bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compact FE for unbounded attribute-weighted sums for logspace from SXDH
Authors: Datta Pratish , Pal Tapas , Takashima Katsuyuki
Published: July 2024

This paper presents the first functional encryption $$(\textsf{FE})$$

(
FE
)

scheme for the attribute-weighted sum functionality that supports the uniform model of computation. In such an scheme, encryption takes as input a pair of attributes (x, z) where x is public and z is private. A secret key corresponds to some weight function f, and decryption recovers the weighted sum f(x)z. In our scheme, both the public and private attributes can be of arbitrary polynomial lengths that are not fixed at system setup. The weight functions are modelled as $$\text {Logspace Turing machines}$$

Logspace Turing machines

. Prior schemes could only support non-uniform Logspace. The proposed scheme is proven adaptively simulation secure under the well-studied symmetric external Diffie–Hellman assumption against an arbitrary polynomial number of secret key queries both before and after the challenge ciphertext. This is the best possible security notion that could be achieved for . On the technical side, our contributions lie in extending the techniques of Lin and Luo [EUROCRYPT 2020] devised for indistinguishability-based payload hiding attribute-based encryption for uniform Logspace access policies and the “three-slot reduction” technique for simulation-secure attribute-hiding for non-uniform Logspace devised by Datta and Pal [ASIACRYPT 2021] to the context of simulation-secure attribute-hiding for uniform Logspace.
Digital education: Mapping the landscape of virtual teaching in higher education – a bibliometric review
Authors: Makda Fatima
Published: July 2024

Virtual teaching gained momentum for its ability to drive education continuity in times of disruption. As a result, the implementation of virtual teaching has piqued the attention of the higher education sector to leverage the affordances of this mode of instructional delivery, even in times of non-disruption. This study aims to conduct a review of virtual teaching in the higher education sector to reveal the key research trends of previous publications and areas of focus for future research. A bibliometric analysis is used to identify the key topics, themes, authors, sources, articles, and existing collaborations. To achieve this, papers indexed in the Scopus database between 2012 and 2023 were examined and analysed using VOSviewer. The findings of the study are provided through a quantitative analysis that gives a high-level overview of virtual teaching in the higher education sector and highlights the key performance indicators for the creation of articles and their citation through tables, graphs, and visualisation maps. The research yielded a total of 5,663 publications, of which 2,635 published articles were included in the analysis. The findings reiterate virtual teaching as a move in the direction of sustainable education as its assists in democratising knowledge. The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of the research topic on virtual teaching, revealing six distinct yet interconnected thematic clusters. This study provides a holistic picture of virtual teaching in the higher education sector by integrating the analysis results with pertinent reviews of literature and makes recommendations for future research.
Cognitive ability, education, height and body mass index in relation to risk of schizophrenia and mortality following its diagnosis
Authors: Jørgensen Terese Sara Høj , Wium-Andersen Ida Kim , Wium-Andersen Marie Kim , Rozing Maarten Pieter , Jørgensen Martin Balslev , Sørensen Thorkild IA , Osler Merete
Published: July 2024

This study examines the hypotheses that the traits of higher IQ, longer education and taller height are associated with lower risk of death as compared to traits of low IQ, short education, and short height in men with schizophrenia compared to men without schizophrenia. In total, 937,919 men born 1939-59 and 1983–1997 with information from conscription were followed for incident schizophrenia in Danish registries. Higher levels of cognitive ability, longer education, and taller height were associated with fewer cases of schizophrenia. In a sub-sample of 652,368 men with information on body mass index, underweight was associated with more and overweight and obesity were associated with fewer cases of schizophrenia compared with normal weight. Higher cognitive ability, longer education, and taller height were associated with fewer deaths from both natural and unnatural causes in both men with and without schizophrenia. Underweight was associated with more deaths from natural and unnatural causes, whereas overweight and obesity were associated with more deaths from natural causes and fewer deaths from unnatural causes in both groups of men. Due to interaction, tall height and long educational duration were associated with fewer deaths from natural causes, and obesity was associated with fewer deaths from unnatural causes among men with schizophrenia compared to men without. In conclusion, traits in young adulthood are associated with higher mortality in men with and without schizophrenia, but traits of long educational duration and obesity seem to be especially important for lower mortality in men with schizophrenia.
Colonoscopic surveillance in Lynch syndrome: guidelines in perspective
Authors: Castillo-Iturra Joaquín , Sánchez Ariadna , Balaguer Francesc
Published: July 2024

Lynch syndrome predisposes to a high risk of colorectal cancer and colonoscopy remains the primary preventive strategy. The prevention of colorectal cancer through colonoscopy relies on identifying and removing adenomas, the main precursor lesion. Nevertheless, colonoscopy is not an optimal strategy since post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer remains an important issue. In continuation of a 2021 journal review, the present article seeks to offer an updated perspective by examining relevant articles from the past 3 years. We place recent findings in the context of existing guidelines, with a specific focus on colonoscopy surveillance. Key aspects explored include colonoscopy quality standards, timing of initiation, and surveillance intervals. Our review provides a comprehensive analysis of adenoma-related insights in Lynch syndrome, delving into emerging technologies like virtual chromoendoscopy and artificial intelligence-assisted endoscopy. This review aims to contribute valuable insights into the topic of colonoscopy surveillance in Lynch syndrome.
Elucidating karyological and agro-morphological characteristics of Vicia cassia boiss. and V. aintabensis Boiss. & Hausskn
Authors: Keleş Hüseyin , Tiryaki Iskender
Published: July 2024

