bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ERDC R&D strategy : connecting the dots to innovation
Authors: Buchanan J. , Tennison Stacey , Acharya Vijay , Bolls Kimberley , Cooksey Claiborne , Corriveau Joseph , Davis Austin , Davis Jack , Farr Mark , Flowers Keith , Harris Rodney , Lawrence Debbie , Maynard Crystal , Moser Robert , Pettway Jacqueline , Reid Lisa , Swiderski Mary
Published: June 2023

The Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Board of Directors establishes the organization’s vision, mission, values and strategy. The strategy is determined by our vision and mission; it is guided by our values; and it is influenced by key national priorities and needs.
PFAS removal: The forever chemical now has an expiration date
Authors: Callaghan Paul , Ooi Raymond , Callaghan Saasha , Callaghan Lucas
Published: June 2023

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic chemicals. Current information pertains mainly to Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and recently perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), but there are thousands of various PFAS compounds with different American Chemical Society Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Numbers. These chemicals are persistent in the environment and humans. They have a negative effect on the health of those individuals exposed to them. In response to the concerns, certain guidelines have been put in place globally, so it is clear what levels of PFAS should exist in water used for specific purposes. Many treatment methods appeared based on the characteristics of PFAS. The most common way to treat PFAS contaminated water is the use of granular activated carbon (GAC) and/or ion exchange (IX) resins. However, problems arise in terms of efficiency. A new absorbent media of MyCelx filtering and polishing has been developed by OLEOLOGY and has been approved (through in-field operations) and accepted Australia wide. The treatment system, utilising MyCelx technology, has lower cost, requires a smaller footprint, and has proven capability to achieve below level of detection for all PFAS and precursors. The National Environmental Management Plan on PFAS (PFAS NEMP 3.0) is to be released soon and indications are more PFAS analytes have been added. OLEOLOGY water treatment systems infused with MyCelx technologies have been deployed and the results tested for eight new analytes including GenX and ADONA.
Challenges and Practices for Recovering Stuck Coiled Tubing Pipe
Authors: Hassig Fonseca S. , Torres R. , Liu Z. , Jahn F. , Tagarot G. , Baca S. , Guevara H. , Botan J. , Villacres C. , Boas J.
Published: June 2023

Stuck coiled tubing (CT) is a main operational risk leading to delays, deferred production, or even the loss of a well. Despite general commonalities, each CT recovery can face unique challenges, including managing high pressure, working under limited spatial or lifting constraints, establishing well control, or handling a cable inside the CT.

This study consolidates learnings and proposes a general workflow for a basic stuck pipe scenario, rig up, recovery pressure control equipment (RPCE) and well control, CT free point evaluation, bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) and workflows for cutting and freeing the CT pipe downhole, and recovery of the CT at the surface. A consolidation of published case studies provides specific examples of the hardware, workflows, and operational considerations. In addition, the presentation of a recent case study extends the discussion to the challenges introduced by the presence of a cable in the stuck CT and its respective solution.

The case study reviews the planning and execution of a CT recovery, including the use of decision trees to guide the decision-making process. It details fit-for-purpose hardware for safely anchoring the cable; packoffs for accessing, tensioning, and recovering it with slickline (SLK); an opening for deploying the wireline (WL) cutting BHA; and valves for pressure testing and well control. That workflow successfully freed 6,818 ft of stuck CT and allowed recovery of the pipe without a workover rig on location, eliminating 11 days of rig time during subsequent tubing pulling. This is the first such documented recovery case worldwide based on a thorough literature review.
Preliminary analysis and validation of the functions associated with two related genes during Beta-Aminobutyric acid induced resistance in blueberry against to leaf spot
Authors: yilan Jin , Tingting Mao , Shilong Jiang , Xuanli Jiang
Published: June 2023

Background: Blueberry leaf spot is one of the most important diseases associated with blueberry production. However, little research has been done on blueberry interactions with leaf spot and blueberry resistance to leaf spot.
Methods and Results:In this study, the induced blueberry with BABA was inoculated with the leaf spot pathogen as the experimental group, and blueberry inoculated with the uninduced leaf spot pathogen was used as a control group to construct a transcriptome sequencing library. A total of 11 disease-resistant genes were randomly screened from the transcription library PHI database for qRT-PCR verification, and two disease-resistant genes containing comp126500_c0_seq1and comp126556_c0_seq2 were selected from eight genes with good amplification specificity in order to elucidate the function of blueberry leaf spot resistance genes. Cloning the cDNA sequences of the two genes using qRT-PCR and RACE; analysis of biological information by amino acid sequencing using two disease-resistant protein gene sequences of amino acids to build an evolutionary tree; and genetic compound conservative domains and protein secondary and tertiary structure predictions, revealed the fungus stress resistance related gene function during the early response to blueberry leaf spot. Using agrobacterium mediated transformation of Arabidopsisexpression to understand two gene's defensive roles during leaf spot infection.
Conclusions: The results preliminarily proved that comp126500_c0_seq1and comp126556_c0_seq2, which produced in the body of a blueberry by induction of BABA, are related genes with resistance to leaf spot.
Predicting HER2 expression status in patients with gastric cancer using 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomics
Authors: Jiang Xiaojing , Li Tianyue , Zhang Zhaoqi , Wang Jianfang , Dai Meng , Han Jingya , Chen Xiaolin , Zhang Jingmian , Zhao Xinming
Published: June 2023

