bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Higher-Order Cognitive Capacities of Sports Coaches
Authors: Kennedy Andrew , Dux Paul E. , Mallett Clifford J.
Published: December 2021

Higher-order cognitive functions refer to a collection of executive processes, which support the production of controlled, coordinated, and adaptive cognitive operations. Within the field of sports coaching, higher-order cognitive functions, such as cognitive control, are perceived to be beneficial for expert performance. Nevertheless, there is currently no empirical evidence base linking these cognitive capacities with sports coaching expertise. It, therefore, seems both timely and appropriate to explore the higher-order capacities of sports coaches and better understand existing relationships. In this insight paper, we make a case for adopting domain-general experimental approaches to progress knowledge and understanding of the relationships between fundamental higher-order cognitive capacities and sports coaching expertise. In making our case, we provide conceptual discussions on the possible associations between higher-order cognitive functions and sports coaches’ cognitive operations. We additionally outline the potential advantages of informing an empirical evidence base about higher-order cognitive capacities for sports coaching research and practice.
Utilizing Guided Discovery to Promote Transfer of Responsibility Values in Young Children
Authors: Dunn Robin J.
Published: December 2021

Purpose: In a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) program, Hellison noted that transferring responsibility values to areas beyond the gym was the most important aspect of a responsibility-based program. The purpose of this study was to examine how the use of guided discovery strategies in a TPSR program impacts and promotes how elementary students construct meaning and action related to responsibility values. Method: The participants were 12 second and third graders who attended an underserved public elementary school and were part of an after-school program. In the TPSR program, participants engaged in cooperative activities and researcher-led discussions, using the guided discovery teaching style, to promote transfer of life skills. Results: The findings indicate that the students better understood the meaning of responsible behaviors following an 8-week TPSR after-school program that included a heavy dose of the guided discovery teaching style. This, in turn, suggests that the guided discovery teaching style served to stimulate the transfer of these responsibility behaviors beyond the program. Discussion and Conclusion: Transfer is challenging to facilitate. Having a program that uses the scaffolded approach of guided discovery may be a key component in transferring responsible behaviors to areas outside of a physical activity program.
Perception of Boredom in Physical Education Lessons: What Factors Are Associated With Students’ Boredom Experiences?
Authors: Lye Chiew Min , Kawabata Masato
Published: December 2021

Purpose: The present study aimed to explore possible factors that have contributed to students’ boredom in physical education (PE) lessons. Methods: A total of 19 teachers (53% females and 47% males) and 112 students (50% females and 50% males) from two co-educational primary schools completed a set of questionnaires. A focused group discussion was then conducted with 20 students to further examine the relationship between situational factors and boredom. Results: Findings showed that overall, students highly enjoyed PE lessons and had low levels of anxiety and boredom. However, 20% of the participants agreed that they often experience boredom in PE lessons. In relation to the experience of boredom, a multiple regression analysis revealed that three variables (opportunity costs, monotony, and generalized boredom) were significant predictors of students’ boredom scores. Conclusions: The PE teacher ought to consider the set of significant predictors of boredom when developing lesson plans and instructional strategies aimed at alleviating the negative emotional experiences.
Long-Term Effects of a Movement Intervention Program for Children With Probable Developmental Coordination Disorder
Authors: de Oliveira Ilana Santos , Spessato Bárbara Coiro , Oliveira Dayana da Silva , Lins Romulo José César , Sarinho Silvia Wanick
Published: December 2021

Purpose: To examine long-term effects of a task-oriented intervention program for children with probable developmental coordination disorder in a physical education setting. Method: Sixty-nine boys and girls (7–10 years) were divided into two groups: intervention (n = 36) and control (n = 33). All children participated in physical education classes twice a week. The intervention group also had two weekly sessions focused on gross motor skills development for 12 weeks. Children were assessed by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2, three times: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Results: The intervention group showed superior results (p ≤ .05) posttest in: manual dexterity (d = 0.71), balance (d = 0.86), and total score (d = 1.02), and at follow-up in: manual dexterity (d = 1.05), balance (d = 0.86), and total score (d = 0.94). Conclusion: Task-oriented intervention provided a retained positive effect in the development of motor competence in children with probable developmental coordination disorder.
Transcriptomic Responses and Survival Mechanisms of Staphylococci to the Antimicrobial Skin Lipid Sphingosine
Authors: Chen Yiyun , Moran Josephine C. , Campbell-Lee Stuart , Horsburgh Malcolm J.
Published: December 2021

Sphingosines are antimicrobial lipids that form part of the innate barrier to skin colonization by microbes. Sphingosine deficiencies can result in increased epithelial infections by bacteria including
Staphylococcus aureus
.
Neutralization of Typhoid Toxin by Alpaca-Derived, Single-Domain Antibodies Targeting the PltB and CdtB Subunits
Authors: Dulal Hari P. , Vance David J. , Neupane Durga P. , Chen Xiangcheng , Tremblay Jacqueline M. , Shoemaker Charles B. , Mantis Nicholas J. , Song Jeongmin
Published: December 2021

