bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paraventricular nucleus projections to the nucleus tractus solitarii are essential for full expression of hypoxia‐induced peripheral chemoreflex responses
Authors: Ruyle Brian C. , Lima‐Silveira Ludmila , Martinez Diana , Cummings Kevin J. , Heesch Cheryl M. , Kline David D. , Hasser Eileen M.
Published: August 2023

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is essential to peripheral chemoreflex neurocircuitry, but the specific efferent pathways utilized are not well defined. The PVN sends dense projections to the nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS), which exhibits neuronal activation following a hypoxic challenge. We hypothesized that nTS‐projecting PVN (PVN‐nTS) neurons contribute to hypoxia‐induced nTS neuronal activation and cardiorespiratory responses. To selectively target PVN‐nTS neurons, rats underwent bilateral nTS nanoinjection of retrogradely transported adeno‐associated virus (AAV) driving Cre recombinase expression. We then nanoinjected into PVN AAVs driving Cre‐dependent expression of Gq or Gi designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) to test the degree that selective activation or inhibition, respectively, of the PVN‐nTS pathway affects the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) of conscious rats. We used immunohistochemistry for Fos and extracellular recordings to examine how DREADD activation influences PVN‐nTS neuronal activation by hypoxia. Pathway activation enhanced the HVR at moderate hypoxic intensities and increased PVN and nTS Fos immunoreactivity in normoxia and hypoxia. In contrast, PVN‐nTS inhibition reduced both the HVR and PVN and nTS neuronal activation following hypoxia. To further confirm selective pathway effects on central cardiorespiratory output, rats underwent hypoxia before and after bilateral nTS nanoinjections of C21 to activate or inhibit PVN‐nTS terminals. PVN terminal activation within the nTS enhanced tachycardic, sympathetic and phrenic (PhrNA) nerve activity responses to hypoxia whereas inhibition attenuated hypoxia‐induced increases in nTS neuronal action potential discharge and PhrNA. The results demonstrate the PVN‐nTS pathway enhances nTS neuronal activation and is necessary for full cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia.

image

Key points

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) contributes to peripheral chemoreflex cardiorespiratory responses, but specific PVN efferent pathways are not known.

The nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS) is the first integration site of the peripheral chemoreflex, and the nTS receives dense projections from the PVN.

Selective GqDREADD activation of the PVN‐nTS pathway was shown to enhance ventilatory responses to hypoxia and activation (Fos immunoreactivity (IR)) of nTS neurons in conscious rats, augmenting the sympathetic and phrenic nerve activity (SSNA and PhrNA) responses to hypoxia in anaesthetized rats.

Selective GiDREADD inhibition of PVN‐nTS neurons attenuates ventilatory responses, nTS neuronal Fos‐IR, action potential discharge and PhrNA responses to hypoxia.

These results demonstrate that a projection from the PVN to the nTS is critical for full chemoreflex responses to hypoxia.
The Element of Surprise: How Predictive Processing Can Help Coach Practitioners Understand and Develop Skilled Movement in Sport Settings
Authors: O’Brien Katherine A. , Kennedy Andrew , O’Keeffe Michael J.
Published: August 2023

Predictive processing provides a framework for explaining how the brain solves problems of perception, decision making, and movement control by forming predictions, or plausible explanations, for what is happening in an approximately optimal manner. The strength or confidence of the prediction subjectively shapes whether something “surprising” has happened and whether a person’s perceptions and actions require adjustment. We put forward how predictive processing accounts of skill development emphasise predictive processes of action and perception that allows coaches who identify as “sporting ecology designers,” to better understand how to select the right action opportunities (i.e., affordances) to include in their training designs. We describe how motor learning can be incorporated into training designs through the element of “surprise” or the unexpected variations from the already established internal patterns that athletes have learned over time in a range of performance and practice settings. We conclude by presenting an applied example of coaching the backdoor cut manoeuver in basketball using predictive processing techniques, outlining how aspects of athlete knowledge, intentionality, memories, decision making, and prior experience cognitively coalesce during a coach-led training design to produce stable, yet flexible, movement couplings in a sport-based setting.
The Effect of a Physical Activity Intervention on Burden and Depressive Symptoms in Depressed Family Caregivers of Patients With Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Bademli Kerime , Lök Neslihan , Lök Sefa
Published: August 2023

Background: The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a 12-week physical activity intervention for caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Method: Family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia were recruited and randomized into either a physical activity group (n = 31) or a control group (n = 31). The 12-week “Physical Activity Program” consisted of 10 minutes of warm-up activities as the initial segment, 20 minutes of rhythmic exercises as the activity segment, 10 minutes of cool-down exercises as the final segment, and 40 minutes of free walking. The physical activity program was designed to accommodate the ergonomics and physiological structure of the caregiver. The program consisted of 12 sessions. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to the physical activity and control groups before the program’s implementation. Results: A total of 62 caregivers were randomized to the intervention (n = 31) or control group (n = 31). Postintervention measurement was completed by 61 caregivers, and all the caregivers completed the intervention. Mean scores of Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale score and Beck Depression Inventory score in the physical activity group of caregivers at postintervention, significantly reduced at <.05 level than their mean baseline scores. Conclusions: Engagement in a 12-week physical activity intervention can improve the perceived burden of caregiving and symptoms of depression. Future research should examine with larger sample groups, carry out interventions, and apply the physical activity intervention by targeting caregivers, along with different interventions.
Increased Risk of Falling in Older Adults When Coordinating Obstacle Avoidance and Grasping
Authors: Camargos Janine Carvalho Valentino , Magalhães Gabriela Vigorito , Avellar Letícia Munhoz , Frizera Anselmo , Rinaldi Natalia Madalena
Published: August 2023

