bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utilising blood-derived products for guided tissue regeneration in periradicular surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Baniulyte Gabriele , Burns Lorna , Ali Kamran
Published: March 2024

Background Since 1982, guided tissue regeneration (GTR) has become increasingly popular. The recent progress in GTR research focuses on the application of blood-derived products. However, no comprehensive systematic review has been conducted to assess its effectiveness specifically in periradicular surgery. Therefore, the aim of this review was to analyse the outcomes of periradicular with GTR using blood-derived products compared to standard periradicular surgery. Methods This review was based on randomised controlled trials comparing periradicular surgery in conjunction with GTR with blood-derived products and the standard periapical surgery. The databases searched included Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source, with the most recent search conducted on December 16th, 2022. Additionally, reference lists of similar systematic reviews were examined, while international trials registries and repositories were consulted for unpublished studies. Two blinded independent reviewers carried out the screening and the included studies underwent critical appraisal. The findings are reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Results A total of 261 publications were initially reviewed based on their title and abstract, resulting in seventeen studies that underwent full-text screening. At this stage, 14 studies were excluded, leaving three randomised controlled trials to be included. These trials involved a total of 85 patients. A meta-analysis was conducted for the outcome of healing. The overall treatment effect was 0.78 (95% CI 0.18 to 3.34), indicating a preference towards the control group. Conclusion Based on a meta-analysis of three studies, there was no statistically significant distinction observed in terms of healing between the GTR involving blood-derived products and standard procedure groups. However, critical appraisal revealed indirectness and imprecision, resulting in a certainty rating of 'low'. Thus, additional robust evidence is necessary to support the utilisation of blood-derived products in GTR techniques to enhance periradicular surgery outcomes. Systematic review registration number PROSPERO CRD42020222663.
Readiness for clinical practice: Self-perceived confidence of final year dental students in Turkey - A multi-institutional study
Authors: Altan Halenur , Gönder Hakan Yasin , Demirel Elif , Altan Ahmet , Tunçdemir Ali Rıza , Zahra Daniel , Al Maweri Sadeq Ali , Ali Kamran
Published: March 2024

Introduction The primary aim of undergraduate dental education is to prepare dental students for independent dental practice and to enable them to provide safe and effective dental care. This study aimed to investigate the self-perceived preparedness of senior dental undergraduate students in Turkey. Methods Purposive sampling was used to recruit final-year dental students from 10 dental institutions offering undergraduate dental programs in Turkey. Student preparedness was assessed using a previously validated dental preparedness assessment scale based on 50 items encompassing core clinical skills, cognitive attributes, and behavioral skills. The research instrument was then translated into Turkish. The R statistical environment for Windows was used for the data analysis. Results Responses were provided by 272 students (156 women and 116 men; 57% and 43%, respectively) across 10 different universities. The mean score of the participants was 75.68 with slightly higher scores for men compared to women (77.35 vs. 74.46 respectively). However, independent t-tests showed that the scores did not differ significantly between women and men. Conclusions This study evaluated the self-perceived preparedness for dental practice of final-year students from 10 universities in Turkey. Although the results showed several areas of weakness, the scores of self-perceived preparedness of Turkish students were comparable to those reported in Europe and Asia. These findings can be used to inform future curriculum development to support students in consolidating their learning in perceived areas of weakness.
Peculiarities of the relationship between the terminal site of glycolysis and the initial segment of gluconeogenesis in the myocardium and skeletal muscles of animals irradiated at different doses
Authors: Stepanov G. , Vastyanov R. , Kostina A. , Mokriienko E.
Published: March 2024

Existing types of muscles differ not only structurally, but also metabolically (direction of energy exchange, choice of biosubstrates, dependence on the action of mediators, hormones, etc.). A number of studies have been devoted to the study of the impact of ionizing radiation on metabolism in muscle tissue. After irradiation, thickened muscle cells with enlarged nuclei appear in the heart muscle, the number of which does not decrease for 6 months, which indicates a violation of nuclear-cytoplasmic relations in myocardial cells. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase which ensures the utilization of cytoplasmic oxaloacetate and its transformation into phosphoenolpyruvate, completes the initial stage of gluconeogenesis and can limit the rate of gluconeogenesis from lactate. It should be emphasized that phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase is more active in skeletal muscles, where the activity of pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase is increased. The purpose of the work is to investigate the peculiarities of the relationship between the terminal site of glycolysis and the initial segment of gluconeogenesis in the myocardium and skeletal muscles of animals irradiated at different doses. The authors proved that in animals irradiated at a dose of 0.5 Gy, the activity of pyruvate kinase in the myocardium and skeletal muscle increases compared to intact animals. In the blood, on the contrary, there is a decrease in the activity of this enzyme compared to intact animals. When animals are irradiated at a dose of 1.0 Gy, diametrically opposite changes are observed. When animals are irradiated at a dose of 0.5 Gy, there is a slight decrease in the activity of lactate dehydrogenase in the myocardium and blood against the background of an increase in the activity of this enzyme in skeletal muscle. Irradiation of animals at a dose of 1.0 Gy leads to an acute increase in lactate dehydrogenase activity in the myocardium and skeletal muscle. The data obtained revealed that in animals irradiated at a dose of 0.5 Gy, the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in skeletal muscle increases, while in cardiac muscle, on the contrary, its activity decreases as well as in blood. With an increase in the radiation dose to 1.0 Gy, diametrically opposite changes in the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are observed. The authors concluded that outlined changes in the waу of intramuscular glycolysis and gluconeogenesis reactions show the pathophysiologcal mechanisms of biochemical supply restructuring as the result of ionizing irradiation influence. From the fundamental point of view these results show the direction of pathophysiologically oriented pharmacological correction of radiation-provoked muscle disturbances.
Breast cancer prevention behaviour of nurses and midwives - introduction to the discussion
Authors: Charzyńska-Gula Marianna , Rożek Grażyna , Szulich Piotr , Sojda Agnieszka , Tomczyk Bogdan , Zielinska Marta
Published: March 2024

