bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Learning Strategies and Technologies Applied by High Proficiency University Students for English as a General Subject
Authors: Sufiyandi Sufiyandi , Fadhli Muhammad , Kurniawan Ildi
Published: September 2022

Learning strategy is an important factor in the success of achieving communicative language skills. Besides the awareness of using various strategies, applying technology in the language learning activity also becomes crucial for learners to succeed. However, learning strategies and the use of technologies by students of English Subjects at colleges and universities have not been widely found in the literature. For this reason, the research is aimed at finding out the application of strategies and technologies used by high proficiency students. The research is designed by combining both qualitative and quantitative research as the so-called Mixed Method. The participants involved were 33 high proficiency students in English subjects. They were taken based on the tests from 169 students spreading across four faculties at Universitas Bengkulu – Sumatera, Indonesia. After providing the test to determine the high proficiency student, the questionnaires were administered to collect the data related to the strategies and technologies applied by the students. Eventually, an interview was also undertaken to gain the qualitative data.  Based on the questionnaire data, it was found that the students applied all learning strategies, namely: memory, cognitive, metacognitive, compensation, affective, and social strategies. Of the six strategies, metacognitive was the strategy mostly used with a mean score of 3.771 and followed by cognitive strategy with 3.643 points. Meanwhile, the least used ones were compensation and social, which have a value of 3.419 and 3.460, respectively. In addition, based on the interview, the use of technology as a learning strategy was also concluded. The high proficiency students applied various technologies such as mobile phones, various Internet Websites, and language applications to practice English. Of these various technologies, mobile phones were the most dominant.
Teaching Speaking through Story Telling: The Case of a Junior High School
Authors: Yelia Yelia , Wahyuni Vera , Rachmawati Rachmawati , Efriza Dony
Published: September 2022

This collaborative classroom action research described the use of storytelling in teaching English speaking. The subjects of the research were 13 junior high school students at SMP Laboratorium STKIP Jambi, Indonesia. The qualitative data consisted of field notes, students’ diaries, photographs, and videos of teaching and learning process collected through observations and analyzed descriptively. The quantitative data were the students' scores in their English speaking performance generated through speaking tests and analyzed by using Microsoft Excel. The findings showed that the use of storytelling in teaching speaking could attract students’ attention to the lesson and encourage them to speak English. Pronouncing words, constructing sentences, and retelling the story could enhance students’ speaking performance. The students’ mean scores in their speaking performance tests got a significant improvement from cycle to cycle.
Measuring Indonesian EFL Learners’ English Vocabulary Knowledge: A Rasch Analysis Approach
Authors: Kamil Dairabi
Published: September 2022

This study sought to, first, measure Indonesian EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge across four modalities, i.e. Active Recall, Passive Recall, Active Recognition, and Passive Recognition; second, determine whether or not there were statistically significant differences between male and female participants’ vocabulary knowledge and third, determine whether or not the participants’ vocabulary knowledge across the four modalities were correlated. Data were collected by administering four sets of vocabulary tests to 71 EFL learners at an English Department of a higher education institution in Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Rasch analysis and Spearman's-Rho correlation technique. The results showed that the participants performed better on the recognition tests than on recall tests. No statistically significant difference was found between male female participants’ vocabulary knowledge. Moderate and strong correlations were found among the participants’ Passive Recall and Active Recognition, Passive Recall and Passive Recognition, and Active Recognition and Passive Recognition.
Course Review Horay, Explanation, and Critical Thinking Skills: Their Interaction Effect on EFL Learners’ Grammar Competence
Authors: Zuhriyah Mukminatus , Fajarina Maskhurin
Published: September 2022

The purpose of this study was to look at whether or not there was an interaction effect among CRH, the explanation, and the students’ CTS implementation toward the learners’ grammar competence. The sample of this factorial 2x2 study was the second-semester students of two non-English department classes of education faculty of a university in Jombang. The instruments used were an argumentative essay test for classifying the students’ CTS and the grammar test for measuring their grammar competence in CRH and the explanation classes. The sstudents’ grammar scores from both classes were analyzed using ANOVA and TUKEY tests. The results showed that CRH, the explanation, and the students’ CTS had an interaction effect on the EFL learners’ grammar competence.
Problem-Based Learning, Character Education Approach, and the Impacts on the Students’ Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Critical Thinking Skills
Authors: Maulinda Dewi
Published: September 2022

This study aimed to determine the effect of implementing learning as well as producing a more effective, efficient, and meaningful economic learning through the application of problem-based learning in the Economic subject with a character education approach and its impact on the student's entrepreneurial attitudes and critical thinking skills. The research subjects were 80 students of the twelfth (XII) grade of Social Sciences in one madrasah in Jambi City. This research was a quasi-experiment with a control group design pretest-posttest design. The data collection used tests. The data analysis technique used a quantitative analysis. The results of the study indicated that there was an increase in student's character in the experimental class, entrepreneurial attitudes, and critical thinking skills compared to the control class group. Also the findings showed that students had a very good character in the experimental class, were able to think critically, and showed a truly entrepreneurial attitude compared to the control group.
Exploring Podcast and Teaching Writing, Why Not?
Authors: Prasetyo Dodi Erwin
Published: September 2022

