bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Active Moms: a feasibility study of a community-based and home-based physical activity intervention for low-income, ethnic-minority mothers
Authors: Arevalo Wendy Miranda , Caicedo Brianna Isabel , Urizar Guido G. , Schroeder Jan
Published: November 2023

Background

Despite the health benefits of physical activity, increasing regular physical activity levels among low-income, ethnic-minority mothers has remained a significant challenge. Yet, few studies have examined the feasibility of implementing interventions to address physical activity barriers often experienced by this population.

Methods

The current mixed-methods pilot study assessed the feasibility, impact, and acceptability of a 3-month community-based (CBI) and a home-based intervention (HBI) designed to improve physical activity and fitness levels, as well as psychosocial outcomes (self-efficacy and social support), among low-income, ethnic minority mothers. Mothers were randomized to either a 3-month CBI or HBI and completed pre- and post-intervention assessments of physical activity, fitness, self-efficacy, and social support. Intervention feasibility was assessed by tracking recruitment, retention, and adverse event rates, whereas intervention acceptability was assessed through post-intervention focus groups.

Results

Although participant recruitment was lower than expected (30 vs. target of 52 mothers), retention and adverse event feasibility goals were met (> 60% retention rate, 0% adverse events). Mothers in both groups (CBI and HBI) showed significant improvements in their physical activity and fitness levels and short-term improvements in receiving social support for physical activity. However, only mothers in the CBI group showed improvements in their self-efficacy for physical activity. Mothers also reported both types of interventions (CBI and HBI) to be acceptable with minor modifications highlighted, including the potential for graduates of these programs to serve as group facilitators.

Conclusions

Overall, the study protocol was feasible, impactful, and acceptable to low-income, ethnic minority mothers with modifications required before large-scale evaluation. (TRN: NCT05540509; 9/12/22; retrospectively registered; ClinicalTrials.org).
Surveillance cardiopulmonary exercise testing can risk-stratify childhood cancer survivors: underlying pathophysiology of poor exercise performance and possible room for improvement
Authors: Tsuda Takeshi , Davidow Kimberly , D’Aloisio Gina , Quillen Joanne
Published: November 2023

Background

Asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors (CCS) frequently show decreased exercise performance. Poor exercise performance may indicate impaired future cardiovascular health.

Methods

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was performed in asymptomatic off-treatment CCS (age ≥ 10 years). Patients were divided into Normal and Poor performance groups by %predicted maximum VO2 at 80%. Both peak and submaximal CPET values were analyzed.

Results

Thirty-eight males (19 Normal, 19 Poor) and 40 females (18 Normal, 22 Poor) were studied. Total anthracycline dosage was comparable among 4 groups. The body mass index (BMI), although normal, and weight were significantly higher in Poor groups. Peak heart rate (HR) and peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were comparable in all four groups. Peak work rate (pWR)/kg, peak oxygen consumption (pVO2)/kg, peak oxygen pulse (pOP)/kg, and ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT)/kg were significantly lower, whereas heart rate (HR) increase by WR/kg (ΔHR/Δ[WR/kg] was significantly higher in Poor groups. Simultaneously plotting of weight & pVO2 and ΔHR/ΔWR & ΔVO2/ΔHR revealed a distinct difference between the Normal and Poor groups in both sexes, suggesting decreased skeletal muscle mass and decreased stroke volume reserve, respectively, in Poor CCS. The relationship between VAT and pVO2 was almost identical between the two groups in both sexes. Ventilatory efficiency was mildly diminished in the Poor groups.

Conclusions

Decreased skeletal muscle mass, decreased stroke volume reserve, and slightly decreased ventilatory efficiency characterize Poor CCS in both sexes. This unique combined CPET analysis provides useful clinical biomarkers to screen subclinical cardiovascular abnormality in CCS and identifies an area for improvement.
Fuel treatment response groups for fire-prone sagebrush landscapes
Authors: Chambers Jeanne C. , Brown Jessi L. , Reeves Matthew C. , Strand Eva K. , Ellsworth Lisa M. , Tortorelli Claire M. , Urza Alexandra K. , Short Karen C.
Published: November 2023

Background

Sagebrush shrublands in the Great Basin, USA, are experiencing widespread increases in wildfire size and area burned resulting in new policies and funding to implement fuel treatments. However, we lack the spatial data needed to optimize the types and locations of fuel treatments across large landscapes and mitigate fire risk. To address this, we developed treatment response groups (TRGs)—sagebrush and pinyon-juniper vegetation associations that differ in resilience to fire and resistance to annual grass invasion (R&R) and thus responses to fuel treatments.

