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{
"title": "Power Quality Enhancement Based on a Recursive Digital Filter by Using Cascaded Distributed Grid-Solar PV System",
"abstract": "Grid integrated renewable energy sources plays a significant role in Distributed Generation scheme. The available solar-PV energy is integrated to utility-grid or standalone load system with proper utility grid-code limitations. The power-quality issues at common intersection point are raised during integration of solar-PV energy sources. The power-quality issues in system are enhanced by incorporating the novel control methodology to drive the inverter in DG scheme. This proposed cascaded-integral consists of recursive digital filters which processes the load currents to extract active power and enhances the harmonic current distortions in grid-current. The recursive digital filter controlled compensation device provides the active power transfer between the loads and the utility-grid system. The performance evaluation of proposed cascaded-integral recursive filter is verified during unusual grid circumstances by using MATLAB/Simulink tool, results are illustrated.",
"corpus_id": 251847753
} | {
"title": "Single-Layer Decoupled Multiple-Order Generalized Integral Control for Single-Stage Solar Energy Grid Integrator With Maximum Power Extraction",
"abstract": "In this article, a novel single-layer decoupled multiple-order generalized integral-based control algorithm is used for a single-stage solar energy grid integrator (SEGI) with maximum power extraction. The single-layer decoupled structure is used to extract the fundamental component of load current. Moreover, the online grid frequency estimation is carried out for an accurate band-pass filtering. The single-layer architecture of the control for the three-phase load current estimation, reduces the control complexity, and improves the response time. Moreover, the single-stage system is operated with the maximum power point tracking based on the residual incremental conductance algorithm. Hence, the cost of a new conversion stage and additional control are saved. This system is operated under three operating modes. In “normal-mode,” it feeds power to the load and the grid. Wherein the “sharing mode,” SEGI and grid supply the load power. During the night, SEGI functions as an active filter, which is termed as “filter-mode.” The steady-state and dynamic performances of SEGI during each operating mode and transition between the modes due to irradiation variation as well as load fluctuation are verified experimentally on a developed prototype. Moreover, test results under dynamic load variations such as nonlinear and unbalanced load conditions are presented to validate the theoretical claims.",
"corpus_id": 215859125
} | {
"title": "Residual Incremental Conductance Based Nonparametric MPPT Control for Solar Photovoltaic Energy Conversion System",
"abstract": "Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have become key elements in improving solar photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion systems. Numerous algorithms have been developed and implemented successfully in recent technology. This paper intended to introduce an improved incremental conductance (IC) algorithm based on the mathematical residue theorem. The major difference introduced in this paper is in considering the residual value of the IC to ensure MPPT achievement. Ensuring the minimal residue in IC improves the operation and eliminates the fluctuation around the operation points. Improved energy conversion efficiency has been achieved and the system has been proved mathematically and by simulations. One of the advantages that the system is free of parameters affect and atmospheric condition data are not required. The controller gain is based on sliding mode compensator to improve the uncertainty handling ability of the developed control approach.",
"corpus_id": 198145161
} |
{
"title": "Studying the impact of cell age on the yeast growth behaviour of Saccharomyces pastorianus var. carlsbergensis by magnetic separation",
"abstract": "Despite the fact that yeast is a widely used microorganism in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries, the impact of viability and age distribution on cultivation performance has yet to be fully understood. For a detailed analysis of fermentation performance and physiological state, we introduced a method of magnetic batch separation to isolate daughter and mother cells from a heterogeneous culture. By binding functionalised iron oxide nanoparticles, it is possible to separate the chitin‐enriched bud scars by way of a linker protein. This reveals that low viability cultures with a high daughter cell content perform similarly to a high viability culture with a low daughter cell content. Magnetic separation results in the daughter cell fraction (>95%) showing a 21% higher growth rate in aerobic conditions than mother cells and a 52% higher rate under anaerobic conditions. These findings emphasise the importance of viability and age during cultivation and are the first step towards improving the efficiency of yeast‐based processes.",
"corpus_id": 257923786
} | {
"title": "Quantification methods of determining brewer’s and pharmaceutical yeast cell viability: accuracy and impact of nanoparticles",
"abstract": "For industrial processes, a fast, precise, and reliable method of determining the physiological state of yeast cells, especially viability, is essential. However, an increasing number of processes use magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for yeast cell manipulation, but their impact on yeast cell viability and the assay itself is unclear. This study tested the viability of Saccharomyces pastorianus ssp. carlsbergensis and Pichia pastoris by comparing traditional colourimetric, high-throughput, and growth assays with membrane fluidity. Results showed that methylene blue staining is only reliable for S. pastorianus cells with good viability, being erroneous in low viability (R2 = 0.945; σ^\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widehat{\\sigma }$$\\end{document} = 5.78%). In comparison, the fluorescence microscopy–based assay of S. pastorianus demonstrated a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.991 at α=0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha =0$$\\end{document} (σ^\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widehat{\\sigma }$$\\end{document} = 2.50%) and flow cytometric viability determination using carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA), enabling high-throughput analysis of representative cell numbers; R2 = 0.972 (α=0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha =0$$\\end{document}; σ^\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widehat{\\sigma }$$\\end{document} = 3.89%). Membrane fluidity resulted in a non-linear relationship with the viability of the yeast cells (α≠0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha \\ne 0$$\\end{document}). We also determined similar results using P. pastoris yeast. In addition, we demonstrated that MNPs affected methylene blue staining by overestimating viability. The random forest model has been shown to be a precise method for classifying nanoparticles and yeast cells and viability differentiation in flow cytometry by using CFDA. Moreover, CFDA and membrane fluidity revealed precise results for both yeasts, also in the presence of nanoparticles, enabling fast and reliable determination of viability in many experiments using MNPs for yeast cell manipulation or separation.",
"corpus_id": 258257016
} | {
"title": "Deficiency of the RNA-binding protein Cth2 extends yeast replicative lifespan by alleviating its repressive effects on mitochondrial function",
"abstract": "Iron dyshomeostasis contributes to aging, but little information is available about the molecular mechanisms. Here, we provide evidence that, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aging is associated with altered expression of genes involved in iron homeostasis. We further demonstrate that defects in the conserved mRNA-binding protein Cth2, which controls stability and translation of mRNAs encoding iron-containing proteins, increase lifespan by alleviating its repressive effects on mitochondrial function. Mutation of the conserved cysteine residue in Cth2 that inhibits its RNA-binding activity is sufficient to confer longevity, whereas Cth2 gain-of-function shortens replicative lifespan. Consistent with its function in RNA degradation, we demonstrate that Cth2 deficiency relieves Cth2-mediated post-transcriptional repression of nuclear-encoded components of the electron transport chain. Our findings uncover a major role of the RNA-binding protein Cth2 in the regulation of lifespan and suggest that modulation of iron starvation signaling can serve as a target for potential aging interventions.",
"corpus_id": 247159741
} |
{
"title": "Method for Prediction and Optimization of a Stratospheric Balloon Ascent Trajectory",
"abstract": "DOI: 10.2514/1.39469 In this paper, we propose a methodology for the prediction and optimization of the ascent trajectory of a stratospheric balloon to target a specified three-dimensional area. The methodology relies mainly on the Analysis Code for High-Altitude Balloons, a simulation tool for the prediction of flight trajectory and thermal behavior of high-altitude,zero-pressureballoons,andonastatisticalanalysisforestimatingthetrajectorypredictionerrors.The paperalsodescribesthealgorithmsusedforballoonparameteroptimizationtoobtaina flighttrajectorythatreaches apredefinedtargetareawithoutanyballastdroporgasventingcontrol.Theproposedmethodologywassuccessfully used during the first Dropped Transonic Flight Test of the Flying Test Bed 1 demonstrator accomplished on 24February2007bytheItalianAerospaceResearchCenter.Thereportedpostflightanalysisofallthetestcampaign demonstratesthattheproposedmethodologyfortrajectorypredictionandoptimizationguaranteesverysatisfactory and reliable results for both the selection of the best day to perform such a mission and the definition of the correct balloon parameters to be used for targeting a predefined three-dimensional area.",
"corpus_id": 122996128
} | {
"title": "Flight performance simulation and station-keeping endurance analysis for stratospheric super-pressure balloon in real wind field",
"abstract": "Abstract For the absence of the propeller system to resist wind load, the balloon will float everywhere with unstable position. In order to fix the balloon within a specific district and extend the station-keeping endurance, an effective approach that utilizes the wind from different directions by altering the float altitude was proposed. A program was developed to simulate the flight performance and the station-keeping endurance of the stratospheric super-pressure balloon in the real wind field. The influences of the initial Helium volume ratio and the float altitude on the traveled horizontal distance of the balloon were analyzed. The results indicate that the altitude of the balloon fluctuates with the change of the volume of the balloon during the day-night cycle, providing the possibility to catch the wind from different directions. By choosing the appropriate Helium volume ratio and float altitude, the traveled horizontal distance of the balloon can be shortened greatly. Our study can provide guidance for investigation on active control algorithm for station-keeping of the balloon that can fix the balloon within the desired district for months and years.",
"corpus_id": 116780205
} | {
"title": "Method for Prediction and Optimization of a Stratospheric Balloon Ascent Trajectory",
"abstract": "DOI: 10.2514/1.39469 In this paper, we propose a methodology for the prediction and optimization of the ascent trajectory of a stratospheric balloon to target a specified three-dimensional area. The methodology relies mainly on the Analysis Code for High-Altitude Balloons, a simulation tool for the prediction of flight trajectory and thermal behavior of high-altitude,zero-pressureballoons,andonastatisticalanalysisforestimatingthetrajectorypredictionerrors.The paperalsodescribesthealgorithmsusedforballoonparameteroptimizationtoobtaina flighttrajectorythatreaches apredefinedtargetareawithoutanyballastdroporgasventingcontrol.Theproposedmethodologywassuccessfully used during the first Dropped Transonic Flight Test of the Flying Test Bed 1 demonstrator accomplished on 24February2007bytheItalianAerospaceResearchCenter.Thereportedpostflightanalysisofallthetestcampaign demonstratesthattheproposedmethodologyfortrajectorypredictionandoptimizationguaranteesverysatisfactory and reliable results for both the selection of the best day to perform such a mission and the definition of the correct balloon parameters to be used for targeting a predefined three-dimensional area.",
"corpus_id": 122996128
} |
{
"title": "Detecting phylodiversity-dependent diversification with a general phylogenetic inference framework",
"abstract": "Diversity-dependent diversification models have been extensively used to study the effect of ecological limits and feedback of community structure on species diversification processes, such as speciation and extinction. Current diversity-dependent diversification models characterise ecological limits by carrying capacities for species richness. Such ecological limits have been justified by niche filling arguments: as species diversity increases, the number of available niches for diversification decreases. However, as species diversify they may diverge from one another phenotypically, which may open new niches for new species. Alternatively, this phenotypic divergence may not affect the species diversification process or even inhibit further diversification. Hence, it seems natural to explore the consequences of phylogenetic diversity-dependent (or phylodiversity-dependent) diversification. Current likelihood methods for estimating diversity-dependent diversification parameters cannot be used for this, as phylodiversity is continuously changing as time progresses and species form and become extinct. Here, we present a new method based on Monte Carlo Expectation-Maximization (MCEM), designed to perform statistical inference on a general class of species diversification models and implemented in the R package emphasis. We use the method to fit phylodiversity-dependent diversification models to 14 phylogenies, and compare the results to the fit of a richness-dependent diversification model. We find that in a number of phylogenies, phylogenetic divergence indeed spurs speciation even though species richness reduces it. Not only do we thus shine a new light on diversity-dependent diversification, we also argue that our inference framework can handle a large class of diversification models for which currently no inference method exists.",
"corpus_id": 235736231
} | {
"title": "Diversity begets diversity in mammal species and human cultures",
"abstract": "Across the planet the biogeographic distribution of human cultural diversity tends to correlate positively with biodiversity. In this paper we focus on the biogeographic distribution of mammal species and human cultural diversity. We show that not only are these forms of diversity similarly distributed in space, but they both scale superlinearly with environmental production. We develop theory that explains that as environmental productivity increases the ecological kinetics of diversity increases faster than expected because more complex environments are also more interactive. Using biogeographic databases of the global distributions of mammal species and human cultures we test a series of hypotheses derived from this theory and find support for each. For both mammals and cultures, we show that (1) both forms of diversity increase exponentially with ecological kinetics; (2) the kinetics of diversity is faster than the kinetics of productivity; (3) diversity scales superlinearly with environmental productivity; and (4) the kinetics of diversity is faster in increasingly productive environments. This biogeographic convergence is particularly striking because while the dynamics of biological and cultural evolution may be similar in principle the underlying mechanisms and time scales are very different. However, a common currency underlying all forms of diversity is ecological kinetics; the temperature-dependent fluxes of energy and biotic interactions that sustain all forms of life at all levels of organization. Diversity begets diversity in mammal species and human cultures because ecological kinetics drives superlinear scaling with environmental productivity.",
"corpus_id": 226390257
} | {
"title": "The Multi-species Coalescent Model and Species Tree Inference",
"abstract": "The multispecies coalescent (MSC) is an extension of the single-population coalescent model of population genetics to the case of multiple species. The MSC naturally accommodates speciation events (with subsequent genetic isolation between species) and the coalescent process within each species. It provides a framework for analysis of multilocus genomic sequence data from multiple species in a number of inference problems including species tree estimation, accounting for ancestral polymorphism and deep coalescence. Within this framework, the genealogical fluctuations across genes or genomic regions (and the gene tree/species tree conflicts that may result) are not seen as a problem but rather as a source of information for estimating important parameters such as species divergence times, ancestral population sizes, and the timings, directions, and intensities of cross-species introgression or hybridisation events. This chapter outlines the basic theory of the MSC and its important applications in analysis of genomic sequence data, describing the most widely-used full-likelihood and heuristic methods of species tree estimation. We discuss several active areas of research in which we predict future developments will occur, including inference of introgression events on a species phylogeny.",
"corpus_id": 209379918
} |
{
"title": "Homogenate Extraction of Crocins from Saffron Optimized by Response Surface Methodology",
"abstract": "Saffron, which has many kinds of biological activities, has been widely used in medicine, cosmetics, food, and other fields of health promotion industries. Crocins are the main component of saffron (Crocus sativus L.). At present, most of the extraction methods for crocins require long time or special instruments to complete the process and some of them are not suitable for industrial production at present. In this article, homogenate extraction technology which is a convenient and efficient method was developed for crocins extraction from saffron. Firstly, the influences of extraction voltage, extraction time, ethanol concentration, and temperature on crocins yield were studied by single factor experiments; and then response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize levels of four variables based on the result of single factor experiments. Results showed that the optimum extraction process conditions for crocins were as follows: extraction voltage, 110 V; ethanol concentration, 70%; extraction temperature, 57°C; and extraction time, 40 s. Based on these conditions, the extraction yield of crocins can reach 22.76% which is higher than ultrasonic extraction method. Therefore, homogenate extraction is an effective way to extract crocins from saffron with higher extraction yield and shorter extraction time.",
"corpus_id": 73635077
} | {
"title": "Response surface optimization of Safranal and Crocin extraction from Crocus sativus L. via supercritical fluid technology",
"abstract": "Abstract Safranal (2,3-Dihydro-2,2,6-trimethylbenzaldehyde) and Crocin (Crocetin digentoboisyl ester) were experimentally extracted from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) via supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and modified SC-CO2 with methanol as entrainer, respectively. The extracted samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to evaluate the effects of four independent variables (temperature, pressure, SC-CO2 flow rate, and dynamic extraction time) on the recovery of Safranal and Crocin. The recovery results indicated that the data adequately fitted into a second-order polynomial model. The optimal values of variables for Safranal extraction were determined by RSM to be 92 °C, 21.3 MPa, 0.9 cm3 min−1 and 122.0 min for the optimum predicted recovery of 91.76 w/w%. Optimum Recovery of Crocin (32.67 w/w%) was obtained at 44 °C, 19.3 MPa, 1.0 cm3 min−1 and 110.0 min. The accuracy of the modeling optimal Safranal and Crocin recovery was validated with triplicate experiments giving the average extraction recovery of 90.03 and 33.05 respectively.",
"corpus_id": 93154096
} | {
"title": "Detection of saffron adulteration with gardenia extracts through the determination of geniposide by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry",
"abstract": "Abstract A new and sophisticated saffron adulteration method with gardenia was recently discovered in the European saffron market. In this work, an analytical methodology using liquid chromatography-(quadrupole-time of flight)-mass spectrometry has been developed for the detection of the adulteration of saffron samples with gardenia through the determination of geniposide as an adulteration marker. A fused-core C18 column was employed using an isocratic elution with water:acetonitrile (85:15 v/v) containing 0.1% formic acid. After optimization of the mass spectrometry conditions, the analytical characteristics related to the determination of geniposide in negative electrospray ionization mode were evaluated. Then, it was possible to detect up to 10 ng/mL geniposide after a dilution step of 50-fold of the saffron extract (LOD of 41.7 μg of geniposide per gram of sample analysed (i.e up to 0.004%)). The developed LC–MS methodology was applied to the analysis of different authentic and suspicious saffron samples.",
"corpus_id": 99061063
} |
{
"title": "Haitian/Vilokan Idealism, Lakouism, and the Vodou Ethic and the Spirit of Communism",
"abstract": "The demystification of the Vodou religion or ontology as practiced in Haiti, epistemologically reveals a form of transcendental idealism and realism, Haitian/Vilokan Idealism, which produces a hermeneutical phenomenology, materialism, and an antidialectical process to history enframed by a reciprocal justice as its normative ethics. This work posits and concludes, that Haitian ontology, Vodou/Vilokan, gave rise to its epistemology, Haitian/Vilokan Idealism, which subsequently gave rise to the Vodou Ethic and the spirit of communism and the lakou system as its form of social and system integration, respectively.",
"corpus_id": 171745703
} | {
"title": "The Spirits and the Law: Vodou and Power in Haiti",
