bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on coupling resonance enhancement characteristics of MPs resonance mode in multilayer MIM structure and F-P cavity mode
Authors: Wei Zhihui , Liu Hai , Wang Bo , Zhang Jian , Tang Haolong , Li Qiang , Shen Zhenfeng , Yang Haigui , Shan Dongzhi , Zhao Yuanhang , Zhao Yi , Wang Kai , Wang Xiaoyi
Published: November 2023

In this paper, we propose a cavity-coupled perfect absorber (CCPA) consisting of a bottom gold layer, a SiO2 layer, and multilayer MIM (Metal-Insulator-Metal) nanowires. By coupling the Fabry-Pérot (F-P) cavity mode with the magnetic plasmons (MPs) resonance mode in multilayer MIM structure, the MPs resonance in the multilayer MIM structure is enhanced, and leading to increased absorption of the structure. By designing and optimizing the parameters, near-perfect absorption in the mid-infrared wavelengths can be achieved. The positions of the two absorption peaks can be adjusted by changing the width of the nanowires and the thickness of the SiO2 layer, resulting in the formant excitation at any position in the mid-infrared. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the short-wave peak is only 0.076 µm, and the FWHM of the long-wave peak is only 0.46 µm. The long-wave absorption peak maintains high efficiency and stability even at large incident angles, exhibiting "omnidirectional" characteristics. The tunable mid-infrared emission peak can be matched to the characteristic spectra of gases, making it suitable for infrared radiation sources in gas detection.
RETRACTED: Comparative analysis of cow dung microflora of different cow breeds for plant growth promoting traits and antifungal properties for prospective use in organic and natural farming system
Authors: Sagar Shweta , Singh Arjun , Bala Jyoti , Chauhan Rakesh , Kumar Rameshwar , Walia Abhishek
Published: November 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Country-specific roadmaps for scaling up integrated care in Belgium, Slovenia, and Cambodia - Lessons learned from the SCUBY project
Authors: Heine Martin , Martens Monika , Boateng Daniel , Ku Grace Marie , Remmen Roy , Wouters Edwin , Chhim Srean , Susič Antonjia Poplas , Damme Wim van , Olmen Josefien van , Klipstein-Grobusch Kerstin , consortium on behalf of the SCUBY
Published: November 2023

Introduction
The SCUBY project aimed to provide knowledge on the scaling-up of an Integrated Care Package (ICP) for type 2 diabetes and hypertension across three distinct health systems (Cambodia, Slovenia, and Belgium). Here, we analyse the different elements of the country-specific scale-up roadmaps to identify similarities and differences, and share lessons learned.
Methods
Thematic analysis was used to derive crucial roadmap elements from key SCUBY documents (n = 20), including policy briefs, interim reports, research outputs, and consortium meeting notes.
Results
Roadmap elements differed according to priority needs, features of the (health) systems, and partly reflected the position of the SCUBY research team within each country. Common cross-country elements were: task-shifting to patients themselves, nurses and community health workers; strengthening monitoring and evaluation; and creating an enabling environment for ICP implementation.
Discussion
Scale-up of complex interventions requires continuous engagement of multiple stakeholders and contextualization of action plans. The linkage of research teams with key implementation stakeholders and policy makers creates change-teams, allowing advancement from formative research to implementation of roadmap strategies and full scale-up in due time.
Conclusion
The development processes and contents of the roadmaps provided essential and reciprocal learnings. These help shape future policy dialogues and best practices to tackle chronic disease in each participating country.
Determination of soluble solids content and organic acid content in tomatoes with different nitrogen levels based on hyperspectral imaging technique
Authors: Zhang Yiyang , Ma Yan , Zhang Yao , Tian Xingwu , Ma Siyan , Wang Jing , Ma Ling , Wu Longguo
Published: November 2023

Tomato is sweet and sour and has high nutritional value. Soluble solids content (SSC) and organic acid content are important quality indexes of tomato fruit. The exogenous supply of different forms of nitrogen can have different effects on plant growth and development and physiological and metabolic processes because of the different mechanisms of nitrogen uptake and assimilation in plants. In the paper, different concentrations of nitrogen were used to study tomatoes' physical and chemical characteristics and appearance. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology was employed to predict tomatoes' SSC and acid content. Competitive adaptive reweighed sampling (CARS), uninformative variable elimination (UVE),variable combination population analysis (VCPA), iteratively retaining informative variables (IRIV), and interval variable iterative spatial shrinkage analysis (IVISSA) were used to extract the feature wavelengths. Based on the characteristic wavelength, the prediction models of tomato SSC and organic acid content were established by partial least squares regression (PLSR), multiple linear regression (MLR) and principal component regression (PCR). Then a custom convolutional neural network (CNN) model was constructed and optimised. The results showed that the SSC of tomato was negatively correlated with nitrogen fertilizer concentration, and the highest organic acid content was recorded under the T4 treatment. For tomatoes treated with different nitrogen concentrations, the CARS-PLSR model showed the best results for tomato SSC, with RC and RP of 0.8589 and 0.8499 and RMSEC and RMSEP of 0.3180 and 0.3407. The IRIV-PCR model for organic acids was the best, with RC and RP reaching 0.8011 and 0.7760 and RMSEC and RMSEP reaching 0.6181 and 0.7055. Among all the models, the performance obtained by the CNN model was satisfactory. This study provides technical support for future online nondestructive testing of tomato quality.
Brain Evoked Response Qualification Using Multi-Set Consensus Clustering: Toward Single-Trial EEG Analysis
Authors: Mahini Reza , Zhang Guanghui , Parviainen Tiina , Düsing Rainer , Nandi Asoke K. , Cong Fengyu , Hämäläinen Timo
Published: November 2023

