bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of communication on the work performance of Chinese seafarers on board
Authors: An Ji , Gao Wenting , Liu Runze , Liu Ziqi
Published: October 2022

Effective communication among seafarers is an important part of ship resource management. The improvement of effective internal communication among seafarers has an important impact on the improvement of work performance. This paper conducts an empirical study to determine which factors are related to the impact of seafarers’ communication on work performance. A questionnaire was designed to investigate 339 seafarers from different companies, different ship types and different ranks. The hypotheses were tested and analysed by five-point Likert scale, hierarchical regression analysis and path analysis. The findings of the study show that communication frequency and communication quality have a significant positive effect on performance. The effect of communication quality on performance is greater than the effect of communication frequency on performance. Two dimensions of team diversity – knowledge and skill diversity – have a significant positive impact on communication quality. Based on the questionnaire and relevant analysis, this paper puts forward some suggestions to improve the seafarer's work performance from the perspective of communication.
Emergency Service Assistance for Injuries on Alpine Ski Slopes: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Wagner Moritz , Pfurtscheller Simon , Dammerer Dietmar , Nardelli Paul , Kaufmann Gerhard , Brunner Alexander
Published: October 2022

Objectives:

Injuries on alpine ski slopes have been described in cohorts of a reasonable sample size, but constant improvements in safety gear, increased use of airborne rescue, and safety measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic mandate re-evaluation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate skiing and snowboarding injuries, effectiveness of airborne rescue, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a large sample size.

Methods:

Data on alpine injuries were prospectively collected from the state emergency services dispatch center in the state of Tyrol (Austria). A total of 10,143 patients were identified, with an average age of 33.5 years (SD = 20.36). The ski patrol was involved in 8,606 cases (84.9%) and some patients (n = 1,536; 15.1%) required helicopter rescue.

Results:

A total of 10,143 patients were identified from the dataset of the emergency dispatch center. The most frequently injured region was the knee (30.2%), and it was followed by the shoulder (12.9%), the lower leg (9.5%), and the head/skull (9.5%).

Conclusion:

The present findings indicate that the most frequent site of injuries on alpine slopes is the knee, and life-threatening injuries are rare. Airborne rescue is very time-effective, however clinical studies with patient follow-up should be emphasized to determine the impact of airborne rescue on patient outcome. The present findings indicate that the duration of all rescue operations has been prolonged as a result of the introduction of safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neuropsychological functioning predicts psychosocial adjustment after postacute rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury
Authors: Feiger Jeremy A. , Snell Jeffry , Chiou Kathy S.
Published: October 2022

Objectives:

To examine neuropsychological functioning as a predictor of psychosocial adjustment difficulties at discharge from a postacute residential rehabilitation facility for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and depression as a potential mediator.

Methods:

A retrospective record review was conducted of 172 adults who received rehabilitation services for TBI. Individuals completed a full battery of neuropsychological tests, depression assessment, and functional assessments at admission. Functional assessments were also obtained at discharge.

Results:

A two-phase structural equation model analysis was performed. The first phase specified a good fitting model of a cognitive functioning (CF) latent construct with four indicators of cognitive domains measuring verbal fluency, cognitive flexibility, verbal learning, and working memory. Worse CF was associated with greater psychosocial adjustment impairment at discharge, but not related to depression. Psychosocial adjustment impairment at admission was positively associated with depression when controlling for CF, however depression did not predict psychosocial adjustment at discharge. Thus, depression was not found to be a significant mediator of psychosocial adjustment impairment at discharge.

Conclusions:

Results provide support for neuropsychological functioning at the start of postacute rehabilitation for TBI as an important predictor of psychosocial functioning difficulties that remain upon discharge and highlights the need to examine mechanisms beyond depression.
Disclosure of enterprises' environmental violations: evidence from Chinese public supervision
Authors: Shi Beibei , Yang Fei , Kang Rong
Published: October 2022

Environmental violation by enterprises is a common problem in environmental management worldwide. To restrict enterprises' environmental pollution behaviors, China has implemented a public supervision system based on environmental information publicity, which guides the public to participate in environmental governance and supervises enterprises' environmental pollution behaviors. This study exploits a quasi-natural experiment based on the disclosure policy of the Pollution Information Transparency Index in China from 2008 and the difference-in-differences method to evaluate the disclosure effect of public supervision on enterprises' environmental violations, and to examine its environmental benefits and their realization path. We find that the public supervision system is conducive to the disclosure of enterprises' environmental violations. At the same time, public supervision has achieved the expected environmental benefits, mainly realized by reducing enterprises' output to reduce polluting emissions, and this mechanism is more obvious for high-polluting enterprises.
Orthographic and semantic priming effects in neighbour cognates: Experiments and simulations
Authors: Dijkstra Ton , Peeters David , Hieselaar Wessel , van Geffen Aaron
Published: October 2022

