bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Q.Clear reconstruction for dynamic 18F PET imaging
Authors: Lysvik Elisabeth Kirkeby , Mikalsen Lars Tore Gyland , Rootwelt-Revheim Mona-Elisabeth , Emblem Kyrre Eeg , Hjørnevik Trine
Published: June 2023

Background
Q.Clear, a Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction algorithm, has shown high potential in improving quantitation accuracy in PET systems. The Q.Clear algorithm controls noise during the iterative reconstruction through a β penalization factor. This study aimed to determine the optimal β-factor for accurate quantitation of dynamic PET scans.
Methods
A Flangeless Esser PET Phantom with eight hollow spheres (4–25 mm) was scanned on a GE Discovery MI PET/CT system. Data was reconstructed into five sets of variable acquisition times using Q.Clear with 18 different β-factors ranging from 100 to 3500. The recovery coefficient (RC), coefficient of variation (CVRC) and root mean square error (RMSERC) were evaluated for the phantom data. Two male patients with recurrent glioblastoma were scanned on the same scanner using 18F-PSMA-1007. Using an irreversible 2-tissue compartment model, the area under curve (AUC) and the net influx rate Ki were calculated to assess the impact of different β-factors on the pharmacokinetic analysis of clinical PET brain data.
Results
In general, RC and CVRC decreased with increasing β-factor in the phantom data. For small spheres (< 10mm), and in particular for short acquisition times, low β-factors resulted in high variability and an overestimation of measured activity. Increasing the β-factor improves the variability, however at a cost of underestimating the measured activity. For the clinical data, AUC decreased and Ki increased with increased β-factor; a change in β-factor from 300 to 1000 resulted in a 25.5% increase in the Ki.
Conclusion
In a complex dynamic dataset with variable acquisition times, the optimal β-factor provides a balance between accuracy and precision. Based on our results, we suggest a β-factor of 300–500 for quantitation of small structures with dynamic PET imaging, while large structures may benefit from higher β-factors.
Trial registration:
Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03951142. Registered 5 October 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03951142. EudraCT no 2018-003229-27. Registered 26 February 2019, https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2018-003229-27/NO.
Towards Connection-Scalable RNIC Architecture
Authors: Kang Ning , Wang Zhan , Yang Fan , Ma Xiaoxiao , Ma Zhenlong , Yuan Guojun , Tan Guangming
Published: June 2023

RDMA is a widely adopted optimization strategy in datacenter networking that surpasses traditional kernel-based TCP/IP networking through mechanisms such as kernel bypass and hardware offloading. However, RDMA also faces a scalability challenge with regard to connection management due to limited on-chip memory capacity in the RDMA Network Interface Card (RNIC). This necessitates the storage of connection context within RNIC's memory and considerable performance degradation when maintaining a large number of connections.
In this paper, we propose a novel RNIC microarchitecture design that achieves peak performance with scalable connections. First, we model RNIC and identify two key factors that degrade performance when connections scale: head-of-line blocking when accessing the connection context and connection context dependency in transmission processing. To address the head-of-line blocking problem, we then combine a non-blocking connection requester and connection context management module to process prepared connections first, which achieves peak message rate when connections scale. Besides, to eliminate connection context dependency in RNIC, we deploy a latency-hiding connection context scheduling strategy, maintaining low latency when the number of connections increases. We implement and evaluate our design, demonstrating its successful maintenance of peak message rate (66.4Mop/s) and low latency (3.89us) while scaling to over 50k connections with less on-chip memory footprint.
Quiet quitting among employees: a proposed cut-off score for the “Quiet Quitting” Scale
Authors: Galanis Petros , Katsiroumpa Aglaia , Vraka Irene , Konstantakopoulou Olympia , Moisoglou Ioannis , Gallos Parisis , Kaitelidou Daphne
Published: June 2023

OBJECTIVE To identify an appropriate cut-off point for the “Quiet Quitting” Scale (QQS) to discriminate quiet quitters from those with a low level of quiet quitting.
METHOD We conducted a cross-sectional in Greece during June 2023. We recruited adult employees from every job sector. Thus, we obtained a convenience sample. We used the Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis to calculate the best cut-off point for the QQS. In that case, we used “Job Satisfaction Survey” (JSS), “Copenhagen Burnout Inventory” (CBI), “Single Item Burnout” (SIB) measure, and turnover intention score as external criterions. For each criterion, we created a dichotomous variable using medians or suggested values from the literature as cut-off points.
RESULTS We found a significant predictive power of QQS for job satisfaction assessed by JSS, and for job burnout assessed by CBI and SIB measure. We found that the best cut-off point for the QQS was 2.06. In that case, we found the highest values for Youden’s index (0.34) and AUC (0.73). The 95% confidence interval for the AUC ranged from 0.70 to 0.76. Sensitivity and specificity of QQS were 0.68 and 0.66 respectively (p<0.001). Therefore, we considered employees with QQS score ≥2.06 as quiet quitters, and those with QQS score <2.06 as non quiet quitters.
CONCLUSIONS The best cut-off point for the QQS was 2.06. Employees with QQS score ≥2.06 as quiet quitters can be described as quiet quitters. Further research should be conducted to validate our results.
Text-Controlled GAN Inversion for Image Editing
Authors: Dere Vedant , Shinde Amita , Vast Prachi
Published: June 2023

