bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Randomized Trial Examines Effects of Equine Facilitated Learning on Adolescents’ Basal Cortisol Levels
Authors: Pendry Patricia , Smith Annelise N. , Roeter Stephanie M.
Published: October 2022

Although equine facilitated programs have gained in popularity over the last decade, virtually nothing is known about the causal effects of equine facilitated interventions on human development and well-being. Researchers conducted a randomized trial to determine the effects of an 11-week equine facilitated learning program on the activity of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis of fifth through eighth graders through salivary cortisol levels. Children (N = 131) referred by school counselors and recruited from the community were randomly assigned to either an experimental (N = 53) or waitlisted condition (N = 60). Six samples of salivary cortisol were collected in participants’ own home over two consecutive days at pretest, and another set of six samples were collected at posttest in both groups of children. Children in the experimental group who participated in a series of once-weekly, 90-minute sessions of equine facilitated activities had lower afternoon cortisol levels (F(1, 112) = 8.56,
p
= .017;
d
= .48) and lower total cortisol concentration per waking hour (F(1, 112) = 11.12,
p
= .017,
d
= .46) at posttest, compared to waitlisted children. Multivariate regression analyses showed that program effects were independent from baseline levels of child cortisol, child gender, age, and referral status.
“Dog Moms” Use Authoritative Parenting Styles
Authors: Volsche Shelly , Gray Peter
Published: October 2022

The purpose of the present research was to determine what type of relationship exists between owner to dog attachment and the degree of aversion used in training pet dogs. We hypothesized that attachment to one’s dog would be negatively associated with the degree of aversion used in dog training. Data collection took place via online, self-report surveys. The sample consisted of 653 respondents, age 19-82 (µ=46.83, M=49) representing each of the 50 United States. Of that population, 90.8% were female and 88.7% identified as white. Additionally, 79.3% did not have children in the home with all but two of those being childless, and more than half of the population (65.5%) considered themselves their dog’s “parent” or “guardian.” Contrary to expectations, a weak positive correlation (
r
=.224,
p
<.001) was found between participants’ attachment and the reported frequency of aversion used in training their dogs. This paper discusses the interpretations of these findings, including with respect to changing human-dog relationships in the United States.
Dog-Owner Compatibility Index of Activity Preferences
Authors: González-Ramírez Mónica Teresa , Landero-Hernández René , Vanegas-Farfano Minerva
Published: October 2022

Findings in human-animal interaction often includes the benefits of the relationship; however, pet relinquishment persists as a core issue within the field. Considering mismatches could be an explanation about relinquishment, this study was performed with the aim to design and to evaluate psychometric properties of the dog-owner compatibility index of activity preferences, in its Spanish and English versions. This is a measurement of dog-owner compatibility through shared behaviors. Surveys of 627 pet dog owners in Mexico and 61 pet dog owners in the United States were utilized. The results demonstrated strong psychometric properties in Spanish version. Factor analysis suggests a two-factor structure; evidence of convergent validity was obtained comparing index scores with Mexican version of Monash dog owner relationship scale and internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha that showed a coefficient of .82 to complete index. Results also showed evidence of reliability in English version with a Cronbach’s alpha of .83. Due to its shortness and simple scoring, the index could be used by researchers, rescue associations, and adoptions centers.
Animal-Assisted Therapy in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Mixed Methods Review
Authors: Klemetsen Marie Gading , Lindstrøm Torill Christine
Published: October 2022

There is a need for evidence-based interventions that can contribute to more positive treatment outcomes for substance use disorders. Animal-assisted therapy is a supplementary intervention in which certified animals are used in a structured and goal directed manner in the treatment of various health problems. This review aims to systematically investigate and evaluate the available literature and thus hopefully contribute to future research. The electronic searches were performed in the databases PsycInfo, Medline, and Web of Science. Searches of reference lists were also performed. As the research on this particular field is scarce, the inclusion criteria had to allow for a relatively great variation in methods, interventions, and populations. Still, only ten studies were included, of which three were quantitative, six were qualitative, and one was a mixed methods study. All of the included articles examined the effect of AAT in the treatment of substance use disorders. The populations investigated included both women and men aged 13 to 55 years undergoing treatment for substance use disorder. A segregated design was applied, where the quantitative results were pooled using narrative synthesis and the qualitative using metasummary, all of which were combined in a final configuration. Three of the quantitative studies found significant correlations, and the metasummary indicated several reoccurring themes across the qualitative studies. However, a general lack of systematic investigation and an excess of explorative research were identified, and the majority of the articles neglected to report information important for replication. More thorough and systematic investigations are needed. A tentative explanatory model, with a hypothesis generating aim, is presented, in which the qualitative findings function as moderators or mediators of the relationships indicated by the quantitative studies.
The effects of dog-owner relationship on perceived stress and happiness
Authors: González-Ramírez Mónica Teresa , Landero-Hernández René , Vanegas-Farfano Minerva
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the pet-owner relationship on the perceived stress and subjective happiness of the owner, using structural equation modeling. A sample of 483 residents of Mexico, men and women, owners of at least one dog participated in this study. Data collection included The Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Subjective Happiness Scale and some questions regarding the daily dog-owner interaction. Within its primary results, this study showed a higher level of interaction in dyads and adequate relationships according to owners’ perception. The structural model revealed the owner-dog interaction as a predictor of the owner’s perception of their relationship; stressors and the dog-owner relationship as predictors of the owner’s perceived stress, and stress on subjective happiness. It is concluded that the benefits of the human-animal bond are mediated by the dog-owner relationships’ quality and this relationship is determined by their shared activities.
Animal-Assisted Interventions: Taxonomy and Best Practices
Authors: Winkle Melissa Y. , Linder Deborah E.
Published: October 2022

