Search Results (84,506)

Cyberloafing as a production deviance behavior raises organizational concerns. Unfortunately, it is unknown how to minimize cyberloafing from a bottom-up perspective, particularly different types of cyberloafing. This study draws on the job crafting and dual-process theory to construct a framework for understanding the relationship between task crafting and passive–active cyberloafing, as well as their boundary condition (i.e., supervisor developmental feedback). We adopted a convenient sampling method, following a two-stage sampling with a time interval of 2 weeks. A sample of 614 full-time employed adults were recruited from the online survey. The results showed that: (1) Task crafting was negatively related to passive and active cyberloafing, respectively. (2) The impact of task crafting on passive cyberloafing rather than active cyberloafing was moderated by supervisor developmental feedback, such that task crafting had significant negative relations with passive cyberloafing when supervisor developmental feedback was higher (vs. lower). Overall, our research findings indicate that passive cyberloafing seems more sensitive to the organizational environment than active cyberloafing, thus different types of cyberloafing have different intervention strategies. Full article

This paper studies the influence of the staged particle sieving-out method on the seepage characteristics in loose sandstone heap leaching. The staged sieving out of ore sample particles was conducted according to particle size, and ground pressure was applied to them. Subsequently, parameters such as the permeability, particle distribution, and pore distribution characteristics of the rock samples were obtained to investigate the influence of the staged particle sieving-out method on the seepage effect of loose sandstone heap leaching. The results indicate that sieving out particles smaller than 0.15 mm can significantly reduce the probability of hole blockage and increase the overall pore size, greatly enhancing permeability. Sieving out particles with sizes between 0.15 mm and 1.2 mm can result in the loss of skeleton particles, reducing the amount of flow channels and thereby decreasing permeability. Sieving out particles larger than 1.2 mm can reduce the overall particle size of rock samples, improve strength and pressure stability, and help maintain permeability. In the surface heap leaching of loose sandstone ore, by sieving out particles smaller than 0.15 mm during deep heap construction and sieving out particles larger than 1.2 mm during mid-level heap construction, and by using vat leaching for sieved-out particles, the seepage effect of the ore heap can be significantly optimized, and complete utilization of resources can be ensured. Full article

(1) Background: Obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) is an unpredictable and unpreventable neurological injury, caused by shoulder dystocia during birth, that affects the brachial plexus and leads to motor and sensory deficits in the child’s upper extremity. The limited literature on early therapeutic assessment of newborns with OBPP highlights a gap in specialized care that, if filled, could enhance decision-making and support timely treatment. The objective of this paper is to analyze the therapeutic intervention techniques used at an early stage and their functional impact, from the occupational therapy discipline in the treatment of the upper extremity in babies and children with OBPP. (2) Method: Systematic review design and meta-analysis. A systematic review is a comprehensive analysis of existing research on a specific topic, using rigorous methods to identify, evaluate, and synthesize studies. Meta-analysis, often part of a systematic review, combines results from multiple studies to identify overall trends and enhance reliability, providing a clearer summary of evidence. Articles that included pediatric patients (from birth to 12 years of age) with a diagnosis of OBPP were reviewed. The results of the techniques used were analyzed according to each study, with the scale or method of assessment considered by the study for the presentation of data. The articles were assessed for methodological quality using the “PEDro Validity Scale”. (3) Results: A total of 2190 articles were found, with 108 analyzed and 22 fully meeting this study’s standards. Fourteen had a quantitative design, while the others included clinical guidelines. The most statistically reliable intervention techniques were CIMT (constraint-induced movement therapy) and splinting (dynamic and static), with second-tier techniques like joint manipulation, NMES, early infant management education, and serial casting used when needed. This study focused on children from birth to eight years old, with assessment tools primarily measuring upper limb range of motion, external rotation, supination, and impairment levels, though bimanual activity assessment was less common. (4) Conclusions: The early implementation of the techniques that provide us with the most data are CIMT, splinting, NMES, and joint manipulation linked to health education for families. In second place, we have the use of TB infiltrations and serial casts, when the treatment of the previous techniques fails in some cases. Full article

