bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Salt-tolerant alternative crops as sources of quality food to mitigate the negative impact of salinity on agricultural production
Authors: Egea Isabel , Estrada Yanira , Faura Celia , Egea-Fernández José M. , Bolarin Maria C. , Flores Francisco B.
Published: February 2023

An increase of abiotic stress tolerance and nutritive value of foods is currently a priority because of climate change and rising world population. Among abiotic stresses, salt stress is one of the main problems in agriculture. Mounting urbanization and industrialization, and increasing global food demand, are pressing farmers to make use of marginal lands affected by salinity and low-quality saline water. In that situation, one of the most promising approaches is searching for new sources of genetic variation like salt-tolerant alternative crops or underexploited crops. They are generally less efficient than cultivated crops in optimal conditions due to lower yield but represent an alternative in stressful growth conditions. In this review, we summarize the advances achieved in research on underexploited species differing in their genetic nature. First, we highlight advances in research on salt tolerance of traditional varieties of tomato or landraces; varieties selected and developed by smallholder farmers for adaptation to their local environments showing specific attractive fruit quality traits. We remark advances attained in screening a collection of tomato traditional varieties gathered in Spanish Southeast, a very productive region which environment is extremely stressing. Second, we explore the opportunities of exploiting the natural variation of halophytes, in particular quinoa and amaranth. The adaptation of both species in stressful growth conditions is becoming an increasingly important issue, especially for their cultivation in arid and semiarid areas prone to be affected by salinity. Here we present a project developed in Spanish Southeast, where quinoa and amaranth varieties are being adapted for their culture under abiotic stress targeting high quality grain.
A meeting of positive behaviors: The relations of three aspects of flexibility with character strengths
Authors: Vylobkova Valentina , Heintz Sonja
Published: February 2023

Introduction

The adaptation of own plans and behaviors to new circumstances seems to be a desirable personal quality in the modern world. it has been assumed that adaptability cannot be transferred to a single character strength.

Methods

The present research examines this assumption using typical and daily behaviors of three aspects of flexibility (predictability, adaptability and orderliness) and 24 character strengths across two studies (N1 = 283, N2 = 188).

Results

Flexibility showed a consistent and large overlap with character strengths. Adaptability was positively related to most of the strengths. Predictability was positively related to humility and prudence, and orderliness to perseverance, prudence, and selfregulation.

Discussion

These results support our initial assumption and build a strong basis for further examining the relationships and interplay between flexibility and character strengths. They also constitute an important first step toward integrative positive interventions that target relevant aspects of flexibility and character.
The anticipatory and consummatory interpersonal pleasure scale: Applicability to Chinese OCD patients
Authors: Lu Jingjie , Wang Xiang , Liu Qian , Yu Quanhao , Fan Jie , Zhu Xiongzhao
Published: February 2023

As a transdiagnostic symptom, social anhedonia has gained increasing attention. Evidence suggests that obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients demonstrate social anhedonia. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) in an undergraduate sample and Chinese OCD patients. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores. This study involved 3,306 undergraduate students and 293 patients with OCD. Internal consistency and convergent validity of ACIPS were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to determine the best-fitting of potential factor models, and multi-group CFA was used to examine measurement invariance across genders and samples. Additionally, hierarchical linear regression was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between clinical symptoms and ACIPS scores in patients suffering from OCD. ACIPS showed acceptable internal consistency in undergraduate and OCD samples (Cronbach’s α = 0.93 and 0.89, respectively). In both samples, the four-factor structure had the best fit index. Scalar invariance was established across undergraduate and OCD samples, while residual invariance was established across genders. In both samples, the ACIPS was significantly correlated with the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. Depression and the severity of obsessive thoughts significantly and negatively correlated with the ACIPS score in OCD patients (p < 0.05). In conclusion, ACIPS is a reliable, effective, simple, and convenient tool for the assessment of social anhedonia. Depression and obsessive thoughts contribute to social anhedonia in OCD patients.
Emotional intelligence and emotion information processing: Proof of concept of a test measuring accuracy in discriminating emotions
Authors: Gillioz Christelle , Nicolet-dit-Félix Maroussia , Wilhelm Oliver , Fiori Marina
Published: February 2023

Emotion information processing (EIP) has been recently introduced as a new component of emotional intelligence. We present a task aiming at measuring a type of emotion information processing related to fine-grained discrimination of emotional expressions. We modified an existing task presenting morphed faces created from a blend of two prototypical emotional expressions. Participants’ (N = 154) ability-EI, in particular emotion recognition, understanding and management, as well as intelligence were evaluated. Results show that all facets of EI independently predicted accuracy in the discrimination task and that emotion recognition was the strongest predictor. When controlling for emotion recognition level, we found that emotion understanding still predicted accuracy for less difficult stimuli. Results support the idea that individuals high in EI have higher emotion processing skills at the emotion perception stage of information processing and suggest that the task employed in the current study might measure more spontaneous processing of emotional expressions. Implications regarding the use of the current task as a new measure of the EIP component are discussed.
Research on sports reform in the network era based on educational psychology in the context of the COVID-19
Authors: Fan QI
Published: February 2023

Introduction

In the context of the continuous progress of the “Internet+” era and the exceptionally severe outbreak of the Covid-19, online education confronts many challenges and also brings unlimited development opportunities.

