bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multiplayer online game for distance learning for Integrated Islamic Kindergarten students of Khairunnisa
Authors: Nurindahsari Susi , Gunarsih Nurul Arifiah , Zamzami Muhamad Zaim , Mustofa Syahrul Adi , Saputra Irfan Triadi , Af’idah Dwi Intan
Published: April 2022

During the Covid-19 pandemic, education in Indonesia was delivered via distance learning (PJJ). Of course, this learning is fraught with difficulties, particularly for kindergarten students who require direct teacher guidance. The IT Khairunnisa Kindergarten, which is located in Grinting Village, Bulakamba District, Brebes Regency, is no exception. As a result, innovative solutions are required to ensure that learning can take place more effectively even when it is done remotely. The innovative solution is a multiplayer online game that includes learning elements such as counting, matching, and others as a learning medium for students and teachers. This community service is carried out by socializing and assisting teachers and students in the use of learning game apps. When the socialization took place, participants were very enthusiastic about learning this application, particularly students, who carefully observed how the game was used and the features in it. The interview results revealed that the participants were interested in using the game as a medium for PJJ, and the students were interested in this game as well, because learning was like playing. This application is simple to use and interactive, making it possible to perform online KBM that feels like offline KBM.
Prevention of stunting in children by making processed products from traditional plants
Authors: Efendi Aqila Pradita Hutami , Safitri Sindi Ayu , Putra Oby Ihza , Geofani Cagiva , Santoso Fenny Widya , Septianingrum Ni Made Ayu Nila
Published: April 2022

Stunting is a condition of failure to thrive in children under five due to malnutrition in the womb. Stunting cases in Indonesia have decreased every year, but the handling in each region has not been evenly distributed, so there are still many stunting cases, especially in villages. The purpose of this service is to succeed in government programs in reducing stunting rates in Somoketro Village, Salam District, Magelang Regency and to improve community skills in innovating food manufacturing to increase nutritional intake. The service is carried out using the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method which actively involves the community. The results of this service have a positive impact, namely increasing community knowledge and innovation about stunting prevention by utilizing Family Medicinal Plants (TOGA).
Technology dissemination for the home industry of Tahu Takwa Bintang Al Qomar to improve the efficiency of the soybean milling process
Authors: Wahyu Mujahid , Hendarti Devina Rosa , Bahtiar Ahmad Dony Mutiara
Published: April 2022

The efficiency of the production process in the home industry 'Tahu Taqwa Bintang Al Qomar' is a major issue, particularly in the soybean milling process. According to the owner, this procedure should be carried out elsewhere. The purpose of this program is to improve the efficiency of the soybean milling process, which is the primary source of tofu. Methods of this program include: 1) design of soybean grinding machine; 2) manufacture of design for soybean grinding machine with a capacity of 10 kg; 3) machine testing; and 4) training and assistance in operating the equipment to partners. The result of this community service activity is a soybean grinding machine product as a solution to partner problems, as well as increasing partner skills, especially in operating machines. This is to support the soybean milling process independently, so as to achieve the efficiency of the soybean milling process as a raw material for tofu.
Anti-bullying campaign at the Mambaus Sholihin Islamic Boarding School 2 Blitar
Authors: Sihidi Iradhad Taqwa , Amirudin Zen
Published: April 2022

Bullying has evolved into a very dangerous specter in the educational sector. Schools, which should be a place for kids to develop humanist, dialogical, and sympathetic character, have instead become hotbeds of violence. At the Modern Mambaus Sholihin Islamic Boarding School 2 Blitar, this community service strives to promote a comprehensive and critical awareness of bullying through campaigns. This program's implementation strategy is multi-tiered, beginning with observation, seminars, and mentoring (evaluation). The program can help students have a better understanding and awareness of how to prevent bullying in the Santri community. Therefore, understanding the different types of bullying and the hazards it poses to victims' physical and emotional health inspires a desire to establish a social environment free of bullying.
Mother's education about under-five nutrition as prevention of stunting and malnutrition
Authors: Mariati Lusia Henny , Jehani Yohana
Published: April 2022

Malnutrition that occurs in the first thousand days of life will have an impact on children's lives in the future. The results of previous studies that were carried out were known that from 107 under-five-children, there were 32 under-five-children with under nutritional status in Bangka Kenda Village. This activity aims to improve a mother's knowledge about the importance of fulfilling toddler nutrition starting from infancy by giving exclusive breastfeeding for six months, then continuing with additional food. As well as knowledge about nutrition needed by under-five-children. The activity begins with a pre-test, then continues with counseling activities, and at the end, a post-test evaluation of the mother's understanding of the counseling material. The participants were 35 people. The results of the activity showed an increase in the mother's knowledge before and after counseling.
Increasing legal and gender capacity for Nasyiatul 'Aisyiyah regional leaders of Klaten Regency
Authors: Saleh Indah Nur Shanty , Marwa Muhammad Habibi Miftakhul
Published: April 2022