This paper presents an optimization-based approach that allows for text-based image editing using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with preserving specific details of the image. While recent Diffusion Models can generate images using text by training with text and image pairs, GANs are trained only with images, making it challenging to control the latent space according to text prompts. Therefore, this paper introduces two-step pivotal mechanisms that enable text instructions for StyleGAN in the latent space while maintaining the original image information during editing. This approach simplifies the editing process and eliminates the need for separate training to get the particular direction in the latent space. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of this method with diverse input images and written text prompts, showing compelling editing results.
Security-enhanced firmware management scheme for smart home IoT devices using distributed ledger technologies
Authors: Wijesundara W M A B , Lee Joong-Sun , Tith Dara , Aloupogianni Eleni , Suzuki Hiroyuki , Obi Takashi
Published: June 2023

With the increase of IoT devices generating large amounts of user sensitive data, improper firmware harms users' security and privacy. Latest home appliances are integrated with features to assure compatibility with smart home IoT. However, applying complex security mechanisms to IoT is limited by device hardware capabilities, making them vulnerable to attacks. Such attacks have recently become frequent. To address this issue, we developed a secure verification mechanism for firmware released by the device's manufacturer. We proposed an IoT gateway for secure firmware verification and updating for smart home IoT devices utilizing the IOTA MAM (Masked Authenticated Messaging) protocol and a distributed file system with IPFS (Inter-Planetary File System) protocol. These two communication protocols ensure decentralized communication and firmware file distribution between the IoT device vendor and the IoT end device. The proposed scheme securely shares latest firmware content over IOTA and IPFS networks, performs a secure firmware update on IoT end devices and ensures authenticity and integrity of the firmware. Two types of validation methods were proposed for firmware updating and validation. We implemented the proposed scheme using three entities, Vendor, IoT gateway, and IoT end device. Our system yielded promising results in performing secure automated firmware updates on IoT end devices with very low computational power. The system's functionality was implemented using IOTA's MAM run on Raspberry-Pi as an IoT gateway along with an ESP8266 Wi-Fi microcontroller, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach. Our proposed methodology can be used for secure firmware distribution on home IoT applications.
Hyperparameter Optimization for Deep NeuralNetwork Models: A Comprehensive Study onMethods and Techniques
Authors: Roy Sunita , Mehera Ranjan , Pal Rajat Kumar , Bandyopadhyay Samir Kumar
Published: June 2023

Advancements in computing and storage technologies have significantly contributed to the adoption of deep learning (DL)-based models among machinelearning (ML) experts. Although a generic model can be used in the search fora near-optimal solution in any problem domain, what makes these DL modelscontext-sensitive is the combination of the training data and the hyperparameters. Due to the lack of inherent explainability of DL models the HyperparameterOptimization (HPO) or tuning specific to each model is a combination of art,science, and experience. In this article, we have explored various existing methods or ways to identify the optimal set of values for the hyperparameters specificto the DL models along with the techniques to realize those methods in real-lifesituations. The article also includes a detailed comparative study among variousstate-of-the-art HPO techniques using the Keras Tuner tuning toolkit and highlights the observations describing how the model performance can be improvedby applying various HPO techniques.
An image copyright authentication model based on blockchain and digital watermarking
Authors: Xiaosheng Huang , Yi Wu
Published: June 2023

This paper proposes an image copyright authentication model that combines blockchain technology, digital watermarking, IPFS(InterPlanetary File System) and perceptual hash function , aiming to solve the secure storage problem of watermark images in digital image copyright authentication. This paper designs a spatial domain watermarking algorithm to implement watermark embedding and detection, and verifies its imperceptibility and correctness through experiments. This paper also uses the content addressing feature of IPFS and perceptual hash function to obtain a unique identifier, and records it on the blockchain to achieve secure storage and distribution of watermark images, and adopts image encryp-tion technology to make them visible but unreadable to unauthorized visitors. The innovation of this paper lies in proposing a digital image copyright authen-tication model that combines multiple technologies, which can effectively protect watermark images from tampering, leakage and infringement.
Optimizing daylighting performance for educational buildings by using parametric material system.
Authors: Oraby Hoda Abd Elmonem Abd Allah , El-Borombaly Prof. Dr. Hossam , Fatah Motaz Abd El
Published: June 2023

The research aims to comparative analytical study of different parametric materials systems to reduce the energy consumed in an educational building because Energy efficiency is a low-cost way to save money, support modern teaching methods, reduce pollution, Create Tertiary Education buildings that are either of top quality or interesting, or ideally both. Although educational building consumes a lot of energy—and money There are many new types of building materials and techniques being used in architecture and engineering, with new advancements in materials and technology, some even taking new spins on ancient practices. materials and techniques that could be useful for the future of buildings and spaces. to find more effective and sustainable ways to design and engineer products, buildings, and service systems[i] The way parametric systems operate can be applied to architecture to lessen its environmental impact and to increase its efficiency. These attempts to investigate a new strategy for environmental design which are derived from the evolutionary development of smart systems, from their material properties and from their adaptive response to changes in their environment is achieved through an attempt of merging; smart, kinetic material systems and architecture, exploring their potential in developing a more comfortable and much more energy efficient architecture.
Off-road environment Localization of unmanned vehicles based on Visual-Inertial
Authors: Li Jingbo , Firkat Eksan , Zhu Bin , Zhu Jihong , Hamdulla Askar
Published: June 2023