Methods

In this paper, taking six universities with sports majors in Chongqing as the research objects, we analyze the current situation and problems of the development and construction of online education resources for sports in colleges and universities by browsing the official websites of colleges and universities, investigating the cooperation between colleges and universities and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and conducting a questionnaire survey on students.

Results

The results show that it is necessary to innovate the traditional inefficient classroom teaching model based on the values of adapting to the characteristics of the “Internet+” era and learning advanced teaching rules, thus optimizing teaching effectiveness and fostering students’ independent learning, thinking and innovation.

Discussion

We investigated students’ online learning habits, their experience of using online education platform and the difficulties they encountered in the process, based on which two issues were raised: learning needs and learning experience.
Extended reality in language learning: A cognitive affective model of immersive learning perspective
Authors: Zhi Yuying , Wu Lihuan
Published: February 2023

A surge in the interest and implementation of extended reality (XR)-based lessons in language learning has resulted in many related studies. Recent reviews that summarized these studies and the previous studies focus on the technologies used in language-learning settings or the different ways of incorporating XR tools in language-learning activities. However, less work has been done to synthesize XR-based language-learning studies from a language-learning theory perspective. Thus, this study delineates the contour of scholarly literature on XR in language learning using the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL). The model contains six affective and cognitive factors that lead to XR-based learning: interest, motivation, self-efficacy, embodiment, cognitive load, and self-regulation. This model was adopted in the current study to systematically synthesize the findings from primary studies published between 2017 and 2022 to construct XR explanations on language learning from a cognitive theory perspective. Studies published in 12 indexed privileged journals in the language education and technology field on XR in language learning were reviewed. The results showed that the factors in the CAMIL led to factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge acquisition and transfer. This study provides some insights into understanding the cognitive outcomes of XR-based language learning by analyzing the findings from previous studies. Suggestions for future studies are proposed in this study.
Post-traumatic stress symptoms and burnout in healthcare professionals working in neonatal intensive care units: Results from the STRONG study
Authors: Ravaldi C. , Mosconi L. , Mannetti L. , Checconi M. , Bonaiuti R. , Ricca V. , Mosca F. , Dani C. , Vannacci A.
Published: February 2023

Background

Newborns’ deaths and life-threatening conditions represent extremely stressful events for parents and professionals working in NICUs, facilitating the onset of secondary traumatic stress symptoms. The STRONG study aims to better understand the psychological impact on Italian NICUs staff of bereavement care.

Methods

The STRONG (STress afteR lOss in NeonatoloGy) study is a cross-sectional study based on a web survey consisted of four sections: sociodemographic, CommuniCARE-Newborn questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised.

Results

227 NICU workers (42.7% nurses, 23.3% midwives, 22.2% physicians, 11.8% other HCPs) answered the survey. The hardest tasks were “communicating baby’s death” and “informing on autopsy results”; 44.7% of HCPs did not receive formal training in communicating bad news, 44.2% ‘learned from the field’ by watching other colleagues; 41.2% declared that they do not have any communication strategy. More than 90% of professionals thought that training on bereavement care is necessary. The majority of HCPs showed some degree of post-traumatic stress symptoms: 34% medium and 35.3% severe. Professionals with training in bereavement care and/or in communication had less probability to develop stress symptoms. A multivariate analysis showed that higher levels of burnout were associated with 4 or more monthly losses and medium or severe stress symptoms. Having a well-defined communication strategy for breaking bad news was independently associated with a better personal accomplishment.

Conclusion

Dealing with newborns’ deaths is a highly stressful task; professionals should receive proper support such as debriefing, psychological support and training in order to prevent post-traumatic stress symptoms and reduce professional burnout.
SDG5 “Gender Equality” and the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid assessment of health system responses in selected upper-middle and high-income countries
Authors: Kuhlmann Ellen , Lotta Gabriela , Fernandez Michelle , Herten-Crabb Asha , Mac Fehr Leonie , Maple Jaimie-Lee , Paina Ligia , Wenham Clare , Willis Karen
Published: February 2023

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare and societies, exacerbating existing inequalities for women and girls across every sphere. Our study explores health system responses to gender equality goals during the COVID-19 pandemic and inclusion in future policies.

