bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction and Validation of Risk Factors and Prognostic Model for Liver Metastasis of Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Zhang Ziwan , Shi Yiheng , Li Renjun , Bao Zhiyuan , Wu Lihong , Zhao Yanchao , Fan Haohan , Wang Kai , Fei Sujuan
Published: August 2023

Background
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a common malignancy that often metastasizes to the liver. The presence of liver metastasis (LM) in PC significantly impacts treatment selection and prognosis, but factors affecting the occurrence and prognosis of pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis (PCLM) are not well described.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with PC between 2010 and 2015 were selected from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Independent risk factors for PCLM were identified using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Independent prognostic factors affecting the overall survival (OS) of PCLM patients were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression, and two nomograms were constructed to predict the risk and prognosis of PCLM. Nomograms were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, C-index, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA).
Results
Multivariate logistic regression showed that age, primary site, grade, histological subtype, N stage, radiotherapy, surgery, bone metastasis, and lung metastasis were independent risk factors for PCLM. Multivariable COX regression showed that age, grade, histological subtype, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and lung metastasis were independent prognostic factors for PCLM. Diagnostic and prognostic nomograms were constructed based on the ROC curves, C-index, calibration curves and DCA curves, and both nomograms showed good predictive performance and clinical utility.
Conclusion
The two nomograms constructed in this study exhibit good predictive performance in the risk and prognosis of PCLM and may thus serve as a guide for future clinical management of PCLM.
Pheromone screening and neuro-endocrine regulation in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) under different stocking density
Authors: Li Jiyuan , Wang Yanfeng , Guo Teng , Xu Shihong , Gao Guang , Liu Feng , Guo Xiaoyang , Wu Yanduo , Zhao Haixia , Li Jun
Published: August 2023

Pheromones play a vital role in regulating fish behavior, including reproduction, aggregation, hazard recognition, and food location. To gain a better understanding of chemical communication in fish produced by density changes, this study analyzed the metabolites released by turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) under different stocking density and investigated their effects on the neuroendocrine function of turbot. The experiment was conducted at low (LD: 3.01 kg/m3), medium (MD: 6.62 kg/m3), and high (HD: 10.84 kg/m3) densities for 15 days. High-throughput non-targeted metabolomics (LC-MS/MS) was used to identify variations in metabolites released into the aquatic environment by turbot at different densities. Results showed that 29 and 47 metabolites were significantly upregulated in MD and HD groups, respectively, compared with the LD group. Among them, hexadecanedioic acid, xanthine, phenethylamine, proline, and styrene were significantly upregulated in MD vs LD, HD vs MD, and HD vs LD. The VIP diagram of OPLS-DA alignment showed that phenethylamine was the most important metabolite shared by MD vs LD, HD vs MD, and HD vs LD. To investigate the impact of phenethylamine on turbot, its concentration in the aquatic environment was set at 0 (CON), 10− 7(LP), 10− 5(HP) mol/l via exogenous addition, and turbot were exposed to these environments for 2 days. Key genetic changes in the GH/IGF-1 signaling pathway, HPI axis of turbot were studied using qRT-PCR for density treatment and phenethylamine treatment. The results demonstrated that the expression of GH, GHR, and IGF-1 was significantly lower, while the expression of CRH and ACTH was higher in the HD group. Additionally, plasma levels of cortisol, glucose, triglycerides, and T3were also highest in the HD group compared to the LD and MD groups and were positively correlated with density. In the phenethylamine treatment, there was a high degree of concordance between the GH/IGF-1 signaling pathway (GH, GHR, IGF-1), HPI axis (CRH, ACTH) and plasma physiological changes (cortisol, glucose, triglycerides, T3) in the phenethylamine-treated group and the density-treated group. Thus, phenethylamine produced by turbot under high stocking density may act as a pheromone of density stress, and its effect is dose-dependent and trace effect.
Controllable deformations of unconstrained ideal nematic elastomers
Authors: Mihai L. Angela , Goriely Alain
Published: August 2023

We establish that, for ideal unconstrained uniaxial nematic elastomers described by a homogeneous isotropic strain-energy density function, the only smooth deformations that can be controlled by the application of surface tractions only and are universal in the sense that they are independent of the strain-energy density are those for which the gradient is constant and the liquid crystal director is either aligned uniformly or oriented randomly in Cartesian coordinates. This result generalizes the classical Ericksen’s theorem for non-linear homogeneous isotropic hyperelastic materials. While Ericksen’s theorem is directly applicable to liquid crystal elastomers in an isotropic phase where the director is oriented randomly, in a nematic phase, the constitutive strain-energy density must account also for the liquid crystal orientation which leads to significant differences in the analysis compared to the purely elastic counterpart.
FFDNet:Fine-Grained Facial Expression Recognition in Challenging Environments
Authors: He Yujun , Han Yongguo , Zhang Hongying
Published: August 2023

