bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cross-sectional associations between neighbourhood walkability and objective physical activity levels in identical twins
Authors: Duncan Glen E , Avery Ally A , Hurvitz Philip , Vernez-Moudon Anne , Tsang Siny
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Physical activity is a cornerstone of chronic disease prevention and treatment, yet most US adults do not perform levels recommended for health. The neighborhood–built environment (BE) may support or hinder physical activity levels. This study investigated whether identical twins who reside in more walkable BEs have greater activity levels than twins who reside in less walkable BEs (between-twin analysis), and whether associations remain significant when controlling for genetic and shared environmental factors (within-twin analysis).

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting

The Puget Sound region around Seattle, Washington, USA.

Participants

The sample consisted of 112 identical twin pairs who completed an in-person assessment and 2-week at-home measurement protocol using a global positioning system (GPS)monitor and accelerometer.

Exposure

The walkability of each participants’ place of residence was calculated using three BE dimensions (intersection density, population density and destination accessibility). For each variable, z scores were calculated and summed to produce the final walkability score.

Outcomes

Objectively measured bouts of walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), expressed as minutes per week.

Results

Walkability was associated with walking bouts (but not MVPA) within the neighbourhood, both between (b=0.58, SE=0.13, p<0.001) and within pairs (b=0.61, SE=0.18, p=0.001). For a pair with a 2-unit difference in walkability, the twin in a more walkable neighbourhood is likely to walk approximately 16 min per week more than the co-twin who lives in a less walkable neighbourhood.

Conclusions

This study provides robust evidence of an association between walkability and objective walking bouts. Improvements to the neighbourhood BE could potentially lead to increased activity levels in communities throughout the USA.
Electronic patient-reported outcome measures to enable systematic follow-up in treatment and care of women diagnosed with breast cancer: a feasibility study protocol
Authors: Thestrup Hansen Stine , Piil Karin , Bak Hansen Lone , Ledertoug Karen Marie , Hølge-Hazelton Bibi , Schmidt Volker Jürgen
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical practice has the potential to promote person-centred care and improve patients’ health-related quality of life. We aimed to develop an intervention centred around electronic PROMs (ePROMs) for systematic follow-up in patients diagnosed with breast cancer and to evaluate its feasibility.

Methods and analysis

We developed a nurse-oriented and surgeon-oriented intervention in PROMs, including (1) an education programme for nurses and surgeons; (2) administration of BREAST-Q as proactive ePROMs during follow-up in patients diagnosed with breast cancer and (3) feedback to nurses and surgeons on PROM scores and a guidance manual for healthcare practitioners. Subsequently, we designed a non-controlled feasibility evaluation on the outcomes acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality and integration. The feasibility evaluation includes qualitative ethnographic studies exploring the user perspectives of patients, nurses and surgeons and quantitative studies to explore the characteristics of the patient population regarding demographic background, response rates and response patterns. The feasibility study was initiated in September 2021, will continue until 2024 and will include approximately 900 patients. EPROMs are collected at the following assessment time points: baseline (after diagnosis, before surgery), 1-year follow-up and 3-year endpoint.

Ethics and dissemination

The study will be conducted according to the General Data Protection Regulation and the fifth version of the Helsinki Declaration. The National Committee on Health Research Ethics approved the study according to the law of the Committee § 1, part 4. All data will be anonymised before its publication. The results of the feasibility study will be published in peer-reviewed, international journals.
Increasing COVID-19 testing and vaccination among Spanish speakers in the USA: protocol for the development and evaluation of theNuestra Comunidad Saludableintervention using a group-randomised trial design
Authors: Rhodes Scott D , Tanner Amanda E , Mann-Jackson Lilli , Alonzo Jorge , Hall Mark A , Bertoni Alain G , McCoy Thomas P , Aguilar-Palma Sandy K , Garcia Manuel , Miranda Daniela , Turner Mari Jo
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Our community-based participatory research partnership aims to expand understanding of the social, ethical and behavioural implications of COVID-19 testing and vaccination to inform the development of an integrated intervention that harnesses community-based peer navigation and mHealth strategies to improve COVID-19 testing and vaccination; test the intervention; and develop and disseminate practice, research and policy recommendations to further increase COVID-19 testing and vaccination among Spanish-speaking Latine communities in the USA.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct 50 individual in-depth interviews with health providers, who have conducted COVID-19 testing and/or vaccination activities within Spanish-speaking communities, and with representatives from Latine-serving community-based organisations. We will also conduct six focus groups with 8–12 Spanish-speaking Latine community member participants each for a total number of about 60 focus group participants. Next, we will develop theNuestra Comunidad Saludableintervention based on findings from interviews and focus groups and use a longitudinal group-randomised trial design with two arms (intervention and delayed intervention) to evaluate the impact of the intervention. We will recruit, enrol and collect baseline data from 20 community-based peer navigators (Navegantes) and their social network members (n=8 unique social network members perNavegante).Navegantes(coupled with their social networks) will be randomised to intervention or delayed intervention groups (10Navegantesand 80 social network members per group).

