bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of NT-3 in the hippocampus suppresses the early phase of the adult neurogenic process
Authors: Kasakura Nanami , Murata Yuka , Shindo Asuka , Kitaoka Shiho , Furuyashiki Tomoyuki , Suzuki Kanzo , Segi-Nishida Eri
Published: July 2023

The dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus regulates stress-related emotional behaviors and ensures neurogenesis throughout life. Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) is a neurotrophic factor that regulates neuronal differentiation, survival, and synaptic formation in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. NT-3 is expressed in the adult DG of the hippocampus; several chronic stress conditions enhance NT-3 expression in rodents. However, functional modulation of the adult DG by NT-3 signaling remains unclear. To directly investigate the impact of NT-3 on DG function, NT-3 was overexpressed in the hippocampal ventral DG by an adeno-associated virus carrying NT-3 (AAV-NT-3). Four weeks following the AAV-NT-3 injection, high NT-3 expression was observed in the ventral DG. We examined the influence of NT-3 overexpression on the neuronal responses and neurogenic processes in the ventral DG. NT-3 overexpression significantly increased the expression of the mature DG neuronal marker calbindin and immediate early genes, such as Fos and Fosb, thereby suggesting DG neuronal activation. During neurogenesis, the number of proliferating cells and immature neurons in the subgranular zone of the DG significantly decreased in the AAV-NT-3 group. Among the neurogenesis-related factors, Vegfd, Lgr6, Bmp7, and Drd1 expression significantly decreased. These results demonstrated that high NT-3 levels in the hippocampus regulate the activation of mature DG neurons and suppress the early phase of neurogenic processes, suggesting a possible role of NT-3 in the regulation of adult hippocampal function under stress conditions.
Prediction of intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks in endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery based on a deep neural network model trained with MRI images: a pilot study
Authors: Chang Hui , Zhao Kai , Qiu Jun , Ji Xiang-Jun , Chen Wu-Gang , Li Bo-Yuan , Lv Cheng , Xiong Zi-Cheng , Chen Sheng-Bo , Shu Xu-Jun
Published: July 2023

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the reliability of a deep neural network (DNN) model trained only on contrast-enhanced T1 (T1CE) images for predicting intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (ioCSF) leaks in endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (EETS).

Methods

396 pituitary adenoma (PA) cases were reviewed, only primary PAs with Hardy suprasellar Stages A, B, and C were included in this study. The T1CE images of these patients were collected, and sagittal and coronal T1CE slices were selected for training the DNN model. The model performance was evaluated and tested, and its interpretability was explored.

Results

A total of 102 PA cases were enrolled in this study, 51 from the ioCSF leakage group, and 51 from the non-ioCSF leakage group. 306 sagittal and 306 coronal T1CE slices were collected as the original dataset, and data augmentation was applied before model training and testing. In the test dataset, the DNN model provided a single-slice prediction accuracy of 97.29%, a sensitivity of 98.25%, and a specificity of 96.35%. In clinical test, the accuracy of the DNN model in predicting ioCSF leaks in patients reached 84.6%. The feature maps of the model were visualized and the regions of interest for prediction were the tumor roof and suprasellar region.

Conclusion

In this study, the DNN model could predict ioCSF leaks based on preoperative T1CE images, especially in PAs in Hardy Stages A, B, and C. The region of interest in the model prediction-making process is similar to that of humans. DNN models trained with preoperative MRI images may provide a novel tool for predicting ioCSF leak risk for PA patients.
Systemic alterations of tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Jia Dongdong , Wang Fangzhou , Yu Haitao
Published: July 2023

Mitochondrial dysfunction, especially tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle arrest, is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), however, its systemic alterations in the central and peripheral of AD patients are not well defined. Here, we performed an integrated analysis of AD brain and peripheral blood cells transcriptomics to reveal the expression levels of nine TCA cycle enzymes involving 35 genes. The results showed that TCA cycle related genes were consistently down-regulated in the AD brain, whereas 11 genes were increased and 16 genes were decreased in the peripheral system. Pearson analysis of the TCA cycle genes with Aβ, Tau and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) revealed several significant correlated genes, including pyruvate dehydrogenase complex subunit (PDHB), isocitrate dehydrogenase subunits (IDH3B, IDH3G), 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex subunit (DLD), succinyl-CoA synthetase subunit (SUCLA2), malate dehydrogenase subunit (MDH1). In addition, SUCLA2, MDH1, and PDHB were also uniformly down-regulated in peripheral blood cells, suggesting that they may be candidate biomarkers for the early diagnosis of AD. Taken together, TCA cycle enzymes were systemically altered in AD progression, PDHB, SUCLA2, and MDH1 may be potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
Bibliometric and visual analysis of Kawasaki disease in children from 2012 to 2022
Authors: Cui Zhengjiu , Luo Fei , Wang Jinjuan , Diao Juanjuan , Pan Yueli
Published: July 2023

Background

In recent years, the incidence of Kawasaki disease among the pediatric population has experienced a significant increase. With complications mainly affecting the cardiovascular system, Kawasaki disease has received widespread attention from scholars worldwide. Numerous articles on Kawasaki disease in children have been published far. However, there is a lack of studies that use visualization methods to perform a bibliometric analysis of the relevant literature. This study aims to obtain overall information on the output characteristics of publications on childhood Kawasaki disease between 2012 and 2022 through bibliometric analysis, identify research hotspots and frontiers, and provide new ideas and references for future clinical and scientific research.

