bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of a new offshore gas platform on harbor porpoises in the Dogger Bank
Authors: Todd Victoria L. G. , Williamson Laura D. , Couto Ana S. , Todd Ian B. , Clapham Phillip J.
Published: June 2022

Offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) exploration and production has been cycling from cradle to grave for over 100 years, spanning many generations of marine fauna. Despite global occurrence of offshore infrastructure, implications of their presence for apex predators, including cetaceans, is understudied. We analyzed data from autonomous underwater passive‐echolocation‐click detectors (C‐PODs) deployed at an offshore O&G production platform and at control locations to investigate acoustic activity of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from 2015 to 2020, before, during, and after platform construction. Despite a statistically significant decrease in porpoise detections following platform construction and initial drilling operations (2015–2016), detections returned to baseline levels within five months. We detected no long‐term effects of platform presence on porpoise‐detection rates. While additional study is required to further understand activity of porpoise at O&G platforms during continued operation through to decommissioning, our findings, nonetheless, have important implications for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), which do not currently consider effects of platform presence on marine mammals in any context other than short‐term noise mitigation. While we know porpoise forage at ageing platforms, this is the first study to demonstrate porpoise also utilize space around new platforms, which must be accommodated in long‐term EIA processes.
Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis reveals many novel genotypes and a high level of genetic diversity in Candida tropicalis isolates from Italy and Africa
Authors: Dougue Aude Ngueguim , El‐Kholy Mohammed A. , Giuffrè Letterio , Galeano Grazia , D′Aleo Francesco , Kountchou Cyrille Levis , Nangwat Claude , Dzoyem Jean Paul , Giosa Domenico , Pernice Ida , Shawky Sherine M. , Ngouana Thierry Kammalac , Boyom Fabrice Fekam , Romeo Orazio
Published: June 2022

Background

Candida tropicalis is a human pathogenic yeast frequently isolated in Latin America and Asian‐Pacific regions, although recent studies showed that it is also becoming increasingly widespread throughout several African and south‐European countries. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about its global patterns of genetic variation as most of existing multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data come from Asia and there are no genotyped African isolates.

Objectives

We report detailed genotyping data from a large set of C. tropicalis isolates recovered from different clinical sources in Italy, Egypt and Cameroon in order to expand the allele/genotype library of MLST database (https://pubmlst.org/ctropicalis), and to explore the genetic diversity in this species.

Methods

A total of 103 C. tropicalis isolates were genotyped using the MLST scheme developed for this species. All isolates were also tested for in vitro susceptibility to various antifungals to assess whether certain genotypes were associated with drug‐resistance.

Results and Conclusions

A total of 104 different alleles were detected across the MLST‐loci investigated. The allelic diversity found at these loci resulted in 51 unique MLST genotypes of which 36 (70.6%) were novel. Global optimal eBURST analysis identified 18 clonal complexes (CCs) and confirm the existence of a specific Italian‐cluster (CC36). Three CCs were also statistically associated with fluconazole resistance, which was elevated in Cameroon and Egypt.

Our data show high genetic diversity in our isolates suggesting that the global population structure of C. tropicalis is still poorly understood. Moreover, its clinical impact in Italy, Egypt and Cameroon appears to be relevant and should be carefully considered.
Autoimmunity to glutamate receptor channels
Authors: Kawachi Izumi
Published: June 2022

Glutamate and its receptors are involved in pleiotropic roles including experience‐dependent synaptic plasticity and brain development as the main fast excitatory neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. There are two main families of the glutamate receptors: (1) ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) that are ligand‐gated ion channel receptors accessible for fast synaptic transmission, and (2) metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) that are G‐protein‐coupled receptors modulating slow synaptic transmission through intracellular second messengers. Here, we summarize the current concepts of autoimmunity to these glutamate receptors in neurological disorders: anti‐GluN1 subunit of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor (NMDARs) for anti‐NMDAR encephalitis, anti‐GluA1 and GluA2 subunits of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPARs) for anti‐AMPAR encephalitis, and anti‐mGluR5 subunit for Ophelia syndrome. Most identified autoimmunity to glutamate receptors can lead to unique synaptopathies or neuronal antibody‐mediated encephalopathies. Evidence‐based optimal management guidelines and new disease‐modifying therapies need to be developed for patients with autoimmune encephalitis including anti‐glutamate receptor encephalitis.
Reflection and conditionalization: Comments on Michael Rescorla
Authors: van Fraassen Bas C.
Published: June 2022

Rescorla explores the relation between Reflection, Conditionalization, and Dutch book arguments in the presence of a weakened concept of sure loss and weakened conditions of self‐transparency for doxastic agents. The literature about Reflection and about Dutch Book arguments, though overlapping, are distinct, and its history illuminates the import of Rescorla's investigation. With examples from a previous debate in the 70s and results about Reflection and Conditionalization in the 80s, I propose a way of seeing the epistemic enterprise in the light of practical requirements to be met by demands for synchronic coherence and probability updating policies. This includes a defense of principles rejected by Rescorla, while allowing for the value of his results in the borderland between theories of cognition and formal epistemology.
Credal imprecision and the value of evidence
Authors: Das Nilanjan
Published: June 2022

