bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Twitter as political acclamation
Authors: Hegelich Simon , Dhawan Saurabh , Sarhan Habiba
Published: September 2023

Acclamation as political form of communication has been used to understand political phenomena by a range of 20th century thinkers and recently has been used to analyze social media. However, if the notion of social media as acclamation is to be fruitful, it should be closely connected to inherent features of social media as technology and should be available to empirical analysis. To do so, this study follows a mixed-method approach. First, we offer a theoretical analysis of acclamation and how it links to each of the constituent parts of social media. Next, we build upon this theoretical analysis to study acclamation and social media as a matter of empirical data analysis to analyse the Tweets of the US-Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden. We apply regression models to measure the effects of acclamation. Our results show that acclamation is an essential feature of political communication but different for each President. This is in parts caused by the algorithms of Twitter which have different effects on the communication of the three Presidents. Our findings expand the idea of social media as acclamation and prove its relevance to the current political discourse.
Cultural and educational environment in the development of younger schoolchildren’s creative potential
Authors: Khotinets Vera Yu. , Shishova Evgeniya O.
Published: September 2023

The purpose of our research is to study the creative potential as psychological capacities for younger schoolchildren’s creative self-realization and self-development in various conditions of the educational environment. The methodological basis of this work is Vygotsky’s conceptual provisions according to which the human psyche is culturally determined, and a sociocultural environment is considered to be the main source and condition for the child’s mental development. The study involved younger schoolchildren (a total of 160 children from the 4th grade aged 9–10 years, n = 160, M = 9.5 years, SD = 2.6; 49% boys) from schools in Kazan (Russian Federation). We used a test of verbal creativity when studying the creative potential of younger schoolchildren, the proposed method is a Russian-language adapted version of the RAT test (remote association test) by Mednik. The Johnson Creativity Inventory was used as adapted by Tunick. To study the level of communicative control, the test “Diagnostics of communicative control” by Schneider was used. To assess the personal qualities of younger students, we used a modified version of the children’s personality questionnaire intended for 8–12 year-old children and developed by Cattell and Koan. As a result of a comprehensive expert assessment, we identified four types of schools with different severity degrees of essential characteristics of educational environments: serene, dogmatic, career and creative. According to the analysis of variance (one-dimensional one-factor ANOVA), the younger schoolchildren’s creative potential was revealed in the context of the educational environment variability and the contingency of the educational environment parameters with the personal characteristics of the children. We have empirically confirmed that in a creative educational environment with cultural content based on ethno-cultural values, patterns and norms, the development of the child is actively supported largely, with the disclosure of his creative potential. Younger schoolchildren are characterized by greater subjective agency and the capability to gain unique achievements in educational and cognitive activity.
Impacts of family care for children and the elderly on women’s employment: evidence from rural China
Authors: Miao Xinru , Han Jiqin , Wang Shaopeng , Han Bing
Published: September 2023

Introduction

China’s traditional culture makes rural women and men take on different family responsibilities.

Methods

Use “China Family Panel Studies” (CFPS) data and build Logit and propensity score matching models to empirically study the impact of children care and elderly care on rural married women going out to work. And explore the welfare effects of basic education public services in helping rural women take care of their families.

Results

The results show that caring for children has a significant hindering effect on rural married women’s job hunting. Especially for those in low-income families, the employment inhibition is most significant among women aged 20–30 with multiple children. Contrary to previous cognition, supporting the elderly has a certain weak stimulating effect. The kindergarten public services in rural areas can help women take care of their children and relieve their work pressure. The primary school public services have not played a role in alleviating them.

Discussion

This shows that there are still a large number of female laborers in rural China who are unable to go out to work due to family care. The improvement of rural basic education public services can promote more rural women going out to work. This finding will provide a policy reference for the introduction of a formal care system and the establishment of basic education public services in China.
A chronological review of COVID-19 case fatality rate and its secular trend and investigation of all-cause mortality and hospitalization during the Delta and Omicron waves in the United States: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Li Jing-Xing , Liao Pei-Lun , Wei James Cheng-Chung , Hsu Shu-Bai , Yeh Chih-Jung
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused more than 690 million deaths worldwide. Different results concerning the death rates of the Delta and Omicron variants have been recorded. We aimed to assess the secular trend of case fatality rate (CFR), identify risk factors associated with mortality following COVID-19 diagnosis, and investigate the risks of mortality and hospitalization during Delta and Omicron waves in the United States.

Methods

This study assessed 2,857,925 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States from January 2020, to June 2022. The inclusion criterion was the presence of COVID-19 diagnostic codes in electronic medical record or a positive laboratory test of the SARS-CoV-2. Statistical analysis was bifurcated into two components, longitudinal analysis and comparative analysis. To assess the discrepancies in hospitalization and mortality rates for COVID-19, we identified the prevailing periods for the Delta and Omicron variants.