This study aimed to determine the karyological characteristics, DNA content, and agro-morphological plant characteristics of Vicia cassia Boiss. and Vicia aintabensis Boiss. & Hausskn. collected from natural flora of Turkiye. The results were also compared with those of Vicia sativa. The main stem length, the numbers of main stem branches per plant, the number of leaves of main stem, the number of leaflets per leaf, the number of grains per pod, the pod width and length as well as thousand seed weight characteristics showed significant variation across the species, with the exception of 50% inflorescences (p < 0.4987) and natural plant heights (p < 0.3276). Karyotype formulas of Vicia cassia, V. aintabensis and V. sativa were determined as 2n = 2x = 14 = 3 m + 1tsat + 1sm + 2t, 2n = 2x = 14 = 1sm + 4st + 2t, and 2n = 2x = 12 = 5st + 1 m, respectively. The genome size of V. aintabensis (17,227.47 Mbp) was 5.26 and 5.01 times larger than V. cassia (3273.85 Mbp) and V. sativa (3435.22 Mpb), respectively. The importance of the karyomorphological data was also evaluated with the morphological evidences.
Psychometric Properties of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for Ages 6–18 to Identify Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a Turkish Parent Sample
Authors: Uğurlu Mahir , Sözer Boz Esra , Turgut Sedat
Published: July 2024

The Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6–18 (CBCL/6–18) is broadly used for psycho-educational assessment in identifying children’s behavior problems in special education and psychology. However, the usefulness of the CBCL/6–18 in a Turkish sample still needs to be investigated. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the measures of the CBCL/6–18 within a sample of Turkish parents. The psychometric evaluation includes item calibration using the Partial Credit Model (PCM). We analyzed data from 548 parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder. According to the PCM calibration, the results suggested that the Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problem subscales were unidimensional and showed local independence successfully. All subscales demonstrated adequate reliability, indicating that the scale distinguishes between children with different behavior problems. The subscales had varying item step ordering, meaning that transitions from one category to second by parent ratings are relatively straightforward. Some items with easy-to-define behavior problems, for example, Item 42 (constipated), were more likely to be endorsed by parents. Consequently, the CBCL/6–18 has adequate psychometric properties for accurately assessing problem behaviors in children based on parent ratings.
Deciphering the role of rapamycin in modulating decidual senescence: implications for decidual remodeling and implantation failure
Authors: Kendirci-Katirci Remziye , Sati Leyla , Celik-Ozenci Ciler
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Physiological decidual senescence promotes embryo implantation, whereas pathological decidual senescence causes many pregnancy pathologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rapamycin on decidual cell subpopulations and endometrial function in physiological and induced senescence and to investigate the decidual cell subpopulations present in physiological conditions during early pregnancy and implantation in mice.

Methods

Control, physiological decidualization (0.5 mM cAMP and 1 μM MPA added), and induced senescence (0.1 mM HU added) models with and without 200 nM rapamycin treatment were established using a human endometrial stromal cell line, and decidual cell subpopulations were analyzed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. The human extravillous trophoblast cell line AC-1M88 was also cultured in decidualization models, and spheroid expansion analysis was performed. In in vivo studies, decidual cell subpopulations were analyzed by immunofluorescence during early mouse pregnancy.

Results

The results revealed that rapamycin decreased DIO2 and β-GAL expressions in physiological and induced senescence without FOXO1. Notably, in induced senescence, increased fragmentation was observed in AC-1M88 cells, and rapamycin treatment successfully attenuated the fragmentation of spheroids. We showed that the FOXO1-DIO2 signaling axis can trigger decidual senescence during early gestation and days of implantation in mice.

Conclusions

Our study underlines the importance of rapamycin in modulating decidual cell subpopulations and endometrial tissue function during decidual senescence. The information obtained may provide insight into the pathologies of pregnancy seen due to decidual senescence and guide better treatment strategies for reproductive problems.
Accelerated multistep thermal stabilization of polyacrylonitrile fibers using an ethylenediamine pretreatment
Authors: Tunçel Kemal Şahin , Demirel Tuba , Karacan Ismail
Published: July 2024

