bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Under-vine vegetation in vineyards: a case study considering soil hydrolytic enzyme activity, yield and grape quality in Austria
Authors: Griesser Michaela , Khalil Sarhan , De Berardinis Federica , Porret Oriol Flix , Hörmayer Roman , Mayer Nicole , Kührer Erhard , Forneck Astrid
Published: November 2022

In vineyards, the under-vine area is managed to control vegetation growth and to reduce the competing effect of growing plants on vines and fruit development. Applied under-vine management methods are the application of herbicides, soil tillage or the growth of spontaneous vegetation or cover crops. These methods affect pedo-climatic conditions differentially as well as the soil biota and have, therefore, consequences on soil functions and ecosystem services. In the presented case study, the effects of five under-vine management methods on the activity of soil hydrolytic enzymes, the soil water content, vine photosynthetic activity, shoot pruning weight, grape yield and quality are investigated in a vineyard in Lower Austria over three consecutive seasons. Thereby, we hypothesise that a permanent under-vine vegetation cover, either mowed or without mowing, supports the soil microbial communities and soil functions in a way to enhance water and nutrients availability for vines which partly compensates for the competition of the growing vegetation. Our results confirm effects on the soil water balance, more specifically, a reduced soil water content in 11
-20 cm soil depths induced by a permanent vegetation cover as compared to herbicide application or soil tillage. Further consequences of permanent vegetation below vines were lower shoot pruning weights and lower berry weights, while total soluble solids and titratable acidity were not affected. The vine's photosynthetic activity, as well as the soil water content, were partly affected by treatments dependent on the precipitation ahead of the measurement. In parallel, the soil microbial activity was significantly enhanced by a permanent vegetation cover below the vines as compared to herbicide application, a trend which increased with the years of the project. In conclusion, permanent under-vine vegetation strongly promoted soil microbial activity without strong effects on shoot pruning weight, grape yield and quality. In the next step, a functional proof is necessary to characterise the interaction between soil microbial activity, soil water balance and vine nutrition and water status by using sensors for continuous measurements.
Developing nutrient criteria for the Grijalva basin, Mexico
Authors:   El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Barrientos-Pérez Ana Aurora , Castillo Maria Mercedes ,   El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mendoza-Carranza Manuel ,   El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Jarquín-Sánchez Aarón ,   El Colegio de la Frontera Sur
Published: November 2022

Excess nutrient inputs are a major cause of aquatic ecosystem impairment worldwide. Increased total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations can lead to eutrophication affecting ecosystem functioning and environmental services provided by streams and rivers. Establishing numeric nutrient criteria is a strategy to reduce nutrient inputs into freshwater ecosystems. Our objective was to estimate nutrient concentrations that could be used as guides to establish nutrient criteria for TP and TN in the Grijalva basin, Mexico. We applied the frequency distribution method to water quality monitoring data for subregions (upper, middle, and lower Grijalva) and for the whole basin, considering two stream size categories. Nutrients were also compared among subregions, land uses, and stream sizes. Agriculture and urban areas showed higher nutrient concentrations than other land uses, probably due to the use of fertilizers and inputs of domestic and industrial wastewater. Higher nutrient concentrations were found in the middle Grijalva and in low-order streams. Nutrient concentrations at the 75th percentile for the reference sites were higher than those obtained at the 5th, 16.7th, and 25th percentiles for the general nutrient data, probably due to the high level of human disturbance in the Grijalva basin. Nutrient concentrations at the 25th percentile are probably too high to protect the aquatic ecosystems in the basin, while concentrations at the 5th percentile can be too restrictive for the basin. Based on our results, nutrient concentrations at the 16.7th percentile are proposed as a first approximation for nutrient criteria to protect river systems in the Grijalva basin.
Effectiveness Evaluation of a UVC-Photoinactivator against Selected ESKAPE-E Pathogens
Authors: Rangel Karyne , Cabral Fellipe O. , Lechuga Guilherme C. , Villas-Bôas Maria H,S , Midlej Victor , De-Simone Salvatore Giovanni
Published: November 2022

