bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Quality of Work-life Influence Employee Job Satisfaction in a Gas Processing Plant in Ghana
Authors: Hammond Mavis , Owusu Nichodemous Osei , Nunoo Edward Kweku , Boampong Georgina , Osman Aminu , Panin Anthony , Nyametso Johnie K , Essen Bernice
Published: December 2022

The influence of quality of work-life on job satisfaction is critical for sustaining high level skilled workers and enhancing productivity in the oil and gas industry. This study examined the influence of quality of work-life on job satisfaction among workers in a gas processing plant. Descriptive-analytical design and a census approach were used to assess 180 staff (N = 200). The analysis established positive relationship between employee job satisfaction and the four constructs of quality of work life; safe working environments (r = 0.333 p < 0.000), Work-life balance (r = 0.738 p < 0.000), personal development (r = 0.335 p < 0.000) and emotional well-being (r = 0.943 p < 0.000) at significant levels.With the later construct registering the highest correlation with job satisfaction, the study recommend to management a functional early guidance support system for workers who may exhibit early symptoms of emotional well-being distress. It is imperative for management to consolidate and significantly improve on established measures for employees to maximise both work output and avoid work-family conflicts. Management should maintain robust safety protocols and an emergency response unit to ensure employees work in a relaxed environment that promotes workplace well-being. These are envisaged to sustain employee workplace assistance programs that can confidently discuss and address workers' stress, anxiety, and other related concerns at the workplace.
EDTA is yesterday’s soil chelatant; evaluating a more environmentally-sensitive alternative for metal removal by Pistia stratiotes L.
Authors: Lebrun Manhattan , Szakova Jirina , Drabek Ondrej , Tejnecky Vaclav , Hough Rupert Lloyd , Beesley Luke , Wang Hailong , Trakal Lukas
Published: December 2022

Background and Aims The accuracy of environmental risk assessment depends upon the selection of appropriate matrices to extract the most risk-relevant portion of contaminant(s) from the soil. Here we applied the chelatants Na-EDTA and tartaric acid (along with a H2O control) to extract a metal-contaminated soil (Cd, Cu, Pb & Zn).
Methods Pistia stratiotes was applied as an indicator plant to measure accumulation from the metal-laden bulk solutions generated, in a hydroponic experiment lasting 15 days. Speciation modelling was used to elucidate key geo-chemical mechanisms impacting matrix and metal-specific uptake revealed by experimental work.
Results The highest concentrations of soil-borne metals were extracted from soil by Na-EDTA (7.4 % for Cd), but their uptake and translocation to the plant were restricted due to the formation of stable metal complexes predominantly with DOC. Tartaric acid solubilized metals to a lesser extent (4.6 % for Cd), but a higher proportion were plant available due to its presence mainly in form of bivalent metal cations. The water extraction showed the lowest metal extraction (e.g., 3.9 % for Cd) but the metal species behaved similarly as those extracted by tartaric acid.
Conclusions This study demonstrates that not all extractions are equal, and that metal-specific speciation will impact accurate risk assessment in soil (water)-plant systems. In the case of EDTA, a deleterious impact on DOC leaching is an obvious drawback. As such, further work should now determine soil, and not only metal, specific impacts of chelatants on the extraction of environmentally relevant portions of metal(loid)s.
Expression of HIF-1α and Markers of angiogenesis and metabolic adaptation in molecular subtypes of Breast Cancer
Authors: Farooq Muzamil , Bhat Gh. Rasool , Besina Syed , Thakur Natasha , Zahoor Sheikh , Rather Rafiq A , Mushtaq Ifra , Dar Sadaf , Rah Bilal , Bhat Aijaz Ahmad , Macha Muzafar Ahmad , Afroze Dil
Published: December 2022

Hypoxic zones exist in solid tumors, where oxygen levels are significantly lower than in normal tissues.Hypoxia makes chemo-radiation therapeuticsless effective and renders the metastatic potential more favorable. Emerging research has found that the transcriptional expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1𝛼) promotes the transcription of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and Hexokinase-I (HK-I), whichare associated to cellular growth, angiogenesis, and metastatic invasion in many malignancies.However, it is still unclear whether VEGFA and HK-I expression has any influence on survival based on the intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer. Their prognostic significance remains a debatable topic. In the present study,quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to check the relative expression of HIF-1𝛼, VEGF-A and HK-I. The hazard ratios (HR) of breast cancer-specific and overall mortality were calculated using Cox proportional hazards model, which were adjusted for demographic, clinicopathological, and associated molecular variables, as well as the diagnosis year. The relative mRNA expression levels of HIF-1α (p = 0.0010) and VEGFA (p = 0.0119) were significantly higher in tumor tissues. The expression of both HIF-1α (p = 0.0111) and VEGFA (p = 0.0078) was higher in the TNBC group of breast cancers, while HK-I (p = 0.0106) was higher in ER/PR-positive, HER2-negativegroup.HIF-1𝛼 and HK-I overexpression were associated with a higher likelihood of survival, while overexpression of VEGFA was associated with a low survival rate, although it was not statistically significant.
Concomitant synthesis and stabilization of selenium nanoparticles using extract of endophytic fungus, Nigrospora gullinensis
Authors: Anmol Anmol , Jaiswal Sumit Kumar , Prakash Ranjana , Mihara Hisaaki , Prakash Nagaraja Tejo
Published: December 2022