Nowadays, simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM), as one of the basic problems of autonomous driving technology, is used in more and more scenarios and fields, such as robot exploration, driverless cars, VR (virtual reality) ,and AR (augmented reality). However, most of the simultaneous localization and mapping studies in the past were conducted in a structured environment, and there was a lot of room for improvement in the performance in the complex environment in the field. In this paper, a visualization monocular visual-inertial odometry consisting of a monocular camera and an inertial measurement unit is introduced, and the front end of the system can operate robustly in the environment of large changes in field light, low texture and bumpy roads by fusing visual information and inertial measurement unit information at the front end, and using nonlinear optimization at the back end. The method in the paper can accurately measure six degrees of freedom (DOF) by combining only a monocular camera and an inertial measurement unit. We verified the performance of the algorithm on the public datasets ROOAD and EuRoC. The results are compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms to show that our method can indeed operate robustly in the field environment and surpass the best performing algorithms in EuRoC.
Combining Multiagent Systems with IoT forSmarter Buildings and Cities: a literature review
Authors: Luzolo Pedro Hilário , Galland Stéphane , Elrawashdeh Zeina , Outay Fatma , Tchappi Igor
Published: June 2023

The Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two technologiesthat have long been applied to the development of smart systems. These systemscover various areas, such as smart cities, energy management, autonomous cars,etc. Intelligence, autonomy, and real-time monitoring are the fundamental ele-ments that characterize these application areas. The convergence of multi-agentsystems (MAS), IoT, and AI has opened up new possibilities for creating smarterbuildings and cities. This integration leverages the power of MAS to enable intelli-gent communication and collaboration among various entities, while IoT providesa vast network of interconnected sensors and devices that collect and transmitreal-time data. On the other hand, AI algorithms process and analyze this data toderive valuable insights and make informed decisions. Multi-agent systems tech-nology is one of the most used for the implementation of such intelligent systems.This article aims to focus on multi-agent systems, although it also covers otherrelated topics by carrying out a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on relevantresearch works in the previous ten years. Eleven research questions are consideredat the beginning of the review, including typical research topics and applicationdomains. From the SLR results the research directions are: (i) Development ofa methodology that shows how to integrate the different applications indepen-dent of the scenarios that are deployed in. Additionally, elaboration of the toolsused in the integration process; (ii) Deployment of an agent in a microprocessor; (iii) How to implement and connect Multi-agent systems (MAS) technology andInternet of Things (IoT) devices (processors, controllers, sensors, and actuators).
LM-UNet: Lateral MLP Augmented U-Net for Medical Image Segmentation
Authors: Qiu Haitao , Shi Cao
Published: June 2023

With the rapid development and popularization of medical imaging equipment, imaging technology has been widely used in clinical practice, and it has become an indispensable aid for disease diagnosis, surgical planning, and prognosis assessment. Medical images often play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment process. In this work, we propose a segmentation model applied to clinically informative medical images, which utilizes a multi-scale hybrid multilayer perceptron (MLP) to establish the connection between local and global information.
A hierarchical encoder-decoder architecture based on U-Net and MLP network is proposed. The designed tokenized feature maps, in the Lateral-MLP architecture (LM-UNet), are utilized as lateral connections in multiple levels. The output tokenized sequences inherently have non-local relationships. Hence, it is capable of capturing multi-scale global features, and meanwhile enhancing the boundary information. We have implemented the segmentation experiments on three publicly available datasets. Our LM-UNet outperforms the UNeXt model, achieving an average Dice improvement of 2.07\%, 2.48\% and 0.11\% on the ISIC 2018, OAI-ZIB 2D and BUSI datasets, respectively.
This study improves the accuracy and generalization of medical image segmentation. This study explores the merits of MLP sequences and convolution features. The integration of U-Net and MLP-Mixer blocks achieves the improvement on segmentation accuracy in practical medical applications.
Quantum Mechanical Investigation of the Structural Stability, pressure-induced Thermoelectric response, Electronic and optical behavior of SrZrO3 under Extreme Conditions
Authors: Rizwan Muhammad , Ullah Hafiz Muhammad Naeem , Ali Syed Shahbaz , Hira Uzma , Naeem Hamza , Usman Zahid
Published: June 2023