Results

Longitudinal analysis demonstrated four sharp surges in the number of deaths and CFR. The CFR was persistently higher in males and older age. The CFR of Black and White remained higher than Asians since January 2022. In comparative analysis, the adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality and hospitalization were higher in Delta wave compared to the Omicron wave. Risk of all-cause mortality was found to be greater 14–30 days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, while the likelihood of hospitalization was higher in the first 14 days following a COVID-19 diagnosis in Delta wave compared with Omicron wave. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed the cumulative probability of mortality was approximately 2-fold on day 30 in Delta than in Omicron cases (log-rank p < 0.001). The mortality risk ratio between the Delta and Omicron variants was 1.671 (95% Cl 1.615–1.729, log-rank p < 0.001). Delta also had a significantly increased mortality risk over Omicron in all age groups. The CFR of people aged above 80 years was extremely high as 17.33%.

Conclusion

Male sex and age seemed to be strong and independent risk factors of mortality in COVID-19. The Delta variant appears to cause more hospitalization and death than the Omicron variant.
Transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the Brazilian state of Pará
Authors: Pinho Catarina T. , Vidal Amanda F. , Negri Rocha Tatianne Costa , Oliveira Renato R. M. , da Costa Barros Maria Clara , Closset Laura , Azevedo-Pinheiro Jhully , Braga-da-Silva Cíntia , Silva Caio Santos , Magalhães Leandro L. , do Carmo Pinto Pablo Diego , Souza Giordano Bruno Soares , dos Santos Vieira José Ricardo , Burbano Rommel Mario Rodríguez , de Sousa Maísa Silva , de Souza Jorge Estefano Santana , Nunes Gisele , da Silva Moises Batista , da Costa Patrícia Fagundes , Salgado Claudio Guedes , Sousa Rita Catarina Medeiros , Degrave Wim Maurits Sylvain , Ribeiro-dos-Santos Ândrea , Oliveira Guilherme
Published: September 2023

Introduction

After three years since the beginning of the pandemic, the new coronavirus continues to raise several questions regarding its infectious process and host response. Several mutations occurred in different regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, such as in the spike gene, causing the emergence of variants of concern and interest (VOCs and VOIs), of which some present higher transmissibility and virulence, especially among patients with previous comorbidities. It is essential to understand its spread dynamics to prevent and control new biological threats that may occur in the future. In this population_based retrospective observational study, we generated data and used public databases to understand SARS-CoV-2 dynamics.

Methods

We sequenced 1,003 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from naso-oropharyngeal swabs and saliva samples from Pará from May 2020 to October 2022. To gather epidemiological data from Brazil and the world, we used FIOCRUZ and GISAID databases.

Results

Regarding our samples, 496 (49.45%) were derived from female participants and 507 (50.55%) from male participants, and the average age was 43  years old. The Gamma variant presented the highest number of cases, with 290 (28.91%) cases, followed by delta with 53 (5.28%). Moreover, we found seven (0.69%) Omicron cases and 651 (64.9%) non-VOC cases. A significant association was observed between sex and the clinical condition (female, p = 8.65e-08; male, p = 0.008961) and age (p = 3.6e-10).

Discussion

Although gamma had been officially identified only in December 2020/January 2021, we identified a gamma case from Belém (capital of Pará State) dated May 2020 and three other cases in October 2020. This indicates that this variant was circulating in the North region of Brazil several months before its formal identification and that Gamma demonstrated its actual transmission capacity only at the end of 2020. Furthermore, the public data analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 dispersion dynamics differed in Brazil as Gamma played an important role here, while most other countries reported a new infection caused by the Delta variant. The genetic and epidemiological information of this study reinforces the relevance of having a robust genomic surveillance service that allows better management of the pandemic and that provides efficient solutions to possible new disease-causing agents.
Prevalence and healthcare utilization in managing herpes zoster in primary care: a retrospective study in an Asian urban population
Authors: Chan Xin-Bei Valerie , Tan Ngiap Chuan , Ng Mark Chung Wai , Ng Ding Xuan , Koh Yi Ling Eileen , Aau Wai Keong , Ng Chirk Jenn
Published: September 2023