This paper is about a tension between two theses. The first is Value of Evidence: roughly, the thesis that it is always rational for an agent to gather and use cost‐free evidence for making decisions. The second is Rationality of Imprecision: the thesis that an agent can be rationally required to adopt doxastic states that are imprecise, i.e., not representable by a single credence function. While others have noticed this tension, I offer a new diagnosis of it. I show that it arises when an agent with an imprecise doxastic state engages in an unreflective inquiry, an inquiry where they revise their beliefs using an updating rule that doesn't satisfy a weak reflection principle. In such an unreflective inquiry, certain synchronic norms of instrumental rationality can make it instrumentally irrational for an agent to gather and use cost‐free evidence. I then go on to propose a diachronic norm of instrumental rationality that preserves Value of Evidence in unreflective inquiries. This, I suggest, may help us reconcile this thesis with Rationality of Imprecision.
Trihelix transcription factors GTL1 and DF1 prevent aberrant root hair formation in an excess nutrient condition
Authors: Shibata Michitaro , Favero David S. , Takebayashi Ryu , Takebayashi Arika , Kawamura Ayako , Rymen Bart , Hosokawa Yoichiroh , Sugimoto Keiko
Published: June 2022

Root hair growth is tuned in response to the environment surrounding plants. While most previous studies focused on the enhancement of root hair growth during nutrient starvation, few studies investigated the root hair response in the presence of excess nutrients.

We report that the post‐embryonic growth of wild‐type Arabidopsis plants is strongly suppressed with increasing nutrient availability, particularly in the case of root hair growth. We further used gene expression profiling to analyze how excess nutrient availability affects root hair growth, and found that RHD6 subfamily genes, which are positive regulators of root hair growth, are downregulated in this condition.

However, defects in GTL1 and DF1, which are negative regulators of root hair growth, cause frail and swollen root hairs to form when excess nutrients are supplied. Additionally, we observed that the RHD6 subfamily genes are mis‐expressed in gtl1‐1 df1‐1. Furthermore, overexpression of RSL4, an RHD6 subfamily gene, induces swollen root hairs in the face of a nutrient overload, while mutation of RSL4 in gtl1‐1 df1‐1 restore root hair swelling phenotype.

In conclusion, our data suggest that GTL1 and DF1 prevent unnecessary root hair formation by repressing RSL4 under excess nutrient conditions.
Architecture in the mind
Authors: Jaklewicz Karolina Anna
Published: June 2022

Pinpointing the precise nature of the relation that a viewer has to an artwork s/he is appreciating is not an easy question. Understanding exactly what is the nature of our relationship to a specific art, such as architecture, is even less obvious. To tackle this intricate issue, there will be a common thread, which is the work of Constantine Cavafy, a Greek poet whose life and poetry were closely tied to his beloved city: Alexandria. Through his work, we will aim to grasp better the nature of this particular relationship one can have to one's own city: what such a relation consists of and what its properties are. A main hypothesis put forth is that the relationship between the viewer–citizen and their own city is imposed and inescapable and, as such, the architecture of one’s city, is not only outside us—“in the city”—but also within us— “in our mind.” To make this claim more precise, we will examine some metaphysical properties of the city, as an ontological category, and in particular, its relation to time.
Abuse and neglect of older people in health facilities from the perspective of nursing professionals: A cross‐sectional study from Croatia
Authors: Neuberg Marijana , Pudmej Ešegović Veronika , Križaj Mateja , Cikač Tina , Meštrović Tomislav
Published: June 2022

Background

Abuse and neglect of older people represent a salient public health issue that remains understudied in the current literature. However, most studies have focused on estimating the prevalence of mistreatment of older people, while litter priority has been put on healthcare professionals and their role in addressing this problem.

Objectives

The aim of this paper was to determine nurses' perceptions of neglect and abuse of older persons within health facilities in Croatia.

Methods

A cross‐sectional survey with convenience sampling approach was conducted on 632 nursing professionals between 26 March and 26 April 2020. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. A questionnaire from Drennan et al. (NCPOP, University College Dublin, Dublin, 2012), previously adapted by Neuberg et al. (Arch Ind Hyg Toxicol, 68, 2017, 190), was used as a survey instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics has been used, as well as multivariable methods (reliability analysis). Significance was set at p < .05 (two‐tailed).

Results

Abuse/neglect of older people was observed by 13.8% to 57.4% of nursing professionals, depending on the incident type. The most prevalent incidents observed were ignoring the call of an older person (57.4%), shouting at an older person in anger (41.1%) and force‐feeding an older person (34.5%), while the least prevalent incidents observed were denial of food or some privileges as a form of punishment (13.8%). Male nursing professionals reported observing various forms of abuse significantly more often than their female counterparts (p = .038), without statistically significant age‐related differences. Furthermore, mistreatment of older people was much more frequently observed in nursing homes (p = .013), with suboptimal the ratio of caregivers and care recipients, as well as by nursing professionals who work in shifts (p = .012). Reliability analysis demonstrated a satisfactory level of internal consistency for the used questionnaire.

