bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overweight and obesity in adult patients with phenylketonuria: a systematic review
Authors: Tankeu Aurel T. , Pavlidou Despina Christina , Superti-Furga Andrea , Gariani Karim , Tran Christel
Published: February 2023

Background

Excess weight is a rising concern in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU). It is commonly observed in children and adolescents with PKU; but data on adults are inconsistent. This review aims to summarize available data on excess weight in adult PKU individuals.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search of literature in English, from inception to October 2021, on PubMed and Embase to identify articles on overweight and obesity in adult PKU patients. Prevalence of overweight and obesity, body mass index (BMI) and gender differences were the outcomes of interest.

Results

Of 260 articles identified, only 8 fulfilled quality criteria for inclusion after screening of titles, abstracts and full texts. The mean BMI of adult PKU patients in these studies ranged from 26 ± 5.4 to 30.3 ± 1.8 kg/m2. When compared to matched controls, adult PKU patients had higher BMI and higher prevalence of obesity. However, results were inconsistent when PKU adults were compared to the general population. The prevalence of obesity in the included studies varied widely between 4.5% up to 72% in individual studies. Obesity was 2–3 times more frequent in female PKU patients.

Conclusions

Excess weight is frequent in adult PKU patients, especially in females, even if the difference with the general population is debatable. The heterogeneity of the studies makes it difficult to interpret the results and the factors that contribute to obesity. Content of the diet, psychological status, diet-associated disordered eating, patient’s social environment and lifestyle are listed as potentials contributors to excess weight in PKU adult population. Further studies are needed to better elucidate this question. In the meantime, weight control and healthy eating habits should be considered in the management and follow-up of these patients.
BRAVEHeart: a randomised trial comparing the accuracy of Breathe Well and RPM for deep inspiration breath hold breast cancer radiotherapy
Authors: Byrne Hilary L. , Steiner Elisabeth , Booth Jeremy , Lamoury Gillian , Morgia Marita , Richardson Kylie , Ambrose Leigh , Makhija Kuldeep , Stanton Cameron , Zwan Benjamin , Bromley Regina , Atyeo John , Silvester Shona , Plant Natalie , Keall Paul
Published: February 2023

Background

Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) reduces radiotherapy cardiac dose for left-sided breast cancer patients. The primary aim of the BRAVEHeart (Breast Radiotherapy Audio Visual Enhancement for sparing the Heart) trial is to assess the accuracy and usability of a novel device, Breathe Well, for DIBH guidance for left-sided breast cancer patients. Breathe Well will be compared to an adapted widely available monitoring system, the Real-time Position Management system (RPM).

Methods

BRAVEHeart is a single institution prospective randomised trial of two DIBH devices. BRAVEHeart will assess the DIBH accuracy for Breathe Well and RPM during left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy. After informed consent has been obtained, 40 patients will be randomised into two equal groups, the experimental arm (Breathe Well) and the control arm (RPM with in-house modification of an added patient screen). The primary hypothesis of BRAVEHeart is that the accuracy of Breathe Well in maintaining the position of the chest during DIBH is superior to the RPM system. Accuracy will be measured by comparing chest wall motion extracted from images acquired of the treatment field during breast radiotherapy for patients treated using the Breathe Well system and those using the RPM system.

Discussion

The Breathe Well device uses a depth camera to monitor the chest surface while the RPM system monitors a block on the patient’s abdomen. The hypothesis of this trial is that the chest surface is a better surrogate for the internal chest wall motion used as a measure of treatment accuracy. The Breathe Well device aims to deliver an easy-to-use implementation of surface monitoring. The findings from the study will help inform the technology choice for other centres performing DIBH.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.govNCT02881203. Registered on 26 August 2016.
External load profile during different sport-specific activities in semi-professional soccer players
Authors: Pillitteri Guglielmo , Giustino Valerio , Petrucci Marco , Rossi Alessio , Bellafiore Marianna , Thomas Ewan , Iovane Angelo , Bianco Antonino , Palma Antonio , Battaglia Giuseppe
Published: February 2023

Background

Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are widely used in soccer for monitoring external load (EL) indicators with the aim of maximizing sports performance.The aim of this study was to investigate the EL indicators differences in players of different playing positions (i.e., central backs, external strikers, fullbacks, midfielders, strikers, wide midfielder) between and within different sport-specific tasks and official matches.

Methods

1932 observations from 28 semi-professional soccer players (age: 25 ± 6 years, height: 183 ± 6 cm, weight: 75.2 ± 7 kg) were collected through GPS devices (Qstarz BT-Q1000EX, 10 Hz) during the season 2019–2020. Participants were monitored during Official Match (OM), Friendly Matches (FM), Small Sided Games (SSG), and Match-Based Exercises (MBE). Metabolic (i.e., metabolic power, percentage of metabolic power > 35w, number of intense actions per minute, distance per minute, passive recovery time per minute) and neuromuscular indicators (i.e., percentage of intense accelerations, percentage of intense decelerations, change of direction per min > 30°) were recorded during each task.