Background Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the main method used to detect human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression levels. However, IHC is invasive and cannot dynamically reflect HER2 expression status. The aim of this study was to construct and verify three types of radiomics models based on 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging and to evaluate the predictive ability of radiomics models for the expression status of HER2 in patients with gastric cancer (GC).
Methods A total of 118 patients with GC who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging before treatment were enrolled in this study. The LIFEx software package was applied to extract PET and CT radiomics features. The minimum absolute contraction and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm was employed to select the best radiomics features. Three machine learning methods, logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) models, were constructed and verified. The Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) was applied to address data imbalance.
Results In the training and test sets, the area under the curve (AUC) values of the LR, SVM, and RF models were 0.809 and 0.761, 0.861 and 0.628, and 0.993 and 0.717, respectively, and the Brier scores were 0.118, 0.214, and 0.143, respectively. Among the three models, the LR model exhibited the best prediction performance. The AUC values of the three models significantly improved after SMOTE balanced the data.
Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT-based radiomics models demonstrated good performance in predicting HER2 expression status in patients with GC and can be used to preselect patients who may benefit from HER2-targeted therapy.
Micro-endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Percutaneous tracheostomy (MUGPT): A case series describing a novel technique for performing Percutaneous Tracheostomy.
Authors: Msheik Mayyas Mohammed , Ayoub Chakib Maurice , Nahle Mustapha Ali , Al-Ghabour Yara Marwan , Rizk Marwan Sarkis
Published: June 2023

A percutaneous tracheostomy is a common surgical procedure done in Intensive Care. Several different techniques have been described. Recently the addition of bronchoscopy or ultrasound has been advocated to decrease the risks and complications associated with the procedure, however, both aids used alone, bronchoscopy or ultrasound have some drawbacks and pitfalls. In this manuscript, we describe a new technique, Micro-endoscopy Ultrasound Guided Percutaneous Dilation Tracheostomy MUGPT. MUGPT relies on dual real-time feedback Micro-endoscopy and Ultrasound to perform percutaneous dilation tracheostomy. This technique helps reduce the risk of bleeding, airway loss, tracheal wall injury, tracheal ring fracture, damage to adjacent structures, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, subcutaneous emphysema, false placement, hypoxia, carbon dioxide retention bronchospasm, cardiac dysrhythmias, and cost reduction. Methods: This is a case series of 6 patients who underwent Single step percutaneous dilation tracheostomy using the MUGPT technique. All the patients were in ICU and were candidates for tracheostomy. Intraoperative data collection, vital signs, oxygen saturation, and end-tidal CO2 were measured. No postoperative or intraoperative complications were documented. Conclusion: Micro-endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Percutaneous Tracheostomy (MUGPT) is a promising technique with minimal complications. It is a procedure that can be performed and taught easily to Junior physicians and is a lifesaver in difficult cases.
Modified separation method of variables and dynamic system method for solving a generalized time-fractional KdV equation
Authors: Rui Weiguo , Fan Wan
Published: June 2023

It is well known that searching exact solutions of nonlinear fractional partial differential equations (PDEs) is a very difficult work. In this paper, based on a modified separation method of variables and the dynamic system method, a combinational method is proposed in order to develop new methods for solving nonlinear time-fractional PDEs. Compared with the traditional separation method of variables, the modified separation method of variables has some advantages in reducing nonlinear time-fractional PDEs. As an example for the application of this combinational method, a generalized nonlinear time-fractional KdV equation is studied under the Riemann-Liouville and Caputo fractional differential operators, respectively. In different parametric regions, different kinds of phase portraits of the dynamic systems derived from the generalized time-fractional KdV equation are presented. Existence and dynamic properties of solutions of the generalized time-fractional KdV equation are investigated. In some special parametric conditions, many exact solutions are obtained, some of them are parametric form. Such solutions of parametric form are usually unable to be obtained by other methods, which also shows an advantage of dynamic system method.
PACS: 02.30.Jr; 02.30.Oz; 02.70.-c; 02.70.Mv; 02.90.+p; 04.20.Jb; 05.10.-a
Health risk assessment of lead pollution from air and soil in the biggest special economic zone of Iran
Authors: Jahanbakhsh Mostafa , Fard Reza Fouladi , Karimi Behrooz , Bashardoust Parnia , Fahiminia Mohammad , Yari Ahmadreza
Published: June 2023

