bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unloading System PM10 Emission Factors and Rates for Cotton Gins: Method 201A PM10 Sizing Cyclones
Authors: Boykin Clif , Buser Michael , Whitelock Derek , Holt Gregory
Published: June 2024

This report is part of a project to characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. The impetus behind this project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. A key component of this study was focused on EPA emission factors for particulate matter with a particle diameter nominally less than or equal to 10 µm (PM10). The 1996 EPA AP-42 emission factors were assigned quality ratings, from A (Excellent) to E (Poor), to assess the quality of the data being referenced. Emission factor quality ratings for cotton gins were extremely low. Cotton gin data received these low ratings because they were collected almost exclusively from a single geographical region. The objective of this study was to collect additional PM10 emission factor data for unloading systems at cotton gins located in regions across the cotton belt based on EPA-approved stack sampling methodology, Method 201A. The project plan included sampling seven cotton gins across the cotton belt. Key factors for selecting specific cotton gins included: 1) facility location, 2) production capacity, 3) processing systems and 4) abatement technologies. Three of the seven gins had unloading systems that used pneumatic conveyance and had exhaust airstreams that were not combined with another system. In terms of capacity, the three gins were typical of the industry, averaging 26.1 bales/h during testing. Some test runs were excluded from the test averages because they failed to meet EPA Method 201A test criteria. Also, other test runs, included in the analyses, had cotton lint fibers that collected in the ≤ 10 µm samples. This larger lint material can affect the reported emissions data, but EPA Method 201A does not suggest methods to account for these anomalies. The unloading system average emission factors for PM10 and total particulate were 0.107 kg/227-kg bale (0.237 lb/500-lb bale) and 0.131 kg/bale (0.289 lb/bale), respectively. The system average PM10 emission factor was higher and the system average total particulate emission factor was about the same as those currently published in EPA AP-42. Unloading system PM10 emission rate test averages ranged from 1.16 to 3.99 kg/h (2.57-8.79 lb/h). The ratio of unloading system PM10 to total particulate was 81.9%.
Opportunities to Manage Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Bollgard II® Cotton with Reduced Rates of Insecticides
Authors: Hardke Jarrod , Jackson Ryan , Leonard Rogers
Published: June 2024

The occurrence of selected late-instar lepidopteran larvae, such as fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), on Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), plants has become a common problem in recent years. In some instances, there is a need to manage these infestations with supplemental foliar insecticide applications. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the efficacy of selected insecticides (chlorantraniliprole, flubendiamide, lambda-cyhalothrin, novaluron, and spinetoram) against fall armyworm in transgenic Bt (Bollgard II®) and non-Bt (conventional) cotton. Bollgard IIplants were sprayed with reduced (one-half of full)) rates of insecticides and conventional cotton was sprayed with recommended (full) rates of the same products. Plant terminal leaves and bolls were removed from sprayed and non-sprayed (control) field plots, returned to the laboratory, and infested with a single third-instar fall armyworm. Larval mortality ranged from 30.0 to 95.0% and from 22.5 to 82.5% on insecticide-sprayed (reduced rates) Bollgard II and insecticide-sprayed (full rates) conventional terminal leaves, respectively, 3 d after infestation. Fall armyworm survivorship did not differ on insecticide-sprayed Bollgard II plant tissue compared to that for the same insecticide used on conventional plants. Reduced insecticide rates on Bollgard II cotton did not negatively affect efficacy of any insecticide used compared to full rates on conventional cotton. Insecticide-sprayed Bollgard II and insecticide-sprayed conventional bolls caused fall armyworm mortality ranging from 5.0 to 80.0% and from 17.5 to 80.0%, respectively, 3 d after infestation. These same insecticide treatments produced fall armyworm mortality on Bollgard II(55-100%) and conventional bolls (52.5-100%) at 7 d after infestation. Reduced rates of selected insecticides were efficacious against fall armyworms on Bollgard II cotton plant tissues and could reduce chemical control costs against field infestations of this pest.
PENGARUH MOTIVASI DAN DISIPLIN KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN PADA PT ABBOTT INDONESIA DEPOK
Authors: Anggraeni Noerlina , Agung Cucu Rahya
Published: June 2024

