bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimisation of Thiourea Concentration in a Decorative Copper Plating Acid Bath Based on Methanesulfonic Electrolyte
Authors: Fabbri Lorenzo , Giurlani Walter , Mencherini Giulia , De Luca Antonio , Passaponti Maurizio , Piciollo Emanuele , Fontanesi Claudio , Caneschi Andrea , Innocenti Massimo
Published: March 2022

The role of thiourea as an organic additive in the nucleation and growth mechanism was studied for copper deposition and its application in the decorative electroplating and fashion accessory industries. The bath was designed to reduce the environmental and ecological impacts using methanesulfonic acid as electrolyte as an alternative to alkaline cyanide baths. We evaluated the nucleation and growth mechanism of copper exploiting voltametric and chronoamperometric measurements with a brightener concentration ranging from 0 to 90 ppm. We used the Scharifker–Hills model to estimate the type of nucleation mechanism after progressive addition of thiourea. Scanning electron microscope was employed for surface analysis and morphological characterisation of the nuclei. We verified that progressive nucleation is a key step in the obtainment of a shiny and homogeneous copper film, but an excess of thiourea could cause parasitic adsorption reactions on the surface of the substrate. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used for the thickness determination of the copper deposits and the electrodeposition efficiency correlated to thiourea concentration. Finally, the optimal concentration of thiourea was assessed to be 60 ppm for the used formulation of copper plating.
A Multi-Objective Identification of DEM Microparameters for Brittle Materials
Authors: Chen Rui , Wang Xu , Xiao Xiangwu , Hu Congfang , Peng Ruitao , Wang Yong
Published: March 2022

The discrete element method (DEM) [...]
The Expanding Role of DNA Barcodes: Indispensable Tools for Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
Authors: Gostel Morgan R. , Kress W. John
Published: March 2022

DNA barcoding has transformed the fields of ecology, evolution, and conservation by providing a rapid and effective tool for species identification. The growth of DNA barcodes as a resource for biologists has followed advances in computational and sequencing technology that have enabled high-throughput barcoding applications. The global DNA barcode database is expanding to represent the diversity of species on Earth thanks to efforts by international consortia and expanding biological collections. Today, DNA barcoding is instrumental in advancing our understanding of how species evolve, how they interact, and how we can slow down their extirpation and extinction. This review focuses on current applications of DNA barcode sequences to address fundamental lines of research, as well as new and expanding applications of which DNA barcoding will play a central role.
The Role of 3D CT Imaging in the Accurate Diagnosis of Lung Function in Coronavirus Patients
Authors: Farahat Ibrahim Shawky , Sharafeldeen Ahmed , Elsharkawy Mohamed , Soliman Ahmed , Mahmoud Ali , Ghazal Mohammed , Taher Fatma , Bilal Maha , Abdel Razek Ahmed Abdel Khalek , Aladrousy Waleed , Elmougy Samir , Tolba Ahmed Elsaid , El-Melegy Moumen , El-Baz Ayman
Published: March 2022

Early grading of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as well as ventilator support machines, are prime ways to help the world fight this virus and reduce the mortality rate. To reduce the burden on physicians, we developed an automatic Computer-Aided Diagnostic (CAD) system to grade COVID-19 from Computed Tomography (CT) images. This system segments the lung region from chest CT scans using an unsupervised approach based on an appearance model, followed by 3D rotation invariant Markov–Gibbs Random Field (MGRF)-based morphological constraints. This system analyzes the segmented lung and generates precise, analytical imaging markers by estimating the MGRF-based analytical potentials. Three Gibbs energy markers were extracted from each CT scan by tuning the MGRF parameters on each lesion separately. The latter were healthy/mild, moderate, and severe lesions. To represent these markers more reliably, a Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) was generated, then statistical markers were extracted from it, namely, 10th through 90th CDF percentiles with 10% increments. Subsequently, the three extracted markers were combined together and fed into a backpropagation neural network to make the diagnosis. The developed system was assessed on 76 COVID-19-infected patients using two metrics, namely, accuracy and Kappa. In this paper, the proposed system was trained and tested by three approaches. In the first approach, the MGRF model was trained and tested on the lungs. This approach achieved 95.83% accuracy and 93.39% kappa. In the second approach, we trained the MGRF model on the lesions and tested it on the lungs. This approach achieved 91.67% accuracy and 86.67% kappa. Finally, we trained and tested the MGRF model on lesions. It achieved 100% accuracy and 100% kappa. The results reported in this paper show the ability of the developed system to accurately grade COVID-19 lesions compared to other machine learning classifiers, such as k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), decision tree, naïve Bayes, and random forest.
Association between Preoperative Retrograde Hepatic Vein Flow and Acute Kidney Injury after Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Eke Csaba , Szabó András , Nagy Ádám , Párkányi Boglár , Kertai Miklós D. , Fazekas Levente , Kovács Attila , Lakatos Bálint , Hartyánszky István , Gál János , Merkely Béla , Székely Andrea
Published: March 2022

