bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental Verification and Estimation of Fatigue Crack Growth Delay due to Single Overload
Authors: Wu Hao , Zhu Jun
Published: November 2022

A novel crack driving force parameter based on the plastic zone size for overload/constant amplitude loading is proposed to estimate the fatigue crack growth (FCG) and the beneficial fatigue life due to overload. By considering the stress distribution in the plastic zone, the effective stress intensity factor (SIF) integrated from equivalent residual stress is presented. It is illustrated that the FCG rate decreases rapidly after overload and then gradually returns to the baseline FCG rate. Besides, the overload ratio Rpic has a significant influence on the affected length ad and the beneficial fatigue life Nd.
An Optimization Method Based on Be-ACO Algorithm in Service Composition Context
Authors: Du Zhoujie , Miao Huaikou
Published: November 2022

With the increasing complexity of users’ needs and increasing uncertainty of a single web service in big data environment, service composition becomes more and more difficult. In order to improve the solution accuracy and computing speed of the constrained optimization model, several improvements are raised on ant colony optimization (ACO) and its calculation strategy. We introduce beetle antenna search (BAS) strategy to avoid the danger of falling into local optimization, and a service composition method based on fusing beetle-ant colony optimization algorithm (Be-ACO) is proposed. The model first generates search subspace for ant colony through beetle antenna search strategy and optimization service set by traversing subspace based on ant colony algorithm. Continuously rely on beetle antenna search strategy to generate the next search subspace in global scope for ant colony to traverse and converge to the global optimal solution finally. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional optimization method, the proposed method improves combination optimization convergence performance and solution accuracy greatly.
N6-Methyladenosine Regulator-Mediated RNA Methylation Is Involved in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome Immunoinfiltration
Authors: He Fang , Liu Hexu , Yu Changyin
Published: November 2022

The crucial role of epigenetic regulation, especially the modifications of RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A), in immunity is a current research hotspot. However, the m6A modifications in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and the immune infiltration pattern they govern remain unknown. Thus, the patterns of 23 m6A regulator-mediated RNA modifications in parotid or blood samples from pSS patients were evaluated by bioinformatics analysis in the current study. Comparing m6A regulators between control and pSS patients showed that m6A regulators are associated with pSS, and regulators also had differential correlations. Further clustering analysis and comparison of gene expression and immune cell infiltration between m6A modification patterns revealed that each modification pattern had its own unique genetic and immune profile. Multiple immune cell infiltrations were differentially expressed between the patterns. The enrichment of gene ontology between the two patterns in parotid was concentrated on RNA metabolism and processing. The KEGG pathway enrichment and weighted correlation network analysis further showed that the autophagy pathway might be involved in the m6A modification patterns in pSS. Together, these findings suggest that m6A regulators play a certain role in the immune cell infiltration of parotid tissue in pSS.
[Retracted] Promotion and Protection of Feminism Creativity for Public Environment: The Integration of Ecofeminism and Public Environment
Authors: Dong Wanjin , Kim Soonbae
Published: November 2022

Each of us leaves a trace of our consumption on the environment. Take a step back, though, and consider how much influence people have had on the Earth. The Anthropocene, sometimes known as the era of humans, refers to how significantly we have changed the Earth’s systems. This is the grand view of humanity’s impact on the Earth. In this article, we plan to introduce and explain ecofeminism. Because of the natural connection with nature and the social role as housekeepers, women often have empathetic power when expressing their demands for the public environment, thus becoming a vital force in public environmental protection. Facing the public environmental forces spurting from ecofeminism, we study the dissemination of ecofeminism with the help of mass media. However, in present‐day China, as pointed out by ecofeminism, the predatory exploitation of nature and the catastrophic killing of plants and animals make the fate of women challenging to control. Therefore, we study the theory of multicultural ecofeminism and public environmental protection. Finally, based on the integration of ecofeminism and the public environment, we interpret Lawrence’s famous work, Sons and Lovers, and analyze the relationship between men and women and the public environment in this work from the perspective of ecofeminism. In human socialization, ecofeminism has provided strong support for protecting the public environment, and at the same time, it has also improved.
Low Intensity Noise Exposure Enhanced Auditory Loudness and Temporal Processing by Increasing Excitability of DCN
Authors: Shi Lin , Palmer Katie , Wang Haolin , Xu-Friedman Matthew A. , Sun Wei
Published: November 2022

