bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diversity of medium and large mammals in a submontane scrubland
Authors: Ponce Marroquin Melissa , Niño Maldonado Santiago , Gómez-Moreno Vannia del Carmen , Coronado-Blanco Juana María , Ivanovich Khalaim Andrey
Published: October 2024

Studies on mammals are essential due to the rapid changes in land use, habitat fragmentation, and poaching that threaten their survival.  Significant changes in the composition of mammal communities due to the elimination or displacement of species have been documented.  In the face of accelerated environmental degradation, mammal inventories are vital for understanding the structure and composition of communities and facilitating conservation strategies.  In Tamaulipas, mammal studies have focused on protected areas, overlooking ecosystems such as submontane scrublands, which, despite being impacted by human activities, can serve as refuges and biological corridors.  Studying these ecosystems is crucial for describing ecological aspects and developing effective conservation and management strategies.  Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the diversity and richness of medium and large mammals in a submontane scrubland.  The study area is located southwest of Casas, Tamaulipas.  Ten single camera trap stations were set and remained active from July 2020 to June 2021.  Species richness was estimated with Chao 1 and Jacknife 1.  Diversity values of orders one and two were estimated, and the species composition and abundance were compared between dry and rainy seasons using PERMANOVA and SIMPER analyses.  A total of 457 records of 12 species were obtained, the most abundant being Odocoileus virginianus, Dicotyles tajacu, and Leopardus pardalis.  Significant differences in species composition between seasons were detected, with Dicotyles tajacu, Odocoileus virginianus, Nasua narica, and Leopardus pardalis accounting for 85.32 % of the differences in species composition between seasons.  Although the area is impacted by the introduction of free-grazing cattle, Leopardus pardalis is the third-most recorded species and is protected by NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010.  In addition, during the sampling, five of the six Mexican felids were reported and the family Felidae is listed in Appendix II of CITES, so the area should be considered for permanent monitoring to establish conservation strategies.
Advances and Limitations in the trophic ecology of bats in Mexico
Authors: Segura-Trujillo Cintya A.
Published: October 2024

Diet studies are essential for understanding ecology, evolutionary biology, and informing ecosystem management and restoration (Nielsen et al. 2018). The study of feeding and competitive interactions in bats is considered crucial for understanding their ecology in a rapidly changing environment (Salinas‐Ramos et al. 2020). Nonetheless, studying the bat guild with the greatest species richness, which preys on the largest number of species on the planet in one of the megadiverse countries is a challenge that few researchers have considered, but it must be addressed.
Unveiling Community Needs and Aspirations: Card Sorting as a Research Method for Developing Digital Learning Spaces
Authors: Koole Marguerite , Rugg Gordon , Traxler John , Smith Matt , Touati Redouane , Mcleod Alanda , Richardson Rae Mairi , Footring Shri
Published: October 2024

This pilot study is part of a larger “Decolonization of Digital Learning Spaces” project, which aims to develop research tools for communities that are remote and/or excluded geographically, politically, economically, socially, culturally, and linguistically. The project’s ultimate goal is to work alongside these communities to design their own digital learning tools, networks, and online educational environments by accessing and leveraging their knowledge and skills. Testing the single-criterion card sorting method is the first step toward this goal. Card sorting is an easy, enjoyable, and cost-effective method for data collection and analysis, particularly for researchers working in remote areas with limited access to electricity or the Internet. The pilot explored single-criterion card sorting as a method to elicit knowledge from two diverse cultural and linguistic groups engaged in learning activities within their communities. These groups were from a Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community in Canada (engaged in a bow-making workshop) and a rural Kabyle community in Algeria (engaged in a traditional cooking lesson). Despite low participant numbers, distinct patterns emerged, indicating the method's effectiveness. The results, though anticipated, were non-random, demonstrating the potential of card sorting in producing patterns indicative of how individuals and/or communities categorize their world(s). Kabyle sortings focused on ingredients, highlighting older individuals as teachers passing along knowledge, while the DHH sortings emphasized face-to-face contact and hand movements in communication. The findings, though modest, established relationships, provided insights into the research context and offered logistical understanding, paving the way for further work with DHH and Kabyle communities towards the design of digital learning spaces.
Beam quality evolution of a quasi-continuous-wave-pumped, passively Q-switched monolithic YAG/Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip
Authors: Chen Tao , Huang Zinan , Huang Genghua , Kong Wei , Yue Wenjie , He Zhiping , Shu Rong
Published: October 2024