The purpose of this community service is to increase legal and gender capacity for Nasyiatul 'Aisyiyah regional leaders of Klaten Regency. Nasyiatul 'Aisyiyah cadres as young Muhammadiyah women are expected to be able to carry out the function of preaching amar ma'ruf nahi munkar in the midst of rampant practices of inequality and injustice against women and children. The method of implementing the school of law and gender for Nasyiatul 'Aisyiyah Regional Leaders, Klaten Regency through lectures, forum group discussion, and making campaign media which are uploaded on social media. Law and gender school activities provide increased understanding and skills for Nasyiatul 'Aisyiyah leaders and cadres with 72.7% agreeing and 27.3% strongly agreeing. However, participants increasingly have the courage to take a role and have a positive influence on the struggle for gender equality and justice in Klaten Regency in particular, and Indonesian women in general.
Empowerment of pioneer students of small ambassadors in health promotion at SD Negeri Karangroto 02 Semarang City
Authors: Haiya Nutrisia Nuim , Ardian Iwan , Azizah Intan Rismatul
Published: April 2022

Schoolchildren are assets for the Indonesian state, and in order to accomplish this, school health unit, or UKS, must be developed and maintained. However, in order for UKS to succeed, it needs the assistance of all essential stakeholders, including students, throughout its implementation. As a result, the effective implementation of UKS necessitates a cadre of students who serve as one of the spearheads. Indirectly, health cadres serve as role models for promoting health in the school community and environment. The objective of empowering health cadres is to ensure the success of the UKS program and to promote school health. This practice also attempts to enhance all students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The service approach entails empowering the community via the formation of Pelopor Siswa Duta Kecil (SiDuCiL), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting health through the training of school health cadres. As a consequence of this activity, "SiDuCiL" school cadres have been formed, who are school students' pioneers in implementing health promotion in schools.
Application of herbal flour ingredients in the Duck Livestock Group, Sumber Rejeki, Kediri Regency
Authors: Akbar Mubarak , Rokana Efi , Soenyoto Edy
Published: April 2022

Some residents of Dawung Village in Ringinrejo District, Kediri Regency work as duck breeders. Many breeders are dissatisfied with the government's policy prohibiting the use of Antibiotic Growth Promoter (AGP) in animal feed, resulting in decreased livestock production. The goal of this program is to improve the standard of living and productivity of duck breeders by teaching them how to make herbal flour that can be mixed into duck feed instead of antibiotics. The diffusion of science and technology is the method employed. The availability of feed containing herbal flour additives is a outcome of this program. Another benefit is a greater understanding and knowledge of herbal flours as antibiotic substitutes that are safer for animal feed.
Empowerment of PKK mothers through entrepreneurial skills education training
Authors: Nastia Nastia , Lawelai Herman , Hasimin Hasimin , Darni Darni
Published: April 2022

The intention of this community service is to empower PKK mothers in Lasalimu District with entrepreneurial knowledge, skills in the sphere of goods/services production, and an entrepreneurial mentality. The lecture and discussion approach is used in this PKM activity. As a consequence of this program, there is an increase in participants' capacity about the knowledge of fundamental business skills, both individually and in groups, in an attempt to boost family economic income. This initiative also gives PKK mothers in Lasalimu District fresh ideas into how social media may help them run a business without having to invest a lot of money and have a vast network without being constrained by geography.
Planting trees and vegetables in the working area of the regional Leader of Aisyiyah Gresik
Authors: Hamidah Siti , Rizal Muhammad Saiful
Published: April 2022

The community service was carried out at SMK Muhammadiyah Panceng, Gresik Regency, East Java. The issue is a lack of public awareness about the importance of planting vegetables and trees, as well as a lack of opportunities to do so. The purpose of this community service is to raise awareness about the importance of planting trees and vegetables, as well as how to use vacant land to do so. A workshop and seed planting are used to carry out the method. The service team distributed vegetable and tree seeds to eight lands, including kindergarden, vocational high school, and higher education. This workshop was successful in increasing partners' knowledge and skills in planting vegetables and trees for use by families and communities. It even has the potential to increase fund income in schools and institutions.
Raising job seekers’ awareness on non-verbal self-branding in job interview
Authors: Nova Muhamad , Susanti Luh Eka
Published: April 2022

In attending an interview, many job seekers did not realize the importance of non-verbal communication to empower their personal and professional branding in job recruitment. The webinar was conducted to discuss the non-verbal communication as a self-branding media in job interview for students, fresh graduate, and public. This webinar aimed at providing basic knowledge on the typical of non-verbal communication which empower the quality of self-branding, including body language, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, smiles, and the selection of business attire. This webinar was attended by 47 participants. The webinar unravels several body languages and business attires that could support the job seekers’ personal branding. This webinar could help the participants in attending the interview and increasing their motivation to apply for a job
Prevention of Covid-19 transmission through the implementation of clean and healthy life patterns in school age children in PAUD, Tambak Boyo Village
Authors: Karuniawati Benny
Published: April 2022