Sound stimulation is generally used for tinnitus and hyperacusis treatment. Recent studies found that long-term noise exposure can change synaptic and firing properties in the central auditory system, which will be detected by the acoustic startle reflex. However, the perceptual consequences of long-term low-intensity sound exposure are indistinct. This study will detect the effects of moderate-level noise exposure (83 dB SPL) on auditory loudness, and temporal processing was evaluated using CBA/CaJ mice. C-Fos staining was used to detect neural activity changes in the central auditory pathway. With two weeks of 83 dB SPL noise exposure (8 hours per day), no persistent threshold shift of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) was identified. On the other hand, noise exposure enhanced the acoustic startle response (ASR) and gap-induced prepulse inhibition significantly (gap-PPI). Low-level noise exposure, according to the findings, can alter temporal acuity. Noise exposure increased the number of c-Fos labeled neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) and caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC) but not at a higher level in the central auditory nuclei. Our results suggested that noise stimulation can change acoustical temporal processing presumably by increasing the excitability of auditory brainstem neurons.
Leptin Promotes HTR-8/SVneo Cell Invasion via the Crosstalk between MTA1/WNT and PI3K/AKT Pathways
Authors: Fan Minghua , Dong Lihua , Meng Yanping , Wang Yao , Zhen Junhui , Qiu Jianqing
Published: November 2022

The process of placental invasion is essential for a successful pregnancy. Leptin is involved in trophoblast invasiveness, and its dysregulation is connected with a series of diseases, including preeclampsia. However, the knowledge of the precise mechanisms in leptin-induced trophoblast invasiveness is still limited. According to the present research, transwell assay suggested that leptin is a dose- and time-dependent regulator in inducing HTR-8/SVneo cell invasion. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining revealed that leptin-induced MMP9 expression is essential in the invasion process of HTR-8/SVneo cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that leptin activated β-catenin via the crosstalk between the MTA1/WNT and PI3K/AKT pathways. Besides, we showed that downregulating the key molecules in the signaling pathways by siRNA can inhibit leptin-induced MMP9 expression and further suppress invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells. In conclusion, our study revealed a new regulatory mechanism of leptin-induced HTR-8/SVneo cell invasiveness and will provide novel insights into the causes and potential therapeutic targets for diseases related to dysregulation of trophoblast invasion in the future.
On Fractional Newton‐Type Method for Nonlinear Problems
Authors: Bayrak Mine Aylin , Demir Ali , Ozbilge Ebru
Published: November 2022

The current manuscript is concerned with the development of the Newton–Raphson method, playing a significant role in mathematics and various other disciplines such as optimization, by using fractional derivatives and fractional Taylor series expansion. The development and modification of the Newton–Raphson method allow us to establish two new methods, which are called first‐ and second‐order fractional Newton–Raphson (FNR) methods. We provide convergence analysis of first‐ and second‐order fractional methods and give a general condition for the convergence of higher‐order FNR. Finally, some illustrative examples are considered to confirm the accuracy and effectiveness of both methods.
Generative Text Secret Sharing with Topic-Controlled Shadows
Authors: Yu Long , Lu Yuliang , Yan Xuehu , Jiang Yue , Wang Jiayu
Published: November 2022

Secret image sharing has been extensively and thoroughly researched. However, in the social network environment, shadow images are subject to compression or noise pollution during uploading and transmitting, which makes it challenging to recover secrets losslessly. Texts are more suited for transmission in social networks as shadows because of the broad variety of application scenarios and inherent robustness. Through a secret sharing technique of

k
,
n

threshold, a secret is encrypted as

n

shadows, where any

k

or more shadows can recover the secret, while less than

k

cannot obtain any information on the secret. In this article, we propose a generative text secret sharing scheme with topic-controlled shadows, which encrypts a secret message as a number of semantically natural shadow texts and controls the topics of shadow texts using bag-of-words models during text generation by the language model. This study also proposes two goal programming models to improve the shadow texts’ topic relevance and fluency. The shadow texts of the proposed scheme satisfy loss tolerance, semantic comprehensibility, topic controllability, and robustness. An ablation study, comparative test, and anti-detection experiment verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Isolation, Characterization, and Effect on Biofilm Formation of Bacteriocin Produced by Lactococcus lactis F01 Isolated from Cyprinus carpio and Application for Biopreservation of Fish Sausage
Authors: Fotso Techeu Ulrich Daquain , Kaktcham Pierre Marie , Momo Hector Kenfack , Foko Kouam Edith Marius , Tchamani Piame Laverdure , Ngouenam Romial Joel , Zambou Ngoufack François
Published: November 2022

