bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Principal coefficient encoding for subject-independent human activity analysis
Authors: Han Pang Ying , Raja Sekaran Sarmela Anak Perempuan , Yin Ooi Shih , Guang Tan Teck
Published: May 2022

Tracking human physical activity using smartphones is an emerging trend in healthcare monitoring and healthy lifestyle management. Neural networks are broadly used to analyze the inertial data of activity recognition. Inspired by the autoencoder neural networks, we propose a layer-wise network, namely principal coefficient encoder model (PCEM). Unlike the vanilla neural networks which apply random weight initialization andback-propagation for parameter updating, an optimized weight initialization is implemented in PCEM via principal coefficient learning. This principal coefficient encoding allows rapid data learning with no back-propagation intervention and no gigantic hyperparameter tuning. In PCEM, the most principal coefficients of the training data are determined to be the network weights. Two hidden layers with principal coefficient encoding are stacked in PCEM for the sake of deep architecture design. The performance of PCEM is evaluated based on a subject-independent protocol where training and testing samples are from different users, with no overlapping subjects in between the training and testing sets. This subject-independent protocol can better assess the generalization of the model to new data. Experimental results exhibit that PCEM outperforms certain state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning models, including convolutional neural network, and deep belief network. PCEM can achieve ~97% accuracy in subject-independent human activity analysis.
A survey of deepfakes in terms of deep learning and multimedia forensics
Authors: Hadi Wildan Jameel , Kadhem Suhad Malallah , Abbas Ayad Rodhan
Published: May 2022

Artificial intelligence techniques are reaching us in several forms, some of which are useful but can be exploited in a way that harms us. One of these forms is called deepfakes. Deepfakes is used to completely modify video (or image) content to display something that was not in it originally. The danger of deepfake technology impact on society through the loss of confidence in everything is published. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on deepfakedetection technology from the view of two concepts which are deep learning and forensic tools. The purpose of this survey is to give the reader a deeper overview of i) the environment of deepfake creation and detection, ii) how deep learning and forensic tools contributed to the detection of deepfakes, and iii) finally how in the future incorporating both deep learning technology and tools for forensics can increase the efficiency of deepfakes detection.
Efficient addressing schemes for internet of things
Authors: Thamarai Kannan Venkatesh , Chakravarthi Rekha
Published: May 2022

The internet of things (IoT) defines the connectivity of physical devices to provide the machine to machine communication. This communication is achieved through various wireless standards for sensor node connectivity. The IoT calls from the formation of various wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) in a network. The existing neighborhood discovery method had the disadvantage of time complexity to calculate the cluster distance. Our proposed method rectifies this issue and gives accurate execution time. This paper proposed mobility management system based on proxy mobile IPv6 as distributed PMIPv6 with constrained application protocol (CoAP-DPMIP) and PMIPv6 with constrained application protocol (CoAP-PMIP). It also provides the optimized transmission path to reduce the delay handover in IoT network. The PMIPv6 described the IPv6 address of mobile sensor device for efficient mobility management. The network architecture explains three protocol layers of open systems interconnection model (OSI model). The OSI layers are data link layer, network layer and transport layer. We have proposed the distance estimation algorithm for efficient data frames transmission. This paper mainly focuses the secure data transmission with minimum loss of error. The evaluation result proved that proposed technique performance with delay, energy, throughput and packet delivery ratio (PDR). Also, it measures the computational time very effectively.
Accelerometer-based elderly fall detection system using edge artificial intelligence architecture
Authors: Zaid Salah Osama , Selvaperumal Sathish Kumar , Abdulla Raed
Published: May 2022

Falls have long been one of the most serious threats to elderly people's health. Detecting falls in real-time can reduce the time the elderly remains on the floor after a fall, hence avoiding fall-related medical conditions. Recently, the fall detection problem has been extensively researched. However, the fall detection systems that use a traditional internet of things (IoT) architecture have some limitations such as latency, high power consumption, and poor performance in areas with unstable internet. This paper intends to show the efficacy of detecting falls in a resource-constrained microcontroller at the edge of the network using a wearable accelerometer. Since the hardware resources of microcontrollers are limited, a lightweight fall detection deep learning model was developed to be deployed on a microcontroller with only a few kilobytes of memory. The microcontroller was installed in a low-power wide-area network based on long range (LoRa) communication technology. Through comparative testing of different lightweight neural networks and traditional machine learning algorithms, the convolutional neural network (CNN) has been shown to be the most suited, with 95.55% accuracy. The CNN model reached inference times lower than 37.84 ms with 61.084 kilobytes storage requirements, which implies the capability to detect fall event in real-time in low-power microcontrollers.
Priority based flow control protocol for internet of things built on light fidelity
Authors: Vatsala Belathuru Ramanna , Chitradurga Vidyaraj
Published: May 2022

