bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Besse Extended Cubic B-spline Collocation Method for Solving Benjamin-Bona-Mahony Equation
Authors: Mohd Rahan Nur Nadiah , Abd Hamid Nur Nadiah
Published: June 2023

Extended cubic B-spline collocation method is formulated to solve the Benjamin-Bona-Mahony equation without linearization. The Besse relaxation scheme is applied on the nonlinear terms and therefore transforms the equation into a systemof two linear equations. The time derivative is discretized using Forward Difference Approximation whereas the spatial dimension is approximated using extended cubic B-spline function. Applying the von-Neumann stability analysis, the proposed technique are shown unconditionally stable. Two numerical examples are presented and the results are compared with the exact solutions and recent methods.
Backward Bifurcation and Hysteresis in a Mathematical Model of COVID19 with Imperfect Vaccine
Authors: Rwat Solomon Isa , Ahmad Noor Atinah Ahmad
Published: June 2023

Vaccination has been used as strategy to eradicate the spread of COVID-19. But imperfect vaccine has been reported to induce backward bifurcation and hysteresis in mathematical models of disease transmission. Backward bifurcation is a phenomenon whereby a stable endemic equilibrium exists contemporaneously with a stable disease-free equilibrium when the basic reproduction number is less than 1. This situation can cause difficulty in controlling an epidemic because the basic reproduction is no longer the only means of eradicating the disease. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model for the transmission of disease which includes imperfect vaccination. We show that our model is capable of capturing backward bifurcation under certain conditions. By using parameters that are relevant to COVID-19 transmission in Malaysia, our numerical analysis shows that low vaccine efficacy can trigger backward bifurcation.
An Algorithm for Rendering Force Fields at Many and Close Control Points Using Acoustic Holography for Ultrasound Therapy
Authors: Shinato Tomoya , Shiraishi Toshihiko
Published: June 2023

Ultrasound therapy is advantageous because it is a noninvasive treatment for the body. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound can aid fracture healing. We focus on phased array transducers (PATs) to render force fields and realize the improvement in medical equipment to enhance this therapy. This can both render an arbitrary acoustic field and quickly change it by controlling the output and phase of each transducer. There are some algorithms for controlling PATs; however, the effectiveness of these algorithms is limited at sparse control points. We propose a novel algorithm to control PATs at many and close control points in this research. We compare the proposed algorithm with previous ones and assess the avoidance of negative effects outside the target area. The findings show that the proposed algorithm achieves both excellent reconstruction performance and low computational cost, and it can render an acoustic field sufficient to prevent negative effects on the body.
Alternative approach for the growth of a TiB2/TiC multilayer on M2 steel using the duplex method: Cathodic arc physical vapor deposition and cathodic reduction and thermal diffusion boriding
Authors: Karimzadehkhoei Mehran , Kacar Erkan , Timur Servet , Urgen Mustafa , Kartal Sireli Guldem
Published: June 2023

An alternative approach for producing a hard TiB2/TiC multilayer on M2 high-speed steel was introduced by combining cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CA-PVD) and cathodic reduction and thermal diffusion-based boriding (CRTD-Bor). In this regard, the CRTD-Bor process was applied on CA-PVD Ti-deposited M2 steel and the effects of boriding parameters (i.e., temperatures and durations) on multilayer growth were examined. During boriding, Ti coating on the substrate was converted into Ti-borides on the top surface and a TiC layer was simultaneously formed at the interface of the Ti deposit and the steel matrix. The growth of boride and carbide phases was found to obey the parabolic law. The pre-exponential factors (K0) and the activation energy (Q) values were calculated as 7.50 × 10−9 m2/s and 146.10 kJ/mol for TiB2 growth and 1.81 × 10−7 m2/s and 187.31 kJ/mol for TiC formations, respectively. Additionally, empirical equations for estimating the thicknesses of TiB2 and TiC layers were derived. The penetration depth-dependent hardness measurements revealed the TiB2 layer hardness as 41 ± 5 Gpa, which decreased gradually toward the TiB region (24 ± 2 GPa) and fell to 13 ± 1 GPa in the Ti-rich area. The hardness then increased to 20 ± 1 GPa with the contribution of the TiC layer adjacent to the substrate. This multilayer coating exhibited −5.5 to −4.5 GPa compressive stress and good adhesions (HF1) to the substrates. Also, the results of tribological tests indicated a sevenfold increase in wear resistance under dry sliding conditions.
Acetate and Acetyl-CoA Metabolism of ANME-2 Anaerobic Archaeal Methanotrophs
Authors: Ouboter Heleen T. , Arshad Arslan , Berger Stefanie , Saucedo Sanchez Jesus Gerardo , Op den Camp Huub J. M. , Jetten Mike S. M. , Welte Cornelia U. , Kurth Julia M.
Published: June 2023

Acetyl-CoA plays a key role in carbon metabolism and is found at the junction of many anabolic and catabolic reactions. This work describes the biochemical properties of ACS and ACD enzymes from ANME-2 archaea. This adds to our knowledge of archaeal ACS and ACD enzymes, only a few of which have been characterized to date. Furthermore, we validated the
in situ
activity of ACS in ANME-2d, showing the conversion of acetate into methane by an enrichment culture dominated by ANME-2d.
Quorum Sensing Is Required for the Colony Establishment of a Plant Phyllosphere Bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris Strain GJ-22
Authors: Zhang Weixing , Peng Qianze , Chen Lijie , Gu Zepei , Liu Zhuoxin , Zhang Deyong , Cheng Ju’e , Zheng Limin , Chen Ang , Liu Yong , Su Pin
Published: June 2023

