bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Internet of Things Aware Secure Dew Computing Architecture for Distributed Hotspot Network: A Conceptual Study
Authors: Ray Partha Pratim , Skala Karolj
Published: August 2022

Building a widely distributed hotspot network is a very tedious task due to its complexity. Providing security, fully distributed network services, and cost-conscious impact are the major challenges behind this goal. To overcome these issues, we have presented a novel distributed hotspot network architecture with five layers that can provide large-scale hotspot coverage as an assimilated result. Our contributions to this new architecture highlight important aspects. First, scalability can be increased by including many Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices with sensors and Wi-Fi and/or LoraWAN connectivity modules. Second, hotspot owners can rent out their hotspots to create a distributed hotspot network in which the hotspots can act as an ordinary data gateway, a full-fledged hotspot miner, and a lightweight hotspot miner to earn crypto tokens as rewards for certain activities. Third, the advantages of Wi-Fi and LoraWAN can be seamlessly leveraged to achieve optimal coverage, higher network security, and suitable data transmission rate for transferring sensor data from IoT devices to remote application servers and users. Fourth, blockchain is used to enhance the decentralized behavior of the architecture presented here by providing immutability and independence from a centralized regulator and making the network architecture more reliable and transparent. The main feature of our paper is the use of the tau-computing paradigm along with hotspots to improve availability, Internet backhaul-agnostic network coverage, and synchronous update capability, and tau-aware leasing to strengthen and improve coverage. We also discuss the key challenges and future roadmap that require further investment and deployment.
Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Pengambilan Keputusan Petani Bawang Putih dalam Menjalin Kemitraan (Studi Kasus di Desa Segorogunung, Kabupaten Karanganyar)
Authors: Fitriana Herlinda Nur , Lestari Eny , Suminah Suminah
Published: August 2022

Garlic cultivation is one of the high-value farming development activities. One of the garlic-producing areas in Karanganyar Regency is Segorogunung Village. Farmers in Segorogunung Village in garlic farming have partnered with CV Berkat Putih Abadi and carried out the first harvest in 2019 after 20 years of vacuum. This study aims to (1) examine the decision-making of farmers in establishing partnerships; (2) analyzing the factors that influence farmers in establishing partnerships; (3) analyzing the factors that influence farmers' decision-making in establishing partnerships. The basic research method used is quantitative with survei techniques. The location selection was purposively in Segorogunung Village, Karanganyar Regency. A sampling of 66 respondent farmers was carried out using the proportional random sampling technique. Data analysis used logistic regression test with IBM Statistic 22 application. The results showed that: (1) age factors, farm area, income, formal education, non-formal education, economic environment, and social environment affect farmers' decisions in establishing partnerships; (2) factors in the form of age, non-formal education, economic environment, and social environment are included in the high category; income and formal education are in a low category, and the area of farming land is included in the very low category; (3) simultaneously the independent variables have a significant effect on the dependent variable, while partially the variables of age, economic environment, and social environment on farmer’s decisions, while the variables of farming land area, income, formal education, and non-formal education have no significant effect on farmers' decisions in establishing partnerships.
Kesuksesan Sistem Cyber Extension dengan Pendekatan DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model di Kabupaten Wonogiri
Authors: Putri Wydha Sari Hastyana , Padmaningrum Dwiningtyas , Widiyanto Widiyanto
Published: August 2022

Cyber extension is a form of internet-based information system that expected to facilitate an access of information about the development of innovation in agriculture. This study aims to determine the relationship between variables which affect the success of the information system by DeLone and McLean in the information system of cyber extension in Wonogiri Regency. The basic method used is quantitative with survey techniques. The research location is in Wonogiri Regency. The sample was selected using a non-probability sampling technique with purposive sampling. The samples taken by 66 agricultural extension officers that include in 10 sub-district of Wonogiri Regency. Data collected by using questionnaires, interviews and documentation. Data analysis performed using structural equation modeling based on partial least square. The results of this study are the system quality has an effect on use, system quality has no effect on user satisfaction, information quality has no effect on use, information quality has an effect on user satisfaction, use has no effect on user satisfaction, user satisfaction has no effect on use, use has no effect on the individual impact and user satisfaction has an effect on the individual impact. The information quality on the cyber extension website is related to the success of the cyber extension system. The information quality will help increase the individual impact on the users of the cyber extension website.
Biochar research advancement in Bangladesh: challenges and opportunities of biochar in improving soil health
Authors: Baquy M. Abdulaha-Al , Mamun M. Abdullah Al , Mia Shamim , Alam Md. Mahedy , Khan M. Shahadat Hossain , Rahman Shah Moinur
Published: August 2022