Selenium has many beneficial bioactive properties yet has a narrow therapeutic window. This problem can be addressed by selenium in nanoform or selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs). There are several chemical and physical approaches that can be employed for the synthesis of SeNPs. However, the biological route for SeNP synthesis is known to be more eco-friendly, economical, and biocompatible when assessing bioactivities. The present study demonstrates a biological approach that effectively facilitates the synthesis and stabilization of SeNPs with the help of secondary metabolites derived from endophytic fungi. These capped SeNPs show prominent bioactivity in terms of in vitro anti-oxidant properties and anti-microbial activity on Escherichia coli, Enterobacter faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The results indicated NL(C)-SeNPs portray potential anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activity. However, additional studies related to the toxicity and synergistic effects of SeNPs, are required before their therapeutic applications.
Non-figurative coloured arrangements, towards a new tool to visually facilitate odour imagery?
Authors: Hossu Gabriela , Fantin Luca , Charroud Céline , Felblinger Jacques , Jacquot Muriel , Ceyte Hadrien
Published: December 2022

Odour imagery, the ability to experience smell when an appropriate stimulus is absent, has widely been documented as being particularly difficult. However, previous studies have shown the beneficial effect of visual cues (e.g. pictures or words) to facilitate performance in numerous tasks of olfactory nature. Therefore, the use of visual cues to evoke odours seems relevant. In this study, our interest is directed towards non-figurative coloured arrangements, which result from a patented technology and aim at chromatically representing any smell from its chemical composition. We recorded and compared hemodynamic responses during odour imagery facilitated by non-figurative coloured arrangements and pictures using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Our findings reveal that the use of non-figurative coloured arrangements during odour imagery solicits olfactory and non-olfactory brain regions which have roles mainly in olfactory processing, multimodal integration. Moreover, very similar cortical activity was found between the use of non-figurative coloured arrangements and pictures during odour imagery. Overall, non-figurative coloured arrangements could become a robust tool to visually evoke odours without requiring prior familiarity with the depicted odour. Future studies are needed to determine the relationships between brain activation and vividness of the generated odour images as well as the necessary mental workload.
Characterizing diffusion-controlled release of small-molecules using quantitative MRI: Application to orthopedic infection
Authors: Hong Greg , Khazaee Tina , Cobos Santiago F. , Christiansen Spencer D. , Liu Junmin , Drangova Maria , Holdsworth David W.
Published: December 2022

Calcium sulphate is an established carrier for localized drug delivery, but a means to non-invasively measure drug release, which would improve our understanding of localized delivery, remains an unmet need. We aim to quantitatively estimate the diffusion-controlled release of small-molecules loaded into a calcium sulphate carrier through gadobutrol-based contrast agent, which acts as a surrogate small-molecule.
A central cylindrical core made of calcium sulphate, either alone or within a metal scaffold, is loaded with contrast agent that releases into agar. Multi-echo scans are acquired at multiple time-points over 4 weeks and processed into R2* and QSM maps. Mean R2*values are fit to a known drug delivery model, which are then compared to the decrease in core QSM.
Fitting R2* measurements of calcium sulphate core while constraining constants to a drug release model results in a R2-value of 0.991, yielding a diffusion constant of 4.59x10-11 m2/s. Incorporating the carrier within a metal scaffold results in a slower release. QSM shows the resulting loss of susceptibility in the non-metal core but is unreliable around metal.
R2* characterizes gadobutrol release and QSM detects the resulting decrease in susceptibility. The addition of a porous metal scaffold slows the release of gadobutrol, as expected.
Experimental flooding shifts carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus pool distribution and microbial activity
Authors: Lieberman Hannah P , Rothman Maia , von Sperber Christian , Kallenbach Cynthia M
Published: December 2022

Flooding transforms the soil environment, impacting small-scale controls on mineral associated carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stabilization and mobilization. Yet during flood events, mineral associated C, N, and P may not respond in the same way, such that soluble C, N, and P concentrations and stoichiometry may change with unknown consequences for microbial activity. Using a laboratory incubation approach, we investigated how flooding impacts C, N, and P pool distribution and microbial activity across a 1-week flood event and after drying. We found that all three mineral associated pools responded dynamically to flooding, increasing and decreasing throughout the flood with a net increase of 5.9% in mineral associated C and 32.5% decrease in residual P. However, mineral associated C, N, and P each shifted at different temporal points, indicating that they are likely responding to separate destabilization mechanisms working at different temporal scales. The soluble C and N responses to flooding contrasted the mineral associated pool’s response, increasing by 57% and decreasing by 72% respectively at the beginning of the flood which remained post-flood. However, soluble P behaved more similarly to the mineral associated pool. The microbial community maintained and even increased their exo-cellular activity throughout the flood period, responding most strongly to changes in available P. Our research demonstrates that the mineral associated pool is sensitive to short-term flooding altering the composition and quantity of water extracted compounds and microbial activity.
Serine/threonine kinase of human Monkeypox virus: computational modeling and structural analysis
Authors: Abduljalil Jameel M. , Al-Madhagi Haitham A. , Elfiky Abdo A. , AlKhazindar Maha M.
Published: December 2022