The mechanical stability, band gap enhancement, optical response and impact of pressure on thermoelectric figure of merit are considered vital parameters from thermoelectric device’s perspective based on SrZrO3 (SZO). The knowledge of elastic constant expressed structural stability of SZO (cubic symmetry) even at elevated pressures. Cauchy’s pressure and Poisson’s ratios demonstrated brittle behavior of SZO till 10GPa, and it transformed to ductile material for higher pressures. The topology of electronic band structure and its pressure effects are discussed with the help of density of states. Optical properties expressed significant shifting to higher energy values as a function of pressure. Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity showed an increasing trend with the application of external pressure, with no significant change in their graphical behavior from its ambient conditions. The lowest value of ZT is obtained at 40GPa. The structural stability and sustained thermoelectric behavior at higher pressure declares SZO as ideal candidate for energy applications at extreme conditions.
Magnetic Oxide Nano-Porous Adsorbents: A Highly Efficient Approach for Acid Fuchsin Removal from Medical Laboratory Effluents via Adsorption Process
Authors: Ahmed Harez , Shwan Dler , Agha Nian , Radha Fuad Hama Sharif
Published: June 2023

Natural clay minerals offer a straightforward and industrially efficient pathway for the large-scale production of active silica materials exhibiting diverse morphologies and functions. However, the presence of magnetic oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4), enriched with metal ions, generated during this process has led to their classification as contaminants in laboratory effluents due to their specific adsorption of Acid Fuchsin Dye (AFD) in aqueous solutions. This study focuses on the characterization of clay minerals, particularly examining the interlayer spacing in smectites. Notably, the synthesis of Magnetic Oxide Nano-Porous Clay (MONPC) results in an approximate doubling of the specific surface area from 10.02 to m2 g-1 compared to natural clay. The findings suggest a significant impregnation of Fe3O4 within the Natural Clay (NC) matrix. The impregnated and natural clay samples were comprehensively characterized using XRD, SEM-EDS, FTIR, and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques, confirming the presence of a porous surface structure with a high surface area. Utilizing an adsorbent concentration of 0.1 g/L, MONPC achieved complete removal of AFD from initial dye solutions with a 400 mg/L concentration which is attributed to the strong H-bonding ability of MNOPC with AFD dye as indicated by adsorption mechanism study. The adsorption capacity of AFD onto MONPC reached equilibrium within 60 to 120 minutes, with an initial pH of 9. The Pseudo-Second-Order model accurately depicted the chemisorption process of AFD adsorption, while the Freundlich isotherm model consistently provided a superior fit to the data compared to the Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analysis of the MONPC adsorbent demonstrated that the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous, with significant entropic changes at the solid-liquid interface. These results suggest that the adsorption of AFD dye onto MONPC was favorable in terms of enthalpy but unfavorable in terms of entropy. Considering the high surface area and enhanced adsorption capacity of MONPC, it exhibits tremendous potential as a promising adsorbent for the removal of AFD in wastewater treatment applications.
From mechanism to application: decrypting light-regulated denitrifying microbiome through geometric deep learning
Authors: Liao Yang , Bian Jiyong , Zhao Jing , Zhang Ziwei , Xu Siqi , Qin Yijian , Luo Xuan , Miao Shiyu , Li Rui , Liu Ruiping , Zhang Meng , Zhu Wenwu , Liu Huijuan , Qu Jiuhui
Published: June 2023

Background: Regulation on denitrifying microbiomes is crucial for sustainable industrial biotechnology and ecological nitrogen cycling. The holisticgenetic profiles of microbiomes can be provided by meta-omics. However, precise decryption and further applications of highly complex microbiomes and corresponding meta-omics datasets remain great challenges.
Results: Here, we combined optogenetics and geometric deep learning, following the discover-model-learn-advance (DMLA) cycle, that successfully decrypted light-regulated denitrifying microbiomes and validated the model predictions in the wet lab. Graph neural networks (GNNs) exhibited superior performance in integrating gene expression and subcellular information to identify co-expressed gene panels. Enrichment analysis on critical gene panels successfully predicted the co-expression between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen metabolism, as well as the divergent secretion system. Yellow light centralized metabolism fluxes to synthesize protein and increased the extracellular protein concentrations by 83.8%. Contrariwise, blue light decentralized the metabolism fluxes to secrete bioactive substances like secondary metabolites, cofactors and vitamins. The topological network of gene panels guided the scientific discovery of nitrate-superoxide co-regulation and biotechnology development that utilize superoxide to facilitate nitrate removal and realized 99.9% enhancement.
Conclusions: Overall, our study showcased the potential of GNNs-empowered optogenetic approaches for regulating denitrification and accelerating the mechanistic discovery of microbiomes for in-depth research and versatile applications.
Variability of Fungal Detection in the Airways of Horses With and Without Clinical Signs, According to the Sample Site and Analytical Methods
Authors: Lemonnier Louise Claire , Couroucé Anne , Cessans Margot , Petit Ludovic , Cardwell Jacqueline M. , Barbazanges Pauline , Toquet Marie-Pierre , Richard Eric A.
Published: June 2023

