bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Underwater image enhancement using Divide-and-Conquer network
Authors: Zheng Shijian , Wang Rujing , Chen Guo , Huang Zhiliang , Teng Yue , Wang Liusan , Liu Zhigui
Published: March 2024

Underwater image enhancement has become the requirement for more people to have a better visual experience or to extract information. However, underwater images often suffer from the mixture of color distortion and blurred quality degradation due to the external environment (light attenuation, background noise and the type of water). To solve the above problem, we design a Divide-and-Conquer network (DC-net) for enhancing underwater image, which mainly consists of a texture network, a color network and a refinement network. Specifically, the multi-axis attention block is presented in the texture network, which combine different region/channel features into a single stream structure. And the color network employs an adaptive 3D look-up table method to obtain the color enhanced results. Meanwhile, the refinement network is presented to focus on image features of ground truth. Compared to state-of-the-art (SOTA) underwater image enhance methods, our proposed method can obtain the better visual quality of underwater images and better qualitative and quantitative performance. The code is publicly available athttps://github.com/zhengshijian1993/DC-Net.
Emotions on Twitter as crisis imprint in high-trust societies: Do ambient affiliations affect emotional expression during the pandemic?
Authors: Charquero-Ballester Marina , Walter Jessica Gabriele , Rybner Astrid Sletten , Nissen Ida Anthonj , Enevoldsen Kenneth Christian , Bechmann Anja
Published: March 2024

During the Covid-19 crisis, citizens turned to Twitter for information seeking, emotional outlet and sense-making of the crisis, creating ad hoc social communities using crisis-specific hashtags. The theory of ambient affiliation posits that the use of hashtags upscales the call to affiliate with the values expressed in the tweet. Given the deep functional tie between values and emotions, hashtag use might further amplify certain emotions. While emotions in crises-hashtagged communities have been previously investigated, the hypothesis of amplification of emotions through hashtag use has not yet been tested. We investigate such effect during the Covid-19 crisis in a scenario of high-trust Nordic societies, focusing on non-hashtagged, crisis hashtagged (e.g., ‘#Covid-19’) and threat hashtagged (e.g., ‘#misinformation’) tweets. To do so we apply XLM-RoBERTa to estimate Anger, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, Joy and Optimism. Our results revealed that crisis-hashtagged (#Covid-19) tweets expressed more negative emotions (Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness) and less positive emotions (Optimism and Joy) than non-hashtagged Covid-19 tweets for all countries except Finland. Threat tweets (#misinformation) expressed even more negative emotions (Anger, Fear, Disgust) and less positive emotions (Optimism and Joy) than #Covid-19 tweets, with a particularly large effect for Anger. Our findings provide useful context for previous research on collective emotions during crises, as most Twitter content is not hashtagged, and given the faster spread of emotionally charged content, further support the special focus on specific ad hoc communities for crisis and threat management and monitoring.
Epidemiology and burden of respiratory syncytial virus in Italian adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Domnich Alexander , Calabrò Giovanna Elisa
Published: March 2024

Objective

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory pathogen not only in children, but also in adults. In view of a recent authorization of adult RSV vaccines in Italy, our research question was to quantify the epidemiology and burden of RSV in Italian adults.

Methods

Observational studies on the epidemiology and clinical burden of laboratory-confirmed or record-coded RSV infection in Italian adults of any age were eligible. Studies with no separate data for Italian adults, modeling and other secondary publications were excluded. A literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Biological Abstracts, Global Health, Scopus and Web of Science on 22 November 2023. Critical appraisal was performed by means of a Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Random-effects (RE) meta-analysis was performed to obtain pooled estimates and the observed heterogeneity was investigated by subgroup and meta-regression analyses. The protocol was prospectively registered (doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.5qpvo32odv4o/v1).

Results

Thirty-five studies were identified, most of which had at least one possible quality concern. RSV seasonal attack rates ranged from 0.8 ‰ in community-dwelling older adults to 10.9% in hematological outpatients. In the RE model, 4.5% (95% CI: 3.2–5.9%) of respiratory samples tested positive for RSV. This positivity prevalence was higher in older adults (4.4%) than in working-age adults (3.5%) and in outpatient (4.9%) than inpatient (2.9%) settings. According to the meta-regression, study location and sample size were also significant predictors of RSV detection frequency. The pooled estimate of in-hospital mortality was as high as 7.2% (95% CI: 4.7–10.3%). Data on other indicators of the diseases burden, such as complication and hospitalization rates, were unavailable.