Methods

Literature meeting the inclusion criteria was screened from the Web of Science Core Collection, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Visual analysis of the literature by country, institution, journal, author, keywords, and references was performed using Citespace (6.1.R6), VOSviewer (1.6.18), and the online bibliometric website (https://bibliometric.com/).

Results

A total of 4,867 eligible publications were included. The number of annual publications is generally rising, rapidly increasing since 2019. Among countries and institutions, China and KAOHSIUNG CHANG GUNG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL have the highest output of articles. With 104 publications, Ho-Chang Kuo has a high impact in the field of KD. The most cited author is Jane W. Newburger. The most prolific journal is FRONTIERS IN PEDIATRICS. CIRCULATION is the most frequently co-cited journal. The most popular keyword in frequency and centrality is “immunoglobulin”. The reference with the highest burst intensity was Verdoni L, LANCET, 2020.

Conclusion

Kawasaki disease in children remains a hot topic among pediatricians worldwide and is receiving increasing attention. We innovated the “national-institutional-journal” model, which promotes further international cooperation in this field. The hot topics in the field of pediatric KD are “KD pathogenesis”, “immunoglobulin resistance and complementary therapy”, and “cardiovascular complications”. Frontiers include disease-related (“multisystem inflammatory syndrome”, “coronavirus disease 2019”, “hypotension”), treatment-related (“procalcitonin”, “ anakinra”), and pathogenesis (“polymerase chain reaction”).
Immunometabolism changes in fibrosis: from mechanisms to therapeutic strategies
Authors: Feng Lixiang , Chen Xingyu , Huang Yujing , Zhang Xiaodian , Zheng Shaojiang , Xie Na
Published: July 2023

Immune cells are essential for initiating and developing the fibrotic process by releasing cytokines and growth factors that activate fibroblasts and promote extracellular matrix deposition. Immunometabolism describes how metabolic alterations affect the function of immune cells and how inflammation and immune responses regulate systemic metabolism. The disturbed immune cell function and their interactions with other cells in the tissue microenvironment lead to the origin and advancement of fibrosis. Understanding the dysregulated metabolic alterations and interactions between fibroblasts and the immune cells is critical for providing new therapeutic targets for fibrosis. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the pathophysiology of fibrosis from the immunometabolism aspect, highlighting the altered metabolic pathways in critical immune cell populations and the impact of inflammation on fibroblast metabolism during the development of fibrosis. We also discuss how this knowledge could be leveraged to develop novel therapeutic strategies for treating fibrotic diseases.
Alleviate environmental concerns with biochar as a container substrate: a review
Authors: Yu Ping , Qin Kuan , Niu Genhua , Gu Mengmeng
Published: July 2023

Peat moss has desirable properties as a container substrate, however, harvesting it from peatland for greenhouse/nursery production use has disturbed peatland ecosystem and caused numerous environmental concerns. More recently, many nations have taken actions to reduce or ban peat moss production to reach the carbon neutral goal and address the environmental concerns. Also, the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides with peat moss in greenhouse/nursery production adds extra environmental and economic issues. Thus, it is urgent to find a peat moss replacement as a container substrate for greenhouse/nursery production. Biochar, a carbon-rich material with porous structure produced by the thermo-chemical decomposition of biomass in an oxygen-limited or oxygen-depleted atmosphere, has drawn researchers’ attention for the past two decades. Using biochar to replace peat moss as a container substrate for greenhouse/nursery production could provide environmental and economic benefits. Biochar could be derived from various feedstocks that are regenerated faster than peat moss, and biochar possesses price advantages over peat moss when local feedstock is available. Certain types of biochar can provide nutrients, accelerate nutrient adsorption, and suppress certain pathogens, which end up with reduced fertilizer and pesticide usage and leaching. However, among the 36,474 publications on biochar, 1,457 focused on using biochar as a container substrate, and only 68 were used to replace peat moss as a container substrate component. This study provides a review for the environmental and economic concerns associated with peat moss and discussed using biochar as a peat moss alternative to alleviate these concerns.
The influence of parent–child relationships on the learning adaptability of left-behind children: the mediating role of peer attachment and the moderating role of separation duration
Authors: Chen Ning , Zhao Keyun , Chen I-Hua , Liu Guanling
Published: July 2023