Introduction Nurses and midwives are a large and therefore very important - for the population effect of many public health activities - group of health care professionals. Breast cancer prevention is one of them.

Aim of the study The aim of the study was to initiate a discussion on the decision-making processes related to the reporting of breast cancer screening by nurses and midwives. The discussion was prompted by the diagnosis of analogous behaviours in a selected group of nurses and midwives working in a selected hospital.

Material and methods A total of 118 nurses and midwives working in one of the Podkarpackie hospitals were studied. A diagnostic survey was used with an author's questionnaire prepared for this study with elements of a knowledge test. The study was conducted in January 2023.

Results In the group of nurses and midwives aged 50 years and older, 10% of nurses and 33.3% of midwives had never performed mammography. Breast ultrasound had never been performed by 25% of nurses and 23.8% of midwives. The reasons for this are varied and stem from both the family experience of the respondents and personal health concerns and beliefs. In the light of the review, it was shown that the participation of nurses and midwives in breast cancer prevention programmes requires a special approach in the design of such programmes and the attitude of nurses and midwives towards participation in oncology screenings demonstrates the need for special support for this group in their decisions.

Conclusions There is an urgent need to use different approaches and models in the preparation of modern decision aids for women recipients of oncology prevention programmes that take into account the trade-offs and preferences of women from both groups - medical women and their clients.
Technical Note—On the Convergence Rate of Stochastic Approximation for Gradient-Based Stochastic Optimization
Authors: Hu Jiaqiao , Fu Michael C.
Published: March 2024

Finite-Time Performance of Gradient-Based Stochastic Approximation Algorithms

Stochastic approximation (SA) algorithms are among the most commonly used methods for addressing stochastic optimization problems. In “Technical Note: On the Convergence Rate of Stochastic Approximation for Gradient-Based Stochastic Optimization,” J. Hu and M. C. Fu provide a new error bound for SA algorithms when applied to a class of problems with convex differentiable structures. The bound allows a detailed characterization of an algorithm’s finite-time performance through directly analyzing the bias and variance of the employed gradient estimator. The main result is then applied to study and compare the efficiency of traditional Kiefer-Wolfowitz algorithms and those based on random direction finite-difference gradient estimators such as simultaneous perturbation SA. The analysis leads to new insights into when it may be advantageous to use such randomized gradient estimates under various problem and algorithm parameter settings.
Leadership Competencies for Leaders in a Volunteer Organization: A Delphi Method Study
Authors: Hapes Rebecca L. , Dooley Larry
Published: March 2024

Using competencies for volunteer organizations and applying those competencies to both situational and servant leadership, the Delphi study method was used to identify leadership competencies necessary for titled leaders within NACADA's Advising Communities Division. Surveys were administered to former and outgoing chairs within the division. Results from 10 experts identified important competencies, including knowledge of the advising community, communication, time management skills, and the ability to conduct meetings. At the end of the chair term, important competencies identified were a deeper knowledge of the advising community; communication; the ability to determine, organize, and prioritize the needs of the advising community; and people management skills. Implications for practice and areas for additional research are discussed.
Factors Associated with Academic Advisors’ Burnout
Authors: Soria Krista M. , Kokenge Elise , Heath Cassandra A. , Standley Erin C. , Wilson Shannon J.F. , Connley Jacob R. , Agramon Aaron I.
Published: March 2024

This study examined whether there are statistically significant relationships between academic advisors’ demographic characteristics, advising-related variables, institutional variables, organizational context variables, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a national sample of academic advisors’ survey data collected from February to March 2023 (n = 821). The results suggest 40.8% of academic advisors feel burned out from their work at least once a week to every day. The demographic characteristics and institutional variables did not explain a significant amount of variance in advisors’ burnout; however, advising caseload and organizational context variables (i.e., workload, reward, community, and values) were consistently and significantly (p < .05) associated with advisors’ emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment.
Use of hypothermically stored amniotic membrane on diabetic foot ulcers: a multicentre retrospective case series
Authors: Sanchez Anna , Hartstein Alan , Ashry Hisham , Raza Maryam
Published: March 2024

Objective:

The aim of this retrospective case series was to report on the outcomes of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) managed with hypothermically stored amniotic membrane (HSAM).

