bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nature-Based Mindfulness: A Qualitative Study of the Experience of Support for Self-Regulation
Authors: Djernis Dorthe , Lundsgaard Cecilie M. , Rønn-Smidt Helle , Dahlgaard Jesper
Published: March 2023

Self-regulation is pivotal for human well-being and mental health. In this qualitative study, we followed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and explored how a five-day residential mindfulness program in a restorative natural setting supported self-regulation among university students experiencing moderate to severe stress. Six participants were interviewed post intervention and at three months’ follow-up on how they experienced the retreat. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis, four interrelated themes emerged: “supportive conditions”, “attitudes of mindfulness”, “connection” and “physical and psychological balance.” These themes reflected the outcomes of the retreat that participants valued in stressful situations. A progression occurred during the retreat through the themes, with emphasis developing from the supportive conditions of the setting, to cultivating mindful attitudes, over connection to both self, others and nature, to changes and effects on the physical, psychological and even spiritual level. In addition, participants emphasized experiences of positive emotions, energy, calmness, meta-awareness and the feeling of being part of the web of life. In conclusion, participants’ experiences with a five-day nature-based mindfulness intervention revealed a range of qualities of both physical-, psychological-, social- and spiritual nature that are supportive for self-regulation.
Spanish Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Overuse Injury Questionnaire in Handball Players
Authors: Martínez-Cal Jesús , Molina-Torres Guadalupe , Carrasco-Vega Elio , Barni Luca , Ventura-Miranda María Isabel , Gonzalez-Sanchez Manuel
Published: March 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study was the cultural adaptation, Spanish translation and validation of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Overuse Injury Questionnaire in an adult population. Design: In this study, a cross-sectional design was used. Methods: This study was divided into two phases: (1) cross-cultural adaptation of the original version of the OSTRC to a Spanish version (OSTRC-Sp) and (2) analysis of the psychometric properties of the OSTRC-Sp. A total of 427 handball players of both sexes and over 18 years of age participated in the study. Results: The translated version of the questionnaire showed a very high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.954), while the subscales showed an internal consistency between 0.832 and 0.961, with the endmost values being for shoulder and low back pain, respectively. On the other hand, when analysing item responses, the OSTRC-Sp showed ICC values ranging from 0.844 to 0.956, the former being for the first back question (back_1), and the latter for the fourth shoulder question (shoulder_4), in line with most published versions. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the OSTRC is a reliable and valid tool that can be used by researchers and clinicians in a Spanish-speaking population with musculoskeletal disorders.
Depression in Central and Eastern Europe: How Much It Costs? Cost of Depression in Romania
Authors: Iordache Miorita Melina , Sorici Costin Octavian , Aivaz Kamer Ainur , Lupu Elena Carmen , Dumitru Andrei , Tocia Cristina , Dumitru Eugen
Published: March 2023

Objective: The present study aims to estimate the public cost of depression in Romania during a seven-year time span to complement existing papers with data from Central and Eastern Europe and to identify and propose measures that allow efficient use of funds. Methods: We used data collected from the National Health Insurance System to analyze the main components of the cost. Findings: Indirect costs exceed direct costs. Within the direct costs, hospitalization and medicines still have an important share but are decreasing due to the intervention of outpatient services such as psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Conclusion: Since the goal is mental health, it is necessary to act early and quickly to decrease the burden in the long run. Annually, the mean direct cost of depression per patient is EUR 143 (part of it is represented by hospitalization, i.e., EUR 67, and psychotherapy, i.e., EUR 5), the mean cost of sick leaves per patient is EUR 273, and the total cost per patient is EUR 5553. Indirect costs (cost of disability and lost productive years) represent 97.17% of the total cost. An integrated approach to early diagnosis, effective treatment, monitoring, and prevention as well as included economic and social programs are needed to optimize indirect costs.
Increasing Potato Sustainability to PVY under Water Deficiency by Bacillus Bacteria with Salicylic Acid and Methyl Jasmonate
Authors: Kalatskaja Joanna N. , Baliuk Natallia V. , Rybinskaya Katsiaryna I. , Herasimovich Kanstantsin M. , Yalouskaya Ninel A. , Yarullina Lubov G. , Tsvetkov Vyacheslav O.
Published: March 2023

The protective effect of Bacillus bacteria against viruses can be significantly expanded by combination with salicylic acid (SA) or methyl jasmonate (MeJ). In soil water deficiency conditions, potato leaves were sprayed with Bacillus subtilis strain 47 combined with MeJ and MeJ + SA displayed a decrease in PVY and preservation of the shoot’s growth. Signaling molecules with Bacillus subtilis mitigated the adverse effect of PVY under water deficiency by manipulating enzymatic/non-enzymatic antioxidant levels and activity in treated plants. The application mixtures increased the mass and number of mini-tubers during the microclonal propagation of plants. Treatment with bacteria in combination with signaling molecules significantly changed the content and phosphorylation status of a number of hydrolases, catalase, phosphorylase, annexin, and protease inhibitor. Based on the analysis of changes in the proteome, the key mechanisms mediating the induction of plant resistance to change in the tuber proteome aimed at enhancing the expression of protective protein genes that increase resistance to pathogens and abiotic stress.
Statistical Analysis of the Effective Friction Angle of Sand Tailings from Germano Dam
Authors: Becker Leonardo De Bona , Cavalcanti Maria do Carmo Reis , Marques Alfredo Affonso Monteiro
Published: March 2023

