bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of clinical placement site, community clinic versus tertiary hospital, on midwifery students' clinical learning experience in Sierra Leone: A cohort study
Authors: Mann Julie , Brooks Meredith B. , Sonnie Mustapha , Kella Frederica , Euller Laura , Adelman Sara , de Water Brittney van
Published: March 2023

Background: Many factors influence midwifery students’ clinical learning experience (CLE); however, little is known about the impact the type of clinical placement site - either clinic or hospital - has on a student’s experience.
Methods: The aim of this study was to examine how clinical placement site, clinic or hospital, impacts students’ CLE in Sierra Leone. A 34-question survey was given to midwifery students attending one of four public midwifery schools in Sierra Leone. Median scores were compared for survey items by placement site using Wilcoxon tests and the relationship between clinical placement and student’s experience were assessed using multilevel logistic regression.
Results: Two-hundred students (hospitals students = 145 (72.5%); clinic students = 55 (27.5%) across Sierra Leone completed surveys. Most students (76%, n=151) reported satisfaction with their clinical placement. Students placed at clinics were more satisfied with opportunities to practice/develop skills (p=0.007) and more strongly agreed preceptors treated them with respect (p=0.001), helped improve their skills (p=0.001), provided a safe environment to ask questions (p=0.002), and had stronger teaching/mentorship skills (p=0.009) than hospital students.
Students placed at hospitals had greater satisfaction in exposure to certain clinical opportunities including completing partographs (p<0.001); perineal suturing (p<0.001); drug calculations/administration (p<0.001) and estimation of blood loss (p=0.004) compared to clinic students.
The odds of students spending more than 4 hours per day in direct clinical care were 5.841 (95% CI: 2.187-15.602) times higher for clinic students versus hospital students. There was no difference between clinical placement site in regards to number of births students attended (OR 0.903; 95% CI: 0.399, 2.047) or number of births students managed without a preceptor/clinician present (OR 0.729; 95% CI: 0.285, 1.867).
Conclusion: The clinical placement site, hospital or clinic, impacts midwifery students’ CLE. Clinics offered students significantly greater attributes of a supportive learning environment and access to direct, hands-on opportunities for patient care. These findings may be helpful for schools when using limited resources to improve the quality of midwifery education.
Trial registration: N/A
Development and validation of the Post-Pandemic Fear of Viral Disease scale and its relationship with general anxiety disorder: A cross-sectional survey from Pakistan
Authors: Mahmood Qaisar Khalid , Jalil Aisha , Farooq Muhammad , Akbar Muhammad Siddique , Fischer Florian
Published: March 2023

Background: Given the worldwide reach of COVID-19, media coverage has amplified the psychological and social effects of this pandemic causing a widespread fear. Despite substantial research on the short-term psychological impact of COVID-19, its long-term consequences on mental health remain relatively unexplored. This research aims (i) to develop and validate a Post-Pandemic Fear of Viral Disease (PPFVD) scale and (ii) to investigate the presence of fear of viral diseases and its association with general anxiety disorder among the Pakistani population.
Methods: A cross-sectional online-based survey was conducted with 457 respondents in August and September 2022. We adopted the modified fear of coronavirus scale (FCV-19S) consisting of seven items and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) questionnaire to measure anxiety disorder. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied using the maximum likelihood estimation method. Scale dimensions and item reliability were tested for their validity and goodness of fit. SPSS and AMOS were used for data management and analyses.
Results: All inter-item correlations were found to be significant and ranged between 0.30 and 0.70. The value of Cronbach’s alpha was 0.887, indicating good reliability. Corrected item-total correlations ranged between 0.632 and 0.754. Factor loadings ranged from 0.664 to 0.810, indicating a good internal consistency. Overall, these results clearly demonstrate that the one-factor solution model for PPFVD presents a good fit to the data. The composite reliability (CR=0.747) was also good.
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of people globally. This measurement scale can be trusted and used to test the PPFVD in the post-pandemic situation. Prospective research might validate this instrument in newly emerging scenarios and test it with diverse ethnic groups.
A Huffman Code LSB based Image Steganography Technique Using Multi-Level Encryption and Achromatic Component of an image
Authors: RAHMAN SHAHID , UDDIN JAMAL , HUSSAIN HAMEED , AHMED AFTAB , KHAN AYAZ ALI , ZAKARYA MUHAMMAD , RAHMAN AFZAL , HALEEM MUHAMMAD
Published: March 2023

