bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Bacterial Hand Contamination and Associated Factors Among Food Handlers Working in Catering Establishments of Hosanna Town, Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia, 2023
Authors: Woime Ashenafi
Published: March 2024

Background: - Hands are the major source of contamination, which can never be totally free of microorganisms, especially bacteria. Food can become contaminated by dirty hands if there is a lack of proper hygiene among the food handlers when handling food. Human hands are in regular contact with the surrounding environment, and a variety of pathogens can reach the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, eyes, and genitals of humans through the hands and consequently contribute to foodborne illness outbreaks.
Objective: This study assessed bacterial hand contamination and associated factors among food handlers working in catering establishments in Hossana Town, South Ethiopia.
Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among food handlers at catering establishments in Hosanna town, Hadiya zone, South Ethiopia, from March 2023 to May 2023. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to allocate study participants into their catering establishment, and then a random sampling technique was applied to recruit participants. After getting signed consent, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic and potential risk factors. Data was entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using the SPSS version 20 statistical package, and descriptive statistics were used to describe variables. Chi-square was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable.
Result: The overall prevalence of bacterial positivity is 18/156 (11.5%), and among the identified bacterial isolates, 10/156 (6.4%) were Staphylococcus aurous, followed by Escherichia coli (5/156 (3.2%)), and 3/156 (1.9%) were Salmonella typhi. The isolated pathogens had associations with those who were not trained in food preparation and handling, those who had no clean nails observed, poor hand washing after sneezing, poor hand washing after touching waste, and those who had no habit of hand washing after latrine usage (defecation) (p < 0.001).
The finding implies the need for strengthening the personal hygiene and redressal training of food handlers on personal hygiene guidelines to improve practice during food processing.
Kidney Transplant Outcomes in Children with Simultaneous Versus Sequential Heart-Kidney Transplant
Authors: Mahajan Ruchi Gupta , Evans Michael D , Kizilbash Sarah J
Published: March 2024

Background
Heart transplant recipients frequently require kidney transplantation for concomitant advanced chronic kidney disease. Data on simultaneous (heart and kidney transplants performed simultaneously) versus sequential (heart transplant performed before kidney) heart-kidney transplants in children are limited. Herein, we compare kidney transplant outcomes between the two groups.
Method
We used the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to identify all pediatric (age < 21 years) heart transplant recipients who also received a kidney transplant within 10 years of the heart transplant. We divided the study cohort into simultaneous heart-kidney and sequential heart-kidney recipients. We compared patient and death-censored graft survival using the Cox regression, adjusting for age at kidney transplant, sex, race, pre-transplant dialysis, donor type, and prior kidney transplant. We evaluated delayed graft function (defined as dialysis within the first week posttransplant) using logistic regression.
Results
Our analysis cohort included 165 recipients (86 simultaneous and 79 sequential). The incidence of delayed graft function was higher in simultaneous recipients (22.4% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.017), but the difference lost statistical significance on multivariable analysis. We found no difference in patient survival (aHR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.39, 2.41; p = 0.95) after the kidney transplant but higher death-censored kidney graft survival in sequential heart-kidney recipients compared with simultaneous heart-kidney recipients (aHR: 4.26; 95% CI: 1.21, 14.9; p = 0.02).
Conclusion
Sequential heart-kidney transplants are associated with higher death-censored kidney allograft survival compared with simultaneous heart-kidney transplants in children.
TFC-SpeechFormer: Efficient Emotion Recognition Based on Deep Speech Analysis and Hierarchical Progressive Structures
Authors: Wei Wei , Zhang Bingkun
Published: March 2024

Speech emotion recognition aims to automatically identify emotions in human speech, enabling machines to understand and engage emotional communication. In recent years, Transformers have demonstrated strong adaptability and significant effectiveness in speech recognition. However, Transformer models are proficient at capturing local features, struggle to extract fine-grained details, and often lead to computational redundancy, increasing time complexity. This paper proposes a Speech Emotion Recognition model named Temporal Fusion Convolution SpeechFormer (TFCS).The model comprises a Hybrid Convolutional Extractor (HCE) and multiple Temporal Fusion Convolution SpeechFormer Blocks (TFCSBs). HCE, consisting of an encoder and convolutional modules, enhances speech signals to capture local features and texture information, extracting frame-level features. TFCSBs utilize a newly proposed Temporal Fusion Convolution Module and Speech Multi-Head Attention Module to capture correlations between adjacent elements in speech sequences. TFCSBs utilize feature information captured by HCE to sequentially form frame, phoneme, word, and sentence structures, and integrates them to establish global and local relationships, enhancing local data capture and computational efficiency. Performance evaluation on the IEMOCAP and DAIC-WOZ datasets demonstrates the effectiveness of HCE in extracting fine-grained local speech features, with TFCS outperforming Transformer and other advanced models overall.
Assessing the causal association between human blood metabolites and grip strength：a mendelian randomization analysis
Authors: Zeng Li , Xie Qin , Liu Shasha , Wu Caojie , Li Ying , Zhang Min
Published: March 2024

