bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New Genetic Variants of Leptospira spp Characterized by MLST from Peruvian Isolates
Authors: Delgado M. Angélica , Cáceres Omar A. , Calderón John E. , Balda Lourdes , Sotil Giovanna , Céspedes Manuel J.
Published: September 2022

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the genus Leptospira, presenting complex and dynamic epidemiology. To determine the genetic variability and its phylogenetic relationship of Leptospira spp isolates from three sources in Iquitos (Peruvian Amazon) from 2002 to 2013, seven MLST genes were analyzed to obtain the Sequence Type (ST) and these sequences were concatenated for phylogenetic analysis. The genetic relationship between STs was determined with the goeBURST algorithm and genetic diversity was determined using DnaSP. Of 51 isolates, 48 were pathogenic belonging to five different species: Leptospira interrogans Nascimento 2004, Leptospira santarosai Feil 2004, Leptospira noguchii Haake 2021, Leptospira borgpetersenii Levett 2021, and Leptospira kirschneri Levett 2021. Of 20 STs identified, 60% corresponded to new genotypes circulating only in Peru. The genotypes ST17, ST37, and ST301 were recorded in rodents and humans. A high intraspecific genetic diversity was demonstrated in L. noguchi. The goeBURST analysis revealed three clonal complexes (CCs) and 16 singletons. The STs were found to show high genetic variability and phylogenetic and goeBURST analysis determined that the genotypes found did not form specific groups according to the source of infection or origin, which confirms the zoonotic potential of these STs in an area highly endemic for leptospirosis.
[Retracted] Assessment of the Impact of Higher Education on Environmental Quality in BRICS Economies Based on Sustainable Development Pathways
Authors: Guo Miao
Published: September 2022

From the perspective of ecological environmental protection, higher education can not only train a large number of professionals dedicated to environmental protection for the construction of environmental quality, but more importantly, it can promote the improvement of the quality of ecological civilization in the whole society, so as to achieve the effect of indirectly improving environmental quality. BRICS economies, as the most important economies in the world, have an impact on the development of the world in many aspects. However, under the guidance of the concept of sustainable development, whether the environmental quality of BRICS economies meets the standards has also become the focus of scholars. Starting from the sustainable development path, this paper summarizes the model of environmental education in BRICS national higher education. At the same time, through the establishment of the BRICS environmental quality assessment system, the environmental quality of the BRICS countries after the implementation of environmental education was assessed based on the content of the sustainable development system. This paper performs matrix operations on the weight values of the indicators at all levels and the membership vector to obtain a 4 × 4 matrix, that is, the evaluation result Q of each indicator is [0.050, 0.200, 0.113, 0,011], which proves that the evaluation results in this paper are basically reasonable. It can be seen that in terms of forest coverage and environmental protection areas, environmental education in higher education has the deepest impact on Russia. In terms of carbon emissions, South Africa benefits the most from environmental education in higher education, so each country should take corresponding actions according to different environmental assessment results.
[Retracted] Artificial Neural Network Assisted Cancer Risk Prediction of Oral Precancerous Lesions
Authors: Chen Wenao , Zeng Ruijie , Jin Yiyao , Sun Xi , Zhou Zihan , Zhu Chao
Published: September 2022

The incidence of oral cancer is still increasing. It has become very common in patients with malignant tumors, which has forced medical personnel to continuously explore its treatment methods. What kind of method can effectively and correctly diagnose the disease in the early stage and improve the survival rate has become one of the research topics that have attracted much attention. Aiming at this problem, it has great research significance for the field of oral precancerous lesions diagnosis. With the in‐depth research on oral precancerous diagnosis, the research on artificial neural network (ANN) in medical diagnosis is gradually carried out. Its performance advantage is of great significance to solve the problem of early and correct disease diagnosis. This paper aimed to investigate the application of ANN‐assisted cancer risk prediction method in risk prediction of oral precancerous lesions. Through the analysis and research of ANN and oral cancer, the construction of oral cancer risk prediction model was applied to solve the problem of improving the survival rate of oral cancer patients. In this paper, ANN and oral precancerous lesions were analyzed, the performance of the algorithm was experimentally analyzed, and the relevant theoretical formulas were used to explain. The results showed that the method had higher accuracy than traditional forecasting methods. When N = 2, the output accuracy was above 90%. It can be seen that the algorithm can meet the needs of the diagnosis of high‐risk groups of oral cancer lesions, and the diagnosis efficiency and patient survival rate has been greatly improved.
A Homomorphic Signcryption-Based Privacy Preserving Federated Learning Framework for IoTs
Authors: Du Weidong , Li Min , Han Yiliang , Wang Xu An , Wei Zhaoying
Published: September 2022

