bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification and validation of obesity related genes signature based on microenvironment phenotypes in prostate adenocarcinom
Authors: Liang Linghui , Shang Jinwei , Zhang Yuwei , Xu Yuxin , Zhouteng Yihui , Wen Jianxiang , Zhao Yuxin , Feng Ninghan , Zhao Ruizhe
Published: March 2023

Background：The role of obesity related genes (ORGs) in the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) treatment of prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD) has not yet been proved by research.
Methods: We comprehensively evaluated the ORGs patterns in PRAD based on tumor microenvironment (TME) phenotypes and immunotherapy efficacies. Then we constructed a ORGs risk score for prognosis and a ORGs signature for accurate prediction of TME phenotype and immunotherapy efficacy in order to evaluate individual patients.
Results: Two distinct ORGs patterns were generated. The two ORGs patterns were consistent with inflammatory and non-inflammatory TME phenotypes. ORGs patterns had a important role for predicting immunotherapy efficacies. Next, we constructed a ORGs risk score for predicting each patient’s prognosis with high performance in TCGA-PRAD. The ORGs risk score could be well verified in the external cohorts including GSE70769 and GSE21034. Then, we developed a ORGs signature and found it was significantly positive correlated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in TCGA-PRAD. We found that each patients in the high-risk ORGs signature group represented a non-inflamed TME phenotype on the single cell level. The patients with high ORGs signature had more sensitive to immunotherapy. And those ORGs were verified.
Conclusion: ORGs pattern depicts different TME phenotypes in PRAD. The ORGs risk score and ORGs signature have important role for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy efficacies.
Characterization of Celluloic-Based Polymer of Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth Pod (PMBP) and its Copper(II) ion Adsorption Performance
Authors: Nsude Okechukwu Paul , Orie Kingsley John , Owhoeke Elechi
Published: March 2023

The interest in cellulosic-based polymer materials is rapidly growing, both in industrial and basic research applications. This is based on its availability, renewability, low density, cheapness, biodegradability, and satisfactory mechanical properties. The research reports on the characterization of cellulosic-based polymers and copper (II) ion removal via Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth Pod (PMBP). Cellulose was successfully isolated from PMBP biomass via delignification and bleaching. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and deformation gravimetric analysis (DGA) were used to characterise the raw and isolated cellulose. The adsorbents were further characterized using adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic models. The isolated cellulose has better thermal stability, crystallinity, and porosity than the raw cellulose. The removal of the matrix material (most hemicelluloses and almost all the lignin) led to an increase in the crystallinity, morphology, and maintenance of the thermal stability of the cellulosic-based polymer. The functional group elucidation showed that both raw and isolated contained cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. The kinetic investigation was fitted with a pseudo second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters affirmed that the evacuation of Cu(II)ions was plausible, unconstrained, and exothermic in nature. The adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies show that both raw and cellulosic-based polymers can serve as Cu(II) ion removers, with a preference for cellulosic-based polymers. It therefore implies that cellulosic-based polymers obtained from PMBP could be used for copper (II) ion removal in water and industrial waste.
Risk potential of international fruit trade for viroid spreading - case study on hop viroids in Europe
Authors: Hagemann Michael Helmut , Treiber Charlotte , Born Ute , Schrader Gritta , Stampfl Johannes , Jakše Jernej , Radišek Sebastjan
Published: March 2023

Most hops are produced in Europe; therefore, it is alarming that the citrus bark cracking viroid (CBCVd), the causal agent of the severe hop stunt disease, was detected in different nonadjacent hop growing countries. It is still unclear how the initial infection occurred since CBCVd is typically found in citrus and not in hops. To extent data for a viroid risk assessment, potential hosts were tested for the presence of viroids in grocery stores in the hop producing areas of Slovenia and Germany. Samples positive for hop-pathogenic viroids were further used for infection studies. The surveys covered CBCVd, hop stunt viroid (HSVd), citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd), citrus dwarfing viroid (CDVd), citrus viroid V (CVdV), and citrus bent leaf viroid (CBLVd). The results show that all tested viroids can be found in fruits sold in grocery stores, thus there is a risk of introducing CBCVd, HSVd, and other viroids into the hop growing regions via imported fruits and their remains. Furthermore, the transmission study reveals that CBCVd and HSVd infected citrus fruits can be infectious, irrespective of whether in the form of RNA inoculum, injected sap, or fruit peel in the soil. Finally, the phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence diversity within viroid samples is high and that CBCVd and HSVd sequence variants can be found, which are almost identical to variants confirmed in hop. We assumed that fruit imports contribute to international viroid spreading and inappropriate handling like fruit waste deposition to agricultural lands is a serious risk factor.
Oxidative Two-State Photoreactivity of a Manganese(IV) Complex using NIR Light
Authors: East Nathan , Naumann Robert , Förster Christoph , Ramanan Charusheela , Diezemann Gregor , Heinze Katja
Published: March 2023