This study aimed to investigate the kinematic changes in obstacle avoidance and prehension tasks performed simultaneously by older adults with a history of falls at different levels of task difficulty. Twenty-six older adults were divided into faller and nonfaller groups. The experimental protocol was divided into two different tasks: walking with obstacle avoidance and walking with obstacle avoidance combined with a reach-to-grasp task. Two types of sensors (Kinect v2 and Leap Motion Controller, respectively) were used to analyze gait and grasp. Fallers presented kinematic changes associated with the grasping task during obstacle avoidance, such as a decrease in the velocity of the center of mass and the step length, an increase in the step width, a decrease in toe–obstacle horizontal distance, and an increase in vertical foot clearance distance, and an increase in movement time in the grasping task compared with nonfallers. To cope with the obstacle avoidance demands of both walking and grasping, fallers turned to a specific sequencing strategy. While slowing down, they attended first to the grasping task and then to crossing the obstacle on the floor.
Dynamics of cosmological model with domain walls and massive scalar fields in f(R,T) gravity
Authors: Rao V. Sreenivasa , Ganesh V. , Dasunaidu K.
Published: August 2023

A spatially homogenous and anisotropic locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) Bianchi type-I space-time is considered in the presence of a massive scalar field containing domain walls in the framework of the [Formula: see text] gravity proposed by Harko et al. [Phys. Rev. D 84, 024020, (2011)]. Solving the field equations of the model using a relation between metric potentials and power law between the scalar field and average scale factor of the model, an anisotropic cosmological model with massive scalar fields and domain walls in [Formula: see text] theory is presented. These conditions result in a model solution that provides a dynamic deceleration parameter. The model’s geometrical and physical properties are also examined. The universe exhibits a smooth transition from its early decelerated phase to its current accelerated phase, as shown by the study of the deceleration parameter. The statefinder plane corresponds to the Chaplygin gas era and the model finally approaches [Formula: see text]CDM model.
Geometric tool kit for higher spin gravity (Part II): An introduction to Lie algebroids and their enveloping algebras
Authors: Bekaert Xavier
Published: August 2023

These notes provide a self-contained introduction to Lie algebroids, Lie-Rinehart algebras and their universal envelopes. This review is motivated by the speculation that higher-spin gauge symmetries should admit a natural formulation as enveloping algebras of Lie algebroids since rigid higher-spin algebras are enveloping algebras of Lie algebras. Nevertheless, the material covered here may be of general interest to anyone interested in the description of gauge symmetries, connections and covariant derivatives, in terms of Lie algebroids. In order to be self-contained, a concise introduction to the algebraic characterization of vector bundles as projective modules over the algebra of functions on the base manifold is provided.
Photoconductivity properties of doped GaTe compound
Authors: Jafarova Aynur N.
Published: August 2023

In this work, we consider the results of studying the spectral distribution, the temperature dependence of photoconductivity, and the dependence of the spectral distribution of photoconductivity on the applied electric field of doped with rare earth elements GaTe single crystals in the temperature range of 30–300 K. As the temperature decreases to 30 K, the impurity peaks disappear, and the intense maximum shifts to the short wavelength region. The increase in impurity photoconductivity with increasing temperature is due to the thermooptical filling of acceptor levels with electrons and their further transition to the conduction band under the action of illumination. Such a temperature dependence of the photoconductivity is explained by the presence of acceptor levels in the band gap.
Fluid Cavitation Intensity in Zero Leakage Upstream Pumping Face Seals with Spiral Grooves
Authors: Song Yuansen , Bai Shaoxian , Yang Jing , Chen Junjie
Published: August 2023