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of motivation and work discipline on the employee performance of PT Abbott Indonesia Depok. The research used quantitative methods, and data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 37 employees. The data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis with the least squares equation. Hypothesis testing was conducted using t-statistics and F-test to examine partial and simultaneous regression coefficients, validity, reliability, and classical assumptions. The results indicated that there was no significant positive influence between motivation and employee performance. However, there was a significant positive influence between discipline and employee performance. Additionally, together, motivation and work discipline influence employee performance. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh motivasi dan disiplin kerja terhadap kinerja karyawan PT Abbott Indonesia Depok. Menggunakan metode penelitian kuantitatif, pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui penyebaran kuesioner kepada 37 karyawan PT Abbott Indonesia Depok. Analisis data menggunakan analisis regresi berganda dengan persamaan kuadrat terkecil dan uji hipotesis menggunakan t-statistik serta uji F untuk menguji koefisien regresi parsial dan simultan, uji validitas, uji reabilitas, serta uji asumsi klasik.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan antara Motivasi dengan Kinerja Karyawan. Terdapat pengaruh positif secara signifikan antara Disiplin dengan Kinerja Karyawan. Secara bersama-sama terdapat pengaruh antara Motivasi dan Disiplin Kerja terhadap Kinerja Karyawan.
PENGARUH BUDAYA KERJA ANZEN DAI ICHI TERHADAP KESEJAHTERAAN TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA PADA PERUSAHAAN JEPANG (DAIWA HOUSE)
Authors: Yusrina Sri , Saputra Ananda Prathama , Riupassa Muhammad Hafidz , Nurfitriana A. , Prayudo Galih Ario , Alkautsar Muhammad Farhan , Wardana Aria , Lestari Humannisa Rubina
Published: June 2024

The purpose of this study is to understand how the Anzen Dai Ichi work culture impacts the well-being of Indonesian employees in Japanese companies. This study uses quantitative methods. In this research, samples were collected through non-probability sampling methods, and respondents were selected through purposive sampling. The data analysis method used in this study is linear regression. The results of the linear regression analysis indicate that the Anzen Dai Ichi work culture at Daiwa House Company has a positive and significant impact of 18.09% on the well-being of Indonesian employees, with the remaining 81.91% being influenced by other factors or variables.Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana budaya kerja Anzen Dai Ichi berdampak pada kesejahteraan karyawan Indonesia di perusahaan Jepang. Studi ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif. Dalam penelitian ini, sampel dikumpulkan melalui metode sampling non-probability, dan responden dipilih melalui metode sampling purposive. Metode analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah regresi linear. Hasil analisis regresi linear menunjukkan bahwa budaya kerja Anzen Dai Ichi di Perusahaan Daiwa House memiliki pengaruh positif dan signifikan sebesar 18,09% terhadap kesejahteraan karyawan Indonesia, 81,91% sisanya dipengaruhi oleh faktor atau variabel lain.
Editors' Introduction
Authors: Sherr Micah , Shafiq Zubair
Published: June 2024

Editors' Introduction, Issue 3 of PETS Volume 2024
FlashSwift: A Configurable and More Efficient Range Proof With Transparent Setup
Authors: Wang Nan , Liu Dongxi
Published: June 2024

Bit-decomposition-based zero-knowledge range proofs in the discrete logarithm (DLOG) setting with a transparent setup, e.g., Bulletproof (IEEE S&P 18), Flashproof (ASIACRYPT 22), and SwiftRange (IEEE S&P 24), have garnered widespread popularity across various privacy-enhancing applications. These proofs aim to prove that a committed value falls within the non-negative range [0, 2^N-1] without revealing it, where N represents the bit length of the range. Despite their prevalence, the current implementations still suffer from suboptimal performance. Some exhibit reduced communication costs at the expense of increased computational costs while others experience the opposite. Presently, users are compelled to utilize these proofs in scenarios demanding stringent requirements for both communication and computation efficiency.

In this paper, we introduce, FlashSwift, a stronger DLOG-based logarithmic-sized alternative. It stands out for its greater shortness and significantly enhanced computational efficiency compared with the cutting-edge logarithmic-sized ones for the most common ranges where N is no more than 64. It is developed by integrating the techniques from Flashproof and SwiftRange without using a trusted setup. The substantial efficiency gains stem from our dedicated efforts in overcoming the inherent incompatibility barrier between the two techniques. Specifically, when N=64, our proof achieves the same size as Bulletproof and exhibits 1.1 times communication efficiency of SwiftRange. More importantly, compared with the two, it achieves 2.3 times and 1.65 times proving efficiency, and 3.2 times and 1.7 times verification efficiency, respectively. At the time of writing, our proof also creates two new records of the smallest proof sizes, 289 bytes and 417 bytes, for 8-bit and 16-bit ranges among all the bit-decomposition-based ones without requiring trusted setups. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first configurable range proof that is adaptable to various scenarios with different specifications, where the configurability allows to trade off communication efficiency for computational efficiency. In addition, we offer a bonus feature: FlashSwift supports the aggregation of multiple single proofs for efficiency improvement. Finally, we provide comprehensive performance benchmarks against the state-of-the-art ones to demonstrate its practicality.
SoK: Can Trajectory Generation Combine Privacy and Utility?
Authors: Buchholz Erik , Abuadbba Alsharif , Wang Shuo , Nepal Surya , Kanhere Salil S.
Published: June 2024

