bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Camera Lens Distortion on Particle Size and Shape Characterizations
Authors: Sun Quan , Li Cheng , Zheng Junxing 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The image-based methods have been widely used for particle size and shape characterizations. However, images captured by various cameras may contain a level of lens distortion. This study shows that even a small distortion that cannot be identified by visual observation could significantly alter image-based particle size and shape distortions. This study develops a self-rectification technique to rectify the distorted images. The key is to use a rectangular template as a reference system. An edge detection technique is used to identify the edges of the rectangular template, which becomes curves in the distorted images. Image processing techniques based on least square and Levernberg-Marquardt approaches are used to rectify the curved edges back to straight lines and determine distortion coefficients. The distortion coefficients are used to quantify the magnitude of image distortion and to rectify the image. This research demonstrates that it is unreliable to use visual observation to determine whether the image contains distortion. The rigorous analysis must be performed to ensure the accuracy of image-based particle size and shape characterizations.
An Empirical Study on the Effect of Multimedia-Assisted Children’s Tennis Skills Teaching
Authors: Huang Jian , Liu Ruoqian 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
In recent years, human beings have gradually entered the information age, science and technology have continued to develop, and multimedia-assisted teaching methods have become increasingly popular among teachers. In order to satisfy the children’s interest, tennis is a relatively delicate and complex sport. To develop their majors, increase children’s enthusiasm and participation and reach the teaching goals of tennis. This article combines the content characteristics of tennis professional technical courses, designs multimedia tennis courseware, and uses multimedia courseware to assist experimental courses in teaching experiments. Then compare the teaching results with the courses of regular teaching. The experimental results show that there are significant differences in sports interest and children’s satisfaction in multimedia teaching-aided tennis teaching, but there is no significant difference in traditional teaching. The results show that multimedia courseware can better improve children’s technical teaching effects and children’s satisfaction.
Design and Implementation of Multimedia Technology Assisted English Vocabulary Teaching Courseware for Industrial Engineering Major
Authors: Li Yang , Su Zheqian , Li Chengkun , Li Weiwei , Yang Kunpeng 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
With the popularity of computers, multimedia teaching came into being. Facts have proved that multimedia teaching has many advantages (e.g., information diversification, integration of various technologies, interaction of processing processes, etc.). However, as everyone knows, industrial engineering students are non-English majors and belong to science and engineering. Students’ English level lags behind English majors. In English learning, vocabulary memory is usually the biggest obstacle for students to learning English. Especially some synonyms, antonyms, pronunciations, and derived words are difficult to remember and easy to confuse. There are also many synonyms, whose breadth and depth are complex, and it is difficult for students to remember clearly. Therefore, this puts forward a new topic for industrial engineering English teachers, that is, how to make monotonous English vocabulary teaching interesting, vivid, and easy to remember while also improving students’ English performance and English learning ability. From the perspective of multimedia teaching, this article aims to find a more convenient, efficient, and practical method of teaching English vocabulary for industrial engineering majors, and make English vocabulary teaching courseware related to industrial engineering. From a practical point of view, the use of English multimedia in industrial engineering is promising. Through the comparison of experimental data, the specific role of multimedia teaching in English vocabulary teaching is discussed. Before the experiment, the results of the experimental class and the control class are very different. The English learning progress and academic performance of the experimental class are much better than those of the control class. The average score for gender differences is 1.2 points. There are significant differences in test results after the experiment. The average score difference is 4.71 points. The concentration of the experimental class is also better.
Effects of Atmospheric Pressure on Water Absorption in Plastic Insulation – A Laboratory Investigation
Authors: Andenæs Erlend , Stagrum Anna E. , Kvande Tore , Lohne Jardar 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Plastic insulation materials, particularly polystyrene insulation, are widely used in the construction sector because of their good insulating capabilities and mechanical stability. However, in many building applications, the insulation materials are exposed to high levels of moisture over prolonged periods, which increases the thermal conductivity of the material and may facilitate growth of fungi. In order to minimize the extent and impact of moisture absorption in plastic insulation, more knowledge is sought on the exact process by which water is absorbed. In this article, tests of water absorption by complete immersion are carried out on expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS), following Method 2A of the European Standard EN 12087:2013, Thermal Insulating Products for Building Applications - Determination of Long Term Water Absorption by Immersion, but over a longer duration (227 days) and with more frequent measurements than mandated by the standard. Over 91 days, EPS was found to absorb an amount of water approximately four times its dry mass. Observations indicate that the water absorption of EPS is significantly influenced by fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. A drop in pressure of 50 hPa between two measurements 1 week apart led to a 15 wt.% decrease in the water content of submerged EPS samples. XPS was found to absorb significantly less moisture than EPS, with a weight increase less than 15% over 91 days and with negligible influence from variations in atmospheric pressure. The impact of atmospheric pressure fluctuation is currently not accounted for in any testing standards. As such, this article uncovers a major source of uncertainty in the testing procedure of EN 12087:2013 and its ASTM counterparts.
Multiple Deferred State Sampling Plan for Exponentiated New Weibull Pareto Distributed Mean Life Assurance
Authors: Jeyadurga P. , Balamurali S. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
This article proposes a methodology of designing the multiple deferred state acceptance sampling plan for assuring lifetime of the products when the underlying distribution of lifetime is exponentiated new Weibull-Pareto. Inspection of the sample items is done based on attribute quality characteristics under a time truncated life test. A number of tables are constructed using attribute multiple deferred state acceptance sampling plans of some specified value for mean lifetime ratio that may be obtained under the exponentiated new Weibull-Pareto model. The consequence of misspecification of the shape parameter and the role of the number of successive lots needed for sentencing current lot are investigated. A procedure for implementing the proposed plan for life-testing applications is included. The performance of the proposed plan is compared in terms of the average sample number required as well as discriminating power.
The Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Modulates Error-Based Saccadic Learning in Monkeys
Authors: Kojima Yoshiko , May Paul J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe basal ganglia have long been considered crucial for associative learning, but whether they also are involved in another type of learning, error-based motor learning, is not clear. Error-based learning has been considered the province of the cerebellum. However, learning to use a robotic arm and saccade adaptation, which use error-based learning, are facilitated by motivation, which is a function of the basal ganglia. Additionally, patients with Parkinson’s disease, a basal ganglia deficit, show slower saccade adaptation than age matched controls. To further investigate whether the basal ganglia actually influence error-based learning, we reversibly inactivated the oculomotor portion of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) in two monkeys and tested saccade adaptation. Here, we show that nigral inactivation affected saccade adaptation. In particular, the inactivation facilitated the amplitude decrease adaptation of ipsiversive saccades. Consistent with previous studies, no effect was seen on the amplitude of the ipsiversive saccades when we did not induce adaptation. Therefore, the facilitated adaptation was not caused by inactivation directly modulating ipsiversive saccades. On the other hand, the kinematics of corrective saccades, which represent error processing, were changed after the inactivation. Thus, our data suggest that the oculomotor SNr assists saccade adaptation by strengthening the error signal. This effect indicates the basal ganglia influence error-based motor learning, a previously unrecognized function.
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Encodes the Integrated Incentive Motivational Value of Cognitive Task Performance
Authors: Yee Debbie M. , Crawford Jennifer L. , Lamichhane Bidhan , Braver Todd S. 
Published: March 2021