The aim of this work was the screening of bacteriocin‐producing LABs isolated from fish, the selection of promising/prominent strain(s), the characterization of the bacteriocin produced, and the evaluation of its potential to be used as biopreservative(s). Amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of the bacteriocin‐producing strain was performed. Then a partial purification of the produced bacteriocin, using a combination of ammonium sulfate and chloroform‐methanol precipitation, was done. Its molecular weight was determined by SDS‐PAGE. In addition, the action spectrum, the hemolysis test, and its ability to inhibit biofilm formation were analyzed. A total of 88 isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including one bacteriocin producer, which was identified as Lactococcus lactis F01, were collected. The bacteriocin was partially purified with an estimated yield of 40%. Regarding the SDS‐PAGE profile, the secreted bacteriocin has molecular weight of about 3.5 kDa and was identified as class I bacteriocin. The antimicrobial test showed that the bacteriocin inhibits pathogenic and/or spoilage bacteria, 10 Gram‐positive and 16 Gram‐negative bacterial species. Moreover, it can inhibit biofilm formation from 1.3% (Escherichia coli) to 63.92% (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC15692) depending on the strain. The hemolytic activity of novel bacteriocin was observed at the concentration of 10 μg/ml of bacteriocin crude extract, which was 0.7 ± 0.0029%. In addition, it exhibited good thermal and pH stability with retained antibacterial activity of 85.25% after treatment at 121°C for 20 min, as well as at a pH range between 2.0 and 10.0. Moreover, this bacteriocin showed the ability to inhibit the growth of bacterial culture load in fish sausage stored at 8°C for 28 days. Considering the results obtained, bacteriocin could be potentially exploited as an alternative to chemical preservatives or as a substitute for antibiotics.
Modified Screen-Printed Microchip for Potentiometric Detection of Terbinafine Drugs
Authors: El-Beshlawy Menna , Arida Hassan
Published: November 2022

The development of miniaturized microchips has widespread and growing interest in manufacturing potentiometric sensors with extremely valuable modifying response characteristics. In this context, here, we demonstrate microfabrication, electrochemical evaluation, and analytical applications of disposable thin-film potentiometric microsensors responsive to terbinafine antifungal medication. Miniaturized microchips have been realized by integration of the sensitive layer membrane modified by carbon nanotubes onto the surface of the plastic screen-printed microchip support using a new approach, which has been recently developed. The sensitive membrane comprises terbinafine HCl: ammonium heptamolybdate complex ion pair as ionophore, o-nitrophenyl octyl ether as a solvent mediator, potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate as an anion excluder, and polyvinyl chloride as support. The microsensor based on this plasticised sensitive membrane provides the Nernstian response and covers a wide concentration range of terbinafine of 10−8–10−2 mole·L−1. The merits offered by the elaborated terbinafine microchip over the bulk-based electrode include reasonable sensitivity (58.5 mV/concentration decade), fast response time (∼30 s.), long-term stability (4 months), integration, and automation feasibility. Furthermore, microfabricated terbinafine chips were successfully applied to the measurements of the investigated medication in some real samples with high accuracy (96.9%) and precision (<3%).
A Decision Tree-Based Online Traffic Classification Method for QoS Routing in Data Center Networks
Authors: Xie Shengxu , Hu Guyu , Wang Xiulei , Xing Changyou , Liu Yaqun
Published: November 2022

In data center networks, how to ensure the quality of service (QoS) of traffic effectively has become an important optimization goal. Traffic classification has been widely studied to guarantee network flow QoS since it provides a basis for the network performance level requirement of different flow types. However, traditional network traffic classification methods, which can only identify traffic type offline, have no ability for online classification and the in-time QoS guarantee. To solve this problem, we propose an online traffic classification for QoS routing (OCQR) framework based on programmable data plane in this paper. Firstly, in order to improve the accuracy of flow classification and reduce the impact on line-rate packet forwarding, the way of machine learning model offline training and online deployment is used to classify the network flow in real time. Based on the hardware foundation of programmable switch and the complexity of machine learning algorithm, a CART decision tree model is used to classify network flows. Secondly, in order to actually deploy and run the decision tree model in the programmable switch with limited computing and storage resources, we prune the decision tree model and optimize the leaf nodes to reduce the size of the decision tree and improve the classification recall rate. Finally, by building a P4 simulation environment, the recall rate of OCQR’s classified scheduling of some application flows reaches more than 98%, which is consistent with the evaluation results of the offline dataset. At the same time, compared with the classification method based on SDN, OCQR does not require additional bandwidth occupation, so it has less impact on network performance.
Content Deduplication with Granularity Tweak Based on Base and Deviation for Large Text Dataset
Authors: Venkatesh Babu S. , Ramya P. , Gracewell Jeffin
Published: November 2022

The concept of storage optimization has evolved as one of the hottest research projects in big data which brings out better solutions such as data compression which almost converges towards the deduplication technique. Deduplication is a technique that finds and eliminates duplicate content by storing only the unique copies of data whose efficiency is being qualified based on the amount of duplicate content that they hideout from the data source. The deduplication technique is a well-established storage optimization technique, so in the due course of time, various tweaks have been provided for its betterment, but it quite has some limitations that it cannot determine the tiny changes that occur among similar contents, and the chunks which are generated by segmenting and hashing the data are more sensitive to changes which produce a new chunk for every small change which ruins the concept of storage optimization, so to tackle this, content deduplication with granularity tweak (CDGT) in the Hadoop architecture has been proposed for large text datasets. The CDGT aims to improve the efficiency of deduplication by utilizing the Reed Solomon technique. This pumps out more duplicate content by verifying both intracontent and intercontent as consequence performance enhancements are met, and this system incorporates cluster-based indexing to reduce the time involved in data management activities.
Evaluating the Performance of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticle-Modified Asphalt Binder and Modelling the Viscoelastic Properties by Using Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines
Authors: Alas Mustafa , Abba Sani Isah , Ismael Albrka Ali Shaban , Rahim Abdur , Yusoff Nur Izzi Md.
Published: November 2022

