bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Toward the replacement of conventional fertilizer with polyhalite in eastern China to improve peanut growth and soil quality
Authors: Tan Huiting , Cui Yuzhao , Liu Chang , Zeng Fanhe , Han Chuanhao , Zhang Huanyang , Fan Xiaohui , Mitchell Ross , Yan Dongyun , Zhang Daolai
Published: December 2022

Background

Polyhalite fertilizer application is an effective way to alleviate a shortage of potassium. This study explored the effects of polyhalite fertilizer application as a total or partial replacement for conventional potassium fertilizer to improve peanut growth and soil quality.

Results

The index of peanut yield and its economic benefits, the content and distribution of mineral nutrients in different organs, soil chemical properties, and rhizosphere microbial diversity in response to the treatments were examined. The results show that the M4P6T treatment (60% polyhalite fertilizer replacing potassium chloride as the base fertilizer, and 40% potassium chloride fertilizer applied as a topdressing) increased profit by 7.2% without affecting the yield. The M4P6T treatment significantly improved the accumulation and distribution of potassium, calcium and magnesium in the kernels compared with the M10B treatment (no polyhalite fertilizer; potassium chloride fertilizer only as the base fertilizer). Soil treated with polyhalite fertilizer had higher alpha-diversity values and greater relative abundance of microbes at the phylum and genus levels.

Conclusions

Partial substitution of polyhalite for potassium chloride improved soil quality and peanut growth more than did single applications of polyhalite and potassium chloride.

Graphical Abstract
A quantitative comparison of essential cardiovascular medicines from countries in the Southern African Development Community to the WHO model essential medicines list
Authors: Naicker Ian , Suleman Fatima , Perumal-Pillay Velisha Ann
Published: December 2022

Background

Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death and disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (WHO EML) is a tool for improving accessibility and availability of medicines. This study compared the 2021 WHO EML CVDs basket of medicines with latest available national essential medicines list (NEMLs) for South Africa and 15 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to assess consistency in CVDs medicine listing.

Methods

This descriptive, desktop review study compared SADC NEMLs. A comparator list was extracted by combining cardiovascular medicines listed in the 2021 WHO EML for adults and children. SADC country NEMLs were obtained from the WHO Essential Medicines and Health Products Information Portal. Consistency of NEMLs was calculated as a percentage coverage of CVD medicines listed in the 2021 WHO EML. SA hospital and primary health care (PHC) level NEMLs were included as separate formularies.

Results

The SA hospital level NEML scored 70% consistency with the 2021 WHO EML. Tanzania (84%), Namibia (81%) and Angola (79%) scored the highest consistency. The mean consistency for SADC NEMLs was 66%. The lowest scoring country was Eswatini at 26%. The SA PHC NEML scored 35%. The least listed medicines were beta-blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), clopidogrel (43%) and paediatric formulations (furosemide (21%); digoxin (43%)). Individual antihypertensive medicines were most commonly listed. Botswana and Lesotho were the only countries to list a single pill combination (SPC) for the treatment of hypertension.

Conclusions

This comparison indicates that South Africa and most SADC countries are aligned with 2021 WHO EML recommendations. The inclusion of age-appropriate formulations for children as well as ARBs and SPC for the treatment of hypertension may improve patient adherence and cardiovascular outcomes in these countries. More frequent updates to NEMLs should improve consistency. NEMLs were not available for two countries, and these therefore did not form part of this study. Country health expenditure in ranking the consistency of NEMLs was not accounted for. LMICs adopting the essential medicine list strategy should consider imposing minimum consistency thresholds to the WHO EML to improve accessibility and availability of CVD medicines.

Trial registration: Not applicable.
Impact of the increase in the number of community pharmacists on their geographical distribution in Japan: a retrospective survey
Authors: Iguchi Kazuhiro , Ueyama Midori , Nishio Hiroto , Tamaki Hirofumi , Osanai Arihiro , Ino Yoko , Nonomura Kazuya , Horibe Megumi , Matsunaga Toshiyuki , Nakamura Mitsuhiro
Published: December 2022

Background

Appropriate distribution of health care resources is required to adjust regional disparities in the quality of health care. Besides, the number of community pharmacists in Japan has increased recently, but the impact of this increase on the distribution of community pharmacists is unknown. Thus, we aimed at investigating the effect of the increase in the number of community pharmacists on the distribution per population and per area of inhabitable land.

Methods

Data from 2008 to 2018 were used. Equity among municipalities in the number of community pharmacists per population and per area of inhabitable land was assessed using the Gini coefficient. A mosaic plot was used to demonstrate the relationship between the population density and increase in the number of community pharmacists per municipality.

Results

The number of community pharmacists increased by approximately 1.3-fold from 2008 to 2018 in Japan. The Gini coefficient per population decreased gradually, whereas that per area increased slightly, with no change in distribution per area of inhabitable land. The number of community pharmacists per population increased regardless of the population density, but this increase per area was smaller for lower population density groups and larger for higher population density groups.

