bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physician Practice Style and Healthcare Costs: Evidence from Emergency Departments
Authors: Gowrisankaran Gautam , Joiner Keith , Léger Pierre Thomas
Published: October 2022

We study healthcare operations of emergency departments (EDs) by examining the practice styles and skills of ED physicians. Our data include all residents of Montreal, Canada, with an initial ED visit in Montreal during a nine-month period. For each visit, our data record the initial treating hospital, ED physician, ED billed expenditures, and all interactions with the health system within the subsequent 90 days. Physicians in Montreal rotate across shifts between simple and difficult cases, implying a quasi-random assignment of patients to physicians within an ED. We consider three medical conditions that present frequently in the ED and for which mistreatment may have dramatic consequences—angina, appendicitis, and transient ischemic attacks—jointly examining diagnostic and disposition skills. To control for variation in diagnosis, our sample for each condition consists of patients with a broader set of symptoms and signs potentially indicative of the condition. Separately by condition, we regress healthcare usage and cost measures on indicators for physicians to estimate the skill and practice style of each physician. We then evaluate the variation across physicians in their practice style and skills and the correlations between different measures of skill and practice style. We find significant variation across physicians in their practice styles and skills. We also find that physicians with costly practice styles often have worse outcomes in terms of more ED revisits and more hospitalizations. Finally, the practice styles and skills of physicians correlate positively across the three conditions that we consider.

This paper was accepted by Jayashankar Swaminathan, operations management.

Funding: Gowrisankaran acknowledges funding from the Center for Management Innovations in Healthcare at the University of Arizona.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4544 .
The Potential Dangers of Quality Assurance, Physician Credentialing and Solutions for Their Improvement
Authors:   Phoenix Pulmonary and Critical Care Research and Education Foundation, Gilbert, AZ USA, Robbins Richard
Published: October 2022

The Institute of Medicine defines health care quality as "the degree to which health care services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge”. However, defining which are the desired outcomes and current professional knowledge can be controversial. In this review article the effectiveness of quality assurance is reviewed along with pointing out some of the dangers to physicians. Since deficient quality assurance can affect credentialing, solutions for the problem are offered including an independent medical staff and election rather than appointment of the chief of staff. Solutions to expedite and ensure accuracy in credentialing are offered including use of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC). These solutions should lead to improved and fairer quality assurance, reduced administrative expenses, decreased fraud, and modernization of physician licensing and credentialing.
Computational ghost imaging based on a conditional generation countermeasure network under a low sampling rate
Authors: Feng Wei , Sun Xingyu , Zhou Shiqi , Yi Yongcong , Zhao Daxing
Published: October 2022

In this paper, an end-to-end depth neural network based on a
conditional generative adversarial network for computational ghost
imaging (CGANCGI) is proposed to restore clear object images with high
quality at a sub-Nyquist sampling rate. The 2D light signal collected
by a CMOS camera and the gray image of the original measured object
are used as the input of the network model; then, the CGANCGI network
is trained, and the measured object image is recovered directly from
the 2D light signal. Experiments have verified that the proposed
method only needs 1/10 of traditional deep learning samples to achieve
fast image restoration with high-quality, and its peak signal-to-noise
ratio and structural similarity are, respectively, four to six times
and five to seven times higher than those of the original image, which
prove that our method has practical application prospects in ghost
imaging under low sampling rates.
Broadband high-contrast visible optical switches based on a spin-crossover material
Authors: Calvez Stephane , Camon Henri , Ridier Karl , Molnar Gabor , Gauthier-Lafaye Olivier
Published: October 2022

Visible optical switches embedding a spin-crossover thin film and
exploiting the frustrated total internal reflection operation
principle are studied and optimized numerically with a view to obtain
broadband high-contrast devices. A practical implementation using
uncoated SF11 prisms embedding a 1-µm-thick layer of
iron-triazolyl-borate complex as the thermo-active phase-change
material is shown to support

p

-polarized modulation with contrast in
excess of 90% over a spectral bandwidth greater than 270 nm and
over an angular acceptance bandwidth of 0.45°, surpassing the
performance achievable with optically resonant devices.
Flux trajectory analysis of Airy-type beams
Authors: Sanz Ángel S.
Published: October 2022

