bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ki Hajar Dewantara's thoughts on shaping the character of generation Z towards a golden Indonesia
Authors: Yuherman Yuherman , Yusutria Yusutria , Taufik Ahmad , Febriana Rina
Published: January 2025

The character of Generation Z is facing a significant decline in moral values, presenting the impression of being increasingly unruly. As the next generation responsible for advancing the nation toward a Golden Indonesia, this degradation affects various aspects, including speech, behavior, lifestyle, and education. Character education is currently in decline due to the dominance of media and the rapid progress of science and technology. The challenges facing Generation Z, characterized by the aspiration for a Golden Indonesia, demand a thoughtful approach to address these issues an approach found in the ideas of Ki Hajar Dewantara. This study aims to explore Ki Hajar Dewantara’s thoughts on shaping the character of Generation Z in alignment with the vision of a Golden Indonesia. The research adopts a literature review methodology, gathering data from various sources. The data collection technique involves documentation, specifically collecting relevant library resources. The study is conducted systematically, processing and synthesizing the data to provide conclusions based on the literature. The findings reveal that Ki Hajar Dewantara’s ideas focus on character development through the consideration of educational patterns, teacher and student roles, and methods for instilling character education values in future leaders aligned with the vision of a Golden Indonesia.
The influence of price, e-service quality, and brand image on online purchasing decisions
Authors: Sahar Rahmanwali
Published: January 2025

Purpose-Technological advances have now penetrated various sectors of life, including online buying and selling transactions. This provides convenience to consumers because they can make product purchases from anywhere and anytime. Many supporting factors influence consumer decisions when making online purchases. This study aims to analyze the effect of price factors, electronic service quality, and brand image on online purchasing decisions.
Design/Methodology/Approach-This study analyzes online purchasing decisions for cosmetics consumers in Asia. Sampling in this study used a cluster random sampling technique, where respondents in certain areas could become research respondents, and 137 respondents were obtained. The data collection method uses a questionnaire distributed online. Then, the analytical tool used is Smart PLS with the bootstrapping process.
Findings-The results prove that the three factors analyzed are proven to have a positive effect on online purchasing decisions. Based on these results, producers must pay attention to price, e-service quality, and brand image factors to encourage an increase in the number of consumer purchases. Because transactions are carried out online, there are many factors that consumers consider before making a purchase, including the three factors examined in this study.
Research limitations/implications-The limitation of this study is that the number of respondents still needs to be more minimalist in number. In addition, the respondents do not represent every country in the Asian region. This makes the results of this study unable to describe the picture of consumers in Asia making online purchase decisions. The object of research is also still classified as general, namely cosmetic consumers, not mentioning a particular brand so that it can be more specific.
Originality/value-This research is still very minimal conducted by previous researchers who use the object of cosmetic consumers in the Asian region. Generally, previous studies used different objects or in a country.
End-of-life care: introduction
Authors: Peate Ian
Published: January 2025

This article is the first in a series that discusses end-of-life care. Healthcare assistants and assistant practitioners play a crucial role in delivering high-quality end-of-life care across a variety of settings, including hospitals, care homes and community-based environments. The author introduces readers to the core concepts of end-of-life care, highlighting the importance of compassion, dignity and holistic support for those who are nearing the end of their lives.
Application of Cardiac Rehabilitation Aerobic Exercise in Patients with Stable Angina in Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Zhou Jin , Liu Ying , Zhao Hua , Yan Wei , Chen Litao , Sun Xing , Feng Xiaoman , Wang Jing , Pei Yongbin , Li Shuya
Published: January 2025

Aims/Background A novel exercise protocol for cardiac rehabilitation aerobic (CRA) has been developed by Hebei Sport University, demonstrating efficacy in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of CRA on precise cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for CHD patients presenting with stable angina pectoris.

Methods The study cohort comprised patients with stable angina who were categorized into three groups: the CRA group (n = 35), the power bicycles (PB) group (n = 34), and the control group (n = 43). In addition to standard treatment, the CRA group underwent a 12-week CRA-based CR intervention, while the PB group participated in a similar program centered on PB exercise, and the control group received only standard treatment.

Results At the end of the 12-week intervention, significant differences were observed among the groups in several physiological parameters, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), Glycated Haemoglobin (Hb-A1c), peak oxygen uptake (Peak VO2), anaerobic threshold (AT), and Peak VO2/heart rate (HR) (p < 0.05). Both the CRA and PB groups showed significant reductions in SBP, FBG, TG, TC, LDL, and Hb-A1c compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, both groups exhibited significant improvements in Peak VO2, AT, and Peak VO2/HR (p < 0.05). Intra-group analysis revealed that the CRA group showed significant improvements from baseline to post-intervention in SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), FBG, TG, TC, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), LDL, Hb-A1c, Peak VO2, AT, and Peak VO2/HR (p < 0.05). Similarly, the PB group demonstrated significant improvements across these parameters (p < 0.05).

