bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seri-Entrepreneurship: Current Status and Potential Opportunities
Authors: Jayaram Harishkumar , Mahadevegowda Likhith Gowda , Boregowda Manjunatha Hosaholalu
Published: April 2024

The ability of a country or an area to prosper economically is largely depend on entrepreneurship, especially in light of the current unemployment crisis and anticipated technological advancements. The most important issues in the growth of entrepreneurship are not just how to offer chances to entrepreneurs, but also how to provide them substantial support so they may achieve greater success. To this, cultivating mulberry plants, production of disease-free layings, raising of young (chawki) and late-age silkworms for cocoon production, reeling of cocoons (silk reeling) for yarn production, throwing (spinning, warp, and weft production), wet processing (dyeing and printing), weaving (fabric production), modern (computer-aided) and traditional (textile designing) textile marketing and so on are just a few of the varied range of activities that make up the Indian silk industry. Additionally, sericulture products and bye-products have become more significant in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries, in recent years, for the creation of high-value new goods. Therefore, there is a great deal of opportunity for successful business in the sericulture and seribiotechnology sectors to grow. These opportunities help young people and unemployed women to become successful business owners who both support the workforce and work for themselves. This can help address the issues of unemploymentstandards and in India’s rural and urban areas as well as elevate socioeconomic levels.
Design and Development of an Intuitive Android Application for Smart Farming
Authors: Patokar Arun M. , Gohokar Vinaya V.
Published: April 2024

Farmers face challenges in adapting to environmental changes, yet with decreasing implementation costs and a growing accessibility to technical expertise, progress is evident. This research introduces KisanVishwa, an Android app designed for smart farming. KisanVishwa optimizes precision agriculture systems, enabling farmers to monitor their fields in real time and address agricultural constraints. Tailored to meet the specific needs of today's farmers, the app provides user-friendly tools and the latest information on farm equipment, fertilizers, chemicals, technological advancements, and local distributors and retailers. By integrating KisanVishwa into their operations, farmers can overcome challenges associated with the adoption and maintenance of precision agriculture. KisanVishwa adopts a user-centric design for compatibility across diverse Android devices, integrating monitoring tools and collaborating with agricultural research institutions. Empowering farmers, the app addresses contemporary challenges, fostering informed decisions and efficiency. With its user-friendly interface, KisanVishwa promotes the adoption of precision agriculture, essential resources, and sustainable practices in the agricultural sector. Convincing traditional farmers to adopt advanced technologies may pose challenges. Functionality may depend on reliable internet, posing challenges in areas with limited connectivity.
A service evaluation of a new regional integrated stroke service in the NHS
Authors: Buckley Amy
Published: April 2024

Background:

Stroke is the UK's leading cause of disability and contributes to numerous deaths. In response, centralised stroke care is on the rise, both globally and in the UK. A local trust has formed a regional stroke centre to provide efficient and timely emergency treatment.

Aims:

This article evaluates hyperacute performance in a new service, identifying areas for improvement and monitoring standards. It also aims to address and minimise shortfalls in preparation for the upcoming opening of a designated stroke hub, which will admit patients directly to the stroke team, bypassing the emergency department.

Methods:

Data were extracted from the Sentential Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) database from 26 September 2022 to 26 January 2023. Comparison was made to national quarterly SSNAP data from October 2022 to December 2022, due to the corresponding publication dates. Literature was sourced from the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health database. The main targets within SSNAP based on the first 4 hours of patient care were identified and analysed.

Findings:

From admission, 64% of patients underwent computer tomography scanning under 1 hour from admission, compared to a national average of 56.6%; 76% of patients underwent a swallow screening under 4 hours from admission, compared to a national average of 71.5%; and 37% of patients achieved admission to the hyperacute stroke unit under 4 hours from admission, compared to a national average of 39.5%. National average data were taken directly from SSNAP national averages from the report spanning October 2022 to December 2022.

Conclusion:

In comparison to national averages in many areas, the current service is performing well; however, there are many areas for improvement to address. Although the outlook for stroke care looks more promising as newer technologies emerge, stroke prevalence is increasing simultaneously. Stroke continues to cost the UK upwards of 26 billion pounds per year and causes significant detriment to survivors. Therefore, healthcare has a duty of care to continue to improve standards and innovate to improve outcomes.
Stroke assessment: time is brain
Authors: Palmer Sarah Jane
Published: April 2024

In this article, the author provides an overview of the different types of strokes and highlights the importance of assessment and care given to stroke patients within the first 4.5 hours of an episode.
Navigating identity through social media: Twitter use of Muslim-American nonprofits
Authors: Wasif Rafeel , Siddiqui Shariq , Noor Zeeshan
Published: April 2024

