bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relative impact of injury and deployment on mental and physical quality of life among military service members
Authors: Kolaja Claire , Castañeda Sheila F. , Woodruff Susan I. , Rull Rudolph P. , Armenta Richard F. ,   for the Millennium Cohort Study Team
Published: September 2022

US service members injured in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to survive than those in previous conflicts because of advances in medicine and protective gear. However, there is limited research examining the long-term impact of injuries while deployed on physical and mental quality of life (QOL) among service members. We used data from two time-points with an average follow-up period of 4.27 years (SD = 2.13; n = 118,054) to prospectively examine the association between deployment and injury status with QOL. Data were derived from the Millennium Cohort Study surveys (2001 to 2016) and linked with the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DoD-TR) among a cohort of US service members from all branches and components. The primary predictor (a combination of deployment and injury status) was comprised of the following four categories: 1) not deployed, 2) deployed and not injured, 3) deployed and non-battle injured, and 4) deployed and battle injured. Demographic, military, psychological and behavioral health, and life stress factors were adjusted for in multivariable models. Outcomes of interest were physical and mental QOL from the Short-Form Health Survey for Veterans (VR-36) measured at ~4 year follow-up. Between group comparisons indicated that those deployed and battle-injured had the greatest decline in both mental (-3.82) and physical (-10.13) QOL scores over time (p < .05). While deployment and injury status were associated with poorer mental and physical QOL in adjusted models; only the association between deployment and injury status with physical QOL was clinically meaningful (more than 2.5). In adjusted models, Time 1 mental and physical QOL explained most of the variance (23–25%) in Time 2 mental and physical health QOL as compared to other covariates (e.g., injury and deployment, and other sociodemographic factors increased variance by ~5%). Time 1 QOL was the most significant predictor of later QOL, but those injured while deployed experienced significant and meaningful decrements to long-term physical QOL. This suggests that prevention and rehabilitation interventions should focus on improving physical health among injured service members to avoid long-term adverse effects.
Tourism’s long- and short-term influence on global cities’ economic growth: The case of Hong Kong
Authors: Tai Andy C. L. , Wong David W. H. , Lee Harry F. , Qiang W.
Published: September 2022

This research examines how tourism development has impacted economic growth in a global city–Hong Kong. A large body of research has investigated national tourism-led growth in developed and developing countries. However, many such studies have overlooked how policies aimed at fostering the development of tourism affect the local economic development of global cities. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments liberalized their visa policies with the launch of the Individual Visit Scheme in 2003. Such liberalization has led to significantly more tourist arrival from China. Our autoregressive distributed lag model of tourism-related data from 2003 to 2019 provides strong evidence that more tourism can spur short-run economic growth. Yet, such tourism can lead to uncertain effects on local economic development in the longer run. Hong Kong’s transient tourism-led growth has almost entered the stagnation stage of the Tourism Area Life Cycle model. During such stagnation, jurisdictions like Hong Kong can expect limited long-term economic growth from their tourist sector. Our findings thus sound a warning for global cities looking to tourism to sustain longer-term economic growth.
Rapid assessment of hand reaching using virtual reality and application in cerebellar stroke
Authors: Isenstein E. L. , Waz T. , LoPrete A. , Hernandez Y. , Knight E. J. , Busza A. , Tadin D.
Published: September 2022

The acquisition of sensory information about the world is a dynamic and interactive experience, yet the majority of sensory research focuses on perception without action and is conducted with participants who are passive observers with very limited control over their environment. This approach allows for highly controlled, repeatable experiments and has led to major advances in our understanding of basic sensory processing. Typical human perceptual experiences, however, are far more complex than conventional action-perception experiments and often involve bi-directional interactions between perception and action. Innovations in virtual reality (VR) technology offer an approach to close this notable disconnect between perceptual experiences and experiments. VR experiments can be conducted with a high level of empirical control while also allowing for movement and agency as well as controlled naturalistic environments. New VR technology also permits tracking of fine hand movements, allowing for seamless empirical integration of perception and action. Here, we used VR to assess how multisensory information and cognitive demands affect hand movements while reaching for virtual targets. First, we manipulated the visibility of the reaching hand to uncouple vision and proprioception in a task measuring accuracy while reaching toward a virtual target (n = 20, healthy young adults). The results, which as expected revealed multisensory facilitation, provided a rapid and a highly sensitive measure of isolated proprioceptive accuracy. In the second experiment, we presented the virtual target only briefly and showed that VR can be used as an efficient and robust measurement of spatial memory (n = 18, healthy young adults). Finally, to assess the feasibility of using VR to study perception and action in populations with physical disabilities, we showed that the results from the visual-proprioceptive task generalize to two patients with recent cerebellar stroke. Overall, we show that VR coupled with hand-tracking offers an efficient and adaptable way to study human perception and action.
Simulating the spatiotemporal variations of oasis rural settlements in the upper reaches of rivers of arid regions in Xinjiang, China
Authors: Xie Ling , Wang Hongwei , Liu Suhong
Published: September 2022

