bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Arsenic, Vanadium, Mercury, and Cadmium in Food and Drug Packaging
Authors: Mukhi Senna , Rukmini M. S. , Ajay Manjrekar Poornima , Iyyaswami Reghupathi , H. Sindhu
Published: March 2024

Background Food and drug packaging materials are an integral part of our everyday life.  Noxious elements can inadvertently be included in packaging materials in various stages of their production. Adulterants, adhesives, colorants and heavy metal interference are the common sources of contamination in food packaging materials. Heavy metal toxicity has far-reaching ill effects on living organisms. The present study aimed at qualitatively and quantitatively analysing heavy metal content of various materials that are used for food and drug packaging in India. Methods The qualitative detection was done by rapid assay and heavy metals were quantified with the help of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). A total of thirteen types of food and drug packaging materials were procured from local market and analysed for four heavy metals viz. arsenic (As), vanadium (V), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd). The concentration of each heavy metal in the samples was compared with the permissible values published by the European Council. Results Heavy metals were qualitatively detected in ten out of thirteen samples. Among the ten samples mercury and arsenic were detected the most followed by cadmium and vanadium. Quantitative estimation by ICP-OES showed presence of vanadium and cadmium in ten samples and arsenic and mercury in all the thirteen samples above the permissible range. Conclusions The notable elevation in mercury concentration, followed by cadmium, arsenic and vanadium registering the least, presents a potential health hazard to consumers and compromises the food quality.
Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of college students in disposing used masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in DKI Jakarta Province
Authors: Inovasanti Avicenna , Susanna Dewi , Poddar Sandeep , Hermawati Ema , Kusuma Aria
Published: March 2024

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for mask production which has caused the problem of mask waste generating in the environment without being managed. This research was conducted to determine the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and sociodemographic factors with college student behaviours in managing household mask waste in Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta Province. Methods This study used a quantitative approach and cross-sectional study design. Data collection was carried out using an online questionnaire consisting of the respondents’ sociodemographic, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Results The majority of students had high knowledge (63.3%), positive attitudes (52.5%), and good behaviours (50.6%). Statistically, there was a significant relationship between knowledge and behaviours (p = 0.022), but there was no significant relationship between attitudes and behaviours (p = 0.269). In addition, the sociodemographic factor variables showed a significant relationship between place of residence and behaviours (p = 0.008). However, there was no significant relationship between age, gender, education, and study program groups and behaviours (p > 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that living with family was a dominant factor for bad behaviours (OR 1.664, 95% CI=1.124-2.464), and the second risk factor was the low level of knowledge has a significant relationship with the behaviours of mask waste management at home (OR=1.559, 95% CI=1.044-2.330). Conclusions Students who live alone also show better behaviour compared to students who live with their families. The place of residence variable has the greatest influence on the behaviour of mask waste management at the household, followed by the knowledge variable.
Epidemiology of maxillofacial injuries during monsoon and non-monsoon season in India: a data-based retrospective study from a tertiary care dental teaching hospital
Authors: Shukla Anand Deep , G Srikanth , Chakravarthy Kalyan , Kaushal Ayusha , Udeshi Hariti M
Published: March 2024

Background Maxillofacial Injury (MFI) is a major public health concern that is multifactorial in etiology-road traffic accidents (RTAs), falls and violence. RTAs are the major cause of maxillofacial injuries (MFIs) in countries like India. Recent studies have shown that maxillofacial fractures (MFF) constitute a significant proportion of facial injuries seen in hospitals (56.5%). The incidence of maxillofacial fractures can vary depending on several factors, including age, gender, and environmental factors. Of particular concern is the impact of seasonal variations, such as the monsoon season, which lead to high incidence of maxillofacial fractures due to hazardous conditions. Methods A retrospective review of medical records was done in a tertiary-care dental teaching hospital was done. Results Data of 200 subjects including 154 males (77%) and 46 females (23%) with a mean age of 35.38 ± 16.541 years; age range: 1 – 80 years was analyzed. A total of 200 MFI’s were recorded between 2021 and 2022. Soft tissue injuries were reported in 37.5% of the cases in non-monsoon season and 42.3% of the cases during the monsoon season. Dentoalveolar fractures were reported in 6.2% of the cases during the non-monsoon seasons and 7.7% during the monsoon season. In this study, mandible was the most fractured bone (n=104,52%) followed by zygomatic complex (n=50, 25%). The frequently observed pattern among mandibular fracture was condyle 8.3% during the non-monsoon season and 2.9% during the monsoon season). Conclusions The results of the study indicate that mandibular fractures are most commonly seen in maxillofacial fractures, followed by fractures of the zygomatic complex. The study also reveals a higher incidence of soft tissue injuries and dentoalveolar fractures during the monsoon season. Further research is warranted to explore the factors that contribute to the seasonal variation in maxillofacial fractures for effective interventions to reduce their occurrence.
The antimicrobial effect of Limosilactobacillus reuteri as probiotic on oral bacteria: A scoping review
Authors: Ananda Nissia , Suniarti Dewi Fatma , Bachtiar Endang Winiati
Published: March 2024

