP’s in each class. Conclusions: We have built a clear proof of concept that virtual match making for QI projects can close the gap between unfilled projects, and trainees seeking opportunities. Although the metrics suggest that trainees seeking research are far outpacing available projects, we believe that far more projects currently exists, and a major area of improvement will be to continue to bring visibility to the database. Nonetheless without acquiring any additional funding or manpower, we are able to increase the scholarly profiles of trainees, and overall QI productive output at our institution.

The Influence of Extracurricular Activities on Radiology Resident Selection Decisions

PurposeExtracurricular activities (EAs) listed on radiology residency applications can signal traits and characteristics desired in holistic reviews. The authors conducted an objective analysis to determine the influence of EAs on resident selection decisions. MethodsA discrete-choice experiment was designed to model radiology resident selection and determine the relative weights of EAs among academic and demographic application factors. Faculty members involved in resident selection at 30 US radiology programs chose between hypothetical pairs of applicant profiles between October 2021 and February 2022. Each applicant profile included one of 22 EAs chosen for study. A conditional logistic regression model assessed the relative weights of the attributes and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. ResultsTwo hundred forty-four participants completed the exercise. Community-service EAs were ranked most highly by participants. LGBTQ Pride Alliance (OR, 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-2.15; P = .006) and Young Republicans (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43-0.82; P = .001) significantly influenced decisions. The highest ranked EAs were significantly preferred over the lowest ranked EAs (OR, 1.916; 95% CI, 1.671-2.197; P < .001). Participants preferred EAs that reflected active over passive engagement (OR, 1.154; 95% CI, 1.022-1.304; P = .021) and progressive over conservative ideology (OR, 1.280; 95% CI, 1.133-1.447; P < .001). Participants who ranked progressive EAs more highly preferred applicants with progressive EAs (P < .05 for all). ConclusionsThe influence of EAs on resident selection decisions is significant and likely to gain importance in resident selection as medical student performance metrics are further eliminated. Applicants and selection committees should consider this influence and the bias that EAs can bring to resident selection decisions.

Words Used in Letters of Recommendation for Pediatric Residency Applicants: Demographic Differences and Impact on Interviews.

To describe differences in agentic (achievement) and communal (relationship) terms in letters of recommendation (LORs) for pediatric residency candidates by applicant and letter writer demographics and to examine if LOR language is associated with interview status. A random sample of applicant profiles and LORs submitted to one institution were analyzed from the 2020-21 Match. Letters of recommendation text was inputted into a customized natural language processing application which determined the frequency of agentic and communal words in each LOR. Neutral LORs were defined as having<5% surplus of agentic or communal terms. We analyzed 2094 LORs from 573 applicants: 78% were women, 24% were under-represented in medicine (URiM), and 39% were invited to interview. Most letter writers were women (55%) and of senior academic rank (49%). Overall, 53% of LORs were agency biased, 25% communal biased, and 23% neutral. There was no difference in agency and communally biased LORs by an applicant's gender (men 53% agentic vswomen 53% agentic, P =.424), race or ethnicity (non-URiM 53% agentic vsURiM 51% agentic, P=.631). Male letter writers used significantly more agentic terms (8.5%) compared to women (6.7% agentic) or writers of both genders (3.1% communal) (P=.008). Applicants invited to interview were more likely to have a neutral LOR; however, no significant association existed between language and interview status. No significant differences in language were found by applicant gender or race among pediatric residency candidates. Identifying potential biases within pediatric residency selection processes is important in creating an equitable approach to application review.