Conclusion Both CRA and PB exercises are safe and effective for achieving precise CR in patients with CHD. A 12-week CRA intervention, conducted three times per week for 30 minutes per session, significantly improves cardiopulmonary function and biochemical makers in patients with stable angina. These improvements are comparable to those achieved through PB exercise in precise CR.
Perceived stress in end-of-life care: a qualitative study of Iranian nurses' experiences
Authors: Zahra Royani , Khadijeh Yazdi , Reza Mahmoodi Shen Gholam
Published: January 2025

Background:

Nurses experience high levels of stress while providing end-of-life care, which puts them under emotional pressure, stress and conflict. Therefore, this study aimed to explain the experiences of nurses during the provision of end-of-life care in Iran.

Methods:

A qualitative descriptive study conducted using a conventional content analysis approach in Gorgan in 2023. A total of 11 nurses participated in this study, who were selected purposefully with maximum variation. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using the five-step conventional content analysis method of Graneheim and Lundman (2004) .

Results:

From the data analysis, three categories and seven subcategories emerged. The categories include: ‘caring nature’, ‘structural challenges of the care system’ and ‘communication challenges’.

Conclusion:

Generally speaking, different types of stresses influence the performance of nurses that are involved in end-of-life care. By identifying some of these stressors, nurses, nursing managers and health policymakers can adopt supportive strategies to reduce the perceived stress and, consequently, improve the quality of end-of-life care by reducing the consequences of stress, such as burnout, moral distress and high job turnover.
Perceived barriers to paediatric palliative care in a Palestinian children's hospital
Authors: Ghareeb George , Kelly Daniel
Published: January 2025

Background:

This study aimed to identify barriers to paediatric palliative care provision at one Palestinian paediatric hospital, elucidate reasons for the barriers, provide recommendations for enhancing care and identify topics for future research in other low-to middle-income countries.

Methods:

A mixed-method cross-sectional study, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted, involving 61 healthcare professionals at a paediatric hospital in Palestine. Data collection consisted of 58 participants completing an electronic survey, while three healthcare professionals participated in semi-structured interviews. Ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection.

Results:

The study identified significant barriers to paediatric palliative care, categorised into patient-family, healthcare professional and organisational domains. Quantitative data from 58 healthcare professionals revealed family resistance to a palliative prognosis and inadequate training for healthcare professionals, with mean barrier scores ranging from 3.09 to 4.00 (maximum=5.00). Qualitative insights from interviews and open-ended survey questions complemented these findings, highlighting the need for effective communication, educational enhancement and organisational support to improve the quality of care.

Conclusion:

The study identified barriers to the implementation of effective paediatric palliative care, underscoring the need for emotional support, better clinical guidance, more education and training and stronger interdisciplinary collaboration.
Palliative care in the public health system: how do physicians deal with their patients at the end of life?
Authors: Cruz Ricardo Pedrini , Serafim José Américo , Klug Daniel , Santos Cledy Eliana Dos
Published: January 2025

Background:

Patients with cancer are referred late to palliative care services (PCS).

Aim:

To analyse the time of referral to PCSs and the characteristics of patients that are referred.

Methods:

A retrospective cohort. All patients admitted in a single tertiary care institution were evaluated by the PCSs from February 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019.

Findings:

Among the 642 patients (557 patients with cancer) referred to PCSs: 7.47% died before evaluation, 13.08% died before transfer, and 15.6% died within 8 days after transfer. Out of all the patients with cancer included in the study, 85.28% had less than 2 months of PCS follow-up during their disease. In the last 30 days of life, 96.26% had were readmitted to hospital. A total of 94.09% of patients with cancer died in a hospital.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that patients with cancer in Brazil are not referred early enough to PCSs. Early integration with PCS must be sought to improve the accuracy of referral.
AI and Smartphones to Identify Specific Learning Disabilities
Authors: Ford Jason
Published: January 2025

Project to determine whether universal learning model can be applied for dyslexia and dysgraphia
Buoyant Future
Authors: Excell Jon
Published: January 2025

A newly opened innovation centre in Aberdeen is aiming to accelerate the UK's position in the emerging field of floating offshore wind.
Digital Driving
Authors: Wade Andrew
Published: January 2025

HORIBA MIRA's new advanced simulator puts driver feedback in the loop at the earliest stages of vehicle development.
Body Builders
Authors: Excell Jon
Published: January 2025

The fast-moving field of 3D bioprinting has the potential to revolutionise healthcare. The Engineer spoke to two engineers at the forefront of this exciting new technology frontier
New Dry Dock for Manchester Ship Canal
Authors: Ford Jason
Published: January 2025

An increase in trade saw the need to build a new dry dock for maintenance and repairs
Fast Computation of Hydrodynamic Pressure in Lubricated Contacts: Which Lp Loss is Most Suitable for Physics-Informed Neural Networks Solving the Reynolds Equation?
Authors: Brumand-Poor Faras , Plückhahn Nils , Bauer Niklas , Schmitz Katharina
Published: January 2025