Federated learning (FL) enables clients to train a machine learning model collaboratively by just aggregating their model parameters, which makes it very useful in empowering the IoTs with intelligence. To prevent privacy information leakage from parameters during aggregation, many FL frameworks use homomorphic encryption to protect client’s parameters. However, a secure federated learning framework should not only protect privacy of the parameters but also guarantee integrity of the aggregated results. In this paper, we propose an efficient homomorphic signcryption framework that can encrypt and sign the parameters in one go. According to the additive homomorphic property of our framework, it allows aggregating the signcryptions of parameters securely. Thus, our framework can both verify the integrity of the aggregated results and protect the privacy of the parameters. Moreover, we employ the blinding technique to resist collusion attacks between internal curious clients and the server and leverage the Chinese Remainder Theorem to improve efficiency. Finally, we simulate our framework in FedML. Extensive experimental results on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that our framework can protect privacy without compromising model performance, and our framework is more efficient than similar frameworks.
Highway Traffic Flow Prediction Algorithm Based on Multiscale Transformation and Convolutional Networks
Authors: Luo Yuzhu , Wang Jiarong , Wei Ming
Published: September 2022

In order to solve the problem that the traditional long-term high-speed traffic forecasting algorithm is affected by the approximation ability of the function and easy to fall into the local mass value, we wrote a multivariate-based highway traffic forecasting algorithm scaling and convolutional networks. Because the feedforward wavelet neural network algorithm predicts the short-term traffic flow in different areas, it is necessary to examine the ability to predict the difference between different models. From the standard feedforward wavelet neural network algorithm using global optimization capabilities, we improve the wolf pack algorithm, improve the search accuracy of the algorithm, get the best solution of the estimated value of the work according to the search results when completing the research objectives, and get the ability to predict the work of the model. Feedforward neural network algorithm: we develop and obtain the best short-term high-speed traffic forecast values. The results are as follows: after using the author’s algorithm, the processing time increases by 1.5 seconds, but the average percentage of errors decreases by more than 50%, in fact the error and the root mean square error decreased by about 30%, and the smoothing coefficient increased by about 1%. The prediction of the author’s algorithm for short-term high-speed traffic is better than the wavelet neural network prediction algorithm, and the prediction accuracy and stability of the author’s algorithm are higher.
Identification of Shortwave Radio Communication Behavior Based on Autocorrelation Spectrogram Features
Authors: Li Haitao , Chen Xiang , Lei Yingke , Li Pengcheng , Lou Caiyi
Published: September 2022

Cognitive communication behavior is becoming a research hotspot in the field of communication confrontation. In theory, the behavioral intention of noncooperating parties can be obtained by analyzing communication signals. Considering the complexity of the actual electromagnetic environment, even when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low, a certain accuracy still needs to be guaranteed. In this paper, according to five types of physical burst waveforms defined by the shortwave radio interoperability standard, a signal feature extraction method based on autocorrelation spectrogram features is proposed, and a two-input convolutional neural network (CNN) for classification is designed to improve the identification ability of shortwave communication behavior. The experimental results illustrate that the five kinds of shortwave radio communication behaviors can be accurately identified even when the noise is large. The research in this paper can directly analyze the communication behavior through physical layer signal without demodulation, which has the ability to grasp the communication behavior of the shortwave radio station in real time.
Heuristics for the Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problem with Sequence-Dependent Setup times
Authors: Yong Liao , Zhantao Li , Xiang Li , Chenfeng Peng
Published: September 2022

This paper considers the hybrid flow shop scheduling problem with two types of sequence-dependent setup times, one depending on the order of jobs and the other depending on both the order of jobs and the machines where the jobs are allocated. Three constructive heuristic algorithms based on the NEH algorithm are developed with the object of minimizing the total energy consumption cost. The first algorithm, called EPRA, obtains the order of jobs using the energy consumption cost based on the processing time. The second algorithm, called ESRA, obtains the order of jobs using the energy consumption cost based on the setup time. The third algorithm, called ESPRA, takes advantage of both EPRA and ESRA by constructing fictitious jobs with ESRA and acquiring the sequence of fictitious jobs with EPRA. Due to the drawback of NEH algorithm for the FFS problem proposed in this paper, all three heuristic algorithms use EST rules to allocate the jobs to the machines. Two lower bounds are developed to evaluate the heuristic algorithms proposed in this paper. A computational experiment based on the split-plot design is developed to carry out the factor analysis, algorithm analysis, lower bounds analysis, and CPU running time analysis. The analysis reveals that all main factor interactions except the algorithm are significant; the ESPRA algorithm is generally outstanding among the three algorithms; LB1 is better than LB2; the CPU running time of ESPRA algorithm is significantly reduced compared to those of EPRA and ESST algorithms.
Bone Turnover in Relation to Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone in Hypothyroid Patients on Thyroid Hormone Substitution Therapy
Authors: Bjerkreim Betty Ann , Hammerstad Sara S , Eriksen Erik Fink
Published: September 2022