Cavitation intensity variations in fluid lubrication may alter the mechanical and lubrication properties of the fluid. In this paper, a compressible cavitation model is presented to study the effect of fluid cavitation intensity on zero-leakage flow of upstream-pumping spiral grooves face seals (UPSGLFS). The pressure variation in cavities can be calculated considering the compressibility of the lubricating medium, the ratio of minimum pressure to cavitation pressure is further defined to characterize the cavitation intensity. A numerical analysis of the zero-leakage behavior of UPSGLFS is then performed based on its effect. Results show that cavitation plays a negative role in sealing performances. However, the groove’s configuration and working conditions have substantial effects on controlling the cavitation intensity. Meanwhile, whether a circumferential continuous pressure ring above the seal pressure can be formed is the design basis for judging the strict zero leakage of the medium, rather than only depending on the change of leakage rate parameter value. With suitable spiral groove parameter design, zero-leakage design for upstream-pumping seals may be achieved under multi-speed and multi-seal-pressure conditions. Here, a zero-leakage map is presented for working conditions with multi-speed ranging from 500 to 20,000[Formula: see text]rpm and multi-seal pressure ranging from 0.1 to 3.0[Formula: see text]MPa.
Resistive switching properties of CdTe/CdSe core–shell quantum dots incorporated organic cow milk for memory application
Authors: Dlamini Zolile Wiseman , Setlalentoa Wendy , Vallabhapurapu Sreedevi , Mahule Tebogo Sfiso , Vallabhapurapu Vijaya Srinivasu , Daramola Olamide Abiodun , Tseki Potlaki Foster , Siwe-Noundou Xavier , Krause Rui Werner Macedo
Published: August 2023

Our study focuses on the resistive switching memory characteristics of devices containing active layers of CdTe/CdSe core–shell quantum dots (QDs) dispersed in organic cow milk. We fabricated devices containing CdTe/CdSe particles per volume of milk using a direct-dipping method, with particle concentrations of 2.4 × 10[Formula: see text] (S1), 4.8 × 10[Formula: see text](S2), and 7.2 × 10[Formula: see text](S3). This method was cost-free. Distinct memory characteristics were observed among devices featuring these concentrations. S1- and S2-based devices exhibited memory behavior with ‘S-type’ and ‘O-type’ hysteresis, respectively. The device based on S3 exhibited an initial asymmetric ‘N-type’ behavior with a large ON/OFF ratio ([Formula: see text]104). The memory attribute of the aforementioned device disappeared after the initial three cycles but was subsequently restored by modifying the scan voltage step from 10 mV to 1 mV. The observed results indicate typical symmetric ‘N-type’ behavior of the device, accompanied by threshold switching under positive voltage bias. Additionally, the switching was observed to be as low as 0.04 V. The S1- and S2-based devices were found to exhibit hopping conduction and Schottky emission in the OFF- and ON-state, respectively, while the S3-based device showed conductive bridge resistive switching as the conduction mechanism. The findings indicate that it is possible to produce biodegradable and disposable memory devices using full cream cow milk and CdTe/CdSe core–shell QDs. The device’s switching and memory functions can be manipulated by regulating the quantity of CdTe/CdSe particles present in the milk. Finally, we have demonstrated that the switching behavior of ReRAMs based on milk can be influenced by the voltage steps used during scanning.
Analysis of Performance Improvements and Bias Associated with the Use of Human Mobility Data in COVID-19 Case Prediction Models
Authors: Abrar Saad Mohammad , Awasthi Naman , Smolyak Daniel , Frias-Martinez Vanessa
Published: August 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has mainstreamed human mobility data into the public domain, with research focused on understanding the impact of mobility reduction policies as well as on regional COVID-19 case prediction models. Nevertheless, current research on COVID-19 case prediction tends to focus on performance improvements, masking relevant insights about when mobility data does not help, and more importantly, why, so that it can adequately inform local decision making. In this article, we carry out a systematic analysis to reveal the conditions under which human mobility data provides (or not) an enhancement over individual regional COVID-19 case prediction models that do not use mobility as a source of information. Our analysis—focused on U.S. county-based COVID-19 case prediction models—shows that (1) at most, 60% of counties improve their performance after adding mobility data; (2) the performance improvements are modest, with median correlation improvements of approximately 0.13; (3) improvements were lower for counties with higher Black, Hispanic, and other non-White populations as well as low-income and rural populations, pointing to potential bias in the mobility data negatively impacting predictive performance; and (4) different mobility datasets, predictive models, and training approaches bring about diverse performance improvements.
How Gaze Visualization Facilitates Initiation of Informal Communication in 3D Virtual Spaces
Authors: Ichino Junko , Ide Masahiro , Yoshiki Takehito , Yokoyama Hitomi , Asano Hirotoshi , Miyachi Hideo , Okabe Daisuke
Published: August 2023

This study explores how gaze visualization in virtual spaces facilitates the initiation of informal communication. Three styles of gaze cue visualization (arrow, bubbles, and miniature avatar) with two types of gaze behavior (one-sided gaze and joint gaze) were evaluated. 96 participants used either a non-visualized gaze cue or one of the three visualized gaze cues. The results showed that all visualized gaze cues facilitated the initiation of informal communication more effectively than the non-visualized gaze cue. For one-sided gaze, overall, bubbles had more positive effects on the gaze receiver's behaviors and experiences than the other two visualized gaze cues, although the only statistically significant difference was in the verbal reaction rates. For joint gaze, all three visualized gaze cues had positive effects on the receiver's behaviors and experiences. The design implications of the gaze visualization and the confederate-based evaluation method contribute to research on informal communication and social virtual reality.
SHGCN: Socially Enhanced Heterogeneous Graph Convolutional Network for Multi-behavior Prediction
Authors: Zhang Lei , Zhang Wuji , Wu Likang , He Ming , Zhao Hongke
Published: August 2023