Airy beams are solutions to the paraxial Helmholtz equation known for exhibiting shape invariance along their self-accelerated propagation in free space. These two properties are associated with the fact that they are not square integrable, that is, they carry infinite energy. To circumvent this drawback, families of so-called finite-energy Airy-type beams have been proposed in the literature and, in some cases, also implemented in the laboratory. Here an analysis of the propagation of this type of structured light beam is presented from a flux trajectory perspective with the purpose of better understanding the mechanisms that make infinite and finite energy beams exhibit different behaviors. As is shown, while the foremost part of the beam can be clearly and unambiguously associated with the well-known accelerating term, the rear part of the beam corresponds to a nearly homogeneous distribution of flow trajectories, particularly for long propagation distances. This is shown to be related to an effective transfer of trajectories between adjacent lobes (gradually, from the fore part of the beam to its rear part), which leads to smearing out the transverse flow along the rear part of the beam. This is in sharp contrast to the situation found in ideal Airy beams, where trajectories belonging to a given lobe of the intensity distribution remain the same all along the propagation. The analysis is supplemented with an also trajectory-based description of Young’s experiment performed with finite-energy Airy beams to provide a dynamical understanding of the autofocusing phenomenon observed with circular Airy beams.
Accurate mode decomposition with the combination of the matrix analytic and the SPGD algorithm
Authors: Xu Lin , Pei Li , Wang Jianshuai , Tian Zichen , Li Zhiqi , Xu Wenxuan , Zheng Jingjing , Li Jing , Ning Tiang
Published: October 2022

The matrix analytic algorithm (MAA) offers excellent abilities in fast mode decomposition (MD) of multimode fibers. However, with the growth of the number of superposition modes, the residual error of the MAA becomes enlarged. In this case, it is not able to realize satisfactory MD due to the trade-off between the number of modes and the decomposition accuracy. In this paper, we propose a new, to the best of our knowledge, MD algorithm by introducing the stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) algorithm to MAA. Specifically, the approximate value of the amplitude and relative phase is first obtained by MAA; then, the approximate value is used to obtain the accurate amplitude and relative phase iteratively through the SPGD method. The MAA-SPGD is helpful in avoiding accuracy degradation as the number of modes increases. With the introduction of SPGD, at the mode number of 50, the average value of the cross-correlation between the original and reconstructed image reduces from 0.25 to 0.02 for the difference from 1. Due to the appropriate initial iteration value from the MAA, the MAA-SPGD eliminates the local optimum, which reveals the stability and reliability features in MD.
All-optical microwave oscillator based on a mutual-injection coupling between DFB-LDs
Authors: Tang Jian , Bai Guangfu , Tang Yanling , Xu Liang , Wang Guangxin , Shang Dunsheng , Jiang Yang
Published: October 2022

An all-optical microwave oscillator (AOMO) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. It contains only a mutual injection loop consisting of two distributed feedback laser diodes (DFB-LDs) and a few passive components. In this AOMO, the microwave seed signal originates from the period-one (P1) oscillation in one of the DFB-LDs. The functions of microwave envelope detection and feedback modulation are implemented by the other DFB-LD. Due to the optical injection locking and the optical-optical modulated effect in DFB-LD, the P1 signal is enhanced, and the stability of the P1 signal can be improved by coupling the P1 signal with a resonant mode of the mutual injection loop. Meanwhile, since the P1 oscillation is sensitive to injected light, the frequency of the P1 signal can be easily adjusted, which makes the AOMO easy to be tuned. In the experiment, a highly stable single-mode microwave signal with a frequency of 16.69 GHz and a single-sideband (SSB) phase noise of −90.7 dBc/Hz@10 kHz is generated. The frequency can be tuned from 14.48 to 21.45 GHz by adjusting the parameters of DFB-LDs and the injection light.
Chaos single photon LIDAR and the ranging performance analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation
Authors: Hu Zhihong , Jiang Chenghao , Zhu Jingguo , Qiao Zhi , Xie Tianpeng , Wang Chunxiao , Yuan Ye , Ye Zhengyu , Wang Yu
Published: October 2022

With the advent of serial production lidars, single photon lidar faces an increasingly severe threat of crosstalk. In this paper, we first propose the concept of Chaos Single Photon (CSP) lidar and establish the theoretical model. In CSP lidar system, chaos laser replaces pulsed laser, and the physical random sequence generated by a Geiger mode avalanche photodiode (GM-APD) responding to chaos laser substitutes the traditional pseudo-random sequence. The mean density of ‘1’ code of the CSP lidar system can exceed 10 million counts per second (Mcps) with a dead time immunity. The theoretical models of detection probability and false alarm rate are derived and demonstrated based on Poisson distribution. The bit error rate (BER) is introduced into the CSP lidar system for evaluating the range walk error intuitively. Additionally, the simulation results indicate that the CSP lidar system has a robust anti-crosstalk capability. Compared with the traditional pseudo-random single photon (PRSP) lidar system, the CSP lidar system not only overcomes range ambiguity but also has a signal to noise rate (SNR) of 60 times, reaching 10000 when the mean echo photoelectron number is 10 per nanosecond. Benefited from large-scale arrays and extremely high sensitivity properties of GM-APDs, we are looking forward to the applications of the CSP lidar in weak signal detection, remote mapping, autonomous driving, etc.
High-resolution and large-strain distributed dynamic sensor based on Brillouin and Rayleigh scattering
Authors: Ba Dexin , Qiu LiQiang , Chu Qi , Pei Yulin , Lin Dianyang , Dong Yongkang
Published: October 2022