In Tambak Boyo Village, school-aged children account for roughly 14% of the total population. The school years are an ideal time to instill the values of clean and healthy living (PHBS). Given that children will return to school in the new normal period, PHBS in schools feels even more important. The purpose of this service is to improve people's health by instilling a clean and healthy lifestyle in young children in order to prevent disease transmission, particularly the current epidemic, Covid-19, through hand washing and tooth brushing. The program's implementation methods begin with lecturing on the material, then demonstrating proper hand washing and tooth brushing to maintain oral health, and finally mentoring PAUD children as they practice hand washing and tooth brushing. The results of the activities carried out on 30 children revealed that 86.7 percent of them could wash their hands sequentially according to the five steps of handwashing, and 73.3 percent could brush their teeth properly.
Informal educational institutions' teachers debriefing in improving the learning quality
Authors: Ritonga Mahyudin , Sobhan Sobhan , Kholidah Kholidah , Simbolon Salamat
Published: April 2022

Teachers in the TPQ/TQA/MDA programs have a heterogeneous abilities; some have exceptional abilities, while others have insufficient abilities. As a consequence, the aim of this program is to provide debriefing for teachers who want to improve their learning management skills in TPQ/TQA and MDA. Training methods such as lecture and demonstration techniques are used to carry out the program. As a result, at the beginning of the activity there were 24% teachers with a high school education background and did not yet have good skills in the management of Al-Quran learning. However, following the demonstration, their abilities appeared to improve, both in terms of recitation knowledge and makharij al-huruf, as well as class management and learning technique selection.
C5 Palsy of Patients with Proximal-Type Cervical Spondylotic Amyotrophy
Authors: Imajo Yasuaki , Nishida Norihiro , Funaba Masahiro , Nagao Yuji , Suzuki Hidenori , Sakai Takashi
Published: April 2022

Study Design: An observational cohort study design was adopted in this study.Purpose: This study was designed to investigate preoperative factors that predict poor outcomes following surgery in patients with proximal-type cervical spondylotic amyotrophy (PCSA) using radiological findings.Overview of Literature: We evaluated the preoperative factors associated with poor outcomes using electrophysiological and neurological findings. However, the preoperative factors associated with poor outcomes remained unclear.Methods: Sixty patients with PCSA who underwent surgical treatment of the cervical spine were enrolled. The radiological findings on plain radiographs, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were evaluated. The cervical lordotic angles, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), and T1 slope were assessed on a lateral radiograph in the neutral position. CT was used to assess the width of the intervertebral foramen and the anterior protrusion of the superior articular process on the axial view. MRI was used to determine the number of levels of compression (NLC) and the presence of a high-intensity area in the spinal cord in the T2- weighted midsagittal view. The preoperative and postoperative strengths of the most atrophic muscles were evaluated using manual muscle testing. Improvements in strength were classified as excellent (five grades recovered), good (more than one grade recovered), fair (no improvement), or poor (worsened).Results: The prevalence of C5 palsy was 17% (10/60). Patients with poor outcomes had higher NLC and Δ C2–C7 SVA than patients with excellent, good, and fair outcomes (p =0.015; odds ratio [OR], 5.758; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.397−23.726 for a change of 10% and p =0.048; OR, 1.068; 95% CI, 0.992−1.141 for a change of 10%, respectively).Conclusions: ΔC2–C7 SVA and NLC may be used as prognostic factors for achieving a poor outcome following surgery in patients with PCSA. More focus is needed on preventing the increase in ΔC2–C7 SVA.
Preliminary Screening Method for Low Bone Mineral Density Using a Self-Reported Questionnaire among Peri- and Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Yano Yudai , Iwata Eiichiro , Sada Takuya , Ueno Yuki , Hyakuda Yoshinobu , Kawasaki Sachiko , Okuda Akinori , Shigematsu Hideki , Uematsu Kota , Yajima Hiroshi , Tanaka Yasuhito
Published: April 2022

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.Purpose: We propose a method for screening for low bone mineral density (BMD) among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women using a self-reported questionnaire.Overview of Literature: Osteoporosis is a major health problem worldwide. However, it is not cost-effective to evaluate BMD in all patients. Although several tools for predicting osteoporosis have been established, they do not focus much on low BMD prior to the development of osteoporosis.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 198 women aged 40–70 years who underwent mass screening for osteoporosis at our hospital between 2016 and 2019. The BMD values and the following data were collected: age, body mass index, fracture history, lower back pain, height loss, kyphosis, history of fragility fracture, family history of vertebral or hip fracture, and menopause. The reliability of each data point for the young adult mean <80% was calculated using discriminant analysis. Variables with large weight coefficients were selected and scored. This scoring tool was examined, and a cutoff score for predicting the young adult mean <80% was determined.Results: Sixty-four participants (32.3%) had a young adult mean <80%. According to the weight coefficients, the following five variables were scored as follows: age ≥60 years 3 points, body mass index <22 kg/m2 3 points, lower back pain 1 point, height loss (cm) 1 point, and menopause 1 point. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.738 (95% confidence interval, 0.669–0.807). At cutoff scores of ≥5 and <5, the sensitivity was 82.8%, with specificity of 52.0%.Conclusions: The scoring tool performed well for predicting young adult mean <80% among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in Japan. This tool may be useful to screen for low BMD.
Editorial
Authors: Magonet Jonathan
Published: April 2022

