bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychophysiological stress response after a 6-week Mindful Self-Compassion training in psychiatric rehabilitation inpatients: a randomized post-test only study
Authors: Andorfer Andrea , Kraler Sabina , Kaufmann Paul , Pollheimer Ewald , Spah Christoph , Fuchshuber Jürgen , Rominger Christian , Traunmüller Claudia , Schwerdtfeger Andreas , Unterrainer Human-Friedrich
Published: July 2023

Objectives

Mindfulness-based interventions (including self-compassion interventions) are effective in improving stress management at psychological and physical levels. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is a newly developed program particularly aimed at increasing self-compassion. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the psychophysiological stress response during a social-evaluative speaking task differs in inpatients participating in the MSC or the Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) program at the end of their 6-week psychiatric rehabilitation stay (i.e., post-test only design).

Method

Data from 50 inpatients (25 MSC, 25 PMR, 35 female) aged 19 to 76 years (M = 47.22, SD = 12.44) were analyzed in terms of psychophysiological stress response. For this purpose, heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure were assessed together with several psychometric variables: positive and negative affect (PANAS), subjective stress perception (Visual Analog Scale), self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale), cognitive reappraisal and suppression (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory-18), and appraisal and rumination (selected items).

Results

After correction for alpha inflation no differences in the psychophysiological stress response and psychometric parameters between the MSC and PMR group were found.

Discussion

In general, our results indicate that MSC is not superior to PMR training. However, more research with clinical randomized controlled trials investigating larger samples are needed to further affirm these initial findings.
Compliant robotic behaviors for satellite servicing
Authors: Cressman Joseph , Pokharna Rahul , Newman Wyatt
Published: July 2023

The demands of traditional industrial robotics differ significantly from those of space robotics. While industry requires robots that can perform repetitive tasks with precision and speed, the space environment needs robots to cope with uncertainties, dynamics, and communication delays or interruptions, similar to human astronauts. These demands make a well-suited application for compliant robotics and behavior-based programming. Pose Target Wrench Limiting (PTWL) is a compliant behavior paradigm developed specifically to meet these demands. PTWL controls a robot by moving a virtual attractor to a target pose. The attractor applies virtual forces, based on stiffness and damping presets, to an underlying admittance controller. Guided by virtual forces, the robot will follow the attractor until safety conditions are violated or success criteria are met. We tested PTWL on a variety of quasi-static tasks that may be useful for future space operations. Our results demonstrate that PTWL is an extremely powerful tool. It makes teleoperation easy and safe for a wide range of quasi-static tasks. It also facilitates the creation of semi-autonomous state machines that can reliably complete complex tasks with minimal human intervention.
Tropical cities research boundaries: a bibliometric analysis to bridge the gaps through multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary features
Authors: Uchôa José Gescilam S. M. , Bertotto Luis E. , dos Santos Matheus S. , Reis Alan , Mendiondo Eduardo M. , Wendland Edson C.
Published: July 2023

Tropical regions are known for their complex ecosystems and biodiversity, which play a vital role in regulating the global climate. However, researching tropical cities can be challenging due to the need for multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional approaches. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to gain a structured understanding of the developments and characteristics of tropical cities research in the last decade. We identified the fundamental influences in tropical cities research, based on four major sub-topics: climate change, sustainable urbanization, protecting biodiversity, and urban resource management. We examined the connections between these themes and performed a systematic literature review on each. Our analysis provides a comprehensive trend analysis of tropical cities, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our findings aim to provide a solid foundation for bridging the gaps for future crosscutting research.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems as State-of-the-Art Solutions in Precision Agriculture: A Review of Studies Indexed in the Web of Science
Authors: Radočaj Dorijan , Plaščak Ivan , Jurišić Mladen
Published: July 2023

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in precision agriculture (PA) represent a cornerstone for field mapping, machinery guidance, and variable rate technology. However, recent improvements in GNSS components (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou) and novel remote sensing and computer processing-based solutions in PA have not been comprehensively analyzed in scientific reviews. Therefore, this study aims to explore novelties in GNSS components with an interest in PA based on the analysis of scientific papers indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The novel solutions in PA using GNSS were determined and ranked based on the citation topic micro criteria in the WoSCC. The most represented citation topics micro based on remote sensing were “NDVI”, “LiDAR”, “Harvesting robot”, and “Unmanned aerial vehicles” while the computer processing-based novelties included “Geostatistics”, “Precise point positioning”, “Simultaneous localization and mapping”, “Internet of things”, and “Deep learning”. Precise point positioning, simultaneous localization and mapping, and geostatistics were the topics that most directly relied on GNSS in 93.6%, 60.0%, and 44.7% of the studies indexed in the WoSCC, respectively. Meanwhile, harvesting robot research has grown rapidly in the past few years and includes several state-of-the-art sensors, which can be expected to improve further in the near future.
The Roles of Net Photosynthetic Rate and Transpiration Efficiency on Economic Yield of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) Genotypes under Different Drought Durations during the Terminal Growth Stages
Authors: Chaimala Aunchana , Jogloy Sanun , Vorasoot Nimitr , Holbrook Corley C. , Kvien Craig K.
Published: July 2023

