bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The efficacy and safety of diterpene ginkgolides meglumine injection for cerebral infarction: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Li Jiaqi , Wang Haojia , Shi Rui , Zhang Xiaomeng , Lin Yifan , Cao Huijuan , Wu Jiarui
Published: January 2024

Objective:

To systemically evaluate the efficacy and safety of diterpene ginkgolides meglumine injection (DGMI) on cerebral infarction (CI).

Methods:

Comprehensively collect randomized controlled trials of DGMI in the treatment of CI in 7 databases including Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, the WanFang Database, the China Science and Technology Journal Database, and the China Biology Medicinedisc as of January 2023. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluated according to the criteria recommended by the Cochrane Handbook, then RevMan 5.3, Stata 12.0 software were used for Meta-analysis.

Results:

A total of 22 randomized controlled trials with 2194 patients were included. Meta analysis showed that: the total effective rate of treatment (relative risk = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (1.21, 1.38), P < .001), National Institute of Health stroke scale score, Barthel index and Modified Rankin Scale were better in DGMI group than in Conventional Western Medicine Treatment group. The included studies reported 42 adverse events, 25 of which belonged to DGMI groups.

Conclusion:

Available evidence suggested that DGMI can significantly improve the clinical efficiency in the treatment of CI. DGMI is an ideal treatment for CI, which has high clinical application value.
The Revival of US Hospital Care, 2004–2019
Authors: Quinn Kevin , Bredfeldt Christine
Published: January 2024

Background:

Between 2004 and 2019, the US hospital industry reversed the 21-year decline in its share of national health spending.

Objective:

To measure and explain changes in hospital utilization, cost, charges, and inpatient case mix.

Data Sources:

Principal sources were the American Hospital Association annual survey, the National Inpatient Sample, and the Healthcare Cost Reporting Information System. The study included all US community hospitals (n=5141 in 2019).

Analytic Approach:

We used factor decomposition to separate the impacts of population, utilization, unit cost, and charge markups on the growth in cost and charges for inpatient and outpatient care nationwide and for each state. For unit cost, we separated the impacts of input price inflation and treatment intensity. To measure the inpatient case mix, we applied an all-patient diagnosis-related groups algorithm.

Results:

Between 2004 and 2019, charges more than tripled to $4.11 trillion. The cost more than doubled to $911 billion. For inpatient care, discharges fell 5%, discharges per person fell 15%, cost per discharge increased 88%, and charge markups rose 43%. For outpatient care, visits rose 36%, visits per person rose 21%, cost per visit rose 119%, and charge markups rose 52%. Treatment intensity increased by 33% per discharge and 55% per visit. Nationwide, the inpatient case mix increased by 34%, reflecting sicker patients and better clinical documentation.

Conclusions:

We quantified 3 important trends: rapid growth in outpatient visits, increased treatment intensity, and sustained increases in markups. Increased treatment intensity was the largest factor behind $491 billion in hospital cost growth between 2004 and 2019.
Birth Care Gaps in the CHildbirth Options, Information, and person-Centered Explanation (CHOICEs) Measure
Authors: Goh Amy H. , Robinson Keisha , Craddock Jaih B. , Breman Rachel Blankstein
Published: January 2024

Purpose:

The objective of this study was to revise and improve the intrapartum items of the shared decision-making (SDM) measure, CHildbirth Options, Information and person-Centered Explanation (CHOICEs).

Study Design and Methods:

Methodological sequential triangulation was used to select a purposive sample of 29 people who gave birth in the United States between August 2019 and June 2021. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyze and interpret the data. We used an interview guide with questions related to the nine intrapartum items in CHOICEs to address the question: How did decision-making occur during your most recent birth?

Results:

Four major themes were identified: provider told me what to do; communication about interventions during labor and birth; preferences overlooked; multiple team members. Under the theme of provider told me what to do, there was one sub-theme of induction of labor.

Clinical Implications:

Participants noted lack of shared decision-making, poor communication, and obstetric violence. We found the need for perinatal providers to improve communication with birthing people on topics such as fetal monitoring, induction of labor, and multiple team members who may participate in their care. Revisions of CHOICEs will include seven new items to further address birth preferences, feeling heard, and multiple team members.
Artificial neural networks outperform linear regression in estimating 9-month patient-reported outcomes after upper extremity fractures with increasing number of variables
Authors: Brinkman Niels , Shah Romil , Doornberg Job , Ring David , Gwilym Stephen , Jayakumar Prakash
Published: January 2024

Objective:

To compare performance between linear regression (LR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models in estimating 9-month patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after upper extremity fractures using various subsets of early mental, social, and physical health variables.

Methods:

We studied 734 patients with isolated shoulder, elbow, or wrist fracture who completed demographics, mental and social health measures, and PROs at baseline, 2–4 weeks, and 6–9 months postinjury. PROs included 3 measures of capability (QuickDASH, PROMIS-UE-PF, PROMIS-PI) and one of pain intensity. We developed ANN and LR models with various selections of variables (20, 23, 29, 34, and 54) to estimate 9-month PROs using a training subset (70%) and internally validated them using another subset (15%). We assessed the accuracy of the estimated value being within one MCID of the actual 9-month PRO value in a test subset (15%).