Results

We developed spatial layers of the dominant sagebrush associations by overlaying LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type, Biophysical Setting, and Mapping Zone, extracting vegetation plot data from the LANDFIRE 2016 LF Reference Database for each combination, and identifying associated sagebrush, grass, shrub, and tree species. We derived spatial layers of pinyon-juniper (PJ) cover and expansion phase within the sagebrush associations from the Rangeland Analysis Platform and identified persistent PJ woodlands from the LANDFIRE Biophysical Setting. TRGs were created by overlaying dominant sagebrush associations, with and without PJ expansion, and new indicators of resilience and resistance. We assigned appropriate woody fuel treatments to the TRGs based on prior research on treatment responses. The potential area to receive woody fuel treatments was constrained to 52,940 km2 (18.4%) of the dominant sagebrush associations (272,501 km2) largely because of extensive areas of low R&R (68.9%), which respond poorly and were not assigned treatments. Prescribed fire was assigned to big sagebrush associations with moderate or higher resilience and moderately low or higher resistance (14.2%) due to higher productivity, fuels, and recovery potential. Mechanical treatments were assigned to big sagebrush associations with moderately low resilience and to low, black, and mixed low sagebrush associations with moderately low or higher R&R (4.2%) due to lower productivity, fuels, and recovery potential. Persistent PJ woodlands represent high value resources and were not assigned treatments (9%).

Conclusions

Mapped TRGs can help identify the dominant sagebrush associations and determine appropriate fuel treatments at intermediate scales and provide the basis for quantitative wildfire risk assessments and outcome-based scenario planning to prioritize fuel treatment investments at large landscape scales.
Fixing the Leaky Pipe: How to Improve the Uptake of Patient-Reported Outcomes–Based Prognostic and Predictive Models in Cancer Clinical Practice
Authors: Spencer Katie L. , Absolom Kate L. , Allsop Matthew J. , Relton Samuel D. , Pearce Jessica , Liao Kuan , Naseer Sairah , Salako Omolola , Howdon Daniel , Hewison Jenny , Velikova Galina , Faivre-Finn Corinne , Bekker Hilary L. , van der Veer Sabine N.
Published: November 2023

PURPOSE

This discussion paper outlines challenges and proposes solutions for successfully implementing prediction models that incorporate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in cancer practice.

METHODS

We organized a full-day multidisciplinary meeting of people with expertise in cancer care delivery, PRO collection, PRO use in prediction modeling, computing, implementation, and decision science. The discussions presented here focused on identifying challenges to the development, implementation and use of prediction models incorporating PROs, and suggesting possible solutions.

RESULTS

Specific challenges and solutions were identified across three broad areas. (1) Understanding decision making and implementation: necessitating multidisciplinary collaboration in the early stages and throughout; early stakeholder engagement to define the decision problem and ensure acceptability of PROs in prediction; understanding patient/clinician interpretation of PRO predictions and uncertainty to optimize prediction impact; striving for model integration into existing electronic health records; and early regulatory alignment. (2) Recognizing the limitations to PRO collection and their impact on prediction: incorporating validated, clinically important PROs to maximize model generalizability and clinical engagement; and minimizing missing PRO data (resulting from both structural digital exclusion and time-varying factors) to avoid exacerbating existing inequalities. (3) Statistical and modeling challenges: incorporating statistical methods to address missing data; ensuring predictive modeling recognizes complex causal relationships; and considering temporal and geographic recalibration so that model predictions reflect the relevant population.

CONCLUSION

Developing and implementing PRO-based prediction models in cancer care requires extensive multidisciplinary working from the earliest stages, recognition of implementation challenges because of PRO collection and model presentation, and robust statistical methods to manage missing data, causality, and calibration. Prediction models incorporating PROs should be viewed as complex interventions, with their development and impact assessment carried out to reflect this.
Selective Personalized RadioImmunotherapy for Locally Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Trial (SPRINT)
Authors: Ohri Nitin , Jolly Shruti , Cooper Benjamin T. , Kabarriti Rafi , Bodner William R. , Klein Jonathan , Guha Chandan , Viswanathan Shankar , Shum Elaine , Sabari Joshua K. , Cheng Haiying , Gucalp Rasim A. , Castellucci Enrico , Qin Angel , Gadgeel Shirish M. , Halmos Balazs
Published: November 2023

PURPOSE

Standard therapy for locally advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant durvalumab. For biomarker-selected patients with LA-NSCLC, we hypothesized that sequential pembrolizumab and risk-adapted radiotherapy, without chemotherapy, would be well-tolerated and effective.

METHODS

Patients with stage III NSCLC or unresectable stage II NSCLC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1 were eligible for this trial. Patients with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) of ≥50% received three cycles of induction pembrolizumab (200 mg, once every 21 days), followed by a 20-fraction course of risk-adapted thoracic radiotherapy (55 Gy delivered to tumors or lymph nodes with metabolic volume exceeding 20 cc, 48 Gy delivered to smaller lesions), followed by consolidation pembrolizumab to complete a 1-year treatment course. The primary study end point was 1-year progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included response rates after induction pembrolizumab, overall survival (OS), and adverse events.

RESULTS

Twenty-five patients with a PD-L1 TPS of ≥50% were enrolled. The median age was 71, most patients (88%) had stage IIIA or IIIB disease, and the median PD-L1 TPS was 75%. Two patients developed disease progression during induction pembrolizumab, and two patients discontinued pembrolizumab after one infusion because of immune-related adverse events. Using RECIST criteria, 12 patients (48%) exhibited a partial or complete response after induction pembrolizumab. Twenty-four patients (96%) received definitive thoracic radiotherapy. The 1-year PFS rate is 76%, satisfying our efficacy objective. One- and 2-year OS rates are 92% and 76%, respectively. The most common grade 3 adverse events were colitis (n = 2, 8%) and esophagitis (n = 2, 8%), and no higher-grade treatment-related adverse events have occurred.