Methods

We apply a qualitative comparative approach, drawing on secondary sources and expert information; the data was collected from March–July 2022. Australia, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the USA were selected, reflecting upper-middle and high-income countries with established public health and gender policies but different types of healthcare systems and epidemiological and geo-political conditions. Three sub-goals of SDG5 were analyzed: maternity care/reproductive health, gender-based violence, and gender equality/women's leadership.

Results

We found similar trends across countries. Pandemic policies strongly cut into women's health, constrained prevention and support services, and weakened reproductive rights, while essential maternity care services were kept open. Intersecting gender inequalities were reinforced, sexual violence increased and women's leadership was weak. All healthcare systems failed to protect women's health and essential public health targets. Yet there were relevant differences in the responses to increased violence and reproductive rights, ranging from some support measures in Australia to an abortion ban in the US.

Conclusions

Our study highlights a need for revising pandemic policies through a feminist lens.
Coupling coordination analysis of urbanization and the ecological environment based on urban functional zones
Authors: Luo Xue , Luan Weixin , Li Yue , Xiong Tao
Published: February 2023

Urbanization is an inevitable process in human social progress; additionally, the ecological environment is the carrier and foundation of human social development. Considering central Shanghai, China, as an example, this study quantitatively analyzed the coupling coordination relationship between urbanization and the ecological environment based on urban functional zones; remote sensing images, Open Street Map roads, and point of interest data were analyzed for the urban functional zones via the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI), comprehensive nighttime light index (CNLI), and coupling coordination degree (D). The results revealed that urban functional zones in central Shanghai were mainly mixed functional zones and comprehensive functional zones, which formed a spatial structure that gradually radiated outward from the urban core. Additionally, CNLI values were high; the proportion of CNLI between 0.6 and 1 was 94.37%. Moreover, the RSEI showed spatial differentiation; it was low in the center and gradually increased outward. Additionally, D was at the primary coordination level. The coupling coordination type in the core area corresponded to an ecological environment lag, which gradually transitioned to a state of systematic balanced development from the core area outward, but showed sluggish urbanization in some areas. This quantitative analysis of the coupling coordination between urbanization and the ecological environment based on urban functional zones provides effective scientific references for optimization of spatial planning.
Improving functional outcomes and quality of life in an elderly woman with sarcopenia and spinal Tuberculosis: A case report
Authors: Defi Irma Ruslina , Hamam Nur Rusyidah , Biben Vitriana , Al Barqi Nuzula Chafidh
Published: February 2023

Background

Indonesia is the world's second-largest contributor to TB patients. According to prevalence by age, the elderly have the most diagnosed TB. In Indonesia, TB spondylitis affects approximately 5% of TB cases and is a common cause of non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI). Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a growing public health concern, particularly among the elderly, as many of its populations have sarcopenia. Due to the complete absence of voluntary muscle contraction, SCI is followed by a rapid loss of skeletal muscle mass. SCI has several physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences.

Case presentation

A 68-years-old woman presented with weakness and numbness of all four limbs. She also had sarcopenia, malnutrition, and dependency on activities of daily living (ADL). In addition, the patient was at a risk of SCI complications. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed destruction of the vertebral bodies at the level of the 5th and 6th cervical area, tuberculous abscesses of the paravertebral and longus colli muscles. The patient underwent debridement and spinal stabilization. However, the patient was at a risk of developing SCI complications. In these patients, the Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine (PRM) strategy focuses on improving medical conditions, including preventing secondary complications, promoting neurological recovery, and optimizing function.

Conclusion

This case highlights the importance of PRM intervention in assessing functional disorders in the elderly to improve their quality of life (QOL).
Drivers of vulnerability to health and wellbeing challenges in informal settlements
Authors: Chumo Ivy , Kabaria Caroline , Shankland Alex , Mberu Blessing
Published: February 2023

Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that vulnerable populations are hit very hard, both in the short and long term, when their health and wellbeing needs are not met. Despite the efforts at different levels to protect and promote their health and wellbeing, older persons, people with disabilities and children heads of households, continue to face significant social, economic and cultural difficulties in relation to health and wellbeing inequities. While rights to health and wellbeing are constitutionally guaranteed, and strategies can be advanced to reduce vulnerable situations, challenges persists and yet societies, communities, and individual factors that engender vulnerability are understudied and remain poorly understood. Situating our findings and understandings within CLUVA social vulnerability framework, allows us to adapt a conceptual framework for understanding vulnerability to health and wellbeing challenges across different groups in informal urban space. We used CLUVA social vulnerability framework to explore and uncover drivers of vulnerability to health and wellbeing challenges among the vulnerable and marginalized groups using the governance diaries approach.

Methods

This was an ethnographic study, using governance diaries with 24 participants in Korogocho and Viwandani informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The governance diaries approach involved bi-weekly governance in-depth interviews (IDIs) with study participants for 4 months, complemented with observations, reflections, participant diaries and informal discussions. We used framework analysis methodology.

Results

We identified several interlinked drivers and grouped them as individual, community, societal and structural level factors.