The polyacrylonitrile multifilament yarn underwent a multistep heat treatment process including stabilization times ranging from 5 to 75 min following impregnation with a 30% ethylenediamine (EDA) aqueous solution. A series of measurements were employed to determine the structure and properties of thermally stabilized PAN samples. These included fiber thickness, fiber density, flame testing, tensile testing, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis), and infrared spectroscopy. The results from XRD and IR spectroscopy indicated that the rate of aromatization reactions increased with longer stabilization times. A detailed examination of the XRD curves obtained through curve-fitting procedures suggested a rapid transformation of the original structure into a disordered amorphous phase containing pre-graphitic domains, evidenced by a gradual reduction in the degree of apparent crystallinity of the original PAN sample. The integration of EDA before the thermal stabilization stage significantly reduced the cyclization time of nitrile groups in the PAN polymer structure, thereby accelerating the stabilization reactions. This chemical pretreatment also improved the thermal stability of the samples by promoting oxidative cross-linking of the PAN polymer chains. After a 75 min multistep stabilization, the carbon yield at 1000 °C was 70.5%. Conversion index values, calculated using IR, XRD, and DSC methods, were 98.3%, 94.8%, and 89.5% respectively for the 75 min sample. These findings highlight the importance of EDA in accelerating the formation of an aromatic structure, which is critical for withstanding the high temperatures of subsequent carbonization stages.

Graphical abstract
Enhancement of YBCO superconductivity by chemical surface treatment
Authors: Bennár M. , Španková M. , Talacko M. , Gregor M. , Kronek J. , Chromik Š.
Published: July 2024

Even though high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates has been studied for almost 40 years, it remains one of the most puzzling topics in modern physics. It is well known that most of its electrical properties strongly depend on doping and superconducting current is conducted through the CuO2 layers. From a scientific and technological perspective, YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) poses significant challenges due to its low chemical stability, leading to potential alterations in its properties when exposed to various gasses, solvents, and solutions. In our study, we investigated the effects of various solvents on the metal-to-superconductor transition (MST) of YBCO. Additionally, we explored the potential to enhance the MST through exposure to solvents, along with proposing mechanisms to explain this enhancement.
Micromolar fluoride contamination arising from glass NMR tubes and a simple solution for biomolecular applications
Authors: Matwani Khushboo , Cornish Jasmine , DeBenedictis Erika Alden , Heller Gabriella T.
Published: July 2024

Fluorine (19F) NMR is emerging as an invaluable analytical technique in chemistry, biochemistry, structural biology, material science, drug discovery, and medicine, especially due to the inherent rarity of naturally occurring fluorine in biological, organic, and inorganic compounds. Here, we revisit the under-reported problem of fluoride leaching from new and unused glass NMR tubes. We characterised the leaching of free fluoride from various types of new and unused glass NMR tubes over the course of several hours and quantify this contaminant to be at micromolar concentrations for typical NMR sample volumes across multiple glass types and brands. We find that this artefact is undetectable for samples prepared in quartz NMR tubes within the timeframes of our experiments. We also observed that pre-soaking new glass NMR tubes combined with rinsing removes this contamination below micromolar levels. Given the increasing popularity of 19F NMR across a wide range of fields, increasing popularity of single-use screening tubes, the long collection times required for relaxation studies and samples of low concentrations, and the importance of avoiding contamination in all NMR experiments, we anticipate that our simple solution will be useful to biomolecular NMR spectroscopists.
Developing a Research Agenda with Victim-Survivors to Improve Health Sector Responses to Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence in Australia
Authors: Lamb Katie , McKay Heather , Baloch Surriya , Hegarty Kelsey
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The World Health Organisation acknowledges the health sector as playing a key role in responding to those who experience and use domestic, family and sexual violence. Limited resources need to be well spent to ensure the best outcomes for victim-survivors and their families. This study was undertaken to explore: What do victim-survivors, researchers and practitioners see as the key research priorities for improving health sector responses to domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia?

Methods

A Delphi methodology was adopted, with input from those with lived experience. Victim-survivors, researchers, practitioners and policy makers (n = 35) were engaged in a workshop and two rounds of Delphi surveys (n = 72 and 69).

Results

Participants highly rated four themes of research priorities 1) embedding the voices victim-survivors of domestic and family violence in health sector reform; 2) improving outcomes for children, young people and young families: 3) strengthening response to victim-survivors and perpetrators; and 4) better meeting the needs of victim-survivors from diverse backgrounds (including those with a disability, mental health issues, or from culturally diverse or Indigenous backgrounds).

Conclusions

This study identifies a solid research agenda for organisations and individuals interested in conducting or funding research to improve health sector responses to victim-survivors in Australia. It also demonstrates one way in which victim-survivors can be engaged in a meaningful way to inform future research about domestic, family and sexual violence.
A Multi-Dimensional Scale for Measuring Undergraduates Interest in STEM Disciplines
Authors: Ahmad Zubair , Sultana Almaas , Siby Nitha , Ammar Mohammad , Al-Thani Noora J.
Published: July 2024

One of the major challenges faced by the education system today is the lack of interest exhibited by undergraduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This is particularly concerning as the world is becoming increasingly technology-driven, and a skilled workforce is necessary to meet future demands. Therefore, fostering interest among undergraduates in STEM fields is imperative to improve their engagement and persistence in these disciplines. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken to enhance students' STEM interests in formal, non-formal, and informal learning settings. However, assessing the effectiveness of these initiatives requires a robust and validated measurement tool grounded in theoretical and empirical evidence. Without a valid and reliable instrument, it would be challenging to determine the effectiveness of these initiatives in promoting STEM education and interest among undergraduates.