Conclusion

RSV poses a measurable burden on Italian adults, especially those of older age and with some co-morbidities. However, several data on the natural history of RSV disease are missing and should be established by future large-scale studies.
Genome-wide analysis of population structure, effective population size and inbreeding in Iranian and exotic horses
Authors: Bazvand B. , Rashidi A. , Zandi M. B. , Moradi M. H. , Rostamzadeh J.
Published: March 2024

Population structure and genetic diversity are the key parameters to study the breeding history of animals. This research aimed to provide a characterization of the population structure and to compare the effective population size (Ne), LD decay, genetic diversity, and genomic inbreeding in Iranian native Caspian (n = 38), Turkmen (n = 24) and Kurdish (n = 29) breeds and some other exotic horses consisting of Arabian (n = 24), Fell pony (n = 21) and Akhal-Teke (n = 20). A variety of statistical population analysis techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis of principal component (DAPC) and model-based method (STRUCTURE) were employed. The results of the population analysis clearly demonstrated a distinct separation of native and exotic horse breeds and clarified the relationships between studied breeds. The effective population size (Ne) for the last six generations was estimated 54, 49, 37, 35, 27 and 26 for the Caspian, Kurdish, Arabian, Turkmen, Akhal-Teke and Fell pony breeds, respectively. The Caspian breed showed the lowest LD with an average r2 value of 0.079, while the highest was observed in Fell pony (0.148). The highest and lowest average observed heterozygosity were found in the Kurdish breeds (0.346) and Fell pony (0.290) breeds, respectively. The lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient based on run of homozygosity (FROH) and excess of homozygosity (FHOM) was in the Caspian and Kurdish breeds, respectively, while based on genomic relationship matrix) FGRM) and correlation between uniting gametes) FUNI) the lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient was found in the Kurdish breed. The estimation of genomic inbreeding rates in the six breeds revealed that FROH yielded lower estimates compared to the other three methods. Additionally, the Iranian breeds displayed lower levels of inbreeding compared to the exotic breeds. Overall, the findings of this study provide valuable insights for the development of effective breeding management strategies aimed at preserving these horse breeds.
Microbiome sequencing revealed the abundance of uncultured bacteria in the Phatthalung sago palm-growing soil
Authors: Nutaratat Pumin , Arigul Tantip , Srisuk Nantana , Kruasuwan Worarat
Published: March 2024

Environmental variations have been observed to influence bacterial community composition, thereby impacting biological activities in the soil. Together, the information on bacterial functional groups in Phatthalung sago palm-growing soils remains limited. In this work, the core soil bacterial community in the Phatthalung sago palm-growing areas during both the summer and rainy seasons was examined using V3-V4 amplicon sequencing. Our findings demonstrated that the seasons had no significant effects on the alpha diversity, but the beta diversity of the community was influenced by seasonal variations. The bacteria in the phyla Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, Methylomirabilota, Planctomycetota, and Proteobacteria were predominantly identified across the soil samples. Among these, 26 genera were classified as a core microbiome, mostly belonging to uncultured bacteria. Gene functions related to photorespiration and methanogenesis were enriched in both seasons. Genes related to aerobic chemoheterotrophy metabolisms and nitrogen fixation were more abundant in the rainy season soils, while, human pathogen pneumonia-related genes were overrepresented in the summer season. The investigation not only provides into the bacterial composition inherent to the sago palm-cultivated soil but also the gene functions during the shift in seasons.
Determination of the minimum soil infiltration rate of sunken green space considering the annual runoff collection ratio, sunken depth and sunken green space area of Hefei city, China
Authors: Liu Peigui , Cheng Shuoya , Shang Manting , Wang Zongsheng , Wei Song
Published: March 2024

Sunken green space is one of the urban rainwater collection facilities, which belongs to Low Impact Development (LID) techniques. It plays a key role in the construction of sponge city, and the amount of runoff collection is usually affected by the area of the sunken green space, the infiltration rate of the soil, and the annual runoff collection rate. To determine the minimum soil infiltration rate of sunken green space considering the annual runoff collection ratio of sponge cities, this paper selects a residential district in Hefei city, China, as the case study. Based on 45 years of precipitation data, the designed rainfall corresponding to annual runoff collection ratios of 75%, 80% and 85% is 21.3 mm, 23.4 mm and 27.5 mm, respectively. The characteristics of rainfall infiltration in sunken green space are analyzed by using the water balance model and runoff yield and conflux model. The results reveal that the soil infiltration rate is 1.16×10−4 cm/s~3.88×10−3 cm/s when the sunken depth is 0.1 m~0.3 m and that the ratio of green space area is 5%~25%. The runoff collection of the reconstructed sunken green space is 2.87 times and 1.98 times that of the nonsunken green space and the nonreconstructed sunken green space, respectively. That is to say, under the comprehensive performance of the sunken depth, sunken green space area, the steady soil infiltration rater of the reconstructed sunken green space cannot be less than the value obtained in this paper. Otherwise, the requirements of annual total runoff reduction ratio of the sponge city cannot be met. Therefore, this study provides references for realizing the ratio of annual runoff collection and sponge city construction in similar urban areas. It can also be applied to optimal selection of sunken green space in some sponge city projects.
Mundane Joy as Emergent Strategy: Community Storytellers on “Happiness,” “Resilience,” and the “Good Life”
Authors: Waring Kathryn , York Lorraine , Coleman Daniel
Published: March 2024

