bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shareholding strategies: long-term emission reduction in a power battery supply chain
Authors: Wang Wenbin , Guan Jie , Mao Zhanpeng , Ding Xiang 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Utilizing the decision model in which neither the power battery producer (PB-producer) nor the new energy vehicle manufacturer (NEV-manufacturer) holds shares as a benchmark, we construct three differential game models with forward shareholding of PB-producer, backward shareholding of NEV-manufacturer, and cross-shareholding of both parties to explore the impact of different shareholding strategies between upstream and downstream firms in a power battery supply chain on the long-term emission reduction decision, the low-carbon advertising input decision, power battery emission reduction level trajectory, low carbon goodwill trajectory, and firm’s profits. The results indicate that: i) if the PB-producer or NEV-manufacturer hold shares in one direction, it only changes its decision variables, but not affects the decision variables of supply chain partners, while if the cross-shareholding is made, the decision level of the firm is higher than that in the one-way shareholding and firms without shareholdings; ii) any shareholding strategies increase the low-carbon goodwill, and if the cross-shareholding is made, the goodwill is the highest; iii) one-way shareholding promotes the profit of the shareholder, and if the marginal profit of the stakeholder is small, the overall profit of the stakeholder will be lower; iv) there exist certain conditions that make the firm’s profit under the cross-shareholding strategy is higher than that under the unidirectional shareholding strategy; v) the variation of emission reduction level, low carbon goodwill and firm’s profits converge to the steady state level over time, and the steady state values are independent of their initial values, which are related to the shareholding strategy in the power battery supply chain. This paper providers management implications for choosing shareholding strategies to improve emission reduction level, low carbon goodwill, and firm’s profits in the power battery supply chain.
Nonlinear dynamics of a dual-rotor-bearing system with active elastic support dry friction dampers
Authors: Ouyang Xu , Cao Shuqian , Li Guanwu 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

In present study, the modified harmonic balance-alternating frequency/time domain (HB-AFT) method with embedded arc-length continuation method is used to study the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the dual-rotor-bearing system with active elastic support dry friction damper (ESDFD). The friction on the contact interface between ESDFD moving and stationary disks is described by a two-dimensional (2D) friction contact model. The dynamic model of the dual-rotor is established by the conical Timoshenko beam element and the rigid disk element, while the inter-shaft bearing force is obtained by the Hertz contact model. The reduced order model (ROM) of dual-rotor system is constructed by the Craig-Bampton method. Based on the ROM, the modified HB-AFT method with embedded arc-length continuation procedure is used to solve the periodic solutions of the dual-rotor system under unbalanced excitation. The Floquet theory is employed to determine the stability of periodic solutions. The impact of key parameters such as Hertz contact stiffness and radial clearance of inter-shaft bearing, eccentricity of disk, and modal damping ratio on the primary resonance characteristics and inter-shaft bearing dynamic load of the dual-rotor system are revealed without considering the ESDFD. With considering the ESDFD, the influence of ESDFD normal force on the primary resonance peak and inter-shaft bearing dynamic load of the dual-rotor system is investigated. The optimal normal force and controllable region for ESDFD to control the vibration of the dual-rotor system under the target mode is determined. A control strategy based on altering the normal force within the controllable region is designed. Results show that under the proposed control strategy, the damping effect provided by ESDFD significantly reduces the vibration amplitude of the dual-rotor system and mitigates the dynamic load of the inter-shaft bearing when passing through the resonance region, completely suppresses the bi-stable phenomenon and vibration jump behavior of the dual-rotor system. Thereby reducing the structural damage caused by excessive vibration. This demonstrates promising engineering applications for ESDFD.