Rural settlements in oasis are primary habitations, and their changes are related to natural environment and anthropogenic activities. The spatiotemporal variations of rural settlements in an oasis are significant in arid regions. In this study, Qipan Township (QPT) and Yamansu Township (YMST) were chosen as a case study and validation case, respectively. Datasets, including Landsat images in 2002, 2010, and 2018, were collected. The cellular automata (CA)-agent-based model (ABM) and patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model were used to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamic variations of rural settlement and other land use types in the oasis in this study. Natural environmental, socioeconomic conditions, and human decision-making are the three driving factors that were used in the model. Human decision-making involves the actions of two types of agents: authority agent and resident agent. On the basis of land use data of 2002 and 2010, the rural settlement and other land use in 2018 were predicted using the CA-MAS and PLUS models. The following results were obtained: First, human decision-making behaviors were the leading factor in the changes of rural settlements in the CA-ABM model. Second, CA based on multiple random seed (CARS) of PLUS could better simulate the spatiotemporal variations of QPT rural settlements than CA-ABM and linear regression of PLUS. Similarly, CARS of PLUS also simulated the spatiotemporal evolution of rural settlements in YMST with high accuracy. Third, the areas of croplands, roads, and residential lands in QPT will expand to 20.7, 5.7, and 4.6 km2, respectively, in 2026, but the unused land will shrink, as predicted by CARS of PLUS. This study provides a scientific basis for the environmental protection of rural settlements in the oasis and sustainable settlement planning in arid regions.
Factors influencing birth preparedness and complication readiness among childbearing age women in Thatta district, Sindh
Authors: Noor Ruquia , Shahid Farhana , Hydrie Muhammad Zafar Iqbal , Imran Muhammad , Shah Syed Hassan Bin Usman
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) is a broad system to increase the practice of trained health provision at the time of childbirth and the key interventions to decrease mothers’ and newborns’ death. However, its status and influencing factors have not been well studied at different levels in the study area. The current study aimed to assess the BPCR status and explore its associated factors influencing BPCR among childbearing age women in Thatta, District of Sindh.

Methods

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 770 recently delivered mothers from October 2016 –September 2017, recruited using a multistage cluster sampling technique. A structured validated close-ended questionnaire measuring BPCR knowledge and practices was used for the interviews. The results were analyzed by means of the Chi-square test, and a binary logistic regression model was used to determine the factors influencing BPCR.

Results

The overall response rate was 94.6%, with a low BPCR status. Out of 770 participants, only 163 (21.2%) were well prepared, while 607 (78.8%) were not prepared for safe childbirth and its complications. A small proportion of women knew about the serious warning signs of pregnancy, labour, childbirth and the postpartum period (16.2%), (15.3%) and (22.7%) respectively. Antenatal care (ANC) checkup (P < 0.001), cost of ANC checkup (p = 0.016), place of birth (p = 0.014), awareness of serious warning signs during pregnancy (p = 0.001) and awareness of serious warning signs during the postpartum period (p < 0.001) were found to be significant predictors of BPCR.

Conclusion

The proportion of women who were well prepared for birth and its complications was low. It is recommended to organize community-based education campaigns and improve the quality of MNCH services at every level to increase BPCR among women in Sindh.
Provider perceptions of severe pediatric traumatic brain injury care priorities across hospitals in South America before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Deshpande Shyam J. , Velonjara Julia , Lujan Silvia , Petroni Gustavo , Wang Jin , Patel Kushang V. , Boyle Linda Ng , Bell Michael J. , Vavilala Monica S. ,   for the PEGASUS Argentina Study Group
Published: September 2022

Background

To understand provider perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic on priorities of severe pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) care across hospitals in South America.

Methods

Site principal investigators (PIs) from 17 hospitals in South America enrolled in the PEGASUS-Argentina randomized controlled trial completed questionnaires regarding order of tasks performed in the care of a typical pediatric patient with severe TBI before (2019) and during (2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. Acute care processes were examined by quintiles to identify early, mid, and late actions and were categorized and compared. Associations of hospital volume and subspecialty resource availability with prioritization of key process actions were examined.

Finding

Site PIs from 15 and 16 hospitals completed the surveys in 2019 and 2021, respectively, including 14 who completed both. Action category order was stable between 2019 and 2021 and were ranked in priorities as: initial encounter, primary survey, interventions and invasive monitors, diagnostics, medications, staff communication, then disposition (in 2019) or nutrition (in 2021). There was variation in specific action order between hospitals at both timepoints, with only a few initial encounter and disposition actions limited to a single quintile. There was no reported association between hospital volume or subspecialty resource availability with prioritization of key process actions.