Results

Statistically significant differences were detected in EL indicators between playing positions within each task and between tasks. In particular, results from the two-way ANOVA tests showed significant interaction, but with small effect size, in all the EL indicators between playing positions for each task and within tasks. Moreover, statistical differences, but with small effect size, between playing positions were detected in each task and for each EL indicator. Finally, the strongest statistical differences (with large effect size) were detected between tasks for each EL indicator. Details of the Tukey post-hoc analysis reporting the pairwise comparisons within and between tasks with playing positions are also provided.

Conclusion

In semi-professional soccer players, different metabolic and neuromuscular performance were detected in different playing position between and within different tasks and official matches. Coaches should consider the different physical responses related to different physical tasks and playing position to design the most appropriate training program.
Physical and cognitive function to explain the quality of life among older adults with cognitive impairment: exploring cognitive function as a mediator
Authors: Song Rhayun , Fan Xing , Seo Jisu
Published: February 2023

Background

Physical and cognitive function are both indicators of aging, characterized by a loss of adaptive response to life challenges and functional limitations, subsequently affecting their quality of life. This study aimed to identify the direct effect of physical function and the indirect effect of cognitive function on the quality of life in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Methods

The study participants were 79 older adults recruited from community centers in four urban districts of Korea. All participants completed a self-reported questionnaire for demographic characteristics and outcome variables. Outcome measures included physical function (grip strength, balance, and mobility), cognitive function, and mental and physical components of quality of life (QOL). Statistical analyses were conducted using hierarchical multiple linear regression and the PROCESS macro for mediation analysis.

Results

The mean age of participants was 77.46 years old with an elementary or lower education level (53.2%). The mean score of cognitive function was 16.39 (SD = 6.5). Physical function (grip strength, balance, mobility) and cognitive function explained 25% of the variance in physical (p = 0.004) and 29% in mental (p < 0.001) components of QOL after controlling for age, sex, and education level. Mobility was associated with both physical (β=-0.27, p = 0.024) and mental (β=-0.36, p = 0.002) components of QOL. The cognitive function partially mediated the relationship between balance and the physical component of QOL; the proportion of mediation was 55%.

Conclusion

In conclusion, physical and cognitive function were significant predictors of QOL in older adults with cognitive impairment. Specifically, balance has significant indirect effects on the physical component of QOL through cognitive function as a mediator. Health-promoting strategies could be more effective when focusing on the direct effect of physical function as well as the mediating effect of cognitive function to promote the quality of life in this population.
On the construct and perceptual validity measures of L1-based vs. L2-based elicitation as a measure of L2 classroom performance assessment
Authors: Mohammadi Darabad Ali , Abbasian Gholam-Reza , Mowlaie Bahram , Rostami Abusaeedi Ali-Asghar
Published: February 2023

This study aimed at investigating the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ perceptions of L1-based and L2-based elicitations in the English classroom employing an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. Ninety-seven Iranian intermediate EFL learners of English have been selected from Islamic Azad University (Science and Research Branch) in Tehran Province using a convenient sampling method. Of these, in the qualitative phase, 15 individuals were selected through a convenience sampling method as the focus group (N = 15; n = 8 for the L1 group and n = 7 for the L2 group). In the quantitative phase, 90 intermediate EFL learners were selected. The selected participants’ L2 performances were assessed through L1-based and L2-based elicitation techniques. They completed two validated researcher-made questionnaires to capture their perceptions of the elicitation techniques. Accordingly, five separate exploratory factor analyses were run to investigate the underlying constructs of the five components of the L1-based and L2-based perception questionnaires, the results of which showed that the correlation matrices were not singular and there were perfect correlations among all variables of L1-based and L2-based perception questionnaires. The findings show that the majority of respondents prefer to use their L2 in speaking classes and believe that L2 should be the prior language in general speaking classes. More than two-thirds of the respondents prefer to use L2 when they want to communicate with each other inside and outside of the classroom and prefer to use L2 in doing their assignments or performing orally in class. More than half of the respondents prefer to use L2 in assessment sessions.
From guest to host: parasite Cistanche deserticola shapes and dominates bacterial and fungal community structure and network complexity
Authors: Miao Yujing , Zhang Xinke , Zhang Guoshuai , Feng Zhan , Pei Jin , Liu Chang , Huang Linfang
Published: February 2023

Background

Rhizosphere and plant microbiota are assumed to play an essential role in deciding the well-being of hosts, but effects of parasites on their host microbiota have been rarely studied. Also, the characteristics of the rhizosphere and root microbiota of parasites and hosts under parasitism is relatively unknown. In this study, we used Cistanche deserticola and Haloxylon ammodendron from cultivated populations as our model parasites and host plants, respectively. We collected samples from BULK soil (BULK), rhizosphere soil of H. ammodendron not parasitized (NCD) and parasitized (RHA) to study how the parasite influenced the rhizosphere microbiota of the host. We also collected samples from the rhizosphere soil and roots of C. deserticola (RCD and ECD) and Haloxylon ammodendron (RHA and EHA) to explore the difference between the microbiota of the parasite and its host under parasitism.