This issue continues a tradition in this journal of devoting issues to the broad theme of ‘Judaism and Psychotherapy’. It began formally in autumn 1982, but the journal had already explored the topic earlier with occasional writings as noted by Howard Cooper. The dedicated issues grew out of a series of lectures on the topic initiated by Leo Baeck College and were subsequently continued in collaboration with the Raphael Centre, a Jewish counselling service. The origin of this exploration belongs in large part to the influence of Irene Bloomfield z’l, who became involved, together with Dr Wendy Greengross z’l, in the establishment of a pioneering programme of ‘Pastoral Care and Counselling’ for the rabbinic students at the College. It is a privilege to be able to include in this issue a previously unpublished paper by Irene, together with Gaby Glassman, her partner in pioneering work on the impact of the Holocaust on the second generation of survivor families.
Who Am I, Who Are We?
Authors: Blumenthal Stephen
Published: April 2022

The term ‘identity’ has come to be associated with our membership of various groups based upon gender, sexuality, race, religion, culture and class. A psychological perspective moves beyond identity politics and emphasises both group and the individual. The selves we become are based upon who we internalise through identification. An aspect of this is our ancestral history. The author uses a personal story to illustrate the dynamic interrelationship between our group and personal identities. Our identities can be a badge of honour or a burden. How we are treated according to the labels applied to us shapes the sense we have of ourselves. Psychological work aims to help a person distinguish between who they truly are and what was forced upon them in the course of their lives. This requires a dual focus on the group legacies we carry and the individual as the unit for understanding identity.
The Interfaith Writings of Hans Küng (1928–2021)
Authors: Hilton Michael
Published: April 2022

The Catholic theologian Hans Küng spent a lifetime studying philosophy and theology, studies marked by an unusual ability constantly to question and to re-examine his own faith and to enquire into the faith of others. In the first half of his life he had seen world religions ‘only as a horizon with which to view Christianity’, but as time went on, his views became both broader and deeper. This led him to formulate the widely published dictum:

No peace among the nations without peace among the religions.
No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions.
No dialogue between the religions without global ethical criteria.
No survival of our globe without a global ethic.

This brief survey explores some of Küng’s writings about other faiths, including Tracing the Way: Spiritual Dimensions of the World Religions (2002), on Judaism (1992), on Christianity (1994) and Islam (2004).
Психологія фрустраційних станів та реакцій підлітків: теорії, проблеми, діагностика
Authors: Шамне А. В. , Прахова С. А.
Published: April 2022

У монографії розглядаються теоретико-методологічні, методичні та діагностичні аспекти проблеми фрустраційних станів та реакцій сучасних підлітків; досліджується їх природа, психологічний зміст, закономірності, структура, особливості тестової психологічної діагностики і динаміка протягом підліткового віку. Монографія являє собою авторське бачення концепту фрустраційних станів та реакцій, яке спирається на теорію С. Розенцвейга та раціонально-емпіричну стратегію дослідження індивідуальних та вікових закономірностей їх прояву у сучасної молоді України.
Water consumption by uneven-aged winter wheat plants in arid conditions of the Steppe
Authors:   Zaporizhzhia Branch of SE Soils Protection Institute of Ukraine, 94, Doslidna stantsiia Str., Zaporizhzhia, 69031, Ukraine, Romanenko O. L. , Kushch I. S. ,   Zaporizhzhia Branch of SE Soils Protection Institute of Ukraine, 94, Doslidna stantsiia Str., Zaporizhzhia, 69031, Ukraine, Agafonova A. V. ,   Zaporizhzhia Branch of SE Soils Protection Institute of Ukraine, 94, Doslidna stantsiia Str., Zaporizhzhia, 69031, Ukraine, Tenyukh Yu. O. ,   Zaporizhzhia Branch of SE Soils Protection Institute of Ukraine, 94, Doslidna stantsiia Str., Zaporizhzhia, 69031, Ukraine, Solodushko M. M. ,   SE Institute of Grain Crops of NAAS, 14, Volodymyr Vernadskyi St., Dnipro, 49027, Ukraine, Usova N. N. ,   Institute of Oilseed Crops NAAS of Ukraine, 1, Institutska St., Zaporizhzhia district, Zaporizhzhia region, 70417, Ukraine
Published: April 2022