Background
Metabolic disturbance has been reported in patients with sarcopenia. However, evidence about the causal role of metabolites in preventing sarcopenia is lacking. Systematic investigations of the causal relationships between blood metabolites and sarcopenia could help to identify novel targets for sarcopenia screening and prevention.
Methods
We conducted univariate and multivariable mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. The data for 486 human blood metabolites were obtained from a genome‑wide association study (GWAS) comprising 7824 participants. The GWAS data for grip strength were obtained from the UK Biobank consortium. GWAS data for type 2 diabetes and obesity from the FinnGen consortium. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate heterogeneity and pleiotropy.
Results
Univariate MR analysis revealed four metabolites with causal effects on grip strength [phenylalanylserine: Beta = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02–1.06, P = 0.0004; hyodeoxycholate: Beta = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01–1.05, P = 0.01; 3-dehydrocarnitine: Beta = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.83 − 0.6 = 96, P = 0.003; X-11440: Beta = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.03–1.07, P = 0.00003]. However, after the multivariable MR analysis, only phenylalanylserine remained significantly associated with grip strength.
Conclusions
The phenylalanylserine is causatively associated with grip strength. The results provide novel insight into the underlying mechanisms of sarcopenia.
Advancing sand concrete sustainability: transforming quarry waste into high-quality crushed sand for superior properties
Authors: Jaradat Oday , Shakarna Mahmoud , Gadri Karima , Suleiman Hisham , Khattab Mohammed , Sirhan Asal , Guettala Abdelhamid
Published: March 2024

This research explores the potential of reusing quarry waste into limestone sand for the eco-friendly production of sand concrete, addressing environmental sustainability. The investigation comprised the preparation of five concrete mixtures with differing limestone sand ratios: 0%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%. To evaluate the impact of limestone sand incorporation, we analysed physical and mechanical characteristics through tests such as density, compressive and flexural strength, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity, Dynamic elastic modulus, and microstructure examination. Findings indicate substantial enhancements in sand concrete properties due to the integration of limestone sand, with the 60% ratio emerging as the most productive. The study underscores limestone sand's capability to not only improve sand concrete quality but also offer a sustainable method for quarry waste recycling. It demonstrates the beneficial impact of limestone sand used in sand concrete and advocates for its application as a sustainable quarry waste recycling strategy across the construction industry's various sectors.
Thermal Bioclimatic Transformations in the Coastal Regions of Ganges Delta: Insights from CMIP6 Multi-Model Ensembles
Authors: Kamruzzaman Mohammad , Islam H. M. Touhidul , Mainuddin Mohammad , Affan Abu , Ahmed Sharif , Rahman Md. Abiar , Sadeque Abdus
Published: March 2024

The effects of climatic alteration caused by global warming on people, the environment, and ecosystems can be better understood by examining thermal bioclimatic indicators (TBIs) changes. Evaluating such alterations is of utmost significance for the Ganges Delta (GD) coastal region, which offers the world's most extensive biological variety. This study utilizes a multi-model ensemble (MME) of 16 CMIP6 Global Climate Models (GCMs) to assess prospective alterations in thermal bioclimatic indicators (TBIs) across the coastal region of the Ganges Delta (GD) for two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs): SSP245 (moderate) and SSP585 (severe). We employ ensemble median, 5th, and 95th percentiles to analyze temporal shifts and associated uncertainty in TBIs during the near (2020–2059) and far (2060–2100) futures. Our projections reveal a significant escalation in annual temperatures throughout the GD, with MME median average in-crease anticipated to range from 0.77–2.80°C (SSP2-4.5) to 1.03–4.65°C (SSP5-8.5) by 2059. Moreover, notable transformations in thermal patterns are expected, with a projected decrease in both diurnal temperature range (DTR) by 0.02–0.87°C and isothermality by 3.30-12.09%. Additionally, the average temperature during the driest months is anticipated to rise higher than in the wettest months. These findings underscore climate change's existential threat to the GD and its rich biodiversity. They provide vital information for formulating crucial mitigation strategies to curb greenhouse gas emissions and robust adaptation measures to bolster the resilience of communities and eco-systems. Urgent action is paramount to safeguard the future of this invaluable ecological treasure.
Surgical Removal of the Right Arcuate Fasciculus Does Not Impair Music and Affective Prosody: a Single Case Study
Authors: Sierpowska Joanna , Grau-Sánchez Jennifer , Sihvonen Aleksi J. , Ramos-Escobar Neus , Camins Angels , Gabarrós Andreu , Sammler Daniela , Särkämö Teppo , Rodríguez-Fornells Antoni
Published: March 2024

