bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physiology of sedentary behavior
Authors: Pinto Ana J. , Bergouignan Audrey , Dempsey Paddy C. , Roschel Hamilton , Owen Neville , Gualano Bruno , Dunstan David W.
Published: June 2023

Sedentary behaviors (SB) are characterized by low energy expenditure while in a sitting or reclining posture. Evidence relevant to understanding the physiology of SB can be derived from studies employing several experimental models: bed rest, immobilization, reduced step count, and reducing/interrupting prolonged SB. We examine the relevant physiological evidence relating to body weight and energy balance, intermediary metabolism, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the musculoskeletal system, the central nervous system, and immunity and inflammatory responses. Excessive and prolonged SB can lead to insulin resistance, vascular dysfunction, shift in substrate use toward carbohydrate oxidation, shift in muscle fiber from oxidative to glycolytic type, reduced cardiorespiratory fitness, loss of muscle mass and strength and bone mass, and increased total body fat mass and visceral fat depot, blood lipid concentrations, and inflammation. Despite marked differences across individual studies, longer term interventions aimed at reducing/interrupting SB have resulted in small, albeit marginally clinically meaningful, benefits on body weight, waist circumference, percent body fat, fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c and HDL concentrations, systolic blood pressure, and vascular function in adults and older adults. There is more limited evidence for other health-related outcomes and physiological systems and for children and adolescents. Future research should focus on the investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning adaptations to increasing and reducing/interrupting SB and the necessary changes in SB and physical activity to impact physiological systems and overall health in diverse population groups.
Intelligent Gateway Based Human Cardiopulmonary Health Monitoring System
Authors: Zhao Yixin , Liu Yanzhong , Zhou Haiyang , Wei Yuxuan , Yu Yansuo , Lu Sichao , An Xiang , Liu Qiang
Published: June 2023

Cardiopulmonary diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), are prevalent in the elderly population. Early identification, long‐term health monitoring, and health management of cardiopulmonary disease are crucial for reversing organ damage and preventing further injury. However, most home health monitoring (HHM) devices need to be paired with a specific smartphone application, which leads to the complexity of monitoring multiple health indicators and hinders the feasibility of comprehensive multi‐indicator analysis. Therefore, this paper designed a human cardiopulmonary health monitoring system based on an intelligent gateway to reduce the dependence of HHM on smartphones, achieve synchronous monitoring of multiple health indicators, and improve usability to better serve the elderly population. The proposed system can simultaneously monitor electrocardiogram (ECG), pulmonary function, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level (SpO2); process and analyze the data in real‐time through the intelligent gateway’s edge computing power; and display the cardiopulmonary health status in real‐time. The intelligent gateway embedded a specially designed CNN‐LSTM artificial intelligence model on the STM32F429 microcontroller to realize real‐time identification of ECG signals at the edge. The accuracy of the pretrained CNN‐LSTM model for ECG signal identification is 99.49%, and the model has good performance in terms of complexity and RAM space occupied. According to the evaluation test, the system can achieve the purpose of monitoring human cardiopulmonary health, has a wide range of application scenarios, and has great value in promotion and application.
Color UAV Image Edge Detection Based on Improved Fireworks Algorithm
Authors: Liu Dujin , Liang Bi , Li Jie
Published: June 2023

Image edge detection plays a crucial role in image analysis and recognition. However, when dealing with color images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), there are certain limitations, such as large operations, multiple noise sources, easy distortion, and missing information in edge detection. To address these shortcomings, this study proposes a UAV color image edge detection method based on an enhanced fireworks algorithm. In this method, the color image pixels of the UAV are represented using quaternions. The explosion amplitude formula of the fireworks is divided into two categories based on the mean value of the number of fireworks explosions. For each category, an explosion formula is proposed, and the explosion mutation operator of the fireworks algorithm is improved accordingly. By applying the proposed algorithm, the preliminary edges of a UAV color image are obtained. Additionally, a novel approach for color image edge refinement is introduced. This approach involves classifying the edge points based on their degree of attachment, which leads to the formation of the edges in a UAV color image. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm proposed in this study offers several advantages, including fast calculation, strong denoising capability, and high-quality edge detection.
Nesting Circles: An Interactive Visualization Paradigm for Network Intrusion Detection System Alerts
Authors: Shahryari Mohammad-Salar , Mohammad-Khanli Leyli , Ramezani Majid , Farzinvash Leili , Feizi-Derakhshi Mohammad-Reza
Published: June 2023