Results:

ANNs outperformed LR in estimating 9-month outcomes in all models except the 20-variable model for capability measures and 20-variable and 23-variable models for pain intensity. The accuracy of ANN versus LR in the primary model (29-variable) was 83% versus 73% (Quick-DASH), 68% versus 65% (PROMIS-UE-PF), 66% versus 62% (PROMIS-PI), and 78% versus 65% (pain intensity). Mental and social health factors contributed most to the estimations.

Conclusion:

ANNs outperform LR in estimating 9-month PROs, particularly with a larger number of variables. Given the otherwise relatively comparable performance, aspects such as practicality of collecting greater sets of variables, nonparametric distribution, and presence of nonlinear correlations should be considered when deciding between these statistical methods.
Physical Realism of Simulation Training for Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries—A Systematic Review
Authors: Issa Moussa , Furia Francis , Whaiba Abdallah , Meaney Peter A. , Shilkofski Nicole , Donoghue Aaron , Lockey Andrew ,   on behalf of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare
Published: January 2024

This systematic review was conducted, according to PRISMA standards, to examine the impact of the level of physical realism of simulation training on clinical, educational, and procedural outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as defined by the World Bank. A search from January 1, 2011 to January 24, 2023 identified 2311 studies that met the inclusion criteria including 9 randomized (n = 627) and 2 case-controlled studies (n = 159). Due to the high risk of bias and inconsistency, the certainty of evidence was very low, and heterogeneity prevented any metaanalysis. We observed limited evidence for desirable effects in participant satisfaction and confidence, but no significant difference in skills acquisition and performance in the clinical practice environment. When considering the equivocal evidence and cost implications, we recommend the use of lower physical realism simulation training in LMIC settings. It is important to standardize outcomes and conduct more studies in lower income settings.
Isometric Yoga-Like Maneuvers Improve Adult Scoliosis
Authors: Fishman Loren M.
Published: January 2024

Goal:

Assess therapeutic value of yoga for thoracic, lumbar, and thoracolumbar adult scoliosis, taught in office or via the internet in this nonrandomized control study.

Study Design:

One hundred thirty-three adults were recruited from our metropolitan clinic; 100 did the recommended poses (mean age: 63.1 years; SD: 14.7), the treatment group, and 26 did not (mean age: 64.5; SD: 12.7), the control group. Seven were lost to follow-up. One hundred two patients were treated in office, 24 over the internet. Curve change was evaluated and serial Cobb angles read by blinded radiologists and analyzed using Mann-Whitney U, paired t tests and χ2 test.

Results:

During the trial period, mean lumbar and thoracolumbar Cobb angle decreased from 37.5° (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.0-56.7) to 30.0° (95% CI, 15.2-39.8) in the treatment group and increased from 23.5° (95% CI, 19.4-37.0) to 26.0° (95% CI, 20.2-40.0) in the control group. One treatment group and 3 control group patients worsened 1 category in their curves; 36 treatment and 0 control group patients improved 1 category; and 2 treatment group patients improved 2 categories (P = .000). Combining thoracic and thoracolumbar and lumbar curves, compliant office patients' curves went from 32.4° to 24.1° in 11.7 months improving 0.28% overall or 0.7° per month or 2.4% per month. Compliant patients seen via the internet improved from 49.4° initially to 37.3° or 24.5% over 10.75 months or 1.1° per month or 2.0% per month. Six of 88 patients seen in the office were noncompliant. About 15 of 25 patients seen via the internet were noncompliant.

Conclusion:

The side plank, half-moon, and elevated side plank positions show promise for reversing adult scoliosis. Compared with office visits, telemedicine had lower compliance but comparable efficacy.
A Quantitative Gait Assessment Approach Using a Wearable Device and Its Validation for Different Neurological Disorder Conditions
Authors: Jayashree L.S. , Madhana K. , Preethish Kumar V. , Swathi S. , Soundharyan P.
Published: January 2024

Improving independent mobility in people with various gait abnormalities is a major goal of rehabilitation therapy. While quantitative gait assessment is crucial to provide meaningful feedback on each treatment, many gait wearables have been validated with the standard method. However, none of the studies focused on validation of gait characterization in different classes of the pathological population compared with the control population. Hence, a novel wearable device called Gait Watch, worn on both the lower limbs, to estimate spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters of heterogeneous gait-impaired groups has been evaluated and its outcomes have been statistically analyzed. This article presents a statistical validation of gait dynamics of the control group and patients diagnosed with cerebral vascular accident, traumatic brain injury, peripheral nervous system, psychiatric issues, and seizures. Using the preliminary analysis results, a set of descriptive variables that allow for disease differentiation was selected to provide appropriate treatment to patients with various ailments and enhance their gait quality. The extraction of clinically significant gait parameters of interest using proposed Gait Watch would ascertain various neurological conditions as well as accurately quantify the extent of the difference in various gait parameters in subjects with different gait conditions when compared with the control group.
Exploring Physical and Cognitive Factors Impacting Life-Space Mobility in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Shinohara Tomoyuki , Saida Kosuke , Miyata Kazuhiro , Higuchi Daisuke , Usuda Shigeru
Published: January 2024