In recent years, multi-behavior information has been utilized to address data sparsity and cold-start issues. The general multi-behavior models capture multiple behaviors of users to make the representation of relevant features more fine-grained and informative. However, most current multi-behavior recommendation methods neglect the exploration of social relations between users. Actually, users’ potential social connections are critical to assist them in filtering multifarious messages, which may be one key for models to tap deeper into users’ interests. Additionally, existing models usually focus on the positive behaviors (e.g.,
click
,
follow
, and
purchase
) of users and tend to ignore the value of negative behaviors (e.g.,
unfollow
and
badpost
). In this work, we present a Multi-Behavior Graph (MBG) construction method based on user behaviors and social relationships and then introduce a novel socially enhanced and behavior-aware graph neural network for behavior prediction. Specifically, we propose a
Socially Enhanced Heterogeneous Graph Convolutional Network
(SHGCN) model, which utilizes behavior heterogeneous graph convolution module and social graph convolution module to effectively incorporate behavior features and social information to achieve precise multi-behavior prediction. In addition, the aggregation pooling mechanism is suggested to integrate the outputs of different graph convolution layers, and a dynamic adaptive loss (DAL) method is presented to explore the weight of each behavior. The experimental results on the datasets of the e-commerce platforms (i.e., Epinions and Ciao) indicate the promising performance of SHGCN. Compared with the most powerful baseline, SHGCN achieves 3.3% and 1.4% uplift in terms of
AUC
on the Epinions and Ciao datasets. Further experiments, including model efficiency analysis, DAL mechanism, and ablation experiments, confirm the validity of the multi-behavior information and social enhancement.
Adopting Two Supervisors for Efficient Use of Large-Scale Remote Deep Neural Networks - RCR Report
Authors: Weiss Michael , Tonella Paolo
Published: August 2023

This is the Replicated Computational Results (RCR) Report for our TOSEM paper “Adopting Two Supervisors for Efficient Use of Large-Scale Remote Deep Neural Networks”, where we propose a novel client-server architecture allowing to leverage the high accuracy of huge neural networks running on remote servers while reducing the economical and latency costs typically coming from using such models. As part of this RCR, we provide a replication package, which allows the full replication of all our results and is specifically designed to facilitate reuse.
We Need to Fix Secondary School Computer Science
Authors: Bernat Alex
Published: August 2023

In recent years, the push for secondary school students to “learn to code” has increased significantly. Currently, about half of secondary schools in the United States have computer science education available to students in some form. Unfortunately, many of these schools choose a curriculum bogged down in the nuances of programming language syntax, leaving students bored, confused, unable to apply their learning to useful problems outside the classroom, and therefore disheartened about further pursuing a more conceptual computer science education in college. As a current undergraduate who has helped teach secondary school computer science, I witnessed firsthand the problems with current approaches. I, therefore, propose a shift in the focus of computing education research away from teaching “coding” effectively to elucidating a more abstract but nevertheless more pragmatic characterization of computer science as an academic field, rather than programming as a trade.
Improving Computation and Memory Efficiency for Real-world Transformer Inference on GPUs
Authors: Du Jiangsu , Jiang Jiazhi , Zheng Jiang , Zhang Hongbin , Huang Dan , Lu Yutong
Published: August 2023

Transformer models have emerged as a leading approach in the field of natural language processing (NLP) and are increasingly being deployed in production environments. Graphic processing units (GPUs) have become a popular choice for the transformer deployment and often rely on the batch processing technique to ensure high hardware performance. Nonetheless, the current practice for transformer inference encounters computational and memory redundancy due to the heavy-tailed distribution of sequence lengths in NLP scenarios, resulting in low practical performance.

In this article, we propose a unified solution for improving both computation and memory efficiency of the real-world transformer inference on GPUs. The solution eliminates the redundant computation and memory footprint across a transformer model. At first, a GPU-oriented computation approach is proposed to process the self-attention module in a fine-grained manner, eliminating its redundant computation. Next, the multi-layer perceptron module continues to use the word-accumulation approach to eliminate its redundant computation. Then, to better unify the fine-grained approach and the word-accumulation approach, it organizes the data layout of the self-attention module in block granularity. Since aforementioned approaches make the required memory size largely reduce and constantly fluctuate, we propose the chunk-based approach to enable a better balance between memory footprint and allocation/free efficiency. Our experimental results show that our unified solution achieves a decrease of average latency by 28% on the entire transformer model, 63.8% on the self-attention module, and reduces memory footprint of intermediate results by 7.8×, compared with prevailing frameworks.
DA-DAN: A Dual Adversarial Domain Adaption Network for Unsupervised Non-overlapping Cross-domain Recommendation
Authors: Guo Lei , Liu Hao , Zhu Lei , Guan Weili , Cheng Zhiyong
Published: August 2023

