bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Raised D-dimer Level among COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Rizal Shikha , Joshi Bishal Raj , Regmi Sunil
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Serum D-dimer is a protein fragment generated during the final phase of clot formation. Increased serum D-dimer levels indicate the hemostatic change in patients, likely related to the prothrombotic switch. As the world is battling with the damaging effect of coronavirus disease, it is very important to find out the early and effective predictors of prognosis to improve the management of COVID-19 patients. Thus, our study aims to find out the prevalence of increased D-dimer levels in coronavirus disease patients.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 235 patients admitted in the COVID ward and COVID Intensive Care Units at a tertiary care hospital from July 2020 to August 2021 after getting ethical approval (Reference number: 401/2020) from the Institutional Review Committee. A convenience sampling method was used for sample collection. The highest recorded values for D-dimer during the hospital stay were taken for data collection. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2013 and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16.0. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency, proportion, mean and standard deviation.
Results: Among 235 patients, elevated D- dimer level was in 175 (74.46%) (68.88-80.04 at 95% Confidence Interval). Majority of the patients were males 136 (77.71%) whereas 39 (22.28%) of the patients were females.
Conclusions: The prevalence of raised D-dimer levels was quite higher in our studies compared to other studies done in different parts of the world. Thus, serum D-dimer level may serve as an early marker in improving the management of patients with coronavirus disease.
Dyslipidemia in Acute Non-cardioembolic Ischemic Stroke Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Shah Surendra Prasad , Shrestha Aashish , Pandey Sirish Raj , Sigdel Kaushal , Sah Namrata , Panthi Sagar , Basnet Lila Bahadur
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke is the second most common cause of death after ischemic heart disease worldwide and Nepal's top five diseases based on Disability-Adjusted Life Years. Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease but has an unclear role in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of dyslipidemia in acute non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients at a tertiary care centre.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 76 patients with acute noncardioembolic ischemic stroke admitted in the Neuromedicine unit of a tertiary care centre from August 2017 to July 2018. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of the same institute (Reference number: 478/2020). Patients underwent baseline investigations, including fasting lipid profile and Computed Tomography Scan/Magnetic Resonance Imaging head. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.0. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data.
Results: The prevalence of dyslipidemia among the acute non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients was 35 (46.05%) (35.05–57.05 at 95% Confidence Interval) where high total cholesterol was diagnosed in 11 (31.43%), high triglycerides in 25 (71.43%), high low-density-lipoprotein in 10 (28.57%), and low high-density-lipoprotein in 11 (31.43%) patients.
Conclusions: The prevalence of dyslipidemia among acute non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients at our tertiary care centre is higher than the similar studies done in similar settings.
Progress in Diagnosis and Treatment of Neonatal Sepsis: A Review Article
Authors: Yadav Pratibha , Kumar Yadav Shailendra
Published: March 2022

Neonatal sepsis is a serious condition in which the pathogens infiltrate the bloodstream, multiply and produce toxins causing deleterious effects to the health of neonates. It is divided into two types on the basis of the time of onset. Early onset sepsis occurs within 72 hours of birth and late onset sepsis begins after 72 hours of delivery. Neonatal sepsis continues to be a common and significant health care burden, especially in very low birth weight infants (with birthweight less than 1500 grams). Though intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis has decreased the incidence of early-onset group B streptococcal infection dramatically, it still remains a major cause of neonatal sepsis. As the signs and symptoms of neonatal sepsis are nonspecific, early diagnosis and prompt treatment remain a challenge.
The Ph.D. Panic: Examining the Relationships Among Teaching Anxiety, Teaching Self-Efficacy, And Coping in Biology Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)
Authors: Chen Musgrove Miranda M. , Schussler Elisabeth E.
Published: March 2022

Anxiety among graduate students in the United States has increased over the last several decades, affecting not only their overall mental health but also reducing retention in graduate programs. High teaching anxiety can negatively impact teacher well-being and student learning, yet teaching anxiety in graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) is not well studied. Biology GTAs teach most introductory Biology labs and discussions nationally, thus broadly influencing the quality of undergraduate education. We investigated Biology GTA teaching anxiety at a large research-intensive university by (1) measuring teaching anxiety of Biology GTAs, and (2) exploring the relationships between teaching anxiety, self-efficacy, and coping. Using correlation plots and multiple linear regressions, we found that greater teaching self-efficacy was related to lower teaching anxiety in Biology GTAs (R2adj=0.65, p<0.001), and coping was positively correlated to self-efficacy. These results suggest that teaching self-efficacy is important to reducing teaching anxiety, and coping frequency may help to build self-efficacy. Thus, effective coping may be linked to reduced anxiety via increases in self-efficacy, although these specific relationships need to be further explored. Although anxiety did not differ significantly among graduate students in our population, reduced anxiety was linked to direct increases in self-efficacy and indirect increases in coping. With a rising mental health crisis in academia, particularly among graduate students, these results can inform teaching professional development for GTAs, by incorporating dialogue about teaching anxiety, self-efficacy, and coping. Encouraging greater awareness and discussion about mental health issues in academia, we can further reduce its stigma and mitigate its impacts.
South Sudan: Consequences of the secession
Authors: Denisova Tatyana S.
Published: March 2022