Animals, particularly dogs, are gaining momentum in specialized Human-Animal Interactions. Dogs’ roles range from pets, family members, volunteer visitors, and canine colleagues, to assistance dogs. This has also resulted in a need for uniform terminology to delineate between the different jobs dogs do within HAI as many of these roles are now the subject of scientific inquiry and laws. While the international literature has demonstrated growth in these areas, the terminology can leave readers confused when it comes to dogs working in the contexts of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) and Assistance Dogs (AD). This article looks towards organizations with significant national and international representation to clarify the movement toward a uniform terminology that may impact the development of standards of practice and research for a variety of disciplines using AAIs and clarify laws for AD.
Prevalence of Coursework in Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies at Universities and Colleges in the United States: A Scoping Review
Authors: Fry Nina Ekholm , Meszaros Emily , O’Neill Katie
Published: October 2022

An increasing number of universities and colleges in the United States are offering coursework related to equine-assisted activities or therapies. We conducted a scoping review to determine the prevalence of such coursework at higher education institutions with information on geographic location, number of courses and their focus, department through which coursework was delivered, and level of study (undergraduate or graduate). We identified 39 higher education institutions in 29 states that provided coursework in the following areas: therapeutic riding/horsemanship (n = 71, 64.5%), equine-assisted mental health (n = 23, 20.9%), equine-assisted learning (n = 7, 6.4%), and hippotherapy (n = 1, 0.9%). Survey or overview courses (n
=
8, 7.3%) were also identified. A total of 110 courses that met inclusion criteria were offered in the 2016-2017 academic year, both at undergraduate (
n
= 92) and graduate levels (
n
= 17), with just over half of institutions delivering coursework through social science or liberal arts departments (n = 20, 51.3%) and the rest through animal science departments (
n =
19, 48.7%). Several challenges emerged based on the review process related to use of terminology, understanding of professional scope and the lack of educational standards for equine-assisted fields. Our suggestions for future research include examination of curriculum content and instructor qualifications to increase understanding of the role university and college coursework has in equine-assisted practice.
The State of Assessment in Human-Animal Interaction Research
Authors: Rodriguez Kerri E. , Guérin Noémie A. , Gabriels Robin L. , Serpell James A. , Schreiner Pamela J. , O’Haire Marguerite E.
Published: October 2022

There is a growing body of research in human-animal interaction (HAI), but the field is often criticized for its lack of methodological rigor and heterogeneous outcome assessment. In addition, there is a scarcity of valid and reliable assessment tools specific to measuring constructs directly related to HAI. As the field continues to develop, there is a critical need for the consistent use of standardized, well-validated, and appropriate assessment tools. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the state of assessment in HAI while identifying current needs for method standardization, development, or refinement. Specifically, we review in detail the use of (1) questionnaires, (2) physiological measures, and (3) behavior assessment tools in the field of HAI while offering examples of successful application, describing methodological limitations, and providing recommendations for use in HAI research.
The Psychological Processes Involved in the Development of a High-Quality Relation with one’s Dog
Authors: Vink Lonneke , Dijkstra Arie
Published: October 2022

Background. Several studies have found an effect of pet ownership on human health and well-being. We propose that these benefits can only occur when the pet owner perceives the dog in a certain way: As having a human-like psychological functioning and experience of the world (anthropomorphism), and as part of one’s identity (assimilation). These perceptions are thought to support the development of a high-quality relationship with the dog that can lead to positive effects on health and well-being.

Method. Two samples of dog owners (N=136 and N=928) completed an online questionnaire assessing anthropomorphism and assimilation, and relationship satisfaction and commitment to the dog (as measures of the quality of the relationship). In addition, a set of measures to validate the new anthropomorphism and assimilation scales were assessed.