Dysbiosis among oral microbial community in the oral cavity can lead to several oral diseases. Probiotic therapy is known to correct these imbalances. Limosilactobacillus reuteri is one of the most studied strains of probiotics and can control oral microbiota through reuterin, a wide-spectrum antimicrobial agent. The objective of this review was to evaluate the effect of the antimicrobial activity of Limosilactobacillus reuteri on the oral bacteria of humans. This review used PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases as bibliographic resources. Studies with matching keywords were analyzed and screened with PRISMA-ScR recommendations. Sixteen articles were selected for this review, which included a total of 832 patients. Based on this review, Limosilactobacillus reuteri has a strong antibacterial effect against Streptococcus mutans in healthy individuals but is not effective against Lactobacillus. Additionally, it has a significant antibacterial effect against Porphiromonas gingivalis in patients with periodontitis, although its effectiveness is not stable in patients with peri-implant infections. Furthermore, Limosilactobacillus reuterihas varying results against other bacteria, indicating the need for further extensive research to ensure its efficacy.
Corporate governance and shareholders’ confidence in cooperatives: a systematic literature review
Authors: Thangaveloo Arasu , Dorasamy Magiswary , Bin Ahmad Abdul Aziz , Marimuthu Siva Barathi , Jayabalan Jayamalathi
Published: March 2024

Background The confidence of Bottom 40 (B40) shareholders is crucial for cooperative’s sustenance within wider corporate governance. An in-depth study on cooperatives is needed, as they play a crucial role in the Malaysian economic system and contribute greatly to the country’s social development. However, in the current landscape, confidence among shareholders is at stake. This study aims to identify the research gap into corporate governance for cooperativess in relation to B40 shareholder confidence, as well as identify current study challenges and develop a conceptual framework for future research. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review, with the use of agency theory to assess shareholders’ confidence. Emerald, ProQuest, InderScience, Scopus and Science Direct were the online databases used in this study to search five keyword phrases: corporate governance, confidence, cooperative, agency theory and Bottom 40% (B40) household. Tranfield’s five stages were used to conduct the systematic review. Results Only 5 of the 324 studies assess shareholders’ confidence in cooperatives, as well as one paper on B40 and two papers on agency theory. Our review presents three major findings. First, research in the context of B40 shareholder’s confidence in cooperatives is scarce. Second, the challenges related to shareholders’ confidence in B40 are major issues in the context. Third, research on agency theory in the context of shareholders’ confidence within cooperatives and corporate governance is still scant. Conclusions This review urges the research community to conduct more studies based on the highlighted research gaps.
Linking the ECRIN Metadata Repository with the BBMRI-ERIC Directory to connect clinical studies with related biobanks and collections
Authors: Ohmann Christian , Canham Steve , Majcen Kurt , Meloni Vittorio , Pireddu Luca , Sulis Alessandro , Delussu Giovanni , Frexia Francesca , Holub Petr
Published: March 2024

Background There is much value to be gained by linking clinical studies and (biosample-) collections that have been generated in the context of a clinical study. However, the linking problem is hard because usually no direct references between a clinical study and an associated collection are available. Methods The BBMRI-ERIC Directory and the ECRIN Metadata Repository (MDR), already include much of the information required to link clinical studies and related sample collections. In this study, we present the work performed to find and implement those links across existing corresponding records in the two systems. The linking process between MDR studies and related collections in the BBMRI-ERIC Directory started with a two-stage linking process – one stage searching the BBMRI-ERIC Directory for candidate hits to try to link with MDR records, and a second stage searching the ECRIN MDR for candidate hits to try to link with Directory collections. Thereafter, a systematic search through the BBMRI-ERIC Directory was performed. Results The two-stage linking process resulted in a limited but promising number of linkages. The results of the systematic search of the Directory identified linkage of 202 studies, spanning 284 collections. Conclusions The analysis with existing data sources indicated that links between the BBMRI-ERIC and ECRIN collections exist, but also that they would be difficult to continuously identify and maintain without a great deal of manual work which neither organisation could support. The question arises whether, in the future, systems could be put into place to make the exchange of information and the linkage of identifiers almost automatic.
The genome sequence of the Rivulet moth, Perizoma affinitatum (Stephens, 1831)
Authors: Broad Gavin R. , Sivess Laura , Fletcher Chris , Januszczak Inez , Holt Stephanie , Phillips Dominic ,   Natural History Museum Genome Acquisition Lab,   Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding collective,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life Management, Samples and Laboratory team,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: Sequencing Operations,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life Core Informatics team,   Tree of Life Core Informatics collective,   Darwin Tree of Life Consortium
Published: March 2024

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Perizoma affinitatum (the Rivulet moth; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 357.7 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 25 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.9 kilobases in length.
On Partnership in the Training of Audit Personnel and Trends in Professional Development During the Period of Educational Transformation
Authors: Kazakova Nataliya
Published: March 2024