Studies have revealed the influence of parent–child relationships on the learning adaptability of left-behind children. However, the researchers have not explored the mechanisms underlying the parent–child relationships of left-behind children. The purpose of this study was not only to examine the mediating role of peer attachment in the relationship between parent–child relationships and learning adaptability but also to explore the moderating variable of separation duration in the relationship between parent–child relationships and peer attachment. The study examined 1,555 left-behind children and found that, after controlling for gender and grade, parent–child relationships positively predicted learning adaptability; peer attachment mediated the relationship between parent–child relationships and learning adaptability, and separation duration moderated the effect of parent–child relationships on peer attachment. The study reveals the importance of parent–child relationships and peer attachment in the growth and development of left-behind children, which is important for the improvement of left-behind children’s learning adaptability.
An alternative method for monitoring and interpreting influenza A in communities using wastewater surveillance
Authors: de Melo Tomas , Islam Golam , Simmons Denina B. D. , Desaulniers Jean-Paul , Kirkwood Andrea E.
Published: July 2023

Seasonal influenza is an annual public health challenge that strains healthcare systems, yet population-level prevalence remains under-reported using standard clinical surveillance methods. Wastewater surveillance (WWS) of influenza A can allow for reliable flu surveillance within a community by leveraging existing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) WWS networks regardless of the sample type (primary sludge vs. primary influent) using an RT-qPCR-based viral RNA detection method for both targets. Additionally, current influenza A outbreaks disproportionately affect the pediatric population. In this study, we show the utility of interpreting influenza A WWS data with elementary student absenteeism due to illness to selectively interpret disease spread in the pediatric population. Our results show that the highest statistically significant correlation (Rs = 0.96, p = 0.011) occurred between influenza A WWS data and elementary school absences due to illness. This correlation coefficient is notably higher than the correlations observed between influenza A WWS data and influenza A clinical case data (Rs = 0.79, p = 0.036). This method can be combined with a suite of pathogen data from wastewater to provide a robust system for determining the causative agents of diseases that are strongly symptomatic in children to infer pediatric outbreaks within communities.
Monitoring, evaluation and accountability evidence use for design, adaptation, and scale-up of an early childhood development program in Rwanda
Authors: Dusabe Caroline , Abimpaye Monique , Kabarungi Noella , Uwamahoro Marie Diane
Published: July 2023

Introduction

The first three years of a child’s life are the most critical to child development and have an impact on the future achievement of the child. Young children’s healthy development depends on nurturing care that ensures health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, safety, and security. Parents & other adult caregivers play a critical role in moderating children’s early experiences, which has a lasting impact be it positive or negative on the children’s future. Parenting education programs are proven to improve parental skills, capacity, and efficacy in a way that supports improved child development outcomes. Yet, most parents in low-middle-income countries such as Rwanda lack access to information and skills on how to support their children’s holistic development. In response, Save The Children implemented the First Steps “Intera za Mbere” holistic parenting education project in Rwanda from 2014 to 2021. This paper reflects on how monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) approaches were applied throughout the project cycle and their impact on program improvement and national policy and advocacy. This paper explores how the aspirations for measurement for change, considerations for innovation uptake and frameworks for learning about improvement are reflected in this project.

Methods

The project utilized qualitative and quantitative MEAL across the program cycle. Action research at the start of the project identified promoters and inhibitors of high-quality nurturing care and program delivery modalities. The project utilized a randomized control trial to provide insight into components that work better for parenting education. Evidence from surveys done remotely via phones was used to inform COVID-19 adaptations of the program.

Results

The application of MEAL evidence led to the successful development and improvement of the program. At the policy level, evidence from the project influenced the review of the 2016 National Integrated ECD policy and the development of the national parenting education framework.

Conclusion

The regular use of evidence from MEAL is critical for program improvement, scale-up, and policy influence.
Adherence to WHO guidelines on severe pneumonia management in children and its impact on outcome: an observational study at Jinka General Hospital in Ethiopia
Authors: La Vecchia Adriano , Teklie Bereket Gebremedhin , Mulu Dagmawi Awoke , Toitole Kusse Koirita , Montalbetti Francesca , Agostoni Carlo , Hessebo Tesfayesus Tefera , Tsegaye Ademe , Pietravalle Andrea , Manenti Fabio , Tognon Francesca , Pisani Luigi , Hagos Eleni
Published: July 2023

Introduction

Poor adherence to guidelines during empirical antibiotic prescription in low-income countries could increase antimicrobial resistance without improving outcomes. Revised World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines published in 2014 on childhood (2–59 months) pneumonia re-defined the classification of severe pneumonia and changed the first-line treatment. The adherence to WHO guidelines in southern Ethiopia at the hospital level is unknown. We sought to determine the adherence to WHO guidelines on severe pneumonia first-line treatment in children in an Ethiopian referral hospital and assess the impact of non-adherence on patient outcomes.

Methods

An observational study was conducted on all children (2–59 months) clinically diagnosed with severe pneumonia and admitted to the Pediatric Ward of Jinka Hospital from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2022. Exclusion criteria included a known HIV infection, ongoing antibiotic treatment before the event not related to acute pneumonia, or any other severe bacterial infection, confirmed or suspected. Adherence to guidelines was defined as first-line treatment with ampicillin or benzylpenicillin and gentamicin at the recommended dose. We compared the patients treated adherently vs. non-adherently. For categorical variables, the chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used, while for continuous variables, the Mann–Whitney U-test was used. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between adherence and demographic and clinical characteristics.

