bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SynFAGnet: A Fully Automated Generative Network for Realistic Fire Image Generation
Authors: Nguyen Quoc Dung , Mai Ngoc Dau , Nguyen Van Huan , Kakani Vijay , Kim Hakil
Published: February 2024

This paper proposes a fully automated generative network (“SynFAGnet”) for automatically creating a realistic-looking synthetic fire image. SynFAGnet is used as a data augmentation technique to create diverse data for training models, thereby solving problems related to real data acquisition and data imbalances. SynFAGnet comprises two main parts: an object-scene placement net (OSPNet) and a local–global context-based generative adversarial network (LGC-GAN). The OSPNet identifies suitable positions and scales for fires corresponding to the background scene. The LGC-GAN enhances the realistic appearance of synthetic fire images created by a given fire object-background scene pair by assembling effects such as halos and reflections in the surrounding area in the background scene. A comparative analysis shows that SynFAGnet achieves better outcomes than previous studies for both the Fréchet inception distance and learned perceptual image patch similarity evaluation metrics (values of 17.232 and 0.077, respectively). In addition, SynFAGnet is verified as a practically applicable data augmentation technique for training datasets, as it improves the detection and instance segmentation performance.
What motivates Chinese students to study in the UK? A fresh perspective through a ‘small-lens’
Authors: Consoli Sal
Published: February 2024

Chinese students represent a substantial portion of the UK university student population, with most of them being postgraduates. However, whilst the UK remains a top choice for Chinese students seeking to complete a higher degree programme, competition within the global Higher Education (HE) landscape is intensifying. Consequently, popular HE destinations such as the USA and the UK must now contend with growing academic markets in Australia and New Zealand (Marginson, 2006) as well as some non-English speaking countries which offer appealing university degrees through English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) (Mok, 2007). It is therefore salutary to ensure that Chinese students continue to find the UK appealing. This is vitally important both for the economy and the intellectual diversity and talents these students bring to UK HE institutions. This study thus revisits the core motives which drive Chinese students to UK universities. Significantly, unlike other investigations which have treated the topic of motivation rather marginally and through broad research scopes, this paper uses a ‘small-lens approach’ (Ushioda, 2016), which here is operationalised through the combination of practitioner research and narrative analysis. The study therefore focuses on a small group (N = 16) of Chinese students to unpack the nuances of meaning which characterise their initial motivation to study in Britain.
Disease features and management of cardiomyopathies in women
Authors: Aimo Alberto , Morfino Paolo , Arzilli Chiara , Vergaro Giuseppe , Spini Valentina , Fabiani Iacopo , Castiglione Vincenzo , Rapezzi Claudio , Emdin Michele
Published: February 2024

Over the last years, there has been a growing interest in the clinical manifestations and outcomes of cardiomyopathies in women. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is the only women-specific cardiomyopathy. In cardiomyopathies with X-linked transmission, women are not simply healthy carriers of the disorder, but can show a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from mild to severe manifestations because of heterogeneous patterns of X-chromosome inactivation. In mitochondrial disorders with a matrilinear transmission, cardiomyopathy is part of a systemic disorder affecting both men and women. Even some inherited cardiomyopathies with autosomal transmission display phenotypic and prognostic differences between men and women. Notably, female hormones seem to exert a protective role in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and variant transthyretin amyloidosis until the menopausal period. Women with cardiomyopathies holding high-risk features should be referred to a third-level center and evaluated on an individual basis. Cardiomyopathies can have a detrimental impact on pregnancy and childbirth because of the associated hemodynamic derangements. Genetic counselling and a tailored cardiological evaluation are essential to evaluate the likelihood of transmitting the disease to the children and the possibility of a prenatal or early post-natal diagnosis, as well as to estimate the risk associated with pregnancy and delivery, and the optimal management strategies.
The consequences of the 2017 US international tax reform: a survey of the evidence
Authors: Dharmapala Dhammika
Published: February 2024

The 2017 US tax legislation—widely referred to as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA)—fundamentally transformed the US system of international taxation. It ostensibly ended worldwide taxation but introduced, for instance, a new tax on “Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income”. This paper surveys the emerging empirical literature on the impact of the TCJA’s international provisions. It documents five robust findings in this empirical literature. First, the TCJA led to a general decline in US MNCs’ foreign acquisitions. Second, the TCJA increased US MNCs’ investment in routine foreign tangible assets. Third, the reform did not lead to any change in profit shifting by US MNCs beyond the magnitude that would be expected based on the TCJA’s tax rate reduction. Fourth, The TCJA appears to have reduced the market value of US MNCs relative to domestic US firms. Fifth, the TCJA does not appear to have had any detectable impact on domestic US investment and wages (although there are some contrary results for capital expenditures). The welfare implications of these findings depend crucially on whether US MNCs’ are viewed as having engaged in too much or too little foreign activity prior to the TCJA. This depends on the choice of theoretical framework and the relevant normative benchmark, and cannot readily be resolved empirically.
Optimal Transport and Model Predictive Control-based Simultaneous Task Assignment and Trajectory Planning for Unmanned System Swarm
Authors: Wu Xiwei , Xiao Bing , Cao Lu , Huang Haibin
Published: February 2024