Background. Bone turnover markers (BTMs) have emerged as a useful tool for monitoring bone remodeling activity in the skeleton, and their serum levels correlate with bone loss rates in osteoporotic and normal individuals. Whether the same holds for other metabolic bone diseases is still subject to discussion. Methods. We analyzed the relation between levels of BTMs and TSH in 79 females on thyroid hormone substitution therapy for hypothyroidism. Based on the reference range for TSH (0.2–4.0 mU/L) in our lab, we assessed BTMs in five different groups of patients based on the following criteria: (1) hypothyroidism (TSH >4.0); (2) TSH in the high normal range (1.0–4.0); (3) TSH in the low normal range (0.2–1.0); (4) TSH below the normal range (0.01–0.2); (5) TSH undetectable (<0.01). We studied the relationship between TSH and four different bone markers: procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (PINP), C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX), osteocalcin (OC), and bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP). In a subgroup of patients, bone mineral density was assessed by a DXA scan. Results. PINP emerged as the most sensitive and dynamic BTM for assessment of bone turnover in this patient group, achieving significant rho values on nonparametric correlation analysis for both TSH (rho −0.47;

p
=
0.0001

) and FT4 (rho 0.27;

p
=
0.018

). CTX and OC also revealed significant correlations to TSH, albeit with lower rho values (−0.37 and −0.24, respectively). Categorical analysis showed that bone turnover increased significantly, albeit with pronounced interindividual variability for TSH values below the lower limit of normal (0.2 mU/l), with the most severe affected being women exhibiting suppression of TSH. Further analysis of loss rates by DXA in a limited subgroup of patients showed that this was accompanied by accelerated bone loss. Conclusion. PINP is the most sensitive marker of bone turnover in thyroid disorders. TSH values below the lower limit of normal are associated with increased bone turnover and accelerated bone loss, however, with pronounced interindividual variations. Assessment of PINP may be a valuable tool in cases where there is concern about possible adverse effects of thyroid hormone substitution therapy on bone.
Exploration of Agricultural Economic Management Methods under Internet + Mode
Authors: Luo Qian
Published: September 2022

In order to solve the problems that the production management of agricultural greenhouses consumes large human resources, low management efficiency, and the limitations of environmental monitoring, a visualized smart agriculture based on ZigBee and WiFi dual-protocol fusion Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) technology is proposed. A management system is proposed. The system takes STM32 as the main control core and builds a visual cloud computing platform based on the ESP8266WiFi module. The environmental parameters of the greenhouse are sent to the ZigBee terminal device through the serial port, and the user can remotely monitor the environmental parameters of the greenhouse in real time through the computer and mobile client, and control the working status of each actuator. The test results show that: (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, TCP/IP) communication is not abnormal; under the control of the visual management system, when the system sends out control commands, the response time of each output terminal is basically between 1 and 2 s. The response of the output control unit has high sensitivity. Affected by the network delay, the fourth group of test data is larger, and in the case of network delay, the response sensitivity of each output terminal of the system decreases accordingly. Conclusion. The system has high accuracy of data collection, strong work reliability, can realize precise remote control, and has low cost, high stability, easy operation, and has certain promotion value.
Expression Analysis of Ligand-Receptor Pairs Identifies Cell-to-Cell Crosstalk between Macrophages and Tumor Cells in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Yang Xiaodong , An Zhao , Hu Zhengyang , Xi Junjie , Dai Chenyang , Zhu Yuming
Published: September 2022

Background. Lung adenocarcinoma is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies worldwide. Macrophage plays crucial roles in the tumor microenvironment, but its autocrine network and communications with tumor cell are still unclear. Methods. We acquired single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) (

n
=
30

) and bulk RNA sequencing (

n
=
1480

) samples of lung adenocarcinoma patients from previous literatures and publicly available databases. Various cell subtypes were identified, including macrophages. Differentially expressed ligand-receptor gene pairs were obtained to explore cell-to-cell communications between macrophages and tumor cells. Furthermore, a machine-learning predictive model based on ligand-receptor interactions was built and validated. Results. A total of 159,219 single cells (18,248 tumor cells and 29,520 macrophages) were selected in this study. We identified significantly correlated autocrine ligand-receptor gene pairs in tumor cells and macrophages, respectively. Furthermore, we explored the cell-to-cell communications between macrophages and tumor cells and detected significantly correlated ligand-receptor signaling pairs. We determined that some of the hub gene pairs were associated with patient prognosis and constructed a machine-learning model based on the intercellular interaction network. Conclusion. We revealed significant cell-to-cell communications (both autocrine and paracrine network) within macrophages and tumor cells in lung adenocarcinoma. Hub genes with prognostic significance in the network were also identified.
Financial Challenges and Practices of Business Administration Students of a State University in Dumaguete City
Authors: Polinar Mark Anthony N. , Zamora Mary Jane , Delantar Alexander Franco A.
Published: September 2022

