bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antidiarrheal Activity of Four Different Species of Litsea Available in Bangladesh
Authors: Bulbul Israt Jahan , Uddin Md. Ekhtiar , Nahar Nusratun , Kuddus Md. Ruhul , Haque Mohammad Rashedul , Rashid Mohammad Abdur
Published: October 2021

The objective of the present study includes the evaluation of the antidiarrheal properties of the methanol extracts of Litsea deccanensis Gamble (MELD) bark, Litsealancifolia (Roxb.) Hook. f. MELL),Litseaglutinosa Gamble (MELG) and Litsea monopetala Roxb. (MELM) leavesin Swiss albino mice. The antidiarrheal activity was evaluated by measuring percentage inhibition of diarrheal feces, total fecal output, gastrointestinal motility and by using peristaltic indices. Castor oil was used to induce diarrhea in the experimental animal. The experiments were carried out by using three different doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight) of these four plant extracts. The number of wet feces and total weight of the feces were significantly (p < 0.05) and dose-dependently reduced by all the plant extracts and this effect was comparable with standard drug. MELD, MELL, MELG and MELM extracts at dose of 400 mg/kg body weight demonstrated diarrheal inhibition by 43.55%, 45.16%, 32.26% and 41.94%, respectively while it was 98.39% for the standard loperamide. Percentage (%) of fecal output for MELD, MELL, MELG and MELM extracts at the dose of 400 mg/kg were 40.14%, 62.27%, 64.06%, 46.26%, respectively.The gastrointestinal motility induced by castor oil was also reduced noticeably (p < 0.05) by all the plant extracts with the increasing doses. The percentage inhibition of gastrointestinal motility at the dose of 400 mg/kg were 26.26%, 33.22%, 32.36% and 22.52% for the MELD, MELL, MELG and MELM extracts respectively, while it was 27.56% for loperamide. In most cases, all the plant extracts can reduce the peristaltic indices which were comparable to control. The obtained results from this study revealed that the methanol extracts of four different species of Litsea found in Bangladesh may have antidiarrheal potential. It also provides the basis for the traditional use of these plants to treat diarrhea.
Analysis of Pneumonia, Hospitalization, and Fatality Among COVID-19 Cases by Mexican States in Women Under 19 Years: An Ecological Study
Authors: -Vargas Gilberto Flores , Raygoza Nicolás Padilla- , -Olivos Efraín Navarro , Gallardo-Luna María de Jesús , Lara-Lona Elia , Magos-Vázquez Francisco J. , Díaz-Martínez Daniel Alberto
Published: October 2021

Background. Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), some social sectors were affected;one of them is girls and women, and it is feared some inequalities may worse. Objective. To analyze pneumonia, hospitalizations, and fatality among confirmed cases of COVID-19, by the state of residence, in Mexican women under 19 years. Methods. A quantitative, ecological, comparative, and retrolective study was designed. The study population was female patients under 19 years whose data was available from the Mexican open National Epidemiological Surveillance System database up to March 31, 2021. For each Mexican state and at the national level, the proportion of pneumonia, hospitalized, and Case Fatality Ratio (CFR) among confirmed cases were calculated, besides descriptive statistics. The state with the lowest proportion of pneumonia, hospitalizations, and CFR was used as the baseline group to calculate Odds Ratio (ORs) and Attributable Fraction both in exposed and the population. The linear relationship between pneumonia cases proportion and hospitalizations with CFR was tested. Test results with p-values under .05 were considered statistically significant. Data analysis was performed in STATA 13.0 ® (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). Results. The number of registries analyzed was 48,091. Attributable Fractions were above 0.7 for most states. Most ORs were high and statistically significant. The correlation between hospitalization proportion, pneumonia proportion, and CFR was high. High values for the Attributable Fractions and ORs were observed among states from the Mexican coastlines. Conclusion. Level and quality of attention vary across states, which was observed through the values of Attributable Fractions and ORs. Although women under 19 years seem to be mildly affected by COVID-19 in clinical regard, the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic in this sector must be studied and addressed. The sharing of strategies among states may benefit the attention of the COVID-19 emergency is a primary goal.
Growth Factors in Wound Healing – A Review
Authors: Vaidyanathan Lalitha
Published: October 2021

The review is an overview of the features of growth factors involved in cellular signaling mechanisms regulating the wound healing process. Understanding the insights of this mechanism is significant for opening therapeutic and research avenues in wound healing. The review highlights the synergistic functioning of most of the growth factors which would enhance the possibility of these factors being the targets for wound care therapy.The significance of the onset and resolution of inflammation in the healing process is better understood clinically and a range of recombinant growth factors to combat this condition have been identified and used to accelerate healing process.The chemotactic and growth regulating factors act as triggers that take the cellular and biochemical components through the inflammation, proliferation, epithelialization, angiogenesis and tissue remodeling phases. Clinical conditions that create alteration in expression of these factors lead to slow and incomplete healing. The review emphasizes on the clinical use of synthetic and recombinant growth factors whose synergistic effects are remarkable. The review covers the specific signaling mechanisms involved in the regulation of these growth factor expressions, specifically the PI3K/AKT, RAS/MAP and JAK pathways; these could be potential targets for future research expansions in this field.
To Study Demographics as Risk Factor for Mortality Associated with COVID-19 : A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Bakshi Amandeep Singh , Sharma Neetu , Singh Jasbir , Batish Sandeep , Sehga Vijay
Published: October 2021

