bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceived Effectiveness and Intrusiveness of School Security Countermeasures Among Parents, Students, and Staff
Authors: Byrd Katie , Kapadia Kevin , John Richard
Published: October 2024

This study evaluates the perceptions of school security countermeasures among parents, recent students, and staff (n = 1105) recruited via Prolific.com. The survey collected participants' perceptions of safety and countermeasure effectiveness and invasiveness. Results show broad acceptance of measures like emergency drills, door locks, and security cameras, while more invasive measures, including armed staff, bag inspections, and clear bag policies, generate discomfort. A binary logistic regression found that perceived safety was negatively predicted by a desire for additional countermeasures and positively predicted by perceptions of countermeasures as both comfortable and effective. Socioeconomic factors, like household income, were also positively related to students' sense of safety. Future research should examine the broader impacts of security measures on student well-being and the school environment.
Uncovering Adverse reactions following COVID-19 Monovalent XBB.1.5 Vaccination from Active Surveillance: A Text Mining Approach
Authors: Lee Hye Ah , Park Bomi , Kim Chung Ho , Kim Yeonjae , Park Hyunjin , Jun Seunghee , Lee Hyelim , Kwon Seunghyun Lewis , Heo Yeseul , Lee Hyungmin , Park Hyesook
Published: October 2024

Background
Unstructured text data collected through a surveillance system for vaccine safety monitoring can identify previously unreported adverse reactions and provide the information necessary to improve the surveillance system. Therefore, this study explored adverse reactions using text data gathered through an active surveillance system following monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccination.
Methods
A text mining analysis was conducted on 2,608 records from 1,864 individuals who reported any health conditions experienced within 7 days after vaccination in text format. Frequency analysis of key terms was performed, with subsequent analysis by sex, age, and concurrent influenza vaccination. Furthermore, semantic network analysis was conducted on terms reported simultaneously.
Results
The analysis identified various common (≥ 1%) adverse events, such as sleep disturbances, lumbago, and indigestion, which had not been frequently reported in prior literature. Moreover, although not common (≥ 0.1% to < 1%), adverse reactions affecting the eyes, ears, and oral cavity were also noted. These adverse reactions showed no significant differences in occurrence with or without simultaneous influenza vaccination. Through cooccurrence analysis and correlation coefficient assessments, associations were found between diarrhea and abdominal pain, as well as between musculoskeletal symptoms and cold-related symptoms.
Conclusion
This study used text mining to reveal previously unrecognized adverse reactions related to COVID-19 vaccination, thus expanding our understanding of the vaccine’s safety profile. The insights gained could further the scope of future investigations into adverse reactions to vaccines and improve the processing of text data in surveillance systems.
PF-MSVNet: A 3D Object Detection Model With Multi-scale Point- level Feature Fusion
Authors: wang Jinyan , Hu Xiaoyu , Yao Ziyu , Liu Bo , Hu Dianzhi
Published: October 2024

3D object detection aims to accurately determine the spatial location of objects and plays an important role in complex tasks such as autonomous driving and aircraft obstacle avoidance. However, 3D data lacks color and texture information, and traditional single-modality detection methods are prone to issues such as missed or false detections. To address this problem, we propose a 3D object detection model based on multi-scale point-level feature fusion (Point Fusion Mixed Sampling VoteNet, PF-MSVNet). First, we use image foreground information to divide the point cloud foreground and background point sets, and randomly downsample the foreground point sets. Then, we use residual connection to improve the point cloud feature extraction module to deepen the network layers and extract high-quality features. We construct a multi-scale point-level feature fusion network and introduce an attention mechanism to suppress image interference information, deepening the fusion of point cloud and image information at the feature level. Experimental results on outdoor KITTI dataset and indoor SUN RGB-D dataset shows that PF-MSVNet achieves a higher average detection accuracy of 8.61%, 5.86%, 3.65%, and 5.23% respectively compared to VoxelNet, SECOND, PointRCNN, and F-PointNet, reaching a maximum mAP of 67.17% among various models. The detection accuracy on small and difficult targets is significantly better than other models. This verifies that the proposed PF-MSVNet model can further improve the accuracy and robustness of object detection.
Peroxidase Mimicking V2O5 Nanozymes as the Spectrophotometric Sensor for the Determination of Glucose in Human Serum Sample Employing New Chromogenic Co-Substrates
Authors: Gangadhara Nikhil Y , B Manju. , Kumar P Kiran , Krishna Honnur , Shivakumar Anantharaman , Sadashivanna Ravishankar H , Krishnegowda Avinash
Published: October 2024