Results

During the observational period, 266 patients were registered as having severe pneumonia with an age between 2 and 59 months. After excluding 114 patients due to missing charts or other exclusion criteria, a total of 152 patients were included in the analysis. Of these, 78 (51%) were girls with a median age of 10 months (IQR 7–14). Overall, 75 (49%) patients received therapy according to the WHO guidelines. Compared to patients treated adherently to the guidelines, patients not treated adherently had similar outcomes [median length of stay of 3 (IQR 3–5) and 4 (IQR 3–6) days], median duration of oxygen therapy of 2 (IQR 1–3) for both the groups, and self-discharge rates of 5% and 6.5%, respectively).

Conclusion

Adherence to the revised WHO guideline was limited and not associated with outcomes. Efforts should focus on reducing the gap between theory and practice.
Access to physiotherapy services in South African settings: stretching a hand to under-resourced communities with students as agents of change
Authors: Sekome Kganetso , Sujee Laeeqa , Tomes Lauren , Pilusa Sonti
Published: July 2023

Background

Physiotherapy is a healthcare profession that enhances human functioning and prevents further disability. In addition to this physiotherapy promotes health, wellbeing and the prevention of diseases. In South Africa, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services are largely accessed by those living in urban communities and those with private medical funding. Rehabilitation is an essential component of the package of care yet these services do not reach disadvantaged communities who vitally need them. Through the equitable provision of service-learning, physiotherapy students can play a vital role in improving rehabilitation access to vulnerable communities.

Aim

This paper illustrates how physiotherapy students studying at a South African university provide equitable services to disadvantaged rural and urban communities.

Discussion

The first and second years of study focus on theoretical and classroom-based learning where students gain an understanding of basic principles of inclusion, equity, diversity, and self-awareness. In later years, students provide community-based services in urban and rural communities with a focus on increasing access to rehabilitation services. The clinical objectives which students are required to fulfil are guided by principles of public health and community rehabilitation. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the issue of poor access to rehabilitation services and the case study we provide demonstrates the roles physiotherapy students played to fill this gap. The authors offer a reflection from their involvement in physiotherapy student training and provide an example of a moment which displayed equity, diversity, and inclusion in their career.

Conclusion

There is a huge gap to fill in the provision of equitable rehabilitation services for the South African population. Institutions responsible for the training of physiotherapists, or any rehabilitation profession, should realize their role in service delivery through a service-learning approach.
Research on path planning of autonomous manganese nodule mining vehicle based on lifting mining system
Authors: Xie Yingchun , Liu Chaoqun , Chen Xuguang , Liu Guijie , Leng Dingxin , Pan Wei , Shao Shuai
Published: July 2023

Deep-sea manganese nodules are abundant in the ocean, with high exploitation potential and commercial value, and have become mineral resources that coastal countries compete to develop. The pipeline-lifting mining system is the most promising deep-sea mining system at present. A deep-sea mining vehicle is the core equipment of this system. Mining quality and efficiency rely on mining vehicles to a great extent. According to the topographic and geomorphic environmental characteristics of deep-sea manganese nodules at the bottom of the ocean, a new deep-sea mining system based on an autonomous manganese nodule mining vehicle is proposed in this paper. According to the operating environment and functional requirements of the seabed, a new mining method is proposed, and the global traverse path planning research of the autonomous manganese nodule mining vehicle based on this mining method is carried out. The arc round-trip acquisition path planning method is put forward, and the simulation verification shows that the method effectively solves the problems of low efficiency of mining vehicle traversing acquisition and obstacle avoidance.
The conflictive discourse of density in London's planning system
Authors: Matillana Fabrizio , Livingstone Nicola
Published: July 2023

Density in planning presents a series of conflicts in its use based on how it is defined and perceived. When codified into planning policy, however, it is conflictive due to how it manages strategic and local planning needs and the subjective experiences of density. This article researches the evolution of density policy in London, from the density matrix to the current design-led approach, examining how this conflictive discourse manifests and is resolved within planning practice. Extensive research of planning applications referred to the Mayor of London, known as called-in applications, examine the strategic and local conflicts in a design-led approach. To further inquire on the findings of the extensive research, semi-structured interviews were conducted to design officers across London local authorities to collect their experiences on the practice of density policies and the design-led approach in development management. The results of the planning application research show a tension between design-led approach and a strategic dominance to deliver more housing in London. The design officer interview explains further how this emerges in negotiations and signal into potential solutions. The article presents the deficiencies in density policy and proposes design-led tools to address the limitations of the current approach.
Case report: Giant pituitary neuroendocrine tumor presented along with acute visual loss due to pituitary apoplexy after receiving COVID-19 vaccination
Authors: Tanaka Haku , Nishimura Fumihiko , Nakase Kenta , Yokoyama Shohei , Nakagawa Ichiro , Yamada Shuichi , Tamura Kentaro , Matsuda Ryosuke , Takeshima Yasuhiro , Kotsugi Masashi , Park Young-Soo , Nakase Hiroyuki
Published: July 2023

Objective

A case of giant pituitary neuroendocrine tumor presented along with acute visual loss due to pituitary apoplexy after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination is reported.