Contamination of air and soil with Lead (Pb) is a great global concern. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the Pb content in the atmosphere and soil at 56 sampling sites in the Salafchegan industrial zone located in Qom province, Iran. The results indicated that Pb accumulated in air and soil media. The geostatistical analysis of Pb showed that pollution hotspots were detected around industrial areas as well as in sites with intense vehicular traffic. Although the average concentration of Pb in the air (0.013 µg/m3) and soil (3.05 mg/kg), were lower than the limit of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in some polluted zones, the Pb concentrations exceeded more than 1.2 and 2.6 times in the air and soil, respectively. Ingestion and inhalation were the main pathways of Pb exposure. Hazard Index (HI) values in some land use areas and children under five years were above EPA's safe limit. HI value for children was above 1. The carcinogenic risk analysis showed that higher carcinogenic risk from the acceptable limit (1 × 10− 6) was presented in different age groups in the sampling sites. Consequently, children are considered a high-risk group for Pb exposure in studied areas.
Comparison of the Effect of Practical Training and Integrated Simulated-practical Training on the Knowledge and Skills of Using Ventilator in Nursing Students
Authors: Bakhshi Manizheh , Nasiriani Khadijeh , Javadi Mostafa
Published: June 2023

Background
Ventilator is one of the most complex equipment used in intensive care units. Applying new approaches for more effective and sustainable training of ventilator use by nurses is critical. This study compared the effect of two methods of practical training and integrated simulated-practical training on the knowledge and skills of using ventilators by nursing students.
Methods
In this quasi-experimental study, 72 nursing students were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned into two groups using the simple random sampling method. One group received practical training and the other group received integrated simulated-practical training. The knowledge before and after training and the skill of using the ventilator after training were measured and compared in two groups. The data were analyzed with SPSS22 using independent t-test and paired t-test.
Results
The findings showed that the mean score of ventilator knowledge in each group increased after training compared to before and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001); yet, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The total mean adjustment time was 418.32(± 70.73) s in the practical training group and 366.24(± 27.97) s in the integrated simulated-practical training group, the difference of which was statistically significant (P = 0.005). The mean skill score of using ventilator was 28.34(± 1.98) in the practical training group and 29.88(± .398) in the integrated simulated-practical training group, showing a statistically significant difference (P = 0.001).
Conclusion
Both methods had similar efficiency in improving knowledge. Due to the higher speed of operation and greater skill in the integrated simulated-practical training method, this method is recommended for training nursing students.
COBRA improves the quality of viral genomes assembled from metagenomes
Authors: Chen Lin-Xing , Banfield Jillian
Published: June 2023

Microbial and viral diversity, distribution, and ecological impacts are often studied using metagenome-assembled sequences, but genome incompleteness hampers comprehensive and accurate analyses. Here we introduce COBRA (Contig Overlap Based Re-Assembly), a tool that resolves de Bruijn graph based assembly breakpoints and joins contigs. While applicable to any short-read assembled DNA sequences, we benchmarked COBRA by using a dataset of published complete viral genomes from the ocean. COBRA accurately joined contigs assembled by metaSPAdes, IDBA_UD, and MEGAHIT, outcompeting several existing binning tools and achieving significantly higher genome accuracy (96.6% vs 19.8-59.6%). We applied COBRA to viral contigs that we assembled from 231 published freshwater metagenomes and obtained 7,334 high-quality or complete species-level genomes (clusters with 95% average nucleotide identity) for viruses of bacteria (phages), ~83% of which represent new phage species. Notably, ~70% of the 7,334 species genomes were circular, compared to 34% before COBRA analyses. We expanded genomic sampling of ≥ 200 kbp phages (i.e., huge phages), the largest of which was curated to completion (717 kbp in length). The improved phage genomes from Rotsee Lake provided context for metatranscriptomic data and indicated in situ activity of huge phages, WhiB and cysC/cysH encoding phages from this site. In conclusion, COBRA improves the assembly contiguity and completeness of microbial and viral genomes and thus, the accuracy and reliability of analyses of gene content, diversity, and evolution.
Porphyromonas gingivalis, a periodontal pathogen, Impairs Post-infarcted Myocardium by Inhibiting Autophagosome–Lysosome Fusion
Authors: Shiheido-Watanabe Yuka , Nakagama Shun , Fan Qintao , Tamura Natsuko , Sasano Tetsuo , Maejima Yasuhiro
Published: June 2023

While several previous studies have indicated the link between periodontal disease (PD) and myocardial infarction (MI), the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Autophagy, a cellular quality control process that is activated in several diseases, including heart failure, can be suppressed by Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.). However, it is uncertain whether autophagy impairment by periodontal pathogens stimulates the development of cardiac dysfunction after MI. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between PD and the development of MI while focusing on the role of autophagy. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) and MI model mice were inoculated with wild-type P.g. or gingipain-deficient P.g. to assess the effect of autophagy inhibition by P.g. Wild-type P.g.-inoculated NRCMs had lower cell viability than gingipain-deficient P.g.-inoculated NRCMs. The study also found that gingipain cleaves vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 (VAMP8), a protein involved in lysosomal sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), at the 47th lysine residue, inhibiting autophagy. Wild-type P.g.-inoculated MI model mice were more susceptible to cardiac rupture, with lower survival rates and autophagy activity than gingipain-deficient P.g.-inoculated MI model mice. Genetically modified MI model mice (VAMP8-K47A) were inoculated with wild-type P.g., and they exhibited significantly increased autophagy activation compared to wild-type P.g.-inoculated MI model mice, which suppressed cardiac rupture and enhanced overall survival rates. These findings suggest that gingipains, virulence factors of P.g., impair the infarcted myocardium by cleaving VAMP8 and disrupting autophagy. This study confirms the strong association between PD and MI and provides new insight into the potential role of autophagy in this relationship.
Findings of Cardiovascular Workup of Kidney Transplant Candidates: A Retrospective Study of a Single-Center in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Arabi Ziad , Tawhari Mohammed H. , Rajih Haneen S. Al , Youssouf Talha M. , Abdulgadir Mohamad Y.
Published: June 2023