Conclusion

The increase in the number of community pharmacists has improved the distribution of community pharmacists per population, but not that per area of inhabitable land. The maldistribution of community pharmacists per area implies an imbalance in the distance between pharmacies and residents. Thus, there is need for measures to improve the distribution of community pharmacists.
Forecasting tectonic tremor activity using a renewal process model
Authors: Ide Satoshi , Nomura Shunichi
Published: December 2022

In many tectonically active regions of the world, a variety of slow deformation phenomena have been discovered and collectively termed slow earthquakes. Tectonic tremor is the high-frequency component of slow earthquakes and can be analyzed to monitor the overall slow deformation process, both spatially and temporally. Although tectonic tremor activity is complex, it does possess some characteristic patterns, such as spatial segmentation, a quasi-periodic recurrence, migration, and tidal modulation. These features are helpful for forecasting future activity if they are properly modeled in a quantitative manner. Here, we propose a stochastic renewal process to standardize and forecast tectonic tremor activity in the Nankai subduction zone, southwest Japan, using a 12.5-year tremor catalog that is divided into a 10-year estimation period and 2.5-year forecasting period. We group the tremor events into small rectangular 10-km regions and observe that the distribution of inter-event times is nearly bimodal, with the short and long inter-event times representing the characteristic times of nearby tremor interactions and long-term stress accumulation processes, respectively. Therefore, as the probabilistic distribution for the renewal process, we adopt a mixture distribution of log-normal and Brownian passage time distributions for the short and long inter-event times, respectively. The model parameters are successfully estimated for 72% of the entire tremor zone using a maximum likelihood method. This standard model can be used to extract anomalous tremor activity, such as that associated with long-term slow-slip events. We derive a scaling relationship between two characteristic times, the relative plate motion, episodicity of tremor activity, and tremor duration by characterizing the spatial differences in tremor activity. We confirm that the model can forecast the occurrence of the next tremor event at a given reference time for a certain prediction interval. This study can serve as a first step for implementing more complex models to improve the space–time forecasting of slow earthquakes.
Digital health interventions to improve eating behaviour of people with a lower socioeconomic position: a scoping review of behaviour change techniques
Authors: Ronteltap Amber , Bukman Andrea J. , Nagelhout Gera E. , Hermans Roel C. J. , Hosper Karen , Haveman-Nies Annemien , Lupker Remko , Bolman Catherine A. W.
Published: December 2022

Specific approaches are needed to reach and support people with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) to achieve healthier eating behaviours. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that digital health tools exhibit potential to address these needs because of its specific features that enable application of various behaviour change techniques (BCTs). The aim of this scoping review is to identify the BCTs that are used in diet-related digital interventions targeted at people with a low SEP, and which of these BCTs coincide with improved eating behaviour. The systematic search was performed in 3 databases, using terms related to e/m-health, diet quality and socioeconomic position. A total of 17 full text papers were included. The average number of BCTs per intervention was 6.9 (ranged 3–15). BCTs from the cluster ‘Goals and planning’ were applied most often (25x), followed by the clusters ‘Shaping knowledge’ (18x) and ‘Natural consequences’ (18x). Other frequently applied BCT clusters were ‘Feedback and monitoring’(15x) and ‘Comparison of behaviour’ (13x). Whereas some BCTs were frequently applied, such as goal setting, others were rarely used, such as social support. Most studies (n = 13) observed a positive effect of the intervention on eating behaviour (e.g. having breakfast) in the low SEP group, but this was not clearly associated with the number or type of applied BCTs. In conclusion, more intervention studies focused on people with a low SEP are needed to draw firm conclusions as to which BCTs are effective in improving their diet quality. Also, further research should investigate combinations of BCTs, the intervention design and context, and the use of multicomponent approaches. We encourage intervention developers and researchers to describe interventions more thoroughly, following the systematics of a behaviour change taxonomy, and to select BCTs knowingly.
Mutually exclusive disorder-dependent hearing discomfort in first-episode psychosis and panic disorder: two experiments using the same auditory stimulus set and two similar musical sequences
Authors: de Bustamante Simas Maria Lúcia , da Silva Tamires Lima , dos Santos Naianna Ribeiro Mocelin , Lacerda Aline Mendes
Published: December 2022