Results

The parasite reduced the compositional and co-occurrence network complexities of bacterial and fungal microbiota of RHA. Additionally, the parasite increased the proportion of stochastic processes mainly belonging to dispersal limitation in the bacterial microbiota of RHA. Based on the PCoA ordinations and permutational multivariate analysis of variance, the dissimilarity between microbiota of C. deserticola and H. ammodendron were rarely evident (bacteria, R2 = 0.29971; fungi, R2 = 0.15631). Interestingly, four hub nodes of H. ammodendron in endosphere fungal microbiota were identified, while one hub node of C. deserticola in endosphere fungal microbiota was identified. It indicated that H. ammodendron played a predominant role in the co-occurrence network of endosphere fungal microbiota. Source model of plant microbiome suggested the potential source percentage from the parasite to the host (bacteria: 52.1%; fungi: 16.7%) was lower than host-to-parasite (bacteria: 76.5%; fungi: 34.3%), illustrating that microbial communication was bidirectional, mainly from the host to the parasite.

Conclusions

Collectively, our results suggested that the parasite C. deserticola shaped the diversity, composition, co-occurrence network, and community assembly mechanisms of the rhizosphere microbiota of H. ammodendron. Additionally, the microbiota of C. deserticola and H. ammodendron were highly similar and shared. Our findings on parasite and host microbiota provided a novel line of evidence supporting the influence of parasites on the microbiota of their hosts.
Dietary intake and socio-economic predictors of inadequate energy and nutrient intake among women of childbearing age in Karamoja sub-region of Uganda
Authors: Muggaga Christopher , Okello-Uma Ipolto , Kaaya Archileo Natigo , Taylor David , Ongeng Duncan , Basil Mugonola
Published: February 2023

Background

Karamoja sub-region is the most food insecure part of Eastern Africa. The poor status of food security in the sub-region is reflected in the high rate of undernutrition among women of childbearing age (WCBA) and children under 5 years (CUFY). The sub-region is unique in Uganda in terms of cultural diversity, agro-ecology and rainfall pattern and agricultural practices. However, the influence of these unique characteristics on dietary intake of WCBA in the sub-region is less understood. Therefore, this study examined dietary intake and socio-economic predictors of inadequate energy and nutrient intake among WCBA in Karamoja sub-region.

Methods

A longitudinal study design was used involving 755 WCBA in the harvesting season where 635 were followed-up in the planting season. Data were collected using 24-h recall, dietary diversity and socio-economic and demographic questionnaires.

Results

Intake of energy and nutrients were generally significantly higher (p < 0.05) during the planting season than in the harvesting season. Irrespective of the district, physiological status and season, household consumption of plant-based foods was far higher than intake of animal-based foods dominated by starchy stables (76–100%), dark green leafy vegetables (70–100%) and legumes, nuts and seeds (22–97%) depending on the district. Majority of the respondents had two meals (breakfast: 65–100%; supper: 90–100%) with up to 45% of WCBA who consumed alcohol across meal times. .Overall on average, 57.7, 66.6, 78.5, 60.3, 67.7 and 93.7% of WCBA did not meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for energy, protein, calcium, iron, zinc and folic acid, respectively. Binary logistic regression revealed that inadequate intake of energy and nutrients significantly increased (p < 0.05) with the status of being lactating/breastfeeding and was influenced by age of WCBA, number of women married, education level and occupation of the household head depending on season.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that dietary intake of WCBA in Karamoja sub-region was inadequate. Age of WCBA, number of women married, education level and occupation of the household head and spouse and being a lactating/breastfeeding mother were the key socio-economic and demographic factors that influenced inadequate intake of energy and nutrients among WCBA.
Incidence Trends of Melanoma and Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers in Jordan From 2000 to 2016
Authors: Almaani Noor , Juweid Malik E. , Alduraidi Hamza , Ganem Nour , Abu-Tayeh Fatima Alzahraa , Alrawi Raneen , Hawwari Thurayya
Published: February 2023

PURPOSE

Skin cancers are among the commonest cancers worldwide, and the incidence of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) continues to rise worldwide. However, there are no comprehensive reports on skin cancer incidence in Jordan during the past two decades. This report investigates the incidence of skin cancers in Jordan, in particular their time trends for the period 2000-2016.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data on malignant melanomas (MMs), squamous cells carcinomas (SCCs), and basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) were extracted from the Jordan Cancer Registry for the period between 2000 and 2016. Age-specific and overall age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) were computed.