Key questions: Is there a predictive value of hepatic venous flow patterns for postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery? Key findings: In patients who underwent cardiac surgery, retrograde hepatic venous waves (A, V) and their respective ratio to anterograde waves showed a strong association with postoperative AKI, defined as the percentage change of the highest postoperative serum creatinine from the baseline preoperative concentration (%ΔCr). The velocity time integral (VTI) of the retrograde A wave and the ratio of the retrograde and anterograde waves’ VTI were independently associated with AKI after adjustment for disease severity. Take-home message: A higher ratio of retrograde/antegrade waves in hepatic venous retrograde waves, which are related to hepatic stasis, may predict AKI after cardiac surgery. Introduction: Hepatic venous flow patterns reflect pressure changes in the right ventricle and are also markers of systemic venous congestion. Pulsatility of the inferior caval vein was used to predict the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery. Aims: Our objective was to evaluate the association between preoperative hepatic venous flow patterns and the risk of AKI in patients after cardiac surgery. Methods: This prospective, observational study included 98 patients without preexisting liver disease who underwent cardiac surgery between 1 January 2018, and 31 March 2020, at a tertiary heart center. In addition to a routine echocardiographic examination, we recorded the maximal velocity and velocity time integral (VTI) of the standard four waves in the common hepatic vein with Doppler ultrasound. Our primary outcome measure was postoperative AKI, defined as the percentage change of the highest postoperative serum creatinine from the baseline preoperative concentration (%ΔCr). The secondary outcome was AKI, defined by KDIGO (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes) criteria. Results: The median age of the patients was 69.8 years (interquartile range [IQR 25–75] 13 years). Seventeen patients (17.3%) developed postoperative AKI based on the KDIGO. The VTI of the retrograde A waves in the hepatic veins showed a strong correlation (B: 0.714; p = 0.0001) with an increase in creatinine levels after cardiac surgery. The velocity time integral (VTI) of the A wave (B = 0.038, 95% CI = 0.025–0.051, p < 0.001) and the ratio of VTI of the retrograde and anterograde waves (B = 0.233, 95% CI = 0.112–0.356, p < 0.001) were independently associated with an increase in creatinine levels. Conclusions: The severity of hepatic venous regurgitation can be a sign of venous congestion and seems to be related to the development of AKI.
Urethral Sphincter Length but Not Prostatic Apex Shape in Preoperative MRI Is Associated with Mid-Term Continence Rates after Radical Prostatectomy
Authors: Hoeh Benedikt , Wenzel Mike , Müller Matthias , Wittler Clarissa , Schlenke Eva , Hohenhorst Jan L. , Köllermann Jens , Steuber Thomas , Graefen Markus , Tilki Derya , Bernatz Simon , Karakiewicz Pierre I. , Preisser Felix , Becker Andreas , Kluth Luis A. , Mandel Philipp , Chun Felix K. H.
Published: March 2022

Background: To test the impact of urethral sphincter length (USL) and anatomic variants of prostatic apex (Lee-type classification) in preoperative multiparametric magnet resonance imaging (mpMRI) on mid-term continence in prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy (RP). Methods: We relied on an institutional tertiary-care database to identify patients who underwent RP between 03/2018 and 12/2019 with preoperative mpMRI and data available on mid-term (>6 months post-surgery) urinary continence, defined as usage 0/1 (-safety) pad/24 h. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to test for predictor status of USL and prostatic apex variants, defined in mpMRI measurements. Results: Of 68 eligible patients, rate of mid-term urinary continence was 81% (n = 55). Median coronal (15.1 vs. 12.5 mm) and sagittal (15.4 vs. 11.1 mm) USL were longer in patients reporting urinary continence in mid-term follow-up (both p < 0.01). No difference was recorded for prostatic apex variants distribution (Lee-type) between continent vs. incontinent patients (p = 0.4). In separate multivariable logistic regression models, coronal (odds ratio (OR): 1.35) and sagittal (OR: 1.67) USL, but not Lee-type, were independent predictors for mid-term continence. Conclusion: USL, but not apex anatomy, in preoperative mpMRI was associated with higher rates of urinary continence at mid-term follow-up.
Evaluation and Comparison of the Predictive Value of 4C Mortality Score, NEWS, and CURB-65 in Poor Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Study from a Single Center in Romania
Authors: Citu Cosmin , Gorun Florin , Motoc Andrei , Ratiu Adrian , Gorun Oana Maria , Burlea Bogdan , Neagoe Octavian , Citu Ioana Mihaela , Rosca Ovidiu , Bratosin Felix , Grigoras Mirela Loredana , Patrascu Raul , Malita Daniel
Published: March 2022