While location trajectories represent a valuable data source for analyses and location-based services, they can reveal sensitive information, such as political and religious preferences. Differentially private publication mechanisms have been proposed to allow for analyses under rigorous privacy guarantees. However, the traditional protection schemes suffer from a limiting privacy-utility trade-off and are vulnerable to correlation and reconstruction attacks. Synthetic trajectory data generation and release represent a promising alternative to protection algorithms. While initial proposals achieve remarkable utility, they fail to provide rigorous privacy guarantees. This paper proposes a framework for designing a privacy-preserving trajectory publication approach by defining five design goals, particularly stressing the importance of choosing an appropriate Unit of Privacy. Based on this framework, we briefly discuss the existing trajectory protection approaches, emphasising their shortcomings. This work focuses on the systematisation of the state-of-the-art generative models for trajectories in the context of the proposed framework. We find that no existing solution satisfies all requirements. Thus, we perform an experimental study evaluating the applicability of six sequential generative models to the trajectory domain. Finally, we conclude that a generative trajectory model providing semantic guarantees remains an open research question and propose concrete next steps for future research.
Exploring Design Opportunities for Family-Based Privacy Education in Informal Learning Spaces
Authors: Liu Lanjing , Gao Lan , Soni Nikita , Yao Yaxing
Published: June 2024

Children face increasing privacy risks and the need to navigate complex choices, while privacy education is not sufficient due to limited education scope and family involvement. We advocate for informal learning spaces (ILS) as a pioneering channel for family-based privacy education, given their established role in holistic technology and digital literacy education, which specifically targets family groups. In this paper, we conducted an interview study with eight families to understand revealing current approaches to privacy education and engagement with ILS for family-based learning. Our findings highlight ILS’s transformative potential in family privacy education, considering existing practices and challenges. We discuss the design opportunities for family-based privacy education in ILS, covering goals, content, engagement, and experience design. These insights contribute to future research on family-based privacy education in ILS.
Privacy-Preserving Membership Queries for Federated Anomaly Detection
Authors: Vos Jelle , Pentyala Sikha , Golob Steven , Maia Ricardo , Kelley Dean , Erkin Zekeriya , De Cock Martine , Nascimento Anderson
Published: June 2024

In this work, we propose a new privacy-preserving membership query protocol that lets a centralized entity privately query datasets held by one or more other parties to check if they contain a given element. This protocol, based on elliptic curve-based ElGamal and oblivious key-value stores, ensures that those 'data-augmenting' parties only have to send their encrypted data to the centralized entity once, making the protocol particularly efficient when the centralized entity repeatedly queries the same sets of data. We apply this protocol to detect anomalies in cross-silo federations. Data anomalies across such cross-silo federations are challenging to detect because (1) the centralized entities have little knowledge of the actual users, (2) the data-augmenting entities do not have a global view of the system, and (3) privacy concerns and regulations prevent pooling all the data. Our protocol allows for anomaly detection even in strongly separated distributed systems while protecting users' privacy. Specifically, we propose a cross-silo federated architecture in which a centralized entity (the backbone) has labeled data to train a machine learning model for detecting anomalous instances. The other entities in the federation are data-augmenting clients (the user-facing entities) who collaborate with the centralized entity to extract feature values to improve the utility of the model. These feature values are computed using our privacy-preserving membership query protocol. The model can be trained with an off-the-shelf machine learning algorithm that provides differential privacy to prevent it from memorizing instances from the training data, thereby providing output privacy. However, it is not straightforward to also efficiently provide input privacy, which ensures that none of the entities in the federation ever see the data of other entities in an unencrypted form. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in the financial domain, motivated by the PETs Prize Challenge, which is a collaborative effort between the US and UK governments to combat international fraudulent transactions. We show that the private queries significantly increase the precision and recall of the otherwise centralized system and argue that this improvement translates to other use cases as well.
Investigating the Effect of Misalignment on Membership Privacy in the White-box Setting
Authors: Cretu Ana-Maria , Jones Daniel , de Montjoye Yves-Alexandre , Tople Shruti
Published: June 2024

Machine learning models have been shown to leak sensitive information about their training datasets. Models are increasingly deployed on devices, raising concerns that white-box access to the model parameters increases the attack surface compared to black-box access which only provides query access. Directly extending the shadow modelling technique from the black-box to the white-box setting has been shown, in general, not to perform better than black-box only attacks. A potential reason is misalignment, a known characteristic of deep neural networks. In the shadow modelling context, misalignment means that, while the shadow models learn similar features in each layer, the features are located in different positions. We here present the first systematic analysis of the causes of misalignment in shadow models and show the use of a different weight initialisation to be the main cause. We then extend several re-alignment techniques, previously developed in the model fusion literature, to the shadow modelling context, where the goal is to re-align the layers of a shadow model to those of the target model.We show re-alignment techniques to significantly reduce the measured misalignment between the target and shadow models. Finally, we perform a comprehensive evaluation of white-box membership inference attacks (MIA). Our analysis reveals that internal layer activation-based MIAs suffer strongly from shadow model misalignment, while gradient-based MIAs are only sometimes significantly affected. We show that re-aligning the shadow models strongly improves the former's performance and can also improve the latter's performance, although less frequently. On the CIFAR10 dataset with a false positive rate of 1%, white-box MIA using re-aligned shadow models improves the true positive rate by 4.5%.Taken together, our results highlight that on-device deployment increases the attack surface and that the newly available information can be used to build more powerful attacks.
Client-side and Server-side Tracking on Meta: Effectiveness and Accuracy
Authors: El fraihi Asmaa , Amieur Nardjes , Rudametkin Walter , Goga Oana
Published: June 2024