Background: There are limited data about the prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and the findings of CV workup among kidney transplant (KTx) recipients (KTRs) in Saudi Arabia.
Method: A single-center retrospective study of KTRs who underwent KTx from 2017 to 2020. We reviewed the prevalence of CV risk factors and the results of the pre-KTx CV workup which was derived from the American Heart Association guidelines.
Results: We included 254 KTRs. The mean age was 43.1±15.9 years, 55.5% were men and 79.5% were living-donor KTRs. Pre-emptive KTx was 9.8%, peritoneal dialysis: 11.8% and hemodialysis: 78.3% (arteriovenous fistula: 33.1% versus hemodialysis catheter: 66.9%). Mean dialysis vintage was 4.8±3.3 years for deceased-donor KTRs versus 2.4±2.6 years for living-donor KTRs.
CV risk factors were hypertension: 76%, diabetes: 40.6% (type 1: 25.2% versus type 2: 74.7%), hyperlipemia (low-density lipoprotein> 2.6 mmol/L): 40.2%, coronary artery disease (CAD): 12.6%, smoking: 9.1%, peripheral vascular disease: 2.8%, and cerebral vascular disease: 2.4%. The prevalence of obesity stage 1 was 19.7% and obesity stage 2 was 4%.
Left ventricular hypertrophy was present in 38.5%. Ejection fraction was abnormal (<55%) in 22%. Abnormal wall motion was present in 34 patients (13.4%). Cardiac (PET-CT) stress test was indicated in 129 patients (50.8%) and showed abnormal perfusion in 37 patients (28.7%). Out of those who required PET-CT, 18.6% had coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) more than 400, 41.8 had CACS of zero, 29.4% had CACS of 1-100, and 14.7% had CACS of 100-400.
Coronary angiogram was required in only 41 patients (16.1%), 12 (29.3%) required coronary interventions, 25 (61%) were treated medically, and 4 (9.8%) did not have any CAD.
CT scans of pelvic arteries were performed in 118 patients (46.5%). It showed moderate or severe calcifications in only 7 patients (5.9%), whereas it was normal in 97 patients (82.2%), or it showed only mild calcifications in 14 patients (11.9%).
Conclusion:
This study outlines the prevalence of CV risk factors and the findings of the pretransplant CV workup among KTx candidates who underwent KTx. Multicenter national studies will be helpful to validate the generalizability of these findings.
Relationship of thyroid function with renal hemodynamics and cholesterol metabolism in proteinuric kidney disease: A retrospective pilot study
Authors: Iwazu Yoshitaka , Kotani Kazuhiko , Sugase Taro , Nagata Daisuke , Yamada Toshiyuki
Published: June 2023

Back ground.
Massive proteinuria and hypothyroidism are respectively reported to influence renal hemodynamic and hypercholesterolemia. However, the relationship of proteinuria-associated thyroid function with renal hemodynamics and cholesterol metabolism has yet to be determined in a simultaneous analysis of thyroid, renal and cholesterol variables. We investigated the hypothesis that the changes in thyroid hormones by proteinuria may contribute to changes in lipid metabolism and renal hemodynamics by proteinuria.
Methods.
Twenty-nine patients (17 men) with proteinuric kidney disease (mean age 46 years) were enrolled in a pilot study. Data for serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), total cholesterol, and filtration fraction (FF; assessed by para-aminohippuric acid clearance) were used in variable-adjusted correlation analyses.
Results.
The patients had the following data (mean ± standard deviation): urinary protein 5.18 ± 3.28 g/day, FT3 2.18 ± 0.44 pg/mL, FT4 1.03 ± 0.26 ng/dL, FF 0.27 ± 0.07, and total cholesterol 327 ± 127 mg/dL. There was a significant positive correlation of FT3 with FF (β = 0.58, P = 0.01) and a significant inverse correlation of FT4 with total cholesterol (β = -0.40, P = 0.01).
Conclusions.
The proteinuria associated reduction in serum thyroid hormone levels may be involved in a part of hypercholesterolemia and the impaired glomerular function due to massive proteinruia. Further studies of these relationships are required.
Environmentally-Driven Morphogenesis of Reconfigurable Floating Robots using Markov Models
Authors: Obayashi Nana , Meyer Germain , Junge Kai , Hughes Josie
Published: June 2023