Conclusions

This study reinforces neglect and abuse of older people as a growing public health problem and puts the emphasis on its perception; hence, there is a need for systematic and continuous training of nursing professionals on preventing, identifying and responding to such mistreatment, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life in this vulnerable group.

Implications for practice

This study contributes to the growing body of research on the quality of evidence‐based nursing care of older people, most notably from providers' perspective ‐ with direct implications for policy, practice, research and training.
Correlation Analysis between Tibial Tuberosity‐Trochlear Groove Distance and Other Patellar Stability Parameters in Young and Middle‐aged Populations
Authors: Qi Yang , Liu Jingyan , Sun Man , Wang Zhi
Published: June 2022

Objective

The exact mechanism of patellofemoral instability has not been clearly clarified. The current study aims to explore the correlation between the tibial tuberosity‐trochlear groove (TT‐TG) distance and other patellar stability parameters.

Methods

A total of 60 individuals aged 18 to 40 years who underwent knee computed tomography (CT) examination between September 2014 and December 2017 were retrospectively recruited. Five reference sites were selected on the femoral trochlear articular surface in every CT image. The TT‐TG distance and the trochlear groove angles (TGA) at the five reference sites were measured. The patellar ligament length (PLL), patellar length (PL), medial patellar retinaculum length (MPRL) and lateral patellar retinaculum length (LPRL) were quantitatively analyzed. The TT‐TG distances on different knee sides or in different sexes were compared. The relationships between the TT‐TG distance and TGA, PLL/PL, MPRL, and LPRL were analyzed by Spearman's method. Comparison analysis among patellar stability parameters was analyzed using ANOVA or two‐tailed Student's t test.

Results

Variance analysis revealed no significant differences in the TT‐TG distances among the five positions of the femoral trochlea (F = 0.67, P = 0.62) but significant differences among the five femoral TGAs at the five reference sites (F = 380.37, P < 0.01). Notably, an increasing tendency of the TT‐TG distance was observed in the sexes (male, range 16.61–19.68 mm; female, range 14.37–17.38 mm) and knee sides (left knee, range 14.37–18.43 mm; right knee, range 15.80–19.68 mm). The TGA at site 1 of the femoral trochlear cartilage was the largest, with an angle of 151.97° ± 10.4°, and then gradually decreased to the smallest when the cartilage disappeared at site 5, with an angle of 92.05° ± 10.01°. Interestingly, there was a positive relationship between the TT‐TG distance at site 1 and TGA in the right knees of males (r = 0.490, P = 0.033) as well as LPRL in the left knees of males (r = −0.420; P = 0.046). There were no correlations between the TT‐TG distance and the other patellar stability parameters, including TGA, PLL/PL, MPRL, and LPRL.

Conclusion

Among young and middle‐aged populations, patella surgeries should be carefully determined based on the comprehensive consideration of these patellar stability parameters rather than the TT‐TG distance alone. Differences in sex and knee side should also be considered.
Catheter ablation of atrial tachycardia originated from the left atrial epicardium
Authors: Wang Shixin , Yang Gang , Ju Weizhu , Sun Xingxing , Chen Hongwu , Chen Minglong
Published: June 2022

A patient was referred with frequent atrial tachycardia (AT) attacks. Activation mapping showed that the left atrium (LA) roof was earlier activated with a broad region, and right atrial activation was delayed. The far‐field A wave corresponding to the pulmonary artery area was advanced with failed ablation. Therefore, the AT could be left atrial epicardial origin, which was further confirmed by the successful ablation at earliest activated site at the epicardium.
Peace movement responses to Russia's invasion: For limited war and restraints on militarism
Authors: Shaffer Robert
Published: June 2022

The “pragmatic pacifist” tradition, exemplified by the transition of many peace activists in the 1930s to critical support for the Allied war effort during World War II, can provide a nuanced path for Western peace activists in responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This essay examines how several voices of the American peace movement have addressed this situation, offering a variety of levels of critical support to Ukraine's fight for self‐defense and the US involvement in the conflict.
The Role of Singlet Oxygen in Photoreactivity and Phototoxicity of Curcumin
Authors: Wolnicka‐Glubisz Agnieszka , Olchawa Magdalena , Duda Mariusz , Pabisz Pawel , Wisniewska‐Becker Anna
Published: June 2022