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval for data collection was granted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. Following the description of study procedures, we will obtain consent from all study participants. Study findings will be disseminated through an empowerment theory-based community forum, peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings, and reports and briefs for lay, community and practitioner audiences.

Trial registration number

NCT05302908.
Improving experience of medical abortion at home in a changing therapeutic, technological and regulatory landscape: a realist review
Authors: Baraitser Paula , Free Caroline , Norman Wendy V , Lewandowska Maria , Meiksin Rebecca , Palmer Melissa J , Scott Rachel , French Rebecca , Wellings Kaye , Ivory Alice , Wong Geoff
Published: November 2022

Objective

To inform UK service development to support medical abortion at home, appropriate for person and context.

Design

Realist review

Setting/participants

Peer-reviewed literature from 1 January 2000 to 9 December 2021, describing interventions or models of home abortion care. Participants included people seeking or having had an abortion.

Interventions

Interventions and new models of abortion care relevant to the UK.

Outcome measures

Causal explanations, in the form of context-mechanism-outcome configurations, to test and develop our realist programme theory.

Results

We identified 12 401 abstracts, selecting 944 for full text assessment. Our final review included 50 papers. Medical abortion at home is safe, effective and acceptable to most, but clinical pathways and user experience are variable and a minority would not choose this method again. Having a choice of abortion location remains essential, as some people are unable to have a medical abortion at home. Choice of place of abortion (home or clinical setting) was influenced by service factors (appointment number, timing and wait-times), personal responsibilities (caring/work commitments), geography (travel time/distance), relationships (need for secrecy) and desire for awareness/involvement in the process. We found experiences could be improved by offering: an option for self-referral through a telemedicine consultation, realistic information on a range of experiences, opportunities to personalise the process, improved pain relief, and choice of when and how to discuss contraception.

Conclusions

Acknowledging the work done by patients when moving medical abortion care from clinic to home is important. Patients may benefit from support to: prepare a space, manage privacy and work/caring obligations, decide when/how to take medications, understand what is normal, assess experience and decide when and how to ask for help. The transition of this complex intervention when delivered outside healthcare environments could be supported by strategies that reduce surprise or anxiety, enabling preparation and a sense of control.
Implementation of a mailed faecal immunochemical test programme for colorectal cancer screening among Veterans
Authors: Deeds Stefanie Ann , Moore Christopher B , Gunnink Eric J , Wheat Chelle L , Robinson Amy E , Bomsztyk Mayan D , Geyer John R , Chen Anders , Godbout Regina M , Nelson Karin M , Dominitz Jason A , Reddy Ashok
Published: November 2022

Background

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) with faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is effective at reducing CRC mortality. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with deferred care, especially screening for CRC.

Aim

We sought to develop a mailed FIT programme (MFP) to increase CRC screening and make recommendations for adoption across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and for other large healthcare systems.

Setting

2 regional VA medical centres in California and Washington state.

Participants

5667 average risk veterans aged 50–75 overdue or due within 90 days for CRC screening.

Programme description

A multidisciplinary implementation team collaborated to mail an FIT kit to eligible veterans. Both sites mailed a primer postcard, and one site added an automated reminder call.

Programme evaluation

We monitored FIT return and positivity rate, as well as impact of the programme on clinical staff. 34% of FIT kits were returned within 90 days and 7.8% were abnormal.

Discussion

We successfully implemented a population-based MFP at multiple regional VA sites and recommend that these efforts be spread across VA. Our model of regional leadership, facility champions and using centralised resources can be adaptable to other large healthcare systems. MFPs support catch-up from disrupted care by addressing access to CRC screening, unburden primary care visits and conserve limited procedural resources.
Parental death: a systematic review of support experiences and needs of children and parent survivors
Authors: Wray Alexandra , Pickwell-Smith Benjamin , Greenley Sarah , Pask Sophie , Bamidele Olufikayo , Wright Barry , Murtagh Fliss , Boland Jason W
Published: November 2022

Background

Bereaved people need a supportive response from those around them. Knowing children’s and surviving parents' needs following parental death is the first step to ensuring a supportive response. However, no systematic review has reported on this phenomenon.

Aim

To systematically identify and synthesise qualitative literature exploring support experiences of parentally bereaved children and surviving parents.

Methods

Systematic review with thematic synthesis, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the British Nursing Database were searched for relevant papers to September 2021. Included studies were appraised for quality and thematically synthesised using Thomas and Harden’s thematic synthesis framework.

Results

Fifteen qualitative studies from nine countries were included. There were four analytical themes from the children’s perspectives (1) Openness of communication with children about death and dying, (2) Children’s challenges of managing change, (3) Navigating emotions, and (4) Children’s acceptability, access and engagement with support. There were three analytical themes from the parents' perspectives: (1) Adjusting as a parent, (2) Supporting their children, and (3) Parent’s acceptability, access and engagement with support.