To investigate how orthography and semantics interact during bilingual visual word recognition, Dutch–English bilinguals made lexical decisions in two masked priming experiments. Dutch primes and English targets were presented that were either neighbour cognates (boek – BOOK), noncognate translations (kooi – CAGE), orthographically related neighbours (neus – NEWS), or unrelated words (huid - COAT). Prime durations of 50 ms (Experiment 1) and 83 ms (Experiment 2) led to similar result patterns. Both experiments reported a large cognate facilitation effect, a smaller facilitatory noncognate translation effect, and the absence of inhibitory orthographic neighbour effects. These results indicate that cognate facilitation is in large part due to orthographic-semantic resonance. Priming results for each condition were simulated well (all r's >.50) by Multilink+, a recent computational model for word retrieval. Limitations to the role of lateral inhibition in bilingual word recognition are discussed.
The role of dietary carotenoids in preventing the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Lu Yingjie , Zhao Wenjing , Xie Peng , Lin Sihao , Li Jun , Tse Lap Ah , Lu Jiahai , Ren Zefang , Liu Xudong
Published: October 2022

Abstract: Background and aims: Experimental studies showed that carotenoids had anti-carcinogenic properties, but epidemiological studies on the association between dietary carotenoids and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) risk were limited, and the findings were inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the roles of intake of dietary carotenoids in the development of ESCC among a rural Chinese population. Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted in Southwest China. A total of 915 incident ESCC cases and 925 community-based controls were included. A validated food frequency questionnaire with 76-item was adopted to collect information about dietary consumption. Intake of dietary calories and each carotenoid was calculated according to the China food composition tables. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by a logistic regression model, with adjustments for age, gender, body mass index, family cancer history, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, education, marital status, prudent pattern score, and total calories. Results: In comparison to the highest with lowest intake quartiles, intake of total carotenes (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.52–0.96, Ptrend: 0.024), α-carotene (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.46–0.83, Ptrend: 0.014), β-carotene (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.46–0.86, P-trend: 0.005), and the sum of lutein and zeaxanthin (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.29–0.56, Ptrend<0.001) was significantly associated with a decreased risk of ESCC after adjustment for confounders. Conclusions: The results indicated that a higher intake of total carotene, α-carotene, β-carotene, and the sum of lutein and zeaxanthin was associated with a lower risk of ESCC.
Under‐Ice Hydrography of the La Grande River Plume in Relation to a Ten‐Fold Increase in Wintertime Discharge
Authors: Peck Christopher J. , Kuzyk Zou Zou A. , Heath Joel P. , Lameboy John , Ehn Jens K.
Published: October 2022

A large under‐ice plume forms because of the regulated winter discharge from the La Grande River hydroelectric complex (NE James Bay, Canada), which is among the largest winter discharges in the circumpolar north. In 2016–2017, field campaigns were completed to characterize the under‐ice plume's structure, extent, and short‐term dynamics related to tides, weather, and discharge. Amid concerns of the freshwater's impact on eelgrass, the lateral spreading of the under‐ice plume into inshore areas was also assessed. When discharges averaged 4,800 m3 s−1 throughout the January–March periods, the freshwater influence of La Grande River extended more than 100 km north along the James Bay coast, with the brackish (salinity <25) under‐ice plume more than three times larger than for a natural winter discharge of ∼460 m3 s−1. The core area of the under‐ice plume, defined as the area with a highly stratified water column and surface layer of salinity <5, extended 30–35 km north and >20 km south. It was stable throughout the January–March 2016–2017 periods and, despite 30% higher winter discharge, was not significantly larger compared to survey periods in 1984–1987. This stability appears to be due to coastal geometry and width of the landfast ice cover, under which the plume can spread with limited mixing. Inshore salinity was about 5–10 units lower in winter versus the open‐water period. The seasonal duration of reduced salinity at eelgrass habitats will depend on landfast ice duration as well as river discharge magnitude.
On the Migrating Speed of Free Alternate Bars
Authors: Ishihara Michihide , Yasuda Hiroyasu
Published: October 2022

Free alternate bars exhibit wave properties. However, there has been a significant lack of research regarding these wave properties, including the migration speed. In this study, we quantified the migration speed M for bars and identified the dominant variable exerting control over M. Experiments were performed in a laboratory flume under controlled steady state conditions to ensure the development of alternate bars; in addition, the bed level and flow depth were continuously measured. We derive a hyperbolic partial differential equation (HPDE) for the bed level by assuming that the bed level is a continuous function and the advection velocity of the function equals M. Then, to verify the HPDE, we show that it adequately describes the temporal variation in the bed level that is measured experimentally. The advection velocity of the HPDE can be used to calculate M from the energy slope and the Shields number, enabling the calculation of the spatial and temporal variations of M in the experiments. The formula for M showed that the magnitude of M is three to four orders of magnitude smaller than the velocity of the uniform flow. Then, we show that M obtained from the proposed formula is in agreement with those obtained from an instability analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed formula is applicable to actual rivers, in which the scale and conditions differ from those in the experiments.
The Poverty Impacts of Labor Heat Stress in West Africa Under a Warming Climate
Authors: Saeed W. , Haqiqi I. , Kong Q. , Huber M. , Buzan J. R. , Chonabayashi S. , Motohashi K. , Hertel T. W.
Published: October 2022