A wide-dynamic-range and high-resolution optical fiber sensor based on Brillouin and Rayleigh scattering is proposed, which merges frequency-scanning phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) and Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA) via an adaptive signal corrector (ASC). The ASC suppresses the accumulated error of Φ-OTDR with the reference of BOTDA, which breaks through the measurement range limitation of Φ-OTDR so that the proposed sensor can perform a high-resolution measurement in a wide dynamic range. Its measurement range is determined by BOTDA, and can reach the limitation of optical fiber, while the resolution is limited by Φ-OTDR. In proof-of-concept experiments, a maximum strain variation of up to 302.9 µɛ is measured with a resolution of 5.5 nɛ. Furthermore, with an ordinary single-mode fiber, high-resolution dynamic pressure monitoring in the range from 20 MP to 0.29 MPa is also demonstrated with 0.14-kPa resolution. This research represents the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that a solution for merging data from a Brillouin sensor and a Rayleigh sensor which achieves the advantages of the two sensors at the same time has been realized.
General scheme for complete high-dimensional Bell state measurement
Authors: Zeng Zhi
Published: October 2022

We theoretically propose a simple and efficient scheme for the complete analysis of high-dimensional Bell states in N dimensions. The mutually orthogonal high-dimensional entangled states can be unambiguously distinguished by obtaining the parity and relative phase information of entanglement independently. Based on this approach, we present the physical realization of photonic four-dimensional Bell state measurement with the current technology. The proposed scheme will be useful for quantum information processing tasks that utilize high-dimensional entanglement.
Ultrafast true-green Ho:ZBLAN fiber laser inspired by the TD3 AI algorithm
Authors: Luo Saiyu , Tang Xiao , Geng Xiang , Gu Han , Li Li , Cai Zhiping
Published: October 2022

Ultrafast lasers in the true-green spectrum, which are scarce due to the “green gap” in semiconductor materials, are in high demand for the surging field of biomedical photonics. One ideal candidate for efficient green lasing is Ho:ZBLAN fiber, as ZBLAN-hosted fibers have already reached picosecond dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) in the yellow. When attempting to push the DSR mode locking further into the green, traditional manual cavity tuning is faced with extreme difficulty, as the emission regime for these fiber lasers is so deeply concealed. Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), however, provide the opportunity to fulfill the task in a fully automated manner. This work, inspired by the emerging twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm, represents the first application, to the best of our knowledge, of the TD3 AI algorithm to generate picosecond emissions at the unprecedented true-green wavelength of ∼545 nm. The study thus extends the ongoing AI technique further into the ultrafast photonics region.
Strain-engineered N-polar InGaN nanowires: towards high-efficiency red LEDs on the micrometer scale
Authors: Pandey A. , Min J. , Malhotra Y. , Reddeppa M. , Xiao Y. , Wu Y. , Mi Z.
Published: October 2022

The absence of efficient red-emitting micrometer-scale light emitting diodes (LEDs), i.e., LEDs with lateral dimensions of 1 μm or less is a major barrier to the adoption of microLEDs in virtual/augmented reality. The underlying challenges include the presence of extensive defects and dislocations for indium-rich InGaN quantum wells, strain-induced quantum-confined Stark effect, and etch-induced surface damage during the fabrication of quantum well microLEDs. Here, we demonstrate a new approach to achieve strong red emission (

>
620
  
nm

) from dislocation-free N-polar InGaN/GaN nanowires that included an InGaN/GaN short-period superlattice underneath the active region to relax strain and incorporate more indium within the InGaN dot active region. The resulting submicrometer-scale devices show red electroluminescence dominantly from an InGaN dot active region at low-to-moderate injection currents. A peak external quantum efficiency and a wall-plug efficiency of 2.2% and 1.7% were measured, respectively, which, to the best of our knowledge, are the highest values reported for a submicrometer-scale red LED. This study offers a new path to overcome the efficiency bottleneck of red-emitting microLEDs for a broad range of applications including mobile displays, wearable electronics, biomedical sensing, ultrahigh speed optical interconnect, and virtual/augmented reality.
Pharmacotherapy of infertility in Ghana: Why do infertile patients discontinue their fertility treatment?
Authors: Arhin Stephen Mensah , Mensah Kwesi Boadu , Agbeno Evans Kofi , Azize Diallo Abdoul , Henneh Isaac Tabiri , Agyemang Eric , Ansah Charles
Published: October 2022

Background

Globally, millions of people of reproductive age experience infertility. With that notwithstanding, most infertile patients undergoing pharmacotherapy withdraw from treatment before achieving the desired outcome. The reasons for their withdrawal, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, have not been well examined, hence the need for this study.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to examine why infertile patients discontinue pharmacotherapy prior to achieving conception.

Methods

The study employed an exploratory qualitative design. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit subjects into the study. Twenty infertile patients (fourteen females and six males) who discontinued their treatment, and eight attending health professionals who provided direct care to these patients were interviewed. Telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The data collected were transcribed, coded, and generated into themes using thematic content analysis.

