bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization Schemes for UAV Data Collection with LoRa 2.4 GHz Technology in Remote Areas without Infrastructure
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Zhou Chun , Sheng Liangcai , Cao Shouqi
Published: July 2022

Recently, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and LPWANs (low-power wide-area networks) has been a good solution to the problem of data collection for environmental monitoring in remote areas without infrastructure, and there are many valuable research works in this field. UAV data collection for sensor nodes is becoming a challenge, that is, the amount of data will affect the UAV’s communication time and flight status, especially in LPWAN systems. In this paper, the optimization schemes are proposed to improve the efficiency of UAV for collecting data in LoRa network monitoring systems. Firstly, an improved clustering algorithm for the LoRa network is proposed, which considers the influence of distance between the cluster heads and the UAV take-off point. Secondly, we present an improved Genetic Algorithm for path planning to reduce the UAV flight distance, which introduces the Teaching–Learning-based Optimization (TLBO) and local search optimization algorithms to improve convergence speed and the path solution. Then, a LoRa 2.4 GHz adaptive data rate strategy with a dual channel is designed based on distance and link quality, to reduce the data transmitting time between the UAV and the cluster head nodes. Finally, we carry out the simulations and experiments. The results show the performance of the proposed schemes, which means that these can improve the efficiency of UAV data collection with low cost LoRa networks in remote areas without infrastructure.
Quality of Life in Deafblind People and Its Effect on the Processes of Educational Adaptation and Social Inclusion in Canary Islands, Spain
Authors: Rodríguez-Jiménez María del Carmen , Pérez-Jorge David , Puerta-Araña Irene , Ariño-Mateo Eva
Published: July 2022

Deafblindness is a unique and complex disability. Research on the needs and quality of life are scarce; as well as the lack of adequate knowledge, training and lack of qualified professionals to serve this group. All this justifies the sense and interest of this study. This study is derived from the project with reference 2020EDU04. Design: The study is descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative-qualitative research design was conducted. Objectives: Know and analyze the needs of adult deafblind people in order to contribute to improving their quality of life. Method: Sample of 16 adults with double sensory loss (hearing and vision) residing in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain) was used. Instruments: The FUMAT Scale was used to measure personal development; self-determination; interpersonal relationships; social inclusion; rights of deafblind people; emotional well-being; physical well-being and material well-being. In addition, a semi-structured interview is conducted. Results by dimensions: Personal development: The professionals did not have specialized training to provide an educational response. Physical well-being: 68% of the sample had other health problems associated with deafblindness. Interpersonal relationships: 100% of the sample reported communication problems in the family environment. Social inclusion: They reported difficulties in accessing educational and leisure activities. Material well-being: In general, they stated that they have the material resources necessary for their daily lives. Self-determination: they consider that they have decision-making capacity in basic aspects of daily life. Rights: Deafblind people state that they have limitations in exercising their rights. Based on the interviews, it was observed that the people with the greatest difficulties in daily life are those who presented the greatest visual commitment. Conclusion: The etiology does not determine the quality of life of deafblind people, but communication conditions interpersonal relationships and personal development, and therefore their quality of life.
Development of an Active Equalizer for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Yang Zong-Zhen
Published: July 2022

In this paper, a bi-directional-buck-boost-converter-based active equalizer is developed. The energy between adjacent cells can be transferred bi-directionally by manipulating the balancing current to solve the unbalanced problem in a battery module. It is noted that the conduction time of the main switch in the conventional buck-boost equalizer is fixed. Thus, the balancing current will diminish as the voltage difference of the adjacent cells decreases, which results in a prolonged equilibrium period. This paper has proposed two methods, namely, the varied-on-time (VOT) method and the voltage ratio modulation (VRM) method, to shorten the equilibrium period. In the VOT method, the conduction time of the main switch is determined according to high state-of-charge (SOC) cell voltage. In this way, the balancing current is able to be kept at the desired level rather than reduced during the balancing process. On the other hand, the VRM method computes the proportion of the conduction time and the cut-off time in a switching cycle based on the voltages of adjacent cells. Hence, the equalizer can deliver the maximum energy in a switching period and shorten the equilibrium period. The simulation platform and experiments with four batteries connected in serial are carried out to verify the proposed control methods. According to the experimental results, the VOT method saves 10.3%, 11.7%, and 16% of the equilibrium time compared with the fixed duty cycle (FDC) method. The VRM method can shorten 35.9%, 36.6%, and 37.3% of the equilibrium time compared with the FDC method.
Near Field Sensing Applications with Tunable Beam Millimeter Wave Antenna Sensors in an All-in-One Chip Design
Authors: Chung Ming-An , Lin Chia-Wei , Lo Wei-Jen
Published: July 2022