Aim:

To investigate the factors and impact strength affecting mobility in community-dwelling older adults using a general linear model that can adequately address the issue of variables' distribution for more robust results.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study involving 103 participants was conducted to identify the factors affecting the Life-Space Assessment scores using a general linear model based on the data imputed using the hot-deck method. A complete case analysis was performed as a sensitivity analysis.

Results and Conclusions:

Three factors associated with life-space mobility were included in the model: walking speed, pain, and cognitive function.
Chromosomal-level genome assembly of the long-spined sea urchinDiadema setosum(Leske, 1778)
Authors:   Hong Kong Biodiversity Genomics Consortium,   Project Coordinator and Co-Principal Investigators, Hui Jerome H.L. , Chan Ting Fung , Chan Leo L. , Cheung Siu Gin , Cheang Chi Chiu , Fang James K.H. , Gaitan-Espitia Juan D. , Lau Stanley C.K. , Sung Yik Hei , Wong Chris K.C. , Yip Kevin Y.L. , Wei Yingying ,   DNA extraction, library preparation and sequencing, So Wai Lok ,   Genome assembly and gene model prediction, Nong Wenyan ,   Sample collector, animal culture and logistics, Chui Apple P.Y. , Fong Thomas H.W. , Yip Ho Yin
Published: January 2024

The long-spined sea urchinDiadema setosumis an algal and coral feeder widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific and can cause severe bioerosion on the reef community. Nevertheless, the lack of genomic information has hindered the study its ecology and evolution. Here, we report the chromosomal-level genome (885.8 Mb) of the long-spined sea urchinD. setosumusing a combination of PacBio long-read sequencing and Omni-C scaffolding technology. The assembled genome contained scaffold N50 length of 38.3 Mb, 98.1 % of BUSCO (Geno, metazoa_odb10) genes, and with 98.6% of the sequences anchored to 22 pseudo-molecules/chromosomes. A total of 27,478 genes including 23,030 protein-coding genes were annotated. The high-quality genome ofD. setosumpresented here provides a significant resource for further understanding on the ecological and evolutionary studies of this coral reef associated sea urchin.
Chronic disturbance of moist tropical forests favours deciduous over evergreen tree communities across a climate gradient in the Western Ghats
Authors: Biswas Nayantara , Sadekar Vishal , Biniwale Siddharth , Taneja Yukti , Osuri Anand M , Page Navendu , Suryawanshi Kulbhushansingh , Naniwadekar Rohit
Published: January 2024

It is well established that climatic factors such as water stress and chronic anthropogenic disturbances such as biomass extraction influence tropical forest tree community structure, richness and composition. However, while the standalone effects of these two drivers on plant communities are well-studied, their interactive effects are not. Moist tropical forests in India’s Western Ghats face a dual threat from increasingly erratic precipitation (and consequent water stress), and an intensifying anthropogenic footprint. Here, we sampled 120 tree plots (0.05 ha each) across forests with varying histories of biomass extraction and a gradient in climate water deficit (CWD, a proxy for water stress) within a 15,000 km2landscape in the northern Western Ghats and examined whether and how disturbance history modulates relationships of tree community structure and composition with climate. As expected, tree species richness increased with decreasing water stress in less- and historically-disturbed forests but remained low in repeatedly-disturbed forests. The increase in evergreen species richness with decreasing water stress was far slower in repeatedly-disturbed forests than other categories, and the relative abundance of evergreens in the repeatedly-disturbed forests (25%) was half that in less-disturbed forests (50%) of comparable water stress in the driest parts. Overall, we show that disturbance can amplify threats from climate change to wet forest-associated evergreen tree species, many of which are threatened, while benefiting more widely distributed dry forest-associated deciduous species. In the northern Western Ghats, where much of the remaining forest cover is disturbed and dominated by deciduous tree species, the persistence of evergreen tree flora hinges on protecting existing evergreen forest patches from future disturbances and restoring locally appropriate evergreen species in secondary forests.
Co-occurrence Networks and Topological Analyses Revealed Microbiome Structures in Soybean Roots from a Louisiana Soybean Field Severely Damaged by Prolonged High Temperatures and Drought Stress
Authors: Gouli Sandeep , Majeed Aqsa , Liu Jinbao , Moseley David , Mukhtar M. Shahid , Ham Jong Hyun
Published: January 2024

