bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From Active Houses to Active Homes: Understanding Resident Experiences of Transformational Design and Social Innovation
Authors: Shirani Fiona , O’Sullivan Kate , Hale Rachel , Pidgeon Nick , Henwood Karen
Published: October 2022

Active Buildings can contribute to efforts to address decarbonisation and climate change targets, and have the potential to support social aspirations for technical and infrastructural change. Yet achieving such goals is challenging. Active Homes as a type of Active Building represent a particularly interesting prospect; altering how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed, but also how homes are designed, constructed, and lived in are studied. Active Homes are designed with expectations of how residents will engage with them, but residents do not always live in the homes in ways envisaged by developers. Hence, there is a risk that the homes will not be experienced as comfortable living environments, or otherwise perform as anticipated. Thus, understanding resident perspectives is crucial to the successful wider rollout of Active Homes. We draw on social science research with designers, developers, and residents to explore expectations of life in an Active Home. Our longitudinal research design enables us to contrast early expectations with post-occupancy experiences, elucidating what residents consider to be successful aspects of Active Home developments. Our research reveals instances where expectations remain unfulfilled, or where living in the homes has been experienced as challenging or disruptive. In highlighting such insights, we offer recommendations relevant for future developments.
AC Loss Characteristics of HTS Novel Twisted Cables Composed of Soldered-Stacked-Square (3S) Wires
Authors: Li Zhuyong , Zhang Zhixuan , Wang Mingshuo , Lv Yingying , Ryu Kyungwoo
Published: October 2022

Compared with traditional cables, superconducting multi-stage cables have the natural advantages of greater transmission power and less energy loss, which have gradually attracted attention. However, conventional multi-stage cables are based on low temperature superconducting (LTS) technology and there is considerable scope for improvement in their performance. In this paper, a novel structure of the multi-stage high temperature superconducting (HTS) twisted cable prepared by the soldered-stacked-square (3S) wire is proposed. The AC loss characteristics of the twisted cable are deeply studied by experiments and simulation. Through the experiment, the influence of the voltage-leads on the AC loss measurement accuracy is eliminated, and frequency dependent is shown in the AC loss of the twisted cable. Besides, the simulated value of AC loss is consistent with the experimental value, which verifies the accuracy of the simulation. The AC loss of twisted cable is only 20% of that of the thin strip model, which reveals its outstanding advantages in AC loss.
Carbon Sink Performance Evaluation and Socioeconomic Effect of Urban Aggregated Green Infrastructure Based on Sentinel-2A Satellite
Authors: Cheng Shuoqi , Huang Xiancheng , Chen Yu , Dong Hangna , Li Jing
Published: October 2022

Aggregated green infrastructure is the only element that has a relatively concentrated and well-functioning carbon sink in the city. It plays an important role in achieving carbon neutrality in urban areas with dense functions and scarce carbon sink resources. However, in contrast to other regions, aggregated green infrastructure carbon sink performance is more influenced by socioeconomic activities in urban centres. There is a lack of research on the impact between carbon sink performance and socioeconomic activities at the urban scale. In this study, we evaluated the carbon sink performance (i.e., carbon sink and location entropy) of aggregated green infrastructure and its interaction with socioeconomic activities at the urban scale based on Sentinel-2A satellite. The results showed that: (1) Aggregate green infrastructures with high carbon sink performance have significant aggregation characteristics in urban areas. (2) Aggregated green infrastructure with poor carbon sink performance tended to be surrounded by dense socioeconomic activities. Our study provides a new approach to the assessment of carbon sink performance of aggregated green infrastructure at the urban scale. More importantly, we make a new attempt to assess the association between carbon sink performance and socioeconomic activities of urban aggregated green infrastructure. These results point to a new direction for the realization of carbon neutrality in cities.
Use of Bacteriocins and Bacteriocinogenic Beneficial Organisms in Food Products: Benefits, Challenges, Concerns
Authors: Todorov Svetoslav Dimitrov , Popov Igor , Weeks Richard , Chikindas Michael Leonidas
Published: October 2022

This review’s objective was to critically revisit various research approaches for studies on the application of beneficial organisms and bacteriocins as effective biopreservatives in the food industry. There are a substantial number of research papers reporting newly isolated bacterial strains from fermented food products and their application as potential probiotics, including partial characterization of bacteriocins produced by these microorganisms. Most of these studies follow scientific community-accepted standard procedures and propose various applications of the studied strains and bacteriocins as potential biopreservatives for the food industry. A few investigations go somewhat further, performing model studies, exploring the application of expressed bacteriocins in a designed food product, or trying to evaluate the effectiveness of the studied potential probiotics and bacteriocins against foodborne pathogens. Some authors propose applications of bacteriocin producers as starter cultures and are exploring in situ bacteriocin production to aid in the effective control of foodborne pathogens. However, few studies have evaluated the possible adverse effects of bacteriocins, such as toxicity. This comes from well-documented reports on bacteriocins being mostly non-immunogenic and having low cytotoxicity because most of these proteinaceous molecules are small peptides. However, some studies have reported on bacteriocins with noticeable cytotoxicity, which may become even more pronounced in genetically engineered or modified bacteriocins. Moreover, their cytotoxicity can be very specific and is dependent on the concentration of the bacteriocin and the nature of the targeted cell. This will be discussed in detail in the present review.
Real-Time Grading of Defect Apples Using Semantic Segmentation Combination with a Pruned YOLO V4 Network
Authors: Liang Xiaoting , Jia Xueying , Huang Wenqian , He Xin , Li Lianjie , Fan Shuxiang , Li Jiangbo , Zhao Chunjiang , Zhang Chi
Published: October 2022

