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Abstract Background Cervical length (CL) measured by ultrasound in the second trimester is a predictor of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). The uterocervical angle (UCA) has recently been suggested as a predictor to identify women at risk of sPTB. The aim of this study was to investigate the UCAs’ distribution in singleton pregnant women at 16+ 0 − 23+ 6 weeks of gestation with low risk for sPTB. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of 1,051 pregnant women with singleton pregnancies at low risk for preterm delivery. Pregnant women with a viable singleton fetus at 16+ 0 − 23+ 6 weeks of gestation were enrolled in the study conducted at the Haiphong Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vietnam, from 09/2019 to 09/2020. CL and the UCA were assessed using transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) by a single sonographer. Subjects were followed-up until the end of pregnancy, and maternal and neonatal outcomes were recorded. The UCAs’ range and their relationship with gestational age were evaluated using regression analysis. P

Federal school finance policy over the past 30 years has focused on resource allocation within school districts. Regulations require equal staffing across schools, particularly Title I schools, which are designated based on the percent of low-income students enrolled. The requirement to equalize staffing levels creates a loophole where, even with equal staffing levels, differences in staff experience and salary levels across schools lead to differences in actual spending across schools. In response, recent regulatory reforms have shifted from an emphasis on equal staffing to an emphasis on equal spending. Under the federal comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) system, states are required to periodically review within-district spending gaps for any district with a significant number of identified schools. We analyze spending gaps within districts in California and assess the extent to which the CSI system targets districts with inequitable spending patterns. We find that racial and income-based spending gaps across-schools are not substantially different for districts with CSI schools and districts with no CSI schools. Importantly, many districts with large spending gaps are not included in the policy and thus do not face federal regulations to measure and address resource disparities across schools. We discuss implications for school finance research and policy moving forward, particularly as schools respond to the global pandemic and reopening process.

AbstractIn March 2020, Vietnam’s Minister of Finance (MoF) issued Decision 345/QD-BTC, endorsing the adoption of Financial Reporting Standards for full IFRS implementation by 2025. This study, using curriculum implementation theory, examines factors affecting accounting academics’ time spent on teaching IFRS. Drawing on the opinions of 198 academics in Vietnamese accounting programs, the findings highlight the significant impact of these factors on IFRS coverage time. Further, the paper offers suggestions for MoF’s progress assessment efforts and aids schools and external stakeholders in hastening IFRS integration in accounting education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the potential of electroplating sludge (ESs) as a novel and effective photocatalyst for the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin in aqueous solutions. The characterization of the ESs was evaluated using sophisticated techniques, such as XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, and BET. ESs-derived photocatalyst materials were found to primarily consist of various metal oxides (Ni-O, Cu-O), which can absorb ultraviolet or visible light. The effectiveness of photodegradation was assessed by measuring the decomposition of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) in aqueous solutions. The results showed that after 180 min of UVA illumination, a remarkable photodegradation effectiveness of 93.87% was achieved for a CIP concentration of 10 mg L−1, pH = 9, catalyst dose of 1.0 g/L indicating ESs as an effective method for removing CIP from wastewater. The effect of other factors, such as other antibiotics, dyes, and phenol, were also carried out to illustrate high dominant capacity in the degradation of organic compounds. The radical scavenger demonstrated that h+ and O2●− are the main species for the degradation of CIP. This research presents an adaptable, scalable framework for sustainable electroplating sludge reuse. The easily implementable method promises widespread adoption, enhancing sustainability and resource efficiency by repurposing the treated waste as a photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation.Implications: This research investigates the potential of electroplating sludge (ESs) as a sustainable and effective photocatalyst for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in wastewater. This study demonstrates that ESs, containing photoactive metal oxides, can effectively degrade CIP under ultraviolet light irradiation. This research suggests that ESs offer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach to wastewater treatment, promoting a circular economy. The findings contribute