This essay traces how community-based activist storytellers make room for emergent strategies in perilous times. It was sparked by the authors’ experience of working between two distinct communities that are both deeply invested in understanding the function of story-and-art-making in troubled and troubling times. For brevity’s sake, we will refer to the first community as the collective of “arts-based community-making” groups with whom we work under the auspices of the Centre for Community-Engaged Narrative Arts in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Our second community is the Spain-based RESHAP international group of literary and cultural studies scholars who are studying the theme of “Narrativas de la felicidad y la resiliencia / Narratives of Happiness and Resilience.” In the context of “risk society”—the widespread perception of life on earth as dangerous, vulnerable, and fraught with complex hazards—popular media, governments, and corporations, in addition to school systems, public think tanks, and the self-help industry often urge people to generate what Sara Ahmed has called “happiness scripts,” to keep positive and be resilient. These “scripts” become directive, insofar as stories of happiness, the good life, or resilience become mechanisms of discipline or coercive governance that can elicit what Lauren Berlant has called “cruel optimism.” Our essay teases out the emergent possibilities, the creative potential, that we see arising from community-based story-makers’ navigation of the tension between these (required) stories of the “good life” and the everyday, emergent strategies they invent in the midst of challenging times.
Tankönyvértékelések a tanulók és a nyelvtanárok szemszögéből
Authors: Sebestyén Krisztina
Published: March 2024

A nyelvtudás egyre fontosabb egyéni kompetencia a mindennapi életben, amelynek egyik fejlesztési lehetősége a közoktatási intézményekben kötelező nyelvoktatás. Ehhez számos eszköz használható, a leggyakoribbak és legelterjedtebbek a tankönyvek és munkafüzeteik, amelyek számos szempontból elemezhetők. Jelen tanulmányunkban a hatásorientált tankönyvkutatáshoz (Weinbrenner, 1992) sorolható eredményeket mutatunk be a tanulók, illetve nyelvtanárok tankönyvértékelését ismertetve: mit gondolnak a tankönyvekről, milyen hatást gyakorolnak rájuk. Tanulmányunkban a Némettanulás, illetve -tanítás Hajdú-Bihar és Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg megyében című papíralapú, kérdőíves kutatás tanulói, valamint tanári adatbázisát elemezzük, amelyekbe a 2018/2019-es tanévben 11. évfolyamos, érettségit adó képzésben részt vevő németet és/vagy angolt tanulóknak, valamint német- (43 fő) és angoltanáraiknak (57 fő) a válaszai kerültek be. Az adatokat SPSS programmal elemeztük. Eredményeink szerint a tanulók tankönyvértékelésében különbség van a különböző jövőbeli tervekkel rendelkező tanulói csoportok között, továbbá fenntartónként, képzéstípusonként és tanult idegen nyelvenként is. A tanulók alacsonyabb színvonalúra értékelik a tankönyveiket, mint a tanáraik, viszont magasabbra annál, mint amit a tanáraik feltételeznek róluk.
ANTIRRACISMO E ANTICAPACITISMO: REFLEXÕES NO MEIO ESPORTIVO
Authors: Paré Costa Luana , Zarpellon Mazo Janice
Published: March 2024

Este artigo busca apresentar reflexões acerca do movimento antirracista e anticapacitista para o meio esportivo. Atualmente, a discussão da temática racial e da pessoa com deficiência vem ganhando maior visibilidade e representatividade. Contudo, ainda é preciso romper com o silenciamento e apagamento dessas discussões em determinados espaços, inclusive, no âmbito acadêmico, suscitando estratégias urgentes de enfrentamento para lidar com o racismo e o capacitismo. Metodologicamente, optou-se pela análise temática de conteúdo. A pesquisa aponta que os movimentos sociais antirracistas e anticapacitistas são necessários e potentes para a proposição do diálogo, do tensionamento e de políticas públicas na sociedade.
DISCURSOS DE SAÚDE COMO ESTRATÉGIA DE GOVERNAMENTO
Authors: Duarte Freitas Débora
Published: March 2024

Pautada em uma perspectiva foucaultiana, proponho uma análise crítica sobre os discursos da alimentação e da atividade física. O objetivo foi demonstrar as reincidências discursivas, presentes no âmbito político, que governam a conduta humana dentro de uma racionalidade neoliberal, responsabilizando o indivíduo pelo sucesso ou fracasso em relação à sua saúde. Como resultado, aponto o foco no governo da conduta humana dentro de princípios de mercado, que estimulam escolhas saudáveis através do empresariamento de si, minimizando o contexto de desigualdade existente em nosso país e a presença do Estado mínimo para a população.
Bagwere Cultural Interpretation of Physical-Disability Before and During Disability Inclusion
Authors: Musenyente Elijah , Wamanga Doreen
Published: March 2024

This study investigates how the Bagwere people, an ethnic group in eastern Uganda, interpret physical disabilities in their culture, both before and after the introduction of disability inclusion policies and practices. The study uses a qualitative research method to collect data from 30 participants, half of whom have physical disabilities and half of whom do not. The article analyzes the data using thematic analysis and reveals that the Bagwere culture has negative attitudes and beliefs towards physical disabilities, which affect the social inclusion and well-being of persons with physical disabilities. The article also examines the impact of the legal framework and the historical context of disability inclusion in Uganda and globally on the Bagwere culture. The article concludes with some recommendations for improving the cultural and social inclusion of persons with physical disabilities in Uganda.
Penelitian ini menginvestigasi bagaimana masyarakat Bagwere, sebuah kelompok etnis di Uganda bagian timur, menafsirkan disabilitas fisik dalam budaya mereka, baik sebelum dan sesudah diperkenalkannya kebijakan dan praktik inklusi disabilitas. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif untuk mengumpulkan data dari 30 partisipan, separuhnya memiliki disabilitas fisik dan separuhnya lagi tidak. Data yang dikumpulkan dianalisis secara tematik dan mengungkapkan bahwa budaya Bagwere memiliki sikap dan keyakinan negatif terhadap disabilitas fisik, yang berdampak pada inklusi sosial dan kesejahteraan penyandang disabilitas fisik. Artikel ini juga mengkaji dampak kerangka hukum dan konteks historis inklusi disabilitas di Uganda dan secara global terhadap budaya Bagwere. Beberapa rekomendasi diusulkan untuk meningkatkan inklusi budaya dan sosial bagi penyandang disabilitas fisik di Uganda.
Ganzheitliches Biodiversitätsmanagement in der Baustoffindustrie
Authors: Heinrich Anneli , Marken Gesa
Published: March 2024