Universities, heritage, and non-museum institutions: a methodological proposal for sustainable documentation

To provide a sustainable methodology for documenting the small (and underfunded) but often important university heritage collections. The sequence proposed by the DBLC (Database Life Cycle) (Coronel and Morris, Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management. Cengage Learning, Boston, 2018; Oppel Databases a beginner’s guide. McGraw-Hill, New York, 2009) is followed, focusing on the database design phase. The resulting proposals aim at harmonising the different documentation tools developed by GLAM institutions (acronym that aims to highlight the common aspects of Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums), all of which are present in the university environment. The work phases are based mainly on the work of Valle, Fernández Cacho, and Arenillas (Muñoz Cruz et al. Introducción a la documentación del patrimonio cultural. Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía, Seville, 2017), combined with the experience acquired from the creation of the virtual museum at our institution. The creation of a working team that includes university staff members is recommended because we believe that universities have sufficient power to manage their own heritage. For documentation, we recommend the use of application profiles that consider the new trends in semantic web and LOD (Linked Open Data) and that are created using structural interchange standards such as Dublin Core, LIDO, or Darwin Core, which should be combined with content and value standards adapted from the GLAM area. The application of the methodology described above will make it possible to obtain quality metadata in a sustainable way given the limited resources of university collections. A proposed metadata schema is provided as an annex.

In-silico Studies of Quinazolinone Analogues to Distinguish their Hypothetical Binding Mode using the X-ray crystal Structure Human carbon Anhydrase II (HCAII) Enzyme Complex with Sugar Sulfamate for Anticonvulsant Activity

The quinazolinone moiety is a significant pharmacophore that depicts various types of pharmacological activities as shown in recent exhaustive ligatures. Quinazolinone exhibit potent central nervous system (CNS) activities like anti-anxiety, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant. To develop these views and application profiles, attempt have been made to report a drug/ligand or receptor/protein interactions by identifying the suitable active site against X-ray crystal structure of Human Carbonic Anhydrase II (HCA II) enzyme for anticonvulsant activity using Vlife MDS version 4.6 Software because the protein-ligand interaction plays a significant role in structural based drug designing. The interaction was evaluated based on the score comparison between quinazolinone derivatives with sugar sulfamate. The quinazolinone ring forms hydrophobic and hydrogen bond contacts amino acid residues. The ligands 4t and 4s were shown to possess minimum dock score i.e. minimum binding energy in Kcal/mole i.e. these molecules has more affinity for the active site of the receptor. Molecules with low dock score and binding energy show more affinity towards the receptor. The data reported in this article may be helpful for the medicinal chemists who are working in this area.

The importance of water depth distribution maps in the sprinkler irrigation system performance assessment

Abstract The assessment of sprinkler system performance is crucial in ensuring the efficient use of water resources. The commonly used indicators of the uniformity of water distribution in sprinkler systems are Christiansen's uniformity (CU) and distribution uniformity (DU) coefficients. A more comprehensive analysis of water distribution is essential in situations where the reliability of these coefficients as indicators of water distribution patterns is limited. In the present research, distribution maps of water depth were prepared from water application profiles using catch cans experiments that were carried out in the research farm of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Faculty of the University of Tehran, which is located in Alborz province. In this way, water application profile data were obtained at different operating pressures (200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 kPa). By using this data, 2D and 3D distribution maps of water depth were created due to the overlapping of sprinklers in different arrangements, spacing, and pressures. In addition, CU and DU coefficients in square, rectangular, and triangular arrangements with different spacing and pressures from 200 to 400 kPa. A total of 11,250 different simulations were calculated and analyzed. Distribution maps of water depth contribute to advancing the understanding of sprinkler irrigation system performance and aid in the optimization of water management practices.

Toward the Development of NII RDC Application Profile Using Ontology Technology

In recent years, there has been international progress in developing platforms that support the reproducibility and reusability of research data. Typical platforms adopt a service architecture integrating multiple information systems to cover the entire research data lifecycle. In realizing this architecture, specifications for inheriting processes and results executed on different information systems play an essential role. This study introduces our practices for application profile development using ontology technology in the NII Research Data Cloud.

Software Application Profile: dynamicLM-a tool for performing dynamic risk prediction using a landmark supermodel for survival data under competing risks.

Providing a dynamic assessment of prognosis is essential for improved personalized medicine. The landmark model for survival data provides a potentially powerful solution to the dynamic prediction of disease progression. However, a general framework and a flexible implementation of the model that incorporates various outcomes, such as competing events, have been lacking. We present an R package, dynamicLM, a user-friendly tool for the landmark model for the dynamic prediction of survival data under competing risks, which includes various functions for data preparation, model development, prediction and evaluation of predictive performance. dynamicLM as an R package. The package includes options for incorporating time-varying covariates, capturing time-dependent effects of predictors and fitting a cause-specific landmark model for time-to-event data with or without competing risks. Tools for evaluating the prediction performance include time-dependent area under the ROC curve, Brier Score and calibration. Available on GitHub [https://github.com/thehanlab/dynamicLM].