Facial expression recognition has made significant progress. However, it still faces challenges in wild environments due to factors such as occlu-sion and posture changes. To address this challenge, the paper proposes a robust framework for facial expression recognition, Feature Fusion and Feature Decomposition Net. Specifically, for the differences in face region scales, multi-scale feature fusion is used in the feature extraction stage to obtain region features of different scales. The fine-grained module decomposes the features into multiple fine-grained features, and the encoder is used to capture the features with discriminative ability and small differences. To improve feature diversity and reduce redundancy, Diversity Feature Loss is proposed to drive the model to extract features with low correlation and mine richer fine-grained features. The results of extensive experiments on a benchmark dataset for facial expression recognition show that FFDNet achieves superior performance compared to some excellent models, in particular demonstrating significant advantages in the complex occlusion and pose variation situations.
Long distance charging behaviour and range anxiety: An adaptive choice design approach
Authors: Thorhauge Mikkel , Rich Jeppe , Mabit Stefan E.
Published: August 2023

This paper presents a novel adaptive stated choice experiment formulated as a rolling choice design to capture range anxiety during long-distance travel. It is assumed that respondents have a forward-looking perspective allowing them to select from a set of charging alternatives along the route or postpone charging for a later choice stage. Based on these data, we develop a mixed logit model that reveals several interesting findings. First, we quantify a relationship between the probability to charge and the remaining battery range. Secondly, we find that range anxiety, and thereby battery utilisation between recharges is indeed a heterogeneous quantity that varies among user groups. Tesla drivers and individuals below 50 years of age are less prone to range anxiety compared to other segments. Finally, the results suggest that charging at the early stages of a trip is indeed likely even when the battery level is high.
Multi-Disease Recognition in Tomato Plants: Evaluating the Performance of CNN and Improved YOLOv7 Models for Accurate Detection and Classification
Authors: Umar Muhammad , Altaf Saud , Sattar Kashif , Somroo Muhammad Waseem , Sivakumar Sivaramakrishnan
Published: August 2023

The ability to accurately identify tomato leaves in a field setting is crucial for achieving early yield estimation. It may be difficult to determine exactly what diseases are affecting tomato plants due to the overlap in symptoms between different diseases. These are the earliest signs of disease that we found in the leaves of tomato plants. Yellow leaf curl virus, leaf mold, light blight, early blight, Mosaic virus, Septoria leaf spot, and bacterial spot are just some of the seven types of plant leaf diseases that were taken into account in this paper. For the development of a testbed environment for data acquisition, the greenhouse at the university was utilized for data on the leaves of tomato plants. This study proposes a target detection model based on the improved YOLOv7 to accurately detect and categorize tomato leaves in the field. To improve the model's feature extraction capabilities, we first incorporate the detection mechanisms SimAM and DAiAM into the framework of the baseline YOLOv7 network. To reduce the amount of information lost during the down-sampling process, the max-pooling convolution (MPConv) structure is then improved. After that, this model arrived at a satisfactory outcome. Then, the image is segmented using the SIFT technique for classification, and the key regions are extracted for use in calculating feature values. After that, these data points are sent to a CNN classifier, which has a 98.8% accuracy rate and a 1.2% error rate. Finally, we compare our study to previous research to show how useful the proposed work is and to provide backing for the concept.
Metal objects were much desired. A 16 th -century shipwreck cargo off the coast of Esposende (Portugal) and the importance of studying ship cargos
Authors: Casimiro Tania , Castro Filipe , Almeida Ana , Magalhães Ivone , Teixeira Elsa , Frias-Bulhosa Elisa , Dostal Chris
Published: August 2023

During winter storms in 2014 and 2017, strong waves threw hundreds of timbers and artefacts into the Belinho beach in the North of Portugal. These were the remains of what was later discovered to be a 16th -century shipwreck, probably originating from Northern Europe. This paper aims to study the material culture associated with that site, mainly formed by hundreds of pewter, brass, lead, iron, and stone artefacts, discussing the importance of studying cargo. Most of these objects seem to have belonged to the ship’s shipment and are tied to a European trade system reflecting economic, cultural, and symbolic behaviours.
Effects of air ventilation cap on the calibration uncertainty of air thermometers in climate chamber
Authors: Kim Yong-Gyoo , Kwon Suyong , Kim Sunghun
Published: August 2023

Accurate and reliable air temperature measurements are essential in many scientific and industrial applications. The calibration of temperature sensors in a climatic chamber is a commonly used method of ensuring the accuracy of temperature measurements. This paper presents an experimental study aimed at evaluating the effects of chamber ventilation on the uncertainty of air temperature thermometers. Three types of sensors were used with a nominal resistance of 100 Ω, and with different thicknesses of 0.5 mm, 3 mm and 6 mm; the stability of each thermometer was measured at six temperatures ranging from − 40 ℃ to 60 ℃. The temperature stability of the thermometer improved significantly below 0 ℃ when a ventilation cap was applied to control the ventilation speed to a lower level inside the cap. This effect was dramatic with smallest diameter of thermometer, which showed fastest response behavior. The expanded uncertainty without a ventilation cap for the D0.5 sample at − 40 ℃ was 1.08 ℃, and decreased to approximately 0.24 ℃ with a ventilation cap. Air ventilation had no distinct effects on the temperature stability above 20 ℃ due to the enhanced control accuracy of the chamber. In conclusion, measurement uncertainty could be considerably reduced by appropriate control of the air circulation in the chamber, even under conditions of poor temperature stability in the chamber.
Mechanism of Hard Rock Static Blasting-induced Crack Expansion
Authors: Xu Zhijun , Cao Yue , Li Chong , Tai Lianhai , He Sifeng
Published: August 2023