Curcumin is a plant‐derived yellow‐orange compound widely used as a spice, dye and food additive. It is also believed to have therapeutic effects against different disorders. On the other hand, there are data showing its phototoxicity against bacteria, fungi and various mammalian cells. Since the mechanism of its phototoxic action is not fully understood, we investigated here the phototoxic potential of curcumin in liposomal model membranes and in HaCaT cells. First, detection of singlet oxygen (1O2) luminescence proved that curcumin generates 1O2 upon blue light irradiation in organic solvent and in liposomes. Then, HPLC‐EC(Hg) measurements revealed that liposomal and cellular cholesterol is oxidized by 1O2 photogenerated by curcumin. Enrichment of liposome membranes with curcumin significantly increased the oxygen photo‐consumption rate compared to the control liposomes as determined by EPR oximetry. Cytotoxicity measurements, mitochondrial membrane potential analyses and protein hydroperoxides detection confirmed strong phototoxic effects of curcumin in irradiated HaCaT cells. These data show that since curcumin is advertised as a valuable dietary supplement, or a component of cosmetics for topical use, caution should be recommended especially when skin is exposed to light.
Diversity in the invasive cacao pathogen Moniliophthora roreri is shaped by agriculture
Authors: Díaz‐Valderrama Jorge R. , Zambrano Ricardo , Cedeño‐Amador Sergio , Córdova‐Bermejo Ulises , Casas Gianmarco G. , García‐Zurita Nilda , Sánchez‐Arévalo Juan A. J. , Arévalo‐Gardini Enrique , Dávila Darío , Ruiz Juan , Pinchi‐Dávila Xiomy , Quispe‐Chacón Zarella R. , Chia‐Wong Julio A. , Hurtado‐Gonzales Oscar P. , Rodríguez‐Callañaupa Carlos A. , Maldonado‐Fuentes Casto , Pérez‐Callizaya Eucebio , Leiva‐Espinoza Santos , Oliva‐Cruz Manuel , Guevara‐Ruiz Dylan M. , Torres‐Rojas Esperanza , Johnson Elizabeth , Phillips‐Mora Wilbert , Aime M. Catherine
Published: June 2022

Frosty pod rot disease of cacao (FPR), caused by the fungus Moniliophthora roreri, has severely impacted the production of cocoa in Latin America since its discovery. Prior to the 1950s, FPR was known only from Colombia and Ecuador. However, beginning in the 1970s, its geographical range has dramatically expanded throughout most of the cacao‐producing regions of the Americas. The origin of the pathogen remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the genetic diversity of M. roreri from areas spanning, as much as possible, its current geographical range using simple‐sequence repeat markers and a publicly available single‐nucleotide polymorphism data set. Two hotspots of genetic diversity were found: coastal Ecuador and the inter‐Andean Magdalena Valley of Colombia, neither of which correspond to the Amazonian origin of the host. However, both areas were early centres of intense cultivation of cacao. Our results indicate that M. roreri was introduced into both areas from its centre of origin, where intensive cacao cultivation probably led to the increase of inoculum and further dissemination of the disease. Current invasions can be traced to two genotypes responsible for all known instances of the pathogen in Central America, the Caribbean, Peru and Bolivia. We also report for the first time M. roreri in Maynas (Peruvian Amazon), which is probably the result of a recent introduction from Colombia.
In vitro evaluation of canine whole blood with the addition of Crotalus atrox (Western Diamondback Rattlesnake) venom and antivenom using thromboelastography
Authors: Altemus Bailey Samantha R. , Lyon Shane D. , Girolamo Nicola Di , Gilliam Lyndi L.
Published: June 2022

Objectives

To compare the efficacy of 2 equine‐origin antivenom products on correction of coagulation abnormalities noted on thromboelastography (TEG) caused by Crotalus atrox venom in vitro.

Design

Prospective in vitro controlled study.

Setting

Veterinary teaching hospital.

Animals

Six healthy dogs.

Interventions

Blood from each dog was used for 4 separate kaolin‐activated TEG analyses: A negative control (blood–saline) and positive control (blood–Crotalus atrox venom) were used to assess the dog's normal coagulation and the effect of venom on TEG parameters. Thromboelastographic analyses were then run with blood, venom, and either Argentinian or North American antivenom. All TEG analyses from each dog were compared for efficacy.

Measurements and Main Results

The mean R values between the North American antivenom and negative controls were not significantly different (P = 0.681), but were significantly different (P = 0.024) between the Argentinian antivenom and negative controls. The mean fibrinolysis values measured 30 minutes after maximum amplitude achieved between the North American antivenom and negative controls were not significantly different (P = 0.198), but were significantly different (P < 0.001) between the Argentinian antivenom and negative controls. The mean K values between the Argentinian antivenom and negative controls were not significantly different (P = 0.274), but were significantly different (P = 0.043) between the North American antivenom and negative controls.

Conclusions

The North American antivenom normalized time to clot formation and fibrinolysis, while the Argentinian antivenom normalized rate of clot formation. Further studies in naturally envenomated patients are necessary to determine if these in vitro results would translate into different clinical outcomes.
Shadow radiation and Fresnel diffraction of acoustic waves
Authors: Ufimtsev Pyotr Ya. , Apaydin Gokhan , Sevgi Levent
Published: June 2022

Fresnel diffraction is a fundamental wave phenomenon. This article explains its physical nature using the examples of the diffraction of acoustic waves at soft and hard half-planes and at large apertures on a black screen. It is shown that the shadow radiation by opaque screens plays a central role in these diffraction phenomena. Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction at large apertures is presented as an asymptotic form of the shadow radiation. Fresnel and Grimaldi-type diffraction at the soft and hard half-planes is revealed as interference of the shadow radiation and the incident wave.
Mesopelagic fish gas bladder elongation, as estimated from wideband acoustic backscattering measurements
Authors: Khodabandeloo Babak , Ona Egil , Pedersen Geir , Korneliussen Rolf , Melle Webjørn , Klevjer Thor
Published: June 2022