Quorum sensing is used by various bacteria for coordinating the multiplication of bacterial cells in a group and for modulating the behaviors of surrounding microbial species. Host plants can benefit from this interspecies modulation, as it can disrupt the QS circuits of pathogenic bacteria.
Distinct Depth-Discrete Profiles of Microbial Communities and Geochemical Insights in the Subsurface Critical Zone
Authors: Wu Xiaoqin , Gushgari-Doyle Sara , Lui Lauren M. , Hendrickson Andrew J. , Liu Yina , Jagadamma Sindhu , Nielsen Torben N. , Justice Nicholas B. , Simmons Tuesday , Hess Nancy J. , Joyner Dominique C. , Hazen Terry C. , Arkin Adam P. , Chakraborty Romy
Published: June 2023

In this study, we explored the links between geochemical parameters, microbial community structure and metabolic potential across the depth of sediment, including the shallow subsurface, vadose zone, capillary fringe, and saturated zone. Our results revealed that microbes in the terrestrial subsurface can be highly localized, with communities rarely being interconnected along the depth.
Identification of
Toxoplasma
calcium-dependent protein kinase 3 as a stress-activated elongation factor 2 kinase
Authors: Lis Agnieszka , Baptista Carlos Gustavo , Dahlgren Kelsey , Corvi Maria M. , Blader Ira J.
Published: June 2023

Toxoplasma gondii
is an obligate intracellular parasite whose tachyzoite form causes disease via a lytic growth cycle. Its metabolic and cellular pathways are primarily designed to ensure parasite survival within a host cell. But during its lytic cycle, tachyzoites are exposed to the extracellular milieu and prolonged exposure requires activation of stress response pathways that include reprogramming the parasite proteome. Regulation of protein synthesis is therefore important for extracellular survival. We previously reported that in extracellularly stressed parasites, the elongation phase of protein synthesis is regulated by the
Toxoplasma
oxygen-sensing protein, PHYb. PHYb acts by promoting the activity of elongation factor eEF2, which is a GTPase that catalyzes the transfer of the peptidyl-tRNA from the A site to the P site of the ribosome. In the absence of PHYb, eEF2 is hyper-phosphorylated, which inhibits eEF2 from interacting with the ribosome. eEF2 kinases are atypical calcium-dependent kinases and BLAST analyses revealed the parasite kinase, CDPK3, as the most highly homologous to the
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
eEF2 kinase,
RCK2
. In parasites exposed to extracellular stress, loss of CDPK3 leads to decreased eEF2 phosphorylation and enhanced rates of elongation. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation studies revealed that CDPK3 and eEF2 interact in stressed parasites. Since CDPK3 and eEF2 normally localize to the plasma membrane and cytosol, respectively, we investigated how the two can interact. We report that under stress conditions, CDPK3 is not N-myristoylated likely leading to its cytoplasmic localization. In summary, we have identified a novel function for CDPK3 as the first protozoan extracellular stress-induced eEF2 kinase.

IMPORTANCE

Although it is an obligate intracellular parasite,
Toxoplasma
must be able to survive in the extracellular environment. Our previous work indicated that ensuring that elongation continues during protein synthesis is part of this stress response and that this is due to preventing phosphorylation of elongation factor 2. But the identity of the eEF2 kinase has remained unknown in
Toxoplasma
and other protozoan parasites. Here, we identify CDPK3 as the first protozoan eEF2 kinase and demonstrate that it is part of a stress response initiated when parasites are exposed to extracellular stress. We also demonstrate that CDPK3 engages eEF2 as a result of its relocalization from the plasma membrane to the cytosol.
Psychrobacter
Phage Encoding an Antibiotics Resistance Gene Represents a Novel Caudoviral Family
Authors: Wang Hongmin , Ren Linyi , Liang Yantao , Zheng Kaiyang , Guo Ruizhe , Liu Yundan , Wang Ziyue , Han Ying , Zhang Xinran , Shao Hongbing , Sung Yeong Yik , Mok Wen Jye , Wong Li Lian , McMinn Andrew , Wang Min
Published: June 2023

Although
Psychrobacter
is a well-known and important bacterial genus that is widespread in Antarctic and marine environments, genetic characterization of its phages is still rare. This study describes a novel
Psychrobacter
phage containing an uncharacterized antibiotic resistance gene and representing a new virus family,
Minviridae
. The characterization provided here will bolster current understanding of genomes, diversity, evolution, and phage-host interactions in
Psychrobacter
populations.
Older than they look: Cryptic recycled xenotime on detrital zircon
Authors: Dröllner Maximilian , Barham Milo , Kirkland Christopher L. , Roberts Malcolm P.
Published: June 2023