Enzyme mimics are developed as an alternative to natural enzymes to overcome the inherent limitations of natural enzymes. Among different types of enzyme mimics, nanozymes gained importance due to their tuneable catalytic properties. In this article, we discuss the peroxidase behaviour of different shape V2O5 nanoparticles (NPs). A simple spectrophotometric method is presented for the quantification of glucose and H2O2 using novel chromogenic reagents. The NPS are characterized with SEM, DLS, EDS, FTIR and XRD. From SEM images, based on the morphology, the NPs were named as vanadium nanosheets (VNShs), nanoflowers (VNFws) and nanospheres (VNSps). The average crystalline size of the nanoparticles is calculated using XRD data from Scherrer’s equation and Williamson-Hall plot and was found to be 45.42, 45.7nm for VNShs, 29.14, 32.5nm for VNFws, and 39.83, 38.7nm for VNSps respectively. The linearity of glucose was ranged from 0.0289 to 0.925mM for HRP, VNShs VNFws, and 0.925 to 0.0528mM for VNSps. The H2O2 was in good linear range between 0.003 to 1.9383mM in both rate and fixed time method for all nanozymes and HRP. For recovery study 10µL serum sample was directly used without dilution. The Km values were found to be 1.6239 mM for HRP, 0.7843 mM for VNShs, 0.6514 mM for VNFws, ands 0.6398 mM for VNSps concluding that NZs have better affinity towards substrate molecule. The detection limit and quantification limits were found to be 0.0548mM and 0.1662mM for HRP, 0.066mM and 0.2002mM for VNShs, 0.0425mM and 0.1287mM for VNFws and 0.1474mM and 0.4465mM for VNSps.
Incidences of secondary malignancies after androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer
Authors: Lee Junghoon , Cho Min Chul , Jeong Hyeon , Son Hwancheol , Yoo Sangjun
Published: October 2024

Purpose
We aimed to assess the effects of ADT on the incidence of secondary malignancies in patients with prostate cancer.
Methods
Prostate cancer patients who initially treated with ADT from 2009 were included and followed up until 2019. We additionally included female patients, male patients without prostate cancer, and male patients with prostate cancer who did not undergo ADT to build comparison. A 1:1:1:1 match based on age was performed, and 55,865 individuals from each group were selected for analysis.
Results
The incidence of common cancers was compared between the groups. All cancers, except thyroid and breast cancers, were more common in men than women. All cancers were more common in men with prostate cancer than in men without prostate cancer, regardless of ADT. After ADT, the incidences of thyroid and breast cancers increased, whereas the incidences of liver and pancreatic cancers decreased. In the multivariate analysis, all types of cancer were more common in men with prostate cancer than in men without prostate cancer, regardless of ADT. Among these, the incidence of liver and pancreatic cancers significantly decreased after ADT.
Conclusion
The incidence of several secondary malignancies was affected not only by sex but also by prostate cancer diagnosis and ADT. Although further studies are required, these data could be important for health checkups and the management of prostate cancer survivors, especially prostate cancer patients who have been treated with ADT.
Prevention and management of Pre-eclampsia related maternal mortality During ANC in the Buea Health District.
Authors: Mbaku Adeso Divine , Tankeu Ndassi Daonyle Vicky , Ngitah Andoh Magdalene , Atanga Sylvester Ndeso
Published: October 2024

The study highlights the significant issue of maternal mortality in Cameroon, where 12–13 women die daily from pregnancy-related causes, despite a global decline in maternal mortality rates. The research aimed to determine the prevalence of preeclampsia, a major factor in maternal mortality, and evaluate the effectiveness of antenatal care (ANC) practices in reducing its impact. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, reviewing records from 2017–2021 in the BHD. The study used a simple random sampling technique to select facilities and pregnant women attending ANC. A sample of 200 women was assessed for their knowledge of ANC and factors hindering positive ANC practices. The study also measured the prevalence and management of preeclampsia among these women. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 23. Results: Out of 4,707 records reviewed, the prevalence of preeclampsia was 4.97% (234 cases). Knowledge of ANC was high, with 84% of women understanding its importance. Significant associations were found between ANC knowledge and factors such as religion (X²=12.029, p = 0.007), education level (X²=10.641, p = 0.031), and income (X²=8.061, p = 0.045). Other socio-demographic factors showed no significant association. Multivariate analysis indicated that ANC is effective in managing preeclampsia, with 95.3% of women successfully managed during ANC. Logistic regression analysis identified long distance to facilities (40%), financial limitations (36.5%), and long waiting times (37.5%) as barriers to ANC attendance. Conclusion: The prevalence of preeclampsia among women attending ANC in the BHD is high. Most women have adequate knowledge of ANC, which is crucial for managing preeclampsia. Effective ANC utilization is essential, but factors like trust in healthcare, distance to facilities, and financial constraints significantly affect ANC attendance and frequency. Addressing these barriers could improve maternal health outcomes in Cameroon.
Impact of supportive psychotherapy on anxiety, night sleep quality, and medication adherence in maintenance hemodialysis patients
Authors: Chen Zewei , Wang Yong , Chen Peng , Wang Li , Liang Jianguo , Yin Bo , Xie Feiyan
Published: October 2024

