bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Backbone 1H, 13C, and 15N chemical shift assignments for human SERF2
Authors: Sahoo Bikash R. , Subramanian Vivekanandan , Bardwell James C.A. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Human small EDRK-rich factor protein SERF2 is a cellular driver of protein amyloid formation which has been linked to many different neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. SERF2 though tiny (59 residues) and highly charged, its structure and physiological function remains unexplored. SERF family proteins including human SERF2 is shown a tendency to form fuzzy complexes with misfolded proteins such as α-Synuclein which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. SERF family proteins have been recently identified to bind nucleic acids, but the binding mechanism(s) remain enigmatic. Here, using multidimensional solution NMR, we report the 1H, 15N, and 13C chemical shift assignments (~86 % of backbone resonance assignments) for human SERF2. TALSO-N predicted secondary structure of SERF2 showed three short-helix (3-4 residues long) at N-terminus and a long (region 37-46) which correlates to SERF2’s helical structure observed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR analysis revealed a short C-terminal region E53-K55 is spatially oriented in the proximity of the N-terminus. The backbone assignment of SERF2 led us to probe its interaction with α-Synuclein and identifying key binding interfaces in SERF2 that promote α-Synuclein aggregation.
Wind Speed Probability Distribution and Parameter Estimation Methods
Authors: Fu Bin , Fan Guangyu , Wang Yanru , Zhang Maoyu , Zheng Shuqin 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A proper wind speed probability distribution model and an appropriate parameter estimation method can greatly improve the accuracy of prediction by indicators of wind energy. Therefore, in this paper, four groups of wind speed data were collected over a year from different altitudes in 2 typical coastal areas of Zhejiang Province, and then fitted by five wind speed probability distribution models, including Weibull, Rayleigh, Gamma, logarithmic normal and Inverse Gaussian distributions. After verification by multiple goodness-of-fit indicators, it was found that Weibull distribution was the optimal model for fitting the wind speed in the studied regions. The maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method, power density (PD) method, moment method (MM), empirical method of Justus (EMJ), alternative maximum likelihood method (AMLM) and least-squares method (GM) were then used to calculate Weibull parameters at the four different places and for fitting accuracy analysis. The results showed that MLE, PD and MM methods achieved highly similar results in each of the goodness-of-fit indicators. Moreover, the Weibull distribution obtained by these three methods accorded better with the actual wind speed distribution, compared with that obtained by the other 3 methods.
Improved sequence-to-sequence ship trajectory prediction based on AIS
Authors: Yuan Junfeng , Fang Wenhao , Zhang Jilin , Yin Yuyu , Wan Jian , Wang Yinjie 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Due to the high density of ships and the complex traffic environment in coastal areas, developing ship trajectory prediction methods is an imperative task for effective collision avoidance. The performance of most previous methods is limited by the issues of regional discrepancy of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data and singularity in trajectory feature extraction. To address these two issues, this paper proposes an improved ship trajectory prediction framework based on AIS. The proposed framework mainly consists of two parts: (1) A trajectory data preprocessing module including the extraction of trajectories based on time and ship speed for imputing missing values based on which AIS data from different regions is normalized to keep the time interval consistency. (2) A sequence-to-sequence ship trajectory prediction model based on double CNNs called DCNN. The encoder of DCNN is composed of two parallel structures, namely the global temporal convolution and local temporal convolution, to extract both long-term and short-term dependencies of the ship trajectories. The decoder is composed of RNN and its variants which are used to generate the predicted ship trajectory sequence. The experimental results show that the proposed framework can effectively predict the ship's trajectory, so as to predict the ship encounter in different regional traffic modes in advance, and help the ship to actively avoid collision.