Kinases catalyze phosphoryl transfer from a nucleoside triphosphate (usually ATP) to an amino acid residue on a protein (for activation purposes). These enzymes are well-appreciated drug targets against different viruses and cancers. However, some poxviruses are human and animal pathogens that lack effective therapeutic agents. In poxvirus, the production of infectious particles in the infected cells depends on F10 protein kinase that activates numerous proteins involved in the assembly of new virions. The ongoing outbreak of the human monkeypox virus (hMPXV) sparked the need for efficient antiviral drugs to control such outbreaks and lower their burden. In this work, we employed state-of-the-art computational resources to elucidate the structure of the major kinase in hMPXV using AlphaFold2. The predicted structure shows the atypical nature of this kinase; nonetheless, the overall structural fold is roughly conserved. Calculations of binding free energy determined the hotspot residues contributing to phosphate source (ATP) via Molecular Mechanics with Generalized Born and Surface Area solvation (MM/GBSA). The structural analysis in this work provides the basis for setting up a thorough experimental investigation to understand the enzymatic mechanism and development of small-molecule inhibitors against such a critical target.
Ultrafast Bioanalytical Assay for Vilazodone Quantification in Human Plasma Using Vilazodone D8 Internal Standard by Uplc- Ms/ms
Authors: Agrawal Nikhil , Mittal Amit
Published: December 2022

A selective and highly sensitive quantitative method has been established for assessment of pharmacokinetic parameters in human plasma using vilazodone D8 as a labelled internal standard. Liquid- Liquid extraction technique (LLE) was applied for plasma sample extraction. Mass detection was performed in positive electro spray ionization method. Quantitation was achieved by monitoring sum multiple transitions of m/z 442.022 → 155.000 + 197.000 for vilazodone and 450.093 → 157.000 + 205.000 for vilazodone D8. Chromatographic separation was performed on reverse phase Betabasic C8, 100*4.6mm, 5µ column with 0.700mL/min flow rate. Mobile phase consists of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water (60:40%v/v) was pumped through isocratic mode. The linearity of the method was validated from range 0.300ng/mL to 300.000ng/mL. Precision and accuracy batches were found to be consistent, reproducible and acceptable within the defined limits across the validation. No matrix effect was observed within the validated range and extraction efficiency or recovery was found to be consistent and reproducible at all concentration levels (low, middle and high). The stock solutions, working solutions, plasma samples and processed samples were found to be stable under all defined conditions. In this validated method, selective linearity range were used to cover quantitative analysis for various strength formulations. This work was typically aimed to develop a method with shorter analysis time and simple extraction procedure for reliable measurement of clinical samples. The validated method can be useful in determining plasma concentration of vilazodone for therapeutic drug monitoring and in high throughput clinical bio-studies.
Multiplicity of sperm receptacles for securing the offspring genetic variability in a pelagic squid
Authors: Sato Noriyosi , Ono Hiroki , Hirohashi Noritaka , Iwata Yoko
Published: December 2022

Female eumetazoans often develop sperm storage organs (SSOs). Although the processes of sperm storage may influence sperm competition and cryptic female choice in polyandrous species, the significance of developing multiple SSOs is not well understood. In contrast to coastal squids (which develop no more than two SSOs), the female Japanese common squid Todarodes pacificus, a more oceanic pelagic species, develops more than 20 SSOs, which take the form of specialized pockets, called seminal receptacles (SRs), on the buccal membrane. We investigated the sperm storage pattern of SRs by paternity analysis of hatchlings obtained after artificial insemination using sperm retrieved from 6 arbitrarily selected SRs. The results showed that females were capable of storing sperm contributed by 9 to 23 males, indicating that females are broadly promiscuous. In the pattern of sperm storage, the number of males and proportion of their sperm present in the SRs varied widely among SRs, and sperm storage was biased towards particular males at the individual SR level. However, when calculated as a proportion of all the SRs within a female, the number of sires increased and the paternity bias towards any particular male weakened. These results suggest that one function of having multiple SRs in T. pacificus may be to ensure genetic diversity of the offspring.
Artificial Intelligence Based Automated Analysis System for Industrial NDE Applications
Authors: ANAGNOSTOPOULOS Eleftherios , KERNIN Yann , REHFELDT Thomas
Published: December 2022