DAP12 deficiency alters microglia-oligodendrocyte communication and enhances resilience against tau toxicity
Authors: Luo Wenjie , Chen Hao , Fan Li , Guo Qi , Wong Man Ying , Yu Fangmin , Foxe Nessa , Wang Winston , Nessim Aviram , Carling Gillian , Liu Bangyan , Lopez-Lee Chloe , Huang Yige , Amin Sadaf , Mok Sue-Ann , Song Won-min , Zhang Bin , Ma Qin , Fu Hongjun , Gan Li 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Pathogenic tau accumulation fuels neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Enhancing aging brain’s resilience to tau pathology would lead to novel therapeutic strategies. DAP12 (DNAX-activation protein 12) is critically involved in microglial immune responses. Previous studies have showed that mice lacking DAP12 in tauopathy mice exhibit higher tau pathology but are protected from tau-induced cognitive deficits. However, the exact mechanism remains elusive. Our current study uncovers a novel resilience mechanism via microglial interaction with oligodendrocytes. Despite higher tau inclusions, Dap12 deletion curbs tau-induced brain inflammation and ameliorates myelin and synapse loss. Specifically, removal of Dap12 abolished tau-induced disease-associated clusters in microglia (MG) and intermediate oligodendrocytes (iOli), which are spatially correlated with tau pathology in AD brains. Our study highlights the critical role of interactions between microglia and oligodendrocytes in tau toxicity and DAP12 signaling as a promising target for enhancing resilience in AD.
Texture-based speciation of otitis media-related bacterial biofilms from optical coherence tomography images using supervised classification.
Authors: Boppart Stephen , Zaki Farzana , Monroy Guillermo , Shi Jindou , Sudhir Kavya 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Otitis media (OM) is primarily a bacterial middle-ear infection prevalent among children worldwide. In recurrent and/or chronic OM cases, antibiotic-resistant bacterial biofilms can develop in the middle ear. A biofilm related to OM typically contains one or multiple bacterial strains, the most common include Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been used clinically to visualize the presence of bacterial biofilms in the middle ear. This study used OCT to compare microstructural image texture features from primary bacterial biofilms in vitro and in vivo. The proposed method applied supervised machine-learning-based frameworks (SVM, random forest (RF), and XGBoost) to classify and speciate multiclass bacterial biofilms from the texture features extracted from OCT B-Scan images obtained from in vitro cultures and from clinically-obtained in vivo images from human subjects. Our findings show that optimized SVM-RBF and XGBoost classifiers can help distinguish bacterial biofilms by incorporating clinical knowledge into classification decisions. Furthermore, both classifiers achieved more than 95% of AUC (area under receiver operating curve), detecting each biofilm class. These results demonstrate the potential for differentiating OM-causing bacterial biofilms through texture analysis of OCT images and a machine-learning framework, which could provide additional clinically relevant data during real-time in vivo characterization of ear infections.
Prediction Model for Complete Characteristic of Pump as Turbine by Hybrid Approach Using Ensemble Regression Model and Polynomial Regression
Authors: Painter Rahulkumar , Dhamija Atul , Doshi Ashish , Bade Mukund 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Centrifugal pumps operated in reverse mode (popularly called pump as turbine (PAT)) are well-established as green energy converters, mainly used in micro-hydro applications due to their lower capital cost. However, the appropriate selection of the pump for reverse-mode application is a critical issue due to not availability of its characteristic curve. Therefore, various researchers have proposed models to prediction PAT parameters from pump characteristics based on diverse approaches. Still, there is hardly any model which can predict the head and flow rates for the PAT with less than 20 % deviation in both of them. This work proposes a novel approach to predict the characteristics of PAT with the integration of ensemble regression modelling for Best Efficiency Point (BEP) and from it, by polynomial equations complete characteristics curve. The data from in-house experiments and open literatures were used to develop the proposed model excluding the data of four-pumps, which are typically used for validation of this proposed model. The predicted parameters of PAT from pump characteristics show good agreement for four selected PATs with less than 10% maximum deviation. Compared to the literature prediction models, it shows a lower deviation for same 4 PATs. A case study based on the field data is carried out to justify the applicability. It reveals that by using this model selected pump when operated in PAT will produce higher power and generate more revenue compared to literature models. Though the difference is lower, for a large number of PATs it will be significantly higher.
