bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antitumor mechanism of combination of Angelica gigas and Torilis japonica in LNCaP prostate cancer cells via G1 arrest and inhibition of Wnt/β‐catenin and androgen receptor signaling
Authors: Kim Dong Hee , Im Eunji , Lee Dae Young , Lee Hyo‐Jung , Sim Deok Yong , Park Ji Eon , Ahn Chi‐Hoon , Koo Ja Il , Pak Ji‐Na , Kim Sung‐Hoon
Published: May 2022

The goal of the current study is to assess the antitumor mechanism by the combination (7:3) of Angelica gigas and Torilis japonica (AT) that was found most effective through screening against prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Here, AT reduced the viability and the number of colonies in androgen‐dependent LNCaP cells more than in androgen independent PC3 and DU145 cells. Also, AT induced G1 phase arrest, cleaved PARP and caspase 3, activated p27 and decreased the expression of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, cdk2 in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, AT decreased the expression of PSA and androgen receptor (AR) at mRNA and protein levels in LNCaP cells. Interestingly, AT attenuated the expression of AR, PSA and Wnt‐3a and the stability of AR and PSA in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, AT reversed dihydrotestosterone (DHT)‐induced upregulation of AR and PSA in LnCaP cells. Notably, AT disrupted the protein–protein interaction, nuclear translocation and fluorescent expression of β‐catenin and AR in LNCaP cells. Consistently, β‐catenin depletion enhanced the decreased expression of AR in AT treated LNCaP cells. Taken together, our findings highlight evidence that AT suppresses the proliferation of LNCaP cells via G1 arrest and inhibition of β‐catenin and AR as a potential anticancer agent.
A bootstrap method for the measurement error estimation in Gauge R&R$R{\&}R$ Studies
Authors: Celano Giovanni
Published: May 2022

A measurement system fit for use is an essential resource to perform quality control activities: its assessment must be carried out periodically to quantify its bias(location) and precision(width) error to qualify it for the purpose it is used. In particular, the measurement system capability must be determined to evaluate how much of the observed variability originates from the gauge's precision error. Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility () studies are aimed at getting a reliable estimate of the precision error of the measurement system. The outcome of a Gauge study are point estimates and confidence intervals of the precision error components and related measurement capability metrics. Here, a general bootstrap‐based procedure is proposed to get confidence interval estimations of the measurement error and its components from a Gauge () study for continuous observations carried out with either the Average and Range (ARGG) control chart or the experimental design method. An application of the proposed bootstrap‐method is presented for a dataset of observations.
Fusion of multimodality image and point cloud for spatial surface registration for knee arthroplasty
Authors: Liu Yanjing , Yao Demin , Zhai Zanjing , Wang Hui , Chen Jiayi , Wu Chuanfu , Qiao Hua , Li Huiwu , Shi Yonghong
Published: May 2022

Background

Image‐guided computer‐aided navigation system is an indispensable part of computer assisted orthopaedic surgery. However, the location and number of fiducial markers, the time required to localise fiducial markers in existing systems affect their effectiveness.

Method

The study proposed that spatial surface registration between the point cloud on the surface of the fusion model based on preoperative knee MRI and CT images and the point cloud on the cartilage surface captured by intraoperative laser scanner could solve the above limitations.

Results

The experimental results show that the registration error of the method is less than 2 mm, but the total time from scanning the point cloud on patient's cartilage surface to registering it with the point cloud in preoperative image space is less than 2 min.

Conclusion

The method achieves the registration accuracy similar to existing methods without selecting anatomical corresponding points, which is of great help to the clinic.
The impact of artificial intelligence on users' entrepreneurial activities
Authors: Li Xueling , Zhang Xiaoyan , Liu Yuan , Mi Yuanying , Chen Yong
Published: May 2022

This study explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on user entrepreneurs, driving factors and user entrepreneurship process combined with its characteristics and development trends. Moreover, this study sorts out the logic of user entrepreneurship change in the AI era. This study achieves four findings. First, AI contributes to entrepreneurs by collecting large user data and intelligently analysing them to obtain optimal entrepreneurial judgements and decisions. Second, entrepreneurs may use AI systems to understand users' potential needs and get user demand information (e.g. more accurate and more major shortcomings of the products). Third, AI assists entrepreneurs in obtaining robust data of product users, including leading and ordinary users, for a wider audience. Fourth, AI replaces the original intergenerational product replacement model with intermittent and periodic characteristics for entrepreneurial activities and reforms the three‐stage user entrepreneurial process: product element deconstruction, product verification matching and innovative product commercialization. This study provides a feasible direction for the key research issues.
Self‐directed learning using computer simulations to study veterinary physiology: Comparing individual and collaborative learning approaches
Authors: López‐Úbeda Rebeca , García‐Vázquez Francisco A.
Published: May 2022

Background

Advances in technology enable new educational resources geared towards situated learning and leading students to a more active education. Self‐directed learning methodologies used along with simulators may represent a good alternative to traditional teaching methods. The aims of this study were to analyse veterinary students' degree of acceptance of self‐directed learning using the PhysioEx simulator in physiology, and to evaluate self‐directed learning outcomes using different approaches (individual vs. collaborative).