Social media enables nonprofits to communicate with stakeholders. Literature has primarily focused on the social media communication of mostly large and secular nonprofit organisations. This study contributes to this literature by looking at nonprofits’ social media activity belonging to religious minorities, specifically the Muslim-American nonprofit sector. Using Lovejoy and Saxton’s (2012) Hierarchy of Engagement framework, we find that Muslim-American nonprofits conventionally use social media for information, community, and action messaging. However, these nonprofits also utilise social media to encourage religious practices and strongly advocate for Muslim rights. We also find that organisational identity affects social media framing as organisational type affects the type of topics these organisations pick to advocate on social media. Moreover, organisational size also affects social media activity, as smaller organisations are more likely to use social media for fundraising purposes.
Measurement Invariance in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research
Authors: Farmer Cristan , Kaat Aaron J. , Edwards Michael C. , Lecavalier Luc
Published: April 2024

Measurement invariance (MI) is a psychometric property of an instrument indicating the degree to which scores from an instrument are comparable across groups. In recent years, there has been a marked uptick in publications using MI in intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) samples. Our goal here is to provide an overview of why MI is important to IDD researchers and to describe some challenges to evaluating it, with an eye towards nudging our subfield into a more thoughtful and measured interpretation of studies using MI.
The Music of Tragedy: Implications of the Reconstructed Orestes Papyrus
Authors: D’Angour Armand
Published: April 2024

Abstract: Evidence for the musical and dance elements of Attic tragedy is extremely scarce. However, a papyrus fragment dating from around 300 bc contains a section of a chorus from Euripides’ Orestes with musical notation (possibly the dramatist’s own); it may be analysed, both in its lacunose state and in a proposed reconstruction for performance, to throw light on these very elements. The papyrus markings and associated commentary offer clues to the melodisation of Greek poetry, performance effects in choral song, the nature of dochmiac rhythm, and the kind of dance movements that might have accompanied vigorous passages in tragic lyric.
Performing Aeschylus’s Persians
Authors: Foley Helene
Published: April 2024

Abstract: The antistrophic pairs of the choral odes of Aeschylus’s Persians are frequently marked by close verbal and thematic parallels in a symmetrical fashion. This “strophic bonding” permits more precise speculation about the possible performative relation between strophic pairs in the choral odes of a play that culminates in the explicit display of parallel lamenting gestures in the concluding strophic pairs of the exodos. The repeated themes, sounds, gestures, images, and phrases in the play’s strophic pairs serve as well to define and perform the changing relation between Persian royal leaders and their choral subjects in the play as a whole.
Perfect Freedom: T. H. Green's Kantian Conception
Authors: Brink David O.
Published: April 2024

abstract: This essay explores different conceptions of freedom in Kant, Green, and their critics. Kant introduces three kinds of freedom—negative freedom, positive freedom or autonomy, and transcendental freedom. Sidgwick objects that Kant's conception of positive freedom is unable to explain how someone might be free and responsible for the wrong choices. Though Green rejects transcendental freedom, he thinks Kant's conception of practical freedom can be defended by identifying it with the capacity to be determined by practical reason. Green identifies his own tripartite conception of freedom—juridical freedom, moral freedom, and real freedom. He thinks that these are stages in the perfection of freedom. Green's tripartite conception provides a principled reply to Berlin's doubts about positive freedom, explains Kant's claims that respect and esteem are fitting attitudes toward different aspects of freedom, and supports Schiller's criticisms of Kantian freedom and virtue. Green's conception of freedom defends the best elements of the Kantian perspective while addressing legitimate worries. In doing so, it unifies different aspects of freedom in a way that is grounded in moral personality or rational nature.
Imaging through thick scattering media based on envelope-informed learning with a simulated training dataset
Authors: Wang Bin , Shi Yaoyao , Sheng Wei , Zhang Meiling , Liu Youwen
Published: April 2024

Computational imaging faces significant challenges in dealing with multiple scattering through thick complex media. While deep learning has addressed some ill-posed problems in scattering imaging, its practical application is limited by the acquisition of the training dataset. In this study, the Gaussian-distributed envelope of the speckle image is employed to simulate the point spread function (PSF), and the training dataset is obtained by the convolution of the handwritten digits with the PSF. This approach reduces the requirement of time and conditions for constructing the training dataset and enables a neural network trained on this dataset to reconstruct objects obscured by an unknown scattering medium in real experiments. The quality of reconstructed objects is negatively correlated with the thickness of the scattering medium. Our proposed method provides a new way, to the best of our knowledge, to apply deep learning in scattering imaging by reducing the time needed for constructing the training dataset.
Aging of deep venous thrombosis in-vivo using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography
Authors: Jones Georgia L. , Albadawi Hassan , Hariri Lida P. , Bouma Brett E. , Oklu Rahmi , Villiger Martin
Published: April 2024

