bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical gate synthesis for quantum heuristics on bosonic quantum processors
Authors: Özgüler A. Barış , Venturelli Davide
Published: October 2022

There is a recent surge of interest and insights regarding the interplay of quantum optimal control and variational quantum algorithms. We study the framework in the context of qudits which are, for instance, definable as controllable electromagnetic modes of a superconducting cavity system coupled to a transmon. By employing recent quantum optimal control approaches described in (Petersson and Garcia, 2021), we showcase control of single-qudit operations up to eight states, and two-qutrit operations, mapped respectively onto a single mode and two modes of the resonator. We discuss the results of numerical pulse engineering on the closed system for parametrized gates useful to implement Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) for qudits. The results show that high fidelity (>0.99) is achievable with sufficient computational effort for most cases under study, and extensions to multiple modes and open, noisy systems are possible. The tailored pulses can be stored and used as calibrated primitives for a future compiler in circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) systems.
New fermions in the light of the (g − 2)μ
Authors: Djouadi A. , Criado J.C. , Koivunen N. , Müürsepp K. , Raidal M. , Veermäe H.
Published: October 2022

The very precise measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, recently released by the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab, can serve to set stringent constraints on new particles. If the observed 4σ discrepancy from the Standard Model value is indeed real, it will set a tight margin on the scale of the masses and couplings of these particles. Instead, if the discrepancy is simply a result of additional theoretical and experimental uncertainties to be included, strong constraints can be put on their parameters. In this mini-review, we summarize the impact of the latest muon g-2 measurement on new fermions that are predicted by a wide range of new physics models and with exotic quantum numbers and interactions. We will particularly discuss the case of vector-like leptons, excited leptons, and supersymmetric fermions, as well as spin-3/2 isosinglet fermions, which have been advocated recently.
Importance of exponentially falling variability in heat generation on chemically reactive von kármán nanofluid flows subjected to a radial magnetic field and controlled locally by zero mass flux and convective heating conditions: A differential quadrature analysis
Authors: Wakif Abderrahim , Abderrahmane Aissa , Guedri Kamel , Bouallegue Belgacem , Kaewthongrach Rungnapa , Kaewmesri Pramet , Jirawattanapanit Anuwat
Published: October 2022

Owing to the various physical aspects of nanofluids as thermally enhanced working fluids and the significance of swirling flows in rheological devices as well as in the spin coating and lubrication applications, the current comprehensive examination aimed to explore the important features of spinning flows of chemically reactive Newtonian nanofluids over a uniformly revolving disk in the existence of a radially applied magnetic field along with an exponentially decaying space-dependent heat source, in the case where the disk surface is heated convectively and unaffected by the vertical nanoparticles’ mass flux. Based on feasible boundary layer approximations and Buongiorno’s nanofluid formulation, the leading coupled differential equations are stated properly in the sense of Arrhenius’s and Von Kármán’s approaches. By employing an advanced generalized differential quadrature algorithm, the obtained boundary layer equations are handled numerically with a higher order of accuracy to generate adequate graphical and tabular illustrations for the different values of the influencing flow parameters. As findings, the graphical results confirm that the nanofluid motion decelerates meaningfully thanks to the resistive magnetic influence. A significant thermal amelioration can be achieved by strengthening the magnetic impact, the generation of heat, the thermal convective process, and the thermophoresis mechanism. Moreover, it is found that the thermo-migration of nanoparticles can be reinforced more via the intensification in the convective process, the thermo-migration of nanoparticles, and the activation energy.
Reproducible phantom for quality assurance in abdominal MRI focussing kidney imaging
Authors: Wolf Marcos , Kommer Stefan , Fembek Sebastian , Dröszler Uwe , Körner Tito , Berg Andreas , Schmid Albrecht Ingo , Moser Ewald , Meyerspeer Martin
Published: October 2022

Quality assurance (QA) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires test objects. ‘Phantoms’ provided by MR manufacturers are homogeneously filled spheres or cylinders, and commercially available products are often too small for abdominal imaging, particularly for enlarged polycystic kidneys. Here we present the design, manufacturing and testing of a dedicated, yet versatile, abdominal MRI phantom, that can be reproduced with relatively low costs. The phantom mimics a human abdomen in size and shape and comprises seven test fluids, representing various tissue types at 3 T. The conductivity and permittivity of the test fluids match the average abdomen and kidney with a relative permittivity (ε) 65 and 72 as well as conductivity 0.6 and 0.7 S/m, respectively. The T1 and T2 relaxation times cover healthy average abdomen and kidney tissue values (T1(abd): 856 ms and T1(kid): 1,106 ms; T2(abd): 52 ms and T2(kid): 67 ms), intermediate (T1: 1,183 ms and 1,271 ms; T2: 128 and 189 ms), and disease values for (polycystic) kidney (T1: 1,428 ms, 1,561 ms and 1763 ms; T2: 319 ms, 424 and 647 ms). T1 and T2 relaxation times were stable over 73 weeks. Our reasonably priced, durable and reproducible abdominal phantom enables single and multi-center QA for future collaborative studies aiming for various challenges around abdominal and, particularly, kidney imaging.
GERD-related chronic cough: Possible mechanism, diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Wu Jiankang , Ma Yiming , Chen Yan
Published: October 2022