Conclusions

Following a parental death, open and honest communication and involvement in what is happening within the family will help children cope. Both children and parents suppress emotions and avoid conversations to protect each other and those around them. A taboo around death exists and constrains the support some families receive. Childhood bereavement is a public health issue, with a need for professionals and communities to better understand and respond to the needs of bereaved families.

CRD42020166179
Higher form Yang–Mills as higher BFYM theories
Authors: Song Danhua , Lou Kai , Wu Ke , Yang Jie
Published: November 2022

The YM theory has been generalized to 2YM and 3YM theories. Similarly, we generalize the BFYM theory to “2BFYM” and “3BFYM” theories. Then, we show that these higher BFYM theories can give the formulations of the corresponding higher form YM theories. Finally, we study the gauge symmetries of these higher BFYM theories.
On Araki’s extension of the Jordan–Wigner transformation
Authors: Aschbacher Walter H.
Published: November 2022

In his seminal paper [On the XY-model on two-sided infinite chain, Publ. RIMS Kyoto Univ. 20 (1984) 277–296], Araki introduced an elegant extension of the Jordan–Wigner transformation which establishes a precise connection between quantum spin systems and Fermi lattice gases in one dimension in the so-called infinite system idealization of quantum statistical mechanics. His extension allows in particular for the rigorous study of numerous aspects of the prominent XY chain over the two-sided infinite discrete line without having to resort to a thermodynamic limit procedure at an intermediate or at the final stage. We rigorously review and elaborate this extension from scratch which makes the paper rather self-contained. In the course of the construction, we also present a simple and concrete realization of Araki’s crossed product extension.
The external field effect on the opinion formation based on the majority rule and the q-voter models on the complete graph
Authors: Azhari  , Muslim Roni
Published: November 2022

We investigate the external field effect on opinion formation based on the majority rule and [Formula: see text]-voter models on a complete graph. The external field can be considered as the mass media in the social system, with the probability [Formula: see text] agents following the mass media opinion. Based on our Monte Carlo simulation, the mass media effect is not strong enough to make the system reach a homogeneous state (complete consensus) with the magnetization [Formula: see text] for all values of [Formula: see text], indicating the existence of a usual phase transition for all values of [Formula: see text]. In the [Formula: see text]-voter model, the mass media eliminates the usual phase transition at [Formula: see text]. We obtain the model’s critical point and scaling parameters using the finite-size scaling analysis and obtain that both models have the same scaling parameters. The external field effect decreases both models’ relaxation time and the relaxation time following the power-law relation such as [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the population size and [Formula: see text] depends on the probability [Formula: see text]. In the majority rule model, [Formula: see text] follows a linear relation, and in the q-voter model, [Formula: see text] follows a power-law relation.
DATA SUBJECT TO MULTIPLE TREATMENT EFFECTS — DISENTANGLE THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND A SPECIFIC DISEASE CONTROL POLICY
Authors: KE XIAO , HSIAO CHENG
Published: November 2022

Most literature works on estimating treatment effects assume that the observed data are either under the specific “treatment” or not. However, in many cases, the observed data could be subject to multiple treatments. We propose to combine econometric methods developed for different purposes to disentangle the multiple treatment effects. We illustrate this strategy by considering the impact of global pandemic v.s. the strictest “lockdown” policy of Hubei, China implemented in January, 2020. We show that although the strictest “lockdown” policy quickly contained the spread of COVID-19, it also inflicted huge economic loss on Hubei economy. It lowered Hubei GDP by about 37% compared to the level had there been no “lockdown” under the pandemic. However, even though Hubei economy managed to recover from the “lockdown”, it could not escape the global impact of pandemic. Its economy is still about 90% of the level had there been no pandemic.
Few-Shot Directed Meta-Learning for Image Classification
Authors: Ouyang Jihong , Duan Ganghai , Liu Siguang
Published: November 2022

Learning from only few samples is a challenging problem and meta-learning is an effective approach to solve it. Meta-learning model aims to learn by training a large number of other samples. When encountering target task, the model can quickly adapt and obtain better performance with only few labeled samples. However, general meta-learning only provides a universal model that has certain generalization ability for all unknown tasks, which causes limited effects on specific target tasks. In this paper, we propose a Few-shot Directed Meta-learning (FSDML) model to specialize and solve the target task by using few labeled samples of the target task to direct the meta-learning process. FSDML divides model parameters into shared parameters and target adaptation parameters to store prior knowledge and determine the update direction. These two parts of the parameters are updated in different stages of training. We conduct experiments of image classification task on miniImageNet and Omniglot and the results show that FSDML has better performance.
Leveraging Deep Learning to Fingerprint Spoof Detectors: Hitherto and Futuristic Perspectives
Authors: Singh Samridhi , Selwal Arvind , Sharma Deepika
Published: November 2022