Der Biodiversitätsverlust ist nicht nur eine Herausforderung für die Gesellschaft; auch Unternehmen – besonders der Baustoffindustrie – kommt eine Verantwortung für den Biodiversitätsschutz zu. Welche Lösungsansätze gibt es für die Branche? Welches Potenzial hat sie und wie sehen die Erfolgsfaktoren für die Umsetzung eines ­Bio­diversitätsmanagements aus?
Klimapolitisches Engagement auf kommunaler Ebene in Deutschland – Entwicklung eines Index zu Bewusstsein, Konzeption und Durchführung von Klimaschutz und Klimawandelanpassung
Authors: Tafel Julian , Zorn Anika , Schäfer Susann
Published: March 2024

This paper presents an additive index on climate policy engagement at the municipal level, based on the three dimensions awareness, conception and implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The distortion of the index is based on the self-perception and personal assessment of municipal decision-makers, which were collected and evaluated as part of a primary survey (postal survey). The index shows how strongly a municipality is committed to climate policy. Thus, it represents an extension of previous indices that either only consider climate mitigation or adaptation or are only based exclusively on secondary statistics. The second part of the paper describes the application of the index in three counties or 51 municipalities in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The interpretation takes place in the context of structural characteristics of the municipalities concerned (number of inhabitants, share of votes of different parties, geographical location). The distribution of the index values shows a similar awareness in climate protection and climate change adaptation, but an increasing discrepancy in the implementation of adaptation-specific measures.
Physical Activity among Older People with Chronic Illnesses: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors:   e Professor, Department of Community and Mental Health, Princess Salma Faculty of Nursing, A
Published: March 2024

BSTRACT Article History: Received: November 21, 2023 Accepted: January 31, 2024 Background: The significance of physical activity in preventing and treating chronic illnesses has long been established. However, there are limited studies focusing on the physical activity among old people with chronic illnesses in Jordan. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the association between physical-activity level, chronic illnesses, and multimorbidity among people 60 years old and above in Jordan. Methods: A crosssectional design was used in the northern region of Jordan. A survey was conducted among 200 old people aged 60 years and above. The survey included sociodemographic data and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, and logistic-regression analysis. Results: Approximately 41% of old people had a sufficient level of physical activity. Gender, level of schooling, smoking, heart conditions, diabetes, and multimorbidity were significantly associated with physical activity. In the logistic-regression analysis, gender (OR 0.221, 95% CI 0.096-0.507), heart condition (OR 0.093, 95% CI 0.011-0.760), and diabetes (OR 0.312, 95% CI 0.120-0.810) were found to be significantly associated with physical activity among old people. Conclusion: This study revealed a low physical activity among old people. It is important to develop policies that support regular physical activity for old people with chronic illnesses. Implications for Nursing: Community-based healthpromotion programs should be developed to encourage regular physical activity among older people with chronic illnesses. Keywords: Physical activity, Older people, Chronic illnesses, Cross-sectional study.
Efficient Temporal Butterfly Counting and Enumeration on Temporal Bipartite Graphs
Authors: Cai Xinwei , Ke Xiangyu , Wang Kai , Chen Lu , Zhang Tianming , Liu Qing , Gao Yunjun
Published: March 2024

Bipartite graphs characterize relationships between two different sets of entities, like actor-movie, user-item, and author-paper. The butterfly, a 4-vertices 4-edges (2,2)-biclique, is the simplest cohesive motif in a bipartite graph and is the fundamental component of higher-order substructures. Counting and enumerating the butterflies offer significant benefits across various applications, including fraud detection, graph embedding, and community search. While the corresponding motif, the triangle, in the unipartite graphs has been widely studied in both static and temporal settings, the extension of butterfly to temporal bipartite graphs remains unexplored. In this paper, we investigate thetemporal butterfly counting and enumerationproblem: count and enumerate the butterflies whose edges establish following a certain order within a given duration. Towards efficient computation, we devise a non-trivial baseline rooted in the state-of-the-art butterfly counting algorithm on static graphs, further, explore the intrinsic property of the temporal butterfly, and develop a new optimization framework with a compact data structure and effective priority strategy. The time complexity is proved to be significantly reduced without compromising on space efficiency. In addition, we generalize our algorithms to practical streaming settings and multi-core computing architectures. Our extensive experiments on 11 large-scale real-world datasets demonstrate the efficiency and scalability of our solutions.
Multiple Time Series Forecasting with Dynamic Graph Modeling
Authors: Zhao Kai , Guo Chenjuan , Cheng Yunyao , Han Peng , Zhang Miao , Yang Bin
Published: March 2024