Case presentation

A 45-year-old man was referred for a giant pituitary tumor with bitemporal hemianopsia. A surgical procedure was planned and then delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, with a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine administered while awaiting surgery. Three days after the second COVID-19 vaccination the patient noted a progressively worsening headache that caused pituitary apoplexy and then a decrease in vision. Emergency surgery was thus performed.

Conclusion

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare and life-threatening complication that may occur after undergoing a COVID-19 vaccination.
Case report: Villaret's syndrome caused by middle ear adenocarcinoma in a cat
Authors: Kang Dong-Jae , Park Won-Keun , Kim So-Yeon , Shin Dong-Hoon , Park Hee-Myung , Kang Min-Hee
Published: July 2023

A 7-year-old castrated male American Shorthair cat presented with left-side Horner's syndrome and voice change. The overall clinical presentation included dysphagia, intermittent coughing, unilateral miosis, and third eyelid protrusion of the left eye. A topical 1% phenylephrine was applied, and miosis and protrusion of the third eyelid disappeared within 20 min which suggested a post-ganglionic lesion. Laryngoscopy showed left-sided laryngeal paralysis. Computed tomography (CT) identified a mass lesion invading outside of the left tympanic bulla with osteolysis. Endoscopically assisted ventral bulla osteotomy was performed for tumor resection and definitive diagnosis. Middle ear adenocarcinoma was diagnosed based on histopathology. It appears that these neurological signs occurred due to adenocarcinoma in the tympanic bulla, penetrating the jugular foramen and the hypoglossal canal and damaging the cranial nerve IX (glossopharyngeal nerve), X (vagus nerve), XI (accessory nerve), and XII (hypoglossal nerve) and the sympathetic nerve. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of Villaret's syndrome associated with middle ear adenocarcinoma affecting the nerves passing through the jugular foramen and hypoglossal canal in cats.
Multiple Instance Learning with Trainable Soft Decision Tree Ensembles
Authors: Konstantinov Andrei , Utkin Lev , Muliukha Vladimir
Published: July 2023

A new random forest-based model for solving the Multiple Instance Learning problem under small tabular data, called the Soft Tree Ensemble Multiple Instance Learning, is proposed. A new type of soft decision trees is considered, which is similar to the well-known soft oblique trees, but with a smaller number of trainable parameters. In order to train the trees, it is proposed to convert them into neural networks of a specific form, which approximate the tree functions. It is also proposed to aggregate the instance and bag embeddings (output vectors) by using the attention mechanism. The whole Soft Tree Ensemble Multiple Instance Learning model, including soft decision trees, neural networks, the attention mechanism and a classifier, is trained in an end-to-end manner. Numerical experiments with well-known real tabular datasets show that the proposed model can outperform many existing multiple instance learning models. A code implementing the model is publicly available.
Rapid and Non-Destructive Methodology for Measuring Canopy Coverage at an Early Stage and Its Correlation with Physiological and Morphological Traits and Yield in Sugarcane
Authors: Kumar Raja Arun , Vasantha Srinivasavedantham , Gomathi Raju , Hemaprabha Govindakurup , Alarmelu Srinivasan , Srinivasa Venkatarayappa , Vengavasi Krishnapriya , Alagupalamuthirsolai Muthalagu , Hari Kuppusamy , Palaniswami Chinappagounder , Mohanraj Krishnasamy , Appunu Chinnaswamy , Geetha Ponnaiyan , Tayade Arjun Shaligram , Anusha Shareef , Vinu Vazhakkannadi , Valarmathi Ramanathan , Dhansu Pooja , Meena Mintu Ram
Published: July 2023

Screening for elite sugarcane genotypes for canopy cover in a rapid and non-destructive way is important to accelerate varietal/clonal selection, and little information is available regarding canopy cover and leaf production, leaf area, biomass production, and cane yield in sugarcane crop. In the present investigation, the digital images of sugarcane crop by using Canopeo software was assessed for their correlation with the physiological and morphological parameters and cane yield production. The results revealed that among the studied parameters, canopy coverage has shown a significantly better correlation with the plant height (0.581 **), leaf length (0.853 **), leaf width (0.587 **), and leaf area (0.770 **) in commercial sugarcane clones. Two-way cluster analysis has led to the identification of Co 0238, Co 86249, Co 10026, Co 99004, Co 94008, and Co 95020 with better physiological traits for higher sugarcane yield under changing climate. Additionally, in another field experiment with pre-breeding, germplasm, and interspecific hybrid sugarcane clones, the canopy coverage showed a significantly better correlation with germination, shoot count, leaf weight, leaf area index, and plant height, and finally with biomass (r = 0.612 **) and cane yield (r = 0.458 **). It has been found that the plant height, total dry matter (TDM), and leaf area index (LAI) had significant correlation with the cane yield, and the canopy cover data from digital images act as a surrogate for these traits, and further it has been observed that CC had better correlation with cane yield compared to the other physiological traits viz., SPAD, total chlorophyll (TC), and canopy temperature (CT) under ambient conditions. Light interception determined using a line quantum sensor had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.764 **) with canopy coverage, signifying the importance of determining the latter in a non-destructive way in a rapid manner and low cost.
Combination Therapy with Ciprofloxacin and Pentamidine against Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Assessment of In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy and the Role of Resistance–Nodulation–Division (RND) Efflux Pumps
Authors: Fletcher Megan , McCormack Alex , Parcell Benjamin J. , Coote Peter J.
Published: July 2023