Knowledge of the influence of different drought durations during the terminal growth stages on net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), transpiration efficiency (TE), and tuber fresh weight (economic yield) is relatively limited in Jerusalem artichoke. Our aim was to examine the effect of different drought durations during the terminal growth stages on Pn, Tr, TE, and economic yield in Jerusalem artichoke genotypes with different ranges of drought tolerance. A two-year field experiment was established in the northeast of Thailand. A split-plot design replicated four times was used. Three water treatments, optimal conditions (SD0), short-drought (SD1), and long-drought (SD2) durations during the terminal growth stages, were arranged as main plots. Six genotypes (HEL256, JA37, HEL253, JA4, JA60, and JA125) are subplots. Different durations of drought in SD1 and SD2 reduced Pn, Tr, and economic yield, while drought stress during the terminal growth stages increased TE in whole genotypes over SD0 treatments. Drought-tolerant genotypes JA125 and JA4 exhibited high Pn, medium TE, and low economic yield reduction under SD2. Utilization of these superior parents in breeding could lead to the generation of new progenies with high economic yield productivity and drought tolerance during the long drought duration during the terminal growth stage. In addition, high SPAD chlorophyll meter readings (SCMR) in SD1 and SD2 and low specific leaf area (SLA) in SD1 could be used as indirect selection traits to survey high Pn genotypes in Jerusalem artichoke. Consequently, these indirect selection traits may allow for speedy breeding programs in Jerusalem artichokes.
Combined Di-Ammonium Phosphate and Straw Return Increase Yield in Sweet Corn
Authors: Ullah Jawad , Chen Shanshuai , Ruan Yunze , Ali Akhtar , Khan Noor Muhammad , Rehman Muhammad Nafees Ur , Fan Pingshan
Published: July 2023

Straw returning is an environmentally friendly method to improve soil health and agricultural productivity by reusing organic waste products. However, fields are often also treated with inorganic fertilizers, and the effect of the interaction between phosphate fertilizer application and straw return on crop yield remains unclear. Therefore, a full-factorial, two-year field experiment was conducted on sweet corn (NARC-16 in late 2021 and Kashmeri-19 in early 2022) to explore how crop yield may be optimized by combining straw return with efficient phosphate fertilization. The experiment involved the application of DAP, SSP, and NP (three different types of phosphates) and the application of crop waste byproducts, namely the residual stover left after sorghum and maize harvesting. We compared control fields with no crop waste or phosphate addition (CR0 and PS0) to experimental plots treated with various phosphates and straw return. Growth parameters such as days to emergence, tasseling, silking and maturity, emergence rate (emergence m−2), height of plant, number of leaves, leaf area per plant, and yield were evaluated, and the influence of the treatment on the economic value of crops was estimated. Phosphorus and straw return were applied at rates of 90 kg per hectare and 5 tons per hectare, respectively. The best P-crop straw combination treatment involved DAP (90 kg ha−1) with the incorporation of 5 tons’ ha−1 of maize straw, which resulted in delayed tasseling (50 days), early silking (68 days), taller plants (178 cm), improved thousand-grain weight (233 g), maximum biological yield (11,349 kg ha−1) and grain yield (3760 kg ha−1). The application of DAP with maize straw return resulted in the highest plant height, biological yield, and grain yield of sweet corn during the second year of the experiment, despite the first year’s yield being influenced by a natural disaster. This combined management strategy (using either DAP or crop residuals) was found to have a more a favorable cost–benefit ratio (BCR) efficiency. In conclusion, increasing the use of crop residuals can help reduce the expensive application of synthetic mineral fertilizers like SSP and NP, while significantly increasing sweet corn production and improving profit margins. Considering the importance of environmental friendliness and sustainable agriculture, the combined use of DAP and straw return is considered a viable method.
Prediction Model of Greenhouse Tomato Yield Using Data Based on Different Soil Fertility Conditions
Authors: Peng Xiuyuan , Yu Xiaoyu , Luo Yuzhu , Chang Yixiao , Lu Caiyan , Chen Xin
Published: July 2023