In all industrial sectors the critical components are evaluated periodically to ensure their integrity and the highest level of security. While Non-Destructive Evaluation methods and procedures are subject to Norms and Qualification standards, several aspects could still be optimized and achieve on one hand the improvement of the overall quality of the inspection and on the other hand the reduction of equipment downtime: the long occupation of the components can be a real burden in terms of costs and productivity. An Automated assistance based on Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) for analyzing the important number of acquired NDE data can importantly contribute. INTERCONTROLE (France) and QUALICON (Germany) of Framatome Group, provide NDE services in Nuclear Plants for inspecting the full Primary Circuit of the Reactor. To deploy an A.I. based industrial solution INTERCONTROLE and QUALICON have developed the FAIA Software. This platform integrates Artificial Intelligence analysis algorithms for most used NDE methods such as Visual, Ultrasonic and Eddy Current Testing. The system is capable to process input signal (images, video, timeseries) and provide real-time alarms for potential existence of defects. In this conference we present the FAIA Software, and we illustrate its performances for two use-cases from nuclear and railway industries: Visual Testing of Reactor Vessel components and Ultrasonic Phased Array inspection of train axles. The use of Object Detection backed by Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) allows not only to detect relevant indications such as natural defects (cracks, scratches) and notches but also accurately localize and characterize them. The proposed CNN is combined with the Transfer Learning and Data Augmentation methods that reduce the necessary training time of the model and the size of the learning data set respectively. Therefore, the adaptability and versatility of A.I. in different environments with high noise level, variating illumination conditions, and geometric echoes is demonstrated.
Curcumin: A compound in turmeric that has the potential to reduce Nuclear Factor-Kappa Beta (NF-kB), Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-a) levels, and pain intensity after high-intensity physical exercise
Authors: Ayubi Novadri , Kusnanik Nining Widyah , Herawati Lilik , Muhammad Heryanto Nur , Mutohir Toho Cholik , Komaini Anton
Published: December 2022

Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze and prove the effect of curcumin on NF-kB, TNF-a levels, and pain intensity after high-intensity physical exercise.
Method This experimental study used a pre and post-control group design. Research subjects were selected using a purposive sampling technique and then the subjects were divided into 2 groups, namely group (K1) with placebo administration and group (K2) with 400 mg dose of curcumin. A total of 20 healthy men aged between 20-30 years participated in this study. On the first day, all subjects took data on the characteristics of research subjects, then warmed up, and then the subjects did a high-intensity physical exercise in the form of squad and leg press exercises with an intensity of 80-90% of maximum abilities. The exercise was carried out in 4 sets for each form of exercise and rest between sets for about 1 minute. On the second day, after 24 hours, all subjects measured pain intensity and took pre-test blood samples, then were given interventions based on their respective groups. On the third day, after 24 hours, all subjects took pain intensity measurements and took post-test blood samples. Measurement of pain intensity using the Visual Analytical Scale (VAS) and blood samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the ELISA method to examine levels of NF-kB and TNF-a. After the data was obtained, the data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 26 application.
Results The results of this study reported that the group that was given curcumin after high-intensity physical exercise was able to significantly reduce levels of NF-kB, TNF-a, and pain intensity (*p<0.05) compared to the placebo group.
Conclusions We believe that the main cause of muscle soreness is the uncontrolled increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines after high-intensity physical exercise. Since the reduction in pain intensity after high-intensity exercise is necessary to support bodily functions, we highly recommend the use of curcumin which has many positive benefits for exercisers.
Count data models and Bayesian shrinkage priors with real-world data applications
Authors: Bhattacharyya Arinjita , Mitra Riten , Rai Shesh
Published: December 2022

Background: Studies in the public health field often consist of outcome measures such as number of hospital visits or number of laboratory tests per person.They arise in genomics, electronic health records, epidemic modeling among many other areas. These measures are highly skewed distributions and requires count data models for inference. Count data modeling is of prime importance in these fields of public health and medical sciences. Also sparse outcomes, as in next-generation sequencing data, require further accounting for zero inflation. Methods: We present a unified Bayesian hierarchical framework that implements and compares shrinkage priors in negative-binomial and zero-inflated negative-binomial regression models. We first represent the likelihood by a Polya-Gamma data augmentation that makes it amenable to a hierarchical model employing a wide class of shrinkage priors. Shrinkage priors are especially relevant for high-dimensional regression. We specifically focus on the Horseshoe, Dirichlet Laplace, and Double Pareto priors. Extensive simulation studies address the model’s efficiency and mean square errors are reported. Further, the models are applied to data sets, namely covid-19 vaccine adverse events, no. of Ph.D. publications data, and the US National Medical Expenditure Survey, among other datasets. Results: The models consistently showed good performance in variable selection captured by model accuracies, sensitivities, and specificity and predictive performance by mean square errors. We even obtained mean square error rates as low as 0.003 in p > n cases in simulation studies. In real case studies, the variable selection results strongly confirmed current biological insights and opened the doors to potential new findings. For example, the number of days between the Covid-19 vaccination and onset of adverse events depended on age, sex, if there is life threat or not, if there was emergency room visit, no. of extended stay, other medications, laboratory data, disease during vaccination, prior vaccination status, allergy status among other factors. A remarkable reduction in MSE of the fitted values testified to the predictive performance of the model. Conclusions: Bayesian generalized linear models using shrinkage priors are robust enough to extract relevant predictors in high-dimensional regressions. They can be applied to a broad range of biometric and public health high dimensional problems. Also the R package ”ShrinkageBayesGlm” is available for hands-on experience at https://github.com/arinjita9/ShrinkageBayesGlm
Ocean Observing Time Series Anomaly Detection Based on DTW-TRSAX Method
Authors: Wang Yi , Lyu Xiaoying , Yang Shujia
Published: December 2022