Highly reducing or oxidizing photocatalysts are a fundamental challenge in the field of inorganic and organic photochemistry. Only a few transition metal complexes with earth-abundant metal ions have so far advanced to excited state oxidants, including chromium, iron and cobalt. All these photocatalysts require high energy light for excitation and their oxidizing power has not been fully exploited due to significant energy dissipation before reaching the photoactive state. Herein we demonstrate that the complex [Mn(dgpy)2] 4+ based on earth-abundant manganese can be excited with low-energy NIR light (850 nm, 1.46 eV) to yield a luminescent mixed 2 LMCT/ 2MC excited state (1435 nm, 0.86 eV) with a lifetime of 1.6 ns. The dissipated energy amounts to 0.60 eV. In spite of this energy loss, *[Mn(dgpy)2] 4+ with its excited state redox potential Ered* of 1.80 V vs SCE outcompetes the strongest reported precious metal photooxidant (iridium(III)). *[Mn(dgpy)2] 4+ oxidizes naphthalene (Eox≈1.31 – 1.54 V vs. SCE) to its radical cation giving the manganese(III) complex [Mn(dgpy)2] 3+ in a clean outer-sphere electron transfer process. Unexpectedly, mesitylene, toluene, benzene and nitriles with even extremely high oxidation potentials up to Eox = 2.4 V provoke the [Mn(dgpy)2] 4+/3+ reduction under photolysis. A higher energy short-lived 4 LMCT excited state with a lifetime of 0.78 ps is made responsible for these demanding oxidations, which proceed by static rather than dynamic quenching. This dual excited state reactivity from 2 LMCT/ 2MC and 4 LMCT states is linked to the 4LMCT→2 LMCT/ 2MC intersystem crossing process. These unique findings demonstrate how the design of manganese complexes (i) expands the absorption cross section to 400 – 850 nm, (ii) increases the 2 LMCT/ 2MC state lifetime to the nanosecond range allowing luminescence and classical dynamic photoredox processes and (iii) enables non-classical static quenching of an extremely oxidizing 4 LMCT excited state by the solvent. This conceptually novel approach of static quenching by the solvent minimizes free energy losses, harnesses the full photooxidizing power and thus allows even oxidation of nitriles and benzene using earth-abundant elements and low-energy light.
Fast and Scalable Unsupervised Deep Subgraph Anomaly Detection
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Zhao Liang
Published: March 2023

Mining anomalous subgraphs in networks is a crucial task in various application scenarios, such as disease outbreak detection, financial fraud detection, and activity monitoring in social networks. However , identifying anomalous subgraphs is a challenging problem due to their complex topological structures, high-dimensional attributes, various notions of anomalies, and the exponentially large subgraph searching space in a given graph. Classical shallow models typically rely on handcrafted anomaly measure functions, which are not effective when prior knowledge is unavailable. To address this issue, deep learning-based methods have been proposed as an end-to-end way of learning anomaly measure functions. However, while these methods have been successful in detecting node-level, edge-level, and graph-level anomalies, detecting anomalous subgraphs has been largely underex-plored due to difficulties in subgraph representation learning, lackness of supervision, end-to-end anomaly quantification, and their scalability. In this paper, we propose a novel deep framework called the Anomalous Subgraph Autoencoder (AS-GAE) to extract anomalous subgraphs in an unsupervised and weakly-supervised manner. To enhance the scal-ability of our proposed model on large-scale graphs, we further design an edge sampling technique that reduces the time and memory complexity from a quadratic term of the number of nodes to a linear term of the number of edges. Our proposed method is demonstrated to be superior in terms of accuracy and efficiency through extensive experiments on two synthetic datasets and nine real-world datasets.
Uryson width and pants decompositions of hyperbolic surfaces
Authors: Chambers Gregory
Published: March 2023

Suppose that M is a hyperbolic closed orientable surface of genus g and with n cusps. Then we can find a pants decomposition of M composed of simple closed geodesics so that each curve is contained in a ball of diameter at most C√g + n, where C is a universal constant.
A novel privacy-aware global infrastructure for ecological footprint calculator (GIEFC) based on internet of things and blockchain
Authors: ELSAKAAN Nadim , AMROUN Kamal
Published: March 2023

Climate change and global warming are the greatest harmful consequences of human activity. Indeed, Human technological development and demographic growth has been accompanied by globalization. In this new era, the logistics revolution has removed borders and industrial value chains have been distributed all over the world. It is becoming difficult to attribute responsibilities for ecological impacts accurately, since consumers are not necessarily in the same area as the countries of manufacture or extraction of raw materials. At the same time, a new paradigm called the Internet of Things has come to reshape our relationship to the world. The smallest everyday objects are connected to the Internet and allow acquisition of large amount of data, interact with cyberspace and in some cases act on the real world in an automated way. On the other hand, the last decade has also seen the rise of a new technology for storing transactions data in a reliable and consented way. Blockchain has changed the way operations are made based on the concept of distributed ledger giving a new breath to the economy. They have also dived into companies business by allowing private implementations with per-missioned blockhains. The aim of this work is to take advantage of the power of the two technologies combined – the Internet of Things provides wide possibilities when it comes to collecting information and establishing controls on the one hand, and blockchain provides very good means to ensure traceability while respecting confidentiality and privacy – in order to create a global architecture for a digital ecological impact calculator respecting privacy. In order to validate our proposal we first modeled it with a Petri network in order to verify its functioning, then we implemented it in order to measure average running time of each major step: for operations relative to certification authority we have obtained 0.342 second per operation, 0.342 second per operation concerning production and buying actions reporting and 0.299 second par scoring operation. Finally we used these outputs to build a queue model in order to check if the proposed architecture steady-state does not change over time. As results we showed that for the simplest form of queue model the servers of our architecture have a utilization rate that is close to 50% and that the overall waiting time remains below one minute, on the other hand with the Petri net we have proved from the marking graph that GIEFC performs the expected tasks according to the described specifications.
Placental lncRNA Expression in Monochorionic Twins with Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Authors: Su Xiaohan , Hu Yucheng , Li Chunxiao , Li Shuyuan , Zhang Yong , Wang Yanlin
Published: March 2023