Tomato yield prediction plays an important role in agricultural production planning and management, market supply and demand balance, and agricultural risk management. To solve the problems of low accuracy and high uncertainty of tomato yield prediction methods in solar greenhouses, based on experimental data for water and fertilizer consumption by greenhouse tomatoes in different regions over many years, this paper investigated the prediction models of greenhouse tomato yields under three different soil fertility conditions (low, medium, and high). Under these three different soil fertility conditions, greenhouse tomato yields were predicted using the neural network prediction model (NN), the neural network prediction model based on particle swarm optimization (PSO–NN), the neural network prediction model based on an adaptive inertia weight particle swarm optimization algorithm (AIWPSO–NN), and the neural network prediction model based on the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IPSO–NN). The experimental results demonstrate that the evaluation indexes (mean square error, mean absolute error, and R2) of the IPSO–NN prediction model proposed in this paper were superior to the other three prediction models (i.e., NN prediction model, AIWPSO–NN prediction model, and IPSO–NN prediction model) under three different soil fertility conditions. Among them, compared with the NN prediction model, the MSE of the other three prediction models under high soil fertility decreased to 0.0082, 0.0041, and 0.0036; MAE decreased to 0.0759, 0.0511, and 0.0489; R2 decreased to 0.8641, 0.9323, and 0.9408. These results indicated that the IPSO–NN prediction model had a higher predictive ability for greenhouse tomato yields under three different soil fertility conditions. In view of the important role of tomato yield prediction in greenhouses, this technology may be beneficial to agricultural management and decision support.
Frequency of Outcrossing and Isolation Distance in Faba Beans (Vicia faba L.)
Authors: Adhikari Kedar N. , Burrows Lucy , Sadeque Abdus , Chung Christopher , Cullis Brian , Trethowan Richard
Published: July 2023

Faba beans (Vicia faba L.) constitute a partially outcrossing species requiring an isolation distance to maintain genetic purity when more than one variety is grown in field conditions. This information is crucial for seed growers and faba bean breeders. A study was conducted at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute, Narrabri, over two years to examine the extent of natural outcrossing using a creamy white flower characteristic as a morphological marker, which is controlled by a single recessive gene. The white-flowered genotype (IX225c) was grown in paired rows of 150 m length in four directions from a central 480 m2 plot of the normal flowered genotype PBA Warda. A beehive was placed in the central plot at the flowering time and natural pollination was allowed. At maturity, seed samples were taken from the white-flowered genotype at designated intervals along each axis and 100 seeds from each sample were grown in the glasshouse/birdcage to the 4–5 leaf stage and the proportion of plants displaying a stipule spot pigmentation (normal flower color and spotted stipule are linked) was used to determine the percentage of outcrossing. Maximum outcrossing of 2.28% occurred where both genotypes were grown side by side (0 m) and the degree of outcrossing decreased as the distance along each axis from the central plot increased. At a 6 m distance, the outcrossing was less than 1%; however, on occasion, it increased to 1% beyond a distance of 100 m, indicating the volatile and unpredictable nature of bee flights. Distance had a major effect on outcrossing but the direction and its interaction had no effect. The results suggest that to limit outcrossing to below 0.5%, a distance of more than 150 m between plots of different faba beans cultivars would be required. It also indicated that Australian faba bean genotypes are mostly self-fertile and a relatively narrow isolation distance will ensure self-fertilization in seed production and breeding programs.
Effect of Poultry Litter Application Method and Rainfall and Delayed Wrapping on Warm-Season Grass Baleage
Authors: Nieman Christine C. , Coblentz Wayne K. , Moore Philip A. , Akins Matthew S.
Published: July 2023

Poultry litter is a widely available fertilizer in the southeast USA and subsurface application of litter can increase both forage production and nutritive value. Frequent rainfall events and high humidity often limit time available for hay curing; baled silage techniques can increase harvest time flexibility. Unfortunately, rainfall events can still occur without forecast during harvest events, resulting in delayed baling or wrapping. The objective of this study was to evaluate poultry litter amendment methods, subsurface (SUB) and surface (SURF), and the effect of no rain (NR) on bales with wrapping after 2 h compared with rained-on bales with 17 h delayed wrapping (RDW) on warm-season grass baleage fermentation and nutritive value. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design with two amendment treatments and two post-baling treatments. Crude protein (CP) was greater (p < 0.01) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was lower (p < 0.01) in both pre- and post-ensiled bales with subsurface-applied poultry litter. Rain and delayed wrapping resulted in lower pH (p = 0.03), starch (p < 0.01), and water-soluble carbohydrates (p < 0.01) in pre-ensiled bales, compared to those that did not receive rain and were wrapped within 2 h, while post-ensiled bales only differed in lower (p < 0.01) starch and slightly greater (p < 0.01) NDF in RDW. Lactic acid (p < 0.01), acetic acid (p < 0.01), and total acids (p = 0.03) were greater in SUB, while butyric acid tended to be greater (p = 0.09), and alcohols (p = 0.05) were greater in SURF. Bales from RDW and NR only differed by greater (p < 0.01) propionic acid concentrations in NR. Under the conditions of this experiment, subsurface application of poultry litter increased final nutritive value, while rainfall and delayed wrapping of 17 h had few effects on the final nutritive value of warm-season grass baleage.
Clinical and Microbiological Outcomes and Follow-Up of Secondary Bacterial and Fungal Infections among Critically Ill COVID-19 Adult Patients Treated with and without Immunomodulation: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Szabó Bálint Gergely , Czél Eszter , Nagy Imola , Korózs Dorina , Petrik Borisz , Marosi Bence , Gáspár Zsófia , Rajmon Martin , Di Giovanni Márk , Vályi-Nagy István , Sinkó János , Lakatos Botond , Bobek Ilona
Published: July 2023

