bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards Sensory Assessment Classification using Short-Wave NIR Spectroscopy for Orange Cultivars
Authors: Zeb Ayesha , Qureshi Waqar Shahid , Ghafoor Abdul , Malik Amanullah , Imran Muhammad , Mirza Alina , Tiwana Mohsin , Alanazi Eisa
Published: September 2022

The global orange industry constantly faces new technical challenges to meet consumer demands for quality fruits. Instead of traditional subjective fruit quality assessment methods, the interest in the horticulture industry has increased in an objective, quantitative, and non-destructive assessment methods. Oranges have a thick peel which makes their non-destructive quality assessment challenging. This paper evaluates the potential of short-wave NIR spectroscopy and direct sweetness classification for Pakistani cultivars of orange i.e., Blood red, Mosambi, and Succari. The correlation between quality indices i.e., Brix, titratable acidity (TA), Brix: TA and BrimA (Brix minus acids), sensory assessment of the fruit, and short-wave NIR spectra is analyzed. Mix cultivar oranges are then classified as sweet, mixed, and acidic based on short-wave NIR spectra. Short-wave NIR spectral data were obtained using the industry standard F-750 fruit quality meter (310–1100 nm). Reference Brix and TA measurements were taken using standard destructive testing methods. Reference taste labels i.e., sweet, mix, and acidic, were acquired by sensory evaluation of samples. For indirect fruit classification, partial least squares regression models were developed for Brix, TA, Brix: TA, and BrimA estimation with a correlation coefficient of 0.57, 0.73, 0.66, and 0.55 respectively, on independent test data. For direct fruit classification, the ensemble classifier achieved 81.03% accuracy for 3 class (sweet, mix, and acidic) classification on independent test data. We observed a good correlation between NIR spectra and sensory assessment instead of quality indices. Hence, direct classification is more suitable for orange sweetness classification using NIR spectroscopy than the estimation of quality indices.
TP53mutation–associated and copy number–dependent KDM7A-DT expression affects DNA repair and promotes invasive breast cancer progression
Authors: Giannakakis Antonis , Tsifintaris Margaritis , Triantafyllou Charisios , Gouzouasis Vasileios , Ow Ghim Siong , Aau Mei Yee , Papp Csaba , Ivshina Anna V. , Kuznetsov Vladimir A.
Published: September 2022

Background: Recent characterization of stress-induced promoter-associated antisense lncRNAs (si-paancRNAs) suggests that they modulate transcription and cellular responses to oxidative, metabolic and genotoxic stress and may participate in critical cancer pathways. KDM7A divergent transcript (KDM7A-DT) is one of such stress-induced lncRNAs, whose expression is found deregulated in breast cancer (BC). The mechanisms leading to aberrantKDM7A-DTtranscription, biogenesis, and downstream functions in BC types and subtypes have not been studied. Methods: Cell lines, biochemical methods, and profiling experiments were used forKDM7A-DToverexpression and knockdown. Integration of experimental models, bioinformatics, and massive BRCA patient metadata analyses were performed to investigate the mechanisms and functions ofKDM7A-DT. Results: StableKDM7A-DToverexpression in nonmalignant cells upregulates p53, CDKN1A, and γH2AX signaling, resulting in a prolonged cell growth retardation phenotype. Importantly,KDM7A-DTinduction by acute oxidative stress in semi-transformed fibroblasts is p53-dependent. According to BC clinical metadata,KDM7A-DTgene alterations are preferentially associated with TP53 missense mutations and highly aggressive, invasive, basal-like (BL) subtype BC poor outcomes. Overall, KDM7A-DT affects DNA repair via the nonhomologous end-joining pathway, inhibits tumor suppressors involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, induces oncogenic metabolic changes and G2/M checkpoint arrest, and correlates with histology, aneuploidy, hypoxia and BC-associated proteins. Conclusion: KDM7A-DT is a TP53 mutation–associated and copy number–dependent pro-oncogene si-paancRNA that contributes to genome instability and modulates BC initiation, progression, invasiveness and outcomes.
Bioinformatics and Metabolic flux analysis highlight a new mechanism involved in lactate oxidation in Clostridium tyrobutyricum
Authors: Munier Edouard , Licandro Hélène , Beuvier Eric , Cachon Rémy
Published: September 2022