This paper assesses the poverty implications of heat stress‐related labor capacity losses based on simulations using a global general equilibrium economic model. Compared with past studies, we use a more precise measurement of heat stress, assign labor capacity losses to specific labor types by sector, and employ an economic model that contains highly disaggregated economic sectors and regions. This model allows us to determine global and regional economic impacts that account for international dependencies. We focus attention on seven West African countries for which we determine the implied changes in real incomes of households near the poverty line. For these countries, we use household microsimulations to determine potential impacts on the poverty headcount. In our results, poverty impacts are heterogeneous across countries and earning sources‐based household strata. A key channel behind this heterogeneity is how loss of labor productivity affects the relative returns to factors of production. We find that unskilled agricultural wages could increase, as loss of productivity in the face of inelastic food demand induces increased labor demand in order to dampen agricultural output losses. In our experiments, even neglecting potential increases in mortality and morbidity, poverty increases range from 2.3% in Cameroon to up to 7.2%–9.2% in Ghana and Nigeria. In one of the seven countries considered, Guinea, poverty sees little change due to the mitigating effects of rising labor wages.
Statistic Properties of Electron Energy Enhancement During the Inner Electron Diffusion Region Crossing
Authors: Xiong Q. Y. , Huang S. Y. , Yuan Z. G. , Jiang K. , Xu S. B. , Wei Y. Y. , Zhang J. , Wang Z. , Yu L. , Lin R. T. , Li Y. Y.
Published: October 2022

Magnetic reconnection can efficiently heat and accelerate the electrons through various approaches and mechanisms. The electron diffusion region (EDR), especially the inner EDR, is one of the energization areas for the electrons during the reconnection. How the electrons' energy changes when passing the inner EDR is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the electron energy change from the individual perspective using the full kinetic particle‐in‐cell simulation. It is revealed that the electron energy gain rate is related to both traveling time and path in the inner EDR. The energy from the magnetic field tends to be allocated to the electron perpendicular part and the random thermal part. Our results promote the understanding of the function of the inner EDR during magnetic reconnection.
Measuring Estuarine Total Exchange Flow From Discrete Observations
Authors: Lemagie E. P. , Giddings S. N. , MacCready P. , Seaton C. , Wu X.
Published: October 2022

The exchange between estuaries and the coastal ocean is a key dynamical driver impacting nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations and regulating estuarine residence time, hypoxia, and acidification. Estuarine exchange flows can be particularly challenging to monitor because many systems have strong vertical and lateral velocity shear and sharp gradients in water properties that vary over space and time, requiring high‐resolution measurements in order to accurately constrain the flux. The total exchange flow (TEF) method provides detailed information about the salinity structure of the exchange, but requires observations (or model resolution) that resolve the time and spatial co‐variability of salinity and currents. The goal of this analysis is to provide recommendations for measuring TEF with the most efficient spatial sampling resolution. Results from three realistic hydrodynamic models were investigated. These model domains included three estuary types: a bay (San Diego Bay), a salt‐wedge (Columbia River), and a fjord (Salish Sea). Model fields were sampled using three different mooring strategies, varying the number of mooring locations (lateral resolution) and sample depths (vertical resolution) with each method. The exchange volume transport was more sensitive than salinity to the sampling resolution. Most (>90%) of the exchange flow magnitude was captured by three to four moorings evenly distributed across the estuarine channel with a minimum threshold of 1–5 sample depths, which varied depending on the vertical stratification. These results can improve our ability to observe and monitor the exchange and transport of water masses efficiently with limited resources.
Measuring the magnetic topological spin structure of light using an anapole probe
Authors: Meng Fanfei , Yang Aiping , Du Kang , Jia Fengyang , Lei Xinrui , Mei Ting , Du Luping , Yuan Xiaocong
Published: October 2022

Topological spin structures of light, including the Skyrmion, Meron, and bi-Meron, are intriguing optical phenomena that arise from spin–orbit coupling. They have promising potential applications in nano-metrology, data storage, super-resolved imaging and chiral detection. Aside from the electric part of optical spin, of equal importance is the magnetic part, particularly the H-type electromagnetic modes for which the spin topological properties of the field are dominated by the magnetic field. However, their observation and measurement remains absent and faces difficult challenges. Here, we design a unique type of anapole probe to measure specifically the photonic spin structures dominated by magnetic fields. The probe is composed of an Ag-core and Si-shell nanosphere, which manifests as a pure magnetic dipole with no electric response. The effectiveness of the method was validated by characterizing the magnetic field distributions of various focused vector beams. It was subsequently employed to measure the magnetic topological spin structures, including individual Skyrmions and Meron/Skyrmion lattices for the first time. The proposed method may be a powerful tool to characterize the magnetic properties of optical spin and valuable in advancing spin photonics.
Guiding flow of light with supersymmetry
Authors: Huang Can , Song Qinghai
Published: October 2022