Results

The major reasons for discontinuation of infertility treatment included lack of support from male partners, seeking alternative treatment, unmet outcome, poor medical services, distance, stigmatization, and relocation.

Conclusions

Patients and healthcare personnel shared both similar and diverse views on reasons for discontinuation of infertility treatment that reflect situations in a typical African setting, most of which are not reported in existing studies. The outcome of this study will provide insight for fertility therapists and policy makers in designing appropriate measures to facilitate maximum compliance and improvement in treatment outcome.
Patient safety culture in Austria and recommendations of evidence-based instruments for improving patient safety
Authors: Draganović Šehad , Offermanns Guido
Published: October 2022

This study aimed to investigate the patient safety culture in Austria. We identified factors that contributed to a higher degree of patient safety and subsequently developed evidence-based suggestions on how to improve patient safety culture in hospitals. Moreover, we examined differences in the perception of patient safety culture among different professional groups. This study used a cross-sectional design in ten Austrian hospitals (N = 1,525). We analyzed the correlation between ten patient safety culture factors, three background characteristics (descriptive variables), and three outcome variables (patient safety grade, number of adverse events reported, and influence on patient safety). We also conducted an analysis of variance to determine the differences in patient safety culture factors among the various professional groups in hospitals. The findings revealed that all ten factors have considerable potential for improvement. The most highly rated patient safety culture factors were communication openness and supervisor/manager’s expectations and actions promoting safety; whereas, the lowest rated factor was non-punitive response to error. A comparison of the various professional groups showed significant differences in the perception of patient safety culture between nurses, doctors, and other groups. Patient safety culture in Austria seems to have considerable potential for improvement, and patient safety culture factors significantly contribute to patient safety. We determined evidence-based practices as recommendations for improving each of the patient safety factors.
A de novo variant in the keratin 1 gene (KRT1) in a Chinese shar-pei dog with severe congenital cornification disorder and non-epidermolytic ichthyosis
Authors: Affolter Verena K. , Kiener Sarah , Jagannathan Vidhya , Nagle Terry , Leeb Tosso
Published: October 2022

A 3-months old Chinese shar-pei puppy with ichthyosis was investigated. The dog showed generalized scaling, alopecia and footpad lesions. Histopathological examinations demonstrated a non-epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. The parents of the affected puppy did not show any skin lesions. A trio whole genome sequencing analysis identified a heterozygous de novo 3 bp deletion in the KRT1 gene in the affected dog. This variant, NM_001003392.1:c.567_569del, is predicted to delete a single asparagine from the conserved coil 1A motif within the rod domain of KRT1, NP_001003392.1:p.(Asn190del). Immunohistochemistry demonstrated normal levels of KRT1 expression in the epidermis and follicular epithelia. This might indicate that the variant possibly interferes with keratin dimerization or another function of KRT1. Missense variants affecting the homologous asparagine residue of the human KRT1 cause epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. Histologically, the investigated Chinese shar-pei showed a non-epidermolytic ichthyosis. The finding of a de novo variant in an excellent functional candidate gene strongly suggests that KRT1:p.Asn190del caused the ichthyosis phenotype in the affected Chinese shar-pei. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a KRT1-related non-epidermolytic ichthyosis in domestic animals.
Risk factors for mortality in COVID-19 patients in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Bepouka Ben , Mayasi Nadine , Mandina Madone , Longokolo Murielle , Odio Ossam , Mangala Donat , Mbula Marcel , Kayembe Jean Marie , Situakibanza Hippolyte
Published: October 2022

Aim

Mortality rates of coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) disease continue to increase worldwide and in Africa. In this study, we aimed to summarize the available results on the association between sociodemographic, clinical, biological, and comorbidity factors and the risk of mortality due to COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

We followed the PRISMA checklist (S1 Checklist). We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and European PMC between January 1, 2020, and September 23, 2021. We included observational studies with Subjects had to be laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients; had to report risk factors or predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients, Studies had to be published in English, include multivariate analysis, and be conducted in the sub-Saharan region. Exclusion criteria included case reports, review articles, commentaries, errata, protocols, abstracts, reports, letters to the editor, and repeat studies. The methodological quality of the studies included in this meta-analysis was assessed using the methodological items for nonrandomized studies (MINORS). Pooled hazard ratios (HR) or odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated separately to identify mortality risk. In addition, publication bias and subgroup analysis were assessed.

Results and discussion

Twelve studies with a total of 43598 patients met the inclusion criteria. The outcomes of interest were mortality. The results of the analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of mortality in COVID-19 patients was 4.8%. Older people showed an increased risk of mortality from SARS-Cov-2. The pooled hazard ratio (pHR) and odds ratio (pOR) were 9.01 (95% CI; 6.30–11.71) and 1.04 (95% CI; 1.02–1.06), respectively. A significant association was found between COVID-19 mortality and men (pOR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.04–2). In addition, the risk of mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection was strongly influenced by chronic kidney disease (CKD), hypertension, severe or critical infection on admission, cough, and dyspnea. The major limitations of the present study are that the data in the meta-analysis came mainly from studies that were published, which may lead to publication bias, and that the causal relationship between risk factors and poor outcome in patients with COVID-19 cannot be confirmed because of the inherent limitations of the observational study.