The aim of this work was to (i) evaluate the efficacy of a combination treatment of pentamidine with ciprofloxacin against Galleria mellonella larvae infected with an MDR strain of P. aeruginosa and (ii) determine if pentamidine acts as an efflux-pump inhibitor. Resistant clinical isolates, mutant strains overexpressing one of three RND efflux pumps (MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, and MexEF-OprN), and a strain with the same three pumps deleted were used. MIC assays confirmed that the clinical isolates and the mutants overexpressing efflux pumps were resistant to ciprofloxacin and pentamidine. The deletion of the three efflux pumps induced sensitivity to both compounds. Exposure to pentamidine and ciprofloxacin in combination resulted in the synergistic inhibition of all resistant strains in vitro, but no synergy was observed versus the efflux-pump deletion strain. The treatment of infected G. mellonella larvae with the combination of pentamidine and ciprofloxacin resulted in enhanced efficacy compared with the monotherapies and significantly reduced the number of proliferating bacteria. Our measurement of efflux activity from cells revealed that pentamidine had a specific inhibitory effect on the MexCD-OprJ and MexEF-OprN efflux pumps. However, the efflux activity and membrane permeability assays revealed that pentamidine also disrupted the membrane of all cells. In conclusion, pentamidine does possess some efflux-pump inhibitory activity, in addition to a more general disruptive effect on membrane integrity that accounts for its ability to potentiate ciprofloxacin activity. Notably, the enhanced efficacy of combination therapy with pentamidine and ciprofloxacin versus MDR P. aeruginosa strains in vivo merits further investigation into its potential to treat infections via this pathogen in patients.
Leveraging Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Real-Time Cyberattack Identification: Intrusion Detection System Approach
Authors: Larriva-Novo Xavier , Sánchez-Zas Carmen , Villagrá Víctor A. , Marín-Lopez Andrés , Berrocal Julio
Published: July 2023

Cyberattacks are part of the continuous race, where research in computer science both contributes to discovering new threats and vulnerabilities and also mitigates them. When new vulnerabilities are not reported but sold to attackers, they are called “zero-days,” and are particularly difficult to identify. Modern intrusion detection systems (IDS) that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are becoming essential in identifying these cyber threats. This study presents the design of an IDS using ML and Explainable AI (XAI) techniques for real-time classification of various detected cyberattacks. By utilizing frameworks such as Apache Kafka and Spark, along with libraries such as Scikit-learn and SHAP, the system identifies and classifies normal or anomalous network traffic in real-time. The XAI offers the IDS the option to explain the rationale behind each classification. The primary aim of this research is to develop a flexible and scalable IDS that can provide clear explanations for its decisions. The second aim is to compare and analyze different ML models to achieve the best results in terms of accuracy, f1, recall, and precision. Random Forest models proposed in this research article obtained the best results in figuring out the key features identified by the XAI model, which includes Ct_state_ttl, Sttl, Dmean, and Dbytes from the UNSW-NB15 dataset. Finally, this research work introduces different machine learning algorithms with superior performance metrics compared to other real-time classification methods.
Enhanced Heat Transfer Study of Spherical Heat Storage Based on Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Lu Liwei , Tian Rui , Gong Xuan , Zhao Yuanxing
Published: July 2023

In this paper, the effect of melting characteristics of CuO/paraffin wax composite phase change material in a spherical heat storage unit in a constant temperature water bath is investigated. Experiments were conducted in three different water bath temperatures (65 °C, 70 °C, and 75 °C). The inner surface of the sphere was fixed with two, four, and six pin-shaped fins 3 mm in diameter. The spheres were filled with different mass fractions of CuO nanoparticles/paraffin phase change materials. Experimental CCD was used to model and optimize the spherical thermal storage unit. Regression models were developed to predict the effects of various operational factors on the melting time of the composite PCM. The factors in the model included the number of pin fins in the spherical heat storage unit, the water bath temperature, and the content of added CuO nanoparticles in the PCM, and ANOVA was used to statistically validate the regression model. The results showed that the interaction between the water bath temperature and the number of pin fins had the most significant effect on the melting time. With the melting time of the phase change material as the optimized objective function, the optimized optimal working condition was six pin fins, a water bath temperature of 75 °C, and the addition of 5 wt% CuO nanoparticles/paraffin phase change material, and the actual melting time under this condition was 78.9 min, which was lower than the predicted value of 79.4 min, with an error of 0.63% between them.
Biomechanical, Healing and Therapeutic Effects of Stretching: A Comprehensive Review
Authors: Zvetkova Elissaveta , Koytchev Eugeni , Ivanov Ivan , Ranchev Sergey , Antonov Antonio
Published: July 2023