We have proposed a method to predict the beam quality of a quasi-continuous-wave
(QCW)-pumped, passively Q-switched (PQS) monolithic YAG/Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip. The boundary conditions
for the pulse width and optical intensity of the PQS microchip were
obtained by solving the rate equations with different initial
transmittances of the saturable absorber and reflectivities of the
output coupler. The optimal working point was selected with the
highest pulse energy within the boundary conditions. Fundamental
cavity mode diameters under different working conditions were
calculated according to the thermal lensing of the microchip. Critical
repetition rates were obtained with a pump waist diameter equal to the
calculated fundamental cavity mode diameter for different pump
focusing conditions. Good beam quality was maintained at repetition
rates below this critical threshold, but it gradually deteriorated
with higher repetition rates. Notably, the pulse energy, temporal
profile, and spectrum were also related to the beam quality owing to
the increased content of the higher-order mode. The experimental
results were in good agreement with the simulations, and therefore,
our investigation has paved a promising path towards the proper
operations of a monolithic QCW-pumped PQS microchip, especially for a
high beam quality output.
Research on the technology of a compact double-layer multispectral filter wheel mechanism driven by single motor
Authors: Ma Lin , Wu Hongbo , Tan Shuanglong , Zhang Xin , Wang Liang , Zhou Nan , Jia Jinlong , Mu Shuaiwei , Wang Wenjie
Published: October 2024

Spatial multispectral imaging technology can selectively image in specific spectral bands. While the filter wheel is a core component for multi spectral selection. At present, there are relatively few types of spectral bands for filter wheels under limited space/weight constraints. Based on this issue, this article creatively proposes a design method for double-layer or even multi-layer filter wheels driven by a single motor and differential gear, which can achieve a large number of spectral segment combinations with a compact layout. The double-layer filter wheel structure is selected for design, analysis, and testing. The analysis and testing results prove the reliability and application value of the double-layer filter wheel mechanism driven by single motor. The research content of this article has created a new design concept for the multispectral imaging filter wheel mechanism, which can provide reference and inspiration for the layout schemes of double-layer or even multi-layer filter wheels.
EEG microstate transition cost correlates with task demands
Authors: Barzon Giacomo , Ambrosini Ettore , Vallesi Antonino , Suweis Samir
Published: October 2024

The ability to solve complex tasks relies on the adaptive changes occurring in the spatio-temporal organization of brain activity under different conditions. Altered flexibility in these dynamics can lead to impaired cognitive performance, manifesting for instance as difficulties in attention regulation, distraction inhibition, and behavioral adaptation. Such impairments result in decreased efficiency and increased effort in accomplishing goal-directed tasks. Therefore, developing quantitative measures that can directly assess the effort involved in these transitions using neural data is of paramount importance. In this study, we propose a framework to associate cognitive effort during the performance of tasks with electroencephalography (EEG) activation patterns. The methodology relies on the identification of discrete dynamical states (EEG microstates) and optimal transport theory. To validate the effectiveness of this framework, we apply it to a dataset collected during a spatial version of the Stroop task, a cognitive test in which participants respond to one aspect of a stimulus while ignoring another, often conflicting, aspect. The Stroop task is a cognitive test where participants must respond to one aspect of a stimulus while ignoring another, often conflicting, aspect. Our findings reveal an increased cost linked to cognitive effort, thus confirming the framework’s effectiveness in capturing and quantifying cognitive transitions. By utilizing a fully data-driven method, this research opens up fresh perspectives for physiologically describing cognitive effort within the brain.
Tissue-specific knockout in the Drosophila neuromuscular system reveals ESCRT’s role in formation of synapse-derived extracellular vesicles
Authors: Chen Xinchen , Perry Sarah , Fan Ziwei , Wang Bei , Loxterkamp Elizabeth , Wang Shuran , Hu Jiayi , Dickman Dion , Han Chun
Published: October 2024

Tissue-specific gene knockout by CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful approach for characterizing gene functions during development. However, this approach has not been successfully applied to most Drosophila tissues, including the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ). To expand tissue-specific CRISPR to this powerful model system, here we present a CRISPR-mediated tissue-restricted mutagenesis (CRISPR-TRiM) toolkit for knocking out genes in motoneurons, muscles, and glial cells. We validated the efficacy of CRISPR-TRiM by knocking out multiple genes in each tissue, demonstrated its orthogonal use with the Gal4/UAS binary expression system, and showed simultaneous knockout of multiple redundant genes. We used CRISPR-TRiM to discover an essential role for SNARE components in NMJ maintenance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the canonical ESCRT pathway suppresses NMJ bouton growth by downregulating retrograde Gbb signaling. Lastly, we found that axon termini of motoneurons rely on ESCRT-mediated intra-axonal membrane trafficking to release extracellular vesicles at the NMJ. Thus, we have successfully developed an NMJ CRISPR mutagenesis approach which we used to reveal genes important for NMJ structural plasticity.
Are hospitals collateral damage? Assessing geospatial proximity of 2000 lb bomb detonations to hospital facilities in the Gaza Strip from October 7 to November 17, 2023
Authors: Kunichoff Dennis , Mills David , Asi Yara , Abdulrahim Sawsan , Wispelwey Bram , Tanous Osama , Ahmed A. Kayum , Hammoudeh Weeam , Bahour Nadine , Bassett Mary T. , Greenough P. Gregg
Published: October 2024

