bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Discriminative Ability of the Four Balance Measures for Previous Fall Experience in Turkish Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Demircioğlu Arzu , Kezban Şahin Ülkü , Acaröz Sevim
Published: March 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the discriminative properties (discriminative effect, sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff values) of four commonly used balance measures for nonfallers, fallers, and multiple fallers among Turkish community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Three hundred fifty-one community-dwelling older adults (122 fallers and 229 nonfallers) were evaluated with the timed up and go test, functional reach test, one-leg stance test, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Results: Timed up and go test and functional reach test were not sensitive in detecting group differences between fallers and nonfallers, and BBS and one-leg stance test had significant but limited discriminative power with cutoff values of 53.5 points and 7.50 s, respectively. In addition, timed up and go test, functional reach test, and one-leg stance test had significant but limited discriminative power, and BBS had acceptable discriminative power for older adults who fell multiple times. Conclusions: These findings suggest that BBS is the most suitable tool for assessing the fall risk of Turkish community-dwelling older adults.
Profiling Coach Openness to Positive Youth Development Before, During, and After Their Participation in a Coach Education Course
Authors: Santos Fernando , Camiré Martin , MacDonald Dany J.
Published: March 2022

Given that coaches who enroll in coach education courses may have diverse levels of openness to learning about positive youth development (PYD), the purpose of this study was to profile coaches’ openness to PYD before, during, and after their participation in a coach education course. A multimethod approach that involved field notes, nonparticipant observations, and interviews was used to create three profiles illustrating coaches’ varying levels of openness. Participants were three male coaches involved in competitive and recreational youth sport who had been coaching youth for more than 12 years. The profile of Graham represents a coach who was open to PYD. The profile of Fonseca represents a coach who was partially open to PYD. Finally, the profile of Taylor represents a coach who had no openness to PYD. Results are discussed in relation to how performance outcomes remain a high priority in youth sport, compelling some coaches to pay “socially desirable lip service” to PYD without any real intentions to modify their coaching practice. Revised policies and funding models, developed with input from multiple levels of stakeholders in the sport system, may prove useful in inspiring more coach openness to learning about PYD. This study may help further our understanding on how coach educators can use differentiated pedagogical approaches that may help make PYD a worthwhile and tangible objective for coaches who register in PYD coach education courses. Moving forward, future investigations on coach openness could be expanded to other sport contexts and coach development systems.
Allergic airway recall responses require IL-9 from resident memory CD4
+
T cells
Authors: Ulrich Benjamin J. , Kharwadkar Rakshin , Chu Michelle , Pajulas Abigail , Muralidharan Charanya , Koh Byunghee , Fu Yongyao , Gao Hongyu , Hayes Tristan A. , Zhou Hong-Ming , Goplen Nick P. , Nelson Andrew S. , Liu Yunlong , Linnemann Amelia K. , Turner Matthew J. , Licona-Limón Paula , Flavell Richard A. , Sun Jie , Kaplan Mark H.
Published: March 2022

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease with intermittent flares predominately mediated through memory T cells. Yet, the identity of long-term memory cells that mediate allergic recall responses is not well defined. In this report, using a mouse model of chronic allergen exposure followed by an allergen-free rest period, we characterized a subpopulation of CD4
+
T cells that secreted IL-9 as an obligate effector cytokine. IL-9–secreting cells had a resident memory T cell phenotype, and blocking IL-9 during a recall challenge or deleting IL-9 from T cells significantly diminished airway inflammation and airway hyperreactivity. T cells secreted IL-9 in an allergen recall–specific manner, and secretion was amplified by IL-33. Using scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq, we defined the cellular identity of a distinct population of T cells with a proallergic cytokine pattern. Thus, in a recall model of allergic airway inflammation, IL-9 secretion from a multicytokine-producing CD4
+
T cell population was required for an allergen recall response.
Transforming growth factor–β1 in regulatory T cell biology
Authors: Moreau Joshua M. , Velegraki Maria , Bolyard Chelsea , Rosenblum Michael D. , Li Zihai
Published: March 2022

Transforming growth factor–β1 (TGF-β1) is inextricably linked to regulatory T cell (T
reg
) biology. However, precisely untangling the role for TGF-β1 in T
reg
differentiation and function is complicated by the pleiotropic and context-dependent activity of this cytokine and the multifaceted biology of T
regs
. Among CD4
+
T cells, T
regs
are the major producers of latent TGF-β1 and are uniquely able to activate this cytokine via expression of cell surface docking receptor glycoprotein A repetitions predominant (GARP) and αv integrins. Although a preponderance of evidence indicates no essential roles for T
reg
-derived TGF-β1 in T
reg
immunosuppression, TGF-β1 signaling is crucial for T
reg
development in the thymus and periphery. Furthermore, active TGF-β1 instructs the differentiation of other T cell subsets, including T
H
17 cells. Here, we will review TGF-β1 signaling in T
reg
development and function and discuss knowledge gaps, future research, and the TGF-β1/T
reg
axis in the context of cancer immunotherapy and fibrosis.
Two subsets of human marginal zone B cells resolved by global analysis of lymphoid tissues and blood
Authors: Siu Jacqueline H.Y. , Pitcher Michael J. , Tull Thomas J. , Velounias Rebekah L. , Guesdon William , Montorsi Lucia , Mahbubani Krishnaa T. , Ellis Richard , Dhami Pawan , Todd Katrina , Kadolsky Ulrich D. , Kleeman Michelle , D’Cruz David P. , Saeb-Parsy Kourosh , Bemark Mats , Pettigrew Gavin J. , Spencer Jo
Published: March 2022