RESULTS

Two thousand seventy patients were diagnosed with at least one BCC, 1,364 with SCC, and 258 with MM. ASIRs were 28, 19, and 4 per 100,000 person-years for BCC, SCC, and MM, respectively. The BCC:SCC incidence ratio was 1.47:1. The risk of men developing SCCs was significantly higher than women (relative risks [RRs], 1.311; 95% CI, 1.197 to 1.436), but significantly lower for BCCs (RR, 0.929; 95% CI, 0.877 to 0.984) or melanomas (RR, 0.465; 95% CI, 0.366 to 0.591). Persons older than 60 years were at a significantly higher risk of developing SCCs (RR, 1.225; 95% CI, 1.119 to 1.340) or melanomas (RR, 2.445; 95% CI, 1.925 to 3.104), but at a significantly lower risk of developing BCCs (RR, 0.885; 95% CI, 0.832 to 0.941). The overall incidence rates of SCCs, BCCs, and melanomas increased over the 16-year study period, but this was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the largest epidemiologic study regarding skin cancers in Jordan and in the Arab world. Despite low incidence rates in this study, rates are higher than reported regional figures. This is likely due to standardized, centralized, and mandatory reporting of skin cancers, including NMSC.
Staff Experiences With Remote Work in a Comprehensive Cancer Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recommendations for Long-Term Adoption
Authors: McChesney Christopher , Powis Melanie Lynn , Espin-Garcia Osvaldo , Hack Saidah , Morley Lyndon , Krzyzanowska Monika K.
Published: February 2023

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid implementation of remote work, but few studies have examined the impact. We evaluated clinical staff experience with working remotely at a large, urban comprehensive cancer center in Toronto, Canada.

METHODS

An electronic survey was disseminated between June 2021, and August 2021, via e-mail to staff who had completed at least some remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors associated with a negative experience were examined with binary logistic regression. Barriers were derived from a thematic analysis of open-text fields.

RESULTS

Most respondents (N = 333; response rate, 33.2%) were age 40-69 years (46.2%), female (61.3%), and physicians (24.6%). Although the majority of respondents wished to continue remote work (85.6%), relative to administrative staff (admin), physicians (odds ratio [OR], 16.6; 95% CI, 1.45 to 190.14) and pharmacists (OR, 12.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 158.9) were more likely to want to return on-site. Physicians were approximately eight times more likely to report dissatisfaction with remote work (OR, 8.4; 95% CI, 1.4 to 51.6) and 24 times more likely to report that remote work negatively affected efficiency (OR, 24.0; 95% CI, 2.7 to 213.0); nurses were approximately seven times more likely to report the need for additional resources (OR, 6.5; 95% CI, 1.71 to 24.48) and/or training (OR, 7.02; 95% CI, 1.78 to 27.62). The most common barriers were the absence of fair processes for allocation of remote work, poor integration of digital applications and connectivity, and poor role clarity.

CONCLUSION

Although overall satisfaction with working remotely was high, work is needed to overcome barriers to implementation of remote and hybrid work models in the health care setting.
Structure and magnetism of rhodium particles as a size effect
Authors: Zhang Mengmeng , Yu Rong , Meng Fanyan
Published: February 2023

The magnetic properties of Rh clusters with face-centered-cubic (FCC) and hexagonal-closed-packed (HCP) structures were studied by first-principles calculations. The results show that both the structure and magnetic properties have size effects. Bulk Rh exists as a FCC structure. However, as the size of Rh particles shrinks, the FCC and HCP structures have comparable energies, consistent with the coexistence of the two structures experimentally observed previously. Although the bulk Rh is nonmagnetic, the nanoparticles or clusters of Rh in both the FCC and HCP structures are magnetic. The average magnetic moment gradually increases as the clusters shrink. The origin of the magnetism of Rh clusters can be attributed to the reduction of coordination number, other than the lattice expansion. The findings provide insights for understanding the magnetic properties of noble metal clusters.
The Prescription-to-Prison Pipeline
Authors: Smirnova Michelle
Published: February 2023

In The Prescription-to-Prison Pipeline Michelle Smirnova argues that the ongoing opioid drug epidemic is the result of an endless cycle in which suffering is medicalized and drug use is criminalized. Drawing on interviews with eighty incarcerated individuals in Missouri correctional institutions, Smirnova shows how contradictions in medical practices, social ideals, and legal policies disproportionately criminalize the poor for their social condition. This criminalization further exacerbates and perpetuates drug addiction and poverty. Tracing the processes by which social issues are constructed as biomedical ones that necessitate pharmacological intervention, Smirnova highlights how inequitable surveillance, policing, and punishment of marginalized populations intensify harms associated with both treatment and punishment, especially given that the distinctions between the two have become blurred. By focusing on the stories of people whose pain and pharmaceutical treatment led to incarceration, Smirnova challenges the binary of individual and social problems, effectively exploring how the conceptualization, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use may exacerbate outcomes such as relapse, recidivism, poverty, abuse, and death.
Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived beta-cells in blood amino acids-like medium
Authors: Ali Marwa , Kato Yusuke , Shiraki Nobuaki , Kume Shoen
Published: February 2023

Traditional cell culture media do not accurately represent the availability of the nutrients in plasma. They usually contain a supraphysiological concentration of nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, etc. These high nutrients can alter the metabolism of cultured cells and induce metabolic phenotypes that do not reflect in vivo conditions. We demonstrate that the supraphysiological levels of nutrients interfere with endodermal differentiation. Refinement of media formulations has a potential application in maturity modulation of stem cell-derived β-cells (SC-β) generation in vitro. To address these issues, we established a defined culture system to derive SC-β-cells using a blood amino acids-like medium (BALM). Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be efficiently differentiated into the definitive endoderm, pancreatic progenitors, endocrine progenitors, and SC-β in BALM-based med. The differentiated cells secreted C-peptide in vitro in response to high glucose levels and expressed several pancreatic β-cell markers. In conclusion, amino acids at the physiological levels are sufficient for deriving functional SC-β cells.
Making Sense of Accreditation, Certification, and Licensure for Careers in Exercise Science
Authors: Wagner Dale R.
Published: February 2023

Apply It!