The effect of aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3) on the 60/70 penetration of asphalt cement (AC) was investigated in terms of the physical and rheological characteristics by using the Superpave testing procedures. Al2O3 at 3, 5, and 7% concentrations were blended with 60/70 penetration of grade AC. Conventional testing procedures were adopted regarding the physical characteristics, while dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) testing procedures were conducted to evaluate the high and low temperature failure parameters. In addition, heuristic modelling techniques, artificial neural networks (ANN), and support vector machines (SVM) were employed to predict the performance characteristics of AC by using the mechanical testing conditions. The frequency sweep test and multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test results revealed that the optimum composition of Al2O3 was at 5% concentration considering the high temperature performance characteristics since further addition of the Al2O3 resulted in degradation in the enhanced properties due to agglomeration of the nanoparticles in the blend. On the contrary, Al2O3 5% demonstrated the lowest viscoelastic behavior at intermediate temperatures. The higher complex modulus (

G
∗

) and lower phase angle (

δ

) parameters indicated that the increase in stiffness due to the modification process was at the cost of losing elastic properties against fatigue cracking. Moreover, based on the statistical performance indicator, coefficient of determination (R2), it was observed that the ANN models for predicting

G
∗

and

δ

achieved a prediction accuracy of 0.989 and 0.911 while SVM models were able to achieve 0.984 and 0.929, respectively, considering the training datasets. On the other hand, it was noted that SVM models outperformed the ANN models in terms of a smaller gap between the results obtained from the training and testing datasets. The difference between the training and testing datasets for

G
∗

and

δ

parameters for the SVM models were 3.2% and 6.8% while for the ANN models, the differences were 11.6% and 9.5%, respectively, indicating that the ANN models were more prone to the overfitting phenomenon.
Plk1 Inhibitors and Abiraterone Synergistically Disrupt Mitosis and Kill Cancer Cells of Disparate Origin Independently of Androgen Receptor Signaling
Authors: Patterson Jesse C. , Varkaris Andreas , Croucher Peter J.P. , Ridinger Maya , Dalrymple Susan , Nouri Mannan , Xie Fang , Varmeh Shohreh , Jonas Oliver , Whitman Matthew A. , Chen Sen , Rashed Saleh , Makusha Lovemore , Luo Jun , Isaacs John T. , Erlander Mark G. , Einstein David J. , Balk Steven P. , Yaffe Michael B.
Published: November 2022

Abiraterone is a standard treatment for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) that slows disease progression by abrogating androgen synthesis and antagonizing the androgen receptor (AR). Here we report that inhibitors of the mitotic regulator polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1), including the clinically active third-generation Plk1 inhibitor onvansertib, synergizes with abiraterone in vitro and in vivo to kill a subset of cancer cells from a wide variety of tumor types in an androgen-independent manner. Gene-expression analysis identified an AR-independent synergy-specific gene set signature upregulated upon abiraterone treatment that is dominated by pathways related to mitosis and the mitotic spindle. Abiraterone treatment alone caused defects in mitotic spindle orientation, failure of complete chromosome condensation, and improper cell division independently of its effects on AR signaling. These effects, although mild following abiraterone monotherapy, resulted in profound sensitization to the antimitotic effects of Plk1 inhibition, leading to spindle assembly checkpoint-dependent mitotic cancer cell death and entosis. In a murine patient-derived xenograft model of abiraterone-resistant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), combined onvansertib and abiraterone resulted in enhanced mitotic arrest and dramatic inhibition of tumor cell growth compared with either agent alone. Overall, this work establishes a mechanistic basis for the phase II clinical trial (NCT03414034) testing combined onvansertib and abiraterone in mCRPC patients and indicates this combination may have broad utility for cancer treatment.

Significance:

Abiraterone treatment induces mitotic defects that sensitize cancer cells to Plk1 inhibition, revealing an AR-independent mechanism for this synergistic combination that is applicable to a variety of cancer types.
Diagnostic Performance of the Newly Developed WellPrep® Liquid-Based Cytology System and Its Comparison with SurePathTM in Cervical Squamous Lesions
Authors: Choi Ji Eun , Jin Min-Sun , Nikas Ilias P. , Ryu Han Suk
Published: November 2022