Method:

Deidentified case data of patients who received HSAM were obtained from wound care sites across the US. Data were collected, beginning at the first patient visit to the wound care site (first presentation), at the visit in which the first HSAM application occurred (baseline), and at each subsequent visit over 12 weeks of treatment (follow-up). All patients received standard of care (SoC) between first presentation and baseline.

Results:

Of the 50 patients in the study, 68% were male. Mean age of the entire cohort was 66.7 years. Of the DFUs, 88% were present for <6 months at first presentation. Mean wound area was 3.5cm2, and mean percentage area reduction was –68.3% from first presentation to baseline. The mean number of HSAM applications was 5.5, and mean number of days between applications was 7.5. A >60% area reduction was attained in 96.0% of DFUs, and 78% attained complete wound closure (CWC) by week 12. The median time to CWC was 55 days.

Conclusion:

The results of this retrospective case series suggest positive outcomes for DFUs managed with HSAM. A reduction in time to CWC may lead to lesser financial burden and improved quality of life for DFU patients.

Declaration of interest:

The authors have no conflicts of interest.
A model for diabetic foot ulcer clinical trials on advanced therapies
Authors: Serena Thomas , Cole Windy , King Emily
Published: March 2024

Randomised controlled clinical trials remain the gold standard in assessing the efficacy of a medical drug, device or intervention. Standardisation in clinical trial design reduces bias, ensures the validity of the trial data, and allows for generalisation of trial results to the larger real-world population which has the disease. Critics of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) trials point to the inconsistency in endpoints between studies, a lack of translation to the DFU population at large, failure to include the target population in advanced therapies, and a poorly defined standard of care (SoC). These issues of design and conduct were addressed by the Natrox Topical Oxygen Wound Treatment (NOWT) trial. In the past, DFU clinical trials prescribed dressings that were not SoC, such as wet-to-dry gauze, loosely controlled offloading and debridement. The trials failed to concentrate on DFUs that qualified for advanced wound care from a clinical and payer perspective. A four-week run in period to the NOWT trial matched the requirement for 30 days of SoC before instituting advanced therapy. Sharp excisional debridement was mandated and confirmed through digital photography. Total contact casting was used to offload plantar DFUs. This manuscript uses the NOWT trial as a guide for future DFU clinical trial design.

Declaration of interest:

TS is a consultant for Inotec AMD Ltd., UK. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.
Cultivating ‘communities of practice’ to tackle civic policy challenges: insights from local government-academic collaboration in Leeds
Authors: Carroll Nicola , Crawford Adam
Published: March 2024

Background:

The academic impact agenda and evidence-informed policy movement have formed dynamic incentives for engagement between universities and local authorities. Yet, in the competitive higher education landscape, research-intensive universities frequently gravitate towards global rather than local impacts, while local government resources are diminished. In this context, how can universities and councils collaborate effectively to inform solutions to complex policy issues?

Aims and objectives:

This paper draws on data from a Review of Collaboration between researchers at the University of Leeds and officers at Leeds City Council, which explored factors that enable and constrain research–policy engagement. Where limitations of linear models of research–policy interaction are well documented, we consider how a ‘community of practice’ (CoP) approach might offer insights for accelerating civic knowledge exchange.

Methods:

A CoP lens was applied in analysing data from a mapping exercise, survey and semi-structured interviews involving academics and council officers.

Findings:

Examining research–policy engagement in terms of the ‘domain’, ‘community’ and ‘practice’ constituents of CoPs highlights the significance of interpersonal connections in forging ‘boundary-crossing’ collaborations that have spurred innovation in the city. Academics and officers commonly advocated enhanced inter-organisational processes whereby relationality is supported institutionally. Proposals are encapsulated in a model that conceptualises civic collaboration as a series of domain-specific CoPs supported by an inter-sectoral CoP performing vital ‘boundary bridging’ functions.