In July 2011, South Sudan separated from the Republic of Sudan (RoS), and a new state appeared on the world map - the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS). At that time, the prospects for South Sudan seemed promising: in addition to rich oil resources, the young country had serious support of the world community and an influential diaspora that provided humanitarian assistance. When proclaiming independence, South Sudan counted on a significant increase in oil revenues, but Juba could not export black gold without the use of oil pipelines laid through the North. As a result, the split and the following “oil war” cost both countries dearly, although the RoS emerged from the conflict if not a winner, then with less losses than the RoSS, which, moreover, became engulfed in internal armed and inter-factional conflicts almost immediately after gaining independence. Amid an economic downturn, South Sudan gradually plunged into the chaos of a full-scale civil war, which formally ended in September 2018, but in fact continued until February 2020. The destructive phenomena that preceded the deterioration of the political situation in the RoSS include progressing (Dinka centric) tribalism of the country's top leadership, exclusion of representatives of many smaller ethnic groups from the decision-making process, and the refusal to reform the army and normalize the civil-military relations. The quality of governance by public administration in the RoSS is not just very low, but is gradually declining. South Sudan not only did not become “democratic” as was intended, but actually regressed towards a repressive state that plunged the population into extreme poverty. Although the secession was the solution to the conflict between the North and the South, it led to an escalation of violence and the emergence of new problems, which are no less serious than those it was designed to solve.
The Novel “Anna Kareninaˮ in the Assessment of the “Russkiy Vestnikˮ (“Russian Bulletin”)
Authors: Gorodilova Natalia I.
Published: March 2022

The article is devoted to the study of critical reviews of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina&8j1;, published by the Moscow journal “Russkyi Vestnik” (“Russian Bulletin”). The article examines the articles of V.G. Avseenko and M.N. Katkov, united by a single task to fit “Anna Karenina&8j1; into the framework of the general policy of the publication and rank it as the genre of a high-society novel. In accordance with this, subjectivity and bias in the interpretation of the work are revealed. In particular, it is noted how the author’s intention is simplified, reduced to Anna’s love drama, the topicality of the problem is persistently denied, and Tolstoy is opposed to modern fiction writers as an author who did not succumb to the process of democratization of literature and remained faithful to the previous stage of its development. At the same time, valuable observations of Avseenko, his interesting judgments regarding the artistic world of the novel are noted. The reviews of the “Russkiy Vestnik” fit into the context of the development of journalism in the 1870s and in the 19th century with its clear differentiation according to social and political convictions and tendentious approach to the phenomena of literary literature.
The Root *dheh1- ‘Put, Pose; Make, Act’ in Old Greek and Italic on the Indo-European Background
Authors: Krasukhin Konstantin
Published: March 2022

The development of root *dheh1- is considered, previously in Greek and Italic. This root, as also some other with laryngeal auslaut, is developed into a stem with auslaut *¬-k-, whose origin is disputable. Probably, it appeared as a glide, a result connection of two laryngeals (in 1 Sg. perfect), and originally characterized its “strong” forms. This glide is spread on the stem of aorist, and became a marker of active singular. In some other roots it spread on the whole verbal paradigm in all tenses. The verbal stem in Italic is formed with this *-k- – the variant with full grade in preterit, and derived present with zero grade and suffix *-io-; then a stative verb with suffix -ē-. Traces of the same morphological process are attested also in Germanic language; in Tocharian languages there are stems with -k-, what replaces an old laryngeal. The morphological and semantic archaisms of the root *dheh1- is argued
On Translations and Translators of I. A. Krylov’s Fables in China
Authors: Pei Jiang
Published: March 2022

The article gives a overview of translations of I.A. Krylov’s fables in China. The first of them appeared more than 120 years ago, but the real acquaintance of Chinese readers with his work took place in the 1950s because of the translations of Meng Hai and Wu Yan. From the late 1970s to the present, the number of translations and editions of Krylov’s fables has been constantly increasing. Now in China there are more than 300 separate editions of his selected fables and 33 complete collections. At various times, at least 64 translators worked on translations of Krylov’s fables into Chinese, and 15 of them translated all nine books of the collection of his fables (these are Wu Yan, He Shiying, Feng Jia, Gu Yu, Xin Weiai, Han Guiliang, He Maozheng, Pei Jiaqin, Qu Hong, Yue Yan, Shi Guoxiong, Ding Lu, Zhu Xiansheng, Qiu Jingjuan and Yang Jianfeng). Some translations are made in prose, but some in poetry. The article summarizes the history of translations of Krylov’s fables in China and provides information about the most important translations and translators.
Legal Trends in the Protection of Victims in Romania
Authors: Preda Aura
Published: March 2022