There were very extremely rare study exploring the integration of podcast and the writing skill. Therefore, this paper aimed at discussing pedagogical aspects toward the utilization of podcast for writing skill, at exploring the use of podcast for writing skill, at conveying some benefits and weakness toward the use of podcast for writing lesson. As conceptual paper, this study used library research method. Thus, the data were gathered via research paper, book, journal and broader relevance references. The findings were that students challenge in writing in terms of lack of grammar, lack of vocabulary acquisition and so forth, teachers challenge in terms of strategy’ usage to enhance every different students’ lack level, and ICT challenge in terms of the lack of technical support, discouragement to use it, less confident and so forth. There were five steps in integrating podcast, namely preparation, composing, recording, revising and publishing. The preparation was to set technical devices and software. The composing was to list writing materials such as its topic, objectives, writing strategy and so forth. The recording was to record all the content. Meanwhile the revising was to revise in terms of content writing material, voice clarity, visual and so forth. Then the publishing was to publish in the online platforms. The suggestions were provided for pedagogic aspect and future research.
Tensions Between the «Employment Promotion» and «Social Protection» Systems in the Employment of Citizens with Reduced Competitiveness in the Labour Market
Authors: Loktyukhina Natalya , Burankova Maria
Published: September 2022

A special place on the Russian labour market is occupied by citizens who have difficulty finding work: various categories of young people and older people, persons with disabilities, former military personnel, single parents, parents with large families and those raising minor children, disabled children and others. Such vulnerable categories are the object of two directions of state policy: promotion of employment (expressed in measures of employment assistance) and social protection (the main content of which is in social payments, benefits and guarantees for citizens). The article substantiates the contradiction between these public policies, which can undermine the efforts of employment services to employ these citizens. In order to identify this contradiction, a large-scale analysis of federal and regional normative legal acts in the sphere of support for citizens experiencing difficulties in finding a job was conducted. A number of categories of the population have higher incentives to receive social payments (which they can lose if they are employed) than incentives to get a job and formal work, which the employment assistance system is aimed at. An aspect of the contradiction is also positive discrimination, which consists in granting additional labour guarantees to vulnerable categories, which falls on the employer and reduces his/her interest in employing such categories. The manifestation of the contradiction between the systems of «employment promotion» and «social protection» is considered for: working parents or guardians taking care of a disabled child under the age of 18 or a disabled child from the first group; graduates of professional educational institutions; working pensioners. A more detailed analysis has been made of orphans, children left without parental care and persons from the group of orphans and children left without parental care. Proposals for overcoming the contradictions between the system of «promotion of employment» and «social protection» are presented, the essence of which lies in a change in the emphasis of government policy: from creating conditions for living on benefits, to creating conditions for independent economic activity, professional and personal fulfilment.
Author’s paroimia You can not catch an old sparrow with an oat in the Russian language at the beginning of the XX century
Authors:   Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Zagrebel’nyi Artur V.
Published: September 2022

The article is devoted to the analysis of the author's paroimia You can not catch an old sparrow with an oat. In the course of working with the sources of the period of 1900–1917 the only case of using this paroimia in the rubric “New Proverbs” of the socio-political satirical magazine “Zarnitsy” was revealed. The scientific novelty of the study is that for the first time the author's paroimia You can not catch an old sparrow with an oat is analyzed, which has not previously attracted the attention of researchers. The methods of component, contextual, logical and semiotic analysis, as well as analysis of vocabulary definitions were used in the work. As a result of the study, the following results were obtained: a source paroimia was established; a structural and semantic transformation of the source paroimia was characterized; by determining the belonging of the source paroimia and formed on its basis author’s paroimia to the same higher logical and semiotic invariant and logical and thematic group (terminology of G.L. Permyakov) scientifically substantiated recognition in the author’s paroimia of its system prototype; an analysis of the events of Russian history of the period of the first Russian revolution, which led to the emergence of a new paroimia, was done, the author’s paroimia judgment was formulated, its type was defined; the article considers peculiarities of formation of the author’s paroimias. In the final part of the article the prospects of further research, including the development and description of the missing in modern linguistics unified methods of diachronic analysis of author’s paroimias; representation and study of the corpus of author's paroimias as a system of education; identification, systematization and description of transformational mechanisms of formation of author’s paroimias; compilation of the dictionary of author’s paroimiology of the Russian language of the beginning of the XX century.
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Authors:   Ltd INOITs ALMAVEST, Bazylev V.N. , Tyurina L.G.
Published: September 2022