Methods

The study was carried out over three academic years. Students conducted different activities on the PhysioEx simulator, either in an individual or cooperative mode. Once the activities were finished, students voluntarily participated in an opinion survey regarding self‐directed learning methodology. Finally, an evaluation of learning outcomes was made through Kahoot!.

Results

Students expressed a high degree of satisfaction with this self‐directed learning method, with the combination of self‐directed learning and gamification being scored the highest. Although students prefer the collaborative method, no differences in learning outcomes were found between the two learning approaches.

Conclusion

The self‐directed learning method in combination with gamification increased the motivation of students, who obtained suitable learning outcomes regardless of whether an individual or collaborative approach was followed.
Introduction
Authors: Luby Stephen , Southern Dorothy L.
Published: May 2022

Scientific writing is an essential skill for researchers. Scientific writing develops critical thinking, connects scientists’ results to global understanding, and identifies appropriate next questions to explore. However, there are several barriers to publishing: a lack of focus in framing the research question, difficulty in explaining why the study is important, inexperience in interpreting data and drawing out its implications, unfamiliarity with the requirements of scientific writing formats, and a lack of clarity and conciseness in the use of English language. The pathway to publishing describes a step-by-step process for early career researchers to progressively develop their scientific ideas into research projects and manuscripts that can be published in the international peer-reviewed literature.
General Research and Writing Practices
Authors: Luby Stephen , Southern Dorothy L.
Published: May 2022

Published articles contribute to ongoing conversations among scientists. To participate in this conversation, authors structure their manuscript in a standard format so that readers can quickly understand it. Articles deploy scientific arguments that build on and connect with other published work. Persuasive scientific reasoning requires that authors be familiar with relevant published work and cite it using a standard format so that readers can follow the development of the ideas that led to the authors’ manuscript. Plagiarism, presenting other people’s work as your own, is a particularly egregious error that can end your scientific career and so needs to be scrupulously avoided by careful and consistent citation. Scientific reasoning is exacting. Several lines of argument that are common in casual conversation or journalism embed errors in reasoning that scientific authors should recognize and avoid.
Slide and Poster Presentations
Authors: Luby Stephen , Southern Dorothy L.
Published: May 2022

Presenting scientific work in a verbal presentation supplemented with slides or as a poster presentation is a valuable way to disseminate your work and to receive feedback that can be helpful in framing a manuscript. Slide and poster presentations emphasize visual communication. Avoid mind-numbing bulleted statements that provide a detailed outline that the presenter reads. Instead, consider how to communicate your ideas visually, how to illustrate the problem that the work engages, how you addressed it, and what you found. Steps you can take to improve your visual presentations include avoiding distracting chart junk and common distracting chart features like three-dimensional figures that do not provide any additional information in the third dimension or using a vertical bar chart that squeezes the title for each bar to the point that it is difficult to read. Clear presentations invite audience engagement and more useful feedback on your work.
The Spatialities of the Nordic Compact City
Authors: Røe Per Gunnar , Kjærås Kristin Edith Abrahamsen , Haarstad Håvard
Published: May 2022

The compact city has become the preferred and mainstream model for urban, peri-urban and sometimes even rural planning in the Nordic context. However, the compact city is increasingly contested as a model for sustainability and may be criticized for a functionalistic perspective on social practices and transitions. Besides, the compact city model is part of increasing transnational or global urban policy mobilities including generic models and strategies, and it may be argued that this contributes to the de-contextualisation of urban planning and development. In this chapter we scrutinize the spatialities of the compact city model and examine how the compact city model has played out in the Nordic context – focusing in particular on Oslo. We ask: how is the compact city developed and promoted as a spatial model? We argue that although the compact city has to some extent been promoted in influential policy circles as a universal model, the compact city in Oslo has some distinct features shaped by the Nordic context. In particular, these features can be attributed to welfare state governance centred on the public sector, yet it is also here we find some of the most significant differences between the Nordic countries. In closing, we discuss whether there is such a thing as a Nordic compact city model, and point to some of its political, social and cultural implications. Is there a pathway for a re-contextualized, relational and grounded compact city model?
Spatial Justice and Social Reproduction in the Nordic Periphery
Authors: Eriksson Madeleine , Tollefsen Aina
Published: May 2022