Background
Anxiety is a common yet frequently overlooked psychiatric disorder in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which is related to decreasing the quality of life and survival. We examined whether supportive psychotherapy improved anxiety in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients.
Methods
Among the 69 participants enrolled in our dialysis center, 63 finished the study and were randomly assigned to the study group (n = 35) and the control group (n = 28). An intervention group was given 1 weekly session of supportive psychotherapy led by trained psychologists over 3 months while a control group synchronously received the usual treatment.
Results
An intragroup analysis was conducted on the GAD-7 (anxiety levels), PSQI (sleep quality), and MMAS-8 (medication adherence) scales. Mean scores for the control group showed no significant change at 3-month follow-up. The study group revealed significant improvements in the average scores of GAD-7 scores (p < 0.001), PSQI scores (p = 0.004), and MMAS-8 scores (p = 0.007). Correlation analysis demonstrated a positive relationship between anxiety levels, sleep quality, and medication adherence.
Conclusions
In summary, supportive psychotherapy resulted in significant improvements in anxiety, sleep quality, and medication adherence. It is recommended that further research be conducted to explore the efficacy of psychotherapy for mental disorders in populations with ESRD.
Unraveling the Benefits of Thermal Waters Enhancing Oral Health: a pilot study
Authors: Lopes Sara , Morgado Susana , Gomes Ana T. P. C. , Lopes Pedro C. , Couto Patrícia , Correia Maria J. , Flores-Fraile Javier , Veiga Nélio Jorge
Published: October 2024

Background: Oral health represents a public health problem due to its remarkable social impact and medical costs. Crenotherapy with sulfur water is shown to be a complementary, less toxic, and traumatizing therapy, but the number of studies that evaluate the effect of natural mineral waters in treatment of oral mucosa diseases (OMD) disorders is small. In Portugal there are no published studies. The aim of this work is to qualitatively assess the impact of thermal therapy on the perception of symptoms of OMD.
Methods: An observational, longitudinal and comparative study was designed, and 90 thermalists were randomly allocated to two treatment groups for 14 days: Thermal sulfuric natural mineral water of the Amarante Thermal baths group (TW_TA group) (n=45) or saline solution (control group) (n=45), in May 2022. The study was based on clinical observation and application of a self-response questionnaire involving sociodemographic data and quality of life assessment. The evaluation was carried out in 2 different moments: before and at the end of treatment (14 days).
Results: The initial symptom averages were 1.57±0.332 for the thermal water of Termas de Amarante (TW_TA) group and 1.49±0.355 for the control group. After the thermal treatment, these values decreased to 1.18±0.200 and 1.12±0.165, respectively. The evolution of parameters evaluated of life quality and oral pain were positive, with significant changes at the end of treatment. The results suggest that treatment with sulfuric natural mineral water carried out, may constitute an effective procedure to promote oral health.
Conclusions: The potential of the use of thermal waters in Portugal for the promotion of oral health has not been assessed. Although thermal waters are used in some oral care products, there is limited in-depth research into their interaction with the oral microbiome. This lack of research presents an opportunity to expand our understanding and optimize the use of thermal waters in oral health products.
Three-Dimensional Plasmonic Nanorod Location and Orientation Sensing Based on Double Fano Resonances
Authors: He Xiaoping , He Shuling , Li Guozhou
Published: October 2024

The sensing of spatial positions and orientations at the nanometre scale is of significance for studying complex macro-molecular and biological processes, as well as their dynamic evolution. Herein, plasmonic nanorod location and orientation sensing both inside and outside a three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nano-system are achieved based on double Fano resonances. These two Fano resonances are found to originate from different physical mechanism. One is attributed to the excitation of the quadrupole mode supported by the upper nanorod pair, and the other arises from the excitation of the quadrupole mode in the lower nanorod pair. Owing to the different origins, these two Fano resonances exhibit quite different responses to the configuration changes inside and outside the plasmonic nano-system. Specifically, the configuration changes inside the nano-system are identified by retracing the first Fano resonance. When the foreign nanorod intrudes into the plasmonic nano-system, the second Fano resonance emerges. By reading out the second Fano resonance spectral response, which takes the first Fano resonance as the reference, the spatial positions and orientations of the foreign nanorod are determined. This work opens up new opportunities for developing advanced nano-optical devices, which can be applied to 3D macromolecule configuration information retrieval and dynamic biological process analysis.
Variation in sleep and circadian rhythms of elderly dementia patients living in group home residences
Authors: Kubota Naoko , Matsuura Noriko , Ebina Maiko , Suzuki Hitomi , Miyagi Nagomi , Masukawa Naoki , Kouga Fumihiro , Yamanaka Yujiro
Published: October 2024