Background
One of todays’ scientific challenge due to climate change and environmental issues is to find alternatives to the production of molecules of interest from petrochemistry. This study focuses on the understanding of the production of butyrate, hydrogen and CO2 from the oxidation of lactate with acetate in C. tyrobutyricum and thus propose an alternative carbon source to glucose. This species is known to produce more butyrate than the other butyrate-producing Clostridium species due to a lack of solventgenesis phase. The recent discoveries of flavin-based electron bifurcation mechanism as a mode of energy conservation have allowed us to propose a new metabolic scheme for the formation of butyrate from lactate-acetate co-metabolism.
Results
The search for genes encoding for EtfAB complexes and neighboring genes in the genome of C. tyrobutyricum identified a cluster of genes involved in butyrate formation and another cluster involved in lactate oxidation homologous to Acetobacterium woodii. A phylogenetic approach with other butyrate-producing and/or lactate-oxidizing species based on EtfAB complexes confirms these results with A. woodii and Clostridium kluyveri as references. A metabolic scheme on the production of butyrate, hydrogens and CO2 from the lactate-acetate co-metabolism in C. tyrobutyricum has been constructed. From data of steady-state continuous culture, an in silico metabolic carbon flux analysis model was built and made it possible to show the coherence of the scheme from the carbon recovery, the cofactor ratio and the ATP yield.
Conclusions
Bioinformatics analyzes have highlighted the use of flavin-based electron bifurcation. A metabolic scheme on the conversion of lactate and acetate has been proposed in C. tyrobutyricum, involving electron-transferring flavoprotein (Etf) complexes specific to the butyrate production and the lactate oxidation. The carbon metabolic fluxes analysis has validated this scheme involving the EtfAB complex at the origin of the oxidation of lactate in C. tyrobutyricum. This study contributes significantly to our understanding of the lactate oxidation metabolic pathways, the utility of the presence of acetate and the role of intracellular redox balance, and opens new perspectives for the production of molecules of interest as butyrate and hydrogen with C. tyrobutyricum.
Challenges of Online Medical Education in Khartoum Sudan during COVID-19 Pandemic 2021
Authors: Sabir Mustafa , Kunna Ezzan
Published: September 2022

Introduction: Education and teaching has been adversely affected since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of students have been affected by the closure of educational institutions, including medical colleges and universities.To help students and save time, several institutes have turned to online education. Objectives: To investigate the challenges of online medical education during covid19 pandemic in Khartoum state. Methods: Descriptive Cross-Sectional study of six medical faculties which were selected by convenient sampling, an online questionnaire was used. Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences were used for data analysis, frequency tables and figures for analysis of data. Results: 328 medical students across six faculties responded 132 (40.2%) are males and 196 (59.8%) are females. 209 (63.7%) of them between 18–22 years old, 116 (35.4%) between 23–26 years old and only 3 (0.9%) exceeded 26. The study found that students encountered difficulties concerning poor internet connection, which encountered 242 (73%). Also the major challenges encountered by the students were not only technical issues but also teachers related issues as 234 (71.3%) stated that the incompetence of teachers while dealing with online platforms was a major issue for them. Conclusions and Recommendations: Within the scope of this study, students had a primarily unfavorable view of the implementation of online education. It is recommended that further research should be undertaken to understand the teachers’ views and experiences towards online education during the pandemic, to widen the view and knowing the whole scale of the challenges.
A prognostic model for bladder cancer based on cytoskeleton-related genes
Authors: Peng Chunting , Guo Sufan , Yang Zheng , Li Xiaohong , Su Qisheng , Mo Wuning
Published: September 2022

A typical cancerous growth in the urinary tract, bladder cancer (BLCA) has a dismal survival rate and a poor chance of being cured. The main cause of tumor death is tumor metastasis, cell migration is crucial in tumor metastasis, and cell-directed movement requires the involvement of the cytoskeleton, so it is said that the cytoskeleton is tightly related to tumor invasion and metastasis. Nevertheless, the expression of genes associated with the cytoskeleton and their prognostic significance in BLCA remain unknown. Differential expression of 546 genes involved in the cytoskeleton was analyzed in BLCA versus normal bladder tissues. According to the outcomes of this analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), all BLCA cases doing NMF clustering analysis could be classified into two molecular subtypes and were subjected to survival analysis. Using the TCGA dataset to screen out genes with drastically differing expression levels, a cytoskeleton-associated gene prediction model for bladder cancer was constructed, and 11 genes were assigned risk formulae using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression approach. We divided all TCGA cohort patients with BLCA into low-risk groups and high-risk groups categories based on the average risk score in the middle, then analyzed survival data and ROC curves separately for each risk category. An external validation dataset (GSM340668) was used to verify the accuracy of the model. Columnar line plots were created to predict the prognostic outcome of bladder cancer cases. Significant enrichment pathways for cytoskeleton-associated genes in bladder cancer samples were explored by GSEA enrichment analysis. In addition, immune infiltration studies were conducted to help us better understand and observe the degree of bladder cancer immune cell infiltration. An independent prognostic analysis of risk score (RS) was done and proven to be a significant predictor of outcome for bladder cancer. Following this, we looked at the connection between risk score, clinical characteristics, and immune cells, and found that they are all interconnected. In conclusion, cytoskeleton-related genes have an important predictive value for bladder cancer, and the prognostic model we constructed may enable personalized treatment of bladder cancer.
A Co-simulation Model for the Hydraulic Operating Mechanism of High-Voltage Circuit Breaker
Authors: li xiaofeng , Zhao Deng , Wu Zhou , Zhang Tao , Yu Li
Published: September 2022