Tailings dam accidents emphasize the importance of an adequate understanding of the strength parameters of tailings to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the design, construction, and operation of such structures. Usually, the tailings strength is addressed in a deterministic manner. However, a statistical approach would better represent their behavior due to its inherent heterogeneity. The literature about tailings strength distribution is relatively rare or superficial, which impairs the probabilistic analyses which are essential for risk management. Therefore, this article focuses on the probability density function (PDF) of the effective friction angle (ϕ′) of iron ore tailings from the reservoir of Germano dam, Mariana, Brazil, based on data from publicly available CPTu tests. The influence of the relative density (Dr), and the presence of plastic layers amidst the sand tailings on the strength of the sand are also discussed herein. Several correlations were employed to estimate ϕ’ and Dr. According to the results, the presence of plastic layers influences the estimated properties, and the relative density has a log-normal distribution. The effective friction angle, on the other hand, presents a normal distribution.
Cross-Layer Protocol Based on Directional Reception in Underwater Acoustic Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Sun Yao , Ge Wei , Li Yingsong , Yin Jingwei
Published: March 2023

The long propagation delay of acoustic links leads to the complex randomness of packet collision, which reduces the network packet delivery rate (PDR) and aggravates network congestion. A single vector hydrophone with directional reception characteristics can concentrate the reception gain on a certain direction, which can increase spatial reuse, reduce packet collision, and help to improve the performance of the underwater acoustic wireless sensor networks (UASNs). Herein, this paper proposes a cross-layer protocol with low interference and low congestion (CLIC) based on directional reception. An integrated routing-medium access control (MAC) design is also devised in the CLIC scheme to use the directional beams to create the least-interfering, highest-capacity data transmission links, weighing key factors affecting network performance to obtain routes with low collisions and low congestion. Simulation results show that the CLIC has a higher packet delivery rate (PDR) and higher energy efficiency compared to the QELAR, CITP, and VBF protocols.
Optimization Study of Marine Energy Harvesting from Vortex-Induced Vibration Using a Response-Surface Method
Authors: Xu Peng , Jia Shanshan , Li Dongao , el Moctar Ould , Jiang Changqing
Published: March 2023

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of bluff bodies is one type of flow-induced vibration phenomenon, and the possibility of using it to harvest hydrokinetic energy from marine currents has recently been revealed. To develop an optimal harvester, various parameters such as mass ratio, structural stiffness, and inflow velocity need to be explored, resulting in a large number of test cases. This study primarily aims to examine the validity of a parameter optimization approach to maximize the energy capture efficiency using VIV. The Box–Behnken design response-surface method (RSM-BBD) applied in the present study, for an optimization purpose, allows for us to efficiently explore these parameters, consequently reducing the number of experiments. The proper combinations of these operating variables were then identified in this regard. Within this algorithm, the spring stiffness, the reduced velocity, and the vibrator diameter are set as level factors. Correspondingly, the energy conversion efficiency was taken as the observed value of the target. The predicted results were validated by comparing the optimized parameters to values collected from the literature, as well as to our simulations using a computational-fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Generally, the optimal operating conditions predicted using the response-surface method agreed well with those simulated using our CFD model. The number of experiments was successfully reduced somewhat, and the operating conditions that lead to the highest efficiency of energy harvesting using VIV were determined.
Deriving Coastal Shallow Bathymetry from Sentinel 2-, Aircraft- and UAV-Derived Orthophotos: A Case Study in Ligurian Marinas
Authors: Apicella Lorenza , De Martino Monica , Ferrando Ilaria , Quarati Alfonso , Federici Bianca
Published: March 2023

Bathymetric surveys of shallow waters are increasingly necessary for navigational safety and environmental studies. In situ surveys with floating acoustic sensors allow the collection of high-accuracy bathymetric data. However, such surveys are often unfeasible in very shallow waters in addition to being expensive and requiring specific sectorial skills for the acquisition and processing of raw data. The increasing availability of optical images from Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles, aircrafts and satellites allows for bathymetric reconstruction from images thanks to the application of state-of-the-art algorithms. In this paper, we illustrate a bathymetric reconstruction procedure involving the classification of the seabed, the calibration of the algorithm for each class and the subsequent validation. We applied this procedure to high-resolution, UAV-derived orthophotos, aircraft orthophotos and Sentinel-2 Level-2A images of two marinas along the western Ligurian coastline in the Mediterranean Sea and validated the results with bathymetric data derived from echo-sounder surveys. Our findings showed that the aircraft-derived bathymetry is generally more accurate than the UAV-derived and Sentinel-2 bathymetry in all analyzed scenarios due to the smooth color of the aircraft orthophotos and their ability to reproduce the seafloor with a considerable level of detail.
Potential Detritivorous Diet of the Invasive Apple Snail (Pomacea canaliculata Lamarck, 1822) in Mangroves: The Relationship between Feeding Indicators and Chemical Characteristics of Decaying Leaf Litter
Authors: Liu Jinling , Chen Zhihua , Li Yunhui , Chen Danying , He Yulin , Zhao Benliang , Liao Yuexin , Guo Jing
Published: March 2023