Objective: Scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) provides a substantial amount of data about information processing in the human brain. In the context of conventional event-related potential (ERP) analysis, it is typically assumed that individual trials for one subject share similar properties and stem from comparable neural sources. However, group-level ERP analysis methods (including cluster analysis) can miss important information about the relevant neural process due to a rough estimation of the brain activities of individual subjects while selecting a fixed time window for all the subjects.
Method: We designed a multi-set consensus clustering method to examine cognitive processes at the individual subject level. First, consensus clustering from diverse clustering methods was applied to single-trial EEG epochs of individual subjects. Next, the second level of consensus clustering was applied across the trials of each subject. Afterward, a modified time window determination is applied to identify the ERP of interest of individual subjects.
Results: The proposed method was applied to real EEG data from the active visual oddball task experiment to qualify the P3 component. Our findings disclosed that the estimated time windows for individual subjects can provide more precise ERP identification than considering a fixed time window for all subjects. Moreover, based on standardized measurementerror and established bootstrap for single-trial EEG, our assessments revealed suitable stability in the calculated scores for the identified P3 component.
Significance: The new method provides a realistic and information-driven understanding of the single trials' contribution towards identifying the ERP of interest in the individual subjects.
Is serum angiotensin-converting enzyme a suitable biomarker for differentiating idiopathic and demyelinating optic neuritis?
Authors: Dehghani Alireza , Hosseini Nastaran-Sadat , Irajpour Matin , Mirmohammadkhani Majid , Moayeri Maryam , Amirkhani Arman , Esfahanian Fatemeh , Pourazizi Mohsen
Published: November 2023

Background:To measure serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in patients diagnosed with idiopathic and demyelinating optic neuritis (ON) as well as heathy individuals and assess its viability as a biomarkerMethods:This case-control study involved patients with established acute ON as a study group and healthy controls aged between 18 and 50 years. After systemic and neurological evaluation, the study group was divided into two subgroups: idiopathic ON and demyelinating ON, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum ACE levels were obtained and compared between groups.Results:Fifty-one patients with acute optic neuritis (78.4% female, mean age 29.8 ± 8.4 years) and 51 controls (78.4% female, mean age 29.9 ± 6.9 years) were recruited. In the study group, 29 patients were diagnosed with idiopathic ON (56.9%), and 22 patients with demyelinating ON (43.1%) (MS-ON, n=16; NMO-ON, n=3; and clinically isolated syndrome, n=3). The median serum ACE levels were 33.50 U/L (range: 29.40–46.20) and 34.25 U/L (range: 29.30–46.10) for patients diagnosed with idiopathic ON and demyelinating ON, respectively (P>0.99). Mean serum ACE level for healthy individuals was 26.2 U/L (range: 24.80–20.50) and compared to other groups it was significantly different (P<0.001). A high level of serum ACE (defined as a serum ACE >65 U/L) was present in 3 (10.3%) patients with idiopathic ON and 2 (9.1%) patients with the demyelinating ON (P>0.99).Conclusions:These results reveal that serum ACE levels are not significantly different in patients diagnosed with idiopathic ON and demyelinating ON. But serum ACE level in both groups is significantly higher compared to healthy subjects.
Assessing the Performance of Non-specialised Private Hospitals in Malaysia Using the Pabón‐lasso Model
Authors: Samsudin Mohd Fauzy , Lim Yin Cheng , Rochmah Thinni Nurul , Dahlui Maznah
Published: November 2023

Background
The government has rapidly promoted the privatisation of healthcare to improve systemic performance based on the theory that markets improve efficiency. This study aims to measure the efficiency of private hospitals following private healthcare expansion and venture into the medical tourism industry through extensive governmental support.
Methods
Inpatient utilisation of 101 private, non-specialised hospitals in Malaysia in 2014 and 2018 from the Health Informatics Centre, Ministry of Health Malaysia database was studied using paired samples t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Pabón-Lasso model.
Results
Better quantitative performance was found among larger hospitals, those with hospital accreditation, and those participating in medical tourism activities. There is a scale effect of efficiency between smaller and larger hospitals. However, when compared within respective size categories, Category 1 (small hospitals with less than 100 beds) has the highest percentage of efficient hospitals (39.3 per cent in 2014 and 35.7 per cent in 2018 in Sector 3 of the Pabón Lasso graphs).
Conclusion
This study has found that a higher bed occupancy rate (BOR) and longer average length of stay (ALoS) are associated with larger private hospitals, hospital accreditation, and participation in medical tourism activities in Malaysia. There is a need to expedite strategic hospitals partnership for resource optimisation and capacity pooling towards producing better performance.
The status of indigenous chicken genetic resources: Analysis of chicken breeds and impact of poultry diseases
Authors: Kanyama Christopher Manchishi , Ngosa Mathews , Moss Amy .F , Crowley Tamsyn .M
Published: November 2023