to the development of sustainable solutions for a cleaner and safer environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing attention given to the connection between transformational leadership (TL) and job performance (JP), the precise mechanisms driving this association remain inadequately understood. This research delves into diverse causal factors that elucidate the TL–JP relationship. Drawing upon both TL theory and self-determination theory, the study explores the mediating role of employee participation in developing performance measures (PM participation) and public service motivation in the TL–JP relationship. The survey encompassed 208 pairs of employees and their direct managers operating in 208 different public organizations in Vietnam. Employing partial least square regression, the study validates that PM participation and public service motivation partly mediate the TL–JP relationship. The findings furnish valuable insights for managers seeking to enhance the performance of public employees in Vietnam and within emerging economies characterized by comparable structures. Points for Practitioners: This study advocates for public sector leaders to adopt a transformational leadership approach. It emphasizes the importance of encouraging employee participation in the design, implementation and improvement of performance measures. Such engagement is anticipated to boost public service motivation, subsequently contributing to increased work efficiency among employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signalling protocols are responsible for fundamental tasks such as initiating and terminating communication and identifying the state of the communication in telecommunication core networks. Signalling System No. 7 (SS7), Diameter, and GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) are the main protocols used in 2G to 4G, while 5G uses standard Internet protocols for its signalling. Despite their distinct features, and especially their security guarantees, they are most vulnerable to attacks in roaming scenarios: the attacks that target the location update function call for subscribers who are located in a visiting network. The literature tells us that rule-based detection mechanisms are ineffective against such attacks, while the hope lies in deep learning (DL)-based solutions. In this paper, we provide a large-scale empirical study of state-of-the-art DL models, including eight supervised and five semi-supervised, to detect attacks in the roaming scenario. Our experiments use a real-world dataset and a simulated dataset for SS7, and they can be straightforwardly carried out for other signalling protocols upon the availability of corresponding datasets. The results show that semi-supervised DL models generally outperform supervised ones since they leverage both labeled and unlabeled data for training. Nevertheless, the ensemble-based supervised model NODE outperforms others in its category and some in the semi-supervised category. Among all, the semi-supervised model PReNet performs the best regarding the Recall and F1 metrics when all unlabeled data are used for training, and it is also the most stable one. Our experiment also shows that the performances of different semi-supervised models could differ a lot regarding the size of used unlabeled data in training.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is considered to be a useful biomarker to characterize the cellularity of lesions, yet its application in the thorax to evaluate anterior mediastinal lesions has not been well investigated. The aims of our study were to describe the magnetic resonance (MR) characteristics of anterior mediastinal masses and to assess the role of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions of the anterior mediastinum. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including 55 patients with anterior mediastinal masses who underwent preinterventional MR scanning with the following sequences: T1 VIBE DIXON pre and post-contrast, T2 HASTE, T2 TIRM, DWI-ADC map (b values of 0 and 2000 sec/mm2). The ADC measurements were obtained by two approaches: hot-spot ROI and whole-tumor histogram analysis. The lesions were grouped by three distinct ways: benign versus malignant, group A (benign lesions and type A, AB, B1 thymoma) versus group B (type B2, B3 thymoma and other malignant lesions), lymphoma versus other malignancies. The study was composed of 55 patients, with 5 benign lesions and 50 malignant lesions. The ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC10, ADC90 in the histogram-based approach and the hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC of the malignant lesions were significantly lower than those of benign lesions (P values< 0.05). The hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC had the highest value in differentiation between benign and malignant mediastinal lesions, as well as between group A and group B; the ADC cutoffs (with sensitivity, specificity) to differentiate malignant from benign lesions and group A from group B were 1.17 x 10-3 mm2/sec (80%, 80%) and 0.99 x 10-3 mm2/sec (78.4%, 88.9%), respectively. The ADC values obtained by using the hot-spot-ROI-based and the histogram-based approaches are helpful in differentiating benign and malignant anterior mediastinal masses.