bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family lexicon: Using language models to encode memories of personally familiar and famous people and places in the brain
Authors: Bruera Andrea , Poesio Massimo
Published: November 2024

Knowledge about personally familiar people and places is extremely rich and varied, involving pieces of semantic information connected in unpredictable ways through past autobiographical memories. In this work, we investigate whether we can capture brain processing of personally familiar people and places using subject-specific memories, after transforming them into vectorial semantic representations using language models. First, we asked participants to provide us with the names of the closest people and places in their lives. Then we collected open-ended answers to a questionnaire, aimed at capturing various facets of declarative knowledge. We collected EEG data from the same participants while they were reading the names and subsequently mentally visualizing their referents. As a control set of stimuli, we also recorded evoked responses to a matched set of famous people and places. We then created original semantic representations for the individual entities using language models. For personally familiar entities, we used the text of the answers to the questionnaire. For famous entities, we employed their Wikipedia page, which reflects shared declarative knowledge about them. Through whole-scalp time-resolved and searchlight encoding analyses, we found that we could capture how the brain processes one’s closest people and places using person-specific answers to questionnaires, as well as famous entities. Overall encoding performance was significant in a large time window (200-800ms). Using spatio-temporal EEG searchlight, we found that we could predict brain responses significantly better than chance earlier (200-500ms) in bilateral temporo-parietal electrodes and later (500-700ms) in frontal and posterior central electrodes. We also found that XLM, a contextualized (or large) language model, provided superior encoding scores when compared with a simpler static language model as word2vec. Overall, these results indicate that language models can capture subject-specific semantic representations as they are processed in the human brain, by exploiting small-scale distributional lexical data.
Engineering an fgfr4 knockout zebrafish to study its role in development and disease
Authors: Harrison Emma N. , Jay Amanda N. , Kent Matthew R. , Sukienik Talia P. , LaVigne Collette A. , Kendall Genevieve C.
Published: November 2024

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) has a role in many biological processes, including lipid metabolism, tissue repair, and vertebrate development. In recent years, FGFR4 overexpression and activating mutations have been associated with numerous adult and pediatric cancers. As such, FGFR4 presents an opportunity for therapeutic targeting which is being pursued in clinical trials. To understand the role of FGFR4 signaling in disease and development, we generated and characterized three alleles of fgfr4 knockout zebrafish strains using CRISPR/Cas9. To generate fgfr4 knockout crispants, we injected single-cell wildtype zebrafish embryos with fgfr4 targeting guide RNA and Cas9 proteins, identified adult founders, and outcrossed to wildtype zebrafish to create an F1 generation. The generated mutations introduce a stop codon within the second Ig-like domain of Fgfr4, resulting in a truncated 215, 223, or 228 amino acid Fgfr4 protein compared to 922 amino acids in the full-length protein. All mutant strains exhibited significantly decreased fgfr4 mRNA expression during development, providing evidence for successful knockout of fgfr4 in mutant zebrafish. We found that, consistent with other Fgfr4 knockout animal models, the fgfr4 mutant fish developed normally; however, homozygous fgfr4 mutant zebrafish were significantly smaller than wildtype fish at three months post fertilization. These fgfr4 knockout zebrafish lines are a valuable tool to study the role of FGFR4 in vertebrate development and its viability as a potential therapeutic target in pediatric and adult cancers, as well as other diseases.
An exploratory study on the impact of ESG on business performance—Focusing on listed companies in Korea and Taiwan
Authors: Fan Shaojie
Published: November 2024

In the context of the ESG era, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the ESG practices of listed companies and their impact on business performance in Korea and Taiwan, two of the Four Little Dragons economies in Asia. Although these two regions are similar in terms of economic size, they show significant differences in their ESG implementation strategies and effects. Based on the Bloomberg database, this study empirically analyzes data from 113 Taiwanese and 113 Korean firms, using Tobin’s q ratio as a measure of business performance. The findings show that there is complexity in the association between ESG scores and firms’ business performance. In South Korea, government policies and large conglomerates contribute significantly to ESG practices, while in Taiwan, the economic structure dominated by SMEs has led to different characteristics of ESG practices. All of these differences reflect the influence of intra-firm factors on performance. The findings of this study not only enrich the theoretical foundation of the relationship between ESG and business performance, but the findings provide valuable regional insights and recommendations for international investors, corporate managers, and policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region to implement ESG strategies, especially when considering the specific market environment, economic structure, and internal factors of the firms they operate in order to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
Assessing a behavioral nudge on healthcare leaders’ intentions to implement evidence-based practices
Authors: Crawford Maia , O’Malley A. James , Meara Ellen , Fraze Taressa K. , Barnato Amber E.
Published: November 2024

Importance

Leaders of healthcare organizations play a key role in developing, prioritizing, and implementing plans to adopt new evidence-based practices. This study examined whether a letter with peer comparison data and social norms messaging impacted healthcare leaders’ decision to access a website with resources to support evidence-based practice adoption.

