bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Marginal fit of 3-unit implant-supported fixed partial dentures: Influence of pattern fabrication method and repeated porcelain firings
Authors: Giti Rashin , Farrahi Pardis
Published: April 2024

Background

Marginal fit significantly impacts the long-term success of dental restorations. Different pattern fabrication methods, including hand-waxing, milling, or 3D printing, may affect restorations accuracy. The effect of porcelain firing cycles on the marginal fit of metal-ceramic restorations remains controversial, with conflicting findings across studies.

Purpose

The aim was to evaluate the potential effects of multiple porcelain firings (3, 5, 7 cycles) as well as pattern fabrication method (conventional hand-waxing, milling, and 3D printing) on the marginal adaptation of 3-unit implant-supported metal-ceramic fixed partial dentures. It was hypothesized that neither the wax pattern fabrication method nor repeated ceramic firings would significantly affect the marginal adaptation of metal-ceramic crowns.

Methods

In this in-vitro study, 30 Cobalt-Chromium alloy frameworks were fabricated based on pattern made through three techniques: conventional hand-waxing, CAD-CAM milling, and CAD-CAM 3D printing (n= 10 per group). Sixteen locations were marked on each abutment to measure the vertical marginal gap at four stages: before porcelain veneering and after 3, 5, and 7 firing cycles. The vertical marginal gap was measured using direct microscopic technique at ×80 magnification. Mean vertical marginal gap values were calculated and two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests were used for inter-group comparisons (α = 0.05).

Results

The 3D printing group showed significantly lower (P<0.001) mean vertical marginal gaps (60–76 μm) compared to the milling (77–115 μm) and conventional hand-waxing (102–110 μm) groups. The milling group exhibited a significant vertical gap increase after 3 firing cycles (P<0.001); while the conventional (P= 0.429) and 3D printing groups (P= 0.501) showed no significant changes after 7 firing cycles. Notably, the vertical marginal gap in all groups remained below the clinically acceptable threshold of 120 μm.

Conclusion

CAD-CAM 3D printing provided superior marginal fit compared to CAD-CAM milling and conventional hand-wax pattern fabrication methods. The impact of porcelain firing on the mean marginal gap was significant only in the milling group. All three fabrication techniques yielded clinically acceptable vertical marginal adaptation after repeated firings. Additive manufacturing holds promise to produce precise implant-supported prostheses.
Dietary total antioxidant capacity of Moroccan Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients
Authors: El Frakchi Najia , El Kinany Khaoula , El Baldi Marwa , Saoud Younes , El Rhazi Karima
Published: April 2024

Aims

A new approach to a healthy diet is the assessment of dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC). The aim of this study was to assess the dietary TAC among Moroccan Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients and identify the main food sources contributing to the total antioxidant capacity intake.

Methods

A total of 254 patients with T2DM was included in the study. The usual dietary intakes were assessed by means of a validated food frequency questionnaire. The dietary TAC was estimated using published databases of the antioxidant content of foods measured by the FRAP (ferric ion reducing antioxidant potential) method.

Results

The mean (SD) dietary TAC of the studied type 2 diabetes patients was 10.86 (3.42) mmol/day. Correlation analyses showed a positive association between dietary TAC and the consumption of healthy food groups, such as fruits and vegetables. Tea and coffee beverages (38.6%), vegetables (21.9%), cereals and pulses (18.8%), fruits and fruit juices (12.4%) were major food sources of dietary antioxidant intake. The relatively short list of twenty food items that contributed most to dietary TAC presented an important explanation of roughly 94%. These included tea, coffee, broad beans, artichoke, pepper, beetroot, sweet potatoes, pomegranate, mandarin, figs, strawberry, orange juice, olives, cashew nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, dchicha and white beans.

Conclusions

This study supplies baseline dietary TAC data for Moroccan T2DM patients that may help to elucidate which aspects of the eating habits and behaviours require improvement and provide the opportunity to develop dietary guidelines as part of the nutritional diabetes management.
Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of Persian version of Evidence Based Medicine Questionnaire (EBMQ) in postgraduate medical students in Iran
Authors: Danaei Ziba , Madadizadeh Farzan , Sheikhshoaei Fatemeh , Dehdarirad Hossein
Published: April 2024

Background

Evidence Based Medicine Questionnaire (EBMQ) was developed to assess the knowledge, practice and barriers towards the implementation of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). This study aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically validate the Persian version of EBMQ.

Methods

This was an analytical cross sectional study. The EBMQ underwent translation and cross-cultural adaptation following best practices. Face validity was assessed by a panel of five experts. The content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were evaluated by 15 experts who were familiar with EBM. The tool’s internal consistency and test-retest reliability over a 2-week period were evaluated using Cronbach’s α and intra-class correlation (ICC), respectively. To assess construct validity, the questionnaire was completed by 400 medical students. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used for construct validity assessment. All analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS v.24 and AMOS v.24. A significance level of 5% was considered.