B cells generate antibodies that are essential for immune protection, but their subgroups are poorly defined. Here, we perform undirected deep profiling of B cells in matched human lymphoid tissues from deceased transplant organ donors and blood. In addition to identifying unanticipated features of tissue-based B cell differentiation, we resolve two subsets of marginal zone B (MZB) cells differing in cell surface and transcriptomic profiles, clonal relationships to other subsets, enrichment of genes in the NOTCH pathway, distribution bias within splenic marginal zone microenvironment, and immunoglobulin repertoire diversity and hypermutation frequency. Each subset is present in spleen, gut-associated lymphoid tissue, mesenteric lymph nodes, and blood. MZB cells and the lineage from which they are derived are depleted in lupus nephritis. Here, we show that this depletion is of only one MZB subset. The other remains unchanged as a proportion of total B cells compared with health. Thus, it is important to factor MZB cell heterogeneity into studies of human B cell responses and pathology.
Testicular myeloid sarcoma: a relapse of acute myeloid leukaemia after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation- a rare presentation
Authors: Alam Shanawaz , Palaniyandy Velmurugan , Thirunavukkarasu Chandru , Kumaresan Natarajan
Published: March 2022

Myeloid sarcoma is an uncommon pathological diagnosis of proliferation of blasts of one or more of the myeloid lineages in regions other than the blood and bone marrow. Myeloid sarcoma of the testis after allogeneic bone marrow stem cell transplantation is very rare and only few cases are reported in the literature. It is usually misdiagnosed as malignant lymphoma, particularly with large cell lymphoma, due to similar histological morphology. Due to difficulty in diagnosis, it is suggested that an appropriate panel of immunohistochemical marker studies be performed in conjunction with clinical correlation to avoid misleading diagnosis and improper treatment of patients. We report an interesting case of a 49-year-old man with a diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukaemia. He had undergone allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, achieved complete molecular remission and later relapsed with myeloid sarcoma of the testis.
Is self-management a burden? What are the experiences of women self-managing chronic conditions during pregnancy? A systematic review
Authors: Jakubowski Bethany Ellen , Hinton Lisa , Khaira Jaspreet , Roberts Nia , McManus Richard J , Tucker Katherine Louise
Published: March 2022

Objective

This systematic review examines the qualitative literature on women’s experiences of self-managing chronic conditions in pregnancy.

Design

Systematic review of qualitative literature. Searches were performed in PubMed and CINAHL from inception to February 2021. Critical interpretive synthesis informed the coding framework and the analysis of the data. The Burden of Treatment theory emerged during the initial analysis as having the most synergy with the included literature, themes were refined to consider key concepts from this theory.

Participants

Pregnant women who are self-managing a chronic condition.

Results

A total of 2695 articles were screened and 25 were reviewed in detail. All 16 included studies concerned diabetes self-management in pregnancy. Common themes coalesced around motivations for, and barriers to, self-management. Women self-managed primarily for the health of their baby. Barriers identified were anxiety, lack of understanding and a lack of support from families and healthcare professionals.

Conclusions

Pregnant women have different motivating factors for self-management than the general population and further research on a range of self-management of chronic conditions in pregnancy is needed.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42019136681.
Development of core outcome sets and core outcome measures for central visual impairment, visual field loss and ocular motility disorders due to stroke: a Delphi and consensus study
Authors: Rowe Fiona J , Hepworth Lauren R , Kirkham Jamie J
Published: March 2022

Objectives

Reporting of research for stroke-related visual impairment is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to define three core outcome sets (COS) and related core outcome measurements (COM) for central visual impairment, visual field loss and ocular motility disorders in stroke research.

Design

The consensus process consisted of an online three-round Delphi survey followed by a consensus meeting of key stakeholders.

Setting

UK-wide survey.

Participants

Stakeholders included orthoptists, occupational therapists, ophthalmologists, stroke survivors and COS users such as researchers, journal editors and guideline developers.

Outcome measures

For COS development, a list of potentially relevant visual outcomes was created after review of the literature and further grouped into outcome domains. For COM development, a list of potential instruments was created after review of the literature and quality appraised for reliability and validity.