Herpes zoster (HZ) causes significant morbidity, particularly in older adults. With the advent of a recombinant zoster vaccine, HZ is potentially preventable. However, data on HZ burden and healthcare utilization in primary care populations remains scarce. This study described the prevalence and healthcare utilization in managing HZ in a developed community. A retrospective database review was conducted across a cluster of 8 public primary care clinics in urban Singapore. Data of multi-ethnic Asian patients with a diagnosis code of “herpes zoster” from 2018 to 2020 was extracted from their electronic medical records. Socio-demographic, clinical, visitation, medical leave, prescription, and referral data were analyzed. A total of 2,987 out of 737,868 individuals were diagnosed with HZ over 3 years. The mean age was 59.9 (SD + 15.5) years; 49.2% were male; 78.5% Chinese, 12.2% Malay, and 4.1% Indian. The prevalence was 221, 224, 203 per 100,000 persons in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The 70 to 79-year age group had the highest prevalence (829/100,000) across 3 years. Oral acyclovir (median daily dose 4,000 mg; median duration 7 days) and topical acyclovir were prescribed in 71.6 and 47.6%, respectively. Analgesia prescribed were gabapentin (41.0%), paracetamol combinations (30.1%), oral NSAIDs (23.7%), opioids (6.0%), and tricyclic antidepressants (1.9%). Most individuals consulted only once (84.3%); 32.7% of them required medical leave and 5.6% had more than 7 days of absenteeism. HZ-related referrals to the hospital were required in 8.9% (4.9% emergency, 2.8% ophthalmology). The findings of this study suggest a need for HZ vaccination among older age groups. Visitation and referral rates were low. The use of topical acyclovir was uncovered, and further research should evaluate the underlying reasons, benefits, and harms of such practice. The use of analgesia combinations may be explored further.
Factors affecting caregivers’ participation in support groups for people living with HIV in Tanzania
Authors: Kikoyo Levina , Exavery Amon , Charles John , Temu Akwila , Barankena Asheri , Ally Amal , Mseya Remmy , Mbwambo Tumainiel , Fovo Rose , Tarimo Aidan , Mubyazi Godfrey Martin , Balampama Marianna , Kuhlik Erica , Ventimiglia Tom , Lema Elizabeth
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Support groups for people living with HIV (PLHIV) are essential for increasing adherence, retention, addressing their psychosocial needs and improving patient literacy. However, factors that influence participation of caregivers living with HIV (LHIV) in these groups are scarcely documented, particularly for those caring for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

Methods

This study used baseline data collected between 1st October 2021 and 30th September 2022 from the PEPFAR/USAID-funded Adolescents and Children HIV Incidence Reduction, Empowerment and Virus Elimination (ACHIEVE) project in Tanzania to investigate factors that affect participation of caregivers LHIV in support groups for PLHIV. A total of 74,249 HIV-positive OVC caregivers who were already receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and had a confirmed care and treatment centre identification number were included in the analysis. Factors affecting group participation were identified through multilevel analysis using multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression.

Results

Results showed that 84.2% of the caregivers were participants in the support groups for PLHIV. Their mean age was 36 years, and the majority (82.1%) were female. Multivariable analysis revealed that participation in the groups was more likely among caregivers living in urban areas (aOR = 1.39 [1.24, 1.55]), with primary education (aOR = 1.17 [1.07, 1.28]), and without disabilities (aOR = 0.62 [0.47, 0.82]). However, participation was less likely among widowed (aOR = 0.91 [0.84, 0.999]), single or unmarried (aOR = 0.86 [0.78, 0.95]), and those with secondary education or higher levels than never attended (aOR = 0.69 [0.60, 0.80]), moderate hunger (aOR = 0.86 [0.79, 0.93]), and those aged 30 years or older (p< 0.001).

Discussion

A sizeable proportion (15.8%) of the caregivers were not in support groups for PLHIV, ranging from 12.3% among those in households with severe hunger to 29.7% among disabled ones. The study highlights the need for tailored interventions to increase participation in support groups for PLHIV, particularly for caregivers who are disabled, live in rural areas, are older, widowed, and/or unmarried, and those in poor households.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers on childhood immunization in Okaikoi sub-metro of Accra, Ghana
Authors: Danso Samuel E. , Frimpong Augustina , Seneadza Nana A. H. , Ofori Michael F.
Published: September 2023

Background

Immunization remains one of the most cost-effective health interventions. However, there are still issues of vaccine hesitancy especially in caregivers who are required to protect their children from vaccine-preventable diseases. This thwarts the overall vaccine coverage in disease-endemic areas such as sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, to determine the factors that promote vaccine hesitancy in caregivers, this study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of caregivers on childhood immunization in Okaikoi, a sub-metro of Accra in Ghana.

Methods

A cross-sectional study on childhood immunization was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers. A total of 120 caregivers with infants aged 12 months to 23 months were interviewed with a structured questionnaire containing open-ended and closed-ended queries.

Results

From the community, infants whose caregivers had adhered completely to immunization constituted 53.3% while the rest were partially immunized. The two main deterrents to complete immunization were time constraints (25.8%) and forgetfulness (17.5%). It was observed that vaccination uptake and maternal level of education, as well as vaccination adverse reaction, did not impact the completion of the EPI program by these caregivers. Unfortunately, it was noted that caregivers with higher education levels were unable to complete their vaccination schedules due to their busy work schedules. Nonetheless, the main deterrent to adhering to complete childhood immunization was poor maternal knowledge (58%).