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a medical condition with significant post-event morbidity and mortality coupled with limited treatment options. Treatment strategy and efficacy are highly dependent on the structural composition of the thrombus, which evolves over time from initial formation and is currently unevaluable with standard clinical testing. Here, we investigate the use of intravascular polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) to assess thrombus morphology and composition in a rat DVT model in-vivo, including changes that occur over the thrombus aging process. PS-OCT measures tissue birefringence, which provides contrast for collagen and smooth muscle cells that are present in older, chronic clots. Thrombi in the inferior vena cava of two cohorts of rats were imaged in-vivo with intravascular PS-OCT at 24 hours (acute, nrats = 3, 73 cross-sections) or 28 days (chronic, nrats = 4, 41 cross-sections) after thrombus formation. Co-registered histology was labelled by an independent pathologist to establish ground-truth clot composition. Automated analysis of OCT cross-sectional images differentiated acute and chronic thrombi with 97.6% sensitivity and 98.6% specificity using a linear discriminant model comprised of both polarization and conventional OCT metrics. These results support PS-OCT as a highly sensitive imaging modality for the assessment of DVT composition to differentiate acute and chronic thrombi. Intravascular PS-OCT imaging could be integrated with advanced catheter-based treatment strategies and serve to guide therapeutic decision-making and deployment, by offering an accurate assessment of DVT patients in real time.
Spatiotemporal statistics of optical turbulence beyond Taylor’s frozen turbulence hypothesis
Authors: Pérez Darío G. , Farfán-Bachiloglu Hishan , Sepúlveda Marco
Published: April 2024

Currently, limitations in modeling the temporal behavior of light propagating through atmospheric turbulence stem from the Taylor’s frozen turbulence hypothesis (TFTH). Indeed, under certain conditions it has been reported to be unreliable, often leading to inaccurate predictions. On the other hand, in fluid dynamics an alternative has been validated: the random sweeping hypothesis. Nevertheless, its applicability to optical turbulence has remained unexplored. This work introduces the first, to the best of our knowledge, controlled experiment testing this hypothesis on the spatiotemporal properties from image wander. The existence of two characteristic times is observed, one associated with TFTH decorrelation and a second potentially linked to the sweeping hypothesis.
Hybrid-index-based array configuration optimization for Michelson interferometric imaging
Authors: Zhang Junzhe , Ma Xiafei , Wei Weilong , Li Ming , Yang Kaiyuan , Yang Hu , Xie Zongliang
Published: April 2024

Array configuration design is a critical issue for a high quality of the snapshot point spread function (PSF) and restored image in Michelson imaging interferometer. In classic design, the optimized configurations usually address the few specifications and single objective, which is unable to balance the requirements of both non-redundancy and sampling distribution. In this paper, we formalize mathematically the composite metric to trade-off the multiple demands of observation, and propose the hybrid-index-based array layout optimization strategy. The simulation results demonstrate that, in comparison with the typical distribution, the optimized array using the proposed optimization framework enables the acquisition of more comprehensive spectrum information while utilizing an equal number of apertures, providing superior imaging quality in different observation situations. Furthermore, the designed optimized array masks and the compared conventional array masks were fabricated and used for our experimental validation, further verifying the feasibility of this strategy. This array configuration optimization framework may not only find applications to Michelson interferometric imaging, but also provide a positive impact on all u-v sampling-based imaging modes, including radio interferometry, magnetic resonance imaging, and photonic integrated interferometric imaging.
Emergent neural dynamics and geometry for generalization in a transitive inference task
Authors: Kay Kenneth , Biderman Natalie , Khajeh Ramin , Beiran Manuel , Cueva Christopher J. , Shohamy Daphna , Jensen Greg , Wei Xue-Xin , Ferrera Vincent P. , Abbott LF
Published: April 2024

Relational cognition—the ability to infer relationships that generalize to novel combinations of objects—is fundamental to human and animal intelligence. Despite this importance, it remains unclear how relational cognition is implemented in the brain due in part to a lack of hypotheses and predictions at the levels of collective neural activity and behavior. Here we discovered, analyzed, and experimentally tested neural networks (NNs) that perform transitive inference (TI), a classic relational task (if A > B and B > C, then A > C). We found NNs that (i) generalized perfectly, despite lacking overt transitive structure prior to training, (ii) generalized when the task required working memory (WM), a capacity thought to be essential to inference in the brain, (iii) emergently expressed behaviors long observed in living subjects, in addition to a novel order-dependent behavior, and (iv) expressed different task solutions yielding alternative behavioral and neural predictions. Further, in a large-scale experiment, we found that human subjects performing WM-based TI showed behavior inconsistent with a class of NNs that characteristically expressed an intuitive task solution. These findings provide neural insights into a classical relational ability, with wider implications for how the brain realizes relational cognition.
Knowledge, attitude, and practices of stakeholders involved in healthcare financing programs on economic evaluations in Cameroon
Authors: Tchouaket Eric , Kruglova Katya , Sieleunou Isidore , Tsafack Marcellin , Tankwa Joseph Maabo , Takoguen Gislaine , Argiropoulos Nikolas , Robins Stephanie , Sia Drissa
Published: April 2024