Introduction: WellPrep® (WP), a fully automated, one-step liquid-based cytology (LBC) platform using an all-in-one closed chamber, has recently been developed as a next-generation LBC technology. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance and cytomorphologic features of WP regarding cervical cytology and also to compare WP with the SurePathTM (SP), one of the most widely used LBC systems used worldwide. Methods: Cervicovaginal samples were taken from 212 females who enrolled in the study, and each sample was split and subsequently used for WP and SP LBC. Following the exclusion of seven cases with insufficient quality, a total of 205 cases were used for subsequent analysis. Among them, 75 (36.6%) received histologic follow-up. All cases were interpreted according to the Bethesda System, while three experienced pathologists evaluated their cytomorphologic features. Results: The diagnostic concordance rate between the two LBC technologies was 84.4% (kappa = 0.776). Furthermore, the diagnostic concordance rates between SP and histology and between WP and histology were 73.3% (kappa = 0.516) and 70.7% (kappa = 0.497), respectively. The two LBC methods showed comparable sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) for histologic HSIL+ (SP: sensitivity 82.8%, specificity 84.8%, and AUC 0.838; WP: sensitivity 79.3%, specificity 87.0%, and AUC 0.831). No significant difference was found regarding the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC between SP and WP (p = 0.586, p = 0.670, and p = 0.924, respectively). In terms of cytomorphologic features, WP revealed more often than SP the presence of coarse chromatin (p = 0.031) and mitoses (p = 0.008) but less commonly perinuclear clearing (p = 0.001). Conclusion: This is the first study demonstrating that WP has a comparable performance to SP. In conclusion, WP may be an alternative LBC technology for cervical cancer screening.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Diagnostic Accuracy of the International Academy of Cytology Yokohama System for Reporting Breast Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy in Diagnosing Breast Cancer
Authors: Paul Pranoy , Azad Shweta , Agrawal Shruti , Rao Shalinee , Chowdhury Nilotpal
Published: November 2022

Objectives: The primary objective is to determine the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in breast lesions reported according to the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) Yokohama system for reporting breast FNAB. The participants include any patient presenting with any breast lesion found suitable for FNAB. The target condition was breast cancer. The secondary objective was to study the proportion of inadequate FNAB in the selected studies. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were searched for studies having all the following key search terms: Breast AND FNAB AND Diagnostic Accuracy published in the time frame of 2017 to May 16, 2022. The Cochrane and PROSPERO databases, citations of selected articles and articles citing the selected articles were also searched. Studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of breast FNAB in diagnosing breast cancer, which had at least 75 subjects (and at least 20 subjects each in the benign and malignant FNAB groups), were selected. The reference standard was histopathology (or adequate clinical follow-up for benign disease). Studies were screened independently by two researchers, with a consensus reached among the authors in cases of conflict. The risk of bias and applicability were assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Sensitivity and specificity at each diagnostic cut-off were assessed by bivariate generalized linear mixed-model meta-analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) and inadequacy rate were assessed by random-effects meta-analysis. The confidence intervals of sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were examined against a value of 0.95. Results: Twenty-two studies, all of which were cross-sectional single-gate studies, were selected with a total of 10,886 subjects with a primary breast lesion having concurrent FNAB and reference standard reports. Sensitivity and specificity, with 95% confidence intervals, were 0.978 [0.968, 0.985] and 0.832 [0.76, 0.886] for the diagnostic cut-off of “Atypical considered positive for malignancy,” 0.916 [0.892, 0.935] and 0.983 [0.97, 0.99] for the cut-off of “Suspicious of Malignancy considered positive,” and 0.763 [0.706, 0.812] and 0.999 [0.994, 1] for the cut-off of “Malignant considered positive.” The overall AUC was 0.975 [0.962, 0.984]. FNAB sampling without imaging guidance was associated with lower inadequacy. Discussion: There is strong evidence that the overall accuracy, sensitivity for “Atypical category considered positive” and specificity when “Suspicious or Malignant categories are considered positive” of FNAB are high when using the categories of the IAC Yokohama Reporting System, demonstrating the usefulness of FNAB in diagnosing breast cancer.
Alterations to Sphingomyelin Metabolism Affect Hemostasis and Thrombosis
Authors: Wang Jue , Keshava Shiva , Das Kaushik , Kolesnick Richard , Jiang Xian-Cheng , Pendurthi Usha R. , Rao L. Vijaya Mohan
Published: November 2022

Background:

Our recent studies suggest that sphingomyelin levels in the plasma membrane influence TF (tissue factor) procoagulant activity. The current study was performed to investigate how alterations to sphingomyelin metabolic pathway would affect TF procoagulant activity and thereby affect hemostatic and thrombotic processes.

Methods:

Macrophages and endothelial cells were transfected with specific siRNAs or infected with adenoviral vectors to alter sphingomyelin levels in the membrane. TF activity was measured in factor X activation assay. Saphenous vein incision–induced bleeding and the inferior vena cava ligation–induced flow restriction mouse models were used to evaluate hemostasis and thrombosis, respectively.