Results

The CVR for 40 items was higher than 0.62, and their CVI score was 1.0, indicating good content validity. The scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability (n = 30) with an ICC of 0.909 (95% CI: 0.866 to 0.941), and an overall alpha coefficient of 0.957. The structural validity was established through exploratory factor analysis (Bartlett’s test p<0.001; the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index = 0.862), and it was further confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. A three-factor solution with 40 items, explaining 51.610% of the variance, exhibited the best fit indices Chi-square statistics/df = 4.23; RMSEA = 0.08; CFI = 0.95; NFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.92).

Conclusion

The Persian version of the EBMQ was a reliable and valid tool that could be utilized to assess the knowledge, practice and barriers of EBM for physicians in Persian language countries.
The “thinking system” in a new school concept: A rhythmic teaching approach in physical education to develop creativity
Authors: Rigon Marta , Invernizzi Pietro Luigi , Signorini Gabriele , Trecroci Athos , Scurati Raffaele , Formenti Damiano , Colella Dario , Bosio Andrea , Cherubini Domenico
Published: April 2024

System Thinking is an actual construct supported by several scientific evidence that offer a perspective on how phenomena relate. Rhythm methodology, teaching-learning, and enjoyment in physical education are the main system elements we hypothesize interacting closely to determine direct or mediated effects on motor creativity and rhythmic perceptive capacity. Seventy-six elementary and middle school students (8.9 ± 2.1 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: a) an intervention group that received a physical education lesson based on rhythmic methodology and b) a control group that received conventional lessons without specific rhythmic interventions. Participants were engaged in eight physical education lessons lasting one hour each for eight weeks. Tests and questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention to evaluate motor creativity, rhythmic perception capacity, self-perception and enjoyment. Two lessons were randomly analyzed to identify the teaching style and motor content (moderate and vigorous activity). The main results revealed direct effects on the intervention group’s motor creativity (p = 0.001) and its rhythmic perception capacity (p = 0.02). Furthermore, enjoyment mediated the effects of the intervention on motor creativity (p = 0.01). Finally, the results have shown that self-perception does not mediate the effect of rhythmic intervention group on motor creativity and rhythmic perceptive capacity (p > 0.05). A rhythmic methodology proposed by specific multi-teaching styles can involve children and young people in an enjoyable activity with more moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Exploring the impact of pandemic fear on visitation to park attractions in urban city: A case study in Seoul, South Korea
Authors: Choi Yunwon
Published: April 2024

This research explores changes in perceptions and utilization of parks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Seoul, South Korea. It investigates the relationship between fear of the pandemic and individuals’ opinions about open spaces and their visiting decisions. The study surveyed 600 adults from February 22–23, 2022, and used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The findings revealed that increased fear of the pandemic led to more positive park sentiments, resulting in higher park visits and fewer visits to other public spaces. The research highlights the significance of parks during the COVID-19 pandemic and how people’s perceptions were influenced by their pandemic-related fear.
Survey from 61,748 schools in four States of India on sale of tobacco products near schools
Authors: Sarin Ashima , Seth Sanjay , Sethi Barkha , Singhavi Hitesh R.
Published: April 2024

Background

Children form the most vulnerable strata of the society and the tobacco industry is known to target them. Article 16 of the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls for prohibition of tobacco sales to and by minors. Although interventions to stop such sales are based on sound science, it is widely acknowledged that many countries find implementation, full of challenges. In India, sales near educational institutions are banned by law, Section 6b of the Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). We conducted a survey of violations in four states [Andhra Pradesh (AP), Karnataka (KA), Meghalaya (ML), Uttar Pradesh (UP)] of India to report the number of violations and to assess if there was an association between the schools with violations and variables such as gender, size, category, location of schools.

Methods

Schools in these States were asked to report the number of shops selling tobacco within 100 yards on an App circulated to all schools (289,392 in number). Chi-square tests, univariate and multivariate logistic regression performed to find association between schools with violations by Category of School, Size of School, Gender of students and location (Urban/Rural).

Findings

Responses were received from 61,748 (21.3%) schools of which 16,193 (26.2%) reported violations. It was observed that the percentages of the schools with violations were similar to the prevalence of tobacco usage in the state. Four states AP, KA, ML, UP reported violations 22.2%, 17.5%, 42.9% and 31.4% respectively. On chi-square tests, there was a significant association for the states of KA and ML with regards to variables like size, category, location of schools (p-value <0.001). For AP, all variables were significantly different (p-value <0.001) while for UP variables like size and gender were significant. On logistic regression, there was significant association between the variables like size (>100), category (Upper Primary) and location (urban) for tobacco shops violations in both KA and ML except for the school category that was secondary in ML. While for AP and UP, only size (>100), location (urban) of schools have a significant association with the violations of tobacco shops. Logistic regression of pooled data of four states school size (>100) and school category (primary) and location (urban) had significantly higher association of violation of tobacco shops.