The morphology and structure plays a crucial role in shaping the behavior and functionality of both biological and robotic systems.In this work, we are inspired by morphogenesis, a fundamental biological process which encompasses the emergence of organs and organism morphology. It is driven by both internal and environmental factors and profoundly influences cellular behavior during development. By studying the environmental-driven properties that give rise to specific cellular morphologies, we investigate how control of the environment can be harnessed to trigger structural changes. Furthermore, we explore the potential application of these principles to inspire the development of robots with predefined morphologies. However, this endeavor is inherently stochastic and challenging to simulate accurately. To address this complexity, we propose leveraging a Markov decision process-inspired controller, guided by a Markov model. Using this approach, we can achieve decentralized control instead of localized control and design scalable robotic systems that can reconfigure their morphologies and display different motion characteristics in response to environmental cues.
How to Get your Institution into the Top 200 in NIRF Ranking?
Authors: Naveen Palanichamy
Published: June 2023

Education pays success to individual growth. It expands from an individual to a society. Development of today’s growth across the globe is not possible without education. In this article, we focus on higher education. How the quality of higher equation is evaluated and why it is necessary. The discussion starts with accreditation bodies and then the world university ranking. Finally narrow down to Indian Ranking. In the Indian Ranking, the role of NIRF to improve the quality of education throughout the nation in the past 8 years. In order to elevate the institute to the next level, the focussing areas for the leadership of the institution are tabulated as different metrics. Expected values to be a top 200 institution for the NIRF 2023 are derived. To predict the value, previous four-year results were analyzed and are explained throughout the article. Thus, this article helps in understanding the NIRF process with the predicting values for the upcoming year.
A New Generalized Truncated K–series Fractional Derivative
Authors: LEMNAOUAR Mohamed Reda , LOUARTASSI Younes , ZINE Rabie
Published: June 2023

This paper proposes a new fractional derivative denoted by K–Fractional Truncated Derivative (K–FTD). K–FTD generalizes several existing fractional derivatives found in the literature including the conformable derivative, the truncated alternating derivative, the truncated M-fractional derivative, and the truncated M- series fractional derivative. Furthermore, it also satisfies the same properties of ordinary derivatives such as linearity, product rule, and chain rule. In this respect, some classical results of the ordinary derivative such as Rolle's theorem and the mean value theorem are extended. Then, the K–fractional Integral is introduced, and the truncated K–fractional derivative, as well as the fractional integral of some orders α ∈ (n; n + 1], are defined. Finally, analytical solutions have been obtained for some differential and partial differential equations of fractional order α ∈ (0;1] to demonstrate the described approach.
Mathematics Subject Classification : 26A06, 26A24, 26A33, 26A39, 26A42.
Joint geometry-semantic 3D point cloud filtering
Authors: Haque Sk. Mohammadul
Published: June 2023

Recently, a significant amount of research in the vision community has been done in the 3D-geometry estimation problems in one hand and semantics segmentation on the other. In this paper, we establish and study a probabilistic framework to refine 3D-geometry and semantics jointly from their noisy estimates obtained independently. Specifically, in our probabilistic framework, we investigate how one can benefit the estimation of the other. We then discuss the implementation details and finally present experimental results that depict the behaviour of the solution under varying conditions.
COVID-19 Coinfection with Malaria and Its Presentation with Bilateral Pleural Effusion: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Solela Gashaw , Aschenek Addis , Dawit Mikale , Wondafrash Getachew
Published: June 2023

Background
There could be misdiagnosis of COVID 19 for malaria and vice versa because of their similar presentation, particularly when clinician relies mainly on symptoms. Coinfection with COVID-19 and malaria is associated with increased all-cause in-hospital mortality compared to isolated infection with SARS-CoV-2. Presentation with pleural effusion adds another challenge in the diagnosis of COVID-19.
Case summary:
This is a 57-year-old woman who presented with symptoms of acute febrile illness associated with shortness of breath and cough. Physical examination was remarkable for fever, hypotension, tachycardia, tachypnea, desaturation, decreased air entry and dullness over bilateral lower 1/3rd of the chest. Upon investigations, she was found to have ring-form trophozoites of plasmodium falciparum and bilateral ground glass opacities, bilateral consolidations and bilateral pleural effusions. She was managed with supportive treatments, antimalarial agents and antibiotics. COVID-19 was diagnosed late due to the initial high diagnostic inertia.
Conclusion
Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of COVID-19 in any patient who presents with acute febrile illness or respiratory complaints like shortness of breath and cough. In patients with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and headache, both malaria and COVID-19 tests should always be performed. Though pleural effusion is rarely reported in COVID-19 patients, viral etiologies like COVID-19 should be considered if alternative diagnoses are lacking.
Clinical outcomes of Short Rod Technique in posterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery: A Minimum of 2-year follow-up
Authors: Yang Mingyuan , Pu Lianjie , Liu Shu , Hou Canglong , Li Xiaolong , Li Bo , Huang Zebin , Song Yuanjin , Mao NingFang , Bai Yushu , Li Ming
Published: June 2023