Unsupervised Non-overlapping Cross-domain Recommendation (UNCR) is the task that recommends source domain items to the target domain users, which is more challenging as the users are non-overlapped, and its learning process is unsupervised. Unsupervised Non-overlapping Cross-domain Recommendation UNCR is still unsolved due to the following: (1) Previous studies need extra auxiliary information to learn transferable features when aligning two domains, which is unrealistic and hard to obtain due to privacy concerns. (2) Since the adoption of the shared network, existing works cannot well eliminate the domain-specific features in the common feature space, which may incorporate domain noise and harm the cross-domain recommendation. In this work, we propose a domain adaption-based method, namely DA-DAN, to address the above challenges. Specifically, to let DA-DAN be free of auxiliary information, we learn users’ preferences by only exploring their sequential patterns, and propose an improved self-attention layer to model them. To well eliminate the domain-specific features from the common feature space, we resort to a dual generative adversarial network with a multi-target adversarial loss, where two generators and discriminators are leveraged to model each domain separately. Experimental results on three real-world datasets demonstrate the advantage of DA-DAN compared with the state-of-the-art recommendation baselines. Moreover, our source codes have been publicly released.

1
A Rare Case of Lipomatous Variant Mammary-Type Myofibroblastoma of the Lateral Tongue
Authors: Spalti Matthew , Samim Firoozeh , Florianova Livia
Published: August 2023

Mammary-type myofibroblastoma (MTMF) is an unusual and rare benign tumor that typically presents in older men or post-menopausal females. A 53-year-old female presented with a 6-month history of an asymptomatic pink/white submucosal nodule involving the left lateral tongue. Clinical examination showed a

5
 
mm
×
5
 
mm
×
5
 
mm

firm submucosal nodule with intact overlying mucosa. Differential diagnoses focused on benign nodular connective tissue tumors. An excisional biopsy was performed and submitted for histopathological examination. The patient underwent conservative local excision. Histopathology and immunocytochemistry revealed a lipomatous variant of MTMF. Hematoxylin and eosin sections revealed an unencapsulated soft tissue lesion with a lobular growth pattern. The neoplasm was biphasic, comprising adipose tissue and cellular fibrous components. By immunohistochemistry, tumor cells were positive for desmin, estrogen receptor, and CD34. In summary, we presented an unusual case of a lipomatous variant of myofibroblastoma on the tongue. MTMF rarely occurs in the head and neck and its accurate diagnosis necessitates awareness of its histomorphological spectrum and application of appropriate immunohistochemical stains.
Evaluation and Improvement of Employee Performance with respect to Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Factors: A Case of Complex Transport Construction Project
Authors: Zhang Xinying , Wang Yuanqing , Gao Yanan , Liu Yuanyuan , Feng Shuo
Published: August 2023

Risk control in complex transport construction is complicated due to the dangerous nature of high variation and unpredictability. Most of the current research analysis focuses on the health, safety, and environment (HSE) risk assessment and employee performance evaluation, which neglects the impact of HSE risks on employee performance. Consequently, this research develops a framework to evaluate employee performance and identify key factors affecting performance. The employee performance indicators and HSE indicators are established by reviewing related literature. Using data from questionnaires, an artificial neural network‐ (ANN‐) based model of employee activity effectiveness is then developed to evaluate employee performance. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to determine the key factors affecting employee performance. The Hong Kong‐Zhuhai‐Macau Bridge, a large‐scale cross‐sea channel project, is taken as a case study for validation. The model results show that the employees are satisfied with the effect of HSE management in general, but the psychological stress they perceive becomes large. The indicators of risk control and employee participation positively impact employee performance, while job satisfaction has a negative impact on performance. These findings indicate that operators should pay more attention to employees’ psychological perception of work and form a standardized process management and control plan to prevent cumbersome processes from increasing employees’ workload. This study helps construction systems and managers to identify the areas of strengths and weaknesses in their HSE management. The research only focuses on the impact of HSE risks on managers’ performance in the complex transport construction project. In the future, further engineering projects and employee performance in composite scenarios can be investigated to improve the overall productivity.
Determinants of Stock Theft and Its Implication on Household Dietary Diversity in Semiarid Regions of Zimbabwe: Case of Gwanda District
Authors: Manyeruke Kainos , Musemwa Lovemore , Masamha Tavengwa
Published: August 2023

Stock theft is a major threat to livestock production in Africa and has been on the rise in recent years. Zimbabwe is no exception. The purpose of this study was to analyze factors that contribute to stock theft in rural areas. The study used a mixed research design. The study was limited to wards 20 and 24 of Gwanda district of Matabeleland South Province. The linear regression model was used to analyze the factors that affected stock theft in rural areas. The majority (57.1%) of the interviewed household heads were males and aged below 50 years (55.8%) with an average household size of 5 members. On average, each household owned 5 cattle, 2 sheep, 17 goats, 4 donkeys, and 5 chicken. The participants kept livestock mainly for income generation, source of school fees, draught power, meat, milk, manure, and eggs. The major causes of livestock loss apart from stock theft were drought, disease outbreaks, trapped in mine holes, and predators. All the respondents practiced livestock identification which includes branding, ear notching, and the use of ear tags. The most vulnerable livestock species to stock theft were goats, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and chicken. Stock theft mostly takes place before midday and on Mondays and Wednesdays. It is at its peak levels in January and November. Goats and donkeys were the main stolen livestock species. The stolen livestock is mostly sold to meat processors. The distance from the border, the use of livestock identification tags, the total number of livestock units owned by the household, and the day of the week were significant in influencing the intensity of stock theft (