Results. Anthropomorphism and assimilation were related to satisfaction and commitment in moderation and in mediation. That is, the relation between anthropomorphism and commitment was especially strong when assimilation was low, and the relation between assimilation and commitment was largely mediated by anthropomorphism. Furthermore, validating the new scales, anthropomorphism was significantly related to secondary emotions recognized in the dog, and assimilation was significantly and negatively related to self-esteem and loneliness.

Conclusion. The results show that anthropomorphism and assimilation had a significant relation with satisfaction and commitment, which is in line with the notion that this psychological process is important for the development of a high-quality relationship between owner and dog.
Effect of Pet Interaction on Stress Reduction and Positive Mood Enhancement among Pet-Owners and Non-Owners
Authors: Khalid Aliya , Dildar Saadia
Published: October 2022

The present study investigated the effect of pet interaction on stress reduction and positive mood enhancement among pet-owners and non-owners. Sample of pet-owners (n = 90) and non-owners (n = 90) was taken from University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. Both, male and female participants were included in the sample. The instruments used were Short Stress State Questionnaire (Helton, 2004), Brief Mood Introspection Scale (Mayer & Gaschke, 1988) and Pet Interaction Observation Checklist. Data was statistically analyzed by one way Analysis of Variance and Independent Sample t-test. Reduction in stress and increase in positive mood were found for both pet-owners and non-owners for the pet interaction groups as compared to control groups. However, no significant differences were found between the dog interaction group and cat interaction group for both pet owners and non-owners. Moreover, pet-owners had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood after pet interaction as compared to non-owners. Lastly, it was shown that individuals who interacted with pets for more than five minutes had lower scores on stress and higher scores on positive mood as compared to those who interacted for five minutes or less. The findings have implications for Animal Assisted Therapy for psychological well-being.
The Development and Pilot Evaluation of a ‘Serious Game’ to Promote Positive Child-Animal Interactions
Authors: Hawkins Roxanne D. , Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  , Williams Joanne M.
Published: October 2022

Animal welfare education aims to nurture compassion, respect and kindness to animals but there remains a need for more rigorous evaluations of such programmes to assess the most effective approaches. Incorporating technology into animal welfare education is a relatively novel field. This study examines the process of designing, developing, and evaluating the effectiveness of a new theoretically-driven educational computer game intervention. Pet Welfare was designed for children aged 7-12 years, to promote positive child-animal interactions. A pre-test, post-test, test-control, quasi-experimental design was used using a self-report questionnaire that children completed within class. Participants included 184 primary-school children from schools in Scotland, UK. The results indicated a positive impact on knowledge about animal welfare needs, knowledge about appropriate and safe behaviour towards pets and beliefs about pet minds. Children were also less accepting of cruelty to pets. There was no impact on self-reported compassion. This study presents the first evaluation of a digital animal welfare ‘serious game’ for children, demonstrating the benefits of incorporating technology and game-based learning into animal cruelty prevention. The results of this study will inform future education directions for those wishing to promote positive and safe relationships between children and animals.
Theoretical Development of Equine-assisted Activities and Therapies for Children with Autism: A Systematic Mapping Review
Authors: Peters B. Caitlin , Wood Wendy , Hepburn Susan
Published: October 2022

In this systematic mapping review, we mapped the state of theoretical development of equine-assisted activities and therapies for children with autism to help illuminate promising theoretical frameworks. Across 42 studies and 22 non-research reports, we identified 10 explanatory formal theories related to equine-assisted activities and therapies, and several informally hypothesized change mechanisms. Guided by findings, we propose that (1) equine movement, intentionally used by a therapist, challenges and improves postural control and motor skills, and that an equine-assisted activity or therapy can (2) promote engagement, a platform for social development, and (3) provide structured support for social interaction and positively reinforce communication. While promising, these three nascent theoretical frameworks merit further critique, testing, and refinement.
Perceptions of Animal Assisted Reading and its Results Reported by Involved Children, Parents and Teachers of a Portuguese Elementary School
Authors: Canelo Elsa
Published: October 2022