There are many healthcare financing programs (HFPs) in Cameroon; however, there is a lack of information on these programs’ economic effectiveness and efficiency. Involvement of local stakeholders in the economic evaluations (EEs) of HFPs is critical for ensuring contextual factors are considered prior to program implementation. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the need for EEs of Cameroonian HFPs. Regular staff in supervisory roles aged 18 years and above were recruited in four Cameroonian cities. Data were collected via face-to-face surveys between June 15 and August 1, 2022. Descriptive analyses summarized participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to performing EEs of HFPs. Principal component analyses identified organizational, individual, and contextual factors that could influence participants’ involvement. The total sample included 106 participants. On average, 65% of participants reported being aware of the listed HFPs; however, of these, only 28% said that they had been involved in the HFPs. Of the 106 participants, 57.5% knew about EEs; yet, almost 90% reported that the HFP in question had never been subject to an EE, and 84% had never been involved in an EE. Most participants indicated that they had intended or would like to receive EE training. Using principal component analyses, the organizational factors were classified into two components (‘policy and governance’ and ‘planning and implementation’), the individual factors were classified into two components (‘training’ and ‘motivation’), and the contextual factors were classified into three components (‘funding,’ ‘political economy,’ and ‘public expectations’). The findings of this study highlight the need to invest in EE training to improve participation rates of Cameroonian stakeholders in the EEs of HFPs. Improved knowledge, diversified skills, and increased participation of stakeholders from all levels of the Cameroonian healthcare system are critical to the effective and efficient development, implementation, and EE of the country’s HFPs.
Reduction in time to viral suppression among persons living with HIV in Jamaica between 2017–2019
Authors: Cushnie Anya , Reintjes Ralf , Artama Miia , Figueroa J. Peter
Published: April 2024

Introduction

HIV viral suppression is important for effective treatment and for reducing new infections. In 2019, only 66% of persons on antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Jamaica were virally suppressed. We aim to compare time to viral suppression by ART initiation year and type of treatment site to understand the implications for programming.

Methods

We assessed time to viral suppression among 4560 persons who received viral load testing either pre or post ART initiation from 2017–2019. We used descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier estimates to compare survival curves by ART year (2017, 2018, 2019), sex and type of treatment site (public and non-governmental organizations). Persons were censored if suppression was not achieved. Mixed effects Cox regression was used to determine the effect of covariates on the likelihood of viral suppression. We report hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Pre-ART viral load testing decreased from 36% in 2017 to 30% in 2019. For post-ART viral load tests, approximately 78% (n = 1589) of persons achieved suppression, 51% (n = 809) were female and 86% (n = 1341) used a public treatment site. The median time to suppression decreased by 3 months from 2017 to 2019. The likelihood of suppression was almost 2 times greater in 2018 (HR = 1.56, CI = 1.39–1.75) and 3 times greater in 2019 (HR = 3.17, CI = 2.76–3.64) compared to 2017. NGO treatment sites were also significantly associated with the likelihood of viral suppression compared to public sites.

Conclusion

Pre-ART viral load testing and the time to viral suppression decreased over three years. Initiating ART after 2017 and early use of NGO treatment sites were found to significantly increase the likelihood of achieving suppression. This demonstrates improvements in the national HIV response but there is need to increase the number of persons on ART and achieving viral suppression.
Infection-related severe maternal outcomes and case fatality rates in 43 low and middle-income countries across the WHO regions: Results from the Global Maternal Sepsis Study (GLOSS)
Authors: Baguiya Adama , Bonet Mercedes , Brizuela Vanessa , Cuesta Cristina , Knight Marian , Lumbiganon Pisake , Abalos Edgardo , Kouanda Séni ,   WHO Global Maternal Sepsis Study Research Group
Published: April 2024

The highest toll of maternal mortality due to infections is reported in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, more evidence is needed to understand the differences in infection-related severe maternal outcomes (SMO) and fatality rates across the WHO regions. This study aimed to compare the burden of infection-related SMO and case fatality rates across the WHO regions using the Global Maternal Sepsis Study (GLOSS) data. GLOSS was a hospital-based one-week inception prospective cohort study of pregnant or recently pregnant women admitted with suspected or confirmed infection in 2017. Four hundred and eight (408) hospitals from 43 LMICs in the six WHO regions were considered in this analysis. We used a logistic regression model to compare the odds of infection-related SMOs by region. We then calculated the fatality rate as the proportion of deaths over the total number of SMOs, defined as maternal deaths and near-misses. The proportion of SMO was 19.6% (n = 141) in Africa, compared to 18%(n = 22), 15.9%(n = 50), 14.7%(n = 48), 12.1%(n = 95), and 10.8%(n = 21) in the Western Pacific, European, Eastern Meditteranean, Americas, and South-Eastern Asian regions, respectively. Women in Africa were more likely to experience SMO than those in the Americas (aOR = 2.41, 95%CI: [1.78 to 2.83]), in South-East Asia (aOR = 2.60, 95%CI: [1.57 to 4.32]), and the Eastern Mediterranean region (aOR = 1.58, 95%CI: [1.08 to 2.32]). The case fatality rate was 14.3%[3.05% to 36.34%] (n/N = 3/21) and 11.4%[6.63% to 17.77%] (n/N = 16/141) in the South-East Asia and Africa, respectively. Infection-related SMOs and case fatality rates were highest in Africa and Southeast Asia. Specific attention and actions are needed to prevent infection-related maternal deaths and severe morbidity in these two regions.
Characteristics of motor evoked potentials in patients with peripheral vascular disease
Authors: Sarai Pawandeep , Luff Charlotte , Rohani-Shukla Cyrus , Strutton Paul H.
Published: April 2024