Invasive species have had substantial impacts on global mangrove forests. Apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata) have invaded mangrove forests in China. To clarify the potential detritivorous diet of P. canaliculata, the growth and feeding indicators of invasive juvenile snails collected from mangroves in Guangzhou, China, were studied using decaying leaf litter from five mangrove species, including Acanthus ilicifolius, Acrostichum aureum, Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculatum, and Sonneratia apetala. The growth indicators of the survival ratio and specific growth rate were calculated by measuring the live weight of the snails and the number of dead snails after 30 days. The feeding indicator of the weight-specific daily feeding rate (WDR) was calculated by measuring the snail weight and the amount of leaf litter ingested after 120 h. A multiple-choice experiment was performed on the snails by providing the decaying leaf species together, while a no-choice experiment was performed using a single species of decaying leaf litter. The survival and specific growth ratio of P. canaliculata feeding on decaying leaf litter of A. ilicifolius were higher than those for A. aureum. The WDR values of P. canaliculata feeding on the decaying leaf litter of A. ilicifolius and S. apetala were both significantly higher than those for A. corniculatum, A. aureum, and K. candel. The lowest WDR value of P. canaliculata feeding on decaying leaf litter was observed for A. aureum in the no-choice experiment. P. canaliculata mainly fed on decaying leaf litter of A. ilicifolius and S. apetala. The phosphorous contents and ash of the decaying leaf litter positively affected the WDR values of P. canaliculata obtained in the multiple-choice and no-choice experiments. The contents of lignin, tannin, and flavonoid negatively affected the WDR values of P. canaliculata. The potential diet of invasive P. canaliculata in mangroves was closely tied to the chemical characteristics of the decaying leaf litter. P. canaliculata can invade A. ilicifolius and/or S. apetala mangroves by utilizing the debris on the mangrove ground. Understanding the potential detritivorous diet of P. canaliculata in invaded mangroves can help us to assess this species’ dispersal risk and provide support for mangrove management.
A New Species Agrocybe striatipes, also a Newly Commercially Cultivated Mushroom with Highly Nutritional and Healthy Values
Authors: Li Jiaxin , Yang Wenqiang , Ren Jinwei , Cao Bin , Zhu Xinyu , Lin Li , Ye Wen , Zhao Ruilin
Published: March 2023

The species of Agrocybe (Strophariaceae, Agaricales, Agaricomycetes) are saprophytic and widely distributed in temperate regions. In this study, a new species named Agrocybe striatipes from China is described, which has been successfully cultivated in China recently. The phenotypic characteristics examination and molecular phylogenetic analyses using multilocus data (ITS and nrLSU) both support it as a new species in the genus Agrocybe. Moreover, nutritional ingredient analysis showed that the fruiting body of A. striatipes was rich in seventeen amino acids, including eight essential amino acids, in addition to high levels of calcium (78.5 mg/kg) and vitamin D (44.1 μg/100g). The following analysis of the heavy metal contents of the fruiting bodies show that it does not contain lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and other heavy metal elements. In the crude extract of the mushroom, the nutrients in the aqueous phase are amino acids and oligosaccharides, and the active substances in the ethyl acetate layer are sterols, which have a variety of pharmacological effects. In conclusion, A. striatipes is not only a new species but also has highly application values as a cultivated edible mushroom in nutrition and health.
Mold-Active Antifungal Prophylaxis in Pediatric Patients with Cancer or Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Authors: Lehrnbecher Thomas , Bochennek Konrad , Groll Andreas H.
Published: March 2023

Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs), in particular invasive mold infections, still pose considerable problems in the care of children and adolescents treated for cancer or undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. As these infections are difficult to diagnose, and the outcomes for IFDs are still unsatisfactory, antifungal prophylaxis has become an important strategy in the clinical setting. Antifungal prophylaxis is indicated in patients at high risk for IFD, which is commonly defined as a natural incidence of at least 10%. As there is a growing interest in pediatric-specific clinical trials and pediatric-specific guidelines, this review focuses on the available data of mold-active antifungal prophylaxis in children and adolescents. The data demonstrate that a major effort is needed to characterize the pediatric patient population in which the net effect of prophylactic antifungals will be beneficial as well as to find the optimal prophylactic antifungal compound and dosage.
Genetics Information with Functional Brain Networks for Dementia Classification
Authors: Khatri Uttam , Kim Ji-In , Kwon Goo-Rak
Published: March 2023