Growing concern over digital privacy has led to the widespread use of tracking restriction tools, such as ad blockers, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), and privacy-focused web browsers. All major browser vendors have also deprecated, or plan to deprecate, third-party cookies to reduce tracking. Despite these efforts, advertising companies continuously innovate to overcome these restrictions. Recently, advertising platforms, like Meta, have been promoting server-side tracking solutions to bypass traditional browser-based tracking restrictions.
This paper explores how server-side tracking technologies can link website visitors with their user accounts on Meta products. The goal is to assess the effectiveness and accuracy of employing this technology, as well as the effect of tracking restrictions on online tracking. Our methodology involves a series of experiments where we integrate Meta's client-side tracker (the Meta Pixel) and server-side technology (the Conversions API) on different web pages. We then drive traffic to these pages and evaluate the success rate of linking website visitors to their profiles on Meta products.
Our findings show that Meta's server-side technology can match between 34% and 51% of website visitors to user profiles on Meta products using basic information like the visitor's IP address, user agent, and location data. This is comparable to Pixel-based user matching in optimal conditions (i.e., in the absence of tracking restrictions), which links between 42% and 61% of user profiles. Nevertheless, we see a considerable difference in accuracy: while the Pixel-based tracking achieves 100% accuracy, less than 65% of the profiles matched by server-side tracking are accurate.
I still know it's you! On Challenges in Anonymizing Source Code
Authors: Horlboge Micha , Quiring Erwin , Meyer Roland , Rieck Konrad
Published: June 2024

The source code of a program not only defines its semantics but also contains subtle clues that can identify its author. Several studies have shown that these clues can be automatically extracted using machine learning and allow for determining a program's author among hundreds of programmers. This attribution poses a significant threat to developers of anti-censorship and privacy-enhancing technologies, as they become identifiable and may be prosecuted. An ideal protection from this threat would be the anonymization of source code. However, neither theoretical nor practical principles of such an anonymization have been explored so far. In this paper, we tackle this problem and develop a framework for reasoning about code anonymization. We prove that the task of generating a 𝑘-anonymous program—a program that cannot be attributed to one of 𝑘 authors—is not computable in the general case. As a remedy, we introduce a relaxed concept called 𝑘-uncertainty, which enables us to measure the protection of developers. Based on this concept, we empirically study candidate techniques for anonymization, such as code normalization, coding style imitation, and code obfuscation. We find that none of the techniques provides sufficient protection when the attacker is aware of the anonymization. While we observe a notable reduction in attribution performance on real-world code, a reliable protection is not achieved for all developers. We conclude that code anonymization is a hard problem that requires further attention from the research community.
Evolution and Prospects of Freshwater Fish Species and Aquaculture in Colombia: A Historical Perspective
Authors: Mikkola Heimo
Published: June 2024

Since the 1970s Colombia has been aware of the importance of aquaculture and inland fisheries in the future of its economy due to the constant increase of a population that is increasingly in need of protein of animal origin. In 1972, a joint project between the Government of Colombia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was approved and aimed at studying inland fishing and developing aquaculture in the country. The work of the project is described, as are the fish culture and fisheries research activities starting with the situation in the 1970s but comparing it with recent findings. A list of the main capture and culture fish species is given. Colombian fishing production has had great variations, but first inland water fishing was more important than marine. For instance, in 1972 total fish catch was 104,390 tons and 79% of that originated from inland waters. After the continental fisheries went down, the marine fisheries accounted in 2019 already 78 per cent of the total catch of the country. Mean standing fish crop estimates in 1975‒76 from the bay, open water and vegetation habitats in four floodplain lakes were 118, 12 and 251 kg/ha indicating clearly that the fish productivity on the Magdalena floodplain was relatively low. The aquaculture sector has been growing rapidly, reflecting global trends, and producing more than capture fisheries. Aquaculture produced 88,000 tons in 2013, which was a three-fold increase from the mid-1990s. Again twofold increase took place before 2020 when the production was almost 180,000 tons. Future development prospects of inland fisheries and aquaculture are discussed and a mention is made of the present situation of ornamental fish cultivation and trade in Colombia.
Impact of Agricultural Waste on Ichthyo Diversity of the Pumlen Lake, Kakching District, Manipur, India
Authors: Romen Ngasepam , Singh Thokchom Biren
Published: June 2024