The dynamic characteristics of hydraulic operating mechanism is of great significance to the reliability of high-voltage circuit breaker (HVCB). Due to the lack of co-simulation models considering the coupling links of different physics, previous research works were limited to the analysis of some discrete parts. The purpose of this study is to propose a novel technique for the co-simulation of hydraulic operating mechanism (OM). For that aim, lumped parameter method is adopted for the modeling of hydraulic system and finite element analysis method is employed for that of transmission mechanism. Then, distributed parallel type co-simulation framework is applied, and the coupling links between different subsystems are achieved by input-output variables exchange with shared memory. Simulation and experimental validations are implemented in a 550KV HVCB. It proves that co-simulation model can accurately capture the dynamic responses of hydraulic OM, including predicting the dynamic responses under different operation parameters and quantifying important features like stress distribution and dynamic responses evolution.
Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization for RIS-Aided MU-MISO Communication Systems
Authors: Li Mengke , Yan Bai , Zhang Jin
Published: September 2022

We study a multi-user multiple-input single-output downlink system aided by a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). Users' sum rate and transmit power are two important performance indicators in such systems. However, most existing works only optimize one of them, resulting in severe performance degradation of the other. Motivated by this, in this paper, we formulate a multi-objective optimization problem to maximize the sum rate of users and minimize the transmit power simultaneously. According to our early work on fitness landscape analysis of sum rate maximization problems, the proposed problem is inferred to be multi-modal. To solve this non-convex and multi-modal problem, we propose a novel multi-objective evolutionary hybrid beamforming (MEHB) framework to find different trade-off solutions between the two conflicting objectives. In particular, we employ different kinds of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms and multi-modal multi-objective evolutionary algorithms as the baseline of MEHB framework, so as to design the passive beamforming. And the active beamforming at the base station is optimized by the classical zero-forcing method. The simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the dominance-based evolutionary algorithms in handling hybrid beamforming problems.
Spatial effects of air pollutants reduction on CO2 emissions
Authors: Zhou Hao , Jiang Mingdong , Huang Yumeng , Bai Yang , Wang Qi
Published: September 2022

The sources of air pollutants and CO2 are basically the same, hence the reduction of air pollutants will affect CO2 emissions. Considering the regional integration of economic development as well as air pollution control, it is necessary to analyze the impact of air pollutants reduction in a region on CO2 emissions in its surrounding regions. Furthermore, as different stages of air pollutants reduction have different effects on CO2emissions, it is also important to study the heterogeneity of this impact. In this article, we took China as the research case and built a spatial panel model based on the data of 240 cities above the prefecture level from 2005 to 2016 to study the impact of two different stages of air pollutants reduction—front reduction of air pollutants (FRAP) and end-of-pipe treatment of air pollutants (EPAP) on CO2 emissions—and their spatial spillover effects. On this basis, we further modified traditional spatial weight matrix and constructed the matrices of cities in the same and different provinces to discuss the influence of provincial administrative boundaries on the spillover effect between cities. The results show that FRAP affects CO2emissions mainly through the local synergistic effect, and its spatial spillover effect is not significant. The local effect of EPAP on CO2emissions is antergic, and the spatial spillover effect is significant. The increase of a city’s EPAP will increase the CO2 emissions in surrounding regions. Besides, provincial boundaries weaken the spatial spillover effects of FRAP and EPAP on CO2 emissions in prefecture-level cities. There is a significant spatial spillover effect between cities in the same province, but the spillover effect does not exist for cities in different provinces nearby.
Blind color image watermarking incorporating a residual network for watermark denoising and super-resolution reconstruction
Authors: Hu Hwai-Tsu , Hsu Ling-Yuan
Published: September 2022

Watermarking is a technique for hiding secret information in various types of multimedia data to protect intellectual property rights. Currently, the integration of deep learning technology with image watermarking is reshaping the application and promotion of relevant techniques developed so far. This paper presents a novel type of blind color image watermarking method that embeds a downsized color image into a host color image. Watermarking implementation involves partitioning the host image into non-overlapping blocks of 8 × 8 pixels, performing discrete cosine transform (DCT) for each block of every channel, and then manipulating the magnitudes of three designated DCT coefficients subject to a minimization constraint. The experimental results confirmed that the proposed image watermarking method outperformed four other methods in terms of zero-normalized cross-correlation (ZNCC). Moreover, watermark imperceptibility, as reflected by the measured peak signal-to-noise ratio and mean structural similarity metrics, remained at a satisfactory level. In addition to this new style of color image watermarking, we employed a deep residual network to reduce noise and increase the resolution of the retrieved watermarks. Overall, the residual network achieved a satisfactory ZNCC level (> 0.88) when the watermark images were super-resolved by a factor of sixteen.
Relationship Between Blood Calcium Level and Post-milking Teat Canal Closure in Dairy Cows
Authors: DOGAN HALEF , Yenilmez Kudret
Published: September 2022