p
<
0.10

). Stock theft does not directly affect household dietary diversity (

p
>
0.05

) because rural households do not use livestock for their nutritional benefit, particularly goats, sheep, and cattle. Thus, if dietary diversity is taken as a proxy for food security, it can be concluded that stock theft does not significantly affect the household’s food security status. Working in groups through neighborhood watch committees, livestock branding, tending livestock which reduces the time that the livestock roam freely unattended, and assisting the police with investigations whenever there is a case of stock theft were identified as important mitigation strategies. At the service provider level, it was suggested that the law enforcing needed to increase its efficiency to mitigate stock theft.
Skin Cell and Tissue Responses to Cross-Linked Hyaluronic Acid in Low-Grade Inflammatory Conditions
Authors: Sanchez Benjamin , Ferraro Sandra , Josset-Lamaugarny Audrey , Pagnon Aurélie , Hee Charlie K. , Nakab Lauren , Sigaudo-Roussel Dominique , Fromy Bérengère
Published: August 2023

Hyaluronic acid (HA), used in a variety of medical applications, is associated in rare instances to long-term adverse effects. Although the aetiology of these events is unknown, a number of hypotheses have been proposed, including low molecular weight of HA (LMW-HA) in the filler products. We hypothesized that cross-linked HA and its degradation products, in a low-grade inflammatory microenvironment, could impact immune responses that could affect cell behaviours in the dermis. Using two different cross-linking technologies VYC-15L and HYC-24L+, and their hyaluronidase-induced degradation products, we observed for nondegraded HA, VYC-15L and HYC-24L+, a moderate and transient increase in IL-1β, TNF-α in M1 macrophages under low-grade inflammatory conditions. Endothelial cells and fibroblasts were preconditioned using inflammatory medium produced by M1 macrophages. 24 h after LMW-HA fragments and HA stimulation, no cytokine was released in these preconditioned cells. To further characterize HA responses, we used a novel in vivo murine model exhibiting a systemic low-grade inflammatory phenotype. The intradermal injection of VYC-15L and its degradation products induced an inflammation and cell infiltration into the skin that was more pronounced than those by HYC-24L+. This acute cutaneous inflammation was likely due to mechanical effects due to filler injection and tissue integration rather than its biological effects on inflammation. VYC-15L and its degradation product potentiated microvascular response to acetylcholine in the presence of a low-grade inflammation. The different responses with 2D cell models and mouse model using the two tested cross-linking HA technologies showed the importance to use integrative complex model to better understand the effects of HA products according to inflammatory state.
A Note on Multi-Euler–Genocchi and Degenerate Multi-Euler–Genocchi Polynomials
Authors: Kim Taekyun , Kim Dae San , Park Jin-Woo , Kwon Jongkyum
Published: August 2023

Recently, the generalized Euler–Genocchi and generalized degenerate Euler–Genocchi polynomials are introduced. The aim of this note is to study the multi-Euler–Genocchi and degenerate multi-Euler–Genocchi polynomials which are defined by means of the multiple logarithm and generalize, respectively, the generalized Euler–Genocchi and generalized degenerate Euler–Genocchi polynomials. Especially, we express the former by the generalized Euler–Genocchi polynomials, the multi-Stirling numbers of the first kind and Stirling numbers of the second kind, and the latter by the generalized degenerate Euler–Genocchi polynomials, the multi-Stirling numbers of the first kind and Stirling numbers of the second kind.
Application of Müntz Orthogonal Functions on the Solution of the Fractional Bagley–Torvik Equation Using Collocation Method with Error Stimate
Authors: Akhlaghi S. , Tavassoli Kajani M. , Allame M.
Published: August 2023

This paper uses Müntz orthogonal functions to numerically solve the fractional Bagley–Torvik equation with initial and boundary conditions. Müntz orthogonal functions are defined on the interval