It is essential in the field of cover steganography to track down a mechanism for concealing data by utilizing different blends of compression strategies. Amplifying the payload limit, robust, and working on the visual quality is the essential factors of this research to make a reliable mechanism. We can’t compromise on image quality up to a confident flat because it halts the concepts of cover steganography while the maximum embedding limit is also the main factor that makes the technique more efficient. So, Image steganography is the state of art method that hides a data inside any cover mediums such as images, videos, texts, audios etc. Steganography is the specialty of implanting a mystery message so that nobody can think of it or no unaided eye can identify it. There is no information on the current information inside the cover object in the wake of encrypting. In the recent couple of years, due to the achievement of accelerated popularity of the internet, various organizations such as government offices, military, private companies etc. use different transferring methods for exchanging their information. The internet has various benefits and a few demerits. The primary bad mark is protection and security and information transmission over an unreliable network. Different cover steganography research strategies have been recommended as of late yet, and each adores its benefits and impediments but, there is the need to foster some better cover steganography implements to accomplish dependability between the essential model of cover steganography. To handle these issues, this paper proposed a future method in view of Huffman code, Least Significant Bits (LSB) based cover steganography utilizing Multi-Level Encryption (MLE) and colorless part (HC-LSBIS-MLE-AC) of the picture. It also used different substitution and flicking concept, MLE, Magic matrix, and achromatic concepts for proving the proficiency, and significance of the method. The suggested method used an encrypted algorithm to upheld the appearances of the image. The algorithm also statistically investigated based on some Statistical Assessment Metrics (SAM) such as Mean Square Error (MSE), Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC), Structural Similarity Index Metric (SSIM) etc. and different perspectives. The observational outcomes show the likelihood of the proposed algorithm and the capacity to give unwavering quality between security, payload, perception, computation, and temper protection.
Machine learning pipeline for blood culture outcome prediction using Sysmex XN-2000 blood sample results in Western Australia
Authors: McFadden Benjamin , Inglis Timothy , Reynolds Mark
Published: March 2023

Background: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are a significant burden on the global population and represent a key area of focus in the hospital environment. Blood culture (BC) testing is the standard diagnostic test utilised to confirm thepresence of a BSI. However, current BC testing practices result in low positive yields and overuse of the diagnostic test. Diagnostic stewardship research regarding BC testing is increasing, and becoming more important to reduce unnecessary resource expenditure and antimicrobial use, especially as antimicrobial resistance continues to rise. This study aims to establish a machine learning (ML) pipeline for BC outcome prediction using data obtained from routinely analysed blood samples, including complete blood count (CBC), white blood cell differential (DIFF), and cell population data (CPD) produced by Sysmex XN-2000 analysers.
Methods: ML models were trained using retrospective data produced between 2018 and 2019, from patients at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, and processed at Pathwest Laboratory Medicine, Nedlands. Trained ML models were evaluated using 10-fold cross validation.
Results: Two ML models, an XGBoost model using CBC/DIFF/CPD features with boruta feature selection (BFS) , and a random forest model trained using CBC/DIFF features with BFS were selected for further validation after obtaining AUC scores of 0.76 ± 0.04 and 0.75 ± 0.04 respectively using 10-fold crossvalidation. The XGBoost model obtained an AUC score of 0.76 on a internal validation set. The random forest model obtained AUC scores of 0.82 and 0.76 on internal and external validation datasets respectively.
Conclusions: We have demonstrated the utility of using an ML pipeline combined with CBC/DIFF, and CBC/DIFF/CPD feature spaces for BC outcome prediction. This builds on the growing body of research in the area of BC outcome prediction, and provides opportunity for further research.
Flow signatures and catchment’s attributes for HCA clustering in a hydrologic similarity assessment (Tunisian case)
Authors: Chérif Rim , Gargouri-Ellouze Emna
Published: March 2023

Partitioning methods such as cluster analysis are advantageous in pooling catchments into hydrometric similar regions. However, these study cases are always infrequent in Sud Mediterranean zones and remain under-represented in international publications. This paper illustrates a Tunisian application case, which aims to pool catchments with hierarchical clustering method based on distances calculated in multidimensional physiographical and hydrometric space. Homogeneity of generated clusters is checked by Silhouette index. Current study considers nineteen Tunisian catchments, in a semi-arid climate observed since 1992. Areas and annual average rainfall respectively vary in [1–10 km2 ] and [280–500 mm] ranges. Twelve physiographical attributes and nine rainfall and streamflow signatures are considered in hierarchical partitioning procedure with two clusters. Correlation distance provides the most homogeneous clusters. Statistics demonstrate that: percentage of area affected by anti-erosive practices, percentage of forest cover and catchment’s area are the most discriminant attributes. However, hydrometrical signatures appear to be not relevant. This partitioning highlight two different hydrological behaviors which must be in support of forecasting. Results are promising as a Sud Mediterranean case, where the shortage of hydrometrical data is an occurring problem. They have the advantageous of enabling hydrologic forecasting without need of heavy information.
Acute uveitis caused by abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism: A case report
Authors: Bi Zhaojing , Liang Yan , Liu Shujun , Li Yuanbin
Published: March 2023

Purpose: This report describes a rare case of acute uveitis with severe anterior chamber inflammation due to abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism.
Case presentation: A 31-year-old male patient complained of redness in the right eye with decreased visual acuity for 3 days. Ocular examination revealed a milky white clouding of the right anterior chamber of the eye. Two clusters of yellowish-white exudates were visible on the surface of the iris in the upper nasal and temporal areas in addition to elevated intraocular pressure. He had a previous diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Laboratory tests suggested hyperlipidemia and ketoacidosis. After admission, topical glucocorticoids, mydriasis, and intraocular pressure-lowering drugs combined with hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering therapy and fluid replacement therapy were given immediately. After 10 days of treatment, the uveitis and systemic condition of the right eye were effectively controlled and improved.
Conclusion: Abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism leads to impairment of the blood-aqueous barrier, which causes a severe uveitis response in the anterior chamber. After the use of topical steroids and mydriatic eye drops combined with systemic hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering interventions, the condition was significantly relieved.
Australian secondary school principals’, parents’, and students’ attitudes to prescribed school footwear guidelines.
Authors: Mazzella Natalie , Fox Aaron , Saunders Natalie , Trowell Danielle , Vicenzino Bill , Bonacci Jason
Published: March 2023