The article is devoted to the promotion by the Unified Certification Commission of the project of a national system of professional audit education, the implementation of which requires the formation of a Partnership — an association of interested organizations in the field of professional training, qualification certification of audit personnel, as well as professional development and certification of specialists in audit-related types of consulting activities. An analysis and assessment of the quality of methodological preparation of applicants for passing qualifying exams is presented, the influence of the level of preparation of applicants on the results of passing the modules of the professional and qualifying stages of the audit exam is confirmed. Expert opinions on the most pressing topics of exam assignments and exam questions in 2024 have been announced.
A new dictionary of Oriental words in Italian sources, and the chronology of Turkish izafets
Authors: Stachowski Marek
Published: March 2024

Wolfgang Schweickard, a well-known expert in historical Romance linguistics, launched a series Orientalia in 2023. Three fascicles were published between March and August 2023. This author has tried to examine incorrect izafet constructions (such as At Meydan ‘a historical square in Constantinople’, lit. ‘horse square, hippodrome’ instead of the original At Meydanı) excerpted from Italian sources and published in the Orientalia in order to find out how old the phenomenon is and how it came into being. Answers to the two questions are given in the final section.
Dolor lumbar crónico y la conducta sedentaria en estudiantes universitarios de medicina
Authors: Bravo-Cucci Sergio , Gaspar Llana Liliana , Sepulveda Ravines Daniela , Sotomayor Palacios Benji , Ore Puma Fernando
Published: March 2024

Introducción: El dolor lumbar es una condición frecuente en los estudiantes de medicina identificándose diversos factores de riesgo, el objetivo del estudio fue evaluar la asociación entre la presencia de dolor lumbar crónico (DL) y la conducta sedentaria en estudiantes de medicina de una universidad privada.

Materiales y métodos:  estudio transversal analítico, prospectivo observacional, participaron 167 encuestados (101 hombres y 66 mujeres). Las mediciones principales fueron la conducta sedentaria y actividad física fueron medidas a través del Cuestionario Mundial sobre Actividad Física (GPAQ); el dolor lumbar crónico se midió con una temporalidad de 12 meses mediante el cuestionario nórdico de Kuorinka de trastornos musculoesqueléticos.

Resultados: La frecuencia de dolor lumbar fue 67,7% y una media de conducta sedentaria de 9.5 horas (D.T: 3,04), el 70.6%, mantiene un nivel de actividad física saludable, se encontró mayor conducta sedentaria asociada a mayor presencia de DL, al análisis multivariado se encontró que para cada hora sentado se aumenta significativamente la probabilidad de padecer DL (OR 1,17: p= 0.013). Los estudiantes que permanecen de 10 a más horas sentados/recostados presentan un aumento de riesgo de padecer dolor lumbar (ORa = 4,13: p= 0.001) frente a los que permanecen menos de 10 horas sentados/recostados.

Conclusión: Se observa que por cada hora en posición sedente/recostado aumenta en 15% la razón de chance de sufrir dolor lumbar crónico en los estudiantes, así como acumular de 10 a más horas al día en posición sedente recostado aumenta significativamente el padecer de dolor lumbar en los últimos 12 meses.
The Ideological Imperative: Corporate Social Responsibility and News Media Coverage of Firms
Authors: Dewan Yasir , Simons Tal , Wernicke Georg
Published: March 2024

Although prior research attributes news media coverage of firms to the alignment of firm behavior with societal expectations of appropriateness, the appropriateness of firm behavior is judged through an ideological lens. Therefore, the influence of a firm’s behavior on its news media coverage is likely to be contingent on news organizations’ ideology. Focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the focal firm behavior, we argue that conservative news organizations are less likely to consider CSR an appropriate firm behavior because conservatives view CSR as privileging progressive ideals and as undermining shareholder interests. As such, we hypothesize that compared with other news organizations, conservative news organizations are less likely to cover socially responsible firms positively. This relationship is likely to be strengthened for firms led by conservative chief executive officers and for firms with poor stock market performance. We examined the coverage of the S&P 1500 firms from 2002 through 2011 in U.S. newspapers and found support for our hypotheses that compared with other newspapers, conservative newspapers report less positively about socially responsible firms and that this effect is strengthened for conservative-led firms. In contrast to what we expected, however, we found some evidence that socially responsible firms with a strong stock market performance are, in fact, covered less positively in conservative newspapers. Taken together, our theory and findings contribute to an understanding of how the news media’s ideological heterogeneity shapes the relationship between firm behavior (in our case, CSR) and news media coverage of firms.