Drought stress has a significant impact on agricultural productivity, affecting key crops such as soybeans, the second most widely cultivated crop in the United States. We conducted endophytic and rhizospheric microbial diversity analyses in soybean plants cultivated during the 2023 growing season, amid extreme weather conditions of prolonged high temperatures and drought in Louisiana. Specifically, we collected surviving and non-surviving soybean plants from two plots of a Louisiana soybean field severely damaged from the extreme heat and drought condition in 2023. We did not observe any significant difference in the microbial diversity of rhizosphere between surviving and non-surviving plants. However, we found obvious differences in the structure of endophytic microbial community in root tissues between the two plant conditions. Especially, the bacterial genera of Proteobacteria,PseudomonasandPantoea, were predominant in the surviving root tissues, while the bacterial genusStreptomyceswas conspicuously dominant in the non-surviving (dead) root tissues. Co-occurrence patterns and network centrality analyses enabled us to discern the intricate characteristics of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within endophytic and rhizospheric networks. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the intricate relationship between bacteria and plants under drought stress, paving the way for future research to investigate the importance of microbial diversity in drought affected regions such as Louisiana.
SLEDGe: Inference of ancient whole genome duplications using machine learning
Authors: Sutherland Brittany L. , Tiley George P. , Li Zheng , McKibben Michael TW , Barker Michael S.
Published: January 2024

Ancient whole-genome duplication--previous genome duplication events that have since been eroded via diploidization, are increasingly identified throughout eukaryotes. One of the constraints against large-scale studies of ancient eukaryotic WGD is the relatively large, high-quality datasets often needed to definitively establish ancient WGD events; alternatively, the more low-input method interpretation of genome-wide synonymous substitution rates (Ks plots) is prone to bias and inconsistency. We improve upon the shortcomings of the current Ks plot method by building a Ks plot simulator. This data-agnostic approach simulates common distributions found in Ks plots in the presence or absence of ancient WGD signatures. In conjunction with a machine-learning classifier, this approach can quickly assess the likelihood that transcriptomic and genomic data bear WGD signatures. On independently-generated synthetic data and real plant transcriptomic data, SLEDGE is capable of correctly identifying ancient WGD in 93-100% of samples. This approach can serve as a quick classification step in large-scale genomic analyses, identifying putative ancient polyploids for further study.
Decoration ofBurkholderiaHcp1 protein to virus-like particles as a vaccine delivery platform
Authors: Khakhum Nittaya , Baruch-Torres Noe , Stockton Jacob L. , Chapartegui-González Itziar , Badten Alexander J , Adam Awadalkareem , Wang Tian , Huerta-Saquero Alejandro , Yin Y. Whitney , Torres Alfredo G
Published: January 2024

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are protein-based nanoparticles frequently used as carrier in conjugate vaccine platforms. VLPs have been used to display foreign antigens for vaccination and to deliver immunotherapeutic against diseases. Hemolysin-coregulated proteins 1 (Hcp1) is a protein component of theBurkholderiatype 6 secretion system which participates in intracellular invasion and dissemination. This protein has been reported as a protective antigen and is used in multiple vaccine candidates with various platforms against melioidosis, a severe infectious disease caused by the intracellular pathogenB. pseudomallei. In this study, we used P22 VLPs as a surface platform for decoration with Hcp1 using chemical conjugation. C57BL/6 mice were intranasally immunized with three doses of either PBS, VLPs or conjugated Hcp1-VLPs. Immunization with Hcp1-VLPs formulation induced Hcp1-specific-IgG, IgG1, IgG2cand IgA antibody responses. Furthermore, the serum from Hcp1-VLPs immunized mice enhanced the bacterial uptake and opsonophagocytosis by macrophages in the presence of complement. This study demonstrated an alternative strategy to develop a VLPs-based vaccine platform againstBurkholderiaspecies.
Comparative analysis of retroviral Gag-host cell interactions: focus on the nuclear interactome
Authors: Lambert Gregory S. , Rice Breanna L. , Maldonado Rebecca J. Kaddis , Chang Jordan , Parent Leslie J.
Published: January 2024

Retroviruses exploit a variety of host proteins to assemble and release virions from infected cells. To date, most studies that examined possible interacting partners of retroviral Gag proteins focused on host proteins that localize primarily to the cytoplasm or plasma membrane. Given the recent findings that several full-length Gag proteins localize to the nucleus, identifying the Gag-nuclear interactome has high potential for novel findings that reveal previously unknown host processes. In this study, we systematically compared nuclear factors identified in published HIV-1 proteomic studies which had used a variety of experimental approaches. In addition, to contribute to this body of knowledge, we report results from a mass spectrometry approach using affinity-tagged (His6) HIV-1 and RSV Gag proteins mixed with nuclear extracts. Taken together, the previous studies—as well as our own—identified potential binding partners of HIV-1 and RSV Gag involved in several nuclear processes, including transcription, splicing, RNA modification, and chromatin remodeling. Although a subset of host proteins interacted with both Gag proteins, there were also unique host proteins belonging to each interactome dataset. To validate one of the novel findings, we demonstrated the interaction of RSV Gag with a member of the Mediator complex, Med26, which is required for RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription. These results provide a strong premise for future functional studies to investigate roles for these nuclear host factors that may have shared functions in the biology of both retroviruses, as well as functions specific to RSV and HIV-1, given their distinctive hosts and molecular pathology.
Contrasting Phyllosphere Mycobiome in two Lycopodiaceae Plant Species: Unraveling Potential HupA-Producing Fungi and Fungal Interactions
Authors: Lin Liqun , Li Cheng , Chang Chiung-Chih , Du Ran , Ji Jiaojiao , Kuo Li-Yaung , Wang Li , Chen Ko-Hsuan
Published: January 2024