Interpretation

Despite novel healthcare challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, providers in South America perceived maintaining standard severe pediatric TBI care consistent with BTF guidelines. There was large variability in specific action order between individual hospitals reported.
Performance of new nonparametric Tukey modified exponentially weighted moving average—Moving average control chart
Authors: Talordphop Khanittha , Sukparungsee Saowanit , Areepong Yupaporn
Published: September 2022

Control charts are an amazing and essential statistical process control (SPC) instrument that is commonly used in monitoring systems to detect a specific defect in the procedure. The mixed Tukey modified exponentially weighted moving average - moving average control chart (MMEM-TCC) with motivation detection ability for fewer shifts in the process mean under symmetric and non-symmetric distributions is proposed in this paper. Average run length (ARL), standard deviation of run length (SDRL), and median run length (MRL) were used as efficiency criteria in the Monte Carlo simulation, and their efficiency was compared to existing control charts. Furthermore, the expected ARL (EARL) is a method for evaluating the performance of control charts beyond a specific range of shift sizes. The distinguishing feature of the proposed chart is that it performs efficiently in detecting small to moderate shifts. There are applications for PM 2.5 and PM 10 data that demonstrate the performance of the proposed chart.
A novel machine learning approach to predict the export price of seafood products based on competitive information: The case of the export of Vietnamese shrimp to the US market
Authors: Khiem Nguyen Minh , Takahashi Yuki , Yasuma Hiroki , Dong Khuu Thi Phuong , Hai Tran Ngoc , Kimura Nobuo
Published: September 2022

Predicting the export price of shrimp is important for Vietnam’s fisheries. It not only promotes product quality but also helps policy makers determine strategies to develop the national shrimp industry. Competition in global markets is considered to be an important factor, one that significantly influences price. In this study, we predicted trends in the export price of Vietnamese shrimp based on competitive information from six leading exporters (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Ecuador, and Chile) who, alongside Vietnam, also export shrimp to the US. The prediction was based on a dataset collected from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) (May-1995 to May-2019) that included price, required farming certificates, and disease outbreak data. A super learner technique, which combined 10 single algorithms, was used to make predictions in selected base periods (3, 6, 9, and 12 months). It was found that the super learner obtained results in all base periods that were more accurate and stable than any candidate algorithms. The impacts of variables in the predictive model were interpreted by a SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis to determine their influence on the price of Vietnamese exports. The price of Indian, Thai, and Chinese exports highlighted the advantages of being a World Trade Organization member and the disadvantages of the prevalence of shrimp disease in Vietnam, which has had a significant impact on the Vietnamese shrimp export price.
Pooling samples to increase testing capacity with Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 during the Covid-19 pandemic in Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Authors: Iem Vibol , Xangsayarath Phonepadith , Chittamany Phonenaly , Suthepmany Sakhone , Siphanthong Souvimone , Paboriboune Phimpha , Somphavong Silaphet , Konstantina Kontogianni , Khan Jahangir A. M. , Edwards Thomas , Wingfield Tom , Creswell Jacob , Dominguez Jose , Cuevas Luis E.
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for large-scale testing of populations. However, most laboratories do not have sufficient testing capacity for mass screening. We evaluated pooled testing of samples, as a strategy to increase testing capacity in Lao PDR. Samples of consecutive patients were tested in pools of four using the Xpert Xpress SARS CoV-2 assay. Positive pools were confirmed by individual testing, and we describe the performance of the test and savings achieved. We also diluted selected positive samples to describe its effect on the assays CT values. 1,568 patients were tested in 392 pools of four. 361 (92.1%) pools were negative and 31 (7.9%) positive. 29/31 (93.5% (95%CI 77–99%) positive pools were confirmed by individual testing of the samples but, in 2/31 (6.5%) the four individual samples were negative, suggesting contamination. Pools with only one positive sample had higher CT values (lower RNA concentrations) than the respective individual samples, indicating a dilution effect, which suggested an increased risk of false negative results with dilutions >1:10. However, this risk may be low if the prevalence of infection is high, when pools are more likely to contain more than one positive sample. Pooling saved 67% of cartridges and substantially increased testing capacity. Pooling samples increased SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity and resulted in considerable cartridge savings. Given the need for high-volume testing, countries may consider implementation of pooling for SARS-CoV-2 screening.
Sweet spot in music—Is predictability preferred among persons with psychotic-like experiences or autistic traits?
Authors: Lisøy Rebekka Solvik , Pfuhl Gerit , Sunde Hans Fredrik , Biegler Robert
Published: September 2022

People prefer music with an intermediate level of predictability; not so predictable as to be boring, yet not so unpredictable that it ceases to be music. This sweet spot for predictability varies due to differences in the perception of predictability. The symptoms of both psychosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder have been attributed to overestimation of uncertainty, which predicts a preference for predictable stimuli and environments. In a pre-registered study, we tested this prediction by investigating whether psychotic and autistic traits were associated with a higher preference for predictability in music. Participants from the general population were presented with twenty-nine pre-composed music excerpts, scored on their complexity by musical experts. A participant’s preferred level of predictability corresponded to the peak of the inverted U-shaped curve between music complexity and liking (i.e., a Wundt curve). We found that the sweet spot for predictability did indeed vary between individuals. Contrary to predictions, we did not find support for these variations being associated with autistic and psychotic traits. The findings are discussed in the context of the Wundt curve and the use of naturalistic stimuli. We also provide recommendations for further exploration.
Testing the practical utility of implicit measures of beliefs for predicting drunk driving
Authors: Cathelyn Femke , Van Dessel Pieter , De Houwer Jan
Published: September 2022