In the pandemic context, the number of cases of violence, especially of domestic violence has increased. After the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards of rights, support and protection of victims of crime, the Romanian legislation on the matter has changed. So, Law no. 97/2018 regarding some measures to protect the victims of crime, Emergency Ordinance no.24/2019 for the amendment and completion of Law no. 211/2004 and others normative acts have been adopted to complete the legal framework. The author is trying to answer the question of whether these measures are sufficient to ensure a real protection for victims, even during periods of health crises?
Biographische Entwertung – wertvolle Biographien. Ostdeutsche Narrative symbolischer und sozialer Abwertung nach 1989
Authors: Haag Hanna
Published: March 2022

Der vorliegende Beitrag geht der Frage nach, inwiefern fehlende Anerkennungsräume und Abwertungserfahrungen viele Probleme in Ostdeutschland verschärfen, die ihren Ursprung bereits in den Wendejahren haben. Empirische Grundlage bildet die Tradierung ostdeutscher Abwertungserfahrungen und deren biographische Relevanz für die Gegenwart am Beispiel von Familiengesprächen. Im Vordergrund der Betrachtung stehen zwei Abwertungsformen: die soziale Abwertung etwa durch den Arbeitsverlust und die symbolisch-diskursive Abwertung der DDR-Vergangenheit im öffentlichen Diskurs. Dies führt für einen Großteil der ostdeutschen Bevölkerung zu der Herausforderung, das biographische Wissen mit einer sich stetig wandelnden Umwelt neu zu kontextualisieren und sich dadurch mit einer „Rebiographisierung“ des Erlebten im Sinne einer stetigen biographischen Arbeit vor dem Hintergrund sozialer Wandlungsprozesse auseinanderzusetzen. Theoretisch knüpft der Beitrag an einer Verbindung zwischen Biographieforschung und Wissenssoziologie an. Es zeigt sich – so die These –, dass sich der Prozess der Rebiographisierung im intersubjektiven familialen Dialog vollzieht und somit auch die jüngere Generation ohne unmittelbare DDR- und Transformationserfahrung mit einbezieht, die wiederum an der Neukontextualisierung des erfahrungsbasierten Wissens ihrer Eltern teilhaben. Über die aktive Aushandlung in Form des narrativen doing biography bilden die Akteur*innen unterschiedliche Strategien aus, das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen biographischer Entwertung und dem Wunsch nach Anerkennung des Biographischen zu verarbeiten.
Junge Menschen im Fokus des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der DDR. Stasi-Kontakte aus der Sicht von Kindern, Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen
Authors: Rieker Peter
Published: March 2022

Für den Staatssicherheitsdienst der DDR (Stasi) wurden auch Heranwachsende als Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter*innen (IM) rekrutiert. Untersuchungen zu den Entscheidungen dieser jungen Menschen, für die Stasi zu arbeiten, und zu dieser Tätigkeit beziehen sich überwiegend auf die Auswertung von Akten der Stasi. Darüber, wie Kinder, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene die Kontaktaufnahme erlebten und welche Bedeutung der Kontakt zur Stasi aus ihrer Perspektive hatte, weiß man bislang wenig. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung vorgestellt, für die Interviews mit Personen ausgewertet wurden, die als Kinder, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene in der DDR durch die Stasi kontaktiert worden waren. Auf dieser Grundlage können einige Besonderheiten dieser Kontakte rekonstruiert und mit den verschiedenen Bedingungen, unter denen diese Kontaktaufnahme stattfand, in Verbindung gebracht werden. Als relevant erweist sich für die Betroffenen dabei einerseits eine grundlegende Ungewissheit hinsichtlich derjenigen, die sie damals angesprochen haben, und hinsichtlich deren Motive. Andererseits werden Stasi-Kontakte vor allem von den damals Jüngeren verschiedentlich in Verquickung mit der eigenen Familie erlebt, was zu zusätzlichen Unklarheiten beitragen kann. Unterschiedliche Erlebnisweisen lassen sich zudem mit dem Alter, in dem die Betroffenen durch die Stasi kontaktiert worden sind, in Verbindung bringen. Abschließend wird das Verhältnis des subjektiven Erlebens der Betroffenen zu den Stasi-Akten reflektiert.
Gesetzliches Unrecht und übergesetzliches Recht. Leben und Wirken Gustav Radbruchs
Authors: Glahé Philipp
Published: March 2022