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) precedes the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum, making it crucial for therapeutic care to identify patients with MCI at risk of progression. We aim to create generalized models to identify patients with MCI who advance to AD using high-dimensional-data resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) brain networks and gene expression. Studies that integrate genetic traits with brain imaging for clinical examination are limited, compared with most current research methodologies, employing separate or multi-imaging features for disease prognosis. Healthy controls (HCs) and the two phases of MCI (convertible and stable MCI) along with AD can be effectively diagnosed using genetic markers. The rs-fMRI-based brain functional connectome provides various information regarding brain networks and is utilized in combination with genetic factors to distinguish people with AD from HCs. The most discriminating network nodes are identified using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). The most common brain areas for nodal detection in patients with AD are the middle temporal, inferior temporal, lingual, hippocampus, amygdala, and middle frontal gyri. The highest degree of discriminative power is demonstrated by the nodal graph metrics. Similarly, we propose an ensemble feature-ranking algorithm for high-dimensional genetic information. We use a multiple-kernel learning support vector machine to efficiently merge multipattern data. Using the suggested technique to distinguish AD from HCs produced combined features with a leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) classification accuracy of 93.07% and area under the curve (AUC) of 95.13%, making it the most state-of-the-art technique in terms of diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, our proposed approach has high accuracy and is clinically relevant and efficient for identifying AD.
Analysis and Recognition of Human Gait Activity Based on Multimodal Sensors
Authors: Teran-Pineda Diego , Thurnhofer-Hemsi Karl , Dominguez Enrique
Published: March 2023

Remote health monitoring plays a significant role in research areas related to medicine, neurology, rehabilitation, and robotic systems. These applications include Human Activity Recognition (HAR) using wearable sensors, signal processing, mathematical methods, and machine learning to improve the accuracy of remote health monitoring systems. To improve the detection and accuracy of human activity recognition, we create a novel method to reduce the complexities of extracting features using the HuGaDB dataset. Our model extracts power spectra; due to the high dimensionality of features, sliding windows techniques are used to determine frequency bandwidth automatically, where an improved QRS algorithm selects the first dominant spectrum amplitude. In addition, the bandwidth algorithm has been used to reduce the dimensionality of data, remove redundant dimensions, and improve feature extraction. In this work, we have considered widely used machine learning classifiers. Our proposed method was evaluated using the accelerometer angles spectrum installed in six parts of the body and then reducing the bandwidth to know the evolution. Our approach attains an accuracy rate of 95.1% in the HuGaDB dataset with 70% of bandwidth, outperforming others in the human activity recognition accuracy.
Stability Analysis for a Class of Stochastic Differential Equations with Impulses
Authors: Xia Mingli , Liu Linna , Fang Jianyin , Zhang Yicheng
Published: March 2023

This paper is concerned with the problem of asymptotic stability for a class of stochastic differential equations with impulsive effects. A sufficient criterion on asymptotic stability is derived for such impulsive stochastic differential equations via Lyapunov stability theory, bounded difference condition and martingale convergence theorem. The results show that the impulses can facilitate the stability of the stochastic differential equations when the original system is not stable. Finally, the feasibility of our results is confirmed by two numerical examples and their simulations.
Optimized Cooperative Control of Error Port-Controlled Hamiltonian and Adaptive Backstepping Sliding Mode for a Multi-Joint Industrial Robot
Authors: Yang Xiaoyu , Yu Haisheng
Published: March 2023

Robot joints driven by permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) often cannot have both superior accuracy and rapidity when they track target signals. The robot joints have fine dynamic characteristics and poor steady-state characteristics when the signal controller is used, or they have fine steady-state characteristics and poor dynamic characteristics when the energy controller is used. It is hard to make robot joints that have both superior dynamic and steady-state characteristics at once using a single control method. In order to solve this problem, the strategy of optimized cooperative control is proposed. First, an error port-controlled Hamiltonian (EPCH) energy controller and an adaptive backstepping sliding mode (ABSM) signal controller are designed. Second, an optimized cooperative control coefficient based on the position error of a robot joint is designed; this enables the system to switch smoothly between the EPCH energy controller and ABSM signal controller. Next, the strategy of optimized cooperative control is designed. In this way, robot systems can combine the advantages of the EPCH energy controller and the ABSM signal controller. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that using the strategy of optimized cooperative control gives robot joints outstanding control performance in terms of tracking accuracy and response rapidity.
Construction of Column-Orthogonal Designs with Two-Dimensional Stratifications
Authors: Liu Song-Nan , Liu Min-Qian , Yang Jin-Yu
Published: March 2023

For the design of computer experiments, column orthogonality and space-filling are two desirable properties. In this paper, we develop methods for constructing a new class of column-orthogonal designs (ODs) with two-dimensional stratifications on finer grids, including orthogonal Latin hypercube designs (OLHDs) as special cases. In addition to being column-orthogonal, these designs have good space-filling properties in two dimensions. The resulting designs achieve stratifications on s2×s or s×s2 grids, and most column pairs satisfy stratifications on s2×s2 grids. Moreover, many column pairs can achieve stratifications on s4×s2 and s2×s4 grids. Furthermore, the obtained space-filling ODs can have s6 levels, s4 levels, and mixed levels, as required for different needs.
Effect of Semi-Aging Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Inertia Friction Welded Joint of FGH96 Powder Metallurgy Superalloy
Authors: Han Xiufeng , Zhu Guoliang , Tan Qingbiao , Sun Baode
Published: March 2023

