Digital Commons Network^™

Microbial Selenate Detoxification Linked To Elemental Sulfur Oxidation: Independent And Synergic Pathways, L Li, Baogang Zhang, L Li, Alistair G.L. Borthwick

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

A Neural Network-Based Model For Lower Limb Continuous Estimation Against The Disturbance Of Uncertainty, Wanting Li, Keping Liu, Zhongbo Sun, C Li, Yuanyuan Chai, Jian Gu

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper, a novel prediction model is proposed to estimate human continuous motion intention using a fuzzy wavelet neural network (FWNN) and a zeroing neural network (ZNN). During walking, seven channel surface electromyography (sEMG) signals and motion data of hip and knee are collected, and two signals are selected and processed from the seven muscles based on physiological and correlation analysis. Then, FWNN is built as an intention recognition model, with sEMG signals as input and physical hip and knee information as output. Meanwhile, ZNN is exploited into the FWNN model, forming a hybrid model to eliminate the prediction …

Mothers’ Understanding Of Brain Development In Early Childhood: A Qualitative Study In Brazil, Marina Sayuri Yakuwa, Letícia Pancieri, Sarah Neill, Mello Df De

School of Nursing and Midwifery

To analyze mothers’ understanding of child brain development and their stimulus practices with children in the first months of life. Qualitative research, with 18 Brazilian mothers, over 18 years of age, used semi-structured interviews to identify their perspectives on important healthcare outcomes, based on reflexive thematic analysis. Mother’s accounts displayed little understanding of child brain development, focusing on the development of neuropsychomotor skills. There was relative uncertainty about the daily care practices that would provide appropriate child stimuli, through which to provide promotion and protection of child development. Maternal knowledge about child brain development indicates a need to strengthen parenting …

Self-Management Intervention To Reduce Pulmonary Exacerbations By Supporting Treatment Adherence In Adults With Cystic Fibrosis: A Randomised Controlled Trial, Cfhealthhub Study Team, Martin J. Wildman, Alicia O’Cathain, Chin Maguire, Madelynne A. Arden, Marlene Hutchings, Judy Bradley, Stephen J. Walters, Pauline Whelan, John Ainsworth, Iain Buchan, Laura Mandefield, Laura Sutton, Paul Tappenden, Rachel A. Elliott, Zhe Hui Hoo, Sarah J. Drabble, Daniel Beever, H. Cantrill, J. Nicholl, S. Michie, S. Waterhouse, L. Robinson, A. Scott, S. Antrobus, E. Lumley, A. N. Biz, D. Hind, C. Orchard

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction Recurrent pulmonary exacerbations lead to progressive lung damage in cystic fibrosis (CF). Inhaled medications (mucoactive agents and antibiotics) help prevent exacerbations, but objectively measured adherence is low. We investigated whether a multi-component (complex) self-management intervention to support adherence would reduce exacerbation rates over 12 months. Methods Between October 2017 and May 2018, adults with CF (aged ≥16 years; 19 UK centres) were randomised to the intervention (data-logging nebulisers, a digital platform and behavioural change sessions with trained clinical interventionists) or usual care (data-logging nebulisers). Outcomes included pulmonary exacerbations (primary outcome), objectively measured adherence, body mass index (BMI), lung function …

A Review Of The Pharmacotherapeutic Considerations For Managing Epilepsy In People With Autism, Lance V. Watkins, Maire O’Dwyer, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction: Autism, like other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), has a strong association with epilepsy. There are known common genetic pathways in both autism and epilepsy. There are also specific genetic syndromes associated with both complex epilepsy and the autism phenotype. Areas covered: This review explores the evidence for common genetic etiologies and pathophysiological pathways in relation to both epilepsy and autism. Autism with comorbid epilepsy are associated with a high prevalence of medical and psychiatric comorbidities. This paper discusses how this influences assessment, treatment, and outcomes. The evidence for the treatment of specific seizure types in the context of NDDs is …

Long‐Term Effects Of Artificial Nighttime Lighting And Trophic Complexity On Plant Biomass And Foliar Carbon And Nitrogen In A Grassland Community, Vinka Anic, Kevin J. Gaston, Thomas W. Davies, Jonathan Bennie