To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths across the world. Prognostic scores can improve the clinical management of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. The objective of this study was to assess the predictive role of 4C Mortality, CURB-65, and NEWS in COVID-19 mortality among the Romanian population. A single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted on patients with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-proven COVID-19 admitted to the Municipal Emergency Clinical Hospital of Timisoara, Romania, between 1 October 2020 and 15 March 2021. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) analyses were performed to determine the discrimination accuracy of the three scores. The mean values of the risk scores were higher in the non-survivors group (survivors group vs. non-survivors group: 8 vs. 15 (4C Mortality Score); 3 vs. 8.5 (NEWS); 1 vs. 3 (CURB-65)). In terms of mortality risk prediction, the NEWS performed best, with an AUC of 0.86, and the CURB-65 score performed poorly, with an AUC of 0.80. CURB-65, NEWS, and 4C Mortality scores were significant mortality predictors in the analysis, with acceptable calibration. Among the scores assessed in our study, NEWS had the highest performance in predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Thus, the findings from this study suggest that the use of NEWS may be beneficial to the early identification of high-risk COVID-19 patients and the provision of more aggressive care to reduce mortality associated with COVID-19.
Comparing Measurements of Vascular Diameter Using Adaptative Optics Imaging and Conventional Fundus Imaging
Authors: Mautuit Thibaud , Semecas Rachel , Hogg Stephen , Daien Vincent , Gavard Olivier , Chateau Nicolas , MacGillivray Tom , Trucco Emanuele , Chiquet Christophe
Published: March 2022

The aim of this prospective study was to compare retinal vascular diameter measurements taken from standard fundus images and adaptive optics (AO) images. We analysed retinal images of twenty healthy subjects with 45-degree funduscopic colour photographs (CR-2 Canon fundus camera, Canon™) and adaptive optics (AO) fundus images (rtx1 camera, Imagine Eyes®). Diameters were measured using three software applications: the VAMPIRE (Vessel Assessment and Measurement Platform for Images of the REtina) annotation tool, IVAN (Interactive Vessel ANalyzer) for funduscopic colour photographs, and AO_Detect_Artery™ for AO images. For the arterial diameters, the mean difference between AO_Detect_Artery™ and IVAN was 9.1 µm (−27.4 to 9.2 µm, p = 0.005) and the measurements were significantly correlated (r = 0.79). The mean difference between AO_Detect_Artery™ and VAMPIRE annotation tool was 3.8 µm (−34.4 to 26.8 µm, p = 0.16) and the measurements were poorly correlated (r = 0.12). For the venous diameters, the mean difference between the AO_Detect_Artery™ and IVAN was 3.9 µm (−40.9 to 41.9 µm, p = 0.35) and the measurements were highly correlated (r = 0.83). The mean difference between the AO_Detect_Artery™ and VAMPIRE annotation tool was 0.4 µm (−17.44 to 25.3 µm, p = 0.91) and the correlations were moderate (r = 0.41). We found that the VAMPIRE annotation tool, an entirely manual software, is accurate for the measurement of arterial and venular diameters, but the correlation with AO measurements is poor. On the contrary, IVAN, a semi-automatic software tool, presents slightly greater differences with AO imaging, but the correlation is stronger. Data from arteries should be considered with caution, since IVAN seems to significantly under-estimate arterial diameters.
Transversal Competencies for Employability in University Graduates: A Systematic Review from the Employers’ Perspective
Authors: García-Álvarez Jesús , Vázquez-Rodríguez Ana , Quiroga-Carrillo Anaïs , Priegue Caamaño Diana
Published: March 2022

The aim of this article is to provide a systematic review of the transversal competencies for employability in university graduates from an employer’s perspective, with consideration to the importance of the topic in the cross-national context. The PRISMA statement was used to guide the methodology and the reporting for the systematic review. The data collection produced 52 articles from the Scopus and Web of Science (JCR only) databases in the ten years between 2008 and 2018. The analysis focused on the characteristics of the employers and organizations, the methods and the instruments for evaluating transversal competencies, and the most highly valued competencies, both internationally and by continent. One of the main contributions is the creation of a classification that is made up of 41 transversal competencies that are grouped into five dimensions. The results show that employers attributed more importance to the competencies in the dimensions of Job-related basic (JRB) skills, Socio-relational (SR) skills, and Self-management (SM) skills. We conclude that Higher education institutions need to incorporate “pedagogies for employability”, which will strengthen the link between the academic setting and the socio-occupational reality and will ensure that graduates make a suitable transition to the world of work.
Sound Localization Based on Acoustic Source Using Multiple Microphone Array in an Indoor Environment
Authors: Chung Ming-An , Chou Hung-Chi , Lin Chia-Wei
Published: March 2022

Sound signals have been widely applied in various fields. One of the popular applications is sound localization, where the location and direction of a sound source are determined by analyzing the sound signal. In this study, two microphone linear arrays were used to locate the sound source in an indoor environment. The TDOA is also designed to deal with the problem of delay in the reception of sound signals from two microphone arrays by using the generalized cross-correlation algorithm to calculate the TDOA. The proposed microphone array system with the algorithm can successfully estimate the sound source’s location. The test was performed in a standardized chamber. This experiment used two microphone arrays, each with two microphones. The experimental results prove that the proposed method can detect the sound source and obtain good performance with a position error of about 2.0~2.3 cm and angle error of about 0.74 degrees. Therefore, the experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the system.
Throughput Analysis for Wireless Full-Duplex Multi-Hop Networks with RTS/CTS-Based MAC
Authors: Yumen Yosuke , Sakakura Shota , Sanada Kosuke , Hatano Hiroyuki , Mori Kazuo
Published: March 2022