Discussion

A comprehensive view of drivers at different levels will help actors engage in more expansive and collaborative thinking about strategies that can effectively reduce health and wellbeing challenges.

Conclusion

The factors identified come together to shape functioning and capabilities of vulnerable groups in informal settlements. Beyond applying a more comprehensive concept of understanding health and wellbeing challenges, It is important to understand the drivers of vulnerability to health and wellbeing challenges from the perspective of marginalized and vulnerable populations. Particularly for local urban planning, the information should blend routine data with participatory assessment within different areas and groups in the city.
Recommendations and optimal approaches to robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy: A consensus of Brazilian experts
Authors: Faria Eliney Ferreira , Moschovas Marcio Covas , Vaz Carlos , Pompeo Alexandre , Santos Alexandre , Stievano Alexandre , Berger Andre , Carneiro Arie , Dourado Aurus , Colombo Jose Roberto , Passerotti Carlo , Andreoni Cassio , Fraga Clovis , Guglielmetti Giuliano , Lemos Gustavo , Guimarães Gustavo , Nogueira Lucas , Rocha Marcos , Melo Pablo , Arantes Paulo , Romanelli Pedro , Tourinho Rafael , Nishimoto Ricardo , Machado Roberto , Reis Rodolfo , Frota Rodrigo , Guida Romulo , Dubeux Victor , Gualberto Rodrigo , Tobias-Machado Marcos
Published: February 2023

Objective

Robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) is established as the gold standard approach to treating small renal masses. However, numerous technical challenges and concepts related to this approach are still under discussion and are not consensus among surgeons from different centers. We performed an online questionnaire with multiple topics about RAPN and selected high-volume surgeons from referral centers in Brazil to achieve a consensus.

Methods

We implemented an online consensus of 29 experts selected based on surgical expertise and competence in analyzing the published literature. Based on the collected literature and current Guidelines (NCCN, AUA, and EAU) we created a questionnaire with 131 questions and administered it to all participants. The statements and the Delphi technique design were combined in a single round of questions. The answers were reviewed, 70% of concordance was considered a consensus, and a final manuscript with recommendations was developed.

Results

We divided our results into 25 subtopics that included all questions and discussions of the questionnaire, including preoperative settings, surgical technique, pathological analysis, technology use, and challenging cases. Some areas had limited data in the literature, and these potential limitations were addressed and discussed on each topic.

Conclusion

RAPN is the standard surgical treatment for renal masses in the centers of robotic surgery. Among the important topics of this study, we recommend always performing the first RAPN cases with proctors’ assistance, conducting preoperative planning using good-quality imaging exams, minimizing the amount of renal parenchyma removed, and achieving appropriate hemostatic suture while reducing renal parenchyma ischemia.
The efficacy of peripheral nerve block on postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort in males: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Bao Xingjun , Liu Ming , Li Jie , Yao Huibao , Liu Hongquan , Tang Gonglin , Wang Xiaofeng , Zhou Zhongbao , Wu Jitao , Cui Yuanshan
Published: February 2023

Objective

To determine the efficacy of peripheral nerve block (PNB) in preventing postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD).

Methods

Up to July 1, 2022, the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched, and all articles that met the PICOS (Patient, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, Study design) criteria were enrolled. The included trials were evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Patients in the block group received bilateral PNB, while those in the non-block group did not need any additional procedure or simply achieved “sham block”. CRBD was quantified using the visual analog scale (VAS) score, which was questioned and recorded at 0–1 h, 1–2 h, 4–8 h, 8–12 h and 12–24 h intervals. The incidences of CRBD, moderate to severe CRBD and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) were meta-analysed.

Results

Six trials with a total of 544 patients were considered. First, the block group had a lower incidence of CRBD than the non-block group at 0–1 h (OR 0.22; 95% CI, 0.18–0.08; P < 0.0001), 1–2 h (OR 0.14; 95% CI, 0.08–0.26; P < 0.00001), 4–8 h (OR 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.58; P < 0.0008) and 8–12 h (OR 0.51; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.87; P = 0.01). Second, the block group showed a lower incidence of moderate to severe CRBD than the non-block group at 0–1 h, 1–2 h and 4–8 h, and the ORs were 0.12 (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.49; P = 0.003), 0.17 (95% CI, 0.08 to 0.37; P < 0.00001) and 0.29 (95% CI, 0.15 to 0.55; P = 0.0002),respectively. Finally, the block group was significantly associated with a decreased incidence of PONV (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.39; P = 0.0002).

Conclusion

This meta-analysis suggested that PNB markedly reduced the incidence and severity of early postoperative CRBD and decreased the occurrence of PONV.
Effect of Health Intervention via Web-Based Education on Improving Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Related to HPV Vaccination Among Chinese Female College Students
Authors: Wang Hong , Wang Xiaoyang , Chen Peipei , Xu Huifang , Liu Yin , Kang Ruihua , Zheng Liyang , Sun Xingyuan , Sun Xibin , Zhang Shaokai
Published: February 2023

Objectives: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rate is generally low in China. This study aimed to assess the effect of web-based education on improving information-motivation-behavior skills related to HPV vaccination among Chinese female college students.