Campus Recruitment System

The Campus Recruitment System (CRS) is an essential platform that facilitates the recruitment process between educational institutions and corporate organizations. The system aims to streamline the traditional campus hiring process, making it more efficient and convenient for both students and employers. This paper presents the design and implementation of a CRS to address the challenges faced by educational institutions and employers during the recruitment process. The proposed CRS consists of two main interfaces: one for students seeking job opportunities and another for employers looking to recruit talented candidates. Students can create personalized profiles showcasing their educational background, and work experiences. They can search and apply for job postings uploaded by employers, track their application status. On the other hand, employers can register, create company profiles, and post job openings. They can efficiently review applicant profiles, shortlist candidates, and schedule interviews, all within the CRS. Key Words: Campus recruitment, students, employers, academia, workforce, job roles.

Radiation enhancement of a broadband resistively loaded dipole with an overlapping ellipses profile for impulse application

This paper presents a broadband resistively loaded modified dipole (RLMD) with an overlapping ellipses profile for radiation enhancement of impulse systems. Based on the equivalent circuit model, a simple method is introduced and analyzed to improve the impedance matching performance of a printed resistively loaded dipole (RLD) by replacing the metal strip with an elliptical profile metal strip. Following this method, a tapered resistively loaded dipole consisting of several resistors and equally separated metal strips with a profile of three overlapping ellipses is proposed. To further improve the impedance matching performance of the proposed antenna, the normalized Euclid distance (NED) is employed to vary the size and position of each ellipse. To verify the performance, the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. The measured reflection coefficient of the antenna covers from 390 MHz to 10 GHz, which is consistent with the simulated results. In addition, the transmission performance of the proposed antenna is analyzed in the time domain by measuring it with two identical antennas. The received signal amplitude of RLMD is 5.74 dB higher than that of RLD, which is consistent with the simulated results. Therefore, the proposed antenna is appropriate for enhancing the radiation performance of impulse systems.

Preparation and Characterization of Patuletin-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles with Improved Selectivity and Safety Profiles for Anticancer Applications

Objective. This study aimed to investigate the preparation of patuletin-encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles (PT-CS-NPs) using the ionic gelation method, evaluate their potential as anticancer agents, and invent a new method of differential pulse voltammetric analysis for patuletin (PT). Methods. Computational studies were conducted to assess the affinity of PT for chitosan, confirming a promising interaction. PT-CS-NPs were synthesized based on the computational outputs, resulting in nanoparticles with an angular structure and an average size of 6.168 nm. The cytotoxicity of PT and PT-CS-NP was evaluated in breast and colon cancer cell lines, and selectivity indices were calculated to assess safety profiles. The electrochemical behavior of PT was also investigated using the Britton–Robinson buffer. Results. PT-CS-NP exhibited both potent cytotoxicity and a favorable safety profile, showing the most active and safest pattern of cytotoxicity among the tested compounds. The electrochemical oxidation of PT was observed at 0.531 V vs. Ag/AgCl at pH 4.0.0. The concentration of PT showed a linear relationship with the corresponding peak current over the range of 10.0 x 10 − 9 : 10.0 x 10 − 5 M M, with a minimum limit of detection of 3.4 × 10(−9)M. The proposed method successfully measured PT, with a relative standard deviation below 2%. Conclusion. The preparation of PT-CS-NP via the ionic gelation method resulted in angular nanoparticles with a promising anticancer activity and safety profiles. The electrochemical behavior of PT was characterized, and a reliable method for PT quantification was established.