Background: Nearly 10% of COVID-19 cases will require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Our aim was to assess the clinical and microbiological outcomes of secondary infections among critically ill COVID-19 adult patients treated with/without immunomodulation. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was performed between 2020 and 2022 at a single ICU. The diagnosis and severity classification were established by the ECDC and WHO criteria, respectively. Eligible patients were included consecutively at admission, and followed for +30 days post-inclusion. Bloodstream-infections (BSIs), ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VAP), and COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) were defined according to international guidelines. Patient stratification was performed by immunomodulatory therapy administration (dexamethasone, tocilizumab, baricitinib/ruxolitinib). The primary outcome was any microbiologically confirmed major infectious complication, secondary outcomes were invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) requirement and all-cause mortality. Results: Altogether, 379 adults were included. At baseline, 249/379 (65.7%) required IMV and 196/379 (51.7%) had a cytokine storm. At +30 days post-inclusion, the rate of any microbiologically confirmed major infectious complication was 151/379 (39.8%), IMV requirement and all-cause mortality were 303/379 (79.9%) and 203/379 (53.6%), respectively. There were no statistically significant outcome differences after stratification. BSI, VAP, and CAPA episodes were mostly caused by Enterococcus faecalis (27/124, 22.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26/91, 28.6%), and Aspergillus fumigatus (20/20, 100%), respectively. Concerning the primary outcome, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed similar probability distributions between the treatment subgroups (118/299, 39.5% vs. 33/80, 41.3%, log-rank p = 0.22), and immunomodulation was not retained as its independent predictor in multivariate logistic regression. Conclusions: Secondary infections among critically ill COVID-19 adult patients represent a relevant burden, probably irrespective of immunomodulatory treatment.
Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activities of Mangrove Honeybee Propolis Extract and the Identification of Transpeptidase and Transglycosylase as Targets for New Antibiotics Using Molecular Docking
Authors: Alshiekheid Maha A.
Published: July 2023

Developing new antibiotics is a critical area of research that grows as a result of the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance. Scientists search for new antibiotics by screening natural sources such as soil, plants, and marine environments. One of the iconic plants in the marine environment is the mangrove, which is a source of honeybee propolis. Propolis collected from the grey mangrove Avicennia marina on Tarout Island, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, was used to evaluate antibacterial activities against three pathogenic bacteria: gram-negative Enterobacter cloacae (RCMB 001(1) ATCC® 23355TM), gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (clinical isolate), and Streptococcus mutans Clark (RCMB 017(1) ATCC® 25175TM). The results indicate the effectiveness of the methanolic extract of such propolis. The chemical composition of this extract was analyzed using LC-MS, and four compounds were identified (alginic acid, carrageenan, fucoxanthin, cycloeudesmol). Their modes of action were evaluated against bacterial cell walls. Bacterial transpeptidase and transglycosylase on the surface are basic for cell divider amalgamation, and numerous antimicrobials have been created to target these compounds. Molecular docking was employed to predict the interactions of four compounds and S. aureus to predict interaction. Alginic acid was found to be the best interaction with a score of −7.44 Kcal/mol with distance ranges between 2.86 and 3.64 and RMSD refined below 2 Å. Carrageenan with −6.64 Kcal/mol and a distance of 3.05 and 2.87 came second. Then, fucoxanthin with −6.57 Kcal/mol and a distance of 1.4. Finally, cycloeudesmol with a score of −4.6 Kcal/mol and a distance of 2.87 showed the least activity. The first three compounds interacted effectively and could form very promising chemicals that could be used one day against pathogenic bacteria in the future.
Ferulic, Sinapic, 3,4-Dimethoxycinnamic Acid and Indomethacin Derivatives with Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Hypolipidemic Functionality
Authors: Theodosis-Nobelos Panagiotis , Papagiouvannis Georgios , Rekka Eleni A.
Published: July 2023

A series of thiomorpholine and cinnamyl alcohol derivatives, conjugated with cinnamic acid-containing moieties, such as ferulic acid, sinapic acid and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid, were synthesized and tested for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic properties. An indomethacin ester with 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-(hydroxymethyl)phenol was also prepared for reasons of comparison. The majority of the compounds demonstrated considerable antioxidant capacity and radical scavenging activity, reaching up to levels similar to the well-known antioxidant trolox. Some of them had an increased anti-inflammatory effect on the reduction of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema (range 17–72% at 150 μmol/kg), having comparable activity to the NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) used as reference. They had moderate activity in soybean lipoxygenase inhibition. All the tested compounds exhibited a significant decrease in lipidemic indices in Triton-induced hyperlipidemia in rats, whilst the most active triglycerides and total cholesterol decreased by 72.5% and 76%, respectively, at 150 μmol/kg (i.p.), slightly better than that of simvastatin, a well-known hypocholesterolemic drug, but with negligible triglyceride-lowering effect. Since our designed compounds seem to exhibit multiple pharmacological activities, they may be of use in occasions involving inflammation, oxidative stress, lipidemic deregulation and degenerative conditions.
Assessment of Allelopathic Activity of Arachis pintoi Krapov. & W.C. Greg as a Potential Source of Natural Herbicide for Paddy Rice
Authors: Thang Phan Trung , Vien Nguyen Van , Anh La Hoang , Xuan Tran Dang , Duong Vu Xuan , Nhung Nguyen Thanh , Trung Khuat Huu , Quan Nguyen Thanh , Nguyen Cam Chau , Loan Le Thi Kim , Khanh Tran Dang , Ha Tran Thi Thu
Published: July 2023