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) worldwide includes infections by ESKAPE-E pathogens. Environmental surfaces and fomites are important components in HAI transmission dynamics, and shoe soles are vectors of HAI. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is an effective method to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, we investigated whether the SANITECH UVC shoe sole decontaminator equipment that provides germicidal UVC radiation could effectively reduce this risk of different pathogens. Six standard strains and four clinical MDR strains in liquid and solid medium were exposed to a UVC System at specific concentrations at other times. Bacterial inac-tivation (growth and cultivability) was investigated using colony counts and resazurin as meta-bolic indicators. SEM was performed to assess the membrane damage. Statistically significant reduction in cell viability for all ATCCs strains occurred after 10 sec of exposure to the UVC sys-tem, except for S enterica, which only occurred at 20 sec. The cell viability of P. aeruginosa (90.9%), E. faecalis and A. baumannii (85.3%), S. enterica (82.9%), E. coli (79.2%) and S. aureus (71.9%) was re-duced considerably at 20 sec. In colony count, after 12 sec of UVC exposure, all ATCC strains showed a 100% reduction in CFU counts, except for A. baumannii, which reduced 97.7%. A sub-stantial reduction of colonies above 3 log10 was observed at 12 and 20 sec in all bacterial strains tested, except for A. baumannii ATCC 19606 (12 sec). The exposure of ATCCs bacterial strains to the UVC system for only 2 sec was able to reduce 100% in the CFU count in all ATCCs strains, S. au-reus, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, A. baumannii, E. faecalis, except the S. enterica strain which had a statis-tically significant reduction of 99.7%. In ATCC strains, there was a substantial decrease in colonies after 4 sec (sec) of exposure to the UVC system, with a reduction ranging from 3.78-4.15 log10 CFU/mL. This reduction was observed in MDR/ESKAPE-E strains within 10 sec, showing that UVC could eliminate above 3.84 log10 CFU/mL. SEM showed a reduction of pili-like appendages after UVC treatment in all strains except for E. coli (ATCC 25922). The Sanitech UVC shoe sole decontaminator equipment from Astech Co. effectively killed in vitro a series of ATCCs and MDR/ESKAPE-E bacteria of sanitary interest, commonly found in the hospital environment.
Biodegradable Polymer Nanosheets Incorporated with Zn-Containing Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Bin Ishak M.Q. Hafzan , Shankar Prabakaran , Turabayev Marat E. , Kondo Takahiro , Honda Mitsuhiro , Gurbatov Stanislav , Okamura Yosuke , Iwamori Satoru , Kulinich Sergei A.
Published: November 2022

So far, poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA, nanosheets proved to be promising for wound healing. Such biodegradable materials are easy-to-prepare, bio-friendly, cost-effective, simple to apply and were shown to protect burn wounds and facilitate their healing. At the same time, certain metal ions are known to be essential for wound healing, which is why this study was motivated by the idea of incorporating PLLA nanosheets with Zn2+ ion containing nanoparticles. Upon being applied on wound, such polymer nanosheets should release Zn2+ ions, which is expected to improve wound healing. The work thus focused on preparing PLLA nanosheets embedded with several kinds of Zn-containing nanoparticles, their characterization and ion-release behavior. ZnCl2 and ZnO nanoparticles were chosen as model particles with different solubility in water, both types showing similar ion release dynamics in liquid medium with pH around 7.4.
CE-BART: Cause-and-Effect BART for Visual Commonsense Generation
Authors: Kim Junyeong , Hong Ji Woo , Yoon Sunjae , Yoo Chang D.
Published: November 2022

“A Picture is worth a thousand words”. Given an image, humans are able to deduce various cause-and-effect captions of past, current, and future events beyond the image. The task of visual commonsense generation aims at generating three cause-and-effect captions (1) what needed to happen before, (2) what is the current intent, and (3) what will happen after for a given image. However, such a task is challenging for machines owing to two limitations: existing approaches (1) directly utilize conventional vision-language transformers to learn relationships between input modalities, and (2) ignore relations among target cause-and-effect captions but consider each caption independently. We propose Cause-and-Effect BART (CE-BART) which is based on (1) Structured Graph Reasoner that captures intra- and inter-modality relationships among visual and textual representations, and (2) Cause-and-Effect Generator that generates cause-and-effect captions by considering the causal relations among inferences. We demonstrate the validity of CE-BART on VisualCOMET and AVSD benchmarks. CE-BART achieves SOTA performances on both benchmarks, while extensive ablation study and qualitative analysis demonstrate the performance gain and improved interpretability.
Fabrication and In Vitro Characterization of Novel Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds 3D Printed Using Polyvinyl Alcohol as A Thermoplastic Binder
Authors: Thurzo Andrej , Gálfiová Paulína , Nováková Zuzana Varchulová , Polák Štefan , Varga Ivan , Strunga Martin , Urban Renáta , Surovková Jana , Leško Ľuboš , Hajdúchová Zora , Feranc Jozef , Janek Marian , Danišovič Ľuboš
Published: November 2022