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a prevalent medical condition that affects millions of individuals throughout the world. Chronic cough is often caused by GERD, and chronic cough caused by GER is defined as GERD-related chronic cough (GERC). It is still unclear what the underlying molecular mechanism behind GERC is. Reflux theory, reflex theory, airway allergies, and the novel mechanism of esophageal motility disorders are all assumed to be linked to GERC. Multichannel intraluminal impedance combined with pH monitoring remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of GERC, but is not well tolerated by patients due to its invasive nature. Recent discoveries of new impedance markers and new techniques (mucosal impedance testing, salivary pepsin, real-time MRI and narrow band imaging) show promises in the diagnosis of GERD, but the role in GERC needs further investigation. Advances in pharmacological treatment include potassium-competitive acid blockers and neuromodulators (such as Baclofen and Gabapentin), prokinetics and herbal medicines, as well as non-pharmacological treatments (such as lifestyle changes and respiratory exercises). More options have been provided for the treatment of GERC other than acid suppression therapy and anti-reflux surgery. In this review, we attempt to review recent advances in GERC mechanism, diagnosis, and subsequent treatment options, so as to provide guidance for management of GERC.
Through network pharmacology and molecular docking to explore the underlying mechanism of Artemisia annua L. treating in abdominal aortic aneurysm
Authors: Jia Longyuan , Jing Yuchen , Wang Ding , Cheng Shuai , Fu Chen , Chu Xiangyu , Yang Chenye , Jiang Bo , Xin Shijie
Published: October 2022

Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a degenerative disease that causes health problems in humans. However, there are no effective drugs for the treatment of AAA. Artemisia annua L. (A. annua) is a traditional herbal that has been widely used in cardiovascular disease. Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, this study predicted the practical components and potential mechanisms of A. annua inhibiting the occurrence and development of AAA.

Methods: The main active ingredients and targets of A. annua were screened through the TCMSP database; the GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGkb, and TTD databases were used to search for the targeted genes of AAA and map them to the targets of the active ingredients to obtain the active ingredient therapy of A. annua. The targets of AAA were to construct a protein interaction network through the STRING platform. R software was used to carry out the enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG for relevant targets, and Cytoscape was used to construct the active ingredient-target network prediction model of A. annua. Finally, AutoDock Vina was used to verify the results of the active ingredients and critical targets.

Results: The main active ingredients obtained from A. annua for the treatment of AAA include quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and artemetin, as well as 117 effective targets, including RELA, MAPK14, CCND1, MAPK1, AKT1, MYC, MAPK8, TP53, ESR1, FOS, and JUN. The 11 targeted genes might play a key role in disease treatment. Enriched in 2115 GO biological processes, 159 molecular functions, 56 cellular components, and 156 KEGG pathways, inferred that its mechanism of action might be related to PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, fluid shear stress, atherosclerosis, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that the top five active components of A. annua had a good affinity for core disease targets and played a central role in treating AAA. The low binding energy molecular docking results provided valuable information for the development of drugs to treat AAA.

Conclusion: Therefore, A. annua may have multiple components, multiple targets, and multiple signaling pathways to play a role in treating AAA. A. annua may have the potential to treat AAA.
Comparative transcriptome profiling reveals the role of phytohormones and phenylpropanoid pathway in early-stage resistance against powdery mildew in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.)
Authors: Yadav Vivek , Wang Zhongyuan , Guo Yanliang , Zhang Xian
Published: October 2022

