bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bibliometric Study of Pain after Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Wang Yi-Zu , Wu Cheng-Cheng , Wang Xue-Qiang
Published: February 2021

Background. The prevalence of comorbid pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) is relatively high in clinical observations and has continued to increase over time. Neuropathic pain (70.14%) is the most popular subject in academic journals after SCI. However, studies that used the bibliometric method to analyze comorbid pain after SCI are still lacking. This study is aimed at combining and integrating acquired information to analyze the global trends of research on the comorbidity of pain after SCI in the last three decades (1990–2019). Methods. Systematic works of literature published from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace software was used to analyze the relationship of publication year with the country, institution, journals, authors, references, and keywords. The regression analysis is used to evaluate the percentage of the category increase or decrease over time significantly. IBM SPSS Statistics was used in the statistical analysis. Results. A total of 730 publications were included in the analysis. A remarkable increase in the number of publications was observed in the study period (

P
<
0.05

). A total of 202 academic journals focused on the categories of clinical neurology, neurosciences, and rehabilitation, and the annual growth rate of articles in these three categories was statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). The USA (356, 48.77%) and the University of Miami (64, 8.77%) were the country and institution with the highest number of publications, respectively. Spinal Cord, which was the main journal for research on pain after SCI, had the most publications (88, 12.05%). Burst keywords showed that the individual, inflammation, and central sensitization with pain after SCI are the research development trends and focus in this research field. Conclusions. Overall, this study provides the latest research direction for pain after SCI. This historical overview of research into pain after SCI will be a useful basis for further research into development trends, focus issues, cooperators, and cooperative institutions.
[Retracted] The Role of Posttranslational Modification and Mitochondrial Quality Control in Cardiovascular Diseases
Authors: Liu Jinlin , Zhong Li , Guo Rui
Published: February 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the world. The mechanism behind CVDs has been studied for decades; however, the pathogenesis is still controversial. Mitochondrial homeostasis plays an essential role in maintaining the normal function of the cardiovascular system. The alterations of any protein function in mitochondria may induce abnormal mitochondrial quality control and unexpected mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to CVDs. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) affect protein function by reversibly changing their conformation. This review summarizes how common and novel PTMs influence the development of CVDs by regulating mitochondrial quality control. It provides not only ideas for future research on the mechanism of some types of CVDs but also ideas for CVD treatments with therapeutic potential.
Real-World Experience with Carbidopa-Levodopa Extended-Release Capsules (Rytary®): Results of a Nationwide Dose Conversion Survey
Authors: Hauser Robert A. , Banisadr Ghazal , Vuong Kara , Freilich David , Fisher Stanley , D’Souza Richard
Published: February 2021

Background. The introduction of carbidopa-levodopa extended-release (CD-LD ER) capsules (Rytary®) did not go as smoothly as expected, largely due to difficulty around dose conversion from available immediate-release (IR) levodopa (LD) formulations. The dose conversion table in the CD-LD ER prescribing information was similar to the table used in the pivotal clinical trial and is considered by many prescribing HCPs to be less than optimal. By the end of the dose conversion period in that trial, dosing in 76% of subjects was adjusted for symptom control; roughly 60% of patients required a higher dose and about half required more frequent administration than the recommended TID dosing. Objective. The primary objective of our nationwide (US) survey was to determine the dose conversion strategy most commonly employed by CD-LD ER frequent prescribers. The survey also aimed to explore additional features regarding CD-LD ER use in clinical practice. Methods. A survey consisting of 21 multiple-choice questions was developed and administered to experts in the use of CD-LD ER, based on prescription volume. Results. Of the 394 HCPs who were invited to participate, 90 (23%) HCPs completed the survey. All respondents were aware of the dose conversion table; the largest group did not find the table to be helpful and did not use it to convert patients to CD-LD ER. The most common strategy in calculating the CD-LD ER dose was based on the total daily LD IR dose, with the majority of that group initiating dose conversion by doubling the total daily LD dose from CD-LD IR and administering CD-LD ER one less time per day. Conclusion. Overall, most survey respondents agreed that a good starting point for CD-LD ER conversion could be doubling the daily LD IR dose and administering it one time less frequently. Moreover, rapid patient follow-up after initial dose conversion to allow for further dose adjustments plays a critical role in achieving success. Gaining experience over time is important for satisfactory conversion.
Service Discovery and Selection Based on Dynamic QoS in the Internet of Things
Authors: Zhang Naiheng
Published: February 2021

Web services are self‐describing and self‐contained modular applications based on the network. With the deepening of web service applications, service consumers have gradually increased their requirements for service functions and service quality. Aiming at how to select the optimal plan from a large number of execution plans with the same function and different QoS characteristics, this paper proposes a web service selection algorithm that supports QoS global optimization and dynamic replanning. The algorithm uses position matrix coding to represent all execution paths and replanning information of the service combination. By calculating the Hamming distance of the service quality between individuals, the quality of the service portfolio is improved. By specifying the total user time limit and implementing a good solution retention strategy, the problem of the impact of algorithm running time on service quality is solved. The experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper is effectively integrated into the development trend of QoS and close to the requester’s needs and can better meet user needs. This algorithm improves the user’s satisfaction with the returned service to a certain extent and improves the efficiency of service invocation.
Nonoperative Management of Perforated Diverticulitis of the Duodenum: Report of Three Cases and Review of Literature
Authors: Franken Rutger , Möllers Martijn , de Mol van Otterloo Alexander , Puylaert Julien
Published: February 2021