Background
Selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR) affects about 10–15% of monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancies. The lncRNA profiles of placenta complicated with sIUGR are unknown. In the present study, the sIUGR-associated placental lncRNA expression was investigated using sequencing and confirmatory reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction studies.
Methods
Placenta samples around the insertion region of the umbilical cord were collected from monochorionic twins complicated with (n = 9) or without sIUGR (control, n = 9). lncRNA and mRNA profile analysis was performed using transcriptome sequencing and validated by RT-PCR.
Results
A total of 30 lncRNAs were differentially expressed (17 up-regulated and 13 down-regulated) in the placenta of sIUGR cases compared with control cases. The differentially expressed lncRNAs were mainly involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway (MAPK signaling pathway), ubiquitin proteasome pathway and angiogenesis pathway, which might be associated with the pathogenesis of sIUGR.
Conclusions
To the best of our knowledge, the findings of the current study have provided the first lncRNA profiles and the possible lncRNA regulatory networks of placental tissues complicated with sIUGR.
Treatment of coal fly ash and its environmentally friendly use in rubber and plastic industry
Authors: Hussain Zawar , Al-Zaqril Nabil , Boshaala Ahmed , Ayaz Tehreem , Khan Amir Zeb
Published: March 2023

Coal power plants are the major provider of electricity, but these power plants are also producing waste in the form of coal fly ash (CFA). However, it can cause high risk of environmental pollution and pulmonary diseases in humans. Plastic waste is also a problematic waste for many countries in terms of its reuse and recycling. Therefore, this study aims to reuse the waste product (CFA) of coal power plants in rubber conveyor belt instead of calcium carbonate or talcum powder and in recycling of plastic propylene as bonding filler material instead of barium sulfate to increase the durability of plastic products and reduce cost, CFA waste and plastic waste. For this purpose, CFA was treated by different pulverization techniques for the production of conveyor belts. The study found that the most favorable technique was shear based pulverization technique. Application of CFA with rubber was compared with two different chemicals (calcium carbonate and talcum powder) and found that the elongation at break of conveyor belt was 35% increased and abrasion volume was 64% reduced by using treated CFA. Furthermore, CFA was used in molten mass of plastic instead of barium sulfate and the results showed that the use of CFA has improved the dimensional stability of plastic material reducing the cost per ton by 2410 CNY. The study concluded that the performance was increased by applying CFA with a reduction in price as compared to other chemicals.
YABANCI MAHKEME KARARLARININ TANINMASI VE TENFİZİNDE SIKLIKLA KARŞILAŞILAN HUKUKİ SORUNLAR VE ÇÖZÜM ÖNERİLERİ
Authors: TARMAN Zeynep Derya
Published: March 2023

Yabancı mahkeme kararlarının tanınması ve tenfizinde uygulamada birçok farklı sorun yaşanmakta ve bu sorunlar yargılama faaliyetlerinin aksamasına, sürecin ise uzamasına neden olmaktadır. Öyle ki uyuşmazlığın tarafları çoğu zaman beklentilerine ulaşamamakta veya beklentilerine ulaşmak pahasına öngördüklerinden çok daha büyük masraflar yapmak durumunda kalmaktadırlar. Bu çalışmada, uygulamada yaşanan başlıca sorunlar olan; görevli mahkemenin tespiti, harçlar, yabancılık teminatı, yargılama usulü ve dava dilekçesindeki eksiklikler, MÖHUK m.50 ve devamında belirtilen şartlara ilişkin yaşanan aksaklıklar yahut yorum eksiklikleri, tebligat usulü, geçici koruma tedbirleri – ihtiyati tedbir ve zorunlu arabuluculuk hususları ele alınacak olup bu hususlara ilişkin olarak çözüm önerileri sunulmaya çalışılacaktır. Çalışmanın ilk bölümünde yargılama sürecinin başında yaşanan usulü problemler ele alınacak olup ikinci bölümünde ise MÖHUK’ta yer verilen ön ve esas şartlara ilişkin ortaya çıkan problemler incelenecektir. Son olarak ise uygulamada arz ettiği önem sebebiyle ihtiyati tedbir kararlarının tenfizi ve zorunlu arabuluculuk müessesesinin tanıma ve tenfiz davaları bakımından incelenmesi ile bu hususlara ilişkin çözüm önerileri ele alınacaktır.
Assessment of water demand and potential water sources to face future water scarcity of hilly regions
Authors: V. Kannan , Priya P. Raja , K. Tharkeshwari , Mazumder Bineta , Gayatri P. , Neha Jackline
Published: March 2023