The study looked into the various significant financial challenges faced by business administration students of one of Dumaguete City's state colleges. Corollary to this objective, their current financial practices were also examined. Information from 308 respondents was gathered using a quantitative research method using Cochran’s approach and convenience sampling technique was used in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used. And several published research articles influenced the development of the instrument. The data was evaluated using weighted mean and ranking. The findings revealed that the two most common financial challenges students had grappled with throughout their moderately difficult college years were obtaining a part-time job to supplement their parent-financed school allowance and not being able to purchase internet data to attend online classes. One of the students' major financial practices is to save as much money as possible, markedly considered as highly practiced in the study. Business administration students were moderately challenged by the recognized elements of financial challenges while being slightly practiced as described under Financial Challenges. Students are good at saving money and not buying things (that may pose a financial risk), in addition to working part-time. Further, the study suggested that the school administration conceive and implement a comprehensive financial education, elevate the level of students’ financial quotient by embedding financial courses in the curricula of programs, and consistently provide a series of seminars and workshops on the subject. Conducting pre-program and mid-program surveys may also determine the effectiveness of the program.
The Moderating Role of Financial Literacy on the Effects of Subjective Norms, Product Involvement, and Perceived Behavioral Control on Invest-ment Intention of Young Investors from a Mobile Wallet App in the Philippines
Authors: Tanpoco Manuel , Katalbas Rizal Ezmin III , Roxas Rafael Raymond Phillip , An Jeongwon , Orlina Joshua Zachary
Published: September 2022

Investment has grown to be an industry of its own, becoming more diverse in portfolio, now not only in mutual funds and bonds, but now covering or blending with insurance, and growing in market size and reach extending to people who are yet to join the work force. Being an investor was made even more accessible through mobile wallet apps that allow individuals to start investing with just a few clicks of their cellphones. And, as this industry gets bigger, it becomes more important to determine the determining factors why young people start investing with their mobile wallet apps. This study aims to determine the moderating role of financial literacy on the effect of subjective norms, product involvement, and perceived behavioral control on investment intention of mobile wallet app users among the youth in the Philippines. An online survey was administered online to 407 young insurers from mobile wallet apps who are within the ages of 18 and 30. Moderated regression through path analysis determined that subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and product involvement significantly affect the investment intention of young insurers. Further, financial literacy amplifies the effects of product involvement and subjective norms on investment intention. This research posits that educating people more to be financially literate will most likely lead to more people in the younger generation deciding to invest early for their future.
Implementation of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Model Learning (Pogil) on Understanding of Science Concepts, Skills Science Process and Student's Critical Thinking Ability
Authors: Samosir Beslon
Published: September 2022

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Audi Video Tenik Class XI Student Learning model at SMK Negeri 2 Pematangsiantar who had not carried out scientific inquiry in an effort to grow the ability to think, work, and behave scientifically. This study is a quasi-experimental design study with a nonequivalent control group. Sampling technique with a simple random sample. Hypothesis testing using Manova analysis and t test. The results showed that (1) there was an effect of the POGIL learning model on understanding science concepts, (2) there was an effect of the POGIL learning model on science process skills, (3) there was an effect of the POGIL learning model on critical thinking skills, and (4) there was a significant effect. significant application of the POGIL learning model simultaneously to understanding science concepts, science process skills, and critical thinking skills.
The vision of David Grimaldi
Authors: BARDEN PHILLIP , ENGEL MICHAEL S.
Published: September 2022

We are honored to present this special issue of Palaeoentomology in celebration of our dear friend, mentor, and collaborator, David A. Grimaldi (Fig. 1), and on the occasion of his 65th birthday on 22 September 2022. This issue has been compiled in recognition of David’s remarkable ongoing impact on the fields of paleontology, entomology, and evolutionary biology. Throughout his career David has worn an inspirational path across disciplines as an exceptional, thoughtful, and creative scientist. His body of work is vast, punctuated by long-lasting classics that are international in scale and recognition. David is a world authority in multiple arenas; his well-earned expertise ranges from the fossil record and evolutionary history of insects beginning 400 million years ago in the Devonian to the systematics and morphology of notoriously complex drosophilids at the species level. His contributions have helped shape modern palaeoentomology. We are grateful for David’s work and fellowship and look forward to his continued accomplishments.
New taxa of Athyreacaridae (Acari: Heterostigmata) from Neotropical and Afrotropical realms
Authors: KHAUSTOV ALEXANDER A. , FROLOV ANDREY V.
Published: September 2022

A new genus and three new species of Athyreacaridae (Acari: Heterostigmata) are described associated with beetles of subfamily Bolboceratinae (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae) in Neotropical and Afrotropical realms: Neoathyreacarus pygmephoroides gen., sp. nov. collected on Bolborhinum tubericeps in Chile; Athyreacarus staturosus sp. nov. collected on Zefevazia cantisani  in Argentina; and Athyreacarus camerikae sp. nov. collected on Namibiobolbus helgae in South Africa. An updated key to genera and species of Athyreacaridae is provided. Athyreacarus staturosus sp. nov. is the largest ever described non-physogastric female among Heterostigmata.
Treatment of Heavy-Metal-Containing Oily Wastewater Using a Novel α-Zirconium-Phosphate/Polyacrylonitrile Ultrafiltration Membrane
Authors: Yang Jiahao , Zhu Genmin , Nie Lihong , Li Guiliang , Wu Weixing , Wang Beifu
Published: September 2022