How to deal with hard rock cheaply and safely is a pressing issue in today's coal mining. Weakening fractures in hard rock have always been a significant concern in China's coal mine engineering. In this study, the mechanism of a crusher fracturing hard rock is examined from a mechanical standpoint based on the static crusher component action and the expansion mechanism of the hydration reaction. It is assumed that single-hole fracturing is divided into three fracturing stages: the microfracture stage, the fissure development stage, and the rupture stage. It was determined that the expansion pressure of SCA increased with the increase in hole diameter under the hole diameter range of 30 mm-45 mm, and the range of the expansion pressure was 43.5 MPa-75.1 MPa; the reasonable use of SCA was summarized; and the expansion and fracturing properties of SCA were quantitatively analyzed based on the expansion pressure test and single-hole specimen fracturing experiments; Three fractures, typically in the form of "D-type damage, were the hallmark of expansion cracking in single-hole specimens. SAC cracking began later, but the breaking rate was still rather significant. PFC2D was used to mimic the expansion fracturing of a single-hole specimen without peripheral pressure, which matched the experimental fracturing result and demonstrated the viability of using PFC to replicate SAC fracturing. Analysis of double-hole specimens with varying hole diameters, hole spacings, and circumferential pressures under expansion revealed that the hole diameters were positively correlated with the cracking effect, the hole spacings and circumferential pressures were negatively correlated with the cracking effect, and the hole diameters were also positively correlated with the crack extension and distribution characteristics. Combining the findings from experimental and numerical research, it can be said that the pore size of SCA plays a dominating role in the fracturing impact and that the second largest influences are pore spacing and surrounding pressure.
Stereopsis and Clinical Features of Esotropia Patients Accompanied by Congenital Ptosis
Authors: Choi Heeyoung , Kim Su-Jin , Kim Sang Yoon , Yang Seungahn , Lee Ji-Eun
Published: August 2023

Background
To evaluate binocular function and clinical features in patients with esotropia (ET) accompanied by congenital ptosis.
Methods
Clinical records of 44 ET patients with congenital ptosis (ET-ptosis group) and 71 age-matched ET patients without ptosis (ET only group) who presented for eye examination between January 2016 and December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), magnitude of esodeviation (at a distance and near) and stereopsis at the first visit were reviewed. Stereopsis and other clinical features of the two groups were compared.
Results
The mean (± standard deviation) age of overall patients was 5.7 (± 1.9) years. There was no significant difference in the distribution of age, sex, spherical equivalent refractive errors, BCVA, or magnitude of esotropia (at distance or near) between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Furthermore, stereopsis at near and the number of patients with amblyopia did not differ significantly between the two groups (Titmus test, p = 0.73; Randot test, p = 0.49; number of amblyopia patients, n = 16 (36.4%) vs. n = 35 (49.3%), p = 0.39). Of these patients, 51 (44.3%) had amblyopia. The number of ptosis patients did not differ significantly between the amblyopia group and the no amblyopia group (p = 0.12).
Conclusion
In patients with ET and congenital ptosis, stereopsis and visual acuity were not different from those in ET only patients. The presence of co-existing ptosis might not have a further deleterious impact on binocular function in ET patients.
Spectral change of curcumin in DMSO-NaOH solution after exposure to air
Authors: Roy Bahnishikha , Singha Joydeep , Goswami Santanu , Saikia Jyoti Prasad
Published: August 2023

Curcumin (CurH3) forms a blue derivative (CurH2−) when it combines with superoxide radicals. The blue colouring is caused by the proton loss of curcumin to the superoxide radicals. In DMSO, in the presence of excess NaOH and dissolved oxygen, superoxide radicals are produced by consuming the hydroxyl ion which causes the deprotonation of curcumin (Cur3−) and gives the corresponding orange colour. The production of superoxide radicals increased as it was more exposed to air (maybe oxygen). As a result, the pH drops, and the orange derivative is protonated by one H+ ion, producing the corresponding blue colour derivative (CurH2−). The conversion of the orange derivate to the blue derivative may suggest the presence of oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere, allowing the feasibility of a novel oxygen sensor. The physicochemical characteristics and stability of this blue-coloured curcumin derivative are investigated. The distinct colour shifts of curcumin upon the addition of different volumes of NaOH were also investigated. The UV-Vis and FTIR analyses were used to study the stability of the blue curcumin derivative.
Knowledge, awareness and attitude towards keratorefractive surgery among myopes at Eye foundation hospital group, Nigeria
Authors: AGU Obiajulu Chidubem , Olatunbosun Kareem , OKONKWO Ogugua , Ashaye Abimbola , EBIEM Peter
Published: August 2023