The teat canal–one of the primary defense mechanisms of the udder–ensures the milk flow during milking in bovines and prevents pathogens from entering the udder by forming a barrier through the elastic muscle and keratin layers tightly closing the surrounding area. The current study investigated the effects of blood calcium status on teat closure in cows after milking. The study covered 200 healthy teats, of which 100 were from normocalcemic (NC) cows and 100 were from subclinical hypocalcemic (SCH) cows. Teat canal length (TCL) and width (TCW) were measured with ultrasonography at 0-min pre-milking and 15- and 30-mins post-milking. Cylindrically shaped teat canal volume (TCV) was calculated by deriving from TCL and TCW. Time-dependent changes in teat canal closure and their relationships with blood calcium levels were analyzed. The results showed that the calcium level did not affect TCL, TCW, and TCV (P > 0.05) during the 15 minutes post-milking period. However, TCL (P < 0.001), TCW (P < 0.05), and TCV (P < 0.001) were higher in NC cows than in SCH cows at 30 minutes post-milking. At 15 minutes post-milking, no correlation existed between the teat canal closure (ΔTCL, ΔTCW, and ΔTCV) and the blood calcium level, while significant correlations were available between the teat canal closure and the blood calcium level {ΔTCL (r:-0.288, P < 0.001), ΔTCW (r:-0.260, P < 0.001), ΔTCV (r:-0.150, P < 0.05)} at 30 minutes post-milking. The current study concluded that the blood calcium status significantly impacts the teat canal closure in bovines, and calcium status should be meticulously monitored with the mastitis control program to apply necessary strategic steps.
The Impact of Rainfall Variability and Crop Production on Vertisols in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia
Authors: Regassa Hailu , Ture Kassahun , Elias Eyasu , legesse Gudina , Abiko Fikru
Published: September 2022

Understanding the yearly, seasonal, monthly, and weekly rainfall variability is crucial for improved agricultural practice in a country like Ethiopia, where agriculture depends on rainfall. In particular, knowledge of rainfall onset, withdrawal, amount, distribution, and the length of the crop growing period would protect farmers from crop damage due to climatic anomalies. This study collected and described thirty-nine years of rainfall data using the Markov chain model. Based on the rainfall probability levels at different threshold levels, the length of the dry and wet spells and the length of the growing period were determined. The study shows dependable rainfall at a 75% probability level commences in June. The chance of receiving greater than 10 mm at a 50% probability level starts in week 10 (5 March–11 March), with much discontinuity up to week 21st (21 May–27 May). The dependable weekly rainfall begins the week of 22 May (28th May-3rd June) with a probability of greater than 20 mm. The study revealed that the short rainy season rainfall (February to May) is unreliable for growing crops at Ghinchi as opposed to other highland areas of Ethiopia. The length of the growing season is therefore confined to periods of the long rainy season (weeks 22nd to 39th, or 28th May-30th September). The water balance for the study area indicates that the moisture availability index is greater than 0.5,and potential evapotranspiration is lower than precipitation during these months.
Application and practice of “Hand as Foot” analogy teaching method in clinical teaching of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Authors: Sun JiaXin , Wang Jia , Su Mei , Chang WenZhong , Hu YuChong , Tang PeiJuan
Published: September 2022

Background
“Hand as Foot analogy teaching method” was proposed by the orthopedic team of the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, and applied in orthopedic teaching, the teaching effect is remarkable. In view of the teaching characteristics of obstetrics and gynecology course, we applied analogy teaching method in clinical teaching. This teaching method can strengthen students’ understanding and memory of female reproductive anatomy, mechanism of labor and related diseases, and is favored by teachers and students.
Methods
Combined with PPT + props, the “Hand as Foot analogy teaching method” was used to teach key and difficult issues of obstetrics and gynecology, mainly aimed at undergraduates practicing in obstetrics and gynecology department of Inner Mongolia Peoples Hospital.
Results
“Hand as Foot analogy teaching method” contrasted human limbs with female reproductive anatomy, which is easier for students to understand and memorize, and is generally popular among medical students.
Conclusions
Based on the evolution of human beings, “Hand as Foot analogy teaching method” is an innovative and feasible clinical teaching method. The teaching method simplifies complex problems, visualizes abstract problems, and enables clinical medical students to get rid of boring and redundant medical knowledge learning process. On the one hand, “Hand as Foot analogy teaching method” makes up for the shortcomings of traditional multimedia teaching, on the other hand, it also shows its unique advantages. Besides, this teaching method has greatly improved clinical teaching effect, and it is worth promoting in the course of obstetrics and gynecology.
Cost consequences of unscheduled emergency admissions in cancer patients in the last year of life
Authors: McFerran Ethna , Cairnduff Victoria , Elder Ray , Gavin Anna , Lawler Mark
Published: September 2022