Objectives : Novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 has emerged as a pandemic, claiming over 1,431,513 lives ( till Nov. 27,2020 ) worldwide involving 191 countries . The objective of the study is to evaluate age and gender as a risk factor for COVID -19 related mortality . Material and Methods : It is a retrospective cohort study , where the database of indoor COVID-19 positive patients was assessed for the study. Evaluation of the role of age and gender in mortality of COVID infection by comparing dataset of 2,142 indoor COVID positive patients with two outcome groups namely ,death and discharged groups was done. Results: The age comparison between two groups namely, death and discharged groups showed a median age of 60 years (IQR 50-70) for patients who died and 52 years (IQR 36–62) for the patients who recovered from COVID (p value-<0.001). There were 9 (0.65%) pediatric patients (<12 yrs) in the group of patients who recovered .For gender analysis (n=2129), COVID patients who died were 32.5%( n=692) ,out of which 63.6%(n=440) were males and 36.4%(n=252) were females. COVID positive patients in discharged group were 67.5%(n=1437),out of which 61.2%(n=880) were males and 38.8%(n=557) were females. There was no statistical difference between the two groups for mortality risk based on gender for COVID -19 infection (chi square value of 1.09, p value=.296) and the relative risk of death in males and females who died of COVID was 1.052 (95% CI=0.92-1.204). Conclusion: COVID-19 infection is showing predilection for male gender in both death and discharged group but the males and females are equally susceptible to the risk of death .
Sub-Acute Oral Toxicity Study of Ethanol Extract of Oroxylum Indicum Leafin C57BL/6 Mice
Authors: Reduan Mohd Farhan Hanif , Mastika Mohammad Rasul Arif , Hamid Fathin Faahimaah Abdul , Noralidin Noramalina , Abd Manaf Nur Athirah , Shaari Rumaizi , Kamaruzaman Intan Noor Aina , Nordin Muhammad Luqman
Published: October 2021

Oroxylum indicumalso known as ‘pucukbeko’ in Malaysia is often consumed as raw salad (ulam) due to the belief that the plant has numerous therapeutics activities that could improve health. Despite its medicinal potential,however, there has been very limited data on the plant’s safety and toxicity profile particularly for long term consumption. More depth insight and evidence-based studies are needed to verify its safety as a potential herb. Therefore, this study aims to investigate sub acute oral toxicity of ethanol extract of O. indicum in C57BL/6 male mice. Twenty-five mice (n=5) were orally administered at single dose of normal saline (control), vehicle (5% DMSO), extracts (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg bw), respectively in accordance with OECD Guideline 420 for 28 days. Liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, testes, spleen,and blood samples were collected to determine the effects of the extract on the relative organ weight, tissue changes, and blood profile alterations in the end of the study. The sub-acute toxicity results demonstrated no lethal effects and abnormal behavioural changes in mice treated with an expansion dose up to a maximum of 500 mg/kg. No significant (p>0.05) changes in body weights, relative organ weight and haematological evaluation. Nevertheless, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the urea, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and alanine transaminase (ALT) values but the levels were still within the acceptable range. Histopathological analysis of the liver and kidney tissues also revealed no striking lesions. This study displays that mice treated with an increasing dose ofO. indicum leaf ethanolic extract up to a maximum 500mg/kg bw did not cause any toxicological effects and considered safe to be consumed and used for therapeutic purposes
Experimental demonstration of flexible information rate PON beyond 100  Gb/s with probabilistic and geometric shaping
Authors: Kaneda Noriaki , Zhang Rui , Lefevre Yannick , Mahadevan Amitkumar , van Veen Doutje , Houtsma Vincent
Published: October 2021

The application of pairwise probabilistic shaping combined with geometric shaping is investigated for a pulse-amplitude-modulation-based intensity modulated and direct detection (IMDD) system. With probabilistically shaped signals, we experimentally demonstrate the flexible information rate beyond 100 Gb/s in a practical passive optical network (PON) link. Similar to the G.hsp 50 Gb/s PON standard, the PON link assumes the existence of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), which boosts the transmitter power to achieve a high link budget. While the optimal signal distributions for the IMDD link with a SOA tend to be unipolar distributions, we consider a practical methodology of accommodating forward error correction (FEC) parity bits using pairwise probabilistic distribution. Since pairwise signaling causes performance degradation when the optimal signal would be strongly shaped, we propose to combine geometric shaping (GS) with probabilistic shaping (PS) to overcome the shortcomings of the pairwise signaling. We present experimental demonstrations of the various achievable rate measurements using PS

+

GS modulations with flexible FEC assumption. We also propose a novel descrambling-based decoding technique to evaluate the post-FEC performance based on transmission data that is agnostic of the FEC code. The post-FEC performances are then presented using a fixed and practical low-density parity check code.
Imaging through a scattering medium: the Fisher information and the generalized Abbe limit
Authors: Zheltikov Aleksei M.
Published: October 2021