After attacks in Israel led by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a major military campaign in the Gaza Strip that has featured an unprecedented scale of destruction. This has included the use of highly destructive weapons in a densely populated area. Mark-84 bombs (M-84s) are 2000 lb air-dropped explosive munitions with the capacity to damage infrastructure and kill or cause severe injury hundreds of meters away. This study examines the proximity of M-84 bomb detonations to hospital infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. We combined geospatial data on hospital locations across the Gaza Strip with maps of the locations of M-84 bomb craters between October 7 and November 17, 2023, published by CNN and New York Times. We then measured and summarized the proximity of the bomb craters to hospitals across the territory. We identified 592 M-84 bomb craters. Of the 36 hospitals across the Gaza Strip, 25% (n = 9) had at least one bomb crater within the lethal range (360 m) and 83.3% (n = 30) within the infrastructure damage and injury range (800 m) of their facilities. The shortest distance of a bomb crater from a hospital was 14.7 m. Two hospitals had as many as 23 and 21 bomb craters within 800 m of their facilities and one hospital had seven bomb craters within 360 m. Thirty-eight M-84 bombs were detonated within 800 m of hospitals in the Israeli military defined evacuation zone. Given the known blast effect of these M-84 bombs, the impact from the bomb detonations near hospitals likely killed and injured people in and around the hospital area, which could include civilians and hospital staff, and likely damaged hospital infrastructure. The results of this study suggest indiscriminate bombing in dangerous proximities to hospital infrastructure, which is afforded special protection under international humanitarian law (IHL).
Adherence to anti-seizure medications and self-reported availability and affordability of the medications in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Authors: Shawel Bethlehem , Berhane Yemane
Published: October 2024

Background

Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are the primary therapeutic mode to control seizures in patients with epilepsy. Adherence to the medications is critical to achieving the goals of epilepsy therapy. However, the cost of the medications and the interrupted availability of ASMs contribute to non-adherence to epilepsy treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to assess ASM adherence and its association with self-reported medication availability and affordability.

Objective

To assess whether self-reported availability and affordability of Anti-seizure medications affect medication adherence among Epileptic Patients at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from January 13, 2023 to March 23, 2023.

Methods

A hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 357 epileptic patients using the Consecutive sampling method in Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ASM adherence was measured using a self-report 3items questionnaire focusing on medication use patterns of patients from their last visit to the current visit. Statistical packages for Social Sciences 26.0 version statistical software cleaned, coded and analyzed the collected data. Binary logistic regression was fitted, and P-values less than 0.05 were considered to have statistical significance.

Result

The prevalence of ASM adherence was 55.2% with 95% CI (50.1%; 60.2%). About two-thirds (61.3%) of patients in this study had limited access to the ASMs or could not afford the medications. Self-reported availability of ASMs (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.01, 3.98) was significantly associated with ASM adherence. Self-reported affordability of ASMs was associated with ASM adherence in the Bivariate logistic regression analysis; however, when adjusted for other covariates in the multivariable logistic regression, no significant association was observed (p = 0.674).

Conclusion and recommendation

Only about half of the epileptic patients adhered to ASMs at Eka Kotebe General Hospital. Self-reported availability of ASMs was an essential factor. Improving access to ASMs is critical to improving adherence and management of epilepsy.
Interpretable dimensionality reduction and classification of mass spectrometry imaging data in a visceral pain model via non-negative matrix factorization
Authors: Pathirage Kasun , Virmani Aman , Scott Alison J. , Traub Richard J. , Ernst Robert K. , Ghodssi Reza , Babadi Behtash , Abshire Pamela Ann
Published: October 2024

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful scientific tool for understanding the spatial distribution of biochemical compounds in tissue structures. In this paper, we introduce three novel approaches in MSI data processing to perform the tasks of data augmentation, feature ranking, and image registration. We use these approaches in conjunction with non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to resolve two of the biggest challenges in MSI data analysis, namely: 1) the large file sizes and associated computational resource requirements and 2) the complexity of interpreting the very high dimensional raw spectral data. There are many dimensionality reduction techniques that address the first challenge but do not necessarily result in readily interpretable features, leaving the second challenge unaddressed. We demonstrate that NMF is an effective dimensionality reduction algorithm that reduces the size of MSI datasets by three orders of magnitude with limited loss of information, yielding spatial and spectral components with meaningful correlation to tissue structure that may be used directly for subsequent data analysis without the need for additional clustering steps. This analysis is demonstrated on an MSI dataset from female Sprague-Dawley rats for an animal model of comorbid visceral pain hypersensitivity (CPH). We find that high-dimensional MSI data (∼ 100,000 ions per pixel) can be reduced to 20 spectral NMF components with < 20% loss in reconstruction accuracy. The resulting spatial NMF components are reproducible and correlate well with H&E-stained tissue images. These components may also be used to generate images with enhanced specificity for different tissue types. Small patches of NMF data (i.e., 20 spatial NMF components over 20 × 20 pixels) provide an accuracy of ∼ 87% in classifying CPH vs naïve control subjects. This paper presents the novel data processing methodologies that were used to produce these results, encompassing novel data processing pipelines for data augmentation to support training for classification, ranking of features according to their contribution to classification, and image registration to enhance tissue-specific imaging.
Post-surgery spontaneous pneumothorax: Long-term recurrence rates and follow-up challenges revealed by a written survey
Authors: Nonomura Ryo , Yabe Ryuga , Oshima Yutaka , Sasaki Takanobu , Ishibashi Naoya , Sugawara Takafumi
Published: October 2024

Background

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) is a frequently encountered respiratory condition. Despite advancements in treatment techniques, there is currently no standardized treatment protocol. The aim of this study was to standardize the management of SP by collecting long-term postoperative data through written surveys.