Background
Adolescents are often required to wear footwear that adheres to uniform guidelines at secondary school. There is a paucity of literature on factors influencing school footwear choice and what drives the development of school footwear guidelines. The aims of this study were to describe (i) current school footwear guidelines in secondary schools across Australia, (ii) factors that influence footwear choice in secondary school students and their parents, and (iii) principals, parents, and students’ beliefs on factors which contribute to school footwear guidelines.
Methods
An online survey was distributed to principals, secondary school students (aged 14–19 years) and their parents across Australia. The survey included questions on current school footwear guidelines, factors influencing footwear choice (for students and parents), participants beliefs on the effect footwear has on musculoskeletal health, current and previous lower limb pain, and beliefs on factors that contribute to school footwear guidelines. Parent and student responses to factors that influence their footwear choice were compared using proportional odds logistic regression. Students and parents’ responses to factors influencing footwear guidelines were compared to principal responses using proportional odds logistic regression. Significance was set at an alpha of < 0.05.
Results
80 principals, 153 parents and 120 secondary school students responded to the survey. 96% (77/80) of principals reported that their schools have set guidelines for school footwear. 88% of principals considered comfort to be important when developing school footwear guidelines, though parents and students were 3.4 and 4.9 times more likely than principals to rate comfort as having lower importance in the development of guidelines. More than 40% of students reported experiencing musculoskeletal pain, and 70% of these students reported the pain to be exacerbated when in their school shoes. Less than a third of participants considered healthcare recommendations important to the development of footwear guidelines.
Conclusions
Nearly all principals that participated in this survey had set guidelines for school footwear. There is a discord between parents, students, and principals on the importance that factors such as comfort, play in the development of school footwear guidelines.
Maintaining ecological stability for the sustainable economic yield of multispecies fisheries in complex food webs
Authors: Werner Alexandra S , Hirt Myriam , Ryser Remo , Lancker Kira , Albert Georg , Quaas Martin , Gauzens Benoit , Brose Ulrich
Published: March 2023

Overfishing to feed the world's growing population is depleting fish stocks. As these species are embedded in complex food webs, single-species management plans must be replaced with models integrating multispecies fisheries, economic market feedbacks, and fisher behaviour into complex ecological interaction networks to promote sustainable resource use. Here, we integrate three open-access fisheries in a dynamic model of complex food webs and find that selectively choosing similar species is more beneficial than harvesting species balanced across different network positions. Targeting low or high trophic levels risks reducing basal biomass or unchaining trophic cascades, respectively, undermining first ecological stability (biodiversity and biomass) and then economic sustainability (catch and revenue). A sustainable solution with high economic gain and low ecological impact arises when similar mid-trophic level species are caught. Our study demonstrates the importance of complex system analyses to balance ecological stability and multispecies fisheries to achieve a sustainable global food supply.
Use of the forgotten joint score (FJS)-12 to evaluate knee awareness after quadriceps tendon reconstruction
Authors: Sava Manuel P. , Schelker Benjamin L. , Khan Zainab A. , Amsler Felix , Hirschmann Michael Tobias
Published: March 2023

Background
Quadriceps tendon rupture (QTR) is a severe injury of the knee extensor apparatus. The study aims to validate the use of forgotten joint score (FJS-12) for QTR and assess the mid- to long-term functional outcome after surgical treatment of QTR.
Methods
Fifty-seven patients who underwent surgery for QTR with transosseous suture reconstruction in a single orthopaedic surgery and traumatology center between 2015 and 2020 were eligible for enrolment in this retrospective case series. The demographic data and other pre-operative details such as age, gender, comorbidities and medication use also were extracted from the medical records. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) were gathered in the form of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index Score (WOMAC), Tegner Activity Score (TAS), Lysholm Score and FJS-12 at mid to long-term postoperative time interval. The FJS-12 was validated by correlation with WOMAC, TAS and Lysholm Score.
Results
The mean age of all patients were 69.2 ± 13.6 years with 51 (89.5%) males and 6 (10.5%) females. The mean time from injury to surgery was 3.39 ± 5.46 days. All patients reported satisfactory functional outcomes after surgery on FJS-12, WOMAC and Lysholm scores, except the TAS, which decreased slightly from pre-operative level. There was a high negative correlation between WOMAC and FJS-12, but moderate positive correlations between FJS-12 and TAS and Lysholm scores. The Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.96 for 12 items in FJS-12.
Conclusion
This study has found that FJS-12 is a reliable and easy to assess tool for functional outcomes after QTR reconstruction. It has shown moderate to strong correlation with other commonly used outcome measures (WOMAC, TAS and Lysholm). Furthermore, patients who underwent transosseous QT suture reconstruction have reported good mid- to long-term outcomes.
How individual factors intervene in the expression of cognitive abilities in a virtual immersive task: a validation study of the Virtual Reality Action Test
Authors: Palombi Tommaso , Galli Federica , Giancamilli Francesco , D’Amico Monica , Alivernini Fabio , Gallo Luigi , Neroni Pietro , Predazzi Marco , De Pietro Giuseppe , Lucidi Fabio , Giordano Antonio , Chirico Andrea
Published: March 2023