With an aging population, it is common to encounter people diagnosed with peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Some will undergo surgeries during which the spinal cord may be compromised and intraoperative neuromonitoring with motor evoked potentials (MEPs) is employed to help mitigate paralysis. No data exist on characteristics of MEPs in older, PVD patients, which would be valuable for patients undergoing spinal cord at-risk surgery or participating in neurophysiological research. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, which can be delivered to the awake patient, was used to stimulate the motor cortex of 20 patients (mean (±SD)) age 63.2yrs (±11.5) with confirmed PVD, every 10 minutes for one hour with MEPs recorded from selected upper and lower limb muscles. Data were compared to that from 20 healthy volunteers recruited for a protocol development study (28yrs (±7.6)). MEPs did not differ between patient’s symptomatic and asymptomatic legs. MEP amplitudes were not different for a given muscle between patients and healthy participants. Except for vastus lateralis, disease severity did not correlate with MEP amplitude. There were no differences over time in the coefficient of variation of MEP amplitude at each time point for any muscle in patients or in healthy participants. Although latencies of MEPs were not different between patients and healthy participants for a given muscle, they were longer in older participants. The results obtained suggest PVD alone does not impact MEPs; there were no differences between more symptomatic and less symptomatic legs. Further, in general, disease severity did not corelate with MEP characteristics. With an aging population, more patients with PVD and cardiovascular risk factors will be participating in neurophysiological studies or undergoing surgery where spinal cord integrity is monitored. Our data show that MEPs from these patients can be easily evoked and interpreted.
Prevalence and predictors of prenatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multistage observational study in Beijing, China
Authors: WANG Jin , HU Libin , ZHANG Tianyi , LIU Jiajia , YU Chuan , ZHAO Ningxin , QI Jianlin , LIU Lihua
Published: April 2024

Objective

While growing psychological health issues among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic have been clearly validated, most research was conducted in countries with relatively lax quarantine measures. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of prenatal depression among pre-, peak-, and post-COVID-19 in Beijing, the region with a stringent response policy in China. We also explore predictors of prenatal depression throughout the outbreak.

Methods

We investigated prenatal depression among 742 pregnant women who received antenatal checkups in Beijing from March 28, 2019 to May 07, 2021 using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and associative demographic, pregnancy-related, and psychosocial characteristics were measured. The phase was divided into pre-, peak-, and post-COVID-19 in light of the trajectory of COVID-19. Pearson’s Chi-square test was used after the examination of confounders homogeneity. The bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to explore predictors.

Results

The pooled prevalence of prenatal depression was 11.9% throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates at different phases were 10.6%, 15.2%, and 11.1% respectively and no significant difference was observed. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that history of mental illness, number of boy-preference from both pregnant women and husband’s family, social support, occupation, and living space were independent predictors of prenatal depression in Beijing.

Conclusion

Our data suggested that the impact of this pandemic on prenatal depression in Beijing appears to be not significant, which will strengthen confidence in adhering to current policy for decision-makers and provide important guidance for the development of major outbreak control and management policies in the future. Our findings may also provide a more efficient measure to identify high-risk pregnant women for professionals and help raise gender equity awareness of pregnant women and their husbands’ families. Future studies should focus on the value of targeted care and family relations on the mental health of pregnant women.
A role for a Trypanosoma brucei cytosine RNA methyltransferase homolog in ribosomal RNA processing
Authors: Militello Kevin T. , Leigh Jennifer , Pusateri Matthew , Read Laurie K. , Vogler Dineen
Published: April 2024

In Trypanosoma brucei, gene expression is primarily regulated posttranscriptionally making RNA metabolism critical. T. brucei has an epitranscriptome containing modified RNA bases. Yet, the identity of the enzymes catalyzing modified RNA base addition and the functions of the enzymes and modifications remain unclear. Homology searches indicate the presence of numerous T. brucei cytosine RNA methyltransferase homologs. One such homolog, TbNop2 was studied in detail. TbNop2 contains the six highly conserved motifs found in cytosine RNA methyltransferases and is evolutionarily related to the Nop2 protein family required for rRNA modification and processing. RNAi experiments targeting TbNop2 resulted in reduced levels of TbNop2 RNA and protein, and a cessation of parasite growth. Next generation sequencing of bisulfite-treated RNA (BS-seq) detected the presence of two methylation sites in the large rRNA; yet TbNop2 RNAi did not result in a significant reduction of methylation. However, TbNop2 RNAi resulted in the retention of 28S internal transcribed spacer RNAs, indicating a role for TbNop2 in rRNA processing.
Typhoon disaster emergency forecasting method based on big data
Authors: Huo Hong , Chen Yuqiu , Wang Shiying
Published: April 2024