Purpose
We first introdue a novel entry point of pedicle screws (Short Rod Technique, SRT), which could avoid violation of superior facet and has been verified as a safe screw placement method. The aim of this study is to detcte the clinical outcomes of SRT in posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery.
Methods
89 patients who received SRT and 109 patients who received PLIF surgery with regular entry point of pedicle screws were recruited with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. Patientes were further divided into three groups according to the number of fusion segments, and clinical outcomes including surgical variables, radiological parameters and HRQOL were analyzed and compared.
Results
The length of wound and the length of rods was sigificantly shorter in SRT group in both patients fused with single segment, two segments and three segments, respectively. Less intraoperative blood loss was observed in SRT group in patients fused with single segment and two segments, rather than three segments. Less degenerations of upper adjacent segment were observed in SRT group in both patients fused with single segment and three segments. In addition, less postoperative wound pain was observed in PLIF surgery with SRT group in patients fused with two and three segments.
Conclusion
SRT was an effective technique and good clinical outcomes were observed, especially for the reduction of the occurrence of upper ASD in PLIF surgery with single segment and three segments. We hope this article could provide a novel method for spinal surgeons in PLIF surgery.
A greedy randomized adaptive search procedure for scheduling IoT tasks in virtualized fog-cloud computing
Authors: Salimi Rezvan , Azizi Sadoon , Abawajy Jemal
Published: June 2023

Virtualized fog-cloud computing (VFCC) has become an ideal platform for processing the growing number of emerging Internet of Things (IoT) applications. VFCC resources are provided to IoT applications as a set of virtual machines (VMs). How VMs may be used efficiently for performing IoT tasks with various requirements is a primary challenge considering that they are heterogeneous in terms of processing power, communication delay, and energy consumption. In order to deal with this problem, we initially present a system model for scheduling IoT tasks in VFCCs, that considers not only each task's deadline but also the system's energy consumption. Then, a greedy randomized adaptive search process (GRASP) is utilized to determine the optimal assignment of IoT tasks among VMs. GRASP is a metaheuristic-based technique that provides several appealing characteristics, such as simplicity and ease of implementation, a limited number of tuning parameters, and the capability of parallel implementation. We conducted comprehensive experiments to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed method and compared its performance to that of the most advanced algorithms. Extensive experiments show that the proposed technique is superior to the baseline method in terms of deadline satisfaction ratio, average response time, energy consumption, and makespan.
A Fuzzy Ontology-based Context-aware Encryption approach in IoT through Device and Information Classification
Authors: Dar Zainab , Ahmad Adnan , Zeshan Furkh , Malik Tariq
Published: June 2023

IoT devices produce a vast amount of data ranging from personal to sensitive information. Usually, these devices remain connected to the internet so protecting the information produced by them is crucial. Since most of the IoT devices are resource-constrained, they must be supported with light-weight encryption standards to protect information. Recent research has used the concept of context awareness to select the most suitable data encryption standard based on the device resources along with the required information confidentiality level. However, to effectively use the context information, it is required to be organized explicitly while considering the dynamic nature of IoT systems. In this regard, ontology-based systems effectively reduce the volume of manual work while recommending solutions. Currently, these systems cannot work with precision due to multiple uncertain factors of IoT sensory data,. To overcome this challenge, this research proposes a fuzzy ontology-based context-aware system to protect IoT device information with the help of an encryption algorithm that considers device capabilities and user priorities regarding the data confidentiality. In-order to automate the recommendation process, Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) rules and fuzzy logic are used, whereas, Description Logic and RDF Query Language is used to evaluate the results. The evaluation results confirm that the proposed method can produce results according to human perception by significantly increasing the accuracy of prediction.
Analysis of Steel Electrical-Resistance Kinetics during High-Temperature Experiments using an Embedded System
Authors: Chávez-Campos Gerardo Marx , Campos Yason Yair Chávez , Vergara-Hernández Héctor Javier , Vazquez-Gómez Octavio , Campos Pascual Neftali Chávez , Arreola-Villa Sixtos Antonio
Published: June 2023

Metals’ properties can be enhanced through high-temperature treatments. These treatments can also enhance the mechanical properties of metals, such as strength, hardness, and ductility. This is achieved by altering the microstructure of the metal, which can improve its ability to withstand stress and deformation. To ensure the effectiveness of the processes, samples undergo mechanical and optical characterization. During high-temperature treatments, oxidation kinetics is often studied through controlled experiments. However, traditional methods involve a complicated, time-consuming, and iterative process to track oxidation changes at different intervals, leading to limited data. This paper proposes the use of metals’ electrical resistance as a method to monitor oxidation kinetics during high-temperature experiments with AISI-304. An embedded system has been developed to control and record pertinent experimental data. The four-point method, backed by the Ordinary Least-Square Estimator, is employed to measure electrical resistance. Data analysis shows an increase in resistance value, which is attributed to the loss of mass/area caused by high-temperature oxidation.
Lethal autonomous weapons systems (laws): da ficção científica para a realidade humana
Authors: Fernanda Ana , Oliveira Valdenize , Marin Cláudio
Published: June 2023