In this work, an attempt is made to predict the future water demand of a hilly region. The study area is selected based on the population and the water demand. For this work, Namunaghar and Wandoor Panchayats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are selected. Initially, preliminary studies such as the current population and future growth and their water demand were analyzed. Also, using a geographical information system (GIS), the study area is located to identify the surface and groundwater sources. From the GIS data, a detailed map is prepared to conduct the physical verification and collect the water quality measurement. From the population forecast, it was identified that 435,000 and 480,300 l of water are required to meet the water demand in the year 2031 Namunaghar and Wander Panchayat, respectively. It also assessed the GIS data and found out potential water sources of 157 (67 wells, 58 ponds, and other minor sources) and 485 (215 wells, 229 ponds, and other minor sources) at Namunaghar and Wandoor Panchayats, respectively. Finally, all the potential water sources were checked for quality for drinking purposes.
Mechanistic action of pesticides on pests and their consequent effect on fishes and human health with remediation strategies
Authors: Singh Anita , Mahajan Monika , Kothari Richa , Singh Navin Kumar , Singh Rajeev Pratap
Published: March 2023

Population detonation and inflated demand for agricultural products have resulted in the rampant use of pesticides in recent years. These pesticides are used to reduce the number of pesticides by different mechanisms. They have been utilized in agriculture to expand agrarian profit, crop yield, quality, and storage life. The incessant and extensive use of resistant pesticides has contaminated the water bodies, fields, crops, and aquatic biota as well as poses a threat to human health. As a result, stringent regulations and limits are established to monitor the pesticide matrix. The current review focuses on pesticide contamination in the food chain, particularly from the aquatic bodies to fishes and humans. It also discusses strict regulations and limits including maximum residual limits for food items, acceptable daily intake, theoretical maximum daily intake, and estimated carcinogenicity/non-carcinogenicity for fishes and human health risks. In addition to conferring the negative effects of pesticides, this article discusses cost-effective remediation techniques such as phytoremediation, adsorption, the Fenton oxidation method, microalgal/high-rate algal ponds, and nanotechnology with the comparison of their remediation cost.
Impact of snow distribution modelling for runoff predictions
Authors: Clemenzi Ilaria , Gustafsson David , Marchand Wolf-Dietrich , Norell Björn , Zhang Jie , Pettersson Rickard , Allan Pohjola Veijo
Published: March 2023

Snow in the mountains is essential for the water cycle in cold regions. The complexity of the snow processes in such an environment makes it challenging for accurate snow and runoff predictions. Various snow modelling approaches have been developed, especially to improve snow predictions. In this study, we compared the ability to improve runoff predictions in the Överuman Catchment, Northern Sweden, using different parametric representations of snow distribution. They included a temperature-based method, a snowfall distribution (SF) function based on wind characteristics and a snow depletion curve (DC). Moreover, we assessed the benefit of using distributed snow observations in addition to runoff in the hydrological model calibration. We found that models with the SF function based on wind characteristics better predicted the snow water equivalent (SWE) close to the peak of accumulation than models without this function. For runoff predictions, models with the SF function and the DC showed good performances (median Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency equal to 0.71). Despite differences among the calibration criteria for the different snow process representations, snow observations in model calibration added values for SWE and runoff predictions.
Prediction of groundwater level fluctuations under climate change based on machine learning algorithms in the Mashhad aquifer, Iran
Authors: Panahi Ghasem , Hassanzadeh Eskafi Mahya , Faridhosseini Alireza , Khodashenas Saeed Reza , Rohani Abbas
Published: March 2023

The purpose of this study is the projection of climate change's impact on the Groundwater Level (GWL) fluctuations in the Mashhad aquifer during the future period (2022–2064). In the first step, the climatic variables using ACCESS-CM2 model under the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) 5–8.5 scenario were extracted. In the second step, different machine learning algorithms, including Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP), Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System Neutral Network (ANFIS), Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were employed for the GWL fluctuations time series prediction under climate change in the future. Our results point out that temperatures and evaporation will increase in the autumn season, and precipitation will decrease by 26%. The amount of evaporation will increase in the winter due to an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation. The results showed that the RBFNN model had an excellent performance in predicting GWL compared to other models due to the highest value of R² (R² = 0.99) and the lowest value of RMSE, which were 0.05 and 0.06 meters in training and testing steps, respectively. Based on the result of the RBFNN model, the GWL will decrease by 6.60 meters under the SSP5-8.5 scenario.
Status quo and change characteristics of groundwater resources pollution in the Hami region based on sustainable development strategies
Authors: Wu Yan , Zhao Shajunyi
Published: March 2023