This paper presents a proof-of-concept study on the biocolonization of 3D-printed hydroxyapatite scaffolds with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Three-dimensional (3D) printed biomimetic bone structure made of Calcium Deficient HydroxyApatite (CDHA) intended as future bone graft was made from newly developed composite material for FDM printing. The biopolymer polyvinyl alcohol serves in this material as a thermoplastic binder for 3D molding of the printed object with a passive function and is completely removed during sintering. The study presents the material, the process of fused deposition modeling (FDM) of CDHA scaffolds and its post-processing at three temperatures (1200, 1300, 1400 °C), as well it evaluates the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of scaffolds with MTT and LDH release assays after 14 days. The study also includes a morphological evaluation of the cellular colonization with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in two different filament orientations (rectilinear and gyroid). The results of the MTT assay showed that the tested material was not toxic, and cells were preserved in both orientations, with most cells present on the material fired at 1300°C. Results of the LDH release assay showed a slight increase in LDH leakage from all samples. Visual evaluation of SEM confirmed the ideal post-processing temperature of the 3D-printed FDM framework for samples fired at 1300°C and 1400°C, with a porosity of 0.3 mm between filaments. In conclusion, the presented fabrication and colonization of CDHA scaffolds have great potential to be used in the tissue engineering of bones.
Diffusion and Prediction of Covid-19 Pandemic: Limits of Models and Strategies to Improve Outlook and Preparedness to Face Next Pandemics
Authors: Coccia Mario
Published: November 2022

One of the most important problems in the presence of epidemics and pandemics is an accurate prediction and preparedness. Scholars and experts argue that future pandemics and/or epidemics are almost inevitable events and is not whether next pandemics will happen, but when a new heath emergency will emerge. Epidemiologic models for prediction of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have shown many limitations because of unpredictable dynamics of the new viral agent SARS-CoV-2 in environment and society. The main goals of this study are twofold: first, the analysis of anthropogenic activities and factors that may trigger pandemic threats; second, the planning of new directions for strategies to reduce risks that a pandemic threat emerges and/or in the initial phase to reduce vast diffusion and negative impact of new viral agents that can generate hazards and problems in public health, environment and socioeconomic systems. In particular, the investigation and understanding of sources and driving factors concerning the emergence and diffusion of new pandemics have critical aspects for strategic actions of forecast, prevention and preparation of effective policy responses to cope with next pandemic crises and health emergencies. Insights here endeavor, whenever possible, to clarify these problems to increase the knowledge of the sources and factor determining the emergence of new viral agents in order to design optimal response policies to face next pandemic diseases similar to COVID-19. .
Diseño de una arquitectura de seguridad informática para incrementar la seguridad de información en la empresa Bafing S.A.C. en 2021
Authors:   , Asurza Caceres Josue David
Published: November 2022

El objetivo del proyecto es demostrar que el diseño de arquitectura de seguridad informática puede incrementar la seguridad de información de la empresa BAFING S.A.C. La investigación tiene carácter experimental porque manipula la variable independiente “Arquitectura de Seguridad Informática” para impactar en la variable dependiente “Seguridad de Información”, reforzando sus efectos. La empresa tiene por rubro el desarrollo de proyectos informáticos de seguridad de información, la misma que está integrada por consultores expertos en el campo de gestión de riesgos e implementación de sistemas de administración de software informático. La arquitectura propuesta ofrece mayor alcance para la protección de información como activo importante de las empresas que trabajan con equipos informáticos. Para llevar a cabo dicho propósito se evaluaron propuestas de software de seguridad objetivo seleccionado bajo un perfil elaborado de características y se juzgó cada uno de ellos confrontando sus resultados en función al cumplimiento de la integridad, confidencialidad y disponibilidad como pilares de concepto. Lo que permitió en el nivel administrativo el planeamiento de adquisición de nuevo software o renovación del mismo en función a la información obtenida. Las herramientas de evaluación usadas en el proyecto fueron colectadas a partir de la información de entrevistas con especialistas en el rubro de protección de información y activos informáticos y están disponibles para evaluaciones futuras de otros productos de seguridad informática. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron mejoras en las dimensiones de seguridad de información analizadas respecto a la situación actual de la empresa auditada BAFING S.A.C.
Evaluation an Analgesic Activity by Alcoholic Extract of Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Leaves on Albino Rats
Authors: Pal Yogendra , Kumar Prashant , tiwari Shashi bhooshan
Published: November 2022

Azadirachta indica is commonly known as “Neem”. This research work has been investigated for the analgesic activity of alcoholic extract of azadirachta indica leaves on albino rats. The neem plants possessing different pharmacological property such as anti fungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-carcinogenic activity, parasitic diseases etc. In this work, alcoholic extract of azadirachta indica leaves administered at different doses 62.5mg/kg, 125mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg body weight i.p. route at different time intervals as 30min, 60min, 120min and 180min to albino rats. The standard drug was used as morphine administered at 4 mg/kg i.p. The analgesic activity was measured by using thermal tail flicks model by using an instrument known as analgesiometer. The neem leaves extract test groups was compared with the standard (morphine treated) group of albino rats. The results showed that different doses of azadirachta indica leaves extract have analgesic activity in which 250mg and 500mg/kg dose of NLE exhibit more analgesic activity at time 60 min. Hence, in this research work it was investigate that alcoholic extract of neem leaves has analgesic activity at different dose concentrations.
Impact of shipping emission reductions on the chemical composition of aerosols in coastal urban air revealed by receptor modelling and numerical simulations
Authors: Jang Eunhwa , Choi Seongwoo , Yoo Eunchul , Hyun Sangmin , An Joongeon
Published: November 2022

