Search Results (35)

Background: This case report aimed to quantify dental, alveolar, and skeletal changes, periodontal health, and sleep quality after treatment with a tooth-borne rapid palatal expander (RPE) in a young adult with bilateral posterior crossbite due to transverse maxillary deficiency. Tooth-borne RPE is typically indicated during the prepubertal or pubertal growth phases; however, some post-pubertal or young adult patients may still present with incomplete maturation of the midpalatal suture—the so-called “gray zone.” In clinical practice, treatment decisions should ideally consider multiple skeletal resistance areas (the zygomaticomaxillary buttress, the pterygomaxillary junction, the nasal aperture pillars), although midpalatal suture assessment often remains central to case selection. Methods: A 19-year-old male patient presented with a skeletal Class III tendency, dental crowding, and anterior and bilateral posterior crossbites, accompanied by snoring and breathing difficulties. The patient declined surgical- and miniscrew-assisted RPE. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan revealed incomplete midpalatal suture maturation. Based on periodontal evaluation, a conventional tooth-borne RPE was chosen. Pre- and post-expansion CBCT scans were used to evaluate dental, skeletal, and periodontal outcomes. Results: After one year of treatment, bilateral posterior crossbite was successfully corrected. Buccal bone thickness showed a slight reduction only on the upper left first molar (from 1.2 mm to 0.9 mm), without evidence of dehiscence or fenestration. A 2° increase in the dental tipping angle (DTA) was observed on both molars, and the palatal alveolar angle (PAA) increased by 3°. Sutural separation expanded from 0.32 mm to 7.82 mm. The Midpalatal Opening Related to Expander Opening (MORE) factor was 0.54, indicating a predominantly skeletal response. Periodontal health remained stable, and CBCT analysis confirmed increases in intermolar width (from 36.08 mm to 50.02 mm) and palatal maxillary width (from 28.04 mm to 34.5 mm). A reduction in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) from 7 to 3 was observed, though this finding should be interpreted cautiously due to its subjective nature and the absence of objective airway measurements. Conclusions: The present case report suggests that tooth-borne RPE may represent a viable and minimally invasive option for correcting posterior crossbite in carefully selected young adults with incomplete midpalatal suture maturation. However, the findings are limited to a single case with short follow-up and should be regarded as hypothesis-generating rather than conclusive. Full article

The rapid accumulation of public debt raises global concern over its implications for financial markets. This study examines the effect of domestic public debt on financial development in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, a region marked by sharp heterogeneity in institutions, debt dynamics, and oil dependence, using annual panel data for 16 countries over the period (2000–2020). Our analysis employs a fractional response model (FRM), which accounts for the bounded nature of the dependent variable, corrects for heteroskedasticity, and incorporates country fixed effects. The findings reveal a significant negative effect of domestic public debt on financial development, consistent with the lazy banks and crowding-out hypotheses. This adverse relationship persists across different income groups and debt percentiles, with modest attenuation at higher debt levels. Oil rents are also found to exert a robust negative effect, highlighting the structural vulnerabilities associated with oil dependence. These results emphasize the importance of debt management, fiscal frameworks that account for commodity cycles, and policies to reduce the sovereign–bank nexus in fostering sustainable financial development in the region. Full article

Achieving sustainable economic growth requires a careful balance between public debt accumulation and the macroeconomic stability necessary for long-term development. While public debt can support growth through productive public investment, excessive debt may crowd out private investment, raise borrowing costs, and undermine financial stability, ultimately threatening economic sustainability. In this context, the quality of institutions plays a pivotal moderating role by fostering responsible debt management and ensuring that debt-financed investments contribute to sustainable development. In this context, this study investigates the relationship between public debt and economic growth, with a focus on the moderating role of institutional quality (IQ). Utilizing an unbalanced panel of 115 countries over the period from 1996 to 2021, this study tests the hypothesis that robust institutional frameworks mitigate the negative impact of public debt on economic growth. To address potential endogeneity, this study employs the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique. The results reveal that, although the direct effect of public debt on economic growth is negative, the interaction between public debt and IQ yields a positive influence. Furthermore, the results indicate the presence of a threshold beyond which public debt begins to exert a beneficial effect on economic growth, whereas its impact remains adverse below this threshold. These findings underscore the critical importance of sound debt management strategies and institutional development for policymakers, suggesting that effective government governance is essential to harnessing the potential positive effects of public debt on economic growth. Full article