The continuous supersymmetry transformation is applied to the silicon waveguides, and the guidance and conversion of any mode in a wide spectral range are successfully realized in experiments. This proves its great potential in optical spatial mode modulation and space division multiplexing in optical communication.
Modeling human telencephalic development and autism-associated SHANK3 deficiency using organoids generated from single neural rosettes
Authors: Wang Yueqi , Chiola Simone , Yang Guang , Russell Chad , Armstrong Celeste J. , Wu Yuanyuan , Spampanato Jay , Tarboton Paisley , Ullah H. M. Arif , Edgar Nicolas U. , Chang Amelia N. , Harmin David A. , Bocchi Vittoria Dickinson , Vezzoli Elena , Besusso Dario , Cui Jun , Cattaneo Elena , Kubanek Jan , Shcheglovitov Aleksandr
Published: October 2022

Human telencephalon is an evolutionarily advanced brain structure associated with many uniquely human behaviors and disorders. However, cell lineages and molecular pathways implicated in human telencephalic development remain largely unknown. We produce human telencephalic organoids from stem cell-derived single neural rosettes and investigate telencephalic development under normal and pathological conditions. We show that single neural rosette-derived organoids contain pallial and subpallial neural progenitors, excitatory and inhibitory neurons, as well as macroglial and periendothelial cells, and exhibit predictable organization and cytoarchitecture. We comprehensively characterize the properties of neurons in SNR-derived organoids and identify transcriptional programs associated with the specification of excitatory and inhibitory neural lineages from a common pool of NPs early in telencephalic development. We also demonstrate that neurons in organoids with a hemizygous deletion of an autism- and intellectual disability-associated geneSHANK3exhibit intrinsic and excitatory synaptic deficits and impaired expression of several clustered protocadherins. Collectively, this study validates SNR-derived organoids as a reliable model for studying human telencephalic cortico-striatal development and identifies intrinsic, synaptic, and clustered protocadherin expression deficits in human telencephalic tissue withSHANK3hemizygosity.
Continuously tunable ferroelectric domain width down to the single-atomic limit in bismuth tellurite
Authors: Han Mengjiao , Wang Cong , Niu Kangdi , Yang Qishuo , Wang Chuanshou , Zhang Xi , Dai Junfeng , Wang Yujia , Ma Xiuliang , Wang Junling , Kang Lixing , Ji Wei , Lin Junhao
Published: October 2022

Emerging functionalities in two-dimensional materials, such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity and ferroelectricity, open new avenues for promising nanoelectronic applications. Here, we report the discovery of intrinsic in-plane room-temperature ferroelectricity in two-dimensional Bi2TeO5 grown by chemical vapor deposition, where spontaneous polarization originates from Bi column displacements. We found an intercalated buffer layer consist of mixed Bi/Te column as 180° domain wall which enables facile polarized domain engineering, including continuously tunable domain width by pinning different concentration of buffer layers, and even ferroelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition when the polarization unit is pinned down to single atomic column. More interestingly, the intercalated Bi/Te buffer layer can interconvert to polarized Bi columns which end up with series terraced domain walls and unusual fan-shaped ferroelectric domain. The buffer layer induced size and shape tunable ferroelectric domain in two-dimensional Bi2TeO5 offer insights into the manipulation of functionalities in van der Waals materials for future nanoelectronics.
Cathepsin L-containing exosomes from α-synuclein-activated microglia induce neurotoxicity through the P2X7 receptor
Authors: Jiang Tianfang , Xu Chuanying , Gao Shane , Zhang Jia , Zheng Jia , Wu Xiaolin , Lu Qiuyun , Cao Limei , Yang Danjing , Xu Jun , Chen Xu
Published: October 2022

Uncontrolled microglial activation is pivotal to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), which can secrete Cathepsin L (CTSL) to affect the survival of neurons in the PD patients; however, the precise mechanism has yet to be determined. We demonstrated for the first time that CTSL was mostly released by exosomes derived from α-Syn-activated microglia, resulting in neuronal damage and death. The elevation of CTSL activity was blocked by GW4869, suggesting a critical role for exosomes in mediating CTSL release. Furthermore, the P2X7R/PI3K/AKT signalling pathway was identified as the underlying molecular mechanism since specific antagonists of this signalling pathway, P2X7R knockdown and exosome release inhibitors significantly reduced the injury to cultured mouse cortical neurons. Our study suggests that increased extracellular release of CTSL from α-Syn-activated microglia through exosomes amplifies and aggravates of the neurotoxic effect of microglia, implying that CTSL may be involved in a fresh mechanism of PD pathogenesis, and serve as a potential biomarker and a target for PD drug development.
Intelligent identification of rock mass structural plane and stability analysis of rock slope block
Authors: Zhang Jinhou
Published: October 2022

