bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computational Technologies for the Wearable Sports Training System Based on Sensor Acquisition
Authors: Wang Guochang , Meng Qinghui , Xu Wen
Published: February 2022

Aiming at the problems of long time-consuming and low precision in traditional training system, a wearable sports training system based on data mining is proposed and designed. According to the overall structure of the system, the hardware and software of the system are designed respectively. The hardware part is mainly composed of attitude measurement unit, power supply unit, main control unit, clock circuit, and reset circuit. The software part introduces the data mining method of mining sports training information data. The experimental results show that the system designed in this study effectively shortens the time-consuming time, improves the accuracy, and has certain advantages.
A Feature Extraction Algorithm of Brain Network of Motor Imagination Based on a Directed Transfer Function
Authors: Ma Shuang , Dong Chaoyi , Jia Tingting , Ma Pengfei , Xiao Zhiyun , Chen Xiaoyan , Zhang Lijie
Published: February 2022

Aiming at the feature extraction of left- and right-hand movement imagination EEG signals, this paper proposes a multichannel correlation analysis method and employs the Directed Transfer Function (DTF) to identify the connectivity between different channels of EEG signals, construct a brain network, and extract the characteristics of the network information flow. Since the network information flow identified by DTF can also reflect indirect connectivity of the EEG signal networks, the newly extracted DTF features are incorporated into the traditional AR model parameter features and extend the scope of feature sets. Classifications are carried out through the Support Vector Machine (SVM). The classification results show the enlarged feature set can significantly improve the classification accuracy of the left- and right-hand motor imagery EEG signals compared to the traditional AR feature set. Finally, the EEG signals of 2 channels, 10 channels, and 32 channels were selected for comparing their different effects of classifications. The classification results showed that the multichannel analysis method was more effective. Compared with the parameter features of the traditional AR model, the network information flow features extracted by the DTF method also achieve a higher classification effect, which verifies the effectiveness of the multichannel correlation analysis method.
Effect of Social Media on Patient’s Perception of Dental Aesthetics in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Baik Khadijah M. , Anbar Ghazal , Alshaikh Abeer , Banjar Arwa
Published: February 2022

Introduction. Social media became an influential tool that affects people’s way of communication and became a significant source of information for the society. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of SM on patients seeking aesthetic dental treatment. Methodology. The study employed a large-scale online survey of 1940 patients attending and/or seeking dental treatment at KAUFD and Jeddah private clinics. The targeted age of participants ranged from 18 years and above. The study data were collected using a three-part questionnaire. Results. More than half of the patients were females in both groups (52.7%). The majority of patients used SM for communication and entertainment purposes. It was also found that the most popular platform used by patients was Snapchat (71.1%), followed by Instagram (66.9%). A lot of patients did not like their teeth appearance (38.5%). Moreover, patients preferred to have “bleaching” as an aesthetic treatment to improve their smiles (63.8%). Conclusion. The impact of SM on Saudi Arabian citizens and Saudi Arabia residents can be considered as high. Patients are influenced by SM applications and are seeking aesthetic treatment as an outcome. It is the responsibility of dentists to educate patients about the best treatment options.
Lactobacillus helveticus Prevents Periodontitis Induced by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in Rats by Regulating β-Defensins
Authors: Jia Ru , Shi Ronghua , Guan Danping , Wu Yubo , Qian Wenhao
Published: February 2022

Objective. To study the preventive effect of Lactobacillus helveticus (L. helveticus) on periodontitis induced by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) in rats. Methods. Eighteen 8-week-old female rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham group, Trehalose group, and L. helveticus SBT2171 (LH2171) group. We measured the distance of the cementoenamel junction-alveolar bone crest (CEJ-ABC) to evaluate alveolar bone resorption. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of rat hemimaxillary tissues. We detected the expression of β-defensins, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin- (IL-) 1β, and IL-6 and the number of A. actinomycetemcomitans in rat gingival tissues by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in rat gingival tissues were also measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. Compared with the Trehalose group, the distance of CEJ-ABC was prominently reduced and alveolar bone resorption was notably improved in the LH2171 group. And the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the hemimaxillary tissue decreased obviously, periodontal fibers were arranged neatly, connective tissue small blood vessels proliferated, and the number of A. actinomycetemcomitans reduced significantly in the LH2171 group. In addition, the mRNA expression and release of inflammatory factors in the gingival tissues in the LH2171 group were notably lower than those in the Trehalose group. On the 21st and 36th day, the expression of β-defensins in the gingival tissue of the LH2171 group increased significantly. Conclusion. L. helveticus improves alveolar bone resorption and increases the expression of β-defensins thereby inhibiting the number of A. actinomycetemcomitans and thus prevents periodontitis.
A Novel Prognostic Four-Gene Signature of Breast Cancer Identified by Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Zhao Xiaoyu , Yan Huimin , Yan Xueqing , Chen Zhilin , Zhuo Rui
Published: February 2022