• Increase knowledge about frequently conflated terminology: accreditation, certification, and licensure. Use this knowledge to educate clients about your credentials.

• Discover what certifications are available from accredited programs and learn how to get your name listed on a national registry of fitness professionals.

• Recommendations provided to both fitness employees and fitness managers can help lead to increased credibility for the profession even without state licensure.
Indigenous knowledge of astronomical star positions and temporal patterns for seasonal weather forecasting: the case of Borana Oromo Pastoralists of Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Dinsa Abera Bekele , Wakjira Feyera Senbeta , Teferi Demmesie Ermias , Negash Tamirat Teferra
Published: February 2023

Background: Indigenous Knowledge-based (IK) prediction of weather is an activity as old as humanity. The objective of this study is to examine indigenous knowledge-based seasonal weather indicating features of astronomic stars.

Methods: This study is based on primary data that were generated through using focus group discussion, key informant interviews, experimental groups, and direct observation.

Results: The findings revealed that, in the study area, one of the widely used practices of indigenous-based weather indicating astronomic objects that exhibit change naturally within a continuum of varying temporal and spatial contexts are observable external features of stars. In the study area weather indicating outlooks of stars are: temporal patterns of star-moon alignment/defect of star-moon alignment; position/direction of the stars and physical/colors of stars. The indicators were displayed in a more than three months lead time ahead of the actual occurrence of weather events. The occurrence of the forecasting of the weather event actually happened in 2021. The severe drought of 2021/2022 was mainly caused by naturally driven defects of star-moon alignment. These practices are still regularly used in decision making. However, these practices are not yet mainstreamed in to formal structures. Conclusion: Curtailments of mobility, severity of drought, weakening of traditional institution, leaving of traditional life-style and death of the knowledgeable elders are the major challenging factors to these practices.
An Optimized Machine Learning Approach for Coronary Artery Disease Detection
Authors: Savita Savita , Rani Geeta , Mittal Apeksha
Published: February 2023

Rising number of fatalities caused by Coronary Artery Disease is a major concern for the public as well as the health industry. Furthermore, diagnostic methods like angiography are expensive and unaffordable for those who are not well-off. Also, angiography is bothersome for the patient due to allergic responses, renal damage, and bleeding where the catheter is inserted. The researchers in literature proposed the machine learning-based approaches for the detection of Coronary Artery Disease. But, these techniques have low accuracy. Thus, there is a scope for optimization of these techniques. The objective of this paper is to develop a machine learning system for the early detection of Coronary Artery Disease early. Also, it employs optimization methods viz. Particle Swarm Optimization, and Firefly Algorithm with Principle Component Analysis based feature extraction and decision tree-based classification. The proposed technique reports an accuracy of 95.3%. Thus, the technological solution may be used as an automatic diagnostic aid.
A Lightweight Encryption Algorithm to Enhance Wireless Sensor Network Security on the Internet of Things
Authors:   Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0122, South Africa, Mahlake Ntebatseng , Mathonsi Topside E. , Plessis Deon Du , Muchenje Tonderai
Published: February 2023

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an anticipated future technology that promises to connect a massive number of devices over the internet. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are regarded as one of the most essential subnetworks of the IoT. Sensor networks are being utilized by IoT to gather, monitor, and send sensitive data across wireless networks. Because the information transferred through WSNs is easily exposed to cyber-attacks, data security is critical. In WSNs, the attacker's adversary aims are to deteriorate and halt the network's effective use, as well as to interrupt network services, rendering them unreachable to the users or providing a user with false feedback. Since the users don’t have control over their data transmitted on the wireless medium or stored in the middleware, anyone with internet access can access it. This puts data confidentiality, authenticity, and integrity at risk since users with unauthorized access can easily access, alter, and manipulate data in transit. The proposed Lightweight Security Algorithm (LSA) is a hybrid algorithm created by combining the Security Protocol for Sensor Networks (SPINS) with the Secure IoT (SIT) encryption technique to improve WSN’s data security while lowering the threshold of attacks and minimize power consumption in WSNs without impacting network performance. Furthermore, the proposed LSA reduces the key generation time by 102mS thus improving the security by 99%. During data transmission, the power consumption is reduced by an average of 411.2uJ and the Packet Drop Ratio (PDR) is between 90 and 99% when comparing it with SPN and Feistel techniques.
High-Accuracy Visualization-Based Grouping of MIMO Multipath Waves
Authors:   Don Honorio Ventura State University, Bacolor, Philippines, Trinidad Emmanuel T. , Materum Lawrence
Published: February 2023