Enhanced-resolution imaging in complex scattering media is revisited from a parameter estimation perspective. A suitably defined Fisher information is shown to offer useful insights into the limiting precision of parameter estimation in a scattering environment and, hence, into the limiting spatial resolution that can be achieved in imaging-through-scattering settings. The Fisher information that defines this resolution limit via the Cramér–Rao lower bound is shown to scale with the number of adaptively controlled space–time modes of the probe field, suggesting a physically intuitive generalization of the Abbe limit to the spatial resolution attainable for complex scattering systems. In a conventional, direct-imaging microscopy setting, this bound is shown to converge to the canonical Abbe limit.
Self-feedback induced bistability in dual-beam intracavity optical tweezers
Authors: Liu Zijie , Kuang Tengfang , Xiong Wei , Feng Haining , Chen Xinlin , Xiao Guangzong , Luo Hui
Published: October 2021

The intracavity optical tweezers is a new, to the best of our knowledge, cavity optomechanics system, implementing a self-feedback control of the particle’s position by trapping the particle inside an active ring cavity. This self-feedback mechanism efficiently constructs a novel potential in the cavity. Here we predict and give experimental evidence for the self-feedback induced optical bistability in dual-beam intracavity optical tweezers. Then the characteristics of these bistable potential wells are investigated. The results show that we can prevent the bistable behaviors from destabilizing the trapping stability through tuning the foci offset of two propagating beams in the cavity. This contributes to the use of intracavity optical tweezers as a powerful tool for optical manipulation. Importantly, the thermally activated transition of the trapped particle in the bistable potential is observed for particular experimental parameters. Further investigation of this phenomenon could underlie the mechanism of many metastable-related processes in physics, chemistry, and biology.
Third- and fourth-order orbital angular momentum multiplexed amplification with ultra-low differential mode gain
Authors: Wen TianJin , Gao Shecheng , Li Wei , Tu Jiajing , Du Cheng , Zhou Ji , Ao Zhaohuan , Zhang Bin , Liu Weiping , Li Zhaohui
Published: October 2021

In this Letter, a ring-core erbium-doped fiber (RC-EDF), with a two-layer erbium-doped structure, supporting up to the fourth-order orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode was designed and fabricated for the OAM mode multiplexed amplification. Using the RC-EDF, the amplification of the third- and fourth-order OAM modes with an ultra-low differential mode gain (DMG) has been demonstrated by observing both the modal intensity and phase distribution and measuring the modal gain under the fundamental mode core pumping. The measured average gain of four modes’ (

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, covering the C band, and the DMG is

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1

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. Additionally, the gains of two conjugate OAM modes are almost the same under different pump power, regardless of whether they are amplified simultaneously or separately.
Mid-infrared ChG-on-MgF2 waveguide gas sensor based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy: publisher’s note
Authors: Pi Mingquan , Zheng Chuantao , Zhao Huan , Peng Zihang , Lang Jiaming , Ji Jialin , Liang Lei , Zhang Yu , Wang Yiding , Tittel Frank K.
Published: October 2021

This publisher’s note contains corrections to Opt. Lett.
46, 4797 (2021)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.440361.
Detection of obstructive sleep apnea using Belun Sleep Platform wearable with neural network-based algorithm and its combined use with STOP-Bang questionnaire
Authors: Yeh Eric , Wong Eileen , Tsai Chih-Wei , Gu Wenbo , Chen Pai-Lien , Leung Lydia , Wu I-Chen , Strohl Kingman P. , Folz Rodney J. , Yar Wail , Chiang Ambrose A.
Published: October 2021

Many wearables allow physiological data acquisition in sleep and enable clinicians to assess sleep outside of sleep labs. Belun Sleep Platform (BSP) is a novel neural network-based home sleep apnea testing system utilizing a wearable ring device to detect obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The objective of the study is to assess the performance of BSP for the evaluation of OSA. Subjects who take heart rate-affecting medications and those with non-arrhythmic comorbidities were included in this cohort. Polysomnography (PSG) studies were performed simultaneously with the Belun Ring in individuals who were referred to the sleep lab for an overnight sleep study. The sleep studies were manually scored using the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Scoring Manual (version 2.4) with 4% desaturation hypopnea criteria. A total of 78 subjects were recruited. Of these, 45% had AHI < 5; 18% had AHI 5–15; 19% had AHI 15–30; 18% had AHI ≥ 30. The Belun apnea-hypopnea index (bAHI) correlated well with the PSG-AHI (r = 0.888, P < 0.001). The Belun total sleep time (bTST) and PSG-TST had a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.967, P < 0.001). The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity in categorizing AHI ≥ 15 were 0.808 [95% CI, 0.703–0.888], 0.931 [95% CI, 0.772–0.992], and 0.735 [95% CI, 0.589–0.850], respectively. The use of beta-blocker/calcium-receptor antagonist and the presence of comorbidities did not negatively affect the sensitivity and specificity of BSP in predicting OSA. A diagnostic algorithm combining STOP-Bang cutoff of 5 and bAHI cutoff of 15 events/h demonstrated an accuracy, sensitivity, specificity of 0.938 [95% CI, 0.828–0.987], 0.944 [95% CI, 0.727–0.999], and 0.933 [95% CI, 0.779–0.992], respectively, for the diagnosis of moderate to severe OSA. BSP is a promising testing tool for OSA assessment and can potentially be incorporated into clinical practices for the identification of OSA.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.org NCT03997916 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03997916?term=belun+ring&draw=2&rank=1
Alteration of lung tissues proteins in birch pollen induced asthma mice before and after SCIT
Authors: Xie Zhijuan , Sun Haidan , Li Xiaogang , Sun Wei , Yin Jia
Published: October 2021

Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is a classic form of allergen-specific immunotherapy that is used to treat birch pollen induced allergic asthma. To investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of SCIT, we aimed to profile lung samples to explore changes in the differential proteome before and after SCIT in mice with allergic asthma. Fresh lungs were collected from three groups of female BALB/c mice: 1) control mice, 2) birch pollen-induced allergic mice, and 3) birch pollen-induced allergic mice with SCIT. Tandem mass tag (TMT) labelling coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the lung proteome in the mice. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) and Gene Ontology (GO) classification analysis were applied to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and crucial pathways. The screened DEPs were validated by immunohistochemistry analysis. A total of 317 proteins were upregulated and 184 proteins were downregulated in the asthma group compared to those of the control group. In contrast, 639 DEPs (163 upregulated and 456 downregulated proteins) were identified after SCIT in comparison with those of the asthma group. Among the 639 DEPs, 277 proteins returned to similar levels as those of the relative non-asthma condition. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the 277 proteins played a significant role in the leukocyte extravasation signaling pathway. The leukocyte extravasation signaling pathway and related DEPs were of crucial importance in birch pollen SCIT.
Adoption of health technologies for effective health information system: Need of the hour for Pakistan
Authors: Malik Madeeha , Kazi Ahmad Furqan , Hussain Azhar
Published: October 2021

Health information technology systems have the capacity to improve health outcomes for the patients thus ensuring quality and efficient services. Health information systems (HIS) are important tools in guidance towards patient safety and better outcomes. However, still, morbidity and mortality attributed to medical errors remain an important issue that needs to be addressed. The objective of the present study was to assess the health information system in terms of technological, environmental, organizational and human factors affecting the adoption as well as the perceptions of stakeholders along with barriers and constraints related to successful implementation. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Prospective data was collected from primary sources by self-administering the pre-validated questionnaires as well as by physical verification of the availability of equipment. After data collection, data was analyzed to assess the health information management systems. The results of the present study showed that the health information system in Pakistan is not up to the mark. The equipment was mostly unavailable at the primary healthcare facilities. The staff was also unsatisfied with the available services. Administrative, financial and human constraints were identified as the major barriers towards successful implementation and management of HIS. The present study concluded that the health information system of Pakistan needs to be revamped. Health information management system partially existed at district and sub-district offices, while was completely absent at tertiary, secondary and primary healthcare levels. The poor adoption of health information technology systems at healthcare facilities might largely be attributed to insufficient human resources with limited resources and budget allocation for health in Pakistan. Effective and timely strategies involving all important stakeholders and healthcare professionals must be designed and implemented at the National level to restructure an affordable, resilient and quality healthcare system.
Association between Epstein-Barr virus and periodontitis: A meta-analysis
Authors: Maulani Chaerita , Auerkari Elza Ibrahim , C. Masulili Sri Lelyati , Soeroso Yuniarti , Djoko Santoso Widayat , S. Kusdhany Lindawati
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Previous studies have found that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with periodontitis, though some controversy remains. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify and update the relationship between EBV and periodontitis as well as clinical parameters.

Methods

A comprehensive search was conducted in the PubMed and Scopus databases in December 2020. Original data were extracted according to defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Outcomes were analyzed, including overall odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A random-effects model was used, and publication bias was assessed by Egger’s and Begg’s tests. Sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the stability of the outcome.

Results

Twenty-six studies were included in the present meta-analysis, involving 1354 periodontitis patients and 819 healthy controls. The included studies mostly showed high quality. The overall quantitative synthesis for the association between EBV and periodontitis was an increased odds ratio when subgingival EBV was detected OR = 7.069, 95% CI = 4.197–11.905, P<0.001). The results of subgroup analysis suggested that the association of EBV with periodontitis was significant in Asian, European, and American populations (P<0.001; P = 0.04; P = 0.003, respectively) but not in African populations (P = 0.29). Subgroup analysis by sample type showed that subgingival plaque (SgP), tissue and gingival crevicular fluid GCF were useful for EBV detection (P<0.001). EBV detection amplification methods included nested PCR, multiplex PCR and PCR (P<0.001; P = 0.05, P<0.001, respectively), but EBV detection by real-time PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification presented no significant result (P = 0.06; P = 0.3, respectively). For the clinical parameters of periodontitis, pocket depth (PD) and bleeding of probing (BOP) percentages were higher in the EBV-positive sites than in the EBV-negative sites (MD 0.47 [0.08, 0.85], P = 0.02; MD 19.45 [4.47, 34.43], P = 0.01).