A roundtable meeting dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the International journal “Philological Sciences. Scientific Essays of Higher School” was held in the Moscow State Linguistic University on December 18, 2018.This report provides a summary of the discussions at the roundtable meeting.
“Grammar poetry” in the poem O. Sedakova “Alatyr”
Authors:   Udmurt State University, Milyutina Marina G.
Published: September 2022

It is known that grammar is a link between the meanings of lexical and figurative-symbolic. The article proposes one of the possible options for interpreting O. Sedakova’s poem “Alatyr”, based mainly on his poetic grammar. Attention is focused on the change of temporal plans, infinitive series and the subject sphere of the poem. It has been shown that grammatical semantics, reinforced by lexical indicators, helps the poet to more accurately and deeply reveal the symbolic image of Alatyr through the image of the “cross of time” connecting the past with the future, to come to sleep, life with death, the beginning with the end. Infinitive series at the end of the poem, mainly consisting of verbs of imperfect form, allow Sedakova to express, at the grammatical level, a contemplation of real-irreal reality as sleep-death and make the implicitly presented modal plan of the poem more ambiguous. An open subjective position in infiinitives (ambiguous implied dative) makes it possible to interpret the filling of the subject sphere in different ways, to perceive it both as external (belonging to the reader) and as internal (belonging to the lyrical hero). The subject sphere organized in this way becomes trans-subject, and the poetic discourse acquires the opportunity to be assigned to any speaker.
Poetic satire of 1920 in the Paris newspaper “Latest news”
Authors:   Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sviridov Vladislav Yu.
Published: September 2022

The article is devoted to the analysis of the poetic satirical works of the Russian diaspora of 1920, which had not previously attracted the attention of researchers, published in the Paris newspaper “Latest news”. The paper pays attention to the topics addressed by satirists in their poems, the images and motives that poets use, the connection of satirical works with the reflection of events in the international arena. The purpose of the work is to identify the nature of the selection of objects of satirical images, their artistic interpretation and means of achieving a satirical effect. The most significant poems of 1920, reflecting the topicality and efficiency of satirical poetry, were selected for analysis. The poems are presented as they are published in the publication. The most characteristic objects of denunciation are revealed: dissatisfaction with the Anglo-Soviet trade negotiations caused a number of satirical poems addressed to British Prime Minister Lloyd George; Bolsheviks as the cause of emigrant misfortunes; European politicians who cannot resolutely oppose the Soviet government; sympathizers of the Bolsheviks, both inside Soviet Russia and in the Russian diaspora.
THE EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE UNIFORM ON JOB SATISFACTION: A CASE OF THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT IN A LUXURY FIVE-STAR HOTEL IN HONG KONG, CHINA
Authors: Wai Chun Monica Choy , Ching Ching Shih Caitlin
Published: September 2022

Purpose – The aim of this study is to advance the understanding of Hong Kong’s housekeeping culture by examining how employee uniforms and the image they project influence job satisfaction amongst the housekeeping department employees of a luxury five-star Hotel in Hong Kong, China. Design – Using a purposive sampling method, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with the housekeeping staff of a luxury five-star Hotel in Hong Kong. Content analysis was conducted to identify data patterns. Findings – Findings categorized four determinants of uniform influencing job satisfaction: fit to wearer, appropriate materials, color and design, and hotel brand image. The findings confirm that staff uniforms play an important role in demonstrating the hotel’s brand identity, improving job satisfaction, operational efficiency, and staff-management relationships. Apart from the aesthetic design, management should put operational practicality and functionality into account by getting employees to participate when launching and implementing any change initiatives on staff uniforms. Communication and mutual understanding between management and employees are imperative in understanding each other’s concerns. Originality of the research – Using a qualitative approach, the results offered an empirical basis to guide hotel management and administrators in making decisions about uniforms.
Durability Assessment Method of Hollow Thin-Walled Bridge Piers under Rockfall Impact Based on Damage Response Surface
Authors: Li Fei , Liu Yikang , Yang Jian
Published: September 2022

Continuous rigid frame bridges across valleys are often at the risk of rockfalls caused by heavy rainfalls, earthquakes and debris flows in a mountainous country. Hollow thin-walled bridge piers (HTWBP) in valleys are exposed to the threat of the impact of accidental rockfalls. In the current research, ANSYS/LS-DYNA is used to establish a high-precision rockfall-HTWBP model. The rockfall-HTWBP model is verified against a scaled impact test of a previous research. A mesh independence test is also performed to obtained an appropriate mesh size. Based on the rockfall-HTWBP model, the impact force, damage and dynamic response characteristics of HTWBP under the rockfall impact are studied. In addition, a damage assessment criteria is proposed based on the response surface model combined with Central Composite Design method and Box-Behnken Design method. The main conclusions are as follows: 1）The impact force of rockfall has a substantial impulse characteristic, and the duration of the impulse load is approximately 0.01s. 2）The impacted surface of the pier is dominated by the final elliptic damage with the conical and strip damage areas as the symmetry axis. The cross-sectional damage mode is compression failure in the impact area and shear failure at the corner. 3）The maximum displacement occurs in the middle height of the pier. The maximum displacement increases with impact height, impact velocity and rockfall diameter and decreases with the uniaxial compressive strength of the concrete. 4) The initial impact velocity and diameter of the rockfall are the most significant parameters affecting the damage indices. In addition, a damage assessment method with a damage zoning diagram based on the response surface method is established for the fast assessment of the damage level of impacted HTWBP.
The Markup on Orthopaedic Services: An Analysis of 2014-2019 Medicare Data and the Potential for Surprise Billing
Authors: Burkhart Robert J. , Acuña Alexander J. , Zhu Kevin Y. , Kamath Atul F.
Published: September 2022