We investigated the level of hearing tolerance in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and panic disorder (PD) as compared to two different groups of healthy controls (HC, HC2), one for each experiment, because we used two distinct psychophysical paradigms. We evaluated auditory discomfort of 28 volunteers (14 with FEP and 14 HC) in the first study and of 42 volunteers (21 with PD and 21 HC2) in the second study. We presented 20 sounds: 16 pure-tone frequency sweeps (specially designed for use with FEP) and 11 s or 13 s musical sequences from the very beginning of the music “Play the Game” (PLAY) from Queen and its reverses. The first procedure used a Likert-like 0–10 scale ranging from “nothing bad” to “too bad” where volunteers made vertical marks along a horizontal line according to their discomfort. The second procedure involved subjective magnitude estimation online due to the SARS-COV-19 pandemic. Sounds were placed online and played by PD and HC2 volunteers themselves after having listened to the standard (the first 8 s from RADIO, “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen). Then, PD and HC2 volunteers were asked to assign values equal to, or multiples of 10 that felt like, or proportional to, their hearing “discomfort” in comparison with Sound 00 (RADIO). Our findings showed that FEP volunteers assign more discomfort to the 16 specially designed frequency sweep stimuli that appear not to affect HC, HC2, and PD. On the other hand, musical sequences from PLAY caused strong discomfort to PD in the reverse mode, but did not seem to affect HC, HC2, and FEP. Further experiments using the exact same paradigm with FEP and PD are needed to explore these findings.
The impact of childhood sexual abuse and its associated stigma on depressed women in Egypt
Authors: Sehlo Mohammad Gamal , Youssef Usama Mahmoud , Elgohary Hayam Mohamed , Salah El-deen Ghada Mohamed , Ali Eman Ahmed
Published: December 2022

Background

Depression is common in women, childhood sexual abuse and its related stigma in our culture are expected to increase the severity of depression, and it may be a strong risk factor for the presence of suicidal ideations in women. This study aimed to look at the relationship of childhood history of sexual abuse and its related stigma to depression and suicidal ideations in depressed women.

Methods

A consecutive sample of 160 depressed women was enrolled in this study. The structured clinical interview for DSM-5 was used to diagnose depression, and the Beck Depression Inventory, second edition was used to quantify its severity. The Scale for Suicidal Ideations was used to evaluate suicidal ideations, and history taking was used to assess previous suicidal attempts. The history of childhood sexual abuse was evaluated using a self-report questionnaire, the questions of this questionnaire were derived from the National Population Survey, and a Canadian survey of sexual abuse and its related stigma was assessed using a scale for stigma of sexual abuse.

Results

The findings showed that 11.8% of depressed women had a history of childhood sexual abuse under age of 15 years. There was a significant decrease in age of onset of depression, a significant increase in duration of depression, number of hospital admission, the Beck Depression Inventory, second edition BDI-II, the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) mean scores, number of patients with suicidal ideations, and previous suicidal attempts in depressed women with a history of childhood sexual abuse in comparison to those without that history. History of childhood sexual abuse and its related stigma were the most significant predictors for the presence of depression and current suicidal ideations.

Conclusions

The history of sexual abuse in childhood and its related stigma were associated with increased severity of depression and the presence of suicidal ideations in depressed women. Identification of childhood sexual abuse and its related stigma in depressed women is highly important for proper management of depression.
Achieving midvault symmetry in unilateral cleft nose deformity rhinoplasty
Authors: Baser Brajendra , Singh Pallavi , Shubha Pragati
Published: December 2022

Background

The objective of the study was to provide aesthetic improvement in unilateral cleft nose deformity by reconstructing the midvault of cleft side alone with unilateral osteotomies, simulating symmetry with the normal side, together with tip reconstruction. While most of the literature emphasizes on tip reconstruction, few of them focus on techniques of repositioning the slanting nasal sidewall, which aids in achieving the desired symmetry. We describe a method of repositioning the bony nasal vault to a more lateral and symmetrical orientation by making unilateral osteotomies.

Results

Eighteen patients of unilateral cleft nose deformity underwent rhinoplasty between March 16 and January 20. All patients had prior primary cleft lip repair. Thirteen patients underwent primary rhinoplasty while 5 underwent secondary rhinoplasty having undergone primary rhinoplasty elsewhere. Follow-up was from 1 to 3 years. Results were evaluated using Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation [ROE] Questionnaire, and Asher McDade Aesthetic Index [AMAI] Rating. Pre- and post-operative scores were compared.

All patients were subjectively satisfied. The ROE and AMAI scores showed statistically significant improvement from pre-operative scores.

Conclusion

Obtaining symmetry in cleft nose deformity is a surgical challenge even in experienced hands. Using structural grafts only on the cleft side we attempted to create a near normal symmetry and achieve a natural nasal appearance, with satisfactory improvement from both patient’s and surgeons’ perspective.

Level of evidence

Case series- 4
Population, Clinical, and Scientific Impact of National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network Treatment Studies
Authors: Unger Joseph M. , LeBlanc Michael , George Suzanne , Wolmark Norman , Curran Walter J. , O'Dwyer Peter J. , Schnall Mitchell D. , Mannel Robert S. , Mandrekar Sumithra J. , Dignam James J. , Gray Robert J. , Zhao Fengmin , Bah Mariama , Vaidya Riha , Blanke Charles D.
Published: December 2022

PURPOSE

In the United States, the National Cancer Institute National Cancer Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) groups have conducted publicly funded oncology research for 50 years. The combined impact of all adult network group trials has never been systematically examined.