Intrusion detection systems (IDSs) are valuable tools for fighting against those who want to intrude on the network and steal sensitive information for any reason. These tools, however, have difficulties in their essence. The generated alerts are in textual format, and extracting the exact information from the textual files needs lots of time and scrutiny. Also, not all alerts are accurate, and these tools suffer a setback named false-positive alerts, meaning that although no attack occurs, they may log some alerts. It is almost impossible to detect the penetration according to the discussed conditions. Information visualization is a method that transforms information into a visual representation for a better and quicker understanding. Indeed, the more the visualization is representative and straightforward, the more information it can transfer and the more worthy it is. This paper proposes a new paradigm for visualizing IDS alerts named nesting circles. We keep simplicity by using circles as the primary mark and the size and color as the only used channels. This makes the visualization easy to read and intuitive to understand. Furthermore, nesting circles provide a complete visualization of explicit and implicit information to the admin, and the previous approaches lacked this vital feature. The efficiency of nesting circles is examined through the VAST challenge case study, and it is shown to be effective in finding hidden attacks in the logs.
miR-33a Expression Attenuates ABCA1-Dependent Cholesterol Efflux and Promotes Macrophage-Like Cell Transdifferentiation in Cultured Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
Authors: Esobi Ikechukwu C. , Oladosu Olanrewaju , Echesabal-Chen Jing , Powell Rhonda R. , Bruce Terri , Stamatikos Alexis
Published: June 2023

Recent evidence suggests that the majority of cholesterol-laden cells found in atherosclerotic lesions are vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) that have transdifferentiated into macrophage-like cells (MLC). Furthermore, cholesterol-laden MLC of VSMC origin have demonstrated impaired ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux, but it is poorly understood why this occurs. A possible mechanism which may at least partially be attributed to cholesterol-laden MLC demonstrating attenuated ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux is a miR-33a expression, as a primary function of this microRNA is to silence ABCA1 expression, but this has yet to be rigorously investigated. Therefore, the VSMC line MOVAS cells were used to generate miR-33a knockout (KO) MOVAS cells, and we used KO and wild-type (WT) MOVAS cells to delineate any possible proatherogenic role of miR-33a expression in VSMC. When WT and KO MOVAS cells were cholesterol-loaded to convert into MLC, this resulted in the WT MOVAS cells to exhibit impaired ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux. In the cholesterol-loaded WT MOVAS MLC, we also observed a delayed restoration of the VSMC phenotype when these cells were exposed to the ABCA1 cholesterol acceptor, apoAI. These results imply that miR-33a expression in VSMC drives atherosclerosis by triggering MLC transdifferentiation via attenuated ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux.
Bone Mineral Density in Adult Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Assessed by Both DXA and QCT
Authors: Barmpa Eleftheria , Karamagkiolis Spyridon , Tigas Stelios , Navrozidou Parthena , Vlychou Marianna , Fezoulidis Ioannis , Koukoulis Georgios N. , Bargiota Alexandra
Published: June 2023

Purpose. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in uncomplicated young adult patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and sex- and age-matched controls, using both dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) to investigate their diagnostic ability in detecting abnormal values in these patients. Methods. 118 patients with T1DM (65 females, mean age

30.12
±
8.78

years) and 94 sex- and age-matched controls were studied. BMD was assessed in all participants by DXA and QCT at lumbar spine (LS). Biochemical markers of bone metabolism were also measured. Results. T1DM was associated with lower BMD at L1-L3 vertebrae measured by both DXA and QCT and lower bone turnover compared to sex- and age-matched controls. In T1DM subjects, QCT detected more patients with abnormal BMD values compared to DXA. BMI and HbA1c levels were the only determinants of BMD. Bone turnover markers were lower in patients with longer duration of diabetes. Conclusion. QCT provides a higher sensitivity compared to DXA in detecting abnormal BMD values in patients with uncomplicated T1DM. In these patients, the diabetes-related decreased BMD may be present early, before it is detected by DXA, the clinical gold standard for BMD measurements, and before the presence of any other diabetes complications, stressing the importance of an early intervention for fracture prevention.
MA‐STS‐Based Social Intimacy Analysis Algorithm Using Real Campus Network Data
Authors: Zeng Yifu , Qi Xiangshu , Yang Weiping , Li Jiatao , Pan Nian , Chen Guo
Published: June 2023

In recent years, the widespread availability of Wi‐Fi in various settings, including universities, enterprises, and large shopping centers, has become increasingly prevalent. The user’s time and location information embedded in wireless network systems can reveal individual and group social relationships, which indirectly reflect each person’s psychological well‐being. However, due to challenges in obtaining complete data, the high complexity of related data, and the absence of suitable data analysis models, few studies have analyzed student social behavior using data from university campus networks. This paper employs real‐world data from a renowned Chinese university’s wireless campus network for in‐depth analysis and introduces a novel multiangle semantic trajectory similarity (MA‐STS) algorithm to infer the intimacy and relationship types (such as teacher‐student, friends, classmates, or romantic partners) between users. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieves an accuracy of over 95%.
CD36 Drives Metastasis and Relapse in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Farge Thomas , Nakhle Jean , Lagarde Damien , Cognet Guillaume , Polley Nathaniel , Castellano Rémy , Nicolau Marie-Laure , Bosc Claudie , Sabatier Marie , Sahal Ambrine , Saland Estelle , Jeanson Yannick , Guiraud Nathan , Boet Emeline , Bergoglio Camille , Gotanègre Mathilde , Mouchel Pierre-Luc , Stuani Lucille , Larrue Clément , Sallese Marie , De Mas Véronique , Moro Cedric , Dray Cédric , Collette Yves , Raymond-Letron Isabelle , Ader Isabelle , Récher Christian , Sarry Jean-Emmanuel , Cabon Florence , Vergez François , Carrière Audrey
Published: June 2023