Excessive usage of Internet by most of the applications that use internet of things (IoT) has resulted in need for high bandwidth network. Light fidelity (LiFi) is one such network having bandwidth in terms of GigaHertz, but LiFi has a limited propagation range hence it can be deployed only in the local area. When IoT nodes are connected using LiFi network in the local area they start pushing large data to the cloud there by arising need for flow control. Some of the IoT applications such as patient monitoring systems and nuclear systems, generate critical data. The protocol for flow control in this case should be based on priority of data since critical data with high priority have to be transmitted first. We develop a flow control protocol named priority based flow control protocol (PFCP) by providing priority to flows that carry critical data especially in IoT system that use LiFi network. We evaluate performance of different transmission control protocol (TCP) variants and modify TCP variant that yields maximum goodput according to the priority based protocol developed and demonstrate that flows that carry critical data are given priority compared to non-prioritized flows
Hybrid model in machine learning–robust regression applied for sustainability agriculture and food security
Authors: Mukhtar Mukhtar , Ali Majid Khan Majahar , Ismail Mohd. Tahir , Hamundu Ferdinand Murni , Alimuddin Alimuddin , Akhtar Naseem , Fudholi Ahmad
Published: May 2022

A dataset containing 1924 observations used in this study to evaluate the effect of 435 different independent variables on one dependent variable. Big data has some issues such as irrelevant variables and outliers. Therefore, this study focused on analysing and comparing the impact of three different variable selection based on machine learning techniques, including random forest (RF), support vector machines (SVM), and Boosting. Further, the M robust regression was applied to address the outliers using M–bi square, M–Hampel, and M–Huber. Random forest and M-Hampel results revealed the significant comparing from the other methods such as mean absolute error (MAE) 175.33995, mean square error (MSE) 31.8608, mean average percentage error (MAPE) 9.16091, sum of square error (SSE) 89270.45, R–square 0.829511, and R–square adjusted 0.82670. Also, these techniques indicated that the 8 selection criteria were lower than the other techniques including Akaike information criterion (AIC) 47.25915, generalized cross validation (GCV) 47.27169, hannan-quinn (HQ) 47.60351, RICE (47.2845), SCHWARZ 51.7099, sigma square (SGMASQ) 46.50605, SHIBATA 47.23489, and final prediction error (FPE) 47.25929. Therefore, the study recommended that the best random forest and M-Hampel models are helpful to show the minimum issues and efficient validation for analysing and comparing big data.
Innovative unmanned aerial vehicle self-backhauling hybrid solution using RF/FSO system for 5G network
Authors: Massad Mohammad A. , Alsaify Baha' Adnan , Alma'aitah Abdallah Y.
Published: May 2022

The impractical association of a dedicated fiber optic backhauling link with each basestation in future wireless area network (WAN) networks promoted self-backhaulingto become one of the most practical techniques for ultra-dense deployments. Selfbackhauling reduces the number of stations with fiber-optic links, while the remaining stations can communicate with the core network through wireless multi-hopingconnections. Nevertheless, routing through self-backhauling stations is an NP-hardproblem. In this study, we propose a routing scheme based on a semi-distributedself-learning algorithm to reduce the end-to-end latency which achieve better stability against the dynamic nature of the mobile network, such as load variations and linkfailures. The proposed solution offers changing propagation medium between freespace optical (FSO) and radio frequency (RF); this dynamic change between every twohops reduces power consumption, increases throughput, and minimizes latency. Basedon the performed simulation, our proposed algorithm measured better overall bit error rate (BER) compared to both RF-only and free-space optical FSO-only techniquesresulting in increased backhauling capacity and reduced overall route interference.
Analysis and assessment software for multi-user collaborative cognitive radio networks
Authors: Giral Diego , Hernandez Cesar , Martinez Fredy
Published: May 2022

Computer simulations are without a doubt a useful methodology that allows to explore research queries and develop prototypes at lower costs and timeframes than those required in hardware processes. The simulation tools used in cognitive radio networks (CRN) are undergoing an active process. Currently, there is no stable simulator that enables to characterize every element of the cognitive cycle and the available tools are a framework for discrete-event software. This work presents the spectral mobility simulator in CRN called “App MultiColl-DCRN”, developed with MATLAB’s app designer. In contrast with other frameworks, the simulator uses real spectral occupancy data and simultaneously analyzes features regarding spectral mobility, decision-making, multi-user access, collaborative scenarios and decentralized architectures. Performance metrics include bandwidth, throughput level, number of failed handoffs, number of total handoffs, number of handoffs with interference, number of anticipated handoffs and number of perfect handoffs. The assessment of the simulator involves three scenarios: the first and second scenarios present a collaborative structure using the multi-criteria optimization and compromise solution (VIKOR) decision-making model and the naïve Bayes prediction technique respectively. The third scenario presents a multi-user structure and uses simple additive weighting (SAW) as a decision-making technique. The present development represents a contribution in the cognitive radio network field since there is currently no software with the same features.
A new species and a new host record of Pseudoberkleasmium (Pseudoberkleasmiaceae, Dothideomycetes) from Cocos nucifera and Zea mays in northern Thailand
Authors: TIAN XINGGUO , TIBPROMMA SAOWALUCK , KARUNARATHNA SAMANTHA C. , DAI DONGQIN , LU YONGZHONG , MAPOOK AUSANA , JAYAWARDENA RUVISHIKA S.
Published: May 2022