Globally, biochar research and its application for soil improvement have attracted the interest of many researchers, primarily environmental and soil scientists, in the last decade. But, a limited number of biochar research studies have been conducted in Bangladesh. Therefore, a comprehensive study on biochar research is necessary to find out the scope and opportunities of biochar application in the soils of Bangladesh. Generally, biochar can improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. It also has a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions. The contaminated soils can also be remediated through the judicious application of biochar. In Bangladesh, biochar application enhanced soil pH, organic matter, phosphorus availability, and agricultural production while decreasing soil acidification, microbial activity, and heavy metals mobility. Besides that, there were both positive and negative findings regarding nitrogen availability, greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy metal accumulation. However, this review includes the selection of feedstock, the advancement of pyrolysis technology, the characterization of biochar, and the agronomic and environmental benefits of biochar use. This paper also reviews biochar study and application activities in Bangladesh over the last decade. Further research directions have been suggested to ensure the beneficial and safe application of biochar to agricultural property. 
The Empowerment and Guidance of Religious Life of the Community in Kanagarian Sungai Nyalo Mudiak Aia, Koto XI Tarusan, Pesisir Selatan
Authors: Rivauzi Ahmad , Fatimah Siti , Satria Rengga , Kosasih Ahmad , Wirdati Wirdati , Murniyetti Murniyetti
Published: August 2022

maritime potential and requires commitment, multi-sectoral support that is developed in a planned, integrated and balanced manner. Tourism development must be able to mobilize all sectors of community life and need to be imbued with the basis of Minangkabau religious, social and cultural norms and must be directed to the preservation of religious and cultural values. The integration of tourism development issues in the Mandeh Region with issues of religious life development is intended so that development can develop in a positive and productive direction. Nyalo Mudiak Aia River. This research uses descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques were carried out using interviews, observation and documentation methods. Data analysis in this study used the analytical method by Milles and Huberman in Sugiono (2009:16) which included data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawing. This study reveals that there are potential candidates for cadres to drive the religious life of the Nyalo Mudiak Aia River community with the community's interest in sending their children to religious schools and colleges. The participation of the government and universities is very strategic in realizing the continuity of good religious life, including in the form of providing facilities (enabling) and empowering in the form of mentoring the religious life of the community.
Management of Material Component Development in Multicultural Islamic Education Curriculum
Authors: Mubarok Ramdanil
Published: August 2022

This article will analyze and interpret the concepts of the components of the multicultural PAI curriculum, the learning process and management of the development of the components of the multicultural Islamic religious education teaching materials at SMK Nusa Unggul Husada. This research is qualitative. The development model used is the McKenny model which consists of preliminary analysis, planning stages, and evaluation. The research subjects were students of SMK Nusa Unggul Husada. The research instruments are observation sheets, interviews, assessment sheets, evaluation sheets and validation sheets. Furthermore, data processing is carried out with qualitative description. Data were analyzed comprehensively according to the characteristics of qualitative research. The result is that the concept of material components in the multicultural PAI curriculum is a series of activities carried out in the form of compiling and developing content to achieve goals. Multicultural PAI learning at Nusa Unggul Husada Vocational School is focused on understanding multicultural Islamic religious education materials comprehensively and then being applied in a multicultural school environment in terms of language, culture, religion, ethnicity, and even gender diversity. The development of the components of teaching materials in the learning process that has been carried out illustrates the validity of the learning tools. The use of multicultural PAI learning tools as a whole falls into the practical category in terms of the implementation of the implementation plan.
The Role of GRIT as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Job Insecurity and Job Involvement for Employees Affected by Covid-19
Authors: Dayatri Nyimas Fathia , Salendu Alice
Published: August 2022

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh job insecurity pada job involvement dengan mempertimbangkan peran moderasi grit pada karyawan di masa pandemi Covid-19. Responden penelitian adalah 762 karyawan organisasi publik dan swasta di Indonesia yang menerapkan perubahan kebijakan karena Covid-19. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif dengan desain cross-sectional study. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah accidental sampling. Alat ukur yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah Job Involvement Scale, Multidimensional Qualitative Job Insecurity Scale (MQJIS), dan Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Data dikumpulkan menggunakan kuesioner secara daring serta dianalisis dengan analisis regresi menggunakan model 1 SPSS PROCESS. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa grit terbukti tidak memoderasi hubungan job insecurity dan job involvement. Sebagai implikasinya, temuan dari penelitian ini dapat dimanfaatkan oleh organisasi sebagai acuan dalam mengantisipasi peningkatan job insecurity karyawan akibat adanya perubahan.
Monitoring Evolution of Temperature and Strain in Cement Sheath Using Embedded Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings
Authors: Chen Shuo , Jin Jian-Zhou , Shen Jiyun , Guo Xueli , Wang Linlin
Published: August 2022