This article presents preliminary results of a longitudinal qualitative study of a small-sample trial of Animal Assisted Reading (AAR), designed to overcome reading difficulties of second grade children in an elementary school in Lisbon’s outskirts, through reading sessions to a “listening dog”. The AAR trial was carried out between October 2016 and June 2017. The article deals with findings concerning the participant schoolchildren’s, their parents’ and their teachers’ perceptions before and after the trial was run, framed by Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development. I interviewed 12 subjects – five students, one parent of each of them, and two teachers – before and after the trial was run, in order to compare the children’s initial and final self-concept regarding reading to others, as well as the expectations they, their parents and teachers held and their final assessments of AAR. I did a descriptive qualitative analysis of interview transcripts to extract and compare the relevant data on these items. Initially, all students had negative self-concept regarding reading, and all but one tended to avoid the task of reading aloud to others. After AAR, all but one appreciated reading aloud without fearing exposure. The initial expectations of students, parents, and teachers about AAR were very high to begin with, and in the end all stated those expectations had been met, acknowledging further benefits besides reading improvement. The findings suggest AAR had a positive impact in both the school and the family microsystems of the children’s development.
Grounded by Purrs and Petting: Experiences with Companion Cats during COVID-19
Authors: Currin-McCulloch Jennifer , Bussolari Cori , Packman Wendy , Kogan Lori , Erdman Phyllis
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated negative impacts on the psychological well-being of humans around the world. Most communities have followed social distancing mandates, resulting in social isolation and changes to daily work and social routines. Extended periods of social isolation can lead to boredom, loneliness, and increased risk for physical and mental health concerns. For many individuals during the pandemic, their household members and cats have represented their only daily contact with living beings. Cats have been shown to form strong attachments to their owners and to reduce humans’ stress responses, yet there is a dearth of research, especially when compared to dogs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the thoughts, experiences, and concerns of adults regarding their relationships with their companion cat during the initial months of COVID-19. Data were collected between March 30
th
and May 1
st
, 2020, via an online questionnaire. Respondents (n=956) were recruited through social media outlets and human-animal focused organizations. Directed content analysis methods informed the process for discovering themes in the data. Themes include participants’ enhanced bonds, increased quality time, gratitude, worries about their cat’s well-being, and a reduced sense of isolation and emotional distress.
Measuring the Social, Behavioral, and Academic Effects of Classroom Pets on Third and Fourth-Grade Students
Authors: McCullough Amy , Ruehrdanz Ashleigh , Garthe Rachel , Hellman Cynthia , O’Haire Marguerite
Published: October 2022

Limited research has documented the benefits of animals for children’s learning and development, with a growing number of elementary school teachers incorporating pets into their classrooms. This study assessed the social, behavioral, and academic effects of the presence of small, resident classroom animals for third and fourth-grade students across the United States. A total of 591 students from 41 classrooms (pet cohort = 20; no pet cohort = 21) and 19 schools participated. Classroom animals included guinea pigs, fish, lizards, hamsters, toad, gerbil, turtle, and tortoise. Data were collected at three designated time points over one academic year: T1 = one month into the school year (pre-pet introduction); T2 = 12 weeks post-pet introduction; T3 = just prior to school year end (approximately 28- to 30 weeks post-pet introduction). Teachers and parents completed the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales (SSIS) and the Social Competence Inventory (SCI), and students completed the SSIS only. At T2 and T3, teachers in the pet cohort were surveyed also on how the pet was incorporated into their classroom over the previous three-month period. Overall findings suggest that there is a lack of agreement between reporters. Teachers reported significantly greater increases in social skills (p < .05), social competence (p < .05), and academic reading competence (p = .02), as well as significantly greater reductions in internalizing (p = .02) and hyperactivity/inattention behaviors (p = .01), among students in the intervention cohort as compared to those without a classroom pet. Intervention cohort parents reported significantly greater increases in prosocial behaviors (p < .05). There were no significant differences between cohorts found via student reports. These findings suggest that pets in the classroom may significantly benefit third and fourth-grade students’ social, behavioral, and academic development. However, the lack of consistent findings across groups indicates the need for further examination of these types of programs and their potential impact on students.
Assessing the Impact of Animal-Assisted Occupational Therapy on Attention in Preschoolers
Authors: Winsor Katrina , Silverstein Jay , Theodore Lea A. , Naik Arth , Shyman Eric
Published: October 2022

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has become increasingly popular as an adjunct to treatment across a variety of populations and disciplines. However, minimal empirical documentation for AAT exists in the literature. The purpose of this project was to assess the efficacy of animal-assisted occupational therapy (AAOT) on attention in preschoolers. We hypothesized that the presence of a specially trained canine in the treatment room would increase attention to therapist-directed activities during a table-based occupational therapy activity. A total of 12 preschool-aged children participated in this study during regularly-scheduled occupational therapy sessions. Data were collected based on the percentage of time the student was off-task during the activity. Results demonstrated statistical significance, with the children significantly less off-task on average when a dog was present during instruction than when a dog was not present
(t
(11)
= 2.89,
p
= .015). This study provides additional research to support the efficacy of AAT with a focus on the preschool population, which is an area that is underrepresented in published literature.
A Time to Say Goodbye: Empathy and Emotion Regulation Predict Timing of End-of-Life Decisions by Pet Owners
Authors: Vonk Jennifer , Maria Corina Bouma Esther , Dijkstra Arie
Published: October 2022