Molecular analysis facilitates the prediction of overall survival (OS) of breast cancer and decision-making of the treatment plan. The current study was designed to identify new prognostic genes for breast cancer and construct an effective prognostic signature with integrated bioinformatics analysis. Differentially expressed genes in breast cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset were filtered by univariate Cox regression analysis. The prognostic model was optimized by the Akaike information criterion and further validated using the TCGA dataset (

n
=
1014

) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset (

n
=
307

). The correlation between the risk score and clinical information was assessed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Functional pathways in relation to high-risk and low-risk groups were analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Four prognostic genes (EXOC6, GPC6, PCK2, and NFATC2) were screened and used to construct a prognostic model, which showed robust performance in classifying the high-risk and low-risk groups. The risk score was significantly related to clinical features and OS. We identified 19 functional pathways significantly associated with the risk score. This study constructed a new prognostic model with a high prediction performance for breast cancer. The four-gene prognostic signature could serve as an effective tool to predict prognosis and assist the management of breast cancer patients.
Prenatal Education Process Based on Local Wisdom in Indonesia
Authors: Hanafie Das St. Wardah , Halik Abdul , Ahdar  , Iman Bustanul
Published: February 2022

The pregnant activities, namely, the existence of classes for pregnant, can add insight and knowledge about pregnancy, pregnancy care, childbirth, and postpartum through educational counseling conducted by competent health workers. During the pregnancy, the women should remain in harmony with others to avoid stress, and the most important point is to always consume nutritious food for health. Good behavioral education for pregnant women includes social accommodation, forming friendships with family and neighbors, helping others, and tending to control emotions during pregnancy. Nutritional education during pregnancy includes knowledge about nutritional issues for pregnant women, how to consume nutritious foods and drinks, and the benefits of nutrition for mothers and fetuses. All pregnant women studied used a Sanro (shaman) to accompany them during pregnancy until delivery, even though there were medical personnel. Local wisdom becomes part of the approach in childbirth, to accompany them during pregnancy until delivery, even though there are health workers. Prenatal education models are still used by the pregnant women, especially in rural areas of Indonesia.
Investigation of the Impact of Active Layer and Charge Transfer Layer Materials on the Performance of Polymer Solar Cells through Simulation
Authors: Aga Fekadu Gochole , Bakare Fetene Fufa , Dibaba Solomon Tiruneh , Gelmecha Demissie Jobir , Amente Chernet
Published: February 2022

This article reports polymer solar cell performance evaluated using general-purpose photovoltaic device model (GPVDM) software for various device structures. The essential parameters of the cell such as short circuit current density (JSC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) are evaluated for these structures. The simulation result shows the performance of the cells could be highly affected by both interfacial and active layers. Among the demonstrated device structures, better performance is observed for device structure ITO/V2O5/PTB7 : PC70BM/TiOx/Al with 10.4 mA/cm2 short circuit current density, 0.89 V open-circuit voltage, 59.5% fill factor, and 6.1% power conversion efficiency. The study is useful for a better understanding of the powerful effect of the materials in the device structure on the performance of the cell and thereby determines the proper device structure and materials for improving the performance of the cell.
EKOS™ Jena Experience: Safety, Feasibility, and Midterm Outcomes of Percutaneous Ultrasound-Assisted Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis in Patients with Intermediate-High-Risk or High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: Klein Friederike , Möbius-Winkler Sven , Bäz Laura , Pfeifer Rüdiger , Fritzenwanger Michael , Heymel Stefan , Franz Marcus , Aftanski Pawel , Schulze P. Christian , Kretzschmar Daniel
Published: February 2022

Background. Percutaneous catheter-based ultrasound-assisted thrombolysis (UACDT) is recommended for patients with intermediate-high-risk or high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) in whom systemic thrombolysis has failed or is contraindicated. Aim. To evaluate the safety and efficiency of UACDT in patients with intermediate-high-risk or high-risk PE. Methods. Between October 2017 and January 2020, we performed UACDT using the EkoSonic™ Endovascular System (EKOS™) in 51 patients (21 males, age 63 ± 18 years) with a sPESI of 1.3 ± 0.7. The EKOS™-catheter was implanted within 24 h after admission. Over 15 hours, 11.5 mg of alteplase was administered per catheter. We evaluated right ventricular stress and cardiac biomarkers before and after UACDT. Results. 24 h post-UACDT, median RV/LV ratio decreased from 1.13 to 0.96 (

p
<
0.001

) and the mean sPAP decreased from 47 ± 3 to 32 ± 2 mmHg + CVP (

p
<
0.0002

). There were 6 major bleeding events resulting in transfusion. No stroke, myocardial infarction, right heart decompensation, or recurrent PE occurred. 31 patients (63%) were discharged without any signs of right ventricular stress. After at least 3 months, 73% of our patients did not show any signs of right ventricular dysfunction. The mean RV/LV ratio decreased to 0.75 ± 0.03 (

p
<
0.0001

) in comparison with pre-UACDT, sPAP to 23  mmHg + CVP (

p
<
0.0001

), and BNP to 40 pg/ml (

p
<
0.0001

). Conclusions. The treatment with UACDT reduced right heart stress during the first 24 hours and midterm in patients with intermediate-high-risk or high-risk PE at an acceptable rate of severe complications.
Employment Data Screening and Destination Prediction of College Students Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Cheng Ping
Published: February 2022