Pinto peanut (Arachis pintoi Krapov. & W.C. Greg.) is an herbaceous perennial plant which belongs to the Leguminosae family. This plant is well known for its use as a cover crop, but little information is available on the allelopathic potential of this legume. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the allelopathic effects of A. pintoi under various screening conditions and to analyze its potential allelochemicals using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In laboratory bioassays, aqueous extracts of A. pintoi powder exerted the average inhibition of the growth of Echinochloa crus-galli (55.1%), Oryza sativa (77.1%), and Vigna radiata (60.1%), respectively, of which the root lengths of the tested plants were the most suppressed. In greenhouse experiments, E. crus-galli was inhibited by 63.4% at 200 g/m2 of A. pintoi dried powder application. In field trials, A. pintoi also significantly reduced the growth of E. crus-galli and natural weeds. By incorporating a dose of 200 g/m2, the average inhibition of E. crus-galli was 43.9%, the dry weight of natural paddy weeds was 43.1%, and rice yield was simultaneously increased by 35%. The growth inhibitions of weeds and tested plants were proportional to the doses of A. pintoi applied and varied with the tested plant species. Among three different solvent extracts (methanol, hexane, and ethyl acetate), the hexane extract exerted the highest suppression against the growth of E. crus-galli and L. sativa by IC50 against root and shoot growth = 4.08 and 8.4 mg/mL and 1.7 and 1.54 mg/mL, respectively, followed by ethyl acetate extract, while the least effective was methanol extract. From those extracts, a total of 35 substances were detected by GC-MS analyses, including 14 newly identified constituents, such as phenolic acids, stearic acid, palmitic acid, fatty acids, pyranones, and benzofurans, which may be responsible for the herbicidal effects of A. pintoi. This study suggests that A. pintoi may be used as a source of bioherbicide to minimize the dependency on harmful synthetic herbicides and enhance rice yield.
An Embedded System Based on Raspberry Pi for Effective Electrocardiogram Monitoring
Authors: Obeidat Yusra M. , Alqudah Ali M.
Published: July 2023

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for affordable and user-friendly medical diagnostic devices due to the rise in global diseases. This study focuses on the development of an embedded system based on Raspberry Pi that enables faster and more efficient monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG). The incorporation of Raspberry Pi allows for both wireless and wired interfaces, facilitating the creation of an ECG diagnostic embedded system capable of real-time detection and immediate response to any abnormalities in heart functionality. The system presented in this research encompasses a comprehensive electronic circuit comprising analog and digital components to measure and display the ECG signal. Within the analog section, the circuit performs essential signal conditioning tasks, such as signal amplification and noise filtering, ensuring a clean signal within the desired frequency range. The entire system is powered using a power bank. The digital segment incorporates an analog-to-digital converter necessary for converting the received analog signal into a digital format compatible with Raspberry Pi. A graphical liquid-crystal display is utilized to display the measured signal. The device successfully measures ECG signals at various heart rates, capturing all crucial peaks that can be used as indicators of an individual’s health condition. By comparing the signals obtained from healthy individuals with those exhibiting heart arrhythmias, valuable insights can be gained regarding their health status. The proposed system aims to be portable, cost-effective, and user-friendly in different environments.
Mask-Transformer-Based Networks for Teeth Segmentation in Panoramic Radiographs
Authors: Kanwal Mehreen , Ur Rehman Muhammad Mutti , Farooq Muhammad Umar , Chae Dong-Kyu
Published: July 2023

Teeth segmentation plays a pivotal role in dentistry by facilitating accurate diagnoses and aiding the development of effective treatment plans. While traditional methods have primarily focused on teeth segmentation, they often fail to consider the broader oral tissue context. This paper proposes a panoptic-segmentation-based method that combines the results of instance segmentation with semantic segmentation of the background. Particularly, we introduce a novel architecture for instance teeth segmentation that leverages a dual-path transformer-based network, integrated with a panoptic quality (PQ) loss function. The model directly predicts masks and their corresponding classes, with the PQ loss function streamlining the training process. Our proposed architecture features a dual-path transformer block that facilitates bi-directional communication between the pixel path CNN and the memory path. It also contains a stacked decoder block that aggregates multi-scale features across different decoding resolutions. The transformer block integrates pixel-to-memory feedback attention, pixel-to-pixel self-attention, and memory-to-pixel and memory-to-memory self-attention mechanisms. The output heads process features to predict mask classes, while the final mask is obtained by multiplying memory path and pixel path features. When applied to the UFBA-UESC Dental Image dataset, our model exhibits a substantial improvement in segmentation performance, surpassing existing state-of-the-art techniques in terms of performance and robustness. Our research signifies an essential step forward in teeth segmentation and contributes to a deeper understanding of oral structures.
Primary Processes of Free Radical Formation in Pharmaceutical Formulations of Therapeutic Proteins
Authors: Schöneich Christian
Published: July 2023