CONCLUSION

Pembrolizumab and risk-adapted radiotherapy, without chemotherapy, are a promising treatment approach for patients with LA-NSCLC with a PD-L1 TPS of ≥50%.
An observer's perspective of the Unruh and Hawking effects—Using coherent signals to extract information from a black hole
Authors: Ramakrishna Satish
Published: November 2023

The Unruh effect is one of the first calculations that explain what one would see when transiting between an inertial reference frame in its quantum field vacuum state and a non-inertial (specifically, uniformly accelerating) reference frame. The inertial reference frame's vacuum state would not correspond to the vacuum state of the non-inertial frame. The observer in the non-inertial frame would see radiation, with a corresponding Bose distribution and a temperature proportional to the acceleration. In this paper, I compute the response of this non-inertial observer to a single frequency mode in the inertial frame and deduce that, indeed, the cumulative distribution (over the observer's proper time) of frequencies observed by the accelerating observer would be the Bose distribution with a temperature proportional to the acceleration. The conclusion is that the Unruh effect (and the related Hawking effect) is generic, in that it would appear with any incoming incoherent state and the Bose distribution is obtained as a consequence of the non-inertial frame's motion, rather than some special property of the quantum vacuum. As a consequence of the analysis of a coherent set of signals, I show how to extract information from the spectrum that an accelerated observer would see (as well as from the radiation from a black hole).
From “Gestural Language” to “Language Gesture”: André Jolles, Aby Warburg, and the Morphology of Mass Media
Authors: Nee David
Published: November 2023

André Jolles’s Simple Forms (1929), widely regarded as a classic of genre theory, examines a range of folkloric and nonauthorial forms, such as the fairy tale, the riddle, and the joke, as part of an ambitious attempt to reground literary theory in a “morphological” approach to language inspired, ultimately, by Goethean science. This article argues that Jolles’s study should also be recognized as an important early work of media theory. Simple Forms includes a striking number of examples drawn from the mass-market newspapers of Jolles’s day. In turning to mass media, Jolles followed in the footsteps of the art historian Aby Warburg, whose Mnemosyne Atlas (1924–29) similarly juxtaposed mass-media images from newspapers with works of art from earlier historical periods. The article details how Warburg’s morphological method helped Jolles expand the boundaries of literary study to include mass media by providing him with a morphological version of the motif concept that still has generative applications.
Συγκριτική μελέτη κι αξιολόγηση μεθόδων αναγεννητικής ιατρικής και τροποποίησης μικροβιώματος σε ανοστομώσεις παχέος εντέρου
Authors: Γαϊτανίδης Απόστολος
Published: November 2023