Ocean observing series anomaly detection is an essential part of maritime supervision. Due to the harsh environment, marine observation equipment is relatively easy to damage. Ocean observing series anomaly detection can assist maritime department to find abnormal equipment in a timely manner, rather than costly periodic inspections, which is of great significance for maintaining the safety and reliability of ocean engineering. Given the problems of the random of ocean systems and the lack of labeled data sets, the trend-based symbolic distance and dynamic time warping algorithm (DTW-TRSAX) were proposed for ocean observing time series anomaly detection. Finally, based on the data set issued by the National Ocean Test Site of China and public data set issued by the National Marine Data Center, our method was verified. The results show that the method is reliable for ocean engineering, can work potentially in a real-time way, and will help ocean engineering managers to obtain informed decisions.
A continuum of individual-level factors that influence modern contraceptive uptake and use: perspectives from community members and healthcare providers in Durban, South Africa
Authors: Kriel Yolandie , Milford Cecilia , Cordero Joanna Paula , Suleman Fatima , Steyn Petrus S , Smit Jennifer Ann
Published: December 2022

Background South Africa faces numerous sexual and reproductive health challenges that can be mitigated with contraceptive use. Contraceptive use is defined and measured as use, non-use, or discontinued use. Research has shown that there are expanded definitions of use beyond these categories. Identifying such categories may assist in a better understanding of factors that influence contraceptive use.
Setting and methodology This qualitative study was conducted in the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim was to explore the factors influencing the uptake and use of modern contraception. One hundred and twenty-seven participants were enrolled in this study. One hundred and three of those were community members, and twenty-five were healthcare providers. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted to gather the data. Data analysis was facilitated using NVivo 10 software.
Results The data show that numerous factors influence contraceptive uptake and use. From these factors, a continuum of use that captures a variety of states of use emerged. Five different states of use were uncovered: no-use, vulnerable use, compelled use, conditional use, and autonomous use. The development of the model illustrates the complexity of contraceptive needs and that it extends beyond definitions found in policies and large-scale surveys. Expanding conceptions of use can aid in developing counselling and information support tools that can improve the uptake and continued use of modern contraception.
Influence of Mn Content on the Optical Structural and Electrical Properties of Spray Pyrolysis Deposited Quinternary Cu2Cd1-XMnxSnS4 Thin Films
Authors: Ochang M. B. , Ahemen I. , Amah A. N. , Jubu P. R. , Onoja A. D. , Hile D. D. , Yusof Y.
Published: December 2022

Novel quinternary Cu2Cd1 − xMnxSnS4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) semiconductor thin films were deposited onto glass substrates at 300 ℃ by the spray pyrolysis technique to study the effect of Mn content on the structural, compositional, topographical, optical, and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that an increase in Mn content in the Cu2Cd1−xMnxSnS4 films resulted in a transition from the cernyite to stannite phase tetragonal crystal structure and a change in lattice parameters. The intensity of the predominant 112 peak was observed to be relatively low at higher Mn content. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that the Cu2Cd1 − xMnxSnS4 films were Cu-poor, Sn-poor and close to stoichiometry. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the average roughness of the films fluctuated between 43.9 -73.95 nm. Optical characterization showed a high absorption coefficient of 105 cm−1 while the direct optical band gap and Urbach energy varied between 1.79–1.92 eV and 226–564 meV, respectively with an increase in Mn content. Electrical resistivity, hole mobility and carrier concentration were observed to fluctuate between 8.5 x102- 2.4 x 101 Ωcm, 1.31 x 101- 6.24 x103 cm2V/s and 2.0 x 107-5.03 x1013 cm−3, respectively with an increase in Mn content. The Cu2Cd1−xMnxSnS4 films exhibited a p-type conductivity.
Comparison of earthquake catalogs declustered from three different methods in the Korean Peninsula
Authors: Kim Sung Kyun
Published: December 2022