Conclusions

Advanced age, male sex, CKD, hypertension, severe or critical condition on admission, cough, and dyspnea are clinical risk factors for fatal outcomes associated with coronavirus. These findings could be used for research, control, and prevention of the disease and could help providers take appropriate measures and improve clinical outcomes in these patients.
Antibiotic usage practices and its drivers in commercial chicken production in Bangladesh
Authors: Chowdhury Sukanta , Fournié Guillaume , Blake Damer , Henning Joerg , Conway Patricia , Hoque Md. Ahasanul , Ghosh Sumon , Parveen Shahana , Biswas Paritosh Kumar , Akhtar Zubair , Islam Khaleda , Islam Md. Ariful , Rashid Md. Mahbubur , Pelligand Ludvic , Khan Zobaidul Haque , Rahman Mahmudur , Tomley Fiona , Debnath Nitish , Chowdhury Fahmida
Published: October 2022

Irrational and inappropriate use of antibiotics in commercial chicken production can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance. We aimed to assess antibiotic usage in commercial chicken production in Bangladesh, and identify factors associated with this practice. We conducted a large-scale cross-sectional study to collect information on antibiotic usage in commercial chickens from January to May 2021. Structured interviews were conducted with 288 broiler, 288 layer and 192 Sonali (locally-produced cross-bred) farmers in 20 sub-districts across Bangladesh. The frequency of antibiotic usage, the types of antibiotics and purpose of usage were estimated for each production type. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated to measure the association between antibiotic usage and factors related to the characteristics of the farms and farmers using multivariable logistic regression models. The proportion of farms, irrespective of their production type, reporting usage of antibiotics in the 24 hours preceding the interview was 41% (n = 314, 95% CI: 37–44%). Forty-five percent (n = 344, 41–48%) reported antibiotic usage in the last 72 hours, 86% (n = 658, 83–88%) in the last 14 days, and almost all farms, 98% (n = 753, 97–99%), had used antibiotics since the start of their production cycle. Use of antibiotics in the 24 hours preceding an interview was more frequently reported in broiler (OR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.36–2.69) and Sonali (OR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.33–2.33) than layer farms. Oxytetracycline (23–31%, depending on production type), doxycycline (18–25%), ciprofloxacin (16–26%) and amoxicillin (16–44%) were the most frequently used antibiotics. Antibiotics were reported to be used for both treatment and prophylactic purposes on most farms (57–67%). Usage of antibiotics in the 24h preceding an interview was significantly associated with the occurrence of any illnesses in chickens (aOR broiler: 41.22 [95% CI:13.63–124.62], layer: aOR 36.45[9.52–139.43], Sonali: aOR 28.47[4.97–162.97]). Antibiotic usage was mainly advised by veterinary practitioners (45–71%, depending on production type), followed by feed dealers (21–40%) and farmers (7–13%). Improvement of chicken health through good farming practices along with changes in key stakeholders (feed dealers and practitioners) attitudes towards antibiotic recommendations to farmers, may help to reduce the levels of antibiotic usage and thus contribute to mitigate antimicrobial resistance.
Germination ecology of Chenopodium album L. and implications for weed management
Authors: Tang Wei , Guo Haipeng , Yin Jianing , Ding Xiaohui , Xu Xiaoyan , Wang Tingru , Yang Chao , Xiong Wangdan , Zhong Shangzhi , Tao Qibo , Sun Juan
Published: October 2022

Chenopodium album L. is a troublesome annual species in various cropping systems, and a sound knowledge of the ecological response of C. album germination to environmental factors would suggest suitable management strategies for inhibiting its spread. Preliminary laboratory-based research was conducted to investigate germination and emergence requirements of C. album under various environmental conditions (e.g., photoperiods, constant temperature, salinity, moisture, soil pH, burial depth, and oat crop residue). Results showed C. album seeds were found to be photoblastic, with only 13% germination in darkness. The maximum germination (94%) of C. album occurred at an optimal temperature of 25°C, and the depressive effect of other temperatures on germination was more severe at lower rather than higher temperatures. Seed germination was suitably tolerant of salinity and osmotic potential, with germination observed at 200 mM NaCl (37.0%) and -0.8 MPa (20%), respectively. Germination was relatively uniform (88–92%) at pH levels ranging from 4 to 10. The maximum germination of C. album was observed on the soil surface, with no or rare emergence of seeds at a burial depth of 2 cm or under 7000 kg ha-1 oat straw cover, respectively. Information provided by this study will help to develop more sustainable and effective integrated weed management strategies for the control of C. album, including (i) a shallow-tillage procedures to bury weed seeds in conventional-tillage systems and (ii) oat residue retention or coverage on the soil surface in no-tillage systems.
The gastrointestinal microbiome of browsing goats (Capra hircus)
Authors: Guerra Vera , Tiago Igor , Aires Aitana , Coelho Catarina , Nunes João , Martins Lígia O. , Veríssimo António
Published: October 2022