Identifying mechanisms underlying relapse is a major clinical issue for effective cancer treatment. The emerging understanding of the importance of metastasis in hematologic malignancies suggests that it could also play a role in drug resistance and relapse in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In a cohort of 1,273 AML patients, we uncovered that the multifunctional scavenger receptor CD36 was positively associated with extramedullary dissemination of leukemic blasts, increased risk of relapse after intensive chemotherapy, and reduced event-free and overall survival. CD36 was dispensable for lipid uptake but fostered blast migration through its binding with thrombospondin-1. CD36-expressing blasts, which were largely enriched after chemotherapy, exhibited a senescent-like phenotype while maintaining their migratory ability. In xenograft mouse models, CD36 inhibition reduced metastasis of blasts and prolonged survival of chemotherapy-treated mice. These results pave the way for the development of CD36 as an independent marker of poor prognosis in AML patients and a promising actionable target to improve the outcome of patients.

Significance:

CD36 promotes blast migration and extramedullary disease in acute myeloid leukemia and represents a critical target that can be exploited for clinical prognosis and patient treatment.
Associations of Dietary Patterns with Colorectal Adenomas in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Cohort
Authors: Nepal Sushma , Aslani Zahra , Shi Ni , Tabung Fred K.
Published: June 2023

Background:

Most colorectal cancers arise from adenomas, and although insulinemic and inflammatory dietary patterns have been associated with colorectal cancer risk, these dietary patterns have not been studied in relation to adenoma risk.

Methods:

Using data from 21,192 participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer screening cohort, we calculated the Empirical Dietary Index for Hyperinsulinemia (EDIH), Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern (EDIP), and overall dietary quality measured via the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015), from food frequency questionnaires (FFQ). In multivariable-adjusted logistic regression, we investigated associations of these dietary indices with adenoma (any adenoma, advanced adenoma, n = 19,493) and recurrent adenoma (n = 1,699).

Results:

EDIH was not associated with adenoma or advanced adenoma but was marginally associated with recurrent adenoma. The OR (95% CI) comparing highest (lowest insulinemic) versus lowest (most hyperinsulinemic) quintiles was 0.76 (0.55–1.05) after multivariable adjustment including BMI. EDIP and HEI-2015 were not associated with any of the three outcomes.

Conclusions:

In the PLCO cohort, we did not observe substantial associations between dietary patterns and risk of colorectal adenomas.

Impact:

Pending confirmation in larger prospective studies, our findings suggest that these dietary patterns may not substantially affect colorectal cancer risk via the adenoma–carcinoma sequence.
Facts and Hopes in Colorectal Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Foote Michael B. , Argilés Guillem , Rousseau Benoit , Segal Neil H.
Published: June 2023

Although a minority of colorectal cancers exhibit mismatch repair deficiency and associated sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), the vast majority of colorectal cancers arise in a tolerogenic microenvironment with mismatch repair proficiency, low tumor-intrinsic immunogenicity, and negligible immunotherapy responsiveness. Treatment strategies to augment tumor immunity with combination ICIs and chemotherapy have broadly failed in mismatch repair–proficient tumors. Similarly, although several small single-arm studies have shown that checkpoint blockade plus radiation or select tyrosine kinase inhibition may show improved outcomes compared with historical controls, this finding has not been clearly validated in randomized trials. An evolving next generation of intelligently engineered checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific T-cell engagers, and emerging CAR-T cell therapies may improve immunorecognition of colorectal tumors. Across these modalities, ongoing translational efforts to better define patient populations and biomarkers associated with immune response, as well as combine biologically sound and mutually amplifying therapies, show promise for a new era of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer.
Identifying Mechanisms of Resistance by Circulating Tumor DNA in EVOLVE, a Phase II Trial of Cediranib Plus Olaparib for Ovarian Cancer at Time of PARP Inhibitor Progression
Authors: Lheureux Stephanie , Prokopec Stephenie D. , Oldfield Leslie E. , Gonzalez-Ochoa Eduardo , Bruce Jeffrey P. , Wong Derek , Danesh Arnavaz , Torti Dax , Torchia Jonathan , Fortuna Alexander , Singh Sharanjit , Irving Matthew , Marsh Kayla , Lam Bernard , Speers Vanessa , Yosifova Aleksandra , Oaknin Ana , Madariaga Ainhoa , Dhani Neesha C. , Bowering Valerie , Oza Amit M. , Pugh Trevor J.
Published: June 2023

Purpose:

To evaluate the use of blood cell–free DNA (cfDNA) to identify emerging mechanisms of resistance to PARP inhibitors (PARPi) in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC).