In the present study, we investigated 70 elderly individuals with dementia residing in a group home in Japan (88.1±6.6 SD years; 12 males and 58 females). Sleep measurements were collected via an accelerometer placed under the mattress from March 2021 to January 2024. The accelerometer-derived activity counts were transformed and plotted as actograms. On the basis of the actograms, sleep patterns were categorized into three groups: regular nighttime sleep (Type 1, n=38, 54.3%), regular nighttime sleep with daytime naps (Type 2, n=29, 41.4%), and irregular sleep (Type 3, n=3, 4.3%). We compared accelerometer-derived sleep measures among these three groups. Interestingly, Type 2 individuals had a significantly longer bed in time and total sleep time. However, their sleep onset latency, time of wakefulness after sleep onset and sleep efficiency did not differ from those of Type 1 individuals. Additionally, we assessed the relationships between sleep patterns and dementia characteristics, such as type of dementia, independence in daily living, and level of care needed. No significant differences were observed in sleep measurements across these characteristics. To evaluate endogenous circadian rhythms, seven dementia patients wore a patch-type wearable temperature sensor for approximately 24 hours to estimate core body temperature (CBT). One patient exhibited a clear diurnal rhythm, with higher CBT during the day (active period) and lower CBT at night (sleep period). In contrast, the other patients did not show a distinct diurnal change in CBT. In summary, our findings indicate that dementia patients display varying sleep patterns that are independent of dementia characteristics. The dysfunction of sleep homeostasis and entrainment of circadian pacemakers might be due to the light environment in the group home residence or impairment of the circadian clock itself in dementia patients.
Assessing the Impact of Analyst Coverage and Political Connections on Audit Opinion Shopping in China's Corporate Sector
Authors: Wu Xinwei , Sun Han , Kang Hyoung-Goo , Lee JaeHo
Published: October 2024

This study builds on the framework established by Lennox (2002) to assess the likelihood of firms receiving modified audit opinions (MAOs) and explores the relationship between analyst coverage and audit opinion shopping among Chinese-listed firms, with a particular focus on the moderating effects of political connections and political leadership turnover. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset of 37,774 observations from 2004 to 2022, our findings indicate that analyst coverage significantly increases the propensity for audit opinion shopping, especially in firms with strong political ties. Additionally, we conduct an event study to examine the impact of analyst announcements within China’s A-share market. By analyzing reports from top-ranked analysts identified through the "New Fortune Best Analyst" rankings, we observe significant market reactions, suggesting that influential analyst coverage heightens the pressure on firms to secure favorable audit outcomes, particularly during critical financial periods. Furthermore, our analysis of political leadership turnover during the 17th, 18th, and 19th National Congresses reveals that changes in local political leadership, particularly the promotion of local officials, further amplify firms’ tendency to engage in audit opinion shopping. These findings underscore the intricate interplay between market scrutiny, political dynamics, and corporate audit practices, providing new insights into the factors that drive audit opinion shopping in China’s distinctive corporate landscape.
Integrating Color and Texture Features for Automated Plant Health Classification Using K-Means Clustering
Authors: Sood Ashima , Reddy Patlolla Venkat
Published: October 2024

In modern agriculture, the key to responding in a timely manner is the accurate judgement of plant health, which directly affects crop yield and quality. Many conventional techniques are essentially one or the other of color and texture analysis wherein performing either allows only a partial look into the information available to better classify these types of data. Summary to cope with the difficulties presented in the plant health classification task, a novel hybridized feature extraction framework combining color and texture features is proposed in this work.We use the average RGB values for color features and Grey-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) focusing on contrast and dissimilarity properties for texture features. We merge these two features into a single feature vector which will be K-meansed. This method improves the distinction between healthy and diseased plants, which retains interpretability and accuracy better than that of traditional unsupervised classification techniques.
Optimizing Deadlock Detection Strategies for Nested Transactions in Complex Systems
Authors: Meenu meenu , Shanker Udai
Published: October 2024

Background
Deadlock detection in nested transactions is a critical aspect of maintaining system stability and ensuring efficient transaction processing. In nested transaction (NT) systems, deadlocks can occur not only between top-level transactions but also among subtransactions, leading to intricate cycles that complicate deadlock resolution. Traditional approaches, which often rely on examining the entire Wait-For Graph (WFG) for cycles, can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. As the complexity of transactions increases, efficient deadlock detection methods become increasingly essential for optimizing resource utilization and overall system performance.
Objective
The primary objective of this research is to enhance deadlock detection techniques in nested transactions by developing an efficient algorithm based on Depth-First Search (DFS). The focus is on identifying hierarchical deadlocks that arise from subtransactions, aiming to improve the speed and accuracy of deadlock detection in complex transaction scenarios.
Method
We propose a novel approach that models transaction relationships as a directed graph, where nodes represent transactions and edges denote dependencies. The DFS algorithm is iteratively applied to the transaction graph to identify cycles indicative of potential deadlocks. Upon detection, the algorithm provides insights into the involved transactions, the deadlock cycle, and indirect dependencies. Additionally, we compute key performance metrics such as execution time, memory usage, system throughput, response time, and success ratio during the deadlock detection process. This approach was implemented and validated in a MATLAB simulation environment.
Result
The implementation of the DFS-based algorithm demonstrated significant improvements in deadlock detection efficiency within nested transactional systems. The results indicated that the algorithm effectively identifies deadlocks arising from hierarchical dependencies, providing detailed insights into transaction relationships. Key metrics showed favourable performance in terms of execution time, memory usage, and overall system throughput, highlighting the algorithm's capability to manage varying transaction complexities.
Conclusion
This research contributes to the advancement of deadlock detection methods in nested transactions by presenting a robust DFS-based algorithm that effectively addresses the challenges of hierarchical deadlocks. The findings underscore the importance of efficient deadlock detection techniques for optimizing resource utilization and enhancing the performance of concurrent systems. Our approach lays the groundwork for future research and development of more resilient and dependable transaction management systems.
Improved super-twisting fuzzy sliding mode control based on fuel regulator
Authors: Qi Jun-zheng , Liu Wei-Wei , Wang Yang , Zhang Hai-Xing , Song Jian-Rong , Guo Zai-Lin
Published: October 2024