Background:

Markups on charges for medical services have the potential to result in “surprise billing,” especially for out-of-network and uninsured patients. Although previously analyzed in other surgical subspecialties, the distribution and level of cost-to-charge ratios (CCRs) for orthopaedic services have yet to be studied. Therefore, our analysis sought to evaluate the CCRs for orthopaedic surgery services provided to Medicare beneficiaries throughout the United States.

Methods:

Orthopaedic services provided to Medicare Part B beneficiaries between 2014 and 2019 were identified in the Physician & Other Practitioners database of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CCRs, representing the ratio between the actual payment provided by CMS and the charge submitted by the provider, were calculated for each service. Descriptive statistics were calculated for CCRs at the national, state, and service-code levels. The coefficient of variation (CoV) was utilized to evaluate variability in CCRs across services and states. Additionally, Mann-Kendall tests were performed to evaluate trends in CCRs for included services over the time frame.

Results:

Our analysis included an annual mean of 47,247,928 services provided by a mean of 23,185 orthopaedic surgeons over the study period. In the non-facility setting, there was a decrease in median CCRs for orthopaedic surgery services (0.29 to 0.27; p = 0.024). No changes were demonstrated for facility-based services. Service codes related to trigger finger procedures (0.18 to 0.17; p = 0.004), physical therapy (0.40 to 0.36; p = 0.035), and new patient visits (0.52 to 0.46; p = 0.035) demonstrated significant decreases in median CCRs. Only shoulder arthroscopy demonstrated a significant increase in median CCR (0.09 to 0.10; p = 0.003). High dispersion in CCRs was demonstrated for 16 (80%) of the 20 evaluated services. Wide variations in CCRs were demonstrated across individual states (median, 0.57; interquartile range width, 0.53).

Conclusions:

Our analysis demonstrated low and variable CCRs for commonly performed orthopaedic services in the U.S. These findings serve to inform and help improve related price transparency policies. Additionally, our analysis encourages increased efforts at preventing these low CCRs from limiting care in vulnerable populations.
Characterization of a novel pathway for xanthene degradation by the engineered strain Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1DR
Authors: Faisal Rayan M. , Al-Shiti Ahmed Y.
Published: September 2022

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of aromatic compounds that contain at least two rings. These compounds are found naturally in petroleum products and are considered the most prevalent pollutants in the environment. The lack of microorganism capable of degrading some PAHs led to their accumulation in the environment which usually causes major health problems as many of these compounds are known carcinogens. Xanthene is one of the small PAHs which has three rings. Many xanthene derivatives are useful dyes that are used for dyeing wood and cosmetic articles. However, several studies have illustrated that these compounds have toxic and carcinogenic effects. The first step of the bacterial degradation of xanthene is conducted by dioxygenase enzymes that introduces two oxygen atoms in the structure of the aromatic rings. In this study we focused on the bacterial bioremediation of xanthene via Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1DR, an engineered strain carrying the dioxin angular dioxygenase from Sphingomonas wittichii RW1. HPLC analysis of supernatant from resting cells of S. yanoikuyae B1DR grown on xanthene and succinate showed the ability of this strain to transform xanthene to 2-hydroxyphenylacetate that was not produced by the wild type of Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1. Production of 2-hydroxyphenylacetate was confirmed by GC-MS. Our results show the importance of this strain in reducing the toxic effects of xanthene in the environment and showed for the first time that ring-hydroxylation enzymes and hydrolases for biphenyl degradation in S. yanoikuyae B1 may function on metabolites generated from the degradation pathway of xanthene. By analyzing our results we were able to draw a novel pathway for xanthene degradation in S. yanoikuyae B1DR.
Impact of Azadirachta indica Fruit Mucilage on particle size and swelling index in Central Composite Designed Acyclovir mucoadhesive microspheres
Authors: Babu Gorantla Naresh , Muthukaruppan Menaka , Ahad Hindustan Abdul
Published: September 2022