Results:

Overexpression of SMS (sphingomyelin synthase) 1 or SMS2 in human monocyte-derived macrophages suppresses ATP-stimulated TF procoagulant activity, whereas silencing SMS1 or SMS2 increases the basal cell surface TF activity to the same level as of ATP-decrypted TF activity. Consistent with the concept that sphingomyelin metabolism influences TF procoagulant activity, silencing of acid sphingomyelinase or neutral sphingomyelinase 2 or 3 attenuates ATP-induced enhanced TF procoagulant activity in macrophages and endothelial cells. Niemann-Pick disease fibroblasts with a higher concentration of sphingomyelin exhibited lower TF activity compared with wild-type fibroblasts. In vivo studies revealed that LPS+ATP-induced TF activity and thrombin generation were attenuated in ASMase
−
/−
mice, while their levels were increased in SMS2
−/−
mice. Further studies revealed that acid sphingomyelinase deficiency leads to impaired hemostasis, whereas SMS2 deficiency increases thrombotic risk.

Conclusions:

Overall, our data indicate that alterations in sphingomyelin metabolism would influence TF procoagulant activity and affect hemostatic and thrombotic processes.
Disguised Disciplinary Sanctions and Public Service in Jordanian and French Law
Authors: A’amar Omar Mahmoud , Alhendi Noor Issa
Published: November 2022

Disguised disciplinary sanctions are methods used by public administrators or decision-makers to punish a public servant despite the latter not having violated regulations or laws. Instead, such punishment is motivated by personal resentments. The administration may impose arbitrary decisions on their employees while claiming that said decisions serve the public interest, hiding their true intentions. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method to shed light on the position of the Jordanian and French administrative judicial authorities on disguised disciplinary sanctions. The study considers and compares the relevant laws and jurisprudence of judicial authorities in Jordan and France; it further determines the role of these authorities in revealing disguised sanctions absent a specified list of disciplinary violations in the Civil Service Regulations in both jurisdictions.
A Temporal Gauge Quality Control Algorithm as a Method for Identifying Potential Instrumentation Malfunctions
Authors: Martinaitis Steven M. , Lincoln Scott , Schlotzhauer David , Cocks Stephen B. , Zhang Jian
Published: November 2022

There are multiple reasons as to why a precipitation gauge would report erroneous observations. Systematic errors relating to the measuring apparatus or resulting from observational limitations due to environmental factors (e.g., wind-induced undercatch or wetting losses) can be quantified and potentially corrected within a gauge dataset. Other challenges can arise from instrumentation malfunctions, such as clogging, poor siting, and software issues. Instrumentation malfunctions are challenging to quantify as most gauge quality control (QC) schemes focus on the current observation and not on whether the gauge has an inherent issue that would likely require maintenance of the gauge. This study focuses on the development of a temporal QC scheme to identify the likelihood of an instrumentation malfunction through the examination of hourly gauge observations and associated QC designations. The analyzed gauge performance resulted in a temporal QC classification using one of three categories: GOOD, SUSP, and BAD. The temporal QC scheme also accounts for and provides an additional designation when a significant percentage of gauge observations and associated hourly QC were influenced by meteorological factors (e.g., the inability to properly measure winter precipitation). Findings showed a consistent percentage of gauges that were classified as BAD through the running 7-day (2.9%) and 30-day (4.4%) analyses. Verification of select gauges demonstrated how the temporal QC algorithm captured different forms of instrumental-based systematic errors that influenced gauge observations. Results from this study can benefit the identification of degraded performance at gauge sites prior to scheduled routine maintenance.

Significance Statement

This study proposes a scheme that quality controls rain gauges based on its performance over a running history of hourly observational data and quality control flags to identify gauges that likely have an instrumentation malfunction. Findings from this study show the potential of identifying gauges that are impacted by issues such as clogging, software errors, and poor gauge siting. This study also highlights the challenges of distinguishing between erroneous gauge observations based on an instrumentation malfunction versus erroneous observations that were the result of an environmental factor that influence the gauge observation or its quality control classification, such as winter precipitation or virga.
Phonetic Development of an L2 Vowel System and Tandem Drift in the L1: A Residence Abroad and L1 Re-Immersion Study
Authors: Turner James
Published: November 2022

This study analyzes the production of native (L1) and foreign (L2) vowels by 42 L1 English learners of French (ELoF) at the start and end of a 6-month residence abroad (RA) in a French-speaking country. Data are also reported from a delayed post-test, which takes place 10 months after a subsection of participants ( n = 27) return to the L1 English environment. Results reveal systemic phonetic drift in ELoF’s L1 English vowels over the RA, and this accompanies the phonetic development occurring in the participants’ L2 French vowel system, a phenomenon we label “tandem drift.” This L1–L2 link is also supported by interspeaker variation: the individuals whose L2 French vowels shift the most are also the participants who exhibit the most substantial L1 phonetic drift in the same direction. Results for the L1 re-immersion time point suggest a partial—but not complete—reversal of phonetic drift, whereas no reversal of the L2 gains made over the RA is apparent. Nevertheless, at the individual level, the learners whose L2 gains reverse the most upon L1 re-immersion are also most likely to exhibit reverse phonetic drift in their L1. Overall, these findings indicate a relationship between L2 speech learning and L1 phonetic drift, which we argue is driven by the global phonetic properties of both L2 and L1 becoming linked at a representational level. Although these representations appear malleable, it is clear that recent changes are not guaranteed to reverse despite substantial re-exposure to L1 input. Implications for the distinction between drift and attrition are discussed.
Is the Measure Good Enough? Measurement Invariance and Validity of the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale in a University Population
Authors: Erekson David M. , Larsen Ross A. , Clayton Colter K. , Hamm Isaac , Hoskin Jason M. , Morrison Shannon , Vogeler Heidi A. , Merrill Brett M. , Griner Derek , Beecher Mark E.
Published: November 2022