In this study, we address the flow fluctuations caused by the continuous jittering of the metering valve spool under system perturbations during the operation of the booster fuel regulator. By analyzing the mathematical model of the core metering valve and incorporating a speed-up factor into the super-twisting sliding mode control (STC), the system's tracking speed is significantly enhanced. Fuzzy logic is then introduced to achieve parameter self-adaptation in the improved super-twisting sliding mode controller (FSTC), effectively suppressing the jitter. This results in a stable metering device system, improved tracking speed, and reduced spool position error under perturbations. When compared to conventional sliding mode control (SMC) and unimproved super-twisting sliding mode control, using quasi-impulse, step, and ramp signals as inputs, the results show that FSTC reduces tracking error by an average of 120% under quasi-pulse signals compared to the unimproved STC, and enhances tracking speed by 327.2% under step signals, and the overall result is much better than SMC.
Knowledge and Attitudes of Pediatric Dentists Regarding Temporomandibular Disorders
Authors: de Santillana Irene Aurora Espinosa , Quintana Gabriel Muñoz , Quintana Gisela Nataly Rubín de Celis , Soto Olga Patricia López , Hernández Adriana María Martínez , Mendoza Guillermina Coba
Published: October 2024

Introduction: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions involving the temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles, and other related structures. There is a paucity of studies that have evaluated knowledge and attitudes of pediatric dentists regarding TMD. Objective: To evaluate knowledge and attitudes of pediatric dentists toward diagnosing and treating TMD in pediatric patients. Materials and Methods: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional study; 266 pediatric dentists responded to a 41-item questionnaire, of which 35 items related to knowledge (divided into four domains: Pathophysiological, Psychophysiological, Psychiatric Disorders, and Chronic Pain), and six items related to attitudes. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and a chi-square test was applied for comparisons; (p < 0.05). Results: The mean correct response rate across the four domains was 49.5%, with the pathophysiological domain exhibiting the lowest rate at 33%, the psychophysiological domain demonstrating a 50% response rate, the psychiatric disorders domain showing a 64.1% response rate, the chronic pain domain exhibiting a 50.4% response rate. The rate was 83.1%, while 16.87% of respondents indicated a preference for referring patients with TMD. Furthermore, 31.2% of respondents indicated that they did not consider it necessary to provide preventive education on TMD. Statistically significant differences were found in four out of 13 items in the Pathophysiological domain and in two out of nine items in the Psychophysiological domain. Conclusion: The pediatric dentists demonstrated limited knowledge of TMD, yet they expressed positive attitudes toward providing proper diagnosis and treatment. However, they did not recognize their role in preventive education on the subject.
Juçara Pulp Drum Drying: an Alternative Technology for Value Chain Expansion
Authors: CASTELAN FLORENCE POLEGATO , JACOMINO ANGELO PEDRO , SOARES JACKELINE CINTRA , DE OLIVEIRA THALISSON JOHANN MICHELON , PURGATTO EDUARDO , GERMER SILVIA PIMENTEL MARCONI
Published: October 2024

Juçara (Euterpe edulis Martius) is a native Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest palm tree that is commonly found in small farming communities located in well-preserved forest remnants. Although juçara is a seasonal and highly perishable fruit, requiring freezing temperatures for storage, drying presents a viable alternative to avoid the cold chain. This study evaluated the effectiveness of drum drying for juçara pulp under three conditions: (1) without carrier agents, (2) with 5% (dry basis) corn starch, and (3) with 10% (dry basis) organic rice flour. The dried juçara pulp was analyzed for its chemical composition and bioactive properties. Drum drying of juçara pulp is viable with or without the use of carrier agents., resulting in juçara flakes with a moisture content of 2.3–3.5% (wet basis). While juçara flakes maintained the same total phenolic content as the fresh pulp (p > 0.05), anthocyanin levels and antioxidant capacity were slightly reduced (p > 0.05). Despite the need for further stability analysis, the product prepared without carrier agents emerged as a promising option for producing 100% juçara pulp flakes.
A cross-sectional study of the clinical manifestations of Sickles Cell Disease in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania and its association with foetal haemoglobin parameters
Authors: Amuzu Evans Xorse , Urio Florence , Dogbe Elliot Eli , Ponsian Peter , Abubakar Suraj Yawnumah , Okeke Chinedu , Olumuyiwa Balogun Olasinbo , Ozumba Petronilla , Osei-Akoto Alex , Paintsil Vivian , Nnodu Obiageli , Balandya Emmanuel , Makani Julie , Anazoeze Madu , Ansong Daniel , Nkya Siana
Published: October 2024