Water shortage is a universal resource problem worldwide, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The Hami Basin is one of the most water-scarce areas in China, with low average annual precipitation and high evaporation. In order to effectively monitor groundwater problems, this paper proposes a study on the status and change characteristics of groundwater resource pollution in the Hami area based on sustainable development strategies, aiming to study the changes in groundwater in the Hami area and propose corresponding measures to reduce pollution and save water resources. The method of this article is to introduce the groundwater quality evaluation method, analyze the environmental carrying capacity and then study the evolution process of the groundwater environment in the Hami area. The function of the method is to assess the ecological risk of groundwater and the risk of groundwater pollution, and to analyze the changes in the carrying capacity of the local environmental system. This paper uses groundwater detection experiments to detect the current status of groundwater resource pollution and the characteristics of groundwater changes in the Hami area, and establish a groundwater numerical model in the Hami area.
Spatial and temporal trends of polyhalogenated carbazoles in sediments of the Yangtze river: insights into the origin
Authors: Da Chunnian , Ji Peng , Huang Qinghui , Yu Jin , Wu Linjun , Ye Jinsong
Published: March 2023

Fifteen surface sediments and three sediment cores were sampled in the Yangtze River (YR) of China to study the composition and temporal distribution trends of 10 selected polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) and gained insight into their origin. The total concentrations of PHCZs in the surface sediments ranged from 1.58 to 5.45 ng g−1 dry weight (dw), with an average of 3.11 ng g−1 dw. The composition profiles of PHCZs in the surface sediments were dominated by 1,3,6,8-tetrabromocarbazole, 1,3,6-dibromocarbazole, and 3,6-dichlorocarbazole. The variation trends of PHCZs in the sediment cores showed an apparent peak concentration and subsequently a significant decreasing trend in recent years. A strong correlation existed between PHCZs and sediment physicochemical properties. Furthermore, human activities directly or indirectly affected PHCZ concentrations. The evaluation of the potential toxic effect suggested that the toxic equivalent of PHCZs was less than the safe sediment value.
competência em informação e os desafios para a sua democratização
Authors: Gomes Almeida Maria da Graça
Published: March 2023

Este trabalho tem como objetivo refletir sobre a importância da educação para a informação em diferentes contextos e etapas da vida humana, com vistas à consolidação da aplicação prática e democratização da competência em informação na sociedade brasileira, que, ainda, carece de atenção e novos esforços. Apoiadas na literatura da Ciências da Informação e áreas afins, a exemplo de Kuhlthau (2001), ACRL(2016), Belluzzo (2017), Dudziak (2005, 2016), Pereira e Alcará (2020), Menze (1981) e Le Boterf (2000, 1982), as reflexões apresentadas apontam que, considerando a igualdade de oportunidades educacionais para todos, a educação para a competência em informação precisa ser ofertada em instituições educativas, culturais e sociais, responsáveis pela promoção da educação relativa à formação dos indivíduos. Esta ainda não possibilita a todas as pessoas a oportunidade de acesso à educação para a informação na etapa da vida e contexto social em que se encontram, o que constitui um exemplo de uma realidade social injusta; que nega um direito humano básico.
Pluralismo terminológico e desordem da informação
Authors: Santos Ferreira João Rodrigo , Pinto Virgínia Bentes , Souza Edivanio Duarte de
Published: March 2023

The research points out the conditions that motivated the changes in the processes of dissemination of science, presenting the environment of digital social networks as unified spaces of scientific communication and dissemination. From this context, it seeks to show how these spaces are vulnerable to information disorder. To this end, the main factors related to disorder in the digital space were raised, especially in these processes, and some precautions that need to be considered to avoid or minimize this problem were indicated. This is a bibliographic research of a qualitative nature, which sought, from a literature review, inferences and interpretations, to connect the information disorder to the careless with the terminologies used in scientific communication and dissemination. It is considered that, so that the promotion of science mediated by social networks is not permeated by disorders, it is necessary for producers and disseminators of scientific content to consider that this space has peculiarities that combine a heterogeneous audience and a particular form of communication and dissemination.
Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Canadian Figure Skating
Authors: Schnell Andrew , Godley Jenny , Bridel William
Published: March 2023

Background:

As part of an examination of the current climate regarding gender and sexual diversity in figure skating, this paper reports on a 2019 pilot study examining the attitudes of athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators at Skate Canada (the national figure skating organization).

Objectives:

To describe attitudes towards LGBTQ+ inclusion in figure skating; to assess whether attitudes vary by gender, sexual identity, or level of participation in skating; and to examine the impact of contact with LGBTQ+ people on attitudes towards inclusion.

Methods:

We conducted an online survey of 106 Skate Canada members in 2019, including attitudinal, demographic, and inter-group contact questions. We employed factor analysis to summarize the attitudinal questions, and multiple regression analyses to examine the effects of demographic and contact variables on attitudes.

Results:

Four main factors emerged, reflecting a continuum of passive to active support for diversity and inclusion in skating. Although all respondents’ attitudes toward LGBTQ+ inclusion in figure skating were mostly positive, athletes and coaches were significantly less likely to believe that skating is an inclusive environment than volunteers and officials. Additionally, those who identified as gender and/or sexually diverse scored significantly higher on the personal advocacy factor. In the multiple regression analyses, more frequent contact with LGBTQ+ individuals was associated with significant increases in both passive and active support for inclusion.