Oxidation represents a major pathway for the chemical degradation of pharmaceutical formulations. Few specific details are available on the mechanisms that trigger oxidation reactions in these formulations, specifically with respect to the formation of free radicals. Hence, these mechanisms must be formulated based on information on impurities and stress factors resulting from manufacturing, transportation and storage. In more detail, this article focusses on autoxidation, metal-catalyzed oxidation, photo-degradation and radicals generated from cavitation as a result of mechanical stress. Emphasis is placed on probable rather than theoretically possible pathways.
The Superior Cerebellar Artery: Variability and Clinical Significance
Authors: Malicki Mikołaj , Szmyd Bartosz M. , Bobeff Ernest J. , Karuga Filip F. , Piotrowski Michał M. , Kościołek Dawid , Wanibuchi Sora , Radek Maciej , Jaskólski Dariusz J.
Published: July 2023

The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) arises from the distal part of the basilar artery and passes by the oculomotor, trochlear, and trigeminal nerves. SCA is known to play a crucial role in the development of trigeminal neuralgia. However, due to its anatomical variability, it may also trigger other neurovascular compression (NVC), including hemifacial spasm, oculomotor nerve palsy, and ocular neuromyotonia. Additionally, it may be associated with ischemic syndromes and aneurysm development, highlighting its clinical significance. The most common anatomical variations of the SCA include duplication, a single vessel origin from the posterior cerebral artery (PCA), and a common trunk with PCA. Rarely observed variants include bifurcation and origin from the internal carotid artery. Certain anatomical variants such as early bifurcation and caudal course of duplicated SCA trunk may increase the risk of NVC. In this narrative review, we aimed to examine the impact of the anatomical variations of SCA on the NVCs based on papers published in Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with a snowballing approach. Our review emphasizes the importance of a thorough understanding of the anatomical variability of SCA to optimize the management of patients with NVCs associated with this artery.
Mathematical Modelling of Tuberculosis Outbreak in an East African Country Incorporating Vaccination and Treatment
Authors: Oshinubi Kayode , Peter Olumuyiwa James , Addai Emmanuel , Mwizerwa Enock , Babasola Oluwatosin , Nwabufo Ifeoma Veronica , Sane Ibrahima , Adam Umar Muhammad , Adeniji Adejimi , Agbaje Janet O.
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we develop a deterministic mathematical epidemic model for tuberculosis outbreaks in order to study the disease’s impact in a given population. We develop a qualitative analysis of the model by showing that the solution of the model is positive and bounded. The global stability analysis of the model uses Lyapunov functions and the threshold quantity of the model, which is the basic reproduction number is estimated. The existence and uniqueness analysis for Caputo fractional tuberculosis outbreak model is presented by transforming the deterministic model to a Caputo sense model. The deterministic model is used to predict real data from Uganda and Rwanda to see how well our model captured the dynamics of the disease in the countries considered. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of the parameters according to R0 was considered in this study. The normalised forward sensitivity index is used to determine the most sensitive variables that are important for infection control. We simulate the Caputo fractional tuberculosis outbreak model using the Adams–Bashforth–Moulton approach to investigate the impact of treatment and vaccine rates, as well as the disease trajectory. Overall, our findings imply that increasing vaccination and especially treatment availability for infected people can reduce the prevalence and burden of tuberculosis on the human population.
Follicular Delivery of Caffeine from a Shampoo for Hair Retention
Authors: Busch Loris , Klein Anna Lena , Schwartz James R. , Pearson Kathleen , Richter Heike , Schanzer Sabine , Lohan Silke B. , Schumacher Fabian , Kleuser Burkhard , Meinke Martina C.
Published: July 2023

A key factor in the prevention of hair loss is the provision of optimal conditions on the scalp. In this regard, reduction of oxidative stress on the scalp is one critical requirement to support the hair follicles to function optimally. Recently, a novel shampoo formulation technology containing anti-oxidants such as piroctone olamine has been demonstrated to improve hair retention based on micellar degradation and coacervation effects. Caffeine has also been shown to exhibit anti-oxidant activity including the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation. As with piroctone olamine, it is expected that follicular delivery of caffeine will enhance its anti-oxidant activity in a region that will be beneficial for hair retention. In this study, two shampoo formulations as well as a control formulation were applied to the calf area of n = 9 male participants. The technique of differential tape stripping was applied to obtain the caffeine penetrated to the stratum corneum and to the hair follicles. Isotope-dilution liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was performed to demonstrate caffeine follicular delivery from the shampoo formulas. The results showed that the percentage of caffeine recovered in the hair follicles was 8–9% of the caffeine absorbed into the skin and matched an existing caffeine-based shampoo. In conclusion, a novel shampoo formulation technology has been developed that effectively delivers beneficial anti-oxidants to improve hair retention. This new shampoo is expected to be especially useful in the goal of retaining hair during aging.
Temporospatial Nestedness in Consciousness: An Updated Perspective on the Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness
Authors: Huang Zirui
Published: July 2023