The blocking problem caused by structural plane cutting is often the primary problem in evaluating the stability of rock mass engineering. The geometric parameters of the block structural plane are important research bases for analyzing block stability. In order to solve the problems of low efficiency, heavy workload, and high subjectivity in the traditional acquisition of structural plane occurrence information, taking the slope at the entrance of Suichang Gold Mine National Mine Park as the research background, this paper studies the rapid extraction method of structural plane information based on three-dimensional laser scanning data, and puts forward the process and data processing method of using a 3D laser scanner to collect slope block structural information to obtain point cloud data. Based on the coordinate projection principle and MATLAB, the rock slope block stability analysis CPG program was developed, which realized the whole process from data acquisition to block stability analysis. The research results are essential for identifying structural plane and block stability analysis and can provide theoretical and technical support for practical engineering applications.
A thermodynamic framework to identify apposite refrigerant former for hydrate-based applications
Authors: Dongre Harshal J. , Deshmukh Aman , Jana Amiya K.
Published: October 2022

High latent heat storage capacity with naturally assisted salt rejection makes the clathrate compounds appropriate for applications towards load management and desalination processes. Adding to these energy savings are the ease of operations provided by water and the mild conditions at which the refrigerant hydrates are occurred. A direct comparison between these hydrates becomes unfeasible due to the scattered experimental data. Though thermodynamics can streamline this dispersed data, they are currently limited to being a proof of concept most accurately representing the experimental observations. We address this critical deficit of phase assessment and identify, from among R13, R14, R22, R23, R125, R134a and R152a, the most suitable hydrate former for the concerned application. An approach based on van der Waals and Platteeuw model is undertaken and the estimates are quantified in terms of percent average absolute relative deviations (% AARD). An average AARD of 1.75% and 2.68% is observed in pure and aqueous electrolytic phase of NaCl, KCl, CaCl2and MgCl2, respectively. The model predictions are then estimated at temperature/salinity of 281 K/0 wt% and 284 K/3.5 wt%. Together with the qualitative assessment of the hydrate phase, viz, vapor pressure, compressibility and dissociation enthalpy, R152a refrigerant is observed to be the appropriate former for applications to both load management and desalination.
Genetic and particle modelling approaches to assessing population connectivity in a deep sea lobster
Authors: van der Reis Aimee L. , Norrie Craig R. , Jeffs Andrew G. , Lavery Shane D. , Carroll Emma L.
Published: October 2022

The emergence of high resolution population genetic techniques, such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), in combination with recent advances in particle modelling of larval dispersal in marine organisms, can deliver powerful new insights to support fisheries conservation and management. In this study, we used this combination to investigate the population connectivity of a commercial deep sea lobster species, the New Zealand scampi, Metanephrops challengeri, which ranges across a vast area of seafloor around New Zealand. This species has limited dispersal capabilities, including larvae with weak swimming abilities and short pelagic duration, while the reptant juvenile/adult stages of the lifecycle are obligate burrow dwellers with limited home ranges. Ninety-one individuals, collected from five scampi fishery management areas around New Zealand, were genotyped using GBS. Using 983 haplotypic genomic loci, three genetically distinct groups were identified: eastern, southern and western. These groups showed significant genetic differentiation with clear source-sink dynamics. The direction of gene flow inferred from the genomic data largely reflected the hydrodynamic particle modelling of ocean current flow around New Zealand. The modelled dispersal during pelagic larval phase highlights the strong connectivity among eastern sampling locations and explains the low genetic differentiation detected among these sampled areas. Our results highlight the value of using a transdisciplinary approach in the inference of connectivity among populations for informing conservation and fishery management.
Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing in older adults in Central and Eastern Europe: a systematic review and synthesis without meta-analysis
Authors: Brkic Jovana , Fialova Daniela , Okuyan Betul , Kummer Ingrid , Sesto Sofija , Capiau Andreas , Hadziabdic Maja Ortner , Tachkov Konstantin , Bobrova Veera
Published: October 2022

We aimed to systematically review the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in older adults in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in all care settings. We searched Embase and MEDLINE (up to June 2019) and checked the reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews. Eligible studies used validated explicit or implicit tools to assess the PIP prevalence in older adults in CEE. All study designs were considered, except case‒control studies and case series. We assessed the risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute Prevalence Critical Appraisal Tool and the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach. Meta-analysis was inappropriate due to heterogeneity in the outcome measurements. Therefore, we used the synthesis without meta-analysis approach—summarizing effect estimates method. This review included twenty-seven studies with 139,693 participants. Most studies were cross-sectional and conducted in high-income countries. The data synthesis across 26 studies revealed the PIP prevalence: the median was 34.6%, the interquartile range was 25.9–63.2%, and the range was 6.5–95.8%. The certainty of this evidence was very low due to the risk of bias, imprecision, and inconsistency. These findings show that PIP is a prevalent issue in the CEE region. Further well-designed studies conducted across countries are needed to strengthen the existing evidence and increase the generalizability of findings.
Anti-hyperalgesic effects of photobiomodulation therapy (904 nm) on streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy imply MAPK pathway and calcium dynamics modulation
Authors: Vieira Willians Fernando , Malange Kauê Franco , de Magalhães Silviane Fernandes , Lemes Júlia Borges Paes , dos Santos Gilson Gonçalves , Nishijima Catarine Massucato , de Oliveira Alexandre Leite Rodrigues , da Cruz-Höfling Maria Alice , Tambeli Cláudia Herrera , Parada Carlos Amilcar
Published: October 2022