A lightweight infrared image denoising method based on adversarial transfer learning is proposed. The method adopts a generative adversarial network (GAN) framework and optimizes the model through a phased transfer learning strategy. In the initial stage, the generator is pre-trained using a large-scale grayscale visible light image dataset. Subsequently, the generator is fine-tuned on an infrared image dataset using feature transfer techniques. This phased transfer strategy helps address the problem of insufficient sample quantity and variety in infrared images. Through the adversarial process of the GAN, the generator is continuously optimized to enhance its feature extraction capabilities in environments with limited data. Moreover, the generator structure incorporates structural reparameterization technology, edge convolution modules, and progressive multi-scale attention block (PMAB), significantly improving the model’s ability to recognize edge and texture features. During the inference stage, structural reparameterization further optimizes the network architecture, significantly reducing model parameters and complexity and thereby improving denoising efficiency. The experimental results of public and real-world datasets demonstrate that this method effectively removes additive white Gaussian noise from infrared images, showing outstanding denoising performance. Full article

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Previous studies have indicated that microsatellite instability and deficient mismatch repair (MMR) may be associated with improved survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of deficient MMR (dMMR) status on oncologic outcomes in patients after resection of PDAC and periampullary adenocarcinoma. Methods: This is a single-institution, retrospective study based on a prospectively maintained database. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (N = 342) and periampullary adenocarcinoma patients (N = 76) who underwent pancreatic resection surgery between 2016 and 2021 were included. Immunohistochemistry staining results of MMR proteins and next-generation sequencing data were recorded. Cancer-type dependent Cox regression analyses were performed to assess overall and disease-free survival, which was complemented with a 1:2 propensity-score matching for each of the cancer types in order to compare oncologic outcomes. Results: A total of 418 pancreatic cancer patients were included in the analysis. Fifteen patients (3.5%) were diagnosed as dMMR (PDAC N = 7 and periampullary adenocarcinoma N = 8). Cox regression modeling of dMMR status interaction with TNM staging and cancer type revealed that dMMR status strongly improves overall survival (p < 0.05). After propensity-score matching, Cox regression identified dMMR status as a significant marker of improved overall survival (HR = 0.27, 95%CI 0.09–0.88, p = 0.029). Conclusions: Overall, our findings suggest that dMMR status is associated with markedly improved survival outcomes in patients after resection of pancreatic and periampullary cancer. Future large-scale studies are needed to further validate this finding. Full article

Brachiaria forages are known to be drought-tolerant as mature plants, but no information about drought tolerance at the seed germination stage is currently available. This study aimed to determine the impacts of different temperature and moisture conditions on the seed germination characteristics of five Brachiaria genotypes. Brachiaria seeds were germinated under constant temperatures of 5 °C–45 °C at increments of 5 °C. Within each temperature treatment, five osmotic treatments (0 MPa, −0.1 MPa, −0.3 MPa, −0.5 MPa, and −0.7 MPa) were applied, and germination was recorded daily for 20 days. The results showed that seed germination in all Brachiaria species was significantly negatively impacted (p < 0.05) by osmotic stress as well as by high and low temperatures. For all species, germination only occurred between 15 and 40 °C. Under optimum moisture conditions (0 MPa), the optimum germination temperatures for B. humidicola were 15 to 35 °C, for B. brizantha and B. nigropedata, they were 15 to 20 °C, for B. decumbens, they were 15 to 25 °C, and for the hybrid Brachiaria species, the optimum germination temperature was only 20 °C. In all species, seed germination decreased as moisture conditions became more limiting. Only B. humidicola germinated optimally at a high temperature (35 °C). At these temperatures, the species had more than 82% germination when moisture was not a limiting factor (0 MPa), but at low osmotic stress conditions (−0.1 MPa) at 30 °C, the germination of this species decreased to 67%. In conclusion, the results from this study indicate that the seed germination and early seedling establishment stages of Brachiaria grasses are only moderately tolerant to drought stress. Further work on early seedling responses to temperature and moisture stresses is needed to quantify early seedling responses to these stresses and to develop more detailed planting time guidelines for farmers. Full article