Background

Huperzine A (HupA) is a natural lycopodium alkaloid renowned for its efficacy in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. It specifically occurs in the Huperzioideae subfamily of Lycopodiaceae. Fungi associated with Huperzioideae species are potential contributors to HupA biosynthesis, offering promising prospects for HupA production. However, limited knowledge of fungal diversity in lycophytes, coupled with decreased HupA production over time of fungal strains, has impeded the discovery and applications of HupA-producing fungi. Here, we investigated huperzine concentrations and the mycobiome across various tissues of two Lycopodiaceae species,Huperzia asiatica(a HupA producer) andDiphasiastrum complanatum(a non-HupA producer). Our objectives across the tissues of the two species are to unveil the distribution of potential HupA-producing fungi and elucidate fungal interactions within the mycobiome, aiming to uncover the role of HupA-producing fungi and pinpoint their potential fungal facilitators.

Results

Among the tissues,H. asiaticaexhibited the highest HupA concentration in apical shoots (360.27 μg/ml) whereasD. complanatumshowed no HupA presence in any tissue. We obtained 441 Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) fromH. asiaticaand 497 ASVs fromD. complanatum. The fungal communities in bulbils and apical shoots ofH. asiaticawere low in diversity and dominated by Sordariomycetes, a fungal class harboring the majority of reported HupA-producing fungi. Integrating bioinformatics with published experimental reports, we identified 27 potential HupA-producing fungal ASVs, primarily inH. asiatica, with 12 ASVs identified as hubs in the fungal interaction network, underscoring their pivotal roles in mycobiome stability. Members of certain fungal genera, such asPenicillium,Trichoderma,Dioszegia,Exobasidium,LycoperdonandCladosporiumexhibited strong connections with the potential HupA producers inH. asiatica’s network rather than inD. complanatum’s, implying their prospects as fungal facilitators in enhancing HupA production.

Conclusions

This study advances our knowledge of fungal diversity in Lycopodiaceae and provides insights into the search for potential HupA-producing fungi and fungal facilitators. It highlights the importance of exploring young tissues, and emphasizes the ecological interactions that promote the fungi-mediated production of complex bioactive compounds, offering new directions for research in fungal ecology and secondary metabolite production.
Quantitative characterization of run-and-tumble statistics in bulk bacterial suspensions
Authors: Zhao Yongfeng , Kurzthaler Christina , Zhou Nan , Schwarz-Linek Jana , Devailly Clemence , Arlt Jochen , Huang Jian-Dong , Poon Wilson C. K. , Franosch Thomas , Martinez Vincent A. , Tailleur Julien
Published: January 2024

We introduce a numerical method to extract the parameters of run-and-tumble dynamics from experimental measurements of the intermediate scattering function. We show that proceeding in Laplace space is unpractical and employ instead renewal processes to work directly in real time. We first validate our approach against data produced using agent-based simulations. This allows us to identify the length and time scales required for an accurate measurement of the motility parameters, including tumbling frequency and swim speed. We compare different models for the run-and-tumble dynamics by accounting for speed variability at the single-cell and population level, respectively. Finally, we apply our approach to experimental data on wild-type obtained using differential dynamic microscopy.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Slowdown of thermalization and the emergence of prethermal dynamics in disordered optical lattices
Authors: Pyrialakos Georgios G. , Wu Fan O. , Jung Pawel S. , Ren Huizhong , Makris Konstantinos G. , Musslimani Ziad H. , Khajavikhan Mercedeh , Kottos Tsampikos , Christodoulides Demetrios
Published: January 2024

By utilizing the theoretical tools of optical thermodynamics, we investigate thermalization in nonlinear disordered lattices beyond the diffusion regime. Even under extreme levels of disorder, we analytically predict the expected thermal value of entropy and the associated Rayleigh-Jeans distribution, once thermalization ensues. In this context, we reveal a crossover point of disorder beyond which we observe a pronounced slowdown of thermalization in a regime characterized by a logarithmic scaling of equilibration times. By employing the same analytical and numerical tools, we investigate the scaling of thermalization times with respect to both the number of sites and optical temperatures. By exploring the physics of the underlying nonequilibrium response, we unveil a multitude of emerging thermal phenomena, including the development of prethermal Rayleigh-Jeans states in the presence of an optical heat bath and the deceleration of self-heating in Floquet photonic lattices.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Asymptotically deterministic robust preparation of maximally entangled bosonic states
Authors: Piccolini Matteo , Giovannetti Vittorio , Lo Franco Rosario
Published: January 2024