This paper presents a simultaneous task assignment and trajectory planning method for unmanned system swarm by using optimal transport and model predictive control (OT-MPC). Unlike the conventional hierarchical assignment and planning, the proposed approach addresses both the task assignment and trajectory planning subproblems concurrently. To be specific, a unified cost function is designed to solve task assignment and trajectory planning problem. Moreover, the multi-tasks are assigned by using optimal transport, which establishes an optimal mapping between tasks and unmanned system vehicles based on transportation cost. The trajectory planning is achieved by using model predictive control, which generates high-quality navigation trajectories considering obstacle avoidance. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the unmanned surface vehicles swarm. Numerical simulations and experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Dynamic View of the Challenge-Hindrance Stressor Framework: a Meta-Analysis of Daily Diary Studies
Authors: Pindek Shani , Meyer Kailey , Valvo Austin , Arvan Maryana
Published: February 2024

Are some daily job stressors good for employees? The challenge-hindrance stressor framework (CHSF) attempts to shed light on this question by categorizing stressors according to their ability to facilitate (challenge stressors) or inhibit (hindrance stressors) growth and achievement. According to the CHSF, challenge stressors should be associated with increased performance, but also with increased strain which subsequently hurts performance. Conversely, hindrance stressors should be associated with reduced performance both directly and indirectly via strain. Prior meta-analytic investigations have focused on more stable job stressors (using cross-sectional or longitudinal primary studies), and found contradicting resulted in support of the CHSF predictions. In the current meta-analysis, we tested the validity of the CHSF using a more dynamic view of stressors, by applying it to short-term, daily experiences of stressors, strains, and performance outcomes. Results from 78 unique samples indicated that at the within-person level, hindrance stressors have both a direct and an indirect (via strain) short-term effect on performance. Challenge stressors have a positive direct effect on performance but a negative indirect effect via strain. Furthermore, we examined two performance indicators separately: task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). The results revealed that challenge stressors have a stronger positive association with OCB than with task performance. Hindrance stressors exhibited the opposite pattern, a stronger negative association with task performance than with OCB. The results of this study suggest that all daily stressors result in strain, which negatively relates to performance, though challenge stressors also have some positive effects on daily performance.
Template-Based Image Reconstruction Facing Different Topologies
Authors: Neumayer Sebastian , Topalovic Antonia
Published: February 2024

The reconstruction of images from measured data is an increasing field of research. For highly under-determined problems, template-based image reconstruction provides a way of compensating for the lack of sufficient data. A caveat of this approach is that dealing with different topologies of the template and the target image is challenging. In this paper, we propose a LDDMM-based image-reconstruction model that resolves this issue by adding a source term. On the theoretical side, we show that the model satisfies all criteria for being a well-posed regularization method. For the implementation, we pursue a discretize-then-optimize approach involving the proximal alternating linearized minimization algorithm, which is known to converge under mild assumptions. Our simulations with both artificial and real data confirm the robustness of the method, and its ability to successfully deal with topology changes even if the available amount of data is very limited.
Enhancing the Sustainability of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA) Through Ketene-Based Chain Extension
Authors: Alkan Goksu Yonca
Published: February 2024

The widespread utilization of nonrenewable fossil-based polymers has led to significant environmental damage. Bio-based Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has garnered substantial academic and industrial interest in the last two decades due to its advantageous characteristics for food packaging applications. Nonetheless, the improper disposal of PLA continues to contribute to the plastic waste problem. PLA recycling mainly involves thermal processes, facing challenges due to PLA’s limited stability. This study aims to enhance PLA’s molecular weight and melt viscosity by using chain extenders to increase its degree of branching. A modular chain extender capable of thermally forming highly reactive ketene intermediates is employed to react with PLA’s hydroxyl and carboxyl end groups in a single step. For this purpose, copolymers of styrene and 2,2,5-trimethyl-5-(4-vinylbenzyl)-1,3-dioxane-4,6-dione were synthesized using free radical polymerization and characterized through 1H-NMR, TGA, and DSC analyses. The chemical interaction between these chain extenders and molten PLA was also explored, resulting in increased PLA molecular weight and higher melting temperature (Tm), reaching 155.1 for PLA_2.5CE2. Additionally, the branching introduced through this process led to a notable increase in the UV absorption of PLA, suggesting potential applications in the packaging industry. The chemical tunability of this functional ketene-based chain extender holds promise for tailoring PLA’s structure for diverse applications, further advancing its sustainability and utility.