Yield and fruit quality loss by powdery mildew (PM) fungus is a major concern in cucurbits, but early-stage resistance mechanisms remain elusive in the majority of cucurbits. Here, we explored the comparative transcriptomic dynamics profiling of resistant line ZXG1755 (R) and susceptible line ZXG1996 (S) 48 h post-inoculation in watermelon seedlings to check precise expression changes induced by Podosphaera. xanthii race ‘2F’. Phenotypic responses were confirmed by microscopy and endogenous levels of defense and signaling related phytochromes were detected higher in resistant lines. In total, 7642 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, and 57.27% of genes were upregulated in four combinations. DEGs were predominantly abundant in the KEGG pathway linked with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone and transduction, and phenylalanine metabolism, whereas GO terms of defense response, response to fungus, and chitin response were predominant in resistant lines, evidencing significant defense mechanisms and differences in the basal gene expression levels between these contrasting lines. The expression of selected DEGs from major pathways (hormonal, lignin, peroxidase, sugar) were validated via qRT-PCR. Detailed analysis of DEGs evidenced that along with other DEGs, genes including PR1 (Cla97C02G034020) and PRX (Cla97C11G207220/30, Cla97C02G045100 and Cla97C02G049950) should be studied for their potential role. In short, our study portrayed strong evidence indicating the important role of a complex network associated with lignin biosynthesis and phytohormone related downstream mechanisms that are responsible for incompatible interaction between PM and watermelon resistance line.
A wheat spike detection method based on Transformer
Authors: Zhou Qiong , Huang Ziliang , Zheng Shijian , Jiao Lin , Wang Liusan , Wang Rujing
Published: October 2022

Wheat spike detection has important research significance for production estimation and crop field management. With the development of deep learning-based algorithms, researchers tend to solve the detection task by convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, traditional CNNs equip with the inductive bias of locality and scale-invariance, which makes it hard to extract global and long-range dependency. In this paper, we propose a Transformer-based network named Multi-Window Swin Transformer (MW-Swin Transformer). Technically, MW-Swin Transformer introduces the ability of feature pyramid network to extract multi-scale features and inherits the characteristic of Swin Transformer that performs self-attention mechanism by window strategy. Moreover, bounding box regression is a crucial step in detection. We propose a Wheat Intersection over Union loss by incorporating the Euclidean distance, area overlapping, and aspect ratio, thereby leading to better detection accuracy. We merge the proposed network and regression loss into a popular detection architecture, fully convolutional one-stage object detection, and name the unified model WheatFormer. Finally, we construct a wheat spike detection dataset (WSD-2022) to evaluate the performance of the proposed methods. The experimental results show that the proposed network outperforms those state-of-the-art algorithms with 0.459 mAP (mean average precision) and 0.918 AP50. It has been proved that our Transformer-based method is effective to handle wheat spike detection under complex field conditions.
Plants oxidative response to nanoplastic
Authors: Ekner-Grzyb Anna , Duka Anna , Grzyb Tomasz , Lopes Isabel , Chmielowska-Bąk Jagna
Published: October 2022

Pollution of the environment with plastic is an important concern of the modern world. It is estimated that annually over 350 million tonnes of this material are produced, wherein, despite the recycling methods, a significant part is deposited in the environment. The plastic has been detected in the industrial areas, as well as farmlands and gardens in many world regions. Larger plastic pieces degraded in time into smaller pieces including microplastic (MP) and nanoplastic particles (NP). Nanoplastic is suggested to pose the most serious danger as due to the small size, it is effectively taken up from the environment by the biota and transported within the organisms. An increasing number of reports show that NP exert toxic effects also on plants. One of the most common plant response to abiotic stress factors is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the one hand, these molecules are engaged in cellular signalling and regulation of genes expression. On the other hand, ROS in excess lead to oxidation and damage of various cellular compounds. This article reviews the impact of NP on plants, with special emphasis on the oxidative response.
Wild Helianthus species: A reservoir of resistance genes for sustainable pyramidal resistance to broomrape in sunflower
Authors: Chabaud Mireille , Auriac Marie-Christine , Boniface Marie-Claude , Delgrange Sabine , Folletti Tifaine , Jardinaud Marie-Françoise , Legendre Alexandra , Pérez-Vich Begoña , Pouvreau Jean-Bernard , Velasco Leonardo , Delavault Philippe , Muños Stéphane
Published: October 2022

Orobanche cumana Wall., sunflower broomrape, is one of the major pests for the sunflower crop. Breeding for resistant varieties in sunflower has been the most efficient method to control this parasitic weed. However, more virulent broomrape populations continuously emerge by overcoming genetic resistance. It is thus essential to identify new broomrape resistances acting at various stages of the interaction and combine them to improve resistance durability. In this study, 71 wild sunflowers and wild relatives accessions from 16 Helianthus species were screened in pots for their resistance to broomrape at the late emergence stage. From this initial screen, 18 accessions from 9 species showing resistance, were phenotyped at early stages of the interaction: the induction of broomrape seed germination by sunflower root exudates, the attachment to the host root and the development of tubercles in rhizotron assays. We showed that wild Helianthus accessions are an important source of resistance to the most virulent broomrape races, affecting various stages of the interaction: the inability to induce broomrape seed germination, the development of incompatible attachments or necrotic tubercles, and the arrest of emerged structure growth. Cytological studies of incompatible attachments showed that several cellular mechanisms were shared among resistant Helianthus species.
Dragon fruit detection in natural orchard environment by integrating lightweight network and attention mechanism
Authors: Zhang Bin , Wang Rongrong , Zhang Huiming , Yin Chenghai , Xia Yuyang , Fu Meng , Fu Wei
Published: October 2022