Backscattered acoustic energy from a target varies with frequency and carries information about its material properties, size, shape, and orientation. Gas-bearing organisms are strong reflectors of acoustic energy at the commonly used frequencies (∼18–450 kHz) in fishery surveys, but lack of knowledge of their acoustic properties creates large uncertainties in mesopelagic biomass estimates. Improved knowledge about the volume and elongation (i.e., longest to shortest dimension) of swimbladders of mesopelagic fishes has been identified as an important factor to reduce the overall uncertainties in acoustic survey estimates of mesopelagic biomass. In this paper, a finite element approach was used to model gas-filled objects, revealing the structure of the backscattering, also at frequencies well above the main resonance frequency. Similar scattering features were observed in measured broadband backscattering of several individual mesopelagic organisms. A method is suggested for estimating the elongation of a gas-bubble using these features. The method is applied to the in situ measured wideband (33–380 kHz) target strength (TS) of single mesopelagic gas-bearing organisms from two stations in the North Atlantic (NA) and Norwegian Sea (NS). For the selected targets, the method suggested that the average elongation of gas-bladder at the NA and NS stations are 1.49 ± 0.52 and 2.86 ± 0.50, respectively.
Female reproductive life span is extended by targeted removal of fibrotic collagen from the mouse ovary
Authors: Umehara Takashi , Winstanley Yasmyn E. , Andreas Eryk , Morimoto Atsushi , Williams Elisha J. , Smith Kirsten M. , Carroll John , Febbraio Mark A. , Shimada Masayuki , Russell Darryl L. , Robker Rebecca L.
Published: June 2022

The female ovary contains a finite number of oocytes, and their release at ovulation becomes sporadic and disordered with aging and with obesity, leading to loss of fertility. Understanding the molecular defects underpinning this pathology is essential as age of childbearing and obesity rates increase globally. We identify that fibrosis within the ovarian stromal compartment is an underlying mechanism responsible for impaired oocyte release, which is initiated by mitochondrial dysfunction leading to diminished bioenergetics, oxidative damage, inflammation, and collagen deposition. Furthermore, antifibrosis drugs (pirfenidone and BGP-15) eliminate fibrotic collagen and restore ovulation in reproductively old and obese mice, in association with dampened M2 macrophage polarization and up-regulated MMP13 protease. This is the first evidence that ovarian fibrosis is reversible and indicates that drugs targeting mitochondrial metabolism may be a viable therapeutic strategy for women with metabolic disorders or advancing age to maintain ovarian function and extend fertility.
Conjugated microporous polymer membranes for light-gated ion transport
Authors: Zhou Zongyao , Chen I-Chun , Rehman Lubna M. , Aboalsaud Ammar M. , Shinde Digambar B. , Cao Li , Zhang Yuting , Lai Zhiping
Published: June 2022

Inspired by the light-gated ion channels in cell membranes that play important roles in many biological activities, herein, we developed an artificial light-gated ion channel membrane out of conjugated microporous polymers. Through bottom-up design of the monomer molecular structure and by the electropolymerization method, the membrane pore size and thickness were precisely controlled on the molecular level. The obtained membrane exhibited uniform pore size and highly sensitive light-switchable response. The photoisomerization of the polymer chain resulted in a reversible “on and off” light control over the pore size and subsequently led to light-gated ion transport across the membrane for a series of ions including hydrogen, potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, and aluminum ions.
Atmospheric Research for Adaptive Optics
Authors: Bolbasova L. A. , Lukin V. P.
Published: June 2022

Adaptive optics (AO) systems are an essential part of large astronomical telescopes and laser complexes operating through the atmosphere. Each AO system is individually designed; the requirements for the components and the performance of an AO system are determined by the intensity and distribution of turbulent fluctuations of the air refractive index over the radiation propagation path. In this work, we review the techniques and instruments for measuring and forecasting atmospheric conditions for AO, including devices and techniques developed at the Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. The basic principles of atmospheric AO and the related atmospheric parameters are briefly described. Particular attention is paid to the parameter used for the estimation of capabilities of AO systems, i.e., the wind speed at a level of 200 hPa. The comparison with the data from foreign astronomical observatories is carried out. The necessity for atmospheric research for large Russian astronomical observatories is discussed.
Systems and policies to reduce secondhand smoke in multiunit housing in Singapore: a qualitative study
Authors: van der Eijk Yvette , Tan Grace Ping Ping , Teo Odelia
Published: June 2022

Background

Multiunit housing residents are often exposed to neighbours’ secondhand smoke (SHS). Little is known on the current systems available to protect residents in places not covered by a residential smoking ban, or what constitutes an appropriate policy approach. This study explores relevant systems and policies in Singapore, a densely populated city-state where the vast majority live in multiunit housing and discussions on regulating smoking in homes are ongoing.

Methods

In-depth interviews with 18 key informants involved in thought leadership, advocacy, policy or handling SHS complaints, and 14 smokers and 16 non-smokers exposed to SHS at home.