OBJECTIVES
The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, awareness and attitude towards keratorefractive surgery among myopes attending Eye Foundation Hospital Group (EFHG)
MATERIALS & METHODS
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among consecutive consenting new patients diagnosed with any form of myopia at Eye foundation hospital group. Interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions were used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, awareness and attitude towards keratorefractive surgery.
RESULTS
Three hundred and two participants were enrolled into the study with mean age of 30.48 ± 8.44 years and an age range of 18 years to 57 years. Two hundred and seventeen (72%) of the participants had not heard about keratorefractive surgery before while 82 (27%) of the participants had heard about it, with social media (62.2%) contributing more to the awareness than the ophthalmologist (35.4%) and optometrist (17.1%). The odds of awareness of keratorefractive surgical procedures increased with urban place of residence (OR = 2.710, 95%CI 1.197–6.137; p = 0.017) and higher income (OR = 2.579, 95%CI 1.309–5.081; p = 0.006). Keratorefractive surgery was also viewed as risky, surgery for the financially privileged and needless.
CONCLUSION
There was relative low awareness and negative attitude to keratorefractive surgical services in this study and the significant predictors of awareness of keratorefractive surgery were urban residence and annual income of at least 1,000,000. There is a need for patient education to improve awareness and attitude towards keratorefractive surgery.
Synchronization of Two Symmetric Bones of the Human Body for Control of Bone Cancer
Authors: Abadi Ali Soltani Sharif , Rafeeyan Mansour , Abootalebi Vahid
Published: August 2023

The human body has symmetric bones. This paper uses control engineering concepts to design a suitable controller to synchronize two symmetric bones of the human body to control and treat bone cancer. A Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control (NTSMC) method will be employed to design the proposed control inputs. The control inputs can be the chemical drugs that can be used to treat bone cancer. The dynamical equations of bone cancer will be used to apply the designed control method and test it. For testing the designed controller, Simulink/MATLAB software will be used. The proposed controller is chattering-free, robust against uncertainties and external disturbances, and finite-time stable in the control engineering view. Bone cancer will be treated for almost one year using the proposed control method.
The carbon dioxide removal gap
Authors: Lamb William , Gasser Thomas , Grassi Giacomo , Gidden Matthew , Powis Carter , Geden Oliver , Nemet Gregory , Pratama Yoga , Riahi Keywan , Smith Stephen M , Steinhauser Jan , Vaughan Naomi E. , Minx Jan C.
Published: August 2023

Rapid emissions reductions, including reductions in deforestation-based land emissions, are the dominant source of global mitigation potential in the coming decades 1. But in addition, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will have an important role to play. Here we benchmark proposed CDR in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the long-term mitigation strategies against levels in integrated assessment scenarios that meet the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Our analysis finds a “CDR gap”, i.e. levels proposed by countries fall short of those in virtually all scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C - including in low energy demand scenarios with the most limited CDR scaling and aggressive near-term emissions reductions. Further, we observe that many countries propose to expand land-based removals, but none yet commit to significantly scaling novel methods such as bioenergy carbon capture and storage, biochar, or direct air carbon capture and storage.
Potenziale und Herausforderungen von Forschungssynthesen im Kontext der Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich am Beispiel des Critical Reviews
Authors: Heinemann Anna , Koschorreck Jan , Wilmers Annika , Sander Pia , Leber Jens
Published: August 2023

Forschungssynthesen haben im Kontext der Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich, u. a. im Hinblick auf die hohe Dynamik der Entwicklungen und Innovationen ein grosses Potenzial, systematische Überblicke über den aktuellen Stand zu geben. Sie können damit sowohl für Forschende als auch für Mitglieder der Praxiscommunity von grossem Wert sein. Critical Reviews stellen eine spezifische Form der Forschungssynthese dar, da zusätzlich zu einem strukturierten Überblick die eingeschlossene Literatur kritisch analysiert und eingeordnet wird. Gegebenenfalls schliessen sie dabei an bestehende Konzepte oder Modelle an und können damit ergänzende Perspektiven auf das Forschungsfeld aufzeigen oder zur Modellbildung beitragen. Das Vorgehen orientiert sich dabei an umfassend ausgearbeiteten Systematic Reviews, ermöglicht durch die in den vorgestellten Fallbeispielen verkürzte Bearbeitungszeit aber eine vergleichsweise zeitnahe Reaktion auf aktuelle Bildungsthemen. Die in diesem Beitrag vorgestellten Critical Reviews sind in den Bildungsbereichen Schule und Erwachsenenbildung entstanden. Die Beschreibung der beiden Fallbeispiele sowie die anschliessende Diskussion der methodischen Herausforderungen und Potenziale dienen der Reflexion und Einordnung von Forschungssynthesen, hier am Beispiel des Critical Reviews, im Kontext der Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich. Zusätzlich werden Implikationen auf der Arbeitsebene reflektiert.
FREIRE E SUAS CONTRIBUIÇÕES PARA PENSAR GESTÃO ESCOLAR EM CONTEXTO DE PANDEMIA
Authors: Martins Elita Betania de Andrade
Published: August 2023