H αναστομωτική επούλωση αποτελεί σημαντικό πεδίο έρευνας στην χειρουργική, η οποία στοχεύει στην πρόληψη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών. Οι αναστομωτικές διαφυγές είναι πιο συχνές στις αναστομώσεις ορθού και οισοφάγου. Ανάμεσα στους παράγοντες κινδύνου για την ανάπτυξη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών ανήκουν η τοποθεσία στον γαστρεντερικό σωλήνα, η παχυσαρκία, το άρρεν φύλο, η χρήση προεγχειρητικής ακτινοθεραπείας, η υποθρεψία, το κάπνισμα κι η χρήση ανοσοκατασταλτικών. Ο ακριβής μηχανισμός πίσω από την παθογένεση διαφυγών παραμένει άγνωστος, με τους περισσότερους χειρουργούς να τις αποδίδουν σε κακή τεχνική, έλλειψη αιμάτωσης κι ύπαρξη μηχανικής τάσης. Παρ’ όλο που έχουν μελετηθεί πολλές διαφορετικές τεχνικές για την κατασκευή εντερικών αναστομώσεων, δεν έχει αναγνωριστεί κάποια τεχνική η διαθέτει χαμηλότερο κίνδυνο εμφάνισης διαφυγών. Τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει αναγνωριστεί ο ρόλος του μικροβιώματος στην ανάπτυξη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών, όπου η παρουσία κολλαγονολυτικών στελεχών εντερικών μικροβίων οδηγεί σε διάσπαση αναστομώσεων. Ο σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης είναι η διερεύνηση μεθόδων αναγεννητικής ιατρικής και τροποποίησης μικροβιώματος στην επούλωση εντερικών αναστομώσεων και την πρόληψη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών. Πραγματοποιήσαμε συστηματική ανασκόπηση και μετα-ανάλυση της βιβλιογραφίας για πειραματικές μελέτες στις οποίες έγινε χρήση μεθόδων αναγεννητικής ιατρικής ή τροποποίησης του εντερικού μικροβιώματος με σκοπό την πρόληψη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών. Στην πρώτη μετα-ανάλυση επικεντρώσαμε στην πρόληψη αναστομωτικών διαφυγών σε εντερικές αναστομώσεις μετά από θεραπεία με βλαστοκύτταρα. Η θεραπεία με βλαστοκύτταρα οδήγησε σε χαμηλότερο κίνδυνο εμφάνισης αναστομωτικών διαφυγών. Η διαφορά αυτή δεν ήταν στατιστικά σημαντική αλλά πλησίασε το όριο της στατιστικής σημαντικότητας. Παρόμοια αποτελέσματα παρατηρήθηκαν και σε υπο-ανάλυση σε αναστομώσεις υψηλού κινδύνου, όπου χρησιμοποιήθηκαν πειραματικές μέθοδοι με σκοπό την παρεμπόδιση της επουλωτικής διεργασίας, π.χ. ακτινοβολία, ισχαιμία, κολίτιδα ή ακτινοβολία. Επιπρόσθετα, έγινε μετα-ανάλυση πειραματικών μελετών που διερεύνησαν μεθόδους τροποποίησης του εντερικού μικροβιώματος. Η τροποποίηση του μικροβιώματος είχε στατιστικά καλύτερη αναστομωτική επούλωση με μείωση του κινδύνου εμφάνισης αναστομωτικών διαφυγών. Όπως φαίνεται από τα παραπάνω αποτελέσματα, υπάρχει πιθανό θεραπευτικό όφελος από τη χρήση βλαστοκυττάρων σε εντερικές αναστομώσεις, πιθανώς μέσω της υποβοήθησης της σύνθεσης κολλαγόνου και της έκκρισης σημαντικών αυξητικών παραγόντων. Υπάρχει επίσης θεραπευτικό όφελος από την τροποποίηση του εντερικού μικροβιώματος με πληθώρα μεθόδων όπως τα πολυμερή με βάση το φώσφορο και το τρανεξαμικό οξύ. Τα αποτελέσματα μας δείχνουν ότι οι μέθοδοι αυτοί έχουν σημαντικό θεραπευτικό ρόλο στην ενίσχυση της αναστομωτικής επούλωσης προκειμένου στο μέλλον να προληφθεί η εμφάνιση αναστομωτικών διαφυγών.
Explaining Sarcasm of Tweets using Attention Mechanism
Authors: Keerthana R L , Singh Awadhesh Kumar , Saini Poonam , Malhotra Diksha
Published: November 2023

Emotion identification from text can help boost the effectiveness of sentiment analysis models. Sarcasm is one of the more difficult emotions to detect, particularly in textual data. Even though several models for detecting sarcasm have been presented, their performance falls way short of that of other emotion detection models. As a result, few strategies have been introduced in the paper that helped to enhance the performance of sarcasm detection models. To compare performance, the model was tested using the TweetEval benchmark dataset. On the TweetEval benchmark, the technique proposed in this paper has established a new state-of-the-art. Besides the low performance, interpretability of existing sarcasm detection models are lacking compared to other emotion detection models like hate speech and anger. Therefore, an attention-based interpretability technique has been proposed in this paper that interprets the token importance for a certain decision of sarcasm detection model. The results of the interpretability technique aid in our comprehension of the contextual embeddings of the input tokens that the model has paid the greatest attention to while making a particular decision which outperforms existing transformer-based interpretability techniques, particularly in terms of visualisations.
Speech Emotion Analysis of Short English Readings based on the CAM-SPAT Model
Authors: Li Qingyuan
Published: November 2023

With the development of technology, voice sentiment analysis has also undergone rapid development, and its application fields are constantly expanding. Multimodal models have become a key focus of researchers due to their ability to better predict emotions. In order to help English learners improve their oral English proficiency, a deep learning based emotional analysis model for English short text reading is proposed, and this model is used to analyze emotions in English reading. Additionally, a cross-modal attention mechanism based on a prediction-assisted task was developed to identify emotions in English reading aloud in state and a two-layer attention-based bi-directional long- and short-term memory network was created to classify emotions in English reading aloud. The results of the research revealed that the classification model’s mean F1 value was 98.54%, the detection model’s mean F1 value was 85.13%, and the speech emotion analysis model’s mean F1 value was 73.55, which was not significantly different from the mean of the professionals’ ratings. The significance of the study lies in providing English learners with a method and pathway to improve their oral English proficiency.
WEŁNIANE WORECZKI JAKO WYRAZ MAGICZNYCH ZACHOWAŃ WCZESNOŚREDNIOWIECZNYCH MIESZKAŃCÓW OSADY RZEMIEŚLNICZO-RYBACKIEJ W GDAŃSKU
Authors: Grupa Dawid
Published: November 2023

Zarys treści. Artykuł ma na celu przybliżenie tematyki codziennej sfery duchowej wczesnośredniowiecznej ludności na podstawie znalezisk archeologicznych. Jako materiał źródłowy posłużyły woreczki wełniane znalezione na stanowisku 1 w Gdańsku. Głównym punktem odniesienia są powiązania między pogańskimi wierzeniami ludowymi a przyjmowaniem chrześcijaństwa w państwie polskim.
Interpretable Hierarchical Deep Learning Model for Noninvasive Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis
Authors: Zokaeinikoo Maryam , Kazemian Pooyan , Mitra Prasenjit
Published: November 2023