Results

The current system to address neighbours’ SHS comprises three steps: moral suasion, mediation and legal dispute. Moral suasion and mediation are often ineffective as they depend on smokers to willingly restrict their smoking habits. Legal dispute can yield a court order to stop smoking inside the home, but the process places a high evidence burden on complainants. While setting up designated smoking points or running social responsibility campaigns may help to create no-smoking norms, more intractable cases will likely require regulation, a polarising approach which raises concerns about privacy.

Conclusions

Without regulations to limit SHS in multiunit housing, current systems are limited in their enforceability as they treat SHS as a neighbourly nuisance rather than a public health threat.
Analysis of mulched drip irrigation with brackish water in cotton fields using the HYDRUS-3D numerical model
Authors: Yuyang Shan , Lijun Su , Quanjiu Wang , Yan Sun , Weiyi Mu , Jihong Zhang , Kai Wei
Published: June 2022

This study combined continuous monitoring in the field using computer modeling to understand soil water movement and salt transport so as to design a suitable irrigation system for cotton using mulched drip irrigation with brackish water. A reasonable irrigation regime was determined and verified using thresholds of water and salinity stress in the various stages of cotton growth. In addition, some key factors, such as emitter discharge rate, emitter spacing, and initial water content, were screened for simulation, and irrigation uniformity and desalination rate were selected as the indicators for evaluation. The results showed that: ( i) The HYDRUS-3D model was a useful tool for designing suitable irrigation regimes, and the determined suitable irrigation quota was 5160 m3 hm−2 under mulched drip irrigation with brackish water during the growth period of cotton in 2019. ( ii) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate decreased with an increase in the emitter discharge, and the linear relationship between uniformity, leaching rate, and emitter discharge could be identified. ( iii) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate decreased with an increase in emitter spacing, and power functions might be used to calculate uniformity, leaching rate, and emitter spacing. ( iv) The irrigation uniformity and leaching rate increased with an increase in initial water content, and the relationship between the two indexes and initial water content was defined by a linear function and a power function, respectively. These results provided a valuable reference for the rational use of drip irrigation with brackish water.
Numerical solution of fractional dynamical systems with impulsive effects
Authors: Parsa Moghaddam B. , Dabiri A. , Mostaghim Z. S. , Moniri Z.
Published: June 2022

This paper proposes an effective numerical scheme for solving impulsive fractional differential equations. For this purpose, Hermite interpolation is used to approximate fractional-order integrals. The proposed methods convergence analysis is studied in detail by bounding the approximation error. Finally, the application and performance of the presented method are illustrated in two practical examples, including the impulsive control of the family of Lorenz systems, and the obtained results are compared with an existing method.
Ensemble Learning for Multispectral Scene Classification
Authors: Soroush Rahman , Baleghi Yasser
Published: June 2022

In the recent decades, various techniques based on deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have been applied to scene classification. Most of the techniques are established upon single-spectral images such that environmental conditions may greatly affect the quality of images in the visible (RGB) spectrum. One remedy for this downside is to merge the infrared (IR) with the visible spectrum for gaining the complementary information in comparison with the unimodal analysis. This paper incorporates the RGB, IR and near-infrared (NIR) images into a multispectral analysis for scene classification. For this purpose, two strategies are adopted. In the first strategy, each RGB, IR and NIR image is separately applied to DCNNs and then classified according to the output score of each network. In addition, an optimal decision threshold is obtained based on the same output score of each network. In the second strategy, three image components are extracted from each type of image using wavelet transform decomposition. Independent DCNNs are then trained on the image components of all the scene classes. Eventually, the final classification of the scene is accomplished through an appropriate ensemble architecture. The use of this architecture alongside a transfer learning approach and simple classifiers leads to lesser computational costs in small datasets. These experiments reveal the superiority of the proposed method over the state-of-the-art architectures in terms of the accuracy of scene classification.
Compactness versus hugeness at successor cardinals
Authors: Cox Sean , Eskew Monroe
Published: June 2022

If [Formula: see text] is regular and [Formula: see text], then the existence of a weakly presaturated ideal on [Formula: see text] implies [Formula: see text]. This partially answers a question of Foreman and Magidor about the approachability ideal on [Formula: see text]. As a corollary, we show that if there is a presaturated ideal [Formula: see text] on [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is semiproper, then CH holds. We also show some barriers to getting the tree property and a saturated ideal simultaneously on a successor cardinal from conventional forcing methods.
The Ramsey theory of Henson graphs
Authors: Dobrinen Natasha
Published: June 2022

Analogues of Ramsey’s Theorem for infinite structures such as the rationals or the Rado graph have been known for some time. In this context, one looks for optimal bounds, called degrees, for the number of colors in an isomorphic substructure rather than one color, as that is often impossible. Such theorems for Henson graphs however remained elusive, due to lack of techniques for handling forbidden cliques. Building on the author’s recent result for the triangle-free Henson graph, we prove that for each [Formula: see text], the k-clique-free Henson graph has finite big Ramsey degrees, the appropriate analogue of Ramsey’s Theorem. We develop a method for coding copies of Henson graphs into a new class of trees, called strong coding trees, and prove Ramsey theorems for these trees which are applied to deduce finite big Ramsey degrees. The approach here provides a general methodology opening further study of big Ramsey degrees for ultrahomogeneous structures. The results have bearing on topological dynamics via work of Kechris, Pestov, and Todorcevic and of Zucker.
Borel combinatorics fail in HYP
Authors: Towsner Henry , Weisshaar Rose , Westrick Linda
Published: June 2022