Discussion and conclusions:

Drawing on experiences from one English city, we advance a framework which offers promising insights into integration of organisational and relational facilitators of research–policy partnerships in responding to municipal policy challenges.
Treaty through a Planting Lens: A Study of Manoomin Harvesting Rights in Anishinaabe-Aki, 1873–Present
Authors: Luby Brittany
Published: March 2024

Abstract: In 1873, the Crown and Anishinaabeg entered Treaty No. 3. This agreement would shape Canadian settlement in what is currently known as northwestern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba. For generations, Anishinaabeg have maintained that manoomin harvesting rights are protected by Treaty No. 3. Colonial officials, by contrast, have narrowly interpreted the archival record and associated references to "gardens" with vegetable cultivation for household use and "farming" with the large-scale cultivation of introduced crops like wheat, barley, and oats thus limiting the ability of First Nations to protect ancestral fields from provincial encroachment. In this article, Anishinaabe ecological knowledge around plant life cycles and needs (i.e., botanical gikendaasowin) is applied to the archival record, revealing how Anishinaabe leaders protected ancestral fields while negotiating access to introduced seeds to diversify food production. Federal activity in the immediate aftermath of 1873 further suggests that the Crown recognized the treaty right to harvest manoomin. Canada's historic attempts to curtail the manoomin harvest after 1876, as well as Ontario's attempts to manage ancestral fields after 1960, constitute violations of Treaty No. 3 when viewed through an Anishinaabe planting lens.
Twain and Tourgée on Gilded Age Voting Rights and Election Laws
Authors: Thomas Brook
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This essay examines Gilded Age voter fraud and voter suppression through the lenses of Mark Twain and Albion W. Tourgée. Twain is the most famous commentator on the Gilded Age. Less well known, Tourgée wrote best-selling Reconstruction fiction and became Homer Plessy's lawyer. Both were personally committed to the welfare of people of color. But Twain supported the Fifteenth Amendment as a color-blind standard to reduce voting fraud while Tourgée criticized the amendment for inadequately protecting freedmen from disfranchisement. The essay starts with Reconstruction's failure to reform the undemocratic system of presidential elections linked to the Electoral College. It ends with Twain's and Tourgée's reactions to laws enacted in the 1890s designed to block both fraud and African American suffrage. In between there is a section comparing fictional scenes dramatizing Twain's and Tourgée's views on literacy and voting; one highlighting how Twain's celebration of political independence and Tourgée's defense of political partisanship affected their understanding of the franchise; and one on the 1887 Law of the Electoral Count. Despite Twain's canonical status, Tourgée more poignantly exposes why the US continues to allow voter suppression and a minority to elect presidents.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Logic of Decadence
Authors: Clarke Tim
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This essay argues that Ralph Waldo Emerson's thinking and style are governed by a hitherto unrecognized "logic of decadence" that manifests as a fascination with the philosophical and ethical functions of negativity, decay, and destruction. It discerns in Emersonianism a peculiarly American idiolect of decadence—an "alter-decadence"—that emerges from similar sources as that of the fin de siecle Decadent movement but evolves in a divergent direction, notably by valorizing the dialectical tension between the totality of nature and its parts instead of celebrating the breakdown of holistic unities. The first section argues that although critics have long invoked tropes of decadence to describe features of Emerson's work, they have generally misunderstood their functions. The second section excavates ideas about decadence that Emerson received in his reading of historians like Montesquieu and Edward Gibbon, arguing that even in his early thinking Emerson was adapting a historical logic of decadence in order to reconcile his alternately monistic and pluralistic views of the universe. The final section explores how the logic of decadence provides an infrastructure for Emerson to develop these metaphysical concerns into an ethic of relationality and contingency that eschews belief in absolute conceptions of the good.
The Structural Poetics of Incompletion in Clarel 's Wilderness
Authors: Hutchins Zachary McLeod
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Part 2 of Herman Melville's centenary epic, "The Wilderness," opens with a truncated sonnet of thirteen lines, a poem embedded within Melville's larger poetic project that signals the dominant theme of this second movement and the epic as a whole: incompletion. The sonnet calls attention to its own imperfection in the final line, describing human life, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales , and Clarel itself as "unfulfilled romance." Through death and desertion, Melville's wilderness culls the troop of pilgrims from a band of sixteen to a party of twelve. After three of the pilgrims flee, readers, too, are invited to abandon their journey through the poem: "They fled. And thou? The way is dun; / Why further follow the Emir's son?" Melville's structural poetics reflect this thematic interest in incompletion; Part 2 begins with a truncated sonnet and it ends abruptly after canto 39. The biblical children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the promised land of Canaan, but the reader's sojourn in the wilderness is cut short, before a fortieth canto. In The Wilderness Melville invites his readers to consider incompletion as both poetic end and means, the inescapable human condition in mortality.
Early Modern Lutheranism as (Still) a Research Frontier
Authors: Kolb Robert
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Since the early eighteenth century, the term "Lutheran Orthodoxy" has been used to discredit inaccurately the theological practice of Lutheran theologians in the seventeenth century as a sterile, rigid theological phenomenon. This term has largely been replaced by scholars in the last seventy-five years. However, a single term has not emerged that not only embraces the rich and lively theological developments of the Wittenberg heritage but also explores its setting in the piety, devotional literature, social and political settings that defined what "Lutheran" meant from 1580 into the mid-eighteenth century. This article supports the increasingly frequent general term "early modern" to embrace the larger picture of those who claimed to be Lutheran. The article calls for focused research into the various aspects of the theological developments: flourishing devotional writing of hymns, prayerbooks, and other genre; geographical spread, practices of the faith in daily life; ecclesiastical polity; and relationships to political and social trends in this period. Such micro-studies will provide material for drawing a more accurate picture of the Wittenberg heritage between Reformation and Enlightenment.
Luther in Early Modern English
Authors: Gehring David Scott
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This article surveys and examines the translations into English of Luther's works during the early modern period. Certain themes emerge, with anti-Catholicism, devotion, and consolation particularly noted as safe and unobjectionable Lutheran topics for English audiences. English reformers chose to integrate certain divines from the European mainland at certain points, with Luther playing key roles. The reign of Elizabeth (1558–1603) was a highpoint for English translations of Luther, and these coincided with other efforts by some in England as well as Germany to emphasize unity among Protestants while downplaying divisions. A flexible and contingent deployment of Luther in English continued into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when developments such as the Civil Wars, the Restoration, and German immigration provided moments of relevance for Luther. The article draws on and points to the considerable scholarship that has reshaped English Reformation studies over the past few decades, and it offers reflections on how the particularity of early modern England can be seen in relation to the heterogeneity of Reformation Europe.
Doing Critical Race Theory in Perilous Times: Engaging Critical Race Legal Scholarship for Higher Education and Beyond
Authors: Tichavakunda Antar A.
Published: March 2024