Vorliegender Essay betrachtet die biographischen Verknüpfungen des Rechtsphilosophen und sozialdemokratischen Reichsjustizministers in der Weimarer Republik Gustav Radbruch (1878-1949) mit seiner berühmtesten Nachkriegspublikation, die 1946 unter dem Titel Gesetzliches Unrecht und übergesetzliches Recht in der Süddeutschen Juristen-Zeitung erschien. In diesem kaum vier Seiten umfassenden Aufsatz stellte Radbruch mit seiner sogenannten „Radbruch‘schen Formel“ die Gültigkeit staatlichen Unrechts am Beispiel des Dritten Reiches infrage. Radbruchs Formel avancierte durch die in ihr vollzogene Abkehr vom Rechtspositivismus, dem zufolge Gesetz gleich Recht ist, zur rechtsphilosophischen Grundlage schlechthin für die juristische Aufarbeitung des Nationalsozialismus. Zeichnet sich ein Gesetz durch einen extremen Unrechtsgehalt aus, so muss es laut Radbruch nicht befolgt werden und niemand hat das Recht, sich in seinem Handeln auf dieses zu berufen. Überdies hätte demnach jeder Einzelne erkennen können und müssen, dass die nationalsozialistischen Gesetze Unrecht waren. Radbruchs Formel ist jedoch hochgradig ambivalent, da er eine Berufsgruppe kollektiv von ihrer Anwendbarkeit ausnimmt: die Juristen. Diese hätten als „Opfer des Positivismus“, quasi aus der déformation professionelle ihres Standes heraus, als einzige das Unrecht in den von ihnen angewandten nationalsozialistischen Gesetzen nicht erkennen können. Radbruchs widersprüchliches Spätwerk ist eng mit seinem wissenschaftlichen Lebensweg und seinen eigenen Erfahrungen im Nationalsozialismus verwoben. In den 1920ern hatte sich Radbruch als Minister im Kampf gegen den Rechtsradikalismus profiliert und verlor 1933 als einer der ersten seine Professur. Nach zwölf Jahren der inneren Emigration beteiligte er sich ab 1945 zwar am demokratischen Wiederaufbau Deutschlands, gegenüber der alliierten Justiz und vormaligen nationalsozialistischen Juristen zeigte er sich allerdings zwiegespalten.
Novel Amylin Analogues Reduce Amyloid-β Cross-Seeding Aggregation and Neurotoxicity
Authors: Dharmaraj Gowdame Lakshmanan , Arigo Fraulein Denise , Young Kimberly A. , Martins Ralph , Mancera Ricardo L. , Bharadwaj Prashant
Published: March 2022

Background: Type 2 diabetes related human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) plays a dual role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). hIAPP has neuroprotective effects in AD mouse models whereas, high hIAPP concentrations can promote co-aggregation with amyloid-β (Aβ) to promote neurodegeneration. In fact, both low and high plasma hIAPP concentration has been associated with AD. Therefore, non-aggregating hIAPP analogues have garnered interest as a treatment for AD. The aromatic amino acids F23 and I26 in hIAPP have been identified as the key residues involved in self-aggregation and Aβ cross-seeding. Objective: Three novel IAPP analogues with single and double alanine mutations (A1 = F23, A2 = I26, and A3 = F23 + I26) were assessed for their ability to aggregate, modulate Aβ oligomer formation, and alter neurotoxicity. Methods: A range of biophysical methods including Thioflavin-T, gel electrophoresis, photo-crosslinking, circular dichroism combined with cell viability assays were utilized to assess protein aggregation and toxicity. Results: All IAPP analogues showed significantly less self-aggregation than hIAPP. Co-aggregated Aβ42-A2 and A3 also showed reduced aggregation compared to Aβ42-hIAPP mixtures. Self- and co-oligomerized A1, A2, and A3 exhibited random coil conformations with reduced beta sheet content compared to hIAPP and Aβ42-hIAPP aggregates. A1 was toxic at high concentrations compared to A2 and A3. However, co-aggregated Aβ42-A1, A2, or A3 showed reduced neurotoxicity compared to Aβ42, hIAPP, and Aβ42-hIAPP aggregates. Conclusion: These findings confirm that hIAPP analogues with non-aromatic residues at positions 23 and 26 have reduced self-aggregation and the ability to neutralize Aβ42 toxicity. This warrants further characterization of their protective effects in pre-clinical AD models.
Physical Activity Self-Report Is Not Reliable Among Subjects with Mild Vascular Cognitive Impairment: The AFIVASC Study
Authors: Verdelho Ana , Correia Manuel , Ferro José Manuel , Madureira Sofia , Vilela Pedro , Rodrigues Mário , Borges Mariana , Oliveira Vanessa , Santos Ana Catarina , Gonçalves-Pereira Manuel , Santa-Clara Helena
Published: March 2022