In this paper, a single-band beam control antenna is designed with a parallel coupler to realize a microstrip patch antenna passive wireless sensor in the form of a chip. It has a phase shift characteristic of the antenna radiation direction in the positive and negative directions. The antenna includes an orthogonal direction coupler design with a 90° parallel coupler in phase using a special structure that allows the whole chip area to be miniaturized while allowing the main beam angle to have a directivity function. The coupler is designed for the 28 GHz millimeter wave band. After feeding the patch antenna at the output port of the coupler and simultaneously feeding the excitation at the input port, the beam phase changes to +45° and +135° with a phase difference of 90°. The designed antenna size is 1160 μm × 790 μm, and the overall IC size is 1.2 mm × 1.2 mm. The power density simulation shows that the maximum power density is only 0.00797 W/kg for a 1 cm2 human sampling area, which means that the antenna sensor is suitable for use on human surfaces.
An Image Style Diversified Synthesis Method Based on Generative Adversarial Networks
Authors: Yang Zujian , Qiu Zhao
Published: July 2022

Existing research shows that there are many mature methods for image conversion in different fields. However, when the existing methods deal with images in multiple image domains, the robustness and scalability of images are often limited. We propose a novel and scalable approach, using a generative adversarial networks (GANs) model that can transform images across multiple domains, to address the above limitations. Our model can be trained on image datasets with different domains in a single network, with the ability to translate images and the ability to flexibly translate input images to any desired target domain. Our model is mainly composed of a generator, discriminator, style encoder, and a mapping network. The datasets use the celebrity face dataset CelebA-HQ and the animal face dataset AFHQ, and the evaluation criteria use FID and LPIPS to evaluate the images generated by the model. Experiments show that our model can generate a rich variety of high-quality images, and there is still some room for improvement.
Improved Active Disturbance Rejection Control Strategy for LCL-Type Grid-Connected Inverters Based on the Backstepping Method
Authors: Zhang Zhiru , Ding Wenfang
Published: July 2022

In the process of grid connection of an LCL inverter, sudden changes in load, high harmonics of the grid voltage, sudden changes in power, and other disturbances often occur. These will cause sharp degradation of the grid-connected power quality, so this paper proposes a new solution to the problem of how to reduce and eliminate disturbances in power quality by using a first-order linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) strategy with precise compensation via splitting the total disturbance term. An improved overall direct compensation method for total disturbance was proposed. The use of a subdivision compensation term could avoid the misjudgment arising from the estimation of the overall perturbation by the linear expanded state observer (LESO) within the first few weeks of the feedback when the overall compensation was applied. It aimed to reduce the overshooting caused by the overcompensation of the estimated disturbance term and to shorten the system convergence speed. Backstepping control was introduced to optimize the intermediate quantities of LADRC to estimate the error design outer-loop control law. The controlled quantity tracking the input quantity had excellent characteristics, and could set the desired error range quantity as the purpose of approximation. Therefore, backstepping control was suitable as a feedforward control of the system to preprocess the error in the estimated total disturbance of LESO and feed it into the inner loop improvement LADRC. Secondly, an improved control cascade PWM modulation with a PLL phase-locked loop to regulate the inverter output resulted in the elimination of the effects of internal and external disturbances on the grid-connected current and voltage. Finally, the amplitude–frequency characteristics were analyzed and compared for the trackability and antidisturbance of the improved linear active disturbance rejection controller, showing a good performance of the improved active disturbance rejection. At the same time, comparative simulations were conducted to confirm that the grid-connected current of the LCL inverter could obtain a better stability and grid entry quality in the first-order improved linear active disturbance rejection control.
Hybrid Precoding Based on Partial Connection for Millimeter-Wave Massive MIMO System
Authors: Cao Haiyan , Chen Qianhong , Peng Jiale , Wang Zhongliang , Xu Fangmin
Published: July 2022

Aiming at poor system performance in existing partially connected hybrid precoding schemes, in this paper, we propose a partially connected hybrid precoding scheme based on alternating optimization with the auxiliary precoder. In particular, the spectral efficiency optimization problem is transformed into a sub-optimization problem under certain constraints. For each sub-optimization problem, we use the singular value decomposition method to optimize the analog precoder and digital precoder alternately, and optimal solutions are provided for both digital and analog precoders in each alternate iteration. Moreover, we design a heuristic algorithm to calculate the initial analog precoder as the starting point for alternating optimization, which speeds up the convergence speed. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is at least 16.2% higher than the existing two traditional partially connected algorithms at 20 dB received SNR with almost no increase in complexity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning for Multimedia and Edge Information Processing
Authors: Seng Jasmine Kah Phooi , Ang Kenneth Li-minn , Peter Eno , Mmonyi Anthony
Published: July 2022