0
,
1

and have simple and distinct real roots on this interval. For the function

f
∈

L

2

0
,
1

, we obtain the best unique approximation using Müntz orthogonal functions. We obtain the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral operator for Müntz orthogonal functions so that we can reduce the complexity of calculations and increase the speed of solving the problem, which can be seen in the process of running the Maple program. To solve the fractional Bagley–Torvik equation with initial and boundary conditions, we use Müntz orthogonal functions and consider simple and distinct real roots of Müntz orthogonal functions as collocation points. By using the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral operator that we define for the Müntz orthogonal functions, the process of numerically solving the fractional Bagley–Torvik equation that is solved using Müntz orthogonal functions is reduced, and finally, we reach a system of algebraic equations. By solving algebraic equations and obtaining the vector of unknowns, the fractional Bagley–Torvik equation is solved using Müntz orthogonal functions, and the error value of the method can be calculated. The low error value of this numerical solution method shows the high accuracy of this method. With the help of the Müntz functions, we obtain the error bound for the approximation of the function. We have obtained the error bounds for the numerical method using which we solved the fractional Bagley–Torvik equation with initial and boundary conditions. Finally, we have given a numerical example to show the accuracy of the solution of the method presented in this paper. The results of solving this example using Müntz orthogonal functions and comparing the results with other methods that have been used the solve this example show the higher accuracy of the method proposed in this paper.
Farm Prevalence of Bovine Brucellosis, Farmer Awareness, and Local Practices in Small- and Medium-Scale Cattle Farms in a Tropical Region of Ecuador
Authors: Vinueza R. L. , Durand B. , Ortega F. , Salas F. , Ferreira Vicente A. , Freddi L. , Ponsart C. , Zanella G.
Published: August 2023

A cross-sectional study was conducted on bovine brucellosis in a sample of 173 medium/small-scale cattle farmers in a tropical region of Ecuador. A total of 173 milk tank samples were collected and analyzed through an indirect ELISA. A survey was also applied to each farm to collect information on herd management, evaluate the level of knowledge about the disease and estimate the risk that bovine brucellosis on those farms could represent for public health. The apparent prevalence among farms was 11.5% (95% CI: 6.7%–16.2%). The medium farms had a prevalence significantly higher (23.8%, 95% CI: 10.9%–36.6%,

p
<
0.0001

) than the small farms (7.6%, 95% CI: 4.5%–9%). Two multivariable analysis were conducted to identify risk factors associated with bovine brucellosis or reproductive disorders. Medium farms had 3.7 more odds to be infected than the small farms (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 1.39–9.84,

p
=
0.008

). Incineration/burial of abortion material was identified as a protective factor (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.14–0.98,

p
=
0.04

). Farm size and brucellosis were identified as risk factors for the occurrence of reproductive disorders. Only 25% of the farmers were aware of bovine brucellosis. Unpasteurized curdled milk was regularly consumed and marketed on 112 farms of which 14 were positive for bovine brucellosis. Highly at-risk practices, such as manipulation of aborted fetuses were also reported. These results indicate that there is a need to develop public health education programs targeted at medium/small-scale farmers in Ecuador.
Awareness of Cervical Cancer, Risk Perception, and Practice of Pap Smear Test among Young Adult Women of Dhulikhel Municipality, Nepal
Authors: Shrestha Ishwori Byanju , Bhusal Sandesh , Rajbanshi Manish , Mali Prajita , Shrestha Rakhi Byanju , Singh Devendra Raj
Published: August 2023

Background. Despite being one of the most preventable forms of cancer, cervical cancer remains an important public health problem, especially in developing countries. However, there is limited evidence regarding awareness and practice of screening for cervical cancer among women in resource-poor settings like Nepal. This study is aimed at assessing the awareness of cervical cancer, risk perception, and practice of Pap smear tests among adult women of Dhulikhel municipality of Kavreplanchowk district in Nepal. Methodology. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 women (aged 18-45 years) residing across the Dhulikhel municipality of Nepal. Systematic random sampling method with face-to-face interviews was conducted to collect data. A descriptive analysis was performed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. The chi-square test was used to determine the factors associated with risk perception and participants’ demographic characteristics. Results. The mean age (±SD) of the participants was

30.7
±
7.9

years. This study found that around 55% and 38% of women had heard about cervical cancer and Pap smear test, respectively. Of those who had heard of the Pap test, only 37.6% had ever practiced the test. Similarly, 33.2% and 12.1% knew about the correct age group and time interval to perform the Pap test, respectively. Among those who had heard about cervical cancer, nearly 57% had positive perceptions toward cervical cancer. In addition, risk perception of cervical cancer was found to be associated with participant age, family type, and marital status. Conclusion. The women had inadequate knowledge and practice of cervical cancer and Pap smear test. This study concluded the need for a context-specific and effective health awareness program to promote preventive measures for cervical cancer and enhance the practice of Pap smear test in the community.
Mutual Role of Patients and the Healthcare System in the Control of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
Authors: Bamorovat Mehdi , Sharifi Iraj , Agha Kuchak Afshari Setareh , Ghasemi Nejad Almani Pooya
Published: August 2023