The drive of this exploration is to investigate the mucoadhesive assets of A. indica (Azadirachta indica) fruit mucilage by incorporating it into mucoadhesive microspheres with Acyclovir (AVR) as a model drug. The study was performed to check the impact of the mucilage proportion on particle size and swelling index. Nine batches of AVR mucoadhesive microspheres were made with varying proportions of Polyacrylic acid 934P and A. indica fruit mucilage (AIFM). A central composite design with design expert software to check the impact of dependent variables (A. indica mucilage and Polyacrylic acid 934 P levels) on particle size and swelling index as a response. As part of congeniality studies, the batches were examined for their physical constraints, AVR contents, and liberation. The particle size was found to be 35.2±0.3-48.1±0.6μm. In batch B-1, the particle was least sized compared to the larger size in B-5. The investigation found that the particle size and the swelling index depended on AIFM and Polyacrylic acid proportions. The research discovered that AVR was systematically released in a controlled manner and that the entrapment efficacy, mucoadhesion, drug content, and other constraints were found to be good. Acyclovir is capable of good stomach-specific drug delivery by Polyacrylic acid 934P and enhanced by A. indica fruit mucilage when prepared as mucoadhesive microspheres. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the microspheres were spherical with a fairly smooth surface.
Pseudo-classification of natural elements and atomic total energy prediction
Authors: Belahcene Brahim
Published: September 2022

Technological development requires the search for new materials with specific properties. Moreover, the forecasting of physical and chemical compound formation and proprieties can be based on Datamining methods. In this paper, one of the unsupervised methods of Datamining is used, like Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The first goal is to make pseudo-classification of natural and synthetic elements of the periodic table based on all physicochemical and energy available properties. Likewise, the second goal is to test the effectiveness of this statistical method to estimate correlations and appreciate the relationships between the variables and properties. A pseudo-classification of periodic elements is a new way of seeing Mendeleev's table. At the end of this work, a predictive polynomial has been presented that can allow the scientific community to make atomic total energy predictions for each natural periodic element, from Z=2 to Z=103.
Estimates of Cardiovascular Diseases Burden Attributable to High Sodium Intake from 1990 to 2019: A Systematic Analysis of Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study
Authors: Wang Keke , Jin Yaqiong , Wang Mengxiao , Liu Jing , Bu Xiang , Mu Jianjun , Lu Jingchao
Published: September 2022

Background
Sodium intake shows a positive correlation with blood pressure, resulting in an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Salt reduction is a key step toward the WHO's goal of 25% reduction in mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by 2025. This study aims to assess the current condition and temporal changes of the global CVD burden due to high sodium intake.
Methods
We extracted data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019. The numbers and age-standardized rates of mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), stratified by location, sex, and socio-demographic Index (SDI), were used to assess the high sodium intake attributable CVD burden from 1990 to 2019. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the DALYs rates and related factors.
Results
Globally, in 2019, the deaths and DALYs of high sodium-related CVD were 1.72 million and 40.54 million, respectively, increasing by 41.08% and 33.06% from 1990. Meanwhile, the corresponding mortality and DALYs rates dropped by 35.1% and 35.2% respectively. The high-middle and middle SDI quintiles bore almost two-thirds of the CVD burden caused by high sodium, while the high SDI quintile had the lowest DALYs rate with the greatest annual decline. Males and the elderly had a higher risk suffering CVD from high dietary sodium. And the leading causes of high sodium intake attributable CVD burden were ischemic heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive heart disease. Universal health coverage (UHC) was significantly associated with the DALYs rates after adjustment.
Conclusions
From 1990 to 2019, the global CVD burden attributable to high sodium intake has declined with spatiotemporal and sexual heterogeneity. However, it remains a major public health challenge because of the increasing absolute numbers in DALYs and mortality. Improving universal health coverage may serve as an effective strategy to reduce the high sodium-related CVD burden.
Intraocular Pressure Variations in Postural Changes: Comparison Between Overweight and Normal BMI Controls
Authors: De Bernardo Maddalena , PILONE VINCENZO , PAOLA ILENIA DI , Cione Ferdinando , CEMBALO GIOVANNI , CALABRESE PIETRO , Rosa Nicola
Published: September 2022

Background:to compare intraocular pressure (IOP) changes (ΔIOP) between obese patients and normal weight controls in relation to different positions: standing, sitting and supine.
Subjects and Methods: Patients candidates for bariatric surgery and normal weight controls. IOP was measured both in patients and controls with Tono-Pen AVIA in different positions. The utilized sequence was: after 5 minutes (5’) in standing position, sitting, supine, 5’supine, and immediately after standing. ΔIOP obtained by supine positions and all other positions were therefore evaluated.
Results: Ninenty-two eyes of 46 obese patients (14 males) with an age between 18 and 59 years (mean 38.07±11.51 years) and BMI between 31.84 and 60.65 (mean 41.84±7.05) were evaluated. Forty-eight eyes of 24 normal weight controls (5 males) aged between 23 and 55 (mean 35.21±11.96 years) and BMI between 18.20 and 26.79 (mean 21.04±2.36) were also recruited. In obese patients there were statistically significant differences between IOP in supine position and supine positions 5’ with all other IOP measurements (all P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences between ΔIOP in both supine positions and prolonged standing positions obtained by patients and controls. (P<0.05).
Conclusions: In obese patients there is a statistically significant increase in IOP in the supine positions that is significantly greater than normal weight population. BMI is weakly correlated with IOP and ΔIOP in postural changes.
Single and multiple quality characteristics optimization, expanded to the machinability assessment at the optimal cutting combinations across Taguchi OA, GRA and BBD: an overall view
Authors: Tebassi Hamid , Yallese Mohamed Athmane , Belhadi Salim
Published: September 2022