Several recent studies have established the efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in painful clinical conditions. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) can be related to activating mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), such as p38, in the peripheral nerve. MAPK pathway is activated in response to extracellular stimuli, including interleukins TNF-α and IL-1β. We verified the pain relief potential of PBMT in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic neuropathic rats and its influence on the MAPK pathway regulation and calcium (Ca2+) dynamics. We then observed that PBMT applied to the L4-L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) region reduced the intensity of hyperalgesia, decreased TNF-α and IL-1β levels, and p38-MAPK mRNA expression in DRG of diabetic neuropathic rats. DN induced the activation of phosphorylated p38 (p-38) MAPK co-localized with TRPV1+neurons; PBMT partially prevented p-38 activation. DN was related to an increase of p38-MAPK expression due to proinflammatory interleukins, and the PBMT (904 nm) treatment counteracted this condition. Also, the sensitization of DRG neurons by the hyperglycemic condition demonstrated during the Ca2+dynamics was reduced by PBMT, contributing to its anti-hyperalgesic effects.
Dietary exposure of radionuclides and heavy metals in adult residents in a high background natural radiation area using duplicate diet method
Authors: Yang Baolu , Tuo Fei , Zhou Qiang , Zhang Jing , Li Zeshu , Pang Chaoya
Published: October 2022

Intake of radionuclides and heavy metals through food consumption is one of the important pathways for long-term health considerations. In this paper, the dietary exposure to radionuclides (210Pb, 210Po, 226Ra, 228Ra, 40K, 137Cs and 129I) and heavy metals (As, Hg, Pb, Cd and U) of adult residents in the high background natural radiation area (HBNRA) in Yangjiang, China, was comprehensively assessed using duplicate diet method. The estimated effective dose received by the inhabitants in HBNRA from ingestion of radionuclides was 0.33 mSv/y, and the associated lifetime cancer risk was 1.1 × 10–3. Both the dose and cancer risk to humans were at the acceptable range, and showed no difference between the HBNRA and the control area. With respect to heavy metals, the estimated daily intake of heavy metals (DIM) values for As, Hg, Pb, Cd and U in HBNRA were 0.47, 0.03, 15.0, 0.26 and 0.04 μg/kg bw/d, respectively, and the corresponding target hazard quotient (THQ) were 1.58, 0.09, 3.7, 2.56, 0.18. The DIM and THQ of Cd and U in HBNRA were similar to the control area, but the DIM and THQ of Pb were much higher than the corresponding values of 0.39 and 0.03 in the control area. The hazard index (HI) value of heavy metals in HBNRA was almost twice that of the control area. This suggests that the inhabitants in the HBNRA may have a health risk associated with the heavy metals.
Direct and indirect comparisons in network meta-analysis of SuperPATH, direct anterior and posterior approaches in total hip arthroplasty
Authors: Ramadanov Nikolai , Bueschges Simon , Liu Kuiliang , Lazaru Philip , Marintschev Ivan
Published: October 2022

SuperPATH is a novel approach to the hip joint that needs to be compared to other known surgical approaches. To conduct a network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing short-term outcomes of SuperPATH, direct anterior (DAA), and posterior/ posterolateral approaches (PA) in total hip joint arthroplasty (THA). We performed a systematic review on PubMed, CNKI, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Clinical trials, and Google Scholar up to November 30th, 2021. We assessed treatment effects between SuperPATH, DAA, and PA by performing a frequentist NMA, including a total of 20 RCTs involving 1501 patients. SuperPATH showed a longer operation time (MD = 16.99, 95% CI 4.92 to 29.07), a shorter incision length (MD = −4.71, 95% CI −6.21 to −3.22), a lower intraoperative blood loss (MD = −81.75, 95% CI  −114.78 to −48.72), a higher HHS 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively (MD = 2.59, 95% CI 0.59–4.6; MD = 2.14, 95% CI 0.5–3.77; MD = 0.6, 95% CI 0.03–1.17, respectively) than PA. DAA showed a higher intraoperative blood loss than PA and SuperPATH (MD = 91.87, 95% CI  27.99–155.74; MD = 173.62, 95% CI 101.71–245.53, respectively). No other relevant differences were found. In conclusion, the overall findings suggested that the short-term outcomes of THA through SuperPATH were statistically superior to PA. DAA and PA as well as SuperPATH and DAA showed indifferent results.
Connectivity modelling in conservation science: a comparative evaluation
Authors: Unnithan Kumar Siddharth , Cushman Samuel A.
Published: October 2022