We characterize the completely determined Borel subsets of HYP as exactly the [Formula: see text] subsets of HYP. As a result, HYP believes there is a Borel well-ordering of the reals, that the Borel Dual Ramsey Theorem fails, and that every Borel d-regular bipartite graph has a Borel perfect matching, among other examples. Therefore, the Borel Dual Ramsey Theorem and several theorems of descriptive combinatorics are not theories of hyperarithmetic analysis. In the case of the Borel Dual Ramsey Theorem, this answers a question of Astor, Dzhafarov, Montalbán, Solomon and the third author.
Global solution to non-self-adjoint stochastic Volterra equation
Authors: Kiyanpour Mojtaba , Zangeneh Bijan Z. , Jahanipur Ruhollah
Published: June 2022

In this paper, we establish the existence and uniqueness of the mild solution for stochastic Volterra equation with a non-self-adjoint operator. The specific Volterra equation that we consider is a generalization of the fractional differential equation. To obtain the mild solution for the case of multiplicative problem, the resolvent property of the linear perturbation of a sectorial operator will be considered.
Artificial intelligence and IoT-based biomedical sensors for intelligent cattle husbandry systems
Authors: Periyanayagi S. , Priya G. Gnana , Chandrasekar T. , Sumathy V. , Raja S. P.
Published: June 2022

The presence of many animals with different body types and characteristics necessitates the need for cattle husbandry system. Especially in cows, elevated heart rates have been linked to symptoms of stress, such as sweating and anguish, and they can provide valuable information for monitoring systems. There are many ways to measure a cow’s pulse rate. In the current study, cow’s pulmonary function, cardiovascular system, contemplation rates and durations have been measured using biomedical sensors. An electro cardiogram-based sensor (ECS) approach for noninvasively monitoring the ruminant’s ingestive activity has also been developed in this study. A sensor adapter is used to sample the chewing surface Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal from ruminant animals’ masseter muscles while eating. When it comes to this, an intra-ruminal real-time sensor is designed to get accurate information on the ruminal activity of cows while grazing. A Fixed-Length Feature Extraction (FLFE) algorithm is used to analyze the respiratory rate and other factors. Four segmentation methods that have been tested and used to split the chewing signal automatically are Blind Fragmentation (BF), Fixed Duration Peak-Centered Segmentation (FDPCS), Double Onset Segmentation (DOS) and Fixed-Length Feature Extraction (FLFE) algorithm. Digital components have been integrated into an IoT-enabled digital platform for commercial use. The obtained ECG signal is extracted and segmented to analyze the respiratory rate and split the signal chewing state. Its main goal is to automate some monotonous animal care activities using Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure better care and management of animals. The FLFE algorithm yielded a prediction accuracy of 94.5% for the respiratory rate of the cow when compared to healthy animals.
Magnetic cochains Laplacians and their essential self-adjointness
Authors: Baalal Azeddine , Hatim Khalid
Published: June 2022

In this paper, we introduce the notion of oriented triangular faces [Formula: see text], the notion of edges potential [Formula: see text] and the notion of triangular faces potential [Formula: see text] in a connected oriented locally finite graph [Formula: see text] in order to construct a new framework that’s we call the magnetic weighted [Formula: see text]-simplicial complex [Formula: see text]. On this new magnetic weighted framework, we introduce the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains set, the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains set, the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains set and the magnetic cochains set. After that, we construct the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains Laplacian, the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains Laplacian, the magnetic [Formula: see text]-cochains Laplacian and the magnetic cochains Laplacian. Finally, we ensure essential self-adjointness for our new magnetic cochains Laplacians using the Stieltjes vectors.
Variation of Adriatic and Wiener indices for different cycle lengths and paths
Authors: Usha A. , Shanmukha M. C. , Praveen B. M. , Yadu Krishnan S. , Shilpa K. C.
Published: June 2022

The outcome of a transformation of chemical structure into mathematical model results in numerical descriptor. The chemical compound of a molecule is encoded into a useful number called molecular descriptor. These numerical descriptors have significant importance in the applications of physico-chemical properties of QSAR/QSPR/QSTR studies. Motivated by the work of Vukicevic, Wiener index and Adriatic index are determined for a path attached to cycles of length [Formula: see text]3. The attached cycle is gradually moved through the set of vertices of the path to study the variation of the Wiener index. It is found that the Adriatic index is equal for all such graphs but the Wiener index, however, appears to be different in every case and lengths.
Multi-objective Learning to Overcome Catastrophic Forgetting in Time-series Applications
Authors: Mahmoud Reem A. , Hajj Hazem
Published: June 2022