We introduce a theoretical scheme to prepare a pure Bell singlet state of two bosonic qubits, in a way that is robust under the action of arbitrary local noise. Focusing on a photonic platform, the proposed procedure employs passive optical devices and a polarization insensitive, nonabsorbing, parity check detector in an iterative process which achieves determinism asymptotically with the number of repetitions. Distributing the photons over two distinct spatial modes, we further show that the elements of the related basis composed of maximally entangled states can be divided in two groups according to an equivalence based on passive optical transformations. We demonstrate that the parity check detector can be used to connect the two sets of states. We thus conclude that the proposed protocol can be employed to prepare any pure state of two bosons which are maximally entangled in either the internal degree of freedom (Bell states) or the spatial mode (NOON states).

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Bending the bonds: unveiling halogen interactions in the elastic polymorph of 2,5-bis(3-bromophenyl)furan
Authors: Dyk Konrad , Kinzhybalo Vasyl , Horak Yuriy , Butenko Serhii , Siczek Miłosz , Kamiński Daniel M.
Published: January 2024

This paper investigates the structural properties of 2,5-bis(3-bromophenyl)furan polymorphs, focusing on the halogen interactions and their influence on crystal mechanical properties. In this study, three different polymorphic modifications were obtained which crystallize in the orthorhombic system. Two of the polymorphs possess halogen interactions but only one exhibits elastic properties. Through X-ray diffraction, crystallographic analysis and computational modelling, intricate bromine-based halogen interactions and their impact on the packing arrangement and stability were revealed. The correlation between these interactions and crystal properties, including molecular arrangement and intermolecular forces, is explored. Understanding these relationships is vital for materials design and supramolecular chemistry, enabling the rational synthesis of tailored materials.
Using XAS to monitor radiation damage in real time and post-analysis, and investigation of systematic errors of fluorescence XAS for Cu-bound amyloid-β
Authors: Ekanayake Ruwini S. K. , Streltsov Victor A. , Best Stephen P. , Chantler Christopher T.
Published: January 2024

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a promising technique for determining structural information from sensitive biological samples, but high-accuracy X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) requires corrections of systematic errors in experimental data. Low-temperature XAS and room-temperature X-ray absorption spectro-electrochemical (XAS-EC) measurements of N-truncated amyloid-β samples were collected and corrected for systematic effects such as dead time, detector efficiencies, monochromator glitches, self-absorption, radiation damage and noise at higher wavenumber (k). A new protocol was developed using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data analysis for monitoring radiation damage in real time and post-analysis. The reliability of the structural determinations and consistency were validated using the XAS measurement experimental uncertainty. The correction of detector pixel efficiencies improved the fitting χ2 by 12%. An improvement of about 2.5% of the structural fitting was obtained after dead-time corrections. Normalization allowed the elimination of 90% of the monochromator glitches. The remaining glitches were manually removed. The dispersion of spectra due to self-absorption was corrected. Standard errors of experimental measurements were propagated from pointwise variance of the spectra after systematic corrections. Calculated uncertainties were used in structural refinements for obtaining precise and reliable values of structural parameters including atomic bond lengths and thermal parameters. This has permitted hypothesis testing.
Bis[1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolium] bis(μ-cis-1,2-diphenylethene-1,2-dithiolato-κ2
S,S′:κS)bis[(cis-1,2-diphenylethene-1,2-dithiolato-κ2
S,S′)iron(III)] dimethylformamide disolvate
Authors: Selvakumar Jayaraman , Arumugam Kuppuswamy
Published: January 2024

The molecular structure of the solvated title salt, (C21H25N2)2[Fe2(C14H10S2)4]·2C3H7NO reveals that the anion is situated on a crystallographic inversion center in the triclinic space group P\overline{1}. The title compound crystallizes utilizing a network of weak π-stacking interactions of phenyl rings pertaining to the dithiolene unit. Moreover, the acidic imidazolium H atoms [N—C(H)—N] display non-classical hydrogen-bonding interactions of the C—H...O type to the oxygen atoms of the N,N-dimethyl formamide solvent, and hydrogen atoms on the backbone of imidazolium rings display weak C—H...S interactions with the dithiolene sulfur atoms.
A Bayesian Inference-based approach for extracting driving data with implicit intention
Authors: Huang Ping , Ding Haitao , Chen Hong , Zhang Jianwei , Sun Zhenjia
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The growing availability of naturalistic driving datasets (NDDs) presents a valuable opportunity to develop various models for autonomous driving. However, while current NDDs include data on vehicles with and without intended driving behavior changes, they do not explicitly demonstrate a type of data on vehicles that intend to change their driving behavior but do not execute the behaviors because of safety, efficiency, or other factors. This missing data is essential for autonomous driving decisions. This study aims to extract the driving data with implicit intentions to support the development of decision-making models.