Conclusion:

Gender and sexually diverse respondents, and those with more frequent contact with LGBTQ+ individuals, demonstrated higher levels of both active and passive support for inclusion in Canadian figure skating. We recommend that sports organizations should conduct ongoing attitudinal surveys of their membership to monitor progress towards LGBTQ+ inclusion, and should remain attuned to the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ athletes and coaches.
Conservatism and its determinants for Portuguese small and medium entities
Authors:   CEOS.PP/ISCAP/P.PORTO, São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal, Pereira Cláudia , Gomes Luís ,   CEOS.PP/ISCAP/P.PORTO, São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal, Martins Natália ,   ISCAP/P.PORTO, São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal
Published: March 2023

In this study, we aim at analyzing whether Portuguese small and medium entities (SMEs) are accounting conservatively and what the determinants for conservatism are. While conservatism remains on accounting for a long time, both within the local accounting standards and IFRS firms may opt for a revaluation model to subsequently measure fixed assets. As the number of assets may be carried to higher values than firm becomes less conservative. Therefore, we propose that revaluations are a negative proxy for conservatism. We find that revaluations are not used in an often manner and they are higher for listed than for unlisted firms. Furthermore, our results suggest that debt and firm size are both positively associated with conservatism. Both associations are more significant for listed than non-listed firms. In addition, return on equity tends to increase conservatism, but only for the most indebted unlisted firms. These pieces of evidence are consistent with conservatism being a mechanism to regulate managers’ activity and to capture the confidence of stakeholders.
Primary Testicular Lymphoma: Single Center Experience
Authors: SHAH SHIVANI , SREENIVASAN SUSHANTH , KANCHARLA PRAGNAN , KHAN CYRUS , SAMHOURI YAZAN
Published: March 2023

Background/Aim: Primary testicular lymphoma (PTL) is an exceedingly rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; the most common subtype is diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL). Standard treatment includes orchiectomy, chemotherapy, central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis, and prophylactic radiation to the contralateral testis. PTL can reoccur years after complete remission. Treatment to immune sanctuary sites, CNS and contralateral testis, is crucial in preventing relapse. There are limited data characterizing this entity and this study aimed to add to existing literature. Patients and Methods: This descriptive retrospective study characterized twelve patients with PTL from years 2010-2021 at Allegheny Health Network. Their demographic data, prognostic factors, treatment regimens, and relapse sites (if any) were tabulated. The mean progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated to describe our experience in treating PTL. Results: Twelve patients were diagnosed with PTL; 10/12 (83.33%) patients were diagnosed with ABC PTL-DLBCL. Median age of diagnosis was 67 years. Eight of the 12 (66.66%) were African American, 4/12 (33.33%) were Caucasian. At the time of diagnosis, 8/12 (66.66%) patients presented with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and 8/12 (66.66%) presented with a left testicular mass. Most were treated with R-CHOP (9/12), intrathecal methotrexate (IT-MTX) (10/12), and radiation to the contralateral testis (9/12). Three of the twelve (25%) patients relapsed. Median time to relapse was 8 months. Mean PFS was 50.417 months. Conclusion: We discuss our experience in treating PTL with RCHOP, IT-MTX, and irradiation to the contralateral testis and add to the limited pre-existing data that exist.
Iron Deficiency Anemia in Colorectal Cancer Patients: Is Preoperative Intravenous Iron Infusion Indicated? A Narrative Review of the Literature
Authors: CHARDALIAS LEONIDAS , PAPACONSTANTINOU IOANNIS , GKLAVAS ANTONIOS , POLITOU MARIANNA , THEODOSOPOULOS THEODOSIOS
Published: March 2023

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common extraintestinal symptom in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Inflammation associated with malignancy leads to functional iron deficiency via the hepcidin pathway, whereas chronic blood loss causes absolute iron deficiency and depletion of iron stores. The assessment and treatment of preoperative anemia is of great importance in patients with CRC, since published data have consistently shown that preoperative anemia is associated with increased need for perioperative blood transfusions and more postoperative complications. Recent studies have documented mixed results regarding the preoperative intravenous iron administration in anemic CRC patients in terms of efficacy for anemia correction, cost-effectiveness, need for transfusions and risk for postoperative complications.
Spatiotemporal Changes in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Incidence in a Low-Epidemic Area of China in 2005-2020: Retrospective Spatiotemporal Analysis
Authors: Zhang Qi , Ding Huan , Gao Song , Zhang Shipeng , Shen Shiya , Chen Xiaoyan , Xu Zhuping
Published: March 2023

Background

In China, tuberculosis (TB) is still a major public health problem, and the incidence of TB has significant spatial heterogeneity.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the temporal trends and spatial patterns of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in a low-epidemic area of eastern China, Wuxi city, from 2005 to 2020.

Methods

The data of PTB cases from 2005 to 2020 were obtained from the Tuberculosis Information Management System. The joinpoint regression model was used to identify the changes in the secular temporal trend. Kernel density analysis and hot spot analysis were used to explore the spatial distribution characteristics and clusters of the PTB incidence rate.