Background: Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) across African countries ranges between 1–3% and contributes up to 7-16% of under-five mortality. Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania are among the top ten countries globally, with over 11,000 babies born with SCD annually. In order to bridge the gap in management and cognate research, the SickleInAfrica consortium was established in 2017 to facilitate collaboration among African nations in order to establish regionally relevant healthcare standards for SCD patients. This work utilised the SickleInAfrica platform to study haematological, clinical and genetic profiles of participants in the consortium.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional omni-directional study involving three sites in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania.This study enrolled 290 individuals with SCD aged five years and above who were confirmed to have SCD at steady state and were hydroxyurea naïve. Clinical history was obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Haematological parameters were determined by automated haematology analyzer while quantification of HbF and F cells was implemented by high performance liquid chromatography and flow cytometry, respectively. Age adjusted logistic regression was employed to assess the association of HbF with the clinical manifestations.
Results: Participants were predominantly less than 18 years (63%) across the three countries. Most of the participants (across sites) had received blood transfusion in their lifetime. The most reported complication of SCD, requiring management in a hospital setting (in-patient or outpatient) was pain crises, ranging from 66-96% with the highest in Tanzania and lowest in Ghana. Overall, participants from Ghana had higher HbF levels(median = 8.20 with IQR= 4.80, 14.68, n = 68) compared with the level of HbF among participants from Tanzania (median = 4.45 with IQR= 2.33, 7.15, n = 92) and Nigeria (median = 4.30 with IQR= 2.60, 7.20, n = 7.20) and such difference was statistically significant, p < 0.001.
Conclusion: This work highlights important differences and similarities across SCD populations in the three countries. This is important especially in development of interventions for patients with SCD in the light of personalised medicine. A larger dataset is required for further analysis and validation of the findings.
Hybrid estimation using L-moments for the r-largest extreme value model with hydrological applications
Authors: Busababodhin Piyapatr , Shin Yire , Park Jeong-Soo
Published: October 2024

Incorporating more data using the r-largest order statistics (rLOS), rather than relying solely on a single set of maxima from each block, can enhance the precision of extreme value distribution estimation. The maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method is commonly employed for parameter estimation of the rLOS model. However, the MLE tends to overestimate high quantiles, particularly for small sample and for distributions with heavy right tails. To mitigate this issue, we explored an L-moment-based estimation method tailored to rLOS, which retains some of the advantages of the L-moment estimator (LME). We proposed a weighted LME (WelMET), which transforms certain order statistics to resemble block maxima, and we introduced a hybrid estimator combining WelMET with MLE. Our simulation study demonstrated that while WelMET tends to underestimate high quantiles, the hybrid estimator is nearly unbiased due to compensating for the biases in both directions. Furthermore, the hybrid estimator exhibited a lower mean squared error than other methods, including MLE and WelMET. The optimal weight for the hybrid estimator was determined through Monte Carlo simulation. We applied this approach to annual 5-largest daily rainfall data from Maha Sarakham, Thailand.
The Relationship between Symptom Management, Depression Status, and Spiritual Care Requirement in Hemodialysis Patients in Turkey: A Correlational Study
Authors: Cantekin Işın , BURUCU RUKİYE
Published: October 2024

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between depression status, spiritual care needs, and symptom management in patients on hemodialysis. METHOD:. A previous study reported that spiritual health was one of the negative predictors of depression in hemodialysis patients (Upper: 0.90, Lower: 0.75, R2: 0.58) (24). based on the results of above study, the sample size was calculated using the G*Power software Version 3.1.9.7. Accordingly, it was found that the sample size should be at least 115 with a power of 0.80 and a margin of error of 0.05. The study sample included 119 individuals. The post hoc power of the study was 0.84. RESULTS: Upon correlation analysis, there was a moderate positive correlation between dry weight and BDI and a weak negative correlation between DSI and SCNI. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.005) (Table 5). There was no significant relationship between other scale scores CONCLUSION: All HD patients had depressive traits. The spiritual care needs of these patients are much higher compared to average. The most important results of this study were that all HD patients had depressive symptoms, symptom burden was higher, and the need for spiritual care was higher.
Vehicle detection for Indian scenario: An
enhanced YOLO-NAS model
Authors: Bondili Balvindersingh
Published: October 2024

In the developing countries like India, traffic maintenance on roads is some what crucial task. Vehicle detection plays an important role and is the basic step for automatic monitoring of traffic. Vehicle detection is the procedure that recognizes vehicles from image or video acquired by cameras. It has an important role in a variety of applications, including traffic monitoring, surveillance, self-driving cars, and intelligent transportation systems. The emergence of deep learning (DL) models with convolution neural networks (CNN) have shown a path to the vehi- cle detection problem. Several DL models with CNNs have been presented in the literature to tackle the problem of vehicle detection. All these models were not up to the mark to produce results especially for Indian scenario due to hectic traf- fic conditions. To address this, a new vehicle detection method using enhanced neural architecture search for Indian scenario is presented in this paper. The experimental findings show that, on the FGVD and IRUVD datasets, the proposed model outperforms YOLO NAS by 10.94% and 1.29%, respectively, with precision rates of 84.51% and 96.61%.
Um den Sieg betrogene Verbündete?
Authors: Auge Oliver
Published: October 2024