Latency and resource consumption analysis for serverless edge analytics

The serverless computing model, implemented by Function as a Service (FaaS) platforms, can offer several advantages for the deployment of data analytics solutions in IoT environments, such as agile and on-demand resource provisioning, automatic scaling, high elasticity, infrastructure management abstraction, and a fine-grained cost model. However, in the case of applications with strict latency requirements, the cold start problem in FaaS platforms can represent an important drawback. The most common techniques to alleviate this problem, mainly based on instance pre-warming and instance reusing mechanisms, are usually not well adapted to different application profiles and, in general, can entail an extra expense of resources. In this work, we analyze the effect of instance pre-warming and instance reusing on both application latency (response time) and resource consumption, for a typical data analytics use case (a machine learning application for image classification) with different input data patterns. Furthermore, we propose extending the classical centralized cloud-based serverless FaaS platform to a two-tier distributed edge-cloud platform to bring the platform closer to the data source and reduce network latencies.

Profiling the Physical Performance of Young Boxers with Unsupervised Machine Learning: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Mexico City is the location with the largest number of boxers in Mexico; in fact, it is the first city in the country to open a Technological Baccalaureate in Education and Sports Promotion with a pugilism orientation. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the physical-functional profile of applicants for admission to the baccalaureate in sports. A total of 227 young athletes (44F; 183M; 15.65 (1.79) years; 63.66 (14.98) kg; >3 years of boxing experience) participated in this study. Body mass (BM), maximal isometric handgrip (HG) strength, the height of the countermovement jump (CMJ), the velocity of straight boxing punches (PV), and the rear hand punch impact force (PIF) were measured. The young boxers were profiled using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, and the probability of superiority (ρ) was calculated as the effect size of the differences. K-Medoids clustering resulted in two sex-independent significantly different groups: Profile 1 (n = 118) and Profile 2 (n = 109). Except for BM, Profile 2 was statistically higher (p < 0.001) with a clear distinction in terms of superiority on PIF (ρ = 0.118), the PIF-to-BM ratio (ρ = 0.017), the PIF-to-HG ratio (ρ = 0.079) and the PIF-to-BM+HG ratio (ρ = 0.008). In general, strength levels explained most of the data variation; therefore, it is reasonable to recommend the implementation of tests aimed at assessing the levels of isometric and applied strength in boxing gestures. The identification of these physical-functional profiles might help to differentiate training programs during sports specialization of young boxing athletes.

Profiling and optimization of Python-based social sciences applications on HPC systems by means of task and data parallelism

The article presents optimization techniques for two Python-based large-scale social sciences applications: SN (Social Network) Simulator and KPM (Kernel Polynomial Method). These applications use MPI technology to transfer data between computing processes, which in the regular implementation leads to load imbalance and performance degradation. To avoid this effect, we propose a 2-stage optimization. In the first step, the order of tasks is changed, and in the second step, the tasks are divided into smaller ones for easier allocation. In addition, we focus on mitigating performance and memory bottlenecks using modern ccNUMA systems with multiple NUMA domains. As part of the performance analysis, the limitations of communication in data traffic between and within the processor were revealed and resolved through appropriate data allocation. Benchmarking was carried out, examining various environments, including vendors of traditional x86-64 and ARM-based processors for HPC.

Guest-Stimulated Nonplanar Porphyrins in Flexible Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Nonplanar porphyrins with out-of-plane distortions play crucial roles in many biological functions and chemical applications. The artificial construction of nonplanar porphyrins usually involves organic synthesis and modification, which is a highly comprehensive approach. However, incorporating porphyrins into guest-stimulated flexible systems allows to manipulate the porphyrin distortion through simple ad/desorption of guest molecules. Here, a series of porphyrinic zirconium metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is reported that exhibit guest-stimulated breathing behavior. X-Ray diffraction analysis and skeleton deviation plots confirm that the material suffers from porphyrin distortion to form a ruffled geometry under the desorption of guest molecules. Further investigation reveals that not only the degree of nonplanarity can be precisely manipulated but also the partial distortion of porphyrin in a single crystal grain can be readily achieved. As Lewis acidic catalyst, the MOF with nonplanar Co-porphyrin exhibits active properties in catalyzing CO2 /propylene oxide coupling reactions. This porphyrin distortion system provides a powerful tool for manipulating nonplanar porphyrins in MOFs with individual distortion profiles for various advanced applications.