Little is known about how pet owners make end-of-life (EoL) decisions regarding their pets. We analyzed data from 1542 pet owners from North America and Europe that had made EoL decisions involving their dogs (n = 546) or cats (n=996). We measured participants’ empathy towards animals, emotion regulation, and attitudes toward pets, and asked for demographic information about themselves and the most recent pet that they had euthanized. We asked them to indicate a preference for making a decision too early versus too late, the stage of an illness or injury at which they had made their decision to euthanize, and the amount of guilt they felt for making a decision too early and too late. We hypothesized that individuals with high levels of empathy would prioritize the reduction of their pet’s suffering and would therefore make earlier decisions and feel greater guilt for having made decisions too late. This might be especially true for those with low emotion regulation as they might have more difficulty managing their own distress related to the pet’s condition. In addition, we recognized that pet owners would also consider their desire to extend the pet’s life - particularly when they had strong positive attitudes toward pets. Contrary to our predictions, those with higher reported empathy for animals were more likely to make decisions to euthanize at later stages compared to earlier stages. Cat owners made decisions later compared to dog owners. Higher levels of empathy and lower levels of emotion regulation predicted guilt for both early and late decisions. Further work is needed to explore how various owner characteristics impact EoL decisions. Our study makes a first attempt to understand this complex issue.
An open-source data acquisition system for laboratory and industrial scale applications
Authors: Niehaus Konstantin , Westhoff Andreas
Published: October 2022

Portability, ease of use, robustness, and system cost are important parameters in designing flexible measurement systems. To this end, we introduce a cost-efficient and open-source measurement system based on consumer hardware for measuring air properties such as temperature, humidity, particle concentration in order to determine indoor air quality, thermal comfort, or air pollution. Cost and energy efficient sensor modules are integrated into an USB-based measurement interface that supports a wide range of communication protocols including Serial Peripheral Interface, Inter Integrated Circuit, Recommended Standard 232 and Recommended Standard 485. Moreover, the system provides a web interface and an application programming-interface that enables real time access to sensor data. In this paper we present the design of the hardware set-up, an overview of the sensors supported so far, and the software architecture as well as application examples.
Poisson brackets in Sobolev spaces: a mock holonomy-flux algebra
Authors: Fernando Barbero G J , Basquens Marc , Díaz Bogar , Villaseñor Eduardo J S
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a number of issues that crop up in the computation of Poisson brackets in field theories. This is specially important for the canonical approaches to quantization and, in particular, for loop quantum gravity. We illustrate the main points by working out several examples. Due attention is paid to relevant analytic issues that are unavoidable in order to properly understand how computations should be carried out. Although the functional spaces that we use throughout the paper will likely have to be modified in order to deal with specific physical theories such as general relativity, many of the points that we will raise will also be relevant in that context. The specific example of the mock holonomy-flux algebra will be considered in some detail and used to draw some conclusions regarding the loop quantum gravity formalism.
Peculiarities of resonant interactions of lump chains within the KP1 equation
Authors: Zhang Zhao , Li Biao , Chen Junchao , Guo Qi , Stepanyants Yury
Published: October 2022

Using the Hirota bilinear method, we derive resonant solutions to the KP1 equation. Solutions describe lump chains differently oriented in (x, y)-plane. We show that resonant solutions arise as the limiting case of more general non-resonant solutions when phase shifts of lump chains caused by their interaction become infinite. Resonant solutions can describe both stationary patterns (for example, Y-shaped patterns consisting of three different lump chains) and non-stationary interacting parallel lump chains. In the latter case, a lump chain can be emitted/absorbed by another lump chain. As the number of lump chains increases, resonance phenomena become more complex and diversified including the cases of exchange of a lump chain by two other lump chains. The method used in this paper can be extended to apply to other integrable systems in two and three spatial dimensions such as, for example, described by Mel’nikov’s equations.
An updated view and perspectives on high-energy gamma-ray emission
from SGR J1935+2154 and its environment
Authors: Coelho Jaziel G. , Padilha Luana N. , dos Anjos Rita C. , Ventura Cynthia V. , Carvalho Geanderson A.
Published: October 2022

SGR J1935+2154 was discovered in 2016 and is currently one of the most burst-active Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGR), having emitted many X-ray bursts in recent years. In one of our previous articles, we investigated the contribution to high-energy and very high-energy gamma-ray emission (VHE, E > 100 GeV) due to cosmic-ray acceleration of SNR G57.2+0.8 hosting SGR J1935+2154 using the GALPROP propagation code. However, follow-up observations of SGR 1935+2154 were made for 2 hours on April 28, 2020, using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The observations coincide with X-ray bursts detected by INTEGRAL and Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). These are the first high-energy gamma-ray observations of an SGR in a flaring state, and upper limits on sustained and transient emission have been derived. Now that new H.E.S.S. observations have been made, it is interesting to update our model with respect to these new upper limits. We extend our previous results to a more general situation using the new version of GALPROP. We obtain a hadronic model that confirms the results discussed by H.E.S.S. . This leads to an optimistic prospect that cosmic ray gamma rays from SGR J1935+2154 can contribute to the overall gamma energy density distribution and in particular to the diffusion gamma rays from the Galactic center.
GIFT: new method for the genetic analysis of small gene effects involving small sample sizes
Authors: Rauch Cyril , Kyratzi Panagiota , Blott Sarah , Bray Sian , Wattis Jonathan
Published: October 2022

