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Cohesive zone models are widely used to model interface debonding problems; however, these models engender some significant drawbacks, including the need for a conforming mesh to delimit the interfaces between different materials or components and that penalty or other constraint methods necessary to enforce initially perfect adhesion at interfaces degrade the critical time step for stability in explicit time integration. This article proposes a new technique based on the extended finite element method that alleviates these shortcomings by representing the transition from perfect interfacial adhesion to debonding by switching the enriched approximation basis functions from weakly discontinuous to strongly discontinuous. At this transition, the newly activated degrees of freedom are initialized to satisfy a point-wise consistency condition at the interface for both displacement and velocity. Analysis of the stable time step for one-dimensional elements with mass lumping is presented, which shows the increase of the stable time step compared with a cohesive zone model. Both one-dimensional and two-dimensional verification examples are presented, illustrating the potential of this new approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: APAtizer is a tool designed to analyze alternative polyadenylation events on RNA-sequencing data. The tool handles different file formats, including BAM, htseq, and DaPars bedGraph files. It provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to generate informative visualizations, including Volcano plots, heatmaps, and gene lists. These outputs allow the user to retrieve useful biological insights such as the occurrence of polyadenylation events when comparing two biological conditions. In addition, it can perform differential gene expression, gene ontology analysis, visualization of Venn diagram intersections, and correlation analysis., Availability and Implementation: Source code and example case studies for APAtizer are available at https://github.com/GeneRegulationi3S/APAtizer/., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

How we perceive and experience the world around us is inherently multisensory. Most of the Virtual Reality (VR) literature is based on the senses of sight and hearing. However, there is a lot of potential for integrating additional stimuli into Virtual Environments (VEs), especially in a training context. Identifying the relevant stimuli for obtaining a virtual experience that is perceptually equivalent to a real experience will lead users to behave the same across environments, which adds substantial value for several training areas, such as firefighters. In this article, we present an experiment aiming to assess the impact of different sensory stimuli on stress, fatigue, cybersickness, Presence and knowledge transfer of users during a firefighter training VE. The results suggested that the stimulus that significantly impacted the user's response was wearing a firefighter's uniform and combining all sensory stimuli under study: heat, weight, uniform, and mask. The results also showed that the VE did not induce cybersickness and that it was successful in the task of transferring knowledge.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a set of criteria and indicators to evaluate the quality of care of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC)., Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify valuable criteria/indicators for the assessment of the quality of care in HNC. With the aid of a technical group, a scientific committee of oncologists specialised in HNC used selected criteria to propose indicators that were evaluated with a two-round Delphi method. Indicators on which consensus was achieved were then prioritised by the scientific committee to develop a final set of indicators., Results: We proposed a list of 50 indicators used in the literature or developed by us to be evaluated with a Delphi method. There was consensus on the appropriateness of 47 indicators in the first round; the remaining 3 achieved consensus in the second round. The 50 indicators were scored to prioritise them, leading to a final selection of 29 indicators related to structure (3), process (22), or outcome (4) and covering diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and health outcomes in patients with HNC. Easy-to-use index cards were developed for each indicator, with their criterion, definition, formula for use in real-world clinical practice, rationale, and acceptable level of attainment., Conclusions: We have developed a set of 29 evidence-based and expert-supported indicators for evaluating the quality of care in HNC, covering diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and health outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