The present research paper highlights the Ichthyo diversity survey conducted and impact of agricultural practices on Ichthyo diversity of Pumlen Lake, Tokpaching, an important lake in Manipur to evaluate the variation and distribution of freshwater fishes for future conservation plan and its effect by agricultural practices around the lake. The fishes are one of the main stable resources of the aquatic ecosystems that provide cheapest source of animal protein. Fishes are one of the leading elements in the economic standard of many nations as they have been a stable item in the diet of many people around the globe. Pumlen Lake locally known as Pumlen pat is the second largest freshwater wetland located in the southern part of the Manipur valley in Kakching District. Fish specimens were counted, photographed and identified to the lowest possible taxon. Fish species were identified and confirmed following standard literature (Jayaram, 1999, Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991 & Menon, A.G.K., 1999). Total number of species and total number of individuals were recorded from different locations. Maximum number of species belonged to the order cypriniformes followed by perciformes and siluriformes. During the study period we come across 41 species of fishes belonging to 27 genera, under 14 families and 7 orders. Of these, the most abundant is Trichogaster labiosa (5.37%), followed by Amblypharyngodon mola (4.84%) and Monopterus albus was least abundant (0.33%). During our study we came across different types of fish species. Demand of pesticides concentration on agriculture practices can diminish the accessibility of aquatic organisms that in order to serve as food for fish species and another aquatic organism. Impact of pesticides in various agricultural practices also affects the food chain of insect eating birds and also for fish species. It is also observed that the diversity of the fish species has been affected with the variation of agro-chemical and agricultural practices.
Susceptibility of Different Developmental Stages of the Tobacco Cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) to Entomopathogenic Nematode, Steinernema abbasi PN-1
Authors: P. Vireesha, , R. Pandey, , M Shashikala, , N. Mehra,
Published: June 2024

The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura Fabricius is a widely distributed polyphagous pest that is causing economic damage to different crop plants. Many pesticides have been used extensively to control S. litura, but they are currently ineffective because of the development of pesticide resistance and their detrimental effects on the environment and human health. Although entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have been employed as biological control agents against S. litura, little is known about the pathogenicity of these EPNs. Here we studied the virulence of Steinernema abbasi PN-1 against different stages of S. litura. The results reveled that all tested larval stages and pupae of S. litura were found susceptible to S. abbasi. There was a positive correlation between insect mortality and the nematode concentration. The S. abbasi caused 100 per cent larval mortality at 48-60 h of post treatment in all tested doses in laboratory. There was a positive correlation between insect mortality and the nematode concentration while the time to cause complete mortality was negatively correlated with the increase in larval days and nematode concentration. However, further field studies are required use S. abbasi as efficient biological control agents against S. litura.
Semaglutide for the management of diabesity: The real-world experience
Authors: Alkhalifah Mohammed , Afsar Hafsa , Shams Anindya , Blaibel Dania , Chandrabalan Vishnu , Pappachan Joseph M
Published: June 2024

BACKGROUND

Diabesity (diabetes as a consequence of obesity) has emerged as a huge healthcare challenge across the globe due to the obesity pandemic. Judicious use of antidiabetic medications including semaglutide is important for optimal management of diabesity as proven by multiple randomized controlled trials. However, more real-world data is needed to further improve the clinical practice.

AIM

To study the real-world benefits and side effects of using semaglutide to manage patients with diabesity.

METHODS

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide use in managing patients with diabesity in a large academic hospital in the United States. Several parameters were analyzed including demographic information, the data on improvement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body weight reduction and insulin dose adjustments at 6 and 12 months, as well as at the latest follow up period. The data was obtained from the electronic patient records between January 2019 to May 2023.

RESULTS

106 patients (56 males) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), mean age 60.8 ± 11.2 years, mean durations of T2DM 12.4 ± 7.2 years and mean semaglutide treatment for 2.6 ± 1.1 years were included. Semaglutide treatment was associated with significant improvement in diabesity outcomes such as mean weight reductions from baseline 110.4 ± 24.6 kg to 99.9 ± 24.9 kg at 12 months and 96.8 ± 22.9 kg at latest follow up and HbA1c improvement from baseline of 82 ± 21 mmol/mol to 67 ± 20 at 12 months and 71 ± 23 mmol/mol at the latest follow up. An insulin dose reduction from mean baseline of 95 ± 74 units to 76.5 ± 56.2 units was also observed at the latest follow up. Side effects were mild and mainly gastrointestinal like bloating and nausea improving with prolonged use of semaglutide.

CONCLUSION

Semaglutide treatment is associated with significant improvement in diabesity outcomes such as reduction in body weight, HbA1c and insulin doses without major adverse effects. Reviews of largescale real-world data are expected to inform better clinical practice decision making to improve the care of patients with diabesity.
Role of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio as a predictive marker for diabetic coronary artery disease: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Dabla Pradeep Kumar , Shrivastav Dharmsheel , Mehra Pratishtha , Mehta Vimal
Published: June 2024

BACKGROUND

The lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) is considered a marker of systemic inflammation in cardiovascular disease and acts as predictor of mortality in coronary artery disease.