Duodenal diverticula are relatively frequent but complications are uncommon. The mortality rate of perforated duodenal diverticulitis is high, and its management is controversial. We report three patients with a perforated duodenal diverticulitis who were successfully treated with conservative antibiotic therapy. The clinical presentation in all three patients was acute onset of pain in the upper abdomen. In all cases, ultrasound showed no abnormalities, but computed tomography revealed the correct diagnosis. All three were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and total parenteral nutrition. They recovered clinically and laboratory findings normalized. During follow-up visit, all patients were asymptomatic. This study contributes another three patients to the small number of successful conservatively treated cases of perforated duodenal diverticulitis described in literature. We suggest that in patients in good condition with no septic signs, conservative treatment with close clinical follow-up should be the treatment of choice.
A Delivery Robot Cloud Platform Based on Microservice
Authors: Yin Zuozhong , Liu Jihong , Chen Bin , Chen Chuanjun
Published: February 2021

Delivery robots face the problem of storage and computational stress when performing immediate tasks, exceeding the limits of on-board computing power. Based on cloud computing, robots can offload intensive tasks to the cloud and acquire massive data resources. With its distributed cluster architecture, the platform can help offload computing and improve the computing power of the control center, which can be considered the external “brain” of the robot. Although it expands the capabilities of the robot, cloud service deployment remains complex because most current cloud robot applications are based on monolithic architectures. Some scholars have proposed developing robot applications through the microservice development paradigm, but there is currently no unified microservice-based robot cloud platform. This paper proposes a delivery robot cloud platform based on microservice, providing dedicated services for autonomous driving of delivery robot. The microservice architecture is adopted to split the monomer robot application into multiple services and then implement automatic orchestration and deployment of services on the cloud platform based on components such as Kubernetes, Docker, and Jenkins. This enables containerized CI/CD (continuous integration, continuous deployment, and continuous delivery) for the cloud platform service, and the whole process can be visualized, repeatable, and traceable. The platform is prebuilt with development tools, and robot application developers can use these tools to develop in the cloud, without the need for any customization in the background, to achieve the rapid deployment and launch of robot cloud service. Through the cloud migration of traditional robot applications and the development of new APPs, the platform service capabilities are continuously improved. This paper verifies the feasibility of the platform architecture through the delivery scene experiment.
BSSPD: A Blockchain‐Based Security Sharing Scheme for Personal Data with Fine‐Grained Access Control
Authors: Gao Hongmin , Ma Zhaofeng , Luo Shoushan , Xu Yanping , Wu Zheng
Published: February 2021

Privacy protection and open sharing are the core of data governance in the AI‐driven era. A common data‐sharing management platform is indispensable in the existing data‐sharing solutions, and users upload their data to the cloud server for storage and dissemination. However, from the moment users upload the data to the server, they will lose absolute ownership of their data, and security and privacy will become a critical issue. Although data encryption and access control are considered up‐and‐coming technologies in protecting personal data security on the cloud server, they alleviate this problem to a certain extent. However, it still depends too much on a third‐party organization’s credibility, the Cloud Service Provider (CSP). In this paper, we combined blockchain, ciphertext‐policy attribute‐based encryption (CP‐ABE), and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) to address this problem to propose a blockchain‐based security sharing scheme for personal data named BSSPD. In this user‐centric scheme, the data owner encrypts the sharing data and stores it on IPFS, which maximizes the scheme’s decentralization. The address and the decryption key of the shared data will be encrypted with CP‐ABE according to the specific access policy, and the data owner uses blockchain to publish his data‐related information and distribute keys for data users. Only the data user whose attributes meet the access policy can download and decrypt the data. The data owner has fine‐grained access control over his data, and BSSPD supports an attribute‐level revocation of a specific data user without affecting others. To further protect the data user’s privacy, the ciphertext keyword search is used when retrieving data. We analyzed the security of the BBSPD and simulated our scheme on the EOS blockchain, which proved that our scheme is feasible. Meanwhile, we provided a thorough analysis of the storage and computing overhead, which proved that BSSPD has a good performance.
GC-MS Characterization of Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Antitrypanosomal Activity of Syzygium aromaticum Essential Oil and Eugenol
Authors: Teles Amanda Mara , Silva-Silva João Victor , Fernandes Juan Matheus Pereira , Abreu-Silva Ana Lucia , Calabrese Kátia da Silva , Mendes Filho Nestor Everton , Mouchrek Adenilde Nascimento , Almeida-Souza Fernando
Published: February 2021