This study presents a STEM Interest Scale (SIS) that captures diverse psychological factors that affect students’ interest in STEM. To develop this scale, the study employs a cross-sectional quantitative design. The data collection process involved two phases for developing and validating the scale. In phase I, 280 participants were surveyed to perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the underlying dimensions of STEM interest. In phase II, a sample of 266 students was used to assess the psychometric characteristics of the ‘STEM Interest Scale (SIS) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and nomological validity. The outcome of the EFA revealed that the STEM Interest scale is comprised of four psychological factors: intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, self-concept, and employment aspiration, while the CFA and nomological network confirm the validity of these factors. The present research is a pioneering effort to holistically capture STEM interest, thereby paving the way for informed interventions in STEM education.
Supporting SME companies in mapping out AI potential: a Finnish AI development case
Authors: Jafarzadeh Pouya , Vähämäki Tanja , Nevalainen Paavo , Tuomisto Antti , Heikkonen Jukka
Published: July 2024

Products and services relying upon Artificial Intelligence (AI) have moved from mere concepts to reality. However, challenges still exist in applying AI technologies to traditional industrial and service enterprises. Two central problems are a proper understanding of the opportunities AI could bring to the business processes and making the business logic and data sources transparent to AI experts. As small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered the economic backbone of many countries, this paper studies how to support SMEs in understanding the potential of AI in their business and how to prepare their data and requirements for a possible AI project. For this purpose, we first proposed the Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) an industry-proven way to apply AI solutions. The weight was in early business and data understanding. Then, we performed data visualization and developed some machine learning methods for 11 SMEs in South-western Finland as case studies to get more ideas for improving their business using AI. Two surveys probed the possible changes in AI practises of companies.
Effect of different strain rates on mechanical behavior and structure of Inconel 718 produced by powder bed fusion
Authors: Kolomy Stepan , Benc Marek , Harant Martin , Sedlak Josef , Jopek Miroslav
Published: July 2024

The paper aims to examine the effect of different strain rates on a mechanical behavior and structure of additively manufactured Inconel 718. The material was prepared by the powder bed fusion method, which is commonly employed for high-performance components subjected to both high static and dynamic loading. To analyze the material’s behavior at various strain rates, a conventional hydraulic testing machine and a split hopkinson pressure bar apparatus were utilized. Additionally, the effect of these conditions on mechanical properties and microstructure was investigated. Results of compressive tests revealed a positive strain rate sensitivity of the material. Furthermore, the microhardness exhibited an increase by 33.9% in the horizontal direction after deformation caused by 2·10–2 strain rate and 35.8% in the vertical direction, respectively. Additionally, the average grain size decreased by 43.3%, and the high-angle grain boundaries decreased by 5.4% in the horizontal direction after the excessive plastic deformation at the strain rate of 1.8·103 s-1. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the as-built structure predominantly consisted of Laves phases in a long strip shape, while the structure after dynamic testing featured a granular shape. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of a sample tested at strain rate of 0.002 s-1 revealed finely developed grains within the structure, many of which contained a dislocation substructure. This study’s novelty and robustness lie in its significant contribution to practical industrial energy applications, in which parts are exposed to dynamic load such as gas turbines.
Calderón-Zygmund Decomposition, Hardy Spaces Associated with Operators and Weak Type Estimates
Authors: Bui The Anh , Duong Xuan Thinh
Published: July 2024

Let $$(X, d, \mu )$$

(
X
,
d
,
μ
)

be a metric space with a metric d and a doubling measure $$\mu $$
μ
. Assume that the operator L generates a bounded holomorphic semigroup $$e^{-tL}$$

e

-
t
L

on $$L^2(X)$$

L
2

(
X
)

whose semigroup kernel satisfies the Gaussian upper bound. Also assume that L has a bounded holomorphic functional calculus on $$L^2(X)$$

L
2

(
X
)

. Then the Hardy spaces $$H^p_L(X)$$

H
L
p

(
X
)

associated with the operator L can be defined for $$0 < p \le 1$$

0
<
p
≤
1

. In this paper, we revisit the Calderón-Zygmund decomposition and show that a function $$f \in L^1(X)\cap L^2(X)$$

f
∈

L
1

(
X
)

∩

L
2

(
X
)

can be decomposed into a good part which is an $$L^{\infty }$$

L
∞

function and a bad part which is in $$H^p_L(X)$$

H
L
p

(
X
)

for some $$0< p <1$$

0
<
p
<
1

. An important result of our variants of Calderón-Zygmund decompositions is that if a sub-linear operator T is bounded from $$L^r(X)$$