Experimental Design:

We used targeted sequencing (TS) to analyze 78 longitudinal cfDNA samples collected from 30 patients with HGSOC enrolled in a phase II clinical trial evaluating cediranib (VEGF inhibitor) plus olaparib (PARPi) after progression on PARPi alone. cfDNA was collected at baseline, before treatment cycle 2, and at end of treatment. These were compared with whole-exome sequencing (WES) of baseline tumor tissues.

Results:

At baseline (time of initial PARPi progression), cfDNA tumor fractions were 0.2% to 67% (median, 3.25%), and patients with high ctDNA levels (>15%) had a higher tumor burden (sum of target lesions; P = 0.043). Across all timepoints, cfDNA detected 74.4% of mutations known from prior tumor WES, including three of five expected BRCA1/2 reversion mutations. In addition, cfDNA identified 10 novel mutations not detected by WES, including seven TP53 mutations annotated as pathogenic by ClinVar. cfDNA fragmentation analysis attributed five of these novel TP53 mutations to clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). At baseline, samples with significant differences in mutant fragment size distribution had shorter time to progression (P = 0.001).

Conclusions:

Longitudinal testing of cfDNA by TS provides a noninvasive tool for detection of tumor-derived mutations and mechanisms of PARPi resistance that may aid in directing patients to appropriate therapeutic strategies. With cfDNA fragmentation analyses, CHIP was identified in several patients and warrants further investigation.
Management of Oligometastatic Disease in Esophagogastric Cancer: What Is the Evidence?
Authors: Hingorani Mohan , Stubley Hannah
Published: June 2023

Background: The concept of oligometastatic disease (OMD) was first introduced in 1995 by Hellman and Weichselbaum and described as stage of transition between localized and widespread metastatic disease. The presence of OMD in esophagogastric (OG) cancer remains controversial. Historically, most experts believe that OG cancer is systemic disease from the outset. Summary: More recently, there is emerging data indicating improved outcomes in patients with OG cancer and oligometastatic disease. The present manuscript focuses on reviewing the emerging evidence in management of metastatic OG cancer with OMD and highlighting the direction of future research. Key Messages: Multiple retrospective and at least 2 phase II retrospective studies have reported on improved outcomes in patients with metastatic OG cancer and OMD. There is indication of improved outcome with combined systemic and local therapy (surgery or radiation). Further research should include phase III randomized studies to identify the optimal management algorithm in these groups of patients.
Seshat and Lady Wisdom
Authors: Rechholz Maximilian
Published: June 2023

The Demotic Book of Thoth has received surprisingly little attention in exegetical research, although it was a well-known text in Late Period Egypt. Since the Book of Thoth and Prov 1–9 are closely related in terms of dating, cultural background, and genre, a comparison of these two texts is overdue. To address this oversight, this article examines and compares the main female figures of both works: the goddess Seshat and Lady Wisdom. Previous research has pointed to Maat and Isis as archetypes of Lady Wisdom, but this article argues that Seshat must be considered as another goddess who exerted influence on the figure of Lady Wisdom.
Muslim Family Law Reform: Understanding the Difference between Muslim-Majority and Muslim-Minority Jurisdictions
Authors: Sezgin Yüksel
Published: June 2023

35 Muslim-majority and 18 Muslim-minority countries formally integrate Muslim Family Laws (mfl s) into their legal systems. Both groups of governments have undertaken legislative reforms to improve the status of women/children under mfl s and strengthen the rule of law within their mfl systems. The existing scholarship does not address whether mfl s are more reformed or human/women’s rights friendlier in Muslim-majority or Muslim-minority countries. Employing an innovative methodological tool, the Muslim Family Law Index, this exploratory article surveys cross-national and historical trends in mfl reform (1946–2016). It shows that although Muslim-minority countries appear to have more “reformed” mfl systems than their Muslim counterparts, a closer analysis reveals that they have prioritized different types of legislative reform. The former favored exit rights, while the latter prioritized substantive reforms. The type and extent of interventions were strongly associated with colonial heritage, state-religion relations, international norm diffusion, women’s activism, and ethnoreligious diversity/tolerance. These findings have implications for studying multicultural theory, human/women’s rights, and democratization in the mfl-applying world.
Integrating Conflict Management Learning into the Curriculum
Authors: O’Toole John
Published: June 2023

Teaching young people how to deal with conflict is rarely part of a school curriculum. Although, as social communities with humans of different ages, and levels of power and status, schools themselves are full of conflict, they are often reluctant for many reasons to acknowledge the fact, and more reluctant to give it an explicit profile by including the teaching of conflict management and transformation within the curriculum. Most conflict and bullying management in schools is reactive (i.e. after the fact), top-down (i.e. done to or with the participants by teachers and school leaders), and any training is extra-curricular.