Concerns regarding PM2.5 attributable to the shipping sector, have been highlighted in coastal urban regions due to the well-recognized adverse effects on human health. A number of pollution control strategies have recently been adopted to reduce shipping emissions on both the local and national scales. However, it is difficult to track the effect of these on PM2.5 levels, owing to the non-linear relationship that exists between changes in precursor emissions and PM components. In the present study, an integrated analysis was conducted from various angles with a particular focus on the chemical composition of PM2.5 in the port city of Busan, arising from abatement policies for shipping emissions. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified that a switch to lower sulphur (S) fuels (from 3.5% to 0.1–0.5%) since January 2020 resulted in considerable annual reductions in shipping-source related surface PM2.5 mass, especially sulphate aerosols. This was seen at a port site (88.9%) as well as at an interior urban background site (81.3%). CMAQ sensitivity analysis showed that the reduction of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) further extended to inland areas downwind from ports. In addition, mitigation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in coastal urban areas through shipping emission controls, could be anticipated either from the results of receptor modelling applied to two extensive datasets (particulate, gaseous), or from CMAQ simulation results.
Breast cancer biomarkers identified in the Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas
Authors: Zhang Xiong , Mi Zhihui
Published: November 2022

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most malignant tumors in women and a serious threat to women’s health. The incidence of BC has been increasing in China, and the age of onset is earlier compared with that in Western countries. BC remains a major cause of cancer mortality and morbidity in women, as this cancer does not respond well to conventional therapies. Diagnosis is difficult because of non-specific manifestations and the poor accuracy of conventional tests. There is also uncertainty about the optimal screening modality and target populations, as well as the specifications and implementation of screening programs. It is thus imperative to identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for BC. Overlapping differentially expressed genes were screened based on Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE36765, GSE10810, and GSE 20086) and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. A protein-protein interaction network was applied to excavate the hub genes among these differentially expressed genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses, as well as gene set enrichment analyses, were conducted to examine the functions of these genes and their potential mechanisms in the development of BC. For clarification of the diagnostic and prognostic roles of these genes, Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were conducted. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that CALR, HSPB1, IGF1, IL1R1, KLF4, SOCS3, and TPI1 are potential diagnostic biomarkers of BC as well as potential treatment targets with clinical implications.
The media drives public interest in invasive plants in the US
Authors: Parker John D. , Woodworth Elena , Tian Amy , Blair Kaleigh , Pullen Jamie , Lefcheck Jon
Published: November 2022

Internet search data can accurately assess the intensity of public interest in environmental issues. Although invasive plants are a major environmental problem, public interest in invasive plants is generally considered low compared to climate change and threatened flagship species. To understand what drives public interest in invasive plants in the US, we investigated Google Trends search data from 2010 to 2020 for 210 invasive plant species found in the continental US. We investigated three hypothesized drivers of interest: (1) plant abundance as quantified by national and state-level occurrence records in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, (2) media coverage, in particular the volume and tone of news articles over the same 10-year period, and (3) five key plant traits that might influence plant conspicuousness to the general public: ornamental use, human health risks, monoculture formation, plants with positive economic value, and time since introduction. Google search interest was positively but indirectly influenced by species’ state and national level abundance patterns. In contrast, public search interest was most strongly and directly determined by species with greater human health risk and enhanced media coverage (through the number and tone of published articles). Ultimately, this suggests that enhanced media coverage of invasive plant species, particularly articles that detail their negative impacts, could generate increased public awareness for biological invasions.
Influence of elastic modulus of bearing materials on mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication performance of journal bearings and experimental investigation
Authors: Liu Yangyang , Xie Xiaolong , Xu Lushuai , Jia Qian , Yuan Xiaoyang
Published: November 2022

In order to improve the lubrication performance of marine bearings under low speed and heavy load conditions, a mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication model considering elastic deformation, turbulence effect, rough surface contact, and fluid lubrication is established. A load control technology combining electromagnetic and hydraulic pressure is designed, and an experimental investigation of the water-lubricated bearings is carried out. Then the influence of elastic modulus of bearing material on lubrication performance is studied. The results show that the vertical stiffness of the rubber bearing is close to a fixed value under low speed and heavy load conditions; The selection of organic polymer materials can effectively reduce the rough surface contact force, and avoid the friction and wear of the bearing.
Comparative Effects of Educational Intervention Program On Self-Efficacy of Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in South-East, Nigeria
Authors: Okafor Christiana Nkiru , Onyenekwe Chinedu Charles , Okonkwo Uchenna Prosper , Ummunah Joseph Onuuwa , Okoro Chukwuemeka Chukwubuikem , Mbanuzuru Ahaoma Victor , Agunwah Ukamaka Elizabeth , Odira Chika Chioma , Makata Eucharia Ngozi , Nwankwo Chinenye Mercy
Published: November 2022