Multiple time series forecasting plays an essential role in many applications. Solutions based on graph neural network (GNN) that deliver state-of-the-art forecasting performance use the relation graph which can capture historical correlations among time series. However, in real world, it is common that correlations among time series evolve across time, resulting in dynamic relation graph, where the future correlations may be different from those in history. To address this problem, we propose multiple time series forecasting with dynamic graph modeling (MTSF-DG) that is able to learn historical relation graphs and predicting future relation graphs to capture the dynamic correlations. We also propose a causal GNN to extract features from both kinds of relation graphs efficiently. Then we propose a reasoning network to explicitly learn the variant influence from historical timestamps to future timestamps for final forecasting. Extensive experiments on six benchmark datasets show that MTSF-DG consistently outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, and justify our design with dynamic relation graph modeling.
Experimental Analysis of Large-Scale Learnable Vector Storage Compression
Authors: Zhang Hailin , Zhao Penghao , Miao Xupeng , Shao Yingxia , Liu Zirui , Yang Tong , Cui Bin
Published: March 2024

Learnable embedding vector is one of the most important applications in machine learning, and is widely used in various database-related domains. However, the high dimensionality of sparse data in recommendation tasks and the huge volume of corpus in retrieval-related tasks lead to a large memory consumption of the embedding table, which poses a great challenge to the training and deployment of models. Recent research has proposed various methods to compress the embeddings at the cost of a slight decrease in model quality or the introduction of other overheads. Nevertheless, the relative performance of these methods remains unclear. Existing experimental comparisons only cover a subset of these methods and focus on limited metrics. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive comparative analysis and experimental evaluation of embedding compression. We introduce a new taxonomy that categorizes these techniques based on their characteristics and methodologies, and further develop a modular benchmarking framework that integrates 14 representative methods. Under a uniform test environment, our benchmark fairly evaluates each approach, presents their strengths and weaknesses under different memory budgets, and recommends the best method based on the use case. In addition to providing useful guidelines, our study also uncovers the limitations of current methods and suggests potential directions for future research.
Testing Graph Database Systems via Graph-Aware Metamorphic Relations
Authors: Zhuang Zeyang , Li Penghui , Ma Pingchuan , Meng Wei , Wang Shuai
Published: March 2024

Graph database systems (GDBs) have supported many important real-world applications such as social networks, logistics, and path planning. Meanwhile, logic bugs are also prevalent in GDBs, leading to incorrect results and severe consequences. However, the logic bugs largely cannot be revealed by prior solutions which are unaware of the graph native structures of the graph data. In this paper, we propose Gamera (Graph-aware metamorphic relations), a novel metamorphic testing approach to uncover unknown logic bugs in GDBs. We design three classes of novel graph-aware Metamorphic Relations (MRs) based on the graph native structures. Gamera would generate a set of queries according to the graph-aware MRs to test diverse and complex GDB operations, and check whether the GDB query results conform to the chosen MRs.

We thoroughly evaluated the effectiveness of Gamera on seven widely-used GDBs such as Neo4j and OrientDB. Gamera was highly effective in detecting logic bugs in GDBs. In total, it detected 39 logic bugs, of which 15 bugs have been confirmed, and three bugs have been fixed. Our experiments also demonstrated that Gamera significantly outperformed prior solutions including Grand, GD-smith and GDBMeter. Gamera has been well-recognized by GDB developers and we open-source our prototype implementation to contribute to the community.
Influence of media campaigns efforts to control spread of COVID-19 pandemic with vaccination: A modeling study
Authors: Verma Sandhya Rani , Verma Vinay , Pathak Rachana , Agarwal Manju , Naresh Ram
Published: March 2024

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the world health organization on March 11, 2020,. Here, a nonlinear mathematical model is proposed and analyzed to study the spread of coronavirus disease in a human habitat. In modeling the dynamics, the total population is divided into five subclasses: susceptible population, asymptomatic infective population, symptomatic infective population, recovered population, and vaccinated population. It is assumed that the disease is transmitted directly from infectives. It is further assumed that due to the effect of media, susceptible individuals become aware about the disease and avoid contact with the infectives. The analysis of the model is performed using the stability theory of differential equations. Furthermore, conditions that influence the persistence of the system are obtained. We have also conducted numerical simulations to validate the analytical results. The model analysis shows that with an increase in media awareness, the spread of coronavirus disease decreases with a decrease in the number of infective populations.
Decay rate of the solutions to the Cauchy problem of the Lord Shulman thermoelastic Timoshenko model with distributed delay
Authors: Choucha Abdelbaki , Boulaaras Salah , Jan Rashid , Alnegga Mohammad
Published: March 2024