This paper takes the data of a university graduate as the research object. By consulting various literatures and literature analyses, we can understand the impact of students’ academic performance, English level, and other activities on students’ employment development and select data on this basis. The collected data is cleaned, integrated, and transformed to form a standard data set. The factors affecting graduates’ employment are complex and diverse, with high data feature dimensions, sparse links between features, complex and diverse attributes, and both discrete and continuous features. According to the characteristics of college students’ employment data, this paper uses the deep-seated neural network with strong learning ability and adaptability to predict college students’ employment, so as to provide guidance for college students’ employment. Firstly, based on deep learning and Feedforward Neural Network technology, a prediction model of college students’ employment destination with six influencing factors is established, and the prediction accuracy of the model is evaluated. The ACC value and loss value are used as indicators to test whether the prediction effect of the prediction model is good. The results show that the prediction effect of the model is worthy of further research and optimization. Finally, combined with the actual data of graduates, the practical application of the prediction model is analyzed. Compared with the traditional machine learning algorithm, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified.
Design of Intelligent Perception Module Based on Wireless Sensor Network and Basketball Sports Attitude
Authors: Jin Wei
Published: February 2022

In recent years, along with microelectromechanical (MEMS) technique and wireless body area network (WBAN), wearable health monitoring systems have emerged. With sustainability posture detection technique, people pay more and more attention to mankind posture detection. Human posture detection technique has been widely used in medical, film and television, industry, sports, and other fields. Motion capture is a technique for measuring the motion of moving objects in three-dimensional space with great accuracy. It is the most efficient method for producing computer 3D animation and collecting human motion data. The use of motion capture systems in animation is becoming increasingly common. The problem of a single sensor having a large error in monitoring human motion and attitude is addressed. The use of multisensor data fusion technology is used to propose a human motion pattern recognition method based on data fusion of accelerometer and gyroscope. The system must effectively integrate the information of various sensors in order to achieve the goal of accuracy, timeliness, and reliability processing, and multisensor information fusion systems for various complex application objects are constantly emerging.
Network Evolutionary Game‐Based Diffusion Mechanism regarding the Nonperformance of Farmers in Agricultural Supply Chain Finance
Authors: Li Xiaoli , Sun Yanming
Published: February 2022

Agricultural supply chain finance effectively alleviates the problem of farmers’ credit constraints and realizes the commercialization and sustainability of agriculture. However, the rapid spread of farmers’ credit default behavior will seriously affect the stability of the agricultural supply chain and the wide application of agricultural supply chain finance. To prevent the rapid spread of farmers’ credit default behavior, the diffusion mechanism of farmers’ default behavior is studied with network evolutionary game. The results indicate the following: (a) When some farmers choose the default strategy because their default income is greater than their performance income, the default behavior in the small‐world network will not spread to the whole network. However, in the scale‐free network, when the default rate of return exceeds a certain threshold, it will lead to the spread of default behavior throughout the network. (b) In the small‐world network, the spread of default will be inhibited to some extent with the increase of extra returns. However, the effect of raising extra returns on the spread of default behavior is not obvious in the scale‐free network.
Random Forest Algorithm-Based Ultrasonic Image in the Diagnosis of Patients with Dry Eye Syndrome and Its Relationship with Tear Osmotic Pressure
Authors: Jiang Lei , Sun Shanshan , Chen Juan , Sun Zhuo
Published: February 2022

The study was to investigate the diagnostic value of ultrasound based on the random forest segmentation algorithm for dry eye disease and the relationship between dry eye degree and tear osmotic pressure. Specifically, 100 patients with dry eye syndrome were selected as the research subjects, and they were divided into group A (conventional ultrasonic detection) and group B (ultrasonic detection based on the random forest segmentation algorithm), with 50 patients in each group. An ultrasonic measurement was used as the gold standard to evaluate the effect of ultrasonic diagnosis. The degree of dry eye was determined by Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) Questionnaire and DR-1 tear film lipid layer (TFLL) test. The tear osmotic pressure was measured, and the relationship between the degree of dry eye disease and the tear osmotic pressure was analyzed. The results showed that the ultrasonic imaging effect and each index based on random forest algorithm were better than the traditional graph cut algorithm. The average central corneal thickness (CCT) values of group A and group B were (

27.8
±
30.6

) μm and (

29.1
±
30.9

) μm, respectively. 95% confidence interval was 22.7-34.2 μm. In patients with moderate dry eye, the average CCT measured in group A was (

−
6.31
±
2.82

) μm, and that in group B was (

−
6.45
±
3.06

) μm. The 95% confidence interval of the difference between the two is −7.66~−5.43 μm. In patients with severe dry eye, the average CCT was (

