bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Subjective Socioeconomic Status, Cognitive Abilities, and Personal Control: Associations With Health Behaviours
Authors: Kraft Pål , Kraft Brage , Hagen Thomas , Espeseth Thomas
Published: January 2022

Objective

To examine subjective and objective socioeconomic status (SSES and OSES, respectively) as predictors, cognitive abilities as confounders, and personal control perceptions as mediators of health behaviours.

Design

A cross-sectional study including 197 participants aged 30–50 years, recruited from the crowd-working platform, Prolific.

Main Outcome Measure

The Good Health Practices Scale, a 16-item inventory of health behaviours.

Results

SSES was the most important predictor of health behaviours (beta = 0.19, p < 0.01). Among the OSES indicators, education (beta = 0.16, p < 0.05), but not income, predicted health behaviours. Intelligence (r = −0.16, p < 0.05) and memory (r = −0.22, p < 0.01) were negatively correlated with health-promoting behaviours, and the effect of memory was upheld in the multivariate model (beta = −0.17, p < 0.05). Personal control perceptions (mastery and constraints) did not act as mediators.

Conclusion

SSES predicted health behaviours beyond OSES. The effect of socioeconomic indicators was not confounded by cognitive abilities. Surprisingly, cognitive abilities were negatively associated with health-promoting behaviours. Future research should emphasise SSES as a predictor of health behaviours. Delineating the psychological mechanisms linking SSES with health behaviours would be a valuable contribution toward improved understanding of socioeconomic disparities in health behaviours.
Exploring Trust Formation and Antecedents in Social Commerce
Authors: Alkhalifah Ali
Published: January 2022

With the rapid increase in social media users and netizens globally, the proclivity for online shopping using social commerce (SC) platforms cannot be ignored. Trust has been recognised as a constant challenge in the context of social commerce due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. Therefore, there is a dire need to enhance the trust of consumers in social commerce platforms. However, the research in the formation of trust in social commerce and antecedents remains limited. In addition, the existing SC research failed to include its multidimensional view to investigate user behaviour. This study fills this gap and extends existing knowledge by developing a model exploring the antecedents of trust in social commerce. Drawing upon the social-technical theory and trust lens, this study attempts to identify the role of (i) structural assurance (SA) and SC platforms as an institution-based trust, (ii) trust in sellers and trust in SC community as trusting beliefs, and (iii) trust in online payment as a cognitive trust on trust and intention of the social commerce. This research employs a dataset (n = 406) collected using an online survey; the research subjects were recruited from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This study uses the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to analyse the data and to confirm the hypothesis proposed in the research model. The empirical findings show that trust in social commerce influences behavioural intention. In addition, trust in the SC platform, the SC community, and online payment influence the trust in SC. Likewise, SA and trust in the SC platform have a significant relationship with trust in sellers, the SC community, and online payment. Finally, this study discusses the theoretical contributions and practical insights to several limitations and suggests directions for future research.
Vocabulary Repetition Following Multisensory Instruction Is Ineffective on L2 Sentence Comprehension: Evidence From the N400
Authors: Pishghadam Reza , Jajarmi Haniyeh , Shayesteh Shaghayegh , Khodaverdi Azin , Nassaji Hossein
Published: January 2022

Putting the principles of multisensory teaching into practice, this study investigated the effect of audio-visual vocabulary repetition on L2 sentence comprehension. Forty participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. A sensory-based model of instruction (i.e., emotioncy) was used to teach a list of unfamiliar vocabularies to the two groups. Following the instruction, the experimental group repeated the instructed words twice, while the control group received no vocabulary repetition. Afterward, their electrophysiological neural activities were recorded through electroencephalography while doing a sentence acceptability judgment task with 216 sentences under acceptable (correct) and unacceptable (pragmatically violated) conditions. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and a Bayesian repeated-measures ANOVA were used to compare the behavioral and neurocognitive responses [N400 as the main language-related event-related brain potential (ERP) effect] of the two groups. The results showed no significant N400 amplitude difference in favor of any of the groups. The findings corroborated the ineffectiveness of two repetitions preceded by multisensory instruction on L2 sentence comprehension.
Case Report: Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis Presenting With Catatonic Symptoms in an Adolescent Female Patient With a History of Traumatic Exposure
Authors: Bogdan Anamaria , Askenazy Florence , Richelme Christian , Gindt Morgane , Thümmler Susanne , Fernandez Arnaud
Published: January 2022

Introduction

Catatonia is a severe syndrome associated with a high proportion of underlying organic conditions including autoimmune encephalitis. The link between catatonia and psychiatric conditions such as mood disorders and schizophrenia spectrum disorders is well established while the causative effect of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and stress related disorders remains speculative.