"abstract": "The Spirits and the Law: Vodou and Power in Haiti, by Kate Ramsey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-0226703794-4. 425 pp. $45.00 hardcover.The relationship between religion and law has been a source of growing interest and continuous debate among scholars, professionals, and the general public. Arguably, religion has played a significant role in the establishment of postcolonial Haiti and in the formation of Haitian cultural identity; its impact on the public life and Haitian politics is of paramount importance. In the same line of thought, Haitian laws have substantially influenced the religious life and practices of the Haitian people. This fascinating and intelligent study, The Spirits and the Law, focuses on the intersection of these two dynamic aspects in Haiti's cultural and intellectual tradition and history. The book seeks to show precisely how these important factors have defined and transformed Haiti's civil society and the legal system. Kate Ramsey investigates the role the Haitian Penal Code played in the production of false representations of Vodou and the ways that these misrepresentations further influenced Haitian elites to criminalize popular ritual practices in Haiti.Both Haitians and foreigners have often wrongly depicted Haiti's popular religion, Vodou, as the source of Haiti's troubles-from political disturbances to natural disasters. The Spirits and the Law is an inquiry into the institutional and social histories of the legal prohibition of certain popular ritual practices (i.e., spells, superstitious practices) in Haiti. It studies \"the long history of Euro-American denigration of African and African diasporic spiritual and healing practices\" (1) and \"the extent to which different Haitian governments relied upon the penal prohibition of le vaudoux to repudiate foreign charges that 'civilization' was regressing in independent Haiti\" (2). Ramsey pays particular attention to the power of the French-dominated Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in Haiti after its 1860 Concordat. This focus makes perfect sense since the Church has been one of the most active forces and institutions in fostering religious violence and in suppressing these popular religious performances and beliefs in the country. This ambitious book is divided into four chapters followed by an epilogue; its detailed conclusion delineates the genealogy of the word \"Vodou\" and the cultural understanding of the term Iwa (spirit/spirits).Chapter one examines the official criminalization of African-based rituals and the magico-religious practices in colonial Saint-Domingue four decades prior (roughly 1685) to the period surrounding the Haitian Revolution. It also discusses the scholarship surrounding the role Vodou played in overthrowing slavery and French colonialism. Additionally, Ramsey examines the post-colonial Haitian state's legal policies toward the popular religious practice and organization during the administration of Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Henry Christophe. The importance of this chapter is that it traces the legislative history of those laws, the connection within their larger social, cultural, and political contexts, their evolution within the cultural milieu in which they emerged, and finally their effects on the Haitian experience.Chapter two moves the conversation forward by studying exactly \"the legal categorization and prohibition of Vodou as a form of sortilege (spell) in the 1835 and 1864 Haitian penal codes\" (14). Ramsey argues that the legal discourse or the juridical sense of the concept of \"civilization\" in modernity-conveying the idea of a progressive historical process and equally the end result of that process-had shaped considerably the judicial repression of Vodou or vaudoux, a constituted term in the period that encompassed \"the whole of Haitian sorcery\" (56). Furthermore, sh articulates that \"the disparity between how this word was constructed through penal and ecclesiastical laws and how it was popularly understood thus became. …",
"corpus_id": 141018534
} | {
"title": "Markets without Symbolic Limits*",
"abstract": "Semiotic objections to commodification hold that buying and selling certain goods and services is wrong because of what market exchange communicates or because it violates the meaning of certain goods, services, and relationships. We argue that such objections fail. The meaning of markets and of money is a contingent, socially constructed fact. Cultures often impute meaning to markets in harmful, socially destructive, or costly ways. Rather than semiotic objections giving us reason to judge certain markets as immoral, the usefulness of certain markets gives us reason to judge certain semiotic codes as immoral.",
"corpus_id": 142830957
} |
{
"title": "Family Dynamics in Cross-National Families With Young Children in Singapore",
"abstract": "Transnational marriages between Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans have increased significantly in the 21st century, peaking at 41% among citizen marriages in 2009. About three-quarters of these couples are Singaporean grooms marrying foreign brides originating from lower income countries in Asia. We use a new nationally representative study—Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG LEADS)—to examine gender relations between spouses with young children and their family dynamics. Results show that compared to native-born mothers, foreign-born mothers have a more traditional gender ideology, bear heavier responsibility for housework, and are less likely to take primary responsibility for financial matters in the family. Data also reveal that there are more disagreements about childrearing between spouses and a higher level of family conflicts in these cross-national families. These differences can partly be accounted for by the age gap between spouses, mother’s education, family income, mother’s employment status, and family composition.",
"corpus_id": 256816104
} | {
"title": "The Place of Vietnamese Marriage Migrants in Singapore: social reproduction, social ‘problems’ and social protection",
"abstract": "Abstract While the literature on ‘global care chains’ has focused on the international transfer of paid reproductive labour in the form of domestic service and care work, a parallel trend takes the form of women marriage migrants, who perform unpaid labour to maintain households and reproduce the next generation. Drawing on our work with commercially matched Vietnamese marriage migrants in Singapore, we analyse the existing immigration–citizenship regime to examine how these marriage migrants are positioned within the family and nation-state as dependants of Singaporean men with no rights to work, residency or citizenship of their own. Incipient discussions on marriage migrants in civil society discourse have tended to follow a ‘social problems’ template, requiring legislative support and service provisioning to assist vulnerable women. We argue for the need to adopt an expansive approach to social protection issues, depending not on any one single source—the state, civil society and the family—but on government action to ensure that these complement one another and strengthen safety nets for the marriage migrant.",
"corpus_id": 153978740
} | {
"title": "The development and psychometric testing of East Asian Acculturation Scale among Asian immigrant women in Taiwan",
"abstract": "Objective. This is a report of development and psychometric testing of the East Asian Acculturation Measure-Chinese version (EAAM-C) scale. Design. An instrument validation design with a cross-sectional survey was conducted. The process was carried in two phases. In Phase 1, Barry's East Asian Acculturation Measure was translated and back translated to evaluate its content, face validity, and feasibility validity. In Phase 2, the 16-item EAAM-C was pilot-tested among 485 female immigrants for test-retest reliability, internal consistency, theoretically-supported construct validity and concurrent validity. Results. The pilot work and the survey results indicated the tools possessed adequate content and face validity. The Cronbach's Alphas for the EAAM-C was 0.72, and 0.76–0.79 for its subscales, and the correlation of test-retest reliability (at 3 weeks) was 0.75. After dropping one item, four theoretically-supported factors which explained 61.82% of the variance were abstracted using exploratory factor analysis: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. Based on the underlying four-factor theoretical structures of the EAAM, the confirmatory factor analysis of the EAAM-C was further examined. The analysis revealed that the four-factor model was an acceptable fit for the data which demonstrated adequate finding in its construct validity. These factors were inter-correlated, and showed statistically significant correlation with the Chinese Health Questionnaire, indicating adequate concurrent validity. Conclusions. The scale shows acceptable validity and consistency, and suggests that immigrant acculturation is a complex construct. This quick evaluation instrument can be applied to assess clients’ acculturation and in further developing certain interventions to improve their health.",
"corpus_id": 13130201
} |
{
"title": "Endotipsitis: a rare case of endovascular infection with ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae",
"abstract": "Endotipsitis is a vegetative endovascular infection of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). There is currently no uniformly accepted diagnostic criterion, and most cases are diagnosed by clinical diagnosis of recurrent bacteraemia in patients with TIPS and no identifiable source after appropriate investigation. We present a case of 62-year-old man in whom endotipsitis was suspected clinically after emergent TIPS placement complicated by TIPS thrombosis, need for TIPS revision and recurrent bacteraemia. The diagnosis was confirmed using an Indium-111-labelled leucocyte scan (tagged white blood cell scan). This case highlights the potential risks of endotipsitis with TIPS procedures and provides insight into the utilisation of an old diagnostic tool in a new diagnostic role.",
"corpus_id": 216647831
} | {
"title": "Biliary‐Venous Fistula Complicating Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Presenting With Recurrent Bacteremia, Jaundice, Anemia and Fever",
"abstract": "A 50‐year‐old White man with noncirrhotic portal hypertension presented with bleeding from gastric varices. Bleeding was initially managed with band ligation and subsequent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Over the next few months, the patient had recurrent episodes of anemia, jaundice, fever and polymicrobial bacteremia. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and chest, upper and lower endoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and echocardiography failed to explain the bacteremia and anemia. Follow‐up CT scan and Doppler sonography 9 months after placement showed TIPS was occluded. Repeat ERCP showed a bile leak with free run‐off of contrast from the left hepatic duct into a vascular structure. The patient's status was upgraded for liver transplantation with Regional Review Board agreement and subsequently received a liver transplant. Gross examination of the native liver demonstrated a fistula between the left bile duct and the middle hepatic vein. Pathologic evaluation confirmed focal necrosis of the left hepatic duct communicating with an occluded TIPS and nodular regenerative hyperplasia consistent with noncirrhotic portal hypertension. Infection is rarely reported in a totally occluded TIPS. Biliary fistulas in patent TIPS have been treated by endoluminal stent graft and endoscopic sphincterotomy with biliary stent placement. Liver transplantation may be the preferred treatment if TIPS becomes infected following its complete occlusion.",
"corpus_id": 27000734
} | {
"title": "Giant choledochal cyst in infancy--A rare entity.",
"abstract": "1. Sanyal AJ, Reddy KR. Vegetative infection of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts. Gastroenterology . 1998;115:110–5. 2. Paterson DL, Doi Y. A step closer to extreme drug resistance (XDR) in gram-negative bacilli. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;45:1179–81. 3. Armstrong PK, MacLeod C. Infection of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt devices: three cases and a review of the literature. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36:407–12. 4. Mizrahi M, Adar T, Shouval D, Bloom AI, Shibolet O. Endotipsitis-persistent infection of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: pathogenesis, clinical features and management. Liver Int. 2010;30:175–83. 5. Dobbins BM, Kite P, Catton JA, Wilcox MH, McMahon MJ. In situ endoluminal brushing: a safe technique for the diagnosis of catheter-related bloodstream infection. J Hosp Infect . 2004;58:233–7. 6. DeSimone JA, Beavis KG, Eschelman DJ, Henning KJ. Sustained bacteremia associated with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Clin Infect Dis. 2000;30:384–6.",
"corpus_id": 31207023
} |
{
"title": "Estimation and Assessment of the Root Zone Soil Moisture from Near-Surface Measurements over Huai River Basin",
"abstract": "Root zone soil moisture (RZSM) is a vital variable for agricultural production, water resource management and runoff prediction. Satellites provide large-scale and long-term near-surface soil moisture retrievals, which can be used to estimate RZSM through various methods. In this study, we tested the utility of an exponential filter (ExpF) using in situ soil moisture by optimizing the optimal characteristic time length T_opt for different soil depths. Furthermore, the parameter analysis showed that T_opt correlated negatively with precipitation and had no significant correlation with selected soil properties. Two approaches were taken to obtain T_opt: (1) optimization of the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE); (2) calculation based on annual average precipitation. The precipitation-based T_pre outperformed the station-specific T_opt and stations-averaged T_opt. To apply the ExpF on grid scale, the precipitation-based T_pre considering spatial variability was adopted in the ExpF to obtain RZSM from a new soil moisture dataset RF_SMAP_L3_P (Random Forest Soil Moisture Active Passive_L3_Passive) continuous in time and space over Huai River Basin. Finally, the performance of RF_SMAP_L3_P RZSM (0–100 cm) was evaluated using in situ measurements and compared with mainstream products, for instance, Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity Level 4 (SMOS L4) RZSM. The results indicated that RF_SMAP_L3_P RZSM could captured the temporal variation of measured RZSM best with R value of 0.586, followed by SMAP L4, which had the lowest bias value of 0.03, and SMOS L4 significantly underestimated the measured RZSM with bias value of −0.048 in the basin. Higher accuracy of RF_SMAP_L3_P RZSM was found in the flood period compared with the non-flood period, which indicates a better application for ExpF in wetter weather conditions.",
"corpus_id": 255725030
} | {
"title": "Root zone soil moisture estimation with Random Forest",
"abstract": "Abstract Accurate estimates of root zone soil moisture (RZSM) at relevant spatio-temporal scales are essential for many agricultural and hydrological applications. Applications of machine learning (ML) techniques to estimate root zone soil moisture are limited compared to commonly used process-based models based on flow and transport equations in the vadose zone. However, data-driven ML techniques present unique opportunities to develop quantitative models without having assumptions on the processes operating within the system being investigated. In this study, the Random Forest (RF) ensemble learning algorithm, is tested to demonstrate the capabilities and advantages of ML for RZSM estimation. Interpolation and extrapolation of RZSM on a daily timescale was carried out using RF over a small agricultural catchment from 2016 to 2018 using in situ measurements. Results show that RF predictions have slightly higher accuracy for interpolation and similar accuracy for extrapolation in comparison with RZSM simulated from a process-based model combined with data assimilation. RF predictions for extreme wet and dry conditions were, however, less accurate. This was inferred to be due to infrequent sampling of such conditions that led to poor learning in the trained RF model and to incomplete representation of relevant subsurface processes at the study sites in the RF covariates. Since RF does not depend on parameters required to estimate subsurface water flow, it is more advantageous than a process-based model in data-poor regions where soil hydraulic parameters are incomplete or missing, especially when the primary goal is only the estimation of soil moisture states.",
"corpus_id": 230571994
} | {
"title": "Crop production variability in North and South America forced by life-cycles of the El Niño Southern Oscillation",
"abstract": "Abstract In this analysis we show how globally coherent teleconnections from life-cycles of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) lead to correlated crop production anomalies in North and South America. We estimate the magnitude of ENSO-induced Pan-American production anomalies and discuss how increasing crop harvesting frequency may affect Pan-American production variability. We find that ENSO accounts for ∼72%, 30% and 57% of Pan-American maize, soybean and wheat production variability, respectively. ENSO-induced production anomalies are greatest for maize, with median anomalies of ∼5% of Pan-American production. ENSO-induced yield anomalies for maize and soybeans tend to be of the same sign in North America and southeast South America but of an opposite sign in northeast Brazil. Teleconnections for wheat are more complicated because ENSO affects wheat yields via lagged soil moisture teleconnections in the US and an increased probability of disease in South America, but anomalies tend to be of the same sign in North America and southeast South America. After broadly characterizing ENSO-induced production anomalies, we demonstrate that they are not static in time. Increasing crop harvesting frequency has affected the correlated risks posed by ENSO. We use a soil water balance to show that in Brazil changing to a safrinha cropping cycle increases both the mean water stress and the ENSO-induced soil water content anomalies during flowering in both the maize and soybean seasons, which is a result of increasing evaporative demand during times of lower precipitation and moving the flowering seasons into months with strong ENSO teleconnections. Increasing crop harvesting frequency in Brazil has therefore increased ENSO-induced production variability of soybeans and maize.",
"corpus_id": 12624246
} |
{
"title": "Effect of an Educational Program on the Nurses' Performance and Health Outcomes for Patients with Traumatic Head Injury",
"abstract": "Background: Traumatic Head Injury (THI) is a disruption in the normal function of the brain that caused by a blow or jolt to the head. The role of critical care nurses is a vital at the acute care by giving priority of the immediate assessment, stabilization of the airway and circulation and prevention of secondary injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational program on the nurses' performance and health outcomes for patients with traumatic head injury. Study design: A quasi-experimental design was used. Settings: This study was conducted in the emergency unit and the emergency intensive care unit at Banha University Hospital. Subject: A convenient sample of (50) registered nurses caring for patients with THI and (50) patients with THI were included in the study. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection; I-self-administered questionnaire tool, IIthe nurses’ practice observational checklist and III-patients' health outcomes assessment. Results: All of the nurses had unsatisfactory knowledge and practice regarding caring for patients with THI pre-program implementation which improved immediately post program implementation (30% and 24%), respectively. The mean of the studied patients regarding total trauma scale pre-program implementation was 16.89 10.61 that improved immediately post program implementation 13.24 12.08. Conclusion: There was a highly statistical significant improvement in the level of nurses’ performance and health outcomes for patients with THI after implementation of the educational program. Recommendations: The importance of continuous in-service training programs about THI for refreshing and updating the nurses’ knowledge and practice regarding THI.",
"corpus_id": 245849260
} | {
"title": "Impact of an Educational Program on Nurses' Knowledge and Practice Regarding Care of Traumatic Brain İnjury Patients at Intensive Care Unit at Suez Canal University Hospital",
"abstract": "Background: Aim of this study : This study was aiming to evaluate Impact of an Edu cational Program on Nurses' Knowledge and practice Regarding Care of Tr aumatic brain injury Patients at Intensive Care Uni t at Suez Canal University Hospital. Research design: quasi experimental study design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at intensive care unit at Suez canal university hospital at Ismailia city. Subject: The study involved all available nurses' worked in intensive care unit at Suez canal university hospi tal at Ismailia city about 30 nurse. Tool of data collection: part (1):Structured Interview Questionnaire tool it includes demographic data, part (2) Nurse's Knowledge regarding care of traumatic brain injury patients, part (3) observational checklist about care of traumatic brain injury patients . Results: Total mean knowledge score regarding care of trauma tic brain injury patients were un satisfactory befo r the program implementation and satisfied post progr am implementation. Conclusion: Nurse’s level of knowledge and practice in caring of traumatic brain injury patients was un satisfactory before the program implementation and satisfied post program implementation in all items. Recommendation: The study recommended continuous educational progr ams should be planned on regular basis to nurses' caring of traumatic brain injury patient s for enhancing nurses' knowledge and practice to a chieve high quality of care.",
"corpus_id": 208222723
} | {
"title": "Post-acute care for stroke – a retrospective cohort study in Taiwan",
"abstract": "Background Stroke often causes functional decline in patients. Therefore, after the acute phase, many patients require post-acute care (PAC) to maximize their functional progress, reduce disability, and make it possible for them to return to their home and community. PAC can be provided in different settings. Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) proposed a PAC pilot program, effective since 2014, for stroke patients that allowed patients with the potential for functional improvement to receive PAC rehabilitation in regional or community hospitals. The purpose of this study was to explore the initial achievements and clinical impact of this program in Taiwan. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study that mainly analyzed basic hospitalization data and scores for function and quality of life, as recorded immediately after admission and before discharge, for stroke patients in the PAC program in a hospital in Taiwan. Results This study collected complete data from a total of 168 patients. After an average of 43.57 days in the program, patients showed significant improvement in the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS), the Barthel Activity Daily Living Index (B-ADL), the Lawton–Brody Instrumental Activity Daily Living Scale (LB-IADL), the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), and the Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA), in mobility, self-care, and usual activity, as well as on anxiety/depression in the EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionnaire (EQ-5D) and in the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). After discharge, 76.8% of the patients could return to their home and community. Conclusion This study showed that the pilot PAC program significantly promoted recovery of function in stroke patients and helped them to return to their home and community. Patients with the potential for functional recovery should consider receiving PAC service in a hospital after discharge from acute stroke care.",
"corpus_id": 22155366
} |
{
"title": "Bacopa monnieri , a Nootropic Drug",