Fingerprints being the most widely employed biometric trait, due to their high acceptability and low sensing cost, have replaced the traditional methods of human authentication. Although, the deployment of these biometrics-based recognition systems is accelerating, they are still susceptible to spoofing attacks where an attacker presents a fake artifact generated from silicone, candle wax, gelatin, etc. To safeguard sensor modules from these attacks, there is a requirement of an anti-deception mechanism known as fingerprint spoof detectors (FSD) also known as anti-spoofing mechanisms. A lot of research work has been carried out to design fingerprint anti-spoofing techniques in the past decades and currently, it is oriented towards deep learning (DL)-based modeling. In the field of fingerprint anti-spoofing, since the 2014, the paradigm has shifted from manually crafted features to deep features engineering. Hence, in this study, we present a detailed analysis of the recent developments in DL based FSDs. Additionally, we provide a brief comparative study of standard evaluation protocols that include benchmark anti-spoofing datasets as well as performance evaluation metrics. Although significant progress has been witnessed in the field of DL-based FSDs, still challenges are manifold. Therefore, we investigated these techniques critically to list open research issues along with their viable remedies that may put forward a future direction for the research community. The majority of the research work reveals that deep feature extraction for fingerprint liveness detection demonstrates promising performance in the case of cross-sensor scenarios. Though convolution neural network (CNN) models extract deep-level features to improve the classification accuracy, their increased complexity and training overhead is a tradeoff between both the parameters. Furthermore, enhancing the performance of presentation attack detection (PAD) techniques in the cross-material scenario is still an open challenge for researchers.
Political Improved Invasive Weed Optimization-Driven Hybrid Exemplar Technique for Video Inpainting Process
Authors: Hudagi Manjunath R , Soma Shridevi , Biradar Rajkumar L
Published: November 2022

Video inpainting aspires to fill the Spatio-temporal holes in videos with probable and coherent content. This process recovers the missing content of corrupted video effectively, which is useful in many fields, including removal of watermarking and video restoration. The difficulties of creating video contents with exquisite detail while maintaining spatiotemporal coherence in the missing areas is the main difficulty in the video inpainting process. Modern studies ignore semantic structural coherence maintenance between frames in favor of using flow information to synthesize temporally smooth pixels. In this paper, Political Improved Invasive Weed Optimization (PIIWO)-based optimal exemplar is designed for the productive video inpainting process. Accordingly, the developed PIIWO algorithm is newly designed by combining Political Optimizer (PO) and Improved Invasive Weed Optimization (IIWO). Here, the inpainting results obtained from context-aware Ant Lion Gray Wolf Optimization (ALGWO)-based Markov Random Field (MRF) modeling, Whale Monarch Butterfly Optimization (Whale MBO)-based Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) with Bhattacharya distance, Bi-harmonic function modules and developed PIIWO-based exemplar model are fused using Bayes probabilistic fusion for producing the final result. Three metrics, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), second derivative like the measure of enhancement (SDME) and structural similarity (SSIM) of 40.19[Formula: see text]dB, 78.07[Formula: see text]dB and 0.9857, respectively, are used to assess the performance of the developed video inpainting technique.
A Multi-Object Detection Method Based on Adaptive Feature Adjustment of 3D Point Cloud in Indoor Scenes
Authors: Sun Haiyan , Chen Keng , Zhou Shun , Jia Sichen , Cai Xingquan
Published: November 2022

Due to the complexity and diversity of indoor environment objects and interference occlusions, the accuracy of multi-object target detection based on 3D point cloud is limited. To address this issue, we present a multi-target detection method based on adaptive feature adjustment (AFA) of 3D point cloud. First, our method preprocesses the dataset and constructs a backbone module. Afterwards, our method uses an improved PointNet[Formula: see text] network for feature adaptive learning, where an AFA module is added to learn the influence relationship between point pairs. The proposed method then establishes the relationship between contexts in the local point set area and extracts the feature of point cloud. Using the idea of Hough voting, our method can generate some votes close to the particle. Using these votes to generate proposal, the proposed method adds CBAM attention mechanisms to both modules of voting and proposal, which can fuse the feature information of the channel and expand the receptive field in space. Our method can enhance the important features and weaken the unimportant features, making the extracted features more directional and enhancing the expressiveness of the network. Finally, the generated results are visualized to complete the multi-target detection of 3D point cloud. To verify the effectiveness of our proposed method, two large datasets with real 3D scanning, scanNet2 and SunRGB-D, are used for training the network. The experimental results show that the proposed method can improve the effectiveness of point cloud target detection in indoor scenes, getting a higher detection accuracy.
A Comparative Study of Ensemble Techniques Based on Genetic Programming: A Case Study in Semantic Similarity Assessment
Authors: Martinez-Gil Jorge
Published: November 2022