Fungi detection in equine airways may be performed on either tracheal wash (TW) or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by either cytology or culture. However, method comparisons are sparse. The objective was to determine the prevalence of fungi in airways of horses with or without respiratory clinical signs, according to the sample site and laboratory methodology. Sixty-two adult horses, investigated in the field or referred for respiratory disease, were included.TW and BALF were collected from each lung separately through a videoendoscope. Fungi were detected by cytology and culture. Overall prevalence of fungi was of 91.9% in TW and 37.1% in BALF. Fungi were positively cultured from 82.3% TW and 20.9% BALF. Fungal elements were observed by cytology in 69.4% TW and 22.6% BALF. Prevalence of fungi was not significantly different between horses with or without clinical signs. In 50%of horses, the same fungi were detected in both TW and hay, but fungi detected in BALF and hay did not correspond for any horse. Poor agreement was found between TW and BALF and between culture and cytology (Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ) < .20). Moderate agreement was found between cytology of left/right lungs (κ = .47). The prevalence of fungi by cytology on pooled BALF was significantly different (p = .023) than on combined left + right BALF. A high prevalence of fungi was detected in the lower respiratory tract of horses, particularly in the TW. Hay might not be the primary source of fungi of the lower respiratory tract of horses.
Comparative Study on Seismic Behaviour of RC Structure with Framed Tube Structure and Shear Wall for Different Stories
Authors: Sutar Sourabh , Patil Rahul D.
Published: June 2023

This paper presents a comparative study on the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) structures with framed tube systems and shear walls for different numbers of stories. Using ETABS software, the study intends to assess how well these structural systems perform when subjected to seismic and wind loads. The study focuses on tall structures in a particular seismic zone. Buildings with varied story counts (40, 50, and 60) and a standard area of 1600m2 (40m x 40m) are included in the analysis. Storey displacements for both lateral load resisting systems were evaluated. The Response Spectrum Method was used to analyse the structure. The results show that the framed tube structure exhibits superior seismic resistance compared to the shear wall system. It exhibits reduced displacements, higher drift ratios, base shear forces, and enhanced structural ductility. These results suggest that the framed tube structure can be a practical substitute for tall buildings in seismic areas. To avoid excessive deformation and failure, it is important to remember that sufficient stiffness and strength must be guaranteed in the design of framed tube structures. Future studies should also investigate how material characteristics, loading patterns, and interactions between the earth and the structure affect how seismically stable these structures are. This study has important implications for high-rise building design and construction in seismic areas. The framed tube structure's better earthquake resilience demonstrates how reliable a solution it may be.
A Productive Friction: Leveraging Misalignments Between Local Ecological Knowledge and Remotely Sensed Imagery for Forest Conservation Planning
Authors: Clark Matthew C , Hamad Haji Massoud , Andrews Jeffrey , Kolarik Nicholas , Hopping Kelly , Hillis Vicken , Mulder Monique Borgerhoff
Published: June 2023

Both satellites and nearly 2 billion forest-proximate peoples continually monitor Earth’s forests. Generally, the satellite record summarizes production estimates, such as percent tree cover, at regular, relatively coarse scales. Conversely, local perceptions tend to capture changes at irregular and very fine scales. While the utility of both of these sources of information has been widely demonstrated in isolation, little work has explored how they might be systematically and quantitatively integrated. Here, we collect gridded information on community perceived and remotely sensed mangrove cover change across 719 0.5-km grids in Pemba Island, Tanzania. We reveal variation in the association between these two data sources across different wards (shehia) and explore the reasons for this variation using interviews and direct observation. We find that shehia with the greatest alignment between perceived and remotely sensed mangrove change tended to have little planting or natural regeneration of mangrove propagules and large areas of complete cover loss. Alternatively, in shehia with the lowest alignment, we find high levels of natural and/or human-assisted mangrove recolonization and selective harvesting of individual trees and branches. Finally, we demonstrate a practical workflow for quantitatively leveraging these misalignments by optimizing across both data sources to identify restoration priority areas.
Prevalence of Ocular, Adnexal and Orbital Trauma at Three Areas in Different Tertiary Care Centers in Karachi.
Authors: Qidwai Nazia , Hayat Nausheen , Alkhairy Saba , Mahmood Tauseef , Ashraf Muhammad , Cheema. Alyscia , ul-Hassan Mazhar
Published: June 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Using the Online Paraphrasing Tool Quillbot to Assist Students in Paraphrasing the Source Information: English-majored Students’ Perceptions
Authors: Xuyen Nguyen Thi
Published: June 2023

Paraphrasing plays a crucial role in academic writing as it aids writers in avoiding plagiarism. However, for EFL learners, especially those who are not experienced in the academic world, paraphrasing is a challenging skill. As a solution, they rely on online paraphrasing tools such as paraphrasing-tool.com, Quillbot.com, prepotseo.com or spinbot.com for help. These tools have been proved by several studies to be beneficial for students to overcome the difficulties in academic writing in general and paraphrasing skills in particular. However, little is known about how EFL learners perceive these online paraphrasing tools as assistants in writing academically. Therefore, this quantitative study is conducted with the aim to shed light on the perceptions of students on using the online paraphrasing tool Quillbot to paraphrase source information. The sample comprises 220 second-year students who are studying English Linguistics at a public university in Vietnam. Data, which is collected through a questionnaire, is analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25. Findings indicate that participants hold a favourable attitude towards Quillbot and this online paraphrasing tool does affect their attitude toward paraphrasing source text as well as their language development.
Concept of global peace: military, terrorist and informational threats
Authors: Dankevych Vitalii , Vitaliy B. Kovalchuk  , Bogdana B. Melnychenko  , Yaryna S. Bohiv  , Nataliia D. Slotvinska
Published: June 2023