The prediction of crop growth and nitrogen status is essential for agricultural development and food security under climate change scenarios. Crop models are powerful tools for simulating crop growth and their responses to environmental variables, but accurately capturing the dynamic changes in crop nitrogen remains a considerable challenge. Data assimilation can reduce uncertainties in crop models by integrating observations with model simulations. However, current data assimilation research is primarily focused on a limited number of observational variables, and insufficiently utilizes nitrogen observations. To address these challenges, this study developed a new multivariable data assimilation system, ORYZA-EnKF, that is capable of simultaneously integrating multivariable observations (including development stage, DVS; leaf area index, LAI; total aboveground dry matter, WAGT; and leaf nitrogen concentration, LNC). Then, the system was tested through three consecutive years of field experiments from 2021 to 2023. The results revealed that the ORYZA-EnKF model significantly improved the simulations of crop growth compared to the ORYZA2000 model. The relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) for LAI simulations decreased from 23–101% to 16–47% in the three-year experiment. Moreover, the incorporation of LNC observations enabled more accurate predictions of rice nitrogen dynamics, with RRMSE for LNC simulations reduced from 16–31% to 14–26%. And, the RRMSE decreased from 32–50% to 30–41% in the simulations of LNC under low-nitrogen conditions. The multivariable data assimilation system demonstrated its effectiveness in improving crop growth simulations and nitrogen status predictions, providing valuable insights for precision agriculture. Full article

The Václav vein (Březové Hory deposit, Příbram ore area, Czech Republic) is a base–metal vein containing minor Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Sb sulfidic mineralization in a usually hematitized gangue. A detailed mineralogical study using an electron microprobe revealed a complicated multistage evolution of the vein. Early siderite and Fe-rich dolomite were strongly replaced by assemblages of hematite+rhodochrosite and hematite+kutnohorite/Mn-rich dolomite, respectively. In addition, siderite also experienced strong silicification. These changes were associated with the dissolution of associated sulfides (sphalerite, galena). The following portion of the vein contains low-Mn dolomite and calcite gangue with Zn-rich chlorite, wittichenite, tetrahedrite-group minerals, chalcopyrite, bornite, and djurleite, again showing common replacement textures in case of sulfides. The latest stage was characterized by the input of Ag and Hg, giving rise to Ag-Cu sulfides, native silver (partly Hg-rich), balkanite, and (meta)cinnabar. We explain the formation of hematite-bearing oxidized assemblages at the expense of pre-existing “normal” Příbram mineralization due to repeated episodic infiltration of oxygenated surface waters during the vein evolution. Episodic mixing of ore fluids with surface waters was suggested from previous stable isotope and fluid inclusion studies in the Příbram ore area. Our mineralogical study thus strengthens this genetic scenario, illustrates the dynamics of fluid movement during the evolution of a distinct ore vein structure, and shows that the low content of ore minerals cannot be necessarily a primary feature of a vein. Full article

Combined liver–kidney transplantation (CLKT) has evolved as a therapeutic option for patients with concurrent end-stage liver and renal diseases. This study evaluates the perioperative and long-term outcomes of CLKT at a single center in Slovenia, highlighting the challenges and successes of simultaneous organ transplantation. We retrospectively analyzed all patients undergoing simultaneous CLKT at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana from April 2014 to June 2023. Data on demographics, cause of liver and kidney disease, operative details, postoperative complications, patient and graft survival, and follow-up were collected and analyzed. Five patients aged 27 to 60 years underwent CLKT within the study period. All transplants involved deceased donors with whole-liver grafts. Indications for CLKT were polycystic liver disease (n = 3), Caroli’s disease (n = 1), and alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 1). The mean follow-up duration was 45.2 months, with a 100% survival rate. The incidence of surgical and postoperative complications was low. This pioneering series of simultaneous CLKTs in Slovenia demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the procedure in smaller transplant centers. Despite challenges, including T cell-mediated kidney rejection and surgical complications, the study emphasizes the importance of comprehensive postoperative care and management in optimizing outcomes for CLKT recipients. Full article