"abstract": "Bacopa monnieri L. Pennell (family: Scrophulariaceae) is a reputed drug of Ayurveda. It is used in traditional medicine to treat various nervous disorders; it is also used as a stomachic, a digestive, rejuvenate, for promoting memory and intellect, for skin disorders, and as an antiepileptic, antipyretic, and analgesic. In a sector study by the Export–Import Bank of India, B. monnieri was placed second in a priority list of the most important medicinal plants, evaluated on the basis of their medicinal importance, commercial value, and potential for further research and development. Based on the traditional claims on B. monnieri as a memory enhancer, many classical and proprietary preparations are now available on the market. In the last two decades, B. monnieri has been studied extensively for its chemical constituents, its efficacy has been established in several in vivo and in vitro models, and randomized clinical trials have also been carried out. This article reviews the work carried out on the chemical, pharmacological, clinical, and biotechnological aspects of this plant.",
"corpus_id": 74684765
} | {
"title": "Triterpene saponins from Bacopa monnieri and their antidepressant effects in two mice models.",
"abstract": "Three new triterpene glycosides, bacopasides VI-VIII (1-3), together with three known analogues, bacopaside I (4), bacopaside II (5), and bacopasaponsin C (6), were isolated from the whole plant of Bacopa monnieri. Compounds 4, 5, and 6 showed antidepressant activity when tested on forced swimming and tail suspension in mice, respectively.",
"corpus_id": 42923960
} | {
"title": "Neurobiological basis of depression: an update.",
"abstract": "The past 5 years have seen unprecedented advances in our knowledge about the neurobiology of depression. Significant breakthroughs have been made in genomics, imaging, and the identification of key neural systems involved in cognition, emotion, and behavior. In addition, novel targets have been identified for the development of new pharmacological and behavioral treatments. Genetic variations associated with most mental disorders are being identified, and reliable tests for early detection of risk and disease are now on the horizon. New neurobiological concepts have emerged, as they relate to these advances in mental health research such as the serotonin transporter receptor, a genetic variant of which doubles the risk of depression. Brain neurochemicals, including neurotropic factors (implicated in several mental disorders), and anatomical studies involving imaging of the amygdala and the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are now at the forefront. Several brain neurotransmitters systems: glutamate, gamma -aminobutyric acid, serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine have been implicated in depression and mania. These transmitter systems, as well as other neurochemical systems such as membrane-bound signal transduction systems and intracellular signaling systems that modulate gene transcription and protein synthesis, play an important role in the etiology of depression. This new knowledge is expected to provide important clues for the development of selective pharmacological interventions. Neuroimaging studies of depressed patients have shown several abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism--a surrogate of neuronal function--in various brain regions, including the limbic cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the anterior cingulate cortex. At this time, a considerable amount of new information is converging--derived from animal models of mood disorders, genetics, basic behavioral research, and neuroscience. It is inevitable that the next step in this progression will be the integration of these basic advances in clinical management and the application of this new information in the context of the depressed patient.",
"corpus_id": 1793162
} |
{
"title": "Data-driven discovery of governing equations for fluid dynamics based on molecular simulation",
"abstract": "The discovery of governing equations from data is revolutionizing the development of some research fields, where the scientific data are abundant but the well-characterized quantitative descriptions are probably scarce. In this work, we propose to combine the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which is a popular molecular simulation tool for gas flows, and machine learning to discover the governing equations for fluid dynamics. The DSMC method does not assume any macroscopic governing equations a priori but just relies on the model of molecular interactions at the microscopic level. The data generated by DSMC are utilized to derive the underlying governing equations using a sparse regression method proposed recently. We demonstrate that this strategy is capable of deriving a variety of equations in fluid dynamics, such as the momentum equation, diffusion equation, Fokker–Planck equation and vorticity transport equation. The data-driven discovery not only provides the right forms of the governing equations, but also determines accurate values of the transport coefficients such as viscosity and diffusivity. This work proves that data-driven discovery combined with molecular simulations is a promising and alternative method to derive governing equations in fluid dynamics, and it is expected to pave a new way to establish the governing equations of non-equilibrium flows and complex fluids.",
"corpus_id": 216253839
} | {
"title": "Langevin equation elucidates the mechanism of the Rayleigh-Bénard instability by coupling molecular motions and macroscopic fluctuations.",
"abstract": "It is well known that Brownian motion can be described using Langevin equation. In this paper we extend the application of the Langevin equation to the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) flow, assuming that each molecule in the system is a Brownian particle colliding with its surrounding molecules. The phenomenon of thermal instability, changing from a conductive to a convective state, is well reproduced by Langevin dynamics simulations. The roles of the drag force and the random force terms in the Langevin equation in triggering thermal instability are elucidated via numerical tests. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the strength of the fluctuation correlations increases as the Rayleigh number approaches the critical value, and the characteristics of the fluctuation correlations below the onset of instability foreshadow the form of the convective patterns emerging above the critical point. The Langevin equation, together with the form of the fluctuation correlations, sheds new light on the mechanism of the RB instability.",
"corpus_id": 8966641
} | {
"title": "Deep Hidden Physics Models: Deep Learning of Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations",
"abstract": "A long-standing problem at the interface of artificial intelligence and applied mathematics is to devise an algorithm capable of achieving human level or even superhuman proficiency in transforming observed data into predictive mathematical models of the physical world. In the current era of abundance of data and advanced machine learning capabilities, the natural question arises: How can we automatically uncover the underlying laws of physics from high-dimensional data generated from experiments? In this work, we put forth a deep learning approach for discovering nonlinear partial differential equations from scattered and potentially noisy observations in space and time. Specifically, we approximate the unknown solution as well as the nonlinear dynamics by two deep neural networks. The first network acts as a prior on the unknown solution and essentially enables us to avoid numerical differentiations which are inherently ill-conditioned and unstable. The second network represents the nonlinear dynamics and helps us distill the mechanisms that govern the evolution of a given spatiotemporal data-set. We test the effectiveness of our approach for several benchmark problems spanning a number of scientific domains and demonstrate how the proposed framework can help us accurately learn the underlying dynamics and forecast future states of the system. In particular, we study the Burgers', Korteweg-de Vries (KdV), Kuramoto-Sivashinsky, nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger, and Navier-Stokes equations.",
"corpus_id": 523487
} |
{
"title": "Management of Iatrogenic Aortic Dissections During Percutaneous Right Coronary Artery Interventions",
"abstract": "Iatrogenic acute aortic dissections during percutaneous coronary interventions are an extremely rare but potentially life-threatening complication, occurring in less than 0.02% of transcatheter procedures. We report three patients with different characteristics suffering from iatrogenic aortic dissection during percutaneous coronary intervention successfully treated with an emergency open-heart surgery. A conservative strategy should be pursuit only in small, localized lesions.",
"corpus_id": 251622712
} | {
"title": "Favorable outcome of mechanical support for iatrogenic aortic dissection",
"abstract": "A 64-year-old woman with inferior myocardial infarction underwent a coronary intervention, but iatrogenic aortic dissection was detected (Figure 1). Urgent computed tomography confirmed iatrogenic type A dissection from the right coronary sinus to the iliac bifurcation (Figure 2). Emergency surgery was performed via sternotomy and peripheral (common femoral artery and vein) institution of cardiopulmonary bypass with Maquet (Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) arterial and venous cannulae. The ascending aorta and right coronary sinus were replaced with a 28-mm Dacron prosthesis (Terumo, UK), and singlevessel coronary bypass grafting was performed. Transesophageal echocardiography showed low ventricular contractility and moderate aortic insufficiency. On failure to wean the patient from cardiopulmonary bypass despite optimal medical support, we decided to start peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. After 4 days, we were able to wean the patient from the machine. Computed tomography one year later showed persistence of the dissection (Figure 3) but no target organ damage. Figure 1. (a) Coronary angiography showing right coronary artery lesions (arrows), (b) treated by balloon angioplasty and stents. (c, d, e) Evidence of aortic dissection at the end of the procedure.",
"corpus_id": 53751539
} | {
"title": "Conservative treatment of iatrogenic left main coronary artery dissection: report of two cases.",
"abstract": "Revascularization treatment is mostly recommended for iatrogenic left main coronary artery dissection because of potential for catastrophic sequel, even in case of initial TIMI 3 flow and hemodynamic stability. However, conservative treatment seems to be feasible in asymptomatic and hemodinamically stable patient with low-grade dissection. We report two cases of iatrogenic left main coronary dissection managed conservatively.",
"corpus_id": 9682750
} |
{
"title": "Endorsement of a single-item measure of sleep disturbance during pregnancy and risk for postpartum depression: a retrospective cohort study",
"abstract": "Poor prenatal sleep quality is associated with increased risk for depressive symptoms but may go undetected in brief, busy prenatal care visits. Among non-depressed pregnant participants, we evaluated whether 1) the endorsement of sleep disturbance on a depression questionnaire predicted postpartum depressive symptoms, 2) the strength of these associations was higher than other somatic symptoms of pregnancy and depression (i.e., fatigue, appetite disturbance), and 3) the endorsement of prenatal sleep disturbance varied by participant characteristics. In this retrospective cohort study, participants had a live birth and completed Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) during pregnancy and within 8 weeks postpartum between 2012 and 2017. Participants who were non-depressed during pregnancy (PHQ-9 < 10) were included ( n = 3619). We operationalized sleep disturbance, fatigue, and appetite disturbance as endorsement of item 3, 4, and 5 on the PHQ-9, respectively, and postpartum depressive symptoms as PHQ-9 total score ≥ 10. Participant characteristic variables included age, race, ethnicity, parity, gestational age at delivery, and preterm birth. Prenatal sleep disturbance was associated with higher odds of postpartum depressive symptoms (aORs 1.9, 95% CI 1.2–3.1 for first trimester; 3.7, 95% CI 1.5–11.5 for second trimester; 3.4, 95% CI 1.9–6.8 for third trimester). Fatigue and appetite disturbance in the first and third trimesters were associated with higher odds of postpartum depressive symptoms. Sleep disturbance varied by race during the first and second trimesters ( p < 0.05) and was highest among Black or African American participants (61.8–65.1%). A routinely administered single-item measure of sleep disturbance could identify otherwise lower-risk pregnant individuals who may benefit from depression prevention efforts.",
"corpus_id": 255748229
} | {
"title": "Managing Pregnancy and Nursing Affecting African American Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Clinical Outcomes and Parenthood",
"abstract": "Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two autoimmune diseases encompassing Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) which are lifelong diseases affecting more than 3 million adults (1.3%) in the United States. IBD is characterized by chronic inflammation of the whole digestive system which results in damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. IBD often emerges during adolescence and young adulthood. Maternal morbidity includes physical and psychological conditions that result from or are aggravated by pregnancy and have an adverse effect on a woman’s health, the baby’s health or both. Some women have health challenges that arise before or during pregnancy that could lead to complications. It is recommended for women to receive health care counseling before and during pregnancy. Compared to other developed countries, the United States has the highest rate of women dying of pregnancy related complications. During the past 25 years maternal mortality has been getting worse. African American women (AAW) with and/or without IBD are dying at significantly higher rates than other groups. This is linked to several factors, i.e., systemic, institutionalized, and structural racism in health-care delivery and subsequent toxic stress from people’s lived experiences of racism, limited knowledge about healthcare system function, lack of access to healthcare, (inclusiveness and insurance policies) all of which negatively impact these patients. African Americans (AAs) are also up to three times as likely to experience severe maternal morbidity: unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery, deficient or lacking prenatal care and social determinants of health like lack of transportation, adequate employment, limited literacy, and limited healthcare access contribute to poor health outcomes. Studies on IBD patients indicate Medicaid expansion is associated with reduced rates of maternal morbidity, particularly for African American Women (AAW) and increased access to preconception and prenatal services that make pregnancy and childbirth safer for parent and baby. Herein we examine the physiological changes of pregnancy in patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and their relationship perinatal outcomes and parenthood.",
"corpus_id": 259582169
} | {
"title": "The impact of El Niño southern oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole on the burned area in Indonesia",
"abstract": "Land and forest fire have been identified as one of the main problems contributing to forest biodiversity and Global Warming and well known as the phenomenon affected by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The total burned area becomes higher when either El Niño or positive IOD occur. This research aims to analyze and quantify the direct correlation of the Niño 3.4 and difference between west and east pole of IOD sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) to the burned area in Indonesia and the impact of ENSO and IOD of each category on the burned area. The correlation between spatial location with Niño 3.4 and difference IOD SST's will be analyzed using a heterogeneous correlation map. Meanwhile, the quantitative impact will be calculated based on the singular value decomposition analysis result to each year categories. The most significant impact of El Niño has occurred on Merauke following Kalimantan shows the strongest correlation between burned area and Niño 3.4 SST. However, the significant increase of burned area only occurred during very strong El Niño. Both areas can have double amount of burned area during peak fire in very strong El Niño. Moderate El Niño have the most diverse impact with the stronger one occurs on Kalimantan and Merauke. Weak El Niño can have a significant impact if occurred simultaneously with positive IOD. Even more, it can surpass the effect of a single Moderate El Niño. Meanwhile, the strongest IOD impact happened in the southern part of Sumatra. Correlation map analysis between ENSO and IOD’s sea surface temperature with burned area. Behaviour analysis of burned area in Indonesia in response to ENSO and IOD. Identify and quantify the impact of ENSO-IOD’s teleconnection in Indonesia. Correlation map analysis between ENSO and IOD’s sea surface temperature with burned area. Behaviour analysis of burned area in Indonesia in response to ENSO and IOD. Identify and quantify the impact of ENSO-IOD’s teleconnection in Indonesia.",
"corpus_id": 248587646
} |
{
"title": "An exploratory analysis of continuing professional development perspectives of Turkish architects according to career stages",
"abstract": "ABSTRACT Continuing professional development (CPD) can be more successful if professional learning is matched with current knowledge, goals and career stages of architects. This is because a distinct set of motivations, drivers and barriers come into play in each career stage. CPD for architects in Turkey is not structured to address the diverse needs of professionals throughout their career life cycle. This study reports the findings of a descriptive–exploratory research which aimed to explore the CPD-related perceptions of the architects who are in their early, mid- and late-career stages. Data from an opinion survey of 120 architects, following a convenience sampling process, were analyzed both statistically and qualitatively. Outputs of the analyses of variance, multiple regression analyses and content analyses of qualitative data suggest that there are differences between the CPD perceptions and orientations of early, mid- and late-career architects according to their demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, marital status and job experience. Findings appear consistent with the socioemotional selectivity theory of psychology, which asserts that individuals tend to prioritize short-term over long-term goals; and pursue less new information when they become aware of their limited time perspective. Findings support the role of contextual factors on learning, such as the traditional role of project delivery processes, informal relationships with colleagues and the problem-based nature of professional learning in architecture. Establishing a stronger link between individual and organizational motivations for CPD is likely to result in more successful policies. Designers of CPD training programs can benefit from the outputs of this research.",
"corpus_id": 111850845
} | {
"title": "Differentiating CPE from Training: Reconsidering Terms, Boundaries, and Economic Factors",
"abstract": "The differences between continuing professional education (CPE) and training are examined by presenting a systems view of the factors that make CPE different from training. The authors analyze these differences by discussing scope, stakeholders, control, and occupational mobility. These factors provide a framework for examining differences between CPE and training from an economic perspective. The authors review economic rationales for CPE and discuss how existing training evaluation concepts, such as cost-benefit analysis and return on investment may be adapted to the specific characteristics of CPE. They end by reflecting on the possibilities that the proposed approach offers and list a number of recommendations for further research.",
"corpus_id": 145453603
} | {
"title": "Prevalence and risk factors for vitamin D insufficiency among children with epilepsy.",
"abstract": "This cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, vitamin D insufficiency among children treated for epilepsy in a general pediatric neurology clinic. Included were 78 children with epilepsy, aged 3-17 years, treated by the authors between September 2008 and March 2009. Vitamin D levels and relevant risk factors were evaluated using multiple logistic regression. Of the 78 children, 41% were male and 81% were of European origin; the mean age was 11.64 + or - 4.37 years. 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of <20 ng/mL were observed in 25% of the children and levels considered to be normal (>32 ng/mL) were observed in only 25%. Girls and children with elevated body mass index were at increased risk for low 25-hydroxyvitamin D. The odds ratio for low 25-hydroxyvitamin D was 4.07 for girls versus boys, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.18-13.97; for each 1-unit increase in body mass index, the odds ratio was 1.179, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.047-1.329. Use of newer antiepileptic drugs was not associated with altered risk, compared with older enzyme-inducing drugs. Vitamin D insufficiency was highly prevalent in this unselected population of children with epilepsy. Female sex and increased body mass index were significant risk factors for low vitamin D levels, but antiepileptic drug regimen was not.",
"corpus_id": 24787904
} |
{
"title": "A mixed method study exploring patient satisfaction and feasibility of two exercise programmes in systemic sclerosis-associated microstomia",
"abstract": "Abstract Objective SSc often leads to fibrotic cutaneous involvement of the face and reduced oral aperture, with impaired food intake and oral hygiene. Oral exercises can increase oral aperture but are often hampered by low adherence rates. The aim of this mixed method study was to explore the feasibility, patient satisfaction and effectiveness of two exercise programmes in SSc-associated microstomia. Methods Adult patients suffering from SSc and microstomia (maximal oral aperture <40 mm) were randomized to two groups. Group A exercised with a jaw motion device (Therabite), whereas group B performed mouth-stretching exercises. Patients were expected to exercise for 10 min, three times per day for 3 months. Patients were evaluated at baseline, 3 months (period without intervention), 6 months (after 3 months of intervention) and 9 months (post-intervention). At month 6, semi-structured one‐to‐one interviews were conducted. Results We included six women and three men, median age 60 years and median disease duration 8 years. At 6 months, all patients in group A (n = 4) and four in group B (n = 5) improved, with a median of 9 and 7 mm, respectively. The adherence ranged between 63.7 and 98.9% in group A and between 48.5 and 97.4% in group B. The interview revealed three themes: drivers, challenges and perceived improvement. Conclusion Both interventions improved maximal oral aperture. The adherence to therapy was high, but none of the patients considered it feasible to continue practising three times per day. Future studies are needed in order to define feasible long-term exercise programmes.",
"corpus_id": 233849877
} | {
"title": "Effect of orofacial exercises on oral aperture in adults with systemic sclerosis",