Comparative Analysis of Muscle Energy Technique and Hamstring Nordic Lower on YMCA Sit and Reach Box in Young Athletes of Pakistan: A Study on Flexibility Enhancement Cross Over Randomized Clinical Trial Nct06012344
Authors: Bhutta Abdul Haseeb , AWAN WAQAR AHMED , IJAZ MUHAMMAD JUNAID , SHAIKH MUHAMMAD UMAIR , HANEEF KINZA , Bhutta Nimra Ilyas , GHAFOOR FAISAL , SHAH SALEH , IBRAHIM UMAR , CHAUDHARY FATIMA 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background:Flexibility is an important factor in athletic performance, injury prevention, and functional movement. The Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and the Hamstring Nordic Lower exercise are commonly used interventions to improve hamstring flexibility. However, limited research has compared their effects, particularly using the YMCA Sit and Reach Box test.Objective:This study aimed to compare the effects of the Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and the Hamstring Nordic Lower exercise on hamstring flexibility, as assessed by the YMCA Sit and Reach Box test.Methods:Sixty athletes with hamstring tightness participated in a triple-blinded randomized clinical trial with a crossover study design. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: MET group (including Post-Isometric Relaxation and Post-Facilitation Stretch), Hamstring Nordic Lower group, or control group. Each group received their respective intervention for one month, with daily sessions in 3 phases. Pre- and post-intervention measurements of hamstring flexibility were obtained using the YMCA Sit and Reach Box test. Secondary outcomes included perceived discomfort and participant satisfaction.2 way ANOVA test was applied in SPSS version 29Results:Demographic characteristics were similar among the three groups. The effects of the interventions on hamstring flexibility, perceived discomfort, and participant satisfaction are currently being analyzed, and the results showed PFS group in all 3 phases shows highest improvement, followed by PIR , and least improvement was shown by HNL group in three groups with 3 phases.Conclusion:This study employed a triple-blinded randomized clinical trial with a crossover study design to compare the effects of the Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and the Hamstring Nordic Lower exercise on hamstring flexibility. PFS techniques suggested to be the best exercise for prevention of eccentric tightness induced muscle injuries and performance complications. Followed by PIR and least improvement showed by HNL.t The findings contribute to the existing knowledge on optimizing hamstring flexibility and may have practical implications for sports medicine professionals, physical therapists, and strength and conditioning specialists..
Role of vitamin D in activity and severity of inflammatory bowel disease in Egyptian patients
Authors: Gadallah Abdel Naser Abdel Atty , Dala Ashraf Gharieb , Badr Eman Abdel Fattah , Abdelmonsef Mohamed Abdelmonaem , Shabaan Mohamed Ebrahem , Elbasuony Hany Abdelbary Abdelaziz 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Background and aim: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) comprise ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), which are chronical and recurrent disorders that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosing IBD requires a combination of clinical findings, inflammatory laboratory markers, imaging findings, and endoscopic biopsies. Vitamin D deficiency is generally higher in patients with CD than UC and usually higher than that of the general population. This study aims to evaluate the role of vitamin D in activity and severity of inflammatory bowel disease in Egyptian patients.
Methods: Our study was conducted on 62 IBD (UC and CD) naïve patients and 31 normal persons from the GI endoscopy unit of internal medicine department, Menoufia university hospital during the period between November 2021 and June 2023. All participants were subjected to history taking, clinical examination and routine lab investigations. Serum vitamin D level was also measured.
Results: This study showed highly significant difference between studied groups as regard serum vitamin D level with low level of vitamin D in IBD patients. Vitamin D is associated with different IBD activity status.
Conclusion: Vitamin D is associated with different IBD activity status and its deficiency is highly prevalent among IBD patients.