Interpretation

This is the first large survey with responses from almost all parts of the four states in India. This study shows significant association with the size, category and location of schools. We anticipate that the lists of schools which have such violations can be used by enforcement agencies to take focused action. Such models will help develop effective tobacco control policies in developing countries with large populations where implementation remains a big challenge.
Neurodiversity and cognitive load in online learning: A focus group study
Authors: Le Cunff Anne-Laure , Giampietro Vincent , Dommett Eleanor
Published: April 2024

It is widely accepted that cognitive load plays a crucial role in online learning. However, despite neurodevelopmental conditions being the largest category of qualifying disabilities in education, and the rise of online learning, there is little understanding of the factors impacting cognitive load in online learning for neurodivergent students and how these factors differ from those affecting neurotypical students. This study used qualitative comparison groups with neurotypical and neurodivergent students to examine their experiences of cognitive load in online learning. A sample of 26 university students (14 neurotypical and 12 neurodivergent) participated in focus group discussions. While neurodivergent students reported many similar experiences of cognitive load in online learning compared to their neurotypical peers—such as confusion in navigating the content and technical issues—some difficulties were more present for neurodivergent students—such as transcripts including mistakes and inaccessible content presentation—creating additional barriers in effectively engaging with the educational content. The results suggest that neurotypical and neurodivergent students experience similar challenges, albeit to differing degrees of intensity, and that more research is needed to explore the relationship between neurodiversity and cognitive load in online learning.
SIRT3 regulates cardiolipin biosynthesis in pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling by PPARγ-mediated mechanism
Authors: Liu Ling-Xin , Zheng Xue-Hui , Hai Jing-Han , Zhang Chun-Mei , Ti Yun , Chen Tong-Shuai , Bu Pei-Li
Published: April 2024

Cardiac remodeling is the primary pathological feature of chronic heart failure (HF). Exploring the characteristics of cardiac remodeling in the very early stages of HF and identifying targets for intervention are essential for discovering novel mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. Silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 3 (SIRT3), as a major mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase, is required for mitochondrial metabolism. However, whether SIRT3 plays a role in cardiac remodeling by regulating the biosynthesis of mitochondrial cardiolipin (CL) is unknown. In this study, we induced pressure overload in wild-type (WT) and SIRT3 knockout (SIRT3−/−) mice via transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Compared with WT mouse hearts, the hearts of SIRT3−/− mice exhibited more-pronounced cardiac remodeling and fibrosis, greater reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, decreased mitochondrial-membrane potential (ΔΨm), and abnormal mitochondrial morphology after TAC. Furthermore, SIRT3 deletion aggravated TAC-induced decrease in total CL content, which might be associated with the downregulation of the CL synthesis related enzymes cardiolipin synthase 1 (CRLS1) and phospholipid-lysophospholipid transacylase (TAFAZZIN). In our in vitro experiments, SIRT3 overexpression prevented angiotensin II (AngII)- induced aberrant mitochondrial function, CL biosynthesis disorder, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) downregulation in cardiomyocytes; meanwhile, SIRT3 knockdown exacerbated these effects. Moreover, the addition of GW9662, a PPARγ antagonist, partially counteracted the beneficial effects of SIRT3 overexpression. In conclusion, SIRT3 regulated PPARγ-mediated CL biosynthesis, maintained the structure and function of mitochondria, and thereby protected the myocardium against cardiac remodeling.
Can serum interleukin 34 levels be used as an indicator for the prediction and prognosis of COVID-19?
Authors: Karahan Doğu , Bolayir Hasan Ata , Bolayir Aslı , Demir Bilgehan , Otlu Önder , Erdem Mehmet
Published: April 2024

Objective

Interleukin 34 (IL-34) is a molecule whose expression is increased in conditions such as autoimmune disorders, inflammation, and infections. Our study aims to determine the role of IL-34 in the diagnosis, follow-up, and prognosis of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19).

Method

A total of 80 cases were included in the study as 40 COVID-19 positive patient groups and 40 COVID-19 negative control groups. The COVID-19-positive group consisted of 20 intensive-care unit (ICU) patients and 20 outpatients. Serum IL-34, c-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, D-dimer, troponin I, hemogram, and biochemical parameters of the cases were studied and compared between groups.