Wurden die norddeutschen Fürsten im Kontext des Stralsunder Friedens um ihren Sieg betrogen?
Six-derivative Yang-Mills couplings in heterotic string theory
Authors: Garousi Mohammad R.
Published: October 2024

In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the structure of six-derivative bosonic couplings in heterotic string theory. First, we determine the maximal covariant and Yang-Mills gauge invariant basis, which consists of 801 independent coupling constants. By imposing T-duality constraints on the circular reduction of these terms, we obtain 468 relations between the coupling constants at the six-derivative order and the known couplings at lower derivative orders. Through the use of field redefinitions, we are able to eliminate the remaining 333 coupling constants. Remarkably, we find that the Yang-Mills field strength only appears through the trace of two field strengths or their derivatives. Finally, we perform further field redefinition to rewrite the remaining couplings in a canonical form characterized by 85 independent couplings.
Creation of a collection fund and study of cultivars of daylilies in the M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Authors: Shcherbakova T. O.
Published: October 2024

Purpose. Analysis and comparative study of daylily cultivars from the collection fund of the M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NBG), selection of assortment for decorative horticulture and landscaping. Methods. Cultivars from the NBG daylily collection were studied. The cultivars were evaluated in terms of their aesthetic and economic attributes, and were classified according to their coloration and the timing of their flowering. The author of the cultivar, country of origin, year of creation and introduction into the NBG were also identified. The cultivars were also grouped according to these parameters. Results. The NBG daylily collection is the result of 40 years of introduction and 20 years of breeding work with this crop at the NBG. It includes 174 world cultivars, 26 cultivars of Ukrainian breeding and more than 1000 hybrid seedlings. Most of the cultivars (79) were introduced in 2000–2009. The main part of the current structure of the daylily collection consists of cultivars bred in the 1960–1970s. Most of these are hybrids from American breeders: David F. Hall (20 cultivars) and Allen Wild (46 cultivars). A total of 15 new cultivars were developed based on the original collection. These new cultivars feature double flowers, a valuable trait for hybrids in Ukraine. For effective use in ornamental horticulture and landscaping, the cultivars were grouped according to flower colour and flowering time. The yellow­flowered group is the most widely represented. A large number of cultivars with red flowers are inherent in hybrids bred between 1980 and 1999. Cultivars from modern breeding are mostly represented by the purple and pink colour group. Most of the cultivars in the collection are early and medium early. The smallest part is made up of medium­late and late hybrids. Conclusions. The modern daylily collection is representative. The cultivars introduced into the NBG illustrate the main stages of breeding work with the crop and the achievements of breeders from different countries of the world. The collection includes early and medium early, medium, medium late and late flowering cultivars. Varying in colour and flowering time, the collection can be effectively used to extend the flowering period of daylilies by three months (from the second decade of May to the second decade of August) in ornamental gardening in Ukraine and in various landscape compositions.
Enhancing streamflow prediction in the Wujiang River basin: a two-stage decomposition approach with deep learning integration
Authors: Zhao Ruichao , Zhiwen Zheng
Published: October 2024

Global climate change and human activities have profoundly impacted the geological and hydrological processes in watersheds, increasing the challenges in streamflow prediction. In this study, we propose a streamflow prediction model based on deep learning and dual-mode decomposition specifically tailored for the Wujiang River basin, a significant tributary on the southern bank of the upper Yangtze River. This model effectively addresses the prediction error issue caused by high-frequency components through dual-mode decomposition of time-series data. The results demonstrate that employing the coupled complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN)–variational mode decomposition (VMD)–temporal convolutional network (TCN)–long short-term memory network (LSTM) model reduces prediction errors by at least 35% compared to single decomposition models. Furthermore, compared to individual TCN or LSTM models, the TCN–LSTM coupled model exhibits greater stability and higher prediction accuracy during training, with reductions in mean absolute error and root mean square error by 43.13 and 24.57%, respectively. This model holds promising prospects for application and can provide crucial insights for water resource management.
Exploring the Regulatory Interaction of Differentially Expressed Proteins in Cleft Palate Induced by Retinoic Acid
Authors: Chen Liyun , Ma Aiwei , Jiang Lewen , Fan Jufeng , Jiang Wenshi , Xu Mengjing , Bai Xujue , Zhou Jianda , Zhang Wancong , Tang Shijie
Published: October 2024

Objective:

This study aimed to identify novel proteins involved in retinoic acid (RA)-induced
embryonic cleft palate development.

Method:

The palate tissues of the control and RA-treated E14.5 were dissected and subjected to
iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis.