The challenge of assessing semantic similarity between pieces of text through computers has attracted considerable attention from industry and academia. New advances in neural computation have developed very sophisticated concepts, establishing a new state of the art in this respect. In this paper, we go one step further by proposing new techniques built on the existing methods. To do so, we bring to the table the stacking concept that has given such good results and propose a new architecture for ensemble learning based on genetic programming. As there are several possible variants, we compare them all and try to establish which one is the most appropriate to achieve successful results in this context. Analysis of the experiments indicates that Cartesian Genetic Programming seems to give better average results.
Nonlinear Dynamical Instability Characteristics of FG Piezoelectric Microshells Incorporating Nonlocality and Strain Gradient Size Dependencies
Authors: Sun Jian , Sahmani Saeid , Safaei Babak
Published: November 2022

In the present exploration, the nonlocal stress and strain gradient microscale effects are adopted on the nonlinear dynamical instability feature of functionally graded (FG) piezoelectric microshells under a combination of axial compression, electric actuation, and temperature. To perform this objective, a unified unconventional shell model based on the nonlocal strain gradient continuum elasticity is established to capture the size effects as well as the influence of the geometrical nonlinearity together with the shear deformation along with the transverse direction on the dynamic stability curves. With the aid of an efficient numerical strategy incorporating the generalized differential quadrature strategy and pseudo arc-length continuation technique, the extracted unconventional nonlinear differential equations in conjunction with the associated edge supports are discretized and solved to trace the dynamic stability paths of FG piezoelectric microshells. It is revealed that the nonlocal stress and strain gradient effects result in, respectively, higher and lower values of the nonlinear frequency ratio in comparison with the conventional one due to the stiffening and softening characters associated with the nonlocality and strain gradient size dependency, respectively. In addition, it is observed that within the prebuckling territory, the softening character of nonlocality is somehow more than the stiffening character of strain gradient microsize dependency, while by switching to the postbuckling domain, this pattern becomes vice versa.
Gibbs Sampler-Based Probabilistic Damage Detection of Structures Using Reduced Order Model
Authors: Das Ayan , Debnath Nirmalendu
Published: November 2022

Vibration-based global damage detection based on updating of finite element (FE) model by targeting the modal measurements is a significant area of interest in structural health monitoring (SHM). In a typical modal testing setup, the measured mode shapes have missing components against various degrees of freedom (DOFs) due to the limitation in the number of sensors available. In this context, a novel Gibbs sampling approach is proposed for updating of FE model incorporating model reduction (MR) to facilitate the global-level detection of structural damages from incomplete modal measurements. In addition to the ease with similar sizes of analytical and experimental mode shapes, the proposed Gibbs sampling approach (for updating the reduced order FE model in the Bayesian framework) has some important advantages like: (A) no need for consideration of system mode shapes as parameters (unlike needed in the typical Gibbs sampling approach) thereby having a significant reduction in the number of parameters, (B) non-requirement of mode matching with consequent reduction in computation time to a significant extent. A generalized formulation is presented in this work providing the scope for incorporating measurements from multiple sensor setups. Moreover, formulations are adapted to incorporate multiple sets of data/measurements from each setup targeting the epistemic uncertainty. Finally, validation is carried out with both numerical (truss structure and building structure) and experimental (laboratory building structure) exercises in comparison with the typical Gibbs sampling approach having a full-sized model. The proposed approach is observed to be evolved as a computationally efficient technique with satisfactory performance in FE model updating and global damage detection.
Effect of Futures Trading Restrictions on Market Efficiency: A Multifractal Analysis
Authors: Jin Yuetian , Wu Youyi , Yu Ping , Zhang Jiarui
Published: November 2022

Based on the China Securities Index 300 (CSI 300 index) futures trading restrictions in 2015, this paper uses the multifractal detrending moving-average cross-correlation analysis method (MF-X-DMA) to investigate the effect of introducing futures trading restrictions on the market efficiency of CSI 300 index spot and futures markets. We begin by using multifractal detrending moving-average analysis (MF-DMA) and find that the futures trading restrictions improve spot market efficiency but decrease futures market efficiency. Moreover, we examine the cross-correlation between spot and futures markets and the information transmission process. MF-X-DMA analysis shows an increase in the level of persistent cross-correlation between spot and futures markets, and a decrease in the multifractality degree of cross-correlation, suggesting that the relationship between spot and futures markets becomes stronger and less complicated after the futures trading restrictions. Moreover, the nonlinear Granger causality test shows that futures returns do not Granger cause spot returns after the restrictions. Therefore, the futures trading restrictions may mitigate the harmful effect of speculative trading in the futures market and thus improve spot market efficiency.
Totally positive field extensions and the pythagorean index
Authors: Mandal P. , Preeti R. , Soman A.
Published: November 2022