METHODS

We identified randomized, phase III trials from the adult NCTN groups, reported from 1980 onward, with statistically significant findings for ≥ 1 clinical, time-dependent outcomes. In the subset of trials in which the experimental arm improved overall survival, gains in population life-years were estimated by deriving trial-specific hazard functions and hazard ratios to estimate the experimental treatment benefit and then mapping this trial-level benefit onto the US cancer population using registry and life-table data. Scientific impact was based on citation data from Google Scholar. Federal investment costs per life-year gained were estimated. The results were derived through December 31, 2020.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-two trials comprised of 108,334 patients were analyzed, representing 29.8% (162/544) of trials conducted. The most common cancers included breast (34), gynecologic (28), and lung (14). The trials were cited 165,336 times (mean, 62.2 citations/trial/year); 87.7% of trials were cited in cancer care guidelines in favor of the recommended treatment. These studies were estimated to have generated 14.2 million (95% CI, 11.5 to 16.5 million) additional life-years to patients with cancer, with projected gains of 24.1 million (95% CI, 19.7 to 28.2 million) life-years by 2030. The federal investment cost per life-year gained through 2020 was $326 in US dollars.

CONCLUSION

NCTN randomized trials have been widely cited and are routinely included in clinical guidelines. Moreover, their conduct has predicted substantial improvements in overall survival in the United States for patients with oncologic disease, suggesting they have contributed meaningfully to this nation's health. These findings demonstrate the critical role of government-sponsored research in extending the lives of patients with cancer.
Sociodemographic Differences in Patient-Reported Pain and Pain Management of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer in a Community Oncology Setting
Authors: Canick Julia E. , Bhardwaj Arun , Patel Amila , Kuziez Duaa , Larsen Rylan , Misra Sanjit , Pearson Ben , Smith Blaine D. , Rohde Rebecca L. , Adjei Boakye Eric , Kahmke Russel R. , Osazuwa-Peters Nosayaba
Published: December 2022

PURPOSE:

While pain is prevalent among survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC), there is a lack of data on pain management in the community oncology setting. We described sociodemographic correlates and disparities associated with patient-reported pain among patients with HNC.

METHODS:

We used the 2017-2021 nationwide community oncology data set from Navigating Cancer, which included electronic patient-reported outcomes. We identified a retrospective cohort of patients diagnosed with HNC (N = 25,572), with ≥ 1 patient-reported pain event. We adjusted for demographic (sex, age, smoking history, marital status) and clinical (cancer site) factors associated with pain reporting and pain resolution by new pain prescription on the basis of race (White v non-White patients), using multivariate logistic regression models.

RESULTS:

Our analytic cohort included 2,331 patients, 90.58% White, 58.62% married, with an average age of 66.47 years. Of these, 857 patients (36.76%) reported ≥ 1 pain event during study period. Mean resolution time (in minutes) for pain incidents was significantly longer for White patients than non-White patients (99.6 ± 3.2 v 74.9 ± 7.2, P < .05). After adjusting for covariates, smoking was associated with a 25% increased odds of reporting pain incidents (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.25; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.52). There was no statistically significant difference in odds of pain reporting between White versus non-White patients (aOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.73 to 1.30). However, White patients were significantly more likely to receive new prescription for pain than non-White patients (aOR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.09 to 5.86).

CONCLUSION:

We found racial differences in patient-reported pain management, with White patients significantly more likely to receive new pain prescriptions. As pain management is a mainstay in cancer care, equity in pain management is critical to optimize quality of life for patients with HNC.
Combined Detection of Islet Autoantibodies for Clinical Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in the Low-Prevalence Population
Authors: Qi Yanyan , Chen Shuang , Chen Heng , Chen Yang , Shi Yun , Qin Yao , Zhang Mei , Yang Tao , Gu Yong
Published: December 2022

Context

Single positive islet autoantibodies (IAbs), sometimes detected in healthy individuals and patients with low-risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D), are considered to be irrelevant to the development of diabetes, making it difficult to diagnose and classify adult-onset diabetes.

Objective

To determine the significance and clinical value of IAbs in T1D diagnosis in the low-prevalence population, and to explore whether an electrochemiluminescence IAb detection assay can improve the clinical utility of IAbs in the immunodiagnosis of T1D in the low-prevalence population.

Methods

A total of 633 newly diagnosed patients with adult-onset diabetes (≥18 years old) were divided into 2 groups according to their clinical phenotypes: 575 patients with age at diagnosis ≥35 years and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 24 kg/m2 were considered a low-prevalence population (population with a low prevalence of T1D) and the other 58 patients were considered a high-prevalence population. All the samples from 633 participants were tested with IAbs using standard radiobinding assays (RBAs) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays in parallel.