Conclusion

The study revealed that, the caregivers in the community had poor knowledge on vaccination and its benefits, and therefore, with no strict adherence to vaccination schedules. This promoted the incomplete immunization of children in the community by their caregivers. Also, since the main source of information with regard to immunization in the sub-metro was through the antenatal and postnatal child welfare clinics and the media, we recommend that the health workers collaborate with media personnel to ensure that standardized information is disseminated.
Instantaneous reproduction number and epidemic growth rate for predicting COVID-19 waves: the first 2 years of the pandemic in Spain
Authors: Llorca Javier , Gómez-Acebo Inés , Alonso-Molero Jessica , Dierssen-Sotos Trinidad
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Several indicators were employed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, our objective was to compare the instantaneous reproductive number and the epidemic growth rate in the Spanish population.

Methods

Data on daily numbers of cases, admissions into hospitals, admissions into ICUs, and deaths due to COVID-19 in Spain from March 2020 to March 2022 were obtained. The four “pandemic state indicators”, which are daily numbers of cases, admissions into hospitals, admissions into ICUs, and deaths due to COVID-19 in Spain from March 2020 to March 2022 were obtained from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The epidemic growth rate was estimated as the derivative of the natural logarithm of daily cases with respect to time. Both the reproductive number and the growth rate, as “pandemic trend indicators,” were evaluated according to their capacity to anticipate waves as “pandemic state indicators.”

Results

Using both the reproductive number and the epidemic growth rate, we were able to anticipate most COVID-19 waves. In most waves, the more severe the presentation of COVID-19, the more effective the pandemic trend indicators would be.

Conclusion

Besides daily number of cases or other measures of disease frequency, the epidemic growth rate and the reproductive number have different roles in measuring the trend of an epidemic. Naïve interpretations and the use of any indicator as a unique value to make decisions should be discouraged.
Protocol of the CONSORT and SPIRIT Extension for multicenter clinical trials
Authors: Zhang Xuan , Dong Chongya , Wang Nana , Chan Chunpong , Lau Chung Tai , Wang Juan , Miao Jiangxia , Yao Chen , Li Youping , Lyu Aiping , Moher David , Bian Zhaoxiang
Published: September 2023

Background

Multicenter clinical trials play an indispensable role for assessing the efficacy of a new intervention or treatment, particularly in Phase II or III studies. Previous studies have shown that these studies often suffer from inadequate reporting of key details related to their design, implementation, and analysis, both in the protocol and final reports. This limitation reduces the practical and scientific value of the findings. Furthermore, the lack of guidance on how to report multicenter features can contribute to poor reporting. Therefore, this study aims to develop guidelines to improve the reporting of multicenter trials, including two Extensions of the CONSORT 2010 and the SPIRIT 2013.

Methods/design

The standard methodology for developing health research reporting guidelines involves the following steps: (i) Identifying the need for development and launching the research project; (ii) Preparing the registration and reviewing the literatures; (iii) Proposing the initial Checklists and conducting the Delphi exercise; (iv) Arranging the consensus meeting and formulating the Checklists; (v) Conducting the pilot test and drafting explanatory documents (E&E); (vi) Seeking comments from advisory group and finalizing the guidelines; and (vii) Developing the publication and dissemination strategies.

Conclusion

By using the CONSORT and SPIRIT checklists as starting points, the development of extensions specific to multicenter trials can help researchers design and report high-quality clinical research. This, in turn, can facilitate the application of study findings in the current evidence-based healthcare system.
Measuring outcomes of rehabilitation among the elderly—a feasibility study
Authors: Pitkänen Laura J. , Niskanen Jyri , Malmivaara Antti , Torkki Paulus
Published: September 2023

A feasible system for measuring patient outcomes of rehabilitation is required for assessing the real-world cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation. This study aims to assess the feasibility of measuring outcomes of rehabilitation among elderly individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's. We used the principles of Design Science to construct a set of metrics consisting of standardized PROM (Patient-Reported Outcome Measure) questionnaires, clinician-reported measures, and observational measures of functioning. We used standardized questionnaires whenever possible to ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaires. The set of metrics was piloted on 16 individuals living at home with regular home care services. After the pilot, we further refined the set of metrics based on relevance, sensitivity to change, and applicability. We found that measurement was feasible and we propose the final set of metrics as a minimum set, which could be further improved upon by addition of metrics relevant to each subgroup of elderly individuals. We also found that using self-reported questionnaires in this population is not without difficulties. We therefore suggest that the role of informal caregivers be considered, and that accessibility of outcome questionnaires be improved.
The roles of soybean lecithin in aquafeed: a crucial need and update
Authors: Wee Wendy , Téllez-Isaías Guillermo , Abdul Kari Zulhisyam , Cheadoloh Romalee , Kabir Muhammad Anamul , Mat Khairiyah , Mohamad Sukri Suniza Anis , Rahman Mohammad Mijanur , Rusli Nor Dini , Wei Lee Seong
Published: September 2023