L
r

(
X
)

to $$L^r(X)$$

L
r

(
X
)

for some $$r > 1$$

r
>
1

and also bounded from $$H^p_L(X)$$

H
L
p

(
X
)

to $$L^p(X)$$

L
p

(
X
)

for some $$0< p < 1$$

0
<
p
<
1

, then T is of weak type (1, 1) and bounded from $$L^q(X)$$

L
q

(
X
)

to $$L^q(X)$$

L
q

(
X
)

for all $$1< q <r$$

1
<
q
<
r

.
Acceptability of Four Intervention Components Supporting Medication Adherence in Women with Breast Cancer: a Process Evaluation of a Fractional Factorial Pilot Optimization Trial
Authors: Green Sophie M. C. , Rousseau Nikki , Hall Louise H. , French David P. , Graham Christopher D. , Lloyd Kelly E. , Collinson Michelle , Ow Pei Loo , Taylor Christopher , Howdon Daniel , Foy Robbie , Walwyn Rebecca , Clark Jane , Parbutt Catherine , Waller Jo , Buxton Jacqueline , Moore Sally J. L. , Velikova Galina , Farrin Amanda , Smith Samuel G.
Published: July 2024

Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) reduces mortality in early-stage breast cancer, but adherence is low. We developed a multicomponent intervention to support AET adherence comprising: text messages, information leaflet, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and side-effect website. Guided by the multiphase optimization strategy, the intervention components were tested in the ROSETA pilot optimization trial. Our mixed-methods process evaluation investigated component acceptability. The pilot optimization trial used a 24–1 fractional factorial design. Fifty-two women prescribed AET were randomized to one of eight experimental conditions, containing unique component combinations. An acceptability questionnaire was administered 4 months post-randomization, and semi-structured interviews with 20 participants further explored acceptability. Assessments were guided by four constructs of the theoretical framework of acceptability: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, and coherence. Quantitative and qualitative findings were triangulated to identify agreements/disagreements. There were high overall acceptability scores (median = 14–15/20, range = 11–20). There was agreement between the qualitative and quantitative findings when triangulated. Most participants “liked” or “strongly liked” all components and reported they required low effort to engage in. Between 50% (leaflet) and 65% (SMS) “agreed” or “strongly agreed,” it was clear how each component would help adherence. Perceived effectiveness was mixed, with 35.0% (text messages) to 55.6% (ACT) of participants “agreeing” or “strongly agreeing” that each component would improve their adherence. Interview data provided suggestions for improvements. The four components were acceptable to women with breast cancer and will be refined. Mixed-methods and triangulation were useful methodological approaches and could be applied in other optimization trial process evaluations.
Adaptive minimax estimation of service time distribution in the $$M_t/G/\infty $$ queue from departure data
Authors: Li Wenwen , Goldenshluger Alexander
Published: July 2024

This article deals with the problem of estimating the service time distribution of the $$M_t/G/\infty $$

M
t

/
G
/
∞

queue from observation of the departure epochs. We develop minimax optimal estimators of G and study behavior of the minimax pointwise risk over a suitable family of service time distribution functions. In addition, we address the problem of adaptive estimation and propose a data–driven estimation procedure that adapts to unknown smoothness of the service time distribution function G. Lastly, a numerical study is presented to illustrate practical performance of the developed adaptive procedure.
Acquired hypoprolactinemia in men, possible phenotype
Authors: Corona Giovanni , Rastrelli Giulia , Sparano Clotilde , Vignozzi Linda , Maggi Mario
Published: July 2024

The physiological role of prolactin (PRL) in men is still not well defined. The pathological increase is characterized by sexual function impairment along with possible negative consequences in body composition and metabolic profile. Conversely, the clinical significance of reduced PRL levels was only partially investigated or mainly neglected. The present paper aims to summarize and critically discuss possible phenotypes characterizing male subjects with reduced PRL levels. When possible, meta-analytic results were provided. Available data derived from patients seeking medical care for sexual dysfunction as well as from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showed that low PRL in males is associated with a worse metabolic phenotype (including diabetes mellitus), mood disturbances (including anxiety and depression), and sexual dysfunctions (including psychogenic erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions). Whether or not these features are direct consequences of reduced PRL levels or whether the latter reflect other pathway impairments such as serotoninergic failure cannot be clarified. The present data, however, emphasize that a deficiency of PRL should be taken into account and need further investigations.
Validation of the hind feet position score and its association with heel height difference in dairy cows
Authors: Hund Alexandra , Reiter Anna , Huber Johann , Kofler Johann
Published: July 2024

Hind feet position scoring (HFPS) categorizes the outward rotation of the hind feet from the line parallel to the midline of the body in standing dairy cows. It has previously been used as an indication of both differences in heel height between the lateral and medial hind claw (to determine the need of hoof trimming) and the presence of claw lesions in sound cattle. In this observational study, the agreement of HFPS with other types of hoof angle measurements, as well as its association with the heel height difference (HHD) between the claws were investigated.

A total of 51 dairy cows were assessed independently by three observers in two measuring rounds on two different measuring days each. On each occasion, they scored the HFPS, and measured the angle of outward rotation of both hind feet using a digital protractor (DIG) and a compass app (COMP). Heel height difference was measured only during the second occasion. Intra- and interobserver agreement were calculated using weighted kappa statistics (HFPS) and intraclass correlation (DIG, COMP and HHD). Associations between HFPS and DIG, COMP and HHD were analyzed using linear mixed models.