Methods

Pragmatic, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial completed from December 2019 –June 2020. We randomized 2,387 healthcare leaders from health systems, hospitals, and physician practices in the United States, who had previously responded to our national survey of healthcare organizations, in a 1:1 allocation ratio to receive one of two cover letter versions via postal mail (all) and email (for the 60.6% with an email address), accompanying a report with their survey results. The “nudge” letter included messaging that highlighted how an organization’s results compared to peers using text, color, and icons. Both nudge and control letters included links to a resource website. We interviewed 14 participants to understand how the letter and report impacted behaviors.

Results

Twenty-two of 1,194 leaders (1.8%) sent the nudge letter accessed online resources, compared to 17 of 1193 (1.4%) sent the control letter (p = 0.424). Nine of the 14 interviewed leaders stated that viewing the letter (regardless of version) and accompanying report influenced their decision to take a subsequent action other than accessing the website. Seven leaders forwarded the report or discussed the results with colleagues; two leaders stated that receiving the letter and report resulted in a concrete practice change.

Conclusions

Receiving cover letters with a behavioral nudge did not increase the likelihood that organizational leaders accessed a resource website. Qualitative results suggested that the survey report’s peer comparison data may have been a motivator for prioritizing and delegating implementation activities, but leaders themselves did not access our online resources.
Joint scheduling of vertical and horizontal transportation for underground container logistics in seaport terminals
Authors: Liang Chengji , Wang Yu , Lu Bin , Jin Yaohong
Published: November 2024

The underground logistics system is a relatively new concept for container transportation, which is designed to reduce the congestion and pollution on the road caused by the sharply growing number of collections and distributions of containers in the port cities. This paper considers a system where some underground logistics vehicles (ULVs) are marshaled and used to transport containers between two port terminals through a deep underground tunnel. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are used for horizontal transportation of containers in the above-ground yard of the terminals, and yard cranes (YCs) are used to transfer the containers vertically through a shaft linking the above-ground yard and the deep underground tunnel. To guarantee the efficiency of this system, a joint scheduling problem of the YCs and the ULVs is proposed and formulated as an integer programming model to minimize the total waiting time of the YCs and ULVs. Taking marshaling and congestion of the ULVs into consideration, a Genetic Algorithm is developed to solve the problem. Numerical experimental results prove the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, and different marshaling strategies are compared. Our research provides a scientific foundation for developing underground logistics systems in large port cities.
Optimizing video data security: A hybrid MAES-ECC encryption technique for efficient internet transmission
Authors: Shafiq Sobia , Latif Sohaib , Ibrahim Jawad , Ilyas M. Saad Bin , Imran Azhar , Kryvinska Natalia , Alshammari Ahmad , El-Meligy Mohammed
Published: November 2024

Data security is becoming important as the amount of video data transmitted over the internet grows rapidly. This research article aims to maximize the security of transmitted video data by proposing a novel hybrid technique for video encryption and decryption. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and the Modified Advanced Encryption Standard (MAES) are two encryption techniques that are included in the hybrid approach. By providing a more effective and safe method for video encryption and decryption, this research considerably advances the field of video data protection in Internet communication. In the proposed technique the video frames are extracted, and each frame is first encrypted using MAES technique and then again encrypted using ECC technique. After the encryption, the individual frames are merged to make an encrypted video. The same process is performed in reverse order to perform decryption of the video. The results of the experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the suggested scheme: higher security, better accuracy, and shorter processing times when compared to well-known techniques such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), MAES, ECC, Simplified Data Encryption Standard (SDES), and Chaotic Map methods.
Optimizing makespan and resource utilization in cloud computing environment via evolutionary scheduling approach
Authors: K. Karim Faten , Ghorashi Sara , Alkhalaf Salem , H. A. Hamza Saadia , Ben Ishak Anis , Abdel-Khalek S.
Published: November 2024

As a new computing resources distribution platform, cloud technology greatly influenced society with the conception of on-demand resource usage through virtualization technology. Virtualization technology allows physical resource usage in a way that will enable multiple end-users to have similar hardware infrastructure. In the cloud, many challenges exist on the provider side due to the expectations of clients. Resource scheduling (RS) is the most significant nondeterministic polynomial time (NP) hard problem in the cloud, owing to its crucial impact on cloud performance. Previous research found that metaheuristics can dramatically increase CC performance if deployed as scheduling algorithms. Therefore, this study develops an evolutionary algorithm-based scheduling approach for makespan optimization and resource utilization (EASA-MORU) technique in the cloud environment. The EASA-MORU technique aims to maximize the makespan and effectively use the resources in the cloud infrastructure. In the EASA-MORU technique, the dung beetle optimization (DBO) technique is used for scheduling purposes. Moreover, the EASA-MORU technique balances the load properly and distributes the resources based on the demands of the cloud infrastructure. The performance evaluation of the EASA-MORU method is tested using a series of performance measures. A wide range of comprehensive comparison studies emphasized that the EASA-MORU technique performs better than other methods in different evaluation measures.
Seeking and receiving hypertension and diabetes mellitus care in Tanzania
Authors: Tani Kassimu , Osetinsky Brianna , Mhalu Grace , Mtenga Sally , Fink Günther , Tediosi Fabrizio
Published: November 2024