In this study, we address a Cauchy problem within the context of the one-dimensional Timoshenko system, incorporating a distributed delay term. The heat conduction aspect is described by the Lord-Shulman theory. Our demonstration establishes that the dissipation resulting from the coupling of the Timoshenko system with Lord-Shulman’s heat conduction is sufficiently robust to stabilize the system, albeit with a gradual decay rate. To support our findings, we convert the system into a first-order form and, utilizing the energy method in Fourier space, and derive point wise estimates for the Fourier transform of the solution. These estimates, in turn, provide evidence for the slow decay of the solution.
Ascorbic acid-mediated selenium nanoparticles as potential antihyperuricemic, antioxidant, anticoagulant, and thrombolytic agents
Authors: Siddique Muhammad Aamir Ramzan , Khan Muhammad Aslam , Bokhari Syed Ali Imran , Ismail Muhammad , Ahmad Khurshid , Haseeb Hafiz Abdul , Kayani Mustafa Mubin , Khan Suleman , Zahid Nafeesa , Khan Sher Bahadar
Published: March 2024

Selenium (Se) is an important trace element that is involved in controlling oxidative stress and inflammatory disorders. Gouty arthritis is the inflammation and pain within the joints and tissues caused due to the accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. This study aimed to investigate the antigout, antioxidant, anticoagulant, and thrombolytic potential of ascorbic acid-mediated Se nanoparticles (A-SeNPs). Different analytical techniques were used to investigate the formation of A-SeNPs. The antigout potential of the nanoparticles was carried out using MSU crystal dissolution, uric acid (UA) degradation assay, and xanthine oxidase inhibition (XOI). A-SeNPs exhibited excellent antihyperurecemic activity in a concentration-dependent manner. It was observed that at the tested concentration of 20 mg·mL−1, the A-SeNPs demonstrated significant breakage and dissolution of MSU crystals and resulted in UA degradation of 67.76%. Similarly, A-SeNPs resulted in 76% XOI with an excellent IC50 of 140 µg·mL−1. Furthermore, considerable antioxidant activity was noted for the A-SeNPs as evaluated with multiple antioxidant assays. Finally, the NPs were found to have significant anticoagulant and thrombolytic potential. Thus, it was concluded that A-SeNPs have potent antihyperuricemic, antioxidant, anticoagulant, and thrombolytic activities, making them an ideal choice for future biomedical applications.
Vertrauensbildung unter Mitgliedern chinesisch-deutscher Teams bei virtuellen Meetings aus interkultureller Sicht
Authors: Pan Yaling , Chen Yangyang
Published: March 2024

Im Zuge des digitalen Wandels ist die virtuelle Kommunikation – sehr häufig in Form von virtuellen Meetings – das neue Normal in der Arbeitswelt geworden. Dies stellt insbesondere interkulturelle Teams vor neue Herausforderungen. Ein wichtiger Aspekt dabei ist die Vertrauensbildung zwischen Teammitgliedern aus unterschiedlichen Kulturkreisen, die die vorliegende Arbeit als Forschungsthema untersucht und erörtert. Unterstützt von qualitativen Experteninterviews wird in der Arbeit das genannte Thema am Beispiel von virtuellen Meetings unter Mitgliedern chinesisch-deutscher Teams beleuchtet. Durch leitfadengestützte Experteninterviews mit 28 chinesischen und 12 deutschen Fach- und Führungskräften von 20 chinesischen Unternehmen in Deutschland und zehn deutschen Unternehmen in China konnten Erfahrungen, Erwartungen und Empfehlungen in Bezug auf Vertrauensbildung in den chinesisch-deutschen Teams bei virtuellen Meetings erfasst werden. Basierend auf der Auswertung der in den Interviews gewonnenen Daten mit Hilfe von MAXQDA 2022 wurde das Konstrukt der Vertrauensbildung unter chinesischen und deutschen Teammitgliedern auf kognitiver, affektiver und konativer Ebene mit insgesamt acht Schlüsselfaktoren ausgearbeitet. Darüber hinaus wurden Atmosphäre und Umfeld als kontextueller Rahmen für die Vertrauensbildung postuliert und näher erläutert. Basierend auf der oben geschilderten systematischen Datenauswertung wurde ein multimodales und multidimensionales Modell zur Vertrauensbildung unter chinesischen und deutschen Teammitgliedern bei virtuellen Meetings entwickelt und es wurden Strategien und Ansätze zum Vertrauensauf- und -ausbau ausgelotet.
Synthesis and application feasibility study of cetyltrimethylammonium p-toluenesulfonate
Authors: Zhou Rui , Liu Qiaona , Wang Jianwei , Liu Guibin , Ji Wenyu , Dong Sanbao , Chen Gang
Published: March 2024

To improve the insufficient performance of anion on cationic surfactants and to further study the influence of anion on the surface properties, a cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium p-toluenesulfonate, CTATS) was prepared, and the relevant surface properties, including surface tension, critical micelle concentration, foaming ability and stability, corrosion inhibition and oil displacement efficiency were studied. Compared to cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), CTATS exhibited higher surface activity, lower foaming volume, higher foam stability, higher corrosion inhibition performance and oil displacement efficiency. The results indicate that the CTATS has better performances as a surfactant type in oil and gas fields.
Educational attainment as a predictor of poverty and social exclusion: Empirical analysis of Serbian case
Authors: Dzunic Marija , Golubovic Natasa , Jankovic-Milic Vesna
Published: March 2024