For a formally real field [Formula: see text], we study totally positive field extensions [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]. We prove that, if [Formula: see text] is Galois and totally positive then so is the corresponding extension of their pythagorean closures [Formula: see text]. We also study the behavior of weak isotropy and weak hyperbolicity of central simple algebras with an orthogonal involution over totally positive field extensions. We use some of these results and show that a conjecture due to Becher holds in some new cases.
Investigation of the Effect of Chitosan Nanoparticles Synthesis Method on Their Anticancer Activity
Authors: Hassani F. S. , Hadizadeh M. , Zare D. , Mazinani S.
Published: November 2022

There has been a lot of interest in the synthesis of chitosan nanostructures for biomedical purposes. The biocompatibility, biodegradability, and cationic features of chitosan made it as a good candidate for bioprocess. This study compares chitosan nanoparticles generated by three different methods including the ionic gelation, emulsionic solvent diffusion, and reverse micellar/microemulsion techniques in terms of their physicochemical characteristics and cytotoxicity effects on the breast cancer cells. The obtained chitosan nanoparticles were specified using FTIR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, SEM, and MTT assay. Light inverted microscope distinguished the morphological differences in treated and untreated cells. Results showed that the size of chitosan nanoparticles spanned from 281[Formula: see text]nm to 420[Formula: see text]nm and ionic gelation method produced smaller and more uniform particles than two others. More positive zeta potential indicated that stable nanoparticles were synthesized by ionic gelation method. Results also indicated that nanochitosans prepared by all three methods markedly inhibited cell proliferation of MCF-7 cells with [Formula: see text] values of 0.31[Formula: see text]mg/mL, 0.74[Formula: see text]mg/mL, and 0.85[Formula: see text]mg/mL 24[Formula: see text]h after treatment, respectively. From this study, it is evident that the preparation method of nanochitosan affects its ability to inhibit breast cancer cells growth.
Evidential Supervised Classifier System: A New Learning Classifier System Dealing with Imperfect Information
Authors: Ferjani Rahma , Rejeb Lilia , Abdelkarim Chedi , Said Lamjed Ben
Published: November 2022

Learning Classifier Systems (LCSs) are a kind of evolutionary machine learning algorithms that provide highly adaptive components to deal with real world problems. They have been widely used in resolving complex problems such as decision making and classification. LCSs are flexible algorithms that are able to construct, incrementally, a set of rules and evolve them through the Evolutionary Algorithm (EA). Despite their efficiency, LCSs are not capable of handling imperfect information, which may lead to reduced performance in terms of classification accuracy. We propose a new accuracy-based Michigan-style LCS that integrates the belief function theory in the supervised classifier system. The belief function or evidence theory represents an efficient framework for treating imperfect information. The new approach shows promising results in real world classification problems.
Synthesis of 2,2′-biphenyl-fused porphyrins: Installation of directly fused seven-membered ring
Authors: Fan Shuibo , Tan Zhiqiang , Liang Min , Zhou Mingbo , Rao Yutao , Xu Ling , Osuka Atsuhiro , Song Jianxin
Published: November 2022

2,2[Formula: see text]-Biphenyl-fused Ni(II) porphyrins were synthesized by two methods. One was oxidative fusion reaction of meso-(biphen-2-yl)-substituted Ni(II) porphyrin with the combination of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-[Formula: see text]-benzoquinone (DDQ) and Sc(OTf)3 and the other was Pd-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization of meso-(2[Formula: see text]-chlorobiphen-2-yl)-substituted Ni(II) porphyrin. These fused products showed contorted structures owing to the installed seven-membered carbocycle(s) that were revealed by X-ray crystallographic analysis and exhibited moderately red-shifted absorption bands.
Synthesis and redox reactions of amphiphilic metal(II) complexes of 5,10,15,20-tetraaryl-5,15-diazaporphyrinoids containing triethylene glycol or tetraethylene glycol units
Authors: Shimizu Yuki , Matano Yoshihiro
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we report the first examples of amphiphilic metal(II) complexes of 5,10,15,20-tetraaryl-5,15-diazaporphyrinoids (M-TADAPs) containing triethylene glycol (TriEG) or tetraethylene glycol (TetEG) auxiliaries. A common dipyrrin precursor substituted with TriEG or TetEG groups underwent metal-templated cyclization with zinc(II), nickel(II), or copper(II) acetate to afford the corresponding TriEG- or TetEG-appended M-TADAPs (M = Zn, Ni, Cu) as air-stable 19[Formula: see text]-electron radical cations. These 19[Formula: see text]-electron M-TADAPs were reversibly interconvertible with 20[Formula: see text]-electron antiaromatic M-TADAPs and 18[Formula: see text]-electron aromatic M-TADAP dications by redox reactions. The newly prepared M-TADAPs were basically amphiphilic, but their water solubilities varied considerably depending on the charge of the diazaporphyrin (DAP) ring and the number of ethylene glycol units. The neutral 20[Formula: see text]-electron M-TADAPs were poorly soluble in water, whereas the 18[Formula: see text]-electron M-TADAP dications were soluble in water. Cyclic voltammetry of all M-TADAP derivatives revealed 20[Formula: see text]/19[Formula: see text]-electron and 19[Formula: see text]/18[Formula: see text]-electron redox couples in both CH2Cl2 and H2O with appropriate electrolytes. The addition of M[Formula: see text]X (M[Formula: see text] = Li, Na; X = Cl, OH) or HCl to aqueous solutions of the M-TADAPs highlighted their reactivities with anions and changes in pH. When treated with M[Formula: see text]X in H2O, the 19[Formula: see text]-electron M-TADAP radical cations underwent anion exchange but the 18[Formula: see text]-electron Zn-TADAP dications were reduced to the corresponding 19[Formula: see text]-electron species. Upon treatment with HCl in H2O, the 19[Formula: see text]-electron M-TADAP radical cations underwent one-electron oxidation of the DAP ring, and the resulting 18[Formula: see text]/19[Formula: see text]-electron abundance ratio increased with decreasing solution pH.
Formation of a dinuclear zinc complex with open-ring hemiporphyrazine
Authors: Tanaka Yusuke , Ouyang Xingmei , Murayama Tomotaka , Muranaka Atsuya , Uchiyama Masanobu
Published: November 2022