It was established that there are significant changes in hydrothermal indicators over the past thirty years in the south of the Steppe. During the growing seasons of 1963/64–1989/90, the average annual air temperature was 9.6 °С, in 1990/91–2019/20 – 11.3 °C. Average annual precipitation in 1957/58–1989/90 was 456.1 mm, 1990/91–2019/20 – 400.5 mm. Thus, the increase in climate aridity over the last thirty years is obvious: the average annual precipitation has decreased by 55.6 mm, and the average annual air temperature has increased by 1.7 °C. During the growing seasons of 1990/91–2019/20, scientific research found that water consumption by wheat plants after black fallow during the growing season decreased to 2536–2811 m3/ha in the Steppe zone. Moisture was most efficiently consumed by crops at sowing on September 25 (background N40P40K40, seed rate – 4.5 million germinable seeds/ha): total water consumption was 2605 m3/ha, water consumption coefficient – 428 m3/t, grain yield – 6,08 t/ha. According to 28-year-old data, it was found that the available moisture reserves in the 0-10 cm soil layer on black fallow, as the most stable predecessor on water availability of soil, equaled 10.2 mm and ensured almost annual obtainment of full winter wheat seedlings. It was found that the winter wheat plants did not evenly consume moisture during the growing season: in the autumn period – 8.0–19.2 % of the total water consumption, resumption of spring growing season – beginning of stem elongation – 28.3–30.9 %, stem elongation – beginning of heading – 22.1–24.2 %, heading – full ripeness – 30.0–36.9 %. According to the research results, it was proposed the measures to minimize the negative impact of further climate aridity increase by an increase in the autumn-winter precipitation absorption by soil, an improvement of the agrophysical soil properties and its water permeability, the introduction of varieties with a more pronounced xeromorphic structure and an increased level of adaptation to arid conditions of the Steppe zone and resistance to abiotic stress factors. Key words: predecessors, sowing dates, productive moisture reserves in the soil, water consumption, yield, winter wheat, water consumption coefficient.
Development of the CBT-E Components Checklist: A tool for measuring therapist self-rated adherence to CBT-E
Authors: Bailey-Straebler Suzanne , Cooper Zafra , Dalle Grave Riccardo , Calugi Simona , Murphy Rebecca
Published: April 2022

Few tools to encourage therapists to implement evidence based psychological treatments as designed exist. Assessing therapist “competence” (implementing therapeutic procedures well) by evaluating the quality of their treatment sessions is problematic for multiple reasons. Therapist self-rated measures of “adherence” (using the correct therapeutic procedures) may offer a viable alternative. We describe (i) the development of a CBT-E Components Checklist (CBT-E CC) for therapists, as well as (ii) how to use the CBT-E CC and where to access it. The CBT-E CC is an adherence checklist for enhanced cognitive behavior therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E). It is intended as a formative tool for therapists to assess, and improve as needed, their own adherence. Future research on the validity of the checklist to accurately measure adherence is needed.
Multi-scale redistribution feature pyramid for object detection
Authors: Qian Huifang , Guo Jiahao , Zhou Xuan
Published: April 2022

Many feature pyramid models now use simple contextual feature aggregation, which does not make full use of the semantic information of multi-scale features. Therefore, Multi-scale Redistribution Feature Pyramid Network (MRFPN) is proposed. In order to strengthen feature fusion and solve the two problems of feature redundancy and high abstraction, modified-BiFPN is designed. The features output by the modified-BiFPN module are semantically balanced through the balanced feature map, so as to alleviate the semantic differences between multi-scales. Then a new channel attention module is proposed, which realizes the multi-scale association of the feature information fused to the balanced feature map. Finally, a new feature pyramid is formed through the residual edge for prediction. MRFPN have been evaluated on PASCAL VOC 2012 dataset and MS COCO dataset, which has higher detection accuracy compared with other state-of-the-art detectors.
Effects of external feedback on disengagement in a human-centric environment
Authors: Kanchana Rapee , Phusavat Kongkiti , Pastuszak Zbigniew , Hidayanto Achmad Nizar , Majava Jukka
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND: Overcoming the disengagement feeling in a human- centric environment such as a workplace or a school is essential. In fact, the disengagement in a workplace or at school is one of the major challenges today. Lack of meaningful engagement contributes to this feeling. OBJECTIVE: It is to assess the impacts of external feedback on learning and development. External feedback reflects engagement with the disengaged learners. METHODS: Two schools where the students are generally viewed as disengaged have been involved since 2016. Foreign business communities have worked closely with teachers, and disengaged learners as an external feedback provider. The feedback design is based on the Double-loop Learning. The survey is used to assess the impacts of external feedback. RESULTS: External feedback significantly contributes to more positive feeling on safety, belonginess, and happiness which is essential for learning and development. Based on the findings, external feedback helps overcome the feeling of disengagement in a human-centric environment. CONCLUSIONS: The proper use of external feedback in a human-centric environment shows tangible benefits, especially when dealing with the disengaged learners. External feedback can help re-engage the disengaged learners which can lead to better learning and development.
Overexpression of REST Causes Neuronal Injury and Decreases Cofilin Phosphorylation in Mice
Authors: Liu Xiang , Yan Jie , Liu Fangbo , Zhou Peipei , Lv Xinyue , Cheng Nengneng , Liu Li
Published: April 2022