Despite the potential benefits of implicit measures over self-report measures, they are rarely used in real-world contexts to predict behavior. Two potential reasons are that (a) traditional implicit measures typically show low predictive validity and (b) the practical utility of implicit measures has hardly been investigated. The current studies test the practical utility of a new generation of implicit measures for predicting drunk driving. Study 1 (N = 290) examined whether an implicit measure of beliefs about past drunk driving (i.e., the Past Driving Under the Influence Implicit Association Test; P-DUI-IAT) retrospectively predicts drunk driving in driving school students, a population for which this measure could have applied value. Study 1 also explored whether P-DUI-IAT scores prospectively predicted drunk driving over six months. Due to the low number of offenders, however, Study 1 had low statistical power to test this latter question. In Study 2 (N = 228), we therefore examined the utility of the P-DUI-IAT and a new variant of this test (i.e., the Acceptability of Driving Under the Influence Implicit Association Test; A-DUI-IAT) to prospectively predict drunk driving in an online sample with a high number of offenders. Results from Study 1 show that the P-DUI-IAT predicts self-rated past drunk driving behavior in driving school students (ORs = 3.11–6.12, ps < .043, 95% CIs = [1.11, 37.69]). Results from Study 1 do not show evidence for utility of the P-DUI-IAT to prospectively predict self-rated drunk driving. Results from Study 2, on the other hand, show strong evidence for the utility of both implicit measures to prospectively predict self-rated drunk driving (ORs = 3.80–5.82, ps < .002, 95% CIs = [1.72, 14.47]). Although further applied research is necessary, the current results could provide a first step towards the application of implicit measures in real-world contexts.
Association between physiotherapist burnout and working environment during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Japan: A multicenter observational study
Authors: Morisawa Fumito , Nishizaki Yuji , Irie Yoshiki , Nojiri Shuko , Matsuo Takahiro , Kobayashi Daiki , Daida Hiroyuki , Minamino Tohru , Takahashi Tetsuya
Published: September 2022

Burnout among physiotherapists has been reported worldwide during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, no information was found on the prevalence of burnout among physiotherapists in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physiotherapists directly providing physiotherapy to patients with COVID-19 in the red zone of 487 medical facilities were evaluated for the prevalence of burnout using the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). The association between the presence or absence of burnout and the working environment was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Among the 566 physiotherapists analyzed, 99 (17.5%) satisfied the MBI-GS criteria for burnout. Multivariate analysis showed that burnout was associated with the year of physiotherapy experiences [odds ratio (OR) 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93–0.99], feeling slight burden with infection control (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32–0.87), not feeling too burdened with infection control (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.06–0.83), establishment of staffing standards for physiotherapy according to the number of beds (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.09–2.96), and relaxation time (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.30–0.82). Moreover, the OR increased as the self-improvement time decreased (OR 38.3, 95% CI 6.64–731). In Japan, the prevalence of burnout among physiotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic was an intermediate value between the prevalence of burnout among physicians and nurses reported in previous studies. This study found the need to establish appropriate staffing standards for physiotherapy and support systems including secure self-improvement time and appropriate training according to physiotherapy experiences and each medical facility.
Identification and mitigation of high-risk pregnancy with the Community Maternal Danger Score Mobile Application in Gboko, Nigeria
Authors: Bola Rajan , Ujoh Fanan , Lett Ronald
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Risk analyses within rural regions of Nigeria are not routinely conducted, yet could help inform access to skilled birth care. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the proportion of pregnant women at risk for maternal mortality or morbidity in Benue State, Nigeria by analysing data collected during routine antenatal visits and through the Community Maternal Danger Score (CMDS), a validated risk-analysis tool.

Methods

Two cohorts, comprised of pregnant women presenting to primary healthcare centres within Gboko, Benue State between 2015–2017 and 2020–2021, were included in this study. The 2015–2017 cohort had their risk assessed retrospectively through analysis of routinely collected data. Identification of risk was based on their age, parity, and disease status (HIV and diabetes). The 2020–2021 cohort had their risk assessed prospectively using the CMDS.

Results

Routinely collected data from 2015–2017 demonstrated that up to 14.9% of women in Gboko were at risk for mortality or morbidity. The CMDS reported that up to 21.5% of women were at a similar level of risk; a significant difference of 6.6% (p = 0.006). The CMDS was more efficient in obtaining and assessing this data, and the identification of risk occurred in real-time.