Inertia friction welded joints often present different microstructures than the base metal, and subsequent heat treatment processes are always needed to maintain superior performance. This study investigates the effect of semi-aging heat treatment after welding on the microstructure, residual stress, micro-hardness, and tensile properties of inertia friction welded FGH96 powder metallurgy superalloy using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and hardness and tensile tests. The results show that the semi-aging heat treatment after welding does not affect the grain size or grain morphology of the base metal. However, the recrystallization process can be further promoted in the weld nugget zone and transition zone. Meanwhile, the grain size is refined and the residual stress is significantly reduced in the welded joint after the same heat treatment. Under the synergetic strengthening effect of the γ′ phase, semi-aging heat treatment increased the micro-hardness of the weld nugget zone from 470 HV to 530 HV and improved the average tensile strength at room temperature by 118 MPa. These findings provide a reference for the selection of the heat treatment process after inertia friction welding of nickel-based powder metallurgy superalloys.
Nanopore Is Preferable over Illumina for 16S Amplicon Sequencing of the Gut Microbiota When Species-Level Taxonomic Classification, Accurate Estimation of Richness, or Focus on Rare Taxa Is Required
Authors: Szoboszlay Márton , Schramm Laetitia , Pinzauti David , Scerri Jeanesse , Sandionigi Anna , Biazzo Manuele
Published: March 2023

Nanopore sequencing is a promising technology used for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing as it can provide full-length 16S reads and has a low up-front cost that allows research groups to set up their own sequencing workflows. To assess whether Nanopore with the improved error rate of the Kit 12 chemistry should be adopted as the preferred sequencing technology instead of Illumina for 16S amplicon sequencing of the gut microbiota, we used a mock community and human faecal samples to compare diversity, richness, and species-level community structure, as well as the replicability of the results. Nanopore had less noise, better accuracy with the mock community, a higher proportion of reads from the faecal samples classified to species, and better replicability. The difference between the Nanopore and Illumina results of the faecal bacterial community structure was significant but small compared to the variation between samples. The results show that Nanopore is a better choice for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing when the focus is on species-level taxonomic resolution, the investigation of rare taxa, or an accurate estimation of richness. Illumina 16S sequencing should be reserved for communities with many unknown species, and for studies that require the resolution of amplicon sequence variants.
Blue Microbiology—Aquatic Microbial Resources for Sustainable Life on Earth
Authors: Ramesh Chatragadda , Dufossé Laurent
Published: March 2023

The exploration of the microbial world in research continues to be fascinating and unending in several aspects of taxonomy, genomics, evolution, and industrial applications [...]
Beneficial Effects of Hordenine on a Model of Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Xu Zhengguang , Zhang Qilian , Ding Ce , Wen Feifei , Sun Fang , Liu Yanzhan , Tao Chunxue , Yao Jing
Published: March 2023

Hordenine, a phenethylamine alkaloid, is found in a variety of plants and exhibits a broad array of biological activities and pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. However, the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of hordenine in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) remain unclear. To address this, we examined the therapeutic effects of hordenine on dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced UC by comparing disease activity index (DAI), colon length, secretion of inflammatory factors, and degree of colonic histological lesions across diseased mice that were and were not treated with hordenine. We found that hordenine significantly reduced DAI and levels of pro-inflammatory factors, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and also alleviated colon tissue oedema, colonic lesions, inflammatory cells infiltration and decreased the number of goblet cells. Moreover, in vitro experiments showed that hordenine protected intestinal epithelial barrier function by increasing the expression of tight junction proteins including ZO-1 and occludin, while also promoting the healing of intestinal mucosa. Using immunohistochemistry and western blotting, we demonstrated that hordenine reduced the expression of sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1), sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1), and ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), and it inhibited the expression of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) in colon tissues. Thus, hordenine appears to be effective in UC treatment owing to pharmacological mechanisms that favor mucosal healing and the inhibition of SPHK-1/S1PR1/STAT3 signaling.
Crosstalk Classification Based on Synthetically Consider Crosstalk and Fragmentation RMCSA in Multi-Core Fiber-Based EONs
Authors: Chen Yanbo , Feng Nan , Zhou Yue , Ren Danping , Zhao Jijun
Published: March 2023