Time and space are fundamental elements that permeate the fabric of nature, and their significance in relation to neural activity and consciousness remains a compelling yet unexplored area of research. The Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) provides a framework that links time, space, neural activity, and consciousness, shedding light on the intricate relationships among these dimensions. In this review, I revisit the fundamental concepts and mechanisms proposed by the TTC, with a particular focus on the central concept of temporospatial nestedness. I propose an extension of temporospatial nestedness by incorporating the nested relationship between the temporal circuit and functional geometry of the brain. To further unravel the complexities of temporospatial nestedness, future research directions should emphasize the characterization of functional geometry and the temporal circuit across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Investigating the links between these scales will yield a more comprehensive understanding of how spatial organization and temporal dynamics contribute to conscious states. This integrative approach holds the potential to uncover novel insights into the neural basis of consciousness and reshape our understanding of the world–brain dynamic.
The Role of Greener Innovations in Promoting Financial Inclusion to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: An Integrative Review
Authors: Brahmi Mohsen , Esposito Luca , Parziale Anna , Dhayal Karambir Singh , Agrawal Shruti , Giri Arun Kumar , Loan Nguyen Thi
Published: July 2023

In recent times, the green transition, by promoting carbon neutrality, has become highly imperative to meet environmental challenges. The present literature review study seeks to explore the intersecting role of greener innovations in facilitating financial inclusion for a sustainable future. Within the global agenda is the goal of carbon neutrality, with the aim of reducing environmental impact and mitigating climate change. Aim: The present study aims to investigate the role that technological innovations play in the financial inclusion of achieving climate neutrality. Method: Through a systematic literature review, we investigate how new innovations generate new investment opportunities and promote sustainable development. However, fair, accessible, and inclusive financing is crucial. Findings: the analyzed documents in this study shows that technological innovations can play an important role in financial inclusion for carbon neutrality and provide some important policy implications. Indeed, a favorable regulatory environment could generate positive effects already in the short term, with important environmental, economic, and social repercussions.
Distance Education under Oppression: The Case of Palestinian Higher Education
Authors: Smith Matt , Scott Howard
Published: July 2023

This paper draws from both empirical research on an EU-funded project in Palestine and from the lived experiences of Palestinian HE educators. The geopolitical situation is precarious at the best of times in Palestine, where Israel monitors and controls the Palestinians’ right to travel, live and work—even more so if they wish to accomplish these activities abroad—and their access to the internet is never free from surveillance. In these circumstances and under these conditions, distance education has played a crucial role in supporting Palestinian students to develop a global voice. This paper captures some of the educational challenges encountered by Palestinian students and teachers generally in their daily contexts and, more specifically, in their experiences of learning and teaching, and the methods used to overcome these barriers. It draws on multiple sources and on studies recently carried out in the field by Palestinian colleagues and will discuss the challenging aspects of learning online from a range of perspectives in each of these studies before offering conclusions and recommendations/implications for other areas of study in situations of oppression. Initial findings indicate that distance education enables a form of continuity in regions exposed and accustomed to extreme and regular disruption. We were also inspired to see throughout responses the values attributed to pursuing education by Palestinian educators and their students. The persistence and perseverance reflect a determination that underlines the importance of education as a fundamental human right, national identity and sovereignty, personal source of hope and strength, and opportunity to open one’s world. In our conclusions, we argue for the importance of digital literacy among educators to facilitate the continuity of distance education and finish with some recommendations as to how technologies can ease disruption to ordinary educational service.
Controlling the Crawling Speed of the Snake Robot along a Cable Based on the Hopf Oscillator
Authors: Yang Zhiyong , Wang Fan , Liu Jianguo , Fang Zhen , Tian Chen , Zhang Daode
Published: July 2023

To make the snake robot crawl quickly along the high-voltage cable, this paper employs the Simulated Annealing Algorithm (SAA) to find the optimal step size for the spiral-winding gait of the snake robot and improve its crawling speed along the high-voltage cable. First, a spiral-winding gait for the robot is designed based on the configuration of the snake robot and the crawling environment along the cable. Next, the double-chain Hopf oscillator is used to generate the spiral-winding gait for the snake-like robot. After that, based on the snake robot’s position, the SAA is employed to improve the crawling speed of the snake robot by finding the optimal step size of the spiral-winding gait. Finally, CoppeliaSim 4.0.0 software is used to analyze the optimization effect of the speed of the snake robot crawling along the cable. The results highlight that the maximum crawling speeds of the snake robot are 0.8868 cm/s, 0.8843 cm/s, 0.8598 cm/s, and 0.7971 cm/s, which are 18.01%, 8.16%, 11.01%, and 12.16% lower than the maximum speed obtained using the sampling fit method when the cable friction coefficients are 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6. These simulation results verify the effectiveness of the optimized control algorithm.
A Low-Latency, Low-Jitter Retimer Circuit for PCIe 6.0
Authors: Liu Qing , Wang Heming , Lyu Fangxu , Zhang Geng , Lyu Dongbin
Published: July 2023