Dating of xenotime outgrowths (XOs) has been used to obtain depositional age constraints on sedimentary sequences devoid of volcanic tuffs and biostratigraphically useful fossils (i.e., most of Earth history). Here, we present geochronological and geochemical data from XOs on detrital zircon from the Early Cretaceous Broome Sandstone, NW Australia. Ages of XOs predate the palynologically constrained deposition of the Broome Sandstone by at least 150 m.y., suggesting that these XOs were detrital and transported together with the zircon to which they are attached. This finding contrasts with the general assumption that XOs are principally authigenic phases. Integration of geochronology and geochemistry links Broome Sandstone XOs to intermediate geological events in the sediment source area. These results emphasize the importance of evaluating a potential detrital origin for XOs because sedimentary transport does not appear to universally destroy nor liberate them from their zircon substrate. Despite this, the study of XOs provides an important means to reconstruct complexities of source-to-sink sediment histories, including intermediate storage and overprinting, e.g., during diagenetic, metamorphic, hydrothermal, and igneous activity. Such information is critical for more holistic geological reconstructions but is not retained within the most applied provenance tool (detrital zircon).
Male sling is as good as more complex surgery for incontinence after prostate surgery
Authors: Saul Helen , Deeney Brendan , Cassidy Samantha , Kwint Jemma , Constable Lynda , Abrams Paul
Published: June 2023

The study

Constable L, Abrams P, Cooper D, et. Synthetic sling or artificial urinary sphincter for men with urodynamic stress incontinence after prostate surgery: the MASTER non-inferiority RCT.
Health Technol Assess
2022;26:1-152

To read the full NIHR Alert, go to:
https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/male-sling-is-as-good-as-more-complex-surgery-for-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery/
Effectiveness of using a patient education mobile application to improve the quality of bowel preparation: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Dao Hang Viet , Dao Quan Viet , Lam Hoa Ngoc , Hoang Long Bao , Nguyen Van Thi , Nguyen Thuy Thi , Vu Dat Quoc , Pokorny Christopher S , Nguyen Hoa Lan , Allison Jeroan , Goldberg Robert Joel , Dao An Thi Minh , Do Toan Thanh Thi , Dao Long Van
Published: June 2023

Aims

To determine the effectiveness of a mobile application (app) in improving the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy.

Method

An endoscopist-blinded randomised controlled trial enrolled patients who were undergoing a colonoscopy on the same day of bowel preparation. The intervention used a Vietnamese mobile app that provides instructions on bowel preparation while patients in the comparison group received conventional instructions. Outcomes included the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) to assess the quality of bowel preparation and the polyp detection rate (PDR) and adenoma detection rate (ADR).

Results

The study recruited 515 patients (256 in the intervention group). The median age was 42 years, 50.9% were females, 69.1% high school graduates and higher, and 45.2% from urban area. Patients in the intervention group had higher adherence to instructions (60.9% vs 52.4%, p=0.05) and longer length of taking laxatives (mean difference 0.17 hours, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.27). The intervention did not reduce the risk of poor bowel cleansing (total BBPS<6) in both overall (7.4% vs 7.7%; risk ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.76) and subgroup analysis. PDR and ADR were similar between the two groups.

Conclusions

The mobile app providing instructions on proper bowel preparation improved the practice during bowel preparation but did not improve the quality of bowel cleansing or PDR.
Randomised controlled trials of non-pharmacological interventions to improve patient-reported outcomes of colonoscopy: a scoping review
Authors: Sue-Chue-Lam Colin , Castelo Matthew , Benmessaoud Amina , Kishibe Teruko , Llovet Diego , Brezden-Masley Christine , Yu Amy YX , Tinmouth Jill , Baxter Nancy N
Published: June 2023

Background and aims

Non-pharmacological interventions to improve patient-reported outcomes of colonoscopy may be effective at mitigating negative experiences and perceptions of the procedure, but research to characterise the extent and features of studies of these interventions is limited.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review searching multiple databases for peer-reviewed publications of randomised controlled trials conducted in adults investigating a non-pharmacological intervention to improve patient-reported outcomes of colonoscopy. Study characteristics were tabulated and summarised narratively and graphically.

Results

We screened 5939 citations and 962 full texts, and included 245 publications from 39 countries published between 1992 and 2022. Of these, 80.8% were full publications and 19.2% were abstracts. Of the 41.9% of studies reporting funding sources, 11.4% were unfunded. The most common interventions were carbon dioxide and/or water insufflation methods (33.9%), complementary and alternative medicines (eg, acupuncture) (20.0%), and colonoscope technology (eg, magnetic scope guide) (21.6%). Pain was as an outcome across 82.0% of studies. Studies most often used a patient-reported outcome examining patient experience during the procedure (60.0%), but 42.9% of studies included an outcome without specifying the time that the patient experienced the outcome. Most intraprocedural patient-reported outcomes were measured retrospectively rather than contemporaneously, although studies varied in terms of when outcomes were assessed.

Conclusion

Research on non-pharmacological interventions to improve patient-reported outcomes of colonoscopy is unevenly distributed across types of intervention and features high variation in study design and reporting, in particular around outcomes. Future research efforts into non-pharmacological interventions to improve patient-reported outcomes of colonoscopy should be directed at underinvestigated interventions and developing consensus-based guidelines for study design, with particular attention to how and when outcomes are experienced and measured.

PROSPERO registration number

42020173906.
Mortality and readmission risk for hospitalised patients with acute exacerbation of COPD with and without spirometric obstruction: a longitudinal observational study in China
Authors: Ren Xiaoxia , Wang Ye , He Ruoxi , Dong Fen , Liu Dongyan , Yang Ting , Wang Chen
Published: June 2023

Objective

To compare the clinical features and outcomes in patients with pre-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COPD hospitalised for confirmed or suspected acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD).