Soybean lecithin is extensively used as the dietary supplementation of phospholipids in animal production. Soybean lecithin plays significant roles in aquafeed as growth promoter, feed enhancer, immunity modulator and antioxidant activity stimulator for aquaculture species. Besides, soybean lecithin is also reported to help aquaculture species being resilient to physical and chemical stressors. In this review, common sources, chemical structure and mode of action of lecithin, with highlight on soybean lecithin application in aquaculture over four-decadal studies published between 1983 and 2023, were evaluated and summarized. By far, soybean lecithin is best-known for its beneficial effects, availability yet cost-effective for aquafeed formulation. Findings from this review also demonstrate that although nutritional profile of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk and marine sources are superior to those from plant sources such as soybean, it is rather costly for sustainable application in aquafeed formulation. Moreover, commercially available products that incorporate soybean lecithin with other feed additives are promising to boost aquaculture production. Overall, effects of soybean lecithin supplementation are well-recognized on larval and juvenile of aquaculture species which having limited ability to biosynthesis phospholipids de novo, and correspondingly attribute to phospholipid, a primary component of soybean lecithin, that is essential for rapid growth during early stages development. In addition, soybean lecithin supplementation plays a distinguish role in stimulating maturation of gonadal development in the adults, especially for crustaceans.
Tourism Monitoring as a Strategic Tool for Tourism Management: The Perceptions of Entrepreneurs from Centro de Portugal
Authors: Dias Francisco Teixeira Pinto , Góis Sara Maria Rodrigues , Gomes Gonçalo Nuno de Castro Oliveira
Published: September 2023

Gathering information on the impact of tourism in territories is fundamental for the responsible management of tourism businesses and destinations. Therefore, it is important to monitor tourism performance using indicators that can assess its impacts. Monitoring tourism is a management technique that should adopt a stakeholder network perspective, i.e., all stakeholders should be involved and collaborate with each other by sharing information to increase the competitiveness of the destination. However, it is unclear whether stakeholders are aware of the importance of monitoring and whether monitoring considers their interests, which often leads to a lack of involvement. In this study, we adopt the stakeholder network perspective with tourism entrepreneurs from Centro de Portugal, where we aimed to evaluate the importance assigned to the monitoring of tourism and to the understanding of entrepreneurs’ information needs. To do so, the same survey was conducted twice, for the first time in 2018 and later repeated in 2022. The second survey sought to analyze whether tourism entrepreneurs’ perceptions changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that tourism entrepreneurs valued the economic area more than the social and environmental ones in both periods. Nevertheless, from 2018 to 2022, entrepreneurs became more committed to monitoring tourism in Centro de Portugal.
Ownership Concentration and Audit Actions
Authors: Al Lawati Hidaya , Sanad Zakeya
Published: September 2023

This study presents current evidence on the impact of different corporate ownership types on audit quality in Oman and potentially in other developing countries with similar institutional environments, such as GCC countries. While previous research has primarily focused on overall ownership concentration, this study aims to examine the role of specific shareholder identities and their influence on the demand for audit quality. This research sheds light on the relationship between ownership identities and audit quality of Omani financial companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2020. This study employs additional analysis to mitigate potential confounding factors and ensure robust results. Additionally, a GMM test establishes the robustness of our findings, alleviating potential endogeneity concerns. The findings highlight the positive impact and significance of bank, government, and foreign ownership in promoting high audit quality. In contrast, ownership by financial institutions (non-banks) and block holder concentrations negatively and significantly impact audit quality. In addition, this study found that family members on boards play positive moderating roles in the relationship between ownership concentration and audit quality. In addition to contributing to the existing literature, this study provides valuable insights for regulatory bodies to consider the role of ownership types in their decision-making processes. Our findings also assist investors in making informed choices and offer a better understanding of how ownership structures influence audit quality for other stakeholders. The implications of this research extend beyond Oman and can be relevant to countries with similar ownership structures and regulatory frameworks.
Effect of Bending Deformation on the Lateral Force of Spinning Projectiles with Large Aspect Ratio
Authors: Liu Qi , Lei Juanmian , Yu Yong , Yin Jintao
Published: September 2023

The bending deformation can affect the lateral force of spinning projectiles with large aspect ratios, thus interfering with their flight stability. Based on the established spin–deformation coupling motion model, the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations are solved to simulate the flow over a large−aspect−ratio projectile undergoing spin and spin−deformation coupling motion by using the dual−time stepping method and dynamic mesh technique, obtaining the lateral force. Furtherly, the flow mechanism is analyzed for the changed lateral force induced by the bending deformation. The results indicate that the variation of transient lateral force for the head of a projectile is consistent with that of the deformation−induced additional sideslip angle; affected by the deformation−induced compression wave and expansion wave, the time−averaged lateral force for the middle of a projectile will be increased at small angles of attack, but changed little at large angles of attack; at small angles of attack, the change trend of transient lateral force for the tail of a projectile is similar to that of additional angle of attack caused by the deformation; at large angles of attack, the characteristic of phase lag is presented between the transient lateral force for the tail of a projectile and the additional sideslip angle.
PorcineAI-Enhancer: Prediction of Pig Enhancer Sequences Using Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Wang Ji , Zhang Han , Chen Nanzhu , Zeng Tong , Ai Xiaohua , Wu Keliang
Published: September 2023