Graphical Abstract
A population pharmacokinetics model of balovaptan to support dose selection in adult and pediatric populations
Authors: Schaedeli Stark Franziska , Chavanne Clarisse , Derks Michael , Jolling Koen , Lagraauw Hendrik Maxime , Lindbom Lars , Prins Klaas , Silber Baumann Hanna E.
Published: February 2024

Balovaptan is a brain-penetrating vasopressin receptor 1a antagonist previously investigated for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A population pharmacokinetic (PK) model of balovaptan was developed, initially to assist clinical dosing for adult and pediatric ASD studies and subsequently for new clinical indications including malignant cerebral edema (MCE) and post-traumatic stress disorder. The final model incorporates one-compartment disposition and describes time- and dose-dependent non-linear PK through empirical drug binding and a gut extraction component with turnover. An age effect on clearance observed in children was modeled by an asymptotic function that predicts adult-equivalent exposures at 40% of the adult dose for children aged 2–4 years, 70% for 5–9 years, and at the full adult dose for ≥ 10 years. The model was adapted for intravenous (IV) balovaptan dosing and combined with in vitro and ex vivo pharmacodynamic data to simulate brain receptor occupancy as a guide for dosing in a phase II trial of MCE prophylaxis after acute ischemic stroke. A sequence of three stepped-dose daily infusions of 50, 25 and 15 mg over 30 or 60 min was predicted to achieve a target occupancy of ≥ 80% in ≥ 95% of patients over a 3-day period. This model predicts both oral and IV balovaptan exposure across a wide age range and will be a valuable tool to analyze and predict its PK in new indications and target populations, including pediatric patients.
A method to predict connectivity for nomadic waterbird species from tracking data
Authors: Nicol Sam , Lloyd-Jones Luke , McGinness Heather M.
Published: February 2024

Context

Nomadic waterbird species move erratically, which makes it difficult to predict site use and connectivity over time. This is particularly pertinent for long-distance movements, during which birds may move between sites hundreds to thousands of kilometres apart.

Objectives

This study aimed to understand how landscape and weather influence long-distance waterbird movements, to predict the probability of connectivity between locations and forecast short-term movements for a nomadic species, the straw-necked ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) in Australia’s Murray–Darling basin.

Methods

We used 3.5 years of satellite tracking data together with high-resolution landscape and weather variables to model the expected distance travelled under environmental scenarios for long-distance movements. We generated least-cost paths between locations of interest and simulated the probability that birds could exceed the least cost-distance as a measure of connectivity. We also generated short-term forecasts (1–3 days; conditional on departure) of the probability of bird occurrence at a location given the expected environmental conditions.

Results

Our results suggested that wind is the dominant predictor of distance travelled during long-distance movements, with significant but smaller effects from month. Birds travelled further when wind benefit was higher and during summer. Further work is required to validate our forecasts of bird positions over short time periods.

Conclusions

Our method infers the predictors of poorly understood movements of nomadic birds during flight. Understanding how partial migrants use landscapes at large scales will help to protect birds and the landscapes where they live.
A fault detection strategy for an ePump during EOL tests based on a knowledge-based vibroacoustic tool and supervised machine learning classifiers
Authors: Borriello Pasquale , Tessicini Fabrizio , Ricucci Giuseppe , Frosina Emma , Senatore Adolfo
Published: February 2024

This paper presents a methodology for identifying faulty components in an electric pump during the end-of-line test based on accelerations and pressure pulsation data used to train an ensemble learning algorithm based on supervised machine learning classifiers. Despite various quality control measures in pump manufacturing, some out-of-tolerance components can pass through and end up on the assembly line, potentially leading to premature failure or abnormal noise during real-field operation. Because of the high impact, it is very important to put in place actions to mitigate the risk of delivering non-conform units, even if properly working in terms of pressure-flow rate performances. In this paper, an innovative knowledge-based vibroacoustic tool together with a machine learning built-in Python® library have been used to post-process acceleration and pressure pulsations data to generate features, which are then used to train, and test several supervised machine learning algorithms. The ensemble learning algorithm combines the best classifiers to identify healthy electric pump units with high accuracy, achieving above 95% accuracy in an experimental test campaign carried out on eighty electric pumps. Results are compared using principal component analysis for dimensionality reduction, and a sensor sensitivity study is conducted.
Trajectory-based alignment for optical see-through HMD calibration
Authors: Chen Lingling , Zhao Shaohua , Chen Wei , Shi Zhongchen , Xie Liang , Yan Ye , Yin Erwei
Published: February 2024