Background
Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease, which requires a level of confidence among the sufferers in its management.
Objective
This study investigated the effect of an educational intervention program on self-efficacy (SE) in diabetes individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus in South-East, Nigeria.
Method
The study was a quasi-experimental controlled study, comprising 382 individuals with type 2 DM selected and assigned to Intervention (IG) and Control Groups(CG). The instrument for data collection was the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Scale (SCDS). Pretest data were collected, and thereafter education on diabetes management was given to the IG group. The IG was followed up for six months. At the end of six months, post-test data were collected using the same instrument. Data were analyzed using Pearson Chi-square test statistics. A p-value less than 0.05alpha level was considered significant.
Result
More than 25% of all study participants had low self-efficacy in most domains of self-efficacy before intervention. Participants in IG and CG were similarly spread across all self-efficacy domains before intervention except in the social recreation domain where the IG had a significantly, good proportion of participants with low self-efficacy (χ2 = 11.743, p = 0.003).
Conclusion
The study outcome after 6-months of intervention shows that a significant proportion of participants in IG moved from low to either moderate or high SE in almost all the SE domains (p ˂ 0.05), thus showing the effectiveness of education on the IG.
The relationship between hookah use and health literacy skills in college students: a cross-sectional study in Iran
Authors: Panahi Rahman , Ghorbanpour Zahra , Amjadian Mohiadin
Published: November 2022

Introduction: Hookah use has been increasing among students in recent years. Despite the effect of health literacy skills on smoking prevention and cessation, investigating the relationship between health literacy skills and hookah use is still neglected. Therefore, the present study aimed at determining the relationship between hookah use and health literacy skills among university students.Materials and methods: This was a descriptive-cross-sectional study conducted at Esfarayen Medical Sciences University in 2022, in which 214 university students were selected by a simple random sampling method. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire that had two parts: the first part was related to demographic and background characteristics and determined using or not using hookah. The second part was an adult health literacy questionnaire (HELIA). The data were analyzed using SPSS 23 software and descriptive statistics and logistic regression.Findings: The frequency of hookah use was 17.3% (37 people). Among the five health literacy skills, the two skills of comprehension and access had the highest average score and the two skills of decision-making and application of health information and reading had the lowest average score. According to the results of the logistic regression, gender, amount of physical activity per week, smoking, decision-making skills, and the use of health information, understanding and evaluation were the factors affecting the use of hookah.Conclusion: The use of hookah was more among male students, students with less physical activity, smoking students, students who had weaker decision-making skills, and those who used less health information, understanding, and evaluation. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to these students in designing educational programs to prevent and quit hookah use.
Effects of pocket money on weight status among junior high school students: a longitudinal study in China
Authors: Dong Xiaoyang , Chen Libin , Liu Yi , Zhao Li , Wang Weidong
Published: November 2022

Background
Overweight and obesity among adolescents has become a common public health problem, and both obesity rates and the amount of pocket money among adolescents in China are rising. We investigated to what extent the increase in pocket money could lead to weight gain of junior high school students and how this association may vary by school environment in China.
Methods
We used the three waves of a national longitudinal study– the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). The generalized estimation equation (GEE) was used to examine the probability of overweight and obesity. Three GEE models were used to examine overweight and obesity determined by pocket money in two different food environments around school.
Results
A total of 8,903 individuals (4,604 boys and 4,299 girls) from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) were included in the current study. After controlling for confounding factors, girls with 20–49 yuan and ≥ 50 yuan have a higher risk of overweight and obesity than 0–9 yuan pocket money (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.07–1.69, OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.22–1.92), but there were no significant associations between pocket money and overweight and obesity when food around the school was not convenient.
Conclusions
The overweight rate of Chinese teenagers continued to rise from Wave1 to Wave3. Adolescents with more pocket money have a higher risk of being overweight and obese.
The Power of the Fintech to Control Pollution: the Case of the Mobile Money in Somalia
Authors: Mohamed Abdinur Ali , Ahmed Fartun
Published: November 2022

Financial technology is a crucial component for developing the financial sector, which has an undulating effect on the economy's well-being. The financial institutions enable the economic agents to invest in the real sector to boost productivity and drive economic growth. This paper examines the causal link between mobile money and carbon emission in Somalia to discover if mobile money can be used to control pollution and tackle environmental deterioration. This study uses quarterly data spanning from 2012 to 2020. This study used the ARCH model to analyze the conditional variance of time series with the nature of the temporal dependence.
This study found that mobile money is negatively associated with carbon emissions, while population growth, affluence, urbanization, and energy consumption increase pollution, negatively affecting the environment. Mobile money has the potential to be used for pollution control as it offers access to clean and affordable energy sources that lessen carbon emissions. This study found that mobile money has a causal relationship with carbon emissions, and their relationship is unidirectional. Our results show that mobile money is an affordable tool to provide financial services such as insurance, credit saving, remittance, and government transfers to those dealing with environmental realities.
Value and limitations of Machine Learning in high-frequency nutrient data for gap- filling, forecasting, and transport process interpretation
Authors: Barcala Victoria , Rozemeijer Joachim , Ouwerkerk Kevin , Gerner Laurens , Osté Leonard
Published: November 2022