At present, the apple grading system usually conveys apples by a belt or rollers. This usually leads to low hardness or expensive fruits being bruised, resulting in economic losses. In order to realize real-time detection and classification of high-quality apples, separate fruit trays were designed to convey apples and used to prevent apples from being bruised during image acquisition. A semantic segmentation method based on the BiSeNet V2 deep learning network was proposed to segment the defective parts of defective apples. BiSeNet V2 for apple defect detection obtained a slightly better result in MPA with a value of 99.66%, which was 0.14 and 0.19 percentage points higher than DAnet and Unet, respectively. A model pruning method was used to optimize the structure of the YOLO V4 network. The detection accuracy of defect regions in apple images was further improved by the pruned YOLO V4 network. Then, a surface mapping method between the defect area in apple images and the actual defect area was proposed to accurately calculate the defect area. Finally, apples on separate fruit trays were sorted according to the number and area of defects in the apple images. The experimental results showed that the average accuracy of apple classification was 92.42%, and the F1 score was 94.31. In commercial separate fruit tray grading and sorting machines, it has great application potential.
Obtaining and Characterizing Andean Multi-Floral Propolis Nanoencapsulates in Polymeric Matrices
Authors: Ligarda-Samanez Carlos A. , Choque-Quispe David , Moscoso-Moscoso Elibet , Huamán-Carrión Mary L. , Ramos-Pacheco Betsy S. , Peralta-Guevara Diego E. , Cruz Germán De la , Martínez-Huamán Edgar L. , Arévalo-Quijano José C. , Muñoz-Saenz Jenny C. , Muñoz-Melgarejo Mauricio , Muñoz-Saenz Doris M. , Aroni-Huamán Jimmy
Published: October 2022

Propolis is a substance with significant anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral activity, which could be used more efficiently at the nano level as an additive in the food industry. The aim was to obtain and characterize nanoencapsulated multi-floral propolis from the agro-ecological region of Apurimac, Peru. For nanoencapsulation, 5% ethanolic extracts propolis with 0.3% gum arabic and 30% maltodextrin were prepared. Then, the mixtures were dried by nano spraying at 120 °C using the smallest nebulizer. The flavonoid content was between 1.81 and 6.66 mg quercetin/g, the phenolic compounds were between 1.76 and 6.13 mg GAE/g, and a high antioxidant capacity was observed. The results of moisture, water activity, bulk density, color, hygroscopicity, solubility, yield, and encapsulation efficiency were typical of the nano spray drying process. The total organic carbon content was around 24%, heterogeneous spherical particles were observed at nanometer level (between 11.1 and 562.6 nm), with different behaviors in colloidal solution, the thermal gravimetric properties were similar in all the encapsulates, the FTIR and EDS analysis confirmed the encapsulation and the X-ray diffraction showed amorphous characteristics in the obtained material; stability and phenolic compound release studies indicated high values of 8.25–12.50 mg GAE/g between 8 and 12 h, the principal component analysis confirmed that the flora, altitude, and climate of the propolis location influenced the content of bioactive compounds, antioxidant capacity, and other properties studied. The nanoencapsulate from the district of Huancaray was the one with the best results, allowing its future use as a natural ingredient in functional foods. Nevertheless, technological, sensory, and economic studies should still be carried out.
The Genealogy of Obedience in the Biblical Sources of Jewish Culture
Authors: Nir Bina
Published: October 2022

In the past two years, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 epidemic, civil disobedience has been on the rise in Israeli society. While civil disobedience preserves the boundaries of discourse and democracy, it also poses a real danger to the existence of society. Attitudes toward civil disobedience reflect the core values of a particular culture. Thus, attitudes toward obedience or disobedience in Israeli society must be examined with respect to the religious roots of Jewish culture. This article examines attitudes towards the issue of obedience in the formative texts of Jewish culture. Revealing the religious past of the culture enables a re-evaluation of values and stances. To understand the sources of the values relevant to obedience in Israeli society today, I will analyze religious texts using the genealogical method. The subject area of genealogy is the past, yet its purpose is to understand and critique contemporary reality. The main finding is that obedience and disobedience do not appear to be in a dialectical relationship in today’s society. Despite the fact that controversy is welcome and prevalent in Judaism, obedience and disobedience do not manifest as contentious or as two sides of a single issue.
Magnetic Anomalies of the Tyrrhenian Sea Revisited: A Processing Workflow for Enhancing the Resolution of Aeromagnetic Data
Authors: Florio Giovanni , Passaro Salvatore , de Alteriis Giovanni , Cella Federico
Published: October 2022