An improved lightweight network (Improved YOLOv5s) was proposed based on YOLOv5s in this study to realise all-weather detection of dragon fruit in a complex orchard environment. A ghost module was introduced in the original YOLOv5s to realise the lightweight of the model. The coordinate attention mechanism was joined to make the model accurately locate and identify the dense dragon fruits. A bidirectional feature pyramid network was built to improve the detection effect of dragon fruit at different scales. SIoU loss function was adopted to improve the convergence speed during model training. The improved YOLOv5s model was used to detect a dragon fruit dataset collected in the natural environment. Results showed that the mean average precision (mAP), precision (P) and recall (R) of the model was 97.4%, 96.4% and 95.2%, respectively. The model size, parameters (Params) and floating-point operations (FLOPs) were 11.5 MB, 5.2 M and 11.4 G, respectively. Compared with the original YOLOv5s network, the model size, Params and FLOPs of the improved model was reduced by 20.6%, 18.75% and 27.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, the mAP of the improved model was improved by 1.1%. The results prove that the improved model had a more lightweight structure and better detection performance. Moreover, the average precision (AP) of the improved YOLOv5s for dragon fruit under the front light, back light, side light, cloudy day and night was 99.5%, 97.3%, 98.5%, 95.5% and 96.1%, respectively. The detection performance met the requirements of all-weather detection of dragon fruit and the improved model had good robustness. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for fruit monitoring based on unmanned aerial vehicle technology and intelligent picking based on picking robot technology.
Transcriptomic and metabolomic integration as a resource in grapevine to study fruit metabolite quality traits
Authors: Savoi Stefania , Santiago Antonio , Orduña Luis , Matus José Tomás
Published: October 2022

Transcriptomics and metabolomics are methodologies being increasingly chosen to perform molecular studies in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), focusing either on plant and fruit development or on interaction with abiotic or biotic factors. Currently, the integration of these approaches has become of utmost relevance when studying key plant physiological and metabolic processes. The results from these analyses can undoubtedly be incorporated in breeding programs whereby genes associated with better fruit quality (e.g., those enhancing the accumulation of health-promoting compounds) or with stress resistance (e.g., those regulating beneficial responses to environmental transition) can be used as selection markers in crop improvement programs. Despite the vast amount of data being generated, integrative transcriptome/metabolome meta-analyses (i.e., the joint analysis of several studies) have not yet been fully accomplished in this species, mainly due to particular specificities of metabolomic studies, such as differences in data acquisition (i.e., different compounds being investigated), unappropriated and unstandardized metadata, or simply no deposition of data in public repositories. These meta-analyses require a high computational capacity for data mining a priori, but they also need appropriate tools to explore and visualize the integrated results. This perspective article explores the universe of omics studies conducted in V. vinifera, focusing on fruit-transcriptome and metabolome analyses as leading approaches to understand berry physiology, secondary metabolism, and quality. Moreover, we show how omics data can be integrated in a simple format and offered to the research community as a web resource, giving the chance to inspect potential gene-to-gene and gene-to-metabolite relationships that can later be tested in hypothesis-driven research. In the frame of the activities promoted by the COST Action CA17111 INTEGRAPE, we present the first grapevine transcriptomic and metabolomic integrated database (TransMetaDb) developed within the Vitis Visualization (VitViz) platform (https://tomsbiolab.com/vitviz). This tool also enables the user to conduct and explore meta-analyses utilizing different experiments, therefore hopefully motivating the community to generate Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (F.A.I.R.) data to be included in the future.
Enhancing control systems of higher plant culture chambers via multilevel structural mechanistic modelling
Authors: Ciurans Carles , Guerrero Josep M. , Martínez-Mongue Ivan , Dussap Claude G. , Marin de Mas Igor , Gòdia Francesc
Published: October 2022

Modelling higher plant growth is of strategic interest for modern agriculture as well as for the development of bioregenerative life support systems for space applications, where crop growth is expected to play an essential role. The capability of constraint-based metabolic models to cope the diel dynamics of plants growth is integrated into a multilevel modelling approach including mass and energy transfer and enzyme kinetics. Lactuca sativa is used as an exemplary crop to validate, with experimental data, the approach presented as well as to design a novel model-based predictive control strategy embedding metabolic information. The proposed modelling strategy predicts with high accuracy the dynamics of gas exchange and the distribution of fluxes in the metabolic network whereas the control architecture presented can be useful to manage higher plants chambers and open new ways of merging metabolome and control algorithms.
Physiological and metabolic analyses provide insight into soybean seed resistance to fusarium fujikuroi causing seed decay
Authors: Chang Xiaoli , Li Xinyuan , Meng Hongbai , Li Hongju , Wu Xiaoling , Gong Guoshu , Chen Huabao , Yang Chunping , Zhang Min , Liu Taiguo , Chen Wanquan , Yang Wenyu
Published: October 2022