Typhoid toxin is secreted by the typhoid fever-causing bacterial pathogen
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhi and has tropism for immune cells and brain endothelial cells. Here, we generated a camelid single-domain antibody (VHH) library from typhoid toxoid-immunized alpacas and identified 41 VHHs selected on the glycan receptor-binding PltB and nuclease CdtB.
Prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in people with comorbidities in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Mohamed Shukri F , Uthman Olalekan A , Mutua Martin K , Asiki G , Abba Mustapha S , Gill Paramjit
Published: December 2021

Background

The burden of uncontrolled hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is high and hypertension is known to coexist with other chronic diseases such as kidney disease, diabetes among others. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the burden of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities in SSA.

Methods

A comprehensive search was conducted on MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase) and Web of Science to identify all relevant articles published between 1 January 2000 and 17 June 2021. We included studies that reported on the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among people in SSA who report taking antihypertensive treatment and have another chronic condition. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to obtain the pooled estimate of the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbid conditions while on treatment across studies in SSA.

Results

In all, 20 articles were included for meta-analyses. Eleven articles were among diabetic patients, five articles were among patients with HIV, two were among patients with stroke while chronic kidney disease and atrial fibrillation had one article each. The pooled prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities was 78.6% (95% CI 71.1% to 85.3%); I² 95.9%, varying from 73.1% in patients with stroke to 100.0% in patients with atrial fibrillation. Subgroup analysis showed differences in uncontrolled hypertension prevalence by various study-level characteristics

Conclusion

This study suggests a high burden of uncontrolled hypertension in people with comorbidities in SSA. Strategies to improve the control of hypertension among people with comorbidities are needed.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42019108218.
Effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological interventions for treating post-traumatic stress disorder in adults with childhood abuse: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Alhussaini Nour Waleed , Riaz Muhammad
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder that develops after being exposed to a traumatic event. PTSD is common among adults who have experienced physical/sexual childhood abuse. Several psychological and pharmacological interventions are used for treating PTSD in this particular group, and it is important to identify what interventions, whether alone or in combination with other treatments, are more effective compared with others. Therefore, this review aims to provide synthesis of evidence on the effectiveness of different interventions used for treating PTSD following childhood abuse.

Methods and analysis

Electronic search will be conducted using different databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) used for assessing interventions for PTSD following childhood abuse. Data on treatment effectiveness for PTSD with childhood abuse and other variables will be extracted from each paper and reported as appropriate. Extracted effect-size estimates will be combined using Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA). Risk of bias will be assessed through the Cochrane Collaboration tool for RCTs tool. NMA assumptions (heterogeneity, transitivity, inconsistency) will be assessed and reported. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses will be performed to explore and explain possible sources of heterogeneity.

Ethics and dissemination

This research is based on literature review and does not require the approval of ethical board as it does not involve dealing with humans or animals. Findings of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020207409.
Cost-effectiveness of an 8-week supervised education and exercise therapy programme for knee and hip osteoarthritis: a pre–post analysis of 16 255 patients participating in Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D)
Authors: Grønne Dorte T , Roos Ewa M , Ibsen Rikke , Kjellberg Jakob , Skou Søren T
Published: December 2021

Objectives

To evaluate 1-year cost-effectiveness of an 8-week supervised education and exercise programme delivered in primary care to patients with symptomatic knee or hip osteoarthritis (OA).

Design

A registry-based pre–post study linking patient-level data from the Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D) registry to national registries in Denmark.

Setting and participants

16 255 patients with symptomatic knee or hip OA attending GLA:D.

Intervention

GLA:D is a structured supervised patient education and exercise programme delivered by certified physiotherapists and implemented in Denmark.

Outcome measures

Adjusted healthcare costs per Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gained from baseline to 1 year (ratio of change in healthcare costs to change in EuroQoL 5-Dimensions 5-Level questionnaire (EQ-5D)). All adjusted measures were estimated using a generalised estimating equation gamma regression model for repeated measures. Missing data on EQ-5D were imputed with Multiple Imputations (3 months: 23%; 1 year: 39 %).

Results

Adjusted change in healthcare cost was 298€ (95% CI: 206 to 419) and 640€ (95% CI: 400 to 1009) and change in EQ-5D was 0.035 (95% CI: 0.033 to 0.037) and 0.028 (95% CI: 0.025 to 0.032) for knee and hip patients, respectively. Hence estimated adjusted healthcare costs per QALY gained was 8497€ (95% CI: 6242 to 11 324) for knee and 22 568€ (95% CI: 16 000 to 31 531) for hip patients. In patients with high compliance, the adjusted healthcare costs per QALY gained was 5438€ (95% CI: 2758 to 9231) for knee and 17 330€ (95% CI: 10 041 to 29 364) for hip patients. Healthcare costs per QALY were below conventional thresholds for willingness-to-pay at 22 804€ (20 000£) and 43 979€ (US$50 000), except the upper limit of the 95% CI for hip patients which was in between the two thresholds.