Wireless multipath propagation causes different paths taken by the signal due to interacting objects present in the environment producing multipath components (MPCs). Cluster-based channel models characterize the wireless channel, and different approaches are utilized to cluster the MPCs. Data mining requires different techniques such as visualization to extract important information and find patterns and clusters in the data. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed in this paper to aid the visualization and the manual clustering of MPCs using t-distributed Stochastic Neighborhood Embedding (t-SNE) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). The clustering results of Simultaneous Clustering and Model Selection (SCAMS) are used in this paper. The datasets are embedded into low-dimensional projection and are manually re-clustered. The manual clustering was performed visually and interactively, which achieves a higher Jaccard membership index with a low value of 0.3368, a median of 0.4697, and a high value of 0.8884 for all the datasets.
Improved Subcarrier Selection Technique for Power Line Communications
Authors:   Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa, Adejumobi Babatunde Segun , Shongwe Thokozani , Hasan Ali N.
Published: February 2023

This paper proposes Power Line Communication (PLC) schemes that improve the data rate of PLC systems while combating impairments resulting from frequency disturbances like impulse noise. Firstly, a modified subcarrier selection technique that can be employed to transmit one or more M-ary Phase-Shift Keying (MPSK) or M-ary Quadrature Amplitude Modulated (MQAM) symbols within a subset of the subcarriers of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol. The proposed subcarrier selection technique employs the cyclic rotation of a set of subcarriers, chosen from a group of subcarriers to transmit the selected MPSK or MQAM symbols. A second scheme that employs the rotation of MPSK or MQAM symbols among a group of subcarriers, to increase the data rate of the PLC system is proposed. The proposed schemes show improvement in error performance when tested over Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) and impulse noise of a PLC system despite the increase in the data rate.
Design and Implementation of Communication Digital FIR Filter for Audio Signals on the FPGA Platform
Authors:   Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq, Al-Dulaimi Mohammed Abdulzahra Ahmed , Wahhab Husam A. , Amer Ahmed Abdulhussein
Published: February 2023

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in telecommunications is widely used for its outstanding performance. Hence, optimal results would be obtained with the sophisticated design and implementation of the digital Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter. In this paper, the design and implementation of the FIR filter for processing the audio signal are obtained through the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform -Altera DE1 board. The design is divided into three primary blocks, which are the S2P Adapter block, Codec initialization block, as well as FIR filter block, which were then interfaced together; then, every block was compiled and simulated in order to obtain accurate results. The whole system was built to be functional, and finally, the frequency response was obtained. 100% significant accuracy and high quality are examined for implementing the filter in FPGA platform chip board programmed in (VHDL).
Optimizing Data Transport Efficiency in Datacenters through Traffic Shaping of BBR Congestion Control
Authors:   Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, P.O. Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan, Ahmad Syed Z. , Khalid Sadia
Published: February 2023

Compared to commonly used loss-based congestion control algorithms predominantly used in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) implementations, congestion-based congestion control called BBR has shown much better performance in resource-abundant modern communication links. However, for a high influx of TCP sessions on the bottleneck switch, clusters in High-Performance Compute (HPC) nodes and data centers face resource constraints because of the immense workload during orchestration and relocation of workflows across the resource pool. This article discusses how to resolve this problem, commonly known as TCP incast, through efficient queue management of the bottleneck link and adding a shaper function in the standard BBR algorithm. We analyzed TCP incast issue for two efficient versions of congestion control i.e., BBR and CUBIC (named after the cubic function used instead of linear function), in a highly overloaded convergent switch of the cluster. It is noticeable that the queuing delay and buffer build-up are two essential parameters in causing TCP Incast. Hence, we used the M/G/1/B queuing model when multiple TCP sessions generate the network traffic and different buffer build-up scenarios are analyzed in the bottleneck node of HPC clusters. Based on the findings of our queuing analysis, we propose an incast recovery BBR algorithm that introduces additional controls like Incast shaping to deal with queue build-up during TCP incast. The effects of these modifications in BBR implementation are studied in terms of performance parameters like flow completion time, throughput, RTT variations, and fairness to other competing flows are significant compared with standard BBR and CUBIC implementations.
Zmiany afiliacji partyjnych w trakcie kadencji parlamentarnej a partyjne przywództwo populistyczne. Analiza porównawcza przypadków Czech, Litwy i Polski
Authors: Żukiewicz Przemysław
Published: February 2023

LEGISLATIVE PARTY SWITCHING AND POPULIST PARTY LEADERSHIP: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CZECH, LITHUANIAN, AND POLISH LEGISLATURES
The aim of this article is to empirically demonstrate whether parliamentary groups led by populist leaders are more likely to be affected by party switching than groups without populist leadership. On the basis of the data collected for nine terms of the Czech, Lithuanian and Polish parliaments (n = 2403 seats) it was proved that MPs were more than twice as likely to leave the parliamentary groups with populist leadership than the other groups. In addition, it was evidenced that three out of four MPs affiliated to the groups with populist leadership which found themselves in opposition to the government left their party during the parliamentary term and, in addition, most of these groups were dissolved before the end of the full parliamentary term.
Online Routing Over Parallel Networks: Deterministic Limits and Data-driven Enhancements
Authors: Jalota Devansh , Paccagnan Dario , Schiffer Maximilian , Pavone Marco
Published: February 2023