Multi-object tracking stands as one of the most prominent domains in Computer Vision and has significant research value and practical importance. However, due to the complexity of scenarios in the real world, especially in crowded environments with frequent target occlusion, existing MOT frameworks often struggle to achieve precise tracking results. To enhance the trajectory association accuracy of MOT frameworks in occluded scenarios, this paper proposes a mask-enhanced occlusion-robust multi-target tracking and segmentation framework. Our method first introduces a mask-conditional feature fusion network and an occlusion-aware mask propagation network. The former network integrates a mask-guided attention mechanism with a spatial–temporal feature aggregation sub-network to improve tracking robustness in crowded scenes, and the latter network prevents the contamination of online tracking templates from noise inputs by perceiving a target occlusion state. The framework merges the mask-based methods above into a mask-integrated multi-hypothesis tracking algorithm, achieves superior adaptability in occluded scenarios, and enhances the robustness of MOTS tasks. Our framework achieves the best performance on the MOTSA (84.4%), MT, and FN metrics, with a 6.1% reduction in FN compared to the state-of-the-art method. Our method achieves significant improvements in both accuracy and precision and is validated on public datasets. Full article

Predicting and assessing the vitality of public urban spaces is crucial for effective urban design, aiming to prevent issues such as “ghost streets” and minimize resource wastage. However, existing assessment methods often lack temporal dynamics or heavily rely on historical big data, limiting their ability to accurately predict outcomes for unbuilt projects. To address these challenges, this study integrates previous methodologies with observations of crowd characteristics in public spaces. It introduces the crowd-frequency hypothesis and develops an algorithm to establish a time-dimensional urban vitality dynamic prediction model. Through a case study of the Rundle Mall neighborhood in Adelaide, Australia, the effectiveness of the prediction model was validated using on-site observation sampling and comparative verification. The prediction model framework allows for the determination of urban vitality within specific time ranges by directly inputting basic information, providing valuable support to urban planners and government officials during the design and decision-making processes. It offers a cost-effective approach to achieve sustainable urban vitality construction. Furthermore, machine learning techniques, specifically the decision tree model, were applied to case data to develop a set of preliminary algorithm tools, which enable output of reference urban vitality levels (high-medium-low). Full article

(1) Background: Older patients who attend emergency departments are frailer than younger patients and are at a high risk of adverse outcomes; (2) Methods: To conduct this systematic review, we adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines. We systematically searched literature from PubMed, Embase, OVID Medline^®, Scopus, CINAHL via EBSCOHost, and the Cochrane Library up to May 2023, while for grey literature we used Google Scholar. No time restrictions were applied, and only articles published in English were included. Two independent reviewers assessed the eligibility of the studies and extracted relevant data from the articles that met our predefined inclusion criteria. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) was used to assess the quality of the studies; (3) Results: Evidence indicates that prolonged boarding of frail individuals in crowded emergency departments (Eds) is associated with adverse outcomes, exacerbation of pre-existing conditions, and increased mortality risk; (4) Conclusions: Our results suggest that frail individuals are at risk of longer ED stays and higher mortality rates. However, the association between the mortality of frail patients and the amount of time a patient spends in exposure to the ED environment has not been fully explored. Further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Full article

A significant number of new metered parking systems have been introduced in recent years by the local authorities of various spa towns in Poland in connection with home zone conversion projects. The traffic signs posted in these locations were limited to the beginning and end of the demarcated parking area. Traffic circle (TC) is an example of a traffic calming measure (TCM) used in home zones to slow down the traffic (case study—home zone in a small spa village). This article presents the results of a study investigating the speed reductions obtained within a home zone and a traffic circle used as traffic calming measure. The indispensable speed surveys were carried out in relation to this study in two periods: in summer when the streets are crowded with tourists and in September with little pedestrian traffic. Two research hypotheses were formulated as part of the speed data analysis to verify the slowing effect of the traffic circle and the relevance of the traffic circle’s design parameters and location, road function and the surrounding streetscape. For each hypothesis, statistical analyses were carried out using two nonparametric tests: two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and median test. The third research hypothesis formulated in this study was related to sustainable development factors related to fuel consumption and traffic-related air pollution, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons. This hypothesis was verified by estimating the amount of air pollution in the home zone under analysis in three different situations (scenarios): in summer with the travel speed reduced by pedestrian traffic to ca. 8–10 km/h, in September with a small number of pedestrians and 20–25 km/h resulting speed between traffic circles, reduced at the traffic circle, and in a theoretical 30 km/h zone with 25–30 km/h assumed speed between traffic circles, dropping at the traffic circle. These analyses confirmed the appropriateness of the traffic circle as a home zone traffic calming measure, as long as its design is based on a detailed analysis of the relevant factors, including location, road function and the surrounding streetscape. Full article