Multimodal Fine-Grained Grocery Product Recognition using Image and OCR Text
Authors: Pettersson Tobias , Riveiro Maria , Löfström Tuwe 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Automatic recognition of grocery products can be used to improve customer flow at checkouts and reduce labor costs and store losses. Product recognition is, however, a challenging task for machine learning-based solutions due to the large number of products and their variations in appearance. In this work, we tackle the challenge of fine-grained product recognition by first extracting a large dataset from a grocery store containing products that are only differentiable by subtle details. Then, we propose a multimodal product recognition approach that uses product images with extracted OCR text from packages to improve fine-grained recognition of grocery products. We evaluate several image and text models separately and then combine them using different multimodal models of varying complexities. The results show that image and textual information complement each other in multimodal models and enable a classifier with greater recognition performance than unimodal models, especially when the number of training samples is limited. Therefore, this approach is suitable for many different scenarios in which product recognition is used to further improve recognition performance.
A bi-level energy-efficient optimization method for urban railway train speed profile and timetable with an extended solution space
Authors: Pu Qian , Shen Haikuo , Zhu Liqiang , Zhu Xiaomin , Chen Hongtian 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Energy consuµption is one of the key topics of urban railway systeµs froµ the perspective of operating costs and environµental friendliness. Interstation speed profile and tiµetable optiµization are two µain µeans to achieve energy saving. A bi-level energy-efficient optiµization µethod is proposed in this study to associate the advantages of speed profile optiµization and tiµetable optiµization and reinforce the optiµization effect. Firstly, for lower-level optiµization, an interstation speed profile optiµization µodel is built based on µultiple running scheµes, and a µulti-objective evolutionary algorithµ coµbined with an analytic function is proposed to obtain Pareto front solutions. Then, for upper-level optiµization, an energy-efficient tiµetable optiµization µodel is constructed based on Pareto front solutions of each running section acquired froµ lower-level optiµization. Accordingly, the solving µethod with an evolutionary algorithµ is proposed to µiniµize total net energy consuµption. Finally, the case study of the Yizhuang line shows the effectiveness of the proposed µethod and 27.56% overall energy saved. Lastly, the results with different scenes revealed the influence of each level optiµization on the overall results.
Socio-demographic variables affect the management and administration of opioid agonists in patients under medication for addiction treatment during pandemic
Authors: Leventelis Christonikos , Barmpas Petros T. , Tasoulis Sotiris , Katsouli Alexandra , Stavropoulos Vasileios , Karasavvidou Anna , Papadopoulos Panagiotis , Veskoukis Aristidis S. , Tsironi Maria 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
The pandemic crisis and the restriction measures applied detrimentally affected several aspects of life of patients under medication for addiction treatment (MAT), potentially influencing the management and administration of methadone and buprenorphine. In total, 444 patients were divided into two groups based on medication and completed an anonymous self-reported Pandemic Medication-Assisted Treatment Questionnaire (PANMAT/Q) to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management and administration of MAT. The findings revealed that “Mood”, “Sociability”, and “Substitute administration and pandemic measures” were affected more in patients taking methadone than in those taking buprenorphine. The variables, namely, “Age”, “Place of residence”, “Years attending MAT”, “Living in high-risk area for SARS-CoV-2 infection” and “Educational status”, were correlated with the dimensions “Mood” and “Sociability”, affecting the substance administration context. Sociodemographic variables play a key role in retention in treatment and prevention of drug-seeking behavior, influencing dimensions that mediate the management and administration of MAT during the pandemic outbreak.
Psychological Distress and Coping Strategies among Secondary School Teachers in a Divisional Secretariate, Sri Lanka
Authors: S Amathullah A. , Akuretiya S 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Secondary school teachers face more problems due to the misbehavior of pupils, curricula changes, demands placed on them to fulfil duties and responsibilities, difficulty in work-life balance, and the lack of teacher enhancement programs. These problems may cause anxiety, stress, depression, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Therefore, this research aimed to assess secondary school teachers' psychological distress and coping strategies.