The frictional behavior of pneumatic seals significantly impacts the functionality of fluid power systems, particularly in fast-switching applications where precision and responsiveness are critical. However, the complex relationship between component properties and friction often makes experimental characterization infeasible or prohibitively expensive. To address this challenge, the Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas) developed the ifas Dynamic Seal Simulation (DDS), an iterative elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) simulation capable of accurately solving the relevant partial differential equations (PDEs) [3]. Since iterative solvers are computationally intensive, neural networks have been explored as a more efficient alternative. While traditional neural networks offer computational advantages, they often lack the ability to understand the physical context of the systems they model, potentially limiting their accuracy and reliability. Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have been introduced to overcome these limitations. PINNs integrate the governing physical laws directly into the training process, allowing them to grasp the system’s physical context. This approach opens up new possibilities, including more robust training and the ability to extrapolate beyond the training domain, thereby providing a more reliable and efficient tool for modeling the friction of seals in fluid power systems. In this paper, a previously validated hydrodynamic PINN framework [8, 9] is utilized to solve a variant of the averaged Reynolds equation across three scenarios: divergent, convergent, and curved gaps. The investigation focuses on four p-norm training metrics: L1, L2, L22, and L∞. The results indicate that the commonly used L22 metric is the most suitable for the scenarios examined.
Advancing Thermal Monitoring in Axial Piston Pumps: Simulation, Measurement, and Boundary Condition Analysis for Efficiency Enhancement
Authors: Ivantysyn Roman , Weber Jürgen
Published: January 2025

To prepare today’s fluid power systems for the future digitalization of the industry, it is necessary to improve the information available regarding the current condition of crucial components of the system. Positive displacement machines, which constitute the core of any hydraulic system, play a vital role in this process. Future smart systems will require more information about the current state of the pump such as power usage and efficiency. Current condition monitoring approaches utilize an array of sensors that need to be sampled at high frequency. The transmission, storage, and post processing of this vast amount of data requires an enormous number of resources, especially if exercised at scale. Previous work conducted at the Institute of Mechatronics Engineering at TU Dresden has demonstrated that measuring the temperature in the lubricating gaps can allow for a deeper insight into the tribological mechanisms in these interfaces. Not only can the gap height, viscous friction and leakage be determined from this information, but also crucial information such as wear level and expected component lifespan can be derived from temperature levels with adequate reference models [1–4].
This paper demonstrates that monitoring the thermal condition of the cylinder block is an effective approach to estimate the pump’s efficiency. This will be illustrated through both simulation and measurement, in addition to the pioneering measurement of the heat convection coefficient on the cylinder block surface, a critical boundary condition for the simulation.
To measure the temperature of a moving cylinder block, a 160cc axial piston pump was equipped with a telemetric system, which was specially designed and built for this task. In addition to 20 temperature sensors, four heat convection coefficient sensors were carefully placed inside the cylinder block. High-speed pressure and temperature measurements within the displacement chamber provided further insight into the dynamic thermal behavior, capturing both fluid and wall temperatures in real-time. These measurements not only validated the simulation but also offered a unique perspective on the internal mechanics of an axial piston pump.
On-chip 7 GHz acousto-optic modulators for visible wavelengths
Authors: Zhang Ji-Zhe , Zeng Yu , Qin Qing , Yang Yuan-Hao , Tian Zheng-Hui , Wang Jia-Qi , Dong Chun-Hua , Xu Xin-Biao , Ye Ming-Yong , Guo Guang-Can , Zou Chang-Ling
Published: January 2025

A chip-integrated acousto-optic phase modulator tailored for visible wavelengths has been developed. Utilizing the lithium niobate on sapphire platform, the modulator employs a 7 GHz surface acoustic wave, which is excited by an interdigital transducer and aligned perpendicular to the waveguide. This design achieves efficient phase modulation of visible light within a compact device length of 200 micrometers and holds the advantages of easy fabrication and high stability due to its simple unsuspended structure. In this high-frequency acoustic regime, the acoustic wavelength becomes comparable to the optical wavelength, resulting in pronounced single-sideband modulation behaviors. This observation underscores the phase delay effects in the acousto-optic interactions, and enables new opportunities for developing functional visible photonic devices and their integration with atom- and ion-based quantum platforms.
Poisson phase diversity algorithm with automatic registration for sparse fluorescent images
Authors: Luo Fanglin , Mu Quanquan , Peng Zenghui , Liu Yonggang , Yang Chengliang , Zhang Xingyun
Published: January 2025

The phase diversity technique is a powerful tool for aberration detection and high-resolution image restoration. This is achieved by employing a pair of images, one captured in focus and the other with a specific degree of defocus. It presents a practical alternative or complementary method to adaptive optics. This paper introduces a modified phase diversity algorithm based on the Poisson noise model for biological fluorescence imaging with sparse characteristics. The proposed method has demonstrated high-precision aberration estimation and high-resolution image reconstruction. Additionally, an image registration method is proposed for image registration between the focused and defocused images. The simulation analysis and verification of the algorithm were conducted using images of microbeads and HeLa cells. For experimental purposes, actual captured fluorescence microbead images and blurred zebrafish images due to aberrations were selected. Both simulation and experimental results indicate that the method is effective and accurate.
Time-of-flight spectroscopy with ultrafast all-optical gating
Authors: Fenwick Kate L. , Thekkadath Guillaume S. , Bustard Philip J. , England Duncan , Bouchard Frédéric , Sussman Benjamin
Published: January 2025

Spectral measurement is crucial in applications ranging from the investigation of matter and its electronic properties to the wavelength-multiplexed routing of optical signals. We propose and demonstrate a spectral measurement technique based on an all-optical approach. The signal spectrum is mapped to the time domain by dispersion in 1 km of fiber and is then optically gated by an intense ultrafast pulse in 10 cm of single-mode fiber. A portion of the signal spectrum can be recovered by sweeping the gate pulse through the stretched signal. Spectral fringes are measured down to the minimum bound for frequency-to-time mapping of 51.5 GHz. Our measurement technique expands the toolbox of ultrafast measurements from the time domain to the frequency domain.
Model-based temporal unmixing towards quantitative photo-switching optoacoustic tomography
Authors: Liu Yan , Chuah Jonathan , Huang Yishu , Stiel Andre C. , Unser Michael , Dong Jonathan
Published: January 2025

Optoacoustic (OA) imaging combined with reversibly photoswitchable proteins has emerged as a promising technology for the high-sensitivity and multiplexed imaging of cells in live tissues in preclinical research. Through carefully designed illumination schedules of ON and OFF laser pulses, the resulting OA signal is a multiplex of different reporter species and the background. We propose a model-based variational framework to computationally unmix and image different species of photo-switching reporters using optoacoustic tomography. It is based on a detailed mathematical description of the photo-switching mechanism, which models how relevant physical parameters such as the kinetic constants and light fluence impact the switching signal. We introduce an algorithm that operates on images, as opposed to traditional pixelwise approaches. It takes the form of an iterative inversion combined with tailored ℓ1 and total-variation regularization to increase the robustness to noise and to improve the unmixing quality. We show that our method can disentangle multiple spatially overlapping labels and recover continuous maps of quantities of interest on controlled phantoms and mice experiments.
Single photonic reservoir dual-task simultaneous computing based on a semiconductor ring laser with filtered optical feedback
Authors: Li Song-Sui , Peng Liwen , Zhang Liyue , Zou Xihua , Pan Wei , Yan Lianshan
Published: January 2025

A single photonic reservoir based on a semiconductor ring laser with filtered optical feedback (FOF) is proposed to achieve simultaneous reservoir computing (RC) through multiplexing of the two directional modes and enhance the robustness of RC operations by using a Fabry-Perot filter. Numerical investigations of laser dynamics reveal that the FOF successfully provides RC-preferred dynamically stable, steady state for both directional modes simultaneously. Moreover, the FOF can expand the parameter ranges of the RC-preferred state when the filter bandwidth is smaller than twice the transient response frequency of the laser. Furthermore, such expansion can be enhanced by optimizing the detuning frequency between the filter and the free-running laser. In addition to the advantages in laser dynamics, the positive effects of FOF on RC operations are further verified by benchmark tasks of complex time series prediction and pattern classification. The results show that the robustness of RC operations against parameter fluctuations is significantly enhanced not only in single-task computing independent of task types but also in dual-task simultaneous computing without significant degradation of performances independent of task combinations.
Single-pixel sensing of rotating objects in Laguerre-Gaussian spectral domain
Authors: Wang Luyi , Ye Hao , Guo Junjie , Ma Jiantao , Mao Danjian , Wei Dan , Zhang Yong
Published: January 2025

Single-pixel sensing (SPS) has proven to be a powerful tool for image-free object analysis. However, challenges arise when applying this technique to identify rotating objects, such as biological molecules and astronomical stars, because rotation disrupts the inherent correlation among numerous projections. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) spectral domain SPS approach. Benefiting from the circular symmetry of LG mode, the LG amplitude spectrum of an object exhibits rotation invariance, which is utilized to reconstruct the signal correlations of various projections. We prepare amplitude-type projection modes through the superposition of conjugate LG modes, which provides robustness against the phase fluctuations of light. The convolutional neural network (CNN) is trained using the LG spectra of static objects. In experiment, our method demonstrates high accuracies of 90.80%, 88.64%, and 82.5% when recognizing static objects, static objects after a random rotation, and rotating objects at 4831 rpm, respectively. Our approach opens new possibilities for extending the function of SPS to identify fast-rotating objects, which has potential applications in fundamental research areas such as biology and astronomy, as well as in industrial fields.
Low-noise high-power dual-frequency MOPA laser with an NPRO seed
Authors: Li Jue , Fan Weitong , Xu Jie , Huang Zelong , Luo Jian , Yu Xin , Hu Yunqiao , Yang Qisen , Guo Changlei , Yeh Hsien-Chi
Published: January 2025

Dual-frequency lasers are significant in fields like photonic microwave sources, optical carrier lidar, and heterodyne laser interferometry. Increasing the power of dual-frequency lasers is crucial for expanding their applications. However, achieving high-power dual-frequency lasers with low noise remains a challenge. In this work, we demonstrate a low-noise, high-power dual-frequency laser in a master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) configuration. In this setup, a dual-frequency monolithic nonplanar-ring-oscillator (NPRO) serves as the seed, and an ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier (YDFA) is used to boost the optical power. The MOPA laser achieves a dual-frequency laser power up to 5 W at 1064 nm and maintains the phase noise of the beat signal at 5.78 GHz as low as -116.6 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz and -152.3 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz. To quantify the additional phase noise to the beat signal from the fiber amplifier, we established a theoretical model, which reveals that this noise is negligible in our system. We anticipate that our model can be extended to analyze the phase noises of other dual-frequency laser systems, and our MOPA laser will enhance the capabilities of dual-frequency laser applications in industrial, airborne, and spaceborne environments.
Nanostructuring on the surface of germanate glass by femtosecond laser direct writing
Authors: Xie Xu , Tang Guowu , Gou Daquan , Liu Guanyu , Zeng Youjun , Zhang Fangteng , Ma Lin
Published: January 2025

Germanate glass, owing to its high infrared transmittance, high refractive index, and excellent nonlinear optical properties, has become a key material in the field of photonics. Inducing micro-nanostructures on the surface of germanate glass using femtosecond lasers can impart new functionalities and applications to the material. In this study, self-assembled nanograting structures were successfully induced on the surface of germanate glass by femtosecond laser direct writing. The effects of laser parameters, including energy density, scanning speed, and polarization direction, on the grating morphology and periodicity were systematically investigated. We first found that curving nanogratings can be induced at a combination of high laser energy and low scanning speed. Straight nanogratings with steady periods can be obtained by reasonably increasing scanning speed. The nanograting period was found to change with varying polarization angles. By optimizing the process conditions, large-area, highly uniform nanograting arrays were successfully fabricated. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the rewritable characteristics of nanogratings, different micro-nanostructures with varying periods were produced by adjusting energy combinations in consecutive scans. These findings could extend the application of germanate glass in surface photonics and information technology.
Coupling characteristics of ZnMgO optical microring resonators
Authors: Gao Junjie , Du Hao-Yang , Liu Wenkai , Zhang Jing , Wang Lei , Zhang Xufang , Meng Lei
Published: January 2025

Optical microring resonators (MRRs) based on ZnMgO thin films unfold unique potentials for novel photonic devices for laser frequency conversion and electro-optic modulation in wavelength range from ultraviolet to near-infrared. In this work, we explore the dependence of the coupling coefficients (κ) of ZnMgO optical MRRs prepared by a photonic damascene process on the coupling gap (G) and radius (R) of the rings. A wide range of κ from 0.29 to 0.78 is achieved by adjusting G and R values. Both simulation and experiment results show that κ increases with reducing G or/and increasing R. Furthermore, the κ has significant influence on the coupling state of MRRs and depth of resonance peak. These findings pave the way ZnMgO optical MRRs to a variety of compact nonlinear photonic devices on Si.
ParSite is a multicolor DNA labeling system that allows for simultaneous imaging of triple genomic loci in living cells
Authors: He Xiaohui , Sun Yadong , Ma Hanhui
Published: January 2025

The organization of the human genome in space and time is critical for transcriptional regulation and cell fate determination. However, robust methods for tracking genome organization or genomic interactions over time in living cells are lacking. Here, we developed a multicolor DNA labeling system, ParSite, to simultaneously track triple genomic loci in the U2OS cells. The tricolor ParSite system is derived from the T. thermophilus ParB/ParSc (TtParB/ParSc) system by rational design. We mutated the interface between TtParB and ParSc and generated a new pair of TtParBm and ParSm for genomic DNA labeling. The insertions of 16 base-pair palindromic ParSc and ParSm into genomic loci allow dual-color DNA imaging in living cells. A pair of genomic loci labeled by ParSite could be colocalized with p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) in response to CRISPR/Cas9-mediated double-strand breaks (DSBs). The ParSite permits tracking promoter and terminator dynamics of the APP gene, which spans 290 kilobases in length. Intriguingly, the hybrid ParS (ParSh) of half-ParSc and half-ParSm enables for the visualization of a third locus independent of ParSc or ParSm. We simultaneously labeled 3 loci with a genomic distance of 36, 89, and 352 kilobases downstream the C3 repeat locus, respectively. In sum, the ParSite is a robust DNA labeling system for tracking multiple genomic loci in space and time in living cells.
Social mates dynamically coordinate aggressive behavior to produce strategic territorial defense
Authors: Moody Nicole M. , Williams Cole M. , Ramachandran Sohini , Fuxjager Matthew J.
Published: January 2025

Negotiating social dynamics among allies and enemies is a complex problem that often requires individuals to tailor their behavioral approach to a specific situation based on environmental and/or social factors. One way to make these contextual adjustments is by arranging behavioral output into intentional patterns. Yet, few studies explore how behavioral patterns vary across a wide range of contexts, or how allies might interlace their behavior to produce a coordinated response. Here, we investigate the possibility that resident female and male downy woodpeckers guard their breeding territories from conspecific intruders by deploying defensive behavior in context-specific patterns. To study whether this is the case, we use correlation networks to reveal how suites of agonistic behavior are interrelated. We find that residents do organize their defense into definable patterns, with female and male social mates deploying their behaviors non-randomly in a correlated fashion. We then employ spectral clustering analyses to further distill these responses into distinct behavioral motifs. Our results show that this population of woodpeckers adjusts the defensive motifs deployed according to threat context. When we combine this approach with behavioral transition analyses, our results reveal that pair coordination is a common feature of territory defense in this species. However, if simulated intruders are less threatening, residents are more likely to defend solo, where only one bird deploys defensive behaviors. Overall, our study supports the hypothesis that nonhuman animals can pattern their behavior in a strategic and coordinated manner, while demonstrating the power of systems approaches for analyzing multiagent behavioral dynamics.
Cost-effectiveness of leveraging existing HIV primary health systems and community health workers for hypertension screening and treatment in Africa: An individual-based modeling study
Authors: Hickey Matthew D. , Ayieko James , Kabami Jane , Owaraganise Asiphas , Kakande Elijah , Ogachi Sabina , Aoko Colette I. , Wafula Erick M. , Sang Norton , Sunday Helen , Revill Paul , Bansi-Matharu Loveleen , Shade Starley B. , Chamie Gabriel , Balzer Laura B. , Petersen Maya L. , Havlir Diane V. , Kamya Moses R. , Phillips Andrew N.
Published: January 2025

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality is increasing in Africa, largely due to undiagnosed and untreated hypertension. Approaches that leverage existing primary health systems could improve hypertension treatment and reduce CVD, but cost-effectiveness is unknown. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of population-level hypertension screening and implementation of chronic care clinics across eastern, southern, central, and western Africa.

Methods and findings

We conducted a modeling study to simulate hypertension and CVD across 3,000 scenarios representing a range of settings across eastern, southern, central, and western Africa. We evaluated 2 policies compared to current hypertension treatment: (1) expansion of HIV primary care clinics into chronic care clinics that provide hypertension treatment for all persons regardless of HIV status (chronic care clinic or CCC policy); and (2) CCC plus population-level hypertension screening of adults ≥40 years of age by community health workers (CHW policy). For our primary analysis, we used a cost-effectiveness threshold of US $500 per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted, a 3% annual discount rate, and a 50-year time horizon. A strategy was considered cost-effective if it led to the lowest net DALYs, which is a measure of DALY burden that takes account of the DALY implications of the cost for a given cost-effectiveness threshold.

Among adults 45 to 64 years, CCC implementation would improve population-level hypertension control (the proportion of people with hypertension whose blood pressure is controlled) from mean 4% (90% range 1% to 7%) to 14% (6% to 26%); additional CHW screening would improve control to 44% (35% to 54%). Among all adults, CCC implementation would reduce ischemic heart disease (IHD) incidence by 10% (3% to 17%), strokes by 13% (5% to 23%), and CVD mortality by 9% (3% to 15%). CCC plus CHW screening would reduce IHD by 28% (19% to 36%), strokes by 36% (25% to 47%), and CVD mortality by 25% (17% to 34%). CHW screening was cost-effective in 62% of scenarios, CCC in 31%, and neither policy was cost-effective in 7% of scenarios. Pooling across setting-scenarios, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were $69/DALY averted for CCC and $389/DALY averted adding CHW screening to CCC.

Conclusions

Leveraging existing healthcare infrastructure to implement population-level hypertension screening by CHWs and hypertension treatment through integrated chronic care clinics is expected to reduce CVD morbidity and mortality and is likely to be cost-effective in most settings across Africa.
Development and characterization of a reverse genetics system for the lineage II Chicava strain of Machupo virus in a guinea pig model
Authors: Mantlo Emily , Maruyama Junki , Manning John T. , Reyna Rachel A. , Huang Cheng , Paessler Slobodan
Published: January 2025

Background

Machupo virus (MACV) is a New World mammarenavirus (hereafter referred to as “arenavirus”) and the etiologic agent of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BHF). No vaccine or antiviral therapy exists for BHF, which causes up to 35% mortality in humans. New World arenaviruses evolve separately in different locations. To date, up to eight lineages of MACV have been identified in Bolivia. While the prototype MACV Carvallo strain belongs to lineage I discovered in the Memore Province in the 1960s, the MACV lineage II strains have become the dominantly-circulating lineage in the same province since 1993.

Methods

We report the development of a reverse genetics system for the MACV lineage II Chicava strain, using a pRF42 plasmid encoding the L and S segment genomic RNA under the transcriptional control of a murine DNA-dependent RNA polymerase I promoter sequence. Rescue of the recombinant MACV Chicava strain (rMACV-Chicava) was accomplished by expression of the L protein and nucleoprotein genes of the MACV Carvallo strain in trans in transfected baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells. We characterized the multiplication kinetics of rMACV-Chicava in African green monkey kidney epithelial Vero cells, followed by determining the virulence phenotype in outbred Hartley guinea pigs.

Principal findings

We demonstrated that the multiplication kinetics in Vero cells, virulence phenotype in guinea pigs, and neutralizing antibody titers are indistinguishable between rMACV-Chicava and the wild-type parental virus.

Conclusion and significance

We conclude that rMACV-Chicava provides a useful model system to investigate the emergence of MACV lineage II strains and the guinea pig model has utility for the development of candidate vaccines and therapeutic antibodies for BHF.
Evidence of human exposure and associated risk factors to Rift Valley fever in selected districts of Central and Western Zambia
Authors: Kasongamulilo Chilufya C. , Syakalima Michelo , Saasa Ngondo , Kainga Henson , Pandey Girja S. , Mukubesa Andrew N. , Mwape Innocent , Kajihara Masahiro , Takada Ayato , Simuunza Martin
Published: January 2025

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an important viral zoonotic disease that not only affects ruminants but causes serious morbidity and mortality in humans. In humans, its symptoms range from mild flu-like signs to a severe form such as retinal damage, meningoencephalitis to haemorrhagic fever. In this study, 202 human serum samples were collected from central and western parts of Zambia and tested for RVF-specific antibodies using a commercially available ELISA kit. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data for determining hypothesised risk factors for exposure to RVF. The participants enrolled in this study, were only those who are at high risk of RVF infection and were in close contact with animals and animal products. The study revealed an overall seropositivity of 9.90%, occupationally distributed as 16.67% among slaughter house workers, 14.41% among livestock farmers, and 0% among the others (i.e., students, butchery, and farm workers). The prevalence was highest (19.23%) in Sesheke district found in the western part of Zambia, while Chisamba district in central Zambia had the lowest prevalence (1.41). Movement of animals in search of greener pastures was identified as a risk factor to being RVF-seropositive. This suggests that there was silent circulation of the virus in the interepidemic period in the study areas. Therefore, this study recommends that public education of livestock farmers, public health workers, slaughterhouse workers, communities, livestock and veterinary staff needs to be enhanced to increase awareness and preparedness for RVF outbreak in Zambia.
Unveiling diabetes onset: Optimized XGBoost with Bayesian optimization for enhanced prediction
Authors: Khurshid Muhammad Rizwan , Manzoor Sadaf , Sadiq Touseef , Hussain Lal , Khan Mohammed Shahbaz , Dutta Ashit Kumar
Published: January 2025

Diabetes, a chronic condition affecting millions worldwide, necessitates early intervention to prevent severe complications. While accurately predicting diabetes onset or progression remains challenging due to complex and imbalanced datasets, recent advancements in machine learning offer potential solutions. Traditional prediction models, often limited by default parameters, have been superseded by more sophisticated approaches. Leveraging Bayesian optimization to fine-tune XGBoost, researchers can harness the power of complex data analysis to improve predictive accuracy. By identifying key factors influencing diabetes risk, personalized prevention strategies can be developed, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes. Successful implementation requires meticulous data management, stringent ethical considerations, and seamless integration into healthcare systems. This study focused on optimizing the hyperparameters of an XGBoost ensemble machine learning model using Bayesian optimization. Compared to grid search XGBoost (accuracy: 97.24%, F1-score: 95.72%, MCC: 81.02%), the XGBoost with Bayesian optimization achieved slightly improved performance (accuracy: 97.26%, F1-score: 95.72%, MCC:81.18%). Although the improvements observed in this study are modest, the optimized XGBoost model with Bayesian optimization represents a promising step towards revolutionizing diabetes prevention and treatment. This approach holds significant potential to improve outcomes for individuals at risk of developing diabetes.
A sector fast encryption algorithm for color images based on one-dimensional composite sinusoidal chaos map
Authors: Tao Ye , Cui Wenhua , Wang Shanshan , Wang Yayun
Published: January 2025

Images are important information carriers in our lives, and images should be secure when transmitted and stored. Image encryption algorithms based on chaos theory emerge in endlessly. Based on previous various chaotic image fast encryption algorithms, this paper proposes a color image sector fast encryption algorithm based on one-dimensional composite sinusoidal chaotic mapping. The main purpose of this algorithm is to improve the encryption and decryption speed of color images and improve the efficiency of image encryption in the big data era. First, four basic chaos maps are combined in pairs and added with sine operations. Six one-dimensional composite sinusoidal chaos maps (CSCM) were obtained. Secondly, select the two best chaotic mappings LCS and SCS. The randomness of these two chaotic mappings was verified through Lyapunov index and NIST SP 800–22 randomness tests. Thirdly, the encryption process is carried out according to the shape of a traditional Chinese fan, and the diffusion and scrambling of each pixel of the image are performed in parallel. This greatly improves encryption speed. When diffusing, changing the value of one pixel can affect the values of multiple subsequent pixels. When scrambling, each pixel changes position with the three pixels before it according to the chaotic sequence. Finally, through many experiments, it is proved that the image encryption algorithm not only greatly improves the encryption and decryption speed, but also improves various indexes. The key space reached 2192, the average information entropy was 7.9994, the average NPCR was 99.6172, and the average UACI was 33.4646. The algorithm can also resist some common attacks and accidents, such as exhaustion attack, differential attack, noise attack, information loss and so on.
Probiotics interventions modulating gut microbiota composition in individuals with intestinal constipation: Protocol of a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Mei Zubing , Du Peixin , Han Ye , Shao Zhuo , Zheng De
Published: January 2025

Introduction

Intestinal constipation is a substantive global health concern, significantly impairing patient quality of life. An emerging view is that the gut microbiota plays a critical role in intestinal function, and probiotics could offer therapeutic benefits. This study aims to consolidate evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assess the effectiveness of probiotics in modulating microbiota and ameliorating symptoms of constipation.

Methods

We will execute a systematic evidence search across Medline (via PubMed), Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL, employing explicit search terms and further reference exploration. Two independent reviewers will ensure study selection and data integrity while assessing methodological quality via the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias-2 tool. Our primary goal is to outline changes in microbiota composition, with secondary outcomes addressing symptom relief and stool characteristics. Meta-analyses will adopt a random-effects model to quantify the effects of interventions, supplemented by subgroup analyses and publication bias assessments to fortify the rigor of our findings.

Discussion

This study endeavors to provide a rigorous, synthesized overview of the probiotics interventions evidence for modulating gut microbiota in individuals with intestinal constipation. The insights derived could inform clinical guidelines, nurture the creation of novel constipation management strategies, and direct future research in this field.

Ethics and dissemination

As this study aggregates and analyzes existing data without direct human subject involvement, no ethical approval is required. We will disseminate the study’s findings through scientific forums and seek publication in well-regarded, peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration

OSF registration number: 10.17605/OSF.IO/MEAHT.
Development of a multi-epitope chimeric vaccine in silico against Babesia bovis, Theileria annulata, and Anaplasma marginale using computational biology tools and reverse vaccinology approach
Authors: Siddiki Amam Zonaed , Alam Sabreena , Fuad Bin Hossen Farhan , Alim Md. Abdul
Published: January 2025

The three rickettsial parasites- Babesia bovis, Theileria annulata and Anaplasma Marginale are responsible for causing Babesiosis, Theileriosis and Anaplasmosis among cattle. These diseases exist due to spreading of infected ticks. A large number of cattle were found to suffer from mixed infections caused by the three parasites at the same time. Due to these reasons cattle have been devoid of milk production with reduced meat availability. Hence, it is a matter of urgency for the immunity of cattle to exhibit resilience against all three rickettsial parasites. It could be possible if trials are carried out after producing a subunit chimeric vaccine against the rickettsial protozoan parasites and introducing it into the bloodstream of the cattle species. In this paper, we have used the process of reverse vaccinology to conduct a study in which we have developed a multi-epitope subunit chimeric vaccine against three protozoan parasites. We constructed three chimeric vaccine sequences from which only one chimeric vaccine construct was found to be an effective and efficient vaccine which is stable with high solubility and negative allergenicity. Following that, we performed molecular docking of the refined chimeric vaccine construct with Rp-105 and TLR-9. It was observed that the chimeric vaccines interacted with the receptors with high binding energy. Immune simulation was also performed to determine the potentiality of the chimeric vaccine for eliciting an immune response. The best-designed chimeric vaccine construct was then reverse transcribed and adapted for the host E. coli K12 strain which was later inserted into the pET28a (+) vector for the cloning and expression of the vaccine. The study could be a good initiative for the development of an effective chimeric vaccine against bovine parasites.
Low-resource MobileBERT for emotion recognition in imbalanced text datasets mitigating challenges with limited resources
Authors: Hussain Muhammad , Chen Caikou , Albouq Sami S. , Shinan Khlood , Alanazi Fatmah , Iqbal Muhammad Waseem , Ashraf M. Usman
Published: January 2025

Modern dialogue systems rely on emotion recognition in conversation (ERC) as a core element enabling empathetic and human-like interactions. However, the weak correlation between emotions and semantics poses significant challenges to emotion recognition in dialogue. Semantically similar utterances can express different types of emotions, depending on the context or speaker. In order to tackle this challenge, our paper proposes a novel loss called Focal Weighted Loss (FWL) with adversarial training and the compact language model MobileBERT. Our proposed loss function handles the problem of imbalanced emotion classification through Focal Weighted Loss and adversarial training and does not require large batch sizes or more computational resources. Our approach has been employed on four text emotion recognition benchmark datasets, MELD, EmoryNLP, DailyDialog and IEMOCAP demonstrating competitive performance. Extensive experiments on these benchmark datasets validate the effectiveness of our proposed FWL with adversarial training. This enables more human-like interactions on digital platforms. Our approach shows its potential to deliver competitive performance under limited resource constraints, comparable to large language models.