The article deals with the analysis of transformational processes of the doctrinal and praxeological interpretation of the concept of global peace in the context of overcoming modern military, terrorist and informational threats. The tasks solved in the article are: the essence of understanding of the modern concept of global peace is revealed; the effectiveness of the mechanism of international institutions in providing counteraction to the military threat is analyzed; terrorism as an opposition to peace and stability is studied; the nature of the challenges to the information and educational environment as a significant factor in ensuring global peace is revealed. The humanistic approach is distinguished as one that has a special axiological value for research, with a methodological triad of methods used being philosophical, general scientific, and special scientific methods. The elements of the concept of the global world order are the functioning of international and national subjects to ensure peace and development of civil society, including the education of the global world order, tolerance, democratic values of constitutionalism and the rule of law, and other primary legal axiological values. The originality of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of globalization threats to the concept of peace and security of the international society in the military, anti-terrorist and information spheres with the demonstration of empirical material from the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022.
Asymmetric response of above- and below ground biomass of C3- and C4-dominated grasslands to aridity
Authors: Hossain Md Lokman , Li Jianfeng
Published: June 2023

Assessing the dynamics of grassland functioning is critical for gaining an understanding of their feedback on rising aridity. In attempting to understand the response of grassland ecosystem functioning to aridity, the (i) relationships between biomass productivity (above- and belowground biomass: AGB and BGB, and their partitioning: BGB:AGB) and seasonal and annual aridity, and (ii) biomass allocation pattern between the AGB and BGB of C3- and C4-dominated grasslands in humid temperate, humid savanna, cold steppe, and savanna ecoregions were assessed. Results reveal that biomass productivity and its partitioning responded significantly to differences in growing season aridity, but the response patterns were not consistent for ecoregions. The decreased annual and seasonal biomass partitioning in humid savanna and cold steppe was associated with increased AGB and decreased BGB with accelerated aridity. There was a significant positive correlation in the biomass allocation pattern between the AGB and BGB of plants in three ecoregions, which supports the optimal partitioning theory. This study reveals that growing season aridity, rather than annual aridity, is the primary factor of biomass productivity and partitioning in the studied grasslands. These findings have significant repercussions for predicting ecosystem functioning and stability, restoring degraded ecosystems, and ensuring the sustainable management of grassland biodiversity.
The Current Situation and Optimized path of Higher Education Development in the China and the Republic of Sudan under the Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: FAN Gaixia , ZHANG Yingxia
Published: June 2023

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2013, receiving abundantly enthusiastic as well as positive responses within the international community, especially the Arab countries along the Belt and Road, and including the Republic of Sudan in north-eastern Africa. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Sudan 58 years ago, the two countries have achieved a series of achievements in the field of higher education. The mutual visits and exchanges between them are also gradually increasing. With the development of the times and the continuous deepening of bilateral relations, the cooperation and exchanges of higher education between the two countries are facing some new difficulties. The purpose of this article is to analyze these dilemmas and propose the optimized path for the development of Sino-Sudan higher education cooperation under the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Pengaruh Penggunaan Kurtepung (Kursi Terapi Punggung) Dalam Menurunkan Keluhan Low Back Pain (LBP) Pada Pekerja Batik Tulis
Authors: Wuni Cici , Sari Dewi Ratna , Sahara Harahap Putri
Published: June 2023

ABSTRAK

Nyeri punggung bawah dapat menyerang siapa saja baik anak-anak hingga dewasa. Salah satu jenis pekerjaan yang berisiko untuk terkena LBP adalah pembatik dikarenakan pembatik bekerja dengan posisi duduk dalam jangka waktu yang lama dan dilakukan secara berulang-ulang setiap hari dengan ketelitian yang tinggi, dengan posisi tersebut tenaga kerja mempunyai resiko terjadinya LBP. Tujuan Penelitian untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan Kurtepung terhadap keluahan LBP pada pembatik di Kota Jambi. Metode penelitian menggunakan quyas eksperinment dengan rancangan pretest dan post test. Teknik pengambilan sampel dilakukan secara acak dengan melihat karakteristik yang sama. Uji Statistik menggunakan uji beda paired test dengan tingkat kemaknaan (Î±=0,05). Hasil uji statistik pada kelompok yang menggunakan Kurtepung selama 1 bulan diperoleh p-value = 0,013 (<0,05), pada kelompok yang menggunakan Kurtepung selama 1,5 bulan diperoleh p-value = 0,006 (<0,05), dan pada kelompok yang menggunakan Kurtepung selama 1,5 bulan diperoleh p-value = 0,005 (<0,05). Maka dapat disimpulkan ada pengaruh penggunaan kurtepung terhadap menurunkan keluhan Low Back Pain (LBP) pada pekerja batik tulis di Kota Jambi.