Two Pseudoberkleasmium taxa were obtained from decaying leaves and culms of Cocos nucifera and Zea mays in northern Thailand. Pseudoberkleasmium collections were compared with closely related taxa based on morphological characteristics and combined ITS, LSU, SSU, TEF1-α, and RPB2 DNA sequence data. Pseudoberkleasmium chiangraiense sp. nov. and a new host record, P. chiangmaiense are presented with full descriptions, photo plates, and a phylogenetic tree showing the placements of taxa.
The genus Callitriche (Plantaginaceae, Callitricheae) in Australasia and Oceania
Authors: LANSDOWN RICHARD V.
Published: May 2022

Callitriche is a genus of about 75 species of small herbs, ranging from aquatic to amphibious and terrestrial, with a complicated and incompletely resolved taxonomy. This work contributes to the taxonomic knowledge of the genus Callitriche in Oceania and Australasia by presenting descriptions and maps, together with information on habitats and the conservation status of 21 species, including taxonomic novelties, as well as revision of some critical species. Callitriche fuliginea and C. insularis are described as new species from New Guinea and French Polynesia, respectively, C. chathamensis and C. petriei are recognised as separate species, C. capricorni and C. cyclocarpa are reinstated.
Typification of some names in Indian Barleria L. (Acanthaceae)
Authors: PATIL SURAJ S. , DESHMUKH PRADIP V. , LEKHAK MANOJ M.
Published: May 2022

Nomenclatural investigation was carried out on eight binomials published in the genus Barleria L. (Acanthaceae). All the binomials were typified. Six of these names (B. cuspidata Heyne ex Nees, B. grandiflora Dalzell, B. lawii T.Anderson, B. nitida Nees, B. pilosa Heyne ex Nees and B. strigosa Willd. are currently accepted names. Of the remaining two, B. hirsuta Nees is a later homonym of B. hirsuta Jacq. and B. polytricha Wall., a synonym of B. strigosa Willd.
Descriptions and new records in longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Central America
Authors: NEARNS EUGENIO H. , SWIFT IAN P.
Published: May 2022

Two new species of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Central America are described and illustrated: Crossomeles copei sp. nov. and Crossomeles oscarcastilloi sp. nov. (Cerambycinae: Rhinotragini) from Mexico and Costa Rica, respectively. A key to the known species of Crossomeles Chemsak & Noguera, 1993 is provided. Also, two new country records are reported: Crossomeles acutipennis Chemsak & Noguera, 1993 from Panama; and Oncideres fisheri Dillon & Dillon, 1946 (Lamiinae: Onciderini) from the United States of America.
Late Diagnosis of Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma Originating in the Ureter
Authors: Corder Brittany N. , Grenn Emily E. , Orr W. Shannon
Published: May 2022

This case report highlights a patient with a leiomyosarcoma originating in the ureter. A chart review was performed on a single patient who presented with a malignant retroperitoneal mass measuring 11.5 × 8.2 × 6.5 cm with subsequent metastasis sites to the breast, pancreas, liver, and lungs. The diagnosis of a leiomyosarcoma is uncommon, accounting for 0.1-0.4% of all cancer diagnoses in the United States. The diagnosis of a leiomyosarcoma originating from the ureter is extremely rare with fewer than 20 reported cases to date. Lack of typical urinary tract cancer signs and symptoms prevented an early presentation, allowing for considerable tumor growth and making complete surgical resection unlikely. We present this case as an example of a rare presentation of a very rare disease and to emphasize the necessity for further research of leiomyosarcoma and early diagnosis
Prevalence of Housing Insecurity in Survivors of Traumatic Injury
Authors: Vera Luis , Reed Kendal Kamaria , Rose Elizabeth , DeYampert LaShondra , Woodard Jessica , Cortes Juliana , Henry Antonio , Thompson Alexis Nicole , Williams Keneeshia Nicole , Blount Quinton , Castater Christine , Schenker Mara , Smith Randi N.
Published: May 2022

Background

Almost 20% of the US population are housing insecure (HI) due to inadequate living conditions, imbalanced costs to income, nonsustainable shelter, or overcrowding. Housing insecure and physical trauma share similar risk factors, but their direct association is not well elucidated. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of HI in survivors of traumatic injury.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study at an urban, level 1 trauma center. A survey on social determinants of health was administered to adult patients, and demographic, injury specifics, and clinical outcomes data were collected. HI was defined by affirmative answers to questions related to history of homelessness or concern about sustainable shelter. The cohort was stratified by HI; groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher exact tests, as appropriate.