Indigenous chickens (Gallus domesticus) (IC) are an essential component of agriculture among 80% of small-scale farmers (SSF) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and are essential for rural livelihoods. However, in the past decade, a significant loss of IC animal genetic resources (AnGR) has been reported, resulting from poultry diseases, imported exotic breeds, and poor market access among others. If the losses are not mitigated, rural communities may be highly impacted. To investigate the status of IC-AnGR and assess the major challenges affecting the IC sector, We surveyed 358 households in Eastern, Central, and Southern livelihood zones. Results showed that over 77% of farmers reared the Zambi IC breed, 18–44% reported the introduction of exotic breeds in the past decade, with most households sourcing breeding stock from fellow farmers and family and friends. Further, 40–58% of farmers considered the criterion of number of eggs laid, resistance to diseases, fast growth, and larger body size when adopting chicken breeds. Generally, farmers were concerned about the loss of IC breeds and agreed that some chicken breeds have been lost in the past decade with some attributing the loss to poultry diseases. Deliberate policies to promote sustainable use and conservation of IC are critical in Zambia.
Soil carbon stock potential in pastoral and silvopastoral systems in the Peruvian amazon
Authors: Minaya Rosario Salazar , Orihuela Julio Alegre , Paz Dante Pizarro , Duff Alison , García Carlos Vela , Bravo Carlos Gomez
Published: November 2023

At the moment, there isn't a lot of information that shows how important silvopastoral systems are to the physical and biological properties of Amazonian soils. Thus, this study aimed to compare the soil carbon storage potential, physical and chemical soil properties of silvopastoral systems (SPS), and conventional pastoral systems (CPS) in the San Martin region of Peru. Using the Walkey and Black C determination method, we analyzed organic matter at two different depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm). In addition, bulk density, soil moisture total porosity and mechanical resistance were measured in both systems. In both systems, the highest (P < 0.05) carbon stocks were reported at 0–15 cm of depth with values of 31.4 Mg ha− 1 and 34.4 Mg ha− 1, respectively. Despite the absence of statistically significant differences, carbon stocks were higher in SPS. At 15–30 cm depth, the total carbon stock was higher for SPS, with 29.12 Mg ha− 1, than for CPS, which had 26.4 Mg ha− 1. No significant differences in soil moisture were found between systems, although soil moisture was slightly greater in SPS than CPS (28% and 25%, respectively). The CPS had 59% of the total porosity, which was higher than the SPS. Mechanical resistance was lower in SPS (2.15 kg/cm2) than in CPS (2.33 kg/cm2) at 10 cm of depth. These results indicated that the SPS has the potential to store more carbon and improve physical and chemical traits in the soil than the CPS.
Sociodemographic predictors of parenting stress among mothers in disadvantaged settings: evidence from rural and urban study sites in Kenya and Zambia
Authors: Okelo Kenneth Odhiambo , Kitsao-Wekulo Patricia , Onyango Silas , Wambui Elizabeth , Hardie Iain , King Josiah , Murray Aja Louise , Auyeung Bonnie
Published: November 2023

Background: Parental stress occurs when parenting demands are greater than the resources available to cope with parenting. Previous research has identified household wealth, educational level, marital status, age, and number of dependent children as predictors of parental stress. However, limited evidence exists from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study investigated the sociodemographic predictors of parenting stress among mothers in Kenya and Zambia.
Methods: Data were obtained from longitudinal nurturing care evaluation studies conducted in rural and urban study sites in Kenya and Zambia. Mean parental stress scores (PSS) were compared across study sites, and multiple regression modelling was used to examine associations between sociodemographic predictors (household income, educational level, marital status, maternal age, child age, number of children aged <5 years) and PSS, adjusting for clustering and other predictors.
Results: The mean PSS was lower in rural study sites and higher in urban sites (Kenya rural: 37.6 [SD=11.8], Kenya urban: 48.8 [SD=4.2], and Zambia rural: 43.0 [SD=9.1]). In addition, mothers’ income and educational level were associated with PSS (income: Kenya rural, β = -0.43; 95% CI[-16.07, -5.74]; P =.003**; Kenya urban, β = -0.33; 95% CI[-6.69, -0.80]; P =.01*; education: Kenya rural, β = -0.24; 95% CI[-8.97, -1.68]; P=.005**).
Conclusion: Measures to increase education levels, alleviate poverty, and improve household incomes, such as subsidising childcare, improving parental stress levels, and positive parenting practices, lead to better growth and development of their children.
Trial registration: PACTR201905787868050 and PACTR20180774832663
Rhizosphere inoculation of PGPR strain Bacillus cereus BC56 enhances salt tolerance of cucumber
Authors: Song Hanru , Wu Gengwei , Wang Huasen , Huang Ruizhi , Gong Xue , Wang Hua
Published: November 2023