Kata kunci: Low Back Pain, Kurtepung, Pembatik
Pengaruh Penundaan Pemotongan Tali Pusat Terhadap Kadar Hemoglobin Pada Bayi Baru Lahir
Authors: Santi Marlina , Wardani Zenderi , Sari Nilam Permata
Published: June 2023

ABSTRAK

Penundaan pemotongan tali pusat secara signifikan meningkatkan cadangan zat besi dan meningkatkan transfer sel induk (stem cells) pada bayi baru lahir. Pencatatan waktu dan efek penjepitan tali pusat yang tertunda belum dijelaskan dalam banyak referensi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh penundaan pemotongan tali pusat terhadap kadar hemoglobin pada bayi baru lahir. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian Quasi Experiment dengan desain Non-Equivalent Control Group Design. Analisis data dilakukan secara deskriptif dan inferensial. Pengaruh penundaan pemotongan tali pusat terhadap kadar haemoglobin dilakukan dengan menggunakan uji independent t-test. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rerata kadar hemoglobin bayi baru lahir yang mengalami penundaan penjepitan tali pusat lebih tinggi (21,18 g/dL) dibandingkan rerata kadar hemoglobin bayi baru lahir yang dilakukan penjepitan tali pusat dini (19,13 g/dL). Analisis statistik menunjukkan pengaruh yang signifikan dari penundaan penjepitan tali pusat terhadap kadar hemoglobin bayi baru lahir (p-value = 0,048). Penelitian ini merekomendasikan Penundaan pemotongan tali pusat sebagai salah satu tahapan prosedur perawatan persalinan standar.

Kata kunci : Penundaan pemotongan tali pusat; Hemoglobin; Anemia; Bayi baru lahir
Futbol Hakemlerinin Fair Play Kavramına Yönelik Algıları: Metafor Çalışması
Authors: PEKEL Aylin Özge , KIRIKOĞLU Nagihan , IĞDIR Emre Can , OKAN İlyas
Published: June 2023

Modern dünyada kendisine önemli bir yer edinmiş spor branşlarından birisi olan futbolda kritik kararlarda önemli rol oynayan hakemler, müsabakalardaki fair playe uygun davranışların sürdürülmesi ve geliştirilmesinde önemli bir bileşendir. Bu bağlamda araştırmada, futbol hakemlerinin fair play kavramına yönelik algılarını ve bu kavramı nasıl yorumladıklarını ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmaktadır. Araştırmaya 2021-2022 sezonunda Ankara ilinde bulunan ve çeşitli futbol liglerinde aktif olarak hakemlik yapan 21 profesyonel futbol hakemi katılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden fenomenoloji deseni kullanılmıştır. Verilerin elde edilmesinde, her bir hakemden “Fair play ……………gibidir/benzer; çünkü…….”cümlesini tamamlamaları istenmiştir. Verilerin analizinde içerik analizi tekniği kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgulara göre; araştırmaya katılan profesyonel futbol hakemlerinin “fair play” kavramına yönelik oluşturdukları metaforların sırasıyla “ahlak unsuru olma”, “adalet unsuru olma”, “saygı unsuru olma” ve “iyilik unsuru olma” temaları altında toplandığı belirlenmiştir. Hakemler özelinde futbol camiası içerisinde doğru algının yerleşmesi, eğitim ve uygulamalarla desteklenmesi, fair play ruhuna yakışır bir şekilde davranılmasına ortam sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.
Overview of Social Determinants of Health in the Development of Diabetes
Authors: Hill-Briggs Felicia , L. Fitzpatrick Stephanie
Published: June 2023

To guide effective planning and decision-making regarding strategies to address adverse social determinants of health (SDOH) in diabetes, an understanding of upstream drivers and root causes is imperative. The World Health Organization SDOH framework includes socioeconomic and political systems and racism as upstream drivers of SDOH. These factors are not currently included in the Healthy People 2030 or other commonly used U.S. SDOH frameworks. This summary of a special symposium gives an overview of the socioeconomic status SDOH and race and ethnicity in diabetes prevalence and incidence, discusses socioeconomic and political contexts and racism as upstream drivers and root causes of SDOH necessitating attention within the U.S., illustrates the role of these drivers in the entrenched nature of SDOH within racial and ethnic minoritized and marginalized populations, and examines current and emerging actions within and beyond the health care sector to mitigate adverse SDOH. Incorporating into U.S. SDOH frameworks socioeconomic and political systems and racism as root causes and current drivers of adverse SDOH enables an emphasis shift from primary individual and neighborhood level time-limited solutions to multisector and all-of-government initiatives that bring requisite policy change and permanent structural change.
Injectable Flowable Resin-based Composite Veneers Prior to Ceramic Veneers
Authors: Villalobos-Tinoco J , Jurado CA , Sanchez-Hernandez RA , Elgreatly A , Alshabib A , Tsujimoto A
Published: June 2023

Objectives:

This case report describes the clinical protocols for using injectable flowable resin-based composite veneers without tooth reduction as long-term prototype restorations, followed by conservative feldspathic veneer restorations.

Clinical Consideration:

The patient’s primary concern was to improve her smile. After clinical evaluation, injectable flowable resin composite veneers were recommended as long-term prototypes followed by conservative tooth preparation and ceramic veneers. Flowable composite veneers were created with a transparent silicone index fabricated from a diagnostic wax-up approved by the patient. No tooth reduction was required to place this type of composite veneer. Later, a printed reduction guide was used to provide conservative tooth preparation followed by the cementation of thin feldspathic porcelain veneers under full isolation with a rubber dam.