Imposter Phenomenon (IP) was coined in 1978 by Clance and Imes and has been an important construct in explaining individuals’ experiences of believing that achievements are a result of luck or misperceptions of others rather than personal competence. The Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), developed in 1985, is a prominent operationalization of this construct. Although this scale has been widely used since its inception, its factor structure has been inconsistent across studies and no tests of measurement invariance are documented in the literature. Using a large university sample ( n = 830), the current study was designed to: (a) examine the factor structure of the CIPS using cross validation, (b) examine measurement invariance across gender, and (c) examine differences in the CIPS factor by demographics. We found that a single factor structure for the CIPS was the best fitting model. We also found that the measure achieved invariance across gender after removing item 18 (and in the absence of items 1, 2, and 19, removed for poor fit). Finally, we found that being single, a woman, and having experienced lower socioeconomic status (SES) were all associated with higher IP. We discuss these findings in the context of a university setting and suggest avenues for future research.
Testing the Impacts of Rational-Emotive Couple Intervention in a Sample of Parents Seeking Divorce
Authors: Ede Moses Onyemaechi , Okeke Chinedu Ifedi
Published: November 2022

Marital burnout has not been extensively studied despite its huge consequences on family wellbeing and quality of family life. This study, using randomised-controlled trial, tested the impact of rational-emotive couple intervention on marital burnout in a sample of parents seeking a divorce. A total of 67 parents who participated during the rational-emotive couple intervention (RECI) were assessed using the marital burnout scale, Beck depression inventory, and parent rational and irrational beliefs scale. Crosstabulation, multivariate test analysis, and bivariate analysis were used to analyse the data collected. Results show a significant reduction of marital burnout in RECI group participants, and significant improvement was maintained at the follow-up stage. The result of the group and gender interaction effect shows no significant interaction effect of group and gender on participants’ marital burnout at Time two and Time 3, respectively. The results indicate that a decrease in parents’ irrational beliefs accounts for marital burnout among couples seeking a divorce. Marital burnout is positively associated with depression among couples seeking a divorce. This study concludes that the RECI is an effective intervention that reduces marital burnout which is a direct consequence of irrational beliefs which later metamorphose into depressive symptoms.
The Potential of Simulation Assessments in Professional Development
Authors: Dove Anthony , Borland Jennifer , Wiley Caroline R.H. , Moylan Adam , Thacker Arthur , Dunleavy Matthew
Published: November 2022

Simulations provide a unique opportunity to practice newly acquired skills in a low risk environment. For this reason, simulations have historically been used in preservice teacher education programs to enable student teachers to apply generalized pedagogical practices. This pilot study examined how simulations could be integrated with inservice teachers as an assessment of content-specific instructional practices covered in a professional development program. The study utilized two nationally recognized simulation platforms and included a preliminary investigation of validity of the simulation assessments, a comparison of participant performance on the simulation assessment to the standard module assessment, and a comparison of the usability and feasibility of each platform for future assessments. While results suggest that simulation platforms are a promising means of conducting content-specific assessments, current limitations of such platforms may challenge their large-scale usage as part of a professional development program.
Understanding Statistical Noise in Research: 1. Basic Concepts
Authors: Andrade Chittaranjan
Published: November 2022

The signal is the outcome of interest in a study; it may be the value of a variable or it may be the value of a relationship between variables. Signals in research are distorted by statistical noise. This statistical noise is generated by extraneous variables that may be adequately measured, inadequately measured, unmeasured, or unknown; the subject-to-subject variation in the signal resulting from the effects of these extraneous variables is captured by the standard deviation. Thus, the standard deviation is a measure of statistical noise. This article, the first in a series, explains all of these concepts with the help of examples.
Determinants and consequences of food insecurity in families having children under the age of 2 years
Authors: Rajabzadeh-Dehkordi Milad , Mohammadi-Nasrabadi Fatemeh , Nouri Mehran , Ahmadi Ali , Faghih Shiva
Published: November 2022