This study examines the impact of education on the risk of poverty and social exclusion in a single-country framework. Relying on household and individual level data from the annual EU-SILC survey obtained in Serbia in 2020, we estimate the market and non-market benefits of education in the context of combating poverty and social exclusion in developing countries. Based on a representative sample of the adult population in Serbia, we explore to what extent the risk of poverty and social exclusion can be predicted by the levels of educational attainment. Econometric estimations indicate that educational underachievement acts as a significant driver of poverty and social exclusion. Probit regression analysis indicates that the risk of experiencing poverty and social exclusion decreases substantially with higher education levels. We include three model specifications that calculate the predicted probability of being at risk of poverty, severely materially deprived and exposed to combined risks. Holding other predictors constant, the decrease in poverty and social exclusion probability attributed to a one level increase in educational attainment amounts up to 7.96% (for unemployed women with only primary education). The analysis confirms that the highest gains from schooling are materialized for the categories of respondents who are not active in the labor market and those with the lowest levels of educational attainment. Besides this, self-perceived health and labor market activity significantly affect the risk of poverty, material deprivation and social exclusion. The impact of age differs across our model specifications, indicating that age increases the probability of severe material deprivation and the combined risk of poverty and deprivation, while older age appears to go in hand with a lower risk of poverty itself. These results offer relevant information that should be considered when determining the optimal level of social investment in education.
Non-unions and wound infections do not differ following intramedullary nailing and plate osteosynthesis for distal third femur fractures: a meta-analysis
Authors: Frodl Andreas , Hauss Johannes , Fuchs Andreas , Siegel Markus , Schmal Hagen , Kühle Jan
Published: March 2024

Purpose

The fixation method of distal, extra-articular femur fractures is a controversially discussed. To ensure better stability itself, earlier mobilization and to prevent blood loss – all these are justifications for addressing the femur via reamed intramedullary nailing (RIMN). Anatomical reposition of multifragmentary fractures followed by increased risks of non-union are compelling reasons against it. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature for rates of non-union and wound infection, as well as blood loss and time of surgery.

Methods

According to the PRISMA guidelines we conducted this systematic review by searching the Cochrane, PubMed, Ovid, MedLine, and Embase databases. Inclusion criteria were the modified Coleman methodology score (mCMS) >60, age >18 years, and extra-articular fractures of the distal femur. Biomechanical and animal studies were excluded. By referring to title and abstract relevant articles were reviewed independently. In the consecutive meta-analysis, we compared 9 studies and 639 patients.

Results

There is no statistically significant difference comparing superficial wound infections when RIMN was performed (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.18 – 1.42; P = 0.19) as well as in deep wound infections (OR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.19–2.81; P = 0.62). However, these results were not significant. We also calculated for potential differences in the rate of non-unions depending on the surgical treatment applied. Data of 556 patients revealed an overall number of 43 non-unions. There was no significant difference in rate of non-unions between both groups (OR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.51–1.85; P = 0.92).

Conclusion

No statistical difference was found in our study among RIMN and plate fixation in the treatment of distal femoral fractures with regard to the incidence of non-union and wound infections. Therefore, the indication for RIMN or plating should be made individually and based on the surgeon’s experience.
Management of floating hip injury: a review of the literature
Authors: Yang Yun , Peng Yin-xiao , Yu Bin
Published: March 2024

Aim

The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of floating hip injury and attempt to provide a management algorithm.

Methods

PubMed was searched using the terms ‘Floating hip’ or ‘acetabular fracture’ and ‘Ipsilateral femoral fracture’ or ‘pelvic fracture’ and ‘Ipsilateral femoral fracture’. One author performed a preliminary review of the abstracts and references of the retrieved articles.

Results

The mean injury severe score reported was higher than 20. Chest and abdominal injuries, as well as fractures at other sites, were the most common associated injuries. Despite the high disability rate, surgery remained the preferred option for managing these injuries. The surgical timing varied from a few hours to several days and was subjected to the principles of damage control orthopedics. Although, in most cases, fixation of femoral fractures took precedence over pelvic or acetabular fractures, there was still a need to consider the impact of damage control orthopedics, associated injuries, and surgeon's considerations and preferences. Posttraumatic arthritis, neurological deficits, heterotopic ossification, femoral head necrosis, femoral nonunion, and limb inequality were common complications of the floating hip injury.

Conclusions

The severity of such injuries often exceeds that of an isolated injury and often requires specialized multidisciplinary treatment. In the management of these complex cases, the complexity and severity of the injury should be fully assessed, and an appropriate surgical plan should be developed to perform definitive surgery as early as possible, with attention to prevention of complications during the perioperative period.
Operative management of osteochondral lesions of the talus: 2024 recommendations of the working group ‘clinical tissue regeneration’ of the German Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (DGOU)
Authors: Walther Markus , Gottschalk Oliver , Aurich Matthias
Published: March 2024

The working group ‘Clinical Tissue Regeneration’ of the German Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (DGOU) issues this paper with updating its guidelines.

Literature was analyzed regarding different topics relevant to osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) treatment. This process concluded with a statement for each topic reflecting the best scientific evidence available with a grade of recommendation. All group members rated the statements to identify possible gaps between literature and current clinical practice.