Results

Of 116 study participants, four were excluded due to missing data. Of the 112, 42 (37.8%) reported HI and most were black (69%) males (73.8%). There were no demographic differences between groups. Conversely, HI patients had a higher rate of penetrating traumatic injury (34.1% vs 14.5%, P-value = .03) and were significantly less educated compared to secure participants ( P-value = .03) [no degree (26.2% vs 10.3%), high school degrees (21.4% vs 41.2%)] with concomitant illicit drug use (63.4% vs 27.9%, P < .001), and history of addiction (52.4% vs 7.2%, P < .001).

Conclusion

HI far exceeds national averages in our cohort. Although difficult to ascertain a cause-effect relationship, HI may be a modifiable risk factor for trauma that negatively influences outcomes.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Among the Highest Earning Physicians Receiving Compensation From Vascular Device Companies
Authors: Al-Khouja Fares , Nyam Amanda , Sheehan Brian , Sullivan Brittany , Kabutey Nii-Kabu , Stamos Michael J. , Pigazzi Alessio , Jafari Mehraneh D.
Published: May 2022

Objective

To characterize the association between payments made by vascular device companies to clinicians, and the conflict of interest (COI) declarations on relevant publications.

Summary Background Data

Close association between medical device companies and clinicians is essential in the advancement of surgical technology. When evaluating the efficacy of novel equipment, identification of these relationships can minimize the risk of bias in relevant studies.

Methods

Using the Open Payments Database (OPD), the 10 highest compensated clinicians from 10 vascular device companies were identified. In the population based bibliometric analysis, general payments, number of payments, h-index, and academic rank were identified. PubMed and Scopus were queried to identify author publications. Relevance to payment received and COI disclosures were identified for each article.

Results

The physicians identified earned $33,442,266.74 with a median of $92,500 in 2017. The authors published an average of 6.46+/−9.08 articles in 2018. Relevant COI was identified in 74%. In 50.5% of the relevant publications was a COI declared. The median h index of authors was 18+/−23. Community based physicians had a higher rate of COI disclosure (65.6%) compared to academic physicians (47.6%) (P = .008). Low h-index authors had a higher rate of COI declaration (71.4%) compared to high h-index (43.6%) (P = .001).

Conclusion

A high degree of inconsistency was found between self-declared COI and relevant articles published by the highest compensated physicians. We propose a policy of full disclosure and the addition of a link to each author’s OPD page on all publications to increase access to potential COI.
Impact of Giving Patients Your Personal Phone Number in Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery
Authors: Adams Matthew D. , Wong Jeff , Gadre Arun , Greene Joseph Scott , Milligan Donna , Paknezhad Hassan , Purdy Nicholas , Rager Jennifer , Wertz Aileen , Whitenight Season , Haugen Thorsen W.
Published: May 2022

Objective:

Patient-provider communication is a major barrier to care, with some providers giving their personal phone number (PPN) to patients for increased accessibility. We investigated participant utilization of provider’s PPN, its effect on participant satisfaction, provider’s ability to predict abuse of this practice, and evolving provider perceptions.

Study Design:

Prospective, randomized study.

Setting:

Single institution, tertiary referral center.

Methods:

During a 2-week period, otolaryngology patients were randomized to either receive their provider’s PPN or not. Providers predicted the likelihood of abuse. All calls/texts were documented for 4 weeks. At the study’s conclusion, participants were surveyed using Press Ganey metrics. Providers were surveyed before and after to assess their likelihood of providing patients with their PPN and its impact on work demands.

Results:

Of the 507 participants enrolled, 266 were randomized to the phone number group (+PN). Of 44 calls/texts from 24 participants, 8 were considered inappropriate. Ten participants were predicted to abuse the PPN, but only one was accurately identified. Participants in the +PN group had a greater mean composite satisfaction score than the control group (4.8 vs 4.3; Welch’s t-test, P < .0011). At the conclusion of the study, providers were more likely to share their PPN (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, P < .0313), and their perceived impact of this practice on workload was lower (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, P < .0469).

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates low patient utilization of provider PPNs, and poor provider predictive ability of patient abuse. Receipt of provider’s PPN was associated with improved patient satisfaction.
Assessing the Impact of Education, Health and Road Network Infrastructure on Information and Communication Technology Penetration in Rural West Bengal
Authors: Satpati Sandip , Sharma Kaushal Kumar
Published: May 2022

This study examines the impact of infrastructure, more specifically education, health, and road network infrastructure, on information and communication technology (ICT) penetration in the districts of West Bengal. Besides, the study also investigates the spatial distribution of infrastructure and ICT in the districts of West Bengal. The whole research is based on primary and secondary data. Data have been collected from the District Census and District Statistical Handbooks. The principal component analysis and correlation coefficient techniques are used to assess the impact. The study reveals that the degree of correlation between infrastructure and ICT variables is medium to high, except in some cases. As the Infrastructure Index increases, the ICT index also tends to increase. It is found that a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.503) was found between the infrastructure index and the ICT index. Significant policy regarding basic infrastructure services is of utmost necessity for ICT diffusion within the study region.
India’s E-Governance Journey: Looking Through Common Service Centres
Authors: Nanda Samar
Published: May 2022