In order to align the virtual and real content precisely through augmented reality devices, especially in optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMD), it is necessary to calibrate the device before using it. However, most existing methods estimated the parameters via 3D-2D correspondences based on the 2D alignment, which is cumbersome, time-consuming, theoretically complex, and results in insufficient robustness. To alleviate this issue, in this paper, we propose an efficient and simple calibration method based on the principle of directly calculating the projection transformation between virtual space and the real world via 3D-3D alignment. The proposed method merely needs to record the motion trajectory of the cube-marker in the real and virtual world, and then calculate the transformation matrix between the virtual space and the real world by aligning the two trajectories in the observed view. There are two advantages associated with the proposed method. First, the operation is simple. Theoretically, the user only needs to perform four alignment operations for calibration without changing the rotation variation. Second, the trajectory can be easily distributed throughout the entire observation view, resulting in more robust calibration results. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted extensive experiments on our self-built optical see-through head-mounted display (OST-HMD) device. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve better calibration results than other calibration methods.
Real-time diabetic foot ulcer classification based on deep learning & parallel hardware computational tools
Authors: Fadhel Mohammed A. , Alzubaidi Laith , Gu Yuantong , Santamaría Jose , Duan Ye
Published: February 2024

Meeting the rising global demand for healthcare diagnostic tools is crucial, especially with a shortage of medical professionals. This issue has increased interest in utilizing deep learning (DL) and telemedicine technologies. DL, a branch of artificial intelligence, has progressed due to advancements in digital technology and data availability and has proven to be effective in solving previously challenging learning problems. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) show potential in image detection and recognition, particularly in healthcare applications. However, due to their resource-intensiveness, they surpass the capabilities of general-purpose CPUs. Therefore, hardware accelerators such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and graphics processing units (GPUs) have been developed. With their parallelism efficiency and energy-saving capabilities, FPGAs have gained popularity for DL networks. This research aims to automate the classification of normal and abnormal (specifically Diabetic Foot Ulcer—DFU) classes using various parallel hardware accelerators. The study introduces two CNN models, namely DFU_FNet and DFU_TFNet. DFU_FNet is a simple model that extracts features used to train classifiers like SVM and KNN. On the other hand, DFU_TFNet is a deeper model that employs transfer learning to test hardware efficiency on both shallow and deep models. DFU_TFNet has outperformed AlexNet, VGG16, and GoogleNet benchmarks with an accuracy 99.81%, precision 99.38% and F1-Score 99.25%. In addition, the study evaluated two high-performance computing platforms, GPUs and FPGAs, for real-time system requirements. The comparison of processing time and power consumption revealed that while GPUs outpace FPGAs in processing speed, FPGAs exhibit significantly lower power consumption than GPUs.
Irrigation Water Management in a Water-Scarce Environment in the Context of Climate Change
Authors: Gabr Mohamed Elsayed , Awad Ahmed , Farres Hesham N.
Published: February 2024

Climate change has a considerable impact on irrigated agriculture, which is vital for food and fiber production. In this study, in the context of climate change, simulation model CROPWAT 8 was employed to compute the reference evapotranspiration, and net irrigation water requirement for wheat, barley, maize, sugar beet, potato, tomato, and date palm. In addition, the WaterGEMS model was utilized to design a new sprinkler irrigation system to run long-term simulations of hydraulic behavior within pressurized pipe networks to irrigate 43 acres for two arid sites (Siwa Oasis and West Elminya fields) inside the 1.5-million-acre groundwater irrigation project in the Egyptian western desert. Five scenarios for climate change were employed in the current (1991–2023), representative concentration path (RCP) 8.5 greenhouse gas emission scenarios for the 2040s, 2060s, 2080s, and 2100s. Mean ETo values for the current scenario show 4.56 and 5.7 mm for the Siwa Oasis and West Elminya fields, respectively. The climate changes cause an increase of the reference evapotranspiration by 4.6, 5.9, 9.4, and 12.7% for RCP: 8.5 greenhouse gas emissions for the 2040s, 2060s, 2080s, and 2100s scenarios, respectively, for the Siwa Oasis field. On the other hand, an increased ratio for the reference evapotranspiration by 4.2, 5.4, 8.6, and 11.6% was observed for the scenarios in the West Elminya field, respectively. The designed sprinkler system indicated a capacity of 111.4 m3 h−1 and 167 m3 h−1 for Siwa and West Elminya fields, respectively. The study suggests using crop patterns for wheat, barley, potato, and sugar beet to save irrigation water.

Graphical abstract
Performance Evaluation of Spectral Efficiency Hybrid Precoding and Combining Algorithm for Millimeter Wave -MIMO Systems
Authors: Samir Youstina Nagy , Nafea Hala B. , Zaki Fayez Wanis
Published: February 2024

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system with Millimeter Wave spectrum is currently used in most wireless applications and all cellular system to provides high data rates. with using large antenna array which is possible by decrease the wavelength to achieve high beamforming gain and improve the spectral efficiency. in this paper, used low complexity with hybrid precoding at the transmitting side and combining at the receiver side with limited feedback system, by using the concept of orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) in single and multi-user cases, and compared the results with analog only beasmstring. The results of simulation showed that when used Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) precoders performed better than other hybrid precoding approaches, in addition the MMSE hybrid precoding /combining technique offers higher spectral efficiency compared with analog only beamstring.
How to explain social innovation in elderly care services: The role of for-profit and non-profit social enterprises
Authors: Guzmán Carmen , Santos Francisco J. , Savall Teresa
Published: February 2024