Results

COS—119 potential outcomes extracted from published literature. Similar assessment outcomes were grouped into 24 outcome domains. Delphi process included 123 participants in round 1, 65 round 2, 51 round 3. Twelve participants attended the consensus meeting with recommended outcome domains for central visual impairment (visual acuity, functional vision, quality of life), visual field loss (visual fields, functional vision, quality of life) and ocular motility disorders (eye alignment, eye movements, functional vision, quality of life). COM—52 test options extracted from the COS outcomes and grouped into 16 domains. Thirteen participants attended the COM consensus meeting. Recommended instruments for measurement of these outcomes include; Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution visual acuity, cover test, cardinal position eye movement assessments, peripheral visual field perimetry, Visual Function Questionnaire-25.

Conclusions

COS and COM are defined for vision research for stroke survivors. Their use has potential to reduce heterogeneity in routine clinical practice and improve standardisation and accuracy of vision assessment. Future research is required to evaluate the use of these COS and COM.
Identifying children with medical complexity in administrative datasets in a Canadian context: study protocol
Authors: McCulloch Holly , Breneol Sydney , Stewart Samuel A , Magalhaes Sandra , Somerville Mari , Sheriko Jordan , Best Shauna , Burgess Stacy , Jeffers Elizabeth , Standing Mary-Ann , King Sarah , Clegg Julie , Curran Janet A
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Children with medical complexity and their families are an important population of interest within the Canadian healthcare system. Despite representing less than 1% of the paediatric population, children with medical complexity require extensive care and account for one third of paediatric healthcare expenditures. Opportunities to conduct research to assess disparities in care and appropriate allocation of health resources relies on the ability to accurately identify this heterogeneous group of children. This study aims to better understand the population of children with medical complexity in the Canadian Maritimes, including Nova Scotia (NS), New Brunswick (NB) and Prince Edward Island (PEI). This will be achieved through three objectives: (1) Evaluate the performance of three algorithms to identify children with medical complexity in the Canadian Maritimes in administrative data; then using the ‘best fit’ algorithm (2) Estimate the prevalence of children with medical complexity in the Canadian Maritimes from 2003 to 2017 and (3) Describe patterns of healthcare utilisation for this cohort of children across the Canadian Maritimes.

Methods and analysis

The research will be conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, an expert panel will codevelop a gold-standard definition of paediatric medical complexity relevant to the Canadian Maritime population. A two-gate validation process will then be conducted using NS data and the gold-standard definition to determine the ‘best fit’ algorithm. During phase 2 the ‘best fit’ algorithm will be applied to estimate the prevalence of children with medical complexity in NS, NB and PEI. Finally, in phase 3 will describe patterns of healthcare utilisation across the Canadian Maritimes.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval for this protocol was granted by the institutional research ethics board at the IWK Health Centre (REB # 1026245). A waiver of consent was approved. This study will use an integrated knowledge translation approach, where end users are involved in each stage of the project, which could increase uptake of the research into policy and practice. The findings of this research study will be submitted for publication and dissemination through conference presentations and with our end users.
Impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdown on the incidence of ocular trauma presenting to a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Pande Ranjana , Mohod Smita Sachin , V Padmapriya , Shanbhag Siddhi , Kumar Nandish S
Published: March 2022

Objective

To assess the effects of lockdown and unlock phases mandated in view of COVID-19 on the incidence and characteristics of ocular trauma presenting to a tertiary care hospital.

Methods and Analysis

The study was carried out as a hospital record based retrospective comparative analysis on patients presenting with ocular trauma in the lockdown period (March–July 2020) compared with the same time frame of the previous year considered as prelockdown period (March–July 2019) and during the unlock phases (August–December 2020).

Results

Overall, the casualty department saw 464 patients of ocular trauma in the prelockdown period, 173 in the lockdown and 253 in unlock. The study showed a 44% reduction in patients visiting the casualty department for trauma during the lockdown compared with prelockdown, and a 62% reduction specifically in ocular trauma. The unlock phase showed a 21% reduction in ocular trauma compared with prelockdown and a 41% increase compared with the lockdown. In all three phases, the majority of people affected by ocular trauma were middle aged males from a rural background, sustained by assault. The lockdown saw a decrease in outdoor assaults (45%) and road traffic accidents (22%). Trauma sustained by females (18%) increased in the lockdown, as did home-based assaults (150%) and sexual assaults. The presentation of trauma, especially road traffic accidents and outdoor assaults saw a steady rise during the unlock.

Conclusion

The lockdown mandated by the government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the trends of trauma presenting to healthcare facilities. There was a decrease in the overall number of patients approaching the casualty during the lockdown. However, during the lockdown, there was an increase in home-based trauma as opposed to outdoor assaults being the primary cause of trauma prior to the lockdown.
Rationale and design of the PROspective ATHletic Heart (Pro@Heart) study: long-term assessment of the determinants of cardiac remodelling and its clinical consequences in endurance athletes
Authors: De Bosscher Ruben , Dausin Christophe , Janssens Kristel , Bogaert Jan , Elliott Adrian , Ghekiere Olivier , Van De Heyning Caroline M , Sanders Prashanthan , Kalman Jonathan , Fatkin Diane , Herbots Lieven , Willems Rik , Heidbuchel Hein , La Gerche André , Claessen Guido
Published: March 2022

Background

Exercise-induced cardiac remodelling (EICR) results from the structural, functional and electrical adaptations to exercise. Despite similar sports participation, EICR varies and some athletes develop phenotypic features that overlap with cardiomyopathies. Training load and genotype may explain some of the variation; however, exercise ‘dose’ has lacked rigorous quantification. Few have investigated the association between EICR and genotype.