Small gene effects involved in complex/omnigenic traits remain costly to analyse using current genome-wide association studies (GWAS) because of the number of individuals required to return meaningful association(s), a.k.a. study power. Inspired by field theory in physics, we provide a different method called genomic informational field theory (GIFT). In contrast to GWAS, GIFT assumes that the phenotype is measured precisely enough and/or the number of individuals in the population is too small to permit the creation of categories. To extract information, GIFT uses the information contained in the cumulative sums difference of gene microstates between two configurations: (i) when the individuals are taken at random without information on phenotype values, and (ii) when individuals are ranked as a function of their phenotypic value. The difference in the cumulative sum is then attributed to the emergence of phenotypic fields. We demonstrate that GIFT recovers GWAS, that is, Fisher’s theory, when the phenotypic fields are linear (first order). However, unlike GWAS, GIFT demonstrates how the variance of microstate distribution density functions can also be involved in genotype–phenotype associations when the phenotypic fields are quadratic (second order). Using genotype–phenotype simulations based on Fisher’s theory as a toy model, we illustrate the application of the method with a small sample size of 1000 individuals.
Exploring the Accretion Disk Structure and X-ray Radiation of GX 17+2 Based on kHz QPOs and Cross-correlations
Authors: Wang De-Hua , Zhang Cheng-Min , Lei Ya-Juan
Published: October 2022

Applying the timing tools of kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) and cross-correlations, we study the influence of the magnetosphere-disk relation on the X-ray radiation process of GX 17+2. First, as the spectral state track of X-ray emission evolves along the horizontal branch (HB), the magnetosphere-disk radii of the source derived by kHz QPOs shrink from r ∼ 24 km to r ∼ 18 km, while its average X-ray intensities in ≤10 keV and in ≥10 keV show the opposite evolutional trends. Moreover, this branch has been detected with the anti-correlations between the low-/high-energy (e.g., 2–5 keV/16–30 keV) X-rays. We suggest that in HB there may exist an X-ray radiation transfer process at the disk radii near the neutron star (NS), i.e., ∼5–10 km away from the surface, which probably originates from the interaction between the corona or jet with high-energy X-rays and accretion disk with low-energy X-rays. Second, as the source evolves along the normal branch (NB) and along the flaring branch (FB), their average X-ray intensities in all ∼2–30 keV show the monotonously decreasing and monotonously increasing trends, respectively. In addition, these two branches are both dominated by the positive correlations between the low- and high-energy (e.g., 2–5 keV/16–30 keV) X-rays. Moreover, the evolution along NB is accompanied by the shrinking of the magnetosphere-disk radii from r ∼ 18 km to r ∼ 16 km. We ascribe these phenomena to that as the shrinking of the accretion disk radius, the piled up accretion matter around the NS surface may trigger the radiation that produces both the low- and high-energy X-rays simultaneously, and then form the branches of NB and FB.
Predicting the long-term after-effects of rTMS in autism spectrum disorder using temporal variability analysis of scalp EEG
Authors: Jiang Lin , He Runyang , Li Yuqin , Yi Chanlin , Peng Yueheng , Yao Dezhong , Wang Yuping , Li Fali , Xu Peng , Yang Yingxue
Published: October 2022

Objective. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) emerges as a useful therapy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) clinically. Whereas the mechanisms of action of rTMS on ASD are not fully understood, and no biomarkers until now are available to reliably predict the follow-up rTMS efficacy in clinical practice. Approach. In the current work, the temporal variability was investigated in resting-state electroencephalogram of ASD patients, and the nonlinear complexity of related time-varying networks was accordingly evaluated by fuzzy entropy. Main results. The results showed the hyper-variability in the resting-state networks of ASD patients, while three week rTMS treatment alleviates the hyper fluctuations occurring in the frontal-parietal and frontal-occipital connectivity and further contributes to the ameliorative ASD symptoms. In addition, the changes in variability network properties are closely correlated with clinical scores, which further serve as potential predictors to reliably track the long-term rTMS efficacy for ASD. Significance. The findings consistently demonstrated that the temporal variability of time-varying networks of ASD patients could be modulated by rTMS, and related variability properties also help predict follow-up rTMS efficacy, which provides the potential for formulating individualized treatment strategies for ASD (ChiCTR2000033586).
Charging up studies in thick Gas Electron Multipliers
Authors: Roy Promita , Kumar Vishal , Das Pralay Kumar , Bhattacharya Purba , Mukhopadhyay Supratik , Majumdar Nayana , Sarkar Sandip
Published: October 2022