Social innovation and social enterprise are two major factors in addressing the challenges of population ageing since both are aimed at solving social problems. One of these challenges involves providing quality care services for the elderly. However, few studies have analysed how social enterprises can promote or manage social innovations in this sector. This research therefore studies said relationship, paying particular attention to the for-profit and non-profit nature of social enterprises. Specifically, to test the hypotheses, we use data from a survey of nursing homes in southern Spain, where care services are expanding with the support of welfare state social policies. The results show that non-profit social enterprises tend to develop more social innovations in care services, and that the social mission and participative governance positively influence the implementation of social innovations in this activity sector. Consequently, implications for social policies are suggested to better meet the needs of the elderly.
Counterexamples to the MMP for 1-foliations in positive characteristic
Authors: Bernasconi Fabio
Published: February 2024

We show that many statements of the Minimal Model Program, including the cone theorem, the base point free theorem and the existence of Mori fibre spaces, fail for 1-foliated surface pairs $$(X,\mathcal {F})$$

(
X
,
F
)

with canonical singularities in characteristic $$p>0$$

p
>
0

.
A practical tool to enable Indigenous enterprise planning and development grounded in culture
Authors: Maclean Kirsten , Rist Phil , Rassip Whitney , Prudames Nicole
Published: February 2024

Globally, Indigenous people seek to develop sustainable livelihood options that enable them to practice their culture, look after their traditional estates and generate economic development outcomes for their wider community. Enterprise development can and may provide one such pathway. However, challenges can arise with regard to reconciling the core drivers of ‘economic development’ with aspirations to practice and preserve culture. Current enterprise development approaches and models do not always suit Indigenous contexts. In this paper, we present a practical tool to enable Indigenous leaders, their partners, and others, to consider enterprise development options grounded in culture that may generate multiple benefits including economic outcomes. Our tool combines critical review of alternative development models, with empirical research to outline a set of foundational principles, building blocks and potential enterprise development options. We apply the practical tool to a case study of a nascent enterprise from the northern Australia Indigenous-led bush products sector. The case study illustrates how enterprise development planning is integral and discussions should consider how to enable cultural governance, protection of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, potential benefits and sharing, access to resources, as well as the ‘building blocks’ for enterprise development and consideration of different enterprise approaches. The practical tool aims to ensure development pathways build on local economies and ecologies, do not compromise culture and recognise the influence of extra-local political economies on lived experiences and outcomes.
Tadpoles Develop Elevated Heat Tolerance in Urban Heat Islands Regardless of Sex
Authors: Bókony Veronika , Balogh Emese , Ujszegi János , Ujhegyi Nikolett , Szederkényi Márk , Hettyey Attila
Published: February 2024

The ability of wildlife to endure the effects of high temperatures is increasingly important for biodiversity conservation under climate change and spreading urbanization. Organisms living in urban heat islands can have elevated heat tolerance via phenotypic or transgenerational plasticity or microevolution. However, the prevalence and mechanisms of such thermal adaptations are barely known in aquatic organisms. Furthermore, males and females can differ in heat tolerance, which may lead to sex-biased mortality, yet it is unknown how sex differences in thermal biology influence urban phenotypic divergence. To address these knowledge gaps, we measured critical thermal maxima (CTmax) in male and female agile frog (Rana dalmatina) tadpoles captured from warm urban ponds and cool woodland ponds, and in a common-garden experiment where embryos collected from both habitat types were raised in the laboratory. We found higher CTmax in urban-dwelling tadpoles compared to their counterparts living in woodland ponds. This difference was reversed in the common-garden experiment: tadpoles originating from urban ponds had lower CTmax than tadpoles originating from woodland ponds. We found no effect of sex on CTmax or its difference between habitats. These results demonstrate that aquatic amphibian larvae can respond to the urban heat island effect with increased heat tolerance similarly to other, mostly terrestrial taxa studied so far, and that phenotypic plasticity may be the main driver of this response. Our findings also suggest that heat-induced mortality may be independent of sex in tadpoles, but research is needed in many more taxa to explore potentially sex-dependent urban thermal responses.
Movement efficiency in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from the St. Jude lifetime cohort study
Authors: Onerup Aron , Mirzaei S. Sedigheh , Wogksch Matthew D. , Goodenough Chelsea G. , Lambert Genevieve , Sapkota Yadav , Mulrooney Daniel A. , Hudson Melissa M. , Jacola Lisa M. , Ness Kirsten K.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Movement efficiency, a measure of neuromuscular biomechanics, may be modified by physical activity. We aimed to assess the risk of and risk factors for low movement efficiency in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Methods

Participants underwent an assessment of activity energy expenditure (AEE) with actigraphy, and the gold standard doubly labeled water, where the differences between elimination rates of oxygen and hydrogen from body water are evaluated over a week. Movement efficiency was assessed using the raw residuals of a linear regression between AEEs from accelerometers and doubly labeled water. Elastic-net logistic regressions were used to identify demographic, treatment, and functional variables associated with movement efficiency.