Results

A total of 37,592 cases were registered during 2005-2020, with an average annual incidence rate of 34.6 per 100,000 population. The population older than 60 years had the highest incidence rate of 59.0 per 100,000 population. In the study period, the incidence rate decreased from 50.4 to 23.9 per 100,000 population, with an average annual percent change of –4.9% (95% CI –6.8% to –2.9%). The incidence rate of pathogen-positive patients increased during 2017-2020, with an annual percent change of 13.4% (95% CI 4.3%-23.2%). The TB cases were mainly concentrated in the city center, and the incidence of hot spots areas gradually changed from rural areas to urban areas during the study period.

Conclusions

The PTB incidence rate in Wuxi city has been declining rapidly with the effective implementation of strategies and projects. The populated urban centers will become key areas of TB prevention and control, especially in the older population.
Attitudes of Children, Adolescents, and Their Parents Toward Digital Health Interventions: Scoping Review
Authors: d'Halluin Arnaud , Costa Marie , Morgiève Margot , Sebbane Déborah
Published: March 2023

Background

The prevalence of mental health problems in children and adolescents is high. As these problems can impact this population’s developmental trajectories, they constitute a public health concern. This situation is accentuated by the fact that children and adolescents infrequently seek help. Digital health interventions (DHIs) offer an opportunity to bridge the treatment gap between health care needs and patient engagement in care. Additional detailed research is needed to identify how children and adolescents can be empowered to access help through DHIs. In this context, an understanding of their attitudes toward digital health appears to be a necessary first step in facilitating the effective implementation of DHIs.

Objective

This study aimed to establish an inventory of children’s, adolescents’, and their parents’ attitudes toward DHIs.

Methods

A scoping review following PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) recommendations was performed using the MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases. This research was conducted using 3 key concepts: “child and adolescent mental health service users,” “digital health interventions,” and “attitudes.” Data extracted included the name of the publishing journal, the methodology used, the target population, the DHI studied, and the principal results.

Results

Of 1548 studies found, 30 (1.94%) were included in our analysis. Among these, 13 concerned satisfaction, 24 concerned preferences, 22 concerned the use of DHI, 11 concerned perception, and 10 concerned needs.

Conclusions

The results of this study provide a better understanding of the factors influencing children’s and adolescents’ attitudes toward digital health and DHIs. The continued growth of DHIs can help reduce barriers to mental health care. Future research on these interventions should investigate the needs of the targeted populations to increase their engagement in care.
Clitoral Therapy Device for Alleviating Sexual Dysfunction After Female Genital Mutilation: Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Sakr Hend Reda , Ahmed Yahia Ali , Kamel Reham Mohamed , Abdelhady Reem Hamdy , Elkalla Reham Alaa , Georgui Mina Atef , Abd El-khalek Wael Osama , El Ebrashy Mariam Hossam
Published: March 2023

Background

Female genital mutilation is considered a crime but is still practiced today in Africa and the Middle East, despite all the laws that make this procedure illegal due to the long-term physical and psychological harm it causes to women. Millions of girls and women living today have undergone genital mutilation, which involves removing the external female genitalia either partially or totally, based on the belief that it restricts feminine sexuality, thereby “saving” a girl for marriage. For girls and women, the surgery offers no health advantages. Girls’ right to control critical decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health is violated because genital mutilation is frequently done against their will and frequently without their consent, leading to lifelong psychic trauma in addition to sexual dysfunction and lack of satisfaction due to distortion of the genitalia that threatens marital stability.

Objective

To determine the effect of a clitoral therapy device on improving sexual domains in women suffering from sexual dysfunction after female genital mutilation.

Methods

This study examined 80 married women aged from 20 to 45 years who were referred from the gynecology outpatient clinic of the Faculty of Medicine, Suez University, for sexual dysfunction resulting from female genital mutilation. The women were divided into 2 equal groups: the study group received a clitoral therapy device and traditional psychosexual education and were closely followed for 3 months, while the control group received only traditional psychosexual education for 3 months. The Arabic version of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire was used to assess sexual outcomes pre- and posttreatment in the 2 groups.

Results

Our findings revealed a significant increase in the 6 domains of the FSFI pretreatment in both groups compared to posttreatment (P>.001), except the orgasm domain in the control group, which showed only a nonsignificant increase (P=.16).