Results

IL-34 levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19-positive group than in the negative group. IL-34 levels increased in correlation with CRP in predicting the diagnosis of COVID-19. IL-34 levels higher than 31.75 pg/m predicted a diagnosis of COVID-19. IL-34 levels did not differ between the outpatient and ICU groups in COVID-19-positive patients. IL-34 levels were also not different between those with and without lung involvement.

Conclusion

While IL-34 levels increased in COVID-19-positive patients and were successful in predicting the diagnosis of COVID-19, it was not found to be significant in determining lung involvement, risk of intensive care hospitalization, and prognosis. The role of IL-34 in COVID-19 deserves further evaluation.
The effectiveness of savouring interventions on well-being in adult clinical populations: A protocol for a systematic review
Authors: Cullen Katie , Murphy Mike , Di Blasi Zelda , Bryant Fred B.
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Savouring interventions aim to amplify the intensity and duration of positive feelings and positive affect. Research has shown that the potential benefits of savouring include the promotion of psychological well-being and diminution of negative affective states. Savouring strategies may be particularly useful amongst clinical populations in changing biobehavioural processes which can strengthen an individual’s propensity to exert control over how to develop, intensify and promote psychological well-being, while simultaneously mitigating negative affective states. This paper outlines a protocol for a systematic review that will be used to identify, critically appraise and synthesise findings of studies examining the effectiveness of savouring interventions in adult clinical populations. Savouring interventions will be defined broadly, operationalised as any savouring strategy focusing on past, present or future events or experiences whereby participants are instructed to attend to and amplify positive affect relating to same. The goal of our review is to include the extent of the literature on this topic and contribute to the overall evidence to support savouring interventions.

Methods

This protocol is carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Protocols Guidelines. The protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023404857). The databases PsycINFO, PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and Scopus will be searched alongside a search of grey literature. An examination of the first 200 papers on Google Scholar will also be done to identify relevant papers. Studies describing randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of savouring interventions as described within this article on adult clinical populations will be included in the review. Outcomes will include well-being, quality of life, depression, anxiety or stress. Study selection and data extraction will be completed by three independent reviewers to reduce risk of bias. Interrater percentage agreement and interrater reliability will be reported on same. The quality of studies will be assessed using criteria based on the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias and the Jadad scale. A narrative synthesis with tables of study characteristics will be provided. Separate considerations of the three time perspectives of savouring interventions (past-focused, present-focused, and future-focused) will also be described.

Conclusions

This systematic review will provide important clinical insights into the potential efficacy of savouring interventions when working with adult clinical samples.
The effects of plantarflexor weakness and reduced tendon stiffness with aging on gait stability
Authors: Smith Ross E. , Shelton Andrew D. , Sawicki Gregory S. , Franz Jason R.
Published: April 2024

Falls among older adults are a costly public health concern. Such falls can be precipitated by balance disturbances, after which a recovery strategy requiring rapid, high force outputs is necessary. Sarcopenia among older adults likely diminishes their ability to produce the forces necessary to arrest gait instability. Age-related changes to tendon stiffness may also delay muscle stretch and afferent feedback and decrease force transmission, worsening fall outcomes. However, the association between muscle strength, tendon stiffness, and gait instability is not well established. Given the ankle’s proximity to the onset of many walking balance disturbances, we examined the relation between both plantarflexor strength and Achilles tendon stiffness with walking-related instability during perturbed gait in older and younger adults–the latter quantified herein using margins of stability and whole-body angular momentum including the application of treadmill-induced slip perturbations. Older and younger adults did not differ in plantarflexor strength, but Achilles tendon stiffness was lower in older adults. Among older adults, plantarflexor weakness associated with greater whole-body angular momentum following treadmill-induced slip perturbations. Weaker older adults also appeared to walk and recover from treadmill-induced slip perturbations with more caution. This study highlights the role of plantarflexor strength and Achilles tendon stiffness in regulating lateral gait stability in older adults, which may be targets for training protocols seeking to minimize fall risk and injury severity.
Fabric tearing performance state perception and classification driven by multi-source data
Authors: Huang Jianmin , Jiao Qingchun , Zhang Yifan , Xu Gaoqing , Wang Lijun , Yue Dong
Published: April 2024

The tear strength of textiles is a crucial characteristic of product quality. However, during the laboratory testing of this indicator, factors such as equipment operation, human intervention, and test environment can significantly influence the results. Currently, there is a lack of traceable records for the influencing factors during the testing process, and effective classification of testing activities is not achieved. Therefore, this study proposes a state-awareness and classification approach for fabric tear performance testing based on multi-source data. A systematic design is employed for fabric tear performance testing activities, which can real-time monitor electrical parameters, operational environment, and operator behavior. The data are collected, preprocessed, and a Decision Tree Support Vector Machine (DTSVM) is utilized for classifying various working states, and introducing ten-fold cross-validation to enhance the performance of the classifier, forming a comprehensive awareness of the testing activities. Experimental results demonstrate that the system effectively perceives fabric tear performance testing processes, exhibiting high accuracy in the classification of different fabric testing states, surpassing 98.73%. The widespread application of this system contributes to continuous improvement in the workflow and traceability of fabric tear performance testing processes.
Novel framework for dialogue summarization based on factual-statement fusion and dialogue segmentation
Authors: Zhang Mingkai , You Dan , Wang Shouguang
Published: April 2024