Results

The study cohort included 256 non-cancer controls and 302 ALL survivors (48% female), categorized as efficient (N = 24), normal (N = 245), or inefficient (N = 33) based on their movement efficiency. There was no difference in the odds for poor movement efficiency between survivors (n = 33, 10.9%) compared to controls (n = 23, 9.0%, odds ratio [OR]: 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67, 2.10; p = 0.55). In survivors, neuropathy was associated with a higher risk of being inefficient compared to efficient (OR 4.30, 95% CI 1.03–17.96), while obesity (≥ 30 kg/m2) had a protective association (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.04–0.87).

Conclusions

Neuropathy was associated with a higher risk of poor movement efficiency in survivors of childhood ALL.

Implications for cancer survivors

These results further highlight impairments associated with treatment-induced neuropathy in survivors of childhood ALL.
Reversible Elevation of Tryptase Over the Individual's Baseline: Why is It the Best Biomarker for Severe Systemic Mast Cell Activation and MCAS?
Authors: Valent Peter , Akin Cem , Arock Michel
Published: February 2024

Purpose of Review

Mast cell (MC) activation syndromes (MCAS) are conditions defined by recurrent episodes of severe systemic anaphylaxis or similar systemic events triggered by MC-derived mediators that can be measured in biological fluids. Since some symptoms of MC activation may occur due to other, non-MC etiologies and lead to confusion over diagnosis, it is of crucial importance to document the involvement of MC and their products in the patients´ symptomatology.

Recent Findings

The most specific and generally accepted marker of severe systemic MC activation is an event-related, transient increase in the serum tryptase level over the individual baseline of the affected individual. However, baseline concentrations of serum tryptase vary among donors, depending on the genetic background, age, kidney function, and underlying disease. As a result, it is of critical importance to provide a flexible equation that defines the diagnostic increase in tryptase qualifying as MCAS criterion in all patients, all situations, and all ranges of baseline serum tryptase. In 2012, the consensus group proposed the 120% + 2 ng/ml formula, which covers the great majority of groups, including cases with low, normal, or elevated basal serum tryptase level.

This formula has been validated in subsequent studies and has proven to be a robust and consistent diagnostic criterion of MCAS. The present article is discussing the impact of this formula and possible limitations as well as alternative markers and mediators that may be indicative of MCAS.
The Dynamics of Inequality and Poverty Among Children in Colombia During the COVID-19 Recession
Authors: Wang Zuobao , Chen Yao , Lin Tianrun , Xing Xinyi
Published: February 2024

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income, inequality, and poverty levels among Colombian children between 2019 and 2020, using data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database. The income distribution and changes among Colombian children are analyzed using the probability density function and growth incidence curve. The paper utilizes the Foster–Greer–Thorbecke methodology to measure child poverty in Colombia, decomposes the contributions of different subgroups to child poverty and its changes, and conducts a growth-distribution decomposition of changes in child poverty. The study also employs income-source decomposition to examine the contributions of different income sources to child inequality and its changes. The results show that Colombian children experienced a decline in income, an increase in inequality, and higher levels of poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children from households with higher dependency ratios and those living in rural areas were more likely to experience poverty. The main driver of increased poverty among Colombian children was decreased income, and there was a significant worsening of inequality for ultra-poor children. Labor income emerged as the primary source of inequality and its changes, whereas capital income and private transfers played a role in reducing poverty. However, public social benefits slightly increased inequality levels. Overall, the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is antipoor but pro-ultra-poor. To address similar recessions in the future, the government should expand public transfer payments especially programs targeting children to reduce income inequality and alleviate poverty among children, and bolster the provision of public services essential for children’s development.
Applicability of Utilizing Remote Sensing Rainfall Products Data in Arid and Semi-Arid Poorly Gauged Catchments: Study of Wadi Ghoweiba Watershed, Egypt
Authors: Abu El Ella Elsayed M. , Abbas Abdullah A. , Mohamed Hassan I.
Published: February 2024

Due to the scarcity of established rain gauge stations, obtaining continuous time series daily rainfall observation data is a major challenge. The availability of these data is very essential to conduct hydrological studies and predicting flood events. Nowadays, several satellites could be used to provide such data. This study aims to investigate the appropriate remote sensing (RS) rainfall product and use its data to develop frequency analysis and intensity–duration–frequency curve (IDF curve) at 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 200-year return periods in the study area. The evaluation of the PERSIANN family products (PERSIANN, PERSIANN-CCS, PERSIANN-CDR, and PDIR-Now) with NASA-POWER datasets compared to the available annual maximum of daily observation rainfall in Suez Rain Gauge (SRG) station as a reference was conducted. The results show that the PERSIANN-CDR product is the appropriate satellite-based rainfall dataset product based on the outcomes of the comparison criteria (RMSE, Bias, CC, and R2 error measures) of rainfall characteristics analysis and Chi-squared test of distributions. The frequency analysis results confirmed that the values of about 30.3–38.6 and 40–53.3 mm/day corresponding to the biggest flood reported in 1965 and 2020 in SRG station and PERSIANN-CDR product have a return period of 50–100 years, classifying it as an extreme event in Wadi Ghoweiba. These findings would considerably benefit decision-makers in estimating flood risks and planning the appropriate structure protections in the Wadi Ghoweiba Watershed.
Heat transfer effect on the modeling of jets under supercritical and transcritical conditions
Authors: Magalhães Leandro B. , Silva André R. , Barata Jorge M.
Published: February 2024