In the full life cycle of a well, thermal and mechanical loads may yield serious issues for the cement sheath integrity. However, the information for the integrity assessment, such as temperature and strain, is difficult to acquire underground. In this study, a full-scale experimental facility is used, allowing us to mimic the casing-cement sheath-formation (CCSF) system of a well. The system is monitored by fiber Bragg grating (FBG), enabling a real-time, high-accuracy, nondestructive measurement of temperature and strain inside the cement sheath in the sequence of setting and completion stage. Our observation reveals that the temperature of the cement sample cured in the mold is 22.3°C higher than the curing temperature; however, this temperature difference is not observed in the cement sheath cured in the CCSF system. This implies that the data obtained from the cement sample may overestimate the early-age performance of the cement sheath. Besides, the FBG measures a free strain of the tested cement during the hydration to be −370 με. This shrinkage can yield an internal stress in the CCSF system, which leads the cement sheath to swell circumferentially during the setting stage. During the completion stage, when the cement sheath is subjected to cyclic loading at three casing pressure levels, (i i.e., 10, 20, and 50 MPa), the maximum increment of circumferential strain reaches 160, 270, and 850 με, respectively. A plastic strain is observed for the 50 MPa pressure level, but not for the two other pressure levels (10 and 20 MPa). Unlike the observations in cyclic loading tests on cement samples, the plastic strain in the CCSF system accumulates linearly in the first 10 cycles and then increases slowly afterward. This difference is suggested to be attributed to the redistribution of internal stress along with the accumulation of plastic strain. Finally, the strains measured by the FBG are validated by the simulation, demonstrating the promising applicability of the FBG technology for monitoring the integrity of cement sheath.
Factors influencing complications after 3-columns spinal osteotomies for fixed sagittal imbalance from multiple etiologies: a multicentric cohort study about 286 cases in 273 patients
Authors: LAINE Gaetan , HUEC Jean Charles LE , BLONDEL Benjamin , FUENTES Stephane , FIERE Vincent , PARENT Henry , LUCAS Francois , ROUSSOULY Pierre , TASSA Ouazna , BRAVANT Estelle , BERTHILLER Julien , BARREY Cedric
Published: August 2022

Purpose: Spinal osteotomies performed to treat fixed spinal deformities are technically demanding and associated with a high complications rate. The main purpose of this study was to analyze complications and their risk factors in spinal osteotomies performed for fixed sagittal imbalance from multiple etiologies. Methods: The study consisted of a blinded retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from a large multicentre cohort of patients who underwent 3-columns (3C) spinal osteotomy, between january 2010 and january 2017. Clinical and radiological datas were compared pre and post operatively. Complications and their risks factors were analyzed.Results: Two hundred eighty-six 3C osteotomies were performed in 273 patients. At 1year follow-up, both clinical (VAS pain, ODI and SRS-22 scores) and radiological (SVA, SSA, loss of lordosis and pelvic version) parameters were significantly improved (p<0.001). A total of 164 patients (59.2%) experienced at least 1 complication (277 complications). Complications-free survival rates was only 30% at 5 years. Most of those were mechanical (35.2%), followed by general (17.6%), surgical site infection (17.2%) and neurological (10.9%). Pre-operative neurological status (RR=2.3 [1.32-4.00]), operative time (+19% of risk each additional hour) and combined surgery (RR=1.76 [1.08-2.04]) were assessed as risk factors for overall complication (p<0.05). The use of Patient-specific rods appeared to be significantly associated with less overall complications (RR=0.5 [0.29-0.89]) (p=0.02).Conclusion: Spinal 3C osteotomies were efficient to improve both clinical and radiological parameters despite high rates of complication. Efforts should be made to reduce operative time which appears to be the strongest predictive risk factor for complication.
Attention-based Row Selecting Networks for Lane Detection
Authors: Jiang Man , Zhang Qian , Zhang Yuhang , Su Jiangtao
Published: August 2022

Most mainstream methods mainly regard lane detection as a pixel-by-pixel segmentation task, resulting in high computational cost and time-consuming, and the accuracy is influenced by severe occlusion and extreme lighting conditions. To tackle these issues, we propose a novel Attention-based Row Selecting Networks(ARS-Net), which utilizes the row selecting method based on global features to detect lanes, greatly improves the detection speed. At the same time, channel and spatial attention mechanisms are integrated into ResNet as the backbone to focus on important features and suppress unimportant ones, so as to adjust feature weights and reduce information loss. Besides, group normalization is employed to replace batch normaliza-tion, which enhances the stability of accuracy. We carry out immense amounts of experiments on two international public datasets TuSimple and CULane, the experimental results show that our method achieves the state-of-the-art performance in both accuracy and speed and significantly outperforms other methods for real-time and efficient lane detection in real-world applications.
Selection, use and the influence of starter cultures in the nutrition and processing improvement of ‘ogi’
Authors: Teniola Olakunle David , Holzapfel Wilhelm H. , Odunfa Sunday Ayodele
Published: August 2022