The advancements and progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and the numerous availabilities of mobile devices and Internet technologies together with the growing focus on multimedia data sources and information processing have led to the emergence of new paradigms for multimedia and edge AI information processing, particularly for urban and smart city environments. Compared to cloud information processing approaches where the data are collected and sent to a centralized server for information processing, the edge information processing paradigm distributes the tasks to multiple devices which are close to the data source. Edge information processing techniques and approaches are well suited to match current technologies for Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous systems, although there are many challenges which remain to be addressed. The motivation of this paper was to survey these new paradigms for multimedia and edge information processing from several technological perspectives including: (1) multimedia analytics on the edge empowered by AI; (2) multimedia streaming on the intelligent edge; (3) multimedia edge caching and AI; (4) multimedia services for edge AI; and (5) hardware and devices for multimedia on edge intelligence. The review covers a wide spectrum of enabling technologies for AI and machine learning for multimedia and edge information processing.
Real-Time Facemask Detection for Preventing COVID-19 Spread Using Transfer Learning Based Deep Neural Network
Authors: Ai Mona A. S. , Shanmugam Anitha , Muthusamy Suresh , Viswanathan Chandrasekaran , Panchal Hitesh , Krishnamoorthy Mahendran , Elminaam Diaa Salama Abd , Orban Rasha
Published: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people’s livelihoods and hindered global trade and transportation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization mandated that masks be worn to protect against this deadly virus. Protecting one’s face with a mask has become the standard. Many public service providers will encourage clients to wear masks properly in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, monitoring the individuals while standing alone in one location is exhausting. This paper offers a solution based on deep learning for identifying masks worn over faces in public places to minimize the coronavirus community transmission. The main contribution of the proposed work is the development of a real-time system for determining whether the person on a webcam is wearing a mask or not. The ensemble method makes it easier to achieve high accuracy and makes considerable strides toward enhancing detection speed. In addition, the implementation of transfer learning on pretrained models and stringent testing on an objective dataset led to the development of a highly dependable and inexpensive solution. The findings provide validity to the application’s potential for use in real-world settings, contributing to the reduction in pandemic transmission. Compared to the existing methodologies, the proposed method delivers improved accuracy, specificity, precision, recall, and F-measure performance in three-class outputs. These metrics include accuracy, specificity, precision, and recall. An appropriate balance is kept between the number of necessary parameters and the time needed to conclude the various models.
Asymmetric Fault-Tolerant Control of 3-Phase Coupled Buck–Boost Converter
Authors: Fu Han , Duan Shanxu , Bao Junyang , Jiang Dong , Fu Hao , Li Qiqi
Published: July 2022

A coupled inductor can optimize the weight of a DC/DC converter while the performance characteristics are complicated. To reduce the influence of system fault and keep the stable operation of the coupled converter, a fault-tolerant strategy is proposed. Firstly, a mathematic model is obtained to compare the difference between a coupled converter and a normal converter. Then, an open-circuit fault process is analyzed for fault detection. To design a proper fault-tolerant control system, transfer functions in asymmetric conditions are analyzed, and the operation of the mode switching is optimized for better a transition process. Finally, the method is verified by simulation and experiment.
Assessing Changes in Pulpwood Procurement Cost Relative to the Gradual Adoption of Longleaf Pine at the Landscape Level: A Case Study from Georgia, United States
Authors: Paudel Karuna , Dwivedi Puneet
Published: July 2022

Longleaf pine once covered 37 million hectares in the southern United States. However, it currently occupies only 5% of the original area. Efforts have been ongoing for the last decade to restore longleaf pine. The expected expansion in the area under longleaf pine has raised concern among wood-consuming mills regarding a potential increase in the total wood procurement cost, as wood availability per unit of land is typically lower for longleaf than for loblolly and slash pines for the first few decades. Therefore, a simulation model was developed in this study, examining the impact of the gradual adoption of longleaf pine by landowners on the total wood procurement cost of a pulp mill located in South Georgia over a 40-year simulation period. Results show no statistically significant difference between scenarios for maximum distance, total cost, and total distance over the simulation period. Our study will guide stakeholder groups to balance the needs for longleaf pine restoration and the reduced cost of wood procurement for wood-consuming mills.
Intuitively Searching for the Rare Colors from Digital Artwork Collections by Text Description: A Case Demonstration of Japanese Ukiyo-e Print Retrieval
Authors: Li Kangying , Wang Jiayun , Batjargal Biligsaikhan , Maeda Akira
Published: July 2022