The earthquake catalog includes both dependent earthquakes, which are spatio-temporally related to each other, and independent or background earthquakes. In order to predict the long-term seismicity or perform seismic hazard research, the dependent earthquakes must be removed to generate a declustered earthquake catalog. However, several declustering methods have been proposed, and the evaluation of seismic hazard may vary depending on the selected declustering method. In the present study, the catalog of earthquakes that were observed between 2016 and 2021 in and around the Korean peninsula is declustered using the methods of Gardner and Knopoff (1974), Reasenberg (1985), and Zhuang et al. (2002), and the resultant catalogs are compared. The values of the seismicity parameters (a and b) in the Gutenberg-Richter relationship are estimated from the declustered catalogs, and are seen to vary depending on the declustering method, thereby affecting the results of long-term earthquake prediction or seismic hazard analysis.
In addition, three approaches are used to test whether the original (raw) and declustered catalogs follow the Poisson process or not. The minimum magnitude (Mp) above which the null hypothesis of the Poisson process cannot be rejected in the earthquake catalog is shown to range from 1.6 to 2.2 depending on the declustered catalog and the test method used. Further, the Mp obtained herein shows a large value compared to the completeness magnitude estimated in the present study. A comparison of the curves representing the cumulative number of background earthquakes versus the elapsed time for the various declustered catalogs shows that the method of Zhuang et al. (2002) gives the closest agreement with the real background seismicity curve.
Effects of Growth Distributions on Tensile Properties of Palm Leaf Sheath Fibers
Authors: Liu Xin , Qi Yanxin , Wu Zhihui , Zhang Jilei
Published: December 2022

Palm leaf sheath fibers (PLSFs), obtained from palm trees that are found in the southern part of China, has been used to make buffer and resilience products such as mattresses. After decomposition, it was found that the palm fibers wrap the tree trunks in three layers, by means of clockwise, counter-clockwise, and overlapping mechanisms. The length of the palm fibers measured between 200 and 350 mm, the weight between 0.002 and 0.006 g. It was also observed that PLSFs that were found at the middle and upper parts of the leaf sheath exhibited good tensile properties.
Hybrid learning framework for compound facial emotion recognition
Authors: BORGALLI ROHAN APPASAHEB , SURVE SUNIL
Published: December 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Development of clinical practice ability evaluation scale for new nurses and its reliability and validity
Authors: Shan Weiying , Ning Yanjiao , Feng Yajing , Shan Weichao
Published: December 2022

Objective:To develop the clinical practice ability evaluation scale for new nurses and test its reliability and validity.
Methods: The clinical practice ability prediction test scale of new nurses [1]was formed through literature research, expert meeting, Delphi expert consultation and pre investigation. 578 new nurses were selected by stratified sampling method for investigation and analysis to test the reliability and validity of the scale. Results: The newly recruited nursing clinical practice ability evaluation scale included 5 dimensions and 45 items; Each item of the new nurses' clinical practice ability evaluation scale has a good differentiation, and the total correlation of each item is 0.437~0.697; Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fitting index was good (2/df=1.035, RMSEA=0.008, GFI=0.932, AGFI=0.925, CFI=0.998, TLI=0.998, SRMR=0.028);The calibration correlation validity was 0.831; Content validity: S-CVI=0.93, I-CVI=0.833~1.000; The internal consistency of the scale is fine, the correlation coefficient between the total score of each dimension and the total score of the scale is 0.583~0.861, and the correlation coefficient between the dimensions of the scale is 0.262~0.362; Overall Cronbach's of the scale is 0.946, and the split half reliability is 0.682.
Conclusion:The clinical practice ability evaluation scale for new nurses has good reliability and validity, which can be used as an effective tool to evaluate the clinical practice ability of new nurses.
Impact Factors of COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in patients after lung cancer surgery: an outpatients-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Qu Can , Xiang Si-Zhou , Li Lin-Jun , Wang Xiao-Wen , Huang Chun , Chen Dan , Wu Qing-Chen
Published: December 2022

Background The safety and efficacy of several vaccine candidates have been tested and found to be effective and safe against COVID-19. But, little is known about the actual level of people with lung cancer willing to accept a COVID-19 vaccine and the impact factors that affect acceptability. The survey aimed to determine the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy in lung cancer patients after surgery and characterize underlying factors contributing to reluctance. Methods An clinical survey was inducted from May 1, 2021, to August 20, 2021. Eligible participants were 18 years or older, were diagnosed with lung cancer, and received lung cancer surgery, including lobectomy, sublobectomy, and pneumonectomy. Data were collected on a self-administered questionnaire from 294 lung cancer patients after surgery. Results Among the final included 281 participants, 54.1% were female, and 93.6% were of Han ethnicity. 48.0% were in pathologic stage I, 36.3% in stage II, 10.3% in stage III, and 5.3% in stage IV. The vaccination hesitancy/refusal rate was 41.6%. In multivariable regression analysis, age over 60 years old, low educational level, duration of cancer (< 1 year), subjective health status, current cancer treatments use, presence of postoperative pain, and report of the items “ever hesitated or refused to get a vaccination,” “get negative information about getting the COVID-19 vaccine”, “worried about vaccine adverse reactions,” and “worried about the COVID vaccine interferes with cancer treatments” were independently associated with hesitant of the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusions Vaccine hesitancy is common among lung cancer patients after surgery, related mainly to health status and concerns about side effects, worsens cancer prognosis, and interferes with cancer treatments. These results suggest that vaccination programs may need tailoring to specific populations’ hesitancy.
Non-lunge feeding behaviour of humpback whales associated with fishing boats in Norway
Authors: Iwata Takashi , Aoki Kagari , Miller Patrick J. O. , Biuw Martin , Williamson Michael J. , Sato Katsufumi
Published: December 2022