Seed-borne pathogens cause diverse diseases at the growth, pre- and post-harvest stage of soybean resulting in a large reduction in yield and quality. The physiological and metabolic aspects of seeds are closely related to their defense against pathogens. Recently, Fusarium fujikuroi has been identified as the dominant seed-borne fungi of soybean seed decay, but little information on the responses of soybean seeds induced by F. fujikuroi is available. In this study, a time-course symptom development of seed decay was observed after F. fujikuroi inoculation through spore suspension soaking. The germination rate and the contents of soluble sugar and soluble protein were significantly altered over time. Both chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase as important fungal cell wall–degrading enzymes of soybean seeds were also rapidly and transiently activated upon the early infection of F. fujikuroi. Metabolic profile analysis showed that the metabolites in glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism and tryptophan metabolism were clearly induced by F. fujikuroi, but different metabolites were mostly enriched in isoflavone biosynthesis, flavone biosynthesis, and galactose pathways. Interestingly, glycitein and glycitin were dramatically upregulated while daidzein, genistein, genistin, and daidzin were largely downregulated. These results indicate a combination of physiological responses, cell wall–related defense, and the complicated metabolites of soybean seeds contributes to soybean seed resistance against F. fujikuroi, which are useful for soybean resistance breeding.
Comparison of the effectiveness of online supportive parenting intervention (SPACE) and timid to tiger program (FTTT) on childhood anxiety disorders and family accommodation with samples of Iranian parents
Authors: Ghodrat Mohaddeseh Sadat , Aghebati Asma , Asgharnejad Farid Ali Asghar , Shirazi Elham
Published: October 2022

Studies have supported the effectiveness of the From Timid to a Tiger (FTTT) and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program in reducing childhood anxiety. This study is the first to compare the effectiveness of the two programs in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorder and reducing family accommodations levels. Parents of children aged 6 to 9 (n = 49, 49% boys) were randomly allocated to either FTTT (n 26) or SPACE (n = 23) groups, and each attended ten online sessions following the manuals of the interventions. Throughout the study, 9 participants dropped out, resulting in a total of 49 participants, and we performed statistical analyses based on data from these 49 participants. The assessment took place pre- and post-treatment and at a ten-week follow-up on parent-rated child anxiety and family accommodation measures. Analyses of variance (repeated measures) and gain scores were conducted to examine the data. The results indicated that both treatments approaches produced significant reductions in outcome measures, and the post-treatment gains of both treatments were maintained at a ten-week follow-up, though when considering the mean differences and effect sizes across the assessment scores and between groups, overall, the FTTT was significantly more effective in reducing child anxiety scores and family accommodation levels. Our results demonstrated that FTTT significantly outperformed the SPACE program in reducing childhood anxiety problems and family accommodation levels.
Expanding the role of the future zoo: Wellbeing should become the fifth aim for modern zoos
Authors: Rose Paul E. , Riley Lisa M.
Published: October 2022

Zoos and aquariums have an enormous global reach and hence an ability to craft meaningful conservation action for threatened species, implement educational strategies to encourage human engagement, development and behavior change, and conduct scientific research to enhance the husbandry, roles and impacts of the living collection. The recreational role of the zoo is also vast- people enjoy visiting the zoo and this is often a shared experience amongst family and friends. Evaluating how the zoo influences this “captive audience” and extending its reach to include a compassionate approach to animals and people can further enhance the mission, value, and relevance of their work. The modern zoo’s current aims—Conservation, Education, Research and Recreation—provide useful foundations for the activities that zoos conduct at a local and national level. However, to improve sustainability of their actions and outcomes, we feel that Wellbeing should become the fifth aim of the modern zoo for the future- both from an animal perspective (ensuring that populations are managed according to prevailing behavioral needs) and from a human perspective (enhancing access to nature, promoting planetary friendly behavior changes and ways of living, and advancing the wellbeing of the zoo’s workforce). This paper provides discussion and review of how Wellbeing is already a substantial part of what zoos work on as well as posing the idea of altering the Recreation aim of the zoo to one of Engagement, which potentially is more measurable and therefore can allow zoo researchers and managers further options for the collection of evidence on the local and global reach of their zoo’s aims. Education, Engagement, Conservation, Research and Wellbeing provide a more complete picture of the roles of the modern zoo for the animals (bothin situandex situ), human visitors and workforce, and to society more widely.
Risk factors for worsening of somatic symptom burden in a prospective cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Engelmann Petra , Löwe Bernd , Brehm Thomas Theo , Weigel Angelika , Ullrich Felix , Addo Marylyn M. , Schulze zur Wiesch Julian , Lohse Ansgar W. , Toussaint Anne
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Little is known about risk factors for both Long COVID and somatic symptoms that develop in individuals without a history of COVID-19 in response to the pandemic. There is reason to assume an interplay between pathophysiological mechanisms and psychosocial factors in the etiology of symptom persistence.