Design

A multicentre, longitudinal observational cohort study.

Setting

Data were obtained from the AECOPD Inpatient Registry Study in China.

Participants

5896 patients hospitalised for AECOPD between 2017 and 2021.

Outcomes

Patients were divided into the COPD (n=5201) and pre-COPD (n=695) groups according to the lung function test results. The outcomes of interest included all-cause, respiratory disease-related and cardiovascular disease-related deaths as well as readmissions within 30 days and 12 months after discharge. Cumulative incidence functions were used to estimate the risk of cause-specific mortality and readmission. Multivariate hazard function models were used to determine the association between lung function and outcomes.

Results

There were significant between-group differences in the symptoms at admission and medication use during hospitalisation. However, there was no significant between-group difference in the 30-day all-cause mortality (0.00 vs 2.23/1000 person-month (pm), p=0.6110) and readmission (33.52 vs 30.64/1000 pm, p=0.7175). Likewise, the 30-day and 12-month cause-specific outcomes were not significantly different between groups (30-day readmission with acute exacerbation (AE): 26.07 vs 25.11/1000 pm; 12-month all-cause mortality: 0.20 vs 0.93/1000 pm; all-cause readmission: 11.49 vs 13.75/1000 pm; readmission with AE: 9.15 vs 11.64/1000 pm, p>0.05 for all comparisons). Cumulative incidence curves revealed no significant between-group differences in the 30-day and 12-month prognosis (p>0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed no significant association of lung function categories with 30-day and 12-month mortality or readmission (p>0.05 for all effect estimations).

Conclusions

Patients with pre-COPD have mild symptoms and similar risks for mortality and readmission during follow-up as patients with COPD. Patients with pre-COPD should receive optimal therapies before the occurrence of irreversible damage.
Validation of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in an Indonesian population: a scale adaptation study
Authors: Tiksnadi Badai Bhatara , Triani Nurlita , Fihaya Faris Yuflih , Turu’ Allo Iswandy Janetputra , Iskandar Shelly , Putri Diba Artsiyanti Ediyana
Published: June 2023

Objective

This study aims to adapt the English-language Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to the Indonesian language and evaluate the validity and reliability of the adapted version (ie, HADS-Indonesia).

Design

A cross-sectional study was conducted between June and November 2018. First, a translation and back-translation process was conducted by a committee consisting of the researchers, a psychiatrist, a methodology consultant and two translators. Face and convergent validity and test–retest reliability evaluations were conducted. Next, structural validity and internal consistency analyses were performed. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test evaluated the scale’s test–retest reliability. A Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was calculated to evaluate the correlation between HADS-Indonesia and Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) for convergent validity evidence. Next, a structural validity analysis using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and an internal consistency evaluation based on Cronbach’s alpha was conducted.

Setting

This study was conducted in three villages in Jatinangor subdistrict, Sumedang Regency, West Java province, Indonesia; the villages were chosen based on their profiles.

Participants

A total of 200 participants (male: n=91, 45.50% and female: n=109, 54.50%), with a mean age of 42.41 (14.25) years, were enrolled in this study using a convenience sampling method. The inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years old with basic Indonesian language literacy.

Results

The overall HADS-Indonesia’s ICC value was 0.98. There was a significant positive correlation between HADS-Indonesia’s anxiety subscale and Zung’s SAS (rs=0.45, p=0.030) and between the depression subscale of HADS-Indonesia and Zung’s SDS (rs=0.58, p<0.001). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin statistics (KMO) (KMO=0.89) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ2(91, N=200)=1052.38, p<0.001)) indicated an adequate number of samples for EFA. All items’ commonality was >0.40 and the average inter-item correlation was 0.36. EFA yielded a 2-factor solution explaining 50.80% (40.40%+10.40%) of the total variance. All items from the original HADS were retained, including its original subscales. The adapted HADS-Anxiety subscale consisted of seven items (alpha=0.85), and the HADS-Depression subscale consisted of seven items (alpha=0.80).

Conclusions

HADS-Indonesia is a valid and reliable instrument for use in the general population of Indonesia. However, further studies are warranted to provide more sophisticated validity and reliability evidence.
Effects of programmed intermittent thoracic paravertebral bolus of
levobupivacaine on the spread of sensory block: a randomized, controlled,
double-blind study
Authors: Hida Kumiko , Murata Hiroaki , Ichinomiya Taiga , Inoue Haruka , Sato Shuntaro , Hara Tetsuya
Published: June 2023

Background and objectives

This randomized, controlled, double-blind trial compared the
effectiveness of levobupivacaine delivery of a programmed intermittent
paravertebral bolus with a continuous paravertebral infusion.

Methods

Thirty-two consecutively enrolled patients who underwent unilateral
video-assisted thoracic surgery were randomized to receive either a
programmed intermittent paravertebral bolus of 10 mL of 0.2%
levobupivacaine every 2 hours (Bolus group, n=16) or a continuous
paravertebral infusion of 0.2% levobupivacaine at 5 mL/hour (Infusion
group, n=16) after the operation. Postoperatively, after injection of
20 mL of 0.25% levobupivacaine through the paravertebral catheter, a
mechanical infusion pump was set depending on the assigned group. The
primary efficacy outcome was the number of anesthetized dermatomes
24 hours after the initial bolus of levobupivacaine. The secondary
efficacy outcomes included the number of anesthetized dermatomes at
other time points, pain at rest and coughing, additional analgesic use
and patient acceptance of the analgesic technique. Arterial
levobupivacaine concentration was measured to ensure safety. P<0.05
was considered statistically significant.