The rapid increase in chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses a major challenge to already strained health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the factors associated with seeking and receiving NCD services in Tanzania, using a household survey and client exit interview data from Kilombero and Same districts. Both districts are predominantly rural, with one semi-urban area called Ifakara town and Same town. Of the 784 household survey respondents, 317 (40.4%), 37 (4.7%), and 20 (2.5%) were diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and other NCDs, respectively, of whom 69% had sought care in the past six months. After controlling for covariates, those enrolled in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and those who received a user fees waiver were more likely to use health services. However, even when NCD patients managed to access the care they needed, they were likely to receive incomplete services. The main reason for not receiving all services at the health facility visited on the day of the survey was drug stock-outs. Among health care users, those registered with the improved Community Health Funds (iCHF) were less likely to receive all prescribed services at the health facility visited than uninsured patients. The findings of this study highlight the need to strengthen both primary care and social health protection systems to improve access to needed care for NCD patients.
Physical activity levels, agility skills and speed among female basketball players compared to non-basketball players in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Albishi Alaa M.
Published: November 2024

Background

Research findings indicate a concerning prevalence of physical inactivity among Saudi females, which has been associated with low physical performance levels. To address this challenge, it is crucial to promote sports participation, particularly in activities such as basketball. However, despite its potential benefits, the specific effects of basketball engagement among Saudi females remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between physical performance and basketball playing among female collegiate players compared to non-basketball players in Saudi Arabia. Also, this study examined the effect of years of playing basketball on the basketball players group’s speed, agility, and physical activity levels.

Methods

The participants were divided into two groups: a non-athletic control group of 20 participants (age: 22 ± 2.0 years; weight: 55.6 ± 7.7 kg; height: 157.7 ± 5.5 cm) and a basketball group of 18 participants (age: 20 ± 3.3 years; weight: 60.6 ± 12 kg; height: 163.8 ± 6.3 cm).To examine the relationship between playing basketball and physical performance levels, this study included 38 female participants divided into a non-athletic control group (N = 20) and a basketball group (N = 18). To evaluate physical performance, the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), Modified Agility T-Test (MAT), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used.

Results

Basketball players demonstrated significantly superior performance in the 10-MWT (Mann-Whitney-test = 1.7, p < .05) and MAT (Mann-Whitney-test = 9.6, p < .001) compared to the non-athletic participants. Furthermore, IPAQ scores were significantly correlated with speed and agility (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Women who regularly played basketball exhibited superior physical activity levels and higher physical performance in speed and agility compared to those who were less active. However, no significant differences between the years of playing and any other variables were found. Nevertheless, these findings seek to contribute valuable insights into the potential benefits of basketball playing among Saudi women.
Cost-effectiveness of an oral cholate challenge test for the management of patients at risk for large esophageal varices
Authors: Chavan Shailesh , McRae Michael P. , Pitts Kelly R. , Everson Gregory T.
Published: November 2024

Aims

The dual oral cholate challenge test (DuO) quantifies liver function and portal-systemic shunting. Herein we report the economic impact of the use of the DuO Disease Severity Index (DSI) in the clinical management of patients with chronic liver disease suspected of having large esophageal varices.

Methods

A Markov health state transition model of 100,000 patients with chronic liver disease suspected of having varices was populated with previously reported epidemiological, utility, and price data to assess the cost-effectiveness of employing the DuO test against the standard of care. The model examined the clinical and economic impact of healthcare management decisions all centered around the DSI score and given fixed prices of the DuO test.

Results

In the target population, the combined strategy of healthcare management decisions based on DSI results would be highly cost-effective within two years for a price of $3,250 per DuO test. These same management decisions would save 2,740 lives over five years. For a price of ≤$3,213 per test, this intervention would be cost-saving within two years, and for ≤$4,100 per test it would be cost-saving within five years.

Conclusions

Clinical decisions based on DSI from DuO are cost-effective in the management of patients with chronic liver disease suspected of having large esophageal varices. Future studies of direct comparison of DuO with other noninvasive tests are warranted. The DuO test offers a simplified approach that could enhance the clinical and research utility of liver function testing.
Characteristics, treatments and outcomes in patients with severe burn wounds; a 10 year cohort study on acute and reconstructive treatment
Authors: Smit Lucindi , Pijpe Anouk , Nguyen Cindy , Hartsuiker Tara , Stoop Matthea , van Heel Anouk , Bosma Eelke , van der Vlies Cornelis H. , van Zuijlen Paul P. M. , van Baar Margriet E. , Middelkoop Esther ,   Dutch Burn Repository group
Published: November 2024