Conclusion

Routine data collected in Gboko identifies a high proportion of pregnant women at risk for mortality or morbidity. The CMDS is an evidence-based risk analysis tool that expands on this assessment by also estimating individual and community-level risk, which allows for more efficient mitigation and prevention strategies of maternal mortality.
Correlation of Sedline-generated variables and clinical signs with anaesthetic depth in experimental pigs receiving propofol
Authors: Mirra Alessandro , Spadavecchia Claudia , Levionnois Olivier
Published: September 2022

Most of currently available electroencephalographic (EEG)-based tools to assess depth of anaesthesia have not been studied or have been judged unreliable in pigs. Our primary aim was to investigate the dose-effect relationship between increasing propofol dose and variables generated by the EEG-based depth of anaesthesia monitor Sedline in pigs. A secondary aim was to compare the anaesthetic doses with clinical outcomes commonly used to assess depth of anaesthesia in this species. Sixteen juvenile pigs were included. Propofol infusion was administered at 10 mg kg-1 h-1, increased by 10 mg kg-1 h-1 every 15 minutes, and stopped when an EEG Suppression ratio >80% was reached. Patient state index, suppression ratio, left and right spectral edge frequency 95%, and outcomes from commonly used clinical methods to assess depth of anaesthesia in pigs were recorded. The best pharmacodynamic model was assessed for Patient state index, suppression ratio, left and right spectral edge frequency 95% in response to propofol administration. The decrease of Patient state index best fitted to an inhibitory double-sigmoid model (including a plateau phase). The increase of suppression ratio fitted a typical sigmoid Emax model. No relevant relationship could be identified between spectral edge frequency 95% values and propofol administration. A large variability in clinical outcomes was observed among pigs, such that they did not provide a reliable evaluation of propofol dose. The relationship between propofol dose and Patient state index/suppression ratio described in the present study can be used for prediction in future investigations. The evaluation of depth of anaesthesia based on common clinical outcomes was not reliable.
Rta is the principal activator of Epstein-Barr virus epithelial lytic transcription
Authors: Ali Ahmed , Ohashi Makoto , Casco Alejandro , Djavadian Reza , Eichelberg Mark , Kenney Shannon C. , Johannsen Eric
Published: September 2022

The transition from latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection to lytic viral replication is mediated by the viral transcription factors Rta and Zta. Although both are required for virion production, dissecting the specific roles played by Rta and Zta is challenging because they induce each other’s expression. To circumvent this, we constructed an EBV mutant deleted for the genes encoding Rta and Zta (BRLF1 and BZLF1, respectively) in the Akata strain BACmid. This mutant, termed EBVΔRZ, was used to infect several epithelial cell lines, including telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes, a highly physiologic model of EBV epithelial cell infection. Using RNA-seq, we determined the gene expression induced by each viral transactivator. Surprisingly, Zta alone only induced expression of the lytic origin transcripts BHLF1 and LF3. In contrast, Rta activated the majority of EBV early gene transcripts. As expected, Zta and Rta were both required for expression of late gene transcripts. Zta also cooperated with Rta to enhance a subset of early gene transcripts (Rtasynergytranscripts) that Zta was unable to activate when expressed alone. Interestingly, Rta and Zta each cooperatively enhanced the other’s binding to EBV early gene promoters, but this effect was not restricted to promoters where synergy was observed. We demonstrate that Zta did not affect Rtasynergytranscript stability, but increased Rtasynergygene transcription despite having no effect on their transcription when expressed alone. Our results suggest that, at least in epithelial cells, Rta is the dominant transactivator and that Zta functions primarily to support DNA replication and co-activate a subset of early promoters with Rta. This closely parallels the arrangement in KSHV where ORF50 (Rta homolog) is the principal activator of lytic transcription and K8 (Zta homolog) is required for DNA replication at oriLyt.
Complex and simple translational readthrough signals in pea enation mosaic virus 1 and potato leafroll virus, respectively
Authors: Chkuaseli Tamari , White K. Andrew
Published: September 2022

Different essential viral proteins are translated via programmed stop codon readthrough. Pea enation mosaic virus 1 (PEMV1) and potato leafroll virus (PLRV) are related positive-sense RNA plant viruses in the family Solemoviridae, and are type members of the Enamovirus and Polerovirus genera, respectively. Both use translational readthrough to express a C-terminally extended minor capsid protein (CP), termed CP-readthrough domain (CP-RTD), from a viral subgenomic mRNA that is transcribed during infections. Limited incorporation of CP-RTD subunits into virus particles is essential for aphid transmission, however the functional readthrough structures that mediate CP-RTD translation have not yet been defined. Through RNA solution structure probing, RNA secondary structure modeling, site-directed mutagenesis, and functional in vitro and in vivo analyses, we have investigated in detail the readthrough elements and complex structure involved in expression of CP-RTD in PEMV1, and assessed and deduced a comparatively simpler readthrough structure for PLRV. Collectively, this study has (i) generated the first higher-order RNA structural models for readthrough elements in an enamovirus and a polerovirus, (ii) revealed a stark contrast in the complexity of readthrough structures in these two related viruses, (iii) provided compelling experimental evidence for the strict requirement for long-distance RNA-RNA interactions in generating the active readthrough signals, (iv) uncovered what could be considered the most complex readthrough structure reported to date, that for PEMV1, and (v) proposed plausible assembly pathways for the formation of the elaborate PEMV1 and simple PLRV readthrough structures. These findings notably advance our understanding of this essential mode of gene expression in these agriculturally important plant viruses.
Posterior Apophyseal Ring Fracture in Adult Lumbar Disc Herniation: An 8-Year Experience in Minimally Invasive Surgical Management of 48 Cases
Authors: Yuan Shuo , Wu Qichao , Zang Lei , Fan Ning , Du Peng , Wang Aobo , Wang Tianyi , Si Fangda , Li Jian , Kong Xiaochuan
Published: September 2022