Background: RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST) is known to silence target genes involved in synaptic plasticity and neuronal differentiation. Although previous studies implicate REST in neurodegenerative diseases, its function in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is uncertain. Objective: The aim of the present work was to explore the mechanisms of AD and determine whether and how REST was involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Methods: We investigated the differentially expressed genes and key transcription factors in AD using bioinformatics analysis. In addition, we assessed the expression of REST under the influence of AD-related factors. Mice overexpressing REST were generated and analyzed by proteomics analysis. We used transmission electron microscopy, Golgi-cox staining, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting to examine the impact of REST on neurons. Results: The results of bioinformatics analysis revealed REST as a hub transcriptional regulator in AD. We demonstrate that the mRNA expression of REST was significantly upregulated compared with that in the control groups, not only in AD patients but also in APP/PS1 transgenic mice, lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammatory mice, and oxidative and glutamate stressed neurons. Using proteomics analysis, we showed that the upregulation of REST increased the expression of genes involved in apoptotic and mitochondrial pathways. Long-term overexpression of REST significantly reduced the number of dendritic spines and increased the mitochondrial defect and apoptosis. Reduction of the cofilin phosphorylation may be one of its mechanisms, and cofilin activity could be affected through the P38 MAPK/CREB signaling pathway. Conclusion: These results demonstrated the possible mechanism underlying AD and indicated REST as a potential therapeutic target for AD.
Association Study and Meta-Analysis of Polymorphisms and Blood mRNA Expression of the ALDH2 Gene in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Ueno Mariko , Yoshino Yuta , Mori Hiroaki , Funahashi Yu , Kumon Hiroshi , Ochi Shinichiro , Ozaki Tomoki , Tachibana Ayumi , Yoshida Taku , Shimizu Hideaki , Mori Takaaki , Iga Jun-ichi , Ueno Shu-ichi
Published: April 2022

Background: Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) is a complex disease in which neuroinflammation plays an important pathophysiological role, and exposure to neurotoxic substrates such as aldehydes may contribute. Blood mRNA expression levels of neuroinflammation-related genes appear to be potential biological markers of LOAD. A relationship between ALDH2 and LOAD has been suggested. Objective: Our objective was to examine blood ALDH2 expression in Japanese LOAD patients, conduct a genetic association study, and add new studies to an extended meta-analysis of the Asian population. Methods: A blood expression study (45 AD subjects, 54 controls) in which total RNA was isolated from whole peripheral blood samples and ALDH2 expression measured was conducted. In addition, a genetic association study (271 AD subjects, 492 controls) using genomic DNA from whole peripheral blood samples was conducted. Finally, a meta-analysis examined the relationship between ALDH2*2 frequency and the risk of LOAD. Results: ALDH2 mRNA expression was significantly higher in LOAD than in controls, and also higher in men with LOAD than in women with LOAD (p = 0.043). The genotypes in the two classified groups and the allele frequency were significantly different between AD and control subjects. The meta-analysis showed a significant difference in the ALDH2*2 allele, with an increased AD risk (OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.02–1.85; p = 0.0348, I2 = 81.1%). Conclusion: There was a significant increase in blood ALDH2 expression, and a genetic association with ALDH2*2 in LOAD. ALDH2 may have significant roles in the pathogenesis of LOAD in the Asian population.
Retaining Participants in Longitudinal Studies of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Gabel Matthew , Bollinger Rebecca M. , Coble Dean W. , Grill Joshua D. , Edwards Dorothy F. , Lingler Jennifer H. , Chin Erin , Stark Susan L.
Published: April 2022