Melhorar sua relação com o trabalho, aprimorar os meios de produção, bem como suas relações sociais, é uma busca constante do ser humano e a tecnologia pode permear este processo. No cenário atual, o Estado que dominar as tecnologias sensíveis, como o 5G, ganhará poder e passará a influenciar a política internacional, e afetará sobremaneira a sociedade dos homens nas relações socias e de trabalho, bem como da área de segurança. Assim sendo, inovações tecnológicas disruptivas como as LAWS (lethal autonomous weapons systems), poderão alterar, sobremaneira, as formas conhecidas de conflitos armados e trarão consigo questões para o campo da ética e da moral que carecem de estudos sobre este novo contexto, uma vez que estas armas podem impactar a sociedade de uma maneira sem precedentes. Conquistas e avanços no campo da tecnologia são, ao mesmo tempo, valorizados e temidos, nesse sentido, a criação de regras que delimitem seu uso e em qual contexto serão usadas se fazem necessárias para a manutenção de acordos e ordem entre os Estados. As LAWS, devido ao seu aspecto autônomo, geram ainda mais discussão sobre a necessidade de intervenção humana. Deixar o poder de decisão a cargo de um sistema, principalmente em uma situação complexa como no caso de conflitos armados, é uma questão que requer um debate mais aprofundado que não se restrinja a opiniões e quereres, mas seja científico e aborde os pontos relevantes da utilização de tal tipo de armamento.
POLITIK DAN “TEATER RITUAL” DI BALI
Authors: Suryawan I Ngurah
Published: June 2023

The relation between ritual and socio-political environment should become a deep reflection. Rituals which take place in order for salvation, harmony, and natural balance instead generate the ambigue and ironic situation. Rituals had been going on amazingly but the social as well as natural disasters seems go on continually. In Bali, religious rituals that formerly guarded by mantra-mantra (spiritual wordings) recently enstead by a group of Pecalang (tradition guardian in Bali) and metal detector (at the time of Pamarisudha Karipubhaya Bali Blast of 2002 and 2005). Nowadays Balinese are eager to perform rituals spectacularly. But instead, Bali now is struck by continous disaster, not only the disaster came from external sources but also the internal ones.***Hubungan antara ritual dengan lingkungan sosial politik harus menjadi bahan renungan yang dalam. Ritual yang dilaku­kan untuk tujuan keselamatan, harmoni, dan ke­seimbang­an alam bahkan menimbulkan kondisi ambigue dan ironis. Ritual berjalan secara mengesankan namun bencana sosial maupun bencana alam terus menerus terjadi. Di Bali, ritual agama yang sebelumnya diwarnai mantra-mantra kini diisi oleh Pecalang (pengawal tradisi Bali) dan metal detector (pada saat Pamarisudha Kariphaya Bom Bali 2002 dan 2005). Kini orang Bali cenderung melaksanakan ritual secara spektakuler. Akan tetapi Bali seringkali didera ben­cana, baik bencana yang berasal dari dalam maupun luar.
SUFI HEALING: TERAPI DALAM LITERATUR TASAWUF
Authors: Syukur Muhammad Amin
Published: June 2023

This study reveals the Sufi healing, a therapy in the literature of Sufism. This study focuses on behaviors associated with the Sufi healing or prevention of disease, both physically and mentally, and then determines the aspects that support a system of rational and empirical therapy. The result achieved through this research is the discovery of an alternative treatment or prevention of appropriate disease in accordance with the tendency of society in the current era, the digital age. After investigation, it is revealed that Sufi healing is a form of alternative therapy that is done by taking the values of Sufism as a means of treatment or prevention. This model has been known in the community since Islam and Sufism itself evolved. Scientific references about the work system of medicine or healing in this manner, was found in a variety of transpersonal psychology theories, in which consciousness become one focus of the study. Medically, it is also known by the term psycho-neurons- endocrine-immunology, where the conclusion states that there is a relationship between mind and body in the health problems for everyone. In other word, the mind influences health.***Kajian ini mengungkap tentang sufi healing, yaitu terapi di dalam literatur tentang sifisme. Kajian ini memfokuskan pada perilaku yang berasosiasi dengan sufi healing atau pencegahan penyakit, baik secara fisik maupun mental, dan kemudian menentukan aspek-aspek yang mendukung sistem terapi rasional dan empirik. Hasil yang diperoleh dari kajian ini adalah penemuan treatment alternatif atau preventif terhadap penyakit secara tepat yang sesuai dengan tuntutan masyarakat saat ini. Ditemukan bahwa sufi healing merupakan bentuk terapi alternatif yang dilakukan dengan menggunakan nilai-nilai sufisme se­bagai cara treatment atau pencegahan. Model ini telah dikenal dalam ma­syarakat sejak Islam dan sufisme berkembang. Rujukan ilmiah dari mengenai sistem kerja peng­obatan­nya dapat ditemukan dalam berbagai teori psikologi transpersonal, di mana kesadaran menjadi fokus kajian. Secara medis, pengobatan ini juga disebut psycho-neurons-endocrine-immunology, yang kesimpulannya adalah adanya hubungan antara fikiran dan tubuh dalam kesehatan manusia,
SEGREGASI ETNO-RELIGIUS: UPAYA RESOLUSI KONFLIK DAN PEMBANGUNAN PERDAMAIAN
Authors: Mustain Mustain
Published: June 2023