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Biocompatibility And Pro-Mineralization Effect Of Tristrontium Aluminate Cement For Endodontic Use, Kentaro Hashimoto, Sherif Adel, Nobuyuki Kawashima, Takahiro Wada, Motohiro Uo, Takashi Okiji

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Tristrontium aluminate (S3A) is a hydraulic cement with setting behavior similar to that of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA). This study examined the biological effects of S3A on mouse dental papilla cells (MDPs) in vitro and on rat exposed pulps in vivo . Materials and methods Extracts of S3A and MTA were prepared by immersing each cement in ultrapure water. MDPs were cultured with S3A or MTA extracts, and cell proliferation was evaluated with a tetrazolium-salt assay. Attachment of MDPs on the set cements was examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). mRNA expression of bone morphogenic protein (Bmp2), osteocalcin …

The Different Irradiation Parameters Of Carbon Dioxide Laser Effects On Periodontal Ligament Cells, Chia-Tze Kao, Chun-Te Ho, Tsui-Hsien Huang

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background /purpose : Photobiostimulation (PBS) can affect cellular functions. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the cellular changes in periodontal ligament (PDL) cells that received different carbon dioxide (CO2) laser irradiation parameters under negative pressure culture. Materials and methods The negative pressure-cultured PDL cells on normal medium and differentiation medium were subjected to continuous irradiation with a CO2 laser at an energy density of 5 J/cm2 or 10 J/cm2. The irradiated PDL cells were harvested at Days 1, 5 and 7, and their viability was analyzed by the Presto Blue assay and the biologic markers alkaline …

Physicochemical And Biological Properties Of Four Calcium Silicate-Based Endodontic Cements, Ove A. Peters, Seok Woo Chang, Alexis Gaudin, Mirek Tolar, Soram Oh, Soo-Young Moon

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Several brands of calcium silicate-based cements (CSBCs) are currently marketed. Here we compared physicochemical and biological properties of new products Ortho MTA (BioMTA), Retro MTA (BioMTA), and EZ-Seal (Ezekiel) to widely used ProRoot MTA (Dentsply Tulsa). Materials and methods CSBCs were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Elemental composition was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. Particle size was measured by particle size analyzer. Human stem cells from apical papilla (SCAPs) were incubated with eluates from CSBCs. Survival of SCAP cells was evaluated with MTT assay. The Alizarin red S stain was used to identify …

Performance Of High-Translucent Zirconia Cad/Cam Fixed Dental Prostheses Using A Digital Workflow: A Clinical Study Up To 6 Years, Ilser Turkyilmaz

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Zirconia has recently become a popular material for fixed restorations. The purpose of this study was to use a digital workflow to fabricate monolithic zirconia fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) and assess the connection between variable connector sizes compared to their clinical performance. Materials and methods Clinicians evaluated monolithic zirconia FDPs in 58 patients. After definitive impressions were made, stone casts were obtained. The stone casts were scanned to a standard triangle language (STL) file. A digital wax up was fabricated, and corresponding provisional restorations were milled. Final FDPs were fabricated from a high-translucent zirconia material. During digital fabrication, …

Methylation Related Genes Are Associated With Prognosis Of Patients With Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Via Altering Tumor Immune Microenvironment, Yubin Cao, Xudong Tian, Congyu Shi, Shan Liu, Chengzhi Zhao, Xiaoyi Wang

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Analysis of methylomes may enable prognostic stratification in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aimed to identify methylation-related differentially expressed genes (mrDEGs), and to assess their efficacy in predicting patients’ survival, tumor immune microenvironment alterations and immune checkpoints in patients with HNSCC. Materials and methods The methylome and transcriptome data of 528 HNSCC and 50 normal samples from TCGA database were used as training cohort. We identified mrDEGs and constituted a risk score model using Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression. The prognostic efficacy of the risk score was validated in GSE65858 and …

Transforming Growth Factor-Β1 Promotes Early Odontoblastic Differentiation Of Dental Pulp Stem Cells Via Activating Akt, Erk1/2 And P38 Mapk Pathways, Qing Yu, Yu Bai, Xiaogang Cheng, Xin Liu, Qian Guo, Zhihua Wang, Yi Fu, Wenxi He