In recent years, artworks have been increasingly digitized and built into databases, and such databases have become convenient tools for researchers. Researchers who retrieve artwork are not only researchers of humanities, but also researchers of materials science, physics, art, and so on. It may be difficult for researchers of various fields whose studies focus on the colors of artwork to find the required records in existing databases, that are color-based and only queried by the metadata. Besides, although some image retrieval engines can be used to retrieve artwork by text description, the existing image retrieval systems mainly retrieve the main colors of the images, and rare cases of color use are difficult to find. This makes it difficult for many researchers who focus on toning, colors, or pigments to use search engines for their own needs. To solve the two problems, we propose a cross-modal multi-task fine-tuning method based on CLIP (Contrastive Language-Image Pre-Training), which uses the human sensory characteristics of colors contained in the language space and the geometric characteristics of the sketches of a given artwork in order to gain better representations of that artwork piece. The experimental results show that the proposed retrieval framework is efficient for intuitively searching for rare colors, and that a small amount of data can improve the correspondence between text descriptions and color information.
When Food Co-Branding Backfires: The Overexpectation Effect
Authors: Garaus Marion , Wolfsteiner Elisabeth , Florack Arnd
Published: July 2022

While food research has paid considerable attention to the effect of brand names on brand evaluation, the role of co-branding strategies and hence simultaneous exposure to two different brand names is under-researched. Against this background, we investigated the overexpectation effect in the context of food co-branding. More specifically, we explored to what extent food co-branding can harm brand evaluations of the co-brand and the brand level of the partner. In doing so, we challenged the conventional wisdom that co-branding leads to higher brand evaluations than those of monobrands. Results from two online experiments confirmed the theoretical reasoning derived from adaptive learning models: combining two brands results in an overexpectation effect, which manifests in a decrease in levels of brand evaluation for the co-brand compared to the partnering brands before co-brand exposure. Brand strength and brand fit moderate this effect.
Modelling of an Anaerobic Digester: Identification of the Main Parameters Influencing the Production of Methane Using the Sobol Method
Authors: Martinez Andres , Vernieres-Hassimi Lamiae , Abdelouahed Lokmane , Taouk Bechara , Mohabeer Chetna , Estel Lionel
Published: July 2022

Anaerobic digestion is a promising method of organic waste valorisation, particularly for fish farm waste, which has experienced a high growth rate in recent years. The literature contains predictive mathematical models that have been developed by various authors, allowing the prediction of the composition of bio-gas production from organic waste. In general, Monod’s kinetic expression is the basis for describing the enzymatic reaction rates for anaerobic digestion. In this work, several parameters are taken into account, such as temperature, cell growth inhibition, and other operating parameters, and systems of differential equations coupling the kinetics and stoichiometry for bio-reactions are applied to better describe the dynamics. Because of the high number of initial parameters that need to be defined for the anaerobic digester, the use of this model requires significant resources and a long calculation time. For this reason, a global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is applied to this predictive model based on the Sobol index method, in order to identify the most influential key parameters and the interactions between them. For the digestion of fish waste, it is observed that the key parameters influencing methane production are the lipid concentration of the waste, temperature, and hydraulic retention time (HRT).
Emerging Roles and Potential Applications of Non-Coding RNAs in Cervical Cancer
Authors: Parashar Deepak , Singh Anupam , Gupta Saurabh , Sharma Aishwarya , Sharma Manish K. , Roy Kuldeep K. , Chauhan Subhash C. , Kashyap Vivek K.
Published: July 2022

Cervical cancer (CC) is a preventable disease using proven interventions, specifically prophylactic vaccination, pervasive disease screening, and treatment, but it is still the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Patients with advanced or metastatic CC have a very dismal prognosis and current therapeutic options are very limited. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of metastasis and discovering new therapeutic targets are crucial. New sequencing tools have given a full visualization of the human transcriptome’s composition. Non-coding RNAs (NcRNAs) perform various functions in transcriptional, translational, and post-translational processes through their interactions with proteins, RNA, and even DNA. It has been suggested that ncRNAs act as key regulators of a variety of biological processes, with their expression being tightly controlled under physiological settings. In recent years, and notably in the past decade, significant effort has been made to examine the role of ncRNAs in a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Therefore, shedding light on the functions of ncRNA will aid in our better understanding of CC. In this review, we summarize the emerging roles of ncRNAs in progression, metastasis, therapeutics, chemo-resistance, human papillomavirus (HPV) regulation, metabolic reprogramming, diagnosis, and as a prognostic biomarker of CC. We also discussed the role of ncRNA in the tumor microenvironment and tumor immunology, including cancer stem cells (CSCs) in CC. We also address contemporary technologies such as antisense oligonucleotides, CRISPR–Cas9, and exosomes, as well as their potential applications in targeting ncRNAs to manage CC.
Zebularine, a DNA Methylation Inhibitor, Activates Anthocyanin Accumulation in Grapevine Cells
Authors: Kong Junhua , Garcia Virginie , Zehraoui Enric , Stammitti Linda , Hilbert Ghislaine , Renaud Christel , Maury Stéphane , Delaunay Alain , Cluzet Stéphanie , Lecourieux Fatma , Lecourieux David , Teyssier Emeline , Gallusci Philippe
Published: July 2022