Case Report

Here we describe the clinical case of a 14-year-old female patient presenting to the Emergency Department of a Pediatric University Hospital with acute changes in behavior five days after a sexual abuse. Acute stress reaction was suspected. Afterwards she developed catatonic symptoms alternating from stupor to excitement, resistant to the usual treatment with benzodiazepines. The first line examinations (PE, MRI, EEG) were inconclusive. The final diagnosis of anti-NMDARE was made 22 days after her admission in a University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her state improved after first- and second-line immunotherapy, with no signs of relapse at this day (8 months of clinical follow-up).

Discussion

The diagnosis of anti-NMDARE is challenging, involving a multidisciplinary approach. The neuropsychiatric features are complex, with no specific psychiatric phenotype. Several hypotheses are discussed to determine the role of an acute environmental stressors in the emergence of such complex neuropsychiatric clinical presentation (i.e., shared vulnerability, precipitators, consequences of preexisting psychiatric symptoms).

Conclusion

Child and adolescent psychiatrists and pediatricians should be aware of the overlap between neurological and psychiatric features in the setting of anti-NMDARE. Catatonia should not be dismissed as a primary psychiatric disorder even in the context of recent traumatic exposure.
Lessons Learned About Designing and Conducting Studies From HRI Experts
Authors: Fraune Marlena R. , Leite Iolanda , Karatas Nihan , Amirova Aida , Legeleux Amélie , Sandygulova Anara , Neerincx Anouk , Dilip Tikas Gaurav , Gunes Hatice , Mohan Mayumi , Abbasi Nida Itrat , Shenoy Sudhir , Scassellati Brian , de Visser Ewart J. , Komatsu Takanori
Published: January 2022

The field of human-robot interaction (HRI) research is multidisciplinary and requires researchers to understand diverse fields including computer science, engineering, informatics, philosophy, psychology, and more disciplines. However, it is hard to be an expert in everything. To help HRI researchers develop methodological skills, especially in areas that are relatively new to them, we conducted a virtual workshop, Workshop Your Study Design (WYSD), at the 2021 International Conference on HRI. In this workshop, we grouped participants with mentors, who are experts in areas like real-world studies, empirical lab studies, questionnaire design, interview, participatory design, and statistics. During and after the workshop, participants discussed their proposed study methods, obtained feedback, and improved their work accordingly. In this paper, we present 1) Workshop attendees’ feedback about the workshop and 2) Lessons that the participants learned during their discussions with mentors. Participants’ responses about the workshop were positive, and future scholars who wish to run such a workshop can consider implementing their suggestions. The main contribution of this paper is the lessons learned section, where the workshop participants contributed to forming this section based on what participants discovered during the workshop. We organize lessons learned into themes of 1) Improving study design for HRI, 2) How to work with participants - especially children -, 3) Making the most of the study and robot’s limitations, and 4) How to collaborate well across fields as they were the areas of the papers submitted to the workshop. These themes include practical tips and guidelines to assist researchers to learn about fields of HRI research with which they have limited experience. We include specific examples, and researchers can adapt the tips and guidelines to their own areas to avoid some common mistakes and pitfalls in their research.
Elevating Married Adolescents' Voices for Responsive Reproductive Healthcare in Syria
Authors: Chowdhary Pari , Kalyanpur Anushka , Mekuria Feven Tassaw , Altinci Ihlas
Published: January 2022

Increases in early marriage and pregnancy resulting from Syria's humanitarian crisis highlight a critical gap in adolescents' access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health information and services, and a larger need for adolescent-specific interventions grounded in gender transformative approaches. Seeking to address this, CARE, UNFPA and Syria Relief and Development adapted global evidence-based approaches to humanitarian contexts to create the Adolescent Mothers Against all Odds (AMAL) Initiative for pregnant girls and first-time mothers aged 10 to 18 years. Designed to improve the lives of young girls through responsive health systems and enabling environments, AMAL includes three components: a Young Mothers Club for first-time mothers and pregnant girls, participatory dialogues with health providers, and reflective dialogues with girls' marital family and community members. The AMAL Initiative intends to ensure responsiveness to the unique vulnerabilities of adolescent sub-groups by co-implementing with them. Select girls undergo additional leadership training and serve as adolescent representatives on community advisory groups sharing feedback for program improvement. One hundred-four first-time mothers and pregnant girls, 219 community members, and 120 health providers participated in AMAL in northwest Syria. In a mixed methods evaluation, facilitators administered monitoring tools to identify program improvements, pre-post surveys to assess outcomes, and end-line discussions to gather perceptions of impact. Girls reported a 47% overall increase in self-esteem, confidence, health-seeking capacity, and communication ability. Community support for girls' use of family planning increased by 27% and girls' equal access to services by 35%. Findings across all participant groups demonstrate decreased expectations of early marriage and increased acceptance of family planning post-marriage. Areas that participants cited for potential improvement included programming for girls/women above the age of 18 years, and additional training for health providers on long-acting contraceptive methods. These results show that participatory adolescent-centered sexual and reproductive health programming is not only feasible in crisis settings but can improve the self-efficacy of vulnerable adolescents to overcome barriers to accessing healthcare and improving well-being. The AMAL Initiative is now being scaled up through local partners in Syria and piloted in northern Nigeria.
Critical Social Science in Sport Management Research: A Scoping Review
Authors: Bodin Kerri , Teare Georgia , Taks Marijke
Published: January 2022