Design/methodology/approach

According to Bayesian inference, drivers who have the same intended changes likely share similar influencing factors and states. Building on this principle, this study proposes an approach to extract data on vehicles that intended to execute specific behaviors but failed to do so. This is achieved by computing driving similarities between the candidate vehicles and benchmark vehicles with incorporation of the standard similarity metrics, which takes into account information on the surrounding vehicles' location topology and individual vehicle motion states. By doing so, the method enables a more comprehensive analysis of driving behavior and intention.

Findings

The proposed method is verified on the Next Generation SIMulation dataset (NGSim), which confirms its ability to reveal similarities between vehicles executing similar behaviors during the decision-making process in nature. The approach is also validated using simulated data, achieving an accuracy of 96.3 per cent in recognizing vehicles with specific driving behavior intentions that are not executed.

Originality/value

This study provides an innovative approach to extract driving data with implicit intentions and offers strong support to develop data-driven decision-making models for autonomous driving. With the support of this approach, the development of autonomous vehicles can capture more real driving experience from human drivers moving towards a safer and more efficient future.
ID-SF-Fusion: a cooperative model of intent detection and slot filling for natural language understanding
Authors: Zhu Meng , Xu Xiaolong
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Intent detection (ID) and slot filling (SF) are two important tasks in natural language understanding. ID is to identify the main intent of a paragraph of text. The goal of SF is to extract the information that is important to the intent from the input sentence. However, most of the existing methods use sentence-level intention recognition, which has the risk of error propagation, and the relationship between intention recognition and SF is not explicitly modeled. Aiming at this problem, this paper proposes a collaborative model of ID and SF for intelligent spoken language understanding called ID-SF-Fusion.

Design/methodology/approach

ID-SF-Fusion uses Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT) and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) to extract effective word embedding and context vectors containing the whole sentence information respectively. Fusion layer is used to provide intent–slot fusion information for SF task. In this way, the relationship between ID and SF task is fully explicitly modeled. This layer takes the result of ID and slot context vectors as input to obtain the fusion information which contains both ID result and slot information. Meanwhile, to further reduce error propagation, we use word-level ID for the ID-SF-Fusion model. Finally, two tasks of ID and SF are realized by joint optimization training.

Findings

We conducted experiments on two public datasets, Airline Travel Information Systems (ATIS) and Snips. The results show that the Intent ACC score and Slot F1 score of ID-SF-Fusion on ATIS and Snips are 98.0 per cent and 95.8 per cent, respectively, and the two indicators on Snips dataset are 98.6 per cent and 96.7 per cent, respectively. These models are superior to slot-gated, SF-ID NetWork, stack-Prop and other models. In addition, ablation experiments were performed to further analyze and discuss the proposed model.

Originality/value

This paper uses word-level intent recognition and introduces intent information into the SF process, which is a significant improvement on both data sets.
Determinants of engagement with and of stakeholders in CSR decision-making: a stakeholder perspective
Authors: Ghezal Rim
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study aims to explore the determinants of engagement with and of stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

Using stakeholder theory, this study is mainly based on business ethics and CSR literature to develop a model depicting social and organizational contextual factors for engagement in the context of CSR decision-making.

Findings

This study identifies nine antecedents for engagement with and of stakeholders in CSR decision-making. Based on stakeholder perspective, the author explores how engagement constructs are influenced at both social and organizational levels by the determinants stakeholder pressure, stakeholder roles, stakeholder resources, stakeholder relationships, stakeholder management, two-way communication, procedural justice, interactional justice and stakeholder proactive strategy.

Practical implications

This study provides insights for companies regarding the determinants underlying engagement to reflect its importance in the context of CSR decision-making.

Social implications

A better understanding of the determinants of engagement is critical because engagement contributes to achieving “win-win” solutions that ensure increased stakeholder satisfaction.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is one of the first to explore the determinants of engagement with and of stakeholders in CSR decision-making at both social and organizational levels by referring to stakeholder theory.
Assessment of shear band evolution using discrete element modelling
Authors: Yang Yang , Tian Yinghui , Yang Runyu , Zhang Chunhui , Wang Le
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to quantitatively assess shear band evolution by using two-dimensional discrete element method (DEM).

Design/methodology/approach

The DEM model was first calibrated by retrospectively modelling existing triaxial tests. A series of DEM analyses was then conducted with the focus on the particle rotation during loading. An approach based on particle rotation was developed to precisely identify the shear band region from the surrounding. In this approach, a threshold rotation angle ω0 was defined to distinguish the potential particles inside and outside the shear band and an index g(ω0) was introduced to assess the discrepancy between the rotation response inside and outside shear band. The most distinct shear band region can be determined by the ω0 corresponding to the peak g(ω0). By using the proposed approach, the shear band development of two computational cases with different typical localised failure patterns were successfully examined by quantitatively measuring the inclination angle and thickness of shear band, as well as the microscopic quantities.