The injection of nitrogen under supercritical and transcritical conditions, where the injection temperature is below nitrogen’s critical point, but the pressure is above it, is considered in this paper. While the scientific community recognizes that the sharp gradients of the different thermophysical parameters make it inappropriate to employ a two-phase flow modeling at conditions above the critical point, the issue is not restrained to the mere representation of turbulence for a mono-phase flow. Instead, a quantitative similarity with gas-jet-like behavior led to proposing an incompressible but variable density hypothesis suitable for describing supercritical and sub/near-critical conditions. Presently, such an approach is extended and assessed for a configuration including injector heat transfer. As such, axial density and temperature decay rates and jet spreading rates of density and temperature are evaluated, indicating a higher mixing efficiency in the supercritical regime and an overall dominance of heat propagation over momentum transport, with a greater preponderance in the supercritical regime.
An enhanced Benders decomposition method for unique shortest path routing
Authors: Zhang Changyong
Published: February 2024

With the aim of looking into a comparatively more efficient solution approach for the unique shortest path routing problem, an alternative problem formulation to a counterpart is first introduced. The model is mathematically equivalent to the counterpart concerning both the feasibility and optimality of the problem. By exploring the constraint structures and model sizes of the two formulations, the former is identified to be a more appropriate one for a decomposition algorithm to solve the problem. An enhanced Benders decomposition method, embedded with redundancy generation strategy, is then proposed, based on the study of problem properties of network flow problems.
A Mixed-Methods Study of Compassionate Mind Training for Pupils (CMT-Pupils) as a School-Based Wellbeing Intervention
Authors: Maratos Frances A. , Wood Wendy , Cahill Rory , Tronco Hernández Yessica Abigail , Matos Marcela , Gilbert Paul
Published: February 2024

Objectives

Mental health difficulties in children are increasing, especially following transition from elementary to high-school education. In attempts to mitigate risk of these difficulties, proactive wellbeing interventions are becoming increasingly explored in school settings. Recently, Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) has been shown to be well-accepted and efficacious in promoting school staff wellbeing and prosocial behaviours. This paper outlines the impact of CMT as a pupil wellbeing intervention.

Method

Sixty-seven pupils aged 11–12 took part in either Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons as usual (n=30), or CMT-Pupils (n=37) as their PSHE lessons, over a 5-week period. A mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative design was utilised to explore implementation and curricula effectiveness across several wellbeing parameters (e.g., anxiety, self-compassion, perfectionism, moods and feelings, self-esteem).

Results

Pupils reported positively on their experiences of the CMT-Pupils lessons, content and practices. Quantitative analyses revealed a significant time-by-group interaction effect for anxiety, reflecting differences in anxiety post CMT-Pupils vs. PSHE as usual. No further interactions reached significance. Qualitative analyses revealed benefits of CMT-Pupils for pupil and classroom behaviour, including emotion regulation, kindness to others and feelings of inclusion. Benefits were also found to extend to the class teachers.

Conclusions

CMT-pupils could be a promising school-based wellbeing intervention for improving prosocial behaviours, the classroom environment and protecting against deteriorations in child mental health. Larger scale explorations of CMT-Pupils across wider demographics, including investigation of who can deliver the curriculum efficaciously (e.g., teachers vs. external facilitators), are suggested as next steps for investigation.

Preregistration

This study was not preregistered.
APOB is a potential prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Lin Zhifeng , Ji Xiaohui , Tian Nana , Gan Yu , Ke Li
Published: February 2024