Starter cultures for ‘ogi’ production were selected with the aim of improving processing technique, lysine and methionine levels of ‘ogi’, a lactic acid fermented weaning food. Technological features of microorganisms from fermenting raw materials were screened to develop quality starter cultures. Lactobacillus brevis XO43 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae OY4 were finally selected and used as starter cultures in a pilot plant study. Fermentation with starter cultures showed constant final pH level of 3.35 in modified substrates after fermentation unlike spontaneously fermented; and significantly higher acidity (%TTA) indicative of faster fermentation. Addition of sugar (2%w/w) and soybean flours (1% w/w) also increased the acid levels during fermentation. Fermentation of dehulled maize grains fortified with glucose (2%w/w) alone by starter cultures shows the best quality in all the parameters considered except the available niacin yield. It is 24% higher than oven-dried ‘ogi’ flour from the traditional process and 11% higher than unprocessed whole maize grains. The methionine is 92% and 77% higher than the traditionally prepared ‘ogi’ and whole maize grains, respectively. The total amino acids level of the sample was 32% more than the traditionally fermented ‘ogi’ flour and 55% more than maize grains. Although, the soluble protein level was 23% lesser than the unfermented whole maize grains, it was 12% more than the dehulled maize substrate and ‘ogi’ from traditional process. Fermentation of corn into ‘ogi’ led to losses in the initial quantity of niacin. Starter cultures significantly improve the nutrients such as lysine, methionine, total amino acids, soluble protein and niacin more than spontaneous fermentation. Dehulling of grains, dewatering and oven drying significantly reduce nutrients. ‘Ogi’ fermentation process with the use of starter cultures and dehulled maize guarantee organoleptic qualities, improve ‘ogi’ production and create a better nutritional products.
Fibulin2: A negative regulator of BMSC osteogenic differentiation in infected bone fracture healing
Authors: Xu Xiang , Li Shidan , Xing Wei , Wang Shaochuan , Li Youbin , Jiang Hao , Zheng Hanxuan , Li Xiaoming , Yang Jing , guo Debin , Xie Xiaoyu , Jiang Renqing , Fan Chao , Li Lei , Fei Jun
Published: August 2022

Bone fracture remains a common occurrence, with a population-weighted incidence of approximately 3.21 per 1000. In addition, approximately 2–50% of patients with skeletal fractures will develop an infection, one of the causes of disordered bone healing. Dysfunction of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) plays a key role in disordered bone repair. However, the specific mechanisms underlying BMSC dysfunction caused by bone infection are largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that Fibulin2 expression was upregulated in infected bone tissues and that BMSCs were the source of infection-induced Fibulin2. Importantly, Fibulin2 knockout accelerated mineralized bone formation during skeletal development and inhibited inflammatory bone resorption. We demonstrated that Fibulin2 suppressed BMSC osteogenic differentiation by binding to Notch2 and inactivating the Notch2 signalling pathway. Moreover, Fibulin2 knockdown restored Notch2 pathway activation and promoted BMSC osteogenesis; these outcomes were abolished by DAPT, a Notch inhibitor. Furthermore, transplanted Fibulin2-knockdown BMSCs displayed better bone repair potential in vivo. Altogether, Fibulin2 is a negative regulator of BMSC osteogenic differentiation that inhibits osteogenesis by inactivating the Notch2 signalling pathway in infected bone.
Measurements of Natural Radioactivity Levels in Soil Samples and Hazards in Lega Dembi Gold Mining, East Guji, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Authors: Yachiso Gebi , Chaubey A.K , Turi Birhanu
Published: August 2022

The fifteen common soil samples in Lega Dembi were collected to determine the amount of natural radiation released and its effects on humans. This is the first time that such research has been conducted. The natural radionuclide contents in soil were determined using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. It was observed that the mean activity for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K determined in the mining site were 23.87±0.7, 52.5±1.8, and 391.62±11.35 Bq/kg while in the living areas were 8.89±0.4, 13.83±0.6 and 423.68±9.5 respectively. The activity of 232Th was above the world mean average limit in the mining site; whereas for 226Ra and 40K were lower than the world limit. The activity concentration of 40K in the living area was higher than the world limit however 226Ra and 232Th were lower than the limit. The mean annual effective dose was lower than the world average limit. The calculated absorbed dose rate in the mining site was higher than the world average. The gamma activity index values were 0.94±0.05, and 0.48±0.06 for the mining and living site respectively. The gamma index had lower than the world means values. The mean annual gonadal dose equivalent value was found to be 494.8±8.7 lµSv/year in the mining site.
Real-Walk Modelling: Deep Learning Model for User Mobility in Virtual Reality
Authors: Dohan Murtada , Mu Mu , Ajit Suraj , Hill Gary
Published: August 2022

Understanding human interactions in virtual reality (VR) can help developing intelligent applications that adapt to users' needs and enhance the user experience. The significant development of VR content has expanded the impact on VR complexity, making understanding VR spatial characteristics more difficult. While user mobility is a crucial part of their interactions with the VR environment, the current literature still does not provide a suitable framework to interpret and model VR user mobility data. We conducted a user experiment in the context of an abstract VR painting exhibition where users are prompted to walk naturally in a physical area to explore the VR painting. Deep Learning models are used to model user mobility sequences and predict their future movements while engaging with the art exhibition. Our user mobility model can support the development of new VR applications for the improved user navigation and social experience in VR.
Assessment of under nutrition and its influencing factors among prisoners living with HIV/AIDS in north Shoa zone Amhara region Ethiopia, 2021
Authors: Yilma Yohannis , Getachew Metasebia , fanta Asrat , Mezemir Yordanos
Published: August 2022