India has seen unprecedented growth of information technology (IT) lead in governance structures in the past decades. IT-enabled systems have ushered in a new era of digital transformation of traditional ways of functioning of citizen service deliveries in the country. Governance, thus, has found a new meaning through the currency of digital change. Services which earlier were exploited as reserved for privileged and classy people have become available for common citizens without any rent-seeking or exploitation. The most important factor associated with digital transformation is nothing but access to information and transparency. Every service has now a trace, a link and a face, which can be analysed at a later stage to provide the efficacy of the system and certain room for improvement. Having said these, it may not be concluded that there are no challenges and stumbling blocks on the way of e-governance, ‘digital divide’ being the most prominent challenge in the way of bigger mandate to reach out to all the citizens by the state. However, growing Smartphones and falling data rates have enabled substantial part of the citizens to avail digital services rendered by the state. Even though the common service centre has been operating for quite some time efficiently and effectively, some important challenges have been flagged in the article. A glimpse of the best practices from leading countries doing good in e-governance initiatives is also included in the analysis.
Method of voltage setting for power battery simulator using successive nearest-neighbor interpolation
Authors: Yi Jiliang , Tan Huabing , Zhang Jin , Li Zhongqi
Published: May 2022

The power battery simulator is important equipment in new energy vehicle test platform and other industrial fields, and the battery model is the key to emulate the battery characteristics accurately. A novel method of given voltage for the power battery simulator is proposed in the paper. According to the state of charge (SOC) of the power battery, three sub-tables with different resolutions are established corresponding to the initial, stationary, and final stage of SOC. To ensure the accuracy of a given voltage under small data capacity, a successive nearest-neighbor interpolation (SNNI) algorithm is proposed for processing battery model data and the iterative calculation is carried out for the data obtained by looking up the table until it approaches the required value. Simulations and experiments are done on various capacity data tables, which are obtained by employed different sampling ratios to reduce the data capacity, and the influence of iteration number selection on the accuracy of the algorithm is discussed. The results show that, after 4–5 iterations, the given voltage accuracy is controlled within 0.03 V by the SNNI algorithm with only 1.6% capacity of the standard model table, which is greatly improved compared with the traditional method, and the feasibility is verified by executing the proposed algorism in a DSP system.
Nordic welfare chauvinism: A comparative study of welfare chauvinism in Sweden, Norway and Finland
Authors: Bell David Andreas , Valenta Marko , Strabac Zan
Published: May 2022

This study analyses welfare chauvinist attitudes in the generous welfare states of Sweden, Norway and Finland. We find that strict forms of exclusionary welfare chauvinism are near non-existent. However, Finland, Norway and Sweden are in the top tier in Europe when it comes to beliefs that immigrants need to obtain citizenship before being given equal rights to social benefits. This may indicate a future turn in social policy when it comes to inclusion of non-citizens, with significant implications for social workers. We further analyse welfare chauvinism by exploring socio-economic factors, satisfaction with the country, and attitudes towards both benefits and immigrants.
Investigation of electrical and electromagnetic properties of quartz fiber reinforced polymer composite material by using modified paints with carbon nanoparticles (graphene/double-walled carbon nanotube)
Authors: Gul Nihal , Genc Oztoprak Belgin
Published: May 2022

Composite materials have many features to contribute to aircraft design but have low electrical conductivity. In this study, it is aimed to increase the electrical conductivity of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composites used in different parts of the aircraft. The modified nanoparticles were added into the aircraft paint and applied on the composites used in the radome part of the aircraft, and it is aimed to either increase or keep the electromagnetic permeability stable. Firstly, the surfaces of the FRP composite samples were painted by Graphene and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotube (DWCNT) to reinforce the conductive nanoparticles at different ratios. Resistance measurements of the samples were made according to the Airbus “Electrical Surface Resistance Measurement” procedure and their electrical conductivity was calculated. The Non-Contact Measurement Method test setup was used to obtain information about the electromagnetic properties of the samples. As a result of the measurements, N3 (σ = 4.37x10−4 S/m, S21 = −15.81 dB) sample conforms the best with the objectives of ourstudy compared to electrical conductivity (N0, σ = 4.83x10−5 S/m) and electromagnetic permeability (N0, S21 = −15.83 dB) of the reference sample. The contact angle measurements were taken to determine the contact angle changes depending on the surface morphology and conductivity changes of the samples painted with different and varying amounts of nanoparticle doped paint. Additionally, measurements were taken with the FTIR-ATR instrument to make surface analysis of the samples.
Suicide attempts and deaths by self-immolation: A population-based study in Fars (Iran), 2011–2019
Authors: Moftakhar Leila , Azarbakhsh Habibollah , Piraee Elahe , Rezaei Fariba , Mirahmadizadeh Alireza
Published: May 2022