Space division multiplexing elastic optical networks (SDM-EONs) based on multi-core fiber (MCF) technologies have attracted widespread attention as a potential means of enhancing large capacity and high flexibility. However, inter-core crosstalk (XT) degrades the quality of transmission. The algorithm for minimizing XT leads to an increase in spectrum fragmentation in the lightpath, which influences the spectrum utilization. Therefore, the question of how to comprehensively consider the two factors and improve the network performance is an issue worthy of study. This paper focuses on maximizing spectrum resource utilization while satisfying the XT constraints. Firstly, we optimize a three-dimensional metric model to evaluate XT and fragmentation more exactly in SDM-EONs. Furthermore, a crosstalk classification (CC) algorithm, which can adjust the XT constraints according to the actual situation of the network, is proposed. Moreover, to match the CC algorithm, we describe the crosstalk and fragmentation in the network and propose a synthetically consider crosstalk and fragmentation (SCCF) algorithm. Finally, simulation results show that the proposed CC-SCCF routing, modulation, core, and spectrum allocation algorithm reduces the XT on existing lightpaths, and also provides a lower probability of blocking and greater spectrum utilization.
Lensed Fiber-Optic Two-Photon Endomicroscopy for Field-of-View Enhancement
Authors: Wang Conghao , Liu Huilan , Ma Jianrui , Fu Qiang , Li Yijun , Chen Yanchuan , Gao Yuqian , Tian Jingquan , Luo Xinlei , Yu Fei , Zhao Chunzhu , Wu Runlong , Wang Aimin , Feng Lishuang
Published: March 2023

Two-photon endomicroscopy is a promising technique with the ability to achieve in situ imaging and diagnosis at subcellular resolution. The large field-of-view capability is essential and useful to locate and image suspicious areas of biological tissue. In this work, we report objective-lens-free, lensed fiber-optic two-photon endomicroscopy for field-of-view enhancement. The field of view of this two-photon endomicroscopic probe is 750 μm with a resolution of 3.03 μm. This 1.6 g miniature probe has an integrated outer diameter of 5.8 mm and a rigid length of 33.5 mm. The imaging performance of the lensed-fiber-optic two-photon endomicroscopy was validated by examining an ex vivo mouse heart, kidney, brain, stomach wall tissues, and in vivo brain tissue.
The Effect of GaSb Substrate Oxidation Layer on InAs/GaSb Type II Superlattice
Authors: Liu Jiabo , Zhu Lianqing , Gong Ruixin , Liu Bingfeng , Gong Mingliang , Feng Qingsong , Chen Zhiping , Zhang Dongliang , Zheng Xiantong , Feng Yulin , Lu Lidan , Liu Yuan
Published: March 2023

Type-II superlattices (T2SLs) are emerging as next-generation materials for infrared detectors. The epitaxial quality of T2SLs is of great importance to the performance of infrared detectors such as dark current and detectivity. Herein, we explore the effect of the native GaSb oxide layer on the surface morphology and crystal quality of InAs/GaSb T2SLs grown with molecular beam epitaxy. The experimental results demonstrate that the thickness of the oxidation layer on GaSb substrates gradually increases over time and is saturated at around 73 Å in the natural oxidation condition. Moreover, the oxidation process is sensitive to humidity. As the thickness of the GaSb oxide layer increases from 18.79 Å to 61.54 Å, the full width at half maximum of the first satellite peak increases from 38.44 to 61.34 arcsec in X-ray diffraction measurements, and the root mean square roughness increases from 0.116 nm to 0.171 nm in atomic force microscopy measurements. Our results suggest that the thickness of the GaSb oxide layer should be less than 55 Å to obtain smooth buffer layers and qualified superlattices. The work provides an optimized direction for achieving high-quality superlattices for infrared optoelectronic devices.
Application of High-Gradient Magnetic Separation for the Recovery of Super-Paramagnetic Polymer Adsorbent Used in Adsorption and Desorption Processes
Authors: Tseng Jyi-Yeong , Chang Chia-Chi , Tu Cheng-Wen , Yuan Min-Hao , Chang Ching-Yuan , Chang Chiung-Fen , Chen Yi-Hung , Shie Je-Lueng , Ji Dar-Ren , Liu Bo-Liang , Franzreb Matthias
Published: March 2023

This study examined the application of high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) for recycling of super-paramagnetic polymer adsorbent (MPA), namely, polyvinyl acetate-iminodiacetic acid. The HGMS can be incorporated with the adsorption and desorption processes (ADPs) with fresh or regenerated desorbed MPAs and exhausted adsorbed MPAs, respectively. This combines the permanent magnet’s advantage of low running costs with the easy operation using the solenoid to flush the filter in place. The effects of the inlet concentration of MPA in solution (CLF,i) and the fluid velocity (v0) or volumetric flow rate (QLF) on the performance of the recovery of MPA via HGMS were assessed. The results indicated that the separation efficiency (η or P0), breakthrough time (tB) and exhaustion time (tE) of HGMS reduce as CLF,i, as well as v0, increases. Further, the filter saturated capture capacity (σS) of HGMS also decreases with increasing v0. The effect of v0 on tB proportional to 1/v02 is more significant than that on σS proportional to 1/v0. A kinetic model of HGMS shows good agreements for the experimental and predicted breakthrough results, with determination coefficients of 0.985–0.995. The information obtained in this study is useful for the rational design and proper operation of a HGMS system for the recycling and reuse of MPA in ADPs.
Microbiological Contamination of Brine Feeding a Closed-Cycle Graduation Tower and Its Potential Human Exposure
Authors: Bodziacki Stanisław , Wolny-Koładka Katarzyna
Published: March 2023