Abstract: Misinterpretations and caricatures of Critical Race Theory (CRT) abound in popular media and in higher education scholarship. Given the confusion surrounding what CRT is and is not, I write this conceptual essay as an invitation to engage seriously with CRT's legal foundations. I offer four guideposts to aid scholars in engaging the legal roots of CRT on a deeper level: thinking with and beyond tenets, leveraging the scope of CRT work by legal scholars, understanding the CRT critique of Critical Legal Studies, and appreciating CRT's theoretical depth and complexity. Further, I highlight characteristics of CRT legal scholarship that are not always explicit in higher education research. Specifically, I describe CRT as an anti-subordination project, a materialist project, a critical intellectual project, and an activist project. Through engaging with CRT's legal scholarship, I demonstrate how higher education scholars' understanding and employment of CRT will be enriched.
Improved dual-aggregation polyp segmentation network combining a pyramid vision transformer with a fully convolutional network
Authors: Li Feng , Huang Zetao , Zhou Lu , Chen Yuyang , Tang Shiqing , Ding Pengchao , Peng Haixia , Chu Yimin
Published: March 2024

Automatic and precise polyp segmentation in colonoscopy images is highly valuable for diagnosis at an early stage and surgery of colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, it still posed a major challenge due to variations in the size and intricate morphological characteristics of polyps coupled with the indistinct demarcation between polyps and mucosas. To alleviate these challenges, we proposed an improved dual-aggregation polyp segmentation network, dubbed Dua-PSNet, for automatic and accurate full-size polyp prediction by combining both the transformer branch and a fully convolutional network (FCN) branch in a parallel style. Concretely, in the transformer branch, we adopted the B3 variant of pyramid vision transformer v2 (PVTv2-B3) as an image encoder for capturing multi-scale global features and modeling long-distant interdependencies between them whilst designing an innovative multi-stage feature aggregation decoder (MFAD) to highlight critical local feature details and effectively integrate them into global features. In the decoder, the adaptive feature aggregation (AFA) block was constructed for fusing high-level feature representations of different scales generated by the PVTv2-B3 encoder in a stepwise adaptive manner for refining global semantic information, while the ResidualBlock module was devised to mine detailed boundary cues disguised in low-level features. With the assistance of the selective global-to-local fusion head (SGLFH) module, the resulting boundary details were aggregated selectively with these global semantic features, strengthening these hierarchical features to cope with scale variations of polyps. The FCN branch embedded in the designed ResidualBlock module was used to encourage extraction of highly merged fine features to match the outputs of the Transformer branch into full-size segmentation maps. In this way, both branches were reciprocally influenced and complemented to enhance the discrimination capability of polyp features and enable a more accurate prediction of a full-size segmentation map. Extensive experiments on five challenging polyp segmentation benchmarks demonstrated that the proposed Dua-PSNet owned powerful learning and generalization ability and advanced the state-of-the-art segmentation performance among existing cutting-edge methods. These excellent results showed our Dua-PSNet had great potential to be a promising solution for practical polyp segmentation tasks in which wide variations of data typically occurred.
Method for auto-alignment and determination of parameter space in dual-phase grating interferometry
Authors: Tang Ruizhi , Goethals Wannes , Organista Caori , Van Hoorebeke Luc , Stampanoni Marco , Aelterman Jan , Boone Matthieu N.
Published: March 2024