In this chapter we discuss how demands for social justice and struggles around social reproduction have evolved in the Nordic “periphery”, placing the struggles within a context of critical socio-spatial theorizing and earlier geographical research on uneven development within Nordic welfare states. We give examples from Sweden of how resistance in the northern periphery increasingly mobilizes around spatial justice and social reproduction rather than mainly around employment. Demands about the right to spatial justice challenge the rewarding of a specific place – usually the urban – of modernity, meaning-making and hub for democracy and resistance. And thus oppose the naturalization of uneven rual-urban geographies. Nordic critical geographers have researched inequalities within Nordic welfare states, including center-periphery divides and conflicts, and examined how these have increased with welfare state retrenchment. Feminist geographers highlight the centrality of battles around social reproduction – the right to environmental security, work, food, housing, healthcare, education, a meaningful and dignified life in both urban and rural places. We identify a tradition of empirically based geographical research on material conditions and changing socio-spatial forms of production and consumption, which suggests a socio-spatial theory useful in an era of crisis and increased privatization of nature and social reproduction.
Sublimated Expansionism? Living Space Ideas in Nordic Small-State Geopolitics
Authors: Larsen Henrik Gutzon , Marklund Carl
Published: May 2022

In intellectual histories of geography as well as in international relations, geopolitics is usually the business of great powers, understood as the expansion of hard power through territorial control. However, the existence of a ‘Geopolitik of the weak’ has also been theorised, premised on the ability of smaller states – such as the Nordic countries – to secure their survival through a wider range of policy instruments. In this chapter, we analyse key themes in the work of two Nordic geographical thinkers deeply concerned with the place and status of their home countries in the era of high modernity – Rudolf Kjellén and Gudmund Hatt. Relying upon their scholarly works as well as relevant public debates circa 1905–1945, we trace the ‘small-state geopoliticking’ of Hatt and Kjellén, identifying three key characteristics of their style of small-state geopolitics: (1) determinism is qualified by voluntarism; (2) space is complemented by future; and (3) external expansion is sublimated into internal progress. In its reconceptualisation of living space as primarily concerned with existential survival as premised upon future progress, rather than outward-oriented territorial expansion, small-state geopolitics emerges as a highly situated, somewhat quaint but nonetheless significant element in Nordic theorising of geography.
In Search of Nordic Landscape Geography: Tensions, Combinations and Relations
Authors: Germundsson Tomas , Jönsson Erik , Setten Gunhild
Published: May 2022

Through tracing what ‘landscape’ has meant, and the political and intellectual work that ‘landscape’ does, we in this chapter explore the shifting nature of Nordic landscape geography. We thereby aim to introduce readers to the role of the landscape concept within Nordic scholarship and critically engage with contemporary debates over the nature and meaning of landscape. Landscape was an important political concept long before the advent of geography as a discipline in the Nordic countries, though what landscape denoted differed between various national and linguistic settings. Based in our mapping of the concept as it has evolved within geography and related disciplines, we centre on three strands of landscape scholarship today: mediations on a particularly ‘Nordic’ substantive landscape concept, attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to influence planning, and attempts to utilise landscape as a concept to grasp environmental issues. Scrutinising these current traditions leads us to primarily underline the necessity of relational approaches to steer the concept away from a problematic and narrow emphasis on the local scale. Yet, and importantly, various relational approaches take analysis in different directions, leading us to also underscore the necessity of critically scrutinising where particular relational approaches might lead landscape geography.
Economic Geography of Innovation and Regional Development
Authors: Asheim Bjørn T. , Hansen Høgni Kalsø , Isaksen Arne
Published: May 2022

Research in economic geography on innovation and regional development is an important and thriving research area in Scandinavia, which has contributed significantly to theoretical and empirical advancements beyond the Scandinavian research environments. This chapter demonstrates how the field has developed and changed its focus over the years, touching upon and developing around central academic and societal topics from deindustrialisation, clusters and regional innovation systems to creativity, green transition and changing regional development paths. The chapter focuses on how research milieus have developed in Scandinavia, how theories, methodologies and methods have advanced and how researchers have worked together nationally and internationally during the last four decades.
QuoteKG: A Multilingual Knowledge Graph of Quotes
Authors: Kuculo Tin , Gottschalk Simon , Demidova Elena
Published: May 2022

Quotes of public figures can mark turning points in history. A quote can explain its originator’s actions, foreshadowing political or personal decisions and revealing character traits. Impactful quotes cross language barriers and influence the general population’s reaction to specific stances, always facing the risk of being misattributed or taken out of context. The provision of a cross-lingual knowledge graph of quotes that establishes the authenticity of quotes and their contexts is of great importance to allow the exploration of the lives of important people as well as topics from the perspective of what was actually said. In this paper, we present QuoteKG, the first multilingual knowledge graph of quotes. We propose the QuoteKG creation pipeline that extracts quotes from Wikiquote, a free and collaboratively created collection of quotes in many languages, and aligns different mentions of the same quote. QuoteKG includes nearly one million quotes in 55 languages, said by more than 69, 000 people of public interest across a wide range of topics. QuoteKG is publicly available and can be accessed via a SPARQL endpoint.
Anästhesie bei einer thoraxchirurgischen Patientin mit kongenitaler Muskeldystrophie Typ Ullrich
Authors: Hachenberg Thomas , Walles Thorsten , Lücke Eva , Schilling Thomas
Published: May 2022