Syzygium aromaticum has a diversity of biological activities due to the chemical compounds found in its plant products such as total phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The present work describes the chemical analysis and antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antitrypanosomal activity of the essential oil of S. aromaticum. Eugenol (53.23%) as the major compound was verified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. S. aromaticum essential oil was more effective against S. aureus (MIC 50 μg/mL) than eugenol (MIC 250 μg/mL). Eugenol presented higher antioxidant activity than S. aromaticum essential oil, with an EC50 of 12.66 and 78.98 µg/mL, respectively. S. aromaticum essential oil and eugenol exhibited Trypanosoma cruzi inhibitory activity, with IC50 of 28.68 ± 1.073 and 31.97 ± 1.061 μg/mL against epimastigotes and IC50 of 64.51 ± 1.658 and 45.73 ± 1.252 μg/mL against intracellular amastigotes, respectively. Both compounds presented low cytotoxicity, with S. aromaticum essential oil displaying 15.5-fold greater selectivity for the parasite than the cells. Nitrite levels in T. cruzi-stimulated cells were reduced by essential oil (47.01%;

p

 = 0.002) and eugenol (48.05%;

p

 = 0.003) treatment. The trypanocidal activity of S. aromaticum essential oil showed that it is reasonable to use it in future research in the search for new therapeutic alternatives for trypanosomiasis.
Multiscale Feature Filtering Network for Image Recognition System in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Authors: Ma Xianghua , Yang Zhenkun , Chen Shining
Published: February 2021

For unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), object detection at different scales is an important component for the visual recognition. Recent advances in convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated that attention mechanism remarkably enhances multiscale representation of CNNs. However, most existing multiscale feature representation methods simply employ several attention blocks in the attention mechanism to adaptively recalibrate the feature response, which overlooks the context information at a multiscale level. To solve this problem, a multiscale feature filtering network (MFFNet) is proposed in this paper for image recognition system in the UAV. A novel building block, namely, multiscale feature filtering (MFF) module, is proposed for ResNet‐like backbones and it allows feature‐selective learning for multiscale context information across multiparallel branches. These branches employ multiple atrous convolutions at different scales, respectively, and further adaptively generate channel‐wise feature responses by emphasizing channel‐wise dependencies. Experimental results on CIFAR100 and Tiny ImageNet datasets reflect that the MFFNet achieves very competitive results in comparison with previous baseline models. Further ablation experiments verify that the MFFNet can achieve consistent performance gains in image classification and object detection tasks.
Solving the Traveling Salesman Problem: A Modified Metaheuristic Algorithm
Authors: Yousefikhoshbakht Majid
Published: February 2021

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is one of the most important issues in combinatorial optimization problems that are used in many engineering sciences and has attracted the attention of many scientists and researchers. In this issue, a salesman starts to move from a desired node called warehouse and returns to the starting place after meeting n customers provided that each customer is only met once. The aim of this issue is to determine a cycle with a minimum cost for this salesman. One of the major weaknesses of the PSO algorithm in the classical version is that it gets stuck in local optimizations. Therefore, in the proposed algorithm, called MPSO, the best solution in the current iteration is also used in the movement step. In addition, a variety of local search algorithms are provided that are used when better answers are generated than before. Also, a new method for moving the particle towards the best particle is presented, which, in addition to probably increasing the quality of the new answer, prevents the premature convergence of the algorithm due to consideration of the concept of random. The results evaluated with the results of several metaheuristic algorithms in the literature show the efficiency of the MPSO algorithm because it has been able to achieve excellent solutions in most of these instances.
BBAAS: Blockchain-Based Anonymous Authentication Scheme for Providing Secure Communication in VANETs
Authors: Maria Azees , Pandi Vijayakumar , Lazarus Jeatha Deborah , Karuppiah Marimuthu , Christo Mary Subaja
Published: February 2021

Smart driving has become conceivable due to the rapid growth of vehicular ad hoc networks. VANETs are considered as the main platform for providing safety road information and instant vehicle communication. Nevertheless, due to the open wireless nature of communication channels, VANET is susceptible to security attacks by malicious users. For this reason, secure anonymous authentication schemes are essential in VANETs. However, when vehicles reach a new roadside unit (RSU) coverage area, the vehicles need to perform reauthentication with the current RSU, which significantly diminishes the efficiency of the entire VANET. Therefore, the introduction of blockchain technology has created opportunities for VANETs to resolve the aforementioned challenges. Due to the decentralized nature of blockchain technology, rapid reauthentication of vehicles is achieved in this paper through secure authentication code transfer between the consecutive RSUs. The security strength of the proposed blockchain-based anonymous authentication scheme against various harmful security attacks is proven in the security analysis section to ensure that it provides better security. In addition, blockchain, as presented in the performance analysis section, is used to substantially diminish the computational cost compared to conventional authentication schemes.
Inference on a New Lifetime Distribution under Progressive Type II Censoring for a Parallel‐Series Structure
Authors: Hashem Atef F. , Alyami Salem A.
Published: February 2021