O texto apresenta reflexões sobre gestão escolar, a partir das contribuições de Freire e outros autores que forneceram aporte teórico para uma pesquisa quanti-qualitativa, com o objetivo de identificar as percepções de docentes que atuam na educação básica sobre o seu trabalho durante o contexto de pandemia. O estudo utilizou questionários online (110 respondentes) e entrevistas com 7 professores, ao longo de 5 dias, trazendo informações sobre as condições de trabalho no ERE e sobre a atuação dos gestores escolares, evidenciando mecanismos de controle e opressão.
POLÍTICAS EDUCACIONAIS DE EDUCAÇÃO INTEGRAL E DE TEMPO INTEGRAL NO BRASIL: CONCEPÇÕES E TENSÕES ENTRE O PREVISTO E O REALIZADO
Authors: Figueiredo do Amaral e Silva Luisa
Published: August 2023

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as concepções de tempo integral e educação integral presentes nas políticas educacionais brasileiras. Para tal, fez uso das pesquisas bibliográfica e documental, investigando: (1) o acompanhamento da Meta 6 do PNE (2014-2024) e (2) três ações voltadas à oferta do tempo integral. Como resultado, foram identificadas: (1) uma orientação para o modelo de tempo integral denominado de alunos em tempo integral (CAVALIERE, 2009) e (2) uma orientação que vincula a oferta da educação integral às populações vulneráveis e ao binômio educação/proteção (COELHO, 2009).
ACESSO E USO DE APARATOS TECNOLÓGICOS E INTERNET NA EDUCAÇÃO SUPERIOR EM MINAS GERAIS
Authors: Santos Braga Daniel , Tolomelli Brescia Amanda , Mara Pinheiro Dantas Dina
Published: August 2023

Este estudo objetiva identificar aspectos do acesso e uso de aparatos tecnológicos e internet por professores e alunos de cursos de graduação da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, na pandemia de Covid-19. Foi aplicado questionário online, respondido por 229 docentes e 669 discentes. Identificou-se que o Ensino Remoto Emergencial exigiu adequações didático-pedagógicas, bem como aquisições ou melhorias de aparatos tecnológicos e redes de internet. Também possibilitou traçar o perfil sócio-econômico dos discentes e demonstrou as desigualdades de oportunidades educacionais vivenciadas.
AVALIAÇÃO DOS FATORES RELACIONADOS AO MODELO DESIGN UNIVERSAL DE APRENDIZAGEM NO ENSINO SUPERIOR
Authors: Lima Marcos Antonio Martins , Oliveira Maria Lucijane Gomes de
Published: August 2023

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar as evidências de aplicabilidade do modelo design universal de aprendizagem (UDL) no ensino superior. Foi utilizada a Escala Likert de avaliação de nove itens objetivos presentes no questionário semiestruturado para a pesquisa. Participaram deste estudo 110 estudantes de ensino superior de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 18 e 45 anos do curso de graduação em Pedagogia, modalidade semipresencial de uma Instituição Pública, localizada no estado do Ceará. A fim de verificar a consistência interna do instrumento foi utilizada a Análise Fatorial Exploratória. A confiabilidade foi verificada por meio do alfa de Cronbach (α = 0,826).  Constatou-se que as metodologias baseadas nos princípios da UDL trazem contribuições para a avaliação e para a aprendizagem na educação superior.
The Gender Wage Gap in Fisheries Labour Market: The Analysis of Sociodemographic and Work-Related Factors in Indonesia
Authors: Aini Yulinda Nurul
Published: August 2023

Income inequality is a challenge in the workplace, particularly in the fisheries subsector. Women are exploited, undervalued, and have limited educational opportunities. Age, education, employment position, duration of employ­ment, and hours worked all contribute to this discrepancy. This study investigates how sociodemographic and work-related factors affect the gender wage gap in Indonesia’s fisheries subsector. 7.574 samples from the 2019 National Labour Force Survey were utilized. In this investigation, multiple linear regression analysis was employed. We find that age (p0.001), working hours (p0.001), and years worked (p0.001) have a positive and significant association with earnings. In all categories, women earn less than men on average. The discrepancy in income depending on age, hours worked, and years worked ranges between 350 and 600 thousand rupiahs. The interaction of education and job status is likewise significant (p0.02). This interaction also demonstrates the correlation between education level and the wealth gap. Inequality in income ranges from 450 to 800 thousand rupiahs for formal workers with a low level of education to a bachelor's degree, and from 450 to 550 thousand rupiahs for informal workers. For this reason, increasing education and empowering women are important factors in reducing income inequality and realizing the SDGs target to achieve decent work. Furthermore, government programs and policies at both the community and national levels need to adopt the norms, roles, and involvement of women in the fisheries subsector.
On Bigeometric Laplace Integral Transform
Authors: KAYMAK Sinem , YALÇIN Numan
Published: August 2023