Findings

The results show that the shear band formation is stress-dependent, transiting from conjugated double shear bands to single shear band with confining stress increasing. The shear band evolution of two typical localised failure modes exhibits opposite trends with increasing strain level, both in inclination angle and thickness. Shear band featured a larger volumetric dilatancy and a lower coordination number than the surrounding. The shear band also significantly disturbs the induced anisotropy of soil.

Originality/value

This paper proposed an approach to quantitatively assess shear band evolution based on the result of two-dimensional DEM modelling.
Trajectories of depletion following witnessing incivility toward women: a time-lagged study
Authors: Arena Jr. David F. , Jones Kristen P. , Lindsey Alex P. , Sabat Isaac E. , DuBois Hayden T. , Tripathy Shovna C.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The authors aim to broaden the understanding of incivility through the lens of bystanders who witness incivility toward women. Integrating attributional ambiguity and emotional contagion theories with the literature on workplace mistreatment, the authors propose that witnessing incivility toward women may negatively impact bystanders.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected multi-wave data from 324 employees to assess the consequences of witnessing incivility toward women at work for bystanders.

Findings

Utilizing a serial mediation model, the authors found evidence that witnessing incivility toward women indirectly increased turnover intentions six weeks later, first through elevated negative affect and then through increased cognitive burnout.

Originality/value

Taken together, this study's findings suggest that the negative effects of incivility toward women can spread to bystanders and highlight the importance of considering individuals who are not directly involved, but simply bear witness to incivility at work.
Understanding why do we stay in our jobs? A bibliometric and content analysis of job embeddedness in the past two decades (2001–2021)
Authors: Majumdarr Shubh , Dasgupta Shilpee A.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Job embeddedness is considered crucial for organizational success, as it promotes social capital and helps to reduce turnover. A holistic review of job embeddedness remains elusive despite gaining researchers' and practitioners' attention. Therefore, this study aims to synthesize the past literature to understand the concepts and emerging themes in the domain. Further, it helps identify future research avenues and proposes a comprehensive conceptual framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used bibliographic data of 263 Scopus-indexed publications from inception, i.e. 2001 to 2021, which were subsequently analyzed using diverse bibliometric and content analysis (TCCM) framework and software like Microsoft Excel, Vosviewer and “Biblioshiny” package in R language.

Findings

The study analyzes the domain via performance analysis which sheds light on the increasing publication trends and different significant contributors (authors, publications, countries, journals and universities). Science mapping techniques such as keyword analysis identifies author keyword evolution and trends. The content analysis showcases the dominance of diverse psychological theories applied in the domain. Also, the bibliographic-coupling analysis highlights major clusters and associated research publications. The study provides future research avenues, followed by a conceptual framework highlighting the antecedents, moderators and outcomes of job embeddedness.

Originality/value

This study is the first bibliometric and content analysis exploring job embeddedness and will aid in developing a comprehensive understanding of the research topic.
Exploring the critical success factors of information security management: a mixed-method approach
Authors: Chen Hao , Hai Yuge
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Effective information security management (ISM) contributes to building a healthy organizational digital ecology. However, few studies have built an analysis framework for critical influencing factors to discuss the combined influence mechanism of multiple factors on ISM performance (ISMP). This study aims to explore the critical success factors and understand how these factors contribute to ISMP.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a mixed-method approach to achieve this study’s research goals. In Study 1, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis to take a series of International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission standard documents as the basis to refine the critical factors that may influence organizations’ ISMP. In Study 2, the authors built a research model based on the organizational control perspective and used the survey-based partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to understand the relationships between these factors in promoting ISMP. In Study 3, the authors used the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to empirically analyze the complex mechanisms of how the combinations of the factors affect ISMP.

Findings

The following three research findings are obtained. First, based on the text-based qualitative analysis, the authors refined the critical success factors that may increase ISMP, including information security policies (ISP), top management support (TMS), alignment (ALI), information security risk assessment (IRA), information security awareness (ISA) and information security culture (ISC). Second, the PLS-SEM testing results confirmed TMS is the antecedent variable motivating organization’s formation (ISP) and information control (ISC) approaches; these two types of organization control approaches increase IRA, ISA and ALI and then promote ISMP directly and indirectly. Third, the fsQCA testing results found two configurations that can achieve high ISMP and one driving path that leads to non-high ISMP.

Originality/value

This study extends knowledge by exploring configuration factors to improve or impede the performances of organizations’ ISM. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to explore the use of the fsQCA approach in information security studies, and the results not only revealed causal associations between single factors but also highlighted the critical role of configuration factors in developing organizational ISMP. This study calls attention to information security managers of an organization should highlight the combined effect between the factors and reasonably allocate organizational resources to achieve high ISMP.