A new lifetime distribution, called exponential doubly Poisson distribution, is proposed with decreasing, increasing, and upside‐down bathtub‐shaped hazard rates. One of the reasons for introducing the new distribution is that it can describe the failure time of a system connected in the form of a parallel‐series structure. Some properties of the proposed distribution are addressed. Four methods of estimation for the involved parameters are considered based on progressively type II censored data. These methods are maximum likelihood, moments, least squares, and weighted least squares estimations. Through an extensive numerical simulation, the performance of the estimation methods is compared based on the average of mean squared errors and the average of absolute relative biases of the estimates. Two real datasets are used to compare the proposed distribution with some other well‐known distributions. The comparison indicates that the proposed distribution is better than the other distributions to match the data provided.
Combined Ventilation of Two Subjects with a Single Mechanical Ventilator Using a New Medical Device: An In Vitro Study
Authors: Lugones Ignacio , Ramos Matías , Biancolini María Fernanda , Orofino Giambastiani Roberto
Published: February 2021

Introduction. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has created a sudden lack of ventilators. DuplicARⓇ is a novel device that allows simultaneous and independent ventilation of two subjects with a single ventilator. The aims of this study are (a) to determine the efficacy of DuplicARⓇ to independently regulate the peak and positive-end expiratory pressures in each subject, both under pressure-controlled ventilation and volume-controlled ventilation and (b) to determine the ventilation mode in which DuplicARⓇ presents the best performance and safety. Materials and Methods. Two test lungs are connected to a single ventilator using DuplicARⓇ. Three experimental stages are established: (1) two identical subjects, (2) two subjects with the same weight but different lung compliance, and (3) two subjects with different weights and lung compliances. In each stage, the test lungs are ventilated in two ventilation modes. The positive-end expiratory pressure requirements are increased successively in one of the subjects. The goal is to achieve a tidal volume of 7 ml/kg for each subject in all different stages through manipulation of the ventilator and the DuplicARⓇ controllers. Results. DuplicARⓇ allows adequate ventilation of two subjects with different weights and/or lung compliances and/or PEEP requirements. This is achieved by adjusting the total tidal volume for both subjects (in volume-controlled ventilation) or the highest peak pressure needed (in pressure-controlled ventilation) along with the basal positive-end expiratory pressure on the ventilator and simultaneously manipulating the DuplicARⓇ controllers to decrease the tidal volume or the peak pressure in the subject that needs less and/or to increase the positive-end expiratory pressure in the subject that needs more. While ventilatory goals can be achieved in any of the ventilation modes, DuplicARⓇ performs better in pressure-controlled ventilation, as changes experienced in the variables of one subject do not modify the other one. Conclusions. DuplicARⓇ is an effective tool to manage the peak inspiratory pressure and the positive-end expiratory pressure independently in two subjects connected to a single ventilator. The driving pressure can be adjusted to meet the requirements of subjects with different weights and lung compliances. Pressure-controlled ventilation has advantages over volume-controlled ventilation and is therefore the recommended ventilation mode.
Early Radiologic Diagnosis of Pulmonary Infection in Febrile Neutropenic Patients: A Comparison of Serial Chest Radiography and Single CT Chest
Authors: Burivong Wanaporn , Sricharoen Thanatorn , Thachang Apichart , Soodchuen Sunsiree , Maroongroge Panitpong , Leelasithorn Vichit
Published: February 2021

Objective. The purpose of this study is to compare the early radiologic diagnosis of pulmonary infection between serial chest radiography (chest film) and single chest computed tomography (CT chest) in the first seven days of febrile neutropenia. Methods. This study included 78 patients with hematologic malignancies who developed 107 episodes of febrile neutropenia from January 2012 to October 2017 and had a chest film performed within the first seven days. Demographic and radiographic data were retrospectively reviewed. Three radiologists independently and blindly evaluated chest films and CT chests. The sensitivity, specificity, and correlation of chest film with absolute neutrophil count were carried out. Results. A total of 222 chest films were performed during this period and found thirty-nine episodes (36.4%) of radiographic active pulmonary infection. The diagnosis of clinical positive for pulmonary infection is 44.8% (48/107). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of serial chest film in the early radiologic diagnosis of pulmonary infection are 50%, 74%, 61%, and 64%, respectively. The false-positive rate was 14%, and the false-negative rate was 22%. For single CT chest examinations, twenty-six studies were assessed, and 42.3% was indicative of radiographic active pulmonary infection. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CT chest in the early radiologic diagnosis of pulmonary infection are 91%, 40%, 53%, and 86%, respectively. The false-positive rate was 60%. The absolute neutrophil count was not useful for predicting radiographic active pulmonary infection. Conclusion. Serial chest film for early radiologic diagnosis of pulmonary infection within the first seven days of febrile neutropenia has lower sensitivity with higher specificity as compared to a single CT chest. Conversely, CT chest may not only have a higher sensitivity in determining early pulmonary infection but also has a higher rate of false-positives.
Gut Microbiota Profile in Adult Patients with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome
Authors: He Hanchang , Lin Minwa , You Lu , Chen Tongqing , Liang Zijie , Li Dao , Xie Chao , Xiao Guanqing , Ye Peiyi , Kong Yaozhong , Zhou Youlian
Published: February 2021