Background: Self-immolation is a leading public health challenge with a relatively high mortality, especially in some low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to investigate epidemiological factors of attempts and completed suicide by self-immolation during 2011–2019 in Fars province (Iran). Materials and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 506 cases of attempted self-immolation suicide during 2011–2019 in Fars province (Iran). Demographic characteristics and suicide information were collected from the Fars Suicide Surveillance System. The first fatality rate and age-standardized mortality rates were calculated. Then, chi-square tests were performed to evaluate suicide trends and examine differences between qualitative variables and outcomes. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with self-immolation death. Result: The mean age of study participants was 32.11 ± 14.04 years. The highest age-standardized rates of attempt and completed self-immolation suicide were seen in the age group 25–34 years. The fatality rate of suicide by self-immolation was 61.89%, and the risk of death was around three times higher in people with a history of suicide attempts compared to those who had no history of suicide attempts. However, a family history of suicide attempts was shown to be a protective factor against completed self-immolation suicide. Conclusion: The rate of self-immolation is higher in women and young adults. The results of our study can assist health policy-makers to design comprehensive plans and determine the necessary strategies aimed at identifying vulnerable people, then preventing self-immolation suicide.
Incidence of Death Anxiety in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hu Shi-Qi , Tang Wen , Zhang Wan-Qing , Chen Hong-Lin , Shen Wang-Qin
Published: May 2022

Objective: To explore the incidence of death anxiety in palliative care patients, find some existing and potential causes, and put forward suggestions. Methods: Publication bias, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis, and regression analysis were also conducted to explore the sources of the heterogeneity in our analysis. Results: The 607 studies were obtained, and 20 studies were included after reading the articles and quality evaluation. The incidence of death anxiety in patients was 0.44 (95%CI:0.38,0.51, p < 0.001). and heterogeneity was significant (I2 = 98.2%, p < 0.001). In the test of regression analysis, the average age (I2 = 98.15%, R2 = - 6.99%, p < 0.001); in gender (I2 = 97.84%, R2 = 1.14%, p < 0.001), its heterogeneity was also significant. Conclusion: The incidence of death anxiety is relatively high. More often occur in elderly female patients. This requires more attention to life itself rather than death.
Pluralism, plurality and interdisciplinary relations in IR: shifting theoretical directions
Authors: Ataka Hiroaki
Published: May 2022

Despite concerns over the discipline’s state of ‘fragmentation’, there is no systematic empirical analysis of how this theoretical proliferation is driven by ‘importing’ from other fields. This paper attempts to fill this gap by analysing data collected from American, European, British and Japanese journals during 2011–2015. It argues that interdisciplinary relations are not only fuelling theoretical proliferation in the field but are also creating distinct directions for IR scholarship: a new ‘transatlantic divide’ between sub-disciplinary specialisation and broadening of the disciplinary contours in the English-speaking ‘core’, continued compliance with theoretical and methodological unity of the field in the non-English-speaking ‘semi-periphery’ and parts of the ‘periphery’, and a full embrace of interdisciplinarity in other parts of the ‘periphery’. These images each symbolise the direction that IR as a discipline is (or should be) heading, which will also imply a shift in what gets accepted as ‘IR’ in the coming decades.
The genesis and evolution of church-planting movements missiology
Authors: Farah Warrick
Published: May 2022

While the dramatic growth of church-planting movements (CPMs) in non-Christian contexts around the world provides ample opportunity to explain their emergence and significance, a missiology of these movements is struggling to keep pace. This article argues that CPM is a unique feature in the field of mission studies that emerged in the later 20th century. Although it shares some of the same characteristics as the early Church Growth Movement discourse, CPMs today are a specific type of movement occurring mostly in least-reached Muslim and Hindu contexts. CPM missiology contains a number of features and unknowns which demonstrate that the discourse is both evolving and invaluable for how the global church understands mission.
Productivity prediction with consideration of stress-sensitive permeability in naturally fractured carbonate reservoir
Authors: He Congge , Zhao Lun , Song Heng , Fan Zifei , Xu Anzhu , Zeng Xing , Zhao Haiyan , Hou Qingying , Chen Yefei , Wang Jincai
Published: May 2022

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the impact of stress-sensitive permeability on productivity in naturally fracture carbonate reservoirs. First, stress sensitivity evaluation experiments were conducted on artificial cores with matrix, uncemented fracture, partially- cemented fracture and fully-cemented fracture by measuring their permeability in the process of increasing confining pressure. Then, a new mathematical model for productivity prediction in naturally fractured carbonate reservoir with consideration of stress-sensitive permeability is developed. Comparisons have been made between the new model prediction results and field measured data to verify the accuracy of the new model. Finally, based on the validated model, the detailed impact of permeability modulus on productivity is analysed. The experiment results show that the strength of stress sensitivity, evaluated by permeability modulus, of cores with uncemented fracture and partially-cemented fracture is generally an order of magnitude larger than that of cores with matrix and fully-cemented fracture. The results show the new model can be simplified to the classic model (Vogel equation) under the condition of the stress sensitivity being not taken into account, which means the class model is corresponding to a special case of this new model. Field application shows that the new model is reliable and correct. Moreover, with the help of the new model, it is found that the impact of stress-sensitive permeability on productivity increases with increasing permeability modulus and decreasing flow bottom hole pressure.
The Cryopolitics of Human Milk: Thermal Assemblages of Breast Milk in Donation, Banking, and Bioindustrial Research
Authors: Romero-Bachiller Carmen , Santoro Pablo
Published: May 2022