Through its role in the regulation of gene expression, DNA methylation can participate in the control of specialized metabolite production. We have investigated the link between DNA methylation and anthocyanin accumulation in grapevine using the hypomethylating drug, zebularine and Gamay Teinturier cell suspensions. In this model, zebularine increased anthocyanin accumulation in the light, and induced its production in the dark. To unravel the underlying mechanisms, cell transcriptome, metabolic content, and DNA methylation were analyzed. The up-regulation of stress-related genes, as well as a decrease in cell viability, revealed that zebularine affected cell integrity. Concomitantly, the global DNA methylation level was only slightly decreased in the light and not modified in the dark. However, locus-specific analyses demonstrated a decrease in DNA methylation at a few selected loci, including a CACTA DNA transposon and a small region upstream from the UFGT gene, coding for the UDP glucose:flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase, known to be critical for anthocyanin biosynthesis. Moreover, this decrease was correlated with an increase in UFGT expression and in anthocyanin content. In conclusion, our data suggest that UFGT expression could be regulated through DNA methylation in Gamay Teinturier, although the functional link between changes in DNA methylation and UFGT transcription still needs to be demonstrated.
Heritability Analyses Uncover Shared Genetic Effects of Lung Function and Change over Time
Authors: Li Donghe , Kim Woojin , An Jahoon , Kim Soriul , Lee Seungku , Do Ahra , Kim Wonji , Lee Sanghun , Yoon Dankyu , Lee Kwangbae , Ha Seounguk , Silverman Edwin K. , Cho Michael , Shin Chol , Won Sungho
Published: July 2022

Genetic influence on lung functions has been identified in previous studies; however, the relative longitudinal effects of genetic factors and their interactions with smoking on lung function remain unclear. Here, we identified the longitudinal effects of genetic variants on lung function by determining single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability and genetic correlations, and by analyzing interactions with smoking. Subject-specific means and annual change rates were calculated for eight spirometric measures obtained from 6622 Korean adults aged 40–69 years every two years for 14 years, and their heritabilities were estimated separately. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) heritability for the subject-specific means of all spirometric measures (8~32%) and change rates of forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC; 16%) and post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC (17%) were detected. Significant genetic correlations of the change rate with the subject-specific mean were observed for FEV1/FVC (ρg = 0.64) and post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC (ρg = 0.47). Furthermore, post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC showed significant heritability of SNP-by-smoking interaction (hGXS2 = 0.4) for the annual change rate. The GWAS also detected genome-wide significant SNPs for FEV1 (rs4793538), FEV1/FVC (rs2704589, rs62201158, and rs9391733), and post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC (rs2445936). We found statistically significant evidence of heritability role on the change in lung function, and this was shared with the effects on cross-sectional measurements. We also found some evidence of interaction with smoking for the change of lung function.
Karyotypes of Manatees: New Insights into Hybrid Formation (Trichechus inunguis × Trichechus m. manatus) in the Amazon Estuary
Authors: Noronha Renata C. R. , Almeida Bruno R. R. , Chagas Monique C. S. , Tavares Flávia S. , Cardoso Adauto L. , Bastos Carlos E. M. C. , Silva Natalia K. N. , Klautau Alex G. C. M. , Luna Fábia O. , Attademo Fernanda L. N. , Lima Danielle S. , Sabioni Luiz A. , Sampaio Maria I. C. , Oliveira Jairo Moura , Nascimento Luís Adriano Santos do , Martins Cesar , Vicari Marcelo R. , Nagamachi Cleusa Y. , Pieczarka Julio C.
Published: July 2022

Great efforts have been made to preserve manatees. Recently, a hybrid zone was described between Trichechus inunguis (TIN) and the Trichechus manatus manatus (TMM) in the Amazon estuary. Cytogenetic data on these sirenians are limited, despite being fundamental to understanding the hybridization/introgression dynamics and genomic organization in Trichechus. We analyzed the karyotype of TMM, TIN, and two hybrid specimens (“Poque” and “Vitor”) by classical and molecular cytogenetics. G-band analysis revealed that TMM (2n = 48) and TIN (2n = 56) diverge by at least six Robertsonian translocations and a pericentric inversion. Hybrids had 2n = 50, however, with Autosomal Fundamental Number (FNA) = 88 in “Poque” and FNA = 74 in “Vitor”, and chromosomal distinct pairs in heterozygous; additionally, “Vitor” exhibited heteromorphisms and chromosomes whose pairs could not be determined. The U2 snDNA and Histone H3 multi genes are distributed in small clusters along TIN and TMM chromosomes and have transposable Keno and Helitron elements (TEs) in their sequences. The different karyotypes observed among manatee hybrids may indicate that they represent different generations formed by crossing between fertile hybrids and TIN. On the other hand, it is also possible that all hybrids recorded represent F1 and the observed karyotype differences must result from mechanisms of elimination.
Differences and Similarities in Adaptive Functioning between Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams–Beuren Syndrome: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Alfieri Paolo , Scibelli Francesco , Montanaro Federica Alice Maria , Digilio Maria Cristina , Ravà Lucilla , Valeri Giovanni , Vicari Stefano
Published: July 2022