Die kongenitale Muskeldystrophie Typ Ullrich (UCMD) ist eine seltene Erkrankung. Weltweit wurden bislang 50 Fälle genetisch gesichert. Autosomal-dominante und rezessive Mutationen des COL6A1/COL6A2 im Chromosom 21q22.3 oder des COL6A3 im Chromosom 2q37.3 führen zu einem Mangel an Kollagen VI. Typische Merkmale der UCMD sind Muskelschwäche von Körperstamm und Extremitäten, Hyperflexibilität der distalen und Kontrakturen der proximalen Gelenke, Rollstuhlpflichtigkeit im Alter von 9 bis 11 Jahren, Versteifung und Skoliose der Wirbelsäule und eine progrediente restriktive Ventilationsstörung. Etwa 50 % der Kinder benötigen im Alter von 11 bis 12 Jahren eine nichtinvasive Ventilation (NIV), wozu auch eine gestörte Funktion des Diaphragmas beiträgt. Es wird über die Narkose bei einer 21-jährigen Patientin mit einer UCMD berichtet, die seit dem 6. Lebensjahr rollstuhlpflichtig war und bei der seit 2018 eine lebenserhaltene NIV erfolgte. Wegen einer subpleuralen Einblutung in den linken Lungenunterlappen nach Entlastung eines Pneumothorax wurde eine videoassistierte thorakoskopische Chirurgie (VATS) vorgenommen. Die spezifischen Anforderungen durch die UCMD, das Atemwegsmanagement für die Einlungenventilation sowie Aspekte zur Auswahl der Anästhetika werden diskutiert. Nach erfolgreicher VATS konnte die Patientin am 7. postoperativen Tag in die Häuslichkeit entlassen werden.
Can the evolution of joint savings agreements counter the effect of higher costs of migration on its intensity?
Authors: Stark Oded , Jakubek Marcin
Published: May 2022

In this paper we consider a population of would-be migrants in a developing country. To begin with, this population is divided into two sets: those who save by themselves to pay for the cost of their migration, and those who pool their savings with the savings of another would-be migrant to pay for the cost. Saving jointly brings forward the timing of migration: funds needed to pay for the migration of one of the co-savers can be accumulated more quickly, enabling him, using his higher income at destination than at origin, to speed up the migration of his co-saver. However, people may hesitate to save jointly for fear that a co-saver who is the first to migrate might fail to keep his part of the agreement. We show that an increase in the cost of migration stimulates the formation of co-financing, joint-saving arrangements that enable would-be migrants to cushion the impact of the increase. The evolution of joint-saving arrangements can create a time window during which the intensity of migration need not decrease: no fewer people (and conceivably even more of them) will migrate during a time interval that follows the increase in the cost. This prediction is at variance with the canonical economic model of migration according to which if migration is costlier, then there will be less of it.
Simultaneous 18F-FDG-PET/MRI for the detection of periprosthetic joint infections after knee or hip arthroplasty: a prospective feasibility study
Authors: Henkelmann Jeanette , Henkelmann Ralf , Denecke Timm , Zajonz Dirk , Roth Andreas , Sabri Osama , Purz Sandra
Published: May 2022

Purpose

This study investigated the diagnostic value of simultaneous 18F-fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in suspected periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the hip and knee.

Methods

Sixteen prostheses from 13 patients with suspected PJI were prospectively examined using PET/MRI. Image datasets were evaluated in consensus by a radiologist and a nuclear physician for the overall diagnosis of ‘PJI’ (yes/no) and its anatomical involvement, such as the periprosthetic bone margin, bone marrow, and soft tissue. The imaging results were compared with the reference standard obtained from surgical or biopsy specimens and subjected to statistical analysis.

Results

Using the reference standard, ten out of the 13 prostheses (ten hips, threes knees) were diagnosed with PJI. Using PET/MRI, every patient with PJI was correctly diagnosed (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 100%). Considering the anatomical regions, the sensitivity and specificity were 57% and 50% in the periprosthetic bone margin, 75% and 33% in the bone marrow, and 100% and 100% in the soft tissue.

Conclusion

PET/MRI can be reliably used for the diagnosis of PJI. However, assessment of the periprosthetic bone remains difficult due to the presence of artefacts. Thus, currently, this modality is unlikely to be recommended in clinical practice.
Even Factors in Edge-Chromatic-Critical Graphs with a Small Number of Divalent Vertices
Authors: Steffen Eckhard , Wolf Isaak H.
Published: May 2022

A finite simple connected graph G with maximum degree k is k-critical if it has chromatic index $$\chi '(G)=k+1$$

χ
′

(
G
)

=
k
+
1

and $$\chi '(G-e)=k$$

χ
′

(
G
-
e
)

=
k

for every edge $$e\in E(G)$$

e
∈
E
(
G
)

. Bej and the first author [2] raised the question whether every k-critical graph has an even factor. We prove that every k-critical graphs with at most $$2k-6$$