Objectives

(1) To identify the impact of training load and genotype on the variance of EICR in elite endurance athletes and (2) determine how EICR and its determinants are associated with physical performance, health benefits and cardiac pathology.

Methods

The Pro@Heart study is a multicentre prospective cohort trial. Three hundred elite endurance athletes aged 14–23 years will have comprehensive cardiovascular phenotyping using echocardiography, cardiac MRI, 12-lead ECG, exercise-ECG and 24-hour-Holter monitoring. Genotype will be determined using a custom cardiomyopathy gene panel and high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Follow-up will include online tracking of training load. Cardiac phenotyping will be repeated at 2, 5, 10 and 20 years.

Results

The primary endpoint of the Pro@Heart study is the association of EICR with both training load and genotype. The latter will include rare variants in cardiomyopathy-associated genes and polygenic risk scores for cardiovascular traits. Secondary endpoints are the incidence of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, physical performance and health benefits and their association with training load and genotype.

Conclusion

The Pro@Heart study is the first long-term cohort study to assess the impact of training load and genotype on EICR.

Trial registration number

NCT05164328; ACTRN12618000716268.
Mindfulness-based therapies for cancer patients and families: a systematic review
Authors: Torricelli Laura , Rabitti Elisa , Cafaro Valentina , Cavuto Silvio , De Vincenzo Francesco , Cavuoto Maristella , Turola Elena , Di Leo Silvia
Published: March 2022

Background

Mindfulness-based therapies (MBTs) addressed to patients with cancer have been widely studied in the last two decades, and their efficacy has been systematically reviewed and meta-analysed. Although findings from literature highlight benefits of MBTs on several patients’ health outcomes, these should be appraised taking into consideration the characteristics of the selected studies. In this systematic review, we summarised the current evidence of the efficacy of MBTs in improving the quality of life of both patients with cancer and their relatives, with a focus on the methodological quality, type of MBT evaluated and population involved in existing randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods

We searched English language articles published until February 2021. Couples of authors independently applied inclusion criteria and extracted findings. Thirty RCTs were included.

Results

Nearly half of the studies were performed in English-speaking countries outside of Europe, with females diagnosed with breast cancer. Most considered heterogeneous phases of illness; one study only was performed on relatives. In most cases, different measures were employed to evaluate the same outcome. The efficacy of MBTs has been demonstrated in 25 of the 30 included articles. The methodological quality of RCTs was acceptable.

Conclusion

The heterogeneity of studies’ characteristics makes findings on the efficacy of MBTs poorly informative with reference to different clinical and cancer-related psychological conditions. Studies on more homogeneous samples by cancer site and phase, as well as performed in different cultural contexts, could provide a basis for better evaluating and targeting MBTs’ protocols for the specific needs of patients with cancer and their relatives.
Faecal calprotectin is a surrogate marker of biliary inflammation in primary sclerosing cholangitis associated inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Pavlidis Polychronis , Joshi Deepak , El Sherif Yasser , Warner Ben , Gulati Shraddha , Alexander James , Cross Gemma , Dew Tracy , Arqoub Hadil Abu , Devlin John , Heneghan Michael , Dubois Patrick , Bjarnason Ingvar , Powell Nick , Hayee Bu'Hussain
Published: March 2022

Objective

Faecal calprotectin (fCAL) is an established marker of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Disproportionally high fCAL levels, for the severity of intestinal inflammation, have been previously observed in primary sclerosing cholangitis associated IBD (PSC-IBD). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that fCAL is a marker of biliary injury in PSC-IBD.

Methods

We used two cohorts: (1) post hoc analysis of a colonoscopic surveillance study allowing correlation of fCAL to endoscopic severity as measured by the ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS) in PSC-IBD (n=20) and ulcerative colitis (UC, n=20) and (2) prospective recruitment of patients attending for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography allowed the correlation of fCAL to biliary calprotectin (n=8).

Results

A strong correlation was seen between fCAL and UCEIS in UC (r=0.821, 95% CI (0.585 to 0.929), p<0.0001). In PSC-IBD, the correlation was weaker (r=0.596, 95% CI (0.195 to 0.8260), p=0.006). PSC-IBD patients with endoscopically quiescent colitis (UCEIS: 0–1) had higher fCAL than patients with UC (279 µg/g, IQR (68–601) vs 30 µg/g, IQR (14–107), p=0.015) . This was associated with higher risk of biliary complications like need for antibiotics or instrumentation (HR 16.39, 95% CI (2.98 to 90.25)) rather than colitis flares (follow-up: 12 months). Calprotectin measured in faeces correlated positively with biliary calprotectin (r=0.898, p=0.0024).

Conclusion

fCAL is a surrogate marker for biliary inflammation in PSC-IBD.