High-frequency monitoring of water quality in catchments brings along the challenge of post-processing large amounts of data. Moreover, monitoring stations are often remote and technical issues resulting in data gaps are common. Machine Learning algorithms can be applied to fill these gaps, and to a certain extent, for predictions and interpretation. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate six different Machine Learning models for gap-filling in a high-frequency nitrate and total-phosphorus concentration time series, (2) to showcase the potential added value (and limitations) of Machine Learning to interpret underlying processes, and (3) to study the limits of Machine Learning algorithms for predictions outside the training period. We used a four-year high-frequency dataset from a ditch draining one intensive dairy farm in the east of The Netherlands. Continuous time series of precipitation, evaporation, groundwater levels, discharge, turbidity, and nitrate or total-phosphorus were used as predictors for total-phosphorus and nitrate concentrations respectively. Our results showed that the Random Forest algorithm had the best performance to fill in data-gaps, with R2 higher than 0.92 and short computation times. The feature importance helped understanding the changes in transport processes linked to water conservation measures and rain variability. Applying the Machine Learning model outside the training period resulted in a low performance, largely due to system changes (manure surplus and water conservation) which were not included as predictors. This study offers a valuable and novel example of how to use and interpret Machine Learning models for post-processing high-frequency water quality data.
CMSFL-Net: Consecutive Multi-scale Feature Learning-based Image Classification Model
Authors: Olimov Bekhzod , Subramanian Barathi , Ugli Rakhmonov Akhrorjon Akhmadjon , Kim Jea-Soo , Kim Jeonghong
Published: November 2022

Extracting useful features at multiple scales is one of the most crucial tasks in computer vision. Emergence of deep learning(DL) techniques and progress of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) allow powerful multi-scale feature extraction that result in stable performance increase in numerous real-life applications. However, currently available state-of-the-art powerful methods primarily rely on parallel multi-scale feature extraction approach and despite providing competitive accuracy, the models lead to poor results in efficient computation and lack at generalizing on small-scale images. On the other hand, efficient and lightweight networks cannot learn useful features properly and result in underfitting problem in case of training with small-scale images or datasets with limited number of samples. Considering these problems, we proposed a novel image classification system based on elaborate data pre-processing step and carefully designed CNN model architecture. Specifically, consecutive multiscale feature learning network (CMSFL-Net) employs consecutive feature learning approach based on usage of various feature maps with different receptive fields to obtain faster training/inference and higher accuracy. In the conducted experiments using 6 real-life image classification datasets, including small-scale, large-scale, and limited data, the proposed system obtained comparable accuracy when compared with the existing state-of-the-art powerful and efficient networks by outperforming them in terms of efficiency and speed. Moreover, the proposed system achieved the best results in accuracy-efficiency tradeoff in comparison with the currently available models.
Prevalence, Factors Associated and Knowledge of Dementia in a Sample of Older Ugandans
Authors: Awuol Machuor Daniel Arok , Innocent Besigye K. , Winfred Ayenyo
Published: November 2022

Introduction:Dementia is on the rise due to increasing proportion of old people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although dementia is misattributed to normal ageing or supernatural causes in SSA, it is a brain disease with well-established etiologies. Limited knowledge and understanding of dementia means that many older people are suffering without seeking help and are undiagnosed and untreated. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with dementia and to describe the knowledge of the disease among older adults attending ROTOM Health Center-Mukono, Central Uganda.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using quantitative methods. A total of 267 older adults attending ROTOM health center-Mukono were interviewed between 1 April to 15 May 2022. Using interviewer administered Early Dementia Questionnaire (EDQ) and Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS), data was collected, entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analysed using SPSS version 12.0. Bivariate and multivariable analyses using logistic regression were done.
Results: Dementia was 46.2% in the sample. The most common symptoms of dementia in the order of their severity were memory symptoms, 6.1% (n =16); physical symptoms, 1.9% (n = 5); and concentration symptoms, 1.1% (n = 3). Bivariate analysis showed that dementia was significantly associated with age >85 years (prevalence ratio, PR=2.42, p < .001), being married (PR=0.70, p < .026), secondary/tertiary level of education (PR=0.54, p < .004), occasional/non-believer (PR=1.85, p < .001), smoker/ex-smoker (PR=1.46, p < .013), occasional/no exercise (PR=3.28, p < .001) and hypertension (PR=0.70, p < .019). The final degree of association as determined by adjusted PR in the multivariable model revealed that only older age (aPR=1.88, p < .001) and occasional/non-believer (aPR=1.61, p =.001) remained significantly related to dementia. The study also found that 8.0% of the participants had optimal knowledge of dementia.
Conclusion: There is high burden of dementia among older persons attending ROTOM health center-Mukono. Factors associated with dementia are older age and being an occasional/non-believer. Knowledge of dementia among older adults is low. There is need to promote integrated early dementia screening, care and educational program in primary care to reduce the disease burden. Spiritual support would be a rewarding investment in the lives of the ageing population.
Beat to Beat Continuous Blood Pressure Estimation using Transmission Coefficient of On-body Antennas
Authors: ElAbbasi Mona K. , Madi Mervat , Kabalan Karim , Jelinek Herbert
Published: November 2022