−
3.78
±
1.13

) μm in group A and (

−
7.09
±
2.05

) μm in group B (

P
<
0.05

). The 95% confidence interval of the difference between the two is −7.05~ −5.11 μm. In spearman correlation analysis, tear osmotic pressure increased with dry eye severity. There was a statistically significant difference between the moderate and the severe (

P
<
0.05

). Tear osmotic pressure can be a rapid diagnostic index of dry eye severity. Ultrasound based on the random forest segmentation algorithm has high clinical application value in the diagnosis of dry eye syndrome.
Hydration Biomarkers Are Related to the Differential Abundance of Fecal Microbiota and Plasma Lipopolysaccharide-Binding Protein in Adults
Authors: Willis Nathaniel B. , Muñoz Colleen X. , Mysonhimer Annemarie R. , Edwards Caitlyn G. , Wolf Patricia G. , Hillman Charles H. , Burd Nicholas A. , Holscher Hannah D. , Khan Naiman A.
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Prevalence of chronic hypohydration remains elevated among adults in the USA; however, the health effects of hypohydration in regards to human gut health have not been explored. Methods: This study examined the relationship between total water intake, hydration biomarkers (first-morning urine specific gravity [FMUsg], first-morning urine volume [FMUvol], and plasma copeptin), fecal microbiota, and plasma lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) in adults (25–45 years, 64% female). Fecal microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V4 region). Immunoassays quantified plasma copeptin and LBP in fasted venous blood samples. Dietary variables were measured using 7-day food records. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analyzed differentially abundant microbiota based on median cutoffs for hydration markers. Multiple linear regressions examined the relationship between LBP and copeptin. Results: LEfSe identified 6 common taxa at the genus or species level that were differentially abundant in FMUsg, total water (g/day), or plasma copeptin (µg/mL) groups when split by their median values. Uncultured species in the Bacteroides, Desulfovibrio, Roseburia, Peptococcus, and Akkermansia genera were more abundant in groups that might indicate poorer hydration status. Multivariate linear analyses revealed a positive relationship between plasma copeptin and LBP when controlling confounding variables (F(6,52) = 4.45, p = 0.002, R2 = 0.34). Conclusions: Taxa common between markers are associated with the intestinal mucus layer, which suggests a potential link between hydration status and intestinal mucus homeostasis. The relationship between LBP and copeptin indicates that copeptin may be sensitive to metabolic endotoxemia and potentially gut barrier function.
Comparative Effectiveness of Dialysis Modality on Laboratory Parameters of Mineral Metabolism
Authors: Soohoo Melissa , Obi Yoshitsugu , Rivara Matthew B. , Adams Scott V. , Lau Wei Ling , Rhee Connie M. , Kovesdy Csaba P. , Kalantar-Zadeh Kamyar , Arah Onyebuchi A. , Mehrotra Rajnish , Streja Elani
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorders (CKD-MBD) are prevalent in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis. Yet, there are limited and mixed evidence on the effects of different dialysis modalities involving longer treatment times or higher frequencies on CKD-MBD markers. Methods: This cohort study used data from 132,523 incident dialysis patients treated with any of the following modalities: conventional thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis, nocturnal in-center hemodialysis (NICHD), home hemodialysis (HHD), or peritoneal dialysis (PD) from 2007 to 2011. We used marginal structural models fitted with inverse probability weights to adjust for fixed and time-varying confounding and informative censoring. We estimated the average effects of treatments with different dialysis modalities on time-varying serum concentrations of CKD-MBD markers: albumin-corrected calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) using pooled linear regression. Results: Most of the cohort were exclusively treated with conventional in-center hemodialysis, while few were ever treated with NICHD or HHD. At the baseline, PD patients had the lowest mean and median values of PTH, while NICHD patients had the highest median values. During follow-up, compared to hemodialysis patients, patients treated with NICHD had lower mean serum PTH (19.8 pg/mL [95% confidence interval: 2.8, 36.8] lower), whereas PD and HHD patients had higher mean PTH (39.7 pg/mL [31.6, 47.8] and 51.2 pg/mL [33.0, 69.3] higher, respectively). Compared to hemodialysis patients, phosphate levels were lower for patients treated with NICHD (0.44 mg/dL [0.37, 0.52] lower), PD (0.15 mg/dL [0.12, 0.19] lower), or HHD (0.33 mg/dL [0.27, 0.40] lower). There were no clinically meaningful associations between dialysis modalities and concentrations of calcium or ALP. Conclusion: In incident dialysis patients, compared to treatment with conventional in-center hemodialysis, treatments with other dialysis modalities with longer treatment times or higher frequency were associated with different patterns of serum phosphate and PTH. Given the recent growth in the use of dialysis modalities other than hemodialysis, the associations between the treatment and the CKD-MBD markers warrant additional study.
Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Pediatric Salivary Gland Tumors: Analysis of Patient Tolerability, Sedation Requirement, and Procedural Complication
Authors: Wang Huiying , Liang Jiancong , Borinstein Scott C. , Belcher Ryan , Mannion Kyle , Virgin Frank , Compton Margaret Louise , Weiss Vivian Lee , Ely Kim , Johnson Joyce , Coogan Alice
Published: February 2022

