bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hybrid quadratic DC-DC boost converter for fuel cell-powered electric vehicle with wide voltage gain and low voltage stress
Authors: Dinakaran K. P. , Jebaselvi G. D. Anbarasi
Published: September 2023

The need to cut carbon emissions and the worry about global warming will be two of the major issues of the twenty-first century. Globally, academics are researching renewable energy sources, with the majority of their efforts focused on the converter side, which is critical to contemporary society. For energy conversion, fuel cells provide an alternative to internal combustion engines. Despite the fact that typical DC-to-DC converters experience high stress and minimal voltage rise, the bulk of research focuses on voltage lift. Researchers from all around the globe use DC-DC converters to control the voltage of fuel cells. If the targets are fulfilled, more switches will be placed, resulting in higher losses. The boost-cuk converter in this research has a high voltage gain and low switching strain. Initially, this contributed to the development of self-control. Switching losses are reduced when just one switch is used. A DC-DC converter is employed in this research to transform the electricity provided by fuel cells. The alternating supply is then sent to the brushless direct current (BLDC) motor by the PWM inverter. The work starts by building MATLAB simulation blocks. Finally, Simulink is used to display the simulated output waveforms of the intended converter.
A low power and high speed 45 nm CMOS dynamic comparator with low offset
Authors: Brindha Kulothungan , Manjula Jothilingam
Published: September 2023

The development of efficient data converters necessitates the design of low-power and high-speed comparators with low offset. Data converters, such as analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs), are critical components in applications like wireless communication, multimedia, and sensor interfaces. To enhance the performance of these data converters, improving the speed and power efficiency of comparators becomes crucial. Designing dynamic comparators with low power consumption and high-speed capabilities greatly enhances the sampling rate and accuracy of data converters. Moreover, addressing the offset voltage of comparators becomes crucial for achieving accurate signal conversion. To fulfill this need, a novel dynamic comparator has been designed, featuring high-speed operation, low-power consumption, and minimal offset. The circuit comprises a pre-amplifier with a charge pump, followed by a decision circuit and an output stage. Through simulations, the comparator has demonstrated low power consumption of 15.04 µW, a delay of 80.51 ps, and an extremely low offset voltage of 8 µV. These characteristics make it highly suitable for data converters. The comparator operates at a clock frequency of 1 GHz and a supply voltage of 1 V, and the simulation was conducted using the Cadence Virtuoso tool in a 45 nm CMOS technology.
Design of the transmitter coil used in wireless power transfer system based on genetic algorithm
Authors: Konghirun Mongkol , Nutwong Supapong , Sangswang Anawach , Hatchavanich Nattapong
Published: September 2023

Performance of the wireless power transfer (WPT) system relies on the physical dimensions of the coupled coil, which should be optimally designed to meet required system performance and reduce the operating cost. This paper presents an optimal design based on genetic algorithm (GA) for the transmitter coil used in wireless power transfer system. Physical parameters of the circular flat spiral coil, including wire’s cross-sectional area, coil’s inner diameter, coil’s outer diameter, coil’s turn number, and space between each turn of the coil are considered. The design objective is to minimize the total wire length required by the coil subjected to both linear and nonlinear constraints. The design process is implemented on MATLAB optimization toolbox which is simple and accurate. The validity of proposed optimal coil design is verified by the experiment, which indicates that total wire length of the optimized coil can be reduced by 5.5 percent compared to the conventional coil without sacrificing the system performance. System efficiency obtained from the optimized coil can be improved up to 8.32 percent.
Novel aggregated controller of wind and PV based grid connected charging station for electric vehicle
Authors: Deepak Karanam , Mandal Rajib Kumar , Verma Vimlesh
Published: September 2023

Novel technologies are adopting electric vehicles (EVs) day-by-day due to increasing interest in EVs. The charging process of EVs is a very important aspect when it is connected to the utility grid. Generally charging of an EV can be done at either home or in charging stations were connected to the utility grid. More harmonics and nonlinear currents are injecting into the utility grid during the charging process of the battery due to the existence of converters for power conversion in charging stations of EVs, which generally affects the quality of the power. In this situation, supplying the power to the utility grid from batteries existing in the vehicle through the charging station will provide a better solution and will charge again when there is less demand on the grid. Further using renewable energies in the charging stations can provide reliable power for both vehicles as well as the utility grid. To achieve better performance and maintain power quality at load bus, an aggregated controller is proposed in this paper. Moreover, reloading conditions are also incorporated to renewable energy sources under disconnection of the utility grid to maintain power balance. Hardware-in the–loop (HIL) based extensive results by using OPAL-RT modules are examined in this article under many situations to validate the proposed method.
A painstaking analysis of various conventional and AI based MPPT approaches to the PV framework
Authors: Rout Kishrod Kumar , Mishra Debani Prasad , Mishra Sivkumar , Salkuti Surender Reddy
Published: September 2023

Electricity is the best technological advancement ever. Power is now used for everything in our culture because of how far it has come. Quiddity of life would not be possible without it. We know that the sole free hotspot for the PV module in our environmental factors is the sun. The PV cell changes sun-powered energy into electrical energy when the sun radiates on it. At the point when you produce power with the sunlight-based chargers, no ozone-harming substance emanations are placed into the climate. Since, the sun creates more energy than any manmade process at any point requires so as a result, in this article we will look at a variety of ways as well as a successful MPP strategy with high efficacy. It encompasses incremental conductance, perturbs & observe, and fuzzy logic approaches. A boost (DC-DC) converter ameliorates the likeness between a solar array and storage or power grid. In many solar-producing systems, DC/DC converters assist in surveilling the utmost power point by acting as a bridge betwixt load and solar panel. The intent of achieving the highest possible electricity can be done by calibrating the load to compare the current and voltage of a photovoltaic cell.
Diagnosis of PV module based on neural network using performance indices
Authors: Mekhaznia Nadjib , Khenfer Riad
Published: September 2023

Solar energy is an inexhaustible and clean renewable energy. Its exploitation through photovoltaic panels is clearly increasing in the world as ecologic energy. But like the conventional power grids, this new green energy could be affected by several defects that could reduce its performance, cause negative economic and safety impacts. These faults are multiple and of different natures. their consequences are based on their dangerousness. They can cause malfunction, power reduction and even total shutdown of the PV. The goal of this contribution is to implement an artificial method based on the ANN to diagnose the faults of the solar modules and to study the interest of the performance indices for the interpretation of the results of the diagnosis of the PV module. The results obtained are widely commented by different performance indices of confusion matrix and ROC curves. The neural network-based diagnostic system has a high accuracy and training was efficient because the curves of the cases are in the vicinity of unity i.e., a perfect classification.
Real-time current sensor fault detection and localization in DFIG wind turbine systems
Authors: Touioui Hamza , Ganouche Abderahmane , Ahmida Zahir , Bouzekri Hacene , Tachi Fouad
Published: September 2023

The degree of reliability is one of the main issues in having the uninterrupted operation of fault-tolerant measurement and control systems. This paper presents a technique for detecting and localizing current sensor fault in doubly fed induction generator wind turbine systems (DFIG-WT). For this purpose, a methodology divided into three steps has been carried out and is presented as follows: the first step is the application of the zero-sequence component as an indicator of the presence of the sensor fault. The second step is based on the application of Concordia transformation on the current signals to generate different criteria for localizing the faulty sensor. Finally, an artificial neural network model is developed to analyze the localization criteria and identify the faulty sensor. All simulations are carried out in MATLAB/Simulink environment. Results show that the proposed technique is effective and can be used in real-time fault detection and localization in the DFIG-WT.
Necessity of artificial intelligence techniques for power quality issues in electric vehicles
Authors: Kuruvilla Vidhya , Kumar Pandiyan Venkatesh
Published: September 2023

World transportation is in an electrified mass transitional phase due to the predominant features such as a greener environment, fewer maintenance requirements, improved reliability and energy management efficiency compared to conventional transportation. Numerous difficulties have emerged since electric vehicle sales hit record highs, including how electrified transportation works with the grid. Emerging innovations and technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence have led to the development of enhanced controllers for electric vehicle penetration with the grid. This work includes information on the integration of artificial intelligence strategies used for the mitigation of power quality issues. By merging artificial intelligence techniques into the grid, users can achieve efficient energy use and beneficial power interactions between the grid and electric vehicles. To assess the network's practicality, this research develops a charging model that uses a Tasmanian Devil optimization (TDO) algorithm based on MATLAB software. According to research, TDO improves the waveform quality by reducing the THD with better performance and achieves efficient power transfer between the grid and EVs.
Fuzzy logic control based MPPT for standalone photovoltaic system with battery storage
Authors: Taib Nur Syafiqah Mohd , Noor Siti Zaliha Mohammad , Musa Suleiman , Aziz Pusparini Dewi Abd
Published: September 2023

Considering its favorable characteristics, photovoltaic energy is widely recognized as highly beneficial to the environment. To achieve continuous maximum output power across the PV system, an efficient control strategy is developed after studying several maximum power point detection (MPPT) techniques. Consequently, this paper presents a useful control technique for maximizing power extraction from PV systems under varying conditions. The paper focuses on the design of a fuzzy logic control (FLC)-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system for a standalone photovoltaic (SAPV) system with battery storage. The FLC is employed to extract the maximum power from a PV module and integrate it with the battery to supply the load. The FLC offers advantages over conventional MPPT methods, such as accurate and rapid response to changes in environmental conditions, including solar irradiance and temperature. The PV system exhibits low total harmonic distortion (THD), making it ideal for household appliances, and can deliver 230 Vrms of single-phase output AC power. The system is designed and implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, incorporating a solar module, DC-to-DC converters, battery storage, and an inverter for supplying AC loads. Simulation results for selected test conditions are presented and discussed. The system performance is evaluated through steady state tests and dynamic tests in simulations.
Multi-objective unit commitment with spinning reserve cost using hybrid method
Authors: Vatambeti Rajasekhar , Dhal Pradyumna Kumar
Published: September 2023

Under the generation of electrical power, fuel consumption, and emission are emphasized in the thermal power industry. Based on this, emission and cost were considered objectives with inequality and equality constraints. The spinning reserve was replenished as one of the constraints. In this paper, the spinning reserve cost (SRC)was incorporated with the total cost objective function. The hybrid technique is steered to achieve minimal value which is the combination of the cuckoo search method and flower pollination algorithm. To predict the potential of the proposed technique, two systems are considered namely a four-unit system and an IEEE thirty-nine bus system. The obtained simulation outcome shows a better improvement with the proposed technique in optimal value.
Adaptive control based neural network sliding mode approach for two links robot
Authors: Massou Siham , Boumhidi Ismail
Published: September 2023

In order to improve the control accuracy of the robot manipulator, the sliding mode control combined with the adaptive neural network (ANNSMC) is proposed. Sliding mode control (SMC) is a nonlinear control recognized for its efficiency, easy tuning and implementation, accuracy and robustness. However, higher amplitude of chattering is produced due to the higher switching gain to handle the large uncertainties. For the purpose of reducing this gain, the uncertain parts of the system are estimated using neural network (NN) with on-line training using back propagation (BP) technique. The results of the online interconnection weights between the input and the hidden layers and between the hidden and the output layers are injected offline in order to improve the network performance in term of the convergence speed. In order to reduce the response time caused by the online training, the obtained output and input weights are updated using the adaptive laws derived from the Lyapunov stability approachthe proposed control ANNSMC has improved the convergence speed with 41.13% for the first link and 40.15% for the second link comparing to NNSMC. The simulation result illustrates the performance of the proposed approach by using MATLAB and the control action suggested did not manifest any chattering behavior.
Composition of avian communities in Ranjit Sagar Conservation Reserve, Punjab, India
Authors: Brraich Onkar Singh , Saini Sunil Kumar , Jagdeep Singh
Published: September 2023

The Ranjit Sagar wetland, a critical aquatic ecosystem supporting diverse flora and fauna, has been the subject of investigation from January 2013 to January 2015. The study revealed the presence of 167 avian species across 19 orders and 52 families. Notably, areas with minimal disturbance within the wetland serve as key niches for a substantial avian population, encompassing 47.31% migrant and 52.69% resident species. Significantly, 10 Near Threatened species, alongside the Vulnerable Common Pochard Aythya ferina and the Endangered Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, underscore the wetland’s conservation value. Dominated by order Passeriformes (55 species), followed by Charadriiformes (29 species), and Anseriformes (20 species), the avian community exhibits varied feeding guilds, with insectivores (37.13%), omnivores (18.56%), aquatic animal feeders (16.16%), carnivores (14.97%), frugivores (5.39%), granivores (4.79%), and herbivores (3%) comprising its composition. This study elucidates the intricate avian ecosystem’s dynamics in Ranjit Sagar wetland, emphasizing its conservation significance and ecological structure, thereby contributing valuable insights for preservation and future research.
Development and Phenotype of Heart Failure in Long‐Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer: The CVSS Study
Authors: Göbel Sebastian , Wingerter Arthur , Prochaska Jürgen H. , Schulz Andreas , Neu Marie A. , Henninger Nicole , Spix Claudia , Beutel Manfred , Lackner Karl , Münzel Thomas , Lam Carolyn S. , Merzenich Hiltrud , Faber Jörg , Wild Philipp S.
Published: September 2023

Background

The CVSS (Cardiac and Vascular Late Sequelae in Long‐Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer) study aimed to investigate the prevalence of different stages of heart failure (HF) in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) compared with the general population.

Methods and Results

A total of 1002 CCSs (age range, 23–48 years) diagnosed with neoplasia before an age of 15 years underwent a comprehensive cardiovascular screening. An age‐ and sex‐matched sample from the population‐based GHS (Gutenberg Health Study) served as a comparison group. Although prevalence of HF was significantly higher in CCSs, prevalence of different HF stages varied strongly by specific tumor history. Compared with the population, the prevalence ratio was 2.6 (95% CI, 2.4–2.8) for HF stage A and 4.6 (95% CI, 4.1–5.1) for the composite of HF stage B to D in an age‐ and sex‐adjusted Poisson regression model. Multivariable linear regression, adjusting for tumor entities, age, sex, and cardiovascular risk factors, revealed a lower left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with history of bone tumors (
β,
−4.30 [95% CI, −5.70 to −2.80]), soft tissue sarcoma (
β,
−1.60 [95% CI, −2.90 to −0.30]), and renal tumors (
β,
−1.60 [95% CI, −2.80 to −0.29]) compared with the population. The same model for the diastolic marker, ratio of the peak early diastolic filling velocity/lateral mitral annular early diastolic velocity, showed an association only with cardiovascular risk factors but not with tumor entities.

Conclusions

The prevalence of HF stage A to D was significantly higher among long‐term CCSs compared with the population and varied strongly by tumor entity. Systolic dysfunction was primarily associated with tumor entities, whereas diastolic dysfunction was associated with a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors in CCSs.
Leben im Verborgenen
Authors: Varga Simon
Published: September 2023

This article focusses on an examination of Epicurus’ understanding of self-sufficiency, which is only marginally addressed within research. But many traditions suggest paying more attention to the concept of self-sufficiency. The scarcity of available sources must be regarded as problematic; therefore here an attempt is made to reconstruct this concept. The thesis is that Epicurus discusses human striving for self-sufficiency in two different ways and thus more comprehensively than previously assumed: extrinsic (physical or external autarky) and intrinsic (psychic or internal autarky). As so often, Epicurus is not talking about a theory, but about an immediate practice: human striving for self-sufficiency, an indispensable prerequisite for ataraxia, is made possible by living (hiddenly) in the garden in friendship—far from the politics of the polis. These connections lead to the conclusion that the individual self-sufficiency of the human being does not aim at ‘not needing anybody else anymore’, but requires a form of community that should allow the human being the greatest possible freedom within the framework of the Epicurean teachings.
Valerius Maximus on Exceptional Honours—and the Augustan Principate (V. Max. 8.15)
Authors: Westphal Heiko
Published: September 2023

In chapter 8.15 of his Facta et dicta memorabilia, the Tiberian author Valerius Maximus offers his readers a series of historical exempla which depict the grant of extraordinary honours to deserving individuals. Surprisingly, however, Valerius explains that he has no intention of engaging with any of the honours granted to the imperial family. While, so far, Valerius’ claim has not been called into question by modern scholars, this paper seeks to draw attention to the fact that the exemplary material collected by him shows clear parallels to a number of very specific honours granted to Octavian/Augustus. Although it is true that Valerius does not include the members of the domus Augusta among his exemplars in 8.15, the extraordinary honours he chooses to discuss are to be seen as clear precedents of honours granted to Octavian/Augustus and thus also serve to vindicate the creation of the Principate.
Reading Skillfully
Authors: Mulroy Travis
Published: September 2023

This paper examines Socrates’ problematic analogy of reading big and little letters in Book 2 of Plato’s Republic. The examination highlights a significant grammatical detail, which has been generally overlooked in contemporary Platonic scholarship: Socrates refers to the justice of the city as ‘doing one’s own thing’ (τὸ αὑτοῦ πράττων), in the singular, but the justice of the individual as ‘doing one’s own things’ (τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττων), in the plural. In terms of Socrates’ analogy, the big and little letters of justice are not, in fact, the same. Ultimately, the paper argues that Socrates’ analogy of reading big and little letters is intentionally problematic, intended to draw attention to this literal difference between the justice of the city and the justice of the individual. The paper concludes with a discussion of a few immediate implications of this grammatical detail for interpreting the argument of Plato’s Republic.
Rubens and his landscapes: Reflections on the notion of ‘otium’
Authors: Kleinert Corina
Published: September 2023

This essay sheds light on Peter Paul Rubens’ intentions or possible underlying reasons for the ‘organic’ growth of his landscape paintings by analysing the fundamental contemporary notion of ‘otium’ (fruitful repose). Understood as contemplative leisure encouraging artistic and intellectual endeavour in accordance with Cicero’s advocacy of ‘otium cum dignitate’, it was deeply rooted in the classical writings of Horace, Virgil and Pliny the Younger. Ample research has shown that life in early modern Europe was tempered by the conceptual force of ‘otium’ and its opposite form, ‘negotium’. However, Rubens’ response to this dyad, and especially the effect it had on the creation of his landscapes, has only been addressed superficially.

By teasing out the strands of ‘otium’ and ‘otium ruris’ (fruitful repose in the countryside), the author indicates multiple ways in which the topos of retreat played a notable part in Rubens’ poetic response to nature and landscape, to the aesthetic appreciation of the countryside in real life and in painting. Exploring both places and spaces present in the notions of ‘otium’ and ‘otium ruris’ in Rubens’ day not only consolidates our understanding of the personal dimension of landscapes, but it also sheds new light on the artist’s attentiveness and receptiveness to and his ongoing preoccupation with many of his large compositions in the 1630s.

Although Rubens did not follow the idea of ‘otium’ programmatically, exploring it as a form of contemplative leisure nonetheless offers a key to understand the productive energy, artistic invention, and unique evolution of many of his landscapes. The examination of the important, but hitherto neglected landscape Return from the fields (c.1635-1638) at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence not only provides new insights to the painting’s intriguing genesis, it also demonstrates that Rubens’ landscapes may have provided a growing space of ‘otium ruris’ – for their creator and beholders alike.
Attachment, Competitiveness, and Workplace Aggression: A Model of Aggressive Intent and Examination of the Competitive Orientation Scale
Authors: Swab R. Gabrielle , Johnson Paul D.
Published: September 2023

Workplace aggression consists of harmful actions between co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates. In this series of studies, we draw from attachment theory and competitive personality to develop and test a mediated model of workplace aggression that incorporates relational working models (i.e., attachment style) with competitive orientation to predict aggressive intentions. Our results find that an avoidant attachment style caused by dissociative relational models promotes a preference for aggression through hypercompetitiveness, while other relational models fail to predict aggressive intentions. In addition, we test and incorporate a shortened scale of competitive orientation for greater accessibility in competitiveness studies.
Doing youth participatory action research (YPAR) with Bourdieu: An invitation to reflexive (participatory) sociology
Authors: Kennelly Jacqueline , Larkins Cath , Roy Alastair
Published: September 2023

Recent years have seen an increased epistemological and methodological interest within sociology in participatory research. Seen as one mode by which to upturn the apparent antagonism between ‘town’ and ‘gown’, and as a pragmatic way to render sociology more ‘public’, participatory research seems to offer resolutions to some of the field’s more pressing recent concerns. It also appears to provide redress to continuing institutional pressure to establish ‘impact’ for our research. This article offers a close and theoretically informed examination of the assumptions and practices of youth participatory action research, or YPAR, in order to contribute to deepened disciplinary understandings of the possibilities and limits of participatory approaches. Framed by the reflexive sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, we draw upon cross-national conversations through which we have intentionally reflected on moments of ambivalence or discomfort in our own participatory research practice(s). We utilise these to engage critically with some recurring problems in YPAR, suggesting these also have relevance to sociological enquiry more broadly. Our collaborative process of mutual reflexivity, developed through walking and talking together, writing individually and then providing feedback and clarifications, has allowed us to deepen our understanding of the power dynamics at play in participatory sociological enquiry.
External validation of deep learning-based automated detection algorithm for chest radiograph: practical issues in outpatient clinic
Authors: Lee Da Eul , Chae Kum Ju , Jin Gong Yong , Park Seung Yong , Jeong Jae Seok , Ahn Su Yeon
Published: September 2023

Background

There have been no reports on diagnostic performance of deep learning-based automated detection (DLAD) for thoracic diseases in real-world outpatient clinic.

Purpose

To validate DLAD for use at an outpatient clinic and analyze the interpretation time for chest radiographs.

Material and Methods

This is a retrospective single-center study. From 18 January 2021 to 18 February 2021, 205 chest radiographs with DLAD and paired chest CT from 205 individuals (107 men and 98 women; mean ± SD age: 63 ± 8 years) from an outpatient clinic were analyzed for external validation and observer performance. Two radiologists independently reviewed the chest radiographs by referring to the paired chest CT and made reference standards. Two pulmonologists and two thoracic radiologists participated in observer performance tests, and the total amount of time taken during the test was measured.

Results

The performance of DLAD (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.920) was significantly higher than that of pulmonologists (AUC = 0.756) and radiologists (AUC = 0.782) without assistance of DLAD. With help of DLAD, the AUCs were significantly higher for both groups (pulmonologists AUC = 0.853; radiologists AUC = 0.854). A greater than 50% decrease in mean interpretation time was observed in the pulmonologist group with assistance of DLAD compared to mean reading time without aid of DLAD (from 67 s per case to 30 s per case). No significant difference was observed in the radiologist group (from 61 s per case to 61 s per case).

Conclusion

DLAD demonstrated good performance in interpreting chest radiographs of patients at an outpatient clinic, and was especially helpful for pulmonologists in improving performance.
Technology Acceptance of Socially Assistive Robots Among Older Adults and the Factors Influencing It: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Luo Chuhong , Yuan Rong , Mao Bin , Liu Qian , Wang Weihong , He Ying
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this study was to deeply understand older adults’ acceptance of socially assistive robots and their influencing factors and to compare the strength of the correlation between each influencing factor variable and the acceptance. The literature search was performed in five databases from their inception to January 17, 2023. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software. Thirteen papers were included in this study. The mean value of acceptability after using the inverse variance method was 3.68. Education level is strongly related to technology acceptance; perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, technology experience, technology attitude, perceived hedonism, and convenience are moderately related; anxiety is only weakly related.
Role of Alexithymia in the Association Between Childhood Abuse and Risk Perception for Sexual Victimization in College Women
Authors: Kiefer Reina , Orchowski Lindsay M. , Raudales Alexa M. , Weiss Nicole H.
Published: September 2023

Sexual victimization is prevalent among college women with a history of childhood abuse (CA), which some research suggests is linked to impaired risk perception for sexual victimization or difficulties identifying and responding to unwanted sexual advances. Alexithymia is one construct yet to be examined in the association between CA and risk perception for sexual victimization. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the associations between CA, alexithymia, and risk perception for sexual victimization in a sample of college women with a history of CA. Participants included 294 undergraduate women with a history of childhood emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse ( Mage = 20.6, 80.6% White). An a priori path analysis was conducted to examine whether alexithymia indirectly explains the association between CA and risk perception for sexual victimization (i.e., comprising two related constructs, including threat detection and behavioral response to threat). Supplementary analyses were conducted post hoc to examine potential differences across CA subtypes (emotional, physical, and sexual). Alexithymia indirectly explained the relationship between CA and threat detection, and behavioral response to threat. However, indirect effects were negative, suggesting that undergraduate women with more severe CA and alexithymia identify sexual assault threat cues and intentions to “leave” a hypothetical sexual assault scenario sooner rather than later. The same pattern of results was observed for emotional and physical (but not sexual) CA when examining their indirect effects on threat detection, and for emotional CA when examining behavioral response to threat. Findings contribute to the literature on sexual victimization by clarifying the role of alexithymia in risk perception for sexual victimization. Results also highlight the potential utility of increasing emotional literacy among college women with a history of CA (and especially emotional abuse) to facilitate adaptive responding to unwanted sexual advances.
Peer effects of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emission intensity: Empirical evidence from China
Authors: Shen Qiong , Pan Yuxi , Wu Rui , Feng Yanchao
Published: September 2023

Under the peer effect theory, this study examines the impact of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emissions and investigates the existence of peer effects in environmental governance mechanisms. Using panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2019, a spatial econometric model reveals that environmental regulation significantly reduces local sulfur dioxide discharge while exhibiting positive spatial spillover effects in surrounding regions, reflecting the “beggar-thy-neighbor” dilemma of environmental governance in China. The study confirms the presence of a positive peer effect of environmental regulation, supporting the combination of ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ ecological governance approaches. The impact of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emissions varies based on regulation intensities and urban characteristics such as geographical position, marketization degree, and official governor's tenure. Learning mechanisms and competition mechanisms partially establish the peer effect of environmental regulation in most Chinese cities. Additionally, exogenous shocks from macro events and strategic policies exert differential influences on the peer effect of environmental regulation, particularly in cities with low regulation intensity. This study provides valuable guidance for balancing environmental protection and sustainable economic growth, fostering intercity collaboration in environmental regulation, and formulating site-specific sustainable development strategies for China and other emerging economies.
Predicting starch content of cassava with near infrared spectroscopy in Ugandan cassava germplasm
Authors: Namakula Babirye Fatumah , Nuwamanya Ephraim , Kanaabi Michael , Wembambazi Enoch , Kawuki Robert Sezi
Published: September 2023

In Uganda, efforts are underway to improve starch content through conventional breeding as a strategy for increasing adoption of new cassava varieties for both food and industry. However, only few samples can be quantified, limiting the gains in breeding. A database of 115 clones was used to evaluate the potential of Near infrared spectroscopy to predict starch content in cassava. Starch content ranged from 21.48 to 73.97% dry basis. The performance of standard normal variate and de-trend with second derivative calculated on two data points and smoothing plus combination of standard multiplicative scatter correction with second derivative calculated on two data points and smoothing were the best fit mathematical treatments for the calibrations developed. Near infrared spectroscopy predictions for starch content (R2 = 0.85, and r2 = 0.55) developed were reliable, thus usable for screening of cassava starch content at early stages of breeding.
Factors influence the dignity of burns patients: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Deng YunYun , Yao YiMing , Wang Chang , Tan HuiYi
Published: September 2023

Background

There is a high incidence of burns in China and the sequelae of post-burn scar growth, disfigurement, and other body image disorders can cause serious psychological distress to burns patients, and negatively affecting the patient’s dignity. However, there is limited knowledge relating to the dignity of burns patients.

Aim

To investigate the factors that affect dignity in burns patients.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Participants and research context

We recruited 323 burn patients from the burn unit of a tertiary care hospital. The Patient Dignity Scale, Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to assess burn patients’ dignity, quality of life, anxiety, and depression, respectively. 18 sociodemographic variables were included in the questionnaire.

Ethical considerations

Before the data were collected, the study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University (Reference: 2022-149-02) and all patients provided and signed informed consent forms.

Findings

This study included 323 burns patients; of these, 26 (8%) had a mild loss of dignity, 94 (29.1%) had a moderate loss of dignity, 125 (38.7%) had a severe loss of dignity, and 78 (24.1%) had a very severe loss of dignity. The main factors that influence the loss of dignity in burns patients, including the department in which the patient was treated after their burns, gender, the clinical stage of the burn, quality-of-life, depression, resident medical insurance, the cause of the burn, and the burn site.

Conclusions

In most cases, the loss of dignity after burn injury is serious. Clinical health care professionals can provide personalized whole-life dignity care for patients by considering the factors that affect the dignity of burns patients, developing targeted dignity management programs, and implementing individualized interventions to maintain dignity, thus helping burns injury patients return to social life and work.
Bioinformatics, Molecular Docking Simulation and in vitro Experiments Reveal the Bioactive Compounds and Mechanism of Coptis chinensis Franch. Against Colorectal Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Liu Xin , Huang Xu-ying , Liu Zhong , Liu Li , Tu Han
Published: September 2023

Background

Coptis chinensis Franch. (CCF) is a Traditional Chinese medicine known for its good anti-cancer effects. However, the bioactive compounds and mechanisms underlying its anti-colorectal adenocarcinoma (COAD) remains unclear.

Objectives

This study aims to reveal the bioactive compounds and mechanism of CCF against COAD by utilizing bioinformatics, molecular docking simulation and in vitro experiments.

Materials and Methods

Bioactive compounds and candidate targets of CCF against COAD were collected using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database, Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Gene Cards, and SwissTargetPrediction databases, respectively. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using the DAVID (v2022q3) database. The “Compounds-Targets-Pathways” (C-T-P) and “Protein-Protein Interaction” (PPI) networks were constructed using Cytoscape (v3.8.0) to identify the hub targets. AutoDock Vina (v1.2.0), UNLCAN, TCGA, MTT, plate cloning, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays were used to confirm the results.

Results

The “C-T-P” and “PPI” networks revealed three hub targets: checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1), polo like kinase 1 (PLK1), and aurora kinase B (AURKB). Molecular docking simulation results showed that berberine, a candidate bioactive compound of CCF, had high affinity with the hub targets, comparable to that of positive drugs. Both CCF ethanol extracts and berberine significantly down-regulated CHEK1, PLK1, and AURKB, inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of HCT-116 cells.

Conclusion

To summarize, CCF inhibits COAD by down-regulating CHEK1, PLK1, and AURKB, with berberine as its primary bioactive compound.
Effectiveness of ‘Relapse Prevention Therapy’ on High-Risk Situations for Alcohol Use Among Alcohol Dependents
Authors: Sharma Anu , Das Karobi , Sharma Sunita , Ghosh Abhishek
Published: September 2023

Introduction:

Alcohol dependence is a major health concern. It is a progressive and fatal condition influenced by various factors such as heredity, psychology, and environment. There are intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social high-risk situations associated with relapse.

Aim:

To assess the effectiveness of “relapse prevention therapy” on high-risk situations for alcohol use among alcohol dependents.

Methods:

A preexperimental design was used. The study was registered with Central Trial Registry of India (CTRI). Total 32 patients from Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre Out Patient Department (OPD), Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, were selected by using the purposive sampling technique. The tools used for data collection were sociodemographic datasheet cum clinical datasheet of the patient and inventory of drug-taking situations (IDTS-8). Patients received three sessions of relapse prevention therapy. Follow-up was done after eight weeks of relapse prevention therapy. Data was analyzed by both per-protocol analysis and worst-case analysis.

Results:

All three sessions were completed by 71.9% participants. Participants reported unpleasant emotions as the most frequent cause of their drinking. It was found that there was a significant reduction in alcohol consumption because of high-risk situations ( P =< .05) in both the analysis.

Conclusion:

Relapse prevention therapy was effective in dealing with high-risk situations for alcohol use.
Effectiveness of Conventional Mirror Therapy on Functional Improvement of Upper Extremities in Patients with Stroke: A Prospective Interventional Study
Authors: D. Lekshmy , Dhandapani Manju , Gupta S. K. , Khurana Dheeraj
Published: September 2023

Background

Stroke is the one of leading causes of death, and paralytic upper extremity (hemiparesis) is a common effect of stroke. The mirror therapy is considered to be an effective therapy to improve muscle strength of upper extremities and activity of daily living of patients with hemiparesis in stroke.

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of conventional mirror therapy on muscle strength and the activities of daily living in patients of stroke with hemiparesis.

Methodology

Using total enumeration sampling technique, a prospective interventional study was conducted on 40 patients of stroke receiving conventional mirror therapy in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh from July to September 2019. Ethical clearance was obtained, and informed written consent was taken from patients. Data was collected by using interview schedule, which comprised of two parts, (a) socio demographic profile and (b) clinical profile, which were collected at the time of enrollment. Functional outcome, that is, muscle strength was assessed by using Wolf Motor Function Scale and Box and Block Test, and activities of daily living were assessed by using Functional Independent Measure at the time of enrolment (baseline). After enrollment of the patients mirror therapy demonstration, pamphlets were given to the patients and follow-ups were done on the first month and third month after interventions.

Results

There was significant improvement in muscle strength based on Wolf Motor Function Scale (P < .001) and Box and Block Test (P < .001), and in activity of daily living based on Functional Independent Measure (P < .001) from baseline to third month after discharge.

Conclusion

Conventional mirror therapy is one of the most effective therapies for improving the muscle strength and activity of daily living after stroke in case of hemiparesis.
A Comparative Study to Assess the Mental Health Problems, Quality of Life, Work Ability and Social Adjustments Among OST and Non-OST Drug Users in Chandigarh
Authors: Kumar Pardeep , Sharma Sunita , Saini Sushma Kumari , Mittal Sandeep , Gupta Vanita
Published: September 2023

Introduction:

Injectable drug use is a cause of disease burden and a contributor to blood-borne virus transmission and health-related problems. It is one of the serious problems of our country. The best suitable strategy of treatment for opioid dependence is ‘opioid substitution therapy’ (OST). It is beneficial for the injectable drug users (IDUs) in reduction in the behaviour of injecting and opioid use, which helps in reducing criminal activities, domestic violence, enhancing ties within the family and improving productivity.

Objective:

To assess the mental health problems, quality of life, work ability and social adjustability among OST and non-OST IDUs.

Materials and Methods:

The descriptive study was conducted among 100 male IDUs (50 in the OST group and 50 in the non-OST group), registered with the two selected non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of Chandigarh selected by using the consecutive sampling technique. The OST group was contacted during their visit to the centre for receiving the daily dose of OST, while the non-OST group was contacted during their visit to the NGO centres for getting fresh syringes in exchange with used syringes under the syringe exchange programme. The data were collected by interviewing the study subjects by using the interview schedule comprising of the (a) socio-demographic profile, (b) health problems, (c) substance-use-related problems scale, (d) work ability and social adjustability scale, (e) the depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 and (f) World Health Organization Quality-of-Life BREF (WHOQOL BREF) Scale. All the tools were standardized and available in the open domain.

Results:

The study subjects were in the age group of 18–58 years with the mean age of 27.52 ± 6.67 years. Significantly lesser problems in the OST group study participants related to health, occupation, finance, legal, family, marital and social status were reported than those in the non-OST group participants ( t-test, p < 0.01). A significantly higher percentage of the study participants in the non-OST group had depression, anxiety and stress than that in the OST group. Quality of life of IDUs in the OST group was significantly better than that of IDUs in the non-OST group, as per the WHOQOL BREF Scale (Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

IDUs on OST therapy (OST group) were having lesser problems in the area of health (physical and mental), occupational, financial, legal, family, marital, social and better quality of life than those in the non-OST group.
Sleep Quality Among Patients with Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Suryavanshi M. , Shruti  , Sharma Y. P.
Published: September 2023

Background:

Good sleep is vital for a healthy heart. Studies showed that short sleep duration contributes to the development of myocardial infarction (MI). ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) in comparison to non-ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is considered a dangerous health condition. Sleep qualities among patients with NSTEMI and those with STEMI are less clear in the available literature. So, the author undertook this study.

Objective:

To assess and compare the sleep quality among patients with STEMI and those with NSTEMI in cardiology units of a tertiary care hospital, Chandigarh.

Methodology:

The research design was descriptive and the approach used was the quantitative approach. A total of 100 patients were chosen by using the consecutive sampling technique. The interview technique was used to collect data with the help of the interview schedule comprised of socio-demographic profile sheets, clinical profile sheets and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (to assess the sleep quality).

Results:

The data revealed that more than 76% of patients were diagnosed with STEMI, whereas less than 24% of patients were diagnosed with NSTEMI. A significantly higher percentage of patients suffering from NSTEMI (40%) reported very good subjective sleep quality than those suffering from STEMI (12%) ( p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was seen in the sleep quality and sleep duration between patients with NSTEMI and those with STEMI as assessed by the Global Sleep Quality Index ( p > 0.05).

Conclusion:

Each patient, irrespective of their type of MI, reported sleep difficulty. Patients with NSTEMI showed comparatively better sleep quality and sleep duration than those with STEMI. More efforts are required to improve the sleep qualities of patients with both NSTEMI and STEMI for the prevention of secondary cardiovascular events.