This paper comprehensively analyzes advanced Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis (FDP) techniques employed in aerial and space agents such as satellites, spacecraft, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The critical engineering functions of fault diagnostics and prognosis, particularly the emerging field of fault prognosis, emphasize the necessity for further advancement. Integrating these methodologies enriches the system’s capacity to diagnose faults in their early stages. Additionally, it enables the prediction of fault propagation and facilitates proactive maintenance to mitigate the risk of severe failure. This paper aims to introduce diverse FDP methods, followed by a discussion on their application and evolution within single and multisatellite/UAV systems. Throughout this review, eighty-five relevant works are analyzed and discussed and their evaluation metrics are expanded upon as well. Within the works analyzed in this review, it was found that data-driven methods constitute 54% and 7% of the methodologies utilized in single- and multiagent FDP, respectively, which underscores the rise of these methods in the field of single-agent FDP and their unexplored potential in multiagent condition monitoring. Finally, this review is brought to a close with a suggested classification scheme of the utilized methodologies in the field, a quantitative analysis of their contributions to the field, and remarks and mentions of the potential gaps in the area. Full article

The olive fruit is a drupe whose development and ripening takes several months from flowering to full maturation. During this period, several biochemical and physiological changes occur that affect the skin color, texture, composition, and size of the mesocarp. The final result is a fruit rich in fatty acids, phenolic compounds, tocopherols, pigments, sterols, terpenoids, and other compounds of nutritional interest. In this work, a transcriptomic analysis was performed using flowers (T0) and mesocarp tissue at seven different stages during olive fruit development and ripening (T1–T7) of the ‘Picual’ cultivar. A total of 1755 genes overexpressed at any time with respect to the flowering stage were further analyzed. These genes were grouped into eight clusters based on their expression profile. The gene enrichment analysis revealed the most relevant biological process of every cluster. Highlighting the important role of hormones at very early stages of fruit development (T1, Cluster 1), whereas genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis were relevant throughout the fruit developmental process. Hence, genes coding for different fatty acid desaturase (SAD, FAD2, FAD3, FAD4, FAD5, FAD6, and FAD7) enzymes received special attention. In particular, 26 genes coding for different fatty acid desaturase enzymes were identified in the ‘Picual’ genome, contributing to the improvement of the genome annotation. The expression pattern of these genes during fruit development corroborated their role in determining fatty acid composition. Full article

Citrobacter freundii is an opportunistic pathogen of freshwater aquatic animals, which severely restricts the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. In this study, a dominant strain, named FSNM-1, was isolated from the hepatopancreas of diseased Macrobrachium rosenbergii. This strain was identified as C. freundii based on a comprehensive analysis of its morphological, physiological, and biochemical features and molecular identification. Challenge experiments were conducted to assess the pathogenicity of C. freundii to M. rosenbergii. The results showed that the FSNM-1 strain had high virulence to M. rosenbergii with a median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 1.1 × 10⁶ CFU/mL. Histopathological analysis revealed that C. freundii infection caused different degrees of inflammation in the hepatopancreas, gills, and intestines of M. rosenbergii. The detection of virulence-related genes revealed that the FSNM-1 strain carried colonization factor antigen (cfa1, cfa2), ureases (ureG, ureF, ureD, ureE), and outer membrane protein (ompX), and virulence factor detection showed that the FSNM-1 strain had lecithinase, amylase, lipase, gelatinase, and hemolysin activities but did not produce protease and DNase activities. To investigate the immune response of M. rosenbergii to C. freundii, the expression levels of ALF3, MyD88, SOD, proPO, TRAF6, and TNF immune-related genes were monitored at different points of time in the hepatopancreas, gills, intestines, and hemocytes of M. rosenbergii after infection. The results demonstrated a significant upregulation in the expression levels of the ALF3, MyD88, SOD, proPO, TRAF6, and TNF genes in M. rosenbergii at the early stage of C. freundii infection. This study highlights C. freundii as a major pathogen causing mass mortality in M. rosenbergii and provides valuable insights into its virulence mechanisms and the host’s immune response. Full article