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Adherence to these recommendations is difficult to assess. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the validity of self-reported physical activity in mild vascular cognitive impairment (mVCI) and whether physical activity was associated with cognitive status, by using baseline data from a randomized controlled trial. Methods: A hundred and four subjects with mVCI were included (mean age 72 years; 51% women). Subjects underwent neurological, physical, and comprehensive neuropsychological assessments. Adherence to WHO physical activity recommendations was evaluated using both self-reported information and objective measures (accelerometry). Results: There was poor agreement (kappa = 0.106) between self-report of following WHO recommendations and actually fulfilling them according to accelerometry. Only 16.6% of participants reported following WHO recommendations and displayed compatible values according to the accelerometer. Participants whose accelerometry values confirmed adherence to WHO recommendations had better performance in a global measure of cognition, attention, and mental speed processing. In multiple regression analyses, education and accelerometry values in accordance with WHO recommendations were independently associated with the global measure of cognition, attention, and processing speed, controlling for sex, age, and depressive symptoms. Accelerometry results were not associated with memory and executive functions. Conclusion: In this sample of mVCI subjects, self-reported physical activity displayed poor agreement with accelerometry values, suggesting that objective measures of physical activity are preferable. Physical activity (performed, at least, according to WHO recommendations) was associated with better cognitive performance overall.
Relevance of Subjective Cognitive Decline in Older Adults with a First-Degree Family History of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Wolfsgruber Steffen ,   on behalf of the DELCODE study group, Kleineidam Luca , Weyrauch Anne-Sophie , Barkhoff Miriam , Röske Sandra , Peters Oliver , Preis Lukas , Gref Daria , Spruth Eike Jakob , Altenstein Slawek , Priller Josef , Fließbach Klaus , Schneider Anja , Wiltfang Jens , Bartels Claudia , Jessen Frank , Maier Franziska , Düzel Emrah , Metzger Coraline , Glanz Wenzel , Buerger Katharina , Janowitz Daniel , Perneczky Robert , Rauchmann Boris-Stephan , Kilimann Ingo , Teipel Stefan , Laske Christoph , Munk Matthias H. , Roy Nina , Spottke Annika , Ramirez Alfredo , Heneka Michael T. , Brosseron Frederic , Wagner Michael
Published: March 2022

Background: It is unclear whether subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a relevant clinical marker of incipient Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and future cognitive deterioration in individuals with a family history of AD (FHAD). Objective: To investigate the association of SCD with cross-sectional cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarker levels and cognitive decline in cognitively normal older adults with or without a first-degree FHAD. Methods: We analyzed data from cognitively normal individuals with first-degree FHAD (n = 82 “AD relatives”; mean age: 65.7 years (SD = 4.47); 59% female) and a similar group of n =  236 healthy controls without FHAD from the DELCODE study. We measured SCD with an in-depth structured interview from which we derived a SCD score, capturing features proposed to increase likelihood of underlying AD (“SCD-plus score”). We tested whether higher SCD-plus scores were associated with more pathological CSF AD biomarker levels and cognitive decline over time and whether this association varied by group. Results: AD relatives showed higher SCD-plus scores than healthy controls and more cognitive decline over time. Higher SCD-plus scores also related stronger to cognitive change and abnormal CSF AD biomarker levels in the AD relatives as compared to the healthy controls group. Conclusion: Quantification of specific SCD features can provide further information on the likelihood of early AD pathology and cognitive decline among AD relatives. FHAD and SCD appear as synergistically acting enrichment strategies in AD research, the first one as a permanent indicator of genetic risk, the latter one as a correlate of disease progression.
Cerebrovascular Function, Vascular Risk, and Lifestyle Patterns in Resistant Hypertension
Authors: Smith Patrick J. , Sherwood Andrew , Hinderliter Alan L. , Mabe Stephanie , Tyson Crystal , Avorgbedor Forgive , Watkins Lana L. , Lin Pao-Hwa , Kraus William E. , Blumenthal James A.
Published: March 2022

Background: Impaired cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and blunted cerebral hemodynamic recruitment are thought to be important mechanisms linking hypertension to cerebrovascular and cognitive outcomes. Few studies have examined cardiovascular or dietary correlates of CVR among hypertensives. Objective: To delineate associations between cardiometabolic risk, diet, and cerebrovascular functioning among individuals with resistant hypertension from the TRIUMPH trial (n = 140). Methods: CVR was assessed by examining changes in tissue oxygenation (tissue oxygenation index [TOI] and oxygenated hemoglobin [HBO2]) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a breath holding test, a standardized CVR assessment to elicit a hypercapnic response. Participants also underwent fNIRS during three cognitive challenge tasks. Vascular function was assessed by measurement of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation and hyperemic flow response. Cardiometabolic fitness was assessed from peak VO2 on an exercise treadmill test and body mass index. Dietary patterns were quantified using the DASH eating score. Cognitive function was assessed using a 45-minute test battery assessing Executive Function, Processing Speed, and Memory. Results: Greater levels fitness (B = 0.30, p = 0.011), DASH compliance (B = 0.19, p = 0.045), and lower obesity (B = –0.30, p = 0.004), associated with greater changes in TOI, whereas greater flow-mediated dilation (B = 0.19, p = 0.031) and lower stroke risk (B = –0.19, p = 0.049) associated with greater HBO2. Similar associations were found for cerebral hemodynamic recruitment, and associations between CVR and cognition were moderated by duration of hypertension. Conclusion: Impaired CVR elevated cardiometabolic risk, obesity, vascular function, and fitness among hypertensives.
Practical design of a time-varying iterative learning control law using fuzzy logic
Authors: Chotikunnan Phichitphon , Panomruttanarug Benjamas
Published: March 2022