Objective: Posterior apophyseal ring fracture (PARF) is an uncommon disorder that is usually accompanied by lumbar disc herniation (LDH). The aim of this study to describe the 8-year experience of performing minimally invasive treatment of PARF, giving particular attention to surgical technique and clinical outcome.Methods: We reviewed 1,324 consecutive patients with LDH seen in our department between 2013 and 2020. Forty-eight patients (3.63%) were enrolled who were diagnosed with PARF associated with LDH and underwent transforminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy (TELD). Mean duration of the final postoperative follow-up was 5.1 years. The control group was comprised of 50 patients diagnosed with LDH without PARF at the same facility. Data on clinical outcomes were analyzed.Results: The mean operation time in the PARF group was 105.4 minutes, which was longer than the mean operation time of the control group (83.9 minutes) (p = 0.001). Surgical complications, including dural tears (6.3%) and surgical instrument rupture (4.2%) were more common in the PARF group (p = 0.025). However, there was no significant difference in the proportion of excellent and good results and recurrence rates between the LDH patients with and those without PARF, respectively.Conclusion: TELD is a safe and effective minimally invasive approach for the treatment of PARF. However, minimally invasive techniques may require longer operation time and steeper learning curve for inexperienced surgeons. The separation and removal of bone fragments, a key step in the procedure, requires patience and care to prevent rupture, residual surgical instruments, and leakage of cerebrospinal fluid.
Transcription Profiling of a Revealed the Potential Molecular Mechanism of Governor Vessel Electroacupuncture for Spinal Cord Injury in Rats
Authors: Xiao Xingru , Deng Qingwen , Zeng Xiang , Lai Bi-Qin , Ma Yuan-Huan , Li Ge , Zeng Yuan-Shan , Ding Ying
Published: September 2022

Objective: This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by transcriptome analysis to elucidate a potential mechanism by which governor vessel electroacupuncture (GV-EA) promotes neuronal survival, axonal regeneration, and functional recovery after complete transection spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods: Sham, control, or GV-EA group adult female Sprague Dawley rats underwent a complete transection SCI protocol. SCI area RNA-seq investigated the DEGs of coding and noncoding RNAs 7 days post-SCI. Gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were used to classify DEGs functions, to explain a possible molecular mechanism. Immunofluorescence and BBB (Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan) score were used to verify a GV-EA treatment effect following SCI.Results: GV-EA treatment could regulate the expression of 173 mRNA, 260 lncRNA, and 153 circRNA genes among these DEGs resulted by SCI. GO enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were most enriched in membrane, actin binding, and regulation of Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. KEGG pathway analysis showed enriched pathways (e.g. , Toll-like receptors, MAPK, Hippo signaling). According to the ceRNA network, miR-144-3p played a regulatory role by interacting with lncRNA and circRNA. GV-EA also promoted the injured spinal cord neuron survival, axonal regeneration, and functional improvement of hind limb locomotion.Conclusion: Results of our RNA-seq suggest that post-SCI GV-EA may regulate characteristic changes in transcriptome gene expression, potential critical genes, and signaling pathways, providing clear directions for further investigation into the mechanism of GV-EA in subacute SCI treatment. Moreover, we found that GV-EA promotes neuronal survival, nerve fiber extension, and motor function recovery in subacute SCI.
Kendala Regulasi Kewajiban Pemegang Paten oleh Investor Asing di Indonesia
Authors: Dandy Hediyanto Fahnizar , Raisah Kholis , Lumbanraja Anggita Doramia
Published: September 2022

AbstractThe Obligations of patent holders based on Article 20 as regulated in Law Number 13 of 2016 concerning patents are still relatively problematic. The factors that hinder the process of patent implementation in Indonesia, both from patent holders and/or from the Indonesian government, are a separate problem for patent holders who are foreign citizens. This study uses a normative juridical method, using secondary data. The results of the study conclude that the Patent Law Number 13 of 2016 creates problems, especially for inventors from abroad. So that the Indonesian Government issued Permenkumham Number 30 of 2019 concerning Procedures for Granting Compulsory Patent Licenses as a solution to this problem through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, where patent holders can submit applications for postponement of patent implementation to the Minister along with the background for the delay, in the case of patent holders has not been able to apply his patent in Indonesia after the patent application has been approved. Keywords: Obligations of Patent Holder; Patent Regulations; Foreign Investor ABSTRAKKewajiban pemegang paten berdasarkan Pasal 20 sebagaimana diatur pada Undang-Undang Nomor 13 Tahun 2016 tentang Paten masih relatif mengundang permasalahan. Faktor yang menghalangi untuk proses implementasi paten di Indonesia baik yang berasal dari pemegang paten dan/atau dari pemerintah Indonesia, menjadi permasalahan tersendiri bagi pemegang paten yang merupakan Warga Negara Asing. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif, dengan menggunakan data sekunder. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa Undang-Undang Paten Nomor 13 Tahun 2016 menimbulkan permasalahan terutama untuk investor dari luar negeri. Sehingga Pemerintah Indonesia mengeluarkan Permenkumham Nomor 30 Tahun 2019 tentang Tata Cara Pemberian Lisensi-Wajib Paten sebagai solusi atas permasalahan tersebut melalui Kementerian Hukum dan HAM, dimana Pemegang paten dapat menyampaikan permohonan penundaan pelaksanaan paten kepada Menteri beserta latar belakang atas penundaan tersebut, dalam hal pemegang paten belum mampu untuk menerapkan patennya di Indonesia setelah permohonan paten tersebut disetujui. Kata Kunci: Kewajiban Pemegang Paten; Regulasi Paten; Investor Asing
Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Tertanggung Dari Perusahaan Asuransi Yang Dinyatakan Pailit
Authors: Fatimah Ferial , Badriyah Siti Malikhatun , Irawati Irawati
Published: September 2022