The explosive growth of dialogue data has aroused significant interest among scholars in abstractive dialogue summarization. In this paper, we propose a novel sequence-to-sequence framework called DS-SS (DialogueSummarization with Factual-Statement Fusion and DialogueSegmentation) for summarizing dialogues. The novelty of the DS-SS framework mainly lies in two aspects: 1) Factual statements are extracted from the source dialogue and combined with the source dialogue to perform the further dialogue encoding; and 2) A dialogue segmenter is trained and used to separate a dialogue to be encoded into several topic-coherent segments. Thanks to these two aspects, the proposed framework may better encode dialogues, thereby generating summaries exhibiting higher factual consistency and informativeness. Experimental results on two large-scale datasets SAMSum and DialogSum demonstrate the superiority of our framework over strong baselines, as evidenced by both automatic evaluation metrics and human evaluation.
Transcriptome analyses in juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens) exposed in vivo to clothianidin and chlorantraniliprole: Possible sampling bias
Authors: Giraudo Maeva , Mercier Laurie , Gendron Andrée , Sherry Jim , Houde Magali
Published: April 2024

The St. Lawrence River is an important North American waterway that is subject to anthropogenic pressures including intensive urbanization, and agricultural development. Pesticides are widely used for agricultural activities in fields surrounding the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) habitat in Lake St. Pierre (Quebec, Canada), a fluvial lake of the river where the perch population has collapsed. Clothianidin and chlorantraniliprole were two of the most detected insecticides in surface waters near perch spawning areas. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the transcriptional and biochemical effects of these two pesticides on juvenile yellow perch exposed for 28d to environmental doses of each compound alone and in a mixture under laboratory/aquaria conditions. Hepatic mRNA-sequencing revealed an effect of chlorantraniliprole alone (37 genes) and combined with clothianidin (251 genes), but no effects of clothianidin alone were observed in perch. Dysregulated genes were mostly related to circadian rhythms and to Ca2+ signaling, the latter effect has been previously associated with chlorantraniliprole mode of action in insects. Moreover, chronic exposure to clothianidin increased the activity of acetylcholinesterase in the brain of exposed fish, suggesting a potential non-target effect of this insecticide. Further analyses of three clock genes by qRT-PCR suggested that part of the observed effects of chlorantraniliprole on the circadian gene regulation of juvenile perch could be the result of time-of-day of sacrifice. These results provide insight into biological effects of insecticides in juvenile perch and highlight the importance of considering the circadian rhythm in experimental design and results analyses.
Digital transformation and supply chain efficiency improvement: An empirical study from a-share listed companies in China
Authors: He Junbo , Fan Min , Fan Yaojun
Published: April 2024

This article thoroughly examines the influence of digital transformation on the efficiency of corporate supply chains. As global economic integration accelerates and technological innovations deepen, digital transformation has become key to enhancing core corporate competitiveness. This research, utilizing data from A-share listed companies in China between 2007 and 2022, analyzes how companies improve supply chain efficiency through digital transformation. Furthermore, the study establishes a theoretical framework that demonstrates how digital transformation facilitates supply chain efficiency from the perspectives of internal governance and external competition. The research indicates that digital transformation plays a key role in significantly enhancing supply chain efficiency. Furthermore, the results of the mechanism analysis confirmed that digital transformation contributes to enhancing corporate supply chain efficiency by improving the level of corporate governance and the degree of market competition. The study also finds that the effect of digital transformation on supply chain efficiency varies with different corporate backgrounds, indicating its heterogeneous impact. Lastly, an analysis of economic consequences shows that the increased supply chain efficiency resulting from digital transformation can reduce future external transaction costs, strengthening the company’s market position and financial performance. This research provides strategic guidance for firms to develop robust strategies amid the digital wave and offers strong policy recommendations for promoting digital supply chain management and enhancing market adaptability.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of restraint and seclusion interventions in Ontario emergency departments: A population-based study
Authors: Weissflog Meghan , Kim Soyeon , Rajack Natalie , Kolla Nathan J.
Published: April 2024