Typhoons are natural disasters characterized by their high frequency of occurrence and significant impact, often leading to secondary disasters. In this study, we propose a prediction model for the trend of typhoon disasters. Utilizing neural networks, we calculate the forgetting gate, update gate, and output gate to forecast typhoon intensity, position, and disaster trends. By employing the concept of big data, we collected typhoon data using Python technology and verified the model’s performance. Overall, the model exhibited a good fit, particularly for strong tropical storms. However, improvements are needed to enhance the forecasting accuracy for tropical depressions, typhoons, and strong typhoons. The model demonstrated a small average error in predicting the latitude and longitude of the typhoon’s center position, and the predicted path closely aligned with the actual trajectory.
Accuracy and efficiency stereo matching network with adaptive feature modulation
Authors: Lin Sen , Zhuo Xinxin , Qi Baozhen
Published: April 2024

Feature enhancement plays a crucial role in improving the quality and discriminative power of features used in matching tasks. By enhancing the informative and invariant aspects of features, the matching process becomes more robust and reliable, enabling accurate predictions even in challenging scenarios, such as occlusion and reflection in stereo matching. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end dual-dimension feature modulation network called DFMNet to address the issue of mismatches in interference areas. DFMNet utilizes dual-dimension feature modulation (DFM) to capture spatial and channel information separately. This approach enables the adaptive combination of local features with more extensive contextual information, resulting in an enhanced feature representation that is more effective in dealing with challenging scenarios. Additionally, we introduce the concept of cost filter volume (CFV) by utilizing guide weights derived from group-wise correlation. CFV aids in filtering the concatenated volume adaptively, effectively discarding redundant information, and further improving matching accuracy. To enable real-time performance, we designed a fast version named Fast-GFM. Fast-GFM employs the global feature modulation (GFM) block to enhance the feature expression ability, improving the accuracy and stereo matching robustness. The accurate DFMNet and the real-time Fast-GFM achieve state-of-the-art performance across multiple benchmarks, including Scene Flow, KITTI, ETH3D, and Middlebury. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods in enhancing feature representation and significantly improving matching accuracy in various stereo matching scenarios.
Geographical distribution of close kin in southern right whales on feeding grounds
Authors: Takahashi Megumi , Førland Brage , Pastene Luis A. , Skaug Hans J.
Published: April 2024

This study investigated the close kinship structure of southern right whales on feeding grounds during austral summer seasons. The study was based on biopsy samples of 171 individual whales, which were genotyped with 14 microsatellite DNA loci. Kinship was investigated by using the LOD (Log Odds) score, a relatedness index for a pair of genotypes. Based on a cut-off point of LODPO > 6, which was chosen to balance false positives and negatives, a total of 28 dyads were inferred. Among these, 25 were classified as parent-offspring pairs. Additional genetic (mitochondrial DNA haplotypes) and biological (estimated body length, sex) data were used to provide additional information on the inferred close kin pairs. The elapsed time between sampling varied from 0 (close kin detected in the same austral summer season) to 17 years. All the kin pairs occurred within the Antarctic Indo sector (85°-135°E) and no pair occurred between whales within and outside of this sector. Six pairs were between individuals in high (Antarctic) and lower latitudes. Results of the present analysis on kinship are consistent with the views that whales in the Indo sector of the Antarctic are related with the breeding ground in Southwest Australia, and that whales from this population can occupy different feeding grounds. The present study has the potential to contribute to the conservation of the southern right whales through the monitoring of important population parameters such as population sizes and growth rate, in addition to assist the interpretation of stock structure derived from standard population genetic analyses.
Systemic immune-inflammatory indicators and bone mineral density in chronic kidney disease patients: A cross-sectional research from NHANES 2011 to 2018
Authors: Jiang Yuying , Bao Xiaorong
Published: April 2024

Background

The purpose of this study was to look at the relationship between the Systemic Immune Inflammatory Index (SII) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the pelvis, left upper and lower limbs, lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and trunk in a chronic kidney disease (CKD) population in the United States.

Methods

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011–2016) yielded 2302 people with CKD aged >18 years. CKD was defined as eGFR less than 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 or eGFR greater than 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 with urine ACR greater than 30 mg/L.SII was calculated as PC * (NC / LC) from platelet count (PC), neutrophil count (NC), and lymphocyte count (LC). Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between BMD and SII at different sites in CKD patients, smoothed curve-fitting and generalized weighting models were used to investigate non-linear relationships, and a two-tailed linear regression model was used to find potential inflection points in the model.

Results

We discovered a negative correlation between SII and pelvic BMD among 2302 participants after controlling for gender, age, and race [β = -0.008; 95% confidence value -0.008; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.014, -0.002]. Lower PEBMD was related to increasing SII (trend p = 0.01125). After additional correction, only pelvic BMD remained adversely linked with SII [value -0.006; 95% CI -0.012, -0.000, p = 0.03368]. Smoothed curve fitting revealed a consistent inverse relationship between SII and pelvic BMD. Further stratified analyses revealed a substantial positive negative connection between SII and pelvic BMD in individuals who did not have hypertension, diabetes, a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2, or stage 2 CKD. The connection between SII and PEBMD in people without diabetes revealed a strong inverted U-shaped curve.