Background. Increasing evidences have reported gut microbiota dysbiosis in many diseases, including chronic kidney disease and pediatric idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). There is lack evidence of intestinal microbiota dysbiosis in adults with INS, however. Here, we to address the association between the gut microbiome and INS. Methods. Stool samples of 35 adult INS patients and 35 healthy volunteers were collected. Total bacterial DNA was extracted, and the V4 regions of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene were sequenced. The fecal microbiome was analyzed using bioinformatics. The correlation analysis between altered taxa and clinical parameters was also included. Results. We found that microbial diversity in the gut was reduced in adult patients with INS. Acidobacteria, Negativicutes, Selenomonadales, Veillonellaceae, Clostridiaceae, Dialister, Rombousia, Ruminiclostridium, Lachnospira, Alloprevotella, Clostridium sensu stricto, Megamonas, and Phascolarctobacterium were significantly reduced, while Pasteurellales, Parabacteroides, Bilophila, Enterococcus, Eubacterium ventriosum, and Lachnoclostridium were markedly increased in patients with INS. In addition, Burkholderiales, Alcaligenaceae, and Barnesiella were negatively correlated with serum creatinine. Blood urea nitrogen levels were positively correlated with Christensenellaceae, Bacteroidales_S24.7, Ruminococcaceae, Ruminococcus, and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136, but were negatively correlated with Flavonifractor_plautii and Erysipelatoclostridium_ramosum. Enterobacteriales, Enterobacteriaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Escherichia/Shigella, Parabacteroides, and Escherichia_coli were positively correlated with albumin. Proteinuria was positively correlated with Verrucomicrobia, Coriobacteriia, Thermoleophilia, Ignavibacteria, Coriobacteriales, Nitrosomonadales, Coriobacteriaceae, and Blautia, but was negatively correlated with Betaproteobacteria, Burkholderiales, and Alcaligenaceae. Conclusion. Our findings show compositional alterations of intestinal microbiota in adult patients with INS and correlations between significantly altered taxa and clinical parameters, which points out the direction for the development of new diagnostics and therapeutic approaches targeted intestinal microbiota.
Mutual Coupling Reduction Using Improved Dual-Layer Mushroom and E-Shaped Stub
Authors: Cheng Chunxia , Luo Liyan
Published: February 2021

The improved dual-layer mushroom (IDLM) and back-to-back E-shaped stubs for mutual coupling reduction between microstrip patch antennas are presented in this paper. The IDLM unit consists of one upper layer complementary split-ring resonator lattice and four lower layer lattices, whose centers are connected to the ground by a pin. The decoupling structure can prevent the surface current from one antenna port to another, so as to improve the isolation between the antennas. The proposed antenna works in the open wireless communication band of 2.45 GHz. Using the proposed decoupling structure, a low mutual coupling level ranging from −27 to −40 dB is obtained when the center distance of the adjacent patches is 0.5λ0. The total size of the decoupling antenna is 99 × 41 × 2.4 mm3 with a frequency range of 2.42–2.48 GHz for S11 < −10 dB. The proposed decoupling structure can also improve the average gain and efficiency of the antenna by 0.1 dB and 5%, respectively. The antenna is studied from the aspects of isolation, return loss, current and electric field distribution, radiation pattern, and diversity performance. The designed decoupling antenna is fabricated and measured. The pattern, isolation, and return loss of the tested results show good consistence with the simulation results. The diversity gain and envelop correlation coefficient of the diversity performance show that the designed antenna can be used in MIMO or Rx/Tx systems.
Colorectal Cancer-Associated Smad4 R361 Hotspot Mutations Boost Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling through Enhanced Smad4–LEF1 Binding
Authors: Lanauze Claudia B. , Sehgal Priyanka , Hayer Katharina , Torres-Diz Manuel , Pippin James A. , Grant Struan F.A. , Thomas-Tikhonenko Andrei
Published: February 2021

About 10% to 30% of patients with colorectal cancer harbor either loss of or missense mutations in SMAD4, a critical component of the TGFβ signaling pathway. The pathophysiologic function of missense mutations in Smad4 is not fully understood. They usually map to the MH2 domain, specifically to residues that are involved in heterodimeric complex formation with regulatory Smads (such as Smad2/3) and ensuing transcriptional activation. These detrimental effects suggest that SMAD4 missense mutations can be categorized as loss-of-function. However, they tend to cluster in a few hotspots, which is more consistent with them acting by a gain-of-function mechanism. In this study, we investigated the functional role of Smad4 R361 mutants by re-expressing two R361 Smad4 variants in several Smad4-null colorectal cancer cell lines. As predicted, R361 mutations disrupted Smad2/3-Smad4 heteromeric complex formation and abolished canonical TGFβ signaling. In that, they were similar to SMAD4 loss. However, RNA sequencing and subsequent RT-PCR assays revealed that Smad4mut cells acquired a gene signature associated with enhanced Lef1 protein function and increased Wnt signaling. Mechanistically, Smad4 mutant proteins retained binding to Lef1 protein and drove a commensurate increase in downstream Wnt signaling as measured by TOP/FOP luciferase assay and Wnt-dependent cell motility. Consistent with these findings, human colorectal cancers with SMAD4 missense mutations were less likely to acquire activating mutations in the key Wnt pathway gene CTNNB1 (encoding β-catenin) than colorectal cancers with truncating SMAD4 nonsense mutations.