Productivity costs due to type 2 diabetes with or without co-occurring substance use disorders and depression – a register-based study
Authors: Kurkela Olli , Metso Saara , Forma Leena , Suokas Kimmo , Rissanen Pekka , Nevalainen Jaakko 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Background This study assessed the productivity costs and their progression with age among people with type 2 diabetes with or without co-occurring substance use disorders and depression.Methods The FinDM (Diabetes in Finland) database was searched for working age people with type 2 diabetes aged 30 or older (N = 377,560) and for possibly co-occurring comorbidities between 1998 and 2017. Annual productivity costs were estimated for each person using the friction cost and human capital methods. To analyse the age progression of annual mean costs and the impacts of type 2 diabetes and the comorbidity diagnoses on the costs piecewise linear regression models allowing for the divergence in costs at the times of diagnoses were employed. Two scenarios representing the progression of annual mean costs in typical (age 57) and early-onset (age 42) type 2 diabetes with or without co-occurring comorbidities were presented.Results People with type 2 diabetes and both comorbidities exhibited over sevenfold annual productivity costs at age 45 compared to those without these diagnoses (€6,320 vs €856). This difference decreased towards the statutory retirement age (63 years). Each additional year of age led to an increase of €29 in annual mean costs, however, reaching age 50 initiated an additional annual increase of €180. An additional year with type 2 diabetes, substance use disorder, and depression diagnosis contributed an additional €53, €195, and €202 to the annual mean costs, respectively. The early-onset scenario illustrated a divergence in costs among people with and without type 2 diabetes compared to those not yet diagnosed with the disease. The co-occurring comorbidities substantially amplified this divergence in mean annual costs. The human capital method provided nearly 10-fold larger estimates compared to the friction cost method at the cost peak at age 62.Conclusions Results show that co-occurring substance use disorders and depression substantially amplify productivity costs among people with type 2 diabetes. The results highlight the importance of identifying high-risk individuals and allocating the health care resources for their holistic and multidisciplinary care to sustain their work ability.
Inequality and conspiracy beliefs
Authors: Becchetti Leonardo , Bellucci Davide , Pisani Fabio 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Around one third of Europeans are conspiracy believers. Using European Social Survey data, we find that income inequality is an important driver of political, scientific and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, with regional inequality being positively and significantly correlated with conspiracy beliefs at individual level. Believers argue significantly more that the local government should address income inequality problems, while it is not doing enough for them. Furthermore, average sample moods about government commitment on inequality at regional level are significantly and positively correlated with conspiracy beliefs, even after controlling for individual opinions. Instrumental variable approaches suggest that the observed correlation hides a causality link. Our findings identify a novel underinvestigated effect of income inequality and suggest another positive effect of policies aimed at reducing it.
JEL numbers: A13, A14.
Awareness-based Choice Selection:
Improving Decision-making Efficiency by Using Known Information
Authors: Farhadi Ashkan 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Background
Consciousness is usually interpreted as a state of being aware of one’s environment as well as oneself. According to the trilogy theory of consciousness, consciousness is primarily guided by two new mental functions—awareness-based choice selection (ABCS) and discretionary selection of information for awareness (DSIA) or intentional attention—which may play a role in choice selection during decision making.
Method
To test whether ABCS and DSIA could improve choice selection efficiency, 204 participants were recruited using social media platforms to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey was designed to examine the role of subtle hints and cues in guiding participants’ attention toward a particular subject of awareness, and this in return would increase the likelihood of selecting a correct choice among the proposed options, thereby enhancing the decision-making efficacy.
Results
Participants’ attention could be successfully drawn to a particular subject matter (DSIA) on 59 − 73% of the occasions. In addition, using ABCSs increased the efficiency of selecting a correct choice among the presented options. The analyses further revealed a gap between selecting a choice during the decision-making process and selecting a choice during execution, which is indicative of an appropriation process.
Conclusion
The present study showed that sheer knowledge of facts may not be sufficient for selecting a correct choice among presented options effectively. However, as ABCSs improve choice selection efficiency, they play an instrumental role in determining the subject of awareness, indirectly supporting the notion of DSIA.
Effect of the Music Intervention on the Anxiety of Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: babaoglu elcin , caglar mehtap gungor 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Introduction: Anxiety is very common in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. There are lots of methods to reduce anxiety such as sedatives, and analgesics. However, these methods have some adverse effects. Previous studies show that music interventions have a positive impact on anxiety. In this study, it was aimed to study the effect of music intervention on anxiety in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.Material-Method: The data were collected by using a patient sociodemographic form, patient monitoring form, Ramsey Sedation Scale, Glasgow Coma Scale, Face Anxiety Scale, and State Anxiety Inventory. Music was played to the patients of the experience group for 60 minutes with an Mp3 player and earphones. Data were collected before listening to the music, at the 30. minutes, at the 60. minutes of listening and 30 minutes after listening. State Anxiety Inventory was assessed before listening to the music and 30 minutes after listening was finished (90. minutes).Results It was found that music intervention affected the positive anxiety symptoms of the patients. Diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, State anxiety, and facial anxiety scores positively influenced and decreased these values.Conclusion It was concluded that music intervention can be used as a useful intervention in the management of anxiety in patients who receiving mechanical ventilation.