The improvement of urban congestion and the mood of the populace is vital for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that crowding in urban micro public spaces (UMPSs) affects emotions, and two different methods were used: a psychological questionnaire to measure whether crowding in such spaces elicits negative emotional responses from users and a portable electroencephalography (EEG) device to explore emotional responses. This study was conducted in Shenyang, China, based on the city’s relevant policies and the type and number of micro spaces and micro public spaces, proving that Shenyang City has paid more attention to planning micro spaces and micro public spaces in its urban development. The results show that 1. UMPS crowding awakens negative emotions in users, which affects their intention to revisit the UMPS, and 2. If the UMPS is more attractive to users, it also improves the negative emotions due to crowding, which implies that the attractiveness of the environment does play an important moderating role. This study may inspire the construction concept of UMPSs in different countries and cities, complementing the planning of urban public spaces to provide more social equity. The creation of UMPS has a positive effect on neighborhood interactions, community network construction, and the reproduction of social capital, which can contribute to the sustainable development of cities. Full article

The integrated development of agriculture and tourism is an effective driving force to boost farmers’ income. We utilize a quasi-natural experiment design to test how such integrated development promotes the comprehensive rural revitalization. By adopting a panel dataset of 72 counties within Guangxi province from 2005 to 2020 and a PSM-DID method, we attempt to explore the effect of the integrated development of agriculture and tourism on farmers’ income growth. The empirical results support our hypothesis that the integrated development of agriculture and tourism can effectively promote farmers’ income growth and its regional heterogeneity with respect to tourism resource endowment and economic development level. We further discuss the transmission mechanism of the integrated development of agriculture and tourism and reveal that the agricultural technology level and agricultural production efficiency have mediating effects on improving farmers’ income growth. However, a masking effect exists between the integrated development of agriculture and tourism and the level of non-agricultural employment. The possible reason is that industrial and commercial capital investment has crowded out the welfare originally belonging to the wage income and only allowed farmers to obtain the one-time land rent income. Full article

The travel source–sink phenomenon is a typical urban traffic anomaly that reflects the imbalanced dissipation and aggregation of human mobility activities. It is useful for pertinently balancing urban facilities and optimizing urban structures to accurately sense the spatiotemporal ranges of travel source–sinks, such as for public transportation station optimization, sharing resource configurations, or stampede precautions among moving crowds. Unlike remote sensing using visual features, it is challenging to sense imbalanced and arbitrarily shaped source–sink areas using human mobility trajectories. This paper proposes a density-based adaptive clustering method to identify the spatiotemporal ranges of travel source–sink patterns. Firstly, a spatiotemporal field is utilized to construct a stable neighborhood of origin and destination points. Then, binary spatiotemporal statistical hypothesis tests are proposed to identify the source and sink core points. Finally, a density-based expansion strategy is employed to detect the spatial areas and temporal durations of sources and sinks. The experiments conducted using bicycle trajectory data in Shanghai show that the proposed method can accurately extract significantly imbalanced dissipation and aggregation events. The travel source–sink patterns detected by the proposed method have practical reference, meaning that they can provide useful insights into the redistribution of bike-sharing and station resources. Full article

The recently introduced semi-orthogonal system of nucleic acid imaging offers a greatly improved method of identifying DNA sequences that are capable of adopting noncanonical structures. This paper uses our newly developed G-QINDER tool to identify specific repeat sequences that adopt unique structural motifs in DNA: TG and AG repeats. The structures were found to adopt a left-handed G-quadruplex form under extreme crowding conditions and a unique tetrahelical motif under certain other conditions. The tetrahelical structure likely consists of stacked AGAG-tetrads but, unlike G-quadruplexes, their stability does not appear to be dependent on the type of monovalent cation present. The occurrence of TG and AG repeats in genomes is not rare, and they are also found frequently in the regulatory regions of nucleic acids, so it is reasonable to assume that putative structural motifs, like other noncanonical forms, could play an important regulatory role in cells. This hypothesis is supported by the structural stability of the AGAG motif; its unfolding can occur even at physiological temperatures since the melting temperature is primarily dependent on the number of AG repeats in the sequence. Full article