Journal of Dental Sciences

Background/purpose TGF-β1 (Transforming growth factor-β1) plays an important role in the regeneration and repair of pulp-dentin complex. However, the biological function of TGF-β1 on odontoblastic differentiation remains unclear, mainly due to the processes of differentiation were controlled by complex signaling pathways. This study aimed to investigate the signaling pathways involved in regulating the early differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) by TGF-β1 and their functional role. Materials and methods DPSCs were treated with 1 ng/mL TGF-β1 and Western blotting was conducted to examine the activation of protein kinase B (AKT), small mothers against decapentaplegic 3 (Smad3), p38 mitogen-activated protein …

Convergent Angles Of A Tapered Implant Referred From The Root Profile Of Premolars, Hsiang-Hsi Hong, Chung-Chieh Chang, Alex Hong, Chih-Chun Mei, Yi-Fang Huang, Heng-Liang Liu, I-Ping Lin

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Limited studies have discussed the convergent profiles regarding tapered implants based on biological considerations. This study analyzed the convergent angles (CAs) of premolar roots and imitated a tapered implant according to the anatomy of tooth roots. Materials and methods A total of 60 single-rooted premolars were explored by micro-computed tomography. Every individual root was divided into 10 segments corono-apically, and the roots’ buccolingual (BL) and mesiodistal (MD) CAs were measured by sections. To mimic a dental implant, the irregular shape of examined root cross-sections was transformed into a circular shape with equal areas. A biomimetic dental implant (BDI) …

Naringenin Stimulates Osteogenic/Odontogenic Differentiation And Migration Of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells, Yeon Kim, Hyun-Joo Park, Mi-Kyoung Kim, Yong-Il Kim, Hyung Joon Kim, Soo-Kyung Bae, Jacques E. Nör, Moon-Kyoung Bae

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Naringenin, a naturally occurring flavanone in citrus fruits, regulates bone formation by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of naringenin on some biological behaviors of human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs). Materials and methods HDPSCs were cultured in osteogenic differentiation medium and osteo/odontogenic differentiation and mineralization were analyzed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining. The migration of HDPSCs was evaluated by transwell chemotactic migration assays and scratch wound healing migration assay. Using tooth slice/scaffold model, we assessed the in vivo odontogenic differentiation potential of …

Differences In Setting Time Of Calcium Silicate-Based Sealers Under Different Test Conditions, Hyeon-Cheol Kim, Jina Koo, Sang Won Kwak

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Recently introduced calcium silicate-based bioceramic (CSBC) sealers require moisture for setting, thus this study aimed to compare the setting times of epoxy resin-and CSBC sealers under different test conditions. Materials and methods Four CSBC sealers (CeraSeal, EndoSeal TCS, One-Fil, and Well-Root ST) were compared to an epoxy resin-based sealer (AH Plus). Each sealer was placed in a stainless-steel and gypsum molds on a glass slide. Sealer samples (n = 10 per group) were stored in an incubator at 95% humidity and 37 °C. A Gilmore needle with a total weight of 100 g and a 2.0-mm diameter were …

Factors That Affect The Rate Of Preterm Birth: An Examination Of The Inter-Related Impacts Of Social Determinants, Behavior And Physical Health Status, Krystal Michelle Hunter

Dissertations

The work seeks to examine the factors that have significant relationships to the rate of preterm birth (PTB) along with its cost to society.

There are four papers within this work. This purpose of the first paper is to measure the impact that healthy behaviors have on the rate of PTB when modeled with other factors like household demographics, community deprivation, chronic disease and mental health. This work finds that positive health behaviors has a negative relationship with PTB. The interaction between body mass index (BMI) and social class and its relationship to PTB is examined in the second paper. …

Exposing And Fixing Causes Of Inconsistency And Nondeterminism In Clustering Implementations, Xin Yin

Dissertations

Cluster analysis aka Clustering is used in myriad applications, including high-stakes domains, by millions of users. Clustering users should be able to assume that clustering implementations are correct, reliable, and for a given algorithm, interchangeable. Based on observations in a wide-range of real-world clustering implementations, this dissertation challenges the aforementioned assumptions.