"abstract": "Purpose: To examine the effect of a home orofacial exercise program on increasing oral aperture among adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Method: Forty-eight adults with SSc were assigned randomly to the multifaceted oral-health intervention or usual dental care control group. Participants with an oral aperture of <40 mm in the intervention group received an orofacial exercise program, which included daily manual mouth-stretching and oral-augmentation exercises twice a day with a total of 6 minutes for 6 months. The outcome measure was oral aperture which was measured at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months intervals. Results: A significantly larger increase in oral aperture for participants received the orofacial exercise program was found when compared to those in the usual care at 3 months (P = 0.01), but not at 6-months evaluation. Participants’ adherence rate to the exercise program was low (48.9%). Conclusions: The orofacial exercise program intervention for adults with SSc and microstomia did not show significant improvement at 6 months. In addition to the low exercise adherence rate, insufficient frequencies, repetitions, and durations of the orofacial exercises may contribute to these results. Implications for Rehabilitation Microstomia in adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc) has profound impacts on their quality of life. Orofacial exercise programs have the potential to improve the size of oral aperture. Brief daily orofacial home exercises for 6 months did not result in a significant increase in the size of oral aperture.",
"corpus_id": 37303716
} | {
"title": "Diagnosis, evaluation, and management of ascites and hepatorenal syndrome.",
"abstract": "This is a comprehensive guidance on the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of ascites and hepatorenal syndrome in patients with chronic liver disease from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). It replaces the prior AASLD guideline on the same topic published in 2012 (1).",
"corpus_id": 233721521
} |
{
"title": "An empirical examination of repeated auctions for biodiversity conservation contracts",
"abstract": "The European Union’s Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development has introduced auctioning as a new instrument for granting agri-environmental payments and awarding conservation contracts for the recent multi-annual budgetary plan. This paper therefore deals with the conception and results of two case study auctions for conservation contracts. Results of two field experiments show much differentiated bid prices in the model-region and budgetary cost-effectiveness gains of up to 21% in the first auction and up to 36% in the repeated auction. Besides these promising results, some critical aspects as well as lessons to be learned will also be discussed in this paper to improve the design and performance of upcoming conservation auctions.",
"corpus_id": 152502951
} | {
"title": "Which instruments to preserve forest biodiversity",
"abstract": "In general, neither the social norms nor market dynamics stimulate spontaneously activities and practices conducive to biodiversity. The nature of public good of biodiversity leads to its rapid erosion. Even if it can respond positively to social expectations and improve welfare in the long term2, taking into account biodiversity often leads to changes in the way we produce or how to exercise its property right. The consideration of biodiversity may determine production losses and income decreases.[...]",
"corpus_id": 150710691
} | {
"title": "How Did Air Quality Standards Affect Employment at US Power Plants? The Importance of Timing, Geography, and Stringency",
"abstract": "We examine fossil-fuel power plant employment impacts of new nitrogen oxides (NOx) provisions under Title I of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAAs). These provisions required installation of reasonably available control technology (RACT) for NOx emissions for major stationary sources in the Ozone Transport Region and in more stringently classified ozone nonattainment areas. Standard approaches using nonattainment designation to identify regulatory impacts abstract from important implementation aspects such as when regulatory changes occur, where regulations are in effect, and which specific regulations apply. Omitting these factors can introduce bias by contaminating the control group, leading to underestimation of historical employment impacts and overestimation of projected impacts from tightening regulations. Our results indicate that the new NOx RACT requirements negatively impacted power plant employment. We find no significant impacts on generation, suggesting that installation of pollution controls may have contributed to labor-saving technical change at affected units.",
"corpus_id": 145821396
} |
{
"title": "Impact of calcified nodule on target lesion failure after stent implantation in hemodialysis patients",
"abstract": "Little is known about intravascular imaging predictors of cardiac events after drug‐eluting stent (DES) implantation in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We aimed to reveal the association between calcified nodules (CN) and target lesion failure (TLF) in HD patients after DES implantation.",
"corpus_id": 257153808
} | {
"title": "Cause of Stent Failure in Patients on Hemodialysis",
"abstract": "Cardiovascular disease is the dominant cause of death in patients on maintenance hemodialysis, with reports of 10 to 20 times higher than in the general population.1 The association between chronic kidney disease and higher cardiovascular event rates following coronary intervention has been well documented.2 Several studies have established that worse clinical outcomes following coronary revascularization track with the severity of renal dysfunction, with subjects on maintenance hemodialysis showing the worst clinical outcomes.3 Patients on hemodialysis tend to have greater calcification of their coronary arteries, which hampers optimization of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) results4,5 and leads to inappropriate vascular healing.6 Both factors contribute to the poorer outcomes after coronary stent implantation in patients on hemodialysis.7,8",
"corpus_id": 221862204
} | {
"title": "First real-time isotopic characterisation of N2O from chemodenitrification",
"abstract": "Abstract Chemodenitrification can be a substantial abiotic source of nitrous oxide (N2O) in soil. The isotopic signature of N2O from this process could support source partitioning, but it is currently unknown in sufficient detail. In this study, we determined the isotopic composition of N2O, produced by the reaction of nitrite (NO2−) with lignin, four lignin derivatives, and three types of soils, online with a quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS). We present the first dataset of continuous measurements of δ15Nbulk (δ15Nbulk ≡ (δ15Nα + δ15Nβ)/2), δ18O, and site preference (SPN2O, SPN2O ≡ δ15Nα − δ15Nβ) of N2O from chemodenitrification in both chemical assays and soils. Considerable amounts of N2O were produced by chemical reduction of NO2−, indicating that chemodenitrification could dominate N2O emission in NO2−-rich environments. The values of SPN2O varied by more than 20‰ in the reactions of sodium nitrite with organic substances. Contrary to the common assumption that SPN2O values are constant for a distinct N2O source process, our results reveal a considerable shift in SPN2O over time for most experiments. The large SPN2O variability might be explained by the multiple pathways with hyponitrous acid or nitramide as N2O precursors. These findings provide important new information to improve our understanding about the dependency of N2O isotopic signatures on N2O production processes.",
"corpus_id": 203946788
} |
{
"title": "A Digital Twin for Decision Making on Livestock Feeding",
"abstract": "Looking for an accurate and cost-effective solution to measure feed inventories, forecast the feed demand and allow feed suppliers to optimize inventories, production batches, and delivery routes.",
"corpus_id": 245610373
} | {
"title": "Electric vehicle routing with flexible time windows: a column generation solution approach",
"abstract": "ABSTRACT In this paper, we introduce the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Flexible Time Windows (EVRPFTW) in which vehicles are allowed to serve customers before and after the earliest and latest time window bounds, respectively. The objective of this problem is to assign electric vehicles to feasible routes and make schedules with minimum total cost that includes the traveling costs, the costs of using electric vehicles and the penalty costs incurred for earliness and lateness. The proposed mathematical model is solved by a column generation procedure. To generate an integer solution, we solve an integer programming problem using the routes constructed by the column generation algorithm. We further develop a linear programming model to compute the optimal times to start service at each customer for the selected routes. A number of well-known benchmark instances is solved by our solution procedure to evaluate the operational gains obtained by employing flexible time windows.",
"corpus_id": 212908685
} | {
"title": "A hybrid method of exponential smoothing and recurrent neural networks for time series forecasting",
"abstract": "Abstract This paper presents the winning submission of the M4 forecasting competition. The submission utilizes a dynamic computational graph neural network system that enables a standard exponential smoothing model to be mixed with advanced long short term memory networks into a common framework. The result is a hybrid and hierarchical forecasting method.",
"corpus_id": 200081236
} |
{
"title": "Cut Query Algorithms with Star Contraction",
"abstract": "We study the complexity of determining the edge connectivity of a simple graph with cut queries. We show that (i) there is a bounded-error randomized algorithm that computes edge connectivity with $O(n)$ cut queries, and (ii) there is a bounded-error quantum algorithm that computes edge connectivity with $\\tilde{O}(\\sqrt{}$n) cut queries. To prove these results we introduce a new technique, called star contraction, to randomly contract edges of a graph while preserving non-trivial minimum cuts. In star contraction vertices randomly contract an edge incident on a small set of randomly chosen “center” vertices. In contrast to the related 2-out contraction technique of Ghaffari, Nowicki, and Thorup [SODA’20], star contraction only contracts vertex-disjoint star subgraphs, which allows it to be efficiently implemented via cut queries. The $O(n)$ bound from item (i) was not known even for the simpler problem of connectivity, and it improves the $O(n\\log^{3}n)$ upper bound by Rubinstein, Schramm, and Weinberg [ITCS’18]. The bound is tight under the reasonable conjecture that the randomized communication complexity of connectivity is $\\Omega(n\\log n)$, an open question since the seminal work of Babai, Frankl, and Simon [FOCS’86]. The bound also excludes using edge connectivity on simple graphs to prove a superlinear randomized query lower bound for minimizing a symmetric submodular function. The quantum algorithm from item (ii) gives a nearlyquadratic separation with the randomized complexity, and addresses an open question of Lee, Santha, and Zhang [SODA’21]. The algorithm can alternatively be viewed as computing the edge connectivity of a simple graph with $\\tilde{O}(\\sqrt{}$n) matrix-vector multiplication queries to its adjacency matrix. Finally, we demonstrate the use of star contraction outside of the cut query setting by designing a one-pass semi-streaming algorithm for computing edge connectivity in the complete vertex arrival setting. This contrasts with the edge arrival setting where two passes are required.",
"corpus_id": 246015815
} | {
"title": "A Note on Isolating Cut Lemma for Submodular Function Minimization",
"abstract": "It has been observed independently by many researchers that the isolating cut lemma of Li and Panigrahi [FOCS 2020] can be easily extended to obtain new algorithms for finding the non-trivial minimizer of a symmetric submodular function and solving the hypergraph minimum cut problem. This note contains these observations.",
"corpus_id": 232417209
} | {
"title": "Minimum cost flows, MDPs, and ℓ1-regression in nearly linear time for dense instances",
"abstract": "In this paper we provide new randomized algorithms with improved runtimes for solving linear programs with two-sided constraints. In the special case of the minimum cost flow problem on n-vertex m-edge graphs with integer polynomially-bounded costs and capacities we obtain a randomized method which solves the problem in Õ(m + n1.5) time. This improves upon the previous best runtime of Õ(m √n) [Lee-Sidford’14] and, in the special case of unit-capacity maximum flow, improves upon the previous best runtimes of m4/3 + o(1) [Liu-Sidford’20, Kathuria’20] and Õ(m √n) [Lee-Sidford’14] for sufficiently dense graphs. In the case of ℓ1-regression in a matrix with n-columns and m-rows we obtain a randomized method which computes an є-approximate solution in Õ(mn + n2.5) time. This yields a randomized method which computes an є-optimal policy of a discounted Markov Decision Process with S states and, A actions per state in time Õ(S2 A + S2.5). These methods improve upon the previous best runtimes of methods which depend polylogarithmically on problem parameters, which were Õ(mn1.5) [Lee-Sidford’15] and Õ(S2.5 A) [Lee-Sidford’14, Sidford-Wang-Wu-Ye’18] respectively. To obtain this result we introduce two new algorithmic tools of possible independent interest. First, we design a new general interior point method for solving linear programs with two sided constraints which combines techniques from [Lee-Song-Zhang’19, Brand et al.’20] to obtain a robust stochastic method with iteration count nearly the square root of the smaller dimension. Second, to implement this method we provide dynamic data structures for efficiently maintaining approximations to variants of Lewis-weights, a fundamental importance measure for matrices which generalize leverage scores and effective resistances.",
"corpus_id": 231602934
} |
{
"title": "Hot compression deformation behavior and constitutive model of 2050 Al-Li alloy",
"abstract": "Isothermal compression experiments of 2050 AL-Li alloy were carried out by Gleeble-3800 thermal-mechanical simulator. Hot compression deformation behavior of the alloy under the conditions of deformation temperature of 300~500 °C and strain rate of 0.01~10 s-1 was studied. The constitutive model of thermal deformation was established. Results indicate that there is an obvious rheological steady state in the isothermal compression process of 2050 aluminum alloy. The microstructure shows that the alloy has recrystallization. 2050 aluminum alloy is a positive strain rate sensitive material. At constant temperature, the steady state flow stress increases with the increase of strain rate. Arrhenius constitutive model can accurately predict the rheological behavior of 2050 aluminum alloy. The average absolute relative error (AARE) of the relative error between the experimental value and the predicted value is 8.59%.",
"corpus_id": 240149876
} | {
"title": "Constitutive behavior and microstructural evolution in hot deformed 2297 Al-Li alloy",
"abstract": "Abstract The microstructural evolution mechanism and constitutive behavior of 2297 Al-Li alloy were studied via thermal compression test with the constant strain rates of 0.001–1 s−1 and the deformation temperatures ranging from 623 to 773 K. To verify the predictable ability of diverse constitutive models under different stress states, the hot compression experiments with stress triaxiality varying from −0.33 to 0.46 were conducted. The microstructures of the deformed specimens under diverse deformation conditions are probed to reveal the mechanism of hot deformation behavior. The experimental results indicate that the work-hardening and dynamic softening are competitive during the hot compression process, and the dynamic softening is more obvious under low deformation temperature and high strain rate. The microstructural analysis manifests that the dynamic recovery gets predominant at high deformation temperature to produce fine grains. Meanwhile, the dynamic recrystallization becomes more dominant as the strain rate decreases, which is sensitive to the stress triaxiality. In addition, both the modified Johnson-Cook model and strain-compensated Arrhenius-type function are suitable for describing the flow behavior of 2297 alloy, while the latter reveals a more accurate prediction. However, the predictability of the two kinds of models is worsened with the transformation of stress triaxiality, and the validity of the Arrhenius-type model is restricted by high stress triaxiality.",
"corpus_id": 191135373
} | {
"title": "Relational Subjectivity: Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s Novel Außer Sich",
"abstract": "Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s debut novel, published in 2017, covers the experience of antisemitism, migration, queerness and political struggle during a 100-year time span. Its structure is anything but straightforward and features homo- as well as heterodiegetic narrators. Structurally, the novel can be related to Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature, with its analysis of the logic of Kafka’s writings. Rosi Braidotti’s work on nomadic ethics and on the posthuman supplements the framework given by Deleuze and Guattari. Drawing on these writings, my analysis foregrounds the concept of the relational subject as developed in the novel as well as the link between its narrative structure and the exploration of time and anxiety. Taking into consideration its opening James Baldwin citation, I relate these issues to the novel’s of multidirectional memory of oppression. Tweetable abstract: This article explores how Sasha Marianna Salzmann connects queer subjectivity, multidirectional memory, time and narrative structure.",
"corpus_id": 219906727
} |
{
"title": "Influence of Modeling Approaches on the Response of a Retaining Wall",
"abstract": "In this article, the evaluation of the behavior of a gravity retaining wall is analyzed by considering different modeling approaches. The influence of taking into account the spatial variability of soil parameters in modeling approaches on the response of a retaining wall, assessed through horizontal displacements behind the wall and vertical displacements at the base of the wall. The displacements were evaluated with the finite element software CESAR, developed by the Central Laboratory of Bridges and Roads in France (LCPC), and the statistical analysis of the results was performed with Microsoft Excel. The results indicated that the effects of modeling the soil as a heterogeneous case on the wall displacements were much more significant than when the soil is modeled considering the statistically homogeneous case or the analysis case of a multilayer. This influence of the modeling of the soil as being totally heterogeneous is expressed through the lower standard deviations of the displacements, and also through the narrowness of the band defined by the maximums and the minimums of the results of the displacements, with respect to the two other modeling cases. This result leads towards a gain in terms of accuracy of the results, considering the spatial variability of the soil parameters in both directions, horizontal and vertical.",
"corpus_id": 259021402
} | {
"title": "A simple estimation model for 3D braced excavation wall deflection",
"abstract": "Abstract A series of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) finite element analyses using the Hardening Soil (HS) model were carried out to investigate the influences of soil properties, wall stiffness, excavation length, excavation depth, clay thickness at the base of the excavation and wall embedment depth, on the maximum wall deflection induced by braced-excavation. The results show that the 3D maximum wall deflections are generally much smaller than those for 2D. Comparisons were also made with other commonly used semi-empirical charts. Based on the finite element results in this study, a simple wall deflection equation was developed for estimating the maximum wall deflection that takes the 3D effects into consideration through different ratios of excavation length over excavation width.",
"corpus_id": 125298870
} | {
"title": "Probabilistic seismic slope stability analysis and design",
"abstract": "Deterministic seismic slope stability design charts for cohesive–frictional ( ) soils are traditionally used by geotechnical engineers to include the effects of earthquakes on slopes. These charts ...",
"corpus_id": 134695019
} |
{
"title": "Neuroglobin protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats by suppressing mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stress‐mediated neuronal apoptosis through synaptotagmin‐1",
"abstract": "Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains a grievous health threat, and herein effective therapy is urgently needed. This study explored the protection of neuroglobin (Ngb) in rats with cerebral I/R injury. The focal cerebral I/R rat models were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and neuronal injury models were established by oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) treatment. The brain injury of rats was assessed. Levels of Ngb, Bcl‐2, Bax, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)‐related markers, and Syt1 were measured by immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting. The cytotoxicity in neurons was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Levels of intracellular Ca2+ and mitochondrial function‐related indicators were determined. The binding between Ngb and Syt1 was detected by co‐immunoprecipitation. Ngb was upregulated in cerebral I/R rats and its overexpression alleviated brain injury. In OGD/R‐induced neurons, Ngb overexpression decreased LDH level and neuronal apoptosis, decreased Ca2+ content, and mitigated mitochondrial dysfunction and ERS‐related apoptosis. However, Ngb silencing imposed the opposite effects. Importantly, Ngb could bind to Syt1. Syt1 knockdown partially counteracted the alleviation of Ngb on OGD/R‐induced injury in neurons and cerebral I/R injury in rats. Briefly, Ngb extenuated cerebral I/R injury by repressing mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stress‐mediated neuronal apoptosis through Syt1.",
"corpus_id": 258763777
} | {
"title": "2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid induces ROS activation in NLRP3 inflammatory body‐induced autophagy disorder in microglia and the protective effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide",
"abstract": "The pesticide 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) exerts neurotoxic effects; however, its action mechanism remains unclear. Here, we used BV2 cells as a model and divided them into six groups: control group (serum‐free medium), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 μg/mL), 2,4‐D (1.2 μmol/mL), Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP; 300 μg/mL LBP), LPS (1 μg/mL) + LBP (300 μg/mL), and 2,4‐D (1.2 μmol/mL) + LBP (300 μg/mL) with dimethyl sulfoxide as the solvent. Our results showed that 2,4‐D treatment decreased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and increased malondialdehyde content. The percentage of microglial activation (co‐expression of ionized calcium‐binding adaptor protein‐1 + CD68) in the LPS and 2,4‐D groups and the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL) 1 beta, IL‐6, and IL‐18 in the cell supernatant were increased. The protein and mRNA levels of Nod‐like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis‐associated speck‐like protein, caspase‐1, IL‐1β, IL‐18, and p62 increased, whereas those of LC3II/I and Beclin‐1 decreased in the 2,4‐D group. The protein expression and mRNA levels of NLRP3, cleaved caspase‐1, IL‐1β, IL‐18, and p62 decreased significantly, whereas the protein expression and mRNA levels of LC3II/I and Beclin‐1 increased in small interfering RNA of NLRP3‐treated BV2 cells stimulated with 2,4‐D and LPS. In conclusion, 2,4‐D enhanced cell migration, promoted oxidative stress, induced excessive release of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, promoted microglial cell activation, released inflammatory factors, activated NLRP3 inflammasomes, and inhibited autophagy. Meanwhile, LBP reduced inflammation and the release of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and regulated autophagy, thereby playing a neuroprotective role.",