Despite the growing interest in the ruminants’ gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiomes’ ability to degrade plant materials by animal husbandry and industrial sectors, only a few studies addressed browsing ruminants. The present work describes the taxonomic and functional profile of the bacterial and archaeal communities from five different gastrointestinal sections (rumen, omasum-abomasum, jejunum, cecum and colon) of browsing Capra hircus, by metabarcoding using 16S rRNA genes hypervariable regions. The bacterial communities across the GITs are mainly composed of Bacillota and Bacteroidota. Prevotella was the leading bacterial group found in the stomachs, Romboutsia in the jejuna, and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Bacteroides, UCG-010_ge, UCG-005, and Alistipes in large intestines. The archaeal communities in the stomachs and jejuna revealed to be mainly composed of Methanobrevibacter, while in the large intestines its dominance is shared with Methanocorpusculum. Across the GITs, the main metabolic functions were related to carbohydrate, amino acid, and energy metabolisms. Significant differences in the composition and potential biological functions of the bacterial communities were observed among stomachs, jejuna and large intestines. In contrast, significant differences were observed among stomachs and jejuna verse large intestines for archaeal communities. Overall different regions of the GIT are occupied by different microbial communities performing distinct biological functions. A high variety of glycoside hydrolases (GHs) indispensable for degrading plant cell wall materials were predicted to be present in all the GIT sections.
Introduction: Access Aesthetics— Toward a Prefigurative Cultural Politics
Authors: Bunch Mary , Chan Julia , Lee Sean
Published: October 2022

Introduction to the issue on access aesthetics.
Inventory planning and SME's competitive advantage in Taraba State
Authors: Siman Sunday , Aliugo Anthonia
Published: October 2022

Most SMEs are just surviving instead of thriving as an implied result of a lack of adequate planning, the study seeks to examine inventory planning and SMEs' competitive advantage to achieve this the study's specificity aim; To ascertain the effect of demand forecasting on SMEs competitive advantage in Taraba State and secondly to examine the effect of safety stock inventory on SMEs competitive advantage in Taraba State. In line with this two, research questions and hypotheses were raised accordingly. The study adopts the material resource planning theory. A survey

research design was adopted. Thus, data w

ere

collected through the use of a questionnaire

.

To source primary data, the researchers sought the responses of SMEs located in Wukari and Jalingo metropolis, the

major towns in

Taraba State.

Based on the records for the year 20

21

gotten from the

Taraba

state Board of Internal

Revenue Service (BIRS), the researcher arrived at a target population of

three hundred and seventy-five

(

375

) which consists of SMEs operating in the selected metropolis.

From the

population of

375

, a sample of

194

SMEs was

selected using Taro Yamane’

formula

. The formulated hypotheses were tested using multiple regression techniques with the aid of SPSS 20.

Findings show that demand forecasting has a significant positive on the competitive advantage of SMEs in Taraba State and that Safety stock inventory has a significant positive on the competitive advantage of SMEs in Taraba State. The study concludes and recommends among others that SMEs should be more attentive to their demand forecast to improve competitive advantage because forecasting provides a deeper understanding of how market is likely to evolve which provide a competitive advantage by improving a company's agility and ability to enhance a product, target customers effectively or gain other operational insight and ultimately reducing unnecessary cost.
Shotguns: the use of rhetorical devices in the adverts of utilitarian and aspirational sporting goods
Authors: White Gareth
Published: October 2022

PURPOSE

Shooting, in its many different forms, contributes a substantial amount to national economies through the manufacture and consumption of goods and services, as well as through supporting environmental initiatives and providing recreational activities. Despite the considerable global value of sporting shooting, little research has explored the range of products and services that it comprises. This study begins to address this gap by examining the use of Aristotelian rhetorical devices in the digital adverts of shotguns.

METHODOLOGY

An exploratory study is made of the usage of rhetorical devices in the adverts of eighteen shotguns, spanning five manufacturers and four countries of origin, using multiple regression and descriptive analyses.

FINDINGS

The analyses reveal clear relationships between the characteristics of the product and their manufacturers with the use of ethos, pathos and logos. The findings have implications for both manufacturers and retailers of shotguns and the ways in which they utilise these rhetorical devices in their adverts.