Whole-body positron emission tomography (PET)–computed tomography (CT) imaging performed for oncological purposes may provide additional parameters such as the coronary artery calcium (CAC) and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume with cost-effective prognostic information in asymptomatic people beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We evaluated the feasibility of measuring the CAC score and EAT volume in cancer patients without known coronary artery disease (CAD) referred to whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET–CT imaging, regardless of the main clinical problem. We also investigated the potential relationships between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and CAC with EAT volume. A total of 109 oncological patients without overt CAD underwent whole-body PET–CT imaging with ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Unenhanced CT images were retrospectively viewed for CAC and EAT measurements on a dedicated platform. Overall, the mean EAT volume was 99 ± 49 cm³. Patients with a CAC score ≥ 1 were older than those with a CAC = 0 (p < 0.001) and the prevalence of hypertension was higher in patients with detectable CAC as compared to those without (p < 0.005). The EAT volume was higher in patients with CAC than in those without (p < 0.001). For univariable age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, and CAC were associated with increasing EAT values (all p < 0.005). However, the correlation between the CAC score and EAT volume was weak, and in multivariable analysis only age and BMI were independently associated with increased EAT (both p < 0.001), suggesting that potential prognostic information on CAC and EAT is not redundant. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a cost-effective assessment of CAC scores and EAT volumes in oncological patients undergoing whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET–CT imaging, enabling staging cancer disease and atherosclerotic burden by a single test already included in the diagnostic work program, with optimization of the radiation dose and without additional costs. Full article

In this paper, we propose a new modified planar Kelvin–Stuart model. We demonstrate some modules for investigating the dynamics of the proposed model. This will be included as an integral part of a planned, much more general Web-based application for scientific computing. Investigations in light of Melnikov’s approach are considered. Some simulations and applications are also presented. The proposed new modifications of planar Kelvin–Stuart models contain many free parameters (the coefficients $g_i,i=1,2,\dots ,N$), which makes them attractive for use in engineering applications such as the antenna feeder technique (a possible generating and simulating of antenna factors) and the theory of approximations (a possible good approximation of a given electrical stage). The probabilistic control of the perturbations is discussed. Full article

As internet speeds increase and user demands for video quality grow, video coding standards continue to evolve. H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC), as the new generation of video coding standards, further improves compression efficiency but also brings higher computational complexity. Despite the significant advancements VVC has made in compression ratio and video quality, the introduction of new coding techniques and complex coding unit (CU) partitioning methods have also led to increased encoding complexity. This complexity not only extends encoding time but also increases hardware resource consumption, limiting the application of VVC in real-time video processing and low-power devices.To alleviate the encoding complexity of VVC, this paper puts forward a Bayesian and texture-feature-based fast splitting algorithm for coding intraframe bloc of VVC, which aims to reduce unnecessary computational steps, enhance encoding efficiency, and maintain video quality as much as possible. In the stage of rapid coding, the video frames are coded by the original VVC test model (VTM), and Joint Rough Mode Decision (JRMD) evaluation cost is used to update the parameter in the Bayesian algorithm to come and set the two thresholds to judge whether the current coding block continues to be split or not. Then, for coding blocks larger than those satisfying the above threshold conditions, the predominant direction of the texture within the coding block is ascertained by calculating the standard deviations along both the horizontal and vertical axes so as to skip some unnecessary splits in the current coding block patterns. The findings from our experiments demonstrate that our proposed approach improves the encoding rate by 1.40% on average, and the execution time of the encoder has been reduced by 49.50%. The overall algorithm has optimized the VVC intraframe coding technology and reduced the coding complexity of VVC. Full article