The purpose of this study is to mention the Laplace integral transform in bigeometric analysis, which is one of the non-Newtonian analysis by using the fundamental definitions and theorems of the Laplace integral transform, which is one of the integral transform methods of classical analysis. First of all, the concept of exponential arithmetic, which forms the basis of non Newtonian analysis, is given. As in classical analysis, definitions of the concepts of bigeometric limit, bigeometric continuity, bigeometric derivative and bigeometric integral are given in bigeometric analysis. Here, the definition of the bigeometric Laplace integral transform in bigeometric analysis is given. Then, some basic concepts and theorems of the bigeometric Laplace integral transform are given. For this purpose, the definitions of the concepts of bigeometric derivative and bigeometric indefinite integral and bigeometric definite integral in bigeometric analysis and the properties of these concepts are used. In addition, the properties of the bigeometric Laplace integral transform are investigated. Finally, solutions of bigeometric linear differential equations are investigated with the help of the bigeometric Laplace integral transform.
Evaluation of CMIP6 models in reproducing observed rainfall over Ethiopia
Authors: Berhanu Daniel , Alamirew Tena , Taye Meron Teferi , Tibebe Degefie , Gebrehiwot Solomon , Zeleke Gete
Published: August 2023

Ethiopia is highly susceptible to the effects of climate change and variability. This study evaluated the performances of 37 CMIP6 models against a gridded rainfall product of Ethiopia known as Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) in simulating the observed rainfall from 1981 to 2014. Taylor Skill Score was used for ranking the performance of individual models for mean monthly, June–September, and February–May seasonal rainfall. Comprehensive rating metrics (RM) were used to derive the overall ranks of the models. Results show that the performances of the models were not consistent in reproducing rainfall distributions at different statistical metrics and timeframes. More than 20 models simulated the largest dry bias on high topographic and rainfall-receiving areas of the country during the June–September season. The RM-based overall ranks of CMIP6 models showed that GFDL-CM4 is the best-performing model followed by GFDL-ESM4, NorESM2-MM, and CESM2 in simulating rainfall over Ethiopia. The ensemble of these four Global Climate Models showed the best performance in representing the spatiotemporal patterns of the observed rainfall relative to the ensembles of all models. Generally, this study highlighted the existence of dry bias in climate model projections for Ethiopia, which requires bias adjustment of the models, for impact assessment.
Sustained degradation of phenol under extreme conditions by polyurethane-based Bacillus sp. ZWB3
Authors: Zhou Xu , Liang Mingzhao , Zheng Yujing , Zhang Jianfeng , Liang Jing
Published: August 2023

Phenol is a serious pollutant to the environment, therefore, it is urgent to find a rapid and effective method for its removal. In this study, Bacillus cereus ZWB3 immobilized on a polyurethane (PUF) carrier was studied. The PUF-ZWB3 required only 20 h for the degradation of 1,500 mg L−1 of phenol, shortened by 8 h than the free bacteria. In addition, the PUF-ZWB3 could increase the degradation concentration of phenol from 1,500 to 2,000 mg L−1, and the complete degradation of 2,000 mg L−1 phenol only used 44 h. In addition, the PUF-ZWB3 showed much higher removal of phenol than the free bacteria at different pH values, salt concentrations, and heavy metal ions. Particularly, the PUF-ZWB3 could still completely remove phenol in a strongly alkaline environment, such as pH 10 and 11. In addition, the removal efficiency of phenol by PUF-ZWB3 was still 100% after 10 cycles. This study showed that the PUF immobilization system had great potential in the field of remediation of organic pollution.
olhar dos gestores sobre as condições de trabalho docente no Programa Ensino Integral
Authors: Rinaldi Renata Portela , Ulloffo Renan Moreira
Published: August 2023

A pesquisa, de caráter qualitativo, pretende analisar as condições do trabalho docente no Programa Ensino Integral (PEI), a partir da ótica da equipe de gestão escolar. A coleta de dados ocorreu com questionário e entrevista semiestruturada. A análise descritivo-interpretativa evidenciou aspectos positivos e fragilidades no programa, a saber: dedicação exclusiva possibilitada pelo RDPI e o acréscimo salarial por meio do GDPI; quanto às fragilidades: um possível caráter tecnicista, pressão pelo bom desempenho por meio das avaliações, ausência de um quadro de profissionais substitutos, aumento do número de aulas, diminuição do quadro docente, sobrecarga de trabalho e falta de ações de formação continuada. Apesar do PEI possuir aspectos que podem apontar para boas condições de trabalho e a promoção de uma “educação de boa qualidade”, o programa é fruto dos matizes das reformas neoliberalistas que se agravam e precarizam as condições de trabalho no passar dos anos.
A Study of Grievance Redressal Mechanism in Banking Industry in India
Authors: Yadav Shashi
Published: August 2023

“Customer service is a business need of banks and not social service.” Customers must have the right to access banking services and to thegrievance redressal machinery - to banks' internal mechanism for grievance redressal as well as the Banking Ombudsman Scheme of theReserve Bank - so that they are not 'excluded' from the banking fold. Grievances are an important input into the regulatory and supervisoryprocess for the banking industry. Therefore, it is imperative to check on the working and operation of the Banking Ombudsman Schemeand to ascertain the lacking behind it. This paper makes an effort to evaluate the efficiency of customer grievance redressal managementsystem in the banking industry i.e. Banking Ombudsman. Apart from this, an effort has been made to find out a way to reduce the customercomplaints.
An Assessment of Organizational Culture of Gedu College of Business Studies, Bhutan
Authors: Yangzom  , Phub Dorji
Published: August 2023