X-ray dual-phase grating interferometry provides quantitative micro-structural information beyond the optical resolution through its tunable correlation length. Ensuring optimal performance of the set-up requires accurate correlation length estimation and precise alignment of the gratings. This paper presents an automated procedure for determining the complete geometrical parameters of the interferometer set-up with a high degree of precision. The algorithm’s effectiveness is then evaluated through a series of experimental tests, illustrating its accuracy and robustness.
Effects of laser pulse duration on the formation dynamics of laser-induced periodic nanostructures
Authors: Miyagawa Reina , Ohgai Tetsuyuki , Yoshikawa Shusuke , Lim Hwan Hong , Rezvani SeyedAli , Taira Takunori , Eryu Osamu
Published: March 2024

Formation dynamics of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) on the SiC substrates were described with varying pulse numbers and pulse duration. As the number of laser pulses increases, two significant transformations become evident in the progression of structural formations. First from surface roughening with nanoparticles to LIPSS with the period that is slightly shorter than the laser wavelength. Second it turns to LIPSS with a period less than half the laser wavelength. It is found that maintaining the crystallinity is the key to changing the structures. In the cases of longer pulse width than sub-nanoseconds, no LIPSS formations are observed or LSFL does not change to HSFL because the irradiated area is poly-crystallized.
Bound states in the continuum in circular waveguides: toward the on-chip integration of nanofiber on silicon platform
Authors: Zhou Haitao , Zhong Ping , Jiang Sen , Gu Zhiyuan , Yu Ying
Published: March 2024

In previously reported researches on bound state in the continuum (BIC) waveguides, almost all of them are demonstrated with top-down fabrication procedures, leading to inconvenience for post-manipulation and size tuning. Nanofibers with circular cross sections are the fundamental components to transport energy due to their intrinsic advantages of high flexibility and adjustability, which is replaceable and can be readily manipulated over size and position on the substrate. In this work, we explore the possibility of achieving on-chip integration of silica nanofiber onto a silicon-on-insulator platform. By constructing additional leakage channels in coupled nanofiber waveguides, coherently destructive interferences are successfully achieved. The heavy leakage losses from the low-index nanofiber to a high-index silicon substrate are completely eliminated with BIC, and the propagation length of the nanofiber waveguide is significantly improved.
Design and demonstration of high efficiency perfectly vertical grating couplers with a random structure
Authors: Jin Xin , Xu Jinbin , Xue Cuiwei , Guo Chenxing , Fu Liucheng , Liu Min , Shen Yunliang , Quan Xueling , Cheng Xiulan
Published: March 2024

Utilizing an automated optimization method, we propose a perfectly vertical grating coupler (PVGC) characterized by random structure, superior performance, simplified fabrication process, and increased minimum feature size (MFS). Within the range of MFS from 60 to 180 nm, the optimized PVGC exhibited a simulated coupling efficiency of approximately −2.0 dB at 1550 nm with a 34 nm 1-dB bandwidth. Experimental results for the PVGCs fabricated by electron beam lithography (EBL) demonstrated coupling efficiencies ranging from −2.5 to −2.8 dB with a 32 nm 1-dB bandwidth while maintaining high manufacturing tolerances. This represents the most outstanding experimental outcome to date regarding the coupling performance of a PVGC fabricated on a 220 nm silicon on insulator (SOI), without requiring any complex processes as reported in the existing literature.
Ultrafast laser bursts welding glass and metal with solder paste to create an ultra-large molten pool
Authors: Ren Haodong , Tian Chenyun , Shen Hong
Published: March 2024

A novel, to our knowledge, method is proposed for the welding of glass and metal with a large gap filled with solder paste using ultrafast laser bursts. The addition of solder paste enables a reliable glass–metal connection even at gaps of hundreds of microns, while the position of the glass can be flexibly adjusted. By ultrafast laser bursts, the volume of the molten pool increases significantly, and the height of the molten pool reaches approximately 350 µm, which is more than an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional ultrafast lasers (10–20 µm). Cross-sectional analysis of the welded region shows that extensive material mixing and element diffusion occur, and stable connections are achieved at multiple interfaces. An analysis of the interaction between the ultrafast laser bursts and the material, as well as the mixing of multiple materials during the welding process, leads to a clear welding mechanism.
The regulation of methylation on the Z chromosome and the identification of multiple novel Male Hyper-Methylated regions in the chicken
Authors: Höglund Andrey , Henriksen Rie , Churcher Allison M. , Guerrero-Bosagna Carlos M. , Martinez-Barrio Alvaro , Johnsson Martin , Jensen Per , Wright Dominic
Published: March 2024