The Inconel 718 is among the most used alloy in several industrial fields, so it was necessary to develop appropriate modeling, optimization, and prediction methods during the turning of this material; in terms of minimum experiments for giving good competitiveness to final products. In this research paper, turning experiments have been performed under a dry environment with different conditions of cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut, using Taguchi design along with Grey Relational Analysis and Box-Behnken design when turning of Inconel 718. Initially, design evaluation is achieved based on their fraction of design space graphs. Then, optimization single and multi-objective are satisfied, and a general comparison of short and long-term is achieved apropos optimal cutting regimes. Mono-objective optimization through Taguchi orthogonal array shows the carelessness of responses outside the optimization object. On the other hand, multi-objective optimization relating to Taguchi-Grey produces better results regarding its reduced number of experiments. The Box-Behnken design implements a good fit for multi-attribute optimization. Nevertheless, its higher number of experiments must be considered regarding their costs. Moreover, a comparative study for the short and long term can demonstrate a suitable and accurate approach regarding its optimal cutting combination. The Grey-Taguchi approach displays good results in terms of multi-attribute optimization against the Box-Behnken design. This judgment is based on the balancing of the obtained accuracy regarding the smallest design. However, the tool wear long-term test is integrated as a criterion of better machinability relating to the optimal cutting combinations.
Anemonin attenuates hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and extracellular matrix degradation in nucleus pulposus cells by regulating NOX4/NF-κB signaling pathway
Authors: Ma Zhijia , Yu Pengfei , Li Xiaochun , Dai Feng , Jiang Hong , Liu Jintao
Published: September 2022

Backgroud:
Excessive oxidative stress plays a critical role in the progression of various diseases, including intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Recent studies have found that anemonin (ANE) possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the role of ANE in IVDD is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effect and mechanism of ANE on H2O2 induced degeneration of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs).
Methods
NPCs were pretreated with ANE, and then treated with H2O2. NOX4 was upregulated by transfection of pcDNA-NOX4 into NPCs. Cytotoxicity was detected by MTT, oxidative stress related indicators and inflammatory factors were measured by ELISA, mRNA expression was assessed by RT-PCR, and protein expression was tested by western blot.
Results
ANE attenuated H2O2-induced inhibition of NPCs activity. H2O2 enhanced oxidative stress, namely, increased ROS and MDA levels and decreased SOD level. However, these were suppressed and pretreated by ANE. ANE treatment repressed the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) in H2O2-induced NPCs. ANE treatment also prevented the degradation of extracellular matrix induced by H2O2, showing the downregulation of MMP-3, 13 and ADAMTS-4, 5 and the upregulation of collagen II. NOX4 is a key factor regulating oxidative stress. Our study confirmed that ANE could restrained NOX4 and p-NF-κB. In addition, overexpression of NOX4 counteracted the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ANE in H2O2-induced NPCs, and the inhibition of the degradation of extracellular matrix induced by ANE was also reversed by overexpression of NOX4.
Conclusion
ANE repressed oxidative stress, inflammation and extracellular matrix degradation in H2O2-induced NPCs by inhibiting NOX4/NF-κB pathway. Our study indicated that ANE might be a candidate drug for the treatment of IVDD.
A simulation study of microstructure and dynamics of Dual-functionalized imidazolium based Ionic Liquids (DFILs)
Authors: Ghasemi Hamid , Yeganegi Saeid
Published: September 2022

The liquid structures of a series of dual-functionalized ionic liquids (DFILs) composed of functionalized imidazolium cations containing a nitrile group and varying ether side-chain length and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [Tf2N]− anions were studied using molecular dynamic simulation. The interactions between species were described by all-atom OPLS force field. Liquid structures and ionic dynamics were explored. The aim of the current study is to shed light on the effect of cationic ether chain length on the structure and dynamic properties of [C2CNIm (EtO)6 Me]+ DFILs. The accuracy of the applied simulation method and FF were justified by reproducing the experimental densities. Results of this study demonstrated that densities of the studied DFILs decreased by increasing of ether side-chain length. Partial radial distribution functions (PRDFs) showed that despite the larger number and less hindered fluorine atoms than other atoms of anions, the side H atoms of the imidazolium ring of cations tend to spend more time around the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the anions. Calculated PRDFs for the center of mass of cationic ether chains indicated that in the case of [C2CNIm (EtO)6 Me]+ cation, the self-aggregation of ether chains occurs by lengthening the chain. Combined distribution functions show that the strength of hydrogen bonding increase by decreasing ether side-chain length. Calculated diffusion coefficients demonstrate that anion has higher diffusivity than cations. In the case of [C2CNIm (EtO)6 Me]+, the diffusion coefficient is smaller due to its longer ether chain, which can restrict its mobility.
Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting atrial fibrillation in patients with acute heart failure admitted to the ICU: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Li Yide , Cai Zhixiong , She Yingfang , Shen Wenjuan , Wang Tinghuai , Luo Liang
Published: September 2022