Objectives
Cancer is a leading cause of death. At end-of-life healthcare utilisation and expenditure peak. Understanding care patterns and quantifying the likely benefits from service reconfigurations may influence rates of hospital admission and deaths.
Methods
Using prevalence-based retrospective data from the Northern Ireland General Registrar’s Office linked by cancer diagnosis to Patient Administration episode data for unscheduled-emergency-care (1stJanuary 2014 to 31st December 2015), we estimate unscheduled-emergency-care costs in the last year of life and hypothetical resources released by reductions in length-of-stay for cancer patients who died in 2015. Linear regression examined patient characteristics affecting length-of-stay.
Results
3134 cancer patients used 60,746 days of unscheduled-emergency-care (average 19.5 days). Of these, 48.9% had ≥1 admission during their last 28 days of life. Total estimated cost was £28,684,261, averaging £9,200 per person.
Lung cancer patients had the highest proportion of admissions (23.2%, mean length-of-stay = 17.9 days, mean cost=£7,224). Highest service use and total cost was in those diagnosed at Stage IV (38.4%), required 22,099 days of care, costing £9,629,014. Palliative care support, identified in 25.5% of patients, contributed £1,322,328. A 3-day reduction in mean length-of-stay with a 10% reduction in admissions, could reduce costs by £7.37 million. Regression analyses explained 41% of length-of-stay variability.
Conclusions
The cost burden from unscheduled care use in the last year of life of cancer patients is significant. Opportunities to prioritise service reconfiguration for high-costing users emphasized lung and colorectal cancers offering the greatest potential to influence outcomes.
Fire resistance prediction for reinforced concrete columns: A comparative application of artificial neural network and random tree methods
Authors: Tijani Ibrahim , Lawal Abiodun Ismail , Kwon Sangki
Published: September 2022

The most common index for passive fire protection systems of built environments is fire resistance. Existing models for determining the fire resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) columns apply to certain conditions. Meanwhile, accurate determination of fire resistance of RC columns will aid in designing sustainable RC columns, saves lives, and protect property. This study leveraged on the power of soft computing methods – artificial neural network (ANN) and random tree (RT) – in predicting the fire resistance of RC columns. Ninety-six observations were assembled from existing fire tests on RC columns. Nine parameters are the predictors used to predict the fire resistance of RC columns. With respect to model predictive performance, the ANN model slightly outperformed the RT model. Genetic algorithm was also used to generate useful mathematical model for fire resistance prediction. The results of the current study highlight the merit of using soft computing (SC) methods in structural fire engineering applications given their extraordinary ability to comprehend multidimensional phenomena with high prediction accuracy.
Identification of a mycobacterial hydrazidase, an isoniazid-hydrolyzing enzyme
Authors: Sakiyama Arata , Saren Chaogetu , Kaneko Yukihiro , Oinuma Ken-Ichi
Published: September 2022

There is decades-old evidence that some mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium smegmatis, produce hydrazidase, an enzyme that can hydrolyze the first-line anti-tubercular agent isoniazid. Despite its importance as a potential resistance factor, no studies have attempted to reveal its identity. In this study, we aimed to isolate and identify M. smegmatis hydrazidase, characterize it, and evaluate its impact on isoniazid resistance. We determined the optimal condition under which M. smegmatis produced the highest amount of hydrazidase, purified the enzyme by column chromatography, and identified it by peptide mass fingerprinting. It was revealed to be PzaA, an enzyme known as pyrazinamidase/nicotinamidase whose physiological role remains unknown. The kinetic constants suggested that this amidase with broad substrate specificity prefers amides to hydrazides as a substrate. Interestingly, however, of the five tested compounds, including amides, only isoniazid served as an efficient inducer of pzaA transcription, as revealed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Moreover, high expression of PzaA was confirmed to be beneficial for the survival of M. smegmatis in the presence of isoniazid. Our findings suggest a possible role for PzaA and other hydrazidases yet to be identified as an intrinsic isoniazid resistance factor of mycobacteria.
Investigating and comparing the performance of meta-heuristic algorithms in feature selection and software fault prediction
Authors: Norouzi Mohsen , Arshaghi Ali
Published: September 2022

Meta‑Heuristic algorithms are optimization techniques that provide the optimal solution through processes of repeated exploration and exploitation of the entire search space. Feature selection is also an important and prominent process in the field of machine learning that reduces data dimensions. This paper examines and compares nature-inspired meta-heuristic algorithms for feature selection to increase the accuracy of software fault prediction. Researchers cannot easily select meta-heuristic algorithms as a suitable method for their research due to their great variety and multiplicity. In this paper, by describing the feature selection techniques and its methods, the application of meta-heuristic algorithms in different fields, such as swarm intelligence and binary methods of these algorithms has been investigated. Also, by introducing 18 meta-heuristic algorithms in 6 different categories and evaluating each of them, a suitable analysis has been provided to researchers so that they can easily and with the highest efficiency choose the appropriate algorithm and method of their work. In the papers presented so far, meta-heuristic algorithms have been studied from only one aspect, while in this article, while studying different types of research, they have tried to study and evaluate them from different aspects. The effectiveness of the combination of three meta-heuristic algorithms, developed butterfly flame, bee colony and developed wall, was tested on 20 data sets. the proposed method in 17 datasets was able to improve the result of 7 datasets.
The Scientific Performance of the Microchannel X-ray Telescope on board the SVOM Mission
Authors: Götz D. , Boutelier M. , Burwitz V. , Chipaux R. , Cordier B. , Feldman C. , Ferrando P. , Fort A. , Gonzalez F. , Gros A. , Hussein S. , Duigou J.-M. Le , Meidinger N. , Mercier K. , Meuris A. , Pearson J. , Renault-Tinacci N. , Robinet F. , Schneider B. , Willingale R.
Published: September 2022

The Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT) will be the first focusing X-ray telescope based on a "Lobster-Eye" optical design to be flown on Sino-French mission SVOM. SVOM will be dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts and more generally time-domain astrophysics. The MXT telescope is a compact (focal length ∼ 1.15 m) and light (< 42 kg) instrument, sensitive in the 0.2–10 keV energy range. It is composed of an optical system, based on micro-pore optics (MPOs) of 40 µm pore size, coupled to a low-noise pnCDD X-ray detector. In this paper we describe the expected scientific performance of the MXT telescope, based on the End-to-End calibration campaign performed in fall 2021, before the integration of the SVOM payload on the satellite.
Energy-aware edge server placement using the improved butterfly optimization algorithm
Authors: Asghari Ali , Sayadi Marjan , Azgomi Hossein
Published: September 2022

Cloud service providers transfer some of their resources to the proximity of their users in order to increase the quality of services provided to them. Proper placement of servers, considering the number of service demands in different parts of the network, not only plays an important role in providing better services to users but also causes more effective use of resources and reduces their energy consumption. Some related research has been done in this context. However, designing a model that can meet the needs of both the users and the service providers has received less attention. On the other hand, most researchers use discrete models to select a number of candidate locations for resource deployment, while the proposed method explores the entire search area to find optimal locations for server placement. The proposed method (ESPB) using butterfly optimization algorithm(BOA), DVFS technic, and coral reefs optimization algorithm(CRO) seeks to find the best locations for edge servers. In the first step, BOA is used to find the best locations for resource deployment. Then the CRO algorithm is used to map between the optimal locations and the servers. The experiments show that the proposed method can effectively save energy and reduces network latency.
The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on Professional Quality of Life and Perceived Stress Level of the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Nurses
Authors: SARIBUDAK Tugba PEHLİVAN , SEMERCİ Remziye , Çalışkan Behice Belkıs , Yıldız Güldem , Altınel Nazife , KAPANCI Mreyem
Published: September 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Establishment and validation of a prediction model for the first recurrence of Budd-Chiari syndrome after endovascular treatment: A large sample size, single-center retrospective study
Authors: Wang Zhongkai , Wang Ziwei , Zhang Zhiyuan , Li Jiandong , Pan Zhiyang , Zu Maoheng , Xu Hao
Published: September 2022

Objective
To investigate the independent risk factors for the first recurrence after endovascular management in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS), and to establish a prediction model for predicting recurrence in target patients.
Methods
BCS patients who underwent endovascular treatment in the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2010 to December 2015 were retrospectively examined, with their clinical, laboratory test, and imaging data collected and analyzed. Independent risk factors for recurrence were identified, and a prediction model was established and validated.
Results
A total of 450 patients met the filtering criteria, and 102 patients recurred during the follow-up. The median follow-up time was 87 months, ranging from 1 to 137 months. The 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year cumulative recurrence rate was 9.11% (6.41%-11.73%), 17.35% (13.77%-20.78%), 20.10% (16.30%-23.72%), and 23.06% (18.86%-27.04%), respectively. Liver cirrhosis, ascites, thrombosis, and obstructed HV + AHV (all three main HVs and AHVs obstruct) are independent risk factors, while age is an independent protective factor. The risk score = (-0.385981 * Age/10)་(0.0404184 * PT)་(0.0943423 * CRE/10)་(0.0157053 * LDH/10)་(0.592179 * LC)་(0.896034 * Ascite)་(0.691346 * Thrombosis)་(0.886741 * (HV + AHV)). A nomogram was provided for better clinical application. Patients with a risk score < 1.57 were stratified as the low-risk group while those ≥ 1.57 as the high-risk group (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
Liver cirrhosis, ascites, thrombosis, and obstructed HV + AHV are independent risk factors for the first recurrence, age is an independent protective factor. The prediction model can effectively and conveniently predict the risk of recurrence and screen out patients at a high recurrence risk.
Degradation of paper products due to volatile organic compounds
Authors: Alam Izhar , Sharma Chhaya
Published: September 2022

Paper and packaging materials are lignocellulose-based natural polymers that release acetic acid, aldehydes, alcohol, and ester-based volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to ageing. These VOCs start degrading the paper and its products and decline their mechanical strength properties. The reactivity of paper of unbleached wheat straw pulp towards acetic acid and hexanaldehyde, a kind of more harsh VOC than others was studied during this study. The papers were exposed to these volatile compounds for 90 days in an air-tight vessel under ambient environmental conditions. The results showed that hexanaldehyde was more destructive than acetic acid in terms of cellulose degradation. The paper properties like, tensile, tear and burst index, viscosity, pH and carbonyl group content were measured. The growth of the carbonyl group, evidence of the ageing effects in the paper, detected more in the paper exposed to acetic acid. However, the strength of paper properties declined more with hexanal. Thus, the results strongly recommend that VOCs could be the leading cause of the degradation of paper and its products, which may generate due to natural or artificial ageing.
Experimental mechanical polishing protocol performed continuously increases the durability of acrylic resin-based prosthetic materials.
Authors: Assis Ellen Lima , Menezes Antonia Thayná Santos , Lobato Mário Lucas Facundo , Peixoto Raniel Fernandes , Pinto-Fiamengui Lívia Maria Sales , Regis Romulo
Published: September 2022