Conclusions

Clitoral therapy devices may be an effective, safe, noninvasive rehabilitation method for sexual dysfunction following female genital mutilation.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05039775; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05039775
Cyborg Space in Oryx and Crake
Authors: Zhu Chen Chen
Published: March 2023

As science and technology gains steam, relationships or contradictions with human species and between humans and other groups are increasingly of vital importance. And with a seemingly chaotic new world created by modern science, Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake is an essential piece of work to analyze humans’ living condition during a post-humanistic world. Therefore, based on Haraway’s cyborg theory, this study intends to have a discussion on the realization of cyborg space in Oryx and Crake from the perspective of ambiguous boundary between males and females, humans and animals, and nature and human civilization, so as to advocate a space or society of high hybridity and ambiguity, free from superiority, prejudice or dualism.
Crises Alongside the River: An Ecological Interpretation of Huck’s Rebellion in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Authors: Shuhao Pan
Published: March 2023

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of Mark Twain’s “Mississippi Trilogy”, can be acclaimed as an ecological novel as far as its rich ecological thoughts and insightful reflection on ecological crises are concerned. Based on Lu Shu-yuan’s “Ecological Trichotomy”, this essay is about to excavate ecological ideas manifested in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from three dimensions of Lu’s trichotomic ecology, namely natural ecology, social ecology, and spiritual ecology, and examine the internal connections between Huckleberry Finn’s rebellion against society and ecological thoughts contained in this novel.
Avelumab First-Line Maintenance Treatment in Advanced Bladder Cancer: Practical Implementation Steps for Infusion Nurses
Authors: Wood Laura
Published: March 2023

The immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab was approved as first-line maintenance treatment for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) that has not progressed on first-line platinum-containing chemotherapy. The approval was based on data from the phase 3 JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial. Avelumab first-line maintenance is now considered the standard-of-care treatment for this patient group.
Infusion nurses are at the front line of patient care and play a vital role throughout the treatment journey of patients with advanced UC.
In this video, based on the publication ‘Avelumab First-Line Maintenance Treatment in Advanced Bladder Cancer: Practical Implementation Steps for Infusion Nurses’, Dawn Conway (University of Chicago Medicine, IL, USA) reviews key considerations related to avelumab first-line maintenance therapy that infusion nurses should be familiar with. These include dosing, administration, and immune-related adverse event recognition and management, to ensure safe and appropriate use of this important and impactful therapy.
Optimization and Reduction of Losses in 330kv Power Systems for Efficient and Optimal Operation
Authors: Woke Azunda
Published: March 2023

Abstract: This study was undertaken to mitigate against the loss of electrical power in transformers within the 330kv transmission system in Nigeria using Fuzzy logic technique. The objectives included to utilise Newton-Raphson’s technique to perform a load flow analysis to determine line losses, bus voltages, and load angles, and to use a Fuzzy Inference System to determine the points suitable for capacitor placement in order to reduce reactive power losses on the process and increase voltage profile, thereby improving the power system's stability and efficiency. Using the MATLAB toolbox, Newton- Raphson's power flow software was run to yield p.u nodal voltages ranging from 0.8890 to 1.0564, total real power line losses (0.09438 p.u), and total reactive power line losses. The power loss index is assessed and normalized in the range [0, 1] using power loss reduction. These indices, along with the magnitude of the p.u nodal voltage, were fed into the Fuzzy Inference System to produce the Capacitor Suitability Index (CSI). The obtained CSIs vary from additional to 0.897. Most nodes are influenced by the strength of the CSIs. for capacitor establishment. Tentatively, most elevated upsides of CSIs are picked for capacitor establishment. Therefore, 3 transports (3, 8, and 10) with CSI upsides of 0.680, 0.750, and 0.897 separately, are picked. Capacitor sizes of 50MVar, 85MVar, and 60MVar (got from Index Based Method) are introduced on the buses. Voltage profile improved by 3.74%, 3.27%, and 3.33% individually, while absolute genuine power loss in the framework reduced by 17.55% and all out receptive influence infusion to the system diminished by 8.70% separately. By the installation of capacitors at strategic areas in a transmission framework we were able to achieve a more stable network, reliable service delivery and a record of minimal technical losses.
Analisis Kualitas Pelayanan Terhadap Kepuasan Wisatawan Prewedding di Pantai Melasti, Ungasan
Authors: Saputra I Gede Edi , Suprapto I Nyoman Arto , Sutiarso Moh. Agus
Published: March 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kualitas pelayanan dan kepuasan wisatawan prewedding di Pantai Melasti Ungasan. Metode yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data adalah observasi, wawancara, penyebaran kuesioner dan studi dokumen. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pendekatan mix methode, dimana memadukan pendekatan kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Untuk mengetahui kualitas pelayanan dan kepuasan wisatawan pada penelitian ini menggunakan analisis GAP, CSI (Costumer Satisfaction Index),dan IPA (Importance Performance Analysis). Berdasarkan hasil olah data melalui analisis CSI (Costumer Satisfaction Index), berada dalam katagori puas. Hal ini memberikan hasil wisatawan yang melakukan kegiatan prewedding merasa puas terhadap pelayanan yang diberikan oleh pengelola Pantai Melasti Ungasan pada saat ini.
 
This study intends to evaluate pre-wedding visitors' satisfaction with the level of service at Melasti Beach Ungasan. Observation, interviews, distribution of questionnaires, and document studies are the methods utilized to gather data. A mix method technique, which mixes qualitative and quantitative approaches, is used in this study. Using the analysis of GAP, CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index), and IPA, establish the level of service quality and tourist satisfaction in this study (Importance Performance Analysis). It falls under the satisfied category according to the outcomes of data processing through the study of the CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index). As a result, tourists who participate in pre-wedding activities are satisfied with the services offered at this time by the staff of Melasti Beach Ungasan.