Methods

Our study included 673 surgeries performed for SP at our institution between January 2011 and December 2019. We administered written surveys via mail to gather data on post-surgery recurrence rates and other related factors. The survey addressed key symptoms, medical consultations, and specific diagnoses of SP after surgery.

Results

The effective response rate was 70.7%, with significant differences observed across age groups. Among teenagers, the recurrence rate peaked three years postoperatively, with an ipsilateral recurrence rate of 4.8% and a contralateral incidence rate of 11.8%, both of which were significantly higher than those in other age groups. Additionally, age, sex, postoperative contralateral pneumothorax, and the period before the survey were identified as factors influencing the survey results.

Conclusion

This survey highlighted the need for long-term postoperative follow-up for teenagers. While written surveys have limitations, this study provided valuable data for understanding the outcomes of SP. Moving forward, it is advisable to conduct surveys using other effective tools or to continue follow-ups in outpatient clinics.
Spatial distribution and characteristics of women reporting cervical cancer screening in Malawi: An analysis of the 2020 to 2021 Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey data
Authors: Twabi Hussein Hassan , Msosa Takondwa Charles , Meja Samuel James , Mukoka Madalo , Semphere Robina , Chipungu Geoffrey , Lissauer David , Odland Maria Lisa , Tudor Jenny , Msefula Chisomo , Nliwasa Marriott
Published: October 2024

Background

Malawi has one of the highest incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer in the world. Despite a national strategic plan and the roll-out of VIA and screen-and-treat services, cervical cancer screening coverage in Malawi remains far below the national target.Using a nationally representative sample of women enumerated in the Malawi Population-based Impact Assessment (MPHIA) survey we estimated the prevalence and spatial distribution of self-reported cervical cancer screening as a proxy for uptake in Malawi.

Methods

MPHIA was a nationally representative household survey in Malawi, targeting adults aged 15 and above, that employed a cross-sectional, two-stage, cluster design. The primary aim of MPHIA was to assess the regional prevalence of viral load suppression and the progress towards achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals among adults aged 15 and above. The survey was carried out between January 2020 and April 2021. Prevalence of self-reported cervical cancer screening by different characteristics was estimated accounting for the survey design using the Taylor series approach. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression approaches to examine associations between the prevalence of cervical cancer screening and demographic characteristics.

Findings

A total of 13,067 adult (15 years and older) female individuals were surveyed during the MPHIA 2020 to 2021 survey, corresponding to a weighted total of 5,604,578. The prevalence of self-reported cervical cancer screening was 16.5% (95% CI 15.5–18.0%), with women living with HIV having a higher prevalence of 37.8% (95% CI 34.8–40.9) compared to 14.0% (95% CI 13.0–15.0) in HIV negative women. The highest prevalence of screening was reported in the Southwest zone (SWZ) (24.1%, 95% CI 21.3–26.9) and in major cities of Blantyre (25.9%, 95% CI 22.9–29.0), and Lilongwe (19.6%, 95% CI 18.0–21.3). Higher self-reported screening was observed in women who resided in urban regions ((22.7%; 95% CI 21.4–24.0) versus women who resided in rural areas (15.2%; 95% CI 14.0–16.8). Cervical cancer screening was strongly associated with being HIV positive (aOR 2.83; 95% CI 2.29–3.50), ever having been pregnant (aOR 1.93; 95% CI 1.19–3.14), attaining higher education level than secondary education (aOR 2.74; 95% CI 1.67–4.52) and being in the highest wealth quintile (aOR 2.86; 95% CI 2.01–4.08).

Interpretation

The coverage of cervical cancer screening in Malawi remains low and unequal by region and wealth/education class. Current screening efforts are largely being focussed on women accessing HIV services. There is need for deliberate interventions to upscale cervical cancer screening in both HIV negative women and women living with HIV.
LTPLN: Automatic pavement distress detection
Authors: Huang Wen-Qing , Feng Liu , He Yuan-Lie
Published: October 2024

Automatic pavement disease detection aims to address the inefficiency in practical detection. However, traditional methods heavily rely on low-level image analysis, handcrafted features, and classical classifiers, leading to limited effectiveness and poor generalization in complex scenarios. Although significant progress has been made with deep learning methods, challenges persist in handling high-resolution images and diverse disease types. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel approach based on the lightweight Transformer Patch Labeling Network (LTPLN) to enhance the efficiency of automatic pavement disease detection and overcome the limitations of existing methods. Firstly, the input images undergo histogram equalization preprocessing to enhance image quality. Subsequently, the images are evenly partitioned into small patch blocks, serving as inputs to the enhanced Transformer model. This enhancement strategy involves integrating feature map labels at each layer of the model to reduce computational complexity and enhance model lightweightness. Furthermore, a depthwise separable convolution module is introduced into the Transformer architecture to introduce convolutional bias and reduce the model’s dependence on large amounts of data. Finally, an iterative training process utilizing the label distillation strategy based on expectation maximization is employed to update the labels of patch blocks and roughly locate the positions of pavement diseases under weak supervision. Experimental results demonstrate that compared to the baseline model, the proposed enhanced model achieves a reduction of 2.5G Flops computational complexity and a 16% speed improvement on a private pavement disease dataset, with only a 1.2 percentage point decrease in AUC accuracy. Moreover, compared to other mainstream image classification models, this model exhibits more balanced performance on a public dataset, with improved accuracy and speed that better align with the practical requirements of pavement inspection. These findings highlight the significant performance advantages of the LTPLN model in automatic pavement disease detection tasks, making it more efficiently applicable in real-world scenarios.
Coordination of protection and operation in micro-grids with inverter based distributed generation using SAOA
Authors: Tanha Mohammad Hassan , Gandomkar Majid , Nikoukar Javad
Published: October 2024