Background: The last decade has seen a growing number of comparative studies on adaptive profiles between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams–Beuren syndrome (WBS), showing shared and syndrome-specific adaptive trajectories. Studies have revealed similarities in global adaptive profiles across conditions, while some differences have been found in preschoolers on the specific sub-domains of communication and socialization. However, the majority of studies that have focused on the differences in adaptive functioning across these two conditions used a cross-sectional design. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies exploring the differences and similarities of adaptive functioning over time. Methods: We compared longitudinal data of adaptive functioning measured by Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) between two samples of children and adolescents with ASD and WBS, matched for chronological age and cognitive/developmental level at the time of the first evaluation. Results and Conclusions: We did not find any difference on the global adaptive level, both at the first evaluation and over time. However, significant differences emerged on the socialization and communication levels at the time of recruitment. Longitudinal data show that only the socialization domain remains different over time, with individuals with WBS having better functioning than those with ASD. The results on shared and distinct patterns of adaptive functioning between disorders are discussed from a developmental perspective, thus contributing to the implementation of age-specific interventions.
Genomic Characterization by Whole-Exome Sequencing of Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Alanis-Funes Gerardo J. , Lira-Albarrán Saúl , Hernández-Pérez Jesús , Garza-Elizondo Mario A. , Ortíz-López Rocío , Elizondo César V. , Rojas-Martinez Augusto , Chávez-Santoscoy Rocío A. , Rangel-Escareño Claudia
Published: July 2022

No genetic basis is currently established that differentiates hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) from hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hEDS). Diagnosis is entirely based on clinical parameters with high overlap, leading to frequent misdiagnosis of these two phenotypes. This study presents a landscape of DNA mutations through whole-exome sequencing of patients clinically diagnosed with generalized HSD. In this study, three genes (MUC3A, RHBG, and ZNF717) were mutated in all five patients evaluated. The functional enrichment analysis on all 1162 mutated genes identified the extracellular matrix (ECM) structural constituent as the primary overrepresented molecular function. Ingenuity pathway analysis identified relevant bio-functions, such as the organization of ECM and hereditary connective tissue disorders. A comparison with the matrisome revealed 55 genes and highlighted MUC16 and FREM2. We also contrasted the list of mutated genes with those from a transcriptomic analysis on data from Gene Expression Omnibus, with only 0.5% of the genes at the intersection of both approaches supporting the hypothesis of two different diseases that inevitably share a common genetic background but are not the same. Potential biomarkers for HSD include the five genes presented. We conclude the study by describing five potential biomarkers and by highlighting the importance of genetic/genomic approaches that, combined with clinical data, may result in an accurate diagnosis and better treatment.
Enhanced Gravitational Search Optimization with Hybrid Deep Learning Model for COVID-19 Diagnosis on Epidemiology Data
Authors: Ragab Mahmoud , Choudhry Hani , H. Asseri Amer , Binyamin Sami Saeed , Al-Rabia Mohammed W.
Published: July 2022

Effective screening provides efficient and quick diagnoses of COVID-19 and could alleviate related problems in the health care system. A prediction model that combines multiple features to assess contamination risks was established in the hope of supporting healthcare workers worldwide in triaging patients, particularly in situations with limited health care resources. Furthermore, a lack of diagnosis kits and asymptomatic cases can lead to missed or delayed diagnoses, exposing visitors, medical staff, and patients to 2019-nCoV contamination. Non-clinical techniques including data mining, expert systems, machine learning, and other artificial intelligence technologies have a crucial role to play in containment and diagnosis in the COVID-19 outbreak. This study developed Enhanced Gravitational Search Optimization with a Hybrid Deep Learning Model (EGSO-HDLM) for COVID-19 diagnoses using epidemiology data. The major aim of designing the EGSO-HDLM model was the identification and classification of COVID-19 using epidemiology data. In order to examine the epidemiology data, the EGSO-HDLM model employed a hybrid convolutional neural network with a gated recurrent unit based fusion (HCNN-GRUF) model. In addition, the hyperparameter optimization of the HCNN-GRUF model was improved by the use of the EGSO algorithm, which was derived by including the concepts of cat map and the traditional GSO algorithm. The design of the EGSO algorithm helps in reducing the ergodic problem, avoiding premature convergence, and enhancing algorithm efficiency. To demonstrate the better performance of the EGSO-HDLM model, experimental validation on a benchmark dataset was performed. The simulation results ensured the enhanced performance of the EGSO-HDLM model over recent approaches.
The Psychological Well-Being of Older Chinese Immigrants in Canada amidst COVID-19: The Role of Loneliness, Social Support, and Acculturation
Authors: Su Chang , Yang Lixia , Dong Linying , Zhang Weiguo
Published: July 2022