Background: Today, food insecurity is recognized as an important public health problem that can have detrimental effects on families. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the determinants and consequences of food insecurity in families having children under the age of 2 years. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 307 mothers and their children under the age of 2 years were selected by stratified random sampling. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected by completing questionnaires through face-to-face interview. Household food insecurity (HFI) status was determined using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) household food security questionnaire. Results: Based on the results, 67.4% of families were high food secure. Low and very low food security was 25.7% and 6.9%, respectively. House size (Beta = −0.019, 95% CI: −0.029, −0.009), father's job (Beta = −4.758, 95% CI:−6.777, −2.738), father education (Beta = −0.370, 95% CI: −0.717, −0.023), and economic status (Beta = −0.628, 95% CI: −0.809, −0.448) were significantly related to the USDA total food insecurity score ( p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that children birth weight, father’s body mass index (BMI), and mother's waist circumference had a significant positive correlation with weight for age (Z-score) of children. Children’s birth weight, father’s BMI, and HFI status had significant and positive correlation with weight for length (Z-score). Moreover, the significant association between children’s birth height, mother’s BMI, and mother's waist circumference with length for age (Z-score) were observed ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: We found the father's job was the most effective factor in food insecurity and economic status of the family was in the second place. Also, HFI had a relationship with weight status of children under the age of 2 years.
Automatic detection of the mental foramen for estimating mandibular cortical width in dental panoramic radiographs: the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø7) in 2015–2016
Authors: Edvardsen Isak Paasche , Teterina Anna , Johansen Thomas , Myhre Jonas Nordhaug , Godtliebsen Fred , Bolstad Napat Limchaichana
Published: November 2022

Objective

To apply deep learning to a data set of dental panoramic radiographs to detect the mental foramen for automatic assessment of the mandibular cortical width.

Methods

Data from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø7) were used. The data set contained 5197 randomly chosen dental panoramic radiographs. Four pretrained object detectors were tested. We randomly chose 80% of the data for training and 20% for testing. Models were trained using GeForce RTX 2080 Ti with 11 GB GPU memory (NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Python programming language version 3.7 was used for analysis.

Results

The EfficientDet-D0 model showed the highest average precision of 0.30. When the threshold to regard a prediction as correct (intersection over union) was set to 0.5, the average precision was 0.79. The RetinaNet model achieved the lowest average precision of 0.23, and the precision was 0.64 when the intersection over union was set to 0.5. The procedure to estimate mandibular cortical width showed acceptable results. Of 100 random images, the algorithm produced an output 93 times, 20 of which were not visually satisfactory.

Conclusions

EfficientDet-D0 effectively detected the mental foramen. Methods for estimating bone quality are important in radiology and require further development.
Natural History of Degenerative Hip Abductor Tendon Lesions
Authors: Schenk Pascal , Dimitriou Dimitris , Rahm Stefan , Zimmermann Stefan M. , Finsterwald Michael , Higashigaito Kai , Sutter Reto , Zingg Patrick O.
Published: November 2022

Background:

The best treatment of degenerative hip abductor tendon lesions remains largely unknown, as the natural course of the disease has not yet been reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the natural history of symptomatic degenerative hip abductor lesions.

Hypothesis:

Nonoperatively treated hip abductor lesions progress over time, resulting in refractory hip pain and low functional outcomes.

Study Design:

Case series (prognosis); Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Consecutive patients with greater trochanteric pain syndrome and degenerative changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the symptomatic hip were included. Bilateral hip MRI scans and a clinical examination were performed at a minimum follow-up of 36 months to study the type and location of hip abductor lesion. Progression of a lesion was defined as a more severe lesion as compared with the initial MRI results or if the lesion extended to another, initially not involved, trochanteric facet. The muscle’s fatty infiltration (FI) was also described.

Results:

From 106 patients identified, 58 patients (64 hips) aged 66 ± 14 years (mean ± SD) agreed to return to the clinic for follow-up MRI and met the inclusion criteria. At a mean 71-month follow-up, an overall 34% (22/64) of lesions had progressed over time: from trochanteric bursitis to tendinopathy (9/64, 14%) or partial tear (5/64, 8%), from tendinopathy to partial tear (4/64, 6%), from a partial to complete tear (3/64, 4.5%), and with 1 complete tear (1/64, 1.5%) extending to another trochanteric facet. Interestingly, 90% of partial tears remained stable or transformed into a scar. Although patients with a progressive lesion experienced more trochanteric pain (visual analog scale, 4.6 vs 2.8; P = .001), the functional outcomes were comparable with patients with a stable lesion. The majority of hips with a partial tear (64%) demonstrated a progression of gluteus minimus FI from a median grade of 1 to 2, whereas only 1 hip (3%) progressed from grade 2 to 3. Only 3 hips (9%) with a partial tear had a progression of gluteus medius FI, which did not differ significantly from the contralateral unaffected side.

Conclusion:

Nonoperative treatment might be a valid long-term option for degenerative hip abductor lesions, especially for partial tears, which demonstrated a low risk of clinically relevant progression or muscle FI and similar clinical outcomes to those reported in the literature for operatively treated hip abductor tendon lesions.