Given the growing interest among residents of large agglomerations in inhalation treatments in urban graduation towers, as well as the lack of research on the microbiological safety of brine, an attempt was made to provide new and unique information on the potential epidemiological risks that may occur in such places. The study covered one of Krakow’s brine graduation towers, opened in 2020, attracting crowds of city residents and tourists every spring/summer season. Based on a two-year microbiological study of brine, which included analysis of the presence of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria in it, as well as indicators of microbiological water quality, i.e., Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus spp., and Salmonella spp., it was concluded that contamination increased periodically. According to standards for inhalation waters, acceptable counts of selected microorganisms were exceeded, especially during the holiday season. It was, undoubtedly, related to weather conditions conducive to outdoor inhalation treatments, and thus the large number of heath resort visitors present near the graduation tower. Despite the fact that our study provides epidemiologically disturbing results, it is extremely valuable because it constitutes a starting point for discussion of the health safety of urban graduation towers. The study is also an opportunity to take measures to improve the microbiological quality of the brine in the closed cycle of graduation towers.
Soil Improvement Using Blends of Coal Ash and Plantain Peel Ash as Road Pavement Layer Materials
Authors: Akinwumi Isaac , Onyeiwu Manuela , Epelle Promise , Ajayi Victor
Published: March 2023

The management of waste and its environmental impact remains an issue. Thus, various strategies are being explored to mitigate this problem. For this research case, the ash of plantain peel and coal was harnessed to enhance soil for usage in designing road pavements. The form of the soil, as regards its plasticity and grain assortment, positions it as a sandy lean clay material. Geotechnical parameters of the natural soil were established before being treated with coal ash (CA) and plantain peel ash (PPA), and subjected to tests for the Atterberg limits, California bearing ratio (CBR) and compaction, as well as investigations pertaining to its crystallinity and morphology. These assessments showed that strength parameters of soil increased on adding CA and PPA. However, the inclusion of these admixtures should be conducted until optimal strength is achieved as seen in 9% CA + 6% PPA. The use of soil stabilised with CA and PPA is suitable for general fillings and embankments. These findings revealed that integrating CA and PPA together would have the potential of stabilising soil as pavement layer material while also eliminating the pollution that emerges from the improper disposal of coal and plantain peels from the environment.
Mechanism Study and Performance Evaluation of Nano-Materials Used to Improve Wellbore Stability
Authors: Ye Yan , Song Hanxuan , Zhu Jinzhi , Zheng Weiru , Zhou Fujian , Zhou Guangxu , Zhang Qingwen
Published: March 2023

In the drilling process of Tarim Oilfield, a representative of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs, there are many problems of wellbore stability/instability caused by the development of a large number of micro-fractures. According to the nano-plugging mechanism, rigid nano-SiO2 and deformable nano-paraffin emulsion are added to the drilling fluid to improve the plugging rate. The effect of nanomaterials on the mechanical properties of limestone in the Karatal Formation was evaluated through a triaxial mechanical experiment, and it was found that rigid nano-SiO2 can have a better plugging effect under high formation pressure. It can increase the compressive strength of the limestone core by 10.32% and the cohesion of the core by 12.19%, and the internal friction angle of the core was increased from 25.67° to 26.39°. The internal structure of the core after nano-blocking was observed using CT scanning, and the fracture distribution state of the core before and after plugging and the fracture characteristics of the core under the pressure gradient were obtained, which confirmed that nano-SiO2 can effectively solve the fracture problem of deep limestone caused by micro-fractures.
‘Lean Dancing’: How Involvement in Continuous Improvement and Lean Techniques Relate to Hospital Performance and Workers’ Wellbeing through Autonomy
Authors: van Kleeff Robert , van Harten Jasmijn , Knies Eva , Boselie Paul
Published: March 2023

This study examines Lean—conceptualized as Involvement in Continuous Improvement and Lean Techniques—in hospitals. Specifically, we aim to determine the extent to which hospital workers’ perceptions of Lean are related to perceptions of their performance and wellbeing, and to what extent these relationships are explained by autonomy. Our data (n = 754) come from a Lean implementation study in a Dutch hospital, and are analysed using structural equation modelling. First, our results indicate that Involvement in Continuous Improvement positively relates to hospital workers’ perceptions of several dimensions of hospital performance (quality, service, efficiency, and predictability) and their own wellbeing (burnout and engagement)—a mutual benefit for both employer and employees. However, we also show that the Lean Techniques do not significantly relate to wellbeing. Second, our study reveals that it is essential to distinguish between responsible autonomy and choice autonomy, as we found differing mediating effects. Based on these findings, we recommend HR executives to move away from approaches that focus on happy few and to move away from approaches that focus on techniques.
You Say Tough, I Say Hope: An Effect of CEO Regulatory Focus on Corporate Social Performance under Challenging Market Conditions
Authors: Lee Seunghye , Jung Rami
Published: March 2023