Reports on treatment characteristics and long term outcomes for severe burns are scarce, while the need to compare outcomes of novel treatment modalities to standard of care is increasing. Our national database on burn treatment enabled analysis of patient as well as treatment characteristics during acute treatment and following reconstructive procedures. Furthermore, outcome data of longitudinal scar assessments were analysed from a single burn centre database. Acute and reconstructive data were analysed for patients admitted to the three Dutch burn centres with total body surface area burned of ≥ 20% TBSA. Long term outcome was analysed from a single centre scar database, both for a period of 2009–2019. Treatment characteristics from 396 surviving acute burn patients were analysed. Surgical treatment was required in 89.6% of these patients and 110 patients (27.8%) needed reconstructive surgery in the years after the burn incident, with a mean of 4.4 reconstructive procedures per patient. Main indications were contractures (70.5%) and arms (45.0%) and head and neck region (41.2%) were most frequently affected. Techniques used for reconstructive corrections were predominantly excision, release and flaps (54.7%), followed by skin transplants (32.4%). Scar quality was significantly worse in patients with more severe burns compared to those with TBSA < 20% during prolonged times. These data provide insight into health care utilization, treatment characteristics and outcomes in severely burned patients. These real-world data can guide future development of improved treatment strategies for at risk patients as well as anatomical locations.
Effects of the Alexander technique on pain and adverse events in chronic non-specific neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Qin Di , Qin Yaxuan , Wang Yudi , Xue Lian , Peng Yong
Published: November 2024

Objective

Self-care-oriented positive approach are very important for the management of chronic neck pain. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of the Alexander Technique (AT) courses on pain and adverse events in chronic non-specific neck pain (CNSNP), compared to the conventional therapy.

Methods

We evaluated the effects of the AT in the treatment of the CNSNP according to PICO (participant, intervention, comparison, outcome) elements. In this paper, we have utilized some English databases. Totally 140 records are included in the Cochrane Library (43), PubMed (18), Web of Science (27), EBSCO (21), EMBESE (31). The search dated from the day of the database’s inception to June, 2024. Those parameters like Weighted mean differences (WMD), Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (Cis) are calculated. A random-effects model is applied to minimize the heterogeneity, and I2 test is used to assess heterogeneity, the risk of bias of RCTs studies included are assessed by the PEDro tools.

Results

A total of three studies (Two RCTs and a quasi-randomized trial) are included in this paper based on the predetermined eligibility criteria. Compared with the conventional therapy group, the included studies collectively show that the AT can provide a significant pain relief in CNSNP, whose effects can last for 2 months with a very low heterogeneity (immediate term pain score: SMD: -0.34, 95%CI: -0.87–0.19, P = 0.208, I2 = 0.0%; short term pain score: SMD: -0.33, 95%CI: -0.55–0.10, P = 0.005, I2 = 0%). In addition, compared with the conventional therapy group, the AT does not significantly increase the incidence of adverse events (AE: RR = 1.690, 95% CI: 0.67–4.27, P = 0.267, I2 = 44.3%).

Conclusion

This meta-analysis preliminarily indicated that the Alexander Technique courses may not have a significant pain relief effective in patients with chronic Non-specific neck pain, which is related to the follow-up time of the post-intervention. However, it’s necessary to interpret and apply the outcome of this research cautiously.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO, CRD420222361001.
An analysis of the driving forces behind the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region’s high-quality growth in the digital creative industries
Authors: Wang Xin , Sun Shan , Guo Yanlong , Xiao Tieqiao
Published: November 2024

The digital creative sector has grown enormously on a global scale as a result of the digital age’s fast progress. The development and transformation of the regional financial system in China is largely due to the efforts of the digital innovation industry. Hence, a comprehensive examination of the catalysts at the back of its premium boom is fundamental. The Yangtze River Delta (Abbreviation YRD) area is a powerful group of Chinese cities, well-known for its economic impact, the basis of its urbanization, and its total potential. It also offers some advantages related to the digital creative sector. The YRD area’s digital creative industries are growing, and this research looks at what’s behind that development. Through the compilation and analysis of surface-level data, the research focused on identifying the key drivers influencing the industry’s high-quality advancement. This is achieved by assessing the digital creative industries of the YRD and determining the elements that facilitate their continued growth and superior development using ArcMap10.8 and the entropy-weight-TOPSIS approach. This approach supports the assessment and ranking of the variables impacting the expansion of the digital creative industries in the YRD region. The findings demonstrate that: 1) The YRD region’s performance in developing a high-quality digital creative industry is improving between 2017 and 2022; 2) According to an assessment of growth in this sector, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have excelled, while Shanghai and Anhui provinces have lagged in developing digital creative industries over the past six years; 3) Anhui and Zhejiang provinces had the greatest outcomes, according to an annual study of the YRD digital creative industries conducted between 2017 and 2022. The digital creative sector in Zhejiang Province has performed well, showing a consistent growing trend; in contrast, Shanghai City’s industry has seen a decrease; while Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces have shown generally stable, slightly increasing tendencies; 4) In the weighting analysis of the indicators, the number of strategic emerging industry project transactions (C10), the total income of radio and television business units (C13), the number of ordinary undergraduate and specialist graduates of ordinary schools (C18), the area of land for public facilities (C24), and the regional gross domestic product (C12) are five indicators of significant impact on the development of the degree of influence.
A hybrid Bi-LSTM and RBM approach for advanced underwater object detection
Authors: S. Manimurugan , P. Karthikeyan , C. Narmatha , Aborokbah Majed M. , Paul Anand , Ganesan Subramaniam , T. Rajendran , Ammad-Uddin Mohammad
Published: November 2024