We propose a processing workflow to enhance the information content of aeromagnetic data. Our workflow is based on the downward continuation and subsequent L-transform of magnetic data. This workflow returns a map showing single highs, which correspond to the location of magnetic bodies, and does not need any a priori information about the source magnetization. We validated our workflow using the aeromagnetic anomalies of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), by a comparison of the reprocessed aeromagnetic anomalies with high-resolution shipborne magnetic data in three selected areas. Through this comparison, we show that the proposed processing workflow of aeromagnetic data leads to more accurate interpretative results. Our results indicate that, in areas where higher resolution data are lacking, the reprocessing of aeromagnetic data according to our workflow may be as decisive as to suggest changes to their previous interpretations or, at least, useful for highlighting areas of special interest, deserving to be magnetically explored by a dedicated high-resolution shipborne survey.
Research on the Relationship between Empathy, Belief in a Just World, and Childhood Trauma in Pre-Clinical Medical Students
Authors: Zheng Yanan , Hu Die , Li Xiaoyu , Yin Mei
Published: October 2022

Objective: To explore the relation between empathy, belief in a just world, and childhood trauma in pre-clinical medical students. Method: Answers were collected from 880 pre-clinical medical students to questionnaires such as the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Students Version (JSPE-S), the Belief in a Just World Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, in November 2021. Results: The empathy of pre-clinical medical students was positively correlated with their belief in a just world (r = 0.194, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with their childhood trauma (r = −0.256, p < 0.01); the mediating effect analysis showed that belief in a just world had a partial mediating effect on empathy and childhood trauma. Conclusion: Belief in a just world plays a mediating role between empathy and childhood trauma among pre-clinical medical students.
Effectiveness of Oil Pulling for Improving Oral Health: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Peng Tzu-Rong , Cheng Han-Yu , Wu Ta-Wei , Ng Boon-Kok
Published: October 2022

Objective: The effect of oil pulling on oral health has not yet been fully demonstrated. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the effect of oil pulling on oral health. Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the EMBASE database, limiting the search to human patients and articles written in English and published before 31 July 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of oil pulling on improving dental health and oral hygiene. The outcomes of this study were salivary bacteria count, plaque index, and gingival index. Results: In total, nine RCTs were included in this study. The study showed that salivary bacterial colony (BC) counts were significantly reduced in the oil pulling group compared to the control group [mean difference (MD): 17.55, 95% CI 2.56, 32.55]. There was no significant difference between the two groups (MD: −0.10, 95% CI −0.33, 0.14; −0.05, 95% CI −0.12, 0.02) in plaque index and gingival index score. Conclusions: Based on the results of this meta-analysis, the oil pulling may have a beneficial effect on reducing salivary BC count compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in the plaque index and gingival index score between the oil pulling and the control group. Therefore, future clinical trials should be more rigorous and better reported.
Providing End-of-Life Care to COVID-19 Patients: The Lived Experiences of ICU Nurses in the Philippines
Authors: Jimenez O-Jay B. , Trajera Sheilla M. , Ching Gregory S.
Published: October 2022

In the midst of COVID-19, radical change in the work environment further exacerbated the detrimental effects of critical illness in the intensive care unit (ICU). This may be heightened if the patient experiences a lamentable end-of-life experience due to inadequate end-of-life care (EoLC). Anchoring on the theory of bureaucratic caring and the peaceful end-of-life theory, insights can be gained into the motivations and behaviors that support the delivery of palliative care during COVID-19. With this having been having said, the objective of this study was to use a narrative approach to examine the lived experience of 12 nurses who provided EoLC in the COVID-19 ward of several hospitals in the Western Philippines. Participants’ narratives were transcribed, translated and analyzed. Among the themes that have emerged are: establishing a peaceful journey to death, holistic caring for the end of life, venturing into risky encounters in the call of duty, staying close amidst the reshaped work environment, and preparing the family life after a loved one’s departure. The study identified the importance of assisting patients on their journey to a peaceful death, but this journey was also accompanied by a sense of self-preservation and safety for colleagues and families.
Forecasting Hospital Visits Due to Influenza Based on Emergency Department Visits for Fever: A Feasibility Study on Emergency Department-Based Syndromic Surveillance
Authors: Hong Sunghee , Son Woo-Sik , Park Boyoung , Choi Bo Youl
Published: October 2022