Medium access control (MAC) protocol operations for in-band full duplex multi-hop networks play an important role in efficient data relaying and throughput enhancement. Knowledge of the relationship between essential operations in MAC protocol for full duplex MAC (FD MAC) networks and network performance is important and useful in terms of the protocol and network design. FD MAC protocols often require exchanging control frames, e.g., request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS). However, the conventional model cannot analyze the performance of wireless multi-hop networks with RTS/CTS-based FD MAC. Thus, this paper proposes a throughput analysis model for wireless multi-hop networks with RTS/CTS-based FD MAC. The proposed model includes novel “airtime expressions”, which allows us to handle RTS/CTS operations under FD MAC. The proposed model provides the end-to-end throughput of multi-hop networks with RTS/CTS-based FD MAC for any number of hops and any payload size. The validity of the analytical expressions is confirmed through comparisons with simulation results.
The Impact of Consumers’ Green Skepticism on the Purchase of Energy-Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Products
Authors: Kreczmańska-Gigol Katarzyna , Gigol Tomasz
Published: March 2022

Interest in and acquisition of energy-efficient items and pro-environmental products and the scale of these purchases depend on consumer attitudes, especially those related to beliefs that such products are usually more expensive than their nonenergy-efficient counterparts. However, green skepticism is a phenomenon that weakens the willingness to buy both energy-efficient and pro-environmental products. This skepticism is enhanced by the phenomenon of greenwashing, which has become a popular way of competing, whereby companies strive to appear to be more environmentally friendly than they are. Therefore, we wanted to investigate consumer attitudes toward energy-efficient products and environmentally friendly purchases. We conducted a survey using a computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) technique throughout Poland. The research sample included 1000 individuals and was representative of gender, age, and place of residence. The results of our study showed that women, people with a higher education, and people in better financial situations accept higher prices for products that do not cause environmental damage. Moreover, willingness to pay higher prices for products that do not cause environmental damage correlates negatively with a negative assessment of producers’ social responsibility and with a negative assessment of consumers’ social responsibility. We proposed theoretical and practical implications.
The Approach in Selecting the Best Genetic Resistance against Invasive Aphid for Indigenous Tropical Pinus merkusii Jungh. et de Vriese in Indonesia
Authors: Baskorowati Liliana , Purwanto  , Hendrati Rina Laksmi , Setiahadi Rahmanta , Susanto Mudji , Nurtjahjaningsih Ida Luh Gede , Mashudi  , Kurniawan Agus , Pudjiono Sugeng , Setiadi Dedi , Sumardi
Published: March 2022

Pinus merkusii, a natural tropical pine species of Indonesia, is cultivated as the second most important artificial forest for the industry in Java, after teak, to produce oleoresin. Its genetic improvement began in 1977 because of its critical role in raising community incomes. Meanwhile, the effort for genetic improvement in aphid (Pineus boerneri) resistance has just recently started since its spread was only found broadly in Java by 2004. The second-generation progeny trial for this purpose was established in 2010, with materials from the best growing 34 families of the first generation. This study aimed to obtain the best pine genotypes through screening the existing natural variations found on important characters. The reported incidence of the trigger was when the experiment was attacked significantly at 30.7% after four years, while some 67 individuals were unexpectedly still performing well after six years. The results show that blocks affect differences for all traits of diameter, aphid resistance, and oleoresin productions, and all families differ except for the west-side yield of oleoresin production. Furthermore, heritability values at individual and family levels were moderate for the diameter (h2i = 0.16; h2f = 0.53) and eastern oleoresin (h2i = 0.14; h2f = 0.42). The gain is 4.3% when 30% of families with the best diameters are retained, while the genetic gain reaches 11% for oleoresin production. As one of the important traits in the breeding program, aphid resistance has a weakly inherited trait (h2i =0.07; h2f =0.29). Interestingly, this trait shows positive moderate genetic correlations with the two essential economic values of diameter (rg = 0.66) and oleoresin production (rg = 0.40). Therefore, the selection of the diameter and oleoresin production will not substantially affect the resistance.
A Structural Assessment of Sycamore Maple Bark Disintegration by Nectria cinnabarina
Authors: Račko Vladimír , Kováč Ján , Mišíková Oľga , Mihál Ivan , Milenković Ivan , Ďurkovič Jaroslav
Published: March 2022