While COVID-19 impacted all aspects of health care and patient treatment, particularly for patients with mental health/substance use (MH/SU) concerns, research has suggested a concerning increase in the use of restraint and seclusion (R/S) interventions, although results vary depending on facility type and patient population. Thus, the present study sought to explore COVID-related changes in the use of R/S interventions among patients presenting to Ontario emergency departments (EDs) with MH/SU complaints. To determine whether temporal and clinical factors were associated with changes in R/S use during COVID, binary logistic regression models were computed using data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System database. We then compared both prevalence rates and probability of an R/S event occurring during an ED visit in Ontario before and after the onset of COVID. The number of ED visits during which an R/S event occurred for patients presenting with MH/SU concerns increased by 9.5%, while their odds of an R/S event occurring during an ED visit increased by 23% in Ontario after COVID onset. Similarly, R/S event probability increased for patients presenting with MH/SU concerns after COVID onset (0.7% - 21.3% increase), particularly during the first wave, with the greatest increases observed for concerns associated with increased restraint risk pre-COVID. R/S intervention use increased substantially for patients presenting to Ontario EDs with MH/SU concerns during the first wave of COVID when the strain on healthcare system and uncertainty about the virus was arguably greatest. Patients with concerns already associated with increased R/S risk also showed the largest increases in R/S probability, suggesting increased behavioural issues during treatment among this population after COVID onset. These results have the potential to inform existing policies to mitigate risks associated with R/S intervention use during future public health emergencies and in general practice.
Influence of temporary emigration on wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) detectability, with implications for abundance estimation
Authors: Beard Allyson N. , Brown Donald J. , Hileman Eric T. , Jones Michael T. , Staggs Jena M. , Moen Ron A. , Badje Andrew F. , Lituma Christopher M.
Published: April 2024

Reliable population estimates are important for making informed management decisions about wildlife species. Standardized survey protocols have been developed for monitoring population trends of the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta), a semi-aquatic freshwater turtle species of conservation concern throughout its distribution in east-central North America. The protocols use repeated active search surveys of defined areas, allowing for estimation of survey-specific detection probability (p) and site-specific abundance. These protocols assume population closure within the survey area during the survey period, which is unlikely to be met as wood turtles are a highly mobile species. Additionally, current protocols use a single-pass design that does not allow for separation of availability (pa) and detectability (pd). If there are systematic influences on pa or pd that are not accounted for in the survey design or data analysis, then resulting abundance estimates could be biased. The objectives of this study were to determine if pa is a random process and if pa and pd are influenced by demographic characteristics. We modified the wood turtle survey protocol used in the upper Midwest to include a double-pass design, allowing us to estimate pa and pd using a robust design capture-recapture model. The modified protocol was implemented at 14 wood turtle monitoring sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin between 2017 and 2022. Our results indicated that pa was non-random and that pd increased with turtle carapace length. Our study suggests that model assumptions for current wood turtle population models may be violated, likely resulting in an overestimation of abundance. We discuss possible protocol and modeling modifications that could result in more accurate wood turtle abundance estimates.
Assessing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on pediatric baseball and basketball-related craniofacial and neck injuries treated in United States emergency departments, 2003–2022
Authors: Wiener R. Constance , Lundstrom Eric W.
Published: April 2024

Background

A large proportion of United States (U.S.) youth play basketball, baseball, softball, or T-ball. Each of the activities poses a documented risk of craniofacial and neck injuries. However, few studies have assessed the national prevalence of pediatric craniofacial and neck injuries in this population, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) dataset was used to identify pediatric craniofacial and neck injuries associated with basketball, baseball, softball, or T-ball from 2003–2022 in a cross-sectional study. The annual number of injuries before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was used to estimate the pandemic’s impact on the monthly number of injuries incurred nationally.

Results

Both overall and stratified by sport involvement, the annual number and rate of injuries identified in NEISS decreased significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. ITSA demonstrated that the monthly number of injuries decreased -4094.4 (95% CI = -5100, -3088.7) immediately after the beginning of the pandemic. The number of injuries began increasing towards pre-pandemic levels at a rate of 110.6 (95% CI = 64, 157.2) injuries per month after the initial plunge.

Conclusion

Prior to the-pandemic, there was a steady decline in craniofacial and neck injuries due to basketball, baseball, softball and T-ball among children, aged <18 years. The shutdown during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a precipitous drop in such injuries. Current rates are approaching pre-pandemic levels and may exceed them. Continued efforts are needed to keep the pre-pandemic progress.
Transformer with difference convolutional network for lightweight universal boundary detection
Authors: Li Mingchun , Liu Yang , Chen Dali , Chen Liangsheng , Liu Shixin
Published: April 2024