Conclusions

A structured 8-week supervised education and exercise programme delivered in primary care was cost-effective at 1 year in patients with knee or hip OA supporting large-scale implementation in clinical practice.
Sleep and daytime problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and effects of coronavirus infection, confinement and financial suffering: a multinational survey using a harmonised questionnaire
Authors: Partinen Markku , Holzinger Brigitte , Morin Charles M , Espie Colin , Chung Frances , Penzel Thomas , Benedict Christian , Bolstad Courtney J , Cedernaes Jonathan , Chan Rachel Ngan Yin , Dauvilliers Yves , De Gennaro Luigi , Han Fang , Inoue Yuichi , Matsui Kentaro , Leger Damien , Cunha Ana Suely , Merikanto Ilona , Mota-Rolim Sergio , Nadorff Michael , Plazzi Giuseppe , Schneider Jules , Sieminski Mariusz , Wing Yun-Kwok , Bjorvatn Bjørn
Published: December 2021

Objectives

Sleep is important for human health and well-being. No previous study has assessed whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacts sleep and daytime function across the globe.

Methods

This large-scale international survey used a harmonised questionnaire. Fourteen countries participated during the period of May–August 2020. Sleep and daytime problems (poor sleep quality, sleep onset and maintenance problems, nightmares, hypnotic use, fatigue and excessive sleepiness) occurring ‘before’ and ‘during’ the pandemic were investigated. In total, 25 484 people participated and 22 151 (86.9%) responded to the key parameters and were included. Effects of COVID-19, confinement and financial suffering were considered. In the fully adjusted logistic regression models, results (weighted and stratified by country) were adjusted for gender, age, marital status, educational level, ethnicity, presence of sleep problems before COVID-19 and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in each country at the time of the survey.

Results

The responders were mostly women (64%) with a mean age 41.8 (SD 15.9) years (median 39, range 18–95). Altogether, 3.0% reported having had COVID-19; 42.2% reported having been in confinement; and 55.9% had suffered financially. All sleep and daytime problems worsened during the pandemic by about 10% or more. Also, some participants reported improvements in sleep and daytime function. For example, sleep quality worsened in about 20% of subjects and improved in about 5%. COVID-19 was particularly associated with poor sleep quality, early morning awakening and daytime sleepiness. Confinement was associated with poor sleep quality, problems falling asleep and decreased use of hypnotics. Financial suffering was associated with all sleep and daytime problems, including nightmares and fatigue, even in the fully adjusted logistic regression models.

Conclusions

Sleep problems, fatigue and excessive sleepiness increased significantly worldwide during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems were associated with confinement and especially with financial suffering.
Skill decay following Basic Life Support training: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Stanley Benjamin , Burton Thomas , Percival Harriet , Beesley Emily , Coffin Nicholas , Hulme Jonathan , Owen Andrew , Alderman Joseph
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is lower in the UK than in several developed nations. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is associated with increased rates of survival to hospital discharge following OHCA, prompting the introduction of several initiatives by the UK government to increase rates of bystander CPR, including the inclusion of Basic Life Support (BLS) teaching within the English national curriculum. While there is clear benefit in this, increasing evidence suggests poor retention of skills following BLS teaching. The aim of this systematic review is to summarise the literature regarding skill decay following BLS training, reporting particularly the time period over which this occurs, and which components of would-be rescuers’ performance of the BLS algorithm are most affected.

Methods and analysis

A search will be conducted to identify studies in which individuals have received BLS training and received subsequent assessment of their skills at a later date. A search strategy comprising relevant Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and keywords has been devised with assistance from an experienced librarian. Relevant databases will be searched with titles, abstract and full-text review conducted independently by two reviewers. Data will be extracted from included studies by two reviewers, with meta-analysis conducted if the appropriate preconditions (such as limited heterogeneity) are met.