Fixation of a vital bony fragment should be considered in large fragments. In children with open physis, retrograde drilling seems to work better than in adults, but even there, the revision rate reaches 50%. The literature supports debridement with bone marrow stimulation (BMS) in lesions smaller than 1.0 cm² without bony defect. The additional use of a scaffold can be recommended in lesions larger than 1.0 cm². For other scaffolds besides AMIC®/Chondro-Gide®, there is only limited evidence. Systematic reviews report good to excellent clinical results in 87% of the patients after osteochondral transplantation (OCT), but donor site morbidity is of concern, reaching 16.9%. There is no evidence of any additional benefit from autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI). Minced cartilage lacks any supporting data. Metallic resurfacing of OLT can only be recommended as a second-line treatment. A medial malleolar osteotomy has a minor effect on the clinical outcome compared to the many other factors influencing the clinical result.
Synovial sarcoma: the misdiagnosed sarcoma
Authors: Li Chengxiang , Krasniqi Fatime , Donners Ricardo , Kettelhack Christoph , Krieg Andreas H
Published: March 2024

Synovial sarcoma is a rare and highly malignant soft tissue sarcoma. The inconspicuous and diversity of its early symptoms make it a highly misdiagnosed disease.

The management of synovial sarcomas is challenging as they are rare and have a poor prognosis. Early and correct diagnosis and treatment are critical for clinical outcomes. Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can have devastating consequences for the patient.

The detection of SS18 gene rearrangement is considered a powerful tool in establishing the diagnosis of synovial sarcomas. Biopsies and testing for gene rearrangements are recommended for all patients in whom SS cannot be excluded.

Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for synovial sarcomas. Neoadjuvant/adjuvant radiotherapy is recommended for patients with big tumors (>5 cm) or positive resection margins, and neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for patients with high-risk tumors or advanced diseases.

This article reviews synovial sarcomas from the perspectives of clinical and radiological presentation, histological and cytogenetic analysis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
Вплив адсорбованого метану на стан води в міжчастинкових зазорах метилкремнезему АМ-1
Authors: Туров В.В. , Крупська Т.В. , Зроль Л.В.
Published: March 2024

Методом низькотемпературної 1Н ЯМР-спектроскопії досліджекно будову адсорбційних комплексів води в міжчастинкових зазорах гідрофобного порошку метилкремнезему АМ-1 і вплив асоційованості води на формування гідратів метану. Показано, що зі збільшенням тривалості механічного оброблення зразка метилкремнезему частка слабоасоційованої води збільшується за рахунок зменшення кількості сильноасоційованої води. Порівняно адсорбційну ємність метилкремнезему і гідратів метану. Висунуто припущення, що поряд з рухливими гідратами метану на міжфазній межі АМ-1 формується певна кількість гідратів метану клатратного типу. Вони утворюються в рідкій воді шляхом розчинення в ній газоподібного метану. Оскільки як вода, так і метан, що входять до складу клатратів, не спостерігаються в спектрах рідинного ЯМР, одним з пояснень зменшення інтенсивності вузького сигналу однієї з форм сильноасоційованої води (WAW2) зі зниженням температури може бути зростання за цих умов кількості клатратних форм адсорбованого метану.
Distribuição e financiamento no circuito comercial de comédias brasileiras contemporâneas
Authors: Palermo Raphael
Published: March 2024

O sucesso comercial de franquias como Minha mãe é uma peça (2013-2019) e De pernas pro ar (2010-2019) mostram que a popularidade das comédias brasileiras continua em alta. Além do apelo cultural e artístico que essas comédias têm com o público, os modelos de financiamento e de distribuição dessas produções têm sido igualmente importantes para o seu sucesso. Como este artigo argumenta, o financiamento público do Fundo Setorial do Audiovisual, a presença cada vez maior de investimentos privados e o desenvolvimento de uma rede doméstica de distribuição através das distribuidoras Downtown e Paris Filmes têm sido fundamentais para que essas comédias cheguem às salas de cinema e quebrem recordes de bilheteria.
Correlation between Stenotrophomonas maltophilia incidence and systemic antibiotic use: A 10-year retrospective, observational study in Hungary
Authors: Gajdács Márió , Matuz Mária , Ria Benkő , Pető Zoltán , Hajdú Edit
Published: March 2024

Extensive use of carbapenems may lead to selection pressure for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (SM) in hospital environments. The aim of our study was to assess the possible association between systemic antibiotic use and the incidence of SM. A retrospective, observational study was carried out in a tertiary-care hospital in Hungary, between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2019. Incidence-density for SM and SM resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT) was standardized for 1000 patient-days, while systemic antibiotic use was expressed as defined daily doses (DDDs) per 100 patient-days. Mean incidence density for SM infections was 0.42/1000 patient-days; 11.08% were were resistant to SXT, the mean incidence density for SXT-resistant SM was 0.047/1000 patient-days. Consumption rate for colistin, glycopeptides and carbapenems increased by 258.82, 278.94 and 372.72% from 2010 to 2019, respectively. Strong and significant positive correlations were observed with the consumption of carbapenems (r: 0.8759; P < 0.001 and r: 0.8968; P < 0.001), SXT (r: 0.7552; P = 0.011 and r: 0.7004; P = 0.024), and glycopeptides (r: 0.7542; P = 0.012 and r: 0.8138; P < 0.001) with SM and SXT-resistant SM incidence-density/1000 patient-days, respectively. Implementation of institutional carbapenem-sparing strategies are critical in preserving these life-saving drugs, and may affect the microbial spectrum of infections in clinical settings.