Funding: Y. Dewan received funding from HEC Foundation.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.17237 .
An acute infection due to hepatitis E in the context of a patient with rituximab and methotrexate therapy
Authors: Cordero Pérez Francisco Josué , Martín Garrido Eva P. , Antona-Herranz Marta , Bailador-Andrés Carmen , Conde-Gacho Pilar , de Diego-Cobos Clara , Rodriguez-Gomez Santiago J.
Published: March 2024

Background: This report presents the influence of immunosuppression by new rheumatological therapies on hepatitis E virus infection in a 54-year-old male patient with an anti-synthetase syndrome and treatment with methotrexate and rituximab. Case description: The patient arrived at the Emergency Department with epigastric pain, vomiting and dark urine. Initial examination revealed signs of inflammation and hepatic dysfunction. Subsequent laboratory tests and imaging confirmed acute hepatitis E infection in the context of recent initiation of rituximab therapy. Despite initial suspicion of pancreatitis, subsequent investigations ruled out pancreatic involvement. Treatment with ribavirin, along with supportive measures, led to significant clinical improvement with resolution of jaundice, ascites, and oedema. Conclusions: This case underscores the importance of considering hepatitis E in patients with autoimmune conditions, especially when initiating immunosuppressive therapies, a situation that is not well described in scientific literature and is increasingly common, necessitating proper recognition.
Baptism of fire
Authors: Sofield Katy
Published: March 2024

Having spent 5 weeks on operational placement, Katy Sofield describes her ‘baptism of fire’.
Who cares?
Authors: Goldenberg Gemma
Published: March 2024

What are the issues related to gender inequality and stereotypes, and how can early years settings help children to have more inclusive attitudes? Gemma Goldenberg reports
HR Guru: Fresh Start
Authors: Edmunds Imogen
Published: March 2024

Imogen Edmunds, managing director of Redwing Solutions, which specialises in HR for early years settings, on effective inductions
5 Parasequences
Authors: Bohacs K. M. , Lazar O. R. , Demko T. M.
Published: March 2024

This chapter presents parasequences—the next larger and more aerially extensive three-dimensional stratal unit of the stratigraphic hierarchy found consistently across most depositional environments. The parasequence scale is the key scale at which we interpret depositional environments, apply Walther’s Law to recognize significant stratal discontinuities, correlate and construct maps, and make tie-ins with well-log signatures.

A parasequence is a distinctive succession of relatively conformable beds and bedsets bounded by surfaces of flooding, abandonment, or reactivation and their correlative surfaces. They can be recognized in a variety of depositional settings through specific and objective attributes of their stratal stacking and bounding surfaces. The definitive interpretation of any particular interval as a parasequence requires two components: (1) recognizing its character in vertical section and (2) establishing its lateral distribution over an area significantly broader than any single component bedset or geomorphic element of the depositional environment (i.e., many hundreds of square kilometers). Although it might be difficult to recognize parasequences in a particular interval or location, they still are extremely likely to exist even there because they appear to be a universal feature of sedimentation.

This chapter introduces the general concepts of parasequences, illustrates those concepts with marine-shelfal examples, and provides practical guidelines for recognizing and correlating parasequences. It then discusses common variations in vertical and lateral aspects, presents an application to building quantitative models of depositional environments, and introduces the expression of parasequences in other depositional settings. Recognition of parasequences is essential because they are the building blocks of the next larger scales in the stratigraphic hierarchy: parasequence sets (systems tracts) and depositional sequences, which are discussed in Bohacs et al. (2022b, Chapter 6 this Memoir).

The following excerpt from table 12 of Lazar et al. (2022a, Chapter 3 this Memoir, p. 72) places parasequences in their context in the sequence-stratigraphic interpretation workflow:
7 Sequence Sets and Composite Sequences
Authors: Bohacs Kevin , Lazar Remus , Demko Tim , Ottmann Jeff , Potma Ken
Published: March 2024

This chapter presents definitions, recognition criteria, and examples of sequence sets and composite sequences within a sequence-stratigraphic framework. This stratigraphic scale provides useful insights into shale-gas and tight-liquid plays with mudstone reservoirs that can be profitably grouped into four families based on stratal stacking at the sequence-set scale.

Depositional sequences stack in progradational, aggradational, retrogradational, or degradational patterns to form sequence sets—exactly analogous to the stacking patterns of parasequences within depositional sequences discussed in Bohacs et al. (2022a, Chapter 6 this Memoir). Successions of sequence sets accumulate between lower-order sequence boundaries to form lower-order composite sequences containing lowstand, transgressive, and highstand sequence sets.

Each of the component, “higher order,” sequences has all the stratal attributes of a depositional sequence, including constituent parasequences and systems tracts, that play a dominant role in controlling the distribution of reservoir, source, and sealing mudstones. Nonetheless, the relative development (thickness and character) of systems tracts in higher-order sequences is strongly influenced by the lower-order stacking pattern of those sequences. Thus, lowstand systems tracts tend to be better developed in depositional sequences within lowstand sequence sets, transgressive systems tracts are better developed in transgressive sequence sets, and so forth in each respective portion of the composite sequence. These repeated stacking patterns of strata and surfaces enable prediction of lithofacies character and distribution, both away from sample control and below the resolution of typical seismic-reflection data. For example, the most widespread, fine-grained, and biogenically dominated strata in the proximate shelfal areas of a composite sequence tend to occur near the top of the transgressive sequence set.