Sport management scholars have called for the application of broader research approaches, including critical social science. Such approaches help uncover the less-desirable aspects of sport and, therefore, offer a basis for positive change. While there have been advancements in the use of innovative research approaches over time, there remains little understanding of how these calls have been addressed. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine trends, gaps, and the use of critical social science and associated approaches in sport management scholarship. Two hundred sixteen relevant articles were identified through a database search (i.e., five platforms), complemented with a manual search of 419 journals. Results indicate that an increase in critical research published in sport management journals was evident following 2005. Findings suggest that there remains space for increased publication of critical social science work in sport management journals and for researchers to better articulate their research approaches in scholarly outputs.
Clinical Outcomes of Liver Transplantation in Patients With Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Single Center Study in China
Authors: Li Fangcong , Wang Tielong , Zhan Liqiang , Jia Zehua , Luo Tao , Chen Shirui , Zhao Qiang , Guo Zhiyong , He Xiaoshun , Wang Dongping
Published: January 2022

Background:

Liver transplantation (LT) is an optimal treatment for hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) patients but renal function recovery is not universal after operation. The aim of this study is to explore the association between stages of hepatorenal syndrome—acute kidney injury (HRS-AKI) and incidence of post-operation chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods

Data of HRS-AKI patients who received LT were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from 2016 to 2020. A survival and incidence curve and multivariable model were established to analyze the impacts of HRS-AKI stages and variables on 90-day survival and CKD within 12 months.

Results

A total of 62 HRS-AKI patients were enrolled in this study. Overall, 35 (57%), 17 (27%), and 10 (16%) patients were diagnosed as stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The patients at stage 3 had the poorest outcomes with the lowest rate of 90-day survival and the highest incidence of CKD in 12 months. Stage 3 (SHR = 7.186, 95% CI, 1.661–32.043) and postoperative renal replacement therapy (RRT) (SHR = 3.228, 95% CI, 1.115–9.345) were found as useful indicators for poor prognosis.

Conclusions

In our study, the classification of HRS-AKI stages can be used to predict the prognosis of HRS patients after LT. The peak serum creatinine level is a risky predictor in high HRS-AKI stage patients.
Modelling Shows the Negative Impact of Age Dependent Pharmacokinetics on the Efficacy of Oxytetracycline in Young Steers
Authors: Hekman Peter , Schefferlie Johan , Gehring Ronette
Published: January 2022

The effect of age dependent pharmacokinetics (PK) on the clinical efficacy of oxytetracycline (OTC) against Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in beef cattle was studied, using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model. The model includes a bodyweight dependent renal clearance. To mimic/reproduce the long terminal half-live a bone forming tissue compartment was considered. Data for the development, calibration and validation of the model were obtained from public literature. To integrate the PK with the pharmacodynamics (PD) of OTC, Monte Carlo simulations were performed using this PBPK model to predict time-concentration curves for two commonly used dosing regimens of short-acting and long-acting injectable OTC formulations in virtual populations of 5,000 steer calves of 100 kg and 400 kg. These curves were then used to calculate the value of the PKPD index for OTC, which is the ratio of the area under the concentration-time curve for 24 h (AUC24h) over the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the target pathogen (AUC24h/MIC). The MIC values were forMannheimia haemolytica, the dose-limiting pathogen for BRD. This integration of PBPK and PD for OTC used for the treatment of BRD in calves indicated that the Probability of Target Attainment (PTA) was sufficient for efficacy in calves of 400 kg, but insufficient for calves of 100 kg, when using a long acting dosing regimen of 20 mg/kg BW, twice, with a 48-h interval. The use of a dosing regimen of 10 mg/kg BW/day for 4 days predicted sufficient PTAs in both age groups.
Retrospective Recall of Psychological Distress Experienced During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy: Results From the ALT RISCOVID-19 Survey
Authors: Bracone Francesca , Gialluisi Alessandro , Costanzo Simona , Di Castelnuovo Augusto , Persichillo Mariarosaria , Olivieri Marco , Cerletti Chiara , Donati Maria Benedetta , de Gaetano Giovanni , Iacoviello Licia , Bonaccio Marialaura
Published: January 2022

Objectives: To estimate psychological distress experienced during the Italian lockdown (March-May 2020) by assessing, in the transition period of the pandemic (June-September 2020), participants’ recalling of their psychological state.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis on 1,880 adults (mean age 48.9 ± 14.5 years) from the web-based ALT RISCOVID-19 survey. Participants were asked to retrospectively recall their psychological state during lockdown concerning symptoms of depression (Patients’ Health Questionnaire), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder), stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and post-traumatic stress (Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health).