There is a raised interest in literature to use Virtual Reality (VR) technology as an assessment tool for cognitive domains. One of the essential advantages of transforming tests in an immersive virtual environment is the possibility of automatically calculating the test's score, a time-consuming process under natural conditions. Although the characteristics of VR can deliver different degrees of immersion in a virtual environment, the sense of presence could jeopardize the evolution of these practices. The sense of presence results from a complex interaction between human factors and the proprieties of VR devices. The present study has two aims: firstly, it contributes to the validation of a virtual version of the Naturalistic Action Test (i.e., Virtual Reality Action Test); second, it aims to evaluate the role of sense of presence as a critical booster of the expression of cognitive abilities during virtual reality tasks. The study relies on healthy adults tested in virtual and real conditions in a cross-over research design. The study's results support the validity of the Virtual Reality Action Test. Furthermore, two structural equation models are tested to comprehend the role of sense of presence as a moderator in the relationship between cognitive abilities and virtual task performance.
Evaluation of soft computing in methodology for calculating information protection from parameters of its distribution in social networks
Authors: Sapra Pooja , Paikaray Divya , Gusain Nutan , Abrol Monika , S Ramesh , BHARDWAJ SHAMBHU
Published: March 2023

Security of data has always been a big problem in information technology. Because the data are stored in a variety of locations, including all over the world, this problem becomes even more pressing in the context of cloud computing. Concerns about cloud technology stem primarily from users' concerns regarding data security and privacy. The heterogeneity of cloud resources and the numerous shared applications they serve can benefit from effective scheduling. Considering the quality of the service that is provided to users, this will cut costs and energy use for them. Goal of this study is to improve cloud soft computing's resource allocation and data protection using a secure channel model and machine learning architecture combined with distributed social networks. The cloud architecture data protection in the proposed network model is accomplished by developing the channel model using hierarchical lightweight cryptography analysis. Then, Q-bayes propagation quantum networks are used to allocate resources. Memory capacity, data protection analysis, throughput, end-end delay, and processing time are all used in experimental analysis.Proposed technique attained memory capacity of 73%, data protection analysis of 69%, throughput of 95%, end-end delay of 69%, processing time of 49%.
N-acetyltransferase 10 Promotes Cutaneous Wound Repair via the NF-κB-IL-6 Axis
Authors: Wang Ben , Zhang Jin , Li Guo , Xu Chengzhong , Yang Langmei , Zhang Jie , Liu Zuojun , Wang Ming , Li Ji , Tang Xiaolong , Liu Baohua
Published: March 2023

Cutaneous wound healing, an integral part for protection of skin barrier, is a complex biological process and intimately associated with keratinocyte migration. However, mechanisms regulating keratinocyte migration in the process of cutaneous wound repair remain largely unknown. Here, we found that N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) is essential for cutaneous wound repair in an in vivo skin wound healing model – a significant delay of wound repair in Nat10 haploinsufficient mice and a remarkable inhibition of keratinocyte migration by NAT10 knockdown in an in vitro keratinocyte migration model. We further demonstrate that loss of NAT10 expression attenuates the wound-induced IL-6/IL-8 expression through inhibiting NF-κB/p65 activity in keratinocytes. By deeply digging, silencing NAT10 compromises the level of nuclear p65 by facilitating its poly-ubiquitination, thus accelerates its degradation in the nucleus. Notably, we detected a strong positive correlation between the expression of NAT10 and relevant NF-kB/p65-IL6 signaling activity in mouse wound skin tissues. Overall, our study reveals an important role of NAT10 on cutaneous wound repair by potentiating NF-κB/p65-IL-6/8-STAT3 signaling. Targeting NAT10 might be a potential strategy for the treatment of skin wound dysfunctions and related diseases.
Inflorescence patterns within the genus Portulaca (Portulacaceae): analyses of anatomy and morphology, based on species occurring in Brazil
Authors: Santos Thaíla Vieira Alves dos , Leite Kelly Regina Batista , Trindade Ana Fernanda Guimarães , Mortara Marcos , Hernandes-Lopes José , Ocampo Gilberto , Melo-de-Pinna Gladys Flávia de Albuquerque , de Oliveira Reyjane Patricia
Published: March 2023