"corpus_id": 246429085
} | {
"title": "‘Men at risk’: sex work, tourism, and STI/HIV risk in Jamaica",
"abstract": "Abstract Female sex tourism has become an accepted income generator for many underemployed men in Jamaica who seek to reap economic benefits from relationships with visiting tourist women. This issue provides contexts to explore the numerous ways in which health intersects with issues of masculinity, sexuality and marginality. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a popular Jamaican resort town, this paper examines the health implications of female sex tourism for the local population and tourist visitors. Data from this project indicate the need for improved sexually transmitted infection education and HIV outreach work towards men who are involved in transactional sex with tourist women. Due to prevalent perceptions of masculinity and gendered notions of sexuality, men who engage in sex tourism constitute a population that rarely receives the attention of local and national health authorities. Data from this qualitative study suggest that engaging this particular vulnerable population could potentially decrease the risk of STI and HIV infection in the country’s most popular resort areas. Research of this kind is urgently needed to better understand the risk factors and challenges for Caribbean populations, as well as to inform future prevention efforts in the region.",
"corpus_id": 46376082
} |
{
"title": "Plasmodesmata: symplastic transport of herbicides within the plant",
"abstract": "When studying herbicide absorption, translocation, metabolism, and mode of action, transport pathways are usually referred to as apoplast (dead cells) and symplast (living cells) as simple synonyms of xylem and phloem. However, the behavior of an herbicide within a plant greatly depends upon several factors and its movement accomplished by different routes and processes. If an herbicide takes too long to be absorbed after application, it will be more available for processes that would greatly reduce its absorption – rain, hot sun, and wind, among others. After the herbicide is absorbed, it needs to be quickly translocated from the point it was absorbed to the site of action. If it is not, chemical processes will take care of transforming the herbicide into non-toxic or less-toxic metabolites. For a quick and efficient translocation, several pathways act together in a relatively dependent manner – everything is connected at different degrees of the plant’s metabolic rate by the time reactions occur. For example, when a plant is under water stress, it may react differently to the same dose of herbicide usually applied to that species. In addition, phloem will only translocate an herbicide quickly if this compound is efficiently loaded into the phloem. From the leaf surface to the site of action, herbicide movement involves passage through the apoplast and symplast by several pathways, one of which is via plasmodesmata. In the classical concept of Munch (1930), plasmodesmata are considered to form simple cytoplasmic bridges between neighboring plant cells in order to create the symplasm. This concept has dominated, if not monopolized, the thinking of plant biologists and, in particular, plant physiologists over the last few decades. Recent advances in ultra-structural, physiological, and molecular studies on plasmodesmata indicate that this simple view is in need of revision (Lucas, 1993). Plasmodesmata are plasma channels connecting neighboring cells that allow the exchange of informational, functional, and structural molecules and xenobiotics among cells of the same \"group\" (domain) , both apoplastically and symplastically. Cells of the same domain behave as functional units, and substances are able to move between them at rates above the observed for trans-membrane movement. Plasmodesmata participate symplastically in long-distance movement, both by association with phloem and interchange between neighboring domains. When the plant is under stress, and xylem and phloem flux is slower, plasmodesmata could be more participative in",
"corpus_id": 207917899
} | {
"title": "Expanding the horizons of nanotechnology in agriculture: recent advances, challenges and future perspectives",
"abstract": "The speedy progress towards the utilization of nanomaterials (NMs) is being extensively carried out in the fields of agriculture and food industry due to their varied properties. In recent years, a number of studies have been accomplished to interrogate intricate mechanism by which nanoparticles (NPs) influence plant growth, metabolism and development. Both positive and negative impacts of NMs on the growth of plant at various developmental stages are well documented. The effect of NMs on plant growth and development differ greatly depending on the concentration, composition, size and various important physicochemical properties of NMs. Synthesis as well as utilization of nano-fertilizers is one of the promising approaches regarding significant enhancement in the agricultural yield across the world. Application of biosynthesized NMs in the field of agriculture has progressed in sustainable development. The biological synthesis of NMs consisting of natural reducing agents without the use of toxic chemicals and the consumption of high energy has attracted the focus of scientists towards biological methods. This review summarizes the application of NMs on plant growth and development, uptake and translocation of NMs within plant tissues. This evaluation also attempts to examine the biological synthesis of NMs and their antimicrobial activity as well as their roles in agricultural sector could prove to be a boon for the society in the coming future.",
"corpus_id": 257163649
} | {
"title": "A Resource Utilization Prediction Model for Cloud Data Centers Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Machine Learning Techniques",
"abstract": "Cloud computing has revolutionized the modes of computing. With huge success and diverse benefits, the paradigm faces several challenges as well. Power consumption, dynamic resource scaling, and over- and under-provisioning issues are challenges for the cloud computing paradigm. The research has been carried out in cloud computing for resource utilization prediction to overcome over- and under-provisioning issues. Over-provisioning of resources consumes more energy and leads to high costs. However, under-provisioning induces Service Level Agreement (SLA) violation and Quality of Service (QoS) degradation. Most of the existing mechanisms focus on single resource utilization prediction, such as memory, CPU, storage, network, or servers allocated to cloud applications but overlook the correlation among resources. This research focuses on multi-resource utilization prediction using Functional Link Neural Network (FLNN) with hybrid Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The proposed technique is evaluated on Google cluster traces data. Experimental results show that the proposed model yields better accuracy as compared to traditional techniques.",
"corpus_id": 247044007
} |
{
"title": "Development and validation of the high-pressure liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of propylthiohinothiadiazole",
"abstract": "Background : Propylthiohinothiadiazole is a thiadiazole derivative with pronounced antimycobacterial action. Substance is researched in order to develop methods of analysis and standardization, analytical documents regulating quality for use as an active principle in the development of pharmaceutical forms. Material and methods: 3 series of propylthiohinothiadiazole, internal reference standard of 2-(propylthio)-5H-[1,3,4]-thiadiazole[2,3-b]-quinazolin- 5-one substance with concentration 99.98%, chromatographic system Shimadzu LC-20AD high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-VIS detector, acetonitrile and dimethylsulfoxide of purity grade “pro HPLC analysis” (Sigma Aldrih and Merck), bidistilled purified water. Results: Linearity is proved for concentrations of 5-30 µg/ml, the linear regression equation is y=36472x-44580, R²=0.9999. The limit of detection is 0.729 µg/ml and the limit of quantification is 2.210 µg/ml. It was established that the method is accurate (mean recovery values at 80%, 100% and 120% concentration levels were close to 100%). The accuracy of the method was expressed by repeatability and intermediate accuracy. The variation of the chromatographic conditions established that the method is robust. For all validation parameters, relative standard deviation was less than 1. Conclusions: The validation results show that the developed HPLC method is simple, fast, accurate and reproducible.",
"corpus_id": 250213308
} | {
"title": "Development and Validation of an Assay Method for Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Determination in Combination Ear Drops",
"abstract": "Development and validation of an assay method for ciprofloxacin hydrochloride determination in combination ear drops Uncu Livia, Donici Elena, Valica Vladimir, Vîslouh Oxana, Gonciar Veaceslav, Parii Sergiu ”Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy Chemistry Journal of Moldova Nr. 2(14) / 2019 / ISSN 1857-1727 / ISSNe 2345-1688 Disponibil online 1 January, 2020. Descarcări-1. Vizualizări-23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Development, physical-chemical characterization and in vitro antibacterial activity evaluation of a fixed-dose combination isohydrafural-methyluracil hydrophilic ointment Rus Lucia Maria1, Donici Elena2, Valica Vladimir2, Prisacari Viorel2, Tomuta Ioan1, Shepel Diana3, Heghes Simona Codruta1, Iuga Cristina Adela1, Uncu Livia2 1 Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, 2 ”Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 3 Institute of Chemistry",
"corpus_id": 208752977
} | {
"title": "An Efficient Structural Optimization Method for the Hinge Beam of a Cubic Press",
"abstract": "This study proposes a novel approach to optimize the structure of the hinge beam in cubic presses, aiming to enhance the safety and reduce costs. The finite element method is used to analyze the stress distribution of the hinge beam under operating conditions, revealing a significant stress concentration at the oil inlet edge. To optimize the structure, the Taguchi method, the NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm, and the entropy-TOPSIS method are combined to consider both the maximum stress and total weight. The results demonstrate a reduction of 199.121 kg and 11.97 MPa in the total weight and maximum stress of the hinge beam, respectively, representing a decrease of 4.12% and 1.72%. Furthermore, the simulation results of the optimal structure demonstrate a high degree of accuracy, with only 0.27% difference between the algorithm-optimized and simulation values. The proposed optimization method not only improves the efficiency of the optimization, but also avoids the mutual exclusion between the maximum stress and total weight. It significantly improves the reliability of the hinge beam and reduces its manufacturing costs, thereby shortening the development cycle of the new hinge beam.",
"corpus_id": 258321854
} |
{
"title": "What Role do Androgens Play in Endometrial Cancer?",
"abstract": "The role of estrogens and progesterone in the development and progression of endometrial cancer is well-established, but there are very little data about the role of androgens. There are five different androgens produced in women: dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenedione (A4), testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The most potent hormones are T and DHT, the latter being mainly produced from T in peripheral tissues, including endometrium. Although they are considered to exert antiproliferative effects in many settings and the expression of their receptors is more often associated with a good prognosis in EC, it is still unknown in which specific settings androgens have carcinogenic or protective effects in EC.",
"corpus_id": 256977403
} | {
"title": "Effects of Obesity and Calorie Restriction on Cancer Development",
"abstract": "The risk of malignant tumor development is increasing in the world. Obesity is an established risk factor for various malignancies. There are many metabolic alterations associated with obesity which promote cancerogenesis. Excessive body weight leads to increased levels of estrogens, chronic inflammation and hypoxia, which can play an important role in the development of malignancies. It is proved that calorie restriction can improve the state of patients with various diseases. Decreased calorie uptake influences lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism, hormone levels and cell processes. Many investigations have been devoted to the effects of calorie restriction on cancer development in vitro and in vivo. It was revealed that fasting can regulate the activity of the signal cascades including AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), p53, mTOR, insulin/ insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and JAK-STAT. Up- or down-regulation of the pathways results in the decrease of cancer cell proliferation, migration and survival and the increase of apoptosis and effects of chemotherapy. The aim of this review is to discuss the connection between obesity and cancer development and the mechanisms of calorie restriction influence on cancerogenesis that stress the importance of further research of calorie restriction effects for the inclusion of this approach in clinical practice.",
"corpus_id": 259039580
} | {
"title": "Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Colorectal Cancer: Challenges and Future Prospects",
"abstract": "Immunotherapy is a new pillar of cancer therapy that provides novel opportunities to treat solid tumors. In this context, the development of new drugs targeting immune checkpoints is considered a promising approach in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment because it can be induce specific and durable anti-cancer effects. Despite many advances in the immunotherapy of CRC, there are still limitations and obstacles to successful treatment. The immunosuppressive function of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is one of the causes of poor response to treatment in CRC patients. For this reason, checkpoint-blocking antibodies have shown promising outcomes in CRC patients by blocking inhibitory immune checkpoints and enhancing immune responses against tumors. This review summarizes recent advances in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as CTLA-4, PD-1, PD-L1, LAG-3, and TIM-3 in CRC, and it discusses various therapeutic strategies with ICIs, including the double blockade of ICIs, combination therapy of ICIs with other immunotherapies, and conventional treatments. This review also delineates a new hopeful path in the combination of anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 with other ICIs such as anti-CTLA-4, anti-LAG-3, and anti-TIM-3 for CRC treatment.",
"corpus_id": 237936220
} |
{
"title": "Analysis of physiological and non-contact signals for the assessment of emotional components in consumer preference",
"abstract": "In this paper, we designed an experimental protocol to assess whether the emotional component plays a role in selecting a product as the preferred one in a request for choice. We asked 25 subjects what beverage preferred between Coca-Cola and a similar one while drinking them in a blind and not blind condition. Both traditional contact measurements (skin conductance, SC) and noncontact ones (heart rate variability computed from video recording, HRV) were employed to measure physiological reactions elicited by the product experience. Both SC-related and HRV parameters showed significant differences between the blind and not blind trials. Moreover, 44 % of the subjects changed their preference between the 2 conditions. These results point at distinct emotional responses, supporting the drive towards using noncontact monitoring for non-invasive distance consumer behavior analysis.",
"corpus_id": 225562781
} | {
"title": "Analysis of physiological and non-contact signals to evaluate the emotional component in consumer preferences",
"abstract": "Emotions are an essential drive in decision making and may influence consumer preference. In this study we assessed the influence of brands in product preference after tasting 2 soft-drinks (Coca Cola vs. Cola beverage), by using physiological measurements, namely the skin conductance, the respiratory rate and heart rate variability (HRV) extracted using contactless sensors. The experimental protocol enrolled twenty-five young subjects which were asked to taste 2 soft drinks in random order, without knowing the brand (blind condition) and then knowing the brand (not blind condition). After each phase the subject was asked to choose the preferred beverage. Our main hypothesis is that if the subject knows the brand there is an arousal effect, independently from the absolute appreciation of the product. In order to evaluate the emotional components, the skin conductance, respiratory and Video-Photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals were continuously recorded throughout the experiment. The Video-PPG was then processed to extract HRV parameters. We observed that the arousal levels changed among beverages and conditions, going from higher arousal for Coca-Cola in the blind condition, to higher arousal for Cola in the not blind condition. Moreover, 44% of the subjects changed their preference when the brand was uncovered: from blind to not blind conditions, 6 subjects went from Cola to Coca-Cola as preferred drink and 5 went from Coca-Cola to Cola. Opposite results were found for the two beverages when comparing the physiological response when the beverage was/was not preferred. Finally, differences were found also between consumers and not consumers of Coca-Cola and the blind/not blind comparison. We conclude that the brand is a fundamental element in a request for choice and it can affect the first emotional response of a subject.",
"corpus_id": 248774935
} | {
"title": "Depressive symptoms, fear of emotional expression, and less favorable attitudes toward palliative care",
"abstract": "Many patients with cancer are reluctant to consider palliative care services due to fears and misconceptions regarding the goals of palliative care. Depressive symptoms also predict less preferential attitudes toward palliative care. Individuals often respond to stressful events including serious illness and depression with defensiveness, withdrawal, and avoidance of otherwise supportive relationships, particularly if they fear that others will judge their emotional reactions. Thus, patients experiencing depressive symptoms may be reluctant to consider palliative care because they fear the consequences of accepting their vulnerable emotions and expressing them to others—potentially because they have been previously criticized for expressing their emotions. Depression is a heterogeneous disorder. Loss of interest, low mood, difficulty concentrating, and pessimistic beliefs may make it difficult for some patients to accurately assess the potential benefits of palliative care, while physiological symptoms such as fatigue, sleep, and psychomotor disturbances may create barriers to adjusting routines. Patients who inhibit their emotions tend to experience higher levels of distress and, for reasons poorly understood, tend to have poorer cancer outcomes. Patients with depression may adopt a decision-making style that prioritizes the short-term relief of avoiding emotional distress over the possible long-term benefits of addressing their palliative care needs. Another possibility is that fears of expressing emotion could also lead these patients to avoid upsetting healthcare consultations, and procedures such as palliative care that may enhance emotional and physical well-being, if not subtle increases in survival 5,6 This study investigated the potential role that fear of emotional expression may play in shaping preferences for palliative care. Understanding these fears could potentially help to enhance palliative care utilization in at-risk and acutely distressed patients. A mediation model was computed to test the hypothesis that the association of depression with less preferential attitudes toward palliative care would be mediated by fears of emotional expression.",
"corpus_id": 216083911
} |
{
"title": "Immune Response of an Oral Enterococcus faecalis Phage Cocktail in a Mouse Model of Ethanol-Induced Liver Disease",
"abstract": "Cytolysin-positive Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) cause more severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, and phages might be used to specifically target these bacteria in a clinical trial. Using a humanized mouse model of ethanol-induced liver disease, the effect of cytolytic E. faecalis phage treatment on the intestinal and liver immune response was evaluated. The observed immune response was predominantly anti-inflammatory and tissue-restoring. Besides, live phages could be readily recovered from the serum, spleen, and liver following oral gavage in ethanol-fed mice. We also isolated 20 new phages from the sewage water; six of them exhibited a relatively broad host range. Taken together, the oral administration of cytolytic E. faecalis phages leads to the translocation of phages to the systemic circulation and appears to be safe, following chronic-binge ethanol administration. A cocktail of three phages covers the majority of tested cytolysin-positive E. faecalis strains and could be tested in a clinical trial.",
"corpus_id": 247180994
} | {
"title": "Phage therapy as a potential solution in the fight against AMR: obstacles and possible futures",
"abstract": "Phage therapy, the use of bacteriophage viruses to treat bacterial infections, has existed for more than a hundred years. However, the practice is struggling to develop, despite growing support over the past 15 years from researchers and doctors, who see it as a promising therapy in the context of the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While the reasons for these developmental difficulties are complex, in this article we wish to address the effects of pharmaceutical regulations on phage therapy. By showing how phages are assimilated to an umpteenth antibiotic in legal texts, but also in certain medical practices, this article proposes to analyze the consequences of such regulatory categorization both for their production and the logistics of administration of proof of their efficacy in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), as well as the underlying concepts of infection and treatment. This paper follows Chandler’s work on the concept of antibiotics as infrastructure and its inversion presented by antimicrobial resistance. Phages as living, dynamic, evolving, and specific entities, do not lend themselves easily to current categories, norms, and development models. In this sense, they act as disruptors, revealing the limitations imposed by the existing infrastructure. More precisely here, and to continue Chandler’s initial thought process, this paper aims to show that antibiotics also form a kind of epistemological infrastructure, which acts as a powerful inhibitor to the development of phage therapy. In this sense antibiotics prevent the development of solutions to the problem they contribute to create. But the difficulties phage therapy faces, as highlighted in this article, can be interpreted as entry points for thinking of another medicine and imagining other possible futures. This analysis is based on a 3-year fieldwork study (2016–2019) in Europe (France, Belgium, and Switzerland), during which we conducted semi-directed interviews with various phage therapy stakeholders (physicians, researchers, pharmacists, regulators, patients, and patient associations), participatory observation in labs and observations during symposia and workshops on phages and phage therapy.",