Objective
- We performed an institution-based comparative cross-sectional study from August 1 to September 10, 2021, to compare the nutritional status and influencing factors among prisoners living with HIV/AIDS. A simple procedure for determining iron levels in blood using Hemo-cue methods was used to measure hemoglobin.
Result
- The overall prevalence of under nutrition among prisoners estimated as 33.8% (95% CI 28.8–39.3); and the prevalence of anaemia among PLHIV and negative sero-status residents was 54.2%, 50.8% respectively. The respondents who had anaemia were 3.26 times more likely to develop malnutrition AOR 3.269[95% CI 1.908-5.600]) than who had no anaemia.
Relationship of ethinylestradiol/drospirenone prescription on work productivity and activity impairment among women with menstruation-related symptoms: A multicenter prospective observational study
Authors: Ikeda Yumie , Egawa Miho , Ohsuga Takuma , Mandai Masaki , Takahashi Yoshimitsu , Nakayama Takeo
Published: August 2022

Background
Although clinical effectiveness of ethinylestradiol (EE)/drospirenone (DRSP) to improve women’s premenstrual symptoms and dysmenorrhea has been established, the relationship with their work productivity and activity is not well-known. This study aimed to examine changes in work productivity and daily activity impairment among women by the medication.
Methods
Participants were women who were newly prescribed EE/DRSP at 25 private gynecological clinics in Japan. Eligible participants downloaded a smartphone app to record daily intake of EE/DRSP, genital bleeding, and daily symptoms for three months. The Work Productivity Activity Impairment Questionnaire General Health (WPAI-GH) was completed on the day of EE/DRSP initiation and every two weeks thereafter for three months. A linear mixed-effects model with person-specific random intercepts, with age, premenstrual syndrome status, and menstrual pain as covariates, was used.
Main Outcome Measures
Changes in total work productivity impairment and total activity impairment relative to baseline (i.e., before prescription) at 1 month (1m), 2 months (2m), and 3 months (3m) after EE/DRSP initiation.
Results
Work productivity impairment recovered by 20.0% (95%CI: 14.1–26.0%) at 1m and maintained for two months. Activity impairment recovered by 20.1% (95% CI:15.5–24.7%) at 1m and thereafter.
Conclusions
Improvements in work productivity and daily activities were observed at 1m after EE/DRSP initiation, with a sustained effect thereafter.
Effects of imeglimin on mitochondrial function, AMPK activity, and gene expression in hepatocytes
Authors: Hozumi Kaori , Sugawara Kenji , Ishihara Takaya , Ishihara Naotada , Ogawa Wataru
Published: August 2022

Imeglimin is a recently launched antidiabetic drug structurally related to metformin. To provide insight into the pharmacological properties of imeglimin, we investigated its effects on hepatocytes and compared them with those of metformin. The effects of imeglimin on mitochondrial function and gene expression in HepG2 cells were examined with an extracellular flux analyzer and by comprehensive RNA-sequencing analysis, respectively. The effects of the drug on AMPK activity in HepG2 cells and mouse liver were also examined. Treatment of HepG2 cells with imeglimin reduced the oxygen consumption rate coupled to ATP production. Imeglimin activated AMPK in HepG2 cells with a potency similar to that of metformin. Bolus administration of imeglimin in mice also activated AMPK in the liver. Whereas the effects of imeglimin and metformin on gene expression in HepG2 cells were similar overall, the expression of genes encoding proteins of mitochondrial respiratory complex III and complex I was upregulated by imeglimin but not by metformin. Our results suggest that imeglimin and metformin exert similar pharmacological effects on mitochondrial respiration, AMPK activity, and gene expression in cultured hepatocytes, whereas the two drugs differ in their effects on the expression of certain genes related to mitochondrial function.
The importance of cultural tailoring of communicators and media outlets in an Influenza vaccination awareness campaign: A digital randomized trial
Authors: Habib G. L. , Yousuf H. , Bredius L. , Bindraban N. , Winter M. , Scherder E. , Linden S. van der , Narula J. , Hofstra L.
Published: August 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of ethnic minorities, secondary to lower vaccination rates, higher prevalence of underlying disease and restricted access to care. We investigated the effect of cultural tailoring of communicators and media outlets, respectively, in an influenza vaccination campaign in the Netherlands. A total of 1226 participants were recruited from 2 culturally non-tailored media outlets (Dutch newspaper and Facebook), and 1 media outlet tailored to a large community in the Netherlands with Indian ancestry. The participants from all 3 media outlets were randomly exposed to a vaccination awareness video delivered by a physician with an Indian or Dutch background, followed by an online survey. Cultural tailoring compared to cultural non-tailoring of communicators showed no difference in improvement of vaccine willingness (13.9% vs. 20.7% increment, respectively, p = 0.083). However, the media outlet tailored to the Indian community, resulted in a higher improvement of vaccine willingness compared to non-tailored media outlets (46.7% vs. 14.7% increment, respectively, p < 0.001, unadjusted OR = 5.096). These results suggest that cultural tailoring of media outlets may be critical to effectively reach out to ethnic minorities to help optimize vaccination rates and improve general health.
Bias Reduction in Representation of Histopathology Images Using Deep Feature Selection
Authors: Bidgoli Azam Asilian , Rahnamayan Shahryar , Dehkharghanian Taher , Grami Ali , Tizhoosh Hamid R.
Published: August 2022