The right hemisphere of the human brain plays an important role in music processing with lateralized functions for pitch, meter and melody recognition among other features. However, the relationship between white matter structure and function in music processing is relatively little explored. We report an interesting case study of a 50-year-old musician with a massive brain tumor affecting the frontal and parietal lobes (WHO grade III). The surgical resection of this high-grade lesion irreversibly damaged great portions of the right frontal and parietal lobes, as well as insula. Post-surgical diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in vivo revealed that the right frontal aslant tract and the ventral pathway bundles of the patient preserved their integrity, whereas the right dorsal pathway (arcuate fasciculus) was removed completely. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation assessing language and affective prosody, executive functions, musical processing and emotion recognition in music revealed that the patient did not present language, prosody or cognitive deficits after the tumor removal, with the only exception of a selective impairment in recognizing emotion of fear in prosody. Moreover, the patient showed virtually intact musical processing. There were no signs of amusia, and the patient did not report any significant problems with his musical activities or music-related emotional processing. The only subjective report concerned the rhythmical abilities. This case study suggests that the right dorsal stream does not subserve musical and affective prosody processing, in this way adding new evidence to the ongoing debate of the white matter correlates of these cognitive functions.
The Hidden Post-injury Burden: Fragmentation of Care After Blunt Pancreatic Injury
Authors: Gallagher Shea , Calvo Richard Y. , Carroll Alyssa N. , Rooney Alexandra S. , Krzyzaniak Andrea , Sise Michael J. , Inaba Kenji , Bansal Vishal , Martin Matthew J.
Published: March 2024

BACKGROUND
Readmission to a different, or non-index, hospital leads to fragmentation of care (FC). Trauma care is associated with unplanned readmissions and may be uniquely vulnerable to the clinical impact of FC. We sought to evaluate factors associated with FC in the treatment of patients with blunt pancreatic injury (BPI).
METHODS
The California Office of Statewide Health Planning Development dataset was evaluated for BPI (2016–2020). FC were compared with those readmitted to their index admitting facility. The primary outcome was FC rate at primary readmission. Distressed Communities Index (DCI) was used to measure socioeconomic factors, with higher DCI denoting greater distress.
RESULTS
Among 539 patients with BPI, 264 met inclusion criteria. Over half of BPI (59%) experienced FC. There was no difference in age, sex, race, Injury Severity Score, or abdominal Abbreviated Injury Score between groups. Patients with FC had shorter time to readmission (1 vs 14 days, p < 0.01). FC was less likely among patients who underwent operative interventions during the index hospitalization (23% vs 35%, p = 0.03). FC was more likely to occur among patients admitted to centers in low DCI areas. Patients with surgical site infections, malnutrition, or wound complications during index hospitalization were less likely to experience FC. Among those with FC, 4% required intervention, and 1% died. Inflation-adjusted, median cost did not differ at the index hospitalization, nor the readmission between groups. Mortality during readmission did not vary by FC status.
CONCLUSIONS
BPI patients demonstrate a significant incidence of fragmentation of care. FC was more likely for centers in less distressed communities, and less likely for patients that had interventions, or incurred major wound or infectious complications. FC must be identified to understand the true scope and magnitude of post-admission complications and outcomes.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, Prognostic/Epidemiological
Periventricular nodular heterotopia in patients with a prenatal diagnosis of myelomeningocele/myeloschisis: Associations with seizures and neurodevelopmental outcomes during early childhood
Authors: Flanders Tracy M. , Schreiber Jane E. , Punchak Maria A. , Land Sierra D. , Reynolds Tom , Soni Shelly , Adzick N. Scott , Heuer Gregory G.
Published: March 2024

Purpose
Historically, the presence of gray matter heterotopia was a concern for adverse postnatal neurocognitive status in patients undergoing fetal closure of open spinal dysraphism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes and the onset of seizures during early childhood in patients with a prenatal diagnosis of myelomeningocele/myeloschisis (MMC) and periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH).
Methods
All patients evaluated at the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment with a diagnosis of MMC between June 2016 to March 2023 were identified. PVNH was determined from prenatal and/or postnatal MRI. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (edition III or IV) were used for neurodevelopmental assessments. Patients were screened for seizures/epilepsy.
Results
Of 497 patients evaluated with a prenatal diagnosis of MMC, 99 were found to have PVNH on prenatal MRI, of which 35 had confirmed PVNH on postnatal imaging. From the 497 patients, 398 initially did not exhibit heterotopia on prenatal MRI, but 47 of these then had confirmed postnatal PVNH. The presence of PVNH was not a significant risk factor for postnatal seizures in early childhood. The average neurodevelopmental scores were not significantly different among heterotopia groups for cognitive, language, and motor domains.
Conclusion
The presence of PVNH in patients with a prenatal diagnosis of MMC does not indicate an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delay at 1 year of age. We did not demonstrate an association with seizures/epilepsy. These findings can aid clinicians in prenatal consultation regarding fetal repair of open spinal dysraphism.
In-situ non destructive investigation of outdoor bronze sculptures
Authors: Kwon Heehong , Cho Namchul
Published: March 2024