Closing the income gap: The mediating effect of financial inclusion in the linkage between technological advancement and income inequality in BRICS economies
Authors: suhrab muhammad , Pinglu Chen , Qian Ningyu 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This study examines the relationship between technological advancement and income inequality in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) with a particular focus on the mediating role of financial inclusion. Employing statistical techniques such as two-stage least squares regression and principal component analysis, the research analyzes data from reliable sources between 2011 and 2021. The findings indicate a negative relationship between technological progress and income inequality, suggesting that as technology advances, income gaps will narrow slightly. Furthermore, the study reveals a positive relationship between technological advancement and financial inclusion, as well as a negative impact of financial inclusion on income inequality. These results have significant implications for policymakers, emphasizing the importance of promoting financial inclusivity to reduce income inequality in these countries. However, the study also acknowledges certain limitations and suggests future research to consider controlling for other potential factors and conducting longitudinal studies to better understand the dynamic relationship between these variables.
Comparing retro-cue benefit mechanisms in visual working memory: Completely valid vs. highly valid retro-cues
Authors: Liu Qiang , Fu Kai , Guo Lijing , Ye Chaoxiong 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Visual working memory (VWM) plays a crucial role in temporarily maintaining and manipulating visual information. Retro-cue benefit (RCB) refers to enhancement in memory performance when attention is directed toward a subset of items within VWM after their initial encoding. Our recent EEG studies have indicated that cue validity can influence the mechanisms underlying RCB formation, but previous research has not investigated whether differences exist in the RCB formation mechanisms between completely valid and highly valid cue conditions. This study aims to examine the consistency of RCB mechanisms when retro-cues are completely valid (100% cue validity), compared with highly valid (80% cue validity). We manipulated retro-cue validity in our experiments and examined cognitive processing mechanisms under different cue validity conditions using EEG technology. We focused on the N2pc component, reflecting attentional resource allocation, and the contralateral delay activity (CDA) component, reflecting quantity of information retained in VWM. The results, encompassing both behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) findings, demonstrate that participants in both the 100% and 80% cue validity conditions exhibit robust RCB. Notably, the degree of RCB remains consistent between these conditions, indicating that participants utilize retro-cues to enhance VWM performance to the same extent. In the 80% cue validity condition, a significant retro-cue cost (RCC) is observed, suggesting that participants selectively eliminate uncued items from VWM. In invalid trials of this condition, response accuracy drops to chance levels, supporting the removal hypothesis. ERP results reveal that attentional resource allocation patterns (N2pc) and the quantity of information retained in VWM (CDA) remain uniform across cue validity conditions. The mechanism responsible for RCB formation appears to involve an all-or-nothing process of discarding uncued information rather than a flexible resource allocation strategy. This study provides insights into the attention allocation and information-processing mechanisms in VWM, suggesting that conclusions drawn from tasks with completely valid retro-cues can be integrated with findings from highly valid cue tasks. These findings also shed light on internal attentional resource allocation flexibility during RCB formation, as well as contribute to our understanding of attention processes in VWM.
Six-minute walk test as a predictor for intraoperative anesthesia complications: a prospective cohort at a tertiary hospital, southwestern Uganda
Authors: Ssenyonjo Moses , Kwikiriza Andrew , Migisha Richard 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Background
The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is an indicator of a patient's overall cardiovascular and respiratory health. It is an inexpensive, and reproducible preoperative risk assessment tool that has been extensively employed to predict post-operative complications in various patient populations. There are limited data as to whether the 6MWT can predict intraoperative anesthesia complications. We determined the incidence of intraoperative complications and evaluated the association between the distance covered during the 6MWT and the incidence of intraoperative complications.
Methods
We conducted a prospective cohort study at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital from January 17, 2023 to May 19, 2023, among patients who underwent elective surgeries. The intraoperative complications of interest were hypotension (≥ 20% reduction in mean arterial pressure [MAP]), hypertension (≥ 20% increase in MAP), bradycardia and hypoxia. Prior to surgery patients underwent a 6MWT; a distance ≤ 325 meters was considered short. Additional data were collected on patients’ sociodemographic, and medical characteristics using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. We performed log-binomial regression to determine the association between the distance covered during the 6MWT and incidence of intraoperative complications.