Gaseous ionization detectors that have insulating media exposed to the active gas volume have issues related to charging up of the insulators during the course of its use[1]. The time-dependent variation of detector response in hole-based Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs), especially THick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEMs), is one of the challenging problems that has been attributed to “charging up” and “charging down”. Experimental studies of stabilization of THGEM gas gain with time in argon-based mixtures under various experimental conditions will be presented here. Effects of different sources with varying irradiation rates on the gain saturation process have been studied. It has been observed that low-rate source shows two-step gain stabilization phenomena, one short-term saturated gain, another long-term saturated gain, whereas high-rate source shows just one-step gain saturation. While this two-step stabilization has been attributed to the charging up of the rim by earlier studies, its effect seems to be subdued for high-rate irradiation according to the present studies. The results provide an insight into the dynamics of gain saturation in THGEMs.
Numerical modelling of gaseous ionization detectors
Authors: Mukhopadhyay S , Bhattacharya P , Rout P K , Datta J , Majumdar N , Sarkar S
Published: October 2022

The working of gaseous ionization detectors can be broadly broken into few major steps: generation of primaries, their transport and amplification due to applied electromagnetic field, and, finally, induction of signal on pick-up electrodes due to movement of electrons and ions. Proper design and optimum utilization of such detectors require thorough understanding of each of these steps. Since they possess significant complexity, numerical modelling turns out to be an important tool to explore the dynamics and response of these detectors. There are several possible approaches that may be adopted to carry out detailed and realistic numerical simulation of gaseous detectors. Among these, the Monte-Carlo particle approach adopted by the Garfield++ toolkit is among the most prominent possibilities. Recently, a deterministic hydrodynamic approach has also turned out to be useful for this purpose. The steps necessary to create mathematical and numerical models of a gaseous detector is presented here, utilizing both particle and hydrodynamic approaches. Simple examples are used to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of both the approaches.
Primary Ionization Simulation for Different Gas Mixtures
Authors: Kanishka R , Mukhopadhyay Supratik , Majumdar Nayana , Sarkar Sandip
Published: October 2022

The primary ionization in a gas mixture is crucial in nuclear and particle physics experiments. In many particle physics experiments, the primary ionization is utilized in understanding the charge density and discharge formation studies. We present the simulation of primary ionization in argon based gas mixtures to get the number of primaries, energy and spatial information with geant4 and heed++ toolkits that have been used to simulate the passage of particles through the matter. The geant4 toolkit has an advantage of obtaining the particle information like energy deposition and position co-ordinates after each step i.e., at which the particle has done some interactions in a complex, realistic, three-dimensional geometry. These steps generate each interactions after computing the cross-sections of physics processes that were taken into account for this simulation in a gas volume. The number of primaries generated with the geant4 toolkit were also compared with those obtained using heed+ +. Alpha and muons were simulated to study the primary ionization. A similar study of primary ionization was carried out with 55Fe which is radioactive in nature and captures electron. 55Mn (X-rays), νe, auger electrons and gammas were produced in this process. Gamma simulation has also been carried out. The responses of alpha, muon, 55Fe and gamma in the argon based gas mixtures were found to be distinct due to their different properties.
TOV equation of state and bulk properties of astro-nuclear objects: an investigation
Authors: Mondal S H , Alam M , Hasan M , Khan Md A
Published: October 2022

This study of the common characteristics of compact celestial bodies is mostly inspired by the Potekhin group’s current findings on the evolution and structure of compact objects, exploiting the unified equation of state (EoS), proposed by the group reported as Brussels -Montreal (B-M) group. We used three parametric approaches to solve the TOV EoS numerically and obtain number density of baryon, internal stellar pressure, bulk coefficients, and some other quantities for a broad spectrum of mass densities. Numerically simulated results of these quantities are reported in terms of matter density in a tabular form. A schematic view of calculated quantities and their comparison with reference values wherever available are reported in the representative cases.
Research on energy hub configuration optimization problem based on analytic hierarchy and grey correlation analysis
Authors: Xin Changqing , Xu Jian
Published: October 2022

For the energy hub system configuration, there are problems such as high operation and maintenance costs, poor system safety, low efficiency of renewable energy utilization and large pollution emissions. This paper proposes an energy hub configuration optimization method based on analytic hierarchy and grey correlation analysis. First, configure the energy hub model. Second, establish a configuration optimization model that includes operation and maintenance costs, installation costs, renewable energy utilization efficiency, system failure rate and environmental protection. Finally, through the hierarchical decomposition and gray correlation analysis and the use of Matlab soft pair model calculation, the effectiveness of the algorithm is proved, and the simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the consumption performance of renewable energy, enhance the safety of the system, and make the system run economically.
Research on frosting detection method of air source Heat pump based on vision Technology
Authors: Yuan Kaiyi , Chen Jingyu , Liu Yijun , Lao Junming
Published: October 2022