Background-Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a clear sign of hypertension, a condition associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Regular blood pressure monitoring is therefore crucial, but many cuff-based devices and their usage are restricted to monitoring while at rest.
Method-This paper reports on the use of pair of microstrip patch antenna technology to obtain BP values through an innovative technique using the electromagnetic transmission coefficient waveforms. The change of transmission coefficient of EM waveforms emitted by the pair of antennas was analyzed and correlated with brachial artery thickness to radius ratios and hence, blood pressure assessment at different blood pressure points ranging from 60-140 mmHg. The latter is based on simulations and data algorithms performed at brachial artery diameters of 4.32, 4.33, 4.33, 4.56, 4.53 mm, to mimic the changing brachial artery diameter associated with a pulsatile blood flow.
Result and Conclusion-In conclusion, the largest brachial artery thickness to radius of 0.9 is associated with a high blood pressure of 140-160 mmHg while normal blood pressure levels are referred to radius to thickness ratios of 0.5 and 0.6. Thus, the use of the transmission coefficient has shown a high accuracy for determining BP from the micro-patch antennas, which provides a novel option for continuous real-time, in the wild BP assessment and therefore more accurate information for the clinician.
Mechanotransduction is the Janus-faced regulator of cell aging
Authors: Liu Xiaojing , Liao Li , Wang Peng , Ye Yuanxin , Dong Xiangyu , Xing Xiaotao , Li Zhonghan , Wei Qiang , Tian Weidong
Published: November 2022

Aging is inevitable during development, and we still lack methods to rejuvenate it due to the poor understanding. A wealth of studies focused on the biochemical signaling pathways for inducing cell senescence, whereas the role of mechanotransduction during the process had been ignored. Here, we clarified how cell mechanosensing was involved and played functional roles in cellular senescence. The intracellular traction force and mechanotransduction could reduce in response to mesenchymal stem/stromal cell aging. Compensating the cell traction force via physical or chemical stimulation seems an attractive strategy for temporarily reversing aging markers, however, mechanical overstimulation triggers accelerated cellular senescence shortly afterwards. We further clarified that DNA damage results in the reduction of cellular mechanotransduction, which is a self-protective mechanism as it endows cells with resistance to further DNA damage, although it inhibits cell proliferation and many other functions. Taken together, we have disclosed the interplay between DNA damage, cellular mechanics, and senescence, confirming the two-side effects of the mechanical cues in the aging process.
Risk factors associated with acute kidney injury in a pediatric intensive care unit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Case control study
Authors: Keneni Mulualem , Murugan Rajalakshmi , Bizuwork Ketema , Asfaw Tesfaye , Tekle Sosina , Tolosa Gadisa , Desalew Assefa
Published: November 2022

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious problem in critically ill children. It is associated with poor treatment outcomes and a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Globally, one in three critically ill admitted children suffer from acute kidney injury. However, limited data are available in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, highlighting the risk factors related to acute kidney injury. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with acute kidney injury among critically ill children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: A facility-based unmatched case-control study was carried out on 253 (85 cases and 168 controls) children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from January 2011 to December 2021. Participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique for the control group and all cases consecutively. Data were collected using a structured checklist. Data were entered using Epi data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Multivariate analysis was carried out using the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) to identify associated factors with acute kidney injury. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.
Results: The median age of the participants was two years. About 55.6 % of cases and 53.1% of controls were females. The diagnosis of hypertension (AOR= 5.36; 95% CI: 2.06- 13.93)], shock (AOR=3.88, 95% CI: 1.85- 8.12), exposure to nephrotoxic drugs (AOR=4.09; 95% CI: 1. 45- 11.59), sepsis or infection AOR=3.36; 95% CI: 1.42-7.99), nephritic syndrome (AOR=2.97; 95% CI :1.19, 7.43), and mechanical ventilation AOR=2.25, 95% CI: 1.12, 4.51) were significantly associated with acute kidney injury.
Conclusion: In this study, the diagnosis of sepsis or infection, hypertension, shock, nephrotoxic drugs, demand for mechanical ventilation support, and nephritic syndrome increased the risk of AKI among critically ill children. Multiple risk factors for AKI are associated with illness and its severity. All measures that ensure adequate renal perfusion must be taken in children with identified risk factors to avoid the development of AKI.
Aging and maternal dietary dietary deficiencies during pregnancy and lactation change cerebral and peripheral blood flow in adult female mice offspring following ischemic stroke to the sensorimotor cortex
Authors: Pull Kasey , Folk Robert , Kang Jeemin , Jackson Shaley , Gusek Brikena , Esfandiarei Mitra , Jadavji Nafisa M.
Published: November 2022