Appearing traces of bias in deep networks is a serious issue that can play a significant role in ethics and generalization. Recent studies report that the deep features extracted from the histopathology images of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the largest publicly available archive of 11,000 patients covering 25 organs and 32 cancer subtypes, are surprisingly able to accurately classify the whole slide images (WSIs) based on their acquisition site. This is clear evidence that the utilized Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) unexpectedly detect the specific patterns of the source site rather than histomorphologic patterns, biased behaviour resulting in degraded generalization. This observation motivated us to propose a method to alleviate the destructive impact of hospital bias through a novel feature selection process. To this effect, we have proposed an evolutionary strategy select a small set of optimal features to not only accurately represent the histological patterns of tissue samples but also to eliminate the features leading to internal bias toward the institution. The performance of the proposed method has been assessed using the features extracted from TCGA images made available by NIH (National Institute of Health). The selected features extracted by a state-of-the-art network trained on TCGA images (i.e., the KimiaNet), considerably decreased the institutional bias. The proposed scheme is not limited to DNNs and/or specific types of biases; it can be employed to reduce various kinds of bias in a much more comprehensive range of data-driven feature extraction models. The conducted experiments, the external validation in specific, clearly demonstrate that the bias cannot be fully controlled just during training a model. Therefore, a feature selection for downstream tasks plays a crucial role in significantly reducing the bias.
Event-Related Alpha Oscillatory Response in Early Stage of Facial Expression Processing in Social Anxiety: Influence of Language Context
Authors: Song Sutao , Liu Aixin , Shang Haiqing , Gao Shihao , Gao Zeyuan , Zhang Mingxian , Zhao Shimeng , Zheng Yuanjie , Ge’s Ruiyang
Published: August 2022

Background Accurate interpretation of the emotional information conveyed by others’ facial expression is crucial for social interactions. The alpha oscillation response, which is an important event-related potential-based metric in studies of emotional information processing, to emotional facial processing in social anxiety is unclear. Method In this case-control study, participants viewed facial expressions (angry, happy, neutral) preceded by a contextual sentence conveying either positive or negative evaluations about the participant. Contextual influences were reflected in rating and occipital and frontal alpha oscillation measured by event-related potentials (ERP). Results With congruently emotional context and expression, occipital alpha oscillation power was significantly lower in social anxiety group than healthy control group. And in negative context, frontal alpha lateralization was significantly lower in social anxiety group than healthy control group. Conclusion Social anxiety individuals might invest more attention resources in the emotional context for facial expression processing.
Sleep quality of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: A prospective longitudinal study with 5-year follow-up
Authors: Koo Dae Lim , Park Yangmi , Nam Hyunwoo , Chai Young Jun
Published: August 2022

We evaluated the pre- and postoperative sleep quality of patients with newly diagnosed papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) who underwent thyroid surgery, and investigated the factors associated with persistent poor sleep quality. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Stanford Sleepiness Scale were used to estimate sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Face-to-face surveys were conducted preoperatively, and 1, 4, and 10 months after thyroid surgery. The PSQI was administered during a telephone interview about after 5 years after surgery. Forty-six patients (mean age 47.3 ± 10.1 years) with PTC (11 males, 35 females) were included in this study. Twenty-one participants underwent lobectomy and twenty-five underwent total thyroidectomy. Preoperatively, 35 (76.1%) patients showed poor sleep quality. PSQI scores at postoperative 1, 4, and 10 months were significantly lower than preoperative scores (p < 0.001). Postoperative 5-year PSQI scores decreased significantly compared to the preoperative scores (p < 0.001). Patients newly diagnosed with PTC suffered from sleep disturbance before and after surgery for at least 10 months, recovering to a comparable rate of sleep disturbance with the general population by 5 years after surgery. Higher preoperative PSQI score was at risk for prolonged poor sleep quality in patients with PTC.
Deep learning for automatic diagnosis of fundus diseases on optical coherence tomography images
Authors: Yang Songyang , Wang Qian , Huang Xia , Du Min , Li Jiao , Wang Ruifeng , Chen Peng
Published: August 2022

Background
There has been increasing attention on the use of deep learning systems and transfer learning to identify disease features and progression. In this study, we aimed to apply deep learning algorithms to Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to quickly identify common referable fundus diseases.
Method
A total of 24000 OCT images (test 1) retrospectively acquired from the Kaggle database with age-related macular degeneration, choroidal neovascularization, central serous chorioretinopathy, diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, drusen, macular hole, and NOR were used to develop the model. Images were split into training, validation, and testing sets. The convolutional neural networks ResNet101 and DenseNet121 were trained to classify images. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, and F1 score were calculated to evaluate the performance of the models. A total of 800 OCT images (test 2) diagnosed with the above eight diseases were collected from the Zhengzhou Eye Hospital to retest the accuracy of the models.
Results
ResNet101 performed better than DenseNet121 did. The classification performance in terms of accuracy and F1 score of ResNet101 were 0.9398 and 0.9360, respectively, in test 2. The AUC of ResNet101 for the eight diseases based on test 2 were 0.9956 (macro-average) and 0.9932 (micro-average). When using DenseNet121 in test 2, the accuracy was 0.7130, and the F1 score was 0.7116. The macro-average AUC was 0.8519, and the micro-average AUC was 0.8366.
Conclusions
Convolutional neural network ResNet101 and transfer learning showed good performance in discriminating between OCT images. As a promising adjunctive tool, our model can provide rapid provisional diagnosis for patients with common referable fundus diseases.
Aerosol Jet Printing of Piezoelectric Surface Acoustic Wave Thermometer
Authors: Deng Zhangxian , McKibben Nicholas , Ryel Blake , Estrada David , Daw Joshua
Published: August 2022