Objective: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is the standard diagnostic tool recommended by consensus management guidelines for preoperative evaluation of salivary gland tumors in adults. However, its utility in the pediatric population remains debated due to a paucity of data and inherited challenges of pediatric management (patient cooperation, the need for sedation, and procedural complications). Methods: Consecutive series of 92 FNA biopsies of pediatric salivary gland lesions with available procedural data were included for retrospective analysis. Patient demographics, procedural characteristics, and complications were assessed. Results: Sixty-three patients (68%) tolerated FNA without sedation. Sedation need was significantly associated with younger age, concurrent non-FNA procedure requiring sedation, ultrasound guidance, interventional radiologist as the proceduralist, and radiology suite as the facility setting. The sedation rates for children, and early, middle, and late adolescents were 69%, 32%, 12%, and 10%, respectively, with an optimal cutoff point of ≤12 years for age derived from receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. No significant procedural complications were observed. Sedation did not provide significantly better diagnostic yield. Conclusion: FNA biopsy of salivary gland tumors is safe, well tolerated by the pediatric population, and can be effectively performed in an outpatient setting without sedation in most cases. FNA biopsy is a useful tool in the preoperative management of pediatric patients with salivary gland tumors.
Akute COPD-Exazerbationen: Auswirkungen einer Antibiotikabehandlung
Authors: Lang Susanne M.
Published: February 2022

Background: Although antibiotic treatment is recommended for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), its value in real-world settings is still controversial. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of antibiotic treatment on AECOPD outpatients. Methods: A cohort study was conducted under the PharmLines Initiative. We included participants with a first recorded diagnosis of COPD who received systemic glucocorticoid treatment for an AECOPD episode. The exposed and reference groups were defined based on any antibiotic prescription during the AECOPD treatment. The short-term outcome was AECOPD treatment failure within 14–30 days after the index date. The long-term outcome was time to the next exacerbation. Adjustment for confounding was made using propensity scores. Results: Of the 1,105 AECOPD patients, antibiotics were prescribed to 518 patients (46.9%) while 587 patients (53.1%) received no antibiotics. The overall antibiotic use was associated with a relative risk reduction of AECOPD treatment failure by 37% compared with the reference group (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.63 [95% CI: 0.40–0.99]). Protective effects were similar for doxycycline, macrolides, and co-amoxiclav, although only the effect of doxycycline was statistically significant (aOR 0.53 [95% CI: 0.28–0.99]). No protective effect was seen for amoxicillin (aOR 1.49 [95% CI: 0.78–2.84]). The risk of and time to the next exacerbation was similar for both groups. Conclusion: Overall, antibiotic treatment, notably with doxycycline, supplementing systemic glucocorticoids reduces short-term AECOPD treatment failure in real-world outpatient settings. No long-term beneficial effects of antibiotic treatment on AECOPD were found for the prevention of subsequent exacerbations.
Association of Predicted Expression and Multimodel Association Analysis of Substance Abuse Traits
Authors: Bost Darius M. , Bizon Chris , Tilson Jeffrey L. , Filer Dayne L. , Gizer Ian R. , Wilhelmsen Kirk C.
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have played a critical role in identifying many thousands of loci associated with complex phenotypes and diseases. This has led to several translations of novel disease susceptibility genes into drug targets and care. This however has not been the case for analyses where sample sizes are small, which suffer from multiple comparisons testing. The present study examined the statistical impact of combining a burden test methodology, PrediXcan, with a multimodel meta-analysis, cross phenotype association (CPASSOC). Methods: The analysis was conducted on 5 addiction traits: family alcoholism, cannabis craving, alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis dependence and 10 brain tissues: anterior cingulate cortex BA24, cerebellar hemisphere, cortex, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens basal ganglia, caudate basal ganglia, cerebellum, frontal cortex BA9, hypothalamus, and putamen basal ganglia. Our sample consisted of 1,640 participants from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Family Alcoholism Study. Genotypes were obtained through low pass whole genome sequencing and the use of Thunder, a linkage disequilibrium variant caller. Results: The post-PrediXcan, gene-phenotype association without aggregation resulted in 2 significant results, HCG27 and SPPL2B. Aggregating across phenotypes resulted no significant findings. Aggregating across tissues resulted in 15 significant and 5 suggestive associations: PPIE, RPL36AL, FOXN2, MTERF4, SEPTIN2, CIAO3, RPL36AL, ZNF304, CCDC66, SSPOP, SLC7A9, LY75, MTRF1L, COA5, and RRP7A; RPS23, GNMT, ERV3-1, APIP, and HLA-B, respectively. Discussion: Given the relatively small size of the cohort, this multimodel approach was able to find over a dozen significant associations between predicted gene expression and addiction traits. Of our findings, 8 had prior associations with similar phenotypes through investigation of the GWAS Atlas. With the onset of improved transcriptome data, this approach should increase in efficacy.
Load shifting impact on generating adequacy assessment during peak period
Authors: Alsaedi Malik Abdulrazzaq , Jabir Hussein Jumma , Albaker Baraa Munqith
Published: February 2022