For most work on separation membrane for oily wastewater, heavy metals in oily wastewater may pollute the environment. Novel α-zirconium-phosphate-nanoparticle/polyacrylonitrile (α-ZrP-NP/PAN) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared for effective oily wastewater
treatment. The α-ZrP-NP contributed abundant –OH groups to the MMMs and enhanced their hydrophilicity. Meanwhile, the surface of the MMMs carried enhanced negative charges due to the α-ZrP-NP in the pH range of 3–10. Scanning electron microscopic analysis
of the MMM morphology revealed that the macrovoid structure enhanced, the surface pore size, and the number of pores increased. The MMMs achieved a considerably improved flux and recovery rate of 175.91 L/m2·h and 75.66%, respectively, indicating improvements in filtration
efficiency and anti-fouling performance. The purification effect (oil and COD removal rate) of the MMMs on oily wastewater remains above 90%, which reflects the decent purification ability of the membrane on oily wastewater. The removal rate of Pb2+, a representative heavy metal
ion, reached 94.82%. The regeneration efficiency of the MMM contaminated with lead ions was more than 90%. These results demonstrated the tremendous potential of the treatment of heavy-metal-containing oily wastewater using the fabricated MMMs.
Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking Oil Using Immobilized Lipase Isolated from Bacillus halotolerans Through Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Mahnashi Mater H. , Hombalimath Veeranna S. , Sultana Shameen , Shaikh Ibrahim Ahmed , Al-Serwi Rasha Hamed , El-Sherbiny Mohamed , Muddapur Uday M. , Ghoneim Mohammed M. , Sharanappa A. , Patil Laxmikant R. , Shet Anil R. , Mannasaheb Basheerahmed Abdulaziz , Alqahtani Yahya S. , Desai S. V. , Khan Aejaz Abdullatif , Samdani Mohammad Shahzad , Shakeel Iqubal S. M.
Published: September 2022

The primary goal of this study is to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel using immobilized lipase enzyme from Bacillus halotolerans. The used cooking oil acid quantity is 3.95 mg KOH/g. In the optimal settings of enzymatic transesterification, methanol:oil ratio 6:1, reaction time
120 min, lipase enzyme concentration 0.6 mg/ml, and temperature 32 °C, the biodiesel yield was 29.64 mg/kg. ANOVA analysis revealed that enzyme concentration and methanol:oil ratios are the two most dominating factors affecting biodiesel yield. The high R2 99.87 and R2
adj 99.56 values indicate that the fitted model agrees with the predicted biodiesel and actual experimental values. Bio-supported beads could preserve up to 76.62 percent of original activity after six cycles of immobilized lipase enzyme reusability testing. Furthermore, the characteristics
of biodiesel were assessed and confirmed using the glycerol assay method and FTIR analysis. The proposed technique has the potential to reduce biodiesel production costs and make waste cooking oil disposal easier. Additionally, this study found that the optimization process improves and enhances
the process of converting waste cooking oil to biodiesel.
Surgical Professionalism, the White Owl, and Tar Heel Basketball
Authors: Nakayama Don K.
Published: September 2022

The University of North Carolina (UNC) has storied traditions beyond its champion Tar Heel basketball teams. One of its best—and least known off campus—is the white owl, today a lapel pin given to chief residents in surgery at Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Former residents in anesthesia and surgery at the San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) remember it as a stuffed owl that anesthesia residents brought into the operating room whenever there was an appendectomy for appendicitis and the appendix was normal, an operation familiarly called a negative appendectomy. Standing at the table closing the incision their surgical counterpart endured the imagined smirks of the anesthesiologists behind their masks and the scrub techs and circulating nurses who also knew of the bird’s significance. Alumni of the SFGH training programs also remember it as evidence of the good-natured repartee between anesthesia and surgery, teams that worked hard at all hours to serve the injured and disadvantaged populations of the city. In retrospect, the white owl signifies owning one’s decisions and mistakes, an essential aspect of surgical professionalism.
Metformin for the Treatment of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
Authors: Din-Lovinescu Corina , Blitzer Andrew
Published: September 2022

Objectives:

Metformin is an oral agent used for the management of type 2 diabetes. As a result of its ability to alter cellular metabolic requirements, metformin also possesses antiproliferative properties. Metformin has been shown to reduce mutagenesis in several malignancies, however has never been described as a treatment option for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). The aim of this study is to present a case series of non-diabetic patients with adult-onset RRP who were treated with metformin.

Methods:

Case series.