In the proposed protection coordination scheme, the depreciation of the operation time of the entire relay in the primary and backup protection modes for all possible fault locations is considered as the objective function. The limitations of this problem include the equations for calculating the operation time of the relays in both forward and reverse directions, the limitation of the coordination time interval, the limitation of the setting parameters of the proposed relays, the restriction of the size of the reactance that limits the fault current, and the limitation of the standing time of distributed generation per small signal fault. The operation time of the relays depends on the short circuit current passing through them, so it is necessary to calculate the network variables before the fault occurs. For this purpose, optimal daily power distribution should be used in the micro-grid, because micro-grids consist of storage and renewable resources. The proposed plan includes the uncertainties of consumption and generation capacity of renewable resources. Then, to achieve a reliable answer with a low standard deviation, the refrigeration optimization algorithm is used to solve the proposed problem. Finally, the proposed design is implemented on the standard test system in the MATLAB software, and then the capabilities of the proposed design are examined.
Direct medical costs of cardiovascular diseases: Do cost components vary according to sex and age?
Authors: Gilbert-Ouimet Mahée , Sultan-Taïeb Hélène , Ben Charif Ali , Brisson Chantal , Lavigne-Robichaud Mathilde , Milot Alain , Trudel Xavier , Demers Éric , Guertin Jason Robert
Published: October 2024

Background

The aim was to estimate direct medical costs of men and women patients by age group related to cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, strokes) in the province of Quebec, Canada from the economic perspective of the healthcare public system, encompassing five cost components: physician fees, hospitalization (hospital stay, intensive care stay), emergency visits and medication costs.

Methods

This matched case-control study involved secondary data from a longitudinal cohort study (1997–2018) of 4584 white-collar workers. Participants were followed for a four-year period. We used an incremental cost method of difference-in-difference. Descriptive analyses using frequency counts, arithmetic means, standardized differences, chi-squared tests, and Student’s T-tests were performed. Direct medical costs were estimated using mean and 95% bootstrap confidence interval.

Results

Direct medical costs per case were CAD $4970 [4344, 5595] for all in the first year after the event. For men patients, direct medical costs were $5351 [4649, 6053] and $4234 [2880, 5588] for women in the first year after the event, $221 [–229, 671] for men and $226 [–727, 1179] for women in the second year, and $11 [–356, 377] for men and $-24 [–612, 564] for women in the third year. This decrease was observed for both men and women, with higher costs for men. Within the first year, physician fees dominated CVD-associated costs among both men and women cases younger than 65. However, hospital stay represented the costliest component among cases aged 65 and older, incurring higher costs in women compared to men. In the subsequent years, the distribution of costs showed variations according to sex and age, with either medication costs or physician fees being the predominant components, depending on the specific subgroups.

Conclusions

CVD-associated direct medical costs varied by components, sex, age, and follow-up years. Patients with CVD incurred more than twice the medical costs as compared to patients without CVD of same age and sex.
An exploratory study of the impact of CT slice thickness and inter-rater variability on anatomical accuracy of malunited distal radius models and surgical guides for corrective osteotomy
Authors: Gryska Emilia , Fredrikson Per , Libberecht Katleen , Stor Swinkels Charlotte , Axelsson Peter , Björkman Anders
Published: October 2024

High-resolution CT images are essential in clinical practice to accurately replicate patient anatomy for 3D virtual surgical planning and designing patient-specific surgical guides. These technologies are commonly used in corrective osteotomy of the distal radius. This study evaluated how the virtual radius models and the surgical guides’ surface that is in contact with the bone vary between experienced raters. Further, the discrepancies from the reference radius of surgical guides and radius models created from CT images with slice thicknesses larger than the reference standard of 0.625mm were assessed. Maximum overlap with radius model was measured for guides, and absolute average distance error was measured for radius models. The agreement between the lower-resolution guides surface and the raters’ guide surface was evaluated. The average inter-rater guide surface overlap was -0.11mm [95% CI: -0.13–0.09]. The surface of surgical guides designed on CT images with a 1mm slice thickness deviated from the reference radius within the inter-rater range (0.03mm). For slice thicknesses of 1.25mm and 1.5mm, the average guide surface overlap was 0.12mm and 0.15mm, respectively. The average inter-rater radius surface variability was 0.03mm [95% CI: 0.025–0.035]. The discrepancy from the reference of all radius models created from CT images with a slice thickness larger than the reference slice thickness was notably larger than the inter-rater variability but, excluding one case, did not exceed 0.2mm. The results suggest that 1mm CT images are suitable for surgical guide design. While 1.25mm slices are commonly used for virtual planning in hand and forearm surgery, slices larger than 1mm may approach the limit of clinical acceptability. Discrepancies in radius models were below 1mm, likely below clinical relevance.
Characteristics of creative individuals: An umbrella review protocol
Authors: Thabane Alex , McKechnie Tyler , Staibano Phillip , Calic Goran , Kruse Colin , Busse Jason W. , Parpia Sameer , Bhandari Mohit
Published: October 2024