Humans can seamlessly combine value signals from diverse motivational incentives, yet it is not well understood how these signals are “bundled” in the brain to modulate cognitive control. The dorsal ACC (dACC) is theorized to integrate motivational value dimensions in the service of goal-directed action, although this hypothesis has yet to receive rigorous confirmation. In the present study, we examined the role of human dACC in motivational incentive integration. Healthy young adult men and women were scanned with fMRI while engaged in an experimental paradigm that quantifies the combined effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. Monetary incentives modulated trial-by-trial dACC activation, whereas block-related effects of liquid incentives on dACC activity were observed. When bundled together, incentive-related dACC modulation predicted fluctuations in both cognitive performance and self-report motivation ratings. Statistical mediation analyses suggest that dACC encoded the incentives in terms of their integrated subjective motivational value, and that this value signal was most proximally associated with task performance. Finally, we confirmed that these incentive integration effects were selectively present in dACC. Together, the results support an account in which dACC integrates motivational signals to compute the expected value of goal-directed cognitive control.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTHow are primary and secondary incentives integrated in the brain to influence goal-directed behavior? Using an innovative experimental fMRI paradigm that combines motivational incentives that have historically been studied independently between species (e.g., monetary rewards for humans, food rewards for animals), we examine the relationship between incentive motivational value and cognitive control allocation. We find evidence that the integrated incentive motivational value of combined incentives is encoded in human dorsal ACC. Further, self-reported motivational shifts mediated the effects of incentive-modulated dorsal ACC activity on task performance, revealing convergence in how self-reported and experimentally induced motivation are encoded in the human brain. Our findings may inform future translational studies examining affective/motivational and cognitive impairments in psychopathology (e.g., anxiety, depression, addiction).
Observation Status Stays With Low Resource Use Within Children’s Hospitals
Authors: Synhorst David C. , Hall Matthew , Bettenhausen Jessica L. , Markham Jessica L. , Macy Michelle L. , Gay James C. , Morse Rustin 
Published: March 2021