DNA methylation is a key regulator of eukaryote genomes, and is of particular relevance in the regulation of gene expression on the sex chromosomes, with a key role in dosage compensation in mammalian XY systems. In the case of birds, dosage compensation is largely absent, with it being restricted to two small Male Hyper-Methylated (MHM) regions on the Z chromosome. To investigate how variation in DNA methylation is regulated on the Z chromosome we utilised a wild x domestic advanced intercross in the chicken, with both hypothalamic methylomes and transcriptomes assayed in 124 individuals. The relatively large numbers of individuals allowed us to identify additional genomic MHM regions on the Z chromosome that were significantly differentially methylated between the sexes. These regions appear to down-regulate local gene expression in males, but not remove it entirely (unlike the lncRNAs identified in the initial MHM regions). These MHM regions were further tested and the most balanced genes appear to show decreased expression in males, whilst methylation appeared to be far more correlated with gene expression in the less balanced, as compared to the most balanced genes. In addition, quantitative trait loci (QTL) that regulate variation in methylation on the Z chromosome, and those loci that regulate methylation on the autosomes that derive from the Z chromosome were mapped. Trans-effect hotspots were also identified that were based on the autosomes but affected the Z, and also one that was based on the Z chromosome but that affected both autosomal and sex chromosome DNA methylation regulation. We show that both cis and trans loci that originate from the Z chromosome never exhibit an interaction with sex, whereas trans loci originating from the autosomes but affecting the Z chromosome always display such an interaction. Our results highlight how additional MHM regions are actually present on the Z chromosome, and they appear to have smaller-scale effects on gene expression in males. Quantitative variation in methylation is also regulated both from the autosomes to the Z chromosome, and from the Z chromosome to the autosomes.
Assessment of emissions and potential occupational exposure to carbon monoxide during biowaste composting
Authors: Sobieraj Karolina , Giez Karolina , Koziel Jacek A. , Białowiec Andrzej
Published: March 2024

To date, only a few studies focused on the carbon monoxide (CO) production during waste composting; all targeted on CO inside piles. Here, the CO net emissions from compost piles and the assessment of worker’s occupational risk of exposure to CO at large-scale composting plants are shown for the first time. CO net emissions were measured at two plants processing green waste, sewage sludge, or undersize fraction of municipal solid waste. Effects of the location of piles (hermetised hall vs. open yard) and turning (before vs. after) were studied. Higher CO net emission rates were observed from piles located in a closed hall. The average CO flux before turning was 23.25 and 0.60 mg‧m-2‧h-1 for hermetised and open piles, respectively, while after– 69.38 and 5.11 mg‧m-2‧h-1. The maximum CO net emissions occurred after the compost was turned (1.7x to 13.7x higher than before turning). The top sections of hermetised piles had greater CO emissions compared to sides. Additionally, 5% of measurement points of hermetised piles switched to ‘CO sinks’. The 1-h concentration in hermetised composting hall can reach max. ~50 mg CO∙m-3 before turning, and >115 mg CO∙m-3 after, exceeding the WHO thresholds for a 1-h and 15-min exposures, respectively.
Approaches to estimate bidirectional causal effects using Mendelian randomization with application to body mass index and fasting glucose
Authors: Zou Jinhao , Talluri Rajesh , Shete Sanjay
Published: March 2024

Mendelian randomization (MR) is an epidemiological framework using genetic variants as instrumental variables (IVs) to examine the causal effect of exposures on outcomes. Statistical methods based on unidirectional MR (UMR) are widely used to estimate the causal effects of exposures on outcomes in observational studies. To estimate the bidirectional causal effects between two phenotypes, investigators have naively applied UMR methods separately in each direction. However, bidirectional causal effects between two phenotypes create a feedback loop that biases the estimation when UMR methods are naively applied. To overcome this limitation, we proposed two novel approaches to estimate bidirectional causal effects using MR: BiRatio and BiLIML, which are extensions of the standard ratio, and limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) methods, respectively. We compared the performance of the two proposed methods with the naive application of UMR methods through extensive simulations of several scenarios involving varying numbers of strong and weak IVs. Our simulation results showed that when multiple strong IVs are used, the proposed methods provided accurate bidirectional causal effect estimation in terms of median absolute bias and relative median absolute bias. Furthermore, compared to the BiRatio method, the BiLIML method provided a more accurate estimation of causal effects when weak IVs were used. Therefore, based on our simulations, we concluded that the BiLIML should be used for bidirectional causal effect estimation. We applied the proposed methods to investigate the potential bidirectional relationship between obesity and diabetes using the data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort. We used body mass index (BMI) and fasting glucose (FG) as measures of obesity and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Our results from the BiLIML method revealed the bidirectional causal relationship between BMI and FG in across all racial populations. Specifically, in the White/Caucasian population, a 1 kg/m2 increase in BMI increased FG by 0.70 mg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3517–1.0489; p = 8.43×10−5), and 1 mg/dL increase in FG increased BMI by 0.10 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.0441–0.1640; p = 6.79×10−4). Our study provides novel findings and quantifies the effect sizes of the bidirectional causal relationship between BMI and FG. However, further studies are needed to understand the biological and functional mechanisms underlying the bidirectional pathway.
Exploring factors influencing user perspective of ChatGPT as a technology that assists in healthcare decision making: A cross sectional survey study
Authors: Choudhury Avishek , Elkefi Safa , Tounsi Achraf
Published: March 2024