IntroductionAcute heart failure is a serious condition. Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent arrhythmia in patients with acute heart failure. The occurrence of atrial fibrillation occurs in heart failure patients worsen the prognosis and leads to substantially increase in treatment costs.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the MIMIC-IV database of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for acute heart failure and who were initially sinus rhythm. Data on demographics, comorbidities, laboratory findings, vital signs, and treatment were extracted. The cohort was divided into a training set and a validation set. Variables selected by LASSO regression and multivariate logistic regression in the training set were used to develop a model for predicting the emergence of atrial fibrillation in acute heart failure in the ICU. A nomogram was drawn and an online calculator was developed. The performance of the model was tested using the validation set.ResultsThis study enlisted 2342 patients with acute heart failure, 646 of whom developed atrial fibrillation during their ICU stay. Using LASSO and multiple logistic regression, we selected 6 variables: age, prothrombin time, heart rate, use of vasoactive drugs within 24 hours, SOFA score, and APSIII. The C-index of the model was 0.700 (95% confidence interval: 0.672–0.727) and 0.682 (95% confidence interval: 0.639–0.725) in the training and validation set, respectively. The calibration curves also performed well in both sets.ConclusionWe developed a simple and effective model for predicting atrial fibrillation in patients with acute heart failure in the ICU.
Bottleneck Co-ownership as A Regulatory Alternative: Evidence from Airline Industry
Authors: Shen Caixia , Miao Weiou
Published: September 2022

This paper empirically tests the bottleneck co-ownership theory presented in Boffa and Panzar (2012) by using data in the US airline industry. We present a structural model of codesharing between major airlines and regional airlines. The empirical evidence in this study supports the bottleneck co-ownership theory. The estimation results show that bottleneck co-ownership as a regulatory alternative gains higher welfare than average pricing in disintegrated vertical relation. Consumers benefit with lower product prices and firms have higher profits.
Integrated longitudinal metabolome and proteome analysis provides new insights into metabolic dysregulations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Xu Xiaojiao , Liu Zheyi , Yang Qiu , Zhang Rong , Yu Hang , Wang Manli , Chen Sheng , Xu Guowang , Shao Yaping , Le Weidong
Published: September 2022

Background
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an irreversible fatal neurodegenerative disease with progressive paralysis of limbs and bulb in patients, the cause of which remains unclear. Due to the highly heterogeneous and complex pathophysiology of the disease, there is currently no effective treatment to retard the disease progression. Accumulating studies suggest that motor neuron degeneration is associated with systemic metabolic impairment in ALS. However, the metabolic reprogramming and underlying mechanism in the longitudinal progression of the disease remain poorly understood.
Methods
Here, we applied unbiased LC-MS-based metabolomics to plasma, lumbar spinal cord, and motor cortex tissues from SOD1G93A mice and wildtype (WT) littermates at different stages to explore the metabolic disturbance during disease progression. To elucidate the regulatory network underlying metabolic changes, spinal cords from SOD1G93A and WT mice in the symptomatic stage were further analyzed by proteomics.
Results
The results show that SOD1G93A mice presented marked dysregulations of lipid and purine metabolism in both plasma and spinal cord from the pre-symptomatic stage. Furthermore, the metabolic abnormalities were much more pronounced in the symptomatic stage. By integrating metabolomics and proteomics data, we demonstrated the importance of metabolic pathways in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, arginine and proline metabolism, and fatty acid degradation in the progression of ALS pathophysiology.
Conclusions
Notably, for the first time, we highlighted that metabolic dysregulation in purine metabolism might be a critical event in the preclinical phase of ALS. The identified differential metabolites and proteins in our study complement existing data on metabolic reprogramming in ALS; the results from the integrative analysis might provide novel perspectives for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of the disease.
A novel SM-Net model to assess the morphological types of Sella Turcica using Lateral Cephalogram
Authors: Shakya Kaushlesh Singh , Jaiswal Manojkumar , Priti K , Alavi Azadeh , Kumar Vinay , Li Minyi , Laddi Amit
Published: September 2022