Understanding the mechanisms of gene expression regulation is crucial in animal breeding. Cis-regulatory DNA sequences, such as enhancers, play a key role in regulating gene expression. Identifying enhancers is challenging, despite the use of experimental techniques and computational methods. Enhancer prediction in the pig genome is particularly significant due to the costliness of high-throughput experimental techniques. The study constructed a high-quality database of pig enhancers by integrating information from multiple sources. A deep learning prediction framework called PorcineAI-enhancer was developed for the prediction of pig enhancers. This framework employs convolutional neural networks for feature extraction and classification. PorcineAI-enhancer showed excellent performance in predicting pig enhancers, validated on an independent test dataset. The model demonstrated reliable prediction capability for unknown enhancer sequences and performed remarkably well on tissue-specific enhancer sequences.The study developed a deep learning prediction framework, PorcineAI-enhancer, for predicting pig enhancers. The model demonstrated significant predictive performance and potential for tissue-specific enhancers. This research provides valuable resources for future studies on gene expression regulation in pigs.
Sedation Quality and Cardiorespiratory, Echocardiographic, Radiographic and Electrocardiographic Effects of Intramuscular Alfaxalone and Butorphanol in Spanish Greyhound Dogs
Authors: Fernández Castañer Julio , Quirós Carmona Setefilla , Martínez Bernal Carmen , Morgaz Rodríguez Juan , Navarrete Calvo Rocío , Granados Machuca María del Mar
Published: September 2023

The quality of sedation and changes in cardiorespiratory variables after the intramuscular administration of alfaxalone and butorphanol in Spanish greyhound dogs were evaluated. Twenty-one adult dogs were included. The dogs received alfaxalone (2 mg/kg) and butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg) intramuscularly. Sedation scoring, cardiorespiratory parameters (including blood gas analysis), echocardiography, thoracic radiography and electrocardiography were performed before sedation and 30 min after drug administration. Moderate sedation was observed, and side effects, such as tremors, nystagmus and auditory hyperesthesia, were noticed. Statistically significant changes in heart rate, invasive blood pressure, pH, arterial saturation of O2 and partial pressure of O2 and CO2 were found. Echocardiographic variables, including end-diastolic volume, left ventricular diameter in diastole, aortic and pulmonic flow, diastolic transmitral flow and left atrial/aortic ratio, and electrocardiography parameters, including PQ interval and QT interval, showed statistically significant changes. In conclusion, the intramuscular administration of alfaxalone and butorphanol to healthy dogs produced moderate sedation with mild cardiorespiratory, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic changes, without alterations in cardiac size on radiographic images.
Phenotypic and Genetic Study of the Presence of Hair Whorls in Pura Raza Español Horses
Authors: Encina Ana , Ligero Manuel , Sánchez-Guerrero María José , Rodríguez-Sainz de los Terreros Arancha , Bartolomé Ester , Valera Mercedes
Published: September 2023

Hair whorls are a hereditary feature in horses that may be associated with temperament and coat color. Hair whorls are described as changes in the hair pattern and may take various forms, such as circular and linear whorls. We first carried out a frequency analysis of hair whorls (circular and linear). Next, a Generalized Non-Linear Model was computed to assess the significance of some potential influencing factors, and a genetic parameter estimation was performed. ENDOG software v4.8 was used to estimate the inbreeding coefficient of all the animals analyzed. It was more common to find horses with circular hair whorls than with linear whorls. The heritability ranges obtained were, in general, medium-high for both circular whorls (0.20 to 0.90) and linear whorls (0.44 to 0.84). High positive correlations were found on the between left and right positions, indicating a tendency to symmetry in certain locations. The laterality of hair whorls was also evidenced, with the biggest concentration on the left-hand side, particularly in gray horses, showing circular whorls below the central line of eyes, which has been associated in a previous paper with a calmer and more docile temperament.
Equine Respiratory Medicine and Cardiology
Authors: Stucchi Luca , Lo Feudo Chiara Maria , Ferrucci Francesco
Published: September 2023