Objective

Therefore, this study investigates specific risk factors for somatic symptom deterioration in a cohort of German adults with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods

German healthcare professionals underwent SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody testing and completed self-rating questionnaires at baseline and 21 months later between April 2020 and February 2022. Differences in variables between the time points were analyzed and a regression analysis was performed to predict somatic symptom deterioration at follow-up.

Results

Seven hundred fifty-one adults completed both assessments. Until follow-up, n = 58 had contracted SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by serology. Between baseline and follow-up, signs of mental and physical strain increased significantly in the sample. Symptom expectations associated with COVID-19 and a self-reported history of COVID-19, but not serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, significantly predicted somatic symptom deterioration at follow-up. A further predictor was baseline psychological symptom burden.

Conclusions

This study supports a disease-overarching biopsychosocial model for the development of burdensome somatic symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and supports research findings that symptom burden may be more related to the psychosocial effects of the pandemic than to infection itself. Future studies on Long COVID should include SARS-CoV-2 negative control groups and consider symptom burden prior to infection in order to avoid an overestimation of prevalence rates.
Work stress, technological changes, and job insecurity in the retail organization context
Authors: Ghani Bilqees , Memon Khalid Rasheed , Han Heesup , Ariza-Montes Antonio , Arjona-Fuentes Juan M.
Published: October 2022

The study intends to investigate the relationship between work stress and job insecurity, as well as technological changes and job insecurity, with job satisfaction acting as a mediator. The study was conducted among Pakistani retail industry employees using survey questionnaires distributed online and in stores. The sample was composed of 262 retail workers from the FMCG and shopping mall industries. The responses were screened using the statistical software tool SPSS, and hypotheses were examined through SMART-PLS. The findings show that work stress has a strong relationship with job insecurity; additionally, the relationship appears to be statistically significant (β = 55.7%,p <0.05), indicating that there is an increased level of job insecurity if work stress is increased. However, technological advancements showed less influence on job insecurity and had statistically insignificant results (β = 5.9%,p> 0.05). This demonstrates that many technological changes cause high levels of job insecurity because employees fear that they will be unable to cope with the changing environment. Furthermore, the mediating mechanism of job satisfaction was found to be significant, as employees with lower levels of satisfaction reported higher levels of insecurity, aiding in the narrowing of the gap in this section of the study. The study also has practical implications because the results show that the retail industry needs to act quickly to make sure workers do not worry about losing their jobs, especially now that COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire.
Trusting autonomous vehicles as moral agents improves related policy support
Authors: Hurst Kristin F. , Sintov Nicole D.
Published: October 2022

Compared to human-operated vehicles, autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer numerous potential benefits. However, public acceptance of AVs remains low. Using 4 studies, including 1 preregistered experiment (total N = 3,937), the present research examines the role of trust in AV adoption decisions. Using the Trust-Confidence-Cooperation model as a conceptual framework, we evaluate whether perceived integrity of technology—a previously underexplored dimension of trust that refers to perceptions of the moral agency of a given technology—influences AV policy support and adoption intent. We find that perceived technology integrity predicts adoption intent for AVs and that messages that increase perceived integrity of AV technology result in greater AV adoption intent and policy support. This knowledge can be used to guide communication efforts aimed at increasing public trust in AVs, and ultimately enhance integration of AVs into transport systems.
Understanding the pay equity from the idea of universal equality in traditional Chinese philosophy
Authors: Cui Yuanjun
Published: October 2022

Pay equity is not only a manifestation of social behavior but also a reflection of gender attitude. In view of the close interactions between pay equity, gender attitude and cultural value, it is necessary to examine the social-psychological connotations behind the pay equity concept and to seek its theoretical basis and support at the philosophical level. By examining the main ideas in Chinese philosophy, this paper claims that traditional Chinese culture contains rich connotations related to the pay equity concept and the pursuit of gender equality. These ideas can not only shape implicit nondiscriminatory gender attitudes but also inhibit the male superiority and intergroup prejudice through the self-regulation mechanism. The collision between traditional ideological insights and the modern pluralistic society will certainly promote the renewal of gender equity and concomitant changes in social attitude and employment behavior.
Using machine learning to investigate earning capacity in patients undergoing psychosomatic rehabilitation—A retrospective health data analysis
Authors: Papst Lilia , Köllner Volker
Published: October 2022