Over the past decade, GPS-enabled traffic applications such as Google Maps and Waze have become ubiquitous and have had a significant influence on billions of daily commuters’ travel patterns. A consequence of the online route suggestions of such applications, for example, via greedy routing, has often been an increase in traffic congestion since the induced travel patterns may be far from the system optimum. Spurred by the widespread impact of traffic applications on travel patterns, this work studies online traffic routing in the context of capacity-constrained parallel road networks and analyzes this problem from two perspectives. First, we perform a worst-case analysis to identify the limits of deterministic online routing. Although we find that deterministic online algorithms achieve finite, problem/instance-dependent competitive ratios in special cases, we show that for a general setting the competitive ratio is unbounded. This result motivates us to move beyond worst-case analysis. Here, we consider algorithms that exploit knowledge of past problem instances and show how to design data-driven algorithms whose performance can be quantified and formally generalized to unseen future instances. We then present numerical experiments based on an application case for the San Francisco Bay Area to evaluate the performance of the proposed data-driven algorithms compared with the greedy algorithm and two look-ahead heuristics with access to additional information on the values of time and arrival time parameters of users. Our results show that the developed data-driven algorithms outperform commonly used greedy online-routing algorithms. Furthermore, our work sheds light on the interplay between data availability and achievable solution quality.

History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design and Analysis of Algorithms–Discrete.

Funding: This work was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) Award 1830554 and by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under [Grant 449261765].

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2023.1275 .
Building a Britain Fit for the Future…?
Authors: Offord Adam
Published: February 2023

The government launched its long-awaited Industrial Strategy white paper at the end of last year. Manufacturing Management examines what it might mean for the UK’s manufacturing sector, and asks some of industry’s leading names for their thoughts
A Unique Volcanic Jatibarang Reservoir: Facies Characterization and Fracture Calculation
Authors: Benyamin Benyamin , Pratiwi Pratiwi , Indah Fitriani
Published: February 2023

Jatibarang structure, situated in Jatibarang low, one of the prolific sub-basin in the northwest Java basin, belongs to PT. Pertamina EP working area. One hundred seventy wells have been drilled, from which there were 56 production wells. Forty production wells were sunk on a volcanic reservoir. Since 1970, volcanic Jatibarang has faced disputed facies concepts, porosities heterogeneity, and permeability system. A fractured reservoir model was proposed. It was due to unique high-performance hydrocarbon in the early years, and then steeply depleted in the early next 3 years, and flat over 20 years. A unique petrophysical method was developed with various explosives and effusive facies. This study proposes a new facies determination concept related to unavailable default petrophysical plots usually used in the clastic-carbonate reservoir. The new concept of formation evaluation attempts to distinguish the fractured vitric tuff reservoir and non-reservoir zone, which is both effusive lava and explosive product. Reservoirs differed from common clastic-carbonate, typically high gamma-ray reservoir due to potassium feldspar composition. The fracture existence is reflected by a sonic overrunning density log aligned with a deep resistivity pattern. The width of the fracture apertures was measured, and spacing intensities were calculated. Finally, fracture permeability was estimated comprehensively to describe reservoir performance. Property models built with only sonic and triple combo have been debatable; however, advanced logging of JTB-211 has proven this accuracy method.
Quantifying the Seismicity Parameters of A New Model of Seismic Source Zone for Aceh and Surrounding Areas
Authors: Juellyan Juellyan , Setiawan Bambang , Hasan Muttaqin , Saidi Taufiq
Published: February 2023

Aceh is justified as one of the Indonesian provinces with a high level of seismicity. This high seismicity certainly has a severe negative impact on various aspects of human life in Aceh and the surrounding areas. Various types of efforts must be carried out to solve and mitigate the problem caused by each earthquake in Aceh and the surrounding areas. One aspect that can be carried out to minimize the hazards of seismic activity is the characterization of the source of the earthquake. This characterization can be used for various purposes for further seismic-related studies, including for studying seismic hazard analysis using the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) method. This research aims to determine the characteristics of the seismic source zones for Aceh and the surrounding areas. Based on the geological setting and seismicity catalog data of Aceh and the surrounding areas, a new model of seismic source zones was developed. This new model proposed for Aceh and the surrounding areas is divided into four zones: shallow background seismic source zones (divided into two source zones), two deep background seismic source zones, two megathrust source zones, and one fault zone, namely the Sumatra fault zone. The results of this study suggest that Zone I and Zone II of shallow background seismic source zones have a-values of 2.36 and 4.7, b-values of 0.545, and Mmax of 7.7 and 6.8. Deep background seismic source zone I has an a-value of 4.43 and a b-value of 0.9 with a maximum magnitude of 7 Mw. Meanwhile, deep background seismic source zone II has an a-value of 3.28 and a b-value of 0.755 with a maximum magnitude of 6.1 Mw. Megathrust seismic source zone I has an a-value of 3.53 and a b-value of 0.691 with a Mmax of 7.7 Mw. Meanwhile, the megathrust seismic source zone II has an a-value of 3.81 and a b-value of 0.702 with a Mmax of 7.1 Mw. Sumatra fault seismic source zone has an a-value of 2.88 and a b-value of 0.615 with a Mmax of 6.7 Mw.
Ground Surface Quality Assessment Using P-wave Velocity from 2-D Seismic Refraction Method
Authors: Fadhli Zul , Anda Sabrian Tri , Syukri Muhammad , Karmel Moehammad Ediyan Raza , Tutifla Alfi Sunny , Hasibuan Purwandy , Safitri Rini
Published: February 2023