2
k
-
6

vertices of degree 2 has an even factor.
Modeling the compressive strength of concrete containing waste glass using multi-objective automatic regression
Authors: Golafshani Emadaldin Mohammadi , Kashani Alireza
Published: May 2022

Some grades of municipal and industrial waste glass (WG) discarded in landfills can cause environmental issues. One of the efficient solutions to overcome this issue is to use WG in concrete mixtures as aggregate or supplementary cementitious materials. Modeling the compressive strength (CS) of the produced concrete using machine learning methods can provide helpful insights into the effects of WG on concrete properties. In this study, a comprehensive database of concrete containing WG (CCWG) was gathered from 24 peer-reviewed papers. Two different scenarios were considered in the selection of input variables, and a novel machine learning method, called multi-objective multi-biogeography-based programming, was used to predict the CS of CCWG. This algorithm can automatically select the effective input variables, the structure of the equations, and its coefficients. Moreover, the proposed model optimizes the precision and complexity of the developed models simultaneously. The definition of complexity in the optimization problem can help achieve different mathematical equations with various accuracies and assist users in predicting the CS of CCWG even with a limited number of optimal input variables. The results show that the proposed algorithm can introduce several equations with different accuracies, complexities, and input variables to predict the CS of CCWG.
Virtual reality for the assessment and rehabilitation of neglect: where are we now? A 6-year review update
Authors: Cavedoni S. , Cipresso P. , Mancuso V. , Bruni F. , Pedroli E.
Published: May 2022

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a frequent repercussion of a cerebrovascular accident, typically a stroke. USN patients fail to orient their attention to the contralesional side to detect auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli, as well as to collect and purposely use this information. Traditional methods for USN assessment and rehabilitation include paper-and-pencil procedures, which address cognitive functions as isolated from other aspects of patients’ functioning within a real-life context. This might compromise the ecological validity of these procedures and limit their generalizability; moreover, USN evaluation and treatment currently lacks a gold standard. The field of technology has provided several promising tools that have been integrated within the clinical practice; over the years, a “first wave” has promoted computerized methods, which cannot provide an ecological and realistic environment and tasks. Thus, a “second wave” has fostered the implementation of virtual reality (VR) devices that, with different degrees of immersiveness, induce a sense of presence and allow patients to actively interact within the life-like setting. The present paper provides an updated, comprehensive picture of VR devices in the assessment and rehabilitation of USN, building on the review of Pedroli et al. (2015). The present paper analyzes the methodological and technological aspects of the studies selected, considering the issue of usability and ecological validity of virtual environments and tasks. Despite the technological advancement, the studies in this field lack methodological rigor as well as a proper evaluation of VR usability and should improve the ecological validity of VR-based assessment and rehabilitation of USN.
$$^{17}$$O and $$^{89}$$Y NMR Shift and Relaxation and the Temperature-Independent Pseudogap of the Cuprates
Authors: Avramovska Marija , Nachtigal Jakob , Haase Juergen
Published: May 2022

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful local quantum probe of the electronic structure of materials, but in the absence of reliable theory the interpretation of the NMR data can be challenging. This is true in particular for the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Over the years, a large base of NMR data became available, which makes a review of early assumptions possible. Very recently, it was shown that all planar $$^{17}$$

17

O NMR shift and relaxation data available in the literature point to a temperature-independent but doping-dependent pseudogap, very similar to what was proposed from the electronic entropy. Here we analyze shift and relaxation of planar O to see whether it follows the very anisotropic and temperature-dependent Cu shift scenario. We find that the O data show a simple, temperature-independent anisotropy in agreement with hyperfine coefficients and orbital shifts predicted by first principles. Furthermore, we show that the original $$^{89}$$

89

Y shift and relaxation data are in agreement with the proposed temperature-independent pseudogap. This pseudogap depends on doping, but also on the family of materials, and the density of states outside or in the absence of the gap is universal for the cuprates; this suggests that the entropy should be similar for all cuprates, as well. Further consequences will be discussed.
Experimental and conceptual approaches to root water transport
Authors: Boursiac Yann , Protto Virginia , Rishmawi Louai , Maurel Christophe
Published: May 2022

Background

Root water transport, which critically contributes to the plant water status and thereby plant productivity, has been the object of extensive experimental and theoretical studies. However, root systems represent an intricate assembly of cells in complex architectures, including many tissues at distinct developmental stages. Our comprehension of where and how molecular actors integrate their function in order to provide the root with its hydraulic properties is therefore still limited.

Scope

Based on current literature and prospective discussions, this review addresses how root water transport can be experimentally measured, what is known about the underlying molecular actors, and how elementary water transport processes are scaled up in numerical/mathematical models.