Methods: From February to May 2020, female students were recruited from a university and divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received 7 days of HPV-related web-based education. Related information were collected using questionnaires in the baseline, 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months after the intervention. Chi-square test and repeated ANOVA were used to compare the differences between the two groups in the four surveys.

Results: A total of 449 students (235 in the intervention and 214 in the control group) were included in the analysis. There were no statistical differences in demographic information between the two groups. Compared with the control group, students in the intervention group showed a richer knowledge and subjective norms of HPV vaccination (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The study provides preliminary support for a health intervention via web-based education in increasing HPV vaccination information among female college students.
Research on Multi-Scale Pest Detection and Identification Method in Granary Based on Improved YOLOv5
Authors: Chu Jinyu , Li Yane , Feng Hailin , Weng Xiang , Ruan Yaoping
Published: February 2023

Accurately detecting and identifying granary pests is important in effectively controlling damage to a granary, ensuring food security scientifically and efficiently. In this paper, multi-scale images of seven common granary pests were collected. The dataset had 5231 images acquired with DSLR-shot, microscope, cell phone and online crawler. Each image contains different species of granary pests in a different background. In this paper, we designed a multi-scale granary pest recognition model, using the YOLOv5 (You Look Only Once version 5) object detection algorithm incorporating bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) with distance intersection over union, non-maximum suppression (DIOU_NMS) and efficient channel attention (ECA) modules. In addition, we compared the performance of the different models established with Efficientdet, Faster rcnn, Retinanet, SSD, YOLOx, YOLOv3, YOLOv4 and YOLOv5s, and we designed improved YOLOv5s on this dataset. The results show that the average accuracy of the model we designed for seven common pests reached 98.2%, which is the most accurate model among those identified in this paper. For further detecting the robustness of the proposed model, ablation analysis was conducted. Furthermore, the results show that the average accuracy of models established using the YOLOv5s network model combined with the attention mechanism was 96.9%. When replacing the model of PANet with BiFPN, the average accuracy reached 97.2%. At the same time, feature visualization was analyzed. The results show that the proposed model is good for capturing features of pests. The results of the model have good practical significance for the recognition of multi-scale granary pests.
Impacts of Sourdough Technology on the Availability of Celiac Peptides from Wheat α- and γ-Gliadins: In Silico Approach
Authors: Barre Annick , Benoist Hervé , Rougé Pierre
Published: February 2023

Celiac peptide-generating α- and γ-gliadins consist of a disordered N-terminal domain extended by an α-helical-folded C-terminal domain. Celiac peptides, primarily located along the disordered part of α- and γ-gliadin molecules, are nicely exposed and directly accessible to proteolytic enzymes occurring in the gastric (pepsin) and intestinal (trypsin, chymotrypsin) fluids. More than half of the potential celiac peptides identified so far in gliadins exhibit cleavage sites for pepsin. However, celiac peptides proteolytically truncated by one or two amino acid residues could apparently retain some activity toward HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 receptors in docking experiments. Together with the uncleaved peptides, these still active partially degraded CD peptides account for the incapacity of the digestion process to inactivate CD peptides from gluten proteins. In contrast, sourdough fermentation processes involve other proteolytic enzymes susceptible to the deep degradation of celiac peptides. In particular, sourdough supplemented by fungal prolyl endoproteases enhances the degrading capacities of the sourdough fermentation process toward celiac peptides. Nevertheless, since tiny amounts of celiac peptides sufficient to trigger deleterious effects on CD people can persist in sourdough-treated bread and food products, it is advisable to avoid consumption of sourdough-treated food products for people suffering from celiac disease. As an alternative, applying the supplemented sourdough process to genetically modified low gluten or celiac-safe wheat lines should result in food products that are safer for susceptible and CD people.
Mother–Young Bonding: Neurobiological Aspects and Maternal Biochemical Signaling in Altricial Domesticated Mammals
Authors: Bienboire-Frosini Cécile , Marcet-Rius Míriam , Orihuela Agustín , Domínguez-Oliva Adriana , Mora-Medina Patricia , Olmos-Hernández Adriana , Casas-Alvarado Alejandro , Mota-Rojas Daniel
Published: February 2023