This study evaluated the use of chief complaint data from emergency departments (EDs) to detect the increment of influenza cases identified from the nationwide medical service usage and developed a forecast model to predict the number of patients with influenza using the daily number of ED visits due to fever. The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) databases from 2015 to 2019 were used. The definition of fever included having an initial body temperature ≥ 38.0 °C at an ED department or having a report of fever as a patient’s chief complaint. The moving average number of visits to the ED due to fever for the previous seven days was used. Patients in the NHIS with the International Classification of Diseases-10 codes of J09, J10, or J11 were classified as influenza cases, with a window duration of 100 days, assuming the claims were from the same season. We developed a forecast model according to an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method using the data from 2015 to 2017 and validated it using the data from 2018 to 2019. Of the 29,142,229 ED visits from 2015 to 2019, 39.9% reported either a fever as a chief complaint or a ≥38.0 °C initial body temperature at the ED. ARIMA (1,1,1) (0,0,1)7 was the most appropriate model for predicting ED visits due to fever. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) value showed the prediction accuracy of the model. The correlation coefficient between the number of ED visits and the number of patients with influenza in the NHIS up to 14 days before the forecast, with the exceptions of the eighth, ninth, and twelfth days, was higher than 0.70 (p-value = 0.001). ED-based syndromic surveillances of fever were feasible for the early detection of hospital visits due to influenza.
The Economic Burden Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Elderly People with Chronic Diseases in China
Authors: Wu Yun , Jin Sihui , Guo Jianwei , Zhu Yi , Chen Lijin , Huang Yixiang
Published: October 2022

Coexisting physical diseases and depressive symptoms exacerbate morbidity and disability, but their incremental economic burden remains unclear. We used cross-sectional data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) survey in 2018 to estimate the economic burden associated with depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases. A multivariable regression model was used to assess the annual health care utilization, expenditures, and productivity loss of depressive symptoms among people with 12 common chronic diseases. We found that depressive symptoms were associated with higher incremental economic burdens, as the total health care costs increased by 3.1% to 85.0% and annual productivity loss increased by 1.6% to 90.1%. Those with cancer or malignant tumors had the largest economic burden associated with depressive symptoms, with CNY 17,273.7 additional annual health care costs and a loss of CNY 2196.2 due to additional annual productivity loss. The effect of depressive symptoms on the economic burden of patients with chronic conditions did not increase by the number of chronic conditions. Considering the high economic burden associated with depressive symptoms among patients with chronic conditions, it is important to consider the mental health of patients in chronic disease treatment and management.
Statistical Analysis of Absenteeism in a University Hospital Center between 2007 and 2019
Authors: Millot Charlène , Pereira Bruno , Miallaret Sophie , Clinchamps Maëlys , Vialatte Luc , Guillin Arnaud , Bailly Yan , Ugbolue Ukadike Chris , Navel Valentin , Baker Julien Steven , Bouillon-Minois Jean-Baptiste , Dutheil Frédéric
Published: October 2022

Objectives: To estimate the evolution of compressible absenteeism in a hospital center and identify the professional and sociodemographic factors that influence absenteeism. Method: All hospital center employees have been included over a period of twelve consecutive years (2007 to 2019). Compressible absences and occupational and sociodemographic factors were analyzed using Occupational Health data. Since the distribution of the data did not follow a normal distribution, the number of days of absence was presented as a median (interquartile range (IQR): 1st quartile–3rd quartile), and comparisons were made using non-parametric tests followed by a negative binomial model with zero inflation (ZINB). Results: A total of 16,413 employees were included, for a total of 2,828,599 days of absence, of which 2,081,553 were compressible absences (73.6% of total absences). Overall, 42% of employees have at least one absence per year. Absent employees had a median of 15 (IQR 5–53) days of absence per year, with an increase of a factor of 1.9 (CI95 1.8–2.1) between 2007 and 2019 (p < 0.001). Paramedical staff were most at risk of absence (p < 0.001 vs. all other occupational categories). Between 2007 and 2019, the number of days of absence was multiplied by 2.4 (CI95 1.8–3.1) for administrative staff, 2.1 (CI95 1.9–2.3) for tenured, 1.7 (CI95 1.5–2.0) for those living more than 12 km from the workplace, 1.8 (CI95 1.6–2.0) among women, 2.1 (CI95 1.8–2.6) among those over 50 years of age, 2.4 (CI95 1.8–3.0) among “separated” workers, and 2.0 (CI95 1.8–2.2) among those with at least one child. Conclusions: Paramedical personnel are most at risk of absenteeism. Meanwhile, absenteeism is increasing steadily, and overall, the increase is major for administrative staff. The profile of an employee at risk of absenteeism is a titular employee, living at distance from work, probably female, over 50 years old, separated, and with children. Identifying professionals at risk of absenteeism is essential to propose adapted and personalized preventive measures.
Attitude and Performance for Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analytic Evidence
Authors: Liu Xuerong , Gong Zheng , Miao Kuan , Yang Peiyi , Liu Hongli , Feng Zhengzhi , Chen Zhiyi
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic prominently hit almost all the aspects of our life, especially in routine education. For public health security, online learning has to be enforced to replace classroom learning. Thus, it is a priority to clarify how these changes impacted students. We built a random-effect model of a meta-analysis to pool individual effect sizes for published articles concerning the attitudes and performance towards online learning. Databases included Google Scholar, PubMed and (Chinese) CNKI repository. Further, a moderated analysis and meta-regression were further used to clarify potential heterogenous factors impacting this pooled effect. Forty published papers (n = 98,558) were screened that were eligible for formal analysis. Meta-analytic results demonstrated that 13.3% (95% CI: 10.0–17.5) of students possessed negative attitudes towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 12.7% (95% CI: 9.6–16.8) students were found to report poor performance in online learning. Moderated analysis revealed poor performance in online learning in the early pandemic (p = 0.006). Results for the meta-regression analysis showed that negative attitudes could predict poor learning performance significantly (p = 0.026). In conclusion, online learning that is caused by COVID-19 pandemic may have brought about negative learning attitudes and poorer learning performance compared to classroom learning, especially in the early pandemic.
Pattern of Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Antimicrobial Treatment of Neonates Admitted with Suspected Sepsis in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana, 2021
Authors: Omenako Kwaku Anim , Enimil Anthony , Marfo Afia Frimpomaa Asare , Timire Collins , Chinnakali Palanivel , Fenny Ama Pokuaa , Jeyashree Kathiresan , Buabeng Kwame Ohene
Published: October 2022

Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening emergency, and empirical antimicrobial prescription is common. In this cross-sectional study of neonates admitted with suspected sepsis in a teaching hospital in Ghana from January–December 2021, we described antimicrobial prescription patterns, compliance with national standard treatment guidelines (STG), blood culture testing, antimicrobial resistance patterns and treatment outcomes. Of the 549 neonates admitted with suspected sepsis, 283 (52%) were males. Overall, 529 (96%) received empirical antimicrobials. Most neonates (n = 407, 76.9%) were treated empirically with cefuroxime + gentamicin, while cefotaxime was started as a modified treatment in the majority of neonates (46/68, 67.6%). Only one prescription complied with national STGs. Samples of 257 (47%) neonates underwent blood culture testing, of which 70 (27%) were positive. Isolates were predominantly Gram-positive bacteria, with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus accounting for 79% of the isolates. Isolates showed high resistance to most penicillins, while resistance to aminoglycosides and quinolones was relatively low. The majority of neonates (n = 497, 90.5%) were discharged after successfully completing treatment, while 50 (9%) neonates died during treatment. Strengthening of antimicrobial stewardship programmes, periodic review of STGs and increased uptake of culture and sensitivity testing are needed to improve management of sepsis.
COVID-19 in Memes: The Adaptive Response of Societies to the Pandemic?
Authors: Skórka Piotr , Grzywacz Beata , Moroń Dawid , Lenda Magdalena
Published: October 2022

COVID-19 expanded rapidly throughout the world, with enormous health, social, and economic consequences. Mental health is the most affected by extreme negative emotions and stress, but it has been an underestimated part of human life during the pandemic. We hypothesized that people may have responded to the pandemic spontaneously with increased interest in and creation of funny internet memes. Using Google and Google Trends, we revealed that the number of and interest in funny internet memes related to COVID-19 exploded during the spring 2020 lockdown. The interest in coronavirus memes was positively correlated with interest in mortality due to COVID-19 on a global scale, and positively associated with the real number of deaths and cases reported in different countries. We compared content of a random sample of 200 coronavirus memes with a random sample of 200 non-coronavirus memes found on the Internet. The sentiment analysis showed that coronavirus memes had a similar proportion of positive and negative words compared to non-coronavirus memes. However, an internet questionnaire revealed that coronavirus memes gained higher funniness scores than a random sample of non-coronavirus memes. Our results confirm that societies may have turned to humor to cope with the threat of SARS-CoV-2.
Loneliness in Intimate Relationships Scale (LIRS): Development and Validation
Authors: Rokach Ami , Sha’ked Ami , Ben-Artzi Elisheva
Published: October 2022

Intimate relationships have been shown to be loneliness positively related to self-esteem. Happiness and well-being and have also been regarded as a buffer against loneliness. Nevertheless, substantive research indicates that intimate relationships and marriage can produce or result in loneliness and thus seriously affect the person’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Loneliness in intimate relationships may damage the relationship if it goes on, and thus, this newly developed scale has been introduced to aid clinicians and researchers in discovering loneliness in an intimate union so it can be addressed before it negatively affects the union. Since none of the measures of loneliness tap loneliness as experienced in intimate relationships, a new rating scale, the Loneliness in Intimate Relationships Scale (LIRS), was developed and tested psychometrically. The generation of items followed a qualitative approach based on a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 108 volunteers from the general Israeli population, theoretical and empirical literature, and assessments of expert psychologists. In a second study (N = 215), a self-report scale assessing loneliness in intimate relationships was developed. This was followed by psychometric and construct validity evaluations with a new sample of 306 participants. Analyses revealed that loneliness in intimate relationships is experienced mainly in terms of three aspects: detachment, hurt, and guilt. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and validity tests indicate that the final 14-item Loneliness in Intimate Relationship Scale is a well-structured, reliable, and valid scale tapping emotional, behavioral, and cognitive manifestations of loneliness in intimate relationships.
The Relationship between the Frequency of Breakfast Consumption, Conversation with Parents, and Somatic Symptoms in Children: A Three-Wave Latent Growth Model
Authors: Lim Shin-Il , Jeong Sookyung
Published: October 2022