This research addresses the imperative need for efficient underwater exploration in the domain of deep-sea resource development, highlighting the importance of autonomous operations to mitigate the challenges posed by high-stress underwater environments. The proposed approach introduces a hybrid model for Underwater Object Detection (UOD), combining Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) with a Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM). Bi-LSTM excels at capturing long-term dependencies and processing sequences bidirectionally to enhance comprehension of both past and future contexts. The model benefits from effective feature learning, aided by RBMs that enable the extraction of hierarchical and abstract representations. Additionally, this architecture handles variable-length sequences, mitigates the vanishing gradient problem, and achieves enhanced significance by capturing complex patterns in the data. Comprehensive evaluations on brackish, and URPC 2020 datasets demonstrate superior performance, with the BiLSTM-RBM model showcasing notable accuracies, such as big fish 98.5 for the big fish object in the brackish dataset and 98 for the star fish object in the URPC dataset. Overall, these findings underscore the BiLSTM-RBM model’s suitability for UOD, positioning it as a robust solution for effective underwater object detection in challenging underwater environments.
A DFT investigation on the potential of beryllium oxide (Be12O12) as a nanocarrier for nucleobases
Authors: Ibrahim Mahmoud A. A. , Hanna Maggie N. S. , Rady Al-shimaa S. M. , Sidhom Peter A. , Sayed Shaban R. M. , El-Tayeb Mohamed A. , Awad Ahmed M. , Tallima Hatem , Shoeib Tamer
Published: November 2024

The study of the interactions between biomolecules and nanostructures is quite fascinating. Herein, the adsorption propensity of beryllium oxide (Be12O12) nanocarrier toward nucleobases (NBs) was investigated. In terms of DFT calculations, the adsorption tendency of Be12O12 toward NBs, including cytosine (NB-C), guanine (NB-G), adenine (NB-A), thymine (NB-T), and uracil (NB-U), was unveiled through various configurations. Geometrical, electronic, and energetic features for Be12O12, NBs, and their associated complexes were thoroughly evaluated at M06-2X/6-311+G** level of theory. The potent adsorption process within NBs∙∙∙Be12O12 complexes was noticed through favorable interaction (Eint) and adsorption (Eads) energies with values up to –53.04 and –38.30 kcal/mol, respectively. Generally, a significant adsorption process was observed for all studied complexes, and the favorability followed the order: NB-C∙∙∙ > NB-G∙∙∙ > NB-A∙∙∙ > NB-T∙∙∙ > NB-U∙∙∙Be12O12 complexes. Out of all studied complexes, the most potent adsorption was found for NB-C∙∙∙Be12O12 complex within configuration A (Eint = –53.04 kcal/mol). In terms of energy decomposition, SAPT analysis revealed electrostatic (Eelst) forces to be dominant within the studied adsorption process with values up to –99.88 kcal/mol. Analyzing QTAIM and NCI, attractive intermolecular interactions within the studied complexes were affirmed. From negative values of thermodynamic parameters, the nature of the considered adsorption process was revealed to be spontaneous and exothermic. Regarding density of state, IR, and Raman analyses, the occurrence of the adsorption process within NBs∙∙∙Be12O12 complexes was confirmed. Noticeable short recovery time values were observed for all studied complexes, confirming the occurrence of the desorption process. The findings provided fundamental insights into the potential application of Be12O12 nanocarrier in drug and gene delivery processes.
Causality research based on phase space reconstruction
Authors: Hu Lei , Sunu Zhuoma , She Hongke , Fan Binghuai , Ma Jingru , Da Chaojiu
Published: November 2024

Based on phase space reconstruction theory, the root mean square error is used as a quantitative criterion for identifying the appropriate embedding dimension and time step and selecting the optimal configuration for these factors. The phase space is then reconstructed, and the convergent cross-mapping algorithm is applied to analyse the causality between time series. The causality among the variables in the Lorenz equation is first discussed, and the response of this causality to the integration step of numerical solutions to the Lorenz equation is analyzed. We conclude that changes in the integration step do not alter the causality but will affect its strength. Variables X and Y drive each other, whereas variable Z drives variables X and Y in a unidirectional manner. Second, meteorological data from 1948–2022 are used to analyse the effect of the Southern Hemisphere annular mode on the East Asian summer monsoon index and surface air temperature driving capacity. From a dynamic perspective, it is concluded that the Southern Hemisphere annular mode is the driving factor affecting the East Asian summer monsoon index and surface air temperature. Based on ideal test results and the observation data, the collaborative selection of the embedding dimension and time step is more reliable in terms of determining causality. This provides the ability to determine causality between climate indices and theoretically guarantees the selection of climate predictors.
Effects of pharmacist-led home visit services and factors influencing medication adherence improvement
Authors: Ahn Hwayoung , Byun Bo-Kyung , Lee Tae-Hoon , Kang Dong-Won , Park Sun-Kyeong
Published: November 2024