Indoor investigations are commonly used to assess the causes and extent of damage to bronze artwork and cultural heritage items; however, these methods typically involve destructive sampling and outdoor bronze sculptures are typically heavy and large, hindering their transport. In this study, 16 bronze sculptures exposed to outdoor environments for a period exceeding 20 years were evaluated in-situ to develop a non-destructive prediction model that can identify types of corrosion and quantify the amount of corrosion on bronze sculptures that cannot be easily transported. The sculptures were classified into three groups according to their patina chromaticity, reflectivity, and chemical composition. The corrosion characteristics were found to be copper oxide and sulfide patinas. Chromaticity and reflectivity investigations revealed that the chemical composition changes of the patinas corresponded to the formation of corrosion products, thus showing a high potential for the identification of the type of corrosion. Portable XRF spectroscopy showed that the low error rate of Cu make its compositional behavior a good indicator in identifying the type of corrosion of sulfide and chloride patinas. Portable Raman spectroscopy was able to detect basic sulfides such as brochantite, antlerite, and cuprite. The high potential for the application of portable Raman spectroscopy was confirmed by results of previous artificial patina corrosion experiments obtained through XRD and bench-top Raman spectroscopy. The corrosion types and corrosion products on the bronze sculptures could be identified using chromaticity and reflectivity, portable X-ray fluorescence, and portable Raman spectroscopy. Therefore, this study confirmed the feasibility of using portable non-destructive analytical equipment in outdoor environments to identify corrosion types and quantify corrosion amounts for large, heavy bronze sculptures. The rapid insitu diagnosis of these corrosion attributes is expected to contribute to establishing conservation treatment plans in the future.
Real time big-data processing and monitoring tool for object detection using Gaussian Mixture model with improved noise reduction
Authors: Pandey Pranjal , Prasad Rakesh K. , Singh Dilip K.
Published: March 2024

Increasing number of road accidents draws major concern over on-road safety. Road accidents are leading causes of deaths across the world. Numerous approaches have been made to improve the monitoring and control system to avoid road accidents like use of sensors, radar based onboard electronic devices etc, Machine learning based monitoring is one approach towards object detection to avoid accidents due to human error and system failure. In the present work we have reported about development of an improved monitoring tool to detect moving objects in a video frame in real time and with improved noise reduction using Gaussian Mixture Model. We have used machine learning model with the help of MATLAB’s computer vision tool which do not require an external digital data storage space. This results in development of a tool which is capable of detecting the moving object in a live video footage which is capable of differentiating between foreground and background in continuously varying daylight conditions and effective for noise reduction. The developed technique can be applied to selectively record the eventful frames from live video reducing the requirement of human intervention for monitoring and large data storage for record. In addition to surveillance for road transport, the tool can be used for the purpose of monitoring at hospitals, airports, military and defence purpose.
Propionate production by Bacteroidia gut bacteria differs among species and is driven by substrate concentrations
Authors: Döring Carolin , Basen Mirko
Published: March 2024

Background
Propionate is a food preservative and platform chemical, but no biological process competes with current petrochemical production routes yet. Although propionate production has been described for gut bacteria of the class Bacteroidia, which also carry great capacity for the degradation of plant polymers, knowledge on propionate yields and productivities across species is scarce. This study aims to compare propionate production within Bacteroidia and characterize good propionate producers among this group.
Results
We collected published information on propionate producing Bacteroidia, and selected ten species to be further examined. These species were grown under defined conditions to compare their product formation. While propionate, acetate, succinate, lactate and formate were produced, the product ratios varied greatly among the species. The two species with highest propionate yield, B. propionicifaciens, (0.39 gpro/ggluc) and B. graminisolvens (0.25 gpro/ggluc), were further examined. Product formation and growth behavior differed significantly during CO2-limited growth and in resting cells experiments, as only B. graminisolvens depended on external-added NaHCO3, while their genome sequences only revealed few differences in the major catabolic pathways. Carbon mass and electron balances in experiments with resting cells were closed under the assumption that the oxidative pentose pathway was utilized for glucose oxidation next to glycolysis in B. graminisolvens. Finally, during pH-controlled fed-batch cultivation B. propionicifaciens and B. graminisolvens grew up to cell densities (OD600) of 8.1 and 9.8, and produced 119 mM and 33 mM of propionate from 130 mM and 105 mM glucose, respectively. A significant production of other acids, particularly lactate (25 mM), was observed in B. graminisolvens only.
Conclusions
We obtained the first broad overview and comparison of propionate production in Bacteroidia strains. A closer look at two species with comparably high propionate yields, showed significant differences in their physiology. Further studies may reveal the molecular basis for high propionate yields in Bacteroidia, paving the road towards their biotechnological application for conversion of biomass-derived sugars to propionate.
Fighting the disagreement in Explainable Machine Learning with consensus
Authors: Banegas-Luna Antonio J. , Martínez-Cortés Carlos , Pérez-Sánchez Horacio
Published: March 2024

While the predictive accuracy of machine learning (ML) models is often their most lauded attribute, in many scientific domains, the transparency of the decision-making process is equally crucial. To demystify the decision logic of ML models, interpretability algorithms are employed. Yet, the diversity of available algorithms frequently leads to a lack of consensus, resulting in disparate and sometimes contradictory model explanations. Addressing this challenge, consensus functions are utilized post hoc to harmonize these interpretations. However, the reliability of the synthesized explanation remains contingent on the choice of consensus function, among other variables. In this study, five ML models were systematically trained on four synthetic datasets with pre-established ground truths. Subsequent explanations were generated using a suite of both local and global model-agnostic interpretability algorithms. Consensus was then derived using five established functions and a novel function created by the researchers that integrates model accuracy into the consensus-building process. The innovative function demonstrated superior accuracy in pinpointing pertinent features, reinforcing the notion that an aptly crafted consensus function is instrumental in resolving discrepancies within model explainability.
Topographic variations and morphometric characterisation of the humeri nutrient foramina in the South African Populations: implications for fracture repair and healing
Authors: Mazengenya Pedzisai , Mokoena Palesa , Billings Brendon , Manjatika Arthur
Published: March 2024