Conclusions:

Injectable flowable resin-based composite veneers can successfully act as long-term esthetic prototypes before ceramic veneers. The outcome of these restorations is very predictable because the diagnostic wax-up anatomy is transferred to the mouth through the transparent silicone index, and they can be placed without tooth reduction. Conservative tooth preparation can be performed on the composite veneers so that minimal tooth structure is removed to maximize the bonding performance of ceramic veneers.
The Ramification of Prestigious Underwriters, IPO Pricing Method, and Institutional Allocation on Indonesia IPO Underpricing during 2010-2021
Authors: Sembiring Jossmelkr , Sukamulja Sukmawati
Published: June 2023

This research analyses how prestigious underwriters, IPO pricing, and share allocations shape IPO underpricing in Indonesia. 359 out of 406 Indonesian companies in the period 2010-2021 were underpriced on the first day of trading, noting the importance of investigating the rationale behind the underpricing phenomenon, which proliferates in the finance literature. This study examines the degree of IPO underpricing after the period post-Global Financial Crisis and the outbreak of COVID-19. This research found that the mean of underpricing amounted to 36,77% in 2010-2021. Prestigious underwriters have been proven significantly squeeze the level of underpricing vis-à-vis non-prestigious underwriters. Moreover, the research found that most institutional investors get disproportionately higher shares of the issuing companies.  The finding signifies the lucrative capital gain for investors to pursue on the first day of trading.
Does Extraversion, Agreeableness and Collectivism Leverage Levels for Job Involvement?
Authors: Rusdi Muhammad , Tjahjono Heru Kurnianto
Published: June 2023

Job involvement is crucial to worker performance and productivity. This paper investigates the effects of extraversion and agreeableness on job involvement. We also suggest a link between collectivism and job involvement. The data were submitted by 190 registered nurses who worked at two public hospitals for additional research by employing PLS-SEM analysis. The findings show that extraversion, agreeableness, collectivism, and employee job involvement are all positively correlated. We consider the study's practical implications and conclude that personality traits can affect job involvement.
Staging violence in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: From the theatrics of the mind, the image and the stage to the creation of the meta-self
Authors: Amor Zied Ben
Published: June 2023

Violence in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows stage-managed theatrics at the level of the language and images used, the construction of a theatre that comments on theatre, and of staged minds. The theatrics of images, sound, stage and mind are necessary steps for Hamlet to create a meta-self. Metatheatre and the grotesque are deeply connected to violence; their association makes what the research calls the meta-self. The article combines different theoretical concepts not commonly used simultaneously. The alliance between the carnivalesque and the metatheatrical reveals the theatrics of the stage while dealing with violence. The theatrics of violence are present at the level of performance, language and images. The dynamics of violence constructed upon theatrics and staging prove that the mind of Hamlet is staged. Baudrillard’s concepts of “hyperreality”, “traversing the self” and “holographic attempts” allow us to conclude that Hamlet reaches a “meta-self”. The Meta-self is a traversing self that challenges society and mocks over-confidence; it operates as a mirror, a crossing-thinking self in constant rehearsal and reassessment of the certitudes of humans.
Fundamental characteristics of juvenile delinquency
Authors: Ademi Arta Mehmeti
Published: June 2023

Juvenile delinquency represents a serious social problem, and as such should be understood by society, considering the seriousness, importance, danger, and long-term consequences that this problem can have.

Crime as a negative phenomenon has always aroused the interest of society because through criminal actions the most basic goods of humanity are damaged.

It is undeniable that today crime is a fundamental problem that society must face to prevent it. Criminality as a negative social phenomenon is not only characteristic of the adult population, but often also minors appear as actors of criminal behaviour (Sahiti and Murati, 2013).

The problem becomes even greater when minors appear as perpetrators of criminal acts, due to their specific age and not fully formed personality. In this context, juvenile delinquency is a sensitive and delicate phenomenon for many reasons.

Minors who still do not understand and weigh their actions sufficiently are presented as actors of delinquent behaviour, for that reason they are more likely to fall into conflict situations more often.

When we treat juvenile delinquency as a problem and try to solve it in the most efficient and useful way, we must consider many other factors that have a dominant role in juvenile delinquency and thus the delinquency of minors is presented to us as a chain of problems in the links of which there are many factors that require solutions.

Juvenile criminality is an integral part of general criminality. However, due to the age of minors as well as many other characteristics - sociological, psychological, criminological - political, legal, etc., minor perpetrators of criminal offenses have a more lenient, more favourable treatment compared to major criminal perpetrators (Salihu, 2018).

Adolescence is that stage of a person’s life, in which he is formed, and which is accompanied by a large number and variety of physiological and psychological changes. Minors as an integral part of society represent a relatively special world, with special ways and special reactions to the external world’s stimuli.

Therefore, special care should be taken in dealing with them, both when undertaking preventive and repressive measures.

Young people are the future of a society, and with this in mind every society is interested in creating better conditions for life to enable young people to grow and develop properly, resulting in a healthy and capable youth to face life’s challenges.