Previous phytopathological studies of the fungal pathogen Nectria cinnabarina have been focused on its distribution and host diversity but little is known about the spread of this pathogen and the defence responses of forest trees to an infection inside host tissues. Histopathological alterations of bark, periderm, phloem and woody tissues were investigated in sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) branches following their natural attack by the advanced anamorph and teleomorph developmental stages of the fungus. Light, fluorescence, confocal laser scanning and scanning electron microscopy techniques supplemented by X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging were used to distinguish between healthy and disintegrated plant tissues. The intercellular spread of fungal hyphae was found primarily in the phelloderm. Expanding hyphae aggregations produced ruptures in the phellem and the disintegration of both phellogen and phellodermal parenchyma cells in close proximity to the expanding fruiting bodies of the fungus. Thicker hyphae of the teleomorph fungal stage heavily disintegrated the phelloderm tissues and also induced enhanced sclerification of the nearby phloem tissues that limited the spread of the infection into the sieve tubes. Both the intercellular and intracellular spread of hyphae inside the peripheral parts of sclereid clusters led to the disintegration of the compound middle lamellae but the hyphae were only rarely able to pass through these structural phloem barriers. The massive fungal colonization of both lumens and disintegrated tangential cell walls of ray parenchyma cells resulted in severe cambial necroses. Although the hyphae penetrated into the outermost annual growth rings of the xylem, no cell wall disintegration of the parenchyma cells, vessels and fibres was revealed. Despite the local cambial necroses and severe phloem ray disintegration, the bark remained attached to the examined branches and no bark cankers were formed.
Looking inside Mexican Traditional Food as Sources of Synbiotics for Developing Novel Functional Products
Authors: Torres-Maravilla Edgar , Méndez-Trujillo Vianey , Hernández-Delgado Natalia C. , Bermúdez-Humarán Luis G. , Reyes-Pavón Diana
Published: March 2022

Currently, emerging alimentary alternatives are growing, leading to the consumption of natural products including bio, fermented, and traditional foods. The studies over functional properties of food matrices and their derived compounds have resulted in the development of new functional alimentary items. However, most of the population still has limited access to, and information about, suitable foods. Analyzing traditional fermented products, we found fermented food matrices containing beneficial bacteria, with the possibility of exerting effects on different substrates enhancing the bioavailability of short-chain fatty acids (SFCAs), antioxidants, among other food-derived products. Maize (Zea mays L.), agave varieties, nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica), and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were key foods for the agricultural and nutritional development of Mesoamerica. We believe that the traditional Mexican diet has relevant ingredients with these functionalities and their association will allow us to develop functional food suitable for each population and their current needs. In this review, the functional properties of maize, agave, nopal, and frijol are detailed, and the functional food innovation and development opportunities for these food matrices are analyzed, which may be an important precedent for future basic and applied research.
Weighted-CAPIC Caching Algorithm for Priority Traffic in Named Data Network
Authors: Yovita Leanna Vidya , Syambas Nana Rachmana , Edward Ian Joseph Matheus
Published: March 2022

Today, the internet requires many additional mechanisms or protocols to support various ever-growing applications. As a future internet architecture candidate, the Named Data Network (NDN) offers a solution that naturally fulfills this need. One of the critical components in NDN is cache. Caching in NDN solves bandwidth usage, server load, and service time. Some research about caching has been conducted, but improvements can be made. In this research, we derived the utility function of multiclass content to obtain the relationship between the class’s weight and cache hit ratio. Then, we formulated it into the Weighted-CAPIC caching algorithm. Our research shows that Weighted-CAPIC provides a higher cache hit ratio for the priority class and the whole system. This performance is supported while the algorithm still provides the same path-stretch value as Dynamic-CAPIC. The Weighted-CAPIC is suitable to used in mobile nodes due to its ability to work individually without having to coordinate with other nodes.
Addressing Syntax-Based Semantic Complementation: Incorporating Entity and Soft Dependency Constraints into Metonymy Resolution
Authors: Du Siyuan , Wang Hao
Published: March 2022

State-of-the-art methods for metonymy resolution (MR) consider the sentential context by modeling the entire sentence. However, entity representation, or syntactic structure that are informative may be beneficial for identifying metonymy. Other approaches only using deep neural network fail to capture such information. To leverage both entity and syntax constraints, this paper proposes a robust model EBAGCN for metonymy resolution. First, this work extracts syntactic dependency relations under the guidance of syntactic knowledge. Then the work constructs a neural network to incorporate both entity representation and syntactic structure into better resolution representations. In this way, the proposed model alleviates the impact of noisy information from entire sentences and breaks the limit of performance on the complicated texts. Experiments on the SemEval and ReLocaR dataset show that the proposed model significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art method BERT by more than 4%. Ablation tests demonstrate that leveraging these two types of constraints benefits fine pre-trained language models in the MR task.
Unsupervised Anomaly Detection and Segmentation on Dirty Datasets
Authors: Guo Jiahao , Yu Xiaohuo , Wang Lu
Published: March 2022

Industrial quality control is an important task. Most of the existing vision-based unsupervised industrial anomaly detection and segmentation methods require that the training set only consists of normal samples, which is difficult to ensure in practice. This paper proposes an unsupervised framework to solve the industrial anomaly detection and segmentation problem when the training set contains anomaly samples. Our framework uses a model pretrained on ImageNet as a feature extractor to extract patch-level features. After that, we propose a trimming method to estimate a robust Gaussian distribution based on the patch features at each position. Then, with an iterative filtering process, we can iteratively filter out the anomaly samples in the training set and re-estimate the Gaussian distribution at each position. In the prediction phase, the Mahalanobis distance between a patch feature vector and the center of the Gaussian distribution at the corresponding position is used as the anomaly score of this patch. The subsequent anomaly region segmentation is performed based on the patch anomaly score. We tested the proposed method on three datasets containing the anomaly samples and obtained state-of-the-art performance.
Handover Management in 5G Vehicular Networks
Authors: Kosmopoulos Ioannis , Skondras Emmanouil , Michalas Angelos , Michailidis Emmanouel T. , Vergados Dimitrios D.
Published: March 2022