As ChatGPT emerges as a potential ally in healthcare decision-making, it is imperative to investigate how users leverage and perceive it. The repurposing of technology is innovative but brings risks, especially since AI’s effectiveness depends on the data it’s fed. In healthcare, ChatGPT might provide sound advice based on current medical knowledge, which could turn into misinformation if its data sources later include erroneous information. Our study assesses user perceptions of ChatGPT, particularly of those who used ChatGPT for healthcare-related queries. By examining factors such as competence, reliability, transparency, trustworthiness, security, and persuasiveness of ChatGPT, the research aimed to understand how users rely on ChatGPT for health-related decision-making. A web-based survey was distributed to U.S. adults using ChatGPT at least once a month. Bayesian Linear Regression was used to understand how much ChatGPT aids in informed decision-making. This analysis was conducted on subsets of respondents, both those who used ChatGPT for healthcare decisions and those who did not. Qualitative data from open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis, with thematic coding to extract public opinions on urban environmental policies. Six hundred and seven individuals responded to the survey. Respondents were distributed across 306 US cities of which 20 participants were from rural cities. Of all the respondents, 44 used ChatGPT for health-related queries and decision-making. In the healthcare context, the most effective model highlights ’Competent + Trustworthy + ChatGPT for healthcare queries’, underscoring the critical importance of perceived competence and trustworthiness specifically in the realm of healthcare applications of ChatGPT. On the other hand, the non-healthcare context reveals a broader spectrum of influential factors in its best model, which includes ’Trustworthy + Secure + Benefits outweigh risks + Satisfaction + Willing to take decisions + Intent to use + Persuasive’. In conclusion our study findings suggest a clear demarcation in user expectations and requirements from AI systems based on the context of their use. We advocate for a balanced approach where technological advancement and user readiness are harmonized.
Evaluating the operational efficiency of NBA teams on franchise value: An assessment of data envelopment analysis
Authors: Kim Philsoo , Lee Sang Hyun , Moon JeongJun
Published: March 2024

The main purpose of this research is to empirically analyze the determinants of organizational performance using National Basketball Association (NBA) team data. Based on the resource-based theory of the firm, prior studies posit that operational efficiency encompasses the ability of professional sports teams to translate their resources into creating organizational performance. The contention is that NBA teams enhance organizational performance in the market when possessing valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources and capabilities. In this sense, the operational efficiencies of NBA teams align with the concept of core competence, enabling teams to achieve competitive advantages through superior performance. The exploration of the level of operating efficiency in NBA teams and its role in organizational performance is beyond essential. This study conceptualizes operating efficiency as the degree of competence exhibited by professional sports teams, drawing on comprehensive game-related statistics and financial performance data derived from human assets and team budgets. To bridge theory and empirical investigation, data spanning six seasons (2015–2016 to 2020–2021) for all 30 NBA teams were collected. The results reveal that 29 out of 180 decision-making units exhibit outstanding organizational efficiency, significantly contributing to franchise value.
Neural responses to syllable-induced P1m and social impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing Peers
Authors: Sano Masuhiko , Hirosawa Tetsu , Yoshimura Yuko , Hasegawa Chiaki , An Kyung-Min , Tanaka Sanae , Yaoi Ken , Naitou Nobushige , Kikuchi Mitsuru
Published: March 2024

In previous magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to respond differently to speech stimuli than typically developing (TD) children. Quantitative evaluation of this difference in responsiveness may support early diagnosis and intervention for ASD. The objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between syllable-induced P1m and social impairment in children with ASD and TD children. We analyzed 49 children with ASD aged 40–92 months and age-matched 26 TD children. We evaluated their social impairment by means of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and their intelligence ability using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). Multiple regression analysis with SRS score as the dependent variable and syllable-induced P1m latency or intensity and intelligence ability as explanatory variables revealed that SRS score was associated with syllable-induced P1m latency in the left hemisphere only in the TD group and not in the ASD group. A second finding was that increased leftward-lateralization of intensity was correlated with higher SRS scores only in the ASD group. These results provide valuable insights but also highlight the intricate nature of neural mechanisms and their relationship with autistic traits.