Mother–young bonding is a type of early learning where the female and their newborn recognize each other through a series of neurobiological mechanisms and neurotransmitters that establish a behavioral preference for filial individuals. This process is essential to promote their welfare by providing maternal care, particularly in altricial species, animals that require extended parental care due to their limited neurodevelopment at birth. Olfactory, auditory, tactile, and visual stimuli trigger the neural integration of multimodal sensory and conditioned affective associations in mammals. This review aims to discuss the neurobiological aspects of bonding processes in altricial mammals, with a focus on the brain structures and neurotransmitters involved and how these influence the signaling during the first days of the life of newborns.
Genetic Parameters for Functional Longevity, Type Traits, and Production in the Serbian Holstein
Authors: Djedović Radica , Vukasinovic Natascha , Stanojević Dragan , Bogdanović Vladan , Ismael Hasan , Janković Dobrila , Gligović Nikolija , Brka Muhamed , Štrbac Ljuba
Published: February 2023

In this study, the authors focused on the evaluation of the genetic parameters of longevity, milk yield traits, and type traits in dairy cattle populations in the Republic of Serbia. The total dataset used consisted of production records and pedigree data for 32,512 Holstein cows that calved from 1981 to 2015. The animal model was applied to determine the variance and covariance components and genetic parameters of the analyzed traits by applying the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) approach and using the programs VCE6 and PEST. The heritability of longevity traits was estimated using the Survival Kit V6.0 software package. Variance and covariance were estimated for five production traits: milk yield (MY), fat yield (FY), protein yield (PY), milk fat content (MC), and protein content (PC), and three longevity traits: length of productive life (LPL), lifetime milk yield (LMY), and the number of lactations achieved (NL) as well as for 18 standard type traits. Heritabilities for the milk, fat, and protein yield traits were 0.20 (MY), 0.15 (FY), and 0.19 (PY), respectively. The estimated coefficients of heritability for the longevity traits were higher when using the Weibull proportional hazards model compared to the traditional linear methods and ranged from 0.08 for NL to 0.10 for LPL. Heritability values for the type traits varied from a low of 0.10 (RLSsv—rear legs set–side view) to medium values of 0.32 (ST-stature). Genetic correlations were found between MY and the following longevity traits: LPL, LMY, and NL with values of −0.18, −0.11, and −0.09, respectively. Genetic correlations were found between MY and a number of linear type traits and varied from 0.02 (between MY and RUH-rear udder height) to 0.28 (between MY and FUA-fore udder attachment). Genetic correlations between the 18 investigated type traits ranged from −0.33 between TL (top line) and RTP (rear teats position) to 0.71 between AN (angularity) and RUH (rear udder height). Genetic correlations between most linear type traits and longevity traits (LPL, LMY, and NL) were generally negative and very low. The highest positive genetic correlation was found between UD and LPL (rxy = 0.38).
Filter Pruning via Attention Consistency on Feature Maps
Authors: Yang Huoxiang , Liang Yongsheng , Liu Wei , Meng Fanyang
Published: February 2023

Due to the effective guidance of prior information, feature map-based pruning methods have emerged as promising techniques for model compression. In the previous works, the undifferentiated treatment of all information on feature maps amplifies the negative impact of noise and background information. To address this issue, a novel filter pruning strategy called Filter Pruning via Attention Consistency (FPAC) is proposed, and a simple and effective implementation method of FPAC is presented. FPAC is inspired by the notion that the attention of feature maps on one layer is in high consistency of spatial dimension. The experiments also show that feature maps with lower consistency are less important. Hence, FPAC measures the importance of filters by evaluating the attention consistency on the feature maps and then prunes the filters corresponding to feature maps with lower consistency. The present experiments on various datasets further confirm the effectiveness of FPAC. For instance, applying VGG-16 on CIFAR-10, the classification accuracy even increases from 93.96% to 94.03% with 58.1% FLOPs reductions. Furthermore, applying ResNet-50 on ImageNet achieves 45% FLOPs reductions with only 0.53% accuracy loss.
Fresh and Mechanical Properties of High-Performance Self-Compacting Concrete Containing Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Polypropylene Fibres
Authors: Smarzewski Piotr
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of polypropylene fibres (PP) to decrease the brittleness of high-performance self-compacting concrete (HPSCC). The influence of PP fibre content on the fresh and mechanical assets of PP-fibre-reinforced HPSCC was investigated. PP fibres were applied with 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.125, 0.25% contents to the HPC blends with high cement replacement by ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). The impact of PP fibre fraction on fresh properties of HPSCC, counting passing capability as well as filling parameters is discussed. In addition, the mechanical properties, i.e., compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strengths, were evaluated after 7 and 28 days of specimens’ maturation in water. The higher content of PP fibres gradually reduced the HPSCC workability and improved the mechanical properties. The high performance of fresh and hardened ecological HPSCCs containing 46% GGBS instead of cement with 0.025–0.25% PP fibre content proves the great potential of using these composites in various applications in the construction industry. The advantages of the potential recycling of GGBS include, among others, the reduced use of cement in a durable material, reduced amount of waste in landfill and lower emission levels of greenhouse gases.
Structure-Aware Scheduling Methods for Scientific Workflows in Cloud
Authors: Albtoush Alaa , Yunus Farizah , Almi’ani Khaled , Noor Noor Maizura Mohamad
Published: February 2023