The load shifting technique is widely implemented in electrical power generation due to its considerable impact on system reliability. The evaluation of load shifting benefits towards the adequacy of generation systems requires an accurate assessment. If the generation unit’s capacity is insufficient to meet the system load, then assistance is required from alternative sources. Load shifting, as a primary demand-side management technique, is used efficiently in electrical power networks given that the energy clipped/curtailed owing to load curtailment and peak clipping can be recovered during the off-peak period. The reliability of a generic framework for the prospective integration of a load shifting technique, with preventative and corrective actions as alternatives to peaking units, is investigated in this study. The optimal rate of load shifting in terms of expected energy not supplied is also investigated. Results show that preventive load shifting (PLS) can act as peaking units when the total generated capacity is within specific limits. Meanwhile, corrective load shifting can act as a better alternative than PLS and peaking units. To calculate expected energy not supplied, sequential Monte Carlo simulation is utilized. This study is conducted using the IEEE reliability test system.
Linear fusion approach to convolutional neural networks for facial emotion recognition
Authors: Dudekula Usen , N. Purnachand
Published: February 2022

Facial expression recognition is a challenging problem in the scientific field of computer vision. Several face expression recognition (FER) algorithms are proposed in the field of machine learning, and deep learning to extract expression knowledge from facial representations. Even though numerous algorithms have been examined, several issues like lighting changes, rotations and occlusions. We present an efficient approach to enhance recognition accuracy in this study, advocates transfer learning to fine-tune the parameters of the pre-trained model (VGG19 model ) and non-pre-trained model convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for the task of image classification. The VGG19 network and convolutional network derive two channels of expression related characteristics from the facial grayscale images. The linear fusion algorithm calculates the class by taking an average of each classification decision on training samples of both channels. Final recognition is calculated using convolution neural network architecture followed by a softmax classifier. Seven basic facial emotions (BEs): happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, and neutral facial expressions can be recognized by the proposed algorithm, The average accuracies for standard data set’s “CK+,” and “JAFFE,” 98.3 % and 92.4%, respectively. Using a deep network with one channel, the proposed algorithm can achieve well comparable performance.
Computer simulation of water effluent propagation in the reservoirs systems
Authors: Kurakbayeva Sevara Dzhumagaliyevna , Umarova Zhanat Rysbayevna , Kalbayeva Aizhan Tazhiklhanovna , Kurakbayev Dzhumagali Salbekovich , Akhmetova Sabira Tastanovna , Musabekov Akhmetbek Akhylbekovich
Published: February 2022

The task of the research was to build and analyze a model of the dynamics of pollution of a flowing reservoir and systems of communicating reservoirs with and without taking into account water filtration in the soil as a result of external sources (effluents from industrial enterprises). This work was aimed at studying the change in temporal dynamics, taking into account the concentration of impurities in the volumes of three reservoirs during the periods of discharge and completion, lasting 30 days. Numerical experiments were carried out for various flow rates and compositions of filtration coefficients to study the relaxation times of pollution in the system of reservoirs. Also, software was developed that analyzes the change in the concentration of impurities in the system of reservoirs. As a result, it was found that the pollution pattern is more dependent on the topology of the watercourse network.
Silence and “Active Love” as Agents of the Dialogic Relationship in The Brothers Karamazov
Authors: Lévai Ruth Karin
Published: February 2022

Beginning with an exploration of the core similarities between Bakhtin’s and Buber’s understanding of the dialogic relationship, and going on to discuss the validity of this concept based on aspects of our physical reality in the quantum world, this article demonstrates how silence plays an integral role in the creation of that relationship. Further instances of the dialogic relationship in The Brothers Karamazov are analysed, focusing specifically on Zosima’s relationship with the divine, the relationship between Ivan and Alyosha, and the relationship between Ivan and Smerdyakov. In revealing a truth about personality, Dostoevsky succeeded in revealing a truth about the world.
Egirdira, a new generic name for Pararhodeus niger Kosswig & Geldiay, 1952 (Teleostei: Leuciscidae)
Authors: FREYHOF JÖRG
Published: February 2022

Egirdira, new genus, is proposed for Pararhodeus niger from Central Anatolia based on its position in molecular phylogenetic analyses and its morphological characters. It is distinguished from all other genera of Leuciscidae except Delminichthys and Pelasgus by having the unbranched part of pectoral rays 2–3 thickened and slanted upward, with a conspicuous downward angle at the distal end of the thickened part, no or an incomplete lateral line, and the genital papilla of the female not protruding. An unambiguous, unique morphological character distinguishing Egirdira from Pelasgus has not been identified, except that Egirdira has numerous isolated silvery scales (or patches of such scales) on the flank. A combination of characters distinguishes Egirdira from individual species of Pelasgus. Phoxinellus egridiri is a junior synonym of Pararhodeus niger.
Assessing Heavy Precipitation Risk Associated with Tropical Cyclones in China
Authors: Niu Yilong , Touma Danielle , Ting Mingfang , Camargo Suzana J. , Chen Ruishan
Published: February 2022

Tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP), accounting for some of the most extreme rainfall events, can lead to severe flooding and landslides, which often occur together as compound natural hazards during a tropical cyclone landfall. The impact due to TCP is largely associated with its intensity and spatial extent as the storm approaches landfall. Yet it is not entirely clear how TCP intensity and spatial extent vary from one tropical cyclone to another. In this study, we employ an advanced geostatistical framework to determine the TCP intensity and spatial extent along cyclone tracks for different cyclone categories, defined using the wind speed and tropical cyclone lifetime maximum intensity (LMI) at each track point (“point intensity-LMI”). The results show that when a tropical cyclone with an LMI of a supertyphoon makes landfall and has weakened to tropical storm strength it usually produces the most intense rainfall and covers the largest spatial extent. The total TCP amount estimated using the varying spatial extent helps to determine more accurately the amount of seasonal rainfall that is from tropical cyclones in China. We also determined the rainfall trend from 1951 to 2019 for TCP and found that when compared with the inland stations the historical TCP rainfall trend in those stations near the coastline of China is significantly increasing.

Significance Statement

Heavy rainfall caused by tropical cyclones has caused huge direct or indirect economic losses in the coastal areas of China. This impact is particularly significant when the rainfall intensity is high and the area of heavy rainfall is extensive. Here we investigate the rainfall intensity and spatial extent by classifying and comparing the different types of tropical cyclones impacting China with varying intensities. To do this, we group the tropical cyclone tracks of the western North Pacific Ocean during the last seven decades according to the strength of wind speed across the cyclone tracks. We found that the largest areas and heaviest intensities of rainfall occur when a supertyphoon has weakened to a tropical storm at landfall. When considering all tropical cyclones and their rainfall contribution to rainfall over land stations, we found that tropical cyclone rainfall has become heavier in most coastal areas of China.
Extreme Rainfall Indices Prediction with Atmospheric Parameters and Ocean–Atmospheric Teleconnections Using a Random Forest Model
Authors: Uddin Md. Jalal , Li Yubin , Tamim Md. Yahya , Miah Md. Babul , Ahmed S. M. Shahriar
Published: February 2022

Globally, extreme rainfall has intense impacts on ecosystems and human livelihoods. However, no effort has yet been made to forecast the extreme rainfall indices through machine learning techniques. In this paper, a new extreme rainfall indices forecasting model is proposed using a random forest (RF) model to provide effective forecasts of monthly extreme rainfall indices. In addition, RF feature importance is proposed in this study to identify the most and least important features for the proposed model. This study forecasts only statistically significant extreme rainfall indices over Bangladesh including consecutive dry days (CDD), the number of heavy rain days (R10mm; rainfall ≥ 10 mm), and the number of heavy rain days (R20mm; rainfall ≥ 20 mm) within 1–3 months of lead time. The proposed model uses monthly antecedent CDD, R10mm, and R20mm including atmospheric parameters and ocean–atmospheric teleconnections, namely, convective available potential energy (CAPE), relative humidity (RH), air temperature (TEM), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean dipole (IOD), and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), as the inputs to the model. Results show that the proposed model yields the best performance to forecast CDD, R10mm, and R20mm with only the antecedent of these indices as input. Ocean–atmospheric teleconnections (IOD, ENSO, and NAO) are useful for CDD forecasting, and local atmospheric parameters (CAPE, RH, and TEM) are useful for R10mm and R20mm forecasting. The results suggest that adding atmospheric parameters and ocean–atmospheric teleconnections is useful to forecast extreme rainfall indices.
Twice-Modulated Light in Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometers from Reflective Samples: Avoiding Distorted Intensity Values
Authors: Johnson Timothy J. , Baker Tracy J. , Bradley Ashley M. , Yokosuk Michael O. , Myers Tanya L.
Published: February 2022

We document an artifact associated with the back reflection from samples or sampling accessories in Fourier transform spectrometers. Samples oriented normal to the incoming modulated beam can reflect light back to the interferometer and this light (the percentage dependent on the sample’s refractive index) is modulated by the interferometer a second time resulting in light erroneously appearing at twice its true frequency. The phenomenon occurs across the spectrum but is most apparent when positive-going narrow absorption peaks at 1 f display as negative-going peaks at 2 f. We have redressed the artifact by implementing a rotation stage directly beneath the sample holder: As the stage is rotated through small angles relative to beam normal, the back-reflected light does not enter the interferometer and the artifact disappears. The observation is relevant to several IR sampling methods: gas/liquid cells, alkali halide pellets, reflectance accessories, etc.
Book review: Tonio Andrade, The Last Embassy: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and the Forgotten History of Western Encounters with China
Authors: Baruah Ayushman
Published: February 2022