Access to finance by small-to-medium-enterprises (SMEs) remains an enigma that still warrants further research. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the funding gap and necessitated the need for entrepreneurs to seek alternative financing due to tight credit rationing by the traditional finance institutions. There is a marked increase in demand for alternative online finance known as crowdfunding amid social distancing and lockdowns occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of this study was to examine the trends in the financing of African SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on crowdfunding. The postpositivist research philosophy and deductive strategy was adopted in this study with the view to test an existing theory and hypothesis. Secondary data sourced from TheCrowdDataCentre were utilised for the study. Eight hundred and fifty-nine African crowdfunding campaigns were employed as the unit of analysis. The study employed econometric techniques to test the research objectives of this study. The probit model was employed in the analysis. The results of the study revealed that backers, the COVID-19 and social network variables were positively and significantly related to campaign success. On the other hand, duration was found to be negatively and significantly related to crowdfunding success. The study contributes to the growing literature on the impact of COVID-19 on crowdfunding performance, as well as the literature on alternative sources of finance. Full article

Less-resourced languages are usually left out of phonetic studies based on large corpora. We contribute to the recent efforts to fill this gap by assessing how to use open-access, crowd-sourced audio data from Lingua Libre for phonetic research. Lingua Libre is a participative linguistic library developed by Wikimedia France in 2015. It contains more than 670k recordings in approximately 150 languages across nearly 740 speakers. As a proof of concept, we consider the Inventory Size Hypothesis, which predicts that, in a given system, variation in the realization of each vowel will be inversely related to the number of vowel categories. We investigate data from 10 languages with various numbers of vowel categories, i.e., German, Afrikaans, French, Catalan, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Basque. Audio files are extracted from Lingua Libre to be aligned and segmented using the Munich Automatic Segmentation System. Information on the formants of the vowel segments is then extracted to measure how vowels expand in the acoustic space and whether this is correlated with the number of vowel categories in the language. The results provide valuable insight into the question of vowel dispersion and demonstrate the wealth of information that crowd-sourced data has to offer. Full article

Environmental regulation is an important guarantee to realize the balanced development of economy and environment, and is the policy guidance of the government to the resource utilization of companies. Environmental regulation will make companies increase costs, and also promote companies to explore technological innovation. How to reverse the negative cost effect of environmental regulation and improve financial performance is a problem that the government and companies need to think about together. Based on the data from 2015 to 2019 of China’s heavy-polluting industry of listed companies, this paper analyzes the impact of environmental regulation on financial performance. The results show that: (1) environmental regulation inhibits firms’ short-term and long-term financial performance. Environmental regulation has formed the negative effect of cost crowding out; (2) environmental regulation positively affects technological innovation. Environmental regulation can stimulate companies to actively explore technological reform to cope with the requirements and restrictions of environmental regulation policies; (3) technological innovation is not significantly negatively correlated with corporate financial performance. Technological innovation input cannot directly lead to the improvement of financial performance in the current period; and (4) technological innovation positively mediates the relationship between environmental regulation and financial performance. That verifies a weak “Porter Hypothesis”. “Innovation compensation effect” exists, and technological innovation can partially offset “cost crowding out effect” and slow down the inhibition relationship of environmental regulation on financial performance, but the innovation effect does not offset the environmental cost. According to the research results, environmental regulation still has a negative effect on the financial performance of listed companies in China’s heavy-polluting industries. The government should formulate strict and stringent environmental regulation policies, guide companies to rationally use resources and protect the environment. Instead of passively responding to policies, companies should actively seek new technologies and alternative sources of energy. Companies try to amplify the compensation effect of technological innovation, reduce the cost crowding out effect of environmental regulation, and improve their value. Full article

This review is an attempt to incorporate water as a structural and thermodynamic component of biomembranes. With this purpose, the consideration of the membrane interphase as a bidimensional hydrated polar head group solution, coupled to the hydrocarbon region allows for the reconciliation of two theories on cells in dispute today: one considering the membrane as an essential part in terms of compartmentalization, and another in which lipid membranes are not necessary and cells can be treated as a colloidal system. The criterium followed is to describe the membrane state as an open, non-autonomous and responsive system using the approach of Thermodynamic of Irreversible Processes. The concept of an open/non-autonomous membrane system allows for the visualization of the interrelationship between metabolic events and membrane polymorphic changes. Therefore, the Association Induction Hypothesis (AIH) and lipid properties interplay should consider hydration in terms of free energy modulated by water activity and surface (lateral) pressure. Water in restricted regions at the lipid interphase has thermodynamic properties that explain the role of H-bonding networks in the propagation of events between membrane and cytoplasm that appears to be relevant in the context of crowded systems. Full article