Objectives
Deep learning (DL) models such as two pre-trained VGG models were explored and a novel SM-Net model is proposed to design an automated method for identifying different morphological types of Sella Turcica (ST). Further, all the models were compared based upon prediction results and evaluation metrics.
Materials and Methods
The lateral cephalogram dataset of 653 normal and patients with dentofacial were included and randomly divided into multiple subsets of training and testing data ratios. The manually labelled images encompasses pixel-by-pixel annotation of the Sella Turcica (ST) by dental specialists using an online labelling platform. The different image pre-processing techniques were employed to prepare the image dataset for convolutional neural network (CNN) modelling. The two pre-trained models Standard VGG-19 (SVGG-19), Optimised VGG-19 (OVGG-19) and a proposed SM-Net model were trained. These trained models extract Sella features by identifying an important region in the image and then classify Sella types based on pre-defined classes. Based on obtained training and validation accuracy graphs, we calculated pixel-wise IoU, mean IoU, and Dice coefficient to evaluate the performance of the models.
Results
The proposed SM-Net model shows significant training and prediction results compared to Standard VGG-19 (SVGG-19) and Optimized VGG-19 (OVGG-19). The mean IoU scores for Standard VGG-19 (SVGG-19), Optimized VGG-19 (OVGG-19) and SM-Net are 33.3%, 33.7%, 36.2% respectively and dice coefficients are 35.6%, 37.1, and 40.7% respectively.
Conclusion
The proposed fully-connected automated SM-Net model shows significant results towards detection and identification of morphological types of Sella Turcica (ST). Further work will be aimed to improve the accuracy of the selected model.
Clinical Significance
The proposed study will help dental experts and practitioners to pre-diagnose dentofacial anomalies associated with morphological features of Sella Turcica (ST).
WITHDRAWN: Cardiomyocyte βII Spectrin Plays a Critical Role in Maintaining Cardiac Function via Regulating Mitochondrial Respiratory Function
Authors: Wang Shan , Yang Rongjin , Ruan Banjun , Wang Rutao , Zhang Xiaomeng , Xing Pingping , Li Congye , Zhang Yunyun , Chang Xiaoqian , Zhang Shun , Zhao Huishao , Zhang Feiyu , Yin Tao , Qi Tingting , Yan Wenjun , Zhang Fuyang , Hu Guangyu , Tao Ling
Published: September 2022

βII spectrin is a cytoskeletal protein known to be tightly linked to heart development and cardiovascular electrophysiology. However, roles of βII spectrin in cardiac contractile function and post-myocardial infarction pathological remodeling remain unclear. Here, we uncovered that the levels of serum βII spectrin breakdown products (βII SBDPs) were significantly increased in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Consistently, βII spectrin was degraded into βII SBDPs by calpain in mouse hearts after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Cardiac-specific βII spectrin deletion results in spontaneous development of cardiac contractile dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. Moreover, deletion of βII spectrin in the adult heart exacerbated I/R-induced cardiomyocyte death and heart failure, while restoration of βII spectrin expression by adenoviral saRNA delivery in the heart reduced I/R injury. IP–LC–MS/MS and functional studies revealed that βII spectrin is indispensable for mitochondrial complex I activity and respiratory function. Mechanistically, βII spectrin interacted with mitochondrial complex I to mediate its assembly by crosslinking with actin filaments (F-actin) to maintain F-actin stability. These findings identify βII spectrin as an essential mitochondrial cytoskeletal element for preserving mitochondrial homeostasis and cardiac function.
A Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Vegetables and Soil Irrigated with Wastewater in the Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, Area
Authors: Ullah Hidayat , Abdullah Muhammad , Abbas Muhammad Tanser , Ullah Irshad , Naz Iffat , Alhodaib Aiyeshah , Uddin Jalal
Published: September 2022

Anthropogenic factors like industrialization, urbanization, and agrochemical products causes metal pollution in the food chain. Vegetables produced on polluted soil expose individuals to carcinogenic heavy metals once they ingest them. The study examined the risks of contaminants in vegetables cultivated on soils irrigated through wastewater, their origins, and the consequences to individuals. Through analytical techniques of atomic absorption spectrophotometer, total 164 water samples, topsoil, and vegetables for the concentration level of eight toxic metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, Ni, and Cr) were examined. Heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Cr, Pb, and Ni) in untreated wastewater ranged from 0.405 to 0.501, 0.207 to 0.288, 0.185 to 0.273, 0.565 to 0.883, 0.077 to 0.210, 0.206 to 0.293, 7.750 to 10.080, and 0.189 to 0.293 mg L− 1 respectively. The results showed that heavy metals had accumulated significantly in the soil and transferred to vegetables. Vegetables grown on soil irrigated with untreated wastewater had metal concentrations substantially higher than those grown on freshwater-irrigated soil and were above US-EPA and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. ANOVA analysis showed no significant differences between the levels of heavy metals in soil. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a significant positive association between (Pb-Cr) and (Zn-Cu) for soil data. Eight heavy metals categorized into three cluster for soil and seven cluster for vegetables. Three latent components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 displayed a positive load of anthropogenic trace metals (Ni and Cu) generated for soil data. Pb and Cd have HRIs of > 1 in all vegetables, and Ni has HRIs > 1 for Raphanus sativus, Brassica oleracea, and Spinacia oleracea. Children and adults exposed to a substantial amount of harmful metals using such vegetables.