Background

The use of medicines is crucial in treatment, but nonadherence poses an important challenge, particularly when managing polypharmacy and long-term conditions. Pharmacist-led home visit services offer a promising solution to enhance the outcomes associated with medication use. However, the effects and the factors contributing to this improvement remain unclear.

Objective

This study assessed the effects of pharmacist-led home visit services on medication adherence and general medication knowledge. Additionally, we analyzed the factors associated with improved medication adherence.

Methods

Face-to-face, pharmacist-led home visit services were conducted via opportunistic sampling in community settings. Data were collected between 2017 and 2019. The program included participants aged ≥65 years or taking ten or more medications, in need of care, and who were willing to participate. We estimated the effects of the program by improved medication adherence and general knowledge about taking medications. Medication adherence was measured using the Morisky Scale. We used McNemar’s test to evaluate the statistical differences in outcomes before and after consultation. To identify factors influencing improvements in medication adherence, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression with adjustments for covariates.

Results

Among the 1,194 participants in the program, 874 were included in the analysis. Pharmacist-led home visit services improved both medication adherence (from 69.2% to 85.8%) and mean scores for general knowledge of taking medications (from 65.3% to 89.5%). Participants aged ≥70 years showed less improvement in overall adherence than those aged <70 years (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.317–0.817). The program was significantly more effective at improving adherence for participants with higher level of medication knowledge (OR = 2.93; 95% CI = 1.78–4.81) compared to those with lower level of knowledge.

Conclusion

These quantitative findings highlight the importance of pharmacist-led interventions and suggest a framework for future programs about medication management.
Epidemiological investigation and surgical treatment of canine mammary tumors in Dalian, China, from 2019 to 2023
Authors: Jing Zheng , Feng Jiawang , Jin Hongyan
Published: November 2024

Objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, and treatment outcomes of canine mammary tumors in Dalian, providing insights into prevention and management strategies. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 198 cases of canine mammary tumors diagnosed in outpatient departments across several veterinary hospitals in Dalian. Data on breed, age, sex, tumor location, and clinical staging were collected and correlated with treatment modalities and prognosis. Poodles, Chinese pastoral dogs, and Cocker Spaniels exhibited higher incidence rates. The majority of affected dogs were middle-aged and older females, with unneutered dogs and those with a history of false pregnancies being at the highest risk. Benign tumors were more common in younger dogs, while malignant tumors predominated in older dogs, accounting for 89.9% of the cases. Early surgical intervention significantly improved survival and quality of life. Early detection, prompt surgical treatment, and post-operative follow-up are essential for optimal outcomes in canine mammary tumor management. This study summarizes the impact of early sterilization on tumor development and suggests that preventive measures, such as total ovarian extraction prior to the first estrus, are effective in reducing the incidence of mammary tumors.
Correlates of six-month housing instability among U.S. adults by veteran status: Exploratory study using data from the All of Us Program
Authors: Beydoun Hind A. , Mayno Vieytes Christian , Beydoun May A. , Lampros Austin , Tsai Jack
Published: November 2024

Housing instability (HI) is a social determinant of health affecting adults in the United States (U.S.). Addressing HI among veterans is a national priority, and greater understanding of differences in HI between veteran and non-veteran populations would inform homeless services and research. We examined six-month prevalence and risk/protective factors associated with self-reported HI among veterans and non-veteran U.S. adults. Cross-sectional data from the All of Us Research Program (AoU) on 254,079 (24,545 veterans and 229,534 non-veterans) survey respondents were analyzed. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine rates of HI, and the association of HI with veteran status as well as demographic, socioeconomic, substance use, and health characteristics. Prevalence rates of HI were 14.9%, 11.5%, and 15.4%, in the general, veteran, and non-veteran populations, respectively. Veteran status was not significantly related to HI, after controlling for confounders. Male sex, middle age, unmarried status, lifetime cigarette smoking, and worse health were associated with greater HI odds, while higher income and health insurance availability were associated with lower HI odds, irrespective of veteran status. Racial disparities in HI were observed among non-veterans only. In addition, among non-veterans, adults who were unemployed or reported any lifetime alcohol consumption were more likely to experience HI, whereas any lifetime use of drugs was associated with lower likelihood of HI. In conclusion, although distinct sociodemographic and clinical correlates of HI were identified, HI did not differ by veteran status in a fully adjusted model.
Oportunidades y barreras para la consolidación de prácticas de aula más inclusivas en el marco del modelo de Escuela Nueva
Authors: Restrepo García Paula Andrea , Diaz Muriel Angie Paola , Cuartas Ortiz Daniela
Published: November 2024