Cooling Conflict was a ten-year action research project in Australia, part of the international dracon project, investigating how drama can provide young people with the cognitive tools to resolve their own and other people’s conflicts, and to manage bullying for themselves. The program developed carefully structured drama pedagogy to give students knowledge and a vocabulary to understand the origins and structures of conflict, and to provide practice in the range of strategies available for resolving, managing or transforming conflict. The aim was to provide the students with autonomy and agency over this knowledge, and peer teaching became an important part of the program, which was (and still is) implemented in a wide range of educational settings internationally, formal and informal. From the outset and wherever possible, the program was deliberately integrated into standard curriculum time and programs, to embed the concept that conflict transformation and management can be learnt through experiential, integral learning. Over ten years, the project accumulated overwhelming evidence that, properly used, drama pedagogy is a valuable method for providing students with the tools they need to manage or transform their own conflicts, and themselves to take responsibility for assisting peers and younger students to do the same.
Who Leads, Who Follows? Critical Review of the Field of Leadership Studies
Authors: Peters Michael A.
Published: June 2023

This article surveys the field of leadership studies from its inception as ‘Great Man’ historical analysis strongly influenced by Thomas Carlyle and by Max Weber’s classic work on the concept of charisma in his theorizing of ‘authority’ within the modern bureaucratic state. Both approaches require careful deconstruction. The Weberian approach is still of relevance to the consideration of underlying political theories of leadership. The article surveys and reviews the formation of the field by reference to trait studies and leadership development and education before mentioning ‘School Leadership For Social Justice, Equity and Diversity’. The next section of the paper focuses on the contemporary paradigm of transformational leadership and the attendant notion of ‘the policy context’ of New Public Management and the Creative Economy as the defining context for creative leadership. The next two sections introduce the feminist critique of leadership studies and what has become known as ‘critical leadership studies’. Finally, the paper considers leadership in the twenty-first century by reference to three moments: (i) multipolarity and the production of global public goods; (ii) the biodigital future; and, (iii) the ecological-systems model of leadership. A brief postscript considers crisis leadership for post-apocalyptic survival.
Global Expectations, Local Realities: All-Inclusive Hotel Reviews and Responses on TripAdvisor
Authors: Márquez Reiter Rosina , Hidalgo Downing Raquel , Iveson Mandie
Published: June 2023

In this article we examine online reviews and hotel responses of Spanish hotel chains in two overseas tourist destinations: the Caribbean and Mexico. Drawing on a dataset of 96 hotel reviews we examine the intercultural experience of travellers as mediated by direct or indirect prior knowledge of the tourist destination and subsequent knowledge that results from visiting the host country and interacting with the locals, primarily with resort staff. The analysis shows, on the one hand, the global stance taken by the travellers to construct their reviews where the creation of an “intercultural space” is typically resisted and challenged in favour of expected global standards. The hotels’ responses, on the other hand, are constructed from a local rather than a global perspective. Findings reveal the intercultural tension that arises when lived experience of the specific culture cannot be married with the expectancies of homogeneity created by an increasingly globalised experience of tourism. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of interculturality, as conceived of in pragmatics, in a contemporary era characterised by discontent with digital information systems. It includes a discussion of some of the challenges in deploying the contrastive pragmatics toolkit to capture the intercultural space reported here and the extent to which it allows us to portray interculturality in the present day.
Challenges for Inline Observation Error Estimation in the Presence of Misspecified Background Uncertainty
Authors: Walsworth Andrew , Poterjoy Jonathan , Satterfield Elizabeth
Published: June 2023

For data assimilation to provide faithful state estimates for dynamical models, specifications of observation uncertainty need to be as accurate as possible. Innovation-based methods based on Desroziers diagnostics, are commonly used to estimate observation uncertainty, but such methods can depend greatly on the prescribed background uncertainty. For ensemble data assimilation, this uncertainty comes from statistics calculated from ensemble forecasts, which require inflation and localization to address under sampling. In this work, we use an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with a low-dimensional Lorenz model to investigate the interplay between the Desroziers method and inflation. Two inflation techniques are used for this purpose: 1) a rigorously tuned fixed multiplicative scheme and 2) an adaptive state-space scheme. We document how inaccuracies in observation uncertainty affect errors in EnKF posteriors and study the combined impacts of misspecified initial observation uncertainty, sampling error, and model error on Desroziers estimates. We find that whether observation uncertainty is over- or underestimated greatly affects the stability of data assimilation and the accuracy of Desroziers estimates and that preference should be given to initial overestimates. Inline estimates of Desroziers tend to remove the dependence between ensemble spread–skill and the initially prescribed observation error. In addition, we find that the inclusion of model error introduces spurious correlations in observation uncertainty estimates. Further, we note that the adaptive inflation scheme is less robust than fixed inflation at mitigating multiple sources of error. Last, sampling error strongly exacerbates existing sources of error and greatly degrades EnKF estimates, which translates into biased Desroziers estimates of observation error covariance.