Introduction

The properties of creative products–novelty and usefulness–are generally agreed upon by researchers. Yet, consensus is lacking on which personal and environmental factors contribute to an individual’s creative potential, or to what extent. substantial research work has been conducted in this area, leading to the publication of many systematic reviews and meta-analyses collating the available evidence. However, many of these reviews have differing methodological and theoretical characteristics, and often report conflicting results. To summarize the current review literature on factors associated with creativity and better understand the similarities and discrepancies among reviews on the same topic, we plan to conduct an umbrella review of reviews.

Methods

This protocol has been registered in Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/H78YS). We will search MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed reviews exploring factors associated with creativity. The quality of the included reviews will be assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Systematic Reviews (ROBIS), and the degree of study overlap across reviews assessed through calculation of the corrected covered area (CCA). Descriptive analyses will be performed to synthesize the results of the included reviews. We plan to use the results to create a holistic framework of the factors associated with creativity, which could be used to cross-validate existing creativity theories, or create new ones.

Ethics and dissemination

The results of this umbrella review will be published in a relevant psychology-focused journal and presented at local, national and international conferences. As all data is peer-reviewed and presented in aggregate, we will not require ethics approval.
Uso de herramientas del Campus Virtual para la evaluación de competencias durante la pandemia
Authors: Lluch-Molins Laia , Cano-García Elena
Published: October 2024

En el curso 2020-2021, la situación producida por la pandemia hizo que la educación superior adoptase modalidades de enseñanza híbridas que pueden consolidarse en la época post-pandemia ajustando aquellos aspectos que se implementaron por la urgencia de un cambio sobrevenido pero cuyo sentido pedagógico puede ser revisado. Se presenta un estudio en el que se analiza la satisfacción, la frecuencia de uso y la utilidad percibida de las herramientas del Campus Virtual tanto de profesorado como de estudiantado para la evaluación de competencias, en un contexto de docencia híbrida en la Universidad de Barcelona. A través de un cuestionario (n=129 profesores y n=265 estudiantes) se constata una mayor satisfacción de los docentes con esas herramientas y una alta coincidencia entre ambos colectivos respecto a su escasa utilidad para el desarrollo y la evaluación de las competencias transversales. Las actividades indicadas como más útiles (BB-Collaborate, Tarea y Foro) parecen valorarse más por su empleo que por su verdadera posible contribución al desarrollo competencial. Todo ello posee implicaciones para los futuros diseños de docencia universitaria en el marco de una educación basada en competencias, dado que aprovechar las herramientas de Moodle como apoyo al desarrollo competencial del estudiantado sigue siendo un reto de futuro.
THE EFFECTS OF URBAN EXPANSION ON AGRICULTURAL LAND IN MAKURDI LGA. BENUE STATE
Authors: Ode Job Ijwo
Published: October 2024

This study examined the effect of urban expansion on agricultural land in Makurdi local government area of Benue State. The study objectives were to assess the spatiotemporal changes in land use/ land cover in Makurdi local government area, to examine the causes of urban expansion in Makurdi local government area, to examine the consequences of urban expansion on agricultural land in Makurdi local government area and to suggest the measures of solving problems of urban expansion on agricultural land in Makurdi local government area. The study used a sample size of (210) Two Hundred and Ten respondents selected through purposive sampling techniques. Data collected were analyzed using frequency and percentage counts. The result revealed that, there is significant change in the trend land use/land cover in the study area. Urban expansion in Makurdi local government has been observed to be taking place at the fringes of Makurdi town. The expansion is caused by increase in population, availability of job opportunities, social attractive life style and the presence of infrastructural facilities. The study also discovered that, urban expansion has affected agricultural land in Makurdi local government area and this has impact on the residents of the study area. These effects include loss of biodiversity, shortage of land at peri-urban areas for agricultural production, high cost of land and rent, small sizes of farmlands and environmental hazards. The study recommend planning policies that can help guide urban expansion in more ecological sustainable manner, planning techniques that can help concentrate expansion within targeted areas to restrain development from extending uncontrollably into agricultural land , industrial sites and economic centers should be concentrated in urban central districts to conserve vast land at the peri-urban areas for agricultural activities, educative programs organized by experts to enlightened the residents should be employed and government should employ population control measures/ policies to regulate the growth of population and its attendant effects in Makurdi local government area of Benue State.
ChatGPT não é gênero discursivo
Authors: Bonfante Gleiton
Published: October 2024