The pretest-only survey design using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument was administered to 96 staff members of GeduCollege of Business Studies, Royal University of Bhutan. The result shows the presence of market culture in the college, indicatingcompetition as the key aspect driving the daily functioning of the college. In addition, individual development seems to be a priority foreach staff member. On the other hand, the analysis reveals that clan culture is indicated as the preferred culture. Employees look forwardto working in teams founded on loyalty and trust. In view of these findings, it is intelligible for the management to shift towards clan-orientedculture as desired by its employees to fulfill its vision of a value-driven business education institute.
Application of an Exploratory Factor Analysis to understand the Employees Perception on Reward Management Practices in Pharmaceutical Industry
Authors: Srikanth Dahagam  , Sameer Pingle
Published: August 2023

Talent management is an important element of the Human Resources Management of any organization. Therefore, it must be developed as anintegral part of the business strategy. The talent management process has sub-processes that focus on identifying critical positions,competence training, development, and reward management.Many researchers find it interesting to explore the impact of various rewards categories on individual performance in the organization.Researchers have examined both intrinsic and extrinsic factors as reward management, as an important factor and integral part of thetalent management process. This paper examines the major dimensions of rewards management.Researchers using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for the first time may find it difficult as there is a limited detailed explanation available onmaking decisions on selecting acceptable and interpretable factors. This research makes a genuine attempt to understand how to useExploratory Factor Analysis for further research in reward management studies.
A Politically Correct Joke: Myth or Reality? (Structural Analysis of a Stand-up Comedy Show)
Authors: Kosichenko E. F. , Popova G. V.
Published: August 2023

The article describes the results of structural analysis of a stand-up comedy by the famous British comedian Jimmy Karr to show that political correctness has hardly affected humourous discourse. The study is relevant as it contributes to further linguopholosophic, linguocultural and discursive investigations into political correctness that, according to the authors, contradicts the natural tendency of humans to think in binaries. Stressing that the humorous is based on the binary opposition of Self/Other, the authors question the very chance for a successful joke to be poli tically correct. The theoretical part of the article highlights a number of events that at different times contributed to the evolvement and spread of political correctness, considers the model Self/Other in terms of people’s interaction with the world and with regard to its manifestation in humorous discourse. The methods of structural, discourse and content analysis serve to reveal the linguistic means of representing the opposition Self/Other in contemporary humorous discourse and to identify a number of its elements. The results of analysis show that the growing tendency for political correctness has to some extent affected the thematic aspect of the humorous, however, they give ground to hypothesize that human desire for this kind of jokes will gradually reverse the currently increasing tendency.
The Experimental Study of the Image of Russian Color Term Blue in the Consciousness of Russian Culture Bearers
Authors: Tanygina E. A.
Published: August 2023

The article is devoted to the study of the color term blue. This color occupies an important place in the color picture of the world of representatives of Russian culture, which determines the relevance of the empirical study of the image of this color term from the point of view of psycholinguistics. The theoretical basis of the study was the work of A.A. Zalevskaya, A.P. Vasilevich, E.I. Goroshko.

When organizing and conducting the research, we assumed that individual and cultural knowledge about color are united in the linguistic consciousness. So, any image in the consciousness of an individual has its cultural and personal component. The main methods used in the work are associative experiment, semantic differential, factorial and definitional analyses. We used the data from related sciences in the process of analyzing the results of the study. The study was conducted on the basis of Southwest State University among full-time and part-time students.

The work shows the structure of the associative field of the color term blue in different time periods, which al-lows us to clearly demonstrate the dynamics of changes in this field over the past thirty years.

The article also examines the gender structure of the associative field of the color term blue, highlights general gender-neutral associations, as well as associations that are typically female or typically male. In addition, a factor analysis of the results of the semantic differential is carried out from the point of view of the gender characteristics of the perception of color term blue.

The methodology of organizing and conducting experimental research described in the paper can be success-fully used for psycholinguistic research of images of various stimulus words. The data obtained during the experiment can be used not only in linguistics, but also in marketing, psychology and advertising.
COVID-19: West Virginia Essential Workers and the Risks They Face
Authors: Ihle, MD Rayan , Mahmood, MD Syed
Published: August 2023