Purpose
Fractures of the humerus are common on the midshaft of the bone, often causing injury to the nutrient artery. Successful fracture repair and healing requires preservation of the blood supply to the long which is conveyed through the nutrient foramina (NF). The topography of long bone NF varies in different populations. These variations can affect the preservation of blood supply to long bones during fracture repair management. The current study aimed to determine the topography and morphometry of the NF of the humerus in different populations of South Africa including the SAA, SAED and SAMA.
Methods
The study examined 596 dry humeri from the three South African populations. The parameters examined included the presence, number, location, position, size and direction of the NF.
Results
The NF were present in 97.1% of the humeri. Majority of bones (76.8%) evinced a single nutrient foramen. The number of NF varied across the different population groups (P < 0.0001), with SAA having more humeri with a single NF and SAED having more humeri with double NF. The position of NF varied within and across populations (P = 0.002). Males in SAED had a higher mean FI on both the right (p = 0.03) and left (p = 0.022) sides than females. SAED had a lower mean FI than SAMA (P = 0.001). All humeri showed dominant-sized NF. The location of NF varied across different populations (P < 0.0001), with SAA having higher NF located on the anteromedial surface and medial border, and SAED having higher NF located on the lateral border (P < 0.0001). NF were directed towards the distal ends of the shafts in 99.8% of bones and towards the proximal end in 0.2% of bones.
Conclusions
The topography and morphometry of the nutrient foramina of the humerus are variable in the South African populations. Knowledge of the NF variations may aid in the management of humerus fractures.
Lifetime of Ni laser induced fluorescence during spark plug discharge
Authors: Bi Ruike , Zhang Kailun , Ehn Andreas , Richter Mattias
Published: March 2024

In this study, the laser induced fluorescence lifetime of Ni atoms in ambient air with presence of a plasma discharge was measured for the first time. Free Ni atoms were generated in ambient air by spark plug discharge driven by an inductive coil. Decay curves of Ni LIF excited by a 336.94 nm, 90 ps laser pulse were captured by a PMT. An average lifetime of about 1.1 ns was observed for the fluorescence signal within a 7.4 nm detection window centered at 345 nm. Further analysis also revealed that the lifetime of the transition showed statistically insignificant change throughout the duration of the discharge. The peak intensity of the decays was found to be proportional to the integrated signal intensities. This in turn suggests that the integrated fluorescence signals in the aforementioned spectral region are proportional to the population density of ground state Ni atoms in the detection volume. The number density of free Ni atoms in the spark gap was measured over time during the plasma discharge, showing an accumulating trend in the beginning phase of the discharge followed by a slow decrease until the termination.
EtherVote: A Secure Smart Contract-based e-Voting System
Authors: Spanos Achilleas , Kantzavelou Ioanna
Published: March 2024

Conventional electing procedures cannot fulfill advanced requirements in modern times. Secure electronic voting systems have been a concern of many researchers for years to replace traditional practices. Decentralized approaches, such as Blockchain technology, are essential to provide compulsory guarantees for secure voting platforms, that hold the properties of transparency, immutability, and confidentiality. This paper presents EtherVote, a secure decentralized electronic voting system, which is based on the Ethereum Blockchain network. The EtherVote is a serverless e-voting model, relying solely on Ethereum and smart contracts, that does not include a database, and thus it enhances security and privacy. The model incorporates an effective method for voter registration and identification to strengthen security. The main properties of EtherVote include encrypted votes, efficiency in handling elections with numerous participants, and simplicity. The system is tested and evaluated, vulnerabilities and possible attacks are exposed through a security analysis, and anonymity, integrity, and unlinkability are retained.
Over-expression of long non-coding RNA LINC00342 as diagnostic biomarker for Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Guan Di , Liu Dan , Xiang Peng , Liu Yue Xin , Ping Hao
Published: March 2024