One key objective of artificial intelligence involves the continuous adaptation of machine learning models to new tasks. This branch of continual learning is also referred to as lifelong learning (LL), where a major challenge is to minimize catastrophic forgetting, or forgetting previously learned tasks. While previous work on catastrophic forgetting has been focused on vision problems; this work targets time-series data. In addition to choosing an architecture appropriate for time-series sequences, our work addresses limitations in previous work, including the handling of distribution shifts in class labels. We present multi-objective learning with three loss functions to minimize catastrophic forgetting, prediction error, and errors in generalizing across label shifts, simultaneously. We build a multi-task autoencoder network with a hierarchical convolutional recurrent architecture. The proposed method is capable of learning multiple time-series tasks simultaneously. For cases where the model needs to learn multiple new tasks, we propose sequential learning, starting with tasks that have the best individual performances. This solution was evaluated on four benchmark human activity recognition datasets collected from mobile sensing devices. A wide set of baseline comparisons is performed, and an ablation analysis is run to evaluate the impact of the different losses in the proposed multi-objective method. The results demonstrate an up to 4% performance improvement in catastrophic forgetting compared to the use of loss functions in state-of-the-art solutions while demonstrating minimal losses compared to upper bound methods of traditional fine-tuning (FT) and multi-task learning (MTL).
µV: An Articulation, Rotation, Scaling, and Translation Invariant (ARST) Multi-stroke Gesture Recognizer
Authors: Magrofuoco Nathan , Roselli Paolo , Vanderdonckt Jean
Published: June 2022

Finger-based gesture input becomes a major interaction modality for surface computing. Due to the low precision of the finger and the variation in gesture production, multistroke gestures are still challenging to recognize in various setups. In this paper, we present µV, a multistroke gesture recognizer that addresses the properties of articulation, rotation, scaling, and translation invariance by combining $P+'s cloud-matching for articulation invariance with !FTL's local shape distance for RST-invariance. We evaluate µV against five competitive recognizers on MMG, an existing gesture set, and on two new versions for smartphones and tablets, MMG+ and RMMG+, a randomly rotated version on both platforms. µV is significantly more accurate than its predecessors when rotation invariance is required and not significantly inferior when it is not. µV is also significantly faster than others with many samples and not significantly slower with few samples.
Engineers, Aware! Commercial Tools Disagree on Social Media Sentiment: Analyzing the Sentiment Bias of Four Major Tools
Authors: Jung Soon-Gyo , Salminen Joni , Jansen Bernard J.
Published: June 2022

Large commercial sentiment analysis tools are often deployed in software engineering due to their ease of use. However, it is not known how accurate these tools are, and whether the sentiment ratings given by one tool agree with those given by another tool. We use two datasets - (1) NEWS consisting of 5,880 news stories and 60K comments from four social media platforms: Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook; and (2) IMDB consisting of 7,500 positive and 7,500 negative movie reviews - to investigate the agreement and bias of four widely used sentiment analysis (SA) tools: Microsoft Azure (MS), IBM Watson, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). We find that the four tools assign the same sentiment on less than half (48.1%) of the analyzed content. We also find that AWS exhibits neutrality bias in both datasets, Google exhibits bi-polarity bias in the NEWS dataset but neutrality bias in the IMDB dataset, and IBM and MS exhibit no clear bias in the NEWS dataset but have bi-polarity bias in the IMDB dataset. Overall, IBM has the highest accuracy relative to the known ground truth in the IMDB dataset. Findings indicate that psycholinguistic features - especially affect, tone, and use of adjectives - explain why the tools disagree. Engineers are urged caution when implementing SA tools for applications, as the tool selection affects the obtained sentiment labels.
Designing Guided User Tasks in VR Embodied Experiences
Authors: Wu Hui-Yin , Robert Florent , Fafet Théo , Graulier Brice , Passin-Cauneau Barthelemy , Sassatelli Lucile , Winckler Marco
Published: June 2022

Virtual reality (VR) offers extraordinary opportunities in user behavior research to study and observe how people interact in immersive 3D environments. A major challenge of designing these 3D experiences and user tasks, however, lies in bridging the inter-relational gaps of perception between the designer, the user, and the 3D scene. Paul Dourish identified three gaps of perception: ontology between the scene representation and the user and designer interpretation, intersubjectivity of task communication between designer and user, and intentionality between the user's intentions and designer's interpretations.

We present the GUsT-3D framework for designing Guided User Tasks in embodied VR experiences, i.e., tasks that require the user to carry out a series of interactions guided by the constraints of the 3D scene. GUsT-3D is implemented as a set of tools that support a 4-step workflow to (1) annotate entities in the scene with navigation and interaction possibilities, (2) define user tasks with interactive and timing constraints, (3) manage interactions, task validation, and user logging in real-time, and (4) conduct post-scenario analysis through spatio-temporal queries using ontology definitions. To illustrate the diverse possibilities enabled by our framework, we present two case studies with an indoor scene and an outdoor scene, and conducted a formative evaluation involving six expert interviews to assess the framework and the implemented workflow. Analysis of the responses show that the GUsT-3D framework fits well into a designer's creative process, providing a necessary workflow to create, manage, and understand VR embodied experiences.