Conclusion

In individuals with CKD in the United States, there was a negative connection between the systemic immunoinflammatory index (SII) and pelvic BMD. The SII might be a low-cost and simple test for CKD-related BMD loss.
Comparison of physiological markers, behavior monitoring, and clinical illness scoring as indicators of an inflammatory response in beef cattle
Authors: Juge Aiden E. , Cooke Reinaldo F. , Ceja Guadalupe , Matt Morgan , Daigle Courtney L.
Published: April 2024

Clinical illness (CI) scoring using visual observation is the most widely applied method of detecting respiratory disease in cattle but has limited effectiveness in practice. In contrast, body-mounted sensor technology effectively facilitates disease detection. To evaluate whether a combination of movement behavior and CI scoring is effective for disease detection, cattle were vaccinated to induce a temporary inflammatory immune response. Cattle were evaluated before and after vaccination to identify the CI variables that are most indicative of sick cattle. Respiratory rate (H2 = 43.08, P < 0.0001), nasal discharge (H2 = 8.35, P = 0.015), and ocular discharge (H2 = 16.38, P = 0.0003) increased after vaccination, and rumen fill decreased (H2 = 20.10, P < 0.0001). Locomotor activity was measured via leg-mounted sensors for the four days preceding and seven days following vaccination. A statistical model that included temperature, steps, lying time, respiratory rate, rumen fill, head position, and excess saliva was developed to distinguish between scores from before and after vaccination with a sensitivity of 0.898 and specificity of 0.915. Several clinical illness signs were difficult to measure in practice. Binoculars were required for scoring respiratory rate and eye-related metrics, and cattle had to be fitted with colored collars for individual identification. Scoring each animal took up to three minutes in a small research pen; therefore, technologies that can automate both behavior monitoring and identification of clinical illness signs are key to improving capacity for BRD detection and treatment.
A novel differential evolution algorithm with multi-population and elites regeneration
Authors: Cao Yang , Luan Jingzheng
Published: April 2024

Differential Evolution (DE) is widely recognized as a highly effective evolutionary algorithm for global optimization. It has proven its efficacy in tackling diverse problems across various fields and real-world applications. DE boasts several advantages, such as ease of implementation, reliability, speed, and adaptability. However, DE does have certain limitations, such as suboptimal solution exploitation and challenging parameter tuning. To address these challenges, this research paper introduces a novel algorithm called Enhanced Binary JADE (EBJADE), which combines differential evolution with multi-population and elites regeneration. The primary innovation of this paper lies in the introduction of strategy with enhanced exploitation capabilities. This strategy is based on utilizing the sorting of three vectors from the current generation to perturb the target vector. By introducing directional differences, guiding the search towards improved solutions. Additionally, this study adopts a multi-population method with a rewarding subpopulation to dynamically adjust the allocation of two different mutation strategies. Finally, the paper incorporates the sampling concept of elite individuals from the Estimation of Distribution Algorithm (EDA) to regenerate new solutions through the selection process in DE. Experimental results, using the CEC2014 benchmark tests, demonstrate the strong competitiveness and superior performance of the proposed algorithm.
Identification of a viral gene essential for the genome replication of a domesticated endogenous virus in ichneumonid parasitoid wasps
Authors: Lorenzi Ange , Legeai Fabrice , Jouan Véronique , Girard Pierre-Alain , Strand Michael R. , Ravallec Marc , Eychenne Magali , Bretaudeau Anthony , Robin Stéphanie , Rochefort Jeanne , Villegas Mathilde , Burke Gaelen R. , Rebollo Rita , Nègre Nicolas , Volkoff Anne-Nathalie
Published: April 2024

Thousands of endoparasitoid wasp species in the families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae harbor "domesticated endogenous viruses" (DEVs) in their genomes. This study focuses on ichneumonid DEVs, named ichnoviruses (IVs). Large quantities of DNA-containing IV virions are produced in ovary calyx cells during the pupal and adult stages of female wasps. Females parasitize host insects by injecting eggs and virions into the body cavity. After injection, virions rapidly infect host cells which is followed by expression of IV genes that promote the successful development of wasp offspring. IV genomes consist of two components: proviral segment loci that serve as templates for circular dsDNAs that are packaged into capsids, and genes from an ancestral virus that produce virions. In this study, we generated a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Hyposoter didymator that harbors H. didymator ichnovirus (HdIV). We identified a total of 67 HdIV loci that are amplified in calyx cells during the wasp pupal stage. We then focused on an HdIV gene, U16, which is transcribed in calyx cells during the initial stages of replication. Sequence analysis indicated that U16 contains a conserved domain in primases from select other viruses. Knockdown of U16 by RNA interference inhibited virion morphogenesis in calyx cells. Genome-wide analysis indicated U16 knockdown also inhibited amplification of HdIV loci in calyx cells. Altogether, our results identified several previously unknown HdIV loci, demonstrated that all HdIV loci are amplified in calyx cells during the pupal stage, and showed that U16 is required for amplification and virion morphogenesis.
Multiple solutions to a quasilinear periodic boundary value problem with impulsive effects
Authors: Graef John , Heidarkhani Shapour , Kong Lingju , Moradi Shahin
Published: April 2024