Salt stress is a major cause of crop failure worldwide. The co-evolution of soil microbes and plants is essential for coping with extreme abiotic environments. In this study, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strain B. cereus BC56 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of cucumber. BC56 has the ability to produce NH3 and siderophore, and to solubilize phosphorus to promote cucumber growth. Under 100 mM NaCl treatment, BC56 significantly increased shoot length (1.28-fold), root length (1.16-fold), shoot fresh weight (1.19-fold), root fresh weight (1.54-fold), and chlorophyll fluorescence parameter of ABS/CSm (1.19-fold), TR0/CSm (1.22-fold), ET0/CSm (1.52-fold), SPAD (1.12-fold) of cucumber seedlings compared to the cucumber without BC56 inoculation. Physiological and biochemical analysis showed that BC56 could increase the content of total soluble sugars (TSS, 1.36-fold) in cucumber seedlings. BC56 also increased peroxidase (POD, 1.17-fold) and glutathione reductase (GR, 2.59-fold) activity of cucumber seedlings, which has the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) to reduce salt toxicity. However, cucumber seedlings inoculated with BC56 showed a 0.59-fold decrease in abscisic acid (ABA) compared to those uninoculated with BC56. RNA-seq results showed that BC56 induced changes in the expression of a significant number of genes related to photosynthesis, phytohormones, transcriptional regulation, metabolite synthesis and metabolism, and cellular components in cucumber under salt stress, suggesting its role in reducing the deleterious effects of salinity. We concluded that BC56 can alleviate salt stress in cucumber seedlings by affecting photosynthesis, phytohormone levels, osmotic and antioxidant regulation.
Digital footprint for tourism research
Authors: Cebrián Eduardo , Domenech Josep
Published: November 2023

Tourists leave a digital footprint across a variety of repositories when planning and carrying out their activities. This information can be pro- cessed to extract valuable insights about tourist behavior. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the digital foot- print sources employed in understanding and predicting the main variables associated with tourist behavior. A model of the purchase consumption system specific to leisure travel behavior is utilized for source classification, as it identifies potential predictors of travelers’ choices and classifies them into three stages: pre-trip, during-trip, and post-trip. Our work presents a comprehensive map of the utilization of digital footprint resources in tourism research, which provides insights into the potential predictors of tourists’ choices.
Establishment of CFRP drilling simulation model considering heat accumulation effect and study on its delamination damage
Authors: ZHANG YIWEI , Hu Zhiwei , Wang Guixing , Wang Lifeng , Luo Qiang
Published: November 2023

The low damage and high quality hole making technology of carbon fiber reinforced polymer/plastic (CFRP) components has been the main problem restricting its rapid popularization. In this paper, taking the delamination defect at the exit of CFRP drilling as the research object, a three-dimensional simulation model of CFRP drilling considering heat accumulation effect is established. The validity of the model is verified by comparing the experimental data of CFRP boreholes from three dimensions: the distribution of surface temperature field at the borehole outlet, the drilling axial force, and the delamination factor at the outlet. The accuracy of the model is verified by comparing with the simulation results of normal temperature CFRP 3D drilling without considering the heat accumulation effect. Furthermore, the model was used to analyze the variation of the temperature field and delamination damage at the outlet of the CFRP hole during the drilling process. It is found that the delamination damage at the exit of the unsupported dry drilling of CFRP is formed at the stage from the horizontal edge of the drill bit just reaching the exit plane of the drilling hole to half of the length of the main cutting edge of the drill bit leaving the workpiece. Finally, the model was used to study the variation of axial force and export delamination factor under different processing parameters, and the quantitative relationship between processing parameters and export delamination factor was obtained by multiple regression. It is pointed out that the processing parameters should be reasonably selected to reduce the delamination damage of CFRP drilling. In addition, it is important to take appropriate measures to conduct sufficient heat conduction and reduce heat accumulation at the stage of delamination damage formation at the exit.
Effect of storage temperature on viral RNA accumulation in plum pox virus-infected cv. Red Lyon plum fruit growing in the Central Valley of Chile
Authors: Madariaga Mónica , Ramírez Isabel , Meza Pablo , Nova Nelly , Devia jessica , Sepúlveda karina , Defilippi Bruno
Published: November 2023

Plum pox virus (PPV), the causative agent of Sharka disease, causes serious economic losses to the stone fruit industry. As PPV is not transmitted by seed, fruit from countries with Sharka present are considered low-risk for spreading the disease. However, there have been cases raising concerns about the safety of exporting fruit from countries with Sharka disease. Due to this, the generation of new scientific evidence becomes important to address these concerns. This study aimed to compare the relative accumulation of PPV viral titer between freshly harvested infected fruit with fruit subjected to cold storage, simulating transit conditions to export markets. During two consecutive seasons, but with independent experiments in each, the fruit was collected from a PPV-infected cv. Red Lyon plum orchard, and divided into three treatments (T): freshly harvested fruit (T1); fruit exposed to cold (0 °C) for seven days (T2), and fruit exposed to cold (0 °C) for 15 days (T3). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to estimate the viral titer; band density values obtained for products of amplification of a PPV genome fragment were normalized with the density values obtained from the constitutive gene nad5and plotted relative to treatment T1, which served as a control for this purpose. The results showed a significant difference (p<0.05) between T1 and other treatments. For the first season, the viral RNA reduction was of 50% in T2 and 61% in T3, compared to T1. For the second season, the corresponding RNA viral reductions were 45% in T2 and 56% in T3, compared to T1.
Can neonicotinoid and pyrrole insecticides manage malaria vector resistance in high pyrethroid resistance areas in Côte d'Ivoire?
Authors: Ekra Armand K. , Edi Constant A. V. , Gbalegba Guy Constant N. , Zahouli Julien Z. B. , Danho Mathias , Koudou Benjamin G.
Published: November 2023