Psychiatric disorders increasingly contribute to disability and early retirement. This study was conducted to investigate whether machine learning can contribute to a better understanding and assessment of such a reduced earning capacity. It analyzed whether impaired earning capacity is reflected in missing treatment effects, and which interventions drive treatment effects during psychosomatic rehabilitation. Analyses were based on routine clinical data encompassing demographics, diagnoses, psychological questionnaires before, and after treatment, interventions, and an interdisciplinary assessment of earning capacity forN= 1,054 patients undergoing psychosomatic rehabilitation in 2019. Classification of patients by changes in self-reported mental health and interventions predictive of changes were analyzed by gradient boosted model. Clustering results revealed three major groups, one of which was comprised almost exclusively of patients with full earning capacity, one of patients with reduced or lost earning capacity and a third group with mixed assessments. Classification results (Kappa = 0.22) indicated that patients experienced modestly divergent changes over the course of rehabilitation. Relative variable influence in the best model was highest for changes in psychological wellbeing (HEALTH-49). Regression analysis identified intervention A620 (physical exercise therapy with psychological goal setting) as most influential variable predicting changes in psychological wellbeing with a model fit ofR2= 0.05 (SD= 0.007). Results suggest that disability due to psychiatric disorders does associate with distinct demographic and clinical characteristics but may be less clear-cut in a subgroup of patients. Trajectories of treatment response show moderately divergent paths between patient groups. Moreover, results support both physical exercise therapy as efficient intervention in reducing disability-associated impairments and the complementarity of a multimodal treatment plan.
Maintaining social capital in offenders with schizophrenia spectrum disorder—An explorative analysis of influential factors
Authors: Hofmann Lena A. , Lau Steffen , Kirchebner Johannes
Published: October 2022

The importance of “social capital” in offender rehabilitation has been well established: Stable family and community relationships offer practical assistance in the resettlement process after being released from custody and can serve as motivation for building a new sense of self off the criminal past, thus reducing the risk of re-offending. This also applies to offenders with severe mental disorders. The aim of this study was to identify factors that promote or hinder the establishment or maintenance of social relationships upon release from a court-ordered inpatient treatment using a modern statistical method—machine learning (ML)—on a dataset of 369 offenders with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). With an AUC of 0.73, support vector machines (SVM) outperformed all the other ML algorithms. The following factors were identified as most important for the outcome in respect of a successful re-integration into society: Social integration and living situation prior to the hospitalization, a low risk of re-offending at time of discharge from the institution, insight in the wrongfulness of the offense as well as into the underlying psychiatric illness and need for treatment, addressing future perspectives in psychotherapy, the improvement of antisocial behavior during treatment as well as a detention period of less than 1 year emerged as the most predictive out of over 500 variables in distinguishing patients who had a social network after discharge from those who did not. Surprisingly, neither severity and type of offense nor severity of the psychiatric illness proved to affect whether the patient had social contacts upon discharge or not. The fact that the majority of determinants which promote the maintenance of social contacts can be influenced by therapeutic interventions emphasizes the importance of the rehabilitative approach in forensic-psychiatric therapy.
Application of a semi-automated dicentric scoring system in triage and monitoring occupational radiation exposure
Authors: Lee Younghyun , Kim Seung Hyun , Lee Yang Hee , Yang Su San , Yoon Hyo Jin , Wilkins Ruth C. , Jang Seongjae
Published: October 2022

The dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) is considered the gold standard for radiation biodosimetry, but it is limited by its long dicentric scoring time and need for skilled scorers. The automation of scoring dicentrics has been considered a strategy to overcome the constraints of DCA. However, the studies on automated scoring methods are limited compared to those on conventional manual DCA. Our study aims to assess the performance of a semi-automated scoring method for DCA usingex vivoandin vivoirradiated samples. Dose estimations of 39 blind samples irradiatedex vivoand 35 industrial radiographers occupationally exposedin vivowere estimated using the manual and semi-automated scoring methods and subsequently compared. The semi-automated scoring method, which removed the false positives of automated scoring using the dicentric chromosome (DC) scoring algorithm, had an accuracy of 94.9% in theex vivoirradiated samples. It also had more than 90% accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity to distinguish binary dose categories reflecting clinical, diagnostic, and epidemiological significance. These data were comparable to those of manual DCA. Moreover, Cohen's kappa statistic and McNemar's test showed a substantial agreement between the two methods for categorizingin vivosamples into never and ever radiation exposure. There was also a significant correlation between the two methods. Despite of comparable results with two methods, lower sensitivity of semi-automated scoring method could be limited to assess various radiation exposures. Taken together, our findings show the semi-automated scoring method can provide accurate dose estimation rapidly, and can be useful as an alternative to manual DCA for biodosimetry in large-scale accidents or cases to monitor radiation exposure of radiation workers.
RETRACTED: Empirical analysis of the integration mechanism of explicit and implicit education on the ideological and political education and impact on mental health: The perspective of new media
Authors: Hui Dong
Published: October 2022

Background

Education nowadays should be a combination of explicit and implicit education, which can effectively improve the effectiveness of ideological and political education, promote the development of ideological and political education in universities, and ensure the quality of ideological and political education in universities. This study makes an empirical analysis of the integration mechanism of explicit education and implicit education of ideological and political education from the perspective of new media.