Intra- and interobserver reliability were poor to good for HFPS, DIG, COMP and HHD. HFPS was significantly associated with DIG and COMP but not with HHD. Using the median value of repeated HFPS scores could increase the robustness of the HFPS assessment, as our data indicate that the cows frequently shift the position of their hind claws. Overall, there was a poor correlation between HHD and HFPS, so HFPS may not be determined by HHD alone; future research should consider other reasons for outward rotation of the hind feet.
ESceme: Vision-and-Language Navigation with Episodic Scene Memory
Authors: Zheng Qi , Liu Daqing , Wang Chaoyue , Zhang Jing , Wang Dadong , Tao Dacheng
Published: July 2024

Vision-and-language navigation (VLN) simulates a visual agent that follows natural-language navigation instructions in real-world scenes. Existing approaches have made enormous progress in navigation in new environments, such as beam search, pre-exploration, and dynamic or hierarchical history encoding. To balance generalization and efficiency, we resort to memorizing visited scenarios apart from the ongoing route while navigating. In this work, we introduce a mechanism of Episodic Scene memory (ESceme) for VLN that wakes an agent’s memories of past visits when it enters the current scene. The episodic scene memory allows the agent to envision a bigger picture of the next prediction. This way, the agent learns to utilize dynamically updated information instead of merely adapting to the current observations. We provide a simple yet effective implementation of ESceme by enhancing the accessible views at each location and progressively completing the memory while navigating. We verify the superiority of ESceme on short-horizon (R2R), long-horizon (R4R), and vision-and-dialog (CVDN) VLN tasks. Our ESceme also wins first place on the CVDN leaderboard. Code is available: https://github.com/qizhust/esceme.
Learning Rate Curriculum
Authors: Croitoru Florinel-Alin , Ristea Nicolae-Cătălin , Ionescu Radu Tudor , Sebe Nicu
Published: July 2024

Most curriculum learning methods require an approach to sort the data samples by difficulty, which is often cumbersome to perform. In this work, we propose a novel curriculum learning approach termed Learning Rate Curriculum (LeRaC), which leverages the use of a different learning rate for each layer of a neural network to create a data-agnostic curriculum during the initial training epochs. More specifically, LeRaC assigns higher learning rates to neural layers closer to the input, gradually decreasing the learning rates as the layers are placed farther away from the input. The learning rates increase at various paces during the first training iterations, until they all reach the same value. From this point on, the neural model is trained as usual. This creates a model-level curriculum learning strategy that does not require sorting the examples by difficulty and is compatible with any neural network, generating higher performance levels regardless of the architecture. We conduct comprehensive experiments on 12 data sets from the computer vision (CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, Tiny ImageNet, ImageNet-1K, Food-101, UTKFace, PASCAL VOC), language (BoolQ, QNLI, RTE) and audio (ESC-50, CREMA-D) domains, considering various convolutional (ResNet-18, Wide-ResNet-50, DenseNet-121, YOLOv5), recurrent (LSTM) and transformer (CvT, BERT, SepTr) architectures. We compare our approach with the conventional training regime, as well as with Curriculum by Smoothing (CBS), a state-of-the-art data-agnostic curriculum learning approach. Unlike CBS, our performance improvements over the standard training regime are consistent across all data sets and models. Furthermore, we significantly surpass CBS in terms of training time (there is no additional cost over the standard training regime for LeRaC). Our code is freely available at: https://github.com/CroitoruAlin/LeRaC.
Knowledge Distillation Meets Open-Set Semi-supervised Learning
Authors: Yang Jing , Zhu Xiatian , Bulat Adrian , Martinez Brais , Tzimiropoulos Georgios
Published: July 2024

Existing knowledge distillation methods mostly focus on distillation of teacher’s prediction and intermediate activation. However, the structured representation, which arguably is one of the most critical ingredients of deep models, is largely overlooked. In this work, we propose a novel semantic representational distillation (SRD) method dedicated for distilling representational knowledge semantically from a pretrained teacher to a target student. The key idea is that we leverage the teacher’s classifier as a semantic critic for evaluating the representations of both teacher and student and distilling the semantic knowledge with high-order structured information over all feature dimensions. This is accomplished by introducing a notion of cross-network logit computed through passing student’s representation into teacher’s classifier. Further, considering the set of seen classes as a basis for the semantic space in a combinatorial perspective, we scale SRD to unseen classes for enabling effective exploitation of largely available, arbitrary unlabeled training data. At the problem level, this establishes an interesting connection between knowledge distillation with open-set semi-supervised learning (SSL). Extensive experiments show that our SRD outperforms significantly previous state-of-the-art knowledge distillation methods on both coarse object classification and fine face recognition tasks, as well as less studied yet practically crucial binary network distillation. Under more realistic open-set SSL settings we introduce, we reveal that knowledge distillation is generally more effective than existing out-of-distribution sample detection, and our proposed SRD is superior over both previous distillation and SSL competitors. The source code is available at https://github.com/jingyang2017/SRD_ossl.
Auditors and client investment efficiency: a quasi-replication and further insights from a regulatory change
Authors: Bleibtreu Christopher , Erinc Mert , Orozco Luciana , Shi Zhenyang
Published: July 2024