Cold is indispensable when preserving breast milk for later use in ordinary breastfeeding practices and, in addition to other devices such as the breast pump, fridges and freezers have been essential in making human milk a mobile biosubstance. Cryotechnologies become even more important when donated milk has to be preserved for the feeding of hospitalized babies or when, in the form of milk probiotics, it enters the realms of scientific research and industrial production. However, attention to cold only offers one side of the picture, as thawing and heating are essential processes in human milk circulation too. Drawing on research on milk banking practices in Spain, we present three instances where technologies of cold and heat are applied to human milk or its components: hospital banks that collect milk from donors; the practices of lactating women who donate part of their milk to hospital banks, share it informally with other women, or participate in clinical research; and biopharmaceutical companies developing cutting-edge nutritional products employing microbial strains obtained from breast milk. Each of these scenarios resorts to different technological manipulations of cold and heat, generating distinct thermal assemblages where technical questions and sociocultural logics are simultaneously at stake.
Race-Discordant School Attendance and Cognitive Function in Later Life
Authors: Carr Dawn C. , Reynolds John
Published: May 2022

Early schooling plays an important role in shaping cognitive development. This study explored benefits of cognitive functioning in later life related to attending diverse schools in early life. Specifically, we explored the effects of having attended schools composed primarily of different race peers—race discordant schools (RDS)—among Black and White older adults. Using retrospective and prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined the association between RDS exposure and two measures of cognitive function (working memory, episodic memory) at age 55 and at age 70. We found that RDS exposed Blacks experienced significant benefits in cognitive function at age 55 and at age 70. In general, RDS exposed Whites did not experience cognitive benefits or deficits. Results suggest that exposure to more racially diverse school environments provides potentially beneficial effects for cognitive function, particularly in later phases of the life course.
Kidney Effects by Alternative Classes of Medicines in Patients and Relationship to Effects in Nonclinical Toxicity Studies
Authors: Frazier Kendall S.
Published: May 2022

Drug-induced kidney injury has historically been associated with renal tubule injury related to small molecule pharmaceuticals such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antineoplastic agents, or antibiotics, but as a greater number of alternative classes of medicines such as biotherapeutics, molecular-targeted antineoplastic drugs, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, antibody-drug conjugates, oligonucleotide therapies, or other immunomodulatory drugs come to market, the presentation of drug-induced nephrotoxicity is changing. This review article describes the potential rare clinical events in drug-induced kidney injury that might be noted with these new therapies and their potential impact on patients. Potential pathogenic mechanisms related to immunogenicity, immune complex formation, and stimulation of downstream proinflammatory pathways with some of these alternative medicine classes have resulted in the potential for glomerulonephritis, acute interstitial nephritis, renal vasculitis, and other immune-mediated renal disorders in humans. This contrasts with nonclinical toxicity studies, where biologic therapies more often result in vasculitis and glomerulonephritis associated with antidrug antibodies and immunomodulatory pharmacology, and which are not always predictive of clinical effects. While nonclinical antidrug antibody-related renal disease is generally not clinically relevant, other immune-mediated nephrotoxicities associated with immunomodulatory drugs may be predictive of clinical adverse events. Fortunately, these conditions are still rare and account for a small percentage of serious adverse events in kidneys of patients.
Sleep Endoscopy and Cine Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evaluation of Children With Persistent Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Li Carol , Kou Yann‐Fuu , DeMarcantonio Michael A. , Heubi Christine H. , Fleck Robert , Kandil Ali , Smith David F. , Ishman Stacey L.
Published: May 2022

Objective

To compare findings of same‐day cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and drug‐induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and examine how each technique uniquely contributes to the evaluation of persistent obstructive sleep apnea following adenotonsillectomy.

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Quaternary care center.

Methods

Chart review was performed for consecutive patients who underwent same‐day cine MRI and DISE between 2015 and 2020. Descriptive statistics are reported, and Cohen kappa coefficients were calculated to evaluate the agreement between cine MRI and DISE for obstruction at the adenoids, lingual tonsils, and tongue base.

Results

There were 137 patients, the mean age was 10.4 years (95% CI, 3.2‐16.7), and 62.8% were male. The most common sites of obstruction on DISE were the tongue base (86.9%), velum (78.7%), epiglottis (74.5%), inferior turbinate (68.6%), and lingual tonsil (61.3%). The most common sites of obstruction on cine MRI were the hypopharynx (56.3%), tongue base (44.8%), lingual tonsil (38.0%), and macroglossia (37.6%). There was moderate agreement for adenoid hypertrophy (κ = 0.53) and poor agreement for lingual tonsil hypertrophy (κ = 0.15) and tongue base obstruction (κ = 0.09). DISE identified more instances of multilevel obstruction when compared with cine MRI (94.9% vs 48.2%).