Ethic and dissemination

No formal ethical approval is required for this systematic review. Results will be disseminated in the form of manuscript submission to a relevant journal and presentation at relevant meetings. To maximise the public’s access to this review’s findings, any scientific report will be accompanied by a lay summary posted via social media channels, and a press release disseminated to national and international news agencies.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021237233.
Protocol for a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study in Japan: association among hospital-acquired disability, regular exercise and long-term care dependency in older patients after cardiac surgery
Authors: Saitoh Masakazu , Takahashi Tetsuya , Morisawa Tomoyuki , Sakuyama Akihiro , Watanabe Hidetaka , Sakurada Koji , Hanafusa Yusuke , Tahara Masayuki , Iwata Kentaro , Ochi Yusuke , Takamura Go , Minei Akira
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Cardiac surgery for older patients, postoperative functional decline and the need for long-term care have received increasing attention as essential outcomes in recent years. Therefore, prevention of functional decline and long-term care dependency after cardiac surgery are important; however, our current understanding of postoperative functional trajectory and effects of postoperative regular exercise on long-term functional decline and long-term care dependency is limited. Therefore, we will conduct a multicentre, prospective cohort study to (1) examine the effect of hospital-acquired disability on long-term functional decline and long-term care dependency and (2) investigate the favourable effect of postoperative regular exercise on long-term functional decline and long-term care dependency in older patients after cardiac surgery.

Methods and analysis

We designed a prospective, multicentre cohort study to enrol older patients aged≥65 years undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft or valve surgery. We will conduct medical record reviews to collect data on patient demographics, comorbidities, operative details, progression of in-hospital postoperative cardiac rehabilitation and functional trajectory from a few days before cardiac surgery to the day before hospital discharge. They will be followed up for 2 years to obtain information on their health status including functional status, regular exercise and clinical events by mail. Primary endpoints of this study are long-term functional decline and long-term care dependency after cardiac surgery. Secondary endpoints are readmission due to cardiac events or all-cause mortality.

Ethics and dissemination

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Science, Juntendo University, and of each collaborating hospital. We obtained written informed consent from all study participants after the description of the study procedures. Publication of the study results is anticipated in 2025.
What challenges did junior doctors face while working during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative study
Authors: Spiers Johanna , Buszewicz Marta , Chew-Graham Carolyn , Dunning Alice , Taylor Anna Kathryn , Gopfert Anya , Van Hove Maria , Teoh Kevin Rui-Han , Appleby Louis , Martin James , Riley Ruth
Published: December 2021

Objectives

This paper reports findings exploring junior doctors’ experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Design

Qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 15 junior doctors. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised and imported into NVivo V.12 to facilitate data management. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Setting

National Health Service (NHS) England.

Participants

A purposive sample of 12 female and 3 male junior doctors who indicated severe depression and/or anxiety on the DASS-21 questionnaire or high suicidality on Paykel’s measure were recruited. These doctors self-identified as having lived experience of distress due to their working conditions.

Results

We report three major themes. First, the challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were both personal and organisational. Personal challenges were characterised by helplessness and included the trauma of seeing many patients dying, fears about safety and being powerless to switch off. Work-related challenges revolved around change and uncertainty and included increasing workloads, decreasing staff numbers and negative impacts on relationships with colleagues and patients. The second theme was strategies for coping with the impact of COVID-19 on work, which were also both personal and organisational. Personal coping strategies, which appeared limited in their usefulness, were problem and emotion focused. Several participants appeared to have moved from coping towards learnt helplessness. Some organisations reacted to COVID-19 collaboratively and flexibly. Third, participants reported a positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working practices, which included simplified new ways of working—such as consistent teams and longer rotations—as well as increased camaraderie and support.

Conclusions

The trauma that junior doctors experienced while working during COVID-19 led to powerlessness and a reduction in the benefit of individual coping strategies. This may have resulted in feelings of resignation. We recommend that, postpandemic, junior doctors are assigned to consistent teams and offered ongoing support.
Engineering CAR-NK cells to secrete IL-15 sustains their anti-AML functionality but is associated with systemic toxicities
Authors: Christodoulou Ilias , Ho Won Jin , Marple Andrew , Ravich Jonas W , Tam Ada , Rahnama Ruyan , Fearnow Adam , Rietberg Cambrynne , Yanik Sean , Solomou Elena E , Varadhan Ravi , Koldobskiy Michael A , Bonifant Challice L
Published: December 2021

Background

The prognosis of patients with recurrent/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) remains poor and cell-based immunotherapies hold promise to improve outcomes. Natural Killer (NK) cells can elicit an antileukemic response via a repertoire of activating receptors that bind AML surface ligands. NK-cell adoptive transfer is safe but thus far has shown limited anti-AML efficacy. Here, we aimed to overcome this limitation by engineering NK cells to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to boost their anti-AML activity and interleukin (IL)-15 to enhance their persistence.

Methods

We characterized in detail NK-cell populations expressing a panel of AML (CD123)-specific CARs and/or IL-15 in vitro and in AML xenograft models.