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is significantly associated with adverse prognostic outcomes. The development and progression of different types of human tumors are significantly influenced by APOB. Nevertheless, the significance and pathomechanisms of APOB in HCC have not been conclusively determined. We assessed APOB expression levels in HCC using three publicly available databases of TIMER2.0, UALCAN and Human Protein Atlas. To identify the biological function of APOB, we conducted enrichment analysis via LinkedOmics. Moreover, UALCAN was employed to assess the relationship between APOB expression and clinicopathological features among HCC patients. Additionally, the Kaplan–Meier plotter was utilized to investigate the prognostic relevance of APOB in HCC. To explore potential regulatory ncRNAs that could bind to APOB, we utilized StarBase and GEPIA. Furthermore, the correlation between APOB expression and immune cell infiltration, as well as immune checkpoint genes, was investigated using Spearman's correlation analysis in TISIDB, GEPIA, and TIMER2.0. The findings of our investigation showed a notable decrease in the expression levels of APOB among individuals diagnosed with HCC. Moreover, a noteworthy correlation was observed between the expression of APOB and immune checkpoint genes, alongside the occurrence of immune cell infiltration. The levels of APOB expression in HCC tissues also showed correlations with various clinicopathological features. According to Cox regression analysis, decreased APOB expression emerged as a potential autonomous predictor for OS, RFS, DSS, and PFS among HCC patients. Furthermore, we identified six potential pathways associated with non-coding RNA (ncRNA) as the most promising pathway for APOB in HCC. Our results illuminate the possible involvement of APOB in HCC and offer understanding into its governing mechanisms and medical importance.
Intratumoral metastasis of sigmoid colon cancer to chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: a case report
Authors: Sakai Suzuna , Ohba Kojiro , Migita Kazunari , Sekine Ichiro , Yamazaki Yasuto
Published: February 2024

We herein report an extremely rare case of intratumoral metastasis of colon cancer to chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. A 71-year-old woman was diagnosed with lung metastasis of sigmoid colon cancer and underwent sigmoid colon resection with D3 lymph node dissection. Preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed a left renal tumor; however, colon resection was prioritized, and the renal tumor was placed under observation. Two years later, CT revealed enlargement of the left renal tumor, and laparoscopic partial left nephrectomy was performed 1 month later. Histopathologic examination showed that the resected renal tumor was a chromophobe renal cell carcinoma with intratumoral metastasis of colon cancer to the renal tumor center, and adjuvant chemotherapy with bevacizumab plus SOX (L-OHP + S-1) was initiated. Because of severe chemotherapy-induced fatigue and nausea, the patient was switched to bevacizumab + S-1. However, the patient’s nausea did not improve after this change, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was discontinued at the patient’s request 4 months after the partial nephrectomy. Two months after discontinuation of chemotherapy, CT showed no renal recurrence; however, increased lung metastases and a new bone metastasis in the left sciatic bone were observed. Palliative treatment was then initiated because of severe adverse events that made it difficult to continue treatment. In patients who have multiple cancers and an increase in renal tumor size, the possibility of intratumoral metastasis to the renal tumor should be considered.
Knowledge mapping of trends and hotspots in the field of exercise and cognition research over the past decade
Authors: Zhu Ying-Hai , Hu Peng , Luo Ya-Xi , Yao Xiu-Qing
Published: February 2024

Exercise elicits a wide range of physiological responses in mammalian tissues that enhance a broad range of functions, particularly in improving cognitive performance. However, the field lacks a comprehensive bibliometric analysis that clarifies its knowledge structure and research hotspots. This study aims to address this gap and map the research landscape regarding the role of exercise in cognitive function enhancement. Firstly, the frequencies and co-occurrence of keywords were analysed to identify six main clusters: aging, cognitive impairment, rehabilitation, obesity, fatigue, and hippocampus. Secondly, reference timeline co-citation analysis revealed that hippocampus and aging were the major bursts with high intensity and long attention span while children had recently emerged as a topical subject. Finally, the evolution of themes from 2012 to 2022 was analysed, and found that older adults had been the leading research theme for exercise affecting cognition. Childhood obesity was an emerging theme that attracted increasing research attention in recent years while the hippocampus research theme expanded rapidly during the decade but remained a niche topic with less relevance to others. This research identified and summarised research priorities and evolutionary trends in exercise to improve cognition by constructing knowledge networks through visual analysis. It provides researchers with a comprehensive insight into the current state of the field to facilitate further research.
ICDM-GEHC: identifying cancer driver module based on graph embedding and hierarchical clustering
Authors: Deng Shiyu , Wu Jingli , Li Gaoshi , Liu Jiafei , Zhao Yumeng
Published: February 2024

Due to the high heterogeneity of cancers, it is rather essential to explore driver modules with the help of gene mutation data as well as known interactions between genes/proteins. Unfortunately, latent false positive interactions are inevitable in the Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network. Hence in the presented method, a new weight evaluation index, based on the gene-microRNA network as well as somatic mutation profile, is introduced for weighting the PPI network first. Subsequently, the vertices in the weighted PPI network are hierarchically clustered by measuring the Mahalanobis distance of their feature vectors, extracted with the graph embedding method Node2vec. Finally, a heuristic process with dropping and extracting is conducted on the gene clusters to produce a group of gene modules. Numerous experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits superior performance to four cutting-edge identification methods in most cases regarding the capability of recognizing the acknowledged cancer-related genes, generating modules having relatively high coverage and mutual exclusivity, and are significantly enriched for specific types of cancers. The majority of the genes in the identified modules are involved in cancer-related signaling pathways, or have been reported to be carcinogenic in the literature. Furthermore, many cancer related genes detected by the proposed method are actually omitted by the four comparison methods, which has been verified in the experiments.