This study explores the effect of CEO regulatory focus (i.e., promotion vs. prevention) on corporate social performance (CSP). Given that corporate social activities are an outcome-uncertain risky investment, we propose that CEOs with promotion focus (vs. prevention focus) would actively seek CSP, since promotion focus involves risk-taking propensity and prevention focus involves risk-avoiding behavior. We further propose that such a tendency should be more pronounced, especially when market conditions are uncertain. Using a panel sample of U.S. listed firms and conducting content analysis of CEO letters in annual reports, we found that only promotion-focused CEOs tend to promote CSP, and such a tendency is more salient in tough market conditions where firms face a lower level of munificence and a higher level of stakeholder expectation in the markets. We conclude that promotion-focused CEOs tend to seek hope even when situations are hopeless.
Analysis of Green Development of Aquaculture in China Based on Entropy Method
Authors: Ying Xing , Ying Ping
Published: March 2023

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of aquatic products. With the rapid economic development of our country and the great improvement of people’s living standards, people have put forward higher requirements for beautiful water ecological environments and high-quality aquaculture products, and promoting aquaculture green development has become an important initiative to promote high-quality sustainable development of aquaculture. Therefore, the assessment and analysis of the current green development level of the aquaculture industry have important practical significance for comprehensively grasping the current green development status of the aquaculture industry in China, purposefully breaking the development bottleneck, and promoting green and sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. This paper obtains comprehensive evaluation results of the green development of aquaculture in China from 2012 to 2021 by constructing a green development index system of aquaculture and applying the entropy method. The results show that the green development level of aquaculture in China has a fluctuating upward trend, with a good development momentum. The production and living standards of fishermen are important aspects that affect its development. In order to further promote the green development of aquaculture in China, countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the following aspects: improving the green subsidy policy, improving the level of supervision and service, strengthening scientific and technological innovation and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and making full use of the unique advantages according to local conditions.
A Gas Leakage Detection Device Based on the Technology of TinyML †
Authors: Tsoukas Vasileios , Gkogkidis Anargyros , Boumpa Eleni , Papafotikas Stefanos , Kakarountas Athanasios
Published: March 2023

Internet of Things devices are frequently used as consumer devices to provide digital solutions, such as smart lighting and digital voice-activated assistants, but they are also employed to alert residents in the instance of an emergency. Given the increasingly costly nature of present neural network systems, it is necessary to transport information to the cloud for intelligent machine analysis. TinyML is a potential technology that has been presented by the research world for building fully independent and safe devices that can gather, analyze, and produce data, without transferring it to distant organizations. This paper describes a gas leakage detection system based on TinyML. The proposed solution can be programmed to identify anomalies and warn occupants via the utilization of the BLE technology, in addition to an incorporated LCD screen. Experiments have been employed to show and assess two distinct test situations. For the first occasion, the smoke detection test case, the system earned an F1-Score of 0.77, whereas the F1-Score for the ammonia test case was 0.70.
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in China: An Analysis of Reasons through Mixed Methods
Authors: Sun Yao , Li Xi , Guo Difan
Published: March 2023

This study aims to investigate the causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the Chinese population. The LDA model and content analysis were used to analyze the content of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy expressed by the Chinese on Weibo from 2020 to 2022, the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy, and the changes in the reasons for vaccine hesitancy over time. The study found that when the Chinese expressed vaccine hesitancy, it usually involved themes such as information access (18.59%), vaccination services (13.91%), and physical illness (13.24%), and topics such as vaccination process (6.83%), allergic diseases (6.59%), and international news (6.43%). Constraints (35.48%), confidence (17.94%), and calculation (15.99%) are the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy on Weibo. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of how the Chinese express vaccine hesitancy in social media and the reasons and changes for vaccine hesitancy, which can help inspire public health experts, health organizations, or governments in various countries to improve the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy.
El activismo jurídico de la Corte Constitucional en matrimonio igualitario
Authors: Pinargoty Alonzo Mauro Alfredo
Published: March 2023

La celebración del matrimonio igualitario en Ecuador, es un tema de interés en el activismo jurídico contemporáneo. El objetivo fue analizar la importancia de la sentencia Nº 10-18-CN/19 de la Corte Constitucional, que autorizó el matrimonio igualitario en Ecuador, generado por la negativa de celebrar dicho vínculo entre dos personas del mismo sexo por parte del Registro Civil, Identificación y Cedulación del Ecuador. Se realizó una investigación explicativa de carácter descriptivo, en la cual se puntualizó de forma detallada la jurisprudencia ecuatoriana que autorizó al matrimonio igualitario y sus consecuencias. El resultado denota que, en virtud del principio de convencionalidad, Ecuador está obligado a autorizar esta clase de matrimonio. Se concluye que, es evidente el incumplimiento de esta normativa generando responsabilidad internacional del Estado ecuatoriano porque la Asamblea Nacional no ha cumplido con la incorporación de una legislación sobre el matrimonio que incluya como cónyuges a las parejas del mismo sexo.