Results: Experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress was recalled by 15.8, 15.3 and 13.1% of respondents, respectively. These psychometric scales tended to decrease during the 4-month period of assessment (p < 0.05), while perceived stress levels did not (p = 0.13). Men and older individuals reported lower symptoms of depression (β = −0.42 and β = −0.42; p < 0.0001, respectively), anxiety (β = −0.41 and β = −0.45; p < 0.0001, respectively), stress (β = −0.36 and β = 0.50; p < 0.0001, respectively) and post-traumatic stress (β = −0.42; p < 0.0001, men vs women).

Conclusion: Recalled psychological distress experienced during COVID-19 lockdown tended to decrease during the transition period of the pandemic, except for stress. Women and younger people were at higher risk to recall psychological distress.
A Variable Parameter Method Based on Linear Extended State Observer for Position Tracking
Authors: Zheng Ying , Jiang Wei , Qiu Xinguo
Published: January 2022

This paper presents a control strategy with a linear extended state observer (LESO) and Kalman filter to achieve a high performance of the motion control system. The moment of inertia of the system, which is variable with the robotic joint motion, is estimated in the established model. A LESO with variable gain is designed, which could estimate the states and the total disturbance of the plant without a precision mathematical model. The disturbance caused by variable load and unknown dynamics can be compensated based on the LESO, while the moment of inertia is variable. In order to restrain the process noise and measure the noise of the system, the Kalman filter was applied. Tracking differentiator was utilized to avoid the overshoot of the system for the step signal. The designed control strategy with the LESO and the Kalman filter could improve the tracking performance for the servo system with parametric uncertainties, unknown dynamics, and disturbances. The effectiveness of the proposed method is implemented and validated in the experiment of the robotic joint, for which desired servo tracking performance is achieved with the conditions of load variation and sudden disturbance.
Bacteriophages in the Control of Aeromonas sp. in Aquaculture Systems: An Integrative View
Authors: Pereira Carla , Duarte João , Costa Pedro , Braz Márcia , Almeida Adelaide
Published: January 2022

Aeromonas species often cause disease in farmed fish and are responsible for causing significant economic losses worldwide. Although vaccination is the ideal method to prevent infectious diseases, there are still very few vaccines commercially available in the aquaculture field. Currently, aquaculture production relies heavily on antibiotics, contributing to the global issue of the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and resistance genes. Therefore, it is essential to develop effective alternatives to antibiotics to reduce their use in aquaculture systems. Bacteriophage (or phage) therapy is a promising approach to control pathogenic bacteria in farmed fish that requires a heavy understanding of certain factors such as the selection of phages, the multiplicity of infection that produces the best bacterial inactivation, bacterial resistance, safety, the host’s immune response, administration route, phage stability and influence. This review focuses on the need to advance phage therapy research in aquaculture, its efficiency as an antimicrobial strategy and the critical aspects to successfully apply this therapy to control Aeromonas infection in fish.
First Description of Ceftazidime/Avibactam Resistance in a ST13 KPC-70-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Strain from Portugal
Authors: Mendes Gabriel , Ramalho João F. , Bruschy-Fonseca Ana , Lito Luís , Duarte Aida , Melo-Cristino José , Caneiras Cátia
Published: January 2022

The combination of ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) is a novel β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor with activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacterales. Emerging cases caused by CZA-resistant strains that produce variants of KPC genes have already been reported worldwide. However, to the best of our knowledge, no CZA-resistant strains were reported in Portugal. In September 2019, a K. pneumoniae CZA-resistant strain was collected from ascitic fluid at a surgery ward of a tertiary University Hospital Center in Lisboa, Portugal. The strain was resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam, as well as to ceftazidime, cefoxitin, gentamicin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and ertapenem, being susceptible to imipenem and tigecycline. A hypermucoviscosity phenotype was confirmed by string test. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis revealed the presence of an ST13 KPC70-producing K. pneumoniae, a KPC-3 variant, differing in two amino-acid substitutions (D179Y and T263A). The D179Y mutation in the KPC Ω-loop region is the most common amino-acid substitution in KPC-2 and KPC-3, further leading to CZA resistance. The second mutation causes a KPC-70 variant in which threonine replaces alanine (T263A). The CZA-resistant strain showed the capsular locus KL3 and antigen locus O1v2. Other important virulence factors were identified: fimbrial adhesins type 1 and type 3, as well as the cluster of iron uptake systems aerobactin, enterobactin, salmochelin, and yersiniabactin included in integrative conjugative element 10 (ICEKp10) with the genotoxin colibactin cluster. Herein, we report the molecular characterization of the first hypervirulent CZA-resistant ST13 KPC-70-producing K. pneumoniae strain in Portugal. The emergence of CZA-resistant strains might pose a serious threat to public health and suggests an urgent need for enhanced clinical awareness and epidemiologic surveillance.
Improved Productivity of Naringin Oleate with Flavonoid and Fatty Acid by Efficient Enzymatic Esterification
Authors: Lee Jonghwa , Kim Kyeonga , Son Jemin , Lee Hyeseon , Song Jin Han , Lee Taek , Jeon Heungbae , Kim Hyun Soo , Park Si Jae , Yoo Hah Young , Park Chulhwan
Published: January 2022