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Alzheimer’s is typically diagnosed through expensive imaging methods, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as invasive methods, such as cerebrospinal fluid analysis. In this study, we develop an interpretable hierarchical deep learning model to detect the presence of Alzheimer’s disease from transcripts of interviews of individuals who were asked to describe a picture. Our deep recurrent neural network employs a novel three-level hierarchical attention over self-attention (AoS3) mechanism to model the temporal dependencies of longitudinal data. We demonstrate the interpretability of the model with the importance score of words, sentences, and transcripts extracted from our AoS3 model. Numerical results demonstrate that our deep learning model can detect Alzheimer’s disease from the transcripts of patient interviews with 96% accuracy when tested on the DementiaBank data set. Our interpretable neural network model can help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in a noninvasive and affordable manner, improve patient outcomes, and result in cost containment.

History: Rema Padman served as the senior editor for this article.

Data Ethics & Reproducibility Note: The code capsule is available on Code Ocean at https://codeocean.com/capsule/2881658/tree/v1 and in the e-Companion to this article (available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijds.2020.0005 ). The study involves secondary use of already-collected data. None of the authors were part of the original study team. The authors had no interaction with living individuals and had no access to protected health information (PHI) or private identifiable information about living individuals.
When Beliefs Influence the Perceived Signal Precision: The Impact of News on Reinforcement-Oriented Agents
Authors: Schraeder Stefanie
Published: November 2023

In a world of increasingly extensive information, rational investors can make better decisions. However, reinforcement-oriented investors are also more likely to observe preferred signals close to their own perception. A focus on these signals distorts the perceived aggregate signal in the direction of the prior estimate. This reduces belief adaptation. Hence, the empirically well-documented selective exposure/reinforcement theory reduces the positive impact of greater information availability on price efficiency. Additional information can sometimes even decrease perception correctness. In a market with biased investors, managers have an incentive to announce more diffuse (fewer precise) signals in case of negative (positive) information. This results in postearnings-announcement drift and dispersion anomaly. Also, the distribution shape matters for information processing. For unimodal, symmetric distributions, agents’ perceptions converge to the fundamental—even though at a reduced speed. For multimodal signal distributions, the estimate can diverge from the fundamental.

This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4941 .
Effects of high-power laser radiation on polymers for 3D printing micro-optics
Authors: Klein Sebastian , Ruchka Pavel , Klumpp Thomas , Bartels Nils , Steinle Tobias , Giessen Harald
Published: November 2023

3D printing has become a widely used technique for manufacturing micro-optical components for sensing, measurements, biomedical and quantum technologies. Hence, knowing the maximum usable power or damage thresholds of 3D-printed micro-optics becomes crucial. Here we present a first study of the damage threshold values of the IP-S photoresist under high-power cw-, fs-, and ns-pulsed laser radiation with wavelengths in the NIR range. We also study the differences between visual evaluation using bright-field microscopy, DIC-microscopy, and beam-profile damage detection. Finally, we present several application-inspired use cases of 3D printed fiber micro-optics, reaching 10.5 W output power of cw-radiation at 915 nm and 4.5 W and 550 fs pulsed operation at 1040 nm.
Back action evasion in optical lever detection
Authors: Hao Shan , Purdy Thomas P.
Published: November 2023

The optical lever is a centuries old and widely used detection
technique employed in applications ranging from consumer products and
industrial sensors to precision force microscopes used in scientific
research. However, despite the long history, its quantum limits have
yet to be explored. In general, any precision optical measurement is
accompanied by optical force induced disturbance to the measured
object (termed as back action) leading to a standard quantum limit
(SQL). Here, we give a simple ray optics description of how such back
action can be evaded in optical lever detection. We perform a
proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating the mechanism of back
action evasion in the classical regime, by developing a lens system
that cancels extra tilting of the reflected light off a silicon
nitride membrane mechanical resonator caused by
laser-pointing-noise-induced optical torques. We achieve a readout
noise floor two orders of magnitude lower than the SQL, corresponding
to an effective optomechanical cooperativity of 100 without the need
for an optical cavity. As the state-of-the-art ultralow dissipation
optomechanical systems relevant for quantum sensing are rapidly
approaching the level where quantum noise dominates, simple and widely
applicable back action evading protocols will be crucial for pushing
beyond quantum limits.
Occupational stress and environmental impact among traffic police officers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: A qualitative study
Authors: Yadav Binita , Bhusal Sandesh , K. C. Anil , Singh Pradhan Pranil Man
Published: November 2023