This dissertation introduces an approach named SmokeOut that uses differential clustering to show that clustering implementations suffer from nondeterminism and inconsistency: on a given input dataset and using a given clustering algorithm, clustering outcomes and accuracy vary widely between (1) successive runs of the same toolkit, i.e., nondeterminism, and …

Crash Injury Severity Prediction With Artificial Neural Networks, Rima Abisaad

Dissertations

Motor vehicle crashes are one of our nation's most serious social, economic and health issues. They are the leading cause of death among children and young adults, killing approximately 1.35 million people each year. Providing a safe and efficient transportation system is the primary goal of transportation engineering and planning. To help reduce traffic fatalities and injuries on roadways, crash prediction models are used to forecast the injury severity of potential crashes and apply precautionary countermeasures accordingly. Most of these models are reactive as they use historical crash data to categorize crash-related factors. Recently, advancements have been made in developing …

Coherent Control Of Dispersive Waves, Jimmie Adriazola

Dissertations

This dissertation addresses some of the various issues which can arise when posing and solving optimization problems constrained by dispersive physics. Considered here are four technologically relevant experiments, each having their own unique challenges and physical settings including ultra-cold quantum fluids trapped by an external field, paraxial light propagation through a gradient index of refraction, light propagation in periodic photonic crystals, and surface gravity water waves over shallow and variable seabeds. In each of these settings, the physics can be modeled by dispersive wave equations, and the technological objective is to design the external trapping fields or propagation media such …

Iii-Nitride Nanostructures: Photonics And Memory Device Applications, Barsha Jain

Dissertations

III-nitride materials are extensively studied for various applications. Particularly, III-nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have become the major component of the current solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. Current III-nitride-based phosphor-free white color LEDs (White LEDs) require an electron blocking layer (EBL) between the device active region and p-GaN to control the electron overflow from the active region, which has been identified as one of the primary reasons to adversely affect the hole injection process. In this dissertation, the effect of electronically coupled quantum well (QW) is investigated to reduce electron overflow in the InGaN/GaN dot-in-a-wire phosphor-free white LEDs and to improve the …

On Resource-Efficiency And Performance Optimization In Big Data Computing And Networking Using Machine Learning, Wuji Liu

Dissertations

Due to the rapid transition from traditional experiment-based approaches to large-scale, computational intensive simulations, next-generation scientific applications typically involve complex numerical modeling and extreme-scale simulations. Such model-based simulations oftentimes generate colossal amounts of data, which must be transferred over high-performance network (HPN) infrastructures to remote sites and analyzed against experimental or observation data on high-performance computing (HPC) facility. Optimizing the performance of both data transfer in HPN and simulation-based model development on HPC is critical to enabling and accelerating knowledge discovery and scientific innovation. However, such processes generally involve an enormous set of attributes including domain-specific model parameters, network transport …

Electro-Chemo-Mechanics Of The Interfaces In 2d-3d Heterostructure Electrodes, Vidushi Sharma

Dissertations

Unique heterostructure electrodes comprising two-dimensional (2D) materials and bulk three dimensional (3D) high-performance active electrodes are recently synthesized and experimentally tested for their electrochemical performance in metal-ion batteries. Such electrodes exhibit long cycle life while they also retain high-capacity inherent to the active electrode. The role of 2D material is to provide a supportive mesh that allows buffer space for volume expansions upon ion intercalation in the active material and establishes a continuous electronic contact. Therefore, the binding strength between both materials is crucial for the success of such electrodes. Furthermore, battery cycles may bring about phase transformations in the …

Developing An E-Module Of Making Edmodo-Based Hosanna Moda System Bustier To Improve Learning Independence And Learning Achievement, Lestari Rochmatun Choirunnisya', Putu Sudira

Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi

This study aims to: 1.) Develop an Edmodo-based e-module for making Hosanna Moda system bustier to increase independence and achievement in learning custom-made clothing; 2.) Describe the feasibility of the developed e-module; and 3.) Reveal the effectiveness of the developed e-module in increasing student learning independence and learning achievement. This research is development research, which was carried out on grade XII students of Fashion, State Vocational High School 3 Magelang. The product trial consisted of a validity test by three experts, a small-scale trial involving 12 students, a large-scale trial involving 24 students, and an effectiveness test involving one control …

Mathematical Model Of Cholera Spread Based On Sir: Optimal Control, Noer Hidayati, Eminugroho Ratna Sari, Nur Hadi Waryanto