Results

CARs with 2B4.ζ or 4-1BB.ζ signaling domains demonstrated greater cell surface expression and endowed NK cells with improved anti-AML activity in vitro. Initial in vivo testing revealed that only 2B4.ζ Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-NK cells had improved anti-AML activity in comparison to untransduced (UTD) and 4-1BB.ζ CAR-NK cells. However, the benefit was transient due to limited CAR-NK-cell persistence. Transgenic expression of secretory interleukin (sIL)-15 in 2B4.ζ CAR and UTD NK cells improved their effector function in the setting of chronic antigen simulation in vitro. Multiparameter flow analysis after chronic antigen exposure identified the expansion of unique NK-cell subsets. 2B4.ζ/sIL-15 CAR and sIL-15 NK cells maintained an overall activated NK-cell phenotype. This was confirmed by transcriptomic analysis, which revealed a highly proliferative and activated signature in these NK-cell groups. In vivo, 2B4.ζ/sIL-15 CAR-NK cells had potent anti-AML activity in one model, while 2B4.ζ/sIL-15 CAR and sIL-15 NK cells induced lethal toxicity in a second model.

Conclusion

Transgenic expression of CD123-CARs and sIL-15 enabled NK cells to function in the setting of chronic antigen exposure but was associated with systemic toxicities. Thus, our study provides the impetus to explore inducible and controllable expression systems to provide cytokine signals to AML-specific CAR-NK cells before embarking on early-phase clinical testing.
Calibration of resistance factors for bearing resistance design of shallow foundations under seismic and wind loading
Authors: He Pengpeng , Fenton Gordon A. , Griffiths D.V.
Published: December 2021

Although the geotechnical resistance factors at ultimate limit state (ULS) used for dynamic loading conditions should be different from those for static loading conditions, most current structural and geotechnical design codes do not specifically provide dynamic resistance factors. In this paper, the ULS reliability analysis of individual shallow foundations for drained and undrained soil conditions under seismic (pseudo-dynamic) and wind loads using the Random Finite Element Method is carried out using the provisions of the National Building Code of Canada. The geotechnical resistance factors required to achieve target maximum lifetime failure probabilities are estimated for a few major Canadian cities. The results indicate that the failure probability for drained soil conditions is slightly greater than that for undrained soil conditions. In addition, the results suggest that the dynamic resistance factors for foundation bearing capacity design at ULS are lower than those for static foundation design specified by the code. The current analysis can be used to guide the calibration of these geotechnical resistance factors.
Deep Multimodal Neural Network Based on Data-Feature Fusion for Patient-Specific Quality Assurance
Authors: Hu Ting , Xie Lizhang , Zhang Lei , Li Guangjun , Yi Zhang
Published: December 2021

Patient-specific quality assurance (QA) for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) plans is routinely performed in the clinical. However, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming for medical physicists. QA prediction models can address these shortcomings and improve efficiency. Current approaches mainly focus on single cancer and single modality data. They are not applicable to clinical practice. To assess the accuracy of QA results for VMAT plans, this paper presents a new model that learns complementary features from the multi-modal data to predict the gamma passing rate (GPR). According to the characteristics of VMAT plans, a feature-data fusion approach is designed to fuse the features of imaging and non-imaging information in the model. In this study, 690 VMAT plans are collected encompassing more than ten diseases. The model can accurately predict the most VMAT plans at all three gamma criteria: 2%/2 mm, 3%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm. The mean absolute error between the predicted and measured GPR is 2.17%, 1.16% and 0.71%, respectively. The maximum deviation between the predicted and measured GPR is 3.46%, 4.6%, 8.56%, respectively. The proposed model is effective, and the features of the two modalities significantly influence QA results.
DO CEOS WITH SHARE PLEDGE SUPPRESS THE FIRMS’ INNOVATION?
Authors: JIA FANG , XIA XINPING , CHEN XICHAN , YANG CHENLIN , CAO LIHONG
Published: December 2021

It is a common phenomenon for corporate insiders to pledge their stock as collateral for personal loans in China. Using Chinese data, this paper examines the effects of CEOs’ share pledge on the firms’ future innovation output. Evidence suggests that the existence of CEOs with share pledge has a significantly negative effect on firms’ innovation output. The baseline results are consistent with a variety of robust tests. Furthermore, we propose the effect of CEOs’ share pledge works on the corporate innovation through the market value management channel. Finally, we find that the good corporate governance is a possible channel to relieve the agency cost on CEOs.
Interpreting Model Predictions with Constrained Perturbation and Counterfactual Instances
Authors: Fang Jun-Peng , Zhou Jun , Cui Qing , Tang Cai-Zhi , Li Long-Fei
Published: December 2021

In recent years, machine learning models have achieved magnificent success in many industrial applications, but most of them are black boxes. It is crucial to understand why such predictions are made in many critical areas such as medicine, financial markets, and auto driving. In this paper, we propose Coco, a novel interpretation method which can interpret any binary classifier by assigning each feature an importance value for a particular prediction. We first adopt MixUp method to generate reasonable perturbations, then apply these perturbations with constraints to obtain counterfactual instances and finally compute a comprehensive metric on these instances to estimate the importance of each feature. To demonstrate the effectiveness of Coco, we conduct extensive experiments on several datasets. The results show our method achieves better performance in identifying the most important features compared with the state-of-the-art interpretation methods, including Shap and Lime.
Applications on a subclass of β-uniformly starlike functions connected with q-Borel distribution
Authors: El-Deeb Sheza M. , Murugusundaramoorthy G.
Published: December 2021