Top marine predators, such as odontocetes, pinnipeds, and seabirds, are known to forage around fishing boats because fishermen aggregate and/or discard their prey. Recently, there have been reports of humpback whales interacting with fishing boats. However, whether humpback whales utilise discard fish as a food source and how they forage around fishing boats is unknown. This study reports for the first time, the foraging behaviour of a humpback whale around fishing boats. Three whales were tagged using a suction-cup tag containing a video camera, and a behavioural data logger in the coastal area of Tromsø, Norway. Video data from one tagged whale showed that the whale remained in close vicinity of fishing boats for 43 minutes, and revealed the presence of large numbers of dead fish, fish-eating killer whales, fishing boats, and fishing gear. In waters with large numbers of dead fish, the whale raised its upper jaw, a motion associated with engulfing discard fish from fishing boats, and this feeding behaviour differed markedly from lunge-feeding observed in two other whales in the same area. This behaviour was defined as “pick-up feeding”. The behavioural data logger showed that there was no lunge feeding when the whale foraged around fishing boats. This study showed a novel humpback whale foraging strategy: low energy gain from scattered prey but also low energy costs because high-energy lunge feeding was not required.
Examination of sex differences in bottom-up auditory attention according to human behavioral judgments of the auditory saliency model
Authors: Obama Naoya , Sato Yoshiki , Akisada Takeshi , Nagami Shinsuke
Published: December 2022

Many cognitive functions are related to sex. However, the relationship between auditory attention and sex remains unknown. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess sex differences in auditory saliency judgments according to bottom-up auditory attention. Forty-five normal adults (mean age: 21.5 ± 0.64 years) without hearing, intelligence, and attention deficits were enrolled. They listened to five audio stimuli played by a loudspeaker in a soundproof room and then annotated the attention-capturing sounds. Each stimulus contained 10 salient sounds (foreground tokens) randomly placed within a 1-minute natural soundscape (background token). Responses were confirmed for 77 sound events, with individual response rates of 4–100%. The overall and foreground token response rates were lower in females than in males (p < 0.01), but the background token response rate was higher in females (p < 0.001). In multiple regression analysis, only loudness influenced female response rates (p = 0.002); thus, females may be more influenced by loudness when making saliency judgments than males. This study is the first to report sex differences in auditory saliency judgments according to bottom-up auditory attention. In conclusion, sex differences should be considered when assessing bottom-up auditory attention.
Localized assembly for long reads enables genome-wide analysis of repetitive regions at single-base resolution in human genomes
Authors: Ikemoto Ko , Fujimoto Hinano , Fujimoto Akihiro
Published: December 2022

Background:
Long-read sequencing technologies have the potential to overcome the limitations of short reads and provide a comprehensive picture of the human genome. However, it remains hard to characterize repetitive sequences by reconstructing genomic structures at high resolution solely from long reads. Here, we developed a localized assembly method (LoMA) that constructs highly accurate consensus sequences (CSs) from long reads.
Methods:
We first developed LoMA, by combining minimap2, MAFFT, and our algorithm, which classifies diploid haplotypes based on structural variants and constructs CSs. Using this tool, we analyzed two human samples (NA18943 and NA19240) sequenced with the Oxford Nanopore sequencer. We defined target regions in each genome based on mapping patterns and then constructed a high-quality catalog of the human insertion solely from the long-read data.
Results:
The assessment of LoMA showed high accuracy of CSs (error rate < 0.3%) compared with raw data (error rate > 8%) and superiority to the previous study. The genome-wide analysis of NA18943 and NA19240 identified 5,516 and 6,542 insertions (≥ 100 bp) respectively. Most insertions (~ 80%) were derived from the tandem repeat and transposable elements. We also detected processed pseudogenes, insertions in transposable elements, and long insertions (> 10 kbp). Further, our analysis suggested that short tandem duplications were association with gene expression and transposons.
Conclusions:
Our analysis showed that LoMA constructs high-quality sequences from long reads with substantial errors. This study revealed the true structures of insertions with high accuracy and inferred mechanisms for the insertions. Our approach contributes to the future human genome studies. LoMA is available at our GitHub page: https://github.com/kolikem/loma.
DyHNet: Learning Dynamic Heterogeneous Network Representations
Authors: Nguyen Hoang , Rad Radin Hamidi , Zarrinkalam Fattane , Bagheri Ebrahim
Published: December 2022

Many real-world networks, such as social networks, contain structuralheterogeneity and experience temporal evolution. However, while therehas been growing literature on network representation learning, only afew have addressed the need to learn representations for dynamic hetero-geneous networks. The objective of our work in this paper is to introduce DyHNet, which learns representations for such networks and distinguishesitself from the state-of-the-art by systematically capturing (1) local nodesemantics, (2) global network semantics, and (3) longer-range temporalassociations between network snapshots when learning network repre-sentations. Through experiments on four real-world datasets, we demon-strate that our proposed method is able to show consistently better andmore robust performance compared to the state-of-the-art techniques.
Relationship between efficacy and common metabolic parameters in first- treatment drug-naïve patients with early non-response schizophrenia: a retrospective study
Authors: Zhu Junhong , Wu Jiajia , Liu Xuebing , Ma Jun
Published: December 2022