Results:

Five patients (age 48 ± 17.82, range 35-68, 4 males, 1 female) were identified with a history of laryngeal RRP who were treated with 500 mg of metformin twice daily. Follow-up time ranged from 11 to 105 months. Two patients had spontaneous regression of RRP lesions within months of starting metformin. Four patients had reduced time intervals between surgical procedures after starting metformin. All patients tolerated metformin well with only minor side effects of self-limiting light-headedness, facial flushing or gastrointestinal upset.

Conclusion:

Metformin is a low-risk medication that was used to reduce progression and burden of disease in 5 patients with RRP. Further studies should investigate the sole or adjunct use of metformin for treatment of RRP.
An Empirical Approach to a Standard Practice: Drug Testing
Authors: Brusman Lovins Lori , Tillyer Marie Skubak , Lovins Brian K. , Tillyer Rob , May Teresa
Published: September 2022

Drug testing is a common practice for community supervision in the U.S., despite limited research on its effectiveness at deterring future drug use. The present study explores the purpose of drug testing by examining the relationship between drug test frequency and positive test results. The impact of the type of drug tested (any vs. serious) and the risk and need level of the individuals tested are also examined. Results indicate that after controlling for risk and substance abuse need, more frequent testing schedules are associated with an increased rate of positive drug tests, suggesting more frequent testing detects rather than deters drug use. Policy implications for community corrections’ purpose and use of drug testing are discussed.
Apply an optimized NN model to low-dimensional format speech recognition and exploring the performance with restricted factors
Authors: Chen Joy Iong-Zong , Yeh Lu-Tsou
Published: September 2022

The SCD (speech control detection) have received a lot of attention in recent years. A framework established by employing DNN-LSTM (deep neural network-long-short term memory) model for speech and text recognition is implemented in the current article. The performance of the build framework is analyzed with many different merits which consider many features, such as (with and without) noise, track number of speeches (ST (single track) and DT (double track)), and dropout ratio of data training. On the other hand, the speech discriminator model is developed and implemented with the DNN-LSTM framework, and the data sets are collected by four different persons. The adopted model performance is evaluated using the four different datasets, and each with 400–5000 training times. There are three parameters considered as the dominators for the performance evaluation of the completed speech platform. The results from the experiment with DT channel case clearly show that it outperforms the case with ST channel. It can see that the accuracy of the DNN-LSTM model increases from 0.3339 to 0.9696 and the loss rate decreases from 1.09984 to 0.19298 after adjusting the dropout ratio during the training step. This shows that the dropout ratio also dominates the accuracy and loss rate. Eventually, the results indicate that the used model compared to other similar methods, Bi-LSTM (bi-directional LSTM), achieves a more efficient preserving a high accuracy level.
Local-global cooperative least squares support vector machine and prediction of remaining useful life of rolling bearing
Authors: Fu Letian , Li Peng , Gao Lian , Miao Aimin
Published: September 2022

Aiming at the inability to accurately predict the remaining useful life of rolling bearings due to the phased degradation in the bearing degradation process, this paper proposes a local-global cooperative learning strategy to solve the problem that the information cannot be fully utilized due to the characteristics of the data. And the strategy is combined with the least squares support vector machine to build a regression model, which improves the accuracy of the remaining useful life of bearings. The strategy evaluates the health state of bearing’s degradation process based on singular value decomposition and kurtosis criteria to divide each degradation stage of the bearing so that the degradation information of each stage of the bearing can be learned. Then, according to the proposed cooperative learning mechanism, the local learning of each stage of the bearing is extended to the global learning of the total degradation process of the bearing. Finally, the learning strategy is applied to the least squares support vector machine model to predict the remaining useful life of bearings better. The results on the PHM2012 dataset show that our method’s values of root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error are 35.4461 and 0.2041, respectively.
The Partial Mediator Role of Satisficing Decision-Making Style Between Trait Emotional Intelligence and Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Professionals
Authors: Filipponi Chiara , Pizzoli Silvia F. M. , Masiero Marianna , Cutica Ilaria , Pravettoni Gabriella
Published: September 2022

Background: Compassion fatigue (CF) represents a relevant issue for healthcare professionals. Currently, it is still unclear which psychological mechanism might lead to CF and which might protect workers from that. Decision-making styles, as well as emotional intelligence, might partially account for the presence of CF. Specifically, we hypothesized that a satisficing decision-making style would mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and CF.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on physicians and nurses from Italian Medical Departments. Three self-reported questionnaires were administered to collect data in accordance with our aims. A mediation model with Structural Equation Modeling on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and CF through the maximizing decision-making style was performed.

Results: We found a significant relationship between TEI and CF (β = −0.28, SE = 0.04, p < .001). The maximizing style partially mediated this relationship (β = −0.04, SE = 0.01, p < .001). Moreover, negative relationships were found between sex (male), working hours, sleep quality, and CF. Conversely, a positive relationship between age and CF was demonstrated.