Implications:

Our studies suggest that in colorectal cancer hotspot mutations in Smad4 confer enhanced Wnt signaling and possibly heightened sensitivity to Wnt pathway inhibitors.
Fidel Ruiz: “O Iluminado tem que vir, mas com a mochila meio vazia para também aprender com a gente”
Authors: Marcos Patrícia Sheila Monteiro Paixão
Published: February 2021

Representante da revista La Garganta Poderosa, uma das principais iniciativas de comunicação popular da Argentina e da América Latina, Fidel Ruiz conta como nasceu esse veículo de jornalismo comunitário, na Villa Zavaleta, em Buenos Aires. Ele fala sobre o empoderamento e as conquistas dos moradores locais a partir da credibilidade conquistada pela revista que hoje, também por intermédio de um espaço na TV, denuncia a violência policial, as falhas do Estado e muitas outras questões vividas pelas comunidades periféricas daquele país. O ativista ainda aborda a importância da integração dos setores populares latino-americanos que vivem as mesmas problemáticas e se reconhecem pela eterna resistência.
A rádio que “mostra” notícia: uma análise do canal da CBN no YouTube e uma nova categorização do uso de vídeos por emissoras radiofônicas
Authors: Silva Luana Viana e , Peron Mariana
Published: February 2021

O consumo de vídeo tem crescido exponencialmente nos meios digitais e, em paralelo a isso, o rádio tem se expandido para outras plataformas buscando diversidade de audiência e maior circulação de seu conteúdo. Em relação a essa ocupação de novos espaços, esse artigo traz uma discussão sobre o uso do vídeo pelo rádio e, mais especificamente, sua disponibilização no Youtube. Com o objetivo de observar como a Rádio CBN faz uso de seu canal para disponibilizar vídeos, discutimos sobre as estratégias de apropriação do formato audiovisual utilizadas por essa emissora em plataforma digital. Como principal resultado, identificamos que existem duas principais finalidades de seu uso: 1) banco de dados e 2) potencializador de circulação. Ao final da análise, apresentamos uma atualização da categorização de Lopez (2012) sobre o uso de vídeo por emissoras de rádio.
Sacode Brasil!!! Assim começou a Lava Jato
Authors: Silva Paulo Celso da
Published: February 2021

O ano de 2019 ficou marcado pelo turbilhão que abalou as certezas de que a corrupção seria punida. O jornal online The Intercept Brasil publica no meio do ano, a primeira matéria na qual indica que a imparcialidade e a honestidade das investigações da Operação Lava Jato estavam comprometidas pela série de atitudes, mandos e desmandos de seu comando, o ex-juiz e ex-ministro Sergio Moro e do ex-procurador e ex-coordenador da Operação, Deltan Dallagnol. O livro dividido em dois momentos  o primeiro narrado pela jornalista Letícia Duarte e o segundo com matérias veiculadas, inclusive duas inéditas, apresenta parte do  cotidiano dos jornalistas que protagonizaram os acontecimentos que sacudiram o meio jornalístico e político internacional.
O jornalismo comunitário, a democracia e as identidades individuais e coletivas
Authors: Galli Giuliano Tonasso
Published: February 2021

Este artigo destaca o direito à informação e a liberdade de expressão como fundamentais para o cumprimento efetivo de ideais intrínsecos à democracia. Os meios de comunicação tradicionais, na forma como se configuram, não são capazes de representar uma parte da população, que não se encaixa naquilo que os próprios veículos e seus anunciantes estabelecem como perfil de público-alvo e de consumidor em potencial. Com isso, cidadãos acabam sendo solenemente obliterados de várias práticas comunicacionais, em especial jornalísticas. No sentido de retratar os acontecimentos relativos a uma determinada região, este artigo ressalta o jornalismo comunitário como um poderoso instrumento de representação social, de expressão e de discussão de valores de um grupo, ocupando uma lacuna deixada pela imprensa de grande porte.
Imperialismo e Dependência Estrutural Latino-americana: Alguns Aspectos Conceituais, Históricos e Contemporâneos
Authors: Silva Luiz Fernando da
Published: February 2021

O presente artigo discute a “dependência estrutural” latino-americana. Apresento uma síntese da evolução desse tema no pensamento social crítico latino-americano, como também esboço alguns de seus traços atuais na realidade regional. Pelo menos desde a década de 1920, essa perspectiva analítica possibilitou um eixo diverso de interpretações sobre as desigualdades, miséria social e atraso econômico na região. A ênfase principal para essa explicação encontrou-se em torno das relações de subordinação aos países imperialistas em aliança com as burguesias “nacionais” locais. O tema na atualidade é pouco abordado nos meios acadêmicos e por grande parte da esquerda política na América Latina. A globalização não eliminou o processo de dependência estrutural, pelo contrário o aprofundou. Ao meu entender, não é possível considerar tal fenômeno sem considerar também os chamados governos “progressistas”, que se desenvolveram na América do Sul, a partir do final dos anos 1990. Esses governos não romperam ou minimizaram laços de dependência estrutural. Essa afirmação não é difícil de percebê-la na realidade social regional. As novas formas de extrativismo que se expandiram sobre enormes áreas territoriais, tendo como signo os megaempreendimentos de mineração e agropecuários de grupos internacional sobre os povos originários, camponeses e quilombolas, ganharam nova expansão nos governos progressistas. Nesse atual período, os novos governos de direita, ultradireita ou protofascista empenham-se no aprofundamento ainda maior dessa dependência estrutural.
Lengua y territorio Relación estratégica para la revitalización del mapuzugun
Authors: Gomez Viktor Naqill
Published: February 2021