Leishmaniasis is a neglected and old emerging/reemerging disease that has extremely increased and expanded in the different geographical areas. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common global public health concern in the tropics and subtropics reported from the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Africa, Latin America, and the Indian subcontinent. The presence of numerous epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the disease present a challenge in managing and controlling it. Despite wonderful efforts to control the disease in endemic areas, it appears that the burden of CL is still high. There is no comprehensive survey considering the interactive role of patients and medical services in the international CL control system. In the present study, the effective and mutual responsibility of the patients and the healthcare management in controlling the CL are reviewed, described, and discussed. Some patient-related factors that have a remarkable impact on the proper treatment and control strategies are low-socioeconomic condition, lack of sufficient knowledge about the disease, absence of personal protection, disregarding adherence to treatment, culture and incorrect beliefs about disease and therapy, depression, and lack of appropriate support from the family. On the other hand, some healthcare system-related factors that have an important effect on the suitable therapy and management of the disease are the economic burden of healthcare and drug preparation, unsuitable follow-up assessments, health education, early detection, and the right treatment, handling of unresponsive cases, active case detection, and monitoring/evaluation. Improving the socioeconomic conditions and living standards supports longstanding elimination approaches, and facilitates the wide-ranging control of the disease. Trained health staff and experienced clinicians should strengthen the building capacity for appropriate control programs throughout the healthcare system. These measures need sustained encouragement and appropriate multifunctional activities through all government segments including policymakers, the health system, clinical physicians, researchers, and also the private sector. In a suitable strategy, it is essential to understand precisely all the aspects of control strategies to respond correctly to the requests. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of the causative agent, major challenges/gaps remain, and vigorous conservative control plans should be continued until novel tools become available.
Efficacy and Safety of Platelet‐Rich Plasma Therapy in Alopecia Areata Patients: A Systematic Review
Authors: Arabzadeh Bahri Razman , Maleki Saba , Shafiee Arman , Ghandi Narges , Abedini Robabeh , Ehsani Amir Houshang , Ehsani Ala , Razavi Zahra
Published: August 2023

Objectives. To determine the efficacy of platelet‐rich plasma in treating alopecia areata. Methods. A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases to identify any article evaluating the efficacy of platelet‐rich plasma for the treatment of alopecia areata and comparing platelet‐rich plasma with other treatment modalities. Results. Nine studies were included based on our inclusion criteria with a total of 616 patients. Various evaluations of alopecia areata treatment efficacy with platelet‐rich plasma, including the comparison between platelet‐rich plasma and triamcinolone acetonide, minoxidil, placebo, and other methods, such as fractional carbon dioxide laser and microneedling, were conducted in the included studies. The main results revealed that platelet‐rich plasma and triamcinolone acetonide are both effective in the treatment of alopecia areata. However, the treatment response was in favor of platelet‐rich plasma. Also, minoxidil showed positive effects on the treatment of alopecia areata alongside platelet‐rich plasma. Platelet‐rich plasma also has significantly better effects on alopecia areata compared to placebo. Most of the side effects of treatment of alopecia areata with platelet‐rich plasma were minor, including burning sensation, pain during injection, erythema, edema, ecchymosis, crust formation, and headache. Conclusion. Based on the evidence reviewed, it is suggested that platelet‐rich plasma is a safe and effective treatment option for alopecia areata. Furthermore, platelet‐rich plasma has the advantage of being a steroid‐sparing therapy, reducing the reliance on corticosteroids. The use of platelet‐rich plasma is associated with fewer complications compared to other treatment modalities.
High-Accuracy Measurement of Three-Dimensional Inclinations of Power Transmission Towers Using Reconstruction Model of Stereo Images
Authors: Hu Yashan , Xu Weizhou , An Zengjun , Wang Gaoxin
Published: August 2023

The traditional inclination measurement method usually measures one-dimensional or two-dimensional inclinations of power transmission towers. This research proposed a method, which is feasible to measure three-dimensional (3D) inclinations using the stereo images of power transmission towers. The main work of this method is the 3D reconstruction of power transmission tower model using stereo images and the calculation of 3D inclinations. As for the 3D reconstruction, a method of calculating the matching cost using a combination of multichannel red–green–blue stereo pairs and Sobel edge detection stereo pairs is proposed to obtain accurate matching cost, and a method of invalid disparity judgment is proposed to detect the invalid disparities in small closed areas; as for the calculation of 3D inclinations, a 3D inclination calculation method is put forward to measure 3D inclinations by rotation and translation of different 3D reconstruction models. The experiment shows that the 3D reconstruction quality is good and the results of the 3D inclinations are accurate, which is of great value in the static or dynamic measurement of 3D inclinations of power transmission towers.
Avifaunal diversity of Tsirang District with a new country record for Bhutan
Authors: Gyeltshen  , Chhophel Sangay , Wangda Karma , Kinley  , Penjor Tshering , Karma Dorji
Published: August 2023

Birds play a vital role in ecosystems. Studying avifaunal diversity therefore has a noteworthy role in indicating nature’s ecological balance in the environment. A total of 749 bird species have so far been recorded in Bhutan. We present a comprehensive checklist of birds of Tsirang, District which largely lies outside Bhutan’s protected area system. The data was collected through opportunistic encounters and with regular field visits to a range of locations in different seasons. One-fourth of the country’s total avifauna and a new species recorded for Bhutan, The Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala was recorded as part of this study. In all, 285 avian species belonging to 18 orders and 65 families including one globally ‘Critically Endangered’, three ‘Vulnerable’, and a ‘Near Threatened’ species were recorded during the survey. The high species richness of birds in the study area reveals that it includes good habitats for birds in Bhutan. Similar studies are suggested in other areas contiguous to the protected areas in Bhutan including the current study area. This should aid in understanding of the factors driving the differences in bird diversity within and outside the protected areas so as to facilitate informed conservation actions in future.