This study examined the effects of loneliness, social support, and acculturation on psychological well-being, as indexed by general emotional well-being and life satisfaction, of older Chinese adults living in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 168 older Chinese adults, recruited via WeChat and the internet, completed an online study through a facilitated Zoom or phone meeting, or through a website link, individually or in a group. The testing package included demographic information, The UCLA Loneliness Scale, The Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, Vancouver Index of Acculturation, The Satisfaction with Life Scale, and The World Health Organization’s Five Well-Being Index. The results showed that the psychological well-being (both general emotional well-being and cognitively perceived life satisfaction) was positively predicted by perceived social support but negatively predicted by loneliness. Acculturation was not predictive of both outcomes, and it did not moderate the predictive relationships of social support or loneliness. The results shed light on the importance of community services that target enhancing social support and reducing loneliness in promoting psychological well-being of older Chinese immigrants in Canada amidst and post the pandemic.
Campus Green Spaces, Academic Achievement and Mental Health of College Students
Authors: Liu Wanting , Sun Ning , Guo Jingyu , Zheng Zhenhua
Published: July 2022

Mental health concerns have become a common problem among college students. Studies have shown that college students have a higher depression rate than the general population. The effect of campus green spaces on college students’ mental health has been widely studied. However, the internal mechanism of campus green spaces affecting college students’ mental health is not fully discussed. The data came from a cross-sectional survey of 45 Chinese universities. This paper discussed the relationship between campus green spaces, academic achievement, and college students’ mental health. Depending on gender, college students displayed different levels of mental health. The prevalence of depression among female students was higher than among male students. The effect of campus green spaces on mental health was higher in males than females, while the effect of campus green spaces on academic achievement had little gender difference. We call for the construction, improvement, and renewal of campus green spaces in the future not only to meet the needs of different gender groups, but also to pay more attention to the needs of female college students and improve the differences in mental health, so as to improve the mental health of the whole college student population.
Interobserver Agreement and Reference Intervals for Biventricular Myocardial Deformation in Full-Term, Healthy Newborns: A 2D Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography-Based Strain Analysis
Authors: Toma Daniela , Toganel Rodica , Fagarasan Amalia , Cucerea Manuela , Gabor-Miklosi Dorottya , Cerghit-Paler Andreea , Iurian Diana-Ramona , Gozar Horea , Moldovan Elena , Iancu Mihaela , Gozar Liliana
Published: July 2022

Data regarding reference intervals for strain parameters derived from 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography in full-term newborns are limited and still under development. Our objectives were to establish the level of reproducibility and reference intervals in assessing myocardial function using 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography for longitudinal and regional strain measurements. A total of 127 full-term newborns were examined to be included in the study, of which 103 were analyzed. We used two-dimensional acquisitions from apical four-chamber view of both ventricles and analyzed the autostrain function offline. We obtained interobserver agreement between the two observers ranging from good to excellent for all speckle-tracking parameters except for the strain of the medial portion of the left ventricle (LV) lateral wall and the strain measured on the basal portion of the inter-ventricular septum, which reflected a fair interobserver reproducibility (ICC = 0.52, 95% IC: 0.22–0.72 and ICC = 0.43, 95% IC: 0.12–0.67, respectively). The reference values obtained for the LV peak longitudinal strain were between −24.65 and −14.62, those for the right ventricle (RV) free wall were from −28.69 to −10.68, and those for the RV global four-chamber were from −22.30 to −11.37. In conclusion, two-dimensional peak longitudinal LV and RV strains are reproducible with good to excellent agreement and may represent a possible alternative for the cardiac assessment of healthy newborns in the clinical practice.
Dietary Habits of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Case-Control Study from Pakistan
Authors: Hanif Muhammad Kamran , Fan Yahui , Wang Lina , Jiang Hong , Li Zhaofang , Ma Mei , Ma Le , Ma Mao
Published: July 2022