Background: Retention of study participants is essential to advancing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and developing therapeutic interventions. However, recent multi-year AD studies have lost 10% to 54% of participants. Objective: We surveyed a random sample of 443 participants (Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR]≤1) at four Alzheimer Disease Research Centers to elucidate perceived facilitators and barriers to continued participation in longitudinal AD research. Methods: Reasons for participation were characterized with factor analysis. Effects of perceived fulfillment of one’s own goals and complaints on attendance and likelihood of dropout were estimated with logistic regression models. Open-ended responses suggesting study improvements were analyzed with a Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic model. Results: Factor analyses revealed two categories, personal benefit and altruism, as drivers of continued participation. Participants with cognitive impairment (CDR > 0) emphasized personal benefits more than societal benefits. Participants with higher trust in medical researchers were more likely to emphasize broader social benefits. A minority endorsed any complaints. Higher perceived fulfillment of one’s own goals and fewer complaints were related to higher attendance and lower likelihood of dropout. Facilitators included access to medical center support and/or future treatment, learning about AD and memory concerns, and enjoying time with staff. Participants’ suggestions emphasized more feedback about individual test results and AD research. Conclusion: The results confirmed previously identified facilitators and barriers. Two new areas, improved communication about individual test results and greater feedback about AD research, emerged as the primary factors to improve participation.
Comparative study of antioxidant and inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase and glycogen phosphorylase A of berry extracts from Ugni molinae genotypes
Authors: Ordóñez José L. , Pérez Rodrigo , Barriga Andrés , Seguel Ivette , Guzman Paola , Zúñiga María C. , Delporte Carla
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND: Sustained hyperglycemia leads to multiple health complications associated with oxidative balance and metabolic pathways alterations. Current treatments for hyperglycemia are not entirely effective thus, the identification of natural products from food sources, such as Ugni molinae berries, to reduce hyperglycemia and prevent the deleterious effect of oxidative stress is attractive to develop new therapeutics. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and the inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase and glycogen phosphorylase A of polyphenolic extracts from different genotypes of U. molinae berries and to comparatively analyze their polyphenolic profile. METHODS: Berry extraction was performed by exhaustive maceration with increasing-polarity solvents. The antioxidant capacity, and inhibitory activity on enzymes were analyzed by different spectrophotometric methods. Moreover, the chemical profile of bioactive extracts was comparatively evaluated through LC-MS. RESULTS: 16 semi-purified extracts were obtained and showed antioxidant capacity and inhibitory activity on the evaluated enzymes. Moreover, the chemical analysis showed differences in phenolic profile among the extracts and, particularly, the acetonic extracts were more concentrated in phenolic compounds, which is associated with the more potent activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that murtilla berries’ acetonic extracts include a mixture of phenolic compounds that inhibit the activity of two enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism and have a promising antioxidant capacity.
How to measure usable security: Natural strategies in voting protocols1
Authors: Jamroga Wojciech , Kurpiewski Damian , Malvone Vadim
Published: April 2022

Formal analysis of security is often focused on the technological side of the system. One implicitly assumes that the users will behave in the right way to preserve the relevant security properties. In real life, this cannot be taken for granted. In particular, security mechanisms that are difficult and costly to use are often ignored by the users, and do not really defend the system against possible attacks. Here, we propose a graded notion of security based on the complexity of the user’s strategic behavior. More precisely, we suggest that the level to which a security property φ is satisfied can be defined in terms of: (a) the complexity of the strategy that the user needs to execute to make φ true, and (b) the resources that the user must employ on the way. The simpler and cheaper to obtain φ, the higher the degree of security. We demonstrate how the idea works in a case study based on an electronic voting scenario. To this end, we model the vVote implementation of the Prêt à Voter voting protocol for coercion-resistant and voter-verifiable elections. Then, we identify “natural” strategies for the voter to obtain voter-verifiability, and measure the voter’s effort that they require. We also consider the dual view of graded security, measured by the complexity of the attacker’s strategy to compromise the relevant properties of the election.
Modelling human threats in security ceremonies1
Authors: Bella Giampaolo , Giustolisi Rosario , Schürmann Carsten
Published: April 2022

Socio-Technical Systems (STSs) combine the operations of technical systems with the choices and intervention of humans, namely the users of the technical systems. Designing such systems is far from trivial due to the interaction of heterogeneous components, including hardware components and software applications, physical elements such as tickets, user interfaces, such as touchscreens and displays, and notably, humans. While the possible security issues about the technical components are well known yet continuously investigated, the focus of this article is on the various levels of threat that human actors may pose, namely, the focus is on security ceremonies. The approach is to formally model human threats systematically and to formally verify whether they can break the security properties of a few running examples: two currently deployed Deposit-Return Systems (DRSs) and a variant that we designed to strengthen them. The two real-world DRSs are found to support security properties differently, and some relevant properties fail, yet our variant is verified to meet all the properties. Our human threat model is distributed and interacting: it formalises all humans as potential threatening users because they can execute rules that encode specific threats in addition to being honest, that is, to follow the prescribed rules of interaction with the technical system; additionally, humans may exchange information or objects directly, hence practically favour each other although no specific form of collusion is prescribed. We start by introducing four different human threat models, and some security properties are found to succumb against the strongest model, the addition of the four. The question then arises on what meaningful combinations of the four would not break the properties. This leads to the definition of a lattice of human threat models and to a general methodology to traverse it by verifying each node against the properties. The methodology is executed on our running example for the sake of demonstration. Our approach thus is modular and extensible to include additional threats, potentially even borrowed from existing works, and, consequently, to the growth of the corresponding lattice. STSs can easily become very complex, hence we deem modularity and extensibility of the human threat model as key factors. The current computer-assisted tool support is put to test but proves to be sufficient.
A multiple attribute decision-making three-way model at four-branch fuzzy environment
Authors: Wu Meiqin , Wang Xinsheng , Fan Jianping
Published: April 2022