Breakfast consumption is essential for children to generate energy for the day. Parents play an important role in children’s breakfast habits and spending time with parents during breakfast greatly influences children’s emotional development. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between the frequency of children’s breakfast consumption, time spent in conversation with parents, and children’s somatic symptoms. Data were obtained from the Korea Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 and were initially collected from fourth-grade elementary school students and followed up for three years. SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 software were used for data analysis. Multivariate latent growth modeling was applied to analyze the effect of the breakfast consumption frequency on children’s somatic symptoms and the mediating effect of parent–child conversation time on this relationship. Consequently, as children’s frequency of breakfast consumption increased, their somatic symptoms decreased. Furthermore, parent–child conversation time mediated the relationship between these two variables. Therefore, students, parents, and teachers should be educated about the importance of having breakfast and communicating with parents for students’ emotional health.
Self-Reported Experiences of Midwives Working in the UK across Three Phases during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: McGrory Susan , Neill Ruth D. , Gillen Patricia , McFadden Paula , Manthorpe Jill , Ravalier Jermaine , Mallett John , Schroder Heike , Currie Denise , Moriarty John , Nicholl Patricia
Published: October 2022

Maternity services cannot be postponed due to the nature of this service, however, the pandemic resulted in wide-ranging and significant changes to working practices and services. This paper aims to describe UK midwives’ experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study forms part of a larger multiple phase research project using a cross-sectional design based on an online survey. The online survey used validated psychometric tools to measure work-related quality of life, wellbeing, coping, and burnout as well as open-ended questions to further understand the experiences of staff working during the pandemic. This paper reports the qualitative data collected from the open-ended questions. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis and the four main themes that emerged were ‘relentless stress/pressure’, ‘reconfiguration of services’, ‘protection of self and others’, and ‘workforce challenges’. The key conclusions were that midwives experienced a reduction in quality of working life and significant stress throughout the pandemic due to a range of factors including staffing shortages, restrictions placed on women’s partners, changes to services and management support, all of which compounded workforce pressures that existed prior to the pandemic. This research recommends consultation of front-line midwives in relation to possible changes in practice and workforce planning in preparation for crises such as a pandemic and to ensure equitable and supportive management with access to practical and psychological support.
Waterborne Eco-Sustainable Sol–Gel Coatings Based on Phytic Acid Intercalated Graphene Oxide for Corrosion Protection of Metallic Surfaces
Authors: Sfameni Silvia , Del Tedesco Anna , Rando Giulia , Truant Fulvio , Visco Annamaria , Plutino Maria Rosaria
Published: October 2022

In the past few years, corrosion protection of metal materials has become a global challenge, due to its great economic importance. For this reason, various methods have been developed to inhibit the corrosion process, such as surface treatment approaches, by employing corrosion inhibitors through the deposition of opportunely designed functional coatings, employed to preserve from corrosion damages metallic substrates. Recently, among these techniques and in order to avoid the toxic chromate-based pre-treatment coatings, silane-based coatings and films loaded with organic and inorganic corrosion inhibitors have been widely used in corrosion mitigation water-based surface treatment. In this study, the synthetic approach was devoted to create an embedded, hosted, waterborne, and eco-friendly matrix, obtained by use of the sol–gel technique, through the reaction of functional alkoxysilane cross-linking precursors, namely (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), in the presence of graphene oxide (GO) intercalated with natural and non-toxic phytic acid (PA) molecules. As a matter of fact, all experimental results from FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–Vis analysis, and SEM confirmed that PA molecules were successfully decorated on GO. Furthermore, polarization measurements and a neutral salt spray test were used to evaluate the anticorrosive performance on aluminum and steel substrates, thus showing that the GO-PA nanofiller improved the barrier and corrosion protection properties of the developed functional silane-based coatings.
Genome-Wide Identification of ERF Transcription Factor Family and Functional Analysis of the Drought Stress-Responsive Genes in Melilotus albus
Authors: Wei Na , Zhai Qingyan , Li Hang , Zheng Shuwen , Zhang Jiyu , Liu Wenxian
Published: October 2022

As an important forage legume with high values in feed and medicine, Melilotus albus has been widely cultivated. The AP2/ERF transcription factor has been shown to play an important regulatory role in plant drought resistance, but it has not been reported in the legume forage crop M. albus. To digger the genes of M. albus in response to drought stress, we identified and analyzed the ERF gene family of M. albus at the genome-wide level. A total of 100 MaERF genes containing a single AP2 domain sequence were identified in this study, named MaERF001 to MaERF100, and bioinformatics analysis was performed. Collinearity analysis indicated that segmental duplication may play a key role in the expansion of the M. albus ERF gene family. Cis-acting element predictions suggest that MaERF genes are involved in various hormonal responses and abiotic stresses. The expression patterns indicated that MaERFs responded to drought stress to varying degrees. Furthermore, four up-regulated ERFs (MaERF008, MaERF037, MaERF054 and MaERF058) under drought stress were overexpressed in yeast and indicated their biological functions to confer the tolerance to drought. This work will advance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the drought response in M. albus. Further study of the promising potential candidate genes identified in this study will provide a valuable resource as the next step in functional genomics studies and improve the possibility of improving drought tolerance in M. albus by transgenic approaches.
Transcriptional and Metabolic Characterization of Feeding Ramie Growth Enhanced by a Combined Application of Gibberellin and Ethrel
Authors: Jie Hongdong , Ma Yushen , Xie De-Yu , Jie Yucheng
Published: October 2022