Conclusions

A high frequency of EBV detection is associated with an increased risk of periodontitis. The EBV association was particularly significant in all populations except in African populations. Subgigival plaque (SgP), tissue and GCF were not significantly different useful material for detecting EBV in periodontitis. Nested PCR and multiplex PCR are reliable methods for this purpose. In the presence of EBV, PD and BOP are reliable clinical parameters for gingival inflammation. However, some caution in such interpretation is justified due to heterogeneity among studies. A suggested extension could assess the parallel influence of other human herpesviruses.
Pain drawing as a screening tool for anxiety, depression and reduced health-related quality of life in back pain patients: A cohort study
Authors: Weßollek Katharina , Kowark Ana , Czaplik Michael , Rossaint Rolf , Kowark Pascal
Published: October 2021

Background

Back pain patients are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and reduced quality of life. Pain drawing is a simple, frequently used anamnesis tool that facilitates communication between physicians and patients. This study analysed pain drawings to examine whether pain drawing is suitable as a screening tool for signs of anxiety, depression or reduced quality of life, as the detection of these symptoms is essential for successful treatment.

Methods

Pain drawings of 219 patients with lower back pain were evaluated retrospectively. Pain drawings are a schematic drawing of a human being. Six variables of the pain drawing were analysed. Subscales of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Short Form 12 (SF-12) were used to measure anxiety, depression and quality of life, respectively. Descriptive statistics, uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses and analysis of variance were performed. Logistic regression analyses were conducted for suitable variables.

Results

We revealed significant positive correlations between the variables "filled body surface" and "number of pain sites" and the anxiety (HADS-A) and depression subscales (HADS-D) of the HADS (p<0.01). The same predictors had significant negative correlations with the MCS (p<0.01). However, the sensitivity and specificity of the variable "number of pain sites" were too low compared to those for existing screening tests to consider it as a screening tool for anxiety, depression and quality of life (HADS-A: sensitivity: 45.2%, specificity: 83.3%; HADS-D: sensitivity: 61.1%, specificity: 51%; MCS: sensitivity: 21.2%, specificity: 85.7%).

Conclusions

There were significant correlations between the amount of filled body surface and the number of pain sites in the pain drawing and anxiety, depression and quality of life. Although useful in routine clinical practice, pain drawing cannot be used as a screening tool based on our results.
Flatten the curve: Empirical evidence on how non-pharmaceutical interventions substituted pharmaceutical treatments during COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Luo Weiyu , Guo Wei , Hu Songhua , Yang Mofeng , Hu Xinyuan , Xiong Chenfeng
Published: October 2021

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Non-Pharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical treatments were alternative strategies for governments to intervene. Though many of these intervention methods proved to be effective to stop the spread of COVID-19, i.e., lockdown and curfew, they also posed risk to the economy; in such a scenario, an analysis on how to strike a balance becomes urgent. Our research leverages the mobility big data from the University of Maryland COVID-19 Impact Analysis Platform and employs the Generalized Additive Model (GAM), to understand how the social demographic variables, NPTs (Non-Pharmaceutical Treatments) and PTs (Pharmaceutical Treatments) affect the New Death Rate (NDR) at county-level. We also portray the mutual and interactive effects of NPTs and PTs on NDR. Our results show that there exists a specific usage rate of PTs where its marginal effect starts to suppress the NDR growth, and this specific rate can be reduced through implementing the NPTs.
Evaluation of China’s low-carbon city pilot policy: Evidence from 210 prefecture-level cities
Authors: Zhou Shuang , Zhou Chaobo
Published: October 2021

As the largest carbon dioxide emitter, China is working towards the direction of a green economy. As an irreplaceable part of establishing a green economy, the low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy is implemented in many large cities in China, and the scope of implementation will be further expanded. However, to date, there has been an absence of empirical studies basing on prefecture-level cities about the evaluation of China’s LCCP policy. Evaluating and optimizing the LCCP policy is constructive to achieve the goal of China’s green economic transition. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of the LCCP policy on China’s low-carbon economic transition by using the difference-in-difference (DID) approach which can effectively alleviate endogenous problems and better evaluate this effect and the panel data of 210 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2016. The empirical analysis revealed that the LCCP policy inhibited China’s low-carbon economic transition in general. Specifically, the policy worked well in the eastern region but failed in the central region and western region by studying the regional heterogeneity and influence mechanism. The reason is that the LCCP policy can stimulate low-carbon innovation with the help of innovation offset effects in the eastern region, but it failed to do so in the central region and western region. In addition, this paper analyzed the performance of three types of policy tools adopted by local governments to implement the policy, we found that market-economic tools are valuable to improving the low-carbon economic transition in pilot areas, but command-mandatory tools and voluntary tools have failed to achieve the expected objectives. The research results of this article can provide policy recommendations for optimizing the low-carbon policy and provide a reference for countries that are determined to develop a green economy.
Eye Camera Window: Takashi Homma on Le Corbusier
Authors: Freeman Na’ama
Published: October 2021

A new exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal, QC), Eye Camera Window: Takashi Homma on Le Corbusier, investigates the practice of Japanese architectural photographer Takashi Homma (1962) and his exploration of the intrinsic similarities between windows and cameras in the way they mediate an experience, be it in a modernist dwelling or in a photograph recalling a memory. Homma’s photographs focus attention on the ‘eye’, the ‘camera’, and the ‘window’ in the way they shape perspective in intimate form. In a visual interpretation that uses the camera lens as an eye to witness new forms, Homma advances an argument of timelessness, providing intimate architectural perspectives on eternal vistas.
Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene
Authors: Naish Calli
Published: October 2021