Landscape connectivity, the extent to which a landscape facilitates the flow of ecological processes such as organism movement, has grown to become a central focus of applied ecology and conservation science. Several computational algorithms have been developed to understand and map connectivity, and many studies have validated their predictions using empirical data. Yet at present, there is no published comparative analysis which uses a comprehensive simulation framework to measure the accuracy and performance of the dominant methods in connectivity modelling. Given the widespread usage of such models in spatial ecology and conservation science, a thorough evaluation of their predictive abilities using simulation techniques is essential for guiding their appropriate and effective application across different contexts. In this paper, we address this by using the individual-based movement model Pathwalker to simulate different connectivity scenarios generated from a wide range of possible movement behaviours and spatial complexities. With this simulated data, we test the predictive abilities of three major connectivity models: factorial least-cost paths, resistant kernels, and Circuitscape. Our study shows the latter two of these three models to consistently perform most accurately in nearly all cases, with their abilities varying substantially in different contexts. For the majority of conservation applications, we infer resistant kernels to be the most appropriate model, except for when the movement is strongly directed towards a known location. We conclude this paper with a review and interdisciplinary discussion of the current limitations and possible future developments of connectivity modelling.
A multi-omics-based investigation of the prognostic and immunological impact of necroptosis-related mRNA in patients with cervical squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma
Authors: Zou Jiani , Lin Zhiheng , Jiao Wenjian , Chen Jun , Lin Lidong , Zhang Fang , Zhang Xiaodan , Zhao Junde
Published: October 2022

Necroptosis is a kind of programmed necrosis mode that plays a double-edged role in tumor progression. However, the role of necroptosis-related Messenger RNA (mRNA) in predicting the prognosis and immune response of cervical squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma (CESC) has not been fully studied. Firstly, the incidence of somatic mutation rate and copy number variation for 74 necroptosis-related mRNAs (NRmRNAs) were analyzed. Secondly, CESC patients were divided into four stable clusters based on the consensus clustering results and analyzed for correlations with a series of clinical factors. Subsequently, a total of 291 The Cancer Genome Atlas samples were randomly divided into either training or validation cohorts. A Cox proportional hazard model consisting of three NRmRNAs (CXCL8, CLEC9A, and TAB2) was constructed by univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and multivariate COX regression analysis to identify the prognosis and immune response. Its performance and stability were further validated in another testing dataset (GSE44001) from Gene Expression Omnibus database. The results of the receiver operating characteristic curve, principal component analysis, t-SNE, and nomogram indicated that the prognostic model we constructed can serve as an independent prognostic factor. The combination of the prognostic model and the classic TNM staging system could improve the performance in predicting the survival of CESC patients. In addition, differentially expressed genes from high and low-risk patients are screened by R software for functional analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. Besides, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis revealed that tumor-killing immune cells were reduced in the high-risk group. Moreover, patients in the low-risk group are more likely to benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. The analysis of tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion scores, M6A-related genes, stem cell correlation and Tumor mutational burden data with clinical information has quantified the expression levels of NRmRNAs between the two risk subgroups. According to tumor immune microenvironment scores, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and drug sensitivity, immunotherapy may have a higher response rate and better efficacy in patients of the low-risk subgroup. In conclusion, we have reported the clinical significance of NRmRNAs for the prognosis and immune response in CESC patients for the first time. Screening of accurate and effective prognostic markers is important for designing a multi-combined targeted therapeutic strategy and the development of individualized precision medicine.
Evaluation of two semi-supervised learning methods and their combination for automatic classification of bone marrow cells
Authors: Nakamura Iori , Ida Haruhi , Yabuta Mayu , Kashiwa Wataru , Tsukamoto Maho , Sato Shigeki , Ota Syuichi , Kobayashi Naoki , Masauzi Hiromi , Okada Kazunori , Kaga Sanae , Miwa Keiko , Kanai Hiroshi , Masauzi Nobuo
Published: October 2022

Differential bone marrow (BM) cell counting is an important test for the diagnosis of various hematological diseases. However, it is difficult to accurately classify BM cells due to non-uniformity and the lack of reproducibility of differential counting. Therefore, automatic classification systems have been developed in which deep learning is used. These systems requires large and accurately labeled datasets for training. To overcome this, we used semi-supervised learning (SSL), in which learning proceeds while labeling. We used three methods: self-training (ST), active learning (AL), and a combination of these methods, and attempted to automatically classify 16 types of BM cell images. ST involves data verification, as in AL, before adding them to the training dataset (confirmed self-training: CST). After 25 rounds of CST, AL, and CST + AL, the initial number of training data increased from 425 to 40,518; 3682; and 47,843, respectively. Accuracies for the test data of 50 images for each cell type were 0.944, 0.941, and 0.976, respectively. Data added with CST or AL showed some imbalances between classes, while CST + AL exhibited fewer imbalances. We suggest that CST + AL, when combined with two SSL methods, is efficient in increasing training data for the development of automatic BM cells classification systems.
Robustness of radiomics to variations in segmentation methods in multimodal brain MRI
Authors: Poirot M. G. , Caan M. W. A. , Ruhe H. G. , Bjørnerud A. , Groote I. , Reneman L. , Marquering H. A.
Published: October 2022