Feeding ramie cultivars (Boehmaria nivea L.) are an important feedstock for livestock. Increasing their biomass and improving their nutritional values are essential for animal feeding. Gibberellin (GA3) and ethylene (ETH) are two plant hormones that regulate the growth, development, and metabolism of plants. Herein, we report effects of the GA3 and ETH application on the growth and plant metabolism of feeding ramie in the field. A combination of GA3 and ETH was designed to spray new plants. The two hormones enhanced the growth of plants to produce more biomass. Meanwhile, the two hormones reduced the contents of lignin in leaves and stems, while increased the content of flavonoids in leaves. To understand the potential mechanisms behind these results, we used RNA-seq-based transcriptomics and UPLC-MS/MS-based metabolomics to characterize gene expression and metabolite profiles associated with the treatment of GA3 and ETH. 1562 and 2364 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from leaves and stems (treated versus control), respectively. Meanwhile, 99 and 88 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were annotated from treated versus control leaves and treated versus control stems, respectively. Data mining revealed that both DEGs and DAMs were associated with multiple plant metabolisms, especially plant secondary metabolism. A specific focus on the plant phenylpropanoid pathway identified candidates of DEGs and DEMs that were associated with lignin and flavonoid biosynthesis. Shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT) is a key enzyme that is involved in the lignin biosynthesis. The gene encoding B. nivea HCT was downregulated in the treated leaves and stems. In addition, genes encoding 4-coumaryl CoA ligase (4CL) and trans-cinnamate 4-monooxygenase (CYP73A), two lignin pathway enzymes, were downregulated in the treated stems. Meanwhile, the reduction in lignin in the treated leaves led to an increase in cinnamic acid and p-coumaryl CoA, two shared substrates of flavonoids that are enhanced in contents. Taken together, these findings indicated that an appropriate combination of GA3 and ETH is an effective strategy to enhance plant growth via altering gene expression and plant secondary metabolism for biomass-enhanced and value-improved feeding ramie.
A Group I WRKY Gene, TaWRKY133, Negatively Regulates Drought Resistance in Transgenic Plants
Authors: Lv Meicheng , Luo Wen , Ge Miaomiao , Guan Yijun , Tang Yan , Chen Weimin , Lv Jinyin
Published: October 2022

WRKYs are one of the largest transcription factor (TF) families and play an important role in plant resistance to various stresses. TaWRKY133, a group I WRKY protein, responds to a variety of abiotic stresses, including PEG treatment. The TaWRKY133 protein is located in the nucleus of tobacco epidermal cells, and both its N-terminal and C-terminal domains exhibit transcriptional activation activity. Overexpression of TaWRKY133 reduced drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, as reflected by a lower germination rate, shorter roots, higher stomatal aperture, poorer growth and lower antioxidant enzyme activities under drought treatment. Moreover, expression levels of stress-related genes (DREB2A, RD29A, RD29B, ABF1, ABA2, ABI1, SOD (Cu/Zn), POD1 and CAT1) were downregulated in transgenic Arabidopsis under drought stress. Gene silencing of TaWRKY133 enhanced the drought tolerance of wheat, as reflected in better growth, higher antioxidant enzyme activities, and higher expression levels of stress-related genes including DREB1, DREB3, ABF, ERF3, SOD (Fe), POD, CAT and P5CS. In conclusion, these results suggest that TaWRKY133 might reduce drought tolerance in plants by regulating the expression of stress-related genes.
Silver Nanoparticles Produced by Laser Ablation and Re-Irradiation Are Effective Preventing Peri-Implantitis Multispecies Biofilm Formation
Authors: Pérez-Tanoira Ramón , Fernández-Arias Mónica , Potel Carmen , Carballo-Fernández Raquel , Pérez-Castro Sonia , Boutinguiza Mohamed , Górgolas Miguel , Lusquiños Fernando , Pou Juan
Published: October 2022

Implant-associated infection due to biofilm formation is a growing problem. Given that silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have shown antibacterial effects, our goal is to study their effect against multispecies biofilm involved in the development of peri-implantitis. To this purpose, Ag-NPs were synthesized by laser ablation in de-ionized water using two different lasers, leading to the production of colloidal suspensions. Subsequently, part of each suspension was subjected to irradiation one and three times with the same laser source with which it was obtained. Ag-NPs were immobilized on the surface of titanium discs and the resultant materials were compared with unmodified titanium coupons. Nanoparticles were physico-chemically analysed to determine their shape, crystallinity, chemical composition, and mean diameter. The materials were incubated for 90 min or 48 h, to evaluate bacterial adhesion or biofilm formation respectively with Staphylococcus aureus or oral mixed bacterial flora composed of Streptococcus oralis, Actinomyces naeslundii, Veionella dispar, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Ag-NPs help prevent the formation of biofilms both by S. aureus and by mixed oral bacterial flora. Nanoparticles re-irradiated three times showed the biggest antimicrobial effects. Modifying dental implants in this way could prevent the development of peri-implantitis.
Enhanced Bioactivity of Tailor-Made Glycolipid Enriched Manuka Honey
Authors: Delavault André , Zoheir Ahmed E. , Muller Delphine , Hollenbach Rebecca , Rabe Kersten S. , Ochsenreither Katrin , Rudat Jens , Syldatk Christoph
Published: October 2022