AIM

To investigate the predictive role of LMR in diabetic coronary artery disease patients.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted at tertiary care super-specialty hospital at New Delhi, India. A total of 200 angiography-proven coronary artery disease (CAD) patients were enrolled and grouped into two categories: Group I [CAD patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels ≥ 6.5%], and Group II (CAD patients without T2DM and HbA1c levels < 6.5%). Serum lipoproteins, HbA1c, and complete blood count of enrolled patients were analyzed using fully automatic analyzers.

RESULTS

The logistic regression analysis showed an odds ratio of 1.48 (95%CI: 1.28-1.72, P < 0.05) for diabetic coronary artery disease patients (Group I) in unadjusted model. After adjusting for age, gender, diet, smoking, and hypertension history, the odds ratio increased to 1.49 (95%CI: 1.29-1.74, P < 0.01) in close association with LMR. Further adjustment for high cholesterol and triglycerides yielded the same odds ratio of 1.49 (95%CI: 1.27-1.75, P < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed 74% sensitivity, 64% specificity, and 0.74 area under the curve (95%CI: 0.67-0.80, P < 0.001), suggesting moderate predictive accuracy for diabetic CAD patients.

CONCLUSION

LMR showed positive association with diabetic coronary artery disease, with moderate predictive accuracy. These findings have implications for improving CAD management in diabetics, necessitating further research and targeted interventions.
Las tecnologías modernas como principal factor de sustento de la constante decadencia de la educación
Authors:   Universidad La Salle Oaxaca, Cortés López Héctor Pablo
Published: June 2024

El concepto de tecnología educativa ha cobrado fuerza en los últimos años. Sin embargo, la educación en México no está en su mejor momento, lo que hace necesario analizar algunos aspectos antes de implementar una nueva tecnología de este tipo, ya que su uso inapropiado puede, incluso, empeorar la situación experimentada a nivel educativo. Partiendo de que el proceso de educación debe desarrollarse de manera natural entre un docente y un alumno, es importante establecer los límites dentro de los cuales puede intervenir la tecnología.
Terrorism and War Crimes: Two Sides of The Same Coin?
Authors: Filipe Pinto José
Published: June 2024

The definition of terrorism is not consensual, even within the same country. Indeed, in the United States of America, a country where the fight against terrorism is one of the present political priorities, the definition varies depending on whether the source is the Department of Defense (DoD), the US Code, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Department of State, but this lack of consensus does not mean that terrorism is not considered a crime according to the Resolution 49/6026 of 17 February 1995 of the United Nations General Assembly. However, many experts on the thematic do not accept the definition of terrorism as an international crime in time of peace defending that terrorism is essentially the violation of domestic laws which have their genesis in treaties to which states may or may not adhere, and this explains why some countries refuse to reduce their sovereignty and do not accept to transfer the jurisdiction for crimes of international terrorism to supranational institutions. According to this vision, terrorism must be included as a subtype in one of the four modalities that are already recognized by international law. This article reflects on the relationship between terrorism and the modalities of war crimes judged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and seeks to show that the seriousness of the terrorist threat justifies that terrorism should be considered an autonomous international crime.
Comparative Analysis of Social and University Incubators from The Perspective of Public-Private Partnership
Authors: Hui Huang Yu- , Liang Chen Chun-
Published: June 2024

As the concept of corporate sustainability is being advocated, social innovation is also gradually gaining importance. Many startups encounter difficulties in their early stages of development, both in terms of operations and capabilities. Companies with business support can shorten the time to adapt to the market and increase the survival rate of startups. Meanwhile, incubators supporting entrepreneurship have evolved into different forms with the development of various industries. Incubators, which support entrepreneurship, have evolved alongside various industries, with some focusing specifically on social issues. Incubators focusing on social issues have also emerged, yet only a few studies have investigated social incubators. Therefore, this study conducts multiple case studies focusing on startups in the creative industry. weIt examines the processes of participating in both social incubators and university incubators, employing a comparative analysis framework based on the theory of Public-private partnership (PPPs). We selecting potential candidates from the list of supported companies listed on the incubator websites and choosing those within the creative industry domain, inviting them to participate in interviews. The study found that clustering similar types of enterprises helps deepen and enhance their growth. On the other hand, social incubators, due to their goals, resources, and activities, can provide more opportunities for collaboration with private enterprises and access to industry resources. Additionally, participation in university incubators not only provides comprehensive business support but also access to key resources for collaboration with the public sector. The experiential evidence from case studies of creative industry incubators in Asia fills the research gap related to social incubators. Through the comparison of different types of incubators, it enriches the knowledge base of stakeholders (private enterprises, government, universities, and business incubators) regarding PPPs. It aids researchers and practitioners in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the current status and future directions of incubator development, highlighting the distinct roles and contributions of social and university incubators in supporting startup growth and innovation.
Exploring The Characteristics of Cyberbullied TikTokers Based on Their Ethnicity
Authors: Sylvain Eve , Talpade Medha
Published: June 2024