A maternal diet that provides adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is vital to the neurodevelopment of offspring. One-carbon metabolism plays an important role in the closure of the neural tube of the developing embryo; however, the impact of maternal one-carbon dietary deficiencies on offspring neurological function later in life remains relatively unknown. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death globally, and its prevalence is expected to increase in younger age groups as the incidence of various risk factors for stroke increases (e.g., hypertension). The aim of our study was to determine the impact of maternal nutritional deficiencies on cerebral blood flow and peripheral hemodynamics after ischemic stroke in adult offspring. In this study, adult female C57BL/6J mice were placed on either control (CD), choline (ChDD) or folic acid (FADD) deficient diets for four weeks to deplete stores prior to mating and maintained on the assigned diet during pregnancy and lactation. Female offspring were weaned and transitioned to a CD for the duration of the study. Ischemic stroke was induced in the sensorimotor cortex of 2- and 10-month-old female offspring using the photothrombosis model. Six weeks after induction of stroke, cerebral and peripheral blood flow was measured using the Vevo2100 Pulse Wave Doppler tracing modality. Our data showed that 3.5-month-old female offspring from a ChDD mothers had reduced blood flow in the posterior cerebral artery compared to CD mice; this effect disappeared in older offspring. In 11.5-month-old females we observed changes in peripheral hemodynamics, but not in young animals. Our findings suggest that a maternal dietary deficiency in choline results in reduced cerebral blood flow in adult female offspring after ischemic stroke, but the long-term effects are not present. This result points to the key role of the maternal diet in early life neuro-programming, while emphasizing its effects on both fetal development and long-term cerebrovascular health.
The protective effect of a short peptide derived from cold-inducible RNA-binding protein in a rat model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation
Authors: Gao Yu , Liu Haoxin , Zhou Jiejie , Guo Min , Sun Jie , Duan Man-lin
Published: November 2022

Systemic inflammation act as a contributor to neurologic deficits after cardiac arrest (CA) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Extracellular cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) has been demonstrated to be responsible in part for the inflammation through binding to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) after cerebral ischemia. The short peptide C23 derived from CIRP has a high affinity for TLR4, which can inhibit the downstream inflammatory response. We hypothesize that C23 reduces systemic inflammation after CA/CPR by blocking the binding of CIRP to TLR4. Adult male SD rats in experimental groups were subjected to 5 minutes of cardiac arrest followed by resuscitation. C23 peptide (8 mg/kg) or normal saline was injected intraperitoneally at the beginning of the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The expressions of CIRP, TNFα, IL-6, and IL-1β in serum and brain tissues were significantly increased at 24h after ROSC (P < 0.05). C23 treatment could markedly decrease the expressions of TNFα, IL-6, and IL-1β in serum (P < 0.05). Besides, C23 can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and play an anti-inflammatory role in brain tissues. It can decrease the expressions of TLR4, TNFα, IL-6, and IL-1β in the cortex and hippocampus and inhibit the colocalization of CIRP and TLR4 (P < 0.05). In addition, C23 treatment can reduce the apoptosis of hippocampus neurons(P < 0.05). Finally, the rats in the C23 group have improved survival rate and neurological prognosis (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that C23 can reduce systemic inflammation and it has the potential to be developed into a possible therapy for post-cardiac arrest syndrome.
Prevalence, components and consequences of moral injury: preliminary validation of a new brief measure
Authors: LeClaire Michele , Poplau Sara , Freese Rebecca L. , Porta Carolyn M. , Sullivan Erin E. , Linzer Mark
Published: November 2022

Aim
The aim of this study was to design and use a parsimonious survey tool to use in real time to assess moral injury and describe how moral injury relates to burnout and intent to leave the job. The Moral Injury Quotient (MIQ) is derived from this 6-item tool.
Findings
The MIQ metric has good performance characteristics and captures a substantiative portion of moral injury. It is related to clinically meaningful changes; each 10-point increase in the MIQ was associated with 125% increased odds of burnout (p < 0.001) and 50% increased odds of intending to leave the job (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Measuring and addressing moral injury has major workforce implications. This metric is an “off the shelf” tool that may be helpful in busy clinical settings to assess, implement improvements, and reassess for reductions in moral injury.