E-commerce is a field that changed how consumers purchase and interact with products. Although, inherent limitations such as the difficulty of testing the products "first-hand" before a purchase can compromise consumers' trust in online purchases. Virtual Reality (VR) has been investigated as a tool to solve limitations in several fields and how we can harness its potential to improve the overall user experience. This study analysed how immersive VR (IVR) could solve these limitations by allowing consumers to test products beforehand. We have studied how the Novelty Factor (evaluated by the users' past VR experience) and Immersive Tendencies correlate with the users' Purchase Intention and Memory (how well they remember the product's characteristics). We have analysed a sample of 38 participants (21 males) from 18 to 28 years old. Participants experienced a refrigerator with an interactive touchscreen in an IVR setup and were guided through its functionalities. Results indicated that memory of the product's characteristics was positively correlated with how recently they experienced VR. No correlations were found in the female sample. A negative correlation between Purchase Intention and Memory of the product's characteristics was found in the male sample. We concluded that IVR applications could become helpful for both consumers and online shops in an e-commerce context regardless of the Novelty Factor and Immersive Tendencies of consumers. However, differences between genders should be further investigated., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology to train professionals has increased over the years due to its advantages over traditional training. This paper presents a study comparing the effectiveness of a Virtual Environment (VE) and a Real Environment (RE) designed to train firefighters. To measure the effectiveness of the environments, a new method based on participants' Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was used. This method was complemented with self-reports, in the form of questionnaires, of fatigue, stress, sense of presence, and cybersickness. An additional questionnaire was used to measure and compare knowledge transfer enabled by the environments. The results from HRV analysis indicated that participants were under physiological stress in both environments, albeit with less intensity on the VE. Regarding reported fatigue and stress, the results showed that none of the environments increased such variables. The results of knowledge transfer showed that the VE obtained a significant increase while the RE obtained a positive but non-significant increase (median values, VE: before - 4 after - 7, p = .003; RE: before - 4 after - 5, p = .375). Lastly, the results of presence and cybersickness suggested that participants experienced high overall presence and no cybersickness. Considering all results, the authors conclude that the VE provided effective training but that its effectiveness was lower than that of the RE.

The expansion of augmented reality across society, its availability in mobile platforms and the novelty character it embodies by appearing in a growing number of areas, have raised new questions related to people's predisposition to use this technology in their daily life. Acceptance models, which have been updated following technological breakthroughs and society changes, are known to be great tools for predicting the intention to use a new technological system. This paper proposes a new acceptance model aiming to ascertain the intention to use augmented reality technology in heritage sites-the Augmented Reality Acceptance Model (ARAM). ARAM relies on the use of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT) model's constructs, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, to which the new and adapted constructs of trust expectancy, technological innovation, computer anxiety and hedonic motivation are added. This model was validated with data gathered from 528 participants. Results confirm ARAM as a reliable tool to determine the acceptance of augmented reality technology for usage in cultural heritage sites. The direct impact of performance expectancy, facilitating conditions and hedonic motivation is validated as having a positive influence on behavioural intention. Trust expectancy and technological innovation are demonstrated to have a positive influence on performance expectancy whereas hedonic motivation is negatively influenced by effort expectancy and by computer anxiety. The research, thus, supports ARAM as a suitable model to ascertain the behavioural intention to use augmented reality in new areas of activity.