Conclusions

The theoretical framework and experimental procedures on root water transport that are in use today have been established a few decades ago. However, recent years have seen the appearance of new techniques and models with enhanced resolution, down to a portion of root or to the tissue level. These advances pave the way for a better comprehension of the dynamics of water uptake by roots in the soil.
Proving SIFA protection of masked redundant circuits
Authors: Hadžić Vedad , Primas Robert , Bloem Roderick
Published: May 2022

Implementation attacks like side-channel and fault attacks pose a considerable threat to cryptographic devices that are physically accessible by an attacker. As a consequence, devices like smart cards implement corresponding countermeasures like redundant computation and masking. Recently, statistical ineffective fault attacks (SIFA) have been shown to be able to circumvent these classical countermeasure techniques. We present a new approach for verifying the SIFA protection of arbitrary masked implementations in both hardware and software. The proposed method uses Boolean dependency analysis, factorization, and known properties of masked computations to show whether the fault detection mechanism of redundant masked circuits can leak information about the processed secret values. We implemented this new method in a tool calledDanira, which can show the SIFA resistance of cryptographic implementations like AES S-Boxes within minutes.
Analysis and prediction of global vegetation dynamics: past variations and future perspectives
Authors: Li Guangchao , Chen Wei , Mu Liqiang , Zhang Xuepeng , Bi Pengshuai , Wang Zhe , Yang Zhen
Published: May 2022

Spatiotemporal dynamic vegetation changes affect global climate change, energy balances and the hydrological cycle. Predicting these dynamics over a long time series is important for the study and analysis of global environmental change. Based on leaf area index (LAI), climate, and radiation flux data of past and future scenarios, this study looked at historical dynamic changes in global vegetation LAI, and proposed a coupled multiple linear regression and improved gray model (CMLRIGM) to predict future global LAI. The results show that CMLRIGM predictions are more accurate than results predicted by the multiple linear regression (MLR) model or the improved gray model (IGM) alone. This coupled model can effectively resolve the problem posed by the underestimation of annual average of global vegetation LAI predicted by MLR and the overestimate predicted by IGM. From 1981 to 2018, the annual average of LAI in most areas covered by global vegetation (71.4%) showed an increase with a growth rate of 0.0028 a–1; of this area, significant increases occurred in 34.42% of the total area. From 2016 to 2060, the CMLRIGM model has predicted that the annual average global vegetation LAI will increase, accounting for approximately 68.5% of the global vegetation coverage, with a growth rate of 0.004 a−1. The growth rate will increase in the future scenario, and it may be related to the driving factors of the high emission scenario used in this study. This research may provide a basis for simulating spatiotemporal dynamic changes in global vegetation conditions over a long time series.
On linear stability and syzygy stability
Authors: Castorena Abel , Mistretta Ernesto C. , Torres-López Hugo
Published: May 2022

In previous works, the authors investigated the relationships between linear stability of a generated linear series |V| on a curve C, and slope stability of the syzygy vector bundle $$M_{V,L} := \ker (V \otimes \mathcal {O}_C \rightarrow L)$$

M

V
,
L

:
=
ker

(
V
⊗

O
C

→
L
)

. In particular, the second named author and L. Stoppino conjecture that, for a complete linear system |L|, linear (semi)stability is equivalent to slope (semi)stability of $$M_{L}$$

M
L

. The first and third named authors proved that this conjecture holds in the two opposite cases: hyperelliptic and generic curves. In this work we provide a counterexample to this conjecture on any smooth plane curve of degree 7.
Opposing Effects of Response Time in Human–Chatbot Interaction
Authors: Gnewuch Ulrich , Morana Stefan , Adam Marc T. P. , Maedche Alexander
Published: May 2022

Research has shown that employing social cues (e.g., name, human-like avatar) in chatbot design enhances users’ social presence perceptions and their chatbot usage intentions. However, the picture is less clear for the social cue of chatbot response time. While some researchers argue that instant responses make chatbots appear unhuman-like, others suggest that delayed responses are perceived less positively. Drawing on social response theory and expectancy violations theory, this study investigates whether users’ prior experience with chatbots clarifies the inconsistencies in the literature. In a lab experiment (N = 202), participants interacted with a chatbot that responded either instantly or with a delay. The results reveal that a delayed response time has opposing effects on social presence and usage intentions and shed light on the differences between novice users and experienced users – that is, those who have not interacted with a chatbot before vs. those who have. This study contributes to information systems literature by identifying prior experience as a key moderating factor that shapes users’ social responses to chatbots and by reconciling inconsistencies in the literature regarding the role of chatbot response time. For practitioners, this study points out a drawback of the widely adopted “one-design-fits-all” approach to chatbot design.
Platinum-doublet chemotherapy for advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ohmoto Akihiro , Fujiwara Yu , Horita Nobuyuki , Nakano Kenji , Takahashi Shunji
Published: May 2022

Background

Platinum-doublet chemotherapy has been conventionally used for patients with advanced gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) but evidence of chemotherapy is based on studies with small sample sizes and remains scarce. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to elucidate the efficacy of platinum-doublet chemotherapy for advanced GEP-NEC.