"corpus_id": 218693888
} | {
"title": "Nonnegative matrix factorization with -divergence",
"abstract": "Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) is a popular technique for pattern recogni- tion, data analysis, and dimensionality reduction, the goal of which is to decompose nonnegative data matrix X into a product of basis matrix A and encoding variable matrix S with both A and S allowed to have only nonnegative elements. In this paper we consider Amari's �-divergence as a discrepancy measure and rigorously derive a multiplicative updating algorithm (proposed in our recent work) which it- eratively minimizes the �-divergence between X and AS. We analyze and prove the monotonic convergence of the algorithm using auxiliary functions. In addition, we show that the same algorithm can be also derived using Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions as well as the projected gradient. We provide two empirical study for image denoising and EEG classification, showing the interesting and useful be- havior of the algorithm in cases where different values of � (� = 0.5,1,2) are used.",
"corpus_id": 871770
} |
{
"title": "Health-care waste management practices: The case of Ho Teaching Hospital in Ghana",
"abstract": "Approximately 15% of wastes generated in hospitals is hazardous. Improper handling of this waste renders the remaining fraction infectious which is perilous to the health of hospital workers, patients, visitors and even communities. Sufficient data on medical waste management practices particularly in low-income countries such as Ghana is required for effective monitoring and policy making. This study sought to assess the waste generation rates, waste management practices, frequency of sharp injuries and the knowledge of health-care workers on waste management guidelines in Ho Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Data was collected through observations and questionnaire administration from 100 health-care workers. The results revealed that the total amount of wastes generated was 1.70kg/patient/day (490.62 kg/day) comprising of 57.48%, 33.98% and 8.54% of general, infectious and hazardous wastes respectively. Further investigations showed that 52% of the health-care workers knew about the existence of a hospital waste management policy and 89% attested that they had received training on medical waste management. The existing waste management committee was however, non-functional. Waste segregation at source and the use of color-coded waste receptacles were not strictly followed. Contaminated general wastes were landfilled whiles hazardous wastes were either incinerated or buried. Only 11% of the waste handlers were always completely dressed in personal protective equipment and about 77% of the waste handlers always sustained sharp injuries. Incentivizing the waste management team to ensure strict adherence to a waste management plan would improve waste management at the hospital.",
"corpus_id": 258235258
} | {
"title": "A Review of Medical Waste Management Systems in the Republic of Korea for Hospital and Medical Waste Generated from the COVID-19 Pandemic",
"abstract": "With the increasing generation of medical waste worldwide, managing medical waste has become crucial, given its potential environmental and public health risks. Previously in the Republic of Korea, medical waste was often mixed with municipal waste and disposed of in residential landfills or unsuitable treatment facilities (e.g., improperly managed incinerators). Environmental regulators and waste producers have made extensive efforts in recent years to improve waste management at healthcare facilities. This study presents an overview of the status of medical waste management in Korea and discusses information on the generation, composition, separation, transportation, and treatment of medical waste. Incineration was confirmed to be the most preferred treatment method for medical waste and was the only one used until late 2005. Large-scale medical waste incinerators are used for treating medical waste from most medical facilities in Korea; however, with increasing regulations on toxic air emissions (e.g., dioxins and furans), air emission standards are being tightened for all existing small-scale incineration facilities without air pollution control. Since medical waste usually contains various plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride, these incinerators are highly likely to emit toxic air pollutants if improperly operated and managed. Waste minimization and recycling, control of toxic air emissions from medical waste incinerators, and alternative treatment methods to incineration are seen as major challenges. Incineration capacity cannot be expanded as quickly as the rising quantities of medical waste in Korea; thus, there is a growing need to reconsider the overall management system. Accordingly, we examined various medical waste treatment policies and methods that are being implemented in other countries, in addition to the main strategy of waste management. To determine preferable directions for the improvement of the medical waste management system, we investigated and compared the status of domestic and foreign waste management and proposed directions for improvement, focusing on several issues related to the current medical waste management system in Korea.",
"corpus_id": 247640229
} | {
"title": "Enhancing the performance of Indian micro, small and medium enterprises by implementing supply chain finance: challenges emerging from COVID-19 pandemic",
"abstract": "PurposeThe already scarce financial resources coupled with the current COVID-19 pandemic have created the worst scenario for Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The application of supply chain finance (SCF) solutions to MSMEs can enhance the performance and growth of the sector. But, the implementation of SCF solutions faces various obstacles which restrict the MSMEs' ability to meet their financial requirements. The purpose of this paper is to explore and prioritize the various important barriers hindering SCF application in Indian MSMEs.Design/methodology/approachLiterature on SCF and MSMEs are critically reviewed and barriers affecting the SCF application in Indian MSMEs are scrutinized with the consultation of the experts. The present study applies intuitionistic fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (IF-AHP) methodology to prioritize the identified barriers and thereafter, the sensitivity analysis is also done to observe the identified barriers under different situations.FindingsThe results of the study have revealed that poor cash flow management and working capital management disruption are acting as the most prioritized barriers of SCF. The external factor of cultural challenges has been prioritized as the minimum-influence factor that has least negative influence on the operations of SCF in MSMEs.Practical implicationsThe present study bears an important practical and managerial implication to solve real world problems of financial constraints of MSMEs. The managers should emphasize upon the importance smooth flow of cash and working capital management across the supply chains by which better SCF solution can be implemented in MSMEs.Originality/valueThe study conducted is an effort to address the barriers of SCF in Indian MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of IF-AHP and sensitivity analysis would help managers and policymakers to comprehend and resolve the prioritized barriers and sub-barriers of SCF in the MSMEs.",
"corpus_id": 248094539
} |
{
"title": "A Wavelength‐Tunable Multi‐Functional Transistor with Visible‐Light Detection and Inverse Photomemory for Logic Gate and Retina Emulation",
"abstract": "The multi‐functional phototransistor is essential for the realization of highly‐integrated multi‐functional electronics. Herein, inverse photomemory is discovered from the organic phototransistor based on dinaphtho[2,3‐b:2′,3′‐f]thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene (DNTT)/diarylethene (DAE) bilayer structure. With the incorporation of the photoactive DAE dielectric layer, the integration of high‐performance photodetection and photomemory in one device is realized. The function of the device can be switched by changing the wavelength of the incident light. The devices exhibit positive photosensing performances under the stimulation of 450 nm monochromatic light, can be switched to inverse photomemory transistors under the stimulation of 365 nm monochromatic light, and recover to the pristine state when applying a positive gate voltage and 600 nm illumination. The I450/Idark ratio of positive photosensing and the Idark/I365 ratio of inverse photomemory are high up to the order of 106 and 107, respectively. In addition, the photonic logic gate and the retina emulation have been successfully demonstrated. In addition, the device can be operated as a light‐stimulated synaptic transistor. The typical synaptic behaviors (excitatory postsynaptic current, paired pulse facilitation, memory, and learning behaviors) have been successfully demonstrated. The development of multi‐functionalized phototransistors provides a promising configuration for multi‐functional and highly‐integrated systems.",
"corpus_id": 238681833
} | {
"title": "Contributions of Light to Novel Logic Concepts Using Optoelectronic Materials.",
"abstract": "Instead of the current method of transmitting voltage or current signals in electronic circuit operation, light offers an alternative to conventional logic, allowing for the implementation of new logic concepts through interaction with light. This manuscript examines the use of light in implementing new logic concepts as an alternative to traditional logic circuits and as a future technology. This article provides an overview of how to implement logic operations using light rather than voltage or current signals using optoelectronic materials such as 2D materials, metal-oxides, carbon structures, polymers, small molecules, and perovskites. This review covers the various technologies and applications of using light to dope devices, implement logic gates, control logic circuits, and generate light as an output signal. Recent research on logic and the use of light to implement new functions is summarized. This review also highlights the potential of optoelectronic logic for future technological advancements.",
"corpus_id": 258907791
} | {
"title": "Quantitative determination of the non-entrapped chlorothiazide in the presence of liposomes using differential pulse polarography.",
"abstract": "Differential Pulse Polarography (DPP) was used for the quantitative determination of the free and adsorbed (non-entrapped) chlorothiazide (CHT) in the presence of liposomes. It was found that CHT polarographic signal depends both on the concentration of multilamelar (MLV) liposomes, due to its adsorption on the liposomal surface, and on their size. Calibration plots of CHT concentration versus current density, at pH 7.4, in the presence of different liposomes concentrations were constructed. Based on these curves the non-entrapped chlorothiazide was determined. Results were compared to those obtained from the application of conventional procedure i.e. chromatographic separation of CHT from liposomes followed by UV spectrophotometric determination. Both techniques were found to be comparable with respect to their accuracy, with a relative error of 0.47%. Determination of the drug using DPP was faster.",
"corpus_id": 40546697
} |
{
"title": "Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Effects of Phytochemicals from Honey against COVID-19: Potential Mechanisms of Action and Future Directions",
"abstract": "The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has recently put the world under stress, resulting in a global pandemic. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines, and this severe respiratory illness has cost many lives. Despite the established antimicrobial and immune-boosting potency described for honey, to date there is still a lack of evidence about its potential role amid COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the previously explored antiviral effects and phytochemical components of honey, we review here evidence for its role as a potentially effective natural product against COVID-19. Although some bioactive compounds in honey have shown potential antiviral effects (i.e., methylglyoxal, chrysin, caffeic acid, galangin and hesperidinin) or enhancing antiviral immune responses (i.e., levan and ascorbic acid), the mechanisms of action for these compounds are still ambiguous. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work exclusively summarizing all these bioactive compounds with their probable mechanisms of action as antiviral agents, specifically against SARS-CoV-2.",
"corpus_id": 226243895
} | {
"title": "Exploring Consumers’ Preferences and Attitudes to Honey: Generation Approach in Slovakia",
"abstract": "Honey is popular among consumers for its composition and healing properties. The aim of the paper is to study the differences in honey preferences across various age generations in Slovakia. The study is based on primary data obtained by conducting an online questionnaire survey on a sample of 1850 Slovak consumers of honey in 2022. Multiple correspondence analyses and non-parametric tests were applied to study the differences in preferences across selected age cohorts (Generation Z, Generation Y, Generation X and Silver Generation). The results show that Silver Generation tends to consume honey due to its nutritional values and prefers to consume monofloral honey of a dark colour, while Generation Z does not use honey in cosmetics or consume it due to its nutritional values and are inclined to prefer polyfloral honey. The utilisation of honey in cosmetics was associated mostly with Generation X. Younger consumers (Generation Z and Generation Y) have a very low awareness of creamed honey and honey with additions in comparison to Silver Generation or Generation X. In addition, the results reveal that propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen were the most attractive additions for honey across all age cohorts in Slovakia, while spirulina and chilli were the least attractive additions.",
"corpus_id": 258642711
} | {
"title": "Language, race or place? Influential factors in determining young “Coloured” individuals’ attitudes towards Afrikaans accents in English",
"abstract": "Abstract In South Africa, current social dynamics are still largely determined by the heavy legacy of apartheid. In this context, the term “Coloured” is widely used to delineate a social group that is generally not considered white or black in the old senses. This study focuses on the implicit language attitudes of 84 young Coloured English and Afrikaans speaking participants towards Cape Flats English, largely associated with Coloured communities of the greater Cape Town area, and Afrikaner English, largely associated with the White group. Implicit Association Test results show an overall statistically significant implicit positive bias towards Cape Flats English among participants, although a small subgroup reversed this tendency. A post-IAT survey was used to investigate the contribution of a number of social variables in determining the biases associated with each accent. A regression analysis detected that participants’ L1, language repertoire and other community language practices play a significant role in predicting such language biases. Furthermore, a correlation analysis also showed a trend regarding both the language distribution in their place of residence and social distance levels with the White group. Finally, a qualitative analysis based on the comparison of context-relevant cases underlined the complex in-group dynamics of the studied sample.",
"corpus_id": 234116794
} |
{
"title": "Recreational Skydiving—Really That Dangerous? A Systematic Review",
"abstract": "Skydiving have gained mainstream popularity over the past decades. However, limited data exist on the injury risk or type associated with skydiving. This systematic review evaluated the injuries and fatalities of civilian skydivers. A PRISMA-guided literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase using the following MeSH terms: “skydiving” or “parachute” alone or in combination with “injury” or “trauma” was performed including all studies through June 2022 in both English and German. Additionally, injury reports from the German, American, and British Parachute Associations were reviewed. Of the 277 articles matching the selected search terms, 10 original articles and 34 non-scientific reports from various skydiving associations were included. More than 62 million jumps were evaluated, with an average of 3,200,000 jumps per year, which showed an average injury rate of 0.044% and an average fatality rate of 0.0011%. The most common injuries sustained by recreational skydivers involved the lumbar spine and lower extremities. Injuries were most commonly reported during the landing sequence. With modern equipment and training methods, fatalities occur in less than 1 per 100,000 cases, and serious injuries requiring hospitalization in less than 2 per 10,000 cases. This puts the assessment of skydiving as a high-risk sport into perspective.",
"corpus_id": 255768856
} | {
"title": "Epidemiology of injuries in amateur boxing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.",
"abstract": "OBJECTIVES\nTo synthesise competition and training injury data in amateur boxing.\n\n\nDESIGN\nSystematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled estimates of competition injury incidence rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (IIRAE) and per 1000 min of exposure (IIRME), and training injury incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure (IIRHE) were obtained by fitting random-effects models.\n\n\nMETHODS\nMEDLINE, Embase, AMED, AUSPORT, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched from inception to 27 May 2022. Cohort studies with prospectively collected injury and exposure data from amateur boxing competition or training published in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion.\n\n\nRESULTS\nSeventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. The competition IIRAE and IIRME summary estimates were 54.7 (95 % CI 33.8-88.4) and 6.8 (95 % CI 4.2-10.9), respectively. The training IIRHE summary estimate was 1.3 (95 % CI 0.2-7.0). The most commonly injured body regions in the competition and training settings were the head and neck (median: 72 %; range: 46 % to 100 %) and upper limb (median: 49 %; range: 40 % to 53 %), respectively. The predominant types of injury were contusions (median: 35 %; range: 5 % to 100 %) and lacerations and abrasions (median: 20 %; range: 0 % to 69 %) in the competition setting, and sprains and strains (median: 60 %; range: 50 % to 81 %) in the training setting.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nAmateur boxing athletes sustain, on average, 1 injury every 2.5 h of competition and every 772 h of training. There is a need for identifying injury mechanisms and modifiable risk factors that can be targeted by preventive measures to reduce the burden of injury in amateur boxing.",
"corpus_id": 240319887
} | {
"title": "Sport Medicine Diagnostic Coding System (SMDCS) and the Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS): revised 2020 consensus versions",
"abstract": "Coding in sports medicine generally uses sports-specific coding systems rather than the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), because of superior applicability to the profile of injury and illness presentations in sport. New categories for coding were agreed on in the ‘International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement: Methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sports 2020.’ We explain the process for determining the new categories and update both the Sport Medicine Diagnostic Coding System (SMDCS) and the Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS) with new versions that operationalise the new consensus categories. The author group included members from an expert group attending the IOC consensus conference. The primary authors of the SMDCS (WM) and OSIICS (JO) produced new versions that were then agreed on by the remaining authors using expert consensus methodology. The SMDCS and OSIICS systems have been adjusted and confirmed through a consensus process to align with the IOC consensus statement to facilitate translation between the two systems. Problematic areas for defining body part categories included the groin and ankle regions. For illness codes, in contrast to the ICD, we elected to have a taxonomy of ‘organ system/region’ (eg, cardiovascular and respiratory), followed by an ‘aetiology/pathology’ (eg, environmental, infectious disease and allergy). Companion data files have been produced that provide translations between the coding systems. The similar structure of coding underpinning the OSIICS and SMDCS systems aligns the new versions of these systems with the IOC consensus statement and also facilitates easier translation between the two systems. These coding systems are freely available to the sport and exercise research community.",
"corpus_id": 211724559
} |
{
"title": "Preprocessing Strategies for Sparse Infrared Spectroscopy: A Case Study on Cartilage Diagnostics",
"abstract": "The aim of the study was to optimize preprocessing of sparse infrared spectral data. The sparse data were obtained by reducing broadband Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectra of bovine and human cartilage, as well as of simulated spectral data, comprising several thousand spectral variables into datasets comprising only seven spectral variables. Different preprocessing approaches were compared, including simple baseline correction and normalization procedures, and model-based preprocessing, such as multiplicative signal correction (MSC). The optimal preprocessing was selected based on the quality of classification models established by partial least squares discriminant analysis for discriminating healthy and damaged cartilage samples. The best results for the sparse data were obtained by preprocessing using a baseline offset correction at 1800 cm−1, followed by peak normalization at 850 cm−1 and preprocessing by MSC.",
"corpus_id": 246399665
} | {
"title": "Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy for Analysis of Connective Tissues",