The microbial production of enzymes has been gaining prominence in the industry, because, in addition to presenting specificity and acting in mild reaction conditions, they can also be considered eco-friendly. An example with growing importance for the food industry is xylanases, which are prominent in beverage processing, bakery products and the production of emerging prebiotics. Microorganisms of the phylum Actinobacteria are promising sources for the production of these enzymes, however few studies in the literature report investigations on the production of xylanases by actinobacteria. This review brings together important information on the production of xylanases by actinobacteria and recent advances in the use of the enzyme in the food industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Zygothrica genus group has been shown to be speciose, with a high number of cryptic species. DNA barcoding approaches have been a valuable tool to uncover cryptic diversity in this lineage, as recently suggested for the Neotropical Mycodrosophila projectans complex, which seems to comprise at least three different species. The aim of this study was to confirm the subdivision of the M. projectans complex while shedding some light on the patterns and processes related to its diversification. In this sense, the use of single and multi-locus datasets under phylogenetic, distance, coalescence, and diagnostic nucleotide approaches confirmed the presence of at least three species under the general morphotype previously described as M. projectans. Only a few subtle morphological differences were found for the three species in terms of aedeagus morphology and abdominal color patterns. Ecologically, sympatry and syntopy seem to be recurrent for these three cryptic species, which present widely overlapping niches, implying niche conservatism. This morphological and ecological similarity has persisted though cladogenesis within the complex, which dates back to the Miocene, providing an interesting example of morphological conservation despite ancient divergence. These results, in addition to contrasting patterns of past demographic fluctuations, allowed us to hypothesize patterns of allopatric or parapatric diversification with secondary contact in Southern Brazil. Nevertheless, genetic diversity was generally high within species, suggesting that migration may encompass an adaptive response to the restrictions imposed by the ephemerality of resources., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The majority of virtual reality (VR) applications rely on audiovisual stimuli and do not exploit the addition of other sensory cues that could increase the potential of VR. This systematic review surveys the existing literature on multisensory VR and the impact of haptic, olfactory, and taste cues over audiovisual VR. The goal is to identify the extent to which multisensory stimuli affect the VR experience, which stimuli are used in multisensory VR, the type of VR setups used, and the application fields covered. An analysis of the 105 studies that met the eligibility criteria revealed that 84.8 percent of the studies show a positive impact of multisensory VR experiences. Haptics is the most commonly used stimulus in multisensory VR systems (86.6 percent). Non-immersive and immersive VR setups are preferred over semi-immersive setups. Regarding the application fields, a considerable part was adopted by health professionals and science and engineering professionals. We further conclude that smell and taste are still underexplored, and they can bring significant value to VR applications. More research is recommended on how to synthesize and deliver these stimuli, which still require complex and costly apparatus be integrated into the VR experience in a controlled and straightforward manner.

To evaluate the effects of isometric handgrip exercise training (IHET) on blood pressure and heart rate variability in hypertensive subjects. Five databases were searched for randomized clinical trials in English, Spanish, or Portuguese evaluating the effect of IHET vs. no exercise on blood pressure (systolic and/or diastolic) and/or heart rate variability (low frequency [LF], high frequency [HF], and/or LF/HF ratio) through December 2020. Random-effects meta-analyses of mean differences (MDs) and/or standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed. Five trials were selected (n = 324 hypertensive subjects), whose durations ranged from 8 to 10 weeks. Compared to no exercise, IHET reduced systolic blood pressure (MD -8.11 mmHg, 95% CI -11.7 to -4.53, p < 0.001) but did not affect diastolic blood pressure (MD -2.75 mmHg, 95% CI -9.47-3.96, p = 0.42), LF (SMD -0.14, 95% CI -0.65-0.37, p = 0.59), HF (SMD 0.38, 95% CI -0.14-0.89, p = 0.15), or the LF/HF ratio (SMD -0.22, 95% CI -0.95-0.52, p = 0.57). IHET performed for 8-10 weeks had a positive effect on resting systolic blood pressure but did not interfere with diastolic blood pressure or heart rate variability in hypertensive subjects. These data should be interpreted with caution since all volunteers included in the studies were clinically medicated and their blood pressure was controlled., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Hypertension.)

Hands are the most important tool to interact with virtual environments, and they should be available to perform the most critical tasks. For example, a surgeon in VR should keep his/her hands on the instruments and be able to do secondary tasks without performing a disruptive event to the operative task. In this common scenario, one can observe that hands are not available for interaction. The goal of this systematic review is to survey the literature and identify which hands-free interfaces are used, the performed interaction tasks, what metrics are used for interface evaluation, and the results of such evaluations. From 79 studies that met the eligibility criteria, the voice is the most studied interface, followed by the eye and head gaze. Some novel interfaces were brain interfaces and face expressions. System control and selection represent most of the interaction tasks studied and most studies evaluate interfaces for usability. Despite the best interface depending on the task and study, the voice was found to be versatile and showed good results amongst the studies. More research is recommended to improve the practical use of the interfaces and to evaluate the interfaces more formally.