ORIGINALITY

This study contributes to the limited research that explores this commercially, environmentally and socially important pastime.
Assessment of Spatio-Temporal Variation of Aerosol and Its Relationship Between Landuse-Landcover at Apapa, Lagos Using Gis and Remote Sensing Techniques.
Authors: Omomeji Olarewaju , Adegun Olubunmi
Published: October 2022

The spatiotemporal variation of aerosols which as a result of their short lifetime and other influencing factors makes the measurement of their state in the atmosphere a bit difficult. The conventional methods of ground stations are not adequate, hence, the use of remote sensing techniques in collection of data. This study adopted the blurring effect technique in assessing the aerosol variation for three static years (1984, 2000 and 2016) using the Landsat images. The change in land use land cover for the 3 years was determined; built-up, bare-surface, waterbody and wetland being the classes. Between 1984 to 2016, every class except for built-up areas recorded a negative change, built-up increased by 13.70% from its base year. Bare-surface recorded a negative change of 49.65% from its base year. The Aerosol Optical Depth values recorded for the different years were generally high across the area. The maximum values for 1984, 2000 and 2016 were 1.32, 1.15 and 1.28 respectively and the minimum values were 0.27, 1.05 and 1.13 respectively. The values recorded over the different land cover showed that there was no particular order or difference for year 1984 and 2000 while there was slight difference between values recorded over wetland and bare-surface for the year 2016. The transportation of aerosols strongly influenced the variation across space. The study concluded that there are possibilities of air quality and visibility challenges, it further recommended that constant monitoring of the environment and future research on characterization and source appointment be embarked upon.
Neutralization of CMR documents
Authors: Cheu Kelvin , Poliak Miloš , Tomicová Jana , Gnap Jozef
Published: October 2022

In 1956, there was an important step in international road freight transport. The CMR Convention, the main purpose of which was to unify the rules for the international transport of goods and thereby promote the development of international trade, was concluded. From a practical point of view, this is of great importance to both carriers and transporters. Similarly, this Convention describes the most important document for the carriage of goods and that is the consignment note CMR. In recent times, the term neutralization has been used in conjunction with this document in transport. We want to clarify the importance of this word in transport. The aim is also to find out to what extent carriers have real experience with CMR neutralization and when transporting what kind of goods the most frequent neutralization of documents is used. The purpose of this contribution is to explain what the term neutralization in transport means, because there is no legal regulation or norm to define it. This term is used mainly in chemistry. Furthermore, we would like to verify the hypothesis that the neutralization of consignment note CMR is actually used in international road freight transport and whether neutralization is only used for a particular type of goods, such as electronics. To verify the hypotheses we conducted a survey at the carriers.
Testing trajectory of road trains with program complexes
Authors: Nurmuhumatovich Jamshid , Mikusova Miroslava
Published: October 2022

The article provides information about using software for determination off tracking and trajectory movement of trucks. It describes experiment of determination of trajectory movement of trucks, using GPS system, to assess the compliance of similar models of the movement of road trains in computer-aided road design systems. Experimental study was conducted using truck KAMAZ 54115 and semi-trailer M 9397 in real road conditions. There are presented and compared results of the study of movement trajectories of road trains with results obtained of the Auto TURN software package application. Discrepancy between the curves is explained. As the difference in AutoTURN data in comparison with experimental values does not exceed 4.07 %, which, given the very similar nature of the curves, can be considered valid. As a conclusion the use of AutoTURN software package is validated for determining dynamic dimension of cars and for modelling trajectory of movement, not only for road trains, but also for all types of vehicles in the area of their design.
Analysis of braking marks left by vehicles equipped with ABS with IR spectroscopy
Authors: Gosławski Łukasz , Kubiak Przemyslaw , Mrowicki Adam , Soghabatyan Tigran , Sys Ewa , Wang Ying-Wei , Zou Tiefang
Published: October 2022

This paper presents the possible use for IR spectroscopy to reveal skid marks left by cars equipped with Anti-lock Braking System. Detailed analysis of literature showed that there is no method that can be used in order to investigate this kind of tire marks. Up till now only two techniques have been devised. The first one is Method of Image Refinement which consists of transforming the image from the scene of the accident using dedicated graphics software. Second method includes analysis of traces using a thermal imaging camera. This study presents an innovative approach to the problem. Numerous analyses using IR spectroscopy were conducted to check the suitability of this method. The research performed on a Thermo Scientific FTIR Nicolet iS50 Spectrophotometer with an ATR attachment. 40 samples from 10 different types of asphalt were prepared. Each sample was measured 3 times to create its spectrum. The results were analyzed thoroughly using the dedicated SpectraGryph software. Analysis show that the wavelength which makes the braking marks visible is found within the mid-infrared range. Finally, it was found wavelength in which skid marks should be visible. This range is located in the mid-infrared.
Determining the level of satisfaction among users of public transport in Lublin
Authors: Wińska Monika , Gzik Aleksandra
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this work was to present the public transport system operating in the city of Lublin, including its history, organizational structure, elements of line and point infrastructure, and analysis of the survey results in the form of a survey conducted among 248 people who are passengers of public transport. The questionnaire contained 20 questions whose answers were developed in the form of charts and tables and their discussions. In addition, comparative data from a study carried out in 2016 by the Municipal Transport Authority in Lublin were added to some of the results. The elaboration of results allowed the assessment of the level of satisfaction among respondents, including proposed changes submitted by the respondents. They are a suggestion for the body dealing with the organization of public transport in the city, as well as for entities performing transport within it, regarding future projects improving the operation of public transport, thus satisfying the needs of potential passengers.
The Influence of the Conditions of Use and the Type of Model Used on the Vertical Dynamic Responses of a Car Suspension
Authors: Klockiewicz Zbyszko , Ślaski Grzegorz , Spadło Mikołaj
Published: October 2022