Policing is considered an extremely stressful, physically demanding, and mentally challenging occupation. The growing population with an increasing number of vehicles and the harsh working environment has made the work of traffic police even more stressful. This qualitative study aims to examine work and environment-related stressful factors among traffic police officials of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. This qualitative study used a thematic analysis approach. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with different cadres of 15 traffic police personnel working in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal for at least six months. The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ) guideline. The findings of this study are structured around five major themes- workload, work-life balance, basic amenities, work environment and occupational health problems, and possible solutions and suggestions. Most of the participants (10 out of 15) reported having work stress due to the heavy workload and hazardous working conditions that had a significant impact on their job performance and mental well-being. This study highlights the challenges faced by traffic police officers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The findings suggest that efforts should be made to improve the working environment of traffic police officers to reduce the physical as well as mental burden among them. The occupational health and safety (OHS) and mental well-being of traffic enforcers’ is a critical public health issue, therefore, it should be on the agenda of policymakers, organizational leaders, and stakeholders.
Trust and reciprocity norms in the analysis of social capital related to udder health. A mixed methods approach with dairy farmers and veterinarians from the north of Antioquia
Authors: Zapata-Salas Richard , Guarín José F. , Ríos-Osorio Leonardo A.
Published: November 2023

Understanding trust between dairy farmers and other actors in the dairy chain, as well as the reciprocity norms among them are fundamental to encouraging collective action and decision-making to improve milk production and udder health. The objective of this study was to understand the relationships of trust between dairy farmers and other actors in the dairy chain related to udder health in the north of Antioquia. Mixed methods (cross-sectional and grounded theory) with a convergent triangulation design were used. A total of 216 dairy farmers participated in the quantitative component, and 17 dairy farmers and 9 veterinarians in the qualitative component, they were located in 9 milk-producing municipalities in the north of Antioquia. A characterization survey of the dairy farmers, a survey on reliability and udder health, an analysis of each farm’s annual average BTSCC and CFU, and semi-structured interviews on the same topic were conducted. Problems were found in the biological indicators of udder health on the farms: BTSCC was poor for 67% of the dairy farmers, and CFU was poor for 22% of the dairy farmers. Veterinarians are the actors whom dairy farmers trust the most. Trust in dairy chain actors is complex, variable, and depends on many aspects. Trust representation, Socio-cultural Factors, Economic and Commercial Factors, Labor, Clinical and Laboratory Conditions of Milk, and Norms of Reciprocity constitute the categories of analysis when theorizing about trust and udder health. Each of the theoretical and emerging categories in this study describes actors, attitudes, behaviors, relationships between actors, and norms, allowing us to understand that trust between dairy farmers and other actors in the dairy chain in order to face the problems of udder health and milk production depends on technical processes, individual and collective human attitudes and behaviors, supply of services, political, regulative and economic determinants, the latter being transcendental in decision-making to invest in mastitis control and udder health care.
Supplementing dairy feed by dicalcium phosphate and effect on dry matter intake, digestibility, milk composition, and blood mineral balances in crossbred dairy cows
Authors: Wondater Wondewsen Bekele , Ayanie Tilaye Demissie
Published: November 2023

The present study was conducted to assess if Dicalcium Phosphate 18% (DCP) supplementation in dairy feed would affect dry matter intake, milk composition, blood mineral balance and milk production in lactating crossbred Dairy Cows). A 4 × 4 double change-over design set as Latin Squares was used to do feeding and digestibility trials. DCP was supplemented at different levels 0; 0.3; 0.6; 0.9% DM/day of DCP for which the experimental groups was respectively designated as T0, T1, T2, T3, The effect of DCP supplementation on parameters of interest was evaluated using blood serum, milk, feed and feed refusals samples. The present study revealed that supplementation of DCP with the concentrate mix improved mean dry matter intake (11.46; 12.81; 14.59, and 15.68 kg DM/d) for T0, T1, T2, T3, respectively, and digestibility of nutrients in lactating dairy cows compared to the controls. Likewise, DCP supplementation improved milk production and composition except solids not fat (SNF) composition. Serum calcium (Ca) composition was significantly in supplemented group (p<0.05). DCP supplementation significantly improved (p<0.05) total Ca intake, Ca in milk, Ca in feces, total Ca excretion. Optimum dairy cow production and productivity was achieved at 0.6% DM/day of DCP supplementation. However, the current results need to be confirmed using large number of lactating dairy animals.
Depth and temperature preferences of meagre, Argyrosomus regius, as revealed by satellite telemetry
Authors: Winkler Alexander Claus , Bovim Lily , Macena Bruno C. L. , Gandra Miguel , Erzini Karim , Afonso Pedro , Abecasis David
Published: November 2023