Large-scale sequence-set stratigraphic analysis indicates that mudstone reservoirs do not occur randomly but have a repeated and predictable distribution within one of four families—and that such analysis is essential for understanding the localized variations in reservoir potential and distribution. The shared attributes within each family provide objective criteria for selecting appropriate analogs among mudstone reservoir plays and highlight the utility of conducting a basin-to-play–scale stratigraphic analysis.
9 New Albany Shale, Illinois Basin, USA—Devonian Carbonaceous Mudstone Accumulation in an Epicratonic Sea: Stratigraphic Insights from Outcrop and Subsurface Data
Authors: Lazar O. R. , Schieber J.
Published: March 2024

Extensive organic-carbon–rich fine-grained rock successions accumulated in the epicontinental seas of Laurentia within sedimentary basins, including the Illinois, Appalachian, and Michigan Basins, during the Middle to Late Devonian. The New Albany Shale of the Illinois Basin illustrates the expression of sequence-stratigraphic surfaces and units in an epeiric, intracratonic sea. Four depositional sequences, bounded by laterally extensive erosion surfaces, are recognized and mapped within the Middle to Upper Devonian New Albany Shale succession. Depositional sequences and their component systems tracts have distinct physical, biogenic, and chemical signatures that translate into distinct source- and reservoir-rock properties. Mudstone units record the interplay of organic production, preservation, and dilution. Depositional sequences and systems tracts vary significantly in thickness vertically and laterally throughout the Illinois Basin. Spatial variation in thickness reflects differences in sediment supply and in accommodation resulting from the changes in paleotopography, sea level, and subsidence.

This chapter illustrates that the sequence-stratigraphic approach provides fundamental insights even when the investigation is based on a fairly limited database consisting of a few cores, outcrops, and gamma-ray well logs acquired over several decades at various (and occasionally insufficient) resolutions. The resulting sequence-stratigraphic framework indicates that the sedimentary record of the New Albany Shale is quite discontinuous. Understanding the character and distribution of source- and reservoir-rock properties within this discontinuous stratigraphic succession is useful for focusing future, more detailed analyses of targeted intervals at different exploration to production phases.
15 Last Glacial Maximum Depositional Sequence, Po River Plain, Italy—Ultra-High Resolution Sequence Stratigraphy of a Cenozoic Coastal-Plain-to-Shallow-Marine Foreland Basin
Authors: Campo B. , Morelli A. , Amorosi A. , Bruno L. , Scarponi D. , Rossi V. , Bohacs K. M. , Drexler T.
Published: March 2024

The Upper Pleistocene to Holocene (post-last glacial maximum) succession of the Po River Plain, northern Italy, illustrates the expression of sequence-stratigraphic surfaces and stratal units in paralic and coastal-plain settings that are different from the settings of most of the mudstone units considered thus far in this book. This interval spans shallow-marine, shoreline, lagoonal, swamp, and fluvial-floodplain environments.

The Po River Plain is an excellent place to study how the stratal record of changing eustasy is mediated by sediment-supply rates (detrital and biogenic) as well as by all the components of accommodation (e.g., subsidence, compaction, and groundwater table) for four reasons:

Our study shows how applying the sequence-stratigraphic method and approach from first principles in transitional environments can provide insights into the accumulation of mud in a setting that is the critical link between continental hinterlands and marine depositional basins.
Hand surgery without tourniquet as a model for the development of surgical service innovation for competitive advantage-based service readiness
Authors: Prasetyono Theddeus Octavianus Hari
Published: March 2024

[No abstract available]
Do policy actors have different views of what constitutes evidence in policymaking?
Authors: Piddington Grace , MacKillop Eleanor , Downe James
Published: March 2024

The role played by evidence in policymaking is hotly disputed and there is no agreement over how evidence is defined. This article examines whether policy actors have different views of what counts as evidence and which factors influence these perceptions (for example, professional background, length of service, organisation setting, cultures of evidence)? In addressing this question, we contribute to the growing research focus on the context of evidence use. Q methodology – a mixed method approach to study people’s attitudes towards a topic – is used in interviewing 67 policy actors and comparing two countries, Scotland and Wales, to find out whether there are different cultures of evidence. In both countries, we identified four distinct profiles of attitudes towards evidence: the evidence-based policymaking (EBPM) Idealist, the Pragmatist, the Inclusive, and the Political. Our research highlights important differences between the two contexts, with a greater leaning towards EBPM views of evidence in Wales, and more pragmatism in defining evidence in Scotland. We illustrate how different cultures of evidence coexist in a same context and highlight their similarities and differences. We also contribute to the understanding of the value of Q methodology research by showing that it can be used to compare two datasets collected in different countries.
Turbulence-resistant free space optical communication via chaotic block-matching and 3D filtering
Authors: Wu Tingwei , Mou Hanxiang , He Yutong , Liu Yejun , Song Song , Zhao Lun , Guo Lei
Published: March 2024