The authors investigate the multiplicity of solutions to a quasilinear periodic boundary value problem with impulsive effects. They use variational methods and some critical points theorems for smooth functionals, due to Ricceri, that are defined on reflexive Banach spaces. They obtain the existence of at least three solutions to the problem. The applicability of the results is illustrated with an example.
Plasma Metabolite Profiling Identifies Nondiabetic Chronic Pancreatitis Patients With Metabolic Alterations Progressing to Prediabetes Before HbA1c
Authors: Ketavarapu Vijayasarathy , Addipilli Ramunaidu , Ragi Nagarjunachary , Pallerla Pavankumar , Simhadri Venu , Manne Suvidha , Sannapaneni Krishnaiah , Aslam Mohsin , Talukadar Rupjyoti , Ch Venkataramana Devi , GV Rao , Amanchy Ramars , Reddy D. Nageshwar , Sripadi Prabhakar , Sasikala Mitnala
Published: April 2024

INTRODUCTION:

Diabetes (T3cDM) secondary to chronic pancreatitis (CP) arises due to endocrine dysfunction and metabolic dysregulations. Currently, diagnostic tests are not available to identify patients who may progress from normoglycemia to hyperglycemia in CP. We conducted plasma metabolomic profiling to diagnose glycemic alterations early in the course of disease.

METHODS:

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to generate untargeted, targeted plasma metabolomic profiles in patients with CP, controls (n = 445) following TRIPOD guidelines. Patients were stratified based on glucose tolerance tests following ADA guidelines. Multivariate analysis was performed using partial least squares discriminant analysis to assess discriminatory ability of metabolites among stratified groups. COMBIROC and logistic regression were used to derive biomarker signatures. AI-ML tool (Rapidminer) was used to verify these preliminary results.

RESULTS:

Ceramide, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), phosphatidylethanolamine, carnitine, and lysophosphatidylcholine discriminated T3cDM CP patients from healthy controls with AUC 93% (95% CI 0.81–0.98, P < 0.0001), and integration with pancreatic morphology improved AUC to 100% (95% CI 0.93–1.00, P < 0.0001). LPA, phosphatidylinositol, and ceramide discriminated nondiabetic CP with glycemic alterations (pre-diabetic CP); AUC 66% (95% CI 0.55–0.76, P = 0.1), and integration enhanced AUC to 74% (95% CI 0.55–0.88, P = 0.86). T3cDM was distinguished from prediabetic by LPA, phosphatidylinositol, and sphinganine (AUC 70%; 95% CI 0.54–0.83, P = 0.08), and integration improved AUC to 83% (95% CI 0.68–0.93, P = 0.05). CombiROC cutoff identified 75% and 78% prediabetes in validation 1 and 2 cohorts. Random forest algorithm assessed performance of integrated panel demonstrating AUC of 72% in predicting glycemic alterations.

DISCUSSION:

We report for the first time that a panel of metabolites integrated with pancreatic morphology detects glycemia progression before HbA1c in patients with CP.
Study of cellular structures built from self-similar models and repeatable structures manufactured by FDM/FFF technology
Authors: Rudnik Mateusz
Published: April 2024

Appropriate recursive formulas were obtained for generating repeatable and self-similar cellular structures obtained from PLA using the FDM/FFF method. The H1s, H2s self-similar models show mechanical self-similarity relationships based on simulation and compression test. In addition, the H1s models show higher displacement values than the H1i recurrent models. For the results of the H2s models, it is not conclusive whether they show higher displacement values.
Futuristic Questions in our Thinking: The Case of Apprehensionals in Korean
Authors:   The Society Of Modern Grammar, Yae Sunhee , F F , Eom Sujin , Rhee Seongha
Published: April 2024

Korean has a large inventory of apprehen- sionals, the grammatical markers of fear. This study analyzes six apprehensionals that developed from Future and Question, i.e., -lkka, -lkkapwa(se), -lkkamwusewe(se), -lkkatwulyewe(se), -lkkamolla(se), and -lkkasiphe(se), all involving the future marker -l and the question marker -kka. Lexical forms serving the grammaticalization source constructions are the verbs of perception, cognition and emotion, e.g. po- ‘see’, mwusep- ‘be afraid’, twulyep- 'be afraid', molu- ‘not know’, and siph- ‘think’. It is particularly intriguing that there is no logical necessity that the notions such as ‘future’, ‘question’, ‘thinking’, ‘not knowing’, etc. should engender the notion of fear. This strongly suggests that the emergence of the 'fear'-meaning is the result of interaction among the source components, i.e., indeterminacy from the future, lack of confidence from the question, and self-oriented contemplation from the cogitation, among others. In this respect the development exhibits ‘subjectification’ of meaning.