Although deep-learning methods can achieve human-level performance in boundary detection, their improvements mostly rely on larger models and specific datasets, leading to significant computational power consumption. As a fundamental low-level vision task, a single model with fewer parameters to achieve cross-dataset boundary detection merits further investigation. In this study, a lightweight universal boundary detection method was developed based on convolution and a transformer. The network is called a “transformer with difference convolutional network” (TDCN), which implies the introduction of a difference convolutional network rather than a pure transformer. The TDCN structure consists of three parts: convolution, transformer, and head function. First, a convolution network fused with edge operators is used to extract multiscale difference features. These pixel difference features are then fed to the hierarchical transformer as tokens. Considering the intrinsic characteristics of the boundary detection task, a new boundary-aware self-attention structure was designed in the transformer to provide inductive bias. By incorporating the proposed attention loss function, it introduces the direction of the boundary as strongly supervised information to improve the detection ability of the model. Finally, several head functions with multiscale feature inputs were trained using a bidirectional additive strategy. In the experiments, the proposed method achieved competitive performance on multiple public datasets with fewer model parameters. A single model was obtained to realize universal prediction even for different datasets without retraining, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method. The code is available at https://github.com/neulmc/TDCN.
Lineage-specific gene duplication and expansion of DUF1216 gene family in Brassicaceae
Authors: Zhang Zai-Bao , Xiong Tao , Wang Xiao-Jia , Chen Yu-Rui , Wang Jing-Lei , Guo Cong-Li , Ye Zi-Yi
Published: April 2024

Proteins containing domain of unknown function (DUF) are prevalent in eukaryotic genome. The DUF1216 proteins possess a conserved DUF1216 domain resembling to the mediator protein of Arabidopsis RNA polymerase II transcriptional subunit-like protein. The DUF1216 family are specifically existed in Brassicaceae, however, no comprehensive evolutionary analysis of DUF1216 genes have been performed. We performed a first comprehensive genome-wide analysis of DUF1216 proteins in Brassicaceae. Totally 284 DUF1216 genes were identified in 27 Brassicaceae species and classified into four subfamilies on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. The analysis of gene structure and conserved motifs revealed that DUF1216 genes within the same subfamily exhibited similar intron/exon patterns and motif composition. The majority members of DUF1216 genes contain a signal peptide in the N-terminal, and the ninth position of the signal peptide in most DUF1216 is cysteine. Synteny analysis revealed that segmental duplication is a major mechanism for expanding of DUF1216 genes in Brassica oleracea, Brassica juncea, Brassica napus, Lepidium meyneii, and Brassica carinata, while in Arabidopsis thaliana and Capsella rubella, tandem duplication plays a major role in the expansion of the DUF1216 gene family. The analysis of Ka/Ks (non-synonymous substitution rate/synonymous substitution rate) ratios for DUF1216 paralogous indicated that most of gene pairs underwent purifying selection. DUF1216 genes displayed a specifically high expression in reproductive tissues in most Brassicaceae species, while its expression in Brassica juncea was specifically high in root. Our studies offered new insights into the phylogenetic relationships, gene structures and expressional patterns of DUF1216 members in Brassicaceae, which provides a foundation for future functional analysis.
Community opera: A short introduction and a case study in Italy
Authors: Fabris Dinko , Cauzillo Vania
Published: April 2024

Around the beginning of the 2000s, among various responses to the crisis in traditional opera, a few Western theatres and festivals started to propose community operas based on the involvement of professional and amateur performers as co-creators. This article traces the idea back to the pre-Second World War United States and its more general use from the 1950s onwards, although it carried with it the negative connotation of being the naive output of amateur singers and musicians. The term reappeared in the United Kingdom in a series of works put on between 1990 and 2005, especially by the composer Jonathan Dove at Glyndebourne and in other British regions. All of these were presented as ‘community opera’. Among other ventures similar to the ‘new’ community opera in the British style, La Monnaie theatre in Brussels became the first European important opera house to start a program of community operas as a staple part of its season. The first one, Orfeo and Majnun (2018), defined as ‘a participative opera’, assembled myths from both Western and Persian cultures and whose music combined Western and Middle-Eastern elements. Immediately after, the first Italian community opera, Silent City, was produced in 2019 in the then European Capital of Culture Matera, establishing a new model of opera centred on social inclusion and involving people with disabilities. This article is aimed at defining the origins of community opera and at exploring similar phenomena around the globe.
The benefits of choral singing: A study of Italian university choirs (2018–19)
Authors: van der Sandt Johann , Nardi Carlo
Published: April 2024

Italian university choirs typically welcome students, employees at the university, alumni and even external people. In fact, they constitute a significant example of intergenerational and intercultural group singing in that they enable interaction between people with different backgrounds in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, place of origin, language and class. This makes them a strategic standpoint from which to investigate group singing activities which are aimed at inclusivity, cooperation and music appreciation. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data collected during 2018–19, shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article investigates the positive benefits of singing for members of university choirs. More precisely, it argues that collective singing promotes the emotional, social and cognitive well-being of choristers. It discusses how these benefits are strongly associated with face-to-face interaction and direct personal participation in the choir, including but not limited to singing during rehearsals and concerts.
Machine Learning-Based Business Diversification Strategies for Resilient Alley Market Districts after the Pandemic
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Jeong Minju , An Jeongheon , Kim Hyunsoo , Kim Hyun Woo
Published: April 2024