Fifth-Generation (5G) vehicular networks support novel services with increased Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Vehicular users need to be continuously connected to networks that fulfil the constraints of their services. Thus, the implementation of optimal Handover (HO) mechanisms for 5G vehicular architectures is deemed necessary. This work describes a scheme for performing HOs in 5G vehicular networks using the functionalities of the Media-Independent Handover (MIH) and Fast Proxy Mobile IPv6 (FPMIP) standards. The scheme supports both predictive and reactive HO scenarios. A velocity and alternative network monitoring process prepares each vehicle for both HO cases. In the case of predictive HO, each time the satisfaction grade of the vehicular user drops below a predefined threshold, the HO is initiated. On the other hand, in the case of reactive HO, the vehicle loses the connectivity with its serving network and connects to the available network that has obtained the higher ranking from the network selection process. Furthermore, the HO implementation is based on an improved version of the FPMIPv6 protocol. For the evaluation of the described methodology, a 5G vehicular network architecture was simulated. In this architecture, multiple network access technologies coexist, while the experimental results showed that the proposed scheme outperformed existing HO methods.
Evaluation of the Hygienic Quality of the Gastronomic Offer of a Coastal Tourist Destination: A Study in San Pablo, Ecuador
Authors: Guadalupe-Moyano Verónica , Villagómez-Buele César , Carvache-Franco Mauricio , Carvache-Franco Wilmer , Ramón-Casal Tito
Published: March 2022

In Ecuador, the San Pablo commune is one of the main tourist destinations in the Ecuadorian coastal region, recognized for its scenic landscapes and its gastronomy based on fish and seafood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hygienic quality of the food offered in this location. Hence, five local restaurants were audited for compliance to good manufacturing practices (GMP), considering requirements for personnel, raw materials, facilities, equipment and utensils, quality assurance and storage conditions. Concurrently, four groups of ready-to-serve foods were sampled: rice, fish, natural juice, and raw salads to analyze total coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. The results confirmed the absence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. However, values outside the norm for total coliforms were quantified in three food groups. There was an average compliance of 66.46 ± 16.67% regarding GMP with no significant difference in compliance between the six groups of requirements. These results indicate that work is needed to improve GMP, increase the hygienic quality of food and enhance the gastronomy offered in San Pablo.
A Hedonic Analysis of Processed Tomato Prices Using Italian Regional Markets Data
Authors: De Meo Emilio , Nardone Gianluca , Bimbo Francesco , Carlucci Domenico
Published: March 2022

The Italian market of processed tomatoes (whole peeled and unpeeled tomatoes, chopped tomato pulp, tomato purée, and concentrated tomato paste) rose, thanks to the Italian tradition of using such products in many recipes of cuisine, until early 2000; since then, it has declined to date. Moreover, such products are traditionally considered low-price products, and their market is characterized by intense price competition. Thus, recently, producers have started to differentiate their products as a way to achieve higher margins, and escape from competition in price. By using the sales data of Italian processed tomatoes sold in several retail stores and a hedonic price model, we estimated the implicit prices associated with several attributes that are currently available in processed tomato products on the market. We find that a protected designation of origin, organic certification, and flavoring, as well as the indication of tomato variety, are the most valuable features of processed tomato products sold in the Italian market. This implies that product differentiation strategies that could be suggested to producers as the most effective are those aimed at enhancing the territorial link of the product, the environmental sustainability of the production process, and organoleptic product features, as well as its convenience.
The Genetic Diagnosis of Ultrarare DEEs: An Ongoing Challenge
Authors: Musante Luciana , Costa Paola , Zanus Caterina , Faletra Flavio , Murru Flora M. , Bianco Anna M. , La Bianca Martina , Ragusa Giulia , Athanasakis Emmanouil , d’Adamo Adamo P. , Carrozzi Marco , Gasparini Paolo
Published: March 2022

Epileptic encephalopathies (EEs) and developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are a group of severe early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). In recent years, next-generation equencing (NGS) technologies enabled the discovery of numerous genes involved in these conditions. However, more than 50% of patients remained undiagnosed. A major obstacle lies in the high degree of genetic heterogeneity and the wide phenotypic variability that has characterized these disorders. Interpreting a large amount of NGS data is also a crucial challenge. This study describes a dynamic diagnostic procedure used to investigate 17 patients with DEE or EE with previous negative or inconclusive genetic testing by whole-exome sequencing (WES), leading to a definite diagnosis in about 59% of participants. Biallelic mutations caused most of the diagnosed cases (50%), and a pathogenic somatic mutation resulted in 10% of the subjects. The high diagnostic yield reached highlights the relevance of the scientific approach, the importance of the reverse phenotyping strategy, and the involvement of a dedicated multidisciplinary team. The study emphasizes the role of recessive and somatic variants, new genetic mechanisms, and the complexity of genotype–phenotype associations. In older patients, WES results could end invasive diagnostic procedures and allow a more accurate transition. Finally, an early pursued diagnosis is essential for comprehensive care of patients, precision approach, knowledge of prognosis, patient and family planning, and quality of life.
Delineating Novel and Known Pathogenic Variants in TYR, OCA2 and HPS-1 Genes in Eight Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA) Pakistani Families
Authors: Shakil Muhammad , Akbar Abida , Aisha Nazish Mahmood , Hussain Intzar , Ullah Muhammad Ikram , Atif Muhammad , Kaul Haiba , Amar Ali , Latif Muhammad Zahid , Qureshi Muhammad Atif , Mahmood Saqib
Published: March 2022