Scientific workflows consist of numerous tasks subject to constraints on data dependency. Effective workflow scheduling is perpetually necessary to efficiently utilize the provided resources to minimize workflow execution cost and time (makespan). Accordingly, cloud computing has emerged as a promising platform for scheduling scientific workflows. In this paper, level- and hierarchy-based scheduling approaches were proposed to address the problem of scheduling scientific workflow in the cloud. In the level-based approach, tasks are partitioned into a set of isolated groups in which available virtual machines (VMs) compete to execute the groups’ tasks. Accordingly, based on a utility function, a task will be assigned to the VM that will achieve the highest utility by executing this task. The hierarchy-based approach employs a look-ahead approach, in which the partitioning of the workflow tasks is performed by considering the entire structure of the workflow, whereby the objective is to reduce the data dependency between the obtained groups. Additionally, in the hierarchy-based approach, a fair-share strategy is employed to determine the share (number of VMs) that will be assigned to each group of tasks. Dividing the available VMs based on the computational requirements of the task groups provides the hierarchy-based approach the advantage of further utilizing the VMs usage. The results show that, on average, both approaches improve the execution time and cost by 27% compared to the benchmarked algorithms.
Long- and Short-Term Stability of All Polarization-Maintaining Thulium Doped Passively Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers with Emission Wavelengths at 1.95 μm and 2.07 μm
Authors: Cuadrado-Laborde Christian , Cruz Jose L. , Díez Antonio , Andrés Miguel V.
Published: February 2023

In this work, we compare the operation of a passively modelocked polarization-maintaining emission in two thulium-doped fiber lasers pumped at 1561 nm, with emission at wavelengths of 1.951 μm in one case and 2.07 μm in the other. We obtained a sequence of light pulses at 15.6 MHz, whose temporal width was 81 ps at 1.95 μm, and a sequence of light pulses at 13.1 MHz, whose temporal width was 94 ps at 2.07 μm. Finally, we also measured the long-term stability of this setup during a 24-h operation, as well as the short-term stability in a simulated harsh environment. The results confirm the superior performance of fiber laser systems with a fully polarization-maintaining design.
Performance Analysis on Trained and Recreational Runners in the Venice Marathon Events from 2007 to 2019
Authors: Albertin Giovanna , Zuccon Davide , Guidolin Diego , De Caro Raffaele , Falda Marco , Carraro Ugo , Astolfi Laura
Published: February 2023

The Venice Marathon (VM) has gained fame and prestige over time. It is part of a group of marathons that are recognized worldwide. The aims of this study were to describe the attractiveness of the event over the years according to the gender and age of participants, and to investigate their performances according to gender and age differences in the group of all finishers over 23 years old (AD), along with the best 10% performance (TOP) over a 13-year period. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of VM race data from 2007 to 2019; the data were collected from the free Timing Data Service website and statistically analyzed. Results: In total, 82.3% of participants were male and 17.7% were female. A significant total increase in female participation was observed over the 13 editions of the VM. Linear regression analysis of AD speeds for each category showed a significant decrease in the youngest categories. Among the TOP athletes, the 40-year age category showed increased performance of both males and females. Analyzing the mean speed by age (AD13 and TOP13), there was a breakpoint in the speed decrease in AD13 in the age categories of 50 years in males and 55 years in females, while in TOP13 the breakpoints were in the 55- and 45-year age categories in males and females, respectively. Conclusion: The results obtained confirmed the reduction in running speed with age, as well as the definition of the VM as an example of a recreational marathon in which the participation of runners over 40 years will increase in the future, and for which specific adaptations will be required.
Regional/Single Station Zenith Tropospheric Delay Combination Prediction Model Based on Radial Basis Function Neural Network and Improved Long Short-Term Memory
Authors: Yang Xu , Li Yanmin , Yu Xuexiang , Tan Hao , Yuan Jiajia , Zhu Mingfei
Published: February 2023