This study is a quasi-replication and extension of Bae et al. (Account Rev 92(2):19–40, 2017), which examines the relationship between auditors’ characteristics and their audit clients’ investment efficiency. Whereas Bae et al. (Account Rev 92(2):19–40, 2017) use U.S. public firm data, we draw a more general picture by using both public and private firm data from Norway. Overall, the results for Norwegian public and private firms are in line with those Bae et al. (Account Rev 92(2):19–40, 2017) find for public U.S. firms. That is, audit clients invest more efficiently if their auditors have more knowledge and resources, measured by auditor market shares or whether a Big N audit firm performs the audit. Further, an auditor’s influence on its client’s investment efficiency is more pronounced when clients have a higher demand for information, proxied by client complexity. Finally, exploiting a regulatory change in 2011 that allowed small private Norwegian firms to opt out of previously mandatory auditing, we extend the study by Bae et al. (Account Rev 92(2):19–40, 2017). We find that audits can increase investment efficiency for small private firms. Specifically, firms that dismiss their auditors tend to overinvest more than similar firms that are not eligible to opt out of auditing. Further, firms that voluntarily keep their auditor have an overall higher investment efficiency than similar firms that are not audited.
Automated performance metrics and surgical gestures: two methods for assessment of technical skills in robotic surgery
Authors: Olsen Rikke Groth , Svendsen Morten Bo Søndergaard , Tolsgaard Martin G. , Konge Lars , Røder Andreas , Bjerrum Flemming
Published: July 2024

The objective of this study is to compare automated performance metrics (APM) and surgical gestures for technical skills assessment during simulated robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Ten novices and six experienced RARP surgeons performed simulated RARPs on the RobotiX Mentor (Surgical Science, Sweden). Simulator APM were automatically recorded, and surgical videos were manually annotated with five types of surgical gestures. The consequences of the pass/fail levels, which were based on contrasting groups’ methods, were compared for APM and surgical gestures. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis and a Bland–Altman plot were used to explore the correlation between APM and surgical gestures. Pass/fail levels for both APM and surgical gesture could fully distinguish between the skill levels of the surgeons with a specificity and sensitivity of 100%. The overall ICC (one-way, random) was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.34–0.88), showing moderate agreement between the methods. The Bland–Altman plot showed a high agreement between the two methods for assessing experienced surgeons but disagreed on the novice surgeons’ skill level. APM and surgical gestures could both fully distinguish between novices and experienced surgeons in a simulated setting. Both methods of analyzing technical skills have their advantages and disadvantages and, as of now, those are only to a limited extent available in the clinical setting. The development of assessment methods in a simulated setting enables testing before implementing it in a clinical setting.
Host plant and habitat preferences of Lygus bugs: consequences for trap cropping applications
Authors: Holopainen Jarmo K. , Hokkanen Heikki M. T.
Published: July 2024

Lygus bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) can damage economically important crop plants by feeding on their active growing points, such as the apical meristem and buds, and reproductive organs, such as flower buds, flowers, seeds, and fruits. Plant injury is a combination of mechanical damage by the stylet and the effects of saliva, which contains enzymes that break the plant cells. On some occasions, oligophagous Lygus species can act as biocontrol organisms when predating on eggs and larvae of pest insects. This review summarises studies where trap crops have been used to control Lygus bug populations on various crops and to reduce damage to crops. We also focus on the factors that affect the host plant and habitat selection of the highly polyphagous Lygus bugs and discuss the reasons why a less favourable host plant in the laboratory might become attacked by Lygus bugs in the field. An analysis of rapidly developed worldwide Lygus damage problems in conifer nurseries in the late 1970s and early 1980s is presented as an example of how rapidly Lygus bugs can adapt to changes in environmental conditions and new types of crops. We suggest that the rate of crop irrigation and the efficiency of weed control could be factors augmenting Lygus populations and the severity of Lygus damage. These factors should also be considered in the planning of trap crop strategies for Lygus spp.
Precision Treatment of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity: An Updated Review
Authors: Kuang Ziyu , Ge Yuansha , Cao Luchang , Wang Xinmiao , Liu Kexin , Wang Jiaxi , Zhu Xiaojuan , Wu Min , Li Jie
Published: July 2024

Opinion Statement

Anthracycline (ANT)-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC) is a particularly prominent form of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity leading to the limitations of ANTs in clinical practice. Even though AIC has drawn particular attention, the best way to treat it is remaining unclear. Updates to AIC therapy have been made possible by recent developments in research on the underlying processes of AIC. We review the current molecular pathways leading to AIC: 1) oxidative stress (OS) including enzymatic-induced and other mechanisms; 2) topoisomerase; 3) inflammatory response; 4) cardiac progenitor cell damage; 5) epigenetic changes; 6) renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) dysregulation. And we systematically discuss current prevention and treatment strategies and novel pathogenesis-based therapies for AIC: 1) dose reduction and change; 2) altering drug delivery methods; 3) antioxidants, dexrezosen, statina, RAAS inhibitors, and hypoglycemic drugs; 4) miRNA, natural phytochemicals, mesenchymal stem cells, and cardiac progenitor cells. We also offer a fresh perspective on the management of AIC by outlining the current dilemmas and challenges associated with its prevention and treatment.
A Peer-Supported School Engagement Intervention for Youth with Attention Problems: Development and Implementation
Authors: Capps R. Elizabeth , Evans Steven W. , Owens Julie Sarno , Allan Darcey M.
Published: July 2024