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is associated with a wide range of clinical presentations and has been categorized with syndromic and non-syndromic features. The most common causative genes in non-syndromic OCA are TYR and OCA2 and HSP1 is in the syndromic albinism. The objective of this study was to identify pathogenic variants in congenital OCA families from Pakistan. Eight consanguineous families were recruited, and clinical and ophthalmological examination was carried out to diagnose the disease. Whole blood was collected from the participating individuals, and genomic DNA was extracted for sequencing analysis. TruSight one-panel sequencing was carried out on one affected individual of each family, and termination Sanger sequencing was carried out to establish the co-segregation of the causative gene or genes. In silico analysis was conducted to predict the causative pathogenic variants. Two families were found to have novel genetic pathogenic variants, and six families harbored previously reported variants. One novel compound heterozygous pathogenic variant in the TYR gene, c.1002delA; p.Ala335LeufsTer20, a novel frameshift deletion pathogenic variant and c.832C>T; and p.Arg278Ter (a known pathogenic variant) were found in one family, whereas HPS1; c.437G>A; and p.Trp146Ter were detected in another family. The identification of new and previous pathogenic variants in TYR, OCA2, and HPS1 genes are causative of congenital OCA, and these findings are expanding the heterogeneity of OCA.
The Length Polymorphism of the 9th Intron in the Avian CHD1 Gene Allows Sex Determination in Some Species of Palaeognathae
Authors: Kroczak Aleksandra , Wierzbicki Heliodor , Urantówka Adam Dawid
Published: March 2022

In palaeognathous birds, several PCR-based methods and a range of genes and unknown genomic regions have been studied for the determination of sex. Many of these methods have proven to be unreliable, complex, expensive, and time-consuming. Even the most widely used PCR markers for sex typing in birds, the selected introns of the highly conserved CHD1 gene (primers P2/P8, 1237L/1272H, and 2550F/2718R), have rarely been effective in palaeognathous birds. In this study we used eight species of Palaeognathae to test three PCR markers: CHD1i9 (CHD1 gene intron 9) and NIPBLi16 (NIPBL gene intron 16) that performed properly as Psittaciformes sex differentiation markers, but have not yet been tested in Palaeognathae, as well as the CHD1iA intron (CHD1 gene intron 16), which so far has not been used effectively to sex palaeognathous birds. The results of our research indicate that the CHD1i9 marker effectively differentiates sex in four of the eight species we studied. In Rhea americana, Eudromia elegans, and Tinamus solitarius, the electrophoretic patterns of the amplicons obtained clearly indicate the sex of tested individuals, whereas in Crypturellus tataupa, sexing is possible based on poorly visible female specific bands. Additionally, we present and discuss the results of our in silico investigation on the applicability of CHD1i9 to sex other Palaeognathae that were not tested in this study.
Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) versus Other Programs: A Scoping Review of Health Outcomes
Authors: Arku Daniel , Felix Mariana , Warholak Terri , Axon David R.
Published: March 2022

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides comprehensive health and social services to community-dwelling older United States (US) adults. However, little is known about how PACE outcomes compare to similar caregiving programs. This scoping review searched nine databases to identify studies that compared economic, clinical, or humanistic outcomes of PACE to other caregiving programs in the US. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data from relevant articles and resolved discrepancies through consensus. From the 724 articles identified, six studies were included. Example study outcomes included: limitations and needs, survival and mortality, healthcare utilization, and economic outcomes. In conclusion, there are few published comparisons of PACE outcomes versus other caregiving programs for older US adults, and identified studies indicate mixed results. Further studies are needed to compare PACE outcomes to other programs so that policymakers are well informed to manage and optimize health outcomes for the growing US older adult population.
Experience Measures after Radical Prostatectomy: A Register-Based Study Evaluating the Association between Patient-Reported Symptoms and Quality of Information
Authors: Christiansen Ola , Kirkevold Øyvind , Bratt Ola , Šaltytė Benth Jūratė , Slaaen Marit
Published: March 2022