El objetivo de este estudio fue comprender las diferentes oportunidades y barreras que se presentan en los contextos escolares rurales para la consolidación de prácticas de aula más inclusivas en el marco del modelo Escuela Nueva para estudiantes con discapacidad. Para identificar los factores que favorecen u obstaculizan los procesos inclusivos, se estructura un estudio de caso múltiple con seis docentes de dos instituciones educativas rurales de Colombia, para realizar un acercamiento a sus comprensiones, experiencias y prácticas, a través de técnicas conversacionales (entrevistas informales y semiestructuradas) y observacionales (observaciones de aula registradas en diarios de campo). Se identifican tres categorías emergentes que dan cuenta de los resultados del estudio: Comprensiones de la inclusión: discursos que determinan prácticas inclusivas o excluyentes; Estrategias pedagógicas para educaciones más inclusivas: tensiones entre las necesidades y las barreras; y Educación inclusiva en contextos de ruralidad: limitaciones y oportunidades. De esta manera, es posible plantear que la educación inclusiva en el contexto rural constituye un desafío pedagógico y político, bastante complejo desde las posibilidades de algunas escuelas para garantizar el acceso, la participación y la permanencia de todos y todas, lo cual requiere transformaciones en las propuestas educativas, la accesibilidad, la corresponsabilidad y la formación continua de los docentes.
El efecto del taekwondo adaptado en las habilidades motrices de las personas con discapacidad intelectual
Authors: Castro-Salgado Vanesa , Gaintza-Jauregi Zuriñe , Lareki Arkaitz
Published: November 2024

El objetivo de esta investigación fue doble. Por un lado, demostrar que las personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI) pueden practicar taekwondo (TKD) y, por otro, valorar el efecto de dicha práctica. Para ello, se diseñó un estudio longitudinal con medidas de pretest y postest. Trece jóvenes de entre 14 y 35 años con DI realizaron un entrenamiento de TKD adaptado durante 20 semanas. Tras observar que las/os participantes seguían las instrucciones de la entrenadora y realizaban las técnicas, se evaluó el efecto del entrenamiento en sus habilidades motrices. La direccionalidad se evaluó utilizando la prueba de agilidad modificada (MAT2) y el equilibrio y la coordinación mediante la Escala de Observación de la Competencia Motriz (ECOMI). Los resultados demostraron que las personas con DI pueden practicar técnicas básicas de TKD y que el entrenamiento mejora sus habilidades motrices de direccionalidad, equilibrio y coordinación, si bien no todas las diferencias fueron significativas. Con ello se puede concluir que las personas con DI pueden realizar un deporte de combate como el TKD siempre y cuando se adapte a sus características y que su práctica tiene efectos beneficiosos, y mejora el rendimiento en sus habilidades motrices.
Investigating tropospheric radio refractivity variation with weather parameters in Kampala, Uganda: implications for communication systems
Authors: Bawa Musa , Afam Uzorka  , Living Ounyesiga  , Tukur Rabiu
Published: November 2024

The tropospheric radio refractivity plays an important role in the propagation of radio waves and significantly affecting the performance of radio communication systems. This study aims to investigate the influence of weather parameters on tropospheric radio refractivity variation and the implication for communication system in Kampala, Uganda. Through a comprehensive dataset of temperature, humidity and pressure obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) archives for Kampala over a period of one year (January 2023 to December 2023). Using the International Telecommunication Model (ITU-R model), radio refractivity was computed from the collected weather parameters, and subsequently correlate with weather parameters. The analyses of the results showed that, radio refractivity displayed seasonal variability with high values in the wet season with a peaks points observed in April and October (339N and 338N) and a low value during dry season, July and January (328N and 324). It was also observed that the Relative humidity and Temperature are the main force driven the variations of radio refractivity. Hence, the work could be used for rapid and precise estimation of link budgets while planning and designing radio links budget in Kampala and regions of similar climatic characteristics.
La primacía de la vida práctica: el hallazgo fenomenológico de Scheler silenciado por Heidegger
Authors: Martínez Gallego Miguel Armando
Published: November 2024

En este trabajo respondo a las críticas dirigidas en Ser y tiempo contra la fenomenología scheleriana del valor, que se amparan en la omisión de la correspondiente teoría fenomenológica de los tipos de unidad cósica. Tras mostrar que los reproches de Heidegger no alcanzan el punto de vista defendido por Scheler, evidencio que este no solo anticipa en más de una década, dentro de la propia fenomenología, la tesis de la primacía de la vida práctica sostenida en Ser y tiempo, sino que, de hecho, únicamente la tematización scheleriana del valor la hace viable. Por último, argumento que la comprensión heideggeriana de la «mundanidad» (Weltlichkeit) del mundo, realizada también al margen de la categoría de «cosa», la aproxima descriptivamente al «entorno» (Umwelt) de Scheler —y no tanto al «mundo» (Welt)—, lo cual refuerza la acusación de vitalismo que este dirigió contra Heidegger en su escrito póstumo El problema emocional de la realidad
El conocimiento natural de Dios desde la filosofía
Authors: Aznar-Sala Francisco Javier
Published: November 2024