Conclusions: Being emotionally intelligent resulted as a protective factor for developing CF, while the decision-making styles shaped the risk of developing CF.
Practice-Based Professional Development for Self-Regulated Strategy Development Writing Instruction With Secondary Teachers
Authors: B. Ray Amber , FitzPatrick Erin
Published: September 2022

Students with disabilities need high-quality instruction to effectively wield writing as a tool to powerfully shape both academic and economic outcomes. Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is a powerful intervention demonstrated to improve student growth and writing performance for students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Moreover, it has been extended to show benefits beyond those populations into general education settings at the secondary level and to also support both reading and content area knowledge acquisition. That said, it’s a complex intervention that requires intensive support through professional development. In this manuscript, we outline how instructional coaches and other teacher leaders can best support teachers in middle and high school settings as they adopt SRSD, an evidence-based writing practice, through a practice-based professional development model. We offer step-by-step directions for planning, implementing, supporting, and evaluating the implementation.
Vaginal mesh erosion – a challenging entity
Authors: Rajan Saroj , Sagili Haritha , Durairaj Jaylakshmi , Gupta Avantika
Published: September 2022

Pelvic reconstructive surgery with mesh for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) has been reported to have a superior anatomical cure rate compared with traditional repair methods. Mesh-related adverse events are increasing worldwide. We describe a case of excision of mesh erosion following vaginal hysterectomy. A 45yr old lady presented with 3 × 2 cm infected mesh erosion on the anterior vaginal wall following a vaginal hysterectomy a year earlier in a camp setting. Cystoscopy was normal. Under anesthesia, the mesh was dissected from the vagina and excised. The vaginal edges were freshened, and approximated Postoperative period was uneventful, and she was discharged home the next day. Surgical revision is indicated for large or multiple erosions. Mesh excision can be a challenging procedure with difficulty in gaining access and increased risk of surgical bleeding. A multidisciplinary approach in conjunction with a urologist will help optimise outcomes.
Endoscopic finding of leiomyosarcoma in a neurofibromatosis patient
Authors: Han Sola , Kim Jong Seung , Chung Myung-Ja
Published: September 2022

A man with a history of neurofibromatosis presented to our hospital with a soft palate mass. Since the patient had neurofibromatosis, we diagnosed the mass as a neurofibroma and planned annual regular follow-up without any treatment. Five months later, the patient visited our emergency department because of uncontrolled epistaxis, and the mass was enlarged to the extent of the airway obstruction. Endoscopic resection was performed and the tumor was confirmed to be a leiomyosarcoma. The malignant potential of the new lesion in a neurofibromatosis patient should be actively evaluated and treated, if required.
The cross-subsidy and buy-one-give-one models of compensated peer review: A comparative study for mission-driven journals
Authors: García Jose A , Rodriguez-Sánchez Rosa María , Fdez-Valdivia J
Published: September 2022

A financial compensation model could incentivise peer reviewers to provide the optimal amount of effort by rewarding them for their quality reports. Therefore, in this article, we consider peer-reviewed journals with the mission to financially compensate reviewers for delivering quality reports and to ensure affordable access to peer review for every author. In a cross-subsidy scenario of compensated peer review, the mission-driven journals expect all authors to pay for either the standard or a premium peer review. However, using this strategy, the journals offer standard peer review to low-income authors at lower prices, compared with the premium price high-income authors pay for higher-quality peer review. In addition, we also present a buy-one-give-one model of compensated peer review for the mission-driven journals. In this alternative setting, when a high-income author pays for a premium peer review, the journals would donate a certain number of free peer reviews to the low-income authors who are unable to afford them. In this two-tiered system, scholars with access to more funding receive premium treatment, while low-income authors can still access standard peer review similar to what authors currently receive for free. In this article, we show a comparative study between the cross-subsidy and buy-one-give-one models of compensated peer review. We find that a buy-one-give-one scenario provides a higher total sum of financial and social gain than the cross-subsidy scenario either when the mission-driven journals are highly socially responsible or when the social gap between the high-income and the low-income authors is large enough.
Influences on Fathers’ Information- and Support-Seeking for Parenting
Authors: Wade Catherine , Matthews Jan , Forbes Faye , Burn Mathew , May Fiona , Cann Warren
Published: September 2022

The study aimed to document the preferences of fathers in accessing and using parenting supports and to investigate the influence of a range of family contextual factors including paternal mental health, child disability, the co-parenting relationship and parenting sense of efficacy on fathers’ help-seeking. Participants included a representative sample of 1,044 fathers of zero- to 18-year-olds. Results suggest that most fathers feel supported in their parenting role and rely on their own efforts (e.g. online searches) for information to support their parenting in preference to in-person interactions with professionals or attendance at groups. The co-parenting relationship and paternal mental health were also identified as important factors impacting on paternal help-seeking behaviours. These results from one of the largest surveys of fathers of its kind provide credible insights into the parenting help-seeking experiences and support needs of fathers, with clear implications for policy makers and service providers.
The effects of consuming a Mediterranean style diet on associated COVID-19 severity biomarkers in obese/overweight adults: A systematic review
Authors: Moore Ella , Fadel Abdulmannan , Lane Katie E.
Published: September 2022