Argyrosomus regius (commonly referred to as meagre), is one of Europe’s largest coastal bony fish species and supports important recreational and commercial fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Demand for this species, and more recently for their swim bladders, has led to regional population declines and growing importance as an aquaculture species. Despite intense research in captivity, little is known about the spatial ecology of A. regius’s wild population, including basic information such as vertical migrations and depth/temperature preferences. Previous research based on indirect data suggests a seasonal habitat shift from shallow to deeper waters, but this has never been validated through direct high-resolution movement data. In this study, we tagged 13 adult A. regius with pop-up satellite archival tags in the South of Portugal, which successfully returned data from 11 individuals including high-resolution data from six recovered tags (mean, range: 167 days, 28–301 days). We found that adults of this population spend 95.2% of their time between 5 and 75 m depth (mean ± SD, 30.9m ± 18.3m) and do not venture beyond 125 m. Across seasons, A. regius move across water temperatures between 13.3 and 24.8°C with a preferred thermal range between 14 and 18°C where they spent 75.4% of their time. The inferential modelling using this electronic data validated previous hypotheses by showing significant differences between a shallower and warmer summer habitat vs. a deeper and cooler winter habitat. Visual investigation of the diel effects on depth preferences suggests subtle changes in depth use between day and night during the warmer months of the year. We speculate that these patterns are in response to the species’ behavioural ecology and physiology, reflecting the seasonal changes in water stratification and presence of prey, as well as on the species reproduction, which results in summer spawning aggregations in shallower areas.
Adaptation of CUT&RUN for use in African trypanosomes
Authors: Miller Geneva , Rollosson Lindsey M. , Saada Carrie , Wade Serenity J. , Schulz Danae
Published: November 2023

This Cleavage Under Targets and Release Using Nuclease (CUT&RUN) protocol produces genomic occupancy data for a protein of interest in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The data produced is analyzed in a similar way as that produced by ChIP-seq. While we describe the protocol for parasites carrying an epitope tag for the protein of interest, antibodies against the native protein could be used for the same purpose.
Molecular dynamics simulations of human α-defensin 5 (HD5) crossing gram-negative bacterial membrane
Authors: Awang Tadsanee , Chairatana Phoom , Pongprayoon Prapasiri
Published: November 2023

Human α-defensin 5 (HD5) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide exhibiting a wide range of antimicrobial activities. It plays an important role in mucosal immunity of the small intestine. HD5 exerts its bactericidal activities through multiple mechanisms, one of which involves HD5 inducing the formation of pores in the bacterial membrane, subsequently allowing the peptide to enter the bacterial cytoplasm. Nevertheless, the precise molecular intricacies underlying its bactericidal mechanisms remain inadequately understood. In this work, the Potential of Mean Force (PMF) was computed to delve into the energetic properties governing the movement of HD5 across the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) membrane, which is a representative model of the gram-negative bacterial membrane. Our findings indicate that the most favorable free energy is attained when HD5 binds to the surface of the LPS membrane. This favorable interaction is primarily driven by the strong interactions between arginine residues in HD5 and the charged head groups of LPS, serving as the predominant forces facilitating the adhesion of HD5 to the membrane. Our analysis reveals that a dimeric form of HD5 alone is sufficient to create a water-filled channel in the membrane; however, achieving the complete lysis of the gram-negative bacterial membrane requires higher-order oligomerization of HD5. Our results suggest that HD5 employs the toroidal pore formation mechanism to disrupt the integrity of the LPS membrane. Furthermore, we identified that the primary energy barrier obstructing HD5 from traversing the membrane is localized within the hydrophobic core of the membrane, which is also observed for other defensins. Additionally, our study demonstrates that a mixture of HD5-LPS leads to a thinning of the membrane. Taken together, this work provides a deeper insight into the molecular intricacies governing the behavior of HD5 as it translocates through the gram-negative bacterial membrane.
Healthcare professionals’ views on the most important outcomes for non-infectious uveitis of the posterior segment: A qualitative study
Authors: Tallouzi Mohammad O. , Moore David J. , Bucknall Nicholas , Murray Philip I. , Calvert Melanie J. , Denniston Alastair K. , Mathers Jonathan
Published: November 2023

Background

Uveitis comprises a range of conditions that result in intraocular inflammation. Most sight-threatening uveitis falls into the broad category known as Non-infectious Posterior Segment-Involving Uveitis (PSIU). To evaluate treatments, trialists and clinicians must select outcome measures. The aim of this study was to understand healthcare professionals’ perspectives on what outcomes are important to adult patients with PSIU and their carers.

Methods

Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were undertaken to understand the perspectives of healthcare professionals. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Findings were compared with the views of patients and carers and outcomes abstracted from a previously published systematic review.

Results

Eleven core domains were identified as important to healthcare professionals: (1) visual function, (2) symptoms, (3) functional ability, (4) impact on relationships, (5) financial impact, (6) psychological morbidity and emotional well-being (7) psychosocial adjustment to uveitis, (8) doctor / patient / interprofessional relationships and access to health care, (9) treatment burden, (10) treatment side effects, (11) disease control. Healthcare professionals recognised a similar range of domains to patients and carers but placed more emphasis on certain outcomes, particularly in the disease control domain. In contrast the range of outcomes identified via the systematic review was limited.