Trial registration number

NCT02543021.
First juvenile chum salmon confirms successful reproduction for Pacific salmon in the North American Arctic
Authors: Dunmall Karen M. , McNicholl Darcy G. , Zimmerman Christian E. , Gilk-Baumer Sara E. , Burril Sean , von Biela Vanessa R.
Published: March 2022

The distributional extent of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the North American Arctic is unresolved. While adult Pacific salmon have a recurring presence across the Alaskan North Slope and into the Canadian Arctic, it is uncertain if these fish are part of established Arctic populations, vagrants from outside sources reproducing unsuccessfully, or both. Here we present the first confirmed record of a juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) captured in the nearshore marine ecosystem in the North American Arctic. This provides the first scientific evidence of successful spawning and early marine survival of Pacific salmon in the North American Arctic. It was caught near Kaktovik, Alaska, in August 2017 with a group of similarly sized age-0 Mackenzie River Arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis). Stable isotope and otolith microchemistry analyses are consistent with use of the nearshore estuarine corridor from the Mackenzie River west along the northern coast. This contributes critical information needed to identify, manage, and conserve biodiversity at the northern range edge and will help to clarify the status of Pacific salmon as potentially emerging fisheries develop in the North American Arctic due to climate warming.
New Tsallis holographic dark energy
Authors: Pandey Bramha Dutta , Kumar P. Suresh , Pankaj  , Sharma Umesh Kumar
Published: March 2022

Tsallis entropy is a generalization of the Boltzmann–Gibbs entropy in statistical theory which uses a parameter $$\delta $$
δ
to measure the deviation from the standard scenario quantitatively. Using concepts of Tsallis entropy and future event horizon, we construct a new Tsallis holographic dark energy model. The parameters c and $$\delta $$
δ
will be used to characterize various aspects of the model. Analytical expressions for various cosmological parameters such as the differential equation describing the evolution of the effective dark energy density parameter, the equation of state parameter and the deceleration parameter are obtained. The equation of state parameter for the current model exhibits the pure quintessence behaviour for $$c>1$$

c
>
1

, quintom behaviour for $$c<1$$

c
<
1

whereas the $$\Lambda $$
Λ
CDM model is recovered for $$c=1$$

c
=
1

. To analyze the thermal history of the universe, we obtained the expression for the deceleration parameter and found that for $$z \approx 0.6$$

z
≈
0.6

, the phase transits from deceleration to acceleration.
Corruption red flags in public procurement: new evidence from Italian calls for tenders
Authors: Decarolis Francesco , Giorgiantonio Cristina
Published: March 2022

This paper contributes to the analysis of quantitative indicators (i.e.,red flagsorscreens) to detect corruption in public procurement. It presents an approach to evaluate corruption risk in public tenders through standardized ML tools applied to detailed data on the content of calls for tenders. The method is applied to roadwork contracts in Italy and three main contributions are reported. First, the study expands the set of commonly discussed indicators in the literature to new ones derived from operative practices of police forces and the judiciary. Second, using novel and unique data on firm-level corruption risk, this study validates the effectiveness of the indicators. Third, it quantifies the increased corruption-prediction ability when indicators that are known to be unavailable to the corruption-monitoring authority are included in the prediction exercise. Regarding the specific red flags, we find a systematic association between high corruption risk and the use of multi-parameter awarding criteria. Furthermore, predictability of the red flag makes them ineffective as prediction tools: the most obvious and scrutinized red flags are either uncorrelated with corruption or, even, negatively associated with it, as it is the case for invoking special procedures due to “urgency,” or the extent of publicity of the call for tender.
The effect of anti-money laundering policies: an empirical network analysis
Authors: Gerbrands Peter , Unger Brigitte , Getzner Michael , Ferwerda Joras
Published: March 2022

Aim

There is a growing literature analyzing money laundering and the policies to fight it, but the overall effectiveness of anti-money laundering policies is still unclear. This paper investigates whether anti-money laundering policies affect the behavior of money launderers and their networks.

Method

With an algorithm to match clusters over time, we build a unique dataset of multi-mode, undirected, binary, dynamic networks of natural and legal persons. The data includes ownership and employment relations and associated financial ties and is enriched with criminal records and police-related activities. The networks of money launderers, other criminals, and non-criminal individuals are analyzed and compared with temporal social network analysis techniques and panel data regressions on centrality measures, transitivity and assortativity indicators, and levels of constraint.