The aim of this paper is to define the operator of [Formula: see text]-derivative based upon the Borel distribution and by using this operator, we familiarize a new subclass of [Formula: see text]-uniformly starlike functions [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] Further, we obtain coefficient estimates, distortion theorems, convex linear combinations and radii of close-to-convexity, starlikeness and convexity for functions [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] We also determine the second Hankel inequality for functions belonging to this subclass.
Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis using Dependency Parsing
Authors: Rani Sujata , Kumar Parteek
Published: December 2021

In this paper, an aspect-based
Sentiment Analysis (SA)
system for Hindi is presented. The proposed system assigns a separate sentiment towards the different aspects of a sentence as well as it evaluates the overall sentiment expressed in a sentence. In this work,
Hindi Dependency Parser (HDP)
is used to determine the association between an aspect word and a sentiment word (using Hindi SentiWordNet) and works on the idea that closely connected words come together to express a sentiment about a certain aspect. By generating a dependency graph, the system assigns the sentiment to an aspect having a minimum distance between them and computes the overall polarity of the sentence. The system achieves an accuracy of 83.2% on a corpus of movie reviews and its results are compared with baselines as well as existing works on SA. From the results, it has been observed that the proposed system has the potential to be used in emerging applications like SA of product reviews, social media analysis, etc.
Authorship Attribution for a Resource Poor Language—Urdu
Authors: Nazir Zulqarnain , Shahzad Khurram , Malik Muhammad Kamran , Anwar Waheed , Bajwa Imran Sarwar , Mehmood Khawar
Published: December 2021

Authorship attribution refers to examining the writing style of authors to determine the likelihood of the original author of a document from a given set of potential authors. Due to the wide range of authorship attribution applications, a plethora of studies have been conducted for various Western, as well as Asian, languages. However, authorship attribution research in the Urdu language has just begun, although Urdu is widely acknowledged as a prominent South Asian language. Furthermore, the existing studies on authorship attribution in Urdu have addressed a considerably easier problem of having less than 20 candidate authors, which is far from the real-world settings. Therefore, the findings from these studies may not be applicable to the real-world settings. To that end, we have made three key contributions: First, we have developed a large authorship attribution corpus for Urdu, which is a low-resource language. The corpus is composed of over 2.6 million tokens and 21,938 news articles by 94 authors, which makes it a closer substitute to the real-world settings. Second, we have analyzed hundreds of stylometry features used in the literature to identify 194 features that are applicable to the Urdu language and developed a taxonomy of these features. Finally, we have performed 66 experiments using two heterogeneous datasets to evaluate the effectiveness of four traditional and three deep learning techniques. The experimental results show the following: (a) Our developed corpus is many folds larger than the existing corpora, and it is more challenging than its counterparts for the authorship attribution task, and (b) Convolutional Neutral Networks is the most effective technique, as it achieved a nearly perfect F1 score of 0.989 for an existing corpus and 0.910 for our newly developed corpus.
Tri-training for Dependency Parsing Domain Adaptation
Authors: Jiang Shu , Li Zuchao , Zhao Hai , Lu Bao-Liang , Wang Rui
Published: December 2021

In recent years, the research on dependency parsing focuses on improving the accuracy of the domain-specific (in-domain) test datasets and has made remarkable progress. However, there are innumerable scenarios in the real world that are not covered by the dataset, namely, the out-of-domain dataset. As a result, parsers that perform well on the in-domain data usually suffer from significant performance degradation on the out-of-domain data. Therefore, to adapt the existing in-domain parsers with high performance to a new domain scenario, cross-domain transfer learning methods are essential to solve the domain problem in parsing. This paper examines two scenarios for cross-domain transfer learning: semi-supervised and unsupervised cross-domain transfer learning. Specifically, we adopt a pre-trained language model BERT for training on the source domain (in-domain) data at the subword level and introduce self-training methods varied from tri-training for these two scenarios. The evaluation results on the NLPCC-2019 shared task and universal dependency parsing task indicate the effectiveness of the adopted approaches on cross-domain transfer learning and show the potential of self-learning to cross-lingual transfer learning.
Elites in the Making and Breaking of Foreign Policy
Authors: Saunders Elizabeth N.
Published: December 2021