A dinuclear zinc complex was synthesized by the reaction of an open-ring hemiporphyrazine containing two terminal phenyl groups with zinc acetate dihydrate. Single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the complex consists of two five-coordinated zinc ions and two open-ring ligands. The two phenyl rings in the zinc complex were found to be directed towards the benzene-ring side of the isoindoline moieties, which was in contrast to the metal-free compound with the oppositely-directed phenyl groups. The effects of metal insertion on molecular and electronic structures were investigated both experimentally and theoretically.
Carbon Emission Abatement Allocation of a Recycling Production System in a Fuzzy Environment
Authors: Wang H.-F. , Hu C.-F.
Published: November 2022

Appropriate measurement of environmental performance and emission allowances in circular economy is of great significance for promoting sustainable development. Due to the vagueness involved in many circular indicators, a fuzzy network data envelopment analysis model for the carbon emission abatement (CEA) allocation of a recycling production system is proposed in this work. The proposed model employed the concept of environmental efficiency analysis while allocating the optimal CEA levels from a circular economy perspective. An empirical application to the CEA allocation of European Union (EU) countries is studied. Our results provide the EU policy makers and legislators a valuable information for emission allowances management in a fuzzy environment.
China’s Middle East Economic Diplomacy in the New Era
Authors: Wen Shaobiao , Chen Yao
Published: November 2022

China’s economic diplomacy in the Middle East has entered a new stage in the New Era. With a proposal to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, China is strengthening energy and infrastructure cooperation with the Middle East countries and expanding collaboration in finance, post-conflict reconstruction, and the health industry. Technological innovation and green development have become new impulses for improving cooperation, and a multilevel and multifaceted China-Middle East cooperation pattern has been forged. China adjusts its economic diplomacy in the Middle East in the New Era considering multi-dimensional factors: First, to respond to both sides’ new demands for economic development, seek solutions to the sluggish growth of its traditional economic cooperation pattern with the Middle East, and enhance high-quality cooperation; second, to promote a peaceful and stable regional environment and consolidate Middle East countries’ diplomatic support to China, serving China’s increasing security interest and need for political influence in the Middle East; and third, to improve Middle East countries’ willingness and capacities to deepen their engagements in global economic governance and jointly build an open world economy to respond to mutual demands for international economic institutional reform. China’s economic diplomacy would play an increasingly important role in the Middle East in the post-COVID period.
Deterrence Measure: A Cause for Promoting Regional Instability in South Asia
Authors: Ali Salman , Brice Lee Tseen Fu
Published: November 2022

Deterrence policies are adopted to promote stability; however, in South Asia they have worked against the notion. Instead, they have pushed the participating countries, both regional and global, into an arms race, thereby promoting regional instability. This paper therefore makes an attempt to provide narratives to explain how deterrence policies of India and Pakistan have complicated the securitization process in South Asia, and have made deterrence less unstable. In this regard, first this paper examines deterrence within a conceptual framework and the historical anecdotes that have driven both Pakistan and India into the brink of chaos. Here, we also apply Buzan and Waever’s Regional Security Complex Theory to explain the existing security complexity in the region. Next, the paper examines the deterrence policies adopted by both the nations to protect their national interests. Then the paper shows how the deterrence policies adopted by these countries have encouraged the great powers to penetrate into the region to pacify their security interests. The paper presents a cyclical dynamics to explore the interests of the regional and great powers. Finally, the paper discusses the trickle-down effect of this security complexity on regional stability, followed by actionable recommendations and a conclusion.
RIS3D: A Referenced Information System in 3D
Authors: Dutailly Bruno , Portais Jean-Christophe , Granier Xavier
Published: November 2022

3D Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Building Information Modeling (BIM),… These words are increasingly used for Cultural Heritage studies to refer to the necessity to connect heterogeneous data with a 3D model.