As the PCIe 6.0 specification places higher requirements on signal integrity and transmission latency, it becomes especially important to improve signal transmission performance at the physical layer of the transceiver interface. Retimer circuits are a key component of high-speed serial interfaces, and their delay and jitter size directly affect the overall performance of PCIe. For the typical retimer circuit with large-latency and low-jitter performance, this paper proposes a low-latency and low-jitter Retimer circuit based on CDR + PLL architecture for PCIe 6.0, using a jitter-canceling filter circuit to eliminate the frequency difference between the retiming clock and data, reduce the retiming clock jitter, and improve the quality of Retimer output data. The data are sampled using the retiming clock and then output, avoiding the problem of large penetration latency of typical retimer circuits. The circuit is designed using the CMOS 28 nm process. Simulation results show that when 112 Gbps PAM4 data are input to the retimer circuit, the Retimer penetration latency is 27.3 ps, which is 83.5% lower than the typical Retimer structure; the output jitter data are 741 fs, a 31.4% reduction compared to the typical retimer structure.
Process Discovery Techniques Recommendation Framework
Authors: Al-Absi Mohammed Abdulhakim , R’bigui Hind
Published: July 2023

In a competitive environment, organizations need to continuously understand, analyze and improve the behavior of processes to maintain their position in the market. Process mining is a set of techniques that allows organizations to have an X-ray view of their processes by extracting process related knowledge from the information recorded in today’s process aware information systems such as ‘Enterprise Resource Planning’ systems, ‘Business Process Management’ systems, ‘Supply Chain Management’ systems, etc. One of the major categories of process mining techniques is the process of discovery. This later allows for automatically constructing process models just from the information stored in the system representing the real behavior of the process discovered. Many process discovery algorithms have been proposed today which made users and businesses, in front of many techniques, unable to choose or decide the appropriate mining algorithm for their business processes. Moreover, existing evaluation and recommendation frameworks have several important drawbacks. This paper proposes a new framework for recommending the most suitable process discovery technique to a given process taking into consideration the limitations of existing frameworks.
Stereo SLAM in Dynamic Environments Using Semantic Segmentation
Authors: Ai Yongbao , Sun Qianchong , Xi Zhipeng , Li Na , Dong Jianmeng , Wang Xiang
Published: July 2023

As we all know, many dynamic objects appear almost continuously in the real world that are immensely capable of impairing the performance of the majority of vision-based SLAM systems based on the static-world assumption. In order to improve the robustness and accuracy of visual SLAM in high-dynamic environments, a real-time and robust stereo SLAM system for dynamic scenes was proposed. To weaken the influence of dynamic content, the moving-object detection method was put forward in our visual odometry, and then the semantic segmentation network was combined in our stereo SLAM to extract pixel-level contours of dynamic objects. Then, the influences of dynamic objects were significantly weakened and the performance of our system increased markedly in dynamic, complex, and crowed city spaces. Following experiments with both the KITTI Odometry dataset and in a real-life scene, the results showed that our method could dramatically decrease the tracking error or drift, and improve the robustness and stability of our stereo SLAM in high dynamic outdoor scenarios.
Robust Fractional-Order Proportional-Integral Controller Tuning for Load Frequency Control of a Microgrid System with Communication Delay
Authors: Ruan Shitao
Published: July 2023

The integration of renewable energy resources and uncertainties in power system models pose significant challenges to load frequency control (LFC). To tackle these challenges, controller tuning with robustness constraints provides an efficient solution. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for controller tuning in the LFC of microgrid systems with communication delay. Our approach converts the tuning task into an algorithm that solves two parametric equations subject to robustness constraints, resulting in high accuracy and computational efficiency. We use a perturbed scenario with uncertain microgrid model gains and communication delay to illustrate the tuning efficiency. Simulation examples, including comparisons with classical tuning methods, demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Research on the Diffusion Model of Electric Vehicle Quantity Considering Individual Choice
Authors: Jia Chenran , Ding Can , Chen Wenhui
Published: July 2023

Regarding the issue of individual purchasing behavior in the rapid growth of electric vehicles, this article studies the diffusion model of electric vehicles considering individual choices and social effects from the perspective of the scale and quantity changes of electric vehicles. First, the neural network was used to predict the charging data of electric vehicles, and the economic effects of purchasing electric vehicles were calculated by combining the purchase cost and government subsidies. Then, the utility function for owners to purchase electric or traditional fuel vehicles was created by considering economic effects, cognitive attitudes, and social effects as factors that individuals need to consider when purchasing electric or traditional fuel vehicles. Finally, the discrete choice model was used to calculate the probability of users choosing to purchase electric or traditional fuel vehicles, and the number of electric vehicles was statistically calculated. Analysis of simulation examples shows that the growth rate of fuel vehicles decreases year by year during the simulation period, and the trend of electric vehicle growth follows an S-curve.