insurance is considered capable of protecting oneself from unexpected risks such as death. This article discusses the position of the insured and the legal protection of the insured if a life insurance company is declared bankrupt. This research uses normative juridical. Data collection techniques are carried out by literature studies and interviews with related informants, namely the curator. When an insurance company is declared bankrupt. The insured's legal position according to the Insurance Act, has a position "as a preferred creditor" with the condition that the insured is in a position "after calculating tax costs, rental costs, electricity costs, employee wages and curator fees". Legal protection is given to the insured, including by appointing a curator as the person in charge of the bankruptcy estate. As a legal event that occurred in "PT Asuransi Jiwa Bumi Asih Jaya" which was bankrupt in 2015 and until 2018 it has not carried out its obligations to pay debts. "PT. Bumi Asih Jaya Life Insurance” bears the business risk due to the non-fulfillment of the solvency level specified in the law.Keywords: insurance; legal protection of the insured; bankruptAbstrakAsuransi jiwa manjadi salah satu produk dari perusahaan asuransi yang diminati masyarakat. Asuransi jiwa dianggap mampu untuk melindungi diri dari resiko diluar yang diharapkan seperti kematian. Artikel ini membahas mengenai kedudukan tertanggung dan perlindungan hukum tertanggung apabila suatu perusahaan asuransi jiwa dinyatakan pailit. Penelitian ini menggunakan yuridis normatif. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan studi pustaka dan wawancara dengan informan terkait yaitu kurator. Ketika perusahaan asuransi dinyatakan pailit. Kedudukan hukum tertanggung sesuai Undang-Undang Perasuransian, memiliki kedudukan “sebagai kreditor preferen” dengan ketentuan tertanggung berada pada posisi “setelah penghitungan biaya pajak, biaya sewa, biaya listrik, upah karyawan dan fee kurator”. Perlindungan hukum diberikan kepada tertanggung diantaranya dengan menunjuk seorang kurator sebagai orang yang mengurusi harta pailit. Sebagaimana peristiwa hukum yang terjadi pada “PT Asuransi Jiwa Bumi Asih Jaya” yang dipailitkan pada tahun 2015 dan sampai 2018 belum melakukan kewajibannya membayar utang. “PT. Asuransi Jiwa Bumi Asih Jaya” menanggung resiko usaha karena tidak terpenuhinya tingkat solvabilitas yang sudah ditentukan dalam Undang-Undang.Kata Kunci : asuransi; perlindungan hukum tertanggung; dinyatakan pailit
Peralihan Hak Atas Tanah Jual Beli Dibawah Tangan Untuk Tanah Yang Belum Bersertifikat Di Kabupaten Kubu Raya
Authors: Al-Himni Muhammad Aldi , Ratna M.S. Edith
Published: September 2022

Transfer of Land Rights is a legal act of transferring rights to land whether intentionally or not, with the aim of releasing these rights from the original holders and becoming the rights of other parts. In reality, transfer of land rights is still carried out under hand because land ownership is still difficult to obtain legal certainty. The formulations of the problems that will be discussed in this study are firstly, how is the legal consequences for purchase of land which carried out under the hands and the registration process for the first time, second how the implementation of registration of land rights which uncertified at the Land Office of Kubu Raya Regency. This study used a normative juridical approach and the specifications in this study are descriptive analysis. Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that the sale and purchase that occurs under the hand is considered valid as long as there are material conditions that can be fulfilled.Keywords: buying and selling under the hand; registration; affirmation of rightsAbstrakPeralihan hak atas tanah merupakan bentuk dari perbuatan hukum pemindahan hak atas tanah yang dilakukan dengan sengaja ataupun tidak yang pada dasarnya bertujuan supaya hak tersebut dapat terlepas dari pemilik awal dan menjadi hak dari pihak lain. Namun pada kenyataannya, masih banyak yang melakukan peralihan hak atas tanah dibawah tangan sehingga untuk mendapatkan kepastian hukum kepemilikan hak atas tanah tersebut masih sulit didapatkan. Rumusan masalah penelitian ini yaitu pertama,  bagaimanakah akibat hukum yang terjadi pada jual beli tanah yang dilakukan dibawah tangan dan proses pendaftarannya untuk pertama kali, kedua bagaimanakah contoh dari implementasi pendaftaran hak atas tanah yang dilakukan terhadap beberapa tanah tanpa sertifikat di kantor Pertanahan Kabupaten Kubu Raya. Metode yang digunakan penelitian ini yaitu pendekatan yuridis normatif dan spesifikasi pada penelitian ini bersifat analisis deskriptif. Berdasarkan dari hasil penelitian maka di dapat hasil jual beli yang terjadi di bawah tangan di anggap tetap sah selama terdapat syarat-syarat materiil yang dapat terpenuhi.Kata kunci: jual beli di bawah tangan; pendaftaran; penegasan hak
Skellam mixture mechanism
Authors: Bao Ergute , Zhu Yizheng , Xiao Xiaokui , Yang Yin , Ooi Beng Chin , Tan Benjamin Hong Meng , Aung Khin Mi Mi
Published: September 2022