Uma das consequências da dataficação é uma relação extrativa entre sociedade e empresas de tecnologia cujas plataformas se embrenham em nossas vidas, como as Inteligências Artificiais. Umas das consequências do rápido desenvolvimento e popularização de ferramentas de inteligência artificial é o questionamento em torno da conveniência de sua incorporação às práticas pedagógicas como a produção textual. Aqui é defendido que a IA pode ser relevante para prática de escrita, mas não é um gênero discursivo. A partir das potencialidades e impedimentos do ChatGPT, é discutido o conceito de gênero discursivo, o estatuto da escrita em nossa sociedade, e os processos capitais por trás de decisões políticas em torno da adoção de IA no ensino público. As lentes teóricas que enquadram esse trabalho são da Linguística Aplicada Indisciplinar (Moita Lopes, 2006) e do Capitalismo de Vigilância (Zuboff, 2015). Entre os resultados aponta-se a configuração de um regime de reminiscências despersonalizadas como forma de permanência discursiva na atual economia dos dados.
AS TRANSFORMAÇÕES EMERGENTES DA (DES)REGULAMENTAÇÃO DA POLÍTICA NACIONAL DE RESÍDUOS SÓLIDOS
Authors: Guadagnin Mario Ricardo , Assunção Viviane Kraieski de
Published: October 2024

Este artigo resgata e relata os procedimentos adotados na construção do plano nacional de resíduos sólidos denominado “Planares” (2020 - 2022) na gestão do governo Bolsonaro (2019-2022).  A discussão tomou como ponto de partida a versão preliminar do plano e as audiências públicas online em meio à pandemia de Covid-19. O estudo enfocou as alterações ocorridas na PNRS. A elaboração do planares operacionalizada pelo acordo de cooperação técnica entre ABRELPE e MMA, em conjunto com outras quatro associações setoriais configuram o que se denomina 5As dos resíduos sólidos. Com abordagem qualitativa, análise bibliográfica documental e de conteúdo com participação direta nas audiências públicas online, enquanto pesquisador, identificam-se as novas configurações e arranjos resultantes das desregulamentações da PNRS, em suas diretrizes e estratégias, com redefinição de rotas tecnológicas excludentes que remodelam processos de inclusão perversa, despossessão dos catadores e comodificação dos resíduos.
DISTRIBUIÇÃO ESPACIAL E TEMPORAL DE GEADAS NO RIO GRANDE DO SUL ENTRE 2003-2018
Authors: Tazzo Ivonete Fatima , Trentin Gustavo , Cardoso Loana Silveira , Junges Amanda Heemann
Published: October 2024

A geada é um fenômeno meteorológico frequente no estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS), que causa impactos negativos na produção agropecuária. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a distribuição espacial e temporal de geadas no RS por meio de dados (data de ocorrência e intensidade) do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) dos municípios de Bagé, Uruguaiana, Bom Jesus, Caxias do Sul, Passo Fundo, São Luiz Gonzaga, Santa Maria e Santa Vitória do Palmar, de março a novembro na série 2003 a 2018. No período ocorreram, no total, 1.712 geadas, com média de 107 por ano e variação anual entre 58 (2017) a 161 (2007). Espacialmente, variou de 6,5% (São Luiz Gonzaga) a 20,4% (Bom Jesus), com maiores registros no inverno (81%), seguido do outono (13%) e primavera (6%). Em todos os anos, com exceção de 2010, e locais (exceto Uruguaiana) apresentaram maior ocorrência de geadas precoces (outono). Quanto à intensidade, 47% das geadas ocorridas no período foram fracas, 24% moderadas e 29% fortes. A maior possibilidade de ocorrências de geadas foi para Bom Jesus (211 dias com 90% de possibilidade) e a menor foi para Uruguaiana (108 dias).
QUALIDADE FÍSICA DO SOLO SOB CONVERSÃO DE FLORESTA EM SISTEMA AGROFLORESTAL NA AMAZÔNIA CENTRAL
Authors: Oliveira Alexandre Gomes de , Santos Luís Antônio Coutrim dos , Gomes Romário Pimenta , Santos Mariana Coutrim dos , Santos Noeme da Costa
Published: October 2024

O conhecimento da qualidade física do solo em sistemas agroflorestais na região amazônica é importante para conhecer o nível de mudança no ecossistema e subsidiar na escolha de metodologias de manejo conservacionista. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a variabilidade espacial e qualidade física do solo em função da conversão de floresta em sistema agroflorestal na Amazônia Central. O estudo foi realizado em uma propriedade rural com cultivo de agrofloresta (SAF) e área sob floresta nativa (FN), localizado no município de Silves, Amazonas. Nessas áreas, foram estabelecidas malhas de 70x70 m, com espaçamento regular de 10 m, totalizando 64 pontos e, em seguida, coletadas as amostras de solos nas profundidades 0,00-0,10, 0,10-0,20 e 0,20-0,40 m. Foram avaliados os atributos físicos: análise granulométrica, macroporosidade (MaP), microporosidade (MiP), porosidade total (Pt), densidade do solo (Ds) e resistência do solo à penetração (RSP). Os dados foram analisados, utilizando-se estatística descritiva e geoestatística. Os resultados mostram que a área de SAF modificou positivamente apenas para os atributos Ds e Pt, enquanto a FN apresentou as melhores condições para MaP e RSP. Todos os atributos em estudo apresentaram dependência espacial em todas as profundidades e os valores de alcances foram maiores que o espaçamento da malha, variando de 24,60 a 111,30 m para FN e 16,38 a 85,11 m para o SAF.
ANÁLISE DA PRECIPITAÇÃO PLUVIOMÉTRICA POR MEIO DE DADOS CHIRPS E GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE
Authors: Mendes Luiz Pedro de Oliveira , Romeiro Mariana Rodrigues Magalhães , Pimenta Lucas Jesus Leal , Oliveira Willer Fagundes de , Santos Silvânio Rodrigues dos
Published: October 2024