Scholarship on elites and foreign policy has made important advances in identifying who elites are, what elites want, and how elites influence foreign policy. This review assesses these advances, focusing on the tension between elites’ expertise, on the one hand, and resentment of elites as selfish or unrepresentative of the people's interests, on the other. What remains missing in the literature on elites and foreign policy are the dynamics of elite politics. The same elites can behave very differently in different settings, and elites frequently do not get what they want on foreign policy despite strong preferences. To understand this variation, we need more research on three kinds of elite politics: how elites attain their positions; their incentives once they arrive in those positions; and how elites relate to each other and to mass publics. Without attending to elite politics, we miss important sources of state behavior.
Zingiberensis Newsaponin Inhibits the Malignant Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Suppressing Autophagy Moderated by the AKR1C1-Mediated JAK2/STAT3 Pathway
Authors: He Keqing , Liu Xing , Cheng Shiping , Zhou Pingsheng
Published: December 2021

Objective. Saponins are a group of compounds from various plants, which exhibit an anticancer activity. This study aimed to explore the anticancer effect of zingiberensis newsaponin (ZnS) against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying mechanism involving autophagy. Methods. HCC cells (Huh7 and SMMC7721) were treated with ZnS and/or 3-MA. The cell viability, migration, and apoptosis were determined using CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. The levels of oxidative stress markers (ROS, SOD, and MDA) were measured by ELISA assay. Autophagy was monitored using MDC assay, immunofluorescence staining, and transmission electron microscopy. The relative protein expression of LC3II/LC3I, P62, AKR1C1, p-JAK2, p-STAT3, JAK2, and STAT3 was determined using Western blot. Results. ZnS or 3-MA inhibited the cell viability and migration, and it promoted cell apoptosis and oxidative stress in HCC. MDC-positive cells and autophagosomes were reduced by ZnS or 3-MA treatment. The expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3 (LC3II/LC3I) and P62 was, respectively, downregulated and upregulated after ZnS or 3-MA treatment. In addition, ZnS or 3-MA suppressed the protein expression of AKR1C1, p-JAK2, and p-STAT3 in HCC cells. Furthermore, the above phenomena were evidently enhanced by ZnS combined 3-MA treatment. AKR1C1 overexpression weakened the effect of ZnS on inhibiting the expression of AKR1C1, p-JAK2, and p-STAT3. Conclusion. ZnS exerts an anticancer effect on HCC via inhibiting autophagy moderated by the AKR1C1-mediated JAK2/STAT3 pathway. ZnS and 3-MA exert a synergistic effect on inhibiting HCC.
A Higher Serum Anion Gap Is Associated with the Risk of Progressing to Impaired Fasting Glucose and Diabetes
Authors: Zhang Yingchao , Xiong Fengran , Zhao Ruxuan , Shi Tingting , Lu Jing , Yang Jinkui
Published: December 2021

Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is a reversible intermediate hyperglycemia stage with an increasing risk of diabetes and related complications. Our study was designed to identify the relationship between the serum anion gap and the risk of progressing to impaired fasting glucose and diabetes. Here, we performed a prospective, population-based study among 1191 Chinese individuals aged 22–87 years who took health examinations annually between 2006 and 2012 including clinical features and plasma metabolites. All of the participants had no history of diabetes or related chronic complications. Logistic regression analysis was designed to examine the associations between clinical and metabolomic factors and the risk of developing IFG or diabetes. Among them, 58 subjects whose fasting glucose were between 6.1 and 7 mmol/L were diagnosed as IFG or diabetes. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), potassium, and albumin at baseline, the participants in the upper tertiles of serum anion gap (SAG) had higher odds of progressing to IFG or diabetes than those in the lower tertiles. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was analyzed, and the optimal cutoff level for the anion gap to predict incident IFG or diabetes was 13.76 mmol/L, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.623. Our data demonstrate that a higher serum anion gap is associated with the risk of developing IFG or diabetes.
Time Period of the Vibration of the Circular Plate with Circular Variation Both in Thickness and Density
Authors: Bhardwaj Reeta , Sharma Amit , Ghosh Sudeshna , Mani Naveen , Kumar Kamal
Published: December 2021

An analysis was carried out to investigate the time period of the thermally induced vibration of clamped and simply supported circular plates with circular variation both in thickness and density. Prior to this study, the variations considered were either linear, quadratic, parabolic, or exponential in nature. To study thermal effect, one-dimensional linear temperature variation on the plates is taken into consideration. Rayleigh–Ritz method is applied to compute the time period of the first three modes of vibration for both plates by varying tapering parameter, thermal gradient, and density. Convergence study of frequency modes for both plates conducted suggests that the convergence rate in case of circular variation is faster than the other studies done. A comparison of time period with the available published results is done. The comparison done concludes that time period obtained in the present study by varying thermal gradient and tapering parameter is found to be less than the other studies done for the same set of parameters. This study helped to establish the fact that, by using circular variation in plate parameters, we can get less time period of frequency modes in comparison to other variations considered till date.
Nearly General Septic Functional Equation
Authors: Chang Ick-Soon , Lee Yang-Hi , Roh Jaiok
Published: December 2021