Objectives To evaluate the effect of a mechanical polishing protocol (MPP) performed continuously on the surface roughness and color stability of a denture base acrylic resin and artificial teeth exposed to different pigmenting substances.
Materials and Methods Seventy specimens of each material (n=10) were exposed to: distilled water (DW, negative control); cigarette smoke (CS); immersion in coffee (CF); association CS+CF; and association of each pigmenting condition to the MPP (CS+MPP, CF+MPP and CS+CF+MPP). The MPP used aluminum oxide paste and felt wheel coupled to an electric motor. Color stability and surface roughness were evaluated by standard procedures at baseline and after 12 and 24 days. Two-way mixed ANOVA was used for statistical analysis.
Results In most experimental conditions, the polishing controlled the roughness changes, making roughness values significantly lower (p<0.05) than those observed in the negative control group, as well as significantly reduced (p<0.05)the color change even for the groups submitted to the association of cigarette smoke and coffee in both materials.
Conclusions The proposed MPP, when carried out at biweekly intervals, was able to control the increase in surface roughness and reduce the color change on the tested acrylic resin-based prosthetic materials.
Clinical Relevance Continuous polishing of removable dental prostheses can bring more durability, reducing the deleterious effect of agents such as cigarette and coffee. As it is a simple procedure to perform, the development of a portable device would allow the polishing to be done at home by the users of these prostheses.
Evaluation of a Two Step Testing Algorithm to Improve Diagnostic Accuracy and Stewardship of Clostridioides difficile Infections
Authors: Bettger Caitlin C. , Giancola Stephanie E. , Cybulski Robert J. , Okulicz Jason F. , Barsoumian Alice E.
Published: September 2022

In response to national guidelines, we implemented a two-step testing algorithm for Clostridioides difficile in an effort to improve diagnostic accuracy. Following implementation, we analyzed treatment frequency between discordant and concordant patients. We found that the majority of discordant cases were treated with no significant differences in patient characteristics or outcomes between the concordant and discordant groups. Additionally, there were no differences in outcomes when discordant patients were further stratified by treatment status. Given little added diagnostic accuracy with the addition of EIA toxin testing, our facility resumed diagnosis by PCR testing alone. Further studies are needed to investigate alternative processes for improvement in diagnostic accuracy aside from toxin EIA testing including stool submission criteria and educational programs.
Prevalence and factors associated with suicidal ideation, cannabis, and alcohol misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan: findings from a joint-effect modeling
Authors: Adeyinka Daniel , Novik Nuelle , Novotna Gabriela , Bartram Mary , Gabrys Robert , Muhajarine Nazeem
Published: September 2022

Background
Generally, pandemics such as COVID-19 take an enormous toll on people’s lives. As the pandemic extends into the second year, growing attention has been paid to the multiple adverse mental health and behavioral issues, such as suicidal ideation and substance misuse. However, the interplay of suicidality and substance misuse during the pandemic has been limited. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of co-occurrence of suicide ideation, alcohol and cannabis misuse, and the factors that are associated with these co-occurrences in the province of Saskatchewan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
We performed a multivariable trivariate probit regression on a sample of 666 Saskatchewan adolescents and adults (16 years or older), drawn from the cycle 10 data collection (March 2022) of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (MHCC-CCSA) dataset.
Results
The prevalence of suicidal ideation was higher among respondents who reported both problematic cannabis and alcohol use (25.8%) than single users of alcohol (23.2%) and cannabis (18.7%). Younger respondents (16–34 years) and those who reported other coping behaviors that were not particularly adaptive or helpful were independent factors that were associated with the common experience of suicide ideation, problematic cannabis, and alcohol use. Having a diagnosis of mental health disorders either before or during the pandemic, and the perceived inability to bounce back after the pandemic (low resilience) are strong correlates of suicidal ideation. Those who lived alone, between 35 and 55 years of age were more likely to report problematic alcohol use. Those who reported coping strategies that were deemed more adaptive, who reported pandemic stress, and declared a LGBTQIA2S + identity had higher probability of problematic cannabis use.
Conclusions
As the pandemic persists, improving access to suicide and substance use interventions for the vulnerable groups identified in this study may be impactful.
Classification of Pressure and Diabetic Chronic Wound Tissue Images with Deep Learning Methods
Authors: Eldem Hüseyin , Ülker Erkan , Işıklı Osman Yaşar
Published: September 2022