Patient-reported data are important for quality assurance and improvement. Our main aim was to investigate the association between patient-reported symptoms among patients undergoing radical prostatectomy and their perceived quality of information before treatment. In this single-centre study, 235 men treated with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) between August 2017 and June 2019, responded to a follow-up questionnaire 20–42 months after surgery. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between patient-reported symptoms, measured with Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite for Clinical Practice (EPIC-CP), and the perceived quality of information. Adverse effects were defined as a higher EPIC score at follow-up than at baseline. The majority (77%) rated the general information as good. Higher EPIC-CP at follow-up was significantly associated with lower perceived quality of information, also after adjustment for age and level of education (bivariate model OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07; 1.16, p < 0.001 and multiple model OR 1.12 95% CI 1.08; 1.17, p < 0.001). The share who rated information as good was almost identical among those who reported more symptoms after treatment and those who reported less symptoms (78.3% and 79.2%). Consequently, adverse effects could not explain the results. Our findings suggest a need for improvement of preoperative communication.
Information Usage and Compliance with Preventive Behaviors for COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study with Data from the JACSIS 2020/JASTIS 2021
Authors: Kusama Taro , Kiuchi Sakura , Takeuchi Kenji , Ikeda Takaaki , Nakazawa Noriko , Kinugawa Anna , Osaka Ken , Tabuchi Takahiro
Published: March 2022

The influence of different types of information sources on individual preventive behaviors remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations between individual information usage to obtain information about COVID-19 and compliance with preventive behaviors. This longitudinal study was based on an Internet survey conducted in August–September 2020 and February 2021. We used compliance with four preventive behaviors for COVID-19, “wearing a mask”, “ventilation”, “social distancing”, and “avoiding crowds” as outcome variables, and 20 types of information sources based on people or institutions (Medical worker, Government, etc.) and media (TV news, Twitter, etc.) as predictors. Absolute differences and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using generalized estimating equations adjusted for possible confounders. Among the 18,151 participants aged 20–79, the mean age was 51.7 (SD = 15.9) in 2020, and 51.3% were male. In total, compliance with “wearing a mask”, “ventilation”, “social distancing”, and “avoiding crowds” was seen in 86.2%, 46.9%, 45.4%, and 62.6% of individuals in 2020, and 89.3%, 38.2%, 47.2%, and 61.6% of individuals in 2021, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, “medical workers”, “professionals”, “the government”, “Twitter”, “news websites”, and “TV news” were positively associated with compliance with two or more preventive behaviors (p < 0.05). The type of information source may play an important role in providing information for COVID-19 prevention.
Quality of Life among Caregivers of Patients Diagnosed with Major Chronic Disease during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Aljuaid Mohammed , Ilyas Namrah , Altuwaijri Eman , Albedawi Haddel , Alanazi Ohoud , Shahid Duaa , Alonazi Wadi
Published: March 2022

Quality of life (QoL) is considered one of the measures of health outcomes. Limited research studies have assessed family caregivers’ QoL, especially among patients diagnosed with chronic disease. This study measures the QoL of caregivers who guardian patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and/or other diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were primary caregivers who were supporting, in the last six months, individuals diagnosed with one of the previously mentioned chronic diseases. This included caregivers of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital from January 2021 to July of the same year (n = 1081); all participants completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment tool (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Caregivers of patients with cancer reported the highest mean level of QoL, followed by diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, then other different diseases (M = 3.80; M = 3.38; M = 3.37; and M = 2.51, respectively). A chi-square test of independence was performed to examine the relationship between the QoL of the four groups and their behaviors (i.e., caregivers’ psychological onuses and physical actions/reactions). The relation between these variables was significant, X2 (3, n = 1081) = 8.9, p = 0.001. The Kruskal–Wallis test indicated significant differences among the four groups (p ≤ 0.001). While the overall results of the QoL level of participants were low, a major recommendation of this study was to incorporate a QoL assessment to caregivers of chronically ill patients. Regular psychological and physical health check-ups of caregivers should be mandated in the healthcare system. Research studies should consider investigating and identifying the factors affecting health outcomes and positive developments which have a great impact on the wellbeing of both caregivers and patients on personal, organizational, and national levels.
Scouting for Food Heritage for Achieving Sustainable Development: The Methodological Approach of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste
Authors: Fontefrancesco Michele F. , Zocchi Dauro M. , Pieroni Andrea
Published: March 2022

Over the last two decades, scholars and organizations across the world have carried out research projects and promoted dissemination tools aimed at promoting food and food-related elements embedded in local and traditional foodways. In this regard, the documentation of food and biocultural heritage has been seen as the starting point of processes directed toward their safeguarding and promotion. Drawing from this premise, the paper presents an original methodological approach, designed within the framework of the Ark of Taste project, to map, inventory, and document food and food-related resources to produce a comprehensive dissemination tool for the promotion of local food and biocultural heritage. To this end, the paper discusses the case study of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste in Tanzania, looking at the approach used, and the challenges faced, in undertaking field and desk activities aimed at inventorying Tanzanian food products and in the creating of the gastronomic atlas of this country. Drawing from this experience, the paper highlights the potentially crucial role that food and gastronomic inventories may have in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals from a grassroots perspective. Acknowledging the limitations and possible unintended effects of these initiatives on the protection of food and biocultural resources, the authors recognize the promising role that these tools could have in fostering the achievement of environmental (SDGs 13, 14, 15) and social sustainability (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 10) objectives.