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the motivations of cyberbullies and characteristics of cyberbullying on TikTok. Past research explains that a key indicator of cyberbullying is moral disengagement. Researchers found that the lack of empathy is a factor in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can negatively influence the mental health of people according to research, and is oftentimes correlated with depression. However, these studies only focus on social media as a whole and do not highlight the comment culture of TikTok and the content of these comments. Therefore, a content analysis was conducted to analyze the words and creators used to convey hate. This study answered the following research question: “What are the characteristics of cyberbullying on TikTok based on the comments left on the content creator's posts?” The sample was selected through purposeful random sampling and the participants were split into two groups: the content creators and the commenters. There were 7 content creators and 37 comments. The content of the comments were coded and organized into eleven relevant codes. These codes were then categorized into three themes: Comments Regarding Creators’ Appearance, Comments Regarding Creators’ Intellect, and Comments Impacting the Creators’ Psychological Well-Being. To ensure the validity of this study the codes were peer reviewed and rich thick descriptions are provided to uphold the integrity of these comments. Commenters mainly used mockery as a way to humble content creators especially when the content creators were trying to uplift themes. The majority of these commenters utilize profile pictures that did represent themselves most likely to avoid the consequences of their comments. The population most comfortable commenting as themselves was black women, especially when it was under posts of other black women. The demographics of this study was limited and would be best if there was more diversity, the nature of comment sections based on ethnicities could have an influence on the hate comments. This study could be useful for the education system and parents because they deal with adolescents who may be experiencing cyberbullying on the popular social media site, TikTok.
Study on the influence of TBM disc cutter on the penetration of extremely hard rock in Zijing Tunnel
Authors: Gao Chao , Huang Yufeng , Geng Qi , Han Xiaowu , Zhang Huijian , Hu Rucheng , Liu Fei
Published: June 2024

The reasonable setting of TBM disc cutter penetration depth is crucial for its rock-breaking efficiency in extremely hard rock geology. In the construction section of the Dujiangyan to Mount Siguniang Zijing Tunnel project, which encountered extremely hard diorite rock (with uniaxial compressive strength exceeding 230 MPa), to reveal the influence of penetration depth on disc cutter cutting of extremely hard diorite rock, the following steps were taken: Firstly, using a self-developed small-scale disc cutter linear rock-breaking test platform, experiments were conducted for four penetration depths: 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mm, under fixed cutter spacing and with/without confinement conditions. Secondly, employing a high-precision crystalline rock material modeling method based on three-dimensional particle clusters, a full-scale numerical model of disc cutter linear cutting of diorite rock was established. Seven penetration depths ranging from 1.0 to 10.0 mm were tested under a fixed cutter spacing of 80 mm. Results indicate that under lateral confinement, diorite failure shifts from slip and extrusion to crushing, while under no confinement, it primarily spalls laterally with increased rock debris and ejection distance as penetration increases. Disc cutter normal force rises with penetration, with a critical 4mm point after which load increases slowly but penetration significantly, marking an efficient rock breaking stage. Specific energy efficiency peaks at 3mm penetration in tests and 4mm in simulations, attributed to test bench limitations. Combined results suggest an optimal penetration of 4mm.
Eksplorasi Molecular Docking Senyawa Flavonoid Orthosiphon Stamineus B. Reseptor Enzim Siklooksigenase (COX) Sebagai Antiinflamasi
Authors: Suriyeni Deni , Mukarromah Zahrotul , Rosyid Ridho M. , Ainur Ridho Muhammad
Published: June 2024

Tanaman kumis kucing (Orthosiphon stamineus Benth.) merupakan tanaman herbal Nusantara yang berkhasiat sebagai antioksidan, antidiabetes, dan antiinflamasi. Tanaman ini mengandung senyawa flavonoid khas eupatorine dan sinensetin sebagai antiinflamasi. Kandungan zat di dalamnya berperan sebagai inhibitor protease, seperti Siklooksiginase-2 (COX-2) sebagai inhibitor antiinflamasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi senyawa flavonoid Orthosiphon stamineus sebagai antiinflamasi dengan ligan alami HEM melalui mekanisme inhibitor COX-2. Penelitian dilakukan dengan metode in silico melalui proses molekuler docking, menggunakan perangkat lunak SWISSADME, rscb, Discovery Studio Visualizer, Autodockvina, Pyrx, dan Pymol untuk mengeksplorasi potensi senyawa flavonoid dalam kumis kucing sebagai kandidat obat antiinflamasi dengan inhibitor COX-2. Parameternya meliputi Binding Affinity, ikatan hidrogen dan hidrofobik, residu asam amino, dan RMSD. Hasilnya menunjukkan flavonoid sama-sama memiliki potensi sebagai obat antiinflamasi terutama eupatorine dengan nilai Binding Affinity-8,3 kkal/mol. Kesimpulannya, terdapat turunan senyawa flavonoid yang terdiri dari eupatorine, sinensetin dan 5-Hydroxy-3’,4’,6,7tetramethoxyflavone yang memiliki aktivitas inhibitor antiinflamasi melalui mekanisme inhibitor COX-2.
Investigation of single nucleotide polymorphisms in differentially expressed genes and proteins reveals the genetic basis of skeletal muscle growth differences between Tibetan and Large White pigs
Authors: Xiong Heli , Zhang Yan , Zhao Zhiyong
Published: June 2024