Conclusion

Healthcare professionals recognise all of the published outcome domains as patients/carers in the previous publication but with subtly differing emphasis within some domains and with a priority for certain types of measures. Healthcare professionals discussed the disease control and side effects/complications to a greater degree than patients and carers in the focus groups
Effect of gait types and external weight carrying strategies on the femoral neck strains during stair descent
Authors: Deng Chen , Gillette Jason C. , Derrick Timothy R.
Published: November 2023

Gait and weight carrying method may change the femoral neck load during stair descent. Applying specific gait and weight carrying methods may reduce the femoral neck load during stair descent, which may reduce hip pain, hip pain related falls and fall related fractures for the older population. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of different gait types (step-over-step v.s. step-by-step) and external weight carrying strategies (ipsilateral v.s. contralateral side) on the femoral neck load, discover which method could reduce the femoral neck load effectively. Seventeen healthy adults from 50 to 70 yrs old were recruited. The kinematic and kinetic analysis, musculoskeletal modelling method were used to estimate the joint and muscle loads for the lower extremities. Finite element analysis was used with the femur model to calculate the femoral neck strains during stair descent with different gait types and weight carrying strategies. The compressive strains were reduced for step-by-step gait method than step-over-step (p<0.015, 12.3–17.4% decrease of strains), the tensile strains were significantly increased for the trailing leg of step-by-step than the leading leg (p<0.001, 24.7% increase of strains). Contralateral weight carrying increased compressive and tensile strains than ipsilateral (p<0.001, 9.9–24.5% increase of strains) in most conditions. Applying step-by-step method and avoiding contralateral side weight carrying could be effective to reduce femoral neck strains. These outcomes could be helpful for the older population to reduce the risks of hip pain, femoral neck pain or pain related falls and fractures.
Variability in the temporal dynamics of object-based attentional selection
Authors: Lou Hao , Lorist Monicque M. , Pilz Karin S.
Published: November 2023

Our attention can be directed to specific locations in our visual field (space-based attention), or to specific objects (object-based attention). However, object-based attention tends to be less pronounced than space-based attention and can vary greatly between individuals. Here we investigated whether the low prevalence of object-based effects is related to variability in the temporal dynamics of attentional selection. We manipulated cue-to-target intervals from 50 to 600 ms in a two-rectangle discrimination task. Space- and object-based effects were measured at the group level and for individual participants. We used bootstrapping to highlight cue-to-target intervals with maximal space- and object-based effects, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) to investigate rhythmic sampling of locations within and between objects. Whereas overall, space-based effects were robust and stable across all cue-to-target intervals for most participants, object-based effects were small and were only found for a small subset of participants in the different cue-to-target intervals. In the frequency domain, only a small number of participants exhibited significant periodicities, prompting the need for further investigation and consideration. Overall, our study suggests variability in the temporal dynamics of object-based effects underlying their low prevalence, a finding that needs to be further investigated in future studies.
An efficient 3-approximation algorithm for the Steiner tree problem with the minimum number of Steiner points and bounded edge length
Authors: Shin Donghoon , Choi Sunghee
Published: November 2023

We present improved algorithms for the Steiner tree problem with the minimum number of Steiner points and bounded edge length. Given n terminal points in a 2D Euclidean plane and an edge length bound, the problem asks to construct a spanning tree of n terminal points with minimal Steiner points such that every edge length of the spanning tree is within the given bound. This problem is known to be NP-hard and has practical applications such as relay node placements in wireless networks, wavelength-division multiplexing(WDM) optimal network design, and VLSI design. The best-known deterministic approximation algorithm has O(n3) running time with an approximation ratio of 3. This paper proposes an efficient approximation algorithm using the Voronoi diagram that guarantees an approximation ratio of 3 in O(n log n) time. We also present the first exact algorithm to find an optimal Steiner tree for given three terminal points in constant time. Using this exact algorithm, we improve the 3-approximation algorithm with better performance regarding the number of required Steiner points in O(n log n) time.
Adaptive evidence of mitochondrial genes in Pteromalidae and Eulophidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)
Authors: Kang Ning , Hu Hongying
Published: November 2023

Pteromalidae and Eulophidae are predominant and abundant taxa within Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera: Apocrita). These taxa are found in diverse ecosystems, ranging from basin deserts (200 m) to alpine grasslands (4500 m). Mitochondria, cellular powerhouses responsible for energy production via oxidative phosphorylation, are sensitive to various environmental factors such as extreme cold, hypoxia, and intense ultraviolet radiation characteristic of alpine regions. Whether the molecular evolution of mitochondrial genes in these parasitoids corresponds to changes in the energy requirements and alpine environmental adaptations remains unknown. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of mitochondrial protein-coding genes from 11 alpine species of Pteromalidae and Eulophidae, along with 18 lowland relatives, including 16 newly sequenced species. We further examined the codon usage preferences (RSCU, ENC-GC3s, neutrality, and PR2 bias plot) in these mitochondrial protein-coding sequences and conducted positive selection analysis based on their Bayesian phylogenetic relationships, and identified positive selection sites in the ATP6, ATP8, COX1, COX3, and CYTB genes, emphasizing the crucial role of mitochondrial gene adaptive evolution in the adaptation of Pteromalidae and Eulophidae to alpine environments. The phylogenetically independent contrast (PIC) analysis results verified the ω ratio of 13 PCGs from Pteromalidae and Eulophidae increased with elevation, and results from generalized linear model confirm that ATP6, ATP8, COX3, and ND1 are closely correlated with temperature-related environmental factors. This research not only enriched the molecular data of endemic alpine species but also underscores the significance of mitochondrial genes in facilitating the adaptation of these minor parasitoids to plateau habitats.