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) transducers are a subclass of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) that generate an acoustic emission when electrically stimulated. These transducers can also convert surface strain into readable electrical signals. By monitoring variations in scattering parameters, a SAW device can detect physical properties of host structures and external factors like temperature. Traditional fabrication of SAW transducers requires labor- and cost-intensive subtractive processes that produce large volumes of hazardous waste. This study utilizes an innovative aerosol jet printer to fabricate SAW transducers by directly writing consistent, high-resolution, silver comb electrodes onto a Y-cut LiNbO3 piezoelectric substrate. The printed, two-port, 20 MHz SAW transducers were validated as a thermometer, which exhibited excellent linearity and repeatability from 25 °C to 200 °C. Sensitivities of the printed SAW thermometer are -96.9×10-6 °C-1 and -92.0×10-6 °C-1 when operating in pulse-echo mode and pulse-receiver mode, respectively. These results highlight a repeatable path to additively manufacture compact and high-frequency SAW transducers.
Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infections in children with secondary immunodeficiencies
Authors: Kuczborska Karolina , Krzemińska Ewelina , Buda Piotr , Heropolitańska-Pliszka Edyta , Piątosa Barbara , Książyk Janusz
Published: August 2022

Background and PurposeIt is a matter of research, whether children with immunodeficiencies are able to generate an effective immune response to prevent SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the seroconversion rates and cellular immunity to COVID-19 in immunocompetent children and those with secondary immunodeficiencies. MethodsIn 55 children — 28 immunocompromised and 27 immunocompetent — hospitalized with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, the level of IgG antibodies against the Spike protein was determined on two to three occasions. In those children from the study group, whose immunosuppressive treatment did not alter during the study (n=13) and in selected children from the control group (n=11), flow-cytometric evaluation of lymphocyte subsets was performed twice — two weeks and three months post-infection. ResultsSeroconversion reached 96.3% in both studied groups, however, the immunocompromised cohort achieved lower titers of detectable anti-S antibodies. There was no correlation between seroconversion or titers of antibodies and the total number of lymphocytes or their subsets. In the immunocompetent cohort, we reported a significant decrease in NK cells during the infection. In this group and the entire study population, a positive correlation was noticed between the CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio and the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia. ConclusionsChildren with secondary immunodeficiencies seroconvert in equal percentages but with a significantly lower titer of anti-S antibodies compared to their immunocompetent peers. Lower number of NK cells in the immunocompetent cohort may result from their participation in antiviral immunity. Whereas reduced CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratios among immunocompromised children can be a protective factor against a severe COVID-19.
PVA coated AgNPs/SiO2 for detection of gentian violet with high sensitivity
Authors: Xu Yanru , Wang Yanqing , Jia Zhiyong
Published: August 2022

Improving the detection limit of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a significant issue for the design and preparation of plasmon substrate. It always suffers from the weak absorption affinity of probe molecules on nanoscale surface, uncontrollable aggregation behaviors of nanoparticles and strong fluorescence of detected substance. In this paper, AgNPs/SiO2 substrate is prepared by rapid thermal annealing method with mean size of 87.9 ± 30.7 nm. A layer of 5–30 nm PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) film is used as the stabilizer of AgNPs. With PVA coating, AgNPs can improve the detection limit of gentian violet by three magnitudes, compared with that on undecorated AgNPs which is just 10− 5 mol/L. In the sensitive detection of coated AgNPs/SiO2 substrate, PVA possibly play three significant roles, absorption increaser between gentian violet and silver nanoparticles, fluorescence inhibiter of gentian violet and stabilizer of Ag nanoparticles. The results provide a modification method for improving SERS sensitivity of plasmon substrate, which use convenient and low-cost rapid thermal annealing as the patterning method and PVA as the coater, an advantageous technology for plasmon substrate application into trace detection.
Persistent headache after first-ever ischemic stroke: clinical characteristics and factors associated with its development
Authors: Lebedeva Elena R. , Ushenin Anton V. , Gurary Natalia M. , Gilev Denis V. , Kislyak Nadezda V. , Olesen Jes
Published: August 2022