The outdoor pipe coil frosting of air source heat pump seriously affects the working efficiency of the equipment. Therefore, a new frost detection algorithm is proposed to optimize the defrosting process. First of all, the image difference algorithm is introduced to remove the interference factors in the image. Then, the brightness correction and denoising of the image are carried out. Finally, combined with image processing algorithms such as contour detection and Otsu multi-threshold segmentation to achieve regional frosting detection, the efficiency and accuracy of frosting detection are further improved. The experimental results show that, compared with the existing methods, the proposed algorithm not only improves the accuracy of frost detection, but also has better treatment effect on light changes and regional frost. Finally, the detection algorithm is added to the defrosting process. Experimental results show that the effect of intelligent defrosting is better than that of current defrosting strategies.
Optimizing dry land through the implementation of maize and rice multiple cropping system in Pemalang Regency
Authors: Arianti F D , Samijan  , Minarsih S , Nurwahyuni E
Published: October 2022

Maize is one of the food crops as the second staple food after rice in Indonesia. Efforts that can be done are not only to increase maize production but also increases the cropping index as through intercropping in dry-land. This study aims to determine the production of maize intercropped with rice. The research was carried out on the farmer’s-land at Planting Season (PS-2) on April-October 2019 in Pemalang. The maize variety planted were farmers existing varieties Bisi-18 and introduced variety (Nasa-29 varieties). The rice varieties planted are Inpari-42 and Inpago-10. Corn spacing (120x30x20 cm) and rice spacing (20x20 cm). The study used a randomized block design with 4 treatments (was repeated 6 times). The results showed that the intercropping system affected the yield of maize productivity and rice. The highest maize production (5.96 t ha−1) was obtained for intercropping maize (Bisi-18) and rice (Inpago-10) while for the highest rice production (1.76 t ha−1) was intercropping Bisi-18 with Inpari-42. The intercropping of maize and upland rice with a population of maize (81%) and a population of rice (62%) with a total of both 143%, and can increase the cropping index (CI) by 100-143% compared to the existing zero planting of PS-2.
Current Status and Prospect of Halotolerant Biofilm PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) as Bioagent to Increase Crops Growth on Saline Soils
Authors: Daulay Fathin Rasima , Simarmata Tualar
Published: October 2022

Intensive crops farrmings Indonesia is higly depend on inorganic fertilizers and other agrochemical product that contribute to acceleration of land and environment degradation. Effort to alleviate the problems can be done by adopting the agro ecological agriculture approach that relies on environmentally friendly biofertilzers. This article is aimed to inventarize, review the current status and to promote the prospect of biofilm biofertilizer (BB) for improving the soil health and increasing the productivity of crops under salin Ecosystem. The research method was done by tracking, collecting and analyzing the secondary data from international journal and other reputable references. The reviewed results revealed that BB was introduced in and now is gaining more attention internationally. The beneficial microbes of BB are belong to group of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. The application of BB has shown the prospective in increasing the fertilizers efficiency and crops productivity on different agricultural soils. The growth of the crops were increased by root length by 57% and significant increases in dry biomass in roots, shoots, and spike by 92.3%, 40.7%, and 69.2 %. This study concludes that BB is highly prospective as a new era of biofertilizers for increasing the crops growth under saline soils.
Development of Sound Absorbing Recycled Nonwoven Composite Materials
Authors: Sakthivel S. , Senthil Kumar S. , Mekala N. , Dhanapriya G.
Published: October 2022

The Sound absorbent textile materials, especially nonwoven composite structure of reclaimed materials which have low manufacturing costs, low relative density and are more attractive. In this research the use of reclaimed cotton and polyester fiber for production of sound absorption nonwoven composite materials has been investigated. Three different blend ratios of reclaimed cotton and polyester fibers that is 25:75, 40:60 and 50:50 have been used. The reclaimed cotton and polyester nonwoven composites are specified for their physical properties, such as thickness, areal density, bulk density, porosity and sound absorption characteristics in the frequency range of 250HZ-2KHZ. The values of the sound absorption coefficient and noise reduction coefficient acquired signifies that the reclaimed polyester fiber nonwoven composite holds excellent sound absorption behavior in the entire frequency range. Before compressed reclaimed cotton/polyester nonwoven composite of 25:75 blend ratios with greater bulk density and lower porosity is seen to give excellent performance while using the provided air gap behind the reclaimed cotton/polyester nonwoven composites.