Characterized in biomedical terms, stretching exercises have been defined as movements applied by external and/or internal forces to increase muscle and joint flexibility, decrease muscle stiffness, elevate the joint range of motion (ROM), increase the length of the “muscle–tendon” morpho-functional unit, and improve joint, muscle, and tendon movements, contraction, and relaxation. The present review examines and summarizes the initial and recent literature data related to the biomechanical, physiological, and therapeutic effects of static stretching (SS) on flexibility and other physiological characteristics of the main structure and the “joint–ligament–tendon–muscle” functional unit. The healing and therapeutic effects of SS, combined with other rehabilitation techniques (massage, foam rolling with and without vibrations, hot/cold therapy, etc.), are discussed in relation to the creation of individual (patient-specific) or group programs for the treatment and prevention of joint injuries, as well as for the improvement of performance in sports. From a theoretical point of view, the role of SS in positively affecting the composition of the connective tissue matrix is pointed out: types I–III collagen syntheses, hyaluronic acid, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) turnover under the influence of the transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β-1). Different variables, such as collagen type, biochemistry, elongation, and elasticity, are used as molecular biomarkers. Recent studies have indicated that static progressive stretching therapy can prevent/reduce the development of arthrogenic contractures, joint capsule fibrosis, and muscle stiffness and requires new clinical applications. Combined stretching techniques have been proposed and applied in medicine and sports, depending on their long- and short-term effects on variables, such as the ROM, EMG activity, and muscle stiffness. The results obtained are of theoretical and practical interest for the development of new experimental, mathematical, and computational models and the creation of efficient therapeutic programs. The healing effects of SS on the main structural and functional unit—“joint–ligament–tendon–muscle”—need further investigation, which can clarify and evaluate the benefits of SS in prophylaxis and the treatment of joint injuries in healthy and ill individuals and in older adults, compared to young, active, and well-trained persons, as well as compared to professional athletes.
Dynamic Responses of a Coupled Tunnel with Large Span and Small Clear Distance under Blasting Load of the Construction of Transverse Passage
Authors: Zhang Wu , Liang Guanglin , Liang Yu , Zhang Zhongjie , Xiao Chuanyu
Published: July 2023

In order to investigate the law of the dynamic responses of a coupled tunnel with a large span and a small clear distance induced by the blasting load applied on the excavation face of the new horizontal adit for vehicles, a dynamic 3D finite element model was established based on the blasting excavation project of Yonghe tunnel’s new transverse passage in Guangzhou, China. The laws of the induced vibration velocity and dynamic stress of the existing tunnel are systematically analyzed according to the numerical calculation results. The results show that the main affected area of the existing lining is the lower arch waist facing the blast, where both the maximum vibration velocity and the maximum tensile stress appear. The horizontally radial vibration velocity (along the axis of the transverse passage) is the main contributor in the resulting vibration velocity of the lining. The distributed law and varying trend of the dynamic stress of the lining are similar to the vibration velocity, and there appears to be a satisfied positive linear correlation between the two indexes. When the distance from the excavation face of the horizontal adit to the existing tunnel is 10 m, the blasting-load-induced maximal vibration velocity and dynamic tensile stress of the tunnel are only 2.96 cm/s and 0.20 MPa, respectively, which are far less than that stipulated by the related technical code. A negative power exponential relationship between the peak vibration velocity of the existing tunnel lining and the distance from the excavation face of the transverse passage to the tunnel was also found. According to this relationship, the induced vibration velocity will exceed the threshold stipulated by the standard, i.e., 8 cm/s, if the distance decreases to 5.9 m. To improve the safety redundancy of the construction, the threshold of the distance from the excavation face of the horizontal adit to the existing tunnel is suggested to be 10 m under the current construction scheme.
Analysis of Ground Subsidence Vulnerability in Urban Areas Using Spatial Regression Analysis
Authors: Lee Sungyeol , Kang Jaemo , Kim Jinyoung
Published: July 2023