BACKGROUND:High costs associated with hospitalization have encouraged reductions in unnecessary encounters. A subset of observation status patients receive minimal interventions and incur low use costs. These patients may contain a cohort that could safely be treated outside of the hospital. Thus, we sought to describe characteristics of low resource use (LRU) observation status hospitalizations and variation in LRU stays across hospitals.METHODS:We conducted a retrospective cohort study of pediatric observation encounters at 42 hospitals contributing to the Pediatric Health Information System database from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019. For each hospitalization, we calculated the use ratio (nonroom costs to total hospitalization cost). We grouped stays into use quartiles with the lowest labeled LRU. We described associations with LRU stays and performed classification and regression tree analyses to identify the combination of characteristics most associated with LRU. Finally, we described the proportion of LRU hospitalizations across hospitals.RESULTS:We identified 174 315 observation encounters (44 422 LRU). Children &lt;1 year (odds ratio [OR] 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1–3.4), without complex chronic conditions (OR 3.6; 95% CI 3.2–4.0), and those directly admitted (OR 4.2; 95% CI 4.1–4.4) had the greatest odds of experiencing an LRU encounter. Those children with the combination of direct admission, no medical complexity, and a respiratory diagnosis experienced an LRU stay 69.5% of the time. We observed variation in LRU encounters (1%–57% of observation encounters) across hospitals.CONCLUSIONS:LRU observation encounters are variable across children’s hospitals. These stays may include a cohort of patients who could be treated outside of the hospital.
Assessment of quality attributes of hybrids developed from pure lines of cherry and cocktail-type tomatoes
Authors: Kabas A. , Ersoy A. , Zengin S. , Golukcu M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTomato is worldwide the most grown vegetable. The primary target of breeding programs is to develop new tomato cultivars that are resistant to pests and diseases, in combination with high quality and yield, well-adaptation and good firmness. Among the different tomato types, cherry and cocktail tomatoes are widely preferred by consumers due to their better taste and appearance. In this study, two female tester lines were crossed with four male lines to obtain new tomato hybrids. The eight F1 hybrids and two commercial hybrids were planted in a randomised complete block design with two replications in a greenhouse in Antalya. The tomatoes of the hybrids and lines were harvested at fully ripened stage to evaluate yield, total soluble solids (TSS), fruit firmness, lycopene content and fruit colour parameters. TSS values of the cultivars and lines ranged from 4.5 to 9.5 °Bx, fruit firmness from 7.94 to 11.85 kg cm−2, lycopene from 52.10 to 55.88 mg kg−1, yield from 554.3 to 1336.7 g/plant. Hybrid AK0020 was found the best for both yield and quality.
Altered functional network activities for behavioral adjustments and Bayesian learning in young men with Internet gaming disorder
Authors: Ma Shan-Shan , Li Chiang-Shan R. , Zhang Sheng , Worhunsky Patrick D. , Zhou Nan , Zhang Jin-Tao , Liu Lu , Yao Yuan-Wei , Fang Xiao-Yi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackground and aimsDeficits in cognitive control represent a core feature of addiction. Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) offers an ideal model to study the mechanisms underlying cognitive control deficits in addiction, eliminating the confounding effects of substance use. Studies have reported behavioral and neural deficits in reactive control in IGD, but it remains unclear whether individuals with IGD are compromised in proactive control or behavioral adjustment by learning from the changing contexts.MethodsHere, fMRI data of 21 male young adults with IGD and 21 matched healthy controls (HC) were collected during a stop-signal task. We employed group independent component analysis to investigate group differences in temporally coherent, large-scale functional network activities during post-error slowing, the typical type of behavioral adjustments. We also employed a Bayesian belief model to quantify the trial-by-trial learning of the likelihood of stop signal – P(Stop) – a broader process underlying behavioral adjustment, and identified the alterations in functional network responses to P(Stop).ResultsThe results showed diminished engagement of the fronto-parietal network during post-error slowing, and weaker activity in the ventral attention and anterior default mode network in response to P(Stop) in IGD relative to HC.Discussion and conclusionsThese results add to the literatures by suggesting deficits in updating and anticipating conflicts as well as in behavioral adjustment according to contextual information in individuals with IGD.
Gender-related differences in frontal-parietal modular segregation and altered effective connectivity in internet gaming disorder
Authors: Zeng Ningning , Wang Min , Zheng Hui , Zhang Jialin , Dong Haohao , Potenza Marc N. , Dong Guang-Heng 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundAlthough previous studies have revealed gender-related differences in executive function in internet gaming disorder (IGD), neural mechanisms underlying these processes remain unclear, especially in terms of brain networks.MethodsResting-state fMRI data were collected from 78 subjects with IGD (39 males, 20.8 ± 2.16 years old) and 72 with recreational game use (RGU) (39 males, 21.5 ± 2.56 years old). By utilizing graph theory, we calculated participation coefficients among brain network modules for all participants and analyzed the diagnostic-group-by-gender interactions. We further explored possible causal relationships between networks through spectral dynamic causal modeling (spDCM) to assess differences in between-network connections.ResultsCompared to males with RGU, males with IGD demonstrated reduced modular segregation of the frontal-parietal network (FPN). Male IGD subjects also showed increased connections between the FPN and cingulo-opercular network (CON); however, these differences were not found in female subjects. Further spDCM analysis indicated that the causal influence from CON to FPN in male IGD subjects was enhanced relative to that of RGU males, while this influence was relatively reduced in females with IGD.ConclusionsThese results suggest poor modular segmentation of the FPN and abnormal FPN/CON connections in males with IGD, suggesting a mechanism for male vulnerability to IGD. An increased “bottom-up” effect from the CON to FPN in male IGD subjects could reflect dysfunction between the brain networks. Different mechanisms may underlie in IGD, suggesting that different interventions may be optimal in males and females with IGD.
Introduction pages
Authors: SESTRAS Radu E. 
Published: March 2021