Significance Statement

To generate accurate predictions of various components of the Earth system, numerical models require an accurate specification of state variables at our current time. This step adopts a probabilistic consideration of our current state estimate versus information provided from environmental measurements of the true state. Various strategies exist for estimating uncertainty in observations within this framework, but are sensitive to a host of assumptions, which are investigated in this study.
Prevalence of Enterococcal Urinary Tract Infections With Positive Nitrites in Urinalysis in Pediatric Patients With High-Risk for Enterococcal Infections
Authors: Ehrlich Shay , Livni Gilat , Zioni Inbar , Barnea Melamed Shirel , Pasternak Yehonatan
Published: June 2023

Enterococcus is a relatively uncommon pathogen that causes urinary tract infections (UTIs) in healthy children. Most enterococcal infections occur in patients with risk factors such as anatomical or functional urinary tract anomalies, also known as CAKUT (congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract). Children who are suspected of having UTIs and who have certain risk factors are often treated specifically for enterococcal infection as part of their empiric regimen. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of enterococcal UTIs among high-risk children, and specifically among those with positive nitrite tests, with the goal of avoiding treatment with specific anti-enterococcal agents. This retrospective study included all the episodes of UTI treated at a tertiary pediatric center during 2010 to 2018. The data collected from medical records included nephrological and urological risk factors, nitrite status, and isolated pathogens. Of 931 episodes of UTI, 467 (50%) were considered high-risk. In all, 24 of the latter had Enterococcus as a single pathogen; 23 (96%) of these occurred in patients with negative nitrites in the first urine dipstick taken. The sole patient with high-risk factors, a positive nitrite test and coexisting enterococcal UTI had a history of previous enterococcal UTIs. In pediatric patients with nephrological and urological risk factors, who have positive nitrites in urinalysis, the risk for enterococcal UTI appears substantially low. Therefore, in this context, specific anti-enterococcal empirical antibiotic therapy may be unnecessary.
A randomized controlled trial testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a mental health Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment among refugees in Malaysia
Authors: Shaw Stacey A , Lee ChenYing , Ahmadi Maryam , Karim Shor Muluk Hamid , Mohamed Jibril Zakaria , Ahmadi Latifa , Randall Lynette , Yang Chongming , Gilbert Louisa
Published: June 2023

Background:

Among refugees residing in countries of first asylum, such as Malaysia, high rates of psychological distress call for creative intervention responses.

Aims:

This study examines implementation of a Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model promoting emotional well-being and access to services.

Method:

The one-session intervention was implemented in community settings by refugee facilitators during 2017 to 2020. 140 Participants including Afghan ( n = 43), Rohingya ( n = 41), and Somali ( n = 56) refugees were randomized to receive either the intervention at baseline, or to a waitlist control group. At 30 days post-intervention, all participants completed a post-assessment. Additionally, after completing the intervention, participants provided feedback on SBIRT content and process.

Results:

Findings indicate the intervention was feasible to implement. Among the full sample, Refugee Health Screening-15 emotional distress scores reduced significantly among participants in the intervention group when compared to those in the waitlist control group. Examining findings by nationality, only Afghan and Rohingya participants in the intervention condition experienced significant reductions in distress scores compared to their counterparts in the control condition. Examining intervention effects on service access outcomes, only Somali participants in the intervention condition experienced significant increases in service access compared to the control condition.

Conclusions:

Findings indicate the potential value of this SBIRT intervention, warranting further research.
The Barren Bear Fruit: Good News for Sterile Couples
Authors: Mowbray Briony
Published: June 2023

It is estimated that between 2.1 percent and 8.3 percent of Catholic couples remain biologically childless after exhausting all morally upright approaches for assisting reproduction. This represents a significant group within the Church earnestly seeking to live a fruitful married life in the absence of conceiving children. This essay seeks to provide a theologically and pastorally enriching exploration of marital fruitfulness for sterile Catholic couples in two ways: first, by demonstrating how the meanings of human fruitfulness and sterility have been definitively transformed by Christ and second, by exploring some of the ways sterile Christian marriages are abundantly fruitful. The insights of twentieth-century theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar are drawn upon and shaped for this purpose. The essay concludes by highlighting ways that sterile Christian couples can be supported to come to a better understanding of the abundant fruitfulness of their marriage.
Adaptive fuzzy controller for generalized chaotic Lorenz systems with hidden attractors based on Hamilton energy analysis
Authors: Amirizadeh Gelareh , Yaghoobi Mahdi , Kobravi Hamid R
Published: June 2023