Conclusion

DISE offered a better examination of nasal and supraglottic obstruction and is sensitive to partial vs complete collapse, while cine MRI offered better soft tissue resolution for lymphoid tissue hypertrophy and provided a global view of primary and secondary airway obstruction. Cine MRI and DISE are complementary modalities in the evaluation of children with persistent obstructive sleep apnea.
Hacking Culture Not Code: How American Racism Fuels Russia's Century-Long Memetic Disinformation Campaign
Authors: Foster Bhusari Bobbie , Vasudevan Krishnan , Nasrin Sohana
Published: May 2022

This study develops upon recent scholarship about the Russian government's digital influence campaign to cultivate Black Americans during the 2016 election by rooting their efforts within a century-long strategy to exploit racial inequality to discredit and damage American democracy. Guided by Shifman’s (2013) construct of memetics, we employed a novel methodology that combined journalistic fact-checking and critical, qualitative analysis to study 164 Facebook advertisements targeted at Black Americans. These advertisements closely resembled Soviet-era propaganda and new disinformation strategies facilitated by the affordances of Facebook. Our findings reveal the advertisements exploited Facebook's interactive design and used an insider's voice to share real news about racial inequality, celebrate Black culture, and coordinate civic action. This study's methodological approach provides a meaningful framework for understanding how actors hack and deploy cultural knowledge to spread disinformation through social media platforms.
Connectedness and independence of young adults and parents in the digital world: Observing smartphone interactions at multiple timescales using Screenomics
Authors: Sun Xiaoran , Ram Nilam , Reeves Byron , Cho Mu-Jung , Fitzgerald Andrew , Robinson Thomas N.
Published: May 2022

Background:

Young adults’ connectedness with and independence from parents have important implications for both their development and family relationships. Although technology plays an increasingly important role in these dynamics, there are few direct observations of how connectedness and independence unfold in the digital world. Little is known of between- and within-person differences in these dynamics.

Purpose:

This study uses Screenomics to directly observe smartphone interactions between young adults and their parents, and discover whether and how dimensions of connectedness and independence manifest in these interactions at multiple timescales.

Research Design, Study Sample, and Data Collection:

Screenshot sequences were collected from 10 ethnically diverse young adult (50% female) participants’ smartphones every 5 seconds for up to 1 month (total of 457,905 screenshots). We identified 1413 interaction instances between young adults and their parents (including 359 calls, 1032 messages, and 10 other communication instances).

Analysis and Results

Digital ethnographic analysis of screenshots revealed multiple themes related to connectedness (emotional support, logistical and financial support, consistent communication) and independence (parent fostering independence, parent intrusiveness/overinvolvement, and young adults’ psychological separation). Quantitative descriptions at different timescales (week, day, hour, moment) revealed within-person and between-person differences in active engagement, reciprocal communication, consistent communication, parent intrusiveness, young adults’ reliance on parents’ support, and young adults’ psychological separation.

Conclusion:

Findings highlight the need to examine family digital interactions at multiple timescales and the utility of temporally dense and comprehensive Screenomics data in studying social relations.
Distal end side-to-side anastomosis of sequential coronary bypass for size mismatched saphenous vein grafts and coronary arteries
Authors: Wei Ziheng , Ma Xuqing , Li Jingxing , Yang Junfeng , Wei Hua , Yu Yang , Gu Chengxiong , Huang Xinsheng
Published: May 2022

Introduction

The distal end anastomosis is critical to the entire sequential grafts in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), but caliber mismatch diminishes the quality of the anastomosis. We aimed to introduce a modified distal end side-to-side (deSTS) anastomosis to handle the size mismatch and compared with classic distal end end-to-side (deETS) anastomosis.

Methods

From January 2014 to December 2018, 185 patients who underwent off-pump CABG with size mismatched sequential vein grafts (≥3.5 mm) and target coronaries (1.0–1.5 mm) at the distal end anastomoses were included. We retrospectively reviewed the data of the patients, perioperative and follow-up outcomes were analyzed.

Results

The deSTS group ( n = 67) showed higher anastomotic flow (19.8 ± 8.0 vs 14.9±6.8 mL/min; p < 0.001) and lower pulsatility index (2.7 ± 0.8 vs 3.2 ± 1.0; p = 0.001) than the deETS group ( n = 118). Higher incidence of in-hospital myocardial infarction (MI) was found in the deETS group but without significant difference (9.0% vs. 15.3%; p = 0.220). Kaplan-Meier analysis illustrated a relatively lower MI and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) incidence in the deSTS group, and the deSTS group was associated with a reduction in long-term death, MI and MACCE in the adjusted Cox regression model. In addition, relatively higher graft patency was found in the deSTS group.

Conclusions

The deSTS anastomosis showed superiority in solving size mismatch in sequential CABG, including better intraoperative flow dynamics, ideal long-term graft patency and reduced the incidence of perioperative and follow-up adverse events especially in MI.