Radiomics in neuroimaging uses fully automatic segmentation to delineate the anatomical areas for which radiomic features are computed. However, differences among these segmentation methods affect radiomic features to an unknown extent. A scan-rescan dataset (n = 46) of T1-weighted and diffusion tensor images was used. Subjects were split into a sleep-deprivation and a control group. Scans were segmented using four segmentation methods from which radiomic features were computed. First, we measured segmentation agreement using the Dice-coefficient. Second, robustness and reproducibility of radiomic features were measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Last, difference in predictive power was assessed using the Friedman-test on performance in a radiomics-based sleep deprivation classification application. Segmentation agreement was generally high (interquartile range = 0.77–0.90) and median feature robustness to segmentation method variation was higher (ICC > 0.7) than scan-rescan reproducibility (ICC 0.3–0.8). However, classification performance differed significantly among segmentation methods (p < 0.001) ranging from 77 to 84%. Accuracy was higher for more recent deep learning-based segmentation methods. Despite high agreement among segmentation methods, subtle differences significantly affected radiomic features and their predictive power. Consequently, the effect of differences in segmentation methods should be taken into account when designing and evaluating radiomics-based research methods.
Impact of electromagnetic stimulation on the mechanical and photophysical properties of alfalfa leaves
Authors: Dziwulska-Hunek Agata , Szymanek Mariusz , Matwijczuk Arkadiusz , Leszczyński Norbert , Niemczynowicz Agnieszka , Myśliwa-Kurdziel Beata
Published: October 2022

The aim of the study was to measure the tensile strength of 4-year-old alfalfa leaves cultivated from seeds exposed to pre-sowing stimulation with He–Ne laser light for 1 or 5 min (designated respectively as F1 and F5) and alternating magnetic field with the exposure time of 1 or 5 min (respectively, L1 and L5). The leaves were measured in terms of blade length and width as well as petiole thickness prior to the tensile test. Measurements were also conducted to determine the chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime and content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b, a + b and carotenoids). The observed tensile strength was between 1.59 and 2.45 N. In the test group, the observed strength was lower in leaves collected from the top and central section of the stem but higher in the bottom part of the stem as compared to the control. The maximum increase of the tearing tensile force relative to the control (C) was observed for the L1 and F1 stimulation samples in leaves collected from the top and bottom parts of the stem, while the maximum decrease for that force was recorded for L5 leaves from the middle and top part of the stem. Chlorophyll fluorescence lifetimes and the overall content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids) were noticeably decreased in the leaves subjected to the stressors/stimulants applied. The results obtained for F1, L5 and, L1 stimulation revealed a decrease in fluorescence lifetimes. The content of photosynthetic pigments was also decreased under the influence of laser light stimulation (L1). This was a clear indication of plant ageing.
Weighted entropic associative memory and phonetic learning
Authors: Pineda Luis A. , Morales Rafael
Published: October 2022

The Entropic Associative Memory (EAM) holds declarative but distributed representations of remembered objects. These are characterized as functions from features to discrete values in an abstract amodal space. Memory objects are registered or remembered through a declarative operation; memory recognition is defined as a logical test and cues of objects not contained in the memory are rejected directly without search; and memory retrieval is a constructive operation. In its original formulation, the content of basic memory units or cells was either on or off, hence all stored objects had the same weight or strength. In the present weighted version (W-EAM) we introduce a basic learning mechanism to the effect that the values of the cells used in the representation of an object are reinforced by the memory register operation. As memory cells are shared by different representations, the corresponding associations are reinforced too. The memory system supports a second form of learning: the distributed representation generalizes and renders a large set of potential or latent units that can used for recognizing novel inputs, which can in turn be used for improving the performance of both the deep neural networks used for modelling perception and action, and of the memory operations. This process can be performed recurrently in open-ended fashion and can be used in long term learning. An experiment in the phonetic domain using the Mexican Spanish DIMEx100 Corpus was carried out. This corpus was collected in a controlled noise-free environment, and was transcribed manually by human trained phoneticians, but consists of a relatively small number of utterances. DIMEx100 was used to produced the initial state of the perceptual and motor modules, and for testing the performance of the memory system at such state. Then the incremental learning cycle was modelled using the Spanish CIEMPIESS Corpus, consisting of a very large number of noisy untagged speech utterances collected from radio and TV. The results support the viability of the Weighted Entropic Associative Memory for modelling cognitive processes, such as phonetic representation and learning, for the construction of applications, such as speech recognition and synthesis, and as a computational model of natural memory.