Background
Anopheles mosquito resistance to insecticide remains a serious threat to malaria vector control affecting several sub-Sahara African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire where high pyrethroid, carbamate and organophosphate resistance are reported. Since 2017, new insecticide, namely neonicotinoids (e.g.; clothianidin) and pyrroles (e.g.; chlorfenapyr) have been World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualified for use in public health to manage insecticide resistance for disease vector control.
Methods
Clothianidin and chlorfenapyr were tested against the field-collected An. gambiae populations from Gagnoa, Daloa and Abengourou using the WHO standard insecticide susceptibility biossays. Anopheles gambiae larvae were collected from several larval habitats, pooled and reared to adulthood in each site in July 2020. Non-blood-fed adult female mosquitoes aged two to five days were exposed to diagnostic concentration deltamethrin, permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, bendiocarb, and pirimiphos-methyl. Clothianidin 2% treated papers were locally made and tested using WHO tube bioassay while chlorfenapyr (100 µg/bottle) was evaluated using WHO bottle assays. Furthermore, subsamples of exposed mosquitoes were identified to species and genotyped for insecticide resistance markers including the knock-down resistance (kdr) west and east acetylcholinesterase (Ace-1) using molecular techniques.
Results
High pyrethroid resistance was recorded at all study sites. Complete mortality (100% mortality) was recorded with clothianidin in Daloa, 94.9% in Gagnoa and 96.6% in Abengourou, while susceptibility (mortality > 98%) to chlorfenapyr 100 µg/bottle was recorded at all sites and to pirimiphos-methyl in Gagnoa and Abengourou. Kdr-west mutation was present at high frequency (0.58 to 0.73) in the three sites and Kdr-east mutation frequency was recorded at a very low frequency of 0.02 in both Abengourou and Daloa samples and absent in Gagnoa. The Ace-1 mutation was present at frequencies between 0.19 and 0.29 in these areas. Anopheles coluzzii represented 100% of mosquito collected in Daloa and Gagnoa, and 72% in Abengourou.
Conclusions
This study showed that clothianidin and chlorfenapyr insecticides induce high mortality in the natural and pyrethroid-resistant An. gambiae populations in Côte d’Ivoire suggesting that clothianidin and chlorfenapyr could be good candidate insecticides to manage insecticide resistance following a strategic intervention deployments.
The Impact of Ambidextrous Leadership on Organizational Performance: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Beh Tayebeh Shayan
Published: November 2023

In today's dynamic business environment, the inclination towards an effective leadership strategy, particularly in light of experiences with economic crises, is an inescapable fact. Over the past two decades, Ambidextrous Leadership has gained significant attention and has secured a respected place within organizations. Although this leadership style has proponents and opponents, this study aimed to arrive at a reliable conclusion through a meta-analysis. Initially, a systematic review, a prerequisite for any meta-analysis, was conducted by searching 10 scientific databases for empirical research on the relationship between Ambidextrous Leadership and performance. This review encompassed 5672 articles, of which 203 were coded as relevant to the research relationships, and 19 were ultimately identified as eligible for meta-analysis. In the subsequent stage, data were extracted from each article individually, and the effect sizes obtained from the systematic review of reports were subjected to meta-analysis to determine the overall effect size. The meta-analysis results confirmed the research hypotheses, indicating a significant positive correlation between Ambidextrous Leadership and organizational performance. Additionally, longitudinal studies were analyzed to assess the long-term impact of Ambidextrous Leadership on organizations. Furthermore, systematic and precise coding addressed the research questions regarding investigating Ambidextrous Leadership at different organizational levels and performance combinations.
Reaction Mining for Reaction Systems
Authors: Męski Artur , Koutny Maciej , Mikulski Łukasz , Penczek Wojciech
Published: November 2023

Reaction systems are a formal model for computational processing in which reactions operate on sets of entities (molecules) providing a framework for dealing with qualitative aspects of biochemical systems. This paper is concerned withr eaction systems in which entities can have discrete concentrations, and so reactions operate on multisets rather than sets of entities. The resulting framework allows one to deal with quantitative aspects of reaction systems, and a bespoke linear-time temporal logic allows one to express and verify a wide range of key behavioural system properties.
In practical applications, a reaction system with discrete concentrations may only be partially specified, and the possibility of an effective automated calculation of the missing details provides an attractive design approach. With this idea in mind, the current paper discusses parametric reaction systems with parameters representing unknown parts of hypothetical reactions. The main result is a method aimed at replacing the parameters in such a way that the resulting reaction system operating in a specified external environment satisfies a given temporal logic formula.
This paper provides an encoding of parametric reaction systems in SMT, and outlines a synthesis procedure based on bounded model checking for solving the synthesis problem. It also reports on the initial experimental results demonstrating the feasibility of the novel synthesis method.
Water-inrush mechanism and application in the hidden faults of floor during mining
Authors: Sun Yanhe , Zhu Hongli , Sun Chao , Sun Lilei , Sun Yixuan
Published: November 2023