Youth with attention problems are at increased risk for school disengagement (Booster et al., JAD 16:179–189, 2012; DuPaul & Langberg, in: Barkley (ed), Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment, Guilford, New York, 2014), which portends risk for poor outcomes (Bond et al., JAH 40:357.e9–357, 2007; Carter et al., JA 30:51–62, 2007; Fredricks et al., RER 74:59–109, 2004). Interventions that target school engagement may benefit from peer delivery because peers are widely available in schools and potentially more credible than adults. In this study, a peer-supported school-based school engagement intervention for middle school students with attention problems, Together Engaging and Achieving Meaningfully (TEAM) was developed with educators and students. In initial development (Study One), community development team meetings with partners (N = 9 school staff and students) were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes used to refine TEAM. In Study Two, a single-case pilot with one student with attention problems and one peer coach was conducted. Measures of fidelity, attendance, acceptability, and satisfaction were collected. Results were used to refine TEAM. Then in pilot implementation (Study Three), a non-randomized pilot was conducted with 10 fifth- through seventh-grade students with attention problems (n = 6 in the intervention group) and six eighth-grade coaches. Measures of fidelity, attendance, acceptability, satisfaction, and clinician-required time for implementation were collected. Cohen’s d mean difference effect sizes were calculated between and within groups over implementation. Feedback from partners highlighted barriers and aspects that were acceptable and feasible. Results from implementation suggested high attendance, high coach fidelity with revised implementation support, and low clinician-required time. Lessons learned and avenues for future development and research are discussed.
Urinary Concentrations of BPA and Analogous Bisphenols (BPF and BPS) among School Children from Poland: Exposure and Risk Assessment in the REPRO_PL Cohort
Authors: Garí Mercè , Bury Daniel , Moos Rebecca K. , Wolniewicz Monika , Jankowska Agnieszka , Brzozowska Agnieszka , Jerzynska Joanna , Bose-O’Reilly Stephan , Koch Holger M. , Polanska Kinga
Published: July 2024

Bisphenols are a group of chemical compounds widely used in the industry, e.g., in the production of plastics, and as precursor of epoxy resins. The three bisphenols investigated in this study, namely bisphenols A (BPA), F (BPF) and S (BPS), seem to have endocrine activity in the same order of magnitude. Thus, an exposure and risk assessment was performed based on urinary concentrations of these bisphenols in 150 urine samples of 7-year-old children from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (REPRO_PL). Samples were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography with online sample clean-up coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (online-SPE-LC-MS/MS). BPA, BPF, and BPS were above the LOQ (0.25 µg/L) in 100%, 95%, and 20% of the samples, respectively, with median concentrations of 2.5 µg/L, 1.0 µg/L and < 0.25 µg/L (below the LOQ), respectively. Median Daily Intakes (DIs) were calculated: 45.9 ng/kg bw/day for BPA, at maximum 33.1 ng/kg bw/day for BPF (depending on the urinary excretion fractions used for calculation) and below 4.4 ng/kg bw/day for BPS (calculated at LOQ/2). Hazard quotients (HQ) at the 95th percentile of 0.011 for BPF and 0.63 for BPS did not indicate health risks. However, based on the TDI of 0.2 ng/kg bw/day newly established by EFSA, the HQ for BPA was above 1 in 100% of the samples, thus indicating the exceedance of safe exposure levels. No statistically significant associations were found between bisphenol concentrations and socio-demographic and life-style characteristics, although environmental tobacco smoke at 7 years of age, maternal educational level and socio-economic status showed a positive trend. Further studies are required in order to recognize other BPA replacement exposures among children.
Combination of BCL-2 inhibitors and immunotherapy: a promising therapeutic strategy for hematological malignancies
Authors: Peng Xiaohuan , Tang Futian , Li Yanhong , Bai Jun , Li Lijuan , Zhang Liansheng
Published: July 2024

The rapid development of high-throughput sequencing in recent years has facilitated great progress in the molecular-targeted therapy of hematological malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. BCL-2 inhibitors are among the most important molecular-targeted agents. Immunotherapy for hematologic malignancy has rapidly increased in popularity in recent years and has been proven to improve the overall survival rate. However, few clinical studies have investigated combination therapy with BCL-2 inhibitors and immunotherapies, such as immune molecule-targeted drugs or immune cell adoptive therapy. In this review, we discuss the drug discovery process, current clinical application status, and resistance and tolerance issues associated with BCL-2 inhibitors. We emphasize their important role in regulating the immune system and propose that the combination of BCL-2 inhibitors with immunotherapy may be one of the most promising treatment methods for hematologic malignancies.