Iterative Learning Control (ILC) is an intelligent control algorithm that can effectively handle a tracking error in any system that operates in a repetitive manner. In practice, it is hardly possible to implement a single gain learning control law to improve the tracking performance due to the existence of large transient growth. To prevent the growth, this paper proposes a time-varying learning control design using the unique concept of fuzzy logic control to track the desired trajectory as well as the desired control input signal. The proposed control design is developed on both serial and parallel ILC configurations. The two configurations are initially constructed and implemented on a robotic manipulator with the use of a single gain learning control law. To avoid bad transients, the gain adjustment mechanism based on fuzzy logic control is introduced to vary the learning gain in each time step for enhancing the robustness of the system. According to the simulation and experiment on a robotic manipulator, both ILC structures with the proposed mechanism achieve the desired learning performance without bad transients.
RETRACTED: Spatial-temporal network for traffic forecasting based on prior knowledge and data-driven
Authors: Ge Liang , Lin Yongquan , Li Senwen , Zeng Bo
Published: March 2022

This article has been retracted. A retraction notice can be found at https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-219433.
RETRACTED: Recurrent deep neural learning classification algorithm based high level synthesis in VLSI circuit with runtime adaptability
Authors: Thillai Rani M. , Sai Pradeep K.P. , Sivakumar R. , Suresh Kumar S.
Published: March 2022

This article has been retracted. A retraction notice can be found at https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-219433.
RETRACTED: Oversampling by genetic algorithm and k-nearest neighbors for network intrusion problem
Authors: Jindaluang Wattana
Published: March 2022

This article has been retracted. A retraction notice can be found at https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-219433.
Fuzzy-interpolative control of temperatures for the intelligent rooftop greenhouse
Authors: Popa Mihaela , Alexuta Daniel , Balas Valentina E.
Published: March 2022

This paper is focusing on intelligent rooftop greenhouses. An initial mathematical model implying recirculation factors for greenhouse and underneath building ventilation systems was upgraded in the sense of reducing interactions among parameters, by discarding the recirculation factors. The initial approach relied on basic fuzzy-interpolative temperature controllers working with a network of ventilation fans, adapted to the changes of the weather conditions and of the building configuration by means of a central expert adaptive rule base. This paper proposes a flexible distributed fans network, locally adapted, working under the control of temperature self-adaptive interpolative controllers. This approach enables us to adapt such buildings, that are now confined to warm temperatures, to a wide range of climates, to value a great part of renewable resources of our cities and to initiate a process of increasing the carbon offset at large scale. The new configuration is tested by simulations.
Online signature verification using deep learning based aggregated convolutional feature representation
Authors: Leghari Mehwish , Memon Shahzad , Dhomeja Lachhman Das , Jalbani Akhtar Hussain , Chandio Asghar Ali
Published: March 2022

Handwritten signature for the identification and authentication of an individual has been widely used in the biometric systems. Due to the intra-class and inter-class variabilities, signature verification has become one of the most challenging problem in the biometric technology. Furthermore, the offline handwritten signature can be forged by the skilled persons due to its static nature. Therefore, in this paper a deep learning-based method using convolutional neural network (CNN) for online signature verification has been developed. Different values of the convolutional kernels such as 1×1, 3×3 and 5×5 are used to extract the discriminative features at multi-scales. The features of the initial and middle layers of the CNN are combined to create more powerful features. An up-sampling method with bilinear interpolation has been used to add the features of convolutional layers with different spatial dimensions. Both the addition and concatenation methods have been used to aggregate the convolutional features. A convolutional transpose method is applied to increase the depth of the convolutional layers while performing an addition operation on the layers with different depths. Finally, the concatenated features are passed to the fully connected layers for high-level feature extraction and classification. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, an android application was developed where; a custom database of 985 online signatures collected from 197 users has been created. The problem of inadequate training data for online signature verification has been addressed through the data augmentation method. The experimental results show that the deep aggregated convolutional feature representation method achieves an accuracy of 99.32% on the custom developed online signature database.
Analysis and construction by convolution neural network of link prediction model on social network
Authors: Wu Jimmy Ming-Tai , Tsai Meng-Hsiun , Li Tu-Wei , Pirouz Matin
Published: March 2022

Estimating similarity using multiple similarity measures or machine learning prediction models is a popular solution to the link prediction problem. The Relation Pattern Deep Learning Classification (RPDLC) technique is proposed in this study, and it is based on multiple neighbor-based similarity metrics and convolution neural networks. The RPDLC first calculates the characteristics for a pair of nodes using neighbor-based metrics and impact nodes. Second, the RPDLC creates a heat map using node characteristics to assess the similarity of the nodes’ connection patterns. Third, the RPDLC uses convolution neural network architecture to build a prediction model for missing relationship prediction. On three separate social network datasets, this method is compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms. On all three datasets, the suggested method achieves the greatest AUC, hovering around 99 percent. The use of convolution neural networks and features via relational patterns to create a prediction model are the paper’s primary contributions.
Tax credits for pharmaceutical research, development and marketing?
Authors: Sismondo Sergio
Published: March 2022