Objective: Skeletal muscle growth is an important economic trait for meat production, with notable differences between Tibetan pigs (TIBPs, a slow-growing breed) and Large White pigs (LWPs, a fast-growing breed). However, the genetic underpinnings of this disparity remain unclear.Methods: In the current study, we integrated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and proteins (DEPs) from 60-day-old embryonic muscle tissue, along with whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) displaying absolute allele frequency differences (ΔAF) of 0.5 or more between the TIBP and LWP breeds, to unravel the genetic factors influencing skeletal muscle growth.Results: Our analysis revealed 3,499 DEGs and 628 DEPs with SNPs having a ΔAF equal to or greater than 0.5. Further functional analysis identified 145 DEGs and 23 DEPs involved in biological processes related to skeletal muscle development, and 22 DEGs and 3 DEPs implicated in the mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase signaling pathway, which is known for positively regulating protein synthesis. Among these genes, several DEGs and DEPs, enriched with TIPB-specific SNPs in regulatory or/and coding regions, showed marked ΔAF between the TIBP and LWP breeds, including MYF5, MYOF, ASB2, PDE9A, SDC1, PDGFRA, MYOM2, ACVR1, ZIC3, COL11A1, TGFBR1, EDNRA, TGFB2, PDE4D, PGAM2, GRK2, SCN4B, CACNA1S, MYL4, IGF1, and FOXO1. Additionally, genes such as CAPN3, MYOM2, and PGAM2, identified as both DEPs and DEGs related to skeletal muscle development, contained multiple TIBP-specific and LWP-predominant SNPs in regulatory and/or coding regions, underscoring significant ΔAF differences between the two breeds.Conclusion: This comprehensive investigation of SNPs in DEGs and DEPs identified a significant number of SNPs and genes related to skeletal muscle development during the prenatal stage. These findings not only shed light on potential causal genes for muscle divergence between the TIBP and LWP breeds but also offer valuable insights for pig breeding strategies aimed at enhancing meat production.
Inclusion of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei NSMJ15 in broiler diets induces changes in jejunal immune cell population and cecal microbiota
Authors: Yoon June Hyeok , Joo Sang Seok , An Su Hyun , Ban Byeong Cheol , Jung Moongyeong , Ji Woonhak , Jung Ji Young , Kim Myunghoo , Kong Changsu
Published: June 2024

Objective: The objective was to investigate growth performance, antioxidant enzyme activity, intestinal morphology, immune cell distribution, short chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile, and microbiota in broiler chickens fed a diet containing Lacticaseibacillus paracasei NSMJ15.Methods: A total of 120 1-day-old Ross 308 male broilers were allocated to 2 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. A control group was fed a corn-soybean meal control diet, and an NSMJ15-supplemented group was fed a control diet supplemented with 1 g/kg L. paracasei NSMJ15 at the expense of cornstarch. Each dietary treatment had 6 replicates with 10 birds per cage. Growth performance was recorded on day 9. On day 10, one bird representing median body weight was selected to collect serum for antioxidant enzyme activity, jejunal tissue for immune cell isolation and morphometric analysis, and cecal digesta for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and SCFA analysis.Results: Supplementation of L. paracasei NSMJ15 did not affect growth performance, serum antioxidant enzyme activity, and jejunal histomorphology compared to the control group. In the NSMJ15-supplemented group, the population of CD3+CD4+CD8− T cells increased (p = 0.010), while the population of CD3+CD8+TCRγδ+ T cells decreased (p = 0.022) compared to the control group. The L. paracasei NSMJ15 supplementation decreased (p = 0.022) acetate concentration in the cecal digesta compared to the control group. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed that NSMJ15-supplemented group differentially expressed (p<0.05) 10 more amplicon sequence variants compared to control group without affecting alpha and beta diversity indices of the cecal microbiota. Genera Mediterraneibacter and Negativibacillus were positively (p<0.05) correlated with CD4+ T cells, while genera Gemmiger, Coprococcus, Sellimonas, Massilimicrobiota, and Blautia were negatively (p<0.05) correlated with SCFA concentration.Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest dietary L. paracasei NSMJ15 supplementation may increase percentage of CD4+ T cells and decrease acetate concentration in broiler chickens by increasing the differential expression of specific microbial genera.