Results

Compared with the high-prevalence population, fewer positive IAbs (94/575, 16.3% vs 28/58, 48.3%) were detected in the low-prevalence population, and more of whom (69/94, 73.4% vs 9/28, 32.2%) were positive for a single IAb, with glutamate decarboxylase antibodies being the most prevalent single IAb. Single-IAb detection in the low-prevalence population did not always suggest the T1D phenotype. Combined detection of IAbs by RBA and ECL assay had a significant clinical utility to distinguish autoimmune diabetes in the low-prevalence population with low BMI, poor β-cell function at the diagnosis, and an accelerated decline in β-cell function during the follow-up.

Conclusion

Combined autoantibody detection by RBA and ECL assays improved differentiating autoimmune from nonautoimmune diabetes in the low-prevalence population.
Medical student perceptions of reflective practice in the undergraduate curriculum
Authors: Gishen Faye , Chakrabarti Rima
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Reflective practice (RP) forms a core component of medical professionalism but, despite its benefits, it remains largely undervalued among medical students. The aim of this study was to explore medical students’ attitudes and barriers to engagement with RP in the undergraduate programme at a UK based medical school.

Methods: This was a qualitative study based on the methodology of phenomenology. All penultimate year medical students at University College London Medical School (n=361) were approached for this study and altogether thirteen participants were recruited, with data collected through two focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was used to generate the coding framework.

Results: Five key themes emerged around student attitudes to RP, which were grouped into three domains: ‘value of RP’, ‘barriers to engagement’, and ‘strategies for enabling RP’. ‘Value of RP’ centred on the themes of humanising medicine and developing empathy, developing professionalism and RP as a tool for sense-making. ‘Barriers to engagement’ centred on the purpose and tokenism of RP and in the third domain, ‘strategies for enabling RP’, the theme of student agency in RP emerged strongly.

Conclusion: Overall, the value of RP was not fully appreciated until students began their clinical placements. Potential strategies identified by participants for optimising engagement included student co-design and positioning RP within a broader pastoral role early in the undergraduate curriculum.
Depression development in patients with celiac disease
Authors: Pikulicka Agata , Pacek Katarzyna , Piekarska Małgorzata , Kasperski Radosław , Jedlina Klaudia , Szulc Izabela , Swacha Weronika
Published: December 2022

Due to the increasing number of patients suffering from celiac disease (CD) and difficulties in diagnosing, scientists raise awareness of different symptoms that patients might present. CD is an autoimmune, genetical disease of small intestine however, symptoms might be related to many different systems apart from gastrointestinal one, for instance nervous system.

A common and non-specific symptom of untreated CD might be depression. A gluten intake by patients with genetical predisposition results in antibodies production which can affect central nervous system causing depression. Moreover, we observe imbalance between amino acids and its metabolites, for example serotonin, which lead to mood disorder.

In those patients who suffer from drug-resistant depression, testing for CD should be done and if they are positive, the patient should immediately start a gluten-free diet. This action could reduce symptoms of depression.

The following article is a review of current knowledge related to correlation between CD and depression, its pathomechanism and gluten-free diet as a possible way of treatment. This article is based on available publications in Pubmed and Google Scholar databases.
Relationships Between Perceived Usefulness and Fitness Wearable Technology User Adoption Mediated by Culture, Gender, and COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Shi Lizhen , Huang Xiaoling , Abbas Safdar , Yang Zong Qian , Huang Li
Published: December 2022

With COVID-19 raging and individuals exercising at home, the adoption of fitness wearable technology (FWT) that help people monitor their physical state has become a pressing matter. Here, we try to bridge the gap that no researcher has examined the link between perceived usefulness (PU) and FWT adoption by using meta-analysis to comprehend the detailed numerical values and moderating factors affecting the relationship. A total of 24 articles with 7180 re-pendants were investigated from January 1, 2015 to March 1, 2022 A.D, producing significant results as follows: (1) There is publication bias in relevant research, and sensitivity analysis suggests that PU influences FWT adoption positively; (2) Subgroup test and regression analysis suggested that cultural background, gender, and COVID-19 can deepen this relationship to varying degrees. More precisely, female (r=0.669) have a greater impact on FWT adoption than men (r=0.658). In addition, users in other countries (r=0.670) are more concerned about PU than Chinese users (r=0.658). Regression analysis showed that after the COVID-19 outbreak, the coefficient (r=0.762) of PU on FWT adoption increased significantly, indicating that people need FWT-assisted exercise to understand and maintain their own physical fitness. The research opens up new ideas for different governments and scholars to promote mass fitness and public health during the COVID-19, providing a reference for the scientific research and development of PU and marketing promotion of the related enterprises’ FWT.
The effect of fancy rope jumping exercise on creativity of elementary school students
Authors: Wang Chao , Zhang Xiaoxiao , Li Hansen , Zhang Guodong
Published: December 2022

Purpose: To explore the effects of 6 months of moderate intensity fancy rope jumping exercise on the creativity of elementary school students.