BACKGROUND: The pharmaceutical industry is believed to receive considerable support through research and development (R&D) tax credits. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this paper are (a) to show that many of the pharmaceutical industry’s apparent R&D activities are entangled with marketing efforts, and (b) to argue that supporting these activities through tax credits does not serve public interests in health. METHODS: The bulk of this paper summarizes the author’s extended qualitative mixed-methods approach to following connections between pharmaceutical research and marketing. RESULTS: The pharmaceutical industry’s R&D should be understood as broadly entangled with marketing, and so generally should be understood as integrated research, development and marketing (RD&M). CONCLUSIONS: R&D tax credits to the pharmaceutical industry largely do not serve public interests.
Human papillomavirus vaccination rates in adolescents with cerebral palsy compared to the general population
Authors: Hartman Kimberly C. , Ancha Suma , McLaughlin Matthew J.
Published: March 2022

PURPOSE: To determine whether adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) initiate and are up-to-date with the human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization series compared to adolescents in the general population. METHODS: Data on initiation and up-to-date status of the HPV series were collected on adolescents with CP aged 13–17 years old (n = 74) via retrospective medical record review and compared to 616 age-matched peers from the National Immunization Survey, Teen 2019. Analysis by gender, Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) level, and ambulatory status was performed in the CP group. RESULTS: Adolescents with CP were three times less likely to start (p < 0.001) and two times less likely to be up-to-date (p = 0.004) with the HPV immunization series compared to age-matched peers. When the HPV immunization series was initiated in adolescents with CP, these adolescents were as likely to complete the series (p = 0.400), with 83.3% being up-to-date. In those with CP, there was no statistical difference in status of the HPV immunization series when comparing gender, GMFCS level, or ambulatory status. CONCLUSION: Adolescents with CP were less likely to start the HPV immunization series; however, they were as likely to be up-to-date with the series if it was initiated. This presents an opportunity for pediatric physiatrists to help reduce the disparity.
Members of Parliament in Finland Knowledge Graph and Its Linked Open Data Service
Authors: Leskinen Petri , Hyvönen Eero , Tuominen Jouni
Published: March 2022

This paper presents a prosopographical knowledge graph describing the Members of Parliament in Finland and related actors in politics, extracted from the databases and textual descriptions of the Parliament of Finland. The data has been interlinked internally and enriched with data linking to external data sources according to the 5-star Linked Data model. The data has been published together with its schema for better re-usability and is validated using ShEx. The knowledge graph presented is integrated with another knowledge graph about over 900 000 parliamentary plenary speeches in Finland (1907–) to form a larger parliamentary LOD publication FinnParla of the Parliament of Finland. The data is being used for Digital Humanities research on parliamentary networks, culture, and language.
Coexisting Regimes in Hysteresis Zone in Platform-Vibrator with Shock
Authors: Bazhenov Viktor , Pogorelova Olga , Postnikova Tetiana
Published: March 2022

Molding processes are among the most important in the manufacture of reinforced concrete structures. Vibration and shock-vibration technologies for concrete mixtures compaction and concrete products molding have the greatest distribution in the construction industry. Therefore, the issues of optimizing vibration modes, correct choice of vibration equipment do not lose their relevance. The article discusses the dynamical behavior of a shock-vibrational low-frequency resonant machine. Its mathematical model corresponds to a two-body 2-DOF vibro-impact system with a soft impact, which is simulated by a nonlinear interactive contact force in accordance with Hertz’s quasi-static contact theory. Changing the control parameters can, on the one hand, improve the compaction process, but, on the other hand, lead to unwanted vibrational modes. The article discusses such control parameters as the exciting frequency, the technological mass of the mold with concrete, and the stiffness parameters of elastic elements. Decreasing the exciting frequency, the mold mass, the vibro-isolating spring stiffness and increasing the Young’s modulus of elasticity of the rubber gasket provide an increase in impact acceleration, which improves the compaction process. However, with such changes in the parameters, coexisting regimes arise, many of which are undesirable. These are modes with a large periodicity and several impacts per cycle, chaotic modes, and transient chaos. The regime diagnostics is performed by traditional numerical means, namely, by constructing time series, phase trajectories, Poincaré maps, Fourier spectra, and the largest Lyapunov exponent. We hope that this analysis can help avoid unwanted platform-vibrator behaviour during design and operation. The presentation is accompanied by many graphs and a table.
DEVELOPMENT OF FUZZY MODELS FOR THE STUDY OF SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF COMFORT IN THE SCILAB ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Tsiutsiura Svitlana , Kostyshyna Nataliia , Yerukaiev Andrii
Published: March 2022