In this paper, we propose a chaotic block-matching and three-dimensional (C-BM3D) filtering algorithm to remove the noise and enhance the security in the turbulent channel of free space optical (FSO) communication. We experimentally demonstrate the performance of C-BM3D by comparing it with chaotic non-local means filtering (C-NLM), chaotic Gaussian filtering and chaotic Median filtering based on Log-normal and Gamma-Gamma turbulence models. The results show that the peak signal-to-noise ratios (PSNRs) of C-BM3D in the weak turbulence under Log-normal and Gamma-Gamma models are up to 96.2956 and 93.2853, respectively. The C-BM3D also achieves superior image similarity in Log-normal turbulent channel, with its structural similarity index measures (SSIMs) nearly equal to 1. Additionally, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of C-BM3D ranks the highest, and its bit error rate (BER) improves by at least 15 dB compared to that of the other three algorithms. The experimental results indicate that the C-BM3D can be a good candidate for the next generation of FSO communication in security and turbulence resistance.
Multi-Gb/s visible light communication based on AlGaInP amber micro-LED
Authors: Gao Xumin , Yu Ting , Chang Tianshui , Wu Dongmei , Xie Mingyuan , Chi Nan , Wang Yongjin , Shi Zheng
Published: March 2024

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), pivotal for solid-state illumination (SSL) and highly regarded as potential candidates in visible light communication (VLC) systems, have garnered significant interest as a solution to alleviate the congested radio frequency spectrum in next-generation communications. Addressing the challenge of extremely limited bandwidth due to the low response of phosphor in conventional illumination, our research focuses on an AlGaInP-based amber LED. This LED represents a promising avenue for phosphor-free, high-speed VLC applications when used in conjunction with the prevalent blue LED technology based on nitride materials. The fabricated AlGaInP amber LED, with a mesa diameter of 100 µm2, has undergone comprehensive optoelectronic property and transmission performance characterization. We have successfully demonstrated a proof-of-concept for VLC using the amber LED, achieving a data transmission rate of 2.94 Gb/s that complies with the forward-error-correction (FEC) standard of 3.8 × 10−3, utilizing adaptive bit and power loading with discrete multitone (BPL-DMT) modulation.
Ultrafast optical modulation of the fluorescence from a single-photon emitter in silicon carbide
Authors: He Mengting , Cao Yujing , Lin Junjie , Ju Zhiping , Wu Botao , Wu E
Published: March 2024

The quest for the room-temperature optical transistor based on nonlinearities in single atoms or molecules is attracting a lot of attention. In this work, a single-photon emitter in cubic silicon carbide is verified that can operate as an optical switch at room temperature under pulsed green laser illumination with a near-infrared pulsed laser as the control gate. We demonstrated an ultrafast and reversible optical modulation with a high photoluminescence intensity suppression ratio up to 97.9% and a response time as short as
287.9±5.7  ps
. The current development provides insights for high-precision and ultrafast optical switches, with possibilities for integration with emerging electronic installations to realize more intelligent photoelectric integrated devices.
Miniaturized and highly sensitive fiber-optic Fabry–Perot sensor for mHz infrasound detection
Authors: Wang Peijie , Pan Yufeng , Zhang Jiangshan , Zhai Jie , Liu Deming , Lu Ping
Published: March 2024

Infrasound detection is important in natural disasters monitoring, military defense, underwater acoustic detection, and other domains. Fiber-optic Fabry–Perot (FP) acoustic sensors have the advantages of small structure size, long-distance detection, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and so on. The size of an FP sensor depends on the transducer diaphragm size and the back cavity volume. However, a small transducer diaphragm size means a low sensitivity. Moreover, a small back cavity volume will increase the low cut-off frequency of the sensor. Hence, it is difficult for fiber-optic FP infrasound sensors to simultaneously achieve miniaturization, high sensitivity, and extremely low detectable frequency. In this work, we proposed and demonstrated a miniaturized and highly sensitive fiber-optic FP sensor for mHz infrasound detection by exploiting a Cr-Ag-Au composite acoustic-optic transducer diaphragm and a MEMS technique-based spiral micro-flow hole. The use of the spiral micro-flow hole as the connecting hole greatly reduced the volume of the sensor and decreased the low-frequency limit, while the back cavity volume was not increased. Combined with the Cr-Ag-Au composite diaphragm, a detection sensitivity of −123.19 dB re 1 rad/μPa at 5 Hz and a minimum detectable pressure (MDP) of 1.2 mPa/Hz1/2 at 5 Hz were achieved. The low detectable frequency can reach 0.01 Hz and the flat response range was 0.01–2500 Hz with a sensitivity fluctuation of ±1.5 dB. Moreover, the size of the designed sensor was only 12  mm×Φ12.7  mm. These excellent characteristics make the sensor have great practical application prospects.
Behind the Huawei sanction: national security, ideological prejudices or something else?
Authors: Bu Qingxiu
Published: March 2024