Naringin is a flavonoid found in citrus fruits. It exhibits biological activities, such as anticancer and antioxidant effects, but it suffers from low solubility and low stability in lipophilic systems. These drawbacks lead to difficulties in the commercial application of naringin, but they can be overcome through esterification. In this study, naringin oleate was synthesized by enzymatic esterification and optimal conditions for the reaction were investigated. Experiments were conducted focusing on the following parameters: enzyme type, enzyme concentration, molar ratio of naringin to oleic acid, reaction temperature, and reaction solvent. We further confirmed the degree of esterification based on the difference in the initial and the final naringin concentrations. A conversion of 93.10% was obtained under optimized conditions (Lipozyme TL IM 10 g/L, molar ratio 1:20, reaction temperature 40 °C, acetonitrile as solvent, and 48 h reaction time). Thus, naringin oleate, a high value-added material that overcomes the low hydrophobicity of naringin and enhances its performance, was obtained through esterification of naringin using oleic acid. This study presented a method for the efficient enzymatic synthesis that could ensure high conversion within a shorter reaction time compared with that required in previously reported methods.
Involvement of Inflammasome Components in Kidney Disease
Authors: Aranda-Rivera Ana Karina , Srivastava Anjali , Cruz-Gregorio Alfredo , Pedraza-Chaverri José , Mulay Shrikant R. , Scholze Alexandra
Published: January 2022

Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes with an important role in the innate immune response. Canonical activation of inflammasomes results in caspase-1 activation and maturation of cytokines interleukin-1β and -18. These cytokines can elicit their effects through receptor activation, both locally within a certain tissue and systemically. Animal models of kidney diseases have shown inflammasome involvement in inflammation, pyroptosis and fibrosis. In particular, the inflammasome component nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and related canonical mechanisms have been investigated. However, it has become increasingly clear that other inflammasome components are also of importance in kidney disease. Moreover, it is becoming obvious that the range of molecular interaction partners of inflammasome components in kidney diseases is wide. This review provides insights into these current areas of research, with special emphasis on the interaction of inflammasome components and redox signalling, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and mitochondrial function. We present our findings separately for acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. As we strictly divided the results into preclinical and clinical data, this review enables comparison of results from those complementary research specialities. However, it also reveals that knowledge gaps exist, especially in clinical acute kidney injury inflammasome research. Furthermore, patient comorbidities and treatments seem important drivers of inflammasome component alterations in human kidney disease.
Health Benefits and Applications of Goji Berries in Functional Food Products Development: A Review
Authors: Vidović Bojana B. , Milinčić Danijel D. , Marčetić Mirjana D. , Djuriš Jelena D. , Ilić Tijana D. , Kostić Aleksandar Ž. , Pešić Mirjana B.
Published: January 2022

Goji berries have long been used for their nutritional value and medicinal purposes in Asian countries. In the last two decades, goji berries have become popular around the world and are consumed as a functional food due to wide-range bioactive compounds with health-promoting properties. In addition, they are gaining increased research attention as a source of functional ingredients with potential industrial applications. This review focuses on the antioxidant properties of goji berries, scientific evidence on their health effects based on human interventional studies, safety concerns, goji berry processing technologies, and applications of goji berry-based ingredients in developing functional food products.
Jaboticaba (Myrciaria jaboticaba) Attenuates Ventricular Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction in Rats
Authors: da Silva Renata Candido , Polegato Bertha Furlan , Azevedo Paula Shmidt , Fernandes Ana Angélica , Okoshi Katashi , de Paiva Sergio Alberto Rupp , Minicucci Marcos Ferreira , Zornoff Leonardo Antônio Mamede
Published: January 2022

The cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction is characterized by inflammation and oxidative stress. Thus, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that jaboticaba, due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidants properties, attenuates cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction. Wistar rats were submitted to myocardial infarction due to coronary artery occlusion, and divided into four experimental groups: C, sham control animals; I, animals submitted to myocardial infarction, received a standard diet; IJ2, animals submitted to myocardial infarction, received a standard diet plus 2% jaboticaba; and IJ4, animals submitted to myocardial infarction, received a standard diet plus 4% jaboticaba. After a three-month follow-up, echocardiography, histology, oxidative stress, and cardiac energy metabolism were analyzed. There was no difference in infarct size or mortality among the infarcted groups. The IJ4 group displayed improved diastolic function, as assessed by isovolumetric relaxation time normalized to the heart rate. As expected, the percentage of collagen was higher in all infarcted groups than in the C group. However, the IJ2 group had less collagen than groups I and IJ4. The IJ4 group presented lower PFK activity than I and IJ2, and lower pyruvate dehydrogenase activity than controls, whereas the IJ2 group showed no differences compared to the control group in both LDH and ATP synthase activity. The 2% and 4% doses attenuated lipid peroxidation and increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase compared with the I group. In conclusion, jaboticaba attenuated the remodeling process after myocardial infarction, which was associated with decreased oxidative stress and improved energy metabolism.
An Augmented Reality Children’s Book Edutainment through Participatory Content Creation and Promotion Based on the Pastoral Life of Psiloritis
Authors: Ntagiantas Antonis , Konstantakis Markos , Aliprantis John , Manousos Dimitris , Koumakis Lefteris , Caridakis George
Published: January 2022

Augmented reality (AR) provides excellent learning potential, especially in a school environment. Multiple students can share the virtual scene and interact with it using the mobile interface as a hand-held display in AR children’s books. Students’ participation is an essential element of learning, and one of AR’s greatest strengths is its ability to promote collaborative experiences. An augmented reality children’s book edutainment through participatory content creation and promotion based on the pastoral life of Psiloritis has been recommended through this study, highlighting the features of AR to reveal educational values unique to AR and studying approaches for incorporating these characteristics into the typical education curriculum.
An Evaluation of the Effects of a Virtual Museum on Users’ Attitudes towards Cultural Heritage
Authors: Besoain Felipe , González-Ortega Jorge , Gallardo Ismael
Published: January 2022

(1) Background: Several opportunities have appeared for the dissemination of culture and heritage thanks in part to the widespread use of information and communications technologies. Virtual museums have appeared as innovative technological products but often lack an evaluation of the impact that they have and their success in achieving their purpose. In this sense, this work seeks to evaluate the impact of a virtual museum on users’ attitudes toward cultural heritage. (2) Methods: We used a factorial design of 2 (direction of thoughts: positive vs. negative) × 2 (presence level: high vs. low) × 2 (virtual museum vs. interactive website). (3) Results: Attitudes toward heritage can change as a function of a multimedia experience, thought favorability, and presence. In a virtual museum, when general attitudes are evaluated, a sense of high psychological presence reduces the effect that thoughts (especially when negative) have on attitudes. However, in the case of visiting an interactive website, the effect of the direction of thoughts on attitudes occurred regardless of conditions of high or low presence. Similar tendencies are observed for specific attitudinal objects. (4) Conclusion: A virtual museum can have different effects depending on the interaction of important variables from the virtual reality literature and not only the classic main effects. Recommendations for interventions and future practical and theoretical work are presented.
The Influence of a Chocolate Coating on the State Diagrams and Thermal Behaviour of Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Authors: Ostrowska-Ligęza Ewa , Szulc Karolina , Jakubczyk Ewa , Dolatowska-Żebrowska Karolina , Wirkowska-Wojdyła Magdalena , Bryś Joanna , Górska Agata
Published: January 2022

Chocolate-coated fruit is becoming more and more popular as a tasty snack. The subjects of the research were freeze-dried strawberries and dark and milk chocolate-coated freeze-dried strawberries. The DSC curves, sorption isotherms, and glass transition temperature were determined. The state diagrams of the freeze-dried strawberries and dark and milk chocolate-coated freeze-dried strawberries were investigated. The modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) technique was used to determine the glass transition temperature. The DSC diagrams of the studied samples showed differences in shape and course. The sorption isotherms of the freeze-dried strawberries and dark and milk chocolate-coated strawberries belonged to type II according to BET classification. A coating of milk or dark chocolate resulted in a significant reduction in the hygroscopic behaviour of the freeze-dried strawberries and could be considered a promising way to improve the shelf life of the product and improve the nutritional value for commercial production purposes.
Computational Evaluation of Shock Wave Interaction with a Liquid Droplet
Authors: Rossano Viola , Cittadini Amedeo , De Stefano Giuliano
Published: January 2022

This article represents the natural continuation of the work by Rossano and De Stefano (2021), dealing with the computational fluid dynamics analysis of a shock wave interaction with a liquid droplet. Differently from our previous work, where a two-dimensional approach was followed, fully three-dimensional computations are performed to predict the aerodynamic breakup of a spherical water body due to the impact of a traveling shock wave. The present engineering analysis focuses on capturing the early stages of the breakup process under the shear-induced entrainment regime. The unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach is used to simulate the mean turbulent flow field in a virtual shock tube device with circular cross section. The compressible-flow-governing equations are numerically solved by means of a finite volume method, where the volume of fluid technique is employed to track the air–water interface. The proposed computational modeling approach for industrial gas dynamics applications is verified by making a comparison with reference numerical data and experimental findings, achieving acceptably accurate predictions of deformation and drift of the water body without being computationally cumbersome.
Effect of Ultrasonic Pulses on the Functional Properties of Stickwater
Authors: Cadena-Cadena Francisco , Cuevas-Acuña Dulce Alondra , Reynaga-Franco Felipe de Jesús , Rodríguez-Felix Gilberto , Núñez-Ruiz María del Socorro , Higuera-Barraza Odilia Azucena , Ochoa-Meza Alba Rocio , Arias-Moscoso Joe Luis
Published: January 2022

Large volumes of waste are generated in the processing operations of the fishing industry. These effluents contain potentially useful proteins. However, it is necessary to concentrate them for utilization. The stickwater (SW) resulting from this operation was subjected to a protein-fractionation step, pH adjustment (acid + alkaline) and ultrasonic pulsing in order to aid in hydrolysis and evaluate its functional and nutritional properties. The protein fractions, as well as the protein hydrolysates present in the tail water, had a chemical composition of 54.85 ± 4.21 and 74.81 ± 3.89 protein (%), 0.8 ± 0.1 and 0.2 ± 0.015 fat (%), 7.21 ± 0.67% ash (%), respectively. The increase in low-molecular-weight peptides results in an increase in free-radical scavenging activity. However, the increase in ferric-reducing antioxidant power may be due to the HCl treatment performed by the company. An increase in the functional properties of the samples treated with ultrasonic pulses was observed. Therefore, the chemical, nutritional and functional characteristics of stickwater suggest its potential use as a food additive.
Deep Learning-Based Automatic Segmentation of Mandible and Maxilla in Multi-Center CT Images
Authors: Park Seungbin , Kim Hannah , Shim Eungjune , Hwang Bo-Yeon , Kim Youngjun , Lee Jung-Woo , Seo Hyunseok
Published: January 2022

Sophisticated segmentation of the craniomaxillofacial bones (the mandible and maxilla) in computed tomography (CT) is essential for diagnosis and treatment planning for craniomaxillofacial surgeries. Conventional manual segmentation is time-consuming and challenging due to intrinsic properties of craniomaxillofacial bones and head CT such as the variance in the anatomical structures, low contrast of soft tissue, and artifacts caused by metal implants. However, data-driven segmentation methods, including deep learning, require a large consistent dataset, which creates a bottleneck in their clinical applications due to limited datasets. In this study, we propose a deep learning approach for the automatic segmentation of the mandible and maxilla in CT images and enhanced the compatibility for multi-center datasets. Four multi-center datasets acquired by various conditions were applied to create a scenario where the model was trained with one dataset and evaluated with the other datasets. For the neural network, we designed a hierarchical, parallel and multi-scale residual block to the U-Net (HPMR-U-Net). To evaluate the performance, segmentation with in-house dataset and with external datasets from multi-center were conducted in comparison to three other neural networks: U-Net, Res-U-Net and mU-Net. The results suggest that the segmentation performance of HPMR-U-Net is comparable to that of other models, with superior data compatibility.
Evaluation of the Fatigue Strength of a CAD-CAM Nanoceramic Resin Crown on Titanium and Zirconia-Titanium Abutments
Authors: Graiff Lorenzo , Savio Gianpaolo , Di Fiore Adolfo , Rosso Stefano , Meneghello Roberto , Uccheddu Francesca
Published: January 2022

A computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) resin block material for restoration of single-implant abutments can be milled and cemented on an optimized standard titanium abutment as a cheaper solution or, alternatively, individualization of the crown–abutment connection is required to fulfill the same mechanical requirements. The aim of this study was to evaluate how different structural and geometric configurations of the abutment influence the resistance of a nano ceramic resin crown (NCRC). During the test, 30 implants with an internal conical tapered configuration were considered. Each implant received a standard titanium abutment: in group 1, NCRCs were directly bonded to the titanium abutments; in group 2, NCRCs were cemented on a customized zirconia framework and then cemented on a standardized titanium abutment. Three crowns of each group were submitted to a static load test until failure. The remaining crowns were submitted to a fatigue test protocol with a dynamic load. The static and dynamic test showed earlier failure for group 1. In group 1, complete breaking of NCRCs was observed for all samples, with an almost total titanium abutment exposition. In the static tests, group 2 showed a mode of failure that involved only the crown, which partially debonded from the zirconia abutment. Within the limitations of the present preliminary study, it was possible to conclude that the shape of the abutment mainly influences the fatigue strength compared to the static tensile strength. The results of the performed test show that NCRC bonded to the customized zirconia abutments, and presented a 75% survival rate when compared to the same material bonded directly to a standard titanium abutment.
BMP-2 Delivery through Liposomes in Bone Regeneration
Authors: Dirzu Noemi , Lucaciu Ondine , Dirzu Dan Sebastian , Soritau Olga , Cenariu Diana , Crisan Bogdan , Tefas Lucia , Campian Radu Septimiu
Published: January 2022

Bone regeneration is a central focus of maxillofacial research, especially when dealing with dental implants or critical sized wound sites. While bone has great regeneration potential, exogenous delivery of growth factors can greatly enhance the speed, duration, and quality of osseointegration, making a difference in a patient’s quality of life. Bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP-2) is a highly potent growth factor that acts as a recruiting molecule for mesenchymal stromal cells, induces a rapid differentiation of them into osteoblasts, while also maintaining their viability. Currently, the literature data shows that the liposomal direct delivery or transfection of plasmids containing BMP-2 at the bone wound site often results in the overexpression of osteogenic markers and result in enhanced mineralization with formation of new bone matrix. We reviewed the literature on the scientific data regarding BMP-2 delivery with the help of liposomes. This may provide the ground for a future new bone regeneration strategy with real chances of reaching clinical practice.
A Comprehensive Review of Deep Learning-Based Crack Detection Approaches
Authors: Hamishebahar Younes , Guan Hong , So Stephen , Jo Jun
Published: January 2022

The application of deep architectures inspired by the fields of artificial intelligence and computer vision has made a significant impact on the task of crack detection. As the number of studies being published in this field is growing fast, it is important to categorize the studies at deeper levels. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review of deep learning-based crack detection studies and the contributions they have made to the field is presented. The studies are categorised according to the computer vision aspect and at deeper levels to facilitate exploring the studies that utilised similar approaches to address the crack detection problem. Moreover, the authors perform a comparison between the studies which use the same publicly available data sets, in order to find the most promising crack detection approaches. Critical future directions for research are proposed, based on these reviewed studies as well as on trends and developments in areas similar to the crack detection area.
Causally Remove Negative Confound Effects of Size Metric for Software Defect Prediction
Authors: Li Chenlong , Yuan Yuyu , Yang Jincui
Published: January 2022

Software defect prediction technology can effectively detect potential defects in the software system. The most common method is to establish machine learning models based on software metrics for prediction. However, most of the prediction models are proposed without considering the confounding effects of size metric. The size metric has unexpected correlations with other software metrics and introduces biases into prediction results. Suitably removing these confounding effects to improve the prediction model’s performance is an issue that is still largely unexplored. This paper proposes a method that can causally remove the negative confounding effects of size metric. First, we quantify the confounding effects based on a causal graph. Then, we analyze each confounding effect to determine whether they are positive or negative, and only the negative confounding effects are removed. Extensive experimental results on eight data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method. The prediction model’s performance can, in general, be improved after removing the negative confounding effects of size metric.
Estimation of the Prostate Volume from Abdominal Ultrasound Images by Image-Patch Voting
Authors: Albayrak Nur Banu , Akgul Yusuf Sinan
Published: January 2022

Estimation of the prostate volume with ultrasound offers many advantages such as portability, low cost, harmlessness, and suitability for real-time operation. Abdominal Ultrasound (AUS) is a practical procedure that deserves more attention in automated prostate-volume-estimation studies. As the experts usually consider automatic end-to-end volume-estimation procedures as non-transparent and uninterpretable systems, we proposed an expert-in-the-loop automatic system that follows the classical prostate-volume-estimation procedures. Our system directly estimates the diameter parameters of the standard ellipsoid formula to produce the prostate volume. To obtain the diameters, our system detects four diameter endpoints from the transverse and two diameter endpoints from the sagittal AUS images as defined by the classical procedure. These endpoints are estimated using a new image-patch voting method to address characteristic problems of AUS images. We formed a novel prostate AUS data set from 305 patients with both transverse and sagittal planes. The data set includes MRI images for 75 of these patients. At least one expert manually marked all the data. Extensive experiments performed on this data set showed that the proposed system results ranged among experts’ volume estimations, and our system can be used in clinical practice.
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Applied Nano in 2021
Authors:   Applied Nano Editorial Office
Published: January 2022

Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of BDCC in 2021
Authors:   BDCC Editorial Office
Published: January 2022

Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Genotype-Phenotype Correlations of Pathogenic COCH Variants in DFNA9: A HuGE Systematic Review and Audiometric Meta-Analysis
Authors: Robijn Sybren M. M. , Smits Jeroen J. , Sezer Kadriye , Huygen Patrick L. M. , Beynon Andy J. , van Wijk Erwin , Kremer Hannie , de Vrieze Erik , Lanting Cornelis P. , Pennings Ronald J. E.
Published: January 2022

Pathogenic missense variants in COCH are associated with DFNA9, an autosomal dominantly inherited type of progressive sensorineural hearing loss with or without vestibular dysfunction. This study is a comprehensive overview of genotype-phenotype correlations using the PRISMA and HuGENet guidelines. Study characteristics, risk of bias, genotyping and data on the self-reported age of onset, symptoms of vestibular dysfunction, normative test results for vestibular function, and results of audiovestibular examinations were extracted for each underlying pathogenic COCH variant. The literature search yielded 48 studies describing the audiovestibular phenotypes of 27 DFNA9-associated variants in COCH. Subsequently, meta-analysis of audiometric data was performed by constructing age-related typical audiograms and by performing non-linear regression analyses on the age of onset and progression of hearing loss. Significant differences were found between the calculated ages of onset and progression of the audiovestibular phenotypes of subjects with pathogenic variants affecting either the LCCL domain of cochlin or the vWFA2 and Ivd1 domains. We conclude that the audiovestibular phenotypes associated with DFNA9 are highly variable. Variants affecting the LCCL domain of cochlin generally lead to more progression of hearing loss when compared to variants affecting the other domains. This review serves as a reference for prospective natural history studies in anticipation of mutation-specific therapeutic interventions.