In the last few years, the attention regarding the health of the lungs and heart of equine patients has been continuously growing [...]
Dietary Supplementation of Tannic Acid Promotes Performance of Beef Cattle via Alleviating Liver Lipid Peroxidation and Improving Glucose Metabolism and Rumen Fermentation
Authors: He Tengfei , Yi Guang , Li Jiangong , Wu Zhenlong , Guo Yao , Sun Fang , Liu Jijun , Tang Chunjuan , Long Shenfei , Chen Zhaohui
Published: September 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary tannic acid (TAN) on the gas production, growth performance, antioxidant capacity, rumen microflora, and fermentation function of beef cattle through in vitro and in vivo experiments. TAN was evaluated at 0.15% (dry matter basis, DM) in the in vitro experiment and 0.20% (DM basis) in the animal feeding experiment. The in vitro results revealed that compared with control (CON, basal diet without TAN), the addition of TAN significantly increased the cumulative gas production and asymptotic gas production per 0.20 g dry matter substrate (p < 0.01), with a tendency to reduce methane concentration after 96 h of fermentation (p = 0.10). Furthermore, TAN supplementation significantly suppressed the relative abundance of Methanosphaera and Methanobacteriaceae in the fermentation fluid (LDA > 2.50, p < 0.05). The in vivo experiment showed that compared with CON, the dietary TAN significantly improved average daily gain (+0.15 kg/d), dressing percent (+1.30%), net meat percentage (+1.60%), and serum glucose concentration (+23.35%) of beef cattle (p < 0.05), while it also significantly reduced hepatic malondialdehyde contents by 25.69% (p = 0.02). Moreover, the TAN group showed significantly higher alpha diversity (p < 0.05) and increased relative abundance of Ruminococcus and Saccharomonas (LDA > 2.50, p < 0.05), while the relative abundance of Prevotellaceae in rumen microbial community was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) as compared to that of the CON group. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of TAN could improve the growth and slaughter performance and health status of beef cattle, and these favorable effects might be attributed to its ability to alleviate liver lipid peroxidation, enhance glucose metabolism, and promote a balanced rumen microbiota for optimal fermentation.
Real-Time Stress Field Prediction of Umbilical Based on PyEf-U-Net Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Wang Lifu , Shi Dongyan , Zhang Boyang , Yao Xuan , Li Guangliang , Helal Wasim M. K. , Qi Mei
Published: September 2023

Stress field analysis is an essential part of umbilical component layout design. The stress field analysis of an umbilical, via numerical simulation, has commonly been applied in practical engineering. The high economic and time cost associated with numerical simulation and analysis of the stress field in an umbilical has been replaced by data-driven, deep-learning-based, real-time computational methods. In this study, a novel Pyramidal Efficient U-Net (PyEf-U-Net) network is proposed to predict the stress field distribution of the umbilical. The input dataset is obtained via the Differential Evolution-Generalized Lagrange Multiplier (DE-GLM) method, which is entered into the network for training, with a detailed discussion of the effects of hyperparameters such as optimizer, learning rate, and loss function on the performance of the network. The experimental research demonstrates that the proposed PyEf-U-Net can accurately predict the stress field of the umbilical in real time with a prediction accuracy of 94.2%, which is superior to other deep learning networks. The proposed method can provide an effective way for rapid mechanical analysis and design of the umbilical in practical engineering, while the method can be extended to the mechanical analysis and design of other similar marine engineering equipment structures.
FPGA Implementation of a Novel Multifunction Modulo (2n ± 1) Multiplier Using Radix-4 Booth Encoding Scheme
Authors: Kuo Chao-Tsung , Wu Yao-Cheng
Published: September 2023

The residue number system is widely used in applications such as communication systems, cryptography, digital filters, digital signal processors, fault-tolerant detection, and so on. This paper proposes a multifunction modulo (2n ± 1) multiplier based on the radix-4 Booth encoding scheme that can operate both modulo (2n − 1) and modulo (2n + 1) multipliers using the same hardware structure with only one control signal. A novel modulo (2n ± 1) multiplier based on radix-4 Booth encoding is proposed that can achieve superior performance, with low power, fast operation, high area efficiency, and low area-delay product (ADP) and power-delay product (PDP) compared with similar modified Booth-encoding methods. In addition, by integrating the separate modulo functions of the modulo (2n − 1) multiplier and modulo (2n + 1) multiplier into a single multifunction modulo (2n ± 1) multiplier, the proposed method can save up to 52.59% (n = 16) of hardware area, up to 5.45% (n = 32) of delay time, up to 49.05% (n = 16) of dynamic power, up to 50.92% (n = 32) of ADP, and up to 50.02% (n = 32) of PDP compared with the original separate circuits merged together. Furthermore, the operation ranges of the multiplicand and multiplier of the proposed modulo (2n + 1) multiplier and modulo (2n − 1) multiplier are {0, 2n + 1} and {0, 2n}, respectively, which are wider than for other reported hardware structures. The hardware area, power consumption, and delay time are simulated and verified using Verilog HDL and Xilinx FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) Vivado tools. The Xilinx Artix-7 XC7A35T-CSG324-1 FPGA chipset is adopted in the proposed work.
An Analysis of Temporal Features in Multivariate Time Series to Forecast Network Events
Authors: Ji Soo-Yeon , Jeong Bong Keun , Jeong Dong H.
Published: September 2023