Pese a que varios Estados americanos han oficializado diversas lenguas indígenas, la gran mayoría de éstas siguen en declive. El artículo sostiene que ello se debe al carácter puramente formal de estas oficializaciones, y al hecho que estas lenguas no son lenguas de enseñanza. La experiencia demuestra que la revitalización de una lengua solo es posible si ésta tiene el estatuto de lengua oficial y es lengua de enseñanza en un marco político-territorial definido. En este sentido, la revitalización del mapuzugun está ligada a los derechos al autogobierno de la nación mapuche en Wallmapu, el País Mapuche. Se compara la situación del mapuzugun con procesos de revitalización lingüística en desarrollo, en particular el del euskera.
Hacia una apuesta etnográfica para la glotopolítica
Authors: Zavala Virginia
Published: February 2021

Este artículo argumenta que la perspectiva histórica y crítica adoptada por la glotopolítica podría enriquecerse con el enfoque etnográfico. A partir del involucramiento sostenido del investigador a lo largo de un tiempo prolongado en un lugar (o lugares) específicos y la combinación -y contraste- de varias fuentes de información y observación, la etnografía permite situar los textos en su contexto de producción y comprender mejor qué es lo que estos “hacen” a nivel de las prácticas sociales. Desde una conceptualización de la etnografía como método, metodología y teorización profunda, se ejemplificará lo anterior a partir de una disputa por la representación del quechua entre dos tipos de comunidades de práctica involucradas en el desarrollo de políticas lingüísticas en el Perú. Se sostendrá que la “mirada interna” que consigue la etnografía permite explicar mejor los procesos implicados en la construcción de ideologías lingüísticas. Así, la glotopolítica puede sumarse al desarrollo de la sociolingüística crítica y la antropología lingüística del norte global, campos que tienen un largo recorrido abordando el lenguaje desde una perspectiva etnográfica como proyecto contra hegemónico.
Gestión glotopolítica del Paraguay: ¿Primero normativizar, después normalizar?
Authors: Penner Hedy
Published: February 2021

Los esfuerzos por extender el uso del guaraní a ámbitos formales y oficiales no han sido muy fructuosos hasta hoy, aunque se ha avanzado en la normativización de la lengua, en conformidad con la Ley de lenguas. Esta ley retoma el postulado de la sociolingüística catalana, la cual sostiene que una lengua debe ser normativizada antes de ser normalizada. Aplicado al caso paraguayo, el modelo de las comunidades autónomas españolas resulta ser una fórmula fácil para la gestión de políticas lingüísticas, pero dista mucho de producir cambios en los usuarios guaranihablantes y en la sociedad, en general.
Glotopolítica: balances y perspectivas en el contexto del 4º CLAGlo
Authors: Arnoux Elvira Narvaja de
Published: February 2021

Primeramente, desde la perspectiva de los desarrollos en la Argentina, el texto aborda el proceso de constitución de la Glotopolítica a partir de la etapa anterior al Proceso militar. Recorre los otros dos momentos —la apertura democrática y las investigaciones actuales— señalando los temas considerados, las realizaciones y las reflexiones que atienden al pasado reciente del campo. Se centra, luego, en las líneas de investigación que se expusieron en el 4o CLAGlo y muestra el interés y la importancia de las posiciones que en él se desplegaron. Se detiene particularmente en las mesas plenarias y se refiere a algunos puntos que, en el discurso de los expositores, invitan a la reflexión y el diálogo.
Memoria Dictatorial en el Discurso de la Gestión Macri (Argentina, 2015-2019)
Authors: Di Stefano Mariana
Published: February 2021

El presente trabajo analiza, desde un enfoque glotopolítico, la presencia de la memoria dictatorial en el discurso de la gestión macrista, en la zona temática de la llamada “seguridad interior”. El objetivo ha sido identificar los distintos modos a través de los cuales se hace presente esa memoria dictatorial y los sentidos que encierra. Partimos de la hipótesis de que esa memoria funcionó como reguladora de la construcción de objetos de discurso en esa área temática, como el de “enemigo interior”.

Desde un punto de vista metodológico, dado que el objetivo ha sido poner a prueba la presencia de una regularidad, se han tomado enunciaciones diversas producidas en distintos momentos de la gestión por distintos enunciadores. Entre los resultados, hemos observado que la memoria dictatorial emerge a través de un género discursivo, como el protocolo de actuación de las fuerzas de seguridad, y en la configuración de objetos de discurso, entre los que hemos destacado el de “orden público” y especialmente el de “enemigo interior”. En este último, la enunciación macrista recupera la característica de la fórmula dictatorial “subversión marxista/comunista” de acusar a su enemigo por las acciones que realiza y por su pensamiento político.