Digital supremacy is fundamental to national security and global economic competitiveness. An imperative of protecting critical information infrastructure (CII) is the theoretical basis for cybersecurity policies. The cyber competition has the potential to reshape global tech supply chains and international economic governance. The winner will make standards and rules that can take the most advantage of a first mover. The assumption that governments across jurisdictions embrace similar policies, regardless of their ideologies, is not a paradoxical proposition any more in the time of globalisation 2.0. Both the US and China use law enforcement power to advance their national strategic interests. The imposition of sanctions against Huawei is an epitome of the current US–China cyber competition game far beyond the mere economic scenario. This study seeks to explore whether the unilateral approaches would be well justified in a new normal of the decoupling era and how to establish a viable global cyber governance regime.
Extreme restructuring of cis-regulatory regions controlling a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator
Authors: Ciren Danielle , Zebell Sophia , Lippman Zachary B.
Published: March 2024

A striking paradox is that genes with conserved protein sequence, function and expression pattern over deep time often exhibit extremely divergent cis-regulatory sequences. It remains unclear how such drastic cis-regulatory evolution across species allows preservation of gene function, and to what extent these differences influence how cis-regulatory variation arising within species impacts phenotypic change. Here, we investigated these questions using a plant stem cell regulator conserved in expression pattern and function over ~125 million years. Using in-vivo genome editing in two distantly related models, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), we generated over 70 deletion alleles in the upstream and downstream regions of the stem cell repressor gene CLAVATA3 (CLV3) and compared their individual and combined effects on a shared phenotype, the number of carpels that make fruits. We found that sequences upstream of tomato CLV3 are highly sensitive to even small perturbations compared to its downstream region. In contrast, Arabidopsis CLV3 function is tolerant to severe disruptions both upstream and downstream of the coding sequence. Combining upstream and downstream deletions also revealed a different regulatory outcome. Whereas phenotypic enhancement from adding downstream mutations was predominantly weak and additive in tomato, mutating both regions of Arabidopsis CLV3 caused substantial and synergistic effects, demonstrating distinct distribution and redundancy of functional cis-regulatory sequences. Our results demonstrate remarkable malleability in cis-regulatory structural organization of a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator and suggest that major reconfiguration of cis-regulatory sequence space is a common yet cryptic evolutionary force altering genotype-to-phenotype relationships from regulatory variation in conserved genes. Finally, our findings underscore the need for lineage-specific dissection of the spatial architecture of cis-regulation to effectively engineer trait variation from conserved productivity genes in crops.
Effectiveness of a multi-country implementation-focused network on quality of care: Delivery of interventions and processes for improved maternal, newborn and child health outcomes
Authors: Djellouli Nehla , Shawar Yusra Ribhi , Mwaba Kasonde , Akter Kohenour , Seruwagi Gloria , Tufa Asebe Amenu , Gonfa Geremew , Mwandira Kondwani ,   QCN Evaluation Group, Kyamulabi Agnes , Shiffman Jeremy , English Mike , Colbourn Tim
Published: March 2024

The Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (QCN) aims to work through learning, action, leadership and accountability. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of QCN in these four areas at the global level and in four QCN countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda. This mixed method evaluation comprised 2–4 iterative rounds of data collection between 2019–2022, involving stakeholder interviews, hospital observations, QCN members survey, and document review. Qualitative data was analysed using a coding framework developed from underlying theories on network effectiveness, behaviour change, and QCN proposed theory of change. Survey data capturing respondents’ perception of QCN was analysed with descriptive statistics. The QCN global level, led by the WHO secretariat, was effective in bringing together network countries’ governments and global actors via providing online and in-person platforms for communication and learning. In-country, various interventions were delivered in ‘learning districts’, however often separately by different partners in different locations, and pandemic-disrupted. Governance structures for quality of care were set-up, some preceding QCN, and were found to be stronger and better (though often externally) resourced at national than local levels. Awareness of operational plans and network activities differed between countries, was lower at local than national levels, but increased from 2019 to 2022. Engagement with, and value of, QCN was perceived to be higher in Uganda and Bangladesh than in Malawi or Ethiopia. Capacity building efforts were implemented in all countries–yet often dependent on implementing partners and donors. QCN stakeholders agreed 15 core monitoring indicators though data collection was challenging, especially for indicators requiring new or parallel systems. Accountability initiatives remained nascent in 2022. Global and national leadership elements of QCN have been most effective to date, with action, learning and accountability more challenging, partner or donor dependent, remaining to be scaled-up, and pandemic-disrupted.
Clinical and laboratory characterization of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Chinese migrant workers returned from Iraq
Authors: Bi Kuo , Li Xiaoli , Zhang Rui , Zheng Xiaoyan , Wang Fei , Zou Yang , Wang Lei
Published: March 2024

Background

Imported cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a growing problem with increasing global travel to endemic areas. Returned travelers with CL are easy to be misdiagnosed and mistreated due to the lack of awareness for the disease to the physicians in non-endemic region that may lead to unfavorable outcome. Our study intends to summarize the characteristics of Leishmania infection imported from Iraq, so as to help Chinese physicians diagnose and treat the disease. All CL patients were treated with intralesional injection of antimony.