Background It is poorly described how often headache attributed to stroke continues for more than 3 months, i.e. fulfils the criteria for persistent headache attributed to ischemic stroke. Our aims were: 1) to determine the incidence of persistent headache attributed to past first-ever ischemic stroke (International headache society categories 6.1.1.2); 2) to describe their characteristics and acute treatment; 3) to analyse the prevalence of medication overuse headache in patients with persistent headache after stroke; 4) to evaluate factors associated with the development of persistent headache after stroke.Methods The study population consisted of 550 patients (mean age 63.1, 54% males) with first-ever ischemic stroke, among them 529 patients were followed up at least three months after stroke. Standardized semi-structured interview forms were used to evaluate these headaches during professional face-to-face interviews at stroke onset and telephone interviews at 3 months.Results At three months, 61 patients (30 women and 31 men, the mean age 60.0) of 529 (11.5%) follow-up patients had a headache after stroke: 34 had a new type of headache, 21 had a headache with altered characteristics and 6 patients had a headache without any changes. Therefore 55 (10.4%) patients had a persistent headache attributed to ischemic stroke. Their clinical features included: less severity of accompanying symptoms, slowly decreasing frequency and development of medication overuse headache in one-third of the patients. The following factors were associated with these headaches: lack of sleep (29.1%, p = 0.009; ОR 2.3; 95% CI 1.2–4.3), infarct in cerebellum (18.2%, p = 0.003; OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.4–6.6), stroke of undetermined etiology (50.9%, p = 0.003; ОR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3–4.1), less than 8 points by NIHSS score (90.9%, p = 0.007; OR 3.4; 95% CI 1.4–8.6) and low prevalence of large-artery atherosclerosis (12.7%, p = 0.006; OR 0.3; 95% CI 0.2–0.80).Conclusion Persistent headache attributed to ischemic stroke is not rare and frequently leads to medication overuse. The problem is often neglected because of other serious consequences of stroke but actually, it has a considerable impact on quality of life. It should be a focus of interest in the follow-up of stroke patients.
Treatments for the control of Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae (Acanthocephala) in tambaqui Colossoma macropomum
Authors: Nunes Bruna Rafaela Caetano , Lopes Yuri Vinicius Andrade , Souza Ricardo Henrique B. , Pazdiora Raul Dirceu , Ushizima Thiago Tetsuo , Medeiros Simone Paiva , Corrêa Lorrayne Tavares , Cardoso Igor Izidoro , Andrade Matheus Vitor Vieira , Maciel-Honda Patricia Oliveira , Chagas Edsandra Campos , Sebastião Fernanda de Alexandre
Published: August 2022

Intensive fish farming with inadequate management can imbalance the fish-pathogen-environment relationship, culminating in diseases outbreaks. In the case of tambaqui Colossoma macropomum farming, it may be affected by acanthocephalosis, a parasitic infection without a specific and safe treatment yet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the active ingredients in trichlorfon, albendazole, piperazine and ivermectin, as well as calcium hydroxide and diatomaceous earth incorporated to the feed, to control Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae (Acanthocephala) in tambaqui. A 63-day trial was conducted in a completely randomized experimental design, with 7 treatments, 3 replicates each and 54 fish per treatment. Fish were sampled for weight gain and parasite count on days 0, 15, 35, and 63. In general, the efficacy of anthelmintics was low in the treatment of N. buttnerae in tambaqui. Nevertheless, among the tested products, calcium hydroxide and diatomaceous earth showed promising results (48.17% and 36.44% efficacy, respectively), followed by ivermectin and piperazine (15.93% and 12.63%, respectively). Future studies are warranted to test longer drug administration periods, novel products, and diverse experimental conditions to treat N. buttnerae in tambaqui, to provide information to develop strategies for disease management.
Specific energy consumption and heat recovery system of cassava starch production in the integrated agro-industrial system
Authors: Giau Vo , Kien Tran Trung , Thanh Tran Van , Hieu Tran Thi , Thao Nguyen Thi Phuong , Son Le Thanh , Schnitzer Hans , Luu Tran Le , Hai Le Thanh
Published: August 2022

Reducing energy consumption and green house gas emissions is a crucial issue in the cassava starch processing industry. In this study, the integrated system combining livestock, cassava cultivation and cassava production at the same area will lead to both zero emission goal and economic efficiency, a typical example of an effective agro-industrial symbiosis. A heat exchange/recovery system was applied including the economizer, the heat exchanger tank, the biogas tank, and the boiler. The economizer attached to the boiler’s chimney transfers heat from exhaust gases for pre-heating feed water entering boiler. The biogas tank recovers energy from the wastewaters of starch production and livestock farm, and the generated biogas was used as fuel for the boiler. Excess heat from the production was used for evaporating (removal of) NH3 in wastewater flow from the biogas tank, and for heating the biogas system in oder to enhance the efficiency of methane production. A biochar filter was attached to economizer for adsorption of released ammonium, and the biochar after adsorption was combined with sludge from the biogas tank to produce a solid biofertilizer. The energy and exergy efficiency, energy losses, and exergy destruction for heat recovery system were analyzed. The specific energy consumption (SEC) was used to evaluate the overall energy efficiency for cassava starch factory with a capacity of 200 tons/day. The results show that there is a high potential to recyle waste into energy in the cassava starch industry, and the total energy saving and reducing GHG emissions per year of the cassava starch factory were 5.4%/year and 278,773 tons CO2/year, respectively.
Performance Investigation of Phase noise compensation in millimeter wave MIMO-OFDMA Systems
Authors: Easwaran Udayakumar , V Krishnaveni
Published: August 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.