Analyzing network traffic over time is crucial for understanding the changes in network activity. To properly examine network traffic patterns over time, multiple network events in each timestamp need to be converted to time series data. In this study, we propose a new approach to transform network traffic data into time series formats by extracting temporal features to analyze normal/attack patterns. The normal patterns indicate network traffic occurred without any intrusion-related activities, whereas the attack patterns denote potential threats that deviate from the normal patterns. To evaluate the features, long short-term memory (LSTM) is applied to forecast multi-step network normal and attack events. Visual analysis is also performed to enhance the understanding of key features in the network. We compared the performance differences using time scales of 60 and 120 s. Upon evaluation, we found that the temporal features extracted with the 60 s time scale exhibited better performance in forecasting future network events.
Comparing EEG-Based Epilepsy Diagnosis Using Neural Networks and Wavelet Transform
Authors: Yousefi Mohammad Reza , Dehghani Amin , Golnejad Saina , Hosseini Melika Mohammad
Published: September 2023

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by the recurrence of seizures, which can significantly impact the lives of patients. Electroencephalography (EEG) can provide important physiological information on human brain activity which can be useful to diagnose epilepsy. However, manual analysis and visual inspection of many EEG signals can be time-consuming and may lead to contradictory diagnoses by doctors. EEG signals play an important role in the diagnosis of epilepsy, as the quantification of cerebral signal anomalies may indicate the condition and the pathology of the cerebral signal. In this study, we attempted to develop a two-step process for the automated diagnosis of epilepsy using EEG signals. In the first step, we applied a low-pass filter and designed three intermediate filters for different frequency bands, employing multi-layer neural networks. In the second step, we used a wavelet transform method to process the data. The characteristics of the local brain are the distribution of epileptic EEG activity in the wavelet model across the whole brain surface. We also evaluated the use of two different classifiers, an artificial neural network (ANN) and a support vector machine (SVM), for the diagnosis of epilepsy. These classifiers were trained on normal and epileptic data and were able to accurately distinguish between normal and epilepsy as well as other conditions. We also found that the use of the wavelet transform did not significantly affect the classification performance but using a multi-layer neural network provided better precision. In this study, we developed a two-step automated process; incorporating low-pass filters, intermediate filters, multi-layer neural networks, and wavelet transform led to an accurate and efficient diagnosis of epilepsy. The results of this paper show high accuracy rates for both the artificial neural network (92.38%) and the support vector machine (95.5%) classifiers. Moreover, the study highlighted the effectiveness of utilizing a multi-layer neural network for improved precision. These findings contribute to the ongoing efforts in developing automated methods for epilepsy diagnosis, offering the potential for faster and more reliable detection techniques that can enhance patient care and outcomes.
Evaluation of Operator and Patient Doses after Irradiation with Handheld X-ray Devices
Authors: Altındağ Ali , Eren Hakan , Orhan Kaan , Görgün Sebahat
Published: September 2023

This study aimed to evaluate radiation doses from handheld X-ray devices, specifically NOMAD Pro 2TM (DvcN), Rextar X (DvcRX), and Diox 602 (DvcD), targeting operator and patient’s critical organs and tissues. Calibrated TLD-100H dosimeters were placed on a mannequin and phantom head, focusing on the eyes, thyroid, gonads, hands, and salivary glands. Using a TLD reader, absorbed equivalent doses post irradiation were assessed. Conventional systems yielded higher radiation doses than phosphor plates and digital systems. Notably, implementing protective measures resulted in significant (p < 0.05) dose reductions to the operator. Peak measurements without protection included: gonad 24.4 (DvcN) μGy; thyroid 30.5 (DvcN) μGy; right eye 31.9 (DvcN) μGy; left eye 27.9 (DvcN) μGy; right hand 111.6 (DvcRX) μGy; and left hand 71.7 (DvcD) μGy. Radiation dose reductions ranged from 11.49% to 93.25%, depending on the region and device. It is imperative to adhere to radiological protection protocols, particularly when employing handheld X-ray devices; optimally, these should be used with digital systems.
Spectroscopy Imaging Techniques as In Vivo Analytical Tools to Detect Plant Traits
Authors: Hernanda Reza Adhitama Putra , Lee Junghyun , Lee Hoonsoo
Published: September 2023

The efficiency of hyper- and multispectral imaging (HSI and MSI) has gained considerable attention in research on plant phenotyping. This is due to their ease of use while being considered a nondestructive technology. Unlike current point-scanned spectroscopy, both HSI and MSI extract spatial and spectral information while covering a wide range of a plant body. Moreover, it is necessary to equip the extracted information with multivariate calibration techniques, followed by model evaluation. To date, the application of HSI and MSI for monitoring plant growth under a controlled environment is emerging and showing a good trend. Our systematic literature review discusses spectroscopy imaging techniques and their chemometric approaches as a sustainable sensor technology to detect plant traits. In conclusion, we also explore the possibility of carrying out HSI and MSI during plant trait analysis.