 

Palabras clave: glotopolítica; memoria discursiva; objetos de discurso; enemigo interior
Techniques for Egyptian Eyes: Diplomacy and the Transmission of Cosmetic Practices between Egypt and Kerma
Authors: Walsh Carl
Published: February 2021

This article examines the context and distribution of Egyptian eye cosmetic equipment, kohl pots and sticks, found at Classic Kerma (c. 1650–1550 BCE) sites in Upper Nubia in modern-day Sudan. It is argued that these cosmetic assemblages, which included the body techniques, etiquettes, and embodied experiences involved in its application, display, and removal, were forms of courtly habitus adopted from Egypt. Diplomacy is suggested to be the primary process through which these objects and practices were transmitted, as diplomatic visits facilitated the performance of court habitus in intercultural encounters. Kerman agency in consuming and adapting these forms of habitus were negotiated through personal relationships and interactions with Egyptian diplomats that worked to create shared forms of interregional court identities.
Settler Colonialism and the Path toward Cultural Genocide in Xinjiang
Authors: Clarke Michael
Published: February 2021

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (xuar) is the site of the largest mass repression of an ethnic and/or religious minority in the world today characterised by extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs in ‘re-education’ centres, pervasive surveillance, and repression of Uyghur ethnic identity. While Beijing frames such draconian measures as necessary ‘counter-terrorism’ measures, the intersection between concern for the ‘welfare’ of subject populations and the desire to eradicate ‘defective’ elements of cultural identity central to the ‘re-education’ system in Xinjiang betray the fundamentally colonial nature of the Chinese Communist Party’s (ccp) endeavours in the region.
R2P Sidelined: The International Response to China’s Repression of Muslim Minorities in Xinjiang
Authors: Foot Rosemary
Published: February 2021

There has been a lack of recourse to the language of ‘The Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) in respect of reports that the Chinese government is perpetrating mass atrocity crimes against the Muslim minorities that reside in Xinjiang. What does this suggest about the overall normative power of R2P, and is the neglect of R2P reflective of a more general weakening in provisions designed to deal with wide-scale human rights abuses?
Beyond the Veto
Authors: Gifkins Jess
Published: February 2021

The formal rules governing the UN Security Council offer little insight into how negotiations are conducted on a day-to-day basis. While it is generally assumed that permanent members dominate negotiations, this article investigates avenues for influence for elected members and the UN Secretariat. Institutional power is used to show how permanent members adopt dominant positions in negotiations extending far beyond their Charter-given privileges. Dominance of permanent members is moderated, however, by the legitimacy that support from elected members brings to a resolution. Similarly, the UN Secretariat can use its legitimated authority to influence decisions. The article argues that informal practices are key in understanding how power and influence are allocated in the Council and it forms a building block for future analyses of Security Council practices. This argument also has implications for the perennial reform debates and the prospects for informal reform.
Who Controls Multilateral Development Finance?
Authors: Ray Rebecca
Published: February 2021

Multilateral development banks (MDB s) are a growing source of development finance, with nearly two trillion dollars in assets. They have developed a wide array of governance structures, with implications for the distribution of members’ control over those assets. This paper measures that power distribution in 28 MDB s using Penrose-Banzhaf and Shapley-Shubik power indices and members’ relative voting power on MDB governance boards. It uses these calculations to create a typology of MDB governance structures: creditor-led MDB s distribute power among non-borrowers, core borrower-led MDB s distribute power among a few central borrowers, and mutual aid-oriented MDB s distribute power among a wide group of borrowers. Finally, it explores the impact of the creation of two new MDB s, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, and finds that while they do not dramatically alter the global landscape they do allow significantly greater access to capital for some borrowers.
Five-year Outcomes of Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Prospective Multicenter Study
Authors: El Moussaoui Imad , Van Vyve Etienne , Johanet Hubert , Dabrowski André , Piquard Arnaud , Delaunay Thierry , Navez Benoît , Hauters Philippe , Sirisier Frank , Loi Patrizia , Closset Jean
Published: February 2021

Background

Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is the most frequently performed bariatric procedure in the world. Our purpose was to evaluate the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL), resolution of obesity-related comorbidities after SG, and identify predictive factors of weight loss failure.

Methods

A prospective cohort study of adults who underwent SG during 2014 in 7 Belgian-French centers. Their demographic, preoperative, and postoperative data were prospectively collected and analyzed statistically.

Results

Overall, 529 patients underwent SG, with a mean preoperative weight and body mass index (BMI) of 118.9 ± 19.9 kg and 42.9 ± 5.5 kg/m2, respectively. Body mass index significantly decreased to 32.2 kg/m2 at 5 years ( P < .001). The mean %EWL was 63.6% at 5 years. A significant reduction in dyslipidemia (28.0%-18.2%), obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) (34.6%-25.1%), and arterial hypertension (HTN) (30.4%-21.5%) was observed after 5 years, but not for diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). At multivariate analysis, age >50 years old, BMI >50 kg/m2, and previous laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) remained independent predictors of weight loss failure.

Conclusions

Five years after SG, weight loss was satisfactory; the reduction of comorbidities was significant for dyslipidemia, OSAS, and HTN, but not diabetes and GERD. Age >50 years old, BMI >50 kg/m2, and previous LAGB were independent predictors of weight loss failure.