The main cause of ground subsidence accidents in urban areas is cavities formed by damage to underground utilities. For this reason, the attribute information of underground utilities should be used to prepare against ground subsidence accidents. In this study, attribute information (pipe age, diameter, burial depth, and density) of six types of underground utilities (water, sewer, gas, power, heating, and communication) and history information of ground subsidence were collected. A correlation analysis was conducted using the collected data, and a prediction model of vulnerability to ground subsidence was developed through the ordinary least squares (OLS) method and spatial regression analysis (spatial lag model (SLM) and spatial error model (SEM)). To do this, the target area was divided into a grid of 100 m × 100 m. Datasets were constructed using the attribute information of underground utilities included in the divided grid and the number of ground subsidence occurrences. To analyze the OLS of the constructed data, the variance inflation factor (VIF) of the attribute information of underground utilities was studied. An OLS analysis was conducted using the appropriate factors, and the results show that the spatial data were autocorrelated. Subsequently, SEM and SLM analyses, which were spatial regression analyses, were conducted. As a result, the model using SLM was selected as suitable for analyzing the vulnerability of ground subsidence, and the density of six types of underground utilities was found to be the highest influencing factor. In addition, a vulnerability map of ground subsidence in the target area was prepared using the model. The vulnerability map demonstrates that regions with frequent ground subsidence can be predicted to be highly vulnerable.
SLNER: Chinese Few-Shot Named Entity Recognition with Enhanced Span and Label Semantics
Authors: Ren Zhe , Qin Xizhong , Ran Wensheng
Published: July 2023

Few-shot named entity recognition requires sufficient prior knowledge to transfer valuable knowledge to the target domain with only a few labeled examples. Existing Chinese few-shot named entity recognition methods suffer from inadequate prior knowledge and limitations in feature representation. In this paper, we utilize enhanced Span and Label semantic representations for Chinese few-shot Named Entity Recognition (SLNER) to address the problem. Specifically, SLNER utilizes two encoders. One encoder is used to encode the text and its spans, and we employ the biaffine attention mechanism and self-attention to obtain enhanced span representations. This approach fully leverages the internal composition of entity mentions, leading to more accurate feature representations. The other encoder encodes the full label names to obtain label representations. Label names are broad representations of specific entity categories and share similar semantic meanings with entities. This similarity allows label names to offer valuable prior knowledge in few-shot scenarios. Finally, our model learns to match span representations with label representations. We conducted extensive experiments on three sampling benchmark Chinese datasets and a self-built food safety risk domain dataset. The experimental results show that our model outperforms the F1 scores of 0.20–6.57% of previous state-of-the-art methods in few-shot settings.
Rapid and Accurate Crayfish Sorting by Size and Maturity Based on Improved YOLOv5
Authors: Ye Xuhui , Liu Yuxiang , Zhang Daode , Hu Xinyu , He Zhuang , Chen Yan
Published: July 2023

In response to the issues of high-intensity labor, low efficiency, and potential damage to crayfish associated with traditional manual sorting methods, an automated and non-contact sorting approach based on an improved YOLOv5 algorithm is proposed for the rapid sorting of crayfish maturity and size. To address the difficulty in focusing on small crayfish, the Backbone is augmented with Coordinate Attention to boost its capability to extract features. Additionally, to address the difficulty in achieving high overall algorithm efficiency and reducing feature redundancy, the Bottleneck Transformer is integrated into both the Backbone and Neck, which improves the accuracy, generalization performance, and the model’s computational proficiency. The dataset of 3464 images of crayfish collected from a crayfish breeding farm is used for the experiments. The dataset is partitioned randomly, with 80% of the data used for training and the remaining 20% used for testing. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm achieves an mAP of 98.8%. Finally, the model is deployed using TensorRT, and the processing time for an image is reduced to just 2 ms, which greatly improves the processing speed of the model. In conclusion, this approach provides an accurate, efficient, fast, and automated solution for crayfish sorting.
Recognition of Student Engagement State in a Classroom Environment Using Deep and Efficient Transfer Learning Algorithm
Authors: Ikram Sana , Ahmad Haseeb , Mahmood Nasir , Faisal C. M. Nadeem , Abbas Qaisar , Qureshi Imran , Hussain Ayyaz
Published: July 2023

A student’s engagement in a real classroom environment usually varies with respect to time. Moreover, both genders may also engage differently during lecture procession. Previous research measures students’ engagement either from the assessment outcome or by observing their gestures in online or real but controlled classroom environments with limited students. However, most works either manually assess the engagement level in online class environments or use limited features for automatic computation. Moreover, the demographic impact on students’ engagement in the real classroom environment is limited and needs further exploration. This work is intended to compute student engagement in a real but least controlled classroom environment with 45 students. More precisely, the main contributions of this work are twofold. First, we proposed an efficient transfer-learning-based VGG16 model with extended layer, and fine-tuned hyperparameters to compute the students’ engagement level in a real classroom environment. Overall, 90% accuracy and 0.5 N seconds computational time were achieved in terms of computation for engaged and non-engaged students. Subsequently, we incorporated inferential statistics to measure the impact of time while performing 14 experiments. We performed six experiments for gender impact on students’ engagement. Overall, inferential analysis reveals the positive impact of time and gender on students’ engagement levels in a real classroom environment. The comparisons were also performed by various transfer learning algorithms. The proposed work may help to improve the quality of educational content delivery and decision making for educational institutions.
Special Issue on Advanced Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composites
Authors: Pyeon Sujeong , Kim Gyuyong , Nam Jeongsoo
Published: July 2023

Fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC) have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional cementitious materials due to their enhanced mechanical properties and durability [...]