"abstract": "Advances in vibrational spectroscopy have propelled new insights into the molecular composition and structure of biological tissues. In this review, we discuss common modalities and techniques of vibrational spectroscopy, and present key examples to illustrate how they have been applied to enrich the assessment of connective tissues. In particular, we focus on applications of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), near infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy to assess cartilage and bone properties. We present strengths and limitations of each approach and discuss how the combination of spectrometers with microscopes (hyperspectral imaging) and fiber optic probes have greatly advanced their biomedical applications. We show how these modalities may be used to evaluate virtually any type of sample (ex vivo, in situ or in vivo) and how “spectral fingerprints” can be interpreted to quantify outcomes related to tissue composition and quality. We highlight the unparalleled advantage of vibrational spectroscopy as a label-free and often nondestructive approach to assess properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) associated with normal, developing, aging, pathological and treated tissues. We believe this review will assist readers not only in better understanding applications of FTIR, NIR and Raman spectroscopy, but also in implementing these approaches for their own research projects.",
"corpus_id": 231898393
} | {
"title": "Preprocessing Strategies for Sparse Infrared Spectroscopy: A Case Study on Cartilage Diagnostics",
"abstract": "The aim of the study was to optimize preprocessing of sparse infrared spectral data. The sparse data were obtained by reducing broadband Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectra of bovine and human cartilage, as well as of simulated spectral data, comprising several thousand spectral variables into datasets comprising only seven spectral variables. Different preprocessing approaches were compared, including simple baseline correction and normalization procedures, and model-based preprocessing, such as multiplicative signal correction (MSC). The optimal preprocessing was selected based on the quality of classification models established by partial least squares discriminant analysis for discriminating healthy and damaged cartilage samples. The best results for the sparse data were obtained by preprocessing using a baseline offset correction at 1800 cm−1, followed by peak normalization at 850 cm−1 and preprocessing by MSC.",
"corpus_id": 246399665
} |
{
"title": "Iberian summer precipitation modes of variability and extreme events",
"abstract": "Summer precipitation variability in the Iberian Peninsula is not a very common issue in the scientific literature. In general, Iberian precipitation variability is more frequently studied for the coldest seasons (autumn and winter). Summer is often related with the absence of precipitation and sunny days, especially in the southern regions. However, Summer precipitation it’s a non-neglectable phenomenon, not only on the northern Iberian mountains but also on the southern plains. Variability over the 20 Century of summer precipitation in the Iberian Peninsula is studied using a high resolution data set. Rotated Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) was applied on summer monthly means to retain the main spatiotemporal modes for each summer month (June, July and August). The principal component (PC) of each spatial mode is analyzed to search for extreme events. Since low values of precipitation in summer are very common, an extreme event is defined as unusual positive anomalies. Results show that precipitation variability is more complex in summer months, due to the larger number of significant modes and less explained variance. Local factors seem to play a more significant role, explaining larger amounts of variance in summer. Three sets of precipitation spatial patterns could be indentified related with their geographical location: the Atlantic patterns (Western Iberia), the Mediterranean Patterns (Eastern Iberia), and the interior patterns (interior regions in northern or southern Iberia). The more intense summer precipitation events are associated with the interior patterns. The atmospheric context shows that these precipitation extreme events are associated with an unusual continental warming linked with an upper-level trough. Therefore, heavy summer precipitation events are recurrently related to thermodynamic processes. Rainfall is concentrated both in space and in time that is to say, in small regions and in short periods of time. In some cases the monthly total amount of precipitation could be registered in only one episode with the duration of a few hours. These catastrophic rains can cause flash floods and severe erosion problems. Some case studies are analyzed to illustrate the intensity of these events.",
"corpus_id": 135393936
} | {
"title": "Circulation weather types and cloud‐to‐ground flash density over the Iberian Peninsula",
"abstract": "Based on the use of an objective classification method for the general atmospheric circulation observed over the Iberian Peninsula for the 1990–98 period, we have characterized the daily circulation by means of a set of indices associated with the direction and vorticity of the geostrophic flow.",
"corpus_id": 128854434
} | {
"title": "Assessment and mitigation of toddlers’ personal exposure to black carbon before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in Singapore",
"abstract": "Black carbon (BC), an important indicator of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in urban environments, is receiving increased attention because of its adverse health effects. Personal exposure (PE) of adults to BC has been widely studied, but little is known about the exposure of young children (toddlers) to BC in cities. We carried out a pilot study to investigate the integrated daily PE of toddlers to BC in a city-state with a high population density (Singapore). We studied the impact of urban traffic on the PE of toddlers to BC by comparing and contrasting on-road traffic flow (i.e., volume and composition) in Singapore in 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) and in 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). Our observations indicate that the daily BC exposure levels and inhaled doses increased by about 25% in 2020 (2.9 ± 0.3 μg m−3 and 35.5 μg day−1) compared to that in 2019 (2.3 ± 0.4 μg m−3 and 28.5 μg day−1 for exposure concentration and inhaled dose, respectively). The increased BC levels were associated with the increased traffic volume on both weekdays and weekends in 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019. Specifically, we observed an increase in the number of trucks as well as cars/taxis and motorcycles (private transport) and a decline in the number of buses (public transport) in 2020. The implementation of lockdown measures in 2020 resulted in significant changes in the time, place and duration of PE of toddlers to BC. The recorded daily time-activity patterns indicated that toddlers spent almost all the time in indoor environments during the measurement period in 2020. When we compared different ventilation options (natural ventilation (NV), air conditioning (AC), and portable air cleaner (PAC)) for mitigation of PE to BC in the home environment, we found a significant decrease (>30%) in daily BC exposure levels while using the PAC compared to the NV scenario. Our case study shows that the PE of toddlers to BC is of health concern in indoor environments in 2020 because of the migration of the increased TRAP into naturally ventilated residential homes and more time spent indoors than outdoors. Since toddlers’ immune system is weak, technological intervention is necessary to protect their health against inhalation exposure to air pollutants.",
"corpus_id": 236141228
} |
{
"title": "Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Role of Pharmacological Therapy and Surgery",
"abstract": "Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Alongside the traditional acquired and genetic risk factors for VTE, patients with IBD have pathogenic and clinical peculiarities that are responsible for the increased number of thromboembolic events occurring during their life. A relevant role in modifying this risk in a pro or antithrombotic manner is played by pharmacological therapies and surgery. The availability of several biological agents and small-molecule drugs with different mechanisms of action allows us to also tailor the treatment based on the individual prothrombotic risk to reduce the occurrence of VTE. Available review articles did not provide sufficient and updated knowledge on this topic. Therefore, we assessed the role of each single treatment, including surgery, in modifying the risk of VTE in patients with IBD to provide physicians with recommendations to minimize VTE occurrence. We found that the use of steroids, particularly if prolonged, increased VTE risk, whereas the use of infliximab seemed to reduce such risk. The data relating to the hypothesized prothrombotic risk of tofacitinib were insufficient to draw definitive conclusions. Moreover, surgery has an increased prothrombotic risk. Therefore, implementing measures to prevent VTE, not only with pharmacological prophylaxis but also by reducing patient- and surgery-specific risk factors, is necessary. Our findings confirm the importance of the knowledge of the effect of each single drug or surgery on the overall VTE risk in patients with IBD, even if further data, particularly regarding newer drugs, are needed.",
"corpus_id": 220411200
} | {
"title": "Venous thromboembolism in chronic gastrointestinal disorders",
"abstract": "ABSTRACT Introduction Chronic gastrointestinal disorders (including autoimmune gastritis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and diverticular disease) are highly prevalent disorders, that may be associated with unpredictable, life-threatening complications, such as thromboembolic events. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Several conditions, including cancer, major trauma, surgery, prolonged immobilization, are well-established risk factors for VTE. Over the past decade, chronic inflammation has also been identified as an independent risk factor for VTE due to the prothrombotic effects of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress on the coagulation cascade. Other several mechanisms were shown to be associated with a higher incidence of VTE in patients with gastrointestinal disorders. Areas covered We critically discuss the latest insights into the mechanisms responsible for thromboembolic manifestations in chronic gastrointestinal disorders, also focusing on the recognition of risk factors and treatment. Expert opinion The occurrence of thrombotic complications is underestimated in patients with chronic gastrointestinal disorders. Identifying potential risk factors and concomitant predisposing conditions and to prevent VTE and guide treatment require a multidisciplinary approach, and this is critically important for clinicians, in order to provide the best care for such patients.",
"corpus_id": 248503858
} | {
"title": "FRI0689 EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE ON DISEASE ACTIVITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS",
"abstract": "Background Environmental exposure (e.g. tobacco smoking, pollution) has been accepted to contribute in autoimmune diseases. Air pollution has been described to be a risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Currently, RA disease remission is considered an achievable target in a significant proportion of patients. Nevertheless, diseases flares, that significantly contributes to damage progression and disability, remain unpredictable. Thus, factors able to potentially interfere on disease activity should be considered and assessed. Objectives The aim of our study is to evaluate the influence of particulate matter (PM) on disease activity and general health (GH) in patients with RA. Methods Consecutive patients with RA (ACR/EULAR Criteria 2010) resident in Lombardy (Italy) were enrolled. In each patient Disease Activity Score on 28 joints (DAS28), Simple Disease Activity Index (SDAI) and patients’ GH were assessed. Daily PM concentrations, estimated by Regional Environmental Protection Agency at municipality resolution, were used to assign short-term exposure from day of visit back to 14 days. Continuous variables are expressed as mean±SD. Categorical variables are presented as absolute numbers and frequencies. Multivariable linear regression models were performed to identify the day of PM10 and PM2.5 independently associated with DAS28, GH and SDAI indices, adjusting for the variables significant at the univariate analysis. GH was log transformed to achieve normality of residuals. β coefficients were reported for 10 μg/m3 increments of PM concentrations. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS 9.4. Results 258 patients (age at visit 57.4±13.5 years, disease duration 16.2±12.1, female 80.2%, rheumatoid factor and/or anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies positivity 60.5%, smokers 15.5%, radiographic damage 41.5%) were enrolled in the study. Multivariable linear regression models were adjusted for radiographic damage, disease duration and age. Increases of PM2.5 and PM10 exposure (9 day before the visit) were significantly associated with worsening of DAS28, SDAI and GH (table below). PM concentrations in days other than 9 days before were significantly associated with disease activity and GH. Conclusion In our cohort, PM10 and PM2.5 exposure seems to influence RA disease activity with a lag period that can last until 9 days before the visit. Nevertheless, the association between day-to-day PM changes and disease activity do not confirm causation. Further studied are required to evaluate the influence of air pollution on RA activity. Disclosure of Interests None declared",
"corpus_id": 196517274
} |
{
"title": "A Study on the Applicability of the Impact-Echo Test Using Semi-Supervised Learning Based on Dynamic Preconditions",
"abstract": "The Impact-Echo (IE) test is an effective method for determining the presence, depth, and area of cracks in concrete as well as the dimensions of the sound concrete without defects. In addition, shallow delamination can be measured by confirming a flexural mode in the low-frequency region. Owing to the advancement of non-contact sensors and automated measurement equipment, the IE test can be measured at multiple points in a short period. To analyze and distinguish a large volume of data, applying supervised learning (SL) associated with various contemporary algorithms is necessary. However, SL has limitations due to the difficulty in accurate labeling for increased volumes of test data, and reflection of new specimen characteristics, and it is necessary to apply semi-supervised learning (SSL) to overcome them. This study analyzes the accuracy and evaluates the applicability of a model trained with SSL rather than SL using the data from the air-coupled IE test based on dynamic preconditions. For the detection of delamination defects, the dynamic behavior-based flexural mode was identified, and 21 features were extracted in the time and frequency domains. Three principal components (PCs) such as the real moment, real RMS, and imaginary moment were derived through principal component analysis (PCA). PCs were identical in slab, pavement, and deck. In the case of SSL considering a dynamic behavior, the accuracy increased by 7–8% compared with SL, and it could categorize good, fair, and poor status to a higher level for actual structures. The applicability of SSL to the IE test was confirmed, and because the crack progress varies under field conditions, other parameters must be considered in the future to reflect this.",
"corpus_id": 251074216
} | {
"title": "Development of sustainable concrete incorporating seawater: A critical review on cement hydration, microstructure and mechanical strength",
"abstract": "Abstract Many countries are experiencing freshwater crises due to the increasing growth of the population together with the infrastructure construction that is aligned with the needs of freshwater for concrete production. There are also deficiencies in freshwater in many coastal areas where seawater is more accessible. To reduce unnecessary resource-wasting and meanwhile drive sustainable development in the construction industry, great efforts have been made to utilize seawater as the alternative mixing water for concrete casting, which presents potential economical and environmental benefits in the coastal and island regions. This paper comprehensively reviews the current studies on the predominant performance differences between seawater-mixed and conventional concretes with freshwater. Particular attention is paid to the chloride-induced hydration mechanism due to the chloride ions in seawater. The main findings of this review reveal that although harmful ingredients in seawater may weaken some of the concrete performances, applying proper curing conditions and adding moderate additives and admixtures could significantly and effectively mitigate these defects in properties. However, the unstable chloride binding ability in cement hydrates cannot eliminate the risk of rebar corrosion caused by chlorides in seawater, resulting in a limited scope of practical application. Finally, some trade-offs are recommended in using seawater in concrete, suggesting prospects of applications in the future construction industry. This study guides for the safer use of seawater in sustainable concrete through reviewing the advanced research progress.",
"corpus_id": 236252883
} | {
"title": "Structural damage identification based on fast S-transform and convolutional neural networks",
"abstract": "Abstract Measured signals from installed sensors on structures cannot solely provide beneficial information about the presence of damage. Many signal processing methods have been developed to extract useful data from raw signals. However, each method has its advantages and disadvantages. In the present study, the fast S-transform signal processing method has been used for the damage detection of structures. Fast S-transform outperforms traditional S-Transform since it filters out unusable data using a scaling method. The method’s performance in obtaining correct natural frequencies of a structure has been evaluated using a 2 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) mass-spring dynamic system. Additionally, the ability of the method to detect damages in structural systems has been demonstrated using a 6 DOF structure subjected to Northridge earthquake record. The results of the mentioned numerical studies show that the fast S-transform can extract the accurate resonance frequencies of a structure, and also can detect the presence and the time of damage occurrence. In the experimental study, a 3 story plexi frame has been excited by a chirp sinusoidal signal. Furthermore, four different damage scenarios have been defined in the experimental study. To classify the four damage types, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been used. The results of the experimental study show that fast S-transform can detect damages in real-time monitoring of structures, and the classification using CNN can identify the severity of damage.",
"corpus_id": 234012468
} |
{
"title": "Application of improved ELM algorithm in the prediction of earthquake casualties",
"abstract": "Background Earthquake casualties prediction is a basic work of the emergency response. Traditional forecasting methods have strict requirements on sample data and lots of parameters are required to be set manually, which can result in poor results with low prediction accuracy and slow learning speed. Method In this paper, the Extreme Leaning Machine (ELM) is introduced into the earthquake disaster casualty predictions with the purpose of improving the prediction accuracy. However, traditional ELM model still has the problems of poor network structure stability and low prediction accuracy. So an Adaptive Chaos Particle Swarm Optimization (ACPSO) is proposed to the optimize traditional ELM’s network parameters to enhance network stability and prediction accuracy, and the improved ELM model is applied to earthquake disaster casualty prediction. Results The experimental results show that the earthquake disaster casualty prediction model based on ACPSO-ELM algorithm has better stability and prediction accuracy. Conclusion ACPSO-ELM algorithm has better practicality and generalization in earthquake disaster casualty prediction.",
"corpus_id": 220073624
} | {
"title": "The casualty prediction of earthquake disaster based on Extreme Learning Machine method",
"abstract": "In the prediction of casualties of earthquake disaster, the traditional prediction method requires strict sample data, and it is necessary to manually set a large number of parameters, resulting in poor prediction accuracy and slow learning speed. This paper introduces the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) into the earthquake casualty prediction, aiming to improve the prediction accuracy. Through the data training, the ELM network structure of earthquake victims’ casualty prediction is established, and the number of hidden layer nodes and the excitation function are determined, which ensures the reliability of the ELM network prediction results. Based on the data of 84 groups of earthquake victims from China in 1970–2017, the ELM algorithm, BP neural network, SVM and modified partial Gaussian curve were compared and verified. The results show that the average relative error of ELM algorithm for earthquake disaster prediction is 3.37%, the coefficient of determination R -square is 0.96, the average relative error of injury prediction is 1.04%, and the coefficient of determination R -square is 0.97, which indicates that the ELM algorithm has good robustness and generalization ability.",
"corpus_id": 217191808
} | {
"title": "Will the Assistant Become the Driver, and the Driver Become the Assistant?",
"abstract": "Current conversational and hierarchical structures between Personal Assistants (PAs) and drivers are clearly and explicitly defined, in that users are either hierarchically superordinate or on par with their PAs. Simultaneously, technological advances around intelligence, personalization and proactivity have gained momentum in the most recent past. The exponential development of intelligence-based technologies will soon enable PAs to take over large parts of the driving process. PAs will convince drivers to trust in their capabilities, by explaining themselves and their decision-making processes. They will consider drivers’ knowledge, experience, and needs to transform interactions into deeply personal experiences. Furthermore, proactive PAs will provide context-sensitive content in adequate situations. These developments may just tip the scale and challenge currently valid PA-driver-relations. We envision roles to undergo a reversal: where conversations are now driven by users and assisted by assistants, intelligent, personalized, and proactive PAs will take over the lead and, figuratively, the driver seat.",
"corpus_id": 259938677
} |
{
"title": "Establishment, Maintenance, and Performance of the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group (COSS)",
"abstract": "Simple Summary The Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group (COSS), active since the late 1970s, is a multi-institutional consortium representing Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Its goals are to cure as many osteosarcoma patients as possible with as few late effects as achievable. Over the decades, COSS has amassed and followed more than 5000 affected patients into trials and its registry. This has allowed the group to perform many meaningful analyses. These have focused on specific trials as well as on particular patient-, tumor-, or treatment-related variables. Intergroup cooperation has further expanded knowledge generation about this rare disease, its variants, and some closely related malignancies. The present paper presents an overview over more than four decades of fruitful collaboration. Abstract Introduction: Osteosarcoma treatment has benefitted greatly from collaborative research. This paper describes the history and accomplishments of the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group (COSS), mainly dedicated to clinical questions, as well as remaining challenges. Materials and Methods: Narrative review of over four decades of uninterrupted collaboration within the multi-national German–Austrian–Swiss COSS group. Results: Since its very first prospective osteosarcoma trial starting in 1977, COSS has continuously been able to provide high-level evidence on various tumor- and treatment-related questions. This includes both the cohort of patients enrolled into prospective trials as well as those patients excluded from them for various reasons, followed in a prospective registry. Well over one hundred disease-related publications attest to the group’s impact on the field. Despite these accomplishments, challenging problems remain. Discussion: Collaborative research within a multi-national study group resulted in better definitions of important aspects of the most common bone tumor, osteosarcoma, and its treatments. Important challenges continue to persist.",