Mine water damage has put the safe back mining of coal resources under serious threat, leading to a series of irrational mining behaviours of coal resources, which affects the safety of coal mines and at the same time has a serious impact on the environment. Fault structures are an important cause of water inrush from the coal mine floor. Studying the activation mechanism of the hidden faults of floor water inrushes is significant for the prevention and control of these accidents. Hidden faults’ activation law was explored under the highly confined water pressure and mining using a method that combines numerical simulations and geophysical exploration technology, and targeted measures were developed for prevention and control. The results demonstrate that under confined water and mining, shallow and deep fractures of hidden faults develop in floor. Fracture development has high probability toward the cutting hole direction. A smaller influence of the confined water pressure results in a water-inrush risk, a lower plastic failure of the floor, and an activation degree of the hidden faults. The bottom plate has a water-inrush threat. Waterproof floor layer’s grouting reinforcement can effectively prevent and control floor water inrushes.
The effects of nicotine on microRNA-124 expression in the bile duct ligation- induced liver fibrosis in rats
Authors: Hajiasgharzadeh Khalil , Shahabi Parviz , Karimi-Sales Elham , Alipour Mohammad Reza
Published: November 2023

Background
Smoking causes a variety of adverse effects on organs that have no direct contact with the smoke itself such as the liver. Nicotine as a main compound of smoking may exert its effects by changing the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs). This study was conducted to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of miRNA-dependent effects of nicotine in an animal model of liver fibrosis.
Methods
First, the bile duct ligation (BDL) approach was used in male Wistar rats to create a model of liver fibrosis. Then, the effects of nicotine administration on miRNA-124 expression, as well as fibrosis and inflammation-related genes were investigated using the quantitative Real-Time PCR method. The total bilirubin and liver enzymes activity levels were measured using the colorimetric assay. Also, the effects of nicotine on the process of liver fibrosis were investigated with histological studies.
Results
The development of liver fibrosis in BDL rats leads to a decrease in miRNA-124 expression. Also, a decrease in miRNA-124 expression has been seen in the groups administered nicotine. The decrease in the expression of miRNA-124 is accompanied by the increase in the expression of fibrotic and proinflammatory genes. Also, the significant increase in bilirubin and liver enzymes in fibrotic rats worsens with nicotine administration. The results of histological studies also confirm these results.
Conclusion
Considering that miRNA-124 is an anti-inflammatory miRNA, it can be concluded that the decrease in its expression due to nicotine exposure leads to an increase in inflammatory processes and subsequently to an increase in liver fibrosis.
Study on thermal behavior of an improved motorized spindle with water-lubricated hydrodynamic spiral groove bearings
Authors: Xu Ge , Huang Xun , Jiang Shuyun
Published: November 2023

The machine tool spindle supported by oil lubricated hydrostatic bearings suffers from high temperature rise when running at high speed. To overcome this issue, an improved motorized spindle supported by water-lubricated hydrodynamic spiral groove bearings is proposed in this study. The thermal model for the motorized spindle including heat generation model and heat dissipation model is established by aid of finite element method. A test prototype for the motorized spindle and an experimental device are developed to carry out the test of spindle thermal behavior. The temperature field and thermal deformation field of the motorized spindle are investigated by numerical simulation and experimental measurement. Finally, a comparative study of thermal behavior is conducted between the proposed spindle with herringbone groove journal bearings (HGJBs) and the replacement spindle with plain journal bearings (PJBs). The result indicates that the water-lubricated hydrodynamic spiral groove bearings can decrease the temperature rise of motorized spindle; and the thermal design for the proposed motorized spindle supported by HGJBs is effective.
Reevaluation of the requirement of adjuvant therapy for T2N0M0 gastric cancer following gastrectomy: a SEER database analysis
Authors: Zhang Xin , Fu Hongbing , Leng Feng , Yan Ronglin , Wang Weijun
Published: November 2023

Background
Determining the requirement for adjuvant therapy in gastric cancer (GC) patients with stage T2N0M0 remains controversial.
Methods
An eligible population cohort was identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess the impact of adjuvant treatment modalities on overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS). Multivariate Cox regression and competing risk model were used to investigate the prognostic factors for CSS. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was carried out to reduce the selection bias.
Results
A total of 776 patients were finally included. The 5-year OS for patients receiving surgery alone, adjuvant CRT, and adjuvant CT were 64.0%, 74.3%, and 69.0%, respectively (p = 0.004). The 5-year CSS for patients receiving surgery alone, adjuvant CRT, and CT were 73.0%, 84.3%, and 76.9%, respectively (p = 0.081). After PSM, no significant intergroup difference was observed on OS or CSS. When stratified by the number of lymph node (LN) examined, adjuvant CRT was shown to significantly increase the CSS than surgery alone in patients with LN examined ≤ 15 (p = 0.044), rather than in those with sufficient LN dissected (p = 0.590). Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that ethnicity, marital status, and number of LN examined > 15 were independent prognostic factors for CSS, of which number of LN examined > 15 was further validated by the competing risk model (SHR 0.701, p = 0.035).
Conclusions
Adjuvant therapy is not necessary for T2N0M0 GC patients undergoing standard radical gastrectomy, but adjuvant CRT should be reserved for those who have insufficient LN dissected patients.
The Addictive and Neurotoxicological Evaluation of Cannabis sativa, male Carica papaya, Nicotiana tabacum and Datura stramonium Alkaloid Extracts via Neuroinflammatory, Neurotransmitter and Oxidative Systems
Authors: Fasakin Olamide Wilson , Oboh Ganiyu , Ademosun Ayokunle Olubode
Published: November 2023

Drug addiction is a relapsing and chronic brain ailment that is accompanied by habitual, incontrollable and pathological pattern of substance seeking and usage despite the associated severe negative social and health consequences. This study evaluated the addictive and neurotoxicological evaluation of Cannabis sativa, male Carica papaya, Nicotiana tabacum and Datura stramonium alkaloid extracts via neuroinflammatory, neurotransmitter and oxidative systems. For 90 days, the alkaloid extracts were orally administered to experimental rats and neurobehavioral paradigms were evaluated on day 91. Rats were sacrificed and striatum homogenate prepared. Expression of addition and neurotoxicity-related genes, alongside biochemical neurotransmitter and cytokine metabolisms were evaluated. Result established the addictive and neurotoxicological potentials of the alkaloid extracts via behavioural paradigms, coupled with inflammatory, monoaminergic, apoptotic, cholinergic, oxidative and glutamatergic neurotransmission systems modulations. However, observed neurotoxicity of the psychoactive plants’ alkaloids was not directly proportional to their addictiveness as the psychoactive plants ranked AECS > AENT > AEDS > AECM in addictiveness but ranked AEDS > AENT > AECS > AECM for toxicological potentials, as measured using related behavioural, neurotransmitter, apoptotic and inflammatory systems. Conclusively, the toxicological effects of the psychoactive plants’ alkaloids are mostly expressed at high doses.
Unraveling intragenomic polymorphisms in the high-quality genome of Hypoxylaceae: A comprehensive study of the rDNA cistron
Authors: Cedeño-Sanchez Marjorie , Cheng Tian , Lambert Christopher , Kolarík Miroslav , Kuhnert Eric , Cox Russell J. , Kalinowski Jörn , Verwaaijen Bart , Stadler Marc
Published: November 2023

Sequencing ribosomal DNA loci, such as ITS and LSU are among the first steps to characterize and identify newly isolated fungal strains. Increasing substantial doubt has recently been raised concerning the unequivocal suitability of using this sequence information for inferring inter- and intraspecific relationships, as especially the ITS locus was repeatedly shown to harbor high intragenomic plasticity. The evolutionary mechanisms leading to this phenomenon are poorly understood, but this is about to change, owing to the availability of third generation sequencing techniques. The current study attempts a comprehensive analysis of rDNA cistrons in the genomes of over 40 selected species of Hypoxylaceae (Xylariales), using a combination of 2nd generation (Illumina) and 3rd generation sequencing technologies (Oxford Nanopore), along with extensive usage of bioinformatic tools to obtain high-quality genomes. Our findings revealed high intragenomic polymorphisms in distinct Hypoxylaceae species, indicating the presence of deep rDNA paralogs. Phylogenetic inference of the ITS rDNA showed low support for the primary clades within Hypoxylaceae, while inference using the protein encoding gene RPB2 showed better support. We also found that proteinogenic genes are not prone to intraspecific and intragenomic polymorphisms as much as the rDNA loci. Our study highlights the limitations of solely relying on rDNA cistron as a barcode for fungi. We propose TUB2 as a new primary barcoding marker for Hypoxylaceae and other Xylariales. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility to retrieve some DNA loci that had hitherto not been used for classical phylogenetic studies (such as TEF1) in Xylariales directly from genomes without the necessity to work with primers.
A Comprehensive Survey on Image Captioning for Indian Languages: Techniques, Datasets, and Challenges
Authors: Jayaswal Vishal , Rani Rajneesh , Kaur Jagdeep
Published: November 2023

In image captioning, we generate visual descriptions from an image. Image Cap-tioning requires identifying the key entity, feature, and association in an image. There is also a requirement to generate captions that are syntactically and semantically correct. The process of image captioning requires computer vision and natural language processing. In the past few decades, a substantial attempt has been made to generate the caption for images. In this survey article, we are going to present an extensive survey on image captioning for Indian Languages. To summarize recent research work in image captioning, first, we briefly review the traditional approach to image captioning depending on template and retrieval. Further deep-learning approaches for image captioning are concentrated which are classified as encoder-decoder architecture, attention-based approach, and transformer architecture. Our main focus in this survey is based on image cap-tioning techniques for Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali Assamese, etc. After that, we analyze the state-of-the-art approach on the most widely dataset i.e. MS COCO dataset with their strengths, limitations, and performance metrics i.e. BLEU, ROUGE, METEOR, CIDEr, SPICE. At last, we explore discussion on open challenges and future direction in the field of image captioning.
Evolution of Leadership Mental Models of Final Year Medical and Nursing Students: A Mixed-Methods, Simulation-Based Team Training Study
Authors: Díaz-Guio Diego Andrés , Maestre José María , Ruiz-Ortega Francisco Javier , Gómez-Candamil María Eugenia , Díaz-Gómez Ana Sofía , Szyld Demian
Published: November 2023

Background
Final year health sciences’ students work in clinical teams. Medical errors in are associated with teamwork and communication failures. Non-technical skills performance gaps are related to medical error. Little is known about the metacognitive strategies of final year clinical students and about how their mental models develop and evolve. Research in non-technical skills has focused on performance, and not on the underlying causes of actions such as mental models.
Methods
We conducted a mixed, parallel convergent study with final year medicine and nursing students. In the instructional design, leadership skills (maintain active listening, give clear commands, allow others to participate in decision-making, prioritize essential tasks) and metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring and control) were included in simulated medical emergency scenarios with participants performance measurements for four weeks.
Results
The median of the initial performance was 25 (IQR: 25), in the second week it was 25 (IQR: 6–50), in the third week it was 50 (IQR: 31–50), and in the fourth week it was 75 (IQR: 75–100). No significant difference was found in performance by program, gender or age. Performance significantly improved by the fourth week of training (p: <0.0001). Conceptual mastery was achieved after the first week, multidimensional mental models went from being inhibiting to being enabling between the third and fourth week.
Conclusions
The conceptual domain of leadership is not associated with performance improvement; individual and team performance improves when multidimensional mental models evolve from being inhibiting and become enabling, possibly catalyzed by the conscious reflection and the mastery of metacognitive strategies.
Uncovering the Impact of Disasters on the Health and Wellbeing of Older Adults: Insights from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India
Authors: Prasad Jitender , Rajak Rahul , Sekher T. V. , Nagargoje Varsha P. , Nirbhav
Published: November 2023

This study analyzes the impact of disasters on the health of older adults in India, using data from LASI Wave-1 (2017-18) with 2,487 participants. Descriptive and multivariate analyses examined the link between health outcomes and disasters in older adults. The research reveals that drought, floods, and earthquakes are prevalent disaster, while traffic accidents and building collapses are significant man-made disasters. Older adults exposed to disasters caused by natural hazards experienced higher rates of psychological trauma, chronic illness, and physical disabilities. Man-made disasters were associated with increased risk of physical disability and chronic illness. Disasters were strongly linked to psychological trauma. This study emphasizes the importance of disaster preparedness and response strategies tailored to the needs of older adults. It calls for policies to improve healthcare access, social support, and disaster resilience, particularly in rural areas. Conducted through personal interviews, this research offers valuable insights for shaping policy and disaster management.
Monopole harmonics on $\mathbb{CP}^{n-1}$
Authors: Bykov Dmitri , Smilga Andrei
Published: November 2023

We find the spectra and eigenfunctions of both ordinary and supersymmetric quantum-mechanical models describing the motion of a charged particle over the \mathbb{CP}^{n-1}ℂℙn−1 manifold in the presence of a background monopole-like gauge field. The states form degenerate SU(n)SU(n) multiplets and their wave functions acquire a very simple form being expressed via homogeneous coordinates. Their relationship to multidimensional orthogonal polynomials of a special kind is discussed. By the well-known isomorphism between the twisted Dolbeault and Dirac complexes, our construction also gives the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the Dirac operator on complex projective spaces in a monopole background.
Performance measurement of Islamic philanthropic institution during pandemic in Indonesia: A balanced scorecard approach
Authors: Rizqi Febriandika Nur , Harun Harun , Nadila Kurniawati Neneng , El Ashfahany Afief
Published: November 2023

This study aims to analyze the performance of Islamic philanthropic institution during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) by using a balanced scorecard approach. The balanced scorecard assesses a company or institution based on four perspectives: finance, customer, internal business, and growth and learning. For internal business and growth and learning performance perspectives, data were taken from interviews, and the annual report of the institution was taken for a finance perspective. For customer perspectives, the study used a questionnaire distributed to 100 respondents who are regular donors to philanthropic institution. They play an essential role because regardless of the economic conditions that occur, they are still obliged to donate as a form of the obligation of a rich Muslim to pay zakat. The results showed that the customer perspective had the highest value in its performance results compared to the other three perspectives. Islamic philanthropic institution has a high orientation to customers where customer satisfaction is prioritized in improving the performance of zakat institutions, especially during the pandemic. This is in line with the performance of Islamic philanthropic institution, which continues to increase performance during the pandemic. Despite experiencing a decline in zakat funds in the second wave of COVID-19, Islamic philanthropic institution increased infaq and sadaqah funds during the same period.
AcknowledgmentThe authors thank the Research and Innovation Institute (LRI), Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, for the enormous financial support in writing this research through the HIT funding scheme with number 01/A.6-II/FAI/1/2022.