Methods
A total of 164 secondary school teachers were selected using a convenience sampling strategy through snowball sampling from the Mawanella divisional secretariate. The participants completed the General Health Questionnaire-30 and the Brief COPE questionnaire, both of which have been validated in the Sri Lankan context. Spearman correlation and Man-Whitney U- Test were performed.
Results
The results showed that most (N = 162) secondary school teachers experience psychological distress and are affected by social dysfunction (M = 6.7). Simultaneously, the participants experienced anxiety (M = 5.6), loss of confidence (M = 4.8), depression (M = 2.9), and insomnia (M = 1.5). All participants used all three coping strategies; however, it was seen that all the participants mostly used avoidant coping strategies (M = 19). Furthermore, the results revealed that emotion-focused coping strategies reduced psychological distress in all the participants. Problem-focused coping strategies (p = 0.056) and avoidant coping strategies (p = 0.017) did not result in any changes in psychological distress in the participants. The Mann‒Whitney U Test showed no statistical significance between males and females in experiencing psychological distress (p = 0.130).
Conclusion
The participants experienced psychological distress, which was expressed through social dysfunction. Emotion-focused coping strategies were commonly used to address psychological distress. Furthermore, no gender difference was seen in experiencing psychological distress.
Self-Attention Factor-Tuning for Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning
Authors: Abohwo Jason 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Transformers have revolutionized the fields of natural language processing and computer vision - a result of their ability to capture long-range dependencies with their key innovation: the attention mechanism. Despite the success of these models, their growing complexity has led to an ever-increasing need for processing power, making their practical applications less feasible. In recent years, tensor decomposition based parameter-efficient fine-tuning techniques have emerged as a promising solution to the computational bottleneck. In this research, we investigate the use of a specialized version of Factor Tuning that focuses exclusively on tensor decomposition for attention layers, which we refer to as Self-Attention Factor-Tuning. This selective decomposition not only allows for more inter-layer weight redundancy reduction, but also improves the model's efficiency and scalability. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, we conduct experiments with Vision Transformers using several benchmark datasets for image classification. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework effectively reduces the number of parameters required to train a transformer, outperforming the original Factor-Tuning paradigm as well as various other state-of-the-art techniques such as Low-Rank Adaptation whilst using significantly less parameters.
A draft Arab pangenome reference
Authors: Uddin Mohammed , Nassir Nasna , Almarri Mohamed , Kumail Muhammad , Mohamed Nesrin , Balan Bipin , Hanif Shehzad , AlObathani Maryam , Jamalalail Bassam , Elsokary Hanan , Kondaramage Dasuki , Shiyas Suhana , Kosaji Noor , Satsangi Dharana , Abdelmotagali Madiha , Tayoun Ahmad , Ahmed Olfat , Youssef Douaa , Suwaidi Hanan , Albanna Ammar , Plessis Stefan , Khansaheb Hamda , Alsheikh-Ali Alawi 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Human pangenomes provide a comprehensive portrayal of genetic diversity of humans, yet it lacks representation of Arab populations. We constructed the Arab Pangenome Reference (APR) from 43 individuals with diverse Arab ethnicities. Nuclear and mitochondrial pangenomes were constructed utilizing 35.52X High fidelity long reads and 53.54X ultra-long reads. This yielded high-quality contiguous (average N50=106.81 Mb) de novo assemblies that used over 99% of the sequences constructing haplotype phased diploid genome assemblies with 88% exhibited larger genome length (average 3.01 gigabase) than the prevailing human reference GRCh38. We discovered 100.93 million base pairs of novel euchromatic sequences that were not present in recent human pangenomes and in the human genome references (T2T-CHM13 and GRCh38). We identified 10.68 million population-specific small variants, 108,709 structural variants, and 838 genes (13.24% recessive disease genes) duplication from the Arab pangenome. On exploring the mitochondria pangenome, we uncovered 718 bp of novel sequences. Our study provides a valuable resource for future genetic research and genomic medicine initiatives in the Arab populations and other populations with similar genetic backgrounds.