Control of the generalized chaotic systems’ dynamical behaviors is studied here, by which a direct adaptive fuzzy controller is proposed to control a chaotic dynamical system using their Hamilton energy level. A generalized chaotic Lorenz system with hidden attractors is used as the under-control system, and its Hamilton energy is formulated and analyzed. As a practical consideration, the system is requested to be in a specific desired energy level in each explicit situation. A model-based control is computed and an adaptive fuzzy control is proposed based on it to improve the control signal from the magnitude and smoothness points of view. Adaptation law is designed to adjust the fuzzy controller parameters optimally, based on the Lyapunov second law, and guarantee the system stability. Consequent parameters of the fuzzy rules are tuned based on the residual value between the system’s Hamilton energy and the desired level. Simulation results show superiority of the proposed controller based on tracking performance and control efficiency indices.
Real-time notch filtering based on the modified subspace-based high-resolution frequency estimator
Authors: Li Kuan , Guo Zhonglin , Bai Yunrui , Tang Dejia , Huang Minchang , Luo Hao
Published: June 2023

This paper presents the real-time notch filtering based on a modified subspace-based high-resolution frequency estimator. The modified subspace-based frequency estimator is proposed based on the propagator using total least squares (TLS) to enhance the robustness to noise, which can be extended to the recursive implementation using data projection method (DPM). In addition, a subspace-based amplitude estimation method is proposed based on the available frequency estimates. For notch filtering, a second-order infinite impulse response (IIR) notch filter is directly designed in the discrete-time domain with given notch frequency and notch bandwidth. The performance of the proposed method is validated through numerical simulations and a real-world example.
Control strategy used for AC fault ride-through in VSC–HVDC transmission systems
Authors: Baazouzi Mansour , Sayahi Kamel , Bacha Faouzi
Published: June 2023

Fault ride-through (FRT) is a very important requirement for power grids based on voltage source converters (VSCs) to improve its operational availability of the AC grid. Grid codes require VSC stations to incorporate fault handling capabilities to prevent disconnection of converter stations from the alternating current (AC) grid for certain fault characteristics. In this paper, an FRT strategy is used in the two converter stations to handle the faults that may occur in the AC part of the grids and ensure their stability. The method improves the performance of the FRT compliance strategy during a voltage drop in the AC side. In addition, a current control that operates simultaneously on positive and negative sequence current is adopted. It also allows the injection of a reactive current to maintain the availability of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station during a fault. The performance and stability of the suggested FRT control is tested considering the direction of power flow with possible faults in balanced and unbalanced regime. For the validation of the efficiency of the FRT capacity, simulation tests are carried out with MATLAB-Simulink software, and experimental tests with a Smart-grid test bench.
A comparison of two teacher trainings on student anxiety
Authors: Ginsburg Golda S. , Pella Jeffrey E. , DeVito Anneliese , Chan Grace
Published: June 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of two teacher trainings, both focused on identifying student anxiety and implementing empirically supported anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom. A comparison of teachers’ satisfaction with their training was examined along with pre–post training changes on measures of teachers’ knowledge and use of evidence-based anxiety reduction strategies, perceived confidence in assisting students with anxiety, and teaching self-efficacy. Volunteer elementary teachers in New England USA were randomized to receive either a six-hour interactive training (Teacher Anxiety Program for Elementary Students; TAPES; n  =  41) or a three-hour didactic (Teacher Anxiety Training; TAT; n  =  37). Fifty-four teachers completed their respective training (mean age 40.9; SD  =  10.2; 98% female; 96% White). Results from t-tests indicated that levels of training satisfaction were high and similar across trainings. Mixed-design ANOVA analyses found that teachers receiving both trainings showed significant improvements in teacher knowledge and use of anxiety reduction strategies, confidence, and self-efficacy. Teachers receiving TAPES, compared to TAT, showed greater improvements in their knowledge of anxiety reduction strategies. Findings highlight the need and perceived value of training teachers on topics related to identifying and managing student anxiety.
Behavioral Agency Model and Corporate Social Irresponsibility: Uncovering the Implication of Fairness in CEO Compensation
Authors: Jain Tanusree , Zaman Rashid , Harjoto Maretno
Published: June 2023

Behavioral agency model (BAM) posits that executive risk preferences are influenced by losses to their current option wealth relative to gains from their prospective option wealth. Accordingly, current option wealth attenuates risk-taking while prospective option wealth amplifies risk-taking. In the context of corporate irresponsible behaviors, this study attempts to advance the BAM by theorizing how the presence of conditions that give rise to distributive and procedural injustice in CEO compensation can further amplify the positive effects of CEO prospective option wealth on risk-taking, thereby destroying stakeholder value. Our findings, based on a longitudinal cross-sectional sample of 8,669 firm-year observations for the period 2001 to 2018, support our theorization that CEO perceptions of unfairness in compensation amplify excessive risk-taking, thereby increasing the likelihood of corporate social irresponsibility. Our study has important implications for advancing the BAM and for the study and design of executive compensation.
A Citizen Just Like You: The Role of Complex Contagion and Resemblance for Decisions to Naturalize
Authors: Poole Alicia , Soehl Thomas
Published: June 2023