Findings

We find that after the announcement of the fourth EU anti-money laundering directive in 2015, money laundering networks show a significant increase in the use of foreigners and corporate structures. At the individual level, money launderers become more dominant in criminal clusters (increased closeness centrality). This paper shows that (the announcement of) anti-money laundering policies can affect criminal networks and how such effects can be tested.
EVALUATION OF METALLURGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF AA7075/ZrB2 IN SITU AMCs AFTER FRICTION STIR PROCESSING
Authors: NALLUSAMY M. , KIRAN K. , SURIYAPRAKASH M.
Published: March 2022

Many researchers have attempted to join Aluminum Matrix Composites (AMCs) using traditional fusion welding processes resulting in the formation of porosity, segregation, coarse microstructure, brittle intermetallic compounds and corrosion of ceramic particles. Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is the latest solid-state technique to achieve the homogeneous dispersion of reinforcement particles in the friction stir processed zone of AMCs [M. Shamanian, E. Bahrami, H. Edris and M. R. Nasresfahani, Surf. Rev. Lett. 25 (2018) 1950010]. The most widely used reinforcing material since the inception of FSP is inorganic (metallic) powders such as silicon carbide, titanium alloy, graphene, iron, stainless steel, nitrides and oxides, and fewer works have been reported on organic powders (i.e. bioprocessing using agro-waste powders) such as fly ash, palm kernel shell ash, coconut shell ash and rice husk ash [O. M. Ikumapayi, E. T. Akinlabi, S. K. Pal and J. D. Majumdar, Procedia Manuf. 35 (2019) 935]. In this work, the effect of FSP on the changes in metallurgical characterization and mechanical properties of AA7075/(3, 6 and 9) vol.% ZrB2 in situ AMCs was observed. After performing FSP, the AMCs were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope and the mechanical properties such as Ultimate Tensile Strength and microhardness on the processed zone of the AMCs were calculated. The effect of FSP on AA7075/ (3, 6 and 9) vol.% ZrB2 in situ AMCs was investigated. The fracture morphologies on the processed surface of the AMCs were evaluated.
Liouville-type theorems for higher-order Lane–Emden system in exterior domains
Authors: Guo Yuxia , Peng Shaolong
Published: March 2022

In this paper, we are mainly concerned with the following system in an exterior domains: [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] is an integer, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] is the polyharmonic operator. We prove the nonexistence of positive solutions to the above system for [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text]. The novelty of the paper is that we do not ask [Formula: see text] satisfy any symmetry and asymptotic conditions at infinity. By proving the superharmonic properties of the solutions, we establish the equivalence between systems of partial differential equations (PDEs) and integral equations (IEs), then the method of scaling sphere in integral form can be applied to prove the nonexistence of the solutions.
Efficiency and Long-Range Correlation in G-20 Stock Indexes: A Sliding Windows Approach
Authors: Guedes E. F. , Santos R. P. C. , Figueredo L. H. R. , da Silva P. A. , Dias R. M. T. S. , Zebende G. F.
Published: March 2022

This paper aims to analyze whether the financial crises of the past 20 years have reduced efficiency, in its weak form, in 19 stock markets belonging to the 20 most developed economies (G-20). The sample period comprises the period from 2 January 2000 to 5 February 2021 with the respective financial crises, namely, Dot-com, Argentina, Subprime, Sovereign debt, China stock market crash (2015–2016), UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and the global pandemic of 2020. The results highlight that most markets show signs of (in)efficiency in each sliding window (1000 days), that is, they show asymmetries and non-Gaussian distributions, and [Formula: see text]. These findings suggest that the random walk hypothesis is rejected in certain markets, which has implications for investors, since some returns may be expected, creating arbitrage and abnormal profit opportunities, contrary to the random walk and informational efficiency hypotheses. The results found also open room for market regulators to take steps to ensure better informational data across international financial markets.
Discrete state-structured epidemic models with distributed delays
Authors: Liu Suli , Liu Guyue , Li Huilai
Published: March 2022

In this paper, we propose and investigate a class of discrete state-structured epidemic models with distributed delays. The model incorporates a general delay incidence form in which new infections distribute into different disease states, and infected individuals switch among different states. We establish that the global dynamics are completely determined by basic reproduction number [Formula: see text]: if [Formula: see text], the disease free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable; if [Formula: see text], the disease free equilibrium is unstable, and there is a unique endemic equilibrium which is globally asymptotically stable.
Study on response of metal wire in thermoacoustic imaging
Authors: Liang Zheng , Wang Weipeng , Qiao Shuaiqi , Huang Lin
Published: March 2022

Thermoacoustic imaging (TAI) is an emerging high-resolution and high-contrast imaging technology. In recent years, metal wires have been used in TAI experiments to quantitatively evaluate the spatial resolution of different systems. However, there is still a lack of analysis of the response characteristics and principles of metal wires in TAI. Through theoretical and simulation analyses, this paper proposes that the response of metal (copper) wires during TAI is equivalent to the response of antennas. More critically, the response of the copper wire is equivalent to the response of a half-wave dipole antenna. When its length is close to half the wavelength of the incident electromagnetic wave, it obtains the best response. In simulation, when the microwave excitation frequencies are 1.3[Formula: see text]GHz, 3.0[Formula: see text]GHz, and 5.3[Formula: see text]GHz, and the lengths of copper wires are separately set to 11[Formula: see text]cm, 5[Formula: see text]cm, and 2.5[Formula: see text]cm, the maximum SAR distribution and energy coupling efficiency are obtained. This result is connected with the best response of half-wave dipole antennas with lengths of 11[Formula: see text]cm, 4.77[Formula: see text]cm, and 2.7[Formula: see text]cm under the theoretical design, respectively. Regarding the further application, TAI can be used to conduct guided minimally invasive surgery on surgical instrument imaging. Thus, this paper indicated that results can also guide the design of metal surgical instruments utilized in different microwave frequencies.
Data-driven modeling method with reverse process
Authors: Yi Guodong , Yi Lifan , Zhang Zaizhao , Li Chuihui
Published: March 2022