Ethno-religious segregation in Lombok, especially in Mataram existed because of population migration and the implication of the implemenation of the policy on the politic of Karang Asem Hinduism Mataram Kingdom that dominated this area for more than one century (1670-1820). The policy subjected to the community made the fixed social stratification in the context of community settlement, and generated two different groups, the Balinesse-Hiduism as the noble and Sasak-Muslim as the lower-level society members. Applying qualitative method and conflict study approach it was revealed that historical legacy had been become the social-psychological barrier for the two communities for making open and trustful interaction.
POLA PENANGANAN KONFLIK AKIBAT KONVERSI AGAMA DI KALANGAN KELUARGA CINA MUSLIM
Authors: Elizabeth Misbah Zulfa
Published: June 2023

This research has the purposes to reveal the patterns of conflict caused by religious conversion among Chinese Muslim in Semarang, the patterns of conflict resolution applied among them, and their view on the conflict resolutions applied. Applying the methods of interviewing using structured interview guidance, participation observation, and deep interview, it was revealed that there are five kinds of conflict come out of conversion: indifference, teasing allusion, rude speaking, rejection, and hostile. Meanwhile there are three ways found in resolving conflict caused by religious conversion: to let the conflict goes on and resolved by time, to explain the problem related to Islam, and to go out from family circle. Based on the varieties in resolving the conflict, it is revealed that the community tends to approve the peace way in solving any problem, otherwise it will break the value the community hold, harmony.
JANENGAN SEBAGAI SENI TRADISIONAL ISLAM-JAWA
Authors: Junaidi Akhmad Arif
Published: June 2023

This paper is based on the cultural reality of Javanese Muslim society especially in Islamic Javanese traditional music. The cultural expression of Islamic-Javanese music is very diverse and reflecting the diversity of the “face” of Islam that has been adapted to the local culture. Janengan’s Islamic Javanese traditional music is an expression from three different cultural music traditions: Javanese music tradition, Middle Eastern music traditions (Arabic), and currently has been developed with a combination of Western music such as pop. The combination of three different musical traditions creates a unique creativity in Javanese music character. The character also encourages the values covering musical values, cultural values, and religious values. Thematically, the Janengan’s lyrics contain a variety of Islamic teaching such as monotheism, shari’ah and sufism.
TEO-DEMOKRASI BERBASIS PERTANGGUNGJAWABAN: STUDI KOMPARATIF ATAS RESPONS S.M. ZAFAR DAN MEHDI BAZARGAN TENTANG SISTEM PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM
Authors: Suharto Toto
Published: June 2023

This article seeks to examine and analyze how the response of two contemporary Islamic thinkers of democracy. Both thinkers are S.M. Zafar and Mehdi Bazargan. They have typical thinking about the system of government. Zafar offers a system of government based on the Theo-democracy parliamentary, because of his opposition to the military system in Pakistan. Whiles Bazargan offers the system of government based on Theo-democracy, because of his opposition to the ‘ulamā’ system of Khomeini’s government. They are looked theo-democracy governance as a system that needs to be implemented in an Islamic state.
URGENSI REGULASI PENYELESAIAN KONFLIK UMAT BERAGAMA: PERSPEKTIF TOKOH LINTAS AGAMA
Authors: Hapsin Abu
Published: June 2023

This study aims to determine the attitudes and views of interfaith leaders with the existence of regulations related to issues of religious harmony in Indonesia, whether these regulations have significant benefits for efforts to resolve religious conflicts in Indonesia or vice versa. This research was conducted in Central Java using a qualitative approach. The data was taken from the ideas of interfaith leaders in Semarang and various related references. Data collection was taken by interview and literature study. The data were analyzed descriptively critically. The results of the study indicate that religious conflicts that occur due to various factors or the root causes of conflicts are very diverse. Each religious figure has a different view. Some people consider pluralism as the root cause of conflict, there are also opinions that the cause of conflict is discrimination in the formulation of regulated laws and regulations. Although their views differ on the root causes of the conflict, they agree that in order to maintain religious harmony in Indonesia, there needs to be a law that regulates the rules of religious life in Indonesia.
Reexamining Salatiga as a Tolerant City in Java: An Exposure of Lesser-Known Facts
Authors: Sofyan M. Ali , Badi'ati Alfi Qonita
Published: June 2023

Salatiga has been known as one of the most tolerant cities in Java and Indonesia. Such an achievement refers to the 2021 Tolerant City Index (Indeks Kota Toleran) report released by the SETARA Institute that provides a baseline or assessment of the city government's performance in managing harmony, tolerance, Indonesian national insight, and social inclusion. This article wants to reexamine whether Salatiga is truly a tolerant city and fully implements freedom of religion and belief. The study uses a qualitative approach to interpret interactions between various religious followers in Salatiga. It employs Bielefeldt's analysis and human rights perspectives to reveal the events that actually happened. This study found that the people of Salatiga claim to live in harmony and maintain religious freedom, even though conflicts still occur occasionally. Such conflicts, for example, are seen in disputes about the IAIN Salatiga’ choir team performing at the church and in several social conflicts between Muslims and Christians. Besides, the existence of several religion-based com­munities, such as Muslim cemeteries, Muslim housing, and Muslim campuses, also justifies the fact of social disharmony in Salatiga because they are not in accordance with the principle of freedom of religion.