The inflorescences of Portulacaceae have traditionally been considered capitula and their morphology and architecture have not been studied in detail. The purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge on the inflorescences within this family, comparing members of distinct lineages of Portulaca occurring in Brazil, to understand some systematic and evolutionary patterns within this group. Morphological characteristics of the inflorescences were analyzed using a light stereomicroscope, and for anatomical studies, we made transversal and longitudinal sections along the entire inflorescence, including involucral bracts, analyzing them using an optical microscope. We confirmed that observed inflorescences are determinate, composed of a first-order dichasium, with second-order helicoidal branches forming a cephalioid structure. The involucral leaves differed from adjacent bracts, which did not display a constriction at the base, as commonly observed in leaves. Thus, we conclude that the congested inflorescence of Portulaca is not a capitulum, but a cephalioid with different degrees of branch reduction within the genus. The Pilosa clade displayed the most congested cephalioid compared to members of the other analyzed clades. We showed present to show a new interpretation of the congested inflorescences in Portulacaand reinforce the need to analyze solitary inflorescences to understand the importance of these data to systematics, evolution, and pollinator-plant interactions within Portulacaceae.
Serological, Morphological and Molecular Diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis in Cattle at Sulaimani Province of Iraq
Authors: Rashid Shorsh Gharib , Sulaiman Rizgar Raheem , Saeed Nahla Mohammed
Published: March 2023

Background

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) causes bovine tuberculosis (BTB), is an endemic disease in cattle and poses a high risk of spreading to humans.

Objective

This study aimed to determine M. bovis in cattle and assess the similarities between cattle and humans through molecular methods and histopathological examinations.
Methodology
Randomly, blood samples from 411 healthy appearance cows (1% of the target population) in five districts in Sulaimani province, Iraq, were collected from January to March 2022. Sera were obtained immediately and used for ELISA test to determine M. bovis. Additionally, the disease prevalence was confirmed by gross lesions at the slaughterhouse and histopathological examination of collected lymph nodes. Moreover, a PCR assay was used to detect M. bovis in suspected cow samples and previously diagnosed human samples. Gene sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis were also done to determine the molecular differences between animal and human M. bovis.

Results

Using an ELISA test, 46 (11.11%) of 414 samples were positive, while 368 (88.89%) were negative without significant differences between the districts (p > 0.05). According to postmortem lesions at the slaughterhouse, only three cows were infected with TB, and typical gross lesions were calcified necrotic and multiple well-demarcated granulomas. The molecular test using two primers (CSB2 and oxyR gene) revealed that M. bovis was found in animal and human extra-pulmonary lymph nodes with no molecular change.

Conclusion

Healthy cows harbored M. bovis, the causative agent of a contagious disease that spreads and causes a persistent health problem in humans.
IL4I1-catalyzed tryptophan metabolites mediate the anti-inflammatory function of cytokine-primed human muscle stem cells
Authors: Shao Changshun , Zuo Muqiu , Fang Jiankai , Huang Peiqing , Liu Shisong , Hou Pengbo , Wang Shiqing , Liu Zhanhong , Feng Chao , Cao Lijuan , Li Peishan , Shi Y
Published: March 2023

Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) have been demonstrated to exert impressive therapeutic efficacy in disease settings through orchestrating inflammatory microenvironments. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the immunoregulatory property of MuSCs remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we showed that interleukin-4-induced-1 (IL4I1), an essential enzyme that catalyzes indole metabolism in humans, was highly expressed in human MuSCs exposed to IFN-γ and TNF-α. Functionally, the MuSCs were found to inhibit the infiltration of neutrophils into sites of inflammation in a IL4I1-dependent manner and thus ameliorate acute lung injury in mice. Mechanistically, the indole metabolites, including indole-3-pyruvic acid (I3P) and indole-3-aldehyde (I3A), produced by IL4I1, acted as ligands to activate aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), leading to augmented expression of TNF-stimulated gene 6 (TSG-6) in inflammatory cytokine-primed MuSCs. Furthermore, I3P administration alone suppressed neutrophil infiltration in damaged lungs. I3P could also reduce the level of reactive oxygen species in neutrophils. Therefore, our study has uncovered a novel mechanism by which MuSCs acquire their immunoregulatory property and may help to develop or optimize MuSC-based therapies for inflammatory diseases.
Magnetic carbon Fe3O4 nanocomposites synthesized via Magnetic Induction Heating
Authors: Cervera-Gabalda Laura , Gómez-Polo Cristina
Published: March 2023