If a mapping can be expressed by sum of a septic mapping, a sextic mapping, a quintic mapping, a quartic mapping, a cubic mapping, a quadratic mapping, an additive mapping, and a constant mapping, we say that it is a general septic mapping. A functional equation is said to be a general septic functional equation provided that each solution of that equation is a general septic mapping. In fact, there are a lot of ways to show the stability of functional equations, but by using the method of G

a
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vruta, we examine the stability of general septic functional equation

∑

i
=
0

8

C

8

i

−
1

8
−
i

f

x
+

i
−
4

y

=
0

which considered. The method of G

a
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vruta as just mentioned was given in the reference Gavruta (1994).
Evaluation of Government Ecological Environment Governance Effect from the Public’s Perspective Based on the Entropy Method: Take the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia as an Example
Authors: Wu Erhan , Gai Zhiyi
Published: December 2021

The Kubuqi Desert is the seventh-largest desert in China. Under the leadership of the central, autonomous region and local governments, the ecological situation has undergone historic changes. In this paper, we select Hangjin Banner and Dalate Banner, which have the most widely distributed deserts and use 347 households as the research perspective to construct the evaluation index system of the government's ecological environment governance effect. The entropy method is used to evaluate the governance effect, and the ordinary least squares and quantile regression are used to compare the evaluation differences of different publics. The research found the following. (1) The public believes that the government's ecological governance measures have achieved good results in the third-level index analysis. The ecological environment in the desert area has been significantly improved; that is, the survival rate of trees has increased, the area of vegetation coverage and vegetation types have increased, and the frequency of sandstorms has decreased. However, the intensity of sandstorms and the flow of water sources did not change significantly. The various types of public income have increased significantly compared to before the governance. The public takes the ecological priority as the concept and actively participates in the government's governance implementation, which means that the ecological awareness and behavior are higher. (2) Among the second-level index, the weights and scores in descending order are public economic characteristics: 45.53% and 0.4840, public ecological behavior: 25.62% and 0.1682, public ecological effect perception: 18.35% and 0.1240, and public ecological awareness: 10.51% and 0.0291. The comprehensive evaluation result is 0.8054, which is in the first grade, and the effect is excellent. (3) The public comprehensive evaluation results of the two regions are similar. Hangjin Banner is 0.8209 and Dalate Banner is 0.8557, both in the first grade. The effect is excellent. (4) In the OLS regression results, gender has a significant positive impact on evaluating the government's ecological environment governance effect. Age, ethnicity, and occupation have a significant negative impact. As the quintile increases, the influence of gender, age, and ethnicity first increases and then decreases. The maximum regression coefficient of gender at the 50% quantile is 0.714, which has a significant positive effect. Age has a significant negative impact at each quantile. The regression coefficient of ethnicity at the 50% quantile is the highest -0.357, which has a significant negative impact. Occupation only has a significant negative impact at the low quintile.
Jian-Pi-Yi-Shen Formula Alleviates Chronic Kidney Disease in Two Rat Models by Modulating QPRT/NAD+/SIRT3/Mitochondrial Dynamics Pathway
Authors: Liu Xinhui , Liu Siqi , Zhang Bing , Luo Denggui , Huang Shiying , Wang Fochang , Zheng Lin , Lu Jiandong , Chen Jianping , Li Shunmin
Published: December 2021

Objective. Jian-Pi-Yi-Shen formula (JPYSF) is a traditional Chinese herbal decoction and has been used for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD) in clinics for decades. However, the potential mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to test the efficacy of JPYSF in treating CKD and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods. Two CKD rat models were established by 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) and feeding with adenine-containing feed, respectively. The intervention dose of JPYSF was 10.89 g/kg/d by gastric irrigation. Renal function was assessed by serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Masson’s trichrome staining were used to evaluate renal histopathological changes. The levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) were measured by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The proteins expressions of renal fibrosis, quinolinate phosphoribosyltransferase (QPRT), sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), and mitochondrial dynamics were determined and quantified by Western blot analysis. Results. The results show that administration of JPYSF significantly lowered Scr and BUN levels, improved renal tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, and decreased renal extracellular matrix deposition in two CKD rat models. In addition, CKD rats exhibited suppressed QPRT/NAD+/SIRT3 signal, increased mitochondrial fission, and decreased mitochondrial fusion. JPYSF treatment promoted QPRT/NAD+/SIRT3 signal and restored mitochondrial fission/fusion balance. Conclusion. In conclusion, administration of JPYSF effectively alleviated CKD progression in two rat models, which may be related with regulation of the QPRT/NAD+/SIRT3/mitochondrial dynamics pathway.