The factors that affect the performance of the equipment are numerous and complicated, which makes it difficult to establish a performance calculation model. This paper puts forward a data-driven modeling method with reverse process for this problem. Based on the partial least squares (PLS) algorithm and the gray relational analysis (GRA) method, the analysis method of the performance related factors, the extraction method of characteristic variables, and the performance modeling method are studied. The related factors of the energy consumption of an industrial steam turbine are analyzed, and an energy consumption calculation model is established, and the effectiveness of the above-mentioned modeling methods is verified with sample data, which provides a basis for the energy-saving optimization of the steam turbine.
Distributed Evolutionary Feature Selection for Big Data Processing
Authors: Bouaguel Waad , Ben NCir Chiheb Eddine
Published: March 2022

Feature selection has become a powerful dimensional reduction strategy and an effective tool in handling high-dimensional data. Feature selection aims to reduce the dimension of the feature space, to speed up and reduce the cost of the learning model and that by selecting the most relevant feature subset to data mining and machine learning tasks. The selection of optimal feature subset is an optimization problem that proved to be NP-hard. Metaheuristics are traditionally used to deal with NP-hard problems since they are well known for solving complex and real-world problems in reasonable period of time. Genetic algorithm (GA) is one of the most popular metaheuristics algorithms, which proved to be effective for an accurate feature selection task. However, in the last few decades, data have become progressively larger in both numbers of instances and features. This paradigm is being popularly termed as Big Data. With the tremendous growth of dataset sizes, most current feature selection algorithms and exceptionally GA become unscalable. To improve the scalability of a feature selection algorithm on big data, the distributed computing strategy is always adopted such as MapReduce model and Hadoop system. In this paper, we first present a review for the most recent works which handle the use of Parallel Genetic algorithm in large datasets. Then, we will propose a new Parallel Genetic algorithm based on the Coarse-grained parallelization model (island model). The parallelization of the process and the distribution of the partitioning of data will be performed using Hadoop system with an Amazon cluster. The performance and the scalability of the proposed method were theoretically and empirically compared to the existing feature selection methods when handling large-scale datasets and results confirm the effectiveness of our proposed method.
The Macro-Economic Influences on a New Religious Group in Japan
Authors: Wada Yoshinori
Published: March 2022

This paper aims to examine the long-term relationships between the national economy and the membership of the New Religious group Tenrikyo in the relatively free religious supply environment in Japan. Tenrikyo has existed since the mid-nineteenth century, although it has not dominated the religious market; it has supplied non-religious services such as education, publishing and medical and social care services, as well as religious services. This has involved it in competition with both religious and secular organisations. We construct a model of the associations between religious and secular changes through competition and conduct a regression analysis using long-term data of denominational membership and the macro-economic indicators. We find that the GDP growth rate and stable economic period have a positive association with denominational membership. On the other hand, welfare benefits, the share price index and income equality are associated negatively with that membership. These empirical results confirm complementary as well as substitutive roles between a New Religious group and secular organisations in contemporary society.
Machine Learning–Assisted Design of Material Properties
Authors: Kadulkar Sanket , Sherman Zachary M. , Ganesan Venkat , Truskett Thomas M.
Published: March 2022

Designing functional materials requires a deep search through multidimensional spaces for system parameters that yield desirable material properties. For cases where conventional parameter sweeps or trial-and-error sampling are impractical, inverse methods that frame design as a constrained optimization problem present an attractive alternative. However, even efficient algorithms require time- and resource-intensive characterization of material properties many times during optimization, imposing a design bottleneck. Approaches that incorporate machine learning can help address this limitation and accelerate the discovery of materials with targeted properties. In this article, we review how to leverage machine learning to reduce dimensionality in order to effectively explore design space, accelerate property evaluation, and generate unconventional material structures with optimal properties. We also discuss promising future directions, including integration of machine learning into multiple stages of a design algorithm and interpretation of machine learning models to understand how design parameters relate to material properties.
Going Viral: Virus-Based Biological Control Agents for Plant Protection
Authors: Wagemans Jeroen , Holtappels Dominique , Vainio Eeva , Rabiey Mojgan , Marzachì Cristina , Herrero Salvador , Ravanbakhsh Mohammadhossein , Tebbe Christoph C. , Ogliastro Mylène , Ayllón María A. , Turina Massimo
Published: March 2022