Background: Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), being the most common type of renal cancer, exhibits a high mortality and recurrence rate primarily because a significant number of patients are already in advanced stages at the time of diagnosis. Identifying a biological marker for early-stage KIRC has become a top priority. Recently, some studies have shown that long non-coding RNA LINC00342 promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer through a variety of ways. However, the involvement and mechanism of linc00342 in KIRC is still unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic and prognostic value of linc00342 in KIRC, to investigate the effects of linc00342 on the biological functions of KIRC cells, and to explore potential mechanisms of linc00342 in KIRC.
Methods: We downloaded the linc00342 expression data and clinical information of KIRC from the TCGA database and constructed a prognostic prediction model. In vitro, the effect of silencing linc00342 on KIRC cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and invasion was measured by colony-formation assay, flow cytometric analysis, wound-healing assay and Transwell assay, respectively.
Results: Firstly, our predictive model was established by using TCGA database. Secondly, Linc00342 was involved in various biological functions of KIRC by using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Thirdly, In vitro, linc00342 was overexpressed in KIRC by RT-qPCR in tissue and cell models. Moreover, we found that linc00342 can inhibit cell apoptosis and promote cell proliferation, invasion, and migration.
Conclusion: To our knowledge, our study is the first to construct a nomogram prediction model by combining the gene expression of linc00342 with clinical data, and confirmed that linc00342 can be an independent prognostic factor of KIRC through in vitro validation.
Predicting Financial Capital Availability through Blockchain technology-driven Supply Chain Financing: An Innovation Capability-Based Moderation Role
Authors: Hongjiang Zhao , Adu-Damoah Millicent , Boakye Elijah Asante
Published: March 2024

Implementing blockchain technology-driven supply chain financing yields notable advantages like fostering peer-to-peer collaboration, enhancing trust, and optimizing effective capital and information exchanges. This study explores how blockchain technology-driven supply chain financing improves financial capital availability by improving access, enhancing availability and reducing cost savings. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), we provide empirical evidence from 522 SMEs across Ghana’s manufacturing, agriculture, services, wholesale & retail, and hospitality sectors. The results show that blockchain technology-driven supply chain financing positively influences financial capital availability. Also, innovation capability positively impacts the strength of the effect of blockchain technology-driven supply chain financing on financial capital availability. In detail, the impact of blockchain technology-driven supply chain financing on financial capital availability is positively dampened by investment in new information systems, methods, and processes when compared to the adaptation to new information systems, methods, and processes.
Stronger connectivity among reward, cognitive, and attention networks in people with severe Opioid Use Disorder compared with healthy controls.
Authors: Kurtin Danielle , Herlinger Katherine , Hayes Alexandra , Hand Lexi , Fonville Leon , Hill Raymond , Nutt David , Lingford-Hughes Anne , Paterson Louise
Published: March 2024

One approach to addressing the immense unmet need for treatments of severe Opioid Use Disorder (sOUD) is to understand more about associated changes in the brain’s reward circuitry. It has been shown that during reward anticipation in the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task, people with severe substance use disorder (SUD) show blunted responses in reward neural circuitry compared with healthy controls (HC). Conversely, drug-related cues result in heightened responses in the same neural reward circuitry in those with SUD compared with HC. However, it is unclear how such dysfunctional reward processing is related to neural correlates of other processes commonly dysregulated in addiction, such as attention and cognition. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether people with sOUD show different spatiotemporal relationships between reward networks to cognitive and attentional networks. We collected fMRI data while people with sOUD receiving methadone (MD; n = 22) and HC (n = 22) completed the MID and Cue Reactivity tasks. We evaluated differences in functional connectivity (FC) and measures of brain state dynamics. We explored the relationship between FC to µ-Opioid receptor (MOR) and Dopamine D2 Receptor (DRD2) availability due to their involvement in reward processing. During both the MID and Cue Reactivity tasks, MD participants showed significantly higher mutual information FC between regions in the reward network to those in attention and cognitive networks. We found significant, positive relationships between the higher FC in MD vs HC participants and the sum of MOR and D2 receptor availability during the Cue Reactivity task. In summary, the higher integration among reward, attentional, and cognitive networks in MD participants during both non-drug and drug-related tasks suggests that the relationship between these networks is dysregulated in addiction. These mechanistic insights provide alternative targets for treatment to improve sOUD outcomes.
Mapping the global variation in the efficiency of ocean alkalinity enhancement for carbon dioxide removal
Authors: Zhou Mengyang , Tyka Michael , Ho David , Yankovsky Elizabeth , Bachman Scott , Nicholas Thomas , Karspeck Alicia , Long Matthew
Published: March 2024

To limit global warming to below 2°C by 2100, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere will be necessary. Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a promising approach to achieving CDR at scale. However, OAE deployments are subject to incomplete air-sea CO2 equilibration — reducing the efficiency of carbon removal. Here, we generated the first global maps of OAE efficiency, including an assessment of the seasonal variation in efficiency. We show that the equilibration kinetics exhibit two characteristic timescales — rapid surface equilibration followed by a slower second phase, representing the re-emergence of excess alkalinity that was initially subducted. These kinetics vary considerably with latitude and the season of alkalinity release, both critical considerations for the placement of prospective OAE deployments. We also calculated histograms quantifying the spatial and temporal scales of the induced CO2 uptake and thus identifying the requirements for modeling OAE in regional ocean models.
UMA INVESTIGAÇÃO DINÂMICA SOBRE AS DEMONSTRAÇÕES DAS DESIGUALDADES DAS MÉDIAS
Authors: Mathias Carmen Vieira , Alencar Hilário , Cândido Larissa , Garcia Ronaldo
Published: March 2024