Methods

The definitive diagnosis of CL is based on the parasite identification by microscopic examination directly on lesion smear or parasite culture, PCR amplification of Leishmania-specific internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1). The phylogenetic analysis, the immunopathological examination and the cytokine detection were proceeded after the diagnosis.

Results

We have identified 25 CL cases in migrant Chinese workers returned from Iraq for the first time with L. major as the major species of infected Leishmania parasite. Clinical features of the Iraq-imported CL include the history of skin exposure to sandflies bite and the lesions mostly on the exposed limbs. More ulcerative wet lesion was observed than nodular dry lesion. PCR is not only used to detect Leishmania parasite with high sensitivity, but also to identify the species of infected parasite through sequencing the amplified Leishmania-specific ITS-1 gene. The phylogenetic analysis based on the amplified ITS-1 sequences revealed that the infected Leishmania was closed related to the species and strains endemic in Iraq. The immunopathological examination revealed the T-cell filtrated cellular immune response with less B cells and NK cells involved. The cytokine profile measured in the skin lesion also confirmed the Th1 cellular response with higher expression levels of IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-8. The skin lesions in CL patients were healed after being treated locally with antimony.

Conclusions

The clinical and parasitological features of these Chinese CL cases imported from Iraq provide useful information for the diagnosis and treatment of CL that is not commonly seen in Chinese local population.
Screening of sustainable supply chain performance evaluation indicators based on the ill-conditioned index cycle method
Authors: Deng Qili , Huang Xing , Zou Jiang , He Yicheng
Published: March 2024

The establishment of an evaluation indicator system that can accurately assess the sustainability of a supply chain while further enhancing its performance is vital and relevant. Based on the connotation of sustainable supply chains and triple bottom line theory, indicators are initially proposed from economic, environmental, and social dimensions. To increase the explanatory power of the indicator system and decrease information redundancy, the coefficient of variation is applied to identify the indicators with weak interpretation intensity, the ill-conditioned index cycle method is utilized to filter out indicators with redundant information, and data on 100 Chinese listed companies from 2019 to 2021 are used as samples. A performance evaluation indicator system of sustainable supply chains with 16 indicators is ultimately established. The information interpretation strength index and cumulative information contribution rate verify the rationality of the final indicator system. The outcome demonstrates that this screening method can strengthen the representativeness of the indicator system and rapidly reduce redundancy, leading to the better discrimination of the evaluation results. The findings of this study provide an indicator system and a methodological reference for both companies and policymakers and can aid in the transformation of supply chains toward sustainability.
Psychometric evaluation of the 5-item Medication Adherence Report Scale questionnaire in persons with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Jožef Maj , Locatelli Igor , Brecl Jakob Gregor , Savšek Lina , Šurlan Popovič Katarina , Špiclin Žiga , Rot Uroš , Kos Mitja
Published: March 2024

The 5-item Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) is a reliable and valid questionnaire for evaluating adherence in patients with asthma, hypertension, and diabetes. Validity has not been determined in multiple sclerosis (MS). We aimed to establish criterion validity and reliability of the MARS-5 in persons with MS (PwMS). Our prospective study included PwMS on dimethyl fumarate (DMF). PwMS self-completed the MARS-5 on the same day before baseline and follow-up brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 3 and 9 months after treatment initiation and were graded as highly and medium adherent upon the 24-cut-off score, established by receiver operator curve analysis. Health outcomes were represented by relapse occurrence from the 1st DMF dispense till follow-up brain MRI and radiological progression (new T2 MRI lesions and quantitative analysis) between baseline and follow-up MRI. Criterion validity was established by association with the Proportion of Days Covered (PDC), new T2 MRI lesions, and Beliefs in Medicines questionnaire (BMQ). The reliability evaluation included internal consistency and the test-retest method. We included 40 PwMS (age 37.6 ± 9.9 years, 75% women), 34 were treatment-naive. No relapses were seen during the follow-up period but quantitative MRI analysis showed new T2 lesions in 6 PwMS. The mean (SD) MARS-5 score was 23.1 (2.5), with 24 PwMS graded as highly adherent. The higher MARS-5 score was associated with higher PDC (b = 0.027, P<0.001, 95% CI: (0.0134–0.0403)) and lower medication concerns (b = -1.25, P<0.001, 95% CI: (-1.93-(-0,579)). Lower adherence was associated with increased number (P = 0.00148) and total volume of new T2 MRI lesions (P = 0.00149). The questionnaire showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.72) and moderate test-retest reliability (r = 0.62, P < 0.0001, 95% CI: 0.33–0.79). The MARS-5 was found to be valid and reliable for estimating medication adherence and predicting medication concerns in persons with MS.