Pressure wounds are skin injuries that occur due to prolonged inactivity of the patient. They reduce blood flow. They cause muscle and skin ischemia, which leads to necrosis and cell death. The automatic classification of pressure sores according to international principles allows rapid recommendation of appropriate treatment methods. In this way, life quality of patients will be increased by ensuring that the treatments to be applied are efficient. Diabetes foot wounds are among the current serious and chronic diseases and are among the wound types that threaten life and reduce the quality of life. In the literature, there are mostly studies that make binary classification (ulcer-nonulcer) showing which type pressure and diabetic foot ulcers belong to. In this study, the impact of recently popular deep learning methods in image processing for tissue classification of pressure and diabetic wound images is discussed. Deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures were used to determine which of the granule, necrotic and slough classes wound images belong to, according to their characteristics on the tissue. In this study, in which 19 CNN architectures were discussed, CNN architectures that give successful results on the dataset were observed. In addition, the effect of Maximum Epoch Number (ME), Initial learning rate (LR) and Minibatch size (MBS) parameter values used in the architectures were also researched. In the experiments performed on 1045 pressure and 1045 diabetic wound images collected from different patients from the Wound Care Unit of Karaman Education and Research Hospital, the best results were obtained with the AlexNet architecture with an Accuracy value of 95.83%. Optimum values of ME, LR and MBS parameter values were also found in parameter optimization tests. Comparisons were made with the results of studies on similar wound datasets in the literature, and it was shown that AlexNet and VGG16 architectures achieved competitive results.
Risk factors associated with post-weaning diarrhoea in Austrian piglet-producing farms
Authors: Renzhammer René , Vetter Sebastian , Dolezal Marlies , Schwarz Lukas , Käsbohrer Annemarie , Ladinig Andrea
Published: September 2022

Post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) is a frequent, multifactorial disease of piglets leading to increased mortality rates and high economic losses. Due to the emergence of multi-resistant Escherichia coli isolates and the ban of zinc oxide (ZnO) in the EU since June 2022, alternative measures to prevent PWD are urgently needed. While an abundance of feed supplements is described to prevent PWD, there are hardly any studies reflecting the current situation of PWD in the field. Thus, we aimed to identify differences in management practices, housing and feeding strategies between farms with PWD and farms without PWD. Data were personally collected using a semi-structured questionnaire in 257 Austrian piglet-producing farms. Farms with PWD in more than 10% of all weaned groups within twelve months prior to data collection were defined as case farms (n = 101). Data from 237 farms and 69 explanatory variables were analysed via penalized binary logistic regression using elastic-net in 100 different splits into randomly selected training- and test datasets (80:20). Treatment with ZnO and/or colistin (136 farms) was negatively associated with PWD in all splits and had the biggest estimated absolute log odds ratio out of all tested variables. Implementation of an all-in/all-out system in the nursery units and administration of probiotics or horseradish also had preventative effects in most splits (≥ 97%). A higher number of feeding phases for piglets within the first seven weeks of life and housing on fully slatted floors was associated negatively with the occurrence of PWD as well in > 95% of all splits. PWD was more likely to occur on farms having problems with neonatal diarrhoea or postpartum dysgalactia syndrome. While our data demonstrate that treatment with ZnO or colistin had the biggest statistical effect on PWD, we were able to identify other preventative measures like supplementation with probiotics or horseradish. Since implementation of all-in/all-out measures and fully slatted floors were also negatively associated with the occurrence of PWD on visited farms, we assume that reduction of bacterial load by the implementation of simple hygiene measures are still crucial to prevent PWD.
On the solution arising in two-cylinders electrostatics
Authors: Chen Jeng-Tzong , Kao Shing-Kai , Chou Yeng-Ting , Tai Wei-Chen
Published: September 2022

The electrostatics of two cylinders charged to the symmetrical or anti-symmetrical potential is studied by using the null-field boundary integral equation (BIE) in conjunction with the degenerate kernel in terms of bipolar coordinates. The undetermined coefficient is obtained according to the Fredholm alternative theorem. Uniqueness of solution, infinite solution and no solution is therein discussed. A single cylinder case (circle or ellipse) is also provided for comparison. The link to the general solution space is also done. The condition at infinity is also correspondingly examined. The flux equilibrium along the circular boundaries and the infinite boundary is also checked as well as the contribution of the boundary integral (single and double layer potential) along the infinite boundary in the BIE is addressed. The ordinary and degenerate scales in the BIE are both investigated. Solution space limited by the BIE is also explained after comparing with the general solution. Identities between the present result and those in the literature of Darevski and Lekner results in Russia and NewZealand, respectively, is also constructed.
Characterization and simulation methods for acoustoelastic effect in the ribbed plate structure
Authors: TANG Tao , Zhigao XU , Jiazhao CHEN , ZHANG Youhong , ZHANG Yuxiang
Published: September 2022

The acoustoelastic effect in complex structures is gradually focused by scholars. However, there are no valid methods to characterize and simulate the acoustoelastic effects in complex structures such as ribbed plate structures. Therefore, this paper proposes methods to characterize the acoustoelastic effects in such structures respectively based on wave propagation delay and eigenfrequency, and then develops corresponding simulation methods for acoustoelastic effects of the representative cross-sections of the ribbed plate structure. Finally, the acoustoelastic effects in cross-sections of ribbed plate structures with different fillet radii are characterized based on the Degree of Acoustoelastic Effects (DAEE) defined by wave propagation delay and eigenfrequency respectively, and the related laws of DAEE are summarized.