Methods

We performed a database search in PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE. Eligible studies were prospective and retrospective studies documenting the efficacy of platinum plus etoposide (EP) and platinum plus irinotecan (IP) for advanced GEP-NEC. Overall response rate (ORR), median progression-free survival (PFS), and median overall survival (OS) were pooled and weighted using generic inverse variance in a random-effects meta-analysis model.

Results

Nineteen studies including 1157 patients were identified. The ORR of the platinum-doublet regimen, EP, and IP was 49.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41.8–56.5), 44.4% (95% CI: 35.9–53.0), and 59.4% (95% CI: 48.0–70.8). The pooled median OS of the platinum-doublet regimen, EP, and IP was 12.9 months (95% CI:10.9–15.3), 12.9 months (95% CI: 10.8–15.4), and 12.9 months (95% CI: 6.0–27.8), and the pooled median PFS of the platinum-doublet regimen, EP, and IP was 5.4 months (95% CI: 4.5–6.4), 5.4 months (95% CI 4.5–6.5), and 4.0 months (95% CI: 1.4–11.7), respectively.

Conclusion

Considerable response rate and survival time of the platinum-doublet regimen for advanced GEP-NEC were observed. IP and EP regimens can be reasonably applicable and these results provide a reference for oncologists in deciding the suitable regimen for patients with advanced GEP-NEC.
Electrospun PVA–Dextran Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Acceleration of Topical Wound Healing: Nanofiber Optimization, Characterization and In Vitro Assessment
Authors: Kenawy El-Refaie S. , Kamoun Elbadawy A. , Eldin Mahmoud Serag , Soliman Hesham M. A. , EL-Moslamy Shahira H. , El-Fakharany Esmail M. , Shokr Abdel-baset M.
Published: May 2022

Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol–dextran (PVA–Dex)-based nanofibers (NFs) are explored as a novel class of bioactive injury dressing materials, which have an essential role for topical injury mending. Sodium ampicillin-loaded citric acid-cross-linked PVA–Dex NFs were fabricated by electrospinner for wound recuperating purposes. Results revealed that PVA (10%)–dextran (10%) cross-linked with 5% citric acid (CA) was chosen as an optimized condition for obtaining non-beaded and morphological accepted nanofibers. Altered concentrations of CA as cross-linker progressively enhanced significantly the mechanical/thermal stability and wettability-proof of NFs scaffolds, compared to un-cross-linked (PVA–Dex) scaffolds. Meanwhile, swelling (%), protein adsorption and released ampicillin of NFs decreased dramatically with the increase in the CA concentration, and conversely enhanced with increasing dextran concentrations. Interestingly, resultant PVA–Dex NFs with high concentrations of dextran promoted the proliferation ofHFB-4cells in a high concentration-dependent manner and high antimicrobial activity behavior, compared to NFs containing high concentrations of CA cross-linker after 24 and 48 h of cell exposure. Notably, all fabricated NFs have remarked ability to accelerate the rate of in vitro wound gap closure (%) after treatment for 24 and 48 h, compared to control sample. However, reducing CA concentration in NFs showed the highest percentages of wound healing for scratchedHFB-4cells with clear observed healing process.
A fungal-based pesticide does not harm pollination service provided by the African stingless bee Meliponula ferruginea on cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Authors: Omuse Evanson R. , Niassy Saliou , Kiatoko Nkoba , Lattorff H. Michael G. , Wagacha John M. , Dubois Thomas
Published: May 2022

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) provide pollination services to crops and produce high–quality honey. The application of agrochemicals during the management of crop pests is an increasing threat to pollinators and the ecosystem services they provide. Biopesticides are considered as better alternatives; however, there is limited evidence of their impact on stingless bees. We evaluated the effect of the most widely used African fungal biopesticide (Metarhizium anisopliaeICIPE 69) on mortality, foraging behavior and pollination success of the African stingless beeMeliponula ferrugineaunder semi-field conditions. Colonies ofM. ferrugineawere introduced into four 24 m2greenhouse compartments containing blooming cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants. Cucumber plants were sprayed with a suspension of the biopesticide alongside a sterile 0.05% Triton–100–X (control). The experiment was repeated three times during different cucumber growing seasons. Biopesticide application did not significantly affectM. ferrugineamortality, flight activity, flower visitation, pollen foraging,C. sativusfruit set orC. sativusyield. Forager bees acquired a high number of conidia (7,600 ± 54 conidia /bee) immediately after biopesticide application; however, a significant decline was observed in the subsequent days. Conidial persistence and viability on plant surfaces declined significantly with days. There was no correlation between conidial acquisition and pollen load by forager bees (657 ± 29 pollen/bee). This study demonstrates thatM. anisopliaeICIPE 69 did not negatively impactM. ferrugineamortality, pollination behaviour and success, and can therefore be safely used in stingless bee–dependent crop systems.
Screening for anxiety and its determinants among secondary school students during the COVID-19 era: a snapshot from Qatar in 2021
Authors: Albinali Alia , Naja Sarah , Al Kaabi Noora , Slim Nagah
Published: May 2022

Background

Anxiety among adolescents may lead to disability and has a tremendous impact on one’s quality of life. The alarming COVID-19 pandemic is expected to increase the anxiety level of adolescents especially with enforced governmental management strategies. This study will assess anxiety symptoms among secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar.