In this article, we introduce and formalize the notion of RIS3D (Referenced Information System in 3D), which extends the concept of GIS to 3D supports and generalizes it. For this purpose, we propose a generic and modular client-server approach that brings the required flexibility, extendibility, and sustainability to deal with heterogeneous data. For queries and their visualization in a 3D environment, we push forward the notions of layers and markers.

We also provide the readers with our technical choices that allowed us to develop our own implementation of a RIS3D solution. We demonstrate it on a real-case scenario: the preservation of the Lascaux painted cave where our solution has been deployed and is in use.

The proposed notion and generic architecture of RIS3D, its implementation, and its deployment show the suitability of such an approach and its potential applications.
CASCADE: An Asset-driven Approach to Build Security Assurance Cases for Automotive Systems
Authors: Mohamad Mazen , Jolak Rodi , Askerdal Örjan , Steghöfer Jan-Philipp , Scandariato Riccardo
Published: November 2022

Security Assurance Cases (SAC) are structured arguments and evidence bodies used to reason about the security of a certain system. SACs are gaining focus in the automotive industry, as the needs for security assurance are growing in this domain. However, the state-of-the-arts lack a mature approach able to suit the needs of the automotive industry. In this article, we present CASCADE, an asset-driven approach for creating SAC, which is inspired by the upcoming security standard ISO/SAE-21434 as well as the internal needs of automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). CASCADE also differentiates itself from the state-of-the-art by incorporating a way to reason about the quality of the constructed security assurance case. We created the approach by conducting an iterative design science research study. We illustrate the results using the example case of the road vehicle’s headlamp provided in the ISO standard. We also illustrate how our approach aligns well with the structure and content of the ISO/SAE-21434 standard, hence demonstrating the practical applicability of CASCADE in an industrial context.
OSS Supply-chain Security: What Will It Take?
Authors: Kaczorowski Maya , Momot Falcon , Neville-Neil George V. , McCubbin Chris
Published: November 2022

While enterprise security teams naturally tend to turn their focus primarily to direct attacks on their own infrastructure, cybercrime exploits now are increasingly aimed at easier targets upstream. This has led to a perfect storm, since virtually all significant codebase repositories at this point include at least some amount of open-source software. But opportunities also abound there for the authors of malware. The broader cybercrime world, meanwhile, has noted that open-source supply chains are generally easy to penetrate. What's being done at this point to address the apparent risks?
Development and Applications of an eReaxFF Force Field for Graphitic Anodes of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Hossain Md Jamil , Pawar Gorakh , van Duin Adri C. T.
Published: November 2022

Graphene is one of the most promising materials for lithium-ion battery anodes due to its superior electronic conductivity, high surface area for lithium intercalation, fast ionic diffusivity and enhanced specific capacity. A reliable description of many battery processes requires an explicit description of electrochemical interactions involving electrons. A detailed atomistic modeling of electronic conduction and non-zero voltage simulations of graphitic materials require the inclusion of an explicit electronic degree of freedom. To enable large length- and time-scale simulations of electron conduction in graphitic anodes, we developed an eReaxFF force field concept describing graphitic materials with an explicit electron. The newly developed force field, verified against quantum chemistry-based data describing, amongst others, electron affinities and equation of states, reproduces the qualitative behavior of electron conductivity in pristine and imperfect graphitic materials at different applied temperatures and voltages. In addition, excess electron localization near a defect site estimated from eReaxFF simulations agree quite well with the corresponding density functional theory calculations. Our eReaxFF simulations show the initiation of lithium-metal-plating driven by electron transfer from the graphene surface to the exposed lithium ions demonstrating the method’s potential for studying lithium-graphene interactions with explicit electrons and explain many unresolved electrode and electrode-electrolyte interface processes.
Evaluation of Passenger Behavior in the Baggage Claim Area of the Airport Passenger Terminal
Authors: Bandarian Fatemeh , Kordani Ali Abdi
Published: November 2022

The importance of the baggage claim area as the gateway to the city is extremely high. Therefore, the initial impression of the quality of services provided at the destination airport is based on this area. In this research, an agent-based and discrete event approach using five parameters (speed and traffic of passengers, speed and arrangement of carousels, and air traffic) was applied in order to simulate passenger flow in the baggage claim area of Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, Iran. In this regard, forty-eight scenarios were identified and simulated using AnyLogic software, and the waiting time and level of service for each scenario were obtained. Finally, it was revealed that changing the arrangement of the carousels from T-shaped to oval-shaped and expansion of the circumference by 10% had the greatest effect. Also, changing the speed of the carousels had the least influence on increasing the level of service and reducing waiting time.