"corpus_id": 257266225
} | {
"title": "Childhood cancer survivorship care: A qualitative study of healthcare providers’ professional preferences",
"abstract": "Purpose Childhood cancer survivorship care is a complex specialty, though it is increasingly being integrated into the general practitioner’s (GP) remit. Establishing the essential components of tertiary- and primary-led care, to maximize the benefits and overcome the challenges inherent to each, is essential to inform the development of survivor-centered, sustainable care models. Methods We used the qualitative principles of semi-structured interviewing, verbatim transcription, coding (supported by NVivo12) and thematic analysis, to collect and evaluate the views and preferences of pediatric oncologists, survivorship nurse coordinators, and GPs currently caring for childhood cancer survivors. Results Seventy healthcare providers (19 oncology staff and 51 GPs) from 11 tertiary hospitals and 51 primary practices across Australia and New Zealand participated. Participants reported specialist expertise and holistic family-centered care as the key benefits of tertiary and primary care respectively. Participants reported that tertiary-led survivorship care was significantly challenged by a lack of dedicated funding and costs/travel burden incurred by the survivor, whereas primary-led survivorship care was challenged by insufficient GP training and GPs’ reliance on oncologist-developed action plans to deliver guideline-based care. GPs also reported a need for ongoing access to survivorship expertise/consultants to support care decisions at critical times. The discharge of survivors into primary care limited late-effects data collection and the rapid implementation of novel research findings. Conclusions Healthcare professionals report that while a risk-stratified, collaborative model of survivor-centered care is optimal, to be implemented successfully, greater provisions for the ongoing engagement of GPs and further access to GP education/training are needed.",
"corpus_id": 252686141
} | {
"title": "Outcomes of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Beyond the University of California San Francisco Criteria: A Single-center Experience",
"abstract": "Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant liver tumor. Currently, liver transplantation may be the optimal treatment for HCC in cirrhotic patients. Patient selection is currently based on tumor size. We developed a program to offer liver transplantation to selected patients with HCC outside of traditional criteria. Methods. Retrospective review for patients transplanted with HCC between April 2008 and June 2017. Patients were grouped by tumor size according to Milan, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and outside UCSF criteria. Patient demographics, laboratory values, and outcomes were compared. Patients radiographically outside Milan criteria were selected based on tumor control with locoregional therapy (LRT) and 9 months of stability from LRT. α-fetoprotein values were not exclusionary. Results. Two hundred twenty HCC patients were transplanted, 138 inside Milan, 23 inside UCSF, and 59 beyond UCSF criteria. Patient survival was equivalent at 1, 3, or 5 years despite pathologic tumor size. Waiting time to transplantation was not significantly different at an average of 344 days. In patients outside UCSF, tumor recurrence was equivalent to Milan and UCSF criteria recipients who waited >9 months from LRT. Although tumor recurrence was more likely in outside of UCSF patients (3% versus 9% versus 15%; P = 0.02), recurrence-free survival only trended toward significance among the groups (P = 0.053). Conclusions. Selective patients outside of traditional size criteria can be effectively transplanted with equivalent survival to patients with smaller tumors, even when pathologic tumor burden is considered. Tumor stability over time can be used to help select patients for transplantation.",
"corpus_id": 195354691
} |
{
"title": "Echocardiographic parameters differentiating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction from asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction",
"abstract": "(LVDD) either remains latent or manifests as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Little is known about echocardiographic parameters associated with symptomatic phenotype.",
"corpus_id": 210331467
} | {
"title": "Echocardiographic Features Beyond Ejection Fraction and Associated Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure With Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction",
"abstract": "Background: Heart failure (HF) guidelines recommend assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to classify patients and guide therapy implementation. However, LVEF alone may be insufficient to adequately characterize patients with HF, especially those with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. Recommendations on additional testing are lacking, and there are limited data on use of echocardiographic features beyond LVEF in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. Methods: In patients with HF with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF identified in a large US health care system, the association of the following metrics with mortality was evaluated: LV global longitudinal strain (LV GLS>–16), left atrial volume index (>28 mL/m2), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and E/e´>13 and e´<9. A multivariable model for mortality was constructed including age, sex, and key comorbidities followed by stepwise selection of echocardiographic features. Characteristics and outcomes of subgroups with normal versus abnormal LV GLS and LVEF were evaluated. Results: Among 2337 patients with complete echocardiographic data assessed between 2017 and 2020, the following features were associated with all-cause mortality on univariate analysis over 3 years of follow-up: E/e´+e´, LV GLS, left atrial volume index (all P<0.01). In the multivariable model (C-index=0.65), only abnormal LV GLS was independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR, 1.35 [95% CI, 1.11–1.63]; P=0.002). Among patients with LVEF>55%, 498/1255 (40%) demonstrated abnormal LV GLS. Regardless of specific LVEF, patients with abnormal LV GLS demonstrated a higher burden of multiple comorbidities and higher event rates compared with patients with normal LV GLS. Conclusions: In a large, real-world HF with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF population, echocardiographic features, led by LV GLS, were associated with adverse outcomes irrespective of LVEF. A large proportion of patients demonstrate adverse myocardial function by LV GLS despite preserved LVEF and may represent a key cohort of interest for HF medical therapies and future clinical studies.",
"corpus_id": 258620343
} | {
"title": "Cause-specific mortality in patients with psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis",
"abstract": "Objective\nThe objective of this study was to examine cause-specific mortality in patients with PsA compared with the general population and compared with patients with RA.\n\n\nMethods\nA cohort study was performed using The Health Improvement Network among patients aged 18-89 years with data from 1994 to 2010. PsA and RA were defined by medical codes, and up to 10 unexposed controls were matched on practice and start date within the practice. Cause of death was classified using categories from UK death statistics. Each death was manually reviewed to ensure appropriate classification. Age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and multivariable adjusted HRs were calculated using competing risks survival regression.\n\n\nResults\nAmong patients with PsA (8706), RA (41 752) and unexposed controls (81 573), 470, 7004 and 5269 deaths were observed, respectively. The most common causes of death among all patients were cardiovascular disease, followed by malignancy, respiratory deaths and infection. Cause of death was unknown in ∼25%. Among PsA patients, cardiovascular (1.09, 0.91-1.32), respiratory (0.97, 0.79-1.20), malignancy (1.03, 0.86-1.25) and infection deaths (1.05, 0.79-1.39) were not elevated. Among patients with RA, cardiovascular (1.55, 1.44-1.66), respiratory (1.85, 1.72-2.01), malignancy (1.18, 1.08-1.28) and infection deaths (2.21, 2.00-2.44) were significantly elevated compared with population controls. Although less common, suicide deaths were elevated in PsA and RA (HR 3.03 and 2.47, respectively).\n\n\nConclusion\nOverall mortality and cause-specific mortality risk were not elevated among patients with PsA except for suicide deaths. Patients with RA were at increased risk of deaths from cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and infectious diseases.",
"corpus_id": 3714140
} |
{
"title": "Spatiotemporal Evolution and Determinants of the Geography of Chinese Patents Abroad: A Case Study of Strategic Emerging Industries",
"abstract": "China’s rapid technological growth and aggressive globalization policies have led to an increasing interest in Chinese patents abroad. This study uses strategic emerging industries (SEIs) that are important for the future development of the world as examples and constructs a novel dataset of Chinese SEI patents abroad (1993–2017) to explore the spatiotemporal evolution and determinants of the geography of these patents. Our results show that the number of Chinese SEI patents abroad is growing rapidly, and the new-generation information technology industry is increasingly dominating, accounting for approximately 50% of all SEI patents abroad. Chinese SEI patents abroad are highly concentrated in the United States, Western Europe, and East Asia, and their influence is gradually spreading from African countries to developed countries. The host country’s intellectual property rights (IPR) protection level, technology market size and imitation risk have significant positive effects on Chinese SEI patents abroad, while the host country’s high-tech product market size and competition risk have negative effects on Chinese patents abroad. The conclusions provide new information for understanding Chinese patents abroad activities and the motivation of China’s technology globalization and provide evidence from an emerging country for research of the international diffusion of technology innovation.",
"corpus_id": 255637267
} | {
"title": "Measurement and Comparison of the Innovation Spatial Spillover Effect: A Study Based on the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, China",
"abstract": "Innovation is an important factor to improve the quality of economic growth, and amplifying the innovation spatial spillover effect is an important measure to support the development of innovation. Scholars have carried out diversified research on the innovation spatial spillover effect, but there is still practical significance for deepening the research on the spatial spillover effect. In particular, the multi-angle comparative study in different regions still has research value, especially for the field of urban agglomeration integration. The spatial econometric model is a common method to measure spatial spillover effect. In order to carry out a multi-angle comparative study of innovation spatial spillover effects in different regions, this study takes two typical integrated urban agglomerations of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta in China as the object, and conducts a comparative study of the evolutionary characteristics of innovation spatial spillover effects based on urban scale data and the spatial econometric model. Differently from previous studies, invention patents are adopted to characterize the innovation level. The results show that there are significant positive innovation spatial spillover effects in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, and the spatial spillover effect in the Yangtze River Delta is stronger. The spatial spillover effect exhibits significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. For example, the spatial spillover effect in the core region and the fringe region of the urban agglomeration exhibits a positive effect, but the Yangtze River Delta is stronger than the Pearl River Delta. As an important innovation, the spatial spillover effects both exhibit the evolutionary characteristics of “inverted U-shape” based on the changes in geographical distance, and the spatial spillover effect of the Yangtze River Delta is always larger. Based on the empirical research, we propose promoting high-quality development by strengthening urban agglomeration cooperation, realizing urban agglomeration expansion in an orderly way, and improving the macro-political system.",
"corpus_id": 256759036
} | {
"title": "Neither at the cutting edge nor in a patent-friendly environment: Appropriating the returns from innovation in a less developed economy",
"abstract": "Abstract Despite increased focus on understanding how firms appropriate the returns from innovation, our knowledge regarding firms' behaviour in less developed economies (LDEs) is still scant. This paper provides a nuanced view as to how firms that are not at the technological frontier attempt to capture value when they encounter fragile patenting conditions. I analyse a unique dataset on innovative activities in Brazil. My findings reveal the effects (if any) of a number of factors on the use of a wide range of appropriability mechanisms. These factors include measures of knowledge intensity, novelty of products and processes, firm size, degree of competition, innovation cooperation, government support for innovation, and type of ownership. In addition, my empirical exercise provides evidence of the extent to which firms in an LDE adopt different appropriability mechanisms in pairs. Overall, this paper indicates that even in the absence of an effective patent system, firms do use patents. However, there are other patterns of appropriability in which firms use design (being registered or not registered accordingly), lead-time or trademarks in association with other means of appropriation.",
"corpus_id": 224868791
} |
{
"title": "Enhanced antibacterial activity and photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under visible light using cesium lead iodide perovskite nanostructures prepared by hydrothermal method",
"abstract": "Abstract Perovskite nanostructures with various morphologies have designated encouraging shape-dependent characteristics. Metal-halide perovskite nanostructures have appeared as cost-effective, efficient, light-active substances for photocatalytic purposes. The photocatalytic process is an environmentally-friendly procedure that became known as an encouraging option for the destruction of various toxic contaminants. The shortcomings of the current photocatalytic system, which restricts their technical applications incorporate fast charge recombination, low-utilization of visible radiation, and low immigration capability of the photo-induced electron-hole. In this research, Cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) perovskite nanostructures have been prepared via the hydrothermal method. The impact of multiple factors, including molar ratios of precursors, different types of capping agents, reaction time, and reaction temperature was studied on purity, morphology, and particle size of nanostructures. The photocatalytic behavior of the CsPbI3 nanostructures was studied for the destruction of organic dyes under visible light and indicated that these nanoparticles could remove and degrade organic pollutants in high value. The highest efficiency was observed in the presence of methyl violet, with a decolorization percentage of 81.7%. The results indicated that the CsPbI3 perovskite nanostructures could be used as high-performance catalysts for water pollution removal. Besides, the antibacterial results showed that the maximum antibacterial activity was against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pyogenes.",
"corpus_id": 225037698
} | {
"title": "Antibacterial Activity of Metallic Nanoparticles against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens Isolated from Environmental Samples: Nanoparticles/Antibiotic Combination Therapy and Cytotoxicity Study.",
"abstract": "Multidrug-resistant organisms have increased the prevalence of infectious diseases and have become the leading source of death globally. The adverse effects associated with conventional antibiotics cannot be underestimated, and as a result, the quest for antibacterial agents has received great attention over the years. Therefore, the current research was designed to synthesize and examine the antibacterial properties of two metallic nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), as well as their antibiotic combination therapy against multidrug-resistant bacteria. AgNPs and ZnONPs were synthesized by the coprecipitation method and characterized. Thereafter, their antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria was investigated using the microdilution technique. Subsequently, the interactions between the synthesized nanoparticles and antibiotics were evaluated by checkerboard assay. Time-kill assays were carried out to assess bacteriostatic or bactericidal effects, and the cytotoxicity study was carried out by MTT assay. The SEM analysis of AgNPs and ZnONPs were spherical with an average size of 21.03 and 43.37 nm, respectively. FTIR analysis showed the characteristics of the metal-oxygen vibrational band for both materials around 450 cm-1, which indicated the successful synthesis of these antibacterial agents. The EDX characterization revealed Zn and O with 77.89% and 18.24% abundance in ZnONPs and Ag with 95.65% abundance in AgNPs. UV-vis absorption spectra of AgNPs was obtained around 400 nm. ZnONPs showed a moderate antibacterial effect against Enterococcus species with a MIC range of 2.5-5 mg/mL, while AgNPs demonstrated a strong antibacterial effect against the tested bacterial strains with a MIC range of 0.078-0.039 mg/mL. The ZnONPs were found to be cytotoxic against Vero cell lines at the tested concentrations, whereas AgNPs had no cytotoxic effect at lower concentrations. Their combination activities showed synergetic and additive effects. These findings revealed that these synthesized materials could serve as alternate antibacterial agents against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumanni and Enterococcus species.",
"corpus_id": 252543157
} | {
"title": "Boosting Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Metal-Organic Frameworks via Ligand Doping.",
"abstract": "Electrochemical CO2 reduction relies on the availability of highly efficient and selective catalysts. Herein, we report a general strategy to boost the activity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) towards CO2 reduction via ligand doping. A strong electron-donating molecule of 1,10-phenanthroline was doped into Zn-based MOFs of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as CO2 reduction electrocatalyst. Experimental and theoretical evidences reveal that the electron-donating nature of phenanthroline enables a charge transfer, which induces adjacent active sites at the sp2 C atoms in the imidazole ligand possessing more electrons, and facilitates the generation of *COOH, hence leading to improved activity and Faradaic efficiency towards CO production.",
"corpus_id": 59306879
} |
{
"title": "One-pot synthesis of Polyindole–Au nanocomposite and its nanoscale electrical properties",
"abstract": "Abstract Nanosized gold (Au) and polyindole (PIn) composite was prepared via in-situ polymerization of indole, using metal salt chloro-auric acid as an oxidant, in a microemulsion system. The oxidization of indole and the reduction of Au 3+ ions occurred simultaneously in a single step, which resulted in a core shell structure having a coating of polyindole over monodispersed, size-controlled, highly populated, and stable gold nanoparticles. Indole polymerization governed by chloro-auric acid, was monitored using UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. Nanoscale electrical characterization of polyindole nanocomposite was performed using current-sensing atomic force microscopy. The investigated properties of the composite proved its enormous potential in electronic applications and fabrication of nanoscale organic devices.",
"corpus_id": 96579342
} | {
"title": "Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Activated Carbon@Polyindole Composite for the Effective Removal of Ionic Dye from Water",
"abstract": "The present study is aimed at the synthesis and exploring the efficiency of a novel activated carbon incorporated polyindole (AC@PIN) composite for adsorptive removal of Malachite Green (MG) dye from aqueous solution. An AC@PIN hybrid material was prepared by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. The physico-chemical characteristics of the AC@PIN composite were assessed using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, and determination of point of zero charge (pHPZC). A series of adsorption studies was conducted to evaluate the influence of operational parameters such as pH, contact time, initial dye concentration, AC@PIN dosage, and temperature on dye adsorption behavior of developed composite. A maximum dye removal percentage (97.3%) was achieved at the pH = 10, AC@PIN dosage = 6.0 mg, initial dye concentration 150 mg L−1, and temperature = 20 °C. The kinetic studies demonstrated that the adsorption of MG on AC@PIN followed pseudo-second-order model (R2 ≥ 0.99). Meanwhile, Langmuir isotherm model was founded to be the best isotherm model to describe the adsorption process. Finally, the recyclability test revealed that the composite exhibits good recycle efficiency and is stable after 5 cycles. The obtained results suggest that AC@PIN composite could be a potential candidate for the removal of MG from wastewater.",
"corpus_id": 245410849
} | {
"title": "Interfacial synthesis of long polyindole fibers",
"abstract": "Polyindole fibers upto a length of 1000 μm and ∼ 25 μm in diameter have been reproducibly synthesized by interfacial polymerization, which was performed at a stationary interface of aqueous (FeCl3 solution)/organic (indole in dichloromethane) biphasic system. On the other hand, disturbing the aqueous/organic interface by constant stirring of solution—termed as bulk polymerization—resulted in globular (average size ∼ 2 μm) polyindole. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that polymerization takes place at carbon atoms located at positions 2 and 3 in indole monomer, and this has explained origin of different polyindole morphology obtained in interfacial and bulk polymerization. Cyclic voltammograms recorded as a function of scan rate indicated a high electroactivity of the synthesized polyindole. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 595–599, 2007",
"corpus_id": 97047911
} |
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