The article presents a study of the influence of vehicle’s conditions of use, such as road class, vehicle speed or its load, on its vertical dynamic responses. In the article only the kinematic excitations were analysed, as these are more common than the dynamic ones. The road profiles were artificially generated according to the ISO 8608 standard, which classifies roads based on power spectral density of excitations which they generate. Ride safety, ride comfort and fatigue strength indicators were computed. Ride safety was defined by the DLC – Dynamic Load Coefficient. Ride comfort was judged taking into consideration the recommendations from the ISO 2631 standard (which contains the information on vibration frequencies and their effect on human body, as well as the allowed exposure times to given vibrations) by calculating root mean square values of sprung mass accelerations for bandwidths defined in the standard. Load spectrums for the fatigue analysis were created using forces generated in a simulation as a basis and further research venues were proposed. Lastly conclusions were drawn from the results, that imply that linear models are sufficient for many standard applications on roads of acceptable quality, however the use of non-linear models is recommended in fatigue strength analysis regardless of conditions of use.
The Integration of Passenger Transport and Integration Barriers
Authors: Ewhrudjakpor Oi , Poliaková Adela , Poliak Miloš
Published: October 2022

Transport strategy in European Union supports public transport against individual transport. The reason is using of public transport is possible to fulfil all the goals of the EU strategy in the field of road safety. The paper deals with the issue of supporting public passenger transport and it is integration with the aim of ensuring the sustainable mobility of population. The aim of this paper is to identify the importance of public passenger transport and define method for creating effective integrated transport systems. The paper points to the importance of public passenger transport and the reasons why the population prefers cars. Based on the analysis, it is arguable that public passenger transport without mutual integration is not capable enough to compete with individual motoring. Contribution proposes the process integration of public passenger transport as a key elements in increasing road safety. Contribution confirms the hypothesis that the integration of public passenger transport and achieving a higher use of public passenger transport of population can contribute to improving of road safety.
The Impact of Perturbation Mechanisms on the Operation of the Swap Heuristic
Authors: Misztal Wojciech
Published: October 2022

In this study, an attempt was made to assess the impact of the most popular perturbation movements (i.e. Multiple-Swap(2-2), Multiple-Shift(2-2) and Multiple-K-Shift(1)), as well as the number of their calls on the quality of solutions and the time in which Swap(2-1) heuristics returns them. For this purpose, the iterative local search algorithm (ILS) was triggered, in which Swap(2-1) heuristics has cooperated with a single perturbation mechanism. The number of perturbations was changed in the range from 1 to 30. Each time the time and the difference between the percentage improvement of the objective function value of the solution obtained utilizing the Swap(2-1) algorithm cooperating with the perturbation mechanism and this algorithm working alone was checked. Based on the results obtained, it was found that the overall level of improvement in the quality of the returned solution is similar when using all of the considered perturbation mechanisms (is in the range of 2.49% to 4.02%). It has been observed that increasing the number of initiated perturbations does not guarantee an improvement in the quality of the returned solution. Perturbation movements similar to the motion initiated by the local search algorithm do not significantly improve the solution (they only entail extending the duration of action).
The structure of the study has the following form. The Introduction chapter provides information on the Vehicle Routing Problem. The chapter Research methods contain a description of ILS and Swap(2-1) approaches and perturbation mechanisms considered. The last two chapters include the results of tests and conclusions.
Ways of reducing carbon dioxide from road transport
Authors: Synák František , Gaňa Ján , Rievaj Vladimír , Mokričková Lenka
Published: October 2022

Climate change and the associated global warming affect all of us. These changes cause the melting of the glaciers and consequently the increase in sea and ocean levels. This phenomenon threatens the existence of some of the island states. The warming casing all this was brought on by the economic activity of humans, with the greatest responsibility being attributed to the ever-increasing production of greenhouse gases. Transport generates large portion of these gases. When means of transport are in motion, they are affected by certain driving resistances which try to keep vehicle from moving. In order to overcome them, it is necessary to produce certain useful work equivalent to the measurement of driving resistances. An internal combustion motor is the most frequent source of such energy. It generates energy by oxygenating hydrocarbon fuels, and in addition to the useful work, it produces also unfavourable emission. The amount of such emissions equals to the amount of burnt fuel. Thus, levels of emissions can drop by reducing fuel consumption. The most commonly mentioned gas is the CO2. Reduction of CO2 production is essential to affect the high level of CO2. The article focuses on the possibilities of reducing CO2 from road transport. The possibilities of reducing CO2 from road transport are quantified in the form of mathematical model calculations.