As is the case with the adoption of many other practices, social influence plays an important role in immigrants’ decision to apply for host-country citizenship. Existing work uses residential characteristics to proxy social network effects but does not directly analyze the hypothesized mechanisms – flow of information and signals about identity fit – nor does it specify the type of social network influence. We address this lacuna using data from in-depth interviews with immigrants about their decision whether or not to naturalize in the US. Our analysis of this data suggests that for migrants facing barriers naturalization diffuses through complex contagion. Rather than through the simple presence of naturalized co-ethnics, we show that social influence flows through strong ties to naturalized immigrants who share similar characteristics. When assessing information about the process and their chances of success, those who are on the fence look to others who have naturalized and who resemble them in attributes like education or migration trajectory. In addition, the promise of status equality that citizenship offers matters: comparing themselves to (social) peers that have citizenship can motivate respondents to naturalize as a way to claim equal status.
Stairway to heaven or highway to hell: A model for assessing cognitive automation use cases
Authors: Engel Christian , Elshan Edona , Ebel Philipp , Leimeister Jan M
Published: June 2023

Cognitive automation (CA) moves beyond rule-based business process automation to target cognitive knowledge and service work. This allows the automation of tasks and processes, for which automation seemed unimaginable a decade ago. To organizations, these CA use cases offer vast opportunities to gain a significant competitive advantage. However, CA imposes novel challenges on organizations’ decisions regarding the automation potential of use cases, resulting in low adoption and high project failure rates. To counteract this, we draw on an action research study with a leading European manufacturing company to develop and test a model for assessing use cases’ amenability to CA. The proposed model comprises four dimensions: cognition, data, relationship, and transparency requirements. The model proposes that a use case is less (more) amenable to CA if these requirements are high (low). To account for the model’s industry-agnostic generalizability, we draw on an internal evaluation within the action research company and three additional external evaluations undertaken by independent project teams in three distinct industries. From a practice perspective, the model will help organizations make more informed decisions in selecting use cases for CA and planning their respective initiatives. From a research perspective, the identified determinants affecting use cases’ amenability to CA will enhance our understanding of CA in particular and artificial intelligence as the driving force behind CA in general.
Self-Reported Stressors in Early Adolescence: The Role of Educational Track and Ethnic Background
Authors: Vogelaar Simone , Miers Anne C. , Saab Nadira , van Loon Amanda W. G. , Creemers Hanneke E. , Asscher Jessica J. , Westenberg P. Michiel
Published: June 2023

The present study aimed to identify overall stress and salient stressors experienced by adolescents from different education tracks and self-perceived ethnic backgrounds. A total of 1489 adolescents ( M = 13.40 years; SD = 0.89 years) from nine Dutch secondary schools participated. Self-reported stressors were measured with the adapted version of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire – Short. After controlling for age, gender, country of birth, and school classes, results showed that overall stress did not differ for educational track nor for ethnic background subgroups. Adolescents in academic education reported more stress from school-related stressors than adolescents attending vocational education. Adolescents with a mixed ethnic background (i.e., Dutch and another ethnicity) reported more stress regarding school-related stressors than adolescents with a Dutch ethnic background. These differences between adolescents of different educational tracks and ethnic backgrounds have implications for intervention programs targeting specific stressors.
Explaining Consumer Support for Sustainable Business Practices in the Frontier Market of Lebanon
Authors: Peterson Mark , Watson Forrest , Abou-Khalil Walid J.
Published: June 2023

Frontier markets of the world are countries with promising long-term rewards for investors, but risky and uncertain prospects in the next few years. These pre-emerging markets include such countries as Nigeria, Bangladesh, Jordan and Lebanon. Although sustainable business practices have appeared in frontier markets, the fragility and volatility of these markets raise the question about the nature of consumer support for sustainability in these challenging markets. Specifically, not much is currently known about factors influencing consumers’ purchasing support for firms pursuing sustainable business practices in frontier markets. This study contributes to macromarketers’ understanding of frontier markets by addressing consumers’ support for sustainable business practices in Lebanon. Structural equation modeling results of survey responses suggest that sustainable business practices influence purchasing of Lebanese consumers and are positively affected by antecedents, such as 1) Attitude toward Business Benevolence, 2) Environmental Values, and 3) Concern about Business Ethics. These results correspond to those from a US sample suggesting that support for sustainable business is not merely a phenomenon for developed markets—but for frontier markets, as well.