Results

The mean (95% CI) number of anesthetized dermatomes 24 hours after
the initial bolus of levobupivacaine was significantly larger among
subjects receiving programmed intermittent bolus (n=16) compared with
those receiving continuous infusion (n=16; 6.8 (5.7–7.9) vs 3.1
(2.0–4.2); p<0.001). The arterial levobupivacaine concentration did
not reach a toxic level.

Conclusions

The programmed intermittent paravertebral bolus of levobupivacaine
provided a wider dermatomal spread of sensory block than continuous
paravertebral infusion with an identical hourly dose of
levobupivacaine.

Trial registration number

NCT000022532.
Development, usability and acceptability of an integrated eHealth system
for spondyloarthritis in the Netherlands (SpA-Net)
Authors: Webers Casper , Beckers Esther , Boonen Annelies , van Eijk-Hustings Yvonne , Vonkeman Harald , van de Laar Mart , van Tubergen Astrid
Published: June 2023

Objective

To develop and test the usability and acceptability of a
disease-specific integrated electronic health (eHealth) system for
spondyloarthritis (SpA) in the Netherlands (‘SpA-Net’).

Methods

SpA-Net was developed in four phases. First, content and design were
discussed with experts on SpA and patients. Second, the database,
electronic medical record (EMR) and quality management system were
developed. Third, multiple rounds of testing were performed. Fourth, the
eHealth system was implemented in practice and feasibility was tested
among patients through semistructured focus interviews (n=16 patients)
and among care providers through feedback meetings (n=11
rheumatologists/fellows and 5 nurses).

Results

After completion of the first three steps of development in 2015,
SpA-Net was implemented in 2016. All patients included have a clinical
diagnosis of SpA. Information on domains relevant to clinical
record-keeping is prospectively collected at routine outpatient
consultations and readily available to care providers, presented in a
clear dashboard. Patients complete online questionnaires prior to
outpatient visits. In February 2019, 1069 patients were enrolled (mean
[SD] age 54.9 [14.1] years, 52.4% men). Patients interviewed (n=16)
considered SpA-Net an accessible system that was beneficial to disease
insight and patient–physician communication, and had additional value to
current care. Care providers appreciated the additional information for
(preparing) consultations. Barriers were the initial time required to
adopt the EMR and the quantity of data entry.

Conclusion

SpA-Net enables monitoring of patients with SpA and real-life data
collection, and could help improve knowledge and optimise communication
between patients and care providers. Both considered SpA-Net a valuable
addition to current care.

Trial registration number

NCT6740.
Psychological outcomes of low-dose CT lung cancer screening in a
multisite demonstration screening pilot: the Lung Screen Uptake Trial
(LSUT)
Authors: Kummer Sonja , Waller Jo , Ruparel Mamta , Duffy Stephen W , Janes Samuel M , Quaife Samantha L
Published: June 2023

Background

Previous studies of psychological burden in low-dose CT (LDCT) lung
cancer screening trials may lack generalisability due to participation
bias and control arms having elevated distress.

Methods

Current and former smokers (n=787, aged 60–75) within a real-world
screening demonstration pilot completed measures of lung cancer worry at
three time points (T0: appointment,
T1: next day, T2: 3
months) and anxiety and depression at two time points
(T0and T2). A ‘screening
unaware’ community sample (n=383) with the same age and smoking
characteristics completed these measures once (T0).
Mean scores were compared by sample type and LDCT result.

Results

Compared with the community sample (T0), mean
scores were higher in the screening sample, and statistically
significantly increased in adjusted analyses, for lung cancer worry at
T0and T2(mean (M): 9.32;
95% CI 8.96 to 9.69 vs M: 11.34; 11.09 to 11.59 and M: 11.88; 11.49 to
12.27), for anxiety at T0and
T2(M: 3.32; 2.94 to 3.70 vs M: 4.73; 4.42 to
5.04 and M: 5.78; 5.33 to 6.23) and depression at
T2(M: 3.85; 3.44 to 4.27 vs M: 4.15; 3.76 to
4.55). Scores were highest for those with indeterminate (eg,
T2anxiety M: 6.93; 5.65 to 8.21) and incidental
findings (primary care follow-up M: 5.34; 4.67 to 6.02) and those
ineligible for screening (M: 6.51; 5.25 to 7.77). Being female, younger,
not in paid employment, not married/cohabiting with a partner and lower
education predicted poorer psychological outcomes at
T0, but not T2after
adjusting for baseline scores. Mean scores remained within ‘normal’
clinical ranges.

Conclusion

Psychological distress was raised among high-risk individuals
undergoing LDCT screening in a real-world setting, but overall
differences were unlikely to be clinically meaningful. It will be
critical to monitor the psychological impact of services longitudinally
across diverse settings, including subgroups vulnerable to clinically
elevated distress.