Materials and methods

A total of 1,050 students were included from the polytechnic university of China in the analysis. Questions regarding age, sex, source of information collections, Internet time, type of browsers used, and the influence of the Internet were asked of the students. The nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire was administered to measure the students' depressive symptoms. A comprehensive study was done to prove the depressive symptoms in students from the perspective of new media.

Results

A total of 78 % of students collected information from the Internet, and 1 % of students collected information from books. Most of the students spent more than 1 h on the Internet per day. It was concluded from the data that 245 college students were always influenced by the Internet, accounting for 24%, and 730 college students were occasionally influenced by the Internet, accounting for 73%. Forty-two college students do not influence the Internet, accounting for 4%. It can be seen that 95.6% of college students will be affected by the Internet compared with those who will never be affected by the Internet. Therefore, the new media network has high popularity among college students, as online time accounts for a large proportion of their study time.

Conclusion

From the perspective of new media, the integration of explicit and implicit education in ideological and political education is feasible. In today's information age, education implementers need to use a large number of new media images to enable students to accept education in the integration mechanism. From the perspective of new media, it is also necessary to innovate the forms of reports, establish the integration mechanism of explicit education and implicit education, strengthen educational links and interactive exchanges, and promote university education.
Examining the influences on the use of behavioural science within UK local authority public health: Qualitative thematic analysis and deductive mapping to the COM-B model and Theoretical Domains Framework
Authors: Moffat Abby , Cook Erica Jane , Chater Angel Marie
Published: October 2022

Background

Behavioural science and its contribution towards improving public health is receiving increased recognition. Yet, the translation of these insights into public health practice is under-researched. This study explored the factors influencing the use of behavioural science within public health at a local authority level.

Methods

Fourteen local authority staff (n = 13 female) in the south of England participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed inductively to identify key themes. These were later mapped deductively to the COM-B model and Theoretical Domains Framework.

Findings

Nine themes were identified as factors that influence the use of behavioural science in local authority public health: (1) “Limited past experience,” (2) “Narrow understanding,” (3) “Perceived value of behavioural science,” (4) “Translational gap from theory-to-practice,” (5) “No protected time,” (6) “Old ways of working,” (7) “Political influence and organisational culture,” (8) “Relationships with key stakeholders,” (9) “Access to behavioural science resources”. Deductive mapping of these themes revealed that five of the COM constructs (excluding Physical Capability) and eleven of the TDF domains influenced behavioural science use, with “Social influences” and “Knowledge” being the most prominent.

Discussion

Use of behavioural science within local authority public health practice is limited and inconsistent. For it to be successfully implemented, there must be an understanding of its role and value, alongside strategies to overcome a translational gap from theory to practice. Public health teams would benefit from protected time to enable application and strategies to break old habits of using a common-sense approach. System-wide buy-in, particularly related to senior leadership and system partners is needed, which would benefit from organisational and political culture change. Training opportunities, practical resources and expert in-house support should be considered a priority across public health teams.
Household solid fuel use and stroke incidence: Evidence from a national cohort study
Authors: Zhang Hehua , Xia Yang , Su Han , Chang Qing , Zhao Yuhong
Published: October 2022

Stroke is one of the leading causes of global mortality and disability. No specific study has focused on the association between household solid fuel use for different purposes and incident stroke. Therefore, we explored the associations between household solid fuel use purposes and switches and incident stroke based on a national prospective cohort study. There were 12,485 participants included in this study after exclusions. The incidence density of stroke was 8.29 for every 1,000 person-years. Household solid fuel use simultaneously for heating and cooking had the largest hazard effect on stroke occurrence [hazard ratio (HR), 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07, 1.70] with a significant linear trend (P < 0.01). Solid fuel use for cooking was significantly associated with increased risk of stroke occurrence (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.06, 1.51). Persistent clean fuel use for both heating and cooking associated with a lower risk of stroke occurrence (HR, 0.79; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.99), and switching from solid fuel to clean-fuel use for cooking associated with a lower risk of stroke occurrence (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.73, 1.09) compared with persistent solid fuel use. Effective measures to improve the household cooking environment may be necessary to prevent incident stroke.