Magnetic Induction Heating (MIH) of magnetite nanoparticles is employed as a novel synthesis procedure of carbon based magnetic nanocomposites. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and fructose (1:2 weight ratio) were mechanically mixed and submitted to a RF magnetic field (305 kHz). The heat generated by the nanoparticles leads to the decomposition of the sugar and to the formation of an amorphous carbon matrix. Two sets of nanoparticles, with mean diameter sizes of 20 and 100 nm, are comparatively analysed. Structural (X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)), electrical and magnetic (resistivity, SQUID magnetometry) characterizations confirm the nanoparticle carbon coating through the MIH procedure. The percentage of the carbonaceous fraction is suitably increased controlling the magnetic heating capacity of the magnetic nanoparticles. The procedure enables the synthesis of multifunctional nanocomposites with optimized properties to be applied in different technological fields. Particularly, Cr (VI) removal from aqueous media is presented employing the carbon nanocomposite with 20 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles.
The belowground mechanisms of phosphite-mediated protection against root rot disease in Rhododendron species
Authors: Liu Yu , Burke David J. , Medeiros Juliana S. , Carrino-Kyker Sarah R. , Burns Jean H.
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims
The soil-borne pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi causes a deadly plant disease. Phosphite is widely used as an effective treatment to protect plants from Phytophthora cinnamomi. Phosphite as a common fungicide might influence the composition of soil fungal communities. However, whether the belowground mechanisms of phosphite-mediated protections are direct or indirectly mediated through soil biota are unknown. Therefore, exploring belowground mechanisms could contribute to the evaluation of the sustainability of phosphite use and tests hypotheses about direct versus indirect mechanisms in pathogen response.
Methods
Our greenhouse pot experiment on Rhododendron species had either an after-pathogen or a before-pathogen use of phosphite to compare and evaluate plant and soil fungal responses to phosphite and the presence of an oomycete pathogen phytophthora cinnamomi. The factorial experiment also included with and without pathogen and soil biota treatments, for a test of interactive effects. High throughput sequencing analyzed the soil fungal communities, and we measured the diversity, evenness and richness of soil fungi.
Results
Phosphite effectively increased survival of Rhododendron species. It altered the composition of soil fungal communities, and the timing of using phosphite determined the way in which the fungal communities changed. Trichoderma taxa also responded to soil phosphite and Phytophthora cinnamomi.
Conclusions
The benefits of antagonistic fungi such as Trichoderma are context-dependent, suggesting protection against pathogens depends on the timing of phosphite application. This study provides the first evidence that phosphite-mediated pathogen protection includes both direct benefits to plants and indirect effects mediated through the soil microbial community.
Dynamic Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography module adapted to commercial microscopes for longitudinal in vitro cell culture study
Authors: Monfort Tual , Azzollini Salvatore , Brogard Jeremy , Clémençon Marilou , Brec Amélie Slembrouck , Forster Valérie , Picaud Serge , Goureau Olivier  , Reichman Sacha , Thouvenin Olivier , Grieve Kate
Published: March 2023

Dynamic full-field optical coherence tomography (D-FFOCT) has recently emerged as a label-free imaging tool, capable of resolving cell types and organelles within 3D live samples, whilst monitoring their activity at tens of milliseconds resolution. Here, a D-FFOCT module design is presented which can be coupled to a commercial microscope with a stage top incubator, allowing non-invasive label-free longitudinal imaging over periods of minutes to weeks on the same sample. Long term volumetric imaging on human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoids is demonstrated, highlighting tissue and cell organisation as well as cell shape, motility and division. Imaging on retinal explants highlights single 3D cone and rod structures. An optimal workflow for data acquisition, postprocessing and saving is demonstrated, resulting in a time gain factor of 10 compared to prior state of the art. Finally, a method to increase D-FFOCT signal-to-noise ratio is demonstrated, allowing rapid organoid screening.
Temporal and spatial variation of chlorophyll a concentration and ecological environment assessment in Bohai Sea
Authors: Zhao Zihan , Xiao Rushui , Guo Junting , Zhang Yuming , Zhang Shufang , Lv Xianqing , Shi Honghua
Published: March 2023

Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) is an important indicator of phytoplankton bloom and water eutrophication, as well as a basic parameter to assess coastal ecosystem health. This study utilizes a significant amount of observational data regarding Chl-a concentration. The linear Radial Basis Function (RBF-Linear) is a fitting method used to reconstruct the in-situ observation data of Chl-a concentration in the Bohai Sea in August 2017, with two advantages of small comprehensive error and reasonable spatial distribution. This method is selected through 10-fold cross-validation, correlation analysis and spatial distribution comparison. This will provide a potential application prospect for evaluating satellite products and improving the accuracy of ecological models. Then we use this method to obtain the complete three-dimensional spatial field of Chl-a concentration in the Bohai Sea during March, May, August and October from 2016 to 2018. The spatial and temporal distribution of Chl-a concentration in the Bohai Sea shows obvious spatial and temporal distribution characteristics: spatially, the high Chl-a concentration is mainly distributed in coastal waters, especially near estuaries and mariculture area; Temporally, there are two obvious peaks in March and August. Additionally, two indicators of total Chl-a and area with high Chl-a concentration are given in order to assess the marine ecological environment in four sub-regions of the Bohai Sea (Bohai Bay, Liaodong Bay, Laizhou Bay, and Central Bohai Sea), with a focus on the impacts of special weather events and bottom water quality. Along with restoring the marine natural environment, attention should be given to balancing urban development.
Very-early-onset inflammatory bowel disease with a partial RIPK1/ BPHL deletion in an infant
Authors: Kırsaçlıoğlu Ceyda Tuna , Frohne Alexandra , Kuloğlu Zarife , Demir Engin , Altuntaş Cansu , Haskoloğlu Zehra Şule , Çobanoğlu Fatma Nazan , Kendirli Tanıl , Özdemir Halil , Özçakar Zeynep Birsin , Savaş Berna , Doğu Figen , İkincioğulları Aydan , Boztuğ Kaan , Kansu Aydan
Published: March 2023