Trial registration

The Lung Screen Uptake Trial was registered prospectively with the
International Standard Registered Clinical/soCial sTudy (ISRCTN)
(Number:NCT21774741) on 23
September 2015 and the National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov
database (NCT02558101) on 22 September 2015.
Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking - A randomised clinical
trial
Authors: Keogan Sheila , Li Shasha , Clancy Luke
Published: June 2023

Objective

To determine if Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking (AC) was
superior to Quit.ie in a randomised clinical trial (RCT).

Setting

Single centre, open RCT, general population based.

Participants

300 adult smokers, 18 years plus, minimum 5 cigarettes daily, and
English speaking. AC, 151 (females 44.4%) and Quit.ie, 149 (females
45.6%), mean age 44 years. outcomes for all 300 were analysed
(intention-to-treat). Recruited through advertisement from July 2015 to
February 2016.

Intervention

Randomly assigned to AC (n=151) and Quit.ie (n=149), matched for
age, sex and education. Block randomisation, enrolment and follow-up at
1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Primary aim was to determine if AC had higher
quit rates than Quit.ie service at 3 months. Secondary aims: quit rates
at 1, 6 and 12 months and analysis of associated factors including
weight. AC consisted of a 5-hour seminar, in a group setting. Quit.ie is
an online portal for smoking cessation.

Results

AC had higher quit rates at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. AC: 38%, (n=57),
27% (n=40), 23% (n=35), 22% (n=33) vs Quit.ie: 20% (n=30), 15% (n=22),
15% (n=23), 11% (n=17), respectively (all p values <0.05). Logistic
regression AC vs Quit.ie, OR 2.26 (95% CI 1.22 to 4.21) p value=0.01.
Weight gain 3.8 kg in AC vs 1.8 kg in Quit.ie (p value
<0.05).

Conclusions

All AC quit rates were superior to Quit.ie, outcomes were comparable
with established interventions.

Trial registration number

NCT12951013. Recruitment July 2015–February
2016.
The Extended Dominating Sets in Graphs
Authors: Gao Zhipeng , Shi Yongtang , Xi Changqing , Yue Jun
Published: June 2023

Let [Formula: see text] be a graph and let [Formula: see text] be an integer. A vertex subset [Formula: see text] is called a [Formula: see text]-extended dominating set if every vertex [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] satisfies one of the following conditions: the distance between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is at most one or there are at least [Formula: see text] different vertices [Formula: see text] such that the distance between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) is two. The [Formula: see text]-extended domination number [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] is the minimum size over all [Formula: see text]-extended dominating sets in [Formula: see text]. When [Formula: see text], they are called the extended dominating set and the extended domination number of [Formula: see text], respectively. In this paper, we mainly study the bounds of the extended domination numbers of graphs. First, we obtain the exact values of the extended domination numbers for paths and cycles. And then the Nordhaus–Gaddum bounds for the extended domination numbers are provided. Additionally, we give some bounds of the extended domination numbers for planar graphs with small diameters. Finally, we consider the [Formula: see text]-extended domination numbers in Random graphs.
A Novel Sentimental Analysis for Response to Natural Disaster on Twitter Data
Authors: Minocha Sachin , Singh Birmohan
Published: June 2023

The response to a natural disaster ultimately depends on credible and real-time information regarding impacted people and areas. Nowadays, social media platforms such as Twitter have emerged as the primary and fastest means of disseminating information. Due to the massive, imprecise, and redundant information on Twitter, efficient automatic sentiment analysis (SA) plays a crucial role in enhancing disaster response. This paper proposes a novel methodology to efficiently perform SA of Twitter data during a natural disaster. The tweets during a natural calamity are biased toward the negative polarity, producing imbalanced data. The proposed methodology has reduced the misclassification of minority class samples through the adaptive synthetic sampling technique. A binary modified equilibrium optimizer has been used to remove irrelevant and redundant features. The k-nearest neighbor has been used for sentiment classification with the optimized value of k. The nine datasets on natural disasters have been used for evaluation. The performance of the proposed methodology has been validated using the Friedman mean rank test against nine state-of-the-art techniques, including two optimized, one transfer learning, one deep learning, two ensemble learning, and three baseline classifiers. The results show the significance of the proposed methodology through the average improvement of 6.9%, 13.3%, 20.2%, and 18% for accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, respectively, as compared to nine state-of-the-art techniques.
Bug Localization with Features Crossing and Structured Semantic Information Matching
Authors: Xu Guoqing , Wang Xingqi , Wei Dan , Shao Yanli , Chen Bin
Published: June 2023

Bug localization techniques aim to locate the relevant buggy source files according to the bug described by the given bug report, so as to improve the localization efficiency of developers and reduce the cost of software maintenance. The traditional bug localization techniques based on Information Retrieval (IR) usually use the classical text retrieval model and combines the specific domain knowledge features in software engineering to locate the bugs. However, there exists the vocabulary mismatch problem between the bug report and the source file, which may affect the performance of bug localization. Therefore, the relevant deep learning model was introduced later to compute the similarity between the bug report and the source file from the perspective of semantic features. Bug localization approaches based on IR and deep learning have their own advantages and disadvantages, so this paper proposes a model named LocFront which combines IR and deep learning. On the one hand, the Features Crossing module in LocFront carries out the deep crossing operation on the extracted software-specific features to fully acquire the linear and nonlinear relationships. On the other hand, the Structured Semantic Information Matching module in LocFront performs semantic matching on the structured information between the bug report and the source file. Then the Fusion module in LocFront fuses the results of the two above modules to obtain the final localization score. The experimental results on five benchmark datasets show that LocFront outperforms the state-of-the-art bug localization approaches.
Thermal radiation of thin accretion disk around Taub-NUT black hole
Authors: Narzilloev Bakhtiyor , Ahmedov Bobomurat
Published: June 2023