Results:

Differential expression analysis identified 196 significantly upregulated and 149 downregulated
considerably proteins in RA-induced palate tissues. Comprehensive Gene Ontology and
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed the significant involvement
of cytoplasmic translation, ribosome biogenesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and glutathione
metabolism pathways in cleft palate pathogenesis triggered by RA. In particular, ribosome-related
pathways were highly enriched, while glycolysis was disrupted. Protein-protein interaction analysis,
facilitated by the STRING database, revealed a tightly interconnected network of differentially
expressed proteins. Further analysis using the cytoHubba plugin in Cytoscape identified ten hub
proteins, including Eif4a1, Gapdh, Eno1, Imp3, Rps20, Rps27a, Eef2, Hsp90ab1, Rpl19, and Rps16,
indicating their potential roles in RA-induced cleft palate development, and thus positioning
them as potential biomarkers for cleft palate.

Conclusion:

These findings provide valuable insights into the proteomic changes associated with
RA-induced cleft palate and shed light on key pathways and proteins that can contribute significantly
to the pathogenesis of this congenital condition.
Comparison of the Characteristics of Circulating Small
Extracellular Vesicles Isolated by Ultracentrifugation and a
Commercial Kit
Authors: Afrisham Reza , Farrokhi Vida , Moradi Roya , Alizadeh Shaban
Published: October 2024

Introduction:

The market offers a wide range of extracellular vesicles (EVs)
isolation products, but their lack of standardization is a concern. Therefore, it is important
to carefully assess the quality of the EVs obtained using these products to patent
the ideal method. In this study, we compared the EXOCIB kit with the ultracentrifuge
method, which is considered the gold standard for small EV isolation.

Methods:

After overnight fasting, small plasma EVs were extracted from four individuals
using both the ultracentrifuge and the EXOCIB kit methods. The pooled EVs were
then compared for the presence of the cluster of differentiation 63 (CD63) protein using
the western blot analysis, and their size and zeta potential were performed by Dynamic
Light Scattering (DLS). In addition, the size and morphology of small EVs were determined
by using the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) technique.

Results:

An average hydrodynamic size of 135.7 nm and a zeta potential of -6.33 Mv at
25°C was found for small EVs isolated by the ultracentrifuge, whereas the kit method resulted
in small EVs with a hydrodynamic size of 102.8 nm and a zeta potential of -0.907.
Notably, the size of the particles in the kit samples was smaller compared to those obtained
through the ultracentrifuge (P < 0.001). The western blot method confirmed the
expression of CD63 in both methods, so the ultracentrifuge yielded small EVs with a
higher level of purity compared to the kit-based approach (P = 0.036).

Conclusion:

The DLS findings revealed the existence of vesicles within the appropriate
size range for small EVs like exosomes in both isolation techniques. The results of the
western blot analysis, in conjunction with DLS, displayed that the ultracentrifuge method
extracted small EVs with a greater degree of purity than the kit-based approach.
Decoding Multidrug Resistance: Genetic Architecture and Codon Usage Patterns in ESKAPE Pathogens
Authors: Dahal Ujwal , Bansal Anu , Chitara Dheeraj
Published: October 2024

Introduction:

The escalating challenge of multidrug resistance among
ESKAPE pathogens has become a prominent concern for global healthcare providers,
leading to amplified morbidity and mortality rates.

Methods:

We conducted this study to elucidate the genetic architecture of ESKAPE constituents
with the intent of ameliorating pathogenicity and facilitating drug development
efforts. A comprehensive array of computational tools and statistical methodologies were
employed to scrutinize the genomes of ESKAPE pathogens.

Results:

Translational selection profoundly influences the codon usage bias within this
pathogenic cohort. Notably, leucine emerged as the predominant amino acid, except in the
case of Acinetobacter baumannii, where arginine exhibited preeminence. There was
a universal preference for at least one histidine codon across all ESKAPE pathogens. GpC
emerged as the most prominently overrepresented dinucleotide at the codon pair junction
in all ESKAPE pathogens. Furthermore, a comparison of gyrB gene sequences and phylogenic
tree construction showed a distinct evolutionary relationship between AT-rich and
GC-rich ESKAPE pathogens. Additionally, identification, characterization, and phylogenetic
analysis of multiple antibiotic resistance genes revealed distinct evolutionary relationships.

Conclusion:

It was discerned that despite substantial variability amongst antibiotic resistance
genes of pathogens, leucine emerged as the predominant amino acid.
Dietary Strategy for Cancer Therapy - Amino Acid Restrictions and beyond
Authors: Li Shu-Ang , Kang Jian-Sheng
Published: October 2024

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, cancer is one of
the leading causes of death, particularly in developing countries. The malignant
proliferation and survival of cancer cells rely on the biosyntheses of proteins,
nucleotides, and fatty acids. Accumulating pieces of evidence demonstrate that amino
acid restrictions are valuable for cancer interventions. Meanwhile, folk remedies using
dietary strategies are abused and lack solid rationale. To clarify what, why, and how the
potential strategy is, here, we update and recommend a dietary strategy for cancer
therapy: the intermittent dietary lysine restriction with the normal maize (lysine
deficiency) as an intermittent staple food for days, weeks, or even months, will be a
feasible strategy for cancer intervention. In addition, dietary and immunomodulatory
supplements, such as low protein starchy foods, vegetables, fruit, and mushrooms, may
serve as supplements to satisfy the daily needs of micronutrients and the plethora of
dishes.