Background: Adults in South Asian countries have high chances of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) as compared to the developed nations. CAD is among the primary non-communicable causes of death in this region. Dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking hypertension, diabetes are considered as important risk factors for CVD. Methods: A case-control study was conducted, with data was collected from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore and the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital. A total of 500 subjects were selected, of which 250 were coronary artery disease patients and 250 were healthy controls. The CAD patients were selected from the outpatient department (OPD) and emergency unit of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital. Results: The mean age of CAD patients was 57.83 ± 7.51 years and that of the controls was 55.32 ± 6.40 years. There was a significant difference in the mean values of biochemical parameters among cases and controls except for fasting blood sugar levels while there was a significant difference (p-value: 0.000) in the mean values of systolic blood pressure among cases and controls. Similarly, the values of diastolic blood pressure were also significantly different (p-value: 0.000) among cases and controls. The values of total blood cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and HDL were also significantly different among cases and controls. There was a significant relationship between consumption of chicken, eggs, beef, yogurt, junk food, fresh vegetables, and fruits, and incidence of CAD. Consuming milk every day, and consuming fish weekly and consuming ghee had no significant association with the risk of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, from the findings of the unadjusted model, there was a significant association between CAD risk and intake of chicken, beef, egg, yogurt, junk food, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Conclusions: Diet is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and can be adjusted to reduce the risk of CAD. A key finding is that consumption of chicken, beef, eggs and junk food are associated with a high risk of CAD whereas consumption of ghee is not associated with the risk of CAD.
Research on the Eco-Efficiency of Rice Production and Its Improvement Path: A Case Study from China
Authors: Huang Malan , Zeng Linlin , Liu Chujie , Li Xiaoyun , Wang Hongling
Published: July 2022

The eco-efficiency of rice production is an important indicator in the measurement of sustainable rice development. Scientific evaluation of the eco-efficiency of rice production facilitates accurate evaluation of the real level of rice ecosystems to realize efficient utilization of agricultural resources. This paper measured the eco-efficiency of farms growing rice using both the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods based on survey data from 370 farms mainly growing rice conducted in 2020 in the Hubei Province, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China. Then, sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis were carried out on the comprehensive index of the rice environmental impact and eco-efficiency of rice production, respectively. The results indicate that the comprehensive index of the rice environmental impact was 2.0971. Water toxicity, soil toxicity and eutrophication were the main influencing factors. The mean value of the eco-efficiency reached 0.51. More specifically, the proportion of farms in the low-, middle- and high-efficiency groups was 87.03%, 1.89% and 11.08%, respectively, with mean values up to 0.42, 0.86 and 1.14, respectively. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the pesticide sensitivity was higher than the fertilizer sensitivity in terms of the environmental impact sensitivity of rice systems. When comprehensively considering environmental and economic benefits, the fertilizer sensitivity was higher than that of pesticides. Moreover, reducing the application of both fertilizers and pesticides by 50% could promote the eco-efficiency of rice production systems by 6%, and the value could reach 0.54. Thus, reducing the application of fertilizers and pesticides and improving the utilization efficiency are effective ways to improve green rice production.
The Sense of Coherence and Health Behavior of Men with Alcohol Addiction
Authors: Curyło Mateusz , Rynkiewicz-Andryśkiewicz Marlena , Andryśkiewicz Przemysław , Mikos Marcin , Lusina Dariusz , Raczkowski Jan W. , Juszczyk Grzegorz , Kotwas Artur , Sygit Katarzyna , Kmieć Kamila , Cipora Elżbieta , Kaczmarski Mateusz , Banaś Tomasz , Strzępek Łukasz , Śliwczyński Andrzej , Krakowiak Jan , Świtalski Jakub , Partyka Olga , Czerw Aleksandra
Published: July 2022

Introduction: Alcohol dependence is one of the world’s major health challenges. The salutogenic concept of health developed by Antonovsky focuses on the search for resources and factors supporting health. Its basic concept of the sense of coherence (SOC) focuses on strengthening the global orientation of the patient, and creating permanent internal resources that translate into the improvement of pro-health behavior, including the fight against alcoholism. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between individual factors and the SOC as well as the influence of the SOC concept on pro-health behavior of people addicted to alcohol. Materials and methods: The study group consisted of 110 men undergoing treatment in an addiction treatment ward. To check the level of the SOC, two standardized questionnaires, Antonovsky’s “SOC-29 Life Orientation Questionnaire” and Juczyński’s “Health Behaviour Inventory”, were used. The correlation coefficient between the sociodemographic variables was checked using the Pearson’s r test. Results: A positive correlation was found with the intensity of pro-health behaviors for three sociodemographic variables. In people aged 43–65 (r = 0.299; p = 0.030), people with primary/vocational education (r = 0.276; p = 0.015), and respondents living in rural areas (r = 0.303; p = 0.028) a greater SOC was associated with pro-health behaviors. Conclusions: Individuals addicted to alcohol are characterized by a low SOC and a low level of pro-health behaviors. Strengthening the internal level of the SOC can constitute an element of addiction therapy when introducing health education to prepare the patient for independent life in sobriety.