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the need for antibody testing to determine the impact of the disease. This study quantified the COVID-19 infection risk of healthcare workers (HCW) compared to other community essential workers (CEW) through positive COVID-19 antibody rates. Methods This prospective observational study was conducted September through December 2020 in Charleston, West Virginia. A total of 1,081 essential workers were recruited. Blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies and questionnaires were obtained describing symptom history, exposure, prior testing, and employment. Results COVID-19 antibodies were found in 7.8% of participants. There were no significant differences in terms of gender, living alone or with children, month of lab collection, or working on a COVID-19 unit. Risk factors included having a known exposure (p<0.001), living with someone with COVID-19 (p<0.001), being previously tested (p<0.001), and positive polymerase chain reaction tests (p<0.001). Additional risks were county of residence (p=0.02) and working in healthcare (p=0.004). Discussion Essential workers had a nearly 60% increased risk of COVID-19 compared with the public. HCW had a higher risk than other CEW with rates 1.8 times that of CEW. Living in Kanawha County was a risk factor, but the difference was driven by the HCW population with 12.1% positivity. HCW in a COVID-19 unit had similar positive rates versus non-COVID-19 units. Conclusion This study confirms that healthcare workers had a much higher risk of contracting COVID-19 near Charleston, WV. With these findings, despite the use of safety guidelines and use of personal protective equipment, healthcare workers in Kanawha County had higher positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Further evaluation of PPE compliance, hand hygiene habits, sharing work culture, and roles within the hospital would be of value.
Patterns of Prescription Medication Use Before Diagnosis of Early Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Population-Based Descriptive Study (Preprint)
Authors: Cheng Vienna , Sayre Eric C , Cheng Vicki , Garg Ria , Gill Sharlene , Farooq Ameer , De Vera Mary A
Published: August 2023

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is estimated to be the fourth most common cancer diagnosis in Canada (except for nonmelanoma skin cancers) and the second and third leading cause of cancer-related death in male and female individuals, respectively.

OBJECTIVE

The rising incidence of early age-onset colorectal cancer (EAO-CRC; diagnosis at less than 50 years) calls for a better understanding of patients’ pathway to diagnosis. Therefore, we evaluated patterns of prescription medication use before EAO-CRC diagnosis.

METHODS

We used linked administrative health databases in British Columbia (BC), Canada, to identify individuals diagnosed with EAO-CRC between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as “cases”), along with cancer-free controls (1:10), matched by age and sex. We identified all prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies during the year prior to diagnosis and used the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification system Level 3 to group prescriptions according to the drug class. A parallel assessment was conducted for individuals diagnosed with average age-onset CRC (diagnosis at age 50 years and older).

RESULTS

We included 1001 EAO-CRC cases (n=450, 45% female participants; mean 41.0, SD 6.1 years), and 12,989 prescriptions were filled in the year before diagnosis by 797 (79.7%) individuals. Top-filled drugs were antidepressants (first; n=1698, 13.1%). Drugs for peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (third; n=795, 6.1%) were more likely filled by EAO-CRC cases than controls (odds ratio [OR] 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.7) and with more frequent fills (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.7-1.9). We noted similar patterns for topical agents for hemorrhoids and anal fissures, which were more likely filled by EAO-CRC cases than controls (OR 7.4, 95% CI 5.8-9.4) and with more frequent fills (OR 15.6, 95% CI 13.1-18.6).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed frequent prescription medication use in the year before diagnosis of EAO-CRC, including for drugs to treat commonly reported symptoms of EAO-CRC.

CLINICALTRIAL
Ethical Challenges in AI Approaches to Eating Disorders (Preprint)
Authors: Sharp Gemma , Torous John , West Madeline L
Published: August 2023

UNSTRUCTURED

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with the prevention, identification, and management of eating disorders and body image concerns is exciting, but it is not without risk. Technology is advancing rapidly, and ensuring that responsible standards are in place to mitigate risk and protect users is vital to the success and safety of technologies and users.
Association Between School-Related Google Trends Search Volume and Suicides Among Children and Adolescents in Japan During 2016-2020: Retrospective Observational Study With a Time-Series Analysis (Preprint)
Authors: Arai Takahiro , Tsubaki Hiroe , Wakano Ayako , Shimizu Yasuyuki
Published: August 2023

BACKGROUND

Suicide is the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in Japan. Internet search volume may be useful in detecting suicide risk. However, few studies have shown an association between suicides attempted by children and adolescents and their internet search volume.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the number of suicides and the volume of school-related internet searches to identify the search terms that could serve as the leading indicators of suicide prevention among children and adolescents.

METHODS

We used data on weekly suicides attempted by elementary, middle, and high school students in Japan from 2016 to 2020, provided by the National Police Agency. Internet search volume was weekly data for 20 school-related terms obtained from Google Trends. Granger causality and cross-correlation analysis were performed to estimate the temporal back-and-forth and lag between suicide deaths and search volume for the related terms.

RESULTS

The search queries “I do not want to go to school” and “study” showed Granger causality with suicide incidences. The cross-correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations in the range of –2 to 2 for “I do not want to go to school” (highest value at time lag 0, r=0.28), and –1 to 2 for “study” (highest value at time lag –1, r=0.18), indicating that the search volume increased as the number of suicides increased. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic period (January-December 2020), the search trend for “I do not want to go to school,” unlike “study,” was highly associated with suicide frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

Monitoring the volume of internet searches for “I do not want to go to school” could be useful for the early detection of suicide risk among children and adolescents and for optimizing web-based helpline displays.

CLINICALTRIAL