Glycolipids can be synthetized in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as they possess low water content allowing a reversed lipase activity and thus enables ester formation. Based on this principle, honey can also serve as a media for glycolipid synthesis. Indeed, this supersaturated sugar solution is comparable in terms of physicochemical properties to the sugar-based DESs. Honey-based products being commercially available for therapeutic applications, it appears interesting to enhance its bioactivity. In the current work, we investigate if enriching medical grade honey with in situ enzymatically-synthetized glycolipids can improve the antimicrobial property of the mixture. The tested mixtures are composed of Manuka honey that is enriched with octanoate, decanoate, laurate, and myristate sugar esters, respectively dubbed GOH, GDH, GLH, and GMH. To characterize the bioactivity of those mixtures, first a qualitative screening using an agar well diffusion assay has been performed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Candida bombicola, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas putida which confirmed considerably enhanced susceptibility of these micro-organisms to the different glycolipid enriched honey mixtures. Then, a designed biosensor E. coli strain that displays a stress reporter system consisting of three stress-specific inducible, red, green, and blue fluorescent proteins which respectively translate to physiological stress, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity was used. Bioactivity was, therefore, characterized, and a six-fold enhancement of the physiological stress that was caused by GOH compared to regular Manuka honey at a 1.6% (v/v) concentration was observed. An antibacterial agar well diffusion assay with E. coli was performed as well and demonstrated an improved inhibitory potential with GOH upon 20% (v/v) concentration.
New Saccharin Salt of Chlordiazepoxide: Structural and Physicochemical Examination
Authors: Lech Anna , Garbacz Patrycja , Sikorski Artur , Gazda Maria , Wesolowski Marek
Published: October 2022

Since the formation of organic salts can improve the solubility, bioavailability, and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients, the aim of this work was to prepare an organic salt of chlordiazepoxide with saccharin. To achieve this goal, the saccharin salt of chlordiazepoxide was obtained from a physical mixture of both components by grinding them with a small volume of solvent and by crystallizing them with complete evaporation of the solvent. The resulting salt was examined by methods such as Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction (SCXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy. The results of the studies proved that saccharin salt of chlordiazepoxide crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pbca space group with one chlordiazepoxide cation and one saccharin anion in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal of the title compound, the chlordiazepoxide cation and the saccharin anion interact through strong N–H···O hydrogen bonds and weak C–H···O hydrogen bonds. The disappearance of the N–H band in the FT-IR spectrum of saccharin may indicate a shift of this proton towards chlordiazepoxide, while the disappearance of the aromatic bond band in the chlordiazepoxide ring in the Raman spectrum may suggest the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between chlordiazepoxide molecules. The melting point of the salts differs from that of the starting compounds. Thermal decomposition of the salt begins above 200 °C and shows at least two overlapping stages of mass loss. In summary, the results of the research showed that the crystalline salt of the saccharin and chlordiazepoxide can be obtained by various methods: grinding with the addition of acetonitrile and crystallization from acetonitrile or a mixture of methanol with methylene chloride.
Diclofenac Sensitizes Signet Ring Cell Gastric Carcinoma Cells to Cisplatin by Activating Autophagy and Inhibition of Survival Signal Pathways
Authors: Lae Lae Phoo Nang , Sukhamwang Amonnat , Dejkriengkraikul Pornngarm , Yodkeeree Supachai
Published: October 2022

Gastric cancer has one of the highest incidence rates of cancer worldwide while also contributing to increased drug resistance among patients in clinical practice. Herein, we have investigated the role of diclofenac (DCF) on sensitizing cisplatin resistance in signet ring cell gastric carcinoma cells (SRCGC). Non-toxic concentrations of DCF significantly augmented cisplatin-induced cell death in cisplatin-resistant SRCGC cells (KATO/DDP) but not in cisplatin-sensitive SRCGC cells (KATOIII). Consistently, concomitant treatment of DCF and cisplatin significantly enhanced autophagic cell death due to overproduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). At the molecular level, the induction of ROS has been associated with a reduction in antioxidant enzymes expression while inhibiting nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activity. Moreover, the combination of DCF and cisplatin also inhibited the expression of survival proteins including Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, cIAP1 and cyclin D1 in KATO/DDP cells when compared with cisplatin alone. This was due, at least in part, to reduce MAPKs, Akt, NF-κB, AP-1 and STAT-3 activation. Taken together, our results suggested that DCF potentiated the anticancer effect of cisplatin in SRCGC via the regeneration of intracellular ROS, which in turn promoted cell death as an autophagy mechanism and potentially modulated the cell survival signal transduction pathway.