Deep neural networks have strong capabilities of memorizing the underlying training data, which can be a serious privacy concern. An effective solution to this problem is to train models withdifferential privacy(DP), which provides rigorous privacy guarantees by injecting random noise to the gradients. This paper focuses on the scenario where sensitive data are distributed among multiple participants, who jointly train a model throughfederated learning, using bothsecure multiparty computation(MPC) to ensure the confidentiality of each gradient update, and differential privacy to avoid data leakage in the resulting model. A major challenge in this setting is that common mechanisms for enforcing DP in deep learning, which injectreal-valued noise, are fundamentally incompatible with MPC, which exchangesfinite-field integersamong the participants. Consequently, most existing DP mechanisms require rather high noise levels, leading to poor model utility.

Motivated by this, we proposeSkellam mixture mechanism(SMM), a novel approach to enforcing DP on models built via federated learning. Compared to existing methods, SMM eliminates the assumption that the input gradients must be integer-valued, and, thus, reduces the amount of noise injected to preserve DP. The theoretical analysis of SMM is highly non-trivial, especially considering (i) the complicated math of DP deep learning in general and (ii) the fact that the mixture of two Skellam distributions is rather complex. Extensive experiments on various practical settings demonstrate that SMM consistently and significantly outperforms existing solutions in terms of the utility of the resulting model.
Efficient load-balanced butterfly counting on GPU
Authors: Xu Qingyu , Zhang Feng , Yao Zhiming , Lu Lv , Du Xiaoyong , Deng Dong , He Bingsheng
Published: September 2022

Butterfly counting is an important and costly operation for large bipartite graphs. GPUs are popular parallel heterogeneous devices and can bring significant performance improvement for data science applications. Unfortunately, no work enables efficient butterfly counting on GPU currently. To fill this gap, we propose a GPU-based butterfly counting, called G-BFC. G-BFC addresses three main technical challenges. First, butterfly counting involves massive serial operations, which leads to severe synchronization overheads and performance degradation. We unlock the serial region and utilize the shared memory on GPU to efficiently handle it. Second, butterfly counting on GPU faces the workload imbalance problem. We develop a novel adaptive strategy to balance the workload among threads for efficiency. Third, butterfly counting in parallel suffers from the traversal of the huge amount of two-hop paths, also called wedges, in bipartite graphs. We develop a novel preprocessing strategy, which can effectively reduce the number of wedges to be traversed. Experiments show that G-BFC brings significant performance benefits. On eleven real datasets, G-BFC achieves 19.8X performance speedup over the state-of-the-art solution.
Interactive mining with ordered and unordered attributes
Authors: Wang Weicheng , Wong Raymond Chi-Wing
Published: September 2022

There are various queries proposed to assist users in finding their favorite tuples from a dataset with the help of user interaction. Specifically, they interact with a user by asking questions. Each question presents two tuples, which are selected from the dataset based on the user's answers to the previous questions, and asks the user to select the one s/he prefers. Following the user feedback, the user preference is learned implicitly, and the best tuple w.r.t. the learned preference is returned. However, existing queries only consider datasets with ordered attributes (e.g., price), where there exists a trivial order on the attribute values. In practice, a dataset can also be described by unordered attributes, where there is no consensus about the order of the attribute values. For example, the size of a laptop is an unordered attribute. One user might favor a large size because s/he could enjoy a large screen, while another user may prefer a small size for portability. In this paper, we study how to find a user's favorite tuple from the dataset that has both ordered and unordered attributes by interacting with the user.

We study our problem progressively. First, we look into a special case in which the dataset is described by one ordered and one unordered attributes. We present algorithm
DI
that is asymptotically optimal in terms of the number of questions asked. Then, we dig into the general case in which the dataset has several ordered and unordered attributes. We propose two algorithms
BS
and
EDI
that have provable performance guarantees and perform well empirically. Experiments were conducted on synthetic and real datasets, showing that our algorithms outperform existing algorithms in the number of questions asked and the execution time. Under typical settings, our algorithms ask up to 10 times fewer questions and take several orders of magnitude less time than existing algorithms.