The effects of a gravitomagnetic charge on the thermal radiation properties of a thin accretion disk surrounding a non-rotating black hole are studied. The studied system consists of a non-rotating black hole with a non-zero gravitomagnetic charge and a Novikov–Thorne disk that is thin and optically thick. It is found that the gravitomagnetic charge enhances the gravitational field of the central black hole, resulting in an increase in the event horizon and innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) radii. However, the maximum flux of radiant energy from the accretion disk is reduced and shifted outward from the central object due to the effect of the gravitomagnetic charge. The thermal profile of the accretion disk also exhibits a similar dependence on the radial coordinate and the gravitomagnetic charge of the black hole. The radiative efficiency of the accretion disk decreases from around 6% to approximately 2% with an increase in the value of the gravitomagnetic charge by [Formula: see text]. The thermal spectra of the accretion disk are also shifted towards lower frequencies, corresponding to the gravitational redshift of electromagnetic radiation coming from the disk, with an increase in the value of the gravitomagnetic charge. One may conclude that the effect of the gravitomagnetic charge is opposite to the effect of black hole spin.
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HOUNSFIELD UNIT AND PROXIMAL JUNCTIONAL KYPHOSIS IN ADULT SPINAL DEFORMITY SURGERY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
Authors: Lin Chun-Ru , Tsai Sung Huang Laurent , Hu Yung-Hsueh , Yeh Yu-Cheng , Lin Tung-Yi , Fu Tsai-Sheng , Niu Chi-Chien
Published: June 2023

Objective: This study investigated Hounsfield unit (HU) differences in adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery patients with and without proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK), a common complication.

Summary Background Data: Previous studies have identified osteoporosis as a PJK risk factor, and CT scanning is a valuable tool for detecting osteoporosis through HU measurements. The study aimed to determine the level of HU difference between patients diagnosed with and without PJK.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model of randomized controlled trials and cohort studies that assessed HUs for ASD surgery patients who developed PJKs. We searched in PubMed, Embase, Ovid, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science up to October 2022 and had two authors extract data and evaluate bias.

Results: Four cohort studies with 250 patients were included in this study. Measurements of HUs at upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) and UIV+1 showed significant differences between PJKs and non-PJKs. (Mean difference (MD) at UIV: −25.36, 95% CI: −39.16, −11.56, p = 0.0003; MD at UIV+1: −21.06, 95% CI: −38.25, −3.88, p = 0.02).

Conclusions: The study found measuring HUs of UIV and UIV+1 can predict the occurrence of PJK in ASD surgery. Further prospective studies are warranted to validate our findings.
LIVER DETECTION ALGORITHM BASED ON LOCAL INFORMATION FUSION
Authors: GAO LIN , LI YANZHI , LI FAN , HUANG HAIYING , BAI SONGYAN
Published: June 2023

The liver is one of the vital organs of the human body, and its location detection is of great significance for computer-aided diagnosis. There are two problems in applying the existing algorithms based on convolution neural network directly to liver detection. One is that pooling operation in the convolutional layer, characteristic of the existing algorithms, will result in local information loss, and the other is that direct calculation of area-based pre-defined anchor boxes will cause incomplete alignment of the generated anchor boxes with overall data distribution. As a solution, this paper suggests a liver detection algorithm based on local information fusion. First, area calculations are complemented with the target aspect ratio as a constraint term to generate a predefined anchor box more in line with actual data distribution. Second, the local feature fusion (LFF) structure is proposed to bridge local information loss caused by pooling operation. As the final step, LFF is used to optimize the neural network analyzed in YOLOv3 for liver detection. The experimental results show that the optimized algorithm achieves an average intersection over union (IoU) in liver detection three percentage points higher than the YOLOv3 algorithm. The optimized algorithm proves more accurate in portraying local details. In the object detection of the public data set, Average Precision for medium objects (APm) and Average Precision for large objects (APl) are 2.8% and 1.7% higher than their counterparts derived from the YOLOv3 algorithm, respectively.
A TWO-TIER MACHINE LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR RISK ASSESSMENT IN DRIVERS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS
Authors: SAHOO GOUTAM KUMAR , KANIKE KEERTHANA , PATRO S. ALOKA , DAS SANTOS KUMAR , SINGH POONAM
Published: June 2023