Results
We enrolled 169 participants with a median age of 41 years (IQR, 30–55 years); 123 (72.8%) were female. Of the 169 participants, 80 (47.3%) experienced hypotension, 66 (39.1%) experienced bradycardia, 58 (34.3%) experienced hypertension, 11 (6.6%) developed hypoxia, while 6 (3.6%) experienced post-extubation desaturation. The incidence of intraoperative complications was 1.4 times higher (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.18–1.77, p < 0.001) among patients who walked ≤ 325 meters preoperatively than those who walked > 325 meters preoperatively.
Conclusion
The study identified hypotension and bradycardia as the predominant intraoperative complications, affecting over one-third of the participants. Importantly, a short six-minute walk distance independently predicted a higher incidence of intraoperative anesthesia complications. These findings underscore the potential value of routinely employing the 6MWT in preoperative assessments, particularly in low-resource settings, to identify patients at risk of intraoperative complications. Implementing this simple and cost-effective tool could lead to better patient outcomes and improved perioperative care.
A Knowledge-Based Approach for Recognizing Textual Entailments with a Focus on Causality and Contradiction
Authors: Rahimi Zeinab , ShamsFard Mehrnoush 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

There is usually implicit information in natural language texts that can be deduced from the text using background or common-sense knowledge. Recognition of textual entailments falls into this category. It involves receiving two pieces of text and deciding whether the second one entails or contradicts the first one, or if there is no such relation between the two. One of the types of entailment is causality, where the event or situation in one text can cause the event or situation in another text. The aim of this paper is to improve textual entailment by identifying causality and contradiction relationships between pieces of text using knowledge sources. To achieve this, we employ a knowledge-based method that recognizes textual entailments through the use of linguistic and common-sense knowledge (ontologies), with a particular emphasis on implicit or ambiguous causal and contradictory relationships. For this purpose, we first developed two ontologies, including causality and contradiction relations among concepts. Then, two concurrent paths in a pipeline are traversed. In the first path, a rule-based system is utilized to identify simple contradiction relations. The rules are extracted semi-automatically through data mining methods. In the second path, the provided knowledge of causality and contradiction is injected into language models using prompt engineering. Subsequently, the enriched language models undergo fine-tuning with entailment datasets to carry out textual entailment tasks. The results indicate that the combination of the rule-based method and enriched models with causality and contradiction knowledge yields the best performance. Our leading system demonstrates an accuracy of 87.5% on RTE tasks, trained and tested on the FarsTail dataset. This reflects a notable 3.5% improvement over baselines and state-of-the-art systems.
Femtosecond Laser Writing of Photonic Crystal in LiNbO3 Crystal
Authors: Ahmad Ahmad Kamal , Mohammed Miami 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A numerical investigation of depressed cladding photonic crystal PC that has been buried in bulk lithium niobate crystal material by direct femtosecond (fs) laser writing. The leading guide of light propagation is elucidated through the photonic crystal that is embedded in a lithium niobate. The induced refractive index, confinement losses, and dispersion are numerically calculated according to the orientation of the crystal and the structure geometry of the PC. This structure supports single and highly multimode TE and TM wave guidance at the communication wavelength 1.55µm. We realized that the confinement losses are less than 1dB/cm for both polarizations, and the transmission properties appear good for several PC applications.
Accounting for goodwill: reflections historical, conceptual and comparative review
Authors: Calado João Eudes de Souza , Matias-Pereira José 
Published: January 2024

Purpose: The purpose is to make reflections from a historical, conceptual and comparative review on goodwill in one hundred years of accounting theory, still considered a difficult topic with the theoretical and normative evolution.
Methodology: Theoretical essay produced from an integrative qualitative literature review. It presents the theoretical evolution and challenges observed by theorists and regulators since the seminal study “Accounting Theory” by William Paton (1922).
Results: The relevance attributed to goodwill goes far beyond the concepts and criteria for recognition and measurement. Its interpretation and processing are influenced by cognitive aspects, economic interests, and in a moment of economic crisis, debates on the topic are intensified, motivated by stakeholders’ concerns, regulators and theorists, the same in one hundred years of evolution. So, the future of goodwill is undefined.
Contributions of the Study: The historical and comparative analysis, limited in the choice of the references on the subject, contributes to confirm the subjectivity and absence of conceptual, normative and practical consensus for goodwill, thus there aren't right or wrong among theorists and regulators. The scenario of high volatility in the capital markets during Covid-19 pandemic, for example, arose new theoretical discussions about the quantum and multidisciplinary dimension and the possible return of Accounting practices used in the past. Therefore, the relevance of goodwill requires that not only regulators establish rules, but that theoretical and practical ethically contribute to the debate.