bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spatiotemporal distribution of Anopheles stephensi in different eco-epidemiological settings in Ethiopia
Authors: Ashine Temesgen , Eyasu Adane , Asmamaw Yehenew , Simma Eba , Zemene Endalew , Epstein Adrienne , Brown Rebecca , Negash Nigatu , Kochora Abena , Reynolds Alison M. , Bulto Mikiyas Gebremichael , Tafesse Temesgen , Dagne Alemayehu , Lukus Biniyam , Esayas Endashaw , Behaksra Sinknesh Wolde , Woldekidan Kidist , Dillu Dereje , Assefa Gudissa , Solomon Hiwot , Zeynudin Ahmed , Massebo Fekadu , Sedda Luigi , Donnelly Martin James , Wilson Anne L. , Weetman David , Gadisa Endalamaw , Yewhalaw Delenasaw 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
Malaria is a major public health concern in Ethiopia, and its incidence could worsen following the invasion of Anopheles stephensi. This study aimed to provide updates on the distribution of An. stephensi and likely household exposure in Ethiopia.
Methods
Entomological surveillance was performed in 26 urban settings from 2021 to 2023. A kilometer-by-kilometer quadrant was set per town and approximately 20 structures per quadrant were surveyed every three months. More intensive sampling was conducted in 50 randomly selected structures in 4 urban centers in 2022 and 2023 to assess household exposure to An. stephensi. Prokopack aspirators, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Light Traps (CDC LTs) were used to collect adult mosquitoes and standard dippers were used to collect immatures. Morphological keys and molecular methods were used for species identification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were used to assess Plasmodium infection and mosquito blood meal source.
Results
Catches of adult An. stephensi were generally low (0.15 per trap), and the species was detected in 8 of the 26 study sites, including Assosa: the first collection in this area of western Ethiopia. Anopheles stephensi was the predominant species in 4 of the 8 positive sites, with 75–100% relative abundance. Household-level exposure, defined as the percentage of houses with a peridomestic infestation with An. stephensi, ranged from 18% in Metehara to 30% in Danan. At most collection sites, An. arabiensis was the predominant species, which accounted for 42.9–100% of the Anopheles catches in 20 of the 26 study sites. The bovine blood index (BBI), ovine blood index (OBI), and human blood index (HBI) for An. stephensi was 69.2%, 32.3%, and 24.6%, respectively, and for An. arabiensis 65.4%, 46.7%, and 35.8%, respectively. None of the 194 An. stephensi were positive for Plasmodium, whilst of 1434 An. arabiensis, 62 were positive, 10 for P. falciparum and 52 for P. vivax.
Conclusions
Anopheles stephensi showed widespread distribution across Ethiopia. Strongly zoophagic behavior coupled with low adult catches, might explain the absence of Plasmodium infection. Level of household exposure varied across positive sites. Further research is needed to better understand its bionomics and contribution for malaria transmission.
Energy-Aware Drone Path Finding with a Fixed-Trajectory Ground Vehicle
Authors: Diller Jonathan , Han Qi 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

Rotary-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (commonly referred to as drones) are a versatile platform that can be used for many data collection applications including emergency response, environmental monitoring, surveillance, and many others. In this work, we investigate how to plan efficient paths that minimize mission completion time for drone data collection where the drone must rendezvous with a moving ground vehicle that cannot stop and wait for the drone. More importantly, we address the limited onboard energy storage issue by adapting drone speed. We propose a mixed-integer nonlinear program solution to solve this problem optimally and provide various alternative solutions. We evaluate these approaches in extensive simulations using real drone characteristics to highlight their trade-offs. We show that our proposed solutions can greatly reduce mission completion time when compared to other baseline approaches and demonstrate the importance of drone speed adaptation in path finding for drones. We also prototype our solution on a physical drone testbed to show how the problem setup can be applied practically.
BantuLM: Enhancing Cross-Lingual Learning in the Bantu Language Family
Authors: Mohamed Naira Abdou , Benelallam Imade , Bahafid Abdessalam , Erraji Zakarya 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

This paper outlines methods for improving Bantu languages through the application of Natural Language Processing techniques. We trained a Large Language Model known as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers for the understanding of 18 Bantu languages. More precisely, we pre-trained the model using an unsupervised corpus obtained using pseudo-labeling. This pre-training task aims to comprehend the latent structures of these languages owing to an attention mechanism that enables a deeper understanding of the context. We then conducted various experiments on five downstream tasks: Language Identification, Sentiment Analysis, News Classification, Named Entity Recognition and Text Summarization. Finally, we proposed to test the effectiveness of using multilingualism in a few closely related languages instead of leveraging a vast amount of data and multiple languages that are not necessarily related. In fact, we conducted experiments on unseen languages belonging to the Bantu family and we found that the model demonstrates better ability understanding them due to their similarities to the languages used for pre-training.
Inhibition of Dark Septate Endophyte Fungus Metabolites Against Oil Palm Basal Stem Rot Disease Caused by Ganoderma boninense.
Authors: Purba Fransiska Natalia , Nawangsih Abdjad Asih , Surono Surono , Tondok Efi Toding , Syabana Mohamad Ana , Lestari Mirta Adi 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

The extensification of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has been accompanied by an increase in the occurrence of Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma boninense. Biological control is one of the alternative efforts to suppress G. boninense infection by the application of biological control agents such as Dark Septate Endophyte (DSE) fungus. This research aimed to assess the potential of three DSE fungi metabolites to control G. boninense in oil palm trees and to detect the active ingredients contained therein. The abilities of filtrates from three DSE fungi, i.e. Cladophialophora nyingchiensis S5.1, Exophiala pisciphila S1.4, and Diaporthe pandanicola TM.1.1 were evaluated in vitro for their suppression to G. boninense at concentrations of 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, and 75% (v/v). Filtrates were also evaluated in vivo using oil palm seedlings with treatments consisting of positive and negative controls, once and/or twice applications of DSE filtrate with concentrations of 27% and 75%. At the end of the experiment, the seedlings were disassembled to evaluate the severity of internal symptoms. C. nyingchiensis S5.1 incubated in Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB) medium for two weeks produced most effective filtrate (code: S5.1) with IC55 value was the lowest, i.e. up to 43.78%. The filtrate of S5.1 at concentration of 75% caused the highest colony inhibition of G. boninense up to 88.63%. Twice applications with 75% of S5.1 filtrate significantly increase plant height and stem diameter. Filtrate isolate S5.1 contains metabolite compounds Linolein and 5- Oxoproline which can act as antifungals that play a role in inhibiting the growth of Ganoderma boninense.
Assessing Job Accessibility and Equity by Public Transport in the Four Largest Cities of Ohio
Authors: Tabassum Nusrat Jahan , Alam Md Saiful 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

Accessibility is the ease of reaching opportunities that have become a critical indicator and common goal in many transportation plans. Improving job accessibility can increase the probability of reducing unemployment and commutes of private vehicles. Therefore, this study aims to measure the job accessibility of Ohio's four largest cities (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo) within 30- and 45-min time thresholds and identifies the job accessibility condition among the vulnerable census tracts as they are the deprival groups who need good access to avail their jobs. Therefore, it also evaluates the vertical equity among the four cities. The results found that public transportation provides uneven distribution of job accessibility among four cities. All four cities can only meet around 27% of the population's job accessibility demand using public transport. If the travel time increases, job accessibility conditions improve using public transportation. However, most census tracts with high employment accessibility are located near the downtown areas of the four cities. Though Columbus is the largest city in Ohio, 47% of the population does not get good job accessibility using public transport and also cannot meet the demand of vulnerable census tracts. Furthermore, the equity gap is also high for Columbus. The study found inequality among the cities, and most of the city's Gini values are close to 1. It indicates that access to services (jobs) using public transport is not distributed properly, and disadvantaged people are not benefited. The study suggests that the improvement of public transit facilities is essential in the cities. Hence, the transportation authorities and other relevant organizations should focus on providing an equitable distribution of public transit facilities for availing services.
Microorganisms inhabiting the endo- and rhizosphere of <i>Hedysarum zundukii</i> (Fabaceae) endemic to the Baikal region
Authors: Vasilev I. A. , Krivenko D. A. , Petrushin I. S. , Kondratov I. G. , Ogarkov O. B. , Markova Yu. A. 
Published: December 2023

Bacteria provide plants with additional resistance to adverse environmental factors, such as the lack of soil nutrients, anthropogenic pollution, the presence of phytopathogens, etc. The search for valuable biotechnological strains should be conducted among microorganisms associated with plants growing under unfavorable conditions. The present study aims to isolate and characterize microorganisms inhabiting the endo- and rhizosphere of Hedysarum zundukii, a local endemic of the Olkhon region (Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast). A total of 88 microbial strains were isolated, with Gram-positive microorganisms predominating in both the rhizo- and endosphere. In the rhizosphere, the vast majority of strains were found to belong to actinomycetes. Of the 25 identified isolates, four belong to the Rhizobiaceae family. The Phyllobacterium zundukense rhizobacterium was previously described as part of the microbiome of root nodules in Oxytropis triphylla also growing in this region. Its detection in the rhizosphere soil of H. zundukii suggests that this microorganism is associated with different legume species rather than with a single host. Of particular interest are the strains of Actinomycetia, as well as Lysobacter sp. and Variovorax paradoxus, which are promising for further study as producers of biologically active compounds, stimulators of plant growth and development, or pollutant degraders. Thus, isolates from both the rhizosphere and endosphere of H. Zundukii may possess traits useful for biotechnology and require further study.
Methodology for selecting competing regions based on their specialization (using the example of the Amur region)
Authors: Vasilieva A. V. 
Published: December 2023

Purpose of the study. The paper presents the author’s methodology for selecting competing regions based on their specialization. The formation of a statistical set of competing regions is one of the stages of the methodology for managing the competitiveness of a region. The selection of competing regions precedes the stage of assessing the region’s competitiveness and identifying its competitive advantages. Ignoring the stage of selecting competing regions in the study of regional competitiveness leads to leveling out the differences between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in socio-economic conditions of development and reduces the possibility of making effective management decisions to increase the competitiveness of the country’s regions. The purpose of the paper is to improve the methodology for selecting competing regions based on their specialization.Materials and methods. In the process of achieving the goal, statistical methods of analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and the main array method were used. Calculations were made in SPSS Statistics and Excel programs. The paper used statistical data from Rosstat. To perform the calculations, GVA was considered in the Russian National Classifier of Types of Economic Activity2 structure for 2020.Results.The article improves the methodology for selecting competing regions based on their specialization. The method under consideration contains 7 stages. Its difference from the previous methodology is the addition of two stages: extracting factors of GVA shares or localization coefficients by type of economic activity of regions using factor analysis and clustering of regions based on selected factors. To test the methodology, localization coefficients were calculated by type of economic activity of the regions of the Russian Federation for 2020. Their descriptive statistics are presented. A set of competing regions has been formed for the Amur region. The region’s competitors are 11 regions of the country, in which “mining” and “construction” predominate.Conclusion. Solving the problem of forming a statistical set of competing regions is an important condition for the objectivity and reliability of the results of assessing the competitiveness of regions. The paper shows that the selection of competing regions must be carried out taking into account the specialization of the region, which is an expression of the level of socio-economic development of the region and its specifics. Dividing the totality of the country’s regions into homogeneous groups in accordance with their specialization allows for a qualitative analysis of the competitiveness of the regions within each individual group. The presented technique is universal, because its information base can be both the sectoral structure of the economy of the regions of the Russian Federation and the localization coefficients calculated on its basis, characterizing the specialization of the regions.
Microbubbles: Revolutionizing Biomedical Applications with Tailored
Therapeutic Precision
Authors: Kumar Mohit , Kumar Devesh , Chopra Shruti , Mahmood Syed , Bhatia Amit 
Published: December 2023

Background:
Over the past ten years, tremendous progress has been made in microbubble-based research
for a variety of biological applications. Microbubbles emerged as a compelling and dynamic tool in
modern drug delivery systems. They are employed to deliver drugs or genes to targeted regions of interest, and
then ultrasound is used to burst the microbubbles, causing site-specific delivery of the bioactive materials.

Objective:
The objective of this article is to review the microbubble compositions and physiochemical characteristics
in relation to the development of innovative biomedical applications, with a focus on molecular imaging
and targeted drug/gene delivery.

Methods:
The microbubbles are prepared by using various methods, which include cross-linking polymerization,
emulsion solvent evaporation, atomization, and reconstitution. In cross-linking polymerization, a fine
foam of the polymer is formed, which serves as a bubble coating agent and colloidal stabilizer, resulting from
the vigorous stirring of a polymeric solution. In the case of emulsion solvent evaporation, there are two solutions
utilized in the production of microbubbles. In atomization and reconstitution, porous spheres are created
by atomising a surfactant solution into a hot gas. They are encapsulated in primary modifier gas. After the addition
of the second gas or gas osmotic agent, the package is placed into a vial and sealed after reconstituting
with sterile saline solution.

Results:
Microbubble-based drug delivery is an innovative approach in the field of drug delivery that utilizes
microbubbles, which are tiny gas-filled bubbles, act as carriers for therapeutic agents. These microbubbles can
be loaded with drugs, imaging agents, or genes and then guided to specific target sites.

Conclusion:
The potential utility of microbubbles in biomedical applications is continually growing as novel
formulations and methods. The versatility of microbubbles allows for customization, tailoring the delivery system
to various medical applications, including cancer therapy, cardiovascular treatments, and gene therapy.
UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS Combined with Network Pharmacology, Molecular
Docking, and Animal Verification Reveals the Mechanism of Insomnia
Treatment by Shen Qi Wu Wei Zi Capsules
Authors: Bai Fengyun , Wang Jie , Xia Ning , Sun Ying , Xie Yundong , Zhao Chongbo , Sun Jing , Zhang Xiaofei 
Published: December 2023

Background:
Shen Qi Wu Wei Zi capsules (SQWWZ) are often used to treat
insomnia; however, the potential therapeutic mechanism is still unclear.

Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of
the Shen Qi Wu Wei Zi capsules on insomnia.

Methods:
The components of SQWWZ were identified using the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique in conjunction with relevant literature. Insomnia-related targets were searched in the GeneCards and DisGeNET databases, and the intersection targets were obtained using a Venn diagram. A component-target-insomnia network diagram was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.2
software. Core targets underwent GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Molecular docking techniques were employed to verify the key proteins involved in the pathway and their corresponding
compounds. Insomnia was induced in SD rats through the intraperitoneal injection of pchlorophenylalanine (DL-4-chlorophenylalanine, PCPA). The rats were treated orally with
SQWWZ, and the serum levels of 5-HT and GABA in each group were determined using ELISA.
Histological analysis of hippocampal tissue sections from the rats was performed using HE staining.

Results:
Using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and reviewing relevant literature, we identified 49 components of SQWWZ. Additionally, we obtained 1,043 drug targets and 367 insomnia-related
targets. Among these, 82 targets were found to be common to both drug and insomnia targets.
Following drug administration, rats in the treatment group exhibited a significant increase in the
serum levels of 5-HT and GABA. Moreover, histological analysis using HE staining revealed
neatly arranged hippocampal neuronal cells in the treated rats.

Conclusion:
The active components of SQWWZ had good inhibition of insomnia. This study
provides a reference and guidance for the in-depth study of SQWWZ for the treatment of insomnia.
Illness Anxiety Disorder and Distress among Female Medical and Nursing Students
Authors: Hawamdeh Sana , Moussa Fatchima L. , Al-Rawashdeh Sami , Hawamdih Sajidah Al , Moussa Mahaman. L. 
Published: December 2023

Objective:
This study aims to compare the prevalence of illness anxiety disorder (IAD) and distress between medical and nursing students and examine their associations with students' characteristics.

Methods:
Cross-sectional data were collected using the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI, for measuring IAD) and the Medical Students' Disease (MSD) Perception and Distress Scales.

Results:
Two hundred and sixteen Medical students and 250 Nursing students were recruited from a public female university in Saudi Arabia. Their mean age was 21.27 years. The findings showed that the overall prevalence of IAD (SHAI scores ≥18) among the total sample was 38.8%, with a significantly lower prevalence in medical students compared to the prevalence in nursing students (57.2% vs 17.6%, respectively, X2=45.26, p<.001). Nursing students had significantly higher SHAI scores and lower MSD Perception scores than medical college students, but there were no significant differences among them in the MSD Distress scale. Significant differences in the main study variables scores were reported among nursing students but not among medical students, with the fourth-year level nursing students having higher SHAI and lower MSD Perception and perception scores than other nursing students.

Conclusion:
The highlights that medical and nursing students are susceptible to developing anxiety-related disorders and distress that may have negative impacts on their academic achievements and future careers. Both nursing and medical faculty should help in identifying strategies to support the students' mental health and well-being.
GENÇ SEÇMENLERİN POLİTİK PAZARLAMA UYGULAMALARI İLE İLGİLİ DÜŞÜNCELERİ: KAFKAS ÜNİVERSİTESİ ÖRNEĞİ
Authors: AKGÜL Ebru , TAN Ahmet 
Published: December 2023

döneminde minimum maliyet ile maksimum oy elde ederek, iktidara gelebilmek için gerçekleştirmiş oldukları faaliyetlerin tümünü kapsamaktadır. Diğer ülkelere kıyasla ülkemizde politik pazarlama uygulamalarına geç kalınmış olsa da günümüzde siyasi adaylar ve partiler tarafından politik pazarlama faaliyetleri sıklıkla kullanılmaktadır. Bu açıdan politik pazarlamaya baktığımızda daimî bir rekabet söz konusu olduğu görülmektedir. Bir siyasi partinin hedefi potansiyel seçmene ulaşabilmek, seçmeni ikna edebilmek ve muhalefetle farkını yaratıp seçim döneminde iktidara gelebilmektir. Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, Kafkas Üniversitesi’nde okuyan öğrencilerin politik pazarlama uygulamalarına yönelik eğilimlerini belirlemektir.
Yöntem: Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Kafkas Üniversitesinde okuyan 400 öğrenciye yüz yüze anket uygulaması yapılmıştır. Elde edilen veriler SPSS paket istatistik programında, t-testi, ANOVA testi ve Pearson Korelasyon ile analiz edilerek yorumlanmıştır.
Bulgular: Araştırmanın sonucunda; üniversite öğrencilerinin, oy tercihlerinde; politik ürün, partinin lideri, ideolojisi, adayı, programı ve geçmiş çalışmaları gibi faktörlerin daha fazla etkili olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Verilerin analizi sonucunda; erkek öğrenciler, kız öğrencilere kıyasla daha fazla siyasi içerikli haberleri takip etmekte ve siyasi kampanya çalışmalarına daha fazla katılım sağlamaktadır. Aynı zamanda politik pazarlama bileşenlerinin, farklı demografik özelliklere sahip genç seçmen grubunu farklı şekilde etkilediği görülmektedir.
Sonuç: Araştırmanın önemi genç seçmenlerin siyasi faaliyetlere yönelik tutumlarının belirlenmesi ve bu faaliyetlere katılım düzeylerinin ortaya çıkarılmasıdır. Böylece ülkemizde yürütülen siyasi faaliyetlerin ne kadar etkili olduğu ve gençlerin oy verme konusunda bu faaliyetlerden ne ölçüde etkilendiği ortaya konulmaktadır.
PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION WITH SEMI-VARIANCE MODEL: AN APPLICATION ON BIST-100 INDEX
Authors: KAHRAMAN Serdar Ramazan , SOMUNCU Kartal 
Published: December 2023

Aim: The aim of the study is to compare the performance of portfolios constructed based on variance and semi-variance using data obtained from the BIST-100 Index.
Method: In the study, using the return data obtained from the adjusted weighted average price data of securities in the BIST-100, variance and covariance matrices were constracted to generate optimal portfolios, and the returns of two different portfolios were calculated and compared.
Findings: The findings of the study indicate that, despite securities within the BIST-100 Index generally yielding negative returns during the 2018-2019 period, portfolios constructed based on semi-variance protected investors from the risk of negative returns. It was observed that as the levels of risk tolerance increased, the returns of portfolios also increased.
Conclusions: It has been concluded that portfolios created according to semi-variance offer better protection for investors with low risk tolerance against the risk of unexpected negative returns.