Methods

We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study among adolescents attending independent secondary schools in Qatar. First, potential participants were invited through Microsoft teams. Next, a total of 750 participants were assessed through the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool. We then conducted descriptive analyses and the Chi-square test to examine significant determinants of anxiety, which was followed by logistic regression analysis. In the end, the scale was tested for its internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha.

Results

Anxiety symptoms were seen in 37.2% of the participants. Female gender, previous history of mental illness, comorbidities, permissive parenting style, and spending more than 12 h per day on the internet were significant determinants of anxiety. Furthermore, a previous history of mental illness, low perceived social support, isolation, and social distancing predicted anxiety.

Conclusions

Anxiety is common among secondary school students in Qatar, and preventive interventions must target the determinants, especially during a pandemic.
The AdVance Sling and Male Sexual Function: A Prospective Analysis on the Impact of Pelvic Mesh on Erectile and Orgasmic Domains in Sexually Active Men With Postprostatectomy Stress Urinary Incontinence
Authors: Chung Eric , Wang Juan
Published: May 2022

Background

Transvaginal pelvic mesh surgery has been shown to cause female sexual dysfunction.

Aim

To evaluate the sexual function impact of AdVance male sling (MS) on erectile and orgasmic domains.

Methods

A review of a prospectively collected database was conducted in all sexually active men who underwent AdVance MS for postprostatectomy stress urinary incontinence between 2012 and 2018.

Outcomes

Patient demographics, clinical outcomes, and validated questionnaires such as the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BMSFI), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) were reviewed at 6, 12 and 24 months.

Results

Of the total of 65 men who received AdVance sling, an increase in IIEF-5 score ≥5 points were reported in 10 (15%) patients with no patients complained of deteriorating erectile function at 24 months. The improvement in orgasmic function (Question 10 on IIEF-15) was reported in 22 (34%) patients while 3 (5%) patients reported lower orgasmic scores. The sexual domains scores in BMSFI were higher in 40 (62%) patients, especially with regards to sexual desire (Question 1 and 2) and satisfaction with sex life (Question 11). No patient reports pelvic or urethral pain. The reported improvement in erectile and orgasm scores remained similar throughout the 24-months follow-up period. All 20 patients with preoperative climacturia reported resolution of their symptoms during sexual activity. The overall PGI-I was 1.4 (1–3) and men with a higher continence rate were more likely to report better male sexual function (P = .044).

Clinical implications

AdVance MS appears to improve erectile and orgasmic domains, and there is a positive correlation between urinary continence and male sexual function.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths of this study include the prospective large patient population analyzed regarding the impact of MS on male sexual function with the use of validated instruments for erectile, orgasmic, and urinary domains. Limitations include single-centre data, relatively short-term follow-up study and lack of a comparative arm.

Conclusion

Despite the reported adverse effect of sexual dysfunction following pelvic mesh in the female population, the AdVance PMS appears to improve male sexual function with regards to erectile and orgasm domains.
Epidemiological characteristics, clinical course, and laboratory investigation of pediatric COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Duabie Bayan , Alfattani Areej , Althawadi Sahar , Taha Abdullah , Javaid Haroon Ahmed , Mobarak Omar , Albanyan Esam
Published: May 2022

Background:

Since the initial emergence of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus responsible for the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many studies have been exploring the nature and characteristics of this virus and its associated clinical manifestations. The present study aimed to describe the clinical presentation and outcomes of COVID-19 infections in pediatric patients.

Methods:

A retrospective review of findings associated with 143 pediatric patients (age <14 years) with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who had undergone inpatient or outpatient treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March 2020 and October 2020, was conducted. The analyzed data included patient demographic information, pre-existing medical conditions, symptoms, interventions, and outcomes.

Results:

The median age of this patient population was 7 years. Of these 143 patients, 67 (46.8%) had known pre-existing medical conditions including bronchial asthma (12.8%), chronic lung disease (CLD) (3%), congenital heart disease (CHD) (17%), primary immunodeficiencies (1.5%), malignancies (9.8%), and 7.5% were post-transplant patients. Thirty-seven patients (26%) were overweight or obese. Sixty-three of these patients (51%) were symptomatic, with the most common symptom being fever (55%). Ultimately, 45 patients (31%) required admission to the hospital, with a median duration of hospitalization of 9.6 days for admitted patients. There were no documented cases of infection-related mortality among this pediatric cohort, although 11 patients experienced post-infectious complications that primarily manifested as a loss of taste and smell.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that pediatric COVID-19 patients tend to experience mild forms of the disease, without any significant differences in disease severity as a function of patient gender or immune status.