Neste trabalho foram comparados os dados de precipitação estimados pelo CHIRPS com os dados observados em estações meteorológicas terrestres, utilizando a escala temporal mensal, além de compreender a variabilidade espacial da qualidade dos dados no norte de Minas Gerais. Complementarmente, foi desenvolvida uma rotina computacional utilizando a plataforma Google Earth Engine (GEE), para realizar análises espaço-temporal dos dados CHIRPS em escala regional, municipal e, também, em bacias hidrográficas. A extração dos dados CHIRPS foi realizada utilizando as coordenadas geográficas de cada estação terrestre do INMET/ANA, por meio de uma implementação (script) no Google Colab, obtendo-se os valores das precipitações mensais para o pixel coincidente à geolocalização de cada estação. Ainda no Google Colab, foram implementadas métricas comparativas dos dados observados e estimados. Já a rotina desenvolvida (PluvCHIRPS-V1) possui quatro módulos, estruturados por meio de programação orientada a objetos com a linguagem JavaScript do GEE. Diante dos resultados encontrados nessa pesquisa e, também, da baixa densidade de estações meteorológicas terrestres na área de estudo, recomenda-se a utilização do CHIRPS como fonte alternativa de dados meteorológicos. A rotina computacional é intuitiva, rápida e automatizada, com grande potencial de análise de séries temporais de precipitação pluviométrica em escala municipal e regional.
RACISMO RECREATIVO NOS AMBIENTES DE ENSINO: RELATOS DE EDUCADORES/AS NEGROS/AS
Authors: Ramos Guilherme Felipe , Campos Margarida de Cássia
Published: October 2024

O racismo é um fenômeno que abrange todos os ambientes da sociedade, inclusive a educação, sendo assim, para combatê-lo, é preciso uma luta incessante da sociedade mundial. A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo discutir como o racismo recreativo afeta as vivências e existências de professores/as negros/as nos ambientes de ensino. Para tanto, foi utilizada uma pesquisa de viés qualitativo e, como procedimento metodológico, realizou-se uma revisão de literatura sobre os conceitos empregados na pesquisa, seguida da organização de um questionário, respondido por 13 professores/as negros/as que atuam em instituições de ensino do município de Londrina, Paraná. Ao final da pesquisa, conclui-se que as manifestações do racismo recreativo nos ambientes de ensino ainda são latentes, e nem mesmo os/as docentes que conquistaram minimamente uma ascensão social, estão isentos/as dessa opressão.
Analyzing Coastal Groundwater Variability in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra: A Spatio-temporal GIS Approach+6
Authors:   Amity University Maharashtra, Pramod Kushe Vishal
Published: October 2024

Due to a sharp increase in groundwater demands in coastal regions, groundwater levels are getting depleted day by day. The local groundwater table fluctuation eventually speeds up sea water intrusion. The present study investigates spatial and temporal groundwater level fluctuations to identify the area affected by sea water intrusion as well as for sustainable water resource management in coastal stretch of Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, which is about 121 km. Using groundwater level data collected from Central Groundwater Board (CGWB), Sindhudurg for the period from 1991 to 2022, fluctuations of groundwater levels were examined. The collected levels were evaluated for monsoon, pre-monsoon & post-monsoon seasons and all levels were interpolated over the study area using the Inverse Distance Weighted Method as a spatial interpolation technique in QGIS 3.22.1, in order to obtain the actual differences in groundwater levels. According to the results, the groundwater level varies from 1.88m to 13.45 m below ground level (bgl) in the pre-monsoon season, from 0.1m to 7.05 m (bgl) in the post-monsoon season and from 1m to 10.6m (bgl) in the monsoon season. Using statistical tests like Mann-Kendall test & Sen's slope estimator, the pattern of variation of groundwater levels was anticipated. According to our findings, over 80% of the basin has a falling water table during the monsoon season. It was observed that the groundwater level in the pre-monsoon season was more as compared to those in the monsoon and the post-monsoon seasons in the entire study area. The overall outcome of the study demonstrates that the groundwater level fluctuations were non-uniform in the study area, which may cause an increase in the sea water intrusion, leading to a decrease in crop production. Keywords: GIS, Groundwater level, Sea water intrusion, Mann Kendall test, Spatial interpolation, Sen’s slope estimator.