The most economically important biotic stresses in crop production are caused by fungi, oomycetes, insects, viruses, and bacteria. Often chemical control is still the most commonly used method to manage them. However, the development of resistance in the different pathogens/pests, the putative damage on the natural ecosystem, the toxic residues in the field, and, thus, the contamination of the environment have stimulated the search for saferalternatives such as the use of biological control agents (BCAs). Among BCAs, viruses, a major driver for controlling host populations and evolution, are somewhat underused, mostly because of regulatory hurdles that make the cost of registration of such host-specific BCAs not affordable in comparison with the limited potential market. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art of virus-based BCAs against fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insects, with a specific focus on new approaches that rely on not only the direct biocidal virus component but also the complex ecological interactions between viruses and their hosts that do not necessarily result in direct damage to the host.
Real-Time Gender Recognition for Juvenile and Adult Faces
Authors: Gupta Sandeep Kumar , Yesuf Seid Hassen , Nain Neeta
Published: March 2022

Facial gender recognition is a crucial research topic due to its comprehensive use cases, including a demographic gender survey, visitor profile identification, targeted advertisement, access control, security, and surveillance from CCTV. For these real-time applications, the face of a person can be oriented to any angle from the camera axis, and the person can be of any age group, including juveniles. A child’s face consists of immature craniofacial feature points in texture and edge compared to an adult face, making it very hard to recognize gender using the child’s face. Real-word faces captured in an unconstrained environment make the gender prediction system more complex to identify correctly due to orientation. These factors reduce the accuracy of the existing state-of-the-art models developed so far for real-time facial gender prediction. This paper presents the novelty of facial gender recognition for juveniles, adults, and unconstrained-oriented faces. The progressive calibration network (PCN) detects rotation-invariant faces in the proposed model. Then, a Gabor filter is applied to extract unique edge and texture features from the detected face. The Gabor filter is invariant to illumination and produces texture and edge features with redundant feature coefficients in large dimensions. Gabor has drawbacks such as redundancy and a large dimension resolved by the proposed meanDWT feature optimization method, which optimizes the system’s accuracy, the size of the model, and computational timing. The proposed feature engineering model is classified with different classifiers such as Naïve Bayes, Logistic Regression, SVM with linear, and RBF kernel. Its results are compared with the state-of-the-art techniques; detailed experimental analysis is presented and concluded to support the argument. We also present a review of approaches based on conventional and deep learning methods with their pros and cons for facial gender recognition on different datasets available for facial gender recognition.
On Atangana–Baleanu-Type Nonlocal Boundary Fractional Differential Equations
Authors: Almalahi Mohammed A. , Panchal Satish K. , Abdo Mohammed S. , Jarad Fahd
Published: March 2022

This research paper is devoted to investigating two classes of boundary value problems for nonlinear Atangana–Baleanu-type fractional differential equations with Atangana–Baleanu fractional integral conditions. The applied fractional derivatives work as the nonlocal and nonsingular kernel. Upon using Krasnoselskii’s and Banach’s fixed point techniques, we establish the existence and uniqueness of solutions for proposed problems. Moreover, the Ulam–Hyers stability theory is constructed by using nonlinear analysis. Eventually, we provide two interesting examples to illustrate the effectiveness of our acquired results.
Finite Groups of Order p2qr in which the Number of Elements of Maximal Order Is p3q∗
Authors: Zhang Qingliang , Xu Liang
Published: March 2022

Let G be a finite group. We know that the order of G and the number of elements of maximal order in G are closely related to the structure of G. This topic involves Thompson’s conjecture. In this paper, we classify the finite groups of order p2qr in which the number of elements of maximal order is p3q, where p < q < r are different primes.
Long‐Term Prevalence and Risk Factors of Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Schoolteachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Althomali Omar W.
Published: March 2022

Background. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are affecting up to 95% of teachers and are considered a primary occupational health hazard leading to absenteeism, early retirement, and lower quality of life and teaching quality. Aim. The current study is aimed at exploring the prevalence and risk factors of MSDs among the schoolteachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia. Methods. A cross‐sectional study was conducted online among the teachers in Hail City using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Teachers were randomly selected from randomly selected high schools. Teachers with at least 1 year experience were recruited for the study. Descriptive statistics, Cochran’s Q test, and binominal regression were used to investigate the prevalence of MSDs among such teachers and to determine if the percentage of MSDs differed by anatomical region and risk factor (one hundred forty‐five males and 106 females filled out the questionnaires). Results. The prevalence of MSDs in the last 12 months was 93.63% (235 of 251 teachers). Interestingly, 91% of the affected participants (214 of 235 teachers) complained of MSDs in more than one anatomical region. The most affected site was the lower back (183 of 251 teachers, 72.91%), followed by the shoulders (168 of 251 teachers, 66.93%), and the least affected sites were the elbows (45 of 251 teachers, 17.93%). The females showed a higher prevalence of MSDs than the males. Only gender was a significant risk factor for shoulder and neck MSDs (p < 0.02). Conclusion. Overall, the findings of the current study suggest a high prevalence of MSDs among teachers, especially in the lower back and shoulders. The affected teachers should learn more about biomechanics and ergonomics and should engage in exercise to improve their health. Future studies should focus on identifying the biomechanical and ergonomic risk factors of MSDs and on designing MSD prevention programmes to reduce the burden of MSDs.