Background: COVID-19 severity is strongly associated with high Body Mass Index (BMI) (≥25kg/m2) amongst adults and elevated inflammatory markers have enabled prediction of disease progression. The composition of a Mediterranean diet provides favourable outcomes on weight reduction and inflammatory markers. Aim: This systematic review aimed to investigate the effects of consuming a Mediterranean diet on BMI and inflammatory markers of obese/overweight adults (≥18 years) at risk of developing severe COVID-19 outcomes. Methods: PubMed Central, Cochrane Library and MEDLINE databases were searched to identify randomised controlled trials published between January 2010 to August 2021 evaluating the impact of Mediterranean diet on BMI and inflammatory markers in overweight/obese adults. The review followed the PRISMA checklist, used Cochrane Collaboration search strategies, and is PROSPERO registered (CRD42021277070). Two authors independently screened and evaluated studies for methodological quality. Papers were extracted and included based eligibility, despite risk of bias scores. Results: Of 65 extracted records, six studies met the eligibility criteria and were included. Reductions in BMI, TNF-α, IL-6 and hs-CRP were reported amongst most findings, the majority of which were significant. Conclusion: The main findings indicate a hypocaloric, fibre dense Mediterranean diet is a short-term (<4 months) mitigation strategy to significantly reduce BMI and inflammatory markers amongst overweight/obese adults at risk of developing severe COVID-19 outcomes. Further research is now needed to examine the role of Mediterranean diet in COVID-19 prevalence, severity, morbidity and mortality.
Acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes and blasts of the mixed T/myeloid phenotype: a case report
Authors: Sheng Xian-Fu , Hong Li-Li , Huang Fei-Yan , Zhuang Hai-Feng
Published: September 2022

A rare but clinically important diagnostic dilemma arises when cases meet the criteria for both acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) and mixed phenotype acute leukemia, especially those that evolve from myelodysplastic syndrome. We describe a 56-year-old male patient who presented with cytopenias and was initially diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome with single lineage dysplasia. Nearly 1 year later, this patient progressed to acute leukemia, and his blast cells simultaneously expressed T-lymphoid and myeloid antigens. Cytogenetic analysis showed a 20q deletion, and next-generation sequencing showed mutations of ASXL1, NRAS, PHF6, RUNX1, TP53, and PIGA. He was diagnosed with AML-MRC with blasts of the mixed T/myeloid phenotype according to the latest World Health Organization guidelines. In accordance with the treatment principles of AML-MRC, we chose an AML-like regimen for four cycles, but the patient did not achieve remission. Finally, we adhered to the treatment principles of mixed phenotype acute leukemia, and he achieved remission after a course of ALL-like regimen chemotherapy.
Hematological and molecular analyses of the HbS allele among the Sudanese population
Authors: Khalafallah Tariq Osman , Ajab Eldoor Ahmed Abdalla , Babker Asaad MA. , Bin Shaya Abdulkarim S. , Alfahed Abdulaziz , Alharithi Nahed S. , Aloraini Ghfren S. , Waggiallah Hisham Ali
Published: September 2022

Objective

The purpose of this study was to perform hematological and molecular analyses of the HbS allele of the hemoglobin subunit beta gene in the Sudanese population.

Methods

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Hematological parameters and fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels were assessed in all participants. Data were gathered through the use of questionnaires and laboratory investigations. The βS-globin haplotypes, S allele distributions, and hematological parameters with HbF levels were investigated using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, gel electrophoresis, and a Sysmex hematology analyzer, respectively.

Results

According to our findings, the Bantu (BA) haplotype was found in 10.8% of participants with homozygous uncontested haplotypes, followed by Benin (BA) and Sudan (SU), each in 9.8% of participants. This Sudanese group from Northern Kordofan lacked the Arab-Indian haplotype. Two heterozygous versions of undisputed haplotypes were found in 17.3% of participants: SU/BA in 10.8% and CA/BE in 6.5%.

Conclusion

As a result of sickle cell anemia, this investigation found changes in hematological parameters. In the Sudanese population, a new haplotype of the S gene was discovered.
Song popularity and processing fluency of lyrics
Authors: Melvill-Smith Sorcha , Krause Amanda E , North Adrian C
Published: September 2022

Several studies show that a concept or object is more popular when it is easier to process. The present research applies this notion of processing fluency to the lyrics of all 271 top 5 songs on the United Kingdom chart for each week from 1999 to 2014. The processing fluency of the lyrics was computer scored for readability, presence of rhyme, and complexity, and popularity was assessed in terms of peak chart position and duration of tenure on the chart. After controlling for the energy of the musical component of the song, analyses showed that factors relating to the processing fluency of the lyrics predicted peak popularity but not duration of chart tenure. Significant relationships were observed between peak popularity and both rhyme saturation and basic lyric readability properties.