As noções de prova e raciocínio sempre estiveram intimamente ligadas; pois é complexo imaginar demonstrar uma proposição sem usar um encadeamento lógico de ideias. Mas, quer provemos ou raciocinemos, é preciso lembrar que, além da linguagem natural e de seus meios de expressão, existem outras maneiras de apresentar uma prova. Nesse contexto, o presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar possibilidades de utilizar animações, realizadas com o software GeoGebra, para ilustrar demonstrações das desigualdades que envolvem as médias harmônica, aritmética, geométrica e quadrática. Para tanto, realizamos uma discussão sobre o conceito de prova, apresentamos, via animações de provas sem palavras os resultados referentes às médias. Neste estudo, foram criadas animações a partir de transformações geométricas e iniciadas por meio de um controle deslizante, o que poderá permitir aos professores que forneçam exemplos claros para apoiar suas conclusões ou fornecem aos alunos contraexemplos ou degenerações. Assim, esperamos que esse trabalho possa levar discussões sobre a valorização do uso de recursos computacionais no auxílio da compreensão dos resultados matemáticos acima elencados.
Non-perturbative topological string theory on compact Calabi-Yau 3-folds
Authors: Gu Jie , Kashani-Poor Amir-Khian , Klemm Albrecht , Mariño Marcos
Published: March 2024

We obtain analytic and numerical results for the non-perturbative amplitudes of topological string theory on arbitrary, compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. Our approach is based on the theory of resurgence and extends previous special results to the more general case. In particular, we obtain explicit trans-series solutions of the holomorphic anomaly equations. Our results predict the all orders, large genus asymptotics of the topological string free energies, which we test in detail against high genus perturbative series obtained recently in the compact case. We also provide additional evidence that the Stokes constants appearing in the resurgent structure are closely related to integer BPS invariants.
Az idősek wellnessturisztikai szolgáltatásokkal való elégedettsége a Nyugat-Dunántúli régióban
Authors: Appl Petra , Varga Zoltán
Published: March 2024

A XXI. század egyik legjellegzetesebb problémája az idősödés. Ez a jelenség az Európai Unióban, azon belül Magyarországon is problémát jelent. A kutatásunk célja, hogy megismerjük az idősek jelenlegi wellnessturisztikai szolgáltatások igénybevételével kapcsolatos jellemzőit. Vizsgálatunkat 2022. májusa és 2022. szeptembere között végeztük on-line kérdőív formájában. 373 értékelhető kérdőív állt rendelkezésünkre. A kapott adatokból viszonyszámokat, megoszlást és szórást számoltunk. A reprezentáció során az adatainkat grafikonokon ábrázoltuk. Az általunk vizsgált célcsoport az elmúlt évben a wellness szolgáltatásokra 150.000 forint alatti összeget és az egyéb szolgáltatásokra 50.000 forint alatti összeget szánt. Khi-négyzet próbák közül az iskolai végzettség és az aktivitás, a különböző szolgáltatásokra való költés között állt fenn szoros kapcsolat (p<0,01) . Ezen kívül a gyakoriság és az iskolai végzettség között mutatott ki szoros kapcsolatot (p<0,01). Következtetésképpen elmondható, hogy akik az aktív pihenést választják, többet költenek a különböző szolgáltatásokra és a szolgáltatókat 1-2 alkalommal látogatták, azok legalább egyetemi alapképzéssel rendelkeznek.
Szerencsejátékosok attitűdjeinek időbeli összehasonlító vizsgálata
Authors: Tessényi Judit
Published: March 2024

Az attitűd értelmezhető egyrészt, mint az egyén vélekedésének függvénye – esetünkben pl. a szerencsejátékok hasznosságáról/károsságáról -, másrészt a társas viselkedés belső irányítója (hajtóerő, motiváció, késztetés). A vizsgálatok önálló szegmensét képezik az attitűdkutatások, ahol is azt vizsgáljuk, hogy „az egyének viselkedése milyen kognitív és érzelmi tényezők hatására alakul. Jelenleg még az is vitatott, hogy az attitűdkutatások és attitűdskálák alkalmasak-e egyáltalán az attitűd mérésére, mivel a kapott eredmények nem egyértelműen tudtak kapcsolatot kimutatni a viselkedéssel” (Tessényi 2013: 73). Az attitűd – Allport definíciója alapján - tapasztalat révén szerveződött mentális és idegi készenléti állapot, mely irányító vagy dinamikus – késztető, mozgósító hatást gyakorol az egyén reagálására mindazon helyzetek irányában, amelyekre az attitűd vonatkozik (Allport 1935). Alább ismertetett vizsgálatunk  2016-ban, 2020-ban és 2023-ban felvett minták időbeli összehasonlító statisztikai elemzését tartalmazza és annak a hipotézisnek a vizsgálata, mely szerint a játékfüggők attitűdértékeinek átlagértéke és szórása nagyobb, mint a nem problémás játékosoké.
„Csodarabbik útja 2” : Szellemi rekreáció a helyi lakosok szemszögéből Bodrogkeresztúron
Authors: Rozgonyiné Drotár Nikolett , Petykó Csilla , Szalók Csilla , Nagy Adrienn
Published: March 2024