A good strength level of the ground surface is the main concern in an area with rapid housing infrastructure development, such as Baitussalam district-Aceh Besar, Indonesia. A seismic refraction method was applied with three similar profile lines using PASI 16S – 24P equipment and 10 Hz vertical geophones to identify the sub-surface layer. The result was processed using Winsism software and Surfer 8. The results of seismic refraction were deduced and correlated with conventional geotechnical investigation obtained by a previous study. The results of 3 survey lines show that the area has two main layers. The first layer was interpreted as overburden (soil and clayey sand) with a compressional wave velocity (Vp) value of fewer than 1.8 km/s. The second layer produces a high velocity of more than 2 km/s. This second layer is interpreted as highly to moderately weathered rock. The results of seismic refraction surveys of the present study suggest a reasonably good correlation with the standard penetration test (SPT) and rock quality designation (RQD) obtained in the previous investigation. The strength level of the second layer showed  N-SPT of 65 and RQD of at least 50%.
Finite Difference Beam Propagation Method Modeling for High Power Semiconductor Fanned-Out Amplifier Lasers
Authors: Abeles Joseph H. , Amantea Robert , Rios Rafael , Channin Donald J.
Published: February 2023

High power single-mode semiconductor lasers are needed for applications such as optical computing, sensing, and data writing.
Hybrid Diffractive Elements for Planar Optics
Authors: Kostuk Raymond K. , Battiato James M. , Haggans Charles W. , Campbell Gene
Published: February 2023

Planar free-space optical components offer many advantages for compact micro optical systems. This configuration combines the 2 dimensional properties of free-space optics with a guiding substrate.
Multiplexed Substrate-Mode Holographic Interconnects
Authors: Amitai Y.
Published: February 2023

Recently there have been several proposals for fan-in or fan-out optical interconnect architectures with wavelength division multiplexing. One approach to transmit information from several sources onto a single target (or vise versa) relies on multiplexed holographic optical elements (HOEs), where each channel is associated with a separate HOE.
Designing Continuous Contour Phase Plates for Beam Smoothing
Authors: Dixit S. N. , Lawson J. K. , Manes K. , Powell H. T. , Nugent K. A.
Published: February 2023

Spatial and temporal beam smoothing has now become an integral part of laser driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) worldwide.
Optical System Design with Diffractive Elements
Authors: Morris G. Michael
Published: February 2023

Diffractive optics provides optical system designers with new and exciting degrees of freedom, which can be used to optimize system performance and create new optical components and systems.
BPM_CAD - Waveguide Optics Modelling Software System
Authors: Jakubczyk Zdzislaw
Published: February 2023

The BPM_CAD system is a computer software for the modelling of integrated optical devices, planar waveguide structures and fiber optic waveguide problems in a powerful, user-friendly system operating in a mouse- and menu-driven configuration.
OEIC Packaging for Fiber Optic Computer Interconnects
Authors: Jackson Kenneth P.
Published: February 2023

The challenges facing optoelectronic packaging for fiber-optic computer interconnects will be discussed with emphasis on parallel array implementations.
Photonic Subsystem Design Based on Hybrid Optoelectronic Integration on Silicon Substrates
Authors: Armiento Craig A.
Published: February 2023

Photonics is envisioned as a means for alleviating some of the performance bottlenecks in present-day electronic systems.
Design and fabrication/packaging of low-loss passive optical devices
Authors: Nakajima Hirochika
Published: February 2023

Low-loss microoptic/guide-wave passive optical devices, such as magneto-optical switch, in-line isolator, LN switch/modulator, and polymeric spot-size converter etc., are reviewed accompanied with design and fabrication/packaging methods.
Modeling and Design of Integrated Micro-optical Systems
Authors: Jahns Jürgen
Published: February 2023

The use of lithographic fabrication techniques offers the potential to build compact, robust and alignment-free micro-optic systems.
Critical Issues in High Density Magnetic and Optical Data Storage
Authors: Bell Alan E.
Published: February 2023

The data storage density of the most sophisticated magnetic storage devices available today is about 107 bits per square inch, resulting in drive capacities of 2.5 GBytes. The fundamental limits for presently understood configurations for inductive magnetic storage indicate that, in principle, an improvement of up to two orders of magnitude in bit density may be possible. Research and development in high density optical data storage suggests that a storage density of 109 bits per square inch is also possible using this approach. A comparative survey of the fundamental limiting factors, and their origins, will be given for both magnetic and optical data storage alternatives.