Background
Comorbid metabolic disorders in patients with schizophrenia are very common. Patients with schizophrenia who respond to therapy early are often strongly predictive of better treatment outcomes. However, the differences in short-term metabolic markers between early responders and early non-responders in schizophrenia are unclear.
Methods
143 first-treatment drug-naïve schizophrenia patients were included in this study and were given a single antipsychotic medication for 6 weeks after admission. After 2 weeks, the sample was divided into an early response group and an early non-response group based on psychopathological changes. For the study endpoints, we depicted the change curves of psychopathology in both subgroups and compared the differences between the two groups in terms of remission rates and multiple metabolic parameters.
Results
The early non-response had 73 cases (51.05%) in the 2nd week. In the 6th week, the remission rate was significantly higher in the early response group than in the early non-response group (30,42.86% vs. 8,10.96%); the body weight, body mass index, blood creatinine, blood uric acid, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, fasting blood glucose, and prolactin of the enrolled samples were significantly increased, and high-density lipoprotein was significantly decreased. ANOVAs revealed a significant effect of treatment time on abdominal circumference, blood uric acid, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, fasting blood glucose and prolactin, and a significant negative effect of early non-response to treatment on abdominal circumference, blood creatinine, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose.
Conclusion
Schizophrenia patients with early non-response had lower rates of short-term remission and more extensive and severe abnormal metabolic indicators. In clinical practice, patients with early non-response should be given a targeted management strategy, antipsychotic drugs should be switched on time, and active and effective interventions for their metabolic disorders should be given.
Improving the retention campaign effectiveness using customer value index concept and decision tree analytics: a case study of Magenta Bank
Authors: Yus'an Ubaydillah , Wasesa Meditya
Published: December 2022

This study aims to improve retention campaign take up rate as well as justifying the marketing cost to maintain campaign effectiveness that leads into company profitability in Magenta bank. Because In fact, not all customers are good customers, not all customers require massive marketing investment. Retention campaign become major issue since competition of digital banking industry in Indonesia has increasing during Pandemic COVID-19. There is so many new digital banking emerges in this period as they see an opportunity during activity limitation. Some other investment product is also emerging, giving higher interest rate compared to Magenta Deposito. Other thinks that make the condition worsen is buying power of Indonesian is dramatically declining during pandemic COVID-19. This condition will make the retention strategy more difficult due to very tight competition. To see how existing condition of Magenta Bank customer, researcher used Customer Value Index (CVI) to calculate the cost component and income component for each customer. This method is not only measuring customer value, but also create customer segmentation. For example, premium segment is more likely use Magenta as a saving account while other segment uses for transaction. This analysis also indicates a different critical stage of customer retention between each acquisition channel that must be anticipated by Magenta. Using CVI Analysis combined with several portfolio parameter such as MOB, Acquisition channel, and Funding balance tier, the retention campaign strategy can be improved by creating different approach using segmentation based on customer behavior. Researcher used Machine learning analytic approach to create segmentation with Scikit Learn Module to produce decision tree. the predictive result of this model will ensure that the marketing effort is cost-effective by investing more marketing budget on High CVI Customers that has a potential return for Magenta Bank and invest less marketing budget on Zero or Negative CVI Customers.
Tumor-targeted AIE polymeric micelles mediated immunogenic sonodynamic therapy inhibits cancer growth and metastasis
Authors: Deng Kai , Yu Yifeng , Zhao Yong , Li Jia-Mi , Li Kun-Heng , Zhao Hong-Yang , Wu Meng , Huang Shiwen
Published: December 2022

Background: Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) exhibit potent sonosensitivity in nanocarriers compared with conventional organic sonosensitizers owing to the strong fluorescence emission in the aggregated state. However, premature drug leakage and ineffective tumor targeting of current AIE nanosonosensitizers critically restrict their clinical application.
Results: Here, an AIEgens-based sonosensitizer (AIE/Biotin-M) with excellent sonosensitivity was developed by assembling salicylaldazine-based amphiphilic polymers (AIE-1) and 4T1 tumor-targeting amphiphilic polymers (DSPE-PEG-Biotin) for the effective delivery of salicylaldazine to 4T1 tumor tissues, aiming to mediate immunogenic SDT. In vitro, AIE/Biotin-M were highly stable and generated plentiful singlet oxygen (1O2) under ultrasound (US) irradiation. After AIE/Biotin-M targeted accumulation in tumor, upon US irradiation, the generation of 1O2 not only leaded cancer cells death, but also elicited systemically immune response through causing immunogenic cell death (ICD) of cancer cells. In addition to mediate SDT, AIE/Biotin-M could chelate and reduce Fe3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ by salicylaldazine for inhibiting neovascularization in tumor tissues. Ultimately, AIE/Biotin-M systemically inhibited tumor growth and metastasis upon US irradiation.
Conclusions: This study presents a facile approach to the development of AIE nanosonosensitizers for cancer SDT.