A „Csodarabbik útja” szellemi rekreációs lehetőségeiről született egy cikk, mely a 2023 tavaszi lapszámban olvasható. Ennek a folytatásaként most egy konkrét helyszínre szűkítettük a kutatást, Bodrogkeresztúrra, az útvonal legjobban látogatott településére. A hitélet egyértelműen szellemi rekreáció és utazási motiváció. A túlturizmus jellemzője, hogy egy adott turisztikai desztinációban egy időben a turizmus hatása meghaladja a fizikai, ökológiai, pszichológiai, társadalmi és gazdasági küszöbértéket (Vanyúr B. 2021). Azért választottuk Bodrogkeresztúrt a kutatási területünknek, mert 2023-ban négy nap alatt a 877 fős községbe (KSH 2022) ötvenezer zsidó zarándok érkezett. A kutatási kérdés arra irányult, hogy megvalósul-e a túlturizmus a zsidó zarándokünnepen a községben?  Gyakorol-e negatív hatást a magas turistaszám a helyi lakosok életminőségére? Eredményeink között a legfrissebb adatok és információk mellett a felmerülő problémák és az ezek megoldására tett intézkedések is megjelennek. Következtetéseink szerint ez a zarándok áradat negatívan hat a helyi lakosok életminőségére.
IMPROVED ACIDITY OF MESOPOROUS ZrO2-WO3 THROUGH NH3-AIR SUBSECTION-CALCINATION TREATMENT
Authors: Jin Chengwei , Xu Bonan , Xu Biao , Guo Jianzhong , Li Sha
Published: March 2024

ZrO2-WO3 mixed metal oxides are important solid acid catalysts, and typically, ammonia gas calcination reduces their acidity. However, in this study, we introduce an updated NH3 calcination technique that can increase the acidity of mesoporous ZrO2-WO3 solid acids. Their structures and acid properties were thoroughly characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption measurement, pyridine-adsorbed infrared spectroscopy (Py-IR), temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS) analysis. The resulting materials exhibit remarkable activity in the Friedel-Crafts (F-C) reaction of anisole and benzyl alcohol. Our investigations showed that the subnanometer WOx clusters act as the most active sites for the F-C reaction, and NH3-air calcination is essential for the formation of WOx clusters. This treatment not only enhances acidity but also provides a novel method of obtaining acidic ZrO2-WO3 mixed metal oxides. Most importantly, it presents a fresh approach for regulating the formation of WO3 clusters and catalytic activity.
THE POWDER OF Co64Nb30B6 OBTAINED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING
Authors: Nascimento Luciano , de Morais Ítallo , da Silva Adriano , de Melo João , Guedes Danyelle , de Araújo Lincoln , Silva Suédina Maria , Costa Ana Cristina
Published: March 2024

This work aims to synthesize the alloy Co64Nb30B6 through mechanical alloying using a planetary ball mill. A disc rotation per minute and a ball/powder weight ratio of 300 rpm and 10:1 were used, with a milled time of 10 h, respectively. The characterization of the Co64Nb30B6 alloy was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), examined by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), thermoanalytical techniques (TGA/DTA), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and confirmed by Braunauer, Emmet e Teller (BET) method type IV isotherms with a hysteresis loop for mesoporous materials. The results indicated that the evolution of the amorphous phase in the Co64Nb30B6 composition through the mechanical alloying process exhibited good soft magnetic properties with the addition of the metalloid element B and its excellent unique ferromagnetic properties. Through thermoanalytical analysis (TGA/DTA), it was shown that at higher temperatures, Co and Nb ions are oxidized by the environment and, therefore, the mass can be slightly increased to 14.9% and a probable contribution of boron in evolution stability thermal and magnetic in the amorphous phase, respectively. This suggests that the newly developed high-performance amorphous alloy Co64Nb30B6 has great application potential.
SEQUENTIAL DETERMINATION OF Zn, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na AND K IN SYNTHETIZED BABASSU FAME BY HIGH RESOLUTION CONTINUUM SOURCE FLAME ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY
Authors: Boeira Ana Carla , Kolling Leandro , Santos Samuel , Fontoura Luiz , da Silva Márcia
Published: March 2024

In this work, babassu FAME samples were synthesized by transesterification reaction under alkaline catalysis with sodium glyceroxide and by two steps process with KOH followed by H2SO4 as catalysts. A sequential multi-element method for determination of Zn, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na and K in synthesized babassu FAME by high resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS FAAS) was developed. The proposed method is based on a microemulsion formation by mixing the babassu FAME samples with 1-propanol and aqueous phase. The mass proportion of the added components was evaluated through a ternary diagram. External and matrix-matching calibration techniques with inorganic and organic standard were investigated. In the five-level spike-recovery test, satisfactory results were obtained by performing the matrix-matching calibration along with inorganic standard solutions. By using the optimized conditions, limits of detection in the range of 0.002-0.12 mg kg-1 were obtained. Accuracy was attested by the agreement of the results obtained in the analysis of three certified reference materials. By applying the microemulsion system and HR-CS FAAS, the sequential determination of six elements was achieved. Therefore, the proposed method was a suitable alternative for metal determination in babassu FAME samples, with good sensitivities, accuracy, and a wide linear working range.