This work proposes a scheme based on a two-tier machine learning (ML) framework for the initial screening of commercial drivers with cardiovascular disorders prior to the actual driving assessment. First, the proposed framework aims to provide primary health care to cardiac drivers in resource-constrained scenarios such as bus terminals with the help of paramedical staff. The prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in drivers is done using a variety of ML approaches, including Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Random Forests (RFs), Logistic Regression (LR), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Decision Trees (DT), Naive Bayes (NB), and XG-Boost (XGB). The K-fold cross-validation technique also tests the model’s ability to predict CVD. Second, a no-drive alert will be provided whenever the model predicts heart disease, and a comma-separated value (CSV) file stores the predicted abnormal parameters. An email-based data communication has been set up to transfer the CSV file. A MySQL database has been created to store the abnormal data received in hospitals which will help cardiologists with the proper diagnosis. This internet of medical things (IoMT) process will enable divers to come to the hospital for medication only when advised by a cardiologist, thereby reducing the burden of routine hospital visits. The Cleveland database of the UCI ML repository, a multivariate CVD dataset that contains 14 features from 303 people, is utilized to test the performance of the proposed model. Also, the proposed model performance is evaluated using two more publicly available heart disease datasets, i.e., the MIT-BIH arrhythmia dataset and the CVD dataset. The XGB, KNN, and RF ML techniques outperform state-of-the-art methods with performance accuracies of 88.53%, 91.8%, and 93.44%, respectively, for the Cleveland database; performance accuracies of 99.20%, 98.82%, and 99.08% for the MIT-BIH arrhythmia dataset; and performance accuracies of 73.29%, 69.48%, and 71.74% for the CVD dataset. Furthermore, the results showed comparable performance to the rest of the ML techniques. Early detection of CVD and consultation with specialist doctors are essential before it reaches a seriousness that can save drivers from vehicular accidents while seeking health care.
Projection-Based Approach for Deriving Decision Makers’ Weights in DEMATEL
Authors: Grošelj Petra
Published: June 2023

To successfully solve complex real-world problems, decision makers with broad knowledge and experience should be involved in the decision-making process. In this paper, we address the question of how to determine weights of decision makers. The aim of our study is to propose a new approach that derives objective weights for decision makers based on projection method, which emphasizes their agreement by assigning higher weights to similar opinions. The new projection method DProj is specifically adapted for Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), which allows to determine the relationship between cause and effect factors of the system, while we show that some projection methods from the literature are not suitable for DEMATEL. To validate DProj-DEMATEL, we performed two analyses based on Manhattan and Euclidean distances on three examples from the literature. The validation results show that DProj-DEMATEL is a reliable method that can contribute to satisfactory group decision making.
Addressing Societal Challenges Through Analytics: A Framework for Building a Foreclosure Prediction Model Using Publicly-Available Demographic Data, GIS, and Machine Learning
Authors: Bačić Dinko
Published: June 2023

Information systems (IS) and data analytics-focused academic disciplines remained surprisingly silent in attempting to contribute to a public understanding of critical societal challenges such as foreclosures. This paper tackles the gap by presenting a framework for building foreclosure prediction models by integrating publicly-available census-tract demographic data and readily-available technology (geographic IS (GIS) and machine learning (ML)). The framework is tested and validated using over 19,000 foreclosures from Cuyahoga County (OH) using J48 decision tree, artificial neural network, and Naive Bayes algorithms. The framework’s empirical test identifies nine critical demographic attributes to successfully predict foreclosures, confirming the findings of prior studies while offering several new, highly predictive variables that were missed by prior research. This research is a call to broader IS, CS, and data science communities to assist society in understanding critical societal issues that may need deploying and integrating more advanced technologies.
Digital Transformation in Back-Offices of German Insurance Companies
Authors: Schwarzbach Christoph , Eden Theresa , Werth Oliver , Lohse Ute , Breitner Michael H. , von der Schulenburg Johann-Matthias Graf
Published: June 2023

Digital transformation affects the back offices of incumbent insurance companies. Digital innovations are implemented to be able to offer customers new products and services. We conduct multiple case studies with four German insurance companies. We analyze the impact of digital transformations on company-internal stakeholders with the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. We derive 12 influencing factors and corresponding practical implications. Back-office systems are updated using standard software, if available. The goal is to stay flexible for future developments, too. State-of-the-art technologies are tested and only carefully implemented. Necessary reorganizations have significant impacts and are accomplished best with a trusting company culture, good internal communication, and well-trained employees. Efficiency gains from automating routine functions can and are intended to counter labor shortages. After the implementations, skilled employees must handle more specialized and demanding tasks, which cannot be automated easily. Impulses for digital transformation mainly result from continuously changing customer requirements and respective competitive pressure, while regulatory requirements often complicate implementations.
On BiHom-L-R Smash Products
Authors: Lü Jiafeng , Wang Panpan , Liu Ling
Published: June 2023

Let [Formula: see text] be a BiHom-Hopf algebra and [Formula: see text] be an [Formula: see text]-BiHom-bimodule algebra, where the maps [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] are bijective. We first prove the Maschke-type theorem for the BiHom-L-R smash product over a finite-dimensional semisimple BiHom-Hopf algebra. Next we give a Morita context between the BiHom-subalgebra [Formula: see text] and the BiHom-L-R smash product [Formula: see text].
Multiplicative Derivations on Rank-s Matrices for Relatively Small s
Authors: Xu Xiaowei , Xie Baochuan , Wang Yanhua , Zhao Zhibing
Published: June 2023

In this paper, we describe multiplicative derivations on the set of all rank-[Formula: see text] matrices of [Formula: see text] over a field [Formula: see text] with a relatively small integer [Formula: see text]. Concretely, for fixed integers [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] satisfying [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], we prove that if a map [Formula: see text] satisfies [Formula: see text] for any two rank-[Formula: see text]matrices [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], then there exists a derivation [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] for each rank-[Formula: see text] matrix [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]. As an application, we prove that a multiplicative derivation on a special subset of [Formula: see text] must be a derivation.