La idea de Dios se ha ido debilitando en el imaginario colectivo y cada vez son menos los que la secundan. No cabe duda de que la revelación positiva de lo divino ha quedado únicamente para aquellos que dicen creer, pero tradicionalmente se dieron unas vías de acceso a lo divino que fueron jalonadas desde el quehacer filosófico. El artículo pretende recorrer ese camino desde postulados cosmológicos y antropológicos, con la intención de establecer un puente de diálogo estrictamente racional.
El resentimiento como transformación trágica de la existencia personal. Interpretación fenomenológica de la mano de Scheler y Améry
Authors: Velázquez González Juan
Published: November 2024

El resentimiento es un fenómeno emocional complejo que afecta a la estructura existencial de la persona que lo sufre: a su modo de percibir, de relacionarse con otros y de encontrarse a sí misma en un mundo compartido. Desde la psicopatología se entiende como un rasgo desadaptativo de ciertos trastornos de la personalidad, y desde la teoría moral como una reacción negativa ante valores positivos y vitales —según el punto de vista parcial de Nietzsche, que minusvalora la vivencia de daño y sufrimiento que está en su origen. Un acercamiento fenomenológico a la vida emocional resentida, de la mano de la fenomenología de Max Scheler y del relato en primera persona de Jean Améry, descubre el resentimiento como metamorfosis de la existencia personal, que puede adquirir un sentido trágico. Esta interpretación del fenómeno responde a la quiebra de la esencia de la simpatía, como forma de relación interpersonal básica, y a su reconstrucción como sentido básico de la justicia.
«El cuento de nunca acabar». Sobre la filosofía narrativa de José Ortega y Gasset
Authors: Trotta Francesco Giuseppe
Published: November 2024

El artículo investiga la concepción de la «razón narrativa» de Ortega y Gasset en el marco amplio de las «filosofías narrativas» de los siglos XIX y XX (como las de Schelling o de Rosenzweig). En particular, al indagar sobre las fronteras que separan y conectan la filosofía y la narración, el estudio recorre las etapas del desarrollo de la «razón narrativa» orteguiana, desde la cuestión del género de la filosofía y del «ensayismo» de Meditaciones del Quijote (1914) hasta los planteamientos de las décadas de los cuarenta y cincuenta. De tal manera, se intenta reconstruir la constelación que se establece entre filosofía, mito, narración y novela en la razón narrativa de Ortega y se intenta mostrar el papel fundamental de la «razón narrativa» en la crítica orteguiana a la tradición metafísica, también a través una comparación con la filosofía narrativa de Franz Rosenzweig. Se destaca pues el intento orteguiano de alcanzar, a través de la intersección entre filosofía y narración, un nuevo pensamiento basado no en el ser, la sustancia y los sustantivos, sino en el devenir y los verbos. A la luz de esta «nueva idea del Pensar», se exploran incluso la relación entre metáfora y concepto y la conexión de logos y mythos en el pensamiento del filósofo español. En conclusión, la «razón narrativa» emerge como el intento quizás más original, aunque inconcluso, de Ortega de concentrar las diversas líneas de su reflexión filosófica en torno al problema central: el de la vida.
Helicobacter pylori in Tonsillar and Adenoid Tissue and Its Possible Role in Oropharyngeal Carcinogenesis
Authors: Lukeš Petr , Astl J. , Pavlík E. , Potužníková B. , Šterzl I. , Betka J.
Published: November 2024

Helicobacter pylori is a well-known gastric pathogen. It plays a major role in the pathogenesis of chronic gastritis, duodenal and gastric ulcers, adenocarcinoma and gastric lymphoma. HP infection is one of the most common bacterial infections world-wide. Recently, the oral cavity was proposed as an extragastric reservoir of HP infection. HP was detected by culture and PCR in both dental plaque and saliva. It is supposed that HP infection can cause the same immunological changes in the oropharyngeal mucosa as in gastric mucosa and can also contribute to the progression of oropharyngeal diseases. HP can induce production of different cytokines and regulatory molecules, which are suggested to play a role in carcinogenesis of the oropharynx. Only a few studies have explored the presence of HP in tonsillar and adenoid tissue, where MALT is present similar to the gastric mucosa. The results of these studies were inconsistent. The question of persistence of HP in tonsillar and adenoid tissue and its role in the pathogenesis of oropharyngeal diseases still remains unclear. In this review, recent findings about oral HP are considered. Possibilities of diagnostics of HP in oral specimens are discussed.