Methodology: One hundred and forty elementary school students were divided into two major groups, namely, the fancy rope jumping group and the traditional sports group. The Williams Creative Tendency Scale (WCTS) and Torrance Creative Thinking Scale (TTCT) were used to measure the changes of creative tendency and divergent thinking of elementary school students before and after the experiment, and to compare to evaluate the change of creativity of elementary school students by measuring the difference between the experimental group and the control group.

Findings: (1) Six months of moderate intensity fancy rope jumping exercise had a positive effect on elementary school students’ creative tendencies and divergent thinking; (2) Six months of moderate fancy rope jumping exercise had a more significant effect on elementary school students’ divergent thinking.

Research and practical limitations/implications: This study confirms experimentally that fancy rope jumping helps to enhance the creative tendency and divergent thinking level of elementary school students and promotes the development of their creativity. The limitation of this study is that the sample size is relatively small and not representative and convincing enough. In the follow-up study, we can make the research results more convincing by expanding the research sample size and sampling across regions.
Parallel Power System Restoration
Authors: Chopra Sunil , Qiu Feng , Shim Sangho
Published: December 2022

After a blackout event, power system restoration is an essential activity for grid resilience; operators restart generators, re-establish transmission paths, and restore loads. With a goal of restoring electric service in the shortest time, the core decisions in restoration planning are to partition the grid into subnetworks, each of which has an initial power source for black-start (called sectionalization problem), and then restart all generators in each network (called generator startup sequencing (GSS) problem) as soon as possible. Due to their complexity, the sectionalization and GSS problems are usually solved separately, often resulting in a suboptimal solution. Our paper develops models and computational methods to solve the two problems simultaneously. We first study the computational complexity of the GSS problem and develop an efficient integer linear programming formulation. We then integrate the GSS problem with the sectionalization problem and develop an integer linear programming formulation for the parallel power system restoration (PPSR) problem to find exact optimal solutions. To solve larger systems, we then develop bounding approaches that find good upper and lower bounds efficiently. Finally, to address computational challenges for very large power grids, we develop a randomized approach to find a high-quality feasible solution quickly. Our computational experiments demonstrate that the proposed approaches are able to find good solutions for PPSR in up to 2,000-bus systems.

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

Funding: This research was supported by the Visiting Faculty Program of Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Grid Modeling Program [Grant DE-OE0000875].
Manage Inventories with Learning on Demands and Buy-up Substitution Probability
Authors: Luo Zhenwei , Guo Pengfei , Wang Yulan
Published: December 2022

Problem Definition: This paper considers a setting in which an airline company sells seats periodically, and each period consists of two selling phases, an early-bird discount phase and a regular-price phase. In each period, when the early-bird discount seat is stocked out, an early-bird customer who comes for the discounted seat either purchases the regular-price seat as a substitute (called buy-up substitution) or simply leaves. Methodology/Results: The optimal inventory level of the discounted seats reserved for the early-bird sale is a critical decision for the airline company to maximize its revenue. The airline company learns about the demands for both discounted and regular-price seats and the buy-up substitution probability from historical sales data, which, in turn, are affected by past inventory allocation decisions. In this paper, we investigate two information scenarios based on whether lost sales are observable, and we provide the corresponding Bayesian updating mechanism for learning about demand parameters and substitution probability. We then construct a dynamic programming model to derive the Bayesian optimal inventory level decisions in a multiperiod setting. The literature finds that the unobservability of lost sales drives the inventory manager to stock more (i.e., the Bayesian optimal inventory level should be kept higher than the myopic inventory level) to observe and learn more about demand distributions. Here, we show that when the buy-up substitution probability is known, one may stock less, because one can infer some information about the primary demand for the discounted seat from the customer substitution behavior. We also find that to learn about the unknown buy-up substitution probability drives the inventory manager to stock less so as to induce more substitution trials. Finally, we develop a SoftMax algorithm to solve our dynamic programming problem. We show that the obtained stock more (less) result can be utilized to speed up the convergence of the algorithm to the optimal solution. Managerial Implications: Our results shed light on the airline seat protection level decision with learning about demand parameters and buy-up substitution probability. Compared with myopic optimization, Bayesian inventory decisions that consider the exploration-exploitation tradeoff can avoid getting stuck in local optima and improve the revenue. We also identify new driving forces behind the stock more (less) result that complement the Bayesian inventory management literature.

Funding: Z. Luo acknowledges the financial support by the Internal Start-up Fund of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [Grant P0039035]. P. Guo acknowledges the financial support from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong [Grant 15508518]. Y. Wang’s work was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong [Grant 15505318] and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71971184].