Notulae Scientia Biologicae (http://www.notulaebiologicae.ro), Issue 1, Volume 13, 2021: The papers published in this issue represent interesting novelties in different topics of life science. Among the exciting researches or reviews, we invite readers to find news about: Phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of Saponaria officinalis L.; The Spanish chamomile (Anacyclus pyrethrum) and pyrethrum (Tanacetum cineraiifolium): organic and natural pesticides and treasure of medicinal herbs; Prophylactic effect of the aqueous extract of Pimpinella anisum on the behavior of Wistar rats exposed to mercury; Anti-ulcer property of methanol fraction of Callichilia subsessilis leaf extract in albino rats; Nesting tree selection by scattered heronry birds of drought prone Northern Bankura, West Bengal, India: preference of Phoenix sylvestris near wetland-associated habitats; Explants selection for in vitro propagation of Pachyrhizus erosus L.; Silene thymifolia Sibth. et Sm. (Caryophyllaceae) – A vulnerable species in Romania: Anatomical aspects of vegetative organs.

Announcement: From Volume 13, Issue 1, 2021, Notulae Scientia Biologicae journal will use article numbers in place of the traditional method of continuous pagination through the volume. This step helps us to maintain a rapid, efficient production process by being able to define pagination as soon as a paper is accepted.
For papers that use article numbers, the page number of full-text articles will start from 1 to the last page and the citation needs only to list the article number, consequently, instead of the classic style of the journal citation.
A descriptive study of United States bleeding disorders camps
Authors: Santaella Maria E. , Nichols Cynthia , Witkop Michelle 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

Background
Disease-specific camps present one means of helping children overcome the challenges associated with chronic conditions and improving clinical and psychosocial outcomes. For more than 50 years, bleeding disorders camps (BDCs) in the United States (US) have been promoting independence, self-care, and leadership skills in children with bleeding disorders, all while fostering camaraderie in a secure and safe environment. However, little is known about how BDCs are organised, administered, funded, staffed, or how staff are compensated.

Aim
This article aims to describe the attributes of BDCs that service the US bleeding disorders community, and to compare and contrast these attributes to identify gaps in the BDC system and areas for improvement.

Methods
The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), in collaboration with several members of its Nursing Working Group and Physical Therapy Working Group, developed a survey that was distributed to BDC administrators (CAs) and health care providers (HCPs).

Results
A total of 101 HCPs and 20 CAs completed the survey. Findings indicated that BDCs are an informal extension of both the HTCs and NHF chapters, reaffirming that camps play a crucial role in the overall care of bleeding disorders. In general, diminishing financial resources threaten the existence of BDCs. Although there are BDC guidelines for formal staff training and specific interventions delivered to camp participants, adherence is variable. Other gaps included minimal self-infusion education follow-up with no documentation on effect or benefit of infusion education provided at camp.

Conclusion
Addressing the gaps identified by this survey and documenting resultant data supporting the value of BDCs will facilitate their continued sustainability in light of increasingly limited funding.