The current state of construction and design of an apartment building in terms of comfort does not cover all the necessary aspects for the residence of future residents. Quantitative criteria are usually used, an excessive number of which, unfortunately, cannot improve the substance of the case between all the actors involved. This paper discusses the method of fuzzy description of uncertainty to assess the comfort of an apartment building using software products to find results over fuzzy values. A comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative indicators of comfort, which are determined in conditions of uncertainty, which makes it difficult to make the optimal decision. Therefore, when evaluating all the influencing factors that affect the comfort of housing, it is proposed to apply fuzzy logic and choose a function that at certain input parameters corresponds to the representation of formalized terms in the study of membership functions. The theory of fuzzy logic makes it possible to reflect various methods of constructing fuzzy sets for the needs of the subject research described below. Fuzzy set theory is used to describe the comfort of an apartment building by calculating fuzzy numbers. Subjective logic is also a non-additive theory of uncertainty, namely its theory of possibilities, as well as a universal tool for modeling, on the basis of which the subject research is built. In addition, fuzzy sets have strong logical foundations in multitasking logic. The application of this fuzzy set to this topic has influenced the multi-criteria assessment of the quality of comfort of a high-rise building, and also helped to bring optimization methods to the needs of users. Therefore, a fuzzy set can take on any meaning of a linguistic variable, which includes certain terms to describe the comfort of a residential apartment.
COMMUNICATION MODEL OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIVE SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS
Authors: Melnychenko Olexandr , Lebid Iryna , Tkachenko Valentyna , Luzhanska Nataliia
Published: March 2022

A project approach is used to address issues of improving educational processes. Implementation of educational innovative research projects is effective with the participation of a large number of stakeholders. Stakeholders include representatives of the state, business and community. The formation of common values, which are focused on quality education, for all groups of stakeholders will help to effectively implement educational innovative research projects. To do this, you need to create an appropriate communication model. Project communications consist of the processes of timely collection, dissemination, storage, receipt and use of information. One of the responsibilities of the project manager is to create a kind of intellectual space for the project stakeholders to discuss common tasks, goals and areas of interest. The purpose of communications management is to meet communication needs of project participants and solve communication problems in case of their occurrence. The success of a project depends on how different project team members and stakeholders interact with each other. With this end in view, a model of the relationship between stakeholders in educational projects was created; this model makes it  possible to manage different types of communication (formal and informal). The results of the study were used to manage communications in the implementation of educational innovative research projects at National Transport University (NTU) while carrying out the international TEMPUS project ‘Fostering the Knowledge Triangle in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova’. The results of the project show that the efficiency of communications between NTU and international partners is 0.5 - 1.0, which indicates that the result of the educational innovative research project is good after the communication process.

Thus, the developed model of communications management in educational innovative research projects allows determining the set of input and output parameters, constraints, control and uncontrolled variables in communication processes and is the basis for the management of formal and informal communication.
COMPUTER SIMULATION IN THE PROBLEMS OF STABILITY OF THIN-WALLED RODS OF AN OPEN PROFILE WITH SHAPE IMPERFECTIONS
Authors: Lukianchenko Olga , Okhten Ivan
Published: March 2022

The presented numerical methodology is based on the finite element method (FEM) and computational procedures of the NASTRAN software package. It allows to investigate the influence of geometric imperfections in the shape of thin-walled rods of open profile on the critical values of the load, the shape of the stability loss and the stress-strain state. It has been developed an algorithm for computer modeling of initial imperfections in the shape of thin-walled rods, which is implemented in the NASTRAN software package using a neutral NASTRAN PC file and a specially developed program written in FORTRAN language and adapted to this software package. Geometric imperfections of the rods can be represented as their form of loss of stability or the form of deformation from the action of the load with the possibility of varying the maximum value of the imperfections amplitude. Computational procedures for solving the Lanczos stability problem and the geometrically nonlinear static problem by the Newton-Rafson method can be used to model imperfections. The program developed by the authors allows to form new nodal coordinates of a finite-element model of rods and to visualize geometric imperfections in a given scale. The article provides a step-by-step description of finite-element construction models of thin-walled rod of open profile with an ideal surface and taking into account the imperfection of the form, which is presented as the first form of loss of rod stability from longitudinal load applied with eccentricity. With the help of the FEMAP NASTRAN preprocessor is forming the geometry of the middle surface of an ideal rod, and setting the mechanical characteristics of the material, boundary conditions and load. The middle surface of the rod is fed as a set of flat quadrangular finite elements with six degrees of freedom in the node. In the article, a linear calculation of the stability by the Lanzosch method is performed to obtain the form of rod geometric imperfection. Setting the maximum amplitude of imperfections was performed using the program developed by the authors. Using the Newton-Rafson method, the geometrically nonlinear problem of rod statics with a given shape imperfection is solved, the critical value of the longitudinal load is determined, and the corresponding form of the rod stability loss is obtained. The presented numerical technique and the developed algorithm of computer modeling of shape imperfections allow to investigate in nonlinear formulation the stability of open profile thin-walled rods taking into account geometric imperfections of different amplitude as different forms of rod deformation, including the form of stability loss, to assess the impact of imperfections on the critical value of the load, the form of stability loss and stress-strain state. The presented algorithm and numerical technique can be used to study the stability of such thin-walled structural elements as shells, plates and others.