Three-way decisions (TWDs) theory is one of the core ideas of decision-theoretic rough sets (DTRSs). Reviewing the existing research results, we find that TWDs provides us with more flexible decision choices. And the traditional fuzzy number does not take into account the absence of information (indifference) in the evaluation process. In order to construct a new model which can get flexible decision results in complex decision environment, we introduce four-branch fuzzy numbers (FBFNs) to describe the evaluation information, so that the decision-makers can express the evaluation information more comprehensively. In this paper, a novel TWDs model in four-branch fuzzy environment is proposed to solve multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) problem. The first challenge is to construct a TWDs model based on FBFNs and to develop a new linguistic interpretation of the loss functions. Then, we extend a method for aggregating the loss functions obtained from the attribute evaluation values. Finally, we use the nonlinear solution to solve the threshold, and apply TOPSIS method to solve the conditional probability of FBFNs. The effectiveness of this method is illustrated by an example, and the decision results are compared with a MADM method based on OWGA operator.
RETRACTED: A user-based topic model with topical word embeddings for semantic modelling in social network
Authors: Jin Xin
Published: April 2022

This article has been retracted. A retraction notice can be found at https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-219433.
Single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar Hamy mean aggregation operators and their application in multi-attribute decision making
Authors: Yuan Zhizhu , Hou Lijuan , Gao Zihuan , Wu Meiqin , Fan Jianping
Published: April 2022

Single-valued neutrosophic sets can efficiently depict a great deal of imprecise, uncertain and discordant information. Hamy mean operator can consider the interrelationships among multiple integrated arguments and Schweizer-Sklar operations express great flexibility in the process of information aggregation. To give full consideration to these advantages, we merge the Hamy mean operator with the Schweizer-Sklar operations in single-valued neutrosophic environment, proposing a single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar Hamy mean operator and a single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar weighted Hamy mean operator. Besides, we illustrate some specific cases and attributes of the two operators. Moreover, based on the entropy weight method and the single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar weighted Hamy mean operator, this paper presents a single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar entropic weighted Hamy mean method to tackle multi-attribute decision making problems. At last, the method and other three existing methods are applied to solve a practical multi-attribute decision making problem, which validates the credibility and validity of the single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar entropic weighted Hamy mean method by comparing the differences among them.
Using improved feature extraction combined with RF-KNN classifier to predict coal and gas outburst
Authors: Liu Xuning , Zhang Zixian , Zhang Guoying
Published: April 2022

Accurate and rapid prediction of the coal and gas outburst is very significant for preventing accident and protecting environment, the paper presents a novel feature selection and outburst classifier framework which can identify effective candidate features and improve the classification accuracy. First, Apriori is applied for preliminarily extracting the association rules from sample data and attribute features in coal and outburst, and it can present the effective sample data and features for outburst prediction. Second, in order to reduce the redundancy of the strong association rules obtained from Apriori, Boruta is applied for selecting all highly relevant optimal features based on the obtained strong association rules. Third, Random Forest(RF) is used to assign different weights to different features in optimal candidate features considering the importance of different features to outburst, based on the above obtained high-quality sample data and optimal features, the parameters of KNN model optimized by Bayesian Optimization(BO) is used to predict the coal and gas outburst. The experimental results show that the proposed feature selection model Apriori-Boruta can obtain significant sample data, and the proposed RF- KNN optimized classifier model can achieve higher performance in terms of the number of optimal features and prediction accuracy compared with traditional prediction models.
Frequency of cerclage in consecutive pregnancies of women with history of preterm birth
Authors: Khorshid Arian , Mayo Jonathan , Chueh Jane , Shaw Gary M. , Stevenson David , Ness Amen
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND: Serial cervical length screening is performed in women with a history of preterm birth to determine indication for cerclage placement. Our aim is to evaluate the frequency of cerclage placement in consecutive pregnancies with preterm birth history to determine whether performing serial cervical length screening for women with a history of late (34–36 6/7 weeks) spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) should be reconsidered. METHODS: Retrospective evaluation of cerclage frequency and gestational age of delivery for consecutive singleton births for 69,671 women whose first birth was a SPTB. RESULTS: History of late SPTB was associated with a lower frequency of cerclage than history of early SPTB (0.83% vs 4.88%, OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.14–0.18). Rates of recurrent SPTB were lower for women with history of late SPTB than those with history of early SPTB (13.45%, 3.74% early, 9.71% late vs 20.69%, 9.12% early, 11.57% late). CONCLUSION: Women with a history of late PTB have a lower risk of recurrent PTB than those with a history of early PTB but constitute most of those undergoing serial cervical length screening for potential cerclage placement. Practice guidelines for screening women with a history of late PTB should be re-evaluated.