The monogenic causes of very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD) have been defined by advanced genetic studies, which were usually related to primary immunodeficiencies. Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase-1 RIPK-1 protein is an important signalling molecule in inflammation and cell death pathways. Its deficiency may lead to different clinical features, via immunodeficiency and/or inflammation. Here we discussed an infant with malnutrition, VEO-IBD, reccurrent infections and polyathritis, who had a partial deletion in RIPK1 gene, adjacent biphenyl hydrolase-like (BPHL) gene, and a homozygous p.Glu148Gln mutation in Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene. The superimposing effect of immune dysregulation of these two defective genes may lead to severe clinical presentation of our patient.
Quantitative and qualitative assessment to predict fall events for older inpatients at a tertiary referral hospital
Authors: Komiya Hitoshi , Imaizumi Takahiro , Suzuki Yusuke , Ando Masahiko , Shiratori Yoshimune , Nagao Yoshimasa , Kuzuya Masafumi
Published: March 2023

Purpose
Falls among older patients are one of the most common adverse events in hospitals. Many hospitals have established and adopted their own multifaceted fall assessment tool. There has not been much research on fall assessment tools’ validation by incorporating various factors as covariates. We aimed to validate a fall risk assessment tool for older inpatients who are admitted to a tertiary referral hospital.
Methods
This study used electronic medical record (EMR) of inpatients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to Nagoya University Hospital from January 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2020 were included in the study. On admission, the patients’ background information and fall risk assessment were extracted retrospectively from the EMR. Fall events within 30 days of hospitalization were the outcome, which were prospectively recorded by the nurses. We examined the association between fall risk assessment scores and the outcome as well as the C-statistics to examine if adding the score improved the models.
Results
A total of 10,353 patients were included in the study. The number of fall event was 224. The hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for the fall risk assessment score was 1.30 (1.18–1.45) in multivariable Cox models. By adding the risk assessment scores, C-statistics of the multivariable models improved by 0.031 (0.007–0.054).
Conclusions
Even after adjusting for numerous quantitative factors, we validated the usefulness of the risk assessment tool in predicting fall events, demonstrating the utility of a qualitative tool assessed by healthcare providers in predicting fall events.
Global patterns of thermal niche filling in ectotherms
Authors: Moore Nikki , Morales-Castilla Ignacio , Hargreaves Anna , Olalla-Tárraga Miguel , Villalobos Fabricio , Calosi Piero , Clusella-Trullas Susana , Rubalcaba Juan , Algar Adam , Martínez Brezo , Rodríguez Laura , Gravel Sarah , Bennett Joanne , Carrete-Vega Greta , Rahbek Carsten , Araújo Miguel , Bernhardt Joey , Sunday Jennifer
Published: March 2023

Understanding how temperature determines the distribution of life is necessary to assess species’ sensitivities to contemporary climate change. Here we test the importance of temperature in limiting geographic ranges of ectotherms by comparing temperatures across occupied ranges to those species could potentially occupy based on their physiological thermal tolerances. Whereas marine and tropical terrestrial species occupy temperatures that closely match their thermal tolerances, high-latitude terrestrial species under-occupy warm temperatures and are absent from thermally tolerable areas towards the equator. This suggests that on land, temperature less often limits the equatorward range edge of temperate species, supporting the hypothesis that their historic expansion ‘out of the tropics’ was associated with tropical biotic exclusion. Our findings predict more direct responses to climate warming of marine ranges and cool range edges of terrestrial species.
Liquid chromatography as analytical tool for the study of natural and early synthetic dyes in traditional Saxon textiles
Authors: Petroviciu Irina , Teodorescu Iulia , Vasilca Silvana , Albu Florin , Medvedovici Andrei
Published: March 2023

Confirmed since the 12-th century, the Saxon community in Transylvania developed over the years in a rigorous powerful society, with its own lifestyle, social, economic, cultural and artistic standards. Together with research in historic documents, this society is now revealed by material studies of 18-th to 20-th century objects in the Emil Sigerius collection, preserved in the ASTRA Museum, Sibiu. Embroideries made in Saxon households as well as representative Saxon coats manufactured in workshops and dated between 1892 and 1908 (years embroidered on objects) were studied in terms of dye analysis in order to understand if adoption of new materials goes together with the stylistic improvements. Dye analysis were performed by liquid chromatography with UV-Vis and mass spectrometric detection (LC-DAD-MS), nowadays the most appropriate technique for the characterization and identification of colour components in heritage textiles. MS/MS detection, in its tri-quadrupolar architecture, with the middle quadrupole used as collision cell, was used to achieve undoubted identification of each dye in a complex matrix. Construction of suitable spectral libraries through studies on standard dyes and dyed textiles definitely improved the ability to undoubtedly detect natural and early synthetic dyes. Identification of fuchsine (1856), methyl violet (1861), orange II (1876) brilliant green (1879), quinoline yellow (1881) and rhodamine B (1887) in textiles dated about 20 years after the dyes first synthesis prove that transition from natural to synthetic dyes in the Saxon community was very fast, especially in what textiles made in specialized workshops are concerned. The analytical technique used for the natural and early synthetic dyes characterisation and identification, and especially the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with its possibility for tuning the selectivity through appropriately exploiting the functioning modes, as well as to increase sensitivity, confirms its ability in studies aiming in understanding textiles through dye analysis and promotes the use of advanced analytical techniques in heritage science applications.
A Single Camera Unit-based Three-Dimensional Surface Imaging Technique
Authors: Wang Yinhe , Guo Xiangyu , Kim Jungsub , Lin Pengfei , Lu Kuan , Lee Hyunjae , Lee ChaBum
Published: March 2023