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the contraction of daily external activities has caused a direct economic impact on alley market districts, and it is necessary to build a resilient alley market to prevent the collapse of the local economy. This study aims to derive a market diversification system by analyzing the cluster classification and industry specialization of the market through the pre- and post-COVID-19 sales of alley markets in subway station areas. Based on the flow of sales, the study classified commercial districts into four types: active, recovering, maintaining, and declining. Through the analysis of the LQ index, we found that the more specialized the market, the more it declines and is disadvantaged by the post-COVID-19 agglomeration economy. Furthermore, the diversification index, a machine learning-based diversification system, was established in order to build a resilient market district by deriving the recommended industries for each market. The findings can be used as a basis for providing diversification strategies and as a method for constructing resilient alley markets to promote connectivity between industries in social disaster situations.
A Study on the Selection of High-Risk Facilities in Thermal Power Plants Using Delphi/AHP
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Kim Dae Soo , Kim Hak Joong , Choi Don Mook
Published: April 2024

Thermal power plants are large-scale plants made up of various types of buildings and equipment to produce electricity and consist of coal handling systems, oil storage facilities, boiler facilities, turbine/generator facilities, substation facilities, water treatment facilities, and auxiliary facilities for operating them. For these special fire-fighting objects, high safety is required in consideration of fire load and fire risk. In principle, the selection of fire fighting facilities applied to each space is primarily in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and is installed and maintained by the power plant operating institution. However, most power plant operating institutions do not secure safety according to the characteristics of each major dangerous space and maintain fire fighting facilities under the same conditions, which is insufficient to secure actual fire safety. In this study, Delphi and AHP were used to assign weights according to the importance of dangerous spaces, and major dangerous spaces according to priorities were divided into fire/explosion risk facilities and leak/explosion risk facilities.
Obesity and the nervous system
Authors: Antonova K. V. , Tanashyan M. M. , Raskurazhev A. A. , Spryshkov N. E. , Panina A. A. , Lagoda O. V. , Ametov A. S. , Troshina E. A.
Published: April 2024

The article discusses certain aspects of the relationship between neurological diseases and metabolic disorders that are extremely relevant in connection with the pandemic spread of obesity. The pathogenesis of damage to the nervous system (NS) is considered in detail. The influence of the main metabolic factors on the development of cerebrovascular diseases (CVD), incl. neuroinflammation, changes in hemostasis, etc. is demonstrated. The problem of the development of cognitive dysfunction against the background of obesity due to the formation of atrophic processes in brain structures is highlighted. Modern possibilities of evaluation and modulation of eating behavior due to brain stimulation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and navigational rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are described.

The problem of cerebrometabolic health is presented as a continuum of metabolic and cerebral disturbances. The mechanisms of interaction between the two most important systems of the body allow us to consider the changes that occur in them as an integral neuroendocrine alteration.
Analisis Lingkungan Pengendapan dan Karakteristik Material Organik Daerah Air Putih, Kota Samarinda, Indonesia
Authors: Jamaluddin Jamaluddin , Rahmawati Diana , . Maria
Published: April 2024

Penelitian tentang lingkungan pengendapan dan karakteristik material organik pada serpih dan batubara yang terdapat pada daerah Air Putih, Kota Samarinda sangat penting untuk dikaji sebagai indikator kemampuan suatu batuan sedimen untuk menghasilkan hidrokarbon. Daerah penelitian termasuk kedalam Formasi Balikpapan yang kaya bahan organik. Stratigrafi batuan sedimen yang dijumpai daerah penelitian merupakan asosiasi fasies prodelta shales yang prograding menjadi delta front mouth bar. Nilai TOC pada percontoh batuan yang terdapat pada daerah penelitian berkisar 0,62 % - 64,39 % yang terdiri atas batulanau, serpih, dan batubara. Material organik pada Daerah Air Putih sebagian besar terendapkan di lingkungan laut dan beberapa sampel terendapakan pada lingkungan air tawar dalam kondisi reduksi. Komposisi maseral batubara pada sampel SMC daerah Air Putih terdiri atas huminit 73%, liptinit 26% dan inertinit 1% sedangkan serpih terdiri atas vitrinit 55%, liptinit 43% dan inertinit 2%. Akumulasi material organik pada daerah Air Putih pada umumnya berasosiasi dengan serpih hitam dan batubara pada lingkungan delta plain umumnya berupa material organik asal darat.