PYTHAGORAS : Jurnal Matematika dan Pendidikan Matematika

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae is the cause of cholera. Cholera is spread through the feces of an infected individual in a population. From a mathematical point of view, this problem can be brought into a mathematical model in the form of Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR), which considers the birth rate. Because outbreaks that occur easily spread if not treated immediately, it is necessary to control the susceptible individual population by vaccination. The vaccine used is Oral Vibrio cholera. For this reason, the purposes of this study were to establish a model for the spread of cholera without vaccination, analyze the stability of …

Online Tutoring In Pandemic: An Investigation On Students' Mathematics Anxiety And Learning Motivation, Syafika Ulfah, Khoirunnisa Khoirunnisa, Collins Bekoe

PYTHAGORAS : Jurnal Matematika dan Pendidikan Matematika

Learning activities should be shifted from offline to online mode as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several previous studies have stated that this situation affects the psychology of students. This study aimed to examine mathematics anxiety and learning motivation of junior high school students based on the availability of online tutoring support during the COVID-19 pandemic. We employed a survey method by distributing a Google Form link containing a questionnaire to a public junior high school in East Jakarta, Indonesia. The questionnaire consisted of 22 items of mathematics anxiety and 23 items of learning motivation with a 5-point Likert …

The Influence Of The Jigsaw Learning Model On Mutual Respect Attitudes For Grade Viii Junior High School Students, Lucky Nadya, Ridwan Santoso

Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan

This study aims to determine the effect of the use of Jigsaw learning model on mutual respect in grade VIII junior high school students. The study population consisted of 3 classes totaling 72 students. The sample of this research is class VIII students, amounting to 23 students. The determination of the sample class of this study was carried out using random sampling techniques. The research data were obtained through the distribution of pre-test and post-test in which validity were tested using the product moment formula. Research data were analyzed using quantitative techniques through independent sample t-test. The results showed that …

Transferable Skills Perception Analysus Of Vocational Teachers On-In-On-In Dual Skills Program, Purnomo Purnomo, Marsono Marsono, Tuwoso Tuwoso

Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi

The Ministry of Education and Culture in 2016 made one of the breakthrough programs in an effort to organize and fulfill productive teachers in Vocational High Schools (VHS), namely through the Dual Skills Program (DSK). The DSK is implemented to support the improvement of vocational education as well as education and job skills training. Meanwhile, DSK participating teachers must have new competencies that can be used to teach productive subjects in certain areas of expertise. Increasing the competence of DSK participants needs to take into account the development of transferable skills obtained after conducting training or in the process of …

Developing Assessment In Improving Students' Digital Literacy Skills, Erlida Amnie, Undang Rosidin, Kartini Herlina, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman

Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan

This research aims to develop an assessment of problem-solving skills in improving students' digital literacy skills. This research is directed to produce physics learning assessments that can improve students' digital literacy using problem-solving skills assessments. The use of assessments that refer to the problem-solving skills stage is expected to improve students' digital literacy. The study is an R & D research with the Borg and Gall development model. On the preliminary research, a questionnaire is needed to detect need analysis of an assessment that can help improving student digital literacy skills. Questionnaires were used to collect expert review data, while …

An Evaluation Of Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran (Mgmp) Program Of Indonesian Language Subject In Vocational School, Sigit Pambudi, Istiana Hermawati

Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan

This study aims to evaluate the administrative program for Indonesian MGMP teachers, one of which is the Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran (RPP). This research is evaluation research with the CIPP model. The research population was 59 members of the Indonesian Language MGMP of vocational school at the Sleman Regency Vocational and all students whom the members of the MGMP taught. The teacher sample was selected using the total sampling technique involving 59 members, while the student sample was selected using the proportionate random sampling technique involving 375 students. The validity in this study uses content validity and construct validity, while the …

Analysis Of The Difficulty Index Of Item Bank According To Cognitive Aspects During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Maizura Fauzie, Andi Ulfa Tenri Pada, Supriatno Supriatno

Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan

The Covid-19 pandemic is a major challenge for the education system. The face-to-face learning process shifted to online learning, including the school exams. In Aceh province, the school exams have changed from paper-based and computer-based. This research aims to analyze the difficulty index of an item bank based on cognitive aspects of Bloom's Taxonomy. The study samples included 850 students. The data were the item bank of a final semester exam consisting of 200 multiple-choice items, answer keys, and students' answer sheets. The empirical analysis of the item bank using classical test theory (CTT) found that 141 out of 200 …