This paper introduces a simple three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic method using a single unit of an imaging device consisting of a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a zoom lens. Unlike conventional stereoscopy, which requires a pair of imaging devices, 3D surface imaging is achieved by 3D image reconstruction of two images obtained from two different camera positions by scanning. The experiments were performed by obtaining two images of the measurement target in two different ways: (1) by moving the object while the imaging device is stationary, and (2) by moving the imaging device while the object is stationary. Conventional stereoscopy is limited by disparity errors in 3D image reconstruction because a pair of imaging devices is not ideally identical and alignment errors are always present in the imaging system setup. The proposed method significantly reduced the disparity error in 3D image reconstruction, and the calibration process of the imaging system became simple and convenient. The proposed imaging system showed a disparity error of 0.26 in the camera pixel.
Some Applications of Fixed Point Results for Monotone Multi-Valued and Integral Type Contractive Mappings.
Authors: NASSAR NASSAR AIMAN MAJID NASSAR , JUMAILI ALAA. M. F. AL. JUMAILI AL. , ZHEN ZHEN CHUAN NG , SEE SEE KEONG LEE
Published: March 2023

The motivation of the present paper is to introduce and establish some of new fixed point results for monotone Multi-valued functions in partially ordered complete D*-Metric spaces in the setting of , where the partial ordered set is obtained via a pair of functions Moreover, several of the existence and uniqueness of coupled fixed point theorems of mappings satisfying contractive conditions have been investigated and verified in the setting of partially ordered complete by using the concept of integrally type contractions with respect to partially ordered . Furthermore, we present appropriate examples as an application for our main results. Our results generalize and complement different well-known comparable results from the current literature.
2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary: 47H09 and 47H10; Secondary: 54H25.
Genome-wide transcriptome and physiological analyses provide new insights into cadmium tolerance of tomato seedlings
Authors: Yuqiong Li , Quanwu Liang , Ge Song , Wu Jinfeng , Haihua Wang , Mingli Yan , Zhang Jihong
Published: March 2023

In China, cadmium (Cd) contamination has turned into a primary environmental concerns in agricultural soils. This research surveyed the molecular mechanism of biochemical and physiological in response to Cd stress in tomato plants. Cadmium treatment prominently restrained tomato root growth (by 43.46%), and stimulated their antioxidant enzyme activities (POD and CAT). Cadmium treatment reduced their dry weight of shoot and root at day 7, by 40.42% and 60.40%, respectively. During the entire processing period, total chlorophyll contents were decreased and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased. A comparative transcriptome (RNA-Seq) was assembled de novo and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were surveyed among 7-day-old tomato plants with or without cadmium ion treatment for 24 h. 18,883 unigenes in total were grouped into 51 Gene Ontology (GO) categories and 89 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes terms (KEGG). There were 1,716 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 559 down- and 1157 up-regulated genes. Go term enrichment analysis revealed that multiple phytohormone-related signaling pathway were significantly enriched in DEGs. Most genes involved in lignin biosynthesis pathway were up-regulated, for instance, COMT and CCOMT. Cd2+ is absorbed into tomato root cells to generate ROS and gives rise to oxidative stress. The essential hormones biosynthesis such as ethylene, IAA and JA should be stimulated to induce the activation of signal proteins. Our results provide the basis for further understanding of Cd tolerance mechanisms in plants.
Cryptic diversity of Eviota (Teleostei: Gobiidae) and their habitat use in the shallow waters of Okinawa Island
Authors: Hanahara Nozomi
Published: March 2023

Eviota, known as dwarf gobies, is a diverse genus of marine fishes comprising more than 120 species found throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean. A previous study has suggested that morphologically similar cryptic species of Eviotamay exist and that the species diversity may be significantly underestimated. This study evaluated the diversity of Eviotaspecies in three habitat types (tidal flats, reef flats, and moats) in the shallow waters (0–1 m in depth at low tide) of Okinawa Islandusing morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis. Eleven morphospecies were classified into 17 molecular optical units(MOTUs), and cryptic species for which speciation may have occurred relatively recently were detected in the morphospecies Eviota abax, Eviota japonica, Eviota queenslandica, and Eviota prasina. Most MOTUs exhibited only one habitat use, whereas three MOTUs were found in multiple habitats. Among each cryptic Eviota species, both habitat segregation and habitat overlaps were found. Therefore, speciation in Eviota may occur without habitat segregation, and multiple other factors should be considered regarding speciation in Eviota.