Tonio Andrade, The Last Embassy: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and the Forgotten History of Western Encounters with China (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021). pp. 424, US$35.00, ISBN: 978-0-691-17711-3 (Hardcover).
Is Role Change Enough? District Organizational Supports for Principal Supervision
Authors: Rogers Laura K.
Published: February 2022

Background and Purpose: District school improvement efforts have increasingly focused on improving the quality of support principals receive from the central office. This study uses the theoretical lens of recoupling to examines efforts by one urban district in the midst of change to revise the role of principal supervisors. Analysis focuses on how district organizational structures and systems supported (or did not support) principal supervisors' work in the new role. Research Methods: This qualitative study draws upon semi-structured interview data from 31 principals, principal supervisors, and central office leaders. Data were analyzed using an iterative, multi-round coding process that identified emergent themes. Findings: District central office structures, systems, and roles shape principal supervisors' ability to effectively develop principal leadership. System-wide changes to support principal supervisors' new work appeared to be at odds with existing district context and structure, limiting their effectiveness. Additionally, three organizational barriers emerged that limited principal supervisors' ability to meet the new role expectations: misaligned central office expectations, overlapping responsibilities between supervisors and other central office administrators, and an incoherent district definition of instructional leadership. Implications: Findings provide guidance for districts seeking to build central office capacity for school support by highlighting the importance of implementing district-level structural supports and other system considerations in addition to changing administrator roles.
Why Do Leaders Build Walls? Domestic Politics, Leader Survival, and The Fortification of Borders
Authors: Linebarger Christopher , Braithwaite Alex
Published: February 2022

States around the world are fortifying their international borders at unprecedented rates. While only seven states had fortified their borders with walls or fences as of the end of World War Two, this number has now grown to more than 75. Why do states build walls on their international borders? While states may build walls to ameliorate the consequences of cross-border economic inequalities and to defend against transnational security threats, we suggest that another compelling logic stems from domestic politics and leaders’ desire to remain in office. Building on assumptions furnished by diversionary theory, we argue that national political leaders at risk of losing office are incentivized to implement popular policies, such as border wall construction, hoping that doing so will prompt a domestic rally effect. To test this argument, we assemble a global dataset of leader-years and find that politically insecure leaders are more likely to be seen to start and continue border wall construction.
Public Stigma and Personal Networks: Confronting the Limitations of Unidimensional Measures of Social Contact
Authors: Perry Brea L. , Felix Elizabeth , Bolton Megan , Pullen Erin L. , Pescosolido Bernice A.
Published: February 2022

One of the most promising directions for reducing mental illness stigma lies in Allport’s contact theory, which suggests that intergroup interactions reduce stigma. Here, we argue that stigmatizing attitudes are driven by the nature, magnitude, and valence of community-based ties to people with mental illness (PMI), not simply their presence. Using the 2018 General Social Survey (N = 1,113), we compare network-based measures of contact to traditional survey indicators. We find that knowing someone with mental illness, or even number of people known, explains little about desire for social distance, perceptions of dangerousness, or endorsement of treatment coercion. However, having stronger relationships with more PMI, having more friends and family (but not more peripheral ties) with mental illness, and knowing people in treatment are associated with less stigma endorsement. In contrast, we find that exposure to PMI who are perceived as dangerous is associated with greater levels of stigma.
Sexual Misconduct in Police Recruits as identified by Police Trainers
Authors: Sweeting Fay , Cole Terri
Published: February 2022

Police sexual misconduct is an under-researched type of police corruption. Although rare, it has serious negative ramifications for both the victims and the reputation of the police. When officers join, there is an extended period of training during which potential warning signs of sexual misconduct may be displayed. This research explored how police trainers identify and deal with sexual misconduct in new recruits. Six focus groups across four police forces in the South of England were conducted – a total of 25 police training staff. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Sexually inappropriate language and sexual touching was witnessed during training, with both recruits and trainers as victims. Police trainers are confident in dealing with such incidents; however, more serious allegations did not result in disciplinary action. Victims and witnesses were reluctant to report incidents, and this may hinder the early identification of recruits who require more discipline or who are potentially unsuitable for police work.
Developing Student Feedback Literacy Through Peer Review Training
Authors: Man Deliang , Kong Beibei , Chau Meng Huat
Published: February 2022

Despite the recent interest in student feedback literacy, few studies have considered how students can be guided to develop this literacy in language learning. This article reports on a study that aims to develop student feedback literacy through a series of training activities. These activities were introduced to a cohort of students to explore their potential usefulness in helping students to give feedback. Four focal participants shared their experience and reflections, which suggest five components of feedback literacy: (1) appreciating the role of peer feedback; (2) knowing more about peer review; (3) being proactive in the feedback process; (4) learning from giving peer feedback; and (5) managing emotions related to peer feedback. These findings show that the undertaken activities have the potential to develop student feedback literacy. The study also suggests how students made use of cultural artifacts and social others through the activities, and initiated informal conversations outside classroom hours in order to provide more appropriate feedback. The five components of feedback literacy illustrated in this article can be drawn upon by language teachers to support and/or assess the development of their students’ feedback literacy.