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1169 .
Electronic teaching materials containing quranic verses: its development and scientific writing
Authors: Miriam Sarah , M Abdul Salam , Dewantara Dewi , Hidayati Marifah , Azhary Yayan
Published: December 2022

Efforts to write development proposals until finally the publication of electronic teaching materials containing verses of the Koran need to be introduced and trained to teachers at the Physics MGMP Forum, Tanah Bumbu Regency. The service that will be carried out is "Workshop on the Development and Writing of Scientific Papers on Electronic Teaching Materials Containing Al-Quran Verses". This workshop is expected to provide useful outcomes for teachers, namely from research to writing scientific articles. Participants in this workshop were teachers who joined the discussion on physics subject teachers in Tanah Bumbu Regency. The activity was carried out in Banjarmasin, online. The method of activity is divided into three stages, namely preparation, implementation, and evaluation. At the preparation stage, there will be the formation of a committee, preparation of a rundown of activities, gathering of participants, and various other technical preparations related to the course of this service. The activity continues with the implementation process. The training activities were carried out in 4 meetings. The training activity began with the provision of material on Electronic Teaching Materials Contained with Al-Quran Verses. The next material is the procedure for the development and writing of scientific papers on electronic teaching materials containing the verses of the Koran. The next stage is for participants to develop a proposal and carry out the development. Participants are directed to carry out research guided by resource persons. Furthermore, participants make articles/scientific papers in accordance with the results of the research/development carried out. The evaluation stage is the final stage of this activity, where the service team will evaluate the activities based on the evaluation form distributed to service partners. The activity has been successfully carried out, and the teacher finally has the ability to develop and writing of scientific papers on electronic teaching materials containing Al-Quran verses.
Establishing a consensus on wound infection definitions
Authors: Haesler Emily , Swanson Terry , Ousey Karen , Larsen Donna , Carville Keryln , Bjarnsholt Thomas , Haesler Paul
Published: December 2022

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to establish an international, interorganisational consensus on wound infection terminology.

Methods:

This project consisted of definition scoping and a Delphi process to produce a consensus glossary for 18 wound infection terms. Recent guidelines/consensus documents were reviewed to identify 2–4 definitions for each term. An online consensus process was undertaken using the RAND Appropriateness Method, a consensus method for panels to reach agreement. International wound organisations nominated experts to participate, from whom 21 participants were selected to represent different organisations, geographic regions and disciplines. In the first consensus round, each term was presented alongside 2–3 definitions and participants nominated their preferred definition, with the majority vote used to select a baseline definition. The consensus process then proceeded, with participants using a 9-point Likert scale to score their level of agreement or disagreement with the definition for each term. Participants also provided a justification outlining the reason behind their rating. At the end of each round, an index was calculated to provide a quantitative evaluation indicating whether agreement or disagreement had been reached.

Results:

Reasoning statements were summarised and the definitions were adjusted to incorporate concepts identified by participants. The adjusted definition was presented in the next consensus round, together with the reasoning statements. Terms for which a final definition was not achieved in three consensus rounds were finalised with preferential voting using 2–3 definitions that had reached consensus.

Project progress and significance:

The project generated a glossary of wound infection terms, endorsed through participation of 15 international organisations, for dissemination of guidelines and clinical decision-making/teaching tools.
Ultrafast nonlinear absorption with multiple transformations and transient dynamics of gold nanobipyramids
Authors: Chen Shuang , Niu Ruipeng , Gao Yachen , Zhou Wenfa , Liu Kun , Wang Yuxiao , Song Yinglin , Zhang Xueru
Published: December 2022

The process and condition of saturable absorption (SA) and reverse saturable absorption (RSA) of ultrafast nonlinear optics in metal nanoparticles are essential for applications including light generation, amplification, modulation, and switching. Here, we first discover and explore the multiple transformations (SA-RSA-SA) of ultrafast nonlinear absorption behavior of metal nanoparticles in femtosecond pulses. Correspondingly, the energy level model and fitting formula of multiple transformations are established to illustrate the process of optical response. The femtosecond transient absorption spectra provide information about their ultrafast dynamics process and vibrational mode, which further reveals the multiple transformation mechanisms of nonlinear absorption in gold nanobipyramids (Au-NBPs). Furthermore, Au-NBPs exhibit a significantly higher SA modulation depth up to 42% in the femtosecond, which is much higher than the reported values of other nanomaterials. Our results indicate that Au-NBPs can be used as broadband ultrafast Q-switching and mode-locking, and the conversion offers new opportunities for metal nanostructures in applications of optical switching.
3D object detection through fog and occlusion: passive integral imaging vs active (LiDAR) sensing
Authors: Usmani Kashif , O’Connor Timothy , Wani Pranav , Javidi Bahram
Published: December 2022

In this paper, we address the problem of object recognition in degraded environments including fog and partial occlusion. Both long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging systems and LiDAR (time of flight) imaging systems using Azure Kinect, which combine conventional visible and lidar sensing information, have been previously demonstrated for object recognition in ideal conditions. However, the object detection performance of Azure Kinect depth imaging systems may decrease significantly in adverse weather conditions such as fog, rain, and snow. The concentration of fog degrades the depth images of Azure Kinect camera, and the overall visibility of RGBD images (fused RGB and depth image), which can make object recognition tasks challenging. LWIR imaging may avoid these issues of lidar-based imaging systems. However, due to poor spatial resolution of LWIR cameras, thermal imaging provides limited textural information within a scene and hence may fail to provide adequate discriminatory information to identify between objects of similar texture, shape and size. To improve the object detection task in fog and occlusion, we use three-dimensional (3D) integral imaging (InIm) system with a visible range camera. 3D InIm provides depth information, mitigates the occlusion and fog in front of the object, and improves the object recognition capabilities. For object recognition, the YOLOv3 neural network is used for each of the tested imaging systems. Since the concentration of fog affects the images from different sensors (visible, LWIR, and Azure Kinect depth cameras) in different ways, we compared the performance of the network on these images in terms of average precision and average miss rate. For the experiments we conducted, the results indicate that in degraded environment 3D InIm using visible range cameras can provide better image reconstruction as compared to the LWIR camera and Azure Kinect RGBD camera, and therefore it may improve the detection accuracy of the network. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report comparing the performance of object detection between passive integral imaging system vs active (LiDAR) sensing in degraded environments such as fog and partial occlusion.
Spatial correlated vortex arrays
Authors: Mei Zhangrong , Mao Yonghua , Wang Jixian , Shi Xiaohui
Published: December 2022

Spatial correlated vortex arrays may form in the same beam when a random source contains multiple helical phase structures. We introduced two types of partially coherent sources with Cartesian and polar symmetric helical phase structure and reveal the characteristics of their radiated fields, respectively. It is demonstrated that far fields generated by these families of sources carry interesting features through the joint regulation of coherence and topological charge, being lattice-like vortex patterns with adjustable dimension and shape.
Silicon surface lattice resonances and halide perovskite semiconductors for exciton-polaritons at room temperature
Authors: Nguyen Dinh Hai , Nguyen Sy Khiem , Tran Minh Quan , Le Viet Hoang , Trinh Quoc Trung , Bui Son Tung , Bui Xuan Khuyen , Vu Dinh Lam , Nguyen Hai-Son , Le-Van Quynh
Published: December 2022

Owing to their high oscillator strength, binding energy, and low-cost fabrication, two-dimensional halide perovskites have recently gained attention as excellent materials for generating exciton-polaritons at room temperature. Unlike traditional materials used for polaritons, such as ZnO, GaAs, and GaN, halide perovskites exhibit great compatibility with matured CMOS technologies. However, no studies have reported perovskite-based polaritons on silicon platforms. Here, we numerically demonstrate the possibility of a polariton when a Si nanodisk array couples with a thin film of phenethylammonium lead iodide perovskite. An asymmetric lattice of thin Si nanodisks is used to generate surface lattice resonances from the coupling between the disk's electrical resonator and the lattice's diffracted waves. Polaritonic modes with high Rabi splitting values can be easily achieved for a large range of parameters. This Rabi splitting can be engineered by varying the ratio of electromagnetic energy confined within the Si disk and perovskite thin film. This study provides insight into nanophotonic structure design for CMOS-based optoelectronics, sensors, and polaritonic devices.
Removal of reinforcement improves instrumental performance in humans by decreasing a general action bias rather than unmasking learnt associations
Authors: Kurtenbach Hannah , Ort Eduard , Froböse Monja Isabel , Jocham Gerhard
Published: December 2022

Performance during instrumental learning is commonly believed to reflect the knowledge that has been acquired up to that point. However, recent work in rodents found that instrumental performance was enhanced during periods when reinforcement was withheld, relative to periods when reinforcement was provided. This suggests that reinforcement may mask acquired knowledge and lead to impaired performance. In the present study, we investigated whether such a beneficial effect of removing reinforcement translates to humans. Specifically, we tested whether performance during learning was improved during non-reinforced relative to reinforced task periods using signal detection theory and a computational modelling approach. To this end, 60 healthy volunteers performed a novel visual go/no-go learning task with deterministic reinforcement. To probe acquired knowledge in the absence of reinforcement, we interspersed blocks without feedback. In these non-reinforced task blocks, we found an increased d’, indicative of enhanced instrumental performance. However, computational modelling showed that this improvement in performance was not due to an increased sensitivity of decision making to learnt values, but to a more cautious mode of responding, as evidenced by a reduction of a general response bias. Together with an initial tendency to act, this is sufficient to drive differential changes in hit and false alarm rates that jointly lead to an increased d’. To conclude, the improved instrumental performance in the absence of reinforcement observed in studies using asymmetrically reinforced go/no-go tasks may reflect a change in response bias rather than unmasking latent knowledge.