Atmospheric water vapor is an essential source of information that predicts global climate change, rainfall, and disaster-natured weather. It is also a vital source of error for Earth observation systems, such as the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) plays a crucial role in applications, such as atmospheric water vapor inversion and GNSS precision positioning. ZTD has specific temporal and spatial variation characteristics. Real-time ZTD modeling is widely used in modern society. The conventional back propagation (BP) neural network model has issues, such as local, optimal, and long short-term memory (LSTM) model needs, which help by relying on long historical data. A regional/single station ZTD combination prediction model with high precision, efficiency, and suitability for online modeling was proposed. The model, called K-RBF, is based on the machine learning algorithms of radial basis function (RBF) neural network, assisted by the K-means cluster algorithm (K-RBF) and LSTM of real-time parameter updating (R-LSTM). An online updating mechanism is adopted to improve the modeling efficiency of the traditional LSTM. Taking the ZTD data (5 min sampling interval) of 13 international GNSS service stations in southern California in the United States for 90 consecutive days, K-RBF, R-LSTM, and K-RBF were used for regions, single stations, and a combination of ZTD prediction models regarding research, respectively. Real-time/near real-time prediction results show that the root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), and training time consumption (TTC) of the K-RBF model with 13 station data are 8.35 mm, 6.89 mm, 0.61, and 4.78 s, respectively. The accuracy and efficiency of the K-RBF model are improved compared with those of the conventional BP model. The RMSE, MAE, R2, and TTC of the R-LSTM model with WHC1 station data are 6.74 mm, 5.92 mm, 0.98, and 0.18 s, which improved by 67.43%, 66.42%, 63.33%, and 97.70% compared with those of the LSTM model. The comparison experiments of different historical observation data in 24 groups show that the real-time update model has strong applicability and accuracy for the time prediction of small sample data. The RMSE and MAE of K-RBF with 13 station data are 4.37 mm and 3.64 mm, which improved by 47.70% and 47.20% compared to K-RBF and by 28.48% and 31.29% compared to R-LSTM, respectively. The changes in the temporospatial features of ZTD are considered, as well, in the combination model.
PM10 Resuspension of Road Dust in Different Types of Parking Lots: Emissions, Chemical Characterisation and Ecotoxicity
Authors: Casotti Rienda Ismael , Alves Célia A. , Nunes Teresa , Soares Marlene , Amato Fulvio , Sánchez de la Campa Ana , Kováts Nóra , Hubai Katalin , Teke Gábor
Published: February 2023

The thoracic fraction of road dust (PM10) was measured for the first time in Portugal in parking areas, both outdoors and indoors, with the aim of completing existing studies carried out in active lanes of various roads. An in situ resuspension chamber was used to collect a total of 23 samples in three parking areas of Aveiro, whilst the laboratory procedures included determination of carbonaceous content (OC and EC) by a thermo-optical technique, elemental composition by ICP-MS and ICP-OES after acid digestion, and the Aliivribrio fisherii bioluminescent bacteria ecotoxicity bioassay. Dust loadings (DL10) obtained were 18.5 ± 9.8 mg PM10 m−2, in outdoor parking, and 1.8–23.7 mg PM10 m−2 for indoor parking, corresponding to emission factors of 476 and 75–589 mg veh−1 km−1, respectively. OC represented 9–30 % of PM10 for the indoor parking areas. However, for the outdoor samples, the high iron oxide content jeopardised the OC-EC separation. In those samples, carbonates accounted for 10.0 ± 3.3% of the PM10 mass. The analysis of elemental components focused on major elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, and Mg) as well as minor elements. The total mass fraction of element oxides accounted for 27.1% (outdoor) and 23.6–34.3% (indoor). ΣPAH calculated for all parking areas accounted for 8.38–36.9 μg g−1 PM10. The ecotoxicological bioassay showed that all aqueous solutions were toxic to bioluminescent bacteria, whereas no clear correlations could be made with specific component groups, with the exception of ΣPAH and EC50.
Pre-Stimulus Power but Not Phase Predicts Prefrontal Cortical Excitability in TMS-EEG
Authors: Poorganji Mohsen , Zomorrodi Reza , Zrenner Christoph , Bansal Aiyush , Hawco Colin , Hill Aron T. , Hadas Itay , Rajji Tarek K. , Chen Robert , Zrenner Brigitte , Voineskos Daphne , Blumberger Daniel M. , Daskalakis Zafiris J.
Published: February 2023

The cortical response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has notable inter-trial variability. One source of this variability can be the influence of the phase and power of pre-stimulus neuronal oscillations on single-trial TMS responses. Here, we investigate the effect of brain oscillatory activity on TMS response in 49 distinct healthy participants (64 datasets) who had received single-pulse TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Across all frequency bands of theta (4–7 Hz), alpha (8–13 Hz), and beta (14–30 Hz), there was no significant effect of pre-TMS phase on single-trial cortical evoked activity. After high-powered oscillations, whether followed by a TMS pulse or not, the subsequent activity was larger than after low-powered oscillations. We further defined a measure, corrected_effect, to enable us to investigate brain responses to the TMS pulse disentangled from the power of ongoing (spontaneous) oscillations. The corrected_effect was significantly different from zero (meaningful added effect of TMS) only in theta and beta bands. Our results suggest that brain state prior to stimulation might play some role in shaping the subsequent TMS-EEG response. Specifically, our findings indicate that the power of ongoing oscillatory activity, but not phase, can influence brain responses to TMS. Aligning the TMS pulse with specific power thresholds of an EEG signal might therefore reduce variability in neurophysiological measurements and also has the potential to facilitate more robust therapeutic effects of stimulation.