This article reviews Feral Atlas, a collaborative project edited by Anna L. Tsing, Jennifer Deger, Alder Keleman Saxena, and Feifei Zhou, with contributions from scholars across the sciences and humanities as well as high-profile artists. Feral Atlas is also both an invitation and a distraction, and this purposive ambiguity amplifies what the editors have offered as a call to reflect on the “patchy” and “feral” Anthropocene. The collaborative, transdisciplinary curation of seventy-nine field reports is an intentionally open-ended digital project,1 aimed at rewarding curiosity and offering a digital space for reflection on the “more-than-human” aspects of everyday life, specifically the entanglements of infrastructural and “natural” landscapes.
Atmospheric Noise: The Indefinite Urbanism of Los Angeles
Authors: Merrill Andrew
Published: October 2021

This article reviews Mariana Peterson’s Atmospheric Noise, which draws jarring, cacophonous resonances between the science and engineering of acoustics, urban political economy, governmentality, the metaphysics of sound and the social construction of ecology and environment in the city of Los Angeles.
Az ellátási láncban elfoglalt pozíció és a szolgálatosodás – üzleti modellek Európában (Supply chain position and servitization – business models in Europe)
Authors: Demeter Krisztina , Szász Levente
Published: October 2021

A szerzők célja, hogy megvizsgálják, milyen kölcsönhatásban áll az ellátási láncban elfoglalt pozíció, valamint a szolgálatosodás szintje az európai termelővállalatoknál. Vizsgálatuk azt mutatja, hogy a globalizáció és a termelés nemzetközivé válása mindkét tényezőt jelentős mértékben befolyásolja. A termelés globalizációs trendjeinek megfelelően így a kelet-európai (fejlődő), illetve a nyugat-európai (fejlett) országokban eltérő üzleti modellek válnak dominánssá, amelyek különböző ellátásilánc-pozícióval és más-más szintű szolgáltatásnyújtással jellemezhetőek. A domináns üzleti modellek mellett természetesen más üzleti modellek is működőképesnek bizonyulhatnak a két vizsgált régióban. A létesítmények elhelyezésére, valamint az üzleti eredményességre vonatkozó mutatók elemzésbe történő bevonásával cikkük az Európában működő üzleti modellek kialakításának okára, valamint jövőbeli fenntarthatóságára is megpróbál választ adni. __________ The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between supply chain position and level of servitization in European manufacturing companies. The analysis shows that globalization and internationalization of production has dramatic impact on both phenomena. Due to the globalization trends different business models became dominant in the less developed Eastern-European and the more developed Western European countries, which can be characterized by different supply chain position and servitization level. Certainly other business models can also be successful in the two regions. Involving facility location motivations and business performance indicators the article shed light on the reasons of why these business models came alive and how sustainable they can be.
Assessment of Childhood TB in Public practice; a difference between Rural and Urban practice, Southern Punjab, Pakistan
Authors: RAFAY ABDUL , ZAINAB TAYYABA , SIBGHATULLAH QAZI MUHAMMAD , HUSSAIN FAZAL , KHAN FAZALMEHMOOD
Published: October 2021

Objective: Tuberculosis is the most severe and complicated infectious disease and responsible for morbidity and mortality globally. Objective of this study was to evaluate the status of MTB infection in children under age of 15.
ACG Clinical Guidelines: Management of Benign Anorectal Disorders
Authors: Wald Arnold , Bharucha Adil E. , Limketkai Berkeley , Malcolm Allison , Remes-Troche Jose M. , Whitehead William E. , Zutshi Massarat
Published: October 2021

Benign anorectal disorders of structure and function are common in clinical practice. These guidelines summarize the preferred approach to the evaluation and management of defecation disorders, proctalgia syndromes, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and fecal incontinence in adults and represent the official practice recommendations of the American College of Gastroenterology. The scientific evidence for these guidelines was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation process. When the evidence was not appropriate for Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, we used expert consensus to develop key concept statements. These guidelines should be considered as preferred but are not the only approaches to these conditions.
Os centros de alta tecnologia e de gestão no Sudeste brasileiro
Authors: Almeida Roberto Schmidt de
Published: October 2021

Os centros de alta tecnologia e de gestão no Sudeste brasileiro
Sistema e paisagens agrícolas: o exemplo de Calton Patete província de Tungurahua, Equador
Authors: Poltroniéri Lígia Celoria , Quintero Rosa Figueroa de , Moreira Victor Hugo Hiépez
Published: October 2021

Sistema e paisagens agrícolas: o exemplo de Calton Patete província de Tungurahua, Equador
Características físico-químicas e idade aparente de um depósito de Turfa das margens do Rio Mogi-Guaçu/Região de Porto Pulador (São Paulo - Brasil)
Authors: Santos Adriano Rodrigues dos , Rezende Maria Olimpia de Oliveira
Published: October 2021

Características físico-químicas e idade aparente de um depósito de Turfa das margens do Rio Mogi-Guaçu/Região de Porto Pulador (São Paulo - Brasil)
Trabalho de campo em Geociências: sugestão de um modelo roteiro
Authors: Del Grossi Suely Regina , Cavaline Maria Benedita
Published: October 2021

Trabalho de campo em Geociências: sugestão de um modelo roteiro
Geografia e o conceito de natureza
Authors: Grossi Suely Regina Del
Published: October 2021

Geografia e o conceito de natureza
Geologia das áreas de Cerrado do Estado de São Paulo
Authors: Barcelos José Humeberto
Published: October 2021

Geologia das áreas de Cerrado do Estado de São Paulo
O fenômeno de favelização e as políticas de erradicação em Uberlândia-MG
Authors: Bessa Kelly Cristine F. O. , Soares Beatriz Ribeiro
Published: October 2021

O fenômeno de favelização e as políticas de erradicação em Uberlândia-MG
Os solos das microbacias Pantaninho e divisa em Iraí de Minas-MG
Authors: Lima Samuel do Carmo , Mendonça Mauro das Graças
Published: October 2021

Os solos das microbacias Pantaninho e divisa em Iraí de Minas-MG
De abismos y puentes: intimidad y memoria en Adrián Bravi y Maximiliano Mariotti.
Authors: Palmieri Massimo
Published: October 2021

Adrián Bravi y Maximiliano Mariotti, ambos en condición de sujetos migrantes, publican sendas obras narrativas en el idioma de adopción: Bravi, argentino, en italiano y Mariotti, italiano, en español. Ambos autores se colocan en una línea de tensión entre lenguas y culturas debido a su condición de sujetos migrantes crecidos y formados en un continuum semiótico distinto del que eligen para sus carreras de escritores. Su posición fronteriza los pone en una condición peculiar con respecto a la lengua que usan. La afirmación de Mariotti en uno de sus cuentos, «hay un abismo entre dar y recibir, y el abismo más angosto es el más difícil de salvar» (Mariotti, 1982:149),  parece ser particularmente adecuada para describir esta relación entre dos lenguas de la misma familia romance cuya aparente cercanía contribuye a la construcción social de una otredad cargada de estereotipos. Cambio de lengua y literatura de la migración establecen especiales relaciones que dinamizan particulares tensiones dentro del canon pero también van de-construyendo y re-construyendo mundos que se vinculan con la condición de migrante y refractan permanentemente la presencia del yo que escribe tratando de construir puentes para conectar memoria e identidad y contribuir a franquear abismos. En este artículo se tomarán algunos aspectos de las obras de los dos escritores que resultan particularmente significativas en este sentido
La transducción interartística: el caso particular del cubismo poético.
Authors: Antúnez Arce Rafael
Published: October 2021

Desde la antigüedad clásica se ha relacionado la pintura con la poesía, pero siempre de acuerdo con su carácter imitativo de la realidad. Este vínculo desaparece a finales del siglo XVIII con la separación de Lessing entre artes espaciales y temporales. En el siglo XX, y al amparo de la Literatura Comparada, esa conexión vuelve a establecerse, apoyada por el concepto de «transducción» planteado por Doležel, en principio para la literatura, pero extrapolable a las relaciones interartísticas, y que significa la reproducción con distintas técnicas en cada arte de los mismos efectos en el receptor. Ya en las vanguardias de principios del siglo XX el concepto de imitación desaparece y en el cubismo la transducción de técnicas se ve reforzada además por el carácter visual-intelectivo tanto de la pintura como de la poesía y por su cariz mixto (collage, disposición gráfica). En ciertos poemas de Pierre Reverdy pueden constatarse las técnicas que lo aproximan al cubismo sintético de Juan Gris.
Comportamiento de rangos articulares con alineación en amputados transtibiales
Authors: Luengas-Contreras Lely Adriana , López-Macías Javier , Sánchez-Prieto Giovanni
Published: October 2021

La falta de información objetiva relacionada con la alineación de las prótesis es un fenómeno común en el área. Cuando aparece una ubicación angular inadecuada de la cavidad protésica transtibial, se ven afectados los parámetros biomecánicos en la articulación de los amputados; también afecta la comodidad del amputado en la posición de pie. La presente investigación da cuenta de los efectos de la desalineación de la prótesis transtibial en los parámetros biomecánicos al medirse en términos de ángulos de las extremidades inferiores, cuando el sujeto se encuentra en la posición bipedestada estática. Se midieron siete condiciones de alineación en cada uno de los 6 participantes del estudio, mientras que al participante siete (7) solo se le localizaron seis condiciones, para un total de 144 pruebas. Un sistema de medición de ángulos (goniómetros digitales) permitió detectar y almacenar los cambios de los rangos articulares. El análisis estadístico de las mediciones realizadas mostró una variación intra y entre sujetos, por lo que se estableció una metodología para la obtención del modelo de alineación estática.
Esteganografía de voz basada en cuantización mejorada
Authors: Vargas-Hernández Carlos Steven , Ballesteros-Larrotta Dora María , Renza-Torres Diego
Published: October 2021

Una de los mecanismos para transmitir información segura consiste en la utilización de técnicas esteganográficas, entre las cuales, QIM sobresale por proporcionar alta transparencia. Sin embargo, la capacidad de ocultamiento es relativamente baja. En este artículo, se presenta una mejora al método QIM con el objetivo de mantener una alta transparencia en la señal transmitida, pero cuadriplicando su capacidad de ocultamiento.  Se realizaron numerosas pruebas para medir el efecto de cuantización tanto en la señal esteganográfica, como en el mensaje secreto recuperado.
Evaluación de métodos de sintonización para modelamiento de controladores
Authors: González-Penagos Juan Pablo , Hernández-Suarez César Augusto
Published: October 2021

Los métodos de sintonización de controladores para la identificación de modelos de primer orden más tiempo muerto, de segundo orden sobreamortiguado más tiempo muerto, y de segundo orden subamortiguado más tiempo muerto, pueden expresar errores de predicción absoluto o cuadrático bastante altos. Por lo anterior, en esta investigación se evaluaron tres métodos de sintonización: el método de la tangente modificado de Miller, el método de Smith, y el método de Strejc; luego, mediante MatLab® y su herramienta “System Identification”, se realiza la simulación para comparar los métodos expuestos y evaluarlos. Se obtiene que el método más adecuado para la sintonización de controladores es el de Strejc de polos múltiples, debido a su bajo error de predicción absoluto y cuadrático. Se concluye que esta sintonización es una alternativa plausible de modelamiento para un adecuado seguimiento a la función nativa del controlador, así los múltiples polos del controlador presenten respuestas lentas.
Automatización de un taladro de árbol para madera
Authors: Carrera-Carrera Joseph Anthony , Méndez-Pallares Baldomero
Published: October 2021

El presente documento describe una alternativa de diseño para automatizar un taladro de árbol, teniendo en cuenta las características funcionales: posicionamiento, sistema de alimentación, profundidad de taladrado, y el marcado de cada una de las piezas trabajadas. Con la automatización del taladro y sus diferentes estaciones se pretende aumentar la productividad, garantizando una mejor calidad y brindándole al operario un menor esfuerzo físico, ya que éste solo requerirá suministrar la materia prima al sistema de alimentación, además de monitorear y supervisar el proceso. Se muestran los bocetos y diseños obtenidos, además de los componentes y mecanismos seleccionados para lograr integrar los procesos de manufactura que implica el automatizar este proceso.
Pequeñas centrales hidroeléctricas (PCH): una revisión
Authors: Escobar-Díaz Andrés , Cortés-Arenas Cristhian Leonardo , Leguizamón-Archila Juan Sebastián
Published: October 2021

En el presente artículo se revisan los aspectos básicos a tener en cuenta dentro del planteamiento de un proyecto de Pequeñas Centrales Hidroeléctricas (PCH), realizando énfasis en las metodologías de formulación y un acercamiento a los equipos electromecánicos vinculados al proceso de generación de energía. Se obtiene la descripción de cada fase de prefactibilidad de un proyecto de PCH, así como los puntos clave y/o críticos asociados a su desarrollo y posible implementación en el marco de generación de energía colombiano. Adicionalmente, se abordan los conceptos básicos a considerar para el desarrollo de una propuesta de PCH y se hace énfasis en el trabajo de costos y diseño de turbinas como elementos primordiales para su implementación exitosa.
Immunohistochemical analysis of microglial changes in the experimental acute hepatic encephalopathy
Authors: Shulyatnikova T. V.
Published: October 2021

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a syndrome of impaired brain function in patients with advanced liver failure and it manifests in form of psychometric tests alterations up to decreased consciousness and coma. The current knowledge about HE mainly focused on the theory of ammonia neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation. Microglia being resident innate immune cells of the brain when activated are responsible for the neuroinflammatory reactions.
The aim – immunohistochemical study of the microglial changes in different rat brain regions in conditions of experimental acute HE (AHE).
Materials and methods. We used acetaminophen induced liver failure model in Wistar rats. Four from 10 animals that survived up to 24 h after acetaminophen injection constituted “compensated group”; 6 animals which died within 24 h – “decompensated group”. Microglial reactive changes were analysed by the evaluation of the relative area (S rel., %) of CD68+ expression in the brain cells not associated with meninges and vessels, as well as the changing in shape and number of these cells.
Results. Acetaminophen-induced AHE in rats was characterized by the regional- and time-dependent dynamic increase in CD68 expression level in the rat brain in form of significant (relatively to control) increase of CD68+ S rel. in brain cells and the number of such cells. The medians of CD68+ S rel. and their numbers in significantly changed regions of non-survived rats were, respectively: subcortical white matter – 0.24 (0.20; 0.26) and 11.00 (8.00; 13.00); thalamus – 0.13 (0.90; 0.18) and 6.00 (3.00; 7.00); caudate/putamen – 0.13 (0.12; 0.18) and 7.00 (4.00; 11.00) – all indicators were statistically significant compared to control. In the survived animals, indicators were, respectively: subcortical white matter – 0.24 (0.16; 0,26) and 10.00 (8.00; 12.00); caudate/putamen – 0.12 (0.10; 0.15) and 6.00 (4.00; 10.00) – the differences were significant compared to control.
Conclusions. The highest and significant indicators were revealed at 24 h (compared to earlier time points) of the experiment in the white matter, thalamus and caudate/putamen. This fact reflects time-dependent dynamic boosting of reactive changes in microglia and presumably may indicate the regions of the most active neuroinflammatory response within the brain parenchyma in the conditions of AHE. The appearing of a small percentage of cells with amoeboid transformation among CD68+-cells may mean partial functional insufficiency of such cells due to probable suppressive impact of ammonia or other influencing factors, as well as insignificance of the material that needs to be phagocytosed under established conditions.