bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Post‐earthquake stiffness loss estimation for reinforced concrete columns using fractal analysis of crack patterns
Authors: Hamidia Mohammadjavad , Afzali Mobinasadat , Jamshidian Sara , Safi Mohammad 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe seismic damage to reinforced concrete (RC) components is conventionally quantified through various damage indices. In this paper, an image‐based procedure is developed for post‐earthquake residual stiffness quantification of RC columns. The proposed scenario‐based methodology is built upon the multifractal indices of the surface crack maps of the seismically damaged RC columns as the complexity measure for the images. An extensive databank from experiments on RC column specimens with a broad range of structural characteristics are collected and employed for generation and validation of the proposed procedure. Based on the availability of the structural information, five closed‐form regression‐aided equations are offered for estimating the stiffness loss in seismically damaged RC columns using predicting parameters among fractal indices, concrete strength, and the aspect ratio of the column. Results reveal that multifractal dimensions of crack maps are largely correlated with the stiffness degradation in RC columns. A sample specimen at various stiffness‐based damage indices is also presented as a case study to evaluate the predicted versus measured damage indices. The updated stiffness values acquired by the proposed equations can be utilized for stability evaluation, system identification, or further analysis of the seismically damaged RC buildings following an earthquake.
How was genetic diversity transferred with translocations from ex situ to in situ? A case study of the European mink translocation to Hiiumaa Island in Estonia
Authors: Nummert Grete , Nemvalts Kristel , Maran Tiit 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe European mink (Mustela lutreola) is one of the most threatened small carnivores, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Tallinn Zoo started a conservation breeding operation in 1980, which in 1992 was shaped into the European mink EEP Program to maintain a demographically and genetically healthy population in captivity. Since 2000, mink have been translocated on a yearly basis from the breeding facility in the zoo to Hiiumaa Island (Estonia) until the formation of the wild island population in 2016. Maintaining a healthy genetic structure in a captive population was a priority, so genetically the least valuable animals, according to calculations made by a population management program, were used for translocation. This study aims to assess the amount of genetic diversity passed from an ex situ population on to the island population. Comparisons of the genetic diversity were made by mitochondrial, microsatellite and nuclear markers. In addition, our results were combined with the pedigree data from the European mink EEP Studbook to further evaluate the flow of genetic diversity from the founder population to the established wild population. According to the findings, the island population's allelic richness was comparable to that of the founder population, and no evidence was found that its genetic structure had diverged from that of the founder population. It seems that the formation of the island population has been a gradual process of no more than the last seven yearly translocations.
Shift operators from the simplex representation in momentum-space CFT
Authors: Caloro Francesca , McFadden Paul 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
We derive parametric integral representations for the general n-point function of scalar operators in momentum-space conformal field theory. Recently, this was shown to be expressible as a generalised Feynman integral with the topology of an (n − 1)-simplex, featuring an arbitrary function of momentum-space cross ratios. Here, we show all graph polynomials for this integral can be expressed in terms of the first and second minors of the Laplacian matrix for the simplex. Computing the effective resistance between nodes of the corresponding electrical network, an inverse parametrisation is found in terms of the determinant and first minors of the Cayley-Menger matrix. These parametrisations reveal new families of weight-shifting operators, expressible as determinants, that connect n-point functions in spacetime dimensions differing by two. Moreover, the action of all previously known weight-shifting operators preserving the spacetime dimension is manifest. Finally, the new parametric representations enable the validity of the conformal Ward identities to be established directly, without recourse to recursion in the number of points.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from ticks: a molecular epidemiological study of a patient in the Republic of Korea
Authors: Kim Seong Yoon , Seo Choong Won , Lee Hee Il 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by Dabie bandavirus, commonly called SFTS virus (SFTSV). In the Republic of Korea (ROK), 1,504 cases of SFTS have been reported since the first human case was identified in 2013 until 2021. However, no case exists to provide molecular evidence between questing tick and patients with confirmed SFTS in the same living environment. In this study, we investigated the presence of ticks near the area of a patient infected with SFTSV. Ticks were collected by flagging and dry ice-baited traps at three spots in the vegetation around the patients’ residence in Chuncheon City, Gangwon Province (ROK). Among the tick samples collected, the presence of SFTSV was genetically determined using reverse transcription PCR, followed by the phylogenetic analysis of the tick virus sequences and SFTSV found in the patient. In total 1,212 Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks were collected, and SFTSV was detected at a minimum infection rate of 5.3% (33 pools/618 tested ticks). The sequences of SFTSV in ticks were 99.6–100% identical with the patient’s SFTSV in the M segment. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first case to provide a molecular correlation between SFTSV in questing ticks collected from residence and patient with SFTS in the ROK. The present results provide useful information for the epidemiological investigation of patients with SFTS using ticks as vectors of SFTSV.
Active learning and novel model calibration measurements for automated visual inspection in manufacturing
Authors: Rožanec Jože M. , Bizjak Luka , Trajkova Elena , Zajec Patrik , Keizer Jelle , Fortuna Blaž , Mladenić Dunja 
Published: March 2023

AbstractQuality control is a crucial activity performed by manufacturing enterprises to ensure that their products meet quality standards and avoid potential damage to the brand’s reputation. The decreased cost of sensors and connectivity enabled increasing digitalization of manufacturing. In addition, artificial intelligence enables higher degrees of automation, reducing overall costs and time required for defect inspection. This research compares three active learning approaches, having single and multiple oracles, to visual inspection. Six new metrics are proposed to assess the quality of calibration without the need for ground truth. Furthermore, this research explores whether existing calibrators can improve performance by leveraging an approximate ground truth to enlarge the calibration set. The experiments were performed on real-world data provided by Philips Consumer Lifestyle BV. Our results show that the explored active learning settings can reduce the data labeling effort by between three and four percent without detriment to the overall quality goals, considering a threshold of p = 0.95. Furthermore, the results show that the proposed calibration metrics successfully capture relevant information otherwise available to metrics used up to date only through ground truth data. Therefore, the proposed metrics can be used to estimate the quality of models’ probability calibration without committing to a labeling effort to obtain ground truth data.
Propolis applications in food industries and packaging
Authors: El-Sakhawy Mohamed , Salama Ahmed , Mohamed Salah A. A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractPropolis has been utilized as a natural bio-product from beekeeping for various applications such as wound healing, food packaging, and food production. However, the applications of propolis as food additives are limited by the low oral bioavailability, bitter taste, and aroma. The current review investigates the recent techniques, such as encapsulation, microencapsulation, film casting, and composite materials, which enhance the propolis availability for food applications. Propolis enhances the mechanical properties, oxygen and moisture barrier, antioxidant, and microbial resistance of the resulting materials. Therefore, the utilization of propolis composites as an effective food packaging in the future is promising. Based on these results, the food industry can benefit from developing propolis-based composite.

Graphical Abstract
Keenness for characterizing continuous optimization problems and predicting differential evolution algorithm performance
Authors: Li Yaxin , Liang Jing , Yu Kunjie , Yue Caitong , Zhang Yingjie 
Published: March 2023

AbstractFitness landscape analysis devotes to characterizing different properties of optimization problems, such as evolvability, sharpness, and neutrality. Although several landscape features have been proposed, only a few of them can be used in practice as predictors of algorithm performance. In this study, the keenness ($$\textrm{KEE}_{s}$$

KEE
s

) is proposed to characterize the sharpness of the fitness landscape for continuous optimization problems and predict the performance of the differential evolution algorithm. Specifically, a mirror simple random walk algorithm is designed to construct the relevance between the front and back search points in the sampling. The fitness value of each point is replaced by the specific integer. The values in the set of integers with the same circumstance are computed as the feature scalar using the cumulative calculation mechanism. The results of experimental studies in various functions demonstrate the superiority of $$\textrm{KEE}_{s}$$

KEE
s

in terms of accuracy, reliability, and coverage of samples. Moreover, $$\textrm{KEE}_{s}$$

KEE
s

has shown excellent practicability in the application of differential evolution algorithm performance prediction for continuous optimization problems. Thus, $$\textrm{KEE}_{s}$$

KEE
s

is a new landscape feature for fitness landscape analysis of continuous optimization problems and algorithm performance prediction within limited prior knowledge of the unknown problem.
An ensemble learning model based on differentially private decision tree
Authors: Niu Xufeng , Ma Wenping 
Published: March 2023

AbstractUsing differential privacy to provide privacy protection for classification algorithms has become a research hotspot in data mining. In this paper, we analyze the defects in the differentially private decision tree named Maxtree, and propose an improved model DPtree. DPtree can use the Fayyad theorem to process continuous features quickly, and can adjust privacy budget adaptively according to sample category distributions in leaf nodes. Moreover, to overcome the inevitable decline of classification ability of differentially private decision trees, we propose an ensemble learning model for DPtree, namely En-DPtree. In the voting process of En-DPtree, we propose a multi-population quantum genetic algorithm, and introduce immigration operators and elite groups to search the optimal weights for base classifiers. Experiments show that the performance of DPtree is better than Maxtree, and En-DPtree is always superior to other competitive algorithms.
Right Here, Right Now: Effective Interprofessional Collaboration in Education from the Perspectives of Primary School Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Fenwick Jess , Kelly Stephanie 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis research aims to develop a deeper understanding of what factors contribute to effective interprofessional collaboration in education from the perspectives of primary school teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand. A qualitative constructivist methodology was used involving semi-structured telephone interviews with seven teachers working in primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. Four main themes were established: Collaboration is viewed as one teacher and one professional working together; immediacy is perceived as the most important component of support in IPC in education; effectiveness is identified as observable changes in the learner; and the classroom represents the space through which teachers view collaboration. The overall picture provided in the current research was that IPC in the primary classroom setting remains a siloed entity done in addition to and exclusive from the rest of school business. A tension appears to exist between teacher autonomy and collaboration.
Optical Frequency Comb Frequency-division Multiplexing Dispersive Interference Multichannel Distance Measurement
Authors: Liang Xu , Wu Tengfei , Lin Jiarui , Yang Linghui , Zhu Jigui 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
An optical frequency comb (OFC) frequency-division multiplexing dispersive interference multichannel distance measurement method is proposed. Based on the OFC dispersive interference, the wide OFC spectrum is divided into multiple channels using a wavelength-division multiplexer. Under the existing light source and spectrometer, a single interference system can realize six channels of the high-precision parallel absolute distance measurement. The influence of the spectrum width and shape on the performance of the distance measurement channel is analyzed. The ranging accuracy of six channels is higher than ± 4 μm under the optimization of a nonuniform discrete Fourier transform and Hanning window.
Recently Top Trending Cancers in a Tertiary Cancer Hospital in Pakistan
Authors: Ali Faisal , Hussain Sadiq , Memon Sajjad Ahmed , Iqbal Syed Shahid 
Published: March 2023

AbstractCancer is a leading cause of death, and its incidence is increasing, as reported in recent studies by GLOBOCAN. Cancer registry programs provide insights into currently trending tumors worldwide and aid in determining possible risk factors. This study was based on 7 years of cancer registry data recorded at NIMRA cancer hospital, Sindh, from 2015 to 2021. A total of 16,191 cancer patients were registered. In men, head and neck, lung, liver, colorectal and urinary tract cancers were most common. In women, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, gynecological tumors, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer predominated. The overall data analysis indicated trending cancers in both sexes, including head and neck cancer (37.76%), breast cancer (13.83%), gynecological tumors (10.22%), esophageal cancer (5.18%), lung cancer (4.79%), colorectal cancer (4.27%), liver cancer (3.87%), lymphoma (3.16%), urinary tract cancer (3.11) and prostate cancer (1.53%). The mean age was 50.41 ± 11.78 years in men and 48.47 ± 11.88 years in women. Cancer prevalence has markedly increased worldwide, and is particularly alarming in developing countries. Various risk factors are involved in this increase, including the use of tobacco, areca nut, chewable tobacco, snuff or niswar. Current disease trends are substantially different from those in older studies at the institute.
<I>Marché Noir</I>
Authors: Mouré Kenneth 
Published: March 2023

Kenneth Mouré shows how the black market in Vichy France developed not only to serve German exploitation, but also as an essential strategy for survival for commerce and consumers. His analysis explains how and why the black market became so prevalent and powerful in France and remained necessary after Liberation. Marché Noir draws on diverse French archives as well as diaries, memoirs and contemporary fiction, to highlight the importance of the black market in everyday life. Vichy's economic controls set the context for adaptations – by commerce facing economic and political constraints, and by consumers needing essential goods. Vichy collaboration in this realm seriously damaged the regime's legitimacy. Marché Noir offers new insights into the dynamics of black markets in wartime, and how illicit trade in France served not only to exploit consumer needs and increase German power, but also to aid communities in their strategies for survival.
Role of diagnostic stewardship in reducing healthcare-facility–onset Clostridioides difficile infections
Authors: Shallal Anita B. , Cherabuddi Medha , Podsiad Lance , Gortat Christopher , Shanahan Clare , Holsey Tarlisha , Samuel Linoj , Alangaden George , Suleyman Geehan 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
We describe the implementation of an electronic medical record “hard stop” to decrease inappropriate Clostridioides difficile testing across a 5-hospital health system, effectively reducing the rates of healthcare-facility–onset C. difficile infection. This novel approach included expert consultation with medical director of infection prevention and control for test-order override.
SG-APSIC1113: Descriptive study on COVID-19 exposures in Singapore General Hospital
Authors: Shawn See Wee Jin 
Published: March 2023

Objectives: The highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 has swept across the globe, causing large swaths of COVID-19, displacing medical resources and attention from patients with other life-threatening illnesses, and overwhelming healthcare institutions. Shifting toward endemicity, the Singapore Ministry of Health ceased issuing quarantine orders to close contacts of infected cases on October 11, 2021. However, contact tracing and exposure management within SGH continued with the same risk criteria. We have examined COVID-19 exposures in different hospital locations to determine the effectiveness of surveillance in breaking the chain of transmission. Methods: Contact tracing of COVID-19 exposures among Singapore General Hospital (SGH) staff and patients has been conducted since the first COVID-19 diagnosis in January 2020. The information collected is used to identify those at higher risk of infection for enhanced surveillance or isolation. The data analyzed in this study were collected during later periods of the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) pandemic wave between August 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Results: During the 4-month study period, there were 1,686 SARS-CoV-2 exposures in SGH. Among these 1,686 exposures, 1,157 (69%) were contacts with an infected patient. Among these infected source patients, 915 were emergency department patients, 210 were ward inpatients, and 32 were clinic outpatients. The remaining 524 exposure events (31%) were contacts with infected staff, of whom 441 were SGH employees and 83 were employees from other SingHealth institutions. The remaining 5 index cases were visitors to SGH. Of the 1,686 exposure events, 330 had associated at-risk contacts requiring exposure management. Among 330 patient index cases, 213 (64.5%) resulted in 699 exposed contacts (patients vs staff), whereas 117 staff index cases resulted in 435 exposed contacts (patients vs staff). For 434 exposed contacts who were staff, 204 (47%) of their exposures occurred in inpatient ward settings, followed by 153 (35.3%) that occurred in outpatient clinics, 36 (8%) that occurred common lounging areas, 16 (3.6%) that occurred in office sites, 15 (3.4%) that occurred in the community, 8 (1.8%) that occurred in occupation therapy, and 2 (0.5%) that occurred in the emergency department. For 688 exposed contacts who were patients, 579 (84.1%) exposures occurred in inpatient wards, 70 (10.2%) occurred in DEM, 19 (2.7%) occurred in other SingHealth institutions, 16 (2.3%) were exposures to roving porters, and 3 (0.4%) occurred in the community. During the study period, 3 hospital clusters were identified and investigated, one of which included secondary cases. Conclusions: Most SARS-CoV-2 exposures in SGH occurred in inpatient settings where patients were index cases. Despite intensive contact tracing and stringent surveillance and isolation measures, inpatient clusters could not be prevented.
SG-APSIC1158: COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy among healthcare workers: A retrospective observational study in Singapore
Authors: Koh Sky Wei Chee , Tan Hwei Ming , Lee Wayne Han , Mathews Jancy , Young Doris 
Published: March 2023

Objectives: COVID-19 booster uptake has remained poor among healthcare workers (HCWs) despite evidence of improved immunity against the SARS-COV-2 δ (delta) and ο (omicron) variants. Although most studies have used a questionnaire to assess hesitancy, we aimed to identify factors affecting booster hesitancy by examining actual vaccine uptake across time. Methods: COVID-19 vaccination database records were extracted for HCWs working at 7 Singaporean public primary-care clinics between January and December 2021. Data included sex, profession, place of practice, vaccination type, and dates. Time to booster was calculated from the date of vaccination minus the date of eligibility. The χ2 test was used to compare the relationship between first dose and booster hesitancy. The Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test were used to evaluate differences in cumulative booster uptake. Multivariate Cox regression was used to investigate predictors of timely booster vaccination. The vaccination rate was charted across time and was corroborated with media releases pertaining to legislative changes. Results: Of 891 primary-care HCWs, 877 (98.9%) were fully vaccinated and 73.8% of eligible HCWs had taken the booster. HCWs were less booster hesitant (median, 16 days; range, 5–31.3) compared to the first dose (median, 39 days; range, 13–119.3). First-dose–hesitant HCWs were more likely to be booster hesitant (OR, 3.66; 95% CI, 2.61–5.14). Adjusting for sex, workplace, and time to first dose, ancillary HCWs (HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.03–2.28), medical HCWs (HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.18–2.74), and nursing HCWs (HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.18–2.37) received boosters earlier than administrative staff. No temporal relationship was observed for booster uptake, legislative changes, or COVID-19 case numbers. Conclusions: Vaccine hesitancy among HCWs had improved from first dose to booster, with timely booster vaccination among medical and nursing staff. Tailored education, risk messaging, and strategic legislation might help reduce delayed booster vaccination. This study was approved by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB), Singapore on December 28, 2021 (Reg No. 2021/01120).