bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conceptualising engagement with HIV care for people on treatment: the Indicators of HIV Care and AntiRetroviral Engagement (InCARE) Framework
Authors: Keene Claire , Euvrard Jonathan , Amico Rivet , Ragunathan Ayesha , English Mike , McKnight Jacob , Orrell Catherine
Published: September 2022

Background

As the crisis-based approach to HIV care evolves to chronic disease management, supporting ongoing engagement with HIV care is increasingly important to achieve long-term treatment success. However, ‘engagement’ is a complex concept and ambiguous definitions limit its evaluation. To guide engagement evaluation and interventions to improve HIV outcomes, we sought to identify critical, measurable dimensions of engagement with HIV care for people on treatment from a health service-delivery perspective.

Methods

We used a pragmatic, iterative approach to develop a framework, combining insights gained from researcher experience, a narrative literature review, framework mapping, expert stakeholder input and a formal scoping review of engagement measures. These inputs helped to refine the inclusion and definition of critical elements of engagement behaviour that could be evaluated by the health system

Results

The final framework presents engagement with HIV care as a dynamic behaviour that people practice rather than an individual characteristic or permanent state, so that people can be variably engaged at different points in their treatment journey. Engagement with HIV care for those on treatment is represented by three measurable dimensions: ‘retention’ (interaction with health services), ‘adherence’ (pill-taking behaviour), and ‘active self-management’ (ownership and self-management of care). Engagement is the product of wider contextual, health system and personal factors, and engagement in all dimensions facilitates successful treatment outcomes, such as virologic suppression and good health. While retention and adherence together may lead to treatment success at a particular point, this framework hypothesises that active self-management sustains treatment success over time. Thus, evaluation of all three core dimensions is crucial to realise the individual, societal and public health benefits of antiretroviral treatment programmes.

Conclusions

This framework distils a complex concept into three core, measurable dimensions critical for the maintenance of engagement. It characterises elements that the system might assess to evaluate engagement more comprehensively at individual and programmatic levels, and suggests that active self-management is an important consideration to support lifelong optimal engagement. This framework could be helpful in practice to guide the development of more nuanced interventions that improve long-term treatment success and help maintain momentum in controlling a changing epidemic.
Emergency department-based, nurse-initiated, serious illness conversation intervention for older adults: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Prachanukool Thidathit , Block Susan D. , Berry Donna , Lee Rachel S. , Rossmassler Sarah , Hasdianda Mohammad A. , Wang Wei , Sudore Rebecca , Schonberg Mara A. , Tulsky James A. , Ouchi Kei
Published: September 2022

Background: Visits to the emergency department (ED) are inflection points in patients' illness trajectories and are an underutilized setting to engage seriously ill patients in conversations about their goals of care. We developed an intervention (ED GOAL) that primes seriously ill patients to discuss their goals of care with their outpatient clinicians after leaving the ED. The aims of this study are: i) to test the impact of ED GOAL administered by trained nurses on self-reported, advance care planning (ACP) engagement after leaving the ED; and ii) to evaluate whether ED GOAL increases self-reported completion of serious illness conversation and other patient-centered outcomes.
Methods: This is a two-armed, parallel-design, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial of 120 seriously ill older adults in two academic and one community EDs in Boston, MA. Participants are English-speaking adults 50 years and older with a serious life-limiting illness with a recent ED visit. Patients with a valid MOLST (medical order for life-sustaining treatment) form or other documented goals of care within the last three months are excluded. We enroll the caregivers of patients with cognitive impairment. Patients are assigned to the intervention or control group using block randomization. A blinded research team member will perform outcome assessments. We will assess i) changes in ACP engagement (surveys, electronic medical record (EMR) documentation of new serious illness conversations, and self-reported completion of serious illness conversations) within six months; and ii) qualitative assessments of the effect of ED GOAL.
Discussion: In seriously ill older adults arriving in the ED, this randomized controlled trial will test the effects of ED GOAL on patients’ self-reported ACP engagement, EMR documentation of new serious illness conversations, and improving patient-centered outcomes.
Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05209880
Influence of the degree of obesity in obese euthyroid: An observational study of the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
Authors: Junior Adriano Francisco De Marchi , Pinheiro  , de Sibio Maria Teresa , de Oliveira  , Mazeto Glaucia Maria Ferreira da Silva , Nogueira Célia Regina
Published: September 2022

Objective: Although controversial, there may be a positive correlation between the body mass index (BMI) of individuals with obesity in euthyroidism and serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between BMI and serum levels of TSH in individuals with morbid obesity undergoing bariatric surgery.
Patients and methods: The medical records of patients treated between the years 2012 and 2016 were used. A total of 96 patients with obesity, pre-surgery BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2, being followed up in the endocrinology unit, with mean age of 50 years, were evaluated pre and post operatively. In addition to the plasma TSH dosage by IRMA and plasma free T4 by RIE, age, BMI and biochemical parameters (glycaemia, total cholesterol and triglycerides) were analyzed.
Results: Patients with BMI > 40 kg/m2 prior to surgery showed higher serum TSH than subjects with a BMI <40 kg/m after surgery (2.48 ± 0.2 vs. 1.81 ± 0.25, p < 0.001). The decrease in BMI was accompanied by an improvement in the glycemic and lipid profiles, as well as free T4 and TSH levels are shown to accompany BMI.
Conclusion: Bariatric surgery was efficient in controlling obesity, since 100% of the patients had their degree of obesity decreased with concomitant metabolic improvement. We found that BMI and TSH are positively related, as post-surgical patients had both BMI and TSH decreased.
An Lncrna-disease Association Prediction Method Based on Nearest Neighbor Matrix Completion Model
Authors: Du Xiao-xin , Liu Yan , Wang Bo , Zhang Jian-fei
Published: September 2022

To address the problem that the traditional correlation metric defaults the 0 terms in the adjacency matrix of lncRNA-disease to irrelevant, ignoring the fact that it is only not validated now but maybe validated as relevant in the future, we propose a correlation calculation method that incorporates potential correlation properties, which is verified by comparative experiments to have better performance than the traditional method in the model; meanwhile, with the idea of nearest neighbor, we design the matrix completion model (DMWNN) to reassign values to the 0-terms in the adjacency matrix. The correlation is used instead of the traditional Euclidean distance to screen more valuable neighbors; combined with the linear decay strategy of distance weights, the interference of low correlation data is reduced, and thus the accuracy of reassignment is improved. The AUC value reached 0.9480 in the five-fold cross-validation experiment and 0.9603 in the leave-one-out cross-validation experiment, and the experimental results showed that the DMWNN model can effectively explore the potential association between lncRNA and disease and has strong predictive performance.
Turning parameters optimization for machining TC21 Ti- alloy Using Taguchi Technique
Authors: Sobh Arafa S. , Sayed Esraa M. , Barakat Azza F. , Elshaer Ramadan N.
Published: September 2022

The development of materials fabrication is an important trend in materials engineering. TC21) is one of these materials trend. This study aims to improve surface roughness and wear of tool insert using a turning process. To achieve this aim, experimental work will be conducted under three varying cutting parameters, each one of them with three levels. Cutting speeds (V) of 80, 100 and 120 m/min, feed rates (f) of 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 mm/rev and cutting depth (a) of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mm. The turning experiments optimization will be determined using the Taguchi technique by applying orthogonal array (OA) L9. Minitab (19) software is utilized to get the optimum turning parameters using analysis of signal to noise ratio (S/N). The results revealed that the cutting depth, and the cutting speed are the most significant parameters on surface roughness and wear of tool insert, respectively. Minimum surface roughness at V = 80 m/min, f = 0.10 mm/rev and a = 0.4 mm is 0.16 dB, and maximum surface roughness at V = 80 m/min, f = 0.15 mm/rev, and a = 0.6 mm is 0.72 dB. Minimum tool wear at V = 100 m/min, f = 0.15 mm/rev, and a = 0.2 is 187.770 µm, and the maximum tool wear at V = 80 m/min, f = 0.10 mm/rev, and a = 0.4 mm is 274.896 µm. Additionally, the validation model indicated that the deviation value of surface roughness is 6.564% (< 10%), and of tool wear is 8.76% (< 10%).
Planning and layout of tourism and leisure facilities based on POI big data and machine learning
Authors: Wu Shifeng , Wang Jiangyun , Li Jixiu , Jia Yinuo
Published: September 2022

This paper takes the Beijing's main urban as the research object, utilizing machine learning method to quantitatively simulate the location and layout of tourism and leisure facilities. POI data on the grid scale of 1km and the population data of the "the 6th Census" were used, combined with the existing distribution characteristics of tourism and leisure facilities in the Beijing's main urban. Finally, the model is used to simulate and predict each grid in the Beijing's main urban to see if it is suitable for new tourism and leisure facilities. This article simulates 949 suitable sites from the 1548 grids in the Beijing's main urban, and then further filters out 500 sites that need to be prioritized according to the population density of each main urban area to initially realize tourism at a refined scale. Quantitative site selection of leisure facilities. The research found that: ①Comparing the model simulation results with the existing tourism and leisure facilities, the accurate percentage is 95.1%, indicating the level of reliabity. ②The prediction results show that the newly added tourism and leisure facilities in the Beijing's main urban are mainly located in the densely populated areas of the Beijing's main urban. ③ The research attempts to use machine learning algorithms to plan the site selection of tourism and leisure facilities, which can optimize the overall layout and avoid the influence of subjectivity in planning on site selection. It also has certain reference value for the site selection method of other public facilities.
A framework for identification of the readiness and suitability of multicultural postgraduate research degree candidates
Authors: Cardona Magnolia , Motamedi Derakhshaneh
Published: September 2022

International students, particularly those from non-English speaking countries seeking admission to higher degree by research in Anglophone universities face multiple challenges in understanding the educational system rules, and socially adapting to the host country. Through a targeted literature search we identified barriers and facilitators to the multicultural students’ integration into a foreign education system which could hinder either their admission to postgraduate research courses or their performance during Master’s or doctoral enrolment. The four emerging themes were incorporated into checklists: English proficiency, Academic literacy, Communication and interpersonal skills, and Socio-demographic and cultural influences. These formed the basis for the development of the Supervisor’s Tool for Assessment of Readiness (STAR), an amalgamation of the checklists to provide an objective and comprehensive view of all aspects potential supervisors -and higher degree by research candidates- need to consider in the postgraduate admission process. We encourage readers to test and validate STAR in their academic environments and modify to suit their local needs.
Africa’s Manufacturing Puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian Firms
Authors: Rodrik Dani , Diao Xinshen , McMillan Margaret , Ellis Mia
Published: September 2022

Recent growth accelerations in Africa are characterized by declining shares of the labor force employed in agriculture, increasing labor productivity in agriculture, and declining labor productivity in modern sectors such as manufacturing. To shed light on this puzzle, we disaggregate firms in the manufacturing sector by average size using two newly created firm-level panels covering Tanzania (2008-2016) and Ethiopia (1996-2017). We identify a dichotomy between larger firms with superior productivity performance that do not expand employment and small firms that absorb employment but do not experience much productivity growth. Large, more productive firms use highly capital-intensive techniques, in line with global technology trends.
JEL Classification O14, O47
Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study on Forming and Thermal Distribution of a New Composite Annular Electrode Joint
Authors: Zhao Dewang , Chao Zhang , Ren Daxin , Zhao Kunmin
Published: September 2022

When welding high-strength steel and ultra-thin plates, traditional resistance spot welding has technical problems such as a narrow process window and difficulty in ensuring both welding strength and forming quality, making it one of the bottlenecks in the manufacture of high-end structural parts in the fields of vehicles, aviation and aerospace. The core reason is that the traditional spot welding thermal cycle mode is single, the energy is highly concentrated, and the controllability is poor. Therefore, there is an inconsistency between its energy distribution and nugget quality. In view of the above difficulties, a new idea of resistance spot welding of special-shaped electrodes based on energy distribution design is proposed. By inlaying insulating ceramics and other materials on the electrode end face, a "composite annular electrode" is prepared to realize the regulation of energy distribution in the welding process. In this paper, the thermo-electric-structural coupling FEM of a new composite electrode is established to reveal the detailed influence of the diameter of the ceramic core on the joint forming and thermal distribution. And the optimal ceramic core diameter is optimized for ultra-thin plates and high-strength steel plates commonly used in automobiles.
Developing intercultural competence in multilingual science classrooms: a narrative study
Authors: Ganesan Uma , Morales Amanda R.
Published: September 2022

Increased globalization of the world economy, growth in human migration, and rapid developments in science and technology have required people to develop intercultural communication skills. Teachers play a crucial role in developing intercultural competence among students in our globalized, multilingual classrooms. The need for fostering discourse and building intercultural competence among students is a common blind spot in teacher praxis. This can inhibit efforts to cultivate safe and supportive learning environments for all students and can ultimately threaten multilingual student success. As part of a larger study, this narrative inquiry explores the phenomenon of intercultural competence development through the lived experiences of a Midwestern secondary science teacher. Time-series data were collected from the participant (11 semi-structured, in-depth, online interviews over eight months). Field notes and artifacts served as secondary data. Informed by Michael Byram’s Multidimensional Model of Intercultural Competence, interviews were designed, conducted, transcribed, and member-checked. Then, transcripts, field notes, and artifacts were coded and analyzed using Jean Clandinin and Michael Connelly’s three-dimensional narrative inquiry framework to arrive at synthesized stories of experience around coalescing themes. The findings revealed the participant utilized several strategies aimed at developing intercultural communicative competence, particularly in support of multilingual students. This paper focuses on the four themes that relate most directly to intercultural communicative competence development. The findings and implications are discussed within the context of Byram’s model and conclusions are drawn to inform current and future work in this area.
Choroidal venous overload in Vogt‒Koyanagi‒Harada disease
Authors: Noh Hoon , Nam Seung Wan , Yoon Je Moon , Ham Don-Il
Published: September 2022

This study aimed to investigate the change of choroidal venous overload in Vogt‒Koyanagi‒Harada (VKH) disease. Clinical records of 52 patients with VKH disease (52 eyes) and 24 control subjects (24 eyes) who underwent multimodal imaging, including fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), were retrospectively reviewed. Imaging data were assessed for signs associated with choroidal venous overload, e.g., choroidal perfusion delay, choroidal vascular hyperpermeability, dilated choroidal veins, and intervortex venous anastomosis (IVA). Dual FA and ICGA scoring for active posterior segment inflammation was performed. Clinical and imaging features associated with choroidal venous overload were compared between early- and late-stage VKH disease. Choroidal perfusion delay, choroidal vascular hyperpermeability, dilated choroidal veins, and IVA were more prevalent in eyes with VKH disease (69.2%, 67.3%, 61.5%, and 65.4%, respectively) than in control eyes (25.0%, 20.8%, 25.0%, and 37.5%, respectively) (p < 0.05). All eyes with IVA in the early-stage of VKH disease had got other 3 signs. All choroidal venous overload signs were more prevalent in patients with early-stage (20 eyes) than in those with late-stage VKH disease (32 eyes) (p < 0.05). The number of choroidal venous overload signs were inversely related to disease duration (p < 0.001) and proportionally related to the total ICGA score (p < 0.001). IVA was significantly associated with the total ICGA score in logistic regression (p = 0.014). Choroidal venous overload occurs early in VKH disease. Angiographic signs of choroidal venous overload may be useful markers to assess the status of VKH disease.
The association of red blood cell markers with NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis
Authors: Gu Ting , Yang Naibin , Chen Yuanwen
Published: September 2022

Background:Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing disease related with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The associations between red blood cell (RBC) markers and MetS have been reported. However, whether RBC markers, including RBC count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration(MCHC), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW)are associated with the risk of NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis are still unclear.Methods:We conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional study based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018. NAFLD was diagnosed when controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) values ≥263 dB/m after exclusion of hepatitis B or C virus infection and significant alcohol intake. Advanced liver fibrosis was confirmed when liver stiffness measurement (LSM)≥8.6kPa. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were performed to investigate the associations of RBC markers with NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis.Results:3563 participants were finally included. Of all the participants, 1818 (51%) were diagnosed as NAFLD and 288(8%) had advanced liver fibrosis. After fully adjusting potential confounders, RBC count was positively associated with NAFLD (OR=1.5, 95% CI=1.2-1.8, P<0.001) or CAP (β=12.1, 95% CI= 8.1-16.2, p <0.001) while MCHC was also positively associated with NAFLD (OR=1.2, 95% CI=1.1- 1.3, P=0.003) or CAP (β=2.7, 95% CI= 0.6-4.8, p=0.013). After fully adjusting potential confounders, RDW was positively associated with advanced liver fibrosis (OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.1-1.4, P<0.001) and LSM (β=0.2, 95% CI= 0.1-0.3, p =0.005).However, there was no significant difference in RBC count or MCHC with advanced liver fibrosis or LSM. Moreover, no significant difference was detected between RDW and NAFLD or CAP.Conclusion: We revealed that RBC count and MCHC were positively associated with NAFLD while RDW was positively associated with advanced liver fibrosis in Americans.
The haemostatic effect of deep-frozen platelets versus room temperature stored platelets in the treatment of surgical bleeding. MAFOD: study protocol for a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial
Authors: Rijnhout Tim , Noorman Femke , Horst Robert A. Van der , Tan Edward C.T.H. , Viersen Victor V.A. , Waes Oscar J.F. Van , de Watering Leo M.G. Van , Burg Boudewijn B.L.S. Borger van der , Zwaginga Jaap Jan , Verhofstad Michael H.J. , Hoencamp Rigo
Published: September 2022

Background : The Netherlands Armed Forces have been successfully using deep frozen (-80°C) thrombocyte concentrate (DTC) for the treatment of (massive) bleeding trauma patients in austere environments since 2001. However, high-quality evidence for effectiveness and safety of DTCs is currently lacking. Therefore, the MAssive transfusion of Frozen bloOD (MAFOD) trial is designed to compare the haemostatic effect of DTCs versus room temperature stored platelets (RSP) in the treatment of surgical bleeding. Methods : The MAFOD trial is a single-blinded, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial and will be conducted in three level 1 trauma centres in the Netherlands. Patients of 12 years or older, alive at hospital presentation, requiring a massive transfusion including platelets, and with signed (deferred) consent will be included. The primary outcome is the percentage of patients that have achieved haemostasis within six hours and show signs of life. Haemostasis is defined as the time in minutes from arrival to the time of the last blood component transfusion (plasma/platelets or red blood cells), followed by a two-hour transfusion free period. This is the first randomized controlled study investigating DTCs in trauma- and vascular surgical bleeding. Discussion: The hypothesis is that the percentage of patients that will achieve haemostasis in the DTC group is at least equal to the RSP group (85%). With a power of 80%, a significance level of 5% and a non-inferiority limit of 15%, a total of 71 patients in each arm are required. Thus, resulting in a total of 158 patients, including a 10% refusal rate. The data collected during the study could help improve the use of platelets during resuscitation management. If proven non-inferior in civilian setting, frozen platelets may be used in the future to optimize logistics and improve platelet availability in rural or remote areas for the treatment of (massive) bleeding trauma patients in civilian settings. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05502809. Registered on 16 August 2022. Keywords : Transfusion; cryopreservation; trauma; bleeding; haemorrhage; platelets; resuscitation; injury; blood; coagulopathy
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B with hyperparathyroidism: A case report and literature review
Authors: Ye Yunjie , Deng Zicong , Tu Hengjia , Gao Yuan , Liu Yongkang , Chen Xiaoyan , Deng Shunyou , Lu Ke , Huang Caimao , Tan Yuyu
Published: September 2022

MEN2B is characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and without hyperparathyroidism, over 95% of which patients have mutations in codon M918T (at exon 16). Early diagnosis of MEN2B has important implications for the treatment and prognosis of the disease, as thyroidectomy has the potential to cure patients. In this case, the patient was a 31-year-old man presented with low back pain as the initial and primary symptom. In addition to MTC and PHEO, the examination showed that he also had hyperparathyroidism, which led to the misjudgment of MEN typing at first. We finally diagnosed this patient as MEN2B based on the results of genetic testing. After the operation and treatment, the patient recovered well. Early diagnosis is the key to the MEN2B treatment. Whether MEN2A and MEN2B can be distinguished by the presence of parathyroidism still needs more researches to verify. RET gene detection plays an important role in the diagnosis and prognosis of MEN2B and surgery is the first choice for the treatment of MEN2B.
Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitude, Practices and Malaria Prvalence Among Undergraduates
Authors: Afolayan Temiloluwa , Tanimowo Williams O. , Ibrahim Azeez G. , Oduwa Huldah
Published: September 2022

Background: This study assessed the prevalence of malaria infection, associated risk factors, knowledge and practices about malaria among selected students in Lagos state, Nigeria.
Methods: The study employed quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design, using pre-tested questionnaires and rapid diagnostic test kits to collect data from 172 University students in Lagos state. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.
Results: Out of the 172 students examined for malaria parasite, 70 (40.7%) tested positive to the parasite. The overall mean (SD) knowledge score was 23 (+7.25). The results of the chi-square tests showed that there was a significant association between the knowledge level and faculty among the students (p=0.04). However other variables such as gender, age and academic level had no significant association with knowledge level. p< 0.05 at 95% Confidence Interval.
There is a Significant Negative Relationship (At 0.05 CL) between the Attitude of the Students and the Prevalence of Malaria (R = -0.16, P < 0.05). This implies that, as the attitude of the student improves, the prevalence of malaria among them reduced. However, knowledge does not have a significant relationship with prevalence and with attitude (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: This study revealed relatively moderate prevalence of malaria among the study population. Participants generally had good knowledge, attitudes, and practices about prevention and control of malaria. The university management therefore should implement malaria control strategies among young people in tertiary institutions.
Association of the number of teeth and self-rated mastication with self-rated health in community-dwelling Japanese aged 40 years and older: the Yamagata cohort study
Authors: Ishikawa Shigeo , Konta Tsuneo , Susa Shinji , Ishizawa Kenichi , Makino Naohiko , Ueno Yoshiyuki , Okuyama Naoki , Iino Mitsuyoshi
Published: September 2022

Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictive factor for health-related prognoses such as mortality. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the risk factors for poor SRH in the general population of Japan, focusing on the combination of the number of teeth and self-rated mastication. Individuals aged at least 40 years in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, were surveyed from 2017 to 2021. The participants answered a self-administered postal survey on lifestyle factors, medical history, physical and mental conditions, oral health, and dietary intake, and 6,739 participants were included. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that individuals with less than 20 teeth and who bite tightly on one side or neither side were at a 1.422- and 1.952-fold significantly higher risk, respectively, of poor SRH than individuals with at least 20 teeth and who bite tightly on both sides. Moreover, individuals who had less than 20 teeth but could bite tightly on both sides did not have a significant risk compared to those who had at least 20 teeth and could bite tightly on both sides. Regarding individuals with more than 20 teeth, there was no difference between those who could and could not bite tightly on both sides, although the odds ratios for poor SRH tended to increase for those who could not bite on one side or neither side. Our results emphasize the importance of having at least 20 teeth without periodontal disease and oral rehabilitation using a type of prostheses for SRH, even with less than 20 teeth.
Effectiveness of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment on Improving Emotional Symptoms and Quality of Life in Iranian Children with Emotional Disorders: A Randomized Control Clinical Trial
Authors: Mofid Pardis Jamshid , Jaberghaderi Nasrin , Ahmadi Mojtaba , Mohammadiyan Yookhabe , Ghasemi Mohammad
Published: September 2022

The high prevalence and comorbidity of emotional disorders (EDs) in children have detrimental effects on their quality of life. In this study, Thirty-eight children (21girls and 17 boys) with EDs were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 15 sessions of Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C), and the control group received the Progressive Muscle Relaxation(PMR). Results showed that the UP-C treatment improved the symptoms of depression, separation anxiety, panic, social anxiety, and quality of life, but no significant decrease was observed in the symptoms of generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders in the post-test and follow-up compared to the control group. Results suggest that CLUES skills help children in using adaptive emotion regulation and improving their quality of life. Future investigations should utilize a greater sample, the parental version of the RCADS and PedsQL, and extend the follow-up period.
Growth and impact of ATMs in India
Authors: kaur Jasdeep , Mokha Anupreet Kaur
Published: September 2022

Disruptive technologies have fundamentally revolutionized traditional banking, changing the banking landscape around the world. Today, banking is no longer confined to going to traditional bank locations because electronic banking experience has grown so significantly and is increasing daily. Although a variety of digital products and services, including internet banking, NEFT, RTGS, and mobile banking, have entered the Indian banking system and completely altered how transactions are conducted, ATM banking, one of the first e-banking tools, continues to be one of the most popular modes in the country. The paper looks into the reasons for the same and along with also finds out the growth and importance of ATMs in India. The study recommends continued usage of ATMs in India based on its analysis of the impact of ATMs and debit card transactions on banks' net interest income using the log-log regression technique.
Transcription Factor bZIP65 Delays Flowering via Suppressing Expression of Ehd1 in Rice
Authors: Tingting Pan , Mingliang He , Hualong Liu , Xiaojie Tian , zhenyu Wang , Xinglong Yu , Xingfen Miao , Xiufeng Li
Published: September 2022

Flowering time is one of most fundamental factors that determine the distribution and final yield of rice. Ehd1 (Early heading date 1) is a B-type response regulator which function as a flowering time activator. Although diverse flowering time genes have been reported as regulatory factors of Ehd1 expression, the potential regulators of Ehd1 largely remain to be identified. Here, we identified a basic leucine zipper transcription factor bZIP65, homolog of bZIP71, as a new negative regulatory factor of Ehd1 . Overexpression of bZIP65 delays flowering, while bzip65 mutant have similar flowering time to SJ2 (Songjing2) in both LD and SD condition. Biochemically, bZIP65 is able to associate Ehd1 promoter, and transcriptionally repress the expression of Ehd1 . Moreover, we found that bZIP65 also enhances H3K27me3 level of Ehd1 . Taken together, we uncover a transcriptional regulatory mechanism in which bZIP65 increases the H3K27me3 level of Ehd1 and transcriptionally repress expression of Ehd1 like bZIP71, which not only clone a new gene regulating rice heading date, but also reveal its similar regulatory mechanisms with homologs.
Developing a predictive nomogram and web-based survival calculator for Locally Advanced hypopharyngeal cancer: A Propensity Score-Adjusted, Population-Based Study
Authors: Chen Sihao , He Shanshan , Wang Dan , Liu Yi , Shao Shilong , Tang Li , Li Chao , Shi Qiuling , Liu Jifeng , Wang Feng , Zhang Shichuan
Published: September 2022

Background: Patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HPSCC) face poor survival with no consensus on optimized therapies. Understanding the clinical features and treatments for the disease is important for patient centered decision-making. This study aims to create a multi-factor nomogram predictive model and web-based calculator to predict post-therapy survival for patients with LA-HPSCC.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study analyzing Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2004-to-2015 for patients diagnosed with LA-HPSCC was conducted and randomly divided into training and validation groups (7:3 ratio). The external validation cohort included 276 patients from Sichuan Cancer Hospital, China. Univariate and multivariate Cox-proportional-hazards regressions were used to identify independent factors associated with overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS), and nomogram models and web-based survival calculators were constructed. Propensity score matching (PSM) were used to compare survival with different treatment options.
Results: A total of 2526 patients were included in the prognostic model. The median OS and CSS for the entire cohort were 20 (18.6-21.3) months and 24 (21.7-26.2) months, respectively. Nomogram models integrating the seven factors demonstrated high predictive accuracy for 3-year and 5-year survival. PSM found that patients who received surgery-based curative therapy had better OSand CSS than those who received radiotherapy-based treatment (median survival times: 33 months vs. 18 months and 40 months vs. 22 months, respectively).
Conclusions: The nomogram model accurately predicted patient survival from LA-HPSCC. Surgery with adjuvant therapy yielded significantly better survival than definitive radiotherapy and should be prioritized for survival.
Credit Risk and Lending Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya
Authors: Karanja John
Published: September 2022

Credit risk poses substantial exposure both to the banks and the economy; a scenario evident in East Africa financial crises; this is in part owing to the fact that the banking sector is vital in any economy. The decline of profitability within the banking industry and financial losses can be attributed to credit exposures that went awry. This underscores the significance of the management of credit risk within the banking sector. While lending is profitable for the banks especially because of the interest paid on the amount borrowed, it also has disadvantages resulting from delays or default in loan repayments. This study was purposed to evaluate the credit risk on the lending performance of commercial banks in Kenya. A descriptive survey research design was employed while the target population for this study was employees of the 42 commercial banks in Kenya as at 1st January 2018. Purposive sampling was used to pick 42 credit managers and simple random sampling was invoked to determine the other 301 respondents from the target population of 1260 employees. Both structured and unstructured questions were used to collect primary data. Thereafter, data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency distribution tables, measures of central tendency, and standard deviations. In addition, advanced statistical techniques including logistic regression analysis and Pearson correlation were used to establish relationships among variables and provide a description of the data. The results were then presented in tabular representations supplemented by relevant explanations. The results of the study revealed that the combined effect of credit risks positively influenced the lending performance of banks. The study concluded that credit risk activities significantly influenced the lending performance of commercial banks, and as a result, the operating capital of commercial banks had gone down to very low levels since lending is a source of income for the commercial banks and this has affected the performance of the entire banking sector. The study recommended that the Government of Kenya through the National Treasury and in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya and the Kenya Bankers’ Association should formulate policies that will help the commercial banks reduce the level of credit risks and improve the lending performance which was currently affected to a great extent.
Effect of Irregularities on Seismic Performance of Building
Authors: Mevada Snehal , Bhatt Darshana , Kalthiya Aryan , Parmar Neel , Baraiya Vishal , Bhanderi Dhruvit , Patel Tisha
Published: September 2022

During an earthquake, failure of structure starts at points of weakness. This weakness arises due to discontinuity in mass, stiffness and geometry of structure. The structures having this discontinuity are termed as Irregular structures. Irregular structures contribute a large portion of urban infrastructure. The irregularity in the building structures may be due to irregular distributions in their mass, strength and stiffness along the height of building. Irregularities such as mass, stiffness, plan, and torsion are one of the major reasons of failures of structures during earthquakes. So, the effect of these four irregularities in the seismic performance of structures becomes really important. Height-wise changes in stiffness and mass render the dynamic characteristics of these buildings different from the regular building. When such buildings are constructed in high seismic zones, the analysis and design become more complicated. There are two types of irregularities vertical and plan irregularity as per IS 1893(part 1):2016. The behavior of the multi-storey building of regular and irregular design under earthquake is problematical, and the variations of wind loads are implicit to act consecutively with earthquake loads. In the proposed project, a multi-storey (G + 4) RCC buildings with four irregularities (stiffness, mass, plan, torsion) are studied for earthquake and wind loads using response spectrum method (dynamic analysis) and STADD PRO. These analyses are carried out by considering seismic zone IV, and the behavior assessed by taking the Medium Soil. In this study effects of different irregularities are analysed based on storey displacement, storey drift, and storey shear.
Investigation the Effect of Perpendicularity and Flatness deviation of Cubic Molds on Concrete Compressive Strength Results
Authors: Ahmadi Babak , Zolghadri Ali , Mehr Babak Froutan
Published: September 2022

One of the influential factors on concrete compressive strength results, which is often neglected in construction and research projects, is the quality of specimen molds. In this study, the effect of six types of 150 mm×150 mm×150 mm cubic molds, including two types of steel molds and four types of plastic molds, on compressive strength (17 MPa to 67 MPa) results of fifteen concrete mixtures at different ages were investigated. It was found that using the worst of the studied molds led to an 18% reduction of the measured compressive strength compared to the best one. These results show that the effect of mold on the compressive strength of concrete can be very considerable. This issue can result in an inaccurate measurement of concrete strength produced in construction projects and incorrect mixture design and hence, legal and technical disputes among the sides involved in construction projects. In addition, in this paper, to quantify the quality of the studied molds, two parameters of flatness and perpendicularity deviation were defined. For applying a linear regression for the obtained results, an empirical formula with high accuracy was presented to predict the effect of the two parameters of molds on the concrete compressive strength reduction factor. This formula indicates that the reduction factor decreases when perpendicularity deviation and flatness deviation values increase. The values of perpendicularity and flatness deviation of the best mold were 0.007 mm and 0.042 mm, and the values of the worst mold were 1.485 mm and 0.335mm, respectively.
Mosaic Nanocrystalline Graphene Skin Empowers Pragmatic Zn Metal Anodes
Authors: Yang Xianzhong , Lv Jiaze , Cheng Cai , Shi Zixiong , Peng Jun , Chen Ziyan , Lian Xueyu , Li Weiping , Zou Yuhan , Zhao Yu , Rümmeli Mark H. , Dou Shixue , Sun Jingyu
Published: September 2022

Constructing a conductive carbon-based artificial interphase layer (AIL) to inhibit dendritic formation and side reaction plays a pivotal role in achieving longevous Zn anodes. Distinct from the previously reported carbonaceous overlayers with sigular dopants and thick foreign coatings, a new type of N/O co-doped carbon skin with ultrathin feature (i.e., 20 nm thickness) is developedviathe direct chemical vapor deposition growth over Zn foil. Throughout fine-tuning the growth conditions, mosaic nanocrystalline graphene could be obtained, which is proven crucial to enable the orientational deposition along Zn (002), thereby inducing a planar Zn texture. Moreover, the abundant heteroatoms help reduce the solvation energy and accelerate the reaction kinetics. As a result, dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution and side reactions are concurrently mitigated. Symmetric cell harvests durable electrochemical cycling of 3040 h at 1.0 mA cm− 2/1.0 mAh cm− 2and 136 h at 30.0 mA cm− 2/30.0 mAh cm− 2. Assembled full battery further realizes elongated lifespans under stringent conditions of fast charging, bending operation and low N/P ratio. This strategy opens up a new avenue for thein-situconstruction of conductive AIL toward pragmatic Zn anode.
Accretion of the relativistic Vlasov gas onto a Bardeen regular black hole
Authors: Liao Jiawei , Liu Dao-Jun
Published: September 2022

We investigate the stationary, spherically symmetric accretion of the collisionless Vlasov gas onto a Bardeen regular black hole. Compared with previous studies, we propose a model in which the total angular momentum of the gas particles is not uniformly distributed, instead a half-normal distribution is assumed. It is found that the regularizing parameter in the Bardeen metric have no remarkable influence on the accretion of the gas, but the distribution of the total angular momentum can heavily depress the mass accretion rate. This effect might be useful to understand the observed low luminosity of Sgr A* and other underluminous sources such as M87*.
Genetic basis of STEM occupational choice and regional economic performance: A UK Biobank Genome-wide Association Study
Authors: Zhu Chen , Zhao Qiran , He Jianbo , Böckerman Petri , Luo Siyang , Chen Qihui
Published: September 2022

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals are regarded as the highly skilled labor force that fosters economic productivity, enterprise innovation, and international competitiveness of a country. We conducted a genome-wide association study on the occupational choice of STEM jobs based on a sample of 178,976 participants from the UK Biobank database. We identified two genetic loci significantly associated with participants’ STEM job choices: rs10048736 on chromosome 2 and rs12903858 on chromosome 15. The SNP heritability of STEM occupations was estimated to be 4.2%. We also found phenotypic and genetic evidence of assortative mating in STEM occupations. At the local authority level, we found that the average polygenic score of STEM is significantly and robustly associated with several metrics of regional economic performance. The current study expands our knowledge of the genetic basis of occupational choice and potential regional disparities in socioeconomic developments.
Biotechnological transformation of citronellene and citronellol by fungus Rhizopus oryzae (ATCC 9363) leading to interesting conversions through oxidations and rearrangements
Authors: Bhat Sujata V. , Mestry Sayali J. , Gupta Manisha O.
Published: September 2022

In this study, microbial transformation of monoterpenes (-)-citronellol, (±)-citronellene (dihydromyrcene) using Rhizopus oryzae in PDB medium was investigated. The major bioconversion product of citronellene was found to be dihydroxycitronellene, which is formed by dihydroxylation of terminal 6,7-double bond. Interestingly this molecule was reported earlier as biotransformation product of (+) citronellene by the larvae of common cutworm (Spodoptera litura) (Miyazawa et al. 2009).On thecontrary, (3S)-citronellol yielded 7-hydroxycitronellol as a major product. Severalminor products including rose oxide, rose glycol, isopulegol, artemisia-triene,1,8-nonan-diol-8-methyl, citronellyl phenyl acetate were obtained from (-)-citronellol. Whereas camphene, camphor, α-pinene, Isopulegone, terpinene-4-ol, 1,8-nonan-diol-8-methyl are the minor products obtained from (±)-citronellene. The minor products were identified by GC-MS analysis and matching fragmentationswith NIST library. Some metabolites produce possessperfumery value.
High Cell Density Cultivation (HCDC) of E. coli with Intensive Multiple Sequential Batches Together with Fed-Batch at Cell Level (FBC) Superior to the Fed-Batch Technique
Authors: Malairuang Kwanruthai , Krajang Morakot , Sukna Jatuporn , Chamsart Saethawat
Published: September 2022

High cell density cultivation (HCDC) is a technique that was developed and used in the cultivation of various microorganisms. Escherichia coli is the most prominent in the bacterial group and popular at the industrial scale for the production of bio-products. The HCDC conducted with the Fed-Batch modes is complicated. In this study, we developed a batch production medium (BPM), a minimal-defined medium for industrial utilization with the potential use of dextrin at high concentrations as the major carbon source. Dextrin prevents cell cultivation system from the Crabtree effect due to its gradual hydrolysis to release glucose and gradual assimilation into E. coli cells like Fed-Batch at Cell Level (FBC). Yeast extract was added in to the BPM to enhance cell growth. It was operated using 5-L bioreactors with the aerobic batch cultivation at high concentrations of dextrin, i.e., 90 g/L to achieve high-cell-density concentration at a high production rate superior to the Fed-Batch technique. Further, the Intensive Multiple Sequential Batch (IMFB) technique was developed to achieve a high yield at a high productivity. The maximum values of cell biomass, x; specific growth rate ; yield coefficient, Yx/s; productivity, rx; and efficiency (Ef) were 46.31 g/L, 0.54 h-1, 0.55 g/g, 3.86 g/L/h and 98%, respectively. The results showed that cell cultivations and growth kinetics, biochemical engineering mass balances, and design of impeller speeds using fluid dynamics in the 5-L bioreactor